If I asked you to sign on to an organ donor register before you kicked the bucket would you be offended? Apparently you would if you work at the government-funded Organ and Tissue Authority. Would you be shocked to hear that just 8 per cent of 18-24 year old Australians have signed up to the organ donor register? I am, because that number should be much higher. We should be encouraging rather than silencing clever marketing campaigns designed to make young people more aware of the register. The mess inside the Coalition over climate policy has been so bad that even the Liberal Party federal president Nick Greiner has been forced to acknowledge it. The former NSW premier said on Tuesday the party had been "slower than it should have been" in reaching clarity on the issue. Unfortunately even that is probably being too kind to the Coalition, which is still far from producing a plausible policy despite six years of fratricidal bickering. It is positive that Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who once turned up in Parliament brandishing a lump of coal, has unambiguously acknowledged the threat to Australia from the increase in droughts, cyclones and the other consequences of rising global temperatures. Prime Minister Scott Morrison poses for photos during a visit to the Snowy Hyrdo Tumut 3 power station. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen But the $2 billion Climate Solutions Fund he belatedly announced on Monday looks suspiciously like a fig leaf designed to provide candidates such as Tony Abbott and Dave Sharma with a slogan in the next federal election for seats like Warringah and Wentworth. US President Donald Trump says North Korea will become a great Economic Powerhouse. Judging by his statements it looks as if economic assistance will be on the agenda for the upcoming US-North Korea summit in Vietnam being held February 27-28. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un waves as his motorcade leaves Vietnam's Dong Dang Station bordering China for Hanoi on Tuesday. Credit:YONHAP It is hard to imagine an open North Korea. However, who would have thought 30 years ago that a once diplomatically and economically isolated country like Vietnam would one day play host to meetings like the Trump-Kim summit? It is also well on its way to becoming one of the top 20 largest economies in the world. An important eco-corridor in Perths north eastern suburbs will be cleared to make way for a new residential development despite a two-decade fight to save the bushland. Over the last 20 years, the Kiara community has fought off plans from the WA Planning Commission, LandCorp and Department of Housing to clear and build on the 13-hectare site. The bushland is at the former Kiara TAFE site. Credit:Save Kiara Bushland Over time the Kiara bushland on Bottlebrush Drive has emerged as an important ecological link between other patches of urban bushland, home to dozens of endangered Carnaby cockatoos, pink-and-grey galahs and a small population of quendas. Despite a 21-day consultation period that revealed significant opposition to clearing the bushland, a clearing permit was granted to a property developer working on behalf of the Department of Housing by the then-Department of Environment back in 2016. An ex-detective shot in the face during a dispute allegedly involving Irish tradies chasing an unpaid debt may not have been the intended target. Sid Morgan, 53, was found lying in a pool of blood on the road outside a friends Point Cook rental home, in Melbourne's south-west, about 11pm on February 21. Sid Morgan worked as a real estate agent after leaving the police force. Credit:Facebook Mr Morgan - a former NSW cop and acquitted killer turned Sydney real estate agent - is now in a critical condition at Royal Melbourne Hospital after being shot during a heated, late-night argument with tradesmen. The shooting sparked a six-day man hunt that ended in northern NSW on Wednesday afternoon, where police arrested Mark Dixon, 30, and Jack Harvey, 26, in Broken Head. A man has fronted court charged with murder, after a woman's body was found in a home in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. Ning Wang, 68, appeared at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Thursday and was remanded in custody. Police yesterday searched a home in Clayton South in relation to an investigation into the death of a woman in Burwood East. Credit:Nine News He is accused of killing 57-year-old Qin Wang, whose body was found at a house in Anthony Court, Burwood East about 9.40am on Wednesday. Mr Wang, of Clayton South, required the assistance of a Mandarin translator as the court heard police required CCTV footage and forensic analysis for their investigation. EDITOR'S NOTE: The High Court overturned Cardinal George Pell's conviction for historic child sex offences in a judgment handed down April 7, 2020. In a unanimous decision all seven High Court judges found Victoria's Court of Appeal should not have upheld Pell's conviction. It found the evidence could not support a guilty verdict. Last year, as we witnessed another change of prime minister, watched football finals and prepared for Christmas, another significant event was unfolding: George Pell was standing trial for child sex offences. But many Australians were unaware that Pell - a cardinal, Australia's most senior Catholic and then one of the Pope's most senior advisors - was even in Melbourne's County Court for abusing two choirboys at St Patrick's Cathedral in the late '90s. The onlookers outside the court building on the afternoon of December 11, 2018 - the day Pell was found guilty - must have wondered what was going on when the senior Catholic figure emerged from court, surrounded by protective services officers, journalists and camera crews. Pell's name was never on public court lists. EDITOR'S NOTE: The High Court overturned Cardinal George Pell's conviction for historic child sex offences in a judgment handed down April 7, 2020. In a unanimous decision all seven High Court judges found Victoria's Court of Appeal should not have upheld Pell's conviction. It found the evidence could not support a guilty verdict. Cardinal George Pell has been sent to jail after being convicted of child abuse. The former archbishop, 77, bowed to Judge Peter Kidd as he was walked out of the silent courtroom by security guards on Wednesday afternoon. The former senior Vatican official will spend the next fortnight in jail awaiting sentence after abandoning a bail application intended for Wednesday. George Pell on his way into court on Wednesday. Credit:Justin McManus The entire gallery turned around in their seats and faced the back of the courtroom to witness his exit. A woman who fell from a moving car and was run over overnight has been flown to a Brisbane hospital with serious injuries. Police believe the 27-year-old Laidley woman fell out of a car in Gatton, about 30 kilometres east of Toowoomba, about 9pm on Wednesday. She was then run over by the car and suffered serious head, chest and pelvic injuries. The 33-year-old Hatton Vale driver was assisting officers but police believe it was an accident. The woman was flown to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. A working group set up to deal with the unfolding silicosis crisis has been finalised and will meet for the first time next week. The group, made up of representatives from a number of medical organisations as well as Queensland Health and the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, has been tasked with deciding the best way to respond to the crisis. Queensland Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace told State Parliament on Wednesday the group was formed out of an initial medical forum held last year after the scale of the problem became apparent. Queensland Education Minister Grace Grace in Queensland Parliament Credit:AAP Final nominations for this group, which will include leading medical experts in field such as thoracic, occupational and environmental medicine and radiology, were received late last month, Ms Grace said. The wife of Queenslands top cop had her traffic ticket dismissed after writing to the officer in charge of the station where it was issued. Carol Stewart, the wife of retiring Police Commissioner Ian Stewart, was accused of driving through a Stop sign in Sandgate, in Brisbane's north-east. Police Commissioner Ian Stewart and his wife Carol. Credit:Twitter The offence carries a $391 fine and three demerit points. After writing to the officer in charge, Ms Stewart's ticket was withdrawn. Two buildings in Central Queensland were destroyed when a blaze broke out at the middle of the night. Fire crews were called to the Fairymead Mill, north of Bundaberg, just after 2am on Wednesday. Two buildings were destroyed when a blaze ripped through north of Bundaberg overnight. Credit:Seven News Large plumes of smoke were billowing out of the buildings when crews arrived at the fire, which police say may have been deliberately lit. Nobody was inside at the time and the blaze was brought under control by firefighters within 45 minutes. It was on April 21, 1970 that Leonard George Casley declared that his 75-square-kilometre wheat property, just north of Northampton (and almost 600 kilometres north of Perth) had seceded from Australia and become autonomous. It would soon become a principality and he its prince. Prince Leonard Casley and his wife Princess Shirley of Hutt River Province. In 1969, having recently bought the property, he and his older sons cleared 5600 hectares and produced 14,700 bushels of wheat only to find that the West Australian Wheat Board would pay him for 10 per cent of it, based on the average production of the past seven years. There was no appeal and no compensation. When a petition to the state Governor, Sir Douglas Kendrew, a former British Lion, failed, Len declared independence from the country and from the state. He called his land Hutt River Province, after the river that ran through it (which, ironically, was named in honour of Governor John Hutt, a proponent of systematic colonisation). An ingenious bush lawyer, Len unearthed the Treason Act of 1485 that made it illegal to impede a de facto prince and so Hutt River became a principality. Other states have seceded for less. Ernest Hemingway's younger brother Leicester was an early inspiration for aspiring princes when, in the mid-Sixties, he towed a 2.4-metre by 9-metre bamboo raft 22 kilometres off the southwest coast of Jamaica and declared it New Atlantis. This spawned, after Wales, Britain's next best-known principality, the Principality of Sealand, founded in 1967 by Major Paddy Roy Bates on the abandoned World War II Maunsell sea fort off the Suffolk coast. Bates died in 2012 but Sealand also seemed determined to survive the death of its first ruler. EDITOR'S NOTE: The High Court overturned Cardinal George Pell's conviction for historic child sex offences in a judgment handed down April 7, 2020. In a unanimous decision all seven High Court judges found Victoria's Court of Appeal should not have upheld Pell's conviction. It found the evidence could not support a guilty verdict. George Pells first taste of prison life is likely to be in the bone yard prison slang for the part of the Melbourne Assessment Prison that houses protected inmates such as sex offenders. Some prisoners will want to go him because he is a paedophile, so the prison will try to protect Pell from other prisoners, a source told The Age. A prison van believed to be carrying George Pell arrives at the Melbourne Assessment Prison on Wednesday afternoon. Credit:Joe Armao This is likely to mean 23 hours a day of solitary confinement in a tiny, suicide-proof cell in the fortified red brick jail on Spencer Street. Catholic schools are targeting One Nation and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party as part of a concerted political campaign for more funding in the lead-up to the NSW election. Citing their campaigning success at the federal level, Catholic school bosses have written to their 600 principals about their push for more money to spend on building and maintaining schools. Catholic Schools NSW is pitching their case for funding to the major political parties ahead of next month's state election. Credit:Michele Mossop Former NSW education minister Adrian Piccoli said the Catholic Church was being politically open. "I never saw anything quite as overt as sending something like this out, listing marginal seats, talking about One Nation, sending letters to 600 principals," he said. "Catholic schools are an important part of the education sector, but they can't have undue influence." Survivors of institutional abuse are being failed by the national redress scheme set up to compensate them after the royal commission, says the deputy chair of the Senate committee established to oversee the process. Sharon Claydon, the ALP Member for Newcastle, notes that so far only 51 people had received compensation payouts out of 2728 applications. Meanwhile, the royal commission estimated that 60,000 victims would come forward. Victims of sexual abuse are facing resistance from institutions, including the church, in relation to compensation payments. Credit: Other figures reflected even more poorly upon the scheme, she said. Of the total applications made so far, 869 had been set aside because the institutions whose members abused them had not yet joined the scheme. Complicating matters even further, the Catholic Church had decided not to join the scheme as a single national entity, but institution by institution, and not all of its institutions have joined. The Yarralumla post office will close at the end of March and the nearby IGA will offer postal services in its place, Australia Post has confirmed. Post office boxes will be moved to the supermarket and a "store-in-store" post office is planned. "We are finalising arrangements with the new licensee and will provide updates to the community as details are confirmed," a spokeswoman for Australia Post said. The Yarralumla post office will close at the end of March and the IGA will offer postal services, Australia Post has confirmed. Credit:Karleen Minney The current post office will close on Friday, March 29 and post office box holders will be formally notified of the move. I have chosen the path of least resistance with my daughters sleep. Which is to say that when she wakes in the night I, semi-comatose, bring her into our bed. My sleep, while fractured, is less disturbed than if I was getting up to resettle her regularly and my partner gets the odd kick to the side of the head as she shifts around in bed between us but, it hasnt broken either of us to the point of actually doing something about it. We are not the only parents opting for chronic low level discomfort over the short, sharp pain of change. There are techniques that do work to help children sleep, promises expert Dr Michael Gradisar. Credit:Shutterstock Dr Michael Gradisar is a paediatric sleep expert from Flinders University. In 2006, when he started South Australia's Child and Adolescent Sleep Clinic, he had no idea whether children experienced the same sorts of sleep problems as adults. As families started trickling through the doors, he noticed a common theme; children werent able to fall asleep without their parents. They would either fall asleep in their own bed before waking up and freaking out and ending up in their parents bed for the rest of the night or they were already sleeping in the same room as their parents, either in the same bed or on a mattress by the bed. Loading "Botox" is a brand name for botulinum toxin, which is produced by bacteria and relaxes muscles when injected by blocking signals from nerves that tell the muscles to contract. When injected into the face it can help soften hard lines caused by facial muscles contracting, so is commonly used to help minimise the appearance of forehead lines and crow's feet, with the effects lasting around three to six months. The Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery (ACCS) has called for tighter regulation around cosmetic procedures in Australia stating many beauty salons offering cosmetic procedures and injectables were out of their depth. According to Tina Viney, CEO of Aesthetics Practitioners Advisory Network, all cosmetic injectables are classified as Schedule 4 drugs and require a prescription by a registered medical physician. A registered nurse can inject but only under the supervision of physician. It is illegal in Australia for non-medical practitioners to administer Botox or cosmetic fillers. Too much injected into the face can change the way the jaw moves, making you look like a robot or unable to smile or frown. Cumpston says consumers should do their research before undergoing botox or fillers. Things to look out for include making sure the practitioner owns the clinic, pays the insurances, relies on return trade and has real experience ( i.e. proper medical training and at least five years full time injecting. He says google reviews also are a reasonable guide. He also warns against practitioners who are too willing to take on customers. "Have a consultation... if you are getting a hard sell to do multiple procedures when you are 35, maybe think again. In any given day I can turn away as many people as I treat. Not everyone needs something," he says. Problems injecting into the forehead can cause your eyebrows to sit at different heights or one eyelid to droop. Loading The main risk with injectible toxins is that they can make the face appear lopsided if not administered correctly. David Gateley, a consultant plastic surgeon and owner of London's nakedhealth Medispa says: "Too much injected into the face can change the way the jaw moves, making you look like a robot or unable to smile or frown. Problems injecting into the forehead can cause your eyebrows to sit at different heights or one eyelid to droop. "In all these cases, the only thing to do is wait for around three months until the effects have worn off." He warns that rarer, but more serious, risks include infections, blurred vision and allergic reactions particularly if the toxin has been ordered online. Botox is also not suitable for pregnant women, because the effect on unborn babies is unknown, or for people with myasthenia gravis, an immune condition that causes muscle weakness. What risks are involved with fillers? Fillers involve injecting a substance that "plumps up" the face. It is mainly used to make lips bigger and cheeks more pronounced, but can also be used to smooth wrinkles by filling under lines and creases, with effects lasting from four months to a year. Fillers can be made from different substances, but the most common is naturally occurring hyaluronic acid. Synthetic fillers, including those made from silicon, and collagen fillers are also used. As with Botox, fillers injected incorrectly can cause facial features to appear wonky or swollen "trout pout" or lumpy lips are common complaints or make skin appear red or bumpy. For Margot Anwar, it was not that big a leap from teaching art and design in classrooms to effecting major positive change in schools across Australia and Indonesia. An educational change-maker, Anwar has built a career around her personal mission to make the world more connected, establishing cross-cultural relationships through the exhibiting of works and the sharing of artistic practices. Teacher Margot Anwar As a young child growing up in the Mallee, Anwars mother, a graphic designer, ensured that she and her siblings were always engaged in an active dialogue about art and artists in their domestic environment. I knew at a very young age that I would be involved in arts education, she says. My mother inspired a love of the visual arts in all of us. The ballooning edifice of corporate debt across the world is of ever lower quality and potentially more dangerous than it was at the outset of the Lehman crisis, the OECD club of rich nations has warned. Global issuance of corporate bonds has doubled to $US13 trillion ($18 trillion) over the last decade and standards have deteriorated dramatically, raising the risk of "fire sales" and a self-feeding chain reaction in times of stress. The OECD is raising alarm over corporate debt levels, warning the easy money climate of recent years may have given investors a false sense of security. Credit:The Canberra Times "In the case of a downturn, highly leveraged companies would face difficulties in servicing debt, which in turn, through higher default rates, may amplify the effects," said a detailed report by OECD's corporate finance division. "Any developments in these areas will come at a time when non-financial companies in the next three years will have to pay back or refinance about $US4 trillion worth of corporate bonds. It's been a tough few weeks for our coal industry. First there was a court ruling blocking a new mine on climate change grounds, then one of the world's largest producers, Glencore, capped output growth, and finally China was seen to be slowing down Australian imports. The developments are symptoms of the fossil fuel's decline and likely signal headwinds for the industry. Australia, which is the world's second-biggest supplier of coal used for power generation and steel making, has some $70 billion of new coal projects in the pipeline, according to government estimates. The local coal industry has had a tough few weeks - and things are unlikely to get any easier. Credit:Peter Braig "They're probably game-changing events from what we once knew of coal," said David Lennox, a mining analyst at consultancy Fat Prophets. Recent developments should be viewed as part of the fuel's gradual decline from a position of dominance in the global power mix, he added. Australian designed and built autonomous drones could fly alongside RAAF aircraft acting as a wingman that would take enemy fire or increase attack firepower, if a research program revealed by aerospace giant Boeing takes off. The company and the federal government on Wednesday revealed the until-now secretive program that has been underway for several years in Brisbane. Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said the federal government would invest $40 million over four years to develop a test model of what would be the first new Australian-backed military aircraft since World War II. A model of the unmanned Boeing Airpower Teaming System which was unveiled at the Australian International Airshow, Avalon, Victoria on Wednesday. Dubbed the Boeing Airpower Teaming System, or Loyal Wingman, Boeing expects to build and test a concept model of the almost 12-metre armed and unmanned aircraft in Australia in 2020. The financial regulator has lashed insurance companies for failing to fix problems with dubious policies that had been known about for years, urging the industry to go beyond merely complying with the law. But as regulators ramp up their pressure on the finance sector following the royal commission, the chairman of the insurance peak body is warning that premiums will rise for everyone as a result of the powerful inquiry. Although insurers were less damaged by the royal commission than banks, a deputy chairman of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, John Lonsdale, on Wednesday said the industry had still been exposed for pursuing short-term profits ahead of looking after customers. APRA deputy chairman John Lonsdale: "Individual companies must make conscious decisions to do the right thing, even when not strictly required by law." Credit:Christopher Pearce Mr Lonsdale referred to the practice of selling various types of add-on insurance - such as cover sold through car yards - despite well-known problems with the products. He challenged companies to "make conscious decisions to do the right thing, even when not strictly required by law," rather than being "dragged" by regulators. 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! March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, so on behalf of the Cancer Services Program of Staten Island, Id like to share some valuable information and clear up a few myths about colon cancer. All men and women ages 50 to 75 years old should be screened regularly for colorectal cancer (also known as colon cancer). Colon cancer is preventable through screening and is highly curable if found early. Despite this, it is still the second leading cause of cancer-related death in men and women in New York State. Why? Because many people avoid getting screened or dont have the information they need to make this potentially life-saving decision. Some people believe that if they dont have a family history of colon cancer, screening isnt needed. This is not true. Most people diagnosed with colon cancer do not have a family history. Others think that screening is only needed if they have symptoms such as blood in their stool. However, many cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed in people who do not have symptoms, which is why getting tested is so important. Another misunderstanding is that the tests are painful and the preparation is unpleasant. The truth is there are several tests to choose from, including stool-based tests that are easy, painless and can be done at home. Many people think that screening is expensive. Not so. Health insurance plans in New York state are required to cover colon cancer screening. And for those who are uninsured, our program provides free screening to men and women age 50 and older. So, why take a chance with colon cancer? Ask your doctor if its time for you to be tested, or you can contact our program for help or information. (Barbara OBrien, a registered nurse, is the administrator of the Cancer Services Program of Staten Island.) As members of the Staten Island clergy community, we agree with Advance columnist Tom Wrobleski that the Staten Island Pride Center should be allowed to march in the Staten Island St. Patricks Parade. The Staten Island Pride Center was denied the ability to even apply to march with its banner by the parades organizers. As people of faith, we reject this form of religious discrimination, and call on the organizers to allow the Staten Island Pride Center to march in the upcoming 2019 St. Patricks Parade. We reach this conclusion for several reasons. First, no one religious tradition holds a monopoly over a parade meant to celebrate Irish heritage. Just as there are Irish Catholics, there are also Irish Protestants, Irish Jews, Irish Muslims, and any other number of faiths that the Irish and their descendants in this country have embraced over the centuries. Celebrating Irish heritage is separate from honoring a particular faith. Second, the parade takes place on public streets, uses public resources, and invites all Staten Islanders - of any faith or no faith - to take part in this celebration of Irish heritage. The organizers rely on this public support to promote Irish pride and culture and then assert the right to discriminate against those who wish only to celebrate Irish heritage with them. Their religious litmus test is inconsistent with a community event celebrated by our entire diverse Island. Most importantly, we denounce the use of faith as an excuse for discrimination against any human being made in the image of God. As professional clergy and religious leaders from different faiths, we acknowledge how our traditions have been misused to hurt, harm, reject, and deny the personhood of members of the LGBTQ community. We regret those who have left their faith because of who they are or who they love. We believe that all faiths, at their core, assert the kinship of all humanity. Pope Francis accepted this belief in the dignity of all human beings when he said, If someone is gay and searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge? The organizers of the Manhattan St. Patricks Day Parade seem to have been guided by these and other affirmations when they allowed LGBTQ groups to march in their parade. Their faith embodied a creed of radical love, hope and acceptance of our common humanity. Its time for the organizers of the Staten Island St. Patricks Parade to reach the same conclusion. For these reasons, we call for a faithful return to those values at the heart of all of our faith traditions. We humbly ask Larry Cummings, the Hibernians parade director, to reflect faithfully with us on those values of love, compassion and mercy that we all share, and to invite the Pride Center to march proudly with them. (Rabbi Michael Howald, the Rev. Emilly DeTar Birt and the Rev. Karen Jackson represent Staten Island Inter-Religious Leadership.) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- After two separate incidents in which vehicles in Brooklyn drove on a sidewalk near a school within the last week -- almost mowing down school children and pedestrians -- a New York City councilman is calling for a new law that would add cameras to the stop sign of a school bus. Manhattan Councilman Ben Kallos is planning to introduce legislation to add cameras onto the stop arm of school buses to record vehicles that illegally pass the buses, according to a report from the New York Post. Last week, footage captured children startled by a car that drove on a sidewalk. The vehicle nearly hit the kids, as they were getting off of a school bus in Brooklyn. Former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind posted a video of the footage on Twitter, calling on the New York Police Department to arrest the driver responsible. VIDEO: A CAR JUMPED A CURB IN BORO PARK, NEARLY RUNNING OVER SCHOOL CHILDREN: I'm calling on @NYPD66Pct to look into the matter and arrest the man responsible for the reckless endangerment of children's welfare. All that because he couldn't wait an extra few minutes... pic.twitter.com/pWpgwaeagz Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) February 20, 2019 On Monday, another vehicle in Brooklyn drove onto a sidewalk in front of a school to get around slow-moving traffic. In footage obtained and posted on Twitter by Williamsburg News, pedestrians on the corner of the sidewalk can be seen running out of the way when the truck jumps the curb. Watch: reckless driver cought on camera driving on the sidewalk next to @SatmarHQ school on Harrison ave pic.twitter.com/HEjAgzo9US Williamsburg News (@WMSBG) February 25, 2019 In September, Staten Island drivers were seen making illegal U-turns in front of Barnes Intermediate School (I.S. 24), Great Kills, to avoid stopped school buses and traffic. It is illegal to make a U-turn in a school zone in New York State, according to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) According to New York State law and the state DMV, when drivers stop for a school bus, they cannot drive again until the red lights stop flashing or when the bus driver or a traffic officers signals that the drive can proceed. The fine for passing a school ranges from $250 for a first violation, to a maximum of $1,000 for three violations in three years, according to the DMV. If you are convicted of three of these violations in three years, your driver license will be revoked for a minimum of six months. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS What do you think about the proposed legislation that would add cameras to school bus stop signs? Would the law increase safety near schools and for children getting on and off school buses? What do you think about the drivers who jumped the curb near schools to avoid traffic? We encourage our readers to reach out to us by posting their responses in the comment section and/or emailing them to aknudson@siadvance.com. -- Associated Press material was used in this report. FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- While residents will still be paying the same base fare for local buses and the Staten Island Railway, the elimination of the pay-per-ride bonus will leave commuters paying the MTA a higher effective fare in the near future. The express bus fare will jump from $6.50 to $6.75, with unlimited MetroCards also seeing an increase in price. The MTA Board voted Wednesday to maintain the base fare for New York Citys subways, buses and paratransit at $2.75, while eliminating the 5 percent bonus value received with the purchase of multiple trips. With the 5 percent bonus, the effective fare when purchasing a multiple-trip card is $2.62 per ride. With the bonus eliminated, the effective fare will match the base fare of $2.75. Seven-day passes will increase from $32 to $33. Seven-day express bus passes will increase from $59.50 to $62. And thirty-day passes will increase from $121 to $127. The approved fare increases will take effect on April 21. The cash toll for the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge will increase from $17 to $19. The E-ZPass rate will increase from $11.52 to $12.24. The Staten Island Resident E-ZPass (three or more trips per month) rate will increase from $6.48 to $6.88. The Staten Island Resident E-ZPass (two or more trips per month) rate will increase from $6.84 to $7.26. In order for the effective toll for Staten Island residents to remain at $5.50, the Staten Island Resident Rebate Program will need an additional $6 million in state funding. Without additional funding, the effective toll for Staten Island residents will increase to $5.90. The MTA made no mention of whether or not the Staten Island Resident Carpool HOV E-ZPass rate of $3.20 will increase or remain the same. The approved toll increases will take effect on March 31. The approval of the fare and toll increases is expected to net the MTA an additional $336 million in annual revenue, according to the agency. This additional funding is critically important to the MTA but it is not enough to allow us to fund our capital plan or close our operating deficit, said MTA acting chair Fernando Ferrer. Weve seen dramatically improved performance of our system recently and in order to keep that up we are making major internal reforms, seeking additional recurring revenues from our state and city partners, and urging the legislature to pass the governors congestion pricing proposal. The fare hike vote was previously scheduled to take place during the January MTA Board Meeting, but was tabled amidst calls to explore additional revenue streams and tie improved performance to any increased fares. On Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo agreed on a 10-point plan to move forward with congestion pricing and fare increases in a bid to fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The plan, slated to take effect no later than December 2020, calls for electronic tolling devices to be installed around the perimeter of the Central Business District (CBD) at streets south of 61st St. in Manhattan, not including the FDR Drive. Under the plan, congestion pricing tolls would be supplemented through state and city revenue from a fixed amount of new internet sales tax generated from sales in New York City in addition to a percentage of state and city revenue from the cannabis excise tax. The new system will be installed and operated through an memorandum of understanding between New York City and the MTA. Any congestion pricing revenue and revenue from the two sales taxes would be put in a lockbox for a funding source needed to ensure the capital needs of the MTA can be met with priority given to the subway system, new signaling, new subway cars, track and car repair, accessibility, buses, bus system improvements and additional investments in expanding transit availability to areas in the outer boroughs with limited access to mass transit options. The joint plan also calls for mass transit fare increases limited to increases of 2 percent per year. The new plan is still subject to approval by state legislators. NO COINS The approved changes eliminate the option for express bus riders to pay using cash, requiring MetroCards be used on all express bus trips. With few MetroCard dispensers available on Staten Island, some residents fear that the elimination of the cash option will put an unnecessary strain of Staten Island commuters. Im more concerned with no coins. They are changing it so you cant pay with change. With very few places to refill your MetroCard on Staten Island, said rider Brian Austin Padua. We have the most fare beaters on the Island for a reason, the MTA really needs to take more responsibility with that, Padua continued. Very few places to refill MetroCards on the Island, plus no more paying in change, will make the situation worse. Sorry, but not sorry, its not our fault for the lack of support the MTA provides the Island." NEW SYSTEM The MTA recently unveiled the agencys new fare payment system, OMNY (One Metro New York). The new contactless fare payment system will allow customers to quickly tap their smartphones or cards to pay their fare. The system is expected to roll out on all Staten Island local and express buses in May 2019. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A list of Roman Catholic priests and religious figures accused of sexual misconduct that was released by a law firm last week contains several cases with Staten Island ties that were deemed substantiated by the Archdiocese of New York -- including a native Staten Islander who was a prominent deacon and educator. The allegation against Deacon Arthur Manzione was substantiated by the Lay Review Board and he was dismissed from the diaconate, according to Joseph Zwilling, director of communications for the archdiocese. The list, posted on the website of Jeff Anderson and Associates, a firm that advocates for victims, included the names of about 30 current or former members of the clergy with ties to Staten Island. Many of the priests on the list whose cases have been deemed substantiated by the archdiocese have been previously reported in the Advance. The law firms list also includes the names of Island clergy against whom abuse allegations were found unsubstantiated by the archdiocese, although specific information about when or where the accusations were made is not provided. Manzione taught students in Catholic schools on Staten Island for many years before rising to the ranks of associate secretary for education of the Archdiocese of New York, according to Advance records. He was removed from that administrative post in August 2003 and also suspended and barred from acting as a deacon during an investigation into an allegation against him that dated to the 1980s, according to a report in the New York Times. Manzione was a deacon and elementary school principal at Sacred Heart Parish in Newburgh when the alleged abuse occurred, according to an article posted on poynter.org. At the time of his suspension, Manzione also served as a deacon at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in West Harrison, Westchester County. Born and raised on Staten Island, Manzione was an educator at the former Assumption School, New Brighton, from 1967 to 1972 and at our Lady of Good Counsel School, Tompkinsville, from 1972 to 1974, according to Advance records. Ordained in 1979, Manzione spent 11 years as superintendent of the 55 Catholic elementary schools in Westchester and Putnam counties before being promoted in 2002 to the archdioceses central education office, according to the New York Times. Another Island priest whose name appeared on the law firms list was the Rev. Joseph Theisen (Thiesen), who was assigned to Immaculate Conception R.C. Church in Stapleton from about 1960 to 1970, according to BishopAccountability.org. Ordained in 1959, he served on Staten Island decades before he was accused of abuse. He was dismissed from the priesthood in 1995, long before the current Lay Review Board was established by the archdiocese in 2002, according to Zwilling. Three men reported that Theisen had sexually abused them when they were teens in the early 1980s. The Daily News gave the personal account of one alleged victim who was a student at St. Raymonds High School for Boys in the Bronx. The victim in long-term recovery from substance abuse told the Daily News that he was recruited for a teen club where Theisen allegedly would wrestle with the boys and talk about sex. The victim claimed Theisen sexually abused him in the church rectory and in a car. Theisen was assigned to St. Raymonds R.C. Church, which was affiliated with the high school, from about 1981 to 1983, according to BishopAccountability.org. Theisen went on to live in Albuquerque, N.M., where he died in 2013, according to BishopAccountability.org. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Brooklyn City Councilman Jumaane Williams will be New York Citys next Public Advocate after beating a crowded field the Tuesday special election. Williams beat 16 other candidates in the election for the position that was left vacant after former Public Advocate Letitia James won the the November election for New York Attorney General. No matter who holds this office the power of this position comes from the people, Williams said in his victory speech Tuesday night. I ran this campaign to be the voice of the people. Mayor Bill de Blasio, who previously held the position, congratulated Williams on his win. The Public Advocate holds our entire City government accountable and amplifies the voices of all New Yorkers, he said. "I look forward to working with Public Advocate Williams to continue making this the fairest big city in America. The position was created in 1993 meant to be a government official who champions the public and ensures government is responsive to their needs. The Public Advocate holds little power, but has acted as a stepping stone for politicians in the past. Williams served as councilman for parts of Brooklyn starting in 2010. During that time, he has focused on social justice issues like criminal justice reform, and anti-gun violence. In 2018, Williams lost to incumbent Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul in the positions Democratic Primary. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Friends, family and dozens of firefighters gathered to celebrate a special Staten Islander as he was named an honorary firefighter on Tuesday. John Hudson Dilgen, a Tottenville 16-year-old living with a rare disease, was sworn in as an honorary firefighter at the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) Headquarters in Brooklyn. Since he was born, John Hudson has lived with epidermolysis bullosa (or EB), a rare skin condition that causes skin to blister and tear at the slightest touch. Every day, he is covered head-to-toe in bandages to prevent any further damage to his skin. FDNY Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro and several firefighters talked about John Hudsons bravery and the inspiration he has been to the department. After John Hudson was sworn in as an honorary firefighter, Nigro presented him with an FDNY zip-up sweatshirt, a plaque and a badge. A plaque, announcing that you are in fact now an honorary New York City firefighter, declared Nigro. John Hudson then visited Engine 207, where his nurse works. John Hudson was given a tour, and later enjoyed lunch with family, friends and fellow firefighters. John Hudson thanked those who celebrated with him Tuesday, expressing special gratitude to the late Firefighter Stephen Siller, who gave his life trying to save others in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Stephen Siller, who built my new house that Im now living in, risked his life in 9/11 -- and being able to be a part of something as special as what he was doing, and the fact that hes not here but he did something special for me in his name, its come full circle. And its nice to be a part of a team of real special people that help all the time. Its amazing, really, John Hudson said. The Dilgen family received the keys to a brand new, mortgage-free, handicapped-accessible home in Tottenville courtesy of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation in November. The home includes a wheelchair ramp and indoor elevator that allow John Hudson to access all three floors of his new home independently. A medical treatment room, equipped with a hydrotherapy tub and treatment table, was built to accommodate treatment required for the teens condition. Faye Dilgen, John Hudsons mom, said their family has many connections to the FDNY, including John Hudsons nurse and the Chipura family -- Firefighter John G. Chipura, who died trying to save others on Sept. 11, and Gerard Chipura, an FDNY captain at Engine Co. 164, Huguenot. These are generous people with their time," said Faye Dilgen. This is just beyond amazing that they would go through so much trouble to make him feel special today, and I really appreciate that. He spends a lot of time alone so to think that hes the king of the day is really amazing, and itll lift his spirits. She added that the family may be making more trips to firehouses across New York City in the future. BLOOD DRIVE John Hudson will work as a greeter at a Tottenville blood drive on Saturday, which is held annually in honor of the late hero Firefighter Chipura. The blood drive will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the gymnasium of Our Lady Help of Christians R.C. Church. Dilgen, who receives a blood transfusion every month to maintain his strength, said he cant wait to get to work. When people donate, it really helps, he said, noting he doesnt get out often and he will enjoy greeting and thanking donors. I thought this would be a good way to work for something that Im passionate about something that really helps me. FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. CITY HALL -- Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced a plan Tuesday to move forward with congestion pricing and fare increases in a bid to fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The plan, slated to take effect no later than December 2020, calls for electronic tolling devices to be installed around the perimeter of the Central Business District (CBD) at streets south of 61st St. in Manhattan, not including the FDR Drive. Congestion pricing refers to the use of electronic tolling to charge vehicles for entering certain areas during peak commuting hours. Under the plan, congestion pricing tolls would be supplemented through state and city revenue from a fixed amount of new internet sales tax generated from sales in New York City in addition to a percentage of state and city revenue from the cannabis excise tax. The electronic tolling system will account for tolls previously paid by drivers coming into Manhattan from designated crossings and tolls would fluctuate and discounts would be given during off-peak hour travel. The new system will be installed and operated through an memorandum of understanding between New York City and the MTA. Additional exemptions and discounts will be given to some vehicles coming into the CBD including for vehicles driving people with disabilities, individuals who have identifiable hardship or limited access medical facilities in the CBD. Emergency vehicles would be exempt from the the plan. Any congestion pricing revenue and revenue from the two sales taxes would be put in a lockbox for a funding source needed to ensure the capital needs of the MTA can be met with priority given to the subway system, new signaling, new subway cars, track and car repair, accessibility, buses, bus system improvements and additional investments in expanding transit availability to areas in the outer boroughs with limited access to mass transit options. The joint plan also calls for mass transit fare increases limited to increases of 2 percent per year. PLAN STILL NEEDS APPROVAL FROM STATE LEGISLATURE Before the plan takes effect, it will have to be approved by the state Legislature. Asked on the Brian Lehrer Show on Tuesday how he would convince state lawmakers from places like Staten Island, Queens and Long Island to sign off on the plan, Cuomo said he did not think many commuters from the outer boroughs still drove into Manhattan anymore. I think there was a misimpression that you had all these people in Nassau, and Westchester, and Queens that were driving in to the city. Maybe that was true at one time, I don't remember it, but it's not true anymore Brian. Because driving into the city, just think how expensive that is, Cuomo said. Parking is 40 or 50 dollars, you have to pay a toll in most places, gasoline, it easily costs 50, 60, 70 dollars per day to drive your car in. So who's doing that? If you're coming in from Connecticut, if you're coming in from New Jersey, then you tend to drive in, he continued. Otherwise it's not happening with people from the outer boroughs, it's just too expensive. In early 2018, Fix NYC, Cuomos transportation advisory panel, released its congestion pricing report, which outlined a proposed congestion pricing system for implementation in New York City. According to recommendations from the Fix NYC report, cars that travel south of 60th Street in Manhattan would have been subject to a $11.52 charge, while trucks would pay $25.34. On Tuesday, the governor could not immediately say how much the toll would be. The proposal were announcing today addresses concerns Ive raised related to a lockbox for transit, fairness to the outer boroughs and accommodating hardships. I still believe a Millionaires Tax provides the best, most sustainable revenue source for the transit improvements our city needs. But the time to act is running out, and among all alternatives, congestion pricing has the greatest prospects for immediate success. In light of this reality, it is my hope that critics of congestion pricing will join me in acknowledging its necessity," de Blasio said. I look forward to partnering with the governor and the Legislature as we work to ensure this proposal to revitalize the MTA becomes a reality, he added. FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police allegedly found a loaded gun during a search of a car confiscated from a 44-year-old driver with a prior criminal history who was pulled over at a checkpoint near the West Shore Expressway. Nelson Figueroa, 44, of Armstrong Avenue, Great Kills, was curbed while he was driving a black 2019 Nissan Rogue on Monday evening at about 8:12 p.m. at the checkpoint at West Service Road and Arden Avenue, according to police. Police determined that the suspect allegedly had a suspended license and then placed him under arrest at about 8:42 p.m. on Monday. The van was removed to a stationhouse for safekeeping. During an inventory search, cops found a black zippered nylon case under the hood of the vehicle near the drivers side fender, police allege. Inside the case, police allegedly discovered a loaded .40-caliber gun with 12 live .40-caliber cartridges. The handgun had a threaded barrel designed to fit a black Gemtech GM-45 silencer that was found inside a sock in the same fender, according to the criminal complaint and police. The car had a forged New Jersey license plate attached to its front, according to the complaint. Figueroas license has been suspended at least 10 times, authorities say. The suspect has numerous prior arrests dating back to 1990 for various alleged crimes including robbery, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of marijuana and criminal use of drugs, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. In 2011, he was arrested on attempted murder charges in connection with a shooting in Richmond Valley. He was charged when authorities matched his DNA on file to a ski mask used in the shooting, according to Advance archives. He pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in that case and was sentenced to five years in prison and five years post release supervision. He was convicted in December 2016 of criminal possession of a controlled substance and sentenced to 30 days in jail, according to the complaint. In connection with Mondays apprehension, Figueroa has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, criminal possession of a forged instrument and driving without a license. His bond has been set at $75,000/$50,000 cash and he is due back in Criminal Court on Friday, according to public records. Attorney Lord-Kelvin Richards said that his client denies all allegations charged in complaint. He will have his day in court and we will mount a vigorous defense. The seized weaponry was displayed for a photo that was posted on the NYPDs 123rd Precinct Twitter feed. Outstanding work last night by Sgt. Farid and PO Meshel, to get #onemoregun off our streets! Just another example of the tireless work by the men and women of the 123! #NYPDprotecting #ItsWhatWeDo pic.twitter.com/gaVv2EkL6O NYPD 123rd Precinct (@NYPD123Pct) February 26, 2019 STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Threatening schools on social media may seem like a prank to some youngsters, but the matter is no joke. Thats what Staten Islands top cop had to say Tuesday after police officers arrested a 14-year-old boy in connection with a social media posting which appeared to threaten several borough schools, prompting fears among parents who struggled with the decision to send their children to class. Its not a joke; we dont treat it as a joke, said Assistant Chief Kenneth Corey, the NYPD borough commander. Theres a tremendous amount of police resources that go into investigating the threat. Its very serious, he continued. We take it very seriously. We take the responsibility for keeping peoples kids safe seriously... If the appropriate response is someone gets arrested and prosecuted, then thats what will happen." Cops arrested the boy, whose name is being withheld due to his age, and charged him with harassment, menacing and making a false report in connection with the SnapChat posting, an NYPD spokesman told the Advance. The posting appeared to target several Staten Island schools, including Tottenville and Susan Wagner high schools and Paulo Intermediate School (I.S. 75) in Huguenot, police said. The posting sparked anxiety and enhanced police presence beyond the borough -- reaching as far as Kentucky, where a youngster mistakenly believed it targeted Waggener High School, according to a report by the Courier Journal. The original social media post was misunderstood by a Kentucky juvenile who believed the threats were intended for Kentucky schools," Trooper Bernie Napier, a Kentucky State Police spokesman, told that publication. NYPD detectives traced the posting to upstate Brewster, N.Y., where the boy, who lives on Staten Island, attends school, law enforcement sources said. The teen was arrested Monday afternoon. He had no access to guns and the threat was deemed not credible. The boy claimed photos of firearms posted were downloaded from Google, sources said. Bangalore: One of the most successful entrepreneurs in India and the chairperson of the countries leading biotechnology firm, Kiran Mazumdar has been a great inspiration to young entrepreneurs. The leader of Biocon and Times Magazines one of the Most Influential People in the World humbly describes her career as that of an Accidental Entrepreneur. Confessions of an Accidental Entrepreneur, Kirans interview to TV18 plots the remarkable journey of the biotechnology pioneer to transform the sector and change the way business is done in India. Let us take a look at the 5 entrepreneurial lessons that can be learnt from the greatest woman entrepreneur in India. 1. Fight against the stream Kiran had never decided to become an entrepreneur and instead had the plans of pursuing a brewing career. In spite of facing many hurdles like a huge gender barrier in technology and several financial problems, Kiran was on her way to start an enterprise in a road less travelled, Biotechnology. I suddenly found that my gender came against me. People kept acknowledging the fact that I had very good technological capabilities but they weren't willing to risk having a woman in their management cadre. It was an accidental encounter with an entrepreneur from Ireland that actually saw me start my company, says Kiran about her days in the late 70s. 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 This two-year-old calf risks his life by approaching a male rhino who is wanting to mate his mum. The clip, filmed February 23 in North Uthungulu, South Africa, shows the young calf timidly walk up to the male rhino checking him out. Nature enthusiast Tim Brown told Newsflare: It is normal that when a Rhino calf is weaned usually 18 months, the mother comes into season and males begin to pursue her to sire their own offspring. "The problem with this is the rhino bull has one thing on his mind and that is mating with the female. To a two-year-old calf that gets in the way can easily be killed by the male Rhino. Occurred on January 24, 2017 / Rock Springs, Wyoming, USA Info from Licensor: "A buddy of mine and I had just done some snowboarding in Keystone, Colorado. We made a pretty treacherous drive from Keystone to Jackson Hole Wyoming. It was pretty much a whiteout through the whole state of Wyoming. We kind of figured there would be some wrecks along the way, we just didnt know we would roll up on a destroyed semi full of kegs! I posted the video for my friends back home to see, and before we even reached our destination, tens of thousands of people had already watched the video! Im glad I had my camera ready." MUZAFARABAD, Pakistan Pakistans military said Wednesday it shot down two Indian warplanes in the disputed region of Kashmir and captured a pilot, answering an air strike a day earlier by Indian fighter jets inside Pakistan and raising tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals to a level unseen in two decades. Within hours, Pakistans Prime Minister Imran Khan went on television urging peace talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying both countries needed to step back from the brink and warning that miscalculations could drag their two countries into a war that neither side would benefit from. Lets sit together to talk to find a solution, Khan said. There was no reply from Modi, but India acknowledged one of its air force planes was lost in skirmishes with Pakistan and that its pilot was missing in action. Pakistans military later circulated a video of a man with a mustache who identified himself as the Indian pilot, sipping tea and responding to questions, mostly by saying, You know I cant answer that. He appeared in good health as he was questioned about his hometown, his aircraft and his mission. The downing of the Indian aircraft came on a chaotic day that also saw mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier dividing the two sectors of Kashmir kill six civilians and wound several others. A helicopter crash in the region also killed six Indian air force officials and a civilian on the ground. Pakistan responded by shutting down its civilian airspace. The Indian warplanes went down Wednesday morning in Kashmir, a mountainous region claimed by both India and Pakistan since almost immediately after their creation in 1947. One of the downed planes crashed in Pakistans part of Kashmir while the other went down in an Indian-controlled section of the Himalayan region, Pakistans army spokesman Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor said. Kashmir is split between Pakistan and India and claimed by both in its entirety. Though Pakistani and Indian troops in Kashmir often trade fire, the latest casualties came a day after tensions escalated sharply following a pre-dawn air strike and incursion by India that New Delhi said targeted a terrorist training camp in northwestern Pakistan. The strike Tuesday was Indias first inside Pakistan since the two nations 1971 war over territory that later became Bangladesh. Roshan Mughal and Alijaz Hussain are Associated Press writers. TEHRAN Irans president rejected the resignation of his foreign minister on Wednesday, throwing his full support behind the diplomat who negotiated the countrys nuclear deal with world powers as both men face growing pressure from hard-liners as the accord unravels under American pressure. President Hassan Rouhani earlier gave a speech praising Mohammad Javad Zarif after the foreign ministers sudden resignation shocked the Islamic Republic late on Monday night. His rejection of the resignation, reported by the state-run IRNA news agency, continued that praise. Since I consider you in the front line of resistance against broad pressures by the U.S., I consider acceptance of your resignation against the expedience of the country and I do not agree with it, Rouhani reportedly told Zarif. Zarif responded the same way he offered his shock resignation: Via Instagram. I hope that the Foreign Ministry, with coordination of all and supervision of the supreme leader and the president, will be able to carry out its responsibilities rigorously in the framework of constitution, law and general policies of the system, Zarif wrote in a caption overlaid on a waving Iranian flag. He later was shown on state television at an event with visiting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, signaling his return to work. It remains unclear what sparked Zarifs resignation. However, it came after Zarif was not present for a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday. Assad was warmly received by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as well as Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of an elite unit of the Revolutionary Guard. The Guards website later quoted Soleimani as offering his support to the foreign minister. Definitely, Zarif is in charge of foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and he has been always supported by top officials including the supreme leader, Soleimani reportedly said. Analysts say Rouhani faces growing political pressure from hard-liners within the government as the nuclear deal unravels. Iranian presidents typically see their popularity erode during their second four-year term, but analysts say Rouhani is particularly vulnerable because of the economic crisis assailing the rial, which has hurt ordinary Iranians. Nasser Karimi is an Associated Press writer. The worst of the rain is over. The eye of the atmospheric river that stalled over the North Bay and soaked the region before quickly passing over the central Bay Area has moved on. Scattered showers remain in the forecast through Thursday morning, and between periods of moderate to light rain, the skies might clear and the sun appear. "We've already seen the main atmospheric band move through the area," says Spencer Tangen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Bay Area office. "We'll still see some showers through the day, but nothing heavy." By Thursday afternoon, dry weather is in the forecast. The break in the rain will be short as another storm pushes into California Friday night. Tangen says details are still unclear, but as of Wednesday, the forecast indicated the system will focus on Central California and the Santa Barbara area, and brush the Bay Area. "Right now it looks like most of it will fall to the south with light to moderate rain forecast for the Bay Area," says Tangen. "San Francisco could get some moderate to heavier rain Friday and lighter rain Saturday." Projected rainfall totals for the storm are about a quarter-inch to a half-inch for urban locations with slightly higher totals at higher elevations. MORE: 'Evacuate now': Russian River forecast to swell 14 feet above flood stage This is good news for the North Bay that sat under the bull's eye of a soaking storm for 48 hours. Relentless rain hammered Marin, Sonoma and Napa counties, inundating roads with water and pushing rivers, creeks and streams over their banks. Some locations in Marin County, including San Anselmo and the Marin Civic Center, recorded more than nine inches of rain across two days. On Tuesday, when the heaviest rain fell, Santa Rosa shattered its one-day rainfall record for the date with 5.66 inches. The old record was 5.23 inches set in 1981. Santa Rosa's total for the storm is nearly eight inches. The most rain was measured in the Russian River watershed. Venado, in the mountains just above Guerneville, recorded more than 20 inches. Nearby, a gauge at Lake Sonoma recorded 10.79. Amid the torrent of rain, the Russian River shot above flood stage Tuesday night and is still rising. The waterway is forecast to crest at 46 feet at around 10 p.m. Wednesday. If it swells to this level, the area will see the worst flooding it has experienced in more than 24 years. Large swaths of the small town of Guerneville, and the neighboring communities of Rio Nido and Monte Rio will be underwater. UPDATE: I-80 opened to all traffic on Thursday morning. --- Interstate 80 is still closed in both directions from Colfax to the Nevada state line due to "poor conditions and snow removal operations," Caltrans said. The highway was closed earlier Tuesday after a powerful atmospheric river blasted Northern California, leading to whiteout conditions for those driving to Tahoe. Caltrans tweeted several videos of I-80, highlighting the poor visibility. MORE: Whiteout conditions forecast for Sierra: No safe window for travel until Thursday afternoon "Even though I-80 is currently closed our Sierra Snowfighters are still out clearing highways," Caltrans tweeted. "A huge shoutout to these men and women who work around the clock during all weather conditions." A total of 56 inches of snow were recorded at Caltrans' Kingvale Maintenance Yard on I-80, and officials said 30 of those inches came down after 6 a.m. Caltrans said I-80 was still closed as of Wednesday afternoon. In addition, an avalanche has prompted Amtrak officials to suspend passenger rail service between Sacramento and Reno, Nevada after more than more than 4 feet of snow fell in the Sierra Nevada. Officials also shut down a 70-mile stretch of Interstate 80 from Reno to Colfax, California. Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods said Wednesday that service on the California Zephyr rail line has been suspended until weather conditions improve from a series of storm that has dumped rain in Northern California and snow in the mountains that divide the state from Nevada. The storm has also caused heavy snow in Washington state and Montana. The avalanche sent snow onto the tracks owned by Union Pacific at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday at Donner Pass about 10 miles west of Truckee. Union Pacific spokesman Tim McMahan says crews are still working to clear the tracks. He says there's no estimate on when they will reopen. The National Weather Service warned people not to travel to the Sierra Nevada until Thursday due to heavy snowfall, whipping winds and whiteout conditions. Snow levels are expected to rise to 6,000 to 7,000 feet by Wednesday, and rain is likely at the lake level of the Tahoe basin. Eric Ting is an SFGATE staff writer. Email him at eting@sfchronicle.com and follow him on Twitter 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. A mother on a flight from Seoul, South Korea to San Francisco was so worried her 4-month-old baby would disrupt other passengers' flights, she reportedly assembled more than 200 small bags filled with Korean candy, earplugs, and a note apologizing ahead of time for any crying. "Today, I am going to the U.S. with my mom and grandma to see my aunt," the note read. "I'm a little bit nervous and scary (sic) because it's my first flight, which means that I may cry or make too much noise. I will try to go quietly, though I can't make any promises... Please excuse me." If tech firms including Uber, Lyft, Airbnb and Slack go public this year, what will the effect be on Bay Area real estate? We can look to the Facebook Effect for insight. The Facebook Effect Facebook's public offering had such a profound impact on the Bay Area that real estate insiders named it. The "Facebook Effect," felt full force in the spring of 2012 leading up to the company going public in May, continued to reverberate for the rest of that year -- and perhaps still does. Facebook went public on May 18, 2012. On May 17, Julian Herbon of Basis Point wrote of multiple buyers hovering around limited properties, out-bidding one another with a frenzy unseen even in a market well accustomed to frenzy. "It's what some are calling The Facebook Effect on San Francisco real estate," Herbon explained. One of the "main themes that set fire to this trend starting in late-2011 was a "rush to buy before IPOs set ever higher bars for tech firm valuations." ALSO: 15 years and a luxe remodel add $2.755M to Russian Hill home's price tag Tech valuations In Hebron's example, tech valuation refers to the idea that the perceived value a company has increases when it goes public; and then, those individuals who hold stock in the company are suddenly owners of some (sizable) portion of that increased value. Hebron cites LinkedIn's and Zynga's IPOs as evidence, and then points out that Facebook dwarfed them all, especially after the latter acquired Instagram (which was still another high-value tech company), bringing numbers to the billions instead of just millions. In 2012, valuations of then still-private Bay Area based companies were eye-popping: Twitter: $8b+ Dropbox: $4b Square: $1-2b Path: $1b Airbnb: $1b -Pinterest: $1.5b -Quora: $1b "You can argue against these absurdly high valuations all you want but thousands of liquid millionaires are being created before and after these firms go publicand the impact on our property market is real," wrote Hebron. Effect on prices There is no denying the effect is real. In studying census data, Zillow determined that starting around Facebook's 2012 public offering "home values in the census tracts where likely Facebook employees lived rose faster than in those not home to Facebook employees." More precisely: Every 10 Facebook employees living in a given census tract at the time of Facebook's IPO in May 2012 were associated with an additional 1.6 percentage points of home value increase over that year. Using designated areas closest to Facebook Headquarters in Menlo Park, Zillow found that between 2012 and 2013, home values around likely Facebook employees climbed 21 percent, compared to 17 percent in all other Bay Area census tracts. "This faster growth translated into an extra $29,800 in appreciation for the typical home in these Facebook-employee-heavy areas compared to homes in the rest of the Bay Area," said the report. What's the next IPO to make an impact? Rumored to be racing ahead of Uber, Lyft has filed filed a statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering. If all goes as planned, Lyft could be the first major tech IPO of 2019. According to NBC News, Lyft's currently enjoying a $15.1 billion valuation. Uber, meanwhile, also plans to go public this year. In 2018, Investopedia wrote "Ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc could be valued at $120 billion, when it finally goes public next year." Meanwhile, both AirBnb and Slack are in the mix to go public, but perhaps without banks, in the manner that Spotify went public in 2018. Patrick Carlisle, data analyst with Compass Realty, told SFGate that "If the big IPOs actually occur, and the market reacts enthusiastically, one can only assume it will put upward pressure on prices in those areas where the unicorn employees live in greatest numbers." But then again, maybe not. It may be a countervailing factor in a cooling market, as opposed to a accelerating factor in a hot market. There are a lot of political and economic "plates in the air" right now, and financial markets have been extremely volatile. In recent weeks, the economic indicators have been mostly quite positive, but just weeks ago they were quite negative, so we can't take for granted what direction indicators will go in the near future. We simply don't know. What would happen to Bay Area real estate if all four go public in 2019? If the Facebook Effect is precedent, we could be in for a dramatic year. Anna Marie Erwert writes from both the renter and new buyer perspective, having (finally) achieved both statuses. She focuses on national real estate trends, specializing in the San Francisco Bay Area and Pacific Northwest. Follow Anna on Twitter: @AnnaMarieErwert Among the hours-long questioning of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, there was some colorful roasting of the president's son. "Mr Trump had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgement of anyone in the world," said Cohen. This assessment of questionable judgement appeared to be borne out a little later in the morning, when Donald Trump Jr., in the midst of a stream of retweets calling Michael Cohen a liar, also retweeted a longer tweet that said Cohen had nothing to lose and was telling the truth. MORE: Cohen's testimony contained three remarkable allegations against Trump "Incredible to see all the hubris drained from Cohen," said the tweet from journalist Garrett M. Graff, which Trump Jr. appeared to retweet around 9 a.m. "I've been personally screamed at by Cohen on the phone before and know how much bravado he once had. This is a man with nothing left, with no reason to lie or obfuscate at all. Humbling, in its way." Hours passed and replies mocking Trump Jr. for the retweet mounted, but as of 12:40 p.m., he still had not undone the retweet. Click through the gallery above for reactions Some called it a cautionary tale about the importance of reading things through the end. "He didn't have the attention span to read to the end of the tweet," wrote Twitter user Autotune Scalia. ALSO: Twitter reacts as Michael Cohen clashes with Jim Jordan during congressional hearing Others suggested that Trump Jr. should consult with his girlfriend, former San Francisco first lady Kimberly Guilfoyle, for help understanding the tweet. Several people made comparisons between Trump Jr. and Fredo, the somewhat dimwitted and marginalized son in the Corleone crime family in "The Godfather." Throughout the hearings, Trump's eldest sons disparaged Cohen on Twitter and said he was lashing out after being denied a job at the White House. Eric Trump tweeted that Cohen's desire for a White House job "was the biggest joke in the campaign," and Donald Trump Jr. described the testimony as "like a breakup letter." Cohen has cooperated with special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation and is set to begin a three-year prison sentence in May. Pretty much every middle or high school student in California has endured the rite of passage of dissecting a frog, rat or some other kind of animal in biology class. That could change if Assembly member Ash Kalra, who represents San Jose, gets his way. Kalra recently introduced Assembly Bill 1586, which would ban dissections for students in public and private schools, in kindergarten through 12th grade. Jumaane Williams has been elected New York City public advocate, giving the Brooklyn city councilman a citywide platform for his liberal activist brand of politics. Williams decisively beat the crowded, 17-member field Tuesday night, winning nearly 33 percent of the vote as of 11 p.m., with more than 96 percent of the votes in. Queens City Councilman Eric Ulrich, the only high-profile Republican in the race, came in second with nearly 19 percent of the vote. Rounding out the top five were former City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito at 11 percent, Bronx Assemblyman Michael Blake at 8 percent and Manhattan City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez at 6 percent. Williams celebrated Tuesday night at Cafe Omar, a nightclub within his council district in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, delivering a speech on stage surrounded by a elected officials from across the city. Our voices together send a message loud and clear, he said. The challenges that we face are great, but we can rise to conquer any hill. Williams choked back tears as he spoke about his struggles growing up with Tourette syndrome, sometimes crying himself to sleep. I got something to say to that young man who I think about often, he said. His name is Jumaane Williams, and hes the public advocate of New York City. Williams public advocate campaign seemed to benefit from his profile-raising run for lieutenant governor in 2018. Williams ran against Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul and, though he lost statewide, he actually won more votes than Hochul in New York City. Many of his backers in that race supported Williams in the public advocate race as well, including The New York Times, the influential Working Families Party and former gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, with whom he ran on a ticket against Gov. Andrew Cuomo last year. The fact that Williams challenged the politically all-powerful Cuomo ticket last year speaks to the brand of politics hes cultivated since first getting elected to the City Council in 2009. Williams has been a productive legislator, passing more bills than almost any other member, while speaking out on progressive priorities like ending stop-and-frisk policing and strengthening protections for residential tenants. Williams appeared to be the front-runner from the beginning of the race, and fellow candidates werent shy about bringing up past controversies, like his history of unsafe driving, his past personal opposition to same-sex marriage, and a 2009 arrest that never resulted in charges. But none of the negative stories seemed to stick to him, as Williams rode a wave of support to the public advocates office at One Centre Street. Williams election brings some racial diversity to New Yorks slate of citywide elected officials. Williams is black, and his family immigrated from the Caribbean nation of Grenada. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer and New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who has been the acting public advocate, are all white men. Williams has also been public about his Tourette syndrome, mentioning the neurological condition which causes him verbal and physical tics, in his first television ad. However, the election did not inject any gender diversity into the citys top elected leadership. Mark-Viverito, the former council speaker, was one of the frontrunners in the race, but ultimately fell far short of Williams. But in her concession speech, she called for women to follow her lead and run for elected office. Women in New York are no longer just fighting for a seat at the table, Mark-Viverito said. Were demanding half of the seats. So every young woman who saw an aggressive, progressive Latina running for citywide office know this: Its your turn now. The public advocate is first in line for the mayoralty if de Blasio were to leave office. But Williams insists he wont use the position to run for mayor. To the mayor, Williams said Tuesday night, Im not running for your job. But together, we have to make sure that government is working on behalf of the people. De Blasio, himself a former public advocate, released a statement congratulations Williams on his win, saying its the office holder's job to hold our entire city government accountable. But before talk of any higher office, Williams will have to defend his seat this year. Another public advocate election will follow this year, with the primary in June and the general election in November. Its unclear how many if any of the candidates who ran in this February special will run again. Should he run again, Ulrich would be unlikely to come as close to Williams in a one-on-one matchup in November, given the citys vast Democratic enrollment advantage, while Williams received three times as many votes as his closest Democratic rival, Mark-Viverito. Here are the latest preliminary results from the New York City Board of Elections, including each candidate's party line and their share of the vote with nearly 97 percent of the ballots in shortly after 11 p.m. on Tuesday. Jumaane Williams (It's Time Let's Go): 33.22% Eric Ulrich (Common Sense): 19.12% Melissa Mark-Viverito (Fix the MTA): 10.96% Michael Blake (For The People): 8.24% Ydanis Rodriguez (Unite Immigrants): 6.02% Dawn Smalls (No More Delays): 4.10% Rafael Espinal Jr. (Livable City): 3.21% Daniel O'Donnell (Equality For All): 2.85% Ron Kim (No Amazon): 2.84% Benjamin Yee (Community Strong): 2.58% Nomiki Konst (Pay Folks More): 2.32% Helal A. Sheikh (Friends of Helal): 1.29% David Eisenbach (Stop REBNY): 0.79% Manny Alicandro (Better Leaders): 0.75% Anthony Tony Herbert (Residents First): 0.72% Latrice Walker (Power Forward): 0.57% Jared Rich (Jared Rich for NYC): 0.23% With 98.01 percent of scanners reported. The saying politics makes strange bedfellows may be a cliche, but that doesnt make it any less true. Even during the increasingly partisan times politicos operate in today, interests still can align in the most unusual ways, with unexpected alliances forged between opposing forces. New York is certainly no different. Here are just a few of the strange bedfellows politics has created in the state. E.J. McMahon and Julia Salazar: corporate subsidies Its not often that a fiscal conservative and a democratic socialist agree on policy, but evidently it happens. State Sen. Julia Salazar introduced legislation that would create a pact with other states not to offer company-specific subsidies, such as those offered to Amazon as part of the now-scrapped deal for the company to locate in Queens. While Salazars aim is to end corporate welfare for ultrarich companies like Amazon, McMahon pointed out the proposal would also appeal to small government conservatives who want less interference in the free market. He praised her proposal, albeit with critiques, but was sure to remind us how different the pair are on almost every other issue. Hakeem Jeffries and the Koch brothers: criminal justice reform koch-brothers-shutterstock-hakeem-jeffries-andrew-kist.jpg Alt Text: Charles G. Koch and David H. Koch (left) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. Title Text: Charles G. Koch and David H. Koch (left) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. Description: Charles G. Koch and David H. Koch (left) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. Image Credit: Shutterstock; Andrew Kist When conjuring images meant to scare Democrats, megadonors Charles and David Koch would generally be somewhere high up, the antithesis of George Soros on the other side. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a progressive rising star from New Yorks congressional delegation, likely views the Kochs as his enemies for as long as he has been in elected office. Yet they found themselves on the same side in the fight for criminal justice reform.The Kochs have made the issue a priority, including throwing their support behind Jeffries criminal justice reform bill that President Donald Trump signed into law late last year. John Flanagan and Carl Heastie: the state constitutional convention carl-heastie-state-assembly-john-flanagan-state-senate.jpg Alt Text: New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and state Senate Minority Leader John Flanagan Title Text: New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and state Senate Minority Leader John Flanagan Description: New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and state Senate Minority Leader John Flanagan Image Credit: Photos courtesy New York Assembly; New York Senate It seemed that nearly everyone was opposed to a state constitutional convention in 2017 the ballot proposal was resoundingly defeated by voters that year. Politicians from both sides of the aisle joined forces to make sure it didnt become a reality, including then-state Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, a Republican, and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Democrat. The pair didnt agree on much, with each chamber having a habit of passing legislation that the other never voted on, but they agreed that a constitutional convention would be bad for the state, although for differing reasons. Heastie feared monied interests would influence the convention and would lead to more harm than good, while Flanagan argued that there were more efficient ways to make changes to the constitution. David Soares and Sonia Ossorio: discovery laws Prosecutors and womens rights advocates dont find themselves on opposite sides all the time. What makes their shared fight strange is that their issues simply dont overlap all that often. But Albany County District Attorney David Soares, who is also president of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York, and Sonia Ossorio, president of the National Organization for Women New York City, have found themselves fighting the same battle against changes to pretrial discovery laws that would give prosecutors 15 days after an arrest to hand over victim and witness information to defense. Ossorio has argued that such a change would discourage rape victims from coming forward out of fear that their attackers would have access to their addresses and phone numbers. Soares shared Ossorios concerns about endangering witnesses and victims through reforms to the discovery process, while citing concerns with the broader criminal justice reform platform as well. (Criminal justice reform advocates say that the legislation would not endanger victims as it simply requires contact information to verify the accusers identity, like a phone number or a friends phone number, which a prosecutor can ask a judge to redact in any case he or she has concerns about.) Hector Figueroa and Jeff Bezos: Amazon deal in New York City Amazon is fairly well-known for its anti-union practices. It was a key sticking point among opposition to the companys deal with New York City and the state to build a campus in Queens. Most unions in the city opposed the deal, which on the surface made sense: Unions tend not like businesses that dont like them. But Hector Figueroa, president of 32BJ SEIU, hopped on the Jeff Bezos bandwagon and supported the deal. Amazon agreed that 32BJ SEIUs service workers at the new development, like janitors and security guards, would be unionized. Figueroa quickly became the odd man out when it came to his fellow union leaders and certainly an odd supporter of a company like Amazon. Andrew Cuomo and Marc Molinaro: legislative term limits andrew-cuomo-office-of-the-governor-marc-molinaro-dutechess-county-office.jpg Alt Text: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro Title Text: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro Description: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro Image Credit: Photos courtesy Office of the Governor; Dutchess County Office An incumbent and a challenger dont often agree. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and recent Republican gubernatorial challenger Marc Molinaro certainly did not, beyond broadly wanting the help the state. They did, however, agree that term limits should exist for members of the state Legislature and for statewide offices. Currently, there are none. Although no governor has served more than three four-year terms since Nelson Rockefeller, its not strange for state legislators to spend decades in their seats. The issue of term limits is one that does not have a clear partisan divide, although Democrats in the Assembly have opposed them, while state Senate Republicans passed legislation to require them for leadership positions. Rudy Giuliani and Mario Cuomo: the endorsement Years ago, before he was President Donald Trumps outlandish lawyer, Rudy Giuliani was a popular mayor of New York City. He was also, then as now, a Republican, so when the 1994 gubernatorial election rolled around, the first of his mayoralty, George Pataki would have been the obvious choice to win his support. Instead, Giuliani bucked party lines and shocked political observers by endorsing then-Gov. Mario Cuomo, who was seeking a fourth term. Giuliani said that though he still followed his partys ideals, Cuomo was the better choice for downstate New York. Unfortunately for both of them, the endorsement did not lead to victory, as Pataki won in the end. There are plenty of new faces on this years New York City Power 100 and plenty of folks who dropped off. Some moved on to other jobs, some were mired in scandal, some were sunk by the blue wave. (And some just didnt quite measure up this year.) Here is a rundown of who didnt make the cut. SCANDAL CENTRAL Former state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who was felled by allegations of physical abuse from several women, was the highest-ranking figure (No. 6 last year) to topple from the list. Mayor Bill de Blasio fired Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark Peters (No. 67), citing mistakes and abuses of power, while another de Blasio appointee, NYCHA Chairwoman and CEO Shola Olatoye (No. 100), resigned after a spate of bad press. The New York Times metro editor, Wendell Jamieson (No. 81), also stepped down after female employees accused him of inappropriate behavior. HIT BY THE BLUE WAVE john-flanagan-mike-groll.jpg Alt Text: John Flanagan Title Text: John Flanagan Caption: Former Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan. Description: Former Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan. Image Credit: Mike Groll Other politicians were swamped by the Democratic blue wave, including state Sen. John Flanagan (No. 17), whose Republican conference lost its majority; Rep. Pete King (No. 56), whose party lost the House; and Success Academy Charter Schools CEO Eva Moskowitz (No. 89), whose Republican allies are out of power and whose job interview with President Donald Trump wont help her should she ever run for mayor. While Jeff Klein (No. 14) is a Democrat, his alliance with the GOP spurred a backlash that knocked him out of elected office. An even bigger upset was in store for Joseph Crowley (No. 12), who had a plausible path to becoming the next House speaker but was toppled by progressive icon Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He recently stepped down as Queens Democratic Party chairman as well. And Cardinal Timothy Dolan (No. 72) has suffered major setbacks in Democratic-controlled Albany, including passage of the Child Victims Act and the Reproductive Health Act. GREENER PASTURES alicia-glen-a-katz-shutterstock.jpg Alt Text: Soon-to-be former Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen. Title Text: Soon-to-be former Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen. Caption: Soon-to-be former Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen. Description: Soon-to-be former Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen. Image Credit: a katz/Shutterstock Alicia Glen (No. 10), the outgoing New York City deputy mayor for housing and economic development, announced that she would depart this year. She reportedly is staying on until a replacement is named and has not publicly announced her plans for the future. Two other de Blasio administration officials are moving on Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer (No. 37) is joining the Ford Foundation, while Phil Walzak (No. 83), a former top de Blasio aide and adviser, landed at the New York City Police Department. Meanwhile, Joe Lhota (No. 23) wrapped up a second stint running the Metropolitan Transportation Authority last fall, and remains a top executive at NYU Langone Health. Ramon Martinez (No. 33), the long-serving chief of staff in the New York City Council, left last summer and has been working for JPMorgan Chase & Co. And Andrew Hoan (No. 96) stepped down as president and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, reportedly to relocate outside of the New York City area. LOST IN THE SHUFFLE Several others came off the list not for any single reason but instead because there was no single reason to keep them on the list. 29. Dominic Williams Chief Policy Adviser to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio 68. Gregg Bishop Commissioner, New York City Department of Small Business Services 71. Ron Moelis CEO, L+M Development Partners 73. Bob Master Political Director, Communications Workers of America District 1 91. John McAvoy Chairman, President and CEO, Con Edison 93. Christine Quinn President and CEO, Win 97. David Rivel CEO, The Jewish Board of Family and Childrens Services 98. Jason Ortiz Political Director, New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council Measles was declared eliminated in the United States 19 years ago, but it is now making an ugly comeback and threatening the health of children in schools in New York. As of Feb. 20, there are 138 confirmed cases of measles in Rockland County, 73 confirmed cases in Brooklyn and four confirmed cases in Monroe County. Measles outbreaks nationwide have reignited the debate on vaccination requirements, and New York should seize this opportunity to become the fourth state to ban non-medical exemptions from school vaccination requirements. We cannot wait until somebody dies before taking action. One of the most important reasons to end non-medical exemptions is to protect children who are medically unable to become vaccinated, such as those who are too young or who are immuno-compromised from diseases like childhood leukemia or HIV/AIDS. While much of the focus from proponents of non-medical exemptions has been on a parents right to not vaccinate their child, we should instead be focusing on a parents right to have their child not die from preventable diseases such as measles. Many schools have adopted rules which restrict what types of food kids are allowed to bring for lunch on the basis of protecting students with severe allergies. Why should we treat vaccines any differently? The rise in anti-vaccination sentiment has corresponded with a startling rise in denial of established science. Beyond one (now debunked) study which attempted to link autism with vaccines, there is an overwhelming body of evidence which shows that vaccines are both safe and effective. Prior to the development of a measles vaccine in 1963, there were 2.6 million deaths from measles worldwide per year. That number fell to 110,000 in 2017. Similar results have been seen with polio as the number of paralytic polio cases in the United States fell from over 21,000 in 1952 to just 61 in 1965. The World Health Organization estimates that 10 million lives have been saved globally through expanded vaccination programs over just one five-year period (2010-2015). The data and immunological science cannot be clearer: Vaccines work. Scientific experts in virology and immunology measure progress towards the elimination of diseases through the rate of secondary infections. This concept is the underpinning principal of herd immunity, and experts recommend a vaccination threshold of around 93-95 percent in any given population. More people with immunity to measles means that fewer people are available to incubate and spread the virus. From 2000 to 2017, the percentage of children globally who have received their first dose of measles vaccination rose from 72 percent to 85 percent and the measles death rate declined by 80 percent. The importance of herd immunity is proved by data emerging from Clark County, Washington, where there are 62 confirmed cases of measles since Jan. 1 and only 78 percent of school-age children have had both recommended doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Of the confirmed cases in Rockland County, 81.5 percent did not receive any MMR vaccination. Low vaccination rates provide a rich environment for the measles virus to replicate and spread, putting our communities at risk. Proponents of non-medical exemptions to school vaccine requirements will say they are protected by the First Amendments free speech and free religion protections. This is essentially the same argument that was put forth by Hobby Lobby and others who sought to avoid insurance requirements to cover contraceptive products. New York state clearly rejected this argument in January, as we passed laws such as the Comprehensive Contraception Coverage Act and the Boss Bill. First Amendment rights of one parent should not be allowed to endanger the life and health of other parents innocent, vulnerable children. Hypothetically, if parents claimed that their religion instructs them to send their kids to school carrying a loaded weapon, we wouldnt allow them to into public schools. For a child with a compromised immune system, measles can be as dangerous as a gun. Parents with a true and honest religious prohibition on vaccines are entitled to not vaccinate. However, they should not be entitled to put other peoples children at risk by enrolling their unvaccinated child in school. We cannot allow a subversion of science and medicine to dictate public health policy. I understand wanting to know what is being put into our childrens bodies. I understand having a healthy skepticism of huge pharmaceutical corporations and how they make their money. But these are not worth letting children die from preventable, painful diseases. New York should end non-medical exemptions once and for all. Posted Wednesday, February 27, 2019 9:05 am Two of the three Republicans in Washington's congressional delegation joined every Democrat in the U.S. House in voting to overturn President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency on the southern border. The Democratic-controlled House passed the resolution, which would block Trump's attempt to fund a wall on the border, 245-182. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, and Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, were two of just 13 Republicans to side with Democrats, in opposition to Trump. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, voted with most Republicans to allow Trump's emergency declaration. Both congresswomen said that they supported Trump's push for a wall, but were voting to preserve the powers delegated to Congress. If Trump can declare an emergency to build a wall, what's to stop a future Democratic president from declaring an emergency to pass a Green New Deal, Herrera Beutler asked, noting Congress has explicitly rejected Trump's funding request. "No one person has the power to use government to do whatever he wants," Herrera Beutler said. "The Constitution is the only thing that protects you and me from a scenario where one person can overrule all institutions -- and so I voted to ensure the Constitution stands strong." McMorris Rodgers said she was "100 percent in favor" of a wall on the southern border. "Today's vote had nothing to do with the need to build it," McMorris Rodgers said. "Article I of the Constitution gives the legislative branch the exclusive power to make laws and set funding priorities." Congress, under both Republican and Democratic leadership, has consistently declined to fund Trump's demand for a wall on the Mexican border. Trump campaigned on the promise that he would build a wall and that Mexico would pay for it. Trump declared a national emergency two weeks ago, in an effort to fund the wall without congressional approval. The resolution now heads to the Republican-led Senate, where several Republicans have said they will vote with Democrats and several others have voiced concerns about the emergency declaration. Trump has pledged to veto the resolution if it passes the Senate. Posted Wednesday, February 27, 2019 9:09 am A mysterious and crippling disease has made its way to Washington's Blue Mountains. On Jan. 17 a hunter shot a cow elk in the Pikes Peak area of the Blue Mountains in Walla Walla county. The hunter noticed that the hooves of the animal were deformed. So he submitted the hooves to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Last week the Washington State University animal disease diagnostic lab confirmed that the elk had the infectious disease known as treponeme-associated hoof disease. Or, more commonly, elk hoof disease. "This detection is the farthest east we've documented hoof disease in Washington," said Kyle Garrison, WDFW's statewide hoof disease coordinator. The disease has been documented in some elk killed in the Oregon part of the Blue Mountains, he said. And in February the disease was confirmed in Idaho near White Bird. In April, WDFW confirmed the disease for the first time east of the Cascades. "It's certainly something we should all be concerned about," he said. "It's a disease that is very difficult to manage and we don't know what the future holds for the diseases manifestation in the Blues." The disease is most common in southwestern Washington, particularly the Willapa Hills and Mount St. Helens herds. The poorly understood disease, which resembles hoof diseases that occur in domestic livestock, originated in Washington and has since spread to Oregon and Idaho. Limping elk and elk with hoof deformities were first documented in Washington in the early 2000s with sightings greatly increasing around 2008, Garrison said. However, the disease wasn't formally diagnosed until 2014 after five years of analysis by five independent laboratories. While relatively common in livestock, hoof disease caused by treponeme bacteria had not previously been diagnosed in wildlife. In 2018, the Legislature allocated $3 million to WSU for two years of work on elk hoof disease. The disease's full impact on elk populations is not yet known. Nor is its origin, said Margaret Wild, the head of WSU's elk hoof disease research efforts. Prior to coming to WSU in June, Wild worked as the chief wildlife veterinarian for the National Park Service. While there she worked extensively on chronic wasting disease research. In fact, she draws some parallels between CWD and elk hoof disease: both of which started as relatively isolated and unknown diseases. "There is a lot of speculation that goes along with this disease," Wild said. A study of the Mount St. Helens herd started in 2015. Garrison said WDFW hopes to have the study's findings published in a year. But, according to preliminary findings the disease greatly reduced the herd's survival rates, overall body condition and reproduction, Garrison said. However, the diseases' exact impact on elk mortality isn't clear. Garrison pointed out that the Mount St. Helens herd was already nutritionally challenged and not known for great health. Over the past five years the Mount St. Helens' herd has declined 35 percent. But, during that same time the state had hunters harvest more than 1,000 cow elk in an effort to bring the herd into balance with habitat capacity. "You know like a lot of research its hard to extrapolate," he said. In 2015, volunteers surveyed southwestern Washington elk herds. They found at least one limping elk in 48 percent of all elk groups surveyed. A spring 2017 aerial survey of the same area found limpers in 28 percent of all elk groups. And, a 2016 survey of Western Washington elk hunters found that 15 percent harvested elk with deformed hooves. In 2017, In the Willapa Hills 10 percent harvested elk with deformed hooves and in the Mount St. Helens' area 17 percent did, Garrison said. 2018 numbers are not yet available. WDFW is now asking all Washington hunters, Garrison said. In Western Washington annual survival rates have ranged 58-68 percent for radio-collared elk with hoof disease as compared with 67 to 79 percent for non-disease elk. And while the disease has been documented in northwest Washington it hasn't expanded in the same way it has in the southwest. Next week WDFW will start its annual population survey in the Blue Mountains. Garrison hopes that survey will provide more information about prevalence in the Blues. "We don't get the feeling that there are a lot of other sick elk out there," he said. Last week WSU took the first step in building a 4-acre enclosure that will allow them to study the disease in captive animals, Wild said. A key question researchers will ask is how the environment impacts prevalence and severity. There is some thought that damper climates help spread the bacterial infection. "I think once we start doing the work in the captive elk we will be able to tell what environmental factors are important in the occurrence of the disease," Wild said. The pen will be located in Pullman. Wild hopes it's completed and research started by this time next year. Pin pointing exactly what factors affect the spread and severity of the disease is nearly impossible in the wild, she said. "It's just so hard to identify it in the wild where you have so many variables occurring at the same time," she said. At this point even if a treatment were found, it would be difficult to deliver to free-roaming elk. "It is so hard to manage a disease in a wild animal and free-ranging animal," Garrison said. Wild and Garrison both stressed the importance of hunters and others keeping an eye out for limping elk or deformed hoofs. "I think it's important to know where disease are occurring for a number of reasons," Wild said. "Once it's established in an area it becomes much more challenging to manage." Leaders of Oakland's teachers union said picketing will start again Wednesday morning at all schools in the city as the teachers' strike enters a fifth day. Picketing is expected to start at 6:30 a.m. at all schools, and teachers will call on school district officials to postpone a school board meeting scheduled for later in the day. Oakland Unified School District officials said Tuesday they remain optimistic that the two sides will reach an agreement that honors teachers and respects the fiscal needs of the district. Negotiations went on again with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond in attendance as a mediator in the negotiations, union officials said. NASA's Penelope Boston will give a free, illustrated, non-technical talk Wednesday evening at Foothill College in Los Altos on caves, college officials said. The title of the talk, "The Worlds Under Our Feet: Caves from Earth to Mars and Beyond" will be held at 7 p.m. in the Smithwick Theatre. Boston is from NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in Santa Clara County. The latest exploration indicates that rocky and icy worlds in the Earth's solar system may have more caves that previously thought and caves are much different worlds than life on the surface of planets. Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick Tuesday evening urged residents to evacuate if they are in the mandatory evacuation area around the lower Russian River. "We want you to leave now," he said. Sheriff's deputies are able to help with 25 extra deputies available as well as one lieutenant and one sergeant, Essick said. The sheriff's office has also deployed two boats to help people evacuate. Essick said if anyone is trapped and in a life-threatening situation they should call 911. He said if anyone is concerned for their safety they should leave now. He urged residents to stay off the roads unless it's absolutely necessary and to avoid driving through flooded areas. Essick asked residents to stay informed by subscribing to Nixle and SoCoAlert. Both directions of state Highway 37 in unincorporated Marin County and state Highway 12 in unincorporated Sonoma County are currently closed due to roadway flooding, according to the California Highway Patrol. The CHP said Highway 37 was closed around 1:22 a.m. as water started pooling over the lanes around 12:40 a.m. on the freeway between the junction with U.S. Highway 101 and Atherton Avenue. Highway 12 near Sebastopol was closed around 12:30 a.m. between Morris Street and Llano Road. There is no estimated time of reopening for either roadway. Both directions of Ygnacio Valley Road in Walnut Creek were closed due to a fallen tree around 1:40 a.m., according to police. A police dispatcher said there is no estimated time of reopening, but city and PG&E crews are on the scene. There is no estimated time of reopening. No further information is immediately available. A male tow truck driver died when a Chevrolet pickup crashed into a disabled Toyota Prius on the right-hand shoulder of southbound U.S. Highway 101 Tuesday afternoon, the California Highway Patrol said. Preliminary information indicates the female driver of the Prius pulled to the right shoulder to call a tow truck, CHP Officer Andrew Barclay said. The tow truck driver pulled in front of the Prius and told the driver to wait outside away from the Prius, Barclay said. As the tow truck driver worked on the Prius, the driver of a silver Chevrolet Silverado lost control of his truck and crashed into the Prius which then struck the tow truck and tow truck driver, Barclay said. The Prius' driver was not injured and the Chevrolet driver suffered minor injuries and was taken to Marin General Hospital, Barclay said. The crash happened around 2:25 p.m. and southbound Highway 101 was cleared around 4:50 p.m. according to Barclay. One person died and seven were injured in a suspected DUI crash on U.S. Highway 101 in unincorporated Monterey County on Monday morning, the California Highway Patrol reported. A man driving a silver Jeep Cherokee south on Highway 101 at about 9:30 a.m. south of Chualar lost control of the Jeep, struck the median, rotated in the air and collided with northbound traffic, according to the CHP. The Jeep struck a black Acura RSX, a white Pontiac Grand Prix and a blue Saturn VUE. The Acura driver and her passenger suffered minor injuries and were taken to Natividad Medical Center in Salinas. The Saturn driver and his three passengers suffered moderate injuries and were also taken to Natividad Medical Center. A Soledad resident driving the Pontiac Grand Prix died at the scene, the CHP said. The Jeep's driver Jordan Flores Navarro was hospitalized with broken ribs, spinal and back fractures. He will be arrested in connection with the DUI and drugs are suspected to be a factor in the crash, according to the CHP. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra unveiled a report on federal immigration detention facilities at a news conference in San Francisco on Tuesday and said that some of them lack humane conditions. The report was mandated by a law passed by the state Legislature in 2017, which requires Becerra's office to report over the next 10 years on confinement conditions and care for civil immigration detainees. Becerra said conditions vary at California's 10 facilities, but some detainees suffer from confinement in their cells for up to 22 hours per day, language barriers, lack of access to medical and mental health care and barriers to obtaining lawyers for their immigration cases. The report covers four private locked facilities and six county jails that houses detainees under contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. After the study began, Contra Costa County's West County Detention Center and two other jails ended their contracts with ICE. The state law doesn't require the California Department of Justice to take action on the facilities, but is intended to "shine a light" on conditions, Becerra said. He said officials began making improvements at some facilities as the study progressed. A Concord man has been charged with hiring another man to firebomb the homes of attorneys connected to the sale of the San Francisco home where he used to live, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. David Jah, 45, and Kristopher Alexis-Clark, 24, of Vallejo, are accused in a federal criminal complaint filed Friday and unsealed Tuesday involving the use of Molotov cocktails to try to firebomb the homes of probate attorneys in Danville and Lafayette on Nov. 3, 2018. The Danville residence was also targeted in March 2016. Property damage was reported but no injuries occurred as a result. Both Jah and Alexis-Clark have been charged with conspiracy to commit arson, while Alexis-Clark was also charged with attempted arson and possession of a destructive device, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. According to the criminal complaint, Jah lived for many years with other family members at a home on 12th Avenue in San Francisco, but after the death of his mother and aunt, his cousin -- the administrator of Jah's aunt's estate -- sought to force a sale of the property, prosecutors said. Despite Jah's opposition, he was evicted from the property and it was sold in February 2016, with an attorney on record for Jah's cousin as well as one for the administrator of Jah's mother's estate. A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday sentenced a 23-year-old Oakland man to 15 years and eight months in prison for attempting to aid a foreign terrorist organization - namely, the Islamic State - by setting up social media accounts. Amer Alhaggagi pleaded guilty to the charge before U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer last year. The sentence imposed by Breyer included two years for additional convictions on charges of identity theft and creation of a counterfeit credit card, to which Alhaggagi also pleaded guilty. Breyer said he found the most disturbing aspect of the case to be Alhaggagi's "total lack of empathy" for potential victims of never-completed bombing plots he discussed with an undercover FBI agent in 2016. The secretly recorded plots included bombing a gay nightclub in San Francisco, bombing student dormitories at the University of California at Berkeley, setting fires in the Berkeley Hills and poisoning nightclub patrons by lacing cocaine with strychnine. Richmond is facing the same regional and global pressures currently bearing down on the Bay Area and the nation at large, but this evening Mayor Tom Butt updated his constituents on the city's efforts to take those challenges in stride. While violent crime -- homicide in particular -- remains to be one of the city's most pressing problems, homelessness, housing and climate change are also top priorities. Increasing property taxes and sales tax revenues have enabled the city to balance its budget, Butt said, but the costs associated with increasing employee compensation, benefits and the state Public Employees' Retirement System will present challenges in the future. "Pension payments are estimated to rise to more than half of the city's payroll, putting us in the top 12 percent of cost-burdened cities in California," Butt said. Current forecasts anticipate deficits in other programs as early as 2021. They could hit the Kids First Richmond program -- which aims to make sure that kids are healthy, educated and living in safe and stable environments -- as soon as 2023. Board of Supervisors President Joe Simitian delivered the annual "State of the County" address Tuesday, focusing on health issues as a critical priority for county residents. He discussed the county's victories and failings over the last year, including a high rate of insured residents and an increasingly high population of homeless individuals. "I don't care who you are where you came from or how much money you have in your pocket," Simitian said, to loud applause. "Every man, woman and child in this county should get the healthcare they need, it is the right thing to do and it is the smart thing to do." The State of the County Address was attended by dozens of elected officials, including San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, District Attorney Jeff Rosen, city councilmembers and trustees from community colleges. While healthcare has become a major political issue both statewide and nationally, Simitian said the county cannot wait for this debate to play out before it begins attending to its residents. 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. WALNUT CREEK (BCN) Walnut Creek police estimate that Ygnacio Valley Road will be closed until at least 4 p.m. Tuesday after a tree fell, blocked the roadway and knocked down power lines earlier Tuesday morning. The road closure was first reported around 1:40 a.m. and PG&E officials said around 4:30 a.m. that some customers are receiving power again, but deferred questions about road closures to police. Police advise commuters to take alternate routes and avoid the area. 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 memorial service for San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi is planned for Monday at City Hall after he died unexpectedly last week. Mayor London Breed and Adachi's family made the announcement Wednesday about the service, which will take place at 11 a.m. and is open to the public. "On Monday, we will gather together to celebrate Jeff Adachi's life, his work, and the lasting impact he will have on our city and our criminal justice system," Breed said in the announcement. Adachi, 59, passed away Friday after having dinner with a friend in North Beach. Police have ruled out foul play in the death. A candlelight vigil held by members of the public defender's office and other supporters of Adachi is planned for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the office at 555 Seventh St., and will be followed by a march to City Hall. 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 federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday sentenced a 23-year-old Oakland man to 15 years and eight months in prison for attempting to aid a foreign terrorist organization - namely, the Islamic State - by setting up social media accounts. Amer Alhaggagi pleaded guilty to the charge before U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer last year. The sentence imposed by Breyer included two years for additional convictions on charges of identity theft and creation of a counterfeit credit card, to which Alhaggagi also pleaded guilty. Breyer said he found the most disturbing aspect of the case to be Alhaggagi's "total lack of empathy" for potential victims of never-completed bombing plots he discussed with an undercover FBI agent in 2016. "If people lack empathy, they are extremely dangerous," the judge said. The secretly recorded plots included bombing a gay nightclub in San Francisco, bombing student dormitories at the University of California at Berkeley, setting fires in the Berkeley Hills and poisoning nightclub patrons by lacing cocaine with strychnine. "There's a lack of empathy for students, for people who go to a nightclub. There's no sympathy for them or compassion," Breyer said. Defense attorney Mary McNamara argued that Alhaggagi's talk was just grandiose jokes by a socially immature young man who was a goofy "class clown." She said Alhaggagi never intended to carry out the attacks and never bought poison or bomb-making materials on a list provided by the undercover agent. A storm that moved slowly into the Bay Area Monday has stalled out over the North Bay, dumping heavy rain and blasting the region with high winds during a 24-hour period, according to the National Weather Service. Most of the rain from the storm has been confined to the North Bay, with widespread precipitation totals in the area ranging from 3.5 to 5.5 inches as of Tuesday morning, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Cynthia Palmer. Several places were hit with up to 9 inches of rain and an area just south of Cazadero in Sonoma County endured close to 12.5 inches, Palmer said. A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday sentenced a 23-year-old Oakland man to 15 years and eight months in prison for attempting to aid a foreign terrorist organization -- namely, the Islamic State -- by setting up social media accounts. Amer Alhaggagi pleaded guilty to the charge before U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer last year. The sentence imposed by Breyer also included two years for charges of identify theft and creation of a fraudulent credit card to which Alhaggagi also pleaded guilty. San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman announced a resolution for Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting that is declaring a Climate Emergency. The resolution calls for the city's Department of the Environment to work with the mayor's office and other city agencies to develop a report on the immediate steps the city can take to address climate change. It also calls for a Board of Supervisors public hearing to discuss actions the city can take to drastically cut its greenhouse gas emissions. The resolution follows similar ones that have passed in other Bay Area cities, such as Berkeley, Hayward, Richmond and Oakland. A tow truck driver was killed when a vehicle crashed into him as he stopped on the right-hand shoulder of southbound U.S. Highway 101 in Sausalito on Tuesday afternoon, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said. The crash was reported at about 2:25 p.m. on southbound Highway 101 near the Spencer Avenue off-ramp. Initial reports indicate a vehicle struck the tow truck and a second vehicle stopped on the right-hand shoulder, and that the tow truck driver died, CHP Officer Andrew Barclay said. The crash has shut down the right two lanes of southbound Highway 101 and there is no estimate for when they will reopen. A 54-year-old man from rural Livermore was tentatively scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in connection with the fatal shooting of his brother on Saturday night, an Alameda County sheriff's spokesman said. Jeffrey Murray is being held in Santa Rita Jail without bail on suspicion of murder for the shooting death of 50-year-old Todd Murray in the 1000 block of Hartman Road in an unincorporated area of Livermore shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday, according to authorities. The two brothers are members of a well-known ranching family in rural Livermore and they got into "a family dispute that turned into gun violence," sheriff's Sgt. Ray Kelly said. A man who was fatally shot in East Oakland two weeks ago has been identified by police as 25-year-old Kwame Bell of Stockton. Bell was shot in the 600 block of Clara Street at about 9 p.m. on Feb. 11 and was pronounced dead at the scene. No arrests have been made and police haven't disclosed a motive for the fatal shooting. Two men have been arrested for the fatal shooting of a 27-year-old man in a dispute over a bicycle in Concord earlier this month, police said Tuesday. Jose Hernandez-Barajas, 21, and Luis Angel Mendoza, 19, both of Concord, were arrested in connection with the shooting of Carlos Nunez reported at about 1:45 a.m. on Feb. 10 in the area of Clayton Road and Detroit Avenue. Investigators determined that Nunez, a Concord resident, contacted a group and asked if anyone wanted to purchase his bike, police said. Two members of the group claimed the bike was stolen and belonged to them, and they followed Nunez and shot and killed him, then stole the bike and other personal property from him, according to police. The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office has determined that a Sunnyvale public safety officer acted lawfully when he shot and killed a 25-year-old stabbing suspect in October 2017, prosecutors said Tuesday. Jesus Contreras Jr. barricaded himself inside his ex-girlfriend's home after stabbing her in the stomach on the afternoon of Oct. 31, 2017. The woman told police he said he would "cut her to pieces" when they arrived and found her near an apartment on Weddell Drive. After multiple attempts to have him surrender, officers sent in a police dog. Contreras Jr. fatally stabbed the dog multiple times and the dog's handling officer ran into the home to rescue it. Several other officers followed, and Contreras Jr. eventually threw a large knife at Lt. Emmett Larkin and struck him on the arm. Larkin fired his weapon at Contreras Jr. twice and shot him once fatally, according to the district attorney's office. Contra Costa County Supervisor Diane Burgis, who represents District 3, was recovering from heart surgery Tuesday morning after undergoing a planned procedure to replace her aortic valve, according to a statement from her chief of staff Mark Goodwin. The surgery took about four hours, starting at 8 a.m. Monday and finishing around noon, and Burgis was said to be conscious and joking with friends by the evening. Her hospital stay is expected to continue for about a week, Goodwin said. San Jose firefighters have canceled a hazardous material evacuation at a Google office building Tuesday morning after crews found no dangerous materials during a search. Firefighters responded to the incident at 75 E. Trimble Road at about 9:50 a.m. and were able to let people back into the building by about 10:30 a.m., according to San Jose fire spokesman Capt. Mitch Matlow. The building was searched by a hazmat crew who found nothing to indicate what the problem might have been. This is the second time that a hazmat incident has occurred at the same address. 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) Three unrelated incidents Monday night at and near San Francisco State University caused concern but at no time endangered students or faculty on campus, according to the school. The most troubling of the three happened at about 7:40 p.m. when a woman was shot while inside a home on the first block of Serrano Drive, near 19th Avenue and just a block away from campus. The woman, in her 20s, was shot in her upper torso and taken to the hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, according to San Francisco police. Officers searched the surrounding area and did a sweep of the campus, but were unable to locate the suspect, described as a man in his 20s who is known by the victim. University police reported that there was no active shooter or threat to the campus after the search. Then, at about 11 p.m., a power outage plunged the campus into darkness "due to issues experienced by PG&E," university officials reported. During the outage, someone shot off fireworks in the area, which some people mistook for gunshots associated with the earlier shooting. "We recognize that these events caused confusion and concern," SFSU spokeswoman Mary Kenny said in a statement Tuesday. "It is our practice to provide timely updates to the campus community in instances of imminent threat." 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 54-year-old rancher from rural Livermore was charged with murder on Tuesday for the fatal shooting of his younger brother on Saturday night during what authorities said was a dispute over electricity. Jeffrey Murray was arraigned in Alameda County Superior Court in connection with the shooting death of 50-year-old Todd Murray at their family's ranch in the 1000 block of Harman Road in an unincorporated area of Livermore shortly before 10 p.m. on Saturday. The elder Murray is being held without bail at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, and is scheduled to return to court on March 13 to enter a plea. Sheriff's Sgt. Ray Kelly said the two brothers are members of a well-known ranching family in rural Livermore and they got into "a family dispute that turned into gun violence." Sheriff's Deputy Kurtis Imperial wrote in a probable cause declaration that Jeffrey Murray called dispatchers on Saturday night to tell them he had shot his brother with a 12-gauge shotgun and he believed his brother had "expired." Imperial said Jeffrey Murray told investigators that his brother had been staying on the family's property since July 2018 but "had continued to harass and threaten him constantly." Jeffrey Murray also alleged that his brother had physically assaulted him in the past, but said he had never called 911 or tried to get a restraining order against his brother "because he did not want to upset their parents," Imperial wrote. On Saturday night, Jeffrey Murray said he was sleeping in his trailer when he discovered that his electricity had been turned off, according to Imperial. The elder Murray saw that the electrical meter box was secured with a lock, but when he tried to cut the lock off with bolt cutters, Todd Murray emerged "and began to verbally threaten Murray's life over electricity over usage," Imperial said. Murray told investigators that his younger brother, who wasn't armed, also blamed him for turning off his electricity and "continued to state he was going to kill Murray and his family," according to Imperial. The elder Murray said his brother chest-bumped him while they argued, according to the probable cause statement. But Imperial wrote that although the younger brother continued to taunt the elder Murray, "he continued to retreat in the opposite direction and did not pose a deadly threat toward Murray." Imperial said the elder Murray told investigators that he ultimately shot his brother "because he was scared." 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. PETALUMA (BCN) Seven flooded roads in Petaluma are closed Wednesday morning and the high tide at 7:50 a.m. may slow the pace of receding water, fire officials said. Residents of the Leisure Lake Village senior mobile home park at 300 Stony Point Road in northwest Petaluma currently cannot exit the park, police said. Officers are at the park entrance in case of emergencies, and Denman Lane leading to the park and Stony Point Road is flooded. Several businesses near Petaluma Boulevard North and Stony Point Road, along Auto Center Drive and Industrial Drive also are closed. Police said they made two rescues of people trapped in a flooded business and another rescue in a car during the night. Detours are in effect on U.S. Highway 101, police said. The Petaluma Boulevard North exit on southbound Highway 101 is closed, and motorists will be detoured to McDowell Boulevard. On southbound Highway 101, the Old Redwood Highway exit is closed and traffic will be detoured to McDowell Boulevard. Other closures include Stony Point Road between Pepper Road and Petaluma Boulevard North, Industrial Drive between Corona Road and Petaluma Boulevard North and Auto Center Drive between Industrial Drive and Petaluma Boulevard North. More information about road closures in Sonoma County is available at www.socoemergency.org. 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. Police have released the identity of a 71-year-old man arrested last week on suspicion of robbing a bank in San Francisco's Mission District. Hugo Carranza is accused of the robbery that occurred around 12:30 p.m. Friday at a bank in the 2000 block of Mission Street, police said. When police responded to the scene, they learned a suspect approached a bank teller and demanded money after simulating a handgun. The teller, fearing for her safety, handed over an undisclosed amount of cash to the suspect. The suspect then fled on foot, according to police. A security guard then told officers that the suspect ran into a nearby business. With help from the security guard, officers were able to locate the suspect at the business. After detaining and searching him, officers found he had cash and tracker bills the bank teller had given him, police said. He's been identified as Carranza, a San Francisco resident who was booked him into jail on suspicion of robbery. He's being held without bail, according to jail records. Although Carranza had been apprehended, police are asking that anyone with information about the robbery to contact the Police Department's anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or to text TIP411 with "SFPD" at the beginning of the message. Silverado Trail in Napa County south of Saint Helena is closed from Zinfandel Lane to Pope Street, California Highway Patrol officials said Wednesday morning. The CHP posted a photo of a tree blocking the road. There is no estimate for when the road will reopen. 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 driver had to be rescued Tuesday afternoon in Petaluma after going around closed road barricades and ending up in a flooded ditch, police said. The rescue occurred on Stony Point Road, which remains closed from Petaluma Boulevard North to Pepper Road, according to police. Fire crews from Petaluma and the Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District helped rescue the driver. Drivers will be cited if they go around road closures like the ones put up on Stony Point Road and many other roadways in the North Bay during Tuesday's stormy weather, police 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. SANTA ROSA (BCN) Four Santa Rosa family members got out safely from their burning home early Wednesday morning after their dog woke them up, a Santa Rosa Fire Department battalion chief said. The fire started in the garage of the single-family wood frame home at 3325 Sonoma Ave. in the Montgomery Village area of east Santa Rosa, Battalion Chief Mark Basque said. Firefighters responded around 3:30 a.m. and controlled the blaze within 25 minutes. The fire destroyed much of the garage and all personal contents inside, but flames did not enter the living area and attic above. Contents inside the living area sustained minor to moderate smoke damage, Basque said. The fire is considered accidental and likely caused by an electrical problem in the garage. It caused damage estimated at $150,000, according to Basque. The dog woke up one of the sleeping occupants who ultimately discovered the fire, Basque 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. Residents and business owners with property in low-lying areas along the Napa River that have flooded in the past are encouraged to monitor weather conditions because the river will exceed flood stage early Wednesday morning, city officials said Tuesday. The officials said some of those areas are Lincoln Avenue west of the river, Soscol Avenue at Lincoln Avenue south to the flood bypass, the Lake Park neighborhood, the Taylor Street neighborhood and the area near South Coombs Street and West Imola Avenue. 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 MATEO (BCN) A 26-year-old alleged gang member made his initial court appearance Tuesday to face murder and arson charges for setting a fire last week at a San Mateo home that targeted gang rivals but ended up killing an 85-year-old woman, prosecutors said Wednesday. Fifita Tau, an East Palo Alto resident, is charged in the death of Susana Tonga, 85, in a fire reported at 4:26 a.m. on Feb. 19 at a home in the 100 block of South Humboldt Street, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office. Firefighters helped four people get out of the home and two others from a detached garage, but were told one person, Tonga, was unaccounted for. Crews went back in to pull her from the burning home and performed CPR, but she did not survive. Fire investigators found an accelerant near the front of the home but haven't released detailed information about it. Tau was apparently angry at members of a gang in San Mateo for violence against people in another local gang, and went to the South Humboldt Street residence mistakenly thinking the gang members lived there. He set fire to the home, not realizing it was the home of Tonga, not the gang members themselves, according to the district attorney's office. He did not enter a plea at his initial hearing Tuesday, and will return to court on March 5. The special circumstances of the murder involving arson and gang allegations mean Tau could face a potential death penalty or life in prison if convicted, 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. Evangelist Alveda King to join Activist Angela Stanton-King in South Carolina for 'Day of Empathy' Contact: Jackie Jones, Truth PR, 316-644-9538 COLUMBIA, S.C., Feb. 27, 2019 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following is submitted by Evangelist Alveda King: In the wake of America's peace talks, Black History celebrations, a very diverse Oscars Night, the outcry over the rising crimes against humanity, the current state of national emergency surrounding our national security, the PPH battle, and a very disappointing US Senate vote that sanctions the slaughter of the innocents by abortion, I'm continuing to thank God for his mercy, while encouraging us to unite as One Blood. Details below: Activist Angela King calls for communities to unite; gather in Columbia, SC for the National Day of Empathy. Contact Jackie Jones: (316) 644-9538; jackie@truthpr.com. In an effort to "Generate Compassion on a Massive Scale for millions impacted by the criminal justice system," social justice activist Angela Stanton-King will join diverse community leaders and foot soldiers at the Right Direction Church in Columbia, SC on March 5, 2019, to continue the wave of cries for righteous justice for oppressed Americans who have been harmed by an outdated criminal justice system in America and other crimes against humanity. Stanton-King is the founder of The American King Foundation and goddaughter of Civil Rights activist Evangelist Alveda King. Stanton-King is partnering with #cut50 and other organizations from across the country to take part in the National Day of Empathy. As a formerly incarcerated now liberated book publisher, author and reality television personality, Stanton-King feels compelled to "give back to others from the grace and mercy she has experienced." The Day of Empathy, the first of several scheduled gatherings, all of which will include community events, rallies at city halls, state capitals and other principal religious and governmental seats across the country, will include testimonies regarding incarceration in our nation. An expected outcome will be to educate, motivate and activate leaders and laypeople to unite and resist injustice. Last year's Day of Empathy reached 20 million people online, brought thousands of participants together, and organized a total of 500 face-to-face meetings with lawmakers. It also paved the way for an increase in bipartisan bills; including support for Dignity for Incarcerated Women; all which coalesced to build critical momentum for the First Step Act, which was signed into law in December 2018. The 2019 Day of Empathy will share the perspectives of Americans impacted by the current justice system - from survivors of violent crime to those who are addicted to opioids or other drugs and those who are mentally ill. This Movement brings hope to incarcerated individuals who are working to transform themselves. These are the one blood/one human race that Dr. Martin Luther King called our "brothers and sisters." There are people with criminal records in America who are desperately seeking a second chance, while at the same time, America's communities are being besieged by crime, threats to public safety, and violence; crimes against humanity. "It is time to bridge the gap, come together with compassion for a constant humanity. Join us," said Mrs. King. Please visit dayofempathy.org to find locations in your city. Share Tweet SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) Chief Attorney for the Public Defender's Office Matt Gonzalez on Tuesday called the leak of a police report into the investigation of Public Defender Jeff Adachi's death "troubling." Adachi, 59, passed away suddenly Friday after having dinner with a friend in North Beach. After being taken to an apartment near Coit Tower, he was then rushed to the hospital, where he died just before 7 p.m. Although police have ruled out foul play, news reports citing a police report, complete with pictures of the apartment where medics responded to, detail the investigation into his death. "I understand the police are trying to suggest this was a crime scene and it wasn't. It was a place where someone had a medical emergency," Gonzalez said. "The leaks are troubling in and of themselves, but even worse when many of the leaks are patently false," he said, referring to the suggestions that a crime had been committed. "In Jeff's case, he battled with police officers, some who he was able to maintain friendly relationships with, but we know that there were some who never passed up an opportunity to speak badly about him ... You can't help but link the two," he said. "I don't want to make false accusations, but this is what it appears when I'm looking at. "They're (police) spending three hours at an apartment that is not a crimes scene. They come back the next day and take pictures," Gonzalez said. "I can appreciate that there's interest, but curiosity should not be the driving force to grant police access to a private residence on multiple occasions and open investigations that having nothing to do with an alleged crime," he said. "My understanding of Jeff Adachi and his contributions to the pursuit of justice cannot be tarnished by whatever salacious details they want to release. It's not going to change any of that, that's the irony of all the effort to go down this path, it's not affecting who he was and what he stood for." According to Gonzalez, Adachi had medical issues related to his heart and had sought medical help in the months before his unexpected death. During Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Aaron Peskin said of Adachi, "Jeff was the epitome of cool ... He had incredible guts and he took on issues that none of us, myself absolutely included, wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole. And he wasn't afraid to go toe-to-toe with power. He was the real deal in that respect," he said. "He was not afraid of exposing what needed to be exposed," Peskin said. Referencing the leaked police report, Peskin said, "I must say that I am deeply troubled by the unprecedented leaking of a police report that members of this board and members of the press, under any other circumstances, would not have received. But I will leave that for another day." On Monday, District Attorney Gascon said of Adachi, "Jeff was fierce in his pursuit for justice, as he felt appropriate. He believed in his work. We sometimes disagreed on the path to his work, but the one thing that I admire about his was his commitment to the people who were his clients and his commitments to criminal justice reform," he said. Regarding the leaked report, Gascon said, "I'm worried that we're going into a direction that we shouldn't. I don't think any of us are perfect and I think there are personal things that should remain personal, so I'm not going to speculate. We're getting into areas that I think are totally inappropriate for us to do," he said. Adachi, who started as deputy public defender in 1987 in San Francisco, was first elected public defender in 2002 and won re-election four times after that. He's survived by his wife and their daughter. In Adachi's honor, a candlelight vigil will be held by his office on Wednesday evening. An altar has been set up in the lobby at the Public Defender's Office, located at 555 Seventh St., and community members are welcome to leave flowers and pay their respects. The vigil is set to start at 7 p.m. and will be followed by a march to City Hall in his memory. 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. Seven middle and high schools in four Contra Costa County school districts were honored by the state Monday as Distinguished Schools for exceptional student achievement over a two-year period or closing the achievement gap for students between two school years. "I would like to commend these schools for fighting for a better future for our students, closing achievement gaps, and improving academic performance," state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said Tuesday in a statement. In the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, the schools honored were California High School, Los Cerros Middle School, Pine Valley Middle School and Windemere Ranch Middle School. Foothill Middle School in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, Middle College High School in the West Contra Costa Unified School District and Miramonte High School in the Acalanes Union High School District were also highlighted for their strong academic performance. Distinguished School awardees are recognized not just for their excellence in teaching and learning, but also for their efforts to cultivate successful school climates through conflict resolution and positive behavior intervention, according to state education officials. A list of the 162 recognized schools statewide can be found at https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr19/yr19rel18.asp. 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. Alameda County supervisors voted Tuesday to overhaul the controversial Urban Shield law enforcement training program run by the sheriffs office, stripping the annual conference attended by agencies throughout the Bay Area of trainings that police say were vital. The move eliminates SWAT deployment exercises and the events vendor show, which showcases law-enforcement gadgets and weaponry, among other things. Sheriff Gregory Ahern warned that the changes could violate the terms of the agencys grant funding worth $5 million and lead to the unraveling of the entire Urban Shield conference. Urban Shield dates to 2007 in Alameda County, and is tailored to prepare first responders for large-scale disasters such as an earthquake, a terrorist attack or a mass shooting. Participants include police, deputies, firefighters and emergency responders from throughout the area. But critics have long argued that Urban Shield promotes the militarization of police, eroding trust between law enforcement and communities of color. SWAT teams, some pointed out, were far more likely to be used in minority communities for the serving of search warrants than to engage in active shooter scenarios. Urban Shield conferences have attracted protesters outside the events. Supporters of the conference, who include police officers, deputies and firefighters, say the training helps them prepare for life-or-death situations. The two sides faced off at the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday. Dozens of the programs supporters and critics packed into a conference room at the Alameda County Administration Building in what one sheriffs deputy called the Super Bowl of board meetings. For two minutes apiece, each attendee made an impassioned plea before the supervisors, arguing that the current program was either a vital public safety tool or due for an overhaul. The dispute centered on an ad hoc committees 63 recommendations to redefine the event recommendations that were mostly supported by community activists and mostly opposed by law enforcement. Supervisors ultimately sided with the committee and community activists, adopting all but three of the recommendations. The vote was approved by every supervisor aside from Scott Haggerty, District 1, who left the meeting early. No one is trying to get rid of this whole thing, said District 3 Supervisor Wilma Chan, who called for the motion to pass nearly all of the recommendations. I wouldnt have made the recommendations if I would have thought wed lose all of the (grant) money. Rebecca Knight, a technician with the Alameda County Sheriffs Office, told supervisors about how her Urban Shield training helped save lives while she was attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas in 2017, in which a gunman killed 58 people. Knight recalled hearing what sounded like gunshots coming from all around her. She said in that moment she remembered her training to search for exits, listen for the gunman to reload, and to take that time to move. I was able to lead my friends to the exits, looking for cover every chance that I could get, she said. I have no doubt in my mind that the training and experience I received from Urban Shield saved my life and the life of my friends that day. Several supporters of the committees recommendations said the training should prepare Californians for disasters, and should include regular citizens, not just first responders. Oakland resident Helen Duffy said, We want training. We want training to prepare us for earthquakes, to respond to medically sensitive people. Claudine Tong, an Oakland resident and one of several members of the First Unitarian Church of Oakland who showed up to support the recommendations, said: You cant shoot or arrest a wildfire. Among the recommendations adopted: Removing SWAT deployment scenarios from law-enforcement exercises Eliminating the requirement that SWAT teams participate in the program Emphasizing de-escalation in all exercises Prioritizing exercises based on the likelihood and severity of disasters Eliminating the competition aspect of exercises Changing the name Urban Shield The four-day event is funded through the Bay Area Urban Areas Security Initiative with a $4.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. About $1.7 million of that is funneled into Urban Shield, while the rest goes toward administrative courses for law enforcement. UASI officials will review the recommendations on March 14. Should they decide the new program doesnt fit the guidelines, they may decide to pull funding altogether and award it to a different agency. Supervisors instructed the ad hoc committee, sheriffs officials and county counsel to meet in the interim, to see if they can work out their disagreements and meet UASI standards. Its a task that Sheriff Ahern said is unlikely to succeed. The training and exercise that we provide for tens of thousands of first responders and emergency responders is in jeopardy, he said, adding that he thought supervisors would be wise enough to not jeopardize $5 million in funding. Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy It is high time fugitive offenders faced justice Updated: 2019-02-26 07:18 By Grenville Cross(HK Edition) Grenville Cross praises the Security Bureau's fugitive offender transfer plan that could stop HK being a safe haven for criminal suspects from other parts of China. Although the Basic Law's Article 95 provides that Hong Kong may "maintain juridical relations with the judicial organs of other parts of the country, and they may render assistance to each other", it has made no progress since reunification in establishing legal cooperation mechanisms with the rest of China. There are, therefore, no formal arrangements in place for the transfer of criminal suspects from one place to another, and fugitive offenders have managed to evade justice. By contrast, Article 96 enables Hong Kong to "make appropriate arrangements with foreign states for reciprocal juridical assistance", and this has resulted in 20 surrender of fugitive offender agreements, as well as 32 mutual legal assistance agreements in criminal matters, many of which have already been deployed in the combat of crime. In 1998, the then secretary for security Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee announced that negotiations were due to start with Beijing on a rendition agreement with the Chinese mainland, and there were hopes of an early breakthrough, but nothing resulted. In 2007, Ip's successor, Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong, said "we all hope negotiations will be resumed as soon as possible", but again the process stalled. In 2014, then secretary for justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung declared that negotiations with Macao over a fugitive offender transfer deal were at a "mature stage", but they also came to nothing, apparently because of disagreement over the issue of retrospectivity. Although there are significant differences between China's various legal systems, with Hong Kong alone following the common law, the vacuum must be filled. An intolerable situation has resulted, from which only the criminals have benefited. In 2014, for example, two Hong Kong businessmen were each sentenced in Macao to five years three months' imprisonment, for corruption and money laundering offenses, but they were able, in the absence of a rendition arrangement, to enjoy safe haven in Hong Kong. In 2018, moreover, after a Hong Kong woman was killed in Taiwan, her alleged murderer returned to Hong Kong, but could not be sent back to Taipei for trial. Since 1997, Hong Kong has been able to rely on pre-existing administrative arrangements to secure the return of fugitive offenders from the mainland. These, however, are wholly dependent on mainland goodwill, which, while laudable, is no substitute for a formal mechanism. Although the mainland has returned approximately 200 criminal suspects to Hong Kong since reunification, Hong Kong cannot reciprocate, which must be a huge frustration for mainland law enforcers. After all, judicial cooperation is a two-way street, and if foreign countries are able to return fugitive offenders to the Chinese mainland, there can be no valid reason for Hong Kong not doing likewise. In 2005, for example, Yu Zhendong, a Bank of China official accused of embezzlement in Guangdong province, was extradited to China from the United States. Again, in 2011, Lai Changxing, once China's most wanted man, and accused of operating a smuggling operation in Xiamen which evaded 27.4 billion yuan ($4.1 billion) in import duty, was returned from Canada, after the Chinese government gave an assurance that, if convicted, he would not be executed. In 2018, in the first such case involving the European Union, Yao Jinqi, a county-level official from Zhejiang province, suspected of taking bribes, was arrested in Bulgaria, on the basis of an Interpol red notice, and, after a court hearing in Sofia, returned to China for trial. It is clearly unacceptable that, although Hong Kong has fugitive surrender procedures in place with, for example, Australia, India and the US, it has no rendition arrangements with the other parts of China. This situation not only undermines Hong Kong's reputation as a place which is intolerant of crime, but it gives the rest of China the impression that it cannot be trusted to hold criminals to account and uphold the rule of law. This impasse must obviously be broken, and the proposal by the Security Bureau to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance - thereby enabling the transfer of fugitives on a case-by-case basis to places with which Hong Kong has no surrender arrangements, including the other parts of China - is clearly an important first step. The process will, however, be supervised by the courts, which will only ever approve a fugitive's surrender if internationally recognized safeguards are satisfied. In particular, a surrender will not be approved if the alleged offense is political in nature, if the suspect will face the death penalty if convicted, or else cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, if the purpose is to punish the suspect for his race, religion, nationality or ethnic origin, if the relevant law is not the same - or similar - in both places, if there is no guarantee that the suspect will not face additional charges upon his surrender, or if his surrender will result in the suspect being tried again for an offense upon which there has already an adjudication. Rendition, moreover, will only be possible in respect of 46 specified offenses, all punishable with more than 12 months' imprisonment in the place seeking the fugitive's return. In addition, it will be the conduct of the wanted person that will determine whether the offense for which he is wanted is a rendition offense, and not the legal description of the offense. The Security Bureau's proposal must now be considered by the Legislative Council, where it will hopefully receive a fair wind. It is long overdue, and will help to resolve a situation which cries out for redress. Provided the necessary safeguards for suspects are observed, effective law enforcement must now be ensured throughout the whole of China. The situation in which criminal suspects can simply evade justice by moving to another part of the country would not be tolerated anywhere else, and it must not be countenanced here. The Security Bureau is to be commended for finally acting to bring this anomaly to an end. (HK Edition 02/26/2019 page7) Brazil's Vice-President Hamilton Mourao said on Monday that he believes in a non-violent solution for the crisis in Venezuela. "Brazil firmly believes that it is possible to get Venezuela back to the peaceful democratic life without any extreme measures, in which we will be mistaken by history as aggressors, invaders and violators of national sovereignty," Mourao said. In an interview with GloboNews, a 24-hour news channel on Brazilian television, Mourao said there are "great powers" interested in Venezuela and it would be bad to bring a "Cold War environment" to South America. Earlier on Monday, Mourao participated in the meeting of the Lima Group, which issued a joint statement calling for peaceful solutions for the conflict. They called for the resignation of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and new presidential elections to be held. Meanwhile, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday also resumed his call for dialogue in Venezuela to resolve the political crisis between the ruling socialist party and the United States-backed right-wing opposition. "I believe dialogue is the best thing. The best thing would be to move away from the temptation to use force, to seek a diplomatic solution," he said during his daily news conference. The Lima Group, founded by Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Paraguay in 2017, is a hemispheric bloc of countries mostly aligned with United States, which is backing the Venezuelan opposition's push to unseat Maduro. However, the group rejected the idea of using force to achieve a democratic transition. After the meeting, US Vice-President Mike Pence and Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaido agreed on a strategy to tighten the noose around Maduro's government. Pence announced more sanctions against Venezuela and $56 million in aid for neighboring countries grappling with a flood of people fleeing Venezuela. Maduro hit back in an interview broadcast the same day, saying the regional meeting was aimed at setting up a parallel government and accusing the US of coveting his country's oil and being willing to go to war to get it. Maduro announced on Saturday the severance of his country's diplomatic and political relations with Colombia, following the latter's support for Venezuela's opposition and military defectors. Washington recognized Guaido as the nation's "interim president" on Jan 23, days after Maduro was inaugurated for a second term as Venezuelan president. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in interviews on Fox News Sunday and CNN's State of the Union, did not rule out US military force but said "there are more sanctions to be had". Xinhua, AP and AFP contributed to this story. (China Daily 02/27/2019 page12) Duke, the 13-year-old Great Pyrenees who became famous for becoming the mayor of a Minnesota town, has died. A post on the Mayor Duke of Cormorant Village Facebook page relayed the sad news. The British government's new guidelines for sex and health education across the United Kingdom come amid a backlash from parent groups who do not want it to be a mandatory part of the curriculum. Relationships, online safety and mental health are all set to be included as part of the new syllabus in schools across the nation. Parliament was set to debate a petition which demands parents retain the right to withdraw their child from the classes. WASHINGTON Channeling the ire of constituents and drawing from personal experience, senators chastised drug company executives Tuesday over the high cost of prescription medications, while the CEOs warned that government price controls could stifle breakthroughs on diseases like Alzheimers. The Senate Finance Committee hearing marked the first time lawmakers have called the industrys top executives to account for rising prices, which are a drain on Medicare and Medicaid and a burden to millions of Americans. The extraordinary public accounting was a sign that Congress and the White House are moving toward legislation this year to curb costs. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., who has Parkinsons, said the cost of one of his longtime medications had jumped by $90 when he went to refill it recently. I cant explain it, said Isakson, who credits prescription drugs for allowing him to keep working. He started making calls and found a whole range of prices for the medication. The second-ranking Senate Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, expressed disbelief that Humira, a blockbuster drug for immune system conditions from AbbVie, is protected by more than 130 patents that cumulatively translate to decades of roadblocks for generic competitors. AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez responded that each new FDA-approved use of the drug represents an investment by the company in research, even if the medication is the same. At some point that patent has to end so that the patient can get access to that drug at much cheaper cost, Cronyn said. Drug costs are squeezing Americans in a number of ways: New medicines for cancer and other diseases often launch with prices exceeding $100,000 per year even as employers are shifting more pharmacy costs onto workers. Less expensive drugs for common ailments like diabetes and asthma often see price hikes of around 10 percent annually. Meanwhile some drugmakers have been buying up once-cheap medicines and hiking prices by 1,000 percent or more. The pharmaceutical executives expressed a general desire to lower costs for patients, but made no firm commitments. Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier warned that outrageous solutions could sacrifice industry innovation. He said lung cancer patients in the United Kingdom are still waiting for a drug available here that can cut deaths in half among those newly diagnosed. Sanofi CEO Olivier Brandicourt said using government price controls would not be enough to make medicines affordable. Senators seemed to be looking for a balance between protecting innovation and closing off legal and policy loopholes that have enabled savvy companies to game the markets. New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez, considered an ally of the industry, delivered what he called a friendly warning: If you dont undertake meaningful action to reduce pharmaceutical costs, policymakers are going to do it for you. Democrats say its time for Medicare to leverage its purchasing power and directly negotiate prices with the industry, a step most Republicans oppose. Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Matthew Perrone are Associated Press writers. WASHINGTON Democrats ignored a veto threat and rammed legislation through the House Tuesday that would stymie President Trumps bid for billions of extra dollars for his border wall, escalating a clash over whether he was abusing his powers to advance his paramount campaign pledge. The Houses 245-182 vote to block Trumps national emergency declaration throws the political hot potato to the Republican-run Senate, where there were already enough GOP defections to edge it to the cusp of passage. Vice President Mike Pence used a lunch with Republican senators at the Capitol to try keeping them aboard, citing a dangerous crisis at the border, but there were no signs hed succeeded. I personally couldnt handicap the outcome at this point, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who is planning a vote within the next three weeks. Senate passage would force Trumps first veto, which Congress would surely lack the votes to override. But the showdown was forcing Republicans to cast uncomfortable votes pitting their support for a president wildly popular with GOP voters against fears that his expansive use of emergency powers would invite future Democratic presidents to do likewise for their own pet policies. Underscoring their desire to avoid a tally suggesting that Trumps hold on lawmakers was weakening, House Republican leaders worked to keep the number of GOP supporters below 53. Thats how many would be needed to reach a two-thirds majority of 288 votes, assuming all Democrats vote yes, the margin required for a veto override. Thirteen House Republicans joined all voting Democrats Tuesday to support the Democratic resolution. The White House wrote to lawmakers formally threatening to veto the legislation. The letter said blocking the emergency declaration would undermine the administrations ability to respond effectively to the ongoing crisis at the Southern Border. Republicans said Democrats were driven by politics and a desire to oppose Trump at every turn, and said Trump had clear authority to declare an emergency to protect the country. They also defended the presidents claims of a security crisis along the boundary with Mexico, which he has said is ravaged by drug smugglers, human traffickers and immigrants trying to sneak into the U.S. illegally. Democrats said Republicans repeatedly accused former President Barack Obama of flouting the Constitution, which gives Congress control over spending, but are ignoring Trumps effort to do the same. Is your oath of office to Donald Trump, or is your oath of office to the Constitution? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, asked Republicans. Alan Fram and Andrew Taylor are Associated Press writers. "The last place I thought I'd ever live was the Sunset," said Carol Lipof. "It was just so, so far out there." In August, Lipof moved to the Sunset. "We're very, very, very happy. Happier than we could have imagined." The Sunset District has long been considered the suburban outskirt of San Francisco. It's where the surfers and the families live, where few Muni lines run, where one goes to "retire" from the bustle of urban San Francisco. But the neighborhood, like so much of San Francisco, is changing. Long home to the city's largest Asian American community, suburbia in the Sunset appears to be giving way to the urban chic stroller set identifiable by their wide-legged sailor pants, organic cotton tops and well-dressed babies and young artists, many of whom have found a refuge of quiet, open space and community-minded businesses in one of the city's last affordable outposts. "I feel like I moved to a new city," said Lipof. ALSO READ: Outer Sunset rides a wave of change. That's not a bad thing, is it? Her husband and their two young children live in a remodeled house in Parkside, surrounded by parks and just a short walk to the ocean. Before the move, Lipof's family crammed into a one-bedroom in-law unit in Upper Market. The cottage was below-market rate, affordable by San Francisco standards, but too tiny to accommodate the growing family. They thought about moving to the East Bay, like so many of their friends had done when they started families, but "even there, we were priced out." They were routinely overbid on houses by hundreds of thousands of dollars. They decided to continue renting in the city, but had to look beyond their quaint hilltop neighborhood. The Sunset, they found, was "the last neighborhood where you get more bang for your buck." Lipof said her rent has nearly doubled, but with the increased price tag, she gets nearly three times the space. Then there's the matter of the garage. "That was a game changer for me," she said. "I've lived in the city for almost 15 years, and I can't tell you how many parking tickets I've had." The garage, and its miraculous automatic door opener, "feels like the greatest luxury of my life." 'HARD TO IMAGINE A BETTER PLACE': People who left the Bay Area tell us what brought them back Sacrifices have been made. There's not an abundance of bars, restaurants and shops. She and her husband have longer commutes to work. In their old house with cheaper rent, Lipof could take off 14 months of work after the birth of her first child. When the second baby arrived, late last year, Lipof found herself back in the office in a matter of months. "This rent requires two working parents," said Lipof, a project coordinator. Tatiana Takaeva, an art gallery owner, faces a similar problem. The mother of two teenage children lived for 10 years in a South of Market luxury high-rise apartment, which she owned, near her art gallery. The location of the business a common location for homeless encampments and also no stranger to crime sometimes turned off potential buyers, she said. Like Lipof, she decided to move her family to the Sunset. In their new neighborhood, near the Sunset Reservoir, you can see the ocean and the Golden Gate Bridge without craning your neck. "There's no trash on the streets, lots of families and it's an easy commute to schools," Takaeva explained. "It's a very family-friendly neighborhood, and I'm not used to that." She's getting there. Walks with the dog now lead her to Ocean Beach, rather than the garbage-littered park near the SoMa gallery. A cheap meal can be had in a number of family-owned restaurants off Noriega and Taraval streets. Both her kids have commutes to school under 20 minutes. "I was always so stuck up thinking about moving here," Takaeva said. "But the quality of life is very different. It's quiet and clean and peaceful. It doesn't feel like San Francisco for the better." The common thread spun by the people I interviewed, all of whom had moved to the Sunset from central parts of the city recently, was the discovery of community in their new neighborhood, something many of them felt they lacked in the more populous parts of town. In Pacific Heights, where 31-year-old Nicole Birch lived for three years, neighbors seemed to come and go with nary a word. The Sunset, she found after moving last year, has a surprising "small-town feel." ALSO: Bay Area TV 'staple' says grass is greener after moving to Phoenix "I know the guy who owns the creamery and the guy who runs the convenience store. Then, there's the guy who operates the gym," she said. "You're walking around and seeing everyone you know." As for the Sunset's rumors of suburbia, Birch said she finds the neighborhood far more bustling than her previous one, which was populated by "loud cars and drunk fraternity brothers." "You feel a little disconnected," she admitted, "but you're still close to the city." The distance from the commercial heart of the city is made up for in other ways, primarily by the sprawling mass that is the ocean a natural resource at the fingertips of Sunset dwellers. Lipof's daughter has taken to blowing a kiss to the vast mass of blue on her regular visits, enamored by the "wonder of it all." "She used to go to those playgrounds with tiny little sandboxes," Lipof said. "Now she has a giant one." Read Michelle Robertson's latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@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. A mudslide on Bohemian Highway has closed the roadway in both directions near Monte Rio, limiting driving options for those looking to evacuate due to flooding along the Russian River, officials said. At least one person was caught in that mudslide, and workers were helping to free them, according to KRON, but the person is expected to be fine. ALSO: 'Disastrous' flooding expected to inundate Guerneville The 6- to 8-foot deep mudslide happened just outside of Monte Rio about 1 p.m., leaving both directions closed "indefinitely," said Misti Harris, spokeswoman with the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department. Bohemian Highway was the less traveled of two routes available for evacuees. The only way out of the area is now through Highway 116, which runs along the swelling river. The Bohemian Highway offered a north-to-south route away from the area, but that may not be an option as the river crests Wednesday afternoon. Residents are being encouraged to evacuate sooner, rather than later, Harris said. READ ALSO: Russian River floods, evacuations ordered for nearby residents The Russian River exceeded flood stage on Tuesday evening, and residents along the river are being urged to evacuate immediately. Monte Rio is among the places expected to be hit hard by the flooding, and Highway 116 west of Guerneville and River Road are among the roadways expected to be covered in water as the river continues to rise. Shelters for local residents being evacuated are set up at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts (282 S. High St., Sebastopol) and the Sonoma County Fairgrounds Grace Pavilion (1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa), according to the Sheriff's Office. Residents can check SoCoEmergency.org to see which areas are forecast to flood, or call 707-565-3856 for more information. This is a breaking news story and will update as more information becomes available. For full SFGATE weather coverage, see below: North Bay floods close dozens of roads and four school districts North Bay soaked by storm, with one spot measuring more than 9 inches 'This thing is hung up in the North Bay': When to expect drenching storm to hit you Bay City News and SFGATE writer Amy Graff contributed to this report. Read Dianne de Guzman's latest stories and send her news tips at ddeguzman@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. A joyous family reunion turns into a hilarious nightmare as Madea and the crew travel to backwoods Georgia and unexpectedly plan a funeral, which threatens to reveal sordid family secrets. Click here to watch the trailer. Passes are limited and one pass will admit two people. 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By attending the event, you consent to be photographed and for your image to be used in such materials. If East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell does decide to run for president Were getting pretty close, he says the Dublin Democrat will give up the House seat he has held since 2013. Burn the boats, Swalwell said, name-checking what Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes did when he invaded the Aztec Empire in 1519. They stormed the land. And he had them burn the ships behind them so there was no looking back. I would want people to know that Im putting my all into this and I dont have a life insurance policy. The four-term congressman said he wouldnt resign to run, but would not stand for re-election to the House in 2020. Right now, he says, one of the biggest obstacles to a presidential run is one that many politicians blow off: Hes wondering whether he will have time to spend with his two young children and his wife. On the new episode of the Its All Political podcast, Swalwell said, If youre seeking such a big job that would affect so many people, I think you have to assure the people youre asking to vote for you that youre not hedging. And that you dont have a lifeboat waiting for you. That sound you hear in the background could well be former East Bay Assemblywoman Catharine Baker a San Ramon Republican and Swalwell constituent printing Baker for Congress yard signs. Although she insists she hasnt picked a path in politics after losing her re-election bid in November. I havent decided what is next for me and my family or how best I can be of service, but I love our community and know I will be staying very much involved, Baker said Tuesday. Of course, Baker would be joined in the race by every Democrat on every mosquito abatement district east of the Caldecott Tunnel. Why not take a shot? Remember, Swalwell was the longest of long shots, a 31-year-old Dublin City Council member, when he defeated 20-term Democratic Rep. Pete Stark in 2012. But the stakes were lower for Swalwell then. He had a day job as an Alameda County prosecutor and no kids. If he ran for president, hed he be giving up not only a safe seat but also influential spots on the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees perches that make him a ready and willing guest on cable TV news shows. So before he jumps into the presidential demolition derby, Swalwell says hes asking himself three questions: Can I make a difference? Do I think I can win? And can I find child care to do the first two? The child care challenges may be the most daunting. Swalwell and his wife, Brittany Watts, a sales director at the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, have two children under 2 years old. Watts just ended her maternity leave. So were trying to just sort out How the hell do you do something like this? and still see your kids and make sure that her dreams and aspirations arent deferred for too long, Swalwell said. That level of introspection and concern for the career of ones spouse sounds so not like a politician. Part of that attitude is generational. Swalwell is a Millennial, a generation that is a bit more open to risk-taking when it comes to leaving jobs than the Baby Boom generation. Ive told our staff as we plan and look (at running) that the one thing I dont want on our agenda is, What do I do if I lose? Swalwell said. Another Millennial who has already jumped into the race, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Ind., Pete Buttigieg, just announced that he would not seek a third term. Its also a high-risk game for Butttigieg: Win the White House or find a day job. Unlike many politicians, he isnt wealthy. His family, like Swalwells and many others of their generation, is carrying more than $100,000 of student loan debt. To me, its not so much a question of political strategy it is just that you should be going to serve where you belong, Buttigieg said this week on Its All Political. I love being mayor of my hometown. Its exciting. But its also not a job you can do forever. The whole idea of my coming in was that we needed change, innovation, fresh blood, Buttigieg said. So it would be a little weird if I was the one who was hanging on. If Swalwell runs for the White House and falls short, he says his conscience will be clear. The truth is, I was the first in my family to go to college. Thats all my dad wanted me to do, Swalwell said. Im going to be fine. Im playing with the houses money as far as making my parents proud. Were not trying to sell a book or get a leadership position anywhere else, Swalwell said. If Im going to run, its going to be because we think we can win and, more important, make a difference. Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli SACRAMENTO California would add financial protections for students at for-profit colleges under measures that Democratic legislators introduced Wednesday in response to the Trump administrations rollback of Obama-era regulations. The seven bills would place restrictions on college programs if graduates cannot find good-paying jobs, limit aggressive recruiting measures that target veterans and allow students to recoup more of their costs if their schools shut down. We are here today to say students come first, not shareholders, said Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco. The legislative package is led by Chius AB1340, which targets career-training programs that turn out graduates who do not make enough to pay off their loans. U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos moved last year to scrap a policy put in place under former President Barack Obama in 2015 that blocks federal financial aid for vocational programs with a high ratio of student debt to earnings. The rule was largely aimed at for-profit schools, which account for the majority of student loan defaults nationwide. The industry and its allies in Congress, most of them Republicans, argued that the policy limits students options by unfairly singling out one segment of higher education. Chius bill would reinstate the Obama administrations policy in California, and would go a step further by barring colleges from enrolling students in programs where graduates fall below a certain income level. There were 266 programs, most of them at for-profit colleges, in California in 2017 that were in that category or near it, federal data show. Without this rule, bad programs will continue to prey on vulnerable students, Chiu said. He said it was not surprising that the Trump administration had rolled back protections, noting that the presidents Trump University, a for-profit college, was the target of numerous fraud claims by former students. The president paid $25 million to settle three such class-action lawsuits in 2016. Another bill, from Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman, D-Stockton, would seek to counter a federal law that allows for-profit colleges to get up to 90 percent of their tuition from federal and state financial aid. That limit does not include military education benefits, so many schools aggressively recruit veterans and are nearly entirely subsidized by taxpayers. Eggmans AB1343 would lower the cap for federal and state financial aid dollars in California to 80 percent. Other measures include AB1345 by Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, which would ban colleges from setting recruiting quotas or bonuses for their employees; AB1344 by Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-Orinda, which would require out-of-state schools to meet state consumer protections to enroll California students in online programs; and AB1346 by Assemblyman Jose Medina, D-Riverside, which would let students whose private colleges close seek reimbursements for housing, transportation and child care costs from a state fund. Robert Johnson, executive director of the California Association of Private Postsecondary Schools, said the bills would hurt local businesses that arent guilty of the kinds of abuses attributed in recent years to national for-profit college chains. He said many of the for-profit colleges that belong to his organization are small, family-owned schools that teach health services, information technology, construction trades and cosmetology. They are already subject to state transparency measures requiring them to report salary data and other information. Theres no policy basis here, Johnson said. This is purely an attack. Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff Upcoming political events in the Bay Area. SUNDAY Indivisible S.F.: General meeting. Featured speaker is veteran organizer and activist. Hene Kelley. 1 p.m., the Women's Building, 3543 18th Street, San Francisco. More information is here. Algerian protest: Rally against Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflikas bid for a fifth term. 1 p.m., Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco. More information is here. MONDAY S.F. Politics 101: United Democratic Club hosts San Francisco Politics 101, an introductory course on politics with a panel of experts and activists. Free. 6 p.m., the Brick Yard, 1787 Union St., San Francisco. More information is here. Combating intolerance: An evening dedicated to combatting hate and intolerance in Marin, including a screening of the documentary Light in the Darkness and a panel discussion with community leaders. Presented by the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center, Canal Alliance and Not In Our Town. Free. 6 p.m., 200 North San Pedro Road, San Rafael. RSVP and more information here. TUESDAY Political polling: Pollster Peter Hart discusses the challenges and changes in political polling heading into the 2020 election. Free. 4 p.m., Social Science Matrix Conference Room, eighth floor of Barrows Hall, UC Berkeley. More information is here. WEDNESDAY Mayors for Peace: An evening with Yasuyoshi Komizo, chair of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation and secretary general of Mayors for Peace. The organization, led by the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is working for a world without nuclear weapons. Free. 6 p.m., Western Institute for Social Research, 2930 Shattuck Ave., Room 300, Berkeley. More information is here. THURSDAY Palestinian journalist: Palestinian journalist and refugee Ahmed Abu Artema, one of the original organizers of the Gaza Great March of Return, discusses his experiences and the future of nonviolent actions in Palestine. Benefit for projects in Gaza. $15-$50. 7 p.m., St. Johns Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave., Berkeley. More information is here. FRIDAY International Womens Day: Presentations on women fighters of the past and present, at home and abroad. Sponsored by San Francisco Party for Socialism and Liberation. $10-$3. 7 p.m., 2969 Mission St., San Francisco. More information is here. MARCH 9 International Womens Day: Members of GABRIELA Oakland hold a rally and march to commemorate International Working Women's Day, in honor of the first women strikers in 1908. 11 a.m., Fruitvale Village, International Boulevard & 34th Avenue, Oakland. More information is here. Justice for women: An International Womens Day program on equal justice for women in the U.S. and abroad. Sponsored by the United Nations Association of the United States of America and American Legion Post 315. $10 for nonmembers, free for students. 2 p.m., War Memorial Veterans Building, 401 Van Ness Ave., Room 210, San Francisco. More information is here. Venezuela rally: March and rally against the Trump administrations campaign against the Maduro government in Venezuela. Sponsored by the ANSWER coalition. Noon, Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco. More information is here. MARCH 11 Podcast Club: The Ballot holds its Podcast Club, a monthly series discussing several podcasts on a particular topic. This months subject is women and the media. Free. 6:30 p.m., Mannys, 3092 16th St., San Francisco. Podcasts and more information here. MARCH 12 Youth-police roundtable: The San Francisco Youth Commission Transformative Justice Committee invites youths ages 12 to 24 to a roundtable with police to come up with community-oriented solutions to issues plaguing the justice system. 5 p.m., San Francisco Main Library, Latino/Hispanic Room A, 100 Larkin St. More information is here. MARCH 13 Andrew McCabe: Former FBI deputy director speaks at the Commonwealth Club. $30 for nonmembers, $10 for students. Noon, 110 Embarcadero, San Francisco. More information is here. Robert Reich: UC Berkeley public policy professor and former labor secretary discusses free speech in angry times. Free. Pauley Ballroom, ASUC Student Union, UC Berkeley. More information is here. New citizen voting: Democracy Action volunteers will register new citizens to vote following swearing-in ceremonies. Two sessions, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. More information is here. MARCH 14 Naila and the Uprising: Screening of the film chronicling women on the front lines of the first Palestinian intifada of the late 1980s. Benefit for Middle East Children Alliance. $15-$50. 7 p.m., Berkeley City College 2050 Center St., Berkeley. More information is here. Morality of capitalism: Yaron Brook, chairman of Ayn Rand Institute, discusses the morality of finance, free markets, savings, insurance and using debt to fund consumption. Free; registration encouraged. 5:30 p.m., UC Berkeley, location TBA. More information is here. MARCH 16 Rep. Jackie Speier town hall: San Mateo Democrat meets with constituents. 10:30 a.m., Chetcuti Room, 450 Poplar Ave., Millbrae. More information is here. MARCH 18 John Lanchester, Michael Lewis: Lanchester, author of The Wall, and Lewis, author of The Fifth Risk, in conversation at the Commonwealth Club. 6:30 p.m. $30 for nonmembers, $10 for students. 110 Embarcadero, San Francisco. More information is here. MARCH 21 Two Koreas: Harry Harris, U.S. ambassador to South Korea, and Cho Yoon-je, South Korean ambassador to the U.S., discuss the future of relations between the two Koreas as well as U.S. relations with the countries. $25 for non-Commonwealth Club members, $10 for students. Noon, 110 Embarcadero, San Francisco. More information is here. MARCH 22 Heather Booth: Democracy Labs hosts a screening of Heather Booth: Changing the World, and a talk with the longtime organizer and activist. $10, students free. 6:30 p.m., Mannys 3092 16th St., San Francisco. More information is here. MARCH 24 Latino Democratic Club: Monthly meeting. Free. 6 p.m., 362 Capp St., San Francisco. More information is here. MARCH 28 Jerry and Anne Gust Brown: An evening with the former governor and states former first lady at the Commonwealth Club. $40 for nonmembers, $15 for students. 6:30 p.m., Marines Memorial Theatre, 609 Sutter St., San Francisco. More information is here. Indigenous resistance: Nick Estes, author of Our History is the Future, traces iIndigenous resistance from the days of the Indian Wars through the campaign for indigenous rights at the United Nations. Benefit for KPFA-FM. $12. 7:30 p.m., Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St., Berkeley. More information is here. APRIL 3 Honduran coup aftermath: Author and UC Santa Cruz Professor Dana Frank discusses the 2009 coup in Honduras, its fallout and the resistance movement. Benefit for KPFA-FM. $12. 7:30 p.m., St. Johns Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave., Berkeley. More information is here. APRIL 6 Newsom chief of staff: Gov. Gavin Newsoms chief of staff, Ann OLeary, discusses her job and goals. $15. 7:30 p.m., Mannys, 3092 16th St., San Francisco. More information is here. APRIL 11 Valerie Jarrett: Former adviser to President Barack Obama discusses her book Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward, in a Commonwealth Club event. $35 for nommembers, $10 for students. Noon, Marines Memorial Theater, 609 Sutter St., San Francisco. More information is here. APRIL 18 Lawrence Lessig: Harvard legal scholar gives a TED+Salon talk on the future of democracy. Comedian Will Durst opens. $32.50 and up. 7:30 p.m., Angelico Hall, Dominican University, 50 Acacia Ave., San Rafael. More information is here. To list an event, email Politics Editor Trapper Byrne at tbyrne@sfchronicle.com By Stephanie van den Berg, Myriam Rivet, Reuters | Feb. 27, 2019 The Dutch government will take a stake in Air France-KLM equal to that of the French government in order to increase its influence in the carrier's operations, a move that took the French by surprise. The investment comes weeks after a confrontation between the Dutch government and the company's French-dominated executive board over waning Dutch influence, which has been exercised through its management of group subsidiary and Dutch flag-carrier KLM. Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra said on Tuesday the state had already taken a 12.7 percent stake for EUR680 million (US$774 million) and aimed to increase that to about 14 percent. The French government holds 14.29 percent of the combined company that was formed in 2004. The move is a "fundamental step toward protecting Dutch interests", Hoekstra told journalists in The Hague. "Buying this stake ensures we have a seat at the table." Hoekstra said the state was not making an investment but protecting the interests of the Dutch economy and Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, Europe's third-largest airport and a major source of employment. French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told journalists he and Air France-KLM's board of directors had not been informed. "I reaffirm my support to the strategy of the company and to its management," Le Maire said, adding it was essential for Air France-KLM to be "managed without national public interference." Le Maire's statement appeared to contradict his Dutch counterpart. "Several times in recent years the Dutch interest was not given enough weight in important decisions for the company as a whole," Hoekstra said in a letter to parliament. "In our view, possible consequences for Dutch public interests are not given enough consideration in the current set-up." Hundreds of KLM workers gathered at the airline's office in the Netherlands earlier this month to deliver a petition voicing support for CEO Pieter Elbers after rumors that Air France intended to remove him and fully integrate the two companies. Air France's new CEO Ben Smith traveled to the Netherlands for a reportedly uncomfortable meeting with Hoekstra before an Air France board meeting on Feb. 19.. Elbers' reappointment was confirmed ahead of the group's full-year earnings presentation on Feb. 20, at which Smith also announced plans for further coordination of the airlines' fleets and networks. Air France this month reported full-year operating earnings of 266 million euros, compared with 1.07 billion euros at the KLM subsidiary. The group 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 CEO. It seems that every day we are confronted with more and more evidence that a safe, free, fair and trustworthy election is far from guaranteed. But how have we responded? Without sharing the kinds of information we need to secure our elections. In the face of these attacks on the most central aspect of our democracy, most of the conversations have occurred at the state and federal levels of government. But the United States has more than 3,000 counties and county-equivalent entities, and it is these smaller local governments that run our polling places, collect our ballots and count our votes. Counties are on the front line in the never-ending battle to secure our elections. Collaboration and communication among these counties can indeed, must play a vital role in these efforts. But we make it much too hard for counties to learn from one another and share best practices. We leave it up to the individual states to pass the laws that regulate our elections. Then, we leave it up to the individual counties or county-equivalents to implement those laws with their own individual policies, practices and purchasing agreements. We need to do more. Thats why Santa Clara County is hosting a conference to put Californias county election officials in touch with world-renowned experts in voting and election security. The conference is free and open to the public (https://electionsecurity2019.eventbrite.com). While theres no evidence yet that anyone has successfully altered the results of an election in America (although not for lack of trying), we do know that California was identified as one of 21 states whose election systems were targeted by Russian hackers in the 2016 election. Election security concerns are many and varied. For example, in some jurisdictions, the voting machines themselves may be vulnerable to malicious hackers. Different jurisdictions use different systems with different strengths and vulnerabilities. A modern registrar of voters controls far more than just the voting machines, including everything from computers housing databases of registered voters, to election records, and more. Basic cybersecurity practices vary widely from place to place. But we can deal with that diversity of equipment and concerns. Theres a wealth of expertise available about running secure elections and ensuring their integrity. Despite differences in local law, the problems of securing an election are not that much different in California than in Kentucky. We hope our election security conference is the start of a longer, nationwide effort that encourages information sharing, communication and collaboration that will make our elections stronger, safer and more secure. Even if these hackers fail to change a single vote, their very existence and the frequency of their attacks strikes at something more essential and even more difficult to protect: the trust of the American public. Just about a year from now, on March 3, 2020, California voters will cast their votes for president. Will each and every one of Californias 58 counties be prepared? Lets hope so, seems an inadequate response. So do your part: Ask your registrar of voters and your county supervisors, What are you doing to protect the security of our voting systems? And then demand good answers and suggest they join us at our election security conference. Joe Simitian is the president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and a former member of the state Senate. He has previously served as an elections supervisor/observer in Bosnia and El Salvador. Win McNamee / Getty Images Its difficult to imagine a more direct assault on congressional authority than President Trumps attempt to spend money on border fortifications that lawmakers refused to finance. Hence the Houses vote Tuesday to void Trumps declaration of a border emergency that does not in fact exist, the first such rebuke in the more than four-decade history of the National Emergencies Act. Unfortunately, however, few members of Congress seemed prepared to stand up for the legislative branchs fundamental powers if it might pose a threat to their re-election. While House Speaker Nancy Pelosis Democratic majority voted against the emergency, forcing the Republican-controlled Senate to take up the issue, the result there is in doubt. WASHINGTON - Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, will tell Congress on Wednesday that Trump knew his longtime adviser Roger Stone was communicating with WikiLeaks about publishing stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee, according to the text of his prepared opening statement. In the prepared remarks, Cohen calls Trump a "racist," a "con man" and a "cheat," and also levels accusations that the president personally signed a check to cover "hush money payments" to keep quiet an affair with adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. Cohen says Trump never directly told him to lie to Congress about his business dealings in Moscow but claims the president implicitly encouraged him to do so. A person familiar with the testimony said the document, first published by Politico, reflects what Cohen submitted as his prepared remarks, though they could change somewhat when he delivers them Wednesday to the House Oversight Committee. "He is a racist. He is a con man. He is a cheat," the remarks say, referring to Trump. "He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails." Trump, who is in Vietnam for his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, didn't respond when a reporter asked him about Cohen as he sat next to Kim, The Washington Post's Philip Rucker reported. Earlier Wednesday morning, Trump sent a tweet accusing Cohen of lying. "Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately). He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud," Trump tweeted. "He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crooked's lawyer!" In a statement sent earlier via text message to The Post, Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney, also questioned Cohen's truthfulness. "It's pathetic. This is a lawyer who [taped] his own client when he claimed he was being loyal. If you believe him you are a fool," Giuliani said. "He bragged he was connected to Russian organized crime and he may be. His father in law who gave him millions to [invest] was convicted of tax fraud in a money laundering operation. Let's see if these Democrats want to ask about his many crimes having nothing to do with anyone but his coterie of business associates with questionable connections." Cohen plans to testify that in July 2016, shortly before the Democratic convention, he overheard Trump and Stone discussing Assange's plans. WikiLeaks released stolen DNC emails on July 22, 2016, three days before the Democratic convention. "Days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trump's office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign," the testimony notes. "Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of 'wouldn't that be great.' " Stone was indicted last month for lying, obstruction and witness tampering in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump has denied ever talking with Stone about WikiLeaks. The person familiar with the testimony said Cohen does not have other evidence, such as contemporaneous memos, to support his recollection of the call he claims to have overheard between Stone and the president. In the testimony, Cohen paints Trump as a virulent racist in private. "He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasn't a 'shithole.' This was when Barack Obama was president of the United States," Cohen's testimony notes. "While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. And yet I continued to work for him." Cohen says Trump directed him to pay off Daniels and to lie to Melania Trump about the relationship. Cohen plans to give Congress a copy of the $130,000 wire transfer he sent Daniels's attorney during the campaign as well what he describes as a $35,000 check signed by the president from his personal bank account on Aug. 1, 2017. He says it was one in a series of installments Trump made to reimburse him for that hush-money payout. Cohen has pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations related to the payments to Daniels. Trump claims he never told Cohen to send money to the adult film actress. "He asked me to pay off an adult film star with whom he had an affair, and to lie to his wife about it, which I did. Lying to the first lady is one of my biggest regrets. She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly - and she did not deserve that," his remarks say. The president's former lawyer says that Trump continued negotiating for a luxury condo tower project in Russia throughout the 2016 campaign. Cohen has also pleaded guilty to lying about that project in his 2017 testimony to the Senate and House intelligence committees. "Mr. Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it. He lied about it because he never expected to win the election. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project," Cohen's remarks say. Cohen adds that Trump "did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. That's not how he operates." But he alleges that Trump's "personal lawyers" reviewed his untruthful testimony ahead of time. "I lied about it, too - because Mr. Trump had made clear to me, through his personal statements to me that we both knew were false and through his lies to the country, that he wanted me to lie," the remarks say. "And he made it clear to me because his personal attorneys reviewed my statement before I gave it to Congress." Cohen plans to testify that he has no direct knowledge of Trump's campaign coordinating with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election. But he does recount an encounter, "probably in early June 2016," between Trump and Donald Trump Jr. that he suggests may have been related to the president's son meeting that same month with a Russian lawyer whom intermediaries had suggested had dirt on Hillary Clinton. "I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying, 'The meeting is all set.' I remember Mr. Trump saying, 'OK good. . .let me know,'" Cohen's remarks say. "What struck me as I looked back and thought about that exchange between Don Jr. and his father was, first, that Mr. Trump had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the world. And also, that Don Jr. would never set up any meeting of any significance alone - and certainly not without checking with his father." Cohen also claims that Trump misused money and misrepresented his finances. In one case, Cohen says Trump directed him to find a straw bidder to purchase a portrait of himself at an auction. After the bidder bought the painting for $60,000, the Trump Foundation reimbursed the person with funds meant for charitable use, Cohen says. In 2016, The Post reported that Trump used $20,000 in Trump Foundation money to purchase a 6-foot-tall portrait of himself at a children's charity event at Mar-a-Lago in 2007, possibly in violation of IRS rules. More broadly, Cohen's testimony depicts Trump as self-serving and vain. He describes Trump bragging about avoiding Vietnam War service though a bone spurs diagnosis, supposedly telling his attorney, "You think I'm stupid, I wasn't going to Vietnam." Cohen also plans to testify that he drafted threatening letters on Trump's behalf to schools and colleges he attended, warning them not to release his grades; he promised to provide one such letter to the committee. Cohen, who will start a three-year prison term for his crimes later this year, casts himself in the testimony as a loyal follower horrified that Trump actually won the presidential election. "Never in a million years did I imagine, when I accepted a job in 2007 to work for Donald Trump, that he would one day run for President, launch a campaign on a platform of hate and intolerance, and actually win," the remarks say. "I regret the day I said 'yes' to Mr. Trump. I regret all the help and support I gave him along the way." - - - The Washington Post's Matt Zapotosky, Rosalind S. Helderman and Philip Rucker contributed to this report. Many immigrants held in federally overseen detention centers in California are confined in their cells for up to 22 hours a day, have trouble accessing medical and mental health care and face significant barriers in obtaining translators and lawyers, the state attorney generals office said Tuesday. Transparency is essential as we make sure immigrants are afforded the treatment that any of us would expect under the law. Today we get to shine light on these conditions, said Attorney General Xavier Becerra, whose office was tasked under a 2017 state law with assessing conditions and care at 10 centers in California where the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency detains people who have pending immigration cases. Becerras investigators spent several days at three public detention centers, inspecting conditions and talking to staff and inmates. They made one-day visits to the seven other facilities, ultimately interviewing more than 100 immigrants to evaluate all aspects of their detention, from food and hygiene to discipline and access to legal materials. An estimated 396,500 people were booked into ICE custody nationwide in fiscal 2018, up from 323,600 the year before, according to the report. Detention facilities in California have housed an estimated 74,000 immigrants in the past three years. ICE said it is committed to providing for the welfare of all those entrusted to its custody and ensuring all detainees are treated in a humane and professional manner. All facilities that house ICE detainees must meet rigorous performance standards, which specify detailed requirements for virtually every facet of the detention environment, the agency said in a statement. The safety, rights and health of detainees in ICEs care are of paramount concern and all ICE detention facilities are subject to stringent, regular inspections. The state report said many detainees experienced: Prolonged periods of confinement without breaks. Some detainees were held in their cells for up to 22 hours a day, being let out only to do such things as call family members, take part in recreational activities or use the restroom. Significant language barriers and inadequate access to translators or interpreters, which often compromised inmates medical and legal confidentiality. Inability to receive medical and mental health services. Some detention centers had nurses practicing outside their legal scope of practice, as well as inadequate medical examinations and a shortage of mental health staff. Obstacles contacting relatives and support services outside the centers. Barriers to accessing legal representation, often leaving detainees to navigate the immigration system on their own. In some cases, ICE arranges with local jurisdictions for immigrant detainees to be housed in county jails. Other detention facilities are privately run by corporations that have contracts with ICE. Officials at privately run facilities were less cooperative and in some cases limited investigators access to staff and detainees, the state report said. One of the centers that investigators assessed was the West County Detention Facility in Richmond, run by the Contra Costa County Sheriffs Office. Over several days in August, Becerras report said, investigators found evidence at least partially supporting Chronicle reports starting in November 2017 in which female detainees said they were mistreated, including being subjected to excessive lockdowns that forced some women to defecate and urinate in biohazard bags inside their cells. The county ended its contract with ICE last year. On some level the abuses are nothing new, said Grisel Ruiz, an attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco. But the documentation having the state do oversight that is certainly new. Now that our eyes are open to these abuses, it really is incumbent upon elected officials and policymakers to enact change. California is the first state to conduct an in-depth inspection of the detention centers, Becerra said. The centers have been the focal point of heated debate in recent years, particularly as the Trump administration has cracked down on illegal immigration and the number of detained immigrants across the United States has soared. We hope that other states are watching, Becerra said at a news conference in San Francisco. Because everyone in this country has constitutional rights, and everyone at the end of the day child and adult deserves to be treated in a humane way. Becerra blamed federal immigration authorities in part for not monitoring the detention centers, though he said several of the facilities have already implemented changes based on his offices review. For example, the Yolo County Detention Center in Woodland, run by the county juvenile probation department, hired more mental health staffers and beefed up staff training, Becerra said. It is also working with its medical contractor to improve health care, the attorney general said. Another report, released Tuesday by the state auditor, blamed local jurisdictions for not properly managing their contracts with corporations to ensure they comply with ICE detention standards. The 2017 state law that led to the attorney generals investigation requires the state Justice Department to monitor detention centers for 10 years. Last year, the Trump administration asked a federal judge to block state investigators from entering the centers, saying California was interfering with immigration law enforcement. U.S. District Judge John Mendez in Sacramento rejected the administrations request for a temporary injunction in July, allowing Becerras staff to continue its work. Tatiana Sanchez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: Tatiana.sanchez@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @TatianaYSanchez A 23-year-old Oakland man was sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison Tuesday after boasting about plotting a series of Islamic State-inspired attacks around the Bay Area. Amer Sinan Alhaggagi described by prosecutors as a grave terrorist threat but by defense lawyers as a harmless troll was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison, followed by 10 years of probation, after pleading guilty in July to attempting to provide material support to a terror organization as well as to fraud charges. Alhaggagi was recorded telling an undercover FBI agent two years ago that he planned to kill 10,000 people in a series of attacks, which included bombing nightclubs in San Francisco, distributing rat-poison-laced cocaine, bombing UC Berkeley dorms and torching the fire-prone East Bay hills. The threats first came in online chat rooms before Alhaggagi, a onetime Berkeley High student, met with undercover FBI agents on two occasions. Prosecutors said they found a bomb-making manual on his computer and discovered he had applied to the Oakland Police Department. In late 2016, Alhaggagi created Twitter, Facebook and Gmail accounts for two people he thought were Islamic State sympathizers. Authorities said at least one of the people turned out to be an Islamic State member. Alhaggagis defense attorneys pleaded for a lenient sentence from Senior U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, arguing over a two-day hearing that the defendant was nothing more than a troll who liked to provoke people online with jokes. Hes a goofball. Hes a class clown. Hes a horrible little person when it comes to trolling, attorney Mary McNamara said. This is not somebody who behaves like a jihadi. Breyer disagreed, saying Alhaggagi showed lack of empathy for others that is chilling. Part of the danger of this type of activity is that its consequences are horrendous, the judge said. If people lack empathy toward one another, they are extremely dangerous if given the tools to commit criminal conduct. Alhaggagis mother cried outside court, where she was embraced by her younger son and surrounded by dozens of members of the East Bay Yemeni community who packed the courts gallery for each of the court appearances. Nearly 150 people signed a letter to the judge saying the punishment will be suffered by the entire community. We have seen Amer grow up, and we know him to have been a very immature young man with a boundary-pushing streak, but also a good-hearted and generous person, the letter stated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Waqar Hasib called two jailhouse informants to the witness stand Tuesday to describe Alhaggagis conduct at Glenn Dyer Jail in Oakland in early 2017, after he was arrested. Richard Jump, 54, now serving time for auto theft in Sonoma County, said he contacted the FBI after hearing Alhaggagi discuss weapons, explosives and plans to blow up the federal building in San Francisco. This stuff is so far out of what Ive always considered acceptable criminal behavior, said Jump. I know that sounds crazy, but we have our own moral code. Its indiscriminate, this type of action. It can hurt anyone. Kids and women and innocent civilians, theyre not fair game in the world Im from. On cross-examination, McNamara tried to discredit Jumps testimony, pointing out inconsistencies in his statements to the FBI and noting his lengthy rap sheet. According to prosecutors, Alhaggagi detailed his terror plans in chat rooms in 2016. The whole Bay Area is going to be up in flames. My ideas are genius. Lmao, Alhaggagi wrote, using internet slang for Laughing my ass off. Hasib played video of Alhaggagi meeting with an undercover agent posing as an Islamic State sympathizer and bomb expert in Oakland, during which the defendant pointed out locations for terrorist attacks. Alhaggagi said he planned to set fires in Tilden Regional Park and pointed to dorms at the UC Berkeley campus where he would plant backpack bombs. The two met again, with Alhaggagi bringing three backpacks to a storage locker for later use in a phony attack. Alhaggagi, though, broke off communications with the undercover agents. He remained under surveillance until he was arrested Nov. 28, 2016, for using a fraudulent credit card. Later, prosecutors brought the terrorism charge. Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky During a recent trip to The Chronicles archive, I found a folder filed under U.S. Documents Freedom Train and assumed it had something to do with the Freedom Train that ran as part of Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations for 30 years on Caltrain. Instead, the photos were from 1948 and covered the visit of the Freedom Train, a nationwide locomotive tour carrying 127 priceless American historic documents a rolling showcase for the cause of democracy, as one Associated Press article called it. The Freedom Train was the idea of U.S. Justice Department and then-Attorney General Tom Clark, who feared that after World War II, Americans had grown disconnected with the ideals of the country. To avoid accusations of partisanship, the American Heritage Foundation with a board stacked with the titans of industry of the day was set up to organize and sponsor the train. Dig deep into Chronicle Vault Like what you're reading? Subscribe to the Chronicle Vault newsletter and get classic archive stories in your in-box twice a week. Read hundreds of historical stories, see thousands of archive photos and sort through 154 years of classic Chronicle front pages at SFChronicle.com/vault. See More Collapse Among the documents on board: an early copy of the Magna Carta, a 1622 copy of the Mayflower Compact, Thomas Jeffersons original draft of the Declaration of Independence, George Washingtons personal copy of an early draft of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the original manuscript of the Gettysburg address and two versions of the Emancipation Proclamation Lincolns first draft and the official version as passed in 1863. As the Freedom Train left Philadelphia in September 1947, African American leaders and commentators were dubious that the ideals of the documents on board would win out over the realities of life in the U.S. including Jim Crow segregation laws during the trains run. Langston Hughes poem Freedom Train briefly excerpted in The Chronicle exemplified the frustration: I hope there aint no Jim Crow on the Freedom Train / No back door entrance to the Freedom Train / No signs FOR COLORED on the freedom train. The most critical parts of the poem didnt make it to The Chronicles pages. The issue came to a head when mayors in several Southern cities publicly insisted on segregating access to the train separate lines or different viewing times for white and black residents to the see the documents. In the end, the foundation decided the Freedom Train would bypass Memphis, Birmingham, Ala., and Hattiesburg, Miss., after those cities refused to desegregate the event. The train arrived at the Marina Green in San Francisco on March 14, 1948. An ex-welder and ex-infantryman named George Chapman Marrin was the first in line at 2:30 a.m. hours before the train actually arrived. By the time the exhibition opened its doors at 10 a.m., there were 10,000 people in line, despite heavy rain. A carnival air surrounded the long wait, Chronicle reporter J. Campbell Bruce wrote. The Municipal Band blared, people tried to sell peanuts and popcorn and competing political petitions circulated. Marrin told Bruce he was most excited to see the Declaration of Independence he wanted to see the signatures including John Hancocks. Some were just there for the spectacle Percy Troy, a civilian employee at the Presidio came out to see the crowds. Others were especially committed to seeing the documents, even if they couldnt explain why. Well golly, its kind of hard to explain, Sgt. Herbert H. Gertz who had hitchhiked from Fort Ord in Monterey County to attend said when asked to explain what freedom meant to him. The documents had traveled to San Francisco with heavy security 27 armed Marines, wrote Chronicle reporter Richard Hemp in a March 15 article, A Look at the Train and Men Who Run It. There are two men to each exhibit car, an exit and entry sentry with .45 caliber pistols and sentries with M-1 rifles stationed immediately outside. At night a guard locks himself into each exhibit car. Nobody had tried to steal anything, a Marine told Bruce, but theyd thrown a few boisterous talkers off the train at other stops. After three days in San Francisco, the Freedom Train continued on to Palo Alto, San Jose and Oakland and by the end of its 16-month journey it had stopped in 324 cities and the documents were viewed by 3.5 million people. For one man in San Francisco, the train had done the job of selling America to Americans. Looking at things like that in their own handwriting it does something to you, Marrin the first in line told J. Campbell Bruce. Its the United States thats the United States right there in that train. More from the Archive The Vault Home of the San Francisco Chronicle's archive and more than 150 years of journalism covering the Bay Area and beyond. Bob Campbell / The Chronicle 1948 More from Chronicle Vault Right-o: When London double-decker buses wowed S.F. crowds. Watch your back: When San Francisco journalism was a blood sport. Not just Rosie: Unearthed World War II-era photos are a salute to the women who volunteered. University village: When World War II brought blacks to the East Bay, whites fought for segregation. Powder keg: Officers 66 killing of a black teen sparked Hunters Point riots. From the Archive is a weekly column by Bill Van Niekerken, the library director of The Chronicle, exploring the depths of the newspapers archive. Its part of Chronicle Vault, a twice-weekly newsletter highlighting more than 150 years of San Francisco stories. It is edited by Taylor Kate Brown, The Chronicles newsletter editor. Sign up for the newsletter here, and follow Chronicle Vault on Instagram. Contact Bill at bvanniekerken@sfchronicle.com and Taylor at taylor.brown@sfchronicle.com. Welcome back to Tech Chronicle. To tell the truth, Id love it if you subscribed, and it wont get you in trouble with the SEC, I promise. Teslas truthiness There he goes again: Elon Musk defiantly badmouthing the Securities and Exchange Commission even as it seeks sanctions against him for what appears to be on its face a blatant violation of his promise to, well, think before he tweets. Technically, he agreed to have Teslas in-house counsel review tweets about anything that might be significant to investors after claiming falsely, it turned out that he had funding secured to take Tesla private. YouTube Are you surprised that Teslas most recent general counsel quit after just two months? Musk has a history of running through (and over, and around) lawyers. He had one general counsel quit right before Teslas controversy-laden 2010 IPO. (Teslas IPO papers, unusually, were signed by outside counsel.) A successor was similarly short-lived. At one point, Musks personal divorce lawyer was running Teslas legal shop. When someone runs through so many lawyers, the problem is with the client. I actually find myself agreeing with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who recently said Musk is his favorite user of the service. On balance, corporate executives should say more, not less, about the companies they run and the impact they have on employees and the world at large. The problem is not that Musk tweets. Its what he tweets. His relationship with the truth has always been casual, and on Twitter, it shows. Musk claims that this episode is an example of something wrong at the Securities and Exchange Commission, tweeting (of course, he cant help himself) that something is broken with SEC oversight. Sure: Theyre being far too lax on him. Instead of asking a judge to find him in contempt because he violated his settlement agreement, they could simply say he abrogated the agreement and prosecute him. The episode reminds me of former Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartzs crusade to have the SEC recognize corporate blogs and other online postings as official disclosures to investors. After a couple years, the commission recognized company websites as official channels for notifying investors. Twitter can be, too. But shareholders have to be able to trust whats written there, the same as if a company filed it in an 8-K or announced it in a blog post. With Musk, you just cant trust what he says. And thats the issue. Not where he says it. Owen Thomas (othomas@sfchronicle.com) Sign Up for the Newsletter Want to get the latest on Silicon Valley in your inbox? Subscribe to Tech Chronicle. See More Collapse Quote of the week Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Hes a wolf. Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, truthily insisting that her Siberian husky Balto was a different kind of canine, as told to Nick Bilton in Vanity Fair (I would never lie about Ramona being a Love Terrier.) Coming up More tech companies are reporting their numbers: On Wednesday, theres Square, Box and HP, and on Thursday, VMware. Also starting Thursday: The Lesbians Who Tech Summit, which takes over a number of sites in San Franciscos Castro neighborhood. What Im reading Antonio Garcia-Martinez, driven to annoyance by my asking him about this the other week, definitively explains why data is not the new oil. (You really need to stop saying that, Gavin Newsom.) (Wired) Melia Russell tells a tale of two tech startups and why the cannabis company turned out to be the less controversial one. (San Francisco Chronicle) Casey Newton dives into the lives of the contractors Facebook hires to moderate its oceans of noisome content. Its horrifying. (The Verge) Tech Chronicle is a thrice-weekly newsletter from Owen Thomas, The Chronicles business editor, and the rest of the tech team. Follow along on Twitter: @techchronicle and Instagram: @techchronicle By Marcelo Rochabrun, Reuters | Feb. 26, 2019 Shareholders of Brazil's Embraer SA approved a deal on Tuesday to sell 80 percent of the company's commercial plane division to Boeing Co, enabling Boeing to compete with Airbus SE in the market for jets with up to 150 seats. About 96.8 of shareholders voted in favor of the deal after Embraer overturned an injunction that had put the shareholder meeting on hold. The transaction must now be approved by antitrust regulators around the world. Embraer shares surged as much as 4.6 percent in Sao Paulo trading. Under the terms of the deal finalized in December, Boeing will pay US$4.2 billion to control Embraer's most profitable division, supplying passenger jets to airlines. It positions Boeing to better rival Airbus, which last year bought a controlling stake in Bombardier Inc's CSeries planes - which also have less than 150 seats - putting Airbus in direct competition with Embraer. Embraer shareholders' approval of the Boeing deal caps more than a year of negotiations in Brazil since the companies announced their talks. Behind the scenes it was more than two years since the idea was presented internally to Boeing, a person familiar with the matter said in July. Brazil's government, which holds veto power over important business decisions at Embraer, a former state company, said last month that it would not block the partnership. Once the transaction receives full regulatory approval, Boeing and Embraer will be joint owners of a yet-to-be-named commercial jet company, of which Embraer will own 20 percent, and Boeing, 80 percent. The deal will provide a cash influx that the Brazilian planemaker has defended as crucial to its survival as increased competition between Boeing and Airbus squeezes out smaller rivals. "The potential operation with Boeing will save Embraer," lawyers for the Brazilian planemaker said in July in a court filing as it battled an earlier challenge to the deal. Embraer executives said earlier this year they would be able to wipe out the company's current debt thanks to Boeing's cash, giving them what they described as a fresh start. But critics say the arrangement will leave Embraer weaker and financially dependent on its two remaining divisions, executive jets and defense, both of which have posted losses in recent quarters. Shareholders also approved a joint venture between the two planemakers to market Embraer's new KC-390 military cargo jet. Embraer will retain ownership of the plane's intellectual property, but hopes Boeing will drum up orders from allies of the United States. In a city where conspiracy theories and allegations of cover-ups are as much a part of politics as the fog, the circumstances surrounding the death of high-profile Public Defender Jeff Adachi have insiders running on overdrive. One repeated question is, why did it take three hours before the police were called in? After all, police were on the scene within minutes when Mayor Ed Lee suffered a fatal heart attack while shopping at his neighborhood Safeway in December 2017. In Adachis case, three hours elapsed between the time paramedics responded to the 911 call from a woman identifying herself as Caterina, who reported a male not breathing, and the time police showed up at the Telegraph Hill apartment where Adachi was stricken. And that was two hours after Adachi had been declared dead at California Pacific Medial Center in Pacific Heights. By the time police arrived at the apartment, Caterina was gone although sources tell us she has since been interviewed by investigators. Police wont confirm that on the record. Fire department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said there is no official protocol for notifying police unless there is some reason to contact the police, some sort of criminal activity for instance a gun or illegal drugs, or if the patient dies on the scene. Amy Osborne / Special to The Chronicle Talmadge said there were no obvious signs of illegal drugs or criminal activity at the apartment at 46 Telegraph Place when paramedics from Station 28 arrived at the scene, hence no need to call the cops. As for the syringes later listed in police reports: As far as sharps are concerned, I cant say with 100 percent certainty there are not cases where one got left behind by paramedics. After administering CPR and getting a pulse, paramedics took Adachi to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The police were then called, but then called off while en route by the medical examiners operations chief Christopher Wirowek, who according to the police report said that he had no reason to believe that 46 Telegraph Place was a crime scene. Nonetheless, police responded and wrote up a report complete with photographs that later wound up in the hands of the media. Its no secret that Adachi and parts of the San Francisco Police Department werent the best of friends, so getting the report to the media might have been a way of getting back at the deceased public defender. Whatever the case, the medical examiner has now asked the police departments homicide unit to assist in its investigation of Adachis death. The medical examiner isnt talking about why the cops are back on the case and will not be issuing comment nor releasing information regarding the death of San Francisco Public Defender Jeffrey Adachi until the conclusion of the ongoing investigation, Chief Medical Examiner Michael Hunter said in an email. Meantime, the conspiracy theories continue. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Phillip Matier appears Sundays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call 415-777-8815, or email pmatier@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @philmatier The storm that has punished the Bay Area all week finally forced the Russian River to leap its banks and turn the Sonoma County town of Guerneville into a stranded island early Wednesday, while throughout the rest of the region steady rains flooded roads, cut power to thousands and triggered the closure of dozens of schools. The North Bay took the worst of it, with emergency crews pulling dozens of cars and drivers out of roadways turned into mini-lakes, residents paddling canoes to get around neighborhoods, and businesses suffering untold damage to merchandise on their flooded first floors. Sonoma Countys Board of Supervisors responded by declaring a local emergency in the hope that Gov. Gavin Newsom will declare a state of emergency to free up disaster relief funds. The Sonoma County Sheriffs Office advised people Tuesday night to get out of Guerneville and its neighboring villages along River Road, like Rio Nido, but more than 1,800 people chose to remain, authorities said. So, by sunup they were stranded. Youre trapped. Youre on an island, a sheriffs deputy told one motorist trying to flee Guerneville early Wednesday. All you can do now is to find high ground and wait it out. The Russian River swelled to 45.38 feet by 9 p.m. its highest point in the day and more than 13 feet above flood stage. That made it the sixth-highest mark the Russian River has ever recorded. Guernevilles worst flood occurred in 1986, when the river reached 50 feet. The Weather Service reported that Venado (Sonoma County) the rainfall capital of Northern California got an astounding 20.48 inches in just 48 hours. And Tuesday was the wettest day in Santa Rosas history, recording 5.66 inches of rain. The Napa River crested at 26.47 feet at mid-morning Wednesday, about 1 foot above flood stage, but quickly receded after that. By nightfall, the river dropped to 23 feet, 2 feet below flood stage level, according to the Weather Service. People will be glad to know that the showers will diminish on Thursday, and we should be dry by Friday, Waldrun said. That sure is good news from what weve seen lately. One of the many flooding casualties in the 4,500-soul tourist town of Guerneville was the popular R3 Hotel resort. Guests evacuated Tuesday night, but hotel overseer Luis Lowenberg stayed behind to look after the damage. By late morning, 19 of the 23 rooms were flooded. So was the hotel stage, known as a hot draw for drag shows. The hotels offices, bar, restaurant and kitchen were flooded by nightfall, he said. Patio chairs bobbed in brown water that swallowed the hotels pool area. Tiny, shining lights lining the double-door entrance to the bar from the pool reflected on the brown water below on Wednesday night. A lot of this town is underwater, Lowenberg said. We are like a little island right now. In the lowest-lying parts of town, 4 feet of water lapped at the walls of businesses, cars sat with their roofs peeking up above mini-waves, and the only traffic on some roads was canoes and kayaks. Its going to take a little work to clean up, Lowenberg understated. Parts of Petaluma and Sebastopol also took hard hits including the Leisure Lake Village mobile home park in Petaluma, where residents spent a chilly night surrounded by floodwater. At The Barlow, a popular 12.5-acre outdoor marketplace area in Sebastopol, the brown floodwater had been compromised by sewage and fuel, according to a Facebook post by the market officials. They warned residents to stay out of the water. One employee of a Chevron gas station on nearby Petaluma Boulevard North was rescued overnight by an emergency vehicle after the station was surrounded by water. He was still counting change when we were trying to hustle him out of there, said Matt Ilonummi, a Petaluma police reserve officer. Elsewhere in the region, officials scrambled to deal with hundreds of disruptions. Below are some of the storms impacts: Schools Dozens of schools in Sonoma and Marin counties had to close Wednesday due to flooding. Among those in Sonoma were the entire Cloverdale, Forestville and Guerneville school districts. In Marin, all campuses in the Shoreline Unified School District were shuttered. Additional closures were set for Thursday at multiple Sonoma County school districts, including: Forestville Union School District, Guerneville School District, Monte Rio School District, Montgomery School District, Sebastopol Union School District, The REACH Charter School, Harmony School District, Twin Hills School District, West Sonoma County Union High School District, and Oak Grove School District. Traffic Roads were a mess everywhere from downed trees, flooded pavement and mudslides. Among the worst hit, in addition to the Guerneville-area shutdowns, was Highway 37 in Novato, which closed in both directions between Atherton Road and Highway 101 due to flooding. Highway 12 in Sebastapol was officially closed after midnight from Llano Road to Petaluma Avenue due to flooding from the Laguna De Santa Rosa. Power outages By 9:30 a.m., the region had a high of 7,294 power outages, with the majority in the North Bay, said Karly Hernandez, a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. spokeswoman. By 4:30 p.m., 4,126 customers had outages all in the North Bay, with the majority in Sonoma County. Air travel San Francisco International Airport issued a ground-delay program Wednesday morning for flights coming in and out of the airport due to the relentless rainfall that has blasted the region, officials said. By Wednesday night, the airport reported 395 delays and 53 cancellations, said Charles Navigante, an airport duty manager. Snow The heavy snow and winds of up to 90 mph that have lashed the Sierra Nevada this week brought whiteout conditions to many mountain roads, and closed Interstate 80 between Colfax (Placer County) and the Nevada state line Wednesday morning. The snow also blanketed ski slopes with powder. In the 24 hours ending at noon Wednesday, Sierra-at-Tahoe recorded 9 inches of snow, Northstar saw 16 inches of snow, and Sugar Bowl recorded 26 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Services Sacramento office. Chronicle staff writers Sarah Ravani, Gwendolyn Wu, Ashley McBride and Lauren Hernandez contributed to this report. Kevin Fagan and Peter Fimrite are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: kfagan@sfchronicle.com, pfimrite@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @KevinChron, @pfimrite The second day of a wet and unrelenting storm socked the Bay Area and beyond on Tuesday to drench the North Bay, knock out power to thousands, dump several feet of snow in the Sierra and trigger mandatory evacuations along the Russian River. The Russian River reached flood stage at 32 feet Tuesday night, and Sonoma County officials warned that continuing rainfall would cause the waterway to rise to 46 feet, inundating the area, by 11 p.m. Wednesday. We have some serious flooding going on in the Russian River right now, and we are urging all residents to evacuate, Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick said Tuesday night. Please do not wait until 10 oclock tomorrow night. The river is expected to stay above flood levels for nearly 24 hours before receding to 32 feet on Friday night, said Christopher Godley, director of emergency management for Sonoma County. The expected 46 feet would be the sixth-highest crest of the Russian River on record. The towns worst flood occurred in 1986, when the river reached 50 feet. The last time the Russian River came close to breaking that record was on Jan. 1, 1997, when it crested at 44.99 feet. Its not looking too good for Guerneville, said Steve Anderson, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. As the river rises Wednesday, said Sonoma County Sheriffs Office spokesman Sgt. Spencer Crum, floodwaters will cut off the major arteries in and out of Guerneville, leaving the town of about 4,500 more or less an island. There will be a point that all people will be isolated from what we normally consider civilization, Crum said. If people are not ready to survive on their own for a few days, they should get out. At a Tuesday night news conference, Sonoma County officials urged residents to evacuate as soon as possible, as many roads will probably be blocked by Wednesday night. Rainfall totals for the North Bay in the 24-hour period ending at 8 p.m. were stunning: 11 inches in Venado, 4.4 inches in Santa Rosa, 3.3 inches in St. Helena, 6 inches in Angwin and 4.4 inches in Kentfield. Elsewhere in the Bay Area, rainfall totals were rather average less than an inch of rain in San Francisco and Oakland. As the rain pounded down in Guerneville on Tuesday, residents, many with long experience dealing with floods, prepared for the inevitable. Folks packed trailers, moved belongings upstairs and purchased supplies for what could be days of isolation followed by a slog through mud and remaining floodwater. I have two teenage grandkids, and they are going into Santa Rosa for a couple of days to ride it out with friends, said Ed Smith, a 66-year-old retired firefighter who lives on Neely Road, which floods when the Russian River reaches 32 feet. Im going to stay home, and if there is power, Ill watch a movie or something, he said. Were a little community over here. Smith has been through numerous floods since he moved to Guerneville in 1982, including the devastating 1986 and 95 floods. He said his neighbor usually gets out a boat during floods and shuttles people back and forth. Everybody just comes together and we kind of have a good time, Smith said. Theres always a lot of cleanup. This weekend will be a cleanup weekend. As soon as the water goes down, everybody will get together and start cleaning up. Sean Whiting, a 58-year-old who suffers from liver cancer and lives on Mill Street, said he was mostly worried about his ride to a San Francisco hospital early Wednesday. Im single, and I can make it through a flood, said Whiting, as he made his way in rain gear through heavy rain to take a look at the rising river. I have enough provisions that I can wait it out, but I have a ride coming at 5 a.m., and Im hoping they can make it through. Art Gates, 53, and his 23-year-old daughter, Danielle, looked concerned as they turned toward the river, a half block from their First Street home. Were just getting stuff off the ground for now, Art Gates said. If the predictions are right, itll get into the bottom floor of our house. If floodwaters get too high, he said, the plan is to either go to a cabin he owns or stay in a Motel 6 in Santa Rosa. We have a cabin on the hill, but once you get in, you cant get out, he said. The last time we did it, in 1986, we were stuck in the cabin for two weeks. Well see how high it gets above flood stage before I make a decision. Ed Hendry, 57, said he is expecting floodwaters higher than he has seen in the seven years he has lived in the Fife Creek Commons, a large apartment complex near downtown Guerneville. Everybody knows this is going to be a big one, Hendry said. Well be surrounded by water for a day or two, but we stocked up on water and batteries and candles in case the power goes out. Someone in the complex had already pulled out a canoe, as had several others around town. These people have been through this before. They know the routine, he said. Parts of Highway 116 will shut down if the river reaches 44 feet, flooding the citys Safeway, and Monte Rio and Guerneville River Park would also be overtaken, officials said. Valen Dudley, a bookseller at Twice Told Books downtown, spent her morning moving some of the 8,000 books in the store from the lower shelves to higher ground. We are definitely rearranging our inventory to account for possible flooding, she said, adding that some of the collectible books will likely have to be moved out of the store. Here are the other biggest impacts of the storm: Snow There has been so much snow in the Sierra that Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows Ski Resort reported its snowiest month on record shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday. Nearly 24 feet has blanketed the hills and conifers, burying road signs, since February began. A winter storm warning was issued for the Sierra above 4,500 feet, with 2 to 5 feet of snow possible and up to 8 feet in some locations. Driving is expected to be difficult Wednesday and chain requirements will be in effect on both Interstate 80 and Highway 50 to Lake Tahoe. Power outages Power outages were reported across the Bay Area on Tuesday, with whipping winds and gusts up to 50 mph knocking down trees and power lines in some locations, officials said. By Tuesday night, 3,733 customers were still in the dark, which was an improvement from the high of 12,453 customers mostly on the Peninsula who lost electricity. Air travel At least 350 flights were delayed and 183 flights were canceled Tuesday at San Francisco International Airport. No weather-related delays or cancellations were reported at Oakland International Airport or the Sonoma County Airport. San Jose International Airport did not immediately respond to a request for comment. More flooding Scores of roads were closed by high waters in the North Bay, and dozens of roads were blocked off in Sonoma County and West Marin. Access roads into Point Reyes National Seashore were flooded Tuesday, and park officials were warning people against coming to the area. In Napa County, the Napa River near St. Helena was nearing its flood stage of 18 feet by Tuesday evening, officials said. In San Francisco, officials were offering 10 free sandbags to keep water out of buildings. Bags can be picked up between 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Public Works operations yard near Marin and Kansas streets in the Bayview neighborhood. San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Ashley McBride and Sarah Ravani contributed to this report. Peter Fimrite, Michael Cabanatuan and Lauren Hernandez are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: pfimrite@sfchronicle.com, lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com, mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com The Glide Foundation, which offers food for the hungry, care for the needy and freewheeling religious services at its home of 88 years in the Tenderloin, struck back Wednesday at an apparent takeover attempt by its parent organization, telling a judge that its property is held in trust for the people of San Francisco and not the United Methodist Church. The parent church filed suit in December accusing Glide of violating the denominations governing rules and claiming title to all the foundations property, including the church building at Ellis and Taylor streets. On Wednesday, the foundation responded with a declaration of independence in the form of a countersuit. The trust organization established by Lizzie Glide, the Methodist philanthropist who bought the land in 1929, is a charitable trust, and the beneficiaries are the people of San Francisco, the foundations lawyers said in a filing in San Francisco Superior Court. None of the assets held by Glide are held in trust for the United Methodist Church. Mary Glide, a member of the foundations board, said Wednesday that when her great-great-grandmother laid the cornerstone for the church in 1931, she had it inscribed as a house of prayer for all. Besides asking the court to declare the Glide Foundation in control of church property, the countersuit seeks damages against the parent churchs California-Nevada affiliate and its bishop, Minerva Carcano, for refusing to appoint a pastor at Glide after the previous pastor, Jay Williams, resigned in April. Carcano also transferred the churchs two associate pastors. Carcanos office said the bishop had not yet reviewed the foundations court filing. The confrontation is cultural as well as legal and financial, as illustrated in St. Louis this week at the worldwide conference of delegates of the United Methodist Church, which has 12 million members. The delegates voted narrowly Tuesday to reaffirm church policy that declares homosexuality to be incompatible with Christian teaching, rejects same-sex marriage and bars lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender Methodists from serving as pastors. Enforcement of the policy is reportedly far from rigid, but it stands in contrast to the culture at Glide, personified by the Rev. Cecil Williams, who became the churchs pastor in 1966. A year later, Williams removed the cross from the churchs sanctuary to send a message of inclusion and love and to open his sermons and services to all, the foundation said in its court filing. The church building became a home of charity and social services, serving more than 750,000 free meals a year, and housing programs for the homeless, abused women and people living with AIDS. Williams presided over same-sex weddings before they were legalized, and helped to establish the choir and band featured in rollicking Sunday ceremonies that draw participants of many faiths. Williams retired in 2000 but remains active in the church. Church membership, which had dwindled to 35 in 1966, totaled more than 13,000 at the end of 2017, the foundation said. Carcano, who became regional bishop in 2016, said in June that the Glide Sunday celebration was no longer a Methodist service, but now was attended mostly by people of other faiths such as Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim and Wiccan. Atheists and agnostics comprise another segment of the Glide community. In its December lawsuit, the United Methodist Church declared that, in its shameful attempt to disaffiliate from the Methodist Church, the Glide Foundation breached its solemn, irrevocable promises to honor Ms. Glides wishes and forever be bound by the rules and regulations of the Methodist Church. The suit seeks a court order that all Glide property, including the church building, are held in trust for the parent church. The countersuit took a contrary position. The foundation established by Lizzie Glide is not a local church or an agency or institution of the United Methodist Church, but instead an independent nonprofit with the power to manage its own property, the lawyers said. Mary Glide, a San Mateo resident who started a childrens program at the church while working at a venture capital firm, said she and other board members are trying to make sure Glide can continue in its current mission, no matter who wins in court. In the meantime, she said, I believe Glide is doing exactly what Lizzie Glide intended. She was a very inclusive person. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@ sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko The heavy downpour dousing the Bay Area resulted in traffic delays across the region Wednesday as multiple collisions, mudslides, rising tides and falling debris caused backups on roadways and ferry crossings, officials said. Around 1:48 p.m., a multi-vehicle crash closed down the right lane of southbound Interstate 680 in Alamo just south of Stone Valley Road. Stormy weather will close down SMART train tracks in Novato. The agency will deploy connecting buses at 4 p.m. for travelers going between the Novato San Marin and Novato Hamilton stations. Around 1 p.m., a multi-vehicle crash with injuries on eastbound Highway 92 triggered a severe traffic alert in Hayward west of Clawiter Road, officials said. The accident is blocking the right lane and exit ramp on the highway. In San Mateo County, officials warned residents to avoid Highway 1 at Kelly Avenue, where a downed tree blocked one northbound lane. An accident in Petaluma at Washington and Keokuk streets was also causing backups shortly before 1 p.m., police said. All lanes were blocked in both directions on Highway 4 at about 10 a.m. in Discovery Bay due to an overturned tractor trailer. There is no estimated time for when the roadway will reopen. Highway 37 in Novato was blocked in both directions from Atherton Avenue to Highway 101 after a levee breached for the second time in two weeks, according to the Marin County Sheriffs Office. Officials estimate the roadway wont re-open until March 3. The J-Mack Ferry on Highway 220 in Walnut Grove also closed Wednesday morning due to high water levels and abnormally strong currents. Three northbound lanes on Interstate 280 at San Bruno Avenue in San Francisco were closed at about 6:45 a.m. due to two separate crashes that involved four vehicles total, according to the California Highway Patrol. A major traffic alert was issued for the area for nearly an hour with delays up to 20 minutes reported. The lanes were reopened by about 7:30 a.m. One person, who was not identified, was transported to San Francisco General Hospital. The extent of their injuries were unknown, said Officer Diaz, a CHP spokesman. It looks like the speed and the weather caused both the collisions, he said. At about 7:25 a.m., officials advised motorists to stay away from 24th and Florida streets in San Francisco due to a fallen tree. The tree was cleared from the roadway by about 9 a.m. Limantour Road at the Point Reyes Station was closed due to a downed tree. The gate leading into Point Reyes National Seashore was closed until the tree is cleared, officials said. Downed trees were reported throughout the region, including in Walnut Creek, El Sobrante and Santa Rosa, officials said. A driver was stuck in mud on Cazadero Highway in Santa Rosa. Crews also cleared the scene of a three-car crash that occurred about 6:05 a.m. on the westbound lanes of Interstate 580 near the Interstate 80 interchange, CHP said. The vehicles involved a gray Toyota Camry, black Dodge Ram and a sedan briefly blocked lanes. The Alameda County Fire Department responded to the scene. Mudslides blocked lanes on Highway 121 near Wooden Valley Road and on Knoxville Road in Napa, CHP said. A four-car crash blocked lanes in both directions on Highway 29 near the Yountville off-ramp, the CHP said. Traffic was restored mid-morning. Also in Napa, a vehicle was stuck in a pool of water just before 6 a.m. at Deer Park Road and Highway 29, officials said. Napa and Petaluma reported major flooding early Wednesday with numerous roadways throughout both cities shutting down. In Walnut Creek, a fallen tree blocked the key commute artery of Ygnacio Valley Boulevard between Civic Drive and Walnut Boulevard in the early morning, causing a massive traffic backup for drivers trying to reach the freeways. The tree also took out a power line. By 11:30 a.m., two eastbound lanes and one westbound lane were reopened. Chronicle Staff Writers Kevin Fagan and Gwendolyn Wu contributed to this report. Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani A federal appeals court upheld about $8 million in damages Tuesday to the former general counsel of a Bay Area laboratory who was fired after telling company officials about possible bribery and records falsification by the labs employees in China. Bio-Rad Laboratories said it fired Sanford Wadler in 2013 for poor performance and found no evidence of wrongdoing by its employees. But the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said there was evidence to support a 2017 verdict by a federal court jury in San Francisco that Wadler had acted as a whistle-blower and was dismissed in retaliation for reporting conduct that he reasonably believed to be illegal. The 3-0 ruling was written by Judge Mark Bennett, his first majority opinion since President Trump appointed him to the court in July. The ruling vindicates our clients claim that he was wrongfully terminated, said attorney Michael von Loewenfeldt. Youre not supposed to fire people for reporting potential misconduct at your company, and thats clearly what they did. Bio-Rads lawyer, Kathleen Sullivan, said the company was pleased that the court had overturned part of the jury verdict and reduced jurors initial $11 million damage award by $2.96 million. The court said the reduction was required by a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling interpreting a federal whistle-blower law. Bio-Rad is evaluating its further appellate options, Sullivan said. The company, based in Hercules, makes devices for medical diagnoses and biological testing. In a separate matter, Bio-Rad paid the U.S. government $55 million in 2014 to settle allegations of bribery and other misconduct by employees in Vietnam, Thailand and Russia. Those allegations stemmed from an independent investigation the company ordered at Wadlers recommendation in 2009, the court said. Wadler, a longtime Bio-Rad attorney, said he obtained suspicious documents from the companys Chinese transactions in 2012 and reported the possibility of bribery to Chief Executive Officer Norman Schwartz, who refused to take action. Wadler said further research uncovered unauthorized sales contracts with distributors in China, including product giveaways that were used to boost sales commissions. But another independent investigation by an outside law firm found no wrongdoing, the court said. Schwartz fired Wadler three days later. Disputing Wadlers claim of retaliation, the company cited a critical evaluation of his job performance that bore Schwartzs name and a date in April 2013, nearly two months before the firing. But Wadlers lawyers presented evidence that the date had been falsified and that the document actually had been created a month after he was fired. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko Negotiators for the Oakland Unified School District said they upped their pay raise offer to teachers after striking educators and their supporters Wednesday shut down a planned school board meeting. The latest proposal, which district officials said they presented to teachers Monday, would give them an 8 percent raise over three years and a one-time, retroactive 2 percent bonus, up from the prior 7 percent bump and 1.5 bonus offered a week ago. Union leaders have been pushing for 12 percent over three years. On Wednesday evening, they criticized the district for releasing the latest offer publicly rather than bargaining in private. Wednesday marked the fifth day of the strike the longest in recent Oakland history thats brought normal school operations to a standstill. Talks have gotten a boost from elected officials stepping in to mediate, including Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Alameda, and Tony Thurmond, the state superintendent of public instruction. Also Wednesday, the school board postponed a decision on whether to make nearly $22 million in cuts to the 2019-20 budget, including eliminating central office staff, foster youth case managers, restorative-justice program coordinators and school site security officers. Teachers from San Francisco, Berkeley, San Lorenzo and Albany were planning a sickout Thursday to rally with their Oakland colleagues on the picket lines. Teachers from outside the district said they are learning strategies from Oakland educators that they can use for their next round of contract bargaining. Greg McGarry, an English teacher at Mission High School in San Francisco, said he expected as many as 60 teachers from outside districts to join the Oakland picket lines Thursday. He said the action, not sanctioned by their unions, was about showing solidarity. Part of the reason weve been so weak so long as an occupation is because weve been stratified, atomized, McGarry said. A lot of people say, Well, my children need me in the classroom. But they also need us in the streets. Teachers are expecting some of their students to join them. McGarry said, for his part, he would not encourage students to be absent but that the choice was theirs. Just 6 percent of Oakland students have attended school during the teachers strike, which district officials estimate has led to a net $1 million daily loss the cost of student absences and substitute teachers, minus what they save by not paying employees on strike. Hannah Edber, an English teacher at Albany High School, said she and her colleagues would do a walk-in at 8 a.m. that involves rallying outside the school, then entering classrooms in union gear. The issues being raised by OEA are the same issues that our union is raising with our bargaining class size and cuts to special education, Edber said. Their fight is our fight, and their kids are our kids. Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov They came to speak for the trees. In a month or so, the seven stately ficus trees bordering Washington Square Park on Columbus Avenue are likely to meet their fate at the business end of a wood chipper. But on Monday night, in what was probably the final appeal to save them, eight San Franciscans rose in their defense. Like much of San Franciscos ficus population, the Columbus Avenue trees have been condemned by the Public Works Department as too risky to leave standing. Despite their impressive canopies, ficus are susceptible to limb failure, and their particularly belligerent roots warp and buckle sidewalks. Its been illegal to plant the spindly trees in San Francisco since the 1990s, and in 2014, Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru issued an order that made it easier to remove the trees after a rash of limb failures. And while speakers came to address the case of just seven sidewalk trees, their objections reflected wider concerns about the citys tree-maintenance practices and what many see as its anemic attempts to grow San Franciscos urban canopy. Each month the public gets a chance to protest tree removals before Nuru approves them. At Mondays hearing, Public Works Urban Forestry Superintendent Carla Short flipped through a slideshow of the trees, explaining why the department decided to take them down. Some have weak limbs; some have been struck by vehicles repeatedly; some are interfering with Muni wires. And while Public Works plans to replace the ficus with either Brisbane boxes or gingko trees, Shorts presentation did little to assuage those opposed to their removal, some of whom said Washington Square would look like a bombed-out shell if they were cut down. Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle The ficus trees along Columbus were planted to beautify S.F. and to benefit the residents and visitors to North Beach. Please dont destroy this legacy, said Patsy Ferguson, who lives on Russian Hill and gives walking tours of the area tours that begin beneath the trees she wants saved. To reinforce her point, resident Lance Carnes handed over an unofficial petition signed by 500 people urging preservation of the trees. On a broader level, the Columbus Avenue ficus reflect dissatisfaction with how Public Works and other agencies are handling San Franciscos urban forest. At 13.7 percent of its area, San Francisco has one of the smallest tree canopies of any major U.S. city, according to Public Works Urban Forest Plan. Los Angeles, by comparison, has 21 percent canopy coverage; New York has 24 percent. Progress at enlarging that canopy has been glacially slow. A 2014 plan set a goal of 50,000 new trees in San Francisco by 2034 or about 2,500 trees annually. Last fiscal year, the city came up 2,499 trees short, as the number of trees planted (3,157) exceeded the number of trees removed (3,156) by a single tree, according to the annual urban forest report from the Department of the Environment. Trees are not just pretty green things. Theyre municipal infrastructure, Joshua Klipp, an attorney and frequent critic of the citys tree management, said at the hearing. We wouldnt treat our sewer system, our power grid, not even our free WiFi this way. Were at a crisis juncture right now. Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle City officials and tree advocates agree that a chronic lack of funding for planting and watering trees is a big reason for the slow growth of the urban canopy. Voters passed Proposition E in 2016, which gave Public Works $19 million a year to maintain the citys street trees. That money is used primarily for trimming and removal, and none of it goes toward replanting and watering, the largest costs of growing the canopy. Short said it usually takes three years of watering before a newly planted tree can thrive on its own. Public Works tree-planting budget this year is $2.5 million, and the sources of that money can be volatile. There is not a sustainable funding source, such as what the Proposition E ballot measure provided for tree maintenance, said Rachel Gordon, a spokeswoman for Public Works. Revenue sources for planting include developer fees, fines for damaging or removing street trees, transportation sales taxes, general fund allocations, and the occasional discretionary expenditure by district supervisors. Were finding its really hard to find the money in this city to plant trees, said Dan Flanagan, executive director of Friends of the Urban Forest. Many cities in the U.S., primarily on the East Coast, were carved out of forests. Our city was carved basically out of sand dunes. Theres no tree DNA in this city. Flanagan said he was working with the mayors office and the Board of Supervisors to include more money for tree planting and maintenance in next years budget. Short said that tree planting would begin to accelerate once Public Works arborists and tree trimmers catch up with years of deferred maintenance. Prior to the passage of Prop. E, property owners were responsible for caring for most of the citys street trees a confusing and widely unpopular practice that resulted in substantial neglect that the department is starting to make up for. Still, Short knows the slow pace of replanting has eroded the publics faith in the citys ability to grow the urban forest. Thats why she has pledged to have the Columbus Avenue trees replaced within three months of their removal. Were starting with a deficit of trust, she said. But (the Columbus Avenue project) is an opportunity for us to build that trust with the community. Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa By Will Stewart, The Daily Mail | Feb. 26, 2019 A baby suffered serious head injuries after being dropped by a flight attendant at the end of a low-cost airline flight. The five-month-old girl fell out of her child carrier as the crew member brought her down the Boeing 737 steps at Surgut Airport in Russia. The girl 'suffered serious head injuries' including internal bruising leading to concussion and a broken nose. She was rushed to hospital after the accident at the end of a flight by Pobeda, a low-cost operator owned by state carrier Aeroflot. The child is being checked by specialists including neurologists. The airline issued an abject apology after the incident following the incident. 'We are very sorry,' said a spokesperson, clarifying the accident was on the plane's steps in subzero temperatures after landing. 'A very careful investigation is being conducted now, and we will inform about the details later. 'The air carrier will fully compensate all the expenses associated with the treatment of the child.' One version was that the flight attendant - believed to be male - tried to help the mother who was loaded with bags. But he failed to realise the child was not strapped properly into the carry cradle. The baby then 'fell out crashing her head on the steps'. An airline source said the attendant 'sincerely wanted to help the customer' - the child's mother. Afterwards the cabin crew member had gone on his own initiative to the hospital to check on the condition of the baby but was rebuffed for 'privacy' reasons, according to reports. 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. London, KY (40741) Today Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 85F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Scattered showers and thunderstorms, especially during the evening. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. Radio New Zealand | Feb. 27, 2019 As Air New Zealand's slashed domestic airfares are fast selling out, mayors from the regions say they're worried there won't be enough flights to satisfy the demand. The national carrier is cutting prices in it's biggest price shakeup in more than a decade. Its lowest fares for 41 domestic flight routes are slashed by up to 50 percent. Annually, Air NZ will make more than 750,000 seats available for less than US$50. Air NZ chief executive Christopher Luxon is calling it a win for the regions. New Plymouth mayor Neil Holdom told Morning Report he welcomes the news. "It's about time." Flights to and from Auckland and Wellington at midday will start from US$39, these same flights used to be about US$100, he said. However he said he doesn't want to see business people who catch earlier flights having to subsidize these prices. "What we know is that where there isn't competition, Air NZ is running an unregulated monopoly and that's what has been really driving their domestic performance." Taupo mayor David Trewavas also welcomes the changes. "It's a signal to the regions that they do care about us," he said. But he said flights are already selling out fast. "The challenge for us is the actual availability of these flights," he told Morning Report. "My question to Air NZ will be can we have enough flights to satisfy the demand." The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged movie director and convicted felon Daniel Adams, music producer Michael Flanders, and companies under their control with defrauding two investors in connection with financing the movie entitled An L.A. Minute. The SEC's complaint alleges that, in 2016, Adams and Flanders induced the two individuals to invest $160,000 through two companies, Spiderworx Media LLC and An L.A. Minute LLC, using a pattern of lies and deception. According to the complaint, Adams and Flanders falsely stated to one of the investors that they had each invested in the film and would not receive any of the funds being raised until bank financing was obtained. The complaint further alleges that Adams misrepresented how investor proceeds had previously been spent and fraudulently stated that the money the investor had provided would be used exclusively to pay attorneys. The complaint alleges that, in reality, Adams and Flanders received $21,062 and $18,500, respectively, from the $60,000 investment, and that only $20,000 was paid to an attorney. The complaint further alleges that Adams and Flanders also made misrepresentations to the second investor, who said he would invest $100,000 only if $200,000 was first raised elsewhere. According to the complaint, Flanders forwarded the investor two fabricated emails Adams had prepared containing a fictitious wire transfer confirmation and a forged signature page, to create the false appearance that $200,000 had been raised from another investor. The complaint alleges that Adams and Flanders personally received $29,000 and $10,000, respectively, from the $100,000 investment. Adams previously pleaded guilty to tax fraud and larceny in 2012, was ordered to pay nearly $4.4 million in restitution to the State of Massachusetts, and served a twenty-one month prison term. The SEC's complaint, filed in federal court in California, charges Adams, Flanders, Spiderworx Media LLC, and An L.A. Minute LLC, with violations of the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5(b) thereunder. The complaint seeks injunctive relief, including a conduct-based injunction prohibiting Adams from participating in any unregistered securities transactions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest by Adams and Flanders, and penalties against all the defendants. The SEC's investigation was conducted by William S. Fiske and supervised by Victoria A. Levin of the SEC's Los Angeles Regional Office. The litigation will be led by Amy J. Longo. Amazon has placed a high-profile Seattle office project on the sublease market, signaling plans to scale down its growth in its hometown. A marketing flier obtained by GeekWire confirms that the tech giant is seeking new tenants for its office space in Rainier Square, a building under construction that will one day be the city's second-tallest skyscraper. Amazon had leased all 30 floors of office space in the building. After weeks of rumors, the listing was made official over the weekend, according to real estate brokers familiar with the marketing efforts. Amazon will make all of the office space it leased in Rainier Square available to other companies. The skyscraper project, once an emblem of Amazon's ambitions in Seattle's urban core, now becomes a symbol of its uncertain future in its hometown. The move follows Amazon's decision to back out of its HQ2 project in New York City after opposition there, amid signs that the company will focus its Seattle-area growth in nearby Bellevue, Wash. Real estate company JLL is listing the space on the company's behalf, according to the flier. Earlier this month, a real estate broker who represents tenants in downtown Seattle told GeekWire that Apple, Dropbox, and Oracle were "circling" as possible tenants for Rainier Square, which is located at 4th and Union Street. RELATED: Amazon's future in Seattle uncertain as neighboring city looks more and more like HQ2 Amazon pulling out of Rainier Square follows the company's surprise decision to nix plans to open a 25,000-person office in New York. Earlier this month, Amazon canceled its New York "HQ2," blaming elected officials who vowed to fight the deal. The New York resistance effort mirrored opposition Amazon faces in Seattle. It's not hard to draw a line between the battles; two Seattle City Councilmembers traveled to New York to warn Amazon opponents about what its like to have the company in your backyard. RELATED: Amazon is officially hiring at New York 'HQ2' Rainier Square was at the center of a heated tax battle between Amazon and Seattle last year that became emblematic of the company's troubled relationship with its hometown. As Seattle considered a tax on top-grossing businesses to fund affordable housing, Amazon threatened not to move into Rainier Square, claiming the City Council's approach "forces us to question our growth here." Although Amazon came out on top in that dispute, its future at Rainier Square remained uncertain. Amazon currently occupies 12 million square feet of office space in Seattle and has several additional projects under construction. The company will "continue to evaluate future growth" when those projects are finished, an Amazon spokesperson told GeekWire previously. From 2013 to 2017, Amazon scooped up at least 800,000 square feet of office space in Seattle every year, according to GeekWire research. But aside from confirming a pair of previously reported leases last year, Amazon hasn't snapped up any additional office space in Seattle proper. RELATED: Amazon launches 'Amazon Future Engineer' program to support computer science education But in neighboring Bellevue, Amazon is leasing more than 1 million square feet of office space and is rumored to be looking for a lot more. Update 10:30 a.m. An Amazon spokesperson provided the statement below, confirming plans to sublease Rainier Square. "We are currently building two million square feet of office space in our South Lake Union campus in Seattle. We are always evaluating our space requirements and intend to sublease Rainier Square based on current plans. We have more than 9,000 open roles in Seattle and will continue to evaluate future growth." If you love to take advantage of the live music offerings near you, this week offers several great reasons to leave the house. From an African music performance to a Mardi Gras cabaret show, read on for a local music to-do list to fill your calendar this week. Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions. Habib Koite and Bassekou Kouyate Recognized by Rolling Stone magazine as the biggest pop star in Africa, Habib Koite combines talents with fellow Mali native Bassekou Kouyate, a master of the ngoni, a traditional African lute. Stop by the Triple Door for a unique performance featuring jazz, rock and classical influences. When: Thursday, February 28, 9 p.m. Where: The Triple Door, 216 Union St. Price: $17.50 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets "Le Faux" Seattle's best female impersonators take on the personas of megastars such as Cher, Lady Gaga, Liza Minnelli and more. Le Faux is the longest-running show of its kind in the city. Julia's on Broadway offers a full bar and appetizers for purchase before and during the show. Grab your tickets fast before they sell out. When: Friday, March 1, 9 p.m. Where: Julia's on Broadway, 300 Broadway East Price: $22-$32 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Cabaret Circus Show and Mardi Gras Dance Party Check out this Mardi Gras-themed show that features all your favorite circus acts including the high wire, flying trapeze, aerial arts and other variety acts with a little naughty sprinkled in. Stop by at 8 p.m. to pregame for the event at the Mardi Gras bar, then settle in for the show that starts at 9 p.m. When: Saturday, March 2, 8 p.m. Where: Emerald City Trapeze Arts, 2702 Sixth Ave. South Price: $45-60 Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Want to explore the freshest new spots in Seattle? From a Japanese restaurant to an art gallery featuring food, read on for the newest businesses to arrive near you. Photo: naoko t./Yelp Now open at 219 Broadway East, Suite 14, in Capitol Hill is Taneda Sushi In Kaiseki. The chef-driven sushi bar and Japanese restaurant comes courtesy of Hideaki Taneda, a native of Japan who began his culinary career in Tokyo, according to the eatery's website. It features an omakase dining experience in which the chef selects the dishes. A high-end option is the Ultimate Omakase Menu, which features eight appetizers and 15 pieces of sushi ($100 and up). Here's the sample menu. Flying Apron Photo: Flying Apron/Yelp Flying Apron is a bakery and vegan spot, offering coffee and tea and more, that recently opened its doors at 4709 California Ave. SW in West Seattle Junction. The second location of this Seattle-based businesses is completely plant-focused and brought to you by Jeff Silva and Angela Cough. Options at this place include savory and sweet fare options including pizza and cookies. Locally roasted coffee is also on offer. This place also caters weddings. Check out the website for a complete list of offerings. Modernist Cuisine Gallery Photo: modernist cuisine gallery/Yelp Modernist Cuisine Gallery is an art gallery that's made its debut at 1403 First Ave. in Pike Market. Located right next to Pike Place Market and across the street from the Seattle Art Museum, this tasty collection of art comes to you courtesy of Nathan Myhrvold. Born and raised in Seattle, Myrhvold's art is inspired from fare of the area. Check out the website for more information. This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. The Washington State Senate, on a party-line 28-21 vote, approved legislation Wednesday requiring that all the state's K-12 public schools offer a sex education curriculum, with parents having the option to opt out. Lawmakers heard a lengthy debate, with supporters saying kids must learn early how to resist and reject sexual overtures, while Republican opponents warned of "state mandates," a "social agenda" and "Seattle values." "This legislation is not about sex education, but about a social agenda . . . a social agenda with a world view," said Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, who asked: "Why is Seattle allowed to tell me in Ferndale how our school is to be run?" The sex ed vote was "an historic day in a bad way," added Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley. "What they (constituents) don't like is people jamming Seattle values down their throats and that is what they are doing here." EARLIER: Sex education bill -- start young, stress consent Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Federal Way, said, however, that the bill should be dedicated to girls she met as a Tacoma teacher who found themselves "pregnant and parenting while not having training" in sex education or choices. One out of every 14 women in America is sexually assaulted by age 18, argued Sen. Lisa Wellman, D-Mercer Island. They need to "learn how to say no . . . You can say something. It's O.K. to say something." "Consent is not being taught, students are not being given a safe place to learn," Wellman added. Opposition was led by Ericksen, the rural Whatcom County lawmaker who co-chaired President Trump's 2016 campaign in Washington. Statewide sex education will "alienate large numbers of people in Washington state," Ericksen warned. He described the legislation as "offensive and ridiculous" and a "one size only" program many parents will hold suspect. Republicans offered a succession of amendments, notably one nixing sex ed in early trades. Not wise, said Wellman, adding: "Little kids need to know there is a right not to let other people touch their bodies." "They don't know how to say 'No'," added Sen. Dean Takko, D-Longview. But Padden wondered about the wisdom of starting young, saying: "I don't know about you folks but when I went to kindergarten my big concern was having a blanket for my nap." ALSO FROM CONNELLY: McConnell rolls over Murray, Cantwell on Trump court appointment SB 5395 would require public schools to provide evidence-based sexual health education curricula from a list developed by the State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, or other sources that satisfy the Superintendent's office. The legislation goes to the state House of Representatives. The Senate also passed, on a bipartisan 29-20 vote, legislation requiring school districts to adopt or amend anti-harassment policies to ensure they are inclusive of needs of transgender students. The Senate debate was serious, with one thoughtful Republican voice heard in opposition. Sen. Maureen Walsh, R-College Place, argued that Democrats were "going a little too far with the mandates on this one." "I don't want to over-inform," Walsh said. "Kids have a lot of carnal knowledge now, a lot more than when I was their age." The U.S. House of Representatives voted 245-182 on Tuesday to overturn President Trump's declaration of national emergency on the Mexican border, a near-party line vote with only 13 Republicans backing the resolution. Two of the 13 Republicans -- U.S. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Jaime Herrera Beutler -- were from this state. A third Northwest Republican, Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon, also voted Yes. McMorris Rodgers is a former member of the House Republican leadership. Walden is a former chair of the National Republican Congressional committee. "My vote to disapprove of unilateral executive action had nothing to do with the merits of building President Trump's wall -- I support it," McMorris Rodgers said in a statement following the House vote. "It was a vote based on my deeply held conviction that we must reassert the people's ability to speak through their representatives in Congress. That's the best way to keep us free and protect our liberties." EARLIER: Two Wash. Republican House members decry Trump's state of emergency Herrera Beutler, in a statement earlier this month, said Trump was setting a "dangerous precedent." "If President Obama had ever hinted of using executive powers in this way, I would have spoken out strongly against it, and consistency demands that I do the same now," Herrera Beutler argued. Just one out of Washington's 10 House members, Rep. Dan Newhouse, opposed the resolution to overturn the declaration of emergency. Still, Democrats were not able to muster the two-thirds majority needed to overturn an anticipated Trump veto. The resolution goes to the U.S. Senate, where three Republican senators have said they will support it. The state's seven Democratic House members were strong in support of the resolution. "Building a wall is not the answer to border security," said U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen. Trump may take military construction money, slated for projects in Larsen's district, to build his wall along the U.S. Mexico border. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said: "This national emergency declaration is built on xenophobic lies and mischaracterizations about immigrants." RELATED: Wash. AG Ferguson: Trump emergency declaration is 'unlawful action' Smith termed "dangerous and wrong" what he described as "circumventing Congress by stealing funds from military readiness for his political agenda." McMorris Rodgers has rarely broken with Trump, and backed him for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. On Tuesday, however, she delivered an emphatic statement, endorsing the President's wall but not his means of building it. "Whether it's for border security or protecting the balance of powers in the Congress, upholding the rule of law is foundational to our system of government," she said. "I take this seriously because disregard for the law only leads to more abuse, dysfunction and corruption. "Congress must reassert itself as the prime branch of government." A former law clerk for conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Tuesday won Senate confirmation to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, despite furious opposition from his home state Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell. Eric Miller is the first federal appellate court judge in more than a century not to receive a "blue chip" of approval from at least one of the nominee's home state senators. The Senate voted 53-46 along party lines to confirm Miller. The 9th Circuit is Donald Trump's least favorite judicial body, recently described by the President as "a complete and total disaster. It is out of control and has a horrible reputation." The San Francisco-based court ruled in favor of Washington's legal challenge to Trump's first Muslim travel ban. The President has since nominated three new judges to the 30-member court. Miller is slated to replace Judge Richard Tallman, who decided last year to take senior status on the bench. RELATED: Two Wash. Republican House members decry Trump's state of emergency Tallman, a Clinton appointee, is known for swearing in hundreds of new U.S. citizens at the Seattle Center each Fourth of July. Cantwell, in a Senate speech Tuesday, said: "Since 1936, only eight judges have been confirmed when one home-state senator objected. And in every case, confirmed nominees have been supported by at least one senator from the state they have been nominated from. "He (Miller) has argued against tribal fishing rights, challenging tribal sovereignty and fighting against the protection of Native American religious and tribal practices." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell put Miller's nomination, the Trump administration's 31st appellate court to be confirmed, on a very fast track. The Senate held a hearing on the nomination during winter break. The questioning lasted just five minutes and was attended by just two Republican senators. Miller is a product of Harvard and the University of Chicago Law School, and a veteran of the Justice Department. He has successfully argued 10 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He has headed the appellate division of the Seattle-based Perkins Coie law firm. Curiously, Perkins Coie is best known as the law firm that represents the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, the Democratic National Committee and the Obamas. A senior partner in the firm was, this past week, arguing the case for a new vote in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District. The main opposition to Miller has come from Native American groups, here and across the country. ALSO FROM CONNELLY: Inslee presidential email: Join my 'clean energy movement' "As one tribal leader in my home state put it, Mr. Miller has made a career out of mounting challenges against tribes, including their sovereignty, their lands, their religious freedom and even the core attributes of federal recognition," Murray said in a Senate speech. "By making a career decision to be one of the top attorneys in case after case, attacking tribal sovereignty, that's more than a choice of client. That is a choice of values." During his (very) brief confirmation hearing, Miller argued that he was simply representing clients of Perkins Coie. "Before I joined the firm, Perkins Coie had a very strong practice in the area of Native American law," he said. "So there have been a number of matters I have handled. The firm's clients have tended to be adverse to tribes and litigation. "I understand, were I to become a judge, my job would not be to advocate for either side but to neutrally apply the law." In advancing the Miller nomination, over objections from Murray and Cantwell, McConnell said Miller has "a distinguished record in both public service and private practice." Eric Miller is 43. With a lifetime appointment, he will sit on the 9th Circuit for a very long time. A sweeping conservation bill, headed to President Donald Trump's desk, protects upper reaches of Washington's Methow Valley and gives go-ahead to expansion of water storage in the always-drought threatened Yakima River basin. The legislation, passed on a bipartisan 363-62 House vote, makes permanent the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, which has supported 600 preservation and recreation projects in all corners of Washington State. "This is truly a remarkable confluence of events," said Maggie Coon, who organized the campaign to protect 340,000 acres of the Upper Methow. Trump is expected to sign the legislation, a kind of "Parks Barrel" bill that won support from conservation advocates from coastal states, but also such unreconstructed drill-baby-drill advocates as Reps. Rob Bishop, R-Utah and Don Young, R-Alaska. RELATED: Connelly: Forest Service -- Upper Methow is no place for mining The public lands package not only covers Washington, but much of the country. Streams in Massachusetts and Connecticut are protected under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, but also 280 miles of waterways in Oregon. The bill protects more than 1.3 million acres of wilderness in Utah, New Mexico and California. The bill was crafted by Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., intense opponents on oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge but proponents of measures on which they could agree. It passed the Senate on a 92-8 vote earlier this month. The state's 10-member House delegation gave it unanimous support. "The leadership and support of our state's entire congressional delegation shows nature unites us," said Mike Stevens, who heads The Nature Conservancy in Washington. RELATED: Connelly: Thank you, Paul Allen, for the view atop Chopaka Mountain The Methow protection is a notably big win coming at a time when the Trump administration is gung-ho to open up public lands in the West to expanded mining. The upper valley is familiar to anybody who drives, hikes, fishes or climbs in the North Cascades Highway corridor. It is, however, not part of the North Cascades National Park or Pasayten Wilderness Area. In 2014, a Canadian mining company proposed to drill test holes and explore developing a copper mine in the upper valley. The proposal aroused residents around the hamlet of Mazama, a well-connected and affluent constituency. The movement was grounded not just in appreciation for beauty, but dollars and cents. The Methow is rooted in a year-round recreation economy, from cross-country skiers in winter, to Pacific Crest Trail hikers in summer, to climbers hit by thunder storms on Silver Star, to chamber music lovers, to hunters going after the state's largest mule deer herd. Recreational opportunities have become "key economic drivers for local communities," U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., noted Tuesday. MORE FROM CONNELLY: 'A Deadly Wind' -- The Northwest's greatest storm remembered Likewise, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which has underwritten recreation from Gas Works and Magnuson parks in Seattle to acquisition of private inholdings high in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area. "Over the last 50 years, the LWCF has helped to protect and restore green spaces like Ebey's Landing National Reserve, Chuckanut Bay and the Wild Sky Wilderness," said Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash. The conservation group American Rivers, conservative GOP Rep. Dan Newhouse, and newly elected Democratic Rep. Kim Schrier all sang praises of the Yakima Basin enhancement. It will provide for more water storage, destined to benefit both agriculture and salmon restoration. It authorizes funds to restore creaky infrastructure on Native American irrigation projects. The Yakima Basin plan "provides a path for our irrigation districts to make it through drought and low snow pack years, as well as supporting important fish (runs)," said Scott Revell, manager of the Roza Irrigation District. ALSO: Inslee presidential email: Join my 'clean energy movement' And, added Urban Eberhart, district manager of the Kittitas Reclamation Project, "This is essential for the future water supply and fishery restoration in Kittitas County. The "Gentle ladies" of the Senate, Murkowski and Cantwell, found other projects on which to agree. The legislation provides for improved volcano monitoring, a concern in Washington but a greater one in Alaska, where eruptions of the Iliamna Volcano have at times sent ash clouds over the Anchorage airport. The two senators also put in the go-ahead for a much needed new heavy duty icebreaker, cognizant that climate change is opening up waters of the Arctic to increased navigation. Good stuff happens when opposites find common ground. A 25-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the rape of a woman after she was strangled to unconsciousness and punched in the face multiple times at a Seattle apartment. Terric Shepard was booked into King County Jail early Saturday morning on one charge of first-degree rape after a money-for-sex arrangement turned into a violent attack, according to charging documents. The victim was dropped off on the morning of Feb. 16 at a Capitol Hill address Shepard gave her after the two agreed to an hour-long date where they would have sex for $200. After 30 minutes, she tried to leave because "something did not seem right," but Shepard became upset, documents said. When she offered to give him $100 back so she could leave, he allegedly punched her in the face repeatedly and started strangling her with both hands until she became unconscious. When she woke up, she tried to leave again, but Shepard grabbed her, ripped her clothes off and raped her for multiple hours, documents said. RELATED: Charges: Kirkland man raped, sexually assaulted two homeless women Her roommate who dropped her off that morning told police he received a call from her saying she wasn't allowed to leave. He called 911 to report it and when police arrived at the apartment there wasn't an answer at the door when they tried to make contact, documents said. The woman told police that she was going in and out of consciousness the entire time. She said she didn't know what time she was eventually allowed to leave, but thought it was about 5 p.m. On the way out she said she noticed blood on the pillow and bed and realized she was missing a tooth. Her jaw was broken in four spots and she was scheduled for surgery last week on Thursday to wire it shut, documents said. She also had bruising on her face and neck. On Feb. 20, police said she matched Shepard as the suspect in a group of photos and was certain of the address and apartment number she reported. RELATED: 'Underresourced for years': Lawmakers push to speed up rape kit processing Another resident of the building told police he met Shepard who said he was staying with a friend in the apartment where the woman was raped. He was arrested on suspicion of rape, assault and unlawful imprisonment. Shepard has an extraditable warrant out of Philadelphia on a charge of robbery from 2018, charging papers said. Shepard remained in jail with bail set at $750,000. He will have an arraignment hearing on March 7. A woman identified in court records as "TR" was plucked off a downtown Seattle street in 2007 and raped in the car that whisked her away, as well as in some woods. The attacker allegedly threatened to kill her if she reported the rapes to police and claimed he knew where she lived, according to police. After several hours, he dropped her off at Olympic Sculpture Park. She called police and underwent a forensic examination at Harborview Medical Center. Her rape kit was then shelved. Because the Seattle Police Department started an initiative in 2015 to clear its entire rape kit backlog consisting of more than 1,200 kits, TR's kit was finally tested and yielded a DNA match that led to the charging of 48-year-old Jonnie Lay, who was expected to head to trial in February. But Seattle clearing its backlog by sending its kits to the State Patrol crime lab doesn't mean sexual assault cases can now be quickly solved. The State Patrol itself had accumulated a stash of 6,460 untested kits from 208 police agencies, according to an Attorney General's Office report issued in October. RELATED: Rape kit backlog testing yields charge for 2007 Seattle rape, kidnapping Seattle has submitted 2,290 rape kits for processing since 2014, Sergeant Susanne Monroe said. Of those, 1,044 returned results and the remainder still await testing. A 2015 state law mandated that all new sexual assault kits be tested within 30 days of an exam. The State Patrol recently finished developing a tracking system that allows survivors to check on the progress of their kit examinations. The Legislature has appropriated money accordingly, but with more bills to enhance the rape kit testing system being considered this session, more will be needed. "We've been moving in the right direction, we just want to use this session to really push us to implement these things more effectively," said state Rep. Tina Orwall, D-Des Moines, who is one of the sponsors of this session's rape kit-related bills. One bill introduced in January, known as the "Survivor's Bill of Rights," sets an Oct. 1 deadline for all rape kits collected before the 2015 legislation to be sent to the State Patrol. The crime lab must then test those kits by Dec. 1, 2020. It will also give the crime lab 45 days to test each kit. That measure was in the House Appropriations Committee as of Feb. 25. Another bill would mandate that all hospitals that do not offer a sexual assault examination refer survivors to a rape kit provider. The bill cleared the House overwhelmingly in early February and was under consideration in the Senate. RELATED: After 10-year rape kit delay, man charged with raping, kidnapping teen in Seattle The Legislature has allowed the State Patrol to hire 10 new full-time employees since 2015 and they send older rape kits to Sorensen Forensics for testing in Salt Lake City. But Captain Monica Alexander said that background testing and training for each employee prevents them from working at full capacity for 18 to 24 months. "Our crime lab's been underresourced for years and they're struggling to keep their head above water right now with the influx of these unsubmitted kits," said Kate Hemann, assistant attorney general. Hemann oversees a federal grant program, the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI). Washington secured a $3 million federal grant to assist with taking an inventory of rape kits, training and testing in an effort to eliminate the backlog and prevent it from coming back. The federal Department of Justice has only released a quarter of that money for the state to complete its inventory of kits. Washington has inventoried all unsubmitted kits -- kits that law enforcement agencies haven't submitted to the crime lab. RELATED: Accused Seattle-area rapist may have attacked more victims, sheriff's office says The Attorney General's Office plans to give $1.5 million, once they receive it, to the State Patrol for testing. The State Patrol also plans to ask the Legislature for money to pay for what's known as a "high-throughput" lab, which would employ robotics to test kits at a faster clip. Federal grant money will also help pay for the new technology, Orwall said. "They don't like to be behind they take such pride in their work," she said of the State Patrol scientists. Alexander at the State Patrol hoped the improvements to come will make rape kit testing more efficient. "It is extremely important to us," she said. "No one wants them cleared more than we do." It takes a sharp lens, a good eye and a heap of gumption to win the title of Underwater Photographer of the Year. The competition, which began in the United Kingdom over five decades ago, bestowed this year's honor upon British photographer Richard Barnden for his photograph titled "The Gauntlet." Taken along the reefs of French Polynesia and chosen from over 5,000 submissions, "The Gauntlet" shows an unlucky parrotfish surrounded by sharks. Cast in cool blue and white tones, the fish swirl across the frame in the shape of a breaking wave, a composition complicated by the bared teeth of a shark and the slight pink glimmer of the fleeing monkfish. ALSO SEE: World's best nature photos "Photography is about preserving moments and what an unforgettable instant this is," said Alexander Mustard, the chair of the competition's judging panel, in a statement. Mustard commended Barnden for capturing the "full drama of the hunt ... revealing the ocean's wilder side." Considered the world's most prestigious underwater photography competition, UPY attracts competitors from more than 60 countries annually. Their photos shock and delight, while also educating the public about the triumphs and travails faced by the natural world below the ocean's surface. The competition also honors a Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year. The title went to Spanish photographer Eduardo Acevedo this year, for a photo of a loggerhead turtle tangled in a plastic fishing net. Loggerheads must combat manifold obstacles when crossing the Atlantic Ocean from the Caribbean to the Canary Islands, Acevedo explained in a press release, including "plastics, ropes and fishing nets." The turtle in the photo "was one of the lucky ones." Acevedo's dive team was able to free the trapped animal and pull the net from the water. You can see some of the winning photographs, including Barnden's and Acevedo's, in the above gallery. Read Michelle Robertson's latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@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. Because the farm house was old, Grammy tired of the constant traffic in and out the back door to the outhouse. She decided to turn the front hall, from the front door to the big room, into the latest indoor bathroom facility. A long, fairly narrow room, it was large enough for a flush toilet and a bathtub with a shower attachment placed on the right-hand wall. On the left side of the room was a series of bookshelves. And that is where the books and toys of children and then grandchildren were stored. This great room was possible because no one ever used the front door. The side door off the drive to the barn and the clearing where everyone parked was the main entrance. The back door out of the great room led to the outdoor facilities, the coops and the barn, then down to the bogs. The downstairs floor plan was simple: In the side door on your left, you passed the door to the staircase, the big boys room, then the door to the hall/front door. On the far side was the door to Grampa and Grammys bedroom. On the right was the big room with its music alcove, a big fireplace in a wall and the door to the kitchen. The whole back of the room was windows looking out on the rear yard. FLORENCE, S.C. The South Carolina native whom the U.S. Army assigned to assume command of the Florence Army Recruiting Company has settled into his role. Capt. Scott Abrams assumed command of the company on Aug. 6. Abrams is a native of Whitmire but has strong family ties to the Florence area. As a young boy, Abrams spent many days visiting his grandparents, the late Mr. and Mrs. Liston Vaught of 104 Rollins Avenue. His aunt and uncle still call Florence home. A third generation Clemson University graduate and eighth generation South Carolinian, Abrams says he has a deep and abiding love for the area. His familys history of military service stretches back almost 250 years when his ancestor James Abrams fought the British Army in the South Carolina Upcountry. But for Abrams, the Army is not about continuing a family tradition as much as it is about people. The reason I continue to serve is because of the people of this great country, Abrams said. Military service is more about giving back to the people and enriching the lives of those around us than it is anything else. "General election" is further defined by the bill to mean the Tuesday following the first Monday in November in any year. If passed by voters, the sales tax would go into effect on May 1 following the election. Florence County has had two capital project sales taxes. One passed in 2007 and one passed in 2013. The county sales tax will come off the books in 2020. It is not yet known whether the county council will pass an ordinance to hold another referendum for another capital project sales tax in 2020. Wukela said the second Florence County sales tax generated $140 million, of which approximately $100 million is generated within the city limits. However, the mayor said that of the $100 million generated by city taxpayers, the county allocated only $20 million to the city, all of which the city used for road maintenance. In the 2018 general election, Darlington County voted down a capital project sales tax to construct a new judicial center in downtown Darlington. Study reveals how genetic background influences trait inheritance laying the grounds for predicting personal risk of disease. Almost every family has a hard-drinking, bacon-loving, exercise-averse relative who despite all odds lived happily to a ripe old age while another perished before their time despite being mindful about their health. Looking at their genomes, it would be impossible to tell who's the lucky one. This is because of genetic background--countless and mostly subtle differences in the genomes of any two people, which affect gene function in ways scientists don't yet understand. A new study led by investigators Brenda Andrews and Charles Boone, professors at the University of Toronto's Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research begins to unpick how genetic background shapes the differences between members of the same species. Andrews is also Director of the Centre and both are professors in the U of T's Department of Molecular Genetics and are Senior Fellows of the Genetic Networks program at the Canadian Institute for Advancement of Research. Boone is also a co-Director of the same CIFAR program. The team also included Gerry Fink, professor of genetics at MIT and member of the Whitehead Institute. Their findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. "Genetic background confounds our ability to interpret the information stored in an individual genome," says Andrews. It also makes it hard for physicians to predict disease severity in relatively straightforward cases where a disease-causing gene is well known. Two people carrying the same mutation that causes cystic fibrosis, an inherited lung disorder, can develop a mild and a severe form of disease due to the differences between their genetic backgrounds. With 3 million differences in the DNA code between any two people, the study of genetic background effects in humans is still a daunting prospect. But scientists are beginning to make headway by looking at simpler organisms such as yeast. "Genetic background has the power to make the original phenotype (a physical outcome of gene function) less or more severe," says Jing Hou, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab who spearheaded the study. This is true for human diseases and it is also true in yeast which is a very good model to study this." This is because the yeast genome is smaller than human and therefore easier to study. To begin to unpick the genetic background effects, Hou compared how gene mutations manifest themselves in two closely related yeast strains, S288c and sigma1278b, SC and from here, respectively. The two strains are 0.2 percent different at the DNA level, which is about the same amount of genetic diversity between any two people. In earlier work, the Boone and Andrews labs, in collaboration with Fink's group, established that mutations in 57 genes, about one percent of all yeast genes, have different outcomes between SC and Sigma, causing cell death in either one or the other strain, but not both. These genes are called "conditional lethals" and whether or not a cell needs them depends on other, so-called modifier genes. But which ones? By mating the two strains, Hou was able to identify these modifier genes thanks to their ability to mask the damaging mutations and rescue survival of the hybrid progeny. Hou found that while most conditional lethal genes have multiple modifiers, whose effects are more complex and harder to establish, some have only one modifier and are easier to study. This is the case with CYS3 and CYS4 genes, which help make cysteine, an essential amino acid. Both CYS3 and CYS4 are conditionally lethal in Sigma, but not in the SC strain, which means that Sigma cells die when either gene is missing. Hou discovered that this is thanks to a single modifier gene called OPT1, which works downstream from the CYS genes and can compensate for their loss in the SC strain. Sigma cells happen to carry a mutation in the OPT1 gene and this makes them fully reliant on the CYS genes to produce cysteine. In another experiment, Hou looked across 20 different yeast strains, from about 1000 naturally found isolates whose genomes have been sequenced. She found a different modifier of the CYS genes in another strain used in the making of Japanese rice wine sake. With all this information, Hou was able to scan the genomes of all 1000 yeast isolates and accurately guessed which other strains will act like Sigma or the Sake yeast and be completely reliant on the CYS genes to survive. This is similar to being able to single out, from 1000 patients with the same genetic disorder, those individuals who have a higher chance of developing a more severe form of the disease. Being able to predict a biological outcome from genome sequence alone is one of the goals of precision medicine and this early work in yeast raises hopes that similar studies will be possible for human cells. "Just based on sequence and the knowledge of this pathway we could predict gene essentiality across the whole species," says Hou. "I think we will be able to predict a human risk of disease if we have good enough knowledge of how genes work together in pathways." The studies of human gene interactions are only just beginning, however. For Hou, the yeast work continues and on a much bigger scale. With Guihong Tan, a research associate in the lab, she is working to identify all the genes across 200 isolates whose effects are modified by the genetic background. Tan thinks this number will be 800 genes, but Hou is more conservative in her estimate. "I think we'll find about 200," she says. It's uncharted territory and the bets are on, with a bottle of champagne as the prize that Hou hopes to pop once they collect all the data. Eocene-aged sediments of Madagascar contain a previously unknown fauna of sharks and rays, according to a study released February 27, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Karen Samonds of Northern Illinois University and colleagues. This newly-described fauna is the first report of sharks and rays of this age in Madagascar. The Mahajanga basin of northwestern Madagascar yields abundant fossil remains of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, but little is known about fossil sharks and rays during the Eocene Epoch, 55-34 million years ago, in this region. This is in contrast to the numerous shark and ray faunas known from other Eocene sites around the globe, and to shark and ray ecosystems known from older and younger sediments in the Mahajanga basin. In this study, Samonds and colleagues collected isolated teeth, dental plates, and stingray spines from ancient coastal sediments of the Ampazony and Katsepy regions of the basin, dated to the middle to late Eocene. They identified at least 10 species of sharks and rays, including one new species, Carcharhinus underwoodi. This is the oldest named species of Carcharhinus, a genus that has been globally distributed for the past 35 million years but is known only rarely from the Eocene. Aside from the new species, the fauna of Eocene Madagascar shares many species with Eocene ecosystems across North Africa, suggesting these animals were widespread in southern seas at that time. On the other hand, the Madagascar fauna is uniquely lacking in sandsharks and dominated by eagle rays, indicating a somewhat unusual ecosystem, unsurprising given Madagascar's long history of isolation. The authors caution that this study provides an incomplete picture given that they collected only fossils larger than 2 millimeters. They recommend that future studies target smaller material for a more complete view of the ancient ecosystem. The review, published in Nature, outlines how healthcare workers in low-income countries, like those in sub-Saharan Africa, could use existing smartphones to diagnose, track and control infectious diseases in low-income countries. There are already initiatives focused on using established mobile technologies like text messages and calls to connect healthcare workers and patients to each other, and to test results. This new review by researchers from Imperial, Karolinska Institute, UCL, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Africa Health Research Institute, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says that smartphones could also help enable people to test themselves, and get results and support in their own homes. This would make it easier for people to look after their own health -- particularly in rural regions, where clinics can be too far away to travel. In addition, patients worried about a potential HIV infection might be more inclined to get tested if they could do it at home and avoid the stigma of attending a clinic. Many smartphones have sensors built in that could aid diagnosis, such as a heart rate monitor and an oximeter, as well as a camera and microphone that can be used to analyse images and sounds like a person's breathing. In addition, simple testing technologies are being developed that can be linked into a phone, via a USB stick or wirelessly. In theory, a person could test themselves using an easy to collect sample, such as a pinprick of blood, and the results would be scanned onto mobile apps. advertisement The apps would send the results to local clinics before being uploaded to a central online database -- instead of patients having to attend in person. Lead author Professor Molly Stevens, from Imperial's Departments of Bioengineering and Materials, said: "People increasingly use smartphones to manage their money and connect with the world. It makes sense that phones can also play an even larger role in healthcare than they already do." The bigger picture Smartphones are increasingly used in sub-Saharan Africa. By 2020, one in two mobile phone connections in the region will be via smartphone -- a similar figure to worldwide smartphone adoption. The researchers say this presents a prime opportunity to harness the existing technology where clinics in rural areas can be scarce. Approaches outlined in the review include apps that use the phone's camera to interpret test results, send findings to local clinics or healthcare workers, and host virtual follow-up appointments with healthcare workers. The authors say these approaches might help increase rates of disease testing in regions with limited facilities. advertisement Combined, the test results would build a picture of symptoms across a region to help predict and fight current and future outbreaks. Health on the move Co-author Dr Chris Wood, who conducted the work at Imperial's Department of Materials and Sweden's Karolinska Institute, said: "By developing mobile health interventions, we address a number of challenges in healthcare and public education. Connected diagnostic tests for diseases have the ability to improve and build on these in new and exciting ways." The authors add that these ideas are not without challenges. Although rapid technological advances have improved access to testing, more than 35 per cent of the world has no access to mobile phones. It is also easier to accurately collect and analyse samples in a healthcare setting, where there are trained staff and the environment is designed to be sterile, than in a person's home. Safeguarding measures must be put in place to protect privacy and confidentiality of patient data, the authors say. These measures must also be fully explained to users to build trust in and encourage adoption of these new healthcare services. Still, the report's authors remain optimistic. As of 2016, global smartphone adoption has reached 51 per cent and is predicted to keep growing -- particularly in resource limited settings such as sub-Saharan Africa. This means more and more of the world's population is equipped with a powerful pocket computer that can connect patients and share healthcare data. Professor Stevens said: "This is an exciting opportunity for researchers and policy makers to develop new tools and systems that could drastically improve human health and wellbeing in the future." This work was led by the Stevens Group at Imperial College London and the i-sense Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration, which is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The subcortical areas of the brain, situated in its deepest reaches, remain a mystery. Scientists are aware of the critical role they play in motor, emotional and associative activity but do not know precisely how they work. A number of serious diseases are directly linked to these areas, including Parkinson's, Tourette syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD). Existing treatments for regulating and measuring the activity of the subcortical areas are highly invasive, and sometimes work without us really knowing how. Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, and Cologne University (Germany) decided to see whether a non-invasive method -- electroencephalography (EEG) -- could be employed in tandem with mathematical algorithms to measure this brain activity externally. They proved for the first time that this technique is able to record signals usually only seen by implanting electrodes in the brain. The results, published in Nature Communications, pave the way for new, precision clinical applications. It is very difficult to study and get close to the subcortical areas, which are located in the deepest part of the brain. We know that two key structures in these areas, the thalamus and nucleus accumbens, communicate with each other and the cortex to control motor, emotional and associative activation (higher-level thinking) via electrical oscillations. "A dysfunction in this communication causes very serious diseases in humans, such as Tourette's and OCD, which generally begin in adolescence when the brain's development comes to an end, as well as Parkinson's disease," explains Christoph Michel, a professor in the Department of Basic Neurosciences in UNIGE's Faculty of Medicine. Current treatments, based on deep brain stimulation are highly invasive: implanting electrodes into the centre of the brain, which are stimulated electrically by an external stimulator. "Although this technique has been shown to be effective in Parkinson's, unfortunately it doesn't work so well for OCD and Tourette syndrome," says Martin Seeber, a researcher in the Department of Basic Neurosciences and the study's first author. An established and truly non-invasive analysis technique To improve existing treatments, it has become essential to understand how these subcortical zones function and how they communicate. The diseases mentioned above only affect humans, however, and suffer from insufficient animal models. Since implanting electrodes is an extremely invasive technique, another method was called for to increase the number of subjects studied. "We naturally thought of EEG, which records the electrical activity of the brain using 256 electrodes placed on the scalp," continues Michel. But is it really possible to measure deep brain activity from outside the skull? In collaboration with a team headed by professor Veerle Visser-Vanderwalle, a neurosurgeon at the University of Cologne, the UNIGE researchers were able to measure and record the electrical activity of the subcortical areas of four OCD and Tourette's patients who had been given electrode implants. At the same time, these individuals were equipped with an EEG as the scientists measured the activity of the same areas from the surface. "The mathematical algorithms that we developed meant we could accurately interpret the data provided by the EEG and ascertain where the brain activity was coming from," says Seeber. And the verdict? The results correlated perfectly. "In obtaining highly similar signals as with the implants, we finally proved that surface EEG can be used to see what is happening in the deepest part of the brain without having to go into it directly!" says professor Michel. The door is open to new precision treatments "Now that we know that EEG can be used to analyse the subcortical zones," continues Seeber, "we can try to understand how they communicate with each other and the cortex in the hope that we'll be able to better understand the causes of diseases such as Tourette's and OCD." The scientists are also keen to use the technique to improve current treatment methods, based on rebalancing network interactions using a very slight electric shock. They would also like to apply them to other diseases such as obesity, addiction or Alzheimer's. "Lastly, we hope that in time we'll be able to stimulate the deep brain areas from the surface via an electromagnetic treatment, doing away with electrode implants in the brain once and for all!" concludes professor Michel. Electricity can be generated by renewable sources such as sunlight, wind Electricity can then be used to split water, which makes hydrogen as a fuel for emerging energy devices such as fuel cells. Because hydrogen is a clean fuel, researchers in the world are putting a lot of effort in developing water-splitting catalysts, which are essential for the reaction's energy efficiency. The focus is mostly on the so-called oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which is arguably the most challenging process in water splitting. After many years of intense research, nickel-iron oxide is now established as the go-to catalyst for OER in alkaline conditions due to its high activity and earth-abundant composition, and also because it has the highest activity per reaction-site among all metal oxides. About three years ago, scientists with the lab of Xile Hu at EPFL discovered another catalyst that was significantly more active than nickel-iron oxide, even though it had a similar composition. Still, it was robust, easy to synthesize, and open to industrial applications. The discovery was led by Fang Song, a postdoc in Hu's group who has since joined the faculty at Shanghai Jiaotong University in China. Recognizing its technological potential, Hu, Song, and their colleague Elitsa Petkucheva filed an international patent application. They also got funding from the European Research Council to test the catalyst in a proof-of-concept project. The catalyst proved to enable an efficient electrolyzer that could work under industrial conditions while requiring 200 mV less voltage. They are now seeking industrial partners to transfer the technology. But the new catalyst was also unconventional in terms of chemistry. "We didn't have a clue why the catalyst would be so active," says Hu. So, his team turned to the group of Clemence Corminboeuf at EPFL for help. Working with her postdoc, Michael Busch, and supported by NCCR MARVEL (Centre on Computational Design and Discovery of Novel Materials), Corminboeuf used density functional theory (DFT) computations to search for possible theoretical explanations. DFT is a computational, quantum mechanical method that models and studies the structure of many-body systems, e.g. atoms, and molecules. The result was radical: The high activity of the new catalyst originates from a cooperative action of two phase-separated components of iron and nickel oxides, which overcame a previously identified limitation of conventional metal oxides where the reaction occurred locally on only a single metal site. They called it the "bifunctional mechanism." While the DFT-derived mechanism was hypothetical, it guided experimental studies on the activity and properties of the catalyst with Benedikt Lassalle-Kaiser at Synchrotron SOLEIL in France. Using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), the work uncovered found evidence of two phase-separated iron and nickel oxides in the catalyst. But because catalysts can undergo compositional and structural changes during catalysis, it became necessary to study the catalyst "in operation" with XAS. To do this, the researchers established a long-term collaboration program with the group of Professor Hao Ming Chen in National Taiwan University. In a comprehensive operando XAS study, Chen and his graduate student, Chia-Shuo Hsu, revealed a unique structure of the catalyst: that it is made of nanoclusters of ?-FeOOH covalently linked to a ?-NiOOH support -- which makes it an iron-nickel oxide catalyst, as opposed to the conventional nickel-iron oxide. Although not a direct proof, this structure is compatible with the DFT-proposed bifunctional mechanism. "This is a truly interdisciplinary study involving many fruitful collaborations," says Hu. "The fundamental studies not only provide insights into the structure and activity of this unconventional catalyst, but also lead to a thought-provoking mechanistic hypothesis." Giraffes that live close to densely populated towns have larger home ranges than giraffes that live far from towns, according to a new study by an international team of wildlife researchers from the University of Zurich, Penn State, and the Wild Nature Institute. This suggests that the giraffes in human-impacted areas need to travel longer distances -- and expend more energy -- to obtain critical resources. The researchers found that average rainfall also impacts giraffe home ranges, which are smaller in areas with more rain. The study was published February 22, 2019 in the journal Animal Behaviour. "Giraffes are huge browsing animals that live in African savanna ecosystems where they must find everything they need to survive and reproduce in landscapes increasingly impacted by human activities," said Derek E. Lee, associate research professor of biology at Penn State and principal scientist of the Wild Nature Institute. "People are converting natural savannas to towns and farms, and cutting trees for fuelwood and charcoal industries, all of which potentially degrade giraffe habitat." The team quantified home range sizes -- the spatial area over which an animal repeatedly travels in search of food, water, shelter and mates -- for 71 adult giraffes from data collected over six years in the spatially heterogeneous Tarangire Ecosystem of Tanzania. They examined correlations between individual home range sizes and environmental and anthropogenic -- human related -- factors, to better understand the mechanisms driving space use of this threatened megaherbivore. Home range behavior is an expression of an animal's decision-making process about how to access the resources needed for survival and reproduction. The researchers found that giraffes that lived closer to large human settlements had larger home-ranges. No such relationship was evident with bomas, which are homesteads built by indigenous livestock-keeping Maasai people, suggesting that giraffes are tolerant of more traditional, lower-impact land uses. "Giraffes are vulnerable to extinction after a 40 percent population decline during the past three decades," said Mara Knusel, a graduate student at the University of Zurich and first author of the study. "Identifying factors affecting space use help wildlife conservationists to make better decisions for at-risk species such as giraffes." As one of the largest herbivores on earth, giraffes have a profound impact on plant populations, vegetation structure, and ecosystem processes where they live. Giraffes are also a favorite animal sought by ecotourists on safari in Tanzania, where the safari industry is the largest economic sector in the country. "Most studies that previously looked at home ranges of giraffes didn't look for environmental factors that determine the observed home range size, so this study goes beyond the pattern to reveal the process behind it," said Monica Bond, PhD candidate at the University of Zurich and senior author of the study. The research team also compared home range estimates from published data for eight giraffe populations across Africa and examined the relationship between giraffe home range size and mean annual rainfall as a potential explanation for observed variation in space use among populations. Rainfall was negatively correlated with home range size -- giraffes in areas with less rainfall had larger home ranges. "This relationship between rainfall and space use by a large herbivore is not surprising, given that rainfall is the main driver of vegetation productivity and thus food availability," said Lee. "Greater availability and access to critical resources such as food and water leads to smaller home range sizes." "Human disturbance and fragmentation of habitat in and around densely populated areas likely reduced the local forage and water resources available for giraffes, forcing individuals to increase their movements and use of space to obtain these resources," said Knusel. "Similarly, lower rainfall and lower primary productivity forces individuals to range more widely." Scientists at the University of Southern California (USC), Queen's University (Ontario) and Duke University have developed a new tool that can screen children for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) quickly and affordably, making it accessible to more children in remote locations worldwide. The tool uses a camera and computer vision to record patterns in children's eye movements as they watch multiple one-minute videos, or look towards/away from a target, and then identifies patterns that contrast to recorded eye movements by other children who watched the same videos or targets. The eye movements outside the norm were flagged by the researchers as children who might be at-risk for having FASD and need more formal diagnoses by healthcare practitioners. The technique was described in a study "Detection of Children/Youth With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Through Eye Movement, Psychometric, and Neuroimaging Data," by Chen Zhang, Angelina Paolozza, Po-He Tseng, James N. Reynolds, Douglas P. Munoz and Laurent Itti, which appeared in Frontiers in Neurology. According to the paper's corresponding author, Laurent Itti, a professor of computer science, psychology and neuroscience at USC, FASD is still quite difficult to diagnose -- a professional diagnosis can take a long time with the current work up taking as much as an entire day. "There is not a simple blood test to diagnose FASD. It is one of those spectrum disorders where there is a broad range of the disorder. It is medically very challenging and it is co-morbid with other conditions. The current gold standard is subjective, as it involves a battery of tests and clinical evaluation. It is also costly." Itti said he and his colleagues conducted this research as they felt that a screening tool might be able to reach more children who might be at risk. It is estimated that millions of children will be diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). This condition, when not diagnosed early in a child's life, can give rise to secondary cognitive and behavioral disabilities. advertisement "The new screening procedure only involves a camera and a computer screen, and can be applied to very young children. It takes only 10 to 20 minutes and the cost should be affordable in most cases," said Chen Zhang, a doctoral candidate from the Neuroscience Graduate Program at USC and the paper's first author. "The machine learning pipeline behind this gives out objective and consistent estimations in minutes." While this computer vision tool is not intended to replace full diagnosis by professionals, it is intended to provide important feedback so that parents can ensure that their children are seen by professionals and receive early cognitive learning and potentially behavioral interventions. For Itti, this is not the first foray into the use of computer vision to monitor ocular movements to screen for neurological and cognitive conditions. Itti has long worked to model visual attention. Over the last decade, he also applied the same techniques to screening for Attention Deficit Disorder and Parkinson's disease. "Sometimes people may tell you that you only use 10 percent of your brain in everyday life. But as soon as you open your eyes and process the visual world in front of you, already over 70 percent of your brain is engaged. Your ocular-motor system is so complex, that if something is going on in your brain, your eyes will give some sort of signature," Itti said. The impact of such screening tools could be significant. Study co-author and FASD expert, James N. Reynolds, who is the Interim Chief Scientific Officer at the Kids Brain Health Network, said, "The economic impact of FASD is spread across multiple systems, including health care, education, criminal justice, as well as lost productivity costs for both individuals with FASD and their caregivers. Estimates suggest that the mean annual cost of FASD in Canada and the US ranges from $22,000-$24,000 per individual, and therefore many billions of dollars collectively on society. There is simply no escaping the fact that FASD is a major public health problem associated with tremendous economic and social costs." USC's Itti has many ideas of how this screening tool could be implemented whether via a mobile unit, on an app or in a pharmacy as one of the free screening tools used while waiting for a prescription. He says, 'This could be the blood pressure monitoring system for your brain." Funding for this work was provided by the Kids Brain Health Network [formerly NeuroDevNet; Reynolds et al.], the National Science Foundation (CCF-1317433 and CNS-1545089), and the JPB Foundation (grant number 378). The pros and cons of policing methods have been heavily debated for decades in the United States. Now, a Florida State University-led team of researchers has created a model to measure the differences between two distinct approaches to policing -- the warrior approach and the guardian approach. Assistant Professor Kyle McLean said the concepts -- which attracted interest after the release of former President Barack Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing report in May 2015 -- had largely been theory up until now. The findings were published in Justice Quarterly. "The warrior vs. guardian concept always seemed like a cool idea," McLean said. "It sounded really good on paper, but we didn't know if it was true. We didn't have data to back it up. So, we decided to survey some officers to see if this was something real, that we could measure in an empirical way, and we did." The warrior concept is associated with the idea of militarizing policing and is consistent with the traditional view of police work -- to search, chase and capture. However, the newer concept of guardian policing emphasizes social service, valuing community partnerships and establishing positive contacts. For the study, researchers surveyed officers from police departments in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Tucson, Arizona. Survey participants received nine questions and were asked to indicate their agreement to a given survey item from 1, strongly disagree, to 5, strongly agree. For instance, one survey item asked, "as a police officer, I see myself primarily as a civil servant." Officers were also provided a hypothetical scenario of a suspicious person walking in a park at night and asked about how they would respond. The team found that warrior and guardian models are two distinct approaches to policing. However, officers were able to adopt both mentalities. They also found officers who scored higher on the guardian measure were more likely to value communication, while higher scores on the warrior measure revealed greater importance of physical control and more favorable attitudes toward excessive use of force. McLean said the warrior mentality often leads to more use of force, making it more likely that the officer or the citizen gets injured. "Research has shown the guardian mentality has very positive outcomes," McLean said. "While we recognize that you can hold a guardian and a warrior mentality at the same time, if you're not already emphasizing guardianship in some aspects of your work, you're not doing it to the best of your ability and possibly to the detriment of community relationships and well-being." McLean said future research could explore positive outcomes of the warrior mentality and whether guardian and warrior mentalities and behavior can change over time. "My hope is that this research will inform the debate and shift the focus to how policing can be changed," McLean said. "As we come to understand these officer mentalities, we can better improve officer training and police-citizen encounters in the field, which ultimately provides better police-community relations." New preclinical findings from extensive cell and animal studies suggest that a drug already used for a rare kidney disease could benefit patients with some mitochondrial disorders -- complex conditions with severe energy deficiency for which no proven effective treatments exist. Future clinical research is needed to explore whether the drug, cysteamine bitartrate, will meaningfully benefit patients. "We found therapeutic potential in mitochondrial disease, based on evidence for neuroprotection in two different animal models," said Marni J. Falk, MD, at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), the Executive Director of CHOP's Mitochondrial Medicine Frontier Program. "However, we also showed that this drug has a narrow therapeutic window -- even small increases in dosage were toxic in diverse laboratory animals and human cells. This implies that dosages would need to be very carefully controlled if cysteamine bitartrate eventually were to become a precision medicine treatment option for mitochondrial disease patients." The study team published its findings Jan. 22, 2019 in Human Molecular Genetics. Mitochondria are tiny structures in human and animal cells that produce energy through an integrated series of chemical reactions known as the respiratory chain (RC). Mitochondria contain their own DNA, distinct from the more familiar DNA inside a cell nucleus. Because pathogenic variants in over 350 different genes across both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA genomes are now recognized to cause mitochondrial diseases, these disorders are highly complex, typically causing 16 or more symptoms per patient, and affecting multiple organs and systems. Much of the damage in mitochondrial diseases stems from oxidative stress, in which reactive molecules disrupt energy-producing components inside the mitochondrial RC. Antioxidant compounds, by acting to defend against these free radicals, may offer some protection from mitochondrial dysfunctions. Falk and colleagues have been systematically evaluating a variety of drug candidates in search of possible treatments for mitochondrial RC disease. They recently found, for instance, that an antioxidant called NAC (short for N-acetylcysteine) showed encouraging preclinical results in animal studies. Because cysteamine bitartrate, currently approved by the FDA to treat a rare kidney disorder called nephropathic cystinosis, was thought to act on biological pathways similarly to NAC, Falk's team performed their current preclinical research study. "We tested the hypothesis that cysteamine bitartrate would increase synthesis of glutathione, a potent antioxidant enzyme that humans and animals naturally produce to scavenge free radicals," said Falk. "Surprisingly, we learned that cysteamine bitartrate did not, in fact, increase total glutathione levels in our experiments. However, we found it had beneficial health effects that appear to result from different mechanisms than we had anticipated." The researchers found an intriguing set of different benefits in three models of mitochondrial disease: human patient cells (fibroblasts), microscopic worms (C. elegans) and microscopic fish (zebrafish). Cysteamine bitartrate modestly improved mitochondrial metabolism and reproductive capacity in the worms, with reduction in oxidative stress. In the zebrafish, the drug had more dramatic benefits, preventing brain death and neuromuscular defects caused by mitochondrial RC dysfunction. In the human fibroblast cells, from mitochondrial disease patients, the drug increased the cells' resiliency and ability to survive when subjected to chemical stressors. "Overall, treatment effects we observed in both cell and animal models of mitochondrial RC disease suggest that cysteamine bitartrate might have the potential to improve overall health and stress resiliency in human patients," said Falk. "Identifying the right kinds of antioxidant treatments at the proper dosage may be neuroprotective, potentially preventing metabolic strokes that often occur when mitochondrial disease patients are stressed by an infection or other risk factors." Falk cautioned that patients and families shouldn't self-prescribe antioxidants for mitochondrial disease, since safe and effective dosages and appropriate usages specific to different mitochondrial disease patient outcomes are yet to be determined. In this current study, all the potential benefits observed in cells and animals occurred at low concentrations, with clear toxicity at higher doses. "Now that preclinical evidence is increasing to support the potential of antioxidant therapies to objectively benefit overall health in the setting of RC disease, better clinical tests are needed to evaluate oxidant levels and antioxidant enzyme activities, as well as mitochondrial function and clinical outcomes, in patients who receive antioxidant therapy," said Falk. She added that several such new clinical diagnostic tests and outcome measure assessments to facilitate this process are under development in the CHOP Mitochondrial Medicine Frontier Program. Ultimately, she concluded, "better understanding each mitochondrial disease patient's oxidative stress and defense levels, together with carefully designed clinical trials to determine the health benefits or risks of candidate therapies, will enable a precision mitochondrial medicine approach to select optimal antioxidants and doses to improve health resiliency and outcomes for each patient." Characterizing and predicting how electrically-heated silicate glass behaves is important because it is used in a variety of devices that drive technical innovations. Silicate glass is used in display screens. Glass fibers power the internet. Nanoscale glass devices are being deployed to provide breakthrough medical treatments such as targeted drug-delivery and re-growing tissue. The discovery that under certain conditions electrically-heated silicate glass defies a long-accepted law of physics known as Joule's first law should be of interest to a broad spectrum of scientists, engineers, even the general public, according to Himanshu Jain, Diamond Distinguished Chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Lehigh University. The foundation of electrical heating was laid by James Prescott Joule, an English physicist and mathematician, in 1840. Joule demonstrated that heat is generated when electrical current is passed through a resistor. His conclusion, known as Joule's first law, simply states that heat is produced in proportion to the square of an electrical current that passes through a material. "It has been verified over and over on homogeneous metals and semiconductors which heat up uniformly, like an incandescent light bulb does," says Jain. He and his colleagues -- which includes Nicholas J. Smith and Craig Kopatz, both of Corning Incorporated, as well as Charles T. McLaren, a former Ph.D. student of Jain's, now a researcher at Corning -- have authored a paper published today in Scientific Reports that details their discovery that electrically-heated common, homogeneous silicate glasses appear to defy Joule's first law. In the paper, titled "Development of highly inhomogeneous temperature profile within electrically heated alkali silicate glasses," the authors write: "Unlike electronically conducting metals and semiconductors, with time the heating of ionically conducting glass becomes extremely inhomogeneous with the formation of a nanoscale alkali-depletion region, such that the glass melts near the anode, even evaporates, while remaining solid elsewhere. In situ infrared imaging shows and finite element analysis confirms localized temperatures more than thousand degrees above the remaining sample depending on whether the field is DC or AC." "In our experiments, the glass became more than a thousand degrees Celsius hotter near the positive side than in the rest of the glass, which was very surprising considering that the glass was totally homogeneous to begin with," says Jain. "The cause of this result is shown to be in the change in the structure and chemistry of glass on nanoscale by the electric field itself, which then heats up this nano-region much more strongly." advertisement Jain says that the application of classical Joule's law of physics needs to be reconsidered carefully and adapted to accommodate these findings. These observations unravel the origin of a recently discovered electric field induced softening of glass. In a previous paper, Jain and his colleagues reported the phenomenon of Electric Field Induced Softening. They demonstrated that the softening temperature of glass heated in a furnace can be reduced by as much as a couple of hundred degrees Celsius simply by applying 100 Volt across an inch thick sample. "The calculations did not add up to explain what we were seeing as simply standard Joule heating," says Jain. "Even under very moderate conditions, we observed fumes of glass that would require thousands of degrees higher temperature than Joule's law could predict!" The team then undertook a systematic study to monitor the temperature of glass. They used high-resolution infrared pyrometers to map out the temperature profile of the whole sample. New data together with their previous observations showed that electric field modified the glass dramatically and that they had to modify how Joule's law can be applied. The researchers believe that this work shows it is possible to produce heat in a glass on a much finer scale than by the methods used so far, possibly down to the nanoscale. It would then allow making new optical and other complex structures and devices on glass surface more precisely than before. "Besides demonstrating the need to qualify Joule's law, the results are critical to developing new technology for the fabrication and manufacturing of glass and ceramic materials," says Jain. A study led by researchers at Cardiff University means that more people of African descent who have treatment-resistant schizophrenia could be safely given the drug best proven to manage their symptoms. The team identified a genetic and benign cause in people of African descent for lower neutrophil levels: a condition that can also be a rare and potentially life-threatening side-effect of the only licensed medication for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Professor James Walters, a principal investigator at Cardiff University's MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics said: "Clozapine is currently the most effective therapy for people with treatment-resistant schizophrenia. However, it can cause a rare adverse side-effect called neutropenia, which is a reduction of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell used to fight infection." Neutropenia is thought to affect around 3 in every 100 people prescribed clozapine. In rare cases it can develop into agranulocytosis, a serious and potentially life-threatening condition. As a result, people being treated with clozapine undergo regular blood tests, and if neutropenia is detected treatment is stopped immediately. "This appears to be more common in people from African or African-Caribbean backgrounds and can mean these groups are more likely to stop being treated with clozapine. Our findings suggest that in many cases, this increased rate of neutropenia is a result of a benign ethnic neutropenia rather than a reaction to clozapine," added Professor Walters. The team conducted a genome-wide association study using samples from 552 people of African ancestry taking clozapine. advertisement Dr Sophie Legge, joint-first author of the study explained: "We identified a genetic variant in the ACKR1 gene that was strongly associated with lower neutrophil counts, and participants in our sample with this variant were 20 times more likely to develop neutropenia during clozapine treatment than clozapine users without this genetic variant." The same genetic variant is responsible for the 'Duffy-null' blood group, which is very common in areas of the world in which malaria has been endemic, including many parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America. People with the Duffy-null blood group are at decreased risk of being infected with malaria, but their neutrophil levels are also lower, on average, than the rest of the population. It is thought to be the source of benign ethnic neutropenia, a hereditary condition affecting at least 25-50% of people with African or Middle Eastern ancestry. Dr Legge continued, "There is good evidence that benign ethnic neutropenia does not lead to increased rates of infection or agranulocytosis, so in practice it is likely that many people with treatment-resistant schizophrenia are unnecessarily excluded from taking medication that could help reduce their symptoms." In light of these findings the team suggest offering a genetic test as a simple and sensitive strategy to diagnose benign ethnic neutropenia before prescribing clozapine. Dr Antonio Pardinas, who co-led the project said, "Individuals with the condition who show no signs of compromised immune function could have revised neutrophil thresholds in line with current benign ethnic neutropenia monitoring procedures. This would allow more people who would benefit from clozapine to start taking the medication while avoiding the need to stop treatment for many more. "Crucially, this is dependent on the outcome of additional safety studies, but this pharmacogenetic test has the potential to assist the management of clozapine treatment." Ever stare at your closet and wonder why fashion designers aren't creating the clothes you really want? Talking about it on social media might just be the answer. According to new research from the University of Missouri, social media hashtags could be the tool fashion designers use to forecast trends in the industry to better connect with consumers. Data analytics are impacting all kinds of business, including the fashion industry. Li Zhao, assistant professor of textile apparel management in the College of Human Environmental Sciences, has now found that social media data can help fashion companies discover how communities are connected to their brands. This can help them determine upcoming trends and if celebrity endorsements are having the desired impact. "We know that people talk and are interested in fashion, so it makes sense that they talk about it on social media," Zhao said. "The data presented in this study show that designers should listen to what they are saying about trends on social media." Zhao and co-author Chao Min, a researcher at Nanjing University in China, created a series of social networks based on hashtags people used on Twitter before, during and after Paris Fashion Week. Social networks are a way to understand the relationships or links between distinct social media content - users, sentiment and ideas. By searching for tweets featuring #ParisFashionWeek and #PFW, the researchers were able to find relevant social media content. They used the tweets to create social networks. For example, Zhao found tweets about hand embroidery connected to tweets about Fashion Week, establishing an association between the technique and users interested in haute couture. Other keywords related to couture emerged within the social networks, such as #handmade, #elegant and #art. Zhao also was able to tell how celebrities were influencing brands based on the social networks. Kristen Stewart and Katy Perry were two celebrities that showed a large influence for the Chanel brand during Fashion Week, giving Zhao reason to believe that the two celebrities are effective influencers for the brand. "Consumers are using 'electronic word of mouth' during Paris Fashion Week and other major fashion events." Zhao said. "Fashion researchers and designers can listen to what they are saying to understand the direction of fashion trends and to understand how consumers are engaging with fashion brands." "The rise of fashion informatics: a case of data-mining based social network analysis in fashion," recently was published in the Clothing and Textiles Research Journal. In future research, Zhao hopes to investigate how social media users with different geographical locations discuss the same fashion event. An international group of researchers working on a wide range of species, from elephants and crows, to whales and chimpanzees, argues that animals' cultural knowledge needs to be taken into consideration when planning international conservation efforts. A paper published in the journal Science (Tuesday 26 February) makes a compelling case that growing scientific evidence on social learning across a wide range of species, which can lead to unique animal cultures, is important for both conservation practice and conservation policy. Insights into animal cultures can provide valuable information on 'what' groups of animals to conserve, and on 'how' best to conserve them. For example, understanding how grandmother killer whales pass on valuable information to their offspring, or why some groups of chimpanzees have a culture of cracking nutritious nuts with stone tools while others do not, can be key to evaluating conservation challenges for such species. In many animal species, inexperienced young learn key survival skills by observing knowledgeable elders in their social group. This includes learning about how to communicate, how to forage efficiently, and where to migrate to when conditions become less hospitable. For example, the transmission of knowledge on migration routes in whooping cranes, and bighorn sheep, can provide critical information for the success of future generations. Unlike genetic transmission, social knowledge can be passed on within generations, so knowledge about new food sources can be shared, potentially providing resilience in changing environments. However, the authors report that social-learning processes can also result in the emergence of cultural sub-groups with distinctive behavioural profiles, potentially erecting social barriers, as observed for example in the distinctive vocal clans of sperm whales in the Eastern tropical Pacific. Such cultural segregation can have important conservation implications, especially when different groups have different foraging strategies and vary in their ability to cope with environmental change. To protect 'social capital', some populations may be best delineated by their cultural behaviour, rather than using the traditional approach of assessing genetic diversity or the degree of geographic isolation. Moreover, for some species, protecting individuals that act as 'repositories' of social knowledge, such as experienced elephant matriarchs, may be just as important as conserving critical habitat. advertisement "Beyond genes, knowledge is also an important currency for wildlife. As well as conserving genetic diversity, we must work towards maintaining cultural diversity within animal populations, as a reservoir for resilience and adaptation. This is an important reframing of our understanding of the natural world, which will necessitate changes in international wildlife law," said the lead author of the paper, Philippa Brakes, from the University of Exeter, UK. The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) -- widely known as the 'Bonn Convention' -- which operates under the umbrella of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), has been a pioneer in this field, spearheading efforts to use scientific knowledge on animal cultures, to improve the conservation of migratory species. The Science paper resulted from a seminal workshop in Parma, Italy, organised by the CMS, where experts pooled decades of expertise to devise concrete recommendations on how to improve conservation strategies. They highlighted that it is critical to catalogue the wide diversity of cultural behaviours within the animal kingdom, and to develop methods for identifying individuals who are the keepers of important social knowledge within their communities and require special protection. Senior author of the paper, Professor Christian Rutz, from the University of St Andrews, UK, announced the publication of the group's recommendations on Tuesday 26 February, at a workshop on animal cultures in Konstanz, Germany, co-organised by the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology Radolfzell and the National Geographic Society. Rutz noted: "This is an incredibly important development. Decades of research on animal cultures are now being put to good use in conservation science and policy making, and we have a much better idea of what knowledge gaps still need filling." 2020 is the final year of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity. The papers' authors emphasise that this work, at the interface between science and policy-making, is timely, as governments consider how best to conserve biodiversity in an ever-changing world. They urge that animal cultures must feature in these discussions, given their profound impact on the survival prospects of social units, and potentially entire populations. "CMS is breaking new ground by looking at the issue of animal culture, social complexity, social learning and the role of individual and groups of individual animals as repositories of social knowledge. This pioneering work could have fundamental repercussions on how we approach conservation," observed the late Dr Bradnee Chambers, former Executive Secretary of CMS. Dr Chambers was a strong advocate for this initiative, but sadly passed away earlier this year. Dr Fernando Spina, Chair of the CMS Scientific Council notes "This new frontier of animal culture and social complexity opens a fascinating and innovative perspective on how we consider animals; from single components of population models to individuals who offer specific contributions to the rest of the social group. When thinking of strategies to conserve migratory animals, which is the main mission of CMS at the global level, with individual animals visiting different countries along their annual cycle, cultural transmission of knowledge on how to fulfil their incredible migratory journeys is a new component environmental policies should fully take into account." This novel approach opens up opportunities for innovative ways of protecting and communicating about the natural world: understanding that other species have rich social lives and that they share important information with each other, provides an invaluable new perspective. With increasing habitat degradation around the globe, such insights may be vital for efficient animal conservation. A new study shows climate change may have contributed to the decline of Cahokia, a famed prehistoric city near present-day St. Louis. And it involves ancient human feces. Published Feb. 25, 2019 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study provides a direct link between changes in Cahokia's population size as measured through a unique fecal record and environmental data showing evidence of drought and flood. "The way of building population reconstructions usually involves archaeological data, which is separate from the data studied by climate scientists," explains lead author AJ White, who completed the work as a graduate student at California State University, Long Beach. "One involves excavation and survey of archaeological remains and the other involves lake cores. We unite these two by looking at both kinds of data from the same lake cores." Last year, White and a team of collaborators -- including his former advisor Lora Stevens, professor of paleoclimatology and paleolimnology at California State University, Long Beach, and University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor of Anthropology Sissel Schroeder -- showed they could detect signatures of human feces in lake core sediments collected from Horseshoe Lake, not far from Cahokia's famous mounds. These signatures, called fecal stanols, are molecules produced in the human gut during digestion and eliminated in feces. As the people of Cahokia defecated on land, some of it would have run off into the lake. The more people who lived and defecated there, the more stanols evident in lake sediments. Because the sediments of a lake accumulate in layers, they allow scientists to capture snapshots of time throughout the history of a region through sediment cores. Deeper layers form earlier than layers found higher up, and all of the material within a layer is roughly the same age. advertisement White found that fecal stanol concentrations at Horseshoe Lake rise and fall similarly to estimates of Cahokia's population from better-established archaeological methods. Schroeder, a scholar of the Cahokia area, says that excavations of the houses in and near Cahokia show human occupation of the site intensified around A.D. 600, and by 1100, the six-square-mile city reached its peak population. At the time, tens of thousands of people called it home. Archaeological evidence also shows that by 1200, Cahokia's population was on the decline and the site was abandoned by its mound-building Mississippian inhabitants by 1400. Scientists have uncovered a number of explanations for its eventual abandonment, including social and political unrest and environmental changes. For instance, in 2015, co-author Samuel Munoz, a former UW-Madison graduate student and now a professor at Northeastern University, was actually the first to collect one of the Horseshoe Lake sediment cores White used in his study and he found evidence that the nearby Mississippi River flooded significantly around 1150. advertisement White's latest study ties the archaeological and environmental evidence together. "When we use this fecal stanol method, we can make these comparisons to environmental conditions that hither to now we haven't really been able to do," says White, now a PhD student at UC Berkeley. Using Munoz's core and another White collected on Horseshoe Lake, the research team measured the relative amount of fecal stanols from humans present in sediment layers. They compared these to stanol levels known to come from bacteria in the soil in order to establish a baseline concentration for each layer. They examined the lake cores for evidence of flooding and also looked for climate indicators that would inform them whether climate conditions were relatively wet or dry. These indicators, the ratio of a heavy form of oxygen to a light one, can show changes in evaporation and precipitation. Stevens explains that as water evaporates, the light form of oxygen goes with it, concentrating the heavy form. The lake core showed that summer precipitation likely decreased around the onset of Cahokia's decline. This could have affected the ability of people to grow their staple crop maize. A number of different changes begin to happen in the archaeological record around 1150, Schroeder explains, including the number and density of houses and the nature of craft production. These are all indicators of "some kind of socio-political or economic stressors that stimulated a reorganization of some sort," she says. "When we see correlations with climate, some archaeologists don't think climate has anything to do with it, but it's difficult to sustain that argument when the evidence of significant changes in the climate shows people are facing new challenges." This has resonance today, she adds. "Cultures can be very resilient in face of climate change but resilience doesn't necessarily mean there is no change. There can be cultural reorganization or decisions to relocate or migrate," Schroeder says. "We may see similar pressures today but fewer options to move." For White, the study highlights the nuances and complications common to so many cultures and shows how environmental change can contribute to social changes already at play. The study was supported by the Geological Society of America and California State University, Long Beach. Rutland, VT (05701) Today Cloudy. A stray severe thunderstorm is possible. High around 85F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Overcast. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Islamabad: 27th Feb: Pakistan Prime Minister addressed his Nation today. In his address, he briefed his countrymen about the events of the last few days. He justified the Pakistan air force retaliation in the Indian territory as a reply to Indian action. He stated, that Pakistan did it to tell India that it is fully capable, and has every right to respond to any such action in its territory. He has invited India for a dialogue once again, even when such tension prevails between both countries, as things might spiral out of control if both nations continue acting in this manner. He said that once things escalate, there is no stopping, and neither in his control, nor in Prime Minister Narendra Modis. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Citing examples from history, he said that wars always involve miscalculation. He appealed, that better sense should prevail as both the countries, which are armed with nuclear weapons, cannot afford any miscalculation. Sympathising with the Pulwama victims and their families, Imran Khan asked India to bring any kind of investigation on the table, and invited it for a dialogue over the problems both the nations are facing. Meanwhile, India awaits its Prime Minister to address the nation. NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH, FEBRUARY 27: To stop India`s river water share flowing to Pakistan, Punjab Government has demanded for releasing of Rs. 412 crore from the center to construct a dam at Makora Pattan on Ravi-Ujj conglomeration and pressed upon the center to accord it a national project. During a meeting with Union Minister for Water Resources, Road Transport and Highways Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Punjab Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Mr. Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Water Resources Minister Mr. Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria today informed that with the construction of this dam about 600 Cs of river water flowing to Pakistan could be stopped and the state would be able to use this water for irrigation purposes. Informing Mr. Gadkari of details of the project proposal both Mr. Bajwa and Mr. Sarkaria said that a 7 km long channel would be constructed to carry through this water to put it put in Kalanaur-Ramdas Canal System to further utilize to irrigate 1 lakh acre of land already devoid of irrigation facilities. Moreover, with this project the state government would also be able to utilize this water to provide clean drinking water to 100 villages and 6 townships of this border area, added the Ministers. Both the ministers also appealed the Union Minister to approve it as a national project and release the required funds so as to complete this project in shorter span of time to stop water flow towards Pakistan thus to be used it in the interests of country. Giving in principle approval to this project Mr. Gadkari asked the state government to submit Detailed Project Report (DPR) so that all the technicalities must be examined before constructing this project of national importance. Both Cabinet Ministers also asked Union Minister to decide upon the Center-State funding patter for already approved project of strengthening and up-gradation of Upper Bari Doab Canal(UBBD). ``At present only 2.76 lac hectare out of total area of 5.13 lac hectare was being irrigated, but with the completion of this project the remaining area would also be covered under canal irrigation system. Mr. Bajwa and Mr. Sarkaria also appealed the Union Minister to extend the Jammu-Katra Express Highway project to be constructed by the center through Amritsar-Dera Baba Nanak and Kalanaur. Both the ministers said that by extending through this project, expressway could be connected to the Kartarpur-Dera Baba Nanak Corridor.`` With passing of this expressway through these areas, it would facilitate the lakhs of devotes who would come to Kartarpur Sahib withn the completion of corridor in this current year devoted to the 550th Parkash Purab of Shri Guru Nank Dev Ji. Besides the project would also give fillip to the commercial activities in border area that would further play pivotal role in the development of this area, added the Ministers. Agreeing in principle with this new proposal Mr. Gadkari asked the higher officials of his ministry to present a detailed comparison report after thorough studying new and previous proposals of this project. Jammu, 27th Feb'19: In an expected backlash by Pakistan, there was a violation of the Indian air space this morning. As per the reports, three Pakistani jets entered Indian air space in Poonch and Nowshera sectors. They were detected by Indian Air Patrol, and were chased back. While they were returning, they dropped bombs in the Indian territory. There have been no reports of any casualties yet. Further details are awaited. Notably, this happens after Pakistan said that it will give a befitting reply to India by surprising it, choosing a place and time of its own. With this, tensions on the border between the two countries are on the rise, with India having declared high alert in its border areas. New Delhi: 27th Feb: In a statement issued by the joint opposition, after a meeting of 21 opposition parties held in New Delhi, the opposition has condemned the Pulwama Attack of February 14 2019. They expressed solidarity with the Armed Forces and paid homage to the martyrs. They applauded the armed forces for the Air Strike which was undertaken on February 26, destroying the biggest training camp of terror organization Jaish-e-Mohammed in the Pakistani territory. The opposition parties have expressed deep anguish over blatant politicisation of the sacrifices made by men of armed forces by the ruling party. They have stated that national security is above all political gains. They said, that PM Modi has regrettably not convened an all-party meeting as per the established practice. It has also rued the fact that the Government has kept the opposition not up-to-date about the events taking place. Pulwama attack It has taken a serious note of the inability of Modi government to keep the opposition in loop. The statement also expressed deep concern over safety of missing pilot. The opposition has requested the government to work towards the safe return of the captured pilot. The united Opposition has asked the Prime Minister to take the nation into confidence regarding the current developments. Talking to the media, CPI leader Sitaram Yechury said that the leaders of ruling party, which is BJP, are using the situation and its details for their political gain. He said that politicization of such a grave matter by the government, while the opposition has time and again offered its support and assured a responsible behaviour, is indeed condemnable. Air Strike It is to be noted that on Tuesday, the day air strikes took place pre-dawn, PM Modi while addressing a public rally in Rajasthan Today, from the land of Churu, I want to assure the people of the country that the country is in safe hands. Meanwhile, BJP president Amit Shah also used the air strikes to sway public opinion in his partys favour saying Who can ensure the security of the country? The people of the gathbandhan (SP-BSP-RLD alliance) or Modiji?. This was reportedly a blatant effort to portray PM Modi as the hearo in this narrative. This behaviour is what the opposition condemned in its statement. A FLAT-bed lorry was destroyed in a fire in Parkgate this morning (Wednesday). Firefighters from Rotherham station were called to Stonerow Way at 6.25am where arsonists had set the lorry alight, a spokeswoman for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said. They left the scene at 6.45am. The same crew also dealt with an earlier arson attack on a heavy goods trailer in Rawmarsh Road at 2.45am. Last night, rubbish was also deliberately set on fire in Victoria Street, Goldthorpe, at 8.30pm. A crew from Cudworth station was at the scene for 30 minutes. The polls, though, were consistent on another question: Voters feel more strongly that Herring should stay than they do about Northam, even though they confessed to the same offense. Is that because Herring came forward before being outed? Or because Herring was deemed to have given the better apology? Or because doing something stupid at age 19 weighs less heavily than doing something stupid at age 25? Its hard to say. Democrats have a vested interest in Herring staying because if he resigned, his successor would get picked by the Republican General Assembly. However, the Ipsos-UVA poll found an equal number of Democrats and Republicans opposing Herrings resignation. Roanoke College didnt find a tie between the two camps, but still found that even respondents who identified as Republicans generally felt Herring should stay on. What should we make of that? We can only conclude that, after all the questions are asked, voters seem inclined to move on. Thats not to say there wont be other political consequences. Northam remains something of a pariah. He has yet to make a public appearance. When the General Assembly adjourned, legislators passed on the traditional ceremonial visit to the governors office. How long will Northam stay holed up in his office handling paperwork? Will he ever be able to go out and do the types of things governors normally do? Perhaps we dont really need a governor at every ground-breaking, but we do need a governor who can make trade visits to potential employers around the country and the world. We need a governor with enough political capital to jawbone solutions to certain problems (Interstate 81, anyone?). Thats the real cost of this scandal: We currently have a zombie governor who retains plenty of institutional power to sign or veto bills, make appointments and issue executive orders but presently lacks the moral authority to persuade people. Herring faces a different obstacle course. Northam was unlikely to ever run for anything again, but Herring is a declared candidate for governor. Just because voters seem in a forgiving mood doesnt mean that other Democratic contenders or Republicans will be. Well be hearing about all this again, thats for sure. In some ways, the ultimate resolution of the blackface scandal wont come until Herring wins or loses in 2021 and Northam leaves office in January 2022. Governor: You are ill-advised. You want forgiveness without giving up your pet Virginia double-boondoggle pipelines! You say No one better than a doctor to heal Virginia but your pipelines are an open running sore and scandalous violation of First, do no harm! by you --Virginias so-called Doctor-Governor. Your DEQ chief Paylor protects pipelines over Virginians! Fire David Paylor who accused a SWCB member of working for the opposition! Then repair the unprotective, corporation-colluding culture of DEQ. You are on the wrong side of history. Re-align yourself with justice. Virginias civil lawsuit documents 300 MVP violations and MVP is under EPA criminal investigation--together providing ample evidence to revoke MVPs water certification, which requires reasonable assurance that water quality be protected. Where is due process? God help our streams if MVP regains cancelled permits. We demand Virginias protection from FERCs abuse. The longer Northams administration tolerates MVPs ever-mounting wrongdoings, the clearer it becomes that Virginias boondoggle trio is conspiring to sacrifice Virginians future for the benefit of unneeded venture-capital pipelines. Appalachian Power Co. expects to wrap up its restoration efforts in Virginia by Wednesday night. When high winds swept through the region Sunday, some 40,000 Appalachian Power Customers in Virginia were left without power. The company has been working to restore the outages since, steadily bringing down that figure. Around 2,000 employees and contractors, along with approximately 300 workers from Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi and Tennessee contributed to the effort, according to Appalachian Power spokeswoman Teresa Hamilton Hall. "We will continue to restore power and move resources into the more heavily damaged areas until the last customer is restored," Hall said in a Wednesday morning news release. As of Wednesday morning, Roanoke County was the only locality in the region where more than 100 customers were still without power. 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. South Peak said it continues to court those uses. To date, the hotel has opened along with one restaurant, Texas Roadhouse. The residential side of the development is also moving forward. But, representatives said, the project is also battling shifting market forces and has to adapt in order to continue making progress. Venture Storage submitted a proposal to invest more than $6.5 million in a modernized facility that South Peak supported as an attractive and complementary addition to its site. In their deliberations, though, some supervisors said the sheer size of the building seemed overwhelming for that horizon. Cave Spring District Supervisor George Assaid echoed comments from the planning commission that questioned whether the addition would further the goal of creating an appealing and harmonious community. The planning commission, also by a 4-1 margin, had voted to recommend denial of the permit. Windsor Hills District Supervisor David Radford, who voted in favor of the project, said he empathized with the hurdles that developments have faced since the Great Recession and he appreciated that Venture Storage had worked to bring a nicer aesthetic to the design of its project. For the programs organizers, Hills perseverance serves as a symbol for many in Roanokes youngest generation. And the house, with its rich history, has provided the ideal atmosphere for enrichment. The childrens bigs their mentors from Big Brothers, Big Sisters arrive at the house around 5 p.m. In the two hours prior, students engage in hands-on activities designed specifically for them with the programs coordinator, Melissa Dow, and several volunteers. After working on homework, the children have time to play before venturing on field trips or working on projects with analog tools related to science and technology. On Feb. 19, Highland Park fifth-grader Aiesha Lewis marveled at a model old-time phone she made with 426 puzzle pieces. It took me two weeks, Aiesha said. That timeline was the students humility on display, Dow said. Since the four schools in the program alternate the days they send their students, Aiesha had actually spent about two hours on the project an even more impressive feat. Fourth-grader Bryson Mackeys also has a keen interest in engineering. I like to build everything, he said, as a Ferris wheel made of blocks spun between his fingers. Nancy Hans, executive director of the Prevention Council of Roanoke County, said the meetings are part of an ongoing series meant to educate families on the risks facing children and young adults. Organizers are planning additional meetings this year, Hans said. Twenty years ago, we didnt know the potential dangers of opioids. Today, we do, Hans said. Today, we know how the brain handles addiction and we know more of the signs of early addiction. We want to help parents recognize those signs. While opioids will drive the majority of the conversations, the forums will also dive into another highly addictive legal drug: nicotine. Specifically, the discussions will center on a popular electronic cigarette device called Juul. The devices produce odorless vapor and are considered easier to conceal than other e-cigarettes, and the use of Juul has become increasingly prevalent in schools over the last three years. Vaping has grown in popularity as an alternative to smoking, including among teenagers. In September, the FDA demanded e-cigarette companies develop plans to prevent youth vaping. Two months later, Juul agreed to stop selling flavored e-cigarette products in stores and to remove its social media presence. Gov. Ralph Northam signed legislation into law last week raising the minimum age to buy tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, from 18 to 21 with an exemption for active-duty military personnel. English pubs are noted for their convivial, inviting, warm and comfortable atmosphere. Wood-paneled walls, luxurious padded couches and chairs allow patrons to relax and calm their nerves while being swaddled in luxury. This opulent setting is not always the case in local breweries, but it does exist in nearby Floyd, at the recently opened Buffalo Mountain Brewery and McDaniels Tavern. I visited recently, chatting with the owner and brewer Bill McDaniel Bryant and having the pleasure of tasting some of his craft brews. Bryants story is an interesting one. His career in the Air Force included a stint as a flight engineer helping with flights that shuttled dignitaries to important places. He also worked as a pilot for Search and Rescue in Alaska, where he became adroit at takeoffs and landings on planes equipped with skis and floats. He told me a story of one flight in which a float-plane was so overloaded with people and cargo that everyone had to lean forward to get the plane on-step so the floats could get out of the water and get off the lake. Bryants family has lived in Floyd since the 1790s, and he grew up on a dairy farm there. Bryant tells a story of his grandfather, Bill Shorty McDaniel. One day on an outing, his dog Dixie discovered an entrance to an underground cavern. This would become Dixie Caverns, where Shorty worked until he passed away. Authorities rescue 234 illegal migrants from subhuman conditions Chiapa de Corzo , Tuxtla Gutierrez Immigration authorities report more than 230 people were rescued from subhuman conditions while traveling in smuggling vehicles. State police reported that a group of 234 migrants traveling in subhuman conditions distributed between four vehicles were rescued in the ejido Rivera las Flechas in the municipality of Chiapa de Corzo in Tuxtla Gutierrez. During the operation, Policia Estatal Preventiva were also able to arrest eight Mexican nationals in the smuggling scheme. The Secretaria de Seguridad y Proteccion Ciudadana reported that on Tuesday, 234 people from Guatemala, Ecuador and El Salvador, none of whom had legal paperwork to be in the country, were rescued from the vehicles. All 234 were given food and medication by Mexican authorities before being handed over to the Instituto Nacional de Migracion. Members of the Berea City Council sat in on the Tuesday morning fiscal court meeting to hear a report from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet on projects throughout Madison County. Pictured from left to right are: County Attorney Jennie Haymond, Berea Council member David Rowlette, Magistrate Tom Botkin, Magistrate Roger Barger, Judge/Exec Reagan Taylor, Berea Mayor Bruce Fraley, Magistrate John Tudor, Magistrate Larry Combs, Madison County Sheriff Mike Coyle, Jailer Steve Tussey and Berea council members Jerry Little and John Payne. Taylor Six/The Register She said the boy responded, They brought me here. The teacher said she told him, Well, you can always go back, because I came here from Cuba and the day I feel Im not welcome here anymore I would find another place to live. Thereby equating her decision to flee a totalitarian regime with the kidnapping at gunpoint of this childs ancestors. Compounding her cluelessness, the woman called administrators, who called police. They claim the boy was arrested because he became disruptive, refused to follow instructions, and resisted arrest without violence. Which feels like a lame excuse for an indefensible overreaction, especially given that school policy and a little thing called the First Amendment give him the right to opt out of the Pledge. Small wonder a prosecutor has declined to prosecute. And here, one might declaim about how readily schools criminalize ordinary disciplinary issues where children of color are concerned. One might also observe that doing so rather proves the boys point about the Pledge. But leave that for another time. Focus instead on the coercive thing the state sought to do: make this boy love or say he loves America. Quite the opposite, the pope has squelched efforts to expose and punish those responsible for covering up abuses by McCarrick and others. The Wall Street Journal reports that in 2015, Boston Cardinal Sean OMalley whom Francis put in charge of handling the abuse crisis recommended the creation of a special tribunal to try bishops who ignore or cover up abuse. The pope rejected his proposal. Last year, OMalley met with Francis in Rome where, The Journal reports, the pope made it clear he would not authorize a full-fledged investigation into the McCarrick affair. He then stunned the cardinal by recommending that the U.S. bishops cancel a meeting at which they were to vote on penalties for bishops who neglect or cover up abuse suggesting they hold a spiritual retreat instead. When they held the meeting anyway last November, Francis forbade them from voting on the measures. And OMalley ostensibly the popes point man on sex abuse for the past five years was omitted from the speakers list at the popes sex abuse summit. Not only do the high wages in the data center industry offer a large source of state income tax revenue for our state, but these centers also are a driving force in the development of renewable energy resources, new roads, and utility and internet upgrades. Loudoun County Economic Development Executive Director Buddy Rizer is correct when he asserts that it is not an accident that these high-tech investments are being made in Virginia. Loudoun County is the No. 1 data center market in the world by a factor of two to three times. Virginia has made a clear choice: to support high-tech data center investments that now attract some of the most advanced technology companies and Fortune 1000 enterprises engaged in the latest in technology. As of February 2018, the Northern Virginia Technology Council reported that the data center industry had created more than 43,000 new jobs in Virginia, contributing $3.2 billion in labor income and over $10 billion in economic output. In 2016 alone, the high-tech industry made $2.6 billion in capital investments in data centers, creating more than 4,600 new jobs. The board missed its chance last week of fully conducting its business in the open when it voted 5-4 against making public the 49 positions being cut. On Monday Kamras said that information would be publicly available by April 1nearly five weeks away. We missed an opportunity to build trust and show this city what good governance and transparency looks like, 3rd District representative Kenya Gibson said Monday. She voted against the budget along with 5th District representative Patrick Sapini and 6th District representative Felicia Cosby. The School Boards action of initially refusing to release the full document was a blatant disregard of transparency and is the latest in a string of troubling actions taken without public comment. In April 2017, the board decided behind closed doors to part ways with a previous superintendent. The decision to appoint an interim superintendent took place at 3 a.m. The hiring of the current superintendent was made without public vetting of the candidates, unlike with the previous officeholder. The board approved a facilities plan in December 2017 without public comment. Ever since President Jimmy Carter reinstated the Selective Service Act in 1980, mandatory registration with the federal governments Selective Service System on ones 18th birthday has been a rite of passage for every American male. Registering with Selective Service provides the government with a list of young men who can be called to serve should an emergency arise demanding a rapid buildup of the nations armed forces. Americas young women have never been held to the same requirement. That might be changing. Last Friday, a federal judge issued a ruling that a male-only draft is unconstitutional. In his decision, U.S. District Court Judge Gray Miller of the Southern District of Texas sided in favor of a 2013 lawsuit filed by two draft-age men who argued that the men-only practice was a form of sex discrimination in violation of the Fifth Amendments equal protection clause. This case balances on the tension between the constitutionally enshrined power of Congress to raise armies and the constitutional mandate that no person be denied the equal protection of the law, wrote Miller. The decision stopped short of ordering the federal government to require women to begin registering. Were happy to see that the much-maligned hemp plant is finally undergoing a metamorphosis. The ancient plant was one of the first crops to be grown and processed by early humans. Hemp has a wide variety of uses for medical and food consumption as well as many industrial applications. From Colonial days through World War II, the plants versatility made it a popular crop for American farmers. Even George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew fields of hemp. But with the advent of the governments war on drugs in the late 20th century, industrial hemp was unfairly lumped in with its close cousin, psychoactive marijuana. Because the spindly plant so closely resembles pot, for decades hemp fell under the same restrictions as marijuana even though hemp has none of its cousins psychotropic agents. Over the years, tobaccos diminishing popularity has left Virginia farmers with growing acres of unused cropland. In response, Virginia legislators began to ease some restrictions on growing hemp. And in December, President Donald Trump signed a farm bill that lifted federal restrictions on cultivating and growing hemp. The new law is welcome news to Virginia farmers. In January, Fernando Winnegan, a 50-year-old Chesterfield County resident, told the RTDs Graham Moomaw, Its a game-changer in everything. This can save farms in Virginia. Adam Trimmer was in the hospital recovering from a suicide attempt when his pastor recommended a therapist who he said could help him overcome his homosexuality. Trimmer was 18 at the time and had been wrestling with what felt like two versions of himself: the serious, evangelical Christian who believed homosexuality was a sin and the young man who was beginning to be more open about his sexuality in college. In the midst of his confusion, Trimmer was rejected by his first love, sending him into the spiral that put him in the hospital. He began seeing the therapist the pastor recommended, who told him that it wasnt his fault that he was gay. She said it was because Trimmers mother was overbearing and his father was emotionally distant. In addition to therapy, Trimmer attended conferences and group therapy focused on helping him resist his homosexual attractions. Years later, Trimmer recalls those eight months he spent in conversion therapy as the lowest point in his life. It had broken my identity down to nothing, Trimmer said. He now speaks in favor of banning the practice on the state government level, with his mother at his side. Virginias Democratic Party, its Democrats in Congress and the states Legislative Black Caucus, as well as 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls, have called on Northam to resign, but he has resisted and pledged to commit the remaining three years of his term to alleviating racial inequity. The poll found that only 32 percent of Virginians approve of Northams performance as governor, down from 54 percent in a similar poll in August. Thirty-nine percent had an unfavorable view. Herring, after calling on Northam to step down, admitted his own blackface incident, saying he wore blackface to imitate rapper Kurtis Blow at a college party at the University of Virginia in 1980. Democratic officials have resisted urging him to resign. The Roanoke College poll found that 54 percent of Virginians say having worn blackface does not disqualify someone from holding elective office. Virginians view of Fairfax was different from other recent polls conducted at a similar time. A Quinnipiac University poll completed Feb. 14-18 found registered voters evenly split on whether the lieutenant governor should resign. A University of Virginia/Ipsos poll that finished the next day found that 35 percent favored resignation, with 25 percent saying he should stay in office and 40 percent with no opinion. The Henrico Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to approve development plans for a 21,000-square-foot aquatics center on Laburnum Avenue, giving the green light for construction to begin in March. As part of a public-private agreement with the YMCA of Greater Richmond, the county is planning to finance the entire cost of the $8 million project that will include an eight-lane, 25-yard pool; an instructional pool; a family spray area; and a waterslide. The YMCA will operate, manage and oversee construction of the facility under a 20-year lease. According to a news release announcing the boards decision, the aquatic center will be open to the public at daily rates and through a means-based YMCA membership. The YMCA will also host high school swim teams, community groups and youth leagues. The center is expected to be completed by 2020. The administration and majority of the board have decided not to disclose the specifics of the jobs that are set to be cut yet . Chairwoman Dawn Page said Monday night that the board needs to protect the confidentiality and the dignity of the staff, while also abiding by the boards policy of having personnel discussions in closed session. That, she said, is why the 228-page budget has not been released to the public. A spokeswoman for the district said Tuesday that there is no other reasoning for not releasing the full budget beyond what has already been stated. The boards policy, though, aligns with Virginias law that says agendas and meeting materials shall be made available for inspection by the public at the same time such documents are furnished to the School Board members unless materials are exempt under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The budget should be made public but keep in mind that personnel matters are personnel matters and thats not public information, Page said Tuesday, deferring to the administration on when it will be made public. The Chesterfield County School Board approved a spending plan Tuesday night that includes the same $672.2 million operating budget that Superintendent Merv Daugherty laid out in his original spending plan in January. But while that spending number stays the same, the budget was approved Tuesday with a million-dollar question or perhaps multimillion-dollar question hanging over it: What kind of funding gap could the school system face after Sundays budget passed by the Virginia General Assembly? The answer to that question is unclear, according to school system officials who say calculations are still being done to determine the amount of state funding that Chesterfield schools will receive. Christina Berta, the countys chief financial officer, said in a presentation to the School Board on Tuesday that previous state budget proposals could have resulted in Chesterfield schools facing a funding gap of $2.1 million to $2.7 million. Daugherty wrote in a Tuesday memo to School Board members that the countys charter requires him to send the school systems budget proposal to the county administrator by March 1. For the 10th straight year, Richmonds dining community has been recognized in the first round of nominees for the annual James Beard Awards, widely considered the most prestigious dining award in the country. The Richmond semifinalists announced Wednesday the first batch since the James Beard Foundation said in October that it would increase diversity in its awards committee and among its judges are Lehjas chef and owner Sandeep Sunny Baweja; Mekong and The Answer Brewpub owner An Bui; Sub Rosa Bakery owners Evrim Dogu and Evin Dogu; and Mama Js Kitchen. This is the first year the foundation recognized Baweja, chef and co-owner of Lehja, who was named a best chef semifinalist, and Mama Js, which was named in the outstanding service category. Baweja learned he was a semifinalist for best chef in the Mid-Atlantic when he received simultaneous text messages from a pair of previous Richmond semifinalists in the same category, Brittanny Anderson of Brenner Pass and David Shannon of Lopossum. The text messages kept pouring in, said Baweja, who was on his way in to work the lunch shift at Lehja, the Indian restaurant he opened in 2010 in Short Pump Town Center. It feels incredible. It feels like a dream. I dont have words. When dreams come true, there are no words left. In the arrangement, NOVA would fund the addition of the pools and interior spaces, including offices, locker rooms and bathrooms. Over time, additional modifications would add viewing areas, exercise rooms and community space. NOVA has a capital campaign underway to raise funds for the new pool. Regency opened in 1975 at North Parham and Quioccasin roads. The enclosed mall is being transformed physically, and its owners envision it as a venue offering experiences in addition to shopping and possibly residences on the property. Renovations completed so far include a new access road and new outparcels with tenants Chipotle, MOD Pizza and Starbucks. I think we are blazing a trail here, said Mark Slusher, senior vice president of Thalhimer Realty Partners, referring to adapting a former department store into a swim facility. NOVA will be an important part of our rebuilding the brand of Regency, he said. Elsewhere at the mall, construction is underway on a Surge Trampoline Park to occupy the former Macys North Building. Slusher said interior demolition has been completed, and structural modifications are about to begin. CFA employs 450 people in Charlottesville, making it one of the top employers in the city. This is the fifth settlement under the Civil Rights Divisions Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, according to a Justice Department news release. The initiative is investigating companies suspected of discriminating against U.S. workers in favor of temporary visa workers. This is the first of those settlements to involve the H-1B visa program. Through H-1B, U.S. companies can temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require highly specialized knowledge and a bachelors degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The department found that from November 2016 to January 2018, CFA set aside annual exam-grading positions for its members who required or had H-1B visas or other high-skill temporary visas, based on their citizenship status, according to the Justice Department news release. In doing so, CFA failed to consider equally qualified U.S. workers for such positions, which violates the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act, according to the release. EDITOR'S NOTE: This blog is written by one of 15 individuals attending the South By Southwest Conference in Austin with the intention to bring back ideas and to reimagine Richland County. The team has since developed the Mansfield Rising plan, which Richland Source will explain idea-by-idea beginning March 1. A lot has happened in the last year in the rust belt city of Mansfield. Not all of it has been good. Theres still crime, theres still an opioid problem, and the schools still struggle to compete in the rigged game that is state test scores. The city government continues to operate with a dwindling tax base, and there are large parts of our neighborhoods that have seen better days. Theres no point in looking away, because this is the canvas on to which well paint our future. What future? The central question is fairly obvious: Does Mansfield have a future worth working toward, and if it does, what is it? Its a fair question if youre investing your time, talent or treasure. Why not just bail and move somewhere else? Look under any Facebook post about Mansfield. Somebody is there, posing the query. Finding an answer has dominated the last year of my professional life. Our newsroom has reported on solutions through our work in the Rising from Rust project, and Ive poured my own heart and mind into the development of the Mansfield Rising plan. Ive made new friends, found surprising allies and learned so much about the city Ive called home for 25 years. Working on this project has been difficult, frustrating and all-consuming. Its also strengthened my belief that all the work was worth it. If ____________ can do it... If we're asking if the city has a future, here's my conclusion? Yes, abso-flipping-lutely. Mansfield does have a future worth working toward. Theres one key reason why I know this to be true, and why I believe completely that greatness is possible. Its been done. Examples at varied stages of re-invention are all around us. Newark, Wooster, Kent, Upper Sandusky, Ashland its being accomplished right now by communities with fewer resources than ours. What has to happen? A lot of things have to change. In my opinion, heres what we have to do to paint a bright new picture for Mansfield. Civic leaders must have vision. Wherever we're standing, we have to look at our city from the viewpoint of abundance and opportunity. Its time to play offense and take the battle for the future to our foes, which are quite often in the mirror. From the mayors office across to safety services, from the judges to the sewer department; we have to find ways to lead, advocate for Mansfield, and put our best foot forward. Collaboration is king. We are going to have to work together and find unusual partnerships that achieve great outcomes. No one pot of money will be found that just fixes everything. Itll take creativity, generosity, sacrifice and smart decisions from private investors, public servants and enterprising non-profits. Landlords working with artists on a city project funded by bankers. That could happen. It has to happen. Unusual suspects. Mansfield is a vibrant and diverse city. A bunch gray-bearded white guys who presently occupy positions of influence -- guilty as charged -- in a closed room is not the path forward. It really never was. We need those guys for sure, but we also need leaders of color, sharp women, and young people to get the nod, too. These perspectives are crucial to success. And then we need to trust them to make decisions and get things done. So yes, I think we have a future. I think it can be one where we work together even while disagreeing. It can be a future where visionary leadership (and money) can be found in the public sector, as well as private enterprise. But one thing's for sure, it's going to be a slog sometimes. We are going to have to fight for it, because it will not come easy. Im in for the fight. Are you? EDITOR'S NOTE: This is Part 1 in a 2-part series within Richland Source's "Rising from Rust" project looking at how Richland area employers are addressing a labor shortage. Part 2 can be read here. MANSFIELD -- We cant find employees. Its a statement heard repeatedly across Richland County - in conference rooms of manufacturers; inside the industrial park; at monthly Regional Manufacturing Coalition meetings and in conversations between employers and often anyone whos willing to listen. There are variations, for sure. We cant find good employees. We cant find skilled employees. We cant find employees because of the opioid epidemic. We cant find employees who will even show up on time. There is an apparent gap between the type of jobs available and the workers equipped to fill them, according to Richland Community Development Groups workforce development director Clint Knight. He recently completed a regional survey to get a better understanding of the situation. The key information from our recent wage survey is that employers are having a hard time locating the skilled employees that they need, Knight said. This means that we need to make sure that we are training the employees that we have to have diverse abilities and be as highly skilled as possible. He says the community needs to be preparing high school students to fill local jobs and to give the existing local workforce pathways to become the skilled employees that local employers need. At Richland Countys recent economic forecast breakfast, chief investment strategist for Key Private Bank Bruce McCain recognized the skills gap, but highlighted another problem: Theres not enough people. Knight's survey noted this, too. Area employers identified "lack of applicants" as one of the top reasons for hiring challenges. It was listed second, directly behind "lack of qualified and skilled applicants." For the first time in 40 years, McCain explained, the United States is approaching a time where employers are short on labor. Finding enough skilled labor is the number one problem heard from businesses, the economic expert said. "It's going to be a competitive marketplace, where it's difficult to get pricing power and it may be hard to find the people that we need to employ," McCain said about the countrys immediate future. In the past two years, the issue has already been reported by CNBC, FOX, CNN, the Washington Post and countless other media outlets. The U.S. labor shortage is reaching a critical point, CNBC reported in July 2018, and only a few months earlier, a CNN Business report explained how the problem exists in big and small businesses alike. In April 2018, an article posted by FOX business suggests looking in the Midwest, if in need of a job. There are more jobs than people to fill them, FOX reports, citing the U.S. Department of Labor statistics. Theres not an idle workforce, or a learning curve in employees who need training in order to advance -- there is actually an absence of workers, the article states, paraphrasing Dave Swenson, an associate scientist at Iowa State University. McCain predicts the labor shortage may soon become more challenging. The labor force in the United States has been growing by 1.5 percent per year, but that meager growth will soon further decrease, he said at Richland Countys economic forecast breakfast. Based on the growth of the prime working age group, those 20- to 60-years-old, the labor force should be growing at 0.2 percent, he said. "Thats because we've been pulling people in off the sidelines who have been unemployed or otherwise unengaged. Once we run through that pool, however, of unemployed workers, we're going to drop back to that 0.2 percent," McCain said. What about keeping workers with higher wages? When competition this significant arises, wages should rise, McCain explained, but that hasnt been the case throughout the United States. "If you look at the wage rates, you'll see we've reached the point with unemployment where we've crossed over the full employment level," McCain said. He estimated a 3.3-percent wage increase could be sustained by the United States economy, but it could be challenging for employers to implement. "What we're seeing with most businesses is it's been pretty difficult to pass price increases along, so that's probably part of the reason," McCain said. Knight says his recent survey shows Richland, Ashland and Crawford County businesses have already raised their wages to competitive levels when compared to Wooster and Delaware Counties. Results showed that assemblers and fabricators in Richland, Ashland and Crawford counties make an average of $15.86 per hour, while the same positions (on average) are paid $15.82 per hour in Wayne County and $16.25 per hour in Delaware County. Production workers are paid an average of $14.24 per hour locally, $14.31 per hour in Wayne County, and $15.42 per hour in Delaware County, according to data Knight collected in collaboration with Kent State University's Stark program. Our local employers are keeping an eye on the wage trends, and are responsive to our regional labor market, Knight said. Our local employers are not out of range of those counties around us. We have competitive wages. Still, it is indeed one of the tightest labor markets in years in Ohio and Richland County, he explained. Specifically in Richland County manufacturing, we have seen wage increases over the last 18 months -- these increases are in response to that competition, he said. The increases are already happening here due to both a tight labor market and a positive economic situation. But theres several factors that play into this. Since labor wages do not respond to supply and demand the same way as product, it poses considerable challenges, Knight said. When there is less oil, the prices goes up, and typically that is the same with the availability of skilled labor. However - when there is more available oil, the price goes down, and that can't necessarily happen with labor. Once a wage is raised that becomes the new wage. The only alternative for employers is a layoff, and no one wants to lay off employees. He encourages employees who are seeking a higher wage to attain a higher skill level, as there are available positions that require more further skills and local opportunities to train. Read Part II here. BUCYRUS There will be a forum open to the Bucyrus City School District community on March 14 at 5:30 p.m. to seek input on the characteristics, skills, and experience the Bucyrus City Schools Board of Education should consider in evaluating candidates for the districts next superintendent. Anyone interested in the school district is encouraged to attend and provide their input. The forum will be held in the Board Meeting room at the Lincoln Administrative Center, 170 Plymouth St., Bucyrus, Ohio, 44820. The Bucyrus City School District welcomes your written input if you are unable to attend the meeting. A superintendent search profile input form is available by clicking on the Superintendent Search Information link on the districts homepage at www.bucyrusschools.org. MANSFIELD -- Jerry Holden, president of THA Brands and The Holden Agency, has announced the launch of the agencys newest partner entity, THA Capital. THA Capital was created to address a growing demand for capital and commercial funding to be delivered under the umbrella of THA Brands for clients and investors. As his real estate agency has grown and expanded in different markets throughout Ohio, Holden noticed an increasing demand for lending services not only in the residential sector of his business, but in commercial transactions as well. Out of this need, THA Capital was born. We have been actively counseling our commercial clients not just in Ohio, but in different states, and weve noticed that our customers have been wanting capital and commercial funding, Holden stated. Through THA Capital, we can now offer commercial loans nationwide, and we can service them very efficiently compared to a traditional banking model. The model of THA Capital is centered around key concepts that all clients will appreciate: fluidity, along with a seamless borrowing process. With our company, an investor can be from California, for example, and purchase a shopping center through us in the state of Florida without needing to have a relationship with any local bank in that state, Holden explained. We dont have exposure limits or funding limits. Therefore, our commercial clients can borrow money from us anywhere in the country. Leading operations for THA Capital is James Clark, Vice President of Sales. Born and raised in Richland County, he is a 28-year veteran of the banking industry, with 25 of those working in various capacities of commercial lending. Clark comes to THA Capital with a successful track record of identifying and developing strong business relationships, as well as formulating successful policies and procedures for various organizational operations. Holden expressed his excitement to have Clarks leadership on-board. To have Jim leading our team is a tremendous asset for THA Capital. With nearly three decades of experience in commercial lending and $185 million worth of loan production over his career, Jim will be immensely valuable in serving our clients and helping our company grow. In addition to his professional success, Clarks interests are deeply rooted in our local community where he serves as both a board member and executive member for Downtown Mansfield, Inc. The ultimate goal of THA Capital, Holden says, is to meet the needs of lenders and investors, while providing the personal attention that customers deserve. While our operating capacity and areas of focus are sizable, our approach to service is very personal, Holden said. THA Capital will be by your side from project inception onward, fulfilling our commitment to provide superior asset servicing and consultation throughout your journey to success. Customers wishing to learn more about commercial and capital funding through THA Capital can do so by visiting thacapvelo.com, or by contacting James Clark, Vice President of Sales, at 419-560-7569 or jclark@thamortgage.com. 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 MANSFIELD -- A change in Ohio's beer law helped trigger an award-winning beer for the Phoenix Brewing Company of Mansfield. Metamorphus, an imperial stout, won the Best of Show award Saturday at the first Big Brews in Akron beer festival. The event showcased high-alcohol beers, including barley wines. Metamorphus topped Bernese Barley Wine Ale from the Thirsty Dog Brewing Company and Listermann Brewing Company Life in the best of show judging. Duncan Macfarlane, head brewer and one of the owners at the Phoenix, said in 2016 that Ohio removed its 12 percent alcohol by volume cap on beers made in the state. "Any alcoholic beverage in Ohio at or above 26 percent is controlled and sold by the state (mostly distilled spirits)," Macfarlane said. "In anticipation of the passage of the bill in 2016, we quickly had Metamorphus Imperial Stout (14 percent abv) and Phixius Imperial IPA (12.5 percent abv) approved for sale in Ohio. "I believe we first released the Metamorphus in early 2017 about six months after the signing of the bill," Macfarlane said. "Metamorphus loosely means change. Change in the beer law. We came up with a different spelling for branding purposes." The beer is a deep roast and complex malt with raisin and stone fruit notes, Macfarlane said. How important are such competitions to an independent, craft brewery like the Phoenix? "We do many beerfests, generally in our distribution area. Most, however, do not include judged competitions, which makes this a big deal for us," Macfarlane said. Metamorphus is available on draft at the Phoenix, 131 N. Diamond St. The United States has reaffirmed that it will maintain sanctions on Russia until it returns control of Crimea to Ukraine, nearly five years after Moscow annexed the peninsula. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Russia's occupation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 has fueled "an escalation of Russian aggression." "Crimea is Ukraine and must be returned to Ukraines control," a U.S.State Department statement quoted Pompeo as saying. "During the past five years, Russian occupation authorities have engaged in an array of abuses in a campaign to eliminate all opposition to its control over Crimea," Pompeo said. On February 27, 2014, masked gunmen seized Crimea's regional parliament in Simferopol and the government building and raised the Russian flag. A referendum on the future of the peninsula, denounced as illegitimate by Washington, was held on March 16 of that year approving Crimea's annexation by Russia. "The world has not forgotten the cynical lies Russia employed to justify its aggression and mask its attempted annexation of Ukrainian territory," Pompeo said, denouncing "the worsening repression by Russia's occupation regime in Crimea." "The United States calls on Russia to release all of the Ukrainians, including members of the Crimean Tatar community, it has imprisoned in retaliation for their peaceful dissent," Pompeo said. "The United States will maintain respective sanctions against Russia until the Russian government returns control of Crimea to Ukraine and fully implements the Minsk agreements," he said, referring to a Western-brokered 2015 peace agreement that has never been applied in its entirety. Separately, in an opinion piece published in The Guardian newspaper on February 27, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and 10 other foreign ministers from EU countries and Canada reiterated their condemnation of Russia's seizure of Crimea. "We will continue our nonrecognition policy with respect to the illegal annexation of Crimea, and continue to condemn Russia's aggression against Ukraine in the strongest terms," the foreign ministers said. With reporting by AFP A U.S. judge has delayed the sentencing of Maria Butina, the Russian woman who admitted to working as a foreign agent to infiltrate a gun rights group and build ties with U.S. conservative political activists. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan made the decision on February 26, after prosecutors cited Butina's ongoing cooperation with unspecified investigations. Butina, 30, has been in custody since being arrested in July. In December, she pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to act as a foreign agent for Russia. Prosecutor Erik Kenerson told the court that investigators still need Butina's cooperation. He did not elaborate. Chutkan set the next hearing in her case for March 28. Butina admitted trying to infiltrate the National Rifle Association, a powerful U.S. political organization which has close ties to Republicans and spent record funds in support of Donald Trump's presidential election campaign. Paul Erickson, a conservative U.S. political activist who has been identified as Butina's boyfriend, has been referred to in court papers but has not been charged. He has, however, been charged in an unrelated fraud and money-laundering case in his home state of South Dakota. Prosecutors have built their case against Butina in large part by focusing on a powerful Russian politician identified as her mentor or financial backer. That man, Aleksandr Torshin, was a deputy governor of Russia's central bank and a former member of Russia's parliament. The U.S. Treasury Department hit Torshin with economic sanctions in April. He has not been charged in the Butina case. With reporting by Reuters and AP Pakistan and India say they have shot down each other's warplanes in a dramatic escalation of their conflict over the disputed region of Kashmir. The Pakistani military initially said on February 27 that the country's air force had downed two India Air Force jets in its airspace and captured two pilots on the ground in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir. But a spokesman later tweeted that there was "only one pilot under Pakistan Armys custody." India confirmed the loss of one of its fighter jets and said a pilot was missing while it foiled an attack by Pakistan jets over the Himalayan region. It also said that it had shot down a Pakistani jet. Amid the escalation, Pakistan closed its airspace to commercial flights until further notice," while airports were shut in India and a vast area of airspace north of New Delhi was closed to civilian flights. The developments come a day after Indian warplanes carried out an air strike in northeastern Pakistan on what New Delhi said was a militant training camp. The aerial attack was the first launched across the Line of Control (LoC) that serves as a de facto border in Kashmir since a war between the two neighbors in 1971. Tensions have been high between Islamabad and New Delhi since a February 14 suicide attack that killed at least 41 Indian troops in Muslim-majority Kashmir, which is claimed by both countries. In an address to the nation, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on February 27 called for talks with India and expressed hope that "better sense" will prevail to deescalate the situation. "History tells us that wars are full of miscalculation. My question is that given the weapons we have, can we afford miscalculation?" Khan said. "We should sit down and talk." Earlier in the day, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said that his country "does not wish to see further escalation. India will continue to act with responsibility and restraint," Swaraj said during a visit to China. Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought two of their three full-fledged wars over the Himalayan territory since their partition during independence from Britain in 1947. In a separate incident on February 27, a helicopter crashed and exploded into flames outside the main city of Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing three people, local officials said. The cause of the crash was unknown. The day also saw shelling across the LoC that killed six civilians on the Pakistani side, authorities said. India said its air strike early on February 26 killed "a very large number" of militants. Pakistan denied there had been casualties but warned that it would respond to what it called Indian aggression. The Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant group claimed responsibility for the February 14 attack on Indian security forces. India said its neighbor had a "direct hand" in the attack and accused it of providing sanctuary to the militants. Islamabad denies involvement. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement on February 27 that India and Pakistan should show the "utmost restraint." "This has the potential to lead to serious and dangerous consequences for the two countries and the wider region," Mogherini said. "We expect both countries to now exercise utmost restraint and avoid any further escalation of the situation," she added, urging the two sides to resume diplomatic contacts to defuse the crisis. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called on India and Pakistan to avoid further military activity. In a February 26 statement, Pompeo said he had spoken with his Indian and Pakistani counterparts. "I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost. I also encouraged both ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity," he said. Russia and China, a Pakistan ally, have also urged calm. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa, and RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal Foreign diplomats have placed flowers on the Moscow bridge where opposition politician Boris Nemtsov was fatally shot four years ago. U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman and the ambassadors of several European countries were among the diplomats marking the anniversary of Nemtsovs killing on February 27. The United States on February 26 reiterated its call on President Vladimir Putin's government to "identify publicly those who organized and ordered the crime, and hold them accountable." A liberal politician who was a deputy prime minister during Boris Yeltsin's presidency and became one of Putin's most prominent opponents, Nemtsov was gunned down on a bridge near the Kremlin in Moscow on February 27, 2015. He was 55 years old. In July 2017, a Moscow court found five men from Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya guilty of Nemtsov's murder and sentenced them to long prison terms. Relatives and associates believe his killing was ordered at a higher level and say justice will not be served until the person or people behind it are identified and prosecuted. The U.S. statement echoed that idea. Government critics have voiced suspicion that the culprits will never face justice because an honest investigation could lead to figures who are close to Moscow-backed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov or to Putin's inner circle. Thousands of Russians marched in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other cities on February 24 to honor Nemtsov, with many criticizing Putin's government and calling for a reversal of what Kremlin critics say has been a clampdown on civil society and dissent since he came to power nearly 20 years ago. On February 27, at 23:31 p.m. Moscow time, dozens of people gathered at the site of the murder and observed a minute's silence in Nemtsov's memory. In a statement, the U.S. State Department said that Nemtsov "remains an inspiration to all those in Russia and around the world who strive for justice, democracy, and a government accountable to the people." The State Department said the United States honors Nemtsov's memory "by renewing our call for the government of Russia to allow journalists, civil society activists, and political opposition members to exercise their universal human rights of freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly without fear of violence or other forms of reprisal." U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un greeted one another as they kicked off two days of meetings in the Vietnamese capital to discuss the question of Pyongyang's nuclear-weapons and missile programs. The two leaders shook hands and smiled at Hanoi's five-star Metropole hotel on February 27, before holding a 30-minute one-on-one meeting and sitting down for a dinner with their aides. "Great meeting and dinner with Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam tonight," Trump tweeted at the end of the first day of their second summit. Meanwhile, the White House said Trump and Kim are scheduled to sign a joint declaration on the second day of their summit on February 28. The signing ceremony is scheduled to take place at 2:05 p.m. local time, the White House said. There were no details on the content of the document. Trump earlier told reporters he thought the talks would be very successful, while he was not walking back on denuclearization." "I am certain that an outcome will be achieved this time that will be welcomed by all people," Kim said. "I will do my best to make that happen." Trump has sought to find a way to reach some sort of agreement with Kim, the dictator who has presided over a regime that has brutalized its population while also advancing nuclear-weapons programs. It's the second meeting between the two. Their historic first meeting -- the first between a U.S. president and a North Korean leader -- was held in June 2018 in Singapore. Since that first meeting, however, there has been little sign of progress. With reporting by Reuters and AP Several former members of the Tajik opposition movement Group 24 have called on the country's Supreme Court to remove it from the list of banned extremist parties, saying "the group no longer poses a threat" to the government. The leader of Group 24 cried foul, however, suggesting the appeal was made under pressure and vowing that the organization would not drop its opposition to authoritarian President Emomali Rahmon's government. "Almost all group members who were active in Russia have returned home in recent years, and there is no one left in Russia to promote the movements policies," Oyatullo Gilyaev, a former member of Group 24, told RFE/RL on February 26. A source at the Supreme Court confirmed to RFE/RL that a letter signed by 15 former followers of Group 24 was submitted on February 25. The source was not authorized to discuss the matter on the record, and spoke on condition of anonymity. The court has not commented publicly on the letter. Group 24 leader Suhrob Zafar, who lives in self-imposed exile in Europe, said he believes that the letter was written under the "advice" of Tajik authorities seeking to weaken the opposition movement. Speaking on February 26, Zafar said that "such action would inevitably have an impact on our activities as a political movement." "Group 24 wont change its position toward the government," he said. A prominent Group 24 activist, Sharoffiddin Gadoev, recently resurfaced in Tajikistan after a period living in self-imposed exile in the Netherlands, sparking claims that he was abducted during a trip to Russia. Tajik authorities insist Gadoev, 33, returned voluntarily on February 15. They shared a video that shows Gadoev criticizing the opposition and urging other activists to follow his suit and return to Tajikistan. But on February 21, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said Gadoev was arrested on suspicion of "criminal activities," an allegation linked to his business activities in the past. Tajik authorities have not announced his arrest or commented on the Dutch statement. Four leading human rights groups -- Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, the Association of Central Asian Migrants, and the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia, Human Rights Watch -- said in a February 24 statement that Gadoev should be released from Tajik custody and allowed to return immediately to the Netherlands, where he is a recognized refugee. Sources investigating Gadoevs case learned that Russian security services officers forced Gadoev into their car in Moscow on February 14 and drove him to Domodedovo Airport, where the activist was placed on a flight to Dushanbe, the human rights groups said in their statement. Steve Swerdlow, Central Asia researcher for HRW, said that in Tajikistan Gadoev is facing "trumped-up charges for his peaceful exercise of freedom of expression." Group 24 was banned as an "extremist" movement in October 2014, after it called for antigovernment protests in Dushanbe and other cities. The protests didnt take place and most of the group members left Tajikistan shortly afterwards. Some of them have since returned to Tajikistan and leaders of the group say that they were lured back by authorities. The groups founder Umarali Quvatov was shot dead in Turkey in 2015. President Rahmons opponents claim the killing was orchestrated by Tajik authorities. Rahmon, who has ruled Tajikistan since 1992, has been repeatedly criticized for crackdowns on dissent. Companies that can be tied to oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin have won at least 5,393 Russian-government contracts since 2011 worth more than 209 billion rubles ($3.2 billion), according to an investigation by Current Time and the Municipal Scanner anticorruption website. Most of the contracts were concluded to provide food and other services to military units, but Prigozhin's companies also cater for schools and health-care facilities. The actual number of contracts could be much larger, in part because Prigozhin has created an opaque ownership network that makes it difficult to track all his activities and in part because, in 2017, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev issued a government decision that allowed the Voentorg military-supply agency and its subsidiaries to conceal information about its tenders on national-security grounds. There is evidence, in the form of court and other records, that some of Prigozhin's companies have been providing services to military units although they do not have a publicly recorded tender. Several companies tied to Prigozhin, including MTTs, Pishchevik, Obshchepit, Merkurii, and ASP, are listed on the Voentorg website as "partner" organizations. More complete information about the complex connections of these companies to Prigozhin's business empire can be found in the report by Current Time, which is a Russian-language media project led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA. Known Associates Many of the companies are owned or managed by known associates of Prigozhin, while others share a legal address or contact information with companies within Prigozhin's empire. Several of them have used the same lawyer, Irina Medved, to represent them in disputes with the Defense Ministry or other government agencies. In 2017, the Defense Ministry sued Voentorg for allegedly violating a contract. The firms Pishchevik, Kollektiv-Servis, Obshchepit, MTTs, and Merkurii were involved in the case as third parties and all of them were represented, according to court documents, by a lawyer identified as K.V. Shkodkina. St. Petersburg Financial University Professor Sergei Chyornykh told Current Time that such ties could be a coincidence, but could also indicate affiliations among companies that should attract the attention of financial-monitoring agencies. 'Toxic Nature' Current Time asked two financial specialists to examine the complex web of interconnections among the Prigozhin firms. Neither of them agreed to speak on the record, with one saying: "Given the toxic nature of the gentleman we are discussing, I agree to be identified only as a business source." "It is a classic system," one of the experts said. "Two or three structures compete in one tender. You own them all. You win the contract with minimal effort.... Although sometimes you can see companies competing that have one address, one director, one e-mail address. This is an old system -- it has been used 1,000 times and will be used 1,000 more." Currrent Time sent a list of questions to Prigozhin's main company, Konkord Management, with a request for comment on its investigation. The company responded by saying it had no obligation to answer Current Time and that the questions were "not publicly significant." The company's statement also quoted Prigozhin as saying that Current Time journalist Timur Olevsky was "a petty, dirty bastard...and we aren't going to answer his questions." Prigozhin, 58, has close personal ties to President Vladimir Putin and has been dubbed "Putin's chef" because his businesses provide catering services to Kremlin events. He and three related companies have been indicted in the United States on suspicion of executing a Kremlin-directed effort to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election to benefit Donald Trump. He is thought to control the Internet Research Agency, which is better known as the "Petersburg troll factory" and which has been linked to numerous social-media disinformation campaigns against the United States and European companies. He also is thought to control the Vagner private military contractor, which has provided mercenary and other services in eastern Ukraine, Syria, Africa, and elsewhere. He is under targeted U.S. sanctions for his alleged role in supporting Russia's 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea and Moscow's military support for separatist formations in parts of eastern Ukraine. Born in Leningrad in 1961, Prigozhin was convicted of robbery and given a suspended sentence in 1979. In 1981, he was given a 12-year sentence for robbery, fraud, and organizing prostitution. He served the rest of the decade in prison. After his release, he began a career in the food-services business by opening a network of hot-dog stands in St. Petersburg. A nephew of Dmitry Kiselyov, a Russian state media boss known for fiery anti-Western diatribes, is on trial in Germany on a charge of planning to take part in military activities alongside Russia-backed separatists fighting Kyiv's forces in eastern Ukraine. A court in Munich opened the trial of Kiselyov's nephew, a German citizen whose name was spelled Sergej Kisseljow by German media, on February 27. Investigators say Kisseljow, 48, went through military training in the Russian city of St. Petersburg in August 2014. He is accused of the preparation of a crime threatening a sovereign country's state security and illegally possessing firearms. German citizens can be prosecuted and punished for this crime, including in cases in which it is committed outside the country. German authorities began investigations against Kisseljow in late 2017, and he was detained in Bulgaria several months later and deported to Germany. The UN estimates some 13,000 people -- one-quarter of them civilians -- have been killed since April 2014 in the war between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists who hold parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The conflict erupted after Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych fled Ukraine for Russia in February 2014 in the face of mass protests known as the Maidan, and Russia seized control of the Crimean Peninsula. Kisseljow's uncle Dmitry Kiselyov said earlier that his nephew would be facing trial in Germany for fighting against Ukrainian armed forces in Ukraine's east, where he was decorated with a pro-Russia separatists' medal. Dmitry Kiselyov, head of the state-owned media company Rossia Segodnya, is best known for the propaganda against Washington and the West that he issues frequently on the weekly news show he hosts. On February 23, Kiselyov ran a segment that showed a map of the United States depicting targets he said would be hit in the event of a nuclear war, including the Pentagon and the U.S. presidential retreat Camp David outside Washington. With reporting by RTVI, Die Welt, OstWest, and DW It is the biggest scandal to hit Russia's powerful Federal Security Service (FSB) in years. At issue is the agency's cybersecurity unit, which had been at the forefront of Russia's efforts to fight cybercrime. The unit, called the Center for Information Security, had working partnerships with the FBI and other Western agencies, cooperating in cracking down on things like spammers, child pornography, cyberextortion, and other issues. Its deputy director, Colonel Sergei Mikhailov, was widely believed to have been responsible for dismantling a pernicious cybercrime operation in the late 2000s. Now the center could be an embarrassment for the FSB -- and possibly even a national-security concern. On February 26, in a trial behind closed doors, a Moscow military court formally sentenced Colonel Mikhailov to 22 years in prison, having convicted him of state treason for passing classified information to Western intelligence agencies. Ruslan Stoyanov, a researcher who used to be a law-enforcement investigator and later worked with the Kaspersky Lab, a Moscow-based cybersecurity and antivirus firm, was sentenced to 14 years. The verdicts, reported by Russian news agencies, were confirmed by Ivan Pavlov, a defense lawyer who has been involved in a related case. Stoyanov and Mikhailov "were known for one thing: both were middlemen," said Andrei Soldatov, an investigator and expert on Russia's security agencies. "Mikhailov -- between the Russian secret service and Western cyber law enforcement. Stoyanov -- a middleman between Western/Russian cyber law enforcement and the private sector." "That made them uniquely positioned to be in a crosspoint of the most sensitive information in all cyberthings," he told RFE/RL in a text message. The convictions were based in large part on the plea deals that prosecutors struck with Mikhailov's former deputy, Dmitry Dokuchayev, a former hacker who was enlisted to join the FSB. Another Russian, Georgy Fomchenkov, also reached a plea deal. The newspaper Kommersant said the two men, in their final comments to the court, maintained their innocence. Until 2016, the FSB cyberunit worked with U.S. law enforcement, meeting regularly with Justice Department officials and exchanging information on cybercrime and other matters. In early December 2016, Mikhailov was arrested, while attending a staff meeting in Moscow. News reports said he had a sack put over his head as he was escorted from the room. Notorious Spammer The other men were also arrested around the same time. News of the arrests didn't emerge until nearly a month later. The head of the cyberunit, a veteran FSB officer named Andrei Gerasimov, was reportedly forced into early retirement. In a series of leaks to Russian newspapers in the months that followed their arrest, the narrative that emerged said that Mikhailov and Dokuchayev were arrested for passing classified information to Western intelligence agencies. Last year, more details emerged from Russian media: the prosecution focused on information that had been relayed to Western agencies about Pavel Vrublevsky, a Russian businessman who was notorious for a global spamming operation. Vrublevsky had been convicted in 2013 in Russia of masterminding a spam attack three years earlier that disabled a payment system used by the Russian airline Aeroflot. He served 1 years in prison. Mikhailov testified in the trial against Vrublevsky, who founded a successful online payment system called ChronoPay. Russian prosecutors accused Mikhailov and Stoyanov of passing classified information about Vrublevsky to the FBI. Russian press reports, citing unnamed officials, alleged that Mikhailov was paid $10 million for the information. Vrublevsky, who has made no secret of his contempt for Mikhailov and Stoyanov, made clear his satisfaction with the February 26 verdict. He gave three hours of testimony in the trial against the two. "These people are directly responsible for the cyberhysteria, eventually going as far as [the] election-meddling scandal. I am very happy it's over," he told RFE/RL in a message. "As for accusations against me, I find this already [is a] kind of fairy tale which people first made up and then made themselves [believe in]," he said. Vrublevsky's spamming exploits were the focus of a 2014 book by the U.S. cyberresearcher Brian Krebs, who said he was leaked massive amounts of files from Vrublevsky's computers and had also met with unnamed FSB officers. From the beginning of the case, there were hints of competing narratives, and score-settling among Russia's rival security agencies. Competing Narratives The independent TV channel Dozhd said Mikhailov passed information regarding Roman Seleznyov, a Russian arrested by U.S. authorities in the Maldives and wanted for trafficking in stolen credit card numbers. The son of a Russian member of parliament, Seleznyov was sentenced in 2017 to 14 years in a U.S. prison. In December 2017, the online publication The Bell, citing unnamed Russian sources, reported that the Russian military-intelligence agency known as the GRU had investigated the FSB cyberunit and discovered the cooperation with U.S. intelligence. Among Russian security agencies, the GRU is considered a primary rival of the FSB. According to the publication, the FSB agents had revealed to U.S. intelligence that Russian hackers were involved in the 2016 hacking of U.S. political parties, including the Democratic National Committee. That assertion has not been corroborated, but a Justice Department indictment handed down in March 2017 -- four months after Mikhailov's arrest -- hints at one piece of corroborating evidence. The indictment focused on the hacking and theft of millions of e-mail accounts from Yahoo in 2014. Mikhailov's deputy, Dokuchayev, was named. Mikhailov is not named, though several details included in the indictment strongly suggest that "FSB Officer 3" is Mikhailov. According to the Justice Department, Dokuchayev also oversaw the work of a Russian hacker named Aleksei Belan. Belan, who was already one of the FBI's most-wanted cybercriminals, had been targeted by then U.S. President Barack Obama in December 2016 -- the same month Mikhailov, Dokuchayev, and the others were arrested-- when he announced new punitive sanctions against Russia. The sanctions were in response to Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 election campaign. Several GRU and FSB officers were also named in the sanctions announcement. However, when Special Counsel Robert Mueller announced indictments in 2018 of Russian operatives for alleged meddling in the U.S. elections, only GRU officers were named. Belan is now believed to be living in Russia and is unlikely to be extradited to the United States. Another man, a Kazakh named Karim Baratov, was arrested in Canada, extradited to the United States, and later pleaded guilty. The involvement of Belan, and Baratov, in doing work on behalf of Russian security agencies drew new attention to a long-running trend in Russia: hackers and cybercriminals being enlisted to undertake covert state-sponsored actions. The same was true for Dokuchayev, who prior to joining the FSB had gained renown as a hacker operating under the moniker "Forb," dealing in stolen credit card numbers. ASTANA -- Police detained several protesters who demonstrated outside the headquarters of authoritarian President Nursultan Nazarbaev's ruling party in Kazakhstan's two main cities, the latest in a series of antigovernment rallies in the Central Asian country. Some of the dozens of protesters called for Nazarbaev's resignation during the rallies on February 27 in front of the Nur-Otan party buildings in the capital, Astana -- where he took part in a party congress -- and Kazakhstan's biggest city, Almaty. Protesters accused the government of the energy-rich country, which Nazarbaev has ruled since before it gained independence in the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, of ignoring the needs and demands of ordinary people and families. Protests have been held across Kazakhstan in recent weeks following the deaths of five children from a single family in a house fire in Astana on February 4. The predawn fire destroyed a tiny family home in Astana while both parents were away working overnight shifts, killing five girls aged 3 months to 13 years. Also on February 27, police in the southwestern city of Zhanaozen detained two RFE/RL correspondents who were covering a protest by local residents who have been demonstrating since February 9. One of the correspondents, Sania Toiken, said by telephone that police used force when they bundled her and cameraman Sanat Nurbek into a police car. Toiken and Nurbek were brought to a police station and were being questioned in separate rooms, Toiken said. She said that police told them they had been detained on the basis of an unspecified complaint. Local police declined to comment to RFE/RL on the detention of the two correspondents. Nazarbaev, who is 78 and is expected to seek reelection in a vote next year, told the Nur-Otan party congress that he had ordered the equivalent of about $790 million to be earmarked for social assistance to low-income families. He also said he ordered the government to allocate 980 billion tenges (about $2.6 billion) toward boosting public sector salaries in the next three years. Rights activists and critics say Nazarbaev has persistently suppressed dissent, prolonged his time in office through undemocratic votes or referendums, and used the levers of power to neutralize potential opponents. With reporting by Reuters Dozens of protesters rallied in Peshawar, northwest Pakistan, on February 27, calling on their leaders to go to war with India amid escalating tensions over Kashmir. Both countries reported having shot down the other's warplanes over the disputed region. CHISINAU -- A fraudulent Facebook campaign in Moldova used the tactics of Russias notorious troll farm -- the Internet Research Agency -- to promote a political party that, ironically, is at odds with the Kremlin. Victor Spinu, co-founder of the Chisinau-based social-media monitor that helped Facebook investigate the network, told RFE/RL that the Moldovan ruse promoted Prime Minister Pavel Filips ruling Democratic Party (PDM) and was very close to the activity of Russian troll farms. Filip and his Democratic Party are at odds with the Kremlin over such issues as Chisinaus aspirations to join the European Union. Spinu said his civic group, Trolless, found that those who ran Moldovas fake Facebook operation learned lessons and copied tricks used by the Russian trolls who allegedly tried to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Spinu said social-media monitors in other former Soviet republics at odds with the Kremlin have expressed concerns to him about similar copycat tactics in their countries. Monitors in Ukraine and Georgia have told us that they also are seeing the same kind of troll activity in their countries the same kind of coordinated tactics weve seen used by the Russian trolls and copied in Moldova, Spinu said. 'False Amplification' Like previous Russian troll campaigns, Spinu said, the Moldovan trolls set up fake Facebook accounts to pose as legitimate voters and civic groups. He said the network generated and distributed fake news, disinformation, and memes ahead of Moldovas February 24 parliamentary elections. He said those fake accounts also worked together with legitimate accounts in Moldova to flood web forums with posts aimed at manipulating online public debate. Facebook has said thats a Russian troll tactic called false amplification. RFE/RL has documented how the same tactics were used by the Internet Research Agency, the St. Petersburg-based troll farm thought to be financed by President Vladimir Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin. An April 2017 case study co-authored by Facebook security officer Alex Stamos also described similar tricks being used by Russian trolls to try to influence the 2016 U.S. election. That study defined false amplification as a coordinated activity by inauthentic accounts with the intent of manipulating political discussion, either by discouraging some groups from joining an online debate or by amplifying sensationalistic voices over others. From there, organic proliferation of the messaging and data through authentic peer groups and networks was inevitable, the Facebook study said. Moldovan Copycats, 'Coordinated' Campaign On February 13, just 11 days before Moldovas parliamentary elections, Facebook shut down 200 Moldovan accounts and pages for what it called coordinated inauthentic behavior. Facebook also indicated, along with Trolless and other sources, that the online campaign favored Filips Democratic Party. Although Filip in 2018 publicly stepped back from his staunchly pro-EU rhetoric, the Kremlin continues to favor Filips pro-Russia rivals President Igor Dodon and the Socialist Party of Moldova that Dodon formerly headed. Facebook's cybersecurity policy chief, Nathaniel Gleicher, said the fraudulent online behavior originated in Moldova and was carried out by people who attempted to conceal their identities but were known to include employees of Moldovas government. Facebook also released samples of what the Moldovan troll network posted and shared online. All of those examples either favored Filips Democratic Party or cast an unfavorable light on opposition groups and candidates. Moldovas troll network "used a combination of fake accounts and some authentic accounts to mislead others about who they were and what they were doing," Gleicher said. They "typically posted about local news and political issues. They also shared manipulated photos, divisive narratives, and satire." Altogether, Facebook removed 168 Facebook accounts, 28 pages, and eight Instagram accounts in Moldova that were suspected of spreading fake news, political propaganda, and misinformation ahead of the elections, he said. In one case, Gleicher said Facebook removed a fake page for impersonating a legitimate Moldovan fact-checking organization that calls out others for spreading fake news." Two samples of troll posts released by Facebook confirm the impersonated fact-checking group was StopFals a Chisinau-based misinformation watchdog led by journalist Lilia Zaharia from the Association of Independent Press of Moldova (API). Zaharia told RFE/RL that all of the material published by the fake StopFals Facebook page either favored Filips ruling PDM or denigrated its opponents. They stole our articles and took our images and they shared this on social media, Zaharia said. On a Facebook page that mimicked our work, they shared only some of our material, mixing it together with their own fake stories and manipulated photos. A Democratic Party official also confirmed that his authentic party page Good Step -- was among those removed in Facebooks crackdown against coordinated troll activity. Ion Harghel, vice president of the Democratic Partys youth branch, denies being part of an online troll network. He accused Facebook of helping opposition parties by removing his Good Step page less than two weeks before the parliamentary elections. Spinu says data collected since 2016 by Trolless also confirms that only pro-Democratic Party accounts were involved in the kind of coordinated troll activity described by Facebook. We reported 700 fake accounts to Facebook in early February, Spinu told RFE/RL. Some of them were inactive since they were set up as far back as 2016, but there was a surge of activity with others as the parliamentary elections approached. There were many fake accounts that favored the Democratic Party, Spinu said. There also was a smaller number of fake accounts that favored opposition parties, including Dodon and the pro-Russia Socialist Party. We didnt report any authentic accounts to Facebook because people have the right to exercise their freedom of speech, Spinu said, noting that Harghels Good Step page was not among the 700 accounts and pages that Trolless reported to Facebook. We did monitor the posts of hyperactive trolls involving both fake and authentic accounts, Spinu said, adding that the trolls were very active on the Good Step page. The coordinated activity we saw only favored the ruling Democratic Party, Spinu said. We didnt see any coordinated activity that supported opposition parties. So we can conclude from our observations that the 200 pages deleted by Facebook were only accounts favoring the Democratic Party. Government Denial Filips administration distanced itself from Facebooks charge that employees of Moldovas government were part of the troll network. A government statement issued on February 14 suggested that any fraudulent social-media activity by government employees on behalf of the Democratic Party was carried out by rogue workers. The statement declared there are more than 200,000 government employees on the state payroll and that Moldovas government does not check social-media activity on the private accounts of its employees. They have different political options and opinions, the statement said. The state is bound to keep separate the issue of fighting fake news and guaranteeing freedom of expression to its citizens. In the aftermath of the parliamentary elections, monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) concluded that the vote was competitive and that fundamental rights were respected. But the international monitors concluded that the campaign was marred by strong indications of vote buying and the misuse of state resources. A preliminary ballot count shows the Socialists captured the most votes to win 35 of the 101 seats in parliament. Those preliminary results showed Filips Democratic Party taking 30 seats, the pro-EU opposition ACUM group taking 26 seats, and the conservative Shor party winning seven seats. The remaining three seats were expected to be taken by independent candidates. Written and reported by Ron Synovitz in Prague with additional reporting by RFE/RLs Moldovan Service correspondent Diana Raileanu in Chisinau Police detained protesters in Almaty, Kazakhstan's biggest city, and the capital, Astana, on February 27 amid antigovernment rallies across the country. In a series of protests this month, protesters have accused the government of ignoring the needs of the public and demanded the resignation of President Nursultan Nazarbaev. Pakistan says it shot down two Indian warplanes and captured one pilot on February 27, a day after India launched air strikes on what it described as a militant base in Pakistani territory. India says its February 26 air strikes were retaliation for a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 40 Indian soldiers on February 14 -- an attack claimed by the Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Muhammad. RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz discussed the escalation of tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors with Karim Pakzad, an expert on India and Pakistan at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs. RFE/RL: India's February 26 air strikes near Balakot, Pakistan, are widely seen as a major escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan. Do you think this escalation threatens to deteriorate into an all-out war? And if so, how real is the threat of a nuclear confrontation between these nuclear-armed neighbors? Karim Pakzad: From a military perspective, I do not think that the two countries will go further. India has now crossed a red line by attacking a target on Pakistani soil. This has not happened since the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971. Pakistan reacted this morning and it seems, according to images provided by both India and Pakistan, that Pakistan has shot down two Indian planes and captured at least one Indian pilot. But I think the situation will calm down now. Neither side has any interest in provoking a war. RFE/RL: Do you think the domestic political situation in India has exacerbated tensions and contributed to the current crisis? Pakzad: Regarding the political situation, India's government has been under pressure to respond to the terrorist attack of February 14 that was claimed by Jaish-e-Muhammad. Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, is facing legislative elections soon -- in April and May. Modi had to react to that attack [for the sake of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).] RFE/RL: What about Pakistan's political situation? Do you think it has impacted and will continue to impact the situation in the days and weeks ahead? Pakzad: For its part, Pakistan is facing a catastrophic economic situation on the one hand. Islamabad also is engaged in negotiations between representatives of the United States and Afghanistan's Taliban. So, Islamabad also has no interest in going too far. RFE/RL: How do you see the regional security situation and international relations influencing the crisis between India and Pakistan? Pakzad: From the perspective of regional security and international considerations, relations between Pakistan and the United States have improved recently. China will certainly support Pakistan as well. This means that India cannot go too far [with further military actions]. RFE/RL: India and Pakistan have fought three wars since their independence from British colonial rule in 1947 and the divided region of Kashmir has always been a source of tension. Relations improved briefly under Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan's prime minister from 2013 to 2017. But that process stalled in 2016 following India's crackdown on Muslim protesters in Indian-administered Kashmir and renewed militant attacks on Indian forces that New Delhi blames on Pakistan. Has this latest confrontation brought an end to hopes for restoring rapprochement in the foreseeable future? Pakzad: I think the Indian attack and the Pakistani response has put an end to the few years of relaxation, and even rapprochement, that we had seen between the two countries when Pakistan was under the government of Nawaz Sharif. The Iranian president has rejected Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's resignation, saying it was against the country's interests. "You are trusted by me and the whole Islamic establishment, particularly the supreme leader," President Hassan Rohani wrote in a letter to Zarif that was posted on the government's official website on February 27. "I think your resignation is against the country's interests and I do not accept it, said Rohani, who called on his foreign minister to continue his work with "strength" and "courage." Zarif, who offered to resign in a message posted on Instagram late on February 25, had not given specific reasons for his resignation. But his announcement had come amid mounting pressure from hard-line conservatives who have criticized his role in negotiating a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The United States pulled out of the deal in May 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran, fueling a deepening economic crisis and political infighting in the country. In another show of confidence, General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the powerful Quds Force within the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), said that Zarif had the backing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "Zarif is in charge of foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and he has been always supported by top officials, including the supreme leader," the IRGC website quoted Soleimani as saying on February 27. In an interview published in the Jomhuri Eslami newspaper on February 26, Zarif was quoted as saying that infighting between parties and factions in Iran was a "deadly poison" undermining foreign policy, suggesting he may have offered to quit over pressure from hard-liners. On February 27, Zarif attended a ceremony to welcome Armenia's prime minister to Tehran, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported. In an Instagram post, the minister thanked Iranian officials and the nation for their support, saying he has always been committed to serving the country. "As a modest servant, I have never had any concern but elevating the foreign policy and the status of the foreign ministry," he wrote. Meanwhile, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, another moderate ally of Rohani, on February 27 denied reports that he had also resigned, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported. With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP BRUSSELS EU lawmakers have selected the former head of Romania's anticorruption agency as their favorite candidate to head a future European public prosecutor's office for financial crimes. Lawmakers in the European Parliament's Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) chose Laura Codruta Koevesi on February 27. Koevesi received 26 votes, while France's Jean-Francois Bohnert received 22 votes, while Andres Ritter of Germany got one vote. "It was a vote for Romania's judicial system, for its citizens who have been backing the fight against corruption, and for the prosecutors and judges in Europe who have to work under pressure," Kovesi told journalists at Bucharest airport upon her return from Brussels. The parliament must now negotiate with the European Council, who had voted for Bohnert last week, placing Koevesi and Ritter in joint second place. During a hearing before European lawmakers on February 26, Koevesi said that the prosecutor must aim for the truth, must be a servant of the rule of law, and must have a strong moral compass. "I am aware that you have been exposed to a lot of negative information about me," she also said. "I would like to say very clearly that I have absolutely nothing to hide." The government of Romania, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, has actively campaigned against Koevesis candidacy for the post. She was dismissed by the government last year in what critics say was a move to prevent her anticorruption agency, 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. However, several lawmakers in the European Parliament representing Romania's ruling leftist coalition launched verbal attacks against Koevesi during the hearing on February 26, accusing her of abuse of power and lying. On February 27, Romanian lawmaker Maria Grapini, a member of the team that was counting the LIBE votes, was caught on camera while apparently failing to count one of the paper ballots in favor of Koevesi. G Grapini was admonished by Dutch lawmaker Judith Sargentini, who took over the process and recounted the ballots. Koevesi, Bohnert, and Ritter were chosen based on an initial February 14 recommendation by a selection panel, which placed the Romanian candidate as the front-runner due to outstanding achievements both as a leader and as a manager of the DNA. With reporting by Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels, g4media.ro, AP, dpa, and and ziaristii.com Dutch officials say they confiscated about 90,000 bottles of Russian vodka thought to be headed for North Korea in violation of international sanctions. The container holding 3,000 boxes with 30 bottles each was confiscated in the port of Rotterdam from a Chinese-owned ship traveling from Hamburg to China, officials said. Searching the container proved difficult because it was hidden beneath an aircraft fuselage, which had to be lifted by crane. The discovery was announced on the eve of a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi. The vodka was believed to be for Kim and his army chiefs, Dutch newspaper AD reported. The Dutch customs agency retweeted the report but declined to confirm that Kim was the intended recipient. Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP A whirlwind eases with the Iranian president's refusal to accept his smooth-talking foreign minister's resignation. But that doesn't necessarily mean Mohammad Javad Zarif has the political wind at his back. The political drama over the immediate fate of Iran's foreign minister appears to be over. Mohammad Javad Zarif was back at work less than 48 hours after abruptly announcing his resignation on Instagram. The offer was formally rejected by President Hassan Rohani on February 27 on the grounds that Zarif's exit would not be in the national interest. "You are trusted by me and the whole Islamic establishment, particularly the supreme leader," Rohani wrote in a reference to Ali Khamenei, who has the final word on all religious and political affairs in Iran. He went on to urge state and governmental bodies to work "in full coordination" with Zarif's ministry on matters of foreign policy. "I consider you, as put by the leader, to be 'trustworthy, brave and pious' and in the forefront of resistance against America's all-out pressure," Rohani added. Officials including the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' (IRGC) Quds Force, which plays a major role in Iran's involvement in places like Iraq and Syria, have publicly offered support for Zarif in a show of unity and an apparent attempt to demonstrate that the country's top diplomat has been strengthened by his flirtation with resignation. Hard-line conservatives and some of Iran's more hawkish institutions have waged a relentless campaign against Zarif since he helped lead negotiations for the controversial 2015 nuclear deal that traded sanctions relief for checks on Iran's nuclear activities, an agreement that has since been abandoned by Washington but remains in place among its other signatories. 'Unprecedented Support' But Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani acknowledged in a message widely quoted by local media that Zarif was in charge of foreign policy and stressed that the foreign minister had Khamenei's backing. "Zarif remains foreign minister with unprecedented support from all of the country's political and military officials," added presidential communications aide Parviz Esmaili. He went on to say that Zarif was the country's "most influential international spokesman" and was "fighting for national interests." The public demonstration of support, which appeared to signal a desire for continuity in foreign policy, comes amid ongoing speculation over the causes of the brief political earthquake with Zarif at its epicenter. The popular Fararu.com website highlighted three interpretations of Zarif's threat to quit his post after more than five years. The first hinted at problems outside the government, including factional infighting and Zarif's exclusion from a meeting between visiting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Khamenei and other Iranian officials where Soleimani was present. The second put an emphasis on differences within the government and alleged attempts by government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht and Rohani chief of staff Mahmud Vaezi to weaken cabinet ministers. Vaezi is reported to have been eyeing Zarif's post. Several lawmakers had suggested that Zarif's resignation was tied to problems within Rohani's government. "There is evidence that Zarif's resignation has nothing to do with the [so-called] resistance front [against Israel]," one of those legislators, Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, was quoted by Fararu as saying. "Zarif has repeatedly said in parliament that he's in full coordination with commander Soleimani. Therefore we should look within the government for the reasons behind his resignation." The third scenario highlighted by Fararu envisioned Zarif's resignation as a tactical move to pressure hard-line rivals hounding him since the nuclear deal, which has failed to deliver the kind of economic benefits that Iranians had hoped for. "Some say the resignation was designed to put all the failures from the nuclear deal in the other side's court," the report said, adding that possible pressure over Iran's overtures to join international anti-money laundering efforts could have been another factor. "Others say that the establishment has opposed the adoption of measures required by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which promotes policies to protect the global financial system from money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. and Zarif's aim was to create pressure and increase the cost of not joining these legislations." Conservative former lawmaker Ahmad Tavakoli, a member of the Expediency Council that mediates between parliament and the powerful Guardians Council, speculated that Zarif's resignation looked like an effort to pressure the Expediency Council, which could play a determining role in the adoption of FATF measures. "I think the resignation could be an instrument to pressure legal bodies, such as the Expediency Council. It is very bad if this is the case," Tavakoli was quoted as saying in an interview by Khabaronline. On The Same Side As Netanyahu The reformist daily Aftab Yazd posted on its front page a list of those who had been "saddened" versus those who had "rejoiced" over Zarif's offer of resignation. It appeared to highlight that such a breakdown left several Iranian hard-liners on the same side of the issue as Benyamin Netanyahu, prime minister of archrival Israel. The official government daily Iran posted a picture of Zarif on its front page with the headline: No To The Resignation. Asr-e Iran and other news sites highlighted perceived benefits of the nuclear deal that Zarif had negotiated with the administration of then-U.S. President Barack Obama. "[The nuclear deal] was the right path for Iran, which Iran was right to take," Asr-e Iran argued, adding, "The withdrawal of the United States from the accord does not negate Iran's historical and lifesaving move in accepting the deal." It went on to suggest that the nuclear deal could continue to exist without U.S. participation -- a feat that is so far proving enormously challenging. But some hard-liners continued their criticism of Zarif. They included Abbas Kolahdooz, a political editor with the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency, who suggested that Zarif should be put on trial for his "childish" decision, which he said diverted attention from Assad's brief but historic visit to Tehran. Meanwhile, Germany-based analyst Maliheh Mohammadi suggested to RFE/RL's Radio Farda that Zarif had achieved a "relative victory." "When Soleimani says Zarif is in charge of foreign policy, it is in a way Khamenei's view, too, so it's a relative victory [for Zarif], I believe," she said. But analyst and opposition activist Hassan Shariatmadari, who is also based in Germany, predicted that the tensions with the powerful IRGC over foreign policy issues were likely to continue. "The IRGC wants to be in charge, Khamenei has so far resisted, and [Zarif's resignation] has delayed the issue. But the IRGC is not likely to back down," Shariatmadari said. "So Zarif has not gained the upper hand." Outrage erupted in some quarters of Belarusian society over an official's comments that young girls discovered not to be virgins would be reported to the police. Authorities have since walked back talk of such a move, which critics predicted would set in motion a cascade of problems for young people and their families. "I'd call it a 'gynecological denunciation,'" said Belarusian State University professor and writer Yulia Charnyauskaya. "It contravenes medical ethics." She predicted that such a move could devastate more than just those young patients and their families. "The police will ask the girl, 'With whom? When? Why? What for?' And if, for example, a boy is 18 [years old] and a girl 15 1/2, the boy can be sent to prison [for statutory rape]," Charnyauskaya said. "So the number of suicides by boys could increase." Talk of a mandatory reporting obligation for doctors comes amid a reported upsurge in cases of sexual abuse against minors in Belarus. Interior Ministry officials said the number of sexual crimes committed against Belarusian teens increased 15-fold from 2013 to 2018. Yauhen Dubanyevich, head of the Interior Ministry's department to combat human trafficking, said in Minsk on February 15 that "it's OK if [the loss of virginity] is a result of love with a boy. Nobody has been sent to jail for that yet." "But there are cases when a girl is a victim of rape...[and] because of her age is too ashamed to tell anyone about it," Dubanyevich said. "We are talking about a girl 14 to 15 years old where a crime has been committed. Medical secrecy does not apply here." Belarusians reacted angrily to the prospect of requiring gynecologists to inform police if they determined that a female patient under 16 years of age appeared to have had sexual intercourse. "We might face cases of girls simply jumping from high-rises," Minsk psychotherapist Volha Andreyeva told RFE/RL. "The Interior Ministry has to be ready for those corpses on the asphalt." Such criticism appears to have led Deputy Prime Minister Ihar Petryshenka on February 20 to call the reports "an intentional leak and a baseless sensation." He added that a legal mechanism already exists for handling sexual abuse cases that is mandatory for medical personnel and police. Further dismissing the notion of a new plan, he said that "no additional modifications in that area are planned." Dubanyevich had outlined a process in which underage girls would be required to visit a gynecologist annually. If such a patient were found to have had sexual intercourse, then the physician would involve police, who would turn to a psychologist and ultimately police investigators. "Only outrage here and a prediction of negative effects [if that policy would be implemented]," said psychotherapist Andreyeva. "They are so ignorant about the human psyche. The boundaries of human stupidity are endless." Andreyeva argued that such treatment of private information was fraught with problems and could lead to family conflicts with dire results. Current Belarusian law makes all medical examinations voluntary, according to Lyudmila Lyohkaya, head of the Health Ministry's department for maternal and pediatric care. Police may legally intervene in the medical cases of underage girls only if the girl is pregnant or injuries are discovered during a gynecological examination that indicate the patient has been raped or had an abortion. Officials have cited an increase in Internet "grooming" of children by pedophiles in connection with an uptick in sexual crimes. Dubanyevich also advised teachers to talk to students about safety and "sexual integrity." He also noted that sexual abuse is a problem for both sexes. "Statistics show that boys and girls are equal victims of pedophiles," he said. There were 581 reported cases of sexual abuse against children in Belarus in 2017, an 84 percent increase from the previous year. Police also reported that around 80 percent of sexual crimes against children were committed by relatives, friends, or acquaintances, including teachers and doctors. Belarusian politicians and law enforcement officials have vowed to crack down on sexual crimes against children. Last year, neighboring Poland introduced a public register of sex offenders against children or people found to have been trafficking in pornography. Written by Pete Baumgartner in Prague based on reporting by RFE/RL Belarus Service correspondent Anna Sous Myanmars military is warning citizens in war-ravaged Rakhine state that members of the rebel Arakan Army (AA) are impersonating government troops in a scheme to smear the government amid a conflict in the state that flared up late last year. Citing several incidents that occurred in Kyauktaw and Mrauk-U townships, the military is implying that the extrajudicial apprehension of village heads, students and others, their subsequent torture, and sudden disappearances were not at the hands of the government, but were carried out by the AA. When government forces captured an AA outpost in the hills east of the Mrauk-U-Kyauktaw highway, they claimed they found government forces uniforms and insignia. Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun from Myanmars military information committee told RFAs Myanmar Service that AA soldiers use these insignia to detain and torture locals, thereby damaging the reputation of government forces in the area. They have done that in the past, said the general, adding, We have evidence of them impersonating government soldiers. There could be more cases like that now. [This is why] we have circulated information among the locals so they can report instances where this is the case, he said. AA spokesperson Khine Thukha denied the generals claim. We have never done that sort of thing, impersonating the government, he said. We carry out our work wearing only our own uniforms. If we detain someone, we always make official announcements. Khine Thukha also disagreed that the government was able to capture the AA outpost. The AA claims to have repelled government troops from the area over the past few days, killing 30 government soldiers, with three casualties on its side. On Feb. 21, Zaw Naing Naing, a 17-year-old student from Rakhines Kyauktaw township, was detained and beaten by government forces, according to his father Shwe Sein Oo and other witnesses. 'Military is everywhere' Local citizens and civil society groups are rejecting the militarys accusations. Zaw Win, a resident of Kyauktaw who has been assisting refugees from Rakhines conflict areas, said it was impossible that the AA would impersonate government troops. Because the military is everywhere in the state, it is not possible that Arakan Army soldiers [would be able to] impersonate the government, he said. I dont think Rakhine military forces would mistreat the citizens of Rakhine, he said. We can assume [this], given the fact that a majority of people in Rakhine support the Arakan Army. Local residents themselves have spoken up, attesting they are certain that it was the military that is mistreating locals, especially in areas where there are conflicts with the AA. A source from Rakhine who wished to remain anonymous said he witnessed government troops beating villagers. They asked everyone in the village, including disabled and elderly people to lie flat on the lake bank and to not look back at them, he said. They asked us to bow our heads, and they tied up some villagers and beat them. Residents are reportedly welcoming the announcement that they can now report people posing as government soldiers, but are fearful that they themselves could be prosecuted by the government if they report the cruelty of the army soldiers. Fighting in Rakhine and in neighboring Chin state has claimed a number of other lives, both military and civilian, and displaced about 7,000 civilians. Reported by Kyaw Lwin Oo for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Zaw Naing Naing Htay (2nd from L) is restrained while sitting on a bed in Sittwe Hospital in western Myanmar's Rakhine state, February 2019. The father of a Myanmar high school student hospitalized in restive Rakhine states Kyauktaw township days after being detained for three hours by government soldiers said Tuesday that he is suing the military for allegedly brutally beating the boy, a move that prompted swift legal counteraction by the armed forces. Soldiers from Myanmar Army Battalion 539 detained 17-year-old Zaw Naing Naing Htay from Kyauktaws Pyi Taw Thar ward at 4 p.m. on Feb. 21 and released him at 7 p.m. after he showed them proof that he was scheduled to take his 10th-grade examinations, the boys father Shwe Sein Oo told RFAs Myanmar Service. Kyauktaw is one of several townships in Rakhine state where government soldiers have engaged in hostilities with the rebel Arakan Army (AA). Myanmar Army soldiers have been known to detain for questioning civilians whom they suspect of having a connection to the Arakan fighters. It remains unclear, however, why the soldiers detained the boy, though residents of townships where hostilities have occurred say that government troops often take civilians by force and make them work as porters and guides. I was told that he was taken by soldiers from Battalion 539, and it looks like he was taken to serve them as a porter, said Aung Tin Win, the administrator of Kyauktaws Ponna village. But he was later released because he was able to show a document that proved he was sitting for the 10th-grade examinations. After Zaw Naing Naing Htay left the military compound by motorbike, he went to a friends house where he spent the night, said Shwe Sein Oo, who contends that his son was physically abused while he was with the Myanmar soldiers. The family learned of the alleged beating the following day, and took the boy to Kyauktaw Hospital for medical treatment for mental illness. He was then transferred to Sittwe Hospital when his condition did not improve, Shwe Sein Oo said. His son was screaming, The military is coming, the military and soldiers are coming, said Kyaw Hla Myint, a Kyauktaw resident who posted the incident on Facebook. He couldn't speak properly, and two people had to hold him. His father told me what his son had said. I dont think I have made any mistake. I believe they [the soldiers] did it intentionally. When the family filed a criminal case against some of the soldiers from the battalion, a captain from Battalion 375 filed a criminal defamation lawsuit against Shwe Sein Oo and Kyaw Hla Myint under Section 505(b) of Myanmars Penal Code. The section criminalizes the circulation of statements and reports with the intent to cause fear or alarm in the public. Violators face a maximum penalty of two years in prison. My son is a student, Schwe Sein Oo said. He was unfairly beaten. Thats why I want to take legal action against those who committed this unlawful acts. RFA could not reach Kyauktaws police chief for comment. Very irresponsible comment Military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun denied the allegation that soldiers had beaten Zaw Naing Naing Htay and blamed the incident on the AA. Weve checked posts online, and they speculated that we detained for interrogation a 10th-grade student and that he can now barely speak, he said. In fact, these were men from AA who had taken him and put the blame on the Tatmadaw [Myanmar military], he said. It turned out to be untrue after a thorough examination at the police station. AA spokesman Khine Thukha denied that Arakan forces were involved in the incident. I have to say it was a very irresponsible comment, he said. The boy already had said who had taken him, and so did his father. So everyone knows what happened. The Myanmar militarys comment is disgraceful and very disappointing. RFA was unable to reach Zaw Naing Naing Htay for comment since his condition remains unstable. Tun Tun Win, the physician who runs Sittwe Hospital, told RFA that the boys condition is not life-threatening, and medical treatment is being provided. But he refused to provide further details, which he said would require authorization from his superiors. Reported by Min Thein Aung for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Nandar Chann. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Myanmar peace negotiators hold an informal meeting with delegates from the Northern Alliance in Kunming, southwestern China's Yunnan Province, Feb. 25, 2019. An alliance of ethnic armed groups has expressed in informal talks a willingness to sign bilateral peace pacts with the Myanmar military before holding discussions on whether to join the governments nationwide cease-fire accord to end decades of hostilities. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Arakan Army (AA), Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), known collectively as the Northern Alliance, proposed the plan during an unofficial meeting with Myanmar peace negotiators in southwestern Chinas Kunming on Feb. 25-26, said TNLA spokesman Colonel Tar Aik Kyaw. The ethnic armies have not signed truces with the government and continue to engage in sporadic fighting with Myanmar forces in their quest for greater autonomy and ethnic minority rights within a federal system. The meeting participants did not sign any agreements at the informal gathering, but decided to meet again in the near future, Tar Aik Kyaw said. Ten ethnic armed groups have already signed the governments nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA). The ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) government has held periodic peace conferences in a bid to get the remaining ethnic armies to sign the NCA and end more than 70 years of conflict in the country. We told them that all four groups want to sign bilateral agreements, Tar Aik Kyaw told RFAs Myanmar Service. We want to sign a bilateral agreement, but individually. But because the meeting was an informal one, neither side could make any decisions, he added. On their side, they want all ethnic groups to join the NCA so that a political dialogue can start soon, so they expressed their position, and we expressed ours, but no decision was made, Tar Aik Kyaw said. Nevertheless, both sides plan to discuss the outcome of the meeting with their superiors and have agreed to continue their talks, he said. The Northern Alliance will handle the discussions on a bilateral cease-fire, while the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee, a grouping of ethnic armies that have not signed the NCA, will handle the political talks, the online journal The Irrawaddy said, citing Tar Aik Kyaw. Focus on signing the NCA Hla Maung Shwe, an advisor to the governments peace team, told RFA on Tuesday that his delegation mainly discussed how the members of the Northern Alliance could join the NCA. The discussion from our side primarily focuses on signing the NCA, he said. We have elaborated upon the forthcoming processes to be implemented by our side to the ethnic leaders, he said. AA spokesman Khine Thukha declined to comment on the discussions because he had not yet received information from the delegates who were attending the meeting. KIA spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Naw Bu told RFA on Tuesday that the Kachin army would discuss continuing the political negotiations between the government and the ethnic armies as well as returning Kachin civilians displaced by armed conflict in the northern state to their homes. In the past, government peace representatives have only met with ethnic groups individually despite a request to sit down with them as a coalition. During an informal meeting in January between delegates from the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the KIAs political wing, and Myanmar's peace commission, the KIOs General Gwan Maw asked the representatives to meet with the Northern Alliance. The government later agreed to his request. The process also has received a boost from the Myanmar military which in December declared a four-month cease-fire in five command zones, excluding Rakhine state where it is fighting the AA, in an effort to open talks to armed rebel groups, including both signatories and non-signatories of the NCA. Military talks with SSPP On Monday, the military held its first meeting with leaders from the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army-North (SSPP/SSA-N), a Shan rebel group that has not signed the NCA, to urge them to work along the lines of the nationwide peace accord and to attend future peace conferences. But the Shan representatives said they first want an agreement that all ethnic armed organizations will be able to participate in cease-fire negotiations, said SSPP spokesman Major Sai Phone Han. Some groups have been excluded from the peace process because of ongoing hostilities with Myanmar forces, The militarys negotiation team, led by Lieutenant General Yar Pyae, told the Shan delegation that it wants the peace process to be inclusive and not leave any armed groups behind, but that it must wait for a certain amount of time to pass before that can be achieved, Sai Phone Han said. The discussion focused on continuing the bilateral talks, said Brigadier General Zaw Min Htun from the Myanmar militarys information committee. We also talked about minimizing armed conflict and clashes in northern Shan state, he added, referring to ongoing fighting between SSPP forces and those of the Restoration Council of Shan State/ Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA-S), another ethnic armed group. They both know the situation on the ground, Zaw Min Htun told RFA. I think the bilateral talks will reduce the clashes in future. During the discussion, SSPP representatives said it has been regrettable to see the recent armed conflict between its soldiers and those of the RCSS, and that SSPP troops had engaged in the hostilities because it was unavoidable. The SSPP previously said that it engaged in fighting the RCSS, which is based in southern Shan state, when RCSS soldiers along with government troops occupied the SSPP's temporary posts in the northern part of the state. The RCSS, an NCA signatory, has denied that it has conducted offensives on other ethnic armed organizations, saying that its soldiers have fought back when the groups attacked them after entering RCSS-controlled territory. In the meantime, the SSPP will wait and see how the military will implement the all-inclusive peace agreement on the ground, Sai Phone Han said. The military delegates proposed holding monthly meetings with the SSPP, he said. We will reply to them after reporting to the SSPP head office. Reported by Kyaw Tun Naing and Wai Mar Tun for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Nandar Chann and Ye Khaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. A sign marks the entrance to Buthidaung township in western Myanmar's Rakhine state in an undated photo. An explosion in in western Myanmars war-devastated Rakhine state on Tuesday morning killed the wife of an army major at their home in Buthidaung township, amid ongoing hostilities between government forces and the rebel Arakan Army, a local official and a military officer said. Nan Moh Moh Zaw and her husband Major Kyaw Swar moved to the militarys No. 15 Operational Command in Buthidaung on Monday from Myanmars capital Naypyidaw after he was assigned to the new command post. It is correct that a majors wife was killed by a bomb attack at the No. 15 Military Operational Command in Buthidaung, but we dont know the details, said Buthidaung township administrator Kyaw Min Htun. A military officer who declined to give his name also confirmed the death of the majors wife to RFAs Myanmar Service, but said he could not provide details because of security reasons. Buithdaung is one of several northern Rakhine townships where the Myanmar military has engaged in clashes with Arakan Army (AA) troops in recent months. AA spokesman Khine Thukha said the Rakhine fighters had nothing to do with Nan Moh Moh Zaws death. That case is not connected to AA, he told RFA. We have heard a woman was killed at the No. 15 Military Operational Command, but it is baseless and unacceptable to blame someone or an organization because it occurred in a military compound. We have never hit civilian targets. The recently wed couple was transporting their belongings in a private vehicle while they traveled in another car from Naypyidaw to Buthidaung. Two men in neighboring Rathedaung township stopped a truck transporting the couples belongings, and six others in plainclothes searched the vehicle, according to the online journal The Irrawaddy. Military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told the publication that he assumed that the men planted an explosive device in their belongings, which later detonated when Nan Moh Moh Zaw checked them after they had been unpacked. Kyaw Swar was on duty in his office at the time of the explosion. Fighting in Rakhine and in neighboring Chin state has claimed a number of other lives, both military and civilian, and displaced about 7,000 civilians. Myanmar military Major Aung Ko Nyein was killed in Buithdaung on Feb. 22 during a clash between government forces and the AA. Ye Ye Soe, an 18-year-old resident of Min Bu village, died on Feb. 21 when she was struck in the face by gunfire by Myanmar soldiers. Reported by Nay Rein Kyaw for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Exiled Hong Kong media boss Gu Zhuoheng, who has an Interpol red notice out for his arrest, has received death threats since tweeting that he will reveal details of assets owned by President Xi Jinping's family and other elite Chinese families, he told RFA on . "I was followed , and then I received a lot of threatening phone calls and death threats, trying to shut me up," Gu said. Gu, chairman of Sing Pao Media Enterprises, which owns Hong Kong's pro-China Sing Pao Daily News, had earlier promised to reveal details of assets in southern China belonging to the president's relatives. "I will gradually make public the extent of corruption in the Xi family, including the full range of their assets in Guangdong and Hong Kong," Gu tweeted on , adding: "Watch this space!" In a separate tweet, he accused the family of Xi Jinping of being "far more corrupt" than those of former president Jiang Zemin, former premier Zhu Rongji and former president Hu Jintao, among other current and former Chinese leaders. He declined to give specific evidence of his allegations against Xi when interviewed by RFA, however. "What I can tell the people of China and Chinese officials is that Xi Jinping is the most corrupt person in China," Gu said. "His family is the richest of all of the [elite] families." He said he had obtained very large amounts of evidence detailing Xi-linked assets in Hong Kong and mainland China, including companies and stakes in companies linked to Xi's brother Xi Yuanping and the president's sister. "There are also [assets linked to] the family of [late supreme leader] Deng [Xiaoping], including assets owned by his children, as well as Xi's closest aides, his immediate entourage, and other members of the Politburo standing committee," Gu said. "They total around one trillion U.S. dollars in overseas assets," he said, adding that he has evidence of thousands of companies held from China and Hong Kong to Europe, the U.S. and the Middle East, with more than 3,000 company holdings in Hong Kong alone, the majority of which are shell companies. Layers of shell companies He said the assets are often holdings in extremely well-known Chinese state brands, carefully disguised with layer upon layer of shell companies, in a complex web of ownership enabling the ultimate owners to make "illegal overseas investments" without being noticed. "A lot of them are companies that are household names, and which just look like regular state-owned enterprises on the face of it," Gu said. "But members of Xi Jinping's family control them from behind the scenes, and you can't immediately tell." "You have to go through a lot of layers before you reach Xi Jinping's family; for example, they would get shares in company B via company A, but then company C holds a stake in company D, which holds a stake in company B: it's that complicated," he said. "On the face of it, it all looks totally legal, but in reality, when you dig deeper, it's all illegal," he said. Gu is currently living in California after leaving China on Feb. 25, 2015. In , China put out an Interpol red notice for his arrest, accusing him of illegal financial activities in Guangdong. Gu fled China after the Sing Pao ran a series of editorials criticizing then Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying and his connections to the Chinese leadership. Beijing has accused Gu of involvement in a fraudulent investment scheme. State news agency Xinhua reported last July that he was allegedly involved in a criminal case linked to Shenzhen-based financial platform cnmeidai.com, to which a few hundred people fell victim. According to the Interpol warrant, Gu faces charges of "illegally absorbing public funds" under Article 176 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, which carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years. The crimes were allegedly committed from , 2012 to November 30, 2014 in Shenzhen, Xinhua said. Reported by Tam Siu-yin for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Shi Shan for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Authorities in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen have formally arrested at least three labor activists on public order charges amid a wider crackdown on workers' organizations, a Hong Kong-based group said on Wednesday. Wu Guijun, Zhang Zhiru, and He Yuancheng were initially detained in a coordinated police raid on Jan. 20 on suspicion of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," a charge commonly used to target rights activists in China. Their families were informed of their formal arrests on Tuesday and Wednesday, the China Labour Bulletin (CLB) said in a report on its website. "They are being held in a Shenzhen detention center and are understood to be in reasonable health," CLB said. However, they have been warned not to use lawyers found for them by their families, and their families are under huge pressure not to discuss the case with the media, it said. It is likely that fellow activists Jian Hui and Song Jiahui, who were detained at the same time, have also been formally arrested on the same charge, CLB said. The arrests come amid an ever-widening crackdown on grassroots labor movements in Chinese factories. Activists in Hong Kong have called for the release of more than 30 former workers at the Jasic Technology factory in neighboring Guangdong province and members of the Jasic Workers' Solidarity Group (JWSG), who were supporting them. Disappeared, detained At least 44 labor activists, students, and recent graduates of China's top universities have been "disappeared" or criminally detained since the nationwide crackdown on the Jasic labor movement, which started in July and continued with further waves of arrests and detentions in August, September, November, and January, the JWSG reported on its Github page. Among the "disappeared" are Sun Yat-sen University graduate and Jasic movement spokeswoman Shen Mengyu and Peking University #MeToo campaigner Yue Xin. Most recently, Renmin University student Chen Kexin and recent graduate Wu Jiawei disappeared in Wuhan on Feb. 17. Chen Kexin was being held under house arrest at his home, where he had begun a hunger strike in protest at his detention, JWSG said at the time. "The authorities are clearly nervous about the ability of labour activists to organize workers who are already struggling to make a living and increasingly angry at the gross social inequality they see around them every day," CLB said in its report. Prominent, effective It said Wu and Zhang are possibly the two most prominent and effective labor activists in Shenzhen over the last five years. Wu Guijun organized workers at Hong Kong-owned furniture maker Diweixin in Shenzhen in protest at the companys refusal to discuss compensation for the planned closure and relocation of the factory in 2013. He was later detained for more than a year before being released without charge in June 2014. He continued to work on behalf of workers, helping them to claim social security and other benefits owed to them, CLB said. Zhang founded the Chunfeng Labour Dispute Service Center in 2007, helping to guide thousands of workers through collective bargaining with their employers, work that won praise from state media at the time. Jian Hui was also involved in this organization. Song Jiahui is a former worker at the Lide Shoe factory in Guangzhou, where he was a labor representative in a strike that was ultimately successful, according to CLB. Reported by Shi Shan for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Citing human rights violations, two U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation on Wednesday that would require the Trump Administration to review the preferential trade terms under which Cambodia exports $180 million of goods to the United States each year. The Cambodia Trade Act (CTA), introduced by Rep. Alan Lowenthal and Rep. Steve Chabot of Ohio, would require the government to review Cambodias preferential trade status and use the findings to determine whether Cambodias trade privileges should be withdrawn, suspended, or limited, the lawmakers said in a statement. The move follows the introduction of identical bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Senate last month and comes several weeks after the European Union launched proceedings that could see Cambodias preferential access to the blocs market suspended. Factors that induced the EU measure included the September 2017 arrest of opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) President Kem Sokha for alleged acts of treason and the dissolution of his party by the Supreme Court two months later, which paved the way for Hun Sens ruling Cambodia Peoples Party (CPP) to win all 125 seats in parliament in a July 2018 general election. Lowenthal and Chabot also criticized what they said in a statement were the 34-year-old regime of Prime Minister Hun Sens serious labor and human rights violations, as well as actions to undermine the nations path toward democracy by attempts to abolish any political opposition or dissent. The regime of Hun Sen has steadily dismantled what was the burgeoning democracy of Southeast Asia, said Lowenthal. He has undermined the will of the people, subverted the promise of free and fair elections, and wielded power with the iron glove of a dictator. Intimidation, threats, violence, and even murder, are the tools of his regime. He and his regime must pay a price for their role in destroying the rule of law and violating the basic freedoms of the Cambodian people. As I have said repeatedly in the past, Prime Minister Hun Sen must be held accountable for uprooting democracy in Cambodia, Chabot said. Cambodia continues to receive preferential trade status when dealing with the United States while he continues to trample on the rights of his people. In light of his actions, it is time for us to reevaluate this special treatment. Under the General System of Preferences (GSP), a status Cambodia received in 1997 and which was most recently renewed in April 2018, specific products from recognized developing countries can enter the United States duty-free. Cambodia currently exports more than $180 million a year in goods to the United States duty-free under the program, the lawmakers said. There was no immediate reaction from the government of Cambodia, which responded to the EUs threat to rethink trade privileges early this month by calling the decision unjust and suggesting that the bloc doesn't respect Cambodias sovereignty, because the EUs demands amount to political interference. CNRP Vice President Mu Sochua called on the government to protect its trade access to the EU and the U.S. by releasig Kem Sokha immediately and unconditionally and restoring human rights and democracy. The EU decision kicks off a six-month monitoring period to determine whether Cambodian exports should continue to enjoy tax-free entry into the European market under the Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme. At the end of the monitoring period, the EUCambodias largest trading partnerwill take three months to produce a report based on its findings, and in February 2020, the European Commission will conclude the procedure with a final decision on whether or not to withdraw trade preferences, as well as the scope and duration of the withdrawal. Any withdrawal would come into effect after a total of 18 months. Cambodia and China will kick off preparations for their third annual joint Golden Dragon military exercise on Feb. 28, Cambodias National Defense Ministry announced Wednesday, highlighting improved ties between the two countries as Western influence in the Southeast Asian nation wanes. In a post to his Facebook account, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Chhum Socheat said that more than 250 Chinese and 2,500 Cambodian military personnel will attend the drill, held at the Chum Kiri Military Shooting Range Training Field in Kampot provinces Chum Kiri district. After two weeks of rehearsals, the 15-day exercise will begin with a March 13 opening ceremony attended by Royal Cambodian Armed (RCAF) Commander-in-chief General Vong Pisen and end with a March 27 closing ceremony overseen by Defense Minister General Tea Banh, the post said. This military exercise reflects the governments stance that the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces implement the national defense policy between Cambodia and China and for cooperation in all sectors, Chhum Socheat said. This drill will also focus on exchanging experience in humanitarian and natural disaster rescue operations, as well as combatting terrorism and peacekeeping. According to Chhum Socheat, the exercise will involve important military equipment including armored trucks, tanks, and helicopters, as well as artillery and mortars. This years Golden Dragon exercise is the third and largest joint Cambodia-China military drills to be held on Cambodian soil since Cambodias Defense Ministry abruptly suspended annual Angkor Sentinel joint exercises with the U.S. military and abandoned counter-terrorism training exercises with the Australian military in 2017. The government had claimed it was too busy preparing security for commune elections in June last year to take part in the exercises, but they have yet to be reestablished. Observers said at the time that the moves indicated Cambodia was pivoting away from Western influence in favor of better relations with other countries on the rise in Asia, such as China. Chhum Socheats Facebook post on Wednesday gave no indication of what portion of Cambodias budget had been allocated to holding the Golden Dragon exercise, or whether China was footing the bill. Calls to Chhum Socheat went unanswered on Wednesday, while Tea Banh refused to comment on the exercise when contacted by RFAs Khmer Service, saying he was busy in a meeting. The Defense Ministry spokesmans announcement came as Prime Minister Hun Sens son, RCAF army commander Lieutenant General Hun Manet, visits Beijing to promote cooperation between the militaries of Cambodia and China. Hun Manet has met with several military officials during the five-day trip, which began on Monday and came at the invitation of the Chinese government. In addition to bolstering ties between the two militaries, the Lieutenant General also discussed the Golden Dragon exercise with Chinese officials, a reports said, without providing details. Speaking with RFA on Wednesday, international affairs expert Em Sovannara said Cambodia would do better to reauthorize military exercises with the U.S. and Australia to dispel any suggestion that it is tilting towards China. As far as the need to enhance national defense is concerned, I think it is necessary for Cambodia to conduct joint military exercises with China, he said. However, Cambodia should balance its foreign policy to ensure that it does not appear to be leaning too much in favor of China. It would be wise if Cambodia resumes joint military exercises with other countries as well, like Australia and the U.S. Naval base The Golden Dragon exercise comes amid speculation that Beijing is building a 45,000 hectare (111,200-acre) naval base in Cambodias Koh Kong province, based on a Nov. 15 report by Hong Kongs Asia Times online news portal, which cited unnamed diplomatic sources. Hun Sen later dismissed the report, saying such a move would violate the constitution, while Cambodias Ministry of National Defense called it fake news and part of a foreign campaign to mislead the public and the international community with the intention of destroying the countrys independence and neutrality. If such a naval base were built on the Gulf of Thailand, it would allow China to significantly expand patrols on the South China Sea, which Beijing claims much of, while rival Taiwan and ASEAN countries Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have their own stakes in the waters. Earlier this month, Chhum Socheat rejected the U.S. intelligence assessment in an interview with RFAs Khmer Service, saying it had no merit. But analysts have said the assessment has solid foundation and that Hun Sen may be willing to amend the constitution to allow a Chinese military presence in Cambodia. Trade volume between Cambodia and China was valued at U.S. $5.8 billion in 2017, up 22 percent from U.S. $4.76 billion dollars a year earlier, while China is currently Cambodias largest investor, and has poured U.S. $12.6 billion into the Southeast Asian nation from 1994 to 2017. Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth Muong. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. 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 please call (208) 542-6777 for help. We get it. You don't want to see the ads. We'd just ask you to understand that those ads help us pay the bills and our reporters. Please, consider white-listing the Standard Journal in your ad-blocker or, even better, purchase a subscription so that you can help support quality local journalism. Open banking will lead to a much-needed level of healthy competition that would foster technological and product innovations in Canadas highly concentrated financial services industry, according to proponents of the concept. PwC Canadas Canadian Banks 2019: Open banking is coming analysis released last month indicated that Canadians are increasingly preferring a banking and borrowing environment that would grant them greater control and security over their financial data. Customer expectations are evolving rapidly and they are looking for a one-stop-shop where they can find all their financial information, PwC Canada national banking and capital markets leader Diane Kazarian said. Lenders and other financial institutions will benefit from the open banking revolution as well, since they would be able to ensure greater operational efficiency and security. Banks could be among the biggest winners of open banking if they seize the opportunities it brings to create a better customer experience, Kazarian added. It also has the potential to reduce risks, such as fraud and money laundering, as sharing data between institutions will make it easier to spot anomalies. Read more: Brokerage rolls out tech offering for consumers The Department of Finance Canada has stated that as of last week, it has received more than 95 entries in its request for submissions to the federal-level consultation on the open banking framework. Among those who submitted was independent lender Equitable Bank, which argued that open banking would encourage Canadians to shop around instead of settling for the most accessible option at the moment. This is because the competitive intensity would force banks to start providing the greatest value for the financial products that their customers are willing to spend on. We dont really think that thats necessarily provided by one institution, Equitable president and CEO Andrew Moor said in a recent interview with the Financial Post. And open banking makes all of that much easier. TORRINGTON Economic Development Director Erin Wilson is leaving her job after five years to join the city of Hartfords Department of Development Services as the economic development director. Her last day on the job will be March 7, she said. Wilson has been interested in planning and economic development since high school, she said, when she worked as an intern at city hall in her hometown of Middletown. During her tenure in Torrington, Wilson led major projects such as the recent development of Keystone Place, a $26 million senior living facility. She also highlights the $200,000 state grant the city received in 2016 through the brownfield area-wide redevelopment program. The funding allowed the city to establish a comprehensive brownfield redevelopment strategy, according to reports. We worked really hard... to address environmental issues (with brownfields) to bring the buildings back into use, Wilson said. The grant also spurred the redevelopment plan for Franklin Street to create a pedestrian mall and tie in the Sue Grossman Trail from Winsted. Wilson said the Franklin Street project will now be overseen by the engineering department. I am excited for Erin to be given this great opportunity to continue her work in economic development in our capital city, Mayor Elinor Carbone said in an email. She has done a tremendous job setting the stage for Torrington to begin attracting larger development projects to some of the most environmentally challenged properties in Torrington, Carbone said. Erin also helped set us up with the designation of an Opportunity Zone, which is yet another tool to attract developers to Torrington. Torrington is one of about 30 municipalities in the state to receive the designation, state records show. An Opportunity Zone program, is designed to spur economic development and job creation in distressed communities by providing special tax benefits for private investments in the zones, documents note. Wilson received her masters degree in regional planning with a focus on economic development from UMass Amherst. Prior to working in Torrington, she was the assistant town planner in Windsor. Wilson also previously worked for the town of Ellington and in a private sector position for Milone and McBroom, a planning and engineering consulting firm based in Cheshire. Economic development is a niche aspect of (municipal) planning, Wilson said. In her new position as economic development director, she said she will be part of a recently formed Development Services Team at Hartford City Hall. Wilson reported directly to Carbone, who said on Tuesday that she sees the transition as an opportunity to look at the multi-departmental engagement in economic development. Municipalities across the the state are moving toward an inter-departmental approach to economic development, Carbone said. She added that shes interested to interview potential candidates who agree about a broader application of economic development in Torrington. There is so much potential for growth and development here and I am confident that the right candidate will find it an exciting time to work in Torrington and assist in the development opportunities, Carbone wrote. The qualifications for the position note that the city is seeking an employee who provides highly responsible administrative and professional work involving a broad range of economic development functions... LITCHFIELD Concern about vaping among high school students has led one school to install monitors in the bathrooms and locker rooms that can alert administrators when someone is using an e-cigarette. Its an addiction and many think its better than smoking, said Sabine Loveland, principal of Wamogo Regional High School in Litchfield. Students dont realize its hazardous. Loveland said the monitors, which are affixed to the ceiling, can detect the particles in the aerosol that is a byproduct of the liquid nicotine being inhaled. We just got them installed. Were putting everything possible into place to keep students safe, Loveland said. We want to provide a deterrent. Its just one measure and its much more reactive, than proactive, he added. To that end, the school has also partnered with addiction experts from the McCall Center for Behavioral Health to come to the school to talk to students about the health dangers of vaping. We have focus groups and addiction counselors, Loveland said. If a student were caught vaping, or using other substances, for instance, they could volunteer to participate in the groups rather than to receive more traditional discipline, he said. If we confiscate vaping (paraphernalia) I take photos and send them to the parents, Loveland said, and show them what is occurring with their high school-age children. The principal also makes some off-campus visits. Ive stopped into the establishments that sell the products, and remind them that e-cigarettes cant be sold to anyone under 18, Loveland said. They deny it, but the message gets across, he added. Stephanie Korman, a prevention program coordinator with the McCall Center, recently shared her presentation on vaping to members of the Northwest Hills Council of Governments. She said that although the sale of vaping supplies to minors is banned in the United States, the liquid nicotine and the e-cigarette devices are still easily purchased by those younger than 18. Korman also said many teens, and perhaps their parents, have a misconception that vaping is not as harmful as smoking, or that a person can control the amount of nicotine used. The growing awareness of the impact vaping is making has reached college campuses as well. The Northwest Connecticut Community College plans to ban vaping and smoking on campus beginning in July. Our current policy on smoking and vaping allows these activities in designated areas only, which includes at least 15 feet from all buildings, said Susan Stiller, a spokeswoman for the college. A free NoVape workshop will be held Thursday on the campus, Stiller said in a statement. The focus will be on the potential health concerns, including nicotine addiction, flavor toxicity, and respiratory impairment from aerosol exposure, according to the workshop announcement. To prepare for the smoke- and vape-free campus, Stiller said the college is helping students be aware of the change. It is providing smoke cessation classes and posting signs about the upcoming ban on smoking. The NoVape workshop on Thursday at the community college will be held from noon to 1 p.m. in the Draper Learning Center. Beckley, WV (25801) Today Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 81F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early followed by scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low 66F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. February 27, 2019 21:59 IST Britain is deeply concerned over rising tensions between India and Pakistan, British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday, urging both the nuclear-armed nations to exercise restraint to avoid further escalation. Tensions between India and Pakistan rose on Wednesday after Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani air space and arrested a pilot. The Pakistani claim came a day after Indian Air Force carried out a pre-dawn air strike on a terror training camp inside Pakistan. The strike was the first by the IAF inside Pakistan after the 1971 war. The UK is deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan and urgently calls for restraint on both sides to avoid further escalation. We are in regular contact with both countries, urging dialogue and diplomatic solutions to ensure regional stability, prime minister May said. In response to an urgent question on The situation in Jammu & Kashmir tabled during the weekly Prime Ministers Questions session, May told the House of Commons that the UK remained in regular contact with both countries and was working towards de-escalating tensions. We are working closely with international partners, including through the UN Security Council, to de-escalate tensions and are monitoring developments closely and considering implications for British nationals, she said. The security and humanitarian situation in Kashmir was later raised with UK Foreign Office minister Mark Field during the House of Commons session by Opposition Labour Party MP Debbie Abrahams as chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Kashmir. In an apparent reference to the upcoming general elections in India being among the factors to consider, the minister said while the polls may be irrelevant to the situation, it is a factor of concern. We all know that we are in a pre-election period within India and that is one of the factors that obviously is a concern. It is one of the reasons we want to see a de-escalation at the earliest possible opportunity, he said. Field told MPs that he will be leaving for a three-day pre-scheduled visit to India on Thursday, where he will continue to monitor the situation from the ground. Understandably, there has been huge interest in this rapidly developing situation. This House will understand it will not be appropriate for me to comment in detail on reportage at this time as the situation evolves, he said. Stressing that India and Pakistan are nuclear nations which makes the situation an urgent one to be addressed at the UN level, Field noted: It is all the more important that we dial down some of the rhetoric, and some of the actions we have seen in recent days. The UK will continue to support a listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed and its leader Masood Azhar under the UN Security Council Resolution 1267. But it is very pre-mature to start making categorical statements about any involvement by Pakistan in this issue, he said. Laying out the background to the situation before Parliament, the UK minister referred to the February 14 Pulwama attack, which killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force soldiers. India-Pakistan tensions, already at a high level, rose significantly following that attack and both countries publicly exchanged heated rhetoric, the minister said. There have been reports of ceasefire violations across the Line of Control overnight and the situation remains unclear, but fast developing, he said, reiterating that UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt had spoken to his counterparts in India and Pakistan on Monday and that Britain remains in regular contact at senior levels. The Foreign Office minister said he was also scheduled for talks with Indian High Commissioner to the UK Ruchi Ghanashyam and Pakistani High Commissioner Mohammad Nafees Zakaria later on Wednesday to encourage a dialogue. Describing both countries as important and long-standing friends of the United Kingdom, the minister said the UK governments position on Kashmir remains unchanged in that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution to the situation. It isnt for the UK to prescribe, to intervene or to interfere with a solution or to act as a mediator, he said. During the lengthy Commons sessions, Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry called on the government to urge both countries to think first and foremost of the innocent people in Kashmir, literally caught in the middle of this cross-fire. Last updated on: February 27, 2019 08:37 IST United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have arrived in Vietnam and are getting ready for their second meeting in just nine months. The two leaders, who have a history of insult-hurling and name-calling, plan to discuss nuclear weapons on Wednesday and Thursday in Hanoi. The meetings are a follow-up to their first summit last June, when they signed a vaguely worded agreement promising to work toward denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. Vietnamese guards of honour are seen during preparations ahead of North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns arrival, at the border town with China in Dong Dang, Vietnam. Kim took a train from Pyongyang to Vietnam -- a journey that took more than two days and covered about 4,000 km. For those who don't know, Kim's choice of using a train is rather symbolic. It is the same way Kim's grandfather, North Korea's first leader Kim ll-sung, travelled when he went to Vietnam and Eastern Europe. Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters A Vietnamese soldier uses a metal detector at a Hilton hotel's terrace ahead of the North Korea-US summit in Hanoi. Other than Trump and Kim, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and America's National Security Adviser John Bolton will also be attending the two-day summit. Photograph: Jorge Silva/Reuters A man walks past a banner depicting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump. Trump will meet Kim for a brief one-on-one conversation on Wednesday evening and then they will have dinner together with their advisers, according to White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders. On Thursday, the leaders will meet for a series of back-and-forth meetings. The Hanoi meeting is expected to build on the groundwork of what was achieved at the Singapore summit last June. Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon A worker is seen on a tree next to a banner showing North Korean and US flags in Hanoi. Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters Key rings depicting North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump are seen for sale in Hanoi. Photograph: Jorge Silva/Reuters A bartender makes a cocktail to commemorate a US-DPRK summit in Hanoi. Photograph: Mai Nguyen/Reuters Source: February 27, 2019 23:29 IST United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday told North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un that his country has tremendous economic potential. IMAGE: US President Donald Trump gestures as he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sit down for a dinner during the second US-North Korea summit at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi. Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters CNN quoted Trump as saying, I think your country has tremendous economic potential. I think you will have a tremendous future for your country, youre a great leader. We will help it to happen. The two leaders met for a second summit in Vietnams Hanoi and Trump made these comments during a dinner with Kim. The North Korean leader said that his second meeting with the US president was possible because of the courageous political decision taken by Trump. IMAGE: US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shake hands before their one-on-one chat. Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters While addressing reporters on Wednesday, Kim said that there had been a lot of thinking, effort and patience between now and last June. Trump and Kim met in June last year for their first-ever summit in Singapore. Kim further asserted that the outside world has misunderstood the US-North Korean relationship in the period after the Singapore summit. He also expressed hope that the Hanoi summit delivers an outcome welcome by everyone. When quizzed if hed walked back his vow to insist upon the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, Trump said he had not. IMAGE: People watch a TV broadcasting a news report on a meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, in Seoul, South Korea. Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters When questioned about his plan to declare an end to the Korean War, Trump said, We will see. On Wednesday, Trump also held a meeting with Vietnams President Nguyen Phu Trong and thanked the countrys leadership for agreeing to host the second US-North Korea Summit. Talking to the media after the meeting, he promoted the idea of a prosperous North Korea by citing the good example of Communist Vietnam. IMAGE: A man walks while holding a painting of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photograph: Jorge Silva/Reuters Trump chose Hanoi for the summit to show Kim that old enemies could be friends of the US after it mends its ways. The US has reinforced that sanctions would only be eased once full denuclearisation is achieved by Pyongyang -- a stand which the US stuck to even with the second summit drawing near. Unlike the last summit in Singapore, Trump and Kim are expected to address a joint press conference after the meeting. Source: Last updated on: February 27, 2019 16:33 IST Five persons were killed on Wednesday when an Indian Air Force helicopter crashed in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. The helicopter crashed in an open field near Garend Kalaan village in Budgam around 10.05 am, they said, adding five bodies have been recovered from the scene. One of the deceased persons has been identified as Kifayat Hussain Ganaie, a local resident, while the identity of other four -- believed to be IAF personnel -- is being ascertained, they said. Officials in New Delhi said it was an Mi-17 helicopter. Earlier, officials in Srinagar had described the downed aircraft as a jet. They said the aircraft broke into two and caught fire immediately. Source: February 27, 2019 22:21 IST Pakistani army on Wednesday violated ceasefire for the sixth consecutive day and resorted to firing and heavy mortar shelling on forward posts along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch district, prompting Indian Army to retaliate befittingly. IMAGE: Border Security Force soldiers patrol along the fenced border with Pakistan in Ranbir Singh Pura sector near Jammu. Photograph: Mukesh Gupta/Reuters The Indian Army destroyed five Pakistani posts along the Line of Control in Jammu-Kashmir on Tuesday night in a befitting retaliation to firing from across the border, resulting in a number of casualties to Pak troops, officials said. Five jawans suffered injuries in the heavy Pakistan shelling, they said. On Wednesday, Pakistan troops resorted to heavy mortar shelling and small arms firing on forward posts and civilian areas along the LoC in Mendhar, Balakote and Krishnagati sub-sectors in Poonch district since 7 pm, officials said. Indian troops retaliated strongly, they added. There was night-long heavy firing and mortar shelling along LoC in most areas in Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch districts on Tuesday. The Pakistani troops were seen firing mortars and missiles from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields. The Pakistani army used heavy weaponry, firing 120-mm mortar targeting civilian hamlets. All schools and educational institutes remained closed in a 5-km radius along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts on Wednesday. Authorities have ordered a temporary closure of educational institutions in a 5-km radius along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts on Thursday too. They have asked all the border dwellers to remain inside their homes and to not move outside in view the apprehension of the shelling by Pakistan. The year 2018 had witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violation, numbering 2,936 by Pakistani troops, in the last 15 years along the Indo-Pak border. Pakistan continues to violate the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India, despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the pact during flag meetings between the two sides. Amid mounting tensions between the two countries, following the Pulwama terror attack on Feb 14 and an Indian air strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed camp inside Pakistan Tuesday, people along the LoC and the International Border are living in fear. Last updated on: February 27, 2019 19:47 IST Pakistan on Wednesday claimed that it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani air space and arrested a pilot, as it closed its airspace amid escalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. IMAGE: A man watches the speech of the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, after Pakistan shot down an Indian plane, in Lahore. Photograph: Mohsin Raza/Reuters Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor claimed that two Indian Air Force pilots were arrested. One pilot is injured and has been shifted to a hospital, while another one is unhurt, the spokesman added. He also showed items and documents recovered from the arrested pilots. However, he later said only one Indian pilot was under Pakistan armys custody, retracting from his earlier statement. There is only one pilot under Pakistan Armys custody. Wing Commander Abhinandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics, Ghafoor said. I am an IAF officer. My service No is 27981, a blindfolded man - who identified himself as Wing Commander Abhinandan - said in a 46-second video released by the Pakistan army. In a second video, the man refused to talk about the plane he was flying or talk about the mission. He said he was rescued from a mob by a Pakistan army captain. When asked about his identity, he said he was from down south (India) and a married man. The veracity of the video could not be ascertained. In New Delhi, the ministry of external affairs said that Pakistan air force targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is missing in action. The MEA said that according to Pakistan the missing IAF pilot was in their custody. We are ascertaining that, the MEA spokesman said. Meanwhile, Pakistan closed its airspace for commercial flights and suspended flight operations across major airports, including in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, for an indefinite period. The airport will be used for military purposes till it is reopened for commercial activities, an official told DawnNewsTV, adding that a red alert has also been issued. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, General Ghafoor said one of the IAF aircraft crashed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. This morning PAF (Pakistan Air Force) jets while remaining in Pakistani airspace engaged six targets across the LoC, he said. Our pilots locked on those six targets and we struck on open places, he said, adding that it was decided that the PAF will not hit the military targets. He said some of the targets were in Bhimber galli and Naran area where the supply depots were engaged from a distance. After the PAF strikes, 2 IAF jets entered Pakistani airspace and the PAF took them on and the two IAF were shot down. The wreckage of one (aircraft) fell inside Pakistan (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) while the second fell inside India, Ghafoor said. Original targets were military posts and administrative facilities but we did not target those, he said. The spokesman claimed that target engaged by the PAF was changed to avoid any loss of life. It was not retaliation in the true sense but it was an action to show that we can retaliate. We do not want to push the region to war. We want peace, the spokesman asserted. He also rejected reports that Pakistan used F-16 fighters and one of them was shot down by India. Pakistan does not want to go for war, our message is peace. The international community should also play its role, the spokesman said. What we did today is in self-defence. We do not want to celebrate it, as war is victory of none, he said. He said war is also a failure of policy. We do not want to escalate but we want to follow the path to peace, he said, adding that the people of both countries and the region should live in pace. If you want peace then let us talk. No issue can be resolved through war. India should think about this offer with a cool mind, he added. February 27, 2019 15:40 IST Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday referred to the 2011 United States operation in Pakistan to eliminate Osama bin Laden and suggested India can also do it. "If the United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land Teams (SEALs) can kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan's Abbottabad then why can't India," said Arun Jaitley in New Delhi in a press conference. Jaitely's statement comes amidst the escalating tension between Indian and Pakistan. A day after Indian air strike on a terror camp in Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir saw heightened military activity on Wednesday, with Pakistani jets violating the Indian air space and dropping some bombs in Rajouri sector after which one of their fighters was shot down. He also lauded Union minister Nitin Gadkari and said, "We used to see rivers as a way to generate market and tourism but Gadkari has proved me wrong." Against the backdrop of anger in India over the Pulwama terror attack, the Centre decided that water of three rivers flowing into Pakistan, over which India has full rights under the Indus Water Treaty, will be diverted to Yamuna River. The bilateral Treaty, signed in 1960, governs the rights of India and Pakistan on three of the six common rivers, respectively. As per the agreement, India has full rights over Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers while Pakistan has full rights over Jhelum, Chenab and Indus. With inputs from ANI, PTI Last updated on: February 27, 2019 23:32 IST Leaders from across the political spectrum said they are praying for the safety of the Indian Air Force pilot who is missing in action after India foiled Pakistans attempts to target military installations by using its air force in response to Indias counter-terrorism operations. Even as the Pakistani army released a 46-second video showing a blindfolded man and claimed he is the pilot of IAFs shot down aircraft, India said it is ascertaining the facts. This is what some of our leaders had to say. Im sorry to hear that one of our brave IAF pilots is missing. I hope he will return home soon, unharmed. We stand by our armed forces in these difficult times. -- Congress president Rahul Gandhi Our prayers are with the brave IAF pilot & his family in this very difficult time. Under Article 3 of Geneva Conventions every party is required to treat prisoners humanely. Pakistan must respect its obligations towards the IAF pilot, regardless of ongoing circumstances. -- AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi I pray for the safety of Indian Air Force pilot... Whole country is proud of this brave son and everyone is hoping for his safe return. We all stand united to keep our country safe and strong. -- Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Thoughts with the family, friends & colleagues of #WingCommanderAbhinandan. Prayers for his early & safe return home to all those eagerly waiting for him. -- National Conferences Omar Abdullah "I am praying for the safe return of our brave pilot. May God protect you and give you courage and strength. The nation stands with you." -- Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav "As the day comes to an end, my thoughts are with Wing Commander Abhinandan. Some of us root for peace, others want war at all costs. But tonight we should spare a thought for this brave man and the pain his family is in. Hope media respects their privacy and shows some sensitivity." -- PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti February 27, 2019 09:17 IST Not only is there a possibility for a conventional retaliation by Pakistan, there could also be terror attacks. Arup Roychoudhury reports. IMAGE: Indian Army soldiers at an encounter in Pulwama, south Kashmir, February 18, 2019. Six soldiers and three Jaish e Mohammad terrorists were killed in the operation. The air strikes on Tuesday are significant, but also part of a larger process -- including both military and diplomatic options -- that will have to continue, say former Indian Air Force officers and defence experts. Not only is there a possibility for a conventional retaliation by Pakistan, they warn there might also be terror attacks. India will also have to make its case to the international community. "There are a whole range of essential actions we have to take. One cannot rest on this one air attack," says Air Chief Marshal Anil Y Tipnis (retd), who was chief of the air staff during the Kargil conflict in 1999. "We need to continue. First, we need to launch a diplomatic offensive to explain to the rest of the world why this action was taken, the extent of the damage on terror camps, and how careful have we been in not inflicting any collateral damage," Air Chief Marshal Tipnis says. Analysts say the global community is sympathetic to India, but the diplomatic and political class should continue to drive home the message. "India has got a good story. We should tell it in a persuasive way. In the 21st century, it is not enough to win a war; you have to win the narrative as well," says Commodore C Uday Bhaskar (retd), director, Society for Policy Studies, a New Delhi-based think-tank. "We pitch the story very well in a domestic political context. But on the external front we need to have a more persuasive story. Beijing has to come on board, that is the challenge," adds Commodore Bhaskar. Experts say the terminology used by the Indian establishment so far drives home the point that the Indian fighters crossed into Pakistani airspace only with the intention of hitting terror camps. In later off-record briefings, top government officials also conveyed a similar message. An official says it was a "real-time intelligence-based counter-terror operation". "These words are significant. India is trying to move away from narratives of retribution, revenge. That is desirable," says Commodore Bhaskar. He warns against the narratives being spun for the electorate ahead of the the Lok Sabha election. "You haven't seen any adverse reaction from any of the global leaders. There should be a clear message that we are targeting specific terror installations, and we don't want escalation. So far, nobody in the government has gone and said anything which can be misconstrued," says Air Marshal N V Tyagi (retd), a former deputy chief of air staff. India's global outreach should continue with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is in China for a China-Russia-India trilateral meeting, says Commodore Bhaskar. After that comes the meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's Council of Foreign Ministers, to be held in Abu Dhabi on March 1-2. India will be the 'guest of honour', a first for a non-Muslim-majority nation. Islamabad has decided to counter the latest surgical strike at the OIC, a forum it sees as home turf. Commodore Bhaskar and Air Marshal Tyagi say India will have to be ready for a non-conventional response. "We also have to be prepared for a terror attack. Pakistan has the ability to respond militarily and through proxy forces," says Commodore Bhaskar. February 27, 2019 08:40 IST They have been exposed again by the IAF's ability to strike 80 km into Pakistan without being intercepted or incurring casualties. Ajai Shukla reports. Indian fighter jets struck the Jaish-e-Mohammad's biggest training camp inside Pakistan in a pre-dawn operation on Tuesday, February 26, 2019, killing over 300 terrorists. The synchronised strike, involving 12 Mirage 2000 aircraft and supported by a fleet of Sukhoi 30 jets, a mid-air refueller and two airborne warning and control systems, targeted JeM's 'five-star resort style' camp on a hilltop in Balakot, about 80 km from the Line of Control, sources said. The entire operation lasted about 20 minutes, and came days after the February 14 suicide bombing of a convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama in which 40 troopers were killed. The JeM had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack. Tuesday's retaliatory air strikes are the first time since the 1971 War that Indian combat aircraft crossed into Pakistan-held territory. Even during the Kargil war in 1999, when IAF fighters repeatedly struck Pakistan Army soldiers who had crossed into the Indian side of the LOC, great care was taken to ensure Indian aircraft did not violate the LoC. But in this case, military planners realised early that Pakistan would be prepared for ground strikes. Besides, the political need was for a more forceful response. That left air strikes as the only acceptable option. Both sides have signed onto a confidence-building measure that prohibits fixed wing aircraft from flying within 10 km of the LoC, and helicopters from coming closer than 5 km without informing the other side beforehand. By disregarding this, the IAF has sent a stern message to Islamabad. Since there are two Balakot towns, there was initial confusion over which target was struck, and how deep across the LoC it was. However, sources later confirmed that the strike occurred in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province. This raises serious questions over the capability of Pakistani air defences. Their porousness was first dramatically exposed in the US operation against Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad in May 2011. They have now been exposed again by the IAF's ability to strike 80 km into Pakistan without being intercepted or incurring casualties. February 27, 2019 16:03 IST 'It is purely based on real-time hard intelligence.' 'Timing is important. When you are attacking at 3.30 am, then everybody will be in the academy of terrorists.' 'If you attack at 10 am then someone will be out, so timing is very important.' 'Therefore, 3.30 am is the time when every terrorist is sleeping.' When Indian fighter jets crossed the Line of Control to bomb the Jaish e Mohammed camp at Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in the wee hours of Tuesday, February 26, 2019, India breached a self-imposed security threshold that kept it from crossing the border even in the face of grave provocation. This strategic self-restraint made then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee order the Indian Air Force not to cross the LoC during the Kargil war. It was the same principle that held back India's hand in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. But on Tuesday, India finally decided that enough was enough. If Pakistan was unwilling to dismantle the terror infrastructure in the country, it would do so. It was a fraught decision, but one in retrospect seemed justified. "Pakistan will instigate and attempt to carry out more terror attacks in India, maybe activate more sleeper cells," Air Marshal Shyam Bihari Prasad Sinha, who retired as Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Central Air Command, tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf. Can we take Tuesday's strike to mean that India has now formulated a new security doctrine, of pre-emptive strikes in the face of a grave security threat? It is not like that. This entire operation was conducted to eliminate terrorists from the soil of Pakistan. This is in sync with the United Nations security council resolution where after the dastardly Pulwama attack they declared Jaish e Mohammed an international terrorist organisation. We had the support of all the international community and nations to eliminate these terrorist organisations. So it is not a change in strategy. We are not taking on Pakistan or the Pakistani establishment. We are taking on terrorists that are operating from Pakistani soil, which Pakistan has declined to eliminate thus far. Based on intelligence reports, terrorists had panicked and they were moved from the border and Line of Control area. They were moved back to this Balakot camp where they train all youngsters to become terrorists and fidayeen. Now you had a set-up which had all the commanders of Jaish e Mohammed and Lashkar e Tayiba fidayeen sitting in one place. This was an opportunity to neutralise them. So it is not a war against Pakistan, but a war against terror, and in the interest of the entire global community. For India, the attack is a departure from the past when we practised self-restraint even in the face of the gravest provocation. So, why did previous governments not follow a more proactive policy when it came to national security? Pakistan has realised that it cannot take on India because of the disparity in military power. So it is using terrorism as a State policy to counter India. You know the death by thousand cuts theory. In the last three decades we have been just talking and urging Pakistan from international forums to do something against terrorism. We wanted to declare Jaish e Mohammed a terrorist organisation, but China did not support us. It was only in 2016 that the government took a call to strike back, and the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes against terrorist launch pads close to the LoC and the border. But in this case (the Balakot air strike) nothing could be done because the terrorists had vacated the border. Therefore, an air strike was launched and I think it was a good decision. We need to commend the political leadership and the prime minister for taking such a bold and decisive step and also the top leadership of the air force and our air warriors. Is it true that the Indian Air Force was primed to retaliate against Pakistan post the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks? Why was it called off? It is important to realise that all the three armed forces -- the Indian Army, the navy and air force -- we are always ready 24x7, but anything to do outside Indian borders has to be a political decision. Once a government takes a decision, we go ahead. When the government does not take a decision, we accept it. We only present what we can do, but it is for the government of the day to decide what needs to be done or not done. Was a suggestion made after 26/11 to launch an air strike against Pakistan? We never spoke of attacking Pakistan, but always offered that we will take on terrorist organisations if you provide us hard and real time intelligence wherever they are. With Pakistan the fear is that any coercive action against it will lead to a nuclear threat. Do you believe Pakistan's bluff has been called after these air strikes? The nuclear thing is unnecessarily being dragged in. We have not hit any Pakistani military installation or civilian installation. It is not an act against Pakistan. We have carried out a strike against an organisation that is the fountainhead of terrorism. And in this process we have done what we intended to do. On the other hand, Pakistan is claiming not much has happened. There was no damage to Pakistani civilians and Pakistani military. In their view, there is not damage to terrorists too, so what are we talking about? Will Tuesday's air strikes deter terrorists based in Pakistan from attacking India, Indian assets in Kashmir and elsewhere? It is the intent and projection of national power which includes all aspects -- your diplomatic efforts, military might, public sentiment. Everything put together determines what you should do and what you should not do. How long can you lie low and keep getting ambushed by Pakistani sent terrorists? There is a limit. In this case, the nation as a whole had reached its limits of tolerance and acceptance, that is why the government took a positive and decisive action to go ahead and neutralise the terrorists. If need be, in future the air option is always available and the army is always ready. So depending on intelligence, the government must give a free hand to do whatever the armed forces must want to do. Is there any reason why the IAF chose the Mirage 2000 for the strike and not, say, the MiG 29 or the Sukhoi 30? What is it about the Mirage 2000 that makes it more suitable for such a cross-border foray? Which aircraft is chosen is determined by the kind of weapons it can carry. Before you carry out such a mission there is something called as weapon target matching. You have to collect the right weapon to destroy the target and then you decide which aircraft can carry this weapon. And for such a strike, the best capability is the Mirage 2000 and therefore it was chosen. Such an operation as the Balakot strike must have been weeks in planning. Is our air force always ready for such an operation at short notice? What is the time lag between the nod for operation and actual deployment of the jets? The air force can launch any mission within a short notice of 3 to 4 hours. But what we need to understand is, when you have a defined enemy or adversary you have adequate intelligence on their military strategic, economic, infrastructure setup, where you can plan your reconnaissance, surveillance and have target folders ready. When it comes to terrorist organisations they do not have a fixed establishment. So any strike against terrorists has to be based on hard, real-time, intelligence. If two nations are attacking each other, then things are known. It is available on Google Maps also. Your power installations, dams, bridges, petroleum installations... everything is available, but how do you hunt terrorists as he must be sitting in some madrasa? The terrorists might be living in the civil population of a city. Taking on terrorists either through air strikes or ground strikes is extremely difficult because it is purely based on real-time hard intelligence. Therefore, planning is based on intelligence information. Timing is important and when you are attacking at 3.30 am, then everybody will be in the academy of terrorists. If you attack at 10 am then someone will be out, so timing is very important. Therefore, 3.30 am is the time when every terrorist is sleeping. It was such a complex operation in which the fear of detection by enemy radar is ever present. How did our Mirage 2000s avoid being detected? Any mission planning involves tactical routing and you cannot avoid radar detection. You can delay it to an extent, that is feasible. Everybody does it and there is nothing new about it. You have to credit the Indian Air Force for the way it has planned and executed this mission. What special counter-measures did our air force deploy? Counter-measures come when you get detected because you want to counter the detection. When you want to delay detection you don't use counter-measures because counter-measures will give away your (position). Do you see further escalation of cross-border strikes? Is there a danger of it spiralling into something larger? As far as escalation is concerned, we have carried out the strike against a UN security council declared terrorist organisation as per our right of self-defence, according to the UN resolution. We have not hit any military or civil targets in Pakistan. It is an act against a terrorist organisation which is a headache to the world. We claim we have killed 600 terrorists, but Pakistan says we have not done anything. So what will they escalate against? If they want an eye for an eye, we do not have any terrorist organisations on our side. Does Pakistan have the capabilities to retaliate against India? After the defeat of Pakistan in the 1971 War it decided that it is not going to fight the Indian armed forces, but only fight through terrorist organisations. They will instigate and attempt to carry out more terror attacks in India, maybe activate more sleeper cells. The entire security establishment and every Indian national should be aware of such possibilities. If we suspect anything, bring it to the notice of the security establishment. February 27, 2019 22:15 IST 'There is hope that in the next 48 to 72 hours there will be some kind of movement forward to de-escalate and not heighten the tension.' IMAGE: On Wednesday, February 27, 2019, the ministry of external affairs stated that Pakistan used its air force to target military installations on the Indian side. However, its attempts were foiled by the Indian Air Force. Photograph: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters India and Pakistan are on the brink of a major confrontation after the two sides were involved in aerial conflict on Wednesday, which saw the capture of an Indian Air Force pilot by the Pakistan army. "The capture of an Indian Air Force pilot is not a sad ending or anything. When the nation decides to do these kinds of things (air strikes) these things happen, BharatShakti.in Co-founder and long-time Rediff.com Contributor Nitin A Gokhale tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com. Amid heightened tensions between the two countries, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday appealed for peace. How do you think the Indian government will respond? The Indian government had provided a similar window in its opening statement after the air strike on Tuesday, stating that India did not intend to target any military or civilian population of Pakistan. Imran Khan has also taken a similar stand by saying there is scope for de-escalation of the situation and for talks. It is quite a conciliatory tone that he has adopted in his statement. It is very clear neither India nor Pakistan want this to turn into a limited war, leave along a full-fledged war. There is a window of opportunity for de-escalation, which has now come forward. There is hope that in the next 48 to 72 hours there will be some kind of movement forward to de-escalate and not heighten the tension. But there is no indication of such action from the briefing by the ministry of external affairs -- that India is ready to scale down attacks on terrorist hubs in Pakistan. That is why I pointed out to the first statement where India clearly said that our thing was specific targets and it was a counter-terrorist operation. It was not meant to be anything (more). That window was already provided by India and Pakistan has only opened it wider though Imran's statement. But there is one factor that needs to be taken into consideration. Pakistan today tried to hit the military headquarters in Rajouri. If India decides to retaliate on that count, then we have one more step to go in terms of escalation where India will say it reserves the right to hit back as Pakistan said it reserves the right to (hit back at India). But I think both sides will see to it that this does not go beyond this. Why do you think Imran Khan is now asking for peace? Does he fear Pakistan will pay a higher price if India goes to war? Pakistan faces a very dire financial situation. They cannot sustain even three-four days of conventional war, as war is a costly business. More than that, Pakistan has read straws in the winds. Almost no one (country) has condemned the Indian action. In fact, Pakistan will be disappointed certainly which it will not show that China, instead of condemning the Indian action, has urged restraint. China has told India and Pakistan, but Pakistan mainly, to initiate a dialogue and start the reconciliation process. Today, the Russia, China and India trilateral statement also spoke about ending terrorism by all countries. United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also said very clearly that Pakistan must end terrorism emanating from its soil. So, nobody is with Pakistan now. The international pressure on Pakistan is tremendous. When you say Pakistan can not sustain war for more than 3-4 days, don't you think India must then opt for a full-fledged war? It is not in India's interest either to go for war. If it is imposed on India, we can sustain it longer as we are in a far better place -- economically and militarily -- but war will set India's economic progress and development back. Even India doesn't want war for very different reasons, as we are on a high growth trajectory and the economy is doing well. War will be a setback for economic progress and development. War is absolutely the last option, not only because both of us have nuclear weapons, but also it is a costly affair. Therefore, India doesn't want war and neither does Pakistan -- for different reasons. Pakistan would rather have low cost, high impact, options against India like a proxy war which it has been doing in Jammu-Kashmir or do proxy terror strikes across India like it did from 2003 to 2013. That is why I don't think war is the final outcome or final road towards the problem between the two countries. There are two steps in between the sub-conventional war that Pakistan wages against India through proxies and what India did in terms of going and striking. So basically there is an option that India still retains of hitting the targets again in Pakistan. Why have Indians in general and the Modi government, in particular, believe it is time to teach Pakistan a lesson through air strikes? Why did we not do so after -- say the Pathankot terror attack or for that matter even after Uri where we did a quick infantry raid? Let me take you back 10 years. After the 26/11 attacks, a similar option was given by Air Chief Fali Major to the Dr Manmohan Singh government that they will go and strike at the Lashkar-e-Tayiba headquarters in Pakistan. The government in its wisdom decided it was not the best option and coercive diplomacy would do better. Those times were different and India's stock in the international arena in my view wasn't as high as it is now. The geopolitical situation wasn't as favourable to India as it is now. Of course, you have somebody like Modi who has an image of a proactive muscular leader who wants to do whatever is in the national interest must be done at whatever political cost. Therefore, there are multiple differences between the situation then and situation now. Modi therefore took the ground operation option after the Uri terror attack and there was no expectation that Pakistan will change its behaviour just because one surgical strike took place. General D S Hooda, who was the Northern Army commander that time, said it was a message that we wanted to send and it was sent at that time. It could be a sustained policy, but nations don't work in linear ways as the common person would think. Therefore, there are other things in play. When the Pulwama terror attack happened, Pakistan went beyond India's tolerance. Therefore, this time we could not have done a land surgical operation as they would have been ready. Therefore, we went beyond the normal envelope of what anybody would have expected by not going inside Pakistan occupied Kashmir, but going beyond -- Balakot, which is close to Abbottabad and in proper Pakistan. This was a game changer in terms of the red line that India had drawn for itself earlier. The red lines have now been shifted. India has made its point by doing what it wanted to do. Therefore, I am saying it is time to calm down. Many critics of the Modi government say it is an election war. Do you believe that? I don't think the decision was taken because of politics, but certainly this government would have been under pressure to do something. In a way, the template was set by Modi in September 2016 that if terror from Pakistan goes beyond the tolerance level, then we will have to take kinetic action and military action. And it takes a personality to take such an action. In the process, he will gain political mileage; there is no doubt from what goes in the betting market and the stock market as everyone thinks this will benefit Modi. But remember this is three months away from elections and if war escalates and there is a major attack to which India cannot take appropriate action in that time window, then Modi might even lose the elections. It is a risk he has taken and he has the ability to take that risk, both political and militarily. I won't go with the feeling or emotion that he did only did it for political benefit. What was supposed to be a great victory in eliminating terrorists across the border has now turned into a crisis as one of our pilots has gone missing. How should India handle this crisis now? The pilot will come back. When a nation decides to go to war or take kinetic or military action, then these setbacks or losses are inevitable. He was doing his duty by chasing Pakistani intruding aircraft. In the process, you can call it misjudgement or bad luck, whatever. If you see the video he is absolutely fine. He is upright. He is not panicking or crying. He is saying he is with the Pakistan army. It is not a sad ending or anything. It is just bad luck that it happened to him. It could happen to anybody. I think we should wait even if de-escalation does not happen. Remember during the Kargil War we had a similar situation when Flight Lieutenant Nachiketa was captured in Pakistan and he came back. When the nation decides to do these kinds of things (air strikes) these things happen. Tomorrow, it can happen to a Pakistan pilot too. Today, a Pakistan air force plane too went down, but it was just his good luck that when he ejected and parachuted he fell in his own territory and not Indian territory. The LoC is like that. February 27, 2019 20:28 IST 'It is the bounden duty of the Indian government to leave no stone unturned to have the pilot back urgently.' 'If that is not done in the desirable manner, it could well be a trigger for much more serious a conflagration in the subcontinent,' says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd). Downing of our MiG-21 Bison and capture of Wing Commander Abhinandan are part of the expected uncertainties of war. Though we are yet short of a 'declared war', Pakistan would be expected to adhere to the Geneva Convention and humanitarian considerations to return the pilot immediately. Footage in social media about Wing Commander Abhinandan being manhandled by locals is abhorring indeed. Similar treatment was meted out by the Pakistanis to some downed pilots during the 1971 war too. But they did return Flight Lieutenant Nachiketa during the Kargil air ops unharmed. This happened just before my arrival in that country as the Air Adviser in December 2000. What is even more concerning for me personally is that Abhinandan is the son of my illustrious coursemate Air Marshal S Varthaman (retd) whose last assignment was as CINC EAC, AF. Abhi grew up in our AF camp at Jodhpur in front of us and is like my own son. There have been many such downing of fighter pilots in the annals of air battle history, including in Syria and elsewhere. Unfortunately, these air warriors have become instruments of enemy country angst and diplomatic haranguing. It is the bounden duty of the Indian government to leave no stone unturned to have the pilot back urgently. If that is not done in the desirable manner, it could well be a trigger for much more serious a conflagration in the subcontinent. Traditionally, of course, India and Pakistan have been rather 'gentlemanly' in their wartime targeting and treatment of POWs. Civilian areas were generally not targeted from the air and POWs (including the 93,000 in Bangladesh) were treated humanely. Personal interaction with some of our own 1971 War POWs such as Wing Commander Mally Grewal and Group Captain Dilip Parulkar tells me that Wing Commander Abhinandan ought to get a decent deal. But diplomatic pressure has to be kept up till he returns home safe and sound. The frenzy of war-like operations and understandable distraction of the establishment with it cannot reduce our focus to have our pilot brought home. The International Committee of the Red Cross needs to be involved too and apprised of how the Geneva Convention has already been flouted by Pakistan by way of blindfolding and manhandling the pilot. Another aspect to be addressed is to assess if any valuable intelligence has been compromised in the downing of the Bison aircraft and suitable remedial action taken, which the IAF is well seized of. The main worries are in terms of technology divulged, IFF codes, personal pilot weaponry, marked maps etc. These security aspects are fairly routine and are not more vital than the return of our war hero Abhinandan who seemingly has scored our first 'kill' by shooting down a PAF F-16!! February 27, 2019 15:01 IST After removing three PSBs - BoI, Mahabank and OBC from the framework, RBI, on Tuesday, took out three commercial banks - Allahabad, Corporation and Dhanlaxmi from the said list. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday removed three commercial banks - Allahabad, Corporation and Dhanlaxmi - from the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework. This will allow them to carry on normal business, especially lending. Early this month, RBI had taken out three public sector banks - Bank of India (BoI), Bank of Maharashtra (Mahabank), and Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) out of the framework. Mumbai-based IDBI Bank, Central Bank of India, Dena Bank, Chennai-based Indian Overseas Bank and two Kolkata-based lenders - United Bank of India and UCO Bank - are still under the PCA framework. RBI in a statement said the Board for Financial Supervision (BFS), in its meeting held on February 26, 2019 reviewed the performance of banks under PCA. BFS noted that the Government of India has infused fresh capital on February 21, 2019 into various banks including some of the banks currently under the PCA framework. Two state-owned banks - Allahabad Bank and Corporation Bank - had received Rs 6,896 crore and Rs 9,086 crore respectively as capital from the Government of India. This has shored up their capital funds and also increased their loan loss provision to ensure that the PCA parameters were complied with. These two banks have also made the necessary disclosures to the Stock Exchange that post infusion of capital, the capital adequacy ratio (CAR), Common Equity Tier 1, Net Non-Performing Assets and Leverage Ratios are no longer in breach of the PCA thresholds. The banks also apprised RBI about the structural and systemic improvements put in place to maintain these numbers. BFS, at its meeting held on January 31, 2019 had adopted the principles relating PCA framework. Keeping with these principles in focus, BFS decided to take out Allahabad Bank and Corporation Bank from perview of the PCA Framework subject to certain conditions and continuous monitoring, RBI said. South-based small private lender Dhanlaxmi Bank is also out of the PCA Framework, subject to certain conditions and continuous monitoring, as the bank is found to be not breaching any of the Risk Thresholds of the PCA Framework. It will continuously monitor the performance of these banks under various parameters, RBI added. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters February 27, 2019 11:05 IST 'There have been many cases where clients have indicated that they feel suicidal as they feel they have no other options to deal with their financial hardship.' Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com Debt is a problem we all deal with in one way or the other. Sometimes our debts take over our lives and we begin to sink in them. Finally we reach a stage where we cannot pay back in time. Some people brazen it out while others contemplate the extreme measure of taking their own lives. Now we have a debt management company which takes over all your debts, speaks to your creditors, arranges an EMI that you can manage within your income and, as far as you are concerned, it is completely free. The company makes its money by making your creditors pay for collecting money from you and giving it to them. Harish Parmar has been running Singledebt, a debt management company in the United Kingdom, for 30 years. He set up business in India in December 2018. "Currently we have a team of around 30 staff, comprising a legal team of professional lawyers, para-legals, financial advisors. We also have a chamber of barristers that advises us on legal points. We also have a firm of certified accountants that manages all the payments to the creditors," Parmar, below, says of his India operation. "The only thing we have brought over from the UK is the concept of debt management and our expertise in this field," he tells Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar. You have been in India for two months, how many calls for help have you received? How many of these have been suicidal? Approximately 12,500 calls have been received. Many of the clients were very distressed, mainly due to the harassment by the collection agencies and the creditors. There have been many cases where clients have indicated that they feel suicidal as they feel they have no other options to deal with their financial hardship. To date, it is public knowledge that these suicidal thoughts are present as a result of the type of pressures the collection agencies and creditors apply to debtors. What is the difference between the calls you get in the UK and the ones in India? The difference in the calls received in the UK and that of here in India is that the customers here are not aware of their legal rights. They are not fully educated on financial products and financial management, which in turn causes a greater problem, and that is the number of creditors each customer is indebted to. Customers in India have over double the number of creditors than that of the UK. On an average, customers in India have in excess of six creditors, whereas in the UK the average is two creditors. The financial market in India is not as mature as the market in the UK, but due to the population of the market the sector in India is huge. This is contributing to a major problem in the economy, where the customer is in more debt than they can possibly afford. And so the customers in India are generally more distressed with their circumstance. After the initial call, what do you do next? Once we have a clear understanding of the client's financial circumstance, we will advise the client of the options available. Your Web site mentions that you don't take any upfront fees. Does that mean that you charge later? We do not charge anything for the initial advice. Whether the client comes on board, it is up to them. Our fees are only applied if the client comes on board the repayment plan. You take charge of the payback, how much of that do you retain as your fees? Our management fee is 12.5% of the reduced monthly EMI. How is your organisation funded? The organisation is self-funded by the promoters. Is your telephone manned all 24 hours? No, our phones are not manned all 24 hours. Our working hours are 9 am to 8 pm, Monday to Saturday. You have also a chat window on the Internet, is that manned 24 hours? Our chat window is manned during our working hours 9 am to 8 pm, Monday to Saturday. Though you project yourself as a social service organisation, it actually looks like a company doing business. We are a commercial enterprise, where we deal with consumer debt issues, harassment cases and other illegal practices from creditors. This is all handled in-house. Our infrastructure is such that we employ trained professionals to advise and offer our services. We are providing a service to the public for its benefit, and for this we charge a fee which is based on the client's affordability and so not to put the client in further hardship. It also looks like a back-door entry for British lawyers into the Indian system. There is no back-door entry for British lawyers into the Indian judicial system. All of our lawyers are Indian nationals, our legal advisors are barristers based in Mumbai. The only thing we have brought over from the UK is the concept of debt management and our expertise in this field. At any given moment, you may be in possession of funds belonging to clients. What is the security people have who trust you with their money? We are transparent with the customer regarding the funds we manage for them. We have a dedicated client account that is managed by a reputable third party, and in this case a large firm of accountants. We also update the client on a monthly basis, in respect to the funds that are distributed. Our clients also have access to their debt management account via an online portal to see exactly where their funds have been distributed. What are your assets in India? We have invested Rs 1 crore in developing this business and there is ongoing investment in training, in software and efficiency. Do you have a licence to manage other people's money? Currently, there is no license required, however we are in the process of speaking to regulatory bodies with respect to protecting the general public and to introduce licensing this activity to promote good business practice as per the guidelines set out in the UK. Could you give me three examples of your intervention in India? We have come across many cases where the debtor has a high debt ratio in comparison to their EMI (total monthly expenditure divided by total monthly income x 100 = % ratio) There is prima facie evidence that the creditors have mis-sold the line of credit and have acted irresponsibly in authorising these loans and credit cards. The results of the creditor's actions has impacted the debtor in such a way that the debtor will inevitably default on the line of credit and will remain in the debt for the foreseeable future. The interest and charges that are applied as a result of the default would make the debt unmanageable for the debtor and so collection agencies are appointed by the creditors to apply undue pressure of any means to recover the outstanding balance. The harassment from the collection agencies is very aggressive. They have been known to disclose personal and confidential information to third parties including family, friends, relatives, employers, employees and the surrounding community to apply pressure on the debtor to pay. As embarrassing as these situations can be for the debtor, it also causes major stress and anxiety for the debtor and the family. We have assisted in helping such clients and have filed many NCs and FIRs against the creditors. This has stopped the harassment from collection agencies and has allowed the debtor to regain control of their finances in order to repay their outstanding debt. This is also due to the fact that we negotiate with the creditors a suitable repayment plan that the debtor can realistically afford. With more rain predicted for neighborhoods along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, the American Red Cross continues to help people impacted by disastrous flooding in the Midwest while preparing to launch additional response efforts if needed. Red Cross workers are currently assisting residents in Nebraska, Arkansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, South Dakota and Missouri. More than 1,000 Red Cross disaster workers are on the ground across the nine states, providing shelter and meals, relief supplies, health, mental health and spiritual care services, damage assessment, help planning next steps and other support such as providing refreshments to people filling sandbags to protect homes and businesses from flood waters. The Red Cross has: Opened more than 64 shelters with partners, providing more than 6,600 overnight stays With partners, provided more than 121,900 meals Distributed more than 74,000 relief supplies Deployed nearly 30 disaster emergency response vehicles Provided more than 2,700 health, mental health and spiritual care services Nearly two-thirds of the lower 48 states face an elevated risk for flooding through May, with the potential for major or moderate flooding in 25 states, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). More than 200 million people are at risk for flooding in their communities. Visit here to get important flood safety information. HOW YOU CAN HELP You can help people affected by disasters like floods and countless other crises by making a gift to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Call, click, or text to give: visit redcross.org, call 1-800 RED CROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. FIND A SHELTER If someone needs to find a shelter, they can visit redcross.org/shelter, download the free Red Cross Emergency App or call 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-733-2767). The Emergency App is available in app stores by searching for the American Red Cross or going to redcross.org/apps. Anyone who plans to stay in a Red Cross shelter should bring prescription medications, extra clothing, pillows, blankets, hygiene supplies, other comfort items and important documents. Dont forget to bring any special items for children, such as diapers, formula and toys, or for family members who have unique needs. CORPORATIONS HELP The generous donations from members of the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and the Disaster Responder Program enable the American Red Cross to prepare communities for disasters big and small, respond whenever and wherever disasters occur and help families during the recovery process. ADGP $1 Million members are: American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Anthem Foundation; Bank of America; Brown & Brown Insurance; Caterpillar Foundation; The Clorox Company; Costco Wholesale; Delta Air Lines; Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation; FedEx; The Home Depot Foundation; LDS Charities; Lilly Endowment Inc.; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; Mazda North American Operations; Microsoft Corp.; Nationwide Foundation; PepsiCo Foundation; State Farm; Verizon; VSP Global; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; and The Walt Disney Company. ADGP $500,000 members are: 21st Century Fox; Altria Group; AmazonSmile; Aon; BMW of North America; Capital One; CBS Corporation; Cisco Foundation; Citi Foundation; Darden Foundation; Delta Dental Community Care Foundation; Discover; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Motor Company; General Motors; Grainger; Humble Bundle; IBM Corporation; International Paper; John Deere Foundation; Johnson Controls; LHC Group; Medtronic Foundation; Merck Foundation; Mondelez International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; Nissan; Procter & Gamble Company; PwC Charitable Foundation; Sands Cares; Southwest Airlines; Target; TD Ameritrade; The TJX Companies, Inc.; United Airlines; UPS; The USAA Foundation; The Wawa Foundation; and Wells Fargo. Disaster Responder Program members are: 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe; AdvoCare International L.P.; Alliance Data; American Express; Assurant; AstraZeneca; AT&T; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company; The Ball Foundation; Barclays; CarMax; Choice Hotels International; Cox Enterprises; DICKS Sporting Goods; Duke Energy; Edison International; Entergy Corporation; GE Foundation; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; HP Foundation; Ingersoll Rand Foundation; The J.M. Smucker Company; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation; Land OLakes, Inc.; Mastercard; Neiman Marcus Group; Northrop Grumman Corporation; Northwestern Mutual and the Northwestern Mutual Foundation; Prudential Financial; Raytheon Company; Rodan + Fields Prescription for Change Foundation; Ryder System, Inc.; SC Johnson; Security Finances Lending Hand Foundation; Southeastern Grocers Home of BI-LO Harveys Winn Dixie; The Starbucks Foundation; Tata Consultancy Services; Toyota; U-Haul International; United Technologies Corporation; U.S. Bank; and Visa. Prior to the start of official campaigning, both Student Government Association executive campaigns received SGA Elections Committee sanctions for violations of SGA rules. According to the Feb. 21 sanction notice, the Committee suspended ACT UGA from digital campaigning from midnight to 8 a.m. on Feb. 25 after ACT Vice Presidential candidate Charley Claudio was found to have access to multiple Instagram accounts associated with the word empower, such as uga_empower. Much of the discussion at the forum centered around the use of unpaid prison labor in ACC departments and the ethics of doing so. By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/26/2019 ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. Bachelor Nation apparently has a new couple to watch, as Chad Johnson has revealed he is dating Colton Underwood 's bachelorette, Caitlin Clemmens Colton eliminated Caitlin during a group date in Week 3 of 's Season 23 competition because they were lacking chemistry and stimulating conversation.However, Caitlin has apparently moved on with Chad, the famous villain from JoJo Fletcher 's season of ette, who memorably got drunk on Bachelor in Paradise 3 and stormed off the beach yelling, "F-ck you, Chris Harrison !"Chad, a 31-year-old fitness trainer who currently lives on the West coast, told Life & Style he has been "seriously" talking to Caitlin, 25, and is "trying to see where that goes."When Life & Style published the report, Chad provided a link to it on Twitter and added a heart emoji to the post.Chad said he and Caitlin have been chatting for the past few months after he successfully slid into the realtor's direct messages on Instagram.However, Caitlin was a little hesitant at first to begin dating Chad due to his public image in Bachelor Nation.Chad told the magazine Caitlin was "a bit held back," explaining that he's "still the bad guy" in world."A lot of the viewers who have seen that show haven't seen the other four shows I've done where I'm actually a pretty good guy... So, I'm trying to see where that goes," said Chad, who has also subsequently appeared on additional reality shows including Famously Single and Celebrity Big Brother U.K.But Chad insisted he's now "serious" about "actually finding a relationship.""So if [Caitlin] goes on Paradise or something, I would love to go on Paradise. But at this point, I don't know," Chad revealed.For the time being, the pair are trying to make a long-distance relationship work given Caitlin lives in Toronto, Canada, according to the magazine.Chad was most recently linked to Kendra Wilkinson after photos of them holding hands surfaced in January, however, both individuals denied any romantic involvement.Interested in more news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 06/09/2021 ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! What couples are still together and which MAFS couples have split up and divorced? And where are they now? 's first twelve seasons featured 44 different couples getting married at first sight -- so which couples are still together, who has split up and divorced, and where are they all now?Each season of -- which premiered in the United States seven years ago and is based on a Danish series -- features couples (previously three couples, but four couples on Seasons 8 and 9, and five couples beginning with Season 10) being matched together by relationship experts and agree to marry when they first meet.Complete strangers become husband and wife in a matter of minutes, and the couples' lives are then documented by TV cameras over the course of the next four to eight weeks (eight weeks, in the case of 's most recent seasons).The couples typically enjoy their first night together in a hotel after exchanging vows -- with some couples deciding to consummate their marriage immediately -- and then embark on a honeymoon, move in together, and simply attempt to deal with the struggles of daily life as man and wife.At the end of the extreme marriage experiment, each couple must decide whether they'd like to stay married or get a divorce on "Decision Day."has experienced very mixed results over the years. While a significant number of couples decide to stay together and continue their new marriage at the end of their season, the real world seems to hit them hard after the cameras leave, resulting in the couple splitting up only months later.Do cast members see a different side of their spouses once cameras are gone, or do the romances naturally fizzle over time?Some couples are still together to this day and are extremely happy. Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner from Season 1, for example, have had two children.Several other couples have also had children -- including Ashley Petta and Anthony D'Amico Shawniece Jackson and Jephte Pierre Danielle Bergman and Bobby Dodd , and Deonna McNeill and Greg Okotie However, there are also relationships that ended badly. Jessica Castro from Season 2, for instance, accused Ryan De Nino of alleged death threats, and she went on to file a restraining order and lawsuit against him.Some couples have also never even made it to "Decision Day" and ended their marriage prematurely, including Season 4 couple Heather Seidel and Derek Schwartz as well as Season 6 couple Molly Duff and Jonathan Francetic Are the remaining couples now lovers, friends or enemies?! What about early season couples like Cortney Hendrix and Jason Carrion, Jaclyn Methuen and Ryan Ranellone, Vanessa Nelson and Tres Russell, Sonia Granados and Nick Pendergrast, and Lillian Vilchez and Tom Wilson?And how about more recent season couples like Danielle DeGroot and Cody Knapek Sheila Downs and Nate Duhon Jaclyn Schwartzberg and Ryan Buckley Dave Flaherty and Amber Martorana , and Tristan Thompson and Mia Bally Keith Dewar and Kristine Killingsworth , and AJ Vollmoeller and Stephanie Sersen Click thelink below to see photos of each couple and find out! BEGIN GALLERY >> Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. , We're sorry, this article is not currently available Property details: BUY LAND!THEY AREN'T MAKING ANYMORE! Welcome to Alpena Michigan! You are bidding on two 1/4 acre side by side fully wooded lots. Perfect for a home site or recreational use. 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This residentialsuburban property fronts Clarksburg Road just south of Belmont Trail in the California Valleysubdivision. Both roads are well maintained as can be seen in the photos. What's more, there isoverhead electrical power running down Clarksburg Road with a power pole on the corner of thisproperty. With a little rese... Price: $ 4,350 City: California Valley State/Province: California Seller State of Residence: CA Type: Recreational, Acreage Zoning: Mixed Property Address: Clarksburg Rd Zip/Postal Code: 93453 Location: 934**, Santa Margarita, California You will be redirected to eBay Nearby 93453 Official Washington and the national press have been abuzz over the blatant dissing that the Trump administration received at the recent Munich Security Conference, a bastion of the Transatlantic security establishment. Most op-ed columnists and foreign policy pundits, of course, side with the Europeans. They share the fear that the United States is turning inward and abandoning its European allies, thus leading to the collapse of the post-World War II international order that U.S. military power created and sustains. However, a more strategic outlook is needed one that looks beyond a single-minded focus on the traditional support for U.S. allies in Europe. U.S. President Donald Trump has correctly railed against the idea that the United States should be the worlds policeman. An end to the costly defense of now wealthy allies should mark the beginning of the search for a more cost-effective U.S. strategy. Despite the countrys considerable indebtedness, the U.S. foreign policy and defense establishments have every incentive to blithely continue to demand their due just like any other interest group. Of course, the Europeans are upset that Trump is calling them out on their free-riding. Simply asking them to pay more will not accomplish much, but neither will the insistence of the U.S. security-policy elite that we are mistreating our allies through Trumps demands and his administrations tone. Deep down, the Europeans know better than the U.S. elite that Trumps inward turn is not in itself the problem. Rather it connects to an American public that has become rightfully exhausted with the never-ending wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and other brushfire entanglements in places such as Pakistan, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Chad, and Niger. Wealthy European nations are perfectly capable of building up their militaries and acting as a bulwark against Russia. Their combined economies compare in output to that of the United States, while the economy of their main adversary, Russia, compares to that of Spain. However, they wont spend any extra money so long as the U.S. security guarantee through NATO is in place. Thus, Trump is right to question NATO, but he is wrong to attack the European Union. The original European institutions the core of todays European Union were formed as a security, not an economic, alliance. After World War II, Frances enlightened strategy was to hug Germany and embed it economically in Europe, so that Germany would less likely become a resurgent security risk. That policy has worked well for both Europe and the United States. Trump should lay off the European Union, because if the United States is questioning its traditional security guarantee to Europe, the EU should provide the building blocks for a European-wide defense force. Trade and sanctions Also at the Munich conference, German Chancellor Angela Merkel properly challenged Trumps ill-advised protectionist trade war policies and bluntly rejected Vice President Mike Pences demand for that Europe join the United States in its thoughtless withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran and its resumption of sanctions on Tehran. The Europeans, less beholden to the interests of Israel and Saudi Arabia, are better positioned than the Trump administration to understand that the verifiable agreement at least delays an Iranian nuclear weapon by a decade or more. Strangely, for a man who correctly wants to end exhausting wars such as those inSyria and Afghanistan, Trump is being sucked ever deeper into what could turn out to be a Venezuelan quagmire. He had Pence demand in Munich that the Europeans recognize the Venezuelan opposition as the legitimate government of that country, as the United States has done. Trump has continued to threaten military action against the Maduro regime there, warned the Venezuelan military not to use violence against peaceful protesters, and demanded that it switch sides from Maduro to the opposition or lose everything defending socialism. It is an understatement to say that Maduro has made a mess of the Venezuelan economy, but the Europeans would be wiser to stay out of Venezuelas internal affairs, as would Trump. No good military option exists there, and it is best to let Venezuelans decide whether and how to topple their own government. Indeed, Trumps inward-looking security policy may not be inward enough. He occasionally shows strains of belligerence, and these could drag him back into the very role of global policeman that he eschews. In short, Trump should listen to the Europeans on Iran, Venezuela, Syria, and trade. The Europeans should heed Trumps loud warning that the United States, bound by financial constraints, will do less in Europe and around the world. This will require the Europeans to dramatically step up their game in the security field. In my recent travels both to Europe and around North America, I have yet to meet a Catholic who expects any kind of serious reform to come from Pope Francis and the bishops who are meeting this week in Rome to discuss sex abuse in the Catholic Church. But as a careful observer of this crisis since I first began writing about it in 1992 in my native Canada, I have sensed, for the first time since the news of Theodore McCarrick broke last summer, a definitive, perhaps even revolutionary, shift among Catholics everywhere in their demands for major reform. Gone today is any hope that the bishopsany of themwill actually do anything serious. They will talk. They will promise to do certain things, perhaps even intelligent things. But what they will not do is the one thing that is most needed: to reform the structures and offices of the Church, including their own, which have perpetuated and worsened the crisis, and which will only prolong it until and unless those offices and structures are radically reformed. The crisis which we have been hearing about for three decades now is really twofold in nature; there is a crisis of sex abuse, but that is aided and abetted by a crisis of the abuse of power. If the Church has, in the last two decades especially, made progress in dealing with the former, it has nowhere near begun to deal with the latter. Instead of actually examining the structural problems of governance, we have had a concerted campaignfrom two otherwise ideologically opposed camps in the Church who agree on little elseto keep the focus off the problem of powerful offices embedded in structures demanding obedience. Thus we hear from one sidethat around Pope Francisthat the problem is some vague and ill-defined attitude of clericalism. We hear from the other so-called conservative side that the problem is a lavender mafia living in a gay subculture within the Churcha claim gaining great notoriety currently with the release of Frederic Martels new book. What neither side is willing to examine is the fact that priests in parishes, bishops in dioceses, and the pope in the universal church all have a monopoly on power, and that this monopoly has allowed them to hide from any serious accountability to the people in the pews. All three, under current structures, have a right to demand obedience from those under them. None of them has to consult, much less listen to, anyone under them. A priest is under no obligation even to have a parish council, much less consult it on anything or to take its advice. A bishop is under no obligation to hold regular synods with his clergy and laity, much less take their advice. If he does deign to hold a synodwhich almost no bishop has done since the 1970shis is the only authoritative voice. He alone determines when to call it, what it may discuss, and what decisions, if any, he will allow to be published, and perhaps implemented. A fortiori this is all true of the pope at the global level of the Church (even if Pope Francis, to his credit, has tried to nudge the church in a more synodal direction). The problem with these monopolistic structures is not just that they have aided and abetted the abuse crisis. The further problem is that none of the modern structures are anything other than a historical aberration and a theological abomination. To go back into Catholic history even as recently as the nineteenth century is to see at once how much greater the voice and vote of the people used to be. Today, by contrast, the exclusion of the laity from all the councils of governance in the Church is total. This cannot be justified by history. It cannot be justified ecumenically; no other Christian body on the planet is as prelate-ridden as the Roman Catholic Church, whose cult of personality around the pope finds no equivalent in any other ecclesial body. And it certainly cannot be justified theologically. Nowhere in the Churchs theology ancient or modern, Eastern or Western is there even an attempt to justify the monopoly on power enjoyed by clerics, or the total disenfranchisement of the laics, to use the term of the Russian Orthodox scholar Nicholas Afanasiev, who insisted the people of God are not laity as in non-specialists or non-clerics, but are full members of the Church equal to clerics in the eyes of God. How can we reform these structures and offices? Even to raise this question is to send some Catholics clamoring for their comforting cliches: the church is not a democracy and we cant look to the world for models to run the Church. But why can Catholics not look to their own history, and to the history, and current practice, of other Christian bodies, for models of structures that allow for voice and vote for everybody? If we look, as I do in my forthcoming book Everything Hidden Shall Be Revealed: Ridding the Church of Abuses of Sex and Power (Angelico Press, 2019), to other Christian bodies, including especially the Armenian Apostolic Church and some of the other Eastern Orthodox Churches, we find structures at all levelslocal, diocesan, regional, and globalin which the laics have voice and vote. In those bodies, as in earlier Catholic history, we find laics voting in parish councils on not just pierogi sales or cemetery budgets, but on the choice of priestwhether to hire or fire, which is decided in conjunction with the bishop. In those bodies, as in earlier Catholic history, we find laics and clerics alike gathering in diocesan synods to elect a new bishop, and then to hold him accountable in twice-yearly meetings (a practice mandated way back in 325 at the first Nicene council that wrote the creed of that name still in use today). In those bodies, as in earlier Catholic history, we find bishops of a region or nation gathering to discipline one another when necessary, instead of standing around impotently, as American bishops did last November after a late-night phone call from Rome bid them to stand down pending apparent papal discipline, a pathetic spectacle that put one in mind of Bismarcks arch observation after Vatican I of the bishops as the popes postmen. If Catholics knew their own history and knew a bit about their sister churches in the East, they would know that the structural reforms they desperately need today are already being lived out in other Christian bodies, as I demonstrate in very careful detail in my book. The proposals made there are radical in the original sense of the word: a return to root practices that structured much of Catholic life for hundreds of years. They are therefore conservatively rooted in earlier tradition and history. But they are also, and unapologetically, liberal proposals for, until and unless Church structures liberate the laics to resume their rightful role in the councils of governance with voice and vote, this crisis will not end, and no amount of hot air from Rome will enable the Church to move on. A.A.J. DeVille, is an associate professor and the Director of Humanities at the University of Saint Francis, and the editor of Logos: A Journal of Eastern Christian Studies Venezuela is a socialist country. Venezuela is also a dictatorship. Currently, Venezuela has fallen into open violence and complete chaos, with the strongman Nicolas Maduro ordering troops to open fire on those attempting to bring humanitarian aid into the country. Yet, strangely, Maduro still has his defenders. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the leading declared Democratic 2020 presidential candidate and avowed socialist, refuses to label Maduro a "dictator." Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said in full 9/11 truther mode, "Democrats need to be careful about a potential trap being set by Trump et al in Venezuela. Cheering humanitarian convoys sounds like the right thing to do, but what if it's not about the aid?" Fresh Face of the Democratic Party Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has remained shockingly silent about Venezuela, except to tell The Daily Caller News Foundation, "I think that, you know, the humanitarian crisis is extremely concerning but, you know, when we use non-Democratic means to determine leadership, that's also concerning, as well." Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., another Fresh Face of the Democratic Party, grilled U.S. envoy to Venezuela Elliott Abrams in an obvious attempt to stall on behalf of a gentler approach to Maduro. Why the shocking unwillingness by the socialist hard-liners in the Democratic Party to condemn Maduro and join the rest of the world in calling for his ouster? After all, we've been assured by Sanders, AOC, Omar and others that true socialism isn't at stake in Venezuela -- true socialism can be found in nations like Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Yet even so, these socialist Democrats can't find it in their hearts to cut ties with Venezuela. How strange. Perhaps it's because Sanders and his crowd understand full well that Venezuela is an excellent case study in socialism -- nationalization of major industries by a centralized government, abolition of the profit motive and redistribution of resources via tyranny. After all, it wasn't that long ago that Sanders was praising the Soviet Union (he said it had "a whole variety of programs for young people and cultural programs which go far beyond what we do in this country"), Nicaraguan Sandanista Daniel Ortega and Cuba's Fidel Castro ("... he educated their kids, gave their kids health care, totally transformed the society."). And then there's the inconvenient fact that the countries that Sanders himself calls socialist totally reject the label. Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt launched into Sanders this week, stating, "Bernie Sanders was lucky to be able to get to the Soviet Union in 1988 and praise all its stunning socialist achievements before the entire system and empire collapsed under the weight of its own spectacular failures." In 2015, Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen scoffed at Sanders' dreams of a socialist utopia, noting, "The Nordic model is an expanded welfare state which provides a high level of security to its citizens, but it is also a successful market economy with much freedom to pursue your dreams and life your life as you wish." Here is the sad truth about socialism: Socialism drives economies into the ground in exact proportion to its prominence in the economy. Capitalism creates prosperity. It's convenient for Sanders and company to point to the Nordic countries as models of socialism when they are obviously founded on free markets, with socialistic redistribution schemes stacked atop that free market foundation. But deep down, Sanders knows that the truer reflection of socialism lies in Venezuela, Cuba and the Soviet Union. And that's why Sanders simply can't bring himself to disown Venezuelan socialism, even to prop up the lie that socialism wasn't truly tried in Venezuela. COPYRIGHT 2019 CREATORS.COM Critics call President Donald Trump a diplomatic wrecking ball, while his supporters admiringly watch him take on foreign policy challenges that previous presidents chose to ignore or left to diplomatic "experts." Who's right? This week, the rubber meets the road. Trump's highly personal approach to negotiating with foreign powers -- while ignoring Congress -- is being put to the test by North Korea and China. Whether presidents should go it alone on foreign policy has been controversial since the founding of the nation. Even the Constitution's framers fought over the question. Midweek, Trump met one-on-one in Hanoi, Vietnam, with Kim Jong Un, the North Korean dictator he used to taunt as "Little Rocket Man." Previous U.S. presidents stood by while North Korea developed nuclear weapons and brandished them. This president, acting as his own chief arms negotiator, is taking on the problem. This will be Trump's second summit with Kim, following their June meeting at which the dictator promised to work toward the "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." So far, that's just an empty promise. Though, admittedly, North Korea has stopped nuclear testing and lighting up the sky with missiles. Trump concedes that "much work remains to be done, but my relationship with Kim Jong Un is a good one." Is Trump relying only on personal charm? Hardly. American economic sanctions are pushing North Korea into ever more desperate food shortages, and Trump has threatened to meet any North Korean aggression with "fire and fury." So, why not try diplomacy first, the president suggests. Unlike previous presidents, Trump is also confronting China's unfair trade practices and intellectual property theft head on. He slapped a 10 percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, and threatened to hike the tariff to 25 percent on March 1 absent a deal. While hitting hard with tariffs, Trump also praises China's chief negotiator Liu He as "one of the most respected men in all of China, and frankly, one of the most respected men anywhere in the world." At the United Nations last fall, he called President Xi Jinping "my friend" even while saying the trade imbalance with China "is just not acceptable." Career diplomats for years got nowhere with China. Trump's iron-fisted, velvet-tongued diplomacy seems to be working better. Trump would call it "the art of the deal." On Sunday, he tweeted that he'll delay hiking the tariffs because of the progress made so far in trade talks, and he invited Xi to meet with him personally at Mar-a-Lago in early March to finalize a deal. "I think President Xi and I will work out the final points." Meanwhile, Congress is on shaky ground trying to rein in Trump's "l'etat c'est moi" diplomacy. Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J., and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., introduced a bill to block Trump from withdrawing troops from South Korea, as part of any deal. Sorry. Deciding where to deploy troops is what the commander in chief does, not Congress. Check out Article II of the Constitution. Congress also wants to limit Trump's power over tariffs. At least there, lawmakers have an argument. Article I gives Congress the power to "regulate commerce with foreign nations." Congress has frequently ceded that power to the president. Now it's having second thoughts. The tug between Congress and the president over who controls foreign policy has been going on since the nation's founding. When President George Washington declared neutrality in the war between France and its European neighbors in 1793, two of the Constitution's framers, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, disagreed over whether Washington had that power. Madison insisted the power belonged to Congress, while Hamilton argued the decision was the president's. Trump is by no means the first president to seize control of diplomacy in a personal way. In 1972, President Richard Nixon shocked the establishment with a surprise visit to Communist China, a dramatic first step toward opening diplomatic relations between the rival powers. And who can forget President Ronald Reagan's personal dealings with Mikhail Gorbachev, which contributed to ending the Cold War? Face it, Trump's personal diplomacy is controversial because he's controversial. But look beyond his swagger and judge the results. COPYRIGHT 2019 CREATORS.COM WASHINGTON -- In the days after he resigned as secretary of defense in December, Jim Mattis told people he hoped to be succeeded by Patrick Shanahan, his deputy. Shanahan has remained in limbo since the beginning of the year as acting secretary, perhaps trying to convince President Trump's critics that he will be independent, the way Mattis was, while simultaneously reassuring the White House that he won't. Trump appears almost ready to name Shanahan permanently. Newt Gingrich, one of Trump's confidants, told me approvingly this week: "Shanahan is probably the best manager to be secretary of defense we've seen in many years. He has a deep understanding about how we need to rethink big systems to be able to compete." But who is Shanahan? What strengths and weaknesses would he bring to the government's second-toughest job, after commander in chief? Shanahan has never served in the military, has been in government just 19 months and, despite 31 years as a successful engineer at Boeing, was never chief executive there or anywhere else. Two basic conclusions about Shanahan emerged from a dozen interviews about him with Pentagon insiders over the past month. Internally, he may be precisely what the Pentagon needs -- a tough manager who's prepared to break some rice bowls to reform what the military buys and spends, and drag it fully into the 21st century. "I'm used to being directive. I'm relentless," Shanahan told me in an interview this month. The Pentagon needs that tough management style. But Shanahan's prospects are murkier as an external manager, dealing with the White House and key foreign allies and adversaries. The questions are especially important when it comes to his ability to challenge Trump. Mattis, a legendary former Marine general, saw part of his job as talking Trump out of ill-formed impulses. Shanahan can't call on the same gravitas. His eagerness to show public loyalty to Trump on issues such as border security and Syria could limit his ability to push back against his boss in private. Hard-nosed management is essential at the Pentagon. Defense weapons systems and employee benefits are far too expensive, and the gargantuan Pentagon budget masks what's often gross misuse of money that prevents spending on technologies to counter Russia and China. Shanahan says he understands the problem and is trying to fix it. Some examples gathered by members of his staff: -- Readiness. Shanahan decided to focus on aviation maintenance, something he knew about from Boeing. He found that the "mission-capable rate" for Navy P-8 submarine chasers, adapted from 737s, is 65 percent or less. Rates for some fighter jets are even lower. Readiness rates like that would be inconceivable at Boeing or a commercial airline, so Shanahan demanded change. Last summer, over protest from the military, Mattis set the target mission-capable rate at 80 percent -- still too low, but a big improvement. -- Bureaucratic overhead. The Pentagon's costs are high partly because it insists on doing so many things in-house. Six of the top 10 entities doing business with the Pentagon are defense agencies. Shanahan pressed Chief Management Officer John H. Gibson, the Pentagon's No. 3 official, to combine or eliminate regulations for procurement, performance and financial operations. Gibson didn't deliver what Shanahan wanted, and he was forced to resign in November. -- 2020 budget. Shanahan's biggest test yet will be the budget for the fiscal year that begins in October. Plans call for buying two new aircraft carriers, a vastly expensive purchase of what critics say are vulnerable platforms. Shanahan opposed buying the carriers but settled for a compromise: The Navy will shelve plans to rehab one of its mid-life carriers, potentially saving as much as $4 billion. -- Space. Shanahan found a way to meld Trump's passionate desire to create a Space Force with the equally fervent desire of the Air Force and its congressional allies to strangle this offspring. He reassured both sides: The Space Force will be contained within the Air Force Department, much as the Marine Corps is part of the Navy. But there will be a new Space Development Agency to give an independent prod to acquisition of advanced technology. Shanahan's gift is clearly his ability to straddle. But he would make a mistake if he thought he was playing to an audience of one. The president's support is important for any Cabinet official, but the secretary of defense has a crucial role in reassuring allies, managing the military and deterring adversaries. If Shanahan is seen as Trump's yes man, he loses his clout. (c) 2019, Washington Post Writers Group WASHINGTON (AP) Three strategists who played key roles in Sen. Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign said Tuesday they will not join his 2020 White House bid, in the latest sign of how the campaign may look different this time around. Tad Devine, Julian Mulvey and Mark Longabaugh said they would not work for Sanders 2020 campaign. Their firm was behind Sanders 2016 media strategy, including a 60-second television spot titled America that included the Simon and Garfunkel song by that name. We are leaving because we believe that Sen. Sanders deserves to have media consultants who share his creative vision for the campaign, Devine, Longabaugh and Mulvey said in a statement. While his 2016 campaign stunned the Democratic establishment with its insurgent energy, it was also criticized for failing to appeal to people of color and for treating women poorly. Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir said in a statement the campaign appreciates all the good work DML has done and wishes them well. With the campaign in its early days, Sanders already is signaling that hes seeking to professionalize his operation. Shakir recently joined Sanders team after working as the political director for the American Civil Liberties Union. His previous campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, has been criticized for not responding sufficiently to allegations of sexual harassment on the 2016 campaign. He remains a senior adviser to the 2020 operation. Sanders is among the most well-known Democrats in a crowded field. He has already showcased his impressive fundraising prowess, outpacing his rivals by raising $10 million in the first week. Sanders will hold a pair of rallies this weekend to formally launch his campaign. The events, which will happen in Brooklyn, where he was born, and Chicago, where he attended college and participated in civil rights protests, are aimed at more effectively presenting his personal narrative. __ Associated Press writer Elana Schor in Washington contributed reporting. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is going to lose. She just said as much. Sort of. I've made a decision, the Massachusetts Democrat wrote to her supporters on Monday morning. My presidential primary campaign will be run on the principle of equal access for anybody who joins it. That means no private dinners with deep-pocketed donors, no special photo ops for the wealthy patrons who write the fat checks, no phone calls to say thanks to moneyed elites. It ensures, Warren summarized, Im outraised in this race. But it is by intentionally losing the big-dollar donors that Warren plans on winning her partys nomination. Were going to take the time presidential candidates typically reserve for courting wealthy donors and instead use it to build organizing event after organizing event in the early primary states and across the country, Warren wrote. If we do this in the primary, we will build the kind of grassroots organization we need to win the general election. The move is the most significant effort to separate money from 2020 politics so far, an unmistakable contrast between Warren and every other presidential contender, and it comes at a moment when the small-dollar donor has never been more powerful. Major donors are probably less influential than they ever have been in politics, explains Rufus Gifford, who was the national finance director for the 2012 Obama campaign. For proof, he points to the small-donor/big-dollar hauls of each of the Democratic frontrunners. --Sen. Bernie Sanders declared his candidacy last Tuesday. By the end of the day, the self-described Democratic socialist had accepted more than 200,000 contributions, setting a new record: $6 million raised in just 24 hours. --Sen. Kamala Harris had set the record previously, raising $1.5 million in the same amount of time when she announced her presidential bid. --Sen. Amy Klobuchar also broke the $1 million mark but took 48 hours to pull in the cash. --Warren brought in less than $300,000 in the same amount of time when she announced her decision to explore a run last year. This puts the progressive crusader at an early financial disadvantage, a score that will be reflected after the first fundraising period closes on March 31 (and after the numbers become publicly available). Unlike the competition though, Warren can argue her money comes without strings. Party brass has placed an increased emphasis on the small-dollar donor. The Democratic National Committee announced in February that it would not allow any candidate with fewer than 65,000 donors from at least 20 different states onto the primary debate stage. Grassroots support, not the poll numbers used in years past, will determine who gets a lectern. This pushes politicians to give more face time to actual voters instead of just the wealthy, says Tara McGowan, founder of the liberal digital firm Acronym. It means you cant only rely on high-dollar donors or self-funding, McGowan tells RCP. You have to demonstrate that you are connecting with people, that they are raising their hands and telling you to run. Can Warren win on small-dollar donors alone? Honestly, we dont know, McGowan admits. This is new territory. One thing is certain: Any candidate who adopts this approach will have to make an extra effort. While donating online is as easy as ordering a package on Amazon, voters need a reason to give and especially important for candidates like Warren -- to keep on giving. Online donors dont say, 'Oh, its a Wednesday. I want to give money to, say, Beto ORourke.' It is different. It is because they are asked at a moment that a campaign creates, explains Gifford, the former Obama fundraiser who later became his ambassador to Denmark. If the campaign doesnt effectively create that event, they probably arent going to raise a lot of online money, he continues. Those events are hard to come by in 2019 after the launch. ... Its going to be hard. Eleven months away from the Iowa caucuses, Warren has been trying to make as many of those moments happen as possible. Most recently she has been cold-calling small-dollar donors and sharing those conversations on Instagram. Oh, my God! You actually called, one woman who donated $5 told Warren in a video posted Monday night. Thank you. Im gonna cry. While candidates increasingly court these donors, the moneyed set still has significant pull. A cabal of Obama donors met secretly in Washington, D.C., last week to interview potential candidates and debate among themselves whom to anoint financially. Harris and Klobuchar were there to audition, the New York Times reports, as well as Sens. Cory Booker and Sherrod Brown. The party has tried downplaying these traditional fundraising arrangements, and the entire field, almost to a candidate, has pledged not to accept money from corporate PACs and federal lobbyists. But the wealthy will play a role in 2020 all the same. I wish the day of the super PAC was on its way out, but thats not reality right now, says Dallas lawyer Marc Stanley. Though the longtime Democratic donor noted that more everyday people are voting with their pocketbooks, he told RCP he still sees a role for big-dollar donors. His super group, the Fire Ted Cruz PAC, spent millions in an unsuccessful effort to unseat that Texas Republican last cycle -- despite protests from the Democratic challenger, then-Rep. Beto ORourke. The Warren small-dollar pledge is not airtight either. There is nothing in her new rules that would keep a wealthy donor from attending one of her events, as some observers were quick to note. Whats more, while the candidate says she wont be making personal calls to thank those high-end contributors, there is nothing to stop her campaign from picking up the phone. And if Warren wins the nomination, all bets might be off after the convention. By then well be up against a Republican machine that will be hell-bent on keeping the White House, she wrote. They will have PACs and Super PACs and too many special interest groups to count, and we will do what is necessary to match them financially. That means investing starting now in each and every one of our state parties, and in our national party too. This would not be unfamiliar territory. Warren admitted to Chris Hayes on MSNBC Monday night that she amassed an $11 million war chest for her Senate re-election through big-ticket events to court top-dollar benefactors. U.S Sen. Kamala Harris, a frontrunner in the burgeoning 2020 race for the Democratic nomination for president, is addressing criticisms of her criminal justice record and, more recently, her stance on reparations. - The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a case that may indicate whether common sense still has a place in this country.The case involves a monument erected in 1925 by the American Legion to honor 49 men from Prince George's County, Maryland, who gave their lives during World War I. The 40-foot monument was privately built and erected on land the town of Bladensburg gave to the American Legion post.Today the parcel of land, owned by a local government commission since 1961, is a traffic roundabout a and the World War I tribute is in the shape of a cross. Therein lies the problem for what columnist George Will has aptly described as a few cranky, persnickety, hair-splitting secularists. On Feb. 28, 1991 the first Gulf War was declared over and the victors packed up and went home. Iraqs armed forces were crippled and Kuwait had been liberated from Baghdads grip. The American-led multi-national military force that repelled Iraq from Kuwait was hailed in almost all corners of the globe as a paragon of multilateral cooperation and a new world order. George H.W. Bush, former head of the republics most prominent clandestine spy agency, mustered up enough international support to justify the invasion of the Gulf and the crippling of Iraqs military. Thirty-five countries participated in Desert Storm, and Germany and Japan, neither of which sent any actual troops to region, wrote generous checks to the coalition for the war. It seemed as though the world was finally on its way to cooperating on large-scale projects that involved enforcing agreed-upon rules, and that the capitalist United States of America was going to lead this new world order with a gentle guiding hand rather than socialist revolution. Today, though, Iraq is still in the news cycle, which means terrible things happen there regularly. What happened? In 2003, the United States turned its back on multilateralism as a way of policing agreed-upon international rules. That didnt help. What helps even less is Iraqs own recent, postwar history. Iraq lined up on the side of the Soviets in the early phase of the Cold War. Iraqs leaders were anti-colonialist, pro-secular, and pro-socialism, which made working with the Soviet Union easier to do than working with the United States. Iraqs financial support for Palestinian militancy earned the country a spot on the State Departments terrorist sponsors list in late 1979. The relationship between the United States and Iraq changed in 1980, though, when the latter invaded Iran and started a brutal eight-year war against the Ayatollah and his minions. Suddenly, Iraq and its military was awash with American military aid and American weapons. While it is tempting to conclude that the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88 was the result of American machinations (Iran had just thrown out a pro-American dictator in 1979), the resulting support for Iraq by Washington was just happenstance. The unintended consequences of the republics support for Saddam Hussein in the 1980s are still not very well understood, especially when compared to the support Washington gave to the mujahideen in Afghanistan. Most people (well, most people who spend time on sites like RealClearHistory) understand that Washingtons support for guys like Osama bin-Laden in the 1980s had to do with bogging down the Soviets in a demoralizing, unwinnable war rather than any kind of ideological sympathy. The alliance between Washington and the mujahideen in Afghanistan is pretty well understood today. The alliance between Washington and Saddam Hussein is not. The U.S. and Iraq had a common enemy: the pro-Shia, anti-American revolutionaries in Iran. The alliance was one of convenience, not ideology. Politics still drives much of this ignorance, I think. Leftists are keen to point to Iraq as a major GOP failure, which makes Republican willingness to acknowledge mistakes almost nil. At any rate, as the war between Baghdad and Tehran ground down to a halt, Iraq found itself in debt to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Hussein and other elites also found Iraqi society to be in turmoil. Eight years of war was not rewarded with a decisive victory, and the economy had only gotten worse throughout the 1980s. Saddam Hussein demanded that Kuwait forgive Iraqs debts. Kuwait refused to oblige. So, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and started the First Gulf War. The rest, they say, is history. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, by next year, the United States is poised to become a net energy exporter. In part, this is due to lucky geology but its also because of hydraulic fracturing, a catch-all term for the innovative technologies that allow drillers to break apart thin shale formations and extract the gas and oil trapped inside the rocks seams. Americas shale revolution, however, has reached a chokepoint. The siting of infrastructurethe network that gets fuel from the wellhead to the customerhas never been harder and numerous projects have waited years to receive government approval. For this reason, its noteworthy that, for the first time in two years, the U.S. government has finally green-lighted the first of a backlog of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, export terminals designed to cool natural gas to sub-zero temperatures, liquefying it for transoceanic shipment to consumers abroad. Natural gas has already transformed the U.S. power sector. In fact, it has been responsible for a larger share of the countrys decarbonization gains than renewables, as it replaces coal to fuel power plants. It has also made electricity cheaper, reducing wholesale prices near Ohio and Pennsylvania shale plays by 40 percent over a decade. Yet, because gases arent easily shipped, LNG terminals are the only way to open up Americas natural gas to world markets. And the power to grant approvals for these terminals and pipelines belongs to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Currently, however, the agency is divided about how to handle the carbon-emissions effect of natural gas infrastructure. FERCs Republican members view carbon regulation as outside their purview because emissions occur primarily when the fuel is combusted rather than when its merely transported or liquefied. On the other hand, and irrespective of whether the transport infrastructure generates significant emissions, Democratic commissioners argue that because pipelines and LNG terminals may drive upstream production and downstream demand, the eventual pollution costs should be calculated as an offset to any benefits. This more-expansive view, however, would be a divergence for FERC, which has a tradition of measuring only the direct environmental impacts of infrastructure, such as erosion and habitat destructionand nothing more. In part, this is because of the slippery slope that would result from trying to factor in these additional considerations. After all, if carbon emissions thousands of miles away suddenly become FERCs domain, then the potential touch points of regulation are endless, as is the potential for unanswered questions about how such a model would work in practice. Indeed, there are dozens of federal and state agencies involved in siting energy infrastructure. Should each of them become a carbon regulator? Doesnt this distract from a consistent form of regulation at the place and time where emissions actually occur? Some might say, the more the merrier, particularly as certain environmentalists are seeking any available chokepoint to block fossil-fuel infrastructure. But, this is not an efficient way to run government. Indirect emissions studies are notoriously speculative because when new fuel is brought to a market, it usually displaces other fuel. That interaction is complex and hard to quantify. Indeed, the most in-depth indirect emissions study ever attemptedon the Keystone XL pipelinecouldnt even reach a final determination as to whether the pipeline would increase or decrease eventual emissions. And, in fact, delaying LNG terminal construction in particular is probably counterproductive to reducing global emissions because many countries demand on American LNG precisely for the effect it has had domestically as a cleaner substitute for coal. Progress is potentially on the horizon, however. At FERC last week, the two Republican commissioners, Neil Chatterjee and Bernard McNamee, signed onto a FERC order that incorporates the direct emissions effects of the liquefaction process at Louisianas Calcascieu Pass LNG terminal. FERCs agreement to calculate those direct emissions was enough for one Democratic commissioner, Cheryl LaFleur, to join Republicans to approve the LNG terminal by a 3-1 vote. Opponents of such compromise may argue that the camels nose is now under the tent, and FERC has become a carbon regulator. This is not the case. Direct environmental effects have always been the agencys bailiwick, and the fact that it concluded that the LNG terminal could directly increase national emissions by a mere 0.07 percent is not an especially revelatory fact. Ultimately, FERC simply weighed the benefits against the costs. And, if such an approach is consistently applied, the biggest sticking point to Americas natural-gas renaissance may very well be resolved. Travis Kavulla is Director of energy and environmental policy at the R Street Institute. Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and Ericsson are to launch a 5G network across Saudi Arabia, boosting mobile broadband connectivity and enabling 4K video applications, among others. The Gulf Kingdom plans the largest 5G commercial roll-out in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with an additional 400 MHz in mid-band (3.5Ghz) spectrum being released to commercial operators in March 2019.Saudi Arabias Minister for Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Alswaha said the nationwide roll-out will make over 1,000 MHz total spectrum available for cellular services, while around 10,000 5G base stations will provide Saudi consumers with MENAs fastest and most extensive 5G coverage.In 2018, Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia was the first city in the region to test a 5G network. We are excited to launch one of the fastest mid-band 5G field networks in the world. We have been working in close partnership with Ericsson on 5G for tests in the lab, field trials, and now initial deployment, said Nasser Al Nasser, CEO, STC.The roll out will utilise Ericsson commercial hardware and solutions including radio access network (RAN), packet core, transport, and Ericsson Network Manager.Our aim is to build a network that caters for current and future services. 5G is considered as a very important step toward digitalisation and connecting everything, which supports Saudi Arabias Vision 2030 toward economic diversification, added Al Nasser.Over the past 18 months, over 30 structural reforms to the telecommunications sector have been implemented by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) in partnership with Saudi Arabias Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC). Driving investment, the reforms have enabled the country to triple mobile internet speeds, doubling the number of fibre optic internet connections, and ensuring 100% internet access for rural areas.Saudi Arabias tech market is now the largest and the fastest growing in MENA, with a value of US$35 billion forecast by 2030. Telemundo has scheduled the US premiere of the return of La Reina del Sur (the Queen of the South), for Monday, 22 April. The most successful series in Telemundos history stars Kate del Castillo, who returns to claim her throne as Teresa Mendoza. Based on the novel by Arturo Perez-Reverte, Mendoza rises through the ranks to lead a powerful drug cartel.In preparation for the premiere, the Spanish-language network is airing a Special Edition Season 1 beginning, which will also be available with English subtitles across all platforms including Telemundo App, VOD and Telemundo.com.This feels like coming home again, added series star del Castillo and to download the video promo, click here.. Teresa means a lot to me. Its the role that allowed me to conquer the medium in a way that impacted my life. I am glad audiences will get a chance to see how it all began with the special edition of the first season. They will experience first-hand why the original series still reigns supreme in this genre. Just know that the upcoming new season is all that and more. Much, much more of what audiences demand from television today.Shot on location in eight countries, the return of La Reina del Sur is set eight years after powerful drug trafficker Teresa Mendoza disappeared into the US Federal Witness Protection Program for bringing down Mexican presidential candidate Epifanio Vargas. Hers is now a life of total anonymity as Maria Dantes, who is peacefully raising her daughter Sofia in the Tuscan village of Massa Marittima in Italy. However, her life takes an unexpected turn, and she will do the impossible to reclaim her throne as La Reina del Sur. NIGERIA: China Civil Engineering Construction Corp has awarded CRRC Qishuyan a contract to supply diesel locomotives and multiple-units for use in Nigeria. UK: The rail industry needs to adapt to a fast changing world, and ensure that it focuses on the needs of passenger and freight customers, according to former British Airways Chief Executive Keith Williams, who was last year commissioned by Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling to undertake a ... Whether you work in the Midwest, on the East Coast, the West Coast or the South, severe weather is a constant across the country. Hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, winter storms, black ice, and plunging temperatures into the negatives, you name it whatever weather heads your way, you must be prepared. In January, a large portion of the country experienced historic low temperatures. In much of the Midwest, it was colder than in Antarctica. From North Dakota to Michigan, a polar vortex swept through, causing temperatures as low as minus 56 degrees. Schools and businesses closed because it was too dangerous to be outdoors. Office workers across the country, however, have other elements to worry about. For example, earlier this year, areas of California experienced heavy rainfall and flash floods, impacting major freeways and thereby commute time. Over the years, Atlanta, a city where snow is rather unlikely, has seen bizarre bouts of snow, resulting in city-wide closures and panic. What does a company do for its employees when there is inclement weather? And how should a company best communicate its severe weather policy to employees? The following outlines the steps a company should take to keep its employees safe and informed during inclement weather incidents: What do you need to know about severe weather as an employee? What are your rights in dangerous weather and how can you prepare for it? Zach Y. Brown Bio Customer Care What Would Happen If Hospitals Openly Shared Their Prices? Price transparency tools with useful, easy-to-use information can benefit patients and reduce healthcare costs Rss Send Article (Must Login Author Archive Imagine there was a store where there were no prices on items, and you never knew what youd pay until youd picked out your purchases and were leaving the shop. You might be skeptical that the store would have any incentive to offer reasonable prices. This exact situation has become the norm in U.S. healthcare, at least for those people who lack publicly provided health insurance. Meanwhile, American healthcare prices are, by many measures, the highest in the world. Hospitals have resisted disclosing prices, leading policymakers to consider laws requiring price transparency. This issue has taken on increasing urgency, as patients face increasing out-of-pocket costs. In addition, prices vary widely across hospitals. The same lower limb MRI can cost $700 at one hospital and $2,100 at another. This means that there are large potential savings if patients switched to less expensive options. Like what you're reading? Log in or create FREE account to continue Enter your Quality Digest username OR email address. Enter your Quality Digest password. By logging in you agree to receive communication from Quality Digest. Privacy Policy Remember me Create a FREE account Forgot My Password Quality Digest does not charge readers for its content. We believe that industry news is important for you to do your job, and Quality Digest supports businesses of all types. However, someone has to pay for this content. And thats where advertising comes in. Most people consider ads a nuisance, but they do serve a useful function besides allowing media companies to stay afloat. They keep you aware of new products and services relevant to your industry. All ads in Quality Digest apply directly to products and services that most of our readers need. You wont see automobile or health supplement ads. Our PROMISE: Quality Digest only displays static ads that never overlay or cover up content. They never get in your way. They are there for you to read, or not. So please consider turning off your ad blocker for our site. Thanks, Quality Digest Discuss About The Author Zach Y. Brown Zach Y. Brown is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Michigan. He works in the area of industrial organization and applied microeconomics. Published on: 26 February 2019 The fallout from the Brexit referendum held in June 2016 has been profound. It shattered party loyalties and pitted the so-called will of the people against their elected representatives. Direct democracy has posed new questions about the running of campaigns, the role of the media and the working of Britains parliamentary institutions. In other democracies, such as Denmark and Ireland, referendums are not uncommon. Chaired by Professor Tim Bale from Queen Marys School of Politics and International Relations, the panel discussion explored whether referendums can play a larger role in British politics and if so, what lessons can be learned from other countries? The UKs constitutional conundrum Dr Robert Saunders from Queen Marys School of History presented a historical insight into referendums in the UK. He highlighted the fact much of the controversies surrounded the 2016 vote was as a result of there being no set rules on why referendums are needed in the UK. If referendums are going to be used more in British politics then thought needs to go into how the questions is framed, so we know what the instruction means, he said. Professor Meg Russell from University College London discussed the referendum in the context of constitutional reform, citing the lack of a written constitution in the UK as particularly problematic: Nowhere else in the world can you change a constitution with a one-off vote. The UK has no written constitution but all previous referendums in the UK, whether on devolution, Scottish independence or Brexit, have all been on constitional issues. Referendums can help strengthen systems but when the system is divided, they can also weaken it, she added. Brexit led to new social identities and divisions Professor Sarah Bolt from the London School of Economics provided an analysis on the divisions that Brexit created. She argues that the referendum led to the emergence of new social identities and polarisation. Divisions in society were already there but the referendum exposed them. The referendum itself was polarising in that it was a sensitive subject, there was a binary choice and the result was a radical shift from the status quo, she said. The UK government approach and the fact that there was no cross-party consensus also did not help to heal divisions brought about by the vote. A lesson from Ireland Professor David Farrell from University College Dublin discussed the topic of referendums in Ireland. According to Professor Farrell, there have been 40 referendums since the ratification of the countrys constitution. In Ireland full details of draft legislation are published ahead of the vote taking place. The rules in Ireland mean that it is not just about the referendum question but what follows after the result is also taken into account. He cited the recent referendum on abortion as an example of how this works in practice, with people informed of what the next steps would be in the event of a vote for a constitutional amendment, before the vote took place. Compare this to Brexit where people were voting on something which was abstract since there was no legislation to review in advance of the vote, he added. More information The Mile End Institute is a major policy centre established at Queen Mary University of London, building on the foundations of its predecessor organisation, the Mile End Group. WWE 205 LIVE REPORT: HALF THE FIRST ROUND IS OVER, MIKE KANELLIS GETS A MATCH NEXT WEEK, AND MORE Tonight, the Cruiserweight Tournament starts. Tony Nese faces Kalisto in the first match. Will Nese get to face his training partner? Kalisto is a perennial threat for the title. In the other match, Brian Kendrick faces Drew Gulak. What will happen when former friends meet in the ring? We are in Charlotte, North Carolina and your announcers are Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, and Aiden English. Kalisto says he feels it. Tony Nese does not know what it is to be at Wrestlemania and to perform in front of millions. Kalisto fights every day to get to Wrestlemania. Match Number One: Kalisto versus Tony Nese in a First Round Tournament Match They lock up and Nese with a clean break. They lock up again and Nese with a waist lock take down. Kalisto gets to his feet and Nese holds on to the waist lock. Kalisto with a wrist lock. Nese kicks Kalisto in the arm and takes Kalisto down with an arm drag into an arm bar. We see Buddy Murphy looking at a monitor in the back. Nese with a wrist lock but Kalisto with chops and he goes to the ropes for a springboard arm drag. Kalisto with a thrust kick and more kicks to Nese. Nese with a back elbow. Kalisto flips Nese but Nese lands on his feet. Nese and Kalisto avoid each other for a moment but Kalisto kicks Nese to the floor. Kalisto with a drop kick through the ropes and then he hits a suicide dive. Kalisto sends Nese back into the ring. Kalisto with a springboard cross body for a near fall. Kalisto with a kick but Nese with a back heel kick. Kalisto sends Nese tot he floor and Kalisto teases a dive and Nese returns to the ring. Nese avoids Kalisto on the apron and Kalisto with an elbow. Nese back body drops Kalisto over the ring steps. Nese gets a near fall and Kalisto rolls to the floor to regroup. Nese follows Kalisto to the floor and he sends Kalisto into the ringside barrier. Nese with a chop to Kalisto. Nese with kicks to Kalisto and Nese breaks the count. Nese chops Kalisto against the ringside barrier. Kalisto with an elbow and he tries for a head scissors but Nese blocks it and Nese sends Kalisto into the ringside barrier. Nese brings Kalisto back into the ring and gets a near fall. Kalisto with an arm drag and elbow to Nese. Kalisto kicks Nese and then hits a head scissors take down. Kalisto gets sent to the apron but he kicks Nese. Kalisto goes up top and hits a seated senton. Kalisto with a satellite DDT for a near fall. Kalisto with a spike rana for a near fall. We take another look at the Cruiserweight Champion in the monitor room. Nese hot shots Kalisto and connects with a forearm to the back. Nese sets for a German superplex but Kalisto head butts Nese to the mat. Nese with a palm strike and then Nese returns to the turnbuckles. Nese with a belly-to-back superplex attempt but Kalisto with punches and elbows. Kalisto with Super Salida Del Sol attempted but Nese with a hanging German superplex. Nese pulls himself up and misses a 450 splash when Kalisto moves. Kalisto goes up top and hits a 450 splash but Nese gets his foot on the ropes. Kalisto sets for the Salida Del Sol but Nese pushes him away. Nese with a running forearm and Nese sets for the running knee but Kalisto moves. Kalisto with a Listo Kick for a near fall. Kalisto goes for Salida Del Sol and Nese escapes. Kalisto with a super kick and then Nese monkey flips Kalisto into the turnbuckles. Nese goes for a pump handle slam but Kalisto with a rollup for a near fall. Kalisto with a rana for a near fall. Nese blocks a Victory Roll for a near fall and then he hits a wheelbarrow suplex into the turnbuckles and follows with the running knee and he gets the three count. Winner: Tony Nese (advances in Tournament) Buddy Murphy is in the back and he is happy that his friend won and he is joined by a production assistant. We go to Jack Gallagher with Humberto Carrillo. Jack tells Humberto there is nothing wrong with what he is doing, but does he understand the risk he is taking when he could apply a wrist lock? Jack says Humberto will get it. You will be able to watch Mr. Gulak take apart his opponent. We see Drew Gulak and Brian Kendrick getting ready for their match. We go to commercial. We are back and we take a look at Cedric Alexander versus Mike Kanellis from last week. We see Mike and Maria Kanellis with Drake Maverick. Drake says the referee's decision last week was right. Drake says Mike took one of the best in 205 Live to the limit and that means a lot for him. Drake tells Mike and Maria to go home but he will have a match next week. Maria says that Drake made the right decision. Match Number Two: Drew Gulak versus Brian Kendrick in a First Round Tournament Match They lock up and Gulak with a head lock take down and Kendrick escapes. They lock up again and Kendrick with a cravate but Gulak with a wrist lock. Kendrick with a full nelson and Gulak goes to the mat for a near fall. Kendrick with an arm bar but Gulak escapes. Gulak with a wrist lock. Kendrick gets to the ropes to force a break. Kendrick with a wrist lock take down. Gulak with an ankle lock. Kendrick with a side head lock. Gulak backs Kendrick into the ropes to force a break. Gulak with a head lock and punches. Gulak with a German suplex and he holds on. Gulak with a bow and arrow into an arm bar and he goes for a neck breaker but Kendrick with a back slide for a near fall. Gulak counters a crucifix into an ankle lock and then he turns it into a figure four. Kendrick gets to the ropes. Kendrick with a head butt to the midsection followed by chops. Gulak with a clothesline for a near fall. Gulak returns to the wrist lock. Gulak works on the wrist and applies a top wrist lock. Gulak with a knee and chop. Kendrick floats over and he gives Gulak a few arm drags into an arm bar and Kendrick tries for a cross arm breaker. Gulak returns to the wrist lock. Kendrick with punches and forearms. Gulak kicks Kendrick in the corner and Kendrick with an Irish whip and forearm. Gulak pushes Kendrick away on a bulldog attempt. Kendrick with a rollup after blocking a tilt-a-whirl move. Kendrick with a leg lariat and a running forearm into the corner. Kendrick with a back body drop. Kendrick gets a near fall. Kendrick with a side head lock. Gulak with shoulder tackles. Kendrick with a side head lock and Gulak goes for a belly-to-back suplex but Kendrick counters into a lateral press. Gulak with a leg trapped German suplex for a near fall. Kendrick with a back elbow and kick. Kendrick with a Dragon suplex but Gulak pops up and hits a clothesline. Both men are down. Gulak kicks Kendrick and then he goes to the apron. Gulak returns to the ring and Kendrick with a jaw breaker and Gulak sends Kendrick into the turnbuckles on a Sliced Bread attempt. Gulak goes for the GuLock but Kendrick leans back and gets a near fall. Kendrick with the Captain's Hook but Gulak tries to get to the ropes. Kendrick brings Gulak back into the center of the ring. Gulak escapes and he power bombs Kendrick and gets a near fall. Gulak runs into a boot from Kendrick and he kicks Gulak again. Kendrick with a super kick but he misses Sliced Bread #2. Kendrick with an O'Connor Roll but Gulak kicks out and applies the GuLock. Kendrick passes out and the referee calls for the bell. Winner: Drew Gulak (advances in tournament) We are told that next week, Humberto Carrillo will face Oney Lorcan in a first round match. The other tournament match will be Akira Tozawa versus Cedric Alexander. We go to credits. If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here! WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. Purdue Universitys Tick INsiders program is looking for 50 Indiana high school students and other Indiana residents willing to roll down their sleeves to get involved in a citizen science project. Cate Hill, a Purdue professor of entomology, leads this effort to analyze the bacteria and viruses in Indianas ticks to build an understanding of what they are carrying and how that might impact human health. To do that, she needs volunteers to collect ticks from all over the state. This year the Tick INsiders program will provide training for up to 50 students. Citizen scientists are also now welcome to collect and send ticks to Hills lab. Its really important work. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that human cases of tick-borne diseases doubled from 2004 to 2016. If were going to get a handle on that and develop strategies for reducing tick bites and treating patients, we need to know where our ticks are and what our ticks are carrying around inside them, Hill said. That means we need a lot of ticks, and we need help collecting them. Three species of ticks the blacklegged or deer tick, the lone star tick and the American dog tick are found in Indiana. These ticks can transmit multiple pathogens, nine of which are known to cause human illnesses, though not all have been identified in Indiana. The Indiana State Department of Health reports more than 100 cases of Lyme disease each year and dozens of cases of Ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Research suggests that ticks can carry a cocktail of microbes bacteria and viruses that can sicken bite victims and may work in concert to affect the severity of an illness and human immune response. Not all tick bites are the same. We dont know what is passed from a tick to a human each time someone is bitten, which means that health care professionals may need to consider multiple tick-borne pathogens in a person who has been bitten by a tick, Hill said. This program improves our knowledge so that we can improve our outcomes. The Tick INsiders program is accepting applications from high school students through March 15. Up to 50 students will be selected to take part in a one-day workshop from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., March 23, on the Purdue campus to learn tick identification, field collection techniques, sample preparation and ways to send ticks to Purdue for analysis. Beside the training, last years Tick INsiders students visited campus in the fall, touring labs and learning about how their efforts improved understanding of Indianas tick populations. Hill said this years students will have the same opportunity. Students interested in the Tick INsiders program should apply at tickinsiders.org/tick-insiders-application. Attending the workshop is not mandatory for participation, but it is strongly encouraged. Indiana residents interested in participating can collect ticks and send them to Hills lab for analysis. Videos on safe and proper collection techniques, as well as how to send ticks will be at https://tickinsiders.org/citizen-science-program. Writer: Brian Wallheimer, 765-532-0233, bwallhei@purdue.edu Source: Cate Hill, 765-496-6157, hillca@purdue.edu Agricultural Communications: (765) 494-8415; Maureen Manier, Department Head, mmanier@purdue.edu Agriculture News Page Nonfiction March 1 And Social Justice for All: Empowering Families, Churches, and Schools to Make a Difference in God's World by Lisa Van Engen (Kregel, $17.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-8254-4506-4). Van Engen creates resources to help engage in understanding and responding to 14 issues such as clean water, creation care, immigration, and poverty. March 4 Sick of Me: From Transparency to Transformation by Whitney Capps (B&H, $16.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-4627-9288-7). Capps praises the virtues of vulnerability, accessibility, honesty, and humility that are necessary for faith-building communities. March 5 Embracing the Journey: Learning to Love Life with an LGBTQ Child by Greg and Lynn McDonald (Howard, $25, ISBN 978-1-5011-9568-6). The McDonalds, founders of Christian ministry Embracing the Journey, which serves parents of LGBTQ children, offer tools for understanding emotional patterns and spiritual discussions that will arise when raising an LGBTQ child. Your Life Is Worth Living: 50 Lessons to Deepen Your Faith by Fulton Sheen (Image, $17 paper, ISBN 978-1-984823-28-1). Catholic priest Sheen examines the sacred journey to God and seeks to answer some of lifes most profound questions. Signs from the Other Side: Opening to the Spirit World by Bill Philipps (New World Library, $15.95 paper, ISBN 978-1-60868-552-3). Philipps, a medium, shares 20 inspiring stories of people receiving signs from the other side and provides his own steps for receiving afterlife communications. Dare to Hope: Living Intentionally in an Unstable World by Melissa Spoelstra (Abingdon, $16.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-5018-7965-4) lays out six practices for coping with worry, fear, and doubt that draw on the Book of Jeremiah. Don't Give Up by Kyle Idleman (Baker Books, $14.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-8010-1942-5). Idleman collects stories from the Bible as well as personal stories of perseverance in order to encourage readers to find a deeper relationship with God. The Time Is Now: A Call to Uncommon Courage by Joan Chittister (Convergent, $18, ISBN 978-1-984823-41-0). Nun and social activist Chittister explores examples of resistance of oppression and injustice in the Bible. March 12 Miracle in the Mundane: Poems, Prompts, and Inspiration to Unlock Your Creativity and Unfiltered Joy by Tyler Knott Gregson (TarcherPerigee, $18; ISBN 978-0-525-53752-6) features poems and photography by Gregson that include exercises on mindfulness and self-expression. 170 Years of Persecution: A History of the Baha'is of Iran by Fereydun Vahman (Oneworld, $30, ISBN 978-1-78607-586-4) highlights the youngest religion in the world and the second most widespread, according to the publisher, including its core beliefs and its history of persecution. March 19 Black and White: Disrupting Racism One Friendship at a Time by John Hambrick, Teesha Hadra (Abingdon, $22.99, ISBN 978-1-5018-7917-3). A young African-American woman and a sexagenarian white man team up to argue for how racism can be disrupted by relationships, according to the publisher. War and Religion: Europe and the Mediterranean from the First Through the Twenty-First Centuries by Arnaud Blin (Univ. of California, $34.95, ISBN 978-0-520-28663-4). Historian Blin begins this chronicle of European history with the concurrent emergence of the Mediterranean empires and the great monotheistic faiths, moving through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and into the modern era. Call It Grace: Finding Meaning in a Fractured World by Serene Jones (Viking, $26, ISBN 978-0-7352-2364-6). Reverend Jones, president of the Union Theological Seminary, draws on Hegel, Nietzsche, and other thinkers, as well as personal experiences, to consider divine nature. Optimisfits: Igniting a Fierce Rebellion Against Hopelessness by Ben Courson (Harvest House, $16.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-7369-7584-1). Millennial pastor Courson encourages readers to stand out and embrace adventure even amid difficult times. A Brave Face: Two Cultures, Two Families, and the Iraqi Girl Who Bound Them Together by Barbara Marlowe and Teeba Furat Marlowe (W, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-7852-2136-4). Barbara Marlowe, who moved to the mountains of Iraq to provide medical care for an Iraqi girl badly burned during a roadside attack, tells their story, along with the now-grown girl, Teeba Furat Marlowe Falling Is Flying: The Dharma of Facing Adversity by Ajahn Brahm and Guo Jun (Wisdom, $15.95 paper, ISBN 978-1-61429-425-2). Brahm, a teacher in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, and Guo Jun, a teacher in the Chinese Zen tradition, share personal stories and anecdotes from their own experiences of dealing with lifes pitfalls. Unashamed: A Coming-Out Guide for LGBTQ Christians by Amber Cantorna (WJK, $16 paper, ISBN 978-0-664-26505-2). LGBTQ advocate Cantorna seeks to equip queer Christians for the coming-out processespecially those wounded by their faith. Whence and Whither: On Lives and Living by Thomas Lynch (WJK, $18 paper, ISBN 978-0-664-26491-8). In this essay collection, funeral director and poet Lynch recounts his lifes work split between Ireland and Michigan and ponders his mortality. The Art of Bible Translation by Robert Alter (Princeton Univ., $24.95, ISBN 978-0-691-18149-3). Biblical translator and literary critic Alter reflects on the art of capturing the literary power of the Bible in English in this personal account of what he learned about Bible translation over the two decades he spent completing his own English version of the Hebrew Bible. March 26 Zen Beyond Mindfulness: Using Buddhist and Modern Psychology for Transformational Practice by Jules Shuzen Harris (Shambhala, $17.95 paper, ISBN 978-1-61180-662-5). Harris argues that contemporary American Buddhists face two primary challenges: spiritual bypassing or avoidance, and settling for secularized forms of Buddhism and mindfulness. Reimagining Your Love Story: Biblical and Psychological Practices for Healthy Relationships by Andrea Gurney (Kregel, $15.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-8254-4562-0). Using practices from psychology, biblical truths, and lessons from relationship science, psychiatrist Gurney seeks to help readers discover authentic, long-lasting connections. Fiction March 1 The White City by Grace Hitchcock (Barbour, $12.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-68322-868-4) is based on a crime at the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1893 and follows Winifred who goes undercover to find the murderer. Convergence by Ginny L. Yttrup (Shiloh Run, $14.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-68322-788-5). Psychology professor Denilyn Rossi contends that the past is either a shadow that haunts us or a force that propels us. She doesnt tell her students that her own past is a shadow she cant seem to shake. March 5 Little Faith by Nickolas Butler (Ecco, $26.99; ISBN 978-0-06-246971-7) follows a Wisconsin family as their beliefs are both formed and shaken after encountering an influential radical church. Unexpected Champion by Mary Connealy (Bethany, $14.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-7642-1931-3). City dweller John McCall never expected to be out in the High Sierras of 1868, but now hes on a quest for a lost boy with wildcat Penny Scott as his guide. March 19 A Hero for Miss Hatherleigh by Carolyn Miller (Kregel, $15.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-8254-4589-7) follows a noble ladys attempt at a new life with a fossil-hunting man of faith. Bluefield, WV (24701) Today A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Our mission is to have a law firm "that works for its clients at the speed of business." The Satya Law Group is the association of three lawyers with diverse but strong financial regulatory backgrounds along with a fintech specialization, offering a professional, knowledgeable, specialized legal practice within the digital asset, blockchain and crypto space. R. Tamara de Silva, the founding attorney, a pioneer in legal fintech, (having a co-founded LexAISolutions which works on architecting distributed ledger and AI solutions and applications for businesses and law firms with a team of Microsoft blockchain developers), hand-picked this group with a mission of having a law firm that works for its clients at the speed of business. Ms. de Silva brings real world experience working on enterprise solutions implementing distributed ledger technology and has been a student of blockchain technology since 2014 having attended and completed Oxford University's Said School of Business' Blockchain Programme, MIT's Sloan School of Management, Blockchain Technologies: Business Innovation and Application, and Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy at MIT Sloan School of Management and MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. She also has over 19 years experience as a federal court litigator with a practice that includes many significant cases including class actions. She is admitted before the federal Trial Bar, the Supreme Court of the United States, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Tamara joins two industry veterans, both lawyers in the financial services arena, bringing experience in both the securities and futures industries as compliance and legal professionals. Cheryl Fitzpatrick comes with over 20 years experience as an attorney specializing in futures and derivatives, starting her own legal and compliance firm in 2009, Futures Compliance Inc., where she assists FCMs, IBs, CTAs, floor brokers/traders as well as international trading firms with their legal and compliance responsibilities, including the formation of trading firms with U.S. regulatory bodies. Gregory R. Rich, an experienced securities lawyer, brings over 25 years legal and compliance experience to the group. Gregs experience also includes work as an arbitrage options trader, Director of Market Regulation at the CBOE, Compliance Officer for several trading groups and Broker-Dealers, legal representative in SEC and Exchange Enforcement Actions, and compliance counsel for algorithmic trading firms. While it can be challenging to many traditional and larger law firms to keep pace with the changes in the law with respect to new technology which is rapidly growing including blockchain, distributed ledger technology, and asset digitization, it is the philosophy of The Satya Law Group that the client should not have to pay for the law firms time in learning these subjects. The Satya Law Group will provide legal and consulting services specializing in the fintech space while utilizing its partnership in the development and use of AI to deliver cutting edge, current and informed legal expertise for its clients. Among its services, the Satya Law Group offers: Litigation involving ICOs and cryptocurrencies; structuring STOs and ICOs in compliance with the existing regulatory regimes; smart contract implementation, drafting and coding; asset digitization and fractional ownership; regulatory and compliance assistance; and automated solutions for SEC and FINRA compliance and monitoring. Please see http://www.satyalawgroup.com or call (855) 336-0470 for further information. ValvTechnologies' International Technical Conference ValvTechnologies, Inc., the global leader in the design and manufacturing of zero-leakage high-performance isolation valve solutions, has announced its line-up of featured speakers for its 2019 International Technical Conference and Users Group (ITC Middle East). The much-anticipated event will be held March 12-13, 2019 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, at the Radisson Blu Hotel and Resort Corniche. Presenters will share their unique experiences and address regional markets challenges in the severe service valve industry. Featured guest speakers, in addition to ValvTechnologies subject-matter experts, will inspire and educate attendees. The speakers for 2019 ValvTechnologies ITC Middle East include: Bader M. Al-Jarallah, valve specialist in the SED/piping and valves group for Saudi Aramco. Al-Jarallahs session is titled, Experience of High-Performance Floating Ball Valves in Gas Pipeline Application. Ahmad Rifqi Anda, maintenance area section head and reliability engineer for P.T. Pertamina, will present, Continuous Catalytic Reforming. Jeff Gendler, vice president of technology licensing at HTI, LLC. Gendler will present, Benefits of Adding HCAT Technology. He will overview the application, identify economic benefits and feature a HTI pilot plant demonstration. Gobind Khiani a M.Eng., P.Eng. and technical consultant for Operations Engineering at Enbridge Pipelines Inc., will share valuable insight into current industry practices, global emissions and what we can expect to learn in the oil and gas sector. Abdul Rauf, business development for Gulf Commercial Group, will share a case study entitled, ValvTechnologies Zero-leakage Solutions in the Middle East. ITC Middle East is a rare opportunity to bring together the best and most experienced valve industry professionals and application experts in an intimate setting to collaborate, share solutions and discover new technologies from other users, engineers and industry professionals. Designed to address regional markets challenges, ITC Middle East will provide useful information for practical application. From group and breakout sessions as well as interactive forums, attendees will leave the conference highly motivated and better equipped with the knowledge to improve business operations. For additional information or to register, visit: http://www.cvent.com/d/7bqyyh For questions, email: marketing@valv.com About ValvTechnologies Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, ValvTechnologies is the leading manufacturer of zero-leakage, high-performance isolation valve solutions providing an unsurpassed level of severe service isolation services and reliability to customers in the fossil power, nuclear generation, upstream oil and gas, downstream and chemical processing, mining and minerals, pulp and paper and other specialized industries. Employing more than 500 people worldwide, ValvTechnologies has offices in Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Malaysia, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States. In addition, ValvTechnologies partners with stocking distributors, independent representatives and authorized repair centers to service customers around the world. To find out more about the products and services offered or to locate a representative, visit our website at http://www.valv.com. Connect with ValvTechnologies on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. # United Real Estate, a fast-growing real estate franchise, announces the addition of a new Broker-Owner team joining its Richmond office. Following the successful launch of their second office in 2018, United Real Estate | Richmond continues to be one of the fastest growing office in Central Virginia. In accordance with this growth, a new Broker-Owner team set to join United | Richmond will be led by Charles Futrell, previous Principal Broker with The Universal Real Estate Group. The team specializes in residential resales and represents several investors. The newest addition will be the first of several small to mid-size brokerages expected to move to United Real Estate, under their new Broker-Owners Program. Uniteds business model attracts teams and brokerages who are searching for a way to sustain their well-established brands but are seeking affordable tools and training. The Broker-Owners Program provides state-of-the-art technology to keep up with the ever-changing real estate market. According to the real estate service BrokerMetrics, United | Richmond has become central Virginias second largest real estate office in less than four years. Its innovative model paves the way to success for both agents and brokers in the local real estate market. The United model disrupts the traditional model of the real estate industry, says Managing Broker, Charles Futrell. Its innovative approach, the incredible back office and technology platform as well as the family environment the Finn brothers have created has made this merger an easy decision for our team. "With the way real estate is moving, most brokerages have 10 or less agents. United is uniquely positioned to help agents grow their business by keeping up with the changes in marketing and providing the tools, technology and training to help our agents succeed" said John S. Finn, senior managing broker of United Real Estate | Richmond. We are excited Charles and his team are now with United and we look forward to our future success together. A Closer Look at United Real Estate United Real Estate a division of the United Real Estate Group was founded with the purpose of offering solutions to the challenges facing agents in the residential real estate brokerage industry. Providing the latest training, marketing and technology tools to both agents and brokers under a 100-percent commission strategy, United Real Estate makes it more profitable for an agent to sell real estate and for real estate brokers to leverage a complete system to better grow a successful, thriving real estate brokerage. Named as a "frontrunner" in the real estate industry in 2013, "part of the next generation of real estate brokers" in 2014 by the Swanepoel TRENDS Report, as well as being listed in the "Power 200 Most Influential" from 2015-2018 by Swanepoel Power 200. United Real Estate has more than 85 offices and over 3,800 agents. Through a worldwide franchise solution, United continues to rapidly expand and was named to the Inc. 5000 fastest growing private companies in 2015-2017 and 2018 Entrepreneur Franchise 500 - Ranked in Top 100 New Franchises, Top Franchises & Top Brands. Driven by an unwavering commitment to giving back, a pillar of United's core values and guiding principles, United Real Estate is proud to support and partner with Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, as United's charity of choice. Martin E. Bailey, TUKAweb President My impression of Tukatech for the past two decades has always been that its a great company, not only from its outstanding solutions and products, but more for the relentless team behind the product in providing guidance and service to its customers. TUKAgroup announces the promotion of Martin (Marty) Bailey as President of their TUKAweb division. Bailey will be responsible for leading the fastest-growing division for consulting, implementation, manufacturing, and other services. Bailey is a 1984 graduate of Campbellsville College in Campbellsville, KY, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting. Marty Bailey has a diverse background and a solid record of achievements. Bailey began his apparel and textile career at Fruit of the Loom, in 1984. Within seven years the company grew from $500 million to $2.4 billion in sales. Bailey became a key player in supporting the companys domestic growth and eventual transition into global manufacturing. In his final role as Director of Manufacturing Services, he was responsible, for the leadership of Global Product Development, Quality Assurance, Process Engineering and Cap Ex management for the company. This included 26 facilities in seven countries and over 16,000 employees. Bailey spent nearly fifteen years with Fruit of the Loom, creating the foundation for his ability to affect change and growth for other companies in the future. In 1998 as the Senior Vice President, Manufacturing for Alstyle Apparel / A&G, Inc, Bailey was responsible for eleven sewing facilities in the US and Mexico. The company produced 450,000 units per day of active wear and fashion wear. Bailey was responsible for production planning, plant layouts, pull demand team layouts, and new product implementation. He oversaw the start-up of three sewing facilities in Tijuana, Mexico. Bailey joined American Apparel, Inc. as the Chief Operating Officer in 2002 when it had $20 million in revenue and he held senior management roles as it grew to over $600 million in revenue and expanded to becoming a global retailer in addition to its legacy apparel manufacturing business. Over time, Bailey was designated as President Manufacturing, but held various additional responsibilities as the company developed. On his new role as President of TUKAweb, Bailey says he has had, more than my share of good fortune of working with and learning from many of the apparel, textile and retail industries finest, and working with Ram Sareen and Tukatech is one more opportunity to do just that. My impression of Tukatech for the past two decades has always been that its a great company, not only from its outstanding solutions and products, but more for the relentless team behind the product in providing guidance and service to its customers. This is what sets Tukatech apart. Im proud to have the opportunity to help lead the TUKAweb team and carry on that tradition. Chairman & CEO of TUKAgroup, Ram Sareen is excited to welcome Marty Bailey to our team. There is so much to learn from someone with such a rich history in the garment industry, and Im confident he will be an invaluable resource to our team and our users. About TUKAgroup: The Los Angeles-based corporation consists of three global divisions to serve fashion businesses of all sizes. Tukatech, a fashion technology company, develops software and machinery for apparel product development and garment manufacturing. TUKAweb, a web-based service portal, is a hub of tools and services ideal for fashion students and entrepreneurs. TUKAcenters, global brick-and-mortar design cafes, offer workstations for apparel start-ups and freelancers to utilize Tukatech fashion technology for their businesses. Breast360.org educational resource It is anticipated that there will be an increased need for education about dense breasts in 2019 due to these legislative developments, said Beth Boyd, RN, American Society of Breast Surgeons Foundation Chairman A year-end analysis of site traffic and search data for Breast360.org revealed some interesting trends that may signal what patients and caregivers may need and will look for in 2019. Breast cancer survivors, their caregivers, and others who want reliable, helpful information about breast health care and breast cancer can find it at Breast360.org. Breast360.org is an award-winning patient education website written by breast care experts and hosted by the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) Foundation. The most read article at Breast360.org in 2018 was on breast density. This may be due, in part, to the recent advances in breast density legislation in various states throughout the U.S., which includes screening, notification, and education requirements. Also, on February 15, 2019, a federal law was signed which requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop breast density reporting language for both patient letters and provider reports. It is anticipated that there will be an increased need for education about dense breasts in 2019 due to these legislative developments, said Beth Boyd, RN, American Society of Breast Surgeons Foundation Chairman. Responding to this need, the Foundation posted a series of brief, informative videos from their recent patient event in Boston that cover dense breast challenges, screening options, what you need to do post-diagnosis, and survivorship. A similar analysis of trends was conducted last year. The most read article at Breast360.org in 2017 was on fibroadenomas, common benign tumors of the breast that affect as many as 10 percent of women. Our 2017 article remained high on our top article list for 2018. Visitors also continue to most often seek information from us about breast biopsies, breast surgery, breast imaging, anesthesia options for breast surgery, tomosynthesis (3D mammography), ultrasound technology, ductal carcinoma in-situ, Idiopathic Granulomatous Mastitis (IGM), and other abnormalities seen in breast imaging. Follow us on twitter and facebook for more insights and to be notified when new articles are posted on Breast360.org. About the ASBrS Foundation: The ASBrS Foundation is a 501(c)3 charitable organization founded in 2005 to improve the standard of care for breast disease. The Foundation supports the mission of The American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS), the primary leadership organization for general surgeons who treat patients with breast disease. ASBrS is committed to continually improving the practice of breast surgery by serving as an advocate for surgeons who seek excellence in the care of breast patients. This mission is accomplished by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and by promoting education, research, and the development of advanced surgical techniques. Learn more about the Foundations programs at http://www.breastsurgeonsfoundation.org/our-programs. About the Breast360.org Website: Breast360.orgs goal is to engage, educate and empower their readers so that they will be better able to make informed decisions for their breast health care. The content of the website has been written by members of The American Society of Breast Surgeons, with a bit of help from collaborating experts in acupuncture, lymphedema and psychology, as well as patient advocates. The contained information is not meant to replace a medical providers treatment or advice. Patients should consult their healthcare providers for specific medical treatment decisions. Asiaciti Trust Logo Asiaciti Trust announced today that Richard Broad has been appointed as Managing Director for its New Zealand office. Broad who holds a law degree from the prestigious Victoria University of Wellington, assumed his new role on 20 February 2019. Jerome Briggs, Chief Executive Officer, Asiaciti Trust Group said, We are very pleased to welcome Richard to our senior management team. I am confident that Richard will leverage his wealth of legal experience in trust and estate structures to build on the success of our New Zealand office and raise the bar for client services. I am very excited to join Asiaciti Trust, a highly regarded leader in the Trust and Corporate Services industry. Given the growth in size and complexity of families with substantial wealth, there is now a pressing need for practitioners to have deep expertise and to also keep abreast of market developments and regulatory changes, added Richard Broad. I look forward to working with colleagues in the different regions, and especially those in New Zealand, to provide our clients with exceptional service and the most effective solutions. Prior to joining Asiaciti Trust, Broad was the Head of Legal, Personal Client Services at Perpetual Guardian New Zealand. Additionally, he has worked at law firms in London and Wellington; specialising in trusts, estates, property, commercial law, companies and finance. A STEP member since 2012, Broad sits on its Disciplinary Panel and the Auckland District Law Society Trusts Committee. He is also the Convenor of the N.Z. Law Society Auckland Standards Committee no.4. For media enquiries, please contact: Eileen Wong Officer, Group Marketing Communications Asiaciti Trust Group Telephone: (65) 6533 2611 Email: media@asiacititrust.com EDITORS NOTES: Asiaciti Trust is a family owned, wholly independent trust and corporate services provider with operations in Singapore, Hong Kong, the Cook Islands, Dubai, Nevis, New Zealand, Panama and Samoa. For more than 40 years the Group has delivered specialist fiduciary and administrative services to individuals, intermediaries and corporations, and is one of the most recognised and professionally respected names in the industry. The Green River Stone Crocodile. Image courtesy of Wilensky Gallery and Green River Stone Company Staring into the face of a 50 million-year-old crocodile, or a giant turtle larger than most humans, is surreal. In our intimate gallery setting, these ancient fossils suddenly become real. Past News Releases RSS Jeffrey Bilgores Responsibly... George Robert Minkoff Releases New... "Magnificent Emeralds: Furas... Fifty million years ago, southwestern Wyomings tropical freshwater lake was filled with lifeturtles, fish, crocodiles, and plants. Today the petrified lake has transformed into a stunning quarry of fossils, embedding the past into layers of stone. Beautifully preserved, the fossils are meticulously removed by the Green River Stone Company, one of the worlds leading experts in fossil preparation and preservation. A stunning example of natural art, selects of the companys finest murals will be on display in Ancient Treasures: Fossils from The Eocene, from May 9th-August 3rd 2019, at the Wilensky Gallery. Perfect for collectors, interior designers, museums, and art lovers alike, the exhibition will highlight important pieces from the Eocenes natural creations in Wyoming. Two rare and historic turtle fossils will be shownthe first from the hard-shell Baenidae family of cryptodiran turtles, which became extinct during the Eocene, and first appeared during the Jurassic. This fossil is one of only a handful of complete adult fossils found, and is of the rarer of the two Baenidae species, Arenosa. In addition, the giant fossil soft-shell turtle Axestemys byssinus will be on display, as one of the top two turtles ever found. At 95% complete, the exquisite composition and handsome shell make this an aesthetic marvel. With less than twenty-five complete Axestemys Byssinus ever found, this is amongst the most sought-after fossils, admired for their size. Stuart Wilensky, President of Wilensky Fine Minerals, says, We are very excited to be the exclusive NYC gallery to display the very finest examples of the famous Green River Wyoming fossils. The pieces that will be on display are our only view into life from Earth's past. Surrounded by these ancient extinct creatures is the closest we will ever get as humans to time travel. Staring into the face of a 50 million-year-old crocodile, or a giant turtle larger than most humans, is surreal. In our intimate gallery setting, these ancient fossils suddenly become real. They are no longer untouchable museum displays behind glass. Reaching back into the oldest life which inhabited our planet. Anatomically modern humans came into being about 300,000 years ago, these creatures had already been fossils for fifty million years. It is impossible for us to truly conceptualize these vast periods of time. Every fossil on display will be available for purchase. This will be a unique opportunity to assemble one of the worlds finest collections of fossils in North America. Another incredible piece on display will be the Green River Crocodile. The crocodile Borealosuchus wilsoni measures 13-5 feet long, and is wall mounted to support its 1,000-lb. weight. The crocodile is beautifully articulated, as if fossilized in midstride. This is quite rare for a large-bodied creature. They are more typically found with bones in a jumble, looking like a broken-up puzzle. The detail seen in this rare crocodile fossil is exceptional, including multiple sets of large and small teeth, perfectly arranged dorsal scutes, a protruding spine, and partially exposed ribs. The exhibit introduces viewers to fossil fine art, celebrating the wonder and aesthetic of exceptional specimens, opening collectors to incorporating natural art in the home or office. Douglas Miller, a Partner at Green River Stone Company, says, We are excited about having this exhibit of fossils in New York City, the heart of the contemporary art world. My companys vision has always been to walk the line between science and art by providing visually beautiful works of natural art, while maintaining the traditions of paleontology. Beyond the physical beauty of the work, one is struck by the age and passage of time. Time not in decades or centuries, as we are accustomed, but in tens of millions of yearsthe time required to transform living creatures into solid stone. Ancient Treasures: Fossils from The Eocene runs from May 9th August 3rd 2019, Monday through Saturday, from 11:00 AM-6:00 PM at the Wilensky Gallery at 173 10th Avenue, New York, NY, 10011. For questions regarding minerals or sales, contact the gallery directly at info@wilenskyminerals.com, call 646-822-0837, or visit http://www.wilenskyminerals.com. For press inquiries, or questions regarding this release, contact Olga Gonzalez at Pietra PR at info@pietrapr.com, or 212-913-9761. About Wilensky Fine Minerals Wilensky Fine Minerals has entered a new chapter with the opening of a gallery in the Chelsea art district of NYC, presenting fine minerals among the worlds great art galleries, displaying minerals as works of art. The gallery opens up the amazing world of minerals to everyone. Minerals are displayed alongside neighbors exhibiting Warhol, Basquiat, Pollock and Picasso. Achieving the impact of art through natural mineral specimens is the goal. Not a competition, but a convergence. About Green River Stone Company Internationally known for museum quality fossils and expert old-world craftsmanship, Green River Stone Company produces one-of-a-kind wall murals, tables, countertops, and tiles for customers. It is an American company dedicated to the creation of timeless works of art and design using fossil-rich limestone. The stone is harvested from Green Rivers private quarry in Southwestern, Wyoming, then transported to fossil preparation labs in Logan, Utah, where each product is built by hand. Fossils are collected and prepared in adherence to strict guidelines established by the American Association of Paleontological Suppliers Code of Ethics, State and Federal Laws. Hanley Wood, the premier information, media, event, and strategic marketing services company serving the residential, design and commercial construction industries is pleased to announce that The NHP Foundation has received a 2018 Brand Builder Award in the B2B Custom Event category. The award was presented February 19, 2018 in Las Vegas during the Market Leaders Dinner. The Brand Builder Awards recognize the most innovative and effective marketing campaigns throughout the residential and commercial design and construction industries. Companies selected for recognition have executed campaigns that generate sales, motivate buying behavior and inspire customer loyalty. Companies submitted entries in six categories, ranging from advertising campaigns to website design to channel marketing programs. We are thrilled to honor the NHP Foundation as a Platinum winner in the B2B Custom Event of our Brand Builder Awards, said Jeff Meyers, CEO of Hanley Wood. Their creative marketing approach combined with the effectiveness of their work, distinguished them as a leader in their category and offered great insight into the innovation within their company. I congratulate NHPF for their success. Entries for the 2018 Brand Builder Awards were reviewed by a jury of experts in all areas of marketing. The jury reviewed entries and rated them based on a pre-determined set of criteria, which were established prior to the call for entries. The criteria may be reviewed online at http://www.brandbuilderawards.com. The judges for the 2018 Brand Builder Awards were: Bill Puckett, Founder, Chief Creative Office, Puckett Marketing John DuBois, Free-lance writer and Creative Director Michael Krieger, Technology Market & Content Expert; and Christopher Yeich, Director of Content Marketing and Social Media at Dun & Bradstreet About the Brand Builder Awards The Brand Builder Awards recognize the most innovative and effective marketing campaigns throughout the residential and commercial design and construction industries. Companies selected for recognition have executed campaigns that generate sales, motivate buying behavior and inspire customer loyalty. Companies submitted entries in six categories, ranging from advertising campaigns to website design to channel marketing programs. About Hanley Wood Hanley Wood is the premier company serving the information, media, and marketing needs of the residential, commercial design and construction industry. Utilizing the largest analytics and editorially driven Construction Industry Database - powered by Metrostudy - the company provides business intelligence and data-driven services. The company produces award-winning media, high-profile executive events, and strategic marketing solutions. To learn more, visit hanleywood.com. About The NHP Foundation Headquartered in New York City with offices in Washington, DC, and Chicago, IL, The NHP Foundation (NHPF) is celebrating its 30th year as a publicly supported 501(c)(3) not-for- profit real estate corporation. NHPF is dedicated to preserving and creating sustainable, service-enriched multifamily housing that is both affordable to low and moderate income families and seniors, and beneficial to their communities. NHPF also provides a robust resident services program to nearly 18,000 community residents. Through partnerships with major financial institutions, the public sector, faith-based initiatives, and other not-for-profit organizations, NHPF has 49 properties in 15 states and the District of Columbia. telehealth...is allowing us to bring back into our health system many of our best and most experienced physicians in a meaningful...and scalable way The MAVEN Project, a nonprofit health care organization, and VSee, a San Jose-based telehealth company, are partnering to create a scalable model of live support and physician mentorship to primary care providers (PCPs) in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), free clinics and underserved communities across the United States. By leveraging The MAVEN Projects national network of volunteer physicians and VSees secure telehealth technology, the partnership seeks to provide better health outcomes to patients, reduce provider burnout and bring recently retired or tech-naive physicians back into the health system. CEO of The MAVEN Project, Lisa Bard Levine, MD, MBA, says, Underserved inner city and rural Americans face critical access to needed health care services. We believe the most efficient and effective way we can help solve these issues is through digital health. The MAVEN Projects volunteer physicians offer what no AI system or medical database can currently offer - human empathy and the art of medicine coupled with years of clinical practice experience. Thats why were excited to partner with VSee telehealth which has focused on creating physician-friendly technology. VSees easy to use telehealth platform is allowing us to bring back into our health system many of our best and most experienced physicians in a meaningful, rewarding and scalable way. One in 15 Americans are served by local community health safety net clinics. These clinics provide ongoing, basic health care for millions of uninsured and underinsured patients. However, complex medical care and specialty expertise in these community safety net clinics are limited due to economic, social, and geographic barriers. Individuals with chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes, asthma) often experience long delays seeing specialists until their conditions deteriorate, leading to emergency room visits and avoidable hospitalizations. The MAVEN Project offers mentorship, practical education, and specialist consult services to meet the resource gaps of federally-qualified health centers (FQHCs), safety net health centers, and free clinics through its volunteer network. Its physicians can easily connect with local primary care providers (PCPs), irrespective of geographic location, whenever and wherever is convenient via telehealth technology. At the click of a mouse or touch of a screen, urban and rural FQHCs and free clinics will have access to world-class medical care of all specialties. These offerings result in increased knowledge, improved service delivery, and long term local capacity building. VSee is enabling The MAVEN Project to scale and expand its mentorship and advisory services through a secure, easy to use telehealth system. VSee offers the flexibility to quickly modify a virtual clinic to fit each physical clinic's exact needs for a streamlined workflow. VSee is also rich in telehealth features such as telemedicine consent and customizable intake forms, medical device streaming (digital otoscope, EKG, ultrasound, etc.), lossless image sharing (of x-rays, DICOM MRIs, etc.), uncompressed digital stethoscope streaming, wellness device integrations (FitBit, wireless scales, blood pressure cuff), and secure group chat. VSee CEO, Dr. Milton Chen says, We feel very privileged to be partnering with The MAVEN Project to improve care to the underserved. We believe that telehealth is key to solving physician shortage problems and improving health care delivery. What weve learned in our 10 years is that if telehealth isnt easy for the physician to use, then it wont get used. Thats why we are so focused understanding physician needs and creating a truly provider-friendly experience. About The MAVEN Project The MAVEN Projects volunteer physiciansmany retired or semi-retiredare a previously untapped workforce and an immediate solution for under-resourced clinics. We carefully credential the volunteers and provide them with malpractice coverage and technical support. We foster ongoing relationships between clinic providers and our volunteers that optimize patient care and engender mutual trust. Our services are available to clinic primary care providers where they need it, when they need it. Providers in the field can obtain immediate answers to pressing questions; discuss groups of cases with our experts; review individual complex cases; or receive clinically-pertinent education. Our services are available now, and available later depending on the needs of the clinic provider. We train our clinic partners and physician volunteers on the VSee telehealth platform and make it easy to use. Find us at mavenproject.org About VSee VSee is the telehealth company that makes doctors love doing medicine again. The chosen video visit provider of NASA Space Station, Walgreens, MDLIVE, DaVita, Trinity, Ascension and 1200+, VSee is also the parent company of a 5000 member medical group, This American Doc--a physician-owned airbnb-like marketplace for telehealth staffing. VSee is known for its simple design, robust video, highly versatile solutions, and personalized service. vsee.com When users enjoy visiting a website and interacting with the brand, they are more likely to actually convert and return to the site again and again, thereby increasing revenue. - DesignRush Founder and Executive Director Gabriel Shaoolian Research shows that a brands professional website is a key component of its overall success. For instance, up to 75 percent of users judge a companys credibility based on its website. However, 88 percent of consumers online are less likely to visit a website again after a poor experience. In addition, 94 percent of negative feedback about professional websites is design related. These studies demonstrate that website design is paramount to generating site traffic, improving brand awareness, and encouraging repeat conversions. And one way that brands can ensure their website remains modern, aesthetically beautiful and successful is by incorporating some of the newest web design trends. DesignRush.com, a B2B marketplace connecting brands with agencies, determined the top web design trends of 2019. These elements will help brands improve their user interface, user experience, conversions and more. The top 3 website design trends of 2019 include: 1. Artificial Intelligence In 2019, artificial intelligence will continue to permeate traditional website design to improve user experience and personalize brand interactions. Web designs can incorporate artificial intelligence in several ways, such as: Machine learning. Personalization. Product suggestions. And more! Studies show that three-quarters of users are more likely to buy from websites that personalize their experience. Therefore, incorporating AI into web designs will not only modernize professional sites but make them more profitable as well. 2. Unique Layouts Unpredictable layouts can help foster a recognizable brand identity which 77 percent of experts believe is critical to creating a successful brand. Unique website layouts essentially break the traditional grid-like format with elements like: Asymmetrical layouts. Free-form design. Brutalism aesthetics. And more! To effectively pull off a unique website layout, brands should: Conduct extensive consumer research. Learn if their consumers will appreciate a unique layout, or if it will burden them. Balance the creative website layout with traditional elements such as intuitive navigation and simple checkout. 3. Custom Illustrations Customers judge a website within 17 milliseconds or less, and custom illustrations and motion graphics are an effective way to grab their attention and implore them to spend time on a site. One-of-a-kind animations and illustrations can be used to accomplish a variety of tasks, including: Building a recognizable brand Improving calls to action Creating unique videos Telling the brand story Informing customers about something And more! When brands invest in a modern website, they also invest in better user experience, says DesignRush Founder and Executive Director Gabriel Shaoolian. And when users enjoy visiting a website and interacting with the brand, they are more likely to actually convert and return to the site again and again, thereby increasing revenue. DesignRushs Agency Listing section features the best local and global website design companies. Some of the top web design agencies from around the world include: 1. Baldwin Baldwin designs, develops and markets online businesses. Baldwin is a full-service eCommerce agency with offices in Ghent, Belgium and Cluj-Napoca, Romania. They collaborate with clients directly to develop, design and promote web shops from A to Z! Visit Baldwin online at: https://www.baldwin.agency/ 2. Baunfire Baunfire is a digital design agency based in the heart of Silicon Valley. The agency continues to partner with leading global brands and forward-thinking startups to design and develop elevated platforms on the web. With over 20 years of experience in the digital space, Baunfire has partnered with a diverse group of high-profile clients, including Nike, Netgear, Cisco, Yahoo, and more. The agency is an eclectic mix of creatives, strategists, producers, and technologists, all with a shared obsessionto make great things that people love. As Baunfire continues to grow and take its capabilities to the next level, it aims to shape, challenge, and evolve the design culture in Silicon Valley and beyond. Visit Baunfire online at: https://www.baunfire.com/ 3. Capsicum Mediaworks LLP Capsicum Mediaworks helps its clients build their brand digitally. They have over a decade of experience working with startups, small and mid-sized businesses in India and Internationally. Backed by a strong team of skilled designers and developers and experienced SEO and content analysts, they deliver the best-in-class web-related services. The services they offer include website design, web development, mobile app development, eCommerce website design and development, SEO services, WordPress web design and development, PHP web development, social media marketing, logo design, branding, and explainer videos. Visit Capsicum Mediaworks online at: https://capsicummediaworks.com 4. Cat60 Designs, LLC Cat60 Designs is a digital marketing agency in South Florida. They specialize in SEO, SEM, PPC, social media marketing, website development, and website repairs. Cat60 Designs aims to deliver customers to their customers and believe that together with clients, they can build a strategy to meet each brands goals and budget. They build every website with SEO in mind and optimize every site to perform well on search engines. In addition, all of their work is backed by a 30-day money back guarantee. If clients are not satisfied with the services Cat60 Designs performs, they will refund their money or fix to their satisfaction. Visit Cat60 Designs online at: https://www.cat60.com/ 5. eDesign Interactive eDesign Interactive is a full-service web agency with offices in Europe and the United States. They offer stunning websites, landing pages, and interactive campaigns. Their team uses the power of digital technology to engage its clients audience, encourage sharing, and convert online traffic into loyal customers. Visit eDesign Interactive online at: https://edesigninteractive.com/ 6. ESKOR Werbeagentur ESKOR Werbeagentur is an advertising agency for classical and digital communication. Since 2010, they have accompanied companies effectively and sustainably in all areas of their communication. They are curious and authentic, acting creatively and with entrepreneurial intelligence. Their team of strategists, developers, designers, and creatives have provided impressive results in more than 70 projects. Their clients include small and medium-sized businesses, corporations and startups. Visit ESKOR Werbeagentur online at: https://www.eskor.de 7. Fortunesoft IT Innovations, Inc. Fortunesoft IT Innovations, Inc. is a web design and development services firm based in the USA, Singapore, and India. The company takes a noticeably different approach to its services, offering design and development to its clientele. They specialize in top-tier design and development using technologies such as iOS, Android, WordPress, Magento, Angular.js, Node.js, GDS Integration and more. They aim to find the fastest and most direct way that will help its clients to achieve success. They feature a certified web development team that is experienced and knowledgeable about all aspects of design and beyond. The company promises fast results, minimal risk, comfortable interactions and partnerships, and dedication to each clients project so that the client can focus on other core aspects of the business. Visit Fortunesoft IT Innovations online at: https://www.fortunesoftit.com/ 8. HTML Pro Headquartered in heart of Manhattan, with two international offices, HTML Pro is among the NYC's top digital marketing and web design agencies helping startups, small businesses, eCommerce brands and more with their digital transformation, digital media marketing, website design, mobile app development, and more. Visit HTML Pro online at: https://www.htmlpro.net/ 9. IWW Digital Agency IWW Digital Agency has two goals when they conduct business: To introduce potential clients to the depth and breadth of their experience and expertise, and then to partner with them in establishing their position as a viable contender in the internet marketplace. Their team maximizes each clients return on investment by creating and implementing innovative interactive campaigns. Visit IWW Digital Agency online at: https://iww.ag 10. JTB Studios JTB Studios specializes in user-intuitive web design that works towards their clients specific conversion goals. Their team starts with their signature creative briefing session to truly understand each brand and its objectives. After all, a website can say more about a business than any other piece of marketing. Thats why they believe in a user-centric design ethos that focuses on the user journey. Visit JTB Studios online at: https://www.jtbstudios.com.au/ 11. Lounge Lizard Established in 1998, Lounge Lizard Worldwide, Inc. is an award-winning digital agency located in NYC with offices in Long Island and Los Angeles. The agency was founded by Ken Braun, a well-known Madison Avenue MadMan responsible for the creation of well-known advertising and marketing campaigns. Lounge Lizard shines when it comes to conceptualizing inspired, inventive and engaging creative concepts, brand-friendly websites, powerful direct response strategies, mobile applications and ingenious digital marketing strategies that create hyper-growth for their clients. Lounge Lizard employs a full-service staff made up of marketing strategists, project managers, creative designers, copywriters, online marketing experts, and technical developers who have the expertise necessary to help clients retain and acquire new customers. Visit Lounge Lizard online at: https://www.loungelizard.com/ 12. Marcher Internet Marketing Marcher Internet Marketing is a web design agency with over 6 years experience. They specialize in web design, social media marketing, and local SEO. All of the campaigns they build are custom. Many agencies require their clients to sign up for long-term contracts. But Marcher Internet Marketing doesnt believe in long-term contracts. So, they offer their services on a month-to-month basis. Their mission is to provide small businesses with quality solutions at fair prices. They work collaboratively with each of their clients to ensure their marketing needs are being met. Visit Marcher Internet Marketing online at: https://marcheragency.com 13. Mountaintop Web Design Because many small businesses struggle to be found online, Mountaintop Web Design developed comprehensive solutions that enable brands to be discovered so they can quit worrying and start running their business. They offer digital marketing, branding, professional web design and consulting services to their clients around the world. Visit Mountaintop Web Design online at: https://mountaintopwebdesign.com/ 14. Nolte Nolte strives to empower the worlds most forward-thinking companies to realize their goals through superior technology, service, and support. To do this, they rely on their clients to help them build an exceptional business as they live out their passion. Visit Nolte online at: https://wearenolte.com/ 15. Pedalo Pedalo is a London-based web agency founded in 2000 with experience working across the not-for-profit and commercial sectors. They take a collaborative approach, partnering with clients and focusing on helping them reach their goals. Their services are designed to optimize digital communication strategies, integrate back-office systems, and empower clients' teams to deliver great results to their customers. They offer a full range of services, from website management and support to complete design and development. They specialize in Drupal and WordPress, with a focus on system integration. Visit Pedalo online at: https://www.pedalo.co.uk 16. Pixelcarve Pixelcarve is an award-winning full stack digital agency located in downtown Toronto. They help their clients define, communicate, and realize their visions. Every year, 2 million people experience websites that Pixelcarve designed and built. Their reputation is built on success, and their success is based on creativity. For almost 20 years, they have been producing world-class digital projects for best-in-class, high-end, and premium companies. Their core specialties are website design, video production, branding, design, and SEO inbound marketing. Pixelcarve is comprised of a team of iconoclasts who curate and deploy taste and technology to tell their clients stories. They do this in a way that impacts and influences their audiences to trust, respect, and love them. They believe that beauty is relevant, and that interactive experiences that are immersive and unique help make a better web. Visit Pixelcarve online at: https://pixelcarve.com 17. PixelRocket PixelRocket is a creative solutions firm that specializes in technology and design. When brands work with PixelRocket, they work with a partner, not just another digital agency. PixelRocket is transparent and upfront in their process, and only builds solutions that bring value. Since the beginning, PixelRocket has been a completely bootstrapped digital agency, meaning that they work on awesome projects that they want to work on with people they want to work with. They believe in relationships rather than transactions. PixelRockets entire team comes from an entrepreneurial background, meaning that they understand the operational aspects of running a business. They share their experiences and insights from their past ventures to ensure their clients success. Visit PixelRocket online at: https://www.pixelrocketapps.com 18. Punch Bug Marketing Punch Bug Marketing offers digital marketing strategy, web design and development, paid search marketing, custom email campaigns, search engine optimization, and graphic design. They work hard to develop cost-effective strategies that will truly make their clients businesses stand out from the crowd. Visit Punch Bug Marketing online at:https://www.punchbugmarketing.com 19. Sam Web Studio Sam Web Studio is India's leading digital marketing, web design, and application development company offering quality web solution services for the global entrepreneurs. They specialize in developing professional websites and applications that are easy to navigate, attract viewers and generate business for their clients by effectively conveying their message. Their website design services include solid graphic design skills, high-end programming for website applications, and cutting-edge website optimization techniques. Visit Sam Web Studio online at: https://www.samwebstudio.com 20. Seota Digital Marketing Seota Digital Marketing is focused on executing internet marketing strategies that create measurable results for their clients and an entrepreneurial and creative environment for their team members. They believe in only helping businesses that they like and respect and they take pride in their clients success. Visit Seota Digital Marketing online at: https://seota.com 21. TinyFrog Technologies TinyFrog Technologies is a San Diego-based web agency, specializing in WordPress web design and development, secure hosting and maintenance, and search engine marketing. Founded in 2003, TinyFrog has built over 1,100 websites and has worked with almost every industry. Their goal is to build a website for their clients businesses that reflect the personality of their brands and engage visitors on the highest level. Some features of their web design program include integrated marketing strategy, custom design by UX/UI designers, and more. Visit TinyFrog Technologies online at: https://tinyfrog.com/ 22. Today's Local Media Todays Local Media started with a simple idea: Put customer service first and always deal with local business owners honestly. Since 2012, they have helped hundreds of clients grow their business. Todays Local Media knows that brands have a lot of choices for marketing and website design services, but they need confidence that they are working with the right team. That is why Todays Local Media takes pride in working with their clients from day one. Visit Todays Local Media online at: https://todayslocalmedia.com 23. UNINCORPORATED UNINCORPORATED is an LA-based branding agency focused on web design, ad creatives, and digital marketing. They help brands achieve their goals by enhancing the way they think and communicate. UNINCORPORATED is proud to offer a full range of creative services that support their clients creative, branding, and marketing efforts. They have a proven track record to achieve the highest results for their clients while amplifying their current strategies and extending their in-house capabilities. UN is led by Ian Evenstar and comprised of designers, developers, producers, and marketers that are serious about delivering the best solutions and results to their clients. Visit UNINCORPORATED online at: https://unincorporated.pro/ 24. WebFume Technologies LLC WebFume Technologies LLC is a website design and online marketing company based in California. They believe in creating success stories for law firms around the country. They began in September 2016 with a vision to provide sustainable support to firms who are new to the digital world and are striving to find a strong footing in the competitive market. Having started many different ventures, they understand that there are initial hurdles in any business that can discourage startups and entrepreneur lawyers alike. With that in mind, WebFume Technologies LLC aims to put entrepreneur lawyers at ease, as well as assist the already established firms that are looking forward to having a stronger web presence and increased online sales. To accommodate various types of law, they offer customized digital marketing and website solutions that best suit the requirements of any segment of law. Their company stands synonymous with quality, integrity, and responsibility. Visit WebFume Technologies LLC online at: https://webfume.com 25. Zwebra Web Studio Inc. Zwebra is a creative digital agency founded in 2009 by four enthusiasts. Through the years, they have been growing steadily and now have over 25 specialists working for them in two offices one in Canada and one in Ukraine. Their services include custom web design, digital marketing, mobile app development and more. Visit Zwebra Web Studio online at: https://zwebra.com Brands can view the best web design firms by average hourly rate, case studies, experience, reviews and more on DesignRush. Users can easily filter to compare website design agencies and find the best web design companies that can build a modern website with strong conversion rates. About DesignRush: DesignRush.com is B2B marketplace connecting brands with agencies. DesignRush features the top agencies around the world, including the best Website Design Companies, Digital Agencies, Logo Design, Branding, Digital Marketing, eCommerce Web Design Companies, and more. Up For Grabs: a gripping and powerful story that brings together two different groups, one who wants to save the earth and the other who wants nothing more than to see it destroyed. Up For Grabs is the creation of published author, Suzanne Marsh, a devoted wife and mother, who plays the piano and bagpipes. Suzanne has spent twenty-one years riding as passenger on board tractor trailers and enjoys experiencing each state and the adventures they hold. An excerpt from Marshs book reads, KNED TV, Austin, Texas. Tracy Martin reporting, Texans were enraged today to learn that Gov. Alan Barber was arrested by U.S. Federal Marshals in Washington DC. Gov. Barbers crime? Protecting Texans against illegal aliens who are crossing Texas borders costing taxpayers millions of dollars to house them and feed them. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Suzanne Marshs new book is set in the year 2131, when Texas has seceded from the Union, the world is on the brink of a nuclear disaster, and there are two factions fighting to declare the ultimate outcome for humanity. View a synopsis of Up For Grabs on YouTube. Consumers can purchaseUp For Grabs at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about Up For Grabs, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. The Gifts of the Spirit and the Characteristics of Those Who Have Them: a potent read that discusses the profoundness of Gods gifts and how they are expressed in a believers daily life. The Gifts of the Spirit and the Characteristics of Those Who Have Them is the creation of published author, Steve Rogers II, an executive pastor at Promised Land Pentecostal Church in Nutley, New Jersey. Rogers II shares, As a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, it was my sworn duty to guide, teach, and protect those who served in subordinate positions. In this role, it was critical to provide clear and concise information so that those who trusted my leadership would not be ignorant to the mission or threats. The apostle Paul gives a clear warning to Christian believers pertaining to the gifts of the Spirit: I would not have you be ignorant. His first-century warning is quite relevant in this twenty-first century, where doctrinal literacy is lacking and knowledge of the Holy Ghost obtained through the Word of God and experience has been replaced with choreographed programs. Without clear and concise teaching, the warrior in Christ is left with a butter knife rather than a sword to cut through the traditions, customs, and church politics that leave a believer paralyzed in ignorance. The Gifts of the Spirit and the Characteristics of Those Who Have Them is a book written to be a field infantry manual for the believer that is clear and concise. It provides the believer with definitions of the gifts of the Spirit and examples of how they operated both in the first-century church and this present age. Lastly, this book will provide the believer with the information needed to examine oneself and answer the question What gift do I have? This is done by describing the effect the gift has on a believers character and behavior while operating in and out of the church. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Steve Rogers IIs new book analyzes the specific gifts of the Holy Spirit, as written in the Holy Bible, and how these highly reinforce every believers conviction in the Lord. View a synopsis of The Gifts of the Spirit and the Characteristics of Those Who Have Them on YouTube. Consumers can purchaseThe Gifts of the Spirit and the Characteristics of Those Who Have Them at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about The Gifts of the Spirit and the Characteristics of Those Who Have Them, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Laurels addition to our executive team further underscores our deep commitment to the education marketplace, said Softdocs Executive Vice President, Robert Satcher. Were excited about the experience, industry knowledge and passion that Laurel brings to the team. Softdocs, the education-focused provider of enterprise content management solutions, capitalized on incredible momentum of migrations from other ECM solutions and increased market demand for cloud-based technologies to significantly grow their customer base in 2018. Combined, 54 new educational institutions chose to partner with Softdocs. The majority of these new customers opted to deploy Etrieve Cloud, Softdocs designed-for-education cloud ECM platform. Having received the 2018 Ellucian Customer First Partner of the Year Award for working to ensure institutional success and recognized as Ready to Engage for integration with Ellucian Banner and Ellucian Colleague through Ellucian Ethos, Softdocs seeks to continue their growth in education-focused document management, e-forms and workflow solutions. As we serve educational institutions using all major ERP and SIS solutions, developing robust partnerships with leading solution providers is central to our customers success. These partnerships reinforce that Softdocs continues to evolve as our customers evolve their technology portfolios, adopting new strategies and integration methods, said Softdocs President and Chief Executive Officer, Mike Murphy. To facilitate continued growth within the education marketplace, Softdocs announced the hiring of higher education veteran Laurel Stiller as the companys new vice president of marketing. Stiller brings nearly 30 years of career experience in higher education institutions and technology companies to bear in expanding the footprint of Softdocs across the education marketplace. Stiller has previously held various information technology roles at Dickinson College and the University of Oregon Foundation, as well as sales and marketing roles at Datatel, Ellucian, Hyland Software and SAP Concur. Laurels addition to our executive team further underscores our deep commitment to the education marketplace, said Softdocs Executive Vice President, Robert Satcher. Were excited about the experience, industry knowledge and passion that Laurel brings to the team. After years of working with institutions and the breadth of their ERP, I deliberately chose the path of ECM, said Stiller. ECM can reach every corner of a campus, improve the most complex processes and can bring the agility every educational institution needs to thrive against the rising pressures we, in higher education, are facing. Im proud to join Softdocs to serve education and showcase client success. About Softdocs: Softdocs develops enterprise content management, electronic forms and workflow solutions specifically for educational institutions. With cloud-based and on-premises deployment options available, the company's Etrieve platform redefines business processes, reducing the need for paper and improving student service and employee productivity by providing educational institutions complete control over how content is captured, processed and distributed. A privately held company founded in 1998, Softdocs is headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina. For more information, visit http://www.softdocs.com. We are looking forward to accessing Smile Brands world-class support and services to better enhance the services and level of care we offer our patients. Smile Brands Inc., one of the nations leading dental support organizations (DSO) that provides business support services to more than 400 affiliated offices across 17 states, is pleased to announce its latest partnership with Hoffman Dental in Sarasota, Florida. This is Smile Brands 27th office in Florida and the first in the Sarasota area. Smile Brands will provide full-service administrative support to the practice, which includes purchasing, payroll, accounting, IT, billing, facilities management and marketing. Existing staff will remain in place and the business will continue to operate under the Hoffman Dental brand. Leading Hoffman Dental is Dr. Brian P. Hoffman, D.M.D., M.P.H., F.I.C.O.I. Dr. Hoffman has owned and operated the practice since 2010 and is committed to delivering high quality dentistry and advancing treatment through the use of new proven technologies. Dr. Hoffman is a Fellow of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists and a Fellow of the Misch International Implant Institute. Dr. Hoffman received his Doctoral Dental Degree from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. He also holds a Masters Degree in Epidemiology and Public Health, as well as a Baccalaureate Degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from The Ohio State University. Smile Brands was a clear choice when it came to enabling us to focus more on our patients, said Dr. Hoffman. We are looking forward to accessing Smile Brands world-class support and services to better enhance the services and level of care we offer our patients. We welcome the Hoffman Dental team to Smile Brands and look forward to working together to deliver even more smiles in Sarasota, said Steve Bilt, co-founder and CEO of Smile Brands. We are excited about the opportunities to partner with practices like Hoffman Dental that have a passion for serving the patient and delivering high quality, cost-effective dentistry. About Smile Brands Based in Irvine California, Smile Brands Inc. is one of the largest providers of support services to dental groups in the United States. Recently ranked #25 on Glassdoors 2018 Best Places to Work list, Smile Brands Inc. provides comprehensive business support services through exclusive long term agreements with affiliate dental groups, so dentists can spend more time caring for their patients and less time on the administrative, marketing, and financial aspects of operating a dental practice. Smile Brands supports nearly 400 Bright Now! Dental, Monarch Dental, Castle Dental, A+ Dental Care, OneSmile Dental, Johnson Family Dental, P3 Dental Group, and DecisionOne Dental Partners offices in 17 states, including Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington. Smile Brands is a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors, a leading middle-market private equity firm based in San Francisco, CA. For more information, visit http://www.smilebrands.com. We are excited that Dr. Yu joins us as part of our executive team. With new addition of manufacturing facility, SiFotonics is well positioned to market adoption of our leading-edge silicon photonics integrated circuit product solutions for global optical networking customers SiFotonics Technologies Co., Ltd, a pioneer and global leader in silicon photonics integrated circuits, today announced that veteran technology executive Dr. Rang-Chen Yu has joined the company as the Chief Operating Officer. The company also announces that it will expand manufacturing capacity with a new production facility in Nanjing, China. We are excited that Dr. Yu joins us as part of our executive team. He has wealth of industry experience and proven track record of turning new technologies into commercial success and turning young companies into large businesses, and we are looking forward to his leadership to grow the company to the next level said Dr. Dong Pan, founder and CEO of SiFotonics. With new manufacturing facility, SiFotonics is well positioned to market adoption of our leading-edge silicon photonics integrated circuit product solutions for global optical networking customers. I am impressed by Dr. Pans leadership and his team in turning silicon photonics technologies into industry leading product solutions said Yu, SiFotonics team is one of the early pioneers in development of silicon photonics for optical networking applications and has developed one of industrys most advanced Ge on silicon capabilities with complex photonics integrated circuit platforms. With rapid increasing bandwidth for data centers networking connections and 5G wireless optical transports, SiFotonics core technologies will provide differentiated and compelling solutions to address these challenges. In addition, SiFotonics has also developed silicon photonics platforms with unique combination of commercial CMOS foundry and proprietary controlled Ge on Si processes and fabrication tools that enable rapid innovation with high efficiency. I am looking forward to working with SiFotonics team to accelerate product solution development for global tier 1 customers with commercial success. Before joining SiFotonics, Dr. Yu was Vice President and General Manager of Optoelectronic Solutions business unit of Oplink Communications LLC, a Molex company. He was one of the industry leaders in driving industry adoption of 100G PAM4 technology, and served as marketing Co-chair of 100G lambda MSA, which is rapidly becoming new industry standard for 100G and 400G+ optical networking. Prior to joining Oplink, Dr. Yu was Global Vice President for Source Photonics. He also served senior executive and management positions with Fiberxon (acquired by MRV), Agility Communications (acquired by JDSU), and SDL (acquired by JDSU). He earned his Ph.D. in Solid State Physics at University of Pennsylvania, and B.S. in Physics from Peking University. About SiFotonics Technologies Ltd. SiFotonics Technologies Co., Ltd. is a leading solution provider for ultra-high speed data center and 5G wireless optical networking applications with advanced silicon photonics components and integrated circuits. SiFotonics was established in 2006, and has a research and development center in Beijing and Shanghai, and new manufacturing facility in Nanjing, China. SiFotonics web site is http://www.sifotonics.com. SiFotonics will be attending OFC Conference and Exhibition in San Diego, CA from March 3rd to 7th at booth # 5423. Dr. Dong Pan, SiFotonics CEO, will co-chair a panel on PIC Foundry Commercial Access: Prospects and Challenges on Wednesday, 8-10am, Room Number 1. Dr. Pan will also preside at a technical session Detectors, on Thursday, 2-4pm. Sendoso Co-Founders Kris Rudeegraap and Braydan Young. This is a pain we felt personally: Sending is hard. We want to alleviate the complexity thats holding companies back from sending physical items at scale, said Sendoso CEO Kris Rudeegraap. By doing this, were enabling them to be much more creative, thoughtful and meaningful in their outreach. Sendoso, the leading Sending Platform (SP) for sending anything, announced it has raised $10.7 million in Series A funding to accelerate its growth and solve the complexity of sourcing, storing, shipping, and measuring ROI for everything businesses need to send. The round was led by David Sacks Craft Ventures with participation from Signia Partners, Storm Ventures, Struck Capital and Hack VC. Sendoso has raised $13.2M to date. "Email is overused and low impact. What we've gained in efficiency, we've lost in creating meaningful connections with the people that drive our business forward," said Craft Ventures VP of Investments Brian Murray. Sendoso makes it easy for anyone to send unique items, custom packages, and thoughtful gifts to their prospects, customers, partners, employees or recruits." Sendoso was built to solve a universal dilemma: Consumers and companies, alike, are drowning in digital noise. The constant influx of emails, texts, app notifications, and ads has made digital synonymous with spammeaning those communication channels are less effective than ever. What Sendosos founders, Kris Rudeegraap and Braydan Young, discovered is that they could rise above the noise and connect with people in more meaningful ways via direct mail, personalized gifts, handwritten notes, perishables and more. This insight was supported by research: The U.S. Postal Service, Canada Post, and the United Kingdoms Royal Mail have found that these tangible communications are more valuable, memorable and persuasive. Companies already invest in this business strategy, as demonstrated by the $100+ billion-dollar direct mail and gifting industries. But orchestrating the logistics is tedious, time-consuming, and nearly impossible to scale. A marketer, for example, would have to evaluate multitudes of vendors, get hundreds of salespeople from across the globe to fill out a spreadsheet, find storage, individually package and ship every item, follow-up with each salesperson to determine the effectiveness, and then manually enter data points into the companys marketing automation or CRM system all for a single campaign. Sendoso simplifies that process. Businesses simply need to click a button in the standalone platform or from any of the numerous tools Sendoso integrates with, including Salesforce, Marketo, SurveyMonkey, Shopify, and Amazon. This is a pain we felt personally: Sending is hard. We wanted to alleviate the complexity thats holding companies back from sending physical items at scale, said Sendoso co-founder and CEO Kris Rudeegraap. By doing this, were enabling the teams we work with to be much more creative, thoughtful and meaningful in their outreach. Sendoso integrates with business software for multiple teams so that Marketers can delightfully engage buyers with automated event invitations, swag boxes, or other collateral through their marketing automation platform. Salespeople can create personalized outreach from their CRM or sales automation system with custom gifts accompanied by handwritten notes via an Amazon integration. Customer support reps can easily trigger a coffee or lunch eGift send from inside their customer service software to rectify a bad customer experience. Human resources can automatically send a welcome kit for new employees or recruits directly from their HR software to drive retention. It seems impossible to create more personalized relationships by doing less work, said FinancialForce Sr. Demand Gen Manager Hussam AlMukhtar. But Sendoso makes it possible for us to create those connections by bringing fragmented processes together into one easy interface. Sendoso is already helping companies like Adobe, Zuora and Thompson Reuters increase pipeline, conversion, and retention. The company will use this funding to scale operations in San Francisco and Arizona, and build out its platform with innovative features to further solve the challenges of sending at scale. The platform supports a growing demand for sending physical items as a business strategy. By combining data and insights from hundreds of customers across the globe, Sendoso found that businesses increased the number of items sent by 66% year over year in 2018. The research, to be released in a report later this year, also shows that postcards are no longer the most popular item to send. Instead, companies spent more time and money on sending unique items like custom packages, perishables, eGift cards, and more. About Sendoso Sendoso is the worlds first Sending Platform (SP). The fully integrated solution solves sourcing, physical warehouse storage, inventory tracking, and ROI attribution problems so that businesses can send anything and personalize at scale. Founded in 2017, Sendoso is a privately held company headquartered in San Francisco, CA. To learn more, please visit http://www.sendoso.com. Renovated Office Building in Glasgow Tightens Security with Boon Edam Optical Turnstiles Revamped with space and simplicity in mind, the buildings atrium stands out due to its high-quality materials, including the sleek, Lifeline Speedlane Swing optical turnstiles used to control access to all occupants and visitors. Boon Edam Inc., a global leader in security entrances and architectural revolving doors, today announced that a recently renovated office space in Glasgow, Scotland, 191 West George Street, has installed Lifeline Speedlane Swing optical turnstiles for increased physical security and uncompromising aesthetics. A rising trend in the United Kingdom is the renovation of older office spaces. With a continuously growing workforce, cities across the country are transforming corporate offices into multi-level spaces with increased aesthetics. In keeping with this trend, the office space at 191 West George Street recently underwent a renovation. Revamped with space and simplicity in mind, the buildings atrium stands out due to its high-quality materials, including the sleek, Lifeline Speedlane Swing optical turnstiles used to control access to all occupants and visitors. Designed with Flexibility in Mind The lead architect renovating 191 West George Street was Michael Laird Associates a firm that flourishes in adaptable yet luxurious designs. Working directly with the architects, owners of the office space underwent a simple product selection process regarding security. The requirements were for an optical turnstile solution that could integrate with access control and had the versatility to control a large number of visitors. Space vs. Security, a Beautiful Combination 191 West George Street is the home of a 6-level building with 87,000 sq. ft. of usable office space. The architects wanted to keep the look and feel of the entire building, open and clean, without any columns or other impeding structures. The designers chose a stainless steel finish for the modern and sleek cabinets of the Speedlane Swing optical turnstiles to provide a perfect accent for the neutral white and mushroom colors of the lobby. Their minimal footprint allows them to integrate seamlessly into any location without being obtrusive to user access or aesthetic design. 191 was designed to be a bustling, flexible workspace for hundreds of daily users, and as space is rented and the building starts to experience higher traffic, the four lanes of optical turnstiles will be able to handle the load. The Specification Process Working in collaboration with Boon Edams sales and specification managers, the architect had a clear idea of what they were looking for in a lobby security solution. By reviewing a number of key elements related to security, throughput, aesthetics, safety, and technology, Boon Edam was able to map out all aspects of the entry requirements prior to selection and installation. A Versatile Security Solution The four-lane array of Speedlane Swing optical turnstiles includes a single, wide lane at the end. Wide lanes allow large groups to pass through as well as wheelchairs, dollies and luggage. All lanes can be controlled remotely via a device called BoonTouch that gives reception control to open or close lanes at any time. For Further Information, Please Contact: Tracie Thomas, Boon Edam Vice President of Marketing T 910 814 8239 E tracie.thomas(at)boonedam(dot)com For Media Queries, Please Contact: Sara Chaput, LRG Marketing Public Relations T 845 358 1801 E schaput(at)lrgmarketing(dot)com About Royal Boon Edam We are proud to be a third generation Dutch family business committed to making people feel welcome and secure through our quality engineered entry solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, with a footprint spanning the globe, Royal Boon Edam International is a premium manufacturer of revolving doors, high security doors, turnstiles and Speedlanes. A heritage that exceeds 140 years has resulted in wide expertise in managing the safe transit of people through office buildings, healthcare facilities as well as via public and private spaces. We are truly focused on adding genuine value to our customers entrances and to a long-term relationship after sales, service and maintenance. We partner, collaborate and become an extension to the customer team to ensure that the project, people and valuables are in safe hands with us. We are your entry experts. Discover more about our latest news at http://www.boonedam.us/news or follow Boon Edam Inc. on our blog, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Larry is an established leader in the nuclear community, said Joey Clark, Office of Licensing and Compliance Service Director. We are excited for him to join us at a critical time in the nuclear industry. Certrec, a leading licensing and regulatory compliance service provider that supports NRC and NERC compliance, announced today that industry veteran Larry Nicholson has joined its staff to serve as a Senior Project Manager. I am very excited to be a part of an incredible Certrec team, Nicholson said. I look forward to using my regulatory expertise gained from leadership positions in both the nuclear industry and the NRC to help our clients and the nuclear industry achieve and maintain excellent performance. Mr. Nicholson brings more than 40 years of experience covering the full range of nuclear plant performance. Previously he served as the Director of Regulatory Affairs at NextEra Energy and TVA. He formerly worked at Oconee as the site Licensing Manager and then site Safety Assurance Manager, responsible for Licensing, Security, Emergency Preparedness, Environmental and Safety, and Performance Improvement. Before joining Duke, Mr. Nicholson served for many years with the NRC in positions of increasing responsibilities to include Senior Resident Inspector and NRC Region executive. While with the NRC, he was appointed to the Federal Government Senior Executive Service. Larry is an established leader in the nuclear community, said Joey Clark, Office of Licensing and Compliance Service Director. We are excited for him to join us at a critical time in the nuclear industry. CERTREC Founded in 1988, Certrec is an engineering- and technology-based organization providing regulatory support services in the electric power industry. With more than 1,000 cumulative years of direct and diverse industry experience, Certrec has developed exceptional capabilities to support regulatory activities emanating from regulatory entities such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and Regional Entities (NERC), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and other regulatory agencies. Certrec's Office of Licensing and Compliance (OLC), Office of Assessment and Recovery (OAR), Office of NERC Compliance (ONC), and Office of New Plant (ONP) services are used by utilities and entities across the United States to help manage the regulatory process to their advantage. Certrec offers support from highly skilled and experienced industry professionals who possess degrees in a variety of engineering disciplines (Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, and Nuclear). Additionally Certrec's staff has multiple degreed personnel in physics, communications, a variety of MBAs, and information technology. This highly skilled team has direct working experience in all regulatory areas of licensing, compliance, and engineering, including nuclear, fossil, and renewable generation and transmission. For more than 30 years, Certrec has been applying its accumulated years of industry experience to help clients develop and manage solutions to complex regulatory issues. Combining this direct industry experience with Certrec's Information Technology assets has led to development of technology-based solutions and tools directly targeted to the electric power industry and specifically focused on helping clients manage regulatory issues. Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College The Benton will be a rewarding visit for all who seek to venture beyond the expected and to explore the diversity of California, said Pomona College President G. Gabrielle Starr. From the edge of L.A., Pomona College has helped launch some of the regions most influential artists. Today the College is taking the next step forward with the announcement of a $15 million gift for a new art museum from Janet Inskeep Benton, a 1979 graduate of the College and long-time supporter of the arts. Opening in fall 2020, Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College or, more simply, The Benton, will provide a space for some of Southern Californias most compelling and experimental exhibitions. The 33,000-square-foot facility is under construction where the campus meets the lively Claremont Village and the citys civic center. For decades, Pomona College has played a key part in shaping innovative artists, including Helen Pashgian, James Turrell, Peter Shelton, the late Marcia Hafif and the late Chris Burden. The Bentons collection will include pieces from all of these alumni, and future exhibitions will carry forward the Colleges emphasis on cutting-edge art in the Los Angeles region. The Benton will be a rewarding visit for all who seek to venture beyond the expected and to explore the diversity of California, said Pomona College President G. Gabrielle Starr. This new museum will benefit our students, our community and the Southern California art scene in which our campus has long played an important role. Designed by Machado Silvetti Associates and Gensler, the new structure with cast-in-place concrete walls is accented with wood, glass and a distinctive sloping roofline. Built to LEED gold standards of sustainability, the U-shaped museum will define a central courtyard, with a pavilion for events. Construction of the $44 million facility, located on the west side of College Avenue between Bonita Avenue and Second Street in Claremont, is set to be completed by fall 2019, launching the yearlong process of moving the museums extensive collection to the new facility and installing opening exhibitions. The new building replaces the existing Pomona College Museum of Art. Housed in a 50s-era facility, PCMA continues to operate across the street from the ongoing construction. Exhibitions there will continue through May 2020, with the new museum set to open later that same year. The Benton will continue the current museums Project Series, focused on contemporary SoCal artists, which has included exhibitions from Andrea Bowers, Mark Bradford, Charles Gaines, Ken Gonzales-Day, Amanda Ross-Ho and many others. The museum also has been part of the Getty Foundations celebrated Pacific Standard Time projects in collaboration with institutions across Los Angeles. Built on three levels, the entire building is conceived and designed as a teaching museum, fostering instruction within collection areas and exhibition spaces, creating opportunities for active encounters with original works of art. The Benton will provide state-of-the-art storage and ease of access for a growing permanent collection of over 14,000 objects. Pomona College has long been at the center of artistic excellence and experimentation for Southern California, said Museum Director and Professor of Art Kathleen Howe. The Benton continues our commitment to presenting vibrant contemporary art, intimately engaged with the issues of our day, while bringing the art of the past into an ongoing dialogue with the present. The Benton will house an extraordinary collection of Native American art; the Kress Collection of Renaissance panel paintings; significant collections of photographs, prints and drawings, as well as a growing contemporary collection. Four complete series of etchings by Francisco Goya, as well as works by historically important regional and international artists such as Karl Benjamin, Rico Lebrun and Jose Clemente Orozco are included in the collection. A longtime supporter of the museums programming, Janet Inskeep Benton is a member of the Pomona College Board of Trustees. A history major at Pomona, Benton went on to earn an M.B.A. at Harvard Business School. After working in product management at General Foods Corporation in the mid-1980s, she left the workforce to raise her family and serve on various not-for-profit boards in her Westchester County, New York community. She is currently board chair of the Jacob Burns Film Center, a not-for-profit art house theater complex and media arts education center. In 2000, Benton founded the Frog Rock Foundation, a philanthropy focused on improving outcomes for underserved children. Benton is most excited about the new museum as a gathering spot on campus where both intellectually and personally enriching experiences happen. Art is a powerful force, opening up the mind to so many possibilities -- new ideas, varied perspectives, interesting questions, emotional responses, reconsidered thinking, said Benton. My hope is that the new museum creates a stimulating environment for students to explore and engage with art in a deeply meaningful way. Only blocks from the Claremont Metrolink train station, The Benton will be a focal point for artistic expression on a campus that is also home to a Turrell Skyspace, Dividing the Light (2007), which draws visitors from near and far, and muralist Jose Clemente Orozcos Prometheus, widely regarded as a masterpiece. Nearby are the Claremont Museum of Art and galleries at Scripps and Pitzer colleges, as well as in the Claremont Village. The new museum will serve as a lasting connection point between the College and community, and also with the entire region, said President Starr. Southern California is known as a place of boundless artistic innovation. Pomona College is part of that unfolding story, and we plan to continue to help shape it. About Pomona College Established in 1887, Pomona College is one of the premier liberal arts colleges in the nation. Located in Claremont, Calif., about 35 miles east of Los Angeles, Pomona College is known for its quality academic programs, a challenging curriculum, close relationships between students and faculty and a range of student research and leadership opportunities. The new brand reinforces PHPDAs mission to address health inequity in King County. The Health Equity Fund will maintain the current PHPDA funding process and program. Rebrand enables the fund to better align with efforts to address the issues of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, income inequality, and other forms of discrimination that negatively impact healthcare delivery and outcomes. The Pacific Hospital Preservation & Development Authority (PHPDA) has announced the rebrand of its grants program as the Health Equity Fund in order to better communicate the funds principles and priorities. The grant-making program, which began in 2013, has provided more than $20 million in funding for projects and programs to support health access and reduce health disparities in King County. The Health Equity Fund is the same program our grantees already know, but with a new name that communicates what the fund aims to accomplish, says PHPDA Executive Director Jeff Natter. We will continue to partner with our grantees in order to create innovative solutions required to meet the needs of our community. PHPDA began its grants program to address the healthcare needs of communities going unmet by the current healthcare system. As the Health Equity Fund, the PHPDA program will continue its focus on underserved populations and work to address the issues of systemic structural and institutional racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, income inequality, and other forms of discrimination that negatively impact healthcare delivery and outcomes. What makes PHPDA funding different than any other funding is that it allows organizations working for social justice to be innovative, says Raleigh Watts, Executive Director of Country Doctor Community Health Centers. Changing structures and organizations to bring equity in our communities involves new programs, new approaches, and new ideas. Health Equity Fund is a perfect name for the work PHPDA does because it speaks to investing in change. The PHPDA is passionate about funding initiatives which serve those whose health needs are not met by currently available resources, says Tony McLean, PHPDA Governing Council Chair. We believe that a healthy community will lead to a more vibrant community. Our new name, Health Equity Fund, shines a bright light on our commitment to ensuring that everyone has access to opportunities to manage their health effectively. The Health Equity Funds Major Grant application deadline has passed, and 2019 funding recipients will be announced in June. Organizations may apply at any time for Nimble Grant opportunities for short-term projects, infrastructure/capacity development, planning, technology improvement, training, or policy and advocacy work. Visit http://www.phpda.org to learn more about Pacific Hospital Preservation & Development Authority and the Health Equity Fund and their full list of the current and renewing Major Grant recipients. About Pacific Hospital Preservation & Development Authority Pacific Hospital Preservation & Development Authoritys mission is to champion effective health care for the vulnerable and disadvantaged in our community. In 1981, the City of Seattle chartered the Pacific Hospital PDA, placing in its trust the Pacific Hospital and its surrounding campus, a historic Seattle landmark on north Beacon Hill. The Pacific Hospital PDA leases out the property, using lease revenues to support effective health care for the vulnerable residents of the Seattle-King County. About the Health Equity Fund The Health Equity Fund, the grants program of the Pacific Hospital PDA, is responsible for ensuring that funding is allocated to organizations that adhere to the Pacific Hospital PDAs mission and goals. Comprehensive Analyses | Superior Supplements In more ways than one, this is a great program for businesses. Markit Health, LLC a leader in functional nutritional supplements has created a program for companies with employees of 50 to 5000. By issuing your company a corporate discount code, your employees can receive 25% of the lowest published price. Co-founder Jim Parker states, In more ways than one, this is a great program for businesses. It creates a new company benefit for the employee by giving them easier access to superior nutritional supplements. Additionally, this can effectively lead to more productive hours on the job and less down time. Markit Health, LLC conducts comprehensive analyses into superior supplements and products that help create wellness. Thousands of hours of research and hundreds of interviews with doctors and scientists have prompted the company to offer an exclusive line of supplements. All of their products are the most effective in their categories and have substantial proof of their efficacy. These products are not available in any health store or vitamin shop but are used by hundreds of clinics and health care professionals across the United States and abroad. If you are a Company Owner, HR Director or Benefits Manager please contact Markit Health directly at: Office(at)MarkitHealth.com or by Calling (603) 431-5502. Richardson TX Property Management Texas is a big state, and there are different types of landscapes. North Texas Property Management, a five-star rated, locally-run property management business serving Collin County, has announced a new blog post focused on the needs of property owners in Richardson, Texas. Families can find the North Texas region appealing for several reasons, including proximity to beautiful nature trails. A local Richardson property management team can help families find rental and help investors maximize profits through effective residential property management services in Collin County. "Texas is a big state, and there are different types of landscapes. As locals, we appreciate the hidden gem that Richardson is and believe it's a great place to live," explained Jason Marascio, CEO of North Texas Property Management. "We have several rentals in Richardson, which is locally known to have relaxing spots for an easy nature hike. Ironically, many of our investor clients have come to realize that the best property management company in Richardson, Texas, is actually located in Plano." Persons interested in learning about the Richardson, Texas area can read the new NTXPM blog post at https://www.ntxpm.com/2019/01/30/at-ntxpm-were-big-enough-to-handle-richardson-property-management/. The Richardson property management page is available to share further details about the location at https://www.ntxpm.com/richardson/. Investors who own a single family home and are looking for a Richardson, Texas, property management company can visit the website or just call the company for a conversation on available services. RICHARDSON PROPERTY MANAGEMENT TEAM IS A NATURAL CHOICE FOR OUTDOOR-LOVING FAMILIES Here is the background on this release. A common perception of Texas is hot weather, plenty of open space and few trees. Persons familiar with the North Texas region may know the reality can be very different. The weather can drop to below forty degrees in winter, and there are plenty of shade trees in the summer. Dallas, Texas professionals, may prefer to leave the city at the end of the day for a quieter, more natural environment. Unwinding during a walk along a lush Creekside trail, or enjoying a late-outdoor picnic with family could be the plan. Persons searching for single-family homes could find a Richardson property management team with a shared appreciation for nature. A home rental near open spaces that provide easy day hikes in several parks around the region could be the right match. A local team of Richardson Property Management experts might know the best home rentals for a family read to enjoy the great outdoors in North Texas. Indeed, investors may come to realize that the best residential property management company in Richardson, Texas, is actually located next door in Plano. For these reasons, North Texas Property Management has announced a blog post focused on this thriving Texas suburb. ABOUT NORTH TEXAS PROPERTY MANAGEMENT North Texas Property Management Company is a top-rated property management company servicing the needs of rental property owners in the North Dallas area of North Texas. The company's property managers manage residential rental properties in Plano & McKinney and Richardson & Allen, as well as other communities in the North Dallas area, for real estate investors and rental property owners who want a property management company that will take the burden off of them of physically and financially caring for, maintaining, and managing their rental homes. Web. http://www.ntxpm.com/ Tel. 214-227-7669 Texas is a big state, and there are different types of landscapes. On Wednesday, February 13, Nexceris and Technology Factory (TFactory) signed an agreement that grants TFactory exclusive distribution rights for Li-ion Tamer in South Korea. With this lithium-ion battery monitor, the partnership leverages each companys unique strengths and assets to make energy storage safer in South Korea. Together Nexceris and TFactory will create a new paradigm of lithium-ion battery safety that enables the secure deployment of energy storage. Kyle Shen, CEO, and Randall Stacy, CCO, of Nexceris along with Hyung-Seok Choi, CEO, and Ju Kwang Lee, Managing Director, of TFactory are eager to deliver advanced safety diagnostics to the growing energy storage requirements of South Korea. Nexceris CCO, Randall Stacy said, This partnership with TFactory will enable us to deliver Li-ion Tamer technology with a partner committed to the safe deployment of energy storage in South Korea. TFactory shares our values for advancing innovation, safety and clean energy. TFactory CEO, Hyung-Seok Choi said, The partnership with Nexceris will provide the added technology that allows us to leverage both chemical and electrical solutions for another layer of safety regarding the ESS fire issue. We are very fortunate to be working together to accomplish this goal and pave a safer way for energy storage. The TFactory team looks forward to our collaborations with Nexceris. Positive Customer Impact The origin of our collaboration was a shared vision to address safety concerns related to fires in energy storage markets. Our goal is to immediately arm several energy storage systems in South Korea for the purpose of demonstrating the effectiveness of Li-ion Tamer technology. TFactory will work with all stakeholders in South Korea to advance safety and promote energy storage. About Li-ion Tamer Li-ion Tamer is a gas detection system developed specifically for lithium-ion batteries. It increases the safety of lithium-ion battery systems by detecting precursors of abuse that can lead to actions that would prevent fires caused by thermal runaway. As lithium-ion batteries begin to fail, they increase internal cell pressure through a variety of mechanisms caused by abuse imposed on the cell. The pressure increase in the cell will eventually result in a venting of the internal gases the off-gas event. If left unchecked the cell will eventually catch on fire during thermal runaway. The Li-ion Tamer off-gas detection technology is designed to detect when the cells vent gases which typically occurs 2-30 minutes prior to a fire or thermal runaway. The incipient fault detection provided by this method of off-gas detection can alert the battery system that failure is imminent, and the system should be shut down to mitigate the risk of a system fire. About Nexceris Nexceris is an energy company that develops innovative sensor, power generation, and catalyst solutions. Founded in 1994, Nexceris vision is to create a better world through energy innovations. The company collaborates with global customers and partners to transform powerful ideas that make energy production safer, more efficient, and environmentally responsible. About TFactory TFactory is a technology-driven company that develops smart electrical panel for telecom station, energy storage system and BSMS (Battery Safety Management System). Founded in 2010, TFactorys vision is to be a sustainable company with customers and partners. The company collaborates with government funded R&D centers, universities to lead the market with safer, more valuable and more innovative solutions. For more information, press only: Hilary Johnson 614-842-6606 x118 h.johnson@nexceris.com Ju-Kwang Lee +82-2-498-3344 jklee1278@daum.net For more information: http://www.li-iontamer.com http://www.tfactory.kr Nexceris, TFactory, and Li-Ion Tamer are registered trademarks Green Creek is bringing a myriad of hemp extract products to the market, giving people an alternative to pain management. Focusing on CBD oil extracts and delicious gummies, Green Creek in Kentucky ships products worldwide, has 24/7 customer support, and offers a dedicated military discount program developed specifically to benefit veterans. CBD (cannabidiol) is one of 104 chemical compounds found in cannabis plants and is a rapidly growing remedy for a myriad of different health ailments. Its a non-intoxicating extract derived from the stalks and seeds of hemp plants. Hemp extracts are a promising alternative to treat a wide variety of health issues including epilepsy, anxiety, insomnia, inflammation, and much more. Green Creek offers products in oil and gummy form ranging in price from $17 up to $300. The different oils come in either additive or tincture and boast an exceptional selection of different flavors. The gummy CBD products come in 100mg packages and include bear, worm, and ring candy. Each piece is 10mg and one package contains a total of 100mg for $17. All gummies contain ZERO THC (the intoxicant in cannabis) and are made using Kentucky Hemp Flowers. What makes Green Creek stand out is their dedication to serving military veterans. We are a veteran strong company who want to help vets manage PTSD. CBD has helped many vets who struggle everyday with PTSD symptoms. Providing an alternative method to traditional pain management, Green Creek offers a military discount program where veterans sign up to receive discounts and added benefits. All military veterans automatically receive 10% off all CBD products in addition to being enrolled in the military program. Green Creeks informative website offers detailed ingredient lists showcasing natural and safe products that are made in-house. Their newsletter outlines topics directly impacting customers eager to learn more about hemp extracts and includes an informative FAQ page discussing the many different questions customers might have. Head to Green Creek now and receive free shipping if you spend $75 or more! Check out Green Creek on Facebook and Instagram for up-to-date engagement and a chance to interact with dedicated staff. Dont limit your options when it comes to pain management hemp extracts are natural, safe, and help people deal with medical ailments before resorting to pharmaceuticals. Brahman males combine unique characteristics. Moreno Ranches, the leading Brahman cattle ranch in both Texas and Florida, is proud to announce the second in a series focusing on Brahman male cattle or "sires." "Sires" is the term used in the industry for Brahman bulls that are oriented towards breeding, and Moreno Ranches is announcing the new post to educate the general public on the advantages of Brahman males for breeding purposes as opposed to other types of cattle. "Brahman males combine unique characteristics such as heat-resistance with docility," explained Kelvin Moreno, owner of Moreno Ranches. "Accordingly, our second post in this series focuses on those characteristics that make Brahman bulls an excellent breeding choice." Persons interested in reading the full post should visit https://www.morenoranches.com/desirable-sires/. There, in addition to "beefing up" their knowledge of Brahman male cattle, they can click up to the "About us" tab and request a ranch tour. With ranch locations in both Texas and Florida, Moreno Ranches makes it easy for a cattle industry participant to learn more about Brahman cattle and possibly consider joining the Brahman sector of the vibrant USA-based cattle industry. For example, those who are looking to set up a "ranch tour" can visit https://www.morenoranches.com/education/ranch-tours/. Journalists and bloggers, for example, who are writing stories on how increasing heat is impacting the cattle industry can reach out to the Ranch for commentary on the advantages of Brahman bulls in hot climates. CHARACTERISTICS OF BRAHMAN SIRES Here is background on this release. Brahman Bulls have many characteristics that make them desirable as a herd sire prospect. To begin with, Brahman Bulls respond very quickly to the handling they receive, which makes their disposition very calm and docile when trained properly. Brahman bulls have a very important peculiarity which is their heat tolerance. They can flourish equally as well as European cattle in temperatures varying from 8F to 75F and perform even better than European cattle in temperatures above 75 F. Brahman Bulls have a hair coat like no other. It is short, thick, and glossy, aiding the reflection of the suns rays and granting the ability to graze pastures in the midday heat with no problem. In addition, Brahman bulls also have a black skin pigmentation that aids in blocking the intense sun rays that tend to damage skin tissue layers. The amount of loose skin on Brahman bulls contributes to an increased body surface area during very warm weather and allows the sire to stay cool. Brahman bulls have a very distinct characteristic which is their ability to sweat. Most cattle breeds do not possess this ability to tolerate heat and in return produce more internal heat in warm climates. Persons interested in learning more should visit the post at the URL above, or reach out to Moreno Ranches for commentary and additional information. ABOUT MORENO RANCHES Moreno Ranches is a top producer of Brahman bulls for sale. Customers come to the company for genetically superior heifers for sale and Brahman semen (seed stock) as well as Brahman embryos. The company produces both Brahman cows and calves for sale, including for use as show cattle or to produce Brahman F1 hybrids. Visit the company's website to browse stock. The company is a trusted source of Brahman bulls whether a buyer is in Florida, Texas, or Louisiana - Latin America, or anywhere in the world. Web. http://www.morenoranches.com/ Tel. 863 444 8745 Monarch Dental Burleson Team Thirty volunteers gathered together on Saturday morning eager to give back to their surrounding communities. During the planning of this free dental clinic, returning Team members from last years Burleson Day of Giving expressed their hope to continue to experience deep connections with all of their patients at this years Day of Giving. Keeping this as their goal gave the Team the opportunity to be positive characters in their patients stories. Ten days before his appointment at the 2019 Burleson Day of Giving, patient Aaron M. was in tears. He had just been handed a quote for extractions and full-mouth dentures that he could not afford. That's when Monarch Dental Burlesons Office Manager, Christy Branch, luckily overheard his dilemma. She referred him to the Burleson Day of Giving, where volunteers happily extracted his teeth for free. He was also given a one year subscription to the OneSmile Dental Plan, which will help significantly reduce the cost for his dentures. Aaron was so elated that he could not stop smiling and hugging Christy. "Thank you so very, very much," exclaims Aaron. "It would have taken me at least a year to be able to get it done." This was just one of the many happy endings that the Burleson Team created. For patient Helen M., the positive twist began when she was able to schedule a dentists appointment for the first time since 1995. Helen says, You made a wonderful difference in my life from the minute I came through the door. Patients like Aaron and Helen were informed about the event through the Smiles for Everyone Foundations partnerships with local nonprofit organizations, such as Presbyterian Night Shelter, Community Food Bank, and Hope Farm, a program for at-risk youth. Services included checkups, cleanings, oral cancer screenings, fluoride treatments, fillings, extractions, and more. The Smiles for Everyone Foundation would like to give a warm thank you to the entire volunteer Team, including Dr. Christopher Edwards, Dr. Siv Eftekhari, Dr. Daniel Ingel, Dr. Bradley Murray, Dr. Jane Poquiz, Dr. Jerrett Stone, and Dr. Gopikiran Thota. Together, they donated nearly $90,000 of dentistry and changed the lives of 70 other patients just like Aaron and Helen. To learn more about our Days of Giving, please visit http://www.smilesforeveryone.org for more information. About Monarch Dental Monarch Dental provides general dentistry, childrens dentistry and specialty care services such as orthodontics, oral surgery, periodontics and endodontics at 89 locations throughout Texas, Arkansas and Utah. Monarch Dental affiliated practices make it easy and affordable for individuals and families to get the dental care they need with convenient locations, extended hours and same-day appointments. The Monarch Dental mission is to create healthier smiles by making dental visits easy and enjoyable. Learn more at http://www.monarchdental.com. About the Smiles For Everyone Foundation The Smiles for Everyone Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission of delivering smiles for everyone by providing free dental care for those in need, both at home in the U.S. and around the world. Since 2011, the Smiles for Everyone Foundation has delivered over 19,000 smiles and $14.5 million in donated dentistry. The foundation currently supports programs which provide free dental care to those in need in Cambodia, Ghana, Laos, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Thailand, and the United States. For more information or to make a donation, visit http://www.smilesforeveryone.org. Contacts: Monarch Dental Jody Martin PR(at)smilebrands.com 714.427.1299 Smiles for Everyone Foundation Crystal Strait crystal.strait(at)smilesforeveryone.org 714.824.5037 Mallory Safety and Supply LLC, the largest independent safety distributor in the Western United States, today announced the company introduced its advanced new Ape-Xtreme Micro Descender System. The Ape-Xtreme is the lightest, strongest, full tower multi-use Micro Rescue System with NFPA 1983 Certified Lifesafety Rope on the market, and is the only friction descender with an integrated pulley and cam system. The new Ape-Xtreme will be demonstrated for the first time at the 2019 AWEA Wind Project O&M and Safety Conference in Coronado, Calif., February 27-28, 2019. First Go Anywhere, Do-Everything Micro Descender System The Ape-Xtreme Assisted Rescue and Personal Escape System is designed for rescue and evacuation by persons who work at height in or on structures where an additional means of rescue or emergency egress involves the use of a control descent device. Now, any rescuer or worker in Wind Power, Fire Service, Industrial, Oil & Gas, Construction and Telecom operations can conduct easy, efficient rescue in any situation. These rescue situations include: vertical descent, static horizontal lifelines, confined space, inside ladder wells, and rescue unreachable situations. Mallory-ENSAs Ape-Xtremes lightweight, high-performance design reduces the need for large rope and is 100% compatible with any commercially-available full body harness. The new System is ideal for confined spaces because it utilizes the smallest NFPA-certified life safety rope, and delivers two-mechanical advantage systems for hauling and rescue out of convoluted spaces. The Ape-Xtremes lightweight design also makes it more efficient for use by power generation, wind farms, construction, telecom, fire service and other worker applications where exertion and high heat are a challenge. Wind power, telecom, Oil & Gas and industrial organizations have demanded a lightweight, multi-use, two-person micro descender that their teams can use anywhere, anytime, for all situations. Our commitment to our customers and at-height worker safety and rescue led us to design and manufacture the new Ape-Xtreme Assisted Rescue and Personal Escape System, the first go-everywhere, do-everything micro descender system that delivers rescue and descent capabilities that previously only an NFPA tactical team could do, said Tim Loy, President of Mallory Safety and Supply. Now any tower or at-height industrial worker or responder can affect a rescue with the smaller, lighter, Ape-Xtreme System. Industry-First Micro Descender Integrated Pulley Increases Safety, Descent Response To enable all users to better control rescue and descent, the Ape-Xtreme includes a built-in Ape-Xtreme Variable Friction Control Cam system. This patented new cam system provides users with tactile and audio feedback, which puts greater response and easier control in the hands of the user as they conduct their static-dynamic movement. The new Ape-Xtreme Cam System smooths the descent and makes it easier for the user to recognize and regulate descent speed. The pulley and capture key eliminate the need for an additional carabiner tension setup and connector. This provides the user with a second point of friction, and allows users to maintain higher loads. In addition, the new Ape-Xtreme pulley creates a mechanical advantage system for hauling and lowering items. The integrated pulley provides a 3:1, 4:1 and 5:1 mechanical advantage system for users. Comprehensive Lightweight Micro Descender Design Advances the Marketplace The Ape-Xtreme System is a lightweight micro system capable of a two-person evacuation and rescue maintaining a 5:1 safety factor when used for a maximum weight of 585 lbs. The System can be used for multi-scenario rescue situations including: Self and assisted evacuation; Self-rescue when in suspension; Rescue in descent (single person); Rescue raising a remote patient (single person); and Team rescue and rigging scenarios. The patented, fully- serviceable Ape-Xtreme System is built in the USA, and includes innovative features including: A pivoting cam mechanical variable friction control; High performance folding control lever handle for easy egress over edges, as well as the ability to conduct feedback descent; Integrated rope wear/control pulley; Hands-free locking and panic grab brake system; Euler change-out system; Pivot cam plurality groove technology; ENSA Descent Performance Long Line Life Safety Rope Systems; and The Ape-Xtreme will operate on ENSA FR hybrid kernmantle Polyester/Technora rope. Ape-Xtreme system is 3rd party tested to conform to: NFPA 1983 C(E), EN 12841, ISO 22159, ANSI/ASSE Z359.4-2013 Safety Requirements for Assisted-Rescue and Self-Rescue Systems, Subsystems and Components for a single maximum descent of up to 137 m (450 ft) in accordance with Z359.4 Descent Energy Rating Calculation formula (DERC). (Certificates and test data are available upon request.) Major industrial and tower operations have turned to Mallory to provide effective safety products and integrated training that reduce risk, help increase worker safety, drive productivity and grow revenue, added Loy. Mallory-ENSA will continue to provide all industries with innovative new safety systems, as well as the best safety equipment, personnel support services, and training that increase worker protection and improve operational growth. Rescue Training is Essential To Reduce Worker Stress, Risk and Insurance Premiums NOTE: This product must only be used by persons who are trained by ENSA North America, and are competent in its use as part of an evacuation and assisted rescue kit. Safe use of the ENSA Ape-Xtreme Assisted Rescue and Personal Escape System requires familiarity with its behavior during basic rescue and descent skills. Successful completion of an initial Ape-Xtreme System certification training is required prior to use as a personal evacuation and rescue system. Initial certification, and recurring certification every two years, is required and must be provided by a certified ENSA instructor. Training must cover all relevant rescue and evacuation strategies per the ENSA APE Systems Instructor Guide and Student Field Guide (provided at the time of training). Price and Availability The new Ape-Xtreme Micro Descender System is available now in North America from Mallory Safety and Supply or from ENSA North America, a division of Mallory Safety. Customers interested in obtaining more information or purchasing the Ape-Xtreme should contact their local Mallory Safety and Supply office or Mallory regional sales manager. For more information and to download Ape-Xtreme product information, visit http://www.ensa-northamerica.com/apex/. About Mallory Safety and Supply Mallory Safety and Supply LLC is the largest independent safety distributor in the Western US, with approximately 350 employees, and 22 locations in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Wisconsin. Mallory provides Industrial, Defense and Aviation, Municipalities, Oil and Gas, Responders, Ethanol, Wood and Pulp, Wind Energy, Telecom, Roofing and Construction and other industries with advanced safety solutions including: Safety Equipment, Staffing, Training, Vending, Turnaround, Mobile Training, Rental, Product Service and Support, Consulting, and other services. For more than 30-years, Mallory Safety has delivered a broad array of worker safety protection products, systems, and abrasives, cutting tools, clean room and construction supplies, to exceed customer expectations and deliver both safety expertise and full-solution vendor consolidation and supply chain efficiency for organizations. For more information, visit http://www.malloryco.com/ Achieving SOC 3 certification underscores our commitment to providing a secure cloud environment. We are proud of the investments we have made in security as it helps our customers rest easy knowing they are partnered with the most secure Mac cloud provider on the planet. MacStadium, Inc., the leading provider of enterprise-class cloud solutions for Apple Mac infrastructure, today announced that the company has achieved SOC 3 security compliance. The internationally-recognized security certification demonstrates that MacStadium meets the trust service principles outlined by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) for the security, privacy, confidentiality, and integrity of its infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) services to its customers. The AICPA System and Organization Controls (SOC) are internal control reports on the services provided by a service organization. SOC reports are designed to provide assurance about the controls at a service organization relevant to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. To achieve SOC 3 compliance, MacStadium underwent an external audit performed by Coalfire Controls, LLC, a registered CPA firm authorized for SOC 3 reporting. This independent, third-party audit certifies that MacStadiums infrastructure, software, people, procedures and data meet the AICPAs trust service principles. This SOC 3 designation joins a long list of security certifications held by MacStadium, including ISO 27001, SOC 1 (Type 2), SOC 2 (Type 2), SSAE 16, and GDPR-compliance. The companys SOC 3 certification applies across all MacStadium environments and to each of its global data centers. Achieving SOC 3 certification underscores our commitment to providing a secure cloud environment, said Darrell Stinson, MacStadiums Chief Information Security Officer. Going through the external audit process and achieving this strict security certification demonstrates how MacStadium consistently safeguards its infrastructure, systems and information. We are proud of the investments we have made in security as it helps our customers rest easy knowing they are partnered with the most secure Mac cloud provider on the planet. Unlike SOC 1 and 2, SOC 3 reports are freely distributed to the public for general use. MacStadiums SOC 3 report can be found here. To learn more about MacStadiums security policies, procedures and certifications, please visit the companys security web page. About MacStadium MacStadium is the leading provider of Apple Mac cloud infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), offering bare metal Macs and private cloud solutions for organizations of all sizes. MacStadium, a Summit Partners portfolio company, is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with growing operations in Las Vegas, Silicon Valley, Dublin, Ireland, and Frankfurt, Germany. Learn more at MacStadium.com or on Twitter @macstadium. Apple and Mac are registered trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Other product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. Unemployment is down, wages are up, and ghosting is on the rise. According to Express Employment Professionals franchise owners like Lisa Straughan of Longview, Washington, all these trends, compounded by poor communication skills, are connected. Because jobs are more plentiful and employers have to compete over wages, employees may get multiple jobs offers or interview requests at once and simply not show upor ghostthe ones that are less appealing or pay less. I have worked in human resources for 20 years, and have seen a huge increase in ghosting in the last couple of years, Straughan said. With so many opportunities, [job seekers] at times accept multiple offers, and there is no accountability if they dont show. According to a new survey of businesses from Express, low pay is indeed one of the top reasons that job seekers will turn down job offers and why employees will leave a job. In the survey, 26 percent of businesses said that low pay is among the things that stop applicants from accepting a job at your company. That was second only to not the perfect fit. Similarly, 28 percent cited low pay when asked about what causes an employee to leave a job. That was third behind lack of advancement and not a good cultural fit. In Mobile, Alabama, Express franchise owner Chris Ashcraft agrees that businesses are far more willing to negotiate over pay than in past years and low pay is a huge factor when someone declines a job offer. As for actual bidding wars, he says those are most common in administrative positions and commercial drivers license jobs. Some job seekers will turn down jobs with what they consider low pay even when they dont have another offer. I like to say some money is better than no money, but most of the time they still wont accept a low-paying position. Theyre waiting for a better opportunity, Ashcraft said. Aschraft, too, has seen low pay lead to people ghosting interviews and their scheduled first days of work. Janis Petrini, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Express franchise owner, sees job seekers ghosting interviews at the highest rate in history, often because they have found a better opportunity and fail to communicate that to recruiters. I think some of it is generational, she said. The younger generation is not used to calling and cancelling or confirming, so they just dont communicate. Job seekers have so many choices that they dont think burning a bridge will have negative consequences. In Olympia, Centralia and Aberdeen, Washington, Express franchise owner Reid Bates said job seekers in his market often accept a position but continue to hunt elsewhere for the perfect fit. In the current tight labor market, applicants have a heightened sense of their worth to employers just not necessarily their current one. On the plus side, this is leading to improved wages, growth opportunities and even some hiring bonuses, Reid said. But, it is also leading to lower levels of loyalty as job seekers ghost their employers and, in many cases, interviews and first day of new employment. Competitive pay is the surest way to ensure youre hiring a dedicated employee and not a ghost, said Bill Stoller, CEO of Express. Some employers still havent recognized how fierce the competition is. Good talent requires good pay. While that may seem expensive to some employers, investing time in recruiting, interview and hiring no-shows can get pretty expensive too. The survey of 445 businesses, which are current and former clients of Express Employment Professionals, was conducted in December 2018 to gauge respondents' expectations for 2019. *** If you would like to arrange for an interview with Bill Stoller to discuss this topic, please contact Sheena Karami, Director of Corporate Communications and PR, at (405) 717-5966. About Bill Stoller William H. "Bill" Stoller is chairman and chief executive officer of Express Employment Professionals. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the international staffing company has more than 800 franchises in the U.S., Canada and South Africa. Since its inception, Express has put more than 7.7 million people to work worldwide. About Express Employment Professionals Express Employment Professionals puts people to work. It generated $3.56 billion in sales and employed a record 566,000 people in 2018. Its long-term goal is to put a million people to work annually. For more information, visit ExpressPros.com. New Orleans most celebrated television commercials often feature colorful images of Mardi Gras Indians, mysterious bayous or mouth-watering seafood. So to receive praiseand even an awardfor lawyer commercials? In true fashion, the 100-year old Advertising Club of New Orleans recent advertising industry awards gala gave its top TV prize to a big-budget spot for Dixie Beer. But, more remarkably, the Silver award went to legal marketing agency Firmidable for its television campaign for a workers compensation law firm based in Rapid City, South Dakota. Weve never been so proud to be Number Two, Firmidable Founder and President Nathan Chapman said with a laugh. For over 25 years weve created the nations very best legal marketing right here from New Orleans. But year after year, its been impossible to compete for advertising awards with sexier subjects. This year, we thought we had a shot. The judges, who are brought in from other cities to avoid bias, agreed. Our client didnt have the budget to fly in a crew to South Dakota for a multi-day shoot, recalled Chapman, who also serves as the agencys creative director. So the agency had to start by getting creative with the budget. It arranged for some of the law firms clients to go to a Rapid City recording studio where Chapman asked them to tell their personal stories of how ordinary workdays became nightmares after becoming injured and denied workers comp benefits. From New Orleans, Chapman conducted the interviews using a video chat service so he could look the interviewees in the eye and establish a rapport. The interviewees often choked up with the emotion of their stories, something Chapman doesnt feel would have occurred if he was just a voice on the phone. The interview audio was edited in house by Firmidable production manager Cindy Bower and then turned over to art director Ellie Platt who worked with New Orleans motion designer and animator Joe Fleming to illustrate the commercial series. Ellie and Joe drew upon an animation technique known as kinetic typographywhere the motion of words and graphics creates its own attention-grabbing imagery. Great advertising is not about the advertiser, its about the audience, Chapman said. You dont hear from any lawyers in these spots. We let ordinary people tell their stories. When done, the agency felt they had something special. Recognizing that legal advertising virtually never wins an advertising award, Firmidable Vice President Katie Baxter smiled: I dont think Ive ever heard such a loud cheer when they announced a Silver award before. See the Firmidable / Julius and Simpson campaign award winning lawyer commercials. About Firmidable: Firmidable has been a national expert in legal marketing for almost 30 years. Based in New Orleans, it brings law firms customized, data-driven marketing strategies and services, including online and traditional media for a wide range of legal practices. It has transformed the lives of attorneysand their clientsfrom Maine to Hawaii. The firm's President, Nathan Chapman, is available for interviews. Please contact 504-525-0932. Kintone, provider of a no-code application development platform used to quickly connect, organize, and visualize workflows, today announced that two customers -- A-B Emblem and McCormick Distilling -- have been named finalists in the Business Transformation Operation Excellence (BTOE) Award program. Award winners will be announced at the Business Transformation & Operational Excellence World Summit on March 22 in Orlando, Florida. Both organizations sought an affordable solution to modernize outdated processes and meet organizational goals for continuous digital transformation. North Carolina-based A-B Emblem, a custom manufacturer and distribution company that produces emblems, patches and insignia for companies around the world, is the North American division of Conrad Industries. It includes seven separate divisions, including three factories and four distribution divisions. The company produces over seventy million patches per year. Heather Johnson, compliance offer at A-B Emblem, was named a finalist in the "Best Achievement in Operational Excellence to Deliver Digital Transformation category due to her teams efforts to completely modernize and transform the companys supply chain using Kintones no-code platform. A-B Emblem migrated their predominately paper-based system to Kintone in about two months, building a Supplier Portal which consists of 12 suppliers, 14 users and approximately six applications to help them manage internal purchasing processes. What used to take three days we were able to reduce to about three minutes, said Johnson. And not only did we save a tremendous amount of time by using Kintone, we saved the company a good deal of money too. Supplier Portals can cost upwards of $1 million; we were able to build ours from the ground up for a tiny fraction of that and what we built in Kintone is far more customized than any off-the-shelf solution. Johnson and her team also used Kintones platform to redesign the companys quote system and the redevelopment of A-B Emblems large, multi-company design team processes as well. The design team consists of three of Conrads own companies (U.S., Mexico and China), as well as individual and third-party contractors, a total of 16 designers and digitizers. This created a seamless process between Conrads customers, sales team, design team, and purchasing team through to the suppliers. Betsey Thurlo, network administrator at McCormick Distilling, was named a finalist in the Best Operational Excellence Project Under 90 Days category. Founded in 1856, McCormick Distilling is the United States oldest distillery west of the Mississippi River still operating in its original location. Thurlo and her team struggled with organizational challenges due to the companys reliance on traditional processes, such as a paperwork, manual phone calls and email. Using Kintones no-code platform, Thurlo and team first built an effective alternative to update the companys workflow process management and audit capabilities, then went to work building a no-code application for onboarding new McCormick employees which included everything from securing new computers to granting system access. Using Kintones form creator plugin, the new onboarding applications lists all the new hires needs, training components, and necessary safety equipment. By organizing several steps into one portal, Thurlo and her team streamlined the onboarding process and improved interdepartmental communication as well. Shifting time and attention to new tools like Kintone-- only helps to revolutionize age-old processes, said Thurlo. It doesnt compromise the integrity of the product, nor does it invalidate the operations that helped the company get to a certain point. This virtual shift is just simply the next step that will help companies like McCormick keep their focus on the timeless operations that truly matter. Thurlo and her team also created Kintone applications for managing and streamlining McCormicks visitor log, media contact list, mileage records, daily notes for sales, purchase requests, account focus for sales, maintenance requests, and a capital expenditure purchase request app. Please visit Kintone for more information on the companys no-code platform or click here for customer success stories. About Kintone Corporation San Francisco-based Kintone is making teamwork better with its no-code application platform that provides organizations with a customizable workspace that integrates multiple data sources for deeper insight into business processes. Kintone eliminates the cost and maintenance requirements of traditional off-the-shelf applications while dramatically increasing team and workflow efficiency. More than 10,000 companies have built, deployed and use over 500,000 applications on Kintone. Kintone is provided by Cybozu Inc, a Tokyo-based public company founded in 1997. Both Kintone and Cybozu are designated as great workplaces by Great Place to Work, a global authority on high performing workplace cultures. For more information, please visit https://www.kintone.com/ INFOhio launched its new open educational resource (OER) platform, Open Space, to empower PreK-12 educators to create and share digital learning tools that promote innovative and collaborative learning. Developed in partnership with the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME), INFOhios Open Space creates a free community of creation and collaboration for all of Ohios educators. Geoff Andrews, CEO of the Management Council stated, Open Space aligns to one of the core principals of the Ohio Department of Educations new strategic plan equity. When educators create and share educational content that all Ohio PreK-12 educators can freely use, all students have a level playing field. Theresa Fredericka, Director of INFOhio concurred, Open Space provides Ohios educators a unique collaboration platform. Now, a teacher in Toledo can work with a teacher in Athens to produce a great science lesson that is easily shared with all Ohio teachers. Open Space, licensed and supported by INFOhio, is built on the OER Commons infrastructure. It features all the authoring and collaboration tools found on OER Commons, ISKME's digital library and collaboration platform, while being designed to meet the distinctive needs of Ohio's PreK-12 educators. Open Space curation tools provide a platform to easily access and share Ohio created digital education content and create unique collections focused on Ohios education needs. Open Space is a place for Ohio educators to work within disciplines and across geographical regions to meet the unique needs of Ohios educators and students, says Lisa A. Petrides, CEO of ISKME that created OER Commons as a digital library of record for open education resources. Open Space provides an opportunity for Ohio educators to access, curate, evaluate and adapt all kinds of learning materials to meet student needs, interests, and contexts and to deepen learning with tools that are dynamic, relevant, and closely tied to state standards. Open Space, built with consultation from the Open Space Advisory Council, is the newest addition to INFOhio's suite of OER tools, which are freely available to Ohios PreK-12 students and educators. To learn more about INFOhio and OER, please visit http://www.infohio.org/oer. About INFOhio INFOhio is Ohios PreK-12 digital library with a vision that each Ohio PreK-12 student has equal access to high quality digital resources for a successful education and future. INFOhio transforms student learning by licensing a collection of instructional contentselected to support Ohios Learning Standardsand making it easily accessible to all Ohio PreK-12 students, their parents, and teachers from any Internet-connected deviceat no cost to Ohio's schools. INFOhio is optimized by the Management Council, which represents and supports the collaborative efforts of Ohios Information Technology Centers, spanning a vast array of administrative and academic applications that make up the Ohio Education Computer Network. Visit INFOhio at http://www.infohio.org. About ISKME ISKME (http://www.iskme.org) is an independent education nonprofit with the mission to improve the practice of continuous learning, collaboration, and change in education. Established in 2002, ISKME supports innovative teaching and learning practices globally and is well known for its open education initiatives. ISKME launched the public digital library and collaboration platform, OER Commons, in 2007. In 2018 ISKME and the U.S. Department of Educations announced a partnership to support the #GoOpen Initiative goal of ramping up the use of open educational resources. The Pediatric Spica Table comes to you assembled. With the Pediatric Spica Table you get a higher levels of casting efficiency with positive outcomes Industrial Engineering Machine LLC is an American company manufacturing an American product with the absolute highest quality materials available. Truly a cut above the rest. At Industrial Engineer Machines LLC engineers are always trying to improve their products. Pediatric Spica Table contacts doctors and casting technicians that are using their tables and what has been quoted is.... dont change your table, it works perfectly the way it is designed. The Pediatric Spica Table is available in polished or satin finished 304 stainless steel. The structural frame including the adjustment handles and fasteners are also made from 304 stainless steel. This type of stainless steel is strong, durable, resistant to corrosion and is also much easier to clean and maintain, resulting in greater product resilience and longevity. Radiolucent Components: In addition to the tabletop, the interchangeable spinal supports and multiple perineal posts are also made of scratch-resistant radiolucent polycarbonate. This means that x-rays can be taken during the casting process without disturbing the patient or disrupting the casting process, resulting in greater patient comfort and increased assurance of alignment accuracy. The size of the two smaller spine supports that are supplied with our tables have been improved in thickness and durability. The main radiolucent tabletop now has multiple adjustments that help in the set up when the table is used for x-raying. With these multiple adjustments the ability to perform x-rays during the casting process, without having to move or re-position the patient can result in fewer recasts, higher levels of casting efficiency and more positive outcomes. When these results are combined with less time on the table, and an associated decrease in cost, its no wonder that the Pediatric Spica Table has been so well received by casting technicians and doctors around the world. Adjustable Arm Supports: The Pediatric Spica Table is available with fully adjustable removable arm supports that are made of the same scratch-resistant radiolucent polycarbonate. This provides casting technicians with the ability to allow the patient to rest comfortably on the table during the casting process. A comfortable patient results in less unnecessary movement, less patient anxiety, less associated trauma and a smoother overall process The Pediatric Spica Table Company will be visiting cities across the U.S. this year to demonstrate the Pediatric Spica Table. If your hospital is interested in a demonstration please contact us via email. spicatable(at)gmail(dot)com Pediatric Spica Table is a division of Industrial Engineering Machine LLC a research and development-manufacturing company located in Monterey, California, USA. We specialize in the development of unique, customized products for professionals seeking design applications not readily available to the general marketplace. PATENT PENDING CE European Directives Approved Opening the door to your humble beginnings and learning experiences along the way can be tapped into as your superpower to greater connections in the advisory space, In his February 22, 2019, ThinkAdvisor article, Want to Connect Better? Try Dan Arnolds Technique, independent broker-dealer recruiter Jon Henschen of Henschen & Associates suggests that for deeper, longer relationships with clients and colleagues, financial advisors should take a cue from the head of LPL Financial. Henschens advice is a result of more than 60 due diligence trips to independent broker-dealers since 2001, noting that what stands out among these visits are the firms that have the ability to connect, not merely point out their list of strengths. As evidence, Henschen begins by discussing one particular broker-dealer president who shared the humble beginnings of his firm. When he and a group of his colleagues felt that their broker-dealers werent addressing their needs, they formed their own. This group intended to form a broker-dealer by advisors for advisors, anticipating that other advisors who shared their concerns would want to be part of that kind of environment. Henschen shares that during their discussion, this individual showed vulnerability and transparency as he explained that, early on, we didnt really know what we were doing on many levels. In spite of ourselves, we outgrew our facility as more advisors joined. This group figured things out along the way through trial and error, ultimately growing to a midsize broker-dealer. The frank discussion built a strong connection that deepened his relationship and recruiting activity for years afterward. According to Henschen, everyone loves an underdog story of overcoming obstacles as we learn from our mistakes because we all started from humble beginnings which when shared, can build bonding connections with others. Turning to large broker dealers, Henschen observes that these firms can be especially cold and impersonal, seemingly devoid of vulnerability or personal connection. However, breaking that mold is LPL Financial CEO Dan Arnold. Henschen recounts when Arnold spoke to his advisors in April of 2018, taking a position of humility as he explained that significant changes were coming. Demonstrating vulnerability, Arnold opened up about the firms weaknesses, admitting that LPL had difficulty recruiting NPH advisors and that there was dissatisfaction among the advisors. The changes they were implementing largely came from suggestions from their own advisors. According to Henschen, this was a connection moment between management and advisors that you rarely see at larger broker-dealers. Further, Henschen notes that since that moment, the changes at LPL have been turning the ship to greater recruiting growth and higher retention. Henschen observes that in his firms recruiting activities, he is witness to the depth of connections not only between advisors and their broker-dealer but also advisors and their clients. When an advisor lacks connections with their broker-dealer, they show little hesitation in leaving. When an advisor changes broker-dealer, those that have little connection with their clients often experience a low client retention rate when they make their move to another broker dealer. Stating that financial services is a highly analytical business, Henschen also observes that human dynamics like vulnerability can be a low priority, as few are comfortable discussing struggles, for fear of it being interpreted as incapable or weak. This unwillingness or inability to be authentically vulnerable is a cause of disconnection with others. Henschens article continues by citing a number of sources, such as Brene Brown, Ph.D., author and expert on social connection, who states that, Often, we work to appear the opposite competent or overconfident to make up for our perceived flaws to lessen the chance well be judged. Through her extensive research, Brown discovered that individuals who are authentic, compassionate and courageous, all of which result from being vulnerable, are those with the strongest sense of connection. Henschen also point to the work of Emma Seppala, Ph.D., co-director of the Yale College Emotional Intelligence Project and faculty director of the Womens Leadership Program at the Yale School of Management, whose Harvard Business Review article, What Bosses Gain by Being Vulnerable, asserts, Human connection is often dramatically missing from workplaces. Why is human connection missing at work? We want to convey an image of confidence, competence and authority, she explains. We may disclose our vulnerability to a spouse or close friend behind closed doors at night but we would never show it elsewhere during the day, let alone at work. Seppala continues, While we may try to appear perfect, strong or intelligent in order to be respected by others, pretense often has the opposite effect intended. Henschen retells one of Seppala stories of connection and how it can affect productivity. He closes by suggesting that when financial advisors open the door to their humble beginnings and learning experiences along the way, it can be like tapping into their superpower to greater connections in the advisory space. You can find Jon Henschens full article, along with other articles and podcasts, on his website http://www.findabrokerdealer.com. Jon Henschen is President of Henschen & Associates, an independent broker-dealer recruiting firm located in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota. With more than 20 years of industry experience, Jon is a staunch advocate for independent financial advisors and is widely sought after by both reps and broker dealers for his expertise and advice on independent broker-dealer topics. He is frequently published and quoted in a variety of industry publications, including ThinkAdvisor, Investment Advisor Magazine, Wealth Management Magazine, Financial Advisor IQ, Financial Advisor Magazine, Investment News and others. We are pleased to welcome these three accomplished individuals to our board, and look forward to their contributions as we serve and support the greater Hunterdon County area, commented Barry W. Scheier, LNHA, Executive Committee President. We are pleased to welcome these three accomplished individuals to our board, and look forward to their contributions as we serve and support the greater Hunterdon County area, commented Barry W. Scheier, LNHA, Executive Committee President. The first of the three, Frank Greenagel, is a clinical social worker specializing in addiction and recovery treatment. He is licensed in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Frank consults for a variety of treatment programs and universities and serves on the Board of Directors for NASW-NJ. He also sits on the Alumni Council of Rutgers School of Social Work. Additionally, Frank is the Public Policy Chair of the NJ Society of Addiction Medicine. Frank has served on the New Jersey Governors Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse (GCADA) since 2011 and was the Chairman of the New Jersey Heroin and Other Opiates Task Force. In 2018, the President of the New Jersey State Senate, Stephen Sweeney, appointed Frank to New Jersey Youth Suicide Prevention Advisory Council. Donna Puglia, the second new member to join the board, is a Licensed Social Worker and a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor in the state of New Jersey. Since 2009, she has worked in the field of addiction, servicing many different levels of care, including inpatient and IOP/OP. Her considerable knowledge of trauma and trauma issues has been especially beneficial when serving clients. The third newest board member is Ed Delia, President of the NJ-based business branding and marketing firm, Delia Associates, founded in 1964 by his father, Michael A. Delia. Under Eds leadership, Delia Associates has contributed greatly to the success and growth of a variety of regional and international organizations. In 2018, Ed donated the branding and web development services of his firm for the purpose of elevating HDAPs image as a critical area resource. Ed has held numerous non-profit board positions during his career, providing guidance in the areas of brand image, community relations, communications, visibility, and fund-raising outreach. Ed says, I am grateful for being a part of this mission and opportunity to work alongside people with such diverse and accomplished backgrounds. # # # # ABOUT THE HUNTERDON DRUG AWARENESS PROGRAM Hunterdon Drug Awareness Program, Inc. is a progressive, science-based nonprofit outpatient (OP) and intensive outpatient (IOP) treatment program. The nonprofit organization provides treatment to a broad range of clients who experience an improvement in the quality of their lives as a result of the treatment, intervention, and prevention programs. They have proudly been serving the greater Hunterdon County area since 1977. HDAPs mission states that they will serve all Hunterdon County residents regardless of their ability to pay. The nonprofit organization is a private, nonprofit 501(c)3 organization and is licensed by the State of New Jersey, Division of Addiction Services (for both OP and IOP levels of care, and they are in-network with most major insurance companies). Khaliah Guillory, Founder of Nap Bar Giants like Google have implemented sleep stations... Naps are proven to help reduce economic loss... Past News Releases RSS Power naps are the next big thing to hit corporate America and reduce sleep debt. The business model is simple: take a nap during the day to feel better and do more. Increasing productivity, the nap biz is popular in New York, Europe and Japan, offering travelers, workers and entrepreneurs a safe way to sleep. Grab a pillow its perfectly okay for adults to slumber in swanky surroundings during the middle of the day. Whether youre sleep deprived, hungover or simply need to rest, Houston welcomes the first-ever Nap Bar, a pay-by-the-snooze napping facility located in Rice Village. Naps arent just for kids anymore the siesta biz is flourishing in the wellness space and corporations around the world are taking them seriously. Nap Bar founder and president, Khaliah Guillory, a diversity and inclusion, and leadership consultant, partnered with New Living natural and organic mattresses to launch the first nap initiative in Texas. Our goal is to promote wellness and turn sustainable rest into sustainable productivity for health-conscious humans, said Khaliah Guillory. Nap Bars custom-patented napping pods are designed with sound-proof materials and contain organic, non-toxic Bungaloom mattresses and bedding. Visitors are greeted by a Comfort Concierge and led inside a private suite surrounded with T.L.C. Naps are scheduled 20 to 26 minutes for short-term alertness, or longer, if needed. Khaliah Guillory has worked with organizations such as NASA, delivering innovative wellness and inclusion workshops. When NASA conducted a sleep study on weary pilots, she learned that a 26-minute power nap actually helped improve performance by 34 percent and alertness by 54 percent, which encouraged her to develop Nap Bar. Giants like Google have implemented sleep stations to help employees recharge during the day, Guillory explained. Naps are proven to help reduce significant economic loss by decreasing sleep deprivation. Guests receive complimentary aromatherapy and custom brain wave therapy with every siesta. Other add-ons include, lymphatic massages, hot showers, espressos, and EarthCraft Juicery blends that are crafted from raw, healing ingredients. The experience promises gentle healing and peaceful rest. Additionally, Nap Bar offers in-suite napping build-outs for companies and has plans to launch mobile snooze units in downtown Houston later this year as part of their mission to help solve the $411 billion-dollar economic loss due to sleep deprivation. Nap Bar will officially open to the public on Monday, April 1, 2019, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For a limited time, guests will receive free selected upgrades, discounts on Lyft and a chance to win a VIP membership valued at $179.00. To learn more about Nap Bar, visit napbarnow.com. The Farm & Gin Show comes at a perfect time, just in advance of our initial commercial deployment of our Wireless Underground System for soil moisture monitoring and management GroGuru will be attending the 67th annual Mid-South Farm & Gin Show, set for March 1-2, 2019 at the Cook Convention Center, Memphis, Tenn. The Souths premier show offers attendees the opportunity to see whats new in the industry and hear from respected leaders, according to Timothy Price, show manager. Price says the 2019 show features many small and mid-sized companies with a long history of exhibiting at the show. Some of our exhibitors have been in the show for decades. Some have exhibited since the show launched in 1952. We also have companies that are just getting started, displaying their products and services. Were fortunate to have the space to showcase modern, progressive agriculture, he said. "The Farm & Gin Show comes at a perfect time, just in advance of our initial commercial deployment of our Wireless Underground System for soil moisture monitoring and management," according to Patrick Henry, president and CEO of GroGuru. "We have had a longstanding relationship with AgLaunch in Tennessee, and through that relationship have developed some significant customer relationships in the Mississippi Delta region that are going to be significant for the WUGS technology. AgLaunch and the organizers of the Farm & Gin Show have been very gracious in having us participate in the important event." The Mid-South Farm and Gin Show is sponsored by Southern Cotton Ginners Association and Foundation and Delta Farm Press, and regularly attracts approximately 20,000 domestic and international decision-makers. Those attending the show, on average grow cotton, soybeans, corn, wheat, rice, and raise livestock, Price says. We know, year-in and year-out that over two-thirds of those attending this show make purchasing decisions within six months of the show. Hours for the 2019 Mid-South Farm & Gin Show are Friday, March 1, 9:00 AM to 5 PM, and 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM on Saturday, March 2. For additional information, contact Price at 901.947.3104 or visit the official show website at http://www.farmandginshow.com. About GroGuru GroGuru, Inc. is a privately held company based in San Diego, CA that provides precision soil and irrigation monitoring systems to the commercial agriculture industry. GroGuru is focused on enabling farmers to optimally use water and fertilizer with an innovative hardware-enabled Software as a Service (SaaS) solution. GroGuru GroGurus 100 percent wireless underground technology enables a permanent installation of sensors, even in annual field crops. GroGuru is a portfolio company at the EvoNexus technology incubator, the premier technology incubator in Southern California. For more information, visit the GroGuru website at https://www.groguru.com. Last week in Latvian capital Riga there commenced a meeting between a group of the prominent Latvian businessmen and the Minister of Economics of Latvia to discuss the creation of the Latvia China Business Council and Latvian participation in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). From the Chinese side the project is facilitated by the Silk Road Fund and the Chinese Society of Friendship with Foreign Countries. From the Latvian side the project is being promoted by the Chamber of Commerce and the Latvian Confederation of Employers. One of the main issues discussed at the meeting was the need to develop Latvian cooperation with the booming economies of Asia. Special attention should be paid to the interaction with China which is the world's second largest economy and, according to all forecasts, will become the leading global economy in the next 5 years. China has adopted a program of economic cooperation with the countries of the Eurasian continent - the Belt and Road Initiative, or the so-called Silk Road Revival Program. More than 50 billion US dollars have already been allocated for its implementation. In the 20-year term investments of up to 5 trillion dollars are planned. China is also interested in cooperation with Baltic republics. Being the world's largest producer and exporter of goods, China is in dire need of their promotion on the international markets, especially in Europe. China is also extremely interested in Eurasian transit and, as a result, in the creation of logistics hubs in European countries. Latvia can serve as one of such hubs. China has also become the largest country in the tourism business in the world (the annual flow of tourists to and from China exceeded 100 million people). Taking all that into account, a number of representatives of the Latvian business community created in 2017 a BRI-Latvia partnership, the purpose of which is to establish economic ties between China and Latvia and to attract investments into the Latvian economy. Dr Grigory Luchansky (http://www.grigoryluchansky.org ), Senior Vice President of the International Congress of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, is responsible for the advancement of economic cooperation between member-countries of the Congress and China. In this capacity Dr Luchansky acts as an Adviser to the BRI-Latvia partnership. Latvia and China discuss a number of joint projects. Among them are the construction of the LNG plant; modernization and expansion of Latvian sea-ports; development of electric transport; tourism and financial sector. Join pharmaceutical projects are also being discussed. Dr. Grigory Luchansky (http://www.grigoryluchanskybusiness.com) is initiator, investor and coordinator of the international program of developing the precision diagnostics and personalized medicine based on President Nazarbayevs initiative for increasing longevity of the nation of Kazakhstan (http://www.grigoryluchansky.com ). Cooperation in producing the geroprotectors, compounds capable of preventing or even reversing aging at the cellular level, will make China and Latvia join this program. The perspective of making the Baltic republics an economic window of China into Europe is very attractive for both Latvia and China. Latvia can use all its advantages seaports, other transit capacities, highly skilled workforce in cooperation with China, thus moving towards creation of a multi-vector Latvian economy, comments Dr. Grigory Luchansky. Goodway Group, the digital partner advertisers trust to deliver campaign performance and media efficiency, has appointed Corean Canty to the role of Chief Operating Officer. In this role, Canty will drive the company towards operational excellence and optimum client experience. She will also institute career development opportunities that are designed to empower Goodways mostly female workforce of over 350 employees. Canty reports to Goodways President Jay Friedman, who previously served as COO. I am so excited to be part of the leadership team at Goodway and focusing on providing clients with the technical expertise and strategic direction for their digital media, said Canty. One of the ways Im aiming to make an impact is through our people. Management is a passion of mine. I love to help people succeed. Their success is Goodways success, and I look forward to shaping an approach that helps to empower our staff and deliver exceptional results for our clients. Previously, Canty served as the VP of Sales Enablement at Goodway. Canty has been a member of the Goodway team for the past four years, holding senior positions within the company that encompass operations management. In her prior roles, she developed and built out Goodways research, media product and account management functions with a focus on enhancing client experience. She has helped to lead the transformation of Goodway, including initiatives to promote diverse leadership. Canty has a history of leading global strategy with some of the worlds top brands, including Walmart and Target. Prior to Goodway, she provided strategic direction for e-commerce, technology and brand development and partnerships to key partners at CafePress Inc. Canty also managed global strategic direction for key clients at TMP Worldwide, providing oversight for the development and implementation of social media strategy, brand development and advertising and marketing strategies. She started her career in media, producing and hosting a top rated morning radio show. We are thrilled to have Canty as our new COO. She brings a wealth of knowledge from her decades of experience as a digital marketer and a supportive management philosophy aimed at embracing achievement and diversity, both of which are highly valued at Goodway Group, said Friedman. Canty holds an M.A. in Public Relations and a B.A. in Communications and Mass Media from Michigan State University, where she received a Congressional Honor Award for the development of a youth outreach program. She is based in Atlanta, Georgia. About Goodway Group: Goodway Group is the digital partner advertisers trust to drive campaign performance and media efficiency. Proud to be completely independently owned and operated, Goodway provides trustworthy expertise that meets its clients' needs and no one else's. Using predictive intelligence, Goodway helps advertisers get the most value out of every impression across all paid digital media. Through the combination of employing the smartest technology and the most experienced people in the industry, Goodway delivers authentic results. Find Goodway Group online at goodwaygroup.com. Goodway Group. Honestly Smart Digital. Go For Broke National Education Center (GFBNEC) today announced its annual student contest that focuses on the relevance and impact of the Japanese American World War II veterans. The contest is open to high school students (Grades 9-12) and undergraduate and graduate college students. Cash prizes totaling $7,000 will be awarded to the top 12 winners. The first-place student in each category will receive $1,000 in addition to two complimentary tickets to attend GFBNEC's 30th Anniversary Gala/Evening of Aloha Dinner on October 12, 2019, at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in downtown Los Angeles. Students may write an essay or poem on one of three topics: The Japanese American WWII veteran experience is still relevant to our society today. Explore one of the ways this is true. How will you carry on the legacy of the Japanese American WWII veterans? This year is the 75th anniversary of the Korematsu v. United States and Ex Parte Endo cases where the courts upheld the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066. Analyze what the Japanese American WWII experience can teach us about the Constitution, rights and responsibilities. All submissions are due by Sunday, June 30, 2019. Essays and poems must be emailed to studentcontest@goforbroke.org. Essays should be from 250 to 500 words in length, and poems should not be longer than three typed pages. All entries must be original compositions. A panel of educators has been selected to serve as judges. The winning entries will be presented in a booklet at the Evening of Aloha Gala Dinner, as well as available on GFBNEC's website, http://www.goforbroke.org. This is the seventh year that GFBNEC has encouraged young people to explore their relationship to the Japanese American veteran story. Last year, GFBNEC received entries from approximately 45 high schools, and 24 universities from all over the country. Deadline for submission is June 30, 2019; winners will be notified by August 9, 2019. College and high school students are urged to submit their essays and poems to studentcontest(at)goforbroke.org. For more information, visit http://www.goforbroke.org. Note to Media: "Go For Broke" was the motto of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated Army unit composed of Japanese Americans from Hawaii and the mainland. The term was Hawaiian slang for "shooting the works," or risking everything for the big win in gamblingas the Nisei soldiers did while fighting in the field in WWII and facing prejudice at home in the U.S. About Go For Broke National Education Center Go For Broke National Education Center (GFBNEC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that educates the public on the valor of Japanese American veterans of World War II and their contributions to democracy. Our goal is to inspire new generations to embody the Nisei veterans core values of courage, sacrifice, equality, humility and patriotism. Founded in 1989, GFBNEC maintains the Go For Broke Monument and the interactive GFBNECs Defining Courage Exhibition in downtown Los Angeles, as well as extensive oral histories and archives, education and training programs, and other initiatives. For more information, please visit http://www.goforbroke.org. Media Contact: Pauline Yoshihashi Strategic Communications For GFBNEC 323/683-8191 Direct pyoshihashi(at)earthlink.net 2019 American Graphene Summit information Reps from the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Energy (DOE), NASA, and Economic Development Administration (EDA), as well as state legislators, members of the Congress, and international dignitaries will be in attendance to discuss graphene-focused collaborations. American business and industry leaders will join U.S. government officials and international graphene leaders for the American Graphene Summit to be held in Washington, D.C., May 21-22, 2019. The unprecedented two-day Summit features a Graphene On Capitol Hill event, keynoted by Senator Roger Wicker. (R. Miss), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Responding to Senator Wickers invitation, senior members of Congress and Administration and leaders of graphene industries will focus on shaping the architecture surrounding graphene technologies and evaluate its impact on the U.S. and the global economy. Graphene is a material with enormous potential. The American Graphene Summit will help participants assess the ability of this material to improve consumer products and develop recommendations to support U.S. leadership in graphene commercialization, Senator Wicker said. Organized by the National Graphene Association (NGA), the American Graphene Summit will begin on May 21, 2019, with the Graphene Leaders event held at the W hotel, concluding on May 22 with the Graphene On Capitol Hill event. The Graphene Leaders event will explore the future of graphene in different industrial segments and product markets such as automotive, aviation, oil and gas, telecommunication, healthcare, and electronics. The Graphene On Capitol Hill event will be held in partnership with U.K. representatives at the Kennedy Caucus Room in Russell Senate building. Representatives from the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Energy (DOE), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Economic Development Administration (EDA), as well as state legislators, members of the Congress, and international dignitaries will be in attendance to discuss invigorating graphene-focused collaborations between business and government in the national and international verticals. For the first time ever, we are creating a platform where current and future stakeholders in graphene will convene to identify focus areas critical to the national U.S. objectives from security, infrastructure, and economic standpoints and how graphene can significantly impact these focus areas. said Dr. Zina Jarrahi Cinker, Executive Director of the NGA. Media requests for interviews and press passes for journalists and photographers with credentials should be directed to Makayla Telfer via email: press@1680.co. ABOUT THE NATIONAL GRAPHENE ASSOCIATION The National Graphene Association (NGA) is the primary organization and body in the United States advocating and promoting the commercialization of graphene and addressing critical issues such as standards and policy development. Dubbed the wonder material of 21st century, graphene is the thinnest and strongest material ever discovered. Graphene is one atomic layer of carbon transparent, flexible, and an excellent thermal and electrical conductor. NGA convenes current and future graphene stakeholders from graphene companies, research bodies, suppliers, developers, investors, venture capitalist and government agencies to drive innovation and expedite the commercialization of graphene technologies globally. Founded in 2016 by Dr. Ed Meek, the National Graphene Association is headquartered in Oxford, Mississippi, USA. Business Relations: Yssa McKaig yssamc@nationalgrapheneassociation.com (615) 840-3917 ### Group photograph: New Italian Wine Ambassadors certified in L.A. with VIA Faculty & Stevie Kim 'I have never taken any course like VIA. From the origin of the grape vine to the culture that we discussed, the history, science, geology I am just scratching the surface, it was one of the most enriching experiences of my life!'--- Massimo Serradimigni, Italian Wine Ambassador certified in LA. The Vinitaly International Academy global community continues to grow steadily with 7 Italian Wine Ambassadors newly certified in Los Angeles. The overall count then raises to 177 accredited members (of which 13 are Experts and 164 Ambassadors), even if the broader alumni community reaches 500 wine professionals worldwide that have been through the program since 2015. The new Ambassadors certified in Los Angeles are all experienced wine professionals based in the United States and the U.K. and include: Rebecca Lawrence, Wine Educator and Assistant Manager at The Vineking Independent Wine Merchants in Redhill, U.K.; Massimo Serradimigni, Importer and Distributor at Winebow in Skokie, USA; Catherine Stratton, Wine Educator at C.S. Selections LLC in Playa del Rey, USA; Petra Belliti, owner of DiVita Tours in San Diego, USA; Emily Wynbrandt, Importer and Distributor at Mucci Imports in Brooklyn, USA; Orazio Campoli, Sales Manager at Lyra Wines in Los Angeles, USA; Sheila Donohue, Importer and Distributor at Vero Vino in New York, USA. The Italian Wine Ambassador course in Los Angeles was officially launched on Monday February 18th at the Line Hotel in downtown L.A. by VIA Founder Stevie Kim and Italian Trade Agency commissioner Florindo Blandolino. Blandolino met VIA Faculty Sarah Heller MW and Henry Davar as well as the 27 candidates at the course venue and spoke about the Italian Trade Agencys commitment to promote Italian wine on the American market, the largest foreign market for Italian wines. The Italian Trade Agency will continue to support VIAs educational projects in the United States throughout 2019, such as the next Italian Wine Ambassador course Stateside, which will take place in New York from June 24th to 28th, along with VIAs flagship course in Verona, Italy, at the end of March in the lead-up to Vinitaly. The Italian Wine Ambassador course staged in Los Angeles was reformatted in Autum 2018 to allow candidates to learn about Italian wine in a systematic way and to taste even more wines than before. In Los Angeles, candidates tasted 65 labels during the guided tastings that followed the theory lectures, and also additional 41 labels during the Tasting Labsthe latter a new dedicated moment in which students could practice tasting and discover other Italian gems. In Los Angeles, the Tasting Labs were supported for the first time by the official VIA Supporters, Italian trade organizations which chose to assist VIA in its educational mission abroad. Wine associations ISWA - Italian Signature Wines Academy, Consorzio Italia del Vino, and Consorzio di Tutela Vini del Trentino debuted as VIA Supporters in Los Angeles, providing a wide range of labels for the students to taste. Italian Wine Ambassadors certified in Los Angeles praised VIAs efforts in making the course systematic, comprehensive, and tasting-intensive. Newly-proclaimed Italian Wine Ambassador Massimo Serradimigni describes the uniqueness of the learning experience offered during the course: I have never taken any course like VIA. From the origin of the grape vine to the culture that we discussed, the history, science, geology I am just scratching the surface, it was one of the most enriching experiences of my life! Emily Wynbrandt, who also achieved the Ambassador title, appreciated the community-building aspect inherent VIAs educational path: I think with VIA, one of the main components, aside from the course material which is very comprehensive, is the community that it builds, and the ability to meet other like-minded professionals in the Italian wine community. Italian Wine Ambassador Rebecca Lawrence commented on how the new format is reflected in the revised exam at the end of the course: I am really excited. I think the new course format is great. Obviously it still got that foundation with the multiple-choice, so you can show off the breadth of your knowledge, but the short answer questions really show the depth, and give you the chance to really do a deep dive on the subject. And, obviously, I think the tasting is fundamental because there are so many grapes and if you are going to be an Ambassador you need to know what they taste like and be able to describe them. The next VIA Italian Wine Ambassador course will be staged in Chengdu, China, from March 16th to 20th, and subsequently in Verona, Italy, from March 29th to April 2nd. Additional information on the next certification courses can be found on Vinitaly International website. About: The grand Vinitaly 2019 will be held from April 7th to the 10th. Every year, Vinitaly counts more than 4,000 exhibitors on a 100,000+ square meter area and 130,000 visitors from over 140 different countries with more than 30,000 top international buyers. The premier event to Vinitaly, OperaWine Finest Italian Wines: 100 Great Producers, which will be held on the 6th of April, one day prior to Vinitaly will unite international wine professionals in the heart of Verona, offering them the unique opportunity to discover and taste the wines of the 100 Best Italian Producers, as selected by Wine Spectator. Since 1998 Vinitaly International travels to several countries such as Russia, China, USA and Hong Kong thanks to its strategic arm abroad, Vinitaly International. In February 2014 Vinitaly International launched an educational project, the Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) with the aim of divulging and broadcasting the excellence and diversity of Italian wine around the globe. VIA this year launched the seventh edition of its Certification Course and today counts 164 Italian Wine Ambassadors and 13 Italian Wine Experts. Direct Console to ESChat Console Integration Mission Critical communications require interoperability between disparate system components and vendors. ESChat and Zetron are committed to the use and continued development of standards-based interoperability. ESChat and Zetron today announced they will be demonstrating an integrated Dispatch and Broadband Push-to-Talk (PTT) solution at IWCE 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. As Broadband PTT continues to grow in the public safety and commercial business markets, customers require integration of components traditionally associated with Land Mobile Radio (LMR) systems. Direct Broadband PTT to Dispatch Console integration has been widely recognized as among the highest priorities for these customers. The two companies have integrated their solutions in the past using both basic and advanced methods. Basic integration methods only allow for Group-based communication without the ability to pass User IDs between systems. Advanced integration has been performed when both products are connected to a common digital LMR system, such as P25 (using the ISSI and CSSI interfaces) or Digital Mobile Radio (DMR), using the AIS interface. This demonstration is different, as it supports all the features of the Advanced Integration, without the requirement for the P25 or DMR system. Mission Critical communications require interoperability between disparate system components and vendors. ESChat and Zetron are committed to the use and continued development of standards-based interoperability. ESChat and Zetron systems have been integrated using the AIS standard, which is the console interface for DMR systems. The ESChat and Zetron solution via AIS supports Group. Emergency and Private Calls, as well as the passing of User IDs. The AIS integrated solution is anticipated to be commercially available in the Spring of 2019. About ESChat: ESChat (http://www.eschat.com) is the leading provider of carrier independent Secure Broadband Push to Talk (PTT). ESChat service includes AES-256 encrypted PTT voice and multimedia messaging. ESChat also provides live and historical (bread crumb) tracking and mapping. ESChat is a FirstNet Certified solution, offering Quality of Service, Priority and Preemption (QPP) to FirstNet subscribers. ESChat also supports Quality of Service (QoS) enhancements on the Verizon Wireless and AT&T commercial networks. Currently used by all branches of the U.S. Military, as well as federal, state and local public safety agencies, ESChat is able to operate over and across any wireless network, including all commercial carriers, private 3G/4G networks and WiFi. ESChat supports interoperability with all LMR radio networks, including P25 via the native Inter RF Subsystem Interface (ISSI) protocol and DMR via the native Inter Application Interface Specification (AIS) protocol. For more information, please visit http://www.eschat.com. About Zetron, Inc. Zetron has been designing and manufacturing integrated mission-critical communications systems since 1980. Its offerings include NG9-1-1 call-taking, CAD, mapping, dispatch, voice logging, fire station alerting, and location service systems. They are expandable, interoperable, and able to support geo-diverse operations. Whats more, Zetron backs its products with technical support, training, and project-management services known for their skill and responsiveness. With offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, and a global network of partners, resellers, and system integrators, Zetron has installed thousands of systems and tens of thousands of console positions worldwide. Zetron is a wholly owned subsidiary of JVCKENWOOD Corporation. For more information, visit: http://www.zetron.com. Dunn&Co, a leading branding, advertising and production company, today announces it won 37 total ADDY awards at the AAF Tampa Bay (American Advertising Federation of Tampa Bay) 2019 ADDY Awards, held in Tampa on February 21. The agencys dramatic showingwinning five times more awards than any other agencymarked four years in a row that Dunn&Co. has led the awards count among all participating agencies. Of the 37 awards, 17 were awarded Gold or Best of Show in their respective categories, including: Three Best of Bay awards o Out-of-Home category for its Perfectly Prepared billboard for client PDQ o Online/Interactive category for its Delishical campaign, also for PDQ o Public Service category for its Stitches of Duty campaign, on behalf of Crisis Center of Tampa Bay Two Judges Choice awards o Its Time campaign for Grow Financial o Holidays with Harleston Green print ad for Edgewater Spirits The award-winning work was recognized in a variety of categories, including TV broadcast, digital/web, social media, outdoor, video, art direction, copywriting and cinematography. The ADDYs recognized the agencys work on behalf of seven different clientsTampa Bay Lightning, PDQ, Grow Financial, Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, Harleston Green scotch whisky, Wodka vodka and Burger 21. We push ourselves each year to craft the best work we possibly can on behalf of our clients, said Dunn&Co. President and CCO Troy Dunn. Being recognized the way we were this year is a testament to the outstanding talent of the team weve assembled. They make great work regardless of the industry or medium. And, as a result, our clients win. The AAF ADDY Awards is the nations largest advertising competition, with more than 60,000 entries annually. The ADDY Awards is the only creative awards program administered by the advertising industry for the industry. AAF Tampa Bay serves advertising professionals from the Tampa Bay community, including Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Citrus and Hernando Counties. Dunn&Co.s winning pieces will move on to compete at the district level competition for a chance to be forwarded to the national stage of the American Advertising Federation Awards in Hollywood, Fla., in June 2019. About Dunn&Co. Dunn&Co. (http://www.dunn-co.com) is a branding, advertising and marketing communications firm with offices in Tampa and London. They provide award-winning creative solutions for clients worldwide, including GE Healthcare, Tampa Bay Lightning, Trivago, Baxter Healthcare, Checkers, Grow Financial, Edgewater Spirits, Outback Steakhouse, Sabal Trust, Arrmaz and The United Way. About AAF Tampa Bay The American Advertising Federation Tampa Bay exists to support its members, the community and the advertising industry. Its mission is to promote fellowship, education and career enhancement among members of the advertising community; foster and recognize excellence in advertising; champion public service causes; build an understanding of the role and benefits of advertising at all levels; and encourage advertising self-regulation and continuous improvement to raise industry benchmarks. Dogtown Media CEO & Co-Founder, Marc Fischer Corporate research and review platform Clutch has featured Dogtown Media as a Los Angeles Leader in its 2019 Leader Awards. This kicks off another promising year for the firm which also ranked as 96th in Clutchs Top 1000 Global Service Providers for 2018. Since 2011, Clutch has recognized companies that demonstrate an exceptional ability to deliver unparalleled quality of work to their clients. By using meticulous market research to gain unprecedented insight into various industries, the Washington, D.C.-based organization has developed a reputation for identifying the top global mobile app development companies. Clutch employed this same data-driven approach in its evaluation of candidates for its 2019 Leader Awards. For Los Angeles alone, the research firm features 3,500 B2B companies on its review platform. By accounting for factors like work portfolio, market presence, and customer feedback, Clutch was able to elucidate the companies that consistently go above and beyond for their clients. Above all other aspects, client feedback was integral to the evaluation process. Clutch reached out to many of these firms clients to receive in-depth feedback. This is an opportunity for us to publicly recognize companies whose clients have spoken highly of their providers business acumen, services, and ability to deliver results, the organization explained. The CEO & Co-Founder of the Los Angeles mobile app developer, Marc Fischer, commented on Dogtown Media receiving the prestigious honor, On behalf of our team, I would like to extend my appreciation to Clutch for this award. Having been founded within the thriving Los Angeles tech scene, we are extremely grateful to have been recognized for our contribution and commitment to our clients and the community at large. Besides being featured as a Top Global Service Provider in 2018, Dogtown Media was also named a Top UX Designer in the United States by Clutch. More recently, the firm was also recognized as a 2019 Top Mobile App Development Company by B2B research and review company GoodFirms. Headquartered in Venice Beach, California, Dogtown Media leverages disruptive design strategies and dynamic development to deliver industry-leading apps. To date, the company has created over 200 mobile apps spanning industries including Artificial Intelligence, FinTech, IoT, and Healthcare app development. The Grey Matter Dashboard and Service Level Management Views The markets only service mesh platform with business intelligence and value at its core. The Grey Matter 1.0 intelligent service mesh platform is designed to simplify the complexities of enterprise microservice architecture adoption. The platform eases microservices development and management for the enterprise, freeing developers and IT Managers to focus on business optimization. With support for enhanced extensions to Envoy, Grey Matter 1.0 introduces business intelligence atop an enterprises services mesh, Kubernetes, and container management platforms. Grey Matter 1.0 provides an intuitive overview of every microservice operating on the enterprise service mesh. Executive level decision-makers gain valuable insight into the operations most critical to their business. Grey Matter proxies, based on the industry leading open-source Istio proxy, capture and leverage the massive volumes of performance metrics generated by the service mesh for fleet-wide policy management and enforcement. For Grey Matter, this data also enables service level management unlike any other service mesh on the market today. Dynamically configurable overlays provide warning of pending and current policy violations allowing fast corrective action. Decision-makers can rank the relevance of their most critical services for at-a-glance business impact tracking. Grey Matter 1.0 also enables DevOps network overwatch via memory, CPU, availability, error rate, latency, and utilization metrics tracked at both service- and route- levels. Grey Matter is one of the most complete packaged service mesh platforms on the market today with support for full ingress and egress traffic flow, an Edge gateway enabling your service mesh to control, secure and manage access externally through the edge. In conjunction with both underlying platforms and the cloud Grey Matter also supports vertical and horizontal up- and down- scaling to ensure enterprise services remain optimally supported in the most cost-efficient manner possible. Network data is encrypted between services, and access controlled through end-user authorization. In-depth logs also capture every action on the network for maximum historical oversight. Finally, the platform supports intelligent load-balancing, routing, HTTP/2 and GRPC support, automated bootstrapped configuration, zero-trust architecture, canary testing, health checking and resiliency for maximum network survivability. About Deciphers Grey Matter Grey Matter offers the resource management, IT to business measurement analysis, security, and cost efficiency required by todays IT leaders. Grey Matter accelerates the adoption of decentralized microservice architectures. Grey Matter makes IT lifecycle management, service delivery, and network operations more straightforward, reliable and measurable to a business bottom line. Where others only present a piece of the puzzle, Grey Matter provides the full picture. Grey Matter captures, stores, learns and summarizes every operation atop the service mesh. Providing deeper network insights than any other platform on the market, Grey Matter captures and learns from over 100 different service- and instance- route level statistics for each of your services. Your metrics are captured via decentralized data streaming, and synced and stored for in-depth service level analysis. Grey Matter allows you to use your data to produce dynamic service level overlays set to the Enterprise specified business objectives. Tooling and dashboards are a core part of Grey Matter. Most open source alternatives require the piecemeal employment of specialized observation and analysis tools. However, the Grey Matter Dashboard presents an intuitive single-touchpoint interface displaying all your service mesh operations. Fine-grained operational visuals and analytics provide you access to timely indications and warning information designed to shrink anomaly Mean-Time-To-Detect (MTTD) and slash network down-time Mean-Time-to Restore (MTTR). Logging, monitoring, and data retention are all modeled and programmed via observables related to actions across your service mesh - from application to infrastructure. Grey Matter publishes these events for storage and analysis making security analysis and resource change tracking simpler and troubleshooting across your service mesh and enterprise more cost-effective. Finally, Grey Matter is designed to enable AIOps through the innovative marriage of in-depth telemetry and metrics data capture and analysis, all backed by Deep Reinforcement Learning algorithms. With Grey matter, you can leverage predictive network operational monitoring and automated response to streamline network performance, avoid outages, save costs, and realign your resources to drive further business growth and innovation. Click here to see Grey Matter 1.0 in action! About Decipher Technology Studios Decipher develops the industrial AI powered service mesh platform, Grey Matter. Our platform delivers the reliable network performance, resource management, security, and cost efficiency in demand by todays C-suite personnel. With Grey Matter, our customers gain operational insight through intent-based automation and reporting providing maximum network reliability, performance, and resource control. Grey Matter liberates enterprise IT from these challenges, freeing CIOs, CTOs, and engineers to focus on what really matters; improving their product and growing their business. For more information, please follow us on twitter @deciphernow or visit http:// http://deciphernow.com/. Decipher was included in the recent Gartner publication Innovation Insight for Microservices Runtime Infrastructure. This report, authored by Anne Thomas and Aashish Gupta and published on 6 November 2018, examines the rapidly evolving market for microservices runtime infrastructure. Our company logo can be seen in the section identifying service mesh offerings in the burgeoning microservices infrastructure market. Gartner Publication Credit Gartner, Innovation Insight for Microservices Runtime Infrastructure, Anne Thomas, Aashish Gupta, 6 November 2018. Left to Right- Carmen Del Guercio (President & CEO of MD Food Bank), Nancy Smith (Senior Director Government Relations and Principal Gifts) and Rob Sobhani (Founder and CEO of Sparo). "Sparo is changing the way donations are made to make it easy and fun to support charities, said Rob Sobhani, founder and CEO of Sparo. Sparo Corporation, a developer for the Sparo Community Giving Platform, an early stage technology platform to make charitable giving fun and easy, announced today that it has delivered a $15,000 donation to the Maryland Food Bank to provide 45,000 meals for area families. Sparos patented platform allows users to find and make donations to charities, and offers charities a chance to win a jackpot donation through its Sparo Sweepstakes. "Sparo is changing the way donations are made to make it easy and fun to support charities, said Rob Sobhani, founder and CEO of Sparo. As we get set to launch our platform into the market, we wanted to show our support for the Maryland Food Bank with an upfront donation. Baltimore-based Maryland Food Bank has faced increased pressure recently helping families impacted by the government shutdown. This donation fills a critical need in Maryland with families facing hunger unexpectedly, said Meg Kimmel, executive vice president, programs and external affairs at the Maryland Food Bank. The effects of the shutdown are proving to be longer lasting than most people realize, and 45,000 meals will go a long way to providing stability to these families. Sparo aims to make it easy for donors to discover new charities that need their help and will conduct frequent sweepstakes whereby a participating charity is randomly selected to win the jackpot. Frequent donors win gift cards and other prizes. The SparoPrize platform runs online and is currently being beta-tested by the Maryland Food Bank, along with the Omid Foundation and Save a Childs Heart. Sparo partners with Network for Good to distribute funds. For more information on the Sparo Community Giving Platform, visit https://www.SparoPrize.com. About Sparo Corporation The Sparo Community Giving Platform was founded in 2018 to democratize global charitable giving, as a spinoff of the Sparo Corporations e-commerce platform founded in 2014 by noted author and foreign policy expert turned entrepreneur, Rob Sobhani, Ph.D. Through its patented SparoPrize community giving platform and Sparo Sweepstakes, Sparo aims to make it fun and easy to donate to worthy not-for-profits. Sparo operates globally and is based in the Washington, DC Metro area. Media Contacts: Lisa Throckmorton SpeakerBox (now REQ) sparo(at)req.co 301-802-3934 Wynola Pizza and Bistro "There is no other lifestyle opportunity that compares with the financial stability, aesthetic environment, versatility and expansion possibilities being offered with this rare and special property in the San Diego Backcountry, the Wynola Pizza & Bistro Estate!" - Donn Bree This rare property in Julian, California, features a 5+ acre commercial property with a 7200 ESF building, turn-key restaurant and bar business opportunity with 18-years proven history, a full liquor and music license, ample parking and space for special events; and a custom vintage ranch home on the contiguous 26+ acres. Situated on Highway 78 between Julian and Santa Ysabel, the property is in a prime location attracting backcountry visitors and the local community. The Wynola Pizza and Bistro estate offers an art-filled escape with custom installations from local artists, including the world-famous San Diego designer James Hubbell. From the custom bar top inspired by Southern California and Japanese painting techniques or the wood-burning pizza oven decorated with mosaic tile pieces gathered from around the world, the restaurant is covered in personal artistic touches. Hubbell, a well-known artist, designer, humanitarian and environmentalist, is internationally revered for inventive, ecological businesses and uplifting public parks constructed with volunteers and other prominent artistic collaborators. His mosaics and architectural contributions can be seen around the world from international Peace Parks to the Chapel and Sea Ranch and the Onion House in Hawaii. Inside Wynola Pizza, Hubbell designed an acrylic, enamel and polyester resin bar top featuring a Japanese paint technique combined with Southern California surfboard construction techniques. When asked why he chose to draw horses in to the Wynola Pizza and Bistro bar top in 2001, Hubbell stated I simply just liked horses. One of the reasons I got into art was to draw horses. Hubbells contributions can be found throughout the bistro. In the Julian backcountry, there are no other business opportunities or undeveloped commercial areas offering the same potential for expansion. The zoning, usable acreage and on-site parking combined with a successful business following, solid infrastructure, and foundation for growth, makes the Wynola Pizza and Bistro estate the ideal investment opportunity. Red Hawk Realty is pleased to list all three properties for $3,995,000.If sold separately, the commercial property is listed at $2,595,000, which includes a prominent 7200 ESF building with ample parking on 5+ acres of land for expansion and further business opportunity. The Wynola Pizza and Bistro business opportunity can be sold separately for $595,000. Adjacent to the commercial property and business, the residential property sits on 26+ acres. The classic ranch style home was built in 1934 featuring seasonal ponds and sweeping views in a designated Dark Sky area. The residential listing is offered for $1,295,000. The Wynola Pizza and Bistro estate offers exceptional versatility, great utility, and option for expansion. Well respected in the community, it is a gathering place for families, friends, musicians and patrons from near and afar. About Red Hawk Realty Donn Bree & the Red Hawk Realty team specialize in representing clients in the purchase and sale of land, ranch, environmental mitigation, residential, commercial and investment properties and offer assessment, valuation and independent consulting services. With a Ph.D. in Natural Sciences, Donn offers a distinct value with extensive knowledge of the biological environment, specific to geology, hydrology and vegetation. Red Hawk Realty has knowledgeable, professional agents who are highly proficient and offer guidance in market conditions, trends, inventory and local area information with a strong emphasis on high quality client services. Team members work together, enhancing accessibility and reliability. We know the backcountry and beyond! Columbus has been very progressive in pursuing funding for pedestrian safety specifically and in supporting national efforts like Safe Routes to School. Other cities of similar sizes have begun to look to Columbus to lead the way. The city of Columbus, Ohio, has contracted with Woolpert to provide engineering, survey and technical expertise to improve pedestrian access to schools. The project is part of the Columbus City Councils initiative to support and improve the safety and quality of life of city residents by installing sidewalks around schools within three urban neighborhoods. Woolpert has been assigned the Near South neighborhood, which will improve routes for students and families attending Lincoln Park Elementary School, Livingston Elementary School and South High School in the Columbus City School District. The basic services to be provided under this contract include civil engineering for roadways, intersections and stormwater design; survey and right-of-way services; construction plan development; and landscaping details. Nathan Fischer, Woolpert project manager, said these infrastructure improvements will make communities more walkable and improve home values, but the primary goal of the project is safety. He added that Columbus is ahead of the curve in implementing projects such as these that promote stronger, safer and healthier cities. Columbus has been very progressive in pursuing funding for pedestrian safety specifically and in supporting national efforts like Safe Routes to School, said Fischer, who works on roads and bridges projects throughout the state. Other cities of similar sizes have begun to look to Columbus to lead the way. Survey and engineering work for the Near South project is now underway. About Woolpert Woolpert is the fastest growing architecture, engineering and geospatial (AEG) firm in the country, delivering value to clients in all 50 states and around the world by strategically blending innovative design and engineering excellence with leading-edge technology and geospatial applications. With a dynamic research and development department, Woolpert works with inventive business partners such as Google and Esri; operates a fleet of planes, sensors and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS); and continually pushes industry boundaries by working with advanced water technologies, asset management, building information modeling (BIM) and sustainable design. The firm, which is 95th among ENRs Top 500 Design Firms, supports a mission to help its clients progress and become more progressive. For over 100 years and with 28 offices across the U.S., Woolpert serves federal, state and local governments; private and public companies and universities; energy and transportation departments; and the U.S. Armed Forces. For more information, visit woolpert.com or call 937-531-1258. Bicyclists can now alert intersections from their phones GiveMeGreen! allows Cities to easily tailor the services they want to provide for bicyclists, pedestrians, truck drivers and many other travelers while leveraging the common components of this platform. Sensys Networks Inc. is pleased to announce its beta-release of GiveMeGreen!, an innovative new smartphone app for bicycle detection at signalized intersections. GiveMeGreen! is the first of many connected and autonomous traveler apps developed by Sensys Networks Inc., the worlds leading provider of integrated wireless traffic data systems for Smart Cities. This initial deployment is a pilot program to improve safety for bicyclists and travel convenience for all motorists in Santa Clarita, California. We are delighted to be working with the City of Santa Clarita on this pilot program, says Amine Haoui, CEO of Sensys Networks. GiveMeGreen! allows Cities to easily tailor the services they want to provide for bicyclists, pedestrians, truck drivers and many other travelers while leveraging the common components of this platform. This Infrastructure-to-Everything (I2X) system for connected and autonomous travelers will improve safety, decrease congestion and improve the travel experience for many different types of connected travelers. The system consists of the GiveMeGreen! smartphone app which allows the bicyclist using the app to be automatically detected up to 300 feet in advance of the intersection. Once detected, the traffic signal applies the normal pedestrian-crossing signal timing function. This will allow pedestrians and bicyclists to use the same signal phase and will not cause any delay for motorists. There are also new signs that illuminate only when bicyclists or pedestrians are detected to warn turning motorists on Soledad Canyon that bicycles or pedestrians will be crossing the intersection during the next green light. Finally, the system includes a bicycle-only light at each intersection along the bike trail which confirms to the bicyclist that they have been detected. This free app will greatly benefit both bicyclists and motorists by providing better information about the presence of bikes at these intersections, says Cesar Romo, Chief Traffic Signal System Administrator for the City of Santa Clarita. GiveMeGreen! not only improves safety, but also improves the ride experience for Santa Claritas legions of bicyclists with automatic and reliable advance detection. This pilot system demonstrates the flexibility of the Sensys Networks platform, as it integrates with third-party signs and City traffic controllers. For bicyclists interesting in Beta-testing GiveMeGreen! or city planners wanting this service deployed locally, please visit http://www.sensysnetworks.com/gmg About Sensys Networks Sensys Networks improves the way people travel through cities. We deliver accurate and dependable detection data to drive reductions in urban traffic congestion for partners and public agencies around the globe. For more information see http://www.sensysnetworks.com. The final list of Miami cosmetic doctors for a facelift was researched and complied so patients would have an easier time finding board-certified doctors to provide the refreshed and youthful look they desire when it comes to the appearance of their face. - Cosmetic Town Senior Editor Cosmetic Town, an online plastic surgery and information community based in Los Angeles, is helping patients that want to refresh and rejuvenate their facial appearance by giving them the information they need to achieve their desired final results. Cosmetic Town has just published a list of the Best Miami Cosmetic Doctors for a Facelift. According to the senior editor of Cosmetic Town, As a person ages, the face starts to show lines and wrinkles as well as lose some volume. The amount of changes on the face varies per patient but everyone will see some impact to the facial features thanks to the aging process. A facelift gives patients a more youthful look by reducing signs of aging and rejuvenating the appearance of the patient. There are multiple facelift techniques available and the one used by a surgeon depends on the results desired by the patient as well as the physical condition of the patient at the time of the surgery. The senior editor remarked that a number of research methods were employed by the Cosmetic Town staff in order to compile the list of doctors. Our research staff used an intelligent algorithm that was focused on cosmetic surgery in order to put together the list of Miami facelift doctors. Our team also examined the skill level of the surgeons and the amount of education efforts the doctors perform on a regular basis. The education efforts of doctors included the number of articles they have written on a regular basis to share with peers as well as patient education regarding cosmetic surgery. Finally, we took a look at the overall satisfaction level of patients after their experience with their doctor of choice. The senior editor noted that none of the doctors had any kind of influence on the final decision about being included on the list. Cosmetic Town does not accept any form of compensation from doctors in order to be included on any of our lists. The final list of Miami cosmetic doctors for a facelift was researched and complied so patients would have an easier time finding board-certified doctors to provide the refreshed and youthful look they desire when it comes to the appearance of their face. About Cosmetic Town Cosmetic Town is an online cosmetic medicine publication whose mission is to share knowledge, inspire people and improve lives though cosmetic medicine. The website features doctors who were endorsed and highly recommended by their peers. Its reliable and streamlined database allows users to easily access the cosmetic surgery information they need with just a click of a button. The API Economy is Booming! Larger travel companies are moving towards platform based business models and need new travel products and services to integrate into their platforms. Travel Startups Incubator (TSI) is pleased to announce a 1-day API and travel technology symposium, part of our 2019 Innovation Program. Were bringing together TSI innovation partners from the leading TMCs, Corporate Travel Managers, GDSs, OTAs, Travel Platforms and vetted global travel technology startups looking to pilot and license their technology through APIs and micro-services. Symposium event page: events.travelstartups.co/ Get your APIs and Micro-Services licensed by the larger travel companies. One-on-one, pre-scheduled meetings. The symposium will curate quality engagements between the larger travel companies and startups through one-on-one appointments. Startups can demo, gather feedback and work towards acquiring pilots and licensing deals. (10) 15-minute one-on-one meetings for the corporate travel companies to meet with the startups to evaluate the technology. Relationship building for pilots & licensing. The intent of the private 1-day symposium is to bring key decision makers in the TSI innovation network in a room with startups that have technology ready to pilot/license. We are seeking quality vs. quantity. Larger conferences are great for learning and networking but rarely adequate for long-term relationship building. Meaningful discussions and feedback. In addition to the one-on-one meetings there will be up to (6) startup presentations and a panel session on best practices to pilot and license technology with corporates. The goal is to facilitate product feedback on new API and micro-service technology and to expedite piloting and licensing deals between the parties. The Symposium is a private event and there will be up to (10) large corporate travel companies and (20) travel technology startups attending. To attend, please visit our event website and fill out a brief form to begin the process. If you have any questions about the Symposium please email Matt Zito at matt(at)travelstartups.co or call 207-460-0740 for more information We are thrilled to see so many families already beginning their college savings journey with us, as we celebrate our milestone year, said Board Chairman John Rood. The Florida Prepaid Board is waiving $50 application fee through March 2 to celebrate three decades of helping Floridians save for college affordably Families can enroll in a Prepaid Plan for free, a $50 savings, by using promo code 30YEARS through Saturday, March 2. Almost 20,000 Prepaid Plans sold this year already Same affordable rates as last year, helping families save for college with guaranteed plans that start as low as $47. A new online pricing tool makes selecting your plan simple. This marks the 30th year of the Florida Prepaid College Program, cementing its legacy as the largest and longest-running such program in the nation. Open Enrollment began Feb. 1, 2019 and ends April 30, 2019 More than 20,000 Florida Prepaid Plans have already been started this Open Enrollment period, allowing families to take advantage of prices that remain at the same affordable rates as last year, with plans starting as low as $47 a month. As part of the Florida Prepaid College Boards celebration of its 30th anniversary, the Board has made enrollment free through Saturday, March 2, for families who purchase plans in the first 30 days, a savings of $50. Open Enrollment began Friday, February 1, 2019, and ends April 30, 2019. We are thrilled to see so many families already beginning their college savings journey with us, as we celebrate our milestone year, said Board Chairman John Rood. More than one million families have been saving with us for the past three decades, giving all of them the peace of mind of knowing that their monthly payment will never go up, and we will have their childs tuition covered when it is time for them to attend college. A Prepaid Plan allows families to start saving early so their childs college tuition is ready and waiting for them. This year, families can purchase a 4-Year Florida University Plan for a newborn for as low as $187 a month, a 2-Year College Plan for $55 a month or a 4-Year Florida College Plan for less than $120 a month. The Board also offers a 1-Year Florida University Plan, which starts as low as $47 per month and covers 30 university credit hours. Multiple family members can purchase a 1-Year Florida University Plan for the same child, sharing in the cost of going to college. University dormitory plans are also available. Families this year are also taking advantage of a new online pricing calculator that makes it simple to determine what the various plans would cost based on a childs age. If a child attends an out-of-state or private college, a Prepaid Plan will pay the same amount as it would pay at a public college or university in Florida. Every Prepaid Plan is guaranteed by the State of Florida, and a child has up to 10 years after high school graduation to use the plan. Through March 2, families can enroll in a plan for free, a $50 savings, by using the promo code 30YEARS. For more information on various plans and pricing, go to http://www.myfloridaprepaid.com. About the Florida Prepaid College Board The Florida Prepaid College Board manages the Stanley G. Tate Florida Prepaid College Program and the Florida 529 Savings Plan. Both are tax-favored 529 college savings plans authorized by Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. In 1987 the Florida Prepaid College Program was created by the Florida Legislature and the commitment and dedication of Mr. Stanley G. Tate to provide Florida families with an affordable means to save for their childrens future college education. The first Florida Prepaid College Plans were sold in 1988, and were augmented with the addition of the Florida 529 Savings Plan in 2002. Florida Prepaid is the largest, longest running and most successful prepaid plan in the nation with more than 2 million Florida Prepaid College Plans purchased and more than $14 billion in assets. The 529 Savings Plan has more than 70,000 active accounts with a market value of more than $600 million. To see how Florida Prepaid helps families, visit here. We are pleased to recognize Chris contribution to ACT - Bob Hild ACT Capital Advisors announced that Chris Sheppard has been promoted to the role of Vice President. Chris first joined ACT in 2014 in the role of Senior Associate. He has represented clients in exits across many industries, including business administrative services, manufacturing, professional engineering, consulting, home healthcare and construction. In his new role, Chris will assume greater leadership in managing projects and be active in business development for the firm. Chris is a former Marine Corps captain and served two tours of duty in Iraq. He holds several degrees from the University of Washington including a BA in Economics and Political Science, an MBA in with a concentration in Finance, a Juris Doctorate and a Master of Laws (LLM) in Taxation. Chris also has a Masters of Mass Communication, Journalism and Media Management from Arizona State University. Bob Hild, ACT Capital Advisors Chairman and Managing Director said, We are pleased to recognize Chris contribution to ACT with his promotion to the role of Vice President. He has proven himself to be a consistent deal closer with a long list of clients who are very happy with their transactions. Chris Sheppard can be reached at csheppard(at(actcapitaladvisors(dot)com. About ACT ACT Capital Advisors, LLC is the premier Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) firm that represents lower-middle-market companies whose owners want an optimal exit. ACTs industry practice groups span a wide variety of sectors including industrial manufacturing, information technology, construction, healthcare, aerospace, consumer staples/discretionary, oil and energy, as well as outsourced services. The firm provides strategic M&A and financial advice to closely held, family-owned, as well as private equity sponsored organizations and corporate shareholders that wish to sell all or a portion of their company. Clients appreciate ACTs approach that pairs the professional expertise of a national investment banking firm with senior level attention and entrepreneurial creativity. The Company has a proven go-to-market process that is designed to maximize the enterprise value on behalf of its clients. For more information, please visit ACTs website at https://actcapitaladvisors.com. Recipients of the Premier Partner Award are trusted partners who are committed to Pinnacle Groups two core values: delivering impeccable service to our clients and putting people at the heart of everything we do. Pinnacle Group, a global workforce solutions provider, recently announced the inaugural class of winning suppliers for its Premier Partner Award Program. Eight companies were selected from Pinnacles supply base as the top suppliers. They were evaluated based on their service to Pinnacle Groups managed services provider (MSP) clients during 2018. The criteria used to identify the winners focused on program market-share, year over year growth within the account, candidate quality, customer and program office satisfaction, and industry and community leadership. Indotronix International Corporation, based in Rochester, NY, has been named a winner of the 2018 Pinnacle Group Premier Partner Award. Upon hearing the announcement of this award, Indotronix Group CEO Sameer Penakalapati stated, I am delighted that Indotronix has won this award. This is a testament to the dedication of our team to providing the highest level of service to our customers. He continued, I am proud to know that our efforts have been recognized by Pinnacle Group. They are an extremely valued customer and we are grateful for all the opportunities they have given us. Sameer concluded that While recognizing our team for this significant achievement, I am challenging our teams to raise the bar on their performance even higher and to deliver greater value to our clients." Due to their contributions to explosive growth in recent years, Pinnacle Groups MSP practice wanted to honor the significant contributions of its suppliers. Recipients of the Premier Partner Award are trusted partners who are committed to Pinnacle Groups two core values: delivering impeccable service to our clients and putting people at the heart of everything we do, said Pinnacle Groups Chairman and CEO Nina Vaca. As the contingent workforce industry becomes increasingly complex, these firms have tackled challenges and provided proven solutions while giving back to the communities where they live and work, just as Pinnacle has done since its founding. About Pinnacle Group Pinnacle Group is a leading provider of workforce solutions in the core verticals of Managed Services (MSP), Staffing and Payrolling. Founded in 1996, Pinnacle Group provides innovative services and strategies to iconic global brands with a focus on program transformation and emerging technology. Consistently named one of the fastest-growing companies in the country by renowned organizations, Pinnacle Group has become one of the largest providers in its industry providing services across the globe. For more information, visit pinnacle1.com. About Indotronix Indotronix International Corporation (http://www.iic.com) connects clients with talent through consulting, staffing and technology solutions. Indotronix delivers staffing services across IT, engineering, clinical, scientific, and other technology categories. Since our founding in 1986, the company has delivered over $1 billion in services to Fortune 500 companies and the public sector. As part of the Indotronix-Avani Group, the company also provides consulting services in machine learning/artificial intelligence and specific packaged human resources IT solutions. Indotronix is a certified Minority Business Enterprise with corporate offices in Rochester, NY and operations throughout the United States and Canada. Homicide Squad detectives have arrested two men following a shooting at Point Cook last week that left a Sydney estate agent with life-threatening injuries. Sid Morgan (pictured), the Hills Shire, Sydney estate agent, suffered serious head injuries after a shot to his forehead. Jack Harvey (left), 26 and Mark Dixon, 30 (pictured below) were arrested this afternoon at Broken Head, near Byron Bay. (source: Victoria Police) The pair is currently assisting police with their enquiries. Warrants were issued for the arrest of the men after the shooting of Sid Morgan, a 53-year-old man at a Spraypoint Drive home about 11pm on 21 February. He remains in critical condition at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. This is the second set of arrests that has taken place, with two men from Melbourne's west being released without charge after being arrested on Saturday. In 1995, Morgan, who previously went by the name of Said, was a detective in NSW police force in the 1990s. He became aware of allegations that his brother-in-law, Mansour Suha, had been molesting three young girls, two of them his young relatives. He then shot Suha, shooting the man six times. In 1996 a jury rejected the Crown argument that it was a revenge shooting, finding Mr Morgan instead acted out of fear for the girls' safety. A jury took 33 minutes to decide his actions were justified. He was however refused reinstatement into the NSW police force. Perth's the first major office transaction of the year, The $86 million sale of ENI House, paves the way for a billion-dollar 2019, according to CBRE. The seven-level, A-grade office building, located at 226 Adelaide Terrace in Perths eastern CBD precinct, is fully leased to the Federal Government and corporate tenants. These include Wood & Grieve Engineers and ENI Australia Ltd. CBREs Aaron Desange and Flint Davidson, jointly with JLLs John Williams and Sean Flynn completed the sale to WA-based property fund manager, Primewest. Mr Desange said The lease expiry profile of ENI House was a major drawcard for investors, with it providing ideal timing to capitalise on improving market conditions over the next two three years, when the office leasing market will not only be more robust, but in a strong growth phase." Mr Williams said Western Australia would continue to be a preferred destination for offshore investment in 2019, with several Asia Pacific Capital cities close to approaching their peak in the cycle. In Perth specifically, Asian investors have dominated the value-add space, as they are able to be more aggressive in deals with vacancy risk or capital expenditure requirements through their cheaper cost of capital. They are also attracted to our low sovereign risk and comparatively high yielding assets, he added. CBRE Research expect Perth to benefit from a strong spike in rental growth over the next five years more so than any other Australian city. Over the next three years, premium net effective rents are forecast to increase by 56.3% and A-grade rents are tipped to lift by 41.6% - largely due to a reduction in incentives. Bangui, Feb 28 : The United Nations World Food Programme said on Wednesday it has begun air-lifting life-saving food supplies to 18,000 vulnerable people in the Central African Republic's remote, conflict-hit Zemio region, where famine is looming. "The humanitarian situation in Zemio is perilous and can quickly descend into a catastrophe, if we do not act now," said Gian Carlo Cirri, WFP Representative and Country Director in CAR. "Partners on the ground say women and children do not have enough food to eat and people are living in dire conditions." A spike in violence in and around Zemio - which lies 1,000 km east of the capital Bangui - has preventing people reaching local markets and most have no food supplies as violence has preventing them getting to their farms, WFP said. The airlift is the first step of a more comprehensive plan to address the humanitarian situation in south-east CAR, WFP said. WFP will provide food to people who have fled their homes and hosts who have been sheltering them, while specialised high-nutrition food will be distributed to families with young children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers. A damaged bridge and out-of-service ferries have made it impossible for the WFP to get supplies into Zemio by land from neighbouring Uganda and by river from the capital Bangui, the UN agency said. WFP said it is looking into alternative options to move food by river while engineers from the UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSCA) are working to repair the ferry. Long-running conflict is having devastating effects on people in the C.A.R. Up to 2.1 million people, almost half of the country's 4.7 million population, are food insecure according to a national food security assessment in January and the proportion of infants with severe acute malnutrition exceeds the 2 percent emergency threshold at national level and in 10 prefectures out of 16, WFP reported. WFP said it needs $87 million to provide food, cash transfers, and enhanced nutrition programmes to around one million people in CAR this year. CAR's central government and 14 non-state armed groups signed a peace agreement on February 6 under the auspices of the African Union and the UN. The 30-page peace pact, negotiated in Sudan, is the eighth since deadly inter-religious and inter-communal fighting began in the impoverished country in 2013. Amaravati/New Delhi, Feb 27 : Fulfilling one of the key commitments made to Andhra Pradesh at the time of bifurcation, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday announced a new railway division named South Coast Railway with its headquarters at Visakhapatnam. The new zone will comprise of existing Guntakal, Guntur and Vijayawada divisions, Goyal announced at a press conference in New Delhi. "As per item 8 of schedule 13 (Infrastructure) of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, Indian Railways was required to examine establishing a new railway zone in the successor State of Andhra Pradesh. "The matter was examined in detail in consultation with stake holders and it has been decided to go ahead with creation of new zone with headquarter at Visakhapatnam," he said. Guntakal, Guntur and Vijayawada divisions currently form part of South Central Railway, which has its headquarters in Secunderabad. The Waltair division, currently with the East Coast Railway (ECoR) which has its headquarters in Bhubaneswar, will be split into two parts - with one part to be incorporated in the new zone and merged with the neighbouring Vijaywada division, while the remaining portion will be converted into a new division with headquarters at Rayagada under the ECoR. The South Central Railway will now comprise of Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Nanded divisions, said an official statement. A railway zone was one of the commitments made to Andhra Pradesh at the time of its bifurcation in 2014. Under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, the Railways was required to examine establishing a new railway zone in the successor state of Andhra Pradesh. The announcement came ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Visakhapatnam on March 1. However, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government has found fault with the division of Waltair division. Cabinet Minister Nara Lokesh termed this as another betrayal by Modi. Lokesh, who is also the son of Chief Minister and TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu, tweeted that the split of the Waltair division was unjust like the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. "Then revenue-making Hyderabad was given away to Telangana and now revenue-making part of Waltair division has been given to Odisha," he said. Lokesh pointed out that the part of Waltair division merged with East Coast Railway was earning Rs 6,500 crore annually through freight while the part given to the new zone has revenues of only Rs 500 crore through passenger traffic. Rome, Feb 27 : Italy and Germany have "strategic" ties, are two key countries for Europe and the chemistry between their two leaders can help them tackle the "common challenges" of our times, the German envoy to Italy said on Wednesday. "Italy and Germany's relationship is a strategic one. "Meetings between the two leaders (Italy's Premier Giuseppe Conte and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel) are frequent and intense, they are close and understand each other well," German Ambassador Viktor Elbling told AKI Live. Given the leading roles played by Germany and Italy in Europe, such mutual understanding between their leaders bodes well, he said. "It's clear that many European issues need to be solved together and the fact that they are close and 'get' each other's personalities, is a good sign," he added. "Italy and Germany are two countries which are essential for Europe and we need to be aware that we are part of the same family and to be united," Elbling underlined. Italy and Germany, like all individual countries, are "small fry" in a globalised world and it would be a "huge" mistake to think they can go it alone, he argued. "We are small fry in this globalised world. To try and compete against other states and much bigger economies is a huge mistake. We must resolve our differences, which are minor when compared to what we have in common," Elbling said. The German envoy also said that Italy and France - both founder members of the European Union along with Germany - are physically close to each other, have "vast common interests" and are bound by ties of friendship. "As Europeans, we always want good cooperation between European Union countries," Elbling said after the return to Italy on February 15 of France's envoy Christian Masset following the worst diplomatic rift between the two countries since World War II. "This historic triangle has over time given us much stability in the construction of Europe and I believe it will be essential in future," Elbling added. Masset was recalled to Paris for consultations on February 7 amid a major diplomatic row fuelled by Italy's Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio's meeting in Paris on February 5 with members of the 'yellow vests' protest movement. A French Foreign Ministry spokesman called the meeting "unacceptable" and said Masset's recall followed months of "unfounded attacks" from Di Maio and his co-Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini, who have heavily criticised President Emmanuel Macron's economic and migration policies. Di Maio said his Paris meeting with the yellow vests was "fully legitimate" but underlined that France was Italy's "friend and ally". New Delhi, Feb 27 : Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ranbir Singh here on Wednesday said every un-enrolled voter and left out voter in the national capital must enroll by submitting Form-6 either online or offline. "Every un-enrolled voter and left out voter in Delhi must enroll by submitting Form-6 either online or offline," the CEO's Office said in a statement. Speaking at a workshop at the Delhi Secretariat, he appealed participants to spread the message that every voter identity card holder must verify his/her name in the voter list by calling at voter helpline 1950 or at www.nvsp.in or by sending SMS to 7738299899. He spoke about new mobile apps, developed by the ECI, particularly voter helpline app, PwD app, and cVIGIL app. "The cVIGIL app can be used by citizens to upload live pictures or videos of any violations of the model code of conduct during the election process." In the recently concluded assembly elections in five states the cVIGIL was extensively used and about 70 per cent of violations reported were found correct. "It empowers citizens to hold political parties and candidates accountable for ethical electoral practices." The AAP leaders, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, had been hitting out at the BJP over the alleged mass deletion of voters' names in Delhi in collusion with the Election Commission officials. Mumbai/Kolkata, Feb 27 : Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Allahabad Bank will reduce benchmark marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) by 10 basis points (bps) across various tenures from March 1. The reduction will make home, car and other retail loans cheaper. According to the PNB, the reduction is applicable to all the tenures -- overnight, one month, three-months, six-month, one-year and three years. Similarly, state-run Allahabad Bank said it will cut MCLR across all tenures up to three years with effect from March 1. "The Asset Liability Management Committee of the bank has reviewed the MCLRs and decided to go for a downward revision by 10 bps for all tenures," Allahabad Bank said in a regulatory filing. For all the tenures -- overnight, one-month, three-month, six-month, one-year, two-year and three years -- the bank has cut the MCLR by 0.10 per cent each to 8.15 per cent, 8.25 per cent, 8.45 per cent, 8.50 per cent, 8.65 per cent, 8.85 per cent and 8.95 per cent, respectively, according to the regulatory filing. Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had asked lenders to transmit the repo rate cut benefit to the real economy after a 25 bps rate cut by the apex bank in early February. A basis point is one hundredth of a per cent. New Delhi, Feb 27 : The CBSE on Wednesday advised students to not fall for fake videos/messages on social media and warned of legal action against those who concoct and spread such messages. "It has been noticed in the past that certain unscrupulous elements spread rumours by posting fake videos/messages on You Tube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms, obviously with the intention of spreading confusion and panic among students, parents, schools and public," the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) said in a circular. "Through this notice, persons involved in such activities are warned and advised to restrain themselves," it said, adding necessary legal action will be taken against those found indulging in such acts. The message was, apparently, intended to counter any fake news on question paper leaks that may cause anxiety among students. Though such incidents occur in every examination season, last year the question papers of accountancy and mathematics were leaked for real, bringing the board under widespread criticism. New Delhi, Feb 27 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday questioned Robert Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, for the seventh time in an ongoing money laundering probe for having overseas assets worth 1.9 million pounds. Vadra was questioned at the agency's Jamnagar office located at India Gate's mouth in Central Delhi for over five hours by the investigating officers, who began his grilling around 11 a.m, minutes after he deposed. The Directorate officials said that Vadra arrived at the agency's office at 10.40 a.m and was questioned till 5.47 p.m. The investigators recorded Vadra's statement and confronted him with the documents the ED has as evidence in the case related to his ownership of overseas assets in London. According to the ED, Vadra's properties are located at 12, Bryanston Square in London and are allegedly owned by the businessman in a "benami" way. The agency has informed a Delhi court about the various new properties in London that belong to Vadra. These include two houses -- one worth 5 million pounds and the other valued at 4 million pounds -- six flats and other assets. The ED has earlier questioned Vadra for over 42 hours in connection with the case on February 6, 7, 9, 20, 22 and 26. On December 7, the Directorate had raided several of Vadra's properties in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. Vadra, husband of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, is on interim bail till March 2. His first appearance before the ED earlier this month acquired political overtones after Priyanka 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. Chandigarh, Feb 27 : Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday reviewed security arrangements in the state with with top officials of the Army, the BSF, the ITBP and the Punjab Police and appealed to people in the border areas to be wary of rumours in the current tense situation between India and Pakistan. The Chief Minister, who had to delay his departure from Chandigarh for the border belt due to inclement weather followed by air space restrictions, said the situation was under control and the armed and paramilitary forces, along with the police and district administrations, were aggressively countering all rumours. Amarinder Singh said he would go around the border areas in the districts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Pathankot, Faridkot and Ferozepur over the next two days to instill confidence among people. He asked the police and security forces to sensitize the people about the situation, in wake of the Indian Air Force air strikes on a militant camp in Pakistan following the February 14 Pulwama attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir. The Chief Minister assured all possible help from the state government to the Army to tackle the situation and ensure that the border areas remain stable and secure. "The state is fully prepared to deal with any eventuality amid the escalating tensions at the LoC," he said. Officials briefed the Chief Minister about the security measures undertaken at all the sensitive installations, including the Army bases and airports, in the region. "Adequate steps had also been taken to prepare the civil hospitals to handle any situation, which might arise in the current circumstances," a government spokesperson said. Before leaving Chandigarh, the Chief Minister chaired a high-level meeting of the police and civil administration to take stock of the situation and discuss steps to maintain peace and order in the state, which shares a 553-km-long border with Pakistan. Kolkata, Feb 27 : Amid escalating tension between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama terror attack and the Indian air strikes, security has been heightened for 14 Pakistani inmates in two jails in West Bengal, a minister said on Wednesday. The Pakistani prisoners at the two correctional homes (as jails are called in the state) have been barred from freely mixing with fellow prisoners or sharing meals as part of the "precautionary measures", Correctional Administration Minister Ujjwal Biswas told IANS. Among the 14 inmates of Pakistani origin, four are kept in the Presidency Correctional Home and other 10 are in Dum Dum Central Correctional Home in the city. "Generally the terrorists or extremists among the prisoners are always kept under special surveillance. But as the prisons have access to televisions, some precautionary measures have been taken following the Pulwama attack. "Earlier the prisoners were allowed to spend time with the fellow prisoners here. They have been barred from openly mixing with the other prisoners or having meal with them," Biswas said. Referring to the alleged killing of a 50-year-old Pakistani convict by fellow inmates in Rajasthan's Jaipur Central jail, he said the state government apprehended that such incidents could happen in the state as well. "We sensed that something like that could happen as the tension has been growing between the two nations recently. So these inmates have been shifted to separate cells where high value convicts including those involved in the attack on Kolkata's American Center are lodged," he added. Visakhapatnam, Feb 27 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday said his Telugu Desam Party (TDP) would participate in the protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to this port city on Friday. In a teleconference with TDP leaders, Naidu said the party would support the protest called by Prateekya Hoda Sadhana Samiti Joint Action Committee over the Centre not conferring special category status on the state and not fulfilling other promises made in Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. The JAC, which comprises various like-minded parties and groups fighting for special category status to the state, has said that Modi has no moral right to visit the state without fulfilling the commitments. Political parties, people's organisations and trade unions which are not part of JAC have also called for the protest against Modi's visit. They include the Congress, Jana Sena and the Left parties. Modi will address a public meeting at Visakhapatnam. Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary Anil Chandra Punetha on Wednesday held a meeting with top officials in state capital Amaravati to review the arrangements for the Prime Minister's visit. Modi had faced black-flag protests during his visit to the state's Guntur on February 10. Addressing a public meeting, he made a scathing attack on Naidu. Meanwhile, the TDP chief alleged that main opposition YSR Congress Party was busy in mobilising people for Modi's public meeting. He reiterated that YSR Congress is hand-in-glove with Modi and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao. Simultaneous elections to Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Lok Sabha are due in April-May. Chennai, Feb 27 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami on Wednesday launched the free laptop scheme for students for the academic year 2018-19 by handing over laptops to seven students at the state secretariat. In a statement issued here, the government said during this academic year, about 15.18 lakh students will be given free laptops involving an outlay of Rs 1,340.44 crore. The AIADMK government under then Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa launched the free laptop for students scheme in 2011. Since then a total of 37,88,528 students have been given free laptops at an outlay of Rs 5,552.39 crore. New Delhi, Feb 27 : The Metro network has been put on red alert since 6 p.m, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said here on Wednesday. The red alert indicates the highest level of security risk and is sounded only in extreme situations. The circular was issued apparently in the wake of ongoing escalation of military activities between India and Pakistan. "As advised by security agencies, the red alert has been declared in the entire DMRC network. Under the red alert, all station controllers are required to inspect entire station premises for any suspicious items/activity, including parking lots, and report the status to the control centre every two hours," read the DMRC advisory. The CISF said security at all stations has been beefed up and extra vigil will be observed through the duration of the alert. "We will maintain extra vigilance on the movement inside the stations and surrounding areas," CISF spokesperson Hemendra Singh told IANS. Dehradun, Feb 27 : Four persons were killed and seven others injured after the vehicle they were travelling in fell into a 150-feet deep khud at the Kherikhal area in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district on Wednesday. According to police, the driver lost control of the Maxx SUV as the road had become slippery due to heavy rains. While two persons died on the spot, two others succumbed to injuries on way to hospital. Others were rushed to nearby hospitals where the condition of three was stated to be serious. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat expressed grief over the accident and asked the district authorities to provide best medical facilities to the injured. New Delhi, Feb 27 : India, having sent its message with Tuesday's air strike, should now refrain from any escalation and tread carefully keeping all diplomatic channels open as a Wing Commander of the Indian Air Force (IAF) was in Pakistan's custody and bringing him back was among the top priorities, former IAF officers said on Wednesday. After an aerial engagement in Jammu and Kashmir's Nowshera sector on Wednesday, in which the IAF shot down a F-16 of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Pakistan claimed that it has captured one Indian pilot, who was identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, a MiG 21 Bison pilot. The Indian government has acknowledged that Varthaman has been captured by the Pakistani forces and said that it expects his immediate and safe return. "India should keep all the diplomatic channels open. The situation would not have gone this bad had there been a dialogue. These politicians think they can eradicate terrorism. Even the United States has been trying to do the same since the 9/11 attacks, but it has not been able to do so," Air Marshal (retd) Ashok Goel told IANS. "We need to tread very carefully and judiciously now. We don't know what kind of harm Pakistan may cause to the captured officer. There should not be an escalation from our side at least. The priority should be to get our man back," he said. Another former Air Marshal advised India to try to get the captured officer back with both the parties having achieved their objectives. "India achieved its aim by destroying their terror camp. Pakistan also saved its face by doing some sort of attack in which both nations lost an aircraft each. Unfortunately, one of our men was captured. We should make all efforts to retrieve our pilot," former IAF Chief P.V. Naik said. Former Air Marshal M. Matheswaran said that while bringing back our man should be the priority, India must extort some action from Pakistan against terrorism before it fully engages in a dialogue. "Of course, we must bring him back... But it's something that happens in an escalation. Our plane drifted into their territory and got captured... it is part of the conflict situation. We have to deal with it. "But Pakistan needs to show some action. It needs to stop supporting the terror outfits and eliminate them," he said. The already strained relations between India and Pakistan have been tested since Tuesday when the IAF, retaliating against the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF troopers, bombed the biggest training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed at Balakot in Pakistan. New Delhi, Feb 27 : Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Wednesday appealed to poets and writers to create more literature on patriotism and nationalism to inculcate these feelings in the society at large. While releasing a collection of poems "Chetana Ke Swar", authored by Kumar Hridayesh, Goel said: "Writers and poets are the torch-bearers of the society and people trust and follow their written words in their day to day life." The Speaker said that besides creating literature on patriotism and nationalism, the writers should also write about human and moral values, unity and diversity and communal harmony. They should also create literature on forest, environment, animals, birds, earth and energy to give a direction to the society to keep ecological balance, he said. Chandigarh, Feb 27 : Despite the opposition parties alleging that the BJP government in Haryana was trying to favour private builders and land sharks, the Haryana Assembly on Wednesday passed the controversial Punjab Land Preservation (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2019. The new Bill has been passed to amend the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA),1900, in its application to the state of Haryana. Once cleared, the Bill will open up thousands of acres to real estate and other non-forest activity that were protected under the earlier Act for the past 119 years (since year 1900). Opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Congress legislators alleged that the Bill had been passed by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's government to favour private builders and the mining mafia. They demanded that the government should withdraw the Bill and that it should be examined by a House committee. Opposition leaders alleged that forest cover was depleting in the state and the amendment will allow construction even in areas where it was banned under the earlier Act. The opposition staged a walkout over the issue as the treasury benches went ahead with the passing of the Bill. The BJP itself has been accusing previous Congress and INLD governments in Haryana of massive corruption in land dealings. Khattar defended the move to bring in the Bill saying that it was as per the requirements of the present. He said that the earlier Act was very old and its provisions needed a change. Opposition legislators said that the ecologically fragile Aravali region in southern Haryana in Gurugram and Faridabad districts, adjoining the national capital, would be the worst affected by the enabling provisions of the new Bill. The Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900, was enacted by the then Governor of Punjab. The Act provides for the conservation of subsoil water and/or prevention of erosion in areas found to be subject to erosion or likely to become liable to erosion. "The intent behind the PLPA and its area of jurisdiction has evolved over a period of time. The first major amendment of immediate relevance was carried out in 1926 (Punjab Act VII of 1926) whereby it was clarified that the provisions of the Act never intended to extinguish the ownership rights of the people. Through the said amendment, from the existing expression 'temporarily or permanently' as appearing in section 4 and section 5 of PLPA, the expression 'or permanently', was omitted. This amendment is in conformity with the constitutional right granted under Article 300-A of the Constitution of India," a Haryana government spokesperson said, justifying the amendment. Hanoi, Feb 27 : US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had a dinner date in Hanoi on Wednesday, at the start of a two-day summit. The pair smiled and shook hands for the benefit of media before heading to talks and dinner at the five-star Metropole Hotel. They are expected to discuss a road map for ridding the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons during talks, CNN reported. There has been little progress on the denuclearisation since the first Trump-Kim summit in Singapore last year. Both the leaders sat side by side at a round-table along with their respective aides. From the US side, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney were present. Kim was accompanied by Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and regime's senior official Kim Yong Chol. Trump said he looked forward to a "very successful" summit with Kim and that "our relationship is a very special". "It's an honour to be with Chairman Kim. It's an honour to be together in Vietnam. It's great to be with you, we had a very successful first summit and I hope the second summit will be equal or greater than the first," Trump said. Denying that he was "walking back" on denuclearisation, Trump said he looked forward to helping Kim achieve a tremendous economic future for his country. On a declaration on formal end to the Korean War, Trump said: "We'll see." The North Korean leader said they would "have a very interesting dialogue" and hoped the Hanoi summit delivers "an outcome welcome by everyone". He also alluded to the slow progress of negotiations, saying "it's been a period that required a lot of patience and effort". We "have been able to overcome obstacles," Kim added. Kim said the "outside world" had "misunderstood" the US-North Korean relationship in the period after the Singapore summit and added we shared a "very interesting conversation" for 30 minutes upon meeting on Wednesday. Praising the summit host country, Trump tweeted: "Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearise." "The potential is awesome," he added. Before meeting Kim, the US leader held talks with Vietnam's President, Prime Minister and other politicians. The two leaders will attend a series of meetings together on Thursday, but their exact agenda is unknown. Gurugram, Feb 27 : After three back-to-back murders in the millennium city, the crime branch on Wednesday arrested a shooter of slain gangster Sandeep Gadoli. The accused, identified as Aakash alias Akku, (22), a resident of Sadhrana village under the sector 10 area, was involved in murder of Manish Gujjar on October 18, 2016. Aakash is brother of dreaded gangster Bindar Gujjar. Acting on tip-off, the crime branch led a trap at Bristol Chowk and arrested him from near Bristol Hotel after a brief scuffle. The crime branch team has also recovered one country-made pistol and a live cartridge from him. Earlier, Gurugram police on Monday arrested Satish alias Pawva, a shooter of Kaushal gang. He was involved in murder of bookie Vijay Batra on February 22. During interrogation, Aakash admitted that he had killed Manish Gujjar as his brother was allegedly involved in the murder of his boss Sandeep Gadoli in February 2016, said Shamsher Singh, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime). He, along with several other shooters of Gadoli, joined the Kaushal gang to challenge Bindar Gujjar, added Singh. Aakash also admitted his close links with several other gangs. "Aakash was involved in an attack on Municipal Councilor Sandeep Gahlawat on January 1, 2018. Gahlawat, however, narrowly escaped and a case of attempt to murder was lodged against him. Aakash was involved in half a dozen murder and attempts to murder in Gurugram," he said. New Delhi, Feb 27 : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting here to discuss internal security, border management and an early morning air strike by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on Indian military installations, a day after the Indian Air Force (IAF) bombed terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp at Balakot in Pakistan. The issues discussed in the meeting included the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir, intelligence inputs after Tuesday's air strike and the further strategies to be taken, said sources. Singh also reviewed border security in the meeting attended by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, Intelligence Bureau chief Rajiv Jain, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief Anil Kumar Dhasmana and Director Generals (DGs)of paramilitary forces. The Home Minister discussed the level of threat scaled up on all borders and directed to issue high alert on the Western border with Pakistan, said sources. Singh asked the DGs of the Border Security Force to keep their personnel on high alert mode and share every single activity happening in the area under their control. He also took stock of Pakistan's early morning air strikes at military installations on the Indian side, in which the IAF lost one of its MiG 21 fighter jets while one IAF pilot, identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, was captured by Pakistan. Pakistan retaliated to India's counter terrorism air strike on the JeM training camp at Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on the basis of credible evidence that the terror outfit intended to launch more suicide bombings like the Pulwama attack on February 14 that claimed the lives of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers. Singh was apprised about how Pakistan's efforts were foiled due to the Indian force's high state of readiness and alertness. He was informed that the movements by the Pakistan Air Force were detected soon after it attempted to attack and the IAF responded instantly in which one PAF fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the IAF. Chennai, Feb 27 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami here on Wednesday laid foundation stones for Rs 14,071 crore industrial projects, said an official statement. The state government signed several MoUs with investors at the recently concluded Global Investors Meet here. The foundation stones were laid for projects promoted by Hyundai Motor India (investment Rs 7,000 crore); MRF Ltd (Rs 3,100 crore); Sundaram Clayton Group (Rs 1,200 crore); Wheels India Ltd (Rs 600 crore); Mando Automotive India Ltd (Rs 844 crore); Salcomp Manufacturing India Pvt Ltd (Rs 500 crore); Lakshmi Machine Works Ltd (Rs 600 crore); Roots Industries India Ltd (Rs 23 crore); Roots Multiclean Ltd (Rs 45 crore); Pure Chemicals (Rs 20 crore); JS Auto Cast Foundries India Pvt Ltd (Rs 39 crore) and Sastra University (Rs 100 crore). Palaniswami also inaugurated the commercial operations of Sheng Long Biotech Ltd. New Delhi/Islamabad, Feb 27 : Pakistan Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed on Wednesday said that his country doesn't want war with India but warned any conflict between the two nations will be "more horrific than the World War" as Pakistan denounced the Indian air strikes and vowed to retaliate appropriately. Tensions between the two countries after the Indian strike in Pakistan's Balakot on Tuesday - and Wednesday's tit-for-tat claims over downing each other's warplanes - were fully reflected in most of the country's leading newspapers which blamed India for creating insecurity in the region. After Pakistan claimed to have shot down two Indian fighter jets and captured two pilots, Sheikh Rasheed, who is known for being outspoken, said: "... the Pakistani Fizayee (Pakistan Air Force) has maintained its honour... India which was yesterday celebrating (its strikes on Balakot) learnt this also happens. "We don't want war... the Director General, ISPR, has already explained Pakistan's actions and aims... India must learn (that) any brazen measure they take will be responded to," he told media persons. Addressing a public conference, Inter Services Public Relations Director General, Major Gen. Asif Ghafoor said that Pakistan Air Force had engaged six targets at the LoC, clarifying it was "not a retaliation" but a "demonstration of our capability, capacity and will", reported the Dawn. "Pakistan is not pushing the environment towards war," he said, adding that Pakistan "deliberately and thoughtfully avoided escalation". He stressed Pakistan wants peace and India needs to understand war is failure of policy. Ghafoor also said that two Indian fighters had crossed the LoC but were shot down, with one falling into Indian Kashmir and the other in Pakistan's part of Kashmir. He denied that a PAF F-16 was shot down, saying none was used in Wednesday's operation. Sheikh Rasheed, who is the Railway Minister, also alleged that India's moves stemmed out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "desperation". "He has lost five state elections and is totally desperate... getting hell-bent on war. "We have no option (but to defend ourselves)... Pakistan hai to ham hai," he said. The Indian air strikes on the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) training camp hogged the front page on all of Pakistan's top newspapers. The Dawn had the attack as its main story, titled "Pakistan vows response to India, 'at place & time of our choosing', along with reports on the government and opposition leaders denouncing the attack and villagers in Balakot denying anyone was injured by the Indian aircraft. The Nation devoted its entire front page to the news. "You failed to shock us," it said, and below in a much bigger font, wrote "Be Ready For Our Surprise". So did the The News International. "We will pick time, place to hit back" was the main story, while a box, referring to the meeting of the National Command Authority, which controls the country's nuclear arsenal, summoned by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday, asked if India knew what NCA was. Other stories on the front page, save one on the CPEC, were also related and included Pakistan objecting to India's presence at the upcoming OIC meeting, the ban on Indian films in Pakistan, the Pakistani political leadership's reaction to the attack and the Balakot villagers' "expose" of Indian claims. The Urdu papers followed suit. "Bharat jawab ka intezar kare, waqt aur maqam ham tae karenge: Pakistan (India should wait for (our response), time and place we will decide) " was the banner headline in the widely-read Jang, while "Bharati taiyaron ki darandazi, Pak fizayee ne mar bhagaya (Indian airplanes barge (into Pakistan), Pakistan Air Force chases them away), " and "Bharat hamare surprise intezar kare, waqt, jagah ka intekhab khud karenge (India should wait our surprise, we will choose the time, place)", screamed the Nawaiwaqt/ The Jasarat's headline was similar. "Bharati taiyaare Pakistani hadd mein ghus aaye, Pak fizayee ne bhaga diya (Indian airplanes entered Pakistani territory, chased away by PAF)," the Jamaat-e-Islami newspaper flashed. Mumbai, Feb 27 : Bollywoood celebrities on Wednesday called for peace and wished for the safe return of an Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot who is in Pakistan's custody. Pakistan said it had Wing Commander Varthaman Abhinandan in its custody. Here's what the celebrities have to say: Actress Nimrat Kaur, who comes from an Army background: "Strength and resolve to the family and loved ones of Wing Commander Abhinandan. The nation's prayers and thoughts are with him in this tough hour. May this stoic, dignified officer be back on Indian soil soon." Former beauty queen Sushmita Sen, the daughter of a retired Indian Air Force officer, wrote: "We are all praying for the safe return of Wing Commander Abhinandan." "To all those who cheered from the sidelines yesterday, with all humility I ask you to read the next sentence. 'He has still not returned'," filmmaker Nikkhil Advani tweeted. Actress and daughter of Colonel V.K. Jaitley, Celina Jaitly said that Tuesday's action by India was "counter terrorism" and "no civilians (were) hurt, no military personnel targeted/hurt. "What Pakistan did is an act of war, they targeted military personnel, while no one wants war, Pakistan has aggravated the situation. Praying for Wing Commander Abhinandan's safe return." Actress Taapsee Pannu re-tweeted the news about Varthaman and said this is what she feared in all "this celebration" after the IAF fighter jets struck terror launch pads in Pakistan on Tuesday. Actress Swara Bhasker said: "Bring back Abhinandan." Some celebrities also urged the media and social media community to be more responsible and to steer clear from spreading anger. Swara wrote: We hope and pray for the safety of our soldiers and officers. Please stop circulating fake and old videos and creating panic and miscommunication. Things are tense and volatile as it is. Please be responsible. Ranganathan Madhavan: It's a war against terror not between two nations yet. Dear Media -- You can actually stop this escalation... Please let's be responsible and work towards peace. Shekhar Kapur: It's really important not to fan the flames of war rhetoric. It's not a game. You are not facing bullets or bombs. You are not the family praying and hoping fervently that your husbands, brothers or fathers are safe. Nor living in border areas in fear. It's easy to be armchair soldiers. Richa Chadha: Can news media be tried for inciting war? For ugly graphics, video game footage, provocative hashtags. Funnily, here is one place we are united eh India, Pakistan - in fake news! Vishal Dadlani: Indian or Pakistani, if you have any brains and any love/respect for your soldiers, say it out loud. We don't want war. We need peace. Chandigarh, Feb 27 : Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar here on Wednesday reiterated that the Assembly elections in the state would be as per the schedule. Khattar, speaking on the concluding day of Budget Session of the Assembly, said the next session of the House would be in August. "An atmosphere has developed in the country that the Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabha elections should be held simultaneously. But it is Parliament and the central government that has to take the final call," Khattar said. It's being speculated the BJP government in Haryana could opt for early Assembly polls, coinciding with the Lok Sabha elections. The Assembly elections in Haryana is scheduled in October. The term of the present Assembly ends on November 2, 2019. New Delhi, Feb 27 : Veteran author Nayantara Sahgal launched her new novel "The Fate Of Butterflies" amid a gathering of bibliophiles and several known faces from the literary and political world here on Wednesday. The novel, Sahgal said, confronts the toxic dangers of "war, religious polarisation and authoritarian charisma -- a dystopian future that is already upon the world". Introduced by author Namita Gokhale, "The Fate Of Butterflies" is published by Speaking Tiger and is priced at Rs 450. In conversation with Sanjoy Roy, producer of the Jaipur Literature Festival, Sahgal said that all her novels have been stories of the times she has lived in and how they contributed to the making of India. "But this novel is about the unmaking of India," she said, pointing to the horrors of innocent people being lynched. Sahgal, a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family and one of the most vocal critics of Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government draws inspiration from Nazi Germany. Alleging that India was under a dictatorial regime, the 91-year-old writer said that while Germans were told that Jews were a danger to them, the majority community in India is being told that it is under threat from the country's Muslims. She said that ministers from the ruling government have spread this fear. Sahgal said that she is a believing Hindu, but maintained that she "absolutely rejects" the ideology of Hindutva. "What's happening in the country has nothing to do with Hinduism, it is a political ideology, has nothing at all to do with religion," she said. Wuzhen : , Feb 27 (IANS) India, Russia and China on Wednesday "strongly condemned" terrorism in all its forms, stressing that extremist groups cannot be used in political and geopolitical goals and those committing or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice. India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, along with her Chinese and Russian counterparts Wang Yi and Sergei Lavrov, also called on the international community to strengthen global counter-terrorism cooperation by fully implementing the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. "The Ministers strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They called on the international community to strengthen UN-led global counter-terrorism cooperation by fully implementing the relevant UNSC resolutions and the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law," said a joint communique of the 16th Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Russian Federation, the Republic of India and the People's Republic of China. They reiterated that states and their competent agencies play a central role in both national and international counter-terrorism efforts and that terrorist groups cannot be supported and used in political and geopolitical goals. "The Ministers stressed that those committing, orchestrating, inciting or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with existing international commitments on countering terrorism, including the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy," the statement said. The 16th meeting of the RIC leaders in China's Zhejiang held amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan after the February 14 Pulwama attack. After 12 days, Indian fighter jets pounded major terror training camps in the neighbouring country in what New Delhi called was a "non-military pre-emptive strike". Raising the issue of Pulawama terror attack by the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) during her bilateral meeting with Chinese counterpart, Sushma Swaraj said she was visiting China at a time when there is grief and anger in India. "It is the worst terrorist attack directed against our security forces in Jammu and Kashmir," she said in her opening remarks. At least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers were killed in the suicide attack by JeM, which had released photos and a video after the attack claiming full responsibility. Sushma Swaraj strongly put it across that the JeM is a "Pakistan-based and supported terrorist organisation". "Following the Pulwama terror attack, instead of taking seriously the calls by international community to act against JeM, Pakistan denied any knowledge of the attack and outright dismissed claims by JeM," she said. "Such dastardly terrorist attacks are a grim reminder of the need of all the countries to show zero tolerance towards terrorism and take decisive action against it," she added. Sushma Swaraj's meeting with her Chinese counterpart is significant as Beijing has repeatedly blocked India's bid at the UN to declare JeM chief Masood Azhar a UN-designated global terrorist. While countries across the world, including US, Russia, UK and France -- the UN Security Council's permanent members -- condemned Pakistan's role in the Pulwama terror attack, China's stand on Azhar has remained unchanged. The Informal summit between the three nations also imparted fresh impetus into the trilateral cooperation and reiterated their commitment to work together to further their cooperation on important issues and take the trilateral cooperation to a new level, said the communique Foreign Ministers of China and Russia reiterated the importance they attach to the status of India in international affairs and supported its aspiration to play a greater role in the United Nations. New Delhi, Feb 27 : Commercial flight operations at many airports across North India, disturbed following air space restrictions that were imposed by the Indian Air Force (IAF) as a precautionary measure, were resumed after the withdrawal of Notam. The operations, restricted from early Wednesday morning, were resumed after the withdrawal of the "Notice to Airmen" (Notam) issued by the Air Traffic Control (ATC) under the directions of the IAF. The development comes a day after IAF jets bombed the biggest training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit in Balakot, Pakistan on Tuesday. The IAF on Wednesday chased away intruding Pakistani fighter jets in Jammu and Kashmir's Nowshera sector. Several reports have said that Pakistan has banned any Indian aircraft from using its airspace and that Pakistan's Air Traffic Control (ATC) has banned any aircraft from flying below 32,000 feet. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the operational restrictions were removed in the early evening hours. No commercial operations took place during the duration of Notam at these airports. Several flights had either been diverted or put on hold. "Due to airspace restrictions, flights to and from Amritsar, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Jammu are currently on hold. Customers are requested to check flight status before commencing their journey to the airport," Air Vistara had tweeted. With the opening of the airspace, commercial flights have resumed to Jammu, Leh, Srinagar, Amritsar, Pathankot, Dharamsala, Kullu and Shimla airports. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha told the media that the ministry is strictly following instructions from the Air Force. On their part, the airlines said they have either refunded passengers or re-booked them on other available flights. A SpiceJet spokesperson said: "Passengers whose flights were cancelled today (February 27) due to airspace restrictions have been provided a full refund or have been re-booked on alternate flights of their choice at no extra charge." National carrier Air India said that inbound and outbound flights from the US and Europe for Delhi are being re-routed through Ahmedabad and Mumbai. "Flights landing into India from US and Europe are being re-routed via Dubai and Sharjah and will land into India with a delay," the airline said in a statement. "Air India would like to inform that no flight are cancelled and there will be only an increase in the flying time." Srinagar, Feb 27 : Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must suspend all political activities till India gets back Wing Commander Varthaman Abhinandan who is in Pakistan's custody. Abdullah said on Twitter: "PM Modi must suspend his political activities until Abhinandan is returned safely. It can't be business as usual with him cross-crossing the country at tax payer's expense making political speeches while our pilot is a Pakistani captive." The National Conference leader hoped that Pakistan will treat the captured pilot as they would want India to do if their men in uniform had been in India's captivity. "In the meantime Pakistan, please treat him as you would have us treat one of your men in uniform should he be unfortunate enough to be captured on this side of the border." New Delhi: Manmohan Singh (Congress), Rahul Gandhi (Congress), Sonia Gandhi (Congress), Sharad Yadav (Loktantrik Janata Dal), Mamata Banerjee (Trinamool Congress) and N. Chandrababu Naidu (TDP) at opposition parties' meeting in New Delhi on Feb 27, 2 Image Source: IANS News New Delhi: UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at opposition parties' meeting in Ne Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, Feb 27 : Amid escalating India-Pakistan tensions, the opposition on Wednesday collectively flayed the ruling BJP for "blatant politicisation" of the armed forces' sacrifices and hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not convening an all-party meeting. On a day when India shot down a Pakistani jet and lost one of its MiG-21 jets, 21 opposition parties met here and expressed their concerns over the emerging security situation. Attended by Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, the meeting followed the capture of an Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot by Pakistan and the downing of a Pakistani aircraft by India -- events arising from the IAF bombing of the Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp at Balakot in Pakistan. The parties in a joint statement said that national security transcends "narrow political considerations. "The 21 parties expressed their deep anguish over the blatant politicisation of the sacrifices made by our armed forces by leaders of the ruling party. "National security must transcend narrow political considerations," said Gandhi while reading out the statement to the media. At the meeting, the parties attacked Modi and BJP President Amit Shah for "using" the IAF action to build a narrative for the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. After the air strike in Pakistan, Modi told a rally in Rajasthan that India was in safe hands while Shah declared Modi was the "only world leader" with strong determination and zero tolerance policy against terrorism. "Modi and Shah have been shamelessly using the sacrifices of our armed forces for their narrow political considerations," said Yechury. Referring to the government confirming targeting of Indian military installations and loss of one fighter aircraft, the leaders condemned the Pakistani misadventure. They expressed deep concern for the safety of the missing pilot. The parties also pointed to Modi's interaction with party workers scheduled for Thursday that has been billed by the BJP to be the "world's biggest video conference." "When the country is worried about the well-being of the missing pilot, the Prime Minister and the BJP are more concerned about politics," said Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala. The Congress has postponed its Working Committee meeting scheduled for Thursday and a rally in Gujarat that was to be addressed by Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi. The opposition parties also criticised Modi for not convening an-all party meeting and instead deputing External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to inform them about the IAF's action in Pakistan. The leaders urged the Modi government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity. Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Sharad Yadav and T. Shiva (DMK) were among those who attended the meeting at the Parliament complex. Chennai, Feb 27 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami on Wednesday handed over appointment orders to the widows of two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers who were killed in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. Palaniswami gave the appointment letters to S. Krishnaveni, widow of G. Subramanian, and S. Gandhimathi, widow of C. Sivachandran, at the state secretariat here. The Chief Minister had earlier announced that government jobs would be given to one of the family members of the slain CRPF troopers. Financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh each was given to the family members of the two CRPF personnel. Chandigarh, Feb 27 : Punjab Governor and Union Territory (UT) Administrator V.P. Singh Badore on Wednesday held a high-level coordination meeting with the top officers of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh Administration to review the arrangements and response mechanism in the eventuality of any emergency arising out of the current escalated situation between India and Pakistan. While advising that the administrative mechanisms in Chandigarh tri-city region be kept in maximum alertness, Badnore assured that at this juncture there is no reason to worry or panic. "All institutions including schools, colleges, offices and commercial establishments in the city will remain open and function as normal," he said. The Governor reiterated that the situation will be kept under constant watch and will be reviewed on a day-to-day basis. Budgam: Debris of an IAF aircraft that crashed in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Feb 27, 2019. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News Budgam: Debris of an aircraft that crashed in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Feb 27, 2019. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News Kanpur, Feb 27 : Corporal Deepak Pandey, a resident of Mangla Vihar here, was killed after an Indian Air Force (IAF) Mi-17 transport chopper crashed in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district on Wednesday morning. The report of his death was communicated to his father Ram Prakash Pandey, a retired private servant, by the Srinagar airbase, a close relative said. Pandey was the only child in the family and had joined the IAF five years back. Senior officials of the Uttar Pradesh government and Industries Minister Satish Mahana visited the house of the deceased. Mahana consoled the family members and said that the state government was with them in this hour of grief. Gandhinagar, Feb 27 : Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, Congress President Rahul Gandhi has cancelled a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and the 'Jan Sankalp rally' which was to be held here on Thursday. After almost six decades, a CWC meeting was scheduled to be held in Gujarat. All the bigwigs of the Grand Old Party were supposed to be present on Thursday including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, new General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The CWC is the party's highest decision-making body. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala posted a Twitter message that Rahul Gandhi had postponed both the CWC meeting and the public rally due to the prevailing situation in the country. The Congress leaders were to address a public gathering at the TriMandir at Adalaj in the afternoon. A special committee was formed for the CWC meeting, which was to discuss economic, foreign and social policies. Congress workers were waiting for the meeting with enthusiasm. A resolution was also to be passed to strengthen the Panchayati Raj and democratic institutions. "Our President has postponed Thursday's CWC meet at Trimandir, looking at the prevalent situation. The decision regarding the same will be taken after the situation is stabilized," said Paresh Dhanani, Leader of Opposition in the Gujarat assembly. Chennai, Feb 27 : The parents of Wing Commander Varthaman Abhinandan were engulfed by gloom after coming to know that their son had been taken into custody in Pakistan. When IANS contacted his father, retired Air Marshal Simhakutty Varthaman, over telephone, he declined to speak. The distressed family lives in Chennai's outskirts. Like his father, Abhinandan chose the Indian Air Force (IAF) and was commissioned into service in 2004. His father was once the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command. Simhakutty Varthaman had shared his knowledge about the air force to film director Mani Ratnam for his Tamil movie "Kaatru Veliyidai" where the hero, an air force pilot, is captured by the Pakistan Army. A person known to Simhakutty Varthaman told IANS: "I know the senior Varthaman. He is a nice person. I have not met Abhinandan. I know he is married." Hyderabad, Feb 27 : InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of the world's leading hotel companies, on Wednesday announced the opening of two Holiday Inn Express hotels in Hyderabad. The hotels have come up in upmarket Banjara Hills and information technology hub Hitec City. Holiday Inn Express Hyderabad Banjara Hills features 168 contemporary, design-led rooms and offers a convenient and hassle-free stay for both business and leisure travellers. Holiday Inn Express Hyderabad Hitec City, the second hotel from the IHG-SAMHI portfolio, has 148 rooms. The hotel is conveniently located within a five-km radius from major technology parks, the company said in a statement. "Hyderabad not only offers a glimpse into the region's rich heritage and culture but has also emerged as the epicentre of the rapidly growing start-up and technology ecosystem, thus increasing the number of visitors to the city. We are excited to strengthen our presence in the city with two new Holiday Inn Express hotels and offer brand's signature hospitality to the travelers visiting the city," Vivek Bhalla, Regional Vice President, SWA, IHG. New Delhi, Feb 27 : The Delhi government has cancelled the Fire Safety Certificates of over 150 guest houses in the Karol Bagh area, after 17 people were killed in a hotel fire on February 12, the Assembly was informed on Wednesday. On the steps by the government after the fire accident, Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain said six teams have been formed to inspect the guest houses in the Karol Bagh area. "These teams are conducting raids and about 200 guest houses have been inspected. Certificates of about 150 of them were cancelled," Jain said. He said the Licensing Department, the Delhi Police and the Health Department and the North Delhi Municipal Corporation have been asked to stop shut them forthwith. "The places, after cancellation of certificate are not operational," he said, adding people can file a complaint if any of those found functioning. Jain said the fire department will intensify drives across the city to locate illegal constructions and hotels violating fire safety norms to prevent recurrence of any more incident. "The raids, being conducted in Karol Bagh at present, will be extended to other parts of the city as well," he said. The minister has approved around 10 amendments to the Delhi building bylaws 2016 to enhance safety. In the amendments, special directives have been issued regarding use of rooftops, basements, passages and exit routes, he said. "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," he said. Draft rule for events organised in tents is being drafted. It will soon will be publicised for seeking public opinion. Kolkata, Feb 27 : The Special Task Force of the Kolkata Police arrested two operatives of terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from West Bengal's Murshidabad district and seized a huge cache of explosive making material from them, an officer said here on Wednesday. Police said the two accused were associates of JMB leader Kausar, one of the key accused in Burdwan's Khagragarh blast case of 2014. "Two JMB operatives - Moshibur Rahman (35) and Ruhul Amin (26) - were arrested from Murshidabad during a joint raid with the district police here. Both are residents of the district's Raghunathgunj area," a release issued by the STF said. According to STF officers, interrogation of a previously held JMB operative named Sajjad revealed that the two accused took training in making acid bombs and were planning an attack on the police to get Kausar released. "They were associates of Sajjad and Kausar. They would have attacked the police with acid bombs to release Kausar. Explosive making materials including aluminium dust, calether (spirit of ether), sulphuric acid etc. has been recovered from them," the release said. Both the accused were produced before the court on Wednesday. The STF had on February 16 arrested from Kolkata's Babughat area a JMB operative named Ariful Islam, who was said to be involved in last year's Bodh Gaya blast. Three days later, another operative named Asif Iqbal was arrested from a city railway station. Rome, Feb 27 : Construction of a controversial high-speed train tunnel linking Italy and France will go ahead once the 8.6 billion euro project has been "re-examined and fixed", Italian Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini has said. "An agreement on the TAV will be reached. The project can be re-examined and fixed," Salvini told Italian public broadcaster Rai Radio 1, referring to a high-speed rail link between Turin and the French city of Lyons. "Travelling by train is certainly much better and less polluting than by road," he added. Salvini decried Italy's creaking bureaucracy "that has held up progress in this country for 30 years" and vowed the populist government would re-start building work currently on hold at "too many" sites across Italy. While Salvini and his League party wants the TAV train tunnel to be built, its coalition partner, the grassroots 5-Star Movement's leader Luigi Di Maio and Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli have long opposed it on cost and environmental grounds. The Italian parliament passed a motion committing the government to "totally rediscuss" the TAV project, a move seen as an attempt to postpone any definitive decision until after European parliamentary elections in May. Italy's Transport Ministry earlier in February issued a cost-benefit analysis on the TAV which branded the project a waste of public money, saying it would have a "strongly negative" financial return. France and the European Union - which is paying for 40 percent of the 57.5-kilometre tunnel - could seek damages from Italy if the project is binned. After taking power last summer, the populist government halted the project to build the tunnel which will cut the current 7 hour train journey from Turin to Lyon by 2.5 hours. New Delhi, Feb 27 : Amidst claims and counter claims about the aerial engagement on the border in the fog of war, a senior Indian Air Force (IAF) official appeared at the External Affairs Ministry briefing along with Joint Secretary (External Publicity) Raveesh Kumar on Wednesday but did not answer questions, leaving the facts at the mercy of speculation. Air Vice Marshal R.G.K. Kapoor is Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Operations) at the Air Headquarters. He is in-charge of the offensive air operations. This is the first time in two days when an IAF officer came to face the media but offered no answers to many questions floating around the fate of Indian pilots Pakistan claims it has captured. This despite anxiety in the nation following the release of disturbing video going viral showing a bleeding pilot in Pakistani custody. Even though his identity was not confirmed officially, the social media was abuzz with details about his background. The euphoria over the air strike inside Pakistan on Tuesday turned into concerns about the fate of the pilot. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has claimed that two IAF pilots were in their custody. India has claimed that only one pilot is "missing in action". The first Indian statement about the air strike on Tuesday was made by Foreign Secretary Vijay K. Gokhale hours after Pakistan's Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations, Major General Asif Ghafoor, made the attacks public. The social media came alive right from the morning amidst reports of a tank battle in Sialkot to massive troop build up on the Pakistan side. The "action" soon moved towards the Line of Control (LoC) and Jammu and Kashmir. Reports of an aircraft going down in Badgam in the Kashmir Valley came in between inputs about Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighters dropping bombs on the Indian side. The only official claims came from the Pakistani side which talked about launching a counter offensive. Even as the facts from the claims were being sifted, Pakistan announced that it had captured two Indian pilots. Before the news sunk in, reports appeared that IAF had shot down a PAF F-16. The euphoria over the "kill" remained short-lived as an alleged video of a captured Indian pilot went viral on Pakistan media. After hours of silence, India confirmed that one of its pilots was missing in action but refused to go beyond it. It also confirmed that it had shot down a PAF aircraft but did not identify if it was an F-16. Flight tracking websites showed empty air space on the India-Pakistan border leading to panic. The claims have been far too many but the facts have been economical. (Gautam Datt can be contacted at gautam.d@ians.in) New Delhi, Feb 27 : Amid the rising Indo-Pak tensions, the Opposition on Wednesday condemned the ruling BJPs "blatant politicisation" of the armed forces sacrifices and also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not convening an all-party meeting. Representatives of 21 opposition parties, including Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, met in the aftermath of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack and the subsequent Indian Air Force (IAF) strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) training camp in Balakot in Pakistan. In a joint statement, they "expressed deep anguish over the blatant politicisation of sacrifices made by the armed forces by leaders of the ruling party." "National security must transcend narrow political considerations," they said, adding the Prime Minister has, regrettably, not convened an-all party meeting as per the established practice in our democracy. They also condemned the dastardly Pulwama terror attack by Pakistan-sponsored JeM and lauded the action taken by the IAF against the terrorist camp on Tuesday and praised the Indian Armed Forces for their valour and bravery. The leaders also expressed concern on the emerging security situation. With the Ministry of External Affairs confirming targeting of Indian military installations and loss of one fighter aircraft, they condemned the Pakistani misadventure and expressed deep concern for the safety of missing pilot. The leaders urged the Modi government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity. Kolkata, Feb 27 : Uncertainty clouds trips to the picturesque Kashmir Valley with tour operators witnessing cancellations of advance bookings while new bookings have dried up following the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF troopers in Jammu & Kashmir. Hoteliers and travel agents in the Valley, however, are optimistic about the tourist arrivals in the coming months despite escalating tension after the air strike by Indian Air Force (IAF) on the biggest training camp of terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. "As far as retail tourism is concerned, Kashmir will remain a doubtful destination till the overall situation improves. People would not like to go there as long as tension prevails. There may be 10-15 per cent cancellations but overall cancellations in bookings so far are minimal. But no new bookings for Kashmir are being made," Indian Association of Tour Operators President Pronab Sarkar told IANS on the phone. There is a possibility that people who have planned to visit the Valley in the summer months may cancel their bookings, he said, adding more "cancellation could happen gradually". "People have booked flight or train tickets and made bookings for accommodation in advance. Many tourists have their bookings (for package tours in the Valley) and are at present waiting and watching because they will have to incur losses in case of cancellations," Sarkar said. Travel Agents' Federation of Eastern India Chairman Anil Punjabi said the Pulwama terror attack will have "a negative impact on tourists" planning to visit the Valley in the upcoming summer and it will play in their minds even for intended Kashmir tours during the coming winter. "People will not like to travel to the Valley without their peace of mind. Roughly about 800-1200 bookings for trips to the Valley have been reportedly cancelled across our members in the eastern region," Punjabi told IANS. Given the critical situation in the Valley, Ravinder Singh, a travel agent based in Jammu city, told IANS: "About 50 per cent of my bookings for package tours in March and April have already been cancelled." He, however, hoped the situation would improve during the summer months. Sheikh Umar, representing Hotel The Kaiser in Srinagar at the TTF Summer Kolkata, told IANS: "We condemn the attack and there are reports of cancellations of bookings. But we are hopeful that tourists will come to the Valley as we have got good responses across cities even after the attack." "Tourists are safe in the Valley," he claimed. Following the terror attack, tourists who had plans to visit the Kashmir Valley in the summer have started tweaking their plans to visit other other cooler places. "We've started getting more enquiries for other cooler places in Himachal Pradesh and the northeastern states. Travellers are also taking quotations for cooler places other than Kashmir. The Kashmir valley seems to be out of the map for many tourists for this summer and it also seems that they do not want to take any chances," Punjabi said. However, tour operators and travel agents also said many tourists are taking their time to firm up their decisions and probably would take a final call after the school and board examinations are over. According to Punjabi, tourists are also waiting for the announcement of the entire schedule of the upcoming general elections. He also said hoteliers and tour operators in the Valley might opt for discounts on package and have kept their fingers crossed for the situation to normalise. According to Sarkar, tourist arrivals had been growing in the Valley till the disastrous flood in 2014 and it took a year to revive. "Even after the Uri attack, there was not much adverse impact (in terms of tourists' arrivals) but the recent Pulwama attack has put a question mark," he said. Hit by the unrest and terror activities, the adorable piece of land, popularly known as "Heaven on Earth" has continuously been losing its "priority status" among tourists as a destination, tour managers felt. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs' Annual Report for 2017-18, the fiscal "witnessed a 6.21 per cent increase and 166.66 per cent increase in the number of terrorist incidents and fatalities of civilians respectively in comparison to the corresponding period of 2016". (Bappaditya Chatterjee can be contacted at bappaditya.c@ians.in) New Delhi, Feb 27 : The Delhi government on Wednesday announced that it will provide Rs 105 subsidy per KiloWatt/month on fixed charges under agriculture electricity connections. Speaking in the Assembly, Cabinet Minister Satyendar Jain said the farmers will be given back the money they had to pay on the fixed charges of electricity from April 2018. Now, the farmers will have to pay Rs 20 per KW/month on the fixed charge, which was till now Rs 125 per KW/month. "The subsidy will be applied from April 1, 2018. The government will pay back the money the farmers had to pay on fixed charges since then," Jain said. The step, costing Rs 7.50 crore, is expected to benefit about 11,000 consumers in the national capital. The decision, Jain said, was taken by the Cabinet in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday. Under the proposal of the Department of Power, the government will provide a subsidy of Rs 105 per KiloWatt every month on fixed charges for agriculture consumers (farmers) of Delhi for 2018-19 and 2019-20. "The distribution companies (DISCOMs) will have to ensure that subsidy/relief is released only to genuine agricultural consumers/connections," the government said. In a statement, the office of the Chief Minister said the agriculture sector in the country is already under distress and the Delhi government is committed to the welfare of the farmers of Delhi, therefore this scheme has been introduced to provide them the much needed relief. "Delhi government is of the firm view that electricity is a basic requirement for farming and is required for irrigation through tube wells, thrashing and related functions." The farmers have been demanding the government to reduce the fixed charges and were not happy with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party on the issue of high electricity charges. February 27 : From the first spaceship, to powerful telescope, we have always been enthralled by the developments accomplished by NASA. And still, they never seem to stop impressing the world. The month of February 2019 has been a truly happening month for NASA. To start with, they informed the world that MarCO a pair of briefcase sized spacecraft had settled into sleep in deep space. It was one of the successes that NASA can adore always, as the pair could update Earth on their detailed descent into the Martian grounds. Next, in the NASA Twin study, they comforted the world that people could travel to Mars without being affected in their two and a half year trip to Mars. In February, NASA announced that the Opportunity mission on Mars would come to a close after a heart- breaking sandstorm struck the area. One of the recent appreciable announcements was that Virgin Galactic was able to touch the edge of space just 90 km about Earths surface for the second time. Also, we can applaud NASAs space telescope for being able to identify over 1000 planets to live in and also its capacity to teach our scientists how the universe took shape. On March 2nd 2019, we will have to await to see the glorifying launch of SpaceXs Crew Dragon. It will be unmanned and the first of its kind. NASA's new space telescope to explore origins of universe Image Source: IANS NASA's new space telescope to explore origins of universe (Representative image) US space agency NASA has unveiled a new space telescope that would begin a two-year mission in 2023 to look for life's ingredients and probe how the universe evolved.Read more NASA's first deep space mini spacecraft go silent Image Source: IANS NASA's first deep space mini spacecraft go silent NASA's first interplanetary mission to use a class of mini-spacecraft has fallen silent in deep space and it is unlikely that they will be heard again, the US space agency has said.Read more Long-term spaceflight not linked to major health risks: NASA 'Twins Study' Image Source: IANS Long-term spaceflight not linked to major health risks: NASA 'Twins Study' While it was previously thought that long duration spaceflight can affect the human body, even at the molecular level, new results from NASAs "Twins Study" has showed that there are no major warning signs and no reason to think humans cannot survive a two-and-a-half-year round-trip journey to Mars.Read more 15 years after its landing on Mars, NASA to end Opportunity rover's mission Image Source: IANS 15 years after its landing on Mars, NASA to end Opportunity rover's mission NASA has announced the end of its Opportunity rover's mission, 15 years after its arrival on Mars.Read more Virgin Galactic touches space again, flying 90 km above Earth Image Source: IANS Virgin Galactic touches space again, flying 90 km above Earth Just over two months since its first venture to sub-orbital space, Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic has touched the edge of space for the second time, recording an altitude of 90 km above the Earth's surface.Read more New NASA telescope could find over 1,000 planets: Study Image Source: IANS New NASA telescope could find over 1,000 planets (Representative image) NASA's new telescope could find as many as 1,400 new planets outside our solar system, enabling humans to find the largest, deepest and clearest picture of the universe as well as the existence of extraterrestrial life, suggests a new study.Read more SpaceX's unmanned Crew Dragon to launch on March 2 to ISS: NASA Image Source: IANS SpaceX's unmanned Crew Dragon to launch on March 2 to ISS(Representative image) After much delays, NASA has given the green light to Elon Musk-owned SpaceX's Crew Dragon to launch its first unmanned test flight to the International Space Station (ISS) on March 2, the US space agency said.Read more Aizawl, Feb 27 : Three persons, including a police driver, were killed and two others hurt on Wednesday when a government vehicle, part of Mizoram Home and Taxation Minister Lalchamliana's convoy, fell into a deep gorge, police said. According to the police, the accident occurred near Tawipuri North village in the Lunglei district when the 3-vehicle convoy was on its way to Aizawl from Vathuampui village in the Lawngtlai district in southern Mizoram. The Minister had visited Vathuampui to see training of soldiers. While driver Havildar and two members of the ruling Mizo National Front -- Lalchungnunga R Lalnunsanga and Ropianga -- were killed, the Minister and his other associates, travelling in different cars, escaped unhurt. The condition of injured persons is said to be critical. They are being treated at the Lunglei district government hospital. Mumbai, Feb 27 : To mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a UAE-based company will globally release 12 bank notes of zero value, the first-ever limited edition commemorative series, an official said here on Wednesday. The first two notes of the 12-part series, with just 5,000 pieces to be printed in each design, will go on sale at select outlets globally and online platforms while the remaining will be released in phases till October 2, said the top official of Numisbing Group, Dubai. The special notes have been designed by Dubai-based Indian artist Akbar Saheb who is also the main illustrator for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's book "Mann Ki Baat". Each note will feature memorable incidents from the personal and political life of Gandhi as a tribute to his legendary status, said Ramkumar Sarangapani, Numisbing Group founder and President of the International Bank Note Society, Dubai. "Besides the fact that these commemorative notes have a huge shelf value, the bigger reason for the initiative was to bring Mahatma Gandhi back to life using incidents that are more than just history lessons," said Sarangapani. The first (of two) note being released shows the "Promise to Mother" in 1888, the three vows the young Gandhi made to his mother Puttlibai before leaving for his law studies to England. The promises included complete abstention from alcohol, non-vegetarian food and regarding all other women as his mothers or sisters, intendeded to prevent him from going astray in a foreign land. The second note features the historic incident of 1893 when the young lawyer Gandhi was thrown off a train at Pietermaritzburg railway station in South Africa, from a "Whites Only" compartment. That incident left a deep scar on his memory and laid the foundations for his non-violence movement that eventually proved the critical factor in India gaining independence from the British. Initially, the plan was to issue just one commemorative note but since Gandhi's life was so inspirational and it would not be fair to confine him to just one note, it was decided to bring out a 12-part series, said Sarangapani. Only once in the past, a similar initiative was taken. India issued commemorative notes with the image of Gandhi in 1969 to celebrate his 100th birth anniversary and were given for public use as well, he added. An avid bank notes collector, Sarangapani features in the Limca Book of Records for having a unique collection of 45 commemorative bank notes of all denominations (from Re 1 to Rs 100) and all prefixes, that were issued in 1969. The zero euro note is a souvenir bank note authorised by the European Central Bank and are printed in the same security printers as other normal euro currency notes, carry all security features, except that they are marked "0" to ensure they do not enter normal market circulation, said Numisbing co-founder Steve Desouza, who is IBNS-Dubai Secretary. Numisbing Group is a Dubai-based arts and numismatics (collection of Coins and Currencies) company, founded in 2012, and has an exclusive gallery called "71 Arts" featuring the works of royal, Islamic and Arabic painting of top artists, including M.F. Husain and Akbar Saheb. Latest updates on Gandhi Jayanti 2019 Chandigarh, Feb 27 : Even though there has been some anxiety in the past 24 hours among people living in border villages in districts of Punjab sharing international border with Pakistan, normal life was witnessed in villages on Wednesday. Farmers could be seen attending to routine activities, including harvesting the sugarcane crop and tending to the wheat crop, amid heightened activity of the Border Security Force and Army troopers in view of the high alert sounded on Tuesday by the authorities. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's media advisor Raveen Thukral tweeted on Wednesday: "No evacuations ordered from border villages in Punjab. Chief Minister is reviewing situation in the state with senior officials. He will tour the border areas from Chandigarh by road in view of air space restrictions." Thukral told IANS that no evacuation has been ordered. He said the visit of the Chief Minister to the border belt, which was to begin from Wednesday, has been rescheduled to Thursday. Amarinder Singh tweeted earlier that "we're absolutely ready for any eventuality" and that he has communicated to the Home Affairs Ministry that "Punjab is prepared to do whatever may be needed in the service of the country". The Chief Minister will camp in the border areas of Punjab as part of confidence-building measures undertaken by the state government in the wake of the Indian Air Force (IAF) surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) on Tuesday. A high alert was sounded in the border districts by the state government, which is in constant touch with the Union Home and Defence Ministries to stay abreast of the volatile situation arising from the strikes, undertaken by India as a retaliatory measure in the aftermath of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack. "There is no tension among people in the border belt. We are ready for any eventuality. We will not leave our homes and villages," said Manjit Singh, a villager in the border belt in Amritsar district. Amritsar Member of Parliament Gurjeet Singh Aujla visited a number of villages in Amritsar district's border belt to assure people that all security measures were in place. "I have visited several villages. People are upbeat about the situation. There is no panic," Aujla said. The border districts - Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka - have been put on high alert following the IAF strike and their Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendents of Police have been asked to put in place all contingency plans to ensure the protection and safety of the citizens. Punjab shares a 553-km-long international border with Pakistan which has barbed wire fence inside the Indian territory. At different strategic locations, including installations, highways and border areas, Army troopers could be seen maintaining security. New Delhi, Feb 27 : Only 920 MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) seats have been added in the government medical colleges against the approved 10,000, in the last five years, reveals an RTI. According to the RTI filed by Chandra Shekhar Gaur, a resident of Madhya Pradesh, the government has approved 36 medical colleges for adding 2,615 MBBS seats in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, MP, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Manipur and Karnataka. It also released Rs 685 crore in 2015-18 for 12 states for increasing the number of MBBS seats. In Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, only 50 new seats each have been added against the approved 150 and 350 seats, respectively, In Karnataka, 350 seats have been created against the approved 550, the RTI revealed. In states like Jharkhand, MP, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Manipur not a single seat has been added. According to the RTI, 450 seats were to be created in MP. But even after sanction of Rs 108 crore in three years for the four government-owned medical colleges, not a single seat has been added. In Tamil Nadu, too, over Rs 82 crore has been released by the Centre to add 345 seats. But the seat count remains the same. States like Odisha (200 seats), Gujarat (170 seats) and Punjab (100 seats) have upgraded their medical colleges and increased the requisite number of MBBS seats. In 2014, a cabinet committee of the UPA government had approved the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's proposal relating to the Centre-sponsored scheme for upgradation of government medical colleges and increasing the number of MBBS seats. It was also announced that Rs 10,000 crore would be invested for increasing the MBBS seats. Of this, the Centre was to contribute Rs 7,500 crore and states/UTs Rs 2,500 crore. The funding pattern was to be 90:10 between the central and the state governments for northeastern states and the special category states. The ratio of 70:30 was decided for other states. Creation of one MBBS seat cost around Rs 1.20 crore, according to the cabinet committee in 2014. Again in 2018, the cabinet approved the proposal for adding 10,000 under-graduate seats by 2020-21 and 8,058 post-graduate seats -- 4,058 in the first phase by 2018-19 and 4,000 in the second phase by 2020-21. "I had filed the RTI in March 2018 and got the response this month. It was necessary to know the status of medical seats in the country. The government keeps on coming up with new schemes, but how many are implemented? My attempt through the RTI was to expose this," Gaur, an RTI activist, told IANS. Gaur also noted since the doctor-patient ratio is poor in India and private medical colleges are expensive, the government should focus on increasing MBBS seats in the government-run medical colleges. (Somrita Ghosh can be contacted at somrita.g@ians.in) New Delhi, Feb 27 : Following is the text of the statement made by External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar on Wednesday: "India had informed about counter-terrorism action yesterday against a terrorist training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in Pakistan based on credible evidence that JeM intended to launch more attacks. "Against this counter-terrorism action, Pakistan has responded this morning by using its air force to target military installations on the Indian side. "Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistan's attempts were foiled successfully. "The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) was detected and the Indian Air Force (IAF) responded instantly. In the aerial engagement, one PAF fighter aircraft was shot down by a MIG 21 Bison of the IAF. "The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MIG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts." New Delhi, Feb 27 : An Emirates flight from Dubai to Delhi was diverted on Wednesday after Karachi airspace was closed amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. The Boeing 777 300 aircraft, which took off from Dubai at 10.30 a.m., half an hour behind schedule, landed at Ahmedabad airport at 2.45 p.m. for refuelling. Before landing, the plane's captain announced that it had to be diverted because it was denied permission to fly over Karachi airspace. The flight was grounded at Ahmedabad for an hour. Tensions have erupted between India and Pakistan following the Indian Air Force (IAF) jets bombing the biggest training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit in Balakot on Tuesday. The IAF on Wednesday chased away intruding Pakistani fighter jets in Jammu and Kashmir's Nowshera sector. Reports said that Pakistan has banned any Indian aircraft from using their airspace and that Pakistan's Air Traffic Control has banned any aircraft from flying below 32,000 feet. New Delhi, Feb 27 : Amid escalating tension between New Delhi and Islamabad, Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said if US can do an Abbottabad finishing off Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in Pakistan's own backyard, then so can India, drawing parallel with IAF's Tuesday bombing of a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) base in Balakot. The Finance Minister was referring to the US Navy SEALs' operation in 2011 when the Americans neutralised the Al Qaeda founder in his Abbottabad home, where he was hiding for over a decade after pulling off the horrific 9/11 World Trade Center attack. Jaitley said India too can do an US by bringing down its most wanted JeM chief Masood Azhar. "I remember when the Navy SEALs of US took Osama bin Laden from Abbottabad... can't we do the same? "This used to be just an imagination, a desire, a frustration, a disappointment. But today this is possible," he said at an event here. "A week is too long a time in politics. The way the nation has rallied behind us in the last one week, it seems like a week slipped by too quick," he said referring to the February 14 Pulwama terror attack by the JeM in which 40 CRPF troopers were killed. India in retaliation bombed the JeM's biggest camp in Pakistan's Balakot. On Tuesday, at around 3.30 a.m., the Indian Air Force (IAF) jets attacked the JeM camp housing hundreds of its operatives, in what Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said was a "non-military pre-emptive action" on a terror facility. A large number of jihadis were killed in the camp located on a hill-top away from civilian areas, Gokhale said, claiming that the dead included Yusuf Azhar, brother-in-law of Masood Azhar. India has said it acted on the intelligence inputs that JeM was planning another suicide bombing. Bengaluru, Feb 27 : Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Wednesday conducted an aerial survey of the Bandipur National Park after the raging forest fire there was brought under control on Tuesday. "The Chief Minister did an aerial survey of the forest to assess the damage," said a statement from the Chief Minister's Office. The blaze in the Bandipur National Park in Chamarajanagar district, about 220 km from here, was brought under control by the coordinated efforts of the Indian Air Force, the district fire brigade, forest guards and locals after nearly five days on Tuesday. Two Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters sprayed 19,000 litres of water in seven sorties across the affected area on Tuesday. Though the cause of the wildfire was yet to be ascertained and under investigation, officials said it was confined to about 30 sq km in the core area and 20 sq km in the periphery of the 1,320 sq km national park that straddles across the inter-state border into Tamil Nadu. Eyewitnesses said the blaze destroyed hundreds of trees and bushes, though no wildlife casualties have been reported. Mumbai, Feb 27 : Maharashtra and its capital Mumbai have been put on high alert' in the wake of the rising tensions on the country's north-west border, official sources said here on Wednesday. Heightened security was seen in Mumbai, the commercial capital of the country. Police vigil has been enhanced in Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Nashik and Kolhapur as well. The government is ensuring there is no disturbance to the ongoing HSC (Class XII) examinations in the state. In Mumbai, the tension was palpable on city roads and highways where random checks were being carried out in private and commercial vehicles, BEST or private buses. Security was tightened at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), major stations and terminals of Western Railway, Central Railway, Konkan Railway, suburban railway stations with high footfalls, bus depots and other sensitive installations in and around the city. Police checks have also been intensified at the CSMIA, cargo complex and major hotels in its vicinity, and armed police and dog squads were scrutinising the luggage of passengers at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Dadar Terminus, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus from where most long-distance trains arrive or depart. Increased patrolling was seen at important government and private residential and commercial establishments including the Mantralaya, the Legislature Building, headquarters of banks, airlines, shipping companies, luxury hotels, malls and multiplexes, top tourist destinations, places of worship, educational institutions, etc. Amritsar, Feb 27 : Commercial flight operations were suspended on Wednesday from the Guru Ram Das Jee International airport in Amritsar amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan. Passengers who were in the Amritsar airport terminal to catch flights for various destinations were asked to leave the building. The Army, Indian Air Force (IAF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel took control of the airport complex. "We were inside the airport to catch an international flight. We were asked to leave. We do not know the fate of our flight. No one is telling us anything," a young woman who was to leave for Dubai said. The airports at Halwara near Ludhiana and Adampur near Jalandhar, which are both with the Indian Air Force (IAF), were also put on high alert. Kolkata, Feb 27 : A Trinamool Congress leader here has lodged a complaint against a professor of Rabindra Bharati University for "objectionable" social media post related to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other leaders of the party, police said on Wednesday. "This matter is in the initial stage and inquiry is on," a police officer said. Srijan Bose, in his complaint, mentioned that Bishakha Goswami of RBU's Music Department has posted and shared certain "controversial pictures" and the content shows the Chief Minister and the state government in bad light. "This incident has caused resentment among the students and faculty members. By posting such things she is belittling the developmental work done by the government and is tarnishing their image," Bose wrote in his complaint. He called for urgent action to maintain law and order in the state. New Delhi, Feb 27 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the trial court to expedite the trial in the 2008 TV journalist Soumya Vishwanathan murder case. Justice Mukta Gupta directed the court while disposing of an accused's plea seeking speedy disposal of trial in the murder case. The court was hearing the plea of one of the accused Baljeet Singh Malik through advocate Amit Kumar. Malik has sought the court's direction to the trial court to expedite and conclude the trial of the present case in a fixed time frame on a day-to-day basis. The court directed the trial court hearing the matter to conclude the proceedings as early as possible and preferably on day-to-day basis or at least to conduct hearing on two days a week. The court also directed to appoint a senior police officer to monitor the appearance of prosecution witnesses on the date fixed for hearing. Delhi government standing counsel Rahul Mehra told the court that Delhi Police has appointed a senior officer to monitor the issue. The court noted that apparently the trial has been delayed due to non-appearance of witnesses on the date fixed for hearing. Till February, the trial court concluded recording of the statement of nearly 42 witnesses in the case. The prosecution has cited nearly hundreds of witnesses in their charge sheet and supplementary charge sheet. Malik has also sought compensation of Rs 1 crore on account of the unreasonable and inordinate delay in investigation and trial of the present case. But the court rejected his plea seeking compensation. Malik, in his plea, told the court that he was a 20-year-old in 2008 when the case was registered. He was arrested on March 28, 2009, and since then he has been languishing in jails and facing trial as an undertrial prisoner. Delhi Police said Vishwanathan was shot dead on September 30, 2008, when she was returning home in her car from office in the wee hours. It has been more than nine-and-a-half years since the petitioner (Malik) was arrested but the respondent has not been able to conclude the trial of the present case so far, the plea said. The trial is pending before the sessions court in Saket. The next date of hearing is March 8. New Delhi, Feb 27 : Actress Priyanka Chopra and her husband Nick Jonas landed here on Wednesday morning. She says it's "good to be back". "Best travel buddy ever... Hello Delhi, so good to be back," Priyanka posted on social media with a selfie featuring herself with Nick. According to a source in the know, Priyanka is in the capital city for an endorsement-related event, and she will fly to Mumbai on Thursday. There, she will shoot the last leg of "The Sky Is Pink". The couple turned heads at the Oscars after-party in Los Angeles, as Priyanka was dressed in a black shimmer dress, while Nick sported a blue suit. New Delhi, Feb 27 : Actress Huma Qureshi says shooting for Deepa Mehtas "Leila" was difficult. Huma turned down several offers and dedicated straight six whole months of her time to the show. "It was a very difficult shoot, when we at times shot for 14-16 hours at a stretch," Huma said in a statement. "I would often switch my phone off during the shoot so as not to be distracted. I just wanted to essay this role to the best of my abilities," added the actress, who is currently in Delhi shooting for the show. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Mehta, "Leila" is a part of a slate of 17 original made-in-Asia shows announced by Netflix at a conference in Singapore last year. Huma will be joined by Siddharth in "Leila". Adapted from an eponymous novel by writer and executive producer Urmi Juvekar, the series is set in the near future and tells the story of a mother's search for her daughter, from whom she was separated 16 years ago. Hyderabad, Feb 27 : In a shocking incident, a stalker set afire a college student in full public view in Telangana's Warangal district on Wednesday, police said. The incident occurred in Hanamkonda town when the victim, a final year BSc student, was on her way to college. She sustained critical injuries and was battling for life in the hospital. Avinash, said to be a student of the same college, allegedly poured petrol on the student and set her afire. When a couple of passersby tried to rush to the rescue of the girl, the attacker threatened them and later escaped from the scene. The girl sustained 90 per cent burns and was shifted to a hospital where her condition was stated to be critical. Police suspect that the youth set the girl afire for spurning his love. This is the second incident in Telangana this month. A minor girl was critically injured when her stalker stabbed her repeatedly in broad daylight in Hyderabad on February 7. New York, Feb 27 : While US President Donald Trump is half-way around the world in Vietnam for a nuclear summit with North Korea, the House of Representatives has voted against his national emergency declaration for building a $8.1 billion wall along the Mexican border. Although the Democrats and the media played up the vote on Tuesday as a victory in their campaign against Trump's emergency declaration, it is only symbolic as the President has threatened to veto should it also pass the Republican-controlled Senate and the Democrats do not have a two-thirds majority to overturn it, even with some Republicans crossing sides to vote for it. As of Tuesday night, the Democrats were still at least a vote short of a simple majority in the Senate and were desperately trying to get some Republicans to cross over like the 13 in the House. Ultimately the courts, where 16 states and others have filed challenges to the emergency, will have the final say. The crux of the opposition to the emergency is that in bypassing Congress to fund the border project, Trump is violating its constitutional authority on approving government spending. Before the House vote, the Democratic Party leader in the House, Steny Hoyer, warned that Trump bypassing Congress to fund the barrier was how "despots take power" and could set a precedent. Trump declared a state of emergency on February 15 to fund the barrier, which he says is required to stop drug smuggling, people trafficking and illegal immigration, citing as a humanitarian crisis the several thousand Central Americans massed at some border points after arriving there in caravans hoping to make their way in. The border wall, now scaled by Trump to a series of metal slats along some areas along the frontier, is the point of prestige and contention for Trump, who made it his signature election pledge, and the Democrats. When the Democrats refused to allocate the $5.7 billion that he had asked for it Trump refused to approve the budget leading to a 35-day shutdown of non-essential government operations. Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi firmly faced off Trump and he had to agree to a deal to reopen the government without the border funding, losing face. He resorted to the emergency to find money for the border barrier and reestablish his standing with his hardcore supporters. The resolution against the emergency passed 245 to 182. The type of emergency Trump has imposed is basically a financial manoeuvre and does not authorise the suspension of civil liberties. Former President Barack Obama invoked emergencies at least 10 times, including once to deal with criminal gangs at the border areas. While Trump will be meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi for a second summit on Wednesday and Thursday to get him to scrap his cache of nuclear weapons as well as the capacity to produce them, Washington will be gearing up for a new wave of confrontations and exposes. His former personal lawyer Michael Cohen is scheduled to testify about Trump before House Oversight Committee on Wednesday and before the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday. The testimony on Wednesday will be in public and Cohen, who has been sentenced to three years in prison for tax fraud and lying, has dropped tantalising hints that he could make allegations of criminal conduct against Trump. Meanwhile, Special Counsel Robert Mueller is finalising his report on the investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 elections to help Trump and is expected to deliver it to Attorney General William Barr in the coming days. A finding that Trump personally colluded with the Russians would be lethal to his presidency, but he has said that he has received assurances that it would not be there. However, there may be other disclosures that could snare him in court cases as he prepares for re-election next year. Amid these problems and setbacks, Trump is now focused on a deal with North Korea to burnish his presidency, even asserting that it would make him worthy of a Nobel Prize. After ditching diplomatic niceties to match Kim's vicious rhetoric, he has managed to get Pyongyang to stop nuclear and missile tests that his predecessors had not been able to. Trump and Kim met in June for their first summit in Singapore. While North Korea has destroyed some missile facilities, there has been no progress in denuclearization and Trump must now push for it, if he is to succeed. Kim reportedly wants all sanctions lifted as a condition to proceed with denuclearization. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in) New Delhi/Islamabad, Feb 27 : Two Indian fighter jets crashed on Wednesday, one in Jammu and Kashmir's Badgam district and the other across the Line of Control (LoC), whose pilot has been captured alive, as claimed by Pakistani authorities. In a tweet by the Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces (PAF), said: "In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), IAF crossed LoC. "PAF shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K (Pakistan administered Kashmir)... One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground." The crash in Badgam was 7 km from the Srinagar International Airport, police said. It resulted in the suspension of commercial flight operations in Leh, Pathankot, Jammu and Srinagar. Earlier top Jammu and Kashmir police sources said three PAF F-16 fighter jets violated Indian airspace in Nowshera sector, but were pushed back by the Indian side. "The jets entered into the Indian air space over Nowshera sector of Rajouri district this morning," a police official said, adding that the Indian fighter jets on air patrol immediately scrambled and pushed them back beyond the LoC. There were no immediate reports of the Pakistani side having dropped any payload in the Indian territory. Indian Air Defence Systems have been put of maximum alert. San Francisco, Feb 27 : US Internet giant Google has said its artificial intelligence (AI)-based grammar checker, corporate web tools and services are available for all users of G Suite, to help them improve writing. Unlike standard spellcheck in Google Docs, Google applies Machine Learning technology to grammar checker as one of the AI tools that can let software understand complex grammar rules and identify any "tricky" grammatical errors by users in writing, Xinhua news agency reported. "Using machine translation, we are able to recognize errors and suggest corrections as work is getting done," G Suite product manager Vishnu Sivaji said in a statement on Tuesday. He said that G Suite customers will see inline, contextual grammar suggestions in their documents as they type, just like spellcheck. "If you've made a grammar mistake, a squiggly blue line will appear under the phrase as you write it," Sivaji added. He said Google has been working closely with language experts to decipher the rules for the machine translation model and used them as the foundation of automatic suggestions in Google Docs, which was all powered by AI. Google grammar checker will be an extra tool for users to improve their writing alongside spellcheck, which was first introduced in Google Docs seven years ago. Islamabad, Feb 27 : Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday said that he will not attend the upcoming Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meet in Abu Dhabi due to Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's presence at the conclave as the "guest of honour". India has been invited for the very first time to attend the foreign ministers' conclave in Abu Dhabi next month where Sushma Swaraj will be the "guest of honour". Speaking to Geo News, Qureshi said: "I have spoken to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister and have expressed my reservations over her (Sushma Swaraj) invitation. I have made myself clear that India has shown aggression. "Under the current circumstances, it will not be possible for me to attend OIC meeting where Sushma Swaraj is present." The development comes after the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Tuesday bombed the biggest Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror outfit's biggest training camp in Balakot, Pakistan, 12 days after a JeM suicide bomber killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers. Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay K. Gokhale told the media that the IAF strikes killed "a very large number" of terrorists and their trainers. Leaders from opposition parties demanded the government Pakistan to boycott the OIC meeting in the wake of the IAF attack. Washington, Feb 27 : US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke to Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in the wake of escalating tension between New Delhi and Islamabad, and emphasised on their "shared goal of maintaining peace" in the region. According to a State Department statement, Pompeo spoke to Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday night after the Indian Air Force (IAF) bombed the biggest Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) training camp in Pakistan earlier in the day. "I spoke with Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj to emphasise our close security partnership and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region," the statement quoted Pompeo as saying. The conversation comes after Pompeo spoke to Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi where the latter told the former that India was putting the regional peace and stability at risk in pursuit of its political and electoral targets. Qureshi told Pompeo that Indian "aggression was worthy of condemnation" and hoped that the US would play its role in the situation. "I expressed to both Ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid escalation at any cost. "I also encouraged both to prioritise direct communication and avoid further military activity," the statement quoted Pompeo as saying. Tuesday's IAF attack came 12 days after a JeM suicide bomber killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers. Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay K. Gokhale told the media that the IAF struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot killing "a very large number" of terrorists and their trainers. Sushma Swaraj is currently in Wuzhen, China, to participate in the 16th Russia-India-China (RIC) foreign ministers' meeting. Washington, Feb 27 : The US House of Representatives has passed a resolution to overturn President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency on the Mexican border, with 13 Republicans joining the majority Democrats to try and block his effort to divert funding to a border wall without congressional approval. The resolution, which passed 245 to 182 on Tuesday night, must now be taken up by the Senate, where three Republicans -- Maine's Susan Collins, North Carolina's Thom Tillis, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski -- have already declared their support, only one short of the number needed for Congress to ratify a stinging rebuke of Trump's efforts, reports The New York Times. "Is your oath of office to Donald Trump or is it to the Constitution of the US?" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked her Republican colleagues in a speech on the floor ahead of the vote. "You cannot let him undermine your pledge to the Constitution." The resolution of disapproval, under the National Emergencies Act of 1976, serves as the easiest mechanism for Congress to end Trump's declaration. Pelosi also listed a number of instances in which House Republicans had objected to former President Barack Obama's use of executive power, vowing that "we are not going to give any President, Democratic or Republican, a blank check to shred the Constitution of the US". Trump issued the emergency declaration February 15, as part of a deal to keep the government open after a 35-day partial shutdown, The Washington Post reported. The President agreed to sign a spending bill that keeps the government funded through September 30 and provides $1.375 billion for 55 miles of fencing along the border in Texas, but he said he needed billions more. The administration plans to redirect an additional $6.7 billion from several sources, including $3.6 billion from military construction projects that can be accessed via the emergency declaration. Following the vote, the White House issued a formal veto threat that said: "The current situation at the Southern Border presents a humanitarian and security crisis that threatens core national security interests and constitutes a national emergency." Tuesday's development comes after 16 US states -- California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Virginia -- on February 18 filed a lawsuit challenging the national emergency declaration. Civil society groups including the Centre for Biological Diversity, Border Network for Human Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union have also announced lawsuits. Mumbai, Feb 27 : The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) on Wednesday opened on a positive note during the morning session of the trade. The Sensex of the BSE opened at 36,138.83 points and touched a high of 36,230.99. The Sensex touched a low of 36,129.66 points. On Tuesday, the Sensex closed at 35,973.71 points. The Sensex is trading at 36,232.03 up by 258.32 points or 0.72 per cent. On the other hand, the broader 50-scrip Nifty at National Stock Exchange (NSE) opened at 10,881.20 points after closing at 10,835.30 points. The Nifty is trading at 10,893.60 points in the morning. Hanoi, Feb 27 : North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will extend his stay in Vietnam following his second summit with President Donald Trump slated to begin here on Wednesday, Pyongyang state-media reported. The Korean Central News Agency KCNA has offered new details on Kim's agenda in Vietnam, which until now had been kept secret, reports Efe news. After Kim and Trump "hold the historic second bilateral summit" on Wednesday and Thursday, the North Korean leader will remain in Vietnam till Saturday, according to KCNA. On his visit to the North Korean embassy in Hanoi, Kim stressed the willingness to "consolidate the deep-rooted friendship between the two parties and the two countries, which had already been started by the founder of North Korea Kim Il-sung and former Vietnamese President Ho Chi-minh", KCNA said. The regime's official media alluded to the visits made by the grandfather of the current North Korean ruler between 1958 and 1964 to North Vietnam to visit the then Vietnamese leader. No further details about Kim's official agenda in Vietnam have been released but it could include a visit to the Hanoi mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, as well as a meeting with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong. This is the first trip of a North Korean leader to the country since its reunification in 1975. KCNA also published images of Kim's arrival in Hanoi, where he expressed "gratitude for the warm hospitality and honourable treatment of the Vietnamese government and people", as well as his visit to the North Korean embassy and a meeting with the delegation that finalises the details for the summit with Trump. Trump, who reached Hanoi on Tuesday night, tweeted on Wednesday morning: "Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize. "The potential is awesome, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong-un. We will know fairly soon... Very Interesting." The two leaders first met in Singapore last June. Wuzhen : , Feb 27 (IANS) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday raised the February 14 Pulwama terror attack by the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Jammu and Kashmir during her bilateral meeting with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at the 16th Russia-India-China (RIC) foreign ministers' meeting here. "I am visiting China at a time when there is grief and anger in India. It is the worst terrorist attack directed against our security forces in Jammu and Kashmir," she said in her opening remarks during the bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the RIC. The meeting came just after 24 hours of a "punitive" action by the Indian Air Force fighter jets that brought down major terror training camps in Pakistan's Balakot, that New Delhi called a "non-military and pre-emptive strike". The Minister strongly put it across that the JeM is a "Pakistan-based and supported terrorist organisation". "Following the Pulwama terror attack, instead of taking seriously the calls by international community to act against Jaish-e-Mohammad, Pakistan denied any knowledge of the attack and outright dismissed claims by JeM," she said. "Such dastardly terrorist attacks are a grim reminder of the need of all the countries to show zero tolerance towards terrorism and take decisive action against it," she added. At least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers were killed in the suicide attack by JeM. The group had released photos and a video after the attack claiming full responsibility. Sushma Swaraj's meeting with China is significant as Beijing has repeatedly blocked India's bid at the UN to declare JeM chief Masood Azhar a UN-designated global terrorist. While countries across the world, including US, Russia, UK and France -- part of the UN Security Council, condemned Pakistan's role in the Pulwama terror attack, China's stand on JeM chief Masood Azhar has remained unchanged. "Counter-terrorism on the agenda. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj departs for Wuzhen, China for the 16th Foreign Ministers Meeting of Russia, India and China. Apart from attending the trilateral meeting, EAM will hold bilateral discussions with Russian and Chinese Foreign Ministers," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had tweeted before her visit. Wuzhen : , Feb 27 (IANS) Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday raised the February 14 Pulwama terror attack with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at the 16th Russia-India-China (RIC) Foreign Ministers' Meet here. "Following the Pulwama terror attack, instead of taking seriously the calls by international community to act against Jaish-e-Mohammad, Pakistan denied any knowledge of the attack and outright dismissed claims by JeM," she said "Such dastardly terrorist attacks are a grim reminder of the need of all the countries to show zero tolerance towards terrorism and take decisive action against it," she added. Her meeting with China is significant as Beijing has repeatedly blocked India's bid at the UN to declare JeM chief Masood Azhar a UN-designated global terrorist. At the RIC, Sushma Swaraj will also meet her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. Washington, Feb 27 : The US House of Representatives voted to block the national emergency declared by US President Donald Trump regarding border security. The lower chamber of Congress voted by 245-182 for the one page resolution that would terminate Trump's emergency declaration, preventing him from building a border wall by tapping into funds allocated for other purposes, Xinhua news agency reported. The Democratic party voted unanimously for the bill, also picking up 13 Republican votes. The tally fell short of the number needed to overturn a presidential veto. The US Senate is expected to vote on the resolution in the coming weeks. With the Republican party in control, it is unclear if the the chamber would clear the bill. The move marks the first time that the US Congress tried to block such a measure since it codified national emergencies in 1976. Trump, currently on a trip to Vietnam, declared the national emergency on February 15 after Congress passed a spending bill with less money for the border wall than he had demanded. United Nations, Feb 27 : Representatives of the US and Venezuela crossed swords in the UN Security Council during a special session on the situation in the Andean nation, convened at Washington's request. The US is one of the roughly 50 nations that have recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's acting head of state and denounced incumbent leftist President Nicolas Maduro as illegitimate, Efe news reported on Tuesday. "We call on the members of the Security Council to join us in meeting the growing needs in Venezuela and the region. We call on member states to consider what resources and tools they have to contribute to Venezuelan democracy and to pressure the illegitimate Maduro regime to peacefully step down," the US special representative for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, said. He said that the world should back Guaido and "address the destabilizing results of Maduro's corrupt, fraudulent and incompetent reign, which just this weekend brought instability and violence" to the borders of Brazil and Colombia. Abrams was referring to clashes that occurred Saturday as Guaido supporters tried to force their way into Venezuela with US-donated aid rejected by Maduro as a stalking horse for military invention. Four people died on the Brazilian border and more than 200 others were injured in disturbances on the boundary with Colombia. The US official, who became famous in the 1980s for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal, went on to dismiss appeals from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and others for dialogue between the Maduro government and the opposition. Abrams told reporters ahead of the session that the US would present this week in the Security Council a resolution calling "for the admission of humanitarian aid into Venezuela" and demanding new elections in the oil-rich country. The two most powerful nations standing with Maduro, China and Russia, hold permanent UNSC seats and can veto any resolution. In his remarks, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza asked the Security Council to pass a resolution rejecting "the threat and the use of force" against his country. Citing what he described as US preparations for war in Venezuela, he urged the council to "exclude that option completely," after Abrams reiterated Washington's "all options are on the table" position. The Foreign Minister said that the violence last weekend on the Colombian border was initiated by Guaido supporters who accompanied the trucks loaded with aid, emphasising that most of the wounded were members of the Venezuelan security forces. "That was the last chapter in the coup on Saturday," he said, before directly addressing Abrams in English: "Read my lips - it failed. Now is the time for us to return to sanity." Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia also weighed in on the events at Venezuela's borders. "What took place on Saturday was reminiscent not of assistance but what is called force-feeding in the US," he said, going on to ask rhetorically how other countries would have responded to "an attempted illegal state border crossing for the delivery of unknown cargo." "One country even wants to build a huge wall on the border of another country to prevent an illegal border crossing," Nebenzia said, alluding to US President Donald Trump's desire to build a wall on his country's border with Mexico. United Nations, Feb 27 : China has opposed to the foreign interference in Venezuela's internal affairs at a UN Security Council meeting. "China maintains that all countries should abide by the basic principles of international law and international relations, opposes foreign interference in the internal affairs of Venezuela, and opposes military intervention in Venezuela," Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the UN, said at a Security Council meeting on the situation in Venezuela on Tuesday, Xinhua reported. "China opposes using the issue of so-called humanitarian assistance for political purposes to create disability or even turbulence inside Venezuela and in the neighbouring region," he added. "This serves no party's interest," the ambassador said. Noting that China "pays close attention to" the current situation in Venezuela, the envoy said that China supports the efforts of the Venezuelan government to safeguard sovereignty, independence and stability. "The affairs of Venezuela should be up to the Venezuelan people themselves," the envoy noted. "China calls on the government and the opposition of Venezuela, within the constitutional and legal frameworks, to seek a political settlement through dialogue and consultation," Ma said. The Security Council held the open meeting on the latest events in Venezuela at the request of the US. Mumbai, Feb 27 : "Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi" actress Payal Ghosh has given up smoking. Payal will play a god woman in the upcoming film "Jai Mata Di", helmed by "Mickey Virus" director Saurabh Varma. She has started practicing yoga. Her trainer advised her to stop smoking if she plans to continue doing yoga. Initially, she found it difficult to quit smoking but soon health benefits overpowered temptation. "It's been two months since I've touched a cigarette. I feel fresher and my body is responding to yoga and workouts better. I urge everyone to work towards quitting smoking. It's amazing... the change one feels after kicking the b***," Payal said in a statement. NEW YORK, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Zeel, the Massage On Demand company and national wellness provider, has launched its revamped corporate wellness brand, [email protected], just in time for National Employee Appreciation Day on March 1, 2019. The growing [email protected] brand, which combines groundbreaking technology with a self-serve platform, now includes two additional wellness modalities: assisted stretch and yoga. With the country's growing interest in tech-health services, the [email protected] rebrand represents the company's continued commitment to delivering top-tier wellness benefits through innovative technology. "Chronic health conditions represent 90% of the nation's 3.3 trillion annual health care expenditures," says Ben Robinson, Zeel's SVP Sales. "Workplace interventions can help to reverse this trend by improving employee health, decreasing disability, reducing absenteeism, increasing worker productivity and creativity, and attracting and retaining top talent." "[email protected] provides employers with an opportunity to show employees how much they truly appreciate their hard work," says Zeel founder and CEO Samer Hamadeh. "Having therapeutic massage, yoga, and stretch on site makes everyone feel valued and cared for, and with our advanced technology, these experiences can be delivered to businesses without the wait." Employers using [email protected] design their ideal corporate massage, stretch, or yoga program directly on the platform, including date, duration, and location. Appointments are then fulfilled by massage therapists and other skilled providers from the Zeel network of 11,000 licensed, vetted, experienced professionals across the United States. [email protected] streamlines the entire process for corporate customers, providing a custom signup link for employees, and bringing the massage table or chair and all other necessary supplies. Additionally, employees can use their FSA/HSA dollars to purchase in-home massages from Zeel. "Since launching the [email protected] self-booking tool in November, we are better positioned than ever to provide workplace wellness programs to businesses of all sizes," says Hamadeh. "We are expanding our offerings to include yoga and assisted stretch as we continuously strive to meet customer demand for additional wellness offerings at home, at work, and at hotels and spas." Wellness On The Way Zeel brings Massage On Demand to customers in homes, hotels, workplaces, and events in more than 100 major metro areas and travel destinations across the country. Book in moments on the Zeel app or website. Customers choose time, duration, location for the massage, and desired massage technique. The Zeel network comprises over 11,000 licensed, vetted, experienced professionals. Customers can click the massage near me link to be connected to their area's best therapists. Powering Massage Everywhere Zeel also offers an award-winning staffing solution for spas with Zeel Spa; a platform for hotels to provide in-room massage with Zeel Concierge; and in-office chair massage , yoga and assisted stretch with [email protected] About Zeel A rapidly-growing global wellness brand, Zeel created Massage On Demand in 2012 and was the first company to bring same-day, in-home massage to its customers. Named one of the "Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America" by Entrepreneur and one of the fastest-growing companies in the country by Inc., Zeel is the leading and largest on-demand massage provider with over 11,000 licensed massage therapists delivering massage across the country. With best-in-class security protocols, Zeel offers on-demand, at-home massages in as little as an hour, 365 days a year, with start times as early as 8am and as late as 10:30pm. Zeel is also home to Zeel Spa, the on-demand staffing solution for spas; Zeel Concierge, which enables hotels to provide in-room massage bookings for guests; and [email protected], which brings chair massage, yoga and assisted stretch to companies, events, and workplaces. SOURCE Zeel IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In the two short months since announcing its franchise opportunity in January, YogaSix, a modern boutique yoga concept, has signed over 100 franchise agreements which will rapidly expand the brand across the country. This impressive milestone is on par with YogaSix's lofty goal to open 300 locations across the country over the next few years. The recent franchise agreements will debut the brand in new states such as Washington, Minnesota, Texas, Arizona, Iowa, Colorado and Pennsylvania with the largest new development coming to Florida with 17 locations set to open over the next five years. These locations come alongside the brand's plans to further develop YogaSix's presence in California and Illinois where YogaSix will add a massive 43 and 5 locations, respectively. "With YogaSix already staking its claim as the fastest-growing boutique fitness concept in the nation, we are confident that entrepreneurs will continue to get on board with this revolutionary brand," said Lindsay Junk, President of YogaSix. "YogaSix is quickly gaining popularity across many markets, and we are excited for even more communities to experience the brand's fresh perspective on one of the world's oldest practices over the next several months." YogaSix aims to debunk the stereotype that often surrounds the practice of yoga and deliver its life-enhancing benefits to all ages, shapes, sizes and genders. Utilizing modern language instead of Sanskrit and offering six core formats Y6 101, Y6 Stretch, Y6 Slow Flow, Y6 Hot, Y6 Power, and Y6 Sculpt Flow YogaSix's classes are meant to encompass every fitness level, whether the focus is on deep stretching, stress relief or breaking a sweat. To expand and disrupt the market further, YogaSix is actively seeking qualified franchise partners. Headquartered in Irvine, CA, YogaSix is backed by Xponential Fitness, a powerhouse curator of boutique fitness brands with over two decades of experience in fitness franchising. YogaSix offers potential franchisees the opportunity to capitalize on a fresh brand in an emerging market with tremendous support, infrastructure and knowledge. The total investment to open a YogaSix franchise is $216,900 - $399,750. For more information about the YogaSix franchise opportunity, please visit https://yogasix.com/franchise/. ABOUT YOGASIX: Founded in 2012, YogaSix is a boutique yoga brand that offers a broad range of heated and non-heated yoga classes, boot camp style fitness classes and meditation accessible to all. Headquartered in Irvine, California, YogaSix is backed by Xponential Fitness, the largest curator of the nation's leading boutique fitness brands. With its modern take on an age-old practice, YogaSix offers attractive opportunities in a fast-growing company and strong consumer demand. Visit www.yogasix.com to learn more. Media contact: David Robertson, Fishman Public Relations, 847-945-1300 or [email protected] SOURCE YogaSix Related Links http://www.yogasix.com The MOU describes Vietnam Airlines' intention to significantly expand their existing strategic relationship with Sabre, with a potential value of over US$300 million. The scope of the signed MOU includes innovative technology from the Sabre AirVision and AirCenter portfolio, that will complement SabreSonic, Vietnam Airlines' existing Passenger Service System (PSS), which was recently renewed. Together, Sabre's solutions will help contribute to the carrier's profitability and digital abilities once implemented, supporting their objective to become a digital airline by 2020. Leveraging Sabre's leading Commercial Platform, the MOU contemplates that Sabre's innovative Sabre In-Flight solution would be the first to be adopted by the airline following today's announcement. The solution, which has driven cost savings of up to 10 percent of the total catering budget, would also enhance the airlines' operational efficiency. Additionally, the MOU contemplates a new, long-term domestic content distribution agreement for Vietnam Airlines through the Sabre Global Distribution System (GDS). A growing domestic subsidiary of the Vietnam Airlines group would also onboard the SabreSonic PSS under the MOU in an effort to enhance the synergy within the Group. The deal contemplated by the MOU, which is expected in the coming months, would provide a single integrated passenger technology platform across both airlines. "Vietnam Airlines is pleased to build on the existing agreement with Sabre our trusted, long-term technology provider, to include advanced solutions that will propel our business into the future. Our Digital Transformation program is essential to our continued success and onboarding these solutions from Sabre directly support our efforts to achieve the Skytrax 5-star status," said Duong Tri Thanh, president and CEO, Vietnam Airlines. "We are well-prepared for the Industry 4.0 revolution and soon to embark on the ultimate digital journey, providing seamless customer experience and improved operational efficiency," he added. "This announcement reaffirms our role as a strategic technology provider to one of the region's leading carriers, Vietnam Airlines. Over the last year, our alliance has evolved both on the content distribution and airline solutions front, and we look forward to working with the carrier to provide a holistic approach to retailing, distribution and fulfillment," said Dave Shirk, president, Travel Solutions. "Today's announcement demonstrates Sabre's forward-looking approach, and our ongoing commitment to Asia's continued growth and success," he added. This announcement comes within one year of Sabre and Vietnam Airlines announcing an extended agreement for SabreSonic, Sabre's Passenger Service System valued at over 400 million US dollars, and the renewal of a long-term content distribution agreement through the Sabre Global Distribution System. The MOU expands the relationship between both industry leaders, and further strengthens the results-driven alliance that has developed between the two corporations for more than 20 years. About Sabre Corporation Sabre Corporation is the leading technology provider to the global travel industry. Sabre's software, data, mobile and distribution solutions are used by hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotel properties to manage critical operations, including passenger and guest reservations, revenue management, flight, network and crew management. Sabre also operates a leading global travel marketplace, which processes more than US$120 billion of global travel spend annually by connecting travel buyers and suppliers. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, USA, Sabre serves customers in more than 160 countries around the world. About Vietnam Airlines Vietnam Airlines- a member of SkyTeam Alliance- is the flag carrier of Vietnam and the major carrier in the South East Asia, operating 97 routes to 22 domestic and 29 international destinations with an average of 400 flights per day. Vietnam Airlines is the first airline in the world to successfully operate both next-generation aircraft Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and Airbus A350-900 XWB at the same time. Skytrax- the world's leading airline and airport rating organization- has ranked Vietnam Airlines as a 4-Star Airline for 3 consecutive years. Vietnam Airlines has spearheaded Vietnam's aviation market - one of the fastest-growing domestic markets in the world - throughout 20 years of development at a double-digit annual growth rate. Positioning itself as a modern carrier with an internationally recognizable brand characterized by Vietnamese traditional culture, Vietnam Airlines aims to achieve 5-star status and become a major airline in Asia. SABR-F Media Contacts: Maxime-Elisabeth Illick Sabre Public Relations Asia Pacific Email: [email protected] Telephone: +65 6426 0088 Heidi Castle Sabre Public Relations United States Email: [email protected] Telephone: +1 682-605-4290 Vietnam Airlines Public Relations Email: [email protected] Telephone: +84 903242577 SOURCE Sabre Corporation Related Links http://www.sabre.com In time for grilling season, Verde's uncured hot dogs will be available in both All Natural and Organic options. Across every flavor metric, these wholesome versions of crowd-pleasers unanimously beat the #1 national better-for-you-brand in a blind taste test. Inspired by classic smokehouse styles across the country, Verde's uncured dinner sausages are all gluten-free and strike a savory balance, combining flavors of smoke and heat with zesty pepper and cool, fresh cheese. Hardwood Smoked (GFDF): Classic, Texas-style smokehouse beef flavor Classic, Texas-style smokehouse beef flavor Hatch Green Chile and Cheddar (GF): Features the famed green pepper of New Mexico known for its balance of heat and flavor Features the famed green pepper of known for its balance of heat and flavor Chorizo and Queso Fresco (GF): Combines the flavors of smoky paprika and smooth, fresh cheese Both hot dogs and sausages will be on shelves at retailers in early May. "Most nights in Uruguay, grass-fed beef is on the table, shared with family and friends as an extension of the gaucho way of life." said Dana Ehrlich, CEO of Verde Farms. "From ribeyes and grinds to our new hot dogs and sausages, our carefully-crafted products embody this true grass-fed tradition, and consumers can trust that our products' incredible flavor is not at the expense of responsible sourcing in fact, it's because of it." Globally-inspired marinades, innovative packaging In response to modern consumers' desire for adventurous flavor and convenience, Verde created four varieties of ready-to-cook marinated beef. Featuring rich, bold flavors and ingredients you can pronounce, Verde's marinades are another simple way for customers to enjoy globally-inspired flavors at their own table: Carne Asada Flank Steak : The perfect combination of paprika, chili powder, and spices to give it an authentic Latin American flare. : The perfect combination of paprika, chili powder, and spices to give it an authentic Latin American flare. Korean-Style Sesame Sirloin : A simple fusion of sesame seeds, chives, and spice to give it a sweet, savory, and spicy flavor that's a crowd favorite. : A simple fusion of sesame seeds, chives, and spice to give it a sweet, savory, and spicy flavor that's a crowd favorite. Green Chimichurri Flank Steak : A natural mix of parsley, bell peppers, and other premium spices to make it an authentic Uruguayan experience. : A natural mix of parsley, bell peppers, and other premium spices to make it an authentic Uruguayan experience. Gaucho Steakhouse Tri-Tip Kabobs: A balanced blend of garlic, smoked paprika, and spices for classic steakhouse taste. Available now at Schnuck's and AmazonFresh and coming soon to retailers nationwide. Discerning consumers not only care about product quality and sustainability, but the materials and environmental impact of a product's packaging as well. As a brand, Verde makes continuous efforts to implement more sustainable packaging practices to reduce environmental impact, with the simultaneous intention to improve consumer experience overall. Verde's marinades and steaks now have skin-pack packaging featuring a 100% recyclable pre-formed tray with a manufacturing process that reduces waste by 40%, energy use by 30%, and overall greenhouse gas emissions by 20%. With convenience in mind, its ez-peel feature eliminates the need to use scissors to open, and keeps things tidy by preventing runoff juices. American Meat Conference On March 3-5, attendees of the American Meat Conference can visit booth #209 at the Hilton Anatole to sample Verde's new hot dogs and sausages. As a leading sponsor, the Verde team will be onsite to share information about the entire product portfolio, how and why it sources from Uruguay, and answer questions that address attendees' unique business needs. About Verde A pioneer in the grass-fed beef movement, Verde Farms was founded in 2005 with a mission to bring the taste and benefits of grass-fed beef to everyone. Today Verde is the leading provider of 100% grass-fed and 100% free-range, organic beef for both retail and food service customers in the US. Verde Farms partners with a global network of family farmers who share the company's passion for high quality and exceptionally-tasting beef raised with respect for animal welfare where feedlots and growth hormones are never part of the picture. To learn more about Verde Farms, visit us at VerdeFarms.com , or on Facebook or Instagram . *Grass-fed retail sales up $100 MM in two years, according to Nielsen Fresh Facts 52 week Total US $ Sales 11/16 to 11/18 SOURCE Verde Farms Related Links http://verdefarms.com WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has voted affirmatively in the final stage of its antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations, finding that imports of plastic decorative ribbon from China materially injured the U.S. plastic decorative ribbon industry. All five Commissioners voted in the affirmative. The ITC vote is a response to December 27, 2017 petitions filed by Berwick Offray LLC (Berwick Offray), the leading U.S. manufacturer of plastic decorative ribbon products. Based in Berwick, Pennsylvania, Berwick Offray is a unit of CSS Industries, Inc. The case has shown that imports of plastic decorative ribbon from China are being unfairly dumped in the United States and that Chinese producers of plastic decorative ribbon receive improper government subsidies. As the ITC has recognized, these actions violate international trade rules and injured the U.S. decorative plastic ribbon industry and its workers. "The U.S. industry and its workers are thankful for the ITC's decision as they have been injured by dumped and subsidized imports from China," said Daniel B. Pickard, counsel to Berwick Offray and a partner in the International Trade Practice at Wiley Rein LLP. "We appreciate that the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission thoroughly investigated the injury caused by dumped and subsidized imports of Chinese producers." On February 1, 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) announced its affirmative final determinations in its AD and CVD investigations of imports of plastic decorative ribbon from China, finding combined AD and CVD rates of 70.36% to 386.19% with dumping rates as high as 370.04% and subsidy rates as high as 94.67%. As a result of today's vote, the DOC will issue AD and CVD orders with cash deposit requirements on imports of plastic decorative ribbon from China. In obtaining an affirmative final determination in this case, Wiley Rein LLP has worked alongside Capital Trade Inc. and International Economic Research LLC, consulting firms specializing in international trade remedies. Contact: Daniel B. Pickard 202.719.7000 | [email protected] SOURCE Wiley Rein LLP OMAHA, Neb., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) executives will address the following investor conferences in March: J.P. Morgan Aviation, Transportation & Industrials Conference New York, NY . Lance Fritz - Chairman, President & CEO - Chairman, President & CEO March 6, 2019 , at 8:45 a.m. ET , at View presentation and listen to live Internet webcast at www.up.com/investor Alternatively, the audio portion can be accessed directly through the following webcast link Raymond James 40 th Annual Institutional Investors Conference Orlando, Fla. Rob Knight Chief Financial Officer Chief Financial Officer March 6, 2019 , at 8:40 a.m. ET , at View presentation and listen to live Internet webcast at www.up.com/investor Alternatively, the audio portion can be accessed directly through the following webcast link Replays of the audio webcasts will be available shortly after the conclusion of the live events on Union Pacific's Investors website. ABOUT UNION PACIFIC Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP). One of America's most recognized companies, Union Pacific Railroad connects 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail, providing a critical link in the global supply chain. The railroad's diversified business mix is classified into its Agricultural Products, Energy, Industrial and Premium business groups. Union Pacific serves many of the fastest-growing U.S. population centers, operates from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways, connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major Mexico gateways. Union Pacific provides value to its roughly 10,000 customers by delivering products in a safe, reliable, fuel-efficient and environmentally responsible manner. www.up.com www.facebook.com/unionpacific www.twitter.com/unionpacific SOURCE Union Pacific Corporation Related Links https://www.up.com LAS VEGAS and NEW YORK, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ION, the largest global provider of trading, analytics and risk management solutions for commodities and treasury management, is proud to announce that Openlink has won the 2019 Silver Stevie Award for Sales & Customer Service for the third consecutive year. The awards were established in 2002 to recognize the outstanding achievements of customer service, contact center, business development, and sales professionals. "Service is crucial to our DNA," said Michael Cronin, Openlink's Vice President of Support and Maintenance Operations. "It's exciting to be recognized for our ongoing commitment to providing superior customer experiences, from software implementations to upgrades. We remain dedicated to our partnerships with our clients." In 2018, Openlink made major investments focused on streamlining and enhancing the client experience. This includes the launch of the Openlink 360 Customer Portal. A secure gateway accessible from any mobile device, it lets users submit and track requests, review the latest information on new product releases, while providing access to an online community for knowledge-sharing. "The feedback received on our new customer portal has been extremely positive," said Openlink CEO Rich Grossi. "We are extremely proud to win this award for the third year in a row, and will continue to look for new ways to leverage technology to support our user community around the world." ION will showcase its customer success stories at ConnectION a client community event series to be held in five cities around the world, beginning in May 2019. Visit our event website for more information. About ION ION provides mission-critical trading and workflow automation software solutions to financial institutions, central banks, governments, and corporates. For more information, visit www.iongroup.com. SOURCE ION Related Links https://iongroup.com PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A man working for a trucking company was compensated 1.3 million dollars in a recent case settled by an attorney from the Law Offices of Greg Prosmushkin, P.C. The case was brought forward after an individual, who was unloading a tractor trailer, was pushed out of the vehicle by workers who were contracted by another company. The man sustained personal injuries during this incident. The individual's contractor, as well as the company whose contractors were involved in the incident, were sued. After negotiations, it was determined that failure to provide proper training to the contractors and failure to adhere to industry safety protocols were factors in the injurious incident. These factors were taken into consideration, as well as extent of injury and pain and suffering endured by the injured party. Although the identities of the involved parties and their respective contractors have been withheld due to stipulations within the settlement agreement, the final settlement amount negotiated by the attorney from the Law Offices of Greg Prosmushkin, P.C. was 1.3 million dollars. The settlement amount was paid out as financial compensation to the injured party after negotiations were completed. Interested parties can read more on the Law Office Of Greg Prosmushkin, P.C. and how they can help in a Philadelphia Personal Injury Accident Case by visiting their website here: https://www.gproslaw.com/personal-injury/ 9637 Bustleton Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19115 Phone: 215-543-7220 Fax: 215-673-7933 SOURCE Law Office Of Greg Prosmushkin, P.C NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Rabies Diagnostics Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Diagnostic Methods (Fluorescent Antibody Test, Histologic, Serology), By Technology (ELISA, PCR), And Segment Forecasts, 2019 - 2025 Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05744644 The global rabies diagnostics market size is expected to reach USD 2.03 billion by 2025 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of 4.1% during the forecast period, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Development of various diagnostic assays ranging from detection of virus presence to final confirmation of infection helps launch effective disease control programs. This factor is anticipated to drive the market growth. These assays aid in defining epidemiologic patterns of the disease and thereby deliver appropriate information for designing the control and eradication programs. These programs have boosted the market growth by increasing the rate at which testing kits are adopted. For example, in June 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) entered into a partnership for a plan, The United Against Rabies Collaboration. This plan aims for rabies prevention and management and empowering the under-served populations in afflicted countries. Furthermore, the state and public health officials of the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) along with the Department of Livestock of Montana, U.S., deal with awareness pertaining to the risk of virus exposure. They are engaged in training the population about various aspects of disease management including prevention, detection, and available treatment modes. Such initiatives are projected to create growth opportunities for the rabies diagnostics market during the forecast period. Further key findings from the report suggest: Fluorescent Antibody Test (FAT) held the largest market share in terms of revenue owing to the high usage and recommendation by the WHO. Great specificity, as compare to other conventional tests such as serology and histology tests bodes well for the adoption of these tests Amplification methods are expected to supplant a major portion of conventional methods, primarily due to several advantages associated with the usage Currently, major products deploy ELISA/immunohistochemistry techniques, resulting into a larger revenue share of this segment High prevalence of the disease in India and China coupled with growing government support has contributed to the dominance of Asia market over other regions Since, most of the countries in Europe are designated as rabies free jurisdictions, the Europe market is anticipated to grow at the slowest pace over the forecast period Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.; Merck KGaA; Aviva Systems Biology Corporation; and Creative Diagnostics are some of the key entities in the rabies testing market. The companies engage in developing products for rabies eradication programs. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05744644 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 NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The global parking management market is expected to grow to US$ 58.5 Bn by 2027 from US$ 37.6 Bn in 2017. As per ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers Associations), parking management refers to the adoption of various strategies and subsequently technology-enabled solutions that facilitate in efficient use of parking resources. Further, the effective implementation of the strategy results in the reduced number of parking space required by the facility based on the strategy adopted thereby providing long-term economic, social, and environmental benefits to the end-user. The parking management market is expected to witness a CAGR growth rate of 4.8% from 2019 to 2027. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05730254 The parking management market is a highly fragmented market with the presence of a significant number of players in each country coupled with multiple players with small and regional presence.The commonly available parking solutions in parking management market are access control, ANPR, parking security & surveillance, parking reservation and valet parking, and fee enforcement among other parking management solutions. Moreover, the increasing number of registered passenger vehicles along with limited parking space availability across important cities has led to the surge in demand for efficient parking management market in the past few years.Subsequently, the leading end-users of parking management such as airports, government & municipals, universities, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, and commercial complexes among other end-users have witnessed a significant increase the parking management market in the coming years. Also, among on-street parking especially in metro cities has attributed in a considerable collection of revenue generated through parking violation and parking fees which is effectively utilized for providing essential utilities to the public. Factors such as increasing rate of infrastructure development coupled with the growing purchasing power of the individuals have significantly increased the demand for improving the vehicle mobility at major popular commercial hubs in developed as well as developing countries. Geographically, the parking management market is majorly dominated by developed regions such as Europe and North America owing to a high number of registered vehicle per household capita and the amount of regulated parking space currently available in the areas.Moreover, the growing emphasis towards facilitating seamless mobility among densely populated cities has further boosted the demand for efficient parking management in the developed regions. Currently, there are various leading players such as APCOA, Indigo-Infra Park, Passport, Siemens, Skidata and SP Plus among other leading companies have leading market position in parking management market among different countries across European and North America regions.However, the presence of the substantial number of local and regional players with a minimal scope of business has resulted in the highly fragmented parking management market even in developed economies. Among developing countries, the availability of a substantial number of unregulated parking space and free parking has a profound influence over the parking management market growth and the market is majorly driven by off-street parking space at commercial areas and government & municipal locations. However, countries such as Japan and China owing to stringent government guidelines towards parking space have resulted in minimum parking space available for parking management solutions. The primary factor influencing the growth of off-street parking in the parking management market among developed countries and few financially emerging countries is the rapid growth of smart cities.The rising smart city initiatives are driving the deployment of sensors and related technologies for various applications which includes parking. Owing to this, several parking management technology developers as well as numerous parking management service providers are developing and offering advanced technologies to facilitate the municipalities and private spaces to optimize unutilized and unorganized parking areas. The advantages of technologically enhanced parking technologies are increasing the interest among various municipalities, commercial building zones, industrial building management as well as residential sector, thereby, rising the market for off-street parking management in the current market scenario. The future of off-street parking management is anticipated be prominent attributing to two significant facts; increase in partnerships among the technology developers and parking management service providers as well as municipalities; and reduction in the cost of the technologies. Some of the prominent off-street parking management companies across the globe include; Amano McGann, TIBA Parking, Gemini Parking Solutions, and Duncan Solutions among others. Reasons to Buy Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the market growth, size, leading players and segments in the global parking management market Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the parking management market, thereby allowing players across the value chain to develop effective long term strategies Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to client products, segmentation, pricing and distribution Examine the political, economic, social and technology impact of the five regions namely: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and South & Central America. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05730254 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 NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical Tourism Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Country (Turkey, Costa Rica, Thailand, India, Mexico, Singapore, Brazil, Malaysia, Taiwan, Colombia, South Korea), And Segment Forecasts, 2019 - 2026 Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05744641 The global medical tourism market size is expected to reach USD 179.6 billion by 2026, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., registering a 21.9% CAGR during the forecast period. Medical tourism generates direct foreign exchange income and contributes to the overall development of any economy. It also provides employment and business opportunities for residents. Moreover, it aids the growth of associated businesses such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and tourism. Government support to maintain the general reputation and political stability of the host country is a key factor driving the medical tourism market. Government authorities are willing to invest in local enterprises to capitalize on the growth of medical tourism. Such government bodies have been authorizing projects that help in the overall development of infrastructure in a country, such as public transport system and water supply facilities, to attract high-end medical travelers. Medical tourism has led to a rise in state-of-the-art medical facilities in developing countries to attract foreign nationals, resulting in fast growth of healthcare infrastructure in such countries. Moreover, healthcare providers now offer comprehensive medical tourism packages that include services ranging from ticket booking to hotel stay and medical insurance. Thailand dominated the market in terms of revenue in 2018 owing to low cost and good quality medical services offered in the country.In 2016, Thailand ranked 18th in the International Healthcare Research Center's Medical Tourism Index. Moreover, the country ranked 13th on the same index in terms of quality of facilities and services provided owing to well-developed healthcare infrastructure and increasing number of medical professionals.Thailand is also home to Asia's first largest private hospital, Bumrungrad International Hospital, which is also the first hospital to receive a JCI accreditation and ISO 9001 certification. Till date, over 53 private hospitals have received JCI accreditation. Further key findings from the report suggest: While Thailand is popular for cosmetic procedures, India is most preferred for cardiovascular and orthopedic procedures. Brazil and Costa Rica, on the other hand, are preferred for dental procedures Thailand dominated the market in terms of revenue in 2018 due to the massive difference in treatment cost compared to developed countries. Around 2.4 million people visited Thailand to seek medical care in 2017 owing to low cost and good quality medical services Singapore, Colombia, Taiwan, and Spain are some of the fastest growing medical tourism destinations in this market. Medical tourism is an important source of revenue generation for these countries, boasting advanced healthcare infrastructure and skilled manpower to cater to international patients Bumrungrad International Hospital and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. are the leading treatment destinations for medical tourism in Thailand and India respectively. Other prominent examples include Mexicali Bariatric Center in Mexico and TMC Fertility in Malaysia. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05744641 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 WALLA WALLA, Wash., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Go Energistics (GoE) is pleased to announce its selection to support the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with initial outfitting, transition and activation (IOT&A) services for the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center, Building 86, in Walla Walla, Washington. Through a partnership with the Walla Walla Medical Center Team, GoE will assist VA in revitalizing the aging building, while expanding the services available to veterans in the area. The project includes planning, interior design, acquisition support and activation of approximately 50,000 square feet of renovated space, as well as upgrades to the building's engineering infrastructure, parking, site lighting, landscaping, roads, sidewalks and access points. Upon completion, Building 86 will be equipped to support the latest in Radiology and Sterile Processing Services (SPS), while providing a range of expanded and newly implemented veterans services including Health Care for Homeless Veterans, Complementary & Integrated Health, Prosthetics and Health Promotion & Disease Prevention. GoE President & CEO, Adam Shepherd shared, "This project presents an opportunity to improve the lives of countless veterans in Walla Walla, and the surrounding area, by creating a facility that will offer the highest-caliber in healthcare options and services. As a company dedicated to helping veterans across the nation, we are honored and excited to be assisting VA in meeting this goal, one that it is directly in line with our core values. We have put together an exceptional team on the ground and I have no doubt that they will foster success for the project through their commitment to better serving the healthcare community." GoE's scope of services for this project includes comprehensive project management, interior design development, equipment planning, acquisition support services, transition and relocation services, facilitation services, biomedical equipment services to include both installation and technical inspections, comprehensive IT equipment planning services, and final equipment turnover and closeout. The objective is to have the IOT&A project completed in support of the first day of clinical services, projected for June 2021. About Go Energistics: Go Energistics (GoE) is a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) specializing in planning, design, activation and logistical solutions by enabling clients to shape, transform and evolve the healthcare environment with collective experience of over 100 projects nationwide. Founded in 2011, GoE is comprised of collaborative professionals and veterans that have personally experienced or been impacted by service injuries. Go Energistics is dedicated to "Serving Those Who Serve" and is helping our nation's military and Veterans' healthcare systems plan for and provide innovative buildings, healing environments and the best overall care for those who have served our Nation. http://www.goenergistics.com Follow Go Energistics on Twitter: For industry news and press releases: www.twitter.com/GoEnergistics SOURCE Go Energistics, LLC Related Links goenergistics.com NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Biopower Market, Update 2019 - Global Market Size, Average Cost, Major Feedstock, Regulations, and Key Country Analysis to 2030 Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05744541 Summary Global Biopower capacity more than doubled during 2006-2018.A significant portion of this growth comprised the capacity addition in Brazil, China, and India. The cumulative capacity grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.7% from 2006 to 2018. During 2018-2030 as well, the capacity is estimated to grow significantly although at a slower rate. Most of the capacity addition during this period is estimated to come from China and India. Biopower capacity in China increased significantly from 2006 to 2018 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.3%. The cumulative capacity increased especially during 2009-2012 and 2016-2018. In 2017, the country had the largest annual capacity addition of 2.7 GW. During 2019-2030, China is set to have the largest capacity additions each year with more than 2 GW planned to be added annually. About a third of the global capacity addition during this period is set to be from installations in China. The Fukushima disaster in Japan has created a shift from nuclear power to other renewable sources including biopower.Against this backdrop the biopower capacity additions in Japan gained traction in 2015. It is estimated that around 300-400 megawatts (MW) biopower capacity will be added in Japan each year during 2019-2030.During this same period, Republic of Korea also plans to increase its biopower capacity significantly. As both these countries import biomass from nearby countries there will be competition for acquiring feedstock and that may lead to a supply shortage or price rise. "Biopower Market, Update 2019 - Global Market Size, Average Cost, Major Feedstock, Regulations, and Key Country Analysis to 2030", is the latest market analysis report that offers comprehensive information and understanding of the biopower market. The report provides a clear overview of and detailed insight into the global biopower market. It explains the key drivers and challenges affecting the market and provides data covering historic and forecast market size, average capital cost, installed capacity and generation globally, and in twelve key wind power markets - The US, Brazil, China, India, Japan, Thailand, Republic of Korea, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Finland, and UK. Scope The report includes - - Market study at global level and for twelve key countries The US, Brazil, China, India, Japan, Thailand, Republic of Korea, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Finland, and UK. - Coverage of the key growth drivers and challenges related to each country's biopower market, and the market's influence on the environment and the country's economy - Historic (2006-2018) and forecast data (2019-2030) for cumulative and annual installed biopower capacity - Average capital cost and market size for the 2010-2017 period, and forecast for the 2019-30 period. - Feedstock availability and potential; cumulative capacity segmentation by feedstock type; and a list of major operational biopower plants for each of the twelve key countries. - Market drivers and restraints for each of the twelve key countries. Reasons to buy The report will allow you to - - Facilitate decision-making by providing historical and forecast data in the biopower sector - Develop business strategies by understanding the trends shaping and driving the biopower market - Position yourself to gain the maximum advantage of the industry's growth potential - Maximize potential in the growth of the biopower market - Identify key partners and business-development avenues - Respond to business structure, strategy and prospects. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05744541 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 DURHAM, N.C., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- TARGET PharmaSolutions, Inc., a real-world clinical data solutions company, is pleased to announce that Novartis Pharma AG is the first industry partner to provide multi-year support to TARGET-DERM registry. TARGET-DERM is a global longitudinal observational study that evaluates adult and pediatric patients with immune-mediated inflammatory skin conditions (IMISCs). TARGET-DERM will initially focus on patients with atopic dermatitis (eczema) and will expand to include other skin conditions, including hidradenitis suppurativa (painful bumps under the skin), alopecia areata (autoimmune-related hair loss), and vitiligo (loss of skin pigment). These chronic inflammatory skin disorders constitute a substantial financial burden on the US health care system, and are among the greatest contributors to the burden of skin disease worldwide. Currently enrolling, the study is led by an academic steering committee chaired by Emma Guttman-Yassky, MD, PhD, The Sol and Clara Kest Professor of Dermatology and Immunology, and Vice Chair, department of Dermatology, The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, and Diamant Thaci, MD, PhD, Professor and Head, Comprehensive Center for Inflammation Medicine, University of Lubeck, Germany. "This partnership confirms Novartis' commitment to immuno-dermatology. Better understanding of diseases such as atopic dermatitis can help bring forward innovation that can be transformative for patients, their families and health care systems," said Eric Hughes, Development Unit Head, Immunology, Hepatology and Dermatology. "We are very excited for Novartis to join as the first industry partner in TARGET-DERM," said Meg Powell, PharmD, Chair of the Board of TARGET PharmaSolutions. "We have received strong interest from many stakeholders in the dermatology community regarding the need for high-quality, longitudinal, real-world data on patients with eczema and other inflammatory skin conditions related to immune response. Real-world data gathered from TARGET-DERM will be a valuable resource for our collaborators as they work to better understand and to combat these complex skin diseases, and could have life-altering implications for the millions of people around the world who suffer from them." TARGET-DERM is the sixth disease category spearheaded by TARGET PharmaSolutions since 2015. Ongoing real-world TARGET studies include nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and chronic hepatitis B (HBV). The TARGET model organizes a community of stakeholders, including key scientific leaders, regulatory agencies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and patient advocacy groups, around a specific disease to generate real world evidence about the natural history of the given disease, current treatment paradigm, and patient outcomes. This model enables TARGET's stakeholders to answer critical strategic and planning questions. TARGET PharmaSolutions also provides regulatory grade data and analysis that may be used throughout the pharmaceutical development and commercialization process, including expanded indications and fulfillment of post-market studies. Novartis is a global healthcare company that provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Immuno-dermatology, including atopic dermatitis portfolio, is one of the key therapeutic areas of research and development for Novartis. About TARGET PharmaSolutions Headquartered in Durham, NC, TARGET PharmaSolutions is a privately held data solutions company that provides pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners a more efficient way to generate and analyze data in the real-world setting. For more information, visit www.targetpharmasolutions.com. CONTACT: Matt Casbon TARGET PharmaSolutions, Inc. [email protected] 984.234.0268 SOURCE TARGET PharmaSolutions, Inc. Related Links http://www.targetpharmasolutions.com WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- "The Israel Lobby & American Policy 2019 Conference" takes place all day on March 22 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, and will feature the following speakers: Susan Abulhawa is a Palestinian novelist, poet, essayist and founder of Playgrounds for Palestine . Her keynote speech topic is "Israel: More than just Apartheid." Ali Abunimah is a journalist and the co-founder and executive director of the widely acclaimed The Electronic Intifada . He will discuss "What does a censored undercover news investigation reveal about the Israel lobby in America?" Saqib Ali served as a Democratic Party member of the Maryland House of Delegates and will address "Why I'm suing Maryland to protect my constitutional right to boycott Israel." Kathy Drinkard is a retired teacher and elementary school counselor, and pro-Palestine activist who will address "How the Virginia Coalition for Human Rights (VCHR) is preventing Israel affinity organizations from politicizing K-12 textbooks." Walter Hixson is a distinguished professor of history at the University of Akron. He will discuss key findings from his forthcoming book, Israel's Armor: The Israel Lobby and the First Generation of the Palestine Conflict. Martin F. McMahon is the plaintiffs' attorney in the landmark legal action against Israeli settlers and their American financiers. He explains what follows his Palestinian and American plaintiffs' recent legal victory in the DC Court of Appeals. James Metz co-founded Richmonders for Peace in Israel-Palestine and will speak about "Why VCHR is taking on the Virginia Israel Advisory Board." James North is a contributing editor at Mondoweiss and will examine "How The New York Times rigs news on Israel Palestine." Paul Noursi is co-director of the Virginia Coalition for Human Rights (VCHR) and will discuss "What is the VCHR?" Brad Parker is senior adviser, policy and advocacy, at Defense for Children International and will cover "What lessons can activists take away from the Promoting Human Rights by Ending Israeli Military Detention of Palestinian Children Act?" Grant Smith is research director at IRmep and will speak about "U.S. foreign aid and the Israeli nuclear weapons program." Register online at https://IsraelLobbyandAmericanPolicy.org or https://israellobbycon.eventbrite.com Students may apply for free tickets and stipends at https://israellobbyandamericanpolicy.org/Students_Stipends/ News media may apply for press credentials at https://israellobbyandamericanpolicy.org/Press_credentials/ Ticketholders can attend the main program, ideas fair, receive a box lunch and an invitation to the post-conference reception! IsraelLobbyCon is solely sponsored by the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, and the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy ( IRmep ). SOURCE Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy Related Links https://irmep.org The video takes viewers behind the scenes of Calista shooting a Smokeball commercial where she often goes off script and credits herself with the company's success (because she played an attorney on television, of course). Throughout the video, Flockhart adlibs her lines, while the "director" continues to interject, telling her to stick to the cue cards and Smokeball's key messaging as the camera resets for another take. After several takes, the video humorously concludes with Flockhart finally nailing her lines, and ultimately capturing Smokeball's mission. "Over the past decade, we have made incredible strides in the legal tech industry and we're excited to partner with someone like Calista to spread the word," Jane Oxley, president of Smokeball, said. "As an icon that so many of our attorney partners cherished during her time on TV, she's the perfect partner to help us bring more efficient technologies to today's overwhelmed small law practices." Smokeball was founded by technology leaders with more than 20 years of experience in delivering impactful legal technology products to its clients. With tools like automatic time tracking, seamless document automation, advanced matter management, and full legal billing, Smokeball helps lawyers take control of their practice and get back to focusing on their clients. In fact, small law firms using Smokeball see a 34 percent average increase in profitability. In the video, Flockhart's TV law persona comes through as she pokes fun at typical actor endorsement commercials. "There's something really funny about making fun of actors who endorse products when they don't know anything about the product, but they do it anyway," said Flockhart. Smokeball will be launching the video and campaign at the ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago from February 27 - March 1, 2019. You can find them at booth #811 or watch the campaign at www.smokeball.com/calista. About Smokeball Smokeball is the first and only complete cloud-based legal productivity software that automatically records time and activity for you. Whether you bill hourly, by fixed fee, or on contingency, Smokeball provides you the insights you need to run a more productive, organized and profitable law firm. Plus, with over 14,000 automated legal forms, industry-leading integrations and an award-winning account management team, making your law firm more productive has never been easier. With Smokeball, you don't just "manage" your practice. For more information visit www.smokeball.com. Contact: Cara Lutz (312) 561-2484 [email protected] SOURCE Smokeball Related Links http://www.smokeball.com Both aircraft, which are being built for the U.S. Air Force, were transported late last year to West Palm Beach following final assembly at Sikorsky's facility in Stratford, Connecticut. The aircraft test readiness review was completed in October 2018. The CRH HH-60W flight test team is currently preparing both aircraft for flight by conducting final installation of instrumentation and ground run testing. This marks formal entry into the flight test program that culminates in Ready Assets Available (RAA), allowing the Air Force to declare Initial Operational Capability (IOC). "Having these initial HH-60W helicopters in West Palm Beach for flight test is an exciting time for the Sikorsky team. It is the first step toward a low rate initial production decision later this year, which will allow Sikorsky to provide a constant production flow of aircraft to the warfighter," said Greg Hames, Sikorsky director, Combat Rescue Helicopter program. "This is the point in the program when Sikorsky begins providing new aircraft into the warfighters' hands, initiating transition to the vastly more capable and reliable HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter." The first of the two HH-60W aircraft will enter flight test with the new Tactical Mission Kit. The integration of sensors, radar, and multiple defense systems will bring added intelligence into the cockpit, enhancing pilots' situational awareness to complete missions, which is key to improving aircraft and isolated personnel survivability. Sikorsky's HH-60W team completed the System Configuration Test Readiness Review milestones for the Tactical Mission Kit last year. The HH-60W hosts a new fuel system that nearly doubles the capacity of the internal tank on a UH-60M Black Hawk, giving the Air Force crew extended range and more capability to rescue those injured in the battle space. The CRH specification drives more capable defensive system, vulnerability reduction, weapons, cyber-security, environmental, and net-centric requirements than currently held by the HH-60G. "Our team is working every day to build and deliver a superior quality helicopter to the U.S. Air Force for this critical mission," added Hames. "Both Sikorsky and the Air Force remain committed to achieving a low rate initial production decision this year and getting this much-needed aircraft to our air men and women out in the field." A total of nine aircraft will be built in Connecticut during the Engineering Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase of the program four EMD aircraft and five System Demonstration Test Articles. The Air Force program of record calls for 112 helicopters to replace its aging HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters. For more information, visit www.lockheedmartin.com/crh. About Lockheed Martin Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 105,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. SOURCE Lockheed Martin Related Links http://www.lockheedmartin.com DETROIT, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Stratview Research announces the launch of a new market research report on Opportunities & Gaps in the Global Sepsis Diagnosis Market. This report helps the manufacturer streamline its marketing campaigns as the segments divide the market into site of intervention, percentage of tests conducted in hospitals versus outsourced, and also looks at the granular country wise competition. The report also highlights the sepsis therapeutics as the researchers of Stratview feel that in some way both are interconnected. From the KOL's point of view, the report addresses the opportunities in step wise manner sepsis diagnosis, sepsis therapeutics and finally sepsis maintenance and recovery market, thereby covering the entire sepsis management market globally. Sepsis Diagnostics Market: Research Highlights Sepsis diagnostic has come a long way and its terminologies have changed many times. Currently, majority of physicians follow the SOFA guidelines published in 2016-2017. Some of the physicians use SOFA score, or SIRS criteria for evaluation of sepsis. Inspite of that, there is variation in diagnosis resulting in high cases of morbidity and mortality. There are many factors which are responsible for this, some of the important ones are: interpretation of test results & timely intervention, too much use of antibiotics leading to multiple drug resistance, issues of test reproducibility (specificity and sensitivity) and the availability of point of care / bedside testing and other infrastructural facilities in hospitals and clinics globally. In 2019, it's ironical that there is no single "gold standard" diagnostic test for sepsis, and case definitions vary widely. Use of nonspecific terminology such as "septicemia" remains pervasive. There are striking reports of sepsis among young children, pregnant women, senior population, and patients with chronic diseases or weak immune system. However, in developed countries which are equipped with latest facilities, there are reports of a smaller number of sepsis cases. In a study of more than 7,000 patient outcomes, using the EarlySense System, the number of ICU days for transferred patients decreased by 46 percent, the overall hospital length of stay decreased by 9 percent in the intervention group, and the number of code-blue events decreased by 86 percent, all because patients were treated as soon as they began to deteriorate. The report published by Stratview Research covers all the latest technologies which are currently being used in various markets to diagnose sepsis. The report also includes the forecast of the market, probable cases versus possible cases, import-export analysis, regulations dos and don'ts for a new player, growth forecast by segments such as pre-disposing factors, organisms, technology and many more. The report identifies opportunities worth more than 40 million USD in the market between the possible cases and actual cases diagnosed. Register Here and Ask for a Free Sample of the Report The research showcases that not only Asia Pacific is an attractive market, Western Europe (CAGR 6.03%) appears to be more lucrative than North America (5.52% CAGR 2019-2025). While microbiology and pathology as segments would be the most attractive growing at a CAGR of 10.5% in between 2019-2025, closely followed by markers for sepsis. Apart from major markets such as the USA, Germany, France, India, China and Japan, potential markets such as Indonesia, South Africa, Russia, Canada and Brazil have been studied from the suppliers' and buyers' point of view. The report gives a 360-degree overview for all the established players who would like to understand and compare a region's outlook of the sepsis diagnostic market. Research Methodology Our reports offer high-quality insights and are the outcome of detailed research methodology comprising extensive secondary research, rigorous primary interviews with industry stakeholders and validation and triangulation with Stratview Research's internal database and statistical tools. More than 1,000 authenticated secondary sources, such as company annual reports, fact book, press release, journals, investor presentation, white papers, patents, and articles have been leveraged to gather the data. About 20 detailed primary interviews with the market players across the value chain in all four regions and industry experts have been executed to obtain both the qualitative and quantitative insights. Report Features This report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights into the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report: Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysis Market environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porter's five forces analysis, SWOT analysis Market trend and forecast analysis Market segment trend and forecast Competitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, Product portfolio, New product launches, etc. Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunities Emerging trends Strategic growth opportunities for the existing and new players Key success factors Future Outlook Stratview Research has number of high value market reports in the global healthcare industry. Please refer to the following link to browse through our reports: Click Here for Other Reports from Stratview Research in the Healthcare Industry Our related premium market report in the healthcare industry: Opportunities & Gaps in the In Vitro Diagnostic Testing Market By Product (Instruments, Reagents), By Technology (Immunoassay, Clinical Chemistry, Molecular Diagnostics, Hematology, and Urinalysis, Microbiology), By Application (Diabetes, Infectious diseases, Oncology, Cardiology, Nephrology, and Other Diseases) By Type of Demand for Sample (Urine, Hair, and Oral), By Testing Facility (Hospital Laboratories, Independent Clinical Laboratories and Others), By Region (North America, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Rest of the World). Opportunities & Gaps in the Global Lung Cancer Prognosis Market By Epidemiology, By Treatment Algorithm in Different Regions, By Procedures (Thoracotomy (Lobectomy, Pneumonectomy, and Segmentectomy), Minimally Invasive), By Device (Surgical (Clamps, Forceps, Retractors, Others and by Monitoring Devices - Camera, Trocar and Endoscopic Instrument) and By Region (North America, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Rest of the World). About Stratview Research Stratview Research is a global market intelligence firm providing wide range of services including syndicated market reports, custom research and sourcing intelligence across industries, such as Advanced Materials, Aerospace & Defense, Automotive & Mass Transportation, Consumer Goods, Construction & Equipment, Electronics and Semiconductors, Energy & Utility, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Oil & Gas. We have a strong team of industry veterans and analysts with an extensive experience in executing custom research projects for mid-sized to Fortune 500 companies, in the areas of Market Assessment, Opportunity Screening, Competitive Intelligence, Due Diligence, Target Screening, Market Entry Strategy, Go to Market Strategy, and Voice of Customer studies. Stratview Research is a trusted brand globally, providing high quality research and strategic insights that help companies worldwide in effective decision making. For inquiries, Contact: Stratview Research E-mail: [email protected] Direct: +1-313-307-4176 SOURCE Stratview Research SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sparkcentral today announced Instagram support for its leading social messaging customer service platform, which allows marketing and care teams to respond and engage customers in real time over the world's most popular online photo-sharing app and social network. Sparkcentral's Instagram support empowers enterprises to centralize social media engagement across sales, marketing, and service, and provide a unified view of all digital channels such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, SMS, or web chat. Sparkcentral's Instagram support empowers enterprises to centralize social media engagement across sales, marketing, and service, and provide a unified view of all digital channels such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, SMS, or web chat. This makes Sparkcentral the fastest and most encompassing enterprise social customer service platform for enterprises with high volumes of digital interactions that are looking to have their CRM, social media, and Voice of the Customer systems integrated into one platform. Unlike competing solutions that treat each comment or post as an isolated ticket or case, Sparkcentral's platform gives staff the ability to view customer comments or questions in the context of the entire conversation history and assign them to the appropriate agent or marketing staff member. Agents can respond to photo comments, view persistently threaded conversation history, and send content or attachments through a conversation pane with clear visual cues. The addition of Instagram support increases agent efficiency and thus provides the speed and personal touch that customers expect. Instagram announced in June 2018 that they had reached 1 billion monthly active users, after passing 800 million in September 2017 with 500 million daily users. With almost 1 in 8 people on the planet on the app, Instagram support on Sparkcentral's platform was a key addition because it gives brands the flexibility to engage customers with modern technology tools on the most influential social media platforms. "Instagram's popularity has exploded. Eighty percent of social media influencers prefer Instagram as opposed to others," said Tobias Goebel, VP Marketing at Sparkcentral. "Our support of Instagram fosters better customer engagement and will help turn loyal fans into loyal customers. We offer ample opportunity for brands to be creative and use Instagram as an extension of their brand's personality." In an industry where every second counts, saving time and retaining the customer is critical. Sparkcentral helps customer support teams manage large volumes of social inquiries in a streamlined and efficient manner. Its blend of traditional social channels with messaging apps, messaging-style web chat embedded in a website or mobile app, as well as SMS not only increases customer satisfaction (CSAT) but also cuts customer service costs by 30 percent. "Instagram continues to be a very important channel for our brand, and it is one of the first places our customers go to engage with us. We were already using Sparkcentral for Facebook and Twitter, and now that Instagram is added we love that we can use a single platform for all of our social channels," said Samantha Perpignand, Social Media Manager for The Bouqs Company. Other Instagram integration features of the Sparkcentral platform allow support teams to: pull in brand mentions anywhere on Instagram; pull in relevant media at the beginning of every new conversation; allow agents to hide offensive comments on the page; have a consistent UI/UX with other mediums; respond to relevant messages in real time and send attachments and emojis. About Sparkcentral Based in San Francisco, California, Sparkcentral is a messaging customer service platform company with a mission to change the way customer service is delivered around the world. Ninety-seven percent of Americans send a message at least once a day according to Pew Research, yet very few of those messages go to businesses. Sparkcentral aims to change that. The company wants to spark a movement to connect businesses with customers through messaging, whether through social media or private messaging channels such as WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS text, live chat, or any other digital messaging means. Leading brands around the world rely on Sparkcentral's Messaging Customer Service platform, including Netflix, Slack, Jetblue and Nordstrom. Learn more at www.sparkcentral.com . Media Contact: Len Fernandes Firecracker PR (888) 317-4687, ext. 702 [email protected] SOURCE Sparkcentral Related Links http://www.sparkcentral.com Together with SecurityScorecard's security ratings, Atlas gives a unified, 360-degree view into the risk posture of any company, using both internal and external security insights. The current questionnaire exchange process is time consuming, inefficient, and cumbersome. "SecurityScorecard Atlas moves the information security and vendor risk assessment process to the next level by combing general or customized questionnaires with cyber footprinting logic along with response verifications," said Judy C. Quinton, Information Security Manager at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, which is a leading bank in Canada with over 40,000 employees and 11 million clients. With SecurityScorecard Atlas, customers can streamline the questionnaire and internal evidence exchange with ease through a secure central repository. Atlas' machine learning capabilities enable organizations to leverage SecurityScorecard ratings and underlying signal intelligence to validate responses which enables more confident, informed decisions about cybersecurity risk across the enterprise's entire ecosystem while significantly reducing overhead costs. "As the innovation leader in the security ratings space, we listened to our customers and designed a solution that solves some of the most common and challenging issues they face in their risk management processes," said Sam Kassoumeh, co-founder and COO, SecurityScorecard. "SecurityScorecard Atlas turns this taxing, manual process into a dynamic and robust capability that can be leveraged to efficiently scale their due diligence programs. We are the only company in the security rating services category that does this and are glad to offer it to hundreds of leading organizations relying on SecurityScorecard." Atlas, coupled with SecurityScorecard's advanced analytics, delivers the ability to easily navigate the questionnaire process with: Smart-mapping of responses across any questionnaire, significantly reducing completion time and compressing due diligence review End-to-end management of the questionnaire process, from send to completion and ability to track questionnaire statuses through a simple dashboard Support for custom questionnaires to enable risk management professionals to collect and analyze responses and evidence that are important to their business Ability to compare SecurityScorecard's ratings and analytics with answers submitted in Atlas to expedite response validation To learn more about Atlas, click here . SecurityScorecard will be demonstrating Atlas in booth #461 South Hall, Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA during RSA Conference 2019 taking place from March 4-7, 2019. About SecurityScorecard Headquartered in the heart of New York City, SecurityScorecard's vision is to create a new language for measuring and communicating security risk. The company was founded in late 2013 by Dr. Aleksandr Yampolskiy and Sam Kassoumeh, two former cybersecurity practitioners who had served, respectively, as Chief Information Security Officer and Head of Security and Compliance. With cloud solutions becoming an increasingly integral part of the security technology stack Yampolskiy and Kassoumeh recognized the need to address third- and fourth-party risk as well as better understand the security capabilities of their business partners. Since its founding, the company has grown dramatically and now counts hundreds of leading brands as customers. SecurityScorecard is backed by leading venture capital investors including Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures, NGP Capital, Evolution Equity Partners, Boldstart Ventures, AXA Venture Partners among others. For more information, visit securityscorecard.com. SOURCE SecurityScorecard Related Links http://www.securityscorecard.io The summit comes just before Koreans celebrate the centenary of the March 1, 1919 Independence Movement, a watershed event inspired by President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points affirming "absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims" and the right of full representation of affected populations in defining national sovereignty. Korean patriots drafted a Declaration of Independence that was proclaimed in peaceful rallies throughout the country on March 1, 1919. Although violently suppressed, more than two million Koreans rallied for freedom from Japanese colonial rule, which inspired people-led movements for freedom and self-determination in the twentieth century. In coordination with the centenary celebration, the One Korea Global Campaign announced a program of events supporting the unification of Korea to be hosted in Seoul from February 26-March 1, 2019. The program includes a conference of international scholars and policymakers, a One Korea Concert with leading K-pop artists, a documentary film debut, art and poetry competitions, and a culminating Centennial celebration in central Seoul. "It is the Korean people in the South, North and diaspora that are the most important stakeholders in the movement for unification and, therefore, should be the driving force behind the process," said Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon, Chairman of the Global Peace Foundation, one of the major organizers of the campaign. Action for Korea United, a key stakeholder in the campaign, has grown to be the largest citizen-based coalition for unification, encompassing every sector of South Korean society. It includes more than 900 member organizations and partners, including major faith communities, human rights groups, civic and humanitarian aid relief organizations, corporations, media, student groups, academic institutions, NGOs, political parties and South Korean government ministries. "The People Power Revolution in the Philippines, the Solidarity Movement in Poland, and the anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa were all grass-roots movements that transformed unjust societies in the last century," said AKU co-chairman Inteck Seo. "It was international recognition and support for these people-led movements that eventually reached a tipping point. We believe that greater recognition of the suppression of human rights in North Korea and the imminent threat of a nuclear-armed regime in the North can mobilize world opinion to bring about change in Korea." AKU has sponsored ping pong tournaments and economic capacity building programs to support resettlement of North Korean refugees, and cultural campaigns to build intergenerational awareness and support. The One Korea Global Campaign is also enlisting international support through expert forums in the United States, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, India and Ireland to examine implications and approaches of reunification, and the nature and scope on a reunified Korean nation. Alliance for Korea United represents Korean diaspora communities around the world committed to Korean reunification. Over 6 million ethnic Koreans living outside of Korea are a powerful force in the work of creating a united, free and just Korea. "The Korean people are at a historic crossroads," said Jai Ryu, Chairman of the One Korea Foundation in Washington. "Set against the enormous challenges of ending the division and creating a new nation, Korea has an opportunity to achieve a true greatness that history rarely accords to any people. Now is the time to build a national consensus for a shared vision of One Korea on the foundation of Korean identity and a common destiny, and to garner international support for it." Contact: [email protected] SOURCE Global Peace Foundation TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- SecBI, a disruptive player in automated cyber threat detection and response, today announced an automated threat detection and response solution designed to help managed security service providers (MSSPs) maximize their productivity and scalability. The company will demonstrate the offering in South Hall booth #753, stand #29, at the RSA Conference 2019, taking place March 4-8 in San Francisco. "With cyberattacks becoming commonplace for every business size, the MSSP market is set to take off," said Gilad Peleg, CEO of SecBI. "However, the most successful MSSPs will be those that possess advanced breach detection and remediation expertise, as well as the tools to scale and increase resource productivity. Providers will benefit greatly from the ability to automate threat detection and response tasks." The SecBI MSSP offering automates both threat hunting, based on comprehensive network traffic analysis, and breach response. SecBI provides full scope detection, creating a comprehensive view of each cyber incident by combining disparate alerts, events, and logs into a single narrative that shows all the affected entities and kill chain. Finally, the solution delivers gap analysis that identifies network security blind spots and implements fixes. MSSPs using the SecBI solution will benefit from: Improved analyst productivity Automated and improved detection and remediation Seamless integration with existing infrastructure Ease of scalability, with cloud-based, multi-tenant deployment Fast and simple deployment with minimal ramp-up time "Traditional security services are no longer capable of uncovering malicious communications within minutes," added Peleg. "Having a team of analysts manually review logs from a SIEM is simply no defense against the types of sophisticated, stealthy and unknown threats we are now seeing." @RSAConference on Wednesday, March 6th at 11:00 and 2:30 PM PST, @HardenStance Principal Analyst Patrick Donegan will present a case study on the transformational work conducted by SecBI and Orange Poland (@OrangePolska) to convert the telco/MSSP into a cybersecurity innovator. All are invited: SecBI will be in South Hall, Booth #753, Stand #29. "Orange Polska is looking to lead the Polish market in cyber security," said Donegan. "I know from speaking with the company directly that the SecBI solution has proven effective at identifying threats that other security controls couldn't spot. Orange Polska has also received a lot of value from partnering with SecBI in terms of going up the curve on deploying machine learning/AI in its cyber security infrastructure." About SecBI SecBI has developed a revolutionary approach to network traffic analysis (NTA) to deliver automated threat detection and investigation for security operations centers (SOCs) and managed security service providers (MSSPs). Its value is best understood in contrast to solutions that generate sporadic alerts and anomalies requiring manual correlation and investigation. SecBI's Autonomous Investigation technology incorporates machine learning to uncover the full scope of every suspicious incident, including all affected entities, within minutes. Without the need for special appliances or agents, the solution can be deployed on premise or in the cloud, and is currently used by financial institutions, telecoms, retailers, and manufacturing enterprises worldwide. For more information, visit: www.secbi.com or write: [email protected] For media inquiries: Mark Prindle Fusion PR +1-646-452-7109 [email protected] SOURCE SecBI DUBLIN, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Saudi Arabia LED Lights Market: Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2019-2024" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The market reached a value of SAR 2,302 Million in 2018. The market for LED lights in Saudi Arabia is being driven by a number of favourable factors. Huge investments in the public and private infrastructure is the major driver for the market growth. Additionally, various measures are being taken by the Saudi Arabian government so as to encourage the use of LED lights. For instance, the adoption of the energy-efficiency standards in the region coupled with the increased tariffs on the imports of incandescent and compact fluorescent lights are expected to stimulate the demand for LED lights in the region. The report has segmented the Saudi Arabia LED lights market on the basis of type covering panel lights, downlight, street lights and others. Currently, panel lights account for the largest market share in the Saudi Arabian region. The report has also segmented the market on the basis of application including commercial, residential, industrial and others. The report has further analysed the competitive landscape of the market with some of the key players being Philips and Osram. Owing to these factors, the market is further projected to reach a value of SAR 6,392 Million by 2024. Key Topics Covered: 1 Preface 2 Scope and Methodology 2.1 Objectives of the Study 2.2 Stakeholders 2.3 Data Sources 2.4 Market Estimation 2.5 Forecasting Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Introduction 4.1 Overview 4.2 Key Industry Trends 5 GCC LED Lighting Industry 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Market Breakup by Product Type 5.4 Market Breakup by Application 5.5 Market Breakup by Country 5.6 Market Breakup by Import and Domestic Manufacturing 5.7 Market Breakup by Public and Private Sectors 5.8 Market Breakup by Indoor and Outdoor Applications 5.9 Market Forecast 6 Saudi Arabia LED Lighting Industry 6.1 Market Overview 6.2 Market Performance 6.3 Market Breakup by Product Type 6.3.1 LED Panel Lights 6.3.2 LED Downlights 6.3.3 LED Street Lights 6.3.4 Others 6.4 Market Breakup by Application 6.4.1 Commercial 6.4.2 Industrial 6.4.3 Residential 6.4.4 Others 6.5 Market Breakup by Import and Domestic Manufacturing 6.5.1 Import 6.5.2 Domestic 6.6 Market Forecast 6.7 SWOT Analysis 6.7.1 Overview 6.7.2 Strengths 6.7.3 Weaknesses 6.7.4 Opportunities 6.7.5 Threats 6.8 Value Chain Analysis 6.8.1 Primary Raw Material Suppliers 6.8.2 LED Chip Manufacturers 6.8.3 LED Package and Module Manufacturers 6.8.4 Lighting/Electronic Products Manufacturers 6.8.5 Product Distributors 6.8.6 End Users 6.9 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 6.10 Key Market Drivers and Success Factors 6.11 Comparative Analysis of CFL and LED 6.12 Price Analysis 7 Competitive Landscape 7.1 Competitive Structure 7.2 Market Breakup by Key Players 8 LED Lights Manufacturing Process 8.1 Panel Light 8.1.1 Product Overview 8.1.2 Manufacturing Process and Process Flow 8.1.3 Raw Material Requirements 8.1.4 Major Machinery Pictures 8.1.5 Suppliers of Raw Materials and Delivery Time 8.2 Downlight 8.3 Flood Light 8.4 Street Light 8.5 Tube Light 8.6 Bulb 9 Project Details, Requirements and Costs Involved 9.1 Land Requirements and Expenditures 9.2 Construction Requirements and Expenditures 9.3 Plant Machinery 9.4 Raw Material Requirements and Expenditures 9.5 Packaging Requirements and Expenditures 9.6 Transportation Requirements and Expenditures 9.7 Utility Requirements and Expenditures 9.8 Manpower Requirements and Expenditures 9.9 Other Capital Investments 10 Loans and Financial Assistance 11 Project Economics 11.1 Capital Cost of the Project 11.2 Techno-Economic Parameters 11.3 Product Pricing and Margins Across Various Levels of the Supply Chain 11.4 Taxation and Depreciation 11.5 Income Projections 11.6 Expenditure Projections 11.7 Financial Analysis 11.8 Profit Analysis 12 Key Player Profiles Philips General electric Osram For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/hf4hq5/saudi_arabia_led?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 SEATTLE and BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As mobile leaders convene in Barcelona for this year's Mobile World Congress, Hiya has unveiled its first Global Robocall Radar Report, which estimates that global spam calls grew 325% to 85 billion worldwide. The data, based on analysis of more than 12 billion calls per month worldwide, concluded that while unwanted calls are indeed very prevalent in the United States where regulators have taken notice , they are also growing rapidly at a global level. Hiya's Global Robocall Radar found that Spain, the UK, Italy, France, Argentina and the United States top the list of countries hit the hardest by nuisance and fraudulent calls. "As spam calls continue to skyrocket globally, the demand for protection from unwanted phone calls has increased drastically," said Alex Algard, CEO of Hiya. "By combining industry-leading call spam detection with a solution that ensures calls from legitimate businesses are properly identified, it's our mission to make sure everyone across the world can confidently answer their phone again." With nearly 60 million monthly active users worldwide, Hiya protects consumers from unwanted calls in every country in the world. Global partnerships with carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile and OEMs like Samsung have helped to elevate Hiya's leadership position for identifying nuisance and fraudulent calls. In 2018 alone, Hiya identified more than 1.3 billion calls as spam, blocking more than 425 million of them. Phone Spam is a Growing Problem Worldwide Hiya analyzes more than 12 billion mobile calls per month globally and then leverages its proprietary rule-based algorithm to identify these calls for consumers. Hiya's Global Robocall Radar is calculated by extrapolating the total number of unwanted robocalls detected among Hiya's user base as compared to the entire global population of mobile subscribers. In addition to observing that robocalls grew 325% to 85 billion in 2018, Hiya's first Global Robocall Radar found the following: Top 10 Countries With the Biggest Phone Spam Problem For the top 10 countries with the biggest spam problem, below is a breakdown of the percentage of incoming calls that are not "saved to contacts" and are identified as spam (Spam Rate), in addition to the average number of monthly spam calls per user. 1). Spain: Spam Rate: 24% Monthly Spam Calls Per User: 9 2). UK: Spam Rate: 22% Monthly Spam Calls Per User: 7 3). Italy: Spam Rate: 21% Monthly Spam Calls Per User: 6 4). France: Spam Rate: 20% Monthly Spam Calls Per User: 7 5). Argentina: Spam Rate: 10% Monthly Spam Calls Per User: 3 6). United States: Spam Rate: 10% Monthly Spam Calls Per User: 7 7). Mexico: Spam Rate: 9% Monthly Spam Calls Per User: 6 8). Brazil: Spam Rate: 9% Monthly Spam Calls Per User: 8 9). Chile: Spam Rate: 9% Monthly Spam Calls Per User: 4 10). Australia: Spam Rate: 6% Monthly Spam Calls Per User: 2 Most Prevalent Spam "Campaigns" Worldwide: Bank Account Scam : Callers pretend to be an official representative of the bank and request sensitive information or items which will allow them to access the victim's bank account. : Callers pretend to be an official representative of the bank and request sensitive information or items which will allow them to access the victim's bank account. Extortion/Kidnapping : These scammers call random phone numbers and demand payment for the return of a "kidnapped" family member or friend. : These scammers call random phone numbers and demand payment for the return of a "kidnapped" family member or friend. Credit Card Scam : Thieves will trick victims out of their personal information. They might call, posing as their bank, to "assist" while phishing for card details. Random scammers might even call hotel rooms acting as the front desk to "confirm" credit card details. : Thieves will trick victims out of their personal information. They might call, posing as their bank, to "assist" while phishing for card details. Random scammers might even call hotel rooms acting as the front desk to "confirm" credit card details. Wangiri Scam (" One Ring "): For years, the Wangiri scam, also known as the 'One-Ring Scam,' has been preying on victims and enticing them to call back international numbers. The victim in this case does not realize that they're being charged for premium rates. For years, the Wangiri scam, also known as the 'One-Ring Scam,' has been preying on victims and enticing them to call back international numbers. The victim in this case does not realize that they're being charged for premium rates. Neighbor Scam: Phone fraudsters use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) software to mimic (also known as spoofing) the first few digits of a user's phone number to trick consumers into thinking a nearby friend or business is calling. To view Hiya's Global Robocall Radar report, which includes a country by country breakdown of the top unwanted call categories, top phone spam campaigns, and more, please click here . To view Hiya's US specific version of the Robocall Radar report, please click here . About Hiya Hiya is revolutionizing the way people make and receive phone calls. With a mission to provide a better phone experience, Hiya Caller and Business Profiles provide users with important context, giving them the right information at the right time. Through analysis of more than 12 billion calls per month, Hiya protects nearly 60 million users from unwanted robo and spam calls globally. Hiya is available as a consumer app on Google Android and iPhone and is integrated into the phone experience for AT&T Call Protect, T-Mobile Name ID, ZTE Axon 7 and Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S8, Galaxy S9, the forthcoming Galaxy S10 and all A-Series and J-Series users worldwide. For more information, please visit www.hiya.com. SOURCE Hiya Related Links https://hiya.com NETANYA, Israel, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Q Core Medical, a leading developer of smart infusion systems for hospital and ambulatory care settings, today announced the opening of a new European office in Marseille, France. The new European regional headquarters will be led by Q Core Medical Country Manager, Laurent Schektman, who will lead direct sales efforts of Q Core's hospital and homecare infusion systems in France and other European markets. "It is a privilege to provide Q Core Medical's advanced infusion systems to French and European healthcare facilities from our new office in Marseille, the doorway to the French and European healthcare markets," said Laurent Schektman, Q Core Medical Country Manager. "France is especially ready for Q Core's level of infusion system innovation. With a growing elderly population, an increased need for infusion, and a 5-10% increase in patients being treated in homecare settings rather than hospitals, France has a real market need for intuitive, easy-to-use and reliable infusion systems." Q Core's flagship Sapphire infusion pumps provide light-weight, advanced and intuitive infusion systems with diverse functionality appreciated by caregivers and patients. Its systems can be used in pain management, oncology drug delivery, epidural infusion, parenteral nutrition, antibiotic treatments among other IV therapies. The Sapphire infusion family can be used for large volume and ambulatory infusions in hospitals, as well as treatment in homecare and alternate site settings. "We are pleased to see a growing global health technology company choose Marseille as its European headquarters," said Maribel Sierra, Project Manager from Provence Promotion, the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolis economic development agency. "Marseille is ideally situated to serve as a hub for doing business in Europe and Africa, as well as granting easy access to Mediterranean markets. Q Core serves as a prime example of the business opportunities present in the South of France for thriving health and technology players." France's healthcare system, based on advanced reimbursement models, is following the global shift of moving patients from hospitals into homecare settings. The French government is building regulation in the homecare market, with strong economics models to bolster this shift. A reduction in the average length of stay in hospitals, a growing elderly patient population with chronic diseases, a higher level of comfort at home for patients, and a lower cost of home health services has resulted in a 40 percent year-on-year growth of patients receiving homecare treatments over the past four years. "We are delighted to directly market our pioneering infusion pump systems in France, expanding our physical footprint into such a vital regional market," said Tally Eitan, President of Q Core Medical. "Laurent's previous work experiences at Abbott, Hospira, Pfizer and ICU Medical give him vast knowledge of the French and European healthcare landscapes. With Laurent at the helm of our European operations, with his passion and commitment to the French healthcare market, we are confident that we will be able to meet the evolving infusion needs across the continuum of care." About Q Core Medical Q Core Medical is an infusion solutions provider meeting the evolving infusion needs of ambulatory care and hospital markets. Q Core Medical's flagship Sapphire infusion pump systems are marketed globally with fleets operating in North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Australia for the last decade. One of three privately held companies operating under the Eitan Group, Q Core Medical designs, develops, manufactures and markets advanced, future-ready infusion systems. For more information, visit http://www.qcore.com/. Follow Q Core Medical on LinkedIn and Twitter. Media Relations Contact: Nicole Grubner Finn Partners +1-929-222-8011 [email protected] Company Contact: +972-732388888 [email protected] Q Core Medical France +33-4-91134599 [email protected] SOURCE Q Core Medical Related Links http://www.qcore.com DALLAS, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ATX Networks, a leading provider of audio distribution technology, has signed an agreement with the Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS) to supply the national radio distributor with a next-generation solution designed to bring new functionality, reliability and control to its U.S.-based radio network. A major objective of the project is to assist the PRSS in the construction of a unified and futureproof broadcast network infrastructure for the management, distribution, scheduling, playout and verification of radio programming across its nationwide network. Critical requirements for the PRSS, which is managed by NPR's Distribution division, are that the new broadcast system be highly flexible and extensible, enabling the broadcast system to easily introduce new features and capabilities as they become available, as well as seamlessly incorporate new technologies and standards. "The PRSS requires a world-class broadcast network that is not only capable of delivering peak performance for the delivery of our service to our approximately 400 stations and 100 producers, but one that is also able to grow and evolve in lockstep with our business objectives," said Michael Beach, Vice President of NPR Distribution, which also manages the content delivery solution ContentDepot for the PRSS. "We require a network infrastructure that is flexible, and ATX Networks was able to deliver a solution that will meet our needs well into the future." The installation features ATX's end-to-end radio broadcast solution, including XDS headend and receiver equipment, and the XDS Content Management System. Located at the PRSS' broadcast center at NPR's Washington headquarters, as well as its back-up network operations center in St. Paul, Minn., the XDS headend component, which includes state-of-the-art encoding and multiplexing capabilities, enables the broadcast giant to centralize and automate the distribution, playout, scheduling and verification of content. The installation also includes more than 800 XDS-PRO receivers, which will be distributed to stations across the country. Playing a role in the selection of ATX for this mission-critical deployment is the XDS Content Management System, a cloud-based software solution that delivers exceptional management and control capabilities, which can be administered from any Internet-connected device. A centralized and powerful management and control system will assist the PRSS in streamlining the operation of its national network through improved content management and distribution, as well as the ability to provide its member stations with greater insight into and control of radio content. Uptime and reliability are critical to the PRSS, which will require solutions that support geo-redundancy between its Washington D.C. broadcast system and a secondary site to help prevent or limit the number of costly service outages. Interoperability with the broadcaster's existing operations is also a top requirement. XDS's open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) enabled seamless integration with the broadcaster's ContentDepot application, ensuring reliable and effective oversight and accountability of live and pre-recorded content distribution operations. NPR Distribution is required to follow strict procedures for the selection of technology. In addition to participation in a rigorous selection process, technology suppliers are required to meet a lengthy number of regulatory requirements, as well as conform to industry standards. "As the worldwide leader in the radio broadcast market and a current supplier of technology to the PRSS, ATX was in a strong position to meet the national broadcaster's comprehensive and exacting technology requirements," said Jose Rivero, GM, Chief Technology & Strategy Officer, Media Broadcast, ATX Networks. "We look forward to working with the PRSS to build what will be one of the most forward-looking radio broadcast networks in the industry." A component of the agreement calls for ATX and the PRSS to jointly collaborate on additional enhancements and features, many of which will be incorporated into the commercially available XDS platform. The project will commence in spring 2019 with the deployment of headend equipment. Deployment of receivers is scheduled to begin in the summer. For more information, please visit www.atx.com. About ATX Networks ATX Networks is disrupting the future of broadband access. Every second of every day, our market-leading and award-winning solutions transport more than 2,500 terabytes of data between smart devices and intelligent networks. ATX is teaming with the world's most innovative cable, satellite, fixed telecom, wireless and media broadcast service providers to usher in a new generation of ubiquitous gigabit broadband. For further information, visit ATX at www.atx.com, and follow us on Twitter @ATXNetworksCorp. About NPR NPR's rigorous reporting and unsurpassed storytelling connect with millions of Americans everydayon the air, online, and in person. NPR strives to create a more informed publicone challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas, and cultures. With a nationwide network of award-winning journalists and 17 international bureaus, NPR and its Member Stations are never far from where a story is unfolding. Listeners consider public radio an enriching and enlightening companion; they trust NPR as a daily source of unbiased independent news, and inspiring insights on life and the arts. Learn more at npr.org/about or by following NPR Extra on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. About the PRSS The Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS) is the distribution network through which thousands of hours of news, music, and specialized audience programming are delivered every year to public radio stations throughout the United States. Managed by NPR Distribution, the PRSS is a unique, cooperative enterprise. Each participating station is a stakeholder in the collective assets of, and services provided by, the satellite system. Interconnected stations own their own downlink and uplink equipment. The satellite transponder capacity as well as the national operating system equipment located in Washington are owned by the Public Radio Satellite Interconnection System Charitable Trust. SOURCE ATX Networks Related Links http://www.atx.com LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ProHEALTH Care, the largest independent physician-run healthcare organization in the Northeast, is pleased to welcome Margaret Chen, M.D., F.A.C.S. as the new Chief of Breast Surgery. Dr. Chen is a highly experienced breast surgeon whose focus is minimally invasive breast surgery. At ProHEALTH, Dr. Chen will spearhead the development of a comprehensive, top-quality breast care program for women in Long Island and the New York metro region. The addition of Dr. Margaret Chen to ProHEALTH Care's network of over 900 physicians marks the organization's commitment to providing the best healthcare to its patients. "Dr. Chen has distinguished herself in the field through her individualized care and innovative surgical techniques to treat breast cancer for her patients," said Dr. Zeyad Baker M.D., president and Chief Executive Officer of ProHEALTH Care. "Her experience using minimally-invasive breast surgery aligns with our goal to move women's health forward though technology and uncompromising excellence. We are thrilled to welcome her to the ProHEALTH network." Dr. Chen is a board-certified surgeon with the American Board of Surgery and has over 17 years of clinical experience in breast care and surgery. As a pioneer in the field, Dr. Margaret Chen is the first in New York to initiate a clinical trial using laser and other thermoablation technologies to treat breast tumors without surgery. Another first accomplished by Dr. Chen is advancing SAVI SCOUT radar localization techniques to precisely localize tumors for surgery. As a pioneer in the development of hidden scar lumpectomies and nipple and skin-sparing mastectomies to remove the tumors safely while preserving the cosmesis of the breasts, Dr. Chen can expertly perform multiple modalities of surgery choosing the best option for the patient. Dr. Chen has greatly contributed to research and academia having been the Principal Investigator of numerous studies. She has published in multiple peer-reviewed journals such as Annals of Surgical Oncology, The Breast Journals and ASCO. She is also a reviewer of scientific journals. Dr. Chen has mentored many fellows, residents and students, and she helped to design and implement educational curriculums to train the next generation of doctors. She assumed the Chair of Scientific and Continuing Education at the American College of Surgeons Brooklyn and Long Island Chapter, educating fellow surgeons about breast surgery. In her leadership role as the Chair of National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers at Columbia through the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Chen has led and worked closely with multiple stakeholders in medical and radiation oncology, radiology, pathology, cancer service line, genetics, nursing and patient navigators to ensure the highest standards of patient care are met. Her efforts have led to the successful full reaccreditation of the Breast Cancer Program. An advocate for minority health, Dr. Chen has founded the New York Presbyterian Asian Health Program, and works closely with the Association of Chinese American Physicians, Chinese Medical Association and American Cancer Society Asian Initiative greatly expanding and providing access to serve the health needs of Asian Americans. Dr. Chen has received many honors including America's Top Surgeons from the Consumers' Research Council of America, awarded to top 10% surgeons in the U.S., and was awarded scholarships from Canada Scholar and the University of Toronto for outstanding academic achievement. She earned her medical degree from the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada and completed her residency in General Surgery with a focus on Breast Oncology at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Dr. Chen is formerly an Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, and most recently was Acting Chief, Breast Surgery for New York Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center before joining ProHEALTH Care. Dr. Chen will be practicing at ProHEALTH Breast Care & Surgery, located at 2800 Marcus Ave, Suite 204, Lake Success, NY 11042. Tel: (516) 487 8888. For more information, please visit prohealthcare.com About ProHEALTH Care Established in 1997, ProHEALTH Care is the largest, independent, physician-run, healthcare organization in the Northeast. ProHEALTH Care is reinventing the healthcare delivery model through a patient-centric focus, which give its over one million patients the care they need, when and where they need it. With over 900 providers in 300 locations throughout Greater New York and New Jersey, ProHEALTH Care utilizes the most innovative, state-of-the-art technology, and evidence-based practices. ProHEALTH Care offers a full range of healthcare services including Urgent, Primary, and Specialty Care. Crain's ranked ProHEALTH Care as one of the top ten largest physician groups in the New York Metro area, and the largest physician group not affiliated with a hospital. RUBENSTEIN PUBLIC RELATIONS CONTACT: SHAY PANTANO, 212-805-3062 [email protected] SOURCE ProHEALTH Care Related Links https://www.prohealthcare.com BOSTON, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Solution-processed light-emitting organic materials were demonstrated in 1989 with a tiny 0.1 EQE (external quantum efficiency). Since then there has been tremendous progress on material synthesis/production as well as on display processing. However, thus far, commercialization has remained elusive. IDTechEx Research argues that the page may be about to turn. This could have important consequences for the large area display markets, especially if printing can enable a significant reduction in the production cost. This could reconfigure the landscape. To learn about the details of the OLED industry, please consult the IDTechEx Research report OLED Display Forecasts and Technologies 2019-2029: The Global Rise of Flexible and Foldable Displays. This report includes technology analysis and detailed forecasts by market segment and display type with additional assessment of printed OLEDs, Quantum Dot displays, E-Paper displays, and other flexible displays. The limitations of current techniques There are two main approaches today to OLED display production. Both utilize evaporated organics. In one, the emissive layers are evaporated through a fine metal mask (FMM) to achieve patterned side-by-side R, G, and B emitters. This approach works well for small up to medium sized displays. Indeed, today, it fully dominates the market for such products. The technology, however, has proven difficult to scale up to large areas. The FMM is often made very thin to minimize shadowing effects during the evaporation. The downside of this thinness is that wide area masks become flimsy, easily sagging or warping under their own weight. This distorts the mask pattern. The FMM also, by definition, blocks and thus wastes 2/3 of the material. The blocked materials further add weight to the mask film, thus further complicating the situation. Numerous approaches have been proposed to overcome these shortcomings, e.g., scanning the scanner over the substrate. None have, however, fully resolved the issues. Therefore, FMM has failed to transition to large area displays. To learn more about the market dynamics for OLED displays by technology, by device, and by flexibility type, please see OLED Display Forecasts and Technologies 2019-2029: The Global Rise of Flexible and Foldable Displays. The other approach is based upon white OLED (WOLED). Here, the organic layers are not patterned. Instead, they are blanket deposited. This way multiple OLED stacks are formed on top of one another to achieve white color emission. In this approach, it is often common to have two blue layers to divide the drive voltage across two stacks whilst maintaining the brightness levels. In general, WOLED involves depositing many layers. The RGB color effect comes from color filters. As such, the system has low efficiency (filters waste 2/3 of light). In turn, this demands higher brightness, leading to harsher drive conditions and shorter lifetimes. The primary advantage of this approach is that it can be scaled to large areas. This is why it is the technology of choice for OLED TVs. Reducing production cost, however, thus far has proven complicated although steady progress is being made. Consult the report OLED Display Forecasts and Technologies 2019-2029: The Global Rise of Flexible and Foldable Displays to learn more about WOLED technology and the OLED industry Both these approaches reply upon evaporated materials. An immediate question then is why is printing not being used. This way direct RGB patterning over large areas with high material utilization could be achieved. Printed OLED displays: are the materials good enough yet? Developing solution processible OLED materials has not been easy. At first, only polymeric materials could be solubilized. In the early generations, this would give very low EQEs and lifetimes. With time, polymer/small molecule and even solution-processible small molecule OLED materials were developed. Polymeric-Only products also improved tremendously. The upshot is that today after three decades of global research and development effort solution-processible OLEDs are becoming a viable proposition. Finally, the performance gap in Cd/A between leading printable OLEDs and commercial evaporated ones has been nearly bridged. This is true for green and red materials, and it is also the case for the blue with appropriate color coordinates commonly used in displays. Previously, any transition from evaporation to solution processing would impose a significant performance penalty. This no longer is necessarily the case. Therefore, the performance progress on the material side has eliminated or at least strongly weakened, a major traditional reason against the adoption of printing. The lifetime of solution OLEDs needs to be further extended. An exact benchmarking is difficult because suppliers do not always speak the same language and mean different things by "lifetime." Each can use a different brightness level or lifetime definition (T90, T50, etc.). Nonetheless, it is still the case that the lifetime of solution OLED materials lags behind evaporated ones. This gap will likely be closed with further development. To learn more about the latest progress including performance comparison charts, please visit www.IDTechEx.com/display. Printed OLED displays: can they be commercially manufactured? The processing of solution OLED materials over large areas and in commercial production is not, and has not been, easy. However, as can be seen below, the community now has extensive accumulated know-how. This is because it has been working on printing OLEDs for over 15 years. Indeed, the first commercial product with a printed OLED display appeared as early as 2004. Granted, this was a small passive matrix display. Since then there have been numerous prototypes. As shown below, these prototypes often targeted large area displays, e.g., TVs, since the benefits of printing are stronger in that size range. Furthermore, large area displays can do with low PPI levels, thus relaxing fine feature printing requirements. Of course, there have also been small-sized high-PPI demonstrators, but there are far fewer since the commercial motivation behind them is weaker. Today, inkjet printed mid-size, e.g., 21.6", 204PPI OLEDs displays are transitioning into production by a Japanese consortium. This consortium brings together Japanese material suppliers, equipment makers, and display manufacturers. We feel that the objective of the consortium is to pool the early risks involved in the learning curve of printing OLED displays. But once the technical hurdles are sufficiently overcome and the technology is mature enough, there will likely be a tech transfer from the consortium to a display maker. Interest is not limited to Japanese and Chinese makers though. In fact, even today's leading OLED manufacturers are and have been, actively developing printing technology. Indeed, there are many strong strategic motivations that keep printing firmly on the agenda. First, those with an FMM technology want to urgently obtain or establish a technology towards large are OLED displays. Second, incumbents are concerned that printing can one day bring about a step change in the production cost, thus reconfiguring the competitiveness map to leave them behind. Third, they see the mastery of display printing as being essential for quantum dot (QD) displays. In the latter case printing is/will be heavily used. It will be used in QD color filter displays both on LCDs and OLEDs. More importantly, in the long term, it will be used to develop the ultimate QLED (quantum dot light emitting diode). We say "ultimate" because this display technology, despite its current immaturity and technology challenges, offers complete contrast, extremely wide color gamut, thinness, flexibility, etc. In general, printing can no longer be dismissed as immature or futuristic. Material-side progress has eliminated or substantially narrowed the EQE penalty that traditionally would have to be paid when adopting printed materials. Steady long-term progress on the processing-side is also enabling commercial production. Of course, there is much further progress to accomplish. The process yield and TACT will need to be further improved. The dimensions of the commercially printed OLEDs displays will need to be enlarged from the monitor to the TV range. The lifetime of solution OLEDs will need to be further extended especially if the end product is to have an extend lifecycle. The printing resolution will need to become finer. These ongoing development trends are, however, often incremental in nature and are present in almost all display technologies. The important point is that printed OLEDs have already broken through enough technical barriers to demonstrate their viability. As such, printed OLEDs have becoming an exciting topic. We think this is a space to closely watch in the coming years. OLED Display Forecasts and Technologies 2019-2029: The Global Rise of Flexible and Foldable Displays provides details of the OLED industry. The report includes technology analysis and detailed forecasts by market segment and display type with additional assessment of printed OLEDs, Quantum Dot displays, E-Paper displays, and other flexible displays. For more information contact [email protected] or visit www.IDTechEx.com/display. IDTechEx guides your strategic business decisions through its Research, Consultancy, and Events services, helping you profit from emerging technologies. Find out more at www.IDTechEx.com. Media Contact: Charlotte Martin Marketing & Research Co-ordinator [email protected] +44(0)1223 812300 Related Links Further IDTechEx Research Printed Electronics Europe 2019 SOURCE IDTechEx PITTSBURGH, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC) announced today that Terry Begley, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Corporate Banking, will discuss business performance, strategy and banking at 1:20 p.m. (ET) Wednesday, March 13, at the RBC Capital Markets Financial Institutions Conference in New York City. The following will be accessible at www.pnc.com/investorevents: a link to the live webcast; presentation slides included as part of the webcast; handouts available prior to the start of the webcast; webcast replay available for 30 days. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. is one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the United States, organized around its customers and communities for strong relationships and local delivery of retail and business banking including a full range of lending products; specialized services for corporations and government entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management and asset management. For information about PNC, visit www.pnc.com. CONTACTS: MEDIA : PNC Media Relations (412) 762-4550 [email protected] INVESTORS: Bryan Gill (412) 768-4143 [email protected] SOURCE PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. Related Links http://www.pnc.com SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- After getting the request from Craigslist, the Cragly team consulted with some lawyers. It's not easy for a startup to fight with a big company in its early stage. So, the team finally gave up fighting against the request and decided to change the app name to "Pernals." The new name "Pernals" is derived from the word "Personals," which indicates that the app is a personals app. Branding "We understand the concerns of Craigslist since it's a well-known and old brand," said Alesandra Madison, the co-founder of Cragly. "Also, we have the utmost respect for Craigslist. Unfortunately, we had promoted the brand Cragly for a period of time. Name-change required us to rebuild most of our marketing materials and strategies. It's time-consuming and cost us a lot of resources. After changing the name, our downloads dropped for some time." The app was primarily created to help people who like personals-ad-style websites and apps. "Tinder is now the most popular dating app. Too many other dating and hookup apps are copying its swiping feature. Some people are tired of swiping on those apps. After Craigslist closed its personals section, people now have fewer choices," said Alesandra Madison, the co-founder of Cragly. "We created Cragly aiming to be the first personal ad app to fill the gap after the closing of Craigslist personals. But we didn't mean to create confusion between Cragly and Craigslist." In the new version of "Pernals," the team added a search function in response to the request from its users. People not only want to find local personal ads but also want to search for local users. Some users don't post personal ads after joining. Thus, the search function increases the chance of finding more local people. Media contact: Alesandra Madison [email protected] (925) 325-6031 Official site: https://www.pernals.com/ iOS download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cragly-casual-fling-dating/id1370024765?ls=1&mt=8 Android download link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xbasetech.cragly SOURCE Pernals ST. LOUIS, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Peabody (NYSE: BTU) announced today that its board of directors has declared a supplemental dividend of $1.85 per share, payable on March 20, 2019 to holders of record on March 12, 2019. The total amount of the supplemental dividend payment will be approximately $200 million based on the current number of shares outstanding and will be funded through existing cash balances. "Peabody's supplemental dividend demonstrates strong confidence in the company's substantial cash flow generating capability," said Peabody President and Chief Executive Officer Glenn Kellow. "Today, we deploy another tool in our capital allocation kit with a supplemental dividend that shows a flexibility of approach and underscores a sustained commitment to returning cash to shareholders." In 2019, the company expects to allocate an amount equal to or greater than its free cash flow to shareholder returns. In 2018, Peabody deployed two-thirds of its free cash flow to share repurchases and dividends, and used the vast majority of remaining free cash flow for the highly attractive Shoal Creek Mine acquisition. "Peabody has already returned more than $1.1 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends over the past 18 months, yet Peabody's liquidity levels still remain well above our target," said Kellow. "We are pleased to be issuing this supplemental dividend, representing further significant, tangible contributions to shareholder returns, while we continue our active share buyback program and ongoing quarterly dividends." The supplemental dividend is in addition to the company's previously declared quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, payable on March 6, 2019 to shareholders of record on Feb. 20, 2019. The company initiated a quarterly dividend program in February 2018 and has twice raised the per share amount. The company also has approximately $415 million remaining under its current $1.5 billion authorization for share repurchases, and continues to implement buybacks as the company believes the shares are a compelling investment opportunity. Peabody's liquidity target remains $800 million and stood at $1.32 billion at Dec. 31, 2018. Gross debt remains targeted at $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion and stood at $1.37 billion at Dec. 31, 2018. Peabody (NYSE: BTU) is the leading global pure-play coal company and a member of the Fortune 500, serving power and steel customers in more than 25 countries on six continents. Peabody offers significant scale, high-quality assets, and diversity in geography and products. Peabody is guided by seven core values: safety, sustainability, leadership, customer focus, integrity, excellence and people. For further information, visit PeabodyEnergy.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the securities laws. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include words or variation of words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," "targets," "would," "will," "should," "goal," "could" or "may" or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements provide management's current expectations or predictions of future conditions, events or results. All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future are forward-looking statements. They may include estimates of revenues, income, earnings per share, cost savings, capital expenditures, dividends, share repurchases, liquidity, capital structure, market share, industry volume, or other financial items, descriptions of management's plans or objectives for future operations, or descriptions of assumptions underlying any of the above. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and reflect the company's good faith beliefs, assumptions and expectations, but they are not guarantees of future performance or events. Furthermore, the company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, except as required by law. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, a variety of economic, competitive and regulatory factors, many of which are beyond the company's control, that are described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2018, as well as additional factors we may describe from time to time in other filings with the SEC. You may get such filings for free at our website at www.peabodyenergy.com. You should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors and, consequently, you should not consider any such list to be a complete set of all potential risks or uncertainties. Contact: Julie Gates 314.342.4336 SOURCE Peabody Related Links http://www.peabodyenergy.com VANCOUVER, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Pacton Gold Inc. (TSXV: PAC, OTC: PACXF) (the "Company" or "Pacton") is pleased to announce that, following the compilation of data from prior work programs on its Red Lake gold property in Ontario, it has added significant historic, high-grade gold results to its exploration database. Numerous high-grade gold occurrences occur on the property, including historical surface samples with values of 133 g/t Au, 37.3 g/t Au and 15.9 g/t Au (Figure 1). The addition of the northern property (see press release dated February 26, 2019) has extended Pacton's contiguous land package in the Red Lake gold camp to approximately 25 km in an east west direction and an average of 7 km in a north south direction. This land package lies immediately south of Goldcorp's producing claims, immediately south of the Madsen Mine and Wedge Zone currently being developed by Pure Gold, and to the north of the high grade Dixie Zone currently being drilled by Great Bear Resources (Figure 2). A high-resolution helicopter magnetics survey is underway. Together with the showings and historical sampling, trenching, and diamond drilling, the survey will assist with the identification of D2 structures and prioritization of drill targets at Red Lake. Highlights from Pacton's compilation of historical exploration work by various companies between 1936 and 2006 are summarized in Table 1. Location Type Grade Description Company Northern Property Drill hole 24 g/t Au over 1 m Veining hosted in D2 shear at mafic volcanic contact (H03-03) SkyHarbour Resources (2003) Central Property Trench Sample 121.4 g/t Sheared, mineralized contact of mafic and felsic volcanic rocks with visible gold described East West Resources (1997) Central Property Trench Sample 80.6 g/t Sheared, mineralized contact of mafic and felsic volcanic rocks with visible gold described East West Resources (1997) Central Property Trench Sample 33 g/t Sheared, mineralized contact of mafic and felsic volcanic rocks with visible gold described East West Resources (1997) Central Property Grab Sample 35.7 g/t Boyden Main Showing: Sheared contact of mafic volcanic with veining Boyden Lake Gold Mines (1936) Central Property Trench Sample 133 g/t Boyden Showing: Sheared contact between mafic volcanic and mineralized felsic porphyry (sample MJ-H-02-02) Sunridge Gold Corp. (2002) Northwestern Property Trench Sample 15.9 g/t Carricona Zone, Pit #6: D2 shear at contact of mineralized felsic intrusive rock Goldbrae Developments (1938) Northwestern Property Trench Sample 37.3 g/t, 8.7 g/t Pit#3: D2 shear at contact of mineralized felsic intrusive rock Heyson Red Lake Gold Mines (1936) Northwestern Property Trench Sample 8.7 g/t Pit#3: D2 shear at contact of mineralized felsic intrusive rock Heyson Red Lake Gold Mines (1936) Southwestern Property Drill hole 0.26 g/t Au over 10.32 m Shear zone at contact of felsic intrusive rock (SB-06-09) United Bolero (2006) Table 1: Significant intercepts from historical drilling. Note: a qualified person from Pacton Gold has not verified these assay results. These results have been tabulated from assessment files and the Ontario Mineral Deposit Inventory. Pacton's land package overlaps with the prolific Balmer Assemblage and contains the contact between Confederation and Balmer Assemblage rock units as well as folded mafic and ultramafic volcanics with mafic and felsic intrusives also present. Until the recent success of Great Bear Resources' high-grade Dixie project, exploration to date within Confederation Assemblage rock units has been limited and sporadic with most of the Red Lake work concentrated in Balmer Assemblage units which host the majority of gold produced from the area. The compilation of historical results indicates that the Confederation Assemblage does host gold mineralization within Pacton's Red Lake property that may be coincident with regional D2 structures. In 2006, a lithoprobe transect seismic survey was conducted in the Red Lake and camp crossed the current Pacton property north to south. Numerous deep fault structures were interpreted reaching up to 12 km in depth. The high-resolution helicopter magnetics survey will focus on identifying D2 structures and folding that are proposed to have significant control on gold mineralization in the Red Lake area. About Pacton Gold Pacton Gold is a Canadian exploration company with key strategic partners focused on the exploration and development of high grade conglomerate and orogenic gold properties located in the district-scale Pilbara gold rush in Western Australia and the Red Lake District, Ontario. Pacton's Red Lake mineral claims are strategically located between Pure Gold's Madsen property, including the Wedge Zone, and Great Bear Resource's Dixie discovery. The property geology is made up of two key packages known to host significant gold mineralization in the district. The Confederation Assemblage and the Balmer Assemblage hosts the high-grade gold mineralization at Great Bear Resources' Dixie Project and Pure Gold's Madsen property, respectively. A high-resolution helicopter magnetics survey is underway to identify D2 structures and folding that are proposed to have significant control on gold mineralization in the district. The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Peter Caldbick, P.Geo., a director of the Company and a Qualified Person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101. The qualified person has not yet verified the data disclosed, including sampling, analytical, and test data underlying the information or opinions contained in the written disclosure. On Behalf of the Board of Pacton Gold Inc. R. Dale Ginn Executive Chairman This news release may contain or refer to forward-looking information based on current expectations, including, but not limited to the Company achieving success in exploring its properties and the impact on the Company of these events, including the effect on its share price. Forward-looking information is subject to significant risks and uncertainties, as actual results may differ materially from forecasted results. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date hereof and we assume no responsibility to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances. References to other issuers with nearby projects is for information purposes only and there are no assurances the Company will achieve similar results. Neither TSX Venture Exchange, the Toronto Stock Exchange nor their 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 Pacton Gold Inc. TULSA, Okla., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE: OKE) will hold its 2019 annual meeting of shareholders at 9 a.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT) on May 22, 2019. The meeting also will be audio webcast on ONEOK's website, www.oneok.com. The record date for determining shareholders entitled to receive notice of the meeting and to vote is March 25, 2019. What: ONEOK, Inc. 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders When: 9 a.m. CDT, May 22, 2019 Where: ONEOK Plaza, 100 West 5th Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma How: Log on to the webcast at www.oneok.com ONEOK, Inc. (pronounced ONE-OAK) (NYSE: OKE) is a leading midstream service provider and owner of one of the nation's premier natural gas liquids (NGL) systems, connecting NGL supply in the Mid-Continent, Permian and Rocky Mountain regions with key market centers and an extensive network of natural gas gathering, processing, storage and transportation assets. ONEOK is a FORTUNE 500 company and is included in the S&P 500. For information about ONEOK, visit the website: www.oneok.com. For the latest news about ONEOK, find us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Analyst Contact: Megan Patterson 918-561-5325 Media Contact: Stephanie Higgins 918-591-5026 SOURCE ONEOK, Inc. Related Links http://www.oneok.com ERIE, Pa., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Whether you're getting married, expecting a baby or getting ready to downsize, big changes in life often come with new financial priorities. That's why it helps to have an insurance agent who can help you understand what these changes mean for your insurance needs. Erie Insurance, which has more than 12,000 independent ERIE agents ready to help, offers nine life changes that should prompt a call to your agent: Having a baby is one of many life events you should tell your insurance agent about. You're getting married (or divorced). There are a lot of things worth discussing with your insurance agent before you walk down the aisle - making sure your spouse-to-be is protected by the right life insurance, insuring your new home, putting both names on any auto policies, or getting extra coverage for that engagement ring. On the flip side, there are things that will need changed if you're going through a divorce. You're having a baby. Whether it's your first or your fifth, a new bundle of joy is a reason to check your life insurance coverage. This holds true whether you're employed or a stay-at-home parent. You're moving. A new house or apartment will need new coverage. An insurance agent can tell you what you need in homeowners insurance or renters insurance. You're adding on to your home. A new addition often means you need a higher limit on your homeowners insurance. You have a child heading to college. Your insurance agent can tell you what's covered when your child is away from home. He or she can also tell you about life insurance for student loans if you're a cosigner on a loan. You're buying a new car. Like a new house or apartment, a new car means you'll need to update your auto insurance policy. If you are considering a new car, but looking for potential insurance rates, get a fast and free online auto quote from ERIE . You're starting a business even if it's a home-based business. No matter where your business is located or how big it is, you'll most likely need extra coverage to ensure everything has the proper protection. You're about to start a new job. If your new job comes with a new salary, you may need extra life insurance protection. You will also want to talk with your insurance agent about what kind of life insurance is offered through your jobin many instances, it isn't enough to fully protect your loved ones if the unthinkable happens. You're switching mortgage or auto lenders. Most mortgage and auto lenders require proof that they're listed as insureds on your policy. But things can fall through the cracks at times. Claims payments can get confusing if your old lender is still listed on your policy. Even if you don't fall into any of the above-mentioned scenarios, it's still a good idea to check in with your agent once a year. He or she can give your coverage a quick checkup to make sure everything's still sized right for your life and what's new in it. Is it time to find a new agent or add a policy? Find a local ERIE agent near you to get you the coverage you need for the life you live. Erie Insurance Group According to A.M. Best Company, Erie Insurance Group, based in Erie, Pennsylvania, is the 9th largest homeowners insurer and 11th largest automobile insurer in the United States based on direct premiums written and the 16th largest property/casualty insurer in the United States based on total lines net premium written. The Group, rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best Company, has more than 5 million policies in force and operates in 12 states and the District of Columbia. Erie Insurance Group is a FORTUNE 500 company. News releases and more information about Erie Insurance Group are available at www.erieinsurance.com. SOURCE Erie Insurance Related Links http://www.erieinsurance.com IPSWICH, Mass., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- At this year's Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) General Meeting, NEB scientists and collaborators will present a broad range of sample preparation technologies, as well as basic research findings, that address issues in various next generation sequencing areas. One highlight will be NEB's new NEBNext Enzymatic Methyl-seq Kit (EM-seq), an alternative to bisulfite sequencing for methylome analysis. Several presentations and posters will describe this novel enzyme-based technology that offers unmatched performance, including superior sensitivity of detection of 5-mC and 5-hmC and uniformity of GC coverage. This year's meeting will be held from February 27th March 2nd in Marco Island, Florida. During the conference, NEB will be based in the Osprey 3 Suite. Below is a preview of activities during the conference: Presentations: Advances in Genome-wide Methylation Profiling Jennifer Ishii, The New York Genome Center Friday's Bronze Sponsor Workshop ReCappable-seq and Nanopore ReCappable-seq: Comprehensive Determination of pol I, pol II and pol III Transcription Start Sites and Full Length Transcripts in Eukaryotes Laurence Ettwiller, New England Biolabs, Inc. Thursday's Poster Flash Talk Session Deciphering the Methylome: Enzymatic Methyl-seq Louise Williams, and Chaithanya Ponnaluri, New England Biolabs, Inc. Osprey 3. Thursday, February 28th, 8:00 8:30 AM Osprey 3. Saturday, March 2nd, 8:00 8:30 AM Shifting the Paradigm for Targeted Re-sequencing: NEBNext Direct Custom Ready Panels Andrew Barry, New England Biolabs, Inc. Osprey 3. Friday, March 1st, 8:00 8:30 AM A number of posters will be presented during the conference (see list below) and also displayed in Osprey 3. There will be several opportunities to meet with our Research and Development Scientists and learn more about topics including the following: An enzymatic alternative to bisulfite sequencing with superior performance: The upcoming NEBNext Enzymatic Methyl-seq (EM-seq) products provide an enzymatic alternative to bisulfite sequencing, combined with high-efficiency, streamlined library preparation. This new technology conveys multiple advantages, and enables detection of more CpGs with fewer sequence reads. NEBNext Companion Module for Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ligation Sequencing: Available soon, this will include the NEBNext DNA repair, End prep and Ligation reagents recommended for use alongside Oxford Nanopore Technologies SQK-LSK109 on their sequencing platforms, at volumes tailored for this workflow, simplifying the ordering process and reducing waste. RNA depletion: NEB will preview new options for depletion of abundant RNAs, including globin and bacterial samples, as well as a custom solution. NEBNext Direct Custom Ready Panels: Easy and rapid customization of NEBNext Direct target enrichment technology is now possible. Custom panels can be designed from a list of 850 genes, sequence-verified and received within two weeks. Conference posters: Selective Removal of Abundant RNAs and Use of Unique Molecular Identifiers Increases Transcriptome Profiling Sensitivity in Eukaryote and Blood Samples Deyra Rodriguez, New England Biolabs, Inc, Ipswich, MA RADAR-seq: a RAre DAmage and Repair Sequencing Method for Detecting, Locating and Quantifying Physiological Levels of DNA Damage on a Genomewide Scale Vladimir Potapov, New England Biolabs, Inc, Ipswich, MA ReCappable-seq and Nanopore ReCappable-seq: Comprehensive Determination of pol I, pol II and pol III Transcription Start Sites and Full Length Transcripts in Eukaryotes Laurence Ettwiller, New England Biolabs, Inc, Ipswich, MA Note: This is also a Featured Poster Flash Talk, Thursday, February 28th, 11:30 11:50 AM An evening with NEBNext scientists NEB will also host a "NEBNext Soiree" cocktail event to provide conference attendees an opportunity to engage with NEBNext scientists, as well as a chance to win raffle prizes, on Thursday, February 28th at 9:30 pm in the Osprey 3 Suite. A full summary of NEB's activities at the 2019 AGBT conference, can be found here For more information on the NEBNext portfolio of reagents for sample preparation, visit www.NEBNext.com About New England Biolabs Established in the mid 1970's, New England Biolabs, Inc. (NEB) is the industry leader in the discovery and production of enzymes for molecular biology applications and now offers the largest selection of recombinant and native enzymes for genomic research. NEB continues to expand its product offerings into areas related to PCR, gene expression, sample preparation for next generation sequencing, synthetic biology, glycobiology, epigenetics and RNA analysis. Additionally, NEB is focused on strengthening alliances that enable new technologies to reach key market sectors, including molecular diagnostics development. New England Biolabs is a privately held company, headquartered in Ipswich, MA, and has extensive worldwide distribution through a network of exclusive distributors, agents and seven subsidiaries located in Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the UK. For more information about New England Biolabs visit www.neb.com. NEB, NEW ENGLAND BIOLABS, NEBNEXT and NEBNEXT DIRECT are registered trademarks of New England Biolabs, Inc. ULTRA is a trademark of New England Biolabs, Inc. OXFORD NANOPORE TECHNOLOGIES is a registered trademark of Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Inc. SOURCE New England Biolabs Related Links http://www.neb.com COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Napatech (OSLO: NAPA.OL), the leading provider of reconfigurable computing platforms, today announced that it will be demonstrating stunning benchmarks achieved with its FPGA SmartNIC hardware and software for a series of third-party, commercial and open source security applications. The company will be hosting live demonstrations at RSA Conference 2019, South Expo Booth 2257, from March 4 to 8 in San Francisco, California. Click to Tweet: [email protected] accelerates cybersecurity and network monitoring applications up to 100G: https://tinyurl.com/y5ptgpbz #SmartNIC #Cybersecurity Intelligent, flow-aware capabilities provide stateful awareness, offering the ability for the SmartNIC to provide lossless per-flow action processing on behalf of the application to drop, forward or redirect flows, thus reducing the data load on the application and massively boosting performance for both inline and passive applications. For virtualized security solutions, the Napatech SmartNIC dramatically increases server throughput while freeing up CPU cycles for more VMs and applications. Because it is FPGA-driven rather than ASIC-based, the software offers unique reconfigurability to add more capabilities on the fly beyond virtual switching, e.g. encryption and decryption. Jarrod J.S. Siket, CMO of Napatech, said: "By offloading heavy workloads to the Napatech SmartNIC, passive, inline and virtualized applications such as firewalls, antivirus solutions, DLP and IDS/IPS can be greatly accelerated. Not only does this help customers to strengthen their security posture by ensuring complete network visibility, but it also allows them to minimize their TCO by reducing the number of servers required for security and network monitoring applications." About Napatech Napatech helps companies to reimagine their business by bringing hyperscale computing benefits to IT organizations of every size. We enhance open and standard virtualized servers to boost innovation and release valuable computing resources that improve services and increase revenue. Our Reconfigurable Computing Platform is based on a broad set of FPGA software for leading IT compute, network and security applications that are supported on a wide array of FPGA hardware designs. Additional information is available at www.napatech.com No Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements which are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results due to a variety of factors, including but not limited to, business conditions, trends in the industry and markets, global economic and geopolitical conditions, macro-economic factors, and other risks and uncertainties set forth in Napatech's reports. The matter discussed in this release is based on current expectations and maybe subject to change. Napatech will not necessarily update this information. For details, visit us at www.napatech.com For All Inquiries: Shannon Tierney Nadel Phelan +1.831.440.2409 [email protected] SOURCE Napatech Related Links http://www.napatech.com SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- CyberCube, a leading provider of cyber risk analytics for the (re)insurance industry, today announced that Munich Re has selected its cyber insurance analytics platform to support state-of-the-art quantification, modelling and control cyber accumulation risk. Munich Re is the market leader in the swiftly growing cyber (re)insurance market and offers both insurance and reinsurance under one roof. The reinsurance industry is offering expert solutions and providing significant capital to nurture the growing cyber insurance marketplace. An extreme cyber event has the potential to deeply impact thousands of organizations at once, and the accumulation of liabilities across multiple insured portfolios could result in substantial losses. CyberCube's cyber risk-modeling platform enables (re)insurers to strengthen their accumulation risk management and exposure measurement. Stefan Golling, Chief Underwriter of Munich Re: "Cyber insurance is a key focus of our innovation strategy. We have made significant investments in our own cyber risk expertise and we seek to complement this with insights from the cyber eco-system. Leveraging the capabilities of CyberCube will help our underwriting and risk modelling teams in better quantifying cyber risk and understanding potential cyber accumulation scenarios." Insurers and reinsurers are in the process of quantifying both the extent of the opportunity and the risk posed by cyber risk. It is critical for reinsurers to look at the cascading impact of largely aggregated cyber-attacks and prepare for it. CyberCube will provide advanced risk modeling capabilities to Munich Re with several cyber risk aggregation scenarios. Pascal Millaire, CEO of CyberCube: "CyberCube is delighted to support Munich Re in making significant progress to tackle one of the largest opportunities and threats to the global P&C (re)insurance market in our generation. Our industry-leading cyber risk-modeling platform is powered by several best-in-class data sources and Symantec's leading threat intelligence. We are pleased to use these capabilities to support a leader in the reinsurance market." About Munich Re Munich Re is one of the world's leading providers of reinsurance, primary insurance and insurance-related risk solutions. The group consists of the reinsurance and ERGO business segments, as well as the capital investment company MEAG. Munich Re is globally active and operates in all lines of the insurance business. Since it was founded in 1880, Munich Re has been known for its unrivalled risk-related expertise and its sound financial position. It offers customers financial protection when faced with exceptional levels of damage from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake to the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. Munich Re possesses outstanding innovative strength, which enables it to also provide coverage for extraordinary risks such as rocket launches, renewable energies, cyberattacks, or pandemics. The company is playing a key role in driving forward the digital transformation of the insurance industry, and in doing so has further expanded its ability to assess risks and the range of services that it offers. Its tailor-made solutions and close proximity to its customers make Munich Re one of the world's most sought-after risk partners for businesses, institutions, and private individuals. About CyberCube CyberCube delivers the world's leading cyber risk analytics for the insurance industry. With best-in-class data access and advanced multidisciplinary analytics, the company's Software as a Service platform helps insurance companies make better decisions when underwriting cyber risk and managing cyber risk aggregation. CyberCube's enterprise intelligence layer provides insights on millions of companies globally and includes modelling on over one thousand single points of technology failure. The CyberCube platform was established in 2015 within Symantec, the global leader in cybersecurity, and now operates as a standalone company exclusively focused on the insurance industry, with continued access to Symantec data and resources and backing from ForgePoint Capital. For more information, please visit www.cybcube.com or email [email protected] CyberCube Media Contact: Sudhir Bhatti Head of Marketing [email protected] SOURCE CyberCube Related Links https://www.cybcube.com/ Lavin-Hickey was one of 52 award recipients recognized by Great Place to Work for their contributions to their company's business that help it fully live its values in service to customers, employees, and stakeholders . "Melissa has been a true catalyst for Burns & McDonnell in creating the vision and inspiration for a number of programs that exemplify what we're all about," says Burns & McDonnell Chairman and CEO Ray Kowalik. "She would be the first to say there are many other employee owners who are just as important to creating and defining our culture as a great place to work, but this recognition is definitely well deserved." As director of Corporate Marketing for Burns & McDonnell, Melissa Lavin-Hickey is responsible for developing and executing policies, strategies and programs that create brand awareness, enhance reputation and support overall sales goals for a $4 billion engineering, construction, architecture and consulting firm. Her 70-person team of marketing and communications professionals serves as an in-house agency for one of the top 10 firms in the industry. Prior to her role as corporate marketing leader, Lavin-Hickey served as director of the Burns & McDonnell Foundation, where she initiated a series of programs that reinvented the company's giving back culture ramping up employee engagement to an award-winning level. That experience was foundational in creating momentum for a multi-year program that has transformed Burns & McDonnell's brand both internally and externallythrough a series of innovative programs, each building upon the first and elevating the firm to new heights. In recognizing the honorees, Great Place to Work CEO Michael C. Bush said: "We are honored to celebrate your shining examples of Innovation By Allthe individuals and teams who have successfully created new products or built more inclusive cultures, and who have led their organizations to more fully maximize the human potential within their workforce." For photos and support materials, please visit our MEDIA KIT. About Burns & McDonnell Burns & McDonnell is a family of companies made up of 7,000 engineers, architects, construction professionals, scientists, consultants and entrepreneurs with offices across the country and throughout the world. We strive to create amazing success for our clients and amazing careers for our employee-owners. Burns & McDonnell is 100 percent employee-owned and is proud to be on Fortune's 2019 list of 100 Best Companies to Work For. For more information, visit burnsmcd.com . About the Great Place to Work For All Summit The Great Place to Work For All Summit assembles executive leaders from Best Workplaces, including Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For, Great Place to Work-Certified organizations, and companies embarking on their workplace journey. Its mission is to share best practices for creating and championing high-trust cultures that are better for business, better for people, and better for the world. About Great Place to Work Great Place to Work is a global people analytics and consulting firm that helps companies produce better business results by focusing on workplace culture. Powered by more than 25 years of research, Emprising, its SaaS-enabled survey and analytics platform, gives companies access to the assessments, data, and reporting needed to build a high-trust, high-performance culture. Read the new book: "A Great Place to Work for All: Better for Business, Better for People, Better for the World." Learn more on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Contact: Kristi Widmar, Burns & McDonnell 816-448-7379 [email protected] SOURCE Burns & McDonnell Related Links http://www.burnsmcd.com TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - MedStack, a privacy and security compliance solution for healthcare apps, has raised a $2.4 million oversubscribed seed round led by TELUS Ventures, with participation from ScaleUP Ventures and Panache Ventures. Existing investor Ontario Centres of Excellence and several existing angel investors have also participated in this round. TELUS Ventures and ScaleUP are joining the company's board with this round, as MedStack celebrates over 50 digital health companies actively leveraging its platform. MedStack's mission is to enable more digital innovation to be adopted in healthcare so that cloud technologies may deliver care anywhere with smarter, more timely decisions and better experiences. The company's first focus is to help app developers meet privacy compliance requirements, by way of automation systems. Those systems standardize data protection elements for HIPAA and Canadian health data privacy legislations across a broach choice of public cloud vendors and technology stacks and generate real-time-auditable security policies and real-time and fully-compliant monitoring. MedStack founders, CEO Balaji Gopalan and CTO Simon Woodside, have evolved this solution with the input of hundreds of digital health startups through programs including Dreamit Health, the Creative Destruction Lab and 500 Startups. Over 50 companies now run their apps integrated with MedStack's healthcare compliance platform. "Entrepreneurs bringing apps to healthcare are doing important work in technology, often inspired by their own personal experiences to make health management and care delivery smarter and better", says Balaji Gopalan. "For too long, developers have struggled because of the challenges of onboarding to the industry's stringent requirements and proving compliance over time, while maintaining technological creative freedom. We've solved that." The TELUS Ventures investment into MedStack represents a strategic synergy between MedStack's growing reputation as an enabler for digital health companies in Canada, the US and elsewhere; and TELUS' strong leadership in both delivering innovative digital health solutions across the healthcare ecosystem, and collaborating with industry partners through the TELUS Health Exchange (THX) platform. "We are uniquely positioned as a corporate venture capital fund (CVC) to invest in companies like MedStack that are helping to empower health start-ups to succeed and scale," said Rich Osborn, managing partner, TELUS Ventures. "Our investment goes beyond capital as we leverage our breadth of expertise to support companies in their growth trajectory building networks within the health and developer communities and uncovering new opportunities with other emerging businesses. Together with MedStack, we look forward to advancing the use of technology in healthcare and improving health outcomes." The funds from this raise will be put towards channel development for the recently-launched MedStack Control, a system that brings real-time hands-on infrastructure control and more flexibility for client companies, as well as to expanding the engineering, sales and support teams to enhance and support the platform's capabilities, and towards earning additional third-party security certifications and attestations. About TELUS Ventures As the strategic investment arm of TELUS Corporation (TSX: T,NYSE: TU), TELUS Ventures was founded in 2001 and is one of Canada's most active corporate venture capital funds. TELUS Ventures has invested in over 70 companies since inception with a focus on innovative technologies such as Health Tech, IoT, AI and Security. TELUS Ventures is an active investment partner and supports its portfolio companies through mentoring; exposure to TELUS' extensive network of business and co-investment partners; access to TELUS' technologies and broadband networks; and by actively driving new solutions across the TELUS ecosystem. For more information please visit: ventures.telus.com. About MedStack Launched in 2015, MedStack is a cloud automation technology company that builds and manages healthcare privacy compliance into cloud hosting tools. This greatly de-risks application commercialization, and the standardized platform can help bring apps to market 60% faster. MedStack now provides enhanced app hosting and actively managed compliance policies in several countries to over 50 healthcare app vendors in various spaces. The company is proudly based in Toronto, Canada. Related links https://medstack.co https://ventures.telus.com/ www.suv.vc/ https://www.panache.vc/ https://www.oce-ontario.org/ SOURCE Medstack Co. Related Links http://www.medstack.co TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Lumina, a risk sensing and predictive analytics company, announced today that Albert Narvades has joined the company as chief financial officer. Narvades' career spans nearly 25 years in finance and accounting, with broad leadership experience in the software and technology industries. "Al has an impressive track record working with Fortune 1000 and Fortune 100 companies as well as with companies that are in a fast-paced, high-growth environment. This experience, combined with his background in software and technology, make him an excellent addition to the expanding Lumina team," said Allan Martin, CEO of Lumina. Narvades most recently served as chief financial officer at Jagged Peak, where he was head of all finance, business intelligence, legal, insurance and day-to-day human resources of the Software as a Service (SaaS) technology company. Prior to that he served as controller for BP's alternative energy group/biofuels in Tampa. There he led accounting, finance and treasury functions. "Lumina is a pioneer in the predictive analytics space. Our technologies will help save lives, protect communities and solve some of the biggest problems society faces," Narvades said. "I'm honored to be a part of the team and join the company at this time of growth and opportunity." Before joining BP, Narvades held a variety of roles with Walter Energy, Inc. (formerly Walter Industries) and its spin-off Walter Investment, including serving as vice president of finance, capital markets focused on structured finance transactions related to securitizations. Narvades began his career with Ernst & Young in 1994 and served in various roles including Audit Manager. He holds both Bachelor of Science and Master degrees in Accounting from the University of Florida, and has been a certified public accountant since 1995. "In addition to welcoming Al to the team, we are also excited to announce that we have opened our Washington, DC office, with a focus on opportunities in the government contracting space," Martin said. "We have opened 2019 with tremendous momentum and are well-positioned to deliver on our strategic growth plan as the year progresses," he added, noting that earlier this month, Jill Kermes had joined the company as its senior vice president for communications. About Lumina Lumina is a Tampa based, risk sensing intelligence firm. The company provides data aggregation and analytics services to corporate and government clients throughout the United States. Its focus is on the aggregation of external, publicly available data for risk sensing intelligence. Lumina uses proprietary machine learning algorithms to address certain risks within healthcare, financial services, defense, corporate and national security. The company was founded by serial entrepreneurs Dr. Morten Middelfart (Lumina's Chief Data Scientist) and Allan Martin (Lumina's CEO). Contact: Jill Kermes [email protected] SOURCE Lumina Related Links www.luminaanalytics.com SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The sub-leasing trend among renters leveraging short-term rental services is prevalent nationwide. Renters, often burdened with high rent, seek ways to make ends meet, often violating lease agreements, thus creating challenges for landlords and communities. Enter Letulet, a new digital platform launching today with intuitive tools for renters to gain landlord approval for hosting short-term rentals on Airbnb. www.letulet.com Seamless lease addendums and conversation starter tips help renters, while landlords can grant conditional approval for sub-leasing, keeping all parties in control, involved, informed and paid. Letulet shifts the paradigm, enabling renters to host apartments or homes on Airbnb with landlord approval, enabling participation in the short-term rental economy legally, transparently and confidently. The platform serves as a mutually-beneficial safe space where tenants and landlords can establish custom terms that appeal to both sides, including transparency and revenue sharing. "With skyrocketing rent, home-sharing is a legitimate solution for renters to close the income gap and is now a permanent part of the fabric of commercial real estate," said Mark Henderson, founder and CEO of Letulet. "Now with Letulet, both renters and landlords have the tools to collaborate and the option to embrace the sharing economy together. Letulet is redefining the future of home-sharing by facilitating the process in the right way, the fair way." Today's Rental Reality The general rule of thumb is to spend about 30% of one's gross monthly income on rent. Yet, in areas like San Francisco and Manhattan, those numbers can be well over 50%. In San Francisco, it takes a $180,000 salary to stay within the 30% rule and afford a two-bedroom apartment. It's no surprise more than half of 25-34 year-olds, and over 60% of those under 25, want the ability to share their units. While some tech-forward landlords are embracing home-sharing through participation in platforms such as Airbnb's Friendly Building Program, solutions have been tailored to fit large-scale institutional landlords with invite-only access to renters within those properties. Starting today, Letulet provides an easy path for any renter to take a proactive approach to directly request this privilege from their landlord. "Letulet benefits renters, landlords and cities," added Henderson. "Renters gain flexibility and the ability to make money by subletting through the highly-credible Airbnb service. Landlords can easily permit and monitor short-term rental activity in their buildings. Cities experience a decreased burden from fewer sub-lease disputes with renters and landlords openly collaborating. It's truly a win-win for everyone involved." Letulet for Renters With Letulet, renters can earn extra money hosting short-term rentals with the support of their landlord. http://letulet.com/ui/tenant Renters can easily establish agreements with landlords so both benefit from home-sharing. A custom lease addendum, provided free by Letulet, allows for legal protection and full transparency. Renters can post listings directly on Airbnb, and Letulet automatically takes care of all details, including splitting the revenue and keeping landlords informed. Letulet for Landlords Whether looking to appeal to the Millennial market, or eliminate "secret" subleases, Letulet finally offers transparency, and a financial incentive to participate. http://letulet.com/ui/landlord Landlords have all necessary tools to grant conditional approval for any renter to host space on Airbnb, ensuring all lease terms are met and they remain in control, informed and paid. All-in-one dashboard provides full visibility and tracks all Airbnb activity in the landlord's building, including revenue flow, guest information, booking schedules and more all with exportable reports. Landlords receive an agreed upon portion of the renter's earnings after each reservation. Letulet is rolling out across the San Francisco/Bay Area, starting today. The service will become available in other major metro areas across the U.S. throughout 2019. About Letulet Based in San Francisco, Letulet is a digital platform offering mutually-beneficial solutions to renters and landlords to host short-term rentals on Airbnb. The company embraces the principles of trust, fairness and openness, empowering both renters and landlords to finally do home-sharing the right way, the fair way. Letulet is privately held, backed by de Anda Capital, Incline Kapital and Carneros Bay Capital, and is an approved API Partner of Airbnb. For more information, visit www.letulet.com. SOURCE Letulet Related Links https://www.letulet.com WESTON, Florida, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- LeafyWell (LeafyWell.com), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pyramidion Technology Group, Inc. (OTC Pink: PYTG), today announces a partnership with premier branding, design, and marketing firm Tayloe/Gray. Tayloe/Gray will work with LeafyWell on branding, design, marketing strategies and expertise for future product launches. Tayloe/Gray, a Wilmington, North Carolina-based company, has worked across numerous industries to help identify and implement superior marketing applications in digital media. Nathan Tayloe, a partner in Tayloe/Gray, stated, "We're a full-service digital marketing agency fueled by big thinkers, creative problem solvers, and innovative technologists. Founded in 2009, our agency was built to help brands find their way. We love transforming brands into industry powerhouses." The Chief Executive Officer of PYTG, Carlos Hurtado, added, "Tayloe/Gray are experts in the digital marketing and technology vertical and they will address all of the key points from multiple angles with LeafyWell's success in mind. Our line of full spectrum CBD products are of the highest quality and we anticipate our partnership with Tayloe/Gray, will strengthen our online brand presence. We are confident that our shareholders will be enthusiastic about the future growth with Tayloe/Gray involved." LeafyWell, specializes in the manufacturing and distribution of full spectrum CBD (Cannabidiol) products and product lines including tinctures, creams, lotions, edibles as well as a full line of pet products available online and at select retailers nationwide. To see the LeafyWell brand products, visit www.LeafyWell.com, call (888)315-6339 or email [email protected]. About Pyramidion Technology Group, Inc. Pyramidion Technology Group, Inc is a business conglomerate that owns and now operates two (2) subsidiaries 100%. Our pursuit is to leverage equity, acquire, merge and or joint venture with early-stage companies in emerging industries, reinvigorating growth and cash flow positioning broader distribution channels. Pyramidion Technology Group, Inc is pioneering and acquiring fast-growing companies in up-trending industries and utilizing technology for economies of scope. Currently, one of our principal companies is NxGen Brands, LLC d/b/a: LeafyWell or (http://www.LeafyWell.com ), formulating, manufacturing, distributing, marketing and white labeling a wide variety of non-THC Broad Spectrum CBD supplements. MyIAD or (http://www.MyIAD.com ), is our technology developer exploiting state-of-the-art wearable Global Positioning System "GPS" and Global Mobile Communications "GSM" for tracking and monitoring assets specifically in healthcare. As well as innovating a seed-to-sale real-time software utility platform for the hemp and cannabis industry validating origin and authenticity. In summary, our overall business goals could effectively create unlimited opportunities for our growing shareholder base. For more information on PYTG, please visit the Company's website at https://www.pytgcorp.com. To be added to the Company investor email list, please email [email protected] with PYTG in the subject line. To be added to the Company investor email list, please email [email protected] with PYTG in the subject line. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined within Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements relate to future events, including our ability to raise capital, or to our future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond our control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects our current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. For a discussion of these risks and uncertainties, please see our filings with the OTC Markets Group Inc. Our public filings with the OTC Markets Group Inc are available from commercial document retrieval services and at the website maintained by the OTC Markets at https://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/PYTG/filings. Contact: [email protected] Phone: +1-954-651-6816 SOURCE Pyramidion Technology Group, Inc. Related Links http://www.pytgcorp.com WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- National Nurses United (NNU) announced its strong support for the new Medicare for All Act of 2019, introduced today by Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), with backing from more than 100 members of Congress. "As the largest union of registered nurses in the country, we could not be more proud of Rep. Jayapal for leading the way on this legislation that will change and save our patients' lives. This bill is not only the most comprehensive Medicare for All act we have seen to date, but it is being introduced at a time when a majority of Americans are fed up with incremental tweaks to the current broken system and are demanding Medicare for All. It's the right bill, at the right momentand now we are organizing an unprecedented grassroots movement to demand that our elected officials support this legislation," said NNU Executive Director Bonnie Castillo, RN. "Today in America, 30 million people are uninsured. 40 million are underinsured. We have the most expensive health care system in the world and yet our outcomes are the worst of all industrialized countries. I and the more than 100 cosponsors of this bill refuse to allow this to continue. It's time to put people's health over profit," said Rep. Japayal, emphasizing that the bill "will cover everyone." WHAT: Introduction of Medicare For All Act of 2019 WHERE: House Triangle WHEN: Wednesday, February 27th 2019, 11:15AM ET The event will stream live here . "Healthcare is a human right. We will need every single person in the country to help us, to stand with us, to organize and to fight for this," Jayapal continued. "Because the industry lobby is going to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into killing this bill, saying it costs too much, scaring you into thinking you're giving up something, pitting the healthy against the sick and the young against the old. It's time to ensure that healthcare is a right and not a privilege, guaranteed to every single person in our country. It is time for Medicare for All." Medicare for All Act of 2019 highlights include : The most comprehensive list of services covered, of any bill to date including primary care, hospital care, women's reproductive health services, dental, vision, mental health, substance abuse treatment, prescription drugs, long term service and supports, the cost of transportation for disabled and low-income patients, and more. including primary care, hospital care, women's reproductive health services, dental, vision, mental health, substance abuse treatment, prescription drugs, long term service and supports, the cost of transportation for disabled and low-income patients, and more. Guaranteed, universal coverage for every resident of this country . . Real choice ; no narrow networks, and you can keep your doctor, hospital and other providers if you move or lose your job. ; no narrow networks, and you can keep your doctor, hospital and other providers if you move or lose your job. No copays or deductibles for any part of the program. for any part of the program. Long term care for the disabled and elderly, with prioritization of home and community-based services and supports. for the disabled and elderly, with prioritization of home and community-based services and supports. A two-year transition period. In the first year after enactment, everyone over 55 and under 19 would be fully covered by Medicare, and two years after enactment, all Americans would be covered. In the first year after enactment, everyone over 55 and under 19 would be fully covered by Medicare, and two years after enactment, all Americans would be covered. Drug pricing reforms to drastically reduce the outrageously high costs of prescription medications in the United States . to drastically reduce the outrageously high costs of prescription medications in . A focus on improving health care in rural and underserved communities through providing a special projects fund devoted to the building and staffing of new health care facilities in rural and underserved areas. A recent Reuters-Ipsos poll showed 70 percent of respondents support Medicare for All, with 85 percent support among Democrats and 52 percent of Republicans supporting. According to nurses, who have for decades led the grassroots movement for Medicare for All, the next step is to continue growing support among the American public and to lobby representatives for the new bill's passage. In early February, National Nurses United sponsored Medicare for all "barnstorm" mass organizing meetings, across the United States, aimed at kickstarting action on Medicare for All in local communities. Over 150 events were held across the country, attended by 5,000 peopleand resulting in 1,500 canvasses scheduled over the coming weeks. RNs say this surge of everyday people getting involved with knocking on doors and calling their legislators will continue growing the movement until the people's will becomes the political will to pass Medicare for All. "Our patients are paying for our current, broken system with their life savingsand their actual lives," said NNU copresident Jean Ross, RN. "One third of all Go Fund Me campaigns are created to pay for medical expenses. It's time for an end to the unconscionable choices are patients are forced to make, between paying for rent, food or medical care. The mass surge of public support for Medicare for All we've seen recently says that people across the country want real reform, now, and together, we will get this bill across the finish line." Supporting organizations : National Nurses United, Physicians for a National Health Program, Social Security Works, Center for Popular Democracy, Public Citizen, Labor Campaign for Single Payer, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Amalgamated Transit Union, American Federation of Teachers, American Medical Students Association, American Postal Workers Union, Association of Flight Attendants, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, Business Initiative for Health Policy, Center for Popular Democracy Action, Coalition of Labor Union Women, Credo Action, Daily Kos, Debs-Jones-Douglass Institute, Democracy for America, Democratic Socialists of America, Demos, Faith in Healthcare, Health Care Now, Indivisible, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Just Care USA, MoveOn, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative, National Health Care for the Homeless Council, National Union of Healthcare Workers, New York State Nurses Association, Other98, Our Revolution, Progressive Democrats of America, People Demanding Action, People's Action, People's Action Institute, Service Employees International Union, Ultraviolet Action, Unitarian Universalist Association, United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers, Women's March Inc, Working Hero Action. National Nurses United is the largest union of registered nurses in the United States, with over 150,000 members nationwide. SOURCE National Nurses United ALBANY, N.Y., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing the momentum of its campaign to hold Related Companies accountable at Hudson Yards, and their January 9th action, the Count Me In campaign, and its activists traveled to Albany today with a simple message for legislators: pass A1261/S1947, legislation that clearly defines public work! "It's unconscionable that New York leverages our own tax dollars against us when they subsidize development with not even as much as a wage standard in place," said Michael Hellstrom, Assistant Business Manager of the Mason Tenders District Council of Greater New York and campaign manager of Count Me In. "Count Me In will not sit idly by while the State bankrolls the exploitation of construction workers and furthers the growth of the open shop, right-to-work model in the construction industry. A clear definition of public work will level the playing field for developers that want to do what's right for their workers. It will also stop employers that don't want to pay a fair wage, but want to benefit from tax payer subsidies to build. They will have no choice but to respect their workers and pay area-standard wages," concluded Hellstrom. Having a clear definition of public work would shift the paradigm of procurement and ensure that projects like Hudson Yards, that receive taxpayer subsidies, are paying workers area-standard wages. It would also help alleviate much of the debate that often surrounds taxpayer funded projects that receive large sums of money to build but lack basic standards in return. As the 2019 legislative session got underway, Count Me In came to Albany to engage with elected officials, urging them to swiftly pass the measure and include it in the New York State budget. With the Legislature now discussing budget priorities, Count Me In has returned to Albany to remind legislators just how important it is that we curtail corporate greed and ensure some kind of return on taxpayer investments in development. "The New York State Constitution says public works projects must pay a prevailing wage, but under the current economic development model process too many bad actors are able to skirt this requirement and get away with paying hardworking New Yorkers less than they are owed," said New York State Assembly Member Harry Bronson. "A simple fix to this unfortunate situation is to define "public works" projects, and my bill (A1261) would do just that. I am thankful for all the New Yorkers from across our state who joined together today to help workers earn the wages they deserve, and I look forward to this bill becoming law once and for all." "Defining public works and ensuring that workers on subsidized projects are paid the prevailing wage is a means to end the race to the bottom in the construction industry," said New York State Senator Jessica Ramos. "The bill I sponsor will reinforce what the Count Me In campaign has already been fighting for an economy that works for working families. We are galvanizing the rank and file so that the people who build this state can continue making it their home." "New York's construction workers need wage justice," said New York State Assembly Member Marcos Crespo. "Creating a clear definition of public work will ensure our tax dollars no longer support a race to the bottom in the construction industry. If we are leveraging public, taxpayer dollars to build, the least the State can do is guarantee workers on these projects are able to support themselves and their families with dignity." "An easy way to spur upstate growth and bring life back to so many economically disadvantaged communities, is to pay workers a wage that allows them to not only support themselves but also their local economies," said John Hutchings, Executive Director and Treasurer of the New York State Laborers' Political Action Committee. "Having a clear definition of public work will start to do exactly that by setting a wage standard on publicly subsidized projects. Thus, finally ensuring employers can no longer use our tax dollars against us in the form of substandard wages on publicly subsidized projects." The Mason Tenders District Council of Greater New York is the 17,000-member umbrella council, representing five local unions affiliated with the Laborers International Union of North America: General Building Laborers Local 66; Asbestos, Lead & Hazardous Waste Laborers Local 78; Construction & General Laborers Local 79; Waste Material, Recycling & General Industrial Laborers Local 108, and: Lay Faculty Association Local 1261. The New York State Laborers' Union represents over 40,000 members employed in the construction industry and other fields throughout the state, and organized into more than 24 local unions and 5 district councils. SOURCE Mason Tenders District Council CLEVELAND, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Stella's Music Club is proud to announce that James Blonde (alternative-rock band from Ontario, Canada) will take the stage once again at Stella's on Friday, March 1st. James Blonde will travel from Ontario, Canada to The States for another unforgettable show, at the request of the Partners of Stella's Music Club. The generous club founder Michael Zweig has decided to put an interesting twist on the evening's events. Zweig will be gifting a $10 bill as a "reverse cover" charge to the first 100 attendees arriving between 10:30PM - 11PM. "Our goal is sharing with Cleveland a truly special band that we know well, but folks here may not. In fact, rather than collecting a cover charge for first 100 people arriving from 10:30 pm until the band takes the stage at 11pm; we will gift those first 100 people with a free ticket AND a $10 bill ." Club owner Michael Zweig expressed "We want people in town to hear them, what better way than to give away money!" To add to the excitement, following their performance the members of James Blonde will meet with multi-platinum producer Jim Wirt (Live, Incubus, Fiona Apple, Hoobastank) to discuss a potential record deal with Stella's Records for their next album. Walk In, Rock Out. If you would like more information on this topic, call Nicole Bals at 216.233.0225 or email [email protected] Contact: Stella's Music Club Phone: 216.202.1002 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Stella's Music Club Related Links http://stellasmusic.com The company's continuous commitment to understanding and meeting the relevant Regulatory and Quality standards has resulted in the following achievements After 5 years of the first certification, Jacoti's EC Certificate has been renewed and, therefore, the company can continue placing hearing support applications on the market for a further 5 years (2023). In 2018, Jacoti has been thoroughly (and successfully) audited against the new and more risk-averse Medical Device Standard ISO13485:2016. As a result, the company Quality Management System was certified and remains valid until 2022. As one of the most critical aspects of the development of a Medical Device, the company has continued to monitor the Clinical Evaluation of its products. In recent years, Jacoti has upgraded all the clinical evaluation documentation to comply with the new and more stringent MEDDEV 2.7.1 revision 4. Meanwhile the company is continuing its work in developing software-based hearing solutions and ensuring that its products will meet the new Medical Device Regulation that is due to become into force in May 2020.Conformance to all necessary standards and a commitment to quality excellence remains at the centre of all that Jacoti activities. Jacoti bvba is a privately held hearing technology company with offices in Wevelgem, Belgium, Barcelona, Spain and Palo Alto, California. Jacoti's mission is to bring advanced hearing technology in reach of large populations with a special focus on children during their education. Jacoti bvba www.jacoti.com SOURCE Jacoti bvba Related Links http://www.jacoti.com BOSTON, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), the global leader in storage and information management services, today announced the launch of a new data center renewable energy reporting solution called Green Power Pass. The first solution of its kind in the data center industry, Green Power Pass is an industry endorsed, fully-transparent solution for companies seeking to report greenhouse gas or CO2 reductions associated with the green power they consume at Iron Mountain data centers. Available immediately to all Iron Mountain colocation customers, GPP covers power consumed at every Iron Mountain data center across the globe. Data center energy load can represent a significant percentage of an organization's overall environmental footprint. For organizations focused on reducing that impact, Green Power Pass can help demonstrate their commitment to, and fulfillment of, carbon and emission reduction goals in line with initiatives such as RE100, Science Based Carbon Targets, and CDP reporting. In the past, the only option would have been to use complex third-party contracting processes to purchase offsets or renewable energy credits. In keeping with Iron Mountain's commitment to offering 100 percent renewable energy in its data center division, early adopter customers through June 30, 2019 can receive these credits free of charge. Iron Mountain's Green Power Pass is built on the foundation of the company's 100 percent renewable energy colocation offering, a transparent accounting process, and the new carbon reporting protocol released by the Future of Internet Power (FoIP) working group. Reporting is standardized, easier and faster, delivering peace of mind for organizations looking to achieve their sustainability commitments through an annual certificate of attestation validating that 100 percent of the power they use at Iron Mountain is from qualifying renewable resources. Additionally, they receive a detailed report on their power consumption and full documentation on the amount, source, and chain-of-custody of the wind, solar or other renewable electricity associated with that Iron Mountain facility. "Iron Mountain's Green Power Pass is an exciting breakthrough for the data center industry and a wonderful demonstration of the power of collaboration between industry and NGOs" said Miranda Ballentine CEO, Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance. "By being the first product to come to market that uses the Future of Internet Power's Requirements for Supplier-Procured Renewable Energy, Iron Mountain is showing the way for data center customers to easily access the benefits of green electricity. Now all colocation and cloud customers of any size can be part of the movement to increase demand and help realize the goal of an internet powered by 100% renewable energy." Iron Mountain stands alongside early adopters and fellow renewable energy leaders Akamai, Arizona State University, and WeWork. These organizations, committed to global sustainability, are the first customers to adopt Green Power Pass, and delivered valuable feedback as Iron Mountain developed the solution. "Akamai believes that operating our business with a small environmental footprint is fundamental to unlocking the potential of the internet and an essential value for our customers and the communities in which we operate," said Dr. Robert Blumofe, executive vice president, Platform & general manager, Enterprise Division. "We strive to incorporate our sustainability principles into our business relationships by seeking similar commitments from our major suppliers. We are pleased to be a launch partner of Iron Mountain's Green Power Pass allowing us to deliver services to our customers in a sustainable and socially responsible way through 100% renewable power." "Green Power Pass is a significant step in the renewable energy journey for Iron Mountain, our data center customers, and the industry," said Kevin Hagen, vice president of environmental, social & governance strategy, Iron Mountain. "Our first step was to find cost-effective renewable energy solutions for our business. With GPP we can now pass through those benefits to our customers and finally, by building GPP on a new collaborative industry protocol, we're showing that all data center providers can deliver this kind of solution. More customer access means more green power demand and that will unleash market forces that we believe will result in a greener grid for everyone. It's a sustainable business shift that is good for our customers, our business, our industry, and the environment." For more information on Iron Mountain data centers and the Green Power Pass, visit http://ironmountain.com/datacenters. About Iron Mountain Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), founded in 1951, is the global leader for storage and information management services. Trusted by more than 225,000 organizations around the world, and with a real estate network of more than 90 million square feet across more than 1,400 facilities in over 50 countries, Iron Mountain stores and protects billions of valued assets, including critical business information, highly sensitive data, and cultural and historical artifacts. Providing solutions that include information management, digital transformation, secure storage, secure destruction, as well as data centers, cloud services and art storage and logistics, Iron Mountain helps customers lower cost and risk, comply with regulations, recover from disaster, and enable a digital way of working. Visit http://www.ironmountain.com for more information. For More Information: Christian T. Potts Iron Mountain Incorporated 617-535-8721 [email protected] SOURCE Iron Mountain Incorporated Related Links http://www.ironmountain.com FREMONT, Calif., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On Feb 25 at MWC (Mobile World Congress) 2019, Inspur released NE5260M5, the first OTII (Open Telcom IT Infrastructure) server design for edge computing. NE5260M5 is designed for 5G scenarios such as IoT, MEC and NFV, and is suitable for the environment of the edge data center. NE5260M5: Designed for Telecom and optimized for 5G According to William Chen, the Deputy General Manager of Inspur Server Product Line Department, NE5260M5 meets diverse standards for both server and telecom IT infrastructure, and was designed to open and unified standards for the edge data center environment and telecom applications. The NE5260M5 follows the telecom server standard instead of the traditional server standard: standing at 2U tall, 430mm deep and 19 inches wide, the NE5260M5 is about half the depth of the traditional standard server which allows it to be installed with telecom servers on the CT data center directly. Moreover, NE5260M5 has various mounting options, like wall mounting, to fit in space-constrained edge environments. The NE5260M5 is able endure heat, dust, corrosion, electromagnetism and shock condition without compromising performance. In terms of scalability, NE5260M5 supports 2 soon-to-be-released latest Intel processors, 16 DIMMs, 6 PCI-E slots, 6* 2.5-inch hard disks, and 2* M.2 SSDs, designed to deliver ideal scalability within space constraints and satisfying the demands of video surveillance, intelligent manufacturing, and IoT applications. Meanwhile, NE5260M5 was designed at the chip level to deliver the most advanced NUMA-Balance, QAT, remote management and debugging capabilities. Inspur has been developing NFV, SDN and other application-specific technologies to achieve higher stability and lower latency in servers. First OTII Server: Promoting ICT Integration The diverse applications of the 5G era have led to the rapid development of edge computing. The traditional data center is shifting towards edge computing, which will accelerate the convergence of ICT. At present, the core business of telecommunications has proposed higher requirements on the server in terms of real-time responsiveness, stability and ease of management. Traditional servers will increasingly face various challenges in standardization, environmental adaptability and maintenance in core business application scenarios. In June 2017, China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, Intel, Inspur and other companies jointly released the "OTII Customized Server Reference Design and Action Plan" to build deeply customized, open-standard and specs-unified server technology solutions and prototype products for telecom business to empower the development of edge computing. About Inspur Inspur is a leading global data center and cloud computing solutions provider, ranked among the world's top 3 server vendors according to Gartner and IDC. Inspur delivers and deploys robust, performance-optimized, purpose-built solutions to major data centers around the globe to address important emerging fields and applications. Learn more about Inspur at www.inspursystems.com. SOURCE Inspur Electronic Information Industry Co., Ltd Related Links http://www.inspursystems.com DUBLIN, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The "India Paper Market Overview, 2018-2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. 'India Paper Market Overview, 2018-2023', India overall market paper has grown with more than 10% CAGR over reviewing period from year 2011-12 to 2016-17. Say NO to Plastic' movement opens the new door for paper industry as market allows packaging of products for the goodness of the nature. Considering anti-plastic movement are placed in nation encourage to use paper for packaging. Growing awareness of hazardous result of use of plastic may leads the find alternative which is not harmful for nature. And paper is one of the best alternatives of plastic especially for packaging with having no harmful side effects. Considering environment changes and active role played by government, people are shifting their preference toward the use of eco-friendly products. Growing awareness of the hazardous result of use of plastic, marketers have shifted their preference over paper from plastic. Government is continuous trying to encourage the consumer to avoid the use of plastic. This active role of government and adoption for the welfare of nature by society boost the paper market. As the growing FMCG industry and its large size indicates the growth for packaging with use of paper. Paperboard & industrial packaging paper, paper stationery, newspaper print and speciality paper altogether creates the overall paper market. Among these all categories, paperboard & industrial packaging paper and paper stationery altogether contributed nearly two third market share of overall paper market. Paper industry of India are become more competitive by adding improvements of machinery, roads & railways and communication facilities, revision of forest policy is required for wood based paper industry so that plantation can be raised by industry, cooperatives of farmers and state government. In addition, increasing living standard of people, rising disposable income of consumer, higher literacy rate, growth of FMCG market, etc. encourage the use of paper for writing, printing, newspaper, packaging and much more. Due to the expanding environment issues of landfill and non-biodegradable or very slow degradation of plastic and metal packaging, marketers adopt paper as the alternative of plastic for the packaging. Thus, paper and paperboards market is growing with brighter aspects. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. India Paper Market Outlook 2.1. Market Size 2.1.1. By Value 2.1.2. By Volume 2.2. Market Share 2.2.1. By Segment 2.2.2. BY Company 2.3. Pricing Analysis of Paper industry 2.4. India Paper Board & Industrial Packaging Paper Market Outlook 2.4.1. Market Size 2.4.1.1. By Value 2.4.1.2. By Volume 2.5. India Newspaper Print Market Outlook 2.5.1. Market Size 2.5.1.1. By Value 2.5.1.2. By Volume 2.6. India Specialty Paper Market Outlook 2.6.1. Market Size 2.6.1.1. By Value 2.6.1.2. By Volume 2.7. India Paper Stationary Market Outlook 2.7.1. Market Size 2.7.1.1. By Value 2.7.1.2. By Volume 3. Competitive Landscape 3.1. Company Profile 3.1.1. ITC Limited 3.1.2. Tamilnadu Newsprint and papers Limited 3.1.3. J K Paper Limited 3.1.4. Seshasayee paper and Boards Limited 3.1.5. NR Agarwal Industries Limited For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/94cm57/india_paper?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 NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In the report the tele-intensive care unit market, the market is expected to reach US$ 7,363.3 7 Mn in 2025 from US$ 1,541.8 in 2017. The market is estimated to grow with a CAGR of 22.5% from 2017-2025. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05730260 The tele-intensive care unit market is driven by the driving factor such as, the rising demand for remote patient monitoring, growing government initiatives for telemedicine and increasing ICU admissions and shortage of intensivists.However, the market is likely face the restraining factors such as, regulatory barriers for telemedicine and high cost of treatment and expensive set-up. The future trend that is likely to drive the market growth with the development of tele-ICU in neurology and cardiology. The tele-intensive care unit market as per the type segment is segmented as centralized, decentralized, and others. The market of centralized segment has the highest market share in 2017, contributing to tele-intensive care unit market is of 52.5% and is expected to retain its dominance during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025. The component segment of the tele-intensive care unit market includes hardware and software. The hardware segment for the tele-intensive care unit market was valued at US$ 1,227.4 Mn in 2017 and is estimated to reach US$ 5,798.6 Mn by 2025. The hardware segment and is expected to be the largest growing segment in the forecast period. Some of the major primary and secondary sources included in the report tele-intensive care unit market are American Telemedicine Association, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Intensive Care Unit, Nongovernmental Organizations, Tele-Intensive Care Unit, Social Endeavour For Health And Telemedicine, Saudi Ministry of Health and among others. Reasons to Buy Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players and segments in the tele-intensive care unit market. Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies. The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the global tele-intensive care unit market, thereby allowing players across the value chain to develop effective long-term strategies. Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets. Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it. Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin security interest with respect to client products, segmentation, pricing and distribution Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05730260 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 NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In the report the specialty hospitals market, the market is expected to reach US$ 509.10 Bn from US$ 401.65 Bn in 2018. The market is estimated to grow with a CAGR of 2.8% from 2018-2027. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05730257 The specialty hospitals market is driven by the driving factor such as increasing incidences of chronic diseases, growing public private partnership in healthcare industry and growing geriatric population. However, the market is likely face the restraining factors such as high costs of specialty hospitals, rising concerns over specialty hospitals. The specialty hospitals market as per the type.The market of cardiac hospitals has the highest market share in 2018, contributing to specialty hospitals. The market of cardiac hospitals holds 23.2% and is expected to retain its dominance during the forecast period from 2019 to 2027. The sample preparation segment is further sub-segmented into method and workflow step. The demand for the cardiac hospitals are rising due to increase in the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. As per the World health organization, every year approximately 17.9 million people die due to cardiovascular diseases. Also, the Johns Hopkins University estimated that in America 84 million people have some or the other form of cardiovascular disease. Thus owing to factors like rising prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, favorable reimbursement policies, sophisticated healthcare infrastructure in specialty hospitals, and greater awareness among the population for cardiac specialty hospitals, the market for cardiac hospitals is expected to witness tremendous growth. The type segment of the specialty hospitals market also include hospitals such as cancer hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, ENT hospitals, neurological hospitals, orthopedic hospitals and others.Among these the second largest market for the specialty hospitals is held by the orthopedic hospitals. The market share by the orthopedic hospitals is 21.6%. The growth of the orthopedic hospitals is propelled by the factors such as high prevalence of orthopedic conditions such as degenerative bone disease, development of innovative orthopedic devices and rising geriatric population and number of road accidents. The report for the specialty hospitals market includes Encompass Health Corporation, Kindred Healthcare Inc., Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Steward Health Care System LLC, Belhoul Speciality Hospital, Advanced Specialty Hospitals, HCA Management Services, L.P., TH Medica, Community Health Systems, Inc., and Universal Health Services, Inc. Among these players the top two leading players are Encompass Health Corporation and Select Medical Corporation (Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation). Some of the major primary and secondary sources included in the report specialty hospitals market are American Association of Neurological Surgeons, American Hospital Association, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dubai Health Authority, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Voluntary Private Health Insurance, World Health Organization and others. Reasons to Buy Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players and segments in the specialty hospitals market. Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies. The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the global specialty hospitals market, thereby allowing players across the value chain to develop effective long-term strategies. Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets. Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it. Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin security interest with respect to client products, segmentation, pricing and distribution. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05730257 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 NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In the report the NGS based RNA seq market, the market is expected to reach US$ 7,984.90 Mn in 2027 from US$ 1,414.59 in 2018. The market is estimated to grow with a CAGR of 19.3% from 2018-2027. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05730253 The NGS based RNA seq market is driven by the driving factor such as reduced cost of genome sequencing, advancements in sequencing technology and next generation sequencing for cancer However, the market is likely face the restraining factors such as risks related to genetic data and high cost of NGS instruments market. The future trend that is likely to drive the market growth is barcode scanning for long reads sequences. The NGS based RNA seq market as per the product & services the segment is segmented as sample preparation, sequencing services, sequencing platforms & consumables and data analysis, storage & management. The market of sequencing platform has the highest market share in 2018, contributing to NGS based RNA seq market is of 38.3% and is expected to retain its dominance during the forecast period from 2018 to 2027. The sample preparation segment is further sub-segmented into method and workflow step. The method segment further divided as manual and automated. Likewise, the workflow step is sub-segmented as Library preparation & target enrichment, fragmentation, end repair & size selection and quality control. Among the method segment the automated segment is likely to hold the major market in the forecast period. Similarly. The Library preparation & target enrichment among the workflow step segment. The technology segment of the NGS based RNA seq market includes sequencing by synthesis (SBS), nanopore sequencing, ion semiconductor sequencing and single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencings. The technology segment for the NGS based RNA seq market was valued at US$ 1,414.59 Mn in 2018 and is estimated to reach US$ 7,984.90 Mn by 2027. The technology segment and is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the forecast period owing advantages of the NGS-based RNA seq offers more sensible and accurate gene expression, the technologies can be applied to any species and these are available in comparatively less price for the various arrays. The companies offering offers various advantages to the researchers through their products. For instance, Illumina, Inc. offer system that uses sequencing by synthesis technology is being widely utilized across the globe for the next generation sequencing. The SBS technology enables the robust performance & maintains the data quality, provides accurate bases and more. Hence, owing to the advantages of the sequencing by synthesis by technology market is likely to propel in the forecast period Some of the major primary and secondary sources included in the report NGS based RNA seq market are National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Canada foundation for innovation, African Society of Human Genetics, Department of Biotechnology, Dubai Health Authority, Human Heredity and Health in Africa, French National Cancer Institute, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute and others. Reasons to Buy Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players and segments in the NGS Based RNA Seq market. Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies. The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the global NGS Based RNA Seq market, thereby allowing players across the value chain to develop effective long-term strategies. Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets. Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it. Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin security interest with respect to client products, segmentation, pricing and distribution Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05730253 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 SAN DIEGO, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Being injured in a car, truck or motorcycle accident calls for quick and decisive legal action, ensuring the proper compensation is received. However, not all car accident lawyers are created equal. Too often, those who have been injured in accidents seek help through referral programs, which can be deeply disadvantageous. In a new statement to the press, I Accident Lawyer warns against these programs. "Using a referring lawyer or a lead-gen website means your case is probably going to be farmed out to a national firm that may lack real personal injury experience," comments I Accident Lawyer. "As such, you may not get the kind of personal attention you would like." There are other drawbacks, too. Working with a referring attorney might mean that the client overpays in legal fees. It might mean that the client is pressured to accept the first offer, rather than seeking maximum monetary compensation. And, it might mean that the client simply doesn't get the best legal advice. "Our guidance would be to always work with a local car accident firm not a referring site," I Accident Lawyer concludes. I Accident Lawyer is a personal injury firm that represents drivers in San Diego and throughout Southern California. More information about the firm can be found online at www.iaccidentlawyer.com. I Accident Lawyer San Diego Address 533 F St #210 San Diego, CA 92101 800-920-0810 (Toll-Free) Media Contact: Sefati & Company Related Links I Accident Lawyer San Diego Office SOURCE I Accident Lawyer Related Links http://www.iaccidentlawyer.com DALLAS, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Hedera Hashgraph, a next-generation public ledger designed to have highly diversified governance and the most distributed consensus at scale, today announced it has named Brett McDowell as the Founding Executive Director and Vice Chair of the Hedera Hashgraph Governing Council. McDowell brings over 20 years of IT industry coalition experience to the new role, including founding executive roles at the Kantara Initiative, IDESG, DMARC.org, and FIDO Alliance, where he still serves. In addition, McDowell has extensive multi-stakeholder governance experience, having served on the board or advisory board of MAAWG, NCSA, StopBadWare, and PCI SSC, among other industry coalitions. The announcement comes on the heels of unveiling the first set of Hedera Governing Council members at Hedera's first Annual Assembly and the initial Governing Council meeting, both held last week in Seoul, South Korea. "As we have laid out from the beginning, we believe that a strong governing council is crucial for the long-term stability and decentralization of a public ledger," said Mance Harmon, CEO of Hedera. "In conjunction with bringing the initial group of Governing Council members on board, we are pleased to also take the next step in its development with the appointment of Brett to the roles of Executive Director and Vice Chair. His experience in running some of the largest, most distributed coalitions in the technology industry will be invaluable as we grow this council to maturity." "Throughout my career, I have looked to join innovative organizations that are making a fundamental difference in the ways people use and benefit from internet technology," said Brett McDowell, Executive Director of the Hedera Hashgraph Governing Council. "Hedera has not only disruptive technology that sets the bar for DLT performance and security, but also a best-of-breed governance model that will ensure the network is protected from abuse and fragmentation making it suitable for mass adoption. I am delighted to be joining Hedera at this time to advise and help further develop this global governing council." McDowell was previously head of ecosystem security at PayPal, where he developed strategies and launched initiatives to improve internet security. He is a fellow at the National Center for Digital Government at UMASS and serves on the Boston Federal Reserve Bank's Mobile Payments Industry Workgroup. Establishing Council committees During the Governing Council meeting, the following Council committees were proposed and are now in the process of being formally chartered for approval at the next Council meeting: Finance Committee . The Finance Committee will maintain oversight responsibility with respect to financial affairs of the Council and review the financial objectives, financial policies, capital structure, and financing requirements of the Council. . The Finance Committee will maintain oversight responsibility with respect to financial affairs of the Council and review the financial objectives, financial policies, capital structure, and financing requirements of the Council. Technical Steering & Product Committee . The Technical Steering & Product Committee will focus on improving the Hedera network's underlying technology. . The Technical Steering & Product Committee will focus on improving the Hedera network's underlying technology. Membership Committee . The Membership Committee will recommend objective qualifications and criteria for identifying organizations qualified to serve as members of the Council. . The Membership Committee will recommend objective qualifications and criteria for identifying organizations qualified to serve as members of the Council. Legal & Regulatory Committee . The Legal & Regulatory Committee will advise Hedera on a variety of global legal, regulatory, and compliance matters. . The Legal & Regulatory Committee will advise Hedera on a variety of global legal, regulatory, and compliance matters. Marketing Committee . The Marketing Committee will advise the Council on marketing, public relations, and other outreach matters. Hedera network roadmap During its inaugural meeting, the Governing Council also discussed the ongoing development of the Hedera network and approved plans and the timeline for expanding user access to the network. After launching the Hedera network in August 2018, Hedera opened the network for initial users to participate in a community testing program. During the initial phase of the testing program, 5,000 users created accounts and tested the platform's cryptocurrency services, and hundreds of developers began to test and build applications on testnets. Hedera will next launch phase two of the community testing program, opening the network to significantly more developers and users to create accounts and test the Hedera smart contract and file service components of the Hedera platform. After testing programs are complete, Hedera expects to open access to the beta version of the network so that anyone can sign up for a Hedera account, use the network, and develop applications on the platform. The Council authorized Hedera to provide this "open access" to the network once certain technical and regulatory milestones are met, which is expected to occur in the summer of 2019. About Hedera Hedera Hashgraph is a public distributed ledger for building decentralized applications. Developers can build secure, fair, blazing-fast decentralized applications on top of Hedera. For more information, visit https://www.hedera.com, or follow us on Twitter at @hashgraph, Telegram at t.me/hashgraph, or Discord at https://www.hedera.com/discord. The Hedera whitepaper can be found at https://www.hedera.com/whitepaper. For Media Inquiries Zenobia Godschalk E: [email protected] T: 1.833.794.7537 x 717 SOURCE Hedera Hashgraph Related Links http://www.hedera.com NAPLES, Fla., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Research grant funds made available by Alzheimer's Germ Quest, Inc. (AGQ), have been awarded to two researchers, one at Harvard and the other at University of North Carolina, to investigate roles of microbes in Alzheimer's disease, announces Leslie Norins, MD, PhD, company CEO. The recipients were Colette Cywes-Bentley, PhD, assistant professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, and Allison Aiello, PhD, professor of epidemiology in North Carolina's School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill. The awards were the result of collaboration between AGQ and the Foundation of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), which designed and administered the application and judging process. Dr. Norins says the stimulus for the awards was "the willingness of IDSA, the country's premier organization of infectious disease specialists, to encourage investigation of infectious agents as possible triggers or promoters of Alzheimer's disease". He says the interest of IDSA is a major milestone in widening the search for causation of Alzheimer's beyond the decades-long focus on two characteristic proteins found in the brains of patients, amyloid plaques and tau tangles. Dr. Cywes-Bentley will investigate whether a particular chemical marker, known to scientists as PNAG, and common to many pathogenic bacteria, can help identify the participation of these microbes in Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Aiello will study data from large groups of volunteers, who have been followed as they age, to see if various factors related to infection correlate with subsequent development of Alzheimer's disease. AGQ is a public benefit corporation headquartered in Naples, Florida. Its mission is to accelerate and deepen research into the role of microbes in the causation of Alzheimer's disease. It is self-funded, and neither solicits nor accepts outside donations or grants. SOURCE Alzheimer's Germ Quest, Inc. Related Links http://www.alzgerm.org SINGAPORE, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chinese Government's Belt and Road Initiative, which resulted in the Railway Express that links the country, has thrown open huge global export trade opportunities. Passenger vehicle (PV) manufacturers are looking to expand beyond Asia and make deeper inroads into the Americas and European markets, especially with the production of electric vehicles (EVs). They will also target high-value PV markets in West Asia, South Asia, and South America, as the majority of the countries in these regions do have automotive production capability. "The most preferred Chinese PVs in export countries are SUVs due to their higher cost-performance ratio and perceived value," said Lily Zhou, Research Analyst, Mobility. "Chinese PV original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are also expected to strengthen their joint venture relationships with key international leading OEMs to expand their portfolios of advanced technologies," she explained. SAIC, Chery, JAC, Dongfeng, Great Wall, and Chang'an together controlled 67.3 percent of export market in 2017. Going forward, SAIC is likely to enhance its export market attractiveness through joint ventures to gain brand production benefits. Similarly, Chery's focus on the European market, and the joint venture between JAC and Volkswagen are likely to increase their competitiveness. Frost & Sullivan's recent analysis, Chinese Passenger Vehicle OEMs' Global Expansion Strategies, Forecast to 2025, examines the export strategies of key Chinese PV OEMs and analyzes the evolution of the Chinese PV export market and its changing competitive landscape. It discusses Chinese PV OEM global dynamics, and provides a PV OEM comparative analysis, overview of success factors, forecasts and trends, and growth opportunities. Lastly, it presents conclusions and a future outlook. For further information on this analysis, please visit: http://frost.ly/38a "Value for money is another important competitive factor to break into export regions; however, the appreciation of Chinese Yuan has lowered the price advantage of Chinese PV exports to some extent," noted Zhou. "Still, Chinese OEMs can adopt alternate business practices to retain this advantage; for instance, production localization in the export countries can help achieve higher cost competitiveness," she added. In addition to M&A and product development, successful OEMs have to make the most of the growth opportunities offered by: Integrating China's domestic and international export stakeholders , as collaborations could lead to PV demand. , as collaborations could lead to PV demand. Strategizing for profit generation from the assembly and the distribution sectors as they influence overall export activity profit margins. Focusing on developing EV powertrains for the North American and European markets. These markets demand timely emission standard upgrades . EVs with attractive pricing will have a long-term competitive advantage in these regions. for the North American and European markets. These markets demand timely . EVs with attractive pricing will have a long-term competitive advantage in these regions. Enhancing safety and technology features. Chinese Passenger Vehicle OEMs' Global Expansion Strategies, Forecast to 2025 is part of Frost & Sullivan's global Automotive & Transportation Growth Partnership Service program. About Frost & Sullivan For over five decades, Frost & Sullivan has become world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion. Chinese Passenger Vehicle OEMs' Global Expansion Strategies, Forecast to 2025 PA0C-18 Contact: Melissa Tan Corporate Communications Asia Pacific P: +65 6890 0926 F: +65 6890 0999 E: [email protected] http://ww2.frost.com Tags : #FrostandSullivan, #PassengerVehicle, #China, #OEM, #PV. #EV, #JV SOURCE Frost & Sullivan Related Links http://www.frost.com NORWALK, Conn., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Whether someone can trace their entire ancestry back to the Emerald Isle, has no Irish blood at all or falls anywhere in between, St. Patrick's Day is a time for everyone to enjoy. Guinness wants to make it as easy as possible to have fun during the festive weekend by releasing the Guinness Guide to St. Patrick's Day a collection of digital content, real life experiences and physical takeaways designed to help make this March 17th the best one yet. (PRNewsfoto/Diageo Beer Company U.S.) (PRNewsfoto/Diageo Beer Company U.S.) "There are countless ways to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but I'll let you in on a little secret: as long as you're celebrating with a pint of Guinness, you're doing it right," said Guinness Brand Director, Emma Giles. "You might be spending time at home with family, grabbing a cab to the pub or stopping by a party to see some old friends and meet some new ones. Whichever way you choose to celebrate, we promise that with the help of the Guinness Guide to St. Patrick's Day, this will be one to remember." So, what can one expect from the Guinness Guide to St. Patrick's Day? 1) THE ST. JAMES'S GATE HOTLINE The Irish word for a 'good time' is craic, so dial it up literally. Step into a green Guinness phone booth and connect live with an 'expert' at the Guinness brewery at St. James's Gate via video chat to ask all the burning questions about St. Patrick's Day, Guinness and what it means to really be Irish. The booths will be available free of charge to guests 21+ at the Magnificent Mile in Chicago on March 1st from 12pm-2pm CST and at the Madison Square Park triangle, across from the Flatiron Building, in New York on March 13th from 12pm-2pm EST. 2) DIGITAL ADVICE FROM THE EXPERTS From getting the perfect Guinness 'Stache, to toasting like a native Gaelic speaker, to how to dress for the occasion, to pairing each beer in the Guinness family with the perfect Irish cuisine, a suite of digital videos and content starring a brewery ambassador from St. James's Gate will be available through @GuinnessUS on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. Think of them as helpful tips for the big day on March 17th. 3) GUINNESS THREADS These Guinness t-shirts are a whole lot truer to the heritage than that "Kiss Me I'm Irish" shirt. Imprinted with iconic fixtures from the Guinness brewery at St. James's Gate like the harp plaque on Vathouse No. 2 or the cobblestones from Rainsford Street, the shirts are available in a very limited quantity on the Guinness Webstore. 4) #STACHEFORCHARITY BACK FOR YEAR THREE That great 'Stache can do some good. For the third consecutive year, adult beer lovers can take part in the Guinness #StacheForCharity initiative from now through March 31, 2019 by sharing photos of their 'Staches self-grown and groomed, drawn-on, or Guinness-enhanced on social media (tagging @GuinnessUS and, of course, using #StacheForCharity). For each 'Stache shared, Guinness will donate $1 (up to $100,000) to the Guinness Gives Back Fund*, which supports nonprofits that contribute to the common good in our communities, like Team Rubicon an organization of veterans and first responders, who are some of the first boots on the ground when natural disasters occur. 5) GUINNESS OPEN GATE BREWERY IN BALTIMORE For those lucky enough to live in the Maryland area or those enthusiastic enough to make the trip the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore will be celebrating its first official St. Patrick's Day in 2019 (after its grand opening in August of last year). Complete with its own Guinness phone booth, the Open Gate Brewery will host ticketed celebrations in support of local charities with classic Guinness favorites and a special locally-brewed St. Patrick's Day stout on tap. Keep up with what's brewing in Baltimore at www.GuinnessBreweryBaltimore.com and @GuinnessBreweryUS on Instagram and Facebook. Nobody needs the official Guinness Guide to St. Patrick's Day to know that drinking responsibly is always a good idea. On March 17th and every other day of the year, drink like a brewer, and respect the beer. *The Guinness Gives Back Fund is a corporate donor advised fund administered by Fairfield County's Community Foundation. The Fund's mission is to support local charitable organizations which are classified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that are aligned with the corporate focus areas of Diageo North America, Inc. About Guinness The Guinness brand was established in 1759, when Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease on St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin. Brewed using four main ingredients, water, barley (malted & roasted), hops and yeast, Guinness is the world's most popular stout. The iconic beer is brewed in 49 countries worldwide and sold in over 150 with almost 9 million glasses of Guinness enjoyed every day around the world. The most GUINNESS is sold in Great Britain, Ireland, USA, Nigeria and Cameroon. More information can be found at www.guinness.com. About Diageo Beer Company U.S. Diageo Beer Company U.S. is the U.S. beer and flavored malt beverage business of Diageo. Brands within Diageo Beer Company include the iconic Guinness, Harp, Smithwick's and Smirnoff ICE. Diageo is a global company, with its products sold in more than 150 countries worldwide. For more information about Diageo Beer Company, visit at www.diageo.com. SOURCE Diageo Beer Company U.S. Related Links http://www.diageo.com DUBLIN, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Orthopedic Braces and Supports Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2019-2024" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global orthopedic braces and supports market was worth US$ 3.8 Billion in 2018 Braces and supports are orthopedic equipment which are used externally for holding, aligning, correcting and supporting certain parts of the body while healing from an injury. They are manufactured using specialized materials with intelligent designs that offer intense targeted support to the knee, spine, foot, ankle, upper elbow, shoulder, hip and other body parts. Braces and supports also aid in safeguarding joints after surgeries and offer a sense of mobility to the patients suffering from musculoskeletal problems. Looking forward, the market value is projected to reach US$ 4.9 Billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of 4.5% during 2019-2024. Global Orthopedic Braces and Supports Market Drivers: In comparison with invasive treatments, braces and supports are less painful, assist in quick recovery and reduce the incidences of post-surgical complications. On account of these factors, orthopedic braces and supports are preferred by patients worldwide. Nowadays, consumers spend a significant part of their day in front of PCs, TVs and smart devices which result in the development of minor and major musculoskeletal deformities and dysfunctions. As a result, the demand for braces and supports is proliferating at a healthy rate. The geriatric population is at a relatively higher risk of developing spondylitis, osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease, and other mobility issues. Therefore, the growing elderly population is also contributing to the sales of braces and supports across the globe. Manufacturers are developing pliable braces with a simplified user-interface, considering the requirements of consumers. They are also incorporating Velcro instead of laces to enable easy application and pulley systems in lumbar supports to allow easy customization. Technological advancements have led to significant improvements in modeling and material technology and increased flexibility, contouring, and utilization of low-weight materials. Innovations have also led to the incorporation of advanced data sensors and synchronization systems. Market Summary: Based on the product, the market has been segmented into lower extremity braces and supports; spinal braces and supports; and upper extremity braces and supports. Based on the type, the market has been segmented into soft and elastic braces and supports; hinged braces and supports; and hard and rigid braces and supports. Soft and elastic braces and supports currently have the highest share. Based on the application, the market has been segmented into ligament injury, preventive care, post-operative rehabilitation, osteoarthritis and others. Ligament injury currently accounts for the highest share. Based on the end-user, the market has been segmented into orthopedic clinics; hospitals and surgical centers; over-the-counter (OTC) platforms; and others. Orthopedic clinics currently account for the highest share. North America is the biggest market, accounting for the majority of the global share. Key Questions Answered in This Report: How has the global orthopedic braces and supports market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What are the key regional markets in the global orthopedic braces and supports industry? What is the breakup of the global orthopedic braces and supports market on the basis of product? What is the breakup of the global orthopedic braces and supports market on the basis of type? What is the breakup of the global orthopedic braces and supports market on the basis of application? What is the breakup of the global orthopedic braces and supports market on the basis of end-user? What are the various stages in the value chain of the global orthopedic braces and supports market? What are the key driving factors and challenges in the global orthopedic braces and supports market? What is the structure of the global orthopedic braces and supports market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the global orthopedic braces and supports market? Companies Mentioned Breg Inc. ssur Hf Bauerfeind AG BSN Medical DJO Finance LLC 3M Company Company Otto Bock Healthcare Deroyal Industries Inc. Medi GmbH & Co. KG Thuasne Group Alcare Co. Ltd Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. Trulife Remington Products Company Bird & Cronin. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/z2zs3h/global_4_9_bn?w=5 Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Media Contact: Research and Markets 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 VANCOUVER, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Gatling Exploration Inc. (TSXV: GTR, OTC: PACXF, FSE: 2NKN) (the "Company" or "Gatling") is pleased to announce that Nav Dhaliwal has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and Nathan Tribble, former senior principal geologist for Sprott Mining, has been appointed Vice President of Exploration of the Company. In addition, Dale Ginn has been appointed Chief Operating Officer and has resigned as a director. These management changes will allow the geologists to focus on the exploration, acquisition and technical aspects of the Company while also providing better overall board structure and independence. Mr. Ginn and Mr. Tribble each have extensive experience on the Larder Project and other Abitibi-hosted gold deposits. Mr. Tribble, P.Geo. (ON) has over 13 years of professional experience in exploration and mining, with a particular focus on gold and base metal exploration and project evaluation. Past experience includes Senior Principal Geologist for Sprott Mining, Senior Geologist for Bonterra Resources, Jerritt Canyon Gold, Kerr Mines, Northern Gold, Lake Shore Gold and Vale Inco. He was also part of the exploration team that discovered the 8.2 million-ounce Cote Lake gold deposit for Trelawney Mining and Exploration Inc. Mr. Tribble is registered as a Professional Geoscientist in Ontario and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from Laurentian University. "We welcome Nathan to the Gatling team as we prepare to begin our extensive drilling and exploration program on the Larder Project and deposits. Nathan and Dale have worked together on numerous projects in the past and will now be able to focus on extracting maximum value from our Larder holdings. We look forward to an exciting 2019 and beyond now that Gatling is established and are looking forward to launching our programs," stated Nav Dhaliwal, President and CEO. The Company also advises that it has granted incentive stock options under its stock option plan to directors and officers for the purchase of up to 400,000 common shares at a price of $0.31 per share for a period of three years, subject to the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. About Gatling Exploration Gatling Exploration (TSXV: GTR) is a well-financed Canadian gold exploration company focused on exploration at the Larder Project, with four high-grade gold deposits located in the prolific Abitibi greenstone belt in Northern Ontario. On Behalf of the Board of Gatling Exploration Nav Dhaliwal President & CEO Neither TSX Venture Exchange, the Toronto Stock Exchange nor their 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 Gatling Exploration Inc. SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Figure Technologies, Inc. (Figure), a leading fintech company in both the home equity and blockchain space, announced today $65 million in series B equity funding. This brings Figure's total equity funding to more than $120 million as it starts its second year of operations. Led by RPM Ventures and partners at DST Global, with participation from investors Ribbit Capital, DCM, DCG, Nimble Ventures, Morgan Creek and others, this round of financing will help Figure bolster its product offering and continue to support growth. "We are encouraged by what we've accomplished in our first year, and this investment validates Figure's market potential," said Mike Cagney, co-founder and CEO at Figure. "We launched the fastest HELOC in the market, and we originate, finance and sell every one of our loans on the Provenance blockchain, an industry first. From the diversity of our founding team to our alignment with our members' financial success, we believe we're building a different and better kind of technology company." Figure's flagship product, Figure Home Equity Loan Plus, is a fixed-rate loan that provides approval in as little as five minutes and funding in five days all online. It also combines the best characteristics of a traditional home equity loan and a HELOC. It allows consumers to borrow against the equity in their homes without the paperwork-intensive, 45-day process traditional lenders require. Since September 2018, Figure has funded more than 1,500 HELOCs for members across 36 states. Figure built and deployed Provenance, a distributed stakeholder blockchain, in 2018. The company leverages the security, efficiencies and cost advantage of blockchain for loan origination, financing and sales and has a diverse set of funds, banks and dealers active on Provenance today. While Figure was the first loan originator on Provenance, several other originators plan to use the platform by mid-2019. Additional use cases, such as investment funds on chain, are also planned for this year. Continuing Momentum in Year Two The team at Figure believes that Americans are facing a future retirement crisis. With 78 percent of Americans concerned about their retirement savings, people need to access the equity in their homes. To meet this need, Figure introduced Figure Home Advantage (FHA), a more transparent and straightforward alternative to reverse mortgages. FHA members can sell their homes to Figure, get cash up front and stay in place as renters for as long as they wish. Figure covers all expenses, including property taxes, upkeep and insurance. FHA is being rolled out across Texas, Illinois and Nevada now, with plans for a national rollout midyear. As with the Home Equity Loan Plus, Figure members will benefit from the speed and efficiency of the Provenance blockchain. "Figure is empowering a more financially secure future for its customers with technology that seamlessly taps into the wealth they already have," said Alana Ackerson, co-founder and chief people officer at Figure. "This spirit extends to our company culture, where our values nurture a company with transparency and purpose at its core and, by extension, informs how we build and innovate." About Figure: Figure Technologies, Inc. creates innovative consumer financial solutions for home improvement, debt consolidation and retirement while providing its members with financial education and financial empowerment. Its mission is to build and promote innovative financial products on blockchain that benefit consumers and eliminate rent-seeking, illiquidity and other inefficiencies present in current financial markets. The company's flagship product, the Figure Home Equity Loan Plus, uses Provenance, the blockchain protocol Figure created. Based in San Francisco, Figure was co-founded by Mike Cagney, former co-founder and CEO of SoFi, along with Alana Ackerson, Cynthia Chen, June Ou and Sara Priola. Figure has more than 100 employees in offices in California, Nevada and Montana. For more information about Figure and its offerings, visit Figure.com . SOURCE Figure Technologies, Inc. Related Links http://Figure.com WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Hamilton Pacific Chamberlain, HPC, a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) headquartered in Waldorf, Maryland, has completed its 300th federal project. The federal contractor has been operating across the United States since 2009. The project milestone was announced this past month shortly after HPC's completion of historic Poplar Island electrical upgrades. The federally protected contract was the first of its kind for the contractor who specializes in VA Medical Center renovations, upgrades, and general construction. The upgrades were headed by an expert electrical team who worked with conservation aids to further land development and ecosystem stabilization during the project. HPC's work with veteran-focused facilities spans its decade of business. VA Medical Centers across the country have hosted HPC for various projects including the Washington DC VA Medical Center where HPC's team has worked to extensively improve oncology facilities for quick, comfortable, and safe treatment and recovery. Many of HPC's projects from the past decade have also included prominent National Cemeteries including Arlington National Cemetery, Rosemont National Cemetery, and Houston National Cemetery. Paul Hamilton, Executive Vice President, said of the announcement, "We're happy to have surpassed this wonderful milestone. Creating safe and reliable facilities for our great veterans is a core value of our company and we look forward to continuing our work." In addition to this milestone completion, HPC garnered two additional contracts this month including roof upgrades and repairs at Shenandoah National Park and the rehabilitation of parking facilities at the NOAA center in Texas. To learn more about past and present projects, please visit www.hpcvet.com. Hamilton Pacific Chamberlain is a Federal Government contractor headquartered in Waldorf, Maryland. HPC focuses on renovations, demolition, and new construction of government and military structures. To learn more about Hamilton Pacific Chamberlain and its work with government and military structures, visit www.hpcvet.com. This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com. SOURCE Hamilton Pacific Chamberlain Related Links http://www.hpcvet.com DAYTON, Ohio, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- enVu will commemorate The Experiential Designers and Producers Association 65th anniversary this year, by collecting, curating and archiving photos and documents for EDPA members to reference and enjoy in a virtual museum and living archive. enVu, part of the STRATACACHE family of marketing technology companies, will present the project at the EDPA Access event in December 2019. The online museum features a searchable visual database in which visitors can build their own view of the room they are in based on categories, places and timelines. EDPA began in December 1954 as a group of exhibit and design entrepreneurs and business people met to cement relationships and form new partnerships, and since that time have continued to grow and shape the exhibit and design industry into what it is today. enVu has digitized pictures and articles to start the baseline of the museum. The project will continue to grow through updates from the EDPA community as a whole including members, the chapters and the foundation. "enVu is honored to take the time and celebrate the rich history of this industry and organization through this virtual museum and living archive of the EDPA," said Jimmy Abraham, COO of enVu. "As a company that is always looking forward with innovation and technology, we know it is important to acknowledge and celebrate those that came before us. The museum will help the next generations of exhibitors understand the roots and beginnings of EDPA without losing sight of the industry's growth and change." Having a central archive for all this information will allow the EDPA to stay updated for many more generations. Additionally, EDPA looks to grow its membership through greater awareness gained through the project. "Over my 35-year career I've seen a lot of changes and innovations. But as quickly as things evolve, important things stay the same connections and partnerships built this business, and they will continue to do so in the future," said Dalton Jenkins, EDPA, past President. enVu will collect relevant items to be included in the archive throughout the year. Learn more at www.envu.com/edpa65/ . About enVu enVu, a STRATACACHE company, is a full service digital interactive media production company based in Dayton, Ohio, with offices in Clearwater, Los Angeles and Montreal. enVu transforms events, retail and brick and mortar spaces with captivating, shareable, digital interactive brand experiences. By seamlessly integrating brand storytelling with gestural, touch and mobile interactivity, enVu provides brands with immersive experiences to target, engage and influence consumer behavior. enVu brings expertise to each stage of an interactive-media activation, from creative concept and design, through installation, launch and post launch support and reporting. SOURCE enVu Related Links http://envu.com CHICAGO, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Employee assistance programs, otherwise known as EAPs, are employer-sponsored benefits that offer confidential assessments, in-the-moment mental health support, short-term in-person counseling, referrals and follow-up services. These programs help employees deal with a wide array of concerns that affect their mental and emotional wellbeing, such as depression, stress, anxiety, grief, family problems, relationship issues, and alcohol or other substance abuse. To most employers, the value of an EAP is based on the understanding that employees with unresolved mental health, substance use, and emotional wellbeing concerns often have troubles in their professional and personal lives that ultimately impact the organization's bottom line. Historically, EAP providers have used a variety of metrics to illustrate their ability to resolve or mitigate these concerns, such as employee utilization, referrals to external resources, satisfaction surveys or website usage. While these measurements are effective and valuable tools that help employers evaluate the reach of the program, they don't truly measure the impact of the EAP on employee health, well-being and productivity. New research by CuraLinc Healthcare, a leading provider of employee assistance programs, suggests that EAP models with the proper construct can facilitate meaningful and lasting behavior change that leads to a decrease in absenteeism, an increase in productivity and improved health outcomes for employees who present with depression or alcohol use. Depression Almost 80% of EAP participants with depression reported a measurable improvement after using the program. Over three out of every four employees with moderate to severe depression migrated to minimal or mild depression after EAP treatment. Productivity Over 70% of employees reported improved productivity after using the EAP. 69% of participants with low or moderate productivity migrated to high productivity after using the EAP. Absenteeism The average time missed from work due to the employee's presenting concern dropped from 12.4 hours to 3.7 hours after using the EAP. From among employees who missed at least 40 hours of work prior to using the EAP, only a quarter of them missed any time at all after using the program. Alcohol Abuse The percentage of employees at higher alcohol risk levels dropped from 30% to 3% after EAP treatment. After using the EAP, 89% of employees who used or abused alcohol were considered low risk. The aforementioned results, which can also be found at www.eapoutcomes.com, came from an analysis of data from 5,761 EAP cases that originated between January 1 and December 31, 2018. Although outcomes-related information was collected from all EAP participants, including spouses and dependents, only results from covered employees of CuraLinc clients were used in the study. CuraLinc used the following instruments to evaluate data from EAP participants. Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS-6) : Productivity : Productivity Workplace Outcomes Suite (WOS) : Absenteeism : Absenteeism Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) : Depression : Depression Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): Alcohol Use During the initial clinical assessment, CuraLinc offered the SPS-6 and WOS to all employees; and offered the PHQ-9 and AUDIT to employees who presented with depression and alcohol use, respectively. Using the aforementioned tools, CuraLinc followed up with participants 30 days after the case was closed to measure changes in health and productivity. The follow-up consultation also allowed CuraLinc's Case Managers to evaluate participant satisfaction with the program and profile for variations in health status or referrals to other resources. "Each stage of our advocacy-based care path was purposefully built to maximize the likelihood of positive clinical and workplace outcomes," said CuraLinc's Vice President of Administration, David Pawlowski, LCPC, CEAP, SAP. "The results from this year's study reconfirm that an EAP with a commitment to optimizing the user experience can have a measurable impact on employee health and productivity." About CuraLinc Healthcare CuraLinc Healthcare provides an outcomes-driven suite of behavioral health and wellness programs to over 1,200 employers, associations, trusts and post-secondary educational institutions. For more information, please call 800.490.1585, email [email protected] or visit www.curalinc.com. Additional details regarding this study can also be found at www.eapoutcomes.com. Photo(s): https://www.prlog.org/12756115 Press release distributed by PRLog SOURCE CuraLinc Healthcare Related Links http://www.curalinc.com Reviewed by 66 judges including representatives from Coca-cola, Tetrapak, Westrock, Nestle, and Pearlfisher; experts joined forces from around the world to determine the best in packaging across the industry. A leader in experiential packaging design, the Duallok was first developed by the talented structural engineers at Burgopak in central London, UK, before launching as a limited company in late 2018 with the winning patented Duallok CR3 packaging solution. Rosie Reardon, MD at Duallok commented to say "we're thrilled to see such early success of the Duallok. This award is the result of two years of R&D and eight months of child-resistant testing to create the highest standards in child safety in a premium packaging solution." The double locking mechanism behind the Duallok was designed with kid's safety at it's core. Certified under 16 CFR 1700 guidelines for child-resistance, the package provides a premium and compliant solution with instructions built-in in such a way that they provide sufficient guidance for adult opening, without detracting from the wider branding. Working closely with Hippo premium packaging to develop an insert to house the Theory Wellness cannabis vape cartridge series, it was possible to produce a robust and reliable fitment that added to the brands continuity by enabling the external art work to flow into the internal structure. Amongst this year's finalists were Hersheys, Dove, Olay, Starbucks, Lush Cosmetics, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Pfizer, and Kellogg's. The Duallok design for Theory Wellness was the only packaging solution targeting the legalised cannabis industry to receive such recognition. Rosie says, "The feedback is incredibly positive. We're already receiving a great level of interest for the Duallok not only in the legalised cannabis industry, but across pharmaceuticals and other highly-controlled substances." For more information, or to request your free sample contact Duallok on [email protected], or visit the website on www.duallok.com About Duallok Child-safe. User Friendly. Brand Aware. Duallok is a packaging company that specialises in user-friendly, child-resistant packaging containers with distribution partners worldwide. Developed by an award-winning design team, the Duallok provides a beautiful, user friendly and a 16 CFR 1700 compliant package for high-end controlled substances. The format can be tailored to house a wide range of products from vape cartridges, pre-rolled joints and concentrates, to pharmaceuticals and other healthcare related products. Read about the Duallok's journey through child-resistant testing in their latest feature on the Dieline: The Long Road to Certification; Designing & Testing Child-Resistant Packaging For Cannabis. Connect: Facebook: facebook.com/duallok Twitter: @BurgopakDuallok Instagram: instagram.com/duallok Pinterest: pinterest.com/duallok YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCJK5YbYMVIwwYGU86vcMsFA Website: www.duallok.com (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/827916/Duallok.jpg) Contact: Alethea Price, +44(0)2070891950, [email protected] SOURCE Duallok Related Links http://www.duallok.com/ The study surveyed IT leaders in companies with more than 500 employees in German-speaking countries about their usage scenarios, strategies and satisfaction with SharePoint and Office 365. Seventy-six percent of these decision makers expect increased productivity as a result of digital transformation initiatives. Fifty-three percent anticipate cost reductions and improvements in their employee experience. To drive digital transformation, 59 percent of IT departments use employee collaboration tools, 53 leverage automation and workflow tools, and 39 percent of have turned to cloud infrastructures. Roughly three-quarters (74 percent) of respondents are already using the cloud or consider it to be part of their IT strategy. Further, Office 365 and SharePoint Online use rose to 48 percent in 2018, up from a meager 15 percent in 2016. Fifty-five percent of those surveyed use SharePoint to automate processeswith 30 percent planning to do so in the future. The study reveals that only 11 percent of current users are satisfied with SharePoint's Workflows and Designer tools. "Even though the Microsoft Office app ecosystem grows in complexity every day, business users support long-time favorites like OneDrive," said SharePoint360.de Founder Wolfgang Miedl. "Organisations in the region will continue to evaluate emerging applications from technology providers that help transform their businesses, with those providers catering to demands for in-region data centers will pull ahead." Though only 22 percent of participants remain sceptical of cloud-based solutions, the majority (60 percent) of cloud sceptics would opt for solutions from European data centers, finds the SharePoint360.de study. IT leads in process automation with HR, Finance and Customer Service departments following IT is the pioneer in process automation and continues to be the lead department responsible for automating processes (74 percent) with others quickly following suit. The survey findings show the degree of deployment of process automation is rising sharply within HR (41 percent), in finance (39 percent) and also in customer-oriented areas such as customer service (33 percent), marketing (29 percent) and sales (28 percent). The results reveal that nearly every third company surveyed is active in process automation. "It is critical for IT leaders to have confidence in the tools meant to advance their operations including those tailored for collaboration and process management and automation," said Felix Gremlich, Nintex's VP Sales EMEA. "Solutions like the Nintex Process Cloud, that combine power with ease-of-use, are ideally suited to help IT and business leaders rescue enterprise-wide digital transformation efforts with visual capabilities for configuring not coding the automation of business processes." This latest research from SharePoint360.de also dovetails on Nintex's 2018, "The State of Intelligent Process Automation" study which surveyed U.S. decision-makers and line of business employees. The Nintex study found 64 percent of companies have followed a formal digital transformation plan for three years or less, and one-third have followed for a year or less. Despite growing adoption of these initiatives, only half of line of business employees are aware of digital transformation. This lack in awareness highlights the opportunity to drive better communication, engagement and collaboration inside organisations. The SharePoint360.de digital transformation study was conducted from July to September 2018 in partnership by Stuttgart Media University and IT portal SharePoint360.de. To download the whitepaper, please visit https://www.nintex.com/resources/digital-transformation-study/. Media Contact Kristin Treat Nintex [email protected] cell: (215) 317-9091 About Nintex Nintex is the global standard for process management and automation. Today more than 8,000 public and private sector clients across 90 countries turn to the Nintex Platform to accelerate progress on their digital transformation journeys by quickly and easily managing, automating and optimising business processes. Learn more by visiting www.nintex.com and experience how Nintex and its global partner network are shaping the future of Intelligent Process Automation (IPA). Product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. SOURCE Nintex Related Links http://www.nintex.com The Phoenix Cyber Center will serve as a region-wide hub and ecosystem for top-tier cyber education, public and private community resources, solutions and thought leadership, to meet the needs of learners at all levels. It will be housed within the Skaled Sandbox downtown Phoenix location, opening Spring 2019. Other collaborators and supporters of the Center include Ariel University Cyber Range, Tel-Aviv University Cyber Range, Cleverdome, Arizona Department of Veterans' Services, Clickable Institute of Technology and Entrepreneurship, Bottega, Shift Creative Solutions, Shift Creative Ventures, HPS Law, and StratTech Solutions. Through the partnership, Cybint Solutions will deliver its comprehensive suite of multi-level cyber education and professional development offerings. Classes range from cyber literacy for non-technical professionals to advanced, hands-on Simu-Labs and cyber range environment for those pursuing a cybersecurity career. Students and professionals will have virtual access to the full array of education and resources in advance of the opening of the physical location. Cybint Solutions and Skaled Sandbox will play an active role at the upcoming Phoenix Start-up Week , where they will host a booth and lead a panel discussion focusing on success in the private/public tech ecosystem to improve the community. In addition, through the partnership with the AZ Department of Veterans' Services, Director Wanda Wright will select three U. S. military veterans who are pursuing cyber careers to receive Phoenix Cyber Center educational scholarships. "We're excited at the opportunities we see in the start-up and entrepreneurial landscape, and our partnership with Skaled Sandbox," said Roy Zur, Cybint Solutions CEO. "There's great awareness within this space of the need for cyber knowledge and expertise, and with Skaled Sandbox I believe we can make a difference, setting fledgling businesses up for success and continuing to further our mission of closing the skills gap in the cyber world." "Partnering with Cybint was an easy choice. The company brings the world-class Israel cyber technology, and adding it to our ecosystem provides a powerful resource to deploy in the state of Arizona. Skaled Sandbox is a turnkey solutions company, with the ability to monitor cyber threats, educate at the highest level, secure data utilizing military grade technology, as well as offer disaster mitigation and recovery solutions," said Kyle Kummerle, Skaled Sandbox Partner. "We are extremely excited for the ability to create sustainable jobs for the state of Arizona." About Cybint Solutions Cybint is a global cyber education leader that provides training, certifications and learning solutions across the cybersecurity and intelligence spectrum. Cybint is a collaboration of military-trained cybersecurity experts, cyber industry veterans and well-seasoned higher education professionals. Today, Cybint partners with institutions spanning business, higher education and government to establish world-class cyber centers of excellence. With an eye toward preparing the next generation of cyber experts and solving the critical cyber skills gap our world faces, the cyber centers offer the highest quality and most comprehensive cybersecurity and intelligence education, training and resources available. The centers address cybersecurity and intelligence at the individual level creating a deep and powerful network of cyber expertise that goes far beyond the typical technical expertise. Cyber centers are currently located in key regions across the U.S., as well as in Italy, South Africa and other nations. About Skaled Sandbox Skaled Sandbox facilities include approximately 22,000 square feet between two buildings on 1.2 acres in downtown Phoenix off Indian School and 7th St. Within its secure walls it houses the most relevant in-demand accredited technical and vocational education in a variety of capacities. The building itself houses a 3500 sq/ft fully acoustic sound stage and production facility. A 2500 sq/ft full stack state-of-the-art data center will house Skaled's partners' military grade technologies ranging from Cyber Intelligence Monitoring to Mitigation and Disaster Recovery, that are being offered to governments as well as client-facing services. Skaled Sandbox will house an on-premise cyber war range in the next six months. Online remote access is available immediately. The opportunity to use, implement and learn about AI and VR technology will be located on-premises. We have carefully selected companies who are innovating and developing products and services at the forefront of cutting-edge technologies. Skaled Sandbox is community- and economy-driven. Our mission is to greatly impact the local community for good by focusing on reverse engineering relevant education, workforce and economic development, technological innovation, and business venture development. We believe that by bringing technology partners into our ecosystem and the community, providing education and training to prepare people for high-growth, high-paying and sustainable careers, and supporting early-stage technology companies in their growth, we will achieve our mission. SOURCE Cybint Solutions HONG KONG, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- CStone Pharmaceuticals (Stock code: 2616) today announced the listing of 186,396,000 shares on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Based on the offer price of HK$12.00 per share, the net proceeds to be received by the Company are about HK$2,085.07 million (assuming the Over-allotment Option is not exercised). The net proceeds the Company receives from this offering will mainly be allocated to fund the Company's Core Product Candidate, clinical development of other pipeline products, in-licensing of new drug candidates, and to support the launch and commercialization process. Established only three years ago, with a robust clinical development program, a rich oncology pipeline and an experienced team, CStone Pharmaceuticals has been recognized by well-known investors in two financing rounds with record-breaking amounts of financing in the biopharmaceutical sector in China at the time. Four quality cornerstone investors have been introduced in the Global Offering, which suggests the Company's business prospects are highly recognized. Currently, CStone Pharmaceuticals has built an oncology-focused pipeline that consists of 14 assets, including three IO backbone drug candidates at clinical stage. The scale and mix of the Company's pipeline ensures that the Company can continue to focus on its combination therapy strategy. Among the four drug candidates that the Company holds development and commercial rights for Greater China, two of the drug candidates are the first drug candidate in its class globally, and the other two have potential to be first-in-class globally, which may address significant unmet medical needs in cancer treatment and bring novel benefits to patients worldwide. As Dr. Frank Ningjun Jiang, M.D., Ph.D., the Executive Director, Chairman and CEO of CStone Pharmaceuticals, indicated, "The IPO debut in Hong Kong marks a huge milestone for the Company. We will continue to promote clinical development swiftly and strive to bring innovative and differentiated therapies to cancer patients, to provide employees a better platform, to bring benefits to shareholders and create value for society." About CStone Pharmaceuticals CStone Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative immuno-oncology and molecularly targeted drugs to address significant unmet medical needs for cancer patients in China and worldwide. Since the Company's inception in 2015, CStone has assembled a world-class management team that has a full spectrum of complementary skillsets from preclinical research to clinical development and commercialization. Through dual sources of innovation, comprised of internal research and external partnership, the Company has built a rich oncology pipeline of 14 oncology drug candidates with significant mono- and combination-therapy potential and synergies, including 4 assets exclusively in-licensed in Greater China from Agios and Blueprint Medicines. Among CStone's portfolio, 4 late-stage drug candidates are at or near pivotal trials. CStone's business model has a clear focus on clinical development, while at the same time, the Company is rapidly developing its commercial and manufacturing capabilities. The Company is backed by prestigious VC and PE funds with record-breaking amounts of equity investment, raising a combined total of approximately USD 412 million in two financing rounds to date. With an experienced team, a rich pipeline, a robust clinical development-driven business model, and substantial funding, CStone's vision is to become globally recognized as a leading Chinese biopharmaceutical company by bringing innovative and differentiated oncology therapies to cancer patients worldwide. For more information about CStone Pharmaceuticals, please visit: www.cstonepharma.com. SOURCE CStone Pharmaceuticals Related Links http://www.cstonepharma.com VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- CROP Infrastructure Corp. (CSE: CROP) ("CROP" or the "Company") announces that the Company completed its previously announced non-brokered private placement offering (the "Offering") of senior secured convertible debenture units. Pursuant to the transaction, the Company issued senior secured convertible debentures in the principal amount of $4,000,000 and an aggregate of 13,333,333 share purchase warrants (each, a "Warrant") with each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to acquire one common share of the Company (each, a "Warrant Share") at an exercise price of $0.50 per Warrant Share for a period of 3 years from the date of the closing of the Offering. The proceeds of the Offering are expected to be used to continue to grow the Company's United States operations and for general working capital purposes. All securities issued pursuant to the Offering are subject to a restricted period of four months and one day. For more information regarding the Offering, please see the Company's February 7th, 2019 news release. None of the securities issued in connection with the Offering will be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"), and none of them may be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the 1933 Act. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state where such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful. About CROP CROP is publicly listed on the CSE and trades under the symbol "CROP" and in the US under the symbol "CRXPF". CROP is focused on cannabis branding and real estate assets. The Company's portfolio of projects includes cultivation properties in California, two in Washington State, a 1,000-acre Nevada Cannabis farm, 2,115 acres of CBD farms, extraction in Nevada and joint ventures on a San Bernardino dispensary app with international focuses in Jamaica and Italy. CROP has developed a portfolio of assets including Canna Drink, a cannabis infused functional beverage line, US and Italian distribution rights to over 55 cannabis topical products and a portfolio of 16 Cannabis brands. CROP's infrastructure has over 150,000 sq ft of built canopy and over 2,900 acres of real estate. The CSE (operated by CNSX Markets Inc.) has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press release. Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations of management, involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and are not guarantees of future performance of the Company. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may", "should", "will", "could", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "believe" or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the proposed allocation of the net proceeds of the Offering. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include general market conditions and other factors beyond the control of the Company. The Company 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 required by applicable law. Contact Michael Yorke CEO & Director [email protected] www.cropcorp.com +1-(604)-484-4206 SOURCE CROP Infrastructure Corp. SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Cloud&Heat Technologies , builder and operator of the world's most energy- and cost-efficient data centers for cloud computing, today announced that it is bringing its unique technology to the United States market. The German-based company designs sustainable solutions built on OpenStack to transform high energy-consuming servers into heat-producing assets to power cities and buildings. Cloud&Heat's environmentally friendly data centers are revolutionizing the real estate development, retrofitting, energy, integrated systems, and data center markets to save customers tens of thousands of dollars annually while drastically reducing their emissions and energy usage. The company's entrance to the United States is supported by their 10 Series B funding round led by ETF Partners and Inven Capital. Its US headquarters will be located in San Francisco, California. "We know our expansion into the United States will be transformational for customers who are saddled with inefficient and high-cost products and solutions," said Nicolas Rohrs, CEO of Cloud&Heat. "By moving product data centers from rural areas to urban ones, our energy-efficient, scalable and secure servers change the conversation around what is possible for meeting environmental goals, empowering communities, and saving customers significant resources." Cloud&Heat's expansion into the US further signals the considerable need to modernize data center energy usage with more energy- and cost-efficient technology. As the evolving needs of the global economy and applications such as artificial intelligence (AI), Blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT) increasingly drive demand, requirements for infrastructure and energy to support the internet continue to grow. According to a recent study conducted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the US Department of Energy Management Program, data centers in the US consumed an estimated 70 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2014, or almost two percent of the country's total energy consumption. The same study projects that US data centers will consume approximately 73 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2020. "Energy consumption by data centers is a global problem that will continue to grow, if we fail to act," says Arne Morteani, Partner at ETF Partners. "Cloud&Heat's unique technology turns this trend on its head by re-imagining the way data centers use energy. We are excited to see how their expansion in US will inspire innovative cities and pave the way towards a more sustainable future." Cloud&Heat's energy-efficient products capture and turn waste heat emitted by servers into heat that can be re-used elsewhere, saving customers considerable resources while improving the environment. Cloud&Heat servers are currently providing heat to several residential areas in Germany, including the former European Central Bank, eliminating the need for expensive heat pumps, a total savings that reached $79,000 a year. This energy redistribution is made possible by proprietary water cooling technology, which uses hot water to cool the servers before exporting it at a temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit, which in turn can be used to address local needs. Cloud&Heat's out-of-the-box solutions enable quick and scalable implementation, while their secure servers run on OpenStack, which offers the flexibility to work within any environment. "Cloud&Heat is one of the more innovative companies in the open infrastructure community. Their model for harvesting energy from data center heat load has proven useful in Europe, and it's exciting to see their unique use case now arriving in the United States," said Heidi Bretz, Director of Business Development of the OpenStack Foundation. "Sustainability is a global challenge for the cloud data center space, and Cloud&Heat has delivered on an intriguing vision for reducing net power consumption, powered by OpenStack." Cloud&Heat is a two-time winner of the German Data Center Award - the Europaischer Kulturpreis' "Sustainability Theme Award" and Frankfurt Business Media's " European Next Generation Award ." Earlier this month, Cloud&Heat was also listed in the 2019 Tech Tour Growth 50 List , which honors high-impact and innovative European "super-scale ups." Cloud&Heat's recognition reflects their status as a market leader redefining standards for data centers worldwide. To learn more about Cloud&Heat, please visit www.cloudandheat.com . About Cloud&Heat Cloud&Heat is a provider of OpenStack-based public and private cloud solutions. With secure, easy-to-use, sustainable and scalable solutions, the company offers IT infrastructures that meet the key requirements of the cloud future. Since 2012, the company has been running its own distributed cloud infrastructure, on which classic cloud computing (IaaS) is offered. With the conception, commissioning and maintenance of tailor-made cloud solutions for companies, Cloud & Heat completes its portfolio with the Datacenter in a Box, responding to the rapidly growing demand for in-house cloud infrastructures. Its extensive know-how over many years in dealing with "OpenStack" is passed on by the company in the form of classical consulting, tailor-made courses or the implementation of individual OpenStack projects. The trick: the server waste heat is taken up directly from the thermal hotspots, such as CPU or RAM, discharged and can be used for heating real estate and for hot water treatment. The energy- and cost-efficient concept has been awarded multiple times, e.g. by the German Datacenter Prize in 2015 & 2016. Media Contact: [email protected] SOURCE Cloud&Heat Technologies Related Links http://www.cloudandheat.com HOUSTON, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- CEMEX USA announced today its Houston headquarters is the company's first office globally to achieve the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED Gold Certification, a worldwide-leading designation for high-performance buildings that looks at reducing environmental impact during the planning, construction and occupancy stages. CEMEX USA executives, including CEMEX USA President Ignacio Madridejos, hosted a celebration on Feb. 19 to recognize the accomplishment. CEMEX USA was awarded a plaque from the USGBC to display the building's new LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. "At CEMEX, our operations work each day with sustainability in mind, and that is no different at our U.S. corporate headquarters," said CEMEX USA President Ignacio Madridejos. "We are focused on reducing our environmental impact, and we are proud to work in a building that aligns with those values." CEMEX USA collaborated with architects at Inventure Design of Houston to develop company offices on two floors of the six-story building in Memorial City. The design showcases the versatility of CEMEX products while creating state-of-the-art workspaces. An iconic spiral staircase designed to look like a poured in-place concrete product links CEMEX USA offices on the second and third floors. The staircase utilizes a handrail made of rebar, and all hallways of the CEMEX USA office feature exposed polished concrete floors. The building has been home to CEMEX USA's corporate office since January 2017 and overall, has more than 240,000 square feet of space. The structure is comprised of 20% recycled materials and boasts several additional sustainable qualities to achieve LEED Gold Certification. The building, owned and operated by MetroNational, accomplished a 52% power reduction. All electric equipment in the structure meets the Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR Certification. Water consumption has been reduced by one-third with the use of efficient fixtures. Also, 9 out of 10 work areas in the CEMEX USA offices receive natural sunlight. "MetroNational would like to congratulate our longtime tenant, CEMEX USA, on earning this prestigious certification for their corporate office," said MetroNational President Jason Johnson. "Like CEMEX USA, MetroNational is also committed to green building practices and sustainability throughout the Memorial City development." Globally, CEMEX promotes sustainability and conservation as a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and the company requires any new corporate office or major renovation to secure some type of green building certification. CEMEX is a global building materials company that provides high quality products and reliable service to customers and communities in more than 50 countries throughout the world. Its U.S. network includes 11 cement plants, more than 50 strategically- located distribution terminals, 50 aggregate quarries and nearly 270 ready-mix concrete plants. SOURCE CEMEX PROVO, Utah, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- BYU Law, a leading national law school focused on innovation in the legal field, today announced that it will host its second annual BYU Law Winter Deals Conference, March 7-8. Focusing on "New Ideas for Modern Markets' Most Difficult Challenges," the Winter Deals Conference will feature state-of-the-art research and discussions on topics related to mergers and acquisitions (M&A), venture capital, corporate and sovereign debt, transaction design, corporate governance and blockchain contracting. BYU Law's Winter Deals Conference brings leading scholars and practitioners to Park City, Utah, located within one of the most vibrant technology clusters in the United States, to discuss some of the modern global economy's most pressing legal issues. The event is sponsored by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Bloomberg BNA's flagship legal technology platform, Bloomberg Law, alongside BYU Law's Transactional Design Project. "Unforeseen events, from technological advancements to rising political populism, are affecting how global commerce is undertaken like never before. The unprecedented scale, complexity and dynamism of modern markets presents challenges for legal institutions grappling to balance stable rules that businesses can rely upon with the need to rapidly adapt to new demands in domains ranging from M&A to venture capital," said Matthew Jennejohn, Winter Deals Conference Founder and Professor at BYU Law. "BYU Law is collaborating with thought leaders to provide informed guidance on solutions and policies to help public and private institutions adapt. An incubator for developing new policy and law, the Winter Deals Conference brings together thinkers from academia, public sectors and private practice to debate solutions to these emerging problems." Commissioner Robert Jackson of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will deliver the conference keynote on how the SEC ensures the integrity of U.S. capital markets, and provides policy leadership in securities law and corporate governance around the globe. Commissioner Jackson has been an SEC Commissioner since 2018, and prior to that was professor of law at NYU School of Law and Columbia Law School. Other leading scholars and practitioners who will moderate or present at the conference include: D. Gordon Smith, Dean, BYU Law; Curt Anderson, Associate Professor of Law at BYU Law; Bobby Bartlett, Professor of Law Faculty Director, Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy; Elisabeth de Fontenay, Associate Professor of Law, Duke Law School; Rob Daines, Pritzker Professor of Law and Business, Associate Dean, and Senior Faculty for the Rock Center on Corporate Governance at Stanford Law School; Pam Morgan, Director, Client Success Central Region at Bloomberg BNA; Eric Talley, Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law and Co-Director, Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership, Columbia Law School; and Megan Shaner, Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship, Professor of Law, Oklahoma School of Law. Some of more than 30 topics of discussion will include corporate governance, mergers & acquisitions, takeover defenses, venture capital, bankruptcy and reorganizations, sovereign debt, initial public offerings, technology alliances, and tax issues. The Winter Deals Conference will be held on March 7-8 at the Grand Summit Lodge in Canyons Village of Park City Mountain Resort. For more information, including a complete agenda, visit https://winterdeals.byu.edu/2019-conference/. About BYU Law School Founded in 1971, the J. Reuben Clark Law School (BYU Law) has grown into one of the nation's leading law schools recognized for innovative research and teaching in social change, transactional design, entrepreneurship, corpus linguistics, criminal justice, and religious freedom. The Law School has more than 6,000 alumni serving in communities around the world. In its most recent rankings, SoFi ranked BYU Law as the #1 best-value U.S. law school in their 2017 Return on Education Law School Ranking. For more information, visit http://www.law.byu.edu/. (Media note: The event is closed to the public, but select speakers are available for comment). SOURCE BYU Law TSX Venture Exchange: BSK Frankfurt Stock Exchange: MAL2 OTCQB Venture Market (OTC): BKUCF VANCOUVER, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Blue Sky Uranium Corp. (TSX-V: BSK, FSE: MAL2; OTC: BKUCF), ("Blue Sky" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of the first Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") for the Ivana Uranium-Vanadium deposit at the Company's 100% owned Amarillo Grande Project in Rio Negro Province, Argentina. The PEA demonstrates robust economics for a surficial mining operation of the Ivana deposit, with 13 years of uranium and vanadium production. PEA Highlights (All figures in US dollars) After-tax NPV8%: $135.2 million After-tax IRR: 29.3% After-tax Payback period: 2.4 years Pre-production Capital Cost: $128.05 million , includes $28.28 million contingency , includes contingency Life of mine ("LOM") Sustaining Capital Cost: $35.46 million , includes $7.21 million contingency , includes contingency Average LOM Total Cash Cost net of credits: $16.24 /lb U 3 O 8 /lb U O Average LOM All-In Sustaining Costs ("AISC") net of credits: $18.27 /lb U 3 O 8 PEA Key Assumptions & Inputs Uranium price: $50 /lb U 3 O 8 /lb U O Vanadium Price $15 /lb V 2 O 5 /lb V O Years of Construction: 2 Years of Production: 13 Strip Ratio: 1.1:1 (waste/ore) Dilution: 3% Peak Mining rate (waste + mill feed): 13,500 tonnes per day ("tpd") Processing throughput: 6,400 tpd Process Plant Recoveries, Uranium: 84.6% Process Plant Recoveries, Vanadium: 52.5% Average Annual Production (LOM): 1.35 Mlbs/y U 3 O 8 O LOM uranium production: 17.5 Mlbs U 3 O 8 "This PEA demonstrates that the Ivana deposit is a leading new low-cost uranium-vanadium development project," stated Nikolaos Cacos, Blue Sky President & CEO. "With the expansion upside at Ivana and the discovery potential for new uranium and vanadium resources throughout the district-scale property, we expect Amarillo Grande to continue to improve its value proposition." Additional exploration work and detailed engineering studies are expected to expand and upgrade mineral resources, and further optimize and enhance the economics of the Ivana uranium-vanadium deposit. PEA Summary The PEA parameters are summarized in Table 1. The PEA is preliminary in nature and is based solely on Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Table 1. PEA Summary Parameters Input Unit Physical Parameters Total tonnes feed prep processed (LOM) Mt 27.7 Head Grade (U 3 O 8 ) % 0.034% Head Grade (V 2 O 5 ) % 0.019% Average Annual throughput tpa 2,170,000 Recovery - Uranium (net) % 84.6% Recovery - Vanadium (net) % 52.5% Mine Life (Production) years 13 Total Uranium (U 3 O 8 ) produced Mlbs 17.5 Total Vanadium (V 2 O 5 ) produced Mlbs 6.0 Average Annual U 3 O 8 production Mlbs/yr 1.35 Operating Cost Parameters Mining Cost (LOM avg) $/t feed 4.62 Processing Cost (LOM avg) $/t feed 6.50 Waste & Water Management $/t feed 0.08 G&A Cost (LOM avg) $/t feed 1.80 Total Operating Cost $/t feed 13.00 Pre-Production Capital Costs Mine $M 16.49 Process Plant $M 75.52 Waste & Water Management $M 4.61 Other Infrastructure $M 3.15 Contingency (avg) $M 28.28 Total Pre-Production Capital $M 128.05 Sustaining Capital (LOM) $M 35.46 Total Capital (LOM) $M 163.52 Cost Summary LOM U 3 O 8 cost (net of V 2 O 5 credits) $/lb 16.24 LOM U 3 O 8 cost (net of V 2 O 5 credits) with AISC $/lb 18.27 Mineral Resource Estimate An updated Mineral Resource Estimate, effective September 28th, 2018, was used for the PEA. Supporting information will be included in the NI 43-101 Technical Report to be published within 45 days of this press release. The updated resource estimate includes data from an additional 61 reverse circulation ("RC") drill holes (1,043 metres) completed in September of 2018, as well as a more extensive density study that indicated a density of 2.1 gr/cm3 should be applied. Those changes resulted in a 17% increase in total tonnes, as well as a 19% increase in contained U 3 0 8 and a 13% increase in contained V 2 0 5 , at similar grades. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing, or other relevant issues. The quantity and grade of reported Inferred resources are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to classify these inferred resources as Indicated or Measured, and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to an Indicated or Measured category. Table 2. Estimate of Inferred Mineral Resource reported at 100 ppm Uranium Cut-off Zone Tonnes (t) Average Grade Contained Metal U (ppm) U 3 0 8 (%) V (ppm) V 2 O 5 (%) U 3 0 8 (lb) V 2 O 5 (lb) Upper 3,200,000 133 0.016 123 0.022 1,100,000 1,500,000 Lower 24,800,000 335 0.040 105 0.018 21,600,000 10,000,000 Total 28,000,000 311 0.037 107 0.019 22,700,000 11,500,000 Notes to Table 1: 1. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. 2. It is reasonably expected that the majority of Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration. 3. The Mineral Resources in this estimate were not constrained within a conceptual pit shell owing to the shallow nature of the deposit (<25 m). 4. The 100 ppm uranium reporting cutoff grade is based on operative costs of $12/t, a price of $50/lb U 3 O 8 , and a process recovery of 90%. A density of 2.1gr/cm3 was applied. 5. The resource was estimated within distinct zones of elevated uranium concentration occurring within the host sediments. Vanadium is associated with uranium and is estimated within the same zones. There is no indication that Vanadium occurs outside of the elevated uranium zones in the Ivana deposit area in sufficient concentrations to justify developing estimation domains focused on Vanadium. Mine Plan The Ivana operation will consist of surface mining operation delivering mill feed to a nearby processing plant or stockpiles. The annual mining rate will be approximately 4.7 Mtpa (13,000 tpd) consisting of waste material and mill feed. The average strip ratio is approximately 1.1:1. Table 3 presents the potentially excavated tonnages. Mill feed may be delivered directly to the process plant or placed into stockpiles for blending purposes. Table 3. Potentially Extractable Portion of the Mineral Resource kt U 3 O 8 (%) V 2 O 5 (%) Waste stripped 30,100.4 - - Strip Ratio 1.1:1 Mill Feed (diluted) 27,690* 0.034% 0.019% *Assumes 3% dilution and ore loss Note: cut-off grade of 60 ppm U used to define potentially extractable portion of mineral resource The surface mine will be relatively shallow, with a maximum depth of 30 metres. The length of the mine will be approximately 3000 metres with widths ranging from 100 to 400 metres. Mining will be done with a fleet of two (5 cubic metre) excavators, a front-end loader and six 31-tonne articulated trucks along with a fleet of support equipment. The materials mined are unconsolidated gravels and sands and are free digging, therefore drill and blast operations will not be required. Waste materials will be placed out of pit for the first few years. Waste will then be placed either into external dumps or used as in-pit backfill. Processing & Recovery Mined mill feed may be delivered directly to the processing plant, or stockpiled. Stockpiles provide a surge capacity between the mining and processing, and enable blending, to manage the head grade of the process plant feed. Mill feed will then be processed in two stages. The overall process plant recovery is 85% for uranium (derived from 89% leach feed preparation recovery and 95% subsequent alkaline leach circuit recovery); and 53% for vanadium (derived from 89% leach feed preparation recovery and 60% subsequent alkaline leach circuit recovery). Recoveries were determined through the mineralogical, metallurgical and process engineering test work program completed by The Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC), as detailed in the Blue Sky press release dated February 7th, 2019. Feed material will first be processed through the leach feed preparation plant, a semi-mobile screening and scrubbing facility located at the proposed mining site. The leach feed preparation plant will liberate fine material (<100 um) from the larger particles (>100 um) and scrub away and recover fine uranium and vanadium mineral particles coating the large particles, into a leach feed slurry. The rejected coarse fraction (approx. 75% of the mill feed mass from which most of the original uranium and vanadium has been stripped) will be dewatered, stockpiled, and backhauled by the mine fleet to the dump sites or backfilled into the mine excavation. In the second process stage the slurry containing the fine fraction of the mineralized material will be pumped to the leach plant. An alkaline leach circuit (sodium carbonate and bicarbonate) will be used to dissolve uranium and vanadium from the leach feed minerals. No oxidant is required. Subsequently, uranium and vanadium will be separated by selective chemical precipitation, with uranium solids then calcined to U 3 O 8 or UO 3 and vanadium solids calcined to V 2 0 5 . Tailings slurry from the alkaline leach circuit (approx. 25% of the mill feed mass and from which the majority of uranium and vanadium has been stripped) will initially be pumped to a surface tailings management facility (TMF) where it will settle and release water. This released water will be reclaimed and pumped to the water treatment circuit in the process plant where it will be further treated, resulting in solids that are pumped back to the TMF with the alkaline leach tailings. The final pH adjusted water will be returned to the process water tank for reuse. In later years, the fine tailings will be pumped into containment cells in mined out sections of the pit, for co-disposal with mine waste rock and coarse rejects. Long term storage of all waste material from mining operations will comply with all local and international regulations and requirements. Infrastructure The Ivana operation will take advantage of local infrastructure whenever possible. Employees will reside in local communities, most likely the town of Valcheta, approximately 25 km from the mine site. Grid power will be accessible to the project via the construction of a 30 km powerline. For the PEA it is assumed that process water will be supplied from on-site pumping wells. Ground water at the mine site is classified as non-potable for humans and animals but suitable for processing use. Future studies will further assess the local water resources. Other site infrastructure will include maintenance shops, administration offices, a mine dry, diesel fuel storage, and warehouses. Capital and Operating Costs The life-of-mine capital and operating costs are summarized in Tables 4 and 5. The costs assume a fully owner-operated project. The closure and reclamation cost are estimated at $22.6 million and includes costs for site remediation and final backfilling of the remaining mine excavation. Table 4. Capital Cost Summary Area Units Pre- production Sustaining (LOM) Total LOM Mine $M 16.5 9.4 25.9 Process Plant $M 75.5 9.7 85.2 Waste & Water Management $M 4.6 8.1 12.7 Other Infrastructure $M 3.2 1.1 4.3 Contingency (avg.) $M 28.3 7.2 35.5 Total Capital $M 128.1 35.5 163.5 Note: cost accuracy is commensurate with a PEA level study, with +/- 30% accuracy. Table 5. Operating Cost Summary Area Unit Cost ($/t) Total LOM ($M) Mining Cost, incl stockpiling & coarse reject backhauling $/t mined 2.26 128.0 Mining Cost, incl stockpile & rejects $/t feed 4.62 128.0 Processing Cost $/t feed 6.50 180.0 Waste and Water Management 0.08 2.3 G&A $/t feed 1.80 49.9 Total Operating Cost $/t feed 13.00 360.1 Project Economics and Sensitivities The economic results of the PEA are summarized in Table 6 on both a before-tax and after-tax basis. For the PEA Base Case a long-term uranium price of $50/lb U 3 O 8 and a vanadium price of $15/lb V 2 O 5 were used. Sensitivity to various uranium prices are shown in Table 6 while the vanadium price is kept fixed. Uranium provides approximately 90% of the project's revenue stream. Table 6. Economics and Sensitivity Units Uranium Price Sensitivity Price - U 3 O 8 $/lb 40 50 60 Price - V 2 O 5 $/lb 15 15 15 Pre-Tax NPV (0%) $M 233.6 405.3 577.0 NPV (8%) $M 111.8 214.6 317.5 IRR % 24.9% 36.1% 45.9% After-Tax NPV (0%) $M 155.8 266.7 377.6 NPV (8%) $M 67.8 135.2 202.3 IRR % 20.0 29.3 37.3 Payback years 3.0 2.4 1.9 Opportunities Infill drilling at the Ivana deposit is expected to upgrade the mineral resource from the Inferred category. There is also potential to expand resources at Ivana, particularly to the west, where recent pit sampling returned significant intervals with high grades of uranium and vanadium (see Blue Sky news release dated November 15, 2018). Furthermore, there is excellent exploration potential in the area to the north of the Ivana deposit, and elsewhere on the Amarillo Grande Project concessions. Additional improvements to the project economics are expected as more detailed engineering studies are undertaken and optimization studies are completed. Future work on Ivana will include additional infill and step-out drilling to upgrade and expand mineral resources, as well as advanced engineering studies that will include a complete and comprehensive environmental base line study, additional metallurgical and process design test work, mine design optimization, detailed permitting assessment, among other items. About the Amarillo Grande Project The Company's 100% owned Amarillo Grande Uranium-Vanadium Project in Rio Negro Province, Argentina is a new uranium district controlled by Blue Sky. The Project includes several major target areas over a regional trend, with uranium and vanadium mineralization in loosely consolidated sandstones and conglomerates, at or near surface. The area is flat-lying, semi-arid and accessible year-round, with nearby rail, power and port access. The Ivana deposit is located in the southernmost of three target areas that comprise the Amarillo Grande Uranium-Vanadium project. Mineralization was first identified at Ivana after field follow-up of a 2010 regional high-resolution airborne radiometric and magnetic survey. The Ivana deposit displays characteristics of both surficial-type and sandstone-type uranium-vanadium deposits. In plan view, the Ivana uranium-vanadium mineralization has a broad C-shaped pattern with some isolated outlying areas of peripheral mineralization. The uranium mineralization at Ivana is comprised of secondary uranium minerals which include carnotite, a coffinite-like mineral that has been called -coffinite (beta-coffinite), as well as lesser tyuyamunite, leibigite, and an unidentified uranium-bearing mineral species. Mineralization occurs within 25 m of surface in two stacked zones. The upper zone is comprised of predominantly carnotite mineralization, and the lower zone contains a mixture of mainly carnotite and -coffinite mineralization. The two zones occur together through most of the deposit but there are localized areas where only one zone is present. The upper zone averages 2.7 m in thickness, with a maximum of 10 m, while the lower zone has a maximum of 20 m and has an average thickness of 6 m. The Amarillo Grande project is believed to have district-scale potential for discovery of similar styles of mineralization. QA/QC The resource estimation was based on 488 RC drill holes, representing 7,622 metres of drilling with one metre samples. The drilling was completed in three phases starting in January 2017 and finishing in August 2018. Only 2 holes were inclined; the remainder were vertical. Bedding and mineralized horizons are approximately horizontal so vertical samples are believed to represent true thickness. The drilling program was carried out using a Roc L8 and FlexiROC D65 drill rigs from Atlas Copco, ore-control track-mounted rigs adapted to RC with double and triple cyclone, respectively, to reduce the dust loss during sampling and automatic sampling. Samples were sent to Bureau Veritas Minerals of Mendoza, Argentina for preparation by drying, crushing to 80% passing 10 mesh and then pulverizing a 250g split to 95% passing 150 mesh. Pulps were sent to Bureau Veritas Commodities Canada Ltd. for analysis of 45 elements by means of Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) following a four-acid digestion (MA-200). Samples over 4,000ppm uranium are re-assayed, after phosphoric acid leach, by Inductively Coupled Plasma Electron Spectrometry (ICP-ES). After approximately every 10th sample a blank, duplicate, or standard sample was inserted into the sample sequence for quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) purposes. The results of the QA/QC samples were reviewed by the Qualified Person. QA/QC sample performance confirmed sampling and assaying were of excellent quality allowing assay data to be used to estimate Inferred Resources. Qualified Persons and NI 43-101 Disclosure The results of the Company's drilling program were reviewed, verified (including sampling, analytical and test data) and compiled by the Company's geological staff under the supervision of David Terry, Ph.D., P.Geo. Dr. Terry is a Director of the Company and a Qualified Person ("QP") as defined in National Instrument 43-101. A National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") Technical Report supporting the Mineral Resource Estimate and the Preliminary Economic Assessment will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of this news release. The Mineral Resource Estimate and associated information in this news release were prepared under the direction of Bruce Davis Ph.D., F.AusIMM, of BD Resource Consulting Inc. and Susan Lomas, P.Geo., of Lions Gate Geological Consulting Inc. Both Dr. Davis and Ms. Lomas are independent Qualified Persons (QP's) as defined in NI 43-101. The PEA and associated information in this news release were prepared under the direction of consultant Ken Kuchling, P.Eng., a mining engineer specializing in economic reviews and an independent Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101. Additional contributing Qualified Persons for the PEA are: Jon Thorson , Ph.D., CPG. (geological interpretation) , Ph.D., CPG. (geological interpretation) Chuck Edwards , P.Eng. FCIM (metallurgy & processing) , P.Eng. FCIM (metallurgy & processing) Ken Embree , P.Eng., of Knight Piesold Ltd (waste & water management) All the QP's have reviewed and approved the content of this news release. About Blue Sky Uranium Corp. Blue Sky Uranium Corp. is a leader in uranium discovery in Argentina. The Company's objective is to deliver exceptional returns to shareholders by rapidly advancing a portfolio of surficial uranium deposits into low-cost producers. Blue Sky holds the exclusive right to over 434,000 hectares (equiv. to 1,072,437 acres) of property in two provinces in Argentina. The Company's flagship Amarillo Grande Project was an in-house discovery of a new district that has the potential to be both a leading domestic supplier of uranium to the growing Argentine market and a new international market supplier. The Company is a member of the Grosso Group, a resource management group that has pioneered exploration in Argentina since 1993. For additional details on the project and properties, please see the Company's website: www.blueskyuranium.com ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Nikolaos Cacos" ______________________________________ Nikolaos Cacos, President, CEO and Director 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. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Readers are encouraged to refer to the Company's public disclosure documents for a more detailed discussion of factors that may impact expected future results. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. We advise U.S. investors that the SEC's mining guidelines strictly prohibit information of this type in documents filed with the SEC. U.S. investors are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on our properties. SOURCE Blue Sky Uranium Corp. Related Links www.blueskyuranium.com NEW YORK, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- BLACK ENTERPRISE President & CEO Earl "Butch" Graves Jr. announced the publication's list of Most Powerful Women in Corporate America and Corporate Diversity as featured in the magazine's first quarter 2019 cover story. The final roster was culled from thousands of potential candidates across numerous industries, including the finance, pharmaceutical, and retail sectors. The women selected on the list have authority over budgets totaling billions of dollars and control subsidiaries, divisions, or departments that affect the fiscal health and direction of their respective businesses. "Our editorial team developed this list to not only celebrate the black female business elite," said Graves Jr. "but to demonstrate that it requires unparalleled expertise and resilience to break through barriers that female executives continue to face today. Although we honor those featured among our Most Powerful Women in Corporate Americaincluding our cover subjects Debbie Dyson of ADP, Sandra Phillips Rogers of Toyota, and Gloria Boyland of FedExwe found less than 150 such leaders out of the more than 2.5 million top executives nationwide. Let's get serious about using our power to provoke change. We must ensure that corporate America will practice true equal opportunity." The executives on the list will be recognized during the BLACK ENTERPRISE Women of Power Summit on Saturday, March 2, at The Mirage in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Women of Power Summit, the nation's No. 1 executive development and leadership conference for women of color, annually attracts more than 1,400 corporate executives, professionals, and businesswomen from across the country. These exceptional women of power have overcome barriers and challenges, proving there is nothing women of color can't accomplish. This year, we have decided to also recognize women who are champions of diversity, who set about the taskevery dayof ensuring all employees are included in the opportunities generated in this era of record corporate profits and trillion-dollar market values, in the Most Powerful Women in Corporate Diversity list. The 45 women on our list ensure their organizations prioritize the hiring, retention, and advancement of professionals who reflect the country we live in and the diverse consumer market driving the bottom line. They lead the charge on courageous conversations about race in the workplace, cultivate an environment of inclusion and belonging, and hold their fellow senior managers accountable for implementing diversity & inclusion strategies as a business imperative. The 136 women on our Most Powerful Women in Corporate America list is our largest ever made up of the creme of the crop of black women executives. They have succeeded by leading with performance, deeply understanding their company culture, deftly navigating the corporate landscape, andabove allwisely wielding their power to determine their own destiny The complete list of the Most Powerful Women in Corporate America and Corporate Diversity listing is available in the first quarter 2019 issue of BLACK ENTERPRISE, currently on digital newsstands. BLACK ENTERPRISE, your ultimate source to build Wealth for Life, is the premier business, investing, and wealth-building resource for African Americans. Since 1970, BE has provided essential business information and advice to professionals, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and decision makers. Every month, BLACK ENTERPRISE magazine provides 4 million readers with information on entrepreneurship, careers, and financial management. A multimedia company, BE also produces television programming, business and lifestyle events, Web content, and digital media. SOURCE BLACK ENTERPRISE Related Links https://www.blackenterprise.com ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- It's not often there is good news about the expense of medical care and health insurance premiums. But the Minnesota Council of Health Plans recently received good news. Expenses for the state's reinsurance program that helps pay high medical bills for people who buy their own insurance are about half the amount expected. That means there is enough money left over to extend the help into 2020 and 2021. Then the bad news arrived. Minnesota's new Gov. Tim Walz didn't extend the program in his proposed state budget for the next biennium. Instead, he recommended creating a new program to subsidize an individual's premium. Jim Schowalter, president of the Minnesota Council of Health Plans, said policymakers will need to decide what's next. Reinsurance, also called the Minnesota Premium Security Program, helped reduce premiums paid each month by people who buy their own insurance by 20 percent on average in 2018 and again in 2019. Without legislative action to extend the program, premiums will go up this fall, according to actuaries from Oliver Wyman. Since the launch of Minnesota's program, Maryland, New Jersey, Oregon, Wisconsin and other states have closely watched Minnesota's program as officials there work to help people who buy their own insurance. Program got results at half the expected cost Numbers recently presented to the group that's overseeing the program showed just 50 percent of the $271 million set aside will be needed for 2018 medical bills. Insurance experts at Wakely Consulting Group said $120.5 million in medical bills have come in through as of December 31, 2018. The company projects another $18.4 million will be needed for care that wasn't billed by the end of the year, bringing the total expense for last year to $138.9 million. In all, about 155,000 people across the state bought health insurance on their own in 2018. About 2 percent of these Minnesotans had medical bills between $50,000 and $250,000, the threshold set for reinsurance help. In 2015, a Wakely report on Minnesotans who bought their own health insurance also reported 2 percent of the people with medical bills above $50,000. Minnesota's Reinsurance Program Person's Medical Bills Who Pays $0 $50,000 Premiums, and the individual's co-insurance, pay 100 percent of the bill $50,001 $250,000 Reinsurance pays 80 percent of the bill; premiums pay 20 percent Above $250,001 Premiums pay 100 percent of the bill High medical bills, no common expensive illness or injury The report from Wakely showed people do not need to have serious medical conditions to have expensive medical bills. Of the Minnesotans with medical bills that met the threshold for reinsurance help, 7 percent didn't have any of the expected injuries or illness that typically signal expensive medical bills. "This is why reinsurance works. It's focused on a person's medical bill, not the illness or injury codes," Schowalter said. About 28 percent of people had just one indicator, while 27 percent had four or more indicators that the person's care would be expensive care. Medical bills for most people totaled between $58,498 to $119,795. More than 200 people had bills above the $250,000, the upper limit for state reinsurance. Governor's budget creates alternative to reinsurance, legislators must make a choice as deadline for 2020 rate requests nears While Minnesota's reinsurance program is a model that has successfully stabilized premiums and kept insurers competitive, there are people, like the state's new administration, who have doubts whether reinsurance should continue for another year. "There's no doubt reinsurance is a success," said Schowalter. "Here's why it must continue." No new money is needed . The legislature appropriated $271 million in state funds per year to pay for reinsurance 2018 and 2019. Knowing that just $138.9 million was spent in 2018 should relieve policymakers' concerns about how to fund the help in 2020. . The legislature appropriated in state funds per year to pay for reinsurance 2018 and 2019. Knowing that just was spent in 2018 should relieve policymakers' concerns about how to fund the help in 2020. It brings federal money to Minnesota . The federal government contributed $131 million to the program for 2018 and an estimated $84 million in 2019. That means actual state expenses for the 2018 medical bills were about $7.9 million , not the $271 million budgeted. The federal government contributed to the program for 2018 and an estimated in 2019. That means actual state expenses for the 2018 medical bills were about , not the budgeted. It already has federal approval . Federal regulators approved the plan through 2022but state law only allows the program through this year. . Federal regulators approved the plan through 2022but state law only allows the program through this year. 2020 federal changes already push premiums up. The combination of the return of federal health insurance tax and no requirement for people to have insurance already means premiums will likely go up. An actuary from Oliver Wyman told Minnesota legislators that the federal changes, linked with the loss of state reinsurance, would likely increase premiums by around 50 percent. ''Premiums for 2020 are being calculated now," Schowalter said. "The people at health insurance companies who put together rates need to know whether the state will help pay part of expensive medical bills or if people who buy their own insurance have to foot the entire bill." For images, contact Minnesota Council of Health Plans. SOURCE Minnesota Council of Health Plans Related Links http://mnhealthplans.org SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A class action lawsuit was filed in San Mateo Superior Court today accusing biotechnology giant Genentech of exploiting cancer patients by packaging cancer medications in vials that are too large for most patients. Because the unused portion of the medications cannot be safely stored after the first use, the excess must be discarded. Genentech, however, charges and is paid for all the medication regardless of the amount that must be discarded. According to the lawsuit, Genentech's decision to package some of its most expensive medications so as to maximize waste is not an oversight; instead, it is an intentional business scheme aimed at increasing Genentech's profits. These profits, however, come at the expense of extra costs incurred by taxpayers, private health insurers and ultimately cancer patients in desperate need of these lifesaving pharmaceuticals. "When patients are at their lowest point, fighting tooth and nail just to live another day, Genentech gouges them for drugs the company knows the patient will never use," said one of the lead attorneys Mike Arias of Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Torrijos. "Genentech needs to be held accountable for taking advantage of some of the sickest people in our country just so it can increase revenue." Lawsuit's Allegations A 2016 study projected that payments for wasteful portions of just 18 cancer drugs, including three manufactured by Genentech, would total $1.8 billion in revenues received by the pharmaceutical companies with another $1 billion in markups paid to doctors and hospitals. For three Genentech products alone, the total was more than half a billion dollars. This is the cost of "waste" for just one year. "The pharmaceutical companies are given carte blanche to run up the tab on consumers and taxpayers in this country," said Richard Cornfeld of the Law Office Of Richard S. Cornfeld, LLC. "How can people struggling to stay alive battle against multi-billion-dollar companies like Genentech which know how to manipulate the system?" A group of cancer researchers found the federal Medicare program and private health insurers are forced to waste nearly $3 billion every year buying cancer medicines that are thrown away because drug makers distribute the drugs only in vials that hold too much for most patients. In addition, some of these costs are passed on to patients with cancer and other serious diseases to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars a year. These costs are a result of Genentech's deliberate packaging. Class Rep Andrew Williamson The cost of Andrew Williamson's treatment with Genentech's cancer drug Rituxan is an example of these staggering costs. Because Genentech supplies Rituxan only in large single-use vials, Andrew was forced to use vials totaling 800 mg for each treatment even when the prescribed dosage was less than that. The charges for the unused portions of Rituxan totaled $11,878.82. If Genentech had simply added a smaller vial of Rituxan, the charges for unused Rituxan would have been only $1,923.25, representing a savings of $9,955.67. "Andrew's struggle is the struggle of every person who needs a Genentech-manufactured drug," said Kevin Carnie of The Simon Law Firm. "All he was focused on throughout his treatment was getting better, staying alive, and spending more time with his loved ones; but, the outrageous cost of Rituxan was like a second grim reaper hanging over him on a daily basis." The class action is brought by Andrew Williamson and on behalf of other end payors (patients and insurers) to recover the amounts they necessarily spent, through no fault of their own, on wasted medicine sold by Genentech. "Andrew's is just one story, there are countless others who had to pay extravagant prices in order to get the care they needed," said attorney Brian Wolfman. The case is Andrew Williamson v. Genentech, Inc., San Mateo Superior Court, Case No. 19CIV01022. To read the complaint - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kwETwgyvnzWk795HHR4GPRnSx6JJx05E/view?usp=sharing. About Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Torrijos, LLP With offices in Oakland, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Montreal, Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Torrijos represents clients in complex litigation in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Some of our practice areas include: Class Actions, Mass Torts, Major Personal Injury, Employment Law, and Intellectual Property Rights. To learn more about us, go to: https://aswtlawyers.com/. About The Simon Law Firm, P.C. At The Simon Law Firm, P.C. our mission is to provide the highest-quality legal services with integrity, professionalism, and respect for our clients and the greater community. Our St. Louis-based law firm consistently achieves some of the largest verdicts and settlements in the state of Missouri, and we are regularly covered in the press for cases ranging from personal injury to intellectual property to consumer fraud. For more information, go to: https://www.simonlawpc.com/. Law Office of Richard S. Cornfeld, LLC Based in St. Louis, The Law Office of Richard S. Cornfeld, LLC, pursues justice for consumers and employees through class action remedies. Richard Cornfeld founded the firm after a 30-year career at one of St. Louis' major law firms defending some of the country's largest lawsuits. Today, his firm fights for and obtains redress for those wronged by corporations and other entities throughout the United States. Learn more at www.cornfeldlegal.com. Joe Marchelewski [email protected], 310-462-2252 SOURCE Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Torrijos, LLP Related Links http://www.cornfeldlegal.com SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2nd Annual Great Place to Work For All Leadership Awards Igniting Innovation By All Gala took place last night at the Four Seasons San Francisco to honor leaders from companies on the Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For, 100 Best Workplaces for Women, 150 Best Small and Medium Businesses, 100 Best Workplaces for Diversity, and the 25 World's Best Workplaces Lists. These leaders were nominated by their companies for their work in creating a new program or product developed with wide-spread participation across the organization that delivered a significant business impact. Great Place to Work recently published ground-breaking research demonstrating that companies with high-trust workplace cultures see even faster rates of success by inviting every employee into the innovation process. By focusing on "Innovation By All," these organizations are able to operate with greater agility, beat sales targets, and outperform the competition. The awards dinner kicked off the 16th Annual Great Place to Work For All Summit , held February 26-28, in San Francisco. Recognizing the award winners, Great Place to Work CEO, Michael C. Bush said, "We are honored to celebrate your shining examples of Innovation By Allthe individuals and teams who have successfully created new products or built more inclusive cultures, and who have led their organizations to more fully maximize the human potential within their workforce." The Great Place to Work For All Leadership Award celebrates leaders who have made major contributions in creating a great workplace experience across their organizations. The Great Place to Work For All Leadership Awards are sponsored by Accenture, Cisco, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, O.C. Tanner, SAP SuccessFactors and World Wide Technology. Great Place to Work also honored a select group of leaders who received special distinction as the Top 10 Innovators of the Year. Listed alphabetically by company, they include: Timothy Innes , Software Engineer, AT&T , Software Engineer, Gabrielle Thompson , SVP, HR Acquisitions and Total Rewards, Cisco , SVP, HR Acquisitions and Total Rewards, Derek Bang , Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, Crowe LLP , Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, Hasan Rafiq , Head of Diversity & Inclusion, West Region, EY , Head of Diversity & Inclusion, West Region, John Bernier , Area Human Resources Director, Hilton , Area Human Resources Director, Lisa Pratt , Vice President, Customer Engagement Marketing, Kronos Incorporated , Vice President, Customer Engagement Marketing, Katie McLean , Outpatient Pharmacy Manager, Methodist University Hospital, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare , Outpatient Pharmacy Manager, Methodist University Hospital, Nate Walkingshaw , Chief Experience Officer, Pluralsight , Chief Experience Officer, Sean D'Arcy , Director of Trading Innovation, The Trade Desk , Director of Trading Innovation, Greg Pryor , Senior Vice President, People & Performance Evangelist, Workday Here are the Great Place to Work For All Leadership Winners honored for their "Innovation By All" contributions to their businesses and are listed below in alphabetical order by company. You can read their inspirational stories here. Team comprising of Angela Lane, Vice President, Global Talent; Jessie Albrecht , Associate Director, Talent Development; Tim Gerrits , Senior Director, Talent Development; Melanie Gonzales , Manager, Talent Development; Michael Poll , Director, Talent Management; Savanna Loski , Senor Specialist, Talent Development, and Jon Stansbury , Talent Director of Marketing, AbbVie Inc . , Associate Director, Talent Development; , Senior Director, Talent Development; , Manager, Talent Development; , Director, Talent Management; , Senor Specialist, Talent Development, and , Talent Director of Marketing, . Sumreen Ahmad , Associate Director, Human Performance, Accenture , Associate Director, Human Performance, Katie Juran , Senior Director, Diversity & Inclusion, Adobe , Senior Director, Diversity & Inclusion, Team comprising of Celeste Rechner , Tim Pontious , and Jerry Bagley , Alliance Data , , and , Team comprising of Elizabeth Allen , Marketing Analyst; Carley Buck , Market Insights Analyst; Tessa Dahlstrom , Consumer Marketing Manager; Angelica Bonacci , Director Insights; Amy Billmayer , Digital Experience Developer; Andrew Banas , Digital Experience Channel Manager; Tamara Stevens , IT Business Analyst; Katie Crawford , Senior Project Leader; Rick Dupre , Art Director; Molly Augustin , Copywriter, and Lisa Mosbek , Production Buyer, Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America , Marketing Analyst; , Market Insights Analyst; , Consumer Marketing Manager; , Director Insights; , Digital Experience Developer; , Digital Experience Channel Manager; , IT Business Analyst; , Senior Project Leader; , Art Director; , Copywriter, and , Production Buyer, John Yoder , Vice President, Engineering, AppFolio, Inc. , Vice President, Engineering, Sonja Gittens-Ottley , Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Asana , Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Timothy Innes , Processional-Software Engineer, AT&T , Processional-Software Engineer, Team comprising of Jefferson Isibor , Supervisor, Pharmacy; Yanira Castelan , Supervisor, Pharmacy Technicians; Heather Gucwa , Manager, Quality & Patient Safety, and Lauren Lynn , Nurse Practitioner, Atlantic Health Systems , Supervisor, Pharmacy; , Supervisor, Pharmacy Technicians; , Manager, Quality & Patient Safety, and , Nurse Practitioner, Joanna Zabriskie , President, BH Management , President, Team comprising of Suzanne Krause , Director of Enterprise Solutions; Courtney Luongo , Account Director, and Tracey Bingham , Academic Solutions Consultant, Bright Horizons , Director of Enterprise Solutions; , Account Director, and , Academic Solutions Consultant, Melissa Lavin-Hickey , Director of Marketing, Burns & McDonnell , Director of Marketing, Stephanie Mardell , Vice President of People, Button , Vice President of People, David White , Distinguished Engineer, Cadence , Distinguished Engineer, Gabrielle Thompson , SVP, HR Acquisitions and Total Rewards, Cisco , SVP, HR Acquisitions and Total Rewards, Bob Maller , President and Chief Culture Officer, Collaborative Solutions LLC , President and Chief Culture Officer, Sonya Erickson , Partner, Cooley LLP , Partner, Derek Bang , Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, Crowe LLP , Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, Kathleen Waid , Principal, Educe Group , Principal, April Anthony , CEO, Encompass Health- Home Health and Hospice , CEO, Hasan Rafiq , Head of Diversity & Inclusion, West Region, EY , Head of Diversity & Inclusion, West Region, Anne McCauley , Chief Operating Officer, First American , Chief Operating Officer, Tomer London , Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Gusto , Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, John Bernier , Area Human Resources Director, Hilton , Area Human Resources Director, Joe Shearer , Research Analyst, Hyland , Research Analyst, Harold Brewer , Chairman, Intuitive Research and Technology Corporation , Chairman, Nixon Xavier, VP-Innovation, Katalyst Technologies Inc . . Lauren Bucherie , Director of Music+Brand Activations, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants , Director of Music+Brand Activations, Stu Sjouwerman , CEO, KnowBe4 , CEO, Mike Nolan , Vice Chair, Innovation & Enterprise Solutions, KPMG LLP , Vice Chair, Innovation & Enterprise Solutions, Lisa Pratt , Vice President, Customer Engagement Marketing, Kronos Incorporated , Vice President, Customer Engagement Marketing, Jennifer Hsieh , VP, Customer Experience (CX) Innovation, Marriott International , VP, Customer Experience (CX) Innovation, Joseph Carberry , Executive Officer, Medical Solutions Supplier , Executive Officer, Katie McLean , Outpatient Pharmacy Manager, Methodist University Hospital, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare , Outpatient Pharmacy Manager, Methodist University Hospital, Nate Walkingshaw , Chief Experience Officer, Pluralsight , Chief Experience Officer, Timothy Wenhold , Chief Operations Officer, Power Home Remodeling , Chief Operations Officer, Team comprising of Jennifer Perkins , Senior Director, Program Management and Simon Storm , Senior Director, Enterprise Applications, Promontory Interfinancial Network , Senior Director, Program Management and , Senior Director, Enterprise Applications, Tony Prophet , Chief Equality Officer, Salesforce , Chief Equality Officer, Josh Silverman , Director of Product Management, Salsify , Director of Product Management, Krisiti Sanders , Global VP of Well-Being at Work, SAP SuccessFactors , Global VP of Well-Being at Work, Les Hiscoe , Chief Executive Officer, Shawmut , Chief Executive Officer, Courtney Branson , Director Culture+People, Square Root , Director Culture+People, Becky Cantieri , Chief People Officer, SurveyMonkey , Chief People Officer, Julia Shen , SVP, Credit Acquisitions & Early Lifecycle Strategy, Synchrony , SVP, Credit Acquisitions & Early Lifecycle Strategy, Kimberly Rath , Chairman and Co-Founder, Talent Plus, Inc. , Chairman and Co-Founder, Team comprising of Jason Mealins , VP Platform Engineering; Peter Lincroft , Chief Research and Development Officer; Lisa Lippincott , Programmer; Greg Smith , Director of Product Management; and Doug Hegge , Director of Technical Account Management, Tanium , VP Platform Engineering; , Chief Research and Development Officer; , Programmer; , Director of Product Management; and , Director of Technical Account Management, Megan Bloomer , Vice President, Sustainability, The Cheesecake Factory , Vice President, Sustainability, Sean D'Arcy , Director of Trading Innovation, The Trade Desk , Director of Trading Innovation, Chris Patullo , Software Engineering Senior Manager, Ultimate Software , Software Engineering Senior Manager, Adam Myhill , Creative Director, Made with Unity, Unity Technologies , Creative Director, Made with Unity, Greg Pryor , Senior Vice President, People & Performance Evangelist, Workday , Senior Vice President, People & Performance Evangelist, Tim Loughman , Vice President of Sales Operation, World Wide Technology , Vice President of Sales Operation, Heather Brunner , Chairwoman & CEO, WP Engine , Chairwoman & CEO, Team comprising of Chris Mielke , Senior Software Engineer and Matt Kaye , Director of Product, Zillow Group About the Great Place to Work For All Summit The Great Place to Work For All Summit assembles executive leaders from Best Workplaces, including Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For, Great Place to Work-Certified organizations, and companies embarking on their workplace journey. Its mission is to share best practices for creating and championing high-trust cultures that are better for business, better for people, and better for the world. About Great Place to Work Great Place to Work is a global people analytics and consulting firm that helps companies produce better business results by focusing on workplace culture. Powered by more than 25 years of research, Emprising, its SaaS-enabled survey and analytics platform, gives companies access to the assessments, data, and reporting needed to build a high-trust, high-performance culture. Read our new book: "A Great Place to Work for All: Better for Business, Better for People, Better for the World." Learn more on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Contact: Christopher Tkaczyk: (415)-851-3692, [email protected] SOURCE Great Place to Work Related Links https://www.greatplacetowork.com FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Anago Cleaning Systems today announced its annual franchise award recipients, given to Master Franchise owners whose business exceeded expectations and served as a model for one of the largest international cleaning franchises. The awards were bestowed at Anago's annual meeting and convention, a three-day strategy session and celebration among the company's 43 master franchise owners. "Our Masters are both very accomplished and very competitive, so to win one of these awards prove that these professionals are executing at the highest levels," said Adam Povlitz, the President and CEO of Anago Cleaning Systems. "Through such high achievement, these award winners bring pride to themselves, but also to Anago and our almost 1,600 unit franchises." The award winners were: Most Franchises Sold Anago of Hawaii Highest Dollar Amount of Down Payments Received Anago of Manitoba Highest Net Sales (New Starts) Caroline Yamashita , Anago of Hawaii , Anago of Highest Net Growth Anago of Manitoba Rookie of the Year David Bonnemort , Anago of Utah , Anago of Most Valuable Peer Darren Williams Anago of Washington DC Anago of Terry Mollica Award for Overcoming Adversity Award for Overcoming Adversity Dory Ruyts Anago of Charleston Master City of the Year Anago of the Bay Area "Our performance is unmatched in our industry and this group of Master Franchise owners is the backbone of that performance," Povlitz said. "We're proud to have built a company that gives our teams the best possible tools for success so they can perform, sell, and service our customers. These accomplishments are a testament that we continue to pioneer our industry and franchising overall." Anago Cleaning Systems is a pioneer of the master franchise system, which allows successful mid- and senior-career professionals to operate their own exclusive regional franchises, while allowing small businesses to invest in their success. Both levels simply focus on running their business while Anago Cleaning Systems provides assistance, guidance and critical tools to grow. About Anago Cleaning Systems Anago Cleaning Systems is a commercial cleaning franchise system supporting over 40 Master Franchises and over 1,500 Unit Franchisees in the U.S. and internationally. After years of refining procedures and creating duplicable systems created in his large commercial cleaning service, David Povlitz founded Anago in 1989 to help other entrepreneurs open their cleaning businesses. Today, its program sets the standard worldwide in commercial cleaning. Anago was ranked #52 overall by Entrepreneur Magazine in its 2019 Franchise 500 ranking. For further information, visit its website at http://www.AnagoMasters.com. SOURCE Anago Cleaning Systems Related Links http://www.anagomasters.com BANGALORE, India, and LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company, and Alight Solutions, a leader in technology-enabled health, wealth and Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions, have agreed to expand their relationship by signing a definitive agreement to divest Wipro's Workday and Cornerstone OnDemand business to Alight for cash consideration of up to USD 110 million, of which USD 100 million would be payable at closing and the balance, USD 10 million, would be a deferred consideration payable at the end of 12 months based on the achievement of performance targets. Following the closing of the 10-year agreement, previously announced in September 2018, Alight and Wipro continue to explore additional strategic opportunities and possible alignment of portfolios based on their respective strengths. The divestiture agreement will result in approximately 350 employees in Wipro's Workday and Cornerstone OnDemand teams moving to Alight. The transaction will expand Alight's capabilities and resources in HCM and financial solutions with Wipro's advisory, implementation and integration offerings, strengthening its position as a large implementation partner in the Workday and Cornerstone OnDemand ecosystems. Wipro will continue with its focus and investment plans for the cloud applications and platforms space including growing and expanding its Salesforce business under the Appirio brand. Wipro will also continue to support Workday's suite of solutions for application management, testing and integration services for its existing client base. "We are delighted to expand our strategic relationship and collaboration with Alight. This agreement will enable Wipro to sharpen its focus on key offerings where it has a leadership position in the market. We will continue to make significant investments to grow our cloud applications and platforms business," said Abidali Z. Neemuchwala, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Wipro Limited. "This acquisition enhances both the depth and breadth of our HCM solutions, one of Alight's fastest-growing businesses. We are proud to welcome so many talented employees with specialized skills and expertise to the Alight team," said Chris Michalak, Chief Executive Officer, Alight Solutions. In 2016, Wipro acquired the Workday and Cornerstone OnDemand business as part of its Appirio buyout. Wipro's Workday and Cornerstone OnDemand business has multiple customers across the United States, Europe, Middle East and Africa with a track record of delivering over 500 Workday engagements and around 3,000 Cornerstone OnDemand projects. The transaction is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions and is expected to close during the quarter ending March 31, 2019. About Alight As a leading provider of human capital solutions, we help our clients and their people navigate the complexity of health, wealth and HR. We combine data-driven, consumer-centered technology with personalized care and service to deliver a superior customer experience. Our dedicated colleagues across 19 global centers help 22 million people and their 18 million family members simplify work and life, both now and in the future. At Alight, we are reimagining how people and organizations thrive. About Wipro Limited Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO) is a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company. We harness the power of cognitive computing, hyper-automation, robotics, cloud, analytics and emerging technologies to help our clients adapt to the digital world and make them successful. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, strong commitment to sustainability and good corporate citizenship, we have over 170,000 dedicated employees serving clients across six continents. Together, we discover ideas and connect the dots to build a better and a bold new future. Media Contacts: MacKenzie Lucas Alight Solutions [email protected] Vipin Nair Wipro Limited [email protected] Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property, and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf. http://www.wipro.com/industries/retail/insights/research/ SOURCE Alight Solutions Related Links http://alightsolutions.com ZWANENBURG, Netherlands, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- AEG Power Solutions B.V. ("AEGPS"), a global expert in uninterruptible power supply systems and solutions, is pleased to announce the appointment of Franck Audrain as Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") with effect from 4 March 2019. Franck is an experienced leader in the field of industrial power systems, having held senior roles at both Chloride (now Vertiv/Schneider) and Emerson. He will succeed Jeff Casper who will leave the Group after nine and a half years, having led the business through its restructuring phase. Franck Audrain has more than eight years' experience of the uninterruptible power supplies ("UPS") industry with Chloride/Emerson, and a track record of driving growth and executing business acquisitions in the UK, France and the USA. He led the successful turnaround of Chloride's industrial business and managed its integration into Emerson following its acquisition, leading the enlarged group's EMEA industrial business. His previous experience includes senior roles at LVMH, McKinsey and Schlumberger. Richard Thomson, Chairman of the Board of Directors of 3W Power S.A., AEG Power Solutions holding company, said: "We are delighted that Franck is joining AEG PS as CEO, following a thorough search process. He has an impressive track record in the industry and his experience of driving sales growth and performance improvement is highly relevant to the business as it enters the next phase of its development. He will build on the strong foundations left by Jeff Casper, who has been instrumental in refocusing the Group and rationalizing its cost base. The Board would like to thank Jeff for his contribution to the business over the last nine and a half years, particularly in the lead up to last year's financial restructuring, and for staying on to ensure a smooth handover." Franck Audrain, incoming CEO, said: "I am delighted to be joining AEG PS at an exciting time in its development. With an operational turnaround now substantially complete, the business is in a great position to grow. Thanks to an attractive product line up addressing a cross section of industrial markets, and a strong and growing services offering, the potential is clear. I am looking forward to working with my new colleagues to sharpen our commercial focus and grow our market share." About AEG Power Solutions AEG Power Solutions is a global expert in industrial uninterruptible power supplies ("UPS"), with operations in Europe and Asia. The Group's products and services ensure continuous availability of electrical power and the safe operation of critical applications for customers in the oil & gas, power generation, industrial process, transportation, Data/IT and renewable energy sectors. AEG PS has a wide portfolio of power supply systems and services including AC and DC UPS, battery chargers, rectifier systems, 24/7 service and maintenance, and customized UPS systems. Following the de-listing in August 2018 AEGPS is a private company owned by 3W Power S.A. For more information, visit www.aegps.com. SOURCE AEG Power Solutions BEIJING, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Zhao Deming, Secretary of Guiyang Municipal Party Committee, says the 2019 International Big Data Industry Expo in Guiyang, Guizhou Province will be a "sumptuous feast at which elite intellectuals and industry trailblazers gather to challenge each other with insights and ideas, catalyzing innovation and lighting up the road ahead." On Monday (25 February) in Beijing, Zhao spoke at a press conference to outline and promote this year's event which will be held in Guizhou's provincial capital from 26 to 29 May. "Our exposition is about frontier technologies and innovations, and their adoption by business and industry," he said. "We're going to hold abundant events and activities. Organization is proceeding smoothly." Last year's winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics Paul Romer, who is also a former World Bank chief economist, is one prominent intellectual who has already signed up to deliver a keynote speech. Another is Whitfield Diffie, a pioneer in public-key cryptography, who in 2015 was awarded the prestigious Turing Award, often called the Nobel Prize of computing. Forums and panel discussions will be held throughout the expo on critical subjects in the field of big data, including 5G telecoms, blockchain, industrial internet, artificial intelligence, the city of the future, and e-commerce and poverty alleviation. Guiyang's first deputy mayor Xu Hao, who chaired the Beijing press conference, said this year's big event will be "richer in content and more diverse in form" than previous years. The theme for 2019, he added, will be: innovation and the future. "The Internet and big data are changing people's lives at greater speed than ever," said Xu. "So this year we're focusing on humans amid advancing digitalisation and artificial intelligence, and what life will look like in the world of tomorrow." Among more than 400 exhibitors who will be putting on displays this year, 40 percent are foreign. Domestic companies include heavyweights such as Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei and Qihoo 360. Participants from overseas will include Google, Qualcomm, NTT Data and Seagate Technology. The organizers are expecting over 100,000 visitors over the expo's four days. After exhibition displays and speaking events, a third attraction at the Guiyang expo will be four or five competitions. One such contest, says Xu, will be a race for driverless cars. Another will be for internet security; pitting hackers against each other in a contest to exploit vulnerabilities in a given cyber security system. Guiyang's annual International Big Data Industry Expo was the first of its kind in China when inaugurated in 2015. In addition to Guizhou Provincial People's Government, it is also hosted by national government super-ministries: the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Internet Information Office. In its second year 2016, it was upgraded in importance to a national level event. Guiyang itself, meanwhile, is now booming as the nation's big data pilot zone, taking advantage of its cool mountain climate, abundant hydroelectric power and good network infrastructure. Apple, Qualcomm, Huawei, Tencent, Alibaba and Foxconn have all built cloud computing and big data centers there. "Big data" refers to the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence to spot useful patterns in the increasingly vast amounts of data thrown out by things like internet searches, mobile phones, e-commerce and, more recently, the "internet of things". As Xu Hao points out, China's comparative advantage in big data is its sheer "big-ness", or size; 1.4 billion people using over three times as many smart phones as America's population of 330 million. Mobile payment platforms such as Alipay and WeChat are so advanced that many citizens live life almost entirely without cash. Says Xu, China's contribution to this fast-growing industry of the future will be threefold: to "share in the building of a new digital home on earth; share in the creation a new era of digital civilization; and share in the enjoyment of the digital life of tomorrow." SOURCE 2019 International Big Data Industry Expo Organizing Committee OKLAHOMA CITY, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- State Representative Zack Taylor (R-Seminole) is proposing House Bill 1379, which is legislation that would hold horizontal frackers responsible for the damage caused by their horizontal frack jobs. The bill will be heard on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. in the House Judiciary Committee. "Hundreds of Oklahoma's vertical wells are being destroyed by massive horizontal frack jobs," stated Richard Parrish, OEPA's Oklahoma City Attorney and Regulatory Affairs director. "At least 47 of these "frack hits" have been documented by the Corporation Commission as causing pollution. The Corporation Commission currently holds the owner of the vertical well responsible for the pollution being caused by the horizontal frack jobs done by others." The Oklahoma Energy Producers Alliance supports House Bill 1379 and is calling this piece of legislation the "Art and Yvonne Platt" bill. Art and Yvonne are lifelong Oklahomans whose forefathers participated in the Oklahoma Land Rush. They have now lost everything they have as a result of a horizontal frack job that destroyed their wells. "I'm 80 years old, and we were depending on this lease for our retirement," said Art Platt. "We've spent every cent we had trying to fix the damage the horizontal fracker caused when they fracked into our well." Now Art and Yvonne have been forced to leave Oklahoma and move in with their children in Texas. "We applaud Representative Taylor for addressing this issue," said Dewey Bartlett, OEPA Chairman. "And hope that this legislation will help bring the big oil group, OIPA-OKOGA to the table to hopefully find common ground on this problem. Horizontal frack jobs are costing small business oil and gas producers their livelihood and endangering Oklahoma's environment in the process." About OEPA The Oklahoma Energy Producers Alliance is a group of Oklahoma oil and gas companies concerned with protecting our rights as conventional vertical producers and royalty owners at the State Capitol and the Corporation Commission. For more information, visit www.okenergyproducers.org. SOURCE Oklahoma Energy Producers Alliance Related Links http://okenergyproducers.org PORTLAND, Oregon, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research recently published a report, titled, "Smart Exoskeleton Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20182025." The report offers an in-depth analysis of key market players and their strategies, dynamic market trends, major segments, market size & estimations, and overall business landscape. According to the report, the global smart exoskeleton market garnered $125.6 million in 2017, and is expected to reach $1.89 billion by 2025, registering a CAGR of 41.3% from 2018 to 2025. Rise in demand for gait rehabilitation, industrial and elderly safety drive the growth in the market. However, its expensive nature impedes the market growth. On the other hand, increase in application of exoskeletons for military purpose create new pathways in the industry. Sample Report of Smart Exoskeleton Market Outlook 2025 at https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/5172 Actuators component remains to be a profitable and lucrative segment Based on component, actuators contributed nearly one-third of the total market share in 2017 and is expected to lead in terms of revenue throughout the forecast period. Moreover, this segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 42.5% from 2018 to 2025. It is due to the feature that it improves the overall efficiency of the smart exoskeleton by controlling errant motions. The research also delves deep into other components like sensors, power source, control system, and others. Rigid exoskeleton to remain dominant throughout the forecast period Based on type, rigid exoskeleton contributed to more than 90% of the total market share in 2017 and is expected to remain dominant throughout the forecast period. This is due to its ability to offer protection against physical damage and abrasion that can prove to be beneficial in the industrial sector. However, soft exoskeleton is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 56.2% from 2018 to 2025, owing to its characteristics such as compact size, lightweight, and less usage of energy. Purchase Enquiry at https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/5172 Asia-Pacific to grow at the fastest rate Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 45.4% from 2018 to 2025, owing to surge in demand for exoskeletons for a host of medical facilities and the rapid rate of manufacturing in countries such as China, Japan, and Singapore to meet the growing demand. However, North America held the substantial share of the overall market in 2017, accounting for more than two-fifths of the share, owing to rise in health-related requirements from paraplegics. Key market players Key market players highlighted in the research include ATOUN Inc., BIONIK, CYBERDYNE, INC., Ekso Bionics, Honda Motor Co. Ltd., ReWalk Robotics, Rex Bionics Ltd., Sarcos Corp., Technaid. S.L., and US Bionics, Inc. Access KNOWLEDGE TREE (Premium on-demand, subscription-based pricing model) at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/knowledgetree Knowledge tree is a cloud-based intelligence platform that offers more than 2,000 selective, off-the-shelf reports on niche markets to enable our clients gain deep insights on the latest trends, dynamic technologies, and emerging application areas. Similar Reports: Global Smart Headphone Market Expected to Reach $21,809.5 Million by 2025 In 2017, the in ear segment dominated the global smart headphone market, in terms of revenue. However, the over ear segment is expected to grow at a highest CAGR during the forecast period. Furthermore, based on distribution channel, offline led the global market in 2017, followed by online. The smart headphone market holds high growth potential, owing to increase in adoption of electronic system and devices. Furthermore, increase in the demand for smart headphones, particularly in the developing regions, such as China, India, and others drives the growth of the market. Companies in this industry have been adopting various innovative techniques to provide customers with advanced and innovative product offerings, which further boost the market growth Deep Learning Chip Market Expected to Reach $29,368.0 million, Globally, by 2025 Global deep learning chip market was valued at $1,975 million in 2017, and is projected to reach $29,368.0 million by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 39.9% from 2018 to 2025. At present, North America dominates the market, followed by Europe. In 2017, U.S. dominated the North America market and UK led the overall market in Europe. However, in the Asia-Pacific region, China currently dominates the market. 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: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States USA/Canada (Toll Free): +1-800-792-5285, +1-503-894-6022, +1-503-446-1141 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1(855)550-5975 [email protected] Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com SOURCE Allied Market Research WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Small Business Administration's Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development (IATF) and Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs (ACVBA) will hold quarterly public meetings on March 6 and 7 respectively at SBA headquarters in Washington, D.C. The IATF meeting will be held Wednesday, March 6, from 1 to 4 p.m. The committee meeting will be accessible via Skype webinar and/or conference call: Dial in: (202) 765-1264 Access code: 19181639# The ACVBA will meet on Thursday, March 7, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The committee meeting will be accessible via Skype webinar and/or conference call: Dial in: (202) 765-1264 Access code: 8482478# For more information on joining a Skype meeting, click here. Both Federal Advisory Committee public meetings will provide updates on the state of veteran-owned small businesses (VOSB), including policy efforts and progress made in areas such as access to capital, training and counseling, and government contracting. This quarter's meetings will also include updates from SBA's Office of Veterans Business Development, information about the SBA's role in assisting transitioning service members and their spouses who want to start and grow their own businesses, and updates on federal efforts to help veteran-owned small businesses access capital. "The Veterans Advisory committees provide a critical role in identifying areas where more work can be done to support veteran entrepreneurs," said Larry Stubblefield, Associate Administrator for SBA's Office of Veterans Business Development. "I'm especially looking forward to working with the new ACVBA Chairwoman, Elizabeth O'Brien, whose focus will be connecting veteran entrepreneurs to available resources." ACVBA Chairwoman Elizabeth O'Brien is the senior director of the Military Spouse Program at Hiring Our Heroes, an initiative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. A military spouse living in Springfield, Virginia, O'Brien advocates for meaningful employment opportunities for the more than one million members of the military spouse community. She oversees the Military Spouse Program's hiring events and the Military Spouse Employment Advisory Council, comprised of national companies committed to hiring military spouses and creating best practices in military spouse employment. Both IATF and ACVBA meetings are held quarterly at SBA headquarters, 409 3rd Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20416. Both public meeting transcripts may also be found at www.sba.gov/ovbd under section heading "Federal Advisory Committees" following each meeting. Advance notice of attendance is requested. Anyone wishing to attend and/or make comments to the IATF or ACVBA must contact SBA's Office of Veterans Business Development no later than March 1 at [email protected]. Comments for the record will be limited to five minutes to accommodate as many participants as possible. Written comments should be sent to [email protected] by March 1. Special accommodation requests, as well as any questions, should also be directed to SBA's Office of Veterans Business Development at the same email address, or by calling (202) 205-6773. About the U.S. Small Business Administration The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov. Contact: [email protected] (202) 205-6987 Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Blogs & Instagram Release Number: 19-09 SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration Related Links http://www.sba.gov Polsinelli's Miami office includes five new shareholders and one associate: James D. Barnett, Michael P. Gennett, Marisa Rodriguez Wilson, Milton A. Vescovacci, J. Everett Wilson and Brian Seidenberg. The group brings deep experience in a range of practice areas, including middle market corporate, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, health care, real estate and financial services. "We're pleased to announce our expansion in Miami," said Polsinelli Chairman and CEO Chase Simmons. "We've been doing business there for years and our firm's focus on health care, financial services, real estate and midmarket corporate work has been well received in the Miami market. The time to commit to Miami and the State of Florida is right, and we look forward to adding these talented lawyers to our client service offering." The Polsinelli Miami office is located downtown in the Miami Center high-rise, 201 S. Biscayne Avenue, just blocks from the Biscayne Bay waterfront. The new Miami group includes: James D. Barnett , Shareholder, Real Estate Practice Group. Barnett represents buyers, sellers, developers, landlords, tenants, lenders and borrowers in transactions throughout the United States . He brings extensive experience with complex real estate transactions, including office, retail, hotel, marina and industrial properties. He also serves as counsel to major financial institutions in connection with complex commercial loan workouts, foreclosures, and deeds in lieu. Barnett represents buyers, sellers, developers, landlords, tenants, lenders and borrowers in transactions throughout . He brings extensive experience with complex real estate transactions, including office, retail, hotel, marina and industrial properties. He also serves as counsel to major financial institutions in connection with complex commercial loan workouts, foreclosures, and deeds in lieu. Michael P. Gennett , Shareholder, Health Care Operations Practice Group. Gennett's practice focuses on healthcare licensing, as well as Medicare and Medicaid compliance issues. He represents health care practitioners and providers, including medical practices, medical equipment companies, home health agencies, pharmacies and surgical centers. Gennett defends False Claims Act whistleblower cases and data breaches. Gennett's practice focuses on healthcare licensing, as well as Medicare and Medicaid compliance issues. He represents health care practitioners and providers, including medical practices, medical equipment companies, home health agencies, pharmacies and surgical centers. Gennett defends False Claims Act whistleblower cases and data breaches. Marisa Rodriguez Wilson , Shareholder, Health Care Operations Practice Group. Wilson provides counsel for regulatory issues at the state and federal levels, assisting health care providers with operational and compliance issues, complex regulatory matters, mergers and acquisitions, licensing, Medicare and Medicaid. Her clients include health care clinics, home health agencies, managed care providers, diagnostic centers, and pharmacies. Wilson provides counsel for regulatory issues at the state and federal levels, assisting health care providers with operational and compliance issues, complex regulatory matters, mergers and acquisitions, licensing, Medicare and Medicaid. Her clients include health care clinics, home health agencies, managed care providers, diagnostic centers, and pharmacies. Milton A. Vescovacci , Shareholder, Corporate & Transactional Practice Group. Bringing experience in a wide array of industries, Vescovacci represents buyers and sellers in the sale or acquisition of business operations and interests. He serves as general outside counsel to several medium and small-sized companies, and provides counsel to members of board of directors and controlling shareholders on corporate governance matters. He represents health care providers, PBMs, third-party administrators, pharmacies, wholesale pharmaceutical distributors and medical technology companies. Vescovacci is a co-founder of the new Miami office. Bringing experience in a wide array of industries, Vescovacci represents buyers and sellers in the sale or acquisition of business operations and interests. He serves as general outside counsel to several medium and small-sized companies, and provides counsel to members of board of directors and controlling shareholders on corporate governance matters. He represents health care providers, PBMs, third-party administrators, pharmacies, wholesale pharmaceutical distributors and medical technology companies. Vescovacci is a co-founder of the new office. J. Everett Wilson , Shareholder, Health Care Operations Practice Group. A leading health care attorney, Wilson was earlier this month elected chairman of the Board of Directors for the Health Foundation of South Florida . He focuses his practice on the representation of health care providers and entities in the health care insurance sector. He assists clients in nearly every area of health care law, with a particular focus on issues relating to Medicare and Medicaid, provider operations, managed care and regulatory and business issues in mergers and acquisitions. Wilson is a co-founder of the new Miami office. A leading health care attorney, Wilson was earlier this month elected chairman of the Board of Directors for the Health Foundation of . He focuses his practice on the representation of health care providers and entities in the health care insurance sector. He assists clients in nearly every area of health care law, with a particular focus on issues relating to Medicare and Medicaid, provider operations, managed care and regulatory and business issues in mergers and acquisitions. Wilson is a co-founder of the new office. Brian Seidenberg , Associate, Real Estate Practice Group. Admitted in Florida , New York and New Jersey , Seidenberg's real estate practice focuses on complex real estate acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, financing and ongoing real estate development issues. "I am confident in this team that Polsinelli has strategically assembled to launch the office in our hometown of Miami," said Vescovacci. "We look forward to working together and furthering Polsinelli's recognition and client-service focus in the Miami market for years to come." While Polsinelli's physical presence is new in Miami, the firm's current business in the area has become increasingly important. Demand continues to rise, creating the need for a physical presence and opportunity for further growth. Additionally, the firm's focus areas align with those of the new group of attorneys, particularly in health care, real estate, finance and corporate and transactional services. "We feel that Polsinelli's national platform and deep health care bench with over 100 health care lawyers will benefit our health care clients in Miami and around the country," said Wilson. "Our clients will be able to tap deep cross disciplinary teams to execute on their strategic plans as health care continues to change at a staggering pace." Polsinelli's newest location increases the firm's momentum in coast-to-coast expansion. In May, the firm expanded its West Coast presence with eight attorneys and a Seattle office location to better serve regional clients in health care, technology and government investigations services. In his first year as CEO and Chairman, this marks the first office expansion for Simmons, who assumed the new role on Jan. 1. About Polsinelli Polsinelli is an Am Law 100 firm with more than 850 attorneys in 22 offices. Ranked #30 for Client Service Excellence1 and #10 for best client relationships2 among 650 U.S. law firms, Polsinelli was also named among the top 30 best-known firms in the nation3. The firm's attorneys provide value through practical legal counsel infused with business insight, and focus on health care, financial services, real estate, intellectual property, mid-market corporate, labor and employment, and business litigation. 12019 BTI Client Service A-Team Report 22017 BTI Industry Power Rankings 32018 BTI Brand Elite Media Contact: Kelsey Rockey [email protected] 816-931-8900 SOURCE Polsinelli Related Links https://www.polsinelli.com This announcement comes as Pivo surpasses the $640,000 mark of their Indiegogo Campaign , raising over 2343% of their original funding goal. "The entire team at Pivo are pleased about the recognition by the iF Judges for Pivo's design excellence. Validation and feedback from the greatest voices in design helps to better Pivo and make it more available to creators around the world," explained Ken Kim, the founder and CEO Pivo. So whats next? Pivo will continue to showcase its capabilities to the world's creators at MWC Barcelona until February 28th, 2019 - building upon the momentum it has gained from its crowdfunding campaigns and international recognitions. The company's demo will take place at the booth, Hall 1 Stand 1C51. Come see makes Pivo the award winning product of 2019 by iF Design. For more detailed information on Pivo, visit www.getpivo.com About Pivo Pivo ( www.getpivo.com ) is an interactive smart pod with an open source SDK for app development. We are an international team that likes to do things differently. There's no corporate nonsense, and no old-fashioned hierarchy. We are a company born out of the need to create, and work to unlock the full creative potential for all smartphone photography and videography. About Born2Global Centre Born2Global Centre (www.born2global.com) is a full-cycle service platform for global expansion. Since inception in 2013, Born2Global has been setting the standard for successful startup ecosystem as the main Korean government agency under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Born2Global has expanded and transformed startups to be engaged, equipped and be connected with the global market. SOURCE K-ICT Born2Global Centre Related Links http://www.getpivo.com RED LION, Pa., Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 26, 1999, Dan Bowers of York, Pennsylvania, sent a box of 26 paperback books to his son-in-law. Rick Honeywell, an Air Force Chief Master Sergeant, had been deployed with his squadron to the desert of Kuwait on a hastily scrabbled-together base that had no recreational facilities no movies, no library, no gymnasium, no PX; "but a lot of sand," commented Rick. American service members in over 30 different countries have received Operation Paperback shipments. Fast forward twenty years, and what was a local effort by family and friends is now a national non-profit organization called Operation Paperback. Over 19,000 volunteers that have sent 2,853,347 books to deployed troops, veterans, military families, VA hospitals, USOs, and Red Cross units in 35 different countries around the world. Volunteers across the country collect gently used books and ship them direct to military points of contact. The organization also receives hundreds of requests a year for specific titles or high-demand book genres that are acquired and shipped by the organization's staff. "Our number one priority is getting high-quality reading materials in a timely fashion to any member of the military community that requests it. Over the years, we have relied heavily on our volunteer shipping network to deliver books. They have generously contributed their own time and money to help us meet our mission," says Andrea Hoshmand McAfee, Vice President of Operation Paperback. With no paid staff, monetary donations made to the organization often are used to satisfy special requests. At the height of Operation Iraqi Freedom, troops on the front line requested Iraqi phrase books - 90 copies were purchased and immediately shipped. With the drawdown of troops overseas, focus has shifted to veterans here at home. The organization held a special fundraiser to purchase and distribute 2,200 copies of "Courage After Fire," a book designed to help veterans return back to family life and society. Volunteers regularly send books and personal care items to veterans that are homebound, VA hospitals and transitional facilities. "Operation Paperback is intended to attract citizens who believe in our mission and are motivated to spend their own money to collect books and send them to our military community. Some folks participate by sending a few books at a time, others clear their shelves and hunt for paperbacks at yard sales and used book stores. Often volunteers organize their coworkers, churches and local organizations to do a mass shipping. Each volunteer gives what he or she can in his or her own way, and each helps remind members of the military community that we are thinking of them," says Operation Paperback President, Chrissy Honeywell. With an average of 11,000 books being shipped monthly, and new volunteers eagerly joining its ranks daily, Operation Paperback is asking the public to reach out to active duty members and veterans and offer them the gift of reading through their program. Recipients receive regular shipments of a variety of books at no cost. They can sign up online at www.operationpaperback.org. Many honors have been conferred on the organization and its members - by individual units of the Armed Forces, by the Pentagon, by State Governors, and by President George W. Bush, who personally presented a Presidential Medal to Bowers in the Oval Office. However, the organization stays close to its humble roots, managing its volunteers with a personal touch and cherishing direct interactions with military members. As stated best by Founder Dan Bowers, "The accolades which are most appreciated are those letters of thanks, which are received daily from troops around the world who have just opened one of our boxes of books." Press Inquiries Only: Chrissy Honeywell, [email protected] For more information on Operation Paperback: www.operationpaperback.org SOURCE Operation Paperback Related Links http://www.operationpaperback.org WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Double the number of small businesses with more than 50 employees charge for apps compared to small businesses with fewer than 50 employees, according to a new survey from Visual Objects, a portfolio website that showcases work from top creative firms from around the world. Almost two-thirds of small businesses with more than 50 employees (63%) charge for their app, while only 35% of companies with fewer than 50 employees do. Graph - Larger Businesses More Likely to Charge for Apps Graph - When do small businesses charge for apps? This means 42% of small businesses with mobile apps monetize their app by charging users. Small businesses with more employees have more opportunities to market their app and motivate people to pay for it. Small businesses must devote significant resources to raise awareness about why their app is worth paying for amidst the array of free apps already available in app stores. Small Businesses Prefer to Monetize Their App Through In-App Purchases Small businesses pursue two main types of app monetization: in-app purchases or subscriptions and paid downloads. Over one-third of small businesses (34%) charge for in-app purchases or subscriptions, while 25% charge users a fee to download an app. Apps can provide an additional channel of revenue for a business, but monetization can be difficult to implement. "It's really hard to get people to pay for apps," said Joana Kelly, chief operating officer of Small Planet. "There's something about being asked to pay a dollar for an app that is this big barrier. If it's free to download, then people are more willing to try the app out." There are five models of app monetization: free, freemium, subscription, paid, and paymium. Although the free model doesn't directly earn revenue, it can be one of the most rewarding methods if the app is popular enough to attract advertisers. Nearly Half of Small Businesses Collect User Data From Apps Nearly half of small businesses with apps collect their users' data, including contact information (47%), location (46%), and payment details (35%). User data helps businesses improve their app services and provides important insights for advertisers. While apps can make money through in-app advertisements, some small businesses do not believe in selling user information. "Offering ads inside the app puts us in a potential conflict of interest with our users," said Omer Yarkowich, vice president of product and marketing at MyPermissions. "In a way, to optimize the revenue from the ads, we would need to leverage what we know of our users, and that goes against our values and mission statement." Small businesses can, instead, use data from their apps to analyze what customers value and want in their experience. User data is not only used to create targeted ads but also to indicate where an app can grow. Visual Objects' 2019 Small Business Mobile App Survey included 529 small business owners and managers from the U.S. Read the full report here: https://visualobjects.com/app-development/top-mobile-app-development-companies/small-business-app-monetization-trends-2019 For questions about the survey, a comment on the findings, or an introduction to the industry experts included in the report, contact Emily Clark at [email protected]. About Visual Objects Visual Objects is a portfolio website that showcases work from top creative firms from around the world. Use Visual Objects to visualize a firm's projects, which helps you find the right design partner for your business. You wouldn't want to make a hiring decision without seeing a company's quality of work Visual Objects compiles this work on one easy-to-use site. Media Contact: Emily Clark [email protected] (202) 840-6682 SOURCE Visual Objects Related Links https://visualobjects.com PALM BEACH, Florida, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The recent reports that projected the CBD markets will hit $22 billion by 2022 also predict that the world CBD markets could outpace marijuana or recreational cannabis. This is not only good news for North American cannabis companies regarding domestic sales, but also for international sales. North American companies will become players in the worldwide import and export markets as well. A recent publication by an industry insider recently said: " The international Hemp import / export business while young, is poised to BOOM in the United States . At the present date, importation of Hemp products consists mostly of CBD isolate for two important reasons. The first reason is CBD isolate is a price dense product. When considering the S&H costs of moving a product, something of substantial size like biomass comes with logistical challenges. While biomass is generally is worth .10 .20 cents per gram, CBD isolate market price is around $7.5/ gram, 50x more price dense per volume." Active companies in the cannabis industry includes: CROP INFRASTRUCTURE CORP. (CSE:CROP) (OTC:CRXPF), Aphria Inc. (NYSE: APHA) (TSX: APHA), The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. (TSX: TGOD) (OTC: TGODF), OrganiGram Holdings Inc. (TSX-V: OGI) (OTC: OGRMF), Namaste Technologies Inc. (TSXV: N) (OTC: NXTTF). The Kush article continued: "At the present date, importation of Hemp products consists mostly of CBD isolate (because) CBD isolate is a price dense product. When considering the S&H costs of moving a product, something of substantial size like biomass comes with logistical challenges. In the future, (they) believe that there will be two main markets for exportation, CBD isolate and CBD distillate due to the high value density of CBD. This is because the USA is poised to become an agricultural power in Hemp, and industrialization will create an opportunity for the USA to become a worldwide hub for CBD. While flower quality Hemp will still be an export, the size of this market will be substantially smaller. CROP INFRASTRUCTURE CORP. (CSE:CROP) (OTCPK:CRXPF) (Frankfurt: 2FR) BREAKING NEWS: CROP announced today it has entered into a purchase and sales agreement with World Farms Corp. to divest its interests in CROP Jamaica and XHemplar S.R.L in Italy for CAD$2,000,000 worth of equity in World Farms Corp. CROP will be retained as advisors in relation to research and development in plant science. The investment comprises of 10,000,000 common shares in World Farms Corp ('WFC'). and represents a 19% ownership interest in WFC for CROP. The XHemplar S.R.L joint venture facility covers 87,120 square feet. CROP and XHemplar have been working with Italian agencies to import new and unique, high CBD genetics that are expected to command premium prices. CROP JAMAICA has a five-acre property for the cultivation and extraction of cannabis. The principal local partner is Greg Douglas. During April to November 2017, Douglas was seconded to Jamaica's Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) as their CEO. While there he issued the first commercial licenses. CROP CEO, Michael Yorke, stated: "CROP has divested itself of these two international operations so that management can remain entirely focused on the expanding US operations while retaining a passive but strategic investment in an internationaly focused player offering CROP shareholders additional exposure to WFC's global growth. The company has invested approximately $100,000 between the two projects. This represents a 2,000% return on investment for CROP and its stakeholders. "The passing of the US Farm Bill in December 2018 has been a total game changer in terms of the vast opportunities opening up right now in the US. We firmly believe in striking while the iron's hot right now on our US doorstep while maintaining exposure to infantile global opportunities." Read this full announcement and more news for CROP Infrastructure at: https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-crop/ Additional cannabis industry related developments from around the markets: Aphria Inc. (NYSE: APHA) (TSX: APHA) On February 26, the company announced a worldwide license agreement with Manna Molecular Science, LLC ("Manna"), producers of state-of-the-art cannabis transdermal patches. Leveraging Manna's established formulations, equipment and processes, Aphria will produce and sell patches containing cannabis oils for its established suite of medical and adult-use brands. "As we continue to expand its use from product to ingredient, we are excited to offer innovative new ways for consumers to interact with cannabis," said Jakob Ripshtein, President of Aphria. "As a company at the forefront of cannabis innovation, Manna Molecular Science will be an important strategic partner for Aphria. Like us, they are committed to making safe, high-quality cannabis products available to a wide array of global consumers." The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. (TSX: TGOD.TO) (OTCQX: TGODF) recently provided 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. "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." OrganiGram Holdings Inc. (TSX-V: OGI) (OTCQX: OGRMF) recently announced it has signed a letter of intent with the Societe quebecoise du cannabis (SQDC). This agreement solidifies the Company's position as a true national player in Canada's legal adult use recreational cannabis marketplace. Organigram now has distribution in place for all ten Canadian provinces. "Organigram's growth strategy has always focused on establishing a strong national footprint and building our brand presence with the Edison Cannabis line nationally," says Greg Engel, Organigram's Chief Executive Officer. Namaste Technologies Inc. (TSXV: N.V) (OTCQB: NXTTF) recently announced that it has reached a mutually agreed upon settlement with Sean Dollinger resulting in Mr. Dollinger entering into an advisory relationship with Namaste providing transition support to the Company to ensure the best interests of the business and stakeholders are met (the "Agreement"). Pursuant to the Agreement, Mr. Dollinger has withdrawn his previously announced legal application against the Company and has agreed to step down from all formal roles with the Company, including as a director, which will also enable him to spend more time with his young family and pursue other opportunities. Meni Morim remains Interim Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") of Namaste. DISCLAIMER: FN Media Group LLC (FNM), which owns and operates FinancialNewsMedia.com and MarketNewsUpdates.com (FNM) is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM's market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. 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Contact Information: Media Contact Email: [email protected] +1(561)325-8757 SOURCE FinancialNewsMedia.com CHICAGO, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sixteen independent, primarily Midwest-based venture capital firms have established a consortium to serve Midwest-based start-ups' funding needs as well as investors seeking the Midwest's demonstrated exceptional venture capital returns. The consortium, with a combined $2+ billion in cash available for investment, is expected to accelerate Midwest venture capital activity by establishing a virtual one-stop venture capital shop for aspiring entrepreneurs. Member firms include Alumni Ventures Group, Boomerang Catapult, Cultivation Capital, Flyover Capital, Grand Ventures, Illinois Ventures, Loud Capital, Mutual Capital Partners, VCapital, and Wakestream Ventures. Six others, including a prominent Silicon Valley firm, remain confidential. Consortium members have people on the ground throughout the Midwest as well as in California and Massachusetts. Midwest's Exceptional Venture Capital Returns An analysis by Crunchbase News reporter Jason Rowley reviewing venture funding and exits through either M&A or IPO from 2008 through May 2018 showed that the Midwest has delivered the nation's highest venture capital return multiples on invested capital (MOIC). While the number of ventures was considerably lower in the Midwest versus the West and Northeast, median cumulative funding required was lowest in the Midwest, and yet Midwest exit valuations were highest, resulting in a notable Midwest MOIC advantage. 2008-2018 Median Capital Raised & Exit Valuations of Venture-Backed Startups by US Census Region Region Sample Size Median Total Equity Funding Median Exit Valuation Median Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC) West 713 $38.5M $163M 4.2x Northeast 336 $32.0M $148M 4.6x South 195 $28.3M $130M 4.6x Midwest 92 $15.5M $177M 11.4x Source: Crunchbase News Since some high-flying outliers skewed Midwest results higher, Rowley then excluded companies with only one recorded round of funding for a more conservative comparison. Results from this more cautious approach are shown below. 2008-2018 Median MOIC's Excluding Startups with Only One Round of Funding Region West Northeast South Midwest Sample Size 577 259 140 63 Median MOIC 4.29x 3.89x 4.35x 5.17x Rowley further compared exit multiples by metro area. Chicago came out on top nationally. A March 2018 Pitchbook report also found Chicago in the number one spot. The Midwest's superior returns are attributed to supply-and-demand dynamics (i.e. Midwestern investors' conservatism) and much lower costs outside of the west coast and northeast, enabling Midwest ventures to develop with less capital. Consortium Will Capitalize on Midwest's Strengthening Start-up Environment While Silicon Valley and the Boston area have dominated the information technology revolution, IT and other advanced technologies are increasingly creating advantage in a broad range of industries. This will favor areas with more diverse economic bases, such as the Midwest, which houses 30% of Fortune 500 headquarters. Talent from those industries are becoming entrepreneurs to capitalize on their industry-specific knowledge. Many of those entrepreneurs are remaining in place geographically in order to be close to early customers. Until now, Midwestern venture capital activity has been limited by the region's less developed startup "infrastructure." That is changing. The region accounts for 25% of the nation's computer science degrees. It also now hosts Chicago's 1871 Center for Technology and Entrepreneurship, the world's top university-affiliated business incubator according to business incubation expert UBI Global. The new Midwest Venture Capital Consortium surmounts remaining hurdles to regional venture capital growth through: (1) member firms' access to a broader, stronger deal flow; and (2) ability to meet ventures' funding needs fully and efficiently, as the sixteen members collaborate to quickly amass required funds. For more information, please contact Ryan Kole, Principal at VCapital and Chairman of the Midwest Venture Capital Consortium, at 312.690.4171 ext. 105 or [email protected]. SOURCE Midwest Venture Capital Consortium PALM BEACH, Florida, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --Companies grow by increasing their revenues some do it organically by ratcheting up their sales internally, others grow by acquiring other businesses and adding the acquired company's sales into their revenues. Most industry insiders feel that the now is the time that we will see more of the latter. An article released on Yahoo addressed this coming trend: "This past October, Canada ended nine decades of recreational-marijuana prohibition and became the first industrialized country in the world to legalize adult-use weed. Soon after, a number of U.S. states legalized medical pot or expanded its use to adult consumers. Then, in December, the groundbreaking Farm Bill was passed in the U.S., giving the green light to hemp and hemp-based cannabidiol products. This sort of perfect storm of marijuana (and hemp) momentum has led to some very robust growth estimates for the industry. A co-authored report from Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics that was recently released calls for 38% global sales growth in 2019, and a more than doubling in global revenue between 2018 and 2022 to $31.3 billion. This expectation of rapid growth, coupled with extraordinary demand from consumers in Canada and in select legal U.S. states, has been the impetus behind a wave of cannabis acquisitions throughout North America. Active companies in the industry making moves to ready that include: Choom Holdings Inc. (CSE:CHOO) (OTC:CHOOF), Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB) (TSX: ACB), Canopy Growth Corporation (NYSE: CGC) (TSX: WEED), MedMen Enterprises Inc. (CSE: MMEN) (OTC: MMNFF), Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. (TSX-V: FAF) (OTC: FFLWF). A Forbes article revealed more about the coming acquisition marker surge: "Right now, the biggest deals are happening in Canada Back in the states, the numbers are smaller but the market is no less busy While that means many small companies are now attractive acquisition targets, it also means that big alcohol and pharmaceutical companies will be sniffing around Canadian cannabis companies expect to see more M&A activity among established U.S. companies in the hopes that they will become big enough to fend off the larger competition when it inevitably comes calling." Choom Holdings Inc. (CSE:CHOO) (OTCQB:CHOOF) BREAKING NEWS: Choom, an emerging adult use cannabis company that has secured one of the largest national retail networks in Canada, is pleased to announce has entered a definitive agreement ("Purchase Agreement") with Clarity Cannabis MD Holdings ("Clarity") and its shareholders, to acquire 30 retail locations, three of which are licensed with the Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis Commission ("AGLC"). Clarity has successfully progressed through AGLC licensing and is operating the following three stores in the legal adult use cannabis market in Alberta and is awaiting licenses for the following seven cannabis retail stores. CANNABIS RETAIL STORES OPENED High River, AB Cold Lake, AB Red Deer, AB CANNABIS RETAIL STORES COMPLETED Cold Lake #2, AB awaiting licensing Lloydminster, AB awaiting licensing Drumheller, AB awaiting licensing Brooks, AB awaiting licensing Medicine Hat, AB awaiting licensing Westlock, AB awaiting licensing Camrose, AB awaiting licensing Camrose #2, AB awaiting licensing Lethbridge, AB awaiting licensing In addition to the three licensed cannabis retail stores, the acquisition includes all 30 leases secured and applications submitted to the AGLC by Clarity. Clarity currently has 11 development permits awaiting construction, with 6 stores to commence construction, and 9 stores completed construction. Choom expects the licenses for the remaining completed stores to be granted soon after the AGLC starts to grant additional retail licenses. Upon approval from the AGLC, all of the Clarity retail stores and retail opportunities will be re-branded under the "Choom Cannabis Co." name. The completion of the acquisitions of the retail stores and retail opportunities will be dependent on the timing of the receipt of all necessary provincial and municipal approvals. The Purchase Agreement has been structured to permit Choom to acquire Clarity itself or all of the thirty retail stores and retail opportunities on a location-by-location basis, to provide flexibility to obtain timely receipt of necessary provincial and municipal approvals on a location-by-location basis or through the acquisition of Clarity itself. "We are thrilled to welcome Clarity into the Choom brands portfolio through this acquisition," states Chris Bogart, President & CEO of Choom. "Clarity has been successfully operating in Alberta since December and has submitted applications across the province. This transaction gives us a strong foothold in the Alberta retail landscape. Moving forward we will be working diligently to maximize our retail footprint Canada wide, and this transaction helps us to achieve that goal." Read this and more news for Choom at: https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-choo/ Additional industry related developments from around the markets: Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB) (TSX: ABC) recently announced that it has agreed to terms to acquire a 51% ownership interest in Gaia Pharm Lda ., a license applicant in Portugal , to establish a local facility to produce medical cannabis and derivative products. The company will be renamed "Aurora Portugal Lda". On February 21, 2019 , Gaia Pharm Lda . received approval of its application to construct an EU GMP compliant cannabis cultivation facility from INFARMED, a division of the Portuguese Health Ministry, which is responsible for the evaluation, authorization, regulation and control of human medicines as well as health products for the protection of public health. Canopy Growth Corporation (NYSE: CGC) (TSX: WEED.TO) recently announced that it has named Hilary Black as its Chief Advocacy Officer, effective immediately. In her expanded role, Hilary's mandate includes driving patient advocacy efforts worldwide, executing the Company's global corporate social responsibility strategy, and leading the implementation of best practices for diversity & inclusion. "My unconventional path to the executive level speaks to Canopy Growth's respect for the trailblazers that for many decades fought for legal cannabis access," said Hilary Black , Chief Advocacy Officer, Canopy Growth. "For my entire adult life, I have broken down barriers so that patients could access cannabis. Being with Canopy Growth has exponentially amplified these efforts. I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility and privilege to build on this legacy of compassion and carry out a mandate that will improve the lives of patients around the world." MedMen Enterprises Inc. (CSE:: MMEN.CN) (OTCQX: MMNFF) recently announced that it has closed its previously announced acquisition (the "Acquisition") of Kannaboost Technology Inc. and CSI Solutions LLC, collectively referred to as "Level Up," two vertically-integrated operations in Arizona. The acquisition includes retail locations in Scottsdale and Tempe, as well as 25,000 square feet of cultivation and production capacity in Tempe and Phoenix. The acquisition also includes a 40 percent stake in top-selling brand K.I.N.D. Concentrates, which is currently distributed in over 90 percent of the dispensaries in Arizona. The Company paid a combination of cash and stock valued at an aggregate of $33.5 million. With the closing of the Acquisition and following the completion of the pending acquisition of PharmaCann, LLC, MedMen will be licensed for three medical-use cannabis dispensaries in Arizona. The flagship Level Up location in Scottsdale is one of the highest-grossing dispensaries in the state. Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. (TSX-V: FAF.V) (OTCPK: FFLWF)'s subsidiary, Fire & Flower Inc. (F&F), announced that it has entered into agreements with two of the initial 25 applicants that have been selected by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (the AGCO) to apply for cannabis retail operator licenses in the east region of Ontario. Both of the applicants have submitted their retail operator license and retail store authorization applications. Following receipt of the agreements, the AGCO has advised the applicants that their applications will proceed to the eligibility phase of review, where they will be assessed for current and continuing compliance with the Cannabis License Act 2018 and its regulations. DISCLAIMER: FN Media Group LLC (FNM), which owns and operates FinancialNewsMedia.com and MarketNewsUpdates.com, is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM's market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks. All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed FNM has been compensated forty six hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press release issued above by Choom Holdings Inc. by a non affiliated third party. FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE. This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements. Contact Information: Media Contact email: [email protected] +1(561)325-8757 SOURCE FinancialNewsMedia.com DUBLIN, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Medical Tourism Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Country (Turkey, Costa Rica, Thailand, India, Mexico, Singapore, Brazil, Malaysia, Taiwan, Colombia, South Korea), And Segment Forecasts, 2019 - 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global medical tourism market size is expected to reach USD 179.6 billion by 2026, registering a 21.9% CAGR during the forecast period. Medical tourism generates direct foreign exchange income and contributes to the overall development of any economy. It also provides employment and business opportunities for residents. Moreover, it aids the growth of associated businesses such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and tourism. Government support to maintain the general reputation and political stability of the host country is a key factor driving the medical tourism market. Government authorities are willing to invest in local enterprises to capitalize on the growth of medical tourism. Such government bodies have been authorizing projects that help in the overall development of infrastructure in a country, such as public transport system and water supply facilities, to attract high-end medical travelers. Medical tourism has led to a rise in state-of-the-art medical facilities in developing countries to attract foreign nationals, resulting in fast growth of healthcare infrastructure in such countries. Moreover, healthcare providers now offer comprehensive medical tourism packages that include services ranging from ticket booking to hotel stay and medical insurance. Thailand dominated the market in terms of revenue in 2018 owing to low cost and good quality medical services offered in the country. In 2016, Thailand ranked 18th in the International Healthcare Research Center's Medical Tourism Index. Moreover, the country ranked 13th on the same index in terms of quality of facilities and services provided owing to well-developed healthcare infrastructure and increasing number of medical professionals. Thailand is also home to Asia's first largest private hospital, Bumrungrad International Hospital, which is also the first hospital to receive a JCI accreditation and ISO 9001 certification. Till date, over 53 private hospitals have received JCI accreditation. Further key findings from the report suggest: While Thailand is popular for cosmetic procedures, India is most preferred for cardiovascular and orthopedic procedures. Brazil and Costa Rica , on the other hand, are preferred for dental procedures is popular for cosmetic procedures, is most preferred for cardiovascular and orthopedic procedures. and , on the other hand, are preferred for dental procedures Thailand dominated the market in terms of revenue in 2018 due to the massive difference in treatment cost compared to developed countries. Around 2.4 million people visited Thailand to seek medical care in 2017 owing to low cost and good quality medical services dominated the market in terms of revenue in 2018 due to the massive difference in treatment cost compared to developed countries. Around 2.4 million people visited to seek medical care in 2017 owing to low cost and good quality medical services Singapore , Colombia , Taiwan , and Spain are some of the fastest growing medical tourism destinations in this market. Medical tourism is an important source of revenue generation for these countries, boasting advanced healthcare infrastructure and skilled manpower to cater to international patients , , , and are some of the fastest growing medical tourism destinations in this market. Medical tourism is an important source of revenue generation for these countries, boasting advanced healthcare infrastructure and skilled manpower to cater to international patients Bumrungrad International Hospital and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. are the leading treatment destinations for medical tourism in Thailand and India respectively. Other prominent examples include Mexicali Bariatric Center in Mexico and TMC Fertility in Malaysia . Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1 Methodology 1.1 Research Methodology 1.2 Information or Data Analysis 1.3 Market Formulation & Validation 1.4 Region Wise Market Calculation 1.5 Model Details Chapter 2 Executive Summary 2.1 Market Summary Chapter 3 Industry Outlook 3.1 Market Segmentation 3.2 Market Variable Analysis 3.2.1 Market driver analysis 3.2.1.1 Rising number of medical tourists due to high treatment costs in their native countries 3.2.1.2 Limited insurance coverage in some countries attracts patients to medical tourism destinations 3.2.1.3 Easier treatment accessibility for patients 3.2.2 Market restraint analysis 3.2.2.1 Fear of infectious diseases risks the demand for medical tourism 3.2.2.2 Lack of geographical and cultural proximity 3.3 Penetration & Growth Prospect Mapping 3.4 Business Environment Analysis tools 3.4.1 SWOT Analysis, by PEST 3.4.2 Porter's five forces analysis 3.5 Medical Tourism Market: Recent Trends & Advancements 3.6 Key Medical Tourism Hospitals in Thailand 3.7 Key Medical Tourism Hospitals in India Chapter 4 Medical Tourism Market: Regulatory & Political Forces Chapter 5 Medical Tourism Market: Regional Estimates & Trend Analysis 5.1 Medical Tourism Market Share by Region, 2018 & 2026 5.2 Thailand 5.2.1 Thailand Medical Tourism market, 2015 - 2026 (USD Million) 5.2.2 Drivers, Challenges, Opportunity Analysis 5.2.3 Treatments/Procedures Analysis, 2018 5.2.4 Inbound Patient Traffic Analysis, 2015 - 2026 5.2.5 List of Hospitals 5.3 India 5.4 Costa Rica 5.5 Mexico 5.6 Malaysia 5.7 Singapore 5.8 Brazil 5.9 Colombia 5.10 Turkey 5.11 Taiwan 5.12 South Korea 5.13 Czech Republic 5.14 Spain Chapter 6 Competitive & Vendor Landscape 6.1 Recent developments & impact analysis, by key market participants 6.2 Company Profiles Bangkok Hospital Bumrungrad International Hospital Samitivej PCL Yanhee International Hospital Asian Heart Institute Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. Fortis Hospital Artemis Hospitals Hospital San Jos Mexicali Bariatric Center Sunway Medical Centre TMC Fertility For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/f59vm7/global_179_6_bn?w=5 Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Media Contact: Research and Markets 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 TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Feheley Fine Arts is pleased to present the first solo exhibition of drawings by Ooloosie Saila (b. 1991). At the forefront of a new generation of Inuit artists, Ooloosie Saila: Horizons features her concentrated colour pencil landscape drawings and whimsical portrayals of owls. Working in the Arts Studios in Kinngait (Cape Dorset), Nunavut, Saila already reveals a mastery of her technique; she builds her drawings through small blocks of bright colours depicting the hills, islands and bodies of water. Living in a community with vast white landscapes, she is naturally inspired by her environment, however, her drawn sceneries are imagined. Meanwhile, through bold and wispy lines, she stylizes wide yellow-eyed owls majestically spreading their wings. Her oeuvre captures her artistic influences as the near symmetry of her birds resemble those of the celebrated Kenojuak Ashevak (1927-2013) while her landscapes hint at the contrasting mountains by Ohotaq Mikkigak (1936-2014). 2018, coloured pencil & ink, 23 x 30 inches A rising star, Ooloosie Saila is among the youngest on Feheley's roster of emerging Inuit artists. As a child, she was inspired to draw through occasional visits to the home of her friend's grandmother, Kenojuak Ashevak. These visits facilitated an environment where Saila would cultivate drawing skills and a sharp eye for striking use of colour and composition which now characterizes her work, as well as an understanding of the importance of hard work and perseverance. She is also the great-granddaughter of Pauta Saila (1916-2009), renowned sculptor and graphic artist. In 2015, Saila started working in the Kinngait Studios in Cape Dorset. Saila's work was included for the first time in the 2017 Cape Dorset Annual Print Collection. Feheley Fine Arts presented a drawing by Saila for the first time at Art Toronto 2017; this landscape drawing was acquired by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Following this success, Feheley Fine Arts presented her at the Art on Paper fair in New York in 2018. At the early stages in her career, this graphic artist continues to draw attention from both Canadian and international collectors. Ooloosie Saila is travelling from Kinngait to attend the opening. Opening: March 7, 2019, 57 p.m. Feheley Fine Arts 65 George St. Toronto, ON M5A 4L8 For images, additional information or to arrange an interview with the artist, please contact: Stephanie Gagne 416 323 1373 [email protected] Related Images composition-sunset.jpg COMPOSITION (SUNSET) 2018, coloured pencil & ink, 23 x 30 inches composition-restless-waters.jpg COMPOSITION (RESTLESS WATERS) 2018, coloured pencil & ink, 31.5 x 50.25 inches composition-landscape.jpg COMPOSITION (LANDSCAPE) 2018, coloured pencil & ink, 25 x 93 inches composition-stripped-landscape.jpg COMPOSITION (STRIPPED LANDSCAPE) 2017, coloured pencil & ink, 30.25 x 50 inches Related Links Gallery website Artist page SOURCE Feheley Fine Arts WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Evolent Health, a company providing an integrated value-based care platform to the nation's leading provider and payer organizations, today announced that River City Medical Group and Evolent have partnered to establish a Management Services Organization (MSO) for managed care entities in California. Initially, the new MSO will focus on providing services, including claims management, utilization management and care management capabilities, to the approximately 300,000 California Medicaid (Medi-Cal) managed care members delegated to River City Medical Group by its health plan partners. Evolent will provide the MSO with Identifi, its population health performance management platform, to support health care operations, utilization management, reporting and other critical workflows. "River City Medical Group and Evolent share a common vision to provide quality health care to vulnerable patient populations in a holistic and culturally sensitive manner," said River City Medical Group Chairman of the Board Dr. Gordon A. Wong. "We are delighted to partner with a nationally recognized value-based care leader like Evolent to collaborate on delivering comprehensive services to Californians. Our partnership presents a synergistic opportunity to emerge as a premier MSO across the state of California." Medi-Cal, the California Medical Assistance Program, provides health care services for low-income individuals, including families with children, seniors, persons with disabilities, children in foster care, pregnant women and low-income people with specific diseases. Since 1992, River City Medical Group and its broad and extensive network of providers have served Medi-Cal beneficiaries through a delegated risk arrangement with its health plan partners. River City Medical Group is now partnering with Evolent to serve these beneficiaries through the new MSO and potentially expand its managed service lines to include other government programs. "We are thrilled to align with River City Medical Group, one of the largest IPAs in California and an innovative organization committed to building a sustainable value-based care infrastructure," said Evolent Health Chief Executive Officer Frank Williams. "Since day one, Evolent has focused on serving as a bridge between providers, payers and patients. Our partnership with River City Medical Group creates a platform with which we can deliver high-quality services and care to individuals in California's managed care system across multiple lines of business." The MSO is slated to begin servicing managed care members on Evolent's Identifi platform in late 2019. About Evolent Health Evolent Health partners with leading provider and payer organizations to achieve superior clinical and financial results in value-based care and under full-risk arrangements. With a provider heritage and over 20 years of health plan administration experience, Evolent operates in more than 30 U.S. health care markets, actively managing care across Medicare, Medicaid, commercial and self-funded adult and pediatric populations. With the experience to drive change, Evolent confidently stands by a commitment to achieve results. For more information, visit www.evolenthealth.com. Contacts: Bob East 443.213.0502 Investor Relations [email protected] Kim Conquest 540.435.2095 Media Relations [email protected] SOURCE Evolent Health, Inc. Related Links http://www.evolenthealth.com MARBLEHEAD, Mass., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston entrepreneurs Valentin Tenev, Mark Panagakis, Kaya Ulcay, Ava Jane Redmond and Joel Walmsley announce the launch of "Platinum Jane" and their foray into the cannabinoid (CBD) product market. Platinum Jane Premium Hemp Pre-Rolls Christian-Olivier Lalonde The once heavily regulated flower, cannabinoid is the non-intoxicating extract of the cannabis plant and CBD products are quickly becoming an attractive alternative to prescription medication. Research supports that cannabis has been credited with helping remedy a host of health and cognitive issues. Relaxed hemp regulations have created a 22-billion-dollar industry with some analysts projecting consumer buying to surpass currently well-known health supplements. Platinum Jane has hit the ground running by offering an innovative approach to product development and leading the market by providing high-quality and competitive pricing without compromising products. "Within the next few months our plan is to integrate an information and resource center on our site," said Mark Panagakis, Director of Quality Control. "We are an open utility for visitors to use to further educate themselves on the benefits of cannabinoid products, industry research and general awareness." The young professionals at the helm of Platinum Jane began their journey almost one year ago. "Platinum Jane was originally the passion project of our friends Valentin Tenev and Christian-Olivier Lalonde," said Ava Jane Redmond, Director of Sales and Marketing. "Val and Christian spent months creating the concept with just a few missing pieces. The brand was planned to launch late in March 2018." Tragically, on March 5, 2018 while driving home from an event in New York, Christian-Olivier Lalonde lost control of his vehicle, crashing down an icy embankment. Days later he passed away from his injuries. This week Fisher College in Boston, where Christian was attending university, established a scholarship in his name. "It is truly an honor to see Christian's vision of Platinum Jane become a reality and his legacy memorialized by the University," said Sheri Denise, Christian's mother. A portion of proceeds from Platinum Jane are being donated to the endowment. Visit them at www.platinumjane.com or social media @PlatinumJane. About Platinum Jane : Platinum Jane is a lifestyle brand committed to promoting the healing power of plants through CBD products. We are a company that wants to inspire holistic wellness by specializing in high-quality cannabinoid products for like-minded consumers who want to support our enthusiasm, values and mission. Media contact: Daniel Thompson [email protected] 818-665-6188 SOURCE Platinum Jane Related Links http://www.platinumjane.com CONAKRY, Guinea, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- American Homebuilders of West Africa (AHWA) and the Guinea Ministry of Housing and Urban Development have signed a $207 million convention agreement targeting construction of 4000 homes in the Republic of Guinea. The current production of housing in Guinea is well below the level required to address the needs of the population. To fill this gap, the Government of Guinea has stated that providing adequate housing to the greatest number of Guineans is one of its top priorities. AHWA's 5 year history in Guinea has demonstrated its commitment to working with local citizens, members of the Guinea diaspora, agencies of the government of Guinea, and international investors to create a sustainable housing development program. This new convention agreement builds on the success of AHWA's two existing developments in Gomboyah and Doumbouyah to create a road map for construction of 4,000 homes in Guinea, from social housing to high-end accommodations. US Ambassador Dennis Hankins, who just departed Guinea, remarked, "AHWA is developing homes for the middle class in Guinea. I have seen their projects here, which are of high quality. One of the things I love about this project is that the company founders are both former U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers - so they have for many years been ambassadors for Africa in the United States, and they understand how to work in West Africa and bring new investment here. AHWA has created a valuable way to bring more diaspora investment into West Africa by delivering homes built to international standards. We encourage them and wish them lots of success, as this kind of private venture can create jobs and improve economic development in Guinea and the wider region." Jonathan Halloran, AHWA CEO, stated, "We have invested a great deal of time and energy negotiating this agreement. We have built an investment program that will serve the needs of the Guinea population while also attracting the international and domestic investment commitments required to achieve our mutual goals. We are excited to launch this next phase of our work in Guinea, and view our success here as a model for what can be achieved across West Africa when governments make a commitment to addressing the housing deficit in partnership with professional real estate developers." American Homebuilders of West Africa is the premier developer of high quality production-built homes in West Africa. Active in Guinea since 2014, and with expansion operations in the West Africa region since 2018, the company's mission is to bring best-of-breed solutions to housing and housing finance in West Africa in order to be a meaningful part of addressing the severe regional housing deficit. For more information visit http://www.africa-housing.com Media Contact: Laura Prelle [email protected] +1.215.253.3691 Photo(s): https://www.prlog.org/12748810 Press release distributed by PRLog SOURCE American Homebuilders of West Africa Related Links http://africa-housing.com PHOENIX, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- 4Front Holdings, LLC ("4Front"), a leading retail and brand development company in the U.S. cannabis sector, has closed two recent acquisitions that expand its national reach and position it well in Massachusetts' nascent adult-use market and in Arizona, where voters have a good chance of legalizing cannabis for adult use by ballot initiative in 2020. Highlights: Acquired Massachusetts vertical license holder Healthy Pharms, owner of two dispensaries in Georgetown and Harvard Square , with plans to convert to adult use shortly and re-launch under 4Front's Mission retail brand vertical license holder Healthy Pharms, owner of two dispensaries in and , with plans to convert to adult use shortly and re-launch under 4Front's Mission retail brand Healthy Pharms owns a production facility in Georgetown that, following an expansion, will serve as 4Front's primary cultivation and processing hub in Massachusetts that, following an expansion, will serve as 4Front's primary cultivation and processing hub in In conjunction with the planned merger of 4Front and Cannex Capital Holdings, Inc. ("Cannex"), the first of Cannex's brands is set to hit the Massachusetts market by mid-2019 market by mid-2019 Entered the Arizona market by acquiring the manager of the vertical license holder, Greens Goddess, which currently owns a Phoenix dispensary market by acquiring the manager of the vertical license holder, Greens Goddess, which currently owns a dispensary The Arizona license comes with the ability to operate a production facility and 4Front plans to build out that capacity to participate in what is anticipated to be a robust cannabis market, with a similar plan to introduce Cannex's brands in Arizona MASSACHUSETTS In Massachusetts, 4Front has acquired Healthy Pharms, Inc. ("Healthy Pharms"), a vertically integrated cannabis company that operates dispensaries in Georgetown and Cambridge's Harvard Square. The Georgetown property is also home to a cultivation and processing facility that has the space for significant expansion. "This acquisition provides 4Front with an immediate platform to more aggressively participate in the early growth of the Massachusetts recreational market, providing significantly greater production capacity," said Josh Rosen, 4Front's CEO. "This opportunity is made all the more exciting because of 4Front's planned merger with Cannex, whose team has developed deep expertise in scaled cannabis production and distribution in the competitive Washington adult-use market." The Georgetown dispensary, which is roughly 3,000 sq. ft., is currently medical only, but is anticipated to expand to include adult-use later this year. It has a prime retail location for adult-use, being adjacent to I-95, close to the New Hampshire border, with significant parking. Plans are already under way for a construction project that will expand the retail sales floor and add more point-of-sale systems. The Cambridge store is the sole dispensary in Harvard Square with a premium central location. The dispensary currently serves the medical market and also is navigating the required processes to expand to serve adult-use guests. Healthy Pharms' cultivation and processing facility is co-located with its Georgetown dispensary in a 65,000-square-foot building. Healthy Pharms is currently operating with approximately 8,000 sq. ft. of flowering canopy, which could be quickly expanded to more than 10,000 sq. ft., but the broader expansion potential is significant and provides a blank slate for the Cannex team once 4Front's expected merger with Cannex closes. The current plan is to build out the facility to comfortably accommodate a flowering canopy of approximately 35,000 sq. ft. Once that buildout is complete, it should serve as 4Front's production and cultivation hub for Massachusetts. 4Front has plans to quickly bring the established brands of Cannex, which currently represents 7 of the top 10 selling infused-product brands in Washington state, to the Massachusetts market. "The Georgetown cultivation facility has so much potential to match in capacity and yield what the Cannex facility in Elma, Wash., has been able to do," according to Leo Gontmahker, COO of Cannex. "I'm excited to design and build that space with the objective of capturing significant market share in the Massachusetts adult-use market. Expect to see some of Cannex's most successful brands in the Massachusetts market by the second quarter of 2019." Healthy Pharms was originally a client of 4Front's consulting business, 4Front Advisors, which had been hired to help secure its operating license, which it did in January 2014 during the initial medical cannabis licensing process in Massachusetts. "I've known Kris Krane and 4Front since early 2013, while they diligently supported our efforts to start up," noted Healthy Pharms' co-founder Nat Averill. "When we needed help to fund the expansion of our successful launch in Massachusetts, we looked for partners with a similar philosophy. We are excited to expand our capacity and products, provide greater opportunity for the great team we put together, and to be building all this with the folks from 4Front." ARIZONA In Arizona, 4Front has acquired PHX Interactive, LLC, which manages vertically integrated license holder Greens Goddess Products, Inc. ("Greens Goddess"). Greens Goddess currently owns the Herb'N dispensary in northern Phoenix. Along with the existing dispensary, the license allows for the operation of a cultivation and processing facility, but Greens Goddess has not developed that capacity yet. 4Front believes there's a high probability that Arizona voters will legalize cannabis for adult use by a ballot initiative in 2020, an effort which just narrowly missed in 2016. "Given the expected regulatory expansion, we are excited to enter the Arizona market at an opportune time. It should allow us to capitalize on Cannex's capabilities in Arizona, with an ability to build cultivation and processing space to spec," said Rosen. "We view this market as likely having ample supply to support a meaningful manufacturing and distribution business." Greens Goddess President and CEO Nick Couturier added: "We're thrilled to partner with 4Front and look forward to expanding operations in Arizona and becoming one of the top brands in the state." The Healthy Pharms and Herb'N dispensaries continue to operate under their existing brand names, with plans to eventually re-brand as Mission, which is 4Front's in-house brand of cannabis retail stores. About 4Front 4Front Holdings, LLC ("4Front"), is a leading retail and brand development company in the U.S. cannabis sector. It has developed a national platform that consists of a multi-state footprint, including its Mission-branded retail operations, and a far-reaching network of partnership relationships. Led by a group of professionals with experience in finance, real estate, manufacturing, and multi-location retail and hospitality operations, 4Front has invested heavily in assembling a team with the management skills and hands-on operating expertise that can support the rapid operational growth opportunity being afforded by the increased legalization of cannabis across the United States, as well as internationally. For more information, visit the website. Media Contacts Anne Donohoe / Nick Opich KCSA Strategic Communications [email protected] / [email protected] 212-896-1265 / 212-896-1206 SOURCE 4Front Related Links 4frontventures.com VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- CROP INFRASTRUCTURE CORP. (CSE: CROP) (CSE: CROP.CN) (OTC: CRXPF) (Frankfurt: 2FR) announced today it has entered into a purchase and sales agreement with World Farms Corp. to divest its interests in CROP Jamaica and XHemplar S.R.L in Italy for CAD$2,000,000 worth of equity in World Farms Corp. CROP will be retained as advisors in relation to research and development in plant science. The investment comprises of 10,000,000 common shares in World Farms Corp ('WFC'). and represents a 19% ownership interest in WFC for CROP. The XHemplar S.R.L joint venture facility covers 87,120 square feet. CROP and XHemplar have been working with Italian agencies to import new and unique, high CBD genetics that are expected to command premium prices. CROP JAMAICA has a five-acre property for the cultivation and extraction of cannabis. The principal local partner is Greg Douglas. During April to November 2017, Douglas was seconded to Jamaica's Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) as their CEO. While there he issued the first commercial licenses. CROP CEO, Michael Yorke, stated: "CROP has divested itself of these two international operations so that management can remain entirely focused on the expanding US operations while retaining a passive but strategic investment in an internationaly focused player offering CROP shareholders additional exposure to WFC's global growth. The company has invested approximately $100,000 between the two projects. This represents a 2,000% return on investment for CROP and its stakeholders. "The passing of the US Farm Bill in December 2018 has been a total game changer in terms of the vast opportunities opening up right now in the US. We firmly believe in striking while the iron's hot right now on our US doorstep while maintaining exposure to infantile global opportunities." WORLD FARMS CEO, Arthur Griffiths "We're excited to continue where CROP has left off with assets now in South Africa, Italy and Jamaica. World will bring additional value by leveraging our 1,000,000 square feet of greenhouse canopy in South Africa for the eventual importation of cannabis & hemp products into Italy and Jamaica. Our objective is to supply the world with organic hemp and cannabis." CROP additionally has retained Mackie Research Capital Corporation as a capital markets advisor for its ongoing financial demands. An advisory fee of $60,000 CAD and 1,000,000 warrants at $0.50 for a period of 24 months has been agreed upon. About CROP Crop is publicly listed on the CSE and trades under the symbol "CROP". CROP is focused on cannabis branding and real estate assets. CROP's portfolio of projects includes cultivation properties in California, two in Washington State, a 1,000-acre Nevada Cannabis farm, 1,865 acres of CBD farms, extraction in Nevada and joint ventures on West Hollywood and San Bernardino dispensary apps with international focuses in Jamaica and Italy. CROP has developed a portfolio of assets including Canna Drink, a cannabis infused functional beverage line, US and Italian distribution rights to over 55 cannabis topical products and a portfolio of 16 Cannabis brands. CROP's infrastructure has over 150,000 sq ft of built canopy and over 2,900 acres of real estate. Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections about future events and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In addition, marijuana remains a Schedule I drug under the United States Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Although Congress has prohibited the US Justice Department from spending federal funds to interfere with the implementation of state medical marijuana laws, this prohibition must be renewed each year to remain in effect. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may", "should", "could", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "believe" or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the expected returns from the California Project; the technological effects of California Project; the intention to expand its portfolio; and execute on its business plan. Such statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding the regulatory and legal framework regarding the cannabis industry in general among all levels of government and zoning; risks associated with applicable securities laws and stock exchange rules relating to the cannabis industry; risks associated with maintaining its interests in its various assets; the ability of the Company to finance operations and execute its business plan and other factors beyond the control of the Company. Such forward-looking statements should therefore be construed in light of such factors, and the Company is not under any 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 required by applicable law. The CSE has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this press release. Company Contact Michael Yorke CEO and Director E-mail: info@cropcorp.com Phone: +1-604-484-4206 Website: www.cropcorp.com SOURCE Crop Infrastructure Corp. States of Womens Incarceration: The Global Context 2018 By Aleks Kajstura Tweet this June 2018 U.S. incarceration of women remains at historic and global high Despite recent reforms, the United States still incarcerates 698 people for every 100,000 residents, more than any other country. Compared to that number, the womens incarceration rate of 133 seems quaint. But its the highest incarceration rate for women in the world. And while the overall U.S. incarceration rate is falling, the womens rate remains at an historic high. This report updates how U.S. women fare in the worlds carceral landscape, comparing incarceration rates for women of each U.S. state with the equivalent rates for countries around the world. Womens incarceration across the world Only 4% of the worlds female population lives in the U.S., but the U.S. accounts for over 30% of the worlds incarcerated women. World Women's Incarceration Rates If Every U.S. State Were A Country Rates calculated per 100,000 people. Read more about the data. Figure 1. This graph shows the number of women in state prisons, local jails, and federal prisons from each U.S. state per 100,000 people in that state and the incarceration rate per 100,000 in all countries with at least a half million in total population. Oklahoma has long had a reputation for over-incarcerating women, especially mothers dealing with drug or alcohol addictions. But having children also opens up Oklahoma women to incarceration when they are victims of abuse. In a recent illuminating case, a father violently abused a mother and her children, and got probation, but the mother was sentenced to 30 years for failing to protect their kids when he broke their daughters bones. As Oklahoma has become the worlds prison capital, the states women risk being further bulldozed by systems designed for men. The rapid growth of womens incarceration, coupled with the longstanding focus on men, means that recent criminal justice reforms have not kept up with the number and needs of incarcerated women. Women often do not have the same access to diversion and other programs that can shorten incarceration. Wyoming only recently allowed women to attend an alternative 6-month boot camp instead of serving 6-10 years in prison. And even then the women would have go as far as Florida to serve their time, because Wyomings camp is only open to men. Even Texas, which incarcerates more women than any other state, has few educational or vocational programs open to the women in its facilities. But the scope of the problem for all of these states becomes staggering when compared with countries across the world. The U.S. and its states make up 27 of the worlds most carceral places for women. Thailand comes in 28th place, fueled in part by Americas exported war on drugs. Women in Kansas and Thailand are incarcerated at similar rates. More states follow until El Salvador breaks the steady stream of U.S. jurisdictions as the worlds 35th most zealous incarcerator of women. El Salvadorian women are still routinely jailed for miscarriages, and have the same incarceration rate as women in Wisconsin. The true scale of U.S. over-incarceration becomes even more apparent when we look to our closest allies, the fellow founding countries of the North American Treaty Organization (NATO). The U.S. incarcerates women over 8 times as much as any of these NATO countries. Conclusion While women are in fact incarcerated far less than men, comparing the womens incarceration rate to that for men paints a falsely optimistic picture. When compared to jurisdictions across the globe, even the U.S. states with the lowest levels of incarceration are far out of line with global norms. Methodology Like our report, Womens Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2017, this report takes a comprehensive view of confinement in the United States that goes beyond the commonly reported statistics to offer a fuller picture of this countrys different and overlapping systems of confinement. This broader universe of confinement includes justice-involved youth held in juvenile residential facilities, women detained by the U.S. Marshals Service (many pre-trial), women detained for immigration offenses, sex offenders indefinitely detained or committed in civil commitment centers after completing a sentence, and women committed to psychiatric hospitals as a result of criminal charges or convictions. We included these confined populations in the total incarceration rate of the United States and, wherever state-level data made it possible, in state incarceration rates. This data paints a more complete picture of state criminal justice policies that impact girls and women. But while we were able to get most of the data, others are unavailable, non-existent, or older than what is available for the total population. Data about womens incarceration remains scarce Many common criminal justice datasets do not include separate counts of women, which makes it harder to get the full picture. For example: To calculate the number of women in prisons and jails, we had to use data from 2015 because that is the newest data that allows us to ensure that women held for state prisons in local jails are not counted twice. A newer version of the relevant Bureau of Justice Statistics report is available, but no longer includes a breakdown by gender, as it did in past versions. The U.S. Marshals Service does not report its detained population by sex. The number of people under military jurisdiction has not been reported by sex since 1998. Separate counts of women committed to state psychiatric hospitals due to criminal charges or convictions are not available. The missing data on women held in psychiatric commitment (for evaluation or treatment as Incompetent to Stand Trial or Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity) in each state is particularly significant. Having data on justice-involved psychiatric patients is critical when looking policies to end womens mass incarceration in particular, because incarcerated women experience mental health problems at rates significantly higher than incarcerated men. The incarceration data we do have reveal a system that is clearly broken, but fixing it would be easier and more efficient if policy makers had complete and detailed data. Not directly comparable with previous report This report is not directly comparable with our 2015 report States of Womens Incarceration: The Global Context because of several methodological improvements, including: We were able to develop a way to estimate the number of women in federal prisons from each state. We were able to include the number of women incarcerated in Indian country jails. We were able to include the number of girls confined in youth facilities. (Following the methodology of our Youth Confinement: The Whole Pie report, this report takes the comprehensive view and includes all youth detained or committed outside of the home for justice system involvement). Of these improvements, the most significant is the reallocation of women incarcerated in federal facilities. As readers of the previous edition of this report may remember, West Virginia hosts federal correctional facilities, driving up the number of incarcerated women within the state. But this time we were able to get data to reallocate women incarcerated in federal prisons back to their home states the states that sent them to prison in the first place. This change in data brings Oklahoma back up to the top, as expected. As a result of our choice to include other systems of confinement in our incarceration rates, and to reallocate women in federal prisons back to the states, this report creates a unique U.S. dataset that offers a complete look at all kinds of justice-related confinement in each state. We explain our specific data sources in more detail below and provided the raw data for the component parts of our calculations in an appendix to this report. Our data on other countries comes from the indispensable Institute for Criminal Policy Researchs World Prison Brief. Privacy policy This report requests your location so that we can provide you with a visual comparing your states use of incarceration to the founding NATO countries. If you gave us this permission, we discarded your location data as the page finished loading. If you did not give us this permission or if your browser was configured to decline permission automatically this report simply makes an educated but unrecorded guess based on your IP address about what states data you will find most relevant. Acknowledgements All Prison Policy Initiative reports are collaborative endeavors, but this report builds on the successful collaborations of the 2014 and 2016 versions of the States of Incarceration: The Global Context report as well as the first edition of this report, written with co-author Russ Immarigeon in 2015. Beyond the original structure developed by data artist Josh Begley, the author of this years report is particularly indebted to Jordan Miner for helping with state-specific graphs, to Joshua Herman for help labeling the main graphic, to Robert Machuga and Elydah Joyce for design assistance, and to the International Centre for Prison Studies for aggregating comparable world incarceration data in the invaluable World Prison Brief. And special thanks to Peter Wagner and Wendy Sawyer for their work on the data behind this report. This report was supported by a generous grant from the Public Welfare Foundation and by our individual donors, who give us the resources and the flexibility to quickly turn our insights into new movement resources. About the author Aleks Kajstura is Legal Director of the Prison Policy Initiative. Her previous publications on womens incarceration include the first edition of States of Womens Incarceration: The Global Context in 2015 and Womens Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2017. About the Prison Policy Initiative The non-profit, non-partisan Prison Policy Initiative was founded in 2001 to expose the broader harm of mass criminalization and spark advocacy campaigns to create a more just society. The organization is known for its visual breakdown of mass incarceration in the U.S., as well as its data-rich analyses of how states vary in their use of punishment. The Prison Policy Initiatives research is designed to reshape debates around mass incarceration by offering the big picture view of critical policy issues, such as probation and parole, womens incarceration, and youth confinement. PJ Media February 27, 2019 YouTube last week deplatformed a YouTube channel that specialized in exposing Stolen Valor cases. Stolen Valor, of course, refers to cases where dishonorable pretenders are caught making fraudulent claims of military honors they didnt earn. Retired Navy Seal Don Shipley has made it his lifes mission to expose these shameless charlatans. His channel had 232,806 subscribers at the time it was taken down and had been in operation since around 2008. He told PJ Media that he thinks his channel was taken down because he had outed Nathan Phillips, who had masqueraded as a Vietnam vet. .@YouTube @TeamYouTube Your ongoing viewpoint discrimination against the Right is wrong & un-America But taking down the channel of #DonShipley who exposes #StolenValor military poseurs is disgraceful Fix This!https://t.co/Xk0tvVgk6R Jim Hanson (@Uncle_Jimbo) February 26, 2019 Shipley confirmed that hed been booted off YouTube in a post on his Extreme SEAL Adventures Facebook page on February 21. Shipley told PJ Media that this wasnt the first time his channel had been put in YouTube Prison. I have been in YouTube Prison before when phony SEALs would cry to them about being posted, Shipley said via email. He said his posting privileges in the past had been restricted for six months. Read more This article was posted: Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 5:32 am Print this page. Infowars.com Videos: Michael Snyder End of The American Dream February 27, 2019 One country with a large nuclear arsenal just bombed another country with a large nuclear arsenal, and the mainstream media in the United States barely reported on it. And the mainstream media also almost entirely ignored the fact that Russia just publicly accused the United States of preparing to invade Venezuela. Could it be possible that the relative peace and stability that the globe has been experiencing is about to be greatly shaken? Even though I warned about a potential conflict between India and Pakistan just a few days ago, I was stunned when I found out that India had just bombed Pakistan for the first time in more than 40 years On Tuesday morning, India launched an airstrike on Pakistani territory, reportedly targeting a militant training facility. The airstrike was in retaliation for a suicide bomb attack that killed dozens of Indian troops in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, a disputed border region, earlier this month. India blamed Pakistan for the suicide attack, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to avenge every tear that was shed for the victims. That vengeance came on Tuesday in the form of an airstrike the first time India has sent warplanes into Pakistani territory since the 1970s. The Pakistani military is the most important political entity in that entire nation, and this attack greatly, greatly embarrassed them. The Pakistani government is promising to respond to Indias surprise airstrike, and they have even called a special session of the group that oversees the countrys nuclear weapons Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has now promised to respond. Khan also called a special session of the National Command Authority, the Pakistani government arm that oversees the countrys nuclear weapons, according to the New York Times. In other words, Pakistan is strongly hinting that they could go nuclear as this crisis escalates. And one expert on the region is entirely convinced that there will be some form of escalation There will be some form of escalation, Kamran Bokhari, an expert on Pakistani-Indian relations at the Center for Global Policy with the University of Ottawa told Bloomberg. Pakistan will have to strike back I am not saying this will lead to an all out war, but I dont see that its over. Let us hope that cooler heads prevail, but right now things are extremely, extremely tense. And it may already be too late to settle things down. Following the airstrike, there were reports that the Pakistani military and the Indian military were exchanging gunfire along the border between the two nations An Indian Defense spokesman says Pakistan and India are exchanging gunfire along the Line of Control. Tensions continue between the two nuclear armed countries. Most of us in the western world dont spend too much time thinking about either India or Pakistan, but the truth is that they are both very important. Approximately one out of every five people on the entire planet lives in one of those two nations, and a nuclear conflict in the region would have enormous consequences for the entire globe. Meanwhile, the Russians are now publicly accusing the United States of making preparations to invade Venezuela Russian Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev claims the US is amassing troops near the Venezuelan border ahead of a military operation in the south American country. US forces have been deployed to overthrow the lawfully elected incumbent president [of Venezuela] Nicolas Maduro, he said. And he didnt stop with just making a generalized accusation. Patrushev went on to specifically name the countries where U.S. troops have been deployed The transfer of American special forces to Puerto Rico, the landing of US forces in Colombia and other facts clearly indicate that the Pentagon is reinforcing the grouping of troops in the region in order to overthrow the lawfully elected incumbent president Maduro. If the Trump administration does ultimately decide to invade Venezuela, we could find ourselves directly fighting Russian troops, because they already have special forces there. In addition, an invasion of Venezuela would cause our relations with China to deteriorate even further, because they have now come out very strongly against military intervention China maintains that all countries should abide by the basic principles of international law and international relations, opposes foreign interference in the internal affairs of Venezuela, and opposes military intervention in Venezuela, Ma Zhaoxu, Chinas permanent representative to the UN, said at a Security Council meeting on the situation in Venezuela. The envoy also said China opposes US attempts to offer humanitarian assistance to the people of Venezuela, echoing a line used by the Maduro regime that the aid is merely a ploy to try and sow instability in the country. China opposes using the issue of so-called humanitarian assistance for political purposes to create disability or even turbulence inside Venezuela and in the neighboring region, he added. This serves no partys interest, the ambassador noted. These are the times that I have been warning about. All of the elements of the perfect storm are coming together, and war is one of those elements. Lets keep a close eye on the Middle East as well. A major regional war could erupt over there at literally any moment. After so many horrible wars in the past, humanity has still not learned how to live in peace. And now we possess weapons of mass destruction of immense power, and it is inevitable that those weapons will be used in future conflicts. The worst wars in human history are ahead of us, and the death and destruction are going to be absolutely unimaginable. Unfortunately, much of the world seems to be in the mood for war right now, and that is deeply, deeply troubling. This article was posted: Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 5:24 am Print this page. Infowars.com Videos: Comment on this article Voice Of Europe February 27, 2019 An image of a Muslim woman wearing a hijab was recently published on a digital advertising board at the entrance to the Swedish City of Gavle. It is true that the board was vandalised on Friday, and completely destroyed during the weekend, says Johan Adolfsson, director of communications at Gavle Municipality. We select people who have been nominated by the residents to represent those who live in Gavle. Suzan Hindi is one of the 100 Gavle residents nominated for the campaign. There have been lots of reactions to the advertisement. People express that its wrong, that Islam is a threat and that there are big problems with the hijab, says Johan Adolfsson. We received hundreds of emails and phone calls over the weekend. It is unpleasant because the insults are directed towards me and Suzan Hindi personally. Read more This article was posted: Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 5:04 am Print this page. Infowars.com Videos: Comment on this article Reuters February 27, 2019 U.S. President Donald Trump hailed North Koreas awesome potential on Wednesday and said leader Kim Jong Un wanted to do something great, hours before they were due to meet in Vietnam to try to break a stalemate over the Norths nuclear weapons. Despite little progress on his goal of ridding North Korea of its weapons programs, Trump appeared to be betting on his personal relationship with North Koreas young leader, and the economic incentive after 70 years of hostility between their countries. Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize, Trump said on Twitter, the morning after he arrived in Hanoi for a second summit with Kim. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon Very Interesting! Read more This article was posted: Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 5:25 am Print this page. Infowars.com Videos: American Mirror February 27, 2019 Bernie Sanders will release his very boring tax returns sometime soon, in the future, just not right now. The socialist senator from Vermont owns several homes and has inked lucrative book deals in recent years, despite his heated rhetoric about evil rich Americans who allegedly dont pay their fair share. Sanders recently joined a crowded field of Democrats vying for the presidential nomination for 2020, including some whove promised to divulge their tax returns, prompting CNNs Wolf Blitzer to broach the subject with Sanders at a town hall Monday. Will you release 10 years of your tax returns, as you know Elizabeth Warren has decided to do that? Blitzer questioned. Ya, Sanders said. What was the delay? Why havent you done that so far? Blitzer pressed. A d v e r t i s e m e n t Sanders suggested theres pending issues with the documents, though he wouldnt elaborate on what the issues are or when, exactly, the public might get a glimpse at them. The issue became a flashpoint for Democrats in the 2016 election when President Trump refused to release his tax returns, but it appears Sanders is also less than eager to put his documents on display. Well, you know, the delay is not our tax returns will bore you to death, Sanders said, sidestepping Blitzers question. Its simply a ma theres nothing special about them. It just was a mechanical issue, we dont have accountants at home, my wife does most of it and we will get that stuff out. But when? Blitzer questioned. Sooner than later, Sanders said. Blitzer pressed for a specific time, but Sanders wasnt having it. Soon, the senator said. I think we have to do just a few more little things, check them out, but theyre ready. Blitzer pointed out that folks have been calling on him to expose his finances since he ran for president in 2016 and questioned why Sanders is only now deciding to do so. I didnt end up doing it because we didnt win the nomination, Sanders alleged. If we would have won the nomination, we would have done it. But again, theyre very boring tax returns, he said. As America waits for Sanders to get his stuff together, the senators federal financial disclosures paint an interesting picture of a candidate who rails against the rich while raking in millions as a public servant. Sanders 2017 Senate financial disclosure, filed last May, shows he inked several lucrative book deals about his socialist policies that have totaled nearly seven figures annually in recent years. Its impossible to tell exactly what Sanders is worth because loopholes in federal disclosures allow politicians to exempt things like the value of a primary residence or certain personal possessions. The reporting system also lets lawmakers report broad ranges for their assets, making it difficult to tell what theyre really worth. Most of Sanders money and assets are listed in his wife Janes name. What is for certain is Sanders financial forms shows he has between $150,000 and $350,000 in cash in the bank, and three different high-dollar homes. The residences include a $600,000 vacation home in Vermonts swanky Champlain Islands, a half-million dollar row house three blocks from the Capitol, and a home in Burlington worth between $100,000 and $250,000. To put it in perspective, Sanders book deals combined with his six-figure taxpayer funded salary amounts to about $1 million a year, or roughly 1700 percent more than the median household income of his constituents in Vermont. This article was posted: Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 5:00 am Print this page. Infowars.com Videos: Comment on this article Flash Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday that China appreciated the unremitting efforts of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States to promote the political settlement of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. After the meeting of the foreign ministers of China, Russia and India held in Wuzhen of eastern China's Zhejiang Province, Wang told the press that the upcoming summit between DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump would mark a major event in the DPRK-U.S. relationship and draw the world's attention. He said the "double suspension" was realized on the peninsula since the first DPRK-U.S. summit held in Singapore in June last year, and China expected the upcoming summit in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, would mark an important step in promoting the denuclearization and building the peace mechanism on the peninsula by using the dual-track approach. "We hope both the DPRK and the United States can show sincerity, release goodwill, clear up contradictions and foster trust," Wang said. He said China would continue to safeguard the peace and stability on the peninsula, promote dialogues and peace talks, and contribute to long-term stability. China, Russia, India and the international community would also make their respective contributions to promoting the proper resolution of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, Wang said. Bridgewater Courier News February 27, 2019 FRANKLIN (Somerset) An 81-year-old township man was assaulted after being confronted for wearing a Make America Great Again hat, authorities said. The man was shopping at an Elizabeth Avenue supermarket around 3:30 p.m. Monday when he was assaulted, Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson said in a news release. The victim sustained minor injuries and declined medical attention. Detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutors Office Major Crimes Unit and the Franklin Township Police Department are actively investigating the incident. Read more This article was posted: Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 5:40 am Print this page. Infowars.com Videos: Southbury, CT (06488) Today Scattered showers and thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. High 96F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. Euro 2020: Mbappe misses crucial penalty as Switzerland shock France Switzerland produced the shock of Euro 2020 as they booked a place in the Euro 2020 quarter-final fixtures confirmed The Euro 2020 is heading into the business end of the tournament with the DANNEMORA [mdash] Richard L. Doe, 70, of Orchard Street, passed away on June 24, 2021 with his family by his side. He was born in Ogdensburg, NY on November 9, 1950 the son of the late Joseph and Lorraine (Richards) Doe. Richard married the former Judy Mousseau on May 18, 1984 at St. Peter's Flash Top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump met Wednesday night in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi for their second summit to discuss concrete ways for peace on and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Kim and Trump shook hands and smiled in their first encounter at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, where the two leaders were slated to briefly sit down one-on-one before having a social dinner, opening their two-day summit. The handshaking was made with flags of the DPRK and the United States standing behind them. A banner hanging above the flags read "Hanoi Summit" both in English and Korean. The summit came about eight months after the first Kim-Trump meeting in Singapore in June last year, where Trump pledged to provide security guarantees to the DPRK while Kim reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The two leaders stood around for a moment for a photo opportunity, before sitting down at the same place for a brief one-on-one chat. Noting "efforts and patience" were needed more than ever in the period that had passed, Kim said he was convinced that they can create an "outcome that everybody will welcome" in his second meeting with Trump. There was some mistrust and misunderstanding standing in the way of the two leaders, Kim said, but they overcame the obstacles to meet again in Hanoi in 260 days or so. Trump said he hoped his meeting with the DPRK leader would be "equal or greater" than their first summit. The U.S. president said he had a "successful" first meeting with Kim, they had made "a lot of progress" and the greatest one was his good relationship with Kim. He added that the DPRK has tremendous, unbelievable and unlimited economic potential. After the short appearance in front of journalists, Kim and Trump had a 20-minute one-on-one closed-door dialogue, before having a social dinner with their aides and translators present. Trump was joined at the dinner by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. Accompanying Kim were Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the DPRK's ruling Workers Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee, and Ri Yong Ho, member of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee and foreign minister. The two leaders were expected to try to hammer out a deal for the peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. They were slated to sit down again Thursday at a negotiating table for concrete ways to achieve the goal. "As key parties (of the Korean Peninsula issue), the DPRK and the U.S. should take measures on the basis of mutual respect and meet each other halfway, taking into account and accommodating the reasonable concerns of each other," Lu Kang, a spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, said at a daily briefing Tuesday. Lu said China had been playing and would continue to play its role, repeating China's main position on the peninsula issue -- to achieve denuclearization of the peninsula, and to achieve and safeguard lasting peace and stability of the peninsula and Northeast Asia. Kim arrived first in Vietnam on Tuesday morning by a train that departed Pyongyang, the DPRK's capital, Saturday and cut across southern China to a Vietnamese border town. Then, he transferred to a limousine bound for Hanoi. He became the first sitting DPRK leader in 55 years to make an official visit to the Southeast Asian country. Trump landed in Hanoi on Tuesday night, staying in the J. W. Marriott Hotel in the Vietnamese capital. Kim's lodging is the Melia hotel, some minutes' drive from Trump's hotel. Security was tightened near the hotels, surrounded by armed police and soldiers as well as international journalists and spectators hoping to catch a glimpse of the two leaders. With gas prices likely soaring for the holiday weekend, are you planning to travel or stay close to home? You voted: Chris Bonsall Egg Harbor Township Rescue pit bulls for border role I have a solution to two problems. Erect a fence 10 feet away from the existing border fences/walls, a chain link one 10 feet high. Then take all of the great pit bull dogs that get killed every year and place them between the fences, providing them with food, water and shelter. If anybody wants to jump over the fence, they should go for it. It would be good for everybody, and would save thousands of the best dogs. Gary Shoff Egg Harbor Township Traffic tickets excessive I moved to Egg Harbor City about seven months ago and commute to a job in Mount Laurel. I drive on the White Horse Pike for about 25 to 30 miles twice each day. The number of speed traps and police patrols in that stretch is ridiculous. I have been given two tickets in the past six months with what I feel are made-up speeds and tried to fight one in Mullica Township court because the ticket had three or four mistakes, but got nowhere. He also said Hurricane Sandy had a distorting effect on market figures. They are comparing 2005 the height of the crazy sales market to (in some cases) homes sold for land value alone to developers who built new construction, Jessel said. The current city administration has been installing pumping stations and making other improvements that have moved flood waters out from lower-lying neighborhoods more quickly, Jessel said. The study analyzed housing in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and found $6.7 billion has been lost in home value appreciation from 2005 to 2017 due to sea-level rise flooding. First Street had previously released a study showing an additional $7.4 billion had been lost across five southeastern states, for a total of $14.1 billion from Florida to Connecticut. New Jersey is particularly sensitive to tidal flooding risk because of Sandy, and so much value is concentrated on barrier islands, said Steven A. McAlpine, head of data science at First Street, who also worked on the study. There is so much exposure on the bay in New Jersey. That is what stood out. The idea for Gordons Alley was planted in his head after the state Legislature passed the Pedestrian Mall Act in 1972, allowing cities to convert streets into outdoor shopping centers, said Martin Blumberg, an architect who worked with Murray to design Gordons Alley. Gordons Alley launched the following year, at a time when people were leaving Atlantic City for the mainland. Over the decades, it competed with the opening of the Hamilton Mall in Mays Landing and new anchor stores at the former Shore Mall in Egg Harbor Township but it survived. They really expanded in Atlantic City when everyone else was leaving town, Neil Raphel said. His fathers business strategy, he said, was simple: Work hard to keep existing customers, using loyalty cards, direct-mail campaigns and events. Raphel entered politics that same year. He was elected to the Atlantic County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 1972 and named vice chairman of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority until 1990, where he acted as a voice for small businesses on Atlantic Avenue and owners struggling in the shadow of new casinos. Senior Living Communities offering full range of services across New Jersey More About The Shores United Methodist Communities mission is rooted in John Wesleys personal example and passion for compassionate service to others as a fruit of our faith, in the need to care for widows and orphans following the American Civil War and in the need to provide retirement housing and health care for Methodist Deaconesses, Missionaries, clergy, and laity in the early years of the 20th Century. Out of a varied past emerged our present and future ministry as a Health and Welfare agency of the United Methodist Church. Senior Living Options Across New Jersey The warmth of our community, the quality of our care, and the dedication and training of our staff are what makes living with us special. United Methodist Communities offers the full range of Senior Living Services in multiple locations across New Jersey. Below is a look at all the services we offer and the specific communities that offer them. And remember that you only pay for services you actually use. At United Methodist Communities, our aging in place program insures you will never be forced to move to get additional services when living in one of our full service or continuing care retirement communities. Assisted Living Assisted living brings professional care into residents apartments, enhancing dignity, choice, independence, stability and privacy. United Methodist Communities believes residents should remain in their apartments and secure support services, even as needs change. This customized solution perfectly suits people who wish to live independently, but dont yet require skilled nursing. Residents who need assistance with one or more basic activities of daily living, such as bathing, eating, dressing, ambulating and other personal and healthcare services, are appropriate for assisted living. Respite Services United Methodist Communities offers respite, which allows caregivers beneficial opportunities for rest, managing other demands, taking a break or vacation, and otherwise balancing work and family life. Also, it can yield time to investigate senior living options for loved ones or a trial residency before making a decision. Respite offers a safe environment for medically stable individuals following an illness, hospitalization or short-term rehabilitation. Long Term Care (Nursing Home Services) Long-term care, also known as skilled nursing, comprises the highest care level, and may be required on a temporary or permanent basis. This setting offers treatment from licensed nurses 24 hours a day and is appropriate for individuals with complex and potentially serious medical conditions, rapidly changing health status or persistent health issues. Treatment may include wound dressing, rehabilitation, tube feeding and more. Short Term Rehab Consistent with UMCs innovative service to seniors, short-term rehabilitation represents the perfect intersection of healthcare, long-term care and technology. Housed in the skilled nursing residences to enable close monitoring, the customized and therapeutic tools most effectively restore function, achieving the best possible gains. Complemented by the environment and personnel, we can successfully treat even seniors with multiple and complex health conditions. Medicare and private health insurance plans are accepted for short-term rehab. Bridges Hospice Bridges offers an alternate option to people who are unable or prefer not to receive hospice at home. Care and support from a skilled, compassionate multi-disciplinary team of health professionals assist people to live out their last days with dignity and comfort. Their expertise includes advanced, traditional and alternative therapies; expert 24-hour nursing oversight; medication management; certified caregivers; emotional and spiritual support; personal services; and palliative care for symptom management and pain control. Located in a private assisted living neighborhood, custom designed apartments and thoughtful amenities, complement the environment. Affordable Housing The United Methodist Communities has built five campuses throughout the state to serve senior men and woman who qualify under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development income limits. Affordable Housing offers apartment-style living with community rooms for activities, emergency pull-cords, live-in superintendents, parking and a full-time staff. United Methodist Communities at The Shores 2014 Best of The Press Gold Award for the Best Senior/Assisted Living Facility (As voted by readers of The Press of Atlantic City) 2015 U.S. News & World Report, Best Nursing Homes 2016 LeadingAge NJ Excellence in Care Award, Joanne Cheesman 2017 Best of the Sentinel for Retirement Community Learn more about us: https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/spotlight-on-local-nj-business/since-united-methodist-communities-at-the-shores-has-been-providing/article_8c2af414-3aa7-11e9-aeea-6bb121555c45.html We also do throughout the year a boys group and a girls group at the high school and the middle school to connect students to adults who they can trust, she said. Morris said there is a need for more awareness of teen dating violence. I think teen dating violence has always been a problem. Studies have found that one-third of students will experience some form of dating violence, Morris said. They text each other first thing in the morning and last thing in the night, and are stressed if they dont get that text. You dont have to check in with a partner, you have to check in with a parent. Berenato said Ocean City is working to increase awareness, too. We have several posters around the school reminding students that if theyre having any problems to please visit the wellness center or any adult that they trust, she said. We focus on building a culture of respect for the students so that they learn self-respect and respect for others. Were trying to teach them safer and smarter choices. Dealing with Domestic Violence? Here is how to get help If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, sexual violence or human traffi 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. ADVERTISEMENT The Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari on his election for a second term in office. Mr Akeredolu said Mr Buharis victory in the keenly contested presidential election signified the acceptability of his leadership by Nigerian citizens Also, the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State, Ade Adetimehin, described the re-election of Mr Buhari, as a robust victory for economic and infrastructural development in Nigeria. He appealed to people of Ondo State to vote for APC during the March 9 State Assembly polls. Mr Buhari lost Ondo State to Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, and the governor and his loyalists were largely blamed for the development. There were allegations that he was involved in subtle anti-party activities while supporting his candidates in the Action Alliance for the legislative elections. In a statement his Chief Press Secretary, Segun Ajiboye, Mr Akeredolu said Mr Buharis victory belongs to all Nigerians irrespective of ethnic and religious beliefs. He expressed optimism that the promises to Nigerians by President Buhari would take the country to unprecedented heights. Governor Akeredolu also lauded the efforts of stakeholders including local and international observers, INEC, security agencies, social commentators and media organisations who contributed to the peaceful conduct of the election. Mr Adetimehin, on his part, said the election of the President for a second term, against all odds, affirmed the acceptance of the APC, and acknowledgment of the performance of President Buhari. He said the combination of President Buhari and Professor Yemi Osinbajo is a divine arrangement for the emancipation of a country once invaded by political holocaust. The APC chairman commended Nigerians for voting for integrity, sincerity and development, rather than falling for orchestrated propaganda and massive deceit. I have no doubts that with the re-election, Nigeria would be taken to the next level of economic prosperity, infrastructural development, and political stability, he noted. While commending voters in the state, he urged them to vote for the APC in the State House of Assembly election slated for March 9. Mr Adetimehin, however, admitted that the state chapter of the party did not firm-up some loose ends ahead of the elections, and promised that steps would be taken to correct the errors. ADVERTISEMENT Unknown gunman on Wednesday shot into a crowd celebrating President Muhammadu Buharis re-election in Sabo, Yaba, killing one person, while a police officer was seriously injured by some protesting youth in Okokomaiko, Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the unidentified gunman opened fire on the celebrating crowd at Iwaya area, killing one person on the spot. Lagos Police Spokesperson, Chike Oti, chief superintendent of police, who confirmed the incidents, told NAN that the police officer was attacked by some protesting youths on the ever busy Lagos Badagry expressway. Mr Oti said policemen, led Sunday Oyekanmi, a superintendent of police, were appealing to the youth as they were causing heavy traffic on the highway. He said while the policemen were appealing to the youths to leave the road, the youth attacked them with machetes and sticks during which the DCO was seriously injured and collapsed. Many thought the DCO was dead, but the DPO of the station took him to the hospital where he was revived. He is responding to treatment now. He is not dead. The area is calm now. The Commissioner of Police in Lagos, CP Zubairu Muazu, has warned that the command will not tolerate any attack of his men who are working to protect lives and property in Lagos, Mr Oti said. Mr Oti said the 37 youth arrested for allegedly attacking the policemen at Okokomako were taken to the State CID, Panti for investigation, while detectives were on the trail of the suspect who shot dead one person in Yaba. On the alleged skirmish on Lagos Island, Mr Oti said there was no crisis between the Yoruba and the Ibo traders as being spread in the social media. According to him, some areas boys were having misunderstanding amongst themselves and the police went there to stop them before it degenerates into full scale crisis. The area is calm, there is patrol everywhere. Members of the public should disregard any rumour of crisis in Lagos Island, Mr Oti said. (NAN) You are here: World Flash All seven people onboard were confirmed dead, including Nepal's Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari, in a helicopter crash in Taplejung district of eastern Nepal Wednesday afternoon, Spokesperson of Nepal Police Uttam Raj Subedi confirmed. Tribhuvan International Airport confirmed that the helicopter owned by Air Dynasty crashed near Pathibhara area of Taplejung district at around 1:30 p.m. local time. Two rescue teams including army personnel have been deployed to retrieve the bodies. The deceased have been identified as Tourism Minister Adhikari, The prime minister's aide Yubaraj Dahal, tourism entrepreneur Ang Tsering Sherpa, the captain Prabhakar KC and Minister Adhikari's bodyguard Arjun Ghimire, Deputy Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Birendra Shrestha and CAAN official Dhruba Das. The helicopter went missing when it was en route to Chuhandanda of Tehrathum from Pathibhara of Taplejung. According to ministry officials, the team went for a feasibility study for an airstrip in Chuhandanda in Tehrathum district. Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli called an emergency cabinet meeting following the incident on Wednesday afternoon. Mao Ohuabunwa, a serving senator and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia North Senatorial District, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to order a re-run election in the areas where the exercise was cancelled. Mr Ohuabunwa made the call in a statement he issued in Umuahia, the Abia capital, on Wednesday, saying that no winner emerged at the end of Saturdays election in Abia north. He contended that Orji Kalu, the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), was not declared the winner of the poll. The lawmaker said the Returning Officer for the election, Charles Anumudu did not declare anybody winner of the contest. According to him, the total number of cancelled votes was far bigger than the margin of lead. He said: Announcing Kalu winner of Abia North Senatorial contest is a joke taken too far. The total number of canceled votes is 76,889, while the margin of victory is 10,402 votes. He said the difference between the margin of victory and canceled votes was 66,487 votes, adding that INEC could not have validly declared any candidate the winner of the poll. He said the returning officer only read out the figures and number of votes polled by all the candidates. He never declared Kalu winner, Ohuabunwa said. He therefore called INEC to cancel the results, allegedly manipulated in favour of Mr Kalu, and order a re-run election in the affected area to enable a winner to emerge. The result did not emanate from the polling units because no results were declared at that level. Nkporo in Ohafia Local Government Area (LGA) recorded 21,360 canceled votes in 32 units of two Wards of Ndi Elu 15 and Ndi Agbo 17. Arochukwu LGA (Ohuabunwas LGA) recorded 31,284 canceled votes, while 72 out of 149 polling units were canceled. Elections were cancelled at the polling units in Abia State University, Uturu campus in Isuikwuato LGA, with about 19,563 registered voters disenfranchised. That was more than the margin of victory of 3,708 votes recorded for the LGA, Mr Ohuabunwa said. In a reaction, Chigozie Achibie, the Head, Voter Education and Publicity of INEC in Abia, said he was not in a position to say whether or not the result of the election was declared. Ohuabunwa knows where to direct his grievances, Mr Achibie said. ADVERTISEMENT News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Ohuabunwa had earlier issued a statement rejecting the result of the election, which credited 20,801 votes to him and 30,203 votes to Mr Kalu. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won two Senate seats and two House of Representatives seats in Saturdays National Assembly polls in Bayelsa. The All Progressives Congress (APC) won the remaining Senate seat and two House of Representatives seats in the state. Results published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) show that Douye Diri of PDP won the Bayelsa Central Senatorial District election. Teddy Adias, INEC Returning Officer for the district, who announced the result on Wednesday in Yenagoa, said that Mr Diri polled 83,978 votes to defeat Festus Daumiebi of APC, who got 70,998 votes. Mr Adias said that a total of 163,587 votes were cast in the election, with 155,874 being valid votes and 7,713 votes rejected. In his reaction, Mr Diri, the member representing Yenagoa/Kolokuma/Opokuma Federal Constituency, said his victory belonged to the people. The victory is for my people and from my track record, I am going to continue the good work for the people, he said. In the Bayelsa West Senatorial District poll, Lawrence Ewrudjiakpo of PDP defeated Mathew Karimo of APC. In Bayelsa East, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremenyo of APC emerged senator-elect. Preye Oseke of APC also emerged winner to represent the people of Southern-Ijaw Federal Constituency. Mr Oseke polled 56,804 votes to defeat the Speaker of Bayelsa House of Assembly, Mr Konbowei Benson, who got 34,105 votes. Steve Azaiki of PDP is now the member-elect in the Federal House of Representatives, Yenagoa/Kolokuma/Opokuma Federal Constituency, while Fred Agbedi was elected a member of the Federal House of Representatives for Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency. The Ogbise Federal Constituency result has yet to be announced. The commission had declared Isreal Igoli APC as the winner of Brass/Nembe Federal Constituency election. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT A former aide to Godswill Akpabio, Ata Ikiddeh, has said that what happened to the Akwa Ibom senator in the just concluded general election was an ambush. Mr Akpabio, who is representing Akwa Ibom North-West District, lost his bid to return to the Senate for a second term. His opponent, Chris Ekpenyong of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was on Tuesday, declared the winner of last Saturdays election. There was suspense and tension in the state after INEC on Sunday suspended the release of the result of the election in which both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the PDP claimed victory. Mr Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, has already petitioned INEC, alleging irregularities in the announcement of the election result and also accusing the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mike Igini, of unfair treatment against his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). It has been a gruelling and bloody battle, we contested open minded not knowing we were walking into an ambush, Mr Ikiddeh said on Facebook, Tuesday, in a message to Mr Akpabios friends and supporters. We are under siege but we must hold our heads up high. The people who think they have put Sen. Akpabio to death politically have just enlarged him beyond anything himself or his enemies could have ever imagined. When you try to cut down a strong tree you are pruning it not destroying it, you are making it mightier. You are turning a Dongoyaro into an Iroko. Its a divine principle if you try and murder a gift you just made it better, bigger and broader, added Mr Ikiddeh who served Mr Akpabio as a special assistant on diaspora affairs when the latter was governor. Mr Ikiddeh called on people to respect INECs announcement on the election but said the battle was not over yet. We are winning the war, he said. Neither victory nor defeat affects a gift, it remains constant like the Northern Star! Wipe your tears, stand tall we must always think what is the highest good for Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria, as we pray for men with compassion and creative visionary leadership. Leadership comes from God and He gives it to whosoever He pleases! Our role as mortals is to stand in the right place and be counted in the assembly of the chosen. Brace yourselves brethren for the battle which must come in two weeks. Because never was so much owed to so many by the multitude of the willing! Mr Ikiddeh said. Mr Ikiddeh told PREMIUM TIMES he called from London on Monday, around 9 p.m., to speak with Mr Akpabio about what was going on in his district. The senator, he said, was optimistic in the face of the challenge he was facing. He was looking ahead and more focused on Mr Buharis victory, he said. He felt betrayed by the very people he has nurtured in the past eight years. But he was unbowed, Mr Ikiddeh added. Mr Akpabios defeat is one of the greatest upsets in the political history of Akwa Ibom State. PDP members and supporters in the state have been rejoicing over the senators defeat. ADVERTISEMENT Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano has explained why he could not deliver on his promise to ensure President Muhammadu Buhari gets five million votes in Kano State. He also described those doubting the number of votes scored by Mr Buhari in last Saturdays election in the state as unserious. Mr Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) scored 1,464,768 votes in Kano to defeat the Peoples Democratic Partys (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who polled 391,593 in the state. There was cancellation of results in some polling units in 17 local government areas. But the state witnessed no violence during the elections, although some people died in a clash between supporters of the APC and PDP a week before the polls. Mr Buhari was declared the overall winner of the election after he polled 15, 191,847, against the 11,262,978 votes polled by former vice president Atiku Abubakar of the PDP who finished as runner-up. Reacting to doubt by some Nigerians over the votes scored by Mr Buhari in Kano, Mr Ganduje, who was in the Presidential Villa Wednesday to congratulate Mr Buhari on his re-election said, first of all they are not serious people, they are people who are anti-democracy. If you have seen how the elections were conducted I think everybody will agree that INEC tried very well. Even though there was low turnout of voters because we were expecting to get much more than that, the election was fair and free. Those who say we couldnt have got that much are ignorant of the politics of Kano. Mr Ganduje said the result of the presidential and the National Assembly elections has put the APC in good stead to win the March 9 gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections. Mr Ganduje is seeking reelection in that poll. The 5 million votes Asked why he did not deliver on the five million votes he promised the president, the governor said, Well, I told you it is because of the low turnout of voters. But I promise You next timelets look towards the governorship election. Although Mr Buhari scored his highest votes in the 2019 election in Kano, the votes was significantly lower than the about 1.9 million votes he scored in the state in 2015. Mr Ganduje, who is enmeshed in a bribery scandal after being caught on tape receiving thousands of dollars from state contractors, also spoke on his chances in the governorship election My chances are very bright and you can see the beginning of it with the presidential election. We gave Mr President the highest number of votes, all the three senators are back, 24 House of Representatives members out of 24 have succeeded. What else are you expecting? That is the foundation. Another thing is that Mr President has done a lot of work in Nigeria and in Kano and as a government we have done a lot in Kano State. If there was negative reaction we would have seen it from the presidential election. That is why I say we are heading for a huge success in Kano both in the gubernatorial and state house of Assembly elections. Mr Ganduje said he was at the Presidential Villa to express his happiness and to also congratulate the president personally. He said he also wanted to thank all Nigerians for voting Mr Buhari for a second term, and for voting the most honest person because he laid the foundation for the development of a new Nigeria, and a man who loves Nigeria more than himself, a man who believes in free and fair elections. We are forging ahead in terms of getting the right thing done in Nigeria. So, I am here to congratulate him personally before we come as a group from Kano to congratulate him, he said. ADVERTISEMENT The Kano State Fire Service on Tuesday night rescued 45-year-old Nazifi Abdullahi from a burning house at Sharada Phase I in Kano. Saidu Mohammed, the Public Relations Officer of the service, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Wednesday that Mr Abdullahi was trapped inside the kitchen of the building. He said the firemen rescued the victim after getting a distress call from one Malam Auwalu Abdullahi at about 8:10 p.m. Upon receiving the information, we quickly dispatched firemen and fire engine to the scene at about 8:16 p.m. and our firemen were there on time to put off the fire. Only the kitchen of the house was slightly burnt, but the victim sustained injuries and was taken alive to the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital for treatment. Mr Mohammed said that the fire was caused by cooking gas. (NAN) The presidential candidate of the Peoples Trust (PT), Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has congratulated the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammadu Buhari, on his declaration as the winner of last Saturdays presidential election. He, however, called on him to be mindful of the numerous lapses identified in the electioneering process. Mr Olawepo-Hashim, who ran a robust campaign harping on issues and preferring solutions to them, said not a few gaps, including card reader failures, thump printing of ballot papers, allocation of results, violence and killing plagued the polls. He, however, said but he was congratulating the declared winner for the greater good, peace and progress of the nation and also in compliance with the peace accord, which all the aspirants signed. In a press statement emailed to PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Olawepo-Hashim expressed his gratitude to his supporters who he said broke the bandwagon and showed loyalty to him, making him one of the frontrunners beyond the dominant party candidates. I am particularly thankful to the people of Yauri Emirate and Zuru in Kebbi State who spoke through their votes that family ties cannot be easily broken by politics, he said. While the APC and PDP remained the dominant parties in Kebbi State, the great people of Kebbi State showed loyalty to the bloodline by making sure that Peoples Trust emerged third in most of the State. I continued to receive calls of support and solidarity from titleholders in the emirates and village heads who continued to say to me, I hope you saw our hand?. I saw their hands. The votes were many, not the 96 votes declared by Professor Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of INEC. Mr Olawepo-Hashim said his party went around the country in the campaign season and that he was one of the few alternative candidates to the two dominant parties, APC and PDP, who organized rallies and engaged in commercial advertising both on the print and the electronic media right to the last day of campaigning. His partys message, he said, were clear that Nigeria can indeed build a US$4 trillion economy within 10 years, and that the country can be united and secured, besides the ability to employ youths by creating 4 million jobs per year and paying workers a living wage of not less than N50,000. According to the business mogul turned politician, We passed a strong message that a new and better Nigeria is possible. Now the election has been won and lost. It is my duty, as a matter of honour as all contestants signed an accord to keep the peace and congratulate the winner. I therefore offer my felicitation to the winner of the 2019 Presidential election, President Mohammad Buhari. I pray for Gods guidance for him and wisdom as he steers the ship of State further in the next four years He explained that the nation cannot pretend everything has been smooth in the processes leading to the election and the election itself. Some of the ugly realities are assignments for political leaders and the entire citizenry to fix in the immediate future with a view to resolving them so as to building a stronger democracy, a more united and prosperous Nigeria. The candidate with a rich history of activism alleged an attempt to politically delegitimize the Peoples Trust (PT), its presidential candidate and other platforms. He said, Pursuant to this, the series of ridiculous votes in the region of 40, 90, 100 in different States allocated by Professor Yakubu, the chairman of the INEC and his team does not in any way reflect number of votes obtained by the Peoples Trust in the elections. The total votes announced in many States and FCT were in fact less than votes recorded in some and most of the polling units. He said while Peoples Trust cannot claim to have out-performed the APC and PDP in any state, in most States of the North-Central and Kebbi State, it recorded votes that place it in the third position. Unfortunately, the handler and fixers of the current exercise will rather choose to ridicule the Peoples Trust while allocating huge figure to shadowy parties that were deliberately registered and propped-up to give support and legitimacy to the ruling party. The whole idea was started earlier in the campaign season, by scheming the Peoples Trust out of the Presidential debate and electronic media channels controlled by the ruling party. These political forces who are not simply contented with rigging elections in 2019 alone, also want to determine the set of political platforms to promote for the future. They want to play God over our destiny. These forces are unhappy that the Peoples Trust submitted the highest nominations into offices during the nomination exercise. They are unhappy that we won the online votes amongst the alternative parties. They have done everything to attack and destroy our platform, but we are undaunted and not intimidated. The odious scheme of this anti-PT forces finally came to the fore when one of the private stations controlled by the ruling party quickly assembled some proxy analysts to lampoon the bad showing of some young parties, they immediately launched a deregistration of these parties, even only after the results of only two States had been officially announced, this is how petty, ugly and low, the electoral and political process in 2019 has descended to. ADVERTISEMENT On electoral irregularities, violence and killings, the business magnate stated that it was noted in many locations and the unusual large numbers of cancelled votes in Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa and other areas. Incidentally, these States fall within the catchment areas of the Peoples Trust (PT). In many States, we have received reports of ballot snatching, delayed arrival of voting materials or deliberate non-distribution of materials and wide spread irregularities. We hope the managers of the process will address these problems and stop further bloodshed in the land. Other than this, he said in the build-up to the election, following the initial postponement, they envisaged the present scenario and the reason why they requested in their letter dated 17 February 2019 for a four-week postponement of the polls to allow for a properly audited system and a cool-off period from what was obviously a desperate election scenario. Unfortunately, the major parties appear to be interested in having the election anyhow and not properly. The outcome of the 2019 Presidential elections, even though we have accepted it in the interest of peace and stability of the country, fall short of international standard and the standard established at the 2015 election. President Mohammad Buhari must, soon after the Governorship and State Assembly elections, probe the inefficient conduct of the INEC. It will be time also to have a national conversation on how to unbundle the INEC and have a more efficient and transparent Election Management Process. On vote buying, he said they saw massive voters inducement with cash especially by the two dominant parties. Whatever support therefore, obtained by them has been immorally and illegally acquired. Cash deployed have also been above the threshold set by the electoral act. One unfortunate dimension of the vote purchase market in the just concluded Presidential election is that the practice was not just driven by unscrupulous politicians desperate for votes but by the demand of about 60% of the voters who turned for financial gratification before voting. Candidates who refused to offer cash-for-votes were generally referred to as unserious candidates and severely punished at the polls. Nigerians as a people must have a honest debate about vote buying and its impact on the electoral outcome and governance. Mr Olawepo-Hashim said the election showed that the victor secured a massively tainted victory that lives behind a sour taste in the mouth and a broken polity. It is his responsibility to pick the pieces and heal the wounds that have already been inflicted in the land. On my part, I consider it a rewarding participation in spite of the outcome. It is always honourable to stand up for duty to ones country, regardless of the outcome. I remain undaunted; I remain solid in my faith that a better Nigeria is Possible. I pledge to you that you will find me always a willing partner in the unfinished assignment for the peace, unity and prosperity of Nigeria, even as the future beacons. Mallam Sadiq Umar, the senator-elect for Kwara North Senatorial District, says Senate President Bukola Saraki lost his senatorial seat because he was no longer connected with the electorate. Mr Umar said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Ilorin. The senator-elect, who was reacting to the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, said Mr Sarakis political relevance had always been overrated. He said that the senate president was able to hold the state in his grips for so long because elections had always been rigged in his favour. According to him, Kwara has suffered a protracted leadership problem and now they have the opportunity to speak out loudly. The victory is an anticipated one and we are very happy about it. Everybody is very happy because it was a very free and fair election. Kwarans are very clear; enough is enough. They have not had a good leader and those who are ruling Kwara are not giving the best of leadership to the people. So the people want a change and we are very happy the electorate have spoken very loudly that they are with APC and all candidates of APC won the elections from Presidential to National Assembly members, he said. Mr Umar described the development as a new dawn for Kwara, saying all what the citizens had been deprived would be given to them. Kwara will see development in infrastructure, employment, empowerment, prompt payment of salary and improvement in salary among others, he said. He urged the citizens to keep faith with the party and the newly elected representatives, assuring that they would not fail the people. My message to them is that there is hope for them. We will never fail them. We are aware of the nascent experience in Nigeria, particularly in Kwara. We just have to deliver the goods to the people of Kwara or else there will be a judgment day. We are aware of that. We are responsible citizens who came into politics for the purpose of serving our people. We are very grateful that they kept the faith. They promised they will support us and they did it overwhelmingly. We are going to pay them back with good governance and the best service we can render to them. So there is hope in Kwara, particularly in Kwara North that is backward in everything. We need to speed and catch up as soon as we can, said the newly elected senator. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Timothy Golu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lost his reelection bid for the Pankshin, Kanke and Kanam Federal Constituency of Plateau to Yusuf Gakdi of the All Progressives Progress (APC). That was as Hezekiah Dimka, also of the APC, defeated former Nigerian Immigration Service boss, David Paradang of the PDP, for the Plateau Central Senatorial District. Messrs Gakdi and Dimka were declared winners on Tuesday by Matur Bernard-Malau, a professor, the Returning Officer at Panskhin Collation Centre. The declaration came after PDP agents left the collation centre in the protest that trailed the results that came from Kanam Local Government Area. The APC candidate polled 80, 373 votes. Mr Golu of the PDP scored 78, 987 votes. Also, Mr Dimka of the APC garnered 149,457 votes against Paradang, the PDP candidate who scored I45048 from five local governments of the district. The local governments are Mangu, Bokkos, Pankshin, Kanke and Kanam. Mr Yusuf Gakdi, after pulling the highest votes is hereby returned elected and winner of the House Representatives election for PKK, Bernard-Malau, who stood in for Joseph Mangut, the main Returning Officer, declared. While declaring Mr Dimka, a retired Commissioner of Police, winner of the Senate election, he said `Dimka, having satisfied the provisions of the election by scoring the highest number of votes is hereby returned elected for the Plateau Central Senatorial District of Plateau. NAN reports that the declaration of the results was done amidst tight security. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT The result of the Saturdays presidential and National Assembly elections is coming with surprises from all over. The opposition which gloated and roared in the past months is in shock. Their large ego is cut to size and, for them, the reality is now different from the illusion they lived in months and weeks to the election. The will of the people has manifested to clear the fog that for a long time blurred the clear scenario that the opposition couldnt see. Adamawa state was a particularly interesting state for this election season. It was one state that all pundits, the media and politicians were particularly interested about. It is the home state of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). It is also a state President Muhammadu Buhari could claim, his wife, Aisha Buhari being from there. Beyond that personal ties, President Buhari, has a strong official ties with Adamawa state. The secretary to the government of the federation, Boss Mustapha, is from the state, aside a horde of other government appointees. The president has also etched the memory of his administration across the width and breadth of the state. A number of federal government projects are either completed or ongoing, including interstate roads that have been abandoned for a long time. And even before his ascension to power, President Buhari has amassed loyal support base in Adamawa State who have always made him proud. This electrifying support at the grassroots is what keeps the Buhari phenomenon alive through the years. However, PDP and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, were no small challenge to whatever pedigree President Buhari has in Adamawa. Atiku was vice president for 8 years and his party, the PDP, has ruled Adamawa for most of the last 20 years, making it a strong grassroots platform. It was therefore a tough scenario at the polls. On top of these, as a son of the soil, Atiku had set his eyes into winning the state with landslide, to make a political statement. He showed strong determination to achieve that by ensuring both regular visits and huge logistical support prior and during the elections. But as the results from polling units began trickling in on Saturday, the fog began to clear. It emerged that Adamawa people are ready to go the next level and back president Muhammadu Buhari in spite of their son on the ballot. First, the result for Atikus polling unit in Ajiya ward was announced, Buhari won it with 186 votes against Atikus 167. The final result showed a rather dismal performance for PDP, considering the expectations, and the gloating. Though PDP managed a victory with a 30,000 votes margin in the states final tally, its candidate lost from the polling unit to the ward, local government and even the senatorial zone, Adamawa Central. The result from Yola North, which is where Atiku resides and votes, showed a difference of over 16,000 votes, with Buhari polling 34,534 ahead of Atikus 20,414. It was a rejection from home. On a comparative scale, Atiku performed rather dismally from the results in Buharis home-state of Katsina, where there is a clear margin of almost a million vote. Atiku garnered less than 20 percent of the total votes with his 308,056 votes, a far cry from Buharis 1,232,133 votes. The performance of Buhari in Adamawa, against all odds, is thanks to a number of factors, chief among which is the people who opted to go with credibility ahead of blood ties. It is also a demonstration of the asidious work of a number of close associates and admirers from across the state, including the SGF, Boss Mustapha, director field operations in the APC campaign directorate, Nuhu Ribadu, among others, who not only delivered their immediate domains, but worked hard to turn in the state for the president. The SGF is grassroots politician with political records dating back to 1988. He rose to political reckoning from his Karewa ward in Jimeta, Yola, from where he was elected into the Constituent Assembly which produced the 1989 constitution. He came back to rise, from the same Karewa ward, to head the (then) Gongola state chapter of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). By 1991, he emerged as the partys candidate for the newly created Adamawa state. It was therefore no surprise that a politician with such pedigree would deliver his polling unit, his ward, and his local government with a significant margin, for the president. At Boss Mustaphas polling unit 009 Government House Gate, Buhari scored 216 votes to edge Atiku 196. At the ward and local governments level it was equally a clean sweep, with Yola North giving Buhari 43,865 ahead of Atikus 27,789. The results from different parts of the state represented shades of opinions and choices with the president getting big in some areas and less in others. It was therefore commendable that APC gave Atiku a good run for his money in his own state. Overall, the result from Adamawa showed that the people appreciate President Buharis good standing, they also appreciate his work in infrastructure and honour to their sons for various appointments. Seen from the perspective of the freely and peacefully conducted elections in Adamawa, like in most parts of the country, the re-election of President Muhamamdu Buhari is a renewal of a covenant. Nigerians have renewed their faith in a man they trust, one that is upright, honest and sincere as a leader. The renewed mandate is also indicative of our maturing democratic culture with power now in the hands of the people, not moneybags or godfathers. The Adamawa result particularly points to the impressive reality that people are ready to go for quality over affinity. It is a victory for democracy. Mustapha writes from Barracks Road, Jimeta. ADVERTISEMENT The United Kingdom has felicitated with President Muhammadu Buhari on his electoral victory in the Saturdays presidential election. Mr Buhari was declared the winner of the election in the early hours of Wednesday. The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has opposed the result, calling for a halt. A statement from the UKs minister of state for Africa, Harriett Baldwin, said the result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is consistent with Parallel Voters Tabulation (PVT) employed by the civil society for the election. Ma Baldwin said through the poll, The Nigerian people have demonstrated resilience and a commitment to democracy. The UK government called on political actors aggrieved by the elections outcome to seek redress within the ambits of the law while ensuring peace and harmony. We urge any party or individual who wishes to challenge the process to do so peacefully and through the appropriate legal channel and we encourage Nigerian authorities to examine all allegations of wrongdoing carefully, and take the necessary action against individuals found responsible. The statement also condoled with families who lost their lives in the course of the elections. No one should die in the exercise of their democratic rights, Ms Baldwin added. She pledged the UKs contribution to support Nigeria and its civil society in drawing lessons from these elections and strengthening its democracy. PREMIUM TIMES reported how several African leaders have also congratulated Mr Buhari. King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco described Mr Buharis victory as an affirmation of the level of confidence Nigerians have in their president and promised to work with him to advance the interests of both countries. President Alpha Omar Conde of Guinea also extended his congratulations, describing the re-election of Mr Buhari as a dose of hope for the West African region. You are here: World Flash Pakistan army said on Wednesday the Pakistan Air Force has shot down two Indian fighter jets inside Pakistani airspace and arrested one pilot of a destroyed jet, according to a military statement. Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistan army's media wing, Major General Asif Ghafoor said one of the aircraft fell inside Pakistan-administred Kashmir while the other fell inside Indian-controlled Kashmir. "One Indian pilot arrested by troops on the ground," said the ISPR. The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday urged Nigerians to look forward to the next four years with hope and hands ready to work. Mr Tinubu made the call in a statement made available to journalists in Lagos by his media aide, Tunde Rahman. He was reacting to the outcome of the February 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections. INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, early Wednesday, declared President Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of the election. Mr Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 15,191, 847 votes to defeat his closest rival, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 11,255, 978. The president-elect won in 19 states while his greatest opponent, Mr Abubakar won in 17 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Mr Tinubu said the presidential election was a fair and honest exercise that permitted the full expression of the sovereign will of the Nigerian people. In a decisive manner, the electorate have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to serve a second term. Thus, we should look forward to the next four years with hearts filled with hope and hands ready to work. Only God can create the Promised Land. Yet, with Gods help, we endeavour to make of Nigeria a land of greater promise and prosperity for all her children. With President Buhari at the helm for four more years, I know we can achieve this. Congratulations to President Buhari on your re-election, he said. Mr Tinubu said with the election, Nigeria signaled to the world its unalloyed embrace of democracy and its unflinching determination to perfect the democracy. On the electoral violence that led to loss of lives, he said that Nigerians should dedicate themselves to the principle that elections were meant to better the lives citizens. While this election was free and fair, we also must acknowledge the isolated incidents of violence. Nigerians were killed and injured during what otherwise was an exemplary democratic procession. Such things should never happen and do us no good. Let us work even harder to ensure that the March governorship and state assembly elections be devoid of such unfortunate incidents, he said. Mr Tinubu said Nigeria was stronger under the leadership of Mr Buhari who had continued to lay the critical reforms that constituted the foundation for durable, broadly-shared economic development. No doubt, Nigeria has its challenges, but it stands undaunted as a nation. ADVERTISEMENT President Buhari, in his second term, will continue to install peace, battle corruption head on and build a political culture of civility, tolerance and equality. The tasks before us are hard. We dare not underestimate the challenges that await, but the rewards that beckon are profound, he said. The former governor of Lagos State congratulated Mr Buhari and commended APC supporters and Nigerians for their patience, and their commitment to the democratic electoral process. The people of Nigeria are industrious and brave. Our plans are visionary and bold. Our goals are just. And the president you have re-elected is honest and true. There is no aspect of national greatness and achievement that lies beyond our reach. Posterity shall reward you for what you established on election day. Today the sun shines brighter on Nigeria. If we work hard, tomorrow we shall be able to say the same thing. Mr Tinubu said. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the latest attacks by bandits in Sokoto State and inter-communal conflicts in Kaduna state. He warned that mass murder of innocent people by criminals would be met with full force. President Buhari made the condemnation in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Wednesday The president said that, the death of one innocent Nigerian is no less important than the death of a hundred. It is a matter of time before these murderous gangs of criminals meet their Waterloo. According to the president, the criminals cannot be lucky always because the law will ultimately catch up with them and deliver justice ruthlessly. He said: Let no group of outlaws doubt the will and resolve of my administration to confront criminals who have no iota of regard for the sanctity of life. President Buhari also reassured Nigerians that their security remained a top priority of his government. Our security personnel are being trained, retrained, motivated and provided with essential equipment in order to improve their capacity to respond to our security challenges, he added. President Buhari commiserated with the families of the victims. (NAN) Election is not war, and should never be seen as a do or die affair, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Wednesday. Mr Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) defeated Mr Abubakar of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Saturdays presidential election. The president scored 15,191,847, while Mr Abubakar polled 11,262,978. Mr Buhari was declared winner early on Wednesday by the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Mahmood Yakubu. But Mr Abubakar and his party rejected the outcome of the election and said they will seek legal redress. But speaking shortly after receiving his certificate of return from the INEC chairman, Wednesday, Mr Buhari called on his opponent to accept defeat. Election is not war, and should never be seen as a do or die affair. I pray that we all accept this democratic approach to elections, however contentious, he said. The president said now that the elections are over, and a winner declared, we must all see it as a victory for Nigeria, our dear country. That was why I encouraged my teeming supporters, in a speech I read earlier today, not to gloat. Our God-given victory is enough cause for joy, without deriding those who were in the opposition. All Nigerians, going forward, must stand in brotherhood, for a bright and fulfilling future. I, therefore, want to assure that we will continue to engage all parties that have the best interest of Nigerians at heart, he said. Mr Buhari said his government will remain inclusive and that all doors will remain open. That, he said, is the way to build the country of our dream; safe, secure, prosperous, and free of impunity and primitive accumulation by those entrusted with public offices. The president congratulated all the presidential candidates and their teams on a hard-fought campaign. We may have had different views during the campaign, but the one thing most of us have in common is love of our country and our desire to improve conditions for Nigerians. He also said, from the comments of several observers both local and foreign, it is obvious that the elections were both free and fair. Mr Buhari said for him and the government he runs, the hard work to deliver a better Nigeria continues, building on the foundations of peace, rule of law and opportunities for all. We will roll up our sleeves afresh, and give it our all. We have no other motive than to serve Nigeria with our hearts and might, and build a nation which we and generations to come can be proud of, he said. Mr Buhari thanked the over 15 million citizens who voted for him. He also thanked those who contributed to the running of his successful campaign. I can assure that you will see a country moving to the Next Level, as we consolidate on our fundamental areas of securing the country, reviving the economy, and fighting corruption. ADVERTISEMENT Many other focal areas, as stated in our campaign manual, will be added, to the good things we plan for our country, he said. Mr Buhari also paid tribute to those who lost their lives either through accidents or mindless violence during the course of the elections. My heart and thoughts are with the families of the victims. May God comfort and give them the fortitude to bear the loss, he said. ADVERTISEMENT A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba, on Wednesday, urged the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, not to approach the Election Petition Tribunal over his loss of the February 23 presidential elections. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday morning declared President Muhammadu Buhari the winner of the election. Mr Buhari polled 15,191,847 votes to defeat Mr Abubakar who scored 11,262,978 votes. Shortly after the announcement, Mr Abubakar rejected the result of the poll as declared by INEC saying it was unacceptable to him. He said he would challenge it in court. However, in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Agbakoba advised the former vice president to avoid going to court. He said Mr Abubakar is in a strong position to take up the mantle of a statesman in the country by avoiding litigation over the election. He urged the defeated candidate not to lose sight of the legacy and greatness that lies in front of him despite the outcome of the result. I understand the PDP is aggrieved about the outcome of the election and alleged massive irregularities but I urge former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar not to approach the Election Petition Tribunal, Mr Agbakoba said. This is not to say I do not recognise the massive irregularities in the 2019 Presidential Election. I can see how tempting it is to take the option of the Election Petition Tribunal but that in my view is not the right decision. He also advised Mr Abubakar to take up the opportunity and build a third force in the polity, as a counterpoise to the APC and PDP which have won all general elections in Nigeria since 1999. He might have moved backwards by his loss but he should not lose sight of the legacy and greatness that lies in front of him. He can build a new Nigeria movement from the motley of small parties, third force actors, change actors and millions who are desperate for a strong, united Nigeria, the senior lawyer and activist said. There is also a lot of work to be done in both political and electoral reforms. I request former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar to step into the shoes. he added. According to him, the 2019 presidential election was marred by ethnicity. He observed that President Buhari kept his base in the North while Mr Abubakar held his base in the South. He said the politics of the South-west occurred on the basis of issues According to him, both the APC and the PDP benefited from primordial voting. The voting pattern for the 2019 Presidential Election shows ethnicity played a significant role in the Election. President Muhammadu Buhari kept his base in the North while former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar largely held his base in the South. Both All Progressive Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) benefited from primordial voting. The excepted zone is the South-west where voting occurred on the basis of issues. Millions of Nigerians came out on Saturday to vote in a president and a vice for another term of four years. It was the first set of the general elections. Also elected, were members of the Senate and the House of Representatives. These lawmakers, over 400 of them, are spread across different senatorial districts, across the states. Following last weekends elections, officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have announced over 100 members of the National Assembly. About 80 senators-elect have been announced so far. However, while elections were cancelled in some senatorial districts, some results are yet to come. Of the over 80 senatorial results listed, winners have emerged from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Young Progressives Party (YPP). Spread These results are spread across the states except for Benue, Bayelsa, Plateau and Rivers States whose results are yet to be announced. Of the 80 senatorial seats, the APC has won 54 so far while the PDP has secured 25 seats, leaving the last one to the YPP. Out of the 32 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the APC has a majority in 23 states. These are states where the party won at least two of the three senatorial districts available. These states, most of which are governed by the ruling party, are spread across the North and South-west. In the northern states alone, the APC has clinched 36 senatorial seats so far. This includes three seats each from Kwara and Nasarawa states which are North-central while the PDP has five seats in the Senate so far (including the FCT). In the South-west region, the APC dominates by occupying 13 seats so far, whereas the PDP has three. The opposition party, however, has won more seats in the South-east and South-south with about 16 senatorial seats against the APCs three spots. Women ADVERTISEMENT More so, of the 80 senatorial seats declared so far, five are to be occupied by women. They include two new senators (Aisha Dahiru, Adamawa Central and Godiya Akwashiki, Nasarawa North) and three returning lawmakers (Oluremi Tinubu of Lagos West, Rose Oko of Cross River North and Stella Oduah of Anambra North). More results are, however, expected in the coming days. Below is a graphical representation of senators-elect so far WINNERS OF SENATORIAL ELECTIONS STATES/SENATORIAL DISTRICTS NAMES ABIA ABIA NORTH ORJI KALU (APC) ABIA CENTRAL THEODORE ORJI (PDP) ADAMAWA ADAMAWA NORTH ISHIAKU CLIFF (PDP) ADAMAWA CENTRAL AISHA DAHIRU (APC) ADAMAWA SOUTH BINOS YERO (PDP) AKWA IBOM AKWA IBOM NORTH EAST BASSEY ALBERT (PDP) AKWA IBOM NORTH WEST CHRIS EKPENYONG (PDP) AKWA IBOM SOUTH AKON EYAKENYI (PDP) ANAMBRA ANAMBRA NORTH STELLA ODUAH (PDP) ANAMBRA CENTRAL UCHE EKWUNIFE (PDP) ANAMBRA SOUTH IFEANYI UBA (YPP) BAUCHI BAUCHI NORTH MOHAMMED BULKACHUWA (APC) BAUCHI CENTRAL JIKA HALIRU (APC) BORNO BORNO CENTRAL KASHIM SHETTIMA (APC) BORNO SOUTH ALI NDUME (APC) CROSS RIVER CROSS RIVER NORTH ROSE OKO (PDP) CROSS RIVER CENTRAL SANDY ONOR (PDP) CROSS RIVER SOUTH GERSHOM BASSEY (PDP) DELTA DELTA NORTH PETER NWAOBOSHI (PDP) DELTA CENTRAL OVIE OMO-AGEGE (APC) DELTA SOUTH JAMES MANAGER (PDP) EBONYI EBONYI NORTH SAM EGWU (PDP) EBONYI CENTRAL OBINNA OGBA (PDP) EBONYI SOUTH MICHAEL AMA-NNACHI (PDP) EDO EDO NORTH FRANCIS ALIMEKHENA (APC) EDO CENTRAL CLIFFORD ORDIA (PDP) EKITI EKITI NORTH OLUBUNMI ADETUNMBI (APC) EKITI CENTRAL OPEYEMI BAMIDELE (APC) EKITI SOUTH ADEDAYO ADEYEYE (APC) ENUGU ENUGU WEST IKE EKWEREMADU (PDP) GOMBE GOMBE NORTH ALKALI AHMED (APC) GOMBE CENTRAL DANJUMA GOJE (APC) GOMBE SOUTH AMOS BLUES (APC) IMO IMO NORTH INCONCLUSIVE IMO WEST ROCHAS OKOROCHA (APC) JIGAWA JIGAWA NORTHEAST IBRAHIM HASSAN (APC) JIGAWA NORTHWEST DANLADI SANKARA (APC) JIGAWA SOUTHWEST MOHAMMED SABO (APC) KADUNA KADUNA NORTH SULEIMAN KWARI (APC) KADUNA CENTRAL UBA SANI (APC) KADUNA SOUTH DANJUMA LA'AH (PDP) KANO KANO NORTH BARAU JIBRIL (APC) KANO CENTRAL IBRAHIM SHEKARAU (APC) KANO SOUTH KABIRU GAYA (APC) KATSINA KATSINA NORTH AHMED BABBA-KAITA (APC) KATSINA CENTRAL KABIR BARKIYA (APC) KATSINA SOUTH BELLO MANDIYA (APC) KEBBI KEBBI CENTRAL ADAMU ALIERO (APC) KEBBI SOUTH BALA IBN NA'ALLAH (APC) KOGI KOGI EAST INCONCLUSIVE KOGI CENTRAL YAKUBU OSENI (APC) KOGI WEST DINO MELAYE (PDP) KWARA KWARA NORTH UMAR SADIQ (APC) KWARA CENTRAL YAHAYA OLORIEGBE (APC) KWARA SOUTH LOLA ASHIRU (APC) LAGOS LAGOS EAST BAYO OSINOWO (APC) LAGOS CENTRAL ADEOLA OLAMILEKAN (APC) LAGOS WEST OLUREMI TINUBU (APC) NASARAWA NASARAWA NORTH GODIYA AKWASHIKI (APC) NASARAWA WEST ABDULLAHI ADAMU (APC) NASARAWA SOUTH TANKO AL'MAKURA (APC) NIGER NIGER NORTH SABI ABDULLAHI (APC) NIGER EAST MOHAMMED SANI MUSA (APC) NIGER SOUTH BIMA ENAGI (APC) OGUN OGUN EAST INCONCLUSIVE OGUN CENTRAL IBIKUNLE AMOSUN (APC) OGUN WEST TOLU ODEBIYI (APC) ONDO ONDO NORTH AJAYI BORROFICE (APC) ONDO CENTRAL AYO AKINYELURE (PDP) ONDO SOUTH INCONCLUSIVE OSUN OSUN EAST ADENIGBA FADAHUNSI (PDP) OSUN CENTRAL AJIBOLA BASHIRU (APC) OSUN WEST ADELERE ARIOWOLO (APC) OYO OYO NORTH ABDULFATAI BUHARI (APC) OYO CENTRAL TESLIM FOLARIN (APC) OYO SOUTH KOLA BALOGUN (PDP) SOKOTO SOKOTO NORTH ALIYU WAMAKKO (APC) SOKOTO EAST ABDULLAHI GOBIR (APC) TARABA TARABA SOUTH EMMANUEL BWACHA (PDP) YOBE YOBE NORTH AHMED LAWAN (APC) YOBE SOUTH IBRAHIM BOMOI (APC) YOBE EAST IBRAHIM GEIDAM (APC) ZAMFARA ZAMFARA WEST ABDUL'AZIZ YARI (APC) FCT PHILIP ADUDA (PDP) ADVERTISEMENT The Director, Field Operations, of the President Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation, Nuhu Ribadu, has described the reelection of President Muhammadu Buhari as a reward to Nigerians. Ribadu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, that Nigerians sacrificed their time and energy to vote in a free and fair election and were rewarded with a man committed to selfless service. As Director, Field Operations, of a successful candidate, I will, first of all, congratulate our candidate; a good and honest man has been reelected and Nigeria will continue to change for better, Mr Ribadu said. Mr Ribadu urged opponents of Mr Buhari to accept the outcome in the spirit of sportsmanship. The former boss of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) added that everyone participating in Nigerias democratic process was a winner. No winner, no vanquish, Nigeria is the winner, Mr Ribadu said. Also speaking, the Adamawa Coordinator of the operations, Shehu Umar, lauded Nigerians for their faith in Mr Buhari and assured citizens that they would not be disappointed. Mr Umar said the second coming of the reelected president would enable him to consolidate on people-oriented projects and programmes for the country. (NAN) The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) on Wednesday urged Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to concede defeat having lost in the February 23 presidential election. A statement by Muhammad Ibrahim-Biu, ACF National Publicity Secretary, made available to News Agency of Nigeria in Kaduna, said Mr Abubakar should accept the will of the people. The ACF salutes the courage of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for putting up a gallant fight with an impressive performance in the presidential elections. The forum calls on Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of PDP as a committed democrat who cherishes peaceful democratic transition, to accept the will of the people, concede defeat and congratulate President Buhari on his well deserved victory at the just concluded elections. Especially as there are credible evidence that the elections have been generally peaceful, free and fair. Such concession on the part of the main challenger would be in the overall interest of Nigeria and place him among global democrats. The ACF, which supported Mr Buhari against Mr Abubakar, also urged other contestants to be magnanimous in defeat and congratulate their opponents who won. The forum commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting smooth and transparent elections, and refusing to be intimidated or cajoled by the initial logistic challenges which led to the postponement of the elections by one week and other unfortunate incidences. ACF also saluted resilient Nigerians for their personal sacrifices to not only exercise their franchise by voting candidates of their choice but also to ensure that their votes got counted. We equally salute other stakeholders, especially the National Peace Committee of General Abdusalami Abubakar, foreign and domestic election observers and many others for their wise counsel and commitment to peaceful election. It also appreciated the efforts of security agencies in making the elections relatively peaceful. The forum congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari on his reelection and tasked him to strengthen national unity and inclusiveness so that no section or group is left out. On the forthcoming governorship and legislative elections, the ACF called on INEC, security agencies and other stakeholders to tackle the problems of distribution of election materials, card reader glitches, ballot box snatching and others, before the election day. The ACF congratulates all Nigerians for their resilience, commitment and courage in exercising their civic responsibility amid challenges that are natural concomitant of such tasks and responsibilities. Like the ACF, Tony Momoh, a former information minister, on Wednesday advised Mr Abubakar to concede defeat and congratulate Mr Buhari. Mr Momoh gave the advice in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos while reacting to the declaration of Buhari as the winner of the polls by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Mr Momoh said Mr Abubakar would earn respect, nationally and internationally, if he accepts the outcome of the results as the wish of the people. The former minister also advised Mr Abubakar not to go to court but call to congratulate Mr Buhari as former President Goodluck Jonathan did in 2015. ADVERTISEMENT He said the singular act made Mr Jonathan an instant hero, adding that Mr Abubakar could earn the same status if he allows national interest to rise above his personal ambition. A beautiful thing happened shortly after the results were announced in the 2015 general elections; Jonathan called the winner (Buhari) and congratulated him. That singular act not only made Jonathan a respected national figure, but also an international figure. Therefore, as a national leader, I will call on our friend, Atiku to call Buhari and congratulate him. That will make him not just a national figure like Jonathan, but also an international figure. Though court is an option, I advise him not to go to court because time will tell if he will get any reckoning after doing so. He should not allow anybody to deceive him, instead, he should immediately call Buhari to congratulate him, Mr Momoh said. Mr Momoh said he believed the outcome of the election reflected the wishes of the people, adding that it was the aggregate of the results from polling units across the country. He said that INEC had done what was expected of it as an impartial electoral umpire. Mr Momoh said that he advised Mr Abubakar not because he did not believe in the court to seek redress as he went to court with Buhari in 2003, 2007 and 2011 to challenge election results. The former minister said he is only giving the advice because he believes Mr Abubakar would earn respect by conceding defeat, rather than challenging what he called the will of the people. The INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, while announcing the results of the polls on Wednesday in Abuja, said Mr Buhari polled 15,191,847 votes to the defeat Mr Abubakar who polled 11,255,978 votes. Mr Abubakar had in a statement described the results as questionable, saying he would challenge it in court. ADVERTISEMENT The immediate past Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria, and Director General of the APC Door-to-Door Campaign in Delta State, Ima Niboro, has congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari for his victory in last Saturdays Presidential polls. Speaking to journalists at his Warri residence on Wednesday, Mr Niboro said Mr Buharis victory was inevitable as much as an Atiku Abubakars victory was statistically impossible. He pointed out that as long as politics thrives on structures and not on day dreams and wishful thinking, it was structurally impossible for the Peoples Democratic Partys candidate to oust the sitting APC president. Mr Niboro said, As at the day of the elections, APC was in control of 22 states, while the PDP controlled 13 and APGA one. No governor would surrender his state to the opposition because the template of the presidential elections would be the same with the coming gubernatorial elections. Even if the governor is not on the ballot, he is sponsoring a successor. He will fight tooth and nail to deliver his party in all the elections. He pointed out that the votes in the presidential elections were consistent with the structural realities of Nigerias party politics. He stated that Sokoto and Gombe went inevitably to the APC because the structures that emplaced those PDP governors were actually and presently APC both in content and character. He attributed the big fall of Bukola Saraki and PDP in Kwara to a protest movement, marshaled by no less than his blood sister, Gbemi, in broad alliance with the Otoge movement, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and the wealthy and politically savvy Abdulrasaq family. According to him, the same thing happened in the South South, even though in reverse order. Take Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom and Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta. These are no doubt popular grassroots politicians and former two term governors. Both, of APC, just lost to PDP and no one is talking about it. Why did they lose? Simply because the structures that undergird the politics of Akwa Ibom and Delta are still powerfully PDP, even though the APC is making greater inroads every day. Governors are very powerful in our country, even the seemingly harmless looking ones like that fellow in Akwa Ibom. They successfully fought these two heavy weights to a standstill. He continued: I spent most of my adult life reporting politics, so I know what I am talking about. As far as I know, the only states that went out of character are Ondo and Oyo. But I am certain you will find, upon greater interrogation, that those were protest votes not against Buhari but against the internal power structures of both states. I urge Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the PDP to emulate former President Jonathan and take the moral high road. It is not too late for them to congratulate President Buhari, reorganize their party, win over more governors, and challenge the APC for the presidency in 2023. ADVERTISEMENT A Nonagenarian and the Esogban of Benin Kingdom, David Edebiri, has described the February 23 presidential and National Assembly (NASS) election as the freest in the country since 1951 when he started voting as an adult. The Benin chief stated this when he addressed journalists in Benin on Wednesday. He also called on Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to congratulate Mr Buhari and extend a hand of fellowship, just as he advised Mr Buhari to be magnanimous in victory and continue his anti-corruption fight. My reaction is one of great concern for some Nigerians, who tried, by all means, to scuttle this development, using the judiciary, using every means to scuttle the programme. If they had succeeded, then we would have returned to Egypt where God delivered us from. I voted in the election. I started voting since in December 1951 and that is exactly 68 years ago. Since I started voting in 1951, till date, I have not failed to vote in any election, including that which was conducted by Babangida on June 12, 1993. There was none of these elections that has been as free as the one we held on February 23. I say that from my own personal knowledge, this is not history that you read from books, this is something in which I participated. There was none of these elections that was as transparent, free and fair as the one we have just held, so to that extent, Muhammadu Buhari should be praised. He promised the world that there would be no interference in the electoral process and that is exactly what has happened, he told Nigerians that he will continue to fight corruption and all corruptive tendencies and that is what he has done, he stated. Mr Edebiri said Mr Buharis coming in 2015 saved Nigeria from total collapse. I want to assure you that but for the coming of Buhari in 2015, many of us here now would have been looking for where to seek exile, this country would have gone haywire but people did not seem to realise that. Because the man is fighting corruption head-long, all the people who are involved in some scandal, exploitation of our people, stealing of our money, ganged up to prevent this day from coming. Today, we are grateful to God almighty that we all lived to see it and I want to assure you that the second coming of Buhari will take Nigeria to a higher level both in economy and in defence as he has said. We also found that Nigeria has gotten respect from all parts of the world because of Buhari, this is a fact that no one can deny. Mr Esogban said because of Mr Buharis anti-corruption stand, he commands global respect for Nigeria. He further stated that throughout his campaign, it was only the president, who talked about fighting corruption. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT The wife of the President Aisha Buhari, on Wednesday hosted some women leaders to a low key celebration to commemorate the second term victory of President Muhammadu Buhari. The women, who converged on the official residence of the family at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, also joined the family in prayers for God guidance and protection. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was attended briefly by President Muhammadu Buhari, who thanked the women for their loyalty and support to his administration. Some of the women who spoke after the celebration expressed confidence on the ability of Mr Buhari to deliver Nigeria to the next level of development. Hajo Sani, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration, expressed gratitude to Nigerians for their optimism in the administration. Mrs Sani urged them to sustain the tempo. According to her, the next level campaign embarked upon by Mr Buhari administration is aimed at consolidating the successes recorded in agriculture and infrastructure development in the country. The next level which is the next four years ahead is a period where Nigerians will really experience what they are expecting from the President. she said. The North East Coordinator of Aisha Buhari Foundation (ABF), Zuwaira Gambo, said the re-election was a great opportunity for the people of the zone to consolidate on the peace building. We pray that this next level will bring more social intervention in the north east, she said. The wife of the former Military Administrator of Lagos State, Munnira Buba Marwa, expressed gratitude to almighty God for delivering the second term bid of Mr Buhari. Mrs Marwa said Buharis re-election would go a long way to consolidate on his achievements recorded so far. She also acknowledged the contributions of women and youths during the electioneering. Naja`atu Mohammed, an APC stakeholder, said Mr Buharis re-election was a victory for women and youths. (NAN). You are here: World Flash As Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Jong Un made his way to Vietnam, China provided traffic support along the way, said the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Tuesday. Lu Kang, a spokesperson of the ministry, made this remark at a regular press conference, a day ahead of the highly-participated summit between Trump and Kim in Vietnamese capital city of Hanoi. Kim arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday, after journeying aboard his personal train through China. After deliberations and talks, Beijing offered Kim Jong Un a secure stopover in China before he headed to Hanoi for the second Kim-Trump summit, Lu said. China hopes to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and achieve lasting peace and stability in this region, said Lu to reporters. China called on the DPRK and the U.S. to meet each other halfway to make efforts to reach the goals, said Lu. The Vietnamese government and people have put in a lot of effort, and we hope that the meeting will live up to this preparation, added Lu. ADVERTISEMENT More African leaders have sent congratulatory messages to President Muhammadu Buhari on his re-election. King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco described Mr Buharis victory as an affirmation of the level of confidence Nigerians have in their president and promised to work with him to advance the interests of both countries. Your re-election is a testimony to the level of confidence that you enjoy among the people of Nigeria, attributable to your wisdom, experience in politics, sense of engagement and devotion to the service and the protection of the interests of the country especially as they relate to the prosperity, wellbeing and security of your people, King Mohammed VI said in his congratulatory message. The monarch expressed satisfaction with the existing cordial and fraternal African relationship linking the two leaders, their people, and nations. He reiterated his determination to work in concert with President Buhari to reinforce the mutually beneficial relationship between Morocco and Nigeria and to give it a new impetus to serve as a model on the African continent. President Alpha Omar Conde of Guinea also extended his congratulations, describing the re-election of Mr Buhari as a dose of hope for the West African region. Mr Conde expressed confidence that the cordial relations between Nigeria and Guinea will continue to get better. Earlier, President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger, who was the first leader to call President Buhari minutes after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him the winner of the 2019 presidential elections, said he looked forward to working with the Nigerian leader to further strengthen Nigeria-Niger relations. President Buhari has also received congratulatory messages from Presidents Nana Koffi-Addo of Ghana and Macky Sall of Senegal. ADVERTISEMENT The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has seized 12 landed properties belonging to a private entrepreneur and her firm. The properties which are located in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, belong to Ochuko Momoh, the Director of Blaid Construction Limited, who is under the scrutiny of the Commission in respect of an on-going investigation. They include: two duplexes located at No. 14A, Lungu Crescent, Wuse 2 and No. 6 Casamance Street, Wuse Zone 3, respectively; a mansion situated at No. 16 River Niger Street, Maitama; a bungalow at No. 35, Abidjan Street, Wuse Zone 3; two uncompleted residential estates located at Plot 618 Mabushi (B06) and Plot 1468 Katampe District, respectively. Others are: terrace duplexes on Plots No. 21, 22, 23 and 26, Olympia Estate, Kaura District; a shopping complex on Plot 27, Waziri Ibrahim Waziri Crescent, Apo District; three vacant pieces of land located at Plot No. 1824, No. 1827 and No. 2017 Katampe District and a block of six apartments on Plot 799, Ebitu Ukiwe street, Utako. The seizure carried out after an intelligence-led investigation was based on the opinion of the commission that the properties owned by Mrs Momoh and her firm are excessive, having regard to their past and present emoluments and all other circumstances. To this end, the Commission will issue public notices of the seizure and shall cause them to be served on the appropriate land registries and Ministries and Departments where these properties are situated as required by law, the commission said in a statement on Wednesday. One of the properties seized by ICPC One of the properties seized by ICPC One of the properties seized by ICPC A Federal High Court Lagos on Wednesday reserved judgment in the trial of former President Goodluck Jonathans presidential aide, Waripamo Owei-Dudafa. Mr Dudafa and one other person is facing alleged N1.6 billion money laundering charge. Justice Mohammed Idris reserved judgement after all counsel in the suit had adopted their respective final addresses in court. Mr Dudafa is charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) along with one Joseph Iwejuo, a staff of Heritage Bank, on a 23-count charge bordering on money laundering. EFCC arraigned them before Justice Mohammed Idris on counts of conspiracy to conceal proceeds of crime amounting to over N1.6 billion on June 11, 2013 The prosecution closed its case on March 16, 2018, after calling seven witnesses and tendering several exhibits. The defence had initially filed and argued a no-case submission in its defence and had urged the court to dismiss the case, on the grounds that the prosecution failed to establish any case against them. Justice Mohammed Idris had in a ruling delivered in August 2018, dismissed the no case submission of defence, on the grounds that they had some explanations to make on the exhibits and evidence already adduced by the prosecution The defence had consequently entered its defence, calling two witnesses and tendering exhibits. It closed its case in November 2018 after which the court adjourned for the adoption of final addresses. In adopting his final address on Wednesday, the prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo said it was dated February 19 and he adopted the same as his argument in urging the court to convict the defendant. Mr Oyedepo argued that the prosecution had been able to lead sufficient evidence in establishing a case of money laundering, conspiracy as well as concealment of proceeds of an unlawful act against the defendants. According to him, the prosecutor presented to the court two defendants, one in the employment of the federal government and the second in the employment of a bank. He argued that from the evidences before the court, it is clear that the various monies traced to the account of some companies such as Avalon Global Property Development Company Ltd, Seagate Property Development and Investment Ltd, were not the legitimate salary of the first defendant. He said that the first defendant in his statement admitted collecting bags of money which he said were kept in the official quarters of the President. According to him, the offence of money laundering does not have its root in Nigeria as it is an international jurisprudence, adding that its application in Nigeria is seeking to prohibit reckless movement of funds. He argued that the defendant employed the best form of concealment of proceeds of unlawful act, by keeping same in an account without his identity and engaging the second defendant to operate same. From the manner in which these transactions were consummated, the court can see clearly a meeting of minds to commit same. ADVERTISEMENT The second defendant was running an account under different identity so as to conceal the offence. If it was a legitimate transaction, the first defendant will not procure the second defendant to run the account and receive funds in same. All that the prosecution is enjoined to know is the reasonability of their knowledge that same constitutes an offence, he said. The prosecutor argued that it is an offence for a public officer to confer undue advantage to himself, adding that it is wrong for any official of government to receive gratification or gifts in the course of performing his duty. Besides, Mr Oyedepo argued that the claim by the defendant that the monies were donated to a church, was only an afterthought which the court is not expected to act upon. He urged the court to hold that the prosecution is not expected to prove its case beyond every shadow of a doubt but only beyond a reasonable doubt, and called on the court to uphold his argument and convict the defendants. On his part, defence counsel, Gboyega Oyewole (SAN) in adopting his final address, urged the court to discharge and acquit the defendant, as the prosecution had failed to establish any ingredient of the offence against the defendant. According to him, the defendant had pleaded not guilty to three phases of counts in the charge, and the onus remained constant with the prosecution to establish the sources of the funds as alleged. He argued that the prosecution called seven witnesses which included three bankers, two shop owners at Okota, one Bureau De change operator and an EFCC investigator. According to him, none of these witnesses led any evidence or tendered any exhibits to establish essential elements of the charge against the defendant. For instance, he argued that the purported owner of the account in which monies were paid was never called as a witness and one Festus Iyoha to whom monies were allegedly handed to, was also not called as a witness. He said that this failure to call the desired witnesses was fatal to the case of the prosecution, adding that the charge against the defendant must fail consequently. Of all the assertions made by the defendant in relation to the source of the funds, no further investigations were made by prosecution; they did not call the people mentioned by the defendant or take their evidences. If you allege that the source of a fund is illegal then you ought to discharge that burden of proof and call witnesses to establish same, According to him, the defendant merely acted on instruction to pay, adding that before a court can safely convict it ought to look at the provisions of the law and the charges. He argued that it was not a strict liability offence and urged the court to discharge and acquit the defendant. Second defence counsel, Ige Asemudara, also adopted his final address in urging the court to discharge and acquit the defendant. After listening to the respective submissions of counsel, Justice Idris reserved his judgment to a later date which will be communicated to parties. He thanked respective counsel as well as the media for seeing through the end of the trial and informed everyone that the case marked the end of his sitting over trials at the lower court, as all his fiat totalling 19 had been executed. During the trial, the prosecution called seven witnesses and tendered exhibits A to Q before the court. The defence called two witnesses and tendered several exhibits. The offence for which the defendants are charged contravenes the provisions of sections 17(a), 18 (c), and 27 (3) (c) of the EFCC Establishment Act 2004. (NAN) UNS/SH ADVERTISEMENT China on Wednesday congratulated Muhammadu Buhari on his re-election as President of Nigeria. Nigeria is Chinas strategic partner of cooperation in Africa, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a daily news conference in Beijing. China always attaches high importance to bilateral ties and stands ready to work with the new Nigerian government to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in various fields and bring more benefits to the two peoples, Lu said. Nigerias Independent National Electoral Commission announced early Wednesday that incumbent Buhari, also the candidate of the governing All Progressives Congress party, topped the poll with 55.6 per cent of the total valid votes in the presidential election. (Xinhua/NAN) ADVERTISEMENT A group advocating for freedom of the press has condemned the attacks on journalists in the line of duty during the Nigerian presidential and National Assembly elections held on Saturday the 23rd of February, 2019. The Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism has joined forces with Reboot, Daily Trust Foundation, and YIAGA Africa to gather details concerning attacks on pressmen and women through a tool known as the Press Attack Tracker, spreading the news on this tool with the theme: No journalism, No democracy. The online campaign has focused on the ill-treatment of Nigerian journalists in the line of duty, recording attacks on journalists by hired individuals and political thugs. The Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism has confirmed several attacks on journalists during the election, including the arrest of five pressmen, Nwanosike Onu of The Nation, Geoffrey Anyanwu of Sun, David-Chyddy Eleke of THISDAY, Vincent Ujumadu of Vanguard and Tony Okafor of Punch, by a team of fully armed police officers close to the residence of Peter Obi (Vice Presidential Candidate PDP), in Anambra where they had gone to cover him during the voting exercise. The Media Freedom Project recognises that attack on journalists and observers covering the elections is a crime against democracy and reports from the election show that the related freedoms of the press were not recognised or respected. In the same vein, journalists were barred from monitoring the collation of results in Ugheli North, Delta State; Amuwo/Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, as well as parts of Bauchi and Kebbi State. Alarmingly, Reginald Dei, a government house photographer was shot at in his residence by unidentified armed men who were said to be in military uniform at Oweikorogha, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. It is believed that he is in critical condition. In Edo North, a National Youth Service Corps member working as the Presiding Officer during the election was observed collecting a bribe in Etsako West, Uzare Northeast, Iyamho Primary School, (Adams Oshiomoles voting centre). In trying to get this on record the observer was attacked and his working tools were smashed. Also worrying was the detainment of a PREMIUM TIMES reporter who was briefly held and harassed at Ward 1 in Ogboko village, Ideato South Local Government Area of Imo State. Concerning the increased number of attacks against the press in the country, the PTCIJ Deputy Program Director, Oluwatosin Alagbe, said: It is very alarming that cases of attacks on journalists and the press seem to be worsening in Nigeria. Data from the Press Attack Tracker shows that between 2015 and 2018, there were 165 attacks on the press which is about four times the attacks between 2010 2015. How then does the press uphold the responsibility and accountability of the Nigerian government to the people as contained in section 22 of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution? Deliberate steps/action need to be taken. The Press Attack Tracker, a civic technology tool that tracks attacks against the press across the country, confirms over 50 reported cases of electoral violence on Nigerian Journalists in years past. The media continues to pay a great price, with journalists being intimidated, harassed and sometimes killed. There have been cases of political groups and individuals attacking and vandalizing media houses owing to disputes over coverage, especially in controversial situations. Journalists are calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that the attacks on pressmen and journalists are dealt with, decisively, in the run-up to the governorship elections, scheduled to hold on March 9, 2019. ADVERTISEMENT An FCT High Court, Maitama, on Wednesday fixed March 20 for the adoption of final written addresses in the no-case submission filed by Maryam Sanda, charged with the alleged killing of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello. Maryam was alleged to have killed Bello on November 19, 2017, through multiple stabbing and was arraigned alongside three other persons. NAN reports that the three other persons, Maimuna Aliyu, Maryams mother; Aliyu Sanda, her brother; and Sadiya Aminu, her housemaid, were charged with conspiracy in the murder case. They all pleaded not guilty to the charge. The judge, Justice Yusuf Halilu, fixed the date, following the inability of Aliyus counsel, Hussein Musa, to serve court processes on the prosecution counsel on time. The prosecutor, Fidelis Ogbobe, told the court that he was yet to study and reply to the processes on the no -case submission served on him because he received it late. Earlier, the counsel for Sanda, Olusegun Jolaawo, told the court that he served the prosecution his processes on a no-case-submission since February 1. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN ) reports that the prosecution closed its case on January 22 after calling six witnesses. The witness, Inspector Josephine Onyendo, who testified as the sixth prosecution witness (PW6), told the court that Sanda told the police that the fight between her and the deceased that allegedly led to his death was caused by a nude picture of a lady she found on his phone. Onyendo, who said that she was detailed to investigate the case, said on getting to the house, we went inside where we saw a curtain on the ground at upstairs. There was a praying mat on the floor and there was water on the floor. She said after returning to the office, Sanda was asked to make her statement and that according to the statement she said on November 18, 2017, a woman sent nude pictures to her husbands phone that later resulted to fight between both of them. The witness further told the court that Sanda further stated in the statement that during the fight a Shisha pot got broken while they were fighting with the water inside spilling on the ground which made her husband fell down on the broken bottle and got injured. She added that Sanda concluded that she took her husband to the general hospital at Maitama, where he was confirmed dead. Onyendo told the court that by the time the case was transferred to the homicide section, the deceased had been buried according to Islamic rites. (NAN ) The runner-up in last Saturdays presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, has provided more reasons why he is rejecting the result of the election. Mr Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), lost by over 3 million votes to President Muhammadu Buhari, according to the electoral commission, INEC. Mr Buhari, according to the electoral body, scored 15,191,847 votes. Mr Abubakar garnered 11,262,978 votes to finish as runner-up. INEC on Wednesday issued the certificate of return to Mr Buhari and his running mate, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Mr Abubakar, however, says the election was a grand theft of the peoples will. He said this at a press conference. Read the full text of Mr Abubakars message below. BEING TEXT OF A WORLD PRESS CONFERENCE BY ATIKU ABUBAKAR, CANDIDATE OF THE PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN THE FEBRUARY 23, 2019 ELECTIONS ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019 Dear citizens of Nigeria, Let me start by thanking you for choosing democracy as the settled system of government for our great nation. Democracy is a government of the people by the people, only when the peoples choice prevails. That did not happen on Saturday, February 23, 2019. On Election Day, we saw the implementation of grand theft of the peoples will. I am not one for hyperbole so I will just let the facts speak for themselves. In Akwa Ibom for instance, the results showed a statistical impossibility of a 62% drop in voter numbers from the 2015 elections even where voter registration and PVC collection rates were much higher than in 2015. This pattern was repeated in strongholds of the Peoples Democratic Party, including in Delta, Rivers, Abia and Benue states. As this was occurring, we saw another statistical impossibility wherein voter turnout and numbers increased astronomically in Borno State by an almost miraculous 82% in the midst of increased insecurity. This pattern was also repeated in other strongholds of the All Progressive Congress. One begins to ask if insecurity is conducive to higher voter turnouts and security is antithetical to high voter turnout. It is further curious that the Peoples Democratic Partys margin of victory in states outside the Southeast and South-south were extremely slim across board. That again is a statistical impossibility. The fact is that when you calmly look at the numbers declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission as results of the February 23, 2019 elections, they do not add up. ADVERTISEMENT Let me say that I am not speaking as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party. I am speaking as a Nigerian when I say that the electoral fraud perpetrated by the Buhari administration this past Saturday cannot produce a government of the people for the simple reason that it does not reflect the will of the Nigerian people. It is for this reason that I, Atiku Abubakar, reject the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission declaring Muhammadu Buhari as duly returned by the majority of lawful votes. I am conferring with not just my party, but also with the Nigerian people, on next steps, which will be revealed to the public shortly. For my fellow Nigerians who feel angry, disillusioned, and let down by the process, I appeal to you to remain calm and steadfast. Rome was not built in a day. We have the real figures, we have the facts that were spoken so loudly on Saturday, February 23, 2019. This is a long journey, but I am confident of victory. All hope is not lost. Stay strong, by the grace of God we shall triumph. And to investors and friends of Nigeria now pulling out of Nigeria, I urge you to be patient and keep faith with the Nigerian people. Your quarrel is not with the Nigerian people. Your quarrel is with those who stole their mandate. Please do not punish the people by divesting from Nigeria. Thank you all and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. ADVERTISEMENT The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Wednesday reserved judgments in the four appeals filed by the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen. A three-member panel of the court, led by Stephen Adah, after taking arguments from parties in respect of the appeals, said they will be informed when the judgments are ready. The appeals are CA/A/44c/2019; CA/A/CA/A/63c/19; CA/A/70c/2019 and CA/A/114c/2019. In his first appeal, Mr Onnoghen is challenging the jurisdiction of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to hear the charge against him, being a serving judicial officer. He is, in the second appeal, querying the propriety of the CCTs ruling of January 14, in which it elected to hear all pending applications. The third appeal is against the CCT ex-parte order directing Mr Onnoghen to vacate office as CJN and for President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint an acting CJN. The fourth appeal challenges the competence of the warrant of arrest issued against the suspended CJN by the CCT. The arrest warrant, issued on February 13 was vacated by the CCT on February 15 when Mr Onnoghen voluntarily attended the sitting of the CCT, during which he was arraigned. On February 23, Nigerians in various part of the country went out in their numbers to different polling units to elect a president and lawmakers that will represent them in the 9th National Assembly. The lawmakers elected include 109 senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives. Those elected will replace members of the outgoing 8th Senate and House of Representatives. The 8th National Assembly, particularly the Senate will be remembered for many things including its various controversies. These include the controversy that trailed the election of its principal officers, invasion of the Senate chamber by thugs who stole its mace, and mass defection of members including the president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki. The 8th Senate also had several members, including Mr Saraki, who faced corruption charges. They were frequently in courtrooms, and the custody of anti-corruption agencies, answering questions for their alleged corrupt practices. Some of the cases are still ongoing. Like the outgoing Senate, the 9th Senate will also have members who are facing major corruption probes with some already being prosecuted. About 10 per cent of the newly elected Nigerian senators are facing corruption probes. Some are already being prosecuted. They include former governors who allegedly stole state funds while in office and other public officials. All of them have, however, denied any wrongdoing. PREMIUM TIMES reviews some of the incoming senators facing corruption charges. Orji Uzor Kalu The former governor of Abia State won the Abia North senatorial election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Mr Kalu won with 30,580 votes while the closest opposition candidate from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mao Ohuabunwa, recorded 21,940 votes The EFCC is prosecuting Mr Kalu for allegedly stealing Abia funds while in office. He is being prosecuted alongside his former commissioner for finance, Ude Udeogo, and a company, Slok Nigeria Ltd, said to be owned by him. Mr Kalus original trial started just after he left office in 2007. In October 2016, EFCC renewed its prosecution and preferred 34 count charges against Mr Kalu. But he and Mr Udeogo pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted bail. The EFCC ultimately reactivated Mr Kalus case last year, filing amended graft charges of up to N7.7 billion against him. In November 2018, a judge frowned at Mr Kalus foreign travel without the permission of the court and the EFCC. That did not deter the former Abia governor from returning to Nigeria and contesting, winning a senatorial election. Former governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam.(Photo Credit: Daily Post) The former governor of Benue State is the senator-elect for Benue North Senatorial District under the PDP. The federal government is prosecuting Mr Suswam and two others for alleged diversion of N9.79 billion while he was in office as governor. Those charged alongside Mr Suswam in the 32- count charge are Omadachi Oklobia, his former commissioner for finance, and Janet Aluga, a former accountant, Benue State Government House. In the charge, the trio allegedly cornered the said funds between 2012 and 2015 while Mr Suswam was governor of the state. They are also accused of conspiracy, conversion of property derived directly from corruption; collaboration to conceal property derived from corruption; obtaining by false pretence and accepting cash payments, exceeding the amount authorised by law. Chimaroke Nnamani Former Governor of Enugu State, Chimaroke Nnamani, won the Enugu East Senatorial Election conducted on Saturday. ADVERTISEMENT Mr Nnamani of the PDP polled a total of 128,843 votes to beat his closest rival, Lawrence Eze of the APC, who got 14,225 votes. Chimaroke Nnamani (Photo Credit: DailyPost) Mr Nnamani, his former aide, Sunday Anyaogu, and six companies were first arraigned in 2007 for allegedly conspiring to divert about N5.3 billion from the coffers of Enugu State. The case had been handled by no fewer than three judges. In February 2018, the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court dismissed the charges against Mr Nnamani, for lack of proper charges before the court. The EFCC vowed to file fresh charges, saying it has strong evidence against the ex-governor. Ifeanyi Ubah Ifeanyi Ubah won the Anambra South Senatorial ticket on the platform of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) polling 87,081 votes. Mr Ubah, a former governorship candidate in the state, defeated his closest rival, Chris Uba of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who got 62,462 votes. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is investigating and prosecuting Capital Oil and Gas Limited and its Managing Director, Mr Ubah, for their alleged complicity in a fraud worth N43.29 billion, perpetrated through the petroleum subsidy scheme. Ifeanyi Ubah The EFCC and the police accused Mr Ubah and his company of obtaining subsidy payments by false pretences, stealing, money laundering and forgery with respect to the alleged fraudulent payment of N43.29 billion in the transactions conducted in 2011. Peter Nwaoboshi INEC declared Delta North Senatorial candidate (PDP), Peter Nwaoboshi, the winner of the last Saturdays National Assembly election. Mr Nwaoboshi scored 186,423 votes to beat Doris Uboh of the APC who polled 36,360 to emerge second. He was arraigned for an alleged fraud of N322 million by the EFCC in April 2018. Mr Nwaoboshi was in court alongside two firms on charges bordering on conspiracy and money laundering. Senator Peter Nwaoboshi The judge, Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court on April 25, 2018, ruled that the senator should be remanded in prison. He got bail two days after. The trial is ongoing. Abba Moro The former interior minister, Abba Moro, of the PDP was declared as the winner for Benue South Senatorial seat. Mr Moro polled 85,162 votes to beat his closest rival, Stephen Lawani of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Mr Moro, who served under ex-president, Goodluck Jonathan, was sued for fraud over a botched recruitment drive, which led to a stampede that left 20 people dead in 2014. Former Minister of Interior, Abba Moro being arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at the Federal High Court He is currently facing trial though he has pleaded not guilty to his role in an alleged $2.5 million (1.8 million) fraud, involving missing application fees. Stella Oduah Stella Oduah of the PDP won the February 23 Anambra North Senatorial election. She is a former aviation minister and is a returning senator. She won the election with 113,989 votes against her closest rival from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) who had 59,937 votes. She is also on the list of people being questioned by the EFCC for alleged money laundering. Stella Oduah In February 2018, she was questioned by the EFCC and had her passport seized. Mrs Oduah is being investigated for allegedly awarding dubious contracts worth N9.4 billion during her stint as aviation minister in the Goodluck Jonathan administration. Specifically, she was accused of diverting N3.9 billion from the N9.4 billion meant for the installation of security devices at 22 airports. She has denied the allegations and is yet to be prosecuted. Ike Ekweremadu The deputy senate president was declared the winner of Enugu West Senatorial District for the fifth time in Saturdays presidential and National Assembly elections. Mr Ekweremadu of the PDP polled 86,088 votes to defeat his closest rival, Juliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu of the APC who scored 15,187 votes. Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu The federal government, in March 2018, applied to the Federal High Court in Abuja for an order of temporary forfeiture of about 22 properties allegedly owned by him in Abuja, London, the United States and the United Arab Emirates. The EFCC detained him for questioning on August 1, 2018. He has denied all the allegations. Danjuma Goje A former governor of Gombe State, Danjuma Goje of APC, won the seat of Gombe Central Senatorial District for the third time. Mr Goje polled 110,116 votes to defeat his closest rival, Abubakar Nono of the PDP, who garnered 39,760 votes. He is currently facing a fraud charge filed against him by the EFCC at the Federal High Court in Gombe. The senator and four others have been enmeshed in a six-year-old money laundering case preferred EFCC. The EFCC alleged that Mr Goje, then Gombe State governor, conspired with four officers of his administration to defraud the state of N25 billion via illegal acts, contrary to, and punishable under sections 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act) 2011, as amended. Abdullahi Adamu Mr Adamu of the APC won Nasarawa West senatorial district election with 115,298 votes in the election that was held on Saturday, February 23. The former governor of Nasarawa State was in 2010 arrested by the EFCC for allegedly misappropriating N15 billion alongside 18 others. He was subsequently arraigned on a 149-count charge of fraud to the tune of N15 billion alongside his co-accused. Abdullahi Adamu The case is yet to be concluded. In February 2018, the EFCC also arraigned Nuraini Adamu, a son of the senator, and one Felix Onyeabo Ojiako before Justice Farouq Lawal of the Kano State High Court on a four-count charge of conspiracy, forgery and obtaining money by false pretence. Aliyu Wamakko Mr Wamakko won the re-election in Sokoto North Senatorial District. The APC candidate defeated PDP Ahmed Muhammad-Maccido, by 172,980 votes to 138,922 votes. Aliyu Wamakko Mr Wamakko, who was governor between 2007 and 2015, is under investigation over allegations of theft of public funds and money laundering totalling N15 billion, an allegation he has vehemently denied. The EFCC in April 2018, confirmed that the commission was investigating allegations contained in a petition against Mr Wammako. Dino Melaye Dino Melaye of the PDP was declared the winner of the Kogi West Senatorial election held on February 23. Mr Melaye polled 85,395 votes to defeat Smart Adeyemi of the APC, who scored 66,901 votes. He has been accused of varying allegations on several occasions and is being prosecuted in Abuja and Lokoja. Senator Dino Melaye [Photo: dinomelaye.com] However, unlike others, his trial is mainly not corruption-related. Last year, he was accused of providing false information to the police and supplying arms to suspected criminals. In Abuja, he was accused of attempted suicide and damaging government property, after he allegedly attempted to jump out of a moving police vehicle. He was later hospitalised. The police laid siege to the Abuja residence of Mr Melaye to effect his arrest over a case of culpable homicide last year. Earlier, Mr Melaye and his group were accused of shooting a police officer, Danjuma Saliu, attached to 37 Police Mobile Force (PMF), while on duty in Aiyetoro Gbede, Mopa Road in Kogi. Anti-corruption activists react A Lagos-based lawyer, Ademola Owolabi, reacting to this development told PREMIUM TIMES that there are moral and legal angles to the lawmakers cases. We have a moral angle and a legal angle. For the legal angle, they have not been convicted. But on the moral part of it all, in so many countries corrupt cases are dealt with in days. It then becomes a mockery of our moral standard if we have corrupt charges running for years like the man in Abia State (Orji Kalu). They should clear their names before going into any job that warrants public trust. This country is a very funny country, he said. Another right activist and public affairs analyst, Ebi Vincent, said the election of politicians with corrupt charges speaks volumes of our system. We run a dying and corrupt judicial system and when the judicial system is slow and corrupt, you cannot find anything sane in the nation. All of these persons ought to screened and denied ticket even in their party let alone coming out to be on INEC ballot paper. Nigerians need to demand the removal of these persons. If the people in their Constituency refused to understand that they have elected thieves, the media and right activist should continue to hold them accountable. For anyone to have been alleged at all, it means they have skeletons in their cupboard. The Senate should not be retirement home for looters, he said. The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in last Saturdays election, Atiku Abubakar, has rejected the result of the poll as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission on Wednesday morning. INEC had declared President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress as winner of the election and returned him as duly elected. Mr Buhari, according to the electoral body, scored 15,191,847 votes. Mr Abubakar garnered 11,262,978 votes to finish as runner-up. But in his response to the declaration, the PDP candidate said the result was unacceptable to him and that he would challenge it in court. If I had lost in a free and fair election, I would have called the victor within seconds of my being aware of his victory to offer not just my congratulations, but my services to help unite Nigeria by being a bridge between the North and the South, Mr Abubakar said in a statement emailed to PREMIUM TIMES. However, in my democratic struggles for the past three decades, I have never seen our democracy so debased as it was on Saturday, February 23, 2019. 2007 was a challenge, but President YarAdua was remorseful. In 2019, it is sad to see those who trampled on democracy thumping their noses down on the Nigerian people. Consequently, I hereby reject the result of the February 23, 2019 sham election and will be challenging it in court. I want to assure my supporters and the entire Nigerian people that together, we will not allow democracy to be emasculated. Giving reason for rejecting the result of the election, Mr Abubakar said, It is clear that there were manifest and premeditated malpractices in many states which negate the results announced. One obvious red flag is the statistical impossibility of states ravaged by the war on terror generating much higher voter turnouts than peaceful states. The suppressed votes in my strongholds are so apparent and amateurish, that I am ashamed as a Nigerian that such could be allowed to happen. How can total votes in Akwa-Ibom, for instance, be 50% less than what they were in 2015? Another glaring anomaly is the disruption of voting in strongholds of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos, Akwa-Ibom, Rivers and diverse other states, with the authorities doing little or nothing and in some cases facilitating these unfortunate situations. (See attached links to documentary evidences). The militarization of the electoral process is a disservice to our democracy and a throwback to the jackboot era of military dictatorship. In some areas of the country, such as, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Imo states, troops deployed for the elections turned their guns on the very citizens they were meant to protect. This is condemnable and should not be associated with our electoral process in the future. The PDP candidate also provided links to some online publications as evidence that the election was flawed. SEE BELOW. READ THE FULL STATEMENT BY MR ABUBAKAR BELOW Democracy Will Not Be Emasculated in Nigeria, By Atiku Abubakar I thank the Nigerian people who trooped out in their millions to perform their civic duty this past Saturday. The patriotism of Nigerians is heartwarming and affirms my oft-repeated statement that we are brothers and sisters born from the womb of one mother Nigeria. With regards to the Presidential elections that took place on February 23, 2019, it is clear that there were manifest and premeditated malpractices in many states which negate the results announced. One obvious red flag is the statistical impossibility of states ravaged by the war on terror generating much higher voter turnouts than peaceful states. The suppressed votes in my strongholds are so apparent and amateurish, that I am ashamed as a Nigerian that such could be allowed to happen. How can total votes in Akwa-Ibom, for instance, be 50% less than what they were in 2015? ADVERTISEMENT Another glaring anomaly is the disruption of voting in strongholds of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos, Akwa-Ibom, Rivers and diverse other states, with the authorities doing little or nothing and in some cases facilitating these unfortunate situations. (See attached links to documentary evidences). The militarization of the electoral process is a disservice to our democracy and a throwback to the jackboot era of military dictatorship. In some areas of the country, such as, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Imo states, troops deployed for the elections turned their guns on the very citizens they were meant to protect. This is condemnable and should not be associated with our electoral process in the future. I am a democrat and there are democratic avenues available to present the truth to the nation and the watching world. Already, many international observers have given their verdicts, which corroborate our observations. I am sure more will come in the coming hours and days. If I had lost in a free and fair election, I would have called the victor within seconds of my being aware of his victory to offer not just my congratulations, but my services to help unite Nigeria by being a bridge between the North and the South. However, in my democratic struggles for the past three decades, I have never seen our democracy so debased as it was on Saturday, February 23, 2019. 2007 was a challenge, but President YarAdua was remorseful. In 2019, it is sad to see those who trampled on democracy thumping their noses down on the Nigerian people. Consequently, I hereby reject the result of the February 23, 2019 sham election and will be challenging it in court. I want to assure my supporters and the entire Nigerian people that together, we will not allow democracy to be emasculated. I hope and pray Nigerians will someday summon the courage to defend democracy. That is the only way we can move away from being the world headquarters for extreme poverty. Signed: Waziri Atiku Abubakar 27th February 2019 BELOW IS THE DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE PROVIDED BY THE PDP CANDIDATE Documentary Evidence 1. Electoral violence: Video 2. Unknown gunmen disrupting election in Buguma, Rivers State: Video 3. In Bonny, Rivers state; military shooting in all directions as voters and INEC officials scamper to safety: Video 4. Video 5. Evidence of rigging. Video 6. Thugs unleashed on a section of PDP stronghold in Lagos and set ablaze already cast ballots. Video 7. Yet more violence being unleashed on voters in Lagos Video 8. Thugs unleashed on PDP stronghold in Lagos while security men simply stand and watch. Video 9. Elections materials burnt in Ago Palace Way, Isolo Lagos as voters scamper for safety. Video 10. Thugs drive away voters in Lagos. Video 12. Incomplete presidential ballot paper booklet. Video 13. Diversion of voting materials and results in Okrika LGA, Rivers State. Video 14. Violence in Gokana, Rivers State. Video 15. Corps member killed. Picture 16. Destruction of ballot boxes at Alafia Street, Coker Aguda, Surulere. Video Flash Unanticipated visit of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the Iranian capital sparked reiteration of Tehran-Damascus alliance against the U.S. pressures. In a rare visit abroad and on his first trip to Iran since the eruption of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Assad arrived in Tehran on Monday and met Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani. Mass media releases displayed photos and footages of Assad in an embrace with Khamenei, with the apparent "triumphant" gestures in their eyes, and with smiles of contentment on their faces. "You have turned into the hero of the Arab world," the Iranian supreme leader told Assad, IRAN daily reported on Tuesday. "Iran takes pride in helping the Syrian government and people" amidst the threats by the United States, Israel and their regional allies, the Iranian leader spoke very highly of the two countries' comprehensive partnership over the past years. He also lauded what he called Syria's "resistance" to the United States and its allies' pressures on the Arab country, Tasnim news agency also reported on Tuesday. Resistance of the Syrian president and people has been the main reason behind the defeat of the United States and its allies in Syria, Khamenei said. He stressed that "the issue of the buffer zone, which the Americans seek to establish in Syria, is among those dangerous plots that must be categorically rejected and stood against." Besides, "the Americans' plan to maintain an effective presence along the Iraq-Syria border is another plot by the United States," he added. Iran and Syria have built strategic partnership and have forged joint power of the resistance against the U.S. and Israel, the Iranian leader said, adding that "this will prevent enemies from making their plans operational." "Through resistance and cooperation of its people, Syria managed to stand fast against a big coalition consisting of America, Europe and their allies in the region and emerge triumphant from this crisis," he noted. For his part, the Syrian president hailed Iran's support for his country. "Although current achievements (despite conspiracies against Syria) were gained through much suffering, they are certainly the fruit of steadfastness of the resistance front," Assad said, pointing to the partnership between Iran and Syria as the key factor for gaining these achievements. In another meeting with Assad in Tehran on Monday, Rouhani also vowed to support the Syrian government, according to IRNA, saying "just like the past, Iran will continue to stand by the Syrian nation and government." He stressed that supporters of terrorist groups "should not assume that they can play the terrorism card for their benefit in domestic, regional, or international equations." "Iran and Syria enjoy many religious and cultural bonds, and relations between the two countries are based on brotherhood and unity," Rouhani was quoted as saying by Tasnim on Tuesday. The tripartite meeting between the leaders of Iran, Russia and Turkey have stressed the territorial integrity of Syria, Rouhani said, adding that Iran is ready for the reconstruction of post-war Syria. Assad said that the Syrian people and government appreciate the Iranians for their support for fighting terrorism in Syria. "We acknowledge Iran's approach in multilateral cooperation, including the Astana Process and the recent Sochi Summit," Assad pointed out. He also said that Iran and Syria will continue cooperation at regional and international levels. During the brief visit of Assad to Iran, the leaders agreed to boost comprehensive cooperation for the interests of the two friendly nations. The engagement of community informants for Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) surveillance has yielded a positive result in Borno State, the World Health Organisation Nigeria office has said. The global health agency said 17 AFP cases were reported in the state in 2019. In a press statement on Wednesday, WHO said involvement of community informants has significantly strengthened the disease surveillance capacity in key areas of the state, including hard-to-reach areas. It said the engagement and training of local residents to help support diseases surveillance in the hard to reach areas became necessary as surveillance officers cannot access certain areas. From 31 January till 31 December 2018, the community informant initiative has helped to significantly strengthen the disease surveillance capacity in key areas, including hard-to-reach areas, it said. For nearly a decade, many local government areas in Borno State were difficult to reach, making it difficult for the local population to access basic health services. Unfortunately, children have been the main victims as health workers found it difficult to access them, distribute vaccines or provide much needed routine immunisation services. Sule Mele, the Executive Director, State Primary Health Care Agency, Borno State, said17 AFP cases have been reported this year from hard-to-reach settlements. One of the cases was from a settlement in the Lake Chad Islands. He said it is imperative that we continue to sustain the progress achieved in AFP surveillance in insecure areas, through the use of community informants as this strategy also opened a window of opportunity of providing additional basic maternal and child health interventions to these underserved/vulnerable populations. Speaking in a similar vein, the Officer in Charge (OiC), WHO Nigeria, Clement Peter, said WHO will be building on the success achieved from the community informant engagement. He said the initiative has the active support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). As a key partner of Nigeria in the effort against polio, WHO is committed to sustaining and expanding the hard-gained progress achieved in surveillance in hard-to-reach areas? In addition to its support to the community informant initiative, WHO will aim at expanding AFP surveillance network in the region notably through the sustained integration of Mobile Hard-to-Reach teams into surveillance activities, he said. Mr Peter also said the engaged local informants have also been very helpful in monitoring other IDSR diseases such as measles, whooping cough, Tuberculosis (TB) and meningitis. Nigeria remains one of the few countries in the world yet to be certified polio-free. In fact, Nigeria is one of the only three countries in the world with ongoing wild poliovirus transmission, alongside Afghanistan and Pakistan. Nigeria missed the polio-free certificate in 2016 when a case of polio was reported in Borno State after about 18 months of none reporting. For a country to be certified polio-free, it must have gone two years without reporting a case of polio. Intensive surveillance is vital for rapid detection of any poliovirus circulating in a locality. This will enable a rapid outbreak response before any child develops a sudden weakness of the limbs. AFP surveillance is the backbone of the global polio eradication effort. However, the current insecurity across the North East has made it challenging to carry out effective identification of all AFP cases and to fully verify the absence of poliovirus in the area. ADVERTISEMENT Nigeria on Wednesday set the pace as the first Anglophone African country to attain overall satisfactory status in its progress in implementing all the requirements of the EITI Standard in the extractive industries. The global transparency and accountability group made the announcement at the opening of its ongoing 42nd Board meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine. During the meeting, the EITI Board assessed the status of eight implementing countries, including Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Norway, and Trinidad and Tobago. Ghana, Mauritania, Nigeria and Norway had undergone their second validations following evaluation of their processes based on the prescribed corrective actions last year. In a statement published on its website on Wednesday, EITI said Nigeria, Africas largest oil and gas producer, has joined Norway in achieving satisfactory progress status in implementing the EITI Standard. EITI Board Chair, Fredrik Reinfeldt, said Nigeria met all the requirements of the EITI Standard by seeking to entrench transparency in government and company systems. Nigerias implementation of the EITI Standard remains in many respects a model for implementing countries globally, Mr Reinfeldt said. Apart from its scope, Nigeria EITI reports have shaped major reforms initiated in the sector, including those by the national oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). We hope the government will continue to use the NEITI process to inform its policies for better governance. The EITI Board acknowledged Nigerias pioneering use of multi-stakeholder governance to disclose data on its upstream extractives value chain. Under the EITI standards, the member nations are assessed on multi-stakeholders governance oversight, licenses and contracts, monitoring production, revenue collection, socio-economic contribution, and outcomes and impact. TheEITI said Nigeria has so far gone beyond its requirements in the areas of in-kind revenue collection and public debates under outcomes and impact on the people. The global transparency said the country is making encouraging progress in the direction of beneficial ownership, revenue management and expenditures, and data accessibility. Apart from the anti-corruption agenda and the ongoing oil sector reforms, Nigeria has already given the commitment to implement an Open Contracting Data Standard and establish a publicly accessible registry of the licensed owners of all companies operating in Nigeria. These arrangements were part of the countrys desire to implement the beneficial ownership principle in both the oil and gas and the mining audits. Over 15 years of implementing the EITI, the group said its Nigeria affiliate has organised independent audits of the oil and gas industry apart similar exercise in the solid minerals sector. Since 2017, EITI said NEITI disclosed key data on its allocation of licenses on the administration of oil and gas subnational transfers to the three tiers of government (Federal, State, and Local Governments) as well as on crude sales and other processes within the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The NEITI reports form the basis for reforms in the oil, gas and mining industry, as was laid out in President Muhammadu Buharis 2015 political campaign manifesto, said Finance Minister and an EITI Board member, Zainab Ahmed, is quoted to have said. Inspired by the EITI, the Nigerian government now conducts monthly routine reconciliations for all sectors, not just the extractives, which has increased government revenues, she added. ADVERTISEMENT Reputed to be Africas largest oil and gas producer, with daily oil production capacity currently at an average of 2 million barrels, Nigeria plans to double output by 2020 to about 4million barrels. After nearly 50 years of exploration, the country still has four times more in reserves than its nearest rival Angola. Though a mono products economy, with more than 70 per cent of foreign earnings from oil exports, the EITI said the country has been challenged by problems of corruption and lack of unaccountability in the use of its oil revenues. Through NEITIs annual reports and interventions, EITI said Nigerians now know more about the operations of the sector, which despite low commodity prices, still remains the backbone of their economy. Most Nigerians and civil society groups are now better armed with information to ask probing questions and make informed contributions to governance, said executive secretary of the Nigeria EITI, Waziri Adio, said. Over time, Mr Adio is quoted to have said various governments have used information from NEITIs reports to recover almost $3 billion that would have remained unpaid. NEITIs recommendations are driving the ongoing reforms in our oil and gas and mining sectors, Mr Adio said. The status of an EITI implementing country is determined through validation of their quality assurance mechanism. The validation process involves assessment of the countrys performance against the requirements of the EITI Standard by reviewing documentation and consulting with government, company and civil society stakeholders. PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 15:04:40 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 27, 2019 / Viridium Pacific Group Ltd. ("Viridium" or the "Company") (TSXV: VIR) (OTC PINK: VIRFF) is pleased to announce it has signed an exclusive supply agreement with Open Fields Distribution, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fire and Flower (TSXV: FAF), supplying the Saskatchewan retail market.Under the terms of the agreement, Experion Biotechnologies, a licensed standard cultivator and processor licensed by Health Canada and wholly owned subsidiary of Viridium Pacific, will supply a variety of Adult-Use retail cannabis products throughout Saskatchewan exclusively through Open Fields. Open Fields is a wholesale distribution company located in Saskatchewan specialising in supplying cannabis products throughout the province to registered retailers.Initial products will include cannabis flower under the Citizen Stash brand. Experion is activity preparing its first shipment and will keep the market informed of product availability and new offerings as they become available. In order to become a cannabis supplier in the province of Saskatchewan, Experion Biotechnologies became a registered supplier with the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority on January 28, 2019.Jay Garnett, Viridium's President and Chief Executive Officer commented: "We are excited to supply our second province with Citizen Stash quality Adult-Use cannabis flower with Open Fields. As a distributor and retail owner, they will be a key partner to develop, test and shape the emerging retail market." About ViridiumViridium Pacific Group Ltd. is a consumer wellness and biotech innovation company based in British Columbia, and the parent company of operating subsidiaries involved in horticultural production (Experion Biotechologies Inc.), Medical products (EFX Labs), property development (Fish Trap Ventures Ltd.), and human resource management (Stave Lake Services Ltd.). Experion Biotechnologies Inc., is a Health Canada licensed cultivator and processor of cannabis, which operates in an 8,300 square-foot indoor facility outside of Mission, BC.More information about Viridium can be found under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com For further information:Jarrett Malnarick,Info@ viridiumpacific.com 604 837 8688DisclosureThis press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Although the Company believes that such information is reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.Forward looking information is typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, forecast, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking information as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to: the state of the financial markets for the Company's equity securities; recent market volatility; the Company's ability to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies; the risks identified in the Filing Statement, and other risks and factors that the Company is unaware of at this time. The reader is referred to the Filing Statement dated September 25, 2017 and/or the most recent annual and interim Management's Discussion and Analysis for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects, copies of which may be accessed through the Company page on SEDAR at www.sedar.com SOURCE: Viridium Pacific Group Ltd. The market is strengthening its strategic partnership with market research companies thanks to the growth engine of the global Consumer Consulting Services Market. Consumer Consulting Services Market PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 19:03:38 Press Information Research N Reports 10916, Gold Point, Dr, Houston, TX - 77064. Mr. Sunny Denis Sales Manager +1-888-631-6977 email https://www.researchnreports.com # 534 Words 10916, Gold Point, Dr, Houston, TX - 77064.Sales Manager+1-888-631-6977 A consumer is a person or organization that uses economic services or commodities. Consumer services refers to the formulation, deformulation, technical consulting and testing of most consumer products, such as food, herbs, beverages, vitamins, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, hair products, household cleaners, paints, plastics, metals, waxes, coatings, minerals, ceramics, construction materials plus water, indoor air quality testing, non-medical forensic testing and failure analysis.Request Sample Copy of this Report@:The Top Key Players included in this Market:Deloitte, Bain & Company, Accenture, L.E.K. Consulting, HCL technologies, Kurt Salmon, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey and Company, Slalom Consulting, Oliver Wyman, A.T. Kearney, Booz Allen Hamilton, Mercer (consulting firm), FTI Consulting, BearingPoint, Hitachi Consulting, Strategy&Consumer Consulting Services Market report support customers to design external customer strategies that develop value propositions that address the customer's fundamental needs and desired outcomes. Analytics and experience design can help you build a differentiated experience that meets your core brand commitments.The market is strengthening its strategic partnership with market research companies thanks to the growth engine of the global Consumer Consulting Services Market. Buyers prefer service providers who offer fast and flexible solutions compared to solutions that comply with defined frameworks and policies. Report provides a basic overview of the enterprise, including definitions and classifications. High-level market analysis is provided for international markets, including development trends, competitive landscape analysis and key regional developments.Get Reasonable Discount on this Premium Report @:Regional AnalysisThis Consumer Consulting Services Market report studies the top producers and consumers, focuses on product capacity, production, value, consumption, market share and growth opportunity in these key regions, covering:North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa).This report first introduced the basic concepts, definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain overview of the Consumer Consulting Services Market. Industrial policy and planning; Specifications; Manufacture process; Cost structure and so on. We then analyzed key global market conditions, including product prices, profits, capacity, capacity, supply, and demand and industry growth rates. Finally, the report includes new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis and ROI analysis.Major Factors about the Report:Global Consumer Consulting Services Market OverviewEconomic Impact on MarketMarket CompetitionGlobal Consumer Consulting Services Market Analysis by ApplicationIndustrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersMarketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersGlobal Market Effect, Factors, AnalysisGlobal Market ForecastReport Highlights:- The report provides a detailed analysis on current and future market trends to identify the investment opportunities- Market forecasts till 2025, 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 2025- Market opportunities and recommendations for new investmentsFor More Information: Single Dose Detergent Packaging Market: Global Industry Analysis 2012 2016 and Opportunity Assessment; 2017 2027 fmi PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 08:00:59 Single dose detergent packs have emerged as a dynamic innovation in the detergent and laundry industry, aimed at targeting apartment dwellers and consumer class with low disposable income. Single dose detergents are heavily consumed by apartment dwellers for clothes washed at local Laundromat and have led to design and technological developments in the single dose detergent packaging market. The single dose detergent packaging market is characterized by consistent design innovations fulfilling packaging and delivery systems for packing detergent quantity required for one time washing. With changing lifestyle and demand for higher convenience in product offerings, the global single dose detergent packaging market is expected to witness growth opportunities for manufacturers and suppliers of detergent packaging solutions.Request to Sample of Report @The concept of single dose detergent packaging was introduced to target apartment dwellers who wash clothes at local self-service laundry or Laundromats. Single dose detergent let the consumer buy detergent in smaller quantity for day-to-day purposes at an affordable price. Single dose detergent is available in pods and pouch packaging. Pods are relatively novel segment in the single dose detergent packaging market. Pods were first introduced in the U.S market around 2010. Single dose detergent not only helps consumer to use the detergent efficiently in the right amount but also offers more convenience as compared to the conventional packaging of the laundry detergents.Global Single Dose Detergent Packaging Market: Market DynamicsThe demand in single dose detergent packaging market is correlated with the detergent market. The detergent market is estimated to be more than US$ 10 Billion and the demand for single dose detergent is moving with significant momentum which is influencing the single dose detergent packaging market. Changes in the consumer lifestyle and the rise of consumer preference for the products in smaller quantity is expected to fuel the growth of the single dose detergent packaging market over the forecasted period. The demand of the single dose detergent in the emerging market constituting population with low disposable income has led to growth in the demand for the single dose detergent packaging market.However, single dose detergents are being considered as health hazards for reason being the shiny and colorful detergent which can be easily mistaken for candy by children and infants. Manufacturers of single dose detergent packaging are increasingly focused on finding solutions for child resistant single dose detergent packaging. Moreover, regulations posed by the government authorities against the use of harmful chemicals in detergents can limit the scope of the single dose detergent packaging market. Especially in Europe, where policies are stringent against the use of plastics and harmful chemicals, manufactures and suppliers operating in the single dose detergent packaging market face numerous restraints. Despite these drawbacks, the single dose detergent packaging market is expected to grow over the forecasted period owing to the convenience in user experience offered by the single dose detergent packs.Request Report for Table of Contents @Single Dose Detergent Packaging Market: Key PlayersSome key players operating in the single dose detergent packaging market are Bemis Company, Inc., Swiss Pack Pvt. Ltd, MJS PACKAGING, Multi-Pack Solutions LLC, Indevco Group Holdings Pty Ltd, VDL Groep Be, Rkp Polybags Private Limited, Pouch Direct Pty Ltd, FormulaCorp.com , Sunflex laminators, United Plastics, Idea Connection Ltd.The 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 report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies. Report Highlights : Detailed overview of 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 footprintRequest to Report Methodology @ PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 18:17:13 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 # 485 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 market for scoliosis management is likely to witness an increment, globally over the duration of the assessment. The market is expected to be estimated at US$ 2,462 Million during 2018 and is likely to increase at a 3.7% CAGR for the duration of the forecast, 2028. Region-wise, the North America market is forecasted to direct the overall market on the basis of value within the conjecture time frame, trailed by Western Europe regional market.Request For Report Sample: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/sample/110115017/Scoliosis-Management-Market The development of the overall market is on the whole driven by the higher generality of the disorder, higher acceptance pace of braces as well as progress of technology along with GPS devices which may possibly screen the patients health. Besides, mounting need for non-obtrusive therapy is expected to boost the market for scoliosis braces. The ailment happens in the same way in both the sexes nevertheless the degree of curve approaches in females eight times more contrary to guys. Then again, these devices have got to be worn every day for 22 23 hours by the patient so that it sets in their body making hassle on top of rashes the skin. Furthermore, it breaks down the abdomen and chest partition and accelerates breathing troubles that might possibly manipulate the pulmonary functions along with oxygen flow. Also, more low-priced braces together with growing awareness amid persons are a handful of the indicators expected that may possibly boost market extension for the duration of forecast.Request Report Discount: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/discount/110115017/Scoliosis-Management-Market Scoliosis is the outcomes in turning into the spine of C-formed or S-formed. This spine disorder builds the body to seem not level from the abdomen, shoulders or hips. The spinal combination, exercises and braces are the significant remedies for scoliosis dealing. In most cases, a person experiencing scoliosis prefers using customized braces, while the remedies are less expensive rather than the surgery.In terms of the product type, the worldwide market includes Thoracolumbosacral Orthosis (TLSO), Lumbosacral Orthosis (LSO) and Cervical Thoracic Lumbar Sacral Orthosis (CTLSO). Of these, the TLSO category is likely to exhibit a noteworthy CAGR of 3.9% within the projected period. With reference to the age groups, the market is segmented into adolescent scoliosis, juvenile scoliosis and infantile scoliosis. The adolescent category is likely to dominate the overall market throughout the period for assessment and is projected to touch US$ 3,494.9 Million through 2028 end on the basis of revenue over the period of assessment. By distribution channel, the market is divided into retail pharmacies, online sales and hospital pharmacies. The online sales distribution channel is likely to see the maximum expansion over the period of assessment.The key market players operating in the worldwide market are DJO Global, Aspen Medical Products, Horton's Orthotics & Prosthetics, Ottobock, TRULIFE, Boston O&P, Spinal Technology Inc, Bauerfeind AG, Wellinks, Inc, Fited and OthersReport Analysis: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/rd/110115017/Scoliosis-Management-Market Mezcal Market PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 08:43:05 Over the next five years, sales of Mezcal bottles in the global market will resemble growth identical to their consumption during colonial times where the distilled alcoholic beverage was consumed in great quantities by indigenous people of the Latin American region. Introduced by the Spaniards and made through fermentation of agave juice, Mezcal continues to gain widespread popularity for being a beer-like beverage that tastes like Tequila.A new market study developed by Future Market Insights anticipates that by the end of 2022, over US$ 840 Mn worth of Mezcal will be consumed across the globe. On account of several factors fuelling the presence of Mezcal in various drinking cultures, the global Mezcal market is poised to expand vigorously at a CAGR of 17.8% during the forecast period, 2017-2022. The report anticipates that increasing demand for beverages that improve digestion and blood sugar regulation, coupled with growing preference towards natural and gluten-free products, will drive the growth in global demand for Mezcal in the immediate future.Mezcal has emerged as a spirit of choice among bibulous consumers in several regions of the world. Many consider it as a healthy alternative to hard liquors such as Tequila. The overall positive attitudes of consumers towards Mezcal are effectively boosting their sales in the turbulent and highly-competitive landscapes of alcoholic beverage markets.Request to Sample of Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-5067 Mezcal with 100% Tequila Concentrate will be PredominantDespite the changing consumer preferences, the demand for Mezcal with 100% Tequila concentrate will gain traction through 2022. Higher concentration of Tequila in production of Mezcal is being preferred for keeping the drink additive-free, and reducing the risks of hangover. Moreover, buying 100% agave Tequila bottle is likely to cost a lot more than a bottle of Mezcal with 100% concentration of Tequila. In 2017, the global Mezcal market is anticipated to attain more than half of its value from sales of Mezcal with 100% Tequila concentrate. Comparatively, Mezcal consisting mix Tequila concentrates will lose traction in terms of demand, and rake approximately US$ 320 Mn revenues by the end of 2022.Additional insights from the report:Throughout the forecast period, North America will be observed as the largest market for Mezcal, primarily due to geographical proximity to Mexico and other Latin American countriesLatin America will be the second-largest region for growth of global Mezcal market and will procure over US$ 150 Mn value by 2022-endEuropes Mezcal market is also anticipated to reach a similar value by the end of the forecast periodIn 2017, more than 80% of revenues procured in the global Mezcal market will be amassed from sales of Mezcal JovenThrough 2022, Mezcal Anejo will be the fastest-selling product in the global marketDuring the forecast period, specialty stores will record fastest sales growth at 19% CAGR, while hotels, restaurants and cafes (HoReCa) will be collectively viewed as the largest sales channel for MezcalNeed more information about Report Methodology @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-5067 Agave, the key ingredient in Mezcal, is prominently cultivated in Latin American countries such as Argentina and Mexico. Manufacturers from this region will continue to remain prominent in the competitive landscape of global Mezcal market through 2022. These include companies, namely Ilegal Mezcal, Destileria Tlacolula, El Tinieblo and El Silencio Holdings. Besides these, the report has also profiled companies Pernod Ricard (PR), Pierde Almas and William Grant & Sons (WGS) as key players in the global Mezcal market. PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 09:12:49 Methoxypropylamine is a clear colourless chemical in liquid form with an ammonia-like odour. It is completely miscible in water and common organic solvents. Methoxypropylamine is used in the manufacture of amine soaps, which are used to make synthetic and natural resins and wax dispersions and emulsions. These products are used in water-based paints and floor and fabric finishes. Methoxypropylamine also finds application as a corrosion inhibitor. It is used for preparing waxes which are not sensitive to water, since it displays volatility in the presence of water and leaves behind an insoluble wax film. It is also used as an intermediate for chemicals used to treat water and floor waxes. Methoxypropylamine reacts with acrylonitrile polymers to produce polyelectrolytes, which are soluble in water and hence, find applications as flocculating agents.These multiple applications and favourable reaction characteristics of methoxypropylamine make the study of the global methoxypropylamine market an important read.Request For Report Sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3109 Methoxypropylamine (MOPA) Market: SegmentationOn the basis of application type, the global methoxypropylamine market is segmented as follows:Corrosion inhibitionDyestuffsAnti-scaling agentsAgrochemical usesFunctional fluids (closed systems)Functional fluids (open systems)IntermediatesProcessing aidsWater treatmentPower generationMethoxypropylamine (MOPA) Market: Key Trends, DriversIt has been observed that in dilute solution forms, methoxypropylamine does not emanate any foul odour, and hence is a suitable replacement for morpholine. This replacement characteristic is expected to drive the market growth of methoxypropylamine.Methoxypropylamine also finds applications in dye solvents, textiles and insecticide emulsions. It should be mentioned that methoxypropylamine is used where mild volatility is preferred. It is also used to modify polybutadiene-based isocyanates in the manufacture of dyes. Methoxypropylamine, in its dilute form, is used to treat aluminium and aluminium surfaces. This is done in order to enhance the adhesive capability of different coating types, which could be applied to aluminium surfaces.It is noteworthy that methoxypropylamine reacts with bis (2-carbamoylphenyl) disulfides to produce substances which are used in limiting the growth of mildew fungi in alkyd and latex paints. Methoxypropylamine also reacts with carbamates, quinones, benzothiazole and other substrates to obtain similar products. It can react with styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer and a diamine to produce compounds which could prove to be effective against silicosis. Such specialised applications have been propelling growth for the global methoxypropylamine market.Plant growth regulators and phenol-free paint removers can be produced from methoxypropylamine, and hence, their demand has been driving the market. Also, it has been observed that methoxypropylamine is used to manufacture a fluorescent brightener for cellulosic textiles, and that the brightener showed high effectiveness at low temperatures and did not cause discolouration of washing powders; thereby making methoxypropylamine a preferred raw material in the manufacture of brighteners.Methoxypropylamine is also used to prevent corrosion in steam condensate systems. The addition of methoxypropylamine in these systems is shown to hinder the corrosion process, which occurs due the presence of carbon dioxide in water. Methoxypropylamine finds application as an additive to restrict the process of corrosion in oil refining equipment since crude oil can contain acidic materials, which in turn may corrode the equipment. Growth of the crude oil industry, hence, is expected to indirectly boost the demand for methoxypropylamine in the next few years.However, methoxypropylamine is found to be flammable, and is also known to cause skin irritation and burning in case of skin contact. It could also prove to be harmful in case of accidental ingestion. These factors may prove to be detrimental to the market growth of methoxypropylamine.High frequency of exposure to high concentrations of methoxypropylamine can cause respiratory problems and temporary vision distortion. Specific locations, where occurrence of methoxypropylamine leaks could potentially take place need to be properly ventilated. The U.S. regulatory body OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) has mentioned specific regulations to be followed while handling and storing methoxypropylamine and for protecting oneself from methoxypropylamine. Such stringent regulations, in turn, could also dampen the market growth of methoxypropylamine in the near future.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC): https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3109 Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global methoxypropylamine market are as follows:BASF AGLANXESSHuntsman CorporationDow Chemical CompanyEastman Chemical CompanySigma AldrichIRO Group Inc.Raybon Chemicals PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 09:12:21 LinearAlpha olefins are unsaturated hydrocarbonswhich are used to manufacture products like synthetic acids, synthetic lubricants, polymers (LLDPE, HPDE), oilfield chemicals, detergent intermediates and additives. Linear Alpha Olefins are industrially important alkenes with the chemical formula CXH2X. These are unbranched alkenes in which the first carbon atom of the chain has a double bond. The double bond between the first and second carbon of the chain determines the alkenes chemical properties and makes it useful for a number of applications such as all reactions of an olefin which include polymerization, addition metathesis, etc. Linear Alpha Olefins are manufactured mostly through oligomerisation of ethylene or through Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. This is followed by purification of Linear Alpha Olefins. Linear Alpha olefins are extremely versatile and have applications in the manufacturing of a number of important chemical products such as alkenyl succinic anhydrides, drag reducing agents, Poly Alpha Olefins, lubricants, oilfield chemicals, Alkylbenzenes, fuel additives, plasticizers, detergent alcohols, low density polyethylene (LDPE)and High density polyethylene (HDPE). Linear Alpha Olefins are used as co-monomers in the production of plastics such as polyethylene and polypropylene. Among Linear Alpha-Olefins,1-Hexene has unique properties and is used in various applications. For example, it is used as a co-monomer during the manufacturing of polyethylene, production of aldehydes and fatty acids for plasticizers.Request For Report Sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3083 Linear Alpha-Olefins Market:Market DynamicsOn the basis of value and volume, 1-Hexene holds a major market share of the overall Linear alpha olefins market. Growing demand for Poly-Alpha-Olefins which is used in synthetic lubricants used in automobile engines and increased demand for polyethylene which is used in the packaging industry will continue to drive the linear alpha-olefins market during the forecast period. Increasing demand from various industries for LLDPE, which is used as packaging material, is also contributing towards the growth of the Linear-Alpha Olefins market. Easy availability of raw materials for alpha olefin production is also projected to increase the market growth of Linear Alpha-Olefins. The growth of automotive and consumer goods industry and positive outlook on oilfield drilling activities is expected to affect the Linear-Alpha Olefins demand positively.Volatility in the prices of raw materials coupled with stringent environmental regulations is expected to remain a key challenge for market players. Other than this, relatively high initial investments may also affect the market negatively. The presence of alternatives such astungsten disulphide and advancement in nanoparticle-based lubricants are the key restraints for the market growth of Linear Alpha-Olefins.Though bio-based Linear Alpha-Olefins are in research and development phase, they are likely to gain momentum in near future, which can be an upcoming opportunity for the manufacturers.Linear Alpha-Olefins Market:Market SegmentationThe global alpha-olefins market is segmented on the basis of:Segmentation of Linear Alpha-Olefinsmarket on the basis of product/submarkets1-Butene1-Hexene1-Octene1-decene1-dodecene1-tetradecene1-hexadeceneHigher OlefinsSegmentation of Linear Alpha-Olefinsmarket on the basisof its applicationDetergent AlcoholSynthetic LubricantLow-density polyethylene (LDPE)High-density polyethylene (HDPE)LLDPE( Linear low-density polyethylene)Segmentation of Linear Alpha-Olefinsmarket on the basis of end-use industryAutomotive industryPaper industryCosmetics & Pharmaceuticals industryChemical industryConsumer goodsPackaging industryLinear Alpha-Olefins Market: Regional OutlookNorth America is considered to be a major consumer of Linear Alpha-Olefins market. Europe also accounts for a significant proportion of Linear Alpha-Olefinsglobal consumption. Moreover, high demand from end-use industries such as packaging, automotive, pharmaceuticals and chemical industries is likely to fuel the Linear Alpha-Olefinsmarket growth in Asia Pacific. The growth of automotive and consumer goods industries in Asia Pacific and Latin America is expected to affect market growth in positive way. Linear Alpha-Olefins market during the forecast period.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC): https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3083 Linear Alpha-Olefins Market: Market ParticipantsSome of the examples of the market participants in the Linear Alpha-Olefinsglobal market identified across the value chain areRoyal Dutch Shell plcSasolQatar Chemical Company Ltd (Q-Chem)Chevron Phillips Chemical CompanyThe Dow Chemical Company PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 15:03:45 Press Information 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: abhishek.b@futuremarketinsights.com FMI Blog: https://www.fmiblog.com/ Web: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com Blog: http:// Abhishek Bhudholiya Manager +1-347-918-3531 email https://www.futuremarketinsights.com # 785 Words 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: abhishek.b@futuremarketinsights.comFMI Blog: https://www.fmiblog.com/Web: https://www.futuremarketinsights.comBlog: http://Manager+1-347-918-3531 Ischemic hepatitis is also known as shock liver is a condition affecting 0.18%0.50% of inpatient admissions per year. Usually, the affected patient has no abdominal pain symptoms and the diagnosis is based on biochemical blood analysis. In ischemic hepatitis a considerable higher and noticeable increase in enzymes within the liver is observed, the level will rise more than seven to nine times to the normal level. The enzyme level will become normal within 8-11 days as the disease-causing agents such as a virus or hepatotoxic agents are eliminated from the body. Additionally, the serum lactate level can also increase. Ischemic hepatitis can also occur after episodes of cardiac failure, hemodynamic instability or hypoxia such as pulmonary embolus, hemorrhage, sepsis, acute myocardial infarction, and other causes of respiratory distress. Although no any particular treatment is available for ischemic hepatitis, the symptoms of ischemic hepatitis can be lowered with the use of ischemic hepatitis treatment drugs. The present advancement in Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment drugs in re-establishing blood flow to the liver is anticipated to increase the adoption of Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment in physicians.Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment Market: Drivers and RestraintsContinuously growing research on the development of the dedicated drug for Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment following with increasing availability of supportive Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment. Is anticipated to fuel the Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment market. Additionally, collective efforts from the major services providers and research organization on surgical intervention in Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment is signifying the growth of the Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment market. The surge in the cardiac disorders prevalence and incidence rate is anticipated as the prime factor for the growth of the Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment market owing to the higher rate of surgeries and surgical interventions in cardiac care. The utilization of heavier drug doses in disease recovery treatment for positive effects is always remained a matter of criticism and resulting in damage liver cells, creating major demand for Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment to recover the symptoms of shock liver or hypoxic hepatitis. However, high risk associated with utilization of Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment drugs and requirement of continuous monitoring for drug level has anticipated the restraint the growth of the Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment market.Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment Market: SegmentationBased on Treatment Type, the Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment market is segmented into:AcetylcysteineAntibioticsSupportive careLiver transplant SurgeryBased on Application, the Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment market is segmented into:Infection ControlTissue Perfusion,Mechanical VentilationMetabolic MonitoringBased on distribution channel, the Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment market is segmented into:Hospital pharmaciesRetail pharmaciesOnline PharmaciesIschemic Hepatitis Treatment Market: OverviewThe Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment doesnt treat the condition but relives form the symptoms of Ischemic Hepatitis. The prime key players in the Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment market are largely focused on the development of a targeted drug delivery system for Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment drug. Additionally, growing research on dedicated Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment drug is anticipated to fuel the competition in the Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment market. The global Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment market is observing an initial introduction phase owning to growing adoptions of the Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment drug by the primary healthcare provider. The demand for Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment is largely arising from developed countries such as U.S., UK, Germany, and Australia due to higher consumption ration of drugs resulting in higher incidence of liver toxicities and Ischemic Hepatitis. The manufacturers in the Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment is primarily focused on research collaboration for drug development and lowering drug toxicities for the Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment.Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment Market: Region-Wise OverviewThe global Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment market is segmented into the following regions - North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific Excluding China & Japan, China, Japan, and the Middle East & Africa. North America is the leading regional market for Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment due to the increasing incidence of cardiovascular disorders and Hypoxemia. Additionally supportive Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment demand in the region. In North America, the U.S. is the dominating Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment market owing to increasing number of healthcare facilities and rising drug abuse cases in the country. Europe Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment market is anticipated to grow considerably higher owing to higher drug dose utilization in disease treatment. Japan and China is a growing at fast pace owing to growing r&d initiatives form manufacturers in Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment research. Growth in Latin America and the Middle East and Africa is considerably low due to lack of research initiatives and secondary treatment measures.Request Sample Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-8323 Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment Market: Key ParticipantsExamples of some of the key participants in the Ischemic Hepatitis Treatment market are Novartis AG. Pfizer Inc., Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline plc, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Allergen Plc. among others. Flash U.S. President Donald Trump arrived at the Noi Bai International Airport of Hanoi Tuesday evening for the second summit with Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). After disembarking from Air Force One, Trump shook hands and talked with officials who were at the airport to greet him, before heading for his hotel. Kim arrived in Hanoi earlier on Tuesday morning. Trump and Kim are expected to meet first on Wednesday night and have dinner together, then hold discussion on Thursday joined by their respective delegates. Issues such as a roadmap for denuclearization, the easing of sanctions against the DPRK and whether to issue a war-ending declaration are expected to be high on the agenda. The first DPRK-U.S. summit, held in June 2018 in Singapore, resulted in improved bilateral ties. In a joint statement signed after their meeting, Trump pledged to provide security guarantees to the DPRK while Kim reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. During his stay, Trump will also meet with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Wednesday, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 09:12:34 Currently, it has been observed that the effect of production of chemicals on the environment is under stark inspection, and hence, the chemical industry worldwide has been witnessing stringent regulations to curb environmental pollution. In this context, Hydrogen peroxide is a non-polluting oxidizing agent -- as its oxidation by-product is water -- and hence, could be commercially looked as a potential eco-friendly oxidizing agent. Hydrogen peroxide, as an oxidizing agent, does not cause any release of gases or other chemical residues. Besides, it also displays versatility in context of its applications. For instance, it has the ability to treat both easy-to-oxidize pollutants (iron and sulphides) as well as treat pollutants which are difficult to oxidize (solvents, gasoline and pesticides). The fact that hydrogen peroxides power can be adjusted in multiple ways (by merely adjusting chemical reaction conditions such as dosage, catalyst usage, reaction time, temperature and pH) increases its diversity, thereby making it a key chemical to be studied from a market perspective.Market DefinitionThe utility of hydrogen peroxide is mainly as an oxidizer, bleaching agent and disinfectant. The concentrated form of hydrogen peroxide is used as a propellant in the rocket and space industry.Industrial strength concentrations of H2O2 typically exceed 34%. It is produced in the form of aqueous solutions, which have a strong, pungent odour. Industrial strength concentrations generally range between 35% and 70%.Request For Report Sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3108 Key Trends, DriversIt is expected that increased usage of hydrogen peroxide in bleaching and de-inking processes applied to recycled paper in the paper industry would drive the growth of the global hydrogen peroxide market in the long term. A recent trend has been witnessed -- there is an increasing demand for recycled paper in the developing world, which is expected to boost the industrial hydrogen peroxide consumption in Latin America and South Asia.With regard to the electronics industry, increased use of hydrogen peroxide for etching printed circuit boards is also expected to further drive the market growth of the chemical.The currently flourishing pulp and paper industry and the packaging industry in the Asia Pacific region is also expected to grow in near future, and hence, the region currently remains and is also expected to remain the largest segment of the global hydrogen peroxide market by region, in near future.However, as concentrated industrial hydrogen peroxide solutions pose serious health risks to humans in case of exposure of the eyes and skin to them and is carcinogenic is nature, the hydrogen peroxide market will face these challenges with regard to its growth in near future.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC): https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3108 Also, the technological transformation from print to digital media which has been taking place since past few years has also been limiting the growth of the hydrogen peroxide industry to an extent.One of the key uses of hydrogen peroxide in the downstream chemical use is that it is used during the manufacturing of propylene oxide -- which is produced through a very competitive commercial manufacturing process. This is expected to become a major consumption segment of hydrogen peroxide globally in the next three to four years. Hearing Protection Devices Market PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 14:03:09 Press Information Persistence Market Research Contact Us 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 Swapna Supekar Associate Consultant 800-961-0353 email http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com # 459 Words Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.comAssociate Consultant800-961-0353 According to the latest market report published by Persistence Market Research titled Global Market Study on Hearing Protection Devices: Stringent Safety Regulations and Increasing Demand for Reusable Earplugs to Drive the Market, the hearing protection devices market is estimated to be valued at US$ 951.3 Mn by the end of 2015, and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 12.4% during the forecast period (20152021) to account for US$ 1,943.8 Mn by 2021.Global demand for hearing protection devices is increasing mainly driven by rapid growth of the construction, manufacturing and military weapons industries. An increasing number of regulations to reduce noise-induced hearing loss across various industries along with a rise in employment in manufacturing and construction sectors is expected to further drive overall growth of the hearing protection devices market over the forecast period. Moreover, some other factors that help to drive the growth of the market are increasing demand for next-generation HPD in military sectors, increasing urbanization and development activities, low-cost earplugs to boost demand in developing regions. However, lack of awareness and improper hearing attenuation are some of the major factors that restrict the growth of the market.Request for Report Methodology @: https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/methodology/3036 Rising emphasis on custom-tailored hearing protection devices, mergers, and acquisitions, technology shift towards ear plugs with acoustic filters, increasing demand for uniform attenuation earplugs, growing market share of regional players and increasing investment in North America HPD market are some of the trends observed in the global HPD market.By region, North America is estimated to dominate the hearing protection devices market with over 34.4% share by 2015 end and is expected to remain dominant throughout the forecast period. Earplug is the largest segment in global hearing protection devices market. The global earplug segment is expected to increase at a CAGR of 13.6% in terms of value during the forecast period. Earmuffs is the second-largest segment in the global hearing protection devices market and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 10.2% in terms of value during the forecast period.Asia-Pacific represents the most lucrative market, followed by Europe for hearing protection devices. This is primarily due to rise demand for hearing protection devices in India, China, Bangladesh, Philippines and Indonesia. Asia-Pacific is expected to account for 20.4% market share in the global hearing protection devices market by 2015 end, which is expected to increase to 20.9% market share by 2021.Request to Sample Report @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3036 Key market players covered in this report are 3M, Honeywell International Inc., Amplifon, Hellberg Safety AB, Dynamic Ear Company, Centurion Safety Products Ltd, Sonomax Technologies Inc, Siemens Healthcare GmbH, ADCO Hearing Products Inc., Elvex Corporation and Moldex-Metric Inc. These players have been profiled on the basis of various attributes such as company overview, recent developments, growth strategies, SWOT analysis and sustainability. A portion of the most recent advancements in the worldwide Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) advertise have made it indispensable for the key players to totally fathom the market remembering the true objective to make viable business systems. Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 19:18:46 Press Information qyreports Contact: QYReports Jones John (Sales Manager) +91-9764607607 sales@qyreports.com www.qyreports.com Jones John Sales Manager +91-9764607607 email http://www.qyreports.com # 691 Words Contact:QYReportsJones John(Sales Manager)+91-9764607607sales@qyreports.comwww.qyreports.comSales Manager+91-9764607607 The study included four key activities to predict the current market size. A thorough second study was conducted to gather information about the market, the peer market and the top market. The next step was to verify sizing with industry experts across the value chain through home and major research. We used a top-down and bottom-up approach to estimate the overall market size. We then used market segmentation and data triangulation to estimate the market size of segments and sub-segments.The healthcare business intelligence (BI) market is expected to reach USD 8.9 billion by 2023 from USD 4.4 billion in 2018, at a CAGR of +15% during the forecast period.Research N Reports declares the expansion of another provide details regarding the worldwide market for Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI). The report profiles the main players in the worldwide market with a specific end goal to give an unmistakable perspective of the humble powers of the market, while the local and item sections of the worldwide market are likewise considered in detail so as to give a granular outline of the market's breakdown. The report is titled 'Worldwide Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) Market Research Report 2019.'For Sample duplicate of this report: https://www.qyreports.com/request-sample?report-id=106693 Major Key Players in this report are: Microsoft (US), IBM (US), Oracle (US), SAP SE (Germany), SAS Institute Inc. (US), Tableau Software (US), MicroStrategy Incorporated (US), QlikTech International AB (US), Information Builders (US), Sisense Inc. (US), Yellowfin BI (Australia), and BOARD International (Switzerland)A portion of the most recent advancements in the worldwide Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) advertise have made it indispensable for the key players to totally fathom the market remembering the true objective to make viable business systems. On the other hand, the worldwide Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) advertise is huge and significantly novel, along these lines making it troublesome for the players to direct a statistical surveying in-house. The report portrays a serious diagram of the worldwide Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) advertise and researches the key smaller scale and large scale monetary elements influencing the development of the market. The report additionally extends the size and valuation of the worldwide Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) showcase in the gauge time frame. The market has been considered with respect to item composes and applications.Avail discount on this report: https://www.qyreports.com/ask-for-discount?report-id=106693 Confided in current state investigation devices, for example, Porter's five powers examination and SWOT investigation are utilized in the answer to evaluate the Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) advertise information to convey a total diagram of the market. Moreover, this report gives a total audit of the size and application extent of the Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) advertise far and wide. An itemized outline of the buying criteria and challenges went up against in the Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) business area is additionally explained in this report.Depicting the focused chain of command in the worldwide Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) showcase, the report profiles a portion of the key players working in the market. Keen data about the noteworthy players including their income, item portfolio, business division, and money related diagram has been incorporated into the report. Ongoing improvements in the business have been thought about while anticipating the future viewpoint of the market. The report moreover characterizes the different promoting diverts winning in the worldwide Healthcare Business Intelligence (BI) market and conveys data about a portion of the basic wholesalers working in the market. The report fills in as an accommodating aide for the new and in addition existing players in the market.For more enquiry: https://qyreports.com/enquiry-before-buying?report-id=106693 What our report offers: Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments Market share analysis of the top industry players Strategic recommendations for the new entrants Market forecasts for a minimum of 7 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations) Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancements Eye Cosmetic Packaging Market: Global Industry Analysis 2012 2016 and Opportunity Assessment; 2017 2027 fmi PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 07:59:38 Eye cosmetics available in many different shades and colors are used by women for their daily grooming. Cosmetics packaging manufacturers are providing effective and visually attractive packaging solutions, including eye cosmetics packaging, in order to meet the marketing objectives of cosmetics brands. Eye cosmetic packaging is influential in terms of product branding. For marketing of eye cosmetic products, the shape, material, and durability of the eye cosmetic packaging are considered as an important factor. Eye cosmetic products are usually expensive, hence packaging plays an important role in adding value to eye cosmetics products. There are many factors considered for designing eye cosmetic packaging such as material being used, graphics printed on them or it might be specific to the product being sold. Acrylic and PP plastic containers are very popular as is affordable, durable and is easily customized. Eye Cosmetic packaging not only increases the shelf life of the product but also improves the aesthetic value and shelf space appeal of the product.Request to Sample of Report @Eye Cosmetic Packaging Market: Market DynamicsPackaging manufacturers catering to diverse industries not only have to provide packaging and storage solutions but also have to consider the role of packaging in branding and product attractiveness. Eye cosmetic packaging market is directly co-related to the cosmetic packaging industry. The cosmetic packaging industry is estimated to be over US$ 30 billion which is expected to grow at a growth rate of 4% over the forecast period. Eye cosmetics being a luxury product, the demand for eye cosmetic packaging market is influenced by the rise of the disposable income of the consumers in emerging economies. The concern among young urban class with respect to their looks and appearance is an important factor attributing to the increase in consumption of the eye cosmetics hence boosting the eye cosmetic packaging market. Earlier people used to wear makeup occasionally, but now they are using makeup on a regular basis which is supporting the demand for eye cosmetic packaging market. The increasing number of the working women is widening the base of the consumers of eye cosmetics contributing to the eye cosmetics packaging market. However, the presence of chemicals in eye cosmetics and their side effects may hamper the eye cosmetic packaging market. In the backdrop of ease in availability of the eye cosmetics and entrance of the bio-based eye cosmetics, the demand for the eye cosmetic packaging market is expected to move vertically upward. Request Report for Table of Contents @Eye Cosmetic Packaging Market: Key PlayersSome key players of eye cosmetic packaging market are Amcor Limited, HCP Packaging, Cosmopak, 3C Inc, Alpha Packaging, Color Carton Corporation, ChingFon Industrial Co., LTD, Anomatic, Arcade Beauty, APC Packaging, Epopack Co., Ltd, AptarGroup, Libo Cosmetics Co., Ltd, Quadpack Group.The 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 report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies. Report Highlights : Detailed overview of 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 footprintRequest to Report Methodology @ PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 22:06:03 CALGARY, AB and SAN ANTONIO, TX / ACCESSWIRE / February 27, 2019 / Emerald Bay Energy Inc. (TSX Venture: EBY, OTC: EMBYF) (the "Company" or "Emerald Bay") announced today that the Company has received Railroad Commission ("RRC") regulatory approval, and re-entry operations have commenced at the Isabella Unit, well #2, in Gonzales County, Texas. The RRC requested an H15 fluid test which was conducted yesterday. Logging operations confirming tubular depth were completed today.Emerald Bay is approved to drill and deepen the well to 8400 feet. Multiple cement squeezes will be performed to isolate fluids coming into the wellbore from the previous operators completions. The Company plans to test the Buda formation at approximately 8300 feet and the Eagle Ford formation at approximately 8200 feet deep. Pending those results, the Company will isolate and test the Navarro formation at approximately 6200 feet. It is anticipated that these operations will take several weeks to complete.The Isabella prospect includes the Companys acquisition of several mineral leases, totaling approximately 86 acres, and the Isabella #2 wellbore. The Isabella 2 well produced from the Austin Chalk formation in the past, but the previous operator did not drill to the deeper Eagle Ford and Buda formations. The Company, and partner Cotulla Energy Resources Ltd. ("Cotulla"), have identified the Isabella 2 wellbore as a prime target to explore for a high impact well on trend with Eagle Ford and Buda production in Gonzales County, Texas. The Company and Cotulla have also identified a potentially prolific Navarro zone in the well.Under terms of the partnership agreement, Cotulla will pay 100% of the Isabella prospect costs to earn a 75% interest. Emerald Bay retains a 25% interest in the well and acreage at no cost to the Company.About Emerald BayEmerald Bay Energy Inc. (TSX Venture: EBY, OTC: EMBYF) is an energy company with oil producing properties in Southwest Texas as well as non-operated oil and natural gas interests in Central Alberta, Canada. EBY is the operator of the Wooden Horse and Nash Creek Projects in Guadeloupe, Texas, where the Company currently now owns a 50.00% working interest those projects. Additionally, the Company owns and operates various working interests in the HugoCellR, Cotulla, and MarPat partnerships. The Company also owns 75% of Production Resources Inc., a South Texas oil company.For all upcoming news releases, articles, comments and questions, to stay updated and speak with management about Emerald Bay Energy. Please JOIN our Investor Information Group at:For further information, please contact:Emerald Bay President, Shelby D. Beattie, by telephone at (403) 262-6000Email: info@ ebyinc.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: Emerald Bay Energy Inc. PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 08:05:02 TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 27, 2019 / Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd (AIM: ECO, TSX-V: EOG), the oil and gas exploration company with licences in highly prospective regions in Guyana and Namibia, is pleased to announce its results for the three and nine months ended 31 December 2018 and to provide a corporate and operational update.Highlights: Financialso The Company ended the third financial quarter (and calendar year end) with cash and cash equivalents of CAD 25.7 million, total assets of CAD 28.1 million, total liabilities of CAD 0.8 million and total equity of CAD 27.3 million.o As a result of the Total E&P Activites Petrolieres ("Total") farm-in deal income, which amounted to CAD 16.8 million (USD 12.5 million), the Company completed the three and nine months period ended 31 December 2018 with a net profit of CAD 14.4 million and CAD 11.3 million, respectively. Operations - Guyanao Eco announced the filing of a National Instrument 51-101 compliant resource report on the Orinduik Block, offshore Guyana, with 2.9 Billion Barrels of Oil (Equivalent) prospective resource P50 Best Estimate. The report does not take into account certain recent developments, including ExxonMobil's Hammerhead-1 Tertiary discovery and additional Tertiary prospects.o On 27 November 2018, Eco completed the Total farm-in deal and received the USD 12.5 million and all necessary approvals and documentation to effect the 25% interest transfer in the Orinduik Block to Total. Accordingly, the working interests in the Orinduik Block are now Tullow (Operator) 60%, Total 25% and Eco 15%.o On 5 December 2018, Eco announced its first planned well out of two in the 2019 drilling program for the Orinduik Block. The net cost of the first well, named the Jethro-Lobe prospect, is currently expected to be approximately USD 7.6 million. The prospect, which will be drilled from a conventional drillship, is an Upper Tertiary stratigraphically trapped canyon turbidite in about 1,350 meters of water. The prospect is estimated to hold 250mmbbl of gross prospective resources with the 'Chance Of Success' estimated by Eco to be 44%.o On 20 February 2019, Eco announced that, along with its partners, Total and Tullow, it has contracted a rig, the Stena Forth, a sixth-generation drillship from Stena Carron Drilling Limited ("Stena"), to drill the Jethro-Lobe prospect on the Orinduik Block offshore Guyana. The Stena Forth, which is currently drilling off West Africa, is fully crewed and is operating.The contract with Stena secures the rig for transport at the end of May, targeting an early June 2019 spud date. Further, the agreement also defines a window for a second well on the Orinduik Block, which would be drilled after the Jethro-Lobe well. Long lead items, including the well heads and casings for two wells, have been secured and ordered.o The Orinduik Joint Venture partners are currently reviewing plans and prospects for a second well and anticipate formalizing those plans in the coming weeks. The anticipated cost of a second well is expected to be less than the first, as the costs for the mobilization, demobilization, well heads and casings are already included in the budget for the first well. Namibiao Eco was granted a one-year extension to the First Renewal Exploration Period on all of its Namibia Licenses to March 2019 by the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy (the "Ministry"). Each license will then automatically enter the Second Renewal Period, which in turn has a two-year exploration phase which can be extended by a third year at the discretion of the Ministry.o -The Company acquired the remaining 10% of the shares of Pan Africa Oil Namibia Ltd ("PAO Namibia") as announced on 20 September 2018. Following completion of the acquisition, PAO Namibia became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. As a result, Eco's working interest in the Tamar License (PEL 50) increased to 80% from 72%.o On 26 October 2018, Eco received a formal notice from Tullow Namibia informing that it had elected not to enter into the Second Renewal Period for the PEL 30 License ("Cooper Block"). As a result, the Company automatically received back Tullow Namibia's 25% working interest and the Company now holds a 57.5% working interest in PEL 30.o -Eco continues to monitor developments in Namibia, specifically the recent entries by Exxon Mobil and Kosmos Energy, and the planned 2019 wells by Total S.A. and Royal Dutch Shell plc. Corporateo -On 20 February 2019, Eco announced the appointment of Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited and Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG as the Company's joint corporate brokers with immediate effect.o Eco 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 the Company has been included in the TSX Venture 50, an annual ranking of the top-performing companies on the TSX Venture Exchange.Gil Holzman, President and Chief Executive Officer of EcoAtlantic, commented:"We are pleased to report that we started calendar year 2019 with the same intensity with which we ended 2018. During the first two months of 2019, following the announcement of our initial drilling program on our Orinduik Block offshore Guyana, we, together with our partners on the block, have signed a drilling contract and confirmed our intention to spud the first well during the second quarter of 2019. The completion of Total's farm-in to our block and the receipt of USD 12.5 million, together with our existing cash resources, means that we are fully funded for at least two wells on our high impact 2019 drilling program in Guyana. With our strong balance sheet we remain in a robust financial position."On the corporate side, we appointed two of the leading UK and international investment banks, Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited and Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG as our joint corporate brokers. Berenberg and Stifel will work alongside our existing corporate broker Pareto Securities Limited and Strand Hanson, the Company's nominated adviser. These additions will broaden and strengthen our brokerage and market making performance."As a reward for the significant milestones that we have achieved over the last 12 months, we ranked second in the Energy Sector on the 2019 TSX Venture 50, up from fifth in 2018. This marks the second consecutive year that we have been included in the TSX Venture 50, an annual ranking Computer Assisted Surgical Systems Market PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 07:58:01 Press Information Persistence Market Research CONTACT: Persistence Market Research 305 Broadway,7th Floor New York City, NY 10007 United States T: +1-646-568-7751 Tollfree: +1 800-961-0353 Yogesh Sengar Team Lead 8999655266 email https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com # 427 Words CONTACT:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway,7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United StatesT: +1-646-568-7751Tollfree: +1 800-961-0353Team Lead8999655266 Healthcare information technology is growing at a significant rate due to increasing demand for better healthcare facilities and government initiatives in the field. Computer assisted surgical (CAS) systems refer to the healthcare information systems that are based on both information technology and surgical techniques. Use of computer assisted surgical systems brings accuracy in the surgical outcomes. These systems also help by reducing pain, medical costs and recovery period. Computer assisted surgical systems have applications in various fields such as orthopedics, neurology and gynecology. On the basis of types of products, computer assisted surgical systems market can be classified into surgical navigation systems, surgical robots and surgical planners & simulators. Of which surgical robots have the largest and the fastest growing market.North America dominates the global market for computer assisted surgical systems due to large number of aging population and technological advancement in the region. Asia, followed by the Europe, is expected to show high growth rate in next few years in the global computer assisted surgical systems market. China and India are expected to be the fastest growing computer assisted surgical systems markets in Asian region. Growth of medial tourism and improvement in the healthcare facilities has been driving the computer assisted surgical systems market in these countries. Some of the key driving forces for computer assisted surgical systems market in emerging countries are increasing awareness, large pool of patients and rising government funding.Request to Sample Report @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3413 Various factors that have been driving the global computer assisted surgical systems market include growing preference of patients towards treatment by minimally invasive surgical procedures and aging population. In addition, government initiatives to reduce medical costs have been driving the computer assisted surgical systems market. However, high maintenance and service cost and lack of experienced professionals are restraining the global computer assisted surgical systems market.Request Report TOC @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/3413 Technological advancements in the field of computer assisted surgical systems are expected to offer good opportunities for global computer assisted surgical systems market. Some of the recent trends that have been observed in the global computer assisted surgical systems market include hospitals focussing on use of computer assisted surgical systems for reduced costs and improved results. Some of the major companies dealing in the global computer assisted surgical systems market are B. Braun Melsungen AG, CONMED Corporation, Medtronic Inc. and Stryker Corporation. Other companies having significant presence in the computer assisted surgical systems market are Accuray Inc., Mazor Robotics Ltd., Brainlab AG, CAE Inc., Hansen Medical Inc. and Intuitive Surgical Inc.. Chromium Polynicotinate Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2017-2027 PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 07:49:14 Chromium is a metal which was first discovered in the late 1790s in France, until 1958 it was not considered as an essential trace element but was considered in the 1960s. Chromium polynicotinate is a supplement made up of chromium and niacin. It is believed that niacin helps in the absorption of chromium. Chromium polynicotinate doesnt contain much niacin as excess of niacin can cause side effects. Chromium polynicotinate is taken by people those who want to lose body weight, increasing muscle, and decreasing fat content of the body. Chromium polynicotinate is also used by athlete to improve their performance and to increase energy. Several research studies has shown that chromium polynicotinate is useful in treating depression. It is suggested that chromium polynicotinate should not be consumed by patient suffering from liver or kidney disorder as it may cause some sort of allergic reaction to them.Request Report Sample@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3068 Market Segmentation:Chromium polynicotinateis segmented on the basis of form, distribution channel and region. On the basis of form market is segmented into liquid and capsule. Among all these segment capsule is expected to grow enormously in the coming future. The demand for Chromium polynicotinateis more due to the health benefits it offers as well as ease of availability of product in the market. On the basis of distribution channel the market is segmented into supermarkets/hypermarkets, convenience stores, medical stores and online stores. Online stores is expected to hold a relatively high share in the chromium polynicotinatemarket, followed by medical stores.On the basis of region chromium polynicotinatemarket is segmented into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, MEA and Japan.Market Regional Outlook:Regional segment for the market of chromium polynicotinateis divided into seven different regions: North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, MEA and Japan. Among these segment Asia Pacific is expected to have the major market share globally, as it is the largest producer and consumer of chromium polynicotinate country like China is generating the major revenue. In Europe region the major revenue is generated by the countries like Germany and Spain. In terms of revenue Europe may be the second prominent contributor in thechromium polynicotinatemarket.Market Drivers:Research studies has shown that people suffering from diabetes were able to improve their blood sugar levels when they were given chromium polynicotinate. Chromium polynicotinate basically improved the fasting glucose levels of people suffering Type 2 diabetes. Chromium polynicotinateexhibits some special properties such as, acts as anti-depressant, helps in controlling cholesterol and fats and helps in the metabolism of glucose which is essential to produce energy for the body. Chromium polynicotinate also helps in reducing obesity and building of muscles. These versatile properties of chromium polynicotinate is attracting the pharmaceutical companies a lot, which expected to drive the chromium polynicotinate market to a greater extent.Moreover, the market is also driven by the increasing awareness and curiosity among the consumers about the health benefits associated with chromium polynicotinate. Although side effects from chromium polynicotinate supplement are very less, but some of them do exist. People those who consumed chromium polynicotinate experienced dizziness, people experience weird dreams after they start taking chromium polynicotinate, studies have shown that chromium polynicotinate may cause Iron mal-absorption in some people and people experienced headache after quitting the intake of chromium polynicotinate. Apart from these side effects chromium polynicotinate do not cause any health problems. These factors mentioned above may be the restrain of the growing market of chromium polynicotinate.Ask The Analyst@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/chromium-polynicotinate-market#engage_analyst Market Key Players:Some of the key players in chromium polynicotinatemarket areBiotech Pharmacal, Inc., Olympian Labs, Solgar, Nature's Way,NOW Foods, Vital Nutrients,Puritan's Pride, Solal, Superior Labs, Inc., Olympian labs and Nutrafx among others. PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 15:03:29 Press Information 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: abhishek.b@futuremarketinsights.com FMI Blog: https://www.fmiblog.com/ Web: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com Blog: http:// Abhishek Bhudholiya Manager +1-347-918-3531 email https://www.futuremarketinsights.com # 679 Words 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: abhishek.b@futuremarketinsights.comFMI Blog: https://www.fmiblog.com/Web: https://www.futuremarketinsights.comBlog: http://Manager+1-347-918-3531 Bovine high-mountain disease (BHMD) is also known as brisket disease which causes significant death loss, especially in calves. The bovine high-mountain disease is right heart failure which is generally caused due to hypoxic pulmonary hypertension at high altitudes. The bovine high-mountain disease is found in cattle at elevations over 7,000 feet and affects cattle of all ages and breeds. Higher elevations directly increase the incidence rate of bovine respiratory disease. The bovine high-mountain disease is generally associated with factors like altitude, physiologic, genetic, and environmental. It is also said that bovine high-mountain disease could be associated with mortality and morbidity associated with bovine respiratory disease (BRD). Some of the symptoms associated with the bovine high-mountain disease are the weakness, collapse, diarrhea, bulging eyes, swelling due to edema of the limbs, and others.Bovine High-Mountain Disease Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe rising incidence of congestive heart failure in cattle is considered a major driving factor in driving the growth of the global bovine high-mountain disease market. Furthermore, the rising prevalence of respiratory disease, lung abscesses, migrating parasitic larvae and lungworms, and genetic susceptibility further contributes to boosting the growth of the global bovine high-mountain disease market. A susceptible animal is generally more prone to develop the bovine high-mountain disease if any of the above parameters are present. There are also other diseases (like congenital heart disease, parasites, etc.) that are very similar to the bovine high-mountain disease which often causes difficulties in differentiating them. Thus, the lack of information about the bovine high-mountain disease is expected to hamper the growth of the global bovine high-mountain disease market. Generally, a pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) test is conducted in order to determine bovine high-mountain disease. The high cost related to the treatment of bovine high-mountain disease is also expected to deter the growth of the global bovine high-mountain disease market.Bovine High-Mountain Disease Market: SegmentationThe global bovine high-mountain disease market is segmented by drug class, distribution channel and region:Based on drug class, the global bovine high-mountain disease market is segmented into:DiureticsAntibioticsAppetite StimulatorsOthersBased on distribution channel, the global bovine high-mountain disease market is segmented into:Veterinary HospitalsVeterinary ClinicsVeterinary Pharmaceutical StoreOthersBovine High-Mountain Disease Market: OverviewThe bovine high-mountain disease is a high altitude disease and is expected to grow at a considerable growth rate over the forecast period. The bovine high-mountain disease is generally an expensive disease of cattle raised at higher altitudes. Pulmonary arterial pressure testing is usually considered as an effective diagnostic method to classify clinically affected and high-risk animals. Animals affected with the bovine high-mountain disease are moved to a lower altitude where treatment with diuretics, antibiotics, appetite stimulators, and thoracocentesis are provided. Thoracocentesis is considered as the single treatment that mostly improves an affected animals chance of survival.Bovine High-Mountain Disease Market: Regional OutlookOn the basis of geography, the global bovine high-mountain disease market is segmented into eight key regions, namely North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Asia Pacific excluding China and Japan, China, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. North America bovine high-mountain disease market is anticipated to register a maximum market share in the global bovine high-mountain disease market. The bovine high-mountain disease is very common in cattle raised on ranches at high altitudes (more than 5,000 feet) in Colorado and its surrounding states. Western Europe is anticipated to register the second most market share in the global bovine high-mountain disease market due to the presence of established manufacturers in the region. The Latin America bovine high-mountain disease market is expected to grow with a significant growth rate over the forecast period. However, due to low incidence, the Middle East and Africa bovine high-mountain disease market is expected to register a sluggish growth rate over the forecast period.Request Sample Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-8321 Bovine High-Mountain Disease Market: Key PlayersExamples of some of the key players in the global bovine high-mountain disease market are Zoetis, Inc., Bayer AG, Eli Lilly and Company (Elanco), Dechra Pharmaceuticals, Merck & Co., Inc, and others. PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 09:12:42 Growing applications, enhanced system efficiency and performance, driver convenience and reduction in emissions are some of the factors continuing to fuel the growth of the automotive temperature sensors market. Temperature sensors enable the enhancement of automotive systems. They are used in numerous applications to sense any damage. Conventionally, thermistor-based temperature sensors are used to send signals to gauges and then to electronic control modules. With increasing complexities, the types and numbers of temperature sensors have also increased due to enhanced performance requirements. Lead frame technology as a sub-assembly was incorporated to improve the traditional single-function and multi-functional sensors. Other than this, with the help of newly developed thermistor-based temperature sensors, it has become easier to monitor temperature range up to 1000 degree Celsius for catalytic converters and exhaust gases. The expansion of automatic HVAC driver information feedback and control has led to a significant increase in the use of temperature sensors for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. The automatic HVAC control system also finds usage in cabin temperature sensors where they are used to provide automatically controlled cabin environment. The duct air temperature sensors used in automotive HVAC systems efficiently monitor the ambient temperature.Request For Report Sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3104 Automotive Temperature Sensor Market:DynamicsDrivers:The growth of automotive electronics has fuelled the growth of the automotive temperature sensors market. Automotive temperature sensors provide appropriate feedback about the parameters to be controlled. Furthermore, with increasing inputs/outputs from existing electronics in the HVAC systems and engine management, the automotive temperature sensors market is expected to grow during the forecast period. Increasing demand from customers for advanced automatic control of systems and information regarding a vehicles status has led to an increase in the demand for the automotive temperature sensors. In addition, stringent government regulations regarding gas emission control and fuel economy are expected to drive the automotive temperature sensors market during the forecast period.Restraints:Poor accuracy -- it is impossible to gauge errors measuring less than one degree Celsius -- may hamper the growth of the global automotive temperature sensors market during the forecast period. Furthermore, sensitivity of Hall Effect sensors, mobility of majority carriers and electrical resistance of surface elements are affected by temperature. This, in turn, may hamper the growth of the automotive temperature sensors market.Trends:Increased response time by smaller elements and installation in desired locations through smaller packages are some of the major trends witnessed in the automotive temperature sensors market. Furthermore, multi-functional temperature sensors with new as well as existing sensing elements are driving the market for automotive temperature sensors.Automotive Temperature Sensor Market:SegmentationGlobal automotive temperature sensor market is segmented on the basis of product type, application and vehicle type. On the basis of product type, the global automotive temperature sensors market is segmented into conventional and digital automotive temperature sensors. Based on application, the global automotive temperature sensor market is segmented into powertrain, exhaust gas, steering, safety and control, telematics and others categories. On the basis of vehicle-type, the global automotive temperature sensors market is segmented into passenger cars, light-commercial vehicles and heavy commercial vehicles.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC): https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3104 Automotive Temperature Sensor Market:Key ParticipantsSome of the key market participants in the automotive temperature sensor market are:Delphi Automotive LLPJIANGXI HAOFENG ELECTRIC APPLIANCES CO., LTD.Okazaki Manufacturing CompanySensata Technologies, Inc.Robert Bosch GmbHDelphi Automotive LLPNXP Semiconductors Flash As U.S. President Donald Trump and top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un are set to meet in Hanoi Wednesday and Thursday for their second summit, analysts believe that more concrete steps and reciprocal measures are urgently needed if the two sides aim to make real progress. While recognizing their first meeting in June last year as a historic breakthrough, analysts tend to share the view that the outcome from the Singapore summit lacks a realistic roadmap for implementation. From Singapore to Hanoi, more substantial moves and clearer demonstration of trust are required. LITTLE PROGRESS SINCE SINGAPORE SUMMIT Four issues were agreed upon during the first summit -- development of new DPRK-U.S. relations, complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a lasting peace regime on the peninsula, and returning the remains of U.S. soldiers killed during the Korean War. "They have bigger work to do," said Kim Joon-hyung, a professor of international studies at South Korea's Handong Global University, referring to the Hanoi summit. "The first summit was historic. It was the beginning of engagement and negotiation," the South Korean scholar said. "Kim Jong Un and Trump all know they have to reach more concrete agreements at this time. They have to reach a conclusion." Jenna Gibson, director of communications at the Washington-based Korea Economic Institute (KEI), said that Trump is likely going into the meeting in Vietnam with two objectives in mind. "Given a lot of skepticism and critics to his Singapore summit with Kim, Trump is expecting to secure some kind of concession or concrete promise from Kim to show that his engagement plan has been and still is working. So Trump is likely hoping to prove the naysayers wrong with a summit that results in more than just a photo-op," Gibson said. Yang Xiyu, a researcher from the China Institute of International Studies, said that from June to the end of last year, the DPRK-U.S. relations were basically stagnant. Following the Singapore summit, there was a warming up of ties, but then there was stalemate or even some cooling down. "The lack of trust was deep-rooted between the DPRK and the United States. Therefore even consensus on principles were reached between leaders, real implementation was hard to proceed as suspicions still exist," said the researcher. Yang noted that no substantial progress has been made since then, either in the two countries' relations, or in targets on denuclearization. MAIN TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED IN HANOI For the second summit between Kim and Trump, expectations will be high on an outcome that demonstrates tangible signs of progress, focusing on any pragmatic move toward denuclearization and any easing of sanctions. Kyle Ferrier, an analyst from the KEI, said that Washington would seek concrete steps toward denuclearization and seems to be willing to declare an end to the Korean War to get it. "Pyongyang would certainly welcome an end of war declaration, which is the first step in reaching a more enduring peace on the Korean Peninsula," Ferrier said. The analyst predicted that the safe bet for a summit outcome would be an end of war declaration and some sanctions relief from the United States in exchange for the verified dismantlement of DPRK's nuclear reactor at Yongbyon and access to verify the dismantlement of testing sites at Tongchang-ri and Punggye-ri. Much less certain, however, is how these will all be sequenced and how the United States will try to ease sanctions, Ferrier added. Researcher Yang Xiyu said that for the discussions to be held in Hanoi, the focal point is to observe whether the two sides can launch pragmatic negotiations on dismantling the Yongbyon nuclear facility, and start to discuss the related reciprocal measures for this move. "This will be the touchstone for whether denuclearization and improvement of bilateral relations could be further carried forward after the second summit," Yang said. For professor Kim Joon-hyung, the things on the watch list include inspections and verifications of Tongchang-ri engine test site and Punggye-ri nuclear test site, as well as the war-ending declaration and the setting up of liaison offices between Washington and Pyongyang. TRUST-BUILDING HOLDS KEY Negotiations after the two leaders' first meeting in Singapore last year went into a stalemate. It was due to differences on a set of specific issues, yet fundamentally, it was caused by a lack of trust between the two sides. Professor Kim Joon-hyung said that from the DPRK'S perspective, the United States didn't keep the promise and didn't do enough, while pushing another thing the DPRK should concede. "Because of the resistance and criticism inside the U.S., the U.S. pushed another agenda. That's why there was a period. The U.S. kept asking the DPRK to report all the lists of nuclear sites and programs. That's why the deadlock was so long," Kim said. Meanwhile, the differences in the two countries' political systems and to what extent the two leaders have the ability to implement what they decide also affect their confidence in each other, according to the professor. Mutual trust holds the key as to whether Washington and Pyongyang can really make big breakthroughs. In this regard, good signs are noticeable as both sides have been showing efforts toward this end. Since last year, the DPRK has been making remarkable efforts to improve its foreign relations. At the beginning of 2019, Kim Jong Un released a series of positive signals in his New Year speech, including reaffirming his resolution to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. And just days ahead of the Hanoi summit, Trump said that he would like to see the ultimate denuclearization of the DPRK, but added he was "in no particular rush," to some extent showing a bit more flexibility. PR-Inside.com: 2019-02-27 11:19:54 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 # 579 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 Adiponitrile or hexanedinitrile is a colorless organic liquid compound. It finds its major application as a precursor for polymer nylon 6-6 which is known for its high mechanical strength and hence finds an array of applications including conveyor belts, carpet fibers, and electro-insulating elements amongst others. Adiponitrile also finds its application, though to a much smaller extent as an intermediate for synthesis of corrosion inhibitors and rubber accelerators. The major market for adiponitrile is governed by its application in Nylon6-6 whose demand continues to sore across North America and Europe primarily due to automotive applications. Also the market for adiponitrile finds upward trend in Asia pacific countries like China, Malaysia and other south-east Asian countries chiefly due to availability of cheaper production facilities.Request For Report Sample@ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4242 Adiponitrile is largely prepared by most common industrial route which was revealed by Dupont involving nickel-catalyzed hydrocyanation of butadiene. This process involves series of sub-products to finally produce adiponitrile as the outcome. Adiponitrile is then hydrogenated to produce hexamethylenediamine which is a vital component of Nylon6-6. Nylon 6-6 is prime substitute for Nylon 6 which finds applications requiring fittings in automotive applications, strings for musical instruments, ropes and tire cords. However Nylon 6-6 has better properties in high temperature applications and hence makes in suitable over nylon 6 in various applications. The major applications which necessitate high temperature and strength include that of carpet manufacturing, hosiery and knitted garments (textile sector), tire ropes, gear wheels, plug parts, hydraulic brake lines and radiator housings for automotive industry. As Nylon 6-6 is light in weight and waterproof in nature it makes it appropriate for swim-wear. Adiponitrile is also used in production of adipic acid which is used in polyurethane applications like auto seating, footwear, thermal insulation amongst others. However adipic acid can be cheaply manufactured by other ways making adiponitrile a weaker option for this segment.Almost all the adiponitrile goes into production of Nylon 6-6 fiber and hence requirement of Nylon 6-6 drives the market. As Nylon 6-6 finds wide array of applications in manufacturing and automotive sector, growth of these sectors would fuel the need of adiponitrile. The requirement in this sector is largely dominated by the U.S., followed by developing countries like China and Malaysia. The requirement of Nylon 6-6 resin grows wider across Europe and the U.S. as a major engineering resin; this would enhance market for adiponitrile. The tyre-cord requirement would continue to grow as the automotive segment seems to grow at steady pace across Asia-pacific countries and developed countries. This makes the market for adiponitrile even more lucrative. Application for carpets, rugs and clothing fibers which belong to textile sector are likely to continue the growth owing to strengthening in textile industry. This will certainly act as a major driver in the requirement for adiponitrile in near future. However this market faces a stiff price competition due to cut-throat price rivalry and hence the major players in this segment are shifting their production sites to Asia-pacific countries. This has propelled to a large extent demand in China which would even advance further with tyre-cord requirement.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC)@ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4242 Some of the key participants in the adiponitrile market include Dupont, Solvay, Rhodia group, Invista,BASF, Lyondellbasell Industries, LG Chem, Ineos, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, Braskem, Evonik Industries, The dow chemical company, JSR Corporation, Royal Dutch Shell and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation amongst others. The media and the Acela corridor are fixated today on the Michael Cohen saga like a hungry kid outside a candy store, looking for a sugar rush to sate their Trump Derangement Syndrome. But it is still rather amazing that even our ego-centric, Beltway-obsessed media is giving almost no attention to the possibility that full scale war may be about to break out between India and Pakistan. Im having to scour the European press, like the Irish Times, to find any reporting. India has sent some warplanes into Pakistani-held territory around Kashmir, and it is reported that Pakistan has apparently shot down at least one Indian fighter jet. India and Pakistan have long disputed Kashmir, but recently a Pakistani-linked militant group carried out an attack in Kashmir that killed 40 Indian soldiers. The first Indian counterattack by air is reported to have killed 300 Pakistanis. As everyone knows, India and Pakistan both have nuclear weapons, and it is still not widely known on the Acela corridor that India and Pakistan were close to war once in the late 1990s, and it supposedly required the strenuous interventions of Tony Blair and Bill Clinton to keep that crisis from escalating. Im guessing some of our medias lack of interest in this current crisis is that they havent figured out how to blame it on Trump yet. Plus theyd have to do some actual work to report the story. Ben Rhodes was right: most journalists today are so ignorant they probably cant find Kashmir on a map (maybe the map to the Kashmir sweater department at Bergdorf-Goodman), let alone tell you anything about the background of the conflict. JOHN adds: I believe they did actually fight a couple of wars in 1965 and 1971, not to mention fighting and massive casualties at the time of the partition. But I think Steve is right, the press is past caring about anything that doesnt relate to Trump. According to Cohen, Trump is a racist, conman and cheat. Lets take these in order. Charges of racism have become the last refuge of a scoundrel. As for conman, I judge Trump by results and therefore doubt it. Cohen supports his allegation of cheating by Trumps variable treatment of financial statements where assets, I take it, are subject to differing valuations. That is pitiful. Cohen raises in acute form the Epimenides paradox. Epimenides was the Cretan who famously asserted: All Cretans are liars. Cohens written testimony sounds like something cut from The Godfather II. Cohen has a few documents to support his testimony, but the guy is playing to the peanut gallery and planning on life after prison. It is to Trumps discredit that he needed a lawyer like Cohen to work for him, but cmon. 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. The Guam Strategy I hate to be so blunt, but it needs to be said. If the Guam State Historic Preservation Office wants to know whatever ancient artifacts could Read more RESOLUTION TO TERMINATE: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is joined by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and other House Democrats for a news conference on the Privileged Resolution to Terminate President Donald Trump's emergency declaration in Washington, D.C., Feb. 25. The House on Thursday passed a resolution to abolish Trump's declaration of a national emergency to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/Tribunes News Service Learn more about our feathered friends at the International Owl Centers International Festival of Owls. Drawing 2,000-plus visitors from the U.S. and abroad to the tiny town of Houston (population 979), the annual event offers a variety of opportunities to meet and learn more about owls. "Theres an opportunity to see a live owl show all three days," said Karla Bloem, International Owl Centers executive director. "The Illinois Raptor Center will bring snowy, great horned, barred, short-eared, eastern screech, and American barn owls for one-hour programs at the high school. And this year were adding short-attention span programs (15 to 20 minutes) at the International Owl Center, featuring the centers own Ruby, a great horned, and J.R., an eastern screech owl." In between the owl programs, families will find fun with a variety of kid- and parent-friendly activities, including face painting, owl-themed crafts, a kids hooting contest, owl pellet dissection, and nest box building. "Families are encouraged to take the nest boxes home and put them up in the yard," said Bloem. "Just because you live in the city, doesnt mean you dont have owls. You most certainly do. Every now and then we hear from someone who attended the festival who gets an owl in theirs." Now in its 17th year, the festival started as a hatch-day party for Alice, a great horned owl. Permanently injured and human-imprinted, Alice worked at the Houston Nature Center and International Owl Center. Now 22 years old, Alice is retired and will not be attending this years festival. "Alice will not be attending, but we will have a hatch-day cake at the event to celebrate her (approximate) hatch-day 22 years ago," said Bloem. "The festival is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Alices hatch-day and to experience everything owls that you can imagine." WINONA In a meeting that stretched nearly six hours last Thursday, the Winona County Board of Adjustments denied Daley Farms a variance to exceed the countys 1,500-animal unit cap. The decision left the Daley family pondering a legal challenge. On four of the eight criteria required for the variance, the board voted 3-2 that the Daley proposal did not meet the criterias standard. Ben Daley, one of the co-owners of the Lewiston-based farm, said the denial did not surprise him, based on the composition of the board, which includes three members of the Land Stewardship Project, an organization that has fought the proposed expansion of the dairy from 1,996.4 AU to 5,967.7 AU. "I think everyone in the county saw what this vote was going to be in January," Daley said, referring to the Jan. 8 County Board of Commissioners meeting where three urban commissioners voted to skip rural commissioner Steve Jacobs turn as board president in favor of Marie Kovecsi. At that meeting, Kovecsi and commissioners Christine Meyer and Greg Olson voted to reappoint Cherie Hales, and newly appoint Rachel Stoll and Wendy Larson to the Board of Adjustments. All three Stoll, Hales and Larson are members of LSP and made public comments against the Daley Farms proposal during the Minnesota Pollution Control Agencys environmental review. Question of recusal Last weeks meeting began with Winona County Assistant County Attorney Stephanie Nuttall and the Daleys attorney, Matthew Berger, questioning board members on whether they should recuse themselves from deliberating, commenting and voting on the variance request. Berger had sent a letter last week to county staff to "demand that Ms. Hales and Ms. Larson recuse themselves from any participation in the hearing." Berger claimed the pairs comments to the MPCA showed bias against the Daley proposal, violating the Daleys constitutional right to due process. Nuttall questioned all five board members on the question of recusal, focusing on the three LSP members, but also asking Board of Adjustment member Larry Greden whether he carried any bias based on the fact his grandson was married to a member of the Daley family. She also asked board member Philip Schwantz, who is a member of the countys township officers board, whether that bodys approval of a statement of support for the Daleys proposal constituted a previous bias. But Schwantz said he did not take part in that debate or vote on the township officers board and had recused himself there so he could take part in Thursdays deliberations. Next, Berger asked the three LSP members about their public comments calling for an environmental impact statement from the MPCA and making statements that the Daleys proposal would cause irreparable harm to the areas groundwater. "Did you believe those comments when you made them?" he asked. "Do you still believe those comments?" Despite testimony that they had taken a neutral stance once they were appointed to the Board of Adjustments and had received the countys packet of information on the project, Berger said he had doubts. "Im still deeply concerned with the public comments and the inferences made," he said. Family farm Daley gave a short presentation and answered questions from the board about his farm and the proposal. The farm has been in the family for 150 years, and all the land being used by the Daleys for growing feed or expanding the dairy would be land owned by family members. That family is now in its sixth generation earning a living on the farm, with 13 family members employed in addition to another 30 employees. Board members asked Daley if he thought his large dairy might be squeezing out the smaller dairies in the county. "Weve seen lots of dairies getting out (of the business) and we havent expanded one iota," Daley said. "Since 1997, Winona County has lost 197 dairy farms. The cap hasnt protected dairies." Public opinions Forty individuals stepped up to the microphone during the public hearing portion of the meeting with 23 voicing concerns and asking the board to deny the variance while 17 supported the variance. Among those asking for a denial, most were either residents of the city of Winona or members of LSP. The detractors included Paul Wotzka from the Minnesota Well Owners Organization, who was concerned about the karst geography and groundwater contamination, and Jim Clark of Win-Cres Trout Unlimited, who said the MPCA has declared the preponderance of streams in Winona County are impaired. "Manure is really scary," Clark said. "Were hoping you can control this manure situation, because theres going to be a lot." Among those supporting the variance, many of whom had farming backgrounds, were Alturas mayor, Robert Schell, Della Schmidt of the Winona Chamber of Commerce, and Glen Groth, president of the Winona County Farm Bureau. "They are doing whats responsible for their family," Groth said, adding that as a dairy farmer who is going out of the business, he was offended by the suggestions that dairys like Daley Farms are responsible for his farms closure. "The reasons are nuanced and varied." Missing criteria In the end, the board voted against the Daley Farms variance request on four points. Those criteria included the vote that the variance request was not in harmony with the animal cap ordinance, that the request did not help the owners overcome practical difficulties encountered by the ordinance, that the request was made solely for economic considerations, and that any problems created by the ordinance could be alleviated by other methods beyond the variance. All those votes went 3-2 against the Daley request, with Hales, Larson and Stoll voting against the Daleys request. The ordinance states that all eight criteria must be met for the board to vote in favor of the variance, so once one item was voted down against the request, the entire request had to be denied, Nuttall said. The Daleys now have 30 days to file an appeal in Winona County District Court. "Well consider all avenues and go from there," Daley said. "Well talk it over with the family and talk it over with the legal team and see where we should proceed." Assistant Columbia bureau chief Adcox returned to The Post and Courier in October 2017 after 12 years covering the Statehouse for The Associated Press. She previously covered education for The P&C. She has also worked for The AP in Albany, N.Y., and for The Herald in Rock Hill. Jamie Lovegrove is a political reporter covering the South Carolina Statehouse, congressional delegation and campaigns. He previously covered Texas politics in Washington for The Dallas Morning News and in Austin for the Texas Tribune. In this Dec. 3, 2018, file photo, Nikki Haley, former S.C. governor and ambassador to the United Nations speaks during the Hudson Institute's Award Gala in New York. Boeing is making room on its board of directors for Haley, the aircraft maker said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen, File) A power line passes through a trimmed tree along St. Andrews Boulevard at Riverdale Drive on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. SCE&G was recently asked to stop trimming trees in Charleston as the city reviews its process for supervising the maintenance. Wade Spees/Staff Gregory Yee covers the city of Charleston. He's a native Angeleno and previously covered crime and courts for the Press-Telegram in Long Beach, CA. He studied journalism and Spanish literature at the University of California, Irvine. Chloe Johnson covers the coastal environment and climate change for the Post and Courier. She's always looking for a good excuse to hop on a boat. Angie Jackson covers crime and breaking news for The Post and Courier. She previously covered the same beat for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive.com in Michigan. When shes not reporting, Angie enjoys teaching yoga and exploring the outdoors. Former Fifth Circuit Solicitor Dan Johnson pleaded guilty to wire fraud in federal court on Tuesday, admitting that he used government funds for personal trips and hotel stays. Staff/Andrew Brown Teachers from across South Carolina came to the Statehouse on Tuesday, Jan. 29, to lobby legislators for more money. Seanna Adcox/Staff Kalyn Oyer is a Charleston native who covers arts & entertainment and food & bev for The Post and Courier. She's a music festival & concert photographer and used to write about music for the Charleston City Paper, among other publications. Mary Katherine, who also goes by MK, covers health care for The Post and Courier. She is also pursuing a master's degree in data science. She grew up in upstate New York and enjoys playing cards, kayaking and the Blue Ridge Mountains. SALEM The Oregon House of Representatives took a moment of silence on Feb. 18 to honor the service of late Dallas resident Evelyn May Woods. Woods, the wife of former Dallas mayor Ken Woods Sr. and mother of Dallas City Councilor Ken Woods Jr., volunteered or worked for the Oregon Legislature since 1985. She was recognized in the legislature yesterday (Feb. 18) as the longest serving volunteer in the history of Oregon, said Dallas City Manager Greg Ellis at the Dallas City Councils Feb. 18 meeting. Evelyn Woods died on Feb. 14, also the state of Oregons birthday. She was 94. Former Dallas city councilor LaVonne Wilson said Evelyn Woods service at the legislature will be remembered. She did a wonderful job and they truly loved her there, Wilson said. She was there for many, many years. Before the moment of silence, Rep. Courtney Neron talked about Evelyns accomplishments. Evie served as the House Chamber receptionist from 1989 to 2017. She also served as a volunteer in visitor services from 1985 to 2019, making her the longest serving volunteer the Capitol has ever known. She served right up until her passing, Neron said. Evie was so connected to the heart of the Capitol that it is almost serendipitous that she passed on Oregons 160 birthday. Her presence will be greatly missed. At the Feb. 19 council meeting, Ken Woods Jr. told a story of something he witnessed when visiting her at the legislature that illustrated his mothers dedication to even the smallest details of her job. I was over there one day, and her desk was just outside the chambers. She was in charge of the pages going in and out, he recalled. She was reprimanding the page because she didnt think the page was dressed appropriately for the job. I said, Mom, you cant do that, Woods said. Her response? Somebody has to, he said. Woods said his mom continued to volunteer after being hired as the House receptionist. On her off days she volunteered, he said. When they were not in session she volunteered. Read Evelyn May Woods full obituary. UPDATE March 7: A 17-year-old male was arrested on March 5 in connection with a Feb. 20 armed robbery in Monmouth. The arrest was made at approximately 11 a.m. "at a government office in Dallas," Monmouth Police Lt. Isaiah Haines said. The juvenile was transported to the Yamhill Juvenile Detention Center and charged with second-degree robbery, menacing, first-degree theft and unauthorized use of a vehicle. "The case is still open at this point, although further arrests are not anticipated," Haines said. MONMOUTH One man has been arrested and one is still at large in connection with an armed robbery at a Monmouth convenience store. Feliciano Mata, 21, of Independence, was arrested and charged with second-degree robbery on Feb. 20. He also is charged with unlawful entry into a motor vehicle and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, according to the Polk County Jail inmate roster. At about midnight on Feb. 20, Monmouth Police were dispatched to a reported armed robbery at the Neighborhood Market & Deli, 152 Main St. W., according to an MPD news release. An employee of the store reported that two males entered the store, one brandishing a firearm, and demanded money from the till. After taking all of the money from the till, about $1,000, both males left the store and fled the area. The employee was not injured. According to a probable cause affidavit, one suspect wearing a black and white hoodie with Brooklyn across the chest, entered the store by himself. He asked the employee for a certain type of cigar, which the employee had never heard of. The suspect left the store, but went back inside a couple of minutes later followed by a second suspect. According to the affidavit, surveillance footage shows the second suspect was wearing a green camo jacket, black pants, white shoes and his face was covered with black fabric. He was carrying a gun in his right hand. The second suspect pointed the gun at the store employee and (made) the first suspect put the money from the cash register into a black bag that he was carrying, the affidavit states. In the video it appears that they leave the store together. Officers and deputies from the Independence Police Department, Dallas Police Department, Polk County Sheriffs Office and Salem Police Department responded to assist. A K-9 track was attempted, but was ultimately unsuccessful in locating the suspects. At approximately 1:42 a.m., a Monmouth police officer searching the area located a male subject walking several blocks from the store. The individuals physical description and clothing description matched that of unmasked suspect. Further investigation confirmed Mata was one of the suspects involved in the armed robbery. MPD Lt. Isaiah Haines said the other suspect was described as about 6 feet tall, possibly Pacific Islander or Caucasian, wearing a green camo hoodie and a black bandanna covering his face. Stolen vehicle reported At about 5:12 a.m. on Feb. 20, a caller reported her vehicle was stolen from her driveway in the 400 block of North Ash Street. She had purchased the vehicle about a year ago from Matas father, according to court documents. It was found at about 11:15 a.m. in the 5200 block of Riddell Road in Monmouth. Officers searched the vehicle for any evidence related to the armed robbery and found a black ski mask. Mata was charged with unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. The investigation is ongoing. DALLAS Twenty-five years ago, Rachel Greco was between jobs and standing in an empty building. I said, I could open a quilt shop, and then I did, Greco said. I started it from the ground up with absolutely nothing and not knowing what I was doing. I just decided I could do it, and I did it. A quarter of a century later, Grandmas Attic regularly attracts quilters within a 60-mile radius of the downtown Dallas store, and sometimes visitors from much farther away. For that reason, and many more, Grandmas Attic is the 2019 Dallas Community Awards Business of the Year. Im very seldom at a loss for words, and I was completely gob-smacked, Greco said to receiving the award. I didnt see it coming, and I was very surprised. And also, very grateful. Greco was presented the award Friday at the annual Community Awards ceremony at the Majestic Theater in Dallas. I have a lot of support from my family and my employees, Greco said. Without them I could do nothing but sit in my chair and crochet. Her son, Kyle Baker, has a different take. He said he has a hard time keeping up with his mother. You know how James Brown is the hardest working man in show business? he said. Shes the hardest working women in small business. You do a lot of stuff here. You wouldnt say that yourself. Likewise, Grecos husband, Stephen Greco, said he had a different reaction than his wife. I wasnt surprised. I think that it should have happened a long time ago, he said. Greco said she learned soon after opening Grandmas Attic that she would have to pull customers from more than just the Dallas area. I realized very quickly that every quilter in Dallas supported my store, but there werent as many of those as there were in other places, Greco said. I worked really hard to figure out how to get people to come here. She began the stores block-of-the-month program, where customers are sent a quilt block each month. Greco created a pattern company and bought two more, and even started designing her own quilt patterns. In 1997, Grandmas Attic was among the first quilt shops with a website. To bring customers through the doors, she participated in every shop hop she could. Shop hops have customers going from store to store to win prizes and take part in raffles, but also checking out shops they havent been to before. They did something else, too, while visiting Grandmas Attic: They spent time in Dallas going to other stores and eating in restaurants around town. Greco said she would often give recommendations to her customers of where to go in Dallas. The unofficial visitors center status is one of the reasons Grandmas Attic was selected for the award. They bring people in from all over the country, the world, to come in and go to classes and do their things. Then those folks go to restaurants and they stay in the hotels, said JD Shinn, executive director of the Dallas Area Chamber of Commerce, the awards host. Customers said Grandmas Attic is more than just a destination for needle artists. Greco has created a place where everyone feels welcome. How many places are there for women to visit in Dallas? said customer Debbie Kelley. I dont even know of a womens book club here, except Bible studies. The store hosts open sews every Monday and Wednesday where people can bring their projects and work on them in the company of others. They can learn from each other, talk and enjoy the supply of treats readily available. We have cookies and popcorn, too, Greco said. Well, we wont go into that, Kelley added. Weve all learned to wear elastic pants. Greco said she and the store have been longtime supporters of Sable House, the local domestic violence shelter. Her non-work hobby is crocheting baby blankets to donate to local organizations, or to hand out to any expectant mother she meets. A gifted storyteller and historian, Greco will give talks that blend quilt history with Oregon history, especially from the perspective of women. She doesnt just teach quilting there, she teaches history classes there, said Shelly Jones, the marketing director for DACC. Womens history, Dallas history, Oregon history through womens eyes. Greco has three topics of conversation that are off limits in her store: Religion, politics and weight. When I first opened the shop, I wanted a place where all people could feel comfortable in here, she said. I started thinking about what are things that tend to divide people, and I just eliminated them. She said shes not anti-religion but wants to avoid the discussing denominational differences. With politics, its talking about actions of living politicians that are banned from the store. We dont talk about politics unless they are all dead, she said. We can talk about Hamilton and Jefferson and how much they hated each other because they are dead, and nobody cares. As for weight, she said all women seem to be messed up about body image in some way. If you eliminate those three things, the only thing left is the creative needle arts. I just tell people we are one with the fabric, Greco said. Thats what I do, and its worked really well because it keeps us all united and happy, concentrating on creating heirlooms for a future generation. DALLAS The Dallas City Council decided it would like to seek an interim city manager and extend its search for a permanent replacement for retiring City Manager Greg Ellis into the summer or early fall, rather than fill the seat by the end of June. Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments Executive Director Sean ODay presented the council with a search time line on Feb. 19 that would have a new manager in place by Ellis retirement date of June 30. The Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments will conduct the city manager search for the city. Several councilors said they were concerned that wouldnt give the city enough time to do a thorough search. This is a very compressed time line. We are really going to be pushing it to hit all these deadlines, said Councilor Kelly Gabliks. Im just wondering if we shouldnt plan to extend it out a little bit. Councilor Jackie Lawson agreed, saying when the city hired Ellis, the council knew that he was committed to serving two years at the most. She said the goal of this search is to find someone to work for the city longer. We knew when we brought Greg on, it wasnt going to be a forever career. But this time we are looking for someone who, basically, they are going to be here a while, Lawson said. I dont want just anyone. ODay said he could help find an interim city manager to fill in starting in July and possibility through September. There are a few retired city managers in the region who have indicated an interest and a willingness to serve as an interim, he said. ODay addressed other components of the search that didnt involve the time line, such as advertising the position, its qualifications and salary range. He recommended the city advertise the position with the League of Oregon Cities, Association of Washington Cities, International City Managers Association weekly newsletter and the National League of Cities. The opening also will be on the citys website and on mwvcogs website. ODay recommended a full background check, including a credit check. Because this position has fiduciary responsibilities, Oregon law would allow you to do a financial background check, he said. Another part of the background check of potential candidates will be interviews with a supervisor, peer and subordinate. Mwvcog will do a past-employment and degree verification. The minimum qualifications for candidates are: A bachelors degree in public or business administration or a related field; and five years of city management experience as a city manager, administrator, assistant city manager, department head; or equivalent education or experience. ODay said those qualifications are broad, but he sees that as an advantage. I think keeping a lower hurdle here is good, because you never who might be looking at this, he said. ODay said the salary range that the city had used in its previous search, $130,000 to $150,000 annually, is still adequate. This is well within the range of a city your size, and you will be very competitive, ODay said. I think you are in good shape there if the council is in agreement with that. ODay said he would return for a work session on Monday to present a revised time line for the search. Well extend the schedule out and I could show you what that would look like for an end-of-the-summer, early-fall start date, he said. You would be much closer to the six-month mark, which is plenty of time. That would work out very well. Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by subscribing or making a contribution. 1.2k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Advertising The White House banned American reporters from a dinner at the summit with North Korea after they asked questions about Michael Cohen. The White House banned reporters from the AP, Bloomberg, and Reuters after they asked questions during a photo-op. What seemed to drive the White House crazy was that reporters asked Trump about Michael Cohens testimony. According to the press pool report as sent to PoliticusUSA, Please note: your print pooler is the only print reporter who will be allowed into the final spray tonight with Chairman Kim. (Originally Sarah Sanders informed us that no print reporters would be allowed in due to sensitivities over shouted questions in the previous sprays. But when our photo colleagues joined us in protest, they decided to allow one print reporter in). Reuters reported, At the conclusion of that pool spray, the APs Lemire asked Trump if he had a reaction to Cohens testimony due to take place later on Wednesday. With excerpts from Cohens prepared remarks having already been made public, Trump scowled and shook his head. Advertising The White House flipped out after Trump was asked about Cohen We have seen this behavior before from the White House. The Trump administration used the shouting out of questions as disrespect when they tried to justify taking away press credentials from CNNs Jim Acosta. What the White House was really upset about is that reporters had the nerve to ask Trump for reaction to the most important news in the United States of America. The White House thought that they could hide Trump by sending him to Vietnam for another bogus summit with North Korea, but the Cohen testimony is following Trump wherever he goes, which is more proof that Trump can run, but he cant hide from the truth. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook 1.7k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Advertising In response to Michael Cohens testimony, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) said he believes that Trump committed a high crime or a misdemeanor. Swalwell was asked by Katy Tur if he has seen evidence that Trump has committed a high crime or a misdemeanor. He answered, Yes, but evidence is not a conclusion, but it is a reason to keep looking and testing other accounts. Katy, Im going to focus on I dont care much about the payoffs to the women. The president was in contact with Roger Stone. We saw in our information that all of the evidence points in that direction and it would have been unnatural if he didnt share his conversations with Wikileaks, and that matches what we learned throughout our investigation. They were so close they talked so often that it would have been unnatural not to read into it. Were seeing more color filled in. Video: Advertising Rep. Eric Swalwell, "The president was in contact with Roger Stone. We saw in our information that all of the evidence points in that direction and it would have been unnatural if he didn't share his conversations with Wikileaks." https://t.co/UF4D9QuXZ9 pic.twitter.com/1MgQUAo4QA Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 27, 2019 Rep. Swalwell brought up a great point. The evidence isnt a conclusion. The evidence is what leads investigators to conclusions. The evidence itself is not a conclusion. There is an investigative process that must be followed. Investigators cant skip steps and move to impeachment without building their case. Many Americans wanted Donald Trump impeached yesterday, but impeachment is a slow process by design. Michael Cohens testimony is evidence that Trump committed an impeachable offense, but an investigation must be completed until the nation moves to the increasingly inevitable impeachment of Donald Trump. Despite China's law restricting sperm donations to married women only, single women, in particular those successful in business, are increasingly enthusiastic to bring home a baby by spending generously on sperm banks in the developed world. As a result of loosening policies in Beijing, where births out of wedlock are now allowed official registration, this increase in demand has been observed in highly-educated women who make substantial salaries and are nearing middle age. Inspired by the work of British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, who wrote "The Selfish Gene," a 38-year-old single Chinese white-collar employee, pseudonym Pearl, says she believes in the eternal life of genes. "I want to pass down my genes to future generation. If I can have a child, my DNA won't die out with the death of my body," she said. In 2017, the number of singles at marriageable age in China hit 200 million, almost equal to the populations of Russia and Britain combined. According to Hou Kun, a representative of a U.S. assisted reproduction agency in Beijing, single women account for 10 percent of their customers who spend 500,000 yuan (US$74,668) or more to deliver a test-tube baby using sperm purchased from the United States. Because of the lavish expenditure, only high-income earners can afford the service. "This particular group of customers usually work as high-level executives in financial or IT sectors, and are independent and open," Hou added. Zhang Wei (alias), a chief financial officer from a technology company, is one of them. Before paying for donor sperm, Zhang made a spreadsheet listing the educational background, appearance, job, hobbies and nationality of each of more than 10 donators, then she asked family members and close friends to vote for the best one. However, taking control of the reproduction process is just part of the story. Lower fertility rates among women over 35 can cause the so-called "biological clocks" of single women above that age to go into alarm mode, leading them to use any means necessary to become pregnant. When Pearl reached 36 years old, her anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) level, an index detecting women's reproductive capability, dropped from 3.72 to 1.3 within one year. "I can't be sure if I'll still be able to carry a baby after a few more years. But I'm afraid that I may spend the rest of my life regretting it if I don't have one," Pearl said. According to Hou, his particular customers do not desire a baby for the reason that they may need someone to look after them in old age, a traditional mindset that has defined Chinese families for thousands of years. "What they need is simply spiritual comfort," he said. Pearl said her mother used to tell her there is no difference between dying alone or with hordes of people looking on. But to conceive using overseas sperm donations also seems lunatic to many in China. Tian Xin is a high-ranking regional manager. When she was 30 years old, she consulted her family on whether she could petition for overseas sperm donations. This enraged her father, who strongly opposed the idea. "My daughter is outstanding. Why on earth can't she just end her single life? Not to mention, how could she humble herself to receive donated sperm?" her father protested. "To be honest, I'm in contact with business elites on a daily basis, but I'm getting bored with most of them. Occasionally, I meet some men I appreciate, only to find they're already married. So what can I do?" Tian said. In the ensuing three years, Tian continued to coax her parents, and eventually invited her friend working for the assisted reproduction agency to come show the old couple a video about how and why single women can also have babies. At last, she won. But despite the consensus reached in her family, challenges remain. According to Xinhua News Agency, a donor from Georgia state (U.S.), who called himself a successful man, and donated his sperm 36 times, was found to have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, dropped out of university, and convicted of criminal theft. According to Pearl, however, the probability of that occurring is as low as the chance of, say, meeting the wrong person. "It took quite a while before I realized my ex-boyfriend was color blind," Pearl said, indicating that these traits can present problems to women who are searching for real-life partners as well. In early February, Pearl gave birth to a baby girl at a hospital in California, U.S. As she took her first look at her daughter's scrunched face, she said gently, "Hey, I'm your mom." 277 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Advertising Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) says in a new interview in Rolling Stone Magazine that there is a hostage situation in the Republican Party. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez talks about experiencing sexism, her social media presence, dealing with controversy, Bernie Sanders' advice and more https://t.co/L9nUfctpxd #WomenShapingtheFuture pic.twitter.com/YKp7h9KAgw Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) February 27, 2019 The freshman congresswoman from the Bronx, who calls herself a Democratic Socialist, told Rolling Stone that a lot of Republicans know they have a duty to speak out against Donald Trumps words and actions, but they dont do it out of fear. In the Republican Party, theres a hostage situation going on, she told the magazine. There are a lot of Republicans that know what the right thing to do is not just on impeachment but on a wide range of issues and they refuse to speak up. Advertising Ocasio-Cortez called it an unacceptable position for Republicans in Congress to avoid standing up to the president. She also painted the issue as part of a much bigger struggle and bigger societal issue than just partisan politics in Washington, D.C. Were not in the realm of politics anymore, the 29 year-old said. Then she added: These are not questions of politics. These are questions of society. These are questions of equal treatment. These are questions of civil rights. Ocasio-Cortez also addressed the topic of impeaching Donald Trump. She said that she personally would vote to impeach Trump no question. But she also acknowledged that other members of Congress in her party come from very tough districts where their constituents are torn on their support for the president, making it difficult for the House to commit to voting for impeachment without further evidence of crimes. She rejected the argument that Republican lawmakers have different intentions behind closed doors despite voting with Trump. If they vote the same way, what does it matter? she said. I dont care whats in your heart if how you are voting is the same as someone who is actually racist. I am tired of people saying, Im gonna vote the same way as bigots, but I dont share the ideology of bigots. Well, you share the action and the agenda of bigots. We need to hold that accountable. Ocasio-Cortez is absolutely correct in her assessment of the wishy-washy boot lickers who comprise the Republican Party today. Their empty words carry no weight, and do not matter. They will be judged by history and by American voters on the basis of their actions. And as of right now their actions show that they have completely abdicated all responsibility to hold Donald Trump accountable. They indeed are being held hostage by an autocratic, lying dictator wannabe, and this is not a situation that can last indefinitely. Advertising Over a two-thirds majority of American voters want the report of Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation to be released to the public once it is completed, according to the results of a new public opinion poll released on Wednesday. The new POLITICO and Morning Consult poll found that 68 percent of Americans support the public disclosure of Muellers findings, while only 10 percent do not. The poll found that the Mueller reports release currently has overwhelmingly broad support from members of both parties. Fully 79 percent of Democrats support the release of the report to the public while just 5 percent do not, and 59 percent of Republicans support the release while only 18 percent do not. There is a split between the parties, however, on deciding whether or not the Trump administration should be allowed to redact part of the report before releasing it to the public. Just 11 percent of Democrats believe the administration has the right to block out portions of Muellers findings, while 52 percent of Republicans believe it has the right to do this. Overall, just 28 percent of polls respondents said that they believe Trumps Justice Department should be allowed to redact parts of the report. Advertising POLITICO and Morning Consult pollsters surveyed American voters between Feb. 22 and Feb. 24 and the polls margin of error is 2 percent. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has been investigating whether Russia interfered in the 2016 election for nearly two years. The investigation includes looking at whether the Kremlin colluded with the Trump campaign in such a manner that it would constitute illegal conspiracy against the United States. Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that there never was any collusion between his campaign and Russia, and that the Mueller probe is a witch hunt. Trumps former attorney Michael Cohen will testify to Congress on Wednesday and is expected to dispute the presidents denials that the campaign was in communication with Russia. If he does this, Cohens testimony will be consistent with other evidence of collusion which has been reported in the media. Muellers investigation is overseen by the Department of Justice. It remains to be seen whether newly confirmed Attorney General William Barr will release Muellers findings. If he doesnt, however, it will create a political firestorm that would hurt Trump and Republicans. As todays poll shows, Barrs failure to release the report to the public would be a huge mistake, and against the will of the American people. Advertising It is now clear to see why Trump and the White House were so terrified of Michael Cohens public testimony. Cohen is destroying Trump. Cohen says Trump is a conman Cohen hit Trump for everything, including threatening the schools that he went to not to release his grades, When I say conman, Im talking about a man who declares himself brilliant but directed me to threaten his high school, his colleges, and the college board to never release his grades or S.A.T. Scores. As I mentioned, Im giving the committee today copies of a letter I sent at Mr. Trumps direction threatening these schools with civil and criminal actions if Mr. Trumps grades or S.A.T. Scores were ever disclosed without his permission. Video: Cohen says Trump threatened every school he went to not to release his grades. pic.twitter.com/yCbDEyxg8b Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 27, 2019 Advertising Cohen says Trump knew about Roger Stone talking to the Russians Video: #Cohen says Trump knew about Roger Stone talking to the Russians. pic.twitter.com/4GTHnkTGw5 PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) February 27, 2019 Cohen said, I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat. He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger stone was talking with Julian Assange about a Wikileaks drop on Democratic National Committee e-mails. Cohen said that he has no direct knowledge of Trump/Russia collusion, but the picture he is painting of Trump is one of a fundamentally corrupt man who does not care about the nation doesnt want to be president and is only interested in being in the White House to market and enrich himself. Michael Cohen is destroying the myth of Trump Michael Cohen is going beyond the lies of the president and revealing a man who was fundamentally criminal and corrupt. Republicans are using the hearing to try to discredit Cohen, but early on they have met with no success. The Republican desperation is clear because they can see that Cohen can provide information that could their president impeached, but what is going to drive Trump up the wall is that Michael Cohen is destroying a mythology that the president spent decades to build. Trump isnt smart, successful, or a great businessman. Trump is a fraud, and Michael Cohen is exposing the con. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook 1.7k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Advertising It is not just Donald Trump. When Michael Cohen was asked if the entire Trump family could be compromised by Russia, he said yes. Here is the chilling exchange between Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Cohen: Wasserman Schultz: If his daughter and son are involved in the Russian trump tower deal, is it possible the whole family is conflicted or compromised with a foreign adversary in the months before the election? Cohen: Yes. Advertising Video: Michael Cohen says it is possible that the entire Trump family is compromised by Russia. pic.twitter.com/H0UqnjqqE3 PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) February 27, 2019 The Entire Trump Family Could Be Compromised The Russia scandal is centered around Trump because he was the primary Russian relationship, but if you look at the public comments of Trumps kids and their travel, it is clear that the kids are in as deep with Russia as their old man. The Russians have an entire First Family at their disposal. It is bigger than Trump, the relationship goes back decades, and reveals that the term crime family is not an exaggeration when talking about the Trumps. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook 831 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Advertising MSNBC contributor Donny Deutsch today told the Morning Joe panel today that there were two stunning lies in Donald Trumps early morning Twitter attack against his former attorney Michael Cohen. Deutsch, who is from New York, has been friends with Cohen for many years. He has also known Donald Trump for many years, and knows very well about his propensity for lying. According to Deutsch, the presidents social media attack from Vietnam, where he is meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was extremely dishonest. Here is what the president tweeted this morning about the man who was his personal lawyer and fixer for over a decade: Advertising Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately). He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crookeds lawyer! Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately). He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crookeds lawyer! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2019 And here is the response from Deutsch: Lets go back to the tweet, two stunning lies. First of all, he cannot reduce his sentence. If anything, he can hurt himself. Telling the truth does not reduce his jail time if he lies, he perjures himself and will get more jail time. But the big lie in there was he was one of the many lawyers, Deutsch continued. Ive known Michael for a decade, most of the time he was there, and Trump for 20 years. He was his body man, he was an additional child. The dynamic of the relationship, its not what a lawyer does. When the birther movement first came out, he added, I went on air challenging Trump, calling him racist, Michael Cohen called (and said), The boss is really hurt, can you get on the phone and kind of make up? He thinks youre his friend. Its very personal, he knew everything. So he wouldnt be in this kind of trouble right now had he not been in this level of personal (relationship). So thats an out-and-out lie. He was his personal lawyer, he was his body man, his consigliere, his other child period, fact. Donald Trump Cannot Change the Truth About His Past Relationship With Michael Cohen From 2006 until 2018 Michael Cohen was the only attorney employed by the Trump Organization. He was involved in everything Donald Trump did for that 12 year period, personally, financially and legally. He was Trumps fixer and confidant as well as the only company lawyer he had. For Donald Trump to pretend that Cohen was one of many lawyers is a provable lie, and one that nobody will actually believe. Donald Trump may be in Hanoi, meeting with the brutal dictator of North Korea, but his mind clearly is in Washington. And all through the day and night there will be only one thing he is thinking about: how Michael Cohen is destroying his life by telling all he knows on live television, and before Congress. CLICK HERE to watch the Morning Joe interviews on YouTube. 240 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Advertising Michael Cohen will show Congress a hush money check from President Donald Trump, signed while he was in office, during his public testimony to Congress on Wednesday, Axios today reported. Citing an unnamed source, Axios said the check was an incremental payment reimbursing Cohen for a payment made to Stormy Daniels in the fall of 2016 to buy her silence about her sexual relationship with Trump. The check was dated August 1st, 2017, which means that Trump wrote it while he was several months into his presidency. The check was written out for the amount of $35,000. Daniels is the porn star who claims to have had an affair with Trump several years ago, after he was married to Melania and after his son Barron was born. Advertising The source said: It was another installment in the illegal hush money reimbursed to Cohen for [the Stormy Daniels] hush money payoff. Cohen will also testify on Wednesday that Trump instructed him to pay off Daniels using a home equity line of credit, which the president said he would pay back at a later date. Trump has denied the affair with Daniels and initially he also denied knowing anything about the payments to Daniels. Cohen is expected to accuse Trump of engaging in criminal conduct while in office. The allegation apparently relates to the Daniels hush money payment, but it may include other crimes also. Here are additional excerpts from Cohens opening statement, which have been confirmed: I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat. He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails. He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasnt a shithole. This was when Barack Obama was President. While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. Cohen also narrates documents he gave the committee: Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes. Mr. Trump directed me to find a straw bidder to purchase a portrait of him that was being auctioned at an Art Hamptons Event. The objective was to ensure that his portrait, which was going to be auctioned last, would go for the highest price of any portrait that afternoon. The portrait was purchased by the fake bidder for $60,000. Mr. Trump directed the Trump Foundation, which is supposed to be a charitable organization, to repay the fake bidder, despite keeping the art for himself. He asked me to pay off an adult film star with whom he had an affair, and to lie to his wife about it, which I did. Lying to the First Lady is one of my biggest regrets. I am giving the Committee today a copy of the $130,000 wire transfer from me to [Stormy Daniels] attorney. Cohen is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee from 10 a.m. ET. 122 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Advertising (Reuters) The following is a timeline of significant developments in the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller into U.S. intelligence agencies conclusions that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to help get Donald Trump elected: 2017 May 17 U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appoints former FBI Director Mueller as a special counsel to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election and to look into any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and people associated with Republican Trumps campaign. The appointment follows President Trumps firing of FBI Director James Comey on May 9 and days later Trump attributed the dismissal to this Russia thing. Advertising June 15 Mueller is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice, the Washington Post reports. Oct. 30 Veteran Republican political operative Paul Manafort, who was Trumps campaign chairman for five months at crucial junctures in the run-up to the election, is indicted on charges of conspiracy against the United States and money laundering as is his business partner Rick Gates. Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleads guilty to a charge of lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials. Dec. 1 Michael Flynn, Trumps national security adviser for less than a month and who had a prominent campaign role, pleads guilty to the charge of lying to the FBI about his discussions in 2016 with the Russian ambassador to Washington. 2018 Feb. 16 Federal grand jury indicts 13 Russians and three firms, including a Russian government propaganda arm called the Internet Research Agency, accusing them of tampering to support Trump and disparage Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The accused had a strategic goal to sow discord in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 U.S. presidential election according to the court document filed by Mueller. An American, Richard Pinedo, pleads guilty to identity fraud for selling bank account numbers after being accused by prosecutors of helping Russians launder money, buy Facebook ads and pay for campaign rally supplies. Pinedo was not associated with the Trump campaign. Feb. 22 Manafort and Gates charged with financial crimes, including bank fraud, in Virginia. Feb. 23 Gates pleads guilty to conspiracy against the United States and lying to investigators. He agrees to cooperate and testify against Manafort at trial. April 3 Alex van der Zwaan, the Dutch son-in-law of one of Russias richest men, is sentenced to 30 days in prison and fined $20,000 for lying to Muellers investigators, becoming the first person sentenced in the probe. April 9 FBI agents raid home, hotel room and office of Trumps personal lawyer and self-described fixer Michael Cohen. April 12 Rosenstein tells Trump that he is not a target in Muellers probe. April 19 Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump supporter in the election campaign, joins Trumps personal legal team. June 8 Mueller charges a Russian-Ukrainian man, Konstantin Kilimnik, a Manafort business partner whom prosecutors suspect of having ties to Russian intelligence, with witness tampering. July 13 Federal grand jury indicts 12 Russians whom prosecutors describe as military intelligence officers, on charges of hacking Democratic Party computer networks in 2016 and staged releases of documents. Moscow, which denies interfering in the election, says there is no evidence that the 12 are linked to spying or hacking. July 16 In Helsinki after the first summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump publicly contradicts U.S. intelligence agencies, says no reason for Russia to meddle in election. He calls the Mueller inquiry a rigged witch hunt on Twitter. Aug. 21 A trial jury in Virginia finds Manafort guilty on eight counts of fraud. Cohen, in a case brought by U.S. prosecutors in New York, pleads guilty to tax fraud and campaign finance law violations. Cohen is subsequently interviewed by Muellers team. Aug. 31 Samuel Patten, an American business partner of Kilimnik, pleads guilty to unregistered lobbying for pro-Kremlin political party in Ukraine. Sept. 14 Manafort pleads guilty to some charges and signs a cooperation agreement with Muellers prosecutors. Oct. 22 Giuliani says Manaforts lawyer has kept Trump informed about Manaforts meetings with prosecutors and Manafort has not said anything damaging against the president. Nov. 8 U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns at Trumps request. He had recused himself from the Mueller inquiry because of his contacts with the Russian ambassador as a Trump campaign official; Trump appoints Sessions chief of staff Matthew Whitaker, a critic of the Mueller probe, as acting attorney general. Nov. 20 Giuliani says Trump submitted written answers to questions from Mueller. Nov. 27-28 Prosecutors say Manafort breached his plea deal by lying to investigators, which Manafort denies; Trump says he has not ruled out granting Manafort a presidential pardon. Nov. 28 Giuliani says Trump told investigators he was not aware ahead of time of a meeting in Trump Tower in New York between several campaign officials and Russians in June 2016. Nov. 29 Cohen pleads guilty in the Mueller investigation to lying to Congress about the length of discussions in 2016 on plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. I made these misstatements to be consistent with individual 1s political messaging and out of loyalty to individual 1, says Cohen, who previously identified individual 1 as Trump. The president criticizes Cohen as a liar and weak person. Dec. 12 Two developments highlight growing political and legal risks for Trump: Cohen sentenced to three years in prison for crimes including orchestrating hush payments to women in violation of campaign laws before the election; American Media Inc, publisher of National Enquirer tabloid, strikes deal to avoid charges over its role in one of two hush payments. Publisher admits payment was aimed at influencing the 2016 election, contradicting Trumps statements. 2019 Jan. 25 Longtime Trump associate and self-proclaimed political dirty trickster Roger Stone charged and arrested at his home in Florida. Stone is accused of lying to Congress about statements suggesting he may have had advance knowledge of plans by Wikileaks to release hacked Democratic Party campaign emails. Feb. 21 U.S. judge tightens gag order on Stone, whose Instagram account posted a photo of the judge and the image of crosshairs next to it. Feb. 22 Manhattan district attorneys office is pursuing New York state criminal charges against Manafort whether or not he receives a pardon from Trump on federal crimes, a person familiar with the matter says. Trump cannot issue pardons for state convictions. Feb. 23 Muellers office recommends no leniency in sentencing for Manafort for charges brought in federal court in Washington, describing him as a hardened criminal who repeatedly broke the law. Manafort, 69, is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison when he is sentenced in his Virginia case on March 7 with prosecutors recommending 19 -1/2 years to 24 -1/2 years. Feb. 24 Senior Democratic U.S. Representative Adam Schiff says Democrats will subpoena Muellers final report on his investigation if it is not given to Congress by the Department of Justice, and will sue the government and call on Mueller to testify to Congress if necessary. Feb. 27 Cohen tells U.S. House Oversight Committee Trump is a racist, a conman and a cheat who knew in advance about a release of emails by WikiLeaks in 2016 aimed at hurting rival Clinton. Trump directed negotiations for a real estate project in Moscow during the campaign even as he publicly said he had no business interests in Russia, Cohen testifies. (Compiled by Grant McCool in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis) 1.6k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Advertising As Michael Cohen prepares to publicly testify before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, Rachel Maddow looked to history for clues about what might happen if the former Trump lawyer hands over evidence implicating Donald Trump in a crime, as he is expected to do. According to the MSNBC host, there are clear parallels between whats about to happen this week and what happened during Richard Nixons presidency. When federal prosecutors obtained evidence that Nixons vice president, Spiro Agnew, committed crimes, the Justice Department told the White House that they were preparing a 40-count indictment against Agnew. After secret negotiations with the DOJ, Nixons vice president agreed to leave office in exchange for pleading guilty to one of the 40 counts. Advertising According to Maddow, there is a possibility that when Michael Cohen hands over evidence of Trumps crimes on Wednesday, the same pattern of events could play out. If Michael Cohen is, in fact, about to hand over to an investigating congressional committee tomorrow evidence related to the president committing financial crimes, felonies while in office, we are now getting to the point where that Agnew precedent sort of crashes into the current history were living through with this current sitting president, she said. Video: Maddow said: If Michael Cohen is, in fact, about to hand over to an investigating congressional committee tomorrow evidence related to the president committing financial crimes, felonies while in office, we are now getting to the point where that Agnew precedent sort of crashes into the current history were living through with this current sitting president. Because of the anticipation of the kinds of documents that Cohen might be about to hand over, what he may be able to testify to in terms of the presidents behavior, I do think its reasonable to expect that the prospect of Michael Cohens open testimony tomorrow may be causing some consternation at the Justice Department right now, right? I mean, this doesnt happen very often. But if clear evidence of the presidents involvement in felonies since hes been serving as president, if clear evidence of that is made public tomorrow, I mean, the Justice Department has to be prepared tonight for how theyre going to react tonight or not to the public airing of that evidence. Theyre also presumably preparing for the possibility that this evidence may generate a formal criminal referral from Congress concerning the presidents alleged crimes. They may refer this matter for prosecution to the Justice Department. Trumps world could be on the verge of crashing in Since Trump took office, there has been a non-stop category five hurricane of scandal and corruption, all while he remains in the White House. After everything that has come out, its easy to settle into the mindset that there is no bit of information that can topple this president, no matter how damning. But as Rachel Maddow said on Tuesday, what is about to happen this week takes us to uncharted territory in the Trump era. For the first time, Congress may receive concrete evidence that the president of the United States committed crimes. In response, lawmakers have the ability to generate a formal criminal referral, as Maddow said. If the Department of Justice under Trump has any interest in upholding the law, history has demonstrated that what Cohen is about to do could trigger the end of this presidency. Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter 3.9k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Advertising One of Donald Trumps favorite members of Congress, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, may have just committed a crime by threatening Michael Cohen a day before his public testimony. In a tweet that mentions Cohens wife and father-in-law, Gaetz claims without evidence, of course that the former Trump lawyer has girlfriends and that tonight would be a good time to share that information with his family. Hey @MichaelCohen212 Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if shell remain faithful when youre in prison. Shes about to learn a lot Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) February 26, 2019 Gaetz has responded to the immediate backlash by saying he is simply testing Cohen ahead of Wednesdays public testimony, but as Aaron Blake of The Washington Post noted a short time ago, his argument doesnt hold any water. Advertising [T]his tweet wasnt just Gaetz making an allegation about Cohens character, Blake wrote. Whats the most problematic is the second part, where he alludes to the possibility that Cohens wife will cheat on him while hes in prison. In other words, its a clear effort to bully Cohen the day before he testifies before the House Oversight Committee. Pathetic display of gangsterism Its not just Democrats who are stunned by Rep. Gaetzs mob-style bullying of Michael Cohen on Tuesday. In an appearance on MSNBC, former RNC chairman Michael Steele tore into the congressman, calling his threats on Cohen a pathetic display of gangsterism. I cant even refer to him as a congressman in that regard because thats the kind of behavior that a congressman should not display the evening before a very important testimony, Steele said. Video: Former RNC chairman Michael Steele tears into @mattgaetz for threatening Michael Cohen the day before his public testimony. #ctl #p2 pic.twitter.com/5AFJdkPZjz PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) February 27, 2019 Of course, it should come as no surprise that the party of Donald Trump has adopted the mob boss tactics of their leader. The president himself has issued similar threats toward Cohen in the past. This behavior by Trump and his allies in Congress doesnt demonstrate strength. Instead, its just more evidence that the president and his loyalists are terrified of the truth coming out. Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter An unqualified shuttle bus and severe overload caused a 22-death accident in a mine in Xilingol league, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, local authorities said on Tuesday. Zhang Yuguo, a member of the local investigation team, said Yinman Mining Co bought the bus through an illegal channel online. According to Zhang, the bus was not subject to any safety checks. Additionally the bus, with a rated capacity of 30 passengers, should only be used for ground transport. Instead, it carried 50 miners to an underground mine shaft and crashed into the side of the tunnel after a brake failure. The company also violated regulations in the design of safety facilities and in using the ramp to transport personnel, Zhang said. The official added the company seriously violated the requirements of production suspension and resumption of work. The company had reported to government departments it would not stop production during the Spring Festival holiday which began on Feb 4, but in fact it stopped production on Jan 15 and resumed work without authorization on Feb 13. Zhang also noted local inspection departments lack targeted supervision on enterprises' safety problems or the suspension and resumption of work during a special period. The autonomous region has sent 12 teams to its 12 cities to inspect all enterprises with ramp shaft and check enterprises that are about to resume production. 1.3k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Advertising Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on Tuesday that Democrats will not allow the Department of Justice to sit on any information that could warrant Donald Trumps impeachment. In an interview with MSNBCs Chris Hayes, Schiff said, If the department is to maintain a policy that you cant indict a sitting president, they cannot also say were not going to share with Congress the evidence that would allow you to consider whether other remedies are necessary. Video: Rep. Adam Schiff says he wont let the Trump Justice Department have a double standard when it comes to releasing evidence to the public. #ctl #p2 pic.twitter.com/8k7DHyGgor PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) February 27, 2019 Advertising Rep. Schiff said: You have the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, suggesting that maybe they shouldnt share with Congress or the country the full report and what it has to say about people not indicted. Well, the Justice Department was sharing hundreds of thousands of pages of discovery in the Clinton email investigation and we are not about to allow them to have some kind of a double standard, particularly when there is such intense public need to know and in addition to that if the department is to maintain a policy that you cant indict a sitting president, they cannot also say and were not going to share with Congress the evidence that would allow you to consider whether other remedies are necessary. Trump may not face charges, but he can still be impeached As Rep. Adam Schiff noted, Republicans were eager to see all the non-evidence surrounding the non-scandal of Hillary Clintons personal email use at the height of the 2016 presidential campaign. Now, when the president of the United States may have conspired with a foreign adversary to win an election, they are working to bury any legitimate dirt that special counsel Robert Mueller may have turned up. Donald Trump may not be able to be charged while hes in the White House, but that doesnt mean the Justice Department can sit on any potential evidence of wrongdoing in Muellers final report. Instead, as Rep. Schiff noted, Congress and the American people deserve to know all the facts so they can explore other remedies to hold him accountable aka impeachment. Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook and Twitter Mongolian clients visited PK Machinery to discuss ash conveying equipment design 2019-02-27 Yesterday, clients from Mongolia visited PK Machinery, the aim of this visit was to seek cooperation on ash conveying equipment, both of us had a pleasant and smooth meet. After a brief introduction of our company in the meeting room, client had a further understanding of PK Machinery and our products. Then we started to discuss the technical issues, client put forward their doubt and query, PK Machinery engineer took all factors into consideration and propose a satisfactory option that adopted a sidewall belt conveyor associated with conveyor cover and two screw conveyors to fit the whole system, which came to an agreement on equipment arrangement and design. Followed by a factory tour, client saw a lot of interested equipment, we also took client to one of the largest fertilizer factory to see the operation site, client spoke highly of our equipment and hoped to cooperate in the near future soon. PK Machinery is a professional manufacturer of material handling equipment, including belt conveyor, screw conveyor, bucket elevator, scraper conveyor and vibrating screen. We understand that our customer required equipment must be operated at peak performance at all times, thats why we are whole-heartedly devoted to provide customers value, achieve maximum efficiency. We welcome your visit to our factory at any time, more details, please click: www.pkmachinery.com A mafia-style criminal gang stood trial on Monday in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, accused of illegal financial activities, including offering usurious private lending and violent collection of overdue loans. It was the first case of its kind in the province. According to Xincheng District People's Court in Xi'an, in October 2016 the gang leader, surnamed Han, set up a private lending company in Xi'an and organized others to participate in giving illegal loans at very high rates. The company gradually grew into a mafia-style criminal gang and accumulated huge wealth, including 1.13 million yuan, and made illegal loans of more than 3.06 million yuan until January 2018. To collect overdue loans, the gang adopted brutal means, including clamping sensitive parts of the body, stepping on toes, beating in public, illegal detention - which seriously infringed on the physical, mental and personal dignity of the borrowers - and carried out 11 criminal activities in succession. According to the public hearing, the gang's illegal and criminal acts seriously affect social stability and cause extremely negative social impact. Eight members of the gang were accused of the crimes of organizing, leading and participating in mafia-like organizations, the crime of illegal detention and the crime of extortion, respectively. They should be prosecuted for criminal liabilities, said Wu Gang, vice president of the court. The court will hand down a verdict at a later date. 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. Ocean City, N.J., faces the biggest hit to its property values from sea level rise on the eastern seaboard, surpassing even Miami Beach, according to a study released Wednesday. But popular Shore communities such as Sea Isle City, Atlantic City, Avalon, Brigantine, North Wildwood, and Mystic Island also made the top 20 list, according to housing data analyzed by scientists with Columbia University and First Street Foundation, a nonprofit focused on risks associated with sea level rise and flooding. Though property values along the New Jersey Shore certainly are increasing, the scientists said their work measures relative erosion of property values. In other words, the homes would have sold for more if not for shrinking shorelines, flooding, and storm surges associated with sea level rise, caused mainly by climate change. For example, a home that might have sold for $800,000 without those issues instead might sell for $650,000. The group has released similar data in the past. But, for the first time, it included numbers for Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. Philadelphia, Croydon, and Bristol, all along the Delaware River, are significantly impacted by environmental changes, the scientists said. They created an online mapping tool so homeowners can plug in their addresses to see if their properties face a relative loss in value. In addition, it shows flooding levels and projected increases over 15 years. New Jersey has been hit terribly hard, said Carolyn Costello, a spokesperson with Brooklyn-based First Street Foundation. In fact, some New Jersey cities have been hit worse than Florida. Ocean City, with relative losses totaling more than a half-billion dollars, tops Miami Beach, facing more than $300 million. Without specifying the address, the authors cited a property on Haven Avenue in Ocean City as an example of the type of relative loss in property value, with a $119,702 dip. Overall, New Jersey faces the second highest losses among states, at $4.5 billion, second to Florida, which is estimated at more than $5.4 billion. The list is derived from research into relative property values of 15 eastern states, including Alabama and Mississippi. To derive their peer-reviewed methodology, Steven A. McAlpine at First Street Foundation and Jeremy R. Porter, a Columbia University professor and consultant for the foundation, initially analyzed only the Miami-Dade County real estate market. They then applied that methodology to analyze millions of other real estate transactions in the east. They took into account square footage, location, trends, and other issues associated with home values. They say they were able to calculate the impact of frequent tidal flooding on home values using data from 2005 to 2017. They found that while most homes did appreciate in value, affected homes appreciated at a significantly lower rate than comparable homes unaffected by tidal flooding. They also found that roads that flood near a home also hurt its value. "From Maine to Florida and through the Gulf Coast, we have seen the same phenomenon, Porter said. Increased tidal flooding has led to a loss in home value appreciation. We expect this trend to not only continue in the coming years, but to accelerate along with the accelerating rate of sea level rise. New Jersey is faced not only with rising seas, but also land thats sinking because of its geology. Maryland was also hit hard, losing $555.7 million in relative value. Delaware lost $299.5 million in relative value, with Bethany Beach among the top locations facing relative losses. Pennsylvania lost $10.1 million in relative value, with Bristol seeing more than $3 million of those losses. Croydon lost $2.4 million and Philadelphia lost $1.5 million, relatively small numbers by comparison to the Jersey Shore. But the impact on individuals can be considerable. The authors noted a single property in Ridley Park, Delaware County, lost $51,978 in relative value. Flooding is the costliest natural disaster in the United States, said Matthew Eby, executive director of First Street Foundation. In September, after a series of high-profile church demolitions captured Philadelphias attention, the local nonprofit Partners for Sacred Places announced a plan that could reverse the trend. The 19th Street Baptist Church, built in 1874 in South Philadelphia, was searching for a preservation-minded buyer, the nonprofit said in a statement. The congregations lengthy efforts to restore the property were drawing to a close. And while churchgoers planned to relocate by the years end, Partners for Sacred Places said, they wanted to find a buyer who would keep the landmark standing for generations to come. Its easy to take the money and run, the Rev. Wilbur Winborne Sr., the churchs leader, told the Inquirer days after the announcement. But if we can try [to save it], lets try. Why not? I dont want to have any regrets. Less than six months after that announcement, however, the serpentine stone church with ties to prominent architect Frank Furness may succumb to the wrecking ball after all. Last week, the 19th Street Baptist Church secured a zoning permit that begins the demolition process. The permit, first reported by PlanPhilly and applied for by Landmark Architectural Design, calls for bringing down all structures on the site to create a vacant lot. The property, including its sanctuary and fellowship hall, is in the heart of Philadelphias fast-gentrifying Point Breeze neighborhood. Before demolition can proceed, 19th Street Baptist Church and Landmark Architectural Design will need approval from the Philadelphia Historical Commission, which added the church to the citys historic register in 1984. The parties will likely need to convince the commission that saving the building would be a hardship financial or otherwise that would be difficult to overcome. There is no application before the Historical Commission yet, according to commission spokesperson Paul Chrystie. Reached by phone, Winborne, who was married and ordained in the church before returning to lead it almost five years ago, declined to comment. It was not immediately clear what may happen to the land, or who the potential buyer is. The 19th Street Baptist Church is still the owner of the property, records show, as it has been since 1944. Philadelphia is experiencing its hottest real estate market in recent history, and development pressures are flattening sacred places across the city. According to Pew Charitable Trusts, at least 23 once-sacred places were demolished between 2011 and 2015, mostly by developers. At the same time, demand for developable land has increased, congregations have dwindled, and expansive churches have become increasingly difficult to maintain. Demolition can yield large parcels, which can be transformed into new rowhouses, for example, or a multifamily building. This church at 19th and Titan Streets is in one of Philadelphias newly designated Opportunity Zones. The program, a part of the 2017 tax bill, gives investors lucrative tax breaks for backing real estate and investment projects in low-income communities. (The zones were selected based on 2010 census data.) Developers, in return, can use that capital to put together funds to finance projects. The 19th Street Baptist Church, designed by George Hewitt in partnership with Furness, has for years grappled with an unsafe designation by the Department of Licenses and Inspections, meaning the property is in poor shape but not in immediate risk of collapsing. The congregation which Winborne previously said consists of about 125 people had been using its fellowship hall to worship. The property, with a land area of about 12,200 square feet, is zoned for attached and semidetached houses. Known for its distinct cladding of green serpentine stone, the 19th Street church has long been a beloved South Philadelphia site and, over the years, has received significant support from inside and outside the community. Students from the University of Pennsylvania School of Design studied the building and created solutions for its conservation years ago. The church obtained grants and funds to fix its roof and stabilize the building. And it received support from Partners for Sacred Places. In an emailed statement, Rachel Hildebrandt, a senior program manager for Partners for Sacred Places, said that although the nonprofit has been working with 19th Street Baptist for five or so years, we learned that the church applied for a zoning permit calling for the demolition of the church via PlanPhilly. Partners supported the church by providing pro bono fund-raising guidance when it planned to make a go of rehabilitating its building and then by issuing a call for preservation-minded developers when it decided to relocate, Hildebrandt said. Unfortunately, the congregation wasnt able to fully utilize or embrace the resources we brought to bear. Patrick Grossi, director of advocacy for the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, said the group is obviously disappointed. The property is in a compromised state, Grossi said. But not so compromised that we think its beyond saving. What do these five Philadelphia locations have in common: The sprawling surface parking lot at Penns Landing. A one-story supermarket in Society Hill. A deteriorating YWCA building in Germantown. A demolished Victorian mansion in West Philadelphia. A busy stretch of 22nd Street in Fairmount that has no lane markings. Each site was left in limbo for years, sometimes decades, thanks to City Councils use of a clubby parliamentary practice known as councilmanic prerogative. Although the name sounds genteel and mannerly, the maneuver can turn an ordinary, mild-mannered district councilperson into power-mad feudal lord. No matter what craziness a local representative proposes, the rest of Council will vote in lockstep, no questions asked, knowing the favor will be returned when they want approval for a special measure in their own district. Usually the special bills involve property sales and zoning. Councilmanic prerogative sometimes called legislative courtesy has been around in some form in Philadelphia for at least a century, according to a 2015 report by the Pew Charitable Trusts, but it has increasingly made the news. Thats in no small measure a result of Philadelphias development boom, which has turned once-unwanted city property into a hot commodity. But the more that district Council members interfere, the harder it is for the city to make the best use of its vacant property. Just last month, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell nearly derailed the sale of the citys long-vacant Provident Mutual Insurance building at 4601 Market after she invoked the prerogative. Turns out, according to a report by Plan Phillys Jake Blumgart, she was seeking to extract concessions for a favored campaign donor, Michael Karp, a West Philadelphia landlord who is so wealthy, he just paid $20 million for a Manhattan townhouse. Not only does councilmanic prerogative turn every district representative into a meddling mini-mayor, it removes transparency from city property sales. The prerogative is being used to smooth the way for favored developers to acquire city land at discount prices. As my colleagues William Bender and Mark Fazlollah have documented, a childhood friend of Kenyatta Johnson was able to buy several city-owned parcels on the cheap and then double his money by flipping them. A bargain land deal also happened in Darrell Clarkes district. This corrosive practice thrives in Philadelphia because of two unfortunate provisions in the citys Home Rule Charter. When that otherwise progressive document was adopted in 1951, it limited the powers of the Planning Commission while giving the final word on land sales and zoning changes to City Council. The result is that a single district councilperson often decides which city-owned properties can be sold and who can buy them. The Planning Commission and Redevelopment Authority are obliged to carry out the directives. Not that any of this is spelled out in the charter. The practice resembles the unwritten Gentlemans Agreement that once prevented developers from building anything taller than City Hall tower or, perhaps, the mobs legendary code of omerta. The prerogative exists because its mutually beneficial for the 10 geographically based district representatives, who form the majority of the 17-seat Council. Anyone who dares vote against a fellow members bill will surely be shunned. Its political suicide. Blackwells attempt to hold up the Provident sale failed after her behind-the-scenes machinations became public. The incident prompted a rare backlash from residents, who rallied in support of the citys plan to turn the building into a public health campus. Those constituents were so angry that they crashed her campaign kickoff and demanded an end to the prerogative. For sheer chutzpah, few uses of the prerogative can compare with what happened in 1986 after the city reached a deal to lease Penns Landing to Willard Rouse, the developer who famously broke the Gentlemans Agreement to build Liberty Place. Rouse needed Councils approval to complete the transaction, and the local councilman, Leland Beloff, promised to make that happen for $1 million. Unfortunately for Beloff, Rouse reported the shakedown to the FBI and was wearing a wire when he dropped off the cash. Beloff was sentenced to 10 years in jail. But the citys suffering has gone on much longer. Three decades later, Penns Landing remains a parking wasteland. Today, Council members are more likely to take their thank-yous in a legally acceptable form: campaign contributions. When Thaddeus Bartkowski sought permission in 2015 to build a trio of freestanding digital billboards in Center City, he showered donations on the two local councilmen who controlled the districts where they would be placed: Mark Squilla and Kenyatta Johnson. While objections from PennDot ultimately kept those billboards from going up, the prerogative frequently ends up prolonging blight. Four years after Cindy Bass scuttled the sale of the historic Germantown YWCA to developer Ken Weinstein, that fragile building still sits empty. Society Hill remains home to a suburban-style supermarket on Fifth Street because Squilla created a special zoning provision to sabotage construction of a five-story apartment building on the site. The prerogative costs the city money, says Weinstein, an outspoken opponent of the practice. It also ruins neighborhoods. West Philadelphias Spruce Hill section, home to one of Americas best collections of Victorian architecture, is being dissembled house-by-house for cheap student residences because Blackwell has blocked the creation of a historic district not once, but twice. The practice even compromises the safety of Philadelphia residents. The city has been unable to implement many of its Vision Zero street safety initiatives because Council members have objected to bike lanes and other improvements. They use councilmanic prerogative and then nothing happens, complains the Bicycle Coalitions Randy LoBasso. Council members will often defend the prerogative by arguing that the local representative knows his or her district best. But, as practiced in Philadelphia, the courtesy goes against a fundamental democratic concept: checks and balances. As you may recall from middle-school civics class, the legislature exists to check the power of the executive and prevent a single person from becoming a tyrant. But when a district councilperson can introduce a bill, approve a land sale, or change zoning all without real oversight from fellow legislators there is no check on that power. We tend to think of councilmanic prerogative as an aberration that distorts Philadelphias Council process. In fact, it underlies the whole system. Councils control over individual land sales is a big reason that the new Land Bank is nearly moribund. Its why Mayor John Streets Neighborhood Transformation initiative accomplished so little. Is there any hope that the system could change in Philadelphia, as it has in other cities? In 2011, I wrote a column suggesting that the introduction of the new zoning code might make the practice obsolete by reducing the need for zoning changes. Wrong. Some opponents of the prerogative, like the Center City Districts Paul Levy and Philadelphia 3.0s Jon Geeting, suggest that new blood on Council could lead to reform. Im doubtful. The power of the prerogative is just too tempting. Its true that the prerogative does occasionally produce a positive result. This week, Clarke used his position to introduce a bill to rezone St. Laurentius Church in Fishtown and put an end to a nuisance lawsuit that has delayed its renovation for apartments. Of course, given the popularity of the cause, the bill (which will be voted on next week) would probably have passed even without the prerogative. Perhaps the solution is to create a better balance between Council and the citys planning professionals. Justin DiBerardinis, who is running for an at-large Council seat, has been advocating for a charter convention to look at prerogative and other issues. No argument there. If Philadelphia ever hopes to realize its potential as a modern city, its going to need a constitution fit for the 21st century anyway. One where councilmanic prerogative doesnt have the final word on the look of the city. Michael Cohen testified before Congress Wednesday, calling President Donald Trump a con man and a racist, and saying that Trump knew ahead of time that WikiLeaks planned to release hacked emails from Hillary Clinton. During his day-long testimony, which at times grew heated in exchanged with lawmakers, Trumps former fixer and lawyer told the House Oversight and Reform Committee how he acted and lied over the years to protect Trump, including describing several moments at the center of investigations by special counsel Robert Mueller and federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience, said Cohen, who was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty in two separate cases related to campaign finance violations, tax evasion, and lying to Congress.. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a con man. He is a cheat. Heres a recap of how the dramatic day unfolded on Capitol Hill. Cohen: My loyalty to Mr. Trump cost me everything During his closing remarks before the committee, Cohen testified that he blindly followed Trump, and is now paying the heavy price. My loyalty to Mr. Trump has cost me everything my familys happiness, my law license, my company, my livelihood, my honor, my reputation and soon my freedom, he said. Cohen added that he fears there will never be a peaceful transition of power if Trump loses the 2020 election. You dont shut down the government before Christmas and New Years just to appease your base," Cohen said. "This behavior is churlish, it denigrates the office of the president and it simply is un-American. And its not you. So to those that support the President and his rhetoric as I once did, I pray the country doesnt make the same mistakes that I have made or pay the heavy price that my family and I are paying. Cohen: Trump lied about his golf course assets for personal gain Testifying late into the afternoon Wednesday, Cohen told Congress that Trump would significantly inflate or deflate the value of his financial assets to suit his purposes. When it came to his golf course properties, he would underestimate their value to receive larger taxable deductions, Cohen said. What you do is you deflate the value of the asset and then you put in a request to the tax department for the deduction, he testified, adding that Trumps actions in the Washington Posts account of the presidents taxpayer-funded course titled Taxpayers built this New York golf course. Trump reaps the rewards is identical to how Trump handled taxation on his Briarcliff Manor course. When he was talking to insurance companies, the president would significantly inflate the company assets, Cohen testified. Its all about ego When it came to the price of the presidents portrait at an auction, Trump instructed his former fixer to find a straw bidder to drive up that price, Cohen testified. Trump reimbursed the fake bidder with a $60,000 check from the Trump Organization and kept the nine-foot portrait for himself, he testified. Its all about ego, Cohen said. Cohen denies key allegation made in Steele dossier Cohen denied that he traveled to Prague or the Czech Republic in summer 2016, rebutting a key claim in former MI6 agent Christopher Steeles now-infamous dossier. Ive never been to Prague. Ive never been to the Czech Republic, Cohen said. Back in December 2018, McClatchy reported that cell phone records obtained by foreign intelligence sources placed Cohens phone in Prague during the summer of 2016. And in April 2018, McClatchy reported that Mueller had evidence Cohen was in Prague in August or early September of 2016. Neither report has been confirmed by another new agency. In his intelligence dossier, Steele alleged that Cohen traveled to Prague during Trumps presidential campaign for a secret meeting with Russian officials in August or September 2016. Cohen has denied the allegation for over a year, tweeting back in 2017, I have never been to Prague in my life. Cohen: Trump told me to lie about Stormy Daniels payments Cohen testified that Trump called him while Cohen was meeting with a Vanity Fair reporter in February 2018 to coordinate the public response to reports of hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with the president. Cohen said that Trump told him to say he was not knowledgeable of these reimbursements. He was not knowledgeable of my actions. New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, who had previously reported that Cohen said he personally paid Daniels, called the admission in todays testimony big. Cohen: Conversation with Trump under investigation Cohen told the committee that his last conversation with Trump occurred sometime in fall 2018, about two months after the FBI raided Cohens home and office. But Cohen also said he couldnt discuss the specifics of that conversation because its under investigation by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. Ive been asked by them not to discuss and not to talk about these issues, Cohen said. Cohen warns Republicans: Dont blindly follow Trump Cohen criticized Republicans for their blind loyalty to Trump, calling their behavior during the hearing silly and unbecoming of Congress. Im responsible for your silliness because I did the same thing that youre doing now for 10 years. I protected Mr. Trump for 10 years, Cohen said. The more people that follow Mr. Trump as I did blindly are going to suffer the same consequences Im suffering. Chris Christie: No Republicans are defending Trump Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, now a political analyst for ABC News, said he was surprised that not a single Republican so far has spoken out in defense of Trump. "There hasn't been one Republican yet who's tried to defend the president on the substance, Christie said. I think that's something that should be concerning to the White House. As the day goes on, its going to get tiring to hear the attacks on Cohens credibility, Christie added. Hes not a credible witness, but he does have corroboration on certain things. Wheres the defense of the president?" Cohen: Trump submitted false info for loan to buy the Buffalo Bills Cohen told the committee that Trump used inaccurate financial information in an attempt to secure a loan from Deutche Bank to place a bid to purchase the Buffalo Bills in 2014. According to the Buffalo News, Cohen was one of Trumps loudest cheerleaders in his attempt to buy the team. It was my experience that Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes, Cohen explained. Financial documents provided by Cohen show Trumps net worth jumping from $4.26 billion in 2011 to $8.66 billion in 2013. "These documents and others were provided to Deutsche Bank in order to put a bid on the Buffalo Bills, Cohen added. Ultimately, it was Terry Pegula and not Trump who purchased the Bills in 2014 for $1.4 billion. Cohen to top Republican: Shame on you An angry Cohen went after Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) after the ranking Republican claimed Cohen lacked any remorse for his actions. "Shame on you Mr. Jordan, that is not what I said. Shame on you, Cohen said, visibly agitated. I take responsibility for my mistakes. I am remorseful and I am going to prison. I will be away from my wife and family for years I made mistakes, I own them. Cohen claims he turned down White House job Under questioning by Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), who attempted to paint Cohen as jealous for not joining Trump in the White House, Cohen testified he was offered a job, but turned it down. Cohen said Trump reamed out former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus over the decision, but Cohen said there was a memo that urged him not to accept the position because Trump would lose the attorney-client privilege afforded to him. Both Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, two of the presidents sons, disputed Cohens claim. Senior HUD official in the audience Lynne Patton, a high-ranking Housing and Urban Development official and a longtime Trump event planner, is sitting in the audience as a guest of Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio). Asked by CNN why Patton was on Capitol Hill, Rep. Mark Meadows (R., N.C.) said, She has information." CNN also reported that HUDs press office was not aware that Patton, whose office is in Manhattan, was at the hearing. Cohen: Trump is a racist in public, but hes even worse in private Cohen told members of Congress that Trump is a racist, pointing to reports that the president called poor countries in Africa shithole countries" and his public remarks following deadly violence pushed by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va. In private, he is even worse, Cohen said. "He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black wasnt that wasnt a shithole. This was when Barack Obama was President of the United States, Cohen said. And while we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way, Cohen added. And he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid." Cohen: I regret the day I said yes to Mr. Trump During his opening remarks, a remorseful Cohen apologized for his weakness and misplaced loyalty in performing illicit acts on behalf of Trump. Never in a million years did I imagine when I accepted a job in 2007 to work for Donald Trump that he would one day run for the presidency, to launch a campaign on a platform of hate and intolerance and actively win. I regret the day I said yes to Mr. Trump," Cohen said. I regret all the help and support I gave him along the way." Top Republican blasts Cohen, Cummings in opening statement Rep. Jim Jordan, (R., Ohio), the ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee, called Cohen a fraudster and a convicted felon in a fiery opening statement that seemed to irritate Trumps former lawyer. Jordan also called Cummings a patsy for Cohen and falsely blasting him for choosing Trumps former lawyer as the committees first witness under his chairmanship (multiple witnesses have previously offered testimony during hearings on prescription drugs and executive branch ethics). Hearing immediately interrupted by Republicans Rep. Mark Meadows (R., N.C.) interrupted the hearing as soon as it began, arguing that Cohens opening statement wasnt provided to the committee 24 hours in advance of his testimony. Im not saying its intentional on your part, its intentional on his part," Meadows said, pointing at Cohen. The motion to delay the hearing was defeated by Democrats. Youve made it clear that you do not want the American people to hear what Mr. Cohen has to say, Rep. Elijah Cummings, (D., Md.), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said following the motion. But the American people have a right to hear him. So were going to proceed. Republicans display negative quotes about Cohen Prior to todays testimony, Republicans were photographed putting up large cards featuring negative quotes from judges and others about Cohen. Mr. Cohen appears to have lost his moral compass, said one card, displayed behind Rep. Jody Hice (R., Ga.). Thats a quote from U.S. District Court Judge William Pauley. Another card, featuring a quote from a federal prosecutor at the Southern District of New York, read, [Cohen] expected to be given a prominent role and title in the new administration. When that did not materialize, Cohen found a way to monetize his relationship with the President. Republican apologizes to Pelosi for Cohen tweet Rep. Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.), an outspoken supporter of the president, apologized to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for a tweet he shared on Tuesday that appeared to many as a threat to Cohen. Hey @MichaelCohen212 - Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Gaetz wrote in the since-deleted tweet. Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if shell remain faithful when youre in prison. Shes about to learn a lot After initially defending his comments, Gaetz removed the message from Twitter late Tuesday night and apologized after Pelosi suggested the Committee on Ethics should vigilantly monitor these types of statements. Topics Cohen is expected to discuss Here are several of the subjects Cohen is planning to discuss, according to his opening statement: Cohen will claim he was in the room in 2016 when Trump took a phone call from Roger Stone, who told the then-presidential candidate on speaker phone that, within a couple days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign. Stone, who has been indicted on several charges, denies discussing WikiLeaks or hacked emails with Trump. Cohen will say that Trump indirectly ordered him to lie about a multi-million dollar project to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, and that the presidents lawyers reviewed and edited his statement to Congress in which he lied about the timing and size of the project. Cohen will produce and discuss a personal check for $35,000 signed by Trump on Aug. 1, 2017 during Trumps presidency that Cohen claims was part of the reimbursement for hush-money payments made to silence Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with Trump. Cohen will turn over copies of financial statements for 2011 through 2013 that he gave to Deutsche Bank and other financial institutions. Trump, Giuliani blast Cohen ahead of Congressional testimony Trump, who is in Vietnam taking part in a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, ripped his former lawyer in a tweet early Wednesday morning. Using Crookeds lawyer refers to Lanny Davis, a longtime advisor to both Bill and Hillary Clinton. Davis is one of Cohens attorneys. Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, Trumps personal attorney, also blasted Cohen, telling the Washington Post that only a fool would believe his testimony. Its pathetic. This is a lawyer who [taped] his own client when he claimed he was being loyal. If you believe him you are a fool, Giuliani said in a text message to the Post. Staff writer Oona Goodin-Smith contributed to this article. When President Donald Trump went to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, he says, he was a really good student. Hes proud of his record at least, he said as much to Meet the Press host Chuck Todd in 2015. "Because everybody knows what a great school it is," he said. "Everybody knows that to get into Wharton is probably the hardest school to get into." But the world may never know just how good of a student Trump claims to be. In an explosive opening statement to the House Oversight and Reform Committee Wednesday, Trumps former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, called him a racist, con man, and cheat who directed him to threaten the presidents high school, his colleges, and the College Board to never release his grades or SAT scores. Cohen said documents he shared with the committee included copies of letters written at Trumps direction that detailed the apparent threats, though no school was directly named in the statement. As I mentioned, Im giving the committee today copies of a letter I sent at Mr. Trumps direction threatening these schools with civil and criminal actions if Mr. Trumps grades or SAT scores were ever disclosed without his permission, he said. Among the examples supporting his claims that Cohen submitted to Congress was a letter sent to Fordham University dated May 5, 2015: ...please be advised that my client does not consent to any release or disclosure of any educational records to any third parties; and if in the event any of his records are released or otherwise disclosed without his prior written consent, we will hold your institution liable to the fullest extent of the law including damages and criminality, he wrote. The letter added that Trump truly enjoyed his two years at Fordham and has great respect for the university. Trump transferred to Penn after spending two years at Fordham University in New York City. Trumps academic record was a large topic of discussion shortly after he won the 2016 presidential election and the Penns student newspaper, the Daily Pennsylvanian, published a story that questioned his status as a top student. A 1973 New York Times profile said Trump graduated first in his class from Wharton in 1968. But Trumps name was not included among deans list students for the 1967-68 school year, though it is found on a Penn commencement program from 1968, which lists Trump as graduating from Wharton with a bachelor of science in economics. His name isnt included among those who received honors or other awards. The irony wasnt lost on me at the time that Mr. Trump in 2011 had strongly criticized President Obama for not releasing his grades, Cohen told the committee. "As you can see in Exhibit 7, Mr. Trump declared, Let him show his records, after calling President Obama a terrible student. READ MORE: Questions linger about Trumps academic record at Wharton Asked Wednesday whether Cohen communicated with Penn, university spokesperson Ron Ozio said, Sorry, but we do not comment on student records. Throughout Trumps campaign and presidency, Penn and its business school have remained largely silent on the famous alum. READ MORE: Penn, Trumps alma mater, becomes sanctuary campus for undocumented students A spokesperson for Fordham told Inside Higher Ed that the university had been warned by the Trump campaign against releasing records, but that it wasnt the schools policy to share that information. Our stance remains the same: We obey federal law and dont release student records to anyone but the student/graduate or anyone that the student designates, in writing," the spokesperson said. READ MORE: Chris Christie on Michael Cohen testimony: Wheres the defense of the president? READ MORE: Michael Cohen reveals Trumps dark secret: He thinks Americans are suckers | Will Bunch As President Donald Trumps former personal lawyer Michael Cohen continued to rail against his one-time boss and friend during explosive Congressional testimony Wednesday, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had just one question: Where are the Republicans defending the president? The interesting thing is that there hasnt been one Republican yet whos tried to defend the president on the substance," Christie told ABC This Week host George Stephanopoulos, analyzing Cohens ongoing congressional testimony. And I think thats something that should be concerning to the White House. Christie, who was once a close personal friend of Trump and early endorser before being bitterly tossed from the presidents transition team, continued: "Why are no Republicans standing up and defending the president on the substance? And thats either a failure of those Republicans on the hill or a failure of the White House to have a unified strategy with them. They knew what was coming with Michael Cohen As the day goes on, its going to get tired of hearing the attacks on Cohens credibility. Hes not a credible witness, but he does have corroboration on certain things. Wheres the defense of the president? The former governor recently released his own tell-all from the presidents inner circle, in which he wrote Trump was surrounded by amateurs, grifters, weaklings, convicted and unconvicted felons. READ MORE: Chris Christies book: Trump surrounded by amateurs, grifters, weaklings, and felons READ MORE: Chris Christie, in new book, blasts Bridgegate prosecutor as Hillary Clinton supporter Cohen began his testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee by calling the president a con man and a racist, and saying that Trump knew ahead of time that WikiLeaks planned to release hacked emails from Hillary Clinton. The former Trump lawyer is slated to begin a three-year federal prison sentence in May, after having pleaded guilty in two separate cases related to campaign finance violations, tax evasion, and lying to Congress. As Congress questioning of Cohen began, Republican lawmakers repeatedly took aim at his credibility at one point, Rep. Paul Gosar (R., Ariz.) pointed to a poster print of Cohens face emblazoned with Liar, liar, pants on fire! but no one seemed to be in a hurry to defend Trumps name. In fact, even Cohen himself echoed Christies evaluation, pointing to the committees lack of questions on the presidents actions. All I wanted to say is I just find it interesting, sir, that between yourself and your colleagues that not one question so far since Im here has been asked about President Trump, Cohen responded to Rep. Jim Jordan, after the Ohio Republican chastised him for lying to Congress. "Thats actually why I thought I was coming today. Not to confess the mistakes that Ive made. Ive already done that and Ill do it every time you ask me about taxes and mistakes. Yes, Ive made mistakes and Ill say it now again and Ill pay the ultimate price but Im not here today and the American people dont care about my taxes. They want to know what it is that I know about Mr. Trump and not one question so far has been asked about Mr. Trump. Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, also seemed to agree with Christies analysis. Michael Cohen nails it when he says no Republican member has asked a question about Mr. Trump, Bharara tweeted. Speaks volumes. READ MORE: Michael Cohen reveals Trumps dark secret: He thinks Americans are suckers | Will Bunch Staff writer Rob Tornoe contributed to this story. Police officer Niu Weilong was able to raise the 300,000 yuan ($45,000) needed for his young daughter's medical treatment in just one day. The heartwarming fundraising frenzy happened after Niu, who works in Artux, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, posted an appeal on an online platform this month. "The donors hail from different ethnic groups in Xinjiang and all parts of China, and some are even living and working overseas," the 42-year-old said. "A simple 'thanks' cannot express my gratitude to these people, who didn't even know me. I wish them good luck all their lives." In January, Niu's only daughter, Shiyu, was diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma and needed chemotherapy. "My girl suffered a lot during the treatments, and I told her to be strong because she's the child of a policeman," Niu said. "But the stronger she is, the more pain I feel in my heart. After all, she's only 7." He was also worried that Shiyu's medical checkups and primary treatment were quickly wiping out the family's savings. Niu's wife, Xiao Ping, works at a property management company. Before their daughter fell ill, the couple had already paid for medical treatment for Niu's mother and father, who were diagnosed with cancer in 2008 and 2012. They couldn't find more money for Shiyu's treatment. At the suggestion of colleagues at the police station in Artux, Niu wrote a letter on behalf of his daughter early on the morning of Feb 20, asking for help, and posted it on crowdsourcing platform Shuidichou, which means water-drop fundraising. Niu's friends testified for him, as people raising funds online need to prove their cause is authentic. Zhao Wei, Niu's boss, donated 1,000 yuan. Niu started receiving telephone calls from people in Xinjiang and other provinces and regions of China only a few minutes after the letter was posted. All said they wanted to lend a hand in helping Shiyu fight her disease. More people got involved in the campaign that day, with many leaving messages on the site. "As a police officer and public servant, you must have helped and served a lot of people at work. Now it's people's turn to help you out," one said. At 2 pm that day, when Niu arrived at his daughter's ward, his wife told him: "Our daughter will be saved. Only a few minutes before you came, the money people donated online amounted to 300,000 yuan!" Niu said he believed he received the money so quickly because of people's respect for police officers in Xinjiang. "They recognize police officers' efforts in Xinjiang to protect people of all ethnic groups and maintain a peaceful living environment," he said. He said he also believed it was payback for his previous good deeds, including working voluntarily at a local organization to help lift people out of poverty. The funds raised online are allowing Shiyu to receive chemotherapy. Niu said he will help more people in need to return the goodness his family has seen. The lot is filled with crumbled bricks and wood. The nearly 130-year-old building is gone. But that's not all that's changed about the site where the Christian Street Baptist Church once stood. Developer Ori Feibush is also out of the picture. On July 26, the lot at 1020-24 Christian St. in Bella Vista was quietly sold to the locally owned MRR Investments Inc. for $1.5 million, property records show, capping months of speculation about the fate of the site since Feibush announced he would walk away from it. In June, the often-controversial South Philadelphia developer said he was transferring his agreement of sale to someone who would buy the land and develop it once the church was demolished. At the time, Feibush provided no details about the new buyer or why the church needed to first be toppled raising questions among critics about whether a buyer existed. The property's fate has riled neighbors and preservationists since Feibush agreed to buy it for $1.5 million in 2017 aiming to demolish the 1890s church and parish house, and build townhouses. Yet despite unsuccessful efforts among residents to nominate the property for historic preservation, and attempts to find a preservationist buyer (Feibush initially offered that option, then withdrew it), the buildings came down in July. Now, at the lot, where demolition protesters gathered only three months ago, just two pink dumpsters and rubble remain. And though the sale has not been publicly announced, property records suggest what might be ahead. According to Pennsylvania Department of State documents, MRR Investments was incorporated in December 2017 by Margarita Yakubova, a Philadelphian who has owned and traded more than a dozen properties citywide since 1997 many of them rentals, and the majority in Northeast Philadelphia. Yakubova's real estate deals were often not solo ventures. Instead, since her first purchase a twin rental in Bustleton in 1997 many of her properties have been purchased with or sold to Roman Mosheyev, a Philadelphian and licensed real estate agent who similarly has invested in more than 30 city properties in two decades, often using numerous LLCs. According to some records, Mosheyev also goes by Reuvan. Mosheyev's name is not directly associated with the Christian Street site. In 2003, Yakubova gave Mosheyev special power of attorney that allowed him, records show, to indefinitely sell property, execute leases, and borrow money on her behalf. Reached by phone, Mosheyev said he had a "connection" to the Christian Street site, but would not answer further questions or describe his involvement. Yakubova and Feibush did not return calls. Exactly how Mosheyev and Yakubova became interested in 1020-24 Christian St. remains unclear. But Mosheyev is no stranger to Feibush. In May 2015, during Feibush's bid to unseat Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, Mosheyev contributed $500 to the Friends of Ori Feibush campaign, a contribution that Feibush's campaign, among other donations, initially did not report, documents show. Mosheyev has built a modest real estate business in the same way that dozens of developers in Philadelphia have staying out of the limelight and carrying a handful of properties at any one time. Most of the properties that he and Yakubova have bought are single-family homes scattered in outlying areas Northeast Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, Brewerytown, and elsewhere, records show. Most are renovated and flipped quickly, often for hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit. In the last decade, records show, Mosheyev under his name or LLC's began putting up new buildings closer to Center City. In 2011, for example, Mosheyev purchased six vacant parcels along the 2000 block of Annin Street in Point Breeze for $159,000, records show, before transferring them to Phila Lifestyle Inc., registered in his name. Today, new rowhouses stand on the once-blighted block most appearing to operate as rentals, though one is listed for sale for nearly $480,000. In 2014, records show, Mosheyev, using the name Phila RnT Inc., purchased and demolished the New Hope Primitive Baptist Church in Mantua, redeveloping it into a three-story multi-family rental property. Earlier this year, he sold the property for $3.3 million nearly an eightfold increase from the $430,000 he paid for it. As for what's next at the Christian Street site in Bella Vista, details remain uncertain. In early August less than two weeks after the property had been sold to MRR Investments Feibush appeared in front of the Bella Vista Neighbors Association, pitching six residential units for the vacant site, with parking for each. To achieve the plans he presented, zoning relief would be needed. It was not clear why Feibush presented the plans even after the property had been sold. That night, as they had in the past, the majority of neighbors in attendance voted against Feibush's proposal. Councilman Mark Squilla agreed. Philadelphia's Zoning Board of Adjustment, which also heard the application in August, has yet to make a decision. Its spire that once towered over South Philadelphia is gone. Its green, serpentine stone is chipped. And while thousands of dollars have been spent fixing its collapsing walls and roof, the sanctuary at the 19th Street Baptist Church is unusable. After decades of fighting the inevitable, the 115-member, predominantly African American congregation is tired. Members say they are ready to move on. It's a story that Philadelphia and other large cities know well: Congregations are dwindling, and as sacred places are deteriorating, they are depleting their money for repairs. Church leaders have searched extensively for other religious groups to take over, only to find that developers can meet the price they need. And so, despite neighborhood protests or pleas for preservation, historic churches, mosques, temples, and synagogues have been leveled one by one. In Philadelphia, that's happened at least 23 times between 2011 and 2015 alone, according to estimates from the Pew Charitable Trusts. The historic 19th Street Baptist Church, however, refuses to be a part of that statistic. In a decision strikingly different from the Christ Memorial Reformed Episcopal Church in West Philadelphia and the Christian Street Baptist Church in Bella Vista, both of which were sold to developers intending to demolish them, the pastor of 19th Street Baptist Church said this week that while his congregation is ready to move on, members do not want the church to be flattened. When they list the church, built in 1874, for sale, they hope to attract a preservation-minded buyer, who can restore or perhaps redevelop it and retain the unique facade. "It's easy to take the money and run," said the Rev. Wilbur Winborne Sr., who was married and ordained in the 19th Street Baptist Church and returned to lead it almost five years ago. "But if we can try [to save it], let's try. Why not? I don't want to have any regrets." At first glance, it would seem that outcome is almost guaranteed. The church, designed by George Hewitt, in partnership with prominent Philadelphia architect Frank Furness, has been listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places since 1984. That gives the property, at 1249-1253 S. 19th St. in Point Breeze, protection from demolition and non-historic alterations. Yet with Philadelphia quickly changing these days, even a designation on the Historic Register does not guarantee that a building will stand forever. In the last few years, developers have successfully argued in front of the Philadelphia Historical Commission that redeveloping a historic property, instead of demolishing it, would be a hardship, thereby reversing its historic preservation status and allowing the property to fall. Recent examples underscore how that tactic has worked. In the last seven years, separate developers have argued victoriously that preserving the Boyd Theatre on the 1900 block of Chestnut Street, as well as the Samuel Sloan-designed Italianate mansion at 40th and Pine Streets, would be a "financial hardship," meaning it would be economically impossible to adapt a property due to its current physical and often dilapidated state. Both were ultimately demolished, and new housing has sprouted in their place. Beyond appealing on a financial level, developers have found demolition victories using other strategies, too. Some, such as the Curtis Institute of Music, have been granted demolition permits because they are "necessary in the public interest" meaning that the benefits of the proposed razing and development far outweigh the historic site as it stands. Other savvy developers, meanwhile, have found success convincing L&I that their buildings are imminently dangerous, necessitating demolition, despite being historically designated. Developers Harvey and Robert Spear did so more than a decade ago at Front and Chestnut Streets, when an L&I inspector who was not assigned to the Old City area declared their two 1800s buildings as imminently dangerous. While the buildings were disheveled, they were not bad enough to convince the Historical Commission to give the Spears the financial hardship. So the Spears resorted to another way to take them down: Using L&I's dangerous declaration to their advantage. L&I spokeswoman Karen Guss said that a situation such as the one involving the Spears would not be possible today. Under the department's current policies, she said, "a historic property under the threat of demolition could not be designated as imminently dangerous without multiple levels of internal review, consultation with the Historical Commission, and in many cases, one or more reports from an outside engineering firm." Even so, preservation advocates remain concerned that the 19th Street Baptist Church could still be vulnerable to demolition. "The church has been contacted by developers well before making the announcement" about the future sale, said Rachel Hildebrandt, a senior program manager for Partners for Sacred Places, a national nonprofit dedicated to preserving sacred spaces. "It's definitely a target." As multiple portions of the church remain in disrepair, many fear it would be financially difficult for a preservation-minded buyer to save especially given the expected price. Though the property has not been listed, Winborne said he is looking to other South Philadelphia church sales as a barometer. They get "$1.5 million to $2 million on a really good day," Winborne said. "If by some strange reason, we could get $2.5 million and save the church, I would be ecstatic." Stephen Wagner, a developer with experience redeveloping historic properties, said preserving the property at such a high asking price might be difficult. Wagner said he toured the property recently, and although it is a "fabulous building inside" and the "sanctuary is a great space," a buyer would face "very expensive exterior work" to restore the weathered serpentine stone, which dates to the Victorian period. Considerable work is also needed to stabilize the sanctuary. Plus, whoever purchases the building would have to contend with its current "unsafe" designation from L&I meaning the 10,700-square-foot church is dangerous, but not critically unstable. The congregation, which has been using its fellowship hall to worship, anticipates it may be ordered to vacate the church later this year. "There should definitely be a concern that it's a target for demolition," said Patrick Grossi, advocacy director for the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. "It's a large site you could probably construct anywhere from six to eight townhouses there. It's in a strong housing market. And the property clearly needs some love." Despite its designation as being unsafe, the "property is historic and the hope is that a buyer will restore it to [a] safe condition," said Guss, the L&I spokeswoman. "In its current condition, it will remain standing," she continued. But, "if [the] building deteriorates and [the] risk of collapse increases, L&I will demolish it to protect public safety." Still, Winborne and the congregation which has nearly doubled in the last four years has much working on its behalf. Partners for Sacred Places is helping to find a preservationist buyer, as is the Preservation Alliance. Plus, over the years, it's received help from former Mayor Wilson Goode, an ordained minister himself, as well as University of Pennsylvania students and professors Aaron Wunsch and Frank Matero, who have researched the building, provided reports and guidance for its restoration, and applied for and administered emergency repair grants. Already, Winborne said, the church has multiple potential preservation-buyers in mind. "We want to have the resources to be able to relocate and worship and still drive down 19th Street five years from now and see the building is still there," Winborne said. "Even though churches are being moved out, the community still needs a church." Pope Francis closing address to the Vatican Summit on Child Protection was a disgraceful display of excuses and evasions. He began with extended meditation on how a great number of abuse cases are committed within families. He urged the assembled bishops to focus on other forms of abuse experienced by child soldiers, starving children, child victims of war and refugee children. He laid out an agenda that, bizarrely, focused on matters have nothing to do with clerical abuse (such as combating sexual tourism). And, most shamefully of all, he lashed out at those demanding that bishops who covered up abuse and silenced victims be held to account, declaring that the church must rise above those who exploit, for various interests, the very tragedy experienced by the little ones. Sorry, Holy Father, that's not good enough. While Francis did declare that no abuse should ever be covered up (as was often the case in the past), he still refuses to tell us which bishops and cardinals did the covering up. Its true that, just days before the summit, he removed disgraced former Archbishop Theodore McCarrick from the priesthood. But Francis still refuses to explain: What took so long? Who knew about McCarricks alleged serial predations and did nothing? When did Francis know? And why did he not punish McCarrick until his crimes which were repeatedly reported to the Vatican were publicly exposed by the media? Indeed, Francis decision to focus the summit exclusively on the protection of minors was a cynical ploy to avoid addressing questions of accountability, or the rampant sexual abuse of vulnerable adults by their religious superiors. The accusations against McCarrick were not limited to his horrific abuse of children. He allegedly forced countless young priests and seminarians, whose careers he could make or break, to have sex with him. Last week, The Post reported on the Rev. Lauro Sedlmayer, who says he was sexually abused as a young priest by McCarrick during the 1990s. The priest says he told three bishops and that nothing was done. To not be believed and to be ignored and demonized by the people to whom I reported the abuse victimized me a second time, he said. How was McCarrick able to advance through the hierarchy, and even become a trusted adviser to Francis on international diplomacy and the selection of cardinals, when his predatory behavior was well known? Simple. A network of corrupt bishops and cardinals, many of whom owed their positions to McCarrick, protected him. It is not enough for Pope Francis to remove McCarrick from the priesthood. The patronage network that enabled him must be rooted out as well. There are documents in the Vatican archives that would definitively show who knew what, and when they knew it. But Francis has refused to release them, much less hold McCarrick's many enablers to account. Quite the opposite, the pope has squelched efforts to expose and punish those responsible for covering up abuses by McCarrick and others. The Wall Street Journal reports that in 2015, Boston Cardinal Sean OMalley whom Francis put in charge of handling the abuse crisis recommended the creation of a special tribunal to try bishops who ignore or cover up abuse. The pope rejected his proposal. Last year, OMalley met with Francis in Rome where, the Journal reports, the pope made it clear he would not authorize a full-fledged investigation into the McCarrick affair. He then stunned the cardinal by recommending that the U.S. bishops cancel a meeting at which they were to vote on penalties for bishops who neglect or cover up abuse suggesting they hold a spiritual retreat instead. When they held the meeting anyway last November, Francis forbade them from voting on the measures. And OMalley ostensibly the popes point man on sex abuse for the past five years was omitted from the speakers list at the popes sex abuse summit. Until Francis addresses the corruption of the episcopacy, he has zero credibility to lead a fight against sex tourism. No one wants to hear lectures on morality from bishops who refuse to rid their ranks of those who enable sex predators. They seem to be more concerned with preserving their worldly privilege and power than restoring the church's moral integrity. How many souls have been lost, how many have left the sacraments, because of their scandalous inaction? We will never know in this world. But they will certainly learn the answer in the next. Francis called the summit an "opportunity for purification." It was a missed opportunity. Purification requires two things: confession and penance. Until the bishops repent of their sins, and accept the temporal consequences of their actions, there will be no forgiveness from the laity. Marc Thiessen writes a twice-weekly column for the Washington Post on foreign and domestic policy. He is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and the former chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush. @marcthiessen Help us please My jaw hurts The staff threw away his bloody white shirt These desperate pleas for help, written by teenage boys at Glen Mills Schools, are among the most haunting parts of the Inquirers report last week on the entrenched culture of secret violence and abuse at the Harvard of Pennsylvania reform facilities. The boys who wrote those notes are routinely beaten, bruised, and threatened into silence by the very counselors hired to protect them. Once again, a government system created to protect our most vulnerable children has failed. And while its good news that, in response to the Inquirer story, Philadelphia County quickly announced it will remove its 51 boys currently at Glen Mills, the dangers within Pennsylvanias residential facilities run far deeper than a single dysfunctional entity. Too many young people in Pennsylvania residential foster care are subjected to a pattern of abuse and maltreatment. As horrific accounts like those at Glen Mills come to light children kicked and punched, thrown through glass, and injured so seriously they require stitches or staples the time for systemwide reform is now. These ongoing abuses are precisely what prompted our investigation and public outreach on Pennsylvanias residential facilities in Unsafe and Uneducated , a report released last year by Childrens Rights and the Education Law Center. Sampling nearly half of the states residential facilities, the report shows that sexual and physical abuse are widespread for the approximately 3,700 children in Pennsylvania foster care living in one of these facilities. At Glen Mills Schools, we found documented instances of belligerent and aggressive staff and repeated violence toward youth. Glen Mills is only one of the entities we investigated. Based on our findings statewide, the abuses reported at Glen Mills are far from isolated incidents. Of the reviewed facilities, 44 percent had repeat violations for physical or sexual maltreatment of children. Time and again, we found that kids are anything but safe at these facilities. Youth at Kidspeaces King House were pushed against the wall and choked as a means of discipline. At a Woods Services facility, one staff member punched a child in the stomach. No state system is perfect, but the degree and frequency of maltreatment in Pennsylvanias residential facilities is shocking with dire, even deadly consequences for youth. In one tragic incident at the Wordsworth Academy in Philadelphia, a 17-year-old boy named David Hess was fatally restrained over a disagreement involving an iPod. One adult held David by his legs while the other violently punched him in the ribs, and though he was heard yelling I cant breathe, the restraint continued. David died that night. Instead of applying a trauma-informed approach to caring for at-risk youth, many facilities like Glen Mills and Wordsworth Academy allow undertrained staff to employ violence to control childrens behavior. Often, these staff members have poor crisis intervention skills and are ill-equipped to protect the children in their care. In one illustrative incident at Williams House, a child became the victim of sexual abuse in her own bedroom by her roommate and another child on two separate occasions, and even though a staff member at the facility was aware that the assault had occurred and was ongoing, he did nothing to stop it. These findings are particularly troubling in Pennsylvania, a state that places a higher percentage of its teens and young adults in facilities than the rest of the country: 47 percent of Pennsylvanias older youth in foster care (ages 14 to 21) are placed in a facility, compared with 34 percent nationwide. Disproportionately, children placed in residential settings in Pennsylvania are children of color. LGBTQ youth are similarly overrepresented in state care, according to national data and surveys. Pennsylvanias most vulnerable youth are suffering in residential foster care. But ultimate responsibility lies with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (PA-DHS), which has continued to license these facilities. This allows counties to place children in environments with known violations and repeated reports of violence even when there are no adequate plans to address these dangerous situations. How do we fix a system so broken? First, vigorous oversight is needed to ensure that these children receive the care, and treatment, they need. That means PA-DHS must work with facilities and critically evaluate all plans of correction to quickly address and remedy violations, including allegations of violence and abuse. When grave dangers fail to improve, PA-DHS should exercise its authority to stop placing children there or even revoke the facilitys license. We also need to invest in people, particularly those on the front lines taking care of youth. PA-DHS must ensure that staff at residential facilities are adequately trained, which includes, at a minimum, education in trauma-informed care and crisis intervention. Finally, we should strive to place children in the most family-like environments. Whenever possible, children should have the opportunity to live with a family. PA-DHS must ensure that youth are only placed in residential facilities when absolutely necessary. Pennsylvanias children are crying for our help. We cannot ignore them. They deserve what every child deserves: safety and security at home and the opportunity to grow into healthy adults. We owe them no less. Christina Wilson Remlin is lead counsel for Childrens Rights, a national watchdog organization advocating on behalf of abused and neglected children in the U.S. A 26-year-old North Philadelphia man will stand trial for allegedly beating his girlfriends 1-year-old son to death in August. Shedrick James was charged with murder Aug. 31 in the death of Isaiah Josiah McNeil. Following testimony Tuesday from the boys mother, 25-year-old Shanekia McNeil, Judge Karen Yvette Simmons ruled there was enough evidence to move to trial. McNeil gave the following testimony Tuesday: On Aug. 20, the day her baby died, they were living in her North Philadelphia home in the 1800 block of Judson Street with another son and with James, whom she had met during the summer and started dating a few weeks before Isaiahs death. Two other children of McNeils were staying with their father, who had shared custody of their four children. The day of the babys death, McNeil was on her way to pick up her 3-year-old son, Roman, from their father. A local police station was to be their meet-up point. She left the children alone with James, who was building a bunk bed for the kids, she said. This was the first time she had left the kids alone with him. She returned to check on the children, whom she found sleeping, and she went back out. Around 6 p.m., James called her, saying something was wrong with Isaiah, she said. He said Isaiah was choking on water and noodles. And he said he tried to do CPR on him and he passed out. When she returned, she found police officers in her house, and James holding Isaiah. His head was hanging over James arm. The babys mouth was agape and filled with noodles. His eyes were open, but not blinking. Police drove her to St. Christophers Hospital, where the baby was pronounced dead an hour later. Her son Khamire, then 8, told police that James had beaten Isaiah into unconsciousness. McNeil also is charged with endangering the welfare of her children for leaving them alone with James. She was granted immunity to testify against James. Assistant Medical Examiner Lyndsey Emery testified Tuesday that the baby had visible bruising on his face, head and abdomen. The cause of death was ruled a blunt-impact injuries of the torso, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide. James is charged with murder, endangering welfare of children, aggravated assault and related offenses. He is being held at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center. He faces up to life in prison if convicted. A deliveryman for an Overbrook Park pizza shop was lured to a nearby abandoned property and gunned down while attempting to make a delivery, police said Wednesday. The deliveryman, 30-year-old Bobby Jenkins of Ardmore, was shot once in the chest around 7 p.m. Tuesday and was taken to Lankenau Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later, police said. At a news conference at Police Headquarters, Capt. Jason Smith said the shooting happened just outside a residence under construction on the 7600 block of Woodcrest Avenue. The gunman had broken into the home and called in the order to Stacys Pizza, on the 7500 block of Haverford Avenue, to set up the delivery with the intention of robbing the deliveryman, Smith said. Smith said he could not say what was taken from Jenkins, adding that the shooter fled and remained at large Wednesday. Smith said that whoever shot Jenkins was likely behind a robbery Feb. 17 in the 600 block of North Brooklyn Street in Powelton, in which a deliveryman was similarly lured to a vacant home and robbed. These tend to run in patterns, he said. I will say this: Its been my experience that Stacys is one of the most-robbed pizza places in West Philadelphia. Staff writer Mensah M. Dean contributed to this article, which also includes information from the Associated Press. Abdul-Aliy Muhammad was arrested at City Hall last week protesting a policy that even engaged voters with urban planning degrees might struggle to define. We were there to demand an end to councilmanic prerogative, Muhammad, who has since been released, said in an interview. We want an end to these backdoor land deals, as people are being displaced from their neighborhoods. Muhammads group, the Black and Brown Workers Cooperative, has marched against police brutality and racism in the Gayborhood, and for such issues as fair work schedules for service employees. It took up councilmanic prerogative because it sees this as directly related to anti-displacement activism in gentrifying neighborhoods. Its members arent the only ones. Heading into Philadelphias primary season, the issue has been raised in news reports about suspicious land deals and by at least one candidate running for City Council, all while the city halts certain land sales in order to reassess its process. Councilmanic prerogative refers to the unchecked power that the 10 Council members who represent defined geographic parts of the city have over land use in their districts. It is an incredibly wonky thing, and its an interesting hill to plant your flag on, said Mustafa Rashed, a political consultant and lobbyist. Im not sure the average voter could tell you what it means, but its an interesting question, because councilmanic prerogative is Councils bread and butter. How much power does a Philadelphia City Council member have? When it comes to how a neighborhood looks, a lot. Council has final say over land-use decisions, including whether to add a bike lane, create a historic district, or sell a vacant parcel of publicly owned land. And its not really all of Council. Thats because, by custom, the 16 other members defer to the district representative on issues dealing with his or her turf. Council almost unflinchingly follows its own unwritten rule. A Pew study from 2015 found that of 730 Council votes where prerogative was in play, 726 were unanimous. Critics say giving one legislator that much power makes the system vulnerable to unethical behavior, with developers giving Council members campaign contributions in hopes of favorable decisions down the road. In the six cases where a Council member has been convicted of wrongdoing in Philadelphia over the last 40 years, all have involved land-use deals. Just last month, the city halted the sale of most public vacant lots, after the Inquirer reported on real estate developers netting huge profits buying city land at below market rates and flipping it, with the help of district Council members. Council members say district representatives tend to know their neighborhoods best and are closer to constituents. John Carpenter, former deputy executive director of the Land Bank and the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, said hes seen a lot of issues related to sales of vacant land. But to remove prerogative altogether would strip residents of a voice, he said. For every time you find a thieving, conniving developer who somehow hoodwinked the city into giving them something for free, I think you can find a Council member who listened carefully to neighbors and tried to act accordingly," Carpenter said. Some developers also oppose councilmanic prerogative. Ken Weinstein, a Mount Airy-based developer, said hes been blocked from buying several parcels of city-owned vacant land because the Vacant Property Review Committee requires a letter of support from a district Council member. Members can also place holds on certain properties. The city said it did not have data on how many holds Council members have put on properties or why sales were blocked. It is inherently inefficient and ineffective at deciding where resources should go, because theres too much power in the hands of one individual," Weinstein said. "I think its fascinating that people who are pro-development in general and anti-development in general are both seeing the harm in Council prerogative. . Leo Addimando, a managing partner of Alterra Property Group and vice president of the Building Industry Association, however, said the authority Council has to introduce legislation is an efficient way to get large projects through. Its easier to do business when theres a person in charge of decisions, he said. In this business, certainty is more important than outcome so being able to go to a Council person and have a conversation about whether a zoning change is something theyll support, I think its a useful thing in streamlining the development process," Addimando said. Given that councilmanic prerogative isnt an actual rule, its unclear how one would abolish it. Theoretically, the seven Council members who dont represent geographic areas could all choose to buck a district lawmaker, but they would still need the votes of at least two district lawmakers who might want the courtesy extended to them. Justin DiBerardinis, a former staffer to Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez and candidate for Council at-large, has proposed restricting councilmanic prerogative. He thinks the city needs a charter convention to more evenly allocate power among the branches of local government: Give Council more control over certain budgetary items, for example, and maybe Council cedes some control over land use. Even he is surprised to be talking about such things in the campaign , though. Most consultants would say, Dont talk about that. It turns off voters, he said. I think voters deserve a more comprehensive look at these issues, though, which is good for me, because Im not good at sound bites. The relatives of a Tacony man fatally shot by an undercover Philadelphia police officer last year have sued the officer and the city, claiming that the Police Department failed to properly train its officers on the use of deadly force, and that the shooting was objectively unnecessary, excessive, and unreasonable under the circumstances." In a lawsuit filed in Common Pleas Court on Wednesday, family members of Jeffrey Dennis, 36, allege that Officer Richard Nicoletti, a three-decade member of the force assigned to the Narcotics Field Unit at the time of the shooting, violated Dennis civil rights during the fatal encounter Aug. 20, 2018, on the 7100 block of Hegerman Street. Nicoletti embarked on a willful, malicious, reckless, and outrageous course of conduct that was intended to cause, and in fact did cause, Dennis death, the familys complaint says. City spokesperson Mike Dunn declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying city officials were still reviewing it. Nicoletti in December was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by the Attorney Generals Office, which weighed criminal charges in the case because Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, formerly a defense attorney, once represented Dennis. At a news conference Wednesday, Tiffany Fortune, the mother of Dennis 7-year-old daughter, one of his three children, said they had been robbed by Nicolettis actions. My child will be able to Google how her father was killed, Fortune said. Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a statement in December that his office determined there was not enough evidence to support criminal charges. His office released surveillance video of the shooting after announcing the decision. Nicoletti was part of a group of narcotics officers preparing to raid Dennis home on the 7100 block of Cottage Street when they spotted Dennis driving a Toyota Camry on Hegerman. Two unmarked cars blocked Dennis path, and plainclothes officers surrounded his sedan. When Dennis tried to drive away, Nicoletti fired several shots through the drivers window at point-blank range. Dennis was declared dead at the scene minutes later. Daniel Purtell, one of the attorneys for Dennis estate, said at Wednesdays news conference that he and the family categorically disagreed with Shapiros decision, saying: We still think that they murdered Jeffrey Dennis. Capt. Sekou Kinebrew, police spokesperson, said Wednesday that Internal Affairs had completed its investigation into the incident, but that he could not comment on any disciplinary outcome because a final disposition had not yet been reached. Nicoletti previously shot and wounded another man under similar circumstances in 2012, the Inquirer reported in December. It was not clear whether he was disciplined over that shooting. In their lawsuit, Dennis relatives filed counts of excessive force and assault against Nicoletti, as well as a claim that the Police Department failed to properly train its officers. They asked for monetary damages in excess of $150,000 for each count as well as punitive damages, according to the suit. In its first chance to expand or curb Philadelphias field of charter schools, which enroll about one-third of the citys public-school pupils, the school board is expected to vote Thursday on three new applications. If approved, Frederick Douglass Charter High School, proposed for Francisville; Joan Myers Brown Academy, for West Philadelphia; and Tacony Academy at St. Vincents, Tacony, could open this fall and eventually serve 2,300 students. About 70,000 students are already enrolled in the citys 87 charters, which are publicly funded but independently run and are a continued source of debate in Philadelphia. Charter advocates say parents need more options and have a new statistic to highlight: 30,000 students applied to city charter schools this year through a new online system. Supporters of traditional public schools, meanwhile, say the district and taxpayers cant afford more charters. In Pennsylvania, they are funded by school districts, who pay charters based on enrollment and what the districts spend per pupil. While public schools no longer have to educate students who leave for charters, research shows districts still incur charter-related expenses. Over the five-year initial term, the three new charters would saddle the district with $42 million in so-called stranded costs the difference between those carryover expenses and what the district would save in per-pupil expenses, according to Temple University law Professor Susan DeJarnatt. This is a lowball figure," she said in a letter to the school board, as it does not include the costs of additional oversight or of higher special education payments the district will have to pay charters. The board, whose nine members were appointed by Mayor Jim Kenney last year as the city regained control of its schools from the state, agreed in December to allow the struggling Richard Allen Preparatory Charter School to remain open with conditions. Leaders said the alternative was costly litigation, which the district at times has sought to avoid. It is unclear how the board will approach new applications. In evaluations released last week, district officials identified issues with all three applicants. The Frederick Douglass Charter High School billed itself as trauma-informed. But its first line of student support would be provided by a text-message service, said Christina Grant, the districts interim head of charter schools. We really were unclear about who would be on the other end of this text messaging service, Grant told board members last week. Joan Myers Brown Academy named for the Philadanco founder, and run by String Theory Schools didnt submit complete curriculum materials for the grades and subjects it would offer in its first year of operation, and didnt provide any intent-to-enroll forms, Grant said. Of Tacony Academy at St. Vincents, Grant cited concern about the schools ability to acquire its proposed facilities, currently owned by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. She also questioned the schools staffing plan noting that classroom aides described as essential to the schools model would be paid salaries of $11,000 and its proposed agreement with American Paradigm Schools, which operates four other Philadelphia charters. At that previous board meeting, charter applicants, including Tacony Academys Gerald Santilli, a former School District chief financial officer, made clear they were unhappy with the evaluations. I dont believe theres anybody in the charter school office that could question a budget that my organization prepared, he said. Jason Corosanite, chief innovation officer at String Theory Schools, told board members that the districts evaluation was deeply flawed and extremely biased." MILLERSVILLE, Pa. (AP) Federal investigators say a poorly installed natural gas connection is likely to blame for a gas explosion that killed a utility worker and destroyed two Pennsylvania homes in July 2017. The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday the faulty connection let gas seep into the house in Millersville, Lancaster County. The blast also injured three other people and caused significant damage to six nearby houses, including one that was later condemned. Authorities say a locking sleeve used to connect the "tapping tee" to the gas main was not attached to the main. The unattached locking sleeve put stress on four nylon bolts, and two of those bolts fractured. A UGI Utilities employee was killed in the explosion. Ma Yun, or Jack Ma, founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, has topped the latest edition of the Hurun Global Rich List for 2019. With a net worth of 260 billion yuan ($39 billion), 55-year old Ma Yun and family ranked 22nd on the list, up 4 spots. Ma Huateng, chairman and CEO of Tencent with a net worth of $38 billion, ranked 24th and became the second wealthiest Chinese in this year's list. Evergrande Group chairman Xu Jiayin became the third-richest Chinese with a $37 billion net worth, placing 26th on the Loong Palace Hurun Global Rich List 2019, a ranking of the US-Dollar billionaires in the world. According to Hurun, 769 listed people saw their wealth increase and 201 new faces emerged, led by China and the US with 52 and 39 respectively. They were followed by India with 23 newcomers. Thirty-nine-year old Huang Zheng, chairman and CEO of online discounter Pinduoduo, led the new faces, shooting straight to the top 100 with wealth of $15 billion. With 658 billionaires, China leads the world for the fourth year in number of billionaires, 74 ahead of the US with 584. The TMT or technology, media and telecom industry, is the main source of wealth, followed by real estate, investments, manufacturing and retail, the report said. Nearly one month after Sam Davis falsely claimed that all the Indians" in Chesterfield Township, Burlington County, had voted illegally in November, the former township committeeman apologized Tuesday night at a community unity meeting organized by Shreekant Dhopte, who beat him in November by 117 votes. Im asking for forgiveness, and its coming from my heart and nowhere else, Davis in front of a diverse group of 30 people at the Crosswicks Friends Meeting. The way I worded it was not good. ... There is no excuse for my behavior. I did not mean it to come out the way it did. On a Facebook page that debated whether immigrants should be tipped, Davis said in a January post that all the Indians in the town cost him the election, and that they were not citizens. Davis, 64, a retired Trenton High School science teacher who impersonates Gen. George Washington at events in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, said he had filed a complaint of voter fraud with the Burlington County Prosecutors Office. The remarks sparked an outcry in the rural township of 8,000 residents, where housing developments are springing up. It has about 4,000 registered voters, including about 300 Indian Americans, Dhopte said. After apologizing, Davis shook hands and embraced Dhopte, and his voice cracked when he asked for his forgiveness. Dhopte nodded, and afterward said it was time to move on. He said that it is the Indian way to forgive and accept an apology when remorse is shown. He said in his remarks to the crowd that not all the Indians in this community are citizens, but all are here legally and do believe in following the law of the land. Dhopte also said they have been welcomed by Chesterfield and have assimilated. Davis said in his Facebook comments that he could not wait until those people were slapped with $15,000 fines after the prosecutor investigated. The Prosecutors Office declined to comment on whether it had investigated the complaint. Earlier this month, Dhopte, a Democrat and a newcomer to politics, asked Davis, a Republican, to apologize to the community, and also asked the Burlington County Republican Committee to condemn the comments. The Quakers who are hosting the meeting didnt want the meeting to be one-sided, so they reached out to us and to Sam Davis, to give him the chance to come down and explain himself, Dhopte said before the meeting. They said there was a right way to address this, and wanted to use it to address the larger issue of racism. Dhopte, 45, an IT manager, said Davis remarks on Facebook had surprised him because the two had agreed during the campaign last fall to remain civil and stick to issues. Dhopte said that the community is diverse and harmonious, and that the comments were unexpected and gave a wrong impression of the town. He is the first Asian American to sit on the committee. Burlington County Freeholder Balvir Singh informed Dhopte about the comments when he saw Davis had joined a thread on a Facebook post where a Bordentown cafe owner posted the image of a bill signed by an unknown patron who wrote that he didnt tip immigrants. Davis joined the conversation and said he had lost the November election to an Indian guy." Singh, a Democrat, said racist comments were posted on the Facebook page of the county Republican Committee when he ran for office two years ago. He said Davis remarks were hurtful to the community. It was a hateful act for him to make assumptions like that about people, he said. At the Tuesday meeting, Singh said that he was disappointed that Davis was still pursuing his complaint with the Prosecutors Office to see if any Indians voted illegally. Im a person of color and a citizen.... When will my children feel no white person looks at me and feels, Is that person a citizen? Thats a loaded question, to assume a person of color should have to prove theyre a citizen. Lalith Pasupuleti said he is a citizen and has lived in Chesterfield for six years. He said Davis Facebook comments were disturbing, but we all have prejudices, and it is time to let it go and bring the town together. Theres something about Chesterfield the air, the water but I have never felt more at peace in a place. ... I feel very blessed to be part of this community, he said. WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court seemed inclined Wednesday to rule that a 40-foot-tall cross that stands on public land in Maryland is constitutional, but shy away from a sweeping ruling. The case the justices heard arguments in is being closely watched because it involves the place of religious symbols in public life. But the particular memorial at issue is a nearly 100-year-old cross that was built in a Washington, D.C., suburb as a memorial to area residents who died in World War I. Before arguments in the case, it seemed that the memorial's supporters, including the Trump administration, had the upper hand based on the court's conservative makeup and its decision to take up the matter. On Wednesday, even liberal justices Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer suggested that they could join a narrow ruling upholding this particular memorial. Kagan noted that the cross is a symbol linked with soldiers killed in World War I. "When you go into a World War I battlefield, there are Stars of David there, but because those battlefields were just rows and rows and rows of crosses, the cross became, in people's minds, the pre-eminent symbol of how to memorialize World War I dead," she said, adding that there are no religious words on the Maryland cross and that it sits in an area with other war memorials. She asked, "So why in a case like that can we not say essentially the religious content has been stripped of this monument?" Breyer, for his part, asked a lawyer arguing for the cross' challengers what she thought about saying that "history counts" and that "We're not going to have people trying to tear down historical monuments even here." "What about saying past is past?" he said at another point during arguments conducted in a courtroom whose friezes include depictions of Moses and Muhammed and that began, as always, with the marshal's cry: "God save the United States and this honorable court." The cross's challengers include three area residents and the District of Columbia-based American Humanist Association, a group that includes atheists and agnostics. They argue that the cross's location on public land violates the First Amendment's establishment clause, which prohibits the government from favoring one religion over others. They say the cross should be moved to private property or modified into a nonreligious monument such as a slab or obelisk. The group lost the first round in court, but in 2017 an appeals court ruled the cross unconstitutional. The cross's defenders include The American Legion, which raised money for the monument, and Maryland officials who took over maintenance of the cross nearly 60 years ago to preserve it and address traffic safety concerns. Maryland officials say the cross, sometimes called the "Peace Cross," doesn't violate the Constitution because it has a secular purpose and meaning. Those defending the cross say a ruling against them could doom of hundreds of war memorials that use crosses to commemorate soldiers who died. Justice Samuel Alito picked up on that concern during arguments, telling American Humanist Association lawyer Monica Miller: "There are cross monuments all over the country, many of them quite old. Do you want them all taken down?" Miller said no, and she told the justices there are only between 10 and 20 monuments nationwide that are truly like Maryland's cross. In the past, similar monuments have met with a mixed fate at the high court. On the same day in 2005, for example, the court upheld a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Texas state Capitol while striking down Ten Commandments displays in Kentucky courthouses. After those rulings and others the Supreme Court has been criticized for being less than clear in explaining how to analyze so-called passive displays, like Maryland's cross, that are challenged as violating the Constitution's establishment clause. In 1971 the court announced one test for such cases. It asks whether the government's action has a secular purpose, advances or inhibits religion or fosters "an excessive government entanglement with religion." But in the decades since, the court hasn't consistently followed that test, and several former and current justices have criticized it. Justice Neil Gorsuch asked Wednesday if it wasn't time to get rid of the test, saying it has resulted in a "welter of confusion." Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested that lower courts "need some clarity" from the Supreme Court. At the same time, several conservative justices sounded skeptical of a test advocated by Michael Carvin, a lawyer for The American Legion, who told the justices that what the Constitution was concerned with was religious coercion. Chief Justice John Roberts told Carvin that he was advocating "a pretty concise test" but that it deteriorates "pretty quickly into, well, I need to know about this and I need to know about that." A decision in the case is expected by the end of June. ___ Associated Press reporter Mark Sherman contributed to this report. ___ Follow Jessica Gresko on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko CONCORD, N.H. (AP) New Hampshire lawmakers on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to legalizing recreational marijuana, dismissing public safety and health concerns on a path to join scores of other states that have passed similar cannabis measures. Lawmakers voted, 209-147, in favor of the bill that would legalize possession up to 1 ounce. Adults would be allowed to grow up to six plants, and a commission would be set up to license and regulate an industry supporters said could produce $33 million per year. I know change is hard. Its a little scary, the bills sponsor, Democratic Rep. Renny Cushing, told lawmakers ahead of the vote. But I think now is the time that New Hampshire makes the transition from prohibition to real legalization, taxation, and regulation. Past efforts have failed in New Hampshire, but Democrats, who added legalization to their platform last year, now control both the House and Senate. But a spokesman for Republican Gov. Chris Sununu said the governor remains committed to vetoing the bill. Benjamin Vihstadt said Sununu agrees with law enforcement and public health officials who say "now is not the time for the recreational legalization of cannabis in New Hampshire." While the vote Wednesday falls short of the two-thirds majority to override a veto, Cushing said that he expects it to pick up support and that it will eventually become law. "I'm confident that the force of history is with us," he said. The measure now goes to the Ways and Means Committee because of the revenue component of the bill. It then will return to the House for another vote before moving to the Senate. Ten states have legalized recreational marijuana including the three bordering New Hampshire while New York, New Jersey and others are considering it this year. Opponents dominated much of the debate Wednesday, with several lawmakers raising concerns over health, motorists driving while high, and marijuana being a gateway drug. Marijuana commercialization is wrong for New Hampshires young people, our communities, Democratic Rep. Linda Harriott-Gathright said. Allowing big marijuana into New Hampshire will allow this major industry to manufacture, sell, and market an addictive substance to our kids setting them up for long-term health problems. Republican Rep. Stephen Pearson said that as a firefighter he sees the impacts of the opioid crisis. He said he fears legalization of marijuana could only add to the state's drug problems. We are not going to solve our drug crisis by legalizing more drugs. This bill creates far more problems than its worth, he said. Supporters countered that the health concerns are overblown. They also said legalization would take the sales away from criminal gangs and ensure safer transactions and that products that more reliable. They also said legalization would be a boon to the economy. I dont share my colleagues concern about cannabis I know we are dealing with the opioid epidemic but this is not that not even close, said Democratic Rep. William Pearson. Rather, I would compare cannabis to coffee or sugar. Last year, California became the largest legal U.S. marketplace, Massachusetts opened the first recreational shops on the East Coast, Canada legalized it in most provinces, and Mexicos Supreme Court recognized the rights of individuals to use marijuana, moving the country closer to broad legalization. (Bloomberg) As Asias most acrimonious rivals face off, the fate of a captured Indian Air Force pilot may hold the key to whether and how each side is able to step back from broader conflict. India and Pakistan, which have fought three major wars since the bloody partition of 1947, regularly exchange artillery and small-weapons fire across a disputed border. But the situation that flared up earlier this month escalated dramatically into Wednesday, with the loss of an Indian MiG 21 fighter jet and the pilot later paraded on Pakistani television. While the U.S., Russia and China are all calling for calm, domestic political pressures make it far from easy for either side in the conflict to back down. Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi must contest a general election within weeks, while his counterpart, Imran Khan, faces a military that is seeking to assert its dominance when Pakistan is in the eye of a financial and economic storm. The full political fallout of the exchanges remains unclear, but its evident that the capture of a pilot complicates matters and will heighten tensions, said Sandeep Shastri, a political scientist and Pro Vice Chancellor at Jain University in Bangalore. Neither country can afford a full-blown conflict, yet neither leader can afford to look weak all the more so with their publics whipped into a nationalist frenzy. Vulgar Display Still, in an address to the nation, Khan called for India-Pakistan talks to resolve the situation, saying that better sense should prevail. A Pakistani official in Washington said his country wants peace and dialogue with India to avoid escalation and confrontation, but he said India must help resolve the underlying conflict over Kashmir. That may in part reflect Pakistans greater exposure to the financial and economic fallout. Pakistans benchmark stock index plunged as much as 3.8 percent in Karachi, while Indias S&P BSE Sensex was down a mere 0.2 percent in Mumbai after gaining earlier in the day. Any sense of optimism in New Delhi at Khans conciliatory stance was undermined by the appearance shortly later of the downed Indian pilot on television, thanking the Pakistani Army for rescuing him from a mob. Indias Foreign Ministry promptly objected to Pakistans vulgar display of air force personnel in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention. It demanded the immediate and safe return of the pilot. The Pakistani official in Washington, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the pilot in custody is being treated well and isnt under duress. Modi, who must contest a general election within weeks, is drawing political capital by using Pakistan as a punching bag, the official said. The Pentagon said in a statement Wednesday that Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahans focus is on de-escalating tensions and urging both of the nations to avoid further military action. The latest incident puts enormous pressure on the Modi government in India to continue pressing ahead with the cycle of retaliation, said Pratyush Rao, associate director for India and South Asia at consultancy Control Risks. Airspace Shut Indian and Pakistani fighter jets engaged each other early on Wednesday in one of the most serious military confrontations in the fifty years since the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. India and Pakistan each shut parts of their respective airspace in the wake of the action. While skirmishes between both sides are not uncommon, particularly in the disputed Kashmir region in the north, the geopolitical importance of the actors is changing. Pakistan is the main conduit to Afghanistan and enjoys at least nominally good relations with China, while India is aligned with the U.S. and has ambitions to become a true global power. India in particular has transformed since the two countries last faced off in 1999. Now the worlds fastest growing major economy, Indias population of some 1.3 billion is forecast to overtake Chinas to become the worlds largest by 2024. New Delhi and Islamabad both say publicly they dont want the situation to escalate. But domestic politics suggest India and Pakistan may continue to spar regardless. Modi, a Hindu nationalist, is facing a stiffer contest for re-election this spring than had been projected even a few months back, as he reaches out to his countrys more than 875 million voters at a time of weak job growth. The apparent capture of a pilot exacerbates his dilemma. Burger Discounts On the ground, tensions have run high ever since India blamed Pakistan for a suicide bombing in Kashmir on Feb. 14 that killed 40 Indian paramilitary troops. Some Indian hotels put up signs saying Kashmiris werent welcome, while a sitting state governor urged Indians to boycott the state and Kashmiri businesses. After Indias retaliatory airstrikes on Tuesday, an Indian burger chain offered a celebratory 20 percent discount. The early morning raid, when Indian fighter jets crossed into its neighbors airspace and bombed what India said was a major terrorist training camp, was done purely in self defense, said G.V.L. Narasimha Rao, a lawmaker and spokesman for Modis ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. India does not have any intention to escalate the fight. Modi and his government now find themselves in a bind: Unable to concede and yet constrained in its actions by Pakistans apparent capture of a pilot, said Michael Kugelman, a senior associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center in Washington. The bottom line, he said, is that Modi cant afford politically to accept the olive branch that Pakistan has now extended to him. Pakistans Military For his part, since coming to power last year on a ticket of transforming his nation, Imran Khan has repeatedly called for peace talks with India while running up against a grinding economic malaise that forced him to try to raise funds from China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. His government is also negotiating Pakistans 13th International Monetary Fund bailout since the late 1980s. President Donald Trumps decision to cut some $2 billion in U.S. security aid has also squeezed Pakistans defense funding. Fear of Indian dominance continues to dictate strategy in a military that has directly ruled Pakistan for almost half its 71-year history. The army is the nations most dominant organization and has long been seen as one of the main obstacles to peace with India. The latest flare-up will likely help boost its case for more spending, said Kamal Alam, a visiting fellow at the London-based Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies. Its just possible that theres already been an end to the military action, with honor maintained on each side leading to international mediation, said Katharine Adeney, director of the University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute. Theres a caveat, however. It really depends on how Pakistan uses the captured soldier, she said. (Updates with Pakistani officials comments and Pentagon statement starting in sixth paragraph.) With assistance from Glen Carey. To contact the reporters on this story: Iain Marlow in New Delhi at imarlow1@bloomberg.net;Chris Kay in London at ckay5@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Crawford at acrawford6@bloomberg.net;Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net 2019 Bloomberg L.P. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Torrential rain from a winter storm that has also dumped heavy snow in mountainous areas prompted California authorities to order mandatory evacuations for two dozen small communities north of San Francisco. The order covers a 35-mile stretch of communities in Sonoma County along the Russian River, which was expected to overflow Tuesday night when it reaches 32 feet. The town of Guerneville, population 4,500, was the largest ordered to evacuate. The river was expected to crest Wednesday night at 46 feet in the community 75 miles north of San Francisco. "We're definitely in high concern mode," said Sonoma County sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Crum. "We're bringing our boats out here and we're letting the public know to take this one serious." Earlier Tuesday at the River Inn Grill in Guerneville, workers were preparing by putting perishables on high shelves in storage rooms. But manager Andre Vazquez said the one-story building could be largely submerged that if the river reaches 46 feet. "If it gets to 46 feet, it's done. There is no way to prepare for that," Vazquez said. The town often floods during heavy rain and people seemed nonchalant Tuesday about the threat, said Joseph Chung, whose parents own the Koala's Fine Food restaurant. "A couple of weeks ago people were using kayaks to get to their mailbox," Chung said. "If it gets really bad, we'll get out." For now, Chung said, the restaurant planned to stay open until its normal 10 p.m. closing time. The National Weather Service also issued flood warnings and flash flood watches for the San Francisco Bay Area and many parts of the Sacramento area, lasting into Thursday morning. While some areas could see 6 inches of rain or more and as much as 12 inches on mountains the intensity will not be fierce enough to cause devastating mudslides in areas denuded by a string of devastating wildfires, such as Shasta and Lake Counties, the weather service said. In the Sierra Nevada along the California-Nevada line, forecasters warned of possible whiteout conditions from blowing snow in high mountain passes. The mountains could get up to 6 feet of snow at higher elevations and winds gusting to 140 mph over ridgetops. Several mountain highways, including I-80 at Donner Summit, were repeatedly closed for short periods Tuesday because of whiteout conditions. The storm already has barreled through other parts of the West, toppling trucks and trees, triggering power outages, and closing roads and schools from Oregon to Montana. It is the latest in a string that has dumped record levels of snow and rain this winter in the western U.S. WASHINGTON In a vote illustrating the changing politics around guns, the House on Wednesday passed a bill to expand background checks to all firearms purchases, the first time in 20 years that either chamber in Congress has approved a significant expansion of gun laws. After weeks consumed by the government shutdown and jousting with President Donald Trump, Democrats used the vote to make one of their first major policy statements as the House majority showing that they now see tougher gun laws as a central part of their appeal to voters, even in swing districts. The bill passed 240-190, with support from eight Republicans. The vote also reflects the shift of power on Capitol Hill, with Democrats now in position to push proposals that couldnt get a hearing under GOP control. All but two House Democrats supported the measure to expand background checks, including dozens of newly elected lawmakers from competitive suburban districts. Reps. Andy Kim and Jeff Van Drew, of South Jersey, and Conor Lamb, of Western Pennsylvania, represent districts Trump won, yet were among the 232 House cosponsors. This is really I would say the most significant gun violence legislation in a generation, said Max Samis, a spokesperson for Brady, the group that until Tuesday was called the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. We saw people running on this issue coast to coast last year. In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the group endorsed seven House Democrats who flipped seats previously held by Republicans along with the only two House Republicans in the Philadelphia region to survive last year, Brian Fitzpatrick of Bucks County and Chris Smith of Central New Jersey. Both Republicans voted for the background check bill up Wednesday. Meanwhile, Democrats representing suburban areas aggressively highlighted their support for tougher gun laws in campaigns last year and since the election. There was a change of leadership, and this leadership now listens to what 90 percent of the American public wants, [which] is universal background checks, said Rep. Donald Norcross (D., N.J.). Reps. Mary Gay Scanlon of Delaware County and Madeleine Dean of Montgomery County invited gun violence survivors to be their guests at the State of the Union speech this month. Theres been a significant change, and I think you saw it in the 2018 election most clearly, said Robert Spitzer, a political scientist at State University of New York-Cortland who has written five books on gun policy. The two measures up Wednesday and Thursday, however, appear likely to be blocked by the Republican-controlled Senate. But advocates for stricter gun laws still view House passage as a major step after two decades of legislative blockades. Many packed the House chamber and broke into applause and tears after the vote. This was worth a good cry, Dean said. The last time either chamber of Congress passed a gun bill was in May 1999, Spitzer said. Weeks after the Columbine school shootings, the Senate approved a bill to require background checks for firearms sales at gun shows. It was blocked in the House. The closest any major bill has come since was in 2013, when the Senate rejected a background check bill sponsored by Sens. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) and Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn. That plan got 55 votes, but it needed 60 to advance, in part because of defections by a handful of Democrats from conservative states. It wasnt that long ago that gun safety was considered the third rail of politics, but today you have a new majority in the House of Representatives that was elected because of, not despite, its enthusiasm for stronger gun laws, said Peter Ambler, executive director of Giffords, the advocacy group founded by former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. He predicted political damage for Republicans if they refuse to act in the Senate. With every day that goes by, with 100 Americans shot every day, theyre going to have to answer to the American people," Ambler said. U.S. Rep. Greg Steube (R., Fla.) pointed out that the shooters at massacres at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, along with other killers, passed background checks. This legislation does nothing to make our schools, churches or communities safer, Steube said on the House floor Wednesday morning. In fact, it only infringes on the constitutionally guaranteed Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. Republicans also scored a victory by winning adoption of an amendment requiring authorities to notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement if a background check discovers someone in the United States illegally trying to buy a gun. Several Democrats, including Kim and Van Drew, voted for that change. The House-passed bill would expand background checks to private sales, including online or at gun shows. A second measure, scheduled for a Thursday vote, would require gun dealers to wait 20 days up from three for a response to a background check request before going ahead with a sale. After the House action, the spotlight could again fall on Toomey, one of the few Senate Republicans for broader background checks. But gun control groups have largely soured on his previous proposal, and it doesnt appear to have gained Senate support. Instead, advocates for tougher laws are backing a plan that mirrors the Democratic House proposal. Im not wildly optimistic" that there is a path to Senate passage for his plan, Toomey said Tuesday, though he said he is considering tweaks. Kim, the South Jersey freshman who flipped a Republican seat in South Jersey, said the activism of the Parkland students changed the climate. To me, as the father of two baby boys, that really hit hard, Kim said. In the days and weeks after that tragedy, really, people that never got interested in politics before, never engaged on that issue before, starting coming out and talking to me and saying, What can we do? More than 80 boys from across the country are being removed from the Glen Mills Schools in response to an Inquirer investigation into decades of abuse and cover-ups at the Delaware County campus. The countys district attorney is conducting a probe into possible lawbreaking at Glen Mills, the oldest existing reform school in the United States. And the state Department of Human Services, which oversees Glen Mills and other homes for court-ordered boys, is investigating the school to determine whether it should keep its license. DHS will work to do whatever it must to stop this culture of silence, intimidation, and mistreatment of children, said Ali Fogarty, a spokesperson for the agency. The recent Inquirer investigation uncovered decades of abuse by counselors at Glen Mills, where boys said they are threatened to keep quiet about the violence they endure. Since the story was published, online last week and in print on Sunday, juvenile courts in Michigan, Texas, California, and Pennsylvania have begun the process of pulling their boys from Glen Mills. The school stands to lose more than one-third of its students. Although a privately run nonprofit, Glen Mills receives taxpayer money, including a tuition of $52,000 per year for each boy from Philadelphia. Philadelphia acted first, initiating new hearings for its 51 boys who were at Glen Mills. Los Angeles County intends to remove all 14 of its boys from the school, a spokesperson for the juvenile probation department said Wednesday. Probation officials are already on campus with the youths, and are coordinating with juvenile judges to do this in a deliberate and thoughtful manner to avoid unnecessary detention and interruption of their treatment program, said Adam Wolfson, the spokesperson. Kent County, Mich., pulled all seven of its teenagers out of Glen Mills and had them back in the Grand Rapids area by Tuesday. Harris County, Texas, removed its two boys, as first reported by the Houston Chronicle. As soon as I was made aware of the allegations this morning, I directed our staff to make arrangements to have these two returned here immediately, Henry Gonzales, the countys juvenile probation executive director, told the paper. In Pennsylvania, Erie County officials said Wednesday they are removing their nine youths from Glen Mills. I have to make sure theyre safe and that their best interests are being met, said President Judge John Trucilla. Probation officers are headed to Glen Mills to retrieve the youths, he said. After the story was published, two state lawmakers called on the Pennsylvania auditor general and attorney general, as well as the regional office of the U.S. Department of Justice, to investigate Glen Mills. (The Inquirer previously reported that the Justice Department has an ongoing law enforcement proceeding at the school.) Joe Grace, a spokesperson for Attorney General Josh Shapiros office, said they were "deeply disturbed by the allegations of abuse and cover-up. Shapiros office could take on the case, but it must first be referred to them by Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun M. Copeland, whose office has jurisdiction. We stand ready to assist further if necessary, Grace said. Chelsey Price, a spokesperson for Copeland, said, We are currently prosecuting and [investigating], with our law enforcement partners, allegations that emanate from the Glen Mills Schools. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services licenses and oversees Glen Mills and other residential programs for juveniles. The department is reviewing all the accounts of abuse described in the article, and will decide whether to take action against Glen Mills license at the end of the process, Fogarty said. The states options include allowing the school to retain its full license or revoking it. DHS could also issue a provisional" or temporary license for up to six months. Under this action, Glen Mills would commit to correcting any issues identified by the state, which would increase its supervision of the school during that period. Fogarty could not give a timeline for the states review. A spokesperson for Glen Mills did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Without citing any specifics, Glen Mills leadership previously issued a statement saying it disputes virtually all the allegations and conclusions" in the article. In the meantime, enrollment is dwindling at the prestigious reform school that housed more than 1,000 boys at its peak. In August, when the Inquirer reported that a Philadelphia teen had been assaulted by Glen Mills counselors, the school said it had 383 students from throughout the country. Philadelphia, Chester County and Delaware County suspended intake at Glen Mills last summer. Montgomery County removed its boys from Glen Mills in October 2017. By Feb. 19, the schools enrollment had fallen to 238. The number of students that various jurisdictions have decided to remove following the Inquirer report has reached 83, dropping Glen Mills student body to fewer than 160. Columbia County, Pa., also removed its sole student enrolled at Glen Mills on Wednesday morning; but the hearing was already scheduled and the boy was discharged because he had completed his time, said Denise LaBuda, chief juvenile probation officer. LaBuda said that Columbia County youths had had positive experiences at Glen Mills. Still, the county would probably wait until all issues are resolved openly and fully before referring more boys to the school. While officials from other counties weigh their next steps, Glen Mills is looking for support where it can find it. In an email to alumni Tuesday afternoon, administrator Al Minker asked former students to push positive messages about Glen Mills on social media. I am asking that ALL BULLS FOR LIFE CLUB MEMBERS come together and show support in fighting back on the recent articles in the Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote Minker, who is identified on Glen Mills website as an education coordinator. The schools mascot is the Battling Bulls." The subject line of Minkers email read, BULLS FOR LIFE!!! That night, an alumnus named Michael Bettencourt responded not to the call to arms, but to the email itself. Its over, the former student wrote. We had a great run. "Everything in all of those reports are true. Many many more stories are going to come out that are worse. Carmen Cancel often left her doctors visits feeling unsatisfied and misunderstood, despite having a medical interpreter. Cancel, a native Spanish speaker, just wanted to talk directly with the physicians who care for her spine, without the middleman. I want to have a conversation with them, not have someone speak for me, Cancel, 56, said in Spanish. Then, I could tell them what I am feeling. About a year ago, Cancel began adult English classes at a local nonprofit. But it wasnt until she joined the Free Librarys English for Civic Engagement class a month ago that she grew confident enough to speak English. This course is giving me the confidence I needed to be able to talk, said Cancel, of Fairhill. This is what I was missing. The first of its kind, the eight-week class is offered only through the Lillian Marrero Branch in North Philadelphia. It teaches adult students the phrases, vocabulary, and grammar needed to navigate daily experiences through a curriculum tailored to individual needs and robust discussions, mostly in English, about community issues. It breaks with the more traditional English as a Second Language (ESL) classes offered at branches across the city, and instead embraces a curriculum shaped by its students. Students are bigger stakeholders in what they get to learn, said Anne Pyzocha, the class instructor. Many adult ESL programs have a textbook that they have to follow, or a set curriculum they have to follow, whereas in these classes were asking the students up front: What do you want to learn about? Pyzocha opens each new class with a five-question needs analysis. Then, based on student responses, she creates learning objectives and builds the curriculum. In class, students learn English phrases and vocabulary for civic processes, but also discuss issues plaguing their neighborhoods, such as underfunded schools and libraries. Each class averages about 10 students, she said. For a handful of students, the class has been a catalyst to join the grassroots campaign advocating for additional library funding #FundOurLibraries. Soon, newer students will discuss candidate platforms in upcoming local elections, she said. Theyre coming to our classes specifically to learn how to interact in the community, said Pyzocha. In 2017, Marrero, at Sixth Street and Lehigh Avenue, became a natural first destination for hundreds of new Puerto Rican residents who relocated to the city after being displaced by Hurricane Maria, said Tania-Maria Rios Marrero, a native Spanish speaker and community organizer with the nonprofit Free Library Foundation, which raises money for the library. English literacy quickly became one of the loudest needs at the branch, she said. People came there looking not only for help on the computer, with their FEMA application, but they were also looking for English classes, Marrero said. So, she and Kate Goodman, another Foundation organizer, held community focus groups and conversations, then built a curriculum outline. Now, a year and three eight-week classes later, its become a refuge for new arrivals and longtime Philadelphia Latinos; a wrecking ball to break down the language barrier. Its become a way for the library to partner with migrant communities to create pathways for their integration, resettlement, and engagement in Philadelphia, Marrero said. At times, Philadelphia native and newer migrant Latinos tend to be very marginalized, isolated and cut off from the rest of Philadelphia, Marrero said. Thats why in heavily Latino-populated areas of the city,, the role of libraries and literacy in these communities cannot be understated, she said. At the library, people at once become connected with a space that is safe, free, accessible, and responsive to them. And the needs are clear. Forty-four percent of Philadelphia Hispanic households speak English less than very well, according to census data. When Monica Perez moved to North Philadelphia from Mexico City three years ago, she immediately learned how crucial it was to know English. Tasks like grocery shopping or doctors visits were daunting. Traditional English language classes, she said, didnt always teach the words she needed. Thats why when she learned about a free class at Marrero, a few blocks from her home, she was sold. "If Im living here, I have to learn [English], Perez said. The trash-truck driver who killed a pastry chef on a bicycle in Center City in 2017 has been charged in her death. Jorge Fretts, 28, of Philadelphia, was charged Tuesday with homicide by vehicle, a felony, as well as involuntary manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person in the death of Emily Fredricks, 24. He turned himself in Tuesday and was held on $100,000 bail. Court records showed he had not posted that bail as of Wednesday morning. The most serious charge, homicide by vehicle, could bring a maximum sentence of five years incarceration. Ben Cooper, the attorney representing Fretts, said he had just been notified of the case Wednesday and declined to comment. The Nov. 28 incident happened at 11th and Spruce Streets during morning rush hour, Anthony Voci, the Philadelphia district attorneys chief of homicide, said during a news conference Wednesday. Video from inside the cab of the privately owned trash truck showed Fretts driving while looking at paperwork in the center console of his truck when he should have been watching his side-view mirrors, Voci said. Fretts also was wearing ear buds in the video. As he turned right, Voci said, Fretts crossed into a bicycle lane and Fredricks path, killing her. In this case, the evidence took us to the inescapable conclusion that this was not an accident, that this was an unlawful act," Voci said. That it was due in large part to inattention and disregard for the law, multiple laws. Fretts remained an employee at Gold Medal Environmental, the company that owned the truck, until his arrest, Voci said, though it was not clear whether he was working as a driver during that time. Attempts to reach the Sewell company for comment were not successful. Gold Medal reached a $6 million settlement with Fredricks family in September, and also agreed to contribute $25,000 a year for the next five years to an organization dedicated to safe streets in Philadelphia. Fretts was not using his phone or speeding at the time of the collision, Voci said, and does not have any prior driving violations. Fredricks parents, Laura and Richard, had known since September that charges were likely, they said Wednesday morning. Voci called them Tuesday to alert them that Fretts would be charged. When we found out how Emily was killed, you hope that there will be some justice, Fredricks mother, Laura, said, and with these charges, we do feel that its a message and a clear indication that if you dont follow the rules, then there will be consequences as well there should be. >>READ MORE: Parents of Center City bicycle crash victim: Dont let her death be in vain Since her death, the Fredrickses, who live in East Brunswick, N.J., have become activists for street safety in Philadelphia. In 2018, 101 people died on Philadelphias streets, according to police data. Thats preliminary data and could change, but if the final count is near that, it will likely be more than the 94 deaths in 2017 reported by PennDot. Fredricks was drawn to making pastries because of her creative side, her family has said. She worked at the Sagamore Resort in Lake George, N.Y., and the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Fla., before moving to Philadelphia in May 2017. She was heading to her job at Le Cheri near Rittenhouse Square when she died. We are just so emotionally drained, Laura Fredricks said. We think about her every second of every day. We miss her terribly. She was a lovely, lovely young woman, and our family will never be the same. They were encouraged by the citys decision to shift bike lanes from the right to the left side of the road on Spruce and Pine Streets, an adjustment meant to make cyclists more visible to motorists, and have supported efforts to install speed cameras on Roosevelt Boulevard. It was a wake-up call to a lot of the city, because 11th and Spruce is a place where its supposed to be a safe place to ride a bike, said Randy LoBasso, a spokesperson for the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. The organization has called for more transparency on how law enforcement decides whether a traffic-related death rises to the level of criminality. Four cyclists have died in Philadelphia in traffic-related incidents since Fredricks death, LoBasso said, and charges have not been filed in those cases. The organization recently requested information from the Philadelphia Police Department on investigations into 95 traffic-related deaths involving pedestrians, cyclists, or motorcyclists, and in nearly half the incidents the police provided no data. Assigning criminal liability in car-related deaths is challenging, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said. The law recognizes that mistakes, even fatal ones, happen and may not be criminal, he said. Frett, though, limited his capacity to see and hear, and failed to follow safety precautions to the point that he avoided everything you should be doing. This, however, is that extraordinary case, Krasner said. The intent rises from mere accident to what we consider to be criminal intent. First, Amazon came for your bookstore. Then for your electronics store, department store, and supermarket. Now, it seems, the online retailer run by multibillionaire Jeff Bezos may be coming for your Wawa, too. Word that the Seattle-based company had been lobbying the Kenney administration to clear a path for its Amazon Go convenience store chain in Philadelphia shows how real the threat of the companys newest business venture is to our region. The lobbying efforts revealed this week are unsurprising. Of course Amazon would attack legislation banning most cashless stores. How else could Bezos open stores that use no cashiers and allow only digital payments for merchandise? But this is what we should all be most in awe of: A win-at-all-costs company is taking on a convenience-store market in which Wawa has, up till now, grown into a major employer and regional benefactor out of its suburban headquarters. Many locally run companies have unraveled in recent decades. The idea of a potentially weakened Wawa is terrifying. This isnt about sentimentality. Its about dollars and cents and peoples livelihoods in an economy that is pushing ever more workers to the margins. Wawa underwrites more than 10,000 desirable jobs in Southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey alone, among 33,000 overall on the East Coast. They are jobs in stores that have cashiers and sandwich makers, whereas Amazon Go uses no humans at checkout and sells only prepared, packaged food. As many as 3,000 Amazon stores could be up and running nationwide by the end of next year. Given what the online retailer has done to shopping malls and small shops alike, gutting over-the-counter jobs for warehouse and delivery jobs, imagine what Amazon Go could do to Wawa, whose stores are a way of life in our neighborhoods. Investors have such faith in Amazons new venture that one estimate this year by RBC Capital Markets forecast that Amazon Go could vacuum $4 billion in sales by 2021, once all of its stores were rolled out. One industry watcher I spoke to by phone this week from a Florida conference on convenience store disruption, no less, said Amazon is on everyones minds. Some have downplayed the threat, while others are watching very carefully as Amazon Go is being rolled out. Theres probably a red flag that should go up in more peoples minds about this, said Steve Holtz, who oversees reporting for convenience store industry trade publications under the CSP name. Sure, Wawa is a hometown favorite. The Delaware County company had been a longtime fixture in the dairy business before it opened its first convenience store in 1964. Its name is now synonymous with Philly, and its stores are as much a part of neighborhood life as post offices were before the internet age nearly put a fork in them, too. But Wawa is so much more than a feel-good name that keeps us caffeinated in the morning and inhaling made-to-order hoagies at lunch. Wawa is a high-quality employer at a time when low-skilled workers are struggling to find work that can support a family over the long haul. What Wawa offers is increasingly rare in our haves-vs.-have-nots economy, and in a retail sector where the talk in recent years is about cutting costs to compete with you guessed it Amazon. Wawa has built a reputation for hiring workers at good wages and then not treating them like a disposable cog in an 800-store machine up and down the Atlantic coast. They dont skimp on their starting pay, Holtz said, which is remarkable for such a high-turnover industry. Plus, they offer stock ownership, educational assistance, and more. They make it worth your while to come and work there. They have employees who can stand behind the register and move up into higher positions, and advance through the company and through the industry, frankly. I think thats spoken well of them. Wawa spokesperson Lori Bruce wouldnt offer details about what, if anything, the company is doing to prepare for the Amazon threat. Wawa has begun offering delivery through third parties at select stores, she said. (The chain also has been a leader in introducing automated food-ordering kiosks.) We are very focused on enhancing our digital presence to create an even better customer experience and convenience, Bruce said. As we evaluate new technologies, we will always remain a community hub for everyone, including our cash-paying customers. We have a strong culture of building great relationships with our customers and communities, and we will continue to focus on this as our digital teams review technology that enhances the Wawa experience and convenience. My colleague Signe Wilkinson recently conveyed her own consternation by placing a head of Bezos onto a dummied-up dollar bill of her own editorial-cartoonist imagination. In Billionaires We Trust, her greenback scathingly proclaimed. My version, if I could draw, would say this: In Wawa We Trust. Because Wawa has earned it. Most companies from the United States with operations in China said they have continued to see their revenues grow in China and urge governments on both sides to foster more sustainable economic ties, according to an annual survey published on Tuesday by the American Chamber of Commerce in China. Despite trade tensions, the questionnaire The 2019 China Business Climate Survey Report stressed that China remains a high priority market for the majority of US companies surveyed. The survey also found that Sino-US trade tensions played a large role in turning the overall outlook for US companies surveyed from cautious optimism to cautious pessimism. The chamber's members have been very clear on actions that should be taken by the Chinese and US governments to foster more sustainable economic ties between the two countries, said Tim Stratford, chairman of AmCham China, whose membership comprises more than 3,300 individuals from 900 companies operating across China. The survey was conducted between Nov 13 and Dec 16. It was sent to 771 AmCham China member company representatives, of which 314 completed most of the questions. As China and the US made progress in the latest round of trade talks in Washington last week, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Tuesday that the two countries will continue to push for mutually beneficial results. This is a confirmation of the trust and goodwill that have been engendered and it bodes favorably for win-win outcomes in the weeks if not days ahead, said Sourabh Gupta, a senior fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies in Washington. Kevin Li, a Deloitte partner, added that finding a comprehensive and enduring resolution of the current trade frictions is critical to creating a more positive, predictable environment for companies, which in turn will benefit the citizens of both countries and the world as a whole. In addition to big-ticket investment made by US companies such as Exxon-Mobil Corp, Tesla Inc and Cargill Inc in China last year, US investment in China more than doubled in January, an indication that the two countries may reach a deal to prevent wider trade friction. Total foreign direct investment in China last month rose by 2.8 percent year-on-year to $12.41 billion, while investment from the US grew by 124.6 percent, said the Ministry of Commerce. As China has taken fresh measures, including introducing new foreign investment laws to better protect the interests of non-Chinese firms and offer more access to foreign enterprises in a number of sectors, the survey said China remains an important market for most US companies responding to the questionnaire. More than 80 percent of member companies surveyed said they expected positive industry growth in China in 2019. Gong Jiong, an economics professor at the University of International Business and Economics, said if China and the US can settle their trade disputes through dialogue, China's measures to unleash its domestic consumption potential will continue to attract foreign companies to invest in the country. WASHINGTON When the shooting started at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Carly Novell ducked into a closet inside her journalism classroom and waited. She said she felt stoic, and in shock really, as she and her classmates got snippets of information through texts about the killing unfolding in her school on Feb. 14, 2018. It wasnt until later that she thought about the cruel history: She was the second person in her family to avoid death in a mass shooting this way. The first was her grandfather, Charles Cohen, who hid in a closet in Camden in 1949 to escape what is considered the first mass shooting in U.S. history. Cohen, who was 12, lost his father, mother, and grandmother in that rampage, when 13 people were killed by Howard Unruh in the citys Cramer Hill neighborhood. Decades later, Novell was a senior at the high school where 17 classmates were murdered, including three teens she knew. As the House passed a bill Wednesday to expand and strengthen background check requirements for gun purchases, Novell had a close view of the debate: She is now an intern for U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross (D., N.J.), whose district includes Camden, and who said the Unruh massacre was a well-known part of South Jersey history growing up. Norcross told her familys story in a speech on the House floor Tuesday night. As Carly says, mass shootings, gun violence, should not be generational, Norcross said in an interview Tuesday. The connection between Novell and her grandfather is just eerie when you think about it. But its almost becoming part of who we are as a country, it happens so often. How wrong is that? Novell said, I hope it leaves an impact on people because it just really shouldnt happen twice in the same family, or to anyone at all. Norcross added: Hopefully, shell be the last generation that ever has to go through it. >> READ MORE: From Camden to Fla., connected by blood and mass shootings Now a freshman at George Washington University studying journalism, Novell, 18, has family in Cherry Hill, who connected her with Norcross. She spoke to a town hall there via Skype last May, and joined his office last week as a communications intern. The House vote marked the first time since 1999 that any significant gun restriction has passed either chamber of Congress. But the measure appears unlikely to move in the Republican-controlled Senate. As much as 90 percent of people want [tighter] background checks. It doesnt make a difference unless the vote passes, Novell said. Sometimes I feel defeated, because, like I said, no matter how much you talk about it, its not really up to us to do anything. Its up to the representatives and the votes. But other times, Im sad. Theres a lot of different emotions around it. When a 21-year-old punk from Mexico City known as Brujo made his way to West Philadelphia in 1998, he found a thriving creative community amid the DIY music venues and improvised artist studios, and a place to live in a once-abandoned house known as Squirrel Squat. I found a paradise in West Philly, he said recently. It was like 2 a.m., and people said, Brujo, do you want pizza? I said, Really? Its 2 a.m. They said, Yeah! Lets go to the dumpster! After living in poverty, he was dazzled by the citys decadent abundance, which provided not only food when he was hungry, but also art supplies for his early work in the form of papier mache and found objects, items that in Mexico would never have been discarded. Philadelphia," he said, "gives you so many beautiful trash. In the 20 years since, Francisco Javier Hernandez Carbajal who goes by his artistic name, Brujo de la Mancha has become a pillar of this West Philadelphia community, known for his weekly radio show; his nonprofit, which teaches Mexican indigenous arts, including dance, instrument-making and cooking; and his work as an artist and teacher. Now, hes seeking to leave all that behind. To Brujo, who is undocumented, life under current U.S. immigration policies is becoming increasingly untenable. Though hes received Pennsylvania Council on the Arts grants, been invited to teach in Philadelphia schools, and even been included in an exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, he has no way to regularize his status. The only hope of doing so would be to apply from outside the country. At the same time, policies seem to be growing more restrictive. He worries that the implementation of Real ID will make working in schools impossible. I dont want to leave the country, but my worry is, what will I do? Im getting older, Brujo, 41, said on a recent afternoon, taking a break from making tamales ahead of one of the fund-raising events hes been hosting to raise the money it would take to have a shot at immigrating to Canada. This one was at a West Philadelphia venue called the Mothership, accessed by climbing a steep flight of stairs and descending another to end up back at street level. Its a long shot; he was already rejected a year and a half ago, having needed to provide more evidence of his financial situation and prospects as an artist. If he makes it this time around, he said, hell then apply to return to the United States. So, for now, hes laying low, making art and tamales a skill he picked up as a child worker, mixing large vats of cornmeal and then selling the tamales on the streets of Coyoacan starting at age 12. Cooking has been part of my life as survival, he said. I didnt grow up with the family structure. I grew up with a broken family. That made me independent. He described a neighborhood where the threat of violence was constant, and the economic hardship felt insurmountable. If he hustled, he could make $3 a day, he said, by cleaning windshields or silk-screening T-shirts for punks and protesters. There was also official oppression. He was mestizo, of mixed race, so he never quite fit in anywhere, and his heritage made him a subject of discrimination: He felt he was targeted for long hair, his indigenous features, his style of dress. In Mexico City, if you have long hair, they connect you with witchcraft, he said. Thats how he got the nickname Brujo, or witch. When he was 17, he participated in a demonstration in memory of the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre, in which 2,000 protesters were jailed and dozens of students and civilians were killed by police. Afterward, he and others were taken into custody by federal officers, who he says kicked him, took naked photographs, and forced him to hold a squatting position for hours. After that, he said, he was stopped and questioned again and again by authorities who made notes of his tattoos and told him they knew where he lived. He says he fled the city, but wherever he traveled in Mexico his appearance marked him as an outsider, subjected to periodic harassment and detention by officials. So, when he met an American woman who offered to help him immigrate and settle in Philadelphia, he went for it. I hoped to find another way to live, he said. He described a three-day walk to cross the border illegally, the strangeness of eventually arriving in West Philly in the 90s. It was looking like they went to a war, a lot of abandoned houses something we never see in Mexico, he said. But, for the first time he could remember, he felt safe. He started making gorditas and tamales for friends substituting lard for a mix of vegetable shortening and coconut oil for the vegan crowd. And he began making art with a freedom he had never felt in Mexico. He won grants to bring in master artisans and dancers so he could study and share their art. He started a nonprofit, Ollin Yolitzical Mecac, to share Aztec dancing, and began making traditional instruments, gnarled clay flutes and drums from hollowed out tree trunks, and playing music with them. He started a weekly radio show, too, currently on 106.5 FM and online, called Nikatalka, a bilingual show about indigenous music and cultural issues. But over time, he began to realize it wasnt the paradise hed imagined. Hed get sick, but he couldnt acquire medical insurance. Or, hed be carded at a bar and have to pretend hed forgotten his wallet. He began paying taxes more than a decade ago, hoping that would help his case; it has not. You think youre going to leave the problems behind, but then you have new ones, he said. I live like an American. I act like an American. But Im not an American. Who wants to be like that all the time? As he spoke, friends filtered in to help make tamales. Brujo instructed them to hold the banana leaf over the flame until it changed color. Then, spoon in the cornmeal and roll it like a joint. Khristina Acosta, 34, and Mandy Katz, 42, set up an assembly line, and spoke about how they met Brujo and watched him try to make a difference in their community. I admire that hes being really open about his situation, Katz said, because there are so many people in his situation who are not at liberty to be so open. Ill be sad if he leaves, but Ive seen him suffer and struggle for a long time in Philly. I want to see him able to feel stable and safe. One friend started a GoFundMe thats raised more than $10,000, money Brujo said will go toward legal fees and to show the Canadian government he has the resources to support himself. Brujo said if his application to go to Canada is denied again, he may have no choice but to return to Mexico in the hope things are different and hell no longer be a target. For the last 15 years, everything I did make this art, do that project I thought it would help me establish myself in the United States," he said. "But all of it was for nothing. The Camden County Jail is expanding a program to offer medication-assisted treatment considered the gold standard for opioid addiction to its inmates, officials announced Wednesday. The new effort represents a shift in thinking at the jail, and is a change thats been slow to take hold nationwide even as thousands continue to die from opioid overdoses. Camdens jail will be the first in New Jersey to offer all three main forms of medication-assisted treatment, officials said. Along with Philadelphias jail system, it is one of fewer than two dozen in the country that offer the treatment drug buprenorphine to its inmates. Until last summer, the only option for the vast majority of Camden inmates on opioids was to detox in jail, even if they had been in treatment using methadone, an opioid-based medication. Since June, inmates have been offered shots of naltrexone, known as Vivitrol, a widely marketed opioid blocker that unlike other treatment medicines does not contain opioids. However, it doesnt have the track record of other medicines, and experts say its not effective for everyone at relieving cravings. Two weeks ago, the jail began allowing inmates enrolled in methadone programs before their arrest to continue taking that treatment. Previously, only pregnant inmates were able to access a methadone program. Last week, they began offering inmates Suboxone, a drug that combines the opioid buprenorphine with the overdose-reversing drug naloxone. Those treatments are paired with therapy, and inmates are referred to Project HOPE, a primary-care provider for Camdens homeless, to continue treatment after their release. The program is funded by a $200,000 grant from the state Department of Corrections. Bureau of Justice statistics that suggest more than 60 percent of the countrys prison population is addicted to drugs or alcohol. An estimated 329 people fatally overdosed in Camden County in 2018, up from 308 in 2017. And though its hard to track how many of those deaths occurred shortly after release from jail, people with addiction are uniquely at risk of overdose after a period of abstinence, whether thats in jail or in detox. Opioid tolerance drops quickly, and many drug users overestimate how much they can handle after detoxing. And with the powerful opioid fentanyl tainting most of the areas heroin supply, the risk of overdose is even higher. Where we are today and where we were 20 years ago treatment [for people with addiction] was very, very low, said David Owens, the countys director of corrections, who also headed Philadelphias Department of Corrections, and then Pennsylvanias, decades ago. Making sure they got humane treatment was, at a time, beyond our expectation. Many wardens distaste for medication-assisted treatment centers around the idea of using an opioid to treat an opioid addiction which has been misleadingly stigmatized as trading one addiction for another. But, prescribed correctly, opioid-based medications, such as methadone and Suboxone, will not get a patient high, said Project HOPEs medical director, Linda Bascelli. Most people deep in addiction are no longer using any opioids to feel a pleasurable high theyre simply trying to avoid the intense pain of withdrawal so they can function normally. The first time Bascelli told jail officials that they might want to offer their inmates medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction, they laughed at her. Ultimately, Camdens warden, Karen Taylor, said she realized that her jail doubles as sort of a triage, with many inmates entering with serious chronic health issues, mental illnesses, and addictions. We have to treat the whole patient, and our job is to do less harm, she said. The numbers impacted me ... 630,000 people dying [of drug overdoses between 1999 and 2016 across the nation] impacted me. Many jail wardens are quicker to warm to Vivitrol, Taylor said, because it doesnt contain an opioid. But Vivitrol requires a seven- to 10-day period of abstinence before a patient can begin taking it, and inmates in Camdens jail often dont have that kind of time. Many are in for only a few days. Suboxone, which can be administered within 12 to 36 hours of a patients entering withdrawal, could help more inmates get started on treatment, she said. We shouldnt be the ones making decisions about what medication-assisted treatment to offer to individuals, said Sharon Bean, the jails population manager. Though giving inmates medication even during a short jail stay can help them maintain the tolerance they need to avoid overdose, officials say they want to help former inmates stick with their treatment program, a challenge they said they hope will become easier with the addition of the Suboxone program. Forty-six inmates have been treated in the jails Vivitrol program since June, but only about seven have continued with treatment at Project HOPE. They include Jose Laguer, who got his first Vivitrol shot five months ago in the county jail and has been returning for monthly shots at Project HOPE ever since. He said the drug and group therapy had helped curb cravings. And theyd protected him from turning to the fentanyl-tainted heroin on the street. With fentanyl, its not drugs out there no more its death, he said. Before you go back out there, sign up for the Vivitrol shot. The theme song of Greta is Franz Liszts famous piano piece Liebestraum, inspired by epic German poems describing saintly love, erotic love, and mature love. Greta, though, goes for whats behind door number four: creepy love. Lets face it, thats the thriller fans favorite kind, having inspired a hundred enjoyably trashy movies from Single White Female to Swimfan and also entire cable networks. Neil Jordan gives us a fancier version of the Lifetime staple in Greta, starring Chloe Grace Moretz as Frances, a lonely girl in the big city (purportedly Manhattan, but actually Dublin and Toronto), who finds a purse on the subway one day and returns it to its owner, a kindly older lady named Greta (Isabelle Huppert). A kindly older lady who lives in what looks alarmingly like a lair a dark, woody place, set back from the street, where Greta hammers at her vintage piano and explains away the weird bumping noises that come from the walls. Neighbors! says Greta. Frances doesnt seem to notice any of the warning signs, which include the demented gleam in Gretas eyes, put there by Huppert, who seems to know what kind of movie shes in and, subsequently, has fun with it. Less certain is Moretz, who was a lively presence in that Seth Rogen Neighbors sequel, but who seems strangely detached here, though in fairness the role requires her to be almost impossibly gullible. Most of the energy seems to have been drained from her body and transfused into Maika Monroe (It Follows), who plays Frances hyper and hypervigilant roommate. She spots stalker tendencies in Greta, and her hunch is, of course, correct. Greta turns out not to be respectful of boundaries, showing up uninvited at Frances home and job and continuing to loom even after being hauled away. Greta modernizes this familiar scenario by showing how Frances cell phone is usurped as a means of harassment, an avenue worth pursuing. We see how the idea that your phone can monitor, follow, and photograph you, and thereby compile and disseminate a dangerous amount of private information that can be useful to a Greta, not to mention Mark Zuckerberg. But that turns out to be a subject for another thriller. Greta goes for something clammier and more claustrophobic, and a little less satisfying. Jordan regular Stephen Rea limps in for a cameo, perhaps hoping to win the Martin Balsam Psycho award for private detectives with an unfortunate capacity for underestimation. The ending has some table-turning energy, and makes innovative use of the Eiffel Tower, but has the disadvantage of being almost completely illogical. Greta. Directed by Neil Jordan. With Isabelle Huppert, Chloe Grace Moretz, Maika Monroe, and Colm Fiore. Distributed by Warner Bros Running time: 1 hour, 38 mins. Parents guide: R (violence). Playing at: Area theaters. Staff reports The Petoskey News-Review Terry Gambles new novel The Eulogist is the story of confluences and alluvium. At 86, now the matriarch and a first-generation immigrant from Ireland, Olivia Givens unwinds the intertwined story of her familys arrival in America with the moral reckoning demanded by slavery. Disembarking along with her father and brothers James and Erasmus at Cincinnati in 1828 after tumultuous times in her native Ireland, Olivia Livvie soon learns how the nearby Ohio River divides not only Kentucky and slavery to the south from Ohio and abolition to the north, but also how family secrets ride the same currents. Her mother dead in childbirth, and her father waving at his children from the upper deck of the Mississippi Queen that would be stopping Louisville, St. Louis, and Natchez before putting in at New Orleans, Livvie and her brothers early on must quickly fend for themselves. James, industrious if sometimes narrowly so, finds success in the candle making after he, nailed up a sign with the grand inscription of GIVENS AND SONSalthough he had no sons to speak of. Not even a wife, though by then he had met someone. Erasmus, less hardworking and with his fondness for drink, eventually takes to preaching and ferrying along the river, establishing his outpost Enduring Hope, offering aid and assurance to those in need, but not before matters of love threaten to disrupt the family, as that someone James sets his sights on is Julia Morrissey, of the wickedly lovely hair and much-commented upon eyes. That Julia soon enough marries Erasmus instead might any conciliation between brothers, though the story is only gaining momentum. Olivia too is unlucky in love, faced with the twin perils of spinsterhoodpoverty and charity, but finding companionship in the unlikely guise of Silas Orpheus, a medical doctor who cajoled human bodies for science, and whose sinister brother Eugene, a Kentucky farmer, forces the slavery issue. When Silas travels to Kentucky, intent on returning with his share of the Orpheus family inheritance, he returns instead with Tilly, the colored girl whose own lineage provides further alluvium, the families intertwined in ways historically predictable, if at first unseen. Tillys presence, like that of her father Handsome and other slaves, demands a moral reckoning from the Givens family, as either abettors or abolitionists. This confluence of decency and geography, slices between the Kentucky slaveholders and the Ohio objectors. Throughout, Gamble, whose own family history winds not only through Cincinnati, but also Harbor Springs and now points further west, sprinkles this history with literary as well as other landmarks too, as Livvie and James open volumes by Emerson and Poe, as well as report on de Tocquevilles visit, and William Lloyd Garrisons emphatic calls to abolition. Salmon Chase, the anti-slavery Senator from Ohio is a sometimes visitor of Olivias. Gamble, whose first novel Water Dancers is set in a Harbor Springs-like community in the aftermath of World War 2, tenderly renders the lives of her characters, throughout sympathetic but not maudlin, aware that with history, it is the tender tissue wherein the story lies. In The Eulogist these currents pass the confluences where a communitys history demands action, and a familys history builds in the alluvium made rich by the reminiscences of a now-ancient aunt. Good reading. Terry Gamble will visit McLean and Eakin Booksellers in Petoskey at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8. Learn more at www.mcleanandeakin.com. Gamble will also present as part of the 4th annual Harbor Springs Festival of the Book, Sept. 27-29. Visit www.hsfotb.org for more information. William T. Perkins (231) 439-9353 State officials announced this week that they had officially completed the first phase of Michigans yearlong sampling effort for traces of per- and polyflouroalkyls (PFAS) in water supplies. A coalition called the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART) had been collecting water samples in each Michigan county throughout the course of last year, searching for occurrences of PFAS. For 86 of the 88 sites sampled in Emmet and Charlevoix counties, nothing much will change as a result of those samples. In large part, they returned no evidence of PFAS, or relatively low amounts. But for a couple of sites both in Charlevoix County there is more testing yet to be done. Samples from both the Boyne Falls Public School and the Walloon Lake Water System fell within the 10- to 70-parts-per-trillion range for combined PFAS. According to a press release from the Department of Environmental Quality, the state will continue to fund quarterly testing at those sites into the future. Protecting the public remains our top priority, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality director Liesl Clark said in the press release. MPART will continue to work with communities with detections of PFAS in their water to help them investigate and take action to drive down exposure levels. PFAS were developed in the 1940s, and are commonly found in nonstick and non-stain materials, as well as in firefighting foam. Evidence suggests ingesting the chemicals can lead to serious health risks. Boyne Falls Public Schools and the Walloon Lake Water System are among the entities including 35 municipal systems, 19 schools and eight day care sites around the state that fall into the greater than 10 parts per trillion category for PFAS levels. Neither of the Charlevoix County entities are at the very top of the list. The Walloon Lake Water System returned a result of 19 ppt from one of its samples taken on Aug. 29, 2018, and Boyne Falls Public Schools returned a result of 41 ppt from its Sept. 4 sample. And levels for PFOA and PFOS the two types of PFAS for which the EPA has set a 70 ppt lifetime health advisory recommendation were below 10 ppt. But the readings for the school district and water system are not nothing. Research is still contested as to what level should be considered dangerous, but several sources suggest the standards should be much stricter than the 70 ppt figure. At the very least, MDEQ spokesman Scott Dean said levels like the ones seen in Charlevoix County suggest there is a specific source for the PFAS, rather than it just being a fluke occurrence. Aside from offering basic monitoring for the good of public safety, he said regular, quarterly tests will help expand the knowledge of PFAS in general, providing a number of unforeseen benefits. Obviously, we want to keep a handle on it and make sure their numbers arent increasing, he said. We also want to see if there is any seasonality to the results to see if by testing at various times a year, it will impact the levels. Sometimes we have seen levels spike during different weather events. He added that, with consistent monitoring, the state has a better chance of figuring out where the specific source is and hopefully driving down the PFAS levels. (The completion of these samples) is a major milestone, and the first of its kind in the nation, Dean said. But this is just the first step. Our work isnt done; we still have more work to do. Huawei Rotating Chairman Guo Ping reiterated that his company does not "do bad things" when he took the stage at MWC 2019, or Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona on Tuesday. "As vendors, we don't operate carrier networks, and we don't own carrier data ... What we promise, is that we don't do anything bad: we don't do bad things," Guo said in a keynote speech at the information industry's highest-profile gathering. Reaffirming commitment Huawei, based in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, is a leading international vendor of telecoms equipments, which are procured by carriers that provide fixed and mobile connections for consumers and businesses. There was mounting pressure from the U.S. on Western governments not to use the Chinese telecoms company's technology in the construction of their upcoming 5G networks. "For technology providers, our responsibility is to comply with standards and build secure equipment. With 5G, we have made a lot of progress over 4G, and we can proudly say that 5G is safer than 4G," Guo said. 5G and the ultra-high connection speeds it offers will be vital for the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), the digital economy and autonomous and connected cars. "To build a system that we all can trust, we need aligned responsibility, unified standards and clear regulations," he said. He flatly rejected claims from the U.S. government that Huawei had broken intellectual property rules or was involved in espionage. The U.S. government is reportedly seeking to ban Huawei from supplying infrastructure for its 5G networks, but Guo Ping had a clear message for other countries considering making the same decision. "Let me say this as clear as possible: Huawei has not and will never plant backdoors. And we will never allow anyone to do so in our equipment. We take this responsibility very seriously," Guo said. "The U.S. security accusation on our 5G has no evidence -- nothing. ... So, for the best technology and greater security, choose Huawei. Please choose Huawei, thank you," he said. 3rd-party assurance to cyber security Guo also called for unified standards and aligned responsibilities in terms of security. NESAS "is a very good idea", Guo said, referring to the Network Equipment Security Assurance Scheme, a voluntary scheme defined for the mobile industry. NESAS is jointly defined by 3GPP, which results from collaboration between groups of telecoms standard associations, and GSMA, a body representing global carriers and host of the MWC expo. "In fact, 3GPP's security standards were created with the support of many government security agencies. These agencies have strong capabilities to verify 5G security," Guo said, adding that "I would recommend extending NESAS to the world. Let the experts decide whether networks are safe or not." Vincent Pang, president of Huawei's Western Europe region, also spoke to the press about the security issue, arguing that his company "hasn't had a single security incident in the 15 years we have been in Europe". He said the Chinese government had "never" asked for Huawei to "install backdoors" into its technology, and stressed that the company knows that "the 5G rollout requires the highest levels of confidence, but it is a technical challenge, not a political one". Staff reports The Petoskey News-Review INDIAN RIVER The Straits Area Narcotics Enforcement (SANE) Team recently arrested an Indian River man on multiple drug related charges, including allegations that he was operating a methamphetamine lab. According to a SANE news release issued Tuesday, police arrested Cody Adam Pakulski, 32, of Indian River, amid allegations that he was manufacturing methamphetamine at 7129 Frontenac Ave. in Indian River. Police noted in the release that, This is the second methamphetamine laboratory seized by SANE in 2019. SANE officials noted in the release that the investigation began when Cheboygan County Sheriffs deputies arrested Pakulski on an outstanding warrant and allegedlyfound methamphetamine in the vehicle he was driving. Police said evidence suggesting Pakulski recently manufactured methamphetamine was also located. Authorities said SANE Team members and the Michigan State Police Seventh District Clandestine Response Team searched a shed on the property where Pulaski was living. Detectives seized methamphetamine, components used in the manufacturing of methamphetamine, hazardous waste from manufacturing methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and other evidence related to the use and production of methamphetamine, according to the release. Pakulski was arraigned on Feb. 22 in 89th District Court on felony charges of operating/maintaining a laboratory involving hazardous waste, manufacturing methamphetamine, operating/maintaining laboratory involving methamphetamine all 20-year felonies; possession of methamphetamine a 10 felony $15,000.00, and a misdemeanor charge of maintaining a drug house. The SANE Team was also assisted in their investigation by members of the Cheboygan County Sheriffs Office and the Tuscarora Township Police Department. I would like to take this opportunity to remind citizens of the health risks and environmental dangers of meth, especially for unsuspecting victims such as public safety-first responders and community members who may accidentally come across a methamphetamine manufacturing operation. said SANE Detective Lt. Ken Mills. To report the manufacturing, sale or use of methamphetamine, call SANE at (800) 621-8651. Callers may remain anonymous. Best shop in the US: The Armoury Runner-up: Sid Mashburn Some of the Permanent Style awards this year were close. The award for best US store was not: The Armoury romped home. To a certain extent, thats not surprising. It stocks all the things PS readers love, has an international reputation, and genuinely offers something different even in a city the size of New York. But many brands have tried to set up US branches over the years, and found it tough. Its very competitive, often price-focused, and surprisingly conservative. I asked Mark Cho, a founder of The Armoury (and part owner of Drakes) how the move came about, and what hes learnt from the past five years the store has been open. Permanent Style: Why did you decide to open in New York as the next city after Hong Kong? Mark Cho: In 2012, we were considering London and NY. I had looked at a number of spots in and around Mayfair and the West End for an Armoury but the lease premiums were nuts. I had made a few offers of around six months to a year's rent to takeover existing tenants leases and was constantly getting outbid. London made sense because we had some customers, it's home for me, I love the city and we had a little Drake's infrastructure we could rely on. However, since I couldn't get a space for a reasonable amount, I decided to move on. How did you find the space in New York? It was a strange twist of fate. We already saw our online store was doing a large chunk of its business sending to the USA and especially to New York, so we wanted to build on that. The idea was to try and open an office/showroom operation in NY. I used to live and work in the city so I had some familiarity with it. On one particular expedition to look for spaces, I had to go to a friend's wedding which was taking place at City Hall downtown. He ended up being three hours late to his own wedding (he is a bit unreliable). While I was waiting, I had a wander in the neighbourhood and came across 168 Duane St. I thought it was just an incredibly beautiful location and was immediately imagining how The Armoury might look there. At the time, it was a gift shop and I had intended my daydream to be nothing but a daydream. A few days later, I was browsing property listings and somehow came across the Tribeca local paper's website with a classified notice saying the gift shop was for sale. I decided to pursue it further and went straight to the shop that morning before my flight back to Hong Kong. The owner was not around but I left a message with the shop assistant. He got back in touch, turned out he was a Yorkshireman who had settled in the US years ago. The space was much bigger than I expected, with an extensive basement that he used as his offices for his advertising agency. The gift shop was something of an amusing side project for the real business downstairs. I explained what I did with The Armoury and Drake's. He was happy to hear that I was a shopkeeper and also working with mills in the UK. He was hoping that he could pass his business onto another shopkeeper, so we struck a deal soon after and the shop became mine. What have you learnt about American customers? How do they vary, how do they shop? Generally the US customer is more similar than different to the HK customer. As you'd imagine, professionals comprise a large part of our customer base: banking, finance, consultancy, legal, medical as well as entrepreneurs, businessmen and people from the art and media worlds. Theyre well traveled and a number of them visit both the HK and NY shops. When we first started, we even had a few Tribeca-based customers who had previously shopped with us in Hong Kong and were glad to see us in their neighbourhood. The commonalities for all of them is theyre interested in something classic but a little off the beaten track, are invested in quality and enjoy craftsmanship. Does the familiarity with bespoke vary? The level of experience there is definitely different. Hong Kong today has a stronger culture of conservative business dress and having your clothes made for you. In NY, that culture waned as a side effect of relaxing workplace dress codes. Compared to Hong Kong, more American customers are also at an early stage in building their bespoke wardrobe, so there is more interest in staple items. The cream-linen bespoke Liverano suit has yet to fill many American wardrobes, but I'm excited to eventually make that happen. What expectations you had at the start have been verified or contradicted? I expected that sizing would be a challenge in the US. We were comfortable with our size grading (the difference in dimensions of garments as they increase in size) for sizes 50 and below, but we had work to do for sizes above that. Our grading system is not automated and I have spent a long time working on it across a number of products. It is an iterative process, and you have to pay attention to customer feedback and also amalgamated alterations data each season, to slowly dial it in. We take this very seriously and it was part of the impetus for having The Armoury by Ring Jacket, which is tailoring made by Ring Jacket in Japan but in our own exclusive models and fabrics. How have you found marketing and communication in the US? I'm told it can be a hard area to break into. Yes, marketing and communication in the US is hard to penetrate. The system is somewhat insular because journalists just have so many brands wanting to speak to them. PR companies act as gatekeepers, and having the right people introduce you and represent you is a worthwhile investment. But I generally like working with the journalists and count many of them as friends. They are also good sounding boards for new projects and getting a sense of what the market might be thinking. How has the product range evolved in New York since you opened? Do you have to keep different stock in the stores to reflect the different customers? New York's effect on the product range centres on three main aspects: weather, sizing and staples. New York has inclement weather, thus we stepped up development of knitwear, boots and heavy-fabric garments. Sizing, as I mentioned before, has been refined, particularly for our Japanese suppliers. And staples are an important part of the business, so we try to keep healthy stock of basic key items like white shirts, navy suits, black cap-toe shoes etc. How has it been having a store so far away from the first? It must be hard given you and Alan are so used to being so close to everything in HK? Tiring but fulfilling. I travel to New York monthly because the store is my baby and I want to make sure it is doing well. I deal with a number of our good US clients personally and it's always a pleasure to spend time with them during these visits. Given the distance, its difficult to keep up with everything when I'm away but I do my best, with conference calls at all hours and a great team that I really rely on, like our General Manager, Bailey McKay and Head Buyer, Jim Parker. I feel its important to maintain a consistent brand between the two locations and it has been an interesting challenge given the differences in customer needs in Hong Kong and New York. I am always fascinated when certain items do much better in one location than the other. Digging into the reasons more deeply can sometimes yield interesting insights. For instance, we do much worse with pinstripe suits in New York than Hong Kong, seemingly because there is still a cultural barrier to pinstripes in New York. New Yorkers still associate pinstripes with gangsters and they are more apprehensive about wearing it themselves. What other lessons have you learnt since the store opened? Managing people, managing relationships and trying to build a team and culture are probably the most important lessons I have learnt and am still learning. Improvement in these areas has mostly come from experience or more accurately: painful mistakes. I read what I can on psychology and behavioural economics (Tversky and Kahneman are my heroes) and that has helped a lot as well. I am always trying to work on communication, both internally and externally. For better or for worse, The Armoury is a very interesting place with a very diverse product offering, to the point of being confusing or just too much trouble for some customers. Ultimately, the goal is to be telling the right story to the right person and helping them into something great without pigeonholing them to "the brand". The Armoury is not out to photocopy looks, it's trying to outfit individuals. Do you know where you will look to next? I would like to do another store in New York. It's a big city, I'd love to have something further uptown. Other than that, just consolidate, do what we do better. We're far from perfect but I'm quite proud of our progress, the people we work with and the customers we serve. I hope we can do it for many more years to come. Good luck, from PS and all the readers that voted for you. You can see all the voting for this award on the initial post here. Photography: Jamie Ferguson and Elliot Hammer What to learn more about how Permanent Style is funded? Details here: 'Is this an ad?' Today, February 26, 2019, Ricoh has announced their Pentax 100 Years of History campaign: RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD. is pleased to announce that, on November 27, 2019, it will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the foundation of Asahi Optical Joint Stock Co., the original manufacturer of PENTAX-brand products, which today include digital SLR cameras, interchangeable lenses and binoculars. We would like to express our sincere thanks to our customers for their years of patronage and support for PENTAX-brand products; we also take this opportunity to pay respect to those before us who pioneered the development of SLR cameras, and who paved the way for the advancement of Japan's photographic industry. Our conviction is to continue to manufacture products that provide the fun of photography and the joy of using cameras, and to grow the family of PENTAX fans. From 2019 to 2020, we will organize a series of celebrative events such as PENTAX fan meetings,* while launching a selection of commemorative goods, both domestically and internationally. * The details of these events will be posted on the RICOH IMAGING official website as soon as they are finalized. The first product carrying the PENTAX name was the ASAHI PENTAX, a film-format SLR camera launched in May 1957. The ASAHI PENTAX name comes from the incorporation of a pentaprism into the body of the Asahiflex camera series, which was being marketed as Japan's first single-lens-reflect cameras at the time. All cameras after this were marketed under the ASAHI PENTAX brand. In September 1977, however, we decided to change the brand to PENTAX, with the introduction of the PENTAX MV-1. In March 2008, Asahi Optical Co., Ltd. merged with HOYA Corporation, and continued its business as HOYA's PENTAX Imaging System Division, until RICOH COMPANY, LTD. acquired the imaging system businesses, such as cameras and binoculars, from HOYA in 2011. Today, PENTAX-brand camera and binocular products are manufactured and marketed by RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD., which operates as a group company of RICOH COMPANY, LTD. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the company which later created the PENTAX brand, we have designed a PENTAX 100 YEARS OF HISTORY logo, which will be used as a symbol signifying the strong bonds between PENTAX and its fans, mainly at upcoming commemorative events. There was a time (only a year or so ago, perhaps) when President Donald Trumps critics would shy away from calling him a racist. His statements - equating neo-Nazis with counterprotesters, referring to African countries as s***hole countries, labeling Mexican immigrants as rapists, etc. - were racist, theyd say. But they would hesitate in labeling the president a racist, preferring to insist they could not know whats in Trumps heart. That never seemed plausible given Trumps record going back decades to litigation over the Trump companys exclusionary hiring practices and his vendetta against the Central Park Five - even after they were exonerated by DNA evidence. If not a racist, he gave a perfect imitation of what one would say and do, over decades. He told us what was in his heart when he fanned the flames of birtherism and kept up a drumbeat of racist remarks throughout the campaign (e.g., a textbook case of racism is then-Speaker Paul Ryan called Trumps accusation that a judge of Mexican heritage could not do his job fairly"). After Omarosa Manigault Newman was fired, Trump had no African-Americans among his senior White House staff. His racism is so apparent to many Americans, Democratic presidential candidates now say without batting an eye that I dont think you can reach any other conclusion, as Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., did during an interview with the Root. This is another one of those moments when one must be reminded this is not normal. Weve had presidents whose policies and positions on race were roundly criticized, but never has it become unexceptional, uncontroversial even, to call the president a racist. Perhaps candor is healthy, and affording Trump the assumption of good faith does the country no favors. The widely accepted view among Democrats and independents that Trump is a racist, however, raises some of the problems that arose during the 2016 campaign. However, bluntness has its drawbacks and Democrats should consider where the conversation will go from there. What, for example, do Democrats call the voters who supported Trump in 2016, when many (but not all) of Trumps racist utterances were already out there? Some would argue that Hillary Clinton made the Kinsley Gaffe - inadvertently speaking the truth in public - when she called Trump supporters (or some of them) deplorables. It was not however a winning political strategy. Trump supporters understandably refuse to confess to being racists or condoning racism; theyd prefer to insist however unconvincingly that the president isnt really a racist. Voters dont want to be told they made a mistake, let alone be told they made a mistake by willful blindness to racism. In 2020, Democrats who flat-out call Trump a racist, no matter how justified they may be, better be prepared to say whether they think Trumps supporters are racists or unduly tolerant of racism. They might genuinely think the answer is yes, but theyve then created an unbridgeable divide between those people (the racists) and the rest of us. Talk about cementing division and resentment. Politicians are expert at equivocating, so be prepared to see Democrats try to differentiate between those who voted for Trump - even knowing his views - and Trump himself. Better perhaps is the approach of former representative Beto ORourke (D-Tex.) to leave labeling to others and to speak about ways of reuniting the country. To invoke one of Harriss favorite phrases, We are better than this. Some day we will be in the post-Trump era, faced with the challenge of picking up the shards of a shattered political system in which mistrust and even hatred are the default settings for many voters. We will have to figure out how to go forward as country. It, therefore, might behoove candidates to let voters draw their own conclusions about Trump and then present a message of unification instead of vilification. -- Jennifer Rubin writes reported opinion for The Washington Post. If they watch pundits on cable news, most Pennsylvanians probably have the impression that Democrats and Republicans can never work together to ensure that everyone in our commonwealth has a fair shot at the American Dream. However, as two freshman legislators from opposite sides of the aisle, we are committed to getting things done and we have partnered on a bipartisan basis to introduce legislation that would address issues of regulatory reform, criminal justice reform and outdated government mandates in a meaningful way. The Fighting Chance Act would put Pennsylvania on a path toward sustained economic growth and do more to ensure that every single resident has a chance at achieving their American Dream. Our bill would require the agencies overseeing occupational licensure, and the board of probation and parole, to reduce red tape by 25 percent over the next three years, with the intent to eliminate unnecessary barriers for folks trying to get into important occupations. Pennsylvania has a myriad of systemic, government red tape and barriers in place that keep workers, small business owners, and returning citizens from achieving success, obtaining gainful employment and pursuing their dreams. Specifically, our state has thousands of outdated regulations governing occupational licensure that have kept good people out of the workforce. This must end. Consider that in Pennsylvania, it is illegal to be an auctioneer, barber or even to braid hair, without a license. These are just a few examples of the many occupations you cannot enter in our state without going through an often grueling and expensive licensing process. People who are incarcerated perform all of the work functions in the corrections institutions in which they are based. Many take on roles as electricians, plumbers, barbers and a long list of other trades. However, once they have paid their debt to society there are far too many barriers to them getting gainfully employed in the very trades in which they are trained. This makes no sense. These citizens have paid their debt to society and now just want a path to redemption and a family-sustaining job. They are willing to work hard, and all they need is a fighting chance. While this legislation wont fix every remaining criminal justice or regulatory issue, it would seek to rectify these injustices and would ensure that anyone in Pennsylvania whether they are an employee, small business owner, or returning citizen could have a fighting chance at success by getting into meaningful occupations. We believe in good government and in reducing frivolous government regulations; in reforming the criminal justice system; in fighting for everyday workers, families, small business owners and returning citizens; and with this legislation, we endeavor to do just that. -- State Rep. Andrew Lewis represents the 105th Legislative District in Dauphin County. State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta represents the 181st Legislative District in Philadelphia. In the fall of 1988, Bernie Sanders charged up the stairs of a Montpelier bar to the Vermont offices of the Associated Press, followed by CBS News reporter Harry Reasoner and a camera crew from 60 Minutes. Sanders, who was running for a U.S. House seat, was steamed that the AP had skipped his news conference earlier that day at a farm in central Vermont. Once again, Sanders thought, the mainstream media had ignored the problems plaguing America - and refused to cover his proposed solutions. If youre getting screwed by the media, you dont have much recourse, Sanders wrote of the incident in his 1997 memoir, Outsider in the House. This time, Sanders thought he had recourse, in the form of a national reporter he hoped would cover the snub and his subsequent confrontation with AP bureau chief Chris Graff. I could expose the AP to the world, Sanders wrote. It was delicious. Graff remembers it differently. "He had been embarrassed," Graff told me years later. "He holds a press conference and not one reporter shows up." Such has been the story of much of Sanders political career. Since he mounted a failed 1972 bid for the U.S. Senate on the left-wing Liberty Union Party ticket, Sanders has been underestimated, underappreciated and often ignored by the press. He has long maintained that if the media would only cover what he has to say, the American people would embrace it - a theory that was bolstered by his surprising success in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary. But Sanders' remedy for what ails the media - uncritical, stenographic coverage of his agenda - betrays a misunderstanding of the role of a free press. And his dismissal of legitimate journalism not to his liking as "political gossip" bears a troubling resemblance to what another politician refers to as "fake news." Like most of Sanders' political positions, his views on the media have remained remarkably consistent over his nearly five decades in public life. In an essay published 40 years ago published in the Vanguard Press, a since-shuttered Vermont alt-weekly, citizen Sanders argued that the television industry's corporate owners were seeking to "use that medium to intentionally brainwash people into submission and helplessness," creating "a nation of morons." He bemoaned the "psychological damage that constant advertising interruptions have on the capacity of a human being to think." Eighteen years later, Sanders argued in "Outsider in the House" that "Television, which provides instantaneous coverage of earthquakes thousands of miles away, seems to have 'missed'" the "precipitous decline" of the nation's working class. "One of the greatest crises in American society," Sanders added, "is that the ownership of the media is concentrated in fewer and fewer hands." Many of those views now seem prescient. Corporate consolidation has decimated U.S. newsrooms, contributing to a 23 percent decline in journalism jobs over the course of a decade. The rise of right-leaning news organizations such as Fox News and Sinclair Broadcasting has validated Sanders thesis on the influence of corporate owners. And reporters obsession with the political horse race and the latest clickable micro-scoop has come at the expense of a serious discussion about public policy. Though Sanders understands the problem, his solutions leave something to be desired. The way the senator sees it, the job of a journalist is merely to transcribe his diatribes unchallenged and broadcast his sermons unfiltered. "He would not be happy with anything that did not basically publish his press release in its entirety - word for word, quote for quote," said Graff, who spent nearly three decades reporting in Vermont for the AP. Back when Sanders held regular news conferences in Vermont - it's been a few years - he typically refused to answer questions unrelated to his chosen topic of the day. That's problematic for local reporters, who rarely have the opportunity to quiz the members of Congress they cover without spokespeople running interference. At a 1985 forum on the media, the late Vermont political columnist Peter Freyne complained to Sanders, then the mayor of Burlington, that he had reneged on his promise to hold regular press conferences, pointing out that when asked a question you dont want to answer, you leave the room. Sanders' response? An ad hominem: "Peter, you are basically a gossip columnist." Decades later, Sanders hasn't changed. During my time covering him for Seven Days, a statewide weekly based in Burlington, the senator has refused to answer questions I've posed on topics ranging from gun rights to the Syrian civil war to drone strikes on American citizens - hardly "political gossip." Sanders has always preferred to bypass the news media in order to stay on his chosen message. That's why he hosted his own cable access show as mayor, his own talk radio show as a member of the House and his own podcast and social media empire as a senator. In December 2015, as Sanders' first presidential campaign was gaining traction, the candidate returned to familiar rhetoric, accusing the networks of engaging in a "Bernie blackout." Back home, Vermont news organizations were suffering from a different kind of Bernie blackout: For more than two years, he refused to speak with VTDigger or Seven Days, and he refused to appear live on Vermont Public Radio's marquee call-in show, "Vermont Edition." Unlike the "corporate" media he loathes, it should be noted, the three news outlets are nonprofit or locally owned. The boycott coincided with aggressive reporting the three organizations conducted on his wife, Jane OMeara Sanders troubled presidency of the bankrupted Burlington College, which prompted an FBI investigation. In January 2018, nearly three years after Sanders blacklisted Seven Days, his spokesperson finally granted me an interview. But the offer came with a caveat: The senator would not answer questions about "political gossip" or members of his family. Such conditions are unacceptable to ethical news organizations, so I declined the offer - but I showed up anyway to Burlington International Airport, where the interview was to take place. As I followed him to security, I asked when he'd finally grant us a real interview. "I don't talk to gossip columnists," he said. "I talk about issues." --- Paul Heintz is a staff writer for and political editor of Seven Days, a Vermont newsweekly. Its been nearly a month since Tyrone M. Shaw was found dead alongside Interstate 81 with a gunshot wound to the head. State police have continued to investigate the shooting, but so far, no arrests have been made. Shaw, 46, of Roselle Park, N.J. was found dead and bleeding from the head after 11 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4, along the shoulder of I-81 northbound near mile marker 75.4 in West Hanover Township, Dauphin County, state police said. Dauphin County Coroner Graham Hetrick later confirmed that Shaw died from a gunshot wound. Shaws death was ruled a homicide. Police said Shaws vehicle, a black GMC Yukon, was pulled to the side of the interstate with its hazard lights activated. Its rear driver-side tire was flat. A state police trooper found Shaw lying on the ground between the passenger side of the vehicle and a guardrail. A passenger-side door was left open, state police said. No suspects have been named. Trooper Megan Frazer said Wednesday that there are no new updates on the case, and the investigation is still active and ongoing. How to provide information State police are asking anyone with information about the killing to call 717-671-7500. A cash reward is available. Investigators also are requesting video of the shooting scene that could have been recorded by commercial vehicles dashboard cameras because no PennDOT traffic cameras exist in the area. The GPS coordinates for the shooting scene are 40.343439 latitude and -76.7438832 longitude. And state police said commercial vehicle companies should be able to use the GPS information to identify tractor-trailers that were in the area at the time of the shooting. Multiple felony charges have been filed against two men in Lancaster County after police said they played a role in the shooting of another man earlier this month. One of the men has been arrested, and the other is wanted, police said. According to Lancaster police, Raquee McNeil, 22, and Chappell J. Williams, 40, played a role in a shooting that left a 20-year-old man injured and in need of medical treatment. Police said they were called about 4:37 p.m. Feb. 19 to an area near the intersection of East Chestnut and North Broad streets, where a shooting was reported. There, they were unable to find a victim, but, about 10 minutes later, officers were informed that a man with gunshot wounds had arrived at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital. Police said the 20-year-old man of East Lampeter Township was driven to the hospital by a private vehicle." He suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and a graze-type wound to one of his legs, according to police. The injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, police said. On Tuesday, police announced that a subsequent investigation led them to identify two suspects in the shooting McNeil and Williams. Police said the 20-year-old had arranged to meet McNeil and Williams on the 800 block of East Chestnut Street for a drug transaction. At some point during the transaction, Williams shot the 20-year-old in the leg with a pistol, causing the grazing wound, police said. After the initial shooting, Williams and the 20-year-old began fighting over the gun, and Williams eventually shot the other man in the chest, police said. The victim is still recovering from his injuries and is expected to survive,police said Tuesday. Police said Williams was arrested on Monday, when he was spotted by an officer in the area of East Chestnut Street. Williams threw a handgun under a parked vehicle in an attempt to dispose of it during the arrest, police said. A check of the handgun revealed that it had been reported as stolen in August 2016, police said. Related to the shooting, Williams has been charged with aggravated assault, conspiracy, robbery, and firearms not to be carried without a license. And related to reportedly discarding the gun during his arrest, Williams has been charged with firearms not to be carried without a license, possession of a firearm prohibited and receiving stolen property. All of those charges are felonies, according to online court documents, which show that Williams remains incarcerated in Lancaster County Prison unable to post a total $300,000 cash bail. McNeil faces felony charges of aggravated assault, conspiracy and robbery, according to online court documents. As of Tuesday afternoon, he had not been arrested. Anyone with information about the shooting or McNeils whereabouts has been asked to call Lancaster police at 717-735-3300 or Lancaster County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-322-1913. China's service trade rose 11.5 percent year-on-year and hit a record high in 2018, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday. Imports and exports of services totaled 5.24 trillion yuan (about 782.1 billion U.S. dollars) last year, ranking the world's second largest for five years in a row, the Ministry of Commerce said on its website after a national meeting on service trade. As the country continued to transition its economy, the service sector prospered and contributed to nearly 60 percent of GDP growth. The country will move to expand service exports, boost service consumption and push poverty reduction through development of the household service industry, according to the ministry. The country will also work to promote high-quality development of the service trade and commercial service sector, and expand the overseas service market with a focus on countries along the Belt and Road, Xian Guoyi, a ministry official, said at Tuesday's meeting. Gov. Tom Wolf wants to break new ground with a new incentive program to entice members of the Pennsylvania National Guard to re-enlist for six years by offering them a tuition assistance plan for their spouses or children. The Pennsylvania National Guard Military Family Education Program, or Pennsylvania GI Bill of Rights as Wolf refers to it, would provide up to 10 semesters of tuition-free education for the service members spouse or family to attend most of Pennsylvanias higher education institutions. The amount of assistance paid would be capped at Pennsylvanias State System of Higher Education base tuition rate, which this year is $3,858 per semester. The grant could be used to pay for an education leading to an industrial certificate up to and including a graduate degree. Further, the benefit can be used by service members spouse or their children up through age 26 immediately while the soldier or airman is serving in the Guard or any time after they leave the service. Only Minnesota offers a similar educational benefit to its Guard members but that program is limited to the service members spouse, Wolf said in outlining the program to a room filled with soldiers and airmen and surrounded by military equipment at Fort Indiantown Gap on Wednesday. Early estimates of the proposed program price it out to about $2.5 million a year and money was built into the governors $34.1 billion budget proposal for it. The program expands on the Education Assistance Program benefits available to service members upon entering into a six-year enlistment in the Pennsylvania National Guard but those benefits are not transferrable to family members. Helping our service members and their families obtain post-secondary education without the financial burden that usually goes along with that can also go a long way to help military families get the education that they need for the good jobs and fulfilling careers that we need them to have right here in Pennsylvania, Wolf said. Prior to discussing a proposed education program to benefit military families, Gov. Tom Wolf (at left in suit) spent some time talking with the Pennsylvania National Guard members in attendance at a news conference on the first-of-its-kind program. First Sgt. Bruce Facer, who has accrued 28 years of service in the U.S. Navy and Pennsylvania National Guard, said his family played a big part in his decision to remain in the military as long as he has. If my family wasnt involved or on board with what I do, I would have been gone a long time ago because what I do affects them, he said. Families are a big part of what we do. Because without their support we cannot do what we do." He and his wife Sandy have a 20-year-old son who dropped out of college to make some money for when he decides to go back to school. Should this program come to fruition it will be a great relief for our family to know that our sons educational future will be secure, Sandy Facer said. Beyond what it would mean to her own family, Facer added she knows it will be a help to other Guard families from her work with a military family support group. I see so many National Guard soldiers and their families with young children. Many of them working hard just to live day by day and they are struggling. Affording a college education for their children seems to be but just a dream, she said. But with this Military Family Education Program, every qualified National Guard family in Pennsylvania can see their way forward to a good education for their children without that impossible debt. Maj. Gen. Tony Carrelli, the states adjutant general, called the program not only a re-enlistment tool but a retention tool for the nearly 20,000 Pennsylvania National Guard members who are called upon often on a moments notice to respond to natural disasters in and outside of Pennsylvania, not to mention being deployed overseas. From digging cars out on the highway, rescuing people on rooftops in flooded areas or being mobilized for about a year, he said, Were here for the safety and security of our communities at the sacrifice of our own family. This [program] is for those families that sacrifice. Republican and Democratic lawmakers from the House and Senate were on hand at the event to voice their support for this initiative. Sen. Mike Regan, R-Cumberland County, discusses the benefits he sees being derived from the first-of-its-kind Military Family Education Program legislation that he will be introducing. Sen. Mike Regan, R-Cumberland County, chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee who is championing the proposed bill in his chamber, acknowledged the important role families play in re-enlistment decisions. He said this proposal could help boost the lagging number of the Guardsmen who re-enlist. Rep. Chris Sainato, D-Lawrence County, who intends to be an advocate for the bill in the House as the ranking Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee, said he sees this as a win-win for the service members and their families as well as the commonwealth. We keep the children in Pennsylvania, he said. We keep you men and women in the Guard because you are trained. Youre the best at what you do. Youve done it for a long time. Keeping you there is cost efficient for the state. The way the proposed legislation is drafted, a Wolf Administration official said families would immediately be eligible for the program, but the first grants would not go out until the start of the fall semester in 2020. The police have not released a motive in the killing of five in a Bucks County apartment, but family members say it may be part of a murder-suicide pact with religious or cult motivations. Shana Decree, 45, and Dominique Decree, 19, are accused of killing five family members, including three children, who were found inside a Morrisville apartment Monday. Both are facing five counts of criminal homicide and one count of conspiracy. Investigators have not yet said how the five family members died. Or why. But grieving relatives shared their suspicions. They were all going through something religiously and they decided to drag the kids into it, Destiny Harris, the half-sister of the twins killed, told Action News 6 ABC of Philadelphia. Damon Decree Sr., the ex-husband and father of the two charged in the killings, told 6 ABC the family had been talking about demons being all around them and said they may have gotten involved in some sort of cult that formed online. Charging documents indicate Shana Decree told police everyone in the house wanted to die and talked about suicide. Morrisville Police Chief George McClay questions the involvement of the children in a murder-suicide pact at the direction of a religious cult, though, according to reports. The suspects told conflicting stories to police, saying some of the dead had been choked, Philly.com is reporting. But Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said it could be a few weeks before the cause and manner of the deaths are determined. Officers had responded to the apartment on Monday and found it in disarray. They discovered the bodies in a bedroom. The dead were identified as Shana Decrees two children, NaaIrah Smith, 25, and Damon Decree Jr., 13, both of Morrisville; Shana Decrees sister, Jamilla Campbell, 42, of Trenton, New Jersey, and Campbells 9-year-old twin daughters, Imani and Erika Allen. Members 1st Federal Credit Union is beginning its search for a new corporate headquarters after the recent announcement that it has sold two of the four office buildings it occupies in Mechanicsburg and is leasing them back. That will be a temporary arrangement, as the companys leaders are searching for a large piece of property that will serve as the home for its new headquarters and provide the size for the current operation while providing the room for future expansion. Michael R. Wilson, chief marketing officer for Members 1st, said recently that the credit union has identified a 23-acre site in Hampden Township, Cumberland County, that would satisfy its needs. Its located on the east side of Interstate 81, off Valley Road, in a commercial development complex. Wilson: However, we are in the very early stages of the project as we continue to do our due diligence and to ensure the site will meet our needs for the future. We are excited about this potential, as our roots began in Cumberland County and we want to remain a great community partner. He said that Members 1st Federal Credit Union is exploring the development of a new headquarters for the following reasons: Building consolidation for much better efficiency: Our campus is currently spread across four buildings and is neither efficient nor collaborative. Consolidating into one building will help us tremendously in becoming more efficient and more collaborative as we serve over 400,000 members each day. This project is intended to be budget neutral and fiscally responsible: We are exploring selling each of the four current buildings of our present campus as we attempt to consolidate into one facility for increased efficiency. The sales of two of these buildings closed recently - 4999 Louise Drive and 5053 Ritter Road. We will lease the needed space while we work through the stages of this process. Most importantly, we are mindful of member dollars and maintaining all of the costs associated with four separate buildings is simply not the best use of resources, in the long run. Associate wellness: This project will have a positive impact on efficiency, organizational culture, associate morale and a great work environment that promotes interdepartmental collaboration and cohesiveness all under one roof. Our members: Consolidating to one building will help our members through better efficiencies and a more productive work environment, where associates can provide the best products and services in a marketplace with high expectations for very prompt service. CBRE Group Inc. announced Feb. 19 that it has arranged for the sale of the two office buildings, totaling 76,972 sq. ft. Linlo Properties acquired both properties and Members 1st Federal Credit Union has leased back a portion of both buildings as it begins to look for a location for its new headquarters. One of the office buildings purchased is located at 4999 Louise Drive, Lower Allen Twp., and is 56,494 sq. ft. The other one is at 5053 Ritter Road, Upper Allen Twp., and will provide the new owner with 20,478 sq. ft. Per the realtor, the transaction took place on Feb. 15. The second building sold by Members 1st is located at 5053 Ritter Road, Upper Allen Twp. It has 20,478 sq. ft. of space. Linlo already owns three other properties in the park: 5001 Louise Drive, 5072 Ritter Road (home of the new VA) and 5070 Ritter Road. Here at Linlo we could not ask for a better acquisition pairing to start 2019, said Sarah Gates, Linlo Portfolio Manager. We continue to see the strength of the Rossmoyne Business Park and feel that these assets complement our existing offering well. We thank Members 1st for the opportunity and for their professionalism throughout the entire deal process. Through the years, Members 1st Federal Credit Union has expanded its presence across four buildings that are scattered throughout the aforementioned business park in Mechanicsburg. Wilson said it has become obvious that a consolidation of the whole operation into one headquarters makes more and more sense for the companys nearly 500 associates and its growing base of customers. That search for a new home began several months ago. We are approaching nearly 70 years of proudly serving members, associates and the community, she said. In addition to significantly expanding our offerings of extremely competitive products and services in the marketplace, we have also grown as an employer of choice. Maintaining the costs associated with multiple buildings is neither efficient, nor conducive to a collaborative organization with nearly 500 associates who serve 400,000 members from our headquarters each day. It has been great to partner with Linlo Properties as we begin the due diligence phases of consolidating into one cohesive, collaborative facility in a fiscally responsible manner. CBRE First Vice President Michael Curran was the sole broker in the transaction, negotiating on behalf of the buyer, Linlo Properties. The purchase allows Linlo to take ownership of additional office space in the business center while creating flexibility for both parties through a partial leaseback scenario. Both parties were able to recognize the potential for a win/win scenario in the transaction, Curran said. One that expands Linlos growing office ownership portfolio, while at the same time providing flexibility to Members 1st in planning for their continued growth. J.R. Martin was born on September 20, 1937 in Deenton, Oklahoma to James Woods Martin and Lola (Frachiseur) Martin. He passed away on Sunday, June 27, 2021 at his home in Foster at the age of 83 years. Patna: People in Patna on Tuesday celebrated the attack on a terrorist camp in Balakot in Pakistan when the Indian Air Force (AIF) jawans on early Tuesday morning, crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and dropped 1000 kilogram of bomb in what is being dubbed as non-military, pre-emptive air strike killing more than 300 terrorists with allegiance to Jaish-e-Mohammed. As recalled, Jaish-e-Mohammed had earlier assumed responsibility for killing 40 Indian soldiers in Pulwama in Kashmir 12 days ago. People of all ages on Tuesday began gathering at Kargil Chowk in Patna and other public places where they, waving Indian flags, hailed the Indian governments action against Pakistani terrorists saying revenge was not only required, it had to be massive enough to teach Pakistan a lesson so it never underestimates Indias ability to defend itself from a rogue nation like Pakistan. Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the retaliatory action, youths in Patna celebrated the destruction of terrorist camp by putting gulal on everyones face; cracking firecrackers, and by burning the flag of Pakistan and effigy of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. Chanting Pakistan Murdabad, revelers said by taking out the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist camp in Pakistan, India had avenged the deaths of 40 CRPF jawans who were killed in a bomb blast in Pulwama in Kashmir on February 14. Their sentiments were echoed by the two family members of CRPF jawans from Bihar who were martyred in the Pulwama terrorist attack. Feeling somewhat relieved by the killing of those who killed their loved ones, the family members of Sanjay Kumar Sinha in Masaurhi and Ratan Kumar Thakur in Kahalgaon said it was a befitting reply to the terrorists and the entire nation was with the Prime Minister and the Indian armed forces who were protecting the people of India from Pakistani terrorists on a daily basis. The message that you kill one of ours, we will kill hundreds of yours had to be conveyed to Pakistan, said a family member of Sanjay Kumar Sinha. Meanwhile, security has been beefed up in and around Patna Airport and all major railway and bus stations in Bihar to prevent any act of terror in the state. Patna: After a CBI court named Bihar Chief Secretary Anjani Kumar Singh, and a few others, as one of the many accused in the fodder scam, opposition parties created ruckus outside Bihar Assembly on Wednesday demanding Singh's resignation without any delay. Blaming Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of being a hypocrite with one moral standard for those he did not like and another for those who were in his camp, leaders representing various opposition parties led by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) yelled anti-Nitish slogans for not taking any action against the man who has been one of the most trusted bureaucrats of the Nitish administration. Singh and six others have been summoned by a special CBI court in connection with an offshoot of the fodder scam that relates to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs. 3.97 crore from the Dumka Treasury. At the time Singh was posted as the Deputy Commissioner of Dumka. When repeated attempt by the Speaker of the House Vijay Kumar Chowdhary to calm down the belligerent legislators failed, Shravan Kumar, a Janata Dal U leader and the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, said that those who were disturbing the Assembly proceedings did not even know what the facts were in the case. "Singh has been named an accused in the fodder scam; he has not been found guilty of anything. Those who have been convicted in the case, like RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, are already in prison where they belong so what is the point of this madness?" Kumar said. The Speaker said that chanting slogans by the RJD leaders and others was a complete waste of Assembly's valuable time and it did not mean anything as such questions should be raised during the Question Hour and not during the general proceeding. "Let us know if you want to do away with the Question Hour," an angry Speaker said. Meanwhile, former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, talking to the reporters outside the state Assembly, said that Nitish Kumar, who walked out of the Grand Alliance because 'his conscience was bothering him' following corruption charges against her son and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav, was remarkably silent over the Chief Secretary's involvement in the fodder scam. "Where is his inner voice now? Or does it work only for Tejaswi," she enquired. Demanding immediate removal of Singh, the wife of Lalu Prasad Yadav said that the entire CBI investigation was a witch-hunt against her husband who now rots in prison while the real culprits of the fodder scam like Nitish Kumar, Sushil Kumar Modi, and Shivanand Tiwari enjoy freedom. The former Chief Minister also slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the aftermath of destruction of statues of communist leaders like Lenin and Marx in Tripura saying the entire BJP was the 'party of riots' as wherever it was in power, social unrest followed them. Patna: Enraged by the destruction of the idols of Lenin and Marx allegedly by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists in Tripura a couple of days ago, leftist parties in Bihar staged protest march across the state to condemn the act what they described as 'abhorrent' and 'dangerous for India as a nation'. Joining hands to express their outrage, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) state secretary Awadhesh Kumar, Communist Party of India-Marxist/Leninist (CPI-ML) state secretary Kunal, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Janki Paswan, and Socialist Unity Center of India (SUCI) state secretary Arun Kumar, at a protest rally at Kargil Chowk in Patna on Wednesday said that the saffron brigade may be able to desecrate the statues of their heroes like Lenin and Marx but they will never be able to erase the ideals of these leaders. "One cannot wipe off the ideas and philosophies of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and other left leaders who historically stood for the worker class and fought for their rights and privileges. What the BJP leaders are encouraging is akin to what the Taliban used to do in Afghanistan. We, as communists, will not allow this to happen and will continue to raise the flags of Marx and Lenin to protect the rights of poor, workers, farmers, and the oppressed class," Kunal said adding similar rallies were held across the state to express anger against the BJP high-handedness. As reported, SUCI activists on Tuesday had burnt the effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Sangh elements in Tripura toppled the statues of Lenin and Marx to signify the end of communism in the state following the victory of the BJP in the state Assembly elections late last week. Patna: A host of leftist parties in Patna on Tuesday burnt the effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi after right wing extremists in Tripura destroyed the statues of Communist leaders Vladimir Lenin and Karl Marx to signify the end of communism in the state following the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Tripura Assembly elections three days ago. Carrying red communist flags and placards with pictures of Lenin and Marx, the protestors under the banner of Socialist Unity Center of India (SUCI), burnt the effigy of Modi at the Kargil Chowk accusing him of insulting their heroes and demeaning what they described as 'great philosophers'. Meanwhile, Communist Party of India (CPI-ML) national General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya termed the desecration of Lenin and Marx's statues as a slap on martyrs like Bhagat Singh and others. "RSS says what has Lenin or Marx got to do with India? They should know that without Lenin, we would not have heroes like Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries who happily marched to the gallows to fight British imperialism and for the freedom of their country," Bhattacharya said. The media-savvy communist leader further said that the 'attack on Tripura' was an assault on hard-working people and their livelihood to favor corporate fascists who were determined to destroy the working class of India. CPI-ML state secretary Kunal announced state-wide protest in Bihar on March 7 to express their anger towards BJP-led fascists in Tripura. Chinese tycoon Jack Ma showed up unexpectedly at a cinema in Beijing to celebrate this year's Oscar-winning best film "Green Book," co-invested by Alibaba Pictures under his multinational conglomerate Alibaba Group. "I have seen the film for the third time today, and I have recommended it to many friends," Ma said at the Chinese premiere of "Green Book." He added: "This film shows me the warmth of society, which offers much hope. There are many problems in many aspects in our society - like what you saw in the film, there is coldness, cruelty, troubles and violence. However, what we see in this movie is that the world is still very warm." He also noted that filmmaking should not be seen as something just for piling up money, and a good film doesn't necessarily have to be an earthshaking epic, "'Green Book' looks very ordinary and plain, yet it reflects many stories hidden behind. I think this film will get everybody thinking." The chairman of Alibaba Group believed there will soon be a chance for Chinese films to shine at the annual Oscars ceremony, "and my point is, to make a real good film, first of all, you have to love movies and love what you do, instead of loving fame and fortune." He said "Green Book" was not a standard educational film, but one "to awaken something inside you," before going on to instruct his Alibaba associates to invest in, import and make more such films in the future. "Green Book," directed by Peter Farrelly and starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, won in three categories at the 91st Academy Awards - best picture, best actor in a supporting role, and best original screenplay - on Sunday in Los Angeles after already winning dozens of prizes elsewhere in the world. The film was produced by Participant Media, DreamWorks Pictures and was co-funded by Alibaba Pictures. According to Zhang Wei, president of Alibaba Pictures, after close friend Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners introduced the film to them, the Chinese film company decided on an investment in July 2018 when they saw "warm theme, positive values, excellent story quality, and unique artistic expression" in it. They also recommended the film to Huaxia Film Distribution and persuaded Huaxia to distribute it throughout China. Huaxia got on board very quickly. Zhang said the standard they use when choosing to get involved is to see if a film tells a story about "nobodies" and contains "big sentiments and positive energy." She went on: "When I saw 'Green Book' for the first time, I felt that although it was not so grand, it was very warm. People with different experiences and from different backgrounds could help each other and go forward hand in hand." This year's Academy Award ceremony was also a landmark moment for internet giants investing in film industry. In 2017, Amazon Studios won its first-ever Academy Awards, taking home three Oscar statuettes for "Manchester by the Sea" and "The Salesman" in what was a historic achievement for the streaming industry. Meanwhile, Netflix won three Oscar awards by presenting the critically-applauded "Roma" by Alfonso Cuaron while being engaged in a controversial battle with the major film studios for dominance in film industry for some time. However, it didn't get the top prize - the best film award. However, by funding "Green Book," Alibaba Pictures became the first internet company in the world to fund a film winning the top Oscar award that Alibaba executives saw as a historic milestone and big triumph on Monday night in Beijing. In addition to these awards, "Green Book" also set another record in China for being the Oscar-winning best film to be released here at the quickest pace. It will officially open in Chinese cinemas on Friday, March 1, just four days after Oscar award announcement. Yu Dong, chairman of Bona Film Group, was invited to see the film and praised the efficiency at the premiere on Monday night: "Being able to set the release date in such a fast way is enough to show the great achievements of China's reform and opening up," he said. As the creators of "Green Book" had to attend the Oscar ceremony, no one was able to show up for its Chinese premiere. However, with Jack Ma and his friends, including Liu Chuanzhi, founder of Lenovo, well-known screenwriter Shu Huan, actress Jing Tian and Yu Zhou, co-founder of Light Chaser Animation Studios, the event still seemed hot. Before the VIP guests spoke about their feelings about the film, videos of the director Ferrari and actor Ali were played to greet the Chinese audience. Tycoon Liu Chuanzhi described "Green Book" as demonstrating "the progress and bright side of society in the way I like. It makes our society become more harmonious. I hope that more movies like this could be made, and they will make the world a better place." Fan Luyuan, the chairman of Alibaba Pictures, later echoed this sentiment, saying: "I am looking forward to doing my best to help young Chinese directors get to the Oscars." The biggest allegation from the famed Trump dossier leaked by BuzzFeed is undoubtedly the pee tape rumor. Its salacious. Its humiliating. Its gross. Its everything we think about Trump. Unfortunately, the credibility of the dossier took a big hit today in Michael Cohens testimony, meaning that its even less likely that the pee tape is real. First, what the dossier said about Michael Cohen: Speaking to a compatriot and friend on 19 October 2016, a Kremlin insider provided further details of reported clandestine meeting/s between Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trumps lawyer Michael Cohen and Kremlin representatives in August 2016. Although the communication between them had to be cryptic for security reasons, the Kremlin insider clearly indicated to his/her friend that the reported contact/s took place in Prague, Czech Republic. Cohen had denied this allegation before, but today he was under oath and said Ive never been to Prague. Ive never been to the Czech Republic. After saying he had gone to Europe with his daughter, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) asked Cohen you did not meet with any Russians? [in Europe] to which Cohen simply replied No. This whole situation is confusing because not only did McClatchy report in April 2018 that Mueller has evidence Cohen was in Prague in 2016, but there is evidence literally sitting on the web right now, as this Cohen passage from my March 2017 deep dive on Trump-Russia still largely remains true to this day (save for my certainty that he intentionally lied): Cohen told The Atlantic that he was in Los Angeles from August 23rd to August 29th during the campaign. This is an easily provable lie. How do I know? I went through every single one of his tweets from the month of August (and yes, I have far less brain cells than when I started), and his own actions contradict himself. Weekends are a bit more subdued [than his frequent weekday posting], but you can typically tell that hes putting in a full day of work when he sticks to his 6-8 and 10-midnight tweeting habit. Saturday August 13th and Sunday the 14th were two such examples where he stuck to a regular schedule, whereas the last weekend in August was relatively quiet, but it is the weekend in between those two which raises suspicions. Between Saturday and Sunday, the 20th and 21st, he did not tweet and only retweeted four tweets. That alone isnt anything too outside the norm, although he typically tries to reply to as many people who tweet at him as possible (always with a period in front of the @ sign so everyone can see his reply). What raises alarm bells is the relative inactivity the following work days, combined with the fact that the few tweets he did send out were not geotagged, unlike nearly every single one from the entire month of August and beyond. Cohen Told The Atlantic he was in Los Angeles when this tweet sent from his account is geotagged from New Jersey. Now this could just be another lie in a mountain of them. Remember, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that he would lie here, or again to Congress todayalthough it is nearly impossible to see what motivation he could have to continue to protect Trump at this pointespecially since his testimony did offer plenty of damning revelations for Trump. Michael Cohen, asked if he had advanced knowledge of the WikiLeaks of DNC emails: "He had advanced notice that there was going to be a dump of emails." Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 27, 2019 So chalk up Cohens geotagging mess to a faulty memory, or maybe it turns out he wasnt even the one controlling his Twitter account. Regardless, the man whom the dossier placed in Prague in August 2016 said under oath that he has never been to Prague, which means that the credibility of the dossier, and the pee tape along with it, must take a significant hit. Jacob Weindling is a staff writer for Paste politics. Follow him on Twitter at @Jakeweindling. Pregnant women face a much greater risk of having a fatal, but less common, type of stroke caused by bleeding into the brain, according to results of two studies presented by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) at the International Stroke Conference 2019. A study led by senior author Farhaan Vahidy, PhD, MBBS, MPH, found that pregnant women and those who recently gave birth were three to 10 times more likely to suffer intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), which occurs when a blood vessel inside the brain bursts and spills blood into or around the brain. Vahidy is an associate professor of neurology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth and director of the Population Health & Health Services Research Division at UTHealth Institute for Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disease. "It's important to remember that stroke is uncommon among the younger female population. Women undergo a number of physiological changes while pregnant, so we hypothesized that pregnancy would confer a higher ICH risk," said first author and presenter Jennifer Meeks, MS, a research coordinator in the Department of Neurology at McGovern Medical School. "However, the scale of the increase was highly significant and strikingly greater than what was anticipated." Women with a history of other medical conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes were found to be at a greater risk of ICH. Those who had preeclampsia or eclampsia were 10 times more likely to suffer ICH, according to the study. Using publicly available administrative data, researchers analyzed more than 3.3 million deliveries among women in hospitals in New York, California, and Florida. The same women, age 28 on average, were followed and served as their own controls when no longer pregnant or postpartum. "The results showed that the risk of ICH starts to increase during the third trimester and continues to rise into an extended postpartum period. Other attributes, such as race, also appeared to influence the likelihood. For instance, black women were twice as likely as white women to suffer ICH and Asian women were 1.68 times more likely," Meeks said. "Further research is required to more precisely predict those groups of women who are at an increased risk of ICH during pregnancy so preventive measures may be taken." There are two types of stroke, hemorrhagic and ischemic, which occurs when a blood vessel carrying blood to the brain is blocked by a clot. Around 15 percent of all strokes are hemorrhagic, but they account for approximately 40 percent of all stroke deaths, according to the National Stroke Association. In the second study, researchers found women with arteriovenous malformation (AVM), an abnormal tangle of blood vessels in the brain, had increased incidence of ICH from AVM rupture during pregnancy. Results showed women with AVMs were almost 3 times more likely to have ICH associated with pregnancy and delivery. "Researchers have suspected that brain AVMs are more likely to bleed with pregnancy, but because they are uncommon, this connection was hard to prove. In our study, we looked at millions of women; the data confirmed this and were very compelling," said Sunil Sheth, MD, the senior author, who is an assistant professor of vascular and interventional neurology at McGovern Medical School. The study analyzed data from nearly 6.3 million women, age 28 on average, with first-time pregnancy in hospitals in New York and Florida. Of these patients, 1,024 (0.02 percent) had an AVM, which was linked to a 340 percent increased risk of ICH during the pregnancy period. "An AVM is like having a little bomb in the head, which creates an explosion of blood in the brain if it ruptures. When this happens it can put the mother and baby in considerable danger," Sheth said. The abstract called for further research and improved methods to reduce ICH risk. "We need to understand exactly what is happening - why do AVMs bleed in the first place and what is causing this substantially higher risk among pregnant women who have them?" Sheth said. "These findings could change the conversation of care for a very particular patient group. If we know a woman with a brain AVM is planning a pregnancy, it may be appropriate to treat the AVM before pregnancy or counsel for close monitoring during pregnancy." 100 years ago Feb. 27, 1919: Sgt. Roland Hinshaw is home from the war. While in France he was wounded, gassed, hospitalized, and eventually recovered enough to be sent home to Bloomington, where his dad is a policeman. Somehow young Hinshaw enlisted at age 14. Hes 17 now. 75 years ago Feb. 27, 1944: Lucy Orme Morgan, 86, has died. For 33 years she ran the girls home on South State Street (where the Childrens Foundation is now). The daughter of a Civil War general, she briefly left the city in 1929 and returned to find the board had renamed the home in her honor. 50 years ago Feb. 27, 1969: Work is picking up on Bloomingtons new $5 million Evergreen Lake. The project is about two months behind schedule. Questions persist whether Lakes Evergreen and Bloomington will be an adequate water supply for the city by 1980. 25 years ago Feb. 27, 1994: Sgt. Tim Masters of the Dewitt County Sheriffs Department has been chosen Illinois Deputy of the Year. Masters was cited for his rescuing a woman in a hostage situation in Waynesville, in which he was forced to shoot a man. The award comes from the state sheriffs association. Compiled by Jack Keefe; jkeefe@coldwellhomes.com. CHICAGO The city of Chicago will elect its first African-American female mayor after former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle won enough votes Tuesday amid a record field of 14 candidates to move on to an April runoff election. It's only the second time Chicago has had a runoff campaign for mayor, which occurs when no candidate collects more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round. Unofficial results showed Lightfoot with 17.5 percent of the vote, Preckwinkle with 16 percent and Bill Daley with 14.7 percent, with 96 percent of precincts counted. They were trailed by businessman Willie Wilson with 10 percent, state Comptroller Susana Mendoza with 9 percent, activist and policy consultant Amara Enyia with 8 percent, Southwest Side attorney Jerry Joyce with 7 percent and former CPS board President Gery Chico with 6 percent. The remaining six candidates, former CPS CEO Paul Vallas, former police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, state Rep. La Shawn Ford, former Ald. Bob Fioretti, tech entrepreneur Neal Sales-Griffin and attorney John Kozlar, each collected less than 6 percent. The results set up a showdown between two self-styled progressives -- Preckwinkle, chair of the Cook County Democratic Party and a former longtime alderman who rose from Hyde Park's bastion of liberal politics, versus Lightfoot, a first-time candidate who has railed against Chicago's history of machine politics and vowed to usher in a new era of reform at City Hall. One of them will become Chicago's second female mayor, following Jane Byrne, who served one term from 1979 to 1983. And if Lightfoot is elected, she would become the city's first openly gay mayor. Both would become the second African-American elected Chicago mayor after Harold Washington, who served from 1983 until he died in 1987. The race marks the city's second consecutive runoff, after then-Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia forced Mayor Rahm Emanuel to a second round in 2015, before the mayor went on to win handily. In declaring victory Tuesday night, neither candidate spoke directly to the historic nature of the results, though Preckwinkle hinted at it. "We may not yet be at the finish line, but we should acknowledge that history is being made," Preckwinkle told supporters at a raucous event in Hyde Park. "It's clear we're at a defining moment in our city's history, but the challenges that our city faces are not simply ideological. It's not enough to say Chicago stands at a crossroads. We need to fight to change its course." Lightfoot spoke first, before it was clear whether she'd face Daley or Preckwinkle in the runoff. She took the stage at a River North venue with her arms raised in the air. "So what do you think of us now?" a smiling Lightfoot asked the cheering crowd. "This, my friends, is what change looks like!" The results The 14 candidates who vied for the fifth-floor office at City Hall marked the largest field to run for mayor in Chicago's 181-year history. The race to succeed Emanuel, who made the surprise announcement after Labor Day that he would not seek a third term, comes at a pivotal time for Chicago and unfolded against the backdrop of an ongoing federal corruption investigation at City Hall. Lightfoot won 11 wards, and her base proved to be in the liberal lakefront wards on the North Side. She won four of those six wards, with the other two going to Daley. Lightfoot also pulled out wins in other predominantly white North Side wards and all three of the city's racially mixed wards. Preckwinkle won just four of the city's 50 wards, all predominantly black wards centered on her Hyde Park base on the South Side. She also led Lightfoot by 24 votes in the diverse 26th Ward on the Northwest Side. Wilson won the city's other 14 majority-black wards on the South and West sides, though Preckwinkle finished second in all of them and carried high enough vote totals across the city to pull her into the second spot. Daley captured eight wards, including the Loop and his ancestral home base in the 11th Ward. But it was Joyce who took the four white wards on the edge of the city on the Northwest and Southwest sides that are home to scores of city workers, cops and firefighters, including his base in the 19th Ward and the 13th Ward home of House Speaker Michael Madigan. The final vote tally marked a stunning defeat for Daley, who had raised $8.3 million -- several million more than any other candidate in the race, thanks to $2 million alone from billionaire hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin. As the vote totals didn't go Daley's way, his supporters were openly blaming Joyce for costing him the runoff. Joyce stayed in the race against Daley despite the long and mutually beneficial relationship the families have enjoyed. Joyce's father, Jeremiah Joyce, was one of former Mayor Richard M. Daley's top advisers for years, helping craft the political strategy that helped Daley run Chicago for decades. And from 1993 until 2011 -- most of Daley's brother's time as mayor -- Chicago Aviation Partners, a company that included Jeremiah Joyce among its shareholders, enjoyed the incredibly lucrative contract running Terminal 5 concessions at O'Hare International Airport. Emanuel took that deal away shortly after taking office. With his voice hoarse from emotion and an intense campaign, Daley conceded as his powerful family -- including his brother, the former mayor -- looked on. "We all must accept it, and we will move on," he said. "No matter what happens in April, our commitment to Chicago will not end." Daley specifically thanked his brother for his support and service to the city. The former mayor, who did not publicly campaign for his brother and has avoided the spotlight in recent years, was shielded from reporters at the election night event. Tuesday's results also marked a substantial blow to the aspirations of Mendoza, a statewide office holder who campaigned on a message of bringing the "next generation" into City Hall only to finish fifth and earn a trip back to Springfield. "I haven't lost an election in 20 years," Mendoza told supporters. "It stings." A turbulent race During the last six months, the mayoral race had been defined by a series of twists and turns. The campaign began with a dozen people declaring they would challenge Emanuel, some with ties to the mayor. Eight of them would make the final ballot -- Lightfoot, McCarthy, Vallas, Wilson, Enyia, Joyce, Sales-Griffin and Kozlar. That group's satisfaction with the mayor's departure from the race in September would be short-lived. The candidates had to recalibrate their largely anti-Emanuel campaigns while seeing their efforts to raise campaign cash and get their message out somewhat choked off by four heavyweight establishment candidates who soon would enter the contest. When he dropped out, Emanuel predicted none of the announced candidates would become the next mayor, saying it took more than a "one-trick pony" to run America's third-largest city. Soon, the other political thoroughbreds entered -- Preckwinkle, Daley, Chico and Mendoza. Those four establishment candidates combined to raise $19.1 million -- or more than double the other 10 candidates combined, which also included late entrants Ford and Fioretti. While the financial advantages separated those four, so, too, did the federal corruption investigation at City Hall. Chico, Daley, Preckwinkle and Mendoza each had long-standing ties to Ald. Edward Burke that became readily apparent soon after federal agents raided his City Hall and 14th Ward offices in late November, papered over the windows and hauled out boxes of records and computers. The candidates all quickly offered an array of ethics reforms, including creating term limits, banning outside income for aldermen and ending veto power aldermen hold over permits and projects in their ward. By early January, federal authorities had charged Burke with attempted extortion, alleging he held up permits that a restaurant magnate needed in his ward in exchange for property tax appeals business at his law firm and a $10,000 campaign contribution to another politician. The Tribune reported that the contribution had gone to Preckwinkle, which she said she returned. A few weeks later, it became clear that the federal probe had not been limited to Burke, as it was revealed that longtime Ald. Danny Solis had worn a wire on colleagues for a couple of years while facing his own allegations of misconduct. Madigan also was recorded by the FBI seeking business at his law firm from a business owner who needed Solis' approval at City Hall. While Solis and Madigan have not been charged with wrongdoing, the political damage for the establishment candidates was swift. The episode conjured up similar federal probes that took down high-ranking officials at City Hall when Daley's brother was mayor. The Daley family also had been political donors to Burke, with whom they'd cut deals at City Hall for decades. Chico was left to "repudiate" his close friend and mentor Burke, who earlier had backed Chico by calling him the most qualified candidate to become mayor. Opponents also were quick to point out how Chico long had lobbied Burke and Solis on behalf of clients seeking deals at City Hall. Mendoza, who was married at Burke's home, also denounced the man who helped get her started in politics on the Southwest Side. She gave $10,000 in Burke campaign donations to charity and did the same with an additional $142,000 tied to Solis. But it was Preckwinkle who bore the brunt of the Burke blowback, tied directly to the scandal by the 50-year alderman's alleged shakedown of a campaign contribution for Preckwinkle. She, too, donated $12,000 in Burke money to charity and vowed to return an additional $116,000 she received at a fundraiser at the alderman's Gage Park compound. Preckwinkle also was left to explain why she hired Burke's son, Ed Burke, Jr., to a six-figure job at the county while he faced sexual harassment allegations in his previous job with the Cook County sheriff. Those scandals piled on top of other Preckwinkle controversies. She misled the public about when she knew about sexual harassment allegations against her chief of staff, whom she fired. She waited months before firing her security chief after evidence surfaced that a county SUV he drove had been used to illegally transport political materials. And just last week, she fired a senior campaign aide after he invoked Nazis to criticize Lightfoot in a social media post. All of it led Preckwinkle to describe the campaign in the race's final days with a single word: "tough." But in the end, she survived all the controversy -- at least for now. Lightfoot vs. Preckwinkle All the stumbles for the other candidates and talk of corruption breathed fresh oxygen into the campaigns of the outsider candidates, but none of them capitalized on it as much as Lightfoot. The former federal prosecutor frequently took aim at Preckwinkle and referred to herself as "unbought and unbossed" on the campaign trail. Lighftoot and Preckwinkle both, however, are strong advocates for criminal justice and police reform in an era when Chicago politics have been influenced by the fallout of the Laquan McDonald police shooting and the subsequent federal civil rights investigation into the Police Department. However, there was little talk of common ground Tuesday night. Lightfoot positioned her campaign as the truly progressive one against the entrenched Chicago political machine. Preckwinkle, chair of the Cook County Democratic Party, sold herself as the candidate with a track record in progressive politics who long had been taking on the city's powerful interests. Preckwinkle, who stayed above the fray for the last six months, wasted no time in attacking Lightfoot, referencing her appointment as the president of the Police Board under Emanuel and as a deputy procurement officer and head of a police investigative agency under former Mayor Daley. "While my opponent was taking multiple appointments in the Daley and Emanuel administrations, I fought the power elite who have been trying to hold this city back," Preckwinkle said, without mentioning Lightfoot by name. In her third term as the county's chief executive, Preckwinkle also portrayed herself as the most capable to tackle the difficult job of mayor. "It's not enough to stand at a podium and talk about what you want to see happen. You have to come to this job with a capacity and the capability to make your vision a reality," she said. "My entire career has prepared me for this moment." Lighfoot, meanwhile, thanked supporters for having the "courage to stand with our campaign against the machine," and positioned herself as the only reform candidate left in the race who had emerged from "a pack of establishment figures." She also again cast herself as the underdog against the city's political power structure. "People said that I had some good ideas but couldn't win," said Lightfoot, who grew up in Massillon, Ohio, and moved to Chicago to practice law after graduating from the University of Michigan. "It's true that not every day a little black girl in a low-income family from a segregated steel town makes the runoff to be the next mayor of the third-largest city in America!" Whomever gets elected Chicago's next mayor will be greeted by a plethora of big challenges when they take office in mid-May. For the last three years, the city has struggled to tamp down repeated surges of violent crime that left 561 killed and 2,948 people shot last year, and the Police Department faces a federal consent decree that will drive reforms in a department with a history of misconduct and excessive force against minorities. Chicago must come up with an additional $1 billion in payments to public employee pensions by 2023, including $270 million next year, at a time when taxpayers already are weary after two terms of Emanuel issuing record property tax increases while hiking other fees to stabilize the city's shaky finances. And the next mayor faces a widening gap between the wealthy corporate success and booming development of downtown and scores of largely African-American neighborhoods that have faced a sharp population drop after decades of economic decline and gang violence. That has been a chief criticism of Emanuel's tenure as mayor and a theme both Preckwinkle and Lightfoot hit hard in their campaigns. "It's easy to call ourselves a world-class city," Preckwinkle said in her speech. "You can stick those words on a website, billboard or the side of a bus, but Chicago won't actually be a world-class city until everyone who lives here has the opportunity to build safe, prosperous and productive lives for themselves and their children." Lightfoot related that dynamic through her upbringing in a poor, working-class family and her rare status as an openly gay candidate. "As an LGBTQ+ person, I thought about running for mayor when no other LGBTQ+ person had ever made the ballot for mayor in this city. And as a mayoral candidate, I traveled across the city and saw people who looked like me and families like mine who were struggling in every neighborhood," Lightfoot said. "I'm not here despite these hardships, despite the odds. I'm here because my personal and professional experiences have prepared me to lead with compassion, integrity and persistence. "I'm here because I know on a deeply personal level that we need change." Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Grand Canyon celebrates 100 years as a national park Tuesday. But one Illinois resident, who is also one of the park's newest Junior Rangers, has that beat. Rose Torphy is 103 years old. On a recent visit to the Grand Canyon, she became so enamored with her centennial counterpart that she was sworn in as a Junior Ranger. The program is set up as an educational tool for people, often students, who learn about the park and promise to be a spokesperson for the park's assets and protect it for years to come. "It was beautiful, and I enjoyed every minute," Torphy said Monday of her January visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, which welcomes about 6 million visitors a year. She had been there once before. But it was too short a trip, she said. She and her husband, Ralph Torphy, were traveling by bus with a group and unable to spend much time enjoying the view. "I always said we'd go back someday," she said. "It was so beautiful." During her January visit, Torphy and her daughter, Cheri Stoneburner, spent several days in the area, where Stoneburner's daughter works as an event planner. They took photos and visited some of the same spots Torphy had been with her husband, who died in 1999. Stopping by the store of the Grand Canyon Conservancy, a nonprofit that raises funds for preservation and education, and operates a shop within the park, she began chatting with an employee who told her about the Junior Ranger program. "She mentioned that at my age I could still join the Junior Ranger program, so I did," she said. Her daughter recalled, "All of a sudden, my daughter was like, 'Mom, I think Grandma's getting sworn in as a ranger.'" Since returning to Illinois, Torphy, a longtime Cubs fan who lives with her daughter in Fox Lake, has made sure to wear her Junior Ranger pin and tell everyone about the park. "I always mention that I went to the Grand Canyon and how much I enjoyed it, and that if it was possible, they should do the same thing," she said. Within her family, younger relatives are already planning trips. But she encourages everyone in the Chicago area to consider heading West. "We were just at the podiatrist the other day, and somebody saw (the pin), and she was telling all of them," her daughter said. Torphy says that if she can visit at 103, anyone can. When she was a girl growing up in Wisconsin, Torphy said her family went camping many weekends, and she learned from an early age to appreciate and preserve nature. She wants to make sure the 100-year-old park will be around for her great-grandchildren's children to enjoy for another century. The park is planning a year of events to celebrate the centennial, from storytelling to performances by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. "You're missing something if you don't go," Torphy said. She feels lucky to be able, at 103, to travel to such a beautiful destination. "I'm very blessed that I'm still on my feet." Her secrets for getting to 103? Well, she's always exercised, even just for 10 minutes, and continues to do that now. "In the last few years, I've skipped a few days, but I still exercise." Plus, years ago, she and her husband began drinking a glass of wine every afternoon before dinner -- a suggestion from a doctor when her husband complained of a poor appetite. "Of course I had to join him," she said. Her husband died almost 20 years ago, but every day between 4 and 5 p.m., she still fills a glass with rose and toasts with him. "I go up to his picture and say, 'Here's to you,'" she said. He didn't get to return to the Grand Canyon with her, as they'd planned. But looking out at the park's expansive views, she said, "it brought a lot of memories back." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 BLOOMINGTON Three men are expected to be formally charged with mob action in connection with a Tuesday afternoon incident when shots were fired about eight blocks east of downtown Bloomington. A 21-year-old man from Bloomington, a 21-year-old man from Normal, and a 23-year-old man from Bloomington are expected to appear in court Thursday afternoon, following their arrests after the incident. All three are being held in McLean County jail, pending their court appearance where bond will be set. The Pantagraph does not name suspects in such cases until formal charges are filed. Bloomington Police Public Affairs Officer John Fermon said Wednesday that officers were on the scene in the 800 block of East Washington Street around 1:26 p.m. Tuesday, and reported several people fled on foot. Officers identified two victims of the alleged mob action, numerous witnesses and located physical evidence of the shooting. There were no injuries reported. A search warrant was obtained for an apartment in the 700 block of East Jefferson, where police located a gun and ammunition, Fermon said. The men also were arrested at that location. The investigation is continuing, he added. According to Illinois statutes, mob action occurs when two or more people acting together disturb the peace by knowingly or recklessly using force or violence with the intent to commit or facilitate the commission of a crime, or when two or more people assemble for the purpose of doing violence to someone. Mob action is a Class 4 felony. Because the incident was about four blocks east of Washington Elementary School, police officials informed District 87. They later assured school officials it was safe to release students at the usual dismissal time. Anyone with information is asked to contact BPD Detective Steve Moreland at 309-434-2359 or smoreland@cityblm.org. The Bloomington Police Department is hosting a previously announced meeting on the recent gun violence in the city Wednesday evening. Chief Clay Wheeler will lead the discussion at 5:30 p.m. at his bimonthly focus meeting in the department's Osborn Room. Photos: 2018-19 McLean County jail mugshots Contact Kevin Barlow at (309) 820-3238. Follow him on Twitter: @pg_barlow Love 0 Funny 2 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. Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Algerian, Egyptian and Tunisian foreign affairs ministers will meet on 5 March in Cairo to discuss ways to help Libyans advance the political process after stagnation following the failure of the convening of the United Nations-sponsored inclusive national conference, the Algerian foreign affairs minister Abdelkader Messahel has announced A photography exhibition celebrating the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up was held on Monday in the Lithuanian capital. The event is organized by the Chinese Embassy in Vilnius at the city's Town Hall. The exhibition features 67 photographs taken over the last 40 years showcasing the historical route and achievements since 1978, when China began its reform and opening-up drive. Some pictures display the win-win cooperation between China and other countries around the world, which helped viewers better understand how the drive has changed China and further influenced the whole world in the past 40 years. "The reform and opening-up has going through 40 years of glory and greatly changed the face of China with a great leap forward from getting rich to becoming strong," Chinese Ambassador to Lithuania Shen Zhifei said at the inauguration ceremony. "China is not only a driving force for world peace and development but also a major contributor to the progress of human civilization," said the ambassador. Assuring that China's reform will go deeper and opening be even wider, he said that China's fast development provides opportunities to the rest of the world, instead of threat to any other country. The exhibition was attended by Deputy Head of the Group for Inter-Parliamentary Relations with China Arturas Skardzius, Lithuanian officials and experts as well as ordinary Lithuanians and a number of Chinese communities in Lithuania. "Just amazing, the achievement China has made in the last 40 years is really a miracle. I haven't been to China, but I am so curious about China and dreaming to go for a look," said a visitor, who named herself as Vilma. The exhibition runs until March 8. The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriff's Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Mitchell Kukulka. Saturday, Feb. 23 11:40 p.m. -- Officers responded to a civil complaint and performed a warrant arrest in the 3700 block of Lancaster Street. 5 p.m. -- Officers responded to a report of lost property in the 2200 block of Jefferson Avenue. 4:35 p.m. -- A deputy responded to a Lee Township hunting property in reference to a theft of a $80 portable propane heater from a deer blind. The incident remains under investigation. 3:49 p.m. -- Officers performed a warrant arrest in the area of eastbound US-10 and the Jefferson Avenue overpass. 3:47 p.m. -- Officers responded to a civil complaint in the 600 block of West Ellsworth Street. 12:45 p.m. -- A deputy and Michigan State Police trooper were dispatched to a Homer Township address in reference to a verbal argument between a 61-year-old man and his 49-year-old sister. The two were at their late parents' house dividing up property when an argument ensued. Things were calm by the time the deputy and trooper arrived, and the two said they would stay in separate rooms while the estate's property was moved out by other family members. 11:29 a.m. -- Officers responded to a crash resulting in property damage in the 900 block of Joe Mann Boulevard. 10:41 a.m. -- Officers responded to a case of fraud in the 700 block of Village East Drive. 9:03 a.m. -- Officers responded to a larceny in the 900 block of West Collins Street. Beaverton City Manager Heath Kaplan knew he was innocent of civil conspiracy and breach of fiduciary duty while working in Muskegon County as a finance director, and for nearly three years he waited for the court to acknowledge it. "I never doubted for a moment this day would come," Kaplan said Monday. "Three years of my life were torched." Muskegon County officials accused Kaplan of wrongly awarding and paying IT contracts on behalf of the county. Yet, on Feb. 6, Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Joyce Draganchuk dismissed the charges. Draganchuk granted a motion for summary disposition in favor of Kaplan. The judge said there was "no evidence" to support the county's claim that Kaplan breached his fiduciary duty to Muskegon County or that the municipality suffered any damages. Muskegon County Attorney Douglas Hughes wrote the five-year contract with Information Systems Intelligence LLC in Sept. 2013. However, the county terminated the ISI contract in April 2015, after the company worked for six months without pay from the county. They continued the work in hopes of resolving the issue, according to court documents. "He breached his own contract," Kaplan said of Hughes. Hughes did not return calls. Nor did other county representatives. According to ISI, the contract termination ultimately aided in shutting ISI down. ISI owner Ryan Leestma cited that the breach of contract cost him multiple clients and multiple employees, eventually forcing him to close the doors of the $8.25 million IT consulting business he founded in 2002. On Dec. 19, Draganchuk ruled in favor of Ryan Leestma and his ISI consulting business. The judge ordered the county to pay a minimum of $228,793 in damages for breach of contract as well as sums for four additional claims. The additional claims stem from the county's peremptory ending of an IT contract they had with the county. Kaplan readily admitted a friendship Leestma, but it had no bearing on the county's contract with ITI. He said the job went out for bids. Again, Kaplan said Hughes wrote the IT contract - not him. ISI filed a lawsuit against Muskegon County for not paying them per their contract with the company. The county then brought Kaplan in as a co-defendant. Draganchuk, who read thousands of pages in court documents regarding Kaplan's case, including depositions by county employees denouncing Kaplan as a culprit, said, " I have on many occasions given the benefit of the doubt to the county and thought that they could not possibly be putting forth something that's just not true and there had to be some twist. There had to be something there that they would show me and we would all have that 'Ah-ha' moment. ... "I held onto that belief over and over again that there had to be something. And over and over again, I was proven wrong. There wasn't. And it took a couple of years, but we finally got there. ..."Draganchuk added. Because Kaplan was a county employee at the time of the alleged wrongdoing, Muskegon had to pay for his attorney, S. Randall Field, at a cost of over $200,000, who was chosen by the county's insurance company. Field reportedly argued that Kaplan had nothing to do with the invoices that resulted in the breach of fiduciary duty claim. Field said there were six invoices where the county claimed Kaplan told someone in payroll to pay them double. Field said there was testimony by other employees that Kaplan had nothing to do with invoices. "We asked numerous times why he was ever brought into this case as the county administrator and chairman of the board approved everything that was done. At the end of the day, the county utterly failed to prove there was any wrongdoing." Field said Tuesday that the county going forward with the case was an attempt to distract from their own misdeeds, including destroying evidence and awarding contracts to friends without going out to bid. Muskegon County officials ended up providing documents and testifying under oath that Kaplan and Leestma did nothing wrong. Field said, even with that information, the county continued trying to make a case while paying him for Kaplan's legal defense. The attorney said it was a waste of tax dollars for frivolous claims. Kaplan, who took the job in Muskegon County in 2010 worked to upgrade the IT infrastructure, including a service room and later adding a desktop system. Under the direction of the County, collected bids from IT consulting firms to complete a top-down analysis on the county's IT infrastructure with the goal of hosting a new accounting system and other technologies in the future. Business and accounting firm Plante Moran was selected to perform the study. With the study complete, the county directed Kaplan to advertise for bids. ISI was the lowest bidder and the contract began. The IT work later resulted in the county receiving a Solutions Award for Significant Achievement and an Achievement Award for its transformative technology implementation from the Public Technology Institute and National Association of Counties, respectively. Kaplan was also praised by the then county administrator for his work, especially for IT upgrades. Kaplan said this has been a long battle and he is happy to be vindicated. Yet, it has left a deep scar and makes him grateful for Beaverton giving him a chance. "This should have never happened," Kaplan said. "I do feel vindicated, but it has been a battle." Goose Creek, SC (29445) Today Sun and clouds mixed. High 87F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. Low 71F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Mar 3, 1927 - Jan 6, 2021 Obituary Jack Middleton was 93 years old when he passed away at home Wednesday January 6th 2021. Jack was born in Appanoose County March 3rd 1927. He was the son of John and Nora Allen Middleton. He graduated from Centerville high school. Jack was employed by St. Jo A major art exhibition celebrating China's rich maritime history opened on Monday at the University of Cyprus in Nicosia. The significant collection of works tells the story of China's historic maritime exchanges in regions spanning from Asia and Africa to Europe and the Mediterranean. The event is organized within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. Opening the exhibition, the Rector of the University of Cyprus, Tasos Christofides, said the works gave the opportunity for the local community to "familiarize with China's long history, rich culture and tradition". The showcase titled, "Two Millenniums of Maritime Silk Road", will run for a week. Among the highlights is a magnificent scroll, depicting the history of Chinese sea trade. All the works displayed show how contemporary artists give their understanding and appreciation of modern Chinese marine development. Speaking at the unveiling, Chinese Ambassador to Cyprus Huang Xingyuan pointed to the long history of friendly exchanges and communication between two ancient civilizations. "We all know that Cyprus has a civilization of over 7,000 years old, and the Chinese civilization is over 5,000 years old and because of the maritime Silk Road, Cyprus and China began our friendly exchanges 2,000 years ago," he said. "Our forefathers have given us a very good foundation to work with -- and now our two countries are again bound by the Belt and Road Initiative," the Ambassador added. The artworks were donated by the Shenzhen University within the framework of promoting and supporting the Chinese marine culture and the in-depth exchanges between Cyprus and China. The ambassador also praised the Confucius Institute at the University of Cyprus which he said was "now in full swing". The institute is a joint venture between the Office of Chinese Language Council International, the University of Cyprus and the Beijing Institute of Education. It works with the public sector, businesses and academia in both Cyprus and China to develop educational, cultural and commercial links between the two countries. "This event is the first of many to come with the University of Shenzhen and with other Chinese university institutions in the near future promoting art, cultural, educational and research interactions," Professor Tasos Christofides added. Relations between China and Cyprus have been expanding rapidly over the last decade. A 38-year-old man has been identified by police as the victim killed in a Southeast Portland shooting Friday. Oscar Rodriguez Torres was found wounded by officers near Southeast 127th Avenue and Stark Street after 10:15 p.m. and he died at the scene, police said. No arrests have been announced and no suspect information has been released by police. Portland police asks anyone with more information about the shooting to contact Detective Scott Broughton at 503-823-3774, scott.broughton@portlandoregon.gov or Detective Rico Beniga at 503-823-0457, rico.beniga@portlandoregon.gov. -- 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. Oregons tax revenues will likely continue to outstrip expectations in the near term, triggering income tax rebates, state economists told lawmakers at the Capitol on Wednesday morning. Their new estimates mean taxpayers could receive larger kicker rebates than already projected when they file their taxes in 2020. Economists now predict the total rebate could reach $748.5 million, up from $724 million at the last forecast in November. State economists said they also see signs that an increase in corporate tax collections reflects a permanent broadening of Oregons corporate tax base that will drive higher corporate tax receipts over years to come. Theres a chance taxpayers will not receive the personal income tax rebates, which the state now returns in the form of credits rather than cash. Some Democratic lawmakers are interested in diverting the kicker on a one-time basis to Oregons underfunded public pension system. Oregon's unique kicker rebate is triggered when tax revenues for a two-year budget cycle come in more than 2 percent above economists' forecast made at the start of the cycle. Economists reiterated warnings Wednesday that the economy is slowing. Almost all forecasters are predicting a pretty significant slowdown around 2020, said state economist Mark McMullen. Most of the revenue increase in this forecast is from higher than expected corporate income tax payments as a result of President Donald Trumps new federal tax law, McMullen said. Corporate tax collections are certainly booming, McMullen said. One reason the state is receiving more corporate income tax revenue than anticipated: A provision of the 2017 federal tax law is prompting multinational corporations to bring back taxable profits from overseas. Under a 2018 law, the money will eventually be used to help address the states public pension crisis. State economists had expected Oregons corporate tax collections would rise due to the new provision. But they revised their estimates down last year after evidence started to surface that companies were repatriating less than Congress predicted. However, after several months of strong corporate income tax revenue, state economists are now predicting the federal tax law will have a broader, long-term impact on corporate tax revenue in Oregon than their initial estimates. I think its safe to say some of it will be a permanent change to our tax base, McMullen said in an interview. At the same time Trumps tax law cut federal corporate tax rates, it expanded the swath of income subject to taxation, known as the base. Oregon piggybacks off the federal base and since state tax rates remain unchanged, that could result in a sustained increase in corporate income tax revenue. Hillary Borrud | hborrud@oregonian.com | 503-294-4034 | @hborrud Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. Michael Cohen, President Donald Trumps former personal attorney, called Trump a conman and a cheat in his opening remarks before Congress on Wednesday. Cohen, known for years as Trumps fixer, pleaded guilty to various federal crimes -- including campaign-finance violations related to hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels. He soon will begin a three-year prison sentence. He said he is ashamed that he chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. The presidents press secretary, Sarah Sanders, responded by saying its laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies. The New York Times and the Associated Press obtained Cohens opening statement before the hearing. Below are five of the key accusations Cohen leveled at the president in his prepared testimony. During the 2016 campaign, Trump told Cohen to lie about the Trump Organizations ongoing negotiations for a real-estate project in Moscow. In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia, and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing, Cohen said. ... [I]n his way, he was telling me to lie." Cohen said Trump repeatedly asked Cohen about the Moscow Trump Tower project during the campaign, saying: Hows it going in Russia? Trump knew about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assanges plan to release hacked emails from the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton campaign In July 2016, days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trumps office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone, Cohen said. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign. Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of wouldnt that be great. Stone, a longtime self-proclaimed political dirty trickster, has denied the conversation took place. Shortly after this phone conversation, The Associated Press points out, WikiLeaks released thousands of emails hacked from the Democratic National Committees server by Russian operatives. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating whether there was a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia. Trump has repeatedly denied there was any collusion. A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr. Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time, Cohen said. The answer is yes. The special counsel recently indicted Stone for obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements. Cohen lied to Melania Trump about her husbands alleged sexual encounter with porn star Stormy Daniels Lying to the first lady is one of my biggest regrets, Cohen said. "She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly -- and she did not deserve that. Adult-film star Stormy Daniels says she had sex with Donald Trump once in 2006. Trump has disputed Daniels story. Daniels nevertheless was paid hush money not long before 2016s Election Day to keep quiet about the alleged extramarital affair. Cohen said Trump reimbursed him for the hush money he paid to Daniels and that Trump signed one of the repayment checks after he was president. Read more about the Trump-Daniels scandal. President Trump doesnt trust his eldest sons judgment Donald Trump Jr. was part of a June 9, 2016, Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer connected to the Kremlin, a meeting arranged reportedly for the lawyer to pass along information that would incriminate Hillary [Clinton]. The elder Trump has said he knew nothing about it, but Cohen said that shortly before the meeting took place, he witnessed Trump Jr. tell his father that it was all set. Cohen said Trump once told him that Trump Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the world. According to Cohen, Trump said he would not allow Trump Jr. to set up any meeting of any significance alone -- and certainly not without checking with his father. Trump is a racist He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasnt a shithole, Cohen said. This was when Barack Obama was president of the United States. He added that Trump frequently disparage[ed] African-Americans, saying at one point that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. Cohens testimony offers many more revelations. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat, Cohen said of Trump in his opening statement. Cohens testimony before Congress is now underway. Read the New York Times report about Cohens opening testimony -- Douglas Perry @douglasmperry Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. In a contentious meeting years in the making, the United States third-largest faith community voted to emphasize its opposition to same-sex marriage and gay clergy - a decision that was cheered by conservatives in the global church, especially in Africa, but was deeply disappointing to many Americans who had hoped the church would change. Many American ministers in the United Methodist Church already perform same-sex marriages and approve of the ordination of LGBT people as clergy, although the Protestant church's rules officially forbid these marriages and ordinations. Many Methodists hoped the church would amend those rules this week. Instead, a group of more than 800 clergy and lay leaders from around the world voted to affirm the church's traditional view of sexuality - and to punish disobedient clergy more harshly than before. "The United Methodist Church will very soon lose an entire generation of leadership in the United States," lamented Kimberly Ingram, speaking at the meeting on behalf of Methodist seminaries and theological schools, who argued that their students strongly approve of including LGBT people fully in the church. "The future of the United Methodist Church in this country is at stake." But presented with several options during a four-day special session on the future of the church in St. Louis, the delegates picked the "traditional plan," with 53 percent voting in favor. Other options would have allowed local churches to choose their stance on sexuality for themselves, or would have split the church into separate denominations. The choice raises the question of whether churches that hoped for a different outcome will leave the denomination. The United Methodist Church is the largest mainline - meaning nonevangelical - Protestant church in the United States. Most other mainline Protestant churches do perform LGBT marriages, including the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Each of those denominations lost some churches to more conservative faith groups when they decided to affirm same-sex marriage. Althea Spencer Miller, 63, assistant professor of New Testament at Drew University Theological School in New Jersey, and a pastor, poses for picture Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, at a national Methodist conference in St. Louis. Miller, who identifies as lesbian, said the United Methodist Church has an opportunity to show that "God's kingdom is a kingdom of such diversity" by opening the door to same-sex marriage and LGBT ministers. The potentially divisive vote will be Tuesday. (AP Photo/Jim Salter)AP The United Methodist Church, unlike those denominations, is worldwide, not almost entirely American. Nearly one-third of the churchs membership is in Africa, and speakers from outside the United States - including Liberia and Russia - were among the most vocal proponents of the traditional plan. Jerry Kulah, head of the UMC Africa Initiative, said he was sorry the church had even spent so much time and money debating questions about homosexuality. "The progressive groups are loud, but they don't have the numbers," he said. If the church had voted to affirm LGBT inclusion, he said, it would have become a "laughingstock" in Africa. "I'm happy to go back to old ladies and old men in villages who received the Bible from missionaries and let them know that the Bible hasn't changed," he said. But Will Willimon, a retired Methodist bishop and a prominent theologian at Duke Divinity School, said that preaching to the "old" is a failure of the church. "We're sending a signal we are here to minister to the spiritual needs of the elderly," he said, adding that he has trouble explaining this debate to his adult children. Willimon had advocated for the "one church plan," which would have allowed local ministers to choose their stance. "The traditional plan is a misnomer," he said. "We really have nothing in our tradition to justify this sort of punitive, exclusionary mentality." The question of sexuality has caused deep rifts among Methodists for years. After the topic nearly split the church in two at the denomination's regular quadrennial meeting in 2016, bishops called for this week's special session focused solely on resolving the question of sexuality and church unity. As it became clear Tuesday afternoon that the meeting would end with the approval of the traditional plan, some expressed joy and relief. W. Martin Nicholas, pastor of Sugar Land First Methodist Church in Texas, said that he was pleased with the outcome and that he now hoped the denomination would turn its attention to serving the poor and the sick, instead of years more fighting over LGBT issues. "It allows energy and effort to be channeled and focused in the right direction," he said. But he noted the disappointment that many delegates felt. "I dislike seeing people injured and feeling raw - this shouldn't be a victory lap." And others, on the floor of the stadium where the former St. Louis Ram, turned to questions about how a church might exit the denomination now, a tricky issue involving the ownership of church property and other logistics. And some voiced their sorrow and rage. Dawn Taylor-Storm, a delegate from Pennsylvania, trembled as she said at the microphone, "I speak for all who are at home feeling betrayed, harmed, undermined by this work. . . . This conference is not a full expression of who we are as United Methodists. And hear me, friends. Resurrection happens on the third day, not because people voted for it. Resurrection happens on the third day because the movement of God could not be legislated. You see, God does not depend on a majority vote!" The end of the meeting was rushed: The Methodists needed to leave, because a monster truck rally was scheduled next in the stadium. WARNING: This story contains a graphic photo below. The mother of a 5-year-old girl mauled in the face by a pit bull at Portland International Airport has filed a $1.1 million lawsuit against the Port of Portland for allegedly letting a dangerous emotional support animal into the airport without a carrier. The lawsuit lists two other defendants: the dogs owner, Michelle Brannan, and Alaska Airlines. The suit claims Brannan should have known that her dog had vicious propensities. The suit says the airline is at fault for allegedly allowing Brannan to bring a dangerous dog into the gate waiting area, where the attack happened, when the dog wasnt a trained service animal and wasnt properly confined. Mirna Gonzalez is suing on behalf of her daughter, Gabriella, who was 5 at the time of the attack on Dec. 18, 2017, and has since turned 7. According to their Portland attorney, Chad Stavley, Gabriella and her family were waiting at gate C7 to board a flight to Texas for the Christmas holiday. The girls mother and older sister went to get coffee nearby as Gabriella and her 13-year-old brother waited at the gate, Stavley said. With Brannans consent, Gabriella began petting the dog, Stavley said. It then bit her -- puncturing her eyelid, severing her tear duct, lacerating her face and tearing her lip, Stavley said. The girl underwent surgery and has visible scars today, he said. Gabriella Gonzalez suffered a severed tear duct, a lacerated lip and other injuries during a dog attack at Portland International Airport on Dec. 17, 2018, according to her family's lawyer. Brannan couldnt be reached for comment Tuesday. Alaska Airlines declined comment, citing the pending litigation. Kama Simonds, a spokeswoman for the Port of Portland, declined comment on the specifics of the case. But she explained the ports policy allowing animals. She said port officials can ask someone traveling with a dog if the dog is a trained service animal. If the traveler says yes, officials can ask what service the dog provides. The traveler need only answer those questions, and were required to accept the answer, Simonds said in an email. She added that officials dont ask for documentation of the animals training. Simonds said the port distinguishes between trained service animals and emotional support animals -- requiring that the latter be put in carriers while passing through the airport. If the animal is too large for a carrier, the animal must be on a leash within 3 feet of its owner, she said. Port officials apparently thought Brannans dog could have fit into some sort of carrier because port police cited her for failing to crate her dog. Stavley said he doesnt know if officials at the airport questioned Brannan about her dog before she got to the gate, or what Brannan might have said when asked if her dog was a trained service animal or an emotional support animal. Stavley said Brannan was carrying what looked like a form letter from her therapist, saying her animal was an emotional support animal. It didnt say what kind of animal, Stavley said. It was just a generic animal. Brannan, who lived in Portland at the time, was allowed to catch a later flight without her dog, Stavley said. According to Alaska Airlines policy on its website, trained service animals as well as emotional support animals fly free of charge. We welcome trained service animals and emotional support animals, the website states. The airline doesnt require that emotional service animals travel in a carrier. Rather, the website states that a leash is also acceptable. The suit seeks $100,000 for past and future medical costs, including the costs of surgery, and $1 million for the girls pain and suffering. The girl and her family live in Pasco, Wash., and were traveling through Portland. The lawsuit was filed Monday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Read the lawsuit here. -- Aimee Green agreen@oregonian.com o_aimee Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. Portland police are now banning officers from carrying open knives in their outside ballistic vests, noting that they are easily accessible by suspects. The new rule comes in the wake of the Jan. 6 fatal police shooting of Andre Gladen, a 36-year-old legally blind man who ran inside a strangers home. Gladen was found holding a dagger-type knife that he had grabbed from the vest of the officer who ended up killing him, several law enforcement sources said. The rule, signed last week by Police Chief Danielle Outlaw, was distributed to officers on Monday. It was created after proactively identifying a shortcoming in policy, Outlaw told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Tuesday. The Portland Police Bureau has declined repeatedly to acknowledge that the knife Gladen dropped after he was shot belonged to Officer Consider Vosu. Outlaw and Mayor Ted Wheeler didnt share any information about the knife with Gladens parents and siblings, who met with them last Friday a day after the rule went into effect. Outlaw said the bureau still awaits the grand jury transcripts related to the Gladen shooting and that the police administrative investigation into the shooting hasnt concluded. Police released a photo of the knife two days after the deadly encounter. It shows a double-sided 3 1/2-inch blade with finger rings. It costs about $100, according to retail postings. The new ban followed a review by the bureaus Training Division of equipment and pouches officers carry in their outside vests. Lead instructors from firearms, patrol procedures and control tactics participated in the review. A Multnomah County grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing by the officer involved in the shooting. The grand jury transcripts are expected to be made public in two to three weeks, and the bureaus investigative reports will be released by March 8, according to the bureau. Police instructors on control tactics noticed that knives placed on the outside vests are generally exposed and visible. Police typically carry them to cut clothing, ropes or seat belts on emergency calls. But now, officers no longer can carry knives, scissors, trauma shears or seat-belt cutters on their outside vests, unless theyre concealed inside a pouch. The body of the knife or sheath shouldnt be exposed or visible, according to the memo signed by the chief. The bureau also said officers no longer can carry extra magazines of ammunition for handguns or AR-15 rifles on the outside vests, with the exception of officers from the Special Emergency Reaction Team and traffic officers who ride motorcycles. The outside vests should be reserved for holding handcuffs, police radios, phones, hobble restraints and tourniquets, according to the three-page training memo that went to officers. The memo also described some drawbacks of the outside vests in potentially interfering with an officers ability to draw a weapon effectively. Police firearms instructors noticed during annual review training that officers sometimes had to modify their movement to draw their guns to accommodate the gear and pouches placed on the vests. Yet the trainers also said they recognized the benefits of an outer vest, which is much cooler to wear during hot weather, compared to wearing the vest beneath an officers shirt. The bureau is continuing to allow officers to choose whether they wear their ballistic vest in or outside their shirt. Our Training Division looks at best practices and certain times we have to adjust based on certain events, said Officer Daryl Turner, president of the Portland Police Association, the union for the rank-and-file officers. He declined comment on the Gladen case. The Jan. 6 shooting occurred after Southeast Portland resident Desmond Pescaia called 911 about a stranger sleeping on his front stoop. 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 to help Gladen, but he wouldnt leave and fell asleep on the porch of the home in the 9600 block of Southeast Market Street. When the officer arrived, Gladen burst into Pescaias home through the open front door, Pescaia said. According to Pescaia, Vosu followed and struggled to handcuff Gladen, who had slipped on the living room floor. Gladen then kicked the officer off him and into a rear bedroom. The officer first fired his Taser at Gladen, who stood in the entry to the bedroom. Gladen fell but got back up, and after several orders to stand down, the officer fired multiple shots from his handgun, Pescaia said. Pescaia saw a knife fall from Gladens right hand and land beside Gladen, he said. Gladen, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, had been at Portland Adventist Medical Center less than half a mile away before he showed up on Pescaias doorstep, his family said. His family has retained a local lawyer and a Chicago-based civil rights lawyer, who are evaluating whether to file a lawsuit in the case. -- 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. Oregonians should not be required to prove they are U.S. citizens or legal residents to drive a car. Thats the premise behind a bill filed in Salem this week by a bipartisan group of state lawmakers. If passed, it opens the door for non-citizens to obtain legal Oregon drivers licenses, learners permits or general identification cards. It wouldnt apply to commercial drivers licenses. The Equal Access to Roads Act would amend state law to allow drivers to submit a statement saying they have "not been assigned a Social Security number instead of producing documents proving U.S. citizenship or legal residency. Qualified applicants would still have to pass a drivers test and show they live in Oregon. The bill comes as Oregon in July 2020 will begin issuing drivers licenses that comply with the 2005 REAL ID Act, which requires states to verify citizenship and add other security features for state licenses. Either a federally recognized form of identification like a passport or Real ID card will be required for any passenger to board domestic flights starting in October 2020. Proponents say the bill is a logical move that will benefit all Oregonians who are either unwilling or unable to comply with those federal requirements, not just those undocumented workers who may rely on cars to get work, school or elsewhere around the state. Rep. Diego Hernandez, D-Portland, one of HB 2015s five chief-sponsors, said it makes sense to give all Oregonians an option other than paying more money for a Real ID starting next year. Many people are impacted by these strict requirements, Hernandez said, including the elderly, domestic violence survivors and immigrants. He said that having access to drivers licenses without producing additional paperwork eliminates a roadblock to getting an essential piece of identification. If approved, the bill would be effective January 2021. Oregon would still have two licenses if the bill dies in Salem a Real ID compliant one and a non-Real ID card. The bill removes the legal residency requirements for the non-Real ID license while adding additional civil protections so drivers licenses holders cant be discriminated against for not having a Real ID. Gov. Kate Brown issued a statement in support of the bill. As a mixed urban and rural state, many Oregonians depend on the ability to drive to support their families and go to school, the doctor, and the grocery store," Brown said. "Increasing access to drivers licenses means more Oregonians will safely access their jobs, education, and the services they rely on. The bill comes more than a decade after Oregon last issued eight-year drivers licenses to residents without requiring they produce documentation proving they are citizens or legal residents. The last of those licenses expired in 2016 and the state in 2017 decided to approve a plan to finally comply with Real ID. Transportation officials, while briefing state lawmakers last week, said Oregon would likely be the last state in the country to comply with Real ID. The intervening decade produced a separate bill that wouldve granted undocumented residents four-year drivers cards. That law produced a referendum in 2014 and Oregonians overwhelming voted to overturn that law, known as SB833. This bill is landing amid nationwide uncertainty surrounding the Trump administrations immigration policies and what immigrants rights advocates say has been an unnerving increase in deportations and raids on communities under his leadership. Ivan Hernandez, the communications manager for the immigrants rights group CAUSA of Oregon, said immigrants face an impossible position in Oregon right now. They either choose to drive without a license and risk arrest or deportation, he said, or they choose not to drive at all. Regardless of the complexity of the federal immigration debate, he said, the drivers license issue should resonate with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. We dont think that anybody should have their families separated or basically be deported over a traffic stop, he said. If Oregon moves forward with a bill, it wouldnt be the first state to do so. Washington and California both caved out separate requirements for drivers licenses, two of at least a dozen states to create licenses that dont comply with the federal law according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Hernandez, the Portland lawmaker, expects the bill to have bipartisan support. It already has 40 sponsors, including two Republicans, and some interest groups are already lining up behind it. He said the bill would work despite Oregons motor voter bill, where unregistered voters can be automatically signed up to vote. Currently, the DMV is able to administer motor voter with those not eligible to vote, Hernandez said on Twitter. Legal residents who are not citizens dont get enrolled through motor voter. That same system will apply here. We will be releasing an official memo from DMV soon. The drivers license should be about driving, said Jeff Stone, executive director of the Oregon Association of Nurseries. Stone said HB2015 is a cleaner version of the bill signed into law in 2013 that created a separate drivers card for undocumented residents. Stone said that if employers asked prospective workers today if they have a valid drivers license and they answer no, its grounds for termination. Then they know that they are not authorized to work in the United States, he said, citing the federal law. Stone, whose group represents more than 700 nurseries and landscapers across the state, said he hopes the bill gains traction. This has real implications for the rural economy, he said. Im hoping for a bicameral bipartisan bill that can get support. -- Andrew Theen atheen@oregonian.com 503-294-4026 @andrewtheen Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. WASHINGTON Amazon.com does not plan to pay the IRS anything this tax season. Thats not largely because of the new tax law. Rather, the worlds largest retailer simply took advantage of long-standing, low-profile tax deductions. It paid its employees in stock, built new warehouses and used tax breaks granted when the company wasnt profitable. Amazons projected $129 million refund highlights how companies can use the complexities of the U.S. tax code for their own benefit. As a tech company with highly appreciated stock that also relies on fulfillment centers and shipping hubs, Amazon is uniquely situated to use the full range of preferences baked into the tax laws. And it wasnt an unusual bumper year in 2018 that led to Amazons $0 tax bill. It didnt pay any federal tax in 2017, either. That feeds into the publics annoyance that a company with more than $232 billion in revenue and led by the worlds richest man Jeff Bezos doesnt pay more in taxes. That annoyance boiled over in New York this month when Amazon, which had been offered as much as $3 billion in tax incentives to build a second headquarters in New York, dropped the plan, which was fiercely opposed by local politicians and community activists. I get the frustration out there, but its not like theyre doing anything illegal, said Brian Yarbrough, a senior equities analyst at Edward Jones. Its how the tax law works. Despite having hundreds of billions in revenue, the company booked only about $9.4 billion in profit in 2018, creating a significantly smaller base on which taxes and offsetting credits and deductions are applied. The company says it pays all required federal, state and international taxes. Corporate tax is based on profits, not revenues, and our profits remain modest, given retail is a highly competitive, low-margin business, Amazon said in a statement. Amazon gets both the benefits usually used by technology companies deductions for paying employees in stock and write-offs for companies that rely heavily on building physical infrastructure. The research and development credit designed to encourage innovation in the U.S. also amounts to a tax break of up to $419 million for Amazon. Add hundreds of millions of dollars in losses the company still has on its books from years before Amazon turned a profit, and its U.S. corporate tax liability can be whittled down to zero. Those tax reductions, however, are largely unrelated to the tax bill Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed in 2017. Amazon benefited from the new lower corporate rate 21 percent, down from 35 percent and expanded write-offs for capital investments. Yet some of the biggest tax minimizers deductions for employee stock options and research and development are long-standing fixtures to the code that didnt change under the new tax law. One of the biggest factors changing Amazons financial filings isnt a substantive change at all. A deduction for stock-based compensation, totaling nearly $1.1 billion in 2018, is now more prominently displayed in regulatory filings because of an accounting rule change. The tax law didnt change one iota, Robert Willens, a tax consultant based in New York, said. Its all a matter of presentation. In the end, the U.S. government is better off because Amazon employees end up paying more taxes than the company can write off. Companies take that deduction off their profits taxed at 21 percent. Employees must pay tax on the income they receive from those shares at rates that top out at 37 percent. The fact that Amazon can legally reduce its tax bill to nothing calls into question the effectiveness of the code, said Matthew Gardner, a senior fellow at the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy. While those breaks have the backing of Congress and were implemented for some social or economic policy goal, they might be encouraging corporate action that would happen anyway, he said. Other profitable companies, including Netflix Inc., General Motors Co. and Prudential Financial Inc., are able to use tax breaks to completely offset their tax bills, Gardner said. Netflix spokesman Richard Siklos said the subscription streaming services tax break was reduced by standard tax breaks and that they anticipate their tax rate to be higher in 2019. Prudential said in a statement that it prepaid some of its taxes and follows all tax requirements. GM did not respond to a request for comment. If you want to be mad, be mad the people who wrote the tax code, Yarbrough said. Spencer Soper contributed to this report. Portland Trail Blazers forward Jake Layman joined The Jim Rome Show on Tuesday to discuss his breakout season, the post-All-Star road trip, life in the NBA, living in Rip City, and much more. Listen to the interview below: Dubai, UAE: Kanoo Engineering, one of the most competent and reliable suppliers of high-quality engineering products to the oil & gas, process and building industries in the Middle East recently announced a number of new projects at the start of the year. Neil Scott, General Manager of Kanoo Engineering said, I am delighted to confirm a series of recent new orders with a long-standing client for the engineering and fabrication of You are here: Arts Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday congratulated filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron on winning three Oscars at the 91st Academy Awards for his original movie "Roma." "We congratulate Alfonso Cuaron for the Oscars, for the recognition of the film "Roma." We are very pleased that a Mexican, a team, a group of professional actors, have received such important recognition in cinema," said the president. He also acknowledged that racism, the movie's central theme, continues to be a social scourge in Mexico, where indigenous groups often live in impoverished rural communities while light-skinned descendants of European settlers inhabit bustling urban centers. "In Mexico, unfortunately, there is still a lot of racism," said Lopez Obrador. "Roma" was nominated in 10 categories and won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Director and Best Cinematography. Medical Biomimetics Market Competitive Analysis with Abbott, AVINENT Implant System S.L.U., BioHorizons, BioMiMetiC, Forschungszentrum Julich, Hstar Technologies, Helmholtz, SynTouch, Veryan Medical U.S. Medical Biomimetics Market, By Product, 2017 & 2024 (USD Billion) https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/767 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/medical-biomimetics-market https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/767 https://www.gminsights.com http://solutionrocket.com Growing advancements in nanotechnology will assist global medical biomimetics market growth in the forthcoming years. Nanotechnology possesses potential to illustrate single molecules/cells at very high output and shows dynamic biomimetic behaviour. Such advancements can yield development of personalized medicine. Nanoparticles can exhibit progressive functions including response to stimuli, targeting cell/organ, imaging as well as drug delivery. Such beneficial capabilities along with continuous advancements will positively impact biomimetic market growth in coming years.Request for a sample of this research report @Favourable funding scenario for research and development of biomimetics will boost medical biomimetics industry growth. Several universities in Europe are receiving funding for conducting research on biomimetics. Additionally, numerous organizations and institutes are undertaking collaborative approach for advancements in biomimetics that should highly impact medical biomimetics market growth over the foreseeable future.Expanding geriatric population base will positively influence medical biomimetics business growth. Elderly population is highly susceptible to suffer from cardiovascular diseases, orthopaedic diseases as well as neurological disorders. As per American Heart Association, about 43.7 million Americans aged above 60 years of age suffer from at least one form of cardiovascular disease. Hence, increasing utilization of biomimetics in cardiovascular field will augment the market growth in the forecast period. However, presence of restrictive regulatory scenario may hamper medical biomimetics industry growth in forthcoming years.Cardiovascular medical biomimetics product segment accounted USD 8.4 billion in 2017. With assistance of tissue regeneration and biomimetics, several advanced products are being developed to cure cardiac disorders at chronic stages. Such tissues with the help of biomimetic technology improve cardiac function. Thus, increasing prevalence as well as mortalities due to CVD should increase the adoption of medical biomimetics product in upcoming years.Browse Full Report Details @Orthopaedic medical biomimetics product segment will progress at 5.8% CAGR throughout the forecast period. Biomimetic bones are designed that imitate natural bone structure that can be used in patients with walking disabilities. Biomimetics has developed novel hip prostheses carrying characteristics similar to contiguous bone that should increase the product demand. With rising road accidents coupled with growing demand for prostheses, orthopaedic product segment growth will spur in the upcoming years.Company profiled in this report based on Business overview, Financial data, Product landscape, Strategic outlook & SWOT analysis: Abbott AVINENT Implant System S.L.U. BioHorizons BioMiMetiC Forschungszentrum Julich Hstar Technologies Helmholtz SynTouch Veryan MedicalDrug delivery application segment accounted for over USD 6.5 billion market size in 2017 and is estimated to dominate the global medical biomimetics market throughout the projected timeframe. Better performance of vaccines as well as accurate drug delivery of nanocarriers through biomimetic devices will accelerate market growth. For instance, biomimetic drug delivery carrier such as recombinant bacteria are used for vaccine delivery. Such continuous R&D activities along with new product launch will highly impact medical biomimetics market growth.Tissue engineering application segment is poised to grow at 6.0% CAGR during the projected timeframe. Advancements such as biomaterials that imitate natural extracellular matrix for tissue regeneration will stimulate segmental growth. The technique of tissue engineering restores damaged tissues by merging cells from the body with biomimetic materials. Increasing application of biomimetics in organ regeneration will thus impel segmental growth in upcoming years.U.S. medical biomimetics market dominated North America industry with over 85% market share in 2017. Growing burden of chronic diseases coupled with aging population will offer lucrative medical biomimetics industry growth potential in coming years. According to CDC, about 6 among 10 adults in the U.S. suffer from chronic diseases. Additionally, increasing adoption of non-invasive cosmetic surgeries should drive the demand for medical biomimetics product.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @Japan medical biomimetics market held USD 1.0 billion in 2017. High growth is attributable to growing R&D activities, rapid adoption of innovative products and partnerships. For instance, 3Bs Research Group established long-term partnership with universities across Asia. In addition, growing healthcare infrastructure as well as funding in the country will boost Japan medical biomimetics industry growth.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.Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog: Self-consolidating Concrete Market 2019 Global Industry Key Players, Size, Trends & Opportunities Global Self-consolidating Concrete market report describes the development of the industry by upstream & downstream, industry overall and development, key companies, as well as type segment & market application and so on, and makes a scientific prediction for the development industry prospects on the basis of analysis, finally, analyzes opportunities for investment in the industry at the end of the report. Industry Overview part of this market report explains Self-consolidating Concrete Industry, Definition, Industry Trend, Industry Chain, Upstream, Technology, Cost Structure, Consumer Preference, Downstream. Get a Sample of this report with 197 pages and 25 Companies at https://www.inforgrowth.com/samplerequest/r/1022455/global-self-consolidating-concrete-market-status-and-future-forecast-2015-2024 Industry Overall section talks on Industry History, Development Prospect, Competition Structure, Relevant Policy, Trade Overview whereas Self-consolidating Concrete Market by Product section explains Products List of Major Companies, Market Size and Market Forecast. List of key companies include Ardex Group, Arkema Group, Mapei S.P.A, Lafargeholcim, The Quikrete Companies, Duraamen Engineered Products, Inc., Fosroc, Flowcrete, CTS Cement, Durex Coverings, Inc., Saint-Gobain S.A., Sakrete, Durabond Products Limited, TCC Materials, Laticrete International, Inc., Dayton Superior Corporation, W. R. Meadows, Inc., Edison Coating, Inc., Harricrete Ltd., USG Corporation, Koster Bauchemie AG, MYK Schomburg, ACG Materials, Sika AG. Market by Type: Underlayment, Toppings. Market by Application: Residential, Commercial Market Competition segment contains company level Competition, Industry Competition, Structure Analysis, Rivalry, Threat of New Entrants, Substitutes, Bargaining Power of Suppliers, Bargaining Power of Buyers. Region Operation can be studied through Regional Market, Production and Sales by Region, Production, Sales, Trade, Regional Forecast. Also, Market Investment will be understandable through Market Features, Product Features, Price Features, Channel Features, Purchasing Features, Investment Opportunity, Regional Investment Opportunity, Industry Investment Opportunity, Investment Calculation, Cost Calculation, Revenue Calculation, Economic Performance Evaluation. Find more information on this report at https://www.inforgrowth.com/enquiry/r/1022455/global-self-consolidating-concrete-market-status-and-future-forecast-2015-2024 Table of Content Part 1 Industry Overview Part 2 Industry Overall Part 3 Self-consolidating Concrete Market by Product Part 4 Key Companies List Part 5 Market Competition Part 6 Market Demand by Segment Part 7 Region Operation Part 8 Market Investment Part 9 Conclusion List of Tables Table Global Self-consolidating Concrete Market 2012-2017, by Type, in USD Million Table Global Self-consolidating Concrete Market Forecast 2018-2023, by Type, in USD Million Table Global Self-consolidating Concrete Sales Revenue 2012-2017, by Companies, in USD Million Table Global Self-consolidating Concrete Sales Revenue Share, by Companies, in USD Million Table Self-consolidating Concrete Demand 2012-2017, by Application, in USD Million Table Self-consolidating Concrete Demand Forecast 2018-2023, by Application, in USD Million Table Global Self-consolidating Concrete Market 2012-2017, by Region, in USD Million Table Self-consolidating Concrete Market Forecast 2018-2023, by Region, in USD Million And more. List of Figures Figure Self-consolidating Concrete Industry Chain Structure Figure Global Self-consolidating Concrete Market Growth 2012-2017, by Type, in USD Million Figure Global Self-consolidating Concrete Sales Revenue Share, by Companies in 2017, in USD Million Figure Production Development by Region Figure Sales List by Region About InForGrowth: We are a market-intelligence company formed with the objective of providing clients access to the most relevant and accurate research content for their growth needs. At InForGrowth, we understand Research requirements and help a client in taking informed business critical decisions. Given the complexities and interdependencies of market-intelligence, there is always more than one source to explore and arrive at the right answer. Through our smart search feature and our reliable & trusted publishing partners, we are paving way for a more simplified and relevant research. Address: 6400 Village Pkwy suite # 104, Dublin, CA 94568, USA Email: sales@inforgrowth.com Phone: +1-909-329-2808 This release was published on openPR. Permanent link to this press release: Copy Please set a link in the press area of your homepage to this press release on openPR. openPR disclaims liability for any content contained in this release. Home Infusion Therapy Devices Market 2025 | Baxter International Inc. Johnson & Johnson Private Limited (Animas Corporation) Becton, Dickinson and Company B. Braun Melsungen AG. Pfizer Inc. https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/sample/110114977/Home-Infusion-Therapy-Devices-Market https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/discount/110114977/Home-Infusion-Therapy-Devices-Market https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/rd/110114977/Home-Infusion-Therapy-Devices-Market https://www.researchreportinsights.com/ Infusion therapy entails management of medicine through a catheter or needle. Home infusion therapy is utilized for the handling of these diseases for example diabetes, gastrointestinal diseases, cancer, acute infections cystic fibrosis and dehydration. It is permitted by physicians as well as managed by nurses and trained professionals. This therapy is utilized when the oral medication is not functional for curing of diseases.The worldwide home infusion therapy devices market is projected to reach a market value of about US$ 1.51 Billion by the end of the year 2017 and registering a 6.8% CAGR forecasted period by 2025. The growth of the overall market is mainly fuelled by rising diabetes and cancer, rising occurrences of pain, surging geriatric population, encouraging settlements for home infusion therapy in addition to increasing awareness towards the use of these devices.However, reported errors and immeasurable product recalls, lack of trained professionals and standard usage guidelines and lack of appropriate diagnosis/treatment alternatives for the ailments are some aspects that are likely to impede the overall growth of the home infusion therapy devices market in the coming years.Request For Report Sample:Market SegmentationOn the basis of product type, the market is segmented into infusion system pumps accessories, insulin pumps, disposable elastomeric pumps and electronic ambulatory pumps and PCA pumps. Disposable elastomeric pumps will be accounting for the biggest market share by dominating the overall market and exhibiting a robust CAGR during the eight-year forecast period.On the basis of application, the market is categorized into chemotherapy, parenteral nutrition, antibiotic administration enteral nutrition, chemotherapy, parenteral nutrition, antibiotic administration, enteral nutrition and others. The parenteral nutrition is considered to be dominating over the anticipated period along with recording a robust CAGR among other segments.The end user market has been segmented into two broad categories long-term care centers and home care setting. The home care setting will be the most lucrative during the forecasted period, in addition, will be recording the highest CAGR in comparison to long-term care centers.Request Report Discount:The regions are segmented on the basis of Latin America, North America, Europe, APAC and MEA. North America is likely to lead the overall market in addition to expanding at a 7.1% CAGR through the assessment period. However, APAC will be the fastest growing region among others in terms of revenue in the overall market by exhibiting a CAGR of 7.4% during the assessment period.Key Market PlayersThe prominent players operating in the overall market includes Baxter International Inc. Johnson & Johnson Private Limited (Animas Corporation) Becton, Dickinson and Company B. Braun Melsungen AG. Pfizer Inc. Terumo Corporation Fresenius Kabi AG Smith & Nephew F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG Micrel Medical Devices S.A.Report 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 Workflow Automation Market Professional and In-Depth Industry Analysis 2017-2026 by Top Key Players Bizagi, Oracle Corporation, Nintex Global Limited, Pegasystems Inc., Newgen Software Technologies Limited, Workflow Automation Market http://bit.ly/2UasF6r http://bit.ly/2U91XuY http://bit.ly/2tEt0Cy Workflow Automation Market is accounted for $5.22 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $29.80 billion by 2026 growing at a CAGR of 21.4% from 2017 to 2026. Ease in business processes, focus on streamlining business processes and increased focus on digital transformation initiatives are some of the key factors driving the market growth. However, factors such as data insecurity in financial sector are restricting the market growth.Workflow automation is an easy way to streamline manual and paper-based processes often comprised of unstructured tasks involving people, processes, and content. Workflow and Content Automation represents the consolidation of traditional workflow and content generation into a new category to support the needs of a digital business. It's about improving processes from the everyday to the elaborate. It's about working with content no matter what or where it is, and routing it to the right recipients in the best way for them to use it. It's about straightforward processes. Workflow and content automation is a category unto itself.Some of the key players in Workflow Automation market include:Bizagi, Oracle Corporation, Nintex Global Limited, Pegasystems Inc., Newgen Software Technologies Limited, Xerox Corporation, Software AG, Appian, IBM Corporation, Ipsoft, Inc., Sourcecode Technology Holdings, Inc., Opentext Corp., Thoughtonomy Ltd., Uipath SRL and Tibco Software Inc.Check out For Download Sample Report Here:Amongst end user, BFSI is expected to have considerable market share. Processes such as data entry for clearance and registration processes, updating systems and producing client information, gathering information from various systems and generating a renewal premium, processes such as order-to-cash, conduct compliance, legal and credit checks, and claims processing and general data entry are done by workflow automation in the insurance and banking sectors to facilitate monotonous and time-consuming processes. The North America dominated the market to account for the largest share of the overall market. BFSI; telecom and IT; and travel, hospitality, and transportation industries in the US, Canada, and Mexico are adopting workflow automation for diverse functions to better manage business processes.The scope of Workflow Automation Market:This report focuses on the Workflow Automation in global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Major Types of Workflow Automation Market covered are:-Cloud-Based-On-PremiseMajor Applications of Workflow Automation Market covered are:-Travel, Hospitality, & Transportation Industry-Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals-Banking, Financial Services, & Insurance-Energy & Utilities-Telecom & IT Industry-Retail & Consumer Goods-Manufacturing & Logistics Industry-Other End UsersHave any Questions? Ask here:Table of Content1 Report Overview1.1 Study Scope1.2 Key Market Segments1.3 Players Covered1.4 Market Analysis by Type1.5 Market by Application1.6 Study Objectives1.7 Years Considered2 Global Growth Trends2.1 Workflow Automation Market Size2.2 Workflow Automation Growth Trends by Regions2.3 Industry Trends3 Market Share by Key Players3.1 Workflow Automation Market Size by Manufacturers3.2 Workflow Automation Key Players Head office and Area Served3.3 Key Players Workflow Automation Product/Solution/Service3.4 Date of Enter into Workflow Automation Market3.5 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion Plans4 Breakdown Data by Product4.1 Global Workflow Automation Sales by Product4.2 Global Workflow Automation Revenue by Product4.3 Workflow Automation Price by Product5 Breakdown Data by End User5.1 Overview5.2 Global Workflow Automation Breakdown Data by End UserGet Complete Report @Lastly, this report covers the market scene and its development prospects over the coming years, the Report likewise short manages the item life cycle, contrasting it with the significant items from crosswise over ventures that had just been popularized points of interest the potential for different applications, examining about late item advancements and gives a diagram on potential territorial pieces of the pie.About ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.com Air Compressor Market Trend & Growth Forecast 2019-2024 | Gardner Denver, Ingersoll Rand, ELGI EQUIPMENTS LIMITED, Atlas Copco. Air Compressor Market https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/377 https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/377 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/air-compressor-market https://www.gminsights.com/ One of the most prominent technologies in air compressor market is the rotary-based product. Rotary compressors are deployed across a slew of prominent industries such as mining, printing, healthcare, and metallurgy. Driven by their expansive implementation, rotary-based products hold a majority of the overall industry share indeed, rotary air compressor market size has been expected to surpass a valuation of USD 15 billion by 2024.The debut of a breakthrough compressed air technology by Ingersoll Rand unrefutably adds up an extra feather to air compressor market growth. Ingersoll Rand, one of the leading names in air compressor industry is reported to unveil the advanced R-series oil flooded screw compressors (RS200 to RS250) and enriched CARE Suite service programs at ComVac 2017, Germany, this year.Request for a sample copy of this report @As claimed by the global leader, this next generation R-series compressors is almost 15% more energy competent when compared to conventional products. Speaking of CARE suit service, the company affirmed that by far it is the most comprehensive maintenance offering available in the market, with an improved reliability and cost competitiveness.Company profiled in this report based on Business overview, Financial data, Product landscape, Strategic outlook & SWOT analysis:1. Atlas Copco2. Sullair, LLC3. Gardner Denver, Inc.4. Kaeser Kompressoren SE5. Ingersoll-Rand plc6. Rolair Systems7. Doosan Portable Power8. Hubei Teweite Power Technology Company Limited9. Elgi Compressors USA, Inc.10. Heyner UK Ltd.11. Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co Ltd12. Ciasons Industrial, Inc.13. Mat Holdings, Inc.14. Oasis Manufacturing15. Aerzener Maschinenfabrik GmbH (Aerzen)16. Quincy Compressor17. Vanair Manufacturing, Inc.18. VMAC Company (VMAC Global Technology, Inc.)19. Zen Air Tech Pvt. Ltd.20. AireTex Compressors LLC21. Bauer Compressors, Inc.22. Belaire Compressors23. Emerson Climate Technologies, Inc.24. Frank TechnologiesMake an Inquiry for purchasing this Report @Spanning the gigantic expanse of industrial sector, air compressor market is on its way of becoming one of the fastest growing business spaces of recent times, given the widespread product deployment across food & beverage, electronics, oil & gas, and manufacturing domains. The year 2017 has attained a profitable quotient for the overall industry, in terms of remuneration. One of the principal reasons why air compressor industry has gained an enviable popularity is the robust industrialization across APAC belt over the recent years. Macro-economic development along with increased disposable incomes across major economies like India, China, Japan has remarkably stimulated APAC automotive sector, another factor that has boosted air compressor market demand.In fact, as per the reliable statistics, APAC automotive market is probably one of the fastest emerging business spaces, bearing a record of almost 51.5 million units of automotive sales in 2016. In addition, this region is a profound investment destination for various European auto makers who have already initiated establishment of capitally intensive manufacturing units in Asia Pacific belt. Air compressor industry is essentially defined as a business arena which is closely linked with automotive sector proliferation, subject to the fact that air compressors find extensive application in vehicle air conditioning system, air breaks, and engines.Browse Report Summery @As the investments across these end-use domains rise, the demand for air compressors is likely to increase drastically, that would eventually impact the commercialization portfolio of Europe air compressor industry in the years to come.Stringent mandatory roll outs implemented by governmental bodies with regards to sound pollution is somehow acting as a major hurdle in air compressor market growth, subject to the fact the operation of conventional air compressors involve high level noise. However, the aggressive efforts by the industry players to come up with noise proof technologically advanced solutions is expected to combat the growth hurdles in the coming years. Some of the renowned names include Kaeser Kompressoren, Vanair, Atlas Copco, VMAC Company, AireTex Compressors, Zen Air, Belaire Compressors, Quincy Compressor, Ciasons Industrial, Sullivan-Palatek, Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems, and Oasis Manufacturing.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.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone:1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb: Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market Rapidly Growing in Medical Devices, Sales Analysis, Trends and Top Key Players (Terumo, Acon Lab, Roche Diagnostics, Novo Nordisk, Medtronic, Abbott, Sanofi) | Global Forecast 2019 - 2023 Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market https://www.businessindustryreports.com/sample-request/136311 https://www.businessindustryreports.com/buy-now/136311/single https://www.businessindustryreports.com/check-discount/136311 The demand for Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market is anticipated to be high for the next few years. By considering this demand we provide latest Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market Report which gives complete industry analysis, market outlook, size, growth and forecast till 2023. This report will assist in analyzing the current and future business trends, sales and revenue forecasts.Global Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market Overview:The Global Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market research report is the study prepared by analysts, which contain a detailed analysis of drivers, restraints, and opportunities along with their impact on the Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market growth.The Global Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market is growing due to the increase in the number of people with diabetes, especially type 1 diabetes. To avoid high doses of medication and insulin intake, these people are moving toward monitoring blood glucose levels by learning about the technicalities and the usage of Blood Glucose Monitoring (BGM) Devices.Available Exclusive Sample Copy of this Report @The Global Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market is segmented on the basis of Product Type, Application and Region. Based on the Product Type, the Global Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market is classified into Monitoring Devices and Continuous Glucose Monitoring Devices. Based on the Application, the Global Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market is sub-segmented into Hospitals and Diagnostic Laboratories, POL, Home-Care Settings and others.As per the geographic analysis, North America and Europe are anticipated to lead the global market on account of their large population plagued with diabetes, the regions rapidly increasing geriatric and obese population, and their high per capita expenditures on healthcare. The APAC market is expected to rise at a substantial rate during the forecast period ascribed to the populous nations of India and China. The market in Latin America and Middle East & Africa is likely to expand at moderate growth rate over the period of forecast.This is an expert and top to bottom examination on the present condition of the Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market. The report gives a fundamental review of the business including definitions, arrangements, applications and industry chain structure. The Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market investigation is accommodated the worldwide markets including advancement patterns, focused scene examination, and key districts improvement status. Improvement strategies and plans are additionally examined and producing procedures and cost structures broke down. Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market import / send out utilization, free market activity figures and cost and creation esteem net edges are additionally given.Purchase this report online with 125 Pages, List of Tables & Figures and in-depth Table of Contents on Global Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market Report 2019 @Major Key Players:1 Terumo Corporation2 Acon Laboratories3 Roche Diagnostics4 Johnson & Johnson5 ARKRAY6 Novo Nordisk7 Medtronic8 Abbott Laboratories9 Ypsomed10 Sanofi and MoreMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report covers1 North America Country (United States, Canada)2 South America3 Asia Country (China, Japan, India, Korea)4 Europe Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy)5 Other Country (Middle East, Africa, GCC)Grab Your Report at an Impressive Discount @This study answers to the below key questions:1 What will the market size be in 2023 and what will the growth rate be?2 What are the key market trends?3 What are the challenges to market growth?4 Who are the key players in this market?5 What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key players?In the end, this report covers data and information on capacity and production overview, production, market share analysis, sales overview, supply, sales, and shortage, import, export and consumption as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin of Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market.Major Points in Table of Contents:Global Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market Report 20191 Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market Overview2 Global Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market Competition by Company3 Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Company Profiles and Sales Data4 Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market Status and Outlook by Regions5 Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Application/End Users6 Global Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market Forecast7 Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Upstream Raw Materials8 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors9 Research Findings and ConclusionAbout usBusinessindustryReports.com is digital database of comprehensive market reports for global industries. 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.Media ContactBusiness Industry ReportsPune Indiasales@businessindustryreports.com+19376349940 Global Utilities Security Market 2018-2025 Profiling key players like Axis Communications, Bosch Security Systems, Honeywell Security, Qognify, Tyco International et al. Utilities Security Market http://contrivedatuminsights.com/Home/RequestaSample/1272 http://contrivedatuminsights.com/Home/GetSpecialPricing/1272 http://contrivedatuminsights.com/Home/InquiryBeforeBuying/1272 www.contrivedatuminsights.com A new report as an Utilities Security market that includes a comprehensive analysis of the global market. This includes investigating past progress, ongoing market scenarios, and future prospects. Accurate data on the products, strategies and market share of leading companies in this particular market are mentioned. This report provides a 360-degree overview of the global market's competitive landscape. The report further predicts the size and valuation of the global market during the forecast period. The report also presents thorough qualitative and quantitative data that affect the expected impact of these factors on the market's future growth prospects.Get Sample copy of this Report:The Top Key Players include: Axis Communications, Bosch Security Systems, Honeywell Security, Qognify, Tyco International et al. among others.This report provides detailed historical analysis of global market for Utilities Security from 2013-2018, and provides extensive market forecasts from 2018-2028 by region/country and subsectors. It covers the sales volume, price, revenue, gross margin, historical growth and future perspectives in the Utilities Security market.Utilities Security Market 2018 Report analyses the industry status, size, share, trends, growth opportunity, competition landscape and forecast to 2025. This report also provides data on patterns, improvements, target business sectors, limits and advancements. Furthermore, this research report categorizes the market by companies, region, type and end-use 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 Utilities Security Market before evaluating its feasibility. Overall, the report provides an in-depth insight of 2018-2025 global Utilities Security Market covering all important parameters.Get Special Pricing:Global Utilities Security Market Key Segments:On the Basis of Type: Physical Security Cyber SecurityOn the Basis of Application: Oil and Gas Electricity OthersThis is a professional and in-depth research report aimed at providing the worlds major regional market conditions of the industry, covering main regions and the main countries such as North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India.For More Information:Table of ContentsGlobal Utilities Security Market Research ReportChapter 1 Global Utilities Security Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3 Global Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4 Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5 Global Supply (Production), Consumption, ExportChapter 6 Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Market ForecastAny special requirements about this report, please let us know and we can provide custom report.About UsContrive Datum Insights (CDI) is the most comprehensive database of market-related research. Serious researchers from across the globe seeking up-to-date information on the latest market trends with in-depth analyses turn to Contrive Datum Insights. Our massive database boasts authentic reports published by leading authors and publications. Contrive Datum Insights highly motivated and expert in-house team undertakes rigorous screening of the credentials of publishers and authors before accepting their submissions. Such vetting is imperative for internal quality control.Contact Us:Alex Jones,(Sales Manager),Office : 4859 Slcan Street,Vancouver,British Columbia, Canada+19084598372,sales@contrivedatuminsights.com Calcium Phosphate Market Exhibits Higher Growth Prospects during 2019 2023 | Global Key Players - Advance Inorganics, Nitta Gelatin, Raymon Patel Gelatine, Timab, Fosfitalia SpA, Gadot Biochemical Calcium Phosphate Market https://www.businessindustryreports.com/sample-request/137173 https://www.businessindustryreports.com/check-discount/137173 https://www.businessindustryreports.com/buy-now/137173/single A fresh report has been added to the wide database of Business Industry Reports. The research study is titled Calcium Phosphate Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2023 which provides important data about the production, consumption, revenue and company profiles for key industry participants.Global Calcium Phosphate Market Synopsis:According to Market Analyst, The Global Calcium Phosphate Market is expected to grow at an impressive Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) from 2019 to 2023. According to Report, The increasing need to safeguard expensive electrical equipment from unexpected electrical surges is expected to drive the market growth.If you want to know more about Calcium Phosphate, Get Sample Copy of Report @Calcium phosphate is an important inorganic substance and is used in diverse industries, such as pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, food, etc. Calcium phosphate is a common pharmaceutical excipient, largely used as a filler and binder in solid and oral dosage forms. There are several types of calcium phosphates available in the pharmaceutical market, including fine materials as well as coarse DC grades for granulation processes.Some of the significant factors driving the growth of the Global Calcium Phosphate Market Market are wide acceptance of calcium phosphate, low product pricing, rising demand for healthy and nutritional food products, rise in orthopedic disorders, increasing use for calcium phosphate as diluents in drug formulations, and growing per capita and health care expenditure.For the purpose of providing detailed research report, Global Calcium Phosphate Market has been segmented on the Basis of product type, end-user, and geography. In terms of product type, the calcium phosphate market can be classified into mono calcium phosphate, di calcium phosphate, and tri calcium phosphate. Based on end-user, the calcium phosphate market can be divided into pharmaceutical industry, nutraceutical industry, food industry, and others.Regionally, North America dominates the global calcium phosphate market. Factors such as large geriatric population resulting in rising demand for bone and joint health supplements, increased research & development activities, and high consumption of nutritional products are likely to drive the calcium phosphate market in the region during the forecast period. Europe is the second leading market for calcium phosphate.Request a Discount on standard prices of this premium report @The Market is segmented and projected on the basis of major key players:1 Advance Inorganics2 Nitta Gelatin Inc3 Raymon Patel Gelatine Pvt. Ltd.4 Timab5 Fosfitalia SpA6 Gadot Biochemical Industries7 Sichuan Hongda8 Jindi ChemicalMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report covers:1 North America Country (United States, Canada)2 South America3 Asia Country (China, Japan, India, Korea)4 Europe Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy)5 Other Country (Middle East, Africa, GCC)Complete report on Calcium Phosphate Market spread across 125 Pages and No. of Table of contents. Buy Research @Key Questions Answered in this Report:1 Which would be global Calcium Phosphate market opportunities and restraints with producers in the industry?2 What all segmentations covered?3 Which will be the Calcium Phosphate trending variables currently impacting the market shares?4 What will be the global Calcium Phosphate market size in 2023?5 Who will be the top vendors in Calcium Phosphate market?6 Whats going to be the growth speed?7 Which will be the significant Calcium Phosphate market trends?8 Which industry regions are currently affecting on Calcium Phosphate markets development?TABLE OF CONTENTS1 Calcium Phosphate Product Definition2 Global Calcium Phosphate Market Manufacturer Share and Market Overview3 Manufacturer Calcium Phosphate Business Introduction4 Global Calcium Phosphate Market Segmentation (Region Level)5 Global Calcium Phosphate Market Segmentation (Product Type Level)6 Global Calcium Phosphate Market Segmentation (Industry Level)7 Global Calcium Phosphate Market Segmentation (Channel Level)8 Calcium Phosphate Market Forecast 2018-20239 Calcium Phosphate Segmentation Product Type10 Calcium Phosphate Segmentation Industry11 Calcium Phosphate Cost Analysis12 ConclusionAbout usBusinessindustryReports.com is digital database of comprehensive market reports for global industries. 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.Media ContactBusiness Industry ReportsPune Indiasales@businessindustryreports.com+19376349940 Asia-Pacific and LAMEA are expected Higest growth in the coming years due to demand for disposable hygiene products in emerging economies such as China, Indonesia, India, Turkey, and Brazil. https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/1549?utm_source=openpr&utm_medium=Niranjan https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/checkout/866147?utm_source=openpr&utm_medium=Niranjan https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Non-woven adhesives are thermoplastic adhesives that comprise a base polymer, tackifiers, plasticizers, and antioxidants. Hygiene products, including diapers, training pants, adult incontinence, feminine protection, and many others are manufactured using these superior adhesive solutions. Non-woven adhesives are preferred for industrial applications due to its superior properties such as low odor, softness, high elasticity, cohesion strength, and excellent processability.Get the Sample Report:Global nonwoven adhesives market report, published by Allied Market Research, forecasts that the global market is expected to garner $2,809 million by 2022, registering a CAGR of 9.9% during the period 2016-2022. The ethylene vinyl acetate segment dominated the market in 2015, with around half of the market volume share.A surge in demand for products that have powerful bonds delivery, excellent color stability, improved sustainability, and superior absorbent quality across various end-user industries are the factors that drive the growth of the market. In addition, product innovation, low manufacturing cost, and waste minimization supplement market growth. Traditional nonwoven adhesives are temperature sensitive, and thus soften at elevated temperatures.These adhesives cannot be applied on temperature-sensitive substrates at 375-450F, as they become susceptible to creep or joint movement at higher temperatures, which leads to bond failure and is the major restraint of the market. However, growth in usage of nonwoven adhesives in the medical industry is expected to provide new opportunities.Purchase the Report @Huge Discount:Nonwoven adhesives play a significant role in product transformation in the hygiene industry, as these adhesive solutions are compatible with all application techniques and adhere to a range of porous and nonporous substrates. Variety of raw materials are available for production of these adhesives such as ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), styrenic block copolymers (SBC), polyolefin (PO), polyamide, polyester, and polyurethane.These adhesive solutions provide ease of manufacturing, as they can be easily mixed, offer a broad temperature range for application, and set up fast. Their exposure to elevated temperatures results in bond failure, which can be prevented by cross-linking the polymer molecules after setting.Styrenic block copolymers (SBC) holds one-fourth of the market share, in terms of revenue, in 2015, and estimated to grow at a high CAGR of 10.5% as compared to the other types. The major reason behind the higher growth rate of SBC is growing usage in the market owing to low cost and faster bond strength development.Key Findings of the Nonwoven Adhesives Market:Asia-Pacific is expected to continue to lead the market during the forecast period, followed by Europe. Styrenic block polymers market volume is projected to grow with a CAGR of 11.6% from 2016 to 2022, in terms of volume. Adult incontinence segment is projected to show the fastest growth with a CAGR of 10.2% between 2016 and 2022, in terms of revenue.Brazil accounted for half of the LAMEA nonwoven adhesives market in 2015.Indian nonwoven adhesives market is expected to grow at a high CAGR in Asia-Pacific, registering a CAGR of 10.9%.Germany and Italy accounted for around half of the European nonwoven adhesives market in 2015. Asia-Pacific and Europe collectively contributed more than half of the share to the global nonwoven adhesives market revenue in 2015. In the same year, Asia-Pacific dominated the market, owing to the high demand for disposable products hygiene industry.The prominent market players are Henkel AG (Germany), H.B. Fuller (U.S.), Bostik SA (U.S.), Beardow Adams Ltd. (UK), Lohmann Koester GmbH & Co. Kg (Germany), Adtek Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia), Savar Specialty Adhesives (U.S.), The Dow Chemical Company (U.S.), 3M Corporation (U.S.), and Kraton Corporation (U.S.).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: Sodium Chlorate Market to grow at a CAGR of 4.2% | Leading Players: Tronox, Chemtrade Logistics, ERCO Worldwide Sodium Chlorate Market https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/sample-report/6312-global-sodium-chlorate-market https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/enquiry-before-buy/6312-global-sodium-chlorate-market https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/reports/6312-global-sodium-chlorate-market https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/buy-now?format=1&report=6312 https://www.linkedin.com/company/advance-market-analytics https://www.facebook.com/AMA-Research-Media-LLP-344722399585916 https://twitter.com/amareport Advance Market Analytics published a new research publication on "Global Sodium Chlorate Market Insights, to 2025" with 145 pages and enriched with self-explained Tables and charts in presentable format. In the Study you will find new evolving Trends, Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities generated by targeting market stakeholders. The growth of the Sodium Chlorate market is mainly driven by the increasing R&D spending across the world. Some of the key players profiled in the study are Akzo Nobel N.V. (Eka Chemicals) (United Kingdom), Kemira, ERCO Worldwide (Canada), Chemtrade Logistics Inc. (Canada), Arkema S.A. (France), Tronox Inc. (United States), Ercros S.A (Spain), ERCO Worldwide (Canada), Inner Mongolia Lantai Industrial (China), Sichuan Minjiang Snow Salt Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. (China), Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (India) and China First Chemical Holdings Ltd. (China) etc.Scope of the Report of Sodium ChlorateGet Free Exclusive PDF Sample Copy of This Research @Market Drivers Growth in the Paper and Pulp IndustryMarket Trend Increasing Use of Sodium Chlorate for Niche Applications for the Production of Oxidation Candles for Aircrafts and SubmarinesRestraints Availability of Alternatives Such As Hydrogen Peroxide and OzoneOpportunities Emerging Demand from EconomiesAdvance Market Analytics, a global market research and consulting organization, have released a new study titled "Sodium Chlorate market - Global outlook to 2024".Industries constant focus on reducing the operational cost and increased attention on core business, and need to improve scalability are expected to shape the Global Sodium Chlorate market to grow at a CAGR of 4.2%.The Sodium Chlorate Market report provides a basic overview of the industry including its definition, geography segment, end use/application segment and competitor segment and manufacturing technology. Then, the report explores the international major industry players in detail.According to the Regional Segmentation the Sodium Chlorate Market provides the Information covers following regions:*North America*South America*Asia & Pacific*Europe*MEA (Middle East and Africa)The key countries in each region are taken into consideration as well, such as United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, South Africa, Nigeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Germany, United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Turkey, Russia, France, Poland, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, India, Australia and New Zealand etc.Have Any Questions Regarding Global Sodium Chlorate Market Report, Ask Our Experts@The titled segments and sub-section of the market are illuminated below:Key Applications/end-users of Global Sodium Chlorate Market: Bleaching agent, Oxidizing agent (chemical synthesis), HerbicideForm: Crystalline, SolutionEnd-use industry: Paper and Pulp Industry, Fireworks, Chemical Industry, Mining, Aerospace and Marine, Electronics, Automotive, OthersTop Players in the Market are: Akzo Nobel N.V. (Eka Chemicals) (United Kingdom), Kemira, ERCO Worldwide (Canada), Chemtrade Logistics Inc. (Canada), Arkema S.A. (France), Tronox Inc. (United States), Ercros S.A (Spain), ERCO Worldwide (Canada), Inner Mongolia Lantai Industrial (China), Sichuan Minjiang Snow Salt Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. (China), Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (India) and China First Chemical Holdings Ltd. (China) etcList of players also available in Coverage: Soda-Chlorate Ltd. (Russia) , Fuzhou Yihua Chemical Stock Co., Ltd. (China) , JSC Uzkimesanoatloijiha (Uzbekistan) , Canexus U.S. Inc. (United States) , PCI Chemicals (India)Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @Strategic Points Covered in Table of Content of Global Sodium Chlorate Market:Chapter 1: Introduction, market driving force product Objective of Study and Research Scope the Sodium Chlorate marketChapter 2: Exclusive Summary the basic information of the Sodium Chlorate Market.Chapter 3: Displaying the Market Dynamics- Drivers, Trends and Challenges of the Sodium ChlorateChapter 4: Presenting the Sodium Chlorate Market Factor Analysis Porters Five Forces, Supply/Value Chain, PESTEL analysis, Market Entropy, Patent/Trademark Analysis.Chapter 5: Displaying the by Type, End User and Region 2013-2018Chapter 6: Evaluating the leading manufacturers of the Sodium Chlorate market which consists of its Competitive Landscape, Peer Group Analysis, BCG Matrix & Company ProfileChapter 7: To evaluate the market by segments, by countries and by manufacturers with revenue share and sales by key countries in these various regions.Chapter 8 & 9: Displaying the Appendix, Methodology and Data SourceFinally, Sodium Chlorate Market is a valuable source of guidance for individuals and companies.Research Methodology: The top-down and bottom-up approaches are used to estimate and validate the size of the global Sodium Chlorate market. In order to reach an exhaustive list of functional and relevant players who offer Sodium Chlorate various industry classification standards are closely followed such as NAICS, ICB, SIC to penetrate deep in important geographies. Thereafter, a thorough validation test is conducted to reach most relevant players specifically having product line i.e. Sodium Chlorate. In order to make priority list sorting is done based on revenue generation as per latest reporting with the help of paid databases such as Factiva, Bloomberg etc. Finally the questionnaire is set and specifically designed to address all the necessities for primary data collection after getting prior appointment. This helps us to gather the data for the players revenue, profit, products, growth etc. Almost 80% of data is collected through primary medium and further validation is done through various secondary sources that includes Regulators, World Bank, Association, Company Website, Annual reports, press releases etc.Buy the Latest Detailed Report @Key questions answered Who are the Leading key players and what are their Key Business plans in the Sodium Chlorate market? What are the key concerns of the five forces analysis of the Sodium Chlorate market? What are different prospects and threats faced by the dealers in the Sodium Chlorate market? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?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 Author:Advance Market Analytics is Global leaders of Market Research Industry provides the quantified B2B research to Fortune 500 companies on high growth emerging opportunities which will impact more than 80% of worldwide companies' revenues.Our Analyst is tracking high growth study with detailed statistical and in-depth analysis of market trends & dynamics that provide a complete overview of the industry. We follow an extensive research methodology coupled with critical insights related industry factors and market forces to generate the best value for our clients. We Provides reliable primary and secondary data sources, our analysts and consultants derive informative and usable data suited for our clients business needs. The research study enable clients to meet varied market objectives a from global footprint expansion to supply chain optimization and from competitor profiling to M&As.Contact Us:Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager)AMA Research & Media LLPUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA 08837Phone: +1 (206) 317 1218sales@advancemarketanalytics.comConnect with us at Though the tech night started 10 years ago, Sears students have been using technology in the classroom for much longer. When Elisabeth LeBris, the director of library technology, and one of the nights two founders, arrived in 1985, there were already 15 Apple computers for student use. Homewares Market: Emerging Economies Expected to Influence Growth until 2022| Key Players - Oneida Group, Groupe SEB, Pacific Market International, Lock & Lock Co Ltd, Libbey , International Cookware SAS, Inter Ikea Systems https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=241 https://www.factmr.com/report/241/homewares-market https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=AE&rep_id=241 https://www.factmr.com/ https://factmrblog.com/ https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ Increased demand for housing and the emergence of generation rent is reflecting favorably on the global homewares market. Currently, the preference for inexpensive fashionable homeware items is higher than premium-priced varieties. The youth population is more fashion oriented and seek season homeware solutions, which is why manufacturers remain focused on constantly changing product design and introducing new products.Get Sample of this research report @At the same time, elderly shoppers tend to invest more on luxury categories, owing to their relatively higher spending ability. Factors as such are expected to play an important role in determining the future prospects of the global homewares market. Moreover, companies that manufacture homewares are also offering low-cost textile and decorative ranges in order to penetrate the wide pool of price-sensitive consumers particularly in the developing countries. Some of the companies are coming up with complete sets of homeware decor items that are specific to the aesthetic requirements of the buyer. The recent report published by Fact.MR cites that the global homewares market will reach a valuation is excess of US$ 180,100 Mn, reflecting an above average CAGR during the forecast period (2017-2022).Homewares are household commodities used within household. Some of the commonly used homeware items include furniture, home decoration, soft furnishings, kitchenware, home appliances, lighting, storage and flooring, bathroom accessories and cleaning, tableware and hardware tools. Homewares make living areas more habitual and functional.Home Decoration to Remain a Highly Sough-After Homeware Product SegmentBased on product type, demand for home decoration will continue to be strong in 2017 and beyond. Over 2022, global sales of home decoration is projected account for more than 19% revenue share of the homewares market. In addition, nearly US$ 35,297 Mn worth home decoration is estimated to be sold across the globe.Browse More Information about this Report @Among regions, the homewares market in Europe is projected remain highly attractive throughout the forecast period. In terms of revenue, the region currently represents a significantly percentage in the global homewares market and trend is anticipated to continue over the next couple of years. Between 2017 and 2022, Europes homewares market is expected to expand at an impressive CAGR of 5.5%. The regions market is expected to create absolute $ opportunity of US$ 15,154.4 Mn during the forecast period. The market in North America is also expected to surge at a healthy CAGR, owing to the increasing demand for low-cost seasonal home decoration in the region.Competition TrackingThe report has also profiled key companies that are currently functioning in the global homewares market, which include ARC International SA, Avon Products, Inc., Conair Corporation, Inter Ikea Systems B.V., International Cookware SAS, Libbey Inc., Lock & Lock Co Ltd, Pacific Market International, SEB SA, The Oneida Group, Inc., Tupperware Brands Corporation, and Zepter International SA.Make an Enquiry before buying this report @About Fact.MRFact.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 UsFact.MR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb:Blog:Read Industry News at - Retail Bank Loyalty Program Market to Soar at 5.8% CAGR to 2024 | Maritz, FIS Corporate, IBM, Aimia, TIBCO Software, Hitachi-solutions, Oracle Corporation, Comarch ReportsWeb https://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00012468389/sample https://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00012468389/discount https://www.reportsweb.com/buy&RW00012468389/buy/3480 Global Retail Bank Loyalty Program Market 2019 by Company Regions Type and Application Forecast to 2024Loyalty programs are structured marketing strategies designed by merchants to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of businesses associated with each program. These programs exist covering most types of business, each one having varying features and rewards schemes.Loyalty programs have emerged as one of the key marketing tools in the global retail banking industry. Retail banks offer a number of loyalty programs in developed economies, however many of these are commoditized. This has compelled banks to introduce innovative programs in order to remain both competitive and profitable.There is also an increased pressure on costs due to new regulatory trends in last five years. Loyalty programs are being viewed as an important revenue-driving tool and have been proven to reduce customer acquisition costs. Retail banking in emerging economies is still in its developmental stages, as illustrated by its relatively low loyalty program penetration rates.Retail banking is a typical mass-market banking industry that lets its customers use local branches of the more widespread commercial banking establishments. Retail banking is also generally known as consumer banking. Its services include mortgages, certificates of deposit (CDs), savings and checking accounts, debit/credit cards, and personal loans. The retail banking sector mainly focuses on catering to the needs of its retail clients.Get Sample Copy Of this report:Companies Profiled in this report includes: Maritz, FIS Corporate, IBM, Aimia, TIBCO Software, Hitachi-solutions, Oracle Corporation, Comarch., Loyalty Lab, Exchange Solutions, Bpm'online, Customer PortfoliosThe global economic slowdown adversely affected the banking industry of key markets across the globe. To improve their financial performance, banks implemented cost-saving initiatives. As part of such initiatives, banks launched loyalty programs through low-cost channels such as mobile platforms and social media sites.The global Retail Bank Loyalty Program market is valued at 880 million USD in 2018 and is expected to reach 1240 million USD by the end of 2024, growing at a CAGR of 5.8% between 2019 and 2024.The Asia-Pacific will occupy for more market share in following years, especially in China, also fast growing India and Southeast Asia regions.North America, especially The United States, will still play an important role which cannot be ignored. Any changes from United States might affect the development trend of Retail Bank Loyalty Program.This report studies the Retail Bank Loyalty Program market status and outlook of Global and major regions, from angles of players, countries, product types and end industries; this report analyzes the top players in global market, and splits the Retail Bank Loyalty Program market by product type and applications/end industries.Get Discount of this report:Table of Content:1 Retail Bank Loyalty Program Market Overview2 Manufacturers Profiles2.1 Maritz2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.2 Retail Bank Loyalty Program Type and Applications2.1.2.1 Product A2.1.2.2 Product B2.1.3 Maritz Retail Bank Loyalty Program Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2017-2018)2.2 FIS Corporate2.2.1 Business Overview2.2.2 Retail Bank Loyalty Program Type and Applications2.2.2.1 Product A2.2.2.2 Product B2.2.3 FIS Corporate Retail Bank Loyalty Program Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2017-2018)2.3 IBM2.3.1 Business Overview2.3.2 Retail Bank Loyalty Program Type and Applications2.3.2.1 Product A2.3.2.2 Product B2.3.3 IBM Retail Bank Loyalty Program Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2017-2018)2.4 Aimia3 Global Retail Bank Loyalty Program Market Competition, by Players4 Global Retail Bank Loyalty Program Market Size by Regions5 North America Retail Bank Loyalty Program Revenue by Countries6 Europe Retail Bank Loyalty Program Revenue by Countries7 Asia-Pacific Retail Bank Loyalty Program Revenue by Countries8 South America Retail Bank Loyalty Program Revenue by Countries9 Middle East and Africa Revenue Retail Bank Loyalty Program by Countries10 Global Retail Bank Loyalty Program Market Segment by Type11 Global Retail Bank Loyalty Program Market Segment by ApplicationComplete Report:Contact Info:Name: Sameer JoshiEmail: sales@reportsweb.comCompany Name: ReportsWebWebsite: Reportsweb.comPhone: +1-646-491-9876Request for Customization:Any special requirements about this report, please let us know and we can provide custom report.About ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of Market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.533, 5th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 Blue Biotechnology Market 2023 Top Key Players are Aker BioMarine, Marinova, New England Biolabs, PML Applications Ltd. 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 Generic Oncology Drugs Market Poised to Rake in US$ 23 Billion in 2021 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/25480 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/methodology/25480 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/25480 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Anticipated to surpass the US$ 20 Billion mark in 2019, generic oncology drugs will witness increased demand in the coming yearsIncreased spending in cancer-related research and development by various governments and private and commercial organizations combined with investments in anti-cancer drugs are the two key factors anticipated to heighten the generic oncology drugs demand, through 2019, as indicated in a recent market analysis of generic oncology drugs, by Persistence Market Research (PMR). Expanding at a robust annual rate of over 6.1 percent, the global revenue through sales of generic oncology drugs will surpass US$ 23 Billion in 2021.To know key findings Request Sample Report @:PMR estimates that notable product pipeline for generic oncology drugs is expected to drive lucrative business opportunities. Moreover, with industrys pipeline reaching a historic level of late-stage development, in 2017, almost 90% of the therapies being targeted treatments and clinical success rates going up to almost 73 percent, the market for generic oncology drugs is anticipated to grow, further expanding the pipeline cancer treatment, explained a senior research analyst.Small Molecule Generic Oncology Drugs Hold Big Opportunities in 2019Expanding at a rather high CAGR of nearly 6.7 percent, small molecule generic oncology drugs, combing the efficacies of chemotherapy and immunotherapies could boost the ongoing cancer treatment modalities. Although, there has been a significant development in immunotherapy alone, small molecules are expected to exceed the efficacies of large molecules and dominate the cancer treatment landscape as medical exerts continually validate the positive outcomes by combing traditional cancer treatment with new immunotherapies, thereby providing increased benefits to cancer patients.Request for Report Methodology @:Although PMR analysis indicates a relatively lesser market share compared to market molecules, as a modality, small molecules are likely to benefit from their cross-membrane ability, reaching greater intracellular targets. Moreover, with a half-life of less than 24 hours, small molecules generic oncology drugs are more likely to achieve greater efficacy after a more convenient oral administration, thereby allowing researchers and clinicians to balance the side effect of combination trials through intermittent cancer treatment dosing.Research also indicates that more than a quarter of immune-oncology clinical trial use small as combination partners for checkpoint inhibitors, positioning itself as a unique compound class for superior immune-oncology treatments, explains the analyst.Potential Revenue Pockets in Emerging EconomiesThe generic oncology drugs landscape expanding at a robust annual growth rate of approximately 7.5 percent, APECJ along with is anticipated to present significant revenue generating avenues for drug manufacturing companies. Increased research and development on biological and targeted drug therapies, early expiration of patents, and increasing focus on personalized treatment medication are some major factors contributing towards future avenues for generic oncology cancer drugs market in APECJ. In Japan, on the other hand, stringent regulations involving drug discovery and development process could put a spanner in generic oncology drugs market growth.Increasing awareness and growing demand for early cancer diagnosis is expected to translate into homegrown generic oncology drugs, thereby presenting revenue generating opportunities for local drug manufacturers. Favorable reimbursement schemes for critical drugs and significant funding for drug manufacturing infrastructure by government and private organizations of emerging economies are some key factors supplementing to the sales of generic oncology drugs. In addition, contract manufacturing initiatives for biopharmaceuticals and small molecules could broaden the future scope of generic oncology drugs, the senior analyst further explains.Get full Report Now:Product Pipeline Expansion to Remain the Core Forward StrategyPMR, in its in-depth analysis of the generic oncology drugs market, presents an assessment of the competitive landscape, dominated by key companies including Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Celgene Corp., Mylan N.V., Merck & Co., Inc, NATCO Pharma Limited, and Aurobindo Pharma. Key insights in this segment, includes:Novartic AG, has applied channel integration strategies such as e-commerce along with the mobile app to drive sales at retail locations. Moreover, the company recently gave global rights of AKT inhibitors afuresertib and uprosertib to the Shanghai-based company Laekna. In addition, Novartis AG received CE mark for gene-modifying therapy for blood cancer Kymriah.Pfizer Inc., on the other hand, is focused on 39 therapies in R&D pipeline for oncology and bio similar to strengthen the core areas of the product portfolio. In 2017, Pfizers Glasdegib in patients with previously untreated acute myeloid leukemia received U.S FDA priority review. In the same year, companys XTANDI (enzalutamide) too received FDA approval.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Pregnancy Care Products Market Growing Revenue and Market Share 2025| Top Key Players| Nine Naturals, LLC Elemis Ltd., Philosophy, Inc., Mankind Pharma Limited, Mama Mio Limited, Noodle & Boo Pregnancy Care Products https://www.crystalmarketresearch.com/report-sample/HC022684 https://www.crystalmarketresearch.com/send-an-enquiry/HC022684 https://www.crystalmarketresearch.com/check-discount/HC022684 This comprehensive report Pregnancy Care Products Market By Source, Product and Application - Forecast to 2025 Revenue and Market Share discusses this Market economy in-forms of overview/definition, application, classification, and forecasts pertaining volume and value, and future predictions.It provides market analysis of international markets, including development trends, competitive landscape analysis and key regional development status. Additionally, it logically features the existing circumstance and outlooks with a financial and industrial aspect published by Crystalmarketresearch.comKindly request for Sample Copy of Report @This Pregnancy Care Products Market report provides an in-depth look at including technology, key trends, market drivers, challenges, standardization, regulatory environment, deployment model, operator case studies, opportunities, future roadmaps, value chains, ecosystem player profiles and strategies. The report also presents forecasts for market investments from 2019 to 2025.Competitive Analysis:Expanscience Laboratories, Inc.Nine Naturals, LLCElemis Ltd.Philosophy, Inc.Mankind Pharma LimitedMama Mio LimitedNoodle & Boo, LLCJojo Maman Bebe Ltd.Tatcha LLCClarins S.A.Industry Overview:Global Pregnancy Care Products Market has encountered significant development over the recent years and is anticipated to grow tremendously over the forecast period. Pregnancy care products play an imperative part amid and post pregnancy. There are different sorts of pregnancy care products accessible in the market, for example, breast creams, stretch mark minimizer, body restructuring gel, and toning and body firming gel that gives viable healthy skin arrangements and improved physical appearance to women.Market Segmentation:Pregnancy Care Products Market, By Product Typeo Breast Creamo Stretch Mark Minimizero Body Restructuring Gelo Toning and Body Firming GelPregnancy Care Products Market, By End Usero Medical/Pharmacy Storeso Hospital Pharmacy Storeso E-CommerceThe report unique content which highly exhibits on current market analysis scenario, upcoming as well as future opportunities, revenue growth, pricing and profitability. The report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Pregnancy Care Products Market based on Market Segmentation.Regional Area Covers:1. Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)2. North America (U.S, Canada, Mexico)3. Europe (Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, Rest of Europe)4. Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, Australia, India, South Korea, Rest of Asia-Pacific5. Rest of the World (Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Others)To Share Any Query, Ask Our Experts@We do forecast on basis of several parameters such as market drivers, market opportunities, industry trends government regulations, raw materials supply and trade dynamics to ensure relevance of forecast with market scenario. With increasing need to granulized information, we used bottom-up methodology for forecasting where we evaluate each regional segment differently and combined all forecast to develop final market forecast.Major TOC:1. Introduction1.1. Report Description2. Executive Summary2.1. Key Highlights3. Industry Overview3.1. Introduction3.1.1. Industry Definition3.1.2. Industry Segmentation3.2. Industry Dynamics3.2.1. Drivers3.2.2. Restraints3.2.3. Opportunities3.3. SWOT Analysis4. Market Analysis by Regions4.1. North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)4.2. Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia, Italy and Rest of Europe)4.3. Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia and Rest of Asia-Pacific)4.4. South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia and Rest of South America)4.5. Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Rest5. Pregnancy Care Products Market, By Product Type6. Pregnancy Care Products Market, By End User7. Pregnancy Care Products Market, By Region9. Global Pregnancy Care Products Market Competition, by Manufacturer9.1. Global Pregnancy Care Products Revenue and Market Share by Manufacturer (2016-2017)9.2. Global Pregnancy Care Products Price By Region (2016-2017)9.3. Top 5 Pregnancy Care Products Manufacturer Market Share9.4. Market Competition Trend10. Pregnancy Care Products Market Forecast (2018-2025)10.1. Global Pregnancy Care Products Revenue (Millions USD) and Growth Rate (2018-2025)10.2. Pregnancy Care Products Market Forecast by Regions (2018-2025)List of Tables and Figures:Figure Global Body Restructuring Gel Revenue and Growth Rate (2014-2018)Figure Global Toning and Body Firming Gel Revenue and Growth Rate (2014-2018)Table Global Pregnancy Care Products Revenue and Revenue Share by End User (2014-2018)Figure Global Medical/Pharmacy Stores Revenue and Growth Rate (2014-2018)To avail Reasonable Discount of Report @About Crystal Industry Research:Crystal Offers One Stop Solution For Industry Research, Business Intelligence, And Consulting Services To Help Clients Make More Informed Decisions. It Provides Both Syndicated As Well As Customized Research Studies For Its Customers Spread Across The Globe. The Company Offers Industry Intelligence Reports Across A Broad Range Of Industries Including Healthcare, Chemicals & Materials, Technology, Automotive, And Energy.Contact Us:Judy S,304 South Jones Blvd, Suite 1896,Las Vegas NV 89107,United StatesToll Free: +1-888-213-4282Email: Sales@CrystalIndustryresearch.Com Medical Marijuana Market will reach nearly US$ 39 Bn in revenues by 2026 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/13897 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/methodology/13897 https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/13897 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com The medical marijuana market is anticipated to record a year-over-year growth rate of 15.9% and reach a market value of US$ 39,891.2 Mn by 2026. Extract form segment is expected to have high revenue share, accounting for 63.9% share in 2018 of the overall medical marijuana market. In this report, the medical marijuana market is segmented based on product type, application type, distribution channel and region.To know key findings Request Sample Report @:The extract form is the dominant segment in the market for medical marijuana as maximum number of products are made out of extract form and they are conveniently used by majority of the population. The product listed include oil concentration, tinctures, sprays, edibles, tablets, and capsules based on prescription. In contrast, the companies conduct research activities to introduce novel products in the market. In terms of revenue, the extract segment is expected to account for large revenue share of 63.9% in 2018, is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period. The growth in the dried flower segment is expected to be primarily driven by traditional use and purpose of usage with options available to consume dry form medical marijuana without any interventions.Pain management seems to be the preferred choice to use medical marijuana, as the segment includes pain associated with many diseases such as cancer, arthritis, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and nerve damage, among others. The common practice associated with the routine checks involve the dynamic use of medical marijuana. Others segment has a range of indications in which medical marijuana is used such as PTSD, anxiety, mental health conditions, and many more. However, the seizures segment which involves cases of multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons disease, and convulsions is expected to witness high CAGR of 16.1% during the forecast period.Request for Report Methodology @:The retail pharmacy distribution segment is expected to hold maximum share in the overall medical marijuana market due to the large number of companies forming dispensaries of their own to sell the products on a major scale. Retail pharmacy is the first choice of distribution among manufacturers and consumers. Retail pharmacy distribution segment is estimated to have a market share of 77.9% in 2018 and a steady growth the E-commerce is also expected in the medical marijuana market due to change in operational functions that offer a high growth rate during the forecast period.Medical marijuana is well known for its notorious qualities that are being projected in different communities around the world. It is not in use by majority of the global population for medical cases. In the U.S., marijuana is classified as a schedule 1 controlled substance, which makes it illegal to consume or possess. Limited use of medical marijuana has latched on to claims that it is useful to treat various ailments such as Crohns disease, multiple sclerosis results into muscle spasm, epilepsy, glaucoma, and nausea, among others. Though the medical marijuana is being synthesized to be used for medical purposes, the legalization of recreational marijuana would have some serious effects on overall marijuana pricing. Recreational marijuana is not subjected to be in use for health reasons, but are often consumed for its soothing and psychotic nature. But with developments for medical marijuana usage for medical purpose are on a rise in both developing and developed countries, progress with medical marijuana consumption in severe health issues often makes it a noticeable choice for physicians to prescribe it to treat diseases. Besides, there must be solid evidence to make it rather official to be in use. Conventional medicines are becoming expensive with time, whereas the adult population is increasing, which fails to adapt to this dynamic shift.PMRs report has segmented the global medical marijuana market on the basis of region into North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific Excluding China, China and Middle East & Africa. This report assesses trends driving each market segment and offers analysis and insights about the medical marijuana market in specific regions. North America is expected to account major share in the global medical marijuana market and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16.2% being the most lucrative regional market for medical marijuana. Europe is expected to follow North America during the forecast period due to high prevalence of cases that require medical marijuana for the treatment.Get full Report Now:The key players in the Medical marijuana market include GW Pharmaceuticals PLC, MedReleaf Corporation, Canopy Growth Corporation, Aphria Incorporation, Aurora Cannabis Inc, Medical Marijuana, Inc., Green Relief Inc., Cannabis Sativa, INC., Insys Therapeutics, Inc., and The Peace Naturals Project.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: IoT Fleet Management Market Insights | Key Players: AT&T, Inc. (U.S.), Cisco Systems, Inc. (U.S.), Verizon Communications, Inc. (U.S.), TomTom International BV (Netherlands), Trimble, Inc. (U.S.), IBM Corporation (U.S.) https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/iot-fleet-management-market-246122062.html https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=246122062 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=246122062 According to the new market research report "IoT Fleet Management Market by Platform (Device Management, Application Enablement Platform, and Network Management), Services (Professional, Managed), Cloud Deployment (Public, Private, Hybrid), Solutions, Fleet Type, and Region - Global Forecast to 2021", published by MarketsandMarkets, The IoT fleet management market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 21.26% during the forecast period, to reach USD 8.28 billion by 2021. The key factors driving the market are the requirement of high operational efficiency, integration of smart devices with vehicles, and upcoming regulations on fleet safety and security. However, key restraints such as lack of IoT infrastructure in developing countries, cost sensitivity of small fleet companies, and driver privacy concerns could affect the growth of this market.View Full TOC @Increasing global fleet vehicle sizes, and rising need of improved operational efficiency and reduced maintenance cost is expected to spur the growth of IoT Fleet Management MarketWith the growing number of fleet vehicles, the increasing road freight traffic, and environmental pollution level all over the world, it becomes a challenge for the fleet owners to keep watch of their fleets. According to the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles (OICA) statistics, the sales of commercial vehicles had experienced a significant growth of approximately 20% during the period of 20112016 worldwide. Also, as per the same OICA publication, global vehicle parc increased from 1.02 billion units in 2010 to 1.24 billion units in 2015. As the paradigm shift toward cloud-based subscription-based solutions and constant increase in the vehicle sales and vehicle parc requires the deployment of IoT enabled fleet management solutionsGet Free 10% customization @Browse and in-depth TOC on IoT Fleet Management Market"78 - Tables58 - Figures160 - PagesCloud hybrid model is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast periodThe hybrid model is witnessing a potential growth opportunity in the market. The growth of the hybrid model can be attributed to benefits such as higher flexibility of data management and adequate data implementation privilege at lower costs. It enables data backup and recovery on cloud infrastructure. The shifting trend of subscription-based solutions is also emerging at a modest pace. These require uninterrupted cloud server with easy accessibility. The combined scalability and flexibility of a virtual cloud server will accelerate the growth of the hybrid model market.Commercial vehicles are expected to be the largest market for IoT fleet management, by fleet typeCommercial vehicles are estimated to be the largest segment in the IoT fleet management market, in terms of installed fleet solutions. The growth of this segment can be attributed to an increasing trend of smartphone integration with vehicles, driver behavior monitoring, fuel efficiency, and fleet analytics. Also, testing of some innovative technologies such as automated trucks/platooning is currently at a nascent stage and will strongly influence the market in the near future. Companies such as Daimler AG, Volvo Trucks, and Scania AB have already started working on this technology. Hence, the increasing focus of fleet companies to reduce operational cost has resulted in increased demand for IoT-enabled fleet solutions in commercial vehicles.The Americas region is estimated to be the largest market for IoT fleet managementThe Americas region is expected to dominate the IoT fleet management market during the forecast period. The market in this region is growing due to increasing technological advancements, regulatory compliances, and noticeable government initiatives. For instance, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) states the rules and regulations for public sector fleet vehicles that are being offered to the federal government. Also, in 2015, the U.S. Department of Transportation introduced a strategic plan for implementing the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) over a period of next five years. Under this plan, R&D activities have been carried out to improve the countrys transportation infrastructure. Furthermore, increasing awareness of the benefits of telematics in countries such as Brazil and Mexico would also fuel the IoT fleet management market in the Americas region. This would lead to higher usage of IoT for faster data communication between the vehicle and backend server to achieve enhanced analytics and decision making.Inquiry Before Buying @Some of major players in the IoT fleet management market include AT&T, Inc. (U.S.), Cisco Systems, Inc. (U.S.), Verizon Communications, Inc. (U.S.), TomTom International BV (Netherlands), Trimble, Inc. (U.S.), IBM Corporation (U.S.), Omnitracs (U.S.), Sierra Wireless (Canada), Intel Corporation (U.S.), and Telefonica S.A. (Spain).About MarketsandMarketsMarketsandMarkets 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.MarketsandMarketss 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 SinghMarketsandMarkets INC.630 Dundee RoadSuite 430Northbrook, IL 60062USA: 1-888-600-6441Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Global Chlorinated Polypropylene (CPP) Market Segment by Volume and Value, Key-Vendors: Nippon Paper Industries Co, Eastman Chemical Company, Jiangsu Xuhe Group, Golden Success Chemical and Future growth 2018-2023 https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=2122359 https://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/global-chlorinated-polypropylene-cpp-market-outlook-2018-2023-report.html The following research report is a compilation of high-end data that has been researched thoroughly to highlight the various trends prevailing across the Chlorinated Polypropylene (CPP) Market. This study is titled Global Chlorinated Polypropylene (CPP) Market Outlook 2018-2023, which carefully examines several vital factors such as market share, market revenue, market dynamics and competitive scenario active in the target market for the period between 2018-2023.Click here for Free Sample Report@The 'Global Chlorinated Polypropylene (CPP) Market Outlook 2018-2023' offers detailed coverage of chlorinated polypropylene industry and presents main market trends. The market research gives historical and forecast market size, demand, end-use details, price trends, and company shares of the leading chlorinated polypropylene producers to provide exhaustive coverage of the market for chlorinated polypropylene. The report segments the market and forecasts its size, by volume and value, on the basis of application, by products, and by geography.The report has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from key industry participants. The global chlorinated polypropylene market has been segmented into five major regions, namely, North America (U.S., Canada, and others), Europe (U.K., France, Germany, Russia, and others), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, Australia, and others), South America (Brazil, Argentina, and others), and Middle East & Africa (South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and others). Furthermore, the report also includes an in-depth competitive analysis of the key vendors operating in this market.Key Regions- North America- Europe- Asia Pacific- Middle East & Africa- South AmericaKey Vendors- Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.- Eastman Chemical Company- Golden Success Chemical Co., Ltd.- Jiangsu Xuhe Group- request free sample to get a complete list of companiesKey Questions Answered in This Report- Analysis of the chlorinated polypropylene market including revenues, future growth, market outlook- Historical data and forecast- Regional analysis including growth estimates- Analyzes the end user markets including growth estimates.- Profiles on chlorinated polypropylene vendors including products, sales/revenues, SWOT, and market position, recent developments.- Market structure, market drivers and restraints.View Full Report with TOC@Part 1. SummaryPart 2. Report Methodology2.1 Methodology2.2 Data SourcePart 3. IntroductionPart 4. Industry Value Chain4.1 Chlorinated Polypropylene Industry Value Chain Analysis4.2 Upstream4.3 End-uses4.4 DistributorsPart 5. Competitive Landscape5.1 Global Chlorinated Polypropylene Sales & Share by Company (2013-2018)5.2 Global Chlorinated Polypropylene Revenue & Share by Company (2013-2018)5.3 Pricing Trends5.4 Competitive TrendsPart 6. Segmentation by Type6.1 Global Chlorinated Polypropylene Sales Volume by Type (2013-2018)6.2 Global Chlorinated Polypropylene Revenue by Type (2013-2018)6.3 Global Chlorinated Polypropylene Price by Type (2013-2018)Part 7. Segmentation by Application7.1 Global Chlorinated Polypropylene Sales Volume by Application (2013-2018)7.2 Global Chlorinated Polypropylene Revenue by Application (2013-2018)7.3 Global Chlorinated Polypropylene Price by Application (2013-2018)Part 8. Regional Perspectives8.1 Overview8.2 North America8.2.1 Market Size (Volume & Value)8.2.2 by Application8.2.3 by Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, etc.)Continued..@@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 Global Waste Management Market Status and Outlook by Key Players Clean Harbors, Daiseki, Waste Management, SUEZ, Advanced Disposal, Veolia Environnement, Covanta, Biffa, Hitachi Zosen, REMONDIS Waste Management http://bit.ly/2TkuRLk http://bit.ly/2TimyzD https://researchreportsinc.com/checkout/?add-to-cart=219538&&attribute_pa_choose-license=single-user&&quantity=1 Waste Management is devoted to the presentation and discussion of information on solid waste generation, characterization, minimization, collection, separation, treatment and disposal.Over the next five years, RRI projects that Waste Management will register a xx% CAGR in terms of revenue, reach US$ xx million by 2023, from US$ xx million in 2017.Request Sample Research Report AtThis report presents a comprehensive overview, market shares and growth opportunities of Waste Management market by product type, application, key companies and key regions.To calculate the market size, RRI Information considers value generated from the sales of the following segments:Segmentation by product type:Municipal WasteIndustrial WasteSegmentation by application:CollectionDisposalWe can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions:AmericasUnited StatesCanadaMexicoBrazilAPACChinaJapanKoreaSoutheast AsiaIndiaAustraliaEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalyRussiaSpainMiddle East & AfricaEgyptSouth AfricaIsraelTurkeyGCC CountriesGrab Guaranteed Discount AtThe report also presents the market competition landscape and a corresponding detailed analysis of the major players in the market. The key players covered in this report:Clean HarborsDaisekiWaste ManagementSUEZAdvanced DisposalVeolia EnvironnementCovantaBiffaHitachi ZosenREMONDISIn addition, this report discusses the key drivers influencing market growth, opportunities, the challenges and the risks faced by key players and the market as a whole. It also analyzes key emerging trends and their impact on present and future development.Buy Now@Research objectivesTo study and analyze the global Waste Management market size by key regions/countries, product type and application, history data from 2013 to 2017, and forecast to 2023.To understand the structure of Waste Management market by identifying its various subsegments.Focuses on the key global Waste Management players, to define, describe and analyze the value, market share, market competition landscape, SWOT analysis and development plans in next few years.To analyze the Waste Management with respect to individual growth trends, future prospects, and their contribution to the total market.To share detailed information about the key factors influencing the growth of the market (growth potential, opportunities, drivers, industry-specific challenges and risks).To project the size of Waste Management submarkets, with respect to key regions (along with their respective key countries).To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches and acquisitions in the market.To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.About Us:Research Reports Inc. is one of the leading destinations for market research reports across all industries, companies, and technologies. Our repository features an exhaustive list of market research reports from thousands of publishers worldwide.US / Canada Toll Free: +18554192424, UK :+4403308087757 | Email: info@researchreportsinc.com Gene Therapy Market Outlook and Opportunities in Grooming Regions 2026 With GlaxoSmithKline plc, Bluebird Bio, Inc., Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc, Celgene Corporation, Shanghai Sunway Biotech Co. Ltd. Gene Therapy https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-pdf/1774 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1774 Genes are composed of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which contains essential information for producing proteins that are crucial for the optimal functioning of the body. Genetic disorder is the result of gene mutations in which proteins are made incorrectly. Gene therapy is intended to introduce healthy gene into damaged cells to counteract for abnormal genes or to make a protein of interest. Mutated gene causes missing of the important protein, with the help of gene therapy normal copy of that missing or faulty protein can be introduced to restore the function of the protein. All over the world, gene therapy is being extensively studied by the researchers for the treatment of various diseases such as HIV, Cancer, Parkinsons disease, hemophilia and even immune deficiencies through various approaches.Download PDF Brochure of This Business Research Report :Demand for gene therapy is significantly increasing due to increasing number of patients suffering from hereditary disorders, cancer, HIV, and various chronic diseases. For instance, 2018 American Cancer Society report showed cancer was responsible for 609,640 deaths in the U.S. Moreover, in 2017, WHO reported 1.0 million deaths were caused due to HIV-related illnesses worldwide. Increasing technological developments, innovations, and clinical and pre-clinical trials.Several diseases are likely to propel growth of the gene therapy market size during the forecast period. Moreover, increasing research and development funding by government agencies and commercial market players for the development of innovative, efficient, and safer gene therapy practices is boosted the market growth. For instance, 2017 National Institutes of Health was funded US$ 1,644 million for stem cell research. Furthermore, growing awareness and community acceptance of gene therapy for various disease treatments is propelling growth of the market.Gene Therapy Market Regional InsightsOn the basis of region, the global gene therapy market is segmented into North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. North America holds a dominant position in the global gene therapy market, owing to well-established healthcare facilities, extensive research and development activities, high per capita healthcare expenditure, and promising medical reimbursement policies in the region. For instance, in 2018, the U.S government approved US$ 3 billion, for The National Institutes of Health research funds. Additionally, rising prevalence of cancer and various chronic diseases has boosted the demand for gene therapy in North America. For instance, According to 2018 American Cancer Society report cancer was responsible for 609,640 cancer deaths in U.S. alone, so Furthermore, Asia Pacific is projected to witness significant growth in the global gene therapy manufacturing market in the near future, owing to its owing to rising number of vulnerable population to various chronic diseases and wide availability of innovative products offering better solutions to the patients at marginally lower costs.Ask For Sample Copy @Gene Therapy Market Competitive AdvancesKey players operating in the global gene therapy market include GlaxoSmithKline plc, Bluebird Bio, Inc., Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc, Celgene Corporation, Shanghai Sunway Biotech Co. Ltd., Merck KGaA, Transgene SA, and OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. These companies are conducting various clinical and pre-clinical developmental stages of gene therapies. Key players are engaged in developing new technologies and are focusing on collaborating with leading companies in order to retain their foothold in the global market. For instance, in 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a gene therapy called Luxturna, developed by Spark Therapeuticsa Biotech Company based in Philadelphia.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com According to the IDHA website, the designation of affordable means housing for which the rent and utilities constitute no more than 30 percent of the occupants gross annual household income for a household of the size that may live in the unit. Citrus Essential Oil Market Exhibits Higher Growth Prospects during 2018-2028 | Key Players are Ultra-International B.V., Phoenix Aromas & Essential Oils, LLC, Firmenich SA, Symrise AG, etc. https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=2851 https://www.factmr.com/report/2851/citrus-essential-oil-market https://www.factmr.com/checkout/2799/S https://www.factmr.com/ https://factmrblog.com/ Market Shares Remain Clustered among Emerging Players: Shares of the citrus essential oils market will continue to remain consolidated among emerging players, as the competition at the brink intensifies and emphasis on organic ingredients, product quality, and clean label gains center stage. On the other hand, the market leaders continue to focus on expanding their global footprint through adoption of more efficient extraction methods, and new product launches. Companies continue to explore the application scope of citrus essential oils, particularly in agriculture, health, and F&B.Request for Report Sample Here -This report on the citrus essential oils market offers detailed profiling of key players including Ultra-International B.V., Phoenix Aromas & Essential Oils, LLC, Firmenich SA, Symrise AG, Citrus Oleo, Lionel Hitchen (Essential Oils) Ltd, Mountain Rose Herbs, Inc., Citromax S.A.C.I, doTERRA International, LLC, and Citrosuco.Citrus Essential Oils to Gain Popularity as Natural PreservativesEmphasis on preservative packaging continues to rise in the food & beverage sector, as longer shelf-life gains ground as an essential requirement in line with the modern-day trade practices that involve time-intensive transportation of products across borders and oceans. Although use of synthetic antimicrobials and preservatives is prevalent among F&B companies to prevent spoilage, risk of chronic disease from a number of commonly-used synthetic preservatives is a persisting challenge in the marketplace. For instance, risk of developing cancer and lung inflammation have been associated with butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) or butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), which are used to curtail oxidation and prevent growth of harmful bacteria in food products. This has further induced a paradigm shift in consumer preference toward food & beverage products based on natural ingredients and preservatives.Citrus essential oils have emerged as a key solution to replace synthetic food preservatives, owing to their rich limonene content, a monoterpene that exhibits strong antibacterial and antifungal properties. Adoption of citrus essential oils also remains upheld by their potential application in biodegradable food packaging solutions, and in gelatin or chitosan for improving physiochemical properties of packaging. Rising concerns regarding environment and health amongst the global population are promoting the use of natural preservatives and packaging in food companies around the world.Read Complete Factors about Global Market Report from Here -Adverse environmental and health impacts associated with prolonged use of pesticides and insecticides on crops, along with concerns regarding pollution of aquatic systems that result in groundwater contamination and reduced soil productivity, allude negated agricultural produce outcomes worldwide. Recognizing the concerns, farmers are preferring use of natural alternatives to ward of insects and abate growth of bacteria and fungi, wherein citrus essential oils have gained increased visibility in light of their repellent, ovicidal, larvicidal, toxic, and antifeedant properties. The lipophilic constituents of essentials oil make them toxic for a wide variety of insects and pests. Essential oils have been deemed eco-friendly, and labeled as green alternatives to synthetic pesticides. The array of benefits associated with citrus essential oils have sparked rigorous research toward the production of essential-oil based insecticides.Changing Properties of Active Ingredients Remains a Key Concern for ManufacturersEssential oils produced from lemons, oranges and other citrus fruits under different conditions and seasons are linked with distinctive changes in their properties based on their inhibitory efficacy against different strands of bacteria and fungi. The time of harvest, the ripeness of fruits, and season of production have significant impacts on the properties of citrus essential oils. With such changes in key properties of active ingredients used in citrus products, manufacturers are taking preventative measures to maintain apt conditions considering the season of harvest, maturation degree, and fruit cultivar. Further, companies utilizing citrus essential oils in their products need to ensure that the citrus essential oils exhibit the properties it is being used for.Robust Adoption in Aromatherapy to Undergird DemandThe therapeutic properties of citrus essential oils and its blends continue to seek extensive adoption in aromatherapy, in the form of various disease therapeutics. The application scope of aromatherapy continues to rise ranging from pain management and skin-related problems, to cardiovascular diseases, wound healing, and respiratory diseases. Use of citrus essential oils offset damages to healthy cells from disease-causing bacteria in traditional pharmaceuticals, owing to their therapeutic properties. This has further escalated the popularity of citrus essential oils as an effective alternative for treating chronic diseases devoid of damage to healthy tissues or cells of the body. As the awareness about multi-pronged benefits of aromatherapy rises among the masses, demand for citrus essential oils will witness a notable increase in parallel.Browse Full Report -About FactMRFactMR 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 UsFactMR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400, Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb:Blog: Global Spinach Pasta Market Emerging Trends and Top Key Players - Nestle, ALEGRIA, Villa Ravioli, Roma Prince S.A., During 2017-2025 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/11729 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/toc/11729 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/food-and-beverages/11729/spinach-pasta-global-industry-market-research-reports https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ The Report Spinach Pasta Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2017-2025 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.bizSpinach Pasta Market: SegmentationOn the basis of form, the spinach pasta market is segmented as dough infused and stuffed/filled. The stuffed/filled spinach pasta will often include frozen spinach.On the basis of nature, the spinach pasta market is segmented as organic and conventionalOn the basis of distribution channel, the spinach pasta market is segmented as store-based retailing and online retail. The store based retailing is further segmented as modern grocery retail and traditional grocery retail. The modern grocery retail is segmented as hypermarkets/supermarkets, convenience stores, mom & pop stores and discount stores. The traditional grocery retailing is further segmented as food & drink specialty, independent small groceries and others.Get Sample Copy of this report @Spinach Pasta Market: Drivers, Restraints, and TrendsIn recent times, flavor has become an important factor which affects the sale of pasta and consequently, becomes a strong driver in boosting the sales of the spinach pasta market. Many pasta have vegetable content, like tomato and spinach, which adds color and flavor to the pasta giving it a visually appealing appearance. The appearance of the food product is a highly influencing factor for the kids population, and is a strong driver for the spinach pasta market. The parent population also view spinach pasta as a good source of green vegetable, which otherwise, kids are reluctant to consume. The spinach pasta market is controlled by the demand side factor in many countries, depending on the popularity and consumption of either pasta or spinach. Moreover, with changing consumer trends, the demand for niche pasta products, like spinach pasta and other types of pasta is increasing and may fuel the growth of spinach pasta market. On the other hand, the dislike for spinach and green vegetables amongst many consumer hinders the growth of the spinach pasta market.Spinach Pasta Market: Regional OutlookThe spinach pasta market is likely to affect the share of the unflavored/ plain pasta market due to the increase in health awareness amongst consumers in Europe. Comparatively, Europe is expected to show less growth due to market saturation. In Latin America, marketing and promotion of products amongst the middle-class consumers is likely to boost to the growth of the spinach pasta. In Asia, the spinach pasta is similar to many traditional cuisines and may gain a wide acceptability amongst consumers. As spinach is a part of the staple food in many Asian countries, the spinach pasta market sees a considerable growth in this region. Moreover, many regions in Asia are embracing continental cuisines and product diversification in the food market, which is also likely to fuel the growth of the spinach pasta market here. In North America, the spinach pasta market is especially driven by the demand for food offering tasty as well as nutritional benefits. Owing to less consumer awareness of spinach pasta products, the Middle East and Africa is expected to have a slow growth in the spinach pasta market.Spinach Pasta Market: Key PlayersNestle S.A.Rana Meal Solutions LLCWindmill Organics Ltd.ALEGRIAVince & Sons Pasta Co.Villa RavioliCATELLI FOODS CORPORATION.Roma Prince S.A.Pappardelle's PastaThe report covers exhaustive analysis on:Spinach Pasta Market SegmentsSpinach Pasta Market DynamicsHistorical Actual Market Size, 2015 - 2016Spinach Pasta Market Size & Forecast 2017 to 2025Supply & Demand Value ChainSpinach Pasta Market Current Trends/Issues/ChallengesCompetition & Companies involvedTechnologyValue ChainSpinach Pasta Market Drivers and RestraintsRequest For TOC Report @Regional analysis for Spinach Pasta Market includes:North AmericaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia PacificThe Middle East and AfricaReport Highlights:Shifting Industry dynamicsIn-depth market segmentationHistorical, current and projected industry size Recent industry trendsKey Competition landscapeStrategies of key players and product offeringsPotential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growthA neutral perspective towards market performanceMRR.BIZ has been compiled in-depth market research data in the report after exhaustive primary and secondary research. Our team of able, experienced in-house analysts has collated the information through personal interviews and study of industry databases, journals, and reputable paid sources.The report provides the following information:Tailwinds and headwinds molding the markets trajectoryMarket segments based on products, technology, and applicationsProspects of each segmentOverall current and possible future size of the marketGrowth pace of the marketCompetitive landscape and key players strategiesThe main aim of the report is to:Enable key stakeholders in the market bet right on itUnderstand the opportunities and pitfalls awaiting themAssess the overall growth scope in the near termStrategize effectively with respect to production and distributionMRR.BIZ is a leading provider of strategic market research. Our vast repository consists research reports, data books, company profiles, and regional market data sheets. We regularly update the data and analysis of a wide-ranging products and services around the world. As readers, you will have access to the latest information on almost 300 industries and their sub-segments. Both large Fortune 500 companies and SMEs have found those useful. This is because we customize our offerings keeping in mind the specific requirements of our clients.Get Complete Report @About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Global Botox Market to reach USD 9840 million by 2025 https://www.planetmarketreports.com/reports/global-botox-market-forecasts-2018-2025 https://www.planetmarketreports.com/report-sample/global-botox-market-forecasts-2018-2025 Global Botox Market valued approximately USD 3840 million in 2017 is anticipated to grow with a healthy growth rate of more than 12.5% over the forecast period 2018-2025. The Botox Market is continuously growing across the world over the coming years. Botox is a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum and related species in the reproduction process.Botox is a polypeptide which molecular weight is 150kD and is also one of the most poisonous natural proteins. Escalating population aging between 25 years to 65 years to age, surging demand for minimally invasive treatment and escalating therapeutic utility of botulinum toxin are the substantial driving factors of the Botox market. Further, heavy investment on R&D projects to develop the therapeutic use of Botox is creating numerous opportunities in the market across the world. Botox is more financially viable for patients, patients may notice the results of Botox immediately, Botox injections are less invasive than other cosmetic procedures, and it is a versatile treatment.These benefits also propelling the demand of Botox in the market over the upcoming years. However, side effects such as allergic reactions, rash, neck and back pain, difficulty in swallowing, shortness of breath and nausea is one of the major restraining factor of Botox market across the world. Moreover, high cost entailed in performing such expensive procedures, and poor reimbursement coverage for product are also hindering the market growth of Botox.The regional analysis of Global Botox 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/significant region across the world in terms of market share with 78.9% in 2016 owing higher disposable income of the individuals and availability of a variety of aesthetic procedures in the region. Europe is the second largest supplier in the global Botox market. Asia-Pacific is also anticipated to exhibit higher growth rate / CAGR over the forecast period 2018-2025 due to increasing geriatric population in the developing countries such as India and China.Access Full Report with TOC @The major market players included in this report are:Ispen Group Allergan Inc. Medytox Inc. Merck GmbH US Worldmed LLC Revance Therapeutics Inc.The objective of the study is to define market sizes of different segments & countries in recent years and to forecast the values to the coming eight years. The report is designed to incorporate both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the industry within each of the regions and countries involved in the study. Furthermore, the report also caters the detailed information about the crucial aspects such as driving factors & challenges which will define the future growth of the market. Additionally, the report shall also incorporate available opportunities in micro markets for stakeholders to invest along with the detailed analysis of competitive landscape and product offerings of key players.The detailed segments and sub-segment of the market are explained below:By Type:Botulinum Toxin Type ABotulinum Toxin Type BBotoxDysportXeominOthersBy End-Use:Therapeutic UseAesthetic UseBy Regions:North AmericaU.S.CanadaEuropeUKGermanyAsia PacificChinaIndiaJapanLatin AmericaBrazilMexicoRest of the WorldFurthermore, years considered for the study are as follows:Historical year 2015, 2016Base year 2017Forecast period 2018 to 2025Target Audience of the Global Botox Market in Market Study:Key Consulting Companies & AdvisorsLarge, medium-sized, and small enterprisesVenture capitalistsValue-Added Resellers VARsThird-party knowledge providersInvestment bankersInvestorsBrowse a Free Sample Report @Customizations availableWith the given market data, Planet Market Reports offers customizations according to specific needs. Write to us at sales@planetmarketreports.comPlanet Market Reports gives statistical surveying reports to businesses, people and associations with a goal of helping them in their decision making process. We have huge database of market research reports & company profiles across globe. We associated with global market research a publisher who has a wide range of research specialists & industry experts which provides you deeper penetration of market research industry.We have statistical surveying reports from number of top publishers and update our reports collections on daily basis with most recent research data to furnish our customers with the moment online access to our database. With access to this database, our customers will be able to benefit from expert insights on worldwide businesses, items, and market patterns. We help you in your buy choice by mapping your data needs with our immense accumulation of reports.Name: Jennifer DanielEmail-Id: sales@planetmarketreports.comUS: +1-716-2260907UK: +447441952057Organization: Planet Market Reports Industrial and Commercial LED Lighting Market Offered in New Research Forecasted through 2019 | key player - Eaton Corporation Plc., Cree Inc., DECO Enterprises, Inc., Dialight Plc., OSRAM Licht AG, General Electric Company mrrse https://www.mrrse.com/sample/1013 https://www.mrrse.com/industrial-commercial-led-lighting-market https://www.mrrse.com/enquiry/1013 Looking at the current market trends as well as the promising demand status of the Industrial and Commercial LED Lighting Market it can be projected that the future years will bring out positive outcomes. This research report added by MRRSE on its online portal delivers clear insight about the changing tendencies across the global market. Readers can gather prime facets connected to the target market which includes product, end-use and application; assisting them to draw conclusions out of this intelligent research report.Request Free sample report @LED lighting delivers high efficiency, high level of brightness, long lifespan and high reliability. LED lights are manufactured using semiconductor components and emit less radiated heat as compared to other products such as incandescent and fluorescent. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), LEDs emit very less heat compared to incandescent bulbs (90%) and CFLs (80%). LED lights are used across various end users applications such as industrial, commercial, architectural and outdoor.The global industrial and commercial LED lighting market is growing rapidly mainly due to high efficiency of LED lights, government regulations to ban incandescent lamps and attractive payback of LED lighting. Moreover, LED lighting is environmental free lighting, as it does not emit harmful gases that result in hazardous disorders in human beings. For example, fluorescent lights emit harmful gases that are carcinogenic and may cause cancer, while incandescent lamps emit large amounts of CO2. However, LEDs overcome these disadvantages with improved reliability and high degree of illumination.Incandescent lamps use more energy than LED lamps; hence, several governments have introduced measures to ban their use. Governments have set minimum efficiency standards and introduced measures to ban the use of incandescent lamps. For example, in the U.S., federal law scheduled the phasing out of incandescent bulbs by 2013 and replacing them with energy efficient LED bulbs. Phasing out of incandescent bulbs began in January 2013 started with 100 watt bulbs followed by 75 watt bulbs in 2014. Moreover, 40-watt and 60-watt incandescent bulbs are expected to join the list soon. In Japan, all incandescent lamps have been banned since 2012. In China, 100-watt and 75-watt incandescent lamps have been banned since 2012 and 2013 respectively. In Brazil, 100-watt and 60-watt+ incandescent lamps were banned since 2012 and 2013 respectively. Moreover, non-commercial growth drivers in the market include actions taken to support LED lighting systems at the legislative level, development of regulations and standards that fuels the growth of LED lighting systems and different programmes for implementing energy-efficient lighting systems at the level of an individual organization levels. In Japan, after the Ministry of Economy took the decision to ban the use of incandescent lamps in 2012, some manufacturers announced that they would stop production of incandescent lamps and to improve the production of LED lights. Hence, penetration of LED lighting increased to 30% in 2012 from 16% in 2010. Europe banned import as well as manufacturing of all incandescent lamps from September 2012. The U.S. has banned incandescent lamps since 2012; South Korea banned the use of incandescent lamps in 2013.Browse Complete Report with TOC @According to a conservative study conducted by the DOE (Department of Energy) LEDs have the potential to reduce yearly consumption by 190 terawatt hours in the U.S. Additionally, LEDs can further reduce greenhouse gases by at least 10% over the period of five to ten years. LED lighting lowers overall cost of lighting as it offers about 50,000 hours of illumination with a fraction of energy used by traditional incandescent bulbs. It extends time between bulb replacements. LED lighting is preferred as near zero maintenance lighting system. Suppliers of LED lighting offer more than 150 different lamp and bulb styles to meet the needs of businesses and consumers.Lighting presents huge opportunity to reduce energy consumption. The global lighting market is currently under-penetrated by LEDs. Low penetration is attributed to the nascent stage of LED technology and dominance of other technologies in lighting. Incandescent bulbs accounted for 58% of the lighting market in 2012, followed by fluorescent lamps with 25%. LED lighting is expected to increase its market share when LED products truly compete with incumbent products on performance and price. LED penetration in the market is less than 10% due to higher penetration of fluorescent and compact fluorescent lights. High cost of LED lights as compared to fluorescent lights and higher penetration of fluorescent lamps as compared to LED lights are some of the factors restraining the growth for LED lighting market. However, government regulations to ban incandescent lamps is expected to minimize the impact of this restraint as LEDs are expected to capture the market shares of incandescent lamps in next few years.The report includes segmentation of Industrial and Commercial LED Lighting market by end user and geography. Further, it provides current and forecast market size by revenue for the aforementioned categories. Cross sectional analysis for end user and geography segments is a part of the scope. Factors influencing and inhibiting the growth of the market have been analyzed. Porters five forces analysis offers insights on market competition.This study includes profiles of key players in the market and the strategies adopted by them to sustain the competition. Recent developments and barriers of the market will help emerging players to design their strategies in an effective manner. The study is expected to help key players of LED lighting market in formulating and developing their strategies.Industrial and Commercial LED Lighting Market by End userIndustrialCommercialOffice buildingsHotel & restaurantsRetail shopsEducational institutesWarehouse & storagesArchitecturalOutdoorIndustrial and Commercial LED Lighting Market by GeographyNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificRest of the WorldEnquire 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: +1-518-730-0559 Pediatric Clinical Trials Market: Significant Effect on Market Growth Rate and Revenue 2026 | Syneos Health Inc., IQVIA Holdings, Inc., Charles River Laboratories International www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/397 www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-pdf/397 Clinical trials are the gold standard and must for generating evidence-based data and knowledge in medicine. Clinical trials conducted on children (between age group of 0 to 18) for research and development of drugs or formation of new drugs are called as pediatric clinical trials. Pharmaceuticals and biotechnological industries and government regulatory bodies are collectively focused on improving research and development for pediatrics population. A new law in the U.S. and Europe was passed as pediatric regulation 2007 that required new adult drugs to be tested for use in children. This in turn is expected to lead to increasing number of pediatric clinical trials in the U.S. and worldwide.Robust product pipeline, increasing approval of new pediatric drugs and high outsourcing for drug development are major factors driving pediatric clinical trials market growth. According to Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PHRMA) data in 2018, over 1,300 industry-sponsored pediatric clinical trials are underway across a variety of therapeutic areas, including diseases where there is significant unmet need such as infectious diseases, neurologic conditions, genetic disorders, and several forms of cancer. Similarly, 5 pediatric drugs received U.S. FDA approvals in 2018 and 4 and 7 in 2017 and 2015, respectively.Request For A Sample Copy Of This Research Report:Moreover, introduction of new approaches in clinical research and implementation of advanced technology is expected to boost the market growth. Adoption of data analytics and machine learning platforms is expected to help in better management of the data generated during trials, which can play key role in faster drug development.Key features of the study:This report provides in-depth analysis of the pediatric clinical trials market, provides market size (US$ million) and Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR %) for the forecast period (2018 2026), considering 2017 as the base yearIt elucidates potential revenue opportunities across different segments and explains attractive investment proposition matrices for this marketThis study also provides key insights about market drivers, restraints, opportunities, new product launches or approval, market trends, regional outlook, and competitive strategy adopted by key playersIt profiles key players in the global pediatric clinical trials market based on the following parameterscompany overview, financial performance, product portfolio, market presence, distribution strategies, key developments, strategies, and future plansMajor players operating in the global pediatric clinical trials market include, Syneos Health Inc., IQVIA Holdings, Inc., Charles River Laboratories International Inc., Covance Inc., ICON plc., Pharmaceutical Product Development, LLC, Genentech (F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG), Pfizer, Inc., Bristol - Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline plc., Sanofi S.A., Novartis AG, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., Inc., Shire plc., and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.Download the PDF brochure:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Mr.ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email:sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Urinary Catheters Market Size, Status & Forecast Report, 2013 2024 Urinary Catheters Market https://franknraf.com/sample-report/?rpt_id=6210 https://franknraf.com/reports/urinary-catheters-market-size-forecast-report-2013-2024/ https://franknraf.com/reports/intelligent-transportation-system-its-market-size-analysis-2020/ In 2015, the global urinary catheters market size was valued at USD 3.4 billion and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.41% during the forecast time. The market is experiencing gain due to a growing incident of target illness such as urinary incontinence, bladder obstruction, urinary retention, benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and bladder cancers. Neurological disorders, like cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spine Bifida, and others that lead to bladder dysfunction also require these catheters for urine drainage.The increasing aged population being more prone to such conditions is also contributing to the market development. Urinary retention is most common in BPH. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) estimates that each year in the U.S. B.P.H. More than 250,000 surgeries are performed with 2 lakh office visits. This condition may also arise on account of trauma or injury to the urethra, penis, or bladder and is also related to pregnancy. Urinary imbalance is considered to be a therapeutic and low diagnostic condition, and aging is a part of it. The National Association for Continence states that it affects an estimated 200 million people globally. It also states that one-third of the men & women between the age of 30-70 years face the loss of bladder control at some point in their adult life. Click on image to enlarge Product Insights Intermittent catheters segment held the majority of the market share in 2015 of around nearly 60%. They are preferred over the indwelling catheter and external type, as the latter usually cause infections. Intermittent catheterization needs to repeated catheterization and is usually performed at least four times a day.Reimbursement by the Medicaid Program, which provides 120 catheter per month for one person and the Medicare program which pays 200 catheter, also increases the increase. Such reimbursement policies contribute to the large share of the department, as they decrease the out-of-pocket spending of the patients. On the other hand, external catheters department is expected to be the fastest increasing department during the forecast time as they are non-invasive. Application Insights these products have an application in different medical conditions and diseases wherein it becomes tough for the patient to empty the bladder. The urinary incontinence department occupied the biggest market share in 2015 accounting for 38.3% due to the increasing prevalence of the disease and aging population. The benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) is anticipated to be the fastest increasing department with a CAGR of 5.80% It is a general condition in the aging population particularly men. According to the Urology Care Foundation, around half of the men in the age of 51 to 60 years have BPH and up to 90% of the men in the age of 80 years have BPH. Acute kidney failure is a serious complication related to BPH and catheterization of the bladder is necessary.Regional Insights North America held the majority of the market share of about 35.6% in 2015. The region suffers from a load of growing urology diseases and increasing geriatric population. Healthy health facilities are available in North America and repayment coverage contributes to large markets in the area. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, Urinary Dichotomist affects approximately 20 million American women and 6 million American men in some areas of their life. It is approximate to affect millions of people and its prevalence growth with the rising age of the population. Asia Pacific is projected to be the fastest increasing market with a CAGR of 6.67% during the forecast time. The emerging economies, like India and China, in the region, are lucrative markets due to the growing aged population, raising the prevalence of chronic diseases, and growing demand for advanced therapies and products.Request Sample copy of this Report atCompetitive Insights some of the major companies are: B Braun Melsungen AGT Hollister Inc. Coloplast Boston Scientific Corporation C.R. Bard, Inc. Cook Medical Teleflex Inc. MedtronicDue to the large opportunities in developed and developing countries, companies are implementing strategic initiatives like mergers and acquisitions, new product launches and expansion of operations for the global merger.Regional Outlook (Profit, USD Million; 2013 - 2024) North America U.S. Canada Europe Germany UK Asia Pacific China Japan Latin America Mexico Brazil MEA South AfricaTable of Content Research Methodology Executive Summary Urinary Catheters Market Variables, Trends and Scope Urinary Catheters Market: Product Type Estimates and Trend Analysis Urinary Catheters Market: Application Estimates and Trend Analysis Urinary Catheters Market: Regional Estimates & Trend Analysis, by Product Type & Application Competitive LandscapeGet more details of report at,Related Report:Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Market Size, Analysis, 2020In 2015, the global intelligent transportation system market value was $ 20.94 billion. Intelligent Transport Systems (IT) is increasing with modern security and security measures to minimize road accidents.For More Details -About Us:Frank n Raf is one of the eminent companies in Market Research and Consulting Services headquartered in Pane, India and soon will be in United States. We provide more options to our clients when it comes to market research and consulting services. We provide accurate and transparent industry insights, syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and top we expertise in consulting services.Contact Us:Frank n Raf Market Research LLP401 A Wing, Amar Synergy,Sadhu Vaswani Chowk, Pune Station,Pune 411014Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 347-321-6773E-mail: info@franknraf.com Alkaline Phosphatase Kits Market Indicates Notable CAGR growth by 2027 | Key Players are AGFA Healthcare, Aquilab, Carestream Health Inc., Esaote S.P.A, Koninklijke Philips N.V., etc. https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=2814 https://www.factmr.com/report/2814/alkaline-phosphatase-kits-market https://www.factmr.com/checkout/2799/S https://www.factmr.com/ https://factmrblog.com/ In order to study the many forthcoming movements and patterns prevailing in the global market, FactMR has included the latest Forecast report on Alkaline Phosphatase Kits Market to its vast database. The delivered study offers significant figures about the leading regions and applications which are functioning in the Alkaline Phosphatase Kits Market forthcoming trends by 2027, along with their market production, consumption, revenue, upcoming industry trends and forecasted market share details. Further, the accomplished market research report also anticipates that the concerned market would grow at a constructive CAGR until 2027.Request for Report Sample Here -Recent studies have linked an array of inter-abdominal diseases with the use of raw milk and its products. Regulatory authorities around the world are recommending use of pasteurized milk and its products over raw milk. According to multiple researches, raw milk has been found to carry dangerous pathogens such as E.Coli, Listeria, Campylobacter, and Listeria, which are known for causing serious health issues.Rising awareness about these concerns is influencing consumers to opt for pasteurized milk. With mindful choices trend driving the food and beverages industry, consumers are becoming more particular about the ingredients used in products they consume. The aforementioned factors have boosted the adoption of alkaline phosphatase kits to ensure the milk used in the production of dairy products meets the standards expected by consumers.Alkaline phosphatase kits easy to use, accurate, and less time-consuming these features have led to their widespread adoption across a range of industries. The effectiveness of alkaline phosphatase kit aids companies in adhering to the standards of dairy production. These broader factors are likely to provide an impetus to alkaline phosphatase market in the future.Growing Adoption in Healthcare Diagnostics Creating OpportunitiesThe level of alkaline phosphates in human serums and other bodily fluids are indicative of a variety of complications that may arise in the body. Higher levels of alkaline phosphatase levels are linked to problems related to liver, gallbladder, pancreas, intestine, or other serious infections. The level of alkaline phosphatase in a patients blood helps doctors identify conditions like hepatitis, cirrhosis, cholecystitis, and blockage of bile ducts. Alkaline phosphatase levels are also indicative of liver and bile ducts cancer. Alkaline phosphatase kits play a pivotal role in the detection of disorders and paving the pathway for the further treatment required in each case. The growing use of alkaline phosphatase kits in healthcare diagnostics is likely to create significant opportunities for stakeholders during the course of the forecast period.Read Complete Factors about Global Market Report from Here -The relative affordability of alkaline phosphate kits with pack sizes ranging from 101 to 500 have made it the most preferred choice among end-users. The significant price difference between pack sizes of over 500 and kits with sizes ranging from 101 to 500 makes the latter an affordable choice. Further, the reagents used in the alkaline phosphatase kit are stable for a year when stored in conditions as directed by the manufacturers and need to be replaced annually. Due to this reason, numerous companies are benefitting from the utility offered by alkaline phosphatase kits with pack sizes ranging from 101-500. The companies have been able to maintain the optimal balance between demand and supply while using kits with the aforementioned pack sizes which has led to its widespread acceptance in the market.Unreliability of Alkaline Phosphatase Kit Results Remains a Challenge to Wider AdoptionAlthough alkaline phosphatase kit is an efficient way of detecting higher or lower levels of alkaline phosphatase in the blood, it is not necessarily indicative of an abnormality in the body. Sometimes, during pregnancy, alkaline phosphatase levels may rise due to the placental influx. Also, higher levels of alkaline phosphatase are observed during bone formation and development. Due to the likelihood of the kit providing false positives, it is used in tandem with other diagnostic tests to determine the cause, severity, and prognosis of an underlying disease.US Continues to Spearhead the Alkaline Phosphatase Kits MarketNorth America remains the largest market for alkaline phosphatase kits, on account of robust demand in the US. The US accounts for the largest revenue share, not only in North America but globally as well. A notable reason for US holding the majority market share is the high preference for pasteurized milk in the region. According to a mandate issued by the Food and Drug Association (FDA) in 1987, the use of raw milk for the production of milk and other dairy products was banned.Browse Full Report -About FactMRFactMR 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 UsFactMR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400, Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb:Blog: Argan Oil Market Size - Market Analysis with Industry Forecast by 2023 Argan Oil Market Structure https://www.planetmarketreports.com/report-sample/global-argan-oil-market-2233 https://www.planetmarketreports.com/reports/global-argan-oil-market-2233 Argan oil is a plant oil produced from the kernels of the argan tree Argania spinosa L. that is endemic to Morocco. In Morocco, argan oil is used to dip bread in at breakfast or to drizzle on couscous or pasta. It is also used for cosmetic purposes.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Argan Oil in global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.The increasing awareness about the benefits of argan oil and the availability of different product variants will drive the growth prowth prospects of the argan oil market. Moreover, the merchandising of argan oil products through various distribution channels such as supermarkets, hypermarkets, and luxury salons will also aid in the growth of the players in this market.The worldwide market for Argan Oil is expected to grow at a CAGR of roughly --% over the next five years, will reach $$ million US$ in 2023, from $$ million US$ in 2017, according to a new Planet Market Reports study.Request Sample Copy of Report @Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversARGANismeBios AgadirBiopurNadifi ArganZineGlob SARLARGATLASKanta EnterprisesMountain DustOLVEAMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America United States, Canada and MexicoEurope Germany, France, UK, Russia and ItalyAsia-Pacific China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast AsiaSouth America Brazil, Argentina, Colombia etc.Middle East and Africa Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South AfricaMarket Segment by Type, coversFood GradePharmaceutical GradeMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoCosmeticsFoodPharmaceuticalGet More Information about this Report and TOC @There are 15 Chaptersto deeply display the global Argan Oil market.Chapter 1, to describe Argan Oil Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Argan Oil, with sales, revenue, and price of Argan Oil, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Argan Oil, for each region, from 2013 to 2018;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the market by countries, by type, by application and by manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2013 to 2018;Chapter 12, Argan Oil market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2018 to 2023;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Argan Oil sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Customization of this Report can be done as per clients requirement.Planet Market Reports gives statistical surveying reports to businesses, people and associations with a goal of helping them in their decision making process. We have huge database of market research reports & company profiles across globe. We offer premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.Planet Market Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, & industry experts which provides you deeper penetration of market research industry ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.We have statistical surveying reports from number of top publishers and update our reports collections on daily basis. Planet Market Reports seasoned and well-informed team of Research Coordinators works closely with you, offering unbiased and expert advice on the most appropriate market research reports. 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We hope you appreciate our websites and services, if you have suggestions or feedback please let us know through our Contact Us form.Name: Jennifer DanielEmail-Id: sales@planetmarketreports.comUS: +1-716-2260907UK: +447441952057Organization: Planet Market Reports Porokeratosis Market Worldwide Segmentation 2018 to 2023 | Renewed Players Angiodynamics, Inc., Danaher Corporation, Hoffmann-La Roche, Hologic Inc. and More Porokeratosis Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/6067 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/porokeratosis-market-6067 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/6067 The Global Porokeratosis Treatment Industry is expected to Gain Prominence over the Forecast Period. The Market is expected to register a CAGR of ~6.0% from 2018 to 2023.Porokeratosis Market - HighlightsPorokeratosis is a keratinization disorder characterized by one or more atrophic macules surrounded by a distinctive hyperkeratotic, ridge-like border called a cornoid lamella.A number of factors such as the increasing demand for laser therapy, rising cases of renal transplant, improved reimbursement policies in developed countries, growing research funding, and rising competition among market players are propelling the growth of the global porokeratosis treatment market.However, the high cost of laser systems, lack of skilled or trained physicians, side effects associated with drugs, and poor healthcare system in low and middle-income countries may hamper the growth of the market.REQUEST FREE SAMPLE REPORT ATIt is estimated that the porokeratosis treatment market is expected to register a CAGR of 6.0% during the forecast period of 20182023.Porokeratosis Market - Key PlayersSome of the key players in the global porokeratosis treatment market are Angiodynamics, Inc. (U.S.), Allergan (Republic of Ireland), Alma Lasers (Israel), Beiersdorf AG (Germany), Biogen (U.S.), Biolase Inc. (U.S.), Coherent, Inc. (U.S.), Coty Inc. (U.S.), Cutera (U.S.), Danaher Corporation (U.S.), F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (Switzerland), Hologic Inc. (U.S.), IPG Photonics Corporation (U.S.), IRIDEX Corp. (U.S.), LOreal (France), Lumenis (U.S.), Pfizer (U.S.), PhotoMedex, Inc. (U.S.), Valeant Pharmaceuticals (Canada), and others.Porokeratosis Market - SegmentationThe global porokeratosis treatment market is segmented on the basis of type of porokeratosis, diagnosis and treatment, and end-user.On the basis of type of porokeratosis, the market is classified as Disseminated Actinic Porokeratosis (DSAP), linear porokeratosis, porokeratosis of mantoux, Porokeratotic Eccrine Ostial And Dermal Duct Nevus (PEODDN), and punctate porokeratosis.Based on diagnosis and treatment, the market is classified as diagnosis and treatment. The diagnosis segment is further classified as biopsy, differential diagnosis, and others. The sub-segments of differential diagnosis include squamous cell carcinoma, lichenoid keratosis, and epidermal nevus. The treatment segment is further classified as topical diclofenac, ingenol mebutate, topical vitamin D analog, 5-Fluorouracil, immunomodulators, photodynamic therapy, retinoids, cryotherapy, lasers, immunosuppressive agents, and others. The sub-segments of immunomodulators include imiquimod and resiquimod. The sub-segments of retinoids include topical retinoids and oral retinoids. The sub-segments of immunosuppressive agents include calcineurin inhibitors and others.By end-user, the market is classified as hospitals and clinics, diagnostic centers, drug stores, research and academic institutes, and others.Porokeratosis Market - Regional AnalysisThe Americas dominates the porokeratosis market owing to the rising prevalence of disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis and increasing renal transplant cases, as around 10.68% of renal transplant recipients suffered from porokeratosis. According to the National Kidney Foundation, Inc., in 2014, 17,107 kidney transplants took place in the U.S. Moreover, advanced diagnostic and therapeutic solutions, high healthcare expenditure, and the presence of leading players are expected to boost the American porokeratosis treatment market.Europe holds the second position in the porokeratosis treatment market. It is expected that the rising contribution of various marketers is likely to drive the European porokeratosis treatment market. For instance, in July 2016, Chugai and Galderma announced the global license agreement for the development and marketing of Nemolizumab worldwide. The Nemolizumab is a novel biologic for skin diseases.BROWSE COMPLETE 100 PAGES PREMIUM RESEARCH REPORT ENABLED WITH 85 RESPECTIVE TABLES AND FIGURES ATAsia Pacific is the fastest growing porokeratosis treatment market owing to a huge patient pool, increasing demand for treatments, and rising healthcare expenditure. In this region, the Mibelli type is most frequent as compared to other types. In Singapore, the Mibelli type of porokeratosis was present in 56% of porokeratosis patients in 2013, suggested by a study published in the Cases in Dermatology.The Middle East and Africa holds the lowest share of the global porokeratosis treatment market due to the presence of poor and slow developing countries, especially, in the African region.Major Table of Contents: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 DynamicsTOC Continued..!ENQUIRY FOR DISCOUNT ATAbout 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 Contraceptive Drugs Market Expected Reach USD at 22.15 Bn Till 2023 | By Pfizer Inc, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Bayer AG, Piramal Enterprises Ltd, Mayer Laboratories, Cooper Surgical Etc Contraceptive Drugs Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1276 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/contraceptive-drugs-market-1276 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/1276 Market Research Future Published a Premium Research Report on Contraceptive Drugs Market Research Report - Forecast till 2023 Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023.Global Contraceptive Drugs Market SegmentationGlobal contraceptive drugs market is segmented on two category type and end user.On the basis of type they are oral contraceptive, injectable and other.Oral contraceptives are further sub segmented into combined oral contraceptive pills and progestogen-only pills.On the basis of end user they are segmented as hospitals, clinics and others.Request Sample Report atGlobal Contraceptive Drugs Market - Key PlayersMerck & Co., Inc (US), Pfizer Inc (US), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Israel), Bayer AG (Germany), Allergan plc. (Ireland), Janssen Global Services llc. (US), Mankind Pharma Ltd. (India), Piramal Enterprises Ltd (India), Reckitt Benckiser Plc (UK), Church & Dwight (US), The Female Health Company (US), Mayer Laboratories (US), Cooper Surgical (US).Global Contraceptive Drugs Market - ScenarioBirth controls are been used since ancient times but the safe and effective methods are introduce and available from 20th century. Contraceptive drugs are used to prevent the unwanted pregnancy by blocking the normal process of ovulations or by altering the process which support the fertilization of egg.Global contraceptive drugs market is driven by increasing need of population controls and increasing prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases. Necessity of avoiding the unwanted pregnancy especially in the teenage women and increasing awareness among peoples also contributed in the growth of the market.Contraceptive pills is the third most widely used contraceptive method. Beside this cultural and religious opposition in developing countries is also responsible for hindering the market. The global market for contraceptive drugs is expected to reach US$ 22.15 billion by the end of the 2023 with a CAGR of 6.5%.Global Contraceptive drugs Market - Regional AnalysisThe market of contraceptive drugs is much higher in the Americas region owing to increasing awareness among the people and high incidence rates of abortion. According to the report published by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2015, around 229,715 babies were born from women aged between 15 to 19 years.Europe is also considering the huge market for contraceptive drugs players, owing to the increasing government support and awareness about healthcare industries, and well developed technology. Moreover, companies from these regions are more into export to the developing region which increase the market share around the globe.Browse Complete 80 Pages Premium Research Report Enabled with Respective Tables and Figures atAsia Pacific and the Middle East and Africa region are considering the big market. Whereas country like India and china of Asia Pacific region are considering fastest growing region due to the high rate of incidence of teen pregnancy. According to WHO, adolescent birth rates is 45 births per 1000 women in South-Eastern Asia and 7 births per 1000 women in Eastern Asia. Additionally they are open to adopt new treatment option from a developed country, this gap between the developed and developing countries will present significant growth opportunities for the contraceptive drugs market players in the coming years.Major Table of Contents - Contraceptive Drugs Market Research Report- Global Forecast to 20231 INTRODUCTION1.1 DEFINITION1.2 SCOPE OF STUDY1.2.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE1.2.2 ASSUMPTIONS & LIMITATIONS1.2.2.1 ASSUMPTIONS1.2.2.2 LIMITATIONS1.3 MARKET STRUCTURE:2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2.1 RESEARCH PROCESS:2.2 PRIMARY RESEARCH2.3 SECONDARY RESEARCH:3 MARKET DYNAMICS3.1 DRIVERS3.2 RESTRAINTS3.3 OPPORTUNITIESGet Exclusive Discount atAbout 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 While the number of students of color, like Givens, earning their IU degree has increased over the years, we recognize there remains much more to be done to achieve equity in access to educational excellence and degree completion, to ensure that all of Northwest Indianas citizens have access to the learning, growth and credentials that they deserve and need. South Africa: SA: UN members should respect Venezuela sovereignty The threat by some UN member states to use force on the territorial integrity and political independence of Venezuela is inconsistent with the mission of maintaining international peace and security among nations, South Africa has argued. The United Nations Security Council is the principle organ charged with maintaining international peace and security. Yet today we are witnessing the council divided on the internal affairs of a fellow member State, with some even threatening to use force against the territorial integrity and political independence of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela as a fellow member of the United Nations, said South Africas UN Ambassador in the Security Council, Jerry Matjila, in his address at the open briefing of the UN Security Council. The threat of force, Matjila said, would set a bad precedent. We, on the African continent, have suffered a great deal as external forces used undemocratic tools of regime change to solve problems on the continent. In principle, we are strongly opposed to this way of solving any problem. This approach takes away the basic rights of the people of the country to determine their own future. Matjila reiterated South Africas view that the people of Venezuela should decide their future. All that we can do is to help them, but the decision remains theirs. We recognise the democratic processes followed by Venezuela in choosing a President, but we also recognise that Venezuela is currently facing humanitarian challenges. South Africa draws from its experience in overcoming one of the most repressive and insidious racist regimes through dialogue and believes that internal, inclusive dialogue remains the only viable and sustainable path to ending the political crisis in Venezuela. Political dialogue should seem obvious and the first logical port of call, yet the actions of some in the international community have not been conducive and encouraging to this approach. Isolating and vilifying one party, and calling for a specific prescribed course of action which would preclude dialogue will only foment possible recourse to armed conflict. I reiterate, this is inconsistent with the purpose of the UN Security Council. While South Africa does not believe that the situation in Venezuela poses a threat to international peace and security, Pretoria is concerned about the humanitarian crisis in the South American state. We are alarmed at the unrest and loss of life that has taken place over the past weekend. Instead of assisting the people of Venezuela, the politicisation and indeed weaponisation of humanitarian assistance has served to aggravate tensions in Venezuela that can only lead to violence and confrontation. It is of utmost importance that support to the people of Venezuela does not serve as a focal point for increased tensions, antagonisms or become a tool in the political dispute that is being coaxed on by external actors, Matjila said. Matjila said Pretoria believes that humanitarian aid should not be used for the political ends of parties to the crisis, but should be delivered through the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to ensure its neutrality and impartiality. This council cannot predetermine the will of the people of Venezuela. Therefore, the international community should promote a framework of inclusive internal dialogue in order for the people of Venezuela to determine their own destiny, he said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2019-02-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Towing Tractors Market: Global Industry Size, Share, Growth and Forecast to 2025: Kion Group, Toyota, Taylor-Dunn, Kalmar, Kolec, Hangcha, Komatsu etc. Towing Tractors Market https://www.reportsnreports.com/contacts/requestsample.aspx?name=1733137 https://www.reportsnreports.com/contacts/discount.aspx?name=1733137 https://www.reportsnreports.com/purchase.aspx?name=1733137 https://www.reportsnreports.com/contacts/discount.aspx?name=1733137 #Download Sample Pages of Report @This report studies the global market size of Towing Tractors in key regions like North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Central & South America and Middle East & Africa, focuses on the consumption of Towing Tractors in these regions.This research report categorizes the global Towing Tractors market by top players/brands, region, type and end user. This report also studies the global Towing Tractors market status, competition landscape, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, sales channels and distributors.Complete report on Towing Tractors market spread across 123 pages, profiling 17 companies and supported with tables and figures is now available @# Key manufacturers in the Towing Tractors Market include Kion Group, Toyota, Taylor-Dunn, Kalmar, Kolec, Hangcha, Komatsu, Trepel, Hyster, Lektro, Mulag, Clark, Xcmg, Yutong, Anhui Heli, Dalian Forklift and Xilin.Towing Tractors Breakdown Data by Type- Electric Type- Diesel Type- OthersTowing Tractors Breakdown Data by Application- Factories- Warehouses- Stations- Ports- Airports- OthersThe report focuses on global major leading industry players of Towing Tractors 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 Towing Tractors 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 Towing Tractors Market Report 2019 @The Towing Tractors 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 Towing Tractors.With tables and figures helping analyze worldwide Towing Tractors 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 Towing Tractors Market OverviewCharpter 2 Global Towing Tractors Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and ApplicationCharpter 3 United States Towing Tractors (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Charpter 4 China Towing Tractors (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Charpter 5- Europe Towing Tractors (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Charpter 6 Japan Towing Tractors (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Charpter 7 Southeast Asia Towing Tractors (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Charpter 8 India Towing Tractors (Volume, Value and Sales Price)Charpter 9 Global Towing Tractors Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales DataCharpter 10 Towing Tractors Maufacturing Cost AnalysisCharpter 11 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersCharpter 12 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersCharpter 13 Market Effect Factors AnalysisCharpter 14 Global Towing Tractors Market Forecast (2019-2025)Charpter 15 Research Findings and ConclusionCharpter 16 AppendixA discount can be asked before order a copy of Towing Tractors market report atThis report includes the estimation of market size for value (million US$) and volume (K Units). Both top-down and bottom-up approaches have been used to estimate and validate the market size of Towing Tractors market, to estimate the size of various other dependent submarkets in the overall market. Key players in the market have been identified through secondary research, and their market shares have been determined through primary and secondary research. All percentage shares, splits, and breakdowns have been determined using secondary sources and verified primary sources.About 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 Shigella Vaccines Market Expected to Secure Notable Revenue Share during 2018-2026 Evaluated By Global Players MSD Wellcome Trust Hilleman Laboratories Pvt. Ltd., Novartis Global Shigella Vaccines Market https://bit.ly/2tGIkPm https://bit.ly/2BX8PEu https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/phase-xs/ Shigella is a gram-negative pathogenic enterobacteria that causes severe diarrhea and dysentery in humans. Symptoms associated with Shigella infection includes fever, stomach pain, tenesmus, watery diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, and convulsions. Various strains of Shigella are encompassed, such as S. dysenteriae, S. flexneri, S. sonnei and S. boydii. Each species of Shigella has different serotypes classified on the basis of the structure of O-antigens repeats that are the polysaccharides moiety of the lipopolysaccharide, a virulence factor consist of toxic lipid. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2013, the average annual incidence of shigellosis in the U.S. was around 5 cases per 100,000 individuals. Bacillary dysentery with brutal epidemics are caused by S. dysenteriae by the production of shiga toxins whereas, the endemic form of disease is caused by the S. flexneri and S. sonnei. The bacillary dysentery is accompanied with fever, rectal inflammation, and abdominal cramps.For In depth Information Get Sample Copy of this Report @According to World Health Organization (WHO), nearly one million people die from Shigella infection annually. Moreover, the high incidence rate is seen among children less than five years age, travelers, and military personnel from industrialized economies. Shigella species have been identified from centuries and it represents a major threat to public health, due to non-availability of licensed vaccine and thus affecting overall Shigella vaccines market.Developing vaccine against Shigella infections is difficult, due to the diversity of Shigella species and their serotypes. Shigella genome is continuously modified by deletion and acquisition of genes mediated by the mobile genetic elements, such as plasmids, insertion sequences, and integrons. These modifications are the major foundation for the generation of novel antibiotic resistant strains and it also leads to the formation of novel Shigella serotype variants. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in April 2017, warned the physicians and public health officials in the U.S. by stating that the recent strains of Shigella bacteria shows the reduced susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, which is one of the main antibiotics recommended by WHO for the treatment of shigellosis.Geographically, S. flexneri is the most frequent species occurred worldwide accounting for most cases in emerging economies. Whereas, the S. sonnei is prevalent in Brazil, China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh, due to rapid industrialization of these economies. The primary prevention of Shigella is based on the universal provision of portable sanitation and water methods along with personal and food hygiene. However, a low cost and effective vaccine would accelerate disease reduction across the globe.Joint ventures and collaborations of major players to develop and commercializes the vaccine are expected to propel the Shigella vaccines market in near future:Joint ventures and partnership of the players to develop and commercialize Shigella vaccine is expected to provide momentum to the Shigella vaccines market. For instance, in March 2017, Hilleman Laboratories, a non-profit organization established with joint venture partnership between Merck & Co., and Wellcome Trust has entered into an agreement with National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Disease (NICED) for the development and commercialization of vaccines against Shigella by 2024. Besides, in June 2016, Immuron- an Australian biopharmaceutical company entered into an agreement to produce Shigella vaccine with the U.S Armys biomedical research lab-Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR).Request For Customization of Research Report @Prokarium and Probiomed in January 2017, collaborated to manufacture orally-administrated vaccine to prevent diarrhea. The new vaccine is expected to be manufactured as a part of two-year collaboration having thermostable capabilities for a longer period. The new vaccine is expected to be delivered to the people living in the remote areas. Thermostable vaccine, which is manufactured approximately one third of the price of the conventional injectable vaccines helps to facilities the growth of Shigella vaccines market.The new research trial drives the Shigella vaccines market:The University Of Maryland School Of Medicine (UM SOM) in August 2017 received US$ 2.47 Million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to develop vaccine against Shigella and Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) for the treatment of diarrheal disease. The researchers in the UM SOMs Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) have developed Shigella-ETEC prototype vaccine, which has been tested in animals successfully. Moreover, the latest funding helps to translate prototype to a human vaccine for Phase 1 clinical trials.Top Key Players:The key players present in the global shigella vaccines market include MSD Wellcome Trust Hilleman Laboratories Pvt. Ltd., Novartis (Novartis Vaccines Institute for Global Health), and GlaxoSmithKline plc.Also, Coherent Market Insights has a proprietary database of pipeline biologics and biosimilars, called PHASE-XS. This database provides analytical data in addition to the clinical information of ongoing trials for biologics and biosimilars. An amalgamation of more than 30 parameters, PHASE-XS helps biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to analyze the market trend, competition, and market potential. For more information or to access this database, kindly click on the below link or contact at sales@coherentmarketinsights.comAbout Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave, #3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Global Reconciliation Software Industry Market Size And Forecast 2022 Global Reconciliation Software Market https://franknraf.com/sample-report/?rpt_id=6019 https://franknraf.com/reports/global-reconciliation-software-market-size-status-and-forecast-2022/ https://franknraf.com/reports/global-cloud-infrastructure-services-industry-2017-market-research-report/ www.franknraf.com Frank n Rafs This report researches the global Bank Reconciliation Software market, analyzes and examines the Bank Reconciliation Software development status and forecast in United States, India, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and EU. This report concentrates on the top performers in the global market, like Broadridge, BlackLine, ReconArt, Cashbook, AutoRek, Oracle, SS&C, Adra, Treasury, DataLog, Rimilia, Xero, SmartStream, Fiserv Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report covers India, Japan, United States, EU, China, Southeast Asia, Market segment by Type, the product can be divided into Cloud-based On-premise Market division by Application, Bank Reconciliation Software can be divided into Banks Enterprise Market Overview The global software industry has, across the years of extensive advancements and vast growth in application areas, become the backbone of a number of enterprises and continues to remodel the way operations and processes are initiated across a number of industries. The global software production has touched, in more ways than possible, and reconstructed a number of industries, making computer control and automation a model. Added reliability in the way processes manipulate, reduced time for the result, and consistent results are some of the essential factors new sets of end-users remain to turn to the software industry for a wide variety of operating solutions. The software industry is treading along an exciting growth path and has joined the ranks of some of the world's leading industries with large growth prospects in the near future. With applications over the fields of Internet-of-things, robotics, and automation growing at a promising pace, the industry is expected to continue its bullish run in the next few years as well, impacting the extension prospects of a number of niche markets it caters to.Frank n Rafs Research Report Global bank reconciliation software market Trends, size, status, and forecast 2022 has a vast collection of market reports concerning the software industry, its sub-sectors, and a number of enterprises that the software sector directly or indirectly influences. The comprehensive reports present a thorough account of trend analysis and market forecasts of the markets, statistics, market-related data, accompanying with accurate facts, and other important information about the software industry related to market research reports gathered in the repository. The reports could determine to be useful to new as well as existing players concerned with the software sector in investigating the workability of new investments in these markets. The up-to-date research reports in the receptacle of Global bank reconciliation software market Trends, size, status, and forecast 2022 present accurate data concerning a large number of markets within the software division. The reports present a thorough evaluation of the fundamental growth drivers, regulatory scenario, restraints, prime, and opportunities presented by these markets in the current scenario, helping organizations in these markets to expand a larger scope of growth and penetration in their individual fields. If you have any special or Specific requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Request for sample report of Global Reconciliation Software Industry Market Size And Forecast 2022 Report At -Table of Contents:Global Reconciliation Software Industry Market Size And Forecast 2022- Industry Overview of Bank Reconciliation Software- Global Bank Reconciliation Software Competition Analysis by Players- Company (Top Players) Profiles- Global Bank Reconciliation Software Market Size by Type and Application (2012-2017)- United States Bank Reconciliation Software Development Status and Outlook- EU Bank Reconciliation Software Development Status and Outlook- Japan Bank Reconciliation Software Development Status and Outlook- China Bank Reconciliation Software Development Status and Outlook- India Bank Reconciliation Software Development Status and Outlook- Southeast Asia Bank Reconciliation Software Development Status and Outlook- Market Forecast by Regions, Size, Type, Status, and Application (2017-2022)- Bank Reconciliation Software Market Dynamics- Market Effect Factors Analysis- Research Finding/Conclusion- AppendixPlease contact us for any specific requirement or changes you want and we will offer you the report as your requirement.Read Full Report here -Related Report:Global Cloud Infrastructure Services Market Status and Report 2017About Cloud Infrastructure Services: Cloud infrastructure services are presented to the users as an infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) principles on a pay-per-use base in the form of virtual machines (VMs). This infrastructure service allows organizations to manage traditional workloads by implementing various deployment models such as private, public, and hybrid cloud.Read more:About Us:Frank n Raf is one of the eminent companies in Market Research and Consulting Services, headquartered in Pune, India and soon will be in the United States. We provide more options to our clients when it comes to market research and consulting services. We provide accurate and transparent industry insights, syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and top we expertise in consulting services.Contact Us:Frank n Raf Market Research LLP401 A Wing, Amar Synergy,Sadhu Vaswani Chowk,Pune Station, Pune 411 001.US: +1 347-321-6773Email: info@franknraf.comWebsite: Stem Cells Market Business Growth Statistics and Key Players Insights: CCBC, Vcanbio, Boyalife, Beikebiotech Stem Cells Market https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/request-sample/1008810 https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/check-discount/1008810 https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/send-an-enquiry/1008810 QY Research Groups render to you profound details in respect to leading participants, regions, application and type of the Global Stem Cells Market which is estimated to encounter substantial growth over the forecast period 2018-2025.The Stem Cells report is an exclusive elaborated study of the given industry with an aim towards the global market trend. The report focuses to deliver a synopsis of global Stem Cells Market with in-depth market segmentation by several market players, suppliers and distributors of Stem Cells. The global market of this industry is anticipated to experience lucrative growth during the forecast period. The report delivers prime statistics on the market status of the market manufacturers who are existent leaders and provides key opportunities and trends in the market.Stem cells are a class of undifferentiated cells that are able to differentiate into specialized cell types. Commonly, stem cells come from two main sources: Embryos formed during the blastocyst phase of embryological development (embryonic stem cells) and Adult tissue (adult stem cells).The major manufacturers covered in this report CCBC Vcanbio Boyalife Beikebiotech...Get your Sample Report Copy @Stem Cells market, by technology, is Cell Acquisition, Cell Production, Cryopreservation, Expansion, and Sub-Culture. Stem Cell Therapy in China is not mature, so in this report we mainly cover Stem Cell Banking market.The report Stem Cells Market by Manufacturers highlights the essential market dynamics of Stem Cells sector. The efficiency of this segment has been studied deeply along with the noteworthy challenges and forthcoming growth opportunities and prospective. The report focuses in decision making abilities and supports to make effective counter strategies in order to achieve competitive advantage. Current market scenario of the segment and forecasts of the market situation have also been bounded in this market report.On the basis of product, primarily split into Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cell Embryonic Stem Cell Adult Stem Cell OtherBy Application, the market can be split into Diseases Therapy HealthcareGeographically, this report studies the top producers and consumers, focuses on product capacity, production, value, consumption, market share and growth opportunity in these key regions, covering North America Europe China Japan India Southeast Asia Other regions (Central & South America, Middle East & Africa)To avail discount on this Report @The study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Stem Cells capacity, production, value, consumption, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);Focuses on the key Stem Cells manufacturers, to study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze 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 analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the market.To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market.To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.To Get info on this Report, Do Enquiry Here @About Us:QY Research Groups is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. QY Research Groups is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Contact Us:Call: +1-888-236-2744Email: sales@qyresearchgroups.comRoom B1510, Shiji Kemao Building,No.66 Zhongguancun East Road,Haidian District, Beijing,100190, China. Chocolate Packaging Market Analysis by Top Key Players Amcor, Bemis, Mondi, Smurfit Kappa, AS Food Packaging, Benson Box, Brow Packaging, Genpak Chocolate Packaging Market https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/request-sample/2777995?utm_source=RK https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/request-for-discount/2777995?utm_source=RK https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/2777995?utm_source=RK Packaging is an integral part of the food industry due to its role in maintaining the hygiene and quality of the food products during transportation and storage. Chocolate packaging makes use of aluminum foil, tin, paper, and cardboard for packaging. The packaging designs have a significant influence on the purchase decisions of customers hence, vendors are expected to innovate packaging material as well as designs in the forecast period.Get Sample Copy of this Report @The Chocolate Packaging Market research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data and statistically-supported and industry-validated market data and projections with a suitable set of assumptions and methodology. It provides analysis and information by categories such as market segments, regions, and product type and distribution channels.By Market Players: Amcor, Bemis, Mondi, Smurfit Kappa, AS Food Packaging, Benson Box, Brow Packaging, Genpak, Sydney Packaging, Unger, WestRock, WipakThe report firstly introduced the Chocolate Packaging basics: Definitions, segment classifications, outlook and market overview, product specifications, manufacturing processes, company profile analysis, cost structures, raw materials and so on. Moreover, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.The regions North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Latin America have been studied in depth to gain better market penetration and assure exact analysis. Top manufacturers have been given prime importance to make sure their strategies are understood and their position in this particular market can be elucidated.Market Segment by Type, covers Rigid Packaging Flexible PackagingMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into Dark Chocolate Milk Chocolate White ChocolateThis study provides an evaluation of aspects that are expected to impact growth of market in an undesired or constructive method. The Chocolate Packaging market has been consistently examined with respect to the corresponding market segments. Each year within the mentioned forecast period is concisely considered in terms of produce and worth in the regional as well as the global markets respectively.The report also includes a detailed overview of the competitive scenario and regulatory framework of the Global Chocolate Packaging Market. This will provide readers a clear understanding of the state of drivers, threats, major opportunities, and the major principles, guidelines, plans, and policies impacting the market. The report provides both, qualitative and quantitative research of the Global Market.Get a discount on this research report @Table of Contents1 Market Overview2 Manufacturers Profiles3 Global Chocolate Packaging Sales, Revenue, Market Share and Competition by Manufacturer (2016-2017)4 Global Chocolate Packaging Market Analysis by Regions5 North America Chocolate Packaging by Countries6 Europe Chocolate Packaging by Countries7 Asia-Pacific Chocolate Packaging by Countries8 South America Chocolate Packaging by Countries9 Middle East and Africa Chocolate Packaging by Countries10 Global Chocolate Packaging Market Segment by Type11 Global Chocolate Packaging Market Segment by Application12 Chocolate Packaging Market Forecast (2018-2023)13 Sales Channel, Distributors, Traders and Dealers14 Research Findings and Conclusion15 AppendixPurchase Enquiry@: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 Statescall answer Direct:+1-971-202-1575call answer Toll Free:+1-800-910-6452email help@bigmarketresearch.com Global HIV Vaccines Market is continuously growing across the world over the coming years Global HIV Vaccines Market to reach USD XX billion by 2025. https://www.planetmarketreports.com/report-sample/global-hiv-vaccines-market-forecasts-2018-2025 https://www.planetmarketreports.com/reports/global-hiv-vaccines-market-forecasts-2018-2025 Global HIV Vaccines Market valued approximately USD XX billion in 2017 is anticipated to grow with a healthy growth rate of more than XX% over the forecast period 2018-2025. The HIV Vaccines Market is continuously growing across the world over the coming years. HIV vaccines have the purpose to protecting individuals who dont have HIV from being infected with the virus or treating an HIV-infected person. Millions of people are currently infected with the HIV and about thirty million people died because of the AIDS infection since the beginning of the epidemic.There is no human example of clearing an HIV infection naturally. The HIV virus makes copies of it very quickly; many types of HIV exist, and new types of virus are continuing to rise. Many scientists are still trying to understand the specific ways of immune system which needs to respond against the HIV infection. Increase in HIV infections, increasing prevalence of HIV infection, increasing expenditure on R&D and rising awareness among people are the substantial driving factors of the market across the globe. Moreover, increasing number of new entrants is the major factor which creating numerous opportunity in the market over the coming years.However, expensive and multifaceted studies and growing number of trial failure are the key factors which limiting the market growth of HIV Vaccines over the coming years.For full details, you can buy the report, or request a free sample at @The regional analysis of Global HIV Vaccines 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/dominant region in the global HIV Vaccines market due to higher adoption of various HIV Vaccines trials coupled with presence of technology in the region. Europe is also estimated to grow in the HIV Vaccines market over the forecast period. Asia-Pacific is also expected to grow at higher growth / higher CAGR over the forecast period 2018-2025 due to rising prevalence of HIV diseases.The major market player included in this report are: AlphaVax Antigen Express Argo Therapeutic Bionor Pharmaceuticals Celldex Therapeutics FIT Biotech Crucell Pharmaceutical GeneCure Genetic Immunity GenVec GeoVax Labs GlaxoSmithKline Immune Response Biopharma Inovio Pharmaceuticals NovartisThe objective of the study is to define market sizes of different segments & countries in recent years and to forecast the values to the coming eight years. The report is designed to incorporate both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the industry within each of the regions and countries involved in the study. Furthermore, the report also caters the detailed information about the crucial aspects such as driving factors & challenges which will define the future growth of the market. Additionally, the report shall also incorporate available opportunities in micro markets for stakeholders to invest along with the detailed analysis of competitive landscape and product offerings of key players.The detailed segments and sub-segment of the market are explained below:By Type:o Acute Paronychiao Chronic Paronychiao Candidal Paronychiao Pyogenic ParonychiaBy Antibiotics:o Mupirocin Ointmento Fusidic Acid Ointmento Gentamicin Ointmento Dicloxacillino OthersBy Regions:o North Americao U.S.o Canadao Europeo UKo Germanyo Asia Pacifico Chinao Indiao Japano Latin Americao Brazilo Mexicoo Rest of the WorldFurthermore, years considered for the study are as follows:Historical year 2015, 2016Base year 2017Forecast period 2018 to 2025Target Audience of the Global HIV Vaccines Market in Market Study:o Key Consulting Companies & Advisorso Large, medium-sized, and small enterpriseso Venture capitalistso Value-Added Resellers VARso Third-party knowledge providerso Investment bankerso InvestorsGet More Information about this Report @About Us:Planet Market Reports gives statistical surveying reports to businesses, people and associations with a goal of helping them in their decision-making process. We have a huge database of market research reports & company profiles across the globe. We associated with global market research a publisher who has a wide range of research specialists & industry experts which provides you deeper penetration of the market research industry.We have statistical surveying reports from a number of top publishers and update our reports collections on daily basis with most recent research data to furnish our customers with the moment online access to our database. With access to this database, our customers will be able to benefit from expert insights on worldwide businesses, items, and market patterns. We help you in your buy choice by mapping your data needs with our immense accumulation of reports.Contact US:-Email-Id: sales@planetmarketreports.comUS : +1-716-2260907Organization: Planet Market Reports Spinal Traction Market Predicted to Reach 6.0 Billion in Terms of Revenue by 2023 | by Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, pfizer plc., Baxter, Mylan N.V., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. etc Spinal Traction Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1902 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/spinal-traction-market-1902 Market Research Future published a research report on Global Spinal Traction Market and Predicted that global spinal traction market is expected to reach USD 6.0 billion by 2023 at a CAGR of ~ 7.7 % during the forecast period 2017-2023. Taste the market data and market information presented through more than 50 market data tables and figures spread over 100 pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content (TOC) & market synopsis on Global Spinal Traction Market Research Report Forecast till 2023.The market drivers for the spinal traction devices market are growing geriatric population, rising cases of spinal cord diseases and trauma, rising number of spinal surgery, increasing awareness and screening, and developing healthcare. On the other hand, lack of experimental clinical data in support of traction devices in medical treatment, high cost of devices, demand for minimally invasive procedures, risks of surgery such as pain, risk of infection and damage to the spine, may hamper the marker growth over the review period.Innovation remains the best strategy for the global spinal traction devices. Thus, many companies are focusing on developing new devices offering better diagnostics and treatment of various spine conditions. Wireless sensor technology is the latest wave with advanced products have been connected to external devices for further analysis of the problem and the healing progress. However, cost of the product projected to be a crucial factor in the developing regions such as Asia Pacific and Africa.Get Sample PDF Illustration @Increasing geriatric population, rising cases of spinal cord diseases and trauma, rising number of spinal surgery, growing screening, rising awareness, and growing income are the major drivers of this market. On the other hand, lack of clinical evidence, high cost of the devices coupled with low healthcare expenditure in developing regions may restrain the market growth during the given period.Key Players for Global Spinal Traction MarketSome of the key players profiled in the report are Fujifilm Holdings, GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, Shimadzu Corporation, Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, pfizer plc., Baxter, Mylan N.V., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Hitachi Medical Corporation, and others.Regional Analysis for Global Spinal Traction MarketThe Americas accounts for a significant market share owing to high expenditure on the health care. Additionally, the fastest uptake of new diagnostics and drugs in the U.S. drives the mesenteric ischemia market. Furthermore, concentration of the major healthcare companies and large hospitals in the developed countries of this region coupled with large insurance penetration are adding fuel to the market growth. The U.S. expend high amount on its healthcare in 2015, which accounted for 16% of total GDP which, in turn, likely to drive the mesenteric ischemia market.Europe is the second largest market in the world due to high income and strong healthcare penetration. The European market growth is led by countries such as Germany and France. The UK is expected to be the fastest growing market over the assessment period. However the southern European nations have witnessed a greater incidence of infective mesenteric ischemia due to associated environmental conditional. Owing to strong pharmaceutical industry, Germany dominates the European market.Asia Pacific region is expected to grow rapidly; China and India are likely to lead this market due to the fast growing healthcare sector and large unmet needs over the forecast period. South East Asian countries such as China, India, and Malaysia are projected to contribute highly to the market growth. Furthermore, growing penetration of healthcare insurance in the Asia Pacific region is expected to drive the future mesenteric ischemia market in the region.Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE are estimated to drive the Middle East & African market. Other Middle East nations to watch out for are Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and Iran. The African region is expected to witness a moderate growth owing to poor economic and political conditions, and poor healthcare development. However, the poor countries and developing regions have the greatest unmet needs, which needs to be tapped.Get Complete Access of Report @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Statistical Report, Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Market Research FutureHadapsar, Pune 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com The Insurance Industry in Uganda - Prospects, Growth Trends, Key Trends and Opportunities Forecast to 2022 Market Research Hub https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=2122887 https://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/the-insurance-industry-in-uganda-key-trends-and-opportunities-to-2022-report.html Market Research Hub (MRH) has actively included a new research study titled The Insurance Industry in Uganda - Key Trends and Opportunities to 2022 to its wide online repository. The concerned market is discoursed based on a variety of market influential factors such as drivers, opportunities and restraints. This study tends to inform the readers about the current as well as future market scenarios extending up to the period until forecast period limit; 2022. In addition, a deep analysis of the competitive landscape, including prime market players is also enclosed in this report.Get Sample Copy of This Report @The Insurance Industry in Uganda - Key Trends and Opportunities to 2022SummaryGlobalDatas "The Insurance Industry in Uganda - Key Trends and Opportunities to 2022", report provides detailed analysis of the market trends, drivers and challenges in the Ugandan insurance industry.It provides key performance indicators such as written premium and claims during the review period (2013-2017) and forecast period (2017-2022).The report also analyzes distribution channels operating in the segment, gives a comprehensive overview of the Ugandan economy and demographics, and provides detailed information on the competitive landscape in the country.The report brings together GlobalDatas research, modeling and analysis expertise, giving insurers access to information on segment dynamics and competitive advantages, and profiles of insurers operating in the country. The report also includes details of insurance regulations, and recent changes in the regulatory structure.Inside this report, we look at the top themes, its predictions and identify winners and losers.This report provides in-depth market analysis, information and insights into the Ugandan insurance industry, including -- The Ugandan insurance industry's growth prospects by segment and category- A comprehensive overview of the Ugandan economy and demographics- Details of the competitive landscape in the Ugandan insurance industry- The various distribution channels in the Ugandan insurance industry- Details of regulatory policy applicable to the Ugandan insurance industry- Analysis of natural hazards in the Ugandan insurance industryKey Highlights- In 2017, a new insurance act was introduced which comprised several changes, such as the introduction of the risk-sensitive basis supervision of insurance participants.- In 2017, the Mandatory Vehicle Insurance Bill in the country was reviewed by the Ministry of Finance for approval.- In 2017, the regulation of bancassurance was issued, which laid out provisions for the licensing of bancassurance participants.Scope- This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the insurance industry in Uganda.- It provides historical values for the Ugandan insurance industry for the reports 2013-2017 review period, and projected figures for the 2017-2022 forecast period.- It offers a detailed analysis of the key segments in the Ugandan insurance industry, with market forecasts to 2022.- It covers an exhaustive list of parameters, including written premium and claims.- It analyzes the various distribution channels in Uganda.- It profiles the top insurance companies in Uganda, and outlines the key regulations affecting them.BROWSE Full Report NOW @Table of Contents1 KEY FACTS AND HIGHLIGHTS2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY3 ECONOMY AND DEMOGRAPHICS4 INDUSTRY OUTLOOK4.1 Industry Indicators4.1.1 Gross written premium4.1.2 Insurance density5 LIFE INSURANCE OUTLOOK5.1 Segment Indicators5.1.1 Gross written premium5.1.2 Penetration5.1.3 Assets and investments5.2 Individual Life Insurance5.2.1 Gross written premium5.2.2 Penetration5.3 Group Life Insurance5.3.1 Gross written premium5.3.2 Penetration5.4 Pension Insurance5.4.1 Gross written premium5.4.2 PenetrationMore Information@@@About Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports of different sector like banking 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 Hematuria Treatment Global Market Analysis By F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., GlaxoSmithKline Inc., Novartis International AG, Pfizer, Inc. Etc. During 2019-2022 Hematuria Treatment Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1732 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/hematuria-treatment-market-1732 Hematuria Treatment Market - Key PlayersSome of the key players in this market are:AstraZeneca plc.Bristol-Myers SquibbHoffmann-La Roche Ltd.GlaxoSmithKline Inc.Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Merck & Co.Novartis International AGPfizer, Inc.Sun Pharmaceutical Industries LimitedThe Medicines Company and others.Hematuria Treatment Market - SegmentsThe MRFR analysis is segmented into five key dynamics for the convenience of understanding;By Type: Gross/ Macroscopic Hematuria, Microscopic Hematuria, Idiopathic Hematuria, and Joggers Hematuria.By Causes: Kidney Stones, Urinary Tract Infections (UTI), Urethritis, Blood Cancer, Bladder Stones, Prostate Cancer, Cystitis, Trauma, Vigorous Exercise, Polycystic Kidney Disease, Endometriosis, and Menstruation.Get Sample Report @By Treatment: Drugs and Therapeutics, among others.By End-user: Hospitals, Clinics, and Labs among others.By Regions: North America, Europe, APAC, and the Rest-of-the-World.Hematuria Treatment Market - OverviewThe Global Hematuria Treatment Market is accruing rapidly mainly due to the increasing number of bladder or kidney stones; kidney disease; urinary tract infection, cystitis (bladder infection), or pyelonephritis (kidney infection); cancers of the urinary tract (kidney, bladder, prostate); trauma, injury, or urinary tract instrumentation; rigorous exercise; benign prostatic hyperplasia; and blood thinners for such as Antithrombotic medications.Furthermore, technological advancements transpired in the field of hematuria management and advent treatment materials are fostering the market growth of hematuria treatment to an extent.On the other hand, factors such as the complications in the treatment, high cost of product developments, and stringent regulations for approvals are expected to obstruct the market growth during the assessment period. Also, the pending or imminent patent expiries of many blockbuster hematuria management drugs are some hampering the market growth.Nevertheless, factors like the instigation of a large number of regulatory healthcare reforms, developments of methods for the improved diagnosis and treatments for hematuria are expected to support the market growth bringing about the hematuria management therapeutics and treading along a promising increase in the next few years.Hematuria Treatment Market - Regional AnalysisGlobally North America is the largest market for Hematuria Treatment. Europe is the second-largest market and Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a rapid rate.Browse Complete 85 Pages Premium Research Report Enabled with 35+ Respective Tables and Figures @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 Automatic Gate Opening Systems Market 2025 | Nice S.p.A., The Chamberlain Group Inc., TiSO Company, CAME BPT UK, PILOMAT s.r.l., Macs Automated Bollard Systems Ltd, RIB srl, Gandhi Automations Pvt Ltd, The automatic barriers help to a great level in keeping up congested traffic rapidly by limiting access to the authorized workforce as it were. In addition, these automatic barriers are combined with different kinds of access control systems, for example, keypads, contactless smart cards, hands-free access systems, intercom call routing, amid others, to make the access simpler. Expanding requirement, as well as utilization of automatic barriers all over residential areas as well as transportation hubs to improve security in addition to safety all over the region, is assessed to fuel the expansion of the automatic barriers and along these lines, automatic gate opening systems over the years to come. All over each industry, the launch of cutting-edge technology and equipment has prompted industrial upgrading, prompting towards various benefits, for example, superior product consistency, higher door surface smoothness along with more exact size. In addition, the gate sector is believed to move in the direction of intelligent improvement course as a result of the integrated access control system with multi-button design, battery backup option, and mechanical locks, amid others. Rising industrialization in developing nations, for example, South Africa, Brazil, and China are reckoned to fuel requirement for automatic gates all around the world for security and safety associated concerns over the years to come. The support from the government combined with expanding outsourcing of production endeavours from emerged countries has pushed industrialization in these developing economies. Request For Report Sample: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/upsample/120124683/Automatic-Gate-Opening-Systems-Market In the present situation, the worldwide market is foreseeing expansion in construction exercises as well as rising infrastructure investments which is also the main indicator driving the market. Upgradation of manufacturing innovation for these gates, set up of automatic bollards and simplicity of handle, rising requirement for automatic barriers all over residential and transportation applications are different indicators anticipated that would help the market development. The market is likewise anticipated that would confront a few challenges. The establishment of these gates isn't especially simple also owners decide on various styles of gates - automation type gates, gates built of various materials with various manners for the opening. The automatic gates, when contrasted with basic gates, have complex designs so as to work productively and efficiently in each way. Then again, automatic gates necessitate noteworthy investments when contrasted with basic ones, inferable from the different electronic, electrical and mechanical components coordinated with earlier gates. The best possible investigation of the site where the gates should be set up alongside the need for competent labors are the foremost evaluating indicators that prompt the staggering expense of gates. Request For Report TOC: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/TOC/120124683/Automatic-Gate-Opening-Systems-Market Manufacturing more intelligent linked devices, it requires a level of software and hardware technology adoption and innovation never been observed, and a lot of it has its underlying foundations in different businesses. That is why a majority of the companies are seen embracing organic business methodologies whereas level I and II organizations are highlighting on the inorganic business methodologies to accomplish their objectives and to reduce the competition and extend their regional footprint. Technological progressions have been boosting the sector that is going towards new prospects and pulls in new contestants or new companies. Recently in August 2018, Accenture (US) set in motion defense innovation hub together with the co-design office characteristics the blockchain, artificial intelligence, IoT demo space, and robotics, in Canberra (Australia), to provide a co-design functioning space for the Department of Defence and security organizations. Among the other major market players active in the market globally are Nice S.p.A., The Chamberlain Group Inc., TiSO Company, CAME BPT UK, PILOMAT s.r.l., Macs Automated Bollard Systems Ltd, RIB srl, Gandhi Automations Pvt Ltd, CASIT s.n.c. di C.C.Ramella & C., FAAC Group, PROTECO Srl, Ditec Entrematic, S M Dooromatics, Zhejiang Xianfeng Machinery Co., Ltd. along with Others. Report Analysis: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/upcomming/120124683/Automatic-Gate-Opening-Systems-Market 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 personalized 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 Research Report Insights (RRI 42 Joseph Street Port carling P0B 1J0 Muskoka, Ontario1 Phone - +1-631-721-4201 Website: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/ This release was published on openPR. Permanent link to this press release: Copy Please set a link in the press area of your homepage to this press release on openPR. openPR disclaims liability for any content contained in this release. Theres thousands of cars on Silhavy everyday. Theres no sidewalks, nobody walks on Silhavy. Cars have to back in to their residences, then it stops on Burlington Beach, Estes said. Its just a 500 yard residential street that will turn into a major thoroughfare. Our kids play here, our dogs are walked here, we have lot of neighborhood events going on right where all this traffic is going to be. Global Home Healthcare Market to reach USD 469.3 billion by 2025 Global Home Healthcare Market growth rate of more than 8.80 % https://www.planetmarketreports.com/report-sample/global-home-healthcare-market-forecasts-2018-2025 https://www.planetmarketreports.com/reports/global-home-healthcare-market-forecasts-2018-2025 The global home healthcare market is valued at USD 239 billion in 2017 and is anticipated to grow with a healthy growth rate of more than 8.80 % over the forecast period 2018-2025. Major trend for the global home healthcare market is increasing the prevalence of chronic diseases. Since, homecare for health offers personal care of chronic infectious and is very common and comfortable for the aging population. As a result, the adoption of home care would increase thereby, aiding the growth of the market across the forecast period.Increasing geriatric population is considered as a key driver for the global home healthcare market across the globe. Since elderly people prefer home healthcare as they are unable to travel to hospitals and clinics hence all the needed medication facilities are preferred at their homes. According to the Population Reference Bureau, in the year 2016 the number of American aged 65 or more is approx. 46 million which is projected to become more than double and will reach approx. 98 million by the year 2060, share in the total population of the people aged 65 and older age group will rise approx. from 15% to 24 %. Similarly, the Office for National Statistics United Kingdom estimates, in 2016 the population of the United Kingdom is 65.6 million and is projected to reach 74 million by 2039.For full details, you can buy the report, or request a free sample at @In 2016, 18% of UK population were aged 65 and over and 2.4 % of population were aged 85 and over. As geriatric population is more prone to the aforementioned complex diseases hence, they require continuous critical care diagnosis and treatment, and thus are expected to contribute towards the market growth. However, changing reimbursement policies is expected to hinder the growth of the market during the forecast period.Based on segmentation, the home healthcare market is segmented into product, services, software and type of telehealth solution. The product segment of global home healthcare market is classified into testing, screening, & monitoring products, therapeutic product and home healthcare mobility care products of which mobility care segment is expected to grow at a highest CAGR owing to the growing demand for personal independence and ease of use.On the basis of service segment, the market is diversified into skilled nursing services, rehabilitation therapy services, hospice and palliative care services, unskilled care services, respiratory therapy services, infusion therapy services and pregnancy care services of which infusion therapy services hold the leading position due to its cost-effectiveness feature. The software segment is classified into agency software, clinical management systems and hospice solutions. The type of telehealth solution segment is diversified into home telehealth software, home telehealth servicesand home telehealth monitoring devices.The regional analysis of home healthcare market is considered for the key regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and ROW. North America dominates the home healthcare market owing to the well-established medical infrastructure along with the increasing healthcare expenditure. Whereas, Asia-Pacific is expected to emerge as the fastest growing region in terms of market share. The growth of Asia-Pacific region is witnessed owing to government efforts to improve healthcare infrastructure and unmet medical needs in emerging economies. As a result, the adoption of home healthcare would increase across Asia-Pacific region over the forecast period.The leading market players include-o GE Healthcareo Omrono Mckessono Rocheo A&D Companyo Bayada Home Health Careo Philipso Abbott Laboratorieso Amedisyso Kindred HealthcareThe objective of the study is to define market sizes of different segments & countries in recent years and to forecast the values to the coming eight years. The report is designed to incorporate both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the industry within each of the regions and countries involved in the study. Furthermore, the report also caters the detailed information about the crucial aspects such as driving factors & challenges which will define the future growth of the market. Additionally, the report shall also incorporate available opportunities in micro markets for stakeholders to invest along with the detailed analysis of competitive landscape and product offerings of key players.The detailed segments and sub-segment of the market are explained below:By Producto Testing, Screening, & Monitoring Productso Therapeutic Productso Home Healthcare Mobility Care ProductsBy Service:o Skilled Nursing Serviceso Rehabilitation Therapy Serviceso Hospice and Palliative Care Serviceso Unskilled Care Serviceso Respiratory Therapy Serviceso Infusion Therapy Serviceso Pregnancy Care servicesBy Software:o Agency Softwareo Clinical Management systemso Hospice solutionsBy Type of telehealth solution:o Home telehealth softwareo Home Telehealth serviceso Home telehealth monitoring devicesBy Regions:o North Americao U.S.o Canadao Europeo UKo Germanyo ROEo Asia Pacifico Chinao Indiao Japano ROAPECo LAMEAo Brazilo Mexicoo ROWo Middle East & AfricaFurthermore, years considered for the study are as follows:Historical year 2015, 2016Base year 2017Forecast period 2018 to 2025Target Audience of the Global Home Healthcare Market in Market Study:o Key Consulting Companies & Advisorso Large, medium-sized, and small enterpriseso Venture capitalistso Value-Added Resellers VARso Third-party knowledge providerso Investment bankerso InvestorsGet More Information about this Report @About Us:Planet Market Reports gives statistical surveying reports to businesses, people and associations with a goal of helping them in their decision-making process. We have a huge database of market research reports & company profiles across the globe. We associated with global market research a publisher who has a wide range of research specialists & industry experts which provides you deeper penetration of the market research industry.We have statistical surveying reports from a number of top publishers and update our reports collections on daily basis with most recent research data to furnish our customers with the moment online access to our database. With access to this database, our customers will be able to benefit from expert insights on worldwide businesses, items, and market patterns. We help you in your buy choice by mapping your data needs with our immense accumulation of reports.Contact US:-Email-Id: sales@planetmarketreports.comUS : +1-716-2260907Organization: Planet Market Reports Solar Water Heater Market 2025 | Genersys, EMMVEE Solar Systems, Phoneix Solar System, Nuetech Solar System, GE Co., Siemens AG, Rheem Manufacturing Co., Heat Transfer Products Inc., in addition to Rinnai Corp. https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/upsample/120124682/Solar-Water-Heater-Market https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/TOC/120124682/Solar-Water-Heater-Market https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/upcomming/120124682/Solar-Water-Heater-Market https://www.researchreportinsights.com/ An expanded market requirement of solar water heater is for the most part determined by growing awareness about different cost and the environment associated recipients of solar energy since it is green, free of cost, as well as renewal source of energy. In addition, the several backings from United Nations (UN) and government to emerging economies are driving the worldwide market for the solar water heater.The proficiency level of the solar water heater shifts from a climatic area to another climatic area in view of the power of daylight. The constraint of solar water heater in cold climatic region and winters is one of the prominent constraints of the overall market. With customers preferring high-effectiveness and tankless water heater design, the makers of water heater are concentrating on upgrading their products to keep up their status in the worldwide water heater market. A tankless water heater provides space-sparing advantages and is exceedingly proficient.Various Government Schemes and Programs to Boost the Solar Water Heater MarketGovernments in various nations are likewise boosting the utilization of natural resources of energy, hence fuelling the requirement for solar water heaters. The aspect that affects the solar category is the high price of ownership from the structured market in addition to inferior quality from the un-structured market which in turn heightens the upkeep cost. With innovations going in the industry will offer the bunch of products that will be able to cater to the needs of the customers. Energy effective hybrid water heaters are additionally being produced on a vast scale by makers.Request For Report Sample:Smart water heaters are likewise picking up status in the worldwide market for water heaters. These are outfitted with regulating and communication systems which could be carried off with the assistance of a mobile application or cell phones or even smart assistants, for example, thermostats. The majority of smart electric heaters are environment-friendly integrated with low power utilization measures. The electric water heaters are the leading market since it goes with lower maintenance and low ownership cost, thus it moreover dominates the global market in the approaching years. On the other hand, the business is moreover profited from, growing customers capability to pay for new water heaters along with the rise in the disposable income.Launching of green building standards and regulations to hold back greenhouse gas emissions are considered to positively influence the business setting. Technological innovation in voided tube collector figure is expected to diminish the cost as well as enhance the effectiveness of the solar thermal system would additionally further the demand for the product.Request For Report TOC:Refurbish of social housing schemes for lower income groups is indicated to fuel the Brazil market for the solar water heater. During August 2016, the United Nation relaunched the Minha Vida, Minha Casa, a social housing scheme for lower-income families which assigned installing of solar water heaters in new buildings.China is considered to be the biggest market for the solar water heater (SWH) capturing all over half of the overall market. It is trailed by Australia, Japan and India. The Asia Pacific market has the fastest developing business sector inferable from the regions vast capability of solar power generation. In the course of recent years both China and India are contributing intensely to the advancement of solar power based appliances and solar power generation.Chinas Himin Solar had witnessed a lucrative market a decade ago as the worlds biggest solar water-heating company. However owing to a shift in customer preference, the sales are plummeting at present. The company reflects as an exemplar of how big Chinese groups can scramble to accommodate to their quick-shifting domestic market. A few prominent market players functioning in the Asia Pacific market for solar water heater are Genersys, EMMVEE Solar Systems, Phoneix Solar System, Nuetech Solar System, GE Co., Siemens AG, Rheem Manufacturing Co., Heat Transfer Products Inc., in addition to Rinnai Corp.Report Analysis: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 personalized 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 trendsResearch Report Insights (RRI42 Joseph StreetPort carling P0B 1J0Muskoka, Ontario1Phone - +1-631-721-4201Website: Wireless Connectivity Market 2019 by Global Leaders: Texas Instruments, Cypress Semiconductor, Microchip Technology, Nexcom International, Bernafon Canada, Intel https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2148 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/wireless-connectivity-market-2148 Market Research Future published a research report on Wireless Connectivity Market Research Report- Global Forecast to 2023 Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023.Market SynopsisGlobally, the wireless connectivity market is expected to grow from USD 45.21 billion in 2017 to USD 96.08 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 13.4% during the forecast period 20182023. With rapid advancement in radio frequencies, internet, and IoT are making way into the market. Growing demand for IoT and increasing demand for cloud computing are expected to drive the wireless connectivity market during forecast period. Increased demand for wireless sensor networks for creating smart infrastructure, advancements in the telecommunications industry, and high adoption of smartphones is also expected to drive the wireless connectivity market during forecast period. However, high power consumption by wireless sensors, terminals, and connected devices and lack of uniform communication standards is expected to restrain the market during forecast period.Wireless connectivity is a technique used for communication networks, enterprise connections, and homes to reduce the complex cable networks across buildings. The basis of wireless systems are radio waves which takes place at physical level of a network. Wireless connectivity use radio waves to connect the devices such as laptop to the Internet. GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi are becoming universal for many devices such including smartphones. The business demand has grown for the wireless connectivity technologies to improve operational efficiency, faster decision making capability, and cost saving.Get Sample of Report @By technology, the market is segmented into Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, ultra wide band, NFC, cellular, zigbee and others. Bluetooth is a wireless technology used to transfer data between two devices. The key features of Bluetooth are less power consumption, available at chip rate, and less complications. Wi-Fi is a type of radio wave that is broadcasted from a Wi-Fi router. It is a two way communication channel and works as similar as AM/FM radio. Wi-Fi consumes low power and is mainly used for long distances than infrared or Bluetooth. Zigbee is a open source global standard designed for transfering low-power digital radio signals for personal area networks. Zigbee is especially used for creating networks which requires low data rate, energy efficiency, and secured network. Zigbee is a system which is simple in design and less expensive than other network technologies such as Bluetooth.Key PlayersThe prominent players in the market of Wireless connectivity market are Texas Instruments Inc. (U.S.), STMicroelectronics N.V. (Switzerland), Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (U.S.), Microchip Technology Inc. (U.S.), Qualcomm Incorporated. (U.S.), Weidmuller Interface GmbH & Co. (U.S.), Nexcom International Co., Ltd. (Taiwan), Bernafon Canada Ltd. (Canada), Intel Corporation. (U.S.) and MediaTek Inc. (Taiwan) among others.Industry SegmentsThe worldwide wireless connectivity industry has been divided into deployment, technology and applications. The technology division includes Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, cellular, ultra wide band and others. The deployment category contains gateways, control devices, cloud and others. The application category consists of public safety, healthcare, energy, wearable devices, consumer electronics, automotive and others.Regional AnalysisThe region wise study of this market states that North America is anticipated to boost the market owing to the intense research and development activities in the field of wireless connectivity, growth of a number of IoT, high penetration of Internet of Things, and cloud start-ups in the region which is trailed by the European and Asia Pacific market. The Asia-Pacific region is anticipated to develop owing to growth in the level of investments in the internet of things sector and various other industry verticals such as healthcare, manufacturing and transportation among others. Surge in the number of mobile user and also of many wearable devices is estimated to contribute for the development of the wireless connectivity market. The North American region is estimated to hold the top market share due to the presence of early technology adopters in the region. The region is also helped by the existence of technologically progressive countries such as U.S. and Canada which are encouraging the wireless connectivity market.Industry Updates:Feb 2018 Ruckus Networks has declared recently that it has finalized an international original equipment manufacturing (OEM) agreement with Dell EMC. The agreement enables Dell EMCs networking sales team and end-user clientele access to Ruckus brand presence and assortment of secure wireless connectivity solutions which is not accessible through other suppliers. Dell EMC will bring Ruckus range of wireless solutions as Dell-branded solutions comprising controllers, secure network access software, access points, virtualised and data analytics assets along with Ruckus IoT and CBRS LTE products.Feb 2018 Airgain Inc which is a wireless connectivity platforms company, has recently agreed on a multi-year partnership with McLaren Technology Group to boost technological progression in the automotive sector. The association will permit the organizations to discover the co-creation of wireless connectivity solutions. Airgain will also help McLaren Racing incorporate technology on-car, off-car and at the McLaren Technology Centre. Airgain has an assortment of connectivity solutions and knowledge in antenna uses for public safety, government and enterprise uses.Get complete Report @Intended Audience: Original equipment manufacturers Wireless device manufacturers Software providers Component providers Manufacturers of electronic devices Investors Industrial end users Research institutesAbout Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Media Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Less Lethal Ammunition Market Projected to reach $1,106 million by 2023 | Key players include Federal Ammunition, Nonlethal Technologies, Rheinmetall AG and ST Engineering MarketsandMarkets https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/less-lethal-ammunition-market-252593903.html https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=252593903&utm_source=OpenPR https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalystNew.asp?id=252593903&utm_source=OpenPR According to the new market research report on "Less Lethal Ammunition Market by End User (Law Enforcement, Military, Self Defense), Product (Rubber Bullets, Bean Bag Rounds, Plastic Bullets, Paintballs), Weapon Type (Shotguns, Launchers), and Region - Global Forecast to 2023", The less lethal ammunition market is projected to grow from USD 828 million to USD 1,106 million by 2023, at a CAGR of 5.95% from 2018 to 2023. This growth can be attributed to the rising incidences of civil unrest, political disputes, and threats from extremist groups globally.Browse 94 market data Tables and 33 Figures spread through 156 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Less Lethal Ammunition Market - Global Forecast to 2023"View detailed Table of Content here -Based on end user, the law enforcement segment is expected to lead the less lethal ammunition market during the forecast period.Based on end user, the law enforcement segment is estimated to lead the less lethal ammunition market from 2018 to 2023. Less lethal ammunition is widely used by law enforcement agencies to disperse the riots and crowd control. With the increasing controversial shooting fatalities involving law enforcement personnel, a growing number of law enforcement agencies and departments are looking for ways to eliminate fatal encounters between officers and citizens. This factor is expected to drive the law enforcement segment during the forecast period.Request for Customization @The rubber bullets segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.Based on product, the less lethal ammunition market is segmented into rubber bullet, bean bag rounds, polyethylene/plastic bullet, OC/CS and smoke munitions, flash bang rounds, paintballs, and others. The rubber bullet segment is estimated to lead the less lethal ammunition market in 2018 and is also projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Rubber bullets are similar to standard ammunition but are made of rubber instead of lead, and are fired at slower velocities compared to lead projectiles. Rubber bullet rounds have commonly been used by law enforcement agencies in riot-control situations that are designed to incapacitate targets without causing lasting harm. For instance, the US police used rubber bullets and tear gas on protesters outside Portland detention center in 2018. In addition, Argentina fired rubber bullets and other less lethal devices at protesters who marched in front of the Congress against the upcoming 2019 Budget Bill, which contains steep spending cuts aimed at erasing the countrys fiscal deficit.Asia Pacific is projected to be the fastest-growing market for less lethal ammunition during the forecast period.Factors such as border terrorism, territorial disputes between countries, deteriorating security situation, complex political environment, violence by right-wing extremist groups, and uncertain economic circumstances are expected to drive the less lethal ammunition market during the forecast period.China is estimated to account for the largest share of the Asia Pacific less lethal ammunition market in 2018. This rapid growth can be attributed to the increasing research & development activities undertaken in the region for the development of advanced less lethal impact munitions.Speak to Analyst @Companies such as The Safariland Group (US), Combined Systems, Inc. (US), Federal Ammunition (US), Nonlethal Technologies (US), Rheinmetall AG (Germany), ST Engineering (Singapore), Lightfield Ammunition Corporation (US), Winchester Ammunition (US), Security Devices International, Inc. (US), Lamperd Less Lethal, Inc. (Canada), Condor Non-Lethal Technologies (Brazil), Less Lethal Africa (South Africa), MAXAM Outdoors S.A. (Spain), and Sellier & Bellot (Czech Republic) are some of the leading players in the less lethal ammunition market.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.MarketsandMarketss flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledgestore" 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 SinghMarketsandMarkets INC.630 Dundee RoadSuite 430Northbrook, IL 60062USA : 1-888-600-6441sales@marketsandmarkets.com Auger Drilling Market Future Growth Strategies 2025 | Total Drilling Supply LLC, Beijing Cortech Drilling Equipment Co. Ltd. https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=305 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=305 https://www.tmrresearch.com/auger-drilling-market Global Auger Drilling Market: SnapshotAuger drilling involves the task of drilling through massive depths that are enough for mining companies to search for minerals seated well below the ground level. One of the distinct features of auger drilling is that it engages three blades attached to a hollow tube that hold the potential to cut through the earths surface. The hollow tube of an auger drill is capable of separating the samples under evaluation from the materials that are loosened because of the drilling activity.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Auger drilling is considered as an exploratory standard drilling technique which can help to easily analyze samples without causing them damage. Other drilling techniques such as percussion rotary air blast (RAB) drilling pose a great risk of damage to samples during their extraction. When it comes to soft soil and rock formations, auger drilling could be the best technique to apply for achieving the desired result. Auger drilling also cancels the risk of contamination as samples are directly blown into its hollow tube. Also regarded as an open front drilling method, auger drilling helps in the trenchless installation of pipelines.Auger drilling market is expected to prove itself quite advantageous for mining companies as it usually yields larger pieces of samples which are easier to analyze and acquire accurate representation of those below the surface. Besides facilitating miners to reach to enormous depths, auger drilling does not necessitate the casing of holes created during the drilling process. Auger drilling machines could be easily and quickly moved between different locations when required.Global Auger Drilling Market: OverviewAugur drilling is used for drilling holes into the surface with the help of a chiseled tip. It exhibits a rotational penetration technique to drill holes. The technique comes handy especially for environmental purposes and is also carried out during geotechnical sampling. However, it is due its rising use in construction and mining activities that the global augur drilling market is gaining pace.The report auger drilling market presents a holistic study, covering the various aspects of the market, vis-a-vis, manufacturing cost structure, supply chain analysis, investment feasibility, vendor landscape, segmentation based on various criteria, and factors influencing its trajectory. It is compiled to help stakeholders analyze the prevailing dynamics of the market better. The report also encompasses exhaustive information intended to provide readers a granular analysis of the global augur drilling market and opportunities prevalent therein.Request TOC of the Report @Global Auger Drilling Market: Trends and OpportunitiesAugur drilling is an advanced technology that offers faster rate of penetration and has a low operational cost. These are the chief drivers of the global auger drilling market. Furthermore, these drills are easy to maintain and operate, which aids their demand. However, due to their nature, augur drills are used only for drilling soft materials, which could be looked upon as a restraint. Furthermore, augur drilling is slow when compared to more automated drilling techniques. It also involved handling heavy equipment. These are a few structural challenges, which limit the scope for the markets expansion to an extent.Nevertheless, the auger drilling market is forecast to gain from the increasing construction activities in developing nations. While, the time required for performing auger drilling could hamper its growth, the market will witness accelerated pace of gains as the demand for minerals and metals derived from the earths crust increase.Global Auger Drilling Market: Key SegmentsThe global augur drilling market can be segmented based on type of augurs used for drilling. Broadly, the market can be bifurcated into bucket augur and flight augur. Of these, flight augur is the most commonly used machine. In this type of drilling, cuttings are produced and brought to the surface using the helical edges of drill bit. Another type to have gained significant demand in the market is the bucket augur. In this method, the cuttings are first collected in a bucket from the surface. They are hinged at the bottom of the bucket, which is why extensions are required based on the depth of borehole. The method is mostly used for drilling in construction projects and mine shafts.Besides this, augurs are also available on various sizes. Small size augurs for instance are installed on trucks and are used in smaller projects, whereas the ones larger in size are used for building bridge foundations. The report provides in-depth analysis of the various factors supporting the auger drilling markets growth as well as those restraining its trajectory across the aforementioned segments.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Auger Drilling Market: Vendor LandscapeTo study the competition prevailing in the market, the report profiles some of the leading vendors operating therein. It determines the strengths and weaknesses of these companies based on results obtained from the SWOT analysis. The study also identifies the opportunities and threats that these companies are likely to witness through the course of the forecast period.Currently, enterprises such as American Drilling Rigs, Total Drilling Supply LLC, Beijing Cortech Drilling Equipment Co. Ltd., Jewett Construction Inc., Shanghai Yizhe Industry Co. Ltd., Zhengzhou Hanfa Imp & Exp Trading Co. Ltd., Triumph Rig, Drilling Structures International Inc., and Fabrication among others. Innovative strategies adopted by these companies to gain competitiveness have profound impact on the global augur drilling market.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Vitiligo Drugs Market 2026 Opportunities And Trends By Leading Players like - AXIM Biotechnologies, Dr. Reddys Laboratories, Boston Pharmaceutical, Castle Creek Pharma Vitiligo Drugs www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/2447 www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-pdf/2447 Vitiligo is a skin condition characterized by white patches on the skin. It is also known as skin depigmentation. In skin depigmentation, the skin's pigment-making cells known as melanocytes are lost or destroyed, which result into patches. The patches of affected skin appear white and usually have sharp margins. In most of the cases, the patches emerge on the skin, which is more exposed to sunlight. Although the disease can occur at any age, it is more observed in the mid-twenties. Although the disease does not affect the physical health of a person, it creates concerns about physical appearance and ethical identity of the person. The exact cause of Vitiligo is not known.Request a Sample Copy Of This Business Report:Vitiligo drugs market is expected to witness significant growth, owing to development of new therapies for vitiligo. For instance, in Feb 2018, researchers at Yale University School of Medicine discovered a new therapy for the treatment of vitiligo. The therapy can aid in returning the color of depigmented skin due to vitiligo. The new combination therapy includes oral medication of Xeljanz (tofacitinib) and ultraviolet-B light therapy. Xeljanz is used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and ultraviolet B (UVB) light therapy is an effective treatment for psoriasis. UVB penetrates the skin and slows the growth of affected skin cells.Moreover, increasing pipeline studies to develop new drugs for the treatment of vitiligo is expected to drive vitiligo drugs market growth. For instance, in December 2016, Nicolaus Copernicus University initiated the phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trial for Atorvastatin calcium salt and Simvastatin-acid sodium salt. The study has been initiated for the evaluation of vitiligous lesions repigmentation after the administration of Atorvastatin calcium salt and Simvastatin-acid sodium salt in patients with active vitiligo. The study is estimated to complete by April 2019.Key players operating in the global vitiligo drugs market include, AXIM Biotechnologies, Dr. Reddys Laboratories, Boston Pharmaceutical, Castle Creek Pharma, Dermavant Sciences, JN Biosciences, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Incyte Corporation, Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, and Galderma laboratories (Nestle Skin Health).Download the PDF brochure:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Mr.ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email:sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Decorative Concrete Market 2019 Size, Share, Trends, Segments and Regional Overview With Leading Players Overview- Sika, HeidelbergCement, LafargeHolcim, Boral, BASF, PPG Industries, Mcknight Custom Concrete and Deco-Crete Decorative Concrete https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4698 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/4698 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/press-release/decorative-concrete-industry Global Decorative Concrete Market Information Report, By Type (Stamped Concrete, Stained Concrete, Concrete Dyes, Polishing Concrete and Others), By Application (Residential and Non-residential), End Use (Floors, Driveways, Walls, Patios, and others) and By Region - Forecast To 2023The prominent players in the global decorative concrete market include Sika AG (Switzerland), HeidelbergCement AG (Germany), LafargeHolcim Ltd (Switzerland), Boral Limited (Australia), Bomanite India (India), BASF SE (Germany), PPG Industries, Inc. (U.S.), Mcknight Custom Concrete, Inc.(U.S.), Deco-Crete, LLC (U.S.), Seacoast Concrete (U.S.) and among others.Get Sample Report with Complete TOC @Market Synopsis of Global Decorative Concrete Market:Geographically, the global decorative concrete market has majorly been divided as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World. Europe, of all the regions, has accounted for the largest market share, in 2016, followed by North America and Asia Pacific. Increasing up gradation, and repair & rehabilitation of the existing infrastructure, are driving the growth of the market in Europe. Germany and the U.K. are the major markets in Europe. In U.K., the construction values of both the public and private sectors are increasing continuously. This will create a huge demand for the market in the future. North America is the second largest region for the market. The U.S. is the major market in North America. Strong development in commercial and residential structures in the U.S., is anticipated to fuel the demand for market in the region.Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Increase in construction activities in countries such as China, Japan, India, and Indonesia in Asia Pacific region, is the major factor fuelling the growth of the market. Additionally, increase in industrialization, rising urbanized population, and growth in spending capacity are the factors favoring growth of the market in Asia Pacific region. China is one of the leading markets in the Asia Pacific region. Chinese Government issued several favorable policies for lowering the proportion of down payment for second house loans and exempting of sales tax for ordinary housing. This helped the recovery of commercial housing market, which is expected to be a positive influence on the growth of the market.For the purpose of this study, the global decorative concretes market has been divided into three segments such as by type, application and by end use. On the basis of types, the market has been segmented as stamped concrete, stained concrete, concrete dyes, polishing concrete and others. Among types, stamped concrete accounts for the largest market share. Stamped concrete is a continuous concrete surface that has been molded or stamped to appear very much like individual pavers, bricks, stone, or even wood. It is widely used in the exterior applications such as pool decks, driveways & sidewalks, and patios. The demand and rapid growth of stamped concrete are supported by its easy installation and higher strength. On the basis of end use, the market has been segmented as floors, driveways, walls, patios, and others. Among end-use, the floor segment accounted for the largest market share. It is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Based on applications, the market has been segmented as residential and non-residential. Residential segment accounted for the largest market share. Due to increasing population and urbanization, there has been a shift in the population in the urbanized areas, especially in developing nations. This transition leads to the increasing demand for homes and residential complexes. This drives the demand of the market from this sector. Non-residential segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Increased investment in new commercial constructions and renovation projects, increase demand from this sector.Hence, Global Decorative Concretes Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.2% during the forecast period 2018-2023Early Diners Are Offered Free Customization- Up to 20%Get Attractive Discount @Scope of ReportThe report for Global Decorative Concrete Market of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.Table Of Contents1 Executive Summary2 Research Methodology2.1 Scope Of The Study2.1.1 Definition2.1.2 Research Objective2.1.3 Assumptions2.1.4 Limitations2.2 Research Process2.2.1 Primary Research2.2.2 Secondary Research2.3 Market Size Estimation2.4 Forecast Model3 Market Dynamics3.1 Market Drivers3.2 Market Inhibitors3.3 Supply/Value Chain Analysis3.4 Porters Five Forces AnalysisContinued......Ask for your specific company profile and country level customization on reports.Get More Information on Decorative Concrete Market Research Report- Global Forecast to 2023 @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 Edibles.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Market Research FutureOffice No. 524/528Amanora ChambersMagarpatta RoadHadapsarPune -411028Maharashtra, India Drone Motors Market Evolving Technology Trends and Industry Analysis by Top Key Players (EMAX, Align, XXD, Sunnysky motors, X-teamrc, Hobbymate, Shenzhen Feijun Electrical Motor, TTF ) Future Prospects 2019 2025 Drone Motors Market https://www.orianresearch.com/request-sample/819988 https://www.orianresearch.com/enquiry-before-buying/819988 https://www.orianresearch.com/checkout/819988 www.orianresearch.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/13281002/ Drone Motors Market 2019 comprehensive research report includes a brief on these trends that can help the businesses operating in the industry to understand the market and strategize for their business expansion accordingly. The research report analyzes the market size, industry share, growth, key segments, CAGR and key drivers.Get Sample Copy of this Report -The Global Drone Motors market 2019 research provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Global Drone Motors market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status. 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.Global Drone Motors Industry 2019 Market Research Report is spread across 116 pages and provides exclusive vital statistics, data, information, trends and competitive landscape details in this niche sector.Inquire more or share questions if any before the purchase on this report @Global Drone Motors market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the TOP PLAYERS including Sunnysky motors XXD Align X-teamrc Hobbymate Shenzhen Feijun Electrical Motor EMAX TTF The report provides insights on the following pointers:Product Analysis and Development: Detailed insights on upcoming technologies, research and development activities, and new product launches in the global Drone Motors market.Market Development: Comprehensive information about lucrative emerging markets is provided. The report also analyzes the markets for Drone Motors across various regions, exploits new distribution channels, new clientele base, and different pricing policies.Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new products, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investment decisions in the global Drone Motors market. Detailed description regarding the related and unrelated diversification pertaining to this market is also provided.Competitive Assessment: An in-depth assessment of market shares and company share analysis of the key players, which is forecast till 2025 is provided. The business strategies and manufacturing capabilities of leading players are offered for the major companies in the Drone Motors market.Order a copy of Global Drone Motors Market Report 2019 @Drone Motors Breakdown Data by Type Brush Motor Brushless MotorDrone Motors Breakdown Data by Application Commercial Drones Consumer DronesScope of the Report: To analyze global Drone Motors status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players. To present the Drone Motors development in United States, Europe and China. To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their development plan and strategies. To define, describe and forecast the market by product type, market and key regions.About Us:Orian Research is one of the most comprehensive collections of market intelligence reports on the World Wide Web. Our reports repository boasts of over 500000+ industry and country research reports from over 100 top publishers. We continuously update our repository so as to provide our clients easy access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, and products. We also specialize in custom research in situations where our syndicate research offerings do not meet the specific requirements of our esteemed clients.Contact Us:Ruwin MendezVice President Global Sales & Partner RelationsOrian Research ConsultantsUS: +1 (415) 830-3727 | UK: +44 020 8144-71-27Email: info@orianresearch.comWebsite:Follow Us on LinkedIn: Inclusive Evaluation of Relocation Management Software Market 2019 Segmentation & Competitive Landscape With Top Key Vendors Like ReloTalent, Orion Mobility, MCS Solutions, mLINQS, RMW, Gerson Relocation, ReloAssist Relocation Management Software Market https://www.researchnreports.com/request_sample.php?id=230832 https://www.researchnreports.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=230832 https://www.researchnreports.com/enquiry_before_buying.php?id=230832 The Relocation Management Software Market 2019 Report provides a comprehensive overview of the global market size and market share. The market report also provides a five-year prehistory and forecast of the sector and includes data on global socio-economic data. Key stakeholders can take into account the statistics, tables and figures mentioned in this report for strategic planning that leads to organizational success.The global Relocation Management Software Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of close to +14% during the period 2019-2026.Ask For Sample Copy of This Report:Relocation management software provides relocation solutions to HR and mobility professionals. The software includes tools that corporate and mobility professionals need to track, manage, and manage relocation benefits and programs.Top Key Vendors: ReloTalent, Orion Mobility, MCS Solutions, mLINQS, RMW, Gerson Relocation, ReloAssist, UrbanBound, NuCompass, Equus Software, SignatureThe competitive landscape of the global Relocation Management Software Market has been analyzed by analyzing major domestic and foreign companies. The purpose of this research report is to provide analytical aspects of the business. In addition, researchers can help different stakeholders understand the pulse of the global market by illuminating various business parameters. Provides information that can be effectively applied. This can be an effective way for companies, decision makers and investors to make informed business decisions.Early buyers will receive up to 40% discount on exclusive report:It has been aggregated on various Relocation Management Software Market segments and sub-segments to clearly understand the market. SWOT analysis and Porter's five analyzes were used by analysts. Charts, tables, graphs, and pictures were used while displaying various statistics in the report. It help to make informed business decisions.Relocation Management Software Market report offers business insights on the following key pointers:-Market Penetration-Product/ services developments-Competitive landscape of the market via competitive assessment-Analysis of top key players-Elaboration of key trends, technological advancements, tools, and platforms-different sales approaches-Analysis of global opportunities-The global economic impact on companies-Global demand-supply chain analysis-Analysis of global trading like import, export, local consumption-The regional outlook of the market across the globeEnquiry before buying this report:About Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently, we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.Contact us:Mr. Sunny Denis10916, Gold Point, Dr, Houston, TX - 77064.Contact No. +1-888-631-6977sales@researchnreports.com(Research N Reports) Mobile Phone Accessories Market Size, Share, Growth, Shipment, Sales, Pricing Forecast, Installed Bases at an estimated CAGR of 6.6% & Forecast, 2017-2027 Mobile phone accessories Market https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-5338 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-the-analyst/rep-gb-5338 Rapid technological advancements and tremendous penetration of mobile technology have been pushing the demand for mobile phone accessories over the past decade. The global market for mobile phone accessories will possibly witness robust growth in the near future, as indicated by a recent mobile phone accessories market examination by Future Market Insights (FMI) over a 10-year forecast period 2017-2027. FMI foresees impressive growth of the mobile phone accessories market during the forecast period, at an estimated CAGR of 6.6%.Get Sample Copy of Report @Rapidly Growing Consumer Inclination towards Smartphone Usage Boosting Sales of Mobile Phone Accessories in Developing EconomiesIncreasing adoption of smartphones and tablets are likely to promote immense opportunities to key players in the mobile phone accessories market. Furthermore, growing population and urbanization, especially in developing regions such as Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa, are anticipated to contribute to the demand for mobile phone accessories market during the forecast period. As indicated by FMIs study on the global mobile phone accessories market, the growth is substantially driven by increasing disposal income pushing the purchasing power of consumers in developing countries. However, piracy poses a major threat to the growth of mobile phone accessories market, as the market has been witnessing growing inclination of a sizable population towards the cost effective counterfeit products especially in developing countries. Additionally, lack of standardization in manufacturing mobile phone accessories will hamper the market growth to a greater extent.Advancing trends of online shopping and e-banking have significantly influenced the use of smartphones, sequentially fueling the growth of mobile phone accessories market. Furthermore, the key players in mobile phone accessories market increasingly relying on high potential distribution channels such as multi-brand distributors and online shopping sites to gain a competitive advantage.APEJ to Witness Significant Growth in Global Mobile Phone Accessories MarketMore than 50% share of the global mobile phone accessories market revenue is collectively contributed by North America, Western Europe, and Asia Pacific excluding Japan. The FMI report estimates that the revenue contribution of APEJ in mobile phone accessories market will see a significant expansion at a robust pace during the forecast period. China is expected to remain the largest shareholder in this region, owing to growing consumer affluence and rampant urbanization.If You Have Any Query, Ask The Analyst @Power Bank to Witness Maximum Revenue Growth over Other Types of Mobile Phone AccessoriesNumerous options such as USB plug-in power bank, portable solar panel power bank, and pocket-size units are gaining popularity across the globe. In order to expand the customer base, power bank manufacturers are also focusing on delivering highly innovative products which will influence the growth of mobile phone accessories market through 2027. Europe leads in the sales of power bank owing to the presence of organized multi-brand stores. Furthermore, latest developments in power banks such as LED torch and digital charge indicators are anticipated to attract more customers.On the basis of product type, protective cases are also likely to register robust growth as they have high popularity as a fashion accessory. This further influences the key players to manufacture trendy and attractive products and in turn contribute in shaping the mobile phone accessories market.For more critical insights on the overall performance of global mobile phone accessories market, feel free to contact the team of expert research analysts at press@futuremarketinsights.comABOUT 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 With the routine speeding traffic stop now turned onto an OWI investigation, Officer Dolan exercised his discretion and decided not to cite Marshall for speeding, later explaining: I knew he was going to have plenty of money problems and legal problems ahead of him that were going to be costly and I decided to cut him a break on the citation for speeding, the opinion states. Surgical Robots Industry (Market) Growth Analysis By Top Key Players 2018-2025 https://bit.ly/2BRXDZW https://bit.ly/2StsXU7 https://bit.ly/2T3C1Ek This report studies the Surgical Robots market status and outlook of global, from angles of players, regions, product types and end industries; this report analyzes the top players in global market, and splits the Surgical Robots market by product type and application/end industries.Request Sample At:The global Surgical Robots market was XX million US$ in 2017 and is expected to XX million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2017 and 2025.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share and growth Rate of Surgical Robots in these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringNorth America (United States, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Turkey etc.)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam))South America (Brazil etc.)Enquire About Report At:Middle East and Africa (North Africa and GCC Countries)The major companies in this report includingIntuitive SurgicalStrykerRestoration RoboticsMedtech S.AMazor RoboticsTHINK SurgicalMedroboticsTransEnterixBy the product type, the market is primarily split intoLaparoscopyOrthopedicsOthersAccess Full Report @By the end users/application, this report covers the following segmentsOpen SurgeryBig 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 you 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 Cryptocurrency Market 2018: Business Analysis, Overview, Scope, Size, Forecast 2025 Global Cryptocurrency Market https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/927 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/talk-to-analyst/927 Cryptocurrency market can be subtly defined as the value of the digital entries in a database that cannot be changed without the fulfillment of the specific defined conditions. It was designed by Satoshi and quoted as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, which was further realized as an exchange medium that can be electronically created and stored in the blockchain using cryptography to control the creation of additional units. Owing to its limited supply and the potential as an alternative to conventional currency, the technology has gained considerable interests, and is projected to witness CAGR of 56.2% over the forecast period (2017-2025).Request Sample Copy of Research Report @Market DynamicsProminent drivers fueling cryptocurrency market growth include the enhanced security through distributed control and utilization of block chain, mainly owing to the limited supply and the growing requirement of intensive infrastructure to mine new units. However, growing number of illegal activities owing to decentralized control, lack of regulatory bodies to efficiently track the transactions, are among the prominent drawbacks of the market growth. Moreover, high volatility of the value over the past few months, outright ban in the countries such as Bangladesh, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, and Ecuador, are expected to hinder the market growth over the forecast period. Growing popularity of the digital assets is expected to drive the government bodies of major global economies to establish regulatory framework, which would in turn, expected to drive the cryptocurrency market growth across the globe.Drawbacks in the scalability and its legalization hindering the market growthAs of September 2017, the industry is estimated to be valued at around US$ 166 billion (according to CoinMarketCap), is still too far from actual user penetration. Number of users participating in the ecosystem is expected to witness considerable surge, led to the increase in the scalability issues. However, regulations and legalization are expected to be the prominent factors that will hinder the cryptocurrency market growth. For instance, in 2017, regulations in China banned the initial coin offerings (ICO) and halted the trading of virtual currencies, mainly due to the lack of centralized control. However, many other developed and emerging countries are planning initiatives to legalize these currencies. U.S., Singapore, Russia, and Switzerland are among the prominent countries that are expected to witness considerable penetration over the forecast period.Global Key Players:Some of the most valued currencies in the cryptocurrency market include Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple, Peercoin, Dogecoin, Dash, NEM, and Namecoin. Top ten cryptocurrency industries acquire shares of over 85% of the global capital. Some of the major players operating in the global cryptocurrency market include Bitfinex, BitFury Group Limited, Bitstamp Ltd., Coinbase, Coinsecure, Litecoin, OKEX Fintech Company Limited, Poloniex Inc., Ripple, Unocoin Technologies Private Limited, and ZEB IT Service Pvt. Ltd.Detailed Segmentation:Global Cryptocurrency Market, By Industry Component:-Exchanges-Small Exchanges-Large Exchanges-Wallets-Registered Corporations-Volunteer ProjectsPayments-Payment rail-Money Transfer Services-B2B Payments-Cryptocurrency payments-Merchant Services-General Purpose Cryptocurrency PlatformMining-Mining-Mining Pool-Mining Hardware Manufacturing-Cloud Mining Services-Remote Hosting ServicesAsk For Discount Before Purchasing This Business Report @About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com E-Cigarette and Vaping Market is Growing Rapidly at a CAGR of +23.8% with Top Key Players like Altria Group, Inc., British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, Japan Tobacco International E-Cigarette and Vaping Market https://www.reportconsultant.com/request_sample.php?id=4431 https://www.reportconsultant.com/ask_for_discount.php?id=4431 www.reportconsultant.com The report on the E-Cigarette and Vaping Market is a complete overview of the market, covering various aspects of product definition, segmentation based on various parameters, and the prevailing vendor landscape. It compiles in-depth information and research methodologies. It is also combined with relevant charts and tables to enable readers to get a better perspective of this global market.E-cigarette is a battery-operated device that is considered as a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes. The industry is non-uniformly regulated as effects of the devices are under review. Large tobacco companies have flourished by introducing these devices through various brands that cater to different requirements, thereby enhancing quality and level of customization of the products. Vaping is considered to be an effective method to quit smoking, as it is less toxic and creates vapor instead of smoke.Global E-Cigarette and Vaping Market is set to grow at a thriving CAGR of +23.8% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2026.Get Sample Copy of Report @Top Key Players:Altria Group, Inc., British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, International Vapor Group, Japan Tobacco International, NicQuid, Philip Morris International Inc., R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company, Shenzhen IVPS Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen KangerTech Technology Co. Ltd.The E-Cigarette and Vaping Market is thoroughly defined in a ground-up manner and it presents analysis to offer the factors that are foreseeable to have a considerable and determinate influence on the markets developmental scenarios over the forecast period. Globally, areas such as, like North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa are examined to take great decisions in businesses. Effective policies are included in the report which gives tremendous response to scale up the businesses.Rising awareness of consuming safe, smokeless, and ash less tobacco is estimated to propel the market. Its adoption is estimated to increase, particularly among individuals willing to quit smoking or willing to smoke merely for recreation. Launch of new and innovative Vaping devices is also anticipated to foster the adoption of these devices.Ask for Discount on Report @E-Cigarette and Vaping Market Product Outlook: Disposable, Rechargeable, Modular DevicesE-Cigarette and Vaping Component Outlook: Atomizer, Method of Delivery (MOD), Cartomizer, E-liquidE-Cigarette and Vaping Distribution Channel Outlook: Online, RetailThe study throws light on the recent trends, technologies, methodologies, and tools, which can boost the performance of E-Cigarette and Vaping Market companies. For further market investment, it gives the depth knowledge of different market segments, which helps to tackle the issues in businesses. It includes effective predictions about the growth factors and restraining factors that can help to enlarge the businesses by finding issues and acquire more outcomes. Leading market players are studied to give a brief idea about competitions.If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Key Points Covered in Report:Industry OverviewE-Cigarette and Vaping Market AnalysisEnvironment AnalysisAnalysis of Revenue by ClassificationsAnalysis of Revenue by Regions and ApplicationsAnalysis of E-Cigarette and Vaping Market Status.Analysis of Industry Key PlayersSales Price and Gross Margin AnalysisE-Cigarette and Vaping Market Trader or Distributor AnalysisDevelopment Trend of IndustryIndustry Chain Suppliers of Sector with Contact InformationNew Project Investment Feasibility AnalysisConclusion of the Global E-Cigarette and Vaping Market ResearchAbout 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 Cybersecurity Market Outlook 2019-2025: Detail Analysis with Eminent Player like IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, McAfee, Cisco, and Symantec Cybersecurity Market https://www.adroitmarketresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/250 https://www.adroitmarketresearch.com/industry-reports/cyber-security-market https://www.adroitmarketresearch.com/researchreport/purchase/250 Adroit Market Research launched a study titled, Global Cybersecurity Market Size 2017 By Solution (Identity access management, End-point, Web security, Network, Security & vulnerability management (SVM), Messaging, Education & training, Consulting, Integration, Managed services and others), By Deployment type (Cloud and on premise), By Industry vertical (BFSI, ICT, Healthcare, Government, Manufacturing, Retail and others), By Region and Forecast 2018 to 2025. The study covers the global cybersecurity market value and volume for a period ranging from 2012 to 2025, where 2012 to 2017 imply the actual annual consumption with forecast between 2018 and 2025. The global cybersecurity market report also includes qualitative insights of the market such as drivers, restrains, value chain, regulatory framework, PESTLE analysis and Porters analysis. The value chain has been analyzed in detail covering key stages. Additionally, we have provided a glimpse of the global identity theft market. The global cybersecurity market 2018 gives a holistic view encompassing production, consumption, import and export for key regions and countries.Request for sample copy of Cybersecurity Market report at:The global cybersecurity market size is estimated to reach almost USD 395 billion by 2025 owing to the rise in data breaches globally. Year 2017 saw the most number of cybersecurity breaches with a total of 5,000 plus breaches and around 8 billion records exposed. Amongst these breaches, the theft from a cryptocurrency exchange in Japan was the biggest affecting computers worldwide with a ransomware attack called WannaCry and costing around USD 570 million.The increasing measures taken by governments and organizations of various countries worldwide also contribute majorly to the growth of cybersecurity market. For instance, the Australian Cyber Security Growth Network Ltd (ACSGN), which is a key initiative launched by the Australian government, identifies the cyber security growth and innovation to tackle cyber threats. Many governments across the globe are issuing new laws and regulations which challenge organizations to have the right cyber security controls in place and will require further security spending resulting in proliferation of cybersecurity market.Read more details of the report at:The evolution of cloud computing technologies is becoming the major driver of cybersecurity market. The increasing adoption of cloud computing has moved the potential area of cyber-attacks from the corporate network to the cloud networks managed by third party across different geographies. In the era of industry 4.0, the organizations are connected with their smart devices and networks. This offers a very lucrative target for the cyber criminals to penetrate more easily through the connected devices and networks. Hence, increasing adoption of IoT devices will help in the growth of cybersecurity market.The current cybersecurity market focuses mainly on the protecting the premises of organizations and companies. This includes preventing the cyber attackers from gaining access to the servers and training employees in order to prevent breaches. In future, the business to consumer aspect will play much bigger role as cybersecurity will enter into daily life activities such as cars and IoT devices which will eventually contribute to the cybersecurity services market.Cybersecurity is one of the major concerns for healthcare organizations and the economic impact by the breaches has risen dramatically since 2010. According to a study conducted by Ponemon Institute in 2016, 89% of healthcare organizations have experienced a data breach in past two years, costing the industry USD 6.2 billion. Thus, the cybersecurity market in healthcare sector is expected to grow at a CAGR above 20% in the forecast period.IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, McAfee, Cisco, and Symantec are the leading players present within the global cybersecurity market. These companies are focusing on expanding their presence in the global cybersecurity market over the next few years by adopting strategies such as mergers & acquisitions and product standardization. For instance, in November 2018, Symantec announced the acquisition of Appthority Inc. and Javelin Networks Inc., two startups focused on enterprise network protection.Key segments of the global cybersecurity marketDeployment type Overview, 2012-2025 (USD Million)CloudOn premiseSolution Overview, 2012-2025 (USD million)Identity access managementEnd-pointWeb securityNetwork, Security & vulnerability management (SVM)MessagingEducation & trainingConsultingIntegrationManaged servicesOthersIndustry vertical Overview, 2012-2025 (USD million)BFSIICTHealthcareGovernmentManufacturingRetailOthersRegional Overview, 2012-2025 (USD million)North AmericaS.CanadaEuropeUKGermanyRest of EuropeAsia-PacificJapanAustraliaRest of APACLatin AmericaMexicoBrazilRest of Latin AmericaMiddle East & AfricaEnquire more details of the report at:Adroit Market Research is an India-based business analytics and consulting company incorporated in 2018. Our target audience is a wide range of corporations, manufacturing companies, product/technology development institutions and industry associations that require understanding of a markets size, key trends, participants and future outlook of an industry. We intend to become our clients knowledge partner and provide them with valuable market insights to help create opportunities that increase their revenues. We follow a code Explore, Learn and Transform. At our core, we are curious people who love to identify and understand industry patterns, create an insightful study around our findings and churn out money-making roadmaps.Ryan JohnsonAccount Manager Global3131 McKinney Ave Ste 600, Dallas,TX75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: USA: +1 (214) 884-6068 / +91 9665341414 Global Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing (DFOS) Market to Witness a Pronounce Growth During 2024 Top Key players like Lockheed Martin,QinetiQ Group,CGG,Inc. https://www.marketresearchreportstore.com/reports/295289/global-distributed-fibre-optic-sensing-dfos https://www.marketresearchreportstore.com/reports/295289/global-distributed-fibre-optic-sensing-dfos https://www.marketresearchreportstore.com Market Research Report Store offers a latest published report on Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing (DFOS) Market Analysis and Forecast 2019-2025 delivering key insights and providing a competitive advantage to clients through a detailed report. The report contains 91 pages which highly exhibit on current market analysis scenario, upcoming as well as future opportunities, revenue growth, pricing and profitability.Click to view the full report TOC, figure and tables:The global Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing (DFOS) market is valued at xx million US$ in 2018 is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% during 2019-2025.This report focuses on Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing (DFOS) volume and value at global level, regional level and company level. From a global perspective, this report represents overall Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing (DFOS) market size by analyzing historical data and future prospect. Regionally, this report focuses on several key regions: North America, Europe, China and Japan.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversLockheed MartinNorthrop GrummanMagal Security SystemsQinetiQ GroupCGGBaker HughesSouthwest MicrowaveFotech SolutionsNKT PhotonicsFuture Fibre TechnologiesSilixaMarket Segment by Type, coversSingle-modeMulti-modeMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoOil and GasPower and UtilitySafety and SecurityCivil EngineeringFor More Information On This Report, Please Visit @Related Information:North America Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing (DFOS) Market Growth 2019-2024United States Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing (DFOS) Market Growth 2019-2024Asia-Pacific Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing (DFOS) Market Growth 2019-2024Europe Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing (DFOS) Market Growth 2019-2024EMEA Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing (DFOS) Market Growth 2019-2024Global Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing (DFOS) Market Growth 2019-2024China Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing (DFOS) Market Growth 2019-2024Customization Service of the Report :Market Research Report Store provides customization of reports as per your need. This report can be personalized to meet your requirements. Get in touch with our sales team, who will guarantee you to get a report that suits your necessities.About Us:Market Research Report Store (MRRS) is a professional organization related to market research reports in all directions .To provide customers with a variety of market research reports, MRRS cooperates with a large of famous market report publishers all over the world. Owing to our good service and the professional market reports in the wide range, MRRS enjoys a good reputation in the market. In pace with the development of MRRS, more and more customers and market report publishers choose to cooperate with us. As a specialized platform, MRRS upholds the supremacy of customers and aims to provide customers with better service and richer select.Contact USMarket Research Report StoreE-mail: info@marketresearchreportstore.comTel: +86-15521064060 00852-58197708(HK)Add: 17890 Castleton Street Suite 218 City of Industry CA 91748 United StatesWebsite: Opalesque Industry Update - Apex Group Ltd., the world's fifth largest fund administrator, announced the acquisition of Beacon Fund Services (Bermuda) Ltd, Beacon Corporate Services Ltd and Beacon Management Ltd. Apex is a portfolio company of Genstar Capital. The acquisition of Beacon, a well-established Bermuda-based fund administrator, adds further weight to Apex's hedge fund administration, corporate services and transfer agency solutions, while also adding $10bn in assets under administration to the Group's portfolio. Headquartered in Bermuda, Beacon was established in 1995 and delivers sophisticated service offerings to both offshore and domestic hedge funds and other international entities. Beacon's addition to the Apex Group is another strong strategic and cultural fit given its independent business model and focus on delivering a personal approach customer service. Beacon clients will see immediate value from the transaction, gaining access to an additional 28 jurisdictions as well as custody and depositary solutions plus corporate services, while retaining the value of working with an independent provider. This acquisition is the latest in a series of strategic transactions from Apex taking its AuA to $610 billion making it one of the largest service providers in the global fund administration space. In January this year the Group also signified its intention to branch out into the wider financial services market through the acquisition of the Corporate and Private Client Services ("CPCS") and Throgmorton businesses of Link Group's Asset Services division, further enhancing its offering to deliver a full global outsourcing solution. Terms of the agreement are not being disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval and is expected to be completed in Q2, 2019. Peter Hughes, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Apex Fund Services, said: "We have been focusing on expanding our capabilities into new markets over the past twelve months, evident through the like of the Link Asset Services and Warburg acquisitions, yet the addition of Beacon demonstrates our simultaneous dedication to continuing to improve and build-out the core service areas that Apex was founded on. As Apex itself was also established in Bermuda, this is a natural fit to expand our presence on the Island and I am looking forward to welcome the team to the Apex Group." Nitin Aggarwal, Chief Executive Officer, Beacon Fund Services, said: "At Beacon we have built our business on tailoring service solutions and opening up opportunities for our clients. Becoming part of the Apex Group at this exciting time of groundbreaking expansion will bring great opportunities to both our clients and employees, and is the next natural step in an ever-globalised asset management space. The range of products and services that will now become available to our clients, including cross-jurisdictional capabilities and expertise across multiple asset classes is extremely valuable. We feel that we have found the right home with Apex due to its ongoing commitment to expanding its service portfolio while maintaining its agility and independence as a provider." Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: U.S. credit manager CIFC Asset Management has announced the launch of the CIFC Global Floating Rate Credit, an open-ended, Irish collective portfolio management vehicle authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland as a UCITS, on the DMS UCITS Platform. The Fund's investment objective is to generate attractive long-term, risk-adjusted returns primarily by investing in and managing a portfolio of U.S. and European debt. The Fund will invest in some of the more liquid sectors of collateralised loan obligation (CLO) bonds, investing at least half of its funds in BBB-rated bonds. "DMS is delighted to be partnering with CIFC to facilitate its European UCITS fund and distribution strategy. CIFC is an extremely high-quality manager and our partnership demonstrates its commitment and confidence in the DMS product and its team. We look forward to working with CIFC to develop a successful and long-standing relationship," commented Conor MacGuinness, Managing Director of DMS Europe. CIFC Europe's Managing Director, Joshua Hughes added: "We believe the Fund will appeal to discretionary wealth managers, funds of funds managers and family offices who want to access the enhanced returns that the CLO market offers without the liquidity and diversification challenges that direct investments in CLOs would entail. The UCITS structure gives investors confidence and builds upon the quality of the team we have working on the management and di...................... To view our full article Click here In other business, the council voted 7-0 to add a court manager to the Porter County Prosecutors Office to assist with clerical duties. Prosecutor Gary Germann had requested two court managers, but for budgetary reasons, council members agreed to one for now, to be paid out of one of the funds associated with Germanns office, and said a second could be considered in the coming months and at budget hearings in the fall. Porter County received $2 million in Community Crossings matching grants for roadwork this year, a considerable bump up from the $870,000 the county got last year, and is ready to seek bids for an array of road projects as well as two bridges outside the scope of the grant money, officials said. The food trucks at Founders Square are not expected to offer any additional competition to businesses at the Promenade development, since they will park close to the amphitheater and well away from those businesses, Armstrong said. Its done: The 3.45 am call to NSA Doval after Balakot was hit and Operation Bandar was competed When JeMs Balakot facility found a mention in US secret documents International oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa Washington, Feb 27: Fifteen years ago, the major terrorist training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan's Balakot found a mention in a purported secret US defence department file leaked by WikiLeaks. The memorandum talks about a Pakistani national Hafez K Rahman, a Guantanamo detainee, who was 20-years-old and born in Gujrar, Pakistan, who turned out to be a jihadi. How PM Modi and the top brass monitored the air strike on JeM camps The January 31, 2004 document, signed by Major General Geoffery Miller of the US army says Rahman received training in Balakot, Pakistan, a location known to house a "training camp that offers both basic and advanced terrorist training on explosives and artillery". It says Rahman has admitted to volunteering to fight jihad against the US and its allies, remaining after the events of September 11 to continue to fight, and receiving training from the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). The JeM espouses jihad against the US and is directly supported by Al-Qaida, General Miller wrote. It says Rahman was influenced by extremist Mullahs in Pakistan and decided he would go to jihad in support of the Taliban. "Detainee traveled to Zahir, Pakistan, and attended a training camp run by the JeM," he wrote. Miller also described JeM as a Tier 1 terrorist group, especially those with state support, that have demonstrated the intention and the capability to attack US persons or interests. How the IAF strike at Balakot unfolded: All the updates here After completing basic training, Rahmand travelled along with a larger group of JeM fighters to the area around Konduz, Afghanistan. He was captured by the Northern Alliance and turned over to US forces. He was subsequently transported to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, on February 7, 2002 because of his knowledge of the Moaskar training camp in Balakot, Pakistan, and his affiliation with the Taliban as a foreign fighter, the US defence department memorandum says. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 6:20 [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' What is National Command Authority? And why did Pak PM called for NCA meeting? International oi-Madhuri Adnal Islamabad, Feb 27: Prime Minister Imran Khan has called for a high level meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA) on Wednesday. This high-level, joint command oversees Pakistan's strategic components, most notably the country's nuclear arsenal. The meeting will be attended by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Defence Ministers and Foreign Ministry on Wednesday. The disclosure of the NCA meeting was clearly meant to be a threat of nuclear retaliation. They also declared that Pakistan would "dominate escalation ladder." The meeting was summoned in the wake of violation of Lion of Control (LoC) by Indian Air Force. What is National Command Authority: The National Command Authority, (abbreviated as NCA), is the apex civilian led command to oversee the employment, policy formulation, exercises, deployment, research and development, and operational command and control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenals. The NCA meeting is generally attended by the Federal Ministers of Defence and Interior, Chairman JSC, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Director General Strategic Plans Division, Director General Inter Services Intelligence, Secretary Foreign Affairs and other senior officials. The NCA was set up in 2000 following the overthrow of the civilian government and approval from Pakistan's National Security Council and its then Chief Executive General Parvez Musharraf. The NCA is charged with joint-space operations (such as military satellites), information operations (such as information warfare), missile defense, internal and external command and control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR), and strategic deterrence, and combating weapons of mass destruction. The NCA oversees the operations of the Pakistani Army, Air Force, and Navy's Strategic Commands, along with their functional basis. The unified military strategic command structure is intended to give the Prime Minister and Cabinet of Pakistan a unified resource for greater understanding of specific threats (military, nuclear, chemical, biological, radiological, conventional, and non-conventional, and intelligence) and the means to respond to those threats as quickly as possible to prevent the collateral damage. The convening of 'extraordinary' meeting of NCA confirms that Pakistan is gearing up for a befitting response to any misadventure by India which is continuously whipping up war hysteria in the wake of Pulwama attack. Trump-Kim summit: Vietnam is giving importance to its food and especially, its egg coffee International oi-Shubham Ghosh Hanoi, Feb 27: Hanoi's signature beverage egg coffee was served to at least 3,500 journalists - local and international - who have arrived in the Vietnam capital to cover the historic second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un starting off Wednesday, February 27, Viet Nam News daily reported. Vu Khac Son, manager of the Giang coffee shop where egg coffee was invented way back in 1946 said his shop had seen footfalls of several international tourists and journalists this week. "Hanoi City ordered some 3,000 cups of egg coffee for three days [from Tuesday to Thursday]. Our staff will serve 300 cups three times a day. It is an honour for us to serve at such an important summit. This is also an opportunity for this made-in-Viet Nam beverage to be promoted to international friends," he was quoted as saying by Viet Nam News. Vietnam to issue 300 silver coins to commemorate Trump-Kim summit The history behind the invention of egg coffee is unique for it was invented by a bartender of Hanoi's iconic five-star Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel named Nguyen Van Giang who used egg yolk as an alternative to condensed milk that was scarce at the time. The product that he invented soon made a name of its own. The hot egg coffee, when served on a hot water dish to maintain its temperature, is characterised by a creamy taste and thick texture. Besides the egg coffee, other food items that will be made available at the summit's International Media Centre at Tran Hung Dao Street are 'pho' (noodle soup with beef or chicken), 'xoi khuc' (sticky rice with mung bean and pork) and 'nem' (spring rolls), among others. Even the prime minister of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc requested that the journalists who have arrived in Hanoi to cover the summit be fed the country's special dishes. Last year, Singapore - the host of the first summit between Trump and Kim - had also attached a special significance to its culinary specialities. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 5:42 [IST] More Americans think Trump handling North Korea well; majority still think Kims a threat Trump-Kim summit: Why was US media kicked out of Hanoi hotel Trump-Kim working lunch cancelled; joint signing ceremony might be off as well: Reports Trump & Kim to meet over one-on-chat, dinner in Hanoi today; events kick off at 5 pm IST International oi-Shubham Ghosh Hanoi, Feb 27: The second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un will kick off in Hanoi on Wednesday, February 27, with a one-on-one chat and dinner. On Thursday, February 28, the two leaders will discuss the more serious topic of North Korea's denuclearisation. Both Trump and Kim arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday, February 26, with the latter opting for the rail route that took over 60 hours. Trump praised Kim before arriving in Hanoi saying North Korea will become an economic powerhouse soon after it chooses the path of denuclearisation. Trump-Kim summit: Besides meeting N Korea leader, should US president also apologise to Vietnam? As per Trump's schedule for Wednesday released by the White House, the former will meet Kim at the French colonial-era Metropole Hotel at 6:30 pm Vietnam time (5 pm IST) and have a 20-minute one-on-one conversation before a dinner which is scheduled to last over an hour and half. The dinner is expected to conclude around 8:35 pm local time (7:05 pm IST). The two leaders are expected to meet at least five times. The current summit is taking place eight months after the two leaders met for their maiden summit in Singapore on June 12. There they signed a four-point programme eyeing peace in Korean Peninsula though many had found the outcome to be vague. Vietnam President Nguyen Phu Trong met Trump on Wednesday, hours before his meeting with Kim. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 14:05 [IST] Trump-Kim summit: Comparing the two hosts, Singapore and Vietnam International oi-Shubham Ghosh Hanoi, Feb 27: When Singapore was announced to be the host of the first summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, not many were surprised for the South-east Asian city-state always had the reputation of holding key international meetings efficiently. It had hosted a high-profile meeting between the top leaderships of China and Taiwan in 2015. It also hosts the Shangri La Dialogue ever year which is attended by scores of world leaders and representatives. Trump-Kim summit: Host Vietnam, a fast growing economy, eyes massive FDI scope The summit between Trump and Kim on June 12 last year was another feather that the city-state added to its crown. Singapore's reputation as an efficient and neutral host and its close relation with both North Korea and the US made it a right candidate to organise the stage for the maiden summit between a sitting American president and the leader of the hermit kingdom. Vietnam has also come up fast as a host Vietnam, the host to the second summit, though lacks the reputation that Singapore has for efficient management and also trails the latter in terms of economy (in 2017, Vietnam's GDP was almost 223.7 million USD while that of Singapore was 324 million USD), it still has made a name of its own. In 2017, the Southeast Asian nation hosted events of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation where top leaders like Trump and his Russian and Chinese counterparts, namely, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, were present. Vietnam also hosted the regional World Economic Forum in 2018 which suggests that it is no novice as a host. Vietnam's hosting a top-profile meeting between Trump and Kim also tells a remarkable tale of its journey from being a divided Cold War foe into one of the planet's fastest growing economies. More Americans think Trump handling North Korea well; majority still think Kim's a threat The country was once a blue-eyed boy of communists, thanks to the resilience it had shown against American aggression between 1955-75, but today it has become one of the dream destinations for capitalists across the world for its economic potential. The transformation of the country is among the most exciting the planet has seen although it is still ruled by the communist party. According to one section, the second summit is being held in Vietnam to convince Kim that modelling Vietnam's post-war path could make it a similarly prosperous nation. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 10:30 [IST] Trump-Kim summit: Besides meeting N Korea leader, should US president also apologise to Vietnam? International oi-Shubham Ghosh Hanoi, Feb 27: US President Donald Trump reached Vietnam on Tuesday, February 26, for his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inside a year. The summit is being seen as an important stepping stone towards establishing peace in the Korean Peninsula and the world will be watching closely how things go in Hanoi, the capital of the Southeast Asian nation, in the final two days in February. However, apart from meeting Kim to settle one conflict in Asia, should Trump also use the opportunity to recall the acts that Washington had committed on the soil of Vietnam during the heights of the Cold War in the 1950s to 1970s? Do Vietnam deserve an apology from the American president for what his predecessors had done? A few years ago, Trump's immediate predecessor Barack Obama had apologised to Japan during a trip for the atom bomb attack of 1945. So why can't the same be expected from Trump in Vietnam? Trump-Kim summit: Why was US media kicked out of Hanoi hotel The US aggression in Vietnam is considered one of the most atrocious the world has ever seen. The origins of the US's involvement in Vietnam date back to the time when the Second World War (1939-45) ended. Vietnam was fighting to end French colonial occupation of their land. The country's iconic leader Ho Chi Minh who led Viet Minh (Vietnamese Independence League) and founded the Vietnam Communist Party, led the freedom movement blending nationalism with the Marxist-Leninist revolutionary ideology. In 1954, the Viet Minh captured the city of Dien Bien Phu and the French were routed. Vietnam was divided and became a stage for Cold War battle Vietnam's woes didn't end though. In peace negotiations in Geneva, the country was divided into North Vietnam and South Vietnam with the communists headed by Ho Chi Minh leading the northern part and non-communists in control of the South. At the height of the Cold War, the erstwhile USSR and China backed the North while the US supported the South with an aim of arresting the spreading of communism. In December 1960, the Viet Cong or National Liberation Front emerged to challenge the South Vietnamese government and soon a civil war erupted for controlling the South and it snowballed into the Second Indochina War with the US's involvement. Trump-Kim summit: Comparing the two hosts, Singapore and Vietnam In 1961, the then John F Kennedy administration expanded the US's military presence in the region and authorised the use of deadly napalm, herbicides and defoliants. The US, which propounded the containment strategy, felt it was key to save South Vietnam or else the deadly ideology would spread to other parts of the region. In 1964, the US government learned that two North Vietnamese torpedo boats had attacked American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin and the then Lyndon Johnson sought authorisation of the Congress for a full-scale military involvement in Vietnam. The resolution declared the support of Congress for "all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the armed forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression". Johnson escalated the war in which bombing campaigns (Operation Rolling Thunder) were launched and troops were sent on the ground to fight the opponents. The US president also concealed the extent of the military escalation from the people of his country though that did not succeed eventually and as a consequence, he decided against re-running for another presidential term in 1968. His successor Richard Nixon campaigned for the presidency with a "secret plan" to end the war that looked increasingly unwinnable. After his election, Nixon expanded the war into the neighbouring Laos and Cambodia and gradually withdrew American troops from Vietnam. By the end of1969, the number of American troops in Vietnam had been reduced to half. Eventually, the US pulled out of Vietnam by the Paris Peace Accords in 1973 and North Vietnamese forces succeeded in unifying the country under one communist regime. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam was set up in 1976. Trump-Kim summit: Host Vietnam, a fast growing economy, eyes massive FDI scope The Vietnam War had a telling impact on international as well the US's internal affairs. Post the debacle in Vietnam, there were efforts in the US to rethink its foreign policy action and put the presidential power under some check. In the US, large-scale protests against the atrocities that had seen deaths of lakhs of people had become the order of the day and it also had a profound impact on the popular culture. The US was humiliated in Vietnam but still its actions there are recalled with horror. Will Trump use this opportunity to make peace with history? For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 13:36 [IST] More Americans think Trump handling North Korea well; majority still think Kims a threat International oi-Shubham Ghosh Washington, Feb 27: Often it is seen that statesmen improve their credibility points by handling foreign policy affairs when chips are perceived to be down on the home front. US President Donald Trump is no exception. The leader, who has faced a serious flak at home over building the wall along the Mexico border, reached Vietnam on Tuesday for the second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and to his supporters' delight, it was seen that half of the US has approved the way he has handled the North Korea affair, a Fox News poll that came out last week revealed. Trump-Kim summit: Vietnam is giving importance to its food and especially, its egg coffee As per the poll, 46 per cent of Americans is of the opinion that Trump is doing a good job in dealing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his country. It's the highest rating Trump has received since Fox News first sought response to the question in 2017. The question was asked first time since April 2018, months ahead of the first Trump-Kim summit, and it is a point better than the 45 per cent approval received then. The lowest rating came in October 2017 when only 35 per cent approved of Trump's way of handling Pyongyang, CNN said. The poll also showed 41% of Americans disapprove of how the American president is handling North Korea while 49 per cent is in favour of opting for military action to end North Korea's nuclear weapons programme. Vietnam to issue 300 silver coins to commemorate Trump-Kim summit Over 50% Americans still feel N Korea is a major threat to US However, one negative aspect still remained. Even though it is the second time Trump and Kim are meeting inside a year, 52 per cent Americans still felt that the East Asian country is a major threat to the US's security as against 37 per cent who felt it is not. Only six per cent felt it was no threat at all. Only foreign cyber-attacks (72 per cent) and Islamic State (62 per cent) are seen as a bigger threat. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 5:48 [IST] It also allows the South Shore to increase its daily usage by 26 trains a day if the federal government approves funding for its two proposed additions the West Lake line from Hammond to Dyer and the Double Track expansion between Gary and Michigan City. Centre renames 2 prominent institutes after Sushma Swaraj on the eve of her birth anniversary Pak's refusal to act on terror groups forced India to carry out pre-emptive strike: Swaraj International oi-Vikas SV Wuzhen, Feb 27: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Wuzhen, China, on Wednesday during which she raised the Pulwama terrorist attack and emphasised that a decisive action is needed to tackle the menace of terrorism. Sushma Swaraj is in China to attend a Russia-India-China (RIC) meeting. The meeting is between Swaraj and her counterparts from China and Russia - Wang Yi and Sergei Lavrov. Speaking at the meeting, Swaraj asserted that all countries must show zero tolerance to terrorism. "We are aware of the recent dastardly terrorist attack on our security forces in Pulwama perpetrated by Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan based and supported terrorist organisation proscribed by UN and other countries. We lost over CRPF 40 personnel while several others are injured seriously," she said. [Sushma Swaraj leaves for China; to hold meetings with foreign ministers of China, Russia] "Such dastardly terrorist attacks are a grim reminder for the need of all the countries to show zero tolerance to terrorism and take decisive action against it," the minister added. The External Affairs Minister lashed out at Pakistan for not acting against JeM after Pulwama terror attack and accused Islamabad of ignoring the calls by the international community. "Following the Pulwama terrorist attack instead of taking seriously the calls by international community to act against Jaish-e-Mohammed and other terror groups based in Pakistan, it denied any knowledge of the attack and outrightly dismissed claims by Jaish-e-Mohammed," she said. Swaraj said India decided to 'take preemptive action' after Pakistan's continued refusal to act against terror groups. She said that the strikes were aimed only at the terrorists and 'no military installation was targeted'. "In the light of continuing refusal of Pak to acknowledge and act against terror groups on its territory and based on credible info that JeM was planning other attacks in parts of India, the Government on India decided to take preemptive action and target was selected in order to avoid civilian casualties," she said. "It was not a military operation, no military installation was targeted. Objective was to act against terrorist infrastructure of JeM to preempt another terror attack in India. India doesn't wish to see further escalation of situation. It will continue to act with responsibility and restraint," she added. [Why the strike at Balakot KPK is extremely significant in the war against terror] Swaraj said that India and China have made substantial progress in relations since the informal summit between PM Modi and President Xi Jinping in Wuhan in April 2018. She said that India-China relation is an important relationship for both of our countries. "It is important to both sides to ensure thorough and effective implementation of the guidance given by our leaders. Both sides have made good efforts in this regard and we should sustain this effort," Swaraj added. Swaraj on Wednesday raised the recent Pulwama suicide attack on the CRPF soldiers in her bilateral meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a day after India destroyed a major terror training camp in Pakistan. "I am visiting China at a time when there is grief and anger in India. It is the worst terrorist attack directed against our security forces in Jammu and Kashmir," she said in her opening remarks during the meeting held on the side-lines of Russia, India, China Foreign Ministers meeting. "The attack was carried out by Jaish-e-Muhammad, the Pakistan-based and supported terrorist organisation,"she said. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based JeM in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. OneIndia News with PTI inputs 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' After Indian air strike, Pakistan vows to respond, calls nuke authority meeting today International oi-Madhuri Adnal Islamabad, Feb 27: The Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday informed that Prime Minister Imran Khan has summoned a special meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA) on Wednesday. This high-level, joint command oversees Pakistan's strategic components, most notably the country's nuclear arsenal. [How the IAF strike at Balakot unfolded: All the updates here] "As you all know, Pakistani government has called a meeting of National Command Authority tomorrow. I hope you know what that means," said Pakistan army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor. The disclosure of the NCA meeting was clearly meant to be a threat of nuclear retaliation. They also declared that Pakistan would "dominate escalation ladder." Even though it denied that the Indian Air Force had struck a terrorist camp and caused heavy casualties, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan had promised to retaliate against India after it conducted airstrikes on an alleged terrorist training camp across the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border between India and Pakistan in the disputed Kashmir region, in a significant escalation of hostilities between the two nuclear armed powers. NSC also strongly rejected Indian claim of airstrikes and targeting an alleged terrorist camp near Balakot and the claim of heavy casualties. Even as Indian external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj made it clear on Tuesday that India's war was "not against Pakistan, but against terror", Pakistan sounded a warning, declaring that it would convene a meeting of the National Command Authority on Wednesday-the apex body that oversees the country's nuclear weapons. ['Now it's your turn, get ready for our surprise', says Pakistan Army to India] However, whether or not Pakistan looks to conduct its own conventional strikes on Indian soil remains to be seen. Earlier on Tuesday, India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control, early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders, officials said in New Delhi. The air strikes came 12 days after the JeM carried out the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. 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' Pakistan immediately stops flight operations International oi-Chennabasaveshwar P New Delhi Feb 27: Pakistan has immediately stopped its domestic and international flight operations from Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad airports due to the ongoing tension with India. According to Flightradar24, "International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace now being affected. Some flights returning to origin, while others appear to be seeking alternate routing." Flightradar24 is a global flight tracking service that provides you with real-time information about thousands of aircraft around the world. International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace now being affected. Some flights returning to origin, while others appear to be seeking alternate routing. https://t.co/sXbkX0qrGI pic.twitter.com/tojnJCii4w Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) February 27, 2019 Airports in Leh, Jammu, Srinagar and Pathankot on high alert According to Pakistan's Geo News, all incoming and outgoing local and international flights from lahore have been suspended until further orders. "A flight from Guangzhou, China has been sent back," the Lahore Airport official told the Pak media. Sources said a passenger air plane was stopped from taking off from Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar on the orders of Civil Aviation Authority, as per Geo News reports. Imran Khan warns against escalation, says ready for dialogue International oi-Deepika S Islamabad, Feb 27: Prime Minister Imran Khan has once again offered PM Narendra Modi for a dialogue and said better sense should prevail between both the countries. "We offered that we are ready for any kind of investigation after Pulwama attack in India. We didn't take action on Tuesday morning because we weren't aware of the damage caused by air strike by India. We did not want to cause much collateral damage in India when there was not much damage on our side. The only motive of Pakistan's strike today was to demonstrate that we have the capability to hit back. "No sovereign country can allow another country to become judge, jury and executioners. Therefore I prompted India in case of aggression, we would have no option but to respond," he said. If it escalates from here, situation won't be in mine or Modi's control says Imran Khan "If you can enter our country, we can also enter your territory. Two Indian MiGs who entered Pakistani airspace today after our retaliation were shot down. But where do we go from here?" he asked. "We should sit down and talk about differences," he said. "All the wars have happened due to miscalculation. With all the weapons that Pakistan and India have, can we afford to miscalculate. If we take to war neither I nor Mr Narendra Modi would be in a position to control its course. This is why I suggest that better sense should prevail," said Imran Khan. Evil, paedophile Cardinal faces wrath of protesters, they want him to rot in hell International oi-Vikas SV Melbourne, Feb27: Australia's senior most Catholic cleric Cardinal George Pell, who was once among Pope Francis' closest advisors, was convicted of child sex crimes and facing up to 50 years in prison. Today (February 27), when he arrived in the court for bail, angry protesters confronted the Cardinal outside the County Court of Victoria in Melbourne and raised slogans criticising him. They shouted and called Cardinal George Pell a "maggot" and a "monster". He appeared in court in a last-ditch push for bail while he appeals his historic conviction for child sex crimes. Vatican cleric Cardinal Pell convicted of child sex crimes The most senior Catholic cleric ever convicted of child sex crimes, Pell is facing up to 50 years in prison on five charges of sexual and indecent assault on two choirboys in 1996-97. He is expected to be remanded in custody after the pre-sentencing submissions in court, but his lawyer plans to apply for bail later in the day before the Court of Appeal, the AFP report said. A large crowd confronted the Cardinal outside the County Court of Victoria in Melbourne, with supporters of other abuse survivors jostling the 77-year-old and yelling: "You're a maggot, Pell, you rot in hell." "You're the devil. You're evil... You're a paedophile. You're a criminal. You're a monster. May you rot in hell," one protester shouted. Shortly before Wednesday's hearing, Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti announced on Twitter that Pell had been removed from his position as chief of Vatican finances, the third-most powerful position in the Church. The Vatican said earlier it had "utmost respect" for the Australian justice system following the "painful news" of Pell's conviction. The Cardinal was found guilty in December of assaulting the two choirboys in the sacristy of Melbourne's Saint Patrick's Cathedral, but the verdict was only revealed Tuesday after a second trial against him was abandoned by prosecutors, allowing a gag order to be lifted. He was due to be remanded in custody in December but that was delayed until the pre-sentencing hearing as his lawyer said he required urgent double knee surgery. Pell has already appealed the verdict and his lawyer told the court Tuesday it would be based on three grounds -- that the jury verdict was unreasonable, that an animation showing movements of people in the cathedral on the day of the alleged abuse was rejected, and that there were issues with how the jury was formed. Pell is expected to be sentenced in the next two weeks. The Court of Appeal process, which could last up to a year, will see a bench usually made up of three judges review the same evidence that the jurors were presented with in the earlier trial. Bad memories of abuse haunt children, cause hurdles in emotional growth: Delhi court Criminal law expert Jeremy Gans of the University of Melbourne told AFP the judges could question the jury's conclusions based on the fact that the case was based on only one person's -- the surviving victim's -- testimony. The other choirboy, who died of a drug overdose in 2014, had never told his parents he was abused. During the trial, the court had heard that Pell abused the two boys after catching them swigging from a bottle of sacramental wine. He exposed himself and forced one of them to perform oral sex on him, and fondled the boy's genitals while masturbating. His legal team argued the cathedral sacristy was a hive of activity following Sunday mass and "only a madman" would commit such acts after such a busy time. The Catholic Church meanwhile could face a civil suit from the father of the deceased victim, who said via his lawyer Tuesday that the cleric had "blood on his hands". He said his son, who cannot be named for legal reasons, turned to drugs as a teenager to cope with the trauma and also suffered from PTSD. "We are looking at what knowledge the Church might have had in relation to what was happening," the lawyer, Leanne McDonald, told AFP. Cardinal George Pell's heinous child sex crimes: The 77-year-old cardinal, who was Vatican's treasurer and close to the Pope, was found guilty of orally raping one choirboy and molesting another in Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral 22 years ago. The trial ran for five weeks in Victoria county Court. The cardinal was Archbishop of Melbourne when he abused the two 13-year-old boys and was managing the church's response to widespread child abuse by priests through the "Melbourne Response", which he designed, the Age reported. He was found guilty in a retrial last December, with the verdict sending shockwaves through the Vatican and around the world. A jury in an earlier trial was discharged, in September, when it was unable to reach a verdict. His legal team will appeal against the conviction, the paper reported. County Court chief judge Peter Kidd has revoked the suppression order that prevented media reporting the results of the trial and retrial. OneIndia News with PTI inputs For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 13:45 [IST] China media tweets about Pak downing 2 Indian aircraft; was mum after IAF raids on Tuesday International oi-Shubham Ghosh Beijing, Feb 27: As tension soared between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack on February 14 and the air raids by the Indian Air Force across the LoC on February 26, experts were keen to learn about China's position. Beijing has been an all-weather friend of Pakistan and has repeatedly blocked India's initiative to get Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar designated as a global terrorist, upsetting New Delhi. China's biggest newspaper People's Daily on Wednesday, February 27, tweeted saying: "China hopes India and Pakistan will exercise restraint and take actions to help stabilize the situation in South Asia, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wed following reports that the Pakistan Army shot down two Indian fighter jets." China hopes India and Pakistan will exercise restraint and take actions to help stabilize the situation in South Asia, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wed following reports that the Pakistan Army shot down two Indian fighter jets. pic.twitter.com/WWUpQQNNfr People's Daily, China (@PDChina) February 27, 2019 Interestingly, the same daily had not tweeted anything related to the IAF's cross-border raids made early on Tuesday though Beijing urged India to fight terrorism through "international cooperation" hours after the operation. India's MiG-21 shot down Pak's F-16, IAF pilot missing: MEA confirms The Ministry of External Affairs confirmed on Wednesday that one of India's pilots went missing after a Mig-21 Bison fighter jet was lost during an engagement with Pakistani fighters after they violated the Indian airspace. Pakistan though claimed to have captured two Indian pilots, saying one of them was in the hospital. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday addressed the nation saying if India could go to Pakistan, it could also come to India. "All wars are miscalculated, and no one knows where they lead to," he said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 16:14 [IST] Avoid military action, de-escalate tensions: US tells Pakistan International oi-Vikas SV Washington, Feb 27: With Pakistan threatening that it would retaliate to India's air strikes against Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Balakot, the United States on Wednesday urged both Islamabad and New Delhi to "exercise restraint and avoid escalation at any cost". A statement issued by US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said that he has spoken to both External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. He has urged both the ministers to 'prioritise direct communication and avoid military activity'. "I spoke to Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to underscore the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil," the statement issued by Pompeo said. Pompeo said that during his conversation with Swaraj he emphasized on close security partnership between the India and US, and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region. [What is National Command Authority? And why did Pak PM called for NCA meeting?] Even though it denied that the Indian Air Force had struck a terrorist camp and caused heavy casualties, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan promised to retaliate against India after the airstrikes on terrorist training camp across the Line of Control (LoC). Even as Indian external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj made it clear on Tuesday that India's war was "not against Pakistan, but against terror", Pakistan sounded a warning, declaring that it would convene a meeting of the National Command Authority on Wednesday-the apex body that oversees the country's nuclear weapons. [France recognises India's need to ensure security, asks Pakistan to end terror activities] Earlier on Tuesday, India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control, early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders, officials said in New Delhi. The air strikes came 12 days after the JeM carried out the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 9:48 [IST] 'Dragon Man': Scientists discover skull in China, say new human species is our closest ancestor J&K a separate country, Leh is China's territory: Twitter again displays distorted map of India on its website Chinas CoronaVac safe for use in children, immune response better than in adults China backs India, asks Pakistan to end terror activities International oi-Deepika S Beijing, Feb 27: Despite having friendly relations with Pakistan in trade, China has called for Pakistan to stop its support of terror groups and use of them in geopolitical goals. During a joint statement by India, Russia and China, China cold shouldered Pakistan with respect to its support to terror groups. "They reiterated that states and their competent agencies play a central role in both national and international counter-terrorism efforts. They also stressed that terrorist groups cannot be supported and used in political and geopolitical goals," the communique said. China goes soft on Pakistan, says it has always opposed terrorism, will avoid escalation Those committing, orchestrating, inciting or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with existing international commitments on countering terrorism, it said. The ministers stressed that those committing, orchestrating, inciting or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with existing international commitments on countering terrorism, including the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the Financial Action Task Force standards. The ministers called for enhanced coordination to fight against all terrorist organisations in Syria including those listed by the UNSC. AgustaWestland: After saying witness may have died, ED cites a little birdie to say he is alive VVIP Chopper case: Rajeev Saxena moves Delhi court to become approver India pti-PTI New Delhi,. Feb 27: AgustaWestland accused Rajiv Saxena, who was arrested in the Rs. 3,600-crore money-laundering case, today moved a Delhi court to become an approver in the case. Special Judge Arvind Kumar sought the Enforcement Directorate's response on Mr Saxena's plea to become an approver. The court has posted the matter for hearing tomorrow. Saxena, who was present in the court, moved his application directly, saying it was "out of free will" and "without any coercion" and prayed that he "will make a full disclosure subject to the grant of pardon". AgustaWestland: The importance of Rajeev Saxena and how he will help crack the money trail "The applicant humbly prays, without prejudice to his defence, that he may be granted pardon approver under Section 306 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 subject to the condition that he will make a full disclosure, to the extent, the facts are within his knowledge of which he will make a true and proper disclosure subject to the grant of pardon," his application said. Saxena said that he has cooperated with the investigation throughout and has made known entire facts regarding the case. "The applicant cooperated with the investigation during the entire period of remand before the Directorate of Enforcement. "The applicant has made a clean breast of the entire facts as known to the applicant with regard to the complaint pertaining to the AgustaWestland helicopters filed by the Directorate of Enforcement to the extent known to him," the application said. Saxena was earlier granted bail by the court on medical grounds after perusing reports submitted by AIIMS. The court had said that it was clear from the medical record submitted by AIIMS that Saxena was suffering from a number of serious ailments including blood cancer and needs constant medical checkups. Saxena, who is in custody since January 31 after his deportation from Dubai, said in his bail plea that when all the other accused in the case, including Gautam Khaitan, Ritu Khaitan and SP Tyagi were out on bail, there could be "no justification" to deny him the same relief. Saxena, a director of two Dubai-based firms - UHY Saxena and Matrix Holdings - is one of the accused named in the charge sheet filed by ED in the AgustaWestland case. Christian Michel, former AgustaWestland and Finmeccanica directors Giuseppe Orsi and Bruno Spagnolini, former Air Force chief SP Tyagi and Saxena's wife Shivani have also been named by the agency in the chargesheet. The ED had alleged that in connivance with Khaitan, 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. Saxena was living in Palm Jumeriah, Dubai and has been living in the UAE for last 26 years. Maintaining that AgustaWestland had paid Euro 58 million as kickbacks through two Tunisia-based firms, the ED has alleged that "these companies further siphoned off the said money in the name of consultancy contracts to M/s Interstellar Technologies Limited, Mauritius and others which were further transferred to M/s UHY Saxena and M/s Matrix Holdings Ltd, Dubai and others". It was alleged by the probe agency that the two Dubai-based firms were the entities "through which the proceeds of crime have been routed and further layered and integrated in buying the immovable properties/ shares, among others" in this case. On January 1, 2014, India had scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of kickbacks of Rs. 423 crore paid by it to secure the deal. PTI Under probe for money laundering, Robert Vadra seeks permission to go abroad Robert Vadra appears before ED for questioning in money laundering case India oi-Deepika S New Delh, Feb 27: Robert Vadra, Congress President Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law on Wednesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in connection with a probe into allegations of money laundering to purchase assets abroad. Vadra arrived at the agency's Jamnagar office in central Delhi at 10.40 a.m. The ED has questioned Vadra, for over 42 hours in connection with the case on February 6,7,9 20, 22 and 26. The ED case against Vadra relates to allegations of money laundering in the purchase of a London-based property located at 12, Bryanston Square worth 1.9 million GBP (British pounds), which is allegedly owned by him. Robert Vadra hints at joining politics? Check out his Facebook post The agency has told a Delhi court that it has received information about various new properties in London which belong to Vadra. These include two houses, one worth 5 million GBP and the other valued at 4 million GBP, six other flats and more properties. Vadra has denied the allegations of possessing illegal foreign assets and termed them a political witch hunt against him. He said he was being "hounded and harassed" to subserve political ends. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 12:37 [IST] Emotions were high throughout the third and final day of the UMCs meeting Tuesday in St. Louis. Some supporters of greater LGBT inclusion were in tears, while others vented their anger when, midway through the session, delegates defeated a proposal that would have let regional and local church bodies decide for themselves on gay-friendly policies. Amid standoff with China, IAF to get land in Uttarakhand to carry out activities in border areas Recounting the capture of IAF pilot K Nachiketa during Kargil war India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 27: India is faced with a similar situation that it was in 20 years back. During the 1999 Kargil War, flight lieutenant K Nachiketa, then 26 was flying a MIG-27. He was in charge of targeting Pakistan posts, but during the operation faced some technical difficulty. Due to this he had to eject. After landing on the ground, he initially was able to evade capture. However he was later surrounded by a Pakistani Army patrol, which finally captured him. Following his capture, he remained in Pakistan custody for 8 days. He was first taken to an undisclosed location in the Batalik sector, following which he was moved by chopper to Skardu. India's MiG-21 shot down Pak's F-16, IAF pilot missing: MEA confirms Following his capture, there were intense backdoor efforts made by the government to secure his release. He was finally handed over to the Red Cross, which brought him back to India. On his arrival he was greeted to a heroes welcome by the President and Prime Minister. India faces itself in a similar situation today after Pakistan claimed that it had captured an IAF pilot. The Ministry for External Affairs confirmed that one pilot is missing in action. The MEA said that it was ascertaining details about the pilot. The MEA further added the IAF had shot down an F-16. In this engagement we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan on the other hand claimed that the pilot, Abhinandan is in their custody. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 16:30 [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' Pakistan's aggression creates war-like situation India oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi New Delhi, Feb 27: A day after Indian Air Force (IAF) crossed the Line of Control (LOC) on Tuesday morning, Pakistan on Wednesday exhibited aggression along the LOC that has created a war-like situation. Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Tuesday announced that India conducted a major preemptive strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Balakote early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers, and senior commanders. He did not divulge details of the attack, but various reports said that as many as 12 Mirage 2000 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force took part in the operation and 1,000 kgs bombs were dropped on terror camps across the Line of Control (LoC). How Indian Air Force took Pakistan by surprise and effectively struck at Balakot IAF's action comes days after Jaish-e-Mohammed trained terrorist attacked a CRPF convoy on Jammu-Srinagar Highway in Pulwama on February 14 and killed 40 jawans, which raged India. After Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that Indian forces have been given free hand to take suitable action, Pakistan was on high alert to avert any action by India. However, India's Tuesday action left Pakistan surprised. By the Tuesday evening, Pakistan resorted to indiscriminate firing across the LOC resulting in the escalation of tension between the two countries. On Wednesday, Pakistan claimed its Air Force shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace. In a tweet, Director General ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor said one of the aircraft fell inside Azad Jammu and Kashmir while other fell inside Indian occupied Kashmir. Pakistan also claimed of arresting two Indian pilots. Pakistan Army reportedly released a video in which a man was purportedly seen as saying that "I am Wing Commander Abhinandan, I am IAF officer. My service No is 27 981". It said that the second captured and injured Indian pilot was in a hospital and safe. However, there was no official confirmation from the Indian government. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Faisal was quoted by ANI as saying that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) undertook strikes across LoC from Pakistani airspace. The sole purpose of this action was to demonstrate our right, will, and capability for self-defence. We do not wish to escalate but are fully prepared if forced into that paradigm. On the other hand, India said that Pakistan violated its airspace and it has destroyed a Pakistan's F-16 fighter jet. "Pakistan Air Force's F-16 that violated Indian air space shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3KM within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, Nowshera sector," reported ANI. After Pakistan's aggression, Home Minister Rajnath Singh along with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held a high-level meeting in the Home Ministry and the situation along the India-Pakistan border. Later, Prime Minister Prime Minister Narendra Modi also held a review meeting at his office in which Doval is learnt to have briefed the Prime Minister about the current situation. India heightened the security level inside the country and along the border. Eight airports have been closed as a precautionary measure. These airports are: Srinagar, Leh, Jammu, Amritsar, Pathankot, Dharamshala, Chandigarh, and Dehradun. How the Sukhoi 30 acted as a decoy as the Mirages struck at Balakot The helicopter service at Vaishno Devi Shrine in Jammu has also been suspended. The Army and Border Security Force (BSF) have also been put on the highest degree of alertness along the border. The airspace of the northern India has been freed of commercial flights. The Indian Air Force has asked its pilots to be ready for action within two minutes as and when required. Indian commercial international flights have also been advised not to cross Pakistani airspace while en route to their destinations. In another development, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that when the United States can enter Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden then why can't India do such operation in today's situation. A sign of concern for Pakistan has been that China has not reacted the way it expected after India's non-military action in Pakistan. China and Pakistan have friendly relations, but Beijing has asked India and Pakistan to maintain restraint. Major airports in Pakistan have also been shut for commercial flights. Meanwhile, with speculations of an approaching war, many Indians and Pakistanis have taken to social media to express their disapproval of the war. They were tweeting with hashtag #SayNotoWar. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 15:32 [IST] To stay in Grey List or downgrade to Black List: Key FATF decision on Pak this week India rubbishes Pak claim of air force jets being shot down India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 27: A day after the Indian Air Force hit terror camps in Pakistan, Pakistani jets have violated Indian Air space. The jets violated Indian air space by entering the border areas of Nowshera sector in Jammu and Kashmir;s Rajouri district. A bomb was dropped on the way out. Pakistani jets violated Indian air space, but were pushed back by Indian aircaft, the report said while quoting top officials. The jets entered into Indian air space over Nowshera sector this morning, but were immediately pushed back by Indian jets on air patrol. With the Balakot air strike, India not only avenged Pulwama, but Kandahar as well The Pakistan Foreign Office in a statement said that this was not a retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. Pakistan has therefore taken strikes at non-military targets avoiding human loss and collateral damage. The statement further read, " sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we took the action with clear warning and in broad daylight." #Pakistanstrikesback #PAF undertook strikes across LoC from Pakistani airspace. Sole purpose of this action was to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. We do not wish to escalate but are fully prepared if forced into that paradigm#PakistanZindabad Dr Mohammad Faisal (@ForeignOfficePk) February 27, 2019 Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Twitter, " in response to PAF strikes this morning as released by the MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistan airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while the other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area." In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area. Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 27, 2019 India however rubbished the claim. Sources tell Oneindia that no aircraft has been shot by Pakistan. The claim of a pilot being arrested os also not true. All our pilots have been accounted for the source also added. Meanwhile schools in Rajouri town have been shut following reports of Pakistani jets violating India air space. The Pakistani troops had also resorted to heavy shelling on Indian posts in the Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir this morning. Opposition to corner govt on farm laws, but may attend two key debates Opposition lauds IAF strike, slams NDA govt India oi-Deepika S New Delho, Feb 27: Leaders of 21 opposition parties who met in parliament today said they backed the armed forces and expressed deep concern for the Air Force pilot who went missing during this morning's engagement with Pakistani Air Force. After Opposition meeting, Congress President Rahul Gandhi: "The meeting of leaders of 21 political parties condemned the dastardly Pulwama attack by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed on February 14, 2019 and lauded the action taken by our armed forces." "The leaders are concerned about the missing pilot. The opposition parties express deep anguish over the blatant politicisation of the sacrifice of the armed forces by the ruling party. National security must transcend political priorities." Condemning Pakistani misadventure, Gandhi also said, "PM has regrettably not convened an all-party meeting as per established convention," he said. India's MiG-21 shot down Pak's F-16, IAF pilot missing: MEA confirms The opposition parties also pointed out that the government has failed to take them into confidence - a convention in such circumstances. The 21 parties issued joint statement: "Leaders condemned Pakistani misadventure and expressed deep concern for safety of our missing pilot. Leaders urged government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity." In a statement released at the end of the meeting, the opposition said, "The Prime Minister has, regrettably, not convened an all-party meeting as per the established practice in our democracy". The leaders, the statement said, "urged the government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity". A resolution, however, was passed which said the opposition will stand with the country and against the enemy at this moment. The opposition meeting at the parliament came this afternoon following the escalation in hostilities with Pakistan since yesterday's airstrikes on a Jaish-e Mohammad terror camp in Balakot. The meeting was attended by senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu, Sharad Pawar, JMM leader Shibu Soren, BSP leader SC Mishra, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party leader Derek O'Brian, Sharad Yadav and Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh. J&K a separate country, Leh is China's territory: Twitter again displays distorted map of India on its website Use of weaponised drones for terrorism calls for serious attention: India at UN No new attacks on Kashmiris since Feb 22: Centre tells Supreme Court India oi-PTI New Delhi, Feb 27: The Supreme Court on Wednesday took note of the Centre's submissions that no fresh incident of violence against Kashmiris has been reported since February 22, the day when the apex court had taken cognisance of a PIL on the issue. The apex court on February 22 directed chief secretaries and DGPs of 11 states to take "prompt" and "necessary" action to prevent incidents of alleged threat, social boycott and violence against Kashmiris following the Pulwama terror attack. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi considered the submission of Attorney General K K Venugopal that no fresh incident of violence against Kashmiris had been reported after the apex court issued directions to protect the natives of Kashmir Valley who are living outside the state. Sena sacks youth activists who allegedly assaulted 2 Kashmiri students A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi considered the submission of Attorney General K K Venugopal that no fresh incident of violence against Kashmiris had been reported after the apex court issued directions to protect the natives of Kashmir Valley who are living outside the state. The court asked the states, which have not filed their responses, to do so within a week. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 13:28 [IST] NIOS D.El.Ed Result 2018-19 for December exam expected soon, how to check India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, Feb 27: The National Institute of Open Schooling is expected to soon release the results for the 3rd D.El.Ed exam on its official website. The exam was conducted in the month of December 2018. According to an official notification released earlier, the result is likely to be released in 8 to 10 weeks after the last date of examination. However, the National Institute of Open Schooling is expected to release NIOS third D.El.Ed exam result anytime soon. Candidates are advised to keep track of the official website with reference to the NIOS D.El.ED result updates. NIOS D.El.Ed Result 2019: How to check Visit the official website nios.ac.in or dled.nios.ac.in . or . Go to the NIOS D.El.Ed Result 2019 for December exam 2019 option On next page, enter your enrolment number and the date of birth Submit View results Download results Take a printout For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 12:34 [IST] COVID-19 to review of ministries: What to expect from PMs Modis meet with Council of Ministers Modi holds security meet with 3 service chiefs on Pak situation, his second in 24 hours India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Feb 27: The three service chiefs of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg in the national capital on Wednesday. This was PM Modi's second meeting with the chiefs of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force within 24 hours. The meeting took place amid the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, after the latter took an Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot in its custody following Pakistani Air Force's failed attempt to breach the Indian air space at Nowshera in Jammu and Kashmir, earlier today. Earlier in the day, Pakistani aircraft violated Indian air space in the Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Wednesday morning. The Indian Air Force scrambled jets and pushed them back. News agency ANI has reported that a Pakistan Air Force F-16 was shot down in Indian retaliatory fire in Nowshera's Lam valley. India objects to Pakistan's display of an injured IAF personnel' The Pakistani jets had entered into Indian air space over Rajouri district this morning, sources said. The air space violation by Pakistani jets comes a day after Indian Air Force jets flew across the Line of Control to blow up Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest terror camp. Arun Jaitley framed bill on Art 370 nullification that can withstand legal challenge, says his wife After Arun Jaitley, none in BJP understands psyche of Punjab: Naresh Gujral Jaitley statue at Kotla: Angry Bedi asks DDCA to remove his name from stands, quits membership Arun Jaitley slams Opposition, asks them to introspect; Congress responds India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Feb 28: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday slammed the Opposition parties for accusing the government of politicising anti-terror activities and appealed them to introspect to their statement. He also advised the Opposition to "let the country speak in one voice" amid the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama attack. [Opposition joint statement good news for Pakistan: Prakash Javadekar] Twenty-one Opposition parties after their meeting earlier in the day attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and expressed "deep anguish" over what they alleged was "blatant politicisation of sacrifices" made by armed forces. Taking to twitter, Jaitley tweeted,''The whole nation has spoken in one voice. Why, then is India's opposition alleging that the Government is politicising our Anti-Terror Operations." He also appealed to the Opposition: "Let the country speak in one voice". Please introspect - "Your ill advised statement is being used by Pakistan to bolster its case." [Major world powers ask India, Pak to exercise utmost restraint] The Cross Border terror attack in Pulwama was a reality. The Balakot Operation was India's Anti- Terror pre-emptive strike to defend its Sovereignty, he added. The 21 Opposition parties, after the meeting, issued a statement lauding the Indian Air Force's airstrike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) camp in Pakistan. Countering Jaitley, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted, "Mr. Jaitley, It's BJP & its leadership who require real introspection. Entire opposition stood as one backing the armed forces & the Govt. Still, Amit Shah & entire BJP resorted to credit seeking for the sacrifice of our martyrs & indulged in blaming the Congress provocatively." J&K a separate country, Leh is China's territory: Twitter again displays distorted map of India on its website Use of weaponised drones for terrorism calls for serious attention: India at UN J&K: Two JeM terrorists gunned down in Shopian India oi-Vikas SV Srinagar, Feb 27: Two Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) were killed on Wednesday morning in a gunbattle with the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian, said reports. The encounter which started early this morning in Memander area of Shopian district has ended now. Reports say that five soldiers of the Indian Army suffered minor injuries out of which 2 soldiers have been evacuated to Military Hospital for treatment and are in stable condition. Jammu and Kashmir: 6 militants killed in Pulwama encounter Both the terrorists neutralised in the encounter were affiliated to Jaish-e-Mohammed. The gun battle ensued while the security forces were on a cordon and search operation in Memendar area of Shopian after getting information about presence of terrorists there, reports said. The Jaish-e-Mohammed had killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers in Pulwama on February 14, in the deadliest attack on security forces in Kashmir. On Sunday, a senior police officer and an armyman lost their lives and two soldiers including a Major were injured in a five-hour encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district. Three terrorists were killed. Pak's refusal to act on terror groups forced India to carry out pre-emptive strike: Swaraj Today's encounter comes a day after India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp in Balakot, Pakistan, about 80-km from the Line of Control, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The air strikes came 12 days after the JeM carried out the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 10:22 [IST] The Lake County Board of Elections and Voter Registration removed Joe Hero, a candidate for an at-large seat on the town council in the Republican primary, from the ballot, agreeing that because the Indiana GOP said he wasnt a member, he couldnt run on the Republican ticket. Hero said that he met the requirements under state law, which says that a candidate is affiliated with a party if he voted with that party during the last primary election or has certification from the county party chairman. Jaitley justifies IAF strikes, says if US can kill Bin Laden then why can't India India oi-Vikas SV New Delhi, Feb 27: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday justified the strikes carried out by the Indian Air Force (IAF) on terrorist camps in Pakistan, citing the killing of former Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden by the United States Navy SEALs. Osama bin Laden, the founder and first leader of the Islamist group Al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, by United States Navy SEALs. The raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, was launched from Afghanistan. The men behind the air strike: How and when the decision to hit Balakot was taken "A week is too long a time for any country. If you look at last 24 hours, one week would appear to be a day. The kind of things we see...I remember when the US Navy SEALs had taken Osama Bin Laden from Abbottabad, then can't we do the same?" Jaitley said while speaking on IAF's pre-emptive strike deep inside Pakistan. "This used to be just an imagination, a desire, a frustration, a disappointment. But today this is possible," he added. India had described the IAF's pre-dawn operation on Thursday as "non-military" pre-emptive strike on a terrorist camp. Pak's refusal to act on terror groups forced India to carry out pre-emptive strike: Swaraj The IAF's strike on the Jaish camp in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killed 325 militants and terror recruits, Indian officials have said. India's action came after 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers were killed in a suicide attack by an operative of Pakistan-based Jaish in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 14:30 [IST] With Delta Plus worry, India's fresh covid cases go up to 50,040; recovery rate rises to 96.75 per cent Highlights: Nirmala Sitharaman meets IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman India oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa New Delhi, Mar 02: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday met IAF Pilot Wing Commander, Abhinandan Varthaman in Delhi and conveyed to him that the entire nation is proud of his courage and determination, officials said. During the meeting at a medical facility of the Indian Air Force, Varthaman is understood to have explained to Sitharaman details about his nearly 60 hour stay in Pakistan. After a tense wait, IAF Pilot Wing Commander, Abhinandan Varthaman was finally handed over to India by Pakistan. He returned home via the Wagah border after spending nearly 60 hours in captivity. There are several procedures that would have to be followed, which includes a medical test to gauge his fitnesses levels and also a de-briefing session. The IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman spent nearly 60 hours in captivity. Abhinandan, dressed in a suit, walked across the Zero Line at the Attari-Wagah border at 9.20 pm, about four hours later he was reportedly scheduled to return. He was accompanied by Group Captain J T Kurien, Air Advisor in the Indian High Commission, and Fareeha Bugti, Director (India) in the Pakistan Foreign Office. The release came a day after Pakistan PM Imran Khan, addressing a joint session of parliament, in a "gesture of peace" aimed at de-escalating tensions between the two nations announced the Indian pilot's return. Here are the Highlights: Newest First Oldest First J&K: General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, Army Commander, Northern Command visited White Knight Corps to review the operational preparedness of the forces in the Corps Zone in view of the current situation along LoC and International Border. pic.twitter.com/WCwbyAnFI7 ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2019 Meanwhile, in Jammu and Kashmir, General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, Army Commander, Northern Command visited White Knight Corps to review the operational preparedness of the forces in the Corps Zone in view of the current situation along LoC and International Border. The government on Saturday issued an "alert" for all airports and airlines in the country, asking them to "enhance the existing security measures", as it has received intelligence inputs in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack and subsequent developments. Pakistan will not allow its soil to be used for terrorism against any state, including India, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday as claimed that the "nerve centre" of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group has been taken over by the government. ANI quoted Sources saysing that after returning from Pakistan, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has informed that though he was not physically tortured by the Pakistanis but went through a lot of mental harassment. Pakistan was not under "pressure" or "any compulsion" to release Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said today. The Wing Commander will stay at Air Force Officer's Mess. India will keep up the pressure on Pakistan to crack down on terrorism infrastructure and the masterminds of terrorist attacks despite the release of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman following backchannel diplomacy and public messaging by global powers. Acoording to reports, Pakistan said Abhinandan Varthman was handed over along with his belongings, however, all that he came back in civilian clothes, without his service pistol. In the taking over certificate, Pakistan has mentioned returning his watch, ring and spectacles. It was earlier learnt that upon ejecting out of his crashed MiG 21 Bison, Abhinandan still had his pistol with him, which he used to allegedly fire on locals in Pakistani territory who were chasing him. Meanwhile, the chiefs of the Indian Air Force and Navy will get Z-plus security cover after a fresh assessment of their threat perception by the security agencies, officials said. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthman in a hospital today. Courtesy: ANI Samjhauta Express services to resume from India from March 3. Congress President Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Ranchi, Jharkhand: Indian Air Force protects the country, Air force pilots sacrifice their lives but our Prime Minister steals money from the Air Force, and puts it in Anil Ambani's pockets, it is a shame. According to IAF officials, Wing Cdr Abhinandan Varthaman met IAF Chief BS Dhanoa today morning and explained his detention in Pakistan. The Wing Commander will stay at Air Force Officer's Mess. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh: Entire world stands together against terrorism. No representative of India used to be invited to Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) but India's image has become such, that OIC invited India for the first time. It is a diplomatic victory. Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMIM, says, "Pak PM talked of Tipu Sultan and Bahadur Shah Zafar in his assembly,Tipu Sultan wasn't enemy of Hindus but adversary of the enemies of his sultanate.He talks about atom bomb, it's weird..we've it too.Handle your Lashkar-e-Shaitaan & Jaish-e-Shaitaan. Pakistan violated ceasefire in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district at 12:30 pm today. Indian Army is retaliating. When our Air Force reached Balakot in KPK before we could get any information some people started saying Balakot is along LoC.Some people whom I call compulsive contrarians found a new Balakot and didn't check that, that Bala Kote is in our Poonch.Why'd our forces attack our territory?: Arun Jaitley Mehbooba Mufti and PDP workers protest in Srinagar against the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami (Jammu & Kashmir) by the Central Government. BSP Chief Mayawati said, " Hearty welcome safe return of IAF pilot Abhinandan from Pak custody. Big relief and ease of tension is natural but sensing a sea change in security scenario around, India must have a long, lasting & credible policy for its security-honour besides a good policy to deal with neighbours." Referring to IAF Pilot's bravery, PM Modi said, " India has the ability to change the meaning of words. Abhinandan was till now ' Congratulations' in English, now the meaning will change." Addressing a meet at Construction Technology India in Delhi, Prime Minister Modi said, " The world will notice whatever India does." IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman is at the central medical establishment, he spent the night there, underwent a medical test, met his family briefly, according to News 18. Three members of family killed due to heavy shelling by Pakistan troops in Solatri village of border district of Poonch. Meanwhile, shelling by Pakistan forces across LoC in Jammu continues, People in border areas of Rajouri, Poonch districts move to safer places; Schools closed, according to All India Radio News. India has dug up contract details between the USA and Pakistan on the AMRAAM missile fired from an F-16 aircraft and is learnt to have shared the information with American interlocutors to bolster its case about misuse of the fighter aircraft against India, according to Indian Express report. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was released by Pakistan after Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned the neighbouring country of dire consequences, former Karnataka chief minister and state BJP president B S Yeddyurappa said on Friday. He would also have to undergo several phycological tests as he had been captured by the enemy and underwent a traumatic situation. The IAF Pilot will be subject to a medical test today. He will be taken for a detained medical checkup. The officer had to eject from a plane, which would have put his body under immense strain, AVM RGK Kapoor said following the release. Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman landed in Delhi on Friday night, hours after he was handed over to India by Pakistan after being in captivity for nearly three days. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweets, "Welcome Home Wing Commander #Abhinandan! The nation is proud of your exemplary courage. Our armed forces are an inspiration for 130 crore Indians. Vande Mataram!" The SSP of Budgam said that some aircraft has fallen. As of now were are ascertaining the situation. We have found two bodies and have evacuated them. The technical team is here and is currently assessing the situation, he also added. Meanwhile a high level meeting has been convened to assess the situation. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has arrived at the meeting at the Home Ministry and is assessing the situation. India however rubbished the claim. Sources tell Oneindia that no aircraft has been shot by Pakistan. The claim of a pilot being arrested os also not true. All our pilots have been accounted for the source also added. The Pakistan Foreign Office in a statement said that this was not a retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. Pakistan has therefore taken strikes at non-military targets avoiding human loss and collateral damage. The statement further read, sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we took the action with clear warning and in broad daylight. Sources say that the PAF dropped bombs at Laam, Kerri and Nadian in Rajouri district at around 10 am. The Indian jets are still flying in the area. Locals have said that they saw a Pakistani ket in flames across the Line of Control. Meanwhile officials confirm that they have seen the F-16 pilot paradropping. Pakistani jets violated Indian air space, but were pushed back by Indian aircaft, the report said while quoting top officials. The jets entered into Indian air space over Nowshera sector this morning, but were immediately pushed back by Indian jets on air patrol. This comes in the wake of Pakistan claiming that it had shot down two Indian aircraft. Indian officials however said that the jets violated Indian air space by entering the border areas of Nowshera sector in Jammu and Kashmir;s Rajouri district. A Sukhoi 30 MKI was seen chasing the Pakistan F-16 fighter on the Line of Control at the Nowshera sector. Maj General Ghafoor while addressing a press conference said that two pilots have been taken into custody. He had earlier said in a tweet that the PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistan airspace. He had also said that one Indian pilot had been arrested. India should not carry any further violence in Pakistan because its continuation will affect regional security. Also the continuation of such conflict will cost a lot to India, he also said. Meanwhile the Taliban has warned India and said that the ongoing tension would affect the Afghanistan peace process. In a statement, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said, the continuation of such conflict will affect the Afghanistan peace process. DG ISPR, Pakistan Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor has said that there are reports of a crash of an Indian aircraft on the Indian side. We had no engagement with that aircraft, he also added. Pakistan has released a video showing a blindfolded man saying that he is Wing Commander, Abhinandan. He says that his service number is 27981. He asks if he is with the Pakistan Army as he has a right to know. India is yet to officially respond to the video. Ghafoor also said that the ground forces arrested two pilots, once of them was injured and has been shifted to the Combined Military Hospital. God willing, he will be taken care of, he also said. Todays action was in self defence. We dont want to claim any victory, he further said. A high level meeting of the civil and police officials has been called in Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting was called to discuss the measures to be taken in the backdrop of the tensions with Pakistan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been briefed about the situation. Amidst the claims made by Pakistan that it had shot down two IAF jets, India has said that it shot down a F-16 jet. Entire airspace of North Delhi vacated amidst escalated tensions with Pakistan. After Pakistan released a video of an Indian pilot being captured, India says it is verifying further details. A joint media briefing of the Indian Air Force and Ministry for External Affairs is underway at New Delhi. MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar says India shot down by Pakistan F-16 jet. In the engagement we have lost one pilot. The whereabouts are unknown. We are ascertaining more details he added. Pakistan targeted military installations. We lost one MIG-21. Pilot missing in action says MEA spokesperson. Pakistan is yet to formally inform India about the missing IAF pilot. Pakistan claimed that it has captured an Indian pilot Abhinandan. We were able to foil Pakistans efforts due our high state of alertness says MEA. Pakistan responded to out counter terror operation by targeting our military installations says MEA. Imran Khan in a televised address warns against escalation. He says Pakistan is ready for dialogue. He also said that better sense should prevail. Read the full MEA statement here: India had informed about counter-terrorism (CT) action it took yesterday against a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan based on credible evidence that JeM intended to launch more attacks. Against this counter-trrorism action, Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistans attempts were foiled successfully. The Pakistan Air Force was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts." The weapons that you and we have, can we afford miscalculation. If it escalates from where, where will it go. Neither will it be in my control nor Modis control. Better sense should prevail, let us sit and resolve issues, Imran Khan also said. Hours after Pakistan claimed that it had an IAF pilot in its custody, sources said that India has not been informed officially about the same. The whereabouts of IAF Wing Commander, Abhinandan is not known as yet. Pakistan claimed that it had arrested two pilots. While one is in custody, the other is at hospital, Pakistan also said. After Pakistan claimed that it had one IAF pilot in its custody, India has summoned Pakistan deputy high commissioner Syed Haider Shah. India is treating todays action by the Pakistan Air Force as an act of military aggression. 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' India summons Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner India oi-Chennabasaveshwar P New Delhi, Feb 27: Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah has been summoned by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday. Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner was summoned after the MEA held a press conference about the ongoing tension between the two countries along the Line of Control. According to PTI, Indian officials are told about capturing of an Indian pilot by Pakistani authorities. India has accused Pakistan of using its Air Force to target Indian military installations on Wednesday morning in response to pre-dawn counter-terror strikes of Tuesday against Jaish-e-Mohammad camps in Pakistan. India also strongly objected to Pakistan's vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention. India's MiG-21 shot down Pak's F-16, IAF pilot missing: MEA confirms Earlier, Official Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, said, "The Pakistan Air Force was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force." "The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts, stated MEA Spokesperson. Earlier, Radio Pakistan released a startling video showing what it claims to be Indian pilot Abhinandan who was arrested after his fighter jet crashed inside PoK. Amid standoff with China, IAF to get land in Uttarakhand to carry out activities in border areas India objects to Pakistan's display of injured IAF pilot, demands safe and immediate release India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Feb 27: The government on Wednesday said it expected the "immediate and safe return" of an Indian pilot in Pakistan's custody after fighter jets of both sides engaged in an air battle. ''India has strongly objected to Pakistan's vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention,'' read the statement issued by MEA. ''It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return,'' it read. Pakistan detained Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman following a fierce engagement between air forces of the two sides along the Line of Control in which a Pakistani jet was downed. IAF also lost a MiG 21 jet in the engagement. "It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return," the MEA said. The Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan was summoned this afternoon by MEA to lodge a strong protest at the unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan against India earlier today, including by violation of the Indian air space by Pakistan Air Force and targeting of Indian military posts. Indo-Pak updates: Expect safe return of our pilot, India tells Pak dy high commissioner India on Wednesday said Pakistan responded to its counter-terrorism action against Jaish-e-Mohammed by using its air force to target Indian military installations, but was unsuccessful. One Pakistan Air Force jet was shot down by a MiG-21 Bison in an aerial engagement, but India lost a MiG 21, the ministry of external affairs said. "The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. Pakistan has claimed to have shot down two Indian jets and arrested two pilots. This is in contrast to India's non-military anti-terror pre-emptive strike at a JeM terrorist camp in Balakot on 26 February 2019. It is unfortunate that instead of fulfilling its international obligation and bilateral commitment to take credible action against terrorist entities and individuals operating from its soil, Pakistan has acted with aggression against India. Amid standoff with China, IAF to get land in Uttarakhand to carry out activities in border areas India hands over dossier to Pakistan on JeM role in Pulwama attack India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Feb 27: The government on Wednesday handed the Pakistani envoy a dossier containing "specific details of Jaish-e-Mohammed complicity in the Pulwama terror attack of February 14, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. [IAF pilot in Pakistani custody will be governed under Geneva Convention] The dossier also had proof of the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan. "It was conveyed that India expects Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from territories under its control," the MEA statement said. The dossier was handed over to the Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan, who was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs to lodge a strong protest over Pakistan Air Force targeting Indian military installations, a day after the Indian counter-terror action against the JeM. Government sources have claimed that over 350 JeM terrorists were killed in the pre-dawn strike on the terror camps in Pakistan on Tuesday. [India objects to Pakistan's display of an injured IAF personnel', demands urgent release] "Regret was expressed at continuing denial by Pakistan's political and military leadership at the presence of terrorist infrastructure in territories under its control," the MEA said. "A dossier was handed over to Pakistani side with specific details of JeM complicity in Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan," it said. The MEA said Pakistan was conveyed that India expects Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from territories under its control. In response to the Indian counter-terror operation, Pakistan air force tried to target certain locations in Jammu and Kashmir Wednesday morning which was countered by IAF jets. In the engagement, India shot down a Pakistani jet while an Indian IAF pilot was captured by the Paksitani authorities. India also lost a MiG 21 aircraft. India also lodged a strong protest at the unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan, including by violating the Indian air space and targeting military posts. "This is in contrast to the India's non-military anti-terror pre-emptive strike at a JeM terrorist camp in Balakot on February 26," the MEA added. (with PTI inputs) Being in Asia, Trump did not feel Indo-Pak tension important enough to tweet India oi-Shubham Ghosh New Delhi, Feb 27: With tension escalating between India and Pakistan in the wake of the terror attack in Pulwama and the over their airspace adventures that kicked off on Tuesday, February 26, the entire world is glued to the situation in South Asia apprehending which way the situation could lead to. A number of countries have expressed apprehension over the situation, including China which has asked both the nuclear-armed South Asian nations to show restraint. The US, too, has reacted to the situation with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo preaching peace. However, the president of the US, Donald Trump, was yet to tweet anything about the India-Pakistan escalation even though he was in Asia to attend a two-day summit with North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un. Trump is in Asia yet he didn't feel like tweeting about India-Pakistan tension Located around 3,000 kilometres from Kashmir which reached a boiling point in the last fortnight or so and the subsequent tension between the two neighbours, Trump was yet to express any concern over the matter. Not a single tweet on Pulwama attack from US President Trump; America's dry support means little The septuagenarian leader, known for his maverick words and acts, however, was seen bashing a local political rival Richard Blumenthal, the Democratic senator from Connecticut, who he called a "third rate Senator" and also "Da Nang Dick" - mocking his claim of having fought the Vietnam War in the 1970s. Blumenthal is known to be a strong anti-Trump voice and played a key role in filing a federal lawsuit accusing the president of emoluments clause of the US Constitution. I have now spent more time in Vietnam than Da Nang Dick Blumenthal, the third rate Senator from Connecticut (how is Connecticut doing?). His war stories of his heroism in Vietnam were a total fraud - he was never even there. We talked about it today with Vietnamese leaders! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2019 Was there anything more relevant for Trump to speak on than attack a domestic rival politician on the soil of Vietnam? For a leader who aspires to make a lasting impact in world peace and especially find a way out of the mess that Afghanistan is in, was speaking out on the ongoing India-Pakistan tension less important? Trump indeed never stops surprising us. Temple in Srinagar that was closed due to militancy, reopens after 31 years on Panchami IAF strike aftermath Updates: Restrictions from at least 8 airports lifted India oi-Chennabasaveshwar P New Delhi, Feb 27: Restrictions from eight airports have been lifted after the tension in the international airspace reduced on Wednesday. One Delhi-bound flight already took off from Jammu airport. Both India and Pakistan had suspended domestic and international flight operations in due to the tension in the international airspace. Airports in Leh, Jammu, Srinagar and Pathankot were on high alert due to security reason on Wednesday. Many commercial flights were put on hold, according to news agency ANI. AP Acharya, Amritsar Airport Director, said, "Due to operational reasons the airspace at Amritsar has been closed for now. No commercial flights are coming to Amritsar, there is no base here, so flights are not even taking off from here." India shoots down Pakistani F-16 Vistara Airline, Indigo, GoAir and Air Aindia had cancelled flight following the alert issued by the government. "Due to airspace restrictions, flights to and from Amritsar, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Jammu are currently on hold. Customers are requested to check flight status before commencing their journey to the airport." #TravelUpdate. Due to airspace restrictions, flights to and from Amritsar, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Jammu are currently on hold. Customers are requested to check flight status before commencing their journey to the airport. (1/2) Vistara (@airvistara) February 27, 2019 Earlier, Pakistan Air Force jets violated Indian airspace in Rajouri sector, dropped bombs near Indian Army post. No reports of casualties yet. Pakistan claimed "strikes across Line of Control from within Pak airspace", saying "purpose to demonstrate right to self-defence". UPDATES ON FLIGHT OPERATIONS: Amid standoff with China, IAF to get land in Uttarakhand to carry out activities in border areas IAF pilot in Pakistani custody will be governed under Geneva Convention India pti-PTI New Delhi, Feb 27: Indian Air Force's Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, in Pakistani custody after his plane was shot down on Wednesday, will be governed under the Geneva Convention of 1929. [What is the Geneva Convention] "There is only one pilot under Pakistan Army's custody. Wing Comd Abhi Nandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics," Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Twitter as tension between the two countries escalated. The rules protecting prisoners of war (POWs) are specific. They were first detailed in the 1929 Geneva Convention and later amended in the third 1949 Geneva Convention following the lessons of World War II. According to the rules, the status of POW only applies in international armed conflict. "POWs are usually members of the armed forces of one of the parties to a conflict who fall into the hands of the adverse party," the Convention states. It says POWs cannot be prosecuted for taking a direct part in hostilities. [India objects to Pakistan's display of an injured IAF personnel', demands urgent release] "Their detention is not a form of punishment, but only aims to prevent further participation in the conflict. They must be released and repatriated without delay after the end of hostilities. The detaining power may prosecute them for possible war crimes, but not for acts of violence that are lawful under International Humantarian Law," it says. The rules specify that POWs must be treated humanely in all circumstances. "They are protected against any act of violence, as well as against intimidation, insults, and public curiosity," the Geneva Convention states. PTI How the Sukhoi 30 acted as a decoy as the Mirages struck at Balakot India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 27: The Indian Air Force carried out a precise and high-profile strike on one of the biggest training camps of the Jaish-e-Mohammad in Balakot. Sources tell OneIndia that the operation involved the Mirage 2000s. The Sukhoi 30s MKI acted as a decoy and provided the cover in case the Mirages were intercepted. In addition to this the Falcon, AWACS and Embraer AEWS were used in addition to the Heron drones. How the IAF strike at Balakot unfolded: All the updates here The photographs taken by the drones after the strike were able to provide the depth of the attack. In all the operation lasted for 21 minutes, sources tell OneIndia. Incidentally this is the first strike by the Indian Air Force deep inside Pakistan since the 1971 Indo-Pak war. It may be recalled that during the Kargil war of 1999, the IAF jets had not crossed the Line of Control on the orders of the then government. For the operation the Mirage jets had been forward located to the UAF base at Adampur near Jalandhar from Gwalior. This is the base of the MiG 29 twin engine jets. The IAF had also moved several of its aircraft near the border since the Pulwama attack. During all high-level meetings, it was decided that an air strike was the best option. Moreover it was also said that India has a right to self defence and hence could strike deep into Pakistan and target terror camps that are a threat to India. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokale made it clear at a presser that the strikes did not amount to military action and no civilian was also targeted. He said that a large number of commanders and terrorists had been eliminated in the strike. For the IAF, the operation was a high risk one. There was always a danger of being shot down. Sources said that the entire operation was meticulously planned in quick time and the IAF informed that it was ready for the strike to be carried out on Tuesday. How PM Modi and the top brass monitored the air strike on JeM camps Pakistan was expecting a hit at Pakistan occupied Kashmir and this was the perception that had been built up by India. When the decision was finally taken to strike at Balakot, several aircraft took off from the air bases at the Central and Western commands simultaneously. This was done to confuse Pakistan. It was not clear where the strikes would take place due to multiple aircraft taking off at the same time. Pakistan did not expect that the destination would be Balakot and was anticipating a hit at Pakistan occupied Kashmir. The first target to be hit was at Balakot at 3.45 am. The second strike was at Muzaffarabad at 3.48 am. The final strike was at Chakothi at 3.58 am. Sources say that the biggest hit was at Balakot as it was a key Jaish-e-Mohammad camp. It houses nearly 300 terrorists, most of whom had been moved from PoK after the Pulwama attack. COVID-19 to review of ministries: What to expect from PMs Modis meet with Council of Ministers How PM Modi and the top brass monitored the air strike on JeM camps India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was up all night as he monitored the Indian Air Force operation to destroy a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Pakistan, relaxing only after all the pilots returned safely home, government sources said. After congratulating all those involved in the operation around 4.30 am, he got busy with his daily routine as he prepared for a full day's schedule, including the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security at his residence around 10 am. He then rushed to the Rashtrapati Bhawan, where President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2015-2018. Later, Modi flew to Rajasthan for a rally and returned to New Delhi to attend an ISKCON event. "The prime minister did not sleep a wink all night and remained intimately involved in the operations," said one source, speaking on condition of anonymity. How the IAF strike at Balakot unfolded: All the updates here Modi attended a News18 television channel conclave at the Taj Palace hotel on Monday night and left for home at 9.15 pm. After reaching his 7 Lok Kalyan Marg residence in 10 minutes, he took a light meal and became involved in the operation, going through the preparations for the air strike on the training camp, the source said. It is not clear if he was at home or at some other location where a control room monitored the historic events about to unfold. The prime minister was in touch with Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Air Force Chief B.S. Dhanoa before, during and after the operation, the source, who is close to the prime minister, said. Once the operation ended, he checked with officials about the well-being of the pilots involved. the source said. When it was clear everyone was safe, the prime minister withdrew and turned his attention to other matters, he said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 6:06 [IST] Washington previously pleaded guilty to charges of battery and invasion of privacy from an incident at his home involving two women. He was given six months of probation for those charges, as well. Amid standoff with China, IAF to get land in Uttarakhand to carry out activities in border areas How Indian Air Force took Pakistan by surprise and effectively struck at Balakot India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Feb 27: The key to the operation that was carried out by the Indian Air Force on Tuesday was the surprise element and secrecy. At no cost did the IAF want its aircraft to be detected by Pakistan and shot down. There was a lot of meticulous planning that went into this operation in which a major terror camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammad was destroyed at Balakot. OneIndia spoke with Air Marshal (Retd) B K Pandey to understand the finer details of the operation and how the Indian Air Force carried out such a successful strike deep into Pakistan. Pakistan jets violate Indian air space, drop bomb after being pushed back One of the key components in this operation was Netra, an airborne early earning and control aircraft. This aircraft can jam radars, B K Pandey explains. Further the attacking aircraft had shut down the radars and the waves could have alerted Pakistan, he also says. He also said that the aircraft was flying very low and hence detection becomes extremely difficult. He also says that the area in which the strike was carried out is not air defence sensitive. Pakistan's air defence is more active on the border and in insurgency affected areas, he further added. The Indian Air Force took advantage of these aspects. He also said that had the attacking aircraft been scrambled then the Sukhoi 30 MKI would have come in. The operation over all was well planned and executed to perfection, he adds. He also said that this operation is less complex when compared to an Army effort to carry out a surgical strike. Such an operation is also more effective in nature, he explained. He says that following this strike one could expect more such operations. The IAF would conduct such an operation not just in depth, but also to curb the firing along the border, B S Pandey also said. The capabilities un-questioned: The IAF always had this capability to strike deep. However the problem was that the IAF never got political clearance. In this operation the IAF crossed the border into the North West Frontier Province and penetrated really deep and more importantly took the Pakistan Air Force by surprise. To that extent this is an extremely successful mission. How the Sukhoi 30 acted as a decoy as the Mirages struck at Balakot One must also bear in mind that the terrorist training camp that was hit is a military asset for Pakistan. Pakistan is not capable of fighting a conventional war. My guess is that Pakistan will re-build this facility. B K Pandey also adds that the real assessment of the operation could be gauged on the level of terrorism. I feel that these terror groups would activate their sleeper cells across the country. India on the other hand would have to sustain the effort. I do not believe that Pakistan would escalate this and the question of using the nuclear weapons is ruled out. The Chinese would not allow that and Pakistan cannot afford it, he adds. On the other hand the Indian Army would continue to cleanse the Valley of terrorists and I hope that the government would lend complete support to the same, B K Pandey also adds. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 12:01 [IST] SSC CGL Tier-III results 2019 on July 9: Read full notice on cut off marks here IAF AFCAT 2021: How and where to apply Delhi Metro on red alert, inspection to be carried out in every 2 hours India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Feb 27: Amid growing tension between India and Pakistan, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Wednesday issued a statement saying that a red Alert has been imposed in enitre DMRC netwok from 6PM onwards. "As advised by security agencies, Red Alert has been imposed in enitre DMRC netwok from 6 pm onwards today. Under Red Alert, station head will inspect station premises for suspicious items/acts including parking & report to Control Centre every 2 hour," read a statement. Modi meets service chiefs amid escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan The move comes in the wake of escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. The government said that an Indian pilot was "missing in action" after an Indian Air Force aircraft shot down a Pakistani jet targeting military installations. Later, the Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan was summoned this afternoon by the Ministry of External Affairs to lodge a strong protest at the "unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan against India earlier today". The government has also strongly objected to Pakistan's "vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force" in violation of all norms of the Geneva Convention. Crew Dragon launch on March 2: 7 things to know about this crew-less test flight to ISS India oi-Vikas SV New Delhi, Feb 27: SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule which is heading for the International Space Station (ISS) would be launched on a Falcon 9 rocket on March 2 from the Kennedy Space Center. This would be a crew-less mission as the SpaceX wants to test a number of systems in the Crew Dragon capsule such as the life-support system, touch-screen console for astronauts to use, Crew Dragon's parachute system, temperature-related issues with the capsule's manoeuvring thrusters and the status of redesigned high-pressure helium tanks. In other words, it would an end-to-end test, from launch to the capsule's parachute-aided Atlantic Ocean splashdown six days later. This mission, also known as Demo-1, will be the first orbital flight for the vehicle, and will not carry astronauts. The first Crew Dragon is scheduled to lift off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on March 2. The Crew Dragon capsule is scheduled to dock with the ISS one day later and remain there until March 8, when it will undock and splash down several hours later in the Atlantic Ocean. [Space Tourism: Can ISRO venture into this lucrative market?] It is important to make sure that all the systems work perfectly in Demo-1 as Demo-2 would be carrying two NASA astronauts to and from the ISS. When human lives are involved, nothing can be left to chance as even the smallest of the glitches can result in a disaster. That is the reason why space missions are tested multiple times under different conditions so as to make sure that when an astrounaut is in space, far away from earth, there is unexpected that he has to face. [SpaceX to launch India's first home-grown private satellite] Demo-2's launch date has not been announced yet as it would depend on what work will be needed to respond to issues discovered during the Demo-1 test. It is expected that Demo-2's launch could be somewhere in July. The crewed test flight would be carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. What is the International Space Station or ISS? The International Space Station (ISS) is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit. Its first component was launched into orbit in 1998, with the first long-term residents arriving in November 2000. It has been inhabited continuously since that date. The last pressurised module was fitted in 2011, and an experimental inflatable space habitat was added in 2016. The station is expected to operate until 2030. [SpaceX gets first private passenger for moon trip] The ISS consists of pressurised habitation modules, structural trusses, solar arrays, radiators, docking ports, experiment bays and robotic arms. ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets and American Space Shuttles. The ISS programme is a joint project between five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos(Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada). The ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements. The station is divided into two sections, the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) and the United States Orbital Segment (USOS), which is shared by many nations. 7 things to know about SpaceX's Crew Dragon launch: Crew Dragon's first orbital flight, also called as Demo-1, would be crew-less as the main objective is to test the functionality of various systems in the capsule. The FRR had pointed out at a few minor potential issues with various Crew Dragon systems, including its thrusters and parachute. Demo-1 will be followed by Demo-2 which is a crewed test flight carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. Crew Dragon has seven seats, a life-support system and a touch-screen console for astronauts to use. Crew Dragon mission is a critical milestone in NASA's $6.8 billion Commercial Crew Program. Russian has expressed concerns about the computer guidance and safety systems aboard the Crew Dragon which would help it dock with the ISS. If the Crew Dragon, Demo-1's, March 2 launch is delayed for some reason, there are backup launch dates on March 5 and either March 8 or 9. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 5:00 [IST] 'Cold blooded murder' of IAF pilot Ajay Ahuja by Pak troops during Kargil conflict India oi-Vikas SV New Delhi, Feb 27: With the Ministry of External Affairs confirming that the IAF pilot of the MiG-21 fighter which shot down Pakistan's F-16 is missing, one must recall what happened during 1999s Kargil conflict when Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja's MiG-21MF fighter was hit by a Surface-to-Air missile FIM-92 Stinger. According to the data released by the Indian Air Force, Ahuja's aircraft had been within the Indian side of the Line of Control when he ejected. But he was captured by the Pakistani forces. A post-mortem examination conducted at the Srinagar Base Hospital claimed that Ahuja had landed safely after ejecting from his plane, but had been killed later by Pakistani soldiers. Recounting the capture of IAF pilot K Nachiketa during Kargil war On 27th May, 1999, he was planned to lead a two aircraft mission for Photo reconnaissance of enemy positions in the Batalik Sector. As he was getting airborne he was informed that Flt Lt Nachiketa had ejected in the vicinity of Muntho Dhalo. Squadron Leader Ahuja immediately realized the necessity of locating and recovering the downed pilot. He changed his mission profile and set course towards Muntho Dhalo. Despite being told that surface to air missile were being fired in the area, Squadron Leader Ahuja carried out orbits to try and pinpoint the location of the crashed aircraft and pilot. He sent his No.2 back to base but himself continued the search, ignoring the threat to his own life. By sheer perseverance, he was able to locate the possible crash site and transmitted this information to the rescue helicopters. Unfortunately, at this stage, his own aircraft was hit by a surface to air missile. With exemplary presence of mind and cool professionalism he attempted to nurse the air craft towards a safer area. But when the aircraft engine flamed out Squadron Leader Ahuja had no choice but to eject. He ejected safely and had the presence of mind to transmit his last recorded ground position. On 28th May, 1999 the body of Squadron Leader Ahuja was handed over to Indian authorities. The body bore two bullet injuries. It was reported that the left knee fracture was sustained when he parachuted down, but the gunshots show that he landed alive and was shot. And his death was called as a cold blooded murder. Squadron Leader Ahuja was conferred with Vir Chakra posthumously on August 15, 1999. Earlier today, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed that India shot down one Pakistani F-16 and in the process lost one MiG-21 Bison fighter, the pilot of which is missing. "One Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by Indian Air Force. In this engagement we have lost one MiG 21. Pilot is lost in action. Pakistan claims he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," he said at the media briefing. India's MiG-21 shot down Pak's F-16, IAF pilot missing: MEA confirms He said that Pakistani fighter was seen going down by the ground staff in India and fell in Pakistani territory. MEA spokesperson said that the Pakistan has claimed to have missing IAF pilot in custody, adding, "We are still ascertaining facts." A day after Indian Air Force (IAF) crossed the Line of Control (LOC) on Tuesday morning, Pakistan on Wednesday exhibited aggression along the LOC. India had earlier today shot down a Pakistani F-16 jet that violated the Indian air space in retaliatory fire 3km within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, Nowshera sector. Pakistan had claimed to have entered the Indian airspace and dropped bombs. Senior government officials said there were no reports of any casualty. A parachute was reportedly seen when the Pakistani jet went down but the fate of the pilot is unknown. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 16:53 [IST] Amid standoff with China, IAF to get land in Uttarakhand to carry out activities in border areas #BringBackAbhinandan says Twitteratti India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Feb 27: After the photo and video of IAF's Wing Commander Abhinandan being captured in Pakistan following an air strike is doing several rounds on social media, there has been a call from many to #BringBackAbhinandan. However, the Indian government has not confirmed the name of the missing MiG 21 Bison pilot. The hashtag #BringBackAbhinandan became a top trend on Twitter on Wednesday, with netizens urging the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government to bring the pilot back home to safety as cross-border attacks escalated during the ongoing India-Pakistan conflict. The hashtag has now became a top global trend. Have only one Indian pilot in our custody says Pak military Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker took to Twitter to pray for his safe return. "Praying for the safe return of this Indian Air Force officer," she wrote on Twitter. In another tweet, she wrote, "#BringHimHome #BringBackAbhinandan #Abhinandan." Omar Abdullah tweeted,''PM Modi must suspend his political activities until #WingCommanderAbhinandan is returned safely. It can't be business as usual with him cross crossing the country at tax payer expense making political speeches while our pilot is a Pakistani captive.'' Another user said: You achieved nothing Mr Modi. Now only if you can #BringBackAbhinandan in the remaining days of your term, you may still have a chance. https://t.co/W1zH3SMwwR Sanjukta Basu (@sanjukta) February 27, 2019 Many also encouraged Pakistan to extend to him relevant protections under the Geneva Convention. A social media campaign has started in the past hour #BringBackAbhinandan rama lakshmi (@RamaNewDelhi) February 27, 2019 While some Twitter users across the globe said with hashtag #SayNoToWar. Twitter user @faizuuk posted: "Don't celebrate war! #SayNoToWar. Hope the situation does not go out of control. Really concerned. War is a failure, no matter who wins #IndiaPakistan." One Indian user wrote: "No politician ever dies in a war, they only create it. It's always the innocent civilians and military jawans that suffer and die. We demand #BringBackAbhinandan #SayNoToWar." India summons Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Earlier in the day, the ministry of external affairs said a MiG-21 had been shot down and that a pilot was missing, even as Pakistan claimed it has in its custody two Indian Air force pilots who were captured from its territory. The Pakistani government released a video claiming it was of one of the "arrested" pilots. In the video, a man wearing a flight suit is heard saying he is Wing Commander Abhinandan. He is blindfolded and asks whether he is in the custody of the Pakistani military. He says he has a right to know and refuses to answer further questions. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 18:57 [IST] Once the city wraps up snow removal on major streets, residents have 24 hours to shovel their walks. There are similar rules in Bellevue, Lincoln and Council Bluffs. If a neighbor complains after that in Omaha, the city will give one warning and then after 24 hours will send out a contractor to clear the sidewalk. Residents get stuck with the bill, which, depending how long a sidewalk is and how deep the snow is, could be for hundreds of dollars. The city expects to declare an end to its snow operation Wednesday at 6 a.m., said city engineer Todd Pfitzer. That gives procrastinators until 6 a.m. Thursday to clean up or face the consequences. Youve got 24 hours to hire the neighbor kid or a contractor, whoever it is of your choice, Pfitzer said. After that, well have to start taking measures to get them clean. Before Saturdays storm, the city had already received 600 sidewalk complaints, Pfitzer said, many more than the citys single sidewalk contractor can manage. I was very disappointed that Pope Francis summit regarding the sexual abuse of children by priests produced no apparent results. One thing that I have never understood, from the time I was very young, was why priests are not allowed to marry. Even as a child, I saw no reason for this unusual requirement. It made no sense to me. As an adult, I now clearly see that the requirement of clerical celibacy can obviously be a contributing factor in what has happened within the secrecy of the Catholic Church for hundreds and hundreds of years that being the horrible exploitation of children by certain priests. Allowing priests to marry will not totally correct this issue. There are predators everywhere, in every religion, married or not. But common sense shows that many children would be spared from these terrible experiences. Its time the Catholic Church realizes that the law of clerical celibacy is not, and never was, a good thing for the church. This is something that obviously needs to be changed. Its the right thing to do for the children. Roger Anderson, Omaha E-15 should be more available For those of us that have brought home those that have been lost, its hard to refer to the flag as a rag, because you have to fold it and you have to give it to the parents. Thats awful hard to do. And to not call them heroes I dont know what else you call them. They gave everything. So, I would just ask that you remember: All were trying to do is fill our ranks and do what we have to do to make sure that those things that keep our country free are able to continue. Chambers, an African-American and Army veteran, replied, I do think that flag is a rag, because that rag is what was sanctifying and flying over this Constitution that allowed slavery and counted slaves as three-fifths of a person. Indeed, slavery was an unspeakable abomination. Racial injustice, whether in the past or present, is a fundamental violation of humanitarian principles. But it would be mistaken to say the Constitution hasnt evolved over time in response to injustice. The U.S. Supreme Courts 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson decision saying racial segregation is constitutional is no longer the law of the land. The 14th Amendment, passed in the aftermath of the Civil War, in particular has proved a vital bulwark in recent decades in safeguarding the civil liberties of all Americans in regard to due process and equal protection. Trump should also demand a detailed plan of other steps the North will take toward full denuclearization. These should include providing a list of all the Norths nuclear and missile stocks and facilities, which Kim has resisted up to now. A verifiable cap on these arsenals should be imposed. Kims voluntary freeze of nuclear and missile tests should be laid out in more detail and made permanent. And its about time the two sides agreed on exactly what they mean by denuclearization. What the U.S. offers in return should depend on how many of these demands Kim accepts. Expanding cultural, educational and sporting exchanges, and even opening a diplomatic liaison office in Pyongyang, would give Washington a better view of whats going on in the North. Other measures under discussion are riskier. A declaration that the Korean War had officially ended would invite calls to end the U.S. military presence in South Korea. Allowing Seoul to restart some economic projects with the North would revive the flow of hard currency to the regime and increase pressure to lift broader sanctions as well. Attorney Jewell Harris Jr., who represented Cossey during the meeting, said Wilson had two cases. One was the case where he pleaded guilty, and the second was a referral to the veterans court for additional services. The office believes that subpoenas are necessary in order to ensure all reports of impropriety have been submitted to the appropriate authorities. It is our goal that all reports of abuse are subject to complete law enforcement review and investigation as warranted, the statement said. Gage, the attorney generals spokeswoman, said she couldnt expand further on why the office issued the subpoenas. Similar probes in other states have led to grand jury investigations or criminal charges. Asked where the Nebraska probe is headed, Gage said she could not speculate. An Omaha archdiocesan official had described a records search back in December as thorough, albeit conducted internally. A seven-member committee composed almost entirely of clergy (there was one woman on the committee), all with backgrounds in church or canon law, went through more than 100 years of personnel files. The committee then essentially divided their findings into two groups: 38 names of priests and deacons who had been credibly accused of sexual abuse or misdeeds involving a minor, and 100 more names where claims were not as clear-cut. State Sen. Ernie Chambers bill to eliminate most cash bail in Nebraska has the unanimous backing of the bipartisan County Board in Nebraskas most populous county. The Douglas County Board voted 7-0 Tuesday to support Legislative Bill 646. The bills prospects are uncertain. But the County Boards stance on it is clear. Its the right thing to do, said Mike Boyle, one of four Democrats on the board. The three Republicans backed it as well. Chambers is an independent. Sen. Chambers has it nailed. Bail is a very brutal way of dealing with primarily poor people, Boyle said. It sets them up for failure. It leads to financial pain, it leads to family pain. Its very destructive, and theres got to be a better way to do it. Also Tuesday, the board voted 7-0 to approve a new method of financing the purchase of the Metropolitan Utilities District headquarters site in downtown Omaha. The county wants the city block and MUDs office building as a site for a potential courthouse expansion and juvenile detention center. The county had planned to pay for the $6 million purchase out of the proceeds of a $120 million Omaha-Douglas Public Building Commission bond issue. WASHINGTON The House voted Tuesday to shut down President Donald Trumps emergency declaration diverting billions to a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The resolution passed 245 to 182 with 13 Republicans joining Democrats in support. All GOP members from Nebraska and Iowa sided with Trump and opposed the resolution. The measure now heads to the Senate, where it will require at least a few Republican votes to pass. Even if it does pass, however, Trump is expected to veto it. And Tuesdays vote tally in the House indicates that veto will be sustained. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the resolution has nothing to do with partisan politics or even how members feel about the merits of a border wall. Rather, she said, its about Congress asserting its constitutional authority as a check on executive power. Is your oath of office to Donald Trump or is your oath of office to the Constitution of the United States? Pelosi said. You cannot let him undermine the strength of your pledge to protect and defend the Constitution. Its not going to be a very pleasant experience, Brewer said, when their bills get to floor debate. Under current state law, public utilities like NPPD and OPPD can use eminent domain to obtain right-of-way for such feeder lines, which are needed to link private wind farms to the electrical grid. The utilities said that the power has never been used. But OPPD opposed LB 155 because it could stifle wind development. About 50 people from the Sand Hills and other rural areas affected by wind farms came to the Legislature on Wednesday to support the bill. They applauded when North Platte Sen. Mike Groene blamed Omaha and Lincoln for supporting wind farm development in rural areas. Opposition to wind farms, as well as a high-power transmission line, has been fierce in the Sand Hills region of north-central Nebraska, and has grown in other areas as well. Opponents say wind farms are unsightly and kill dozens of birds, including bald eagles. It was in Lima, where his family owned a coffee shop, that Eli suffered a brain injury in a motorcycle crash. The injury made it difficult for Eli to process information, his father said. Charles Keenan decided to come back to Omaha, where he opened Cafe Z, a coffee shop near 16th and Martha Streets, in 2014. Father and son worked at the cafe and lived together in the Keenan family home near 18th and Martha. Ive always loved Omaha, so it was an easy decision to move back here, the elder Keenan said. The cafe was an anchor for Eli. Something for he and I to be able to do together. It was working out well. The night of the hit-and-run crash, Eli and his father had been to dinner and then watched some TV. They said goodnight about 8:30 p.m. I went to bed, but he walked up to a convenience store at 20th and Martha, Charles Keenan said. He liked to go for walks to get out and get some air. At 11:30 (p.m.), I got a call from the hospital. Eli, his father said, was a nice, kind, pleasant gentleman with a good heart. A 22-year-old woman has been charged with misdemeanor motor vehicle homicide in connection with a December crash that took the life of a man from rural Murray, Nebraska. Ashley Baumgart, a Plattsmouth resident, is accused of causing the death of Leonard Kaffenberger, 63, following a Dec. 17 crash on U.S. Highway 75 near Beaver Lake. The filing in Cass County Court said Baumgart unintentionally caused the fatality due to careless driving or following too closely. Investigators from the Cass County Sheriffs Office said Kaffenberger was trying to turn left from Highway 75 into a private drive about 2 p.m. when his 1992 Chevy pickup truck was struck from behind by a 2015 Ford Fusion driven by Baumgart. The impact caused Kaffenbergers pickup to collide with a 2015 Dodge Durango driven by Mariah Husen, 26, of Nebraska City. Kaffenberger was taken by medical helicopter to the Nebraska Medical Center in critical condition. He died December 28. Husen and a 10-month-old child were taken to the Nebraska Medical Center by ambulance with minor injuries. Baumgart was taken to Nebraska Medicine-Bellevue, also with minor injuries. Officers found a 69-year-old man from Fair Oaks, Ind., on the ground near a vehicle, Hamady said. Gary Fire Department arrived on scene "and advised that there were no signs of life," according to the release. He was declared dead at the scene, Hamady said. Those two earlier proposals to use the land near Nickerson to join the poultry boom in northeast Nebraska had failed at the local level after neighbors raised concerns about the potential for dust, air and water pollution, and more. This time, things on the chicken farm went the Camenzinds way. The Dodge County Board voted 6-0 in favor of their application for the farm to raise chickens for Costco supplier Lincoln Premium Poultry on 15 of the Camezinds more than 4,000 acres. The Camezinds, who live near Omaha, wanted to make the farm more fruitful for their son, Case, and daughter-in-law, Joscelyn. I dont know what the difference was, said Lee Camenzind, smiling. But it was great to see so many people in agriculture support each other. Neighbors again stressed concerns about raising so many chickens next door. Among them: risks to air and water quality, property values, poor sightlines and animal odor. Yet opponents numbers, which ran about 20-to-1 against the proposal in January, seemed to flip Wednesday. At the end of a nearly three-hour public hearing, Case Camenzind, who will live and farm on the land with Joscelyn and their two children, asked supporters of the proposal to stand. He was always very open minded, Green said. Bob was never, Oh, you cant do this. It was, I have no idea how were gonna do this, but well figure something out. Green, who graduated in 1991, went on to join Outlook Nebraska. Green heard Thorntons voice as he walked down the hall one day. Thornton, who lives in Bellevue, has age-related macular degeneration. Since that diagnosis, hes dealt with a torn retina in his left eye and a detached retina in his right eye. To watch television, he has to nearly place his nose on the screen. Sitting across the table from someone, he could tell their gender, but couldnt pick them out of a lineup. He participated in an Outlook Nebraska program that taught him how to use computers and his iPhone. Now he can once again send emails and text messages. Learning to be the student was one of the trickiest parts. It was difficult, Thornton said. A teacher always wants to take charge, and I knew I couldnt take charge. Celtic Tiger housing on the Laois Offaly border which got the green light as the property market crashed is being brought back to life. Smart 2 Management Ventures Ltd, based in Dublin, intends applying for planning permission for the big housing project at the Bog Road, Portarlington near the town's secondary school. The development applied for consists of modifications to a development which received the go-ahead in 2008. In 2007, Paul Mitchell applied to build 66 units which were a mix of houses and apartments. Offaly County Council granted planning permission for 52 houses in 2008 with 37 conditions. The project was subject to the so-called Part V rule which required the inclusion of some social housing. Planning permission for the development near Colaiste Iosagain secondary school was extended twice and expires in 2021. Local builder Pat Moore commenced work on the site and the estate was marketed as Birchfields. However, the property crash brought a halt to the development which remains a building site. The new applicants want to modify the 2008 planning permission. Smart 2 Management Ventures wants to build 62 detached, semi-detached and terraced homes on the land. The new applicant registered as a business in November 2017. Its principal activity is financial service. John Childs CL-Media Relations handled the announcement of the retirement of John Childs, chairman and founder of Boston private equity firm J.W. Childs Assocs., who has been charged with soliciting prostitution. That allegation followed the Feb. 22 Florida massage parlor sting that was tied to a human trafficking investigation that resulted in similar charges against New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. 77-year-old Childs, a part-time resident of Indian River Shores, FL, dismissed the accusation as totally false. In the Feb. 25 press release, JW Childs said Childs is not currently active in the management of the firm, and has stepped down as chairman and the director of KeyImpact, a portfolio company. John has built an enduring and strong business and we appreciate his many contributions to JWC, said Adam Suttin. I look forward with confidence to the next chapter for our firm and wish John well. CL-Media is based in Concord, MA. Elizabeth Yekhtikian PAN Communications has hired Elizabeth Yekhtikian as the firms first chief media strategist. Yekhtikian comes to PAN from InkHouse, where she was vice president, media strategy, creating and implementing strategies for a variety of technology and venture capital brands. She was also responsible for providing hands-on media training for clients, an area that PAN will seek her guidance in. Yekhtikian was previously an account director at Blanc & Otus PR. At PAN, her remit will be to help drive storytelling across the media landscape at PAN while collaborating with national and global media contacts to better align with the firms client roster. Katherine Mackinnon APCO Worldwide has brought on Katherine Mackinnon, who will be a director based in the firms Seattle office. Mackinnon comes to APCO from Nyhus Communications, where she served as an account supervisor and director, specializing in reputation management, advocacy, strategic communications and public affairs for clients across the technology and real estate sectors. She was previously a policy and advocacy specialist for the Downtown Seattle Association and has worked for two Seattle city council members on issues related to transportation, land use and budget policy. Katherines strong public affairs and Seattle government background coupled with her experience developing impactful strategic communications campaigns in the market, strengthens our ability to provide innovative solutions for our clients, said Tim Smith, APCO Worldwide managing director, Seattle. Alice Chapman MP&F Strategic Communications has named Alice Chapman managing partner. Chapman has been with MP&F since 1995 and advanced to become a senior manager and ultimately an equity owner of the company. Working with clients across the Southeast in such industries as health care, technology and education, she specializes in areas including grassroots campaigns and public policy initiatives. In addition, she recently completed a three-year term as an executive committee member of the Public Relations Society of Americas Counselors Academy. David Fox, one of MP&Fs original partners, previously served in the management role and will remain an active full-time partner in the firm. Rhenna Morgan Hill+Knowlton Strategies is welcoming Rhenna Morgan back to the firm as a director in its retail and leisure team. Morgan returns to H+K from commercial real estate company Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, where she led consumer PR. During her first stint at H+K, she worked with retailers such as B&Q, Comet, Sainsburys and QVC, and brands including TUI, P&G, Cineworld, Britvic and London Eye. In her new role, Morgan will work across a number of clients within Retail and Leisure and will have a broader client service role across the agency. H+K UK CEO Simon Whitehead said that Morgans experience from working client side will ensure that our teams remain firmly focused on delivering exceptional client service. They say you can tell a lot about a person by the way they walk, but one Chinese startup has apparently developed technology that allows it to identify individuals by their gait, even if their face is covered or they have their back to the camera. Known as gait recognition, the technology invented by artificial intelligence startup Watrix analyses thousands of metrics about a persons walk, from their body shape and the angle of arm movement to their posture and whether they have a toe-in or toe-out gait. All these individual traits go into a database that the software then goes through when attempting to identify people. According to an official statement from Watrix, the accuracy rate of gait technology at the laboratory level exceeds 96 per cent. Photo: Watrix.ai Facial recognition technology has come a long way in recent years, but it still has a fundamental weakness it needs to see peoples faces in order to identify them, so if someones face is covered or if their back is to the camera, its basically useless. Gait recognition, on the other hand, is much more reliable. It works from virtually any angle, and because it analyses so many metrics, it can identify subjects even if they attempt to cover their legs. Disguises or fake limps are not very effective in fooling the technology either. Covering your legs would reduce the recognition score but we analyse all of a persons body, Huang Yongzhen, co-founder and chief executive of Watrix, said in an interview. With facial recognition people need to look into a camera cooperation is not needed for them to be recognized [by our technology]. Watrix revealed the first version of their gait recognition technology in October of last year and has since been in talks with security companies from Singapore, India, Russia, the Netherlands and Czech Republic for contracts. The technology has also been tested by public security officials for thousands of hours and used to solve dozens of police cases. Authorities in Shanghai and Beijing are already using gait recognition to detect wanted criminals and identify jaywalkers. The current version of gait recognition software isnt yet capable of detecting people in real time, but the Chinese startup claims that its able to analyze an hours worth of video footage in just 10 minutes, with over 94% accuracy. Watrix also develops facial recognition technology and recommends combining it with gait recognition to improve overall detection results. Yup, good luck hiding from that combo, I guess A South African pastor has been making news headlines all over the world for staging a hilariously ridiculous prank in which he appears to bring a dead man back to life in front of a congregation of churchgoers. Pastor Alph Lukau, of the Alleluia Ministries International church, in Kramerville, South Africa, has landed in hot water after a video showing him supposedly bringing a dead man back to life went viral online. The controversial religious figure can be seen putting his hands on the dead mans chest and shouting rise up!. The man, who had supposedly died last Friday due to an undisclosed illness, opens his eyes and rises from the coffin with his mouth and eyes wide open, to the shouts and cheers of churchgoers gathered around him. Within hours of the footage being shared online, Twitter was flooded with videos of people staging their own resurrection miracles and ridiculing Lukau for his stunt. News outlets started reporting on it as well, and it wasnt long before South African authorities and religious figures put out statements condemning Pastor Lukaus actions. He has now been sued by several parties, including the funeral parlors he allegedly tricked into indirectly participating in the farce. Lukau is now facing charges of organised crime, fraud and misrepresentation, among others. The funeral parlors that provided the hearse, coffin and the dead mans attire have denied any involvement in the resurrection, claiming that they were deceived by Alph Lukau and his associates. They are now taking legal action against the Alleluia Ministries leader for misleading them and causing damage to their reputation. A South African bishop has also sued Lukau for misrepresenting Christian religious figures with his shameful miracle. Although it seems quite clear that Alph Lukau went out of his way to make it seem like he had brought a person back to like with the power of God, the Alleluia Ministries International church has backtracked on the resurrection claim, following the heavy backlash from the public. They are now claiming that the man in the coffin was indeed alive when the miracle was performed, but they are also maintaining that he had indeed died a few days before. What theyre basically saying is that Lukau completed a miracle that God had already started. Youre probably wondering what happened to the dead man, right? Well, hes apparently been arrested for taking part in the stunt. Eyewitness News reports that he has been identified as Brighton, from Zimbabwe, an unqualified worker employed by a timber company in Pretoria. Speaking to 702s Azania Mosaka on Tuesday, a man claiming to be Brightons employer said that this was not the first time he helped Lukau perform miracles in front of his congregation. He previously pretended to be a wheelchair-bound man to make it look like the Alleluia Ministries leader used his power to help him stand up. Can you imagine what a life hes had? Hes worked for me, he died, he was resurrected and now hes been arrested, Brightons supposed employer jokingly said. This isnt the first time weve covered ridiculous miracles performed by shady African pastors. A couple of years ago we featured Lethebo Rabalago, who claimed to heal people by spraying them in the face with insect repellent, and Bongani Maseko, who asked his congregates to drink motor oil if they wanted to be be saved, healed and delivered. And who could forget Paul Sanyangore, the Zimbabwean pastor who claimed to have Gods direct phone number, and actually talked with Him on the phone? On May 26, 2019, Manuel German Ramirez Valdovinos will have been in prison for 19 years, serving a sentence of 43 years for the murder of a man who is allegedly alive and well. Valdovinos used to work as a music teacher at a school in the town of Texapan, in the State of Mexico. On May 26, 2000, he had just come back from work and was celebrating his sons one-month anniversary with his wife, when a commando of eight judicial policemen stormed into his home, beat him, handcuffed him and put him into the back of a car with no license plates. He was arrested without a warrant and taken to the local police station where he was hung up by his hands with metal chains, tortured with electric shocks and accused of the murder of a person he barely knew. Manuel was only 22-years-old at the time. Upon hearing the police officers accusation, Manuel was shocked. He knew the alleged victim, Manuel Martinez Elizalde, as he had helped him out with money before, because his family had nothing to eat. But he had never had any arguments with him, let alone any reason to kill him. Things got even stranger when he saw Elizaldes father at the station, and then heard him tell the policemen no, not this one, hes my friends son and hes going to cause trouble for me. The officer in charge replied look, you asked for three bastards and here they are. Now everything is arranged with the Public Prosecutors Office. Manuel claims that Elizaldes father promised the agents who arrested him a reward of $150,000 for their participation in what turned out to be an unbelievably cruel scheme. He would later learn that Manuel Martinez Elizaldes family claimed a $1 million life insurance policy after his alleged death. But the supposed murder victim never actually died. In fact, both Valdovinos and his wife Esther claim that it is a known fact that Elizalde moved to the United States where he used plastic surgery to alter his physical appearance. He has been living there ever since, under a different name, but regularly visits his father at the villa he built with the life insurance money. The evidence against Manuel German Ramirez Valdovinos was a complete farce. The supposed corpse of Manuel Martinez Elizalde had a different skin tone, was considerably shorter and had none of the distinctive scars of the alleged victim. But prosecutors didnt care about any of that. They convicted him of murder and sentenced him to 43 years in prison. Valdovinos has spent the last 19 years in various prisons around Mexico and all his attempts to get his sentence overturned have so far failed. For the last 19 years, Manuel and his wife have been sending letters to all the judges, magistrates, court presidents and governors in Mexico, but they have yet to receive a response. In 2015, the former music teacher even appealed to President Pena Nieto, asking for the investigation of the obvious irregularities in his case, but to no avail. After exhausting all legal options in Mexico, Manuel German Ramirez Valdovinos reached out to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which admitted his case, investigated it and recently ruled to protect him under the Istanbul Protocol, the first set of international guidelines for documentation of torture and its consequences. Theoretically, Valdovinos should be released once the courts recommendation is made to the state of Mexico. In addition to the victims release, there should also be sanctions against those involved in the criminal process as well as the officers who tortured him in an attempt to get him to confess, which he never did. The public servants who had all the facts but did absolutely nothing to prevent or undo the injustice and torture that Valdovinos and his family have been subjected to for so long should also be held responsible. It was proven that the person who my husband supposedly killed is still alive, they accuse him of something that does not make sense, Esther Valdovinos told reporters. I ask for justice and the release of my husband, who has been imprisoned for 19 years for a crime that was never committed, a fabricated crime. It is a fallacy that in Mexico there is a State of Law. The Lake County Board of Elections and Voter Registration on Wednesday ruled that John Aguilera, who is challenging East Chicago Mayor Anthony Copeland in the Democratic primary, can stay on the ballot despite claims that he lives in Indianapolis. A challenge to his candidacy claimed that Aguilera lives in Indianapolis and keeps his name on an East Chicago home for a self serving purpose. Two Georgia men were arrested and charged with the murder of a Chambers County man found last Friday in Moores Creek in Lanett, according to the West Point Police Department. Donald Kee, of West Point, and Aaron Creed, of LaGrange, were identified in a news release from the West Point Police Department as the two suspects charged in the crime. There is an ongoing investigating into this incident and the motive behind the felonious assault has not been determined, the news release read. Jeremy Fetner, of Chambers County, was identified as the man found in the creek, according to a news release from the Lanett Police Department on Wednesday afternoon. The department received information Wednesday after the West Point Police Department issued a news release Wednesday which provided a description of the body recovered. Investigators were able to meet with family members of Fetner and confirmed his identity. John Doe On Wednesday, Feb. 20, an individual reported to West Point police that they observed a white male had been assaulted at a residence in the 1400 block of Avenue K in West Point. What we hope is it will get everyone to understand the issue is not resolved and keep it in the front of mind, said Sandra Shimon, who led the vigil. Opening statements and testimony in the 2017 Tiger Transit rape case are expected to begin this morning at the Lee County Justice Center. Jury selection began Monday in Judge Christopher Hughes courtroom and continued into the late afternoon Tuesday. The jury will return for opening statements at 9:30 a.m. Defendant Tony Martin Patillo, of Columbus, Georgia, is the first of two defendants on trial in the case. His co-defendant, James Don Johnson, of Auburn, will be tried at a later date. Patillo faces charges of first-degree rape-physically helpless and first-degree sodomy-physically helpless, and one count misdemeanor of public lewdness-reckless exposure, according to the Lee County District Attorneys Office. Physically helpless is defined as a person who is, unconscious or for any other reason is physically unable to communicate unwillingness to an act, according to the Criminal Code within the 2017 Code of Alabama. Patillo is represented by attorney Jon Carlton Taylor, according to court records. Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes and Assistant District Attorney Clay Thomas are prosecuting the case. The incident The Auburn police officer who was shot by a suspect on Feb.15 is released from the hospital. Justin Sanders was released from University of Alabama at Birmingham hospital in Birmingham on Tuesday afternoon and is continuing to recover at home, Auburn Police Division Chief Paul Register said. Sanders was conducting a traffic stop in the 1100 block of Opelika Road of a suspect vehicle believed to be involved in an attempted robbery on Feb. 15. The suspect, Christopher James Wallace, then shot Sanders multiple times, authorities reported. Sanders was taken to East Alabama Medical Center where he underwent surgery before being transferred to UAB Hospital. 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. Adrienne Church, general manager of non-bank lender Resimac has resigned her role and is set to leave the business by the end of this week. Church has been with Resimac since its establishment in New Zealand in 2012, though its parent company Resimac Group has been in operation since 1985. Her last day will be the 28th February. Resimac CEO Scott McWilliam stated that Church had led the New Zealand business through a period of tremendous success and growth, and said the business would be sad to see her leave. [Church] has built an experienced and committed team, and the growth NZ has experienced over the last few years is a testament to their effectiveness and passion for the business, McWilliam said. While we are sad to see Adrienne go, we are very pleased for her as she is taking on an exciting new opportunity and we wish her the very best. Resimac New Zealand is an important part of the Resimac Group business and plays a key role in our strategy, he continued. The NZ team has full support from myself, senior executives and the Board and we are focused on growth, the future and providing more opportunities for staff, advisers and borrowers. The team will work closely with the wider Resimac business, and with you, during this period of change. The lender has not yet confirmed plans for a new general manager, and a Resimac spokesperson said it would be business as usual over the next few months. After sitting with students for a meeting, I shared with them that I didnt feel comfortable having a re-enactment of this event, a young boy being murdered, in our middle school, Fitzgerald said. In sharing that with the social justice club, we then had some conversations around some other options. Whats [happened] over the last couple of days, there was the fact this walkout was being put together. I did talk to members about how if [the proposed demonstration] was something to happen at a high school, maybe the conversation would be a little different because wed be dealing with kids that are freshmen through seniors as opposed to sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders. My intent is not to hinder your voice. I will continue to support all of you moving forward and support your efforts, especially when it comes to having your voice heard and expressing yourself. In the past, deputies would log the revocation notice and it would be addressed when time allowed, Mendrick said. Now, a social worker is making a phone call to the cardholder almost immediately to see if they will voluntarily surrender the card and any guns they may have. Kashmir, a mountainous valley that borders Pakistan and India, has been a center of conflict between the two nuclear-armed countries since the 1947 partition of British India. At the time of the partition, the British agreed to divide their former colony into two countries: Pakistan, with a Muslim majority, and India, with a Hindu majority. Both nations covet Kashmir, which is Muslim majority, and occupy portions of it with military forces. For decades, an uneasy stalemate has prevailed, broken by occasional military incursions, terrorist attacks and police crackdowns. But on Monday, the Indian government decided to permanently incorporate the territory it controls into the rest of India. The administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked Article 370 of the Indian constitution, a 70-year-old provision that had given autonomy to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which includes the Hindu-majority area of Jammu and the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley. The government also introduced a bill to strip the region of statehood and divide it into two parts, both under direct control of the central government. But Mr. Modi, a Hindu nationalist, had campaigned for re-election in part by stoking patriotic fervor against Muslim-led Pakistan. He promised the full integration of Kashmir, a cause which his party has championed for decades, and now he is delivering on that pledge. Pakistan condemned Indias moves. Pakistans prime minister, Imran Khan, called on President Trump to follow through on an offer he made two weeks ago to mediate the Kashmir dispute. What are the roots of the conflict? Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, on the countrys first day as a nation. Lord Louis Mountbatten, left, had overseen the partition of the subcontinent. Associated Press In 1947, the sudden separation of the area into Pakistan and India prompted millions of people to migrate between the two countries and led to religious violence that killed hundreds of thousands. afghanistan china Gilgit-Baltistan Controlled by Pakistan boundary undefined line of control Feb. 26 Airstrikes Jammu and Kashmir Controlled by India Feb. 14 Suicide bombing pakistan pak. india India afghan. china Gilgit-Baltistan Controlled by Pakistan boundary undefined line of control Feb. 26 Airstrikes Jammu and Kashmir Controlled by India pakistan Feb. 14 Suicide bombing pak. india India afghan. china Gilgit-Baltistan Controlled by Pakistan boundary undefined line of control Feb. 26 Balakot Jammu and Kashmir Controlled by India Feb. 14 Suicide bombing pakistan pak. India india By Scott Reinhard Left undecided was the status of Jammu and Kashmir, a Muslim-majority state in the Himalayas that had been ruled by a local prince. Fighting quickly broke out, and both countries eventually sent in troops, with Pakistan occupying about one-third of the state and India two-thirds. The prince signed an agreement for the territory to become part of India. Regional autonomy, which was formalized through Article 370, was a key inducement. The village of Gujran, in the upper section of Tulail Valley, Kashmir. Michael Benanav for The New York Times Despite efforts by the United Nations to mediate the Kashmir dispute, India and Pakistan continue to administer their portions of the former princely territory while hoping to get full control of it. Troops on both sides of the so-called line of control regularly fire volleys at each other. Muslim militants have frequently resorted to violence to expel the Indian troops from the territory. Pakistan has backed many of those militants, as well as terrorists who have struck deep inside India most brutally in a four-day killing spree in Mumbai in 2008, which left more than 160 people dead. What is Article 370? Article 370 was added to the Indian constitution shortly after the partition of British India to give autonomy to the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir until a decision was made about its rule. It limited the power of India's central government over the territory. A related provision gave state lawmakers the power to decide who could buy land and be a permanent resident -- a provision that irked many non-Kashmiris. Although it was intended to be temporary, Article 370 says that it can only be abrogated with the consent of the legislative body that drafted the state constitution. That body dissolved itself in 1957, and India's Supreme Court ruled last year that Article 370 is therefore a permanent part of the constitution. The Modi government disagrees and says the president of India, who is beholden to the ruling party, has the power to revoke the article. Why did the conflict heat up this year? Indian soldiers examine debris after an explosion in Pulwama, in southern Kashmir. Younis Khaliq/Reuters The immediate cause was the Feb. 14 suicide bombing by a young Islamic militant, who blew up a convoy of trucks carrying paramilitary forces in Pulwama in southern Kashmir. Gilgit-Baltistan Controlled by Pakistan PAKISTAN line of control Feb. 26 Balakot Airstrikes Jammu and Kashmir Controlled by India Feb. 14 Suicide bombing Pulwama pak. india Gilgit-Baltistan Controlled by Pakistan Feb. 26 Balakot Airstrikes line of control Jammu and Kashmir Controlled by India Feb. 14 Suicide bombing Pulwama pak. india PAKISTAN Gilgit-Baltistan Controlled by Pakistan line of control Feb. 26 Balakot Airstrikes Jammu and Kashmir Controlled by India Feb. 14 Suicide bombing Pulwama pak. india By Scott Reinhard Indian aircraft responded to that attack by flying into Pakistan and firing airstrikes near the town of Balakot. The Indian government claimed it was attacking a training camp for Jaish-e-Mohammed, the terrorist group that claimed responsibility for the bombing. Pakistan quickly returned the pilot, easing the diplomatic tensions. But Mr. Modi exploited a wave of a nationalist fervor over the Pulwama attack as part of his re-election campaign that helped his Bharatiya Janata Party win a sweeping victory. Pakistans prime minister, Imran Khan, was elected last year with the backing of his countrys powerful military, and he wants to show that he can stand up to India, even as his countrys economy is so weak that he sought bailouts from Saudi Arabia and China. Will the United States and other global powers get involved? On July 22, Mr. Trump hosted Mr. Khan at the White House. Although the meeting was focused on how to end the war in Afghanistan, Mr. Trump told reporters that Mr. Modi had asked him to help mediate the Kashmir dispute. Mr. Khan welcomed his involvement. The Indian government denied making any mediation request and has long insisted on direct negotiations with Pakistan to resolve the dispute. Under Mr. Trump, American foreign policy has shifted away from Pakistan, a longtime recipient of American aid, toward India, which the administration views as a bulwark against Chinas rising influence in Asia. China, meanwhile, has become a close ally and financial patron of Pakistan. The Chinese government recently urged India and Pakistan to settle their conflicts through bilateral discussions. China shares a border with Jammu and Kashmir state, and India and China still do not agree on the demarcation line. What is likely to happen next? Indian soldiers near the remains of an Indian aircraft after it crashed on Wednesday. Danish Ismail/Reuters The constitutional changes, issued through a presidential order, could face legal challenges. Last year, Indias Supreme Court ruled that Article 370 could not be abrogated because the state-level body that would have to approve the change went out of existence in 1957. My view is that this presidential notification is illegal, said Shubhankar Dam, a law professor at the University of Portsmouth in Britain and the author of a book on executive power in India. The question is one of jurisdiction: Does the government of India have the power to do this? Pakistan, for its part, said it will exercise all possible options to counter the illegal steps taken by India. Michael D. Cohen, Donald J. Trumps former lawyer, is publicly testifying before Congress today. Here is what was previously known and what we are now learning about hush money payments and efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow during the 2016 campaign. Cohen says he arranged illegal hush money payments at the direction of Trump and that Trump directed him to lie about them. Michael D. Cohen paid $130,000 to negotiated payment between says he made the payments at the direction of The National Enquirer Stormy Daniels Karen McDougal whose parent company is chaired by to cover up an alleged affair with to cover up an alleged affair with who is a longtime friend of Donald J. Trump David J. Pecker Michael D. Cohen paid $130,000 to says he made the payments at the direction of negotiated payment between The National Enquirer Stormy Daniels Karen McDougal to cover up an alleged affair with to cover up an alleged affair with whose parent company is chaired by David J. Pecker Donald J. Trump who is a longtime friend of Trump begins presidential campaign. Pecker tells Cohen and one or more members of the campaign that he can help quash negative stories about Trump. McDougal approaches American Media, which owns The National Enquirer, with her story. Pecker tells Cohen. Cohen says pay her off. American Media enters into an agreement with McDougal. Cohen secretly records conversation in which Trump seems to know about the McDougal payment. Daniels tells American Media she is going public with her story. Pecker tells Cohen. Cohen sets up shell company to pay off Daniels. The Wall Street Journal uncovers the McDougal deal. The Trump campaign issues a flat denial: We have no knowledge of any of this. Cohen asks the Trump Organization to be reimbursed. According to Cohens written testimony, Trump told Cohen during a visit to the White House that his reimbursement checks were coming. Cohen says the Trump Organization did not know about the payment to Daniels. In testimony before Congress on Wednesday, Cohen said Trump directed him to lie about the payment. There was no knowledge of any payments from the president, says Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House press secretary. Trump denies any knowledge of payments. Trump says he reimbursed Cohen but that the payments were not campaign finance violations. In pleading guilty to campaign finance violations, Cohen says he arranged for the payments at the direction of Trump for the principal purpose of influencing the election. Cohen says discussions about building a Trump Tower in Moscow continued well into the campaign and that Trump knew of and directed the negotiations. worked on a plan to build Trump Tower Moscow with Felix H. Sater Michael D. Cohen says he was implicitly instructed to lie about the project by longtime business associate discussed the status of the project during the campaign with Donald Trump Jr. Ivanka Trump Donald J. Trump Signed a nonbinding letter of intent to pursue the project. Michael D. Cohen Felix H. Sater worked on a plan to build Trump Tower Moscow with longtime business associate says he was implicitly instructed to lie about the project by discussed the status of the project during the campaign with Ivanka Trump Donald Trump Jr. Donald J. Trump Signed a nonbinding letter of intent to pursue the project. Michael D. Cohen, the former attorney and fixer for Donald J. Trump, provided documents to Congress that he said would support his testimony about the 2016 campaign and Mr. Trumps business practices. During his testimony, he referred to Mr. Trumps financial statements below and said, I believe these numbers are inflated. Read Mr. Cohens opening statement to the House Oversight Committee here and watch his full testimony here . Exhibit 5a Mr. Cohen produced copies of two checks he said were part of the reimbursement for his hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. One was from Mr. Trumps personal account, and signed by Mr. Trump. The other was from the revocable trust that owns Mr. Trumps businesses and signed by Donald Trump Jr., Mr. Trumps eldest son, and Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization. Exhibit 5b Exhibit 1a Exhibits 1a, 1b and 1c are statements of financial condition. Mr. Cohen told Congress that he believes the numbers in these documents were inflated. He often gave them to media outlets when he was attempting to pump up what Mr. Trump was worth. It is not known who produced them or if real estate appraisals were commissioned to come up with the property valuations. There is no indication an auditor signed off on these documents. There are other red flags. For instance, some of Mr. Trumps biggest investments stakes in buildings in New York and San Francisco are valued without factoring in the debt they carry. Exhibit 1b There are some notable changes in this document. For instance, the fuzzy other assets category jumped to $303.5 million in 2012, up from $184.1 million in the prior year. Thats a big number for a miscellaneous category and Mr. Trump gives no indication what assets he is counting here. The value of Mr. Trumps real estate licensing deals took a nosedive in 2012, falling more than 20 percent to $85 million. Exhibit 1c This document includes a new category. Mr. Trump claims his brand is worth a staggering $4 billion, pushing his self-proclaimed net worth up to $8.66 billion in 2013, up 72 percent from the previous year. The cash and marketable securities category also goes up in value in 2013, up 50 percent or $176.4 million from the year before. At the same time, Mr. Trump is claiming he paid off a number of liabilities in 2013. It is hard to say exactly what happened as Mr. Trump stopped itemizing many of his loans in this exhibit. Exhibit 2 Exhibit 3a Mr. Cohen also gave the committee a copy of an article with Mr. Trumps handwriting on it. The article reported on the auction of a portrait of Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen said Mr. Trump arranged for someone to bid on the portrait ahead of time, then reimbursed that person from the account of his charitable foundation. Mr. Cohen said the picture now hangs in one of Mr. Trumps country clubs. Exhibit 3b Exhibit 4 Exhibit 6 This is an example of the type of letter Mr. Cohen said he wrote at Mr. Trumps direction to threaten his high school, colleges and the College Board, which administers the SAT, not to release his grades or SAT scores. Exhibit 7 Exhibit 8 Most of them are just updating, but some of them are policy changes that reflect the changes of legislation that have passed through the Illinois General Assembly, so we have to comply with that, Parrott said. When Avichai Mandelblit was being considered for the post of Israeli attorney general, the selection committee had a question: If there was enough evidence, would he prosecute the man who was then his boss, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? Mr. Mandelblit did not hesitate, according to a person involved in the vetting process. Yes, he said. Now that answer is about to be tested. Mr. Mandelblit, a soft-spoken jurist, is expected to announce as early as Thursday whether he intends to indict the prime minister in any of three separate corruption cases. His decisions, coming amid an election campaign in which Mr. Netanyahu is seeking a fourth consecutive term, are bound to anger the prime ministers supporters, his opponents, or both. Everybody in Israel knows today that Mandelblit will be accused by 50 percent of the population no matter what he decides, said Yedidia Z. Stern, a law professor and senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute. There is no way he can go out in the rain and not get wet. ISTANBUL Jared Kushner, President Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser, met with the Saudi king and crown prince during a tour of the Middle East to try to build momentum for his long-awaited plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday. The meeting, held on Tuesday, was Mr. Kushners first face-to-face encounter with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the day-to-day ruler of Saudi Arabia, since Saudi agents killed the dissident Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in October. The Trump administration has stood by Prince Mohammed, who has forged a strong relationship with Mr. Kushner, even after American intelligence agencies concluded that the prince most likely ordered the killing. The White House statement did not mention Mr. Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen who lived in Virginia. His killing has tarnished Prince Mohammeds reputation and spurred efforts in Congress to punish the kingdom. The White House issued its statement a day after the meeting took place, as public attention was dominated by congressional testimony by Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trumps former fixer. LONDON Two days after saying he intended to step down, Irans foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, returned to his post after President Hassan Rouhani rejected the resignation. There were smiles all around on Wednesday, as Mr. Zarif appeared alongside Mr. Rouhani during a welcoming ceremony for a visiting dignitary broadcast live on state television. Despite his return, the major reason for Mr. Zarifs resignation his diminished status in the government is not likely to change significantly, analysts said. Mr. Zarif, urbane, worldly and fluent in English, has for years been Irans public face to much of the world, and never more so than when he brokered a landmark deal with world powers curtailing Irans nuclear program. LONDON Twenty-eight women dragged 28 suitcases across Westminster bridge in London this week to protest restrictive abortion laws in Northern Ireland and demand the expansion of abortion rights. The number of protesters was not random: The 28 demonstrators symbolized the 28 women who are forced to make the lonely journey to England to access abortion services every week, Grainne Teggart, the Northern Ireland campaign manager for Amnesty International, said in a phone interview on Wednesday. The women including members of the British Parliament and television stars marched on Tuesday to the office of Karen Bradley, a Conservative member of Parliament and the Northern Ireland Secretary in Westminster. They carried with them a petition started by Amnesty International asking the British government to take action to reform Northern Irelands abortion law. Northern Ireland is now isolated as the only part of the U.K. and Ireland with a near total abortion ban, Ms. Teggart said in a statement on Tuesday. This is unacceptable. Spains former leader told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that Catalan separatist leaders should bear full responsibility for the chaos and clashes during their 2017 independence referendum, insisting that he played no part in directing the national police to use force to block people from voting. Mariano Rajoy, the former prime minister, was the most prominent among the many witnesses called to testify during the landmark trial of 12 former leaders of the Catalonia region of Spain. They are facing prison sentences of up to 25 years if convicted on charges of staging a rebellion during the botched attempt to secede unilaterally from the rest of Spain in October 2017. In an attempt to turn the tables on Spains central government, a defense lawyer for the separatists showed Mr. Rajoy television footage of the chaotic and unconstitutional referendum in October 2017, in which Spanish police officers were filmed hitting voters with their truncheons. I have sadly seen many images of this kind during my life, Mr. Rajoy told the court. What I would like to say is that the responsibility of political leaders is to avoid events like those that we have seen. If they acted by respecting the law, we would not have seen these images, nor other similar ones. MADRID The Spanish authorities announced on Wednesday that they had begun an investigation into a possible attack at the North Korean Embassy in Madrid, after one of the embassy employees said she was assaulted. The episode was said to have happened last Friday, though neither the employee nor the embassy of North Korea filed a police complaint. The investigation was opened because the employee was treated for minor injuries, and her cries for help had alerted neighbors who summoned the police, officials said. El Confidencial, a Spanish news site, said the woman told the Spanish police that a group of assailants had stolen computers and detained staff members. Police officers rang the doorbell of the embassy, but were told by an official that nothing unusual had occurred, El Confidencial reported. In 2017, Spain expelled the North Korean ambassador in retaliation for North Koreas missile testing. The ambassador, Kim Hyok-chol, played a leading part in organizing this weeks meeting in Vietnam between President Trump and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. MELBOURNE, Australia Cardinal George Pell, the highest ranking Catholic clergyman convicted of sexually abusing children, left a courtroom in Melbourne, Australia, on Wednesday flanked by police officers to spend his first night in jail, after a judge heard arguments to determine his sentence for molesting two choirboys in 1996. Wednesdays hearing followed months of judicial proceedings that were kept out of the news media by a strict gag order, and which resulted in the cardinals conviction on five charges in December. Hours after the hearing, the Vatican said that it would conduct its own investigation of the cardinal, who had been a top adviser to Pope Francis, and that he no longer held a powerful Vatican post. Judge Peter Kidd of the County Court of Victoria told a packed courtroom on Wednesday that Cardinal Pells brazen, callous offending deserved a commensurate punishment, and said he would sentence the cardinal on March 13. HANOI, Vietnam After exchanging praise over dinner, President Trump on Thursday morning opened a day of formal talks with Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, a meeting aimed at once again trying to persuade the North to dismantle its nuclear weapons program and join the global economy. I cant speak necessarily for today, but I can say a little bit longer term and over a period of time I know we are going to have a fantastic success with respect to Chairman Kim and North Korea, Mr. Trump said. Speed is not important to me, he added. I very much appreciate not testing, he said in referring to the North Koreans halt since late 2017 to its nuclear testing. Mr. Kim, when asked by an American reporter whether he thought he would reach a deal with Mr. Trump, said: Its too early to say. I would not say Im pessimistic. He is just doing this for the preservation of his family. The main goal of Kim Jong-uns meeting with Trump is first to buy time, and second, get sanctions relief. Finally, he wants the status that comes with being a nuclear power. Who is most threatened by North Koreas nuclear weapons? Kim Jong-un wants his dictatorship and dynasty to go on. If you want to control North Korean society, you have to make South Korea afraid of North Korea. The existence of South Korea is itself a direct threat to the North Korean system. He wants to make sure South Korea stays in South Korean territory, and does not extend it. That is his first goal. Kim Jong-un wants to keep his military in balance with South Korea. But he knows the North Korean military cannot afford modern tanks and guns. He knows this balance is changing unfavorably for North Korea. Nuclear weapons are the only way to keep the balance with South Korea. So, the weapons are not only important in military terms but as a political tool for keeping the society together? Thats right. He needs an instrument to unite North Korea around him. North Koreas economy is a failure. North Korean welfare is a failure. The North Korean people do not now believe in North Koreans system and ideology. So he needs nuclear weapons to justify all of North Koreas current problems. For instance, North Korean newspapers are educating the people that North Korea is poor. Why? Because North Korea spends so much money on nuclear development, and because of that nuclear development, North Korean became one of the superpowers of the world. So this is a really clear justification of economic failure. KATHMANDU, Nepal Nepals minister of tourism and six other people were killed on Wednesday when their helicopter crashed in an eastern region of the Himalayan nation, police officials said. The helicopter, operated by Air Dynasty, crashed in the mountainous district of Taplejung while on a trip to look at the feasibility of constructing an airport in the area. Everyone aboard was killed, including the tourism minister, Rabindra Adhikari, and the pilot. Earlier, an official said incorrectly that the minister had been traveling to the region to promote a paragliding project. Raj Kumar Chhetri, general manager of Tribhuvan International Airport, which serves Kathmandu, Nepals capital, said the crash, in a region that borders both India and Tibet, had probably been caused by bad weather. In Pakistan, dozens of tanks were deployed to the border in broad daylight, underscoring the heightened state of alert as both sides scrambled to shore up their military positions. Such equipment usually is moved under the cloak of night. Indias government confirmed that one of its MiG-21 fighter jets had been lost as it thwarted what the government said was an attempt by Pakistans air force to strike an unspecified target inside India. In the encounter, a Pakistani aircraft was shot down by an Indian fighter jet, New Delhi said, a claim that Pakistan denied. Raveesh Kumar, the chief spokesman for Indias Ministry of External Affairs, told a news conference in New Delhi that the government was still ascertaining the facts. He did not respond to Pakistans claims of having downed two aircraft, instead of the single jet he acknowledged. He declined to take questions. Although both India and Pakistan say they want to resolve the current crisis diplomatically, the two governments may be beholden to their electorates, amid calls for firm military responses from both sides of the border. In Pakistan, with the capture of the Indian pilot, the current crisis has shored up support for Mr. Khan, who took office six months ago and has since faced growing opposition domestically. The crisis has not presented such an opportunity for Mr. Modi, who seemed destined just a year ago to clinch a second term as Indias prime minister. Since then, Mr. Modi has faced considerable opposition over what critics say is his mishandling of the economy ahead of the elections this spring. The capture of the Indian pilot may only weaken his position and lead to a dangerous escalation if Mr. Modi chooses to respond militarily. SHEMAL, Afghanistan Janat Bebe sent a son and two grandsons to the Afghan National Police force to fight the Taliban. All three returned home last year in coffins, borne up to a cemetery high above their mountainside village of mud and stone. The village, Shemal, has only about 3,000 residents, but it has lost nearly 60 police officers and soldiers in combat, at once devastating and impoverishing the hamlet. They had no choice except to join, because we have no other way to earn a living here, Ms. Bebe said of her son and grandsons. They left behind 17 children whom she must now feed, clothe and educate. [For more stories about the experiences and costs of war, sign up for the weekly At War newsletter.] Afghanistans war is killing at a staggering rate. President Ashraf Ghani said in January that 45,000 soldiers and police officers had died in combat since late 2014. In recent months, the pace has been 30 to 40 deaths a day, a toll that one senior American commander described to Congress as not sustainable. A die-hard train commuter who has been working as an associate director at AbbVie for six months, Sharmin Moten, who lives in Lincoln Park, said she has driven to her Lake Forest office only three times. She said her commute on Metra allows her to have an extra working hour and more time to prepare for her day. WASHINGTON The attorney general for the District of Columbia has subpoenaed documents from President Trumps inaugural committee, the third governmental body to delve into how the fund raised $107 million and spent it to celebrate Mr. Trumps swearing-in. The latest subpoena follows similar demands for documents by federal prosecutors in Manhattan and by New Jerseys attorney general. It cites a civil statute that governs the operation of nonprofit organizations like the inaugural committee. No other recent inaugural committee has generated such intense scrutiny of its finances. Typically short lived, the committees are charged with staging balls, concerts and black-tie dinners in the nations capital during inauguration week. Mr. Trumps inaugural committee raised and spent at least twice as much as its predecessors, but it ended in acrimony amid allegations of misspent funds. Federal prosecutors are examining whether foreigners illegally contributed to events using Americans as straw donors, a possible violation of criminal law. New Jersey authorities appear to be examining whether the committee obeyed civil statutes governing how nonprofit organizations raise funds, among other matters. In 1985, Mr. Madison killed a police officer, Julius Schulte, who had been trying to keep the peace between him and his ex-girlfriend, Cheryl Greene, as she sought to eject him from what had been their shared home. Mr. Madison appears to remember none of this. He has had at least two severe strokes, and he is blind and incontinent. His speech is slurred, and what he says does not always make sense. He has asked that his mother be told of his strokes, but his mother is dead. He soils himself, saying that no one will let me out to use the bathroom, though there is a toilet in his cell. He has said he plans to move to Florida. He can recite the alphabet only to the letter G. Mr. Madison also insists that he never went around killing folks. Justice Kagan wrote that Mr. Madisons memory loss does not bar his execution. Moral values do not exempt the simply forgetful from punishment, she wrote, whatever the neurological reason for their lack of recall. The relevant question, she wrote, was whether he could understand what he is accused of and how Alabama plans to punish him. The evidence on that question was uncertain, she wrote, ordering the states courts to consider it. In addition to the chief justice, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor joined the majority opinion. In dissent, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. accused his colleagues of addressing a question different from the one the court had agreed to decide. What the court has done in this case makes a mockery of our rules, he wrote. President Trumps former lawyer told Congress on Wednesday that Mr. Trump remained deeply involved in the arrangement to pay hush money to a pornographic film actress, even while in the White House, telling him just a year ago to lie to a journalist about the presidents involvement. Testifying before the House Oversight Committee, the lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, also for the first time publicly implicated the presidents eldest son, Donald Jr., and the chief financial officer of his company, Allen Weisselberg, in the arrangement involving the actress, Stormy Daniels. She had been paid $130,000 before the 2016 election to keep quiet about an alleged affair with Mr. Trump, and Mr. Cohen was reimbursed in 2017 for fronting that money. He knew about everything, Mr. Cohen said of Mr. Trump. Everything had to go through Mr. Trump and had to be approved by Mr. Trump. While federal prosecutors in New York had laid out a general narrative around the payments, including Mr. Trumps involvement, Mr. Cohen explicitly placed Mr. Trump at the center of the events, producing checks he described as evidence of the role the president and his company played. Good Wednesday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today. _____________________ Michael Cohen, President Trumps former lawyer, plans to tell Congress on Wednesday that Mr. Trump is a con man and a cheat who knew an adviser was communicating with WikiLeaks about the release of Democratic emails that were hacked by Russia. He also plans to testify that Mr. Trump implicitly instructed him to lie about a Trump Tower project in Moscow. Read Mr. Cohens opening statement. On the eve of Mr. Cohens testimony, a Republican member of Congress threatened to reveal what he said were Mr. Cohens extramarital affairs. Mr. Cohens testimony coincides with Mr. Trumps meeting in Vietnam with Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader. Ahead of the meeting, it seemed as if the president was retreating on his ambition to eliminate the Norths nuclear arsenal. He noted, however, that campaign finance laws which are complex require proof that a person was willfully violating them. Mr. Cohens testimony does not prove that Mr. Trump knew that the payments he was making were illegal something that prosecutors would have to prove if they wanted to charge the president. WikiLeaks and Emails In his testimony, Mr. Cohen described a moment when he said Roger J. Stone Jr., one of Mr. Trumps top political operatives, called the president to tell him about a conversation with Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder. I was in Mr. Trumps office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone, Mr. Cohen said. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign. Mr. Cohen added: Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of wouldnt that be great. Legal experts cautioned that just proving that Mr. Trump knew about the WikiLeaks plans to leak damaging documents ahead of time would not necessarily prove that the president or his campaign were guilty of conspiracy. Prosecutors would have to prove that Mr. Trump and the campaign actively engaged in coordinating with Russians to distribute the documents or took other actions to affect the outcome of the election. The question of contacts between WikiLeaks and the Trump campaign is central to the issue of whether there was any conspiracy between the campaign and Russia. It is not known what Mr. Trump might have told Mr. Muellers team about what, if anything, he knew about WikiLeaks plans or about contacts between Mr. Stone and Mr. Assange. Peter Zeidenberg, a former federal prosecutor, said that if Mr. Cohen is telling the truth, and if Mr. Trump claimed to Mr. Mueller in his sworn, written testimony that he was not aware of any contacts between Mr. Stone and Mr. Assange, that could be a crime. WASHINGTON Michael D. Cohens congressional testimony on Wednesday revived questions about whether President Trump broke the law by failing to disclose that he footed the bill for a hush payment to a pornographic film actress. Members of the House Oversight and Reform Committee grilled Mr. Cohen, who served for a decade as the presidents so-called fixer, about a $130,000 payment he made just before the 2016 presidential election to the actress to keep her quiet about her claim that she had an affair with Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen testified that he was reimbursed in installments by Mr. Trump and his company, the Trump Organization, starting in early 2017 for the payment to the actress, Stormy Daniels. But Mr. Trump failed to list the arrangement or the outstanding debt owed to Mr. Cohen on a financial disclosure statement submitted in June 2017 under government ethics laws requiring top federal officials to divulge detailed information about their finances. On his 2018 form, he included a footnote listing a repayment of $100,001 to $250,000 to Mr. Cohen, raising questions about whether the 2017 filing had improperly omitted the debt. Democrats pounced on that omission on Wednesday. michael barbaro From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. Today: Michael Cohen is headed to prison for lying on behalf of Donald Trump. Yesterday, he told Congress hes done protecting the president. Its Thursday, February 28. Maggie Haberman, how does this hearing actually begin on Wednesday morning? maggie haberman The hearing began in very dramatic fashion with Elijah Cummings, who chairs the committee, a Democrat, holding the gavel. Michael Cohen walking in through this crush of photographers and reporters, trailed by Lanny Davis, his attorney and sometimes spokesman, trailed by another of his attorneys, not by any member of his family, who I believe he was worried about attending this hearing. He sat down. His face was wan. His eyes were puffy. He looked exhausted, and defeated, and beaten down. And you could hear a pin drop as he sat down. archived recording (elijah cummings) The committee will come to order. maggie haberman So Cummings out of the gate archived recording (elijah cummings) I now recognize myself for five minutes to give an opening statement. maggie haberman addressed the issue of Michael Cohens credibility. archived recording (elijah cummings) He admitted to lying about his actions to protect the president. Some will certainly ask, if Mr. Cohen was lying then, why should we believe him now? archived recording Good question. archived recording (elijah cummings) This is a legitimate question. maggie haberman It was very clear that Republicans were going to go right at Cohen, accusing him of being a liar, somebody who has admitted to lying, including admitting to lying to Congress when he gave testimony before them in 2017. So Cummings was hoping to put that to bed at the outset. archived recording (elijah cummings) This is an important factor we need to weigh. But we must weigh it, and we must hear from him. michael barbaro And Maggie, I found it fascinating what Cummings did at the close of this opening statement. He delivers this message straight to Cohen. archived recording (elijah cummings) Martin Luther King, Mr. Cohen, said some words that I leave with you today before you testify. He said, faith is taking the first step, even when you cant see the whole staircase. There comes a time when silence becomes betrayal. Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that truly matter. In the end, he says, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. maggie haberman And with that quote, hes trying to set up Michael Cohens testimony why hes being truthful, that what he said before is a lie, and what he is saying now is the truth. And this was important for him to set this out as a way forward as the hearing began. archived recording (elijah cummings) Raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm that the testimony that you are about to give is the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Let the record show that the witness answered in the affirmative. And thank you, and you may be seated. maggie haberman So then Michael Cohen begins his opening statement. And it was long. archived recording (michael cohen) I hope my appearance here today, my guilty plea and my work with law enforcement agencies are steps along a path of redemption that will restore faith in me and help this country understand our president better. maggie haberman And he began again by apologizing for lying to Congress. archived recording (michael cohen) I am here under oath to correct the record, to answer the committees questions truthfully and to offer the American people what I know about President Trump. maggie haberman And then he turned to Donald Trump. archived recording (michael cohen) I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. maggie haberman And he depicted Donald Trump as a unsavory, unethical, immoral character. archived recording (michael cohen) Mr. Trump is a racist. The country has seen Mr. Trump court white supremacists and bigots. You have heard him call poorer countries [expletive]. In private, he is even worse. He once asked me if I can name a country run by a black person that wasnt a [expletive]. This was when Barack Obama was president of the United States. And while we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. maggie haberman Somebody who told him from the Oval Office, in an Oval Office meeting, that he would be sending him a reimbursement for hush money payments. archived recording (michael cohen) Trump is a con man. He asked me to pay off an adult film star with whom he had an affair and to lie about it to his wife, which I did. And lying to the first lady is one of my biggest regrets. maggie haberman He portrayed Donald Trump as a cheat. archived recording (michael cohen) And it should come as no surprise that one of my more common responsibilities was that Mr. Trump directed me to call business owners, many of whom are small businesses, that were owed money for their services, and told them that no payment or a reduced payment would be coming. When I told Mr. Trump of my success, he actually reveled in it. maggie haberman As a schemer, who would inflate his net worth or devalue it, depending on what was useful for him at various points. archived recording (michael cohen) It was my experience that Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed amongst the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes. maggie haberman At one point, Michael Cohen told a very detailed story of Donald Trumps relationship to the Vietnam War. Remember that Donald Trump has said that he had a deferment from the draft because he had, quote, unquote, bone spurs. archived recording (michael cohen) But when I asked for medical records, he gave me none, and said that there was no surgery. He told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters, but rather, offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment. He finished the conversation with the following comment: Do you think Im stupid? Im not going to Vietnam. maggie haberman And at that moment, Michael Cohen looked directly into the camera. archived recording (michael cohen) And I find it ironic, Mr. President, that you are in Vietnam right now. michael barbaro Right. maggie haberman It was damning stuff. archived recording (michael cohen) A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr. Trump knew about the release of the hacked documents, the Democratic National Committee emails, ahead of time. And the answer is yes. In July of 2016, days before the Democratic Convention, I was in Mr. Trumps office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange, and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that within a couple of days there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign. Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect, wouldnt that be great. michael barbaro And then he brings up, of course, the now-infamous Moscow project. maggie haberman Right. archived recording (michael cohen) I lied to Congress when Mr. Trump stopped negotiating the Moscow tower project in Russia. I stated that we stopped negotiating in January of 2016. That was false. Our negotiations continued for months later during the campaign. maggie haberman He says that there were, you know, a handful of these conversations that went on into 2016, when it was clear that Donald Trump was going to be the Republican nominee. archived recording (michael cohen) Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. Thats not how he operates. In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me, Theres no Russian business, and then go on to lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie. So to be clear, Mr. Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it. michael barbaro Cohens almost describing, in this moment, a code, where, if Trump is saying to him, there is no Russia project, its almost like saying, theres no Russia project, right? Youre never going to say theres a Russia project. Its like hes trying to explain a foreign language in which Donald Trump is communicating to him, you should probably lie about this, without having to say it. maggie haberman Thats exactly right. And he said that in his testimony, made very clear that this is how Donald Trump talks. He sort of knows where the line is, and he doesnt speak overtly. It is what former federal prosecutors have described as mob speak, the style that mafia bosses speak in to avoid crossing a legal line. And while Michael Cohen did not explicitly say that part, he did say that Donald Trump spoke in a code and that Michael Cohen understood that code. archived recording (michael cohen) He doesnt give you questions. He doesnt give you orders. He speaks in a code. And I understand the code, because Ive been around him for a decade. michael barbaro Maggie, did it come as a surprise to you to hear Michael Cohen saying any of this? Youve known both of these men for years. And youve known them as a unit. What was it like to hear Cohen saying these things about Donald Trump? maggie haberman Even knowing that this was coming, it was mind-blowing hearing Michael Cohen saying this in public. No one who has worked for Trump in recent years has gone on the record to say things like this. And it was staggering. And it was so at odds with the portrait of fealty that Michael Cohen had presented with reporters, with everyone, toward Donald Trump over a decade. michael barbaro Mm-hmm. maggie haberman And remember, Donald Trump creates an eagerness in people around him to get something of a head pat from him, to get an encouragement, to get an attaboy. Cohen got very skilled at trying for that attaboy. michael barbaro And seemed to be kind of addicted to it. maggie haberman And seemed to be addicted to it, seemed to revel in it, clearly reveled in his proximity. archived recording (michael cohen) Over the past year or so, I have done some real soul-searching. And I see now that my ambition and the intoxication of Trump power had much to do with the bad decisions, in part, that I made. maggie haberman He was involved in taking care of messes that Donald Trump wanted taken care of. He was willing to do those things. One of them was payoffs to women. And the notion that somebody who was so closely involved in that would be willing to discuss it publicly, not just behind closed doors with investigators, not just as prosecutors were bearing down on him, but freely, in public, in a hearing, under oath, was just breathtaking. michael barbaro Theres a moment where Cohen says to the members of the committee archived recording (michael cohen) The last time I appeared before Congress, I came to protect Mr. Trump. Today michael barbaro Today, Im here to tell you the truth archived recording (michael cohen) I am here to tell the truth about Mr. Trump. michael barbaro about Mr. Trump. As if to say, the spell has been broken. Im out of that world now. And I kind of wonder if thats really possible, but also how it happened. maggie haberman Well, I think it is really possible, because I think their break has been so incredibly clean, given what has happened to Michael Cohen. Remember, when the F.B.I. raided his hotel and apartment and office in April of 2018, he was still standing by Trump. That clearly has changed. We saw Republicans argue that the reason that changed for Michael Cohen was because he was facing charges of his own. And the president has certainly suggested that. Cohen has been utterly stripped of everything that he valued, his business, his law license. He has been humiliated publicly. He has been abandoned by a lot of friends, and by the president, and by the presidents circle. And so I do think that it is certainly a real split. I think that people are going to have to assess, looking at his testimony, whether they think its a real conversion, but its definitely a real break. archived recording (michael cohen) I am not a perfect man. I have done things I am not proud of. And I will live with the consequences of my actions for the rest of my life. But today, I get to decide the example that I set for my children and how I attempt to change how history will remember me. I may not be able to change the past, but I can do right by the American people here today. And I thank you for your attention. And Im happy to answer the committees questions. archived recording (elijah cummings) Thank you very much, Mr. Cohen. I now recognize myself. michael barbaro So then the questions begin from the committee members. maggie haberman Right. archived recording (elijah cummings) You said you brought some checks, is that right? archived recording (michael cohen) Yes, sir. maggie haberman And first we have Cummings asking Cohen to elaborate on the details of these reimbursement checks that he got, that he brought with him. archived recording (elijah cummings) So let me make sure I understand. Donald Trump wrote you a check out of his personal account while he was serving as president of the United States of America to reimburse you for hush money payments to Ms. Clifford, is that what you are telling the American people today? archived recording (michael cohen) Yes, Mr. Chairman. maggie haberman And it was among the more dramatic moments that we saw. Because Cummings is getting to the fact that the sitting president was part of this scheme that was, at minimum, sleazy and illicit, and at maximum could have some criminal exposure. And they were leaving nothing to doubt as to what Cohen was saying took place. archived recording (elijah cummings) Is there any doubt in your mind that President Trump knew exactly what he was paying for? archived recording (michael cohen) There is no doubt in my mind. And I truly believe there is no doubt in the minds of the people of the United States of America. archived recording (elijah cummings) With that Ill yield to maggie haberman Jim Jordan, another ally of the president, quoted something that Michael Cohen once said to a reporter from The Daily Beast. archived recording (jim jordan) I will make sure that you and I meet one day while were in the courthouse and I will take you for every penny you still dont have. maggie haberman And this has now become a famous anecdote, where he threatened a reporter who was pursuing a story about an old court claim from the divorce filing between Ivana Trump and Donald Trump, where she had alleged marital rape. And Cohen said archived recording (jim jordan) And I will come after your Daily Beast and everybody else that you possibly know. So Im warning you maggie haberman So Im warning you, tread very f-ing lightly it wasnt f-ing. archived recording (jim jordan) Because what Im going to do to you is going to be f-ing disgusting, you understand me? maggie haberman And he was then asked by Jim Jordan, Mr. Cohen, who said that? archived recording (jim jordan) Mr. Cohen, who said that? archived recording (michael cohen) I did. maggie haberman And its an incident that I think he would say that he really was doing for Trump and not for himself. But it was a way to sully his character and create a portrait of thuggishness. archived recording (jim jordan) And did you say that, Mr. Cohen, was that statement that I just read that you admitted to saying, did you do that to protect Donald Trump? archived recording (michael cohen) I did it to protect Mr. Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump. michael barbaro But I wonder, who does it look worse for, the person who did it, or the person on whose behalf it was done? maggie haberman Right. I understand that Jim Jordan is trying to muddy Michael Cohen with that. But I think for most people, they are going to look at that, and especially after the president takes to Twitter and suggests that people ought to be looking into Michael Cohens family, I think most people are still going to see that as looking worse for Trump, because Michael Cohen was doing this as Trumps lawyer. michael barbaro So while Republicans are largely avoiding talking about the president at all costs in this hearing, in focusing on sullying Cohens character and reputation, they may be actually sullying President Trumps. maggie haberman Correct. They were essentially trying to peel Cohen off from Trump. And what became clear as their efforts went on throughout the hearing is that that is impossible to do. When you have had somebody serve as a lawyer for Donald Trump, so identified with him publicly over 10 years, you cant take a shot at Cohen and not end up having it ricochet onto Trump too. archived recording So weve established that you lie on your taxes, you lie to banks, and you have been convicted of lying to Congress. It seems to me that theres not much that you wont lie about when you stand to gain from it. michael barbaro And where do the questions go from here? maggie haberman So archived recording Everythings been made of your lies in the past. Im concerned about your lies today. maggie haberman After that it became a, you know archived recording But theres no truth with you whatsoever. maggie haberman one by one, down the line, Republicans suggesting that Michael Cohen was archived recording Liar, liar, pants on fire. maggie haberman Really in it for the fame. archived recording Is your appearance here today motivated by your desire to remain in the spotlight for your personal benefit? archived recording (michael cohen) No, maam. maggie haberman Or he was really in it for the money. They asked him archived recording Is there a book deal coming or anything like that? archived recording (michael cohen) I have no book deal right now. maggie haberman One after the other about prospective book deals or movie deals. archived recording Isnt it true you tried to sell a book about your time with President Trump, entitled Trump Revolution: From the Tower to the White House, Understanding Donald J. Trump? archived recording (michael cohen) Yes, that happened maggie haberman Or had he pitched a book of his own? michael barbaro And what did he say? maggie haberman He said yes. archived recording (michael cohen) I have been contacted by many, including for television, a movie. If you want to tell me who you would like to play you, Im more than happy to write the name down. michael barbaro And what about the Democrats? archived recording (elijah cummings) Mr. Raskin. archived recording (jamie raskin) Mr. Cohen, thank you for your composure today. Our colleagues are not upset because you lied to Congress for the president. Theyre upset because youve stopped lying to Congress for the president. maggie haberman The Democrats tried to keep it really mostly on Trump and the things that Michael Cohen did for Trump. archived recording And nothing at the Trump Organization was ever done unless it was run through President Donald Trump, correct? archived recording (michael cohen) Thats 100 percent certain. archived recording O.K. maggie haberman He described, and it was really interesting, he described everybody as being solely devoted to protecting the brand and reputation of one man, Donald Trump. He said that nothing happened at the company unless Donald Trump was aware of it or signed off on it. He argued that Trump was a demanding and exacting and punishing boss. He described the entire effort as being about maximizing the gold-plated version of Donald Trump that we have all become very familiar with. archived recording Theres a recurring refrain in your testimony that says, and yet, I continued to work for him. But at some point you changed. What was the breaking point at which you decided to start telling the truth? archived recording (michael cohen) There are several factors Helsinki, Charlottesville. maggie haberman He went on this litany of moments that he said disgusted him. There were the presidents comments after Charlottesville, that it was, you know, various instance of discourteous behavior by the president, of untoward behavior toward citizens. archived recording (michael cohen) Watching the daily destruction of our civility to one another, putting up silly things like this. archived recording Oh, thats silly. archived recording (michael cohen) Really unbecoming of Congress. maggie haberman He clearly got angry. And then he sort of turned it back on Republicans and said to them, essentially archived recording (michael cohen) Its that sort of behavior that Im responsible for. Im responsible for your silliness. Because I did the same thing that youre doing now, for 10 years. I protected Mr. Trump for 10 years. maggie haberman You are what I was. You are all blindly following him. And there is a real risk to doing that, because you could end up like me someday. archived recording (michael cohen) And I can only warn people, the more people that follow Mr. Trump, as I did blindly, are going to suffer the same consequences that Im suffering. maggie haberman It was a gripping and captivating moment. michael barbaro Right, it was a sort of surprising level of self-awareness, and I guess also self-loathing too. maggie haberman It was both. It was self-effacing. It was clearly uncomfortable. It was acknowledging that he is a deeply imperfect person who did imperfect things that he is not proud of, and he said a version of that earlier in the hearing. But it was really striking, because this is a comment that Republicans who opposed Donald Trump, and theyre not very many of them who are that vocal anymore, but that they have said repeatedly that the Republican Party has become a cult of personality, or just a cult. And that people just blindly follow along with what Donald Trump wants, whether it is wise or not, whether it is safe or not, and whether he is telling the truth or not. And that is what Cohen was getting at. archived recording What do you want your children to know? archived recording (michael cohen) That Im sorry for everything. And Im sorry for the pain that Ive caused them. And um I wish I could go back in time. archived recording Thank you, I yield back. archived recording (elijah cummings) The gentleladys time has expired. michael barbaro Maggie, I wonder if you feel like you understand whats motivating Michael Cohen throughout this hours-long hearing, to say what hes saying, to concede what hes conceding, to kind of humble himself the way he did. Hes been convicted of a crime. Hes headed to prison. He has been disbarred. What exactly is animating him at this point? maggie haberman I think a number of things are animating him. But I think among them is that he doesnt want to be the leper of this story forever. He said months ago that he does not want to be the villain in the Trump story. And I think thats how he feels. I think that he does not want to be remembered as this footnote in history. I think hes going to prison. And I think he doesnt have a whole lot left to lose. And I think that he would like to try to make people remember other things about him and tell a more nuanced tale. michael barbaro And so, what did this hearing, in your mind, achieve? How will this hearing be remembered in this larger story? maggie haberman I think this hearing is either going to be, on its own, just a breathtaking historical moment, the likes of which I dont know if well ever see again. But it was pretty striking to see. Or it is going to be the initial phases of a much broader, deeper governmental investigation by House Democrats into the Trump presidency, not just his own personal activities, but the activities of his government. And allowing Michael Cohen to have a setting where he talks about these things, and where he can be questioned, and where he is a key starting witness could be the first step in paving the way toward an impeachment process, if that is where Democrats go. If that ends up leading to something bigger, then Democrats will feel as if this was a key foundation for it. But its too early to say, I think. archived recording (michael cohen) I have some closing remarks I would like to say myself. Is this an appropriate time? archived recording (elijah cummings) You can do it now. archived recording (michael cohen) Thank you. michael barbaro Maggie, how does this one of hearing finally come to an end? maggie haberman Seven and a half hours after Michael Cohen first entered this room, sitting pretty patiently through all of these questions, not losing his temper, he was given an opportunity to speak not just to the committee members, but to the president. archived recording (michael cohen) In closing, Id like to say directly to the president, we honor our veterans, even in the rain. You tell the truth, even when it doesnt aggrandize you. maggie haberman And he used that opportunity to send a message to his former boss, saying, you dont need to be this person. archived recording (michael cohen) You take responsibility for your own dirty deeds. You dont use your power of your bully pulpit to destroy the credibility of those who speak out against you. You dont separate families from one another or demonize those looking to America for a better life. You dont vilify people based on the God they pray to. And you dont cuddle up to our adversaries at the expense of our allies. maggie haberman And what he was saying to the president, you and I both know who you are, and he was saying to the members of the committee, you should believe me when I say that I understand this man. archived recording (michael cohen) So to those who support the president and his rhetoric, as I once did, I pray the country doesnt make the same mistakes that I have made or pay the heavy price that my family and I are paying. And I thank you very much for this additional time, Chairman. archived recording (elijah cummings) Thank you very much. maggie haberman And when Michael Cohen was done, Elijah Cummings closed with this note of grace toward Michael Cohen. archived recording (elijah cummings) So you wonder whether people believe you. I dont know. I dont know whether they believe you. But the fact is that youve come, you have your head down. And this has got to be one of the hardest things that you could do. maggie haberman That was the moment when Michael Cohen started crying. And he really hadnt done that. He was clearly weeping. archived recording (elijah cummings) I know that you face a lot. I know that you are worried about your family. But this is a part of your destiny. maggie haberman And Cummings basically told Cohen, you are doing what you should be doing. You are heading toward the light in this moment. archived recording (elijah cummings) And hopefully, this portion of your destiny will lead to a better a better Michael Cohen, a better Donald Trump, a better United States of America and a better world. michael barbaro Maggie, thank you very, very much. We appreciate it. maggie haberman Michael, thanks for having me. archived recording (elijah cummings) And we have got to get back to normal. With that, this meeting is adjourned. [MUSIC PLAYING] michael barbaro Well be right back. Heres what else you need to know today. On Wednesday, Pakistan said it had shot down two Indian fighter jets and captured a pilot from one of them in the latest escalation of hostilities between the two countries. The attack is heightening fears that the decades-old animosities between India and Pakistan could spiral into war. The latest episode began on February 14th, when jihadis operating out of Pakistan killed 40 Indian soldiers, prompting airstrikes from India, and now, a military response from Pakistan. archived recording [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] Bomb blast victims in [INAUDIBLE]. michael barbaro In a speech on Wednesday, the prime minister of Pakistan urged restraint, citing the two countries arsenals of nuclear weapons, saying quote, All big wars have been due to miscalculation. My question to India is that given the weapons we have, can we afford miscalculation? archived recording [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] michael barbaro WASHINGTON The Supreme Court seemed ready on Wednesday to allow a 40-foot cross honoring soldiers who died in World War I to remain in place on public land in Maryland. But the unusually vigorous and at times heated argument over the issue revealed deep divisions among the justices on the more general question of what role religion may play in public life. A majority of the justices appeared inclined to rule that the particular cross at issue in the case, which is part of a memorial to 49 fallen soldiers from Prince Georges County, did not run afoul of the First Amendments ban on government establishment of religion by sending a message of favoritism to Christianity. Justice Elena Kagan noted that the memorial was 93 years old and was erected at a time when crosses were a common way to honor the fallen in the Great War. She added that other war memorials stood nearby and that the challenged memorial did not feature religious language. The United States military is one of the most ethnically diverse and integrated institutions in the nation, and has long promoted racial equality. Yet in a string of cases in recent years, Americans bent on racist extremism have been current or former members of the armed forces. The arrest of a Coast Guard lieutenant whom federal prosecutors accused last week of stockpiling weapons and planning to start a race war raised the question of whether the military, for all its efforts to fight discrimination, has a continuing problem with white supremacists in the ranks. Here is a look at the issue and how the military has addressed it: A Persistent Problem Watchdog groups that monitor domestic extremist activity were quick to cite the allegations against the Coast Guard officer, Lt. Christopher Hasson, as a fresh cause for concern, one of a number in recent years involving people with military backgrounds. They have warned that the armed forces can be a training and recruiting ground for hate groups. [Sign up for the weekly At War newsletter to receive stories about duty, conflict and consequence.] If you look at the list of domestic terrorism attacks, you will find a lot of veterans, said Heidi Beirich, director of the intelligence project at the Southern Poverty Law Center. [Read more: Detentions of child migrants at the U.S. border have surged to record levels] The federal government received more than 4,500 complaints in four years about the sexual abuse of immigrant children who were being held at government-funded detention facilities, including an increase in complaints while the Trump administrations policy of separating migrant families at the border was in place, the Justice Department revealed this week. The records, which involve children who had entered the country alone or had been separated from their parents, detailed allegations that adult staff members had harassed and assaulted children, including fondling and kissing minors, watching them as they showered, and raping them. They also included cases of suspected abuse of children by other minors. From October 2014 to July 2018, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a part of the Health and Human Services Department that cares for so-called unaccompanied minors, received a total of 4,556 allegations of sexual abuse or sexual harassment, 1,303 of which were referred to the Justice Department. Of those 1,303 cases deemed the most serious, 178 were accusations that adult staff members had sexually assaulted immigrant children, while the rest were allegations of minors assaulting other minors, the report said. The safety of minors is our top concern when administering the UAC program, Jonathan H. Hayes, the acting director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, said in a statement, using an abbreviation for unaccompanied children. None of the allegations involved O.R.R. federal staff. These allegations were all fully investigated and remedial action was taken where appropriate. She has also been marred by scandal in recent months, damaged by her relationship with Ed Burke, an alderman who was charged last month with a federal crime, and her handling of sexual harassment allegations directed at her (now-fired) chief of staff. Ms. Preckwinkles deep history in county politics she has been president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners for eight years has opened her up to attacks from other candidates that she is the establishment and too quick to compromise. She says she is uniquely qualified to be the mayor of Chicago. Your job always, if youre in office, is to try to move your agenda forward and get things done, Ms. Preckwinkle told the Chicago Tribune. You know, Im not into being Don Quixote. [Ms. Preckwinkle will face Lori Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, in the election. Read more here about Ms. Lightfoot.] Ms. Preckwinkle grew up in St. Paul, Minn., took an interest in politics as a teenager and attended college at the University of Chicago in Hyde Park, the liberal neighborhood on the South Side that would become her political base. Progressivism Might Have Changed Ms. Preckwinkle, 72, has spent most of her career immersed in Chicago government, climbing from Fourth Ward alderman to Cook County Board of Commissioners president and chairwoman of the county Democratic Party. Along the way, she has built a reputation as a true progressive and a founder of the Progressive Caucus on the City Council. She has favored criminal justice reform, affordable housing, repairing relationships between police and communities, and economic development in neglected neighborhoods in Chicago. In February, she was narrowly surpassed in votes by Ms. Lightfoot, 56, who has never held elected office and has promised a new progressive vision for the city. Ms. Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor and former president of the Chicago Police Board, an oversight group, is not far apart ideologically from Ms. Preckwinkle on many of the issues facing the city. But she is trying to define herself as the true progressive in the race partly by highlighting Ms. Preckwinkles time in government, especially her relationship with Edward M. Burke, a Chicago alderman who has been charged with attempted extortion and held a fund-raiser for Ms. Preckwinkle. She returned the money and stripped Mr. Burke of his role as chairman of a county committee. (In things that havent changed when it comes to Chicago elections, Mr. Burke was re-elected in February despite facing a criminal charge.) Ms. Preckwinkle has indicated that she will fight to hold onto the label. Im the most progressive candidate in this race, and Ive taken my progressive values to whatever job Ive taken on, she said in a debate in January. In February, when she knew she was headed for a runoff, she reflected on Chicagos shifting political order. I remember when progressive wasnt a positive, she said. It was at best a euphemism for unelectable. Those of us who proudly claimed it had to fight to transform the political landscape. Good morning. (Heres the sign-up, if you dont already get California Today by email.) He dined with his archnemesis. He hobnobbed with his contemporaries. And then Gov. Gavin Newsom made a four-hour road trip from Washington to New York, where he swung by The New York Times. Mr. Newsoms visit to New York came after a weekend at the annual conference of governors, where he made headlines for what seemed to be a new willingness to work with the Trump administration. On Sunday, he met with the acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and attended a black-tie dinner at the White House hosted by the president. It is important for us to establish relationships not only with governors but with other legislative leaders in D.C., Mr. Newsom said. And to the extent that we can with key cabinet agency directors and leaders in the administration and dare I say the president himself. Still, he said, California is not backing down. He mentioned the 46 lawsuits California is fighting with the Trump administration and said a 47th might be filed as early as this week. The governor also talked about the many ways California sets the agenda for the rest of the country. Here are some more highlights: California as the Future In every way we are Americas coming attraction, Mr. Newsom said. And I say every way because literally America in 2019 was California in the 1980s and 1990s. Everything were experiencing the xenophobia, the nativism, the fear of the other, think back to Pete Wilson and Prop 187 that would make Donald Trump blush. But, he noted, the ascendancy of the Republican Party came to a halt roughly two decades ago in the state and, Now here we are: 27 percent foreign born, we brought in 112,000 refugees in the last 15 years, were a majority minority state, thriving economically, but still struggling with these disparities. He added: Someone recently said to me, You are just America, but more so. More poverty, more problems, more opportunity, more ambition. But Economics 101 would suggest that this trade getting the money early and receiving a smaller refund or owing money to the I.R.S. at tax time is the better deal. Which would you rather have: an extra $50 in each biweekly paycheck, or a $1,300 refund payment in a single lump sum in April of the following year? The simple idea of the time value of money that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar tomorrow suggests you should want the higher weekly paycheck. When you withhold more in taxes than you ultimately owe, you are giving the United States government an interest-free loan. Youre better off calibrating your withholding so that you have no refund, or owe a little when you complete your tax form (although you want to keep that obligation low enough to avoid I.R.S. penalties). But as the discontent over smaller refunds shows, actual humans as opposed to the rational automatons of economics textbooks dont view it that way. The question that befuddles traditional economists is why people want these refunds, said Richard Thaler, a Nobel-winning economist at the University of Chicagos Booth School of Business. Why do they want to make interest-free loans to the government? If they just went out and met a noneconomist, they would find that people like refunds. Essentially, the Trump administration chose to set withholding tables that created a short-term political talking point (your paycheck went up!) but that are likely to make people less happy over the medium term (your refund shrank!). The term behavioral economics, for the study of psychological dimensions of how people make economic decisions, had not yet come into use when the United States introduced tax withholding during World War II. But the creators of that system showed keen intuition about behavioral economics lessons that would become more formalized decades later. What do you do to keep sources secure? As my colleague Li Yuan noted, WeChat is a reporters best friend in China. Everyone spends huge amounts of time on it. But WeChat is also closely monitored, so when a sensitive topic comes up, I try to guide people to use more secure apps. That can also be a problem, though, because setting up an encrypted messaging app can alert the authorities to the person. In light of that, personal meetings also work. Often that means leaving the phone at home, since a devices microphone can become a listening device. There are also special Faraday bags, which block communications signals and can help you go dark with your phone on you. Sometimes all the surveillance here makes me want to put one on my head. In some cases, its not possible to get around the government, and you have to make a judgment call about whether the source understands the risks and how severe the punishment might be. Sometimes we go places and its not possible to safely interview people, so we dont. The government frequently wins. What is the oddest surveillance tech youve seen in China? China is a gadget-loving nation. Often technology that doesnt totally work is embraced with alacrity. I think my favorite example was the facial-recognition sunglasses that made the rounds last year. The police were rocking these glasses, with a camera that plugged into a smartphone-like minicomputer. The idea was the glasses could identify people as the police looked at them. When I got to try them on, I found out they didnt work all that well. BARCELONA, Spain The Trump administration sent a delegation to Spain this week to make its case against the Chinese technology company Huawei at one of the worlds biggest tech trade shows. But the event, called MWC Barcelona, ended up being favorable ground for the Chinese maker of telecom equipment. Of the more than 100,000 attendees and 2,400 companies at the event, most ignored the efforts by the United States to impose a ban against Huawei for security and surveillance risks. The British designer Paul Andrews first collection for Salvatore Ferragamo as the brands creative director began with a multicolor patchwork leather wedge heel that he chanced upon in the companys archive in Florence. Although created in 1942, the shoe was selling me mega 1980s, and I translated that through the ready-to-wear, music and front-row guests, says Andrew, who until earlier this month served as the womens creative director for the label (he now oversees design across the brand). His fall 2019 collection echoed that shoes rich 80s-esque color palette of umber, ocher and sapphire and continued its patchwork motif; the front row at the show in Milan, meanwhile, included the stars of Stranger Things, the wildly popular Netflix show that pays homage to early 80s genre films. Later that evening, the cast members Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton and Joe Keery joined Andrew, along with a host of other Hollywood actors, for dinner at the beloved Milanese restaurant Da Giacomo. It wouldnt be a good show of Italian hospitality if we didnt celebrate our guests with a proper evening, says Andrew, who rounded out his fashion week by eating one of the restaurants famous strawberry desserts seated next to the actress Michelle Monaghan. Ahead of his debut collection as creative director, we sent the designer an instant camera and asked him to document his week. His images below capture the fittings for the show as well as his very Italian dinner. In May 1862, the white officers of the vessel left the boat in the hands of the all-black crew. Smalls promptly took command of the ship, picked up his family and those of his fellow crew members and ran several Confederate checkpoints. In all, 16 former slaves met up with Union ships blockading the harbor. In our series My Detox, T asks creative people to share the homemade recipes they count on to cleanse and refresh. The New York-based chef Camille Becerra works with fresh, seasonal, vibrantly hued ingredients golden kabocha squash, brilliant red barberries, purple ninja radishes but not in a manner that, as she puts it, feels excessively healthy. Becerra, who was born in Puerto Rico and raised in New Jersey, developed her visually distinct, flavorful culinary style in the 90s, working in mostly female-run, often vegetarian, restaurants in and around New York. A formative stint at Angelica Kitchen in the East Village, for instance, taught her the finer points of the dragon bowl a traditional macrobiotic dish of layered whole grains, vegetables, beans and fermented garnishes which she later transformed into an Instagram sensation during a residency at the now-shuttered Cafe Henrie in 2016. (Demand for her pink-tinged version, topped with turmeric-poached eggs, goji berries and beet pickle, nearly maxed out the cafes tiny kitchen.) Becerras plant-forward approach also shaped the menus at the stylish seafood restaurant Navy (where she ran the kitchen from 2014 to 2015) and De Maria, the all-day cafe she opened in NoLIta in 2017. Since the latter space closed, in 2018, she has divided her time between multiple projects, including food styling, consulting and developing her own health-focused food line and cookbook (it deals with the instinctual aspects of food and cooking with the senses, she says). Robbie: What common themes or trends have you noticed about millennial love? Daniel: Id say the most common overall theme is people trying to figure out how to find love without ever having to be vulnerable. I often get the sense that college students are piecing together the little parts of their love lives that they need. There can be sort of a dividing line between an emotional relationship and a physical relationship. It changes from year to year based on how people are communicating and where theyre finding these connections. Miya: There are many more forms of relationships now. Polyamory is a big theme in this contest, and I dont really remember it showing up as much in the 2015 contest. Daniel: It seems like many young people are getting rid of old constrictions, but they arent sure what shape the new thing should take. Theres lots of discussion about labels and terminology. In a previous contest, so many essays were asking the question, What are we? Is this a relationship? Is it not a relationship? Does it have a rule? Does it not have a rule? Theres always a lot about college thats experimental, and thats good! It leaves a lot of room for confusion, but it also leaves a lot of room for good essay writing because people are trying to figure out what things are. Robbie: Sometimes I feel like I need a dictionary to distinguish between all of the different terms we have for things, whether its talking or hooking up or ghosting. Daniel: I remember reading a bunch of essays, I cant remember how long ago it was, where no one really agreed on what hooking up was. They sort of assumed they had this language in common, but when they were really being honest they were like, Is this hooking up? If youre just like kissing, is that hooking up? Miya: Weve also seen a lot of people talking about the impact of technology. Clara Dollar, who was a finalist in the last competition, wrote about her Instagram personality and how she was always trying to live up to that version of herself. In 2015, Davis Webster wrote about never meeting up with someone on Tinder, but having this kind of virtual relationship. So at one end of the spectrum you have this no-strings-attached hookup culture, and then on the other side you have people connecting emotionally in a virtual world, but never meeting up. Youll never be invited to everything. But it can be hard to not feel hurt and betrayed when you see exactly what youre missing plastered all over social media. So what can you do? Philip Galanes, who advises on many awkward situations for The Timess Social Qs, weighed in with some guidance. Take a step back and maybe a deep breath. There may be a reason that you werent invited that isnt personal. Instead of confronting the group, Mr. Galanes said, its a lot more productive to try to step back, find some peace, and dont assume that the intention was all about you. Even if it feels like its about you, its not really about you. There might have been a limited number of people that the host could invite, or the gathering could have been spontaneous. Keeping a bigger perspective is also vital. All the good things that happen to us we take for granted and the one bad thing that happens to us becomes the center of our universe, Mr. Galanes said. Its only one weekend out of 52. Vent about it. Sometimes just talking it out is the most helpful thing to do. But you should be cautious about talking to the offending party about the situation. That will most likely push them farther away, not draw them in, Mr. Galanes said. Instead, talk to the person in the group that youre closest too. Give yourself a little emotional distance from it. Then, if you have to say something, try: Im really sorry you didnt include me in this. When you see the group again, dont be tight and frosty because you feel rejected, Mr. Galanes said. That wont help at all. Cut your losses. Ask yourself: Would these people knowingly hurt me, or might something else be going on? If you suspect that your friends were indeed being malicious, its time to let them go. For those who have closely followed every twist and turn of the investigations of President Donald J. Trump, there were new developments during Michael D. Cohens congressional hearing on Wednesday in front of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. But for many watching, the standout moments came in the fiery, and occasionally puerile, exchanges between Mr. Cohen, President Donald J. Trumps longtime lawyer, and Republican committee members set on impugning his credibility. [Follow the hearing live with commentary from our reporters.] Liar, Liar Paul Gosar, a Republican representative from Arizona, reflected the tone of many of the Republican members exchanges with a sign set up behind his chair, displayed from the beginning of the hearing. The sign showed a picture of Mr. Cohen superimposed on flames, emblazoned with the words LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE! Following Mr. Gosars questioning (in which he mocked Mr. Cohens apparent desire to be seen as a sex symbol), Mr. Cohen said that he was the one responsible for the congressmans tactics. Riegelsville, Pa. | $590,000 An 18th-century stone house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms Believed to have been constructed in 1784, this was the manor house for a working farm owned by Jacob Uhler, the son of German immigrants. It is set on a small bluff overlooking the Delaware River, in a village in Upper Bucks County, 70 miles west of Manhattan and eight miles south of Easton, Pa. Size: 2,370 square feet Price per square foot: $249 Indoors: The house is thoroughly updated and was renovated in 2005, with an addition that reoriented the main entrance to the rear of the property and that includes a new entry hall, full bathroom and large eat-in kitchen. The river-facing formal entrance is on the opposite side, framed by a walled bluestone patio that was probably built in the 1930s. Passing through the entrance foyer in the addition and turning right along a hallway, you enter the 21st-century kitchen. The room is faced on one side with an original exterior stone wall and has antique random-width pine floors, custom maple cabinets with soapstone counters and a soapstone farmhouse sink. Opposite the kitchen is the living room, with its original floorboards, a wall of built-in bookshelves and a fireplace with hand-carved mantel and supports. Mr. Cohen testified there was no doubt that Mr. Trump knew what these payments were for, that candidate Trump directed him to use my own personal funds from a home equity line of credit to avoid any money being traced back to him that could negatively impact his campaign. The decision to pay Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels, for her silence directly followed the revelation of an Access Hollywood video in which Mr. Trump claimed that he sexually assaulted women. Mr. Cohen testified that Mr. Trump decided to make the payment to Ms. Clifford because Mr. Trump worried that a second scandal would negatively affect his chances of winning the election. The most compelling evidence produced by Mr. Cohen on Wednesday was not anything he said but two documents he produced: copies of two $35,000 checks he received in 2017, one signed by Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, and Donald Trump Jr., the other by President Trump. With these and nine other payments over the course of that year, Mr. Cohen was reimbursed by the Trump Organization and President Trump for the money that Mr. Cohen spent to pay Ms. Clifford for her silence. The payments also included a $60,000 bonus for Mr. Cohen presumably a reward for his loyalty. These checks are key. They corroborate Mr. Cohens testimony and provide hard evidence that Mr. Trump and senior executives at the Trump Organization knew of and committed overt acts in furtherance of a conspiracy to violate campaign finance law and cover up those violations. Additionally, the checks are evidence that Mr. Trump knowingly made a false statement when he failed to report his liability to Mr. Cohen on his personal financial disclosure form in June 2017. This potential felony was committed while Mr. Trump was president. Mr. Cohen explained he was confident that Mr. Trump would repay him the $131,000 that Mr. Cohen borrowed in his own name, quoting a conversation he had with Mr. Trump in the White House in February 2017. Mr. Cohen testified that President Trump said: Dont worry, Michael, your January and February reimbursement checks are coming. They were FedExed from New York and it takes a while for that to get through the White House system. Mr. Trumps intent to influence the election by directing these contributions would be a crucial part of any potential prosecution for felony campaign finance violations. Mr. Cohens testimony is substantial, powerful evidence that President Trump understood he had a liability to Mr. Cohen from the beginning of his presidency and that Mr. Trump acted with the requisite intent to be subjected to prosecution for criminal campaign finance violations. He had no desire or intention to lead this nation only to market himself and to build his wealth and power, Cohen said. Mr. Trump would often say, this campaign was going to be the greatest infomercial in political history. He never expected to win the primary. He never expected to win the general election. What was almost as dispiriting as the range of misconduct alleged was the behavior of Republicans on the committee. They seemed less interested in ferreting out the truth than in covering it up; all they wanted to do was protect Trump and discredit Cohen. It was three hours into the hearing before a Republican even asked Cohen a question about Trump. The Republicans argued that we should not believe Cohen because he is a proven liar. But if a proven liar should not be believed, why do these same Republicans believe Trump? After all, Trump has made 8,718 false or misleading statements since taking office, according to The Washington Posts count. To the Editor: Re Kim Jong-un Arrives in Vietnam, for a Visit About More Than Trump (nytimes.com, Feb. 25): Kim Jong-un may see Vietnam as a model for the future of North Korea. This should be welcomed by all interested in the increased stability of East Asia. Should North Korea emulate Vietnams Open Door economic reforms, symbolized by the Bac Ninh Samsung factory Mr. Kim has expressed interest in touring, it could open the door for increased transparency and accountability from Mr. Kims government. Further exploring potential for tourism by visiting Halong Bay would show a commitment to modernization and regional integration. Vietnams incredible economic growth, spurred by economic liberalization, has led to an increase across the board in development. As North Korea comes under further worldwide scrutiny, it has within its grasp the dual opportunity of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a commitment to economic modernization. This visit to Vietnam could go down in history as the moment it takes an important step forward. In our little room, someone turned off all the lights, and a group of agents came in and forcefully took away my cellphone and my backpack. They furiously went through all my personal stuff. They patted me down from head to toe. Maria went through the same humiliating experience with a female officer. I asked if we were being detained. They said no but still they didnt let us leave the room. Finally they told Maria and me to join our colleagues on the bus. They said they wanted to take us to our hotel. But we refused again. At that point we were very concerned about our safety and the possibility of being taken to a detention center or an even darker place. We were taken to the street, where Mr. Rodriguez came out to complain about the interview and the way we had conducted ourselves. I told him that our job was to ask questions, and that they had stolen our interview and our equipment. By then, we later realized, the first reports about our detention were already being published. They couldnt keep it a secret anymore. It was about 9:30 p.m., more than two hours after the end of the interview. Our driver, who had been waiting all this time on one of the side streets, suddenly appeared. At that point, the same people who had detained us wanted us to leave. Fast. And so we did. We piled into the car and went back to the hotel. Members of the governments intelligence agency cordoned off the hotel so we couldnt leave. A few hours later, an immigration official came to inform us that we would be expelled from the country in the morning. Around 1 a.m., a self-described captain one of the men who had detained me at the presidential palace came to my room and returned my cellphone in a plastic bag. All of its contents had been deleted. I assume they had first hacked into whatever they could. Pakistans recent history has been bloody, and no one has suffered that violence more than its own citizens. But our long history with military dictatorships and experience of terrorism and uncertainty means that my generation of Pakistanis have no tolerance, no appetite, for jingoism or war. In the afternoon, #saynotowar began to trend in Pakistan, before hitting the worldwide No. 1 spot on Twitter. Even Prime Minister Imran Khan, of whom I have long been a vocal critic, surprised me when he appeared on television in the afternoon and called for peace. My question to the Indian government is that with the weapons we both have, can we afford a miscalculation? If it escalates, where will it go? Mr. Khan asked. It is the only moral stand that either country can take. Both India and Pakistan have a duty to maintain that profoundly moral stand at a time when hysteria is at a high. A 2007 report written by a co-founder of the antinuclear organization Physicians for Social Responsibility found that a nuclear war between India and Pakistan could result in the deaths of one billion to two billion people around the world from starvation and disease. I and many other young Pakistanis have called upon our country to release the captured Indian pilot as a gesture of our commitment to peace, humanity and dignity. We have spent a lifetime at war. I do not want to see Pakistani soldiers die. I do not want to see Indian soldiers die. We cannot be a subcontinent of orphans. My generation of Pakistanis have fought for the right to speak, and we are not afraid to lend our voices to that most righteous cause: peace. Fatima Bhutto is the author, most recently, of the novel The Runaways. The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email:letters@nytimes.com. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. Remarks by Swopes had included claims that his 10-year-old daughter had been the subject of a ritual in their house, being made to drink blood. He also claimed he had baptized her to cleanse her of an evil spirit and that he has the ability to so the same for others. ATHENS Our next location is a mere 100 steps from where Im writing these essays. I pass it every day on my way to and from the library. It is the Monument of Lysicrates, built around 334 B.C.E., just about the time Aristotle returned to Athens to found his Lyceum. I always pause there, take in the view and watch the many seemingly well-fed and contented cats scattered around the place. If you let your eyes drift up from the monument, your vision is seized by the vast sacred rock of the Acropolis. It is skin-pinchingly sublime. Indeed, New Yorkers might experience a feeling of deja vu or double vision with this monument because you can find not one, but two copies of it atop the San Remo apartment building on Central Park West, just north of the Dakota, where John Lennon lived and died. The monument was also widely copied elsewhere. The original Monument of Lysicrates is composed of a 9.5-foot-square limestone foundation topped with a 13-foot-high cylindrical edifice. There are six Corinthian columns, thought to be the earliest surviving examples of that style, made from marble from Mount Pentelicus, about 15 miles northeast of Athens. These support a sculpture divided into three bands that carry an inscription commemorating Lysicrates a wealthy patron of the arts of whom little else is known and a frieze depicting the adventures of the god Dionysus and some pirates whom he transformed into dolphins. The god sits caressing a panther as some satyrs serve him wine, while others, with torches and clubs, drive the pirates into the sea. Above is a shallow dome which is the base for three rather mutilated scrolls in the shape of acanthus leaves that stand about three feet high. This was designed to hold a large bronze trophy or tripod, which has long since disappeared. To my eyes, what remains resembles a rather lovely, large broken flower vase. It was a slow winter day, and I had just left the Anthology Film Archives in New York after a screening of Andy Warhols Frankenstein. It had seemed like a long afternoon, what with the beheadings and the orgies and whatnot. Curiously, Baron von Frankenstein insisted on calling his creatures nose its nasum. Also, he observed that in order to know death, you have to lets paraphrase here know life in the gallbladder. I stood there on Second Avenue, more than a little discombobulated. And then, from an open window, I heard Jerry Garcia singing, like the voice of an old friend. Dry your eyes on the wind, he sang. Garcias mother took him to see Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein when he was 6 years old, he once said in an interview. My father had just died the previous year. That was my first sense that there are things in this world that are really weird, and there are people who are concerned with them. I think that sounds like fun. It was fun. And it was 50 years ago today Feb. 27, 1969 that Garcia and the Grateful Dead stood onstage at the Fillmore West and recorded the live version of Dark Star, a song that is still about as fun, and as weird, as American rock n roll can be. The amendments still need to be reviewed, debated and approved by a special committee, then returned to Parliament and put to a public referendum. The entire process could be completed by as early as mid-April. The question is not only what will happen at the polls, but also, and perhaps more significant, what might happen between now and then. Many commentators have shrugged off the referendum as a foregone conclusion, an orchestrated event in which the yes vote will be rigged to prevail. The question that seems to arise most often among the privileged doctors, professors, former M.P.s Ive talked to in Cairo is whether Egyptians understand the implications of the changes they will be asked to vote on, or if like the British with Brexit, they dont fully measure the repercussions. In fact, that question is irrelevant. What Egyptians understand is that Mr. Sisi could rule for another 15 years. And what they know is that already they can barely sustain themselves. When you talk to people on the streets of Cairo, on the citys outskirts or in its poor informal settlements, and when you travel to Alexandria, Minya or further south, it becomes clear that its the hard facts of daily life that dictate the publics thinking around revising the Constitution. The people know that since this presidents election, prices are up and the Egyptian pound is down. A subway ticket, which cost 1 pound in 2014, is now 7 pounds; a cylinder of cooking gas, once 8 pounds, is 50 pounds. They know that the austerity measures implemented by the government in exchange for a sizable, overdue loan from the International Monetary Fund have harmed them. They know that they want change. Opponents of the government, or of these constitutional amendments, have criticized the proposed changes, but so far no formal, legal contestation and no visibly forceful no campaign are underway. Yet the current situation presents an opportunity anew, especially for the opposition, to redirect the countrys political trajectory. The turning point of the 2011 revolution came on Feb. 1 that year, a few days after riot police had fled their positions and then protesters had called for a million-man march. Thats when I heard friends and family who until that point had been fearful of marching announce that they, too, wanted to go in the streets. They wanted to be part of that million. That moment is what led, ultimately, to Mr. Mubaraks ouster. Likewise, the upcoming referendum is a moment to mobilize around broad dissatisfaction. The dance is in full swing. Twenty minutes into it, I slide from my stomach into the seat of my wheelchair. Focused on Laurel, I slip one hand underneath my butt and pull out the strap that secures the chair to me. It makes a deeply satisfying noise as the Velcro unfolds. She flirts; I flirt right back. We are two disabled women investigating what it might mean to build an interracial queer relationship. The act of strapping oneself into a chair is so familiar to those who are or who know wheelchair users. For the select few who love a wheelchair user, the sound of that Velcro may well recall moments of intimacy. It is such a cultural moment. Resonant. Political. And, I hope, beautiful. I did not have to tell Michael how to light this moment. Michael is also a wheelchair user: He knows. I can feel the way he holds us in his light. It is sexy. Intimate. He picks up my arm, the strap. Michael is dancing right there with us. Of course, nondisabled people appreciate this moment. But what it actually means to see and feel strapping on stage, to hear and recognize the sound of Velcro unfurling is different, more complex, for those of us in the disability community. For some, the choice to strap publicly was controversial, too private to show on stage; for others, it was revelatory, a moment of celebration. Strapping and intimacy became a regular aspect of post-show conversations. What does it mean to show a sex scene that happens out of our chairs? What are the politics of showing a sex scene in our chairs? Culturally, the United States is no longer in an art for arts sake moment. Even though we do not always know what change looks like, we claim meaningful relationships between art and social justice, particularly when the artist is from a socially minoritized or stigmatized group. Art by a disabled artist, for example, is often seen as being tied to the artist's disability status: The art either recognizes a presumed triumph over that status or responds to the assumed tribulations of disabled daily life. Sometimes, counter to the artist's actual focus, audiences assume that the artists work is intended to educate nondisabled people about disability rights and etiquette, or to nudge people to think differently about disability and equity in the world. This is limiting. Linking art so directly to social change can detrimentally tie cultural production to broad societal narratives, making it hard for everyone to understand art outside the lines of those stories. Culturally specific works like disability art can have meaning in a number of different realms. As people invested in nuance and complexity, we owe it to ourselves and the creators of the work to educate ourselves in the traditions and legacies of the community so we can appreciate the work outside the narrowness of such framings. DESCENT takes place on an architectural, sculptural set we call the ramp. It is a ramp like no other. Unlike the access ramps that enable wheelchair users to avoid stairs, this ramp is beautiful. It is visually inviting; pushing up its surfaces is a pleasure-filled challenge. When we roll down with our hands off our wheels, we and our chairs turn automatically, spinning either out of control into the ground or if we and they are perfectly balanced, turning almost endlessly. The ramp was designed by 12 students at Olin College for a class co-taught by Sara Hendren and Yevgeniya Zastavker. Under the regulations of the Americans With Disabilities Act, the specifications for an ideal wheelchair access ramp are quite clear, as are the defining parameters of maximum gradient, minimum width, appropriate materials, and so on. The codes make no mention of what it might feel like to use these ramps; they focus on what it takes to enter a building safely. Though perfectly usable and necessary, I see these designs as examples of #rampfail. Disabled people want more than access. The scholar and activist Simi Linton describes the raw pleasure of rolling down hills in a manual wheelchair. Her words encapsulate the experience of so many ramp users. With the support of the college, the Olin students designed the DESCENT ramp for beauty and for the maximum potential of pleasurable wheeled movement. The resulting set reconceptualizes our understanding of what ramps can be; this ramp is art. As Rosemarie Garland-Thomson puts it, the ramp is aesthetically noncompliant with the A.D.A. CHICAGO History was made in Chicagos wide-open mayoral race last night. Bill Daley, the son and brother of the citys second-longest and longest-serving mayors, finished a close third behind Lori Lightfoot, a Democratic former federal prosecutor, and Toni Preckwinkle, chairwoman of the Cook County Democratic Party. After a runoff in April, one of the two women will be the citys first black female leader. Long dominated by a white patriarchal machine, Chicago should celebrate its milestone. But after a convoluted and at times chaotic race, the winning women will move forward having each won less than 20 percent of the vote amid a record-breaking field of 14 competitors. With 1,999 of 2,069 precincts reporting, Mr. Daley had collected 14.8 percent of the vote, Ms. Preckwinkle 16 percent, and Ms. Lightfoot 17.5 percent. However, the candidates Jerry Joyce, Amara Enyia, Susana Mendoza and Willie Wilson all got between 7.4 percent and 10.5 percent of the vote, and their constituencies support placed in any other candidates bucket would have swung the vote in any number of directions. Various people reported struggling to make the complex strategic calculus that runoff systems force electorates to make: Should you vote your heart, for the candidate with whom you most agree? Or do you go with one of the candidates you dont like but that you at least like more than the person who you fear has the best chance to win? If so, whos that candidate? On June 26, 1940, as Britain was girding for the onslaught of the Luftwaffe after the fall of France, Clementine Churchill wrote her husband, Winston, an admonishing note. There is a danger of your being generally disliked by your colleagues and subordinates because of your rough, sarcastic and overbearing manner, she warned the prime minister, who was otherwise preoccupied by the prospect of imminent Nazi invasion, a scheming foreign secretary, a restive backbench, and the absence of material support from the United States. I have noticed a deterioration in your manner, and you are not so kind as you used to be, she continued. It is for you to give the orders and if they are bungled except for the King, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Speaker you can sack anyone and everyone. Therefore with this terrific power you must combine urbanity, kindness and if possible Olympic calm. Clementine concluded by citing a French proverb, One can reign over hearts only by keeping ones composure. Winston got the message and found ways to make amends. As his private secretary, Jock Colville, later recalled, When he was at No. 10 there was always laughter in the corridors, even in the darkest and most difficult times. The pattern is quite clear. This years candidates are targeting their plans much more at the bottom half of the income distribution . And theyre calling for less spending that would help the top 10 percent of earners. Reducing poverty and inequality is developing into a central issue in the conversation around the 2020 presidential election, note the researchers at Columbia Universitys Center on Poverty and Social Policy. [Listen to The Argument podcast every Thursday morning, with Ross Douthat, Michelle Goldberg and David Leonhardt.] This approach is consistent with reality: The bottom 90 percent of earners have fared much worse than the top 10 percent in recent decades. For more Voxs Dylan Matthews writes that the rent-subsidy plans from Cory Booker and Kamala Harris are especially well targeted at poor people. Thats partly because, unlike many other anti-poverty plans, they help those people who dont have children and who arent working, perhaps because theyre disabled or elderly, Matthews explains. Times Abby Vesoulis explains the Bennet-Brown child allowance. Mark Zandi of Moodys Analytics has analyzed Elizabeth Warrens child-care plan, which was also the subject of praise from David Plotz on the most recent Slate Political Gabfest (shortly after minute 26:00). Joe Biden seems to be taking steps toward announcing his own presidential campaign, as Hanna Trudo of National Journal reports. Biden said yesterday that he was very close to getting to a decision and that his family wants him in: The most important people in my life want me to run, he said. If he does, Ill be interested to see how he plans to take on poverty. Finally, its worth saying that the Obama administration did take poverty seriously. Its signature piece of legislation the Affordable Care Act was the biggest attack on economic inequality since inequality began rising four decades ago. But the latest round of Democrats are putting even more of an emphasis on fighting poverty and on helping the true middle class (as opposed to the self-identified upper middle class). Thats a welcome development. Michael Cohen day Michael Cohen, Donald Trumps former lawyer, testifies before Congress today, and its sure to be a political spectacle. Will it matter? On the one hand, many Americans have already made up their minds about Trump, and the testimony of a former aide whos pleaded guilty to lying under oath isnt going to change their minds. In National Review, David French makes the case for skepticism about Cohens information. Corroboration is key, he writes. Cohens credibility increases when he can support his story with documents, with recordings, or even with other witnesses. The office has a budget of $3.5 million, and can introduce legislation and hold public hearings. How did Mr. Williams win? Mr. Williams had a big advantage over his opponents: His spirited but unsuccessful challenge last fall to Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul bolstered his name recognition in the five boroughs. In the public advocate contest, Mr. Williams easily defeated the second-place finisher, Councilman Eric Ulrich of Queens. The race, however, had two jolts that were seen as potential roadblocks to Mr. Williamss victory: First, the Amazon deal collapsed, giving Mr. Ulrich a Republican and a prominent supporter of the plan an opening to win over voters upset that the company would not be employing about 25,000 people on a new Queens campus. Then, mere days before the election, a previously undisclosed 2009 arrest of Mr. Williams was leaked to the news media. Mr. Williams said he did nothing wrong, characterizing the altercation as a verbal disagreement with his girlfriend at the time. Still, Mr. Williams attracted 33 percent of the vote. Mr. Ulrich, his nearest competitor, had 19 percent of the vote. Get ready for more voting. Mr. Williams will serve only through the end of this year. To hold on to the position through 2021, he needs to win a primary election in June and the general election in November. [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board voted on Wednesday to raise fares for New York City subway and bus riders in April. But the agency says that higher fares will not solve its deep financial crisis. The board voted to keep the base fare at $2.75 while eliminating the 5 percent bonus that riders receive when buying a pay-per-ride MetroCard. Commuters who rely on the authoritys sprawling network of trains, buses, bridges and tunnels will also see fare and toll increases of about 4 percent. On April 21, the price of a weekly MetroCard will rise to $33, up from $32. A monthly pass will increase to $127, up from $121. The fare increase vote comes as state lawmakers decide whether to approve new revenue streams for the system. Transit leaders say they need billions of dollars to tackle huge budget deficits and to pay for critical repairs. [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] It had long been considered a dangerous crossing, with more than 200 commuter trains barreling by every day, traveling up to 80 miles per hour even as streams of cars waited to drive over the tracks. It was so troubling that it was one of seven hazardous crossings along a 20-mile stretch of Long Island Rail Road track that were scheduled to be eliminated. The construction work at the crossing in Nassau County was set to begin next year; plans called for a bridge for trains and an underpass for vehicles. But that was not soon enough to avoid a rush-hour tragedy on Tuesday. Two Long Island Rail Road trains traveling in opposite directions slammed into a vehicle that had apparently driven around the crossing gates on School Street in Westbury. Three people, all of them inside the vehicle, were killed. Walsh had been at the school for AbbVies annual Week of Possibilities volunteering push, which has led to other donations in North Chicago schools, including a health clinic at North Chicago Community High School. Walsh said she was really struck by the contrast between how much she was saying those children were valued and the willingness to let them go to school in a building like that. Theres a faint Central Committee vibe to the scene: the weaponized booziness, the grinning onlookers in business attire and MAGA hats, the edge to Bollings I-love-you-man bonhomie. Thats not true! Spicer protests before commencing the requisite self-criticism. Heres my point you had a previous guest, Katrina Pierson. Pierson, a Tea Party activist turned Trump TV surrogate and 2020 campaign adviser, had been sitting in Spicers seat moments earlier. My point is, she was with him from the beginning. I didnt. I, like my point is, I am agnostic. I wanted to win and beat Hillary. Katrina Pierson, who was on here just before I am, before I ever was there theres some cross-talk here, some protestations, some more laying on of hands hold on, just stop, listen to me! She was with him when no one was with him. Even a year and a half into his private life, Spicer remains a mere disciple laboring in the shadow of apostles, struggling to convince them of his dedication and worth, an effort that somehow always ends in his further humiliation. After Spicers ship-burning first news conference, Trump reportedly complained to an aide about his suit. When, the following month, Spicer gathered his communications team and told them that White House lawyers were going to search their phones to find who had been leaking to Politico reporters, and the fact that he had done so swiftly leaked (of course) to Politico, Trump castigated him: Sean, what were you thinking? (Of all my experiences with the president, Spicer wrote in The Briefing, his memoir, that one was the worst.) Five months later, Trump would hire Anthony Scaramucci as his communications director to do exactly what he had reprimanded Spicer for: Hes going to find the leakers, Trump told the West Wing staff, Scaramucci later recounted in a Vanity Fair interview. Spicer, who was in the room, quit the same day, but his attempts to negotiate a dignified exit were kneecapped by gleefully reported whispers (which he hotly denied) that hed tried to steal a mini-fridge from junior White House staff. The Cold War showdown between the United States and the Soviet Union was played out in the 1980s with deadly results in crowded cities and dusty hamlets in Central America. From leftist guerrilla insurgencies in El Salvador and Guatemala to the Contras fighting Nicaraguas revolutionary Sandinista government, hundreds of thousands died and countless more fled to the United States. Scott Wallace spent a good part of that era in Central America covering these proxy wars, whose effects are still being felt today in the debate over immigration, gangs and intervention in Venezuela. Yet for a region that is just a few hours away by plane, there has often been a great disconnect. Mr. Wallace, who developed a deep interest in Latin America during college, saw himself as someone who could perhaps become a bridge of sorts between north and south. We exercised this heavy hand in Latin America, yet we have no understanding of the people we are influencing, said Mr. Wallace, who lived in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala at the time. There was a certain cultural arrogance that needed to be addressed. Do you notice things on the ground when you walk? Have you ever seen anything interesting, valuable or strange? Did you ever keep something that you found on the street? Conversely, have you ever lost something that was important to you? Did anyone try to return it? Look through the articles photos of things people have lost on the street: Which is the most intriguing? In A Mitten, a Key, a Unicorn: Did You Drop Something? Sara Barrett writes: A lot of life in New York takes place on the street. We carry our crumpled laundry down the block to the dry cleaner; we push overloaded strollers to the playground; we grab a slice of pizza on the way to the subway after a long day at work. Our backpacks and briefcases are weighted with laptops and water bottles, reading glasses, lipstick, a change of clothes for the gym. One hand (the other is always holding a phone) has to juggle, balance, point, clutch, smooth, zip. And that means we drop a lot of stuff. Last winter on the way to work I noticed a childs glove on the sidewalk, lying as if placed intentionally in the grid of cement squares. After that I began to notice other lost items. I liked the way the objects were framed by the crosswalk stripes, the cracked asphalt, the black dots of sidewalk gum, and I began to photograph them. Its surprising how quickly things appear and disappear. A large stuffed unicorn, on the curb near a yogurt store on Amsterdam Avenue in the late evening had been collected by the time I returned to shoot it in the morning. I saw a red book perfectly set against an orange traffic cone on my way to get a coffee and five minutes later I had the coffee but the book was gone. Doormen constantly sweep papers and cigarettes and other haphazardly discarded objects out of view. Once, walking to the street from the subway, I heard shouting. Your wallet! Your wallet! MISS! YOUR WALLET! The young woman attached to earbuds acknowledged the exasperated good Samaritan but only for a second and not long enough for a photo. She scooped up her wallet and returned it to her purse with the precision and efficiency of a shortstop making a double play. Not long ago I was bent over photographing some French fries. A friend happened to walk by and, after I explained what I was doing, told me about being outside of Whole Foods one Thanksgiving when a man was carrying out a large tray for what appeared to be a family dinner turkey, stuffing, cranberry dressing, mashed potatoes, cornbread, brussels sprouts, pie, the works and dropped it. Splat, on the ground, food everywhere. Now, that would have been a good photo. Students, read the entire article, then tell us: What is the most memorable thing you have ever found? Did you try to return it, keep it or continue walking? What is the dearest thing you have ever lost? Tell us what it was and how you felt after you discovered it was lost? Have you ever tried to return something you found on the street? If so, why? Has anyone ever returned something you dropped or lost in public? How did that make you feel? Which photo is most interesting, intriguing or strangely beautiful? Tell us why? If you are inspired, write a short story or poem about one of the objects. Who dropped them? Why? How did they feel when they realized it was gone? The author writes, The citys streets can seem like an open-air lost and found. What can we learn about humans their behavior, their values, their lives from what they lose? Good Wednesday. (Want this by email? Sign up here.) AT&T beats the government, again A federal appeals court ruled against the Justice Department on its bid to block AT&Ts $85.4 billion takeover of Time Warner. Its the final blow to the governments two-year effort to thwart one of the biggest media mergers in years. A three-judge panel ruled that a lower court had applied antitrust laws correctly. The governments objections that the District Court misunderstood and misapplied economic principles and clearly erred in rejecting the quantitative model are unpersuasive, Judge Judith Rogers wrote on behalf of the panel. AT&T is free to reboot Time Warner. Now a division known as WarnerMedia, it will be turned into a streaming-video business AT&Ts version of what has become the TV industrys go-to strategy. Among its planned products: a service that combines HBO, Warner Bros. movies like Wonder Woman and shows like Friends. The Justice Department wont appeal the decision. The courts ruling was a blow to the departments top antitrust official, Makan Delrahim, who had hoped the case would strike a blow against so-called vertical mergers, which combine companies with complementary businesses. Forgetting to shut off a keyless vehicle has been a safety hazard for years, causing a growing number of carbon-monoxide deaths. But a proposed regulation to require warning signals and other precautions has languished in the face of opposition from the auto industry. Now an effort is underway in Congress to force action on the issue, and at least one automaker has enlisted in the cause. General Motors says it supports a bill introduced this week by Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, that would direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to adopt a rule addressing the danger. It would require automakers to include a feature that automatically shuts off an engine after a specified period of idling. The rule would apply to all new keyless vehicles, which make up more than half of new cars sold in the United States. Because they dont need to turn a physical key, drivers can forget to shut off a keyless vehicle. Some motorists, particularly older ones, have inadvertently left cars with the engine running in garages attached to homes, which have filled up with carbon monoxide and poisoned occupants, often while they slept. Cohen testimony casts shadow on Trump-Kim talks in Hanoi The political drama on Capitol Hill was in President Trumps thoughts as he arrived in Vietnam for meetings with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. Michael Cohen, the president tweeted, was lying in order to reduce his prison time! Mr. Trump then had a one-on-one exchange with Mr. Kim in downtown Hanoi before sitting down for dinner with top aides from both sides. Formal talks between the two sides take place today, with Mr. Cohens excoriating characterizations of Mr. Trump echoing from the other side of the world. One goal: For decades, the U.S. has been monitoring a remote site in North Korea called Yongbyon, where it is believed the country produces nuclear fuel. If Mr. Trump can stop fuel production there, he would effectively have frozen the Norths nuclear program. If not, North Korea could keep up its weapons program while talks drag on. Media: Four American journalists were barred from covering Mr. Trumps dinner with Mr. Kim after two of them called out questions in an earlier appearance of the two leaders a highly unusual retaliatory move at a closely watched foreign event. Go deeper: Thae Yong-ho, a member of North Koreas political elite who in 2016 became the highest-ranking diplomat to defect in years, said in an interview with our Beijing bureau chief that Mr. Kim has no intention of giving up his weapons and is just buying time. Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous nights highlights that lets you sleep and lets us get paid to watch comedy. If youre interested in hearing from The Times regularly about great TV, sign up for our Watching newsletter and get recommendations straight to your inbox. Trump Goes to Vietnam With President Trump preparing to meet with North Koreas leader, Kim Jong-un, in Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, Jimmy Kimmel said there was something ironic about the president who avoided military service in Vietnam attending a diplomatic meeting there. Donald Trump is almost 8,000 miles away from us. [applause] He arrived in Vietnam this morning, reporting for duty only about 50 years late. JIMMY KIMMEL Kimmel and Conan OBrien both made light of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the meeting. Shes a very strong conceptual artist and thinker, Dessner said by telephone from Hudson, N.Y., where he has his studio. It was less about song forms and melody and harmony and some of the things you usually think about when producing, and more about the story. Victoria has always been ambitious. On Silences, she sings about fear, love, death, salvation, the devil, artistic compromise, a womans self-determination, the allure of the city and solitude as a refuge. Her reference points are literary as well as musical. The title of her 2016 debut album, Beyond the Bloodhounds, came from an 1861 memoir, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs. Silences shares its title with a book by Tillie Olsen about women whose creativity was stifled by domestic burdens. In Nashville, she is collaborating with two poets, Caroline Randall Williams and Ciona Rouse, on a book and spoken-word project imagining a blues woman named Rosie. Shes channeling the ancestors through a very intentionally and carefully crafted filter, Williams said by phone from Nashville. She is so rigorous about surrounding herself with art that shakes her and moves her and has an emotional and cultural context, whether she is sitting and reading new wave French poetry or practicing relentlessly make-up-free and exhausted at the crack of dawn Mississippi John Hurt scales. All of that is her weaving the mesh of her filter. Shes thinking about what work the blues is meant to do. Victorias music is simultaneously rooted and restless, reflecting a peripatetic life. Adia Victoria Paul her full name was raised in a strictly religious Seventh-day Adventist family that imbued her with biblical teachings and thoughts of mortality. She dropped out of high school and started to embark on impulsive journeys. AMSTERDAM How did Rembrandt die? Considering that he is one of the most famous names in art history, it might come as a surprise that we dont know. He was 63 at the time, but scholars say there is no record of any illness. The poets might say he died of grief, about a year after the death of his only surviving son, Titus. Although Rembrandt enjoyed worldwide fame in his lifetime, in the end he spent far beyond his means, filed for bankruptcy and was living on a pittance. He was buried in a rented, unmarked grave. Later, his remains were dug up and destroyed, and there is no lasting marker of his resting place. Flack said many of the band members used to play with military bands when they were in the service. Theyve played this piece so many times, some of them dont even need the music, he said. It was a generous gift and one completely in tune with our cultural times. In 2018, the tech billionaire Marc Benioff donated a wooden statue of a Hawaiian war god he had bought at auction for about $7.5 million to the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu. The snarling, musclebound deity, known as The Island Eater, is now the centerpiece of a major exhibition there, exploring the role of traditional sculpture in Hawaiian culture and society. This private act of restitution came amid a growing clamor for Western collections to return ethnographic artifacts to their places of origin. Mr. Benioff, the chairman and chief executive of the software company Salesforce, said in a statement announcing the gift last July that he felt the sculpture belonged in Hawaii, for the education and benefit of its people. At the sale in Paris, Christies said the wooden war god was about 200 years old. But now doubts have emerged about the sculptures age, inside and outside the Bishop Museum. Some international experts say the piece could be from the 20th century and worth less than $5,000. The core challenge: stopping nuclear fuel production President Trumps success or failure in moving toward his stated goal of denuclearizing North Korea may hinge on the fate of a remote, heavily contaminated nuclear site that has been under watch by American intelligence since the early 1980s. It is called Yongbyon, and it is the centerpiece of North Korean nuclear fuel-making. Declassified C.I.A. documents show that for more than 35 years the United States has been watching for signs that the sites reactors are operating, as well as tracing what happens to the plutonium and more recently uranium that can be turned into bomb fuel there. If Mr. Trump can get the production of nuclear fuel at Yongbyon stopped, he will have at least frozen the Norths program, though it may already have 30 nuclear weapons. That means dismantling the old reactor, neutralizing a new one, and taking apart a uranium enrichment facility that the North showed nine years ago to Siegfried Hecker, the former head of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. (American intelligence officials believe there is at least one other such facility, outside the high walls surrounding Yongbyon.) Mr. Trump has been told that if he can get the facilities destroyed, he will have made progress no other American president has. If he cannot, the North Koreans will keep producing fuel and maybe bombs while talks drag on. David E. Sanger Redefining success in the summit Mr. Trump once vowed to solve the problem of North Korea, making clear that he meant eliminating its nuclear arsenal. But he now sounds prepared to accept much less. As David Sanger and Choe Sang-Hun write, Mr. Trump has moved away from using denuclearization as a measure of success, instead citing the dialogue itself and his relationship with Mr. Kim as measures of progress. 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. A United Nations Security Council meeting on Venezuelas crisis briefly turned into a diplomatic brawl on Tuesday, as the United States and Russia traded rejoinders reminiscent of the Cold War. Nothing was resolved, and it appeared that if anything, the meeting illustrated how antagonists have hardened their positions over the crisis afflicting Venezuela, once Latin Americas most prosperous country, now in an economic free fall. The meeting was requested by the Americans to protest the Venezuelan governments refusal to permit humanitarian aid into the country this past Saturday, when convoys of supplies were stalled at its borders with Colombia and Brazil. At least four people in Venezuela were killed and dozens injured in border clashes between antigovernment protesters and loyalists of President Nicolas Maduro. ABUJA, Nigeria Officials declared early Wednesday that Muhammadu Buhari had won a second term as president of Africas most populous country, where voters rejected a corruption-stained candidate in favor of a leader who promised to continue a campaign to eliminate graft. Not long after midnight, election officials finished counting the votes, making it apparent that Mr. Buhari had defeated the leading candidate, Atiku Abubakar, by a wide margin in an election that was marred by pockets of violence. He was declared the winner shortly before 5 a.m. On Wednesday morning, Mr. Abubakar released a statement calling the results a sham election and saying that he would contest the outcome in court. He cited what he called a statistical impossibility of the results in some states where turnout was high despite the fact that life there has been upended by war as well as anomalies in states that are opposition strongholds. With the Chinese now making only vague concessions on structural reforms, Mr. Lighthizer would prefer to stay tough and let the bite of American tariffs persuade them to make bigger promises. While he has shared with Mr. Trump the view that the Chinese are not ready to make significant concessions, the president has continued to press for a deal. Jeff Emerson, a spokesman for the United States trade representative, denied that Mr. Lighthizer had ever been frustrated with the president, saying that he and Mr. Trump were in complete agreement on the negotiating strategy with China. President Trump has never insisted that Ambassador Lighthizer make a deal with China and has instead told Ambassador Lighthizer he is interested only in making a great deal with China that addresses structural issues, Mr. Emerson added. Anyone claiming otherwise either does not know what they are talking about or is deliberately pushing falsehoods. Mr. Lighthizer is well respected in Washington, with decades of experience in private legal practice and government, including leading trade talks with Japan in the 1980s. In trying to pin down the Chinese on making ambitious reforms to their economy, he has an unenviable task. Many business groups and China watchers credit the Trump administration with forcing China to finally come to the table and address longstanding concerns, including its treatment of American companies. And they say the administration is poised to secure greater concessions than previous administrations have. Bob Lighthizer has made it a priority to get this China deal right, said Myron Brilliant, an executive vice president and the head of international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He understands that this is the moment in time in which theres an opportunity to make a real change in the trajectory of the U.S.-China relationship, and hes focused on the bottom line: what he can get from the Chinese that will improve the U.S.-China economic relationship. Mr. Lighthizer, who will testify before the House Ways and Means Committee, is expected to face tough questions from lawmakers about the state of the negotiations and whether he feels comfortable staking his legacy on the evolving China deal. While many Republicans are eager for the trade war to end, they are warning the administration not to settle for a weak deal. Democrats are already trying to outflank Mr. Trump on China and are gearing up to call any agreement that does not include structural changes a failure. WASHINGTON The House voted on Tuesday to overturn President Trumps declaration of a national emergency on the Mexican border, with just 13 Republicans joining Democrats to try to block his effort to divert funding to a border wall without congressional approval. House Republican leaders kept defections low after feverishly working to assuage concerns among rank-and-file members about protecting congressional powers and about the precedent that Mr. Trump could be setting for Democratic presidents to use for their own purposes. Is your oath of office to Donald Trump or is it to the Constitution of the United States? Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked her Republican colleagues in a speech on the floor ahead of the vote. You cannot let him undermine your pledge to the Constitution. The resolution of disapproval, which passed 245 to 182, must now be taken up by the Senate, where three Republicans have already declared their support, only one short of the number needed for Congress to ratify a stinging rebuke of Mr. Trumps efforts. WASHINGTON Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law and senior adviser, is traveling this week through the Middle East to promote a plan to invest tens of billions of dollars in the Palestinian territories and Israels Arab neighbors as part of his long-promised peace initiative. Mr. Kushner, who has been working for two years on a blueprint for President Trump intended to resolve the decades-old dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, told leaders of Arab states that the economic plan would be critical to creating an environment in which the two sides could make the necessary political compromises. What we have found is that all the conflict does is keep people from having the opportunity to do commerce and to have opportunity and improve their lives, Mr. Kushner said in a rare interview with Sky News Arabia. Hopefully, if we can resolve this issue, we will be able to see a lot more opportunity for the Palestinian people, for the Israeli people and the people throughout the region. The White House publicly released no details of the economic component, but analysts who have followed its development said that they had been told it would involve investing around $25 billion in the West Bank and Gaza over 10 years and another $40 billion in Egypt, Jordan and perhaps Lebanon, depending on their performance meeting certain goals. Others who have spoken with Mr. Kushner disputed those specific figures, but agreed that it would involve tens of billions of dollars to those parts of the region. WASHINGTON Neomi Rao seemed like the ideal replacement for Brett M. Kavanaugh on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit when President Trump nominated her to take his place after he ascended to the Supreme Court. An Indian-American and a former clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas, Ms. Rao, 45, had the backing of the Federalist Society, the conservative legal group that has been the main recruiting ground for the presidents highly successful effort to put his stamp on the judiciary. And as the administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Ms. Rao is seen as an ally of the deregulatory efforts that are a large part of the conservative legal agenda. But Ms. Rao, who is on leave as the director and founder of the Center for the Study of the Administrative State at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, now faces questions from within her own party and specifically, from Senator Josh Hawley, a newly elected Republican of Missouri and member of the Judiciary Committee. It is not clear that Mr. Biden planned to speak, at least at such length, about the possibility of running. He was appearing before about 300 people at the University of Delaware to celebrate the naming of the Joseph R. Biden Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration. And he sat on stage for a conversation with the historian Jon Meacham about Mr. Meachams book, The Soul of America, which examines how the country overcame periods of division and turmoil. But after the two spoke for over an hour, only hinting and joking about the question that had drawn a handful of reporters here, Mr. Meacham asked Mr. Biden directly about his intentions. (Mr. Meacham told Mr. Biden before the session that he planned to raise the 2020 question, according to an official familiar with their conversation.) The 76-year-old former vice president who has led in early Democratic primary polls initially hesitated, praising an audience he said was mostly composed of Delawareans who knew him well. But that only prompted some in the crowd to stir. Come on, say it! one woman shouted. Mr. Biden said he was being prodded by his wife and two children but acknowledged he had been uneasy about taking the family through what would be a very, very, very difficult campaign against Mr. Trump. I dont think hes likely to stop at anything, whomever he runs against, Mr. Biden said. Some of the former vice presidents closest advisers are concerned about how he may react to Mr. Trumps barbs, particularly if the president invokes the death of Mr. Bidens son Beau, and the relationship between his other son, Hunter, and Beaus widow. Yet Mr. Biden made clear that he was just as focused on his prospects in the Democratic race as he was on Mr. Trump. He noted that the rise of social media has dramatically changed campaigns in the decade since he and former President Barack Obama ran, and he said he was taking briefings from the most advanced people in the country about how to run a sophisticated race. Paul D. Kamenar, a lawyer for Mr. Miller, said they would probably appeal, although they had not yet decided whether to ask the full appeals court to review the panels decision or whether to take the matter directly to the Supreme Court. We are disappointed with the decision and will be considering future legal action whether before the full court of appeals or the Supreme Court, he said in a phone interview. Essentially, Mr. Millers legal team had argued that Mr. Mueller wielded too much power to qualify as an inferior officer under the Constitution, the type who can be appointed without Senate confirmation. Mr. Mueller was appointed in that manner when the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, named him as special counsel in May 2017. If Mr. Mueller was improperly appointed, they said, the subpoena was invalid. But at a hearing over the dispute before the appeals court panel in November, Michael R. Dreeben, one of the lawyers working for Mr. Mueller, argued that Mr. Mueller was not off in a free-floating environment, but rather was subject to the supervision and control of the attorney general. As a result, he maintained, there was no need for Mr. Mueller to have been confirmed by the Senate. The appeals court agreed. Mr. Millers attempt to challenge Mr. Muellers authority was similar to an earlier challenge brought by Paul Manafort, President Trumps former campaign chairman, who was prosecuted by Mr. Muellers office. Mr. Manaforts gambit also failed, and he was convicted after a trial on bank and tax fraud charges in the Eastern District of Virginia and then pleaded guilty to separate conspiracy charges in the District of Columbia. CHICAGO Two African-American women are headed for a runoff in the Chicago mayors race, setting up an election that will make history. Lori Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor and sharp critic of the status quo at City Hall, and Toni Preckwinkle, the county board president and chairwoman of the countys Democratic Party, will face one another in a runoff election set for April, according to The Associated Press. The third top vote-getter William M. Daley, a member of Chicagos political dynasty of Daleys earlier conceded defeat. Either Ms. Lightfoot or Ms. Preckwinkle would be the first African-American woman to lead the nations third largest city, succeeding Mayor Rahm Emanuel as mayor. Only one other woman, Jane Byrne, has been elected mayor, in 1979. If Ms. Lightfoot were to win, she also would be the first openly gay mayor of Chicago. In its continuing assault on reproductive rights, the Trump administration has issued potentially devastating changes to the nations nearly 50-year-old family planning program, Title X, which allows millions of women each year to afford contraception, cancer screenings and other critical health services. Health clinics have long been barred from using Title X money, or any federal funds, to pay for abortions, but they have been able to provide abortions and other family planning services under one roof. Under the new rule, unveiled last week by the Department of Health and Human Services after being floated last year, a clinic that provides abortions will have to jump through an absurd series of hoops to continue receiving Title X funding. For instance, it will have to create a separate entrance to the facility for patients seeking abortions, hire separate personnel and establish a separate electronic health records system. Title X facilities will also be barred from referring patients for abortions . The rule gives discretion to the department to decide on a case-by-case basis whether facilities are in compliance. This will sound familiar to anyone who has followed the proliferation of state anti-abortion laws over the past decade. Some of those laws have required abortion clinics to widen their hallways, revamp janitors closets and make other expensive changes that had little to do with their patients well-being. This latest move comes from the same playbook: impose unnecessary regulations for reproductive health clinics to impede womens access to care. The bad news doesnt stop there. The new Title X rule also removes the longstanding requirement that health care providers inform pregnant patients about their full range of options prenatal care, termination, adoption. Critics of the rule worry that this will open the door to participation in the program by groups that are opposed to abortion or that emphasize abstinence over contraceptive use. The department acknowledges in the rule that it would allow funds to go to entities that offer a single method [of family planning] or limited methods including providers that might do so for reasons of conscience. BANGALORE, India Fifteen years ago I came to Bangalore, Indias Silicon Valley, to do a documentary on outsourcing. One of our first stops was a company called 24/7 whose main business was answering customer service calls and selling products, like credit cards, for U.S. companies half a world away. The beating heart of 24/7 back then was a vast floor of young phone operators, most with only high school degrees, save for a small pool of techies who provided help desk advice. These young Indians spoke in the best American English, perfected in a class that we filmed, where everyone had to practice enunciating Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers and make it sound like they were from Kansas not Kolkata. The operations floor was so noisy from hundreds of simultaneous phone conversations that 24/7 installed a white-noise machine to muffle the din, but even then you could still occasionally hear piercing through the cacophony some techie saying to someone in America, the likes of: What, Maam? Your computer is on fire? Well, 24/7s founders P.V. Kannan and Shanmugam Nagarajan invited me back last week for an update. Their company is now called [24]7.ai and their shop floor is so quiet that the operators are encouraged to play their own music. The only noise is from the tapping on keyboards, because every query from customers of U.S. retailers, banks and media companies is coming in by text messaging from smartphones, tablets , desktops and laptops. Jeraldine Saunders, whose 1974 memoir of her time as a cruise director inspired the long-running television series The Love Boat, died on Monday at her home in Glendale, Calif. She was 95. Edward Lozzi, her longtime spokesman, said the cause was complications of kidney stone surgery she had in December. Ms. Saunders, who also wrote a widely syndicated astrology column for the Tribune Company as well as a book on hypoglycemia, had an eclectic resume to say the least. She was a model as well as an author; a practitioner of numerology and palm reading as well as an astrologer. She liked dating younger men and at age 89 filmed a segment for the TLC series Extreme Cougar Wives (with a boyfriend, not a husband). But her biggest claim to fame was her book The Love Boats, which inspired three television movies: The Love Boat in 1976 and The Love Boat II and The New Love Boat, both in early 1977. That fall, the concept was turned into an Aaron Spelling series, which ran for 250 episodes, making it one of the most successful shows of the period. Dick Churchill, the last living participant in a daring breakout from a German prisoner-of-war camp that inspired the 1963 movie The Great Escape, died on Feb. 12 at his home near Crediton, Devon, England. He was 99. His son Roger confirmed the death by email. Paul Royle, the second-to-last surviving prisoner to escape from Stalag Luft III in 1944, died in 2015 at 101. Many British news media outlets and other sources called Mr. Churchill the last surviving prisoner who had taken part in the escape. The Germans captured Mr. Churchill, a squadron leader at the time, after they shot down the bomber he was flying over the Netherlands in 1940. He was transferred to Stalag III, about 100 miles southeast of Berlin, in 1942, and soon a few hundred prisoners began excavating tunnels to escape. Mr. Churchill later recalled that the inmates had felt that they had to do something, even though it would have probably been safer to try to wait out the war. [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] Jumaane D. Williams, a Democratic councilman from Brooklyn, was elected as New York City public advocate Tuesday night, notching a victory over 16 other candidates in a free-for-all race that could give him a platform to seek higher office. Mr. Williams entered the race as a front-runner after his surprise insurgency campaign for lieutenant governor against the Democratic incumbent, Kathy Hochul, netted him more than 434,000 votes in New York City in a losing effort last year. He used that momentum to argue that he had the support of voters who saw his history as an activist including several arrests for civil disobedience as evidence that he would be an unapologetic antagonist to Mayor Bill de Blasio when needed. As Mr. Williams took the stage at Cafe Omar in Flatbush to give his acceptance speech, he appeared buoyant, mouthing the words to Differentology, a song by the soca artist, Bunji Garlin. He swayed to the beat and mouthed the words to the chorus, We ready for the road, before addressing the crowd. She said her train stopped after Westbury without explanation. There was a whole line of cars at the grade-level crossing where the train stopped, she said. She said she heard a westbound train approaching and making a funny noise. It hit us, she said. It hit the last car of the eastbound train, she said. The people from the last car were running up, saying Move up, move up because the last car is on fire. A passenger on the westbound train, Mike Picarella, 36, was in the back of the train when, around 7:20 p.m., he heard a little thump. He said he didnt think much of it, but seconds later, there was a second, bigger thump, he said. You knew something happened, Mr. Picarella said. The train stopped. Realizing their train had hit something, the passengers stood up and then looked out the window, where they saw another train. At first many wondered if they had hit it. But there was a fire raging, too, flames knifing up from underneath the train, halfway up the windows. On the ground below was half of a crumpled vehicle. Within a minute of stopping, the train started filling up with smoke, Mr. Picarella said, and passengers were quickly moved to the front. Eventually, the doors were opened to let the smoke out, he said, and passengers could then see that a train car had peeled off the tracks. Mr. Picarella, who is a maintenance manager for New York City Transit, praised the response of local emergency responders and the police, who he said arrived within minutes of the crash, and got people off the train quickly. [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. It was not the first time the archaeologist had received this type of call. There have been some human bones unearthed, Chris Hatin, an investigator with the Warren County sheriffs office, said in a voice mail message to Dr. David Starbuck in early February. Ive been told you have some experience with this. If you can give me a call back, Id certainly appreciate it. Dr. Starbuck did call back. The bones, centuries old and fragile, offered clues that eventually led to the skeletal remains of at least 18 humans and with them a Revolutionary War-era mystery. How often are infants born alive after attempted abortions? It hardly ever happens, according to Dr. Daniel Grossman, a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. He performs abortions and is a spokesman for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, where he leads a committee on health care for underserved women. A healthy fetus becomes viable potentially able to survive outside the womb at about 24 weeks of pregnancy. Only about 1.3 percent of abortions in the United States in 2015 were performed in or after the 21st week of pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Less than 1 percent of all abortions are done after 24 weeks, and many are performed because the fetus has a fatal condition or the pregnant womans life or health is at severe risk. If an abortion is performed at 20 weeks or later, a drug may be injected to stop the fetal heartbeat before the fetus comes out of the womb, Dr. Grossman said. In other cases, suction devices and other instruments end the fetuss life before it is removed, he said. What happens in rare cases when a baby is born alive after a pregnancy is cut short? Dr. Grossman said there were painful situations in which the fetus might be at the edge of viability and labor must be induced to save the mothers life. For instance, a condition called pre-eclampsia, involving high blood pressure and other problems, can kill both mother and fetus, and in most cases the only treatment is to deliver the baby. If it seems unlikely that the baby will survive, the family may choose to provide just comfort care wrapping and cuddling the baby and allow the child to die naturally without extreme attempts at resuscitation. The bill would force doctors to resuscitate such an infant, even if the parents did not want those measures, said Dr. Jennifer Conti, an obstetrician gynecologist who is a fellow of Physicians for Reproductive Health, an advocacy group. Doctors who violated the law would be subject to criminal penalties, as would anyone who saw the violation and failed to report it, she said. Want climate news in your inbox? Sign up here for Climate Fwd:, our email newsletter. WASHINGTON The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed its first significant public lands conservation bill in years, designating more than one million acres of wilderness for environmental protection and permanently reauthorizing a federal program to pay for conservation measures. The House passage of the bill, on a vote of 363-62, sends the measure, which was passed by the Senate this month, to the desk of President Trump. The vote Tuesday offered a rare moment of bipartisanship in a divided chamber and a rare victory for environmentalists at a time when the Trump administration is working aggressively to strip away protections on public lands and open them to mining and drilling. Nonetheless, Mr. Trump was expected to sign the bill into law. But the one million acres of wilderness that would be protected by the bill stand in contrast to the administrations plans to open up for drilling nine million acres of protected habitat for the sage grouse, two million acres of protected land in Utah, parts of the vast Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and most United States coastal waters. Lawmakers and environmentalists celebrated passage of the bill as a victory for bipartisanship and conservation. The former police chief in Elmwood Park, N.J., vividly remembers the moment 30 years ago when the gates at the railroad crossing on the edge of town lowered on the bus carrying his son and his classmates on a field trip. Suddenly, they were trapped on the tracks, with a train bearing down. The fathers got out and started trying to push the rails off the bus so it could move, the former chief, Don Ingrasselino, recalled. We were all shouting at the bus driver to move, move. She was finally able to get out of there, but I still think about how many kids could have died that day. Through the decades, Mr. Ingrasselino would respond as a police officer and chief to a number of tragedies at the crossing, where Midland Avenue intersects with New Jersey Transit tracks at a sharp angle through his Bergen County town. Its not even an accident waiting to happen, said Mr. Ingrasselino, who retired in 2012. Its an accident thats been happening, over and over. Its ridiculous. Thank you for reading The Cascadia Advocate, the Northwest Progressive Institutes journal of world, national, and local politics. Founded in March of 2004, The Cascadia Advocate has been helping people throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond make sense of current events with rigorous analysis and thought-provoking commentary for more than fifteen years. The Cascadia Advocate is funded by readers like you and trusted sponsors. We dont run ads or publish content in exchange for money. Help us keep The Cascadia Advocate editorially independent and freely available to all by becoming a member of the Northwest Progressive Institute today. Or make a donation to sustain our essential research and advocacy journalism. Your contribution will allow us to continue bringing you features like Last Week In Congress, live coverage of events like Netroots Nation or the Democratic National Convention, and reviews of books and documentary films. Become an NPI member Make a one-time donation Local moms band together to form an activist group working towards reducing gun violence in America. Over the last few weeks, Indianas natural treasures have been recognized on a national scale. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore was designated as our states very first national park, and legislation passed the Senate that authorizes the extension of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail across southern Indiana and protects fishing and hunting rights within the Hoosier National Forest. These are big wins for our state, benefitting both conservation efforts and the Hoosier economy. These designations have the potential to boost tourism and help ensure that our prized natural resources, and our proud hunting and fishing heritage remains preserved for generations to come. The designation of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore as Americas 61st national park verifies what we Hoosiers have known all along this is not just a state treasure, but a national treasure as well. The new designation should drive additional visitors to this Hoosier wonder and in turn spur northwest Indianas economy. It rightfully commemorates the important ecological diversity of the Indiana Dunes. I commend my colleague in the House, Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Gary, for his perseverance on this important Hoosier priority. Without his tireless advocacy, this goal would not have been accomplished. I look forward to continuing to work with Visclosky to ensure Northwest Indiana is not ignored. GARY The Community School Corp. and the city's mayor will host a joint community forum tonight to address concerns raised by historians, residents and elected officials about the sale process of artwork and other items. The meeting is set for 6 p.m. at West Side Leadership Academy. It comes after the school district extended an online auction for a prized wooden Picasso model after not properly notifying Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson of specific assets they were auctioning off. The extended auction was set to end Thursday, but another snafu has forced the district to extend it yet again. Even though the Gary school district announced last month it would be reopening the bidding process for the Picasso art piece until Feb. 28, the piece was still listed as SOLD on Kraft Auction Service's website as recently as Tuesday. The issue was brought to the Gary Community School Corp.s attention late last week, deputy chief of staff Amy Marsh said Tuesday. The deadline has been further extended to March 15 due to the confusion, she said. The presumed-winning $20,000 bid last month by a Belgian art collector is still in play, according to officials. Winter is in full swing and the young scientists attending the Duneland Family YMCAs Out of School Learning program got to learn about and create their own unique snowflakes. The kids learned about symmetry and patterns, as well as how snowflakes are made in their STEM lesson at the Liberty Elementary location. After researching, analyzing and observing snowflakes both online and in person, the kids took to their papers and created their own snowflakes. What they discovered was that no two snowflakes ever turn out alike. This Winter Snowflake activity is one of many experiments designed to teach students STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) concepts at the Duneland Family YMCAs Out of School Learning program. Grant support from ArcelorMittal has fueled great improvements to the STEM learning program where youth enrolled in the program experience hands-on STEM activities each week. SCHERERVILLE Winter/spring fish fries are held from 3 to 7 p.m. every Friday until April 19 at Descent of the Holy Spirit Orthodox Church, 545 E. 77th Ave. Call 219-864-1529. SOUTH HAVEN The Knights of Columbus is sponsoring a Lenten all-you-can-eat fish fry on Fridays, March 8 to April 12 at 356 W. County Road 700 North. Doors open from 4:30 to 7 p.m.; eat in or carry out dinners starting at $12. There is cajun-style fried fish, along with shrimp and other dishes in the hot and cold buffet lines. Beverages and desserts are extra. All money goes to help nonprofit groups in the area. Call 219-962-8828. VALPARAISO Moose Lodge 1357 has a fish fry 4:30 to 7 p.m. Fridays at 108 Indiana Ave. There are fish, shrimp dinners, hamburgers, chicken fingers and fries throughout the whole year. To phone in orders, call 219-462-2311. VALPARAISO Morgan Township Volunteer Fire Department is hosting a fish fry from 4 to 7 p.m. March 15 at the fire department, 291-2 S. Ind. 49, behind Morgan Township School. For advanced tickets, call 219-462-1665 and leave a message for Lee. Tickets are available at the door, also. Ticket prices are $11 for seniors and adults and $5 for ages 5 to 11. Advanced ticket holders are asked to arrive by 5 p.m. to guarantee their tickets. INDIANAPOLIS Gov. Eric Holcomb is calling on Hoosiers who favor a comprehensive bias crime statute, including a list of protected classes, to contact their state legislators and ask them to approve one. The Republican chief executive said Wednesday he was taking the unusual step of encouraging public pressure on the General Assembly because he knows a hate crime law is widely supported by Hoosiers and state lawmakers don't seem to be hearing that. "They need to contact the legislators that vote, their legislator, respectfully, and appeal to their hearts and minds why this is important; not just to them, but to the life of our state and to the future of our state," Holcomb said. The governor reiterated Senate Bill 12, as approved last week by the Republican-controlled Senate, is insufficient to get Indiana off the list of five states lacking a bias crime law, because it provides no specific protections for individuals and groups traditionally targeted in hate crimes. "Being vague about this does not get us off the list," Holcomb said. "If we seek to continue to foster a pro-growth business state, this is one of those boxes that we need to check." Harris presented the election board copies of Wilson's 2014 guilty plea to the Class B felony of confinement over a domestic dispute with his wife in 2012. Wilson, who walked with the aid of a cane and was often out of breath because of medical issues, complained he only pleaded guilty to get out of the Lake County Jail, where he was being abused and he believed his conviction would be expunged. Both Republican and Democratic members of the elections board voted to remove Hero on grounds the state Republican Party issued a 10-year ban in 2016 forbidding Hero from calling himself a GOP party member. He said any GOP ban is trumped by a state law defining a candidate's political affiliation by which party he voted for in past primary elections. Hero said he has a 38-year Republican voting record. Lake County Councilman Christian Jorgensen, who challenged Hero, said, "The Republican Party doesn't want to be associated with Joe Hero." Aguilera's mayoral candidacy is being challenged on grounds Aguilera isn't a resident of East Chicago. Harris argued Aguilera's family lives in Indianapolis. His wife is a prominent Indianapolis attorney, and one of his children goes to an Indianapolis school. MICHIGAN CITY A 20-year-old Michigan City woman will remain in jail, charged in the death of her friend. LaPorte Superior Court Judge Michael Bergerson on Tuesday denied a request to lower bail for Kayla Foster, who has been charged in the death of Tiffany Butts. Foster is being held in LaPorte County Jail on a $10,000 cash bond. Foster reportedly told police she had her mother's car Sept. 23 near Swasick Avenue in Michigan City when Butts climbed on top of the vehicle and encouraged Foster to drive. Foster said she resisted at first but ultimately gave in and drove south along Swasick Avenue with Butts still on the roof. After stopping at the intersection at Earl Road, Foster said she discovered Butts had fallen off and was lying in the middle of the road, according to court charging documents. A resident told police she saw Butts climb on top of one of two vehicles parked on the lawn of the nearby Knapp Elementary School, according to charging documents. Butts sat upright with her legs pointing forward, and both vehicles drove south along Swasick Avenue, the witness reported. "She could hear the female on top of the silver vehicle yelling, 'Go faster ... Go around him,'" court documents noting the witness account state. WINFIELD Church volunteers found a body in a pond at Holy Spirit Catholic Church while changing a marquee sign in front of the building. Officials could not confirm whether the man was missing 64-year-old Winfield resident Terry Fodemski; however, Lake County Coroner Merrilee Frey said she will be collecting and reviewing Fodemski's dental records this week to determine if it is Fodemski. Fodemski was last seen on Nov. 9 and search efforts since then have come up empty-handed. Police said he was believed to be traveling on foot and had bipolar disorder. Volunteers found the dead man in the pond in the front of the church at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez said. The man was pronounced dead by coroners at 1:31 p.m. Wednesday at the church at 7667 E. 109th Ave., according to a news release from Frey. Coroners did not release the name or age of the man. The cause of death is pending. Winfield Town Marshal Dan Ball said his department, with the assistance of the Lake County Sheriff's Department, is heading the death investigation. He said no further details will be released at this time, pending an autopsy on the man scheduled for Thursday. I notified (Sparks-Wade) that I would challenge on her behalf, he told The Times. I did it out of respect for her and my disgust for the former councilman. I think the board made a decision based on what was expected by the citizenry of Lake County. (The elections board) stood with survivors of domestic violence. At issue was whether Washington could claim one full year of residence in Gary by the Nov. 5 general election. Sparks-Wade testified that Washington moved into her house from his former Merrillville address in October. She also said she kicked him out of the house via a no-contact order in February, meaning Washington maintained Gary residency for no more than five months. Dillon further called into question the timeline of Washingtons residence in Gary. On Dillons behalf, attorney Alfredo Estrada submitted voter registration records showing Washington claiming a Merrillville address as of late November. In any case, the petitioners argued, Washingtons arrest and incarceration in the Lake County Jail preclude him from establishing true, fixed, permanent residence in Gary as required by election law. Its clear by the evidence he is no longer a resident of Gary, Estrada told the elections board. Winner in the savory dish category was Brandon Becerra, who's won the contest before, for a Cheesy Chorizo Tater-Tot Casserole. Becerra won $200 for the recipe creation. Taking top honors in the Sweet/Dessert Dish category was Eddie Campbell for Peanut Butter Chorizo Bonbons. The Garza Family also gave a $50 award for their favorite dish to Becerra as well. Becerra also won $50 for best decorated table, which sported a Star Wars theme. The Lake County Chancellor L. Gonzalez award of $100 also went to Becerra. Student Lauren Below earned an Ivy Tech 3 credit Scholarship for her Mincemeat Chorizo Pie Doughnut. "I'm stunned," said Becerra, about his win. He said he had been thinking of what his creation would be for awhile. He decided to make something with tater-tots since they are a favorite and also added cheddar cheese and Pepper-Jack cheese to the casserole mix along with a variety of other ingredients. He topped his creation with crushed Dorito crumbs when he presented the dish to taste testers at the event. Campbell's creation was based on the Bonbons his grandmother would make that were definite favorites. He decided to add chorizo for a different take on the sweet treat. The new restaurant will be about 2,000-square-feet smaller than the last Crown Point location at the Jewel-Osco shopping center on North Main Street. It will include a small bar area and a lot of family dining with booths and tables. "We were never a bar bar," he said. "We were always a restaurant that served alcohol." The new location at U.S. 231 and 113th Avenue was ideal because it's just off the highway and near ballparks frequented by families. "We've always been a family-friendly place," he said. "Kids like pizza." Bronko's plans to be open until 10 or 11 p.m. on weeknights and Sundays, and until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. The restaurant will offer dine-in, carryout and likely delivery. "There's a lot of people doing delivery now," Tarailo said. "McDonald's is doing delivery, and they've done a lot more to investigate the feasibility. We want to keep up with the big boys." The new restaurant will be more modern, with brick facades and aesthetic flourishes. Bronko's hopes to start construction this spring if it gets all the necessary approvals and a three-way liquor license. Tarailo hopes it will reopen later this year. "Just as many people are excited to have the chicken back as to have the pizza back," he said. "It's good people like us for more than one thing. People like a lot of our stuff. It's going to be nice to see the old customers back and hopefully to see some new ones." Love 14 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need With a weekly newsletter looking back at local history. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A: I started in San Antonio in March 1963. I went through officer training, and after graduation I went down to navigating training school at James Connally Air Force Base in Waco, Texas, in August 1963. After graduation, I went out to Sacramento to Mather Air Force Base. I went through advanced navigation and bombardier training. After that, I went through three weeks of survival training in Reno, Nevada. My first assignment was in Savannah, Georgia, at Hunter Army Airfield, which was for the Air Force Hurricane Hunter Squadron. I was with them for five years. Whenever a country set off a nuclear weapon, we did nuclear air sampling to evaluate their weapons. We also did storm and hurricane reconnaissance. As Senate Bill 12, the much-contested hate crimes bill, moves to the Indiana House of Representatives, Democratic leaders from both chambers of the Statehouse are calling on Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb to take a more proactive role. Forty-five states have hate crime laws in effect. Indiana along with South Carolina, Arkansas, Wyoming and Georgia is just one of five without one. Holcomb has broken from his own party to call for a hate crimes law including specific protected classes. I am hopeful the governor's leadership will come to the forefront now, said Senate Minority Leader Tim Lanane, during a press conference Tuesday. Despite this, the efforts to remove Indiana from this ever-shrinking list of states has run into trouble recently. Last week, a version of the bill which included protections for those targeted for their perceived or actual color, creed, disability, age, national origin, ancestry, race, religion, gender identity, sex, or sexual orientation was gutted by an amendment introduced by Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, who replaced that language with the word bias. I challenge my good friends in the majority party: What are the scared of? said Lanane. Why do those words seem to scare everybody so much? There's nothing to be afraid of here. Those truly reflect the values of the people of the state of Indiana. So, there's time yet to do these things. I'm always hopeful that there can be a consensus, there can be bipartisan work. LACK OF TRANSPARENCY IN SENATE Before 39 to 10 vote approving the stripped-down language was taken, members of the Republican supermajority huddled in chambers, out of view of the public. I'm just so disappointed, said Lanane. Because it seemed like bipartisanship was totally ignored in the process when it came to this bill. You saw the vote. It was all one-sided. It's also disappointing to me that we didn't have meaningful debate in the Senate. It's not right that something that important is decided behind closed doors. House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta said despite Holcomb's public statements in support of protected classes, he and other supporters would have to do much more to help restore them. I think business leaders from across the state are going to have to get involved, he said. I think it's going to have to be like any lobbying effort. Lanane said the amount of effort put forth by Holcomb and those who spoke in favor of protected classes during the bill's hearing in front of the Public Policy Committee would have to publicly apply much greater pressure on lawmakers. I think the governor has to really step forward at this point in time, he said. As far as I know, in the Senate side, I didn't really feel the pressure of his leadership on this side. Certainly at least 33 members of the majority in the Senate didn't feel it apparently because they basically said, 'You know what? We don't need no stinkin' list.' It's just like Spike Lee says, 'Do the right thing.' And, let's do the right thing for the state of Indiana. RFRA PART TWO? When asked by reporters if he thought this could turn into a sequel of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act debacle, Lanane said he didn't know, but that it certainly didn't help outsiders' perceptions of the state. When they took that list out, I could just hear people throughout the country saying again, 'What's wrong with Indiana?' Well, there's nothing wrong with Indiana. We just need to step up and have leaders in this state who will say, 'Here is the policy when it comes to hate crimes in the state of Indiana. We don't tolerate it. Here's a list. We're not afraid of these words. We're going to put these words right in there,' he said. The newly-formed group Indiana Forward has been on the forefront of pushing for comprehensive hate crimes legislation. The group is made up of representatives from the business, nonprofit, advocacy, education, and faith communities. Still, GiaQuinta said those in favor of the bill, especially in the business community, needed to do more. If there's something that business organizations have tried to get done in the past, they've been pretty successful, he said. If they put the time and effort into it, they can get it done. RELEVANT EXAMPLES CONTINUE EMERGING As an example of how relevant comprehensive hate crimes legislation is, GiaQuinta referenced the case of Dustin Passarelli, 33, of Plainfield. Passarelli was charged Thursday with the Feb. 16 road rage murder of Mustafa Ayoubi in the 3900 block of Wind Drift Drive East. We have said on many occasions, too many occasions in fact, that hate and crimes motivated by hate are real. Some in the legislature wish to push the dialogue into the hypothetical, but those of us who listen to our neighbors understand that this is an unfortunate reality in our state, stated Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry, who has also been a vocal supporter of a comprehensive hate crimes bill, on Friday. While the disturbing allegations underlying the charge in this case remain to be proven at trial, we are obviously unable to charge this alleged act as a hate crime. The death of Mr. Ayoubi has been charged as a Murder, which we will vigorously prosecute to seek justice for Mr. Ayoubi, for his family and loved ones, and for all members of the Hoosier Muslim community who have been impacted by this tragedy. ANSWERING DETRACTORS After Tuesday's press conference, Lanane was asked by NUVO about Witmer vs. State of Indiana ruling by the Indiana Supreme Court in 2003, which has been used by Freeman and others to suggest that listing individual classes are unnecessary. If you read that case, it was very narrowly tailored, he said. It was only about race, by the way. So, what does that say about all these other protections that we feel are important to include in the list, as well? I always say this to my friends on the other side who are railing about activist judges, and judges don't make the law, he said. They're right. We do. As for whether hate crimes legislation would amount to thought policing, Lanane dismissed that argument out of hand. That's ridiculous, he said. You have to commit a crime. You have to do affirmatively do something against a person, and then they inquire at that point in time is what was the motivation. We do it all the time. 'You possess drugs, what's your intent? Intent to distribute? What's your thought pattern?' You have to prove that in court, of course, so that idea is to me an excuse for not passing this. On any given night in Indianapolis, music lovers flock to venues large and small to hear their favorite artists play. Meanwhile, vinyl collectors dig through record shelves at their favorite local shop, while musicians young and old write and record songs at the studio of their choice. There is truly no questioning that Indianapolis loves its music. Last year, in fact, Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center sold more concert tickets than any other amphitheater in the world, according to a report from Pollstar magazine. And now Indy Chamber, alongside Central Indiana Community Foundation, City of Indianapolis, and Visit Indy recently launched Phase I of the Indy Music Strategy, an economic development initiative focused on the citys diverse and growing music industry. Prompted by discussions at last years Music Cities Forum, the initiative will be advised by Sound Diplomacya London, Berlin, and Barcelona-based music policy consultancy and global expert in developing long-term and self-sufficient music strategies. Having worked in numerous cities around the world, Sound Diplomacy will take a close look at the strengths and weaknesses of Indianapolis music economy, developing a strategy that helps it to thrive going forward. The Indianapolis region has significant music assets, including a history, community of artists, and institutions and venues, that we must include more and more in our economic development strategy, says Indy Chamber president and CEO Michael Huber. Culture and quality of life are top priorities in todays talent-driven marketplace, and supporting the arts enhances Indys appeal to people and employers alike. ANALYZING MUSIC POLICY In order to develop a strategy thats accurate and honest, Sound Diplomacy must look at Indys music community from a myriad of angles. With Phase I in particular, the music policy consultancy will focus on the creation of a music vision for the city, followed by a regulatory assessment. As part of this assessment, Sound Diplomacy will examine current local policies and ordinances impacting music in Indy. Were looking at what can be done to protect music venues and cultural infrastructure from new development. So noise zoning, says Shain Shapiro, founder and president of Sound Diplomacy. We will also be looking at the dance hall ordinance and all-ages issues. While some may be unaware, there are local policies in place that especially impact the way music venues operate, with the dance hall ordinance being a big one in particular. Theres a dance hall permit that originally dates back to the 50s, and then it was redrawn in the late 90s, says Jim Rawlinson, project manager on Indy Chambers economic development team. In the 90s, everybody said that it was aimed at the rave culture. Its this leftover ordinance thats used every once and awhile, but its not necessarily used fairly. In addition to outdated ordinances like this, Indys liquor laws also inhibit the potential of its music economy. In Chicago and Cincinnati, a venue like HI-FI could give people bracelets, and they could come in if they were 18+, Rawlinson says. You cant do that in Indianapolis unless you have a separate room [away from the bar]. It basically makes it so that you either have to be a 21+ music venue or an all-ages venue, and theres no in-between. Once Indys music strategy is developed, Rawlinson believes policy improvements can be made. Changing a city ordinance is something that we have control over, he says. With the stakeholders at the table, it should be something we can do. State liquor licensing can get tricky, he continues. Thats when you have players that arent in the room that you have to rely on. But I think the key to all of it is just identifying the problems in the first place and having a solution in mind so that you can work towards it. STEPS GOING FORWARD Following this initial policy research, Sound Diplomacy will then turn to the public for Phase II, conducting interviews, roundtable sessions, surveys, and more as part of an ecological impact assessment. Sound Diplomacy will be doing a lot of stakeholder outreach for musicians, artists, audiences, business people, and arts organizations to really build out a robust map of the city and whats happening where, Rawlinson says. That part will be really public-facing. Work on Phase II is slated to begin this spring. We want as many people as possible to take part in that phase, Rawlinson says. Thats really the best way to make sure your voice is heard. We want as diverse an audience as possible. Following the completion of this ecological impact assessment, Sound Diplomacy will then do an in-depth economic impact assessment as part of Phase III, taking a close look at the various ways Indianapolis spends money on music. That will track direct economic impact, like tickets sold at HI-FI, sessions booked at Postal, and records sold at Square Cat, Rawlinson says. This phase will also take a look at induced economic impact, considering things like the beverage suppliers for venues and how they benefit from serving their product at concerts. When you try to make the business case for why this is important and why we should be paying attention to it, that information really helps us get there, Rawlinson says. Once all of this research has been gathered, the final step is putting together a strategy and action plan. By then, well know what we can fix, Shapiro says, adding that the initiative should hopefully reach this conclusive point by years end. As part of this last step, a marketing campaign will also be devised, so that the city can better express its music culture to the rest of the world. We dont do a very good job of talking about whats going on here to people outside of Indianapolis, Rawlins says. Its not just music eitherits our whole city. We dont like to talk about ourselves too much. Well use the information and the conversations that weve had through the whole process to determine what Indianapolis music is, whether thats a genre, multiple genres, a state of mind, or whatever, he continues. Well take that, and then start to formulate a marketing plan for how we talk about it outside of the city. To date, Shapiro has worked in countries all across the world, helping them to develop strategies like this one. In Vancouver, the city committed $300,000 of new money to setting up a music office and investing in music infrastructure, he states as a recent example of his work. In addition to Vancouver, other cities hes had a hand in include London, New Orleans, San Francisco, and more. In reflecting on the Indy Music Strategy initiative overall, Rawlinson believes it will put Indianapolis one step ahead of cities without a music plan. Its been in the last five years that this has even been a thing people started taking seriously, Rawlinson says of the music strategy movement. Im excited to be at the front of it. To stay informed on the Indy Music Strategy initiative, visit SoundDiplomacy.com/Indianapolis. Roseburg, OR (97470) Today Mostly cloudy early, then sunshine for the afternoon. High 86F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 62F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. People interested in nominating Nebraska high school seniors for the 2019 D.J.s Hero Awards scholarships have just a few days left to send in nomination forms. The Salvation Army is seeking nominations for the 10 scholarships named in honor of the late D.J. Sokol. Nominations must be postmarked by Saturday. Forms are available at most Nebraska high school guidance offices, at salarmyomaha.org or by calling 402-898-5906. Selected Nebraska seniors will receive a $10,000 scholarship toward the college or university of their choice for their commitment to helping others and the community. The awards program is expanding this year to include an 11th scholarship, which will have a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) focus. Honorees will be recognized at a luncheon May 7 at CHI Health Center Omaha. To be considered for the scholarships, high school seniors must be Nebraska residents and show commitment to helping others and the community, courage in the face of adversity and the ability to overcome challenges. For the STEM-focused scholarship, students must demonstrate interest and success in STEM-related study. Napoleon, OH (43545) Today Thunderstorms, accompanied by locally heavy rainfall at times. High 78F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall possibly over one inch.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, mainly cloudy late with a few showers. Low 66F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. HARRISBURG Efforts by Pennsylvanias four state-related universities to help combat the commonwealths opioid epidemic was discussed at todays Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the state budget, according to committee member Senator Gene Yaw (R-23). Yaw has led a series of statewide hearings on the epidemic, which claims an average of 15 Pennsylvania lives each day. At the budget hearing, he sought the input of the leaders of Penn State, University of Pittsburgh, Temple University and Lincoln University. Everybody you represent faculty, staff, students its probably a quarter-million people. To say that drugs are not an issue is not realistic because it is. It affects all of us. Id like to know what youre doing on campus to address some of the problems, Yaw said. Penn State President Eric Barron said the school is hiring additional faculty to address the issue across several disciplines, including medical, science and social. University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said the university set up an Opioid Abuse Prevention and Recovery Task Force, which produced 25 recommendations, most of which have been implemented. The school provides peer education, recovery facilities and drug take-back programs. Temple University President Richard M. Englert says Temples medical school has made it a priority through the Cease Addiction program, using data and street smarts to determine where to focus various intervention efforts. While Lincoln University President Brenda Allen said no opioid crisis has been identified on campus, she added that many students get into problems with alcohol and marijuana, providing an opportunity to discuss the dangers of opioids. Combating the disease of addiction will take a collaborative effort that includes community education, provider education, addiction treatment, faith-based support and much more, said Sen. Yaw. I appreciate the work our schools are doing to address this important issue. The post Yaw Receives Update on State-Related Universities Efforts to Combat Opioid Epidemic appeared first on Senator Gene Yaw. If the voters approve the measure, the money will help the village to expedite maintenance work on village roads. Its estimated that more than one-third of South Elgin roads were built in the 1990s and 2000s and are now reaching an age when repairs are necessary, Super said. Williamsport, PA (17701) Today Thunderstorms likely. A few storms may be severe. High 92F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms developing late. Low 69F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. SCRANTON - The United States Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that James Mark Minichella, age 23, of Catawissa, was indicted on February 19, 2019, by a federal grand jury for drug distribution resulting in death. The case was unsealed following the arrest of the defendant. According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the indictment alleges that on or about August 11, 2017, Minichella knowingly and intentionally distributed and possessed with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl causing the death of another person. The charges stem from a joint investigation involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Scranton, the Wyoming County District Attorneys Office, and the Wyoming County Detectives. United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski is prosecuting the case. In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute for drug distribution resulting in death is life imprisonment. The maximum penalty for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance is 20 years imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine. LOCK HAVEN Given the increasing demand for highly-qualified nurses in an ever-evolving healthcare environment, Lock Haven University is announcing plans to expand its nursing programs to the main campus and establish a school of nursing. The idea is influenced by current trends in healthcare, primarily the consolidation of major healthcare providers into large systems, which provide the groundwork to form mutually beneficial partnerships and pipelines for their workforce. At LHUs February 22, 2019 meeting of the Council of Trustees, the university presented a proposal and resolution to establish a Lock Haven University School of Nursing an administrative structure that provides for managing the challenges and capturing the opportunities in the current environment. The proposed organization puts in place managerial support that provides administrative benefit for both the Clearfield and Lock Haven campuses, brings nursing expertise to support the faculty in geographic and programmatic expansion and extends capacity for building industry partnerships and revenue generation. Since 1991, Lock Haven University has provided comprehensive nursing education to students in the Clearfield region, when the University established the Clearfield Campus. LHU took in the Central Pennsylvania School of Nursing, an RN diploma program operated by a consortium of four Clearfield area hospitals, and converted it to a two-year associate degree program in nursing (ASN). The university has since added gateway associate degree and online RN to BSN degree programs. The nursing programs are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). They have served as the anchor of the Clearfield campus, representing approximately half of the enrollments and drawing primarily from Clearfield and immediate surrounding counties. Currently, 176 students are enrolled in LHUs nursing program. Recently, a state-of-the-art simulation lab opened through a partnership between Penn Highlands Hospital in Clearfield and the LHU Nursing Department, further expanding opportunities for LHU nursing students to experience hands-on learning in a true-to-life hospital setting. LHU President Robert Pignatello believes that extending the nursing program to LHUs main campus and establishing a school of nursing is an important next step in the evolution of the Universitys nursing and healthcare programs. Lock Haven University is committed to aligning our academic program offerings to meet the workforce needs of the Commonwealth in critical areas like health care. Establishing the Lock Haven University School of Nursing and bringing LHUs highly-reputable nursing programs to Lock Havens main campus will provide expanded access to affordable and quality nursing education in the central Pennsylvania region, LHU President Pignatello said. A recent review of the program by Dr. Stephen Cavanagh, RN, Ph.D, MPA, FRSPH, FInstLM, FAAN, and dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, supports the Universitys proposal to expand the program to the main campus and establish the school. I am of the opinion that a school (of Nursing) is warranted on the grounds that it will greatly facilitate the focus, stature, and growth of the nursing programs at the Clearfield Campus, Lock Haven University main campus and elsewhere, Cavanagh said. The school of nursing will continue the universitys reputation for high-quality programs with excellent outcomes taught by highly motivated faculty and staff who are genuinely passionate about the quality of education they offer. Lock Haven University is proud to be preparing the next generation of healthcare providers, managers, and educators, said Dr. Donna Wilson, provost and executive vice president at Lock Haven University. The recent redesign of the Pennsylvanias State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) as a sharing system has the potential to increase opportunities for nursing students and faculty without increasing costs; and the opportunity to expand both geographically and programmatically to capture more of the nursing education enrollments in the Clearfield and Lock Haven markets and beyond. The school will be bolstered by the existing reputable footprint of Lock Haven University health science and healthcare professions academic programs that can be leveraged to garner enrollments, recognition, partnerships and resources across not only regional and Commonwealth but also national markets. Dr. Jonathan Lindzey, LHU dean of the College of Natural, Behavioral and Health Sciences; the faculty in the Nursing Department; Dr. Donna Wilson, provost and executive vice president; and President Robert Pignatello are excited about the prospect of establishing the school of nursing and believe the move will advance the expansion, stature, enrollment, resources and operation of the program. For more information on Lock Haven University, visit www.lockhaven.edu, email admissions@lockhaven.edu, or call 570-484-2011. Lock Haven Universitys main campus is located on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River in the scenic mountains of Pennsylvania. The university offers 49 undergraduate majors and certifications with 47 minors and five graduate programs. LHU is a member of Pennsylvanias State System, the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. Its 14 universities offer more than 2,300 degree and certificate programs in more than 530 academic areas of study. Nearly 520,000 system alumni live and work in Pennsylvania. Norman, OK (73070) Today Mixed clouds and sun with scattered thunderstorms. High near 85F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partly cloudy with late night showers or thunderstorms. Low 71F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Tell Axne to support Medicare for All Public support for Medicare for All is at an all-time high, with 70 percent of Americans (85 percent of Democrats and 52 percent of Republicans) now supporting the idea of a single-payer, universal health care system. However, Cindy Axne, the current representative for Iowas 3rd congressional district, has yet to become a cosponsor of Rep. Pramila Jayapals Medicare for All Act of 2019. If you are a constituent who already supports Medicare for All, please call Rep. Axnes Council Bluffs office at 712-890-3117 and ask her to become a cosponsor. Thank you for making your voice heard on this important issue that will save lives! Breanne Seidle, Council Bluffs Sometimes, the worst weather brings out the best in people. Saturdays snowstorm did just that. Friends, neighbors and strangers across the Council Bluffs-Omaha area helped dig one another out from snow piles deep enough to swallow a Chihuahua whole. People took to social media to praise the kind folks who helped out, then many went back to work to pay it forward. After seeing one neighbor plow a main street in her neighborhood and another help shovel her driveway, Omahan Julia Wagoner and her daughter wanted to help pass on the good deeds. We chose to pay it forward and helped a doctor who was on call throughout the whole storm shovel her driveway and the iceberg left by the plow at the end of it, she said. One of her neighbors also came out and helped. In Council Bluffs, Jessica Behrens noticed a neighbor with a truck helping clear the ends of peoples driveways with his plow. A neighbor scooped all the sidewalks on her block and a friend, in town from Texas for a funeral, shoveled her driveway and cleared her car. Its a great reminder that there are people willing to help, she said. A Council Bluffs woman was sentenced for Social Security fraud Feb. 19 in the Southern District of Iowa and ordered to pay $22,552 in restitution, according to the district attorneys office Tuesday. Jamie Opalia, 37, was sentenced to three months in prison and three years of supervised release following her incarceration. The restitution will be paid to the Social Security Administration. Opalia pleaded guilty Oct. 23 and admitted she applied for and was granted Social Security benefits to support another person, but converted almost all of the funds from Social Security to her own personal use. The Huey P. Long Bridge could be closed for at least a few hours as local officials inspect for damage after a passing tankers lighting structure hit the bridge Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 27), according to authorities. A tanker called The CLIO was headed north on the Mississippi River when a skeleton tower" on the ship hit the bridge, located in Jefferson Parish, about 1:10 p.m., according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The CLIO was headed for the International-Matex Tank Terminals in St. Rose. The tanker was not carrying any product at the time of the collision, the Coast Guard said. Causeway Police shut down vehicle traffic in both directions on the bridge as a precaution, according to Causeway General Manager Carlton Dufrechou. An initial inspection of the bridge did not reveal any damage, according to Rodney Mallett, spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. But the railroad companies will need to also inspect the bridge to make sure there is no damage, he said. Dufrechou wasnt sure when the bridge would reopen to motorists but said it could be a few hours. Drivers should use alternate routes, he said. The Legislature approved a sweeping bill Thursday that would gradually boost state aid for roads and bridges by about $300 million per year, which would be the biggest investment in Louisiana's troubled transportation system in nearly four decades. All five Louisiana Republicans in the U.S. House voted Tuesday (Feb. 26) to abdicate their constitutional responsibilities and surrender their independence to the whims of President Donald Trump. Only New Orleans Democrat Cedric Richmond voted in favor of a resolution to end the national emergency Trump declared this month in order to pay for a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. The measure, which cleared the House 245-182 with 13 Republicans joining 232 Democrats in voting yes, must now be voted on by the Senate. Louisianas Steve Scalise, the minority whip, helped Republicans hold the winning vote total well under the two-thirds, 288 votes, needed to override a promised presidential veto. Scalise sent talking points to the GOP caucus Monday saying that Trump is working to address a humanitarian and security crisis. Now would be a good time for Mayor Cantrells crime-fighting plan Instead of working with the President to secure the border and protect the public, Democrats choose to continue to play politics, the message from the GOP whip office says. That is the official explanation from most of the Republicans opposing the resolution, that the president had to act to deal with an emergency of thousands of undocumented migrants many of them violent criminals pouring across the border. Except that is demonstrably false. Illegal border crossings have declined significantly from record highs in the early 21st century and are at their lowest levels in nearly 50 years. It will take weeks if not months for the courts to determine whether the emergency order is valid and then many more years to construct the additional miles of wall that Trump wants. Hardly a response to an emergency. And the president himself, in announcing the order, said it wasnt necessary. I want to do it faster. I could do the wall over a longer period of time, Trump said after signing the emergency declaration. I didnt need to do this. But Id rather do it much faster. Republicans may believe a wall is needed at the border, they may want to support their president or they may be blindly following the party line. But there is no evidence of an emergency and certainly not a humanitarian and security crisis. Even worse than misguided motives, these men we sent off to represent us in Congress are doing real damage to the Constitutions crucial system of checks and balances. Yes, Congress gave the president the power to act unilaterally in some circumstances. And yes, there are 31 national emergencies in effect. But Congress expected wrongly, it turns out that a president would act responsibly in the face of real crises and not out of petulance because he didnt get his way by legitimate means. Maybe the GOP members of the Louisiana delegation were napping back in fifth-grade civics class when the teacher was explaining the importance of separation of powers and the fact that Congress has the power of the purse. It keeps any one branch of the government and certainly any one person from becoming too powerful. Sounds kind of important, doesnt it? No Louisiana work is being harmed in this particular money grab, but thats beside the point. Our members need to consider how future presidents could abuse this power in all kinds of ways, from clawing back money from flood recovery or coastal restoration projects to imposing mandates and restricting freedoms. Its not about the NFL billionaire, its about the trafficked victims | Opinion Congress has been too yielding to a growing imperial presidency for decades now. Our democracy is damaged when representatives are willing to choose party over principle. The Republicans who voted against this resolution should be ashamed not just for what they did this day, but for what they could be doing to the future. Tim Morris is a columnist on the Latitude team at NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Latitude is a place to share opinions about the challenges facing Louisiana. Follow @LatitudeNOLA on Facebook and Twitter. Write to Tim at tmorris@nola.com. Each day, Chilean-Ukrainian artist Luba Zygarewicz drinks a cup of tea as form of self-care. Sometimes the brewed tea bags become an artistic medium. She turns them along with other ephemera of her everyday life such as discarded twigs, lint from her dryer, and clusters of her hair into unique pieces of installation and sculptural artwork. The Mandeville resident uses the large-scale, mixed-media constructions to explore the passage and expiration of time, as well as the transient nature of life and the familiar moments found in day-to-day routines. In her pieces marking time, she wants to be the driver, she said. Yet, her pieces also speak to the sense of presence and what marks ones existence. My work investigates implied presence in light of absence. I collect moments that together create an experience as a way of holding memories. Memories often drift into the present and are woven into my practice. I create spaces/experiences through my installations, in which case I bestow my sense of place to the viewers, she said in a proposal for The Wild: Artist in Residence on Italys Amalfi Coast. She was one of five international artists awarded a spot in the November 2018 residency, entitled Wonder Up a World. The whole point was being more aware of how I move through the world, in a sense of just being present, Zygarewicz said of LED-lit shoes she created as a representation of a mindful walking practice during the seven-day residency. It was her second artist residency last year, a year that saw her also exhibit work in eight exhibitions. This included the Latin American Contemporary Fine Art Competition at the Agora Gallery in New York City, Shelf Life at the Acadiana Center for the Arts in Lafayette, and RE-COLLECT: recalling Sonoma one year later in partnership with the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art in Sonoma, Calif., among others. Zygarewicz created the exhibited piece in RE-COLLECT last June during the Chalk Hill Artist Residency in Healdsburg, Calif. Entitled RISORGERE, the suspended sculpture features remnants from the 2017 Sonoma fires found in an industrial salvage yard. The individual pieces are organized and woven together to symbolize different areas of a house. Hundreds of pieces of glass arranged from light to dark beneath the sculpture symbolize the frailty of life and as reminders of strength and resilience. The piece is an example of how Zygarewiczs artwork is often designed for a specific place or for a temporary period of time. I like to think of myself as a site artist because I do sculptural installations, but Im also working with other things. For me its really about what does the site have to offer, she said. Its not just the location, but also the environment as a whole. How does it function? How do people function within this space? Whats meaningful? I try to find whats unique about this place that I could bring attention to. Zygarewiczs installations are created with repetitive elements. Much like a documentarian, she meticulously collects, categorizes and stores these items, sometimes over the span of a decade or more. I like to use things that are opposing, whether its in the concepts or the physicality with the objects, she said. She also combines the materials in delicate ways and works with light and shadow too, to activate the design of my pieces, she added. Zygarewicz was born in Chile, grew up in Bolivia and moved to San Francisco at age 15. She always had an interest in visual art, but as a child, her parents discouraged the pursuit. They put us in this fine arts academy, but it was for music, Zygarewicz said of she and her siblings. I wasnt allowed to take any art classes, but I remember being super drawn to that. Whenever I was waiting for my siblings, I would always go and peek into the art room. During a year off between high school and college, she took a ceramics class at a community college. I really enjoyed it, and I started drawing on my own, Zygarewicz said. She enrolled in Gordon College in Wenham, Mass., but studied psychology during her two years there. She came to New Orleans after her husband, John, whom she met in Boston, graduated from college and moved back to his native Louisiana. While enrolling at Loyola University, art won out for Zygarewicz over completing her psychology degree. She earned her Bachelor of Art from Loyola and her Master of Fine Art from San Francisco Art Institute. She currently works as a teacher in St. Tammany Parishs Talented Arts program, while creating her artwork. Her dozens of group and solo exhibitions include a thousand threads, a site installation at the Contemporary Arts Center; Between the Seams at Woman Made Gallery in Chicago; and Cultivate the Spirit of Happiness in Muir Beach, Calif. Her work is part of collections at Loyola University and Byerley House in Lake Providence, La., among others. St. Tammany top stories in your inbox A weekly guide to the biggest news in St. Tammany. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Zygarewiczs interest in visually marking time began in grad school. I had two little kids under two, and I had a commute that was about 45 minutes. For some reason, I started writing down my mileage. I dont know why I did that. That time became so sacred because it was the time when I would really think a lot, she said. I think it was because of the invisibleness but the value of (time). Then I saw that thread developing more and more in my work. Zygarewicz credits sculptor, conceptual artist and minimalist architect David Ireland she took a seminar and tutorials with him in grad school with being a large influence on her work. I think he validated my thinking because he basically was like whatever you do can be art, she said. For Zygarewicz that means visually exploring her role and experiences as a mother of four children Brigette, 28; Marguerite, 27; Sabina, 20; and John, 18 whom she home-schooled for 17 years and balancing that with her life as an artist. In 1999, she began collecting lint from dryer, turning the stacks dated by the month and year into a piece entitled Petrified Time: 13 years of my life folded and neatly stacked. It was included in Hispanic Women Making Art: Creative Empowerment and Identity last fall at the Mexican Cultural Institute in New Orleans. Finding myself doing piles of laundry, she said in the shows statement. I often thought of fellow artists I knewthey were probably in their studios making art, while I was doing yet another load of laundry. This is where my time is going! Petrified Time: 13 years of my life folded and neatly stacked grew out of this inner struggle between domestic obligations and my creative practice. Yet during the years where the days didnt allow for much creativity, Zygarewicz knew that her time as an artist was coming. I dont resent the time; I felt like that is where I was supposed to be, she said of her homeschooling years. In Rendere: pouring myself out to give life, Zygarewicz uses tea bags to illustrate being a mother of four and just pouring all of me into years of rearing and homeschooling my kids. Feeling spent at the end of the day, I would sit down and drink tea, she wrote in an Instagram post. The piece was created from about 1,200 tea bags that were emptied, rolled, dipped in beewax and fused together. It currently is on display as part of HIVE MIND, an exhibition of work by Loyola graduates curated by current students. It is on display in the Collins C. Diboll Art Gallery. Another project involving tea bags, entitled Tagging My Days, served as a journal for the artist. After brewing her tea, she placed the used bag onto paper tag and wrote a word or phrase around the resulting stain, then dated it with Roman numerals. What would happen is a certain word would come to me about that day, Zygarewicz said, adding that the tags have hung together like a calendar. Part of the project was included in the Latin American Contemporary Competition at Agora Gallery in New York City in 2018. Tagging My Days the shows statement reads gives full expression to Zygarewiczs representation of time as a form of dailiness. The pervasive use of tea stains, which mingle with ink, demonstrate how art can serve as a kind of net, ensnaring the often recalcitrant material of everyday experience. On her birthday in 2017, Zygarewicz burned all my tea bags, and I vowed I wasnt going to save anymore because I didnt want to be defined by the material, she said. I didnt defined as the artist who works with tea although (in 2018) a lot of my tea stuff was shown. For a while motherhood defined a lot of my work and the process. I think thats why I worked in little things because they would accumulate into big things, she said, adding that her long-running project collecting hair that she lost was important because it was a reminder that I am an artist. Now that her youngest child is on verge of graduating from high school, Zygarewicz is starting projects that deal with the letting go, putting an official stop to all those years, she said. Its just the empty nest. For more information on Zygarewicz, visit her Facebook page at or her Instagram profile at https://www.instagram.com/lubazygarewicz/?hl=en. HIVE MIND continues until March 17 at Loyola Universitys Collins C. Diboll Art Gallery, 4th Floor of the Monroe Library, 6363 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans. For more information, visit http://cmfa.loyno.edu/calendar/diboll-gallery/student-exhibition-hive-mind. Call for poster artists, Playmakers Theater 2019-20 season, Feb. 28 (submission deadline). Artists must submit three examples of work that expresses skill and creativity; this may include poster created for other shows or designs for a hypothetical show. Examples must submitted in jpeg, 11-by-17 inches at 200 pixels per inch with approximately 30 percent of space designed to accommodate type. Submit pieces to D. Marcelle at dronhooks@gmail.com. Sarah Bonnette is a freelance writer on Louisiana arts and culture. She may be contacted at sgbonnette@gmail.com. Firefighters rescued a man from a roof after he escaped a house fire in a Bayou St. John Wednesday (Feb. 27), according to New Orleans Fire Department. Forty-three Fire Operations and Support personnel arrived at 3326 Dumaine Street (map) at 12:42 a.m. to fight the flames that were seen coming from the back of the second floor of the house. Two people were displaced but no one was injured, NOFD said. NOFD received the call around 12:37 a.m. and five minutes later, when the first companies arrived, the fire was increased to two alarms and more support was called for. The first firefighters on the scene rescued a man on the roof of the second floor. Other companies attacked the flames from the inside, NOFD said. The fire was under control at 1:13 a.m. The cause of the fire is under investigation. If it flies, walks, crawls or swims along our coast, it was literally fair game at the Docville Farm when the Arlene and Joseph Meraux Charitable Foundation hosted the second annual Cook-off for the Coast: Wild Game Edition. Twelve cook teams competed in this years event, preparing dishes that highlight the bounty of coastal Louisiana in three categories water, land and air. The delicious tastings ran the gamut from crawfish eggrolls to duck confit tacos. Local chefs, foodies and community leaders served as the judges for the Cook-off, and when their stomachs were full, the scores were tallied. This years winners included Chew Rouge for its Mezcal Cured Tuna with Blue Crab Ceviche, Team Islenos for its Wild Boar Cuban Sandwich and the Parish Boyz for its Duck Egg Rolls. In addition to these three category winners, this years event also included a Peoples Choice Award voted on by the hundreds of hungry guests in attendance. Team Mudda Rouxs Fried Duck and Andouille Gumbo took home this award. Heather Michael, the development coordinator at Nunez Community College and one of the members of Mudda Roux, said the day was a beautiful one. The weather, the friendly spirit of competition and everybody coming together for such a great cause made it truly special, she said. And the fact that our delicious gumbo won the Peoples Choice Award was really a highlight. I cant wait til next year. Jared Serigne of Team Islenos agreed. The best thing was showing the metro area what the Parish is all about, Serigne said. I saw quite a few people who came down from the city, and I think we knocked their socks off. Besides bringing people together with food, drink and music by the Michot Melody Makers, the Cook-off for the Coast also generated money and awareness for coastal projects. Blaise Pezold, coastal and environmental program manager of the Meraux Foundation, said the proceeds are earmarked for two of them the mangrove planting project with St. Bernards 4-H program and the building of oyster breakwaters in partnership with Chalmette High School and Nunez Community College. Last year, we planted six acres of mangroves and will again this spring, Pezold said. We we will also will deploy 200 feet of the oyster breakwaters off of Comfort island. Pezold said this years sponsorship tripled last years take and said the music and food created a festive vibe. What I noticed is it seemed almost like a family reunion, Pezold said. People were hugging and kissing each other saying, How have you been and did you try this? People said they had a blast and loved seeing all of the kids running around enjoying themselves. Pezold said he is grateful to everyone who sponsored, competed, and attended the event, and he gave special thanks to its presenting partners the National Wildlife Foundation, Vanishing Paradise and the St. Bernard Parish Coastal and Tourism departments. Rita Gue, president of the Meraux Foundation, said hosting events like Cook-off for the Coast advances the groups commitment to coastal protection and restoration. Our efforts to save the coast is a cornerstone of our work, Gue said. We were pleased to again host the Cook-off for the Coast, and we were thrilled with the turnout. It was a win-win, with the community coming together around a worthwhile cause and with the proceeds benefiting local coastal protection and restoration projects. Barry Lemoine writes about people and events in St. Bernard Parish. To reach him, email barrylemoine@gmail.com. That diversity is a sign of what a senior center is all about, said Tracey Colagrossi, president of the association. They have a large mens club and thats hard to do because men are not usually active in senior centers. They have fitness classes and occupational therapists. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday (Feb. 27) defended his sweeping re-election win over a billionaire former vice president who in 2005 was supposedly to receive a $100,000 bribe from U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans. Buharis chief opponent, Atiku Abubakar, did not concede defeat, however, instead alleging manifest and premeditated malpractices in many of Nigerias 36 states. Jefferson was convicted in 2009 on 11 corruption charges at a trial where prosecutors said he took $100,000 from a businesswoman to deliver to Abubakar, at a time when Jefferson was seeking contracts for a technology company in Nigeria. The businesswoman was secretly helping the FBI, which famously found all but $10,000 of the marked bills in a freezer at Jeffersons Washington, D.C., townhouse. Abubaker was Nigerias vice president at the time. The judge sentenced Jefferson to 13 years in prison, the longest in history for a sitting member of Congress. But after nine of convictions were overturned on appeal or dismissed, the judge ordered him freed. He had served five years and five months. Ex-Rep. Bill Jefferson, freed from prison, wants to void $392,000 judgment against him Nigeria voted for president on Saturday, and election officials declared Buhari the clear winner on Wednesday. A former military dictator, he campaigned on an upright reputation in an oil-rich country weary of politicians enriching themselves instead of the people. Abubakar said he would have conceded within seconds if the vote had been free and fair. 71 Louisiana politicians who were sentenced to prison or probation . . . . . . . The Associated Press contributed to this report. Drew Broach covers Jefferson Parish politics and education plus other odds and ends. Email: dbroach@nola.com. Facebook: Drew Broach TP. Twitter: drewbroach1. The Orleans Parish School Board chief plans to relocate the students and staff at Walter L. Cohen College Prep into the Edgar P. Harney school building for the 2019-2020 school year beginning in August. OPSB Superintendent Henderson Lewis, Jr. shared his decision last week at the Feb. 21 OPSB meeting. The OPSB took control of Harney in January after it spent months criticizing Harneys charter board for allegedly disobeying charter school policies and mismanaging its finances. The OPSB plans to close Harney at the end of this school year. The Harney building will be used as swing space for school programs that are smaller, but need temporary homes for emergencies during construction, Lewis said. The Cohen high school will be assigned to the Central City building while Cohens new faculty is being constructed, Lewis said. The new building is being constructed on Cohens existing site at 3520 Dryades Street, according to 2018 documents detailing the minutes of meetings at New Orleans College Prep, a charter network that manages Cohen and two other local schools. Lewiss announcement comes months after Cohen administrators in March 2018 made a strong recommendation to not move to a swing space at the risk of affecting student enrollment and recruiting, documents stated. The task is one of the last projects managed by the Louisiana Recovery School District with federal insurance money even though all local schools have returned to the OPSBs oversight, The Uptown Messenger reports. Hynes Charter allowed to save seats for children of UNO staff at new campus College Prep CEO Joel Castro pointed out in August 2018 the new building would help stabilize enrollment since the network has seen a three-year decline in enrollment, documents stated. The network originally planned for a new 90,000 square foot building, but the Recovery School District revised its bid to seek construction of an 110,000 square foot building for 600 students. The project will cost $32 million, according to the state Education Department. Concerns about the construction, however, have been raised by members of the Cohen Alumni Association. College Prep board member Jim Raby, who is also president of the alumni association, told the network last August that the existing building should be remodeled instead of rebuilt. Cohen currently teaches 345 students, according to the Louisiana Department of Education. Cohens 150,000 square foot building has the capacity for more than 800 students, College Prep stated. 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 Raby told the network the alumni association is worried about reducing the size of the building and eliminating the auditorium, documents stated. Castro stated Cohen would be losing an auditorium along with classrooms, but a weight room would be added. Board member Stephen Boyard stated an auditorium was vital for providing cultural events to students in the arts, documents stated. A College Prep spokeswoman on Thursday, however, stated both Raby and the alumni association fully support the move and the school construction. Cohen teacher Meghan Mekita also spoke in favor of a new building, documents stated. Mekita would like an auditorium, but she stated having windows in classrooms and a functioning air conditioning system is more important to learning and overall wellbeing. Meanwhile, Lewis on Feb. 21 also announced the Sylvanie Williams school building will now host KIPP Central City Primary. College Prep lost its charter for Williams after the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in 2017 voted against the charter schools 2018 renewal due to low school performance scores. KIPP Central City currently teaches students in kindergarten - 5th grade at 2625 Thalia Street. The schools 6th-8th graders are taught at 3127 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, but Lewis said that academy will return to the Carter G. Woodson building at 2514 Third Street. Lewis called KIPP Central City a successful elementary school with amazing culture. My staff recently visited KIPP Central City and saw all the good work they are doing at the school, Lewis said. Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that construction for the new Cohen school will cost $36 million. A state Education Department spokeswoman on Thursday stated construction will cost $32 million. School closures are tough, but necessary, New Orleans school leaders say 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. A Pearl River man was sentenced to 18 months in prison after a St. Tammany Parish jury found him guilty of two counts of attempted indecent behavior with a juvenile, North Shore District Attorney Warren Montgomery reported. Jason W. Thomas, 58, was given the sentence Monday (Feb. 25) by Judge William Rusty Knight of the 22nd Judicial District Court. Knight sentenced Thomas to 3 years on each of the two counts but suspended two years of the sentence if Thomas follows the conditions of probation, Montgomery reported in a news release. Thomas, who had no prior criminal arrest record, also was ordered by the judge to receive treatment and register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He was initially charged with two counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile for allegedly making inappropriate comments about the body parts of a 14-year-old girl, touching her in inappropriate places over a period of about three years and having her take partially nude photos of herself with his camera, according to the news release. Those incidents were alleged to have occurred between 2010 and 2013. The jury found him guilty of the lesser charges of attempted indecent behavior with a juvenile. When the victim told family members about the incidents, another woman revealed that Thomas had made similar comments to her. The second victim also said that when she was about 12 years old, Thomas walked nude in front of her several times and French-kissed her against her wishes, Montgomerys office reported. Those incidents were alleged to have occurred between 1990 and 1992. Both victims made impact statements to the court before the sentencing. A man was found dead on the porch of a Central City church Wednesday morning (Feb. 27), New Orleans police said. The man appeared to have died from trauma to his head, and police were investigating the death as a homicide, NOPD said. A large rock could be seen on the porch, next to the mans body. Police responded about 8:20 a.m. Wednesday in the 2900 block of Jackson Avenue (map), in the Hoffman Triangle, a news release states, but it wasnt immediately clear when the man was killed. As of 9:45 a.m., the mans body could be seen on the porch of St. Thomas Baptist Church, where crime scene technicians took photographs. Two black screens were placed on the porch, blocking the view of the body. Yellow evidence cones could be seen placed next to a plastic water bottle at the edge of the porch, and next to a large rock, roughly a foot long, which sat on the porch next to the body. Ernest Ellis, 88, said he discovered the man on the porch, bloodied, and called police to report it. He lives in the Irish Channel but attends church at St. Thomas, where he serves as an usher and occasionally sings in the choir. Ellis drives by the church each morning, Monday through Saturday, he said, to ask people sleeping on the porch to move and to pick up garbage left behind. Ellis said he stopped there early Wednesday to tell a man he thought was sleeping on the porch to leave. When he removed a hood over the mans head and shook him to wake him, he said, all that blood came out." I thought he might be alive, Ellis said. Ellis said he also saw on the porch what he described as, a big ole stone," but did not notice if it appeared bloodied. An officer could be seen hauling an item in a brown paper bag from the porch to a NOPD vehicle. The way the officer carried the bag, it appeared the contents were heavy. 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 At the scene, a crowd of about a dozen and a half people gathered in a parking lot across the street, watching police work. NOPD Homicide Detective Maggie McCourt stood near the body, looking in the direction of the body and talking with crime scene technicians. Among those standing in the parking lot was Ricardo Pereira, 50, who said he knew the man who was found dead on Wednesday. Pereira, who spoke to a reporter in Spanish, said the man who was killed was in his mid-30s, though he had the face of a kid. Pereira said the homicide victim worked odd jobs in the neighborhood where the body was found, including some construction or carpentry jobs with Pereira. He was killed like a dog, Pereira said of his former colleagues death. About a month ago, Pereira said, the man who was killed started sleeping on the porch of the St. Thomas church, or nearby it. Pereira said he was aware of a recent fight the man had with a possible drug dealer. He added that the homicide victim started having drug problems about a year ago but did not appear to be under the influence of drugs when they worked together in the daytime. Sitting in a portable rocking chair inside the crime tape was Ellis, who explained he pulled the chair from his vehicle after police asked him to remain at the scene. Nearly every day he finds one or more people sleeping on the churchs porch, sometimes on mattresses. The man who was found dead Wednesday appeared to have been laying on a piece of cardboard before his body was placed on a stretcher and then into a New Orleans Coroners Office van. Ellis said he did not recognize the man. A woman passing by on Jackson Avenue, on foot, exclaimed, Oh my God, oh my God, when learning a man had been killed. Why these people losing their patience to murder? Police said no more details were immediately available. NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune staffers Maria Clark, Carlie Kollath Wells and David Grunfeld contributed to this story. A Kenner post office manager has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $630,000 worth of stamps and selling them online in one of the largest internal postal thefts in U.S. Postal Service history, according to federal prosecutors. Ryan Cortez, 46, of Des Allemands was convicted Friday (Feb. 22) of misappropriation of postal funds. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when sentenced May 30 in federal court in New Orleans, according to U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strassers office. Cortez was arrested Oct. 10 at the North Kenner Post Office, where he served as manager and supervisor of customer service operations. Federal authorities also executed a search warrant that morning at Cortezs home, finding evidence that included documents and packing materials used by the Postal Services stamp distribution office. Kenner post office manager stole $630K in stamps, sold them on eBay: federal prosecutors According to a criminal complaint against Cortez, he admitted to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stamps and then selling them, mostly to two out-of-state buyers, to support a gambling addiction. 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 Agents with the U.S. Postal Service began investigating Cortez after receiving notifications from PayPal and eBay regarding "significant quantities" of postal stamps being sold by Cortez via the popular auction website, federal court records show. PayPal records showed that Cortez had used eBay to sell large quantities of stamps at discounted prices. PayPal eventually disabled Cortez's account in May due to suspected fraudulent activity, court records show. During the investigation into Cortez, postal agents found that Cortez had a very active presence at casinos, including Harrahs Casino in New Orleans. Harrahs records showed that Cortez had lost more than $667,000 at the casino since 2011, including more than $220,000 lost in 2017, court documents state. A booking photo of Cortez was not available. Laura McKnight covers crime and breaking news for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. A man authorities have described as a major methamphetamine dealer on the North Shore was sentenced Wednesday (Feb. 27) to six years in a federal prison for drug and weapons violations. James Moore Jr. of Talisheek, who pleaded guilty in October, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance in New Orleans. Asked if he had anything to say moments before the sentence was imposed, Moore told Vance, Id like to apologize to my family. Im smarter than this. Vance sentenced Moore to 12 months each for two counts of distributing meth and one count of possession with intent to distribute meth. Those sentences will be served at the same time. The judge gave Moore 60 months in prison for one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The 60 months will be served after the 12-month sentences are completed, for a total of 6 years. Moore was also ordered to pay a $400 special assessment, and he must serve three years of supervised probation upon his release from prison. Vance granted Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Kennedys request for a preliminary order that Moore forfeit about $131,000 in cash and a 2004 Dodge Ram truck. Purported militia leader pleads guilty to federal drug and gun charges Moore, represented by attorney Dan Claitor, was arrested in 2016 after he caught the attention of the FBI during a domestic terrorism investigation. A tipster told agents that Moore sold large amounts of crystal meth and had designed his house in rural St. Tammany Parish as a bunker, complete with ports allowing for weapons to be fired from cover, an FBI agents sworn affidavit said. The document said Moore claimed to have explosive devices. The FBI has said Moore was a leader of a group called the Louisiana Tactical Militia. According to the affidavit, Moore told agents he had caches of weapons buried on his property, along with explosives and booby traps. He maintained he had a stockpile of supplies to feed up to 80 men for six months. 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 Agents found about 20 weapons and about $131,000 in cash in a lock box on Moores property. Claitor asked Vance for a lesser sentence than what was recommended in the sentencing guidelines. When I first met him (Moore), I didnt particularly care for him, Claitor told the judge. He described Moore as abrasive. But Moore was no militia leader preparing for Armageddon, Claitor said, It doesnt turn out to be the case. This man is obviously and clearly a meth addict. Vance denied the request for a downward variance from the sentencing guidelines. She noted the number of weapons found at Moores home, the fact that an undercover agent bought an assault rifle at the defendants home, and Moores description of himself to undercover agents as a professional dope dealer. Claitor called Moores daughter, Randie Keller, 27, to the stand at Wednesdays sentencing hearing. Keller said her father served in the Army and suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome. Moore was a drug user for about 15 years before he got himself clean at some point prior to his arrest in 2016, she testified. Keller described her father as a good provider for her and her two siblings when they were growing up. He was very good to us. Two former ranking members of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriffs Office pleaded guilty Wednesday (Feb. 27) to profiting from a department contract while maintaining their public employment in a scheme the federal government says involved former Sheriff Jack Strain. Former captains Clifford Skip Keen Jr. and David Hanson Sr. pleaded guilty as charged to conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and soliciting a bribe before Judge Ivan L. R. Lemelle in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. The maximum penalty they could face is up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Sentencing has been set for May 29. Hanson was represented in court by attorney Robert Stern, and Keen by attorney Keith Couture. As they left the courthouse, Couture and Keen declined to comment on the guilty pleas. At this time, Mr. Keen is going to let the document filed in court speak for itself and were going to proceed on that basis, Couture said. The federal government charged the pair in a Nov. 28 bill of information that did not identify Strain by name but described him as Public Official 1 who served as sheriff from 1996 to 2016. The document said Keen and Hanson set up a company, St. Tammany Workforce Solutions LLC, in the names of their children in 2013 so Strain could award a no-bid contract to the company to operate an inmate work-release program in Slidell. The bill of information says Strain received $1,000 on a recurring basis from the fall of 2013 to the fall of 2016 in exchange for awarding the contract to Workforce Solutions. Strain has not been charged with a crime, and neither he nor his attorney has commented publicly on the case. The federal government says Keen, 50, of Covington, and Hanson, 61 of Abita Springs, arranged with Strain to turn the work release program over to a newly-formed company owned by Keens adult son and Hansons adult daughter. The children received nearly $1.2 million under the Sheriffs Office contract from July 2013 to January 2017, the government said. The pair then gave a significant portion of the profits to their fathers, according to authorities. 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 Officers in Workforce Solutions were listed in state records as Allen Tingle, Brandy Hanson and Jarret Cole Keen. Under the program, inmates would work at jobs in the community during the day and sleep at the facility in Slidell at night. In exchange for the guilty pleas, the government will not pursue charges in the case against Brandy Hanson, Jarret Cole Keen or David Hansons wife, Tammy, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Ginsberg told the court. When defendants are charged in a bill of information, rather than an indictment, it typically means the subjects are poised to cooperate with investigators. Former St. Tammany deputies charged in federal probe involving ex-Sheriff Jack Strain The investigation of the halfway-house case sparked a separate probe into allegations that Strain sexually abused several juveniles, a source familiar with the case has said. No charges have been filed, but Louisiana State Police confirmed in January that it had turned over the findings of an investigation to North Shore District Attorney Warren Montgomery. Montgomery has declined to comment on the matter. The investigation involves allegations that Strain, who served as St. Tammanys sheriff for 20 years through June 2016, had abused teenagers, a source told NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. The allegations involve four to five potential victims, and some of the alleged abuse dates back to before Strain became sheriff in 1996, the source said. Strain has not responded to requests from NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune for comment about the probe. A former corrections leader at the Atlanta City Detention Center has been hired to oversee the Orleans Justice Center jail as chief of corrections for the Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office, the OPSO said. The position has been vacant for about a year. The position went unfilled for the last year after Michael Tidwell, who held the post for about a year, resigned in March 2018, the second time Tidwell left that job. He quit the same position in December 2014 after 13 months overseeing the troubled jail. Prior to that, Carmen DeSadier had also held the job twice, first for a nine-month period in 2015 and 2016 before she resigned, and then a six-month stint later in 2016. Byron LeCounte, formerly a major at the Atlanta jail, started his job in New Orleans on Monday (Feb. 18), OPSO spokesman Philip Stelly said. LeCounte will earn an annual salary of about $137,000, according to the sheriffs office. Prior to taking the OPSO job, LeCounte worked at the Atlanta jail for nearly 25 years, starting as there in 1995 as a corrections officer. According to his resume, provided by OPSO, LeCounte raised up in the ranks over the last couple of decades, ending his career there as a major. As a major at the Atlanta jail, a post LeCounte had about six years, he managed operations of the jail and managed employee overtime and personnel disputes. 'Unacceptable' violence persists at Orleans jail, fed monitors say 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 Atlanta Journal Constitution reported in 2018 that Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and other city leaders considered ideas to sell or repurpose the city jail because of the amount of unused beds, as a result of a purposefully reduced city jail population. Atlantas jail is a 1,300-bed facility, the AJC reported. The Orleans Justice Center jail opened in September 2015, at a cost of $145 million facility and has 1,438 beds. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has continued to embrace criminal justice reforms adopted by her predecessor, Mayor Mitch Landrieu, to reduce New Orleans jail population. Despite the appointment of compliance director Darnley Hodge, OPSO still struggles to meet the requirements of a 2013 federal consent decree to improve conditions at the facility. We welcome someone of Byrons caliber for his ability to not only thoroughly research and analyze situations, but to propose creative solutions, Hodge said in a Monday (Feb. 25) statement announcing LeCountes hiring. Chief LeCounte earned a bachelor of science degree from Columbus College in 1992 and a master of public administration degree from Columbus State University in 2009. In 2018, he served as President-Elect of the Georgia Jail Association. Byrons demonstrated leadership and people skills will go a long way to helping us to inspire our staff, attract new staffers and safely manage the Orleans Justice Center, Gusman said. UPDATE (Thursday, 2:31 p.m.): Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports the Giants, Dodgers and Phillies all are discussing contracts of at least 10 years with Bryce Harper. All teams talking to Bryce Harper in these late stages, including the #SFGIants, have discussed deals of at least 10 years, I've learned. Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) February 27, 2019 Phillies, #SFGiants and Dodgers all appear to remain strongly in Harper mix, and barring something unforeseen, it appears Harper will pick one of those 3 teams. Philly is in for 10 years, SF is too (via @PavlovicNBCS), LA is viewed as desirable locale tho term offered unknown. Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 27, 2019 Team Harper has made clear hes considering only long-term deals. That makes sense as any free agent with the opportunity would prefer a chance to be settled. Also, it makes sense not to leave guaranteed money on table, especially when early opt-outs r routine now in these deals. Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 27, 2019 UPDATE (Thursday, 2:30 p.m.): NBC Sports Bay Area reports the Giants have talked about at 10-year contract with Bryce Harper. The Giants and Harpers team have discussed a 10-year contract, NBC Sports Bay Area has learned. That would match the deal the Padres gave Manny Machado earlier this month and likely give Harper a chance at the record dollar figure he has been looking for. UPDATE (Thursday, 1:32 p.m.): MLB Network Radios Steve Phillips reports the Phillies believe their chances of signing Bryce Harper are remote. A source indicates that the #Phillies believe their chances of landing Bryce Harper are remote. The obvious question is whether they would pivot to Keuchel and/or Kimbrel. My sense from our interview with Matt Klentak is that they wont play on Keuchel and only maybe on Kimbrel. Steve Phillips (@StevePhillipsGM) February 27, 2019 UPDATE (Thursday, 1:10 p.m.): The San Jose Mercury News reports Bryce Harper met with members of the San Francisco Giants front office on Tuesday in Las Vegas. Giants CEO Larry Baer and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi were in Las Vegas, Harpers hometown, to meet with the coveted free agent and agent Scott Boras for a second time in a matter of weeks ... Manager Bruce Bochy did not attend the meeting, but Bochy was present at the first meeting between the two sides at the beginning of the month. Both the Phillies and Dodgers met with Harper last weekend in Las Vegas. How much is enough for free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper? The answer to that question changed Tuesday, when Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado agreed to an eight-year, $260 million contract extension. The baseline for Harper was set before the end of the 2018 season, when the Washington Nationals offered Harper a 10-year, $300 million deal. Get tickets to see the 2019 Yankees: StubHub, Ticketmaster, SeatGeek, PrimeSport. Ten and 300 were confirmed as the baseline when free-agent third baseman Manny Machado signed with the San Diego Padres. It was believed that Harper would then look for a deal which would exceed the $325 million contract Giancarlo Stanton signed with the Marlins before being traded to the Yankees. On its face, Arenados contract wouldnt seem to change the goal of $325 million. Until you consider Arenados average annual salary, which will be $32.5 million. So the Philadelphia Phillies offer of 10 years and $330 million would seem to check all the boxes. It would be the biggest contract in total value and the highest average annual salary. Phillies are in a staredown with agent Scott Boras over Bryce Harpers demand for a three-year opt-out in the 10-year, $330-million deal. What do you say, Philadelphia? Should the Phillies say yes? Angelo Cataldi (@AngeloCataldi) February 26, 2019 So whats the sticking point? Agent Scott Boras desire for an opt-out clause after three seasons. And Boras gained some ammunition for his argument with Arenados deal, because the Rockies gave him an opt-out after three years (Machados deal with the Padres has an opt-out after five years). So now Philadelphia has to compete with the deal the Rockies gave out to Arenado AND increased interest in Harper from the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. This week began with the notion that Harper would pick his new team by Friday. Arenados contract just made that timeline a bit more complicated. Many cities put too much salt on roads. On many side streets in these subdivisions they dont really need to put so much salt down. I often go out in my driveway and find salt halfway up my driveway, which means that they are salting the parkways and the grassy areas. It would be interesting if somebody did a survey about this. For instance, they said one town puts about 1,000 tons of salt down every year. I wonder how much other towns use. I go through Oak Lawn and I dont think they really salt the side streets like they do, for instance, in New Lenox where they seem to way over do it with the salt. The missing word from the title of The College of New Jersey's current exhibition, "Springs Eternal, Art, Water, Change" is what much of the art in the gallery is all about: Hope. The exhibit deals with a broad range of issues from climate change to evidence of damaged freshwater and ocean ecosystems. The exhibiting artists, Marguerita Hagan, Alexa Horochowski, Justseeds Artists' Cooperative, Water Bar & Public Studio, and Water Ways/Bri Barton & Meg Lemieur, have all created work that seeks to change how we think about, use, preserve and enjoy water. When exhibit curator Margaret Pezalla-Granlund, Director, TCNJ Art Gallery and The Sarnoff Collection, began searching for a way to present an interdisciplinary exhibit at the college that connects with water, she first discovered the Water Ways Project. On display is a 13 x 10 foot illustration by Bri Barton and Meg Lemieur that relates to fracking, it's political implications and the resistance movements against it. They do this in story-like form with drawings of animals native to the region who depend on the ecosystem. "We used plants and animals because it's their story too," Lemieur said in a talk given in December when the work was exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. You can learn more about their work at www.thewaterways.org. Philadelphia-based artist, Marguerita Hagan is exhibiting her ceramic sculptures inspired by water-based life. Some are displayed on pedestals while others depicting silicified algae called diatoms are, according to exhibition materials, "enlarged a thousand times." They are displayed on a wall as if streaming by at eye level. Museum text says Hagan believes seeing these forms this way "we can marvel at their beauty, appreciate the complexity of their forms and...be inspired to take responsibility for their survival. Most recently, Hagan's work has been exhibited at The State Museum of Pennsylvania. Dramatic works by Alexa Horochowski on display include a 38-by-48 inkjet on substrate specimen scan of kelp that draws you into the dark as you view the slippery wet tendrils and tubes that seem to still hold the memory of water moving around and through them. Her works shift in scale from a minimalist sculptured cube of kelp to a large-scale video projection mentioned on her website, http://wwwalexahorochowski.com as "beauty in decline." Her works are a reflection on the natural environment and our current culture. They encourage visitors to be aware of what is happening and to find ways to create change. Curator Pezalla-Granlund invited Justseeds Artists' Cooperative to participate in the exhibit. The group produces art prints that address social and environmental issues. On display is their "Water of Life" and "What We Do To Water, We Do To Ourselves showing a boy seated on a ledge looking down at figures swimming in fresh water. On their website, www.justseeds.org the organization says their hope is "that these images will generalize to become a useful buoy in a sea of bad news. We know that this offering is just a drop. Much more will need to be expressed as we acclimate to our role protecting our precious water sources, embodying the hydrophilic, water-loving qualities that created us." The exhibition also includes Water Bar, a group that inspires conversation around the value of water. According to its website, https://www.water-bar.org, they have served over 80,000 people through Water Bars across the United States. As part of the display of the Water Bar in the gallery, there will be a number of Water Services. Gallery Director Pezalla-Granlund says "A Water Tender with a personal or professional interest in water will be 'tending' the bar, serving samples of tap water from around the region and talking with visitors about water." Two Water Bar Services will be held in the TCNJ Art Gallery. Professor Elizabeth Mackie will speak about Art, Water and Research from 5:00-6:30 o March 6. And from 4:00 to 6:00 on March 13, Professor Lauren Madden will address Water and Education. "It has been such a pleasure to work on this exhibition," says Pezalla-Granlund. "The artists all work from a conviction that, through their art, they can take on tough issues, and that art is a way to engage people, inspire their curiosity, and start conversations about a topic that can be difficult and politically divisive. And on a college campus, it has been especially exciting to connect the artists and their work with the young artists, future teachers and scientists, and the faculty and staff who work on water issues. This is a great role for a campus gallery!" IF YOU GO: WHAT: Springs Eternal, Art, Water, Change WHERE: The College of New Jersey, Art Gallery, 2000 Pennington Road, AIMM Building, Room 319, Ewing WHEN: Through March 31. Hours, Noon to 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday;1-3 p.m. Sunday CONTACT: 609-771-2633. tcag@tcnj.edu. www.tcnj.edu/artgallery Follow NJ.com on Twitter @njdotcom. Find NJ.com on Facebook. An animal rights activist who admitted to helping free a bear from a trap in Vernon has been sentenced to 15 days in jail. Catherine McCartney, 50, of Vernon, is appealing the sentence imposed Tuesday by Municipal Court Judge James Devine and says she stands by her actions. These animals are innocent and so I made the moral decision to let the bear go so he could run back to his mother, and it was the right thing to do, McCartney said in a statement she read in court, and provided Wednesday to NJ Advance Media. She remains free pending the outcome of her appeal. McCartney was arrested at bear hunt protests in 2016, 2017 and 2018, the New Jersey Herald reported. She was sentenced to 15 days in jail last fall, but the same judge let her enroll in the Sheriffs Labor Assistance Program (SLAP) program as an alternative, though she also is appealing that sentence, her attorney said. McCartney and a second defendant in court Tuesday - Mark Nagelhout, 43, of Park Ridge - were each hit with three summonses in October after helping a young bear escape from a culvert trap at the Great Gorge Village condominium complex. The New Jersey DEP set up two barrel-shaped culvert traps inside the condominium complex after two residents reported being charged at - but not injured - by a bear in separate incidents. However, the freed bear was younger and not believed to have been involved in either incident, DEP spokesman Larry Hajna said at the time. Animal rights activists dubbed the animal Momma Bear. McCartney and Nagelhout pled guilty to the same two charges - obstructing the administration of law, and prevention of lawful taking of wildlife - according to the municipal courts deputy administrator, Lindsay Miller. In her statement to the court, McCartney charged that dumpsters in the area were not bear-proof, and that was the source of the problem. Both were hit with fines totaling $1,316, Miller said, but Nagelhout - a first-time offender - was not given a jail sentence. Doris Lin, a attorney for the anti-hunt BEAR Group, represented both in court. We believe the penalties are extremely high and will be appealing, Lin told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday. This bear cub was crying, and I think a lot of compassionate people would have done the same thing. Culvert traps are about 3 feet in diameter and are triggered when the animal pulls at a bait bag, causing a door to close behind it. Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@RobJenningsNJ. 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. There was no legal justification for Gov. Phil Murphys top advisers to keep him in the dark about a rape allegation made against a senior member of his campaign who later landed a six-figure job in the administration, an employment law expert testified on Tuesday. Seton Hall Law Professor Charles Sullivan didnt blatantly say Murphy got bad advice. But he did explain how the Democratic governors advisers didnt follow New Jersey employment law. Patricia Teffenhart from the Coalition Against Sexual Assault also testified in the four hour hearing by a special legislative committee examining how Albert J. Alvarez got and kept his state job after the alleged victim had alerted the governors team of her allegations multiple times. She said a rape culture exists in New Jersey politics and offered changes to help victims receive justice. The big revelations: Not informing Murphy about the alleged rape was a mistake. Murphys chief counsel, Matt Platkin, told the committee last month he did not inform the governor that Katie Brennan, a campaign supporter, had accused Alvarez, a senior campaign staffer, of raping her in April 2017, because he didnt think the rules allowed it. He said he participated in training on how to handle sexual harassment complaints just weeks before, and it emphasized the need for strict confidentiality. When asked if an executive has a need to know if the person accused is a high-level manager, Sullivan said yes, noting that Murphy could be held responsible for creating or permitting a hostile work environment. In January 2018, Brennan was hired as the chief of staff for the state Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency and Alvarez was hired as chief of staff for the Schools Development Authority. He resigned in October, after a Wall Street Journal reporter contacted him and the Murphy administration about Brennans claim. Thats when Murphy said he first learned of the scandal. Murphy administration should have investigated Brennans claim. The Hudson County Prosecutors Office declined to bring charges against Alvarez in the fall of 2017, a decision supported by the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office last month after the state attorney general asked for a second look since Brennan went public with her story. But the prosecutors decision should not prevent an employer such as the Murphy administration from conducting internal investigation, Sullivan said. And he said the employer should investigate a sexual misconduct allegation if it occurred before either party worked for the state, to determine whether there is a contaminated work environment. It doesnt matter whether the conduct occurred previously or on the job, Sullivan said. This challenged the testimony last month of Heather Taylor, the governors chief ethics officer. She told the committee the state did not have jurisdiction to investigate Brennans claim because neither Brennan nor Alvarez were state employees at the time. Who hired Alvarez shouldnt be a mystery The question of who hired Alvarez hasnt been answered. Platkin, former Murphy Chief of Staff Pete Cammarano and transition team chief Jose Lozano said they didnt do it. Lynn Haynes, the former director of personnel on the transition, told the committee earlier this month only these three would have had the authority. Sullivan said there should have been a written record of who made the call. Patricia Teffenhart, executive director for the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault, testifies before the N.J. Legislative Select Oversight Committee at the Statehouse in Trenton on Tuesday in the latest hearing on Katie Brennan sexual assault-Murphy administration scandal. Rape culture exists in New Jersey politics. Campaigns need a code of conduct. Teffenhart said shes heard horrific" stories from women working on campaigns and the men who touch inappropriately and then try to gaslight you when you call them out on it. Ive observed rape culture manifest at the League of Municipalities annual conference, the Walk to Washington, and various other political or networking events, Teffenhart continued. Events where confident, drunken men and politicos put their hands on womens waists to move through the crowd. Campaigns need a code of conduct, embraced by candidate and top leadership and signed by everyone, which lays out a process for filing complaints, she said. She said the rape culture was evident in testimony senior administration officials gave saying they believed Brennan was telling the truth. Im left wondering how so many important and influential professionals could choose to keep someone they believed capable of committing such a crime in their close circle," she said. If you believed Katie Brennan, then didnt you believe New Jersey deserved someone better than her perpetrator in our government?" Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, fresh off an election win against a former pharmaceutical executive in which drug costs were a major issue, warned industry officials that Congress would move to reduce prices if they didnt. "Now is the time to be proactive, because if you do not take meaningful action to reduce prescription drug prices, policymakers are inevitably going to do it for you, Menendez said Tuesday during a Senate Finance Committee hearing. Menendez called it a friendly warning. Menendez, D-N.J., won re-election last November over former Celgene Corp. executive Bob Hugin, who he criticized for raising prices on the cancer drug Revlimid. Health care was the No. 1 topic on the minds of New Jersey voters, according to a pre-election Monmouth University poll. Celgene was called out by President Donald Trumps administration for hindering efforts by generic companies to get samples in order to provide a lower-cost alternative, and successfully lobbied against legislation that would curb such practices. Menendez co-sponsored the bill. "Even in New Jersey, where the pharmaceutical industry and related fields like medical research employ hundreds of thousands of people, the overwhelming majority of my more than nine million constituents believe drug prices are too high, Menendez said. During the 2018 midterms, almost six of every 10 campaign ads after Labor Day in support of House Democratic candidates mentioned health care, many of them focusing specifically on prescription drugs, according to the Wesleyan Media Project, which tracks political advertising. Democrats picked up four of five Republican-held House seats in New Jersey. U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., joined other Senate and House Democrats last month to introduce legislation allowing imports of lower-cost drugs with proper safety precautions, making prescription drugs prices comparable to those in other major countries, and permitting the government to negotiate for lower prices under the Medicare Part D prescription drug program. Among those testifying Tuesday were Jennifer Taubert, executive vice president and worldwide chairwoman of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of New Brunswick-based Johnson & Johnson; Kenneth Frazier, chairman and chief executive of Kenilworth-based Merck & Co.; and Olivier Brandicourt, chief executive officer, Sanofi in Bridgewater. Also testifying was Giovanni Caforio, chairman and chief executive of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., which is buying Celgene. Frazier said Merck offers deep discounts for insurers, pharmacy benefit managers and the government, but patients often do not see the benefits. In fact, patient out-of-pocket costs continue to rise, and patients are being asked to shoulder more of their drug costs than other health care services, Frazier said. We must ensure that patients get the benefit of the large rebates and discounts that manufacturers are paying to PBMs and insurance companies. Still, when Menendez asked if any of the companies used some of their savings from the Republican tax law to lower prices, he got no response. Booker released a study in April showing that none of the 10 biggest pharmaceutical companies planned to use their tax savings to lower prices. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday hes trying to figure out what went on inside a state agency where career workers were possibly forced out of their jobs to make room for friends and allies of its newest CEO. The governor reacted to the hiring practices at the states Schools Development Authority, where a Murphy political ally, Lizette Delgado-Polanco, was tapped to run the agency. About a month after she took the reins in August, 26 staffers, many of whom had worked at the SDA under Democratic and Republican governors, were fired, according to staffing documents. There are about 230 employees at the SDA. By October, 33 new hires, including many people with ties to Delgado-Polanco, were brought on to fill some of the positions opened by the firings and a host of new jobs titles that were created under the new CEO. Fourteen of the new hires were brought on at salaries that top six figures and reach as high as $170,000. At least 10 of those top earners either worked with Delgado-Polanco in the past or at companies represented by unions Delgado-Polanco worked for, or had other close ties to the new CEO, according to resumes and other documents obtained by NJ Advance Media. The hirings and firings were first reported by USA Today Network New Jersey on Monday. It is common for new administrations to make political hires. But Murphy said his administration began looking into the state agencys hiring prior to Mondays published report. Were trying to figure out ourselves, long before this story was written, whats going on there and when we have something to report well come back to you, the Democratic governor said at a public event in Hamilton. Other news outlets, including NJ Advance Media and The New York Times, had requested public documents from the SDA to look at hiring practices. The SDA is also at the center of investigations into the Murphy administrations decision to give former staffer Albert J. Alvarez a job as chief of staff. Alvarez, who worked on Murphys gubernatorial campaign, had a senior position at the authority. But he stepped down as chief of staff for the SDA in October after he was questioned about rape allegations leveled by Katie Brennan, who accused Alvarez of assaulting her during Murphys campaign. Brennan and others have questioned why Alvarez was given a job in the administration after Brennan alerted officials during the transition about her claim. She argues Alvarez should never have given an opportunity to join the administration. Alvarez, who was already working at the agency when Delgado-Polanco took over, stepped down two weeks after the layoffs at the SDA. Delgado-Polanco was the political director for the Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters before she joined the SDA. She was the executive director of the Service Employees International Union New Jersey State Council prior to that and has maintained her position as vice chair to the state Democratic Party. Now under the Murphy administration she runs the SDA, which manages about $11 billion in construction projects for schools across the state. Delgado-Polanco earns $225,000 $50,000 a year more than the governor. Her hires included Laury-Ann Diaz, who is the mother of Delgado-Polancos grandson, according to social media posts and a person familiar with the hire who is not authorized to discuss the process and requested anonymity. Diaz earns $110,000 as a deputy director. She worked at the Democratic State Committee as an operations director for about five years prior to joining the SDA, according to her resume. She got that job about a year after Delgado-Polanco was elected vice chair of the group. Pictures on social media show Diaz with Delgado-Polanco and her family vacationing in Rome in November. Kenia Nunez was also hired at the authority to fill a deputy director role earning $110,000 a year, according to documents. Nunez is Delgado-Polancos second cousin, according to USA Today Network New Jersey. She resigned less than a month ago, however, amid questions about a sexual harassment complaint against her from a previous job. The authority also attempted to hire one of Delgado-Polancos nephews, an SDA spokesman confirmed. But the person was never paid by the state and left after a day because of nepotism rules, which restrict hiring and oversight over direct family members. The spokesman, Tony Bianchini, says the authority restructured and added new positions so it could better its mission. Upon starting as CEO, Ms. Delgado-Polanco began to immediately assess how the authority could most effectively fulfill its mission of planning and constructing high-quality schools on time and on budget, Bianchini said. "In doing so, she identified essential departments within the SDA that were either understaffed or simply didnt exist," he said. "These changes were made to help us better connect the authority with the communities the SDA serves." Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. WASHINGTON In a damning depiction of Donald Trump, the presidents former lawyer on Wednesday cast him as a racist and a con man who used his inner circle to cover up politically damaging allegations about sex, and lied throughout the 2016 election campaign about his business interests in Russia. Michael Cohen, who previously pleaded guilty to lying to Congress, told lawmakers that Trump had advance knowledge and embraced the news that emails damaging to Hillary Clinton would be released during the campaign. But he also said he had no "direct evidence" that Trump or his aides colluded with Russia to get him elected, the primary question of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Cohen, shaking off incessant criticism from Republicans anxious to paint him as a felon and liar, became the first Trump insider to pull back the curtain on a version of the inner workings of Trumps political and business operations. He likened the president to a mobster who demanded blind loyalty from underlings and expected them to lie on his behalf to conceal information and protect him even if it meant breaking the law. "I am not protecting Mr. Trump anymore," Cohen declared. His matter-of-fact testimony about secret payments and lies unfolded as Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, offering stark TV counterprogramming to the president's official duties. At a Vietnam hotel and unable to ignore the drama thousands of miles away, Trump lashed out on Twitter, saying Cohen "did bad things unrelated to Trump" and "is lying in order to reduce his prison time." In testimony that cut to the heart of federal investigations encircling the White House, Cohen said he arranged hush money payments to women on Trump's behalf and lied about them to the public and the first lady at the president's behest. He agreed to say Trump was "not knowledgeable" about the transactions even though the president directly reimbursed him, and said he was left with the unmistakable impression Trump wanted him to lie to Congress about a Moscow real estate project, even if the president never directly told him so. In one revelation, Cohen said prosecutors in New York were investigating conversations Trump or his advisers had with him after his office and hotel room was raided by the FBI last April. Cohen said he could not discuss that conversation, the last contact he said he has had with the president or anyone acting on his behalf, because it remains under investigation. The appearance marked the latest step in Cohen's evolution from legal fixer for the president he once boasted he'd "take a bullet" for Trump to a foe who has implicated him in federal campaign finance violations. The hearing proceeded along parallel tracks, with Democrats focusing on allegations against Trump while Republicans sought to undermine Cohen's credibility and the proceeding itself. As Republicans blasted him as a convicted liar, a mostly unrattled Cohen sought to blunt the attacks by repeatedly acknowledging his own failings. He called himself a "fool," warned lawmakers of the perils of blind loyalty to a leader undeserving of it and pronounced himself ashamed of what he'd done to protect Trump. "You make mistakes in life and I've owned them and I've taken responsibility for them, and I'm paying a huge price, as is my family," Cohen said during testimony that spanned roughly seven hours. Cohen will soon report to prison for a three-year sentence. At the same time, he is seen as a vital witness for federal prosecutors because of his proximity to the president during key episodes under investigation and their decade-long professional relationship. The first of six Trump aides charged in the Trump-Russia investigation to testify publicly about crimes committed during the 2016 campaign and in the months that followed, Cohen also delivered biting personal commentary on a president he said never expected to win in the first place. He recalled how Trump made him threaten schools he attended to not release his grades and SAT scores, mocked his own avoidance of the Vietnam War and denigrated blacks as "too stupid" to vote for him. "He never expected to win the primary. He never expected to win the general election," Cohen said. "The campaign - for him - was always a marketing opportunity." Cohen gave lawmakers his first-person account of how he arranged to buy the silence of a porn actress and a Playboy model who said they had sex with Trump. He described a February 2017 conversation with Trump in the Oval Office in which the president reassured him that reimbursement checks sent through Federal Express were coming but would take some time to get through the White House system. He said the president called him a year later to discuss the public messaging around the payments, and had even once put his wife, Melania, on the phone so that he could disavow knowledge. "Lying to the first lady is one of my biggest regrets," Cohen said. "She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly, and she did not deserve that." In an allegation relating to Mueller's probe, Cohen said he said he overheard Trump confidant Roger Stone telling the candidate in the summer of 2016 that WikiLeaks would dump damaging information about Clinton. Trump put Stone on speakerphone and Stone told him that he had communicated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that "within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign," according to Cohen. Damaging emails that U.S. officials say were hacked by Russia were later released by WikiLeaks. Trump responded by saying "wouldn't that be great," Cohen said. Stone disputed that account Wednesday. Cohen's claims that Trump had advance knowledge of the emails contradict the president's assertions that he was in the dark, and it is not clear how legally problematic that could be for Trump anyway. Mueller has not suggested that mere awareness of WikiLeaks' plans, as Stone is purported to have had, is by itself a crime. Cohen also suggested Trump implicitly told him to lie about a Moscow real estate project. Cohen has admitted lying about the project, which he says Trump knew about as Cohen was negotiating with Russia during the campaign. Cohen said Trump did not directly tell him to lie, but "he would look me in the eye and tell me there's no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing." Cohen said he does not have direct evidence that Trump colluded with the Russian government during the election, but that he has "suspicions," including after a June 2016 meeting between the president's oldest son and a Kremlin-connected lawyer. "I wouldn't use the word 'colluding.' Was there something odd about the back-and-forth praise with President Putin?" Cohen said. "Yes, but I'm not really sure I can answer the question about collusion." Federal prosecutors in New York have said Trump directed Cohen to arrange payments to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in the run-up to the 2016 campaign. Cohen has said he acted out of "blind loyalty." He said he was presenting the committee with a copy of a check Trump wrote from his personal bank account after he became president to reimburse Cohen for the hush money payments. He claimed he had other exhibits as well, including some financial statements. On the matter of racism, Cohen said the president made comments "disparaging African-Americans, saying at one point that black people would never vote for him because they were "too stupid." He said that Trump once confided to him that, despite his public explanation of a medical deferment from the Vietnam War, he never had any intention of fighting there. "You think I'm stupid, I wasn't going to Vietnam," Cohen quoted Trump as saying. I find it ironic, President Trump, that you are in Vietnam right now, Cohen said. Chris Christie will always be remembered for the Bridgegate scandal, for the stupidity of the stunt and for the lies he told that were definitively exposed during the federal trial. But that wasnt his worst mistake. Save that honor for his decision to halt construction of a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River, to spend the money set aside for the project, and to turn back $3 billion in federal aid earmarked for it. That stunt enabled Christie to avoid raising the gas tax until after his 2016 presidential run. But it left us with two rickety old tubes that are now so decrepit we should all be terrified. Engineers rush to slap on band-aids at night and on weekends, but they warn that time is running out. At some point, the two tubes will have to be shut down, gutted, and rebuilt, one at a time. Now, a fresh report from the Regional Plan Association spells out what will happen when that day comes. It could be tomorrow, or a year from now, or several years down the road. If it happens before a new tunnel is in place, we are in big trouble. The daily commute to Manhattan would turn into something like Saigon in April of 1975, as panicked crowds fought for seats aboard U.S. helicopters during the evacuation. Ok, thats a slight exaggeration. The RPA report is more careful, the work of meticulous study over years by respected urban planners. It warns that closing one of the tubes would cut train traffic into Manhattan by about 75 percent, as traffic in the single tube alternates during the day between eastbound and westbound traffic. That would force thousands more commuters to use cars, buses and ferries instead cramming every possible avenue into Manhattan. You think the commute is bad now? You may remember these as the golden years. Imagine trying to sell your home in that mess? The RPA took a careful look and found that homeowners would collectively lose $22 billion in value. As some waste time in longer commutes, and others settle for lower-paying jobs closer to home, the national economy would take a hit of $16 billion over four years. Even Christie seems to know this decision was indefensible: Guess what he says about it in his new book? Not a single word. More: Tom Moran columns Tom Moran may be reached at tmoran@starledger.com or call (973) 836-4909. Follow him on Twitter @tomamoran. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. By Walton R. Johnson In January, 2019, Rutgers kicked off a year of celebrations to mark 100 years since the graduation of our famous alum, Paul Robeson. Yet, despite the hoopla, the university continues to neglect the needs of African-Americans in our state in a manner that is openly contemptuous of Robesons core ideas. In the past generation, there has been a precipitous decline in enrollment of African-Americans. In 1979, there were 5,683 African-American students at Rutgers. That constituted 11.5 percent of the undergraduate student body and approximated the proportion of African-Americans (10.7 percent) in the New Jersey population. Although African-Americans constitute 14 percent of New Jerseys population today, there are only 3,811 African-American students and they comprise only 7.2 percent of the Rutgers student body. Dr. Walton R. Johnson (handout photo) Rutgers had great success in the 1970s and early 1980s in enrolling and graduating students of color. Admissions officers aggressively sought out talented students while they were still in high school and encouraged them to apply to Rutgers. These efforts meant that the State University of New Jersey eventually ranked first in African-American enrollment and third in Latinx enrollment among its peers in the Association of American Universities (AAU). In fact, during this period, Rutgers-New Brunswick ranked second in the nation among predominantly White universities in awarding baccalaureate degrees to African-Americans. The same declining trend has been true in faculty hiring. In 1976 there were 175 African-Americans on the faculty. We aggressively recruited and retained faculty of color by giving rewards to departments that hired them, trying to short-circuit the old boy networks, appointing a powerful officer to oversee hiring and by mentoring young faculty. These policies were successful. At one point, Rutgers ranked first in the AAU in the percentage of full-time African American faculty and seventh in the percentage of full-time Latinx faculty. But today, despite growth in the student body and well over 2000 faculty, there are only 93 African American and 88 Latinx tenure track faculty at our university. There is a long and disgraceful pattern here. Rutgers President Robert Barchi has made this worse not only by adopting previous administrations policies of flagrantly subordinating the interests and well-being of Latinx and African-Americans, but by redefining diversity so broadly that a White man hired in a department with majority White women counts as diversity. Paul Robeson would be calling out for action if he were around to see how far Rutgers has retrogressed. The sad truth is that Rutgers successful policies of the 1970s came about only as a result of external compulsion. A 1974 federal consent decree meant that Rutgers was required to work towards equal representation throughout the university in order to retain its eligibility for federal dollars. This court order began the period in which Rutgers administrations took seriously the recruitment and retention of African-Americans and Latinx faculty and students. In the 1980s, however, after Ronald Reagan rescinded the governments stringent EEOC requirements, our leaders methodically dismantled the effective policies and reverted to practices that impede Latinx and African-Americans to this day. At the present time, the university administration rejects practices that have proven to increase enrollments from our Latinx and African-American communities. Moreover, in the 2018 contract negotiations, our faculty union advanced a proposal for increasing the numbers of African-American and Latinx faculty. The union has proposed a Paul Robeson Hiring Initiative that focuses on hiring historically under-represented faculty as well as Robeson fellowships for graduate students. Lessons learned from the 1970s were cited. Unfortunately, the response from the administration was similar: No thanks, we are not interested in doing that kind of thing again. To respectfully embrace Paul Robeson, our university administration must eliminate its deep-seated hostility to African-Americans and Latinx and begin to implement appropriate measures for student enrollment and faculty hiring. It must accept our unions proposals. Otherwise, Paul Robeson will become merely an opportunistic marketing tool for an institution that actually spurns what the great man represented. Dr. Walton R. Johnson is a professor of Africana studies and anthropology at Rutgers University and former dean at Livingston College. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Plan on watching Michael Cohen testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform? Cohen, a former lawyer and fixer for President Donald Trump, testified in a closed-door session before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. But on Wednesday, Cohens House testimony will be public. Here are some details on when and how to watch. Michael Cohen: Trump lawyer and fixer whos headed to prison First, some background on Cohen thus far. In December, Cohen was sentenced in federal court to three years in prison for lying to Congress, making false statements to a financial institution, tax evasion (he pleaded guilty to not paying $1.4 million in taxes) and campaign finance violations. Cohen, 52, was sentenced after admitting that he paid hush money to two women porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal during Trumps 2016 campaign for president. Cohen maintains that Trump instructed him to do this. It was my blind loyalty to this man that led me to take a path of darkness instead of light," Cohen said, according to the Associated Press. I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds. In November, Cohen, who was also ordered to pay $50,000, admitted that he made false statements to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about the details of his work on a now-defunct project to build a Trump Tower in Russia, the AP reported. (For example, Cohen originally said the project ended by January 2016, but it really ended in June of that year.) Cohen, who was disbarred in New York on Tuesday, is set to begin his prison sentence on May 6. Multiple reports say that before then, Cohen is expected to use his testimony to further describe the role he claims Trump played in his criminal activities. .@WhiteHouse statement this AM on Michael Cohens testimony before Congress this week: hes lied before, hes going to lie again pic.twitter.com/o0sJnyCcHh Elizabeth Landers (@ElizLanders) February 26, 2019 When will Michael Cohen testify? Michael Cohens public testimony, originally slated for earlier this month, was postponed because he believed that Rudy Giuliani, Trumps attorney, and Trump himself had made threats against his family. Cohen is now scheduled to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform starting at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. On Thursday, Cohen will again testify as part of a closed-door session in front of the House Intelligence Committee. What could Michael Cohen say? On Tuesday, press secretary Sarah Sanders released a statement about Cohen, calling him a disgraced felon" who is going to prison for lying. Sadly he will go before Congress this week and we can expect more of the same, she said in the statement. Its laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies. The New York Times reports that as part of his testimony, Michael Cohen will be talking about Trump using racist language and could potentially expose evidence of criminal conduct by Trump in the time since he became president. The Washington Post reports that Cohens testimony should also in part focus on what the former Trump fixer knows about Trumps business activity in Russia as well as the exact manner in which Trump allegedly told Cohen to lie about that activity. How to watch the Cohen testimony It wont be hard to watch Michael Cohen on Wednesday, but here are two options: By now, many have heard how the reduction in refunds is a result of changes in the amounts withheld from paychecks. The reduced refunds do not mean federal income taxes have increased. Ashley said many of his clients noticed slight increases in their take-home pay throughout the year and adjusted their withholdings. The night before Michael Cohens testimony on Wednesday in front of the House Oversight Committee Cohen Eve the embattled former associate of Donald Trumps words were already the talk of social media. Cohens opening statement for the hearing made the rounds on Twitter ahead of his appearance on Capitol Hill. In the document, Cohen, former fixer and lawyer for President Donald Trump, calls Trump a racist, a cheat and a conman. By morning, bars in Washington, D.C., were opening earlier than usual to mark Cohens impending testimony with drink specials. Social media braced for what could happen when members of Congress questioned Cohen during his only public testimony in three days of hearings. Cohens back-and-forth with members of Congress stretched over an entire day, making the disbarred attorney the top subject of conversation in the country. Here are some highlights of Cohens appearance in Washington, which was at times dramatic and revealing, at other times a curious display of party politics, and usually both at once, along with a kind of meditation on racism in its second act. Michael Cohen is wall to wall on cable and broadcast. NBC, ABC, CBS stations across the country are all showing him speak. Some Fox stations are showing him too. pic.twitter.com/AelAPAbPDj Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) February 27, 2019 In December, Cohen, 52, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine for unlawful excessive campaign contributions, lying to Congress, tax evasion and making false statements to a financial institution. Hell start his sentence on May 6. Those watching at home, at work, in bars and hair salons, on phones, TVs and laptops, readied their Twitter fingers for the long hours ahead. Some marveled as Cohen read his opening statement. He is a racist, Cohen said of the president. He is a conman. He is a cheat. For others, this was just another day in Trumpland. Wow! Just wow! I mean wow! Michael Cohens opening statement on Trump was the most damning testimony Ive ever heard against a president of the United States. pic.twitter.com/yvEmh7BDwR Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) February 27, 2019 One of the most striking things about the Cohen opening statement is how neatly it corroborates literal *years* of reporting that the WH has pushed back on--notably by NYT, WaPo, WSJ, CNN, BuzzFeed. Like finding out your whole shelf of spy novels is true. Amanda Katz (@katzish) February 27, 2019 Things we already know for 200. https://t.co/dhs4QJnL3V Lena Waithe (@LenaWaithe) February 27, 2019 At first, more than few were certain that Cohen reminded them of someone else. Are we sure that Cohen isn't Arrested Development's Barry Zuckerkorn? pic.twitter.com/aTZUr14V1l Jeff Wilser (@jeffwilser) February 27, 2019 Appraisal of the testimony and Cohens delivery continued as Trumps employee of 10 years proceeded to read the rest of his statement. This is devastating stuff, calmly delivered. Emily Nussbaum (@emilynussbaum) February 27, 2019 "My name is Michael Dean Cohen" *Record Scratch* *Freeze Frame* Yup, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation. Well... pic.twitter.com/JTrqPpCRn1 Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) February 27, 2019 We read through this opening statement last night. It's so very different hearing Michael Cohen read. Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) February 27, 2019 This is what I just said to someone. His rhetorical performance is very good. It won't matter but noted. https://t.co/dSYSZmRCE0 The Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom (@tressiemcphd) February 27, 2019 Though Cohens big moment when he dramatically revealed that Trump is individual 1 proved just a tad anticlimactic. Michael Cohen tells us something we all already know. pic.twitter.com/pXhXbrhfka Red T Raccoon (@RedTRaccoon) February 27, 2019 "individual number one is president donald j trump" - michael cohen on the law and order episode that is our real lives now Oliver Willis (@owillis) February 27, 2019 Michael Cohen just named individual 1 on the record! Trump's lawyers at this very moment. #CohenHearing pic.twitter.com/rvcw2A8WxS Fearless/Lessfear (@Quotemeorelse) February 27, 2019 As U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Democrat from Maryland and chairman of the committee, presided over the hearing, many took note of U.S. Rep. Jim Jordans attempts to postpone the Cohen testimony. The Republican from Ohio inspired many a tweet, and his own track record was not exempt from criticism as he attempted to discredit Cohens testimony. Jim Jordan: "We're better than this." Everyone who remembers Jim Jordan during the Benghazi hearings: pic.twitter.com/Z7AA2VCqBE Rob Flaherty (@Rob_Flaherty) February 27, 2019 Glenn Simpson, Tom Steyer, Lanny Davis! CONNECT THE DOTS!!!! pic.twitter.com/Q1g9uW45NC Sam Stein (@samstein) February 27, 2019 Jim Jordan says Elijah Cummings will always be remembered for this hearing. Jim Jordan will always be remembered for turning a blind eye to sexual assault while he was a wrestling coach at Ohio State https://t.co/jWV8N8DzlN Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) February 27, 2019 Jim Jordan is trying to be who Michael Cohen used to be: Trump's fixer. Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) February 27, 2019 When Jim Jordan and Michael Cohen are going back and forth pic.twitter.com/On6qmhB2nY Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) February 27, 2019 George Conway, husband of Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway, chimed in on Republicans efforts to cast doubt on Cohens account. They are disgracing themselves forever on the pages of history. And for what? https://t.co/NVOtO1ndoM George Conway (@gtconway3d) February 27, 2019 And there was plenty of levity to be found, of course, even within some pretty daunting claims. Consider this one, in which Cohen maintains that Trump asked him to threaten people up to 500 times in 10 years. "how many times have you watched gaga and bradley cooper perform shallow?" pic.twitter.com/I4QHbn43i8 Steadman (@AsteadWesley) February 27, 2019 Lets just say pop culture references were plentiful. Here we have a callback to Twin Peaks: The Return. Even though hes saying things we all know are true, theres something disturbing and hypnotic about hearing them said over and over on a live broadcast pic.twitter.com/O3RfIu3oBt Eric Allen Hatch (@ericallenhatch) February 27, 2019 Filling Twitter were images of Cohens documentation, including the check that Cohen says Trump gave him to reimburse hush money Trump had instructed him to pay to porn star Stormy Daniels. Cohen exhibits a copy of the $35,000 check that "President Trump personally signed from his personal bank account on August 1, 2017 when he was President of the United States pursuant to the cover-up, which was the basis of my guilty plea" https://t.co/UN2Jt0QrPm pic.twitter.com/ueFaiTY8Cu Bloomberg (@business) February 27, 2019 Whatever Cohen's checks prove legally, his bringing them is a striking visual, which is a very Trump move. Trump's go-to is displaying objects--manila folders, "Trump steaks"--knowing that the imagery of the thing is more powerful than the thing itself. James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) February 27, 2019 Daniels tweeted as Cohens testimony continued: Thank you. Stormy Daniels (@StormyDaniels) February 27, 2019 Michael, Im proud of you for finally beginning to tell the truth about what you did, and trying to repair some of the harm you have caused, she said as part of a statement. I can hear the pain and regret you feel for betraying your family and your country. Daniels also referenced Cohen fearing for his familys safety because of comments from Trump and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. I may or may not comment further but will NOT be issuing another statement or answering any questions today. I will be waiting until all testimony is done. This is all I have to say right now: https://t.co/W5elg2r1aQ Stormy Daniels (@StormyDaniels) February 27, 2019 Do you believe now that when you and the president called me a liar, when you were his attorney and you insulted me, threatened to bankrupt me and worse, that you put me and my family in danger? she said. I remember the fear you feel. I still feel it Some imagined Trumps real-time reaction to Cohens testimony. But as the testimony got underway, Trumps Twitter account retweeted a post from earlier this morning: Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately), Trump had said. He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crookeds lawyer! (This refers to Jersey Citys Lanny Davis.) That sound your hearing is Trump screaming at his TV in Vietnam. #MichaelCohen (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) February 27, 2019 Trumps 2020 campaign issued its own statement, which echoed the White Houses statement that preceded Cohens testimony. Both statements were different ways of asserting that if Cohen lied before, he would lie again, which was a constant theme of questions from Republican members of Congress during the hearing. Our statement on Michael Cohen's deceitful congressional testimony and documented history of lying: pic.twitter.com/hxgteDvwOv Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) February 27, 2019 Cohen said that Trump directed him to ensure the presidents SAT scores and grades wouldnt be released, and presented a letter to that effect. This, of course, only fueled the fire to find out more about those scores and grades. I now really want to know what Trumps SAT scores were. Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) February 27, 2019 I didnt even know you could get your school to suppress grades. Im about to call my high school and have some firm words about that chemistry class junior year Dad (@fivefifths) February 27, 2019 one hundred percent of this fear is that president obama might have had higher SAT scores one hundred percent https://t.co/wHfIryQda1 darth (@darth) February 27, 2019 U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows sought to push back at Cohens claim that Trump is racist. He attempted to do so by saying that Lynne Patton, an administrator for the Department of Housing and Urban Development who oversees New York and New Jersey, who is black, would not work for a racist. The member of Congress introduced Patton, who stood up as he made his argument, but did not say anything. Meadows, a Republican from North Carolina, drew immediate criticism for the move. did the gop really just do "trump cant be racist because he has a Black employee?" m i t h (@ManInTheHoody) February 27, 2019 Mark Meadows said he has talked to Trump over 300 times and never heard him say anything racist. Did he hear Trump call the participants in a white supremacist march "very fine people"? pic.twitter.com/wEutr1F1i3 Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) February 27, 2019 Later, when U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan, said she was offended by the notion that a single black woman was used in an attempt to absolve Trump of charges of racism, Rep. Meadows demanded that Cummings address the matter and he called for her comment to be stricken from the record. Meadow went on the defensive, saying he isnt racist and that he has nieces and nephews who are people of color. In response, Tlaib said she wasnt trying to call him racist, but that using a black woman as a prop is a racist act. Cummings talked about his own family being slaves and said he considered Meadows a friend. Rep. Rashida Tlaib condemns what she calls a "racist act" by Rep. Mark Meadows, and things go off the rails... "I am not calling the gentleman, Mr. Meadows, a racist, for doing so, I'm saying that, in itself, it is a racist act." https://t.co/oEziZtsEZd pic.twitter.com/hLfSWs7Ulb Yahoo News (@YahooNews) February 27, 2019 Of course, Twitter was ready to point out the inherent absurdity. Rashida Tlaib did nothing wrong. Elijah Cummings needs a better friend. Mark Meadows needs a dictionary. So do many in the press. She did not call him a racist. She called the act racist. Her statement was not racist. Using black folks as props is racist.pic.twitter.com/P4uANuzkSe Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) February 27, 2019 Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Rep. Mark Meadows creating a whole other news cycle right now over Meadows use of Lynne Patton earlier in the hearing. southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) February 27, 2019 lol. This is such a clown show. Tlaib calls out Meadows real live black person gimmick, and *shes* forced to apologize. Radley Balko (@radleybalko) February 27, 2019 Tlaib: Using black people as a prop is racist. Meadows: Excuse me, but my nieces and nephews are props! Allie Goertz (@AllieGoertz) February 27, 2019 Here's Mark Meadows, who just sidetracked the entire House Oversight Committee to assure him he's not racist, saying that "2012 is the time we are going to send Mr. Obama home to Kenya or wherever it is" pic.twitter.com/90L1xnWf6v Steve Morris (@stevemorris__) February 27, 2019 Mark Meadows when Rashida Tlaib called him a racist pic.twitter.com/093k5qznqy s s (@Enuff_Said) February 27, 2019 The whole exchange emerged as its own drama inside the hearing, with Cohen looking on. The camera cut to Michael Cohen during this Rashida Tlaib-Mark Meadows exchange: pic.twitter.com/G1fMYBpzMe andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) February 27, 2019 For his part, Cohen answered Meadows statement that a black woman with roots in the South would not work for a racist by saying that he shouldnt have been working for Trump because his parents are Holocaust survivors. Did Michael Cohen just upper-hand "daughter of a man from Birmingham Alabama" with "as a son of Holocaust survivors" to Rep Meadows, who is, in turn, going full racist outrage in the accent of Foghorn Leghorn. What is happening. Heidi N. Moore (@moorehn) February 27, 2019 U.S. Rep Ayanna Pressley pressed Cohen on his charge that Trump is racist. Could Trump deny rental units to African-Americans, lead the birther movement, refer to the diaspora as sh**hole countries and refer to white supremacists as fine people,' have a black friend and still be racist?" she asked him. Yes, Cohen answered. I agree, said Pressley, a Democrat from Massachusetts. The Cohen hearing also gave us the gem that is Matthew Calamari. This is a man who is chief operating officer of the Trump Organization, but people just couldnt get enough of his name, after Cohen uttered it in reply to a question from U.S. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The Democrat from New York had been asking if Trump had deflated and inflated his assets. Cohen said Calamari would be one of the people that could provide more information on the subject. .@AOC: "To your knowledge, did the president ever provide inflated assets to an insurance company?" MICHAEL COHEN: "Yes." AOC: "Who else knows that the president did this?" MICHAEL COHEN: "Allen Weisselberg, Ron Lieberman and Matthew Calamari." Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) February 27, 2019 Don't mind me, I'll just be exclaiming "MATTHEW CALAMARI!" randomly in my head on loop for the next week. Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) February 28, 2019 It delights me a great deal that the rest of the world is now learning that our president employs a large man named Matthew Calamari on his security team. Brian Grubb (@briancgrubb) February 27, 2019 FYI This is Matthew Calamari: pic.twitter.com/97Nkq6f2X3 Alex Wagner (@alexwagner) February 27, 2019 I know a lot of you are only just now learning about Matthew Calamari, so here is his incredible appearance on the live finale of The Apprentice season two in 2004 pic.twitter.com/Ci0qF8kkgj Josh Billinson (@jbillinson) February 27, 2019 "Matthew Calamari" is such a perfect name for a Cohen associate Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) February 27, 2019 *holding my newborn baby* I'll name him Matthew Calamari Tamara Yajia (@DancesWithTamis) February 27, 2019 Ultimately, however, the tweeting public, along with members of Congress and Cohen seemed mystified by some other comments and lines of questioning. Case in point: Congrats to Congressman Steube who manages to produce the dumbest line of questioning of the day so far. "Mr. Cohen, you call this CHECK WITH THE PRESIDENT'S SIGNATURE ON IT evidence? I disagree." Jon Lovett (@jonlovett) February 27, 2019 Mr. Gibbs you have the floor. Bob Gibbs (R) Ohio: pic.twitter.com/b4YTwSYKll Audrey (@birdiejane23) February 27, 2019 BOB GIBBS IS THE WORST AT HUMAN SPEAKING. Alison Bushnell (@BlackAlis12) February 27, 2019 There was plenty of confusion, to be sure, but this question about boxes from US. Rep. Clay Higgins, a Republican from Louisiana, was a standout. Boxes Michael Cohen hearing pic.twitter.com/cUpDWELF2A Russell Keith (@discourser) February 27, 2019 Having watched many of these hearings, I get the sense that some Republicans were not adequately prepared. Clay Higgins went on a tear about boxes Cohen was rifling through, and why they werent turned over to the feds. Cohen said, they were, and they were returned. Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) February 27, 2019 Higgins: Shouldn't these boxes have been turned over to investigators?? Cohen: These boxes were returned to me after the raid. Higgins: But shouldn't those boxes have been given to investigators???#CohenTestimony pic.twitter.com/lDlFLYj2t6 Hayes Cooper (@HayesCooper19) February 27, 2019 Where are the boxes? Sir, where is your blazer? Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) February 27, 2019 Great. 'What's in the boxes?' and all that comes to mind #CohenTestimony pic.twitter.com/KOpg1eE2Xu Lisa M (@speednet) February 27, 2019 Higgins also apparently had no idea who Cohen was until very recently! Clay Higgins: "This sure got you on television, didn't it?" Michael Cohen: "Sir, I've been on television for Mr. Trump going back to 2011." Clay Higgins: "Well, I didn't hear about you until today." ....okay. Charlotte Clymer (@cmclymer) February 27, 2019 A New Jersey resident with measles may have exposed others to the highly contagious disease in Bergen County this month, The New Jersey Department of Health announced Tuesday. The unidentified person visited two locations in Hillsdale on Feb. 18, the AFC Urgent Care at 2 Broadway between 2 and 5 p.m. and the Walgreens at 383 Washington Ave. between 3 and 5:30 p.m., according to statement from the department. The individual recently had contact with a community outside of New Jersey that was experiencing an ongoing outbreak of measles, the department said. The community was not identified by health department officials. The health department asked anyone who visited the two Hillsdale locations to call their doctor immediately to discuss potential exposure and risk of developing the illness." Anyone who was exposed was at risk of getting the disease if they have not been vaccinated or have not had measles. Measles symptoms, which include fever, coughing and a rash that usually starts on the face, might not develop until as late as March 18. Measles can can cause serious complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis, a swelling of the brain, and can lead to a miscarriage, premature birth or low-birth weight baby for pregnant women. The disease can be spread through the air when someone coughs or sneezes and an people can get sick if they come in contact with mucus or saliva from an infected person, officials said. The news of the North Jersey case of measles comes just over one month after the outbreak in Ocean County and Passaic County ended with 33 people infected. Jan. 16 marked 42 days since the last diagnosed case was considered infectious, or two full incubation periods, the Ocean County Health Department announced at the time. The outbreak started in late October after the first measles case was confirmed in Lakewood involving a traveler who had contracted it in Israel. In an unrelated incident in December, state health officials warned that an infected international traveler arrived in Newark Liberty International Airport on Christmas Eve Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon 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. As children started spiking high fevers from a mysterious virus, the medical director at the rehab center said he didnt see a crisis. Until the fourth child died. The supervising doctor, Maged Ghaly. admitted he initially thought the state Health Department was overreacting last October when it closed admissions, according to a report by federal inspectors, which shed light on the viral outbreak that killed 11 children and sickened dozens more last year at the Wanaque Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. A void of leadership, the lack of an infection control plan and an off-site medical director allowed the outbreak to rage for 11 weeks inside a facility in Passaic County that serves children with lifelong disabilities who need around-the-clock care to survive, the report alleges. In a letter to federal inspectors, Wanaques attorney Andrew P. Aronson aggressively attacked the report, calling it fundamentally inaccurate, riddled with factual inaccuraciesand sensational accusatory conclusions that lack any support whatsoever. Wanaque will appeal the findings, Aronson wrote. Much of the federal inspectors criticism focused squarely on the facilitys medical director, who told investigators that he was never given clear direction on his responsibilities. I didnt understand what medical director meant, he told federal inspectors. I have been here 11 years. I was one of several pediatricians and now Im the only one left. They all bailed on me. When they asked me to be the medical director I agreed. No one gave me a job description and I signed the contract, he told inspectors. Investigators said the facilitys chief medical officer was scarcely on site, and instead sent his nurse practitioner to regular meeting. He also seemed to have no real understanding of his role, according to the report by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. While not named in the report, other records and testimony before the state Legislature identified him as Dr. Maged Ghaly, who has a pediatric practice in Jersey City. State regulations do not require medical directors, or doctors in general, to spend a specific amount of time at a nursing facility. The report also cited failures to provide timely interventions and care to sick kids, as well as inadequate administrative oversight as factors in the death toll and reach of the virus. The federal findings, first reported by NorthJersey.com, portrayed a facility ill-prepared to react to the rapid spread of the virus through its pediatric wards that were not only overseen by its absentee medical director, but also plagued by poor infection controls as well as a failure to provide timely interventions and care. Ghaly told inspectors that he first thought the state Department of Health had overreacted when the virus first struck the facility in northern Passaic County. I said how is it going to spread? That was in October, he told investigators. I knew we had a problem after the 4th death. The health department did not publicly confirm the outbreak until Oct. 22, and the deaths of the first six children on Oct. 23. Ghaly did not return calls to his office and home. The stark narrative was part of a 118-page Statement of Deficiencies survey issued by CMS, which also cited delays in seeking treatment of sick kids that led to significant medical complications, as well as inadequate administrative oversight. The state health department is preparing its own report on a crisis that has raised questions by advocates, elected officials, and the department itself about how the long-term pediatric care nursing home responded as kids began dying. New Jersey health officials curbed admissions at Wanaque until a new plan to prevent the spread of infection is approved. They also proposed a $20,965 penalty be imposed over infection control violations discovered during the outbreak. The department has no comment, said state health department spokeswoman Donna Leusner, when asked about the federal report. Yet the states findings were not as extreme and exaggerated as those reached by the federal government, said Paul Fishman, an attorney also representing Wanaque. The state was there for six weeks. CMS was there for only 5 days. The state health department didnt come up with any of these conclusions," Fishman said. "They had access to the same people and looked at the same records. The deficiencies cited by CMS were wide-ranging, taking aim not only at the Wanaque Centers medical director, but its administrator as well, saying the failure to develop and implement action plans to monitor the outbreak and outcomes directly contributed to delay in containment of the virus. At the same time, the report pointed to delays in the identification and treatment of the highly communicable illness in a medically vulnerable population that it said resulted in 33 of 53 pediatric residents on ventilators testing positive for adenovirus, ranging from toddlers to teenagers. Of those, 34 had to be transferred to the emergency room or to hospitals. Ultimately, 11 died. In one case, according to the report, the medical director and a nurse practitioner waited a week before sending one child to the hospital. This delay in treatment and transfer resulted in the resident returning with a tracheostomy, the report said. A tracheostomy is a surgical procedure to make an incision in the neck, opening a direct airway into the trachea to help a patient breathe. According to health department officials, the first kids to come down with the virus at the Wanaque Center were diagnosed on September 26. Adenovirus includes a number of respiratory virus strains that can cause mild or serious illness. In a matter of weeks, 36 had contracted viral infections. One staff member also was diagnosed with adenovirus, but recovered. In response to the federal inspection report, Edward J. McManus from ID Care, the infectious disease practice hired after the state Health Department ordered Wanaque to take corrective action, called the outbreak unavoidable. In my professional opinion, the outbreak itself was unavoidable, and its scope and consequences were attributable to a particularly dangerous strain of virus that afflicted a very vulnerable population, McManus said in a statement. The strain of adenovirus that caused the outbreak has an incubation period of up to two weeks and is highly contagious. McManus described the medical, nursing, and administrative staff as professional, competent, engaged, compassionate, and receptive to whatever steps would mitigate the effects of the outbreak and to prevent any future recurrence. He also defended Ghaly. As the primary care pediatrician for the children who reside at Wanaque for more than a decade, he is very familiar with each of their medical histories, conditions, medication, and treatment. I also have observed that, even when he is not at the Facility, he can be and is reached whenever necessary by the nurse practitioner and the nursing staff, McManus wrote. At the Wanaque Center, a worker who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution, said Ghaly was being unfairly targeted. Theyre trying to put the blame only on this guy. You can call him, leave him a voicemail, everyone, they have his cellphone, and he also tells them to text him, so there is no way theyre not in contact, said the pediatric employee. Should he have been more aggressive? He probably could have in some cases, especially when it started to spread. But the worker said blame had to be shared at the top, noting there is an assistant director of nursing on the floor all day, and a charge nurse thats there all day, and the facilitys administrator. State Sen. Joseph Vitale, chairman of the Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee who has held a legislative hearing on the outbreak at Wanaque, said all of those issues raised in the CMS report will be addressed. There will be a regulatory and legislative fix, based not just this report, but on Commissioner (Shereef) Elnahal's report, he said. One of those fixes may include staffing requirements for a medical director. A facility that size and with an acuity that is significant, in my view, requires a medical director to be on site, said Vitale. State officials said New Jersey regulations do not mandate the number of hours a physician has to be on site. He said he was troubled too by the Ghaly's statement in the report that he didn't understand his role. I don't know what part of (the title) of medical director he did not get. This is disturbing to say the least. Yet he said the blame cannot be put just on the one doctor. Rowena Bautista, the administrator of the Wanaque Center, must be held accountable, Vitale said. There was a breakdown in the entire chain of command, from the top to the caregivers, he said. The leadership matters here. There were leadership issues. There was clearly a breakdown in protocols along the way. Attorney Paul da Costa, who is representing the families of some of those who were sickened or died from adenovirus-related complications at the Wanaque Center, said the federal findings confirmed that they had believed to be true. My clients entrusted their children to this facility that represented themselves as being capable of being able to treat these medically fragile children according to acceptable standards of care. But, unfortunately, it appears now more than ever that there was a lack of infection and prevention control measures in place, including the Wanaque Centers failure to be able to foresee an outbreak of infection like the adenovirus that would inherently require space within their facility to separate patients to control the spread of the infection, he said. He said his clients were also disturbed by the reporting that the medical director was not even aware of what his role and responsibilities were, and appeared to have been disengaged from the day to day clinical care and treatment of the patients. My clients intentions, based on what we have determined through the medical records and now the apparent conclusions by the federal governments investigation, is to file suit against Dr. Ghaly for medical negligence in his role as the medical director and attending pediatrician, he said. Editors note: Do you have a family member on the pediatric unit at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, or a child who has been affected by the viral outbreak there? NJ.com would like to hear from you. You may reach us at (732) 902-4559, or write to Susan Livio at slivio@njadvancemedia.com, Spencer Kent at skent@njadvancemedia.com, or Ted Sherman at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. The tragic story of how Sarah Stern was killed at the hands of her childhood friend is set to reach a national audience. ABCs 20/20 is scheduled to air a two-hour special, With Friends Like These, at 9 p.m. Friday, March 1. Liam McAtasney, 21, was found guilty Tuesday of strangling Stern, 19, during a robbery at her Neptune City home and then dumping her body off the Route 35 bridge in Belmar to make it appear as if she committed suicide. He is facing life in prison when hes sentenced on May 24. McAtasneys roommate and Sterns junior prom date, Preston Taylor, had previously pleaded guilty to robbing Stern and helping dispose of the body. He testified against McAtasney on the first day of the trial. Stern was first reported missing Dec. 3, 2016. Two months later, McAtasney and Taylor were arrested and charged in her disappearance. The news shocked the close-knit Jersey Shore community of Neptune City, and grabbed attention around New Jersey and beyond. The 20/20 special will feature interviews with the prosecutors on the case, Christopher Decker and Meghan Doyle; Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni; McAtasneys defense attorney, Carlos Diaz-Cobo; two detectives on the case, Brian Weisbrot and Nicholas Cattelona; Sarahs childhood friend, Belinda Souza; and the two rideshare drivers who first reported Sterns missing car. The program will also include interviews with reporters, including NJ.coms Alex Napoliello, who covered the case from the start. Co-anchor Amy Robach and Sterns father, Michael, also visit the Route 35 bridge where Sterns car was found abandoned. Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. A former Rutgers medical school professor and director at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey has been accused of recording at least 26 women and three other people in various states of undress in a bathroom and breaking into his colleagues offices to commit identity theft, among other charges in a sweeping 160-count indictment of alleged illegal activity over a two year span. Dr. James Goydos, 58, a then-professor of surgery Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, was initially arrested in March 2018 and charged with having an unregistered and unlicensed assault rifle after police searched his East Brunswick home. At the time, Goydos was put on leave from Rutgers, where he specialized in melanoma treatment, and authorities declined to say what prompted the search. The indictment against Goydos issued in December, however, revealed a wide range of charges involving accusations at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey offices in New Brunswick and elsewhere in Middlesex County dating to April 2016. The charges include: invasion of privacy (more than 100 counts), official misconduct, burglary, computer theft, impersonation, wiretapping, falsely implicating another, coercion, hindering, possession of an assault rifle and possession of a prohibited device. He is next due in court in March. Goydos is no longer employed at Rutgers, Peter McDonough Jr., a Rutgers spokesman, confirmed in an email this week. McDonough said that none of the allegations were related to patient care. Goydos earned a $437,500 while working at Rutgers, according to public records. A message left at Goydoss East Brunswick home was not returned and an attempt to reach him on social media was unsuccessful. His attorney did not return a message. According to the 41-page indictment, Goydos entered offices of four people in the Cancer Institute of New Jersey during 2016 and stole information from their computers in a scheme to defraud, or to obtain services, property, personal identifying information or money. He then impersonated the employees to get benefit for himself or another, or to injure or defraud another, according to the indictment. Additional official misconduct charges have been brought against him for using his status as a Rutgers employee to access the computers and information. In 2017, Goydos is accused of filming or photographing, without their consent, 26 women and three others whose genders were not identified, obtaining images of them in various stages of undress, according to the indictment. Andrea Boulton, a spokeswoman for the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office, said the victims were not photographed or filmed in Goydoss capacity as a physician, but in a bathroom at his workplace. McDonough said the university immediately contacted the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office after learning of Goydoss activities. Goydos was indicted after a joint investigation from the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office and the Rutgers University Police Department, according to the prosecutors office. His LinkedIn profile lists his job as the director of the Melanoma and Soft Tissue Oncology Program at RWJ, and indicates he started working at Rutgers in 1995. He also studied medicine at RWJ during the 1980s. 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. Politicians say wild, accusatory, partisan and downright incorrect things here and there. But a Trenton councilwoman says another city councilwoman was flat-out wrong and libeled her in a recent Facebook comment about a theft case, and shes filed legal action in an attempt to wipe it out. North Ward Councilwoman Marge Caldwell-Wilson served West Ward Councilwoman Robin Vaughn Friday evening with a cease-and-desist order, saying her comments online were defamatory and libelous. It demands she take down the post, and issue verbal and written apologies to Caldwell-Wilson. The post in question was a Facebook comment by Vaughn in which she says Caldwell-Wilson is under investigation in a theft case concerning a former campaign staffer, Yolanda Torres. The post also says Torres is Caldwell-Wilsons girlfriend. The comment post then touched off other comments, one who said he knew Caldwell-Wilsons hands were always dirty. The post in question by Trenton Councilwoman Robin Vaughn Torres was charged in Mercer County and Bucks County, Pennsylvania last fall with stealing from her employer to cover thefts from three organizations, two which are connected to Caldwell-Wilson: her re-election campaign, and an animal charity she runs. Caldwell-Wilson is not charged in the case, and reiterated this week shes the one who brought the allegations against Torres to prosecutors. Its totally unfounded, Caldwell-Wilson said of Vaughns Facebook post. And she has no idea where Vaughn came up with Torres being her girlfriend. Vaughn could not immediately be reached for comment about the post and legal order. Caldwell-Wilson hired attorneys Les Hartman and Edward Bertuccio to represent her. Hartman said Monday Vaughn had not complied with the order, which could lead to further legal action. The cases against Torres are pending on both sides of the Delaware River, court records show. UPDATE: On Wed. Feb. 27, 2018, Vaughn told NJ Advance Media shed retained a lawyer for the matter. 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. EDITORS NOTE: Entrepreneurs everywhere are eyeing the billion-dollar legal weed industry, an economic opportunity unrivaled in modern N.J. history. NJ Cannabis Insider features exclusive and premium weekly content geared toward those interested in the marijuana industry. View a sample issue. The chairman of the Federal Reserve acknowledged the dilemma faced by legal cannabis enterprises that cant get checking accounts or accept credit cards because most banks cant do business with them as long as the drug is illegal on the federal level. It puts financial institutions in a very difficult place," Jerome Powell told the Senate Banking Committee Tuesday. It would be nice to have clarity on that. Because banks are federally regulated, any efforts to do business with cannabis companies would run afoul of the federal ban on marijuana. Banks that work with such companies could be charged with money laundering. Powell was responding to a question from U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., whose state is moving toward legalizing cannabis for personal use. A bill could be finished as early as next week. My home state of New Jersey is moving towards legalization of recreational marijuana, and I have concerns that these new businesses as well as the existing medical marijuana businesses in the state will continue to find themselves shut out of the banking system, Menendez said. And when these businesses are forced to operate exclusively in cash, they create serious public safety concerns. Providing banking services to legal marijuana business is a top objective of cannabis advocates as well as lawmakers from states with cannabis businesses. Banks and credit unions that financial services to marijuana companies face federal prosecution. A House Financial Services subcommittee held its first-ever hearing on the issue earlier this month, and heard witnesses describe the problems and dangers of an all-cash business. Legislation legalizing marijuana on the federal level will be a much harder lift than bills to allow banks to handle transactions with legal cannabis companies in states that allow use of the drug. The bipartisan Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act was introduced in the last Congress and will be again this year. The National Cannabis Industry Association already is making plans to launch a lobbying effort once the bill is introduced. Are you interested in the N.J. cannabis industry? Subscribe here for exclusive insider information from NJ Cannabis Insider. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. JERSEY CITY The Hudson County Democratic Organization has unveiled its slate of candidates for Junes primaries and even Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop is on board. Fulop had a very public split with the HCDO and County Executive Tom DeGise last year when Fulop announced he would not support DeGises bid for a fifth term. But after a bruising loss to Team DeGise during the race for HCDO chair an election won by DeGises daughter Amy over Fulops preferred candidate, Union City Mayor Brian Stack Fulop is back on the HCDO bandwagon. The move is the most public sign yet that Fulop is mending fences with the countys leadership after spending much of 2018 playing the part of the renegade who refused to bow down to party bosses. His absence from the campaign trail for U.S. Sen. Bob Menendezs re-election bid in November was conspicuous. The Democrats announced their picks for Junes primaries on Monday. They have endorsed DeGise for another term as county executive, Frank X. Schillari for a fourth term as sheriff, Freeholder Tilo Rivas as surrogate and all six incumbent Assembly members for re-election. The current surrogate, Joseph Ryglicki, is not seeking a new term. Fulop joined 10 other Hudson mayors in endorsing the HCDO slate. Disagreements happen, but weve come a long way since last year and have been working together on some government initiatives and political issues for quite some time now, Fulop told The Jersey Journal. The mayor missing from the HCDOs press release was West New York Mayor Felix Roque, who joined Fulop in endorsing Stack for HCDO chair last year but who has not had a public kumbaya moment with the HCDO yet. Roque is facing his own re-election bid in May. Roque told The Jersey Journal he absolutely supports the HCDO slate. In this liberal stronghold, the winners of Junes Democratic primaries are heavy favorites to win in Novembers General Election. Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. An Essex County man convicted in December of brutally murdering three people in 2016 while their children were present in a two-day killing spree was sentenced Tuesday to 190 years in prison. Jeffrey Holland, 30, of East Orange, was sentenced for the murders of Newark residents Tiniquah Rouse, Ashley Jones, and Jarrell Marshall. Hollands parole hearing wont come up for 158 years, according to acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II. The sheer depravity and violence that occurred in this case is incomprehensible, Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab said in a statement. This defendant brutally killed three innocent people and in the case of Rouse desecrated her body. His crimes are even more cruel because they were carried out in the presence of very young children, including two of his own children. The victims were killed over the course of two days in January 2016, investigators said. Authorities allege Holland strangled and drowned Rouse, 21, on Jan. 29, 2016, in her bathtub before sexually assaulting her and desecrating her remains. After the murder, he put her 5-month-old baby boy in an apartment closet, covering him with clothes and left the home. The baby was later found unharmed. Prosecutors said Holland and Rouse had been involved in a relationship. The next day, Holland went to Jones apartment, where he kicked in the door and fatally shot Jones, 23, and Marshall, 28, just a short distance away from three children ages 1, 3, and 4. Jones and Holland previously dated, but had broken up. Jones had a restraining order against him, investigators said. Jones and Holland were the parents of two of the children who were present during the murder. The third child was Marshalls daughter from another relationship. Jones and Marshall had recently started dating, the prosecutor said. First-responders found Jones two children and Marshalls child inside the home when they arrived, authorities said at the time. They were physically unharmed. Holland told the jury during his trial that he did not mean to kill Rouse and that she had suffered a seizure during sex. Holland denied killing the other two victims. But investigators said they uncovered surveillance video placing Holland at the crime scenes. In addition, investigators found internet searches for New Jerseys laws regarding murder and numerous threatening text messages. On Dec. 12, 2018, a jury found Holland guilty of 18 counts, including three counts of murder, desecration of human remains, hindering, felony murder, burglary, theft, weapons possession and multiple counts of endangering the welfare of a child. On Tuesday, Essex County Judge Ronald D. Wigler sentenced Holland to 60 years for each murder and another 10 years for being a convicted felon with a weapon. Jeffrey Holland 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. Michelle Pena has known since kindergarten that she wanted to be a teacher, even though she didnt have many, if any, who shared her Hispanic heritage as she moved throughout the Newark school district. A senior at East Side High School, Pena, 18, is still set on working in the classroom, and being a role model for kids, whom she said rarely get to see a teacher that looks like them. Its one of the main reasons why she wants to be one. That would be the best thing that could ever happen," said Pena, who is member of Future Teachers of America Club at East Side. It will help them (students) be more interested and connect with the school." The citys school district is banking on that enthusiasm -- it plans to harness it at the new Teacher Education Academy, a program that will prepare Newark students to be teachers, and create a pipeline of diversity that is lacking in the district, the state and across the country. At a glance, the statistics are not pretty. Sen. M. Teresa Ruiz, who is the chairperson of the state legislatures education committee, said figures from the state Department of Education show that more than 121,500 students do not see any teachers of their same race in school. Only one in five schools employed non-white teachers in 2016-2017; and more than 163,000 students do not see non-white teachers. Nicool Rodriguez (left) and Michelle Pena, (middle) are seniors at East Side High School in Newark and they want to be teachers. Their school will house the Teacher Education Academy, a program that prepares Newark students for careers as teachers and create a pipeline of diversity in education. A lot of stakeholders, including Newark city officials, were on board Tuesday at East Side to champion an initiative that offers students a $50,000 teaching contract if they graduate from the academy, then college and pass the states certifications to be a teacher. Once they have met all of the requirements, they have a job here," Superintendent Roger Leon said. This is a game changer. This provides students an opportunity to envision what that career looks like now." Its going to be lot of work, and thats where Montclair State University (MSU) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) steps in with expertise to create a teaching curriculum for students. The university will also provide adjunct professors to teach students, who will receive internships, a substitute certificate and college credits. Set to open in 2020, the academy will be located at East Side and will accept any Newark student interested in becoming a teacher. Its common sense that we need to have as role models for kids people who look like them, people who kids feel comfortable with," AFT President Randi Weingarten said. Nationally, Weingarten said 45 percent of students in the country are kids of color and 83 percent of the teachers are white. Its even more lopsided when it comes to gender, she said, explaining that 80 percent of teachers are women. If we want to actually break down stereotypes and all of the polarization and division that we see now, diversity of the teaching force is a really good place to start." John Abeigon, president of the Newark Teachers Union, said the district is moving in the right direction, but hed rather have the right teacher, regardless of color, than have the wrong teacher because of color. School officials sign documents to formalize the partnership for the Teacher Education Academy at East Side High School in Newark. In the center is Susan Cole, president of Montclair State University. To her left is Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. On the right is Roger Leon, superintendent of Newark Public Schools. Teachers, however, still have to be compensated to be retained, and Abeigon hopes Newark can keep the talent it is training by making salaries competitive with neighboring school districts. We have to have great teachers," said MSU President Susan A. Cole. You have some. You need more...and some of you are going to be those people." Nicool Rodriguez, 18, plans to be in that number. She knows whats its like to be the student who didnt understand the classwork. I was in that position," said the East Side High School senior. I felt lost." Until she had a caring teacher who made her feel like she could do anything. One day soon, shell do the same for another student. Rodriguez said she will attend Montclair State in the fall, then return to Newark to make a difference four years from now. Read More Barry Carter may be reached at bcarter@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@BarryCarterSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. According to evidence presented at trial, the U.S. attorney said in a news release, Baldwin obtained funds from individual investors, as well as from corporate lenders who lent him money for use in business and personal dealings. Baldwin claimed that compliance officers and professional advisors were affiliated with his firms, when no such relationships actually existed, according to the release. An Uber driver was charged with sexually assaulting his passenger last year in Bergen County, authorities said Wednesday. Dearan Bennett was being held at the Bergen County jail on a sexual assault charge, according to authorities. The arrest came after police in Alpine received a 911 call about the attack on June 1, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo said. Upon responding, it was reported that an adult female had just been sexually assaulted by her Uber driver, Calo said in a statement. Special Victims Unit detectives arrested the 35-year-old Brooklyn resident Tuesday, officials said. He was scheduled for a Monday detention hearing. Uber did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. 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 An adult and a child were killed Tuesday in a fiery, two-vehicle crash in Egg Harbor Township, according to authorities. The wreck took place on English Creek Avenue, between Schoolhouse Road and Buckingham Drive, at 12:14 p.m., township police Lt. Michael Finnerty said. The adult and child were traveling south in a Kia Soul that collided with a northbound Cadillac CTS, causing the Kia to overturn and catch fire, according to police. Upon patrol arrival, the Kia Soul was fully engulfed in flames with two occupants trapped inside, police said in a statement. Both occupants of the Kia died at the scene, authorities said. The Cadillac driver was taken an area hospital with non life-threatening injuries. Police did not release the names of the adult and child killed in the crash. Anything involving children is just difficult, Scullville Fire Company Chief Steve Prisament told NBC Philadelphia. Anyone with information was asked to call the Egg Harbor Township Police Traffic Safety Unit at 609-926-2661. 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 Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, founded in 2000, has emerged as a Japanese mecca for international students, who comprise about half of its student body. An APU officer discusses the keys to the schools success and the sweeping changes Japan must make to attract and retain foreign talent. Universities around the world are competing fiercely for a share of the growing international student market, which is fast approaching 5 million students, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In East Asia, Singapore has made it a national goal to attract outstanding foreign students, and schools like the National University of Singaporewhich partnered with Yale University to open Yale-NUS College in 2013have climbed rapidly in the rankings of destinations for overseas study. At Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, we are watching such trends closely as we compete for some of the worlds best and brightest scholars. Since its launch in April 2000, APU has succeeded admirably at this: As of November 2018, of the schools 5,829 students, 2,952, or 50.6% of the total, hailed from overseas. Our international students come from 90 countries and regions worldwide, and fully 96.8% of them are full-fledged students on the degree track. The ANU program is also globally unusual for having more than 90% of its international students in undergraduate studies, rather than graduate school. Japans Misguided Emphasis on Quantity The Japanese government is understandably keen on international students, given the ongoing decline in its own youth and young-adult population. In 2009, the government launched a program aimed at boosting the number of international students to 300,000 by 2020. Statistics released by JASSO, the Japan Student Support Organization, in January 2019 suggest that it will reach its target ahead of schedule, with 298,980 international students enrolled in Japanese schools as of May 1, 2018. As the accompanying graph indicates, the total number of international students has climbed sharply since 2011. Yet most of this growth has been driven by booming enrollment at Japanese language schools, which is up 274%, and professional training colleges, up 168%. By contrast, the number of international students in undergraduate four-year programs and junior colleges has increased by only 23%, while graduate-school enrollment is up just 26%. Meanwhile, more than 20% of the 1.28 million foreigners working in Japan as of October 2017 were legally classified as students, according to figures from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. This startling statistic reflects the governments deplorably short-sighted policy of using Japanese language schools as a back door for unskilled foreign labor. Foreign students should be admitted to the country for purposes of study, not to plug Japans labor shortages. Where international students are concerned, there needs to be less emphasis on quantity and more on quality. Internationalizing Admissions and Degree Programs One reason Japan has been unable to attract more university students from abroad is that its admissions system runs differently compared to the rest of the world. Most universities here only accept students for matriculation in April, at the beginning of the Japanese academic year, and demand a high level of Japanese proficiency from their applicants. Moreover, each institution has its own application process and requirements. Foreign students with a special interest in Japan may be motivated to overcome such hurdles, but the rest are unlikely to give Japanese universities a second glance as they compare their study-abroad options worldwide. At APU, we have been working hard to internationalize our admissions system with a view to attracting outstanding students from abroad. We admit students twice a year, in the spring and fall. We have no Japanese-language prerequisite, and our application requirements are aligned with those of Western universities, thus streamlining the application process for international students. The English proficiency level of our applicants from Vietnam, Indonesia, and other Asian countries is impressive; last year their scores averaged in the 8599 range on TOEFL and 6.57 on IELTS. We tend to attract well-rounded students whose grade averages and standardized test scores are also quite high. Not a few of our foreign students also had the option to attend top domestic and Western institutions. The competition for such students is heating up among universities worldwide. Yet few Japanese institutions seem to be taking the challenge seriously. One almost senses that they are too preoccupied with plans to merge or consolidate in a bid to survive the decline in domestic enrollment. But the time has come for Japanese administrators to realize that for no matter how they stack up against counterparts overseas, their schools need to be prepared to compete on the field of global university rankings if they are to be considered by top-caliber foreign students interested in studying abroad. At APU, we realized early on that we needed to convince the world of the value of an APU degree if we wanted to become a university of choice for international students. This is why we spent eight years earning accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. That protracted process drove home to each and every faculty member the importance of building global standards into our curriculum, instruction, and governance. Japan as a Gateway to Career Success Why do students who have been accepted into some of the worlds top-ranking universities choose APU? The quality of our programs and degrees is, of course, a key consideration. But another important factor is the international career prospects of APU graduates. An applicant that I interviewed in Indonesia told me that four of his relatives were graduates of APU. Three had found work at prestigious global companiesa major Japanese bank, a top Japanese manufacturer, and a financial institution in Singaporeand one was pursuing graduate studies at a British university. In many of the more popular destination countries, the requirements for obtaining a working visa can be quite stringent, and foreign students typically need at least a masters degree to land a management-track position at a major corporation. In Japan, switching from a student visa to a working visa is relatively easy for university graduates, and foreigners with undergraduate degrees are in high demand. Close to 300 Japanese companies send recruiters to APU each year, and their interest in our international students is palpable. The distinction of having graduated from a Japanese university and worked at a Japanese companyimmersed in Japans unique corporate culturecan be a major plus for those subsequently seeking admission to a prestigious MBA or other postgraduate program. Moreover, at a time when big Japanese corporations have a presence in almost every corner of the world, fluency in Japanese language and culture is a valuable business tool that can significantly enhance ones employability outside of Japan. Especially when career advantages are factored in, Japan truly is a land of opportunity for international students. Reforming Japans Insular Corporate Culture That said, much remains to be done to make Japan a more attractive destination for international university students and graduates. One of the biggest problems to be addressed is the lack of flexibility and diversity in the typical Japanese workplace. From a language standpoint, there is a strong tendency among Japanese employers to equate the academic caliber of international students with their Japanese language proficiency. This emphasis is misguided, inasmuch as English is the standard vehicle of communication for those who would move freely and function effectively in our borderless economy. Japanese proficiency can be a bonus, but it is just one of many options for enhancing ones marketability. In addition to language barriers, there are a host of cultural norms, unspoken rules, and tacit understandings that can hinder full and meaningful participation by foreign employees. Many Japanese companies remain wedded to outdated personnel practices, including the mass hiring of new college graduates in the spring, hiring criteria that place low priority on academic achievement, and placement and promotion predicated on lifetime employment. These practices may have made sense years ago, in the age of mass-production and mass-consumption, but they are out of step with global trends and incompatible with the effective utilization of foreign talent. Still, Japanese businesses cling to an outdated corporate culture and often expect their foreign employees to assimilate to the point of suppressing their own cultural identity. Our companies must begin looking outward and developing the kind of organization that respects and profits from internal diversity. The bottom line is that few Japanese corporations provide an ideal working environment for foreign employers. This may help explain why, in the 2017 World Talent Ranking published by the Swiss business school IMD, Japan ranked a dismal 51 out of 63 countries (and came in lowest of all Asian countries surveyed) in the attractiveness of its business environment to highly skilled foreign personnel. Another reason may be the stodginess of Japanese corporationstheir excessive caution regarding overseas markets and slow response to new trends. This is a common complaint among APU graduates, whose job duties are often tied to overseas market development and expansion. Quality-of-Life Appeal Nonetheless, quite a few foreign graduates of Japanese universities do choose to remain in Japan. After living here a few years, students who came with the intention of returning home with their newly acquired skills and knowledge often decide to stay. Many APU students find employment in Tokyo after graduation, and a growing number marry and settle permanently in the area. This is not solely an economic decision, as quite a few countries offer higher remuneration on average. Rather, it seems to be a quality-of-life issue. Japans urban centers are clean and safe, with advanced physical and social infrastructure and a relatively low cost of living. Our graduates also speak highly of the decorum, courtesy, and mutual trust that characterize interpersonal relations. They may continue to feel a bit like outsiders and chafe at certain social systems, but I have rarely heard complaints about the quality of social services or the environment for raising children. And many of them are grateful to have been hired by organizations giving them meaningful duties on the front lines of business right away. From Japans perspective, it is natural to want international students to stay on after graduation, given the nations dwindling youth population and growing labor shortages. Certainly it makes sense for industry, government, and academia to work together to create an attractive environment for working and living as well as studying. But let us keep in mind that, for that special breed of person who unfolds a map of the world when considering where to attend university, the future abounds with possibilities. As I see it, the mission of an educational institution like ours is to prepare students to build the most rewarding career possible in the best location possible. Of course, we are delighted if they choose to remain in Japan. But it also seems to me that, in this age of globalization, offering top-caliber students learning experiences that they can use to build bridges around the world is one of the best investments Japan can make. (Originally published in Japanese on February 6, 2019. Banner photo: A classroom scene at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University.) James Neiss/staff photographerA look at the Michael C. O'Laughlin Municipal Water Plant on Buffalo Avenue. Members of the water board refused to approve a contract for sewer monitoring required under a consent order with the state DEC on Monday. Niagara Falls, NY (14301) Today Scattered showers and thunderstorms. High 83F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 63F. WSW winds shifting to NNW at 10 to 15 mph. This is probably not the reception Gov. Ned Lamonts administration was expecting when his economic team was announced. State Senate President Martin Looney this week declined to commit support for former Goldman Sachs partner David Lehman when his confirmation as the states top economic development official comes up. This came after a hearing that focused on the nominees past work in the financial industry and its links to the 2008 economic crash. It was a month ago that Lamont announced with great fanfare the team of Lehman, former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi and former Webster Bank head Jim Smith to lead the states economic recovery. Lehman is to lead the Department of Economic and Community Development, while Nooyi and Smith would head the nonprofit Connecticut Economic Resource Center in a public-private partnership with DECD. The move seemed like an example of Lamonts business ties, along with his Greenwich address, paying off for the state. As an added bonus, Lehman said he wouldnt take a salary to lead DECD as he stepped away from Wall Street at only 41 years old to work for the betterment of Connecticuts economy. About a week later, in a column by Hearst Connecticut Media writer Colin McEnroe, the state learned a bit more about Lehmans work at Goldman Sachs with what are called Collateralized Debt Obligations. Its a complicated story, but at heart its about a slew of toxic assets that were portrayed as something else entirely. As McEnroe put it, Goldman told some people these were good investments while they themselves were treating them as bad investments. Lehman was one of two co-chairs of the department running the system. Lehman testified before the state Senate this week, and he was asked many questions about his Goldman tenure. Some lawmakers seemed satisfied with his answers, others not as much. Lehman himself says he has a clear conscience. Any suggestion that I knew a product was going to be worthless and subsequently sold it to a client is completely and wholly untrue, he said, and the Lamont team is standing with him. Its unlikely Lehmans nomination, which requires approval from the Senate only, will not go through. Still, senators are right to refrain from rushing through his confirmation. Theres likely some frustration that goes beyond the nominee and centers on a Greenwich-based policymaking team embarking on a plan to solve our economic woes by, among other things, charging people tolls to drive to work while levying a tax on textbooks and haircuts. But beyond that, Lehmans role at Goldman Sachs in relation to the financial crisis demands scrutiny. I just think due diligence on the part of the General Assembly requires a careful analysis of someone who arguably had a role or at least was involved in the activities relevant to that crisis, Looney said. As they ponder their vote, lawmakers may want to consider that, more than a decade later, the state has yet to recover all the jobs it lost during the Great Recession. Joe Cuba is going to need a bigger mailbox. Birthday cards from around the world have been pouring into Brookdale Midwestern retirement community in Wichita Falls, Texas all for the WWII veteran pushing the century mark. Last week, Cuba had a photo taken and posted to social media holding a sign from his wheelchair saying he wanted to receive 100 birthday cards for his 100th birthday on March 2. Since then, staff members said more than 10,000 cards have been delivered to the home, as well as gifts that Cuba will soon open. Cassandra Gore, the resident programs coordinator at the home, said Cuba has received gifts from countries including Australia, Italy, Germany, Poland and Ireland. "Joe continues to be amazed with everyone's generosity," read a recent post on the home's Facebook page. "Keep the cards coming as we celebrate a 100 years with GI Joe." Stephanie Veitenheimer, the sales manager for Brookdale Midwestern who took the photo, told the Wichita Falls Times Record News that she's been handling calls from Fox News, military organizations and teachers asking how they can help Cuba celebrate. Medical equipment companies have also reached out to Cuba to see if he needs any equipment for his birthday, according to the Record News. Anyone interested in sending Cuba a birthday card can use this address: Joe Cuba 918 Midwestern Parkway Wichita Falls, Texas 76302 A 29-year-old man faces several charges, accused of leaving two young children home alone while he bought cigarettes and went to a nearby casino. Jarad Elsen faces two counts of criminal confinement and two counts of neglect in connection with an incident Friday in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Two young children 1 and 3 years old were found wandering the streets of Lawrenceburg, Dearborn County Prosecutor Lynn Deddens said. The children were not properly clothed, Deddens said, and the 3-year-old girl was wearing only a top, a purple jacket, one sock and one sandal. A neighbor told investigators that the children may live at a home on nearby St. Clair Street. Authorities said they found a home with the door ajar and no one home. They then found photos of the young children inside. Police described the home as being in a state of disrepair inside, Deddens said, with trash on the floor and opened food on the kitchen floor. Police said they found a phone number for the owner of the home while in the residence. The homeowner the mother of the children -- stated that she was at work, the prosecutor said, and advised authorities that Elsen was supposed to be watching the children. She immediately left work, giving Elsen's phone number to police. When investigators made contact with Elsen, he told police that he left the home to get cigarettes while the children were asleep. He then walked back home, investigators said, and after staying for 10 minutes, left again to go to Hollywood Casino. Elsen told police he zip-tied gates in the hallway to keep the children from leaving their rooms. Elsen was arrested and is being held in the Dearborn County Jail. Connecticut State Police photo ROCKY HILL A 32-year-old West Haven man is accused of fraudulently obtaining and then selling numerous smart phones and tablets while working at AT&T in Rocky Hill, police said. Jose Luis Lopez, of 2nd Avenue, turned himself in to state police Troop I on a warrant charging him with first-degree larceny. NEW HAVEN A tree grows in Wooster Square. Actually, 19 of them are growing on Union Street, which includes a mini-grove at the corner of Fair Street that developers for a proposed apartment and townhouse complex say are stressed, diseased or wont survive the construction process. The developers, Adam America Real Estate and Epimoni, have approval to erect 299 apartments at 87 Union St., that will include four 3-bedroom townhouses around the corner on Fair Street. They have tagged the 19 trees along Union Street, across from the popular dog park, to be removed, prompting a public hearing on the matter. Michael Hunton, a landscape architect with Langan, the engineering company on the project, told the dozen residents at the hearing that he found a lot of die-back, damaged bark, moss growing on some and severe cutting of others by United Illuminating to protect the utility wires. Hunton said the multiple symptoms led them to the decision to remove and replace them with trees that are 4 inches, 6 inches and 8 inches in diameter that will be better clustered with deep pits for maximum growth. Hunton said a 6-inch tree will grow to 35 feet and will provide a good canopy for Union Street. The specifics of the tree sizes have already been approved as part of the site plan. The hearing was called by Rebecca Bombero, director of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Trees, as well as the tree warden for the city. If the developer were simply removing them, they would have to pay the city an estimated $40,000, but the plan is to replace them as part of their landscaping. We try to replace our canopy as best we can, Bombero said. David Steinhardt, who also attended the hearing, said he hopes the project moves forward and he praised the way the developer was engaging the community. He said he would be watching to make sure the new trees measure up to what is promised. Bombero is keeping the public hearing open for two more days and will make her decision known Friday. Peter Antoniou, project manager, said as soon as they get approval they will take down the trees and put up a construction fence. Asbestos will then be removed from the Torroco Plumbing and Supply company buildings currently on the site before they are demolished. This portion of the project is estimated to take about nine weeks. Chris Ozyck, associate director of the Urban Resources Initiative, one of the interested residents, said there are two champion oaks in the right of way that have not been tagged for removal that he hopes can be preserved. They dont have any deficits, Ozyck said. If the developer determines those trees have to go because of being too close to the apartments, they will have to come back for a separate hearing. There was some discussion of moving the oaks, but that is an expensive proposition. Anstress Farwell, head of the New Haven Urban Design League, was also concerned as to what happens long-term, if the irrigation system the developers are contemplating installing were to break down. Hunton said there is no final decision on whether it will be installed. Ozyck said he also would like the company to reevaluate an oak and a sweet gum tree at the corner of Fair Street that are in close proximity to where the new trees are to be planted. Ozyck said it is nice to have a mix of new and older trees that pay homage to the history of the current sites that were likely planted in the 1960s under Urban Renewal. But overall, Ozyck said he was onboard with the proposal. I like the plan that they are doing. I like the concepts and the city has requested to replace them with a certain size, so I dont have any issues with that aspect, Ozyck said. mary.oleary@hearstmediact.com; 203-641-2577 NEW HAVEN School board members are working on a policy that aims to prevent fiscal irresponsibility and cronyism. Led by board member Ed Joyner, the Board of Educations Governance Committee recently reviewed a third draft of a policy that would establish a contract procurement process meant to standardize how the district vets and approves contracted services for schools. We award a lot of no-bid contracts to people as if theyre sole-source vendors, which they are not, Joyner said. Joyner repeatedly has mentioned his desire to see contractors offering qualitative services provide demonstrated evidence of success. He said many contracts approved by the district appear to duplicate services already being offered by school staff or existing contracts, and the district is not relying enough on its professional staff to provide services such as mentoring, tutoring and counseling after school hours. He also criticized the dearth of professionals in central office who monitor and evaluate contracted services. The real problem is the public does not perceive this as a fair process, he said. At the school boards recent full meeting, parents organized under the name NHPS Advocates criticized the decision to name a Harvard University data-focused training program as the recipient of $114,000 in grant funds. Although the program, Data Wise, was named in the districts plan with the state on the spending of the grant funds, parents said it does not directly support classroom learning. We are worried about an expansion of corporate school management, said parent Jill Kelly. Given that Hartford Public Schools have been using the Data Wise program, what are specific examples of improvement? According to state data, Hartfords overall reading performance index fell from 53.8 in 2015-16 to 52.4 in 2017-18, although its math performance index rose from 46.7 to 47.8 in that time period. Ultimately, the school board tabled the contract, with Mayor Toni Harp arguing that the $144,000 in funding could more easily support the initial hiring of a full-time employee to manage data. It was the sort of contract Joyner said a policy would evaluate more rigorously. He also said collegiality is an issue, referencing how it was state officials who recommended Family Urban Schools of Excellence to districts. In 2014, it came to light that the companys executive director Michael Sharpe had served jail time for embezzlement. We need to have a serious check system, Joyner said. We cant just take a person because they say they do this and that. Contracts have to align with our goals. Joyner said he hopes to have a finalized policy prepared by the end of March. brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com NEW HAVEN A local program that aims to reduce violence among young people will continue under different management, officials said Wednesday. The Street Outreach Worker Program has sent case managers to work with at-risk youths ages 13 to 21 to give them support and mentorship, as a way to try to reduce violence and retaliation in the community. Since 2006, the program was operated by the New Haven Family Alliance, which recently underwent changes in management. Officials Wednesday announced a $160,000 contract was awarded to the Connecticut Violence Intervention Program to operate in New Haven next year. I think its a new day and a great day, because the city can hold onto a contract, said Jason Bartlett, director of the citys youth services department. Bartlett said the city is committing $50,000 to the program for the remainder of the year. The program is designed to address the individual needs of disenfranchised and at-risk youths, connecting them with resources, case management and supports they may need. Additionally, outreach workers form relationships with the youths involved. According to the Connecticut Violence Intervention Program, the outreach program provided services to 146 school-aged youths in 2018; from that group, it reported 111 advanced to the next grade. According to the citys purchasing department, the contract bid offered up to $174,000 in a partnership between the Youth Services Department and the Board of Education. However, Bartlett said the school board had not contributed any funding to the contract and the New Haven Family Alliance did not respond to the bid. Board of Education President Darnell Goldson said he supports any program that meets students where they are and encourages them, but he was surprised that no school officials were included in Wednesdays announcement or informed ahead of time. Superintendent of Schools Carol Birks did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In previous years, Bartlett said, the school boards contribution to the program was around $75,000. In December, the school board tabled a contract for the outreach worker program amid a relationship breakdown with Integrated Wellness Group, which was in talks to acquire the program from the New Haven Family Alliance. Mayor Toni Harp, who sits on the school board, said she would like to see the school board support any program that supports children. I see this as an important component of the work New Haven Public Schools has done, she said. Bartlett said the outreach program had faced obstacles related to financial sustainability in the past, but the city currently has a written memorandum of understanding with Yale New Haven Hospital, as both parties see youth violence as what Harp called a public health epidemic. Were very proud of the proactive efforts underway, Harp said. Leonard Jahad, executive director of the Connecticut Violence Intervention Program, said the program is intent on expanding. Last year, the program launched in Hamden as well. The program in Hamden has been successful for the last year, said Hamden Mayor Curt Leng. We have a community with an imaginary border. New Haven police Lt. Karl Jacobson, supervisor of the departments criminal intelligence unit, said officials recognize youth violence cannot be solved with arrests alone, and the outreach workers are an ally in the work of reducing violence. They help us get to parts of the community we cant get to, he said. We had 50 nonfatal shootings last year. Thats amazing. Still too much, but amazing. In 2017, the department reported 61 nonfatal shootings. However, this January alone there had been eight shootings in the Elm City. Although the announcement was made that the program was expanding, officials said the program is currently looking to expand, citing the partnerships with the hospital and town of Hamden, as well as an intention to hire more outreach workers and to provide them with more mental health services. Our street outreach workers face trauma. When you go to a shooting and youre there, youre traumatized, Bartlett said. An attempt to reach the New Haven Family Alliance was unsuccessful. brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com NEW HAVEN The Board of Alders aims to clear up voter confusion. According to the alders City Services and Environmental Policy Committee meeting agenda for Thursday, there is a call for a public hearing to address issues such as the citys voting process, including election day registration. Last November, a Superior Court judge had to rule late on election day that about 64 state residents caught in same-day registration chaos at City Hall could vote, despite that their ballots were set aside until a challenge to the process went to a hearing the next day. The Connecticut Republican Party had gone to court election night to challenge that mainly Yale students, who were sworn in by election officials after filling out voter registration applications and allowed to cast a ballot, but who had not yet been entered into the secretary of the states database. From 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. that day, hundreds of people wound their way around the atrium on the second floor of City Hall as they went through three lines to cast a ballot, with many waiting some four hours to do so. The delay was partly attributed to problems with voting machines in several wards that day and the complications of registering almost 700 residents through the same-day registration process The main holdup, which was the same problem that occurred in two previous elections, was the decision to have only two people entering the registrations into the secretary of the states database. By the next day, the legal challenge to the process used in New Haven to register the 64 voters through the Election Day Registration process was dropped. Liz DeMatteo, the Democratic deputy registrar, said at the time that the way to avoid problems in the future was to recruit more volunteers to process the same-day registrants, a recommendation that has been made by others when there was chaos in previous elections. The alders further also want to discuss the assignment of voting at polling places citywide, and the possibility of implementing practices to alleviate unnecessary voter confusion, as well as to include general discussion of the citys voting process.. The committee will discuss the call for the hearing at a meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday in the aldermanic chambers at City Hall. (the meeting is not a hearing) Oh, baby! Gerber on Tuesday announced Kairi Yang as its 2019 "spokesbaby" the winner of its ninth annual Gerber Baby Photo Contest. "As soon as we saw her photo, we fell in love with Kairi's expressive eyes and angelic face, looking toward the future and being excited for all that it holds," Gerber President and CEO Bill Partyka said in a press release. Kairi, of Hickory, North Carolina, was introduced to the world on the "Today" show. She was chosen among 544,000 entries a record number, the company said. As the face of Gerber for the next year, Kairi will be featured on the company's social media channels. Her family will receive $50,000. Kairi is the first baby of Hmong descent to be chosen as the Gerber baby. Hmong is an ethnic group in Southeast Asia and China. "When we first found out Kairi won, we were speechless and couldn't believe it. We are beyond thrilled that our sweet Kairi is Gerber's 2019 Spokesbaby," said Kairi's mom, Ying Vue. "Kairi's personality is larger than life, and she always maintains a spunky attitude. We hope Kairi's one-of-a-kind, entertaining personality and vibrant facial expressions radiate positivity around the world, just like she does in our home every single day. Kairi isn't the first Gerber baby to make history. Lucas Warren was the company's first baby with Down syndrome. He served as an honorary judge for this year's search. "It's been an incredible year celebrating our 2018 Spokesbaby Lucas Warren and his family, and we are excited to see the world fall in love all over again with our newest 'spokesbaby,'" Partyka said. Gerber's photo search content began in 2010. The company says the contest was inspired by the countless photos received over the years of parents who see their babies in Gerber's iconic baby logo. Gerber's logo continues to feature the original Gerber baby, Ann Turner Cook. The image is a charcoal drawing of of Cook, who turned 92 in November, when she was 5 months old. She was announced as the Gerber baby in 1928. NEW HAVEN Luis Noel Cruz was sentenced to life in prison in September 1995 for murdering two New Haven men in Bridgeport while a member of the Latin Kings. According to a New Haven Register report at the time Cruz and others were found guilty, the federal jury convicted nine Latin Kings of racketeering, murder and drug trafficking in New Haven and Bridgeport, formally ending the reign of Connecticuts deadliest gang. But now, in light of new scientific thought about the age at which ones mind becomes fully mature and his model conduct in prison he eventually may be able to walk free . U.S. District Court Judge Janet C. Hall re-sentenced Cruz Tuesday to 35 years in prison. Her decision followed the Supreme Courts 2012 decision in Miller v. Alabama. In that case, the court found that imposing a life sentence to a juvenile convicted of murder violates the Eight Amendment unless the adolescents crime represents irreparable corruption. In that case, the court noted evidence that the minds of juveniles have not fully developed they are thus more susceptible to the pressures of their upbringing, less reasoned in their decision-making, and more capable of change. Hall extended this precedent and reasoning to Cruz and thus, others who were 18 at the time of their crimes with her decision Tuesday. She had previously granted a petition for habeas corpus filed by Cruz and defense attorney W. Theodore Koch III in March, finding that the principle underlying Miller extended to adolescent offenders more generally including Cruz, 18 and 20 at the time of the crimes. As viewed through this standard, Cruzs case did not represent irreparable depravity, Hall said. His capacity to be rehabilitated was proven, rather than an open-ended question, she said. He has been a model prisoner, earning just one disciplinary ticket and obtaining his paralegal certificate. No one can doubt that Mr. Cruz committed two vicious murders vicious murders, said Hall. Hes indisputably matured. The 35-year sentence was in line with others handed down during the re-sentencing of juvenile offenders, Hall said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Stolfi Collins argued that Hall should impose a life sentence without the possibility of parole, as was originally the case. She said the age at which the brain fully matures described as between 18 and 24 is subjective. She said Cruz was a high school graduate at the time of the crimes. He then went on to reform his behavior quickly in prison and became a jailhouse lawyer, filing several habeas petitions over the years and potentially tailoring his testimony to fit with Miller. Given his intelligence, Cruz was mature enough at 18 to bear the full weight of responsibility for the murders, Stolfi Collins argued. A life sentence is the only just sentence for taking two lives, said Stolfi Collins. The (families) and society deserve a just punishment, regardless of the Miller factors. Family members of Tyler White, whom Cruz shot twice in the back of the head in May 1994, echoed this reasoning and testified to the pain that Cruz had caused them. Nancy White, Tylers stepmother, spoke to the unending anger, grief, emptiness and an overwhelming sorrow that continues to affect their family to this day. She said that every supposedly happy occasion is colored by his absence; his father rarely has a night of peace, consumed by nightmares and the thought he failed to protect his son; his daughter grew up without him. Tyler was a young man with his future ahead of him, she said. Cruz took that away. The truth Tylers truth must be honored, said Nancy White. Tyler must be heard. Koch III compared Cruz, although more culpable, had walked a similar path to child soldiers. Cruz had been forced to fully reckon with the consequences of his actions while in prison, Koch said, and come out as a mature person, fully remorseful for his choices. He and Dr. Jozlyn Hall, a mitigation specialist who met with him, said Cruz was not a threat to re-offend. Hes had to make this alchemistical transformation of his soul while hes been locked up, said Koch. Cruz and his mother, Nitza, both apologized and asked for forgiveness from families of White and Arosmo Rara Diaz, whom Cruz held down while he was shot by another Latin King. Cruz said he was no longer that stupid, close-minded kid who hurt so many with his actions. He said, if released, he would seek to work with at-risk youths and become an attorney. In that way, he could strive to make up for some small fraction of the pain he caused, he said. I know that nothing I do is going to give back what I took, said Cruz. (M)y hope is that would become even the smallest consolation. John H. Durham, U.S. attorney for the district of Connecticut, said his office would consider an appeal. We appreciate Judge Halls thorough review of this matter, but we respectfully disagree with the revised sentence and will be communicating with the Department of Justice as we consider an appeal, Durham said in a statement. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com EAST HAVEN The Board of Education voted to deny the grievance brought by Catherine Finkle, former director of the Little Jackets preschool program, according to Chairwoman Michele DeLucia. Finkle was seeking to be restored to the position, arguing that she had not been fired for just cause, DeLucia said. DeLucia said the board voted 6-2 late Wednesday to deny the grievance, with Thomas Hennessey and Lisa Geraci-Anastasio in the minority. Board member John Finkle III, Catherine Finkles husband, was not in attendance. The hearing was held in open session, DeLucia noted. Superintendent of Schools Erica Forti fired Catherine Finkle in a letter dated Nov. 8, 2018, according to past Register reporting. Also according to past reporting, Forti said in the letter that she found Finkle to be not fully forthcoming, and her responses inconsistent or inaccurate, during an October pre-disciplinary meeting when the findings of an external audit were discussed. The superintendent also alleged that Finkle filled out timesheets for her daughters, who both worked for the Little Jackets program, and forged their signatures, in violation of policies and protocols. In her termination letter, Forti accused Finkle of failing to satisfy her responsibilities to manage the programs finances. The forensic accountants found that, under your leadership, a shortfall of $31,786 existed in a two-year period between payments received and deposits made, Forti wrote. You could not explain this shortfall. The Federal Bureau of Investigation launched a probe into the shortfall and subpoenaed records of the East Haven Public Schools Little Jackets program and emails from both Finkles and former schools Business Manager James N. Farrell. John Finkle was arrested and charged earlier this month in a separate case. Along with two other men, he allegedly defrauded an Illinois company of $1.5 million, according to the Connecticut U.S. attorneys office. Catherine Finkle could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday; the line to her and her husbands home was repeatedly busy. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com ALBANY Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy announced Wednesday that the county has expanded a federal lawsuit against opioid manufacturers to include distributors, as well. The expansion means Albany County is now going after major pharmaceutical distributors such as Rite Aid, CVS and Walgreens, that order large quantities of drugs from manufacturers and then distribute them to pharmacies, health care providers and other end-users. The lawsuit alleges gross negligence on the part of these companies, arguing they ignored warning signs that an intentional oversupply of opioid pain pills was being diverted into the illicit drug market. Under federal and state law, these companies are obligated to maintain effective controls against diversion and to design and operate a system to disclose suspicious orders, the suit says. "With this new litigation we're saying that the distributors of opioids, like CVS and Walgreens, do not get to wash their hands of this public health crisis," McCoy said. "Just the opposite, we're alleging that they are equally responsible as the manufacturers and must be held accountable." The complaint was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, but is expected to transfer to a federal court in Ohio that has been given jurisdiction over more than 1,700 similar complaints filed nationwide. The multi-district litigation, or MDL, has been filed on behalf of cities, counties, towns, tribal nations and other municipalities nationwide. (View the complaint here) Albany County first announced it was going after opioid manufacturers last January. It filed a complaint against drugmakers Purdue, Teva, Janssen and Endo, alleging they grossly misrepresented the risks of long-term use of opioids in order to make more money. The complaint filed Wednesday now adds distributors to the mix, and names as defendants: Walgreens Boots Alliance; CVS Health Corporation; Rite Aid Corporation; Rite Aid of Maryland, Inc; H.D. Smith Wholesale Drug Co; Rochester Drug Co-operative, Inc; Cardinal Health, Inc; Kinray, LLC; McKesson Corporation; and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation, among others. The Healthcare Distribution Alliance, a national organization representing pharmaceutical distributors, responded to the lawsuit Wednesday by emphasizing that distributors in no way drive demand for drugs, and are simply "logistics experts" for getting the medicines out to market. "Given our role, the idea that distributors are responsible for the number of opioid prescriptions written defies common sense and lacks understanding of how the pharmaceutical supply chain actually works and is regulated," said John Parker, a spokesman for the group. "Those bringing lawsuits would be better served addressing the root causes, rather than trying to redirect blame through litigation." Donald Migliori, a partner with Motley Rice, the South Carolina firm handling the county's complaint and hundreds of others, said the litigation is not just seeking compensation for municipalities that have borne the costs of the overdose epidemic, but is calling on drugmakers and distributors to help fix the deeper issues that led to it in the first place. The case heads to trial this October and will be heard in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in Cleveland. Attorneys have so far unearthed 120 millions pages of discovery and taken hundreds of depositions, Migliori said. Dozens of other municipalities around New York, including the state itself, have filed suits against opioid manufacturers and distributors for their role in the opioid epidemic. Many of those complaints have been filed in state courts, where they will be combined and heard in Suffolk County Supreme Court. In 2017, there were 39 overdose deaths attributable to opioids in Albany County, up from 28 the year before. From 2014 to 2016, more than 140,000 opioid prescriptions were reported in Albany County, which has an estimated population of 309,053. (CNN) Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said his country will "spare no effort" to host a successful summit between North Korea and the United States because in the end, it would be less costly than a war. "For the peace of the world, for a connected and developed world, let's shake hands. We shall develop together and contribute to global stability," Nguyen told CNN. In an international exclusive interview with CNN, Nguyen the second in line of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party -- said that the country hopes to play more than just host to US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but rather prove itself as an example of the benefits of peace, reconciliation and market liberalization. Kim arrived in Vietnam Tuesday after a two-and-a-half day train trip to the country. He was welcomed by Vietnamese officials and a guard of honor in the border city of Dong Dang. Kim then got into his Mercedes and headed to Hanoi, where he will meet Trump Wednesday and Thursday. Trump arrived in the city Tuesday night. The country is expected to reap some economic and public relations benefits by hosting the diplomatic event, and it is openly embracing its role as host. North Korean, US and Vietnamese flag displays can be seen throughout the city, and its vendors are selling shirts emblazoned with Kim and Trump's faces in addition to their usual fare. Nguyen said Vietnam's war-torn history is an important motivator in hosting the event: "Vietnam is doing her best to successfully organize the second US-DPRK summit in Hanoi. It's a historic moment in the path toward reconciliation and peace-making on the Korean peninsula. That is a very important commitment and responsibility for us." The prime minister added: "We deeply appreciate the meaning of peace and reconciliation. Contributing towards peace is a responsibility of each nation in this day and age." Vietnam is believed to have been chosen as the host of the summit for both practical and symbolic reasons. The country is accessible by train from North Korea and maintains diplomatic relations with Pyongyang. Kim visited his country's embassy in Hanoi shortly after arriving in the Vietnamese capital. But Vietnam also is a powerful symbol for those trying to sell North Korea on giving up its nuclear weapons in exchange for US help to develop its economy. Hanoi has undergone a "remarkable" transformation, as the World Bank puts it, since embracing market liberalization in the 1980s without ceding political authority. The Trump administration is expected to try to convince Kim to embrace an economic model similar to Vietnam's, but it's unclear how receptive Kim will be. Vietnam's changed relationship with the United States is another point of pride that Nguyen said he hoped North Korea could find inspiration in. The prime minister had close family fight and die in the war against the United States. When asked about his personal experience, Nguyen demurred. He said it was important not to dwell on the past. "We don't forget our past, our history, but we need (closure) in order to look to the future. We need such mutual understanding to build our nations in peace, to better solve the problems in the lives of our citizens," he said. "Millions of Vietnamese died throughout years of resistance wars to protect the country, our independence and freedom. More than ever, we value peace, based on mutual respect for each others' independence and sovereignty." Nguyen did not spend much time discussing the points of contention between Vietnam and North Korea, and appeared to play down tensions with Pyongyang over a Vietnamese citizen's alleged involvement in the killing of Kim's half-brother, Kim Jong Nam in Malaysia in February 2017. South Korea and Malaysia blamed North Korea for the killing, which Pyongyang vehemently denies. Two women, one Vietnamese and one Indonesian, are on trial for the crime. When asked about reports that North Korean officials "expressed regret" that the Vietnamese woman was charged, the prime minister avoided the topic. "This is an issue of the law. We also care about protecting the rights of our citizens, but both countries will discuss this specifically at a later time, not during this period," he said. The Vietnamese woman accused of the crime, Doan Thi Huong, claims she was duped by North Korean agents. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Vietnam's history holds lessons for Trump and Kim ahead of summit, PM says." HAMDEN Town police responded to a series of car break-ins this week, according to Capt. Ronald Smith. Officers responded to the area of Worth Avenue and Centerbrook Road on Monday as numerous larcenies from motor vehicles were reported, police said. And investigation revealed that at least four vehicles were forcibly entered and that one vehicle was stolen, police said. Numerous items were stolen, including money and jewelry, Smith said. A witness reported seeing five to seven people trying to get into cars around 3:30 a.m., Smith said. Hamden Police would like to advise residents to take several precautions, Smith said in the release. Vehicles should be parked in an area that is illuminated. Vehicles should be locked at all times. It is extremely important to remove all valuables from inside of the vehicle, including small change. Residents are encouraged to contact the Hamden Police Department at 203-230-4000 whenever suspicious activity is observed, police said. NEW HAVEN Long before she allegedly drowned her two children in a bathtub, LeRoya Moore behaved violently toward domestic partners, killed a cat, tried to stab her teacher with a pair of scissors and hit three members of her foster care family, according to testimony Tuesday from a psychiatrist hired by the defense team. In cross-examining Dr. Paul Amble, New Haven States Attorney Patrick Griffin sought to show a three-judge panel that Moore has shown a lifetime of aggressive behavior, perhaps while not being psychotic. Moores defense team is seeking to prove she is not guilty on two counts of murder because she was, as Amble asserted, in a psychotic state at the time of the childrens deaths in May 2015 at their East Haven home. Amble, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, had testified Monday that Moore could not appreciate that what she was doing was wrong, nor could she control her conduct. But Griffin, who began his cross-examination Monday afternoon, asked multiple skeptical questions about Moores state of mind during the period of the homicides and other points of her life. Griffin Tuesday asked Amble whether Moore, now 39, has exhibited aggressive behavior throughout her life. Amble recalled Moore telling him she had repeatedly tried to kill herself and threatened to stab her sixth-grade teacher with scissors. Griffin then asked: Does she have a history of hurting her children? Does she have a history of hurting animals? Does she have a history of violent behavior with her domestic partners? Three times Amble replied, Yes. Amble said Moore recounted a fight that occurred when she was about 17, living with a foster family. Miss Moore thought her child shouldnt have his hair washed every day. The foster mom said, Yes, he does. An argument ensued. She (Moore) slapped the younger brother, hit the sister and mother in the face. Was she psychotic then? Griffin asked. Amble said he couldnt answer that. Amble testified Moore told him that while she was living in the foster home, she attacked the familys cat because the cat had eaten her food when she (Moore) was hungry. And she then killed the cat. The cat was on the dinner table, Amble said. She threw it off the table and threw it against the wall. Then she hung it in a closet and later dumped it in a schoolyard in Orange. She said she did not like the cat, Amble added. Amble had testified Moore reported being repeatedly sexually assaulted by an older boy, starting while she was 5 or 6 years old and continuing until she was 9 or 10. Amble said he believed this resulted in Moore being an angry and depressed person throughout her life. He diagnosed her as suffering from schizoaffective disorder. Griffin asked Amble whether he had been able to corroborate Moores report of the sexual assaults. Amble said it was in Yale New Haven Hospital records. But when Griffin asked whether this was based on what Moore had self-reported, Amble said that was correct. Griffin repeatedly asked Amble about the diagnosis of schizo affective disorder: Is that controversial because its hard to diagnose? Amble agreed there has been some controversy about it because it includes many symptoms. Griffin also noted that when doctors at the Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital transferred Moore to the state Department of Correction after eight days of treatment, they diagnosed her as having a psychosis not otherwise specified. Amble agreed the Yale staff had ruled out that she suffered from schizophrenia and also ruled out schizoaffective disorder. Griffin followed up on Ambles testimony from Monday that Moore had suffered from stressors at the time of the homicides, including being served a warrant for allegedly assaulting her husband. Amble said Moore told him she interpreted the negative events as Gods sign she should kill herself and her children in order to join God in Heaven. But Griffin asked: Is is possible the stressors that drove her into this state was knowing she had just murdered her children? Amble disagreed, saying she had had hallucinations before their deaths. Looking at the bodies of her dead children could drive her into a psychotic state? Griffin asked. Amble conceded this could happen. They had been dead for several days before they were discovered? Griffin asked. Amble said this was true; she told him the kids died May 28 but police didnt find the bodies until June 2. What is her attitude toward the deaths of her children today? Griffin asked. Amble said, Shes glad that her children are in Heaven. When Griffin asked whether Moore feels guilty about their deaths, Amble said, She feels guilt over not killing herself. He added, She really questions whether she heard the message correctly that this was Gods plan. Amble acknowledged that Moores account to him differed in some aspects from what she told the psychiatrist hired by the state to evaluate her. For example, Moore told the other psychiatrist that during the days surrounding the homicides she drank a significant amount of alcohol, including Southern Comfort, vodka and Patron tequila. She said she combined this with medication in an effort to kill herself. Amble said Moore told him she didnt drink alcohol at that time. But he said, Its conceivable she could have been drinking alcohol while at home. Amble agreed with Griffin when the prosecutor asked whether a person who consumes alcohol could mimic symptoms of psychosis. Amble told Griffin he knew that an associate in the state medical examiners office had determined the cause of death for Aleisha Moore, 6, was acute intoxication of diphenhydramine and alcohol. Daaron Moore, 7, died from acute intoxication of diphenhydramine, the associate said. Moore told Amble she wanted to sedate her children before baptizing them in the bathtub. Griffin noted that it wasnt until Ambles sixth and final interview with Moore, in October 2018, that she told him she had heard the voice of God directing her to kill herself and her children. The timing of this is significant, Griffin said. She was on the eve of her trial. Did it trouble you that this might be fabricated? Griffin asked. Amble replied: She described it in a way that was consistent with how other people have hallucinations. randall.beach@hearstmediact.com Connecticuts real estate market was hit hard in January, with single-family home sales hitting their lowest level for the month in a decade, according to the latest data from the Massachusetts-based Warren Group. There were 1,835 single-family homes sold last month in Connecticut, a 14.5 percent decrease from January 2018. That is the largest percent decrease in such sales in the state since January 2009, when Connecticut was in the midst of a recession and the housing market saw a 35.3 percent decline. Timothy Warren, chief executive officer of The Warren Group, said the steep decline in single-family home sales last month wasnt entirely unexpected. Last year the number of home sales fell in nine of 12 months and for the entire year sales fell by 1.9 percent, Warren said. However, no month in 2018 had a decline approaching the 14.5 percent decline that we saw last month. Homeowners and prospective buyers are standing fast with their current living quarters. The median sale price of a single-family home in Connecticut last month was $235,000, a drop of 0.4 percent, or $1,000, compared to January 2018. Donald Klepper-Smith, chief economist and director of research for New Haven-based DataCore Partners, said the January housing sales data is further evidence that the Connecticut housing market pretty much peaked in 2018. The labor market fundamentals are soft right now, Klepper-Smith said. The labor market is a function of the housing market and right now, theres no traction in the labor market. Condominium sales in the state also were down significantly, falling 17.6 percent last month with 519 transactions. The median sale price for condominiums was the lone bright spot in January, increasing 2 percent to $153,000. That is the highest January median sale price for Connecticut condominiums since 2015, Warren said. Despite the increase, the median sale price is still well below the peak price of $191,000 seen in January 2006, he said. New Haven Countys median single-family home sale price was down 7.4 percent or $16,250 to $196,500 last month compared to January 2018, according to Warren. New Haven County condominium sales were down 10.7 percent in January compared the same period a year ago. The median sale price for condominiums in New Haven County increased by 6.7 percent, or $7,500, to $120,000. Middlesex Countys housing market was the hardest hit in the state in terms of a percentage decrease for single-family home sales, off 19 percent last month compared to January 2018. The single-family housing market in New Haven and Litchfield counties also was hit hard last month. Single-family home sales fell 18.7 percent in New Haven County and 18.8 percent in Litchfield County. Median sale prices for single-family homes in Litchfield and Middlesex counties rose in January. The median sale price in Middlesex County was up 9.9 percent, or $24,500, to $271,500; in Litchfield County it increased by 5.2 percent, or $11,000, to $221,000. luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com India and Pakistan are using airstrikes against each other and both also shot down each others fighter jets on Wednesday. Pakistan captured an Indian pilot. These are the first air strikes they have exchanged since 1971. Pakistan and Indian ground forces have exchanged fire in more than a dozen locations. A suicide car bombing on February 14, by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police has triggered recent fighting and tension. Yesterday, India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base. A senior Indian government source said that 300 militants were killed in Tuesdays strike. Pakistan says no one was killed. Counting the 40 paramilitary casualties and assuming 300 militant casualties and if there were 100 casualties from the dozen ground force fighting then this would already be about 20-25% of the deaths in the last war in 1999. India will have Parliamentary elections in May. Indias Prime Minister Modi will not be able to look weak in his response to Pakistan. There is no possibility of a real military victory by either side. India does not want to take over Pakistan and Pakistan does not want to take over India. Most of Pakistan and India might even be happy to wall off the entire border areas and let the tribes and groups fight it out. However, they do not want the other side to successfully claim any territory. The fighting could last through the elections in May. The Last Full War in 1999 The 1999 Kargil War was a three-month war between India and Pakistan in Kashmir. Each side lost in the range of 1000 casualties. Pakistan had infiltrated and occupied Indian territory. India mobilized 200,000 troops but mainly used 20,000 to push out the 5000 Pakistan forces. Following the outbreak of armed fighting, Pakistan sought American help in de-escalating the conflict. Bruce Riedel, who was then an aide to President Bill Clinton, reported that US intelligence had imaged Pakistani movements of nuclear weapons to forward deployments for fear of the Kargil hostilities escalating into a wider conflict. However, President Clinton refused to intervene until Pakistan had removed all forces from the Indian side of the Line of Control, Following the Washington accord of 4 July 1999, Pakistani troops withdrew. The United Jihad Council (an umbrella for extremist groups) rejected Pakistans plan and chose to continue fighting. There has been fighting in Kashmir and Punjab for the past thirty years. There are wide variances in the casualty estimates. Wikipedia has casualty estimates are 20,000 to 100,000. The casualty estimates do not include Pakistan terrorists killing citizens of Pakistan. In a video below Abhijit Iyer indicates that 45,000-65,000 Indian civilians were killed and 17,000 military and police. Abhijit indicates 55,000 Pakistani died from 2008 to 2018 from internal terrorism. Wikipedia indicates over 20,000 Pakistani militants have been killed by India. Indo-Pakistan War 1971 The 1971 Indo-Pakistan war was on the eastern side of India and involved what would become Bangladesh. 675,000 India forces fought 365,000 Pakistan forces. 2500-3900 Indian casualties and 9000 Pakistan deaths. 45-130 aircraft lost on India side and 45-90 aircraft lost by Pakistan. India had a decisive military victory and had captured over 90,000 Pakistan soldiers. The war lasted only 13 days. The war was at the same time as the end of the Bangladesh war for independence. Bangladesh fought for independence from Pakistan from March to December 1971. India and Pakistan Each Have about 100-200 Nuclear Weapons Most estimates are that India and Pakistan each have about 120 to 180 nuclear weapons. Indias conventional forces are about twice as large as Pakistan. India and Pakistan have had four major wars in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999. They also have had many border skirmishes and incidents. India believes that they can defeat Pakistan in a war even if Pakistan uses nuclear weapons. Indias plan would be to use have armored divisions surround Pakistan forces and cities. They would Stalins tactic of hugging the enemy. This would mean any use of nuclear weapons against Indias military would cause Pakistan to have losses as well. India vs Pakistan Miltary India has 1.36 million active soldiers and 2.8 million in reserve. India has about 4500 to 6000 tanks India has 590 fighter jets and 804 attack aircraft. Pakistan has 637,000 active soldiers and 288,000 in reserve. Pakistan has 2180 tanks. Pakistan has 320 fighter jets and 410 attack aircraft. SOURCES Reuters, Abhijit Iyer Youtube, wikipedia Written By Brian Wang We keep asking more and more out of the department and residents are expecting more. The expectations are higher than they have ever been, Johnson said. At some point we either have to cut our services, which is not going to be popular with residents, or hire. Sypiens last known address was in the nearby Dublin, Calif., area, police said in the post. They said he fled the scene after the shooting and had not been heard from since, but he was considered armed and dangerous. Traces of the main ingredient found in weed killer Roundup can be found in beer and wine, according to a new study. Public interest advocacy group U.S. PIRG said trace amounts of glyphosate were found in 19 of 20 beer and wine brands tested. The weed killer ingredient is made by Monsanto, whose parent company is Bayer. We've expected for some time that Wednesday might offer explosive new revelations about President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and his private business, given that Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen was scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill. What was not predicted is how little time Wednesday would wait in delivering those revelations. Shortly after midnight, both the New York Times and Politico published copies of the statement Cohen would offer at the outset of his testimony. Contained in that statement are a number of potentially damaging allegations. We'll note at the outset that Cohen's track record on testifying before Congress is not unblemished; he's already admitted to having lied to congressional investigators about the duration of discussions about a possible development deal in Moscow. But Cohen's statement includes three new allegations involving the president that, if true, are each significant for what they would indicate about the president and his campaign's interactions with Russian interference efforts. According to a copy of the Cohen's prepared statement obtained by the Times, Cohen says that Trump knew that WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, would release material stolen from the Democratic National Committee before it happened - because he heard it from his longtime adviser Roger Stone. The statement reads: "In July 2016, days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trump's office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign." "Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of 'wouldn't that be great.'" This timeline is remarkable. The Democratic convention began on July 25, 2016; WikiLeaks began releasing information stolen from the Democratic National Committee on July 22. According to an indictment obtained by special counsel Robert Mueller against the Russian intelligence officers believed to have hacked the DNC network, WikiLeaks requested data from the hackers in late June, after some initial files were published, and only confirmed receipt of the stolen data on July 18. That presents a fairly small window for Stone to have learned about the release, especially since Cohen's statement indicates that the call came a few days before July 22. Stone was indicted by Mueller's team this month on charges of offering false statements and obstructing justice. The indictment indicates that Stone told "senior Trump campaign officials" in June or July that WikiLeaks had documents that could damage the campaign of Hillary Clinton. But, then, Assange had said as much on TV in mid-June. The indictment also mentioned that Stone was contacted by a "senior campaign official" on July 22, 2016. The official "was directed" to contact Stone to have him find out what else WikiLeaks had. Who did that direction has not been publicly determined. It's only after this point that Stone's known outreach to WikiLeaks took place, including contacting an associate with indirect ties to the group. There's no evidence at this point to tie Stone to Assange directly. In fact, internal WikiLeaks messages and direct Twitter messages between Stone and WikiLeaks suggest that he didn't have any link to the organization. The day prior to the release, July 21, WikiLeaks teased the upcoming release in a tweet without identifying the DNC. (While Cohen's statement at one point indicates that Trump knew specifically about the DNC document releases, his description of the call doesn't specify that detail.) Perhaps Stone, true to form, saw that tweet or heard other rumors and amplified them to Trump. What Cohen suggests in his statement, though, is something more robust. If Stone did have a connection with Assange that allowed him to inform Trump about WikiLeaks' actions, the distance between the candidate and Russia's interference efforts is much shorter than realized. Last year, there was a brief ripple of interest after several news outlets reported that Cohen was prepared to tell Mueller that Trump knew about the infamous June 9, 2016, Trump Tower meeting in advance. Cohen's team quickly downplayed those reports, and the issue burbled away. This meeting, of course, was the one that originated on June 3 when Donald Trump Jr. received an email offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer who had derogatory information about Clinton. This, the email said, was "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump." Trump Jr.'s famous response? "[I]f it's what you say I love it". It's remained unclear, though, if Trump did know about the meeting in advance. It was finalized only on the afternoon of June 7, after Trump Jr. spoke with campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his brother-in-law, Jared Kushner. (He also spoke with a Russian developer named Emin Agalarov whose agent has sent the initial email - at least according to Agalarov.) That night, Trump clinched the Republican nomination, promising during his victory speech that he would deliver a speech the following Monday in which he would be "discussing all of the things that have taken place with the Clintons." That comment sparked a great deal of speculation that Trump did indeed know about the meeting at the time. Cohen's prepared statement doesn't say he did - but it certainly hints at it. "I remember being in the room with Mr. Trump, probably in early June 2016, when something peculiar happened. Don Jr. came into the room and walked behind his father's desk - which in itself was unusual. People didn't just walk behind Mr. Trump's desk to talk to him. I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: 'The meeting is all set.' I remember Mr. Trump saying, 'OK good...let me know.'" This struck Cohen in part because, the statement reads, "nothing went on in Trump world, especially the campaign, without Mr. Trump's knowledge and approval" - suggesting that Trump must have known. When Trump Jr.'s involvement in the meeting came to light in July 2017, it settled one question definitively: A senior campaign official was told that Russia wanted to help the Trump campaign and the official, Trump Jr., embraced the idea. If Trump himself knew about the meeting - always a distinct possibility despite Trump's denials - it suggests that the candidate himself was willing to accept Russia's help. In fact, the Trump campaign's willingness to accept the meeting could itself have been in violation of the law, as former White House counsel Bob Bauer explained to The Post in August of last year. "The law prohibits Americans from soliciting foreign nationals' assistance," Bauer said. "The solicitation provision is very broad. You don't have to specifically say, 'I really would like you to do X'; you could indicate, since they've already said they want to help you out, that you're open for business. That you actually want their support." Remarkably, perhaps the least damaging new detail offered by Cohen is one that relates to one of the most obvious examples of improper behavior by the president. In the final months of the 2016 campaign, Cohen helped arrange payments to two women aimed at keeping them from going public with stories of alleged affairs with Trump. One payment, made through the parent company of the National Enquirer, was to former Playboy model Karen McDougal. The other, paid by Cohen himself, went to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. We've known for some time that Cohen was reimbursed for the $130,000 he paid Daniels through a series of checks that came over the course of 2017. We didn't know, however, the details below. "Mr. Trump directed me to use my own personal funds from a Home Equity Line of Credit to avoid any money being traced back to him that could negatively impact his campaign. ..." "I am providing a copy of a $35,000 check that President Trump personally signed from his personal bank account on August 1, 2017 - when he was President of the United States - pursuant to the cover-up, which was the basis of my guilty plea, to reimburse me - the word used by Mr. Trump's TV lawyer - for the illegal hush money I paid on his behalf. This $35,000 check was one of 11 check installments that was paid throughout the year - while he was president." "The president of the United States," the statement continues, "thus wrote a personal check for the payment of hush money as part of a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws." Again, the allegation that Trump directed Cohen to make this payment to protect the campaign has been out there. That he directed Cohen to use the funds from his line of credit - a line of credit, we'll note, that Cohen admitted he obtained through fraud - and that the repayments came directly from Trump is new. "Cohen's public testimony directly implicates Trump in serious campaign finance violations," said former FEC general counsel Lawrence Noble over email. "Assuming Cohen is telling the truth about the purpose of the checks, the checks are documentary evidence supporting the allegation that Trump had Cohen pay Daniels $135,000 in hush money and then reimbursed Cohen." "Cohen's advance of the hush money was an illegal excessive campaign contribution and should have been reported by the campaign," Noble added. "Trump's reimbursement of Cohen was a campaign expenditure which should have also been reported." That neither was is a violation of campaign finance law. The good news for Trump is that campaign finance violations pale in comparison to the worst-case scenarios implied by the other two revelations included in Cohen's statement. A jury convicted a New Jersey man Tuesday of strangling a former high school classmate and throwing her body off a bridge. The panel reached its verdict a day after deliberations began in the trial of Liam McAtasney. McAtasney was convicted of murder, robbery and other counts including desecration of human remains. He faces life in prison. Michael Stern, the victims father, described sitting in court and watching McAtasney express no emotion during the trial. To think that somebody that pretended to be her friend did that to her without any remorse was painful, sad and beyond anything Ive experienced before in my life, he said. It was sickening. Monmouth County prosecutors allege that the 21-year-old McAtasney strangled the 19-year-old Stern during a December 2016 robbery and then dumped her body off the Route 35 bridge in Belmar, leaving her car on the bridge to make it appear that she killed herself. According to CBS New York, McAtasney allegedly had help dumping her body from his roommate, Preston Taylor, who took a plea deal and testified against McAtasney. It started off as plans to either burglarize her house or to rob her personally, he testified. Over time the conversations progressed to killing her. Prosecutors believe McAtasney and Taylor were after Sterns inheritance money from her late mother. According to People, McAtasney said in the video he planned the killing for over six months and was disappointed he only walked away with $10,000, believing the amount in a safe from Sterns inheritance was more substantial. Jurors had asked to review a secretly recorded conversation in which McAtasney talked about Sarah Sterns death. His friend recorded it two months after the girl disappeared. In the video, he described how it took Stern a half-hour to die and he had timed it on his phone. Assistant Prosecutor Megan Doyle believes the video swayed the jury. Its hard because he laughed through most of it, there was no emotion from him, she said. As prosecutors it does make you angry that theres no remorse. There was no nothing, and he was so dismissive of what he did. Defense attorney Carlos Diaz-Cobo told jurors in his closing argument Friday that there was reasonable doubt that the victim was dead, since her body has never been found. Diaz-Cobo also called the secretly recorded conversation an elaborate lie McAtasney told to impress the amateur horror filmmaker with whom he was conversing. Classmates told People that Stern, McAtasney and Taylor met in middle school and were all close friends. They knew each others locker combinations, friend Morgan Randall said. They were super close. Once President Donald Trump arrived in Vietnam for a meeting with North Koreas Kim Jong, it didnt take long for him to attack one of his favorite targets. An hour after he arrived in his hotel in Hanoi, Trump was back on Twitter attacking again U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthals Vietnam service. I have now spent more time in Vietnam than Da Nang Dick Blumenthal, the third rate Senator from Connecticut (how is Connecticut doing?). His war stories of his heroism in Vietnam were a total fraud - he was never even there. We talked about it today with Vietnamese leaders! he tweeted Wednesday. The Tweeter in Chief has dredged up an 9-year-old issue against U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal that state voters thoroughly ignored in 2010 when he defeated Linda McMahon, and again in 2016, when the senator was re-elected with a million votes. Blumenthal served with the Marine Corps Reserve from 1970 until 1976. Blumenthals office released the following statement on the tweet: "We generally decline to waste time engaging with Trump's brazen lies about Senator Blumenthal. Nothing new here. But the American people should be concerned about the President of the United States squandering time and energy during sensitive negotiations with a serious nuclear threat peddling falsehoods about a political critic." During the 2010 campaign, Blumenthal apologized for saying in 2008 that he served in Vietnam. Later, his commanding officer came to Blumenthals defense, saying that the slip was minor and that Blumenthal served honorably in the reserves. In December, Blumenthal ratcheted up his criticisms of the president in a series of television appearances and tweets as Trump faced mounting pressure from investigations into Russian involvement in his 2016 campaign, and as subpoenas are being prepared for Trumps businesses in a lawsuit alleging the president is in violation of the U.S. Constitutions emoluments clauses. Watched Da Nang Dick Blumenthal on television spewing facts almost as accurate as his bravery in Vietnam (which he never saw), Trump tweeted. As the bullets whizzed by Da Nang Dicks head, as he was saving soldiersleft and right, he then woke up from his dream screaming that HE LIED. Next time I go to Vietnam I will ask the Dick to travel with me! Trump has attacked Blumenthal for those statements more than half a dozen times, frequently when the president is under pressure. When Trump sees him on television, it triggers him, said Norm Ornstein, a resident scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. He is always looking for a scapegoat, and because he has fixed in his head that Blumenthal dissembled about his military servicea wildly exaggerated interpretation it becomes a frame for his venting. Past Trump tweets on Blumenthal were: I think Senator Blumenthal should take a nice long vacation in Vietnam, where he lied about his service, so he can at least say he was there. Interesting to watch Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut talking about hoax Russian collusion when he was a phony Vietnam con artist! "Never in U.S.history has anyone lied or defrauded voters like Senator Richard Blumenthal. He told stories about his Vietnam battles and...." he wrote in another tweet. He continued: "...conquests, how brave he was, and it was all a lie. He cried like a baby and begged for forgiveness like a child. Now he judges collusion? Blumenthal then fired back with his own tweet: "Mr. President: Your bullying hasn't worked before and it won't work now. No one is above the law. This issue isn't about me - it's about the Special Counsel's independence and integrity." Blumenthal could have seen combat as a member of the Marine Corps Reserve. Trump, however, received five deferments from the draft. One was for bone spurs in his feet. The others were related to his education. Previous reporting by CT Mirror journalist Ana Radelat was used in this story. NEW MILFORD The school board approved some funding connected to the fuel tank replacement, though the bulk of the projects cost is still being debated. The $5,000 approved at Tuesdays meeting is to pay Pembroke Pumping for a needed service when the old sewer line was discovered while replacing the fuel tank at the Lillis Building, where the schools central office is housed. The Lillis Building project and its management were recently criticized by the Town Council when school officials asked for money because the project had gone over budget. School officials are now working with town and reviewing the contractors itemized list of costs that caused the project to come in higher than expected to determine what it will pay. In late January, school officials asked Town Council for an additional $80,000 or so to the $105,000 the Town Council already allocated for the Lillis Building project. The $5,000 is covered by the initial $105,000 allocation, though it was unexpected and beyond the actual $92,000 project approved. School officials told council members last month that the project ran over because they didnt realize the tanks were not already at the proper depth, requiring more digging so the new tank could be put back in the ground under the regulations. The crew encountered a lot of ledge while digging, which made the project more expensive, and the tank had to be installed in a new location because an old sewer line was found. None of us anticipated the ledge and sewer problems here, Superintendent Stephen Tracy said Tuesday. Some Town Council members have said they were being overcharged by the contractor, ETT Environmental, and refused to pay the extra money until they could speak with company officials directly. ETT Environmental is replacing other tanks for the town and also replaced the tank at Hill and Plain Elementary School for the school district. The tanks need to be replaced because they are 30 years old, a deadline set by the manufacturers and enforced by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The Hill and Plain project was $70,000 above the already approved $92,000 because workers discovered the schools electrical transformer and switchbox were on top of the tank, causing them to just seal and abandon it in place and order a new above ground tank. Tracy said there are more preliminary tests that are more thorough but also more expensive and might not have even found all of the problems, such as the clay pipe that the ground penetrating radar wouldnt have picked up. He said a fuel tank replacement is usually standard because the old tank is dug out and the new one is put in the same spot, adding these extra tests cost tens of thousands of dollars. DANBURY The person believed to be responsible for shooting a 19-year-old in the arm near Danbury Hospital last month has been arrested. Police said a male juvenile was arrested Monday for the Jan. 17 shooting, following an extensive investigation. The shooting took place in the area of Hospital and Ellsworth avenues during the afternoon hours. Police said the victim, who was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, was the intended target. Police blocked off a portion of Hospital Avenue and searched in and around Wooster Cemetery the last place the shooter had been seen. At the time, the suspect was described as a young adult wearing a blue do-rag and black North Face backpack. Due to their proximity to the scene, Ellsworth, Hayestown and Broadview Middle schools were briefly locked down while police searched the area. Danbury Hospital and Western Connecticut State Universitys midtown campus also went into lockdown that day. The juvenile taken into custody Monday was remanded to the Bridgeport Juvenile Detention Center for carrying a pistol without a permit, unlawful discharge of firearms, breach of peace/threatening, first-degree assault and first-degree reckless endangerment. kendra.baker@hearst.com Time Equities Inc. has made another hefty investment in Bridgeport, purchasing the Bridgeport Trade and Technology Center on the East Side. The New York firm bought the 480 Barnum Ave. property along with other buildings associated with the facilitys former owners, Campus Office Parks Associates for $13.85 million, adding 575,000 square feet of commercial space and around 8.29 acres of undeveloped land to its holdings in the Park City. Were really looking forward to continuing this streak in Bridgeport, said Brian Soto, director of acquisitions for TEI. BTTC has been around for more than 20 years, operating as a multi-purpose facility for different businesses. The space currently accommodates tenants in the pharmaceutical, arts and education sectors. Max Pastor of TEI said BTTC could perform like the Brooklyn-based innovation space Industry City, which is owned by a separate company but features tenants across different industries. Its a very flexible building with great bones and really lends itsself to a multitude of uses and can really be an economical choice for business owners, he said. Pastor and Soto have spearheaded TEIs activity in Bridgeport for the past six months, resulting in the company purchasing more than 1 million square feet of commercial space, 176 apartments and plenty of vacant plots of land on the East Side. TEI purchased a trove of downtown properties totaling $21.7 million in January when they bought the City Trust building at 955 Main St., Arcade Mall at 1001 Main St. and a mixed-use building at 144 Golden Hill St. In November, it kicked off its acquisitions with a $7.9 million purchase of the Innovation Center, a 269,080-square foot office and industrial space on Connecticut Avenue. Pastor said BTTC was a good complement to the Bridgeport Innovation Center in the East End, offering bigger spaces, higher ceilings and infrastructure designed to handle heavier floor loads and machinery. There is roughly 100,000 square feet of space open at the BTTC, along with 8.5 acres of undeveloped land that Pastor said offers added flexibility to the future of the site. BTTC is in one of the citys designated opportunity zones along with the majority of TEIs recent acquisitions, marking a pattern for the firm. Opportunity zones offer tax benefits to developers that take on projects within designated neighborhoods of need. While that may bode well for the New York investors and any other developers with their sights set on that undeveloped acreage, Pastor said targeting opportunity zones wasnt a major point for any of their deals. These deals have to make sense on their merit regardless of whether they are located in an opportunity zone or another economic zone, he said. Certainly it could help a deal, but they really need to stand on their own, in-place economics, rather than having to seek out opportunity zone properties. Along with securing a new purchase, TEI has started working on its properties in downtown Bridgeport. The firm has been demolishing and renovating spaces in the City Trust Building and on the second-floor office space facing the Margaret E. Morton building. Were trying to get everything back into leaseable shape and hopefully get them back on the market and aggressively come out in the spring with new opportunities for new businesses, Soto said, adding that they are also working on plans to repair the John Street garage, which has been an eyesore downtown for years. Jordan.grice@hearstmediact.com Five candidates will be running in the April 2 election for three four-year terms on the District 204 board incumbents Justin Karubas of Naperville, Mark Rising of Aurora and Natasha Grover of Naperville, along with challengers Gautam GB Bhatia of Aurora and Carole Jones of Naperville. highlights We do not want war with India: Pakistan Army spokesman India shot down PAF's F-16 fighter jet following airspace violation in Rajouri PAF shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace: Ghafoor New Delhi: Amid heightened tensions between the two neighbouring countries, Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor on Wednesday said that they do not want to escalate the ongoing conflict with India and cause a regional war. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Ghafoor said, "We have the capability and capacity to respond to your attacks, but we don't want to destroy the peace in this region. War is the failure of policy which India needs to understand", adding that Pakistan has "always conveyed a message of peace to India." Early in the day, India shot down Pakistan Air Forces F-16 fighter jet following an airspace violation in Jammu and Kashmirs Nowshera sector on Wednesday morning. The fighter jet was shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3 KM within Pakistan territory in Lam valley of Nowshera sector. Nowshera is a border town in Jammu. While details of this retaliation are yet be ascertained by either the Indian Air Force or the Ministry of Defence, contrary claims are being made by the officials across the border. Ghafoor claimed that, "PAF shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace. Another starling claim Maj Gen Ghafoor said that, One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area". In view of this deteriorating situation at border areas in Jammu andKashmir, a high-level meeting took place at the Home Ministry in New Delhi. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is among those attending the crucial meet. Meanwhile, flights to Jammu, Srinagar, Chandigarh, Leh, Amritsar, Pathankot, Dehradun and Dharamshala have been suspended till further notice. Pakistan has also shut down all its airport. "All Pakistan airports have been shut down. Flight operations have been suspended in Multan, Islamabad, Lahore, Sialkot, and Faisalabad, news agency ANI reported. "Due to airspace restrictions, flights to and from Amritsar, Srinagar, Chandigarh, and Jammu are currently on hold," Air Vistara announced in a tweet. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Washington: The United States on Wednesday said that Pakistan must act against terror and urged both India and Pakistan to exercise 'restraint' after the Indian Air Force carried out an airstrike on terror camps across the LoC in a pre-dawn operation on Tuesday. "We encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement today after speaking with the foreign ministers of both countries. "I spoke to Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to underscore the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil," Pompeo said as quoted by news agencies. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj raised Pulwama terror attack issue during the bilateral meeting with her Chinese counterpart in Wuzhen on Tuesday. Swaraj, who will hold trilateral talks with China and Russia later today, said that the Pulwama terror attack is a grim reminder that there should be zero tolerance against terrorism and decisive action is need of the hour. The meeting gains significance in the backdrop of the Indian Air Forces air strike in Pakistans Balakot, in which major terror camp run by the Jaish-e-Mohammed was completely destroyed. Swaraj extensively spoke about the surprise mission and said that, It wasn't a military op, no military installation targeted. Objective was to act against terrorist infrastructure of JeM to pre-empt another terror attack in India. India doesn't wish to see further escalation of situation. It'll continue to act with responsibility and restraint. In the light of continuing refusal of Pak to acknowledge and act against terror groups on its territory and based on credible info that JeM was planning other attacks in parts of India, Government of India decided to take pre-emptive action and target was selected in order to avoid civilian casualties, Swaraj added. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The move comes a week after Mayor Richard Irvin told aldermen the city would do it, and less than two weeks after firefighters moved into the Henry Pratt Co. building with police to confront an active shooter who had killed five Pratt workers and was shooting at the first responders. Islamabad: Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Wednesday that his country does not want a war and asked India to come to the table to resolve all outstanding issues. "Today's strike demonstrates our right, will, and Capability to defend ourselves. We do not want war. We hope India will come to the table to resolve all outstanding issues," Qureshi said. His comments came hours after the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said that Pakistan Air Force targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully through one Indian pilot is "missing in action". Earlier, Islamabad claimed it hit back at India by bringing down two Indian military aircraft, one of which crashed in Pakistan occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday claimed that Indian pilots were detained after two MIGs were shot down, as he cautioned against any "miscalculation" in case of an escalation between the two nuclear-armed countries and offered to defuse tensions through talks. However, it appeared that Khan has accepted that there were casualties on the Pakistan side in the airstrikes carried by the Indian Air Forces Mirage 2000 jets on terror camps in Balakot on early Tuesday morning. While addressing the nation which was telecast live, Khan said: "When India stuck yesterday morning, the army chief and I spoke. We did not respond in haste we did not have a complete assessment of the damage cause and it would have been irresponsible on our part as it may have resulted in casualties on their side. Once we assessed the damage caused, we were ready to take action. "The sole purpose of our action was to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same. That was the only purpose of what we did," he said. His comments came minutes after the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said that Pakistan Air Force targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is "missing in action". However, the Pakistan Army later said that "only one" Indian pilot was under their custody, retracting from its earlier statement that two IAF pilots were captured. In his address, Khan said all wars have been started on miscalculations on the time and the human cost of war. This was the same with the World War I, with the World War II and the war on terror, he added. He said no one knows where the wars lead to. Khan said that better sense must prevail and the two sides should act with wisdom. "I ask India: with the weapons (nuclear) you have and the weapons (nuclear) we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this (situation) escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's," Khan said. "Let's sit together and settle this with talks," he added. "We know how the families of those killed in Pulwama incident must have felt. We have been the victims of war for decades...Since the beginning we have asked India to share actionable evidence with us. It is nowhere in the interest of Pakistan for it to be used as a base for militancy," he said. "But I had a hunch that India would escalate, and that is why I had said that if India escalates, we will retaliate," he said, adding that Pakistan simply wanted to show its capability. (With PTI inputs) For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will begin their second summit in the Vietnamese capital on Thursday. US side is seeking tangible steps by North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. Trump and Kim had their historic first meeting in Singapore in June last year, where they agreed on denuclearisation of North Korea. Trump flew into Hanoi on Air Force One late on Tuesday. "Just arrived in Vietnam," he wrote in a Twitter post. "Thank you to all of the people for the great reception in Hanoi. Tremendous crowds, and so much love!". North Korean leader Kin Jong-un arrived in the Vietnamese border town of Dong Dang in a heavily armoured train on Tuesday morning. Ahead of his trip, Trump said he shared a great relationship with the North Korean leader. I think we can have a very good summit. I think well have a very tremendous summit. We want denuclearisation, and I think hell have a country that will set a lot of records for speed in terms of an economy, he told a meeting of governors at the White House. In a tweet, Trump described the summit with Chairman Kim as very important. With complete denuclearisation, North Korea will rapidly become an Economic Powerhouse. Without it, just more of the same. Chairman Kim will make a wise decision! he said. We both expect a continuation of the progress made at first summit in Singapore, Trump tweeted Sunday. North Korea has long insisted it will not give up its nuclear arsenal unless the US removes its troops from South Korea. ...I tell Chairman Kim, he has a chance to have a country that is so vibrant, economically. Maybe one of the most in the world. Hes got a location thats unbelievable. As a real-estate person, Ive always done very well with location. But hes right between China, Russia, and then on the other side, South Korea. So, they cant touch each other unless they go through North Korea, Trump said. I think it can be, really, one of the great - one of the great financial and economic countries anywhere in the world. So I tell him that. I said, But you cant do that if youre going to keep nuclear (weapons). If you do nuclear, that cant ever happen, Trump said. Trump reiterated that he was having a great relationship with Kim. Trump said he was not in a rush to denuclearise North Korea. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has claimed that two Indian MiGs crossed the border and two pilots are in Islamabads custody. In an address to nation, which again appears to be a recorded statement, Khan said that better sense should prevail. He also offered chance of talk to India. He alleged that, India became judge, jury and executioner after the Pulwama terror attack. "We offered peace to India after what happened in Pulwama. I understand the pain of the families (who lost family members in Pulwama). I have visited hospitals and seen the pain of people affected by violence, Khan said. "We offered India that we would investigate. We wanted to cooperate and were ready to do so. I feared that India would still take action, and I had therefore warned India against aggression," he added. Talking about the IAF strike, Khan said, "When India stuck yesterday morning, we spoke to our army command and waited to take action till we assessed the damage caused. About the airspace violation, Khan said that, "Our action was only intended to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same. Two of their MiGs were shot down (in the ensuing action). From here, it is imperative that we use our heads and act with wisdom." "All wars are miscalculated, and no one knows where they lead to. World War I was supposed to end in weeks, it took six years. Similarly, the war on terrorism was not supposed to last 17 years. "I ask India: with the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in Modi's. "We understand the grief that you have suffered in Pulwama and are ready for a probe and dialogue. "Let's sit together and settle this with talks," Khan said at the end of his statement. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Barcelona: Finnish telecom gear maker Nokia said Bharti Airtel will conduct trial of the former's homogeneous fronthaul solution which can support 4G and 5G services. "The modernisation of the transport infrastructure is crucial for ensuring the ultra-high speed and extremely low latency, promised by 5G. We look forward to this trial with Bharti Airtel, which is a crucial step towards preparing the networks for 5G," Sanjay Malik, Head of India Market, Nokia, said in a statement. This trial is part of Bharti Airtel's strategy to make its network future ready to meet the growing demand for high speed data in India, it added. A Nokia official said that no final date to start trial has been decided but it is ready with the solution for trial. Nokia said this trial has the potential to improve the performance of service providers' existing network even as it prepares the network for 5G and to meet the future demand. ALSO READ | Nokia 9 PureView with penta 12MP rear cameras launched, know more Fronthaul equipment are installed between antenna, which receives signals, and baseband unit, which processes and directs communication in telecom network. With 5G coming in, networks will require huge capacity to process data. Nokia's converged fronthaul transport solution helps bring down fibre requirement, the statement said. "The upgrade of the transport network is also essential to cater to the booming consumption of mobile broadband services and enable world-class digital services. Nokia is our longstanding partner and we look forward to their support in our journey towards 5G," Randeep Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel, said. New Delhi: NASA scientists have recreated the conditions in which life formed deep in the Earth's ocean four billion years ago, which may offer insights into possible habitats in the cosmos which could host alien life. Astrobiologist Laurie Barge and her team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, are working to recognise life on other planets by studying the origins of life here on Earth. Their research focuses on how the building blocks of life form in hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. To re-create hydrothermal vents in the lab, the team made their own miniature seafloors by filling beakers with mixtures that mimic Earth's primordial ocean. ALSO READ | High social intelligence may help save Earth, says Study These lab-based oceans act as nurseries for amino acids, organic compounds that are essential for life as we know it. Like Lego blocks, amino acids build on one another to form proteins, which make up all living things. "Understanding how far you can go with just organics and minerals before you have an actual cell is really important for understanding what types of environments life could emerge from," Barge said in statement. "Also, investigating how things like the atmosphere, the ocean and the minerals in the vents all impact this can help you understand how likely this is to have occurred on another planet," said Barge, lead investigator of the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Found around cracks in the seafloor, hydrothermal vents are places where natural chimneys form, releasing fluid heated below Earth's crust. When these chimneys interact with the seawater around them, they create an environment that is in constant flux, which is necessary for life to evolve and change. This dark, warm environment fed by chemical energy from Earth may be the key to how life could form on worlds farther out in our solar system, far from the heat of the Sun. "If we have these hydrothermal vents here on Earth, possibly similar reactions could occur on other planets," said Erika Flores, of JPL. Researchers used ingredients commonly found in early Earth's ocean in their experiments. They combined water, minerals and the "precursor" molecules pyruvate and ammonia, which are needed to start the formation of amino acids. They tested their hypothesis by heating the solution to 70 degrees Celsius -- the same temperature found near a hydrothermal vent -- and adjusting the pH to mimic the alkaline environment. They also removed the oxygen from the mixture because, unlike today, early Earth had very little oxygen in its ocean. The team additionally used the mineral iron hydroxide, or "green rust," which was abundant on early Earth. The green rust reacted with small amounts of oxygen that the team injected into the solution, producing the amino acid alanine and the alpha hydroxy acid lactate. Alpha hydroxy acids are byproducts of amino acid reactions, but some scientists theorise they too could combine to form more complex organic molecules that could lead to life. "We've shown that in geological conditions similar to early Earth, and maybe to other planets, we can form amino acids and alpha hydroxy acids from a simple reaction under mild conditions that would have existed on the seafloor," said Barge. This line of research is important as scientists study worlds in our solar system and beyond that may host habitable environments. Understanding how life could start in an ocean without sunlight would assist scientists in designing future exploration missions, as well as experiments that could dig under the ice to search for evidence of amino acids or other biological molecules. For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Barcelona: Next-generation wireless technology is taking the medical world a crucial step closer to robots performing remotely-controlled surgery, a doctor in Spain said on Wednesday after carrying out the worlds first 5G-powered telementored operation. Doctors have telementored surgeries in the past using wireless networks but blazing fast 5G increases image quality and definition which are crucial for medical teams to take decisions with as much information, and as few mistakes, as possible. This is a first step to achieve our dream, which is to make remote operations in the near future, said Doctor Antonio de Lacy, after providing real-time guidance via a 5G video link from a Barcelona congress centre to a surgical team which operated on a patient with an intestinal tumour about five kilometres (three miles) away at the Hospital Clinic. 5G greatly reduces latencythe time it takes to get a response to information sentof wireless networks so images and data is relayed almost instantly. Experts predict in the future 5G will allow surgeons to control a robot arm to carry out operations in remote locations that lack specialist doctors. Also Read | High social intelligence may help save Earth, says Study De Lacy, the head of the hospitals gastrointestinal surgery service, used his finger to draw on a screen an area of the intestine where nerves are located and instructed the team how to navigate the surgery. The demonstration was part of the Mobile World Congress, the mobile industrys biggest annual global event, which is being held in the Mediterranean coastal city this week. John Hoffman, the chief executive officer of mobile communications industry body GSMA which organises the annual trade fair, said it was the worlds first 5G mentored live surgery. This is truly revolutionary and just one of the benefits that 5G will bring us, he added. During the operation the 5G connection had a lag time of just 0.01 seconds, compared to the 0.27-second latency period with the 4G wireless networks which currently predominate in developing nations. If you are going to do remote assisted surgery, you need to be almost there in person. You cannot have more than a couple of milliseconds latency. And that is where 5G technology comes in, GSMA director general Mats Granryd told AFP. 5Gs lower latency, faster speeds and vast data capacity could also help revolutionise multiplayer mobile gaming, factory robots and make possible new technologies such as self-driving cars. For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. highlights Hillary Clinton had called Saudi Arabia source of Islamic terrorism. Others who back such groups are UAE, Qatar and Kuwait. Several terrorists are known to have travelled to Riyadh for funding. New Delhi: Indian Air Forces first-ever counter-terror operation deep inside Pakistan has sparked celebrations across India. While experts are saying that Indias soft nation days are thing of past, citizens are feeling that finally, we can give it back! But is bombing Jaish-e-Mohammeds Balakot terror camp in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa enough? Even as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj says that New Delhi doesnt wish to see further escalation, Pakistani armed forces think otherwise. More so, if targeting terrorists is need of hour, we must look at the core issue. And the problem lies not only with numerous seminaries working on Pakistani soil, but the funding they receive. And answer lies 2,500 km away in Saudi Arabia. In 2010, sensational revelations by the WikiLeaks confirmed what many knew all along. That the petro-dollars of the Saudi kingdom were being routed to various Sunni terror outfits in Pakistan. While the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) takes seriously the threat of terrorism within Saudi Arabia, it has been an ongoing challenge to persuade Saudi officials to treat terrorist financing emanating from Saudi Arabia as a strategic priority. Due in part to intense focus by the USG over the last several years, Saudi Arabia has begun to make important progress on this front and has responded to terrorist financing concerns raised by the United States through proactively investigating and detaining financial facilitators of concern, said the WikiLeaks cabal. But what was concerning for India and remains the issue of worry is this part that still holds true. Still, donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide. Continued senior-level USG engagement is needed to build on initial efforts and encourage the Saudi government to take more steps to stem the flow of funds from Saudi Arabia-based sources to terrorists and extremists worldwide. There has been change of guard or rather king at the House of Saud, but the principal understanding with Pakistan remains same. Saudi Arabia not exactly loves Pakistan but it needs Pakistan. According to a conservative estimate, there are more than 60,000 Pakistani soldiers working in Saudi Arabia. In case there is a breakdown of bilateral ties, Riyadh wont have enough soldiers for its military establishment. Even if the House of Saud is not directly involved in terror-funding, Saudi Arabia has enough rich sympathisers who would send or arrange monetary support for these terror outfits. So while India rejoices over the diplomatic success for putting Pulwama terror attack in the joint statement, we must not forget the $20-billion deal between Saudi Arabia nd Pakistan and what Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) said in Islamabad 'consider me Pakistan's ambassador to Saudi Arabia'. As long as the non-actors in Pakistan have either overt or covert support from Saudi Arabia, the New India must tread this path carefully. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The crucial meeting of leaders of the 21 Opposition parties on Wednesday condemned the dastardly Pulwama terror attack by "Pakistan-sponsored" terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) on February 14, 2019, adding that the Narendra Modi government should take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity. The joint statement released by the Opposition parties also expressed anguish over blatant politicisation of sacrifices of the Armed Forces by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "National security must transcend narrow political consideration," Congress president Rahul Gandhi said while briefing the media on the Opposition meet. "The meeting lauded the action taken by the Indian Air Force (IAF) against the terrorist camp on February 26, 2019 and praised the Indian Armed Forces for their valour and bravery. The opposition leaders also observed that the prime minister has, regrettably, not convened an all-party meeting as per the established practice in the Indian democracy," the statement added. "The leaders expressed concern on the emerging security situation. Post the statement from the MEA regarding targeting of our military installations and loss of one fighter aircraft, the leaders condemned the Pakistani misadventure and expressed their deep concern for the safety of our missing pilot," it read. #IndiaFirst | Joint statement issued after meeting of 21 opposition parties More updates: https://t.co/nGgjljvjLR pic.twitter.com/x9RA98kgpk News Nation (@NewsNationTV) February 27, 2019 The meeting which took place in Parliament Library Building this morning was attended by former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC president Mamata Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, Loktantrik Janta Dal leader Sharad Yadav, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and party colleague Praful Patel. CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, BSP's Satish Chandra Mishra, JDU's Upendra Kushwaha, former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, Congress' Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, CPI's Sudhakar Reddy, JDS' Danish Ali, DMK's Tiruchi Siva, AAP's Sanjay Singh and others were also in attendance. The Samajwadi Party (SP) was absent from the meeting. Earlier on Tuesday, the Opposition had decided to drop the formulation of the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) as the agenda for their meeting in view of the prevailing security situation in the country. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Following the Indo-Pak tensions, security has been beefed up around world famous Taj Mahal. Local police and CRPF have been rushed around the heritage site, according to reports. India shot down Pakistan Air Forces F-16 fighter jet after an airspace violation in Jammu and Kashmirs Nowshera sector on Wednesday morning. The fighter jet was shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3 KM within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, Nowshera sector, news agency ANI. The latest development comes amid reports of Pakistan violating airspace in the Rajouri district. According to news agency PTI, "The jets entered into Indian air space over Nowshera sector this morning." The Pakistani jet was immediately pushed back by Indian planes on air patrol but not before dropping bombs. Nowshera is a border town in Jammu. While details of this retaliation are yet be ascertained by either the Indian Air Force or the Ministry of Defence, contrary claims are being made by the officials across the border. Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, spokesperson Pakistan armed forces, claimed that PAF shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace. Another starling claim Maj Gen Ghafoor said that, One Indian pilot arrested by troops on the ground while two in the area. The government has closed several airports close to the Line of Control (LoC) for commercial traffic. According to government sources, flights to Jammu, Srinagar, Chandigarh, Leh, Amritsar, Pathankot, Dehradun and Dharamshala have been suspended till further notice. "The civilian air traffic has been suspended temporarily in view of the emergency," an official of the Airport Authority of India told news agency PTI. Official sources said that the entire airspace north of Delhi has been vacated. Pakistan has also shut down all its airport. "All Pakistan airports have been shut down. Flight operations have been suspended in Multan, Islamabad, Lahore, Sialkot, and Faisalabad, news agency ANI reported. Meanwhile, a high-level meeting is underway at the Home Ministry in New Delhi. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is among those attending the crucial meet. There are reports that following the airspace violation by Pakistan, airspace over Jammu, Leh and Pathankot have been closed. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Volk said roughly 63 percent of those moving into the new units would be people coming from outside the city, with the rest relocating from within the city. The core market potential for new downtown housing is made up of an annual average of 2,150 households with incomes above $40,000 a year, according to the study. New Delhi: Srinagar airport has been shut down after Indian Air Forces chopper MiG 17 crashed in Central Kashmirs Budgam district on Wednesday morning. Two bodies have been found at the crash site, an official has said. IAF's technical team will arrive and ascertain facts. Till now, we have found two bodies, SSP Budgam said. The plane, which took off from the Srinagar runway, crashed into an open field in Budgam area. News Nation has learnt that local villagers tried to save the pilots. There are reports that the pilot of the Mig-17 jet died in the crash. The Indian Air Force has still not confirmed death. Jammu and Kashmir Police and Indian Air Force personnel have rushed to the spot. SSP Budgam on military aircraft crash: IAF's technical team will arrive and ascertain facts. Till now, we have found two bodies. pic.twitter.com/vk8K5c3Cbn ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 On Tuesday, the Indian Air Force carried out pre-dawn airstrikes on Tuesday and destroyed major launch pads of terrorists in Pakistans Balakot. More than 10 bombs were dropped by the multi-role fighter jet Mirage 2000 at around 3:30 am. The attack was confirmed by the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. India said the attacks targeted the biggest training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) which claimed responsibility for the suicide terror attack on a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama district on February 14, killing over 40 personnel. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Pakistan has shut down all its airport after India shot down Pakistan Air Forces F-16 fighter jet after an airspace violation in Jammu and Kashmirs Nowshera sector on Wednesday morning. "All Pakistan airports have been shut down. Flight operations have been suspended in Multan, Islamabad, Lahore, Sialkot and Faisalabad, news agency ANI reported. Pakistans F-16 fighter jet was shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3 KM within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, Nowshera sector, news agency ANI. The latest development comes amid reports of Pakistan violating airspace in the Rajouri district. According to news agency PTI, "The jets entered into Indian air space over Nowshera sector this morning." The Pakistani jet was immediately pushed back by Indian planes on air patrol but not before dropping bombs. Nowshera is a border town in Jammu. Earlier, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had said India committed uncalled for aggression to which Pakistan shall respond at time and place of its choosing. More than 10 bombs were dropped by the Indian multi-role fighter jet Mirage 2000 at around 3:30 am on Tuesday. The Pakistan government has decided a joint session of the Parliament. Prime minister has summoned a special meeting of NCA on February 27. Imran Khan has directed that elements of national power including the Armed Forces and the people of Pakistan to remain prepared for all eventualities, Radio Pakistan reported. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said the Pakistan Army has only one Indian pilot in custody hours after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan claimed that two Indian pilots were detained after their MIGs were shot down, as he cautioned against any "miscalculation" in case of an escalation between the two nuclear-armed countries and offered to defuse tensions through talks. "Our action was only intended to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same. Two of their MiGs were shot down (in the ensuing action) and their pilots are with us," Khan said in an address to the nation which was telecast live. His comments came minutes after the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said that Pakistan Air Force targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is "missing in action". Khan said all wars have been started on miscalculations on the time and the human cost of war. This was the same with the World War I, with the World War II and the war on terror, he added.He said no one knows where the wars lead to. "I ask India: with the weapons (nuclear) you have and the weapons (nuclear) we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this (situation) escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's," Khan said. "Let's sit together and settle this with talks," he added. Khan said that when India stuck Tuesday morning, he spoke with the army chief and Pakistan did not respond in haste. He said Pakistan offered India its cooperation in the investigation after the Pulwama terror attack. "We know how the families of those killed in Pulwama incident must have felt. We have been the victims of war for decades...Since the beginning we have asked India to share actionable evidence with us. It is nowhere in the interest of Pakistan for it to be used as a base for militancy," he said. "But I had a hunch that India would escalate, and that is why I had said that if India escalates, we will retaliate," he said, adding that Pakistan simply wanted to show its capability. "The sole purpose of our action (on Wednesday) was to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same," Khan added. (With PTI inputs) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will confer the National Youth Parliament Festival 2019 awards today. Us President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet in Hanoi. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during Russia-India-China Foreign Ministers' meeting in China. India will play Australia in the second T20I in Bengaluru. Stay tuned for all the news from around the world: 19:10 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh met top officials of army, paramilitary and the police to review the current situation in border areas. 14:37 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Delhi High Court directs trial court to expedite the trial in the 2008 TV journalist Soumya Vishwanathan murder case; also directed to appoint a senior police officer to monitor on the appearance of prosecution witnesses. 13:13 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Australian Cardinal George Pell will spend his first night behind bars today following his historic conviction for child sex crimes. 13:12 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Muhammadu Buhari is re-elected president of Nigeria, after a delayed poll that angered voters and raised political temperatures. 12:39 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Amethi, the parliamentary constituency of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, on March 3 and address a public meeting there. "PM Modi will visit Amethi on March 3 and besides attending a government programme in Korba Munshiganj, would address a public meeting in Kohar area of Gauriganj here," the BJP convenor of the Lok Sabha constituency, Rajesh Agrahari, said Wednesday. 12:20 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In CPI(M) leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan at an event in Kerala yesterday: Before declaring Lok Sabha poll dates,RSS is aiming at creating war-like situation & sabotaging polls. BJP has foreseen their loss in the Lok Sabha polls, trying to sabotage polls & impose emergency. 12:03 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In AugstaWestland case: Accused Rajiv Saxsena has moved application in Delhi's Patiala House Court to become an approver in the case. 11:11 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi also asks Centre and 10 states to file reply in seven days on the plea filed against the alleged attacks on Kashmiri students. Supreme Court while taking note of Centres submission that no incident against any Kashmiri students has taken place since SC's February 22 order directing all states to take strict action against violence after February 14 Pulwama attack, refuses to pass further order. 11:10 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In EAM Sushma Swaraj in Wuzhen, China: As far as Pulwama is concerned, I had raised this issue in the bilateral meeting with Mr Wang Yi and also at RIC (Russia-India-China) forum. 11:10 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Jagannath Temple reforms case in SC - Amicus Curiae (friend of court), Ranjit Kumar, submitted before SC that he had visited the Puri Jagannath temple in Odisha on Feb 23 in compliance with the Top Court's order and sought more time to file his response with respect to his visit. 11:08 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Centre moves Supreme Court seeking stay on its February 13 order directing several States to evict forest-dwelling families whose claims over traditional forestlands have been rejected under law. Supreme Court agrees to hear the case tomorrow. 10:21 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In One dead and dozens more buried after collapse of an illegal gold mine in Indonesia. 10:18 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In All 7 girls (including 5 victims of Muzaffarpur shelter home case) who went missing from a shelter home in Mokama have been found by police. The 7th girl was recovered from Madhubani last night. 10:17 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Left parties will participate in the meeting of the opposition parties, scheduled to be held later today. They had earlier said that they will not participate in the meeting. Pulwama attack and India's response to it are on the agenda of discussion. 09:51 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Himachal Pradesh: Visuals from snow-clad Shimla. All educational institutions in the district to remain closed today in the light of the snowfall. 09:47 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Leaders of Opposition parties will at 1 pm, today in the Parliament Library Building. 09:46 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In A four-storey commercial building located at Padma Singh Road in Delhi's Karol Bagh has collapsed, no injuries or casualties reported. 09:28 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Vietnamese policemen sit outside the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi ahead of the second US-North Korea summit, reports AFP. Summit scenes: Vietnamese policemen sit outside the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi ahead of the second US-North Korea summit Ye Aung Thu pic.twitter.com/0cB4oGtv5A AFP news agency (@AFP) February 27, 2019 09:25 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Himachal Pradesh: All educational institutions in Kinnaur district to remain closed for two days - 27 and 28 February - due to snowfall. 09:29 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In In a joint operation, Kolkata STF and Murshidabad Police has arrested two Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) workers, explosives have been recovered from their possession. 09:09 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In A fire broke out at the 3-storey VDH Kavinagar departmental store in the Kavinagar area of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. As many as 6 fire tenders are on the spot. 08:34 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In China: EAM Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Wuzhen. She will attend 16th Foreign Ministers Meeting of Russia-India-China (RIC) here. She will also hold bilateral discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, besides the Chinese Foreign Minister. China: EAM Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Wuzhen. She will attend 16th Foreign Ministers Meeting of Russia-India-China (RIC) here. She will also hold bilateral discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, besides the Chinese Foreign Minister. pic.twitter.com/PFSN24xkDC ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 08:33 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Visuals from a month-long Festival of India in Nepal being held at the Nepal Academy Hall, Kathmandu. A group performed contemporary folk Punjabi dance at the third event of the festival, yesterday. Visuals from a month-long Festival of India in Nepal being held at the Nepal Academy Hall, Kathmandu. A group performed contemporary folk Punjabi dance at the third event of the festival, yesterday. pic.twitter.com/XMxCADygPY ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 08:25 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In US President Donald Trump predicts 'awesome' future for North Korea if Kim gives up nukes. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The government has closed several airports close to the Line of Control (LoC) for commercial traffic. According to government sources, flights to Jammu, Srinagar, Chandigarh, Leh, Amritsar, Pathankot, Dehradun and Dharamshala have been suspended till further notice. "The civilian air traffic has been suspended temporarily in view of the emergency," an official of the Airport Authority of India told news agency PTI. Official sources said that the entire airspace north of Delhi has been vacated. Pakistan has also shut down all its airport. "All Pakistan airports have been shut down. Flight operations have been suspended in Multan, Islamabad, Lahore, Sialkot, and Faisalabad, news agency ANI reported. "Due to airspace restrictions, flights to and from Amritsar, Srinagar, Chandigarh, and Jammu are currently on hold," Air Vistara announced in a tweet. ALSO READ | Pakistan shuts down airports, flight operations suspended from Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Sialkot Pakistans F-16 fighter jet was shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3 KM within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, Nowshera sector, news agency ANI. The latest development comes amid reports of Pakistan violating airspace in the Rajouri district. According to news agency PTI, "The jets entered into Indian air space over Nowshera sector this morning." The Pakistani jet was immediately pushed back by Indian planes on air patrol but not before dropping bombs. Nowshera is a border town in Jammu. Earlier, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had said India committed uncalled for aggression to which Pakistan shall respond at time and place of its choosing. More than 10 bombs were dropped by the Indian multi-role fighter jet Mirage 2000 at around 3:30 am on Tuesday. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: An Indian Air Force pilot of the Mig-21 Bison of a Wing Commander rank has not returned after usual sortie, news agency ANI reported on Wednesday. An unverified video has gone viral in which the air force pilot is seen telling his name, his batch number to the Pakistani captors. There has been no official confirmation either from the government or the Indian Air Force. News Nation can't independently verify the authenticity of the video, which has been shared widely by many media outlets in Pakistan. If this is proven correct, it would be the second time that an Indian Air Force pilot was held in Pakistan's captivity. During the Kargil War in 1999, Kambampati Nachiketa was a 26-year-old fighter pilot assigned the task of hitting Pakistani posts in Kargil. On that fateful day, Nachiketa, then a flight lieutenant, took off in a 'Hayena' formation led by Sqn Ldr A Mandhokot to bomb enemy positions with 80 mm canons. Flying Mig-27, he ejected from the bomber but fell into the Pakistan territory. But after an intense diplomatic tussle, Nachiketa survived the torture of Pakistanis as a Prisoner of War (PoW), returned to India, got the Vayusena medal, and kept doing what he does best - flying planes for the Indian Air Force (IAF). "I then eased out of the dive but felt a backward jerk due to sudden deceleration. The speed dropped to 500 kmph and realised the engine had flamed out. I immediately jettisoned the rocket pods and attempted a relight. Informing my leader Sqn Ldr Mandhokot, I further lowered the altitude to maintain the speed which had fallen to 450 kmph," the decorated pilot had said in a 2008 interview. "It is an experience which is difficult to be described in words. Sometimes I felt that death would have been a better solution," he had added. Earlier in the day, there were reports that four Pakistan Air Force jet violated Indian airspace in Jammu and Kashmir's Nowshera sector. In the brute retaliation, the Indian Air Force had shot down PAF F-16 fighter plane. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: India shot down Pakistan Air Forces F-16 fighter jet after an airspace violation in Jammu and Kashmirs Nowshera sector on Wednesday morning. The fighter jet was shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3 KM within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, Nowshera sector, news agency ANI. The latest development comes amid reports of Pakistan violating airspace in the Rajouri district. According to news agency PTI, "The jets entered into Indian air space over Nowshera sector this morning." The Pakistani jet were immediately pushed back by Indian planes on air patrol but not before dropping bombs. Nowshera is a border town in Jammu. While details of this retaliation are yet be ascertained by either the Indian Air Force or the Ministry of Defence, contrary claims are being made by the officials across the border. Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, spokesperson Pakistan armed forces, claimed that, PAF shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace. Another starling claim Maj Gen Ghafoor said that, One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area. Meanwhile, a high-level meeting is underway at the Home Ministry in New Delhi. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is among those attending the crucial meet. There are reports that following the airspace violation by Pakistan, airspace over Jammu, Leh and Pathankot have been closed. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: An encounter broke out on Wednesday morning between security forces and terrorists in Memander area of Jammu and Kashmirs Shopian district. Two Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists have been killed in the encounter. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Memander area of Shopian following information about the presence of terrorists there, the officials said. The encounter started at 4.20 am. A joint team of Army's 23 Para, CRPF and Special Operations Group (SOG) launched a cordon and search operation in Shopian following the inputs. Jammu & Kashmir: Visuals from Memander area of Shopian district where an encounter had started earlier today. Firing has stopped now. Search operation is underway. (visuals deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/ZXhPpmDHLJ ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 This comes a day after the Indian Air Force carried out pre-dawn airstrikes on Tuesday and destroyed major launch pads of terrorists in Pakistans Balakot. More than 10 bombs were dropped by the multi-role fighter jet Mirage 2000 at around 3:30 am. The attack was confirmed by the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. In a brief statement issued to media, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale spoke about intelligence operation. In an intelligence lead operation in the early hours today, India struck the biggest training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot. In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commander, and Jihadis were eliminated, Gokhale said. Credible information was received that JeM was attempting other attacks in the country. A pre-emptive strike became important. India struck the biggest camp of JeM in Balakot, Gokhale added. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said Russia calls on India and Pakistan for restraint in connection with the border incident. Russia is concerned about the aggravation of relations, he said. Besides Russia, China on Tuesday urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint after the Indian Air Force conducted airstrikes on terror camps in Pakistan across the Line of Control (LoC). We hope that both India and Pakistan can exercise restraint and adopt actions that will help stabilise the situation in the region and improve mutual relations, China's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang said. The European Union also called on New Delhi and Islamabad to exercise "maximum restraint". "We remain in contact with both countries and what we believe is essential is that all exercise maximum restraint and avoid further escalation of tensions," EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic told reporters. In a statement shared by the Australian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Australian government urged India and Pakistan to "exercise restraint, avoid any action which would endanger peace and security in the region and engage in dialogue to ensure that these issues are resolved peacefully". Australia also called on Pakistan to take action against the alleged presence of terrorist groups in the country. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah on Wednesday. The summon came soon after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan claimed that two Indian pilots were detained after their MIGs were shot down, as he cautioned against any "miscalculation" in case of an escalation between the two nuclear-armed countries and offered to defuse tensions through talks. "Our action was only intended to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same. Delhi: Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah (on the right) arrives at South Block after being summoned by Ministry of External Affairs. pic.twitter.com/2GwxqApWLE ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 "Two of their MiGs were shot down (in the ensuing action) and their pilots are with us," Khan said in an address to the nation which was telecast live. His comments came minutes after the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said that Pakistan Air Force targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is "missing in action". Khan said all wars have been started on miscalculations on the time and the human cost of war. This was the same with the World War I, with the World War II and the war on terror, he added.He said no one knows where the wars lead to. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. highlights Swaraj stressed on point that Pak refused to act. IAFs air strike was only against terror groups. No civilian casualties in the attack, says Swaraj. New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj raised Pulwama terror attack issue during the bilateral meeting with her Chinese counterpart in Wuzhen on Tuesday. Swaraj, who will hold trilateral talks with China and Russia later today, said that the Pulwama terror attack is a grim reminder that there should be zero tolerance against terrorism and decisive action is need of the hour. The meeting gains significance in the backdrop of the Indian Air Forces air strike in Pakistans Balakot, in which major terror camp run by the Jaish-e-Mohammed was completely destroyed. Swaraj extensively spoke about the surprise mission and said that, It wasn't a military op, no military installation targeted. Objective was to act against terrorist infrastructure of JeM to pre-empt another terror attack in India. India doesn't wish to see further escalation of situation. It'll continue to act with responsibility and restraint. In the light of continuing refusal of Pak to acknowledge and act against terror groups on its territory and based on credible info that JeM was planning other attacks in parts of India, Government of India decided to take pre-emptive action and target was selected in order to avoid civilian casualties, Swaraj added. Hitting out at Islamabad over non-action against terror groups operating on its soil, Swaraj said that, Following the Pulwama terrorist attack instead of taking seriously the calls by international community to act against Jaish-e-Mohammed and other terror groups based in Pakistan, it denied any knowledge of the attack and outrightly dismissed claims by Jaish-e-Mohammed. The pre-dawn strike is for the first time in over four decades that the IAF has crossed the Line of Control and penetrated deep into Pakistan. This marks a paradigm shift in its security policy. From the European Union to Australia, almost all global powers have reacted on the unprecedented action by New Delhi. The fact that that tension between two nuclear powers can escalate to a different level, global powers have asked for restraint by both India and Pakistan. Significantly, France has said that it recognises Indias right of self-defence. France, which stands alongside India in the fight against terrorism in all its forms, is fully engaged in mobilising the international community to punish the terrorists responsible for this attack (Pulwama) and to block their financing networks, the statement added. France also asked India and Pakistan to exercise restraint to avert any risk of military escalation and to preserve strategic stability in the region. The resumption of bilateral dialogue between Islamabad and New Delhi is necessary in order to start peaceful settlement of differences, it reads. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: On a day when there has been fierce retaliation on both Indian and Pakistani sides, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that India can also do a US-like operation in which it killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad. "A week is too long a time for any country. If you look at the last 24 hours, one week would appear to be a day. The kind of things we see. I remember when the US Navy SEALs had taken Osama bin Laden from Abbottabad (Pakistan), then can't we do the same?" "This used to be just an imagination, a desire, a frustration, a disappointment. But today this is possible," he added. India shot down Pakistan Air Force's F-16 fighter jet after an airspace violation in Jammu and Kashmir's Nowshera sector on Wednesday morning. The fighter jet was shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3 KM within Pakistan territory in Lam Valley of the Nowshera sector. The latest development comes amid reports of Pakistan violating airspace in the Rajouri district. According to news agency PTI, "The jets entered into Indian air space over Nowshera sector this morning." The Pakistani jet were immediately pushed back by Indian planes on air patrol but not before dropping bombs. Nowshera is a border town in Jammu. While details of this retaliation are yet be ascertained by either the Indian Air Force or the Ministry of Defence, contrary claims are being made by the officials across the border. Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, spokesperson Pakistan armed forces, claimed that, PAF shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace. "Another starling claim Maj Gen Ghafoor said that "One Indian pilot arrested by troops on the ground while two in the area." Meanwhile, a high-level meeting is underway at the Home Ministry in New Delhi. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is among those attending the crucial meet. There are reports that following the airspace violation by Pakistan, airspace over Jammu, Leh and Pathankot have been closed. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday said Pakistan will not attend a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) scheduled for next month if Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj participates in it. Sushma Swaraj has been invited as "guest of honour" at the inaugural session of the foreign ministers' conclave in Abu Dhabi next month. "I have no reservations with OIC or any other Islamic country. My reservations are with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj's attendance at the OIC meeting," Geo news quoted Qureshi as saying. "If Swaraj attends the meeting then I will not participate in it," Shah Mehmood Qureshi said. The OIC is a 57-member grouping of Muslim majority nations. Earlier, United Arab Emirates has invited foreign minister Sushma Swaraj to attend the foreign ministers meet of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) States, set to take place in Abu Dhabi on 1-2 March the first such invite in five decades. Swaraj has been invited by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, foreign minister of the UAE, to address the plenary. Welcoming the move, the statement said: We see this invitation as the desire of the enlightened leadership of the UAE to go beyond our rapidly growing close bilateral ties and forge a true multifaceted partnership at the multilateral and international level." India shot down Pakistan Air Forces F-16 fighter jet after an airspace violation in Jammu and Kashmirs Nowshera sector on Wednesday morning. The fighter jet was shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3 KM within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, Nowshera sector, news agency ANI. The latest development comes amid reports of Pakistan violating airspace in the Rajouri district. According to news agency PTI, "The jets entered into Indian air space over Nowshera sector this morning." The Pakistani jet was immediately pushed back by Indian planes on air patrol but not before dropping bombs. Nowshera is a border town in Jammu. While details of this retaliation are yet be ascertained by either the Indian Air Force or the Ministry of Defence, contrary claims are being made by the officials across the border. Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, spokesperson Pakistan armed forces, claimed that, PAF shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace. Another starling claim Maj Gen Ghafoor said that, One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: In view of escalation in tension between India and Pakistan, all government hospitals in Kashmir have been directed to paint red-cross signs on the rooftops of the buildings, according to reports. The Jammu and Kashmir government have also passed an order to take necessary steps to upgrade the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) at Srinagars Humhama. Take such necessary steps as required to enable the SEOC in having live audio-visual and data connectivity with otherwise inaccessible and disaster-prone areas1valleyJmountain passes of the State, reads the order. Utilize funds placed at its disposal by the State Executive Committee of n the State Disaster Management Authority for this Project in accordance with normal guidelines, the order reads further. The central government has closed several airports close to the Line of Control (LoC) for commercial traffic. According to government sources, flights to Jammu, Srinagar, Chandigarh, Leh, Amritsar, Pathankot, Dehradun and Dharamshala have been suspended till further notice. "The civilian air traffic has been suspended temporarily in view of the emergency," an official of the Airport Authority of India told news agency PTI. Official sources said that the entire airspace north of Delhi has been vacated. Pakistan has also shut down all its airport. "All Pakistan airports have been shut down. Flight operations have been suspended in Multan, Islamabad, Lahore, Sialkot, and Faisalabad, news agency ANI reported. Earlier in the day, India shot down Pakistan Air Forces F-16 fighter jet after an airspace violation in Jammu and Kashmirs Nowshera sector on Wednesday morning. The fighter jet was shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3 KM within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, Nowshera sector. The latest development comes amid reports of Pakistan violating airspace in the Rajouri district. "The jets entered into Indian air space over Nowshera sector this morning." The Pakistani jet was immediately pushed back by Indian planes on air patrol but not before dropping bombs. Nowshera is a border town in Jammu, news agency PTI reported. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Hours after the IAF's 12 Mirage 2000 aircraft supported by a fleet of Sukhoi 30 jets struck three Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camps across the Line of Control (LoC), a comparison of Google searches showed that the search interest for the Indian Air Force (IAF) was higher than that of the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) among the people in Pakistan. As per the trends, the graph of Google searches for Indian Air Force remained above than the graph for its Pakistani counterpart all over the day in most part of Pakistan. The terms which were being compared as part of the analysis include Indian Air force, Pakistan Air Force, Balakot, surgical strike and LoC. While 'surgical strike' was the most popular term in India, the most searched term in Pakistan was 'Balakot', according to the search graphs of five terms in India and Pakistan. In Pakistan, search trends for the term 'Balakot' started gaining traction around 7:40 am. In India, the corresponding time for popularity for the same term was around 8:50 am. By 10 am the search trend for Balakot peaked in Pakistan, while Indians were reportedly searching for the term 'surgical strike'. The Pakistan Army on Tuesday first broke the news of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crossing the Line of Control (LoC) in Muzafarabad sector. Taking to twitter, Major General Asif Ghafoor, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the army, wrote, "Indian aircrafts intruded from Muzafarabad sector. Facing timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force released payload in haste while escaping which fell near Balakot. No casualties or damage". "Indian Air Force violated Line of Control Pakistan. Pakistan Air Force immediately scrambled. Indian aircraft gone back," he said in another tweet. Soon after, the Indian media picked up the information and confirmed that the Indian Air Force (IAF) decimated Jaish-e-Mohammed's Alpha 3 Control Rooms located in Balakot, Muzaffarabad and Chakothi in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (Pok). More than 10 bombs were dropped by the multi-role fighter jet Mirage 2000 at around 3:30 am on Tuesday. Understandably, Pakistan downplayed the airstrike. The pre-dawn airstrikes, being touted as the 'Surgical Strike 2.0', came amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan following the February 14 suicide attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror group that killed as many as 42 CRPF jawans in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Two pilots and a civilian has been killed after Indian Air Forces Mi-17 crashed in Jammu and Kashmirs Budgam district. Some aircraft has fallen. As of now, we aren't in a position to ascertain anything. The technical team is here, they will ascertain facts, SSP Budgam has said. The crash took place in Garend Kalan village of Budgam at around 10.40 am. Srinagar airport has also been shut down following the crash. Jammu and Kashmir Police and Indian Air Force personnel have rushed to the spot. The incident comes a day after the IAFs successful counter-terror air strike in Pakistans Balakot area in which Jaish-e-Mohammeds major terror camp was completely destroyed. Since the air strike, the Line of Control has witnessed heavy firing from the Pakistani side. In powerful retaliation, Indian forces bombed five forward posts across the LoC. The February 14 attack in Pulwama that claimed lives of 40 CRPF personnel has sparked the most tense episode in Indo-Pak bilateral ties. The February 26 air strike has just added to the issue. The flare-up between the two nuclear powers is being watched closely by the world powers. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: In a joint operation by the Kolkata Special Task Force (STF) and the Murshidabad Police, two Jamaat-ul- Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) workers were arrested on Wednesday. Explosives were also recovered from their possession. On February 23, the Kolkata Police has arrested a suspected member of terrorist outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) for alleged links to the Bodh Gaya bomb case. The man, in his early 20s, has been identified as Nur Alam and was picked up from Dhuliyan in West Bengal's Murshidabad. Alam is a resident of Kamat village in the district and has been involved with the terror outfit for some time. On January 19, two high-intensity bombs were recovered from Bihar's Bodh Gaya town during Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's visit. An explosion-like sound was also heard the same day although it has not been established by the police if it was a bomb. Preliminary investigations revealed that Alam, along with four other members of the terror outfit, had visited Hyderabad to meet some senior leaders of the JMB in November, the official said. In January, the Kolkata Police Special Task Force (STF) arrested four others in connection with the Bodh Gaya bomb case. (With PTI inputs) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: There's no denying the fact that Shilpa Shinde is controversy's favorite child. Recently, the former Bigg Boss contestant extended support to Navjot Singh Sidhu for his distasteful remarks following Pulwama attack. Shilpa's support for Sidhu didn't go down well and the actress was mercilessly trolled and received rape threats on social media. Responding to the threats, Shilpa Shinde said, "I don't care at all. You really think I will be scared and keep myself secured in the four walls of my house, No that's not happening." "These people will say anything but I don't care about it. I have been facing such online harassment since ages now for anything that I say or do which is not in their favour, so it doesn't bother me anymore. Also, I heard some reports stating that I will be taking legal action against these threats. But it's false news, I don't pay heed and don't want to take any action. Let them say whatever they want to. We talk about safety and look where is the safety for women in our own country?", as reported by the Times of India.com. Also Read: Will sacking Navjot Singh Sidhu end terrorism, asks Kapil Sharma After the Pulwama attack, Sidhu had said, ''Nations cannot be held responsible for the dastardly acts of terrorists. The terrorists do not have deen, mazhab (sect and religion). There are good, the bad and the ugly. Every institution has them. Every nation has them. The ugly need to be punished. But individuals cannot be blamed for the dastardly act.'' Extending her support to Navjot Singh Sidhu, Shilpa had said, I am totally against the new phenomenon of banning anyone whose views you dont concur with. Sadly, CINTAA and other industry bodies are equally complicit in this. Everyone has the right to occupation; you cant deny me the right to earn my livelihood. In the same vein, I also bat for the rights of Pakistani artists to work in Bollywood, purely on the basis of talent. I have been a victim of this ban culture, so know whats wrong with it. Recently, Shilpa Shinde stepped into the world of politics and joined the Indian National Congress. New Delhi: India on Tuesday woke up to the news of Indian Air Force dropping around 1000 kg bombs on Jaishs terrorist camps in Pakistan in retaliation to the deadly suicide attack on a Central Reserve Police Force convoy in Pulwama on Feb 14. As soon as the news dropped in, Bollywood celebs and other eminent personalities lauded the IAF for giving a befitting reply to Pakistan. In the wake of rising tensions between Pakistan and India, Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, who was last seen in Shah Rukh Khan starrer Raees, said that there is nothing more uglier than the war, and that she hopes better sense will prevail. Here's what she tweeted: Nothing uglier. Nothing more ignorant than cheering for war. May sense prevail.. Pakistan zindabad. https://t.co/sH0VGGAERC Mahira Khan (@TheMahiraKhan) February 26, 2019 Her tweet was a response to a thread on the Twitter wall of Fatima Bhutto, author and grand-daughter of former Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Mawra Hocane, who was seen in Indian film Sanam Teri Kasam, feels it is time to put humanity first. "It is time we understand this as humans. The media needs to take charge and stop being provocative. It's our duty to inculcate peace and use our words for better and not worse. Praying for peace always," she posted. There can be NO winners in war if we value Human Life at all. Christopher Holliday. Its time we understand this as humans.The media needs to take charge & stop being provocative. Its our duty to inculcate peace & use our words for better & not worse. Praying for peace always! MAWRA HOCANE (@MawraHocane) February 26, 2019 Taking a dig at a famous dialogue from Karan Johars film My Name Is Khan, actor Veena Malik said, ''My Name is tree...And Im not a Terrorist.'' My Name is tree...And I'm not a Terrorist ...!!!#Surgicalstrike2 VEENA MALIK (@iVeenaKhan) February 26, 2019 On February 14, around 40 CRPF personnel were killed when a suicide bomber rammed into a convoy while moving from Jammu to Srinagar in Lethpora area of South Kashmirs Pulwama district. Pakistan based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed the responsibility of the attack. For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The first song from Akshay Kumar starrer Kesari is finally out. Titled Sanu Kehndi, the track showcases the camaraderie between the 21 men who fought the Battle of Saragarhi. The song has been composed by Tanishk Bagchi and crooned by Romy and Brijesh Sandilya. Director Anurag Singh had said in an interview, ''The song displays the bond that these 21 guys share. We just wanted to show them having fun before things get serious. Tanishk has based it on a folk tune from Punjab and created this lovely, peppy number thats full of masti. Kumaar, who everybody knows is superb at writing Punjabi numbers with a great hook line, has penned the lyrics. The song will appeal to everybody.'' Check out the track below: Kesari is based on the battle of Saragarhi fought between the British Indian armys Sikh Regiment and Afghan tribesmen in September 1897. A total of 21 Sikh soldiers, who were part of the British Indian Army, were attacked by 10,000 Afghan tribal warriors. These 21 soldiers fought like lions to protect their country from the enemy. Talking about his experience of working on the film, Akshay had earlier said, ''Ive started shooting for my film Kesari, where Im in the heaviest turban and beard Ive ever had to wear. So I shaved my head to make my life a little easier. Im known for hating wigs, prosthetics and so on, and Kesari is quite demanding. Its probably my favourite look, though its taxing to fight and sweat in this avatar. But I wouldnt change it for the world. Kesari also stars Parineeti Chopra, Siddhant Sharma, Ashwath Bhatt, Pawan Malhotra and Rana Ranbir. The film is slated to release on Holi on March 21, 2019. For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex gave up all early gains and fell over 200 points in afternoon trade on Wednesday on widespread selling after Pakistani fighter jets violated Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmir. After dropping 238 points, the Sensex was trading 161.74 points, or 0.46 per cent, down at 35,811.97 after hitting a low of 35,735.33. The gauge rallied nearly 400 points in morning trade. The 50-share Nifty also fell 62.55 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 10,772.75. According to brokers, investor sentiment took a beating after Pakistan claimed that it shot down two Indian military aircraft over Pakistani air space and arrested one of the pilots. The Pakistani fighter jets on Wednesday violated Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch and Nowshera sectors. Major losers include Vedanta, Tata Motors, HDFC, Kotak Bank, Infosys, Tata Steel, Yes Bank, Maruti Suzuki and RIL, falling up to 2.56 per cent. Most of the BSE sectoral indices too turned negative. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Mumbai: The rupee strengthened by 6 paise to 71.01 against the US dollar in early trade Wednesday at the interbank forex market on some selling of the greenback by exporters and banks amid sustained foreign fund inflows. A positive opening for the stock markets also boosted the domestic currency, dealers said. On Tuesday, the rupee snapped its gains of previous two sessions and closed 10 paise lower at 71.07 to the US dollar amid fears of an escalation in geopolitical tensions following Indian fighter jets' air strike on a Pakistan-based terror camp. ALSO READ | SBI calls lenders' meeting with Jet Airways chairman Goyal, Etihad CEO Douglas Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,674.17 crore Tuesday, as per provisional data. In global trade, the US dollar fell to a three-week low after Federal Reserve chairman reinforced the US central bank's recent shift toward a more "patient" approach on policy in the face of the slowing economy. Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose 218.81 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 36,192.52 points in early trade. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Shamokin, PA (17872) Today Thunderstorms, accompanied by locally heavy rainfall at times. A few storms may be severe. High 92F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms. Low 68F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Please purchase a subscription read this premium content. If you have a subscription, please sign up for a digital website account or log in. A British shooting range has defended using images of IS (Islamic State) bride Shamima Begum as targets, calling it "light-hearted fun". Ms Begum, who left the United Kingdom for Syria in 2015 to join the terrorist group, returned to the spotlight over the last few weeks after begging to return to England with her unborn child. The Ultimate Airsoft Range in Merseyside, England, said it received "record numbers" of requests from customers wanting Ms Begum's face to be used as a target. But the shooting range's decision to oblige those requests has sparked controversy, with the Muslim Council of Britain slamming it as "deeply concerning". "In a society where hate and violence against Muslims, particularly Muslim women, is most prevalent and on the rise, it is deeply concerning that people requested an image of a real person as a shooting target, especially in the presence of young children," said a spokesperson. Local British Labour MP Angela Eagle tweeted that it wrong. "It is clearly wrong to use photos of people as targets in a shooting game. They should stop," she said. The deadly 'zombie deer disease' spreading around the world could reach New Zealand - and if it arrives, the results might be "devastating". Known as Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) - or "zombie deer disease" - the contagious disease attacks the brains of members of the deer family, leaving emaciated animals with a zombie-like appearance before they die. The animals begin to suffer dementia and hallucinations before the symptoms worsen. They start struggling with walking and loss of bodily functions before their inevitable death. There is no known cure. The danger comes as the New Zealand deer industry continues to grow, with farmed deer numbers - including the number of breeding hinds and fawns - increasing last year. If CWD reaches our shores, the Deer Industry of NZ (DINZ) warns it would be "devastating" for deer farmers. "We believe the risk of introduction of CWD into New Zealand is relatively low, but because the impact of incursion would be so significant, it's a risk we must take very seriously," CEO Dan Coup told Newshub. "The New Zealand deer industry is over 90 percent reliant on exports, and a CWD incursion would likely result in the closure of all major export markets, so the impact on industry would be devastating." New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI)told Newshub it "closely monitors the threat" CWD poses to us. "CWD is not present in New Zealand and we have never had a reported case of the disease here," a spokesperson told Newshub. "If it were to reach New Zealand, CWD could cause significant harm to our deer industry." In the US, attempts to control the spread of the disease has led to widespread culls of wild deer populations. An infection on a farm here would have even more serious consequences. "When a case is confirmed in a farmed herd, authorities have to treat all animals in the herd as infected," DINZ says on its website. "Typically the herd is then humanely slaughtered, burnt and buried. In the event of an outbreak of CWD in New Zealand, the control measures would be similar to those deployed in a foot and mouth disease outbreak. "However, owing to long-term environmental contamination by the disease agent, it is likely that farms where CWD was detected would be depopulated for an extended period." Strict import rules are in place to minimise the risk of CWD, and deer products from CWD-affected countries are not permitted to be imported here. But there is a risk that hunters and trampers entering New Zealand might bring it in with them on their equipment. "Some regions overseas where CWD is established are popular with hikers, skiers and trophy hunters," DINZ says on its website. "This means CWD could be accidentally introduced to New Zealand on outdoor gear that has been used overseas. Also sometimes things slip undetected through the border, such as deer urine hunting lures, untreated hides or untreated trophies." MPI says all New Zealanders have an important role to play to protect the country from the introduction of CWD. "International travellers coming through customs with hunting equipment are required to present their equipment to quarantine officers and be visibly free from contamination," a spokesperson told Newshub. And DINZ is taking proactive action to make sure the disease never gets here. "DINZ has run a series of awareness campaigns within the deer industry to highlight the risks of CWD and to reinforce the importance of deer farmers and their guests strictly observing biosecurity requirements," Mr Coup told Newshub. "Follow the normal biosecurity rules when returning home to New Zealand, and pay particular attention to ensuring that shoes, clothes and gear is clean if you have travelled in the countryside in North America." Newshub. An international trade relations expert says New Zealand farmers shouldn't panic over speculation that relations with China are strained. China is a major trade partner for the New Zealand - including in the dairy sector, which provides 11 percent of the annual consumption of dairy products in China. Trade relations expert, Stephen Jacobi told Magic Talk's Rural Exchange that while there is a degree of nervousness, farmers shouldn't be overly worried. "I don't think it's quite at the stage the more doomsday scenarioists like to paint", he said. "China is clearly concerned about some of the decisions we have made in recent times," said Mr Jacobi. Some commentators say recent actions suggest that China is sending New Zealand a message of its dissatisfaction, something Stephen Jacobi said needs to be taken note of. "It's always hard to read tea leaves, but we do need to exercise a degree of caution." "I think the Chinese would have been somewhat concerned at the strategic defence policy statement that made certain assertions about China that they didn't like." He said the decision involving Spark and Huwawei, and an announcement before Christmas about the GCSB suggesting that the Chinese Government was involved in cyber espionage have also contributed. "All of these taken together caused a degree of nervousness and we've just got to take a deep breathe, think about our long terms interests in China. "We have to make the decisions we need to make in our own national interests, but the issue is are we managing that relationship correctly?" Watch the full interview with Stephen Jacobi. Hamish McKay and Richard Loe host Rural Exchange, 6-8am Saturday and Sunday on Magic Talk with Carter's Tyre Service. Newshub. The Government should rethink the way it spends money instead of introducing a capital gains tax (CGT), Sir Roger Douglas suggests. The former Labour Party politician, who is best known for his role in the radical economic restructuring of the 1980s known as 'Rogernomics', told Magic Talk the country is heading in the wrong direction. "Let me tell you, we're not in great shape financially. I think broadly, it's a joke," he said on Wednesday, when asked about the prospect of a CGT. The ACT Party founder acknowledged that the Tax Working Group (TWG) wanted to make the tax system fairer by suggesting a CGT be implemented. But Sir Roger said that view is misguided, and slammed the group's chair Sir Michael Cullen. "You have Cullen saying that he doesn't really hate the rich but hates poverty. He is inferring, of course, that if we have this capital gains tax, somehow it's going to eliminate poverty, or at least help the position." Sir Roger also criticised another suggestion in the TWG's report, to increase the bottom income tax threshold from $14,000 to $20,000-22,500. He said it wouldn't be enough of a relief to significantly ease poverty, and said it's the wrong approach. Rather than introducing a new tax, Sir Roger suggested the Government look at how it can use its money more efficiently, instead of funding policies such as fees-free tertiary education and the Provincial Growth Fund. "Get rid of the Shane Jones circus," he said. The effectiveness of the $3 billion Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) led by Regional Economic Minister Mr Jones has been questioned. Newshub revealed earlier this month it had only created 54 jobs after $26.6 million had been spent. The Maxim Institute released a report on Tuesday suggesting the Government's "big" thinking with the $3 billion PGF comes with too much risk, and it needs to start making "smart" investments to generate the better outcomes for the regions. On the fees-free policy, Sir Roger explained: "You could have the children of two lawyers, who are earning half a million [dollars] each, and we're giving [their children] a free year of tertiary education." The flagship policy, offering one-year free tertiary study to students, came into force in January last year, and is expected to cost the Government $340 million a year, and the increase to student support a further $270 million a year. "The situation is getting worse," Sir Roger said. "We've got an absolute obsession with redistribution which is negative and pulls people down rather than getting rid of rent-seeking and introducing more competition." He added: "We've got money being spent on unnecessary items, we've got hand-outs to the rich mates and interest groups, and we've borrowed when there was no need." In its recommendations to the Government, the TWG has recommended a CGT on all gains and losses on land and improvements, except the family home, including shares and business assets. It would not apply to personal items, like bikes, boats and art. There is plenty of support for the recommendation, with Green Party co-leader James Shaw saying earlier on Wednesday that the Government was elected to fix the tax system, and that means considering a CGT. "We have always believed that it makes sense for people who flip properties for a living to pay tax on that income just the same way that you and I who earn a salary or a wage pay tax on that income." Even New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, who in the past has opposed a CGT, has appeared to soften his view on it, telling Magic Talk on Tuesday: "Fairness is what the New Zealand people should expect from the Government." The CGT, which was recommended by the TWG last week, would be set at the income earner's top tax rate, likely to be 33 percent for most people. The Government will give its response to the recommendations in April. Newshub. Newshub has obtained documents that paint a picture of exactly how the KiwiBuild targets unravelled. In October, everything seemed peachy. Housing Minister Phil Twyford was told there was a high certainty of 627 homes being complete by July this year, and a further 430 were in the works. That would have pushed KiwiBuild across the line to meet the first-year target of 1000 homes. But by the end of November, everything came crashing down. Suddenly, just 347 homes were highly likely to be built by July. How did it all go wrong? Communications released to Newshub under the Official Information Act show concerns about the number of houses being contracted were first raised way back in August. On August 5, former head of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development's KiwiBuild unit Stephen Barclay text-messaged Mr Twyford, saying: "To be frank, I'm disappointed a number of leads I talked to you about haven't closed." A week later, in an email to Mr Twyford's staff, Mr Barclay said he needed to give the Housing Minister an update on the numbers, saying: "He and I both agree it is the most pressing issue." The official figures showed that by October, things seemed good. But on November 8, a new manager began at the Ministry. Around that time, Mr Barclay left the office, never to return. And by November 26, the number of homes that were highly likely to be built plummeted. The Ministry would not do an interview with Newshub, but sent a statement saying it became aware of potential issues with the numbers, and looked into it further. Confusion over October status report After an audit of KiwiBuild, the Ministry found the numbers were way off. Its official statement says: "The number of dwellings reported in the October status report included a very broad definition." That meant houses that were in very early stages of negotiations were being sold to the Housing Minister as a done deal. In a statement, Mr Barclay told Newshub his numbers were accurate, and that it appeared something changed after he left. Phil Twyford is in Australia so was unavailable for an interview, but sent Newshub a statement. "This matter is related to an ongoing employment dispute so it would be inappropriate for me to comment," he said. "There is new leadership in place in the KiwiBuild Unit which is working hard to get much-needed affordable homes built." The National Party's housing spokesperson Judith Collins has been scathing about KiwiBuild's management, saying: "As a Minister you've got to ask the right questions and you've got to have a culture whereby people will tell you the truth." Barclay's resignation a surprise to Twyford Newshub can also reveal that Mr Twyford only found out about Mr Barclay's resignation in January when Mr Barclay himself sent out a press release announcing it - an hour after he sent his formal resignation letter. ACT Party leader David Seymour says the Minister should've been across it. "Failing Phil has failed at every hurdle," he said. "Knowing who's in charge of your flagship policy is Minister 101, but Phil Twyford has failed at that too." Since the annual targets were dropped, the Government has been using "over 10,000" as the number of KiwiBuild homes that it's got contracted or committed. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern celebrated the figure in her official start of the year statement. But figures released to Newshub show that just 341 of those 10,000 will be built this year, and nearly a fifth won't be built until the final two years of the programme. The number of houses expected to be built 2019: 341 2020: 1121 2021: 1515 2022: 1205 2023: 1329 2024: 1022 2025: 917 2026: 1045 2027: 1010 2028: 850 It seems KiwiBuild is still not hitting any targets. Newshub. A Wellington man has submitted an official petition calling on the Government to ban social media in New Zealand. The petition, submitted by 46-year-old Benjamin Seeley, asks the House of Representatives to ban Facebook and other social media in the country. "I believe that there are too many instances of cyberbullying and threats of violence on Facebook and other social media," the petition says. "Nobody should put up with bullying by a complete stranger." Published on 14 February, the petition has only received three signatures so far, but it's a legitimate petition that will be considered by our politicians. A petition gets its name from the fact you're directly petitioning the House of Representatives. It's available to absolutely anyone of any age - you don't even have to be from New Zealand. A properly submitted petition uses a formal legal process which, if successful, can influence the law. The most famous example was in 1893 when a petition led to New Zealand being the first country in the world to give women the vote. Mr Seeley said he submitted the petition because he's seen many cases of cyberbullying and people dying of suicide as a result, telling Newshub: "I'm of the generation where we didn't have social media or the internet growing up, and we were much happier". He said he'd "definitely like to see Facebook banned". ACT leader David Seymour responded to a post about the petition on Twitter, saying he would be "prepared to accept any petition that is not grossly offensive because I believe people have a right to petition Parliament". He joked: "I just hope they are not using social media to promote it." Auckland Council has voted to take its opposition to private fireworks sales to the Government. The council's Governing Body met on Thursday to vote on the issue, after almost 90 percent of the 7997 public submissions on the proposed ban favoured it. The feedback and recommendations helped to inform the Governing Body on their decision to make changes to the Public Safety and Nuisance Bylaw. "I don't think this is an end to fireworks. Fireworks are much more widespread than they used to be," Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said. "I think we have a clear steer from Aucklanders as to what their view is. We have a resolution that says we should convey that view to Parliamentarians and to ministers." A motion by councillors Cathy Casey and Fa'anana Efeso Collins was made last year seeking the council's support for the Government to introduce legislation, and it was referred for public consultation. "Year-round, fireworks cause unnecessary distress and injury to people, animals, birds and livestock and misuse of fireworks puts huge pressure on emergency services through unnecessary fires, property damage and injuries," Ms Casey said. She said on Thursday: "It's time to ban the private sale of fireworks." "A ban will significantly reduce the number of bylaw complaints about the setting off of fireworks on private property received by Council, significantly reducing the demand for council resources." Now that the motion has passed, Auckland Council will request that the New Zealand Government introduce legislation to ban the sale of fireworks to the general public and end their private use. "Public displays means the spectacle of fireworks can be enjoyed by everyone while families and pets are kept safe," Ms Casey said. She said a ban will "significantly reduce the number of bylaw complaints about the setting off of fireworks on private property received by Council, significantly reducing the demand for council resources". Newshub. "We are horrified to hear of the deaths of three people who were working for Higgins Contractors near Whakatane," said Transport, logistics and manufacturing secretary Jared Abbott in a statement. Police have now named the three men who died in the crash as 55-year-old Dudley Sole Raroa, 55-year-old David Reginald Te Wira Eparaima and Haki Graham Hiha, 40 years old. All three men were living in Rotorua. "No one goes to work to die. Our thoughts are with the families, who today will be mourning a shocking loss, and to the workers who will never see their friends again." Police and the Serious Crash Unit are investigating the circumstances behind the horrendous crash, which occurred at 1:50pm on Tuesday. A man claiming to be a close friend of Johnny 'Danger' Bennett has honoured the social media personality's life by dedicating a bar to him at his hostel on Nicaragua's southwest coast. Tim Mullins told Newshub he knew what he wanted to do with the space on the property in San Juan del Sur to honour the amateur stuntman and Snapchat comedian who died in April last year. "As soon as I saw it I wanted to name it after him, paint his face on it all over it and after I got the family's permission, I did so," he told Newshub. "If he was here today, still with us, he would be either next to me or playing a big part in it, so I had to find a way to let the world know the mark he made on my life and find a way to keep his name going." While thousands of people are on the public housing waiting list and high-prices in Auckland continue to lock first-home buyers out of the market, Mark Richardson reckons there is no housing crisis in New Zealand. On Wednesday, American housing developer and Holland Partner Group chief executive Clyde Holland told The AM Show the Government needs to recognise how hard it is getting houses consented. Instead of consenters analysing the validity of every single proposed house or project, he advocates one organisation to look at approving builds. "The only way for New Zealand to begin moving forward is to move to approved development zones... so no longer is there a consenting process," he said. He believes that all forms of housing are necessary, and planners need to understand the relationship between housing, transport, the environment, and work. "Keep everything the same in the 95 percent which is currently the suburbs, but the one mile ring around transit and the walkable urban core, shift to the approved development zones so you have the ability to build at scale." Following the interview, Richardson said Mr Holland had "corroborated my theory that there is no housing crisis in this country". "There is an accommodation crisis - that is very different. "I asked him in the ad break 'does it matter when you build your high rise apartment if I happen to buy a whole bunch of them and rent them out to people?'. He said 'no this is not about home ownership, this is about supplying places for people to stay'." A breakdown of Auckland house prices by Barfoot and Thompson in January shows the average sale price for a three-bedroom dwelling is $913,056. The average rent is $568. Richardson had a strong message to those complaining about the prices. "I don't give a rat's ass if you can't afford a house, what I care about is if you can't afford to rent a nice place to stay." Earlier this month, it was revealed that the public housing waiting list has ballooned to more than 10,000 households - a 73 percent increase in a year. While the Government has built more than 1100 new state homes since taking power, its efforts with KiwiBuild haven't entirely worked out. In January, interim targets for the scheme were cut after it was announced only 300 houses are expected to be built by July - 700 less than the target. However, an ASB Housing Confidence Survey found that for the first time in more than five years, more respondents thought it was a good time to buy than a bad time. Newshub. The fire in Moutere near Nelson has now been "basically contained", according to Robin Thompson, the Deputy Principal fire officer from Nelson Tasman district. Mr Thompson told Newshub they are hoping to get residents back into their homes tonight. Crews are still working to fight the fire that broke out at Redwood Valley in Moutere on Wednesday. Anyone who self evacuates is being asked to register with the Welfare Centre at New Life Church on 85 Wensley Rd, Richmond. Earlier, police told residents to evacuate as the fire reached four hectares in size and spread rapidly. The 33-year-old man allegedly responsible for Tuesday evening's terrifying shoot-out in a suburban Christchurch street was previously wanted by police. Canterbury District Commander Superintendent John Price addressed media on Wednesday about what led to Tuesday evening's shoot-out. Early on Saturday, the man had allegedly fired shots at police from a vehicle after failing to stop, Spt. Price said. Police immediately abandoned pursuit. On Tuesday, the car involved in Saturday's incident was located, and police signalled for the vehicle to stop. The driver once again failed to stop, and fled from police. "During that pursuit it appears the driver of the car has deliberately driven towards an officer who was laying road spikes," said Spt. Price "Luckily, the officer was not harmed, and the car was spiked." Spt. Price says the man then attempted to flee, and shot at police. Police returned fire, and the man was shot, leaving wounds in the lower half of his body. More than 30,000 people have signed a Parliamentary petition urging the Ministry of Education to scrap references to gender diversity in the New Zealand teaching curriculum. 'Stop transgender teaching in New Zealand schools' was published on January 29, and has garnered 31,190 signatures as of Wednesday evening. Its purpose is to persuade the House of Representatives to urge the Ministry of Education to "remove learning intentions for teaching gender diversity in the sexuality education guide". The petition also demands the removal of gender diversity teaching resources on the Te Kete Ipurangi (TKI) website, which provides schools with education materials. TKI currently provides multiple learning resources aimed at educating students about different gender identities, including 'Making schools safer for trans and gender diverse youth' and a video series about Rainbow Pasifika youth. In 2015, the Ministry of Education developed guidelines for how schools should teach sexual education, and in 2017 the 'Inclusive Education Guide for supporting LGBTIQA+ students' was released. Education Minister Chris Hipkins told Newshub while no changes have been made since 2015, "the Ministry of Education plans to work with the sector to update the guide this year to ensure it reflects further societal changes". "I believe that teachers are already required to create a safe environment for all students regardless of race, religion, language, disability, and sexuality," the petition reads. "They do not have a separate requirement to teach the content of minority groups in the curriculum... I believe that endorsing gender discordance as normal via public education and legal policies will confuse children and parents." Helen Houghton, who lodged the petition, was not immediately available for comment when approached by Newshub. Gender Minorities Aotearoa national coordinator Ahi Wi-Hongi told Newshub they don't imagine the petition will have much of an effect, as an MP would need to present it to Parliament for it to make it to the House. "I imagine it wouldn't be taken seriously. I would hope it wouldn't be." They say 31,000 is a suspiciously high number of votes for a fairly niche issue in a small country, and wonder how many votes might have been sourced from overseas such as the UK, where the anti-transgender feminist movement has more of a foothold. The recent self-identification debate has increased the profile of transgender issues in New Zealand. On Monday the Government bowed to pressure from lobby groups like Speak Up For Women and halted a proposed law that would make it easier for people to change their sex on their birth certificate. Wi-Hongi says they have some sympathy for people who feel confused or threatened by the speed with which historically marginalised identities have become more visible. "I think some people are quite sheltered in how they've lived their lives. They're not aware that there are people who are different from them. It must be quite terrifying to see things that have been established facts for their whole lives suddenly questioned. "It's easier to think of trans people as small fringe freaky weirdos who don't deserve rights." Wi-Hongi says the school resource petition is born out of fear, which in turn is born out of ignorance. "There is a fear of sexual violence, which is very understandable. But we have to remember people had the same fears 30 years ago around homosexual law reform. "People said all the same things about how gays were going to molest people in bathrooms or how there would be paedophiles teaching in schools. "We look back now and say 'How could people have thought like that?' but it's happening again." Research shows young trans people are at much higher risk of bullying, depression and self-harm than their cisgender peers. Wi-Hongi says it's crucial they feel understood by a school system that treats their identity as legitimate. "The fact is that trans people have always existed, in schools, in the workplace. It's very unscientific to say trans people don't exist." They say updates to the curriculum that teach 'gender diversity' is "just more accurate teaching of the facts". "Back in the day in school we were all taught that there's male and there's female and how to put a condom on a banana. We need to think about trans students who are learning that they don't exist. "How are they going to practise safe sex if they're taught they don't exist?" Newshub. The new Marvel Phoenix gets her own comic book series ahead of MCU debut A classic Marvel Knights hero gets her own spotlight in Phoenix Song: Echo Jeffersonville, IN (47130) Today Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. High around 85F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. (CNN) Cardinal George Pell has joined the ranks of other shamed Catholic priests who betrayed the trust of children who believed they were men of God. The Vatican treasurer, now a convicted pedophile, was a close adviser to the Pope, personally appointed by Francis as the Vatican's minister of Economy and, until October, was a member of the Pope's Council of nine advisers. As a victim of sex abuse, his accuser can't be named under Australian law, but his testimony will be felt at the very heart of the Vatican, which for decades has been accused of ignoring, covering up and denying sex abuse was committed within its ranks. In December, a jury found Pell abused two choirboys in the priest's sacristy of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne one Sunday in the 1990s, when Pell was the city's archbishop. Only one victim is alive to tell his story, having kept his abuse secret for decades. The second boy died of a drug overdose, apparently having never divulged what had happened to him. The existence of the trial couldn't be revealed until now due to an Australian suppression order. Pell's sentencing hearing is due to begin on Wednesday. The conviction is the result of years of police work, including a special task force set up to solely investigate claims against the cardinal. It also follows a damning report by a royal commission into institutional child abuse in Australia, which alleged more than 1,800 Catholic priests, brothers, lay people, and religious sisters across the country had assaulted thousands of children over the past 65 years. In a statement released after reporting restrictions were lifted, the Vatican said Pell's conviction was "painful news, which we are aware has shocked many people, not only in Australia." The Holy See had "maximum respect for the Australian judicial authorities ... We now await the outcome of the appeal process, remembering that Cardinal Pell has reiterated his innocence and has the right to defend himself until the final grade of judgment. Pell's conviction comes amid attempts by the Vatican to begin making amends for decades of abuse by priests across the world. Over the past week, the Vatican held a historic summit on sexual abuse by clergy. Speaking at the last day on Sunday, Pope Francis described pedophile priests as "tools of Satan." 'The evil of pedophilia' Pell's fall from grace may have been sealed with the pronouncement of the word "guilty," but for advocates of Australia's church abuse victims it was a long time coming. In 2012, calls for a national inquiry finally produced results after a senior detective from the state of New South Wales broke ranks and wrote an open letter to the premier, in the Newcastle Herald. "I have investigated so many sexual assaults in my 35 years of policing I've lost count. Having spent most of those years at the coal face I have seen the worst society can dredge up, particularly the evil of pedophilia within the Catholic Church," Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox wrote at the time. Four days later, then Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced a royal commission into institutional child abuse, declaring that "there have been too many revelations of adults who have averted their eyes from this evil." At the time, Cardinal Pell suggested that the media had waged a "persistent press campaign" and "general smears" against the Catholic Church. He denied there was a coverup. "(Although) there is a press campaign focused largely on us, it does not mean that we are largely the principal culprits," he told reporters in 2012. He said he hoped the commission would show the public that the Catholic Church wasn't the worst offender. Unfortunately for Pell, it did. After five years of submissions, the final report, released in 2017, concluded that tens of thousands of children had been abused in Australia "over generations" in a range of institutions from children's homes to sporting clubs and schools. "We will never know the true number," reads the report. "Whatever the number, it is a national tragedy, perpetrated over generations." Out of all the testimonies heard by the royal commission, almost 60% said they were abused inside a religious institution. Of that number, more than 60% said of those were abused within the Catholic Church. Special task force formed Such was the flood of allegations following the announcement that Victoria Police assigned a special taskforce to investigate the claims, even before the commission had released its final report. The SANO Task Force started the job of chasing leads in 2013. Operation Tethering was formed at the same time to focus on claims specifically relating to Cardinal Pell. When the investigation began, there were no new public allegations against Pell. In June 2015, however, a man walked into Victoria Police Center and told Acting Sergeant Christopher Reed he'd been abused as a choirboy in the late 1990s by none other than the then archbishop of Melbourne, George Pell. He told how the then-newly inaugurated archbishop had just said mass when he caught the boy and his friend drinking wine in the priest's sacristy at the back of Melbourne's St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was there the man said Pell exposed himself to the two young boys and forced the accuser to perform oral sex on him. It wasn't the first time Pell had been accused of acting inappropriately with children, though it's the only time an accuser's claims have led to a trial and conviction. In 2002, an inquiry chaired by former judge Alec Southwell examined allegations that Pell, then a student priest, had sexually abused a young boy at a camp on Philip Island in 1962. Pell denied the boy's claims. The judge found Pell, then archbishop of Sydney, gave a trustworthy account, but so too did his accuser. In the end, he decided there wasn't enough evidence either way to take the matter further. It isn't the only time Pell has avoided trial over lack of evidence. A second trial due to be held this April was called off by the crown prosecutor after the judge ruled a number of witnesses couldn't be called. News of the December conviction had been kept under seal, and it can only now be revealed. A suppression order was issued by the judge to avoid prejudicing the second trial. During pre-trial hearings, the crown prosecutor described the accusations against Pell. The accuser at the second trial, who can't be named under Australian law, had claimed Pell indecently assaulted him at the Eureka swimming pool in the regional city of Ballarat in the 1970s, when Pell was the local priest. The accuser says Pell grabbed his genitals underwater as they played a game that involved the priest throwing boys in the pool. They'd climb onto his shoulders and jump off, or he'd catapult them into the air by clasping his hands underwater to give them a push up by their feet. The crown prosecutor opted not to proceed with the trial after Chief Judge Peter Kidd ruled against the inclusion of testimony from other boys who claimed Pell's hands came uncomfortably close to their genitals. Other charges were dropped during a committal hearing in 2018 ahead of the two trials. One witness died and another withdrew due to illness, weakening the prosecution's case. The Melbourne Response program The shock of Pell's conviction was even greater given that at the time of his crimes in the 1990s, he was launching a program to deal with accusations of sex abuse in the Church. Then-archbishop Pell announced the compensation scheme, titled Melbourne Response, one month before a national scheme called Towards Healing was due to begin. As a result of Pell's initiative, there was no national response to the crisis. Pell's program was limited to victims within the Archdiocese of Melbourne. Since its launch, Melbourne Response has been criticized for providing only small amounts of compensation to victims, and in some circumstances, discouraging them from going to police with their complaints. Pell referred to the scheme in his meeting with Australian police in Rome 20 years later, in 2016. "I was the first person in the Western world to create a church structure to recognize, compensate and help to heal the wounds inflected by sexual abuse of children at the hands of some in the Catholic Church," he told officers in the interview played for the jury, according to transcripts of the interview seen by CNN. Pell's characterization of himself as a defender of abuse victims is not shared by advocates who fought for years for justice. It was also not believed by those who saw him escort notorious child abuser Father Gerald Ridsdale to court in 1993. Considered Australia's worst pedophile priest, Ridsdale was imprisoned in 1994 and continues to serve multiple sentences for sexually assaulting more than 50 victims including children. Pell later said he escorted Ridsdale to court out of a sense of Christian duty but conceded to the royal commission that it had been a "mistake." He also said he hadn't been aware of Ridsdale's decades of abuse a statement some victims found difficult to believe. The benefit of the doubt The second boy Pell was found guilty of abusing later died from a drug overdose. The boy's mother told police she'd explicitly asked her son if he'd ever been "interfered with or touched up in choir," according to a transcript of Pell's trial. The boy, then a teenager, said no. It's not known if the former choirboy had listened or read reports about what Pell had to say at the Royal Commission. If he did, he would have heard Pell, now a close adviser to Pope Francis, tell a public hearing in Sydney that the attitude to child abuse in the Vatican in the 1990s was to give accused priests the "benefit of the doubt." "The attitude of some people at the Vatican was that if accusations were being made against priests, they were made exclusively or at least predominantly by enemies of the Church to make trouble and therefore they should be dealt with skeptically," Pell told the commission. "I think there was more of an inclination to give the benefit of the doubt to the defendant rather than listen seriously to the complaints." There are signs the Vatican's attitude to church sex abusers is changing. In mid-February, Francis defrocked U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, after he was found guilty by the church of abusing an altar boy in the 1970s. "The Holy See's announcement regarding Theodore McCarrick is a clear signal that abuse will not be tolerated," Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops told CNN. "No bishop, no matter how influential, is above the law of the Church." It's unclear if Pell will be defrocked. In December, within days of his conviction, the Vatican announced Pell was no longer a part of the Pope's council of advisers. Francis had written to three cardinals, including Pell, in October and thanked them for their work, a statement said. The news that one of the church's highest-ranking cardinals is guilty of sex abuse came after bishops gathered at the Vatican for a four-day summit called by Pope Francis to address abuse within the church. Francis urged the 190 Catholic leaders to "hear the cry of the small ones who are asking for justice." Many of the victims of pedophile priests are no longer children. They're adults demanding justice and change in the church that so grossly betrayed them. Pell's defense team announced Tuesday that it had appealed his conviction. This story was first published on CNN.com "How convicted pedophile Cardinal George Pell was brought to justice" 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 If it's up, then it's up, then it's up, then it's stuck in your head. Say what you will about Cardi B, but she knows how to make hits that breathe their own air and make their own space in the culture, and she's got no problem releasing them one at a time (see last summer's "WAP"), album cycles be damned. "Up" is catchy, colorful and motivational, and works just as well in the background at a summer cookout (depending on who's around, you may want to opt for the clean version) or at the gym. (Explicit lyrics, to say the least.) HICKORY, N.C. Gerbers latest spokesbaby is a 1-year-old born to a Hmong immigrant family, according to a press release from the company. Gerber announced Kairi Yang as the baby on Feb. 26. She was chosen among 544,000 entries on Instagram. As soon as we saw her photo, we fell in love with Kairis expressive eyes and angelic face, looking toward the future and being excited for all that it holds, said Bill Partyka, president and CEO of Gerber. Kairi will be the Gerber spokesbaby for a year and will be featured on Gerbers social media channels. Her family will receive $50,000. Kairi, who is named after a character from the Kingdom Hearts video game series, is described as having a larger than life personality and a spunky attitude. When we first found out Kairi won, we were speechless and couldnt believe it. We are beyond thrilled that our sweet Kairi is Gerbers 2019 spokesbaby, said Kairis mom, Ying Vue. Kairis personality is larger than life, and she always maintains a spunky attitude. We hope Kairis one-of-a-kind, entertaining personality and vibrant facial expressions radiate positivity around the world, just like she does in our home every single day! Carl Ray Kennedy on Wednesday was sentenced to 6 years for the June kidnapping of his estranged daughter. Kennedy had previously pleaded guilty such charges as kidnapping of a child by parent, assault and battery of a family member, attempted abduction by force or intimidation, abuse of a child, grand larceny and possession of a deadly weapon as a prisoner. Kennedy kidnapped the infant from Danville and fled to North Carolina with her. His flight launched a two-day manhunt for him and his daughter, then 7-month-old Emma Grace Kennedy. He was found in Randleman, North Carolina. Defense attorney Michael Nicholas said Kennedy will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence on 5 years of the charges and half of the last year, contingent on his good behavior while incarcerated. James Whitlow reports for the Danville Register & Bee. Contact him at jwhitlow@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7983. School board member Jason Johnson agreed. This would be a significant boost for our teachers and support staff that work so hard for our students, Johnson said. Im certainly hopeful and excited about it. Schuch said the proposed budget also would accelerate the divisions initiative to issue Chromebooks to every student inmiddle and high school. We have planned to provide devices to all of our learners in grades 6 to 12 over a multiple-year cycle by the 2021-22 school year, Schuch said. I am happy to share that this budget supports a dramatic acceleration of our 1:1 implementation timeline and that we now intend to issue Chromebooks to all of our learners in grades 6 through 12 next school year. School board member Martin Leamy said the proposed budget is a good jumping off point, Its pretty much an academic exercise until the we know how much we are getting from the state and what the county revenues will be so we know what we have to work with, Leamy said. However, I think this is a good starting point and when we have more solid figures we can sit down and make meaningful additions or cuts. BEDFORD The body of a Moneta woman missing since Thursday evening and the subject of a days-long search was discovered in a stream near her home Wednesday, officials said. The remains of Lina Pat Toot, 83, were located around 9:30 a.m. in Stony Fork Creek a Roanoke River tributary that runs about half a mile north of her home on Toot Boulevard, Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown said at a news conference Wednesday. Officials said Toot, who suffered from sundown syndrome, a state of confusion associated with dementia, is believed to have wandered from her home to the nearby creek sometime Thursday night. Family members told the sheriffs office they had last spoken with her around 8 p.m. She was reported missing Friday afternoon after family members arrived at her home that morning to find the front door open. No foul play is suspected in her death, though the sheriffs office is continuing to investigate. The discovery ended a nearly weeklong search that included more than 400 volunteers and officials from across the state. 12 Indian Air Force Mirage-2000 fighter jets from Dassault Aviation on 26th February entered Pakistani airspace and dropped 1,000-kg laser-guided bombs on Jaish-e-Mohammed terror launch pads across the Line of Control. The Mirage-2000 are the same jets that helped India win the Kargil war. Watch the video to know more about IAFs Firepowers. Senators got their first opportunity Tuesday to prod drugmakers about the wallet-emptying prices they charge for prescription drugs. Almost in unison, the executives expressed support for eliminating rebates that flow to industry middlemen instead of patients; for increasing transparency about how they set prices; for shifting to a more value-based pricing system, in which outcomes are rewarded. Together they demurred when asked to commit to lowering list prices on drugs like insulin and the blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira. The drugmakers AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer and Sanofi appeared before the Senate Finance Committee as lawmakers mull how to best control rising drug prices. Several declined the committee's first invitation to testify last month, agreeing to appear after committee leaders publicly named them prior to Tuesday's hearing. Outlining the problem, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the committee's top Democrat, said that last fall 10 companies accounted for half of all profits in the health care sector, nine of them drugmakers. He pointed out that all but one of the drugmakers represented Tuesday were among the top 10 profit-makers. "Your profits are outsized compared to others in the industry, you get a massive portion of your revenue from American taxpayers, and you bear none of the consequences of high drug prices," Wyden said. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the committee's Republican chairman, emphasized the seriousness of the hearing, opening with an unusual reminder to the executives that it is a crime to lie to Congress and pressing them to commit to lowering prices. Even Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia, a Republican who praised the industry for discovering lifesaving drugs like the ones that help him live with Parkinson's disease expressed reservations. "When I can't explain it, it's tough, and I can't explain the cost increases," he said. Congress has spent decades trying to contain rising drug prices, leaving some skeptical that even broad bipartisan support and the backing of the Trump administration is enough to wrangle the deep pockets of the pharmaceutical industry. But Tuesday's hearing offered some sense of what drugmaker opposition or support might look like. Here are five key takeaways: Targeting Rebates And PBMS Each of the seven executives said they support eliminating rebates, or discounts negotiated by pharmacy benefit managers that lower the cost of drugs for those footing the bill generally, insurance companies or larger employers. PBMs keep a portion of the rebate as payment, but patients are often the only ones who don't benefit. Yet, when asked about the Trump administration's recent proposal to strip PBMs of their ability to claim rebates for brand-name drugs covered by government programs, not a single executive would commit to lowering list prices should the proposal be realized. Drugmakers have long blamed PBMs for driving up costs, and though they seemed to tone down their accusations after senators made it clear they would not tolerate finger-pointing these executives were no exception. Jennifer Taubert, the executive vice president and worldwide chairman of pharmaceuticals for Johnson & Johnson, called PBMs "extraordinarily effective negotiators." Albert Bourla, who became the chief executive of Pfizer last month, said the company sets its prices "through negotiations with PBMs, and they are very powerful." And Pascal Soriot, the chief executive of AstraZeneca, said the rebate system is "not sustainable." They were met with some notable skepticism. Wyden pointed out that about 40 percent of drugs covered under Medicare Part D don't have a rebate, challenging the idea that rebates are at the heart of the problem. And PBMs, who weren't in the room, pushed back against the blame. "Drugmakers alone have the power to set prices," JC Scott, the president and chief executive of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, the national trade organization for PBMs, said in a statement. Debating List Prices Wyden had little patience for the executives' emphasis on rebates, which he dismissed as "window-dressing." He was unequivocal: List prices set by the drugmakers are the real problem. "I just want you all to know that the No. 1 reason consumers are getting hammered is because these list prices are unaffordable," Wyden said. While the pharmaceutical industry is prone to dismissing list prices due to the fact that relatively few pay them after rebates and other discounts are applied, those prices are used to calculate copayments for some such as seniors using Medicare Part D. Kenneth Frazier, the chairman and chief executive of Merck, called the system "regressive," lamenting that it is typically those without insurance who pay list prices. "The biggest problem we have as a country is we have a system where the sickest and the poorest are subsidizing the others," Frazier said. Grassley and Wyden each pressed executives to commit to lowering list prices, especially if the Trump administration passes its proposal to eliminate rebates in government programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Executives balked, with some saying rebates would first need to be eliminated from the entire system, not just government programs. "If the rebates were removed from the commercial sector as well, we would definitely reduce our list prices," said Soriot of AstraZeneca. The pharma executives did express support for both the vague notion of increasing transparency about how drugmakers set prices, as well as for shifting to a more value-based pricing system. "Imagine a system in which Pfizer gets paid based on the number of heart attacks we prevent" rather than the number of pills sold, said Bourla of Pfizer. Applauding The CREATES Act All seven executives pledged support for the CREATES Act, which is designed to stop what Food and Drug Administration chief Scott Gottlieb calls "shenanigans" perpetrated by brand-name companies to block competition. Pharma firms often refuse to supply makers of generics with needed samples to develop rival, less expensive products or abuse safety rules as another way of hindering competition. Alleged culprits include companies represented Tuesday. The FDA's "name and shame" list of those withholding samples, a list originally published last year, included AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson's Actelion division and Celgene, which has agreed to be bought by Bristol-Myers. The unanimous support for CREATES seems to put the executives opposite their own trade group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which has staunchly opposed the bill and spent millions of dollars last year lobbying on it. On Tuesday, PhRMA CEO Stephen Ubl said the group is working with generics manufacturers "to jointly develop a modified version" of CREATES and would "work with policymakers on a bipartisan basis to advance this legislation." Flap Over Prices Overseas Senators hammered executives on price disparities between the United States and elsewhere, extracting admissions that the companies make money even in markets where prices are much lower. "How is that not gouging the American consumer with high prices even though you're giving other people, Western, industrialized countries, a better deal?" Wyden asked Richard Gonzalez, AbbVies CEO. "I think that you charge more here because you can, and American taxpayers are subsidizing all of you to be able to have incredibly high profits," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat. Pharma bosses responded by saying that terms vary by market. Research and patient access could be threatened by over-regulation of U.S. prices, they said. The result of lower prices in Europe is that "these medicines are available many years later than they are here," Frazier said. "They actually provide very few of these medicines early on to their populations." Friction Over Patents AbbVie, the maker of the top-selling rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira, came under especially intense and notably bipartisan scrutiny for its use of patents to thwart competition. Wyden accused AbbVie of clinging to its exclusivity "like Gollum with his ring," preventing lower-cost generics from coming to market and easing the burden on patients' wallets. Gonzalez said Humira's multiple patents covered its different uses as they were identified. "Remember, Humira is like nine different drugs, 10 different drugs," he said, referring to the fact that the drug is used to treat other diseases, such as Crohn's disease. Sen. John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, was incredulous, pointing to the decades-long grip AbbVie has on Humira since it secured multiple patents on the drug without making changes to it, as well as the drugmaker's lawsuit to block another company, Amgen, from creating a cheaper, biosimilar version. (AbbVie ultimately settled, agreeing Amgen could release its version in 2023.) Perhaps the Senate Judiciary Committee should also investigate AbbVie as a matter of anti-competitive behavior, Cornyn said, turning to Grassley, who is also on that committee. Grassley agreed. So much that is wrong in this state starts and ends with the public pension issue. Roads and bridges are falling apart because funding is not available due to pension obligations. Chicago can't or won't hire detectives because it can't afford more police because of pension obligations. This state has so much to do that cannot be done because we owe so much to people who are no longer working. Yet the one fix that would solve this issue was not mentioned by Gov. J.B. Pritzker even once in his budget address: a constitutional amendment to the Illinois Constitution that would strike the pension clause. Oxford Gene Technology (OGT), The Molecular Genetics Company, has announced that it is expanding its Cytocell operations with a move to a new facility in Cambridge, UK. Cytocell, OGTs fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) probe brand, will be moving into the significantly larger facility on the prestigious Cambridge Science Park, due to the expansion of the organization, current sales volumes and predicted sales growth. In addition to investing in OGT by expanding Cytocells operational footprint, OGTs parent company, Sysmex, is demonstrating its confidence in the UK by establishing the new premises. OGTs Cytocell brand provides the largest range of high-quality, reliable, and cost-effective FISH probes on the market and is well known for its comprehensive range, exceptional customer support, service and expertise. Over recent months, OGT has been expanding the direct sales of Cytocell products in Europe and Asia. Staff numbers across the organization are increasing and a larger space is needed for manufacturing and logistics facilities to match the increased volume of product manufacture and shipment. The new facility will have approximately three times the floor space of the current premises and capabilities to deliver a significant increase in output as the business continues to grow. OGT also plans to create a training and demonstration facility in the new premises to host its customers. Were delighted to announce the investment in, and expansion of, our Cytocell operations by Sysmex. Sysmex is committed to growing our business and aligning our commercial synergies. In addition, Sysmex is demonstrating its confidence in the UKs strong traditional base in Life Sciences. Our ever-growing cooperation with Sysmex delivers the benefits of being part of a larger organization to our customers, providing them with enhanced services and support." John Anson, CEO In addition to investing in OGTs Cytocell brand, Sysmex is considering creating a global R&D facility at the premises to evaluate new technologies and pursue collaborations with key opinion leaders, resulting in delivery of innovative new products to the market. Our acquisition of OGT has been, and continues to be, extremely successful. We are very much aligned in our goals and our synergies make for an excellent collaboration. This significant investment in the company is testament to our confidence and desire to further develop OGTs brands alongside our portfolios". Kenji Tsujimoto, Executive VP of Technology Strategy, Sysmex Corp OGT anticipates the new facility to be fully operational by May 2019. Between February 5 - 7 2019, the Anaheim Convention Center in Southern California hosted the annual MD&M West medical manufacturing conference. This year, MD&M organizers chose to highlight the latest advancements in medical device technology and innovative marketing strategies that can be used to target specific consumer audiences. The conference also featured updates to recent regulations for newly-developed medical devices in both the United States and Europe. MD&M West in Anaheim, CA | Feb. 5-7, 2019 | 15-Second Ad Play Innovative 3D Printing Solutions The incorporation of three-dimensional (3D) printing, also referred to as additive manufacturing, has continued to intensify across a wide variety of industries, as companies around the world become increasingly aware of how cost-effective this technology is. Within the medical field, researchers are starting to use 3D printing to create tissues and organoids as potential alternatives to human organ transplants. Furthermore, 3D printing has also improved medical teaching curricula by creating patient-specific organ replicas for surgeons to practice on before performing complicated procedures. This years MD&M West event explored these types of 3D printing innovations by discussing how various 3D printing healthcare applications have transitioned from a prototyping phase to mainstream production. Speakers like Grant Shirley from Stratasys argued the importance of maintaining rigorous quality assurance testing and inspection processes of all 3D printed materials, particularly those which exhibit complex geometries and are composed of new and different materials. Supporting Product Development stockddvideo | Shutterstock As technology companies continue to make their mark within the clinical setting, it is imperative that product designers and manufacturers maintain a close relationship with their end users who, in this case, are the clinicians and patients that will be benefitting from these products. Many technology companies that have experience with developing medical devices agree that, in addition to prototyping their devices through numerous usability tests, active conversation with other companies, as well as clinicians and patients, was pivotal to their success. The opening plenary to MD&M Wests Product Development & User-Centered Design track provided a unique insight into the entrepreneurs attending the conference on the importance of collaboration in this field. Anne Wellington, who is currently a managing director at Cedars-Sinai, informed the audience on how young companies can collaborate with their prospective end users of the health industry to develop products that precisely meet their consumers needs. Phillip Remedios of BlackHagen Design also supported this discussion in a separate seminar by examining the methodology needed to achieve innovative product design. Staying Up to Date with the EU and the FDA Stock-Asso | Shutterstock In 2018 alone, over 50 different types of medical devices were approved for use by the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA). These novel medical devices range from ophthalmic surgical lasers, heart pumps, implantable lenses, glucose monitoring systems and much more. At MD&M 2019, Dr. Daniel Shultz discussed the FDAs current strategies and areas of concerns regarding medical device technology, and how the priorities of this federal entity have the potential to affect the manufacturing companies that produce these products. In addition, Dr. Michael Drues discussed the various programs that have been incorporated into the FDAs Breakthrough Designation Program (BDP). In an effort to improve patient access to novel technologies, Dr. Drues discussed how manufacturers can apply for BDP designation and tips on how to ensure that their applications are not rejected or delayed. Although the regulations set by federal entities within the United States and the European Union are primarily interested in the safety and well-being of patients, medical device manufacturers may feel restricted by these laws. For example, the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Registration Evaluation and Authorization [and restriction] of Chemicals (REACh) acts of the European Union have continued to increase restrictions on medical devices that have been miniaturized or those that are composed of more exotic materials. To overcome these legislative challenges, Thomas Bowles of FUTEK Advanced Sensory Technology, Inc. discussed ways in which product designers can meet the demands of these restrictions while also allowing their products to progress to market. Conclusion Overall, the 2019 MD&M West conference provided attendees with numerous different sessions that covered a wide variety of relevant topics on product trends, new materials, artificial intelligence, robotics and much more. With respected speakers from highly successful companies, such as Edwards Lifesciences, Galen Robotics and Merck, as well as health professionals from well-renowned hospitals like Mayo Clinic, this years MD&M West provided attendees with an intimate view on the future of medical technology. What changes is digital integration bringing to modern labs? What's already possible today? What will be possible tomorrow? These questions and more will be addressed at LABVOLUTION, Europe's flagship trade show for innovative lab equipment and laboratory workflow optimization. LABVOLUTION runs in Hannover, Germany, from 21 to 23 May Laboratories are undergoing major change, and the engine of this change is digitization. Digitization is driving automation, enabling ever more complex workflows and facilitating interaction at all levels. While there is still quite a gulf between the early adopters and the late adopters, there's no denying that digital integration and big data are the way of the future in the lab sector, just as they are everywhere else. As Europe's flagship trade show for innovative lab equipment and laboratory workflow optimization, LABVOLUTION naturally has a strong focus on this trend as per its 2019 lead theme, "The Integrated Lab". Bringing connectivity to the lab In today's digital age, value creation is no longer based purely on new innovations. Increasingly, it is also based on leveraging those innovations through the power of data. If you want to succeed in, say, the life sciences, you can't afford to just passively monitor your data. You have to actively use it by connecting it up, sharing it and converting it into premium-grade knowledge." Dr. Siegfried Bialojan, Executive Director, Life Science Center, Mannheim, Ernst & Young GmbH An outstanding contributor to the discussion around laboratory integration is Germany's smartLAB project, which in 2019 will be staging a special showcase at LABVOLUTION for the third year running. With support from partners from science and industry, the "smartLAB the intelligent lab of the future" showcase presents a hands-on vision of tomorrow's digitally integrated laboratories. One of the partners in the smartLAB showcase is realworld one. For its contribution to the showcase, realworld one has translated laboratory workflows into virtual space, providing a fully immersive experience in which users can interact with equipment and perform lab set-up. The display is powered by realworld one's own augmented reality platform, which builds bridges between industry and science by providing new ways of collaboration between manufacturers, users and researchers. "People from all around the world can use our platform to connect and talk with each other in virtual space," explains realworld one's Global Business Development Director, Patrick Pfirrmann. "Products and process equipment are recreated with extreme fidelity, and are interactive and fully functional, so platform users can work with them in a very real sense. This opens up completely new possibilities, such as teaching, safety training, sales and marketing applications, as well as the ability to present use scenarios for new products." Another company presenting smart, integrated applications for laboratories at LAVOLUTION is Mettler Toledo. One of these applications is an automated solution for transferring measurement and reading data between instruments, thereby avoiding manual transfer errors. The core idea is a workflow in which a sample is weighed and the weight data are then automatically transferred to the next item of analysis equipment, either via RFID or by means of a computer network. "The integrated laboratory, as we conceive of it, encompasses more than just the big items of equipment," explains Market Manager Christoph Jansen. "Even supposedly simple applications can be integrated elegantly into the data flow." He's referring to scales, pH-meters, conductivity meters, melting point measurements, refractometers, density meters, UV/VIS spectrophotometers, titrators and the like. "The digitization platform that makes all of this possible is our software LabX," Jansen explains. "Multiple lab instruments can be connected to it at the same time. From there, it is a simple step to connect them all to a higher-level laboratory data system and hence enable seamless data transfers." Pharmaceutical and laboratory equipment supplier Sartorius is also investing heavily in tomorrow's integrated laboratories. One of the main focuses of its lab integration work is on enhancing the efficiency of lab workflows through the use of integrated apps and virtual reality. "Laboratory digitization is a challenge, but it is an opportunity, too," says Dr. Reinhard Baumfalk, Head of Product Development, Lab Products and Services Division at Sartorius. "The complexities involved means it's a challenge that no one group can master on its own, neither lab operators nor providers of lab equipment. That is why we are so glad of the opportunity to meet up with users and partners from industry and research at LABVOLUTION to discuss concepts and solutions for tomorrow's laboratories. Clearly, the "Integrated Lab" lead theme will feature prominently at the smartLAB showcase, just as it will at the displays of numerous other exhibitors and indeed at an all-new group display staged by providers of lab information management systems (LIMS). It will also be a major part of the supporting program. For example, it will be very much to the fore at the Lab USER Dialogue, a series of workshops where providers will present their solutions and potential users will have the opportunity to ask questions and try out the equipment for themselves. As well as this, there will be multiple speaking events and panel discussions dedicated to the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow's connected, integrated laboratories. Aurora Labs Limited (Aurora or the Company), is pleased to announce that it has signed a binding term sheet with the University of Western Australia (UWA) and Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) in a collaboration agreement to develop 3D printing of titanium medical implants (the Project). The objective of the Project is to develop designs, specifications and parameters for the 3D printing of medical implants for use with humans using Auroras S-Titanium Pro Small Format Printer. The parameters developed will be the how to instructional guide for printing the human medical implants using an Aurora 3D printer. This is an industry-led partnership and each party will contribute the appliances, goods, personnel and other resources to the Project. UWA will also provide a researcher to work on the Project. The parties will apply to the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) to receive an Innovation Connections grant in relation to the Project (Grant) for approx. A$26,000. If the application for the grant is successful, all funds will be applied to costs of the Project. This is an exciting collaboration and we are extremely pleased to be working with UWA and RPH, two leading entities in Australia. This partnership is a significant achievement for Aurora, it enhances our credibility, as well as certifying the potential application of additive manufacturing to the healthcare industry. It also demonstrates the advancement of additive manufacturing into multiple fields. The diversified use of titanium across a range of industries is well known, but in the medical field titanium is the most compatible metal with the human body. The suitability of Auroras technology can service the need for on-demand medical implants that are customized to the patient. David Budge, Managing Director of Aurora Labs Project Roles Aurora will provide UWA and RPH with one Printer (S-Titanium Pro) for their use in relation to the Project during the Project Term, free of charge. Aurora will also supply UWA and RPH with metallic consumable powders (consumables) for use with the Printer in relation to the Project, free of charge. UWA will conduct research activities to optimize implant characteristics suitable for tissue ingrowth and assess materials that will determine the best size and distribution for consistent printing results. RPH will provide appropriate designs of craniology plates for printing for the Project and consult on the cranioplasty application after printing. During the Project, Aurora will make its maintenance and training staff available to UWA and/or RPH on an as needs basis to provide reasonable advice and assistance regarding 3-dimensional metal printing matters and use of the Small Format Printer. The Project will terminate 6 months after the award of the grant or completion of the research whichever is the earlier. Data released today by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reveal that antimicrobials used to treat diseases that can be transmitted between animals and humans, such as campylobacteriosis and salmonellosis, are becoming less effective. Vytenis Andriukaitis, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: "The report released today should ring-again-alarm bells. It shows that we are entering into a world where more and more common infections become difficult-or even sometimes impossible-to treat. However, ambitious national policies in some countries limiting antimicrobial use have led to a decrease of antimicrobial resistance. So before the alarm bells become a deafening siren, let's make sure that we increasingly act all together, in every country and across the public health, animal health and environment sectors under the One Health approach umbrella." According to the report, which refers to 2017 data, resistance to fluoroquinolones (such as ciprofloxacin) is so high in Campylobacter bacteria in some countries that these antimicrobials no longer work for the treatment of severe campylobacteriosis cases. Most countries reported that Salmonella in humans is increasingly resistant to fluoroquinolones. Multidrug resistance (resistance to three or more antimicrobials) is high in Salmonella found in humans (28.3%) and animals, particularly in S. Typhimurium. In Campylobacter, high to extremely high proportions of bacteria were found to be resistant to ciprofloxacin and tetracyclines. However, combined resistance to critically important antimicrobials was very low to low in Salmonella and Campylobacter from humans and animals and in indicator E. coli from animals. "Now is the time to turn the tide on antimicrobial resistance if we want to keep antibiotics working," Mike Catchpole, ECDC's Chief Scientist, said. "It's particularly worrying when it comes to combined resistance: even low proportions mean that many thousands of patients across the EU have limited treatment options for severe infections." Marta Hugas, EFSA's Chief Scientist, said: "We have seen that when Member States have implemented stringent policies, antimicrobial resistance has decreased in animals. Annual reporting by European and national agencies includes noteworthy examples. This should serve as an inspiration for other countries." The joint report, which presents the data collected from 28 EU Member States from humans, pigs and calves under one year of age, confirms the rise in antibiotic resistance already identified in previous years. In June 2017, the European Commission adopted the EU One Health Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance, calling for effective action against this threat and recognizing that it needs to be tackled in both human health, animal health and the environment. The prudent use of antimicrobials is essential to limiting the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in humans and animals. Longview, TX (75601) Today Scattered thunderstorms this morning, then cloudy skies this afternoon. High around 90F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight A few clouds. Low 74F. Winds light and variable. This time, with no incumbent and a wide-open field, Chicagoans had the chance to help put their stamp on the city, yet many punted. There are various theories, including feelings of apathy and cynicism over the state of Chicago politics. Some blamed confusion. With so many candidates to vet, why not wait for the anticipated runoff election, when choosing between two finalists will be easier? That logic runs the risk of defeating itself: All those who opted out of the first round may find they dont like either candidate in the runoff. Perry Joint Fire District Chief James McDonald probably has been called a hero more than a few times in his long career. @MarkMeszoros on Twitter Mark is a lifelong Northeast Ohioan and an Ohio University grad. Along with loving music, movies and television, he is crazy about sports and tech. Reach the author at mmeszoros@news-herald.com or follow Mark on Twitter: @MarkMeszoros. HARTFORD About 4,600 people on parole and thousands more who are held pre-trial may gain the right to vote if legislation to expand ballot rights passes the General Assembly. Currently, ex-offenders on probation may vote, but not those in prison or on parole. For up-to-date information on public policy issues, sign up for the CT Politics newsletter. A real problem we often face when we try to get every eligible voter to register and every registered voter to vote is in getting people to know at what point in the process of leaving the criminal justice system they get their vote back, said Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, during a public hearing Wednesday. This bill would remove some of that confusion. In 2012, Tiheba Bain, 49, was excited to vote for the first time since her release from prison. But after the Bridgeport resident cast her ballot, her vote would not count because she was on parole. I was angered and hated the system but I kept the faith and decided to do what I could to help change laws and policy that restrict formerly incarcerated people from achieving their best life now, she told members of the legislative Government Administration & Elections Committee. Sixteen other states and the District of Columbia offer parolees voter rights. Vermont and Maine never remove such rights from incarcerated individuals. Proposed legislation would also give people who have not been convicted, but are held in jail before a trial, access to the ballot. The impact of this injustice is shouldered unequally by communities of color, said Juan Hernandez, Connecticut State Director of the Service Employees International Union 32BJ. Expanding voting rights to parolees was backed by the state Sentencing Commission in December. With strong support from the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, the bill was brought to the House floor for discussion last year, but never received a vote. Democratic Sens. Gary Winfield, of New Haven, and Marilyn Moore, of Bridgeport, and Reps. David Michel, of Stamford, and Josh Elliott, of Hamden, co-sponsored a 2019 bill, which would next head to the Senate if it passes the committee. I think this would be much better for our political system where we are trying to say that all people ought to belong, said Elliott. Seventeen Yale University students also submitted testimony in favor of the legislation. There was no testimony filed in opposition. emunson@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson WASHINGTON Zoning officials have said a home renovation is adhering to town law, despite concerns raised by neighbors. Neighbors are worried a home being renovated on Dodge Farm Road will become a duplex. The area is zoned for single-family use, which means a duplex or other multi-family homes arent allowed. But the owners, the Wrights, assured the zoning commission on Monday that the house will only be rented out to one family either has the whole house or half of the house. The zoning commissions attorney and the new zoning enforcement officer, Nick Tsacoyannis, also said the project as it stands is allowed under the code. Darryl Wright said they purchased the house in 2018 with the hope of renovating it for their two sons so they can be a part of the community some day. In the meantime we were hoping to recoup some of the costs, he said, adding one son is still in high school so theres time. The house was built in 1972. Chairman Nicholas Solley said he approved the expansion back in 1986 as a single family home and over time someone had illegally turned it into a duplex without the towns knowledge. The changes happened before the Wrights purchased it. Neighbors worry that it could officially become a duplex though because thats how its built now. John Doherty, a resident on Dodge Farm Road, questioned why members of the commission hadnt been to the site and what assurances they have the commission will investigate future complaints. How much confidence do we have zoning will do the right thing? Dorey said. Employees in the town zoning department have visited the site and Tsacoyannis said hes working with the Wrights on how they renovate the rest of the house. He said he will be monitoring the site. We are watching the site, as I watch any site, Tsacoyannis said. There are no outstanding zoning violations on the property and the only one that has happened so far was when the gas company forgot to apply for a permit. Commission members said they also didnt know about any violations about the building since the expansion in the 1980s. Other commission members reminded the audience that the zoning enforcement officer works for the town and not the zoning commission so complaints should be reported to the first selectmen, as well as subsequent complaints if they dont feel its being investigated. Solley said they were not discussing possible future uses on Monday and only addressing the site and application as it stands now to be rented out to one family. Regulations will be adhered to, he said. Three issues for Chicago Public Schools arent getting the attention they deserve in this campaign. Most candidates didnt say much about the districts financial problems and the pension costs that crunch spending on classroom education. Fallout from CPS sex abuse scandal also got short shrift. The district knows more about its employees backgrounds since the Tribunes Betrayed series exposed the scandal. But CPS previous inattention could lead to costly legal settlements. Also awaiting Mayor Next: A district losing students by the thousands has no use for much of its real estate empire. Think of it any way you wish consolidating schools, closing schools, repurposing schools to new uses Chicago taxpayers are maintaining and heating lots of half-empty buildings. Worse, the few students rattling around underpopulated schools dont have curricula as rich as Chicagos busier schools can justify. CPS timidity about closing schools has empowered neighborhood groups to intensify their demands that no more schools close. And did we mention that the Chicago Teachers Union expects a big cave from City Hall during negotiations on a new labor contract? NEW MILFORD At one time, a series of tunnels and hidden chambers in homes around town served as sanctuaries to slaves trying to flee to freedom in Canada using the Underground Railroad. Several of them are still standing, not far from where a dozen children recently sat at the historical museum as they learned about the Underground Railroad and the role New Milford played in helping slaves escape. There are periods in our history that were not proud of, but they have to know and they have to learn, said Anita Regan, who leads the educational programs at the historical society and museum. She said former librarian Kathy Elmore approached the historical society with the idea for the Black History Month program, specifically geared toward second- through fifth-graders, and it readily agreed. The program featured stories, an activity that allowed the kids to create paper quilt squares while learning how symbols on quilts relayed messages on the route north and the song Follow the Drinking Gourd, sung to represent the slaves journey to freedom by following the Big Dipper. Nia Evans, a third-grader there with members of her Girl Scout troop , said she knew of the Underground Railroad from her Harriet Tubman and American Girl books, but was excited to learn New Milford was a part of it. There are at least eight houses believed to have been a part of the Underground Railroad in New Milford, all of which were included on a walking tour in 2003. Curator Lisa Roush said none of the New Milford sites are included on the Freedom Trail because those require two primary source documents and these houses only have one primary source document. Its hard to do because it was a secret so not many people were writing about it, she said. She said it was very likely slaves stayed in New Milford because Frederick Gunn in Washington was a known abolitionist and they would have traveled through town to meet him. Regan focused on the large brick house on Grove Street, that once belonged to Elisha Bostwick, a prominent man in town and the town clerk. He had owned slaves but freed them when he realized it was wrong, instead leading a campaign for others to follow suit and opening his house to serve as a station. If you go in the house today, youll see the little tunnels and passageways where the slaves hid, she said. The other houses include the Boardman house, which now serves as the Cramer and Anderson law office, two houses on Second Hill Road, the Knowles house on Old Town Park Road, the Sabin house and Quaker meeting house on Route 7, and the Thayer House on Route 67, which is now a dentists office. Josh Violette, a fourth-grader, said hes working on a nonfiction chapter book for school about the Underground Railroad and plans to use the information he learned Thursday in that. He said he didnt know the Big Dipper was also called the drinking gourd and will see the constellation in a new light now when it appears in the sky. Its also why he decided to draw it above a field of green for his quilt square. Im going to think about how it was a big part of the Underground Railroad, he said. Lydia Hyde, a third-grader there with her troop, said she enjoyed hearing the stories and creating the quilt square. Art can help you learn about things, she said. Through the art project I got to learn about freedom quilts and what they mean. Different symbols or colors shared secret messages with the slaves without having to speak. The books spoke about how a blue center square showed a house was safe and the monkey wrench pattern could signal to other slaves that that family was leaving. Its quite amazing, she said. kkoerting@newstimes.com; 203-731-3345 EASTON An outpouring of community support has raised more than $22,000 for a woman critically injured in a head-on collision earlier this month. The GoFundMe campaign, created on Feb. 19, said its unlikely the woman will ever walk again. Easton Police Chief Timothy Shaw said dispatch got a call around 12:15 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16 for a two-car head-on collision on Route 59 near its intersection with Church Road. Three people were injured in the crash, one critically, and were taken to local hospital, Shaw said. The morning after the crash the woman was in stable, but still critical, condition, the police chief said. A GoFundMe campaign was created on Feb. 19 to help cover medical costs for Melissa Kirkpatrick, who was apparently gravely injured in the crash, according to the page created by Nicole Kirkpatrick. Though police have not released further details about the crash, in the description of the crash, Nicole Kirtkpatrick said the other driver went into Melissa Kirkpatricks lane. Melissa Kirkpatrick recently relocated to Stamford for a new job, according to the GoFundMe. The fundraising team is seeking to raise $50,000 for Melissa Kirkpatrick. As of Wednesday afternoon, 229 people have raised $22,730. Her injuries are severe, the GoFundMe said. She is int he ICU in critical condition. She spent her birthday in IC, instead of being able to celebrate with co-workers and family. There is extensive lower body and abdomen trauma. Since Melissa Kirtkpatrick just started her job, she doesnt quality for short-term disabilities or other options, the GoFundMe said. She is the sole provider for her family, including her widowed mother, her husband Karl, her two children who are 9 and 12 and her stepchildren who are 13 and 15. Melissa is a strong, intelligent person. Shes an amazing wife, mother and stepmother. She is the support for everyone she knows and now is the time to support her in her hour of need, the GoFundMe said. To visit the GoFundMe page, click here BROOKFIELD Jared Carreras can keep his state Husky insurance after all. The 12-year-old Brookfield boy, who lives with brain disorders and a rare form of epilepsy, was set to lose the insurance that paid for his critical in-home care this week. But, on Monday, after his family and community members urged officials to reconsider, the state granted Jared a waiver that allows him to qualify for insurance based on his disability, rather than his familys income. Were still kind of speechless, said Shirley Correia, his mom. Were still kind of in disbelief. We fought so hard and everyones voices were heard. Jared is blind, uses a wheelchair, cannot talk and has undergone seven brain surgeries. He often suffers from seizures, and in-home nurses are critical to dealing with his daily needs and helping the family function, Correia said. After learning Jared was no longer eligible for the insurance that paid for these nurses, Correia wrote to the governor, contacted other state agencies for help and spoke to Hearst Connecticut Media about the familys situation. The community rallied around the family, raising nearly $4,000 through GoFundMe and promising to write letters to officials on the familys behalf. A month of care would have cost the family $12,000 to $15,000 out-of-pocket. The family has private insurance, but this does not cover in-home care. It also might not have covered the full cost of another brain surgery, which Correia said will likely be necessary one day. While in his mothers womb, Jared had a stroke, preventing his brain from growing. He had two brain surgeries shortly after and was diagnosed with various brain and nerve-related disorders. He was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy and had surgeries to deal with a cyst on his brain that once caused him to have 30 seizures in an hour. Jareds insurance ran out on Sunday, but the family planned to use the GoFundMe donations to pay for care on Monday. The waiver through the state Department of Developmental Services kicked in on Tuesday. The state will review the waiver each year until Jared turns 18 and qualifies for other plans. But Correia said Jared should continue to be eligible for the waiver because his disability and needs will not change. The latest insurance plan will continue to cover the cost of nurses in the home for 10 hours a day each day. But for the next month, the family will use the GoFundMe donations to pay for nurses on the weekends. Correia said the nursing agency is temporarily unable to offer weekend coverage due to staffing changes, so she will need to hire someone privately. Any donations left over will pay for therapy equipment Jared needs, including a fully-adapted bicycle and chair lift, Correia said. Correia said the experience has made her want to advocate for others in the local special needs community. She encouraged families facing similar problems to persevere. Fight it, Correia said. Dont give up. Dont take no for an answer. I wasnt going to. WASHINGTON Michael Cohens day-long testimony Wednesday on Capitol Hill had riveting moments, maybe the most explosive finger-pointing at a sitting president since John Dean uttered the famous words about cancer growing on the presidency at the Watergate hearings of 1973. But on Thursday, it will be the House intelligence committees turn to question Cohen this time behind closed doors. One of the questioners will be Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn. At my request, I got a late-afternoon phone call from Himes to ask whether any of the many bombs Cohen dropped over the Trump White House on Wednesday will inform his questioning on Thursday. It was obviously quite a show, he said, he of the Cohen Q&A before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The testimony definitely will guide us. House intel will focus on the Russia-collusion side of the equation, unlike the oversight committee, which on Wednesday focused more on pre-election payments to two women claiming affairs with Trump. (Cohen had canceled checks, so lots of smoking gun right there.) But Cohen also testified about Trump operative Roger Stone informing the Republican nominee in advance that Wikileaks was about to dump hacked DNC emails that would damage Hillary Clinton. That will be high on the list of things we ask about, Himes said. So where are things headed in terms of President Donald Trump and the collusion that he categorically denies? What are the range of possibilities? The best-case scenario is the president inappropriately conducted personal business (in Russia) while running for president, Himes said, referring to Trump misstatements about the timeline of negotiations with Russia to build a tower in Moscow. At a minimum, thats beyond the pale of previous presidents. Or what about dismissed FBI official Andrew McCabes suggestion the bureau considered investigating Trump as a pawn of Russian President Vladimir Putin? Himes half-laughed, not wanting to go there. But the president has bizarrely acted in the interest of Putin for a long time, Himes said, citing Trumps defense of Putin against conclusions of U.S. intelligence that Putin directed online interference in the 2016 election, and efforts to soften Ukraine-related language in the 2016 GOP platform. So how do you say stay tuned in Russian? ================= JAHANA HAYES, UNVARNISHED When Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., approached Teacher-of-the-Year Jahana Hayes last year about running for the House seat soon to be vacated by Rep. Elizabeth Esty, her response was: Absolutely not. I dont know how to raise the money. I dont even know what running would look like. That and other revelations are part of a Rolling Stone interview with Hayes on her improbable road to Congress. Eventually Hayes accepted the challenge and hit the road to parlay her teaching success in Waterbury into a House seat. But to get there, she had to overcome a fair number of inner and outer demons some of which she details in the interview. Hayes has talked before about her difficult upbringing in Waterbury public housing, an up-by-the-bootstraps tale that is by turns saddening and redeeming. But unlike most of her House colleagues, Hayes is able to make a connection between the liberal social programs she supports in health care, education and other areas, and her own life story. Her mother was a drug addict and Hayes remembers coming home in sixth-grade to see authorities piling their furniture outside after eviction. The funny thing is, my mom was a really good mom until she was not, so I understand the thief that is addiction, she said. Her pregnancy at age 16 was no big deal to her or any of her neighborhood friends. It wasnt until I left my neighborhood that I realized its a big deal, she said. Gun violence was commonplace in her youth. Once, she said, there was a shooting in the common area of our building and someone got killed. The next morning, I remember my grandmother pouring water and sweeping the blood out so that we could play there. With a lot of help, she managed to finish school and start a career that led to teaching history at John F. Kennedy High School in Waterbury and the 2016 Teacher-of-the-year award. The up-by-the-bootstraps narrative may apply to her, but she finds it irksome nonetheless. You cannot pull yourself up by the bootstraps if you do not have any boots, she said in the interview. That creates this idea that `all you have to do is work harder, almost like its your fault. And thats not always true. dan@hearstdc.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. A few aldermanic candidates have some tech chops. Derek Lindblom, who worked on Glen Tullmans Livongo Health diabetes care startup and investment firm 7Wire Ventures, is challenging Ald. Michele Smith in the 43rd Ward. Gregory Mitchell, up for re-election in the 7th, was an IT manager for CME Group before becoming a full-time alderman. Kevin Bailey, a candidate in the 20th, is a civil engineer who works for IBM. And candidate Troy Antonio Hernandez, 25th, is an executive architect for IBM with a doctorate in statistics and machine learning. Newburyport, MA (01950) Today Partly cloudy with a slight chance of thunderstorms. High near 95F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Mainly cloudy. Low 71F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Vermont U.S. Rep. Peter Welch says he plans to introduce a bill that could propose spending up to $1.5 trillion on infrastructure. The Times Argus reports Welch discussed infrastructure during the Vermont League of Cities and Towns meeting Monday with mayors from across the state. The Democrat says states and municipalities need help addressing "incredibly urgent and long-overdue and neglected infrastructure needs." Mayors discussed the need for upgraded sewer systems, fixes for crumbling roads and bridges, and water treatment plant upgrades. They also stressed the need for high-speed internet and public transport in rural areas. Welch says he expects his joint bill with Rep. Peter DeFazio, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, to receive bipartisan support. He says he hopes the bill will be introduced in May. New evidence has been presented against a Massachusetts police officer accused of child rape. In Lawrence District Court Wednesday, prosecutors said Carlos Vieira, 49, owns several unregistered guns and suggested he's a threat to the community. Vieira's attorney, Gil Nason, said his client should be granted bail and said Vieira owning weapons has nothing to do with the case. "They want to make it sound like more than it was," said Nason. "We initially came here on a rape of a child. And now were here questioning guns that a police officer has. I think its just another reason to keep him in custody." The 19-year veteran of the Lawrence Police Department was arraigned Tuesday on two counts each of aggravated rape of a child and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. He was arrested without incident Monday in Haverhill following a month-long investigation, according to the Essex District Attorneys Office. Prosecutors said Vieira met a 13-year-old boy in the summer of 2018 through a gay social media app called GRINDR. He agreed to meet the boy at Mount Vernon Park in Lawrence where a sex act is alleged to have taken place in a dark SUV. When the boy's mother found out, she contacted authorities and an investigation began which ultimately led to Vieira's arrest. The judge in the case said Wednesday Vieira must remain behind bars until at least March 6 when a dangerousness hearing is scheduled. The district attorney's office has until then to gather more evidence and the judge can then decide whether or not to grant Vieira bail. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has sent a cease and desist letter to another online e-cigarette retailer to halt selling to Massachusetts customers, the attorney general's office announced Wednesday. The letter was sent in response to an investigation that showed Kilo E-Liquids, a California-based company, had abridged state regulations for the sale and advertisement of tobacco products. Healey's letter demands that the company cease sales to Massachusetts residents until it proves they are compliant will all state laws and that they do not advertise vaping products on any websites that target minors. E-cigarette companies have taken a page out of the playbook of the tobacco companies to get young people addicted to their products, said Healey. If these retailers are operating in our state, they must comply with Massachusetts laws and keep their products away from children. Kilo came under investigation by the attorney general's office after the office received a complaint that the company's products were being advertised on an educational website commonly used by students grades K through 12. Investigators also say that Kilo does not properly verify customer age on its website and offers product names like "green apple candy" and "strawberry milk." To sell tobacco products online in Massachusetts, companies are legally required to ensure their customer is at least 21 years of age by verifying the identity and age of the customer using a commercial database and by shipping the product so that a signature with age verification is required to receive the package. This comes in the wake of Healey cracking down on e-cigarette sales to minors. In July 2018, she launched an investigation into the popular e-cigarette company JUUL Labs. A Massachusetts man convicted of strangling his estranged wife in 2015 has been sentenced to 22 years to life in prison. The Salem News reports that 48-year-old Axel Scherer, of Beverly, was sentenced Tuesday by a judge who called the killing "a truly heinous act." Scherer was convicted earlier this month of second-degree murder by a jury that rejected an insanity defense. Prosecutors say he strangled 45-year-old Edith Black-Scherer on Nov. 16, 2015 with his hands and the drawstring of her sweat shirt, then walked into the Beverly police station to tell officers what he had done. Black-Scherer was found alive, but died at a hospital days later. Scherer has a history of mental illness. Scherer's attorney, Michael Phelan, told the judge that his client wanted to apologize. Sanders is no Trump, but his humorless dogmatism bodes ill both for how he would formulate policy and for how he would try to achieve it. Early in Sanders time in Congress, the famously liberal Rep. Barney Frank accused him of a holier-than-thou attitude that really undercuts his effectiveness. In 2016, Frank said, Bernie Sanders has been in Congress for 25 years with little to show for it. He was steps away from a horrific crash in Worcester, Massachusetts, and watched his friend get hit by an alleged drunk driver. Now, Dan Aponte is determined to help his friend recover after both of the 36-year-old victim's legs were severed. Aponte has known Andy Rodriguez for nearly a decade. He said they were on their way back from getting dinner Sunday when they stopped at Rodriguez's apartment. Aponte got out of the car while Rodriguez went to unload the trunk. Seconds later, Worcester Police say a drunk driver swerved and plowed right into Rodriguez, pinning him between the vehicles. "I heard the impact," Aponte said. "And I just reflex grabbed my phone and called 911 as fast as I could. He was strong. He stayed with me the entire time. He had no problem talking with me to make sure that I was OK." Since then, the driver, 22-year-old Jeffrey Pillco, has pleaded not guilty to charges of operating under the influence of alcohol causing serious injury. Rodriguez is still at a hospital recovering, but in stable condition. Aponte recently went to see him. "He's stable, which is great, because he may have lost his legs, but we were able to save his life," Aponte said. Their focus now is on support. They have set up a fundraising page online and donations are pouring in. A fundraiser is also being planned at the MB Lounge, where Rodriguez is a beloved bartender. Aponte said if he has learned anything about his friend over the last decade, it is that he will come back from this tragedy. "You cannot separate that man from serving behind the bar," Aponte said. "That's the kind of guy he is. He's going to do it with a smile. We're just going to keep going. We have to keep going." Police say two people died and a third person was hurt when an SUV crashed into a home in Massachusetts. Chicopee police say the vehicle struck a light pole and then crashed into the house at about 12:05 a.m. on Wednesday. The driver and backseat passenger were pronounced dead at the scene. A woman who had been the front seat passenger was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. No names were made public. The city's building inspector was called to the scene. The crash remains under investigation and no other details were released. The White House restricted press access Wednesday to portions of President Donald Trump's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam after reporters asked questions about his former lawyer Michael Cohen's testimony, that was critical of the president. The entire 13-person press pool was permitted to cover the first two events that Trump and Kim held at the Metropole hotel in Hanoi on Wednesday: a formal greeting and the opening of a sit-down meeting. At the first of those events, reporters asked three questions of Trump about the negotiations. He answered all three. At the second event with Kim, an Associated Press reporter asked Trump a question about Cohen, who was due to testify hours later in Washington. In written testimony released in advance of the appearance, the president's former lawyer and fixer called Trump a "racist" and a "conman" and claimed Trump knew ahead of time that WikiLeaks had emails damaging to Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's campaign. Trump did not answer the Cohen question, instead shaking his head and frowning. A short time later, Sanders told the press pool that no reporters would be allowed into Trump's sit down dinner with Kim, the leader of a country where there is no press freedom. But after photographers said they would not cover the event without an editorial presence, one print reporter and radio reporter were allowed in. Reporters from the AP, Bloomberg News, Reuters and The Los Angeles Times, however, were barred. The Washington Post reports The Wall Street Journal's Vivian Salama was the only print reporter allowed and did not ask questions of Trump at the dinner. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders released a statement saying that due to the "sensitive nature of the meetings we have limited the pool for dinner to a smaller group, but ensured that representation of photographers, TV, radio and print Poolers are all in the room. We are continuing to negotiate aspects of this historic summit and will always work to make sure the U.S. media has as much access as possible. The decision to clamp down on media coverage Wednesday was an abrupt change of plans. The White House had previously said that access would be granted to the usual 13-person group of reporters, known as the traveling press pool, who follow the president to every event. AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton said the company "decries such efforts by the White House to restrict access to the president. It is critically important that any president uphold American press freedom standards, not only at home but especially while abroad." White House Correspondents' Association president Olivier Knox said in a statement that the organization "strenuously objects" to the restrictions. "This summit provides an opportunity for the American presidency to display its strength by facing vigorous questioning from a free and independent news media, not telegraph weakness by retreating behind arbitrary last-minute restrictions on coverage," said Knox. "We call on the White House to not allow a diminution of the previously agreed-to press complement for the remainder of the summit." It wasn't the first time that the White House has excluded specific reporters. Last year, a CNN correspondent was barred from attending an open press event because, she said, White House officials deemed her questions "inappropriate." The White House disputed that characterization. Trump has a complex relationship with the press, routinely maligning news stories, outlets and reporters he doesn't like as "fake news," while at the same time taking questions more frequently than some of his predecessors. Earlier in the week, the White House press corps was ousted from its workspace at the hotel where Kim was staying after Kim apparently objected to the setup. The decision was announced by the Vietnamese government. What to Know The defendants operated a company that claimed to help poor people in developing countries, prosecutors said. They are accused of using investors' money for personal reasons, including payments toward a $1.75 million house. The senior pastor of Victorious Life Church in Alexandria and his wife were convicted in December 2017. A Northern Virginia pastor has been sentenced to eight years in prison for a $2 million fraud scheme that victimized members of his congregation and other clergymen. A jury convicted 54-year-old Terry Millender, the former senior pastor of Victorious Life Church in Alexandria, on multiple fraud counts in a 2017 trial. A jury also convicted his wife, Brenda Millender, on some counts and acquitted her on others before a judge vacated all counts against her. According to court records, Terry Millender recruited investors by saying he would use Nigerian oil deals to finance micro-loans to African entrepreneurs that would provide a high rate of return. In reality, he used the money to conduct high-risk day trades and finance the purchase of a $1.75 million home. Maryland legislators are considering a bill to change the way voters access absentee ballots after a News4 I-Team investigation exposed what critics say are vulnerabilities in the system. All Maryland voters are able to request an absentee ballot online. But some security experts say the online system makes it a target for hackers intending to interfere in U.S. elections. Those experts want to limit electronic ballots to those who most need it. "It's a small change in policy that could greatly impact the cybersecurity resiliency of Maryland's voting system," testified Netta Squires, a cybersecurity law expert who works with the University of Maryland's Center for Health and Homeland Security. She was among several people who testified before Maryland's House Ways and Means Committee Tuesday in support of H.B. 706. None spoke against it. Last fall, a News4 I-Team investigation found Maryland is one of only three states that allow anyone to request ballots electronically. Under the current process, elections officials email the ballot to the voter, who is required to print and mail it back. But the I-Team found 47 other states limit access to the military, overseas voters and people with disabilities. "That says to me things need to change," said Del. Alonzo Washington, a Democrat from Prince Georges County who is sponsoring the bill. His measure would also largely limit online ballot delivery to the military, overseas voters, people with disabilities or those with other special circumstances. While all voters would still have access to absentee ballots, those who don't meet the standard for online delivery would have to receive their ballot in person or through the mail. Washington said the bill was a result of a 2018 election security report. This is a vulnerability in our elections and we need to protect our elections, he said. Cybersecurity experts previously presented the I-Team with several scenarios in which bad actors could exploit the system's vulnerabilities. For example, they said a hacker could obtain personal information for registered voters and request absentee ballots on their behalf, but redirect them to a fake email address to intercept them. Another scheme could register new voters and cast ballots on their behalf. Bad actors could also send active voters a link to a fake ballot, so they would think they already voted and not show up to the polls. George Washington University computer science professor Poorvi Vora testified that Maryland's election leaders would likely be unable to detect those sorts of schemes and urged legislators to tighten its absentee ballot process, particularly in the wake of Russian attempts to meddle in U.S. elections. "It is grossly negligent for the state of Maryland to continue its current approach after the [Robert] Mueller indictments, which describe a Russian company carrying out all the activities necessary to perpetrate online absentee ballot fraud," Vora testified, referring to the ongoing investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian election tampering. State Board of Elections Deputy Administrator Nikki Charlson previously told the I-Team Maryland has put in place measures to detect those types of scenarios and protect against vulnerabilities, but she could not disclose specifics for security reasons. But Charlson acknowledged no system is foolproof. The state warns voters who use the online system that it "cannot guarantee secrecy" when marking a ballot online before printing and returning it, "nor can it protect against all risks when using the internet." "I can tell you that we've put in place all the right things; we look for the right things," Charlson said. "But it would be irresponsible for me to say it's 100 percent secure because nobody can make that." Legislators expanded the online ballot delivery system in 2013 in an effort to increase voter participation and make voting more accessible. Cybersecurity experts told legislators that the more voters use the system, the more it becomes a target. Cyril Draffin, Jr., a project advisor for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, cited the NBC4 report last fall in his testimony and warned legislators that they "may be perceived as unwilling to address election security" if they do not make changes to the law. "Maryland's absentee ballot system appears to be the least secure state in the United States," Draffin said. Last year, a similar bill failed to advance out of committee, but Washington said hes hopeful it has more support this session. Reported by Jodie Fleischer, produced by Katie Leslie, edited by Steve Jones and shot by Chester Panzer. A white Maryland lawmaker who used a racial slur for African Americans to describe a legislative district in Prince George's County should resign, Gov. Larry Hogan and a growing number of lawmakers said Wednesday. Hogan tweeted Wednesday afternoon about Del. Mary Ann Lisanti's comment. "The language of racism and hate has no place in our public discourse. Any public official who engages in this reprehensible conduct should do the right thing and step down," the governor's tweet said. Lisanti, a Democrat who represents Harford County, northeast of Baltimore, apologized Tuesday for her use of the N-word. As first reported Monday by The Washington Post, Lisanti was at a gathering at an Annapolis cigar bar in late January when she referred to a candidate who had knocked on doors in Prince George's County as having campaigned in a "n----- district." When asked by the Post if she had ever used the slur, the newspaper reported that she said: "Im sure I have ... I'm sure everyone has used it. Ive used the f-word. I used the Lords name in vain." Lisanti apologized in a statement Tuesday, saying she was ashamed for using the "insensitive and hurtful word." In a brief interview Wednesday with WBAL, Lisanti said, "I'm deeply apologetic. I've made a mistake. And I'm trying to repent for that." Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said Wednesday that Lisanti should resign or be fired. She quoted her father in describing Lisanti's comment. "Don't fight people about the wisdom of feeding dinosaurs. And I think he's right. Delegate Lisanti, in so many ways, is a dinosaur in terms of her thoughts and views. Unenlightened and ignorant," Alsobrooks said. The Prince George's County executive said she was troubled by what Lisanti said to the Post. "One of the most disturbing things about what she said was, 'Doesn't everybody speak this way?'" Alsobrooks said. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, who chairs the state's Democratic Party, and Republican Party Chairman Dirk Haire, also called on Lisanti to resign. Cummings says African Americans comprise about a third of voters in Lisanti's district, and they deserve to be represented by a person who is considerate of their views. Haire says Lisanti's comment "is beneath the office of delegate." Later Wednesday, Rep. Anthony Brown also called for Lisanti to resign. Ms. Lisantis use of a racial slur and her inability to fully grasp the offensiveness of the word has demonstrated that she clearly cannot represent the voters in Harford County who put her in office," he said in a statement. There was no word from Lisanti on Wednesday about her future plans. A former hospital campus on the edge of downtown Escondido may be transformed into a condominium and apartment project that proponents hope would help invigorate the citys urban core. Integral Communities tentatively plans to build a 450-unit apartment and condominium project on the 14-acre site of the former Palomar Health hospital campus at 555 E. Valley Parkway. Overall, its going to bring hundreds of new people living just a few steps from Grand Avenue, which is great for the businesses down there and everybodys really excited to have that urban living in downtown Escondido, said Michelle Geller, city economic development manager. Lined with retail shops, restaurants and a variety of small businesses, Grand Avenue is the main street through downtown Escondido. City Wants Project to Be Bigger Pending City Council approval, the project dubbed Palomar Heights would be about half rental apartments and half for-sale condominiums, said Ninia Hammond, project manager for Integral Communities. Were working with the City Council and the planning staff to refine it, Hammond said. The city would like the Integral Communities project to be bigger. Our zoning down there allows for much higher density, Geller said. Zoning for the site would allow more a project, more than twice the size proposed by Integral Communities. The problem in building bigger is that construction costs would be higher on a bigger project, which could require underground parking and concrete and steel construction instead of wood frame, Hammond said. San Diego Business Journal Development Challenges Then you get challenged with financing the project and selling and leasing the project for more than it costs to build, Hammond said. Thats the challenge that we face as developers, construction costs have gotten so high. First opened in 1954, the campus includes the six-story original structure and the nine-story McLeod Tower that was added in 1974. Theres a ton of history on that site, Hammond said. Everybodys invested in a hospital in a sense. Its, Oh, my children were born there, or, I was born there, or I visited my grandmother there. Integral Communities is cognizant of that history as it refines plans for the project, Hammond said. Most of the hospital functions were moved in 2012 when Palomar Health District opened the $956 million Palomar Medical Center to the west of downtown Escondido at 2185 Citracado Parkway. Theres still an operating cafeteria, theres still some services there, Hammond said. Those services are expected to be relocated by the end of the year, she said, and plans call for the old hospital buildings to be razed to make way for the new project. Integral agreed in 2018 to buy the property for $18 million, with the property turned over to Integral in early 2019. Ideally, construction would start in early 2020 and take three to four years to complete, depending on market conditions, Hammond said. The hospital site covers 13 acres on the east side of East Valley Parkway and one acre on the west side, Hammond said. European Lifestyle The location is definitely the most exciting part, Hammond said. Its a gateway site to downtown Escondido. Coupled with other residential projects planned in the vicinity of downtown, the redevelopment of the hospital site would provide a welcome pool of new customers, said Alex MacLachlan, president of the Escondido Downtown Business Association. Were extremely excited about what could come as the end result where you have a very European lifestyle where people are living right behind and right next to a historic downtown where you know the local baker and you go to the local coffee shop and the privately owned bank on the corner, MacLachlan said. Were doing pretty well but we always seem to be coming up a little bit short of our potential. Built on a hill, the hospital has been a focal point for the surrounding area and MacLachlan said whatever replaces it should be a focal point as well. I think the city and everyone is quietly looking for a home run, MacLachlan said. Although downtown Escondido would be the primary beneficiary from having a new residential development on its doorstep, We also see an economic benefit for other areas of the city, including East and West Valley Parkway, the Westfield Mall and the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, said Escondido Chamber of Commerce CEO Rorie Johnson. In addition to the hospital site, Integral Communities is developing the old police station property at 700 W. Grand Ave. Were really excited about the opportunity to advance both ends of the (downtown) corridor, Hammond said. Integrals Work Headquartered in Newport Beach, Integral Communities has San Diego County offices in Encinitas. The companys projects include the 370-apartment Palomar Station in San Marcos, the 294-apartment Nineteen01 in Santa Ana, the 300-apartment The Mark in Santa Ana, and the master-planned communities of Gateway Station in Newark, Greenbriar in Sacramento and Tracy Hills near the city of Tracy. Additional stories from the San Diego Business Journal are available here. Sign up for their free daily email newsletter. An investigation has been launched into a viral social media post showing two San Diego based U.S. Marines, in uniform, posing in what appears to be blackface. The Marines are with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing based at MCAS Miramar. The video, originally posted on Snapchat and shared virally on Twitter, shows one of the Marines saying what sounds like the word blackface, followed by what sounds like a racial slur used against African Americans. According to KPBS, one of the Marines said they were wearing black facial cleansing masks made of charcoal. The Marine told KPBS that he didnt mean to post the images and called it a bad mistake." "We had no intention to offend, he said. A spokesperson for 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing tells NBC 7 that USMC officials are aware of the post and have initiated an investigation "to determine the facts and circumstances surrounding the content." "3rd MAW takes all allegations of discriminatory behavior very seriously as they stand in stark contrast of our core values of honor, courage and commitment and do not reflect the discipline and professionalism of the Marines and Sailors of 3rd MAW," 1st Lt. Fredrick D. Walker, Outreach Officer, Communication Strategy and Operations said in a written statement. One man NBC 7 spoke with said the picture didn't upset him, but he understands why others would be upset. I really wouldn't be offended by it. I get a lot of people would, but it's pretty dumb for them to do that being in the military, he said. Some people told us they thought it was poor judgment, but didnt consider it a reflection of the Marine Corps as a whole. The military is pretty diverse, so it's just kind of, probably more of an individual thing, a man having lunch near MCAS Miramar told NBC 7. The general consensus was that disciplinary action should be taken by the military. Some sort of reprimand would be a good idea, definitely, one woman said. The full statement from 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing reads as follows: "We are aware of the post. An investigation has been initiated to determine the facts and circumstances surrounding the content. Our leaders are committed to maintaining an environment of professionalism, dignity, and respect. 3rd MAW takes all allegations of discriminatory behavior very seriously as they stand in stark contrast of our core values of honor, courage, and commitment and do not reflect the discipline and professionalism of the Marines and Sailors of 3rd MAW. It would be inappropriate to comment further on an ongoing investigation." Friends of a North County man killed in a cargo plane crash Saturday in southeast Texas say the victim was a genuine man who was about to start living his dream with a big-name airline. Sean Archuletta, 36, and two other passengers of the cargo plane were killed when it crashed in Trinity Bay in Anahuac about 35 miles east of Houston. The Boeing 767s owner, Atlas Air, said it was operating the flight for Amazon. Archuletta was a graduate of Rancho Buena Vista High School in Vista and had been a captain with Mesa Airlines since 2013. He was in the planes jump seat, an extra seat on board often occupied by industry passengers catching a ride to the planes destination. The plane departed from Miami and was minutes away from landing at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. His friends say he was about to start a job with a major airline. I was shocked for such a good person to leave this earth, friend Chelsea Rosene said. My heart breaks for his wife and his kids. Rosene said she and Archuletta became best friends in high school. It's hard to understand why someone like that would be taken from us, she said. Shes sad to see Archuletta gone, but appreciative of his always positive attitude and the good times they shared. Thank you so much for always making me laugh and for just being a good friend, she said. Sadness over Archuletta's death stretched far beyond San Diego County. North Carolina resident Amanda Couture told NBC 7 via text message how genuine he was, calling him friendly, professional, knowledgeable and patient. Online, she raved about him being her husband's best flight instructor in San Diego. Friends have set up a GoFundMe page to help Archulettas wife and children. In a statement, Mesa Airlines CEO said: "Our thoughts are with Sean's family, the families of the two Atlas Air pilots, and the whole atlas air organization. This is a loss for all of aviation." National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt said security video from a jail about a mile away from the crash site showed the plane heading toward the ground nose first. Sumwalt added that air traffic controllers reported rain in the area, and that the plane did not send out a distress call before the wreck. Sumwalt said that finding the flight recorders remains a high priority for searchers. The jumbo jet had departed from Miami and was likely moments from landing at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston when it crashed. With miles of pristine shoreline and views you wont soon forget, its no surprise that Coronado Beach is a favorite spot among travelers so much so that its landed on a list of the top 25 beaches in the United States. Online travel giant TripAdvisor announced the winners Tuesday for its Travelers Choice Award for best beaches. On the companys list of Top 25 Beaches in the U.S., Coronado Beach snagged the No. 16 spot. One recent TripAdvisor review of the local beach noted the miles and miles of public beach with no admission fee as a draw, as well as the clean sand, dog park section and nice restrooms. Another review said, in part: A spacious stretch of sand that makes a journey out to Coronado Island worth it. I didnt get what the big deal about Coronado Island was until we hit the beach. Ideal spot for beachcombers looking for shells or sand dollars, another reviewer wrote. Plenty of space for everyone and you did not feel crowded at all. Coronado Beach located along Ocean Boulevard on Coronado Island is popular among surfers, as well as those looking to take a stroll on the sand. Its set against the backdrop of one of San Diegos most iconic landmarks: Hotel Del Coronado. Parking is free along Ocean Boulevard. According to TripAdvisor, the winners on the list of Top 25 Beaches were determined based on the quantity and quality of traveler reviews and rating for beaches on the website gathered over a 12-month span. This year, 40 percent of the beaches on the list are in Florida, while nearly 30 percent are in Hawaii. Coronado Beach is one of only two California beaches that made the cut; the other is Newport Beach in Newport Beach, California, which ranked No. 19. According to the list, the No. 1 beach in the U.S. is Clearwater Beach in Clearwater, Florida. This marks the second year in a row it has snagged the top spot. Other beaches on the Florida and Hawaii-heavy list include: Kaanapali Beach in Lahaina, Hawaii (No. 2); Panama City Beach in Panama City Beach, Florida (No. 3); St. Pete Beach in St. Pete Beach, Florida (No. 4); Pensacola Beach in Pensacola Beach, Florida (No. 5); Siesta Beach in Siesta Key, Florida (No. 6); Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area in Puako, Hawaii (No. 7); St. Augustine Beach in St. Augustine Beach, Florida (No. 8); Fort Lauderdale Beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (No. 9); Driftwood Beach in Jekyll Island, Georgia (No. 10). To see the full list, click here. By the way, in a global ranking, TripAdvisors 2019 Travelers Choice Awards ranked Baia do Sancho in Fernando de Noronha, Brazil, the best beach in the world. Authorities say two deputies were injured and two people were arrested following a fight over luggage at a South Florida airport. The man and woman, identified as 67-year-old Ida Shafir and 61-year-old Nick Bogomolsky, were taken into custody Tuesday morning at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, according to arrest reports. The Broward County Sheriff's Office says deputies responded to a disturbance on a Delta Airlines flight, where a couple was arguing about their luggage with staff. The arrest reports said the couple became upset when they were told they would have to check their carry-on bags for the full flight. Officials say the couple began a physical fight with the deputies and were arrested. Both deputies were taken to a nearby hospital with unspecified injuries. The arrest reports list a Brooklyn address for Shafir and Bogomolsky, and the flight they were on was heading to New York's JFK Airport. Officials say the man and woman face multiple charges, including battery on a law enforcement officer. Attorney information wasn't available. A Delta spokesperson said the airline is working with law enforcement in the investigation. What to Know Police say Bobby Jenkins was shot and killed while delivering food for Stacy's Pizza. Jenkins was lured to a home under construction prior to being shot, police said. No word yet on possible suspects. A gunman lured a pizza deliveryman to a property in Philadelphia's Overbook Park section Tuesday night before shooting and killing him. And, investigators believe the robber may have struck before. Bobby Jenkins was only three weeks on the job delivering food for Stacy's Pizza when the Ardmore man was called to a property on the 7600 block of Woodcrest Avenue around 7 p.m. "The house is under construction right now," Philadelphia Police Inspector Raymond Evers said. "So we believe the individuals who did this broke in the rear of the property and staged this robbery that turned into a homicide." When the 30-year-old deliveryman arrived, he was confronted by at least one gunman who opened fire, shooting him once in the chest. Neighbors heard the gunshot and one resident passing by found Jenkins in the middle of the street. Jenkins was rushed to nearby Lankenau Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead minutes later. Some items were taken from Jenkins, police said. Police Capt. Jason Smith said at a Wednesday news conference that they fear whoever killed Jenkins could strike again as these type of targeted robberies often come in bunches. There was at least one other recent robbery, on N Brooklyn Street on Feb. 17, of a deliveryman in West Philadelphia that matches the M.O. of an abandoned house being used, police said. The deliveryman in that case was robbed at gunpoint but not shot. Photo supplied by family Jenkins' co-workers fought back tears after learning of the deadly shooting. "He was a very nice man so it was shocking," Naje Barnhill, a coworker, told NBC10. "You see somebody for one second and turn around and they're gone. I would never want that to happen to anybody." If you have any information on the shooting, please contact Philadelphia Police. What to Know The driver and front passenger were hospitalized with critical injuries. The back passengers are in stable condition. The Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity is prohibited from conducting activities during the investigation Relatives of the driver say he's on life support. Officials at Delaware State University are investigating alleged hazing after a crash that seriously injured four students. University officials said Tuesday that the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity is prohibited from conducting gatherings, programs or recruitment activities at the school during the investigation. The national director of the fraternity didn't immediately return a telephone message left at the group's headquarters in Philadelphia. Delaware State Police say a sedan traveling southbound on State Route 1 on Saturday afternoon crossed the median, spun into the northbound lanes and was hit by a pickup truck. The driver and front passenger of the sedan were critically injured. The two rear passengers were hospitalized in stable condition after the crash. Relatives of the driver say he's on life support. Authorities are investigating a homicide after a man was found dead on the property of his job. The body of Nestor Ortiz DeLeon, 44, of Allentown, was found near The Liberty Business Center in Upper Macungie Township, Pennsylvania. DeLeon worked there at a warehouse facility owned by his employer, Customized Distribution Services. DeLeon's body was discovered in the warehouse parking lot late Sunday night. He was rushed to Lehigh Valley Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. An autopsy revealed that DeLeon died from a gunshot wound. His death was ruled a homicide. In a statement, DeLeon's employer, CDS, said they are aware of the situation and offered their condolences to the victim's family. While the facility does have active surveillance cameras at the site, it is unknown if they captured the events leading up to DeLeon's death. The Upper Macungie Township Police is conducting an investigation into DeLeon's death alongside the Lehigh County District Attorneys Office and Lehigh County Homicide Task Force. So far, police have not made any arrests related to the case. A Bucks County community continues to grieve the loss of five family members, who, authorities said, were killed by relatives in Morrisville. On Wednesday night, neighbors and loved ones will gather near the apartment where the gruesome scene unfolded. I dropped off a candle with a cross I want light to be shared," a neighbor named Natasha, who declined to provide her last name, said. "I believe God will have mercy on the children." Shana Decree, 45, and her 19-year-old daughter, Dominique Decree, are charged with killing several of their relatives over the weekend. The victims were identified as Shana Decree's two children, Naa'Irah Smith, 25, and Damon Decree Jr., 13, both of Morrisville; Shana Decree's sister, Jamilla Campbell, 42, of Trenton, New Jersey; and Campbell's 9-year-old twin daughters, Imani and Erika Allen. The People Police say the suspects, Shana and Dominique Decree, were related to the five people they're accused of killing. All eight family members lived in the same Morrisville, Pennsylvania, apartment. Officials discovered the scene Monday afternoon in a small first-floor apartment located on the 200 block of West Bridge Street. The bodies were found by a building manager after a Bucks County Children and Youth Social Services Agency representative attempted to perform a well-being check on the family. When they arrived, officers found the apartment in "disarray" and bodies scattered throughout one bedroom. Broken glass and turned-over furniture littered the three-bedroom apartment, officials said. Both Decrees were arrested and charged Tuesday. A Massachusetts woman who allegedly assaulted a man wearing a Make America Great Again hat at a restaurant in Falmouth is in custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and due to be deported. Authorities said Rosiane Santos, 41, is "an unlawfully present citizen of Brazil." "Santos is currently facing local charges for assault and other offenses. She is presently in ICE custody and has been entered into removal proceedings before the federal immigration courts," read a statement from John Mohan, a public affairs officer for ICE's Boston office. Santos pleaded not guilty last week in Falmouth District Court to charges of assault and battery and disorderly conduct for an incident the evening of Feb. 15. Police said they were called to the Casa Vallarta on Davis Straits Road, where Bryton Turner had been minding his own business when Santos began to verbally assault him due to the MAGA hat he was wearing. Turner began to record the incident with his phone saying, "Ignorant people like this. I'm just trying to sit here, eat a nice meal." In the video, Santos can be seen walking up behind him and pulling the hat off his head. Court documents show when police asked Santos why she did it, she said it was because he supports President Donald Trump and she allegedly called Turner an expletive. "That's the problem with America these days. People are just ignorant. They want to lash out on people who are educated," Turner said in the video. Police said when Santos was arrested, her eyes were "bloodshot and glassy". While walking her out of the bar, she allegedly hit Turner in the head. Santos had been released on her own recognizance but was then taken into ICE custody Tuesday. What to Know A mother and daughter are accused of killing five family members inside a Bucks County apartment. The mom claims the family "wanted to die." Shana Decree, 45, and her daughter Dominique Decree, 19, are both charged with homicide and conspiracy. The victims are Shana Decree's daughter, son, sister and 9-year-old twin nieces, the district attorney said. The last time Destiny Harris saw her 9-year-old twin sisters, they were getting ready to celebrate their upcoming birthdays. A week later, their bodies were found inside a Bucks County, Pennsylvania, apartment. Two of the girls' relatives - their aunt, 45-year-old Shana Decree, and her 19-year-old daughter, Dominique Decree - are charged with the murders and those of three other relatives. "They were so happy," Harris said of her sisters. "They didn't deserve that." Both mother and daughter are being held without bail because of the potential for first-degree murder charges, Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said. There are no additional suspects, officials said. Weintraub declined to elaborate on a motive for the five murders, but Shana Decree offered a haunting statement to police: They "wanted to die," she said of her relatives. Bucks County DA Officials discovered the gruesome scene Monday afternoon in a small first-floor apartment located on the 200 block of West Bridge Street in Morrisville. The bodies were discovered by the building manager after a Bucks County Children and Youth Social Services Agency representative attempted to perform a well-being check on the family. Officers who later arrived on the scene found the apartment in "disarray" and bodies scattered throughout one bedroom. Broken glass and turned-over furniture littered the three-bedroom apartment, officials said. Some of the victims were lying in beds while others were sitting upright, according to the affidavit. One had his foot through the wall and into another bedroom. Police believe the killings happened at some point on Saturday, though they have yet to release causes of death. The victims were identified as Shana Decree's two children, Naa'Irah Smith, 25, and Damon Decree Jr., 13, both of Morrisville; Shana Decree's sister, Jamilla Campbell, 42, of Trenton, New Jersey; and Campbell's 9-year-old twin daughters, Imani and Erika Allen. PHOTOS: Morrisville Family Murder The twins would have turned 10 years old this week. Smith, meanwhile, had only lived in the apartment for just one month and was engaged to be married, according to her father, Ronald Smith. Earlier in February, he tried to visit his daughter but she would only speak with him through the door. Then, Ronald Smith received text messages from his daughter saying that soon she would pass through the "pearly gates." "My daughter was a very good person," he said. "I don't know how she fell into this or what happened. I still want answers, too." Campbell's 17-year-old son, Joshua, who was initially feared to be in danger, was found safe with friends in New Jersey, police said. "Frankly, we're still trying to sort this out," Weintraub said. "The people who committed these atrocious acts are now in custody and [will] be made to pay for their crimes." The People Police say the suspects, Shana and Dominique Decree, were related to the five people they're accused of killing. All eight family members lived in the same Morrisville, Pennsylvania, apartment. Neither Shana Decree nor her daughter had prior criminal records and nothing suspicious was discovered during the family's last well-being check, which was performed on Feb. 5, according to the county. But Destiny Harris said she had a bad feeling even before hearing the devastating news. The Decrees "were going through something religiously, and they decided to drag the kids into it," she said. "They never should have had to deal with any family issues." But Morrisville chief of police George McClay refuted a possible faith-based motive. "That has not been indicated in any way," he said. Neighbor Nicole Owens told NBC10 that she became concerned Friday when no one answered her knock at the family's apartment. On Saturday, Owens alerted apartment maintenance staff that something might be wrong. Two days later, a Bucks County representative attempted to do a well-being check. When no one answered, a building manager let himself inside. He found Shana and Dominique Decree "disoriented" in one of the bedrooms, according to the affidavit. They were both taken to a local hospital before their arrests, Weintraub said. When she reported to jail, Dominique Decree had visible injuries to her neck, officials said. Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub choked up while discussing the arrest of two women implicated in the killing of five family members ranging in age from 9 to 42 years old. At the hospital, each woman initially claimed that a man or men killed their family members and attacked them, police said. Shana Decree later told investigators that the entire family "wanted to die." She claimed even the children were suicidal. At least one of the 9-year-old twins attended Morrisville Middle School, which released a statement Tuesday morning offering counseling and support services for students and staff. "This is a time of great sorrow for the entire school community," the statement read. "This is a difficult time for everyone, but I know our students and staff will be able to lean on each other as they remember their classmate." Online court records don't list an attorney who could comment for either woman. NBC10 journalists Deanna Durante, Miguel Martinez-Valle, Steven Fisher, Brandon Hudson, Mitch Blacher, Jim O'Donnell, Aaron Baskerville and David Chang contributed to this report. What to Know An 81-year-old man in a MAGA hat was attacked in a New Jersey supermarket on Monday, prosecutors say The attacker allegedly confronted the man about the hat prior to the attack The attack left the man with minor injuries, prosecutors said. He declined treatment at the scene An 81-year-old man was attacked in a New Jersey supermarket after someone confronted him about the MAGA hat he was wearing, prosecutors say. The Franklin Township resident was shopping at a store on Elizabeth Avenue around 3:30 p.m. Monday when someone confronted him about the hat, Somerset County prosecutors said Tuesday. A law enforcement source told News 4 the attack happened at the ShopRite of Somerset on Elizabeth Avenue. The store's employees couldn't immediately be reached for comment. The attack left the man with minor injuries, prosecutors said. He declined treatment at the scene, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors didnt immediately provide additional details about the attack or the suspect theyre searching for. It wasn't immediately clear if the attack was caught on surveillance tape. The incident is under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the Somerset County Prosecutors Office Major Crimes Unit at 908-231-7100. The United Methodist Church, America's second-largest Protestant denomination, faces a likely surge in defections and acts of defiance after delegates at a crucial conference voted Tuesday to strengthen the faith's divisive bans on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT clergy. Emotions were high throughout the third and final day of the UMC's meeting. Some supporters of greater LGBT inclusion were in tears, while others vented their anger when, midway through the session, delegates defeated a proposal that would have let regional and local church bodies decide for themselves on gay-friendly policies. "Devastation," was how former Methodist pastor Rebecca Wilson of Detroit described her feelings. "As someone who left because I'm gay, I'm waiting for the church I love to stop bringing more hate." After several more hours of debate, the conservatives' proposal, called the Traditional Plan, was approved by a vote of 438-384. Opponents unsuccessfully sought to weaken the plan with hostile amendments or to prolong the debate past a mandatory adjournment time set to accommodate a monster truck rally in the arena. One delegate even requested an investigation into the possibility that "vote buying" was taking place at the conference. The Traditional Plan's success was due to an alliance of conservatives from the U.S. and overseas. About 43 percent of the delegates were from abroad, mostly from Africa, and overwhelmingly supported the LGBT bans. If the bans were eased, "the church in Africa would cease to exist," said the Rev. Jerry Kulah of Liberia. "We can't do anything but to support the Traditional Plan it is the biblical plan." Council of Bishops President Kenneth H. Carter, speaking at a news conference after the session, said the meeting was necessary "because if the impasse we found ourselves in" over questions of human sexuality. "I would just simply say that we have work to do. We did not accomplish that in these three days," Carter said. Carter said he is concerned the plan will cause progressive churches to leave the denomination. He said church leaders "will be doing a lot of outreach" to those churches. "Persons will feel harmed," Carter said. The deep split within the church was evident in several fiery speeches opposing the Traditional Plan. "If we bring this virus into our church, it will bring illness to us all," said the Rev. Thomas Berlin of Herndon, Virginia. He predicted many Methodist churchgoers and some regional bodies would leave the church, while others would "stay and fight," performing same-sex weddings even if it meant punishment. Many supporters of the more liberal plan stood in support as Berlin spoke. Some wore rainbow-motif garments or sat behind rainbow banners. After the vote, a small group of protesters carried a cross to the stage at the conference and sat around it. Another group of about 200 people staged a peaceful sitdown protest while about two dozen police officers watched. The Rev. Allen Ewing-Merrill, a pastor from Portland, Maine, pledged defiance of the Traditional Plan, tweeting: "I will not participate in your bigotry, sin & violence." An association of Methodist theological schools warned that if the Traditional Plan passes, the church "will lose an entire generation of leaders in America." Formed in a merger in 1968, the United Methodist Church claims about 12.6 million members worldwide, including nearly 7 million in the United States. While other mainline Protestant denominations, such as the Episcopal and Presbyterian (U.S.A.) churches, have embraced gay-friendly practices, the Methodist church still bans them, though acts of defiance by pro-LGBT clergy have multiplied. Many have performed same-sex weddings; others have come out as gay or lesbian from the pulpit of their churches. Enforcement of the bans has been inconsistent; the Traditional Plan aspires to beef up discipline against those engaged in defiance. The Rev. Tim Bagwell, 64, pastor at a UMC church in Macon, Georgia, had opposed the Traditional Plan and called the outcome "deeply painful." But he said his church will stay with UMC until at least 2020, when the next major conference is scheduled. He's hopeful new delegates will be elected and change course to a more inclusive church. "I am deeply sad," he said. "The Methodist church has always been mainstream, reaching out to people. This sends a different tone ... one of exclusion, not inclusion." The Rev. Scott Hagan, 45, a pastor from Bonaire, Georgia, supported the Traditional Plan, saying the liberals' alternative would have sent a mixed message. "To have each church possibly in the same town offering a different perspective and practice would surely be confusing to the public that comes to the church looking for guidance," Hagan said. The union that represents the press in Venezuela said Telemundo journalist Daniel Garrido, who had been reported missing Tuesday in Caracas, has been released from the custody of security forces. Garrido, a correspondent for the Spanish-language Telemundo network, was last seen outside the hotel where Univision anchor Jorge Ramos and his team were staying before authorities ordered them deported from the South American country after an interview with President Nicolas Maduro, according to the National Union of Press Workers in Venezuela (SNTP). #AlertaSNTP | Daniel Garrido, reportero de @TelemundoNews, aparecio luego de ser ruleteado, incomunicado por 8 horas y robado por funcionarios del Sebin. #26Feb pic.twitter.com/5CxebzyGTj SNTP (@sntpvenezuela) February 26, 2019 The group said Garrido had been photographing the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), the repressive Venezuelan security force that escorted Ramos and the Univision team to the airport, before he disappeared Tuesday morning. In a statement published to its website Tuesday afternoon, Telemundo said Garrido was abducted at 6 a.m. ET in the vicinity of the Hotel Cayena in the La Castellana neighborhood of Caracas. "Daniel was covering the recent detention and deportation of the Univision News team, when a group of armed and unidentified individuals forced him into a vehicle and covered his head with a hood. After questioning him for six hours and seizing his work equipment, the kidnappers freed him without explanation and without returning his equipment." Luis Fernandiz, Telemundo's executive vice president of network news, confirmed Garrido's release on Twitter. Fernandez tweeted around 1:30 p.m. ET that Garrido was freed but authorities had seized his cell phones. Another attack against freedom of the press. Another one, he added. The network condemned the harrassment of journalists in Venezuela by members of the Maduro regime and called on the government to "guarantee our right to inform, as well as the physical integrity of journalists operating in Venezuela, as established in international conventions and the laws of the country." World of Dance returns for its second season on Tuesday, and Access Lives Scott Evans is pulling duties as the competitions new host! Scott takes us on an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the set! Garrido's brief detention comes after a Univision news team led by Jorge Ramos said they had their camera equipment and phones seized and were briefly detained at the presidential palace after Maduro abruptly ended an interview Monday. Ramos, one of the most influential Spanish-speaking journalists in the U.S., said late Monday that Maduro cut short the interview after 17 minutes when he was shown video on an iPad shot a day earlier of young Venezuelans eating food scraps out of the back of a garbage truck. The news crew was ordered deported and reportedly boarded a flight to Miami without their equipment returned. Vice President Mike Pence on Monday announced new sanctions against Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro and his supporters. Ramos, who interviewed Maduro's mentor, Hugo Chavez, three times, said Maduro accused him of siding with the government's opponents in the political fight for power now raging in Venezuela. More than 50 governments around the world have recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's rightful leader after Maduro was sworn in for a second term last month following what the critics say was an illegitimate election. As the battle for political power in the country escalates, the Maduro regime has strived to control the news coverage. Privatly owned networks have been taken off air, newsrooms have been raided and closed and reporters detained, according to the Caracas-based free press NGO Espacio Publico. Arbitrary arrests and violence against reporters by the police and intelligence services are common and Foreign journalists are often expelled. Venezuela is ranked 143rd out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2018 World Press Freedom Index, dropping six places from its 2017 standing. "The fact that at least 19 journalists have been detained in 2019 to date demonstrates Nicolas Maduros pattern of contempt for democratic values in Venezuela, where restrictions on journalistic freedom are used as a blackmail tool within the framework of the countrys current crisis," International press freedom organization said in a statement. "The arbitrariness of this act of censorship is aggravated by the fact that it took place during an interview with Nicolas Maduro himself, at the historic headquarters of the Venezuelan government." RSF called on the international community including those countries that still recognize Maduro as president to "pay special attention to guarantees for a free press in Venezuela under the framework of the commitments they have signed before international law, considering that respect for press freedom is an essential requirement for international relations." The Broward County School Board will vote next week on whether to fire Superintendent Robert Runcie. Board member Lori Alhadeff, whose daughter Alyssa was killed in the Feb. 14, 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, has requested to place the termination of Runcie's employment as an agenda item for a March 5 board meeting. "The urgency to do this now is because the district is spiraling out of control," Alhadeff said in a statement to NBC 6. "There was no one final straw, it's culmination of failures. Mr. Runcie has demonstrated a history of poor leadership. As board members we need to be accountable to the public. I am bringing it forward regardless if I have five votes or not." Embattled Runcie has been sharply criticized by parents whose children died in the shooting last year. Critics blame him for the failures involving school security, camera surveillance and discipline procedures following the alleged Parkland shooting. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has hinted that he would like to remove Runcie, but can't do so because he is not an elected official. Alhadeff has since turned her grief over her daughter's death into action and was elected into the school board last year. House Democrats have ignored a veto threat and passed legislation that would stymie President Donald Trump's bid for billions of extra dollars for a U.S.-Mexico border wall. The move has escalated a clash over whether he has abused his powers to advance the signature pledge of his 2016 campaign. The House's 245-182 vote Tuesday to block Trump's national emergency declaration fell well below the two-thirds majority that would be needed to override what would be the first veto of Trump's presidency. Thirteen Republican backed the Democrats' measure as top Republicans worked to keep defections as low as possible, wanting to avoid a tally suggesting that Trump's hold on lawmakers was weakening. The issue is now before the Republican-run Senate, where there already were enough GOP defections to edge the resolution to the brink of passage. Vice President Mike Pence used a lunch with Republican senators at the Capitol to try keeping them aboard, citing a crisis at the border, but there were no signs he had succeeded. "I personally couldn't handicap the outcome at this point," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who plans a vote within the next three weeks. He even said Republicans remained uncertain about the legality of Trump's move. The showdown was forcing Republicans to cast uncomfortable votes pitting their support for a president popular with GOP voters against fears that his use of emergency powers would invite future Democratic presidents to do likewise. House Republicans who joined all voting Democrats to support the resolution included moderates from competitive districts such as Fred Upton of Michigan and libertarian-leaning conservatives like Thomas Massie from Kentucky. The White House, in a letter to lawmakers threatening a veto, said blocking the declaration would "undermine the administration's ability to respond effectively to the ongoing crisis" at the border. Republicans said Democrats were driven by politics and a desire to oppose Trump at every turn. They said Trump had authority to declare an emergency to protect the country and they defended his claims of a crisis. "We are at war on the southern border with the drug cartels," said Rep. Pete Olson, R-Texas. Trump has asserted that barriers would stop drugs from Mexico from entering the U.S. In fact, government figures show that 90 percent of drugs intercepted from Mexico are caught at ports of entry, not remote areas where barriers would be constructed. Democrats said Republicans repeatedly accused former President Barack Obama of flouting the Constitution, which gives Congress control over spending, but are ignoring Trump's effort to do the same. "Is your oath of office to Donald Trump, or is your oath of office to the Constitution?" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., asked Republicans. Trump's push for the wall reflected a continuation of the anti-immigrant views that helped fuel his election, some Democrats said. "Since when do we call human beings in need a national emergency?" said Mexican-born Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, D-Ill. "Is he running out of insults for people like me?" Democrats said the crisis is a fiction manufactured by Trump to evade Congress' vote this month to provide less than $1.4 billion for barrier construction. That was well below the $5.7 billion Trump demanded as he forced a record-setting 35-day federal shutdown. "The president does not get to override Congress in a raucous temper tantrum over his inability to broker a deal" with lawmakers for more money, said Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, sponsor of the one-sentence measure blocking the declaration, called Trump's move "constitutional vandalism." Trump used a 1976 law to declare a national emergency and ordered the shift of $3.6 billion from military construction projects to wall building. Citing other powers, he intends to shift an additional $3.1 billion from Defense Department anti-drug efforts and a fund that collects seized assets. The money would be used to build steel barriers up to 30 feet tall and other barriers and for "law enforcement efforts," said a White House statement. In the Senate, three Republicans have said they will back Democrats' drive to block the emergency declaration: Maine's Susan Collins, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski and North Carolina's Thom Tillis. One more GOP defection would provide enough votes to approve the Democratic measure, assuming all Democrats and their independent allies back it. Republicans said senators asked Pence numerous questions about which projects Trump would divert to pay for the wall, with Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., saying the discussion was "hearty." Shelby, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which controls spending. said the committee would quickly "backfill" money for military construction with other funds he did not identify. "That issue won't stay alive long," Shelby told reporters. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the chief GOP vote counter, said there may be GOP attempts to amend the House measure, saying Republicans "think they have amendments that would improve it." That suggests that McConnell may try finding a way to add language that could sink the Democratic resolution or, perhaps, make it more palatable for Republicans. The law requires the Senate to vote on a measure within 18 days of receiving it from the House. Though presidents have declared 58 emergencies under the law, this is the first aimed at acquiring money for an item Congress has explicitly refused to finance, according to Elizabeth Goitein, co-director for national security at New York University Law School's Brennan Center for Justice. This is also the first time Congress has cast votes on whether to annul an emergency declaration, she said. Several lawsuits have been filed aimed at blocking the money, including by Democratic state attorneys general, and progressive and environmental groups. Those suits are likely to delay access to those funds for months or years. AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and Associated Press writer Colleen Long contributed. What to Know April 27-Oct. 26, 2019 Several locations, including LA State Historic Park and Exposition Park $14 general in advance When does summer really and truly and fully and absolutely start? Solstice-related answers are correct, of course, but we also look for early signs of the sunniest season on the big screen. Not just in the blockbusters that start to show up in multiplexes in April and May, but in the returning classics that pop up on pop-up screens in some of Southern California's largest parks. Street Food Cinema is one of the spunkiest purveyors of those pop-up favorites, and has been for a lucky seven years now. And that spunky summer sunny fun'll continue in 2019, with a fresh roster of much-loved classics that are both older, semi-recent, and of the still-in-theaters variety. "A Star Is Born" definitely falls in that final category, and if you'd like to see it played large at Poinsettia Recreation Park in West Hollywood on May 4, best purchase that ticket now. "Crazy Rich Asians" will make its Street Food Cinema debut on June 1, at the LA Arboretum in Arcadia. On that same night? "Bohemian Rhapsody" will rock out at Poinsettia Recreation Park. And "Black Panther" is set to call upon Griffith Park's Crystal Springs Picnic Area on July 6. As for the older flicks? As in those movies from more than a few years back, or even our childhoods, in some cases? Those will include "The Goonies," "Step Brothers," "The Sand Lot," and "Office Space." Opening night, which will feature "500 Days of Summer," is only two months away, so mark your calendar for April 27. A general advance ticket is $14, but there are some various tickets to consider before purchasing. Also? The "Food" in the event's name is quite important, so you'll want to eye all of the food trucks scheduled to appear on particular nights, before choosing what flicks you'll see. If matching foods and flicks is important to you. (Understandable, if so.) So, is summer here? Not even, and spring is still weeks away. But we can look to late April, and beyond, for this large-scale outdoor movie series, one that deftly meshes under-the-sky screenings, classic flicks, new favorites, and bevies of bite-delicious food trucks, all in memorable park settings, every week, over several warm-weather months. What to Know This species of sunfish, the first to be discovered in 125 years, was just recently found in New Zealand. The hoodwinker sunfish -- clearly an interesting looking swimmer -- can reach up to 10 feet in length and weigh up to 4,000 pounds. It wasn't clear how the fish, never seen before in the Northern Hemisphere, ended up in Southern California. A rare fish that looks more alien than aquatic washed up in Santa Barbara County, scientists said Wednesday. The mola tecta, or hoodwinker sunfish, has never been seen before in the Northern Hemisphere, let alone Southern California. It wasn't that long ago that the fish was discovered to exist at all. This species of sunfish, recently found on a New Zealand beach, was the first to be discovered in the last 125 years. UC Santa Barbara/ Thomas Turner The fish out of its normal waters washed up in Goleta, at UC Santa Barbara's Coal Oil Point Reserve. "This is certainly the most remarkable organism I have seen wash up on the beach in my four years at the reserve," said Jessica Nielsen, a conservation specialist at Coal Oil Point. UC Santa Barbara/ Thomas Turner An intern found the funny fish, which had already been dead, and told Nielsen. An associate professor from UC Santa Barbara came to the beach to inspect the sunfish, and after sharing photos on social media, scientists on the other side of the globe saw the specimen. Marianne Nyegaard of Murdoch University in Australia, who's the world's primary expert in the species, saw the post, and was hesitant to identify it. "I just couldn't be sure due to pixilation and kept thinking I was totally being hoodwinked by this stranded sunfish," she said. [NATL] Unbelievable Animal Stories: Dog Befriends Abandoned Baby Giraffe But the hoodwinker turned out to be just that. "I literally, nearly fell off my chair (which I was already sitting on the edge of!)," she said after examining more photos from UC Santa Barbara's naturalists, Nielsen and Tom Turner. It still wasn't clear why the sunfish was so far from home. The Board of Supervisors approved a $10,000 reward Tuesday for information that helps investigators track down a man who sexually assaulted a woman jogging on a bike path in the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area in South El Monte. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to permanently enforce a social host ordinance holding parents responsible for parties with underage drinking or marijuana smoking in unincorporated areas of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. A pilot ordinance has been in place for about a year and mirrors regulations in the four cities that make up the peninsula -- Rancho Palos Verdes, Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates. The pilot applies to the neighborhoods of Academy Hills, Westfield and the Estates and was originally recommended by Supervisor Janice Hahn. "Underage drinking is dangerous in any context but even more so on the peninsula," Hahn said of the winding, often unlit roads in the area. She called the ordinance "a common sense decision that will continue to save lives." Parents in support of the plan told stories last year of social media-driven parties that draw hundreds of teens and cited a survey of Palos Verdes 11th-graders showing that 60 percent reporting drinking alcohol at a party. Community leaders had worried that without an ordinance in the unincorporated areas, those neighborhoods would become a magnet for big parties. A former Palos Verdes Peninsula High School principal told the board Tuesday that parents were part of the problem. "It's really sad," said Mitzi Cress. "There are parents that want to make their children popular by having the parties at their house ... parents would be behind the bar mixing the margaritas." The ordinance gives parents a tool to say no to their kids, Cress said. Adults can face a fine or community service for violations, whether or not they are at home when teens are drinking. The prohibition includes cannabis use, which is illegal for recreational use by anyone under 21 despite recent legalization. Sheriff's officials told the board the law has been an effective deterrent. Deputies have been called out to some loud parties in the area, but didn't see any underage drinking there and no citations have been issued in the unincorporated areas, according to authorities. Linda Reid of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District urged the board to expand the ordinance to unincorporated areas countywide. "Teenage drinking is not a rite of passage," Reid said. The ordinance calls for a $1,000 fine on first offense. Any additional offenses in a 12-month period would require parents to reimburse the costs of any emergency response by police or other officials, in addition to a fine. City ordinances call for a first-time fine of $2,500 and double that for a second violation. Ventura County has social host ordinances that apply countywide, though fines and enforcement varies from city to city. About one-quarter of law enforcement officers surveyed for a 2009 study by Ventura County reported fewer calls for underage drinking parties after the regulations were passed, and some data showed the size of parties had dropped. A 2014 study published by the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs that surveyed 50 California cities found that strong social host policies were correlated with less drinking at parties but did not affect overall teen alcohol use. What to Know Some residents oppose a proposed hydro dam project in Lake Elsinore. Lake Elsinore residents are concerned power lines along the nearby forest could spark wildfires. City officials are expected to take up the issue again in March. Some residents in the Southern California city of Lake Elsinore fear power lines from a proposed $2 billion hydro electric dam project could ignite a brush fire. Residents are worried electrical towers and power lines could impact the area as part of the Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage Dam project. "In the last two years, there have been two wildfires that have burned in the location of the proposed transmission line locations," said Joe Folmar, who heads up a group of residents who oppose the project. "The Wildomar fire in 2017 and the Holy Fire in 2018 are the two fires, both of which required mandatory evacuations." The Wildomar Fire broke out in the Cleveland National Forest on Oct. 26, 2017. It prompted the evacuation of 200 homes in the area and charred 866 acres. A motorcycle that crashed into a tree sparked the fire, officials said. The Holy Fire, which started Aug. 6, 2018, burned over 23,000 acres. Officials say that fire was caused by arson and have charged a 51-year-old Forrest Gordon Clark with starting it. He has pleaded not guilty to arson charges. Concerns about fire risk are being taken seriously by the company proposing the dam in Lake Elsinore, Nevada Hydro, said John Sparks, a spokesman. The company is working with the U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection on a fire strategy, he said. "We are well aware of the concerns about a fire," he said. "There are transmission lines throughout California that Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service have to plan around." The Lake Elsinore City Council expects to take up the dam project at a meeting next month. "Anything can happen," said Nicole Dailey, a Lake Elsinore city spokeswoman. "We are concerned with the safety of our residents and lake." California's top prosecutor says detainees in federal immigration detention facilities in the state have inadequate access to health care, lawyers and family. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra released a report Tuesday that also found that detainees face long periods of confinement without breaks and language barriers in the 10 detention facilities state authorities inspected in 2017. Becerra says the state Legislature requires the California Department of Justice to inspect and report on the facilities' conditions over the next 10 years. That law was one of three "sanctuary state'' laws the Trump Administration unsuccessfully challenged in federal court. Were committed to upholding the welfare of all people in California, including those in local detention facilities pending immigration proceedings, Becerra said. At the California Department of Justice, we will continue to review detention facilities in our state and shine much-needed light on civil detention conditions. Becerra says many of the problems are caused by inadequate federal oversight. In a separate report, California's state auditor says cities and counties failed to properly monitor the facilities in their locales. Although immigration detainees experiences vary drastically within and across facilities throughout the state, DOJ found a number of common challenges, including: (The information below comes directly from the DOJ website) Prolonged periods of confinement without breaks, with some detainees confined in cells for up to 22 hours a day; Significant language barriers, compromising medical and legal confidentiality; Difficulties with access to medical and mental health care, increasing the risk to detainees of a major medical or mental health incident; Obstacles to external communication, limiting detainees abilities to contact family or other support systems; and Barriers to access to legal representation, leaving many detainees to navigate the complexities of immigration law themselves. Information on the detainees: The Republican candidate whose narrow lead in a North Carolina congressional race was thrown out because of suspicions of ballot fraud announced Tuesday he will not run in the newly ordered do-over election, saying he needs surgery late next month. The withdrawal of Mark Harris, a candidate hobbled by ballot fraud allegations, could help Republicans try to keep the competitive 9th District seat. The Harris announcement focused on his health problems without mentioning the absentee ballot scandal. Harris had led Democrat Dan McCready by just 905 votes after November's election, but the outcome was never certified. State election officials grew concerned about reports that an operative working for Harris was illegally tampering with absentee ballots. A hearing last week into the allegations took an unexpected turn when Harris said while testifying that he agreed a new election should be called. He gave up attempts to be declared winner, citing a blood infection that required hospitalization and led to two strokes. Shortly thereafter, the elections board ordered a new contest. No election date has been set. On Tuesday, Harris encouraged supporters to rally around Stony Rushing, a commissioner in Union County in the Charlotte suburbs. Rushing would "stand firm on so many of the issues that concern us" such as national security and religious freedom, Harris said. Rushing, a firing range owner and gun seller, has been a county commissioner off and on since first taking office in 2002. He didn't return a phone message Tuesday. Former state Sen. Tommy Tucker of Union County has also expressed interest in running, saying in a phone interview that he's "95 percent sure" that he'll run for the seat. Former U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger, whom Harris defeated in last May's primary, on Tuesday told The Associated Press it was "good for the country and the party" that Harris wasn't running. Asked why, he said simply: "I think it's just obvious." Pittenger said he doesn't plan to seek his old job, saying he's involved in conferences on counter-terrorism and security issues. Former Gov. Pat McCrory said Monday he wouldn't seek the seat. He was previously mayor of Charlotte, a part of which is in the congressional district. McCready has been assembling a new campaign staff and raising money to run again in the district that stretches from Charlotte through several counties to the east. His campaign finance report showed McCready raised $487,000 during the final five weeks of 2018. McCready formally announced his intention to run Friday before several dozen supporters at a brewery in Waxhaw, near Charlotte. He told the crowd that he and his team were going to "knock on every door" in the district to earn votes and to reassure constituents that he's the type of politician who will do the right thing. Harris struggled during testimony last week over why he prepared for his primary election last year by seeking out Bladen County political operative Leslie McCrae Dowless, a convicted felon who had been accused of ballot fraud in the 2016 elections. The state elections board turned over evidence of his actions in 2017 to federal prosecutors, who took no action. According to testimony and other findings detailed at the hearing, Dowless conducted an illegal "ballot harvesting" operation: He and his assistants gathered up absentee ballots from voters by offering to put them in the mail. Dowless' workers in rural Bladen County testified that they were directed to collect blank or incomplete ballots, forge signatures on them and even fill in votes for local candidates. It is generally against the law in North Carolina for anyone other than the voter or a family member to handle someone's completed ballot. No criminal charges have been filed in the case. Dowless declined to testify last week after the elections board refused to grant him immunity from prosecution based on what he might say. Associated Press writers Gary D. Robertson and Jonathan Drew contributed to this report. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is skewing facts when it comes to Republican congressional efforts to stem the type of election malfeasance recently seen in North Carolina. The Kentucky Republican on Tuesday accused Democrats of resisting GOP efforts over the years to address "voter fraud." That's misleading. The GOP efforts McConnell refers to have focused on requiring voter ID, which has no effect in stopping the alleged mail-in ballot fraud seen in North Carolina. A look at the claim: McCONNELL: "Now, for years and years, every Republican who dared to call for commonsense safeguards for Americans' ballots was demonized by Democrats and their allies. We were hit with left-wing talking points insisting that voter fraud wasn't real. That fraud just didn't happen. That modest efforts to ensure that voters are who they say they are and are voting in the proper place were really some sinister right-wing plot. As you might expect, now that an incident of very real voter fraud has become national news and the Republican candidate seems to have benefited, these long-standing Democrat talking points have quieted. ...I've been focused for decades on protecting the integrity of our elections." remarks in the Senate on Tuesday. THE FACTS: McConnell suggested the election debacle in North Carolina could have been prevented by Republican efforts, including his own, to fight "voter fraud" with voter ID laws, and he blamed Democrats for inaction on the issue. But the longtime Republican drive to require people to show identification when they show up to vote is not on point to what happened in North Carolina. The case of malfeasance involving Republican Mark Harris' congressional campaign in November focused on absentee mail-in ballot fraud, not voter impersonation at the ballot box. Voter IDs are powerless to stop mail-in ballot fraud; North Carolina already has a voter ID law in place and the ballot issues involving Harris happened anyway. The North Carolina State Board of Elections last week ordered a new election in the district, citing the voting improprieties. According to testimony during a state elections board hearing, Harris hired political operative Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr., who collected absentee ballots from voters by offering to put them in the mail. Some of Dowless' associates testified they collected blank or incomplete ballots, then forged signatures and filled in votes for local candidates. Dowless was arrested Wednesday on criminal charges over his collection of absentee ballots. McConnell is correct that Republicans and Democrats in Congress have debated election security for years. The Republican efforts in Congress have centered on voter ID laws, including an amendment McConnell unsuccessfully offered in 2007 to require ID to help prevent noncitizens from voting at the ballot box. Democrats have opposed voter-ID laws as unnecessarily restrictive for nonwhites, the poor and young people, who tend to vote Democratic. President Donald Trump himself typically points to a need for voter ID when addressing voter fraud. Last month he cited alleged problems in Texas as the "tip of the iceberg," and tweeted, "Must be stopped. Strong voter ID!" He also inaccurately asserted last November that photo ID is required "if you do anything" such as buying a box of cereal, but not for voting. A spokeswoman for McConnell, Stephanie Penn, said the Senate majority leader was seeking to make a broader point about voting fraud. She said Democrats have been hesitant about addressing "ballot harvesting" the type of fraud alleged to have happened in North Carolina in a voting rights bill in the House. The actual number of election fraud cases is very small, and the type that voter IDs is designed to prevent voter impersonation at the ballot box is virtually nonexistent. A 2012 report by News21, a reporting project affiliated with Arizona State University, found 2,068 cases of election fraud in the United States since 2000. Ten of those cases involved voter impersonation, or 1 out of every 15 million prospective voters. Mail-in absentee fraud was more common, with 491 cases. None of those instances affected the outcome of an election. In court cases that have invalidated some ID laws as having discriminatory effects, election officials could barely cite a case in which a person was charged with in-person voting fraud. Transgender troops testifying for the first time to Congress on Wednesday said transitioning to another sex made them stronger, while Pentagon officials defended the Trump administration's desire to bar people like them from enlisting in the future. Army Capt. Alivia Stehlik, an infantry officer and graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. and Ranger School, told lawmakers she became a more "effective soldier" after she transitioned from male to female in 2016. "What is the value of having transgender people in the military? Based on my experience first as a combat arms officer and medical provider, the answer is unequivocally that my transition and so many others has dramatically increased the readiness and lethality of every branch of the armed forces," said Stehlik, who returned from a deployment to Afghanistan a month ago where she treated soldiers as a physical therapist. With the ban now blocked by lawsuits, active-duty transgender service members were invited to testify about their service at the hearing called by Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier, chairwoman of the subcommittee. Speier said the ban is "discriminatory, unconstitutional and self-defeating" and said lifting the barrier for transgender people to serve by the Obama administration in 2016 has been an "unequivocal success." She added that barring transgender people "would cost us recruits at a time when so few Americans are willing to serve." She called the five transgender troops who testified Wednesday "exceptional, but also exceptionally normal." Retired Air Force Gen. James N. Stewart, who is now performing the duties of the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, defended the Trump administration's policy, which is currently blocked by litigation. He said current transgender troops will be allowed to continue to serve and other transgender people can join the military if they serve in their biological sex and have not been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a condition under which people experience distress if they do not identify with their birth gender. "It's not a ban on transgender individuals," he insisted. Stewart added that "special accommodations" cannot be made for people with such a medical condition. Maryland Democrat Anthony Brown said the same argument was used to keep blacks from integrating into the Army in 1948 and again in the 1990s to keep gay people from serving openly under the don't ask, don't tell policy, which was repealed by Congress in 2010. He said barring people who have undergone treatment for gender dysphoria and transitioned to another sex is equivalent to banning transgender people. "You're transgender and only if you agree not to transition, then you can serve, that's just like 'don't ask, don't tell,'" he said. In the nearly three years since the U.S. military welcomed transgender people into the armed forces, they have largely served without incident. Some, like Army attack helicopter pilot Lindsey Muller, have earned prestigious medals or received other forms of recognition. "Once you meet transgender people who have served in the different branches ... it's really hard to dismiss the fact that you will find Purple Heart recipients, Bronze Star winners, attack aviators, Navy SEALs," said Muller, who did not testify but is a plaintiff in one of four lawsuits challenging the ban. "We've been here, and we will continue to be here regardless. In what capacity is up to the administration." President Donald Trump has argued that their presence is a burden and cited "tremendous medical costs" as a reason for the ban. According to new data from the Defense Department provided to the House Armed Services Committee ahead of the hearing, the military has spent about $8 million on transgender care since 2016. The military's annual health care budget tops $50 billion. The Associated Press obtained the data Wednesday. An estimated 14,700 troops on active duty and in the Reserves identify as transgender but not all seek treatment. Military chiefs testified before Congress last year that they found no problems with transgender troops on morale or unit cohesion. The five fransgender troops who testified Wednesday said their medical transitions took anywhere from four weeks to four months and they did most of it on their own time. They said recovery from pregnancy and shoulder surgery takes much longer. The Defense Department treated 1,525 service members between July 1, 2016 and February 1, 2019, who were diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Currently about 1,071 are serving, including 20 senior officers. The military spent about $8 million on transgender care, including about $5.8 million on psychotherapy and about $2 million on surgeries mostly for breast reductions and hysterectomies. There were about 23,000 psychotherapy visits and about 160 surgeries. Mississippi Rep. Trent Kelly, the committee's ranking Republican member, said not everyone can join the military because of its "stringent medical and behavioral health standards needed to maintain a ready and resilient force. However, it only makes sense that any individual who can meet these standards and is otherwise qualified should be allowed to serve." Pakistan's military said Wednesday it shot down two Indian warplanes in the disputed region of Kashmir and captured a pilot, answering an airstrike a day earlier by Indian fighter jets inside Pakistan and raising tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals to a level unseen in two decades. Within hours Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan went on television urging peace talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying both countries needed to step back from the brink and warning that "miscalculations" could drag their two countries into a war that neither side would benefit from. "Let's sit together to talk to find a solution," Khan said. There was no reply from Modi, but India acknowledged one of its air force planes was "lost" in skirmishes with Pakistan and that its pilot was "missing in action." Pakistan's military later circulated a video of a man with a mustache who identified himself as the Indian pilot, sipping tea and responding to questions, mostly by saying, "You know I can't answer that." He appeared in good health as he was questioned about his hometown, his aircraft and his mission. The downing of the Indian aircraft came on a chaotic day that also saw mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier dividing the two sectors of Kashmir kill six civilians and wound several others. A helicopter crash in the region also killed six Indian air force officials and a civilian on the ground. Pakistan responded by shutting down its civilian airspace. The Indian warplanes went down Wednesday morning in Kashmir, a mountainous region claimed by both India and Pakistan since almost immediately after their creation in 1947. One of the downed planes crashed in Pakistan's part of Kashmir while the other went down in an Indian-controlled section of the Himalayan region, Pakistan's army spokesman Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor said. He said Pakistani troops on the ground captured the Indian pilot. He had said earlier that two pilots were captured, but did not explain the discrepancy. "We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm," Ghafoor said. India's External Affairs Ministry spokesman, Raveesh Kumar, said one of India's MiG-21 fighter aircraft was missing and India was still "ascertaining" whether its pilot was in Pakistan's custody. He said one Pakistani aircraft was shot down, something Pakistan denied. Meanwhile, Indian police said officials recovered seven bodies from the wreckage of the Indian air force chopper that crashed in an Indian-controlled sector of Kashmir, including six Indian airmen and a civilian on the ground. They gave no cause for the crash. Senior police officer Munir Ahmed Khan said the chopper crashed close to an airport in the Budgam area, on the outskirts of the region's main city of Srinagar. The Srinagar airport, which was shut along with two other airports for civilian flights in the region, is also an air force station. Witnesses said soldiers fired in the air to keep residents away from the crash site. Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad said the country's air force was carrying out airstrikes Wednesday from within Pakistani airspace across the disputed Kashmir boundary but that this was not in "retaliation to continued Indian belligerence." Ghafoor, the Pakistani military spokesman, said the strikes were aimed at "avoiding human loss and collateral damage." The shelling earlier Wednesday by India hit the village of Kotli in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, killing six civilians, including children, local police official Mohammad Altaf said. Kashmir is split between Pakistan and India and claimed by both in its entirety. Though Pakistani and Indian troops in Kashmir often trade fire, the latest casualties came a day after tensions escalated sharply following a pre-dawn airstrike and incursion by India that New Delhi said targeted a terrorist training camp in northwestern Pakistan. The strike Tuesday was India's first inside Pakistan since the two nations' 1971 war over territory that later became Bangladesh. Pakistan said Indian warplanes dropped bombs near the Pakistani town of Balakot but there were no casualties. The violence Wednesday marked the most serious escalation of the long-simmering conflict since 1999, when Pakistan's military sent a ground force into Indian-controlled Kashmir at Kargil. That year also saw an Indian fighter jet shoot down a Pakistani naval aircraft, killing all 16 on board. Residents on both sides of the de-facto frontier, the so-called Line of Control, said there were exchanges of fire between the two sides through the night into Wednesday morning. Hundreds of villagers fled border towns in both India and Pakistan. In New Delhi, Indian officials said Wednesday at least five of their soldiers were wounded in firing by Pakistani troops along the volatile frontier. Lt. Col. Devender Anand, an Indian army spokesman, said Pakistani soldiers targeted dozens of Indian military positions across the Line of Control throughout the night. An Indian military statement said that "out of anger and frustration," Pakistan initiated an "unprovoked cease-fire violation." The statement said Indian troops "retaliated for effect" and claimed to have destroyed five Pakistani posts. It accused Pakistani soldiers of firing mortars and missiles "from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields." On Wednesday, Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, told state-run Pakistan Television he was in touch with his counterparts across the world about the "Indian aggression," adding that New Delhi had endangered peace in the region by Tuesday's airstrike inside Pakistan. India's external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, said Wednesday her country does not wish to see further escalation of the situation with Pakistan and that it will continue to act with responsibility and restraint. She said the limited objective of India's pre-emptive strike inside Pakistan on a terrorist training camp Tuesday was to prevent another terror attack inside India by the Jaish-e-Mohammad extremist group. The latest wave of tensions between Pakistan and India first erupted after Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for a Feb. 14 suicide bombing on Indian paramilitary forces on the Indian side of Kashmir that killed more than 40 troops. India long has accused Pakistan of cultivating such militant groups to attack it. Pakistan has said it was not involved in that attack and was ready to help New Delhi in the investigations. A 17-year-old Waxahachie man is behind bars after allegedly using social media to threaten an abortion clinic. According to police, the man, who has not been identified, was charged with making a terroristic threat to an undisclosed clinic. Police did not details what was said in the threats. The Dallas Morning News reports a Feb. 17 tweet from the username @TomboysDMme showed a man holding a gun and a phone with a cloth covering most of his face and the caption "I'm going to commit jihad on an abortion clinic." There are no abortion clinics in Ellis County, according to the DMN. The arrest came after a joint investigation between police and the North Texas Joint Terrorism Task Force. Authorities obtained a search warrant and seized several firearms and other evidence at the teen's home, police said. The man was booked into the Wayne McCollum Detention Center. The investigation remains ongoing, police said. Lawmakers in Austin are considering legislation to increase the minimum age to legally buy tobacco products in Texas from 18 to 21, and at least one e-cigarette company says it agrees. JUUL Labs confirmed it took out an ad in The Dallas Morning News Tuesday in support of raising the minimum purchase age of tobacco products. The company positions itself as an alternative to regular cigarettes and said, "We are committed to preventing youth access to our products because no young person or non-nicotine user should ever try JUUL." The move comes as the Texas PTA calls raising the minimum tobacco purchase age a priority this legislative session. "As a parent walking around, the kids who are vaping, you can see it," Plano ISD Council of PTAs president Kelley Thomas said. "You're looking at it as you're going to the mall, as youre going to the grocery store." Thomas said while the risk of smoking cigarettes is well known and documented, she said she believed e-cigarettes were a new frontier. "It smells good and tastes good, so they're all excited about it right now. They think it's kind of cool," Thomas said. She added younger students may be more vulnerable to the introduction of tobacco products by older students who could legally purchase them. "Twenty-one takes the access away from our younger students, it builds a social wedge," Thomas added. A coalition of healthcare groups and nonprofits called Texas 21 are part of the push to change the legal smoking age. "Bottom line: it is a public health issue," said Dr. Phil Huang, Dallas County Health and Human Services director. Huang said tobacco was still the top preventable cause of death and disease in the United States and the difference between someone picking up smoking at 18 or 21 may come down to habit. "It is during youth that behavior gets started and between the age of 18 and 21 is when it goes from experimental to really regular uses," Huang said. "People forget how tobacco is still a problem. Maybe the people around them don't use tobacco, but still it is an even higher burden in some of the lower socioeconomic groups," he added. But some question the effectiveness of raising the minimum smoking age. "If you're going to take the right for an adult person to make a decision for their own health, their own body, their own life, then at what point do you stop?" asked Deeanna Rosenbaum, a McKinney parent. Rosenbaum, who is a non-smoker, said shes pushing for other priorities in schools -- particularly requiring metal detectors at all entrances. She said schools already prohibit tobacco products and metal detectors may prevent some from getting into schools. "Going into massive amounts of debt purchasing a gun, having children, getting married, joining the military. There are so many decisions that kids can make at age 18, why pick on one in particular?" Rosenbaum said. Read JUUL Labs' full statement on the effort to raise the age to buy tobacco in Texas: A World War II veteran in McKinney is being recognized for his service and dedication. Wallace "Wally" Delmar, 92, works in the hardware section of the Lowe's store on Texas 121. He's worked there for more than a decade, impressing customers and bosses with his knowledge and dedication. "My game plan was to die at 80, and I didn't die, Delmar jokingly explained to NBC 5 in May. "I woke up 81 years old. And I can't drink scotch on Social Security. I needed a job, so who's going to hire anyone at 81 years old?" Earlier this month, the retailer's top bosses gave Delmar the first-ever veteran's vest modeled after the camouflage uniform worn by the U.S. military. Lowe's flew him to Las Vegas for the special presentation in front of thousands at the annual sales meeting. Jared Tye, a customer, took a picture of Delmar with his new vest and posted it on social media, thanking him for his service. Do you have something good to share? Send your Tell Me Something Good idea with photos or videos in an email to iSee@nbcdfw.com. Stanley Welch was a college student in Connecticut in 1963. He, along with his brother traveled to Washington, DC, to be part of the events surrounding the March on Washington. The event inspired him to get involved. He said, "I felt inspired ... and I felt like I wanted to go home and do something, so I did. In fact, I joined a group in New Haven, the Congress of Racial Equality." Welch attending Southern Connecticut State University and still residents in Connecticut. Voices of the Civil Rights Movement, a multimedia collaboration of Comcast NBCUniversal and the Equal Justice Initiative, honors the legacy and impact of the men and women who championed racial equality in the United States. Video content owned and funded by Comcast Corporation, NBC Connecticut's parent company. (CNN) A "global indifference" to human rights abuses in the Middle East is fueling repression across the region, Amnesty International announced Tuesday. Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia intensified crackdowns on dissent in 2018, arresting thousands of critics in an atmosphere of "generalized impunity across the region for both past and ongoing violations," the human rights group said in its yearly report on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. "Across MENA throughout 2018 thousands of dissidents and peaceful critics have been victims of shameless government violations on a shocking scale, amid deafening silence from the international community," said Amnesty International's regional director Heba Morayef in a statement accompanying the report Tuesday. In Saudi Arabia, Amnesty claimed that a government crackdown had put "virtually all human rights defenders" in the kingdom behind bars or forced them to leave the country. The wave of arrests has targeted women's rights activists, academics and human rights campaigners. The arrest and alleged torture of Saudi women's rights defenders sparked global outcry in 2018. At least one of the detained women -- prominent activist Loujain al-Hathloul -- was electrocuted, flogged and sexually harassed, Hathloul's family members told CNN. In its statement, Amnesty also condemned Western arms transfers to Middle East governments, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, amid widespread reports of violations of international humanitarian laws during the war in Yemen. The two coalition partners have launched repeated air and ground offensives in their more than three-year campaign against Yemen's Houthi rebels. Thousands of civilians have died in the conflict. The US, UK and France supplied billions of dollars in military equipment to the coalition partners in 2018. Meanwhile, Amnesty noted, Denmark and Finland were among countries who suspended arms sales to Riyadh in the aftermath of the October murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which caused a global fallout. The CIA concluded that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman -- the kingdom's day-to-day ruler -- ordered the killing, a charge vehemently denied by Saudi officials. The Saudi-led coalition is believed to be behind the majority of civilian casualties in Yemen, UN investigators said last year, and a CNN investigation revealed that US-made weapons supplied to the coalition have ended up in the hands of fighters linked to al Qaeda. Reports have also emerged of rebels targeting aid workers in the country. The Saudi coalition did not respond to multiple requests for comment on CNN's report on the weapons transfers earlier this month. A senior UAE official denied "in no uncertain terms" that it had violated its end-use agreements with the US. "Time and again, allies of governments in the region have put lucrative business deals, security cooperation or billions of dollars' worth of arms sales before human rights, fueling abuses and creating a climate where MENA governments feel 'untouchable' and above the law," said Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty. 'Year of shame' In Iran, thousands of people were arrested during a wave of demonstrations over the past year. More than 7,000 protesters, students, journalists, environmental activists, workers and human rights defenders were detained in what Amnesty International has dubbed the country's "year of shame." Economic protests in December 2017 and January 2018 were the largest displays of public discontent in the country since the 2009 Green Movement, when millions took to the streets to demonstrate against alleged election fraud. Individuals and coordinated groups of dissidents continued to publicly demand political and social reforms throughout 2018. Street demonstrations against the compulsory Islamic headscarf captured global headlines and led to a string of arrests. In Egypt, an ongoing campaign against dissidents has led to the arrests of at least 113 people "solely for peacefully expressing critical opinions," according to the Amnesty report. Two of those detained were arrested for speaking out against sexual harassment on Facebook, the rights group said. Civil liberties under Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi have been curtailed, with rights groups regularly issuing scathing assessments of human rights in the Arab world's most populous country. 'Limited improvements' But Amnesty International also lists some advancements in regional human rights. Saudi Arabia's lifting of a driving ban on women was praised as one of the "limited improvements" for women's rights. In a win for LGBT rights in the region, Tunisia now has a draft law decriminalizing same-sex relationships, and a top court in Lebanon has ruled that same-sex consensual sex was not a criminal offense, Amnesty noted. "Against a backdrop of overwhelming repression, some governments have taken small steps forward," said Morayef. "These improvements are a tribute to courageous human rights defenders across MENA, and serve as a reminder to those who regularly risk their freedom to stand up against tyranny and speak truth to power that they are planting true seeds of change for the years to come." This story was first published on CNN.com, "'Global indifference' contributing to Middle East crackdowns, Amnesty says." President Donald Trump is in Vietnam for his second summit with Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, and he took a jab on Twitter at U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal about misstatements the senator made years ago about serving in Vietnam. I have now spent more time in Vietnam than Da Nang Dick Blumenthal, the third rate Senator from Connecticut (how is Connecticut doing?). His war stories of his heroism in Vietnam were a total fraud - he was never even there. We talked about it today with Vietnamese leaders! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2019 In May 2010, the New York Times reported that Blumenthal inaccurately portrayed his military service in several instances. The story included quotes and a video of Blumenthal saying at an event years earlier that he had served in Vietnam when he actually served stateside for six years in the Marine Reserve, after completing six months in Marine boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina. Blumenthal, who was the state's popular attorney general and running for U.S. Senate at the time the Times report came out, acknowledged he had misspoken and meant to say he served during Vietnam instead of in Vietnam. He said the statements were totally unintentional errors that occurred only a few times out of hundreds of public appearances. Months later, Blumenthal went on to defeat Republican and former WWE CEO Linda McMahon in the November election. McMahon now serves in the Trump administration as Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. President Trump Tweeted early Wednesday morning that he has now spent more time in Vietnam than the senator and went on to say he spoke with Vietnams leaders about Blumenthal. This is not the first time Trump has taken a jab at Blumenthal and brought up the misstatements. In 2017, Trump went after Blumenthal on Twitter in response to the senators comments on the dismissal of FBI Director James Comey. Months later, the president criticized Blumenthal on Twitter for passing judgment on the Russian collusion investigation and said that Blumenthal had little right to do so. In October, Trump launched another verbal attack at Blumenthal during a news conference about the revised North American trade deal with Canada and Mexico when questions turned to issues surrounding the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh for the U.S. Supreme Court. Blumenthal was critical of Kavanaugh nomination. After that news conference, Blumenthal responded on Twitter and Tweeted, There he goes again. I wont be stopped or silenced by President Trumps false personal attacks. Senate Democrats in Connecticut declared victory in two out of three state Senate races Tuesday night, with an upset in the 6th District giving Republicans another voice in the General Assembly. The Special Election was held to fill three vacant state Senate seats and two vacant House of Representatives seats after those lawmakers resigned in order to accept jobs in the new Lamont administration. Democrats Derek Slap won the 5th District seat and Saud Anwar the 3rd District, while Rick Lopes lost to Gennaro Bizzarro in New Britain. Democrats still control the Senate with a comfortable 22-14 majority. While the Bizzarro victory was a huge upset, the Saud Anwar victory was a romp in what could have been a much closer election. A source told NBC Connecticuts Max Reiss the margin was 58 percent to 41 percent. Democrat Anthony Nolan claimed victory in the race for the 39th House District, with Republican Joseph Zullo taking East Haven's 99th District seat. What to Know The measure was only on the ballot in certain areas, and would steer marijuana tax revenues to neighborhoods hurt by the war on drugs. Voters in numerous Chicago city wards supported a ballot measure designed to spend future marijuana tax revenue in certain city neighborhoods, and now politicians are left to evaluate what it all means as the city moves forward. The measure stipulated that tax revenues from the sale of legal marijuana would be used to fund neighborhood reinvestment in low-income communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs. The measure ended up being approved by voters, and supporters of legalization were pleased with the results, citing it as one more example of the momentum being gained by the movement to legalize the drug in the city and the state. The industry certainly supports opening up access to cannabis, CRESCO Labs spokesman Jason Erkes said. We have a governor that supports it and has promised legislation, and now we have two mayoral candidates who support it. Both Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and former prosecutor Lori Lightfoot support legalizing marijuana, and advocates hope that their support helps to lead to decriminalization efforts to help free those in prison due to the drug. Mass incarceration is an issue, as these minor pot crimes disproportionately impact people of color, legalization supporter Nicole Schonitzer said. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker called for legalization of marijuana in his budget address, and both Lightfoot and Preckwinkle are on record as supporting that measure. Preckwinkle spoke out in favor of the citys decision to decriminalize possession of small amounts of cannabis during the summer of 2012. Venezuelan authorities on Tuesday deported a Univision news crew led by anchor Jorge Ramos hours after they were briefly detained at the presidential palace following an interview with President Nicolas Maduro, which was abruptly terminated over their line of questioning. Ramos said authorities told the Univision news team to arrive at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Vargas at 7 a.m. ET and board a midday flight to the U.S. Univision said the team was already scheduled to return to their base in Miami on Tuesday. The news crew, accompanied by U.S. and Mexican diplomats, was escorted to the airport by members of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), the repressive Venezuelan police force, according to Carlos Correa, who heads the Caracas-based free-speech NGO Espacio Publico. Speaking from Caracas Monday night, Ramos told Univision anchor Patricia Janiot during a phone call that aired on the networks broadcast that he asked Maduro to comment on the fact that millions of Venezuelans don't consider him a legitimate president because of questions surrounding the validity of the results of the 2018 elections. He also said he asked Maduro whether he was a president or a dictator and to respond to accusations from opposition leader Juan Guaido that he was a usurper of power. World of Dance returns for its second season on Tuesday, and Access Lives Scott Evans is pulling duties as the competitions new host! Scott takes us on an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the set! Ramos said when he questioned Maduro about accusations of abuse and torture and then showed him video on an iPad he had taken a day earlier of young Venezuelans eating food scraps out of the back of a garbage truck, the leader cut short their interview after 17 minutes. The seven-person team was then held for more than two hours in the Miraflores palace and had their camera equipment and phones seized. They were eventually released, but without having their equipment and footage returned, Ramos said. "They stole my work," Ramos said. "My job is to ask questions." A spokesman for the union of journalists in Venezuela, known as SNTP, said the Univision news crews' equipment, which included four cameras, four monitors, microphones, lamps, and a satellite instrument, had not been returned as of the moment they were processed through immigration at the airport. The Univision journalists boarded an 11 a.m. ET flight bound for Miami and it wasn't clear if the plane departed without the equipment. Venezuela's government denied Ramos' account. They accused him of trying to stage an international incident after a senior State Department official and Sen. Marco Rubio relayed reports on social media of what they called Ramos' detention at the same time an interview shot earlier in the day with U.S. network ABC was being aired. "Hundreds of journalists have passed through Miraflores and received the same decent treatment we give all those doing journalistic work," Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez said on Twitter. Ramos, who interviewed Maduro's mentor, Hugo Chavez, three times, said Maduro accused him of siding with the government's opponents in the political fight for power now raging in Venezuela. More than 50 governments around the world have recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's rightful leader after Maduro was sworn in for a second term last month following what the critics say was an illegitimate election. Ramos has previously angered one of Maduro's strongest critics: U.S. President Donald Trump, who famously had the journalist removed from a news conference on the campaign trail in 2015 when he asked about his anti-immigrant views toward Mexicans. A security guard removes Univision anchor Jorge Ramos from a news conference on Tuesday in Dubuque, Iowa. Ramos stood up and began to ask Trump about his immigration proposal. "Making a Murderer" subject Steven Avery will have his case re-examined by a Wisconsin court, his lawyer announced this week. Avery, who is serving a life sentence for the 2005 murder of photographer Teresa Halbach, won a motion to appeal, sending his case back to a circuit court. There, the court can either grant a new trial or send the case back to the appellate court, which could potentially reverse his conviction or grant a new trial, his lawyer Kathleen Zellner told Newsweek. Zellner noted the appeal centered on a collection of possible human bones, which she said were never tested for DNA before they were returned to Halbachs family. "We Won!!!!!!" Zellner tweeted Monday. "Back to the circuit court." Avery was the subject of the Netflix documentary series "Making a Murderer" series, which recently released its second season. The series follows Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey, both convicted of murdering Halbach and both serving life sentences, as they try to overturn their convictions. Avery had argued that his conviction was based on planted evidence and false testimony. The series spawned conjecture about the pair's innocence, but those who worked on the cases accused the filmmakers of leaving out key pieces of evidence and presenting a biased view of what happened. "[Steven Averys] DREAM OF FREEDOM is a NEW REALITY as [Court of Appeals] lets us reveal all the States BAD FAITH, DESTRUCTION & SUPPRESSION of evidence-misdeeds cannot be undone," Zellner tweeted Tuesday. "States old way of doing business is OVER." She noted that the court of appeals "is letting us create an avalanche of evidence in this record" and called the courts ruling a "very good sign." Should his conviction be overturned, it would mark the second time Avery has been imprisoned for a crime he says he didn't commit. Zellner's office did not respond to NBC Chicago's multiple requests for comment. The race to represent Chicagos 25th Ward is headed to a runoff election in April. With all precincts reporting, election results showed Byron Sigcho-Lopez had 29.3 percent of the vote and Alex Acevedo had 22.2 percent, the two highest vote totals of the five candidates running. Because no candidate garnered 50 percent, the race will have a runoff election between the top two vote-getters in April. The race changed drastically after Ald. Danny Solis announced in November that he would not seek reelection - leaving the field wide open. Sigcho-Lopez is an educator and public policy researcher at the University of Illinois-Chicago, as well as the director of the Pilsen Alliance, an organization focused on social justice for working class and immigrant communities on the Lower West Side. Sigcho-Lopez was one of four candidates who previously challenged Solis in 2015, coming in second with 19 percent of the vote - falling about 80 votes short of forcing Solis into a run-off election. Acevedo is a former registered nurse who currently works as a community relations manager at Oak Street Health, a clinic for senior citizens. He is the son of former state Rep. Eddie Acevedo and unsuccessfully ran for his fathers seat in 2016. [[505902811, C]] Three other candidates ran as well, with two coming within striking distance - less than 300 votes - of making the runoff. The results are not official, as vote-by-mail ballots postmarked by Election Day may continue to be counted. Hilario Dominguez appeared to come in third place with 20.8 percent of the vote. Dominguez is a former special education teacher and community organizer who has worked on issues of housing and volunteered for candidates including Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia, who endorsed him. Aida Flores came in fourth, with 19.3 percent of the vote, according to the board of elections. She is a former Chicago Public Schools teacher and principal who currently works as a management consultant. [[504651202, C]] Troy Antonio Hernandez came in fifth, with 8.3 percent. He is a data scientist who works for IBM and volunteers as director of the Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization. He unsuccessfully attempted to run against Solis in 2015 but did not make the ballot. Solis has represented the ward since he was appointed in 1996, meaning this election will mark the first time in nearly a quarter-century that the 25th Ward will have a new voice on City Council. Both runoff candidates are about half the age of 70-year-old Solis, meaning that no matter who wins, the 25th Ward will, for the first time, be represented by a millennial. Solis has gone silent since late January, when the Chicago Sun-Times reported that he secretly recorded conversations with embattled Ald. Ed Burke as part of a criminal investigation that resulted in a charge of attempted extortion against Burke on Jan. 3. Solis himself became the subject of a federal criminal investigation in 2014, according to a source familiar with the probe, which is why Solis cooperated in the investigation into Burke. No charges have been filed against Solis, who resigned from his position as chair of the powerful City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, which votes on where developers can build multi-million to multi-billion dollar projects across the city. Solis was a major flash-point in the race, as candidates for the 25th Ward - which includes parts of the Lower West Side, Pilsen, Greek Town, Chinatown and University Village neighborhoods - all attempted to distance themselves from him and paint themselves as reformers. In a damning depiction of Donald Trump, the president's former lawyer on Wednesday cast him as a racist and a con man who used his inner circle to cover up politically damaging allegations about sex, and who lied throughout the 2016 election campaign about his business interests in Russia. Michael Cohen, who previously pleaded guilty to lying to Congress, told lawmakers that Trump had advance knowledge and embraced the news that emails damaging to Hillary Clinton would be released during the campaign. But he also said he had no "direct evidence" that Trump or his aides colluded with Russia to get him elected, the primary question of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Cohen, shaking off incessant criticism from Republicans anxious to paint him as a felon and liar, became the first Trump insider to pull back the curtain on a version of the inner workings of Trump's political and business operations. He likened the president to a "mobster" who demanded blind loyalty from underlings and expected them to lie on his behalf to conceal information and protect him even if it meant breaking the law. "I am not protecting Mr. Trump anymore," Cohen declared. "My loyalty to Mr. Trump has cost me everything: my family's happiness, friendships, my law license, my company, my livelihood, my honor, my reputation, and soon my freedom," Cohen said. "I will not sit back say nothing and allow him to do the same to the country." Cohen's matter-of-fact testimony about secret payments and lies unfolded as Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. At a Vietnam hotel and unable to ignore the drama thousands of miles away, Trump lashed out on Twitter, saying Cohen "did bad things unrelated to Trump" and "is lying in order to reduce his prison time." In testimony that cut to the heart of federal investigations encircling the White House, Cohen said he arranged a hush money payment to porn actress at the president's behest and agreed to lie about it to the public and the First Lady. He said Trump was "not knowledgeable" about the transactions even though the president directly arranged for his reimbursement. He said he was left with the unmistakable impression Trump wanted him to lie to Congress about a Moscow real estate project, though the president never directly told him so. In one revelation, Cohen said prosecutors in New York were investigating conversations Trump or his advisers had with him after his office and hotel room were raided by the FBI last April. Cohen said he could not discuss that conversation, the last contact he said he has had with the president or anyone acting on his behalf, because it remains under investigation. The appearance marked the latest step in Cohen's evolution from legal fixer for the president he once boasted he'd "take a bullet" for Trump to a foe who has implicated him in federal campaign finance violations. The hearing proceeded along parallel tracks, with Democrats focusing on allegations against Trump while Republicans sought to undermine Cohen's credibility and the proceeding itself. As Republicans blasted him as a convicted liar, a mostly unrattled Cohen sought to blunt the attacks by repeatedly acknowledging his own failings. He called himself a "fool," warned lawmakers of the perils of blind loyalty to a leader undeserving of it and pronounced himself ashamed of what he'd done to protect Trump. Cohen is due to begin a three-year prison sentence in May, and described himself as cooperative with multiple investigations in hopes of reducing his time behind bars. He is seen as a vital witness for federal prosecutors because of his proximity to the president during key episodes under investigation and their decade-long professional relationship. The first of six Trump aides charged in the Trump-Russia investigation to testify publicly about crimes committed during the 2016 campaign and in the months that followed, Cohen also delivered biting personal commentary on a president he said never expected to win in the first place. "He never expected to win the primary. He never expected to win the general election," Cohen said. "The campaign for him was always a marketing opportunity." He recounted how Trump made him threaten schools he attended to not release his grades and SAT scores and denigrated blacks as "too stupid" to vote for him. He said Trump once confided to him that, despite his public explanation of a medical deferment from the Vietnam War because of bone spurs, he never had any intention of fighting there. "I find it ironic, President Trump, that you are in Vietnam right now," Cohen said. Cohen gave lawmakers his first-person account of how he arranged to buy the silence of a porn actress and a Playboy model who said they had sex with Trump. He described a February 2017 conversation with Trump in the Oval Office in which the president reassured him that reimbursement checks sent through Federal Express were coming but would take some time to get through the White House system. He said the president spoke to him a year later to discuss the public messaging around the transaction, and had even once put his wife, Melania, on the phone so that Cohen could lie to her. "Lying to the first lady is one of my biggest regrets," Cohen said. "She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly, and she did not deserve that." In an allegation relating to Mueller's probe, Cohen said he overheard Trump confidant Roger Stone telling the candidate in the summer of 2016 that WikiLeaks would dump damaging information about Clinton. Trump put Stone on speakerphone as Stone relayed that he had communicated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that "within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign," Cohen said. Damaging emails U.S. officials say were hacked by Russia were later released by WikiLeaks. Trump responded by saying "wouldn't that be great," Cohen said. Stone disputed that account Wednesday, and Barry Pollack, a lawyer for Assange, said Stone and Assange did not have the telephone call that Cohen described. Cohen's claims that Trump had advance knowledge of the emails contradict the president's assertions that he was in the dark, and it is not clear how legally problematic that could be for Trump anyway. Mueller has not suggested that mere awareness of WikiLeaks' plans, as Stone is purported to have had, is by itself a crime. Cohen also suggested Trump implicitly told him to lie about a Moscow real estate project. Cohen has admitted lying about the project, which he says Trump knew about as Cohen was negotiating with Russia during the campaign. Cohen said Trump did not directly tell him to lie, but "he would look me in the eye and tell me there's no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing." Cohen said he does not have direct evidence that Trump colluded with the Russian government during the election, but that he has "suspicions," including after a June 2016 meeting between the president's oldest son and a Kremlin-connected lawyer. "I wouldn't use the word 'colluding.' Was there something odd about the back-and-forth praise with President Putin?" Cohen said. "Yes, but I'm not really sure I can answer that question in terms of collusion." Federal prosecutors in New York have said Trump directed Cohen to arrange payments to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in the run-up to the 2016 campaign. Cohen has said he acted out of "blind loyalty." He said he was presenting the committee with a copy of a check Trump wrote from his personal bank account after he became president to reimburse Cohen for the hush money payments. He offered up other exhibits as well, including examples of financial statements he said Trump had drawn up to show he was wealthier than he really was. A House committee voted Tuesday to subpoena Trump administration officials over family separations at the southern border, the first issued in the new Congress as Democrats have promised to hold the administration aggressively to count. The decision by the Oversight Committee will compel the heads of Justice, Homeland Security and Health and Human Services to deliver documents to lawmakers. The committee's chairman, Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, has pledged to press the administration for documents and testimony on a wide swath of issues, but family separation was among his first priorities. "I believe this is a true national emergency," Cummings said. "When our own government rips children from the arms of their mothers and fathers with no plans to reunite them - that is government-sponsored child abuse." Cummings said committee members have been seeking the documents for seven months. The Oversight Committee is seeking details on the children separated, location and facilities where they were held, details on their parents, information on efforts to restore children to their parents and whether parents were deported. A Homeland Security spokesman said the department had already sent over 2,600 pages in response to the request. "Today's unnecessary subpoena vote was a political stunt and contrary to the constitutionally mandated accommodation process," said spokesman Tyler Houlton. "We have worked with congressional committees in good faith and will continue to do so. We hope they will return the favor and respect the process and the men and women of DHS." Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the committee's ranking Republican, sent Cummings a letter arguing that the subpoenas would not be necessary, and that the administration had produced hundreds of pages of documents in response to earlier requests for information. "We should not rush to compel documents from the departments, especially when they have sought to comply with your request voluntarily," Jordan wrote. Other Republicans said the committee should go through the paperwork they have on hand before deciding whether the agencies haven't complied with the request, and ask for data related to separations under the Obama administration. But two voted to issue the subpoenas. Cummings said the documents already submitted to the committee were vastly incomplete. "The information we got was not one name, not one number," Cummings said. "Zilch." A spokeswoman for Health and Human Services said the department appreciates the role of oversight and communicates regularly with the committee. "Additionally, we have transparently provided 792 pages of documents related to the committee's request," and offered a review of an information portal, spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley said. If any officials don't comply with new subpoenas, the committee and eventually the full House could vote to hold the department in contempt, setting up a potentially lengthy court battle More than 2,700 children were separated from their parents at the border last year under a zero-tolerance immigration policy by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions that criminally prosecuted anyone caught crossing the border illegally. Because children can't be placed with their parents in jail, they were separated. Watchdog reports have found the administration was not prepared to manage the aftermath of the separations, and had no way to track the families and did not have a way to reunite them until a federal judge stepped in. An internal watchdog report recently found that thousands more children than previously thought may have been separated before the zero-tolerance policy officially began. Immigration officials are allowed to separate children if there is a concern for the child's well-being, if a parent has a criminal charge or if there are serious health risks. The House Judiciary Committee authorized a subpoena to compel then-acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to testify if necessary, but it was never served. Additional data released by Health and Human Services Tuesday show there were nearly 5,000 complaints of sexual abuse and harassment of migrant children in government-managed shelters over four years. The allegations include inappropriate touching and showing pornographic videos. The data include information from both the Obama and Trump administrations, from October 2015 through September 2018. Officials say most of the allegations haven't been substantiated and are defending the care they provide to migrant children. Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report. The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office has ordered people living near the Russian River to evacuate due to flooding. The river, which has already surged above flood stage, is predicted to crest at 46 feet around 10 p.m. Wednesday. More information is available at www.socoemergency.org or at 707-565-3856. The website includes a map of areas that are expected to flood. Residents are asked not to call the sheriff's office's dispatch center unless it is an emergency. Flood Photos: Water Overtakes Roadways, Homes in North Bay The mandatory evacuation orders are for the following areas: Asti Bailhache Chianti Guerneville Guernewood Guernewood Park Hacienda Jenner Jimtown Korbel Lytton Northwood Northwood Lodge Rio Dell Rolands Sheridan Duncans Mills El Bonita Mirabel Heights Mirabel Park Monte Rio Montesano Summerhome Park Vacation Beach Wilson Grove There are shelters located at: Sebastopol Center for the Arts at 282 S. High St. in Sebastopol Sonoma County Fairgrounds Grace Pavilion at 1350 Bennett Valley Rd. in Santa Rosa There will be a free shuttle running from the Guerneville Veterans War Memorial at 16320 Church St. in Guerneville. A map of the impacted areas includes road closures, school closures, sandbag locations and power outages. Hover or click on icons to see details. Legend is available on the left. Please be patient. The map may take several seconds to load. Sonoma County Flood Map Sonoma County officials recommended evacuating areas near the Russian River before expected flooding at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 26. Information from Bay City News was included in this story. The Mountain View Police Department is investigating a violent assault on the Stevens Creek Trail that left a woman seriously injured Monday night. A woman visiting from Massachusetts said she was walking along the trail near the bridge to Creekside Park just before 10 p.m. when an unknown man, who introduced himself as Jerry, approached her from behind and attempted to interact with her. The woman said she refused and the suspect then grabbed her and pushed her into the bushes before punching her multiple times in the face, police said. People walking along the trail spotted him and yelled at him. The woman then reportedly bit him while he tried to muffle her screams. The victim was able to escape the suspect and was treated for serious injuries to her face. The suspect, described as a 6-foot man between 20 and 30 years old, got away. He was last seen with short hair, wearing a gray Golden State Warriors sweater and was described as having a Caribbean accent. Police are actively investigating the incident and ask anyone with information contact Detective Robert Medina at robert.medina@mountainview.gov. A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday sentenced a 23-year-old Oakland man to 15 years and eight months in prison for attempting to aid a foreign terrorist organization -- namely, the Islamic State -- by setting up social media accounts. Amer Alhaggagi pleaded guilty to the charge before U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer last year. The sentence imposed by Breyer also included two years for charges of identify theft and creation of a fraudulent credit card to which Alhaggagi also pleaded guilty. Breyer said that he found the most disturbing aspect of the case to be Alhaggagi's "total lack of empathy" for potential victims of never-completed bombing plots he discussed with an undercover FBI agent in 2016. Defense attorney Mary McNamara argued that Alhaggagi's talk of bombing a nightclub and a student dormitory were just grandiose jokes. She said Alhaggagi was social immature and a "class clown." But Breyer said a joke about violence "is not a joke." "It is a very serious matter," he said. What to Know Air ambulance service prices have more than doubled since 2010 A typical air ambulance trip can cost more than $40,000 Most health insurance policies do not cover air ambulances as "in network" providers Your kids are sick. Their lives are on the line. The doctor orders an air ambulance. Do you stop to think about the cost? That's the dilemma two Bay Area families faced. They chose the fastest route to the hospital: by air. But later, both got surprise bills that could put them deep into debt. April Harais' son Connor had a severe allergic reaction at their home in Fairfield. Doctors at their hometown emergency room ordered an air ambulance to take Connor to the children's hospital in Oakland. "I was terrified," Harais said. "I didn't know what was going to happen." Hundreds of miles up the California coast, in Arcata, David Rodriguez's newborn twin sons faced a life-threatening blood condition. Doctors put the boys on an air ambulance flight to the Stanford Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, for placement in a neo-natal intensive care unit, or NICU. "Don't mess around," Rodriguez said, recalling the doctors' actions. "Get these guys into a NICU right away." Both families have health insurance. But their insurance providers denied their claims: more than $50,000 for Harais, and over $140,000 for Rodriguez. In both cases, the insurance companies told the families the air ambulances were "not medically necessary." That decision frustrated Harais, a mother of three. "Why did they think they're the ones equipped to make that judgment call?" she said. After NBC Bay Area got involved, each insurance company paid the air ambulance bills in full. But we still wanted to know why the prices were so high. Lisa Berry Blackstock, a professional patient advocate, helps families fight medical bills. She says air ambulances weren't always that expensive. "I roughly calculated the price to transport a patient was $250 a mile," Blackstock said. "I happen to think that's beyond price gouging." A 2017 study by the Government Accountability Office, which provides nonpartisan data to Congress, shows the median price for air ambulance transport more than doubled -- from $15,000 in 2010 to $40,000 in 2016. Don Wharton, director of Business Strategy for REACH Air Medical, says many factors contribute to the rising costs of air ambulance transport. "It is [a] costly, very cost-intensive industry," he said. Wharton blames low payments from Medicare, Medicaid, and Medi-Cal for the increase. Those government-funded insurance policies pay a maximum of about $6,500 per flight. Air ambulance providers say that amount doesn't cover the costs, so to make up the difference, they must charge everyone else more. "It comes down to reimbursement: actual reimbursement per patient," Wharton said. "What we have found is there have been no adjustments on Medicare." We asked Wharton whether it's fair to charge patients with private insurance more, to cover the costs of Medicare and Medi-Cal shortfalls. "I think it's very fair that we keep these services available to the 80 million rural Americans that we can provide this service for," he said. Something else has been happening with the industry. The GAO report notes several recent mergers, acquisitions, and private equity firms buying up air ambulance services -- limiting competition. Today, three private operators control 73 percent of the nation's air ambulance helicopters. This, while prices keep climbing. Families like yours face another issue: insurance. Nearly all air ambulance providers are "out of network" for virtually all health insurance policies. Wharton blamed insurance companies for the gap. "The large insurance companies seem to be unwilling to negotiate, where we have favorable terms," Wharton said. "We can really be in-network." The insurance industry told us the opposite and said air ambulance providers won't negotiate. In a statement, UnitedHealthcare told NBC Bay Area: "...many, especially large national air ambulance providers, have refused to participate in our network." Wharton stressed that most air ambulance providers offer a "membership" plan, which families can purchase to cover the costs of an air ambulance transport. While not considered insurance, these memberships come with the promise that any use of an air ambulance by a member patient will be completely covered, with no further out-of-pocket cost. He also said anyone who receives a large air ambulance bill should immediately contact the air ambulance provider. Wharton said most air ambulance companies want to work with patients on a payment plan, regardless of income or ability to pay in full. Rodriguez is happy his family's $140,000 bill was finally covered. But he questions why it had to be so high in the first place. "There's got to be a better way they can make use of their equipment, without having to overcharge literally everyone that they fly," he said. Congress is slowly taking action, with the formation of a new air ambulance advisory committee in 2019. At the state level, California's Legislature passed a measure that would have required insurance companies to cover most air ambulance costs. The bill was vetoed by outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown. The authors of last year's bill told NBC Bay Area they have no plans to reintroduce it in the current legislative session. San Francisco leaders backed an investigation Tuesday into who leaked a police report that exposed intimate details of Public Defender Jeff Adachis death. City officials offered tearful tributes to Adachi at the city supervisors meeting, with President Norman Yee calling Adachi a giant who fought tirelessly for justice in the citys poorest communities. But there was also anger from city supervisor Aaron Peskin, who is pressing for answers about who disclosed the police document. Im deeply troubled by the unprecedented leaking of the police report, Peskin told his fellow supervisors. NBC Bay Area was one of the first news organizations to obtain and report on the police report information Saturday. Adachi died Friday night and sources say police have launched a suspicious death investigation and are looking for the woman who called 911. The offices chief attorney under Adachi, Matt Gonzalez, who is also a former city supervisor, says leaking the police report that includes pictures of the North Beach apartment where Adachi stopped breathing, was a needless violation of the familys privacy. He said he trusts the police department will do its best to find out who is to blame for the leak. If you are a family member, this sort of thing is not really fair, Gonzalez said. Jeff was a great public servant. He was a devoted servant of the cityand Im sure every elected official would want to be treated with more respect than that. Gonzalez said he had discussed his concerns with District Attorney George Gascon. He also stressed that police should not have been involved in what he considered a medical emergency that was described in the report. Gonzalez also revealed that Adachis wallet was with his family, and not missing as law enforcement authorities had told NBC Bay Area. He did not comment about Adachis reportedly missing cell phone, however. A glass meth pipe and thong underwear found in a locked closet, a blindfold found inside a nightstand drawer, and sex toys found behind a mirror on the floor. Those are just a few of the items Livermore police detectives removed from the living quarters of Father Van Dinh inside the rectory of St. Michael Catholic Church as they investigated the priest for rape in 2017, according to a police report viewed recently by NBC Bay Areas Investigative Unit. Days before detectives served that search warrant at the church, Dinhs accuser said the priest blindfolded and raped him inside the priests bedroom. The former seminarians accusations, equal parts horrific and bizarre, were detailed in the police report. On Monday, Dinhs accuser filed a lawsuit against the Diocese of Oakland and Bishop Michael C. Barber. The plaintiff, a 26-year-old immigrant from Mexico, listed as John Doe in the lawsuit, said hes wanted to be a priest since he was a child praying the rosary every day with his family. He spoke to NBC Bay Area and asked to have his identity concealed for fear of retaliation. I did not want to be in this legal matter, Doe said. I wanted justice done. I wanted them to acknowledge that there was a crime. Dinhs case briefly made headlines in November 2017, when the Diocese announced it was placing Dinh on administrative leave after an allegation of clergy misconduct. However, the Diocese never disclosed the specific allegations against Dinh. The Livermore Police Department and the Alameda County District Attorneys Office also declined to provide those details to NBC Bay Area, only saying that no criminal charges were ever brought against Dinh. But last week, NBC Bay Areas Investigative Unit viewed records from the 2017 Livermore police investigation, which reveal the startling details leading to Dinhs suspension and ultimate resignation as pastor of St. Michael Catholic Church. New Details Emerge Doe said his troubles in the church began when he was dismissed from the Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon, run by the Diocese of Oakland, after a night out with seven other seminarians at a Portland gay bar. Doe says he was accused by another seminarian of inappropriately touching him at the bar, an allegation he denies. Doe says he was dismissed from the seminary in 2016, and given the option to reapply in two years if he continued his studies. Doe came back to the Bay Area, where he began working in two local parishes, one as a volunteer, and another as paid employee. However, Doe said he was soon dismissed from those jobs once Bishop Barber learned of his employment there. Even after they had asked me to continue to volunteer and help out in my community and parishes, I was pushed away by the very thing I wanted to be, by the leader of Diocese, Doe said. Doe told NBC Bay Area that Dinh, who he considered a trusted spiritual adviser at the time, offered to set him up with a job as a receptionist at a friends office. But before going to meet with Dinhs friend, the priest invited him for breakfast at the rectory of St. Michael, Doe said. Doe says he was lured there under false pretenses. He sat me down in a chair and gave me a gift bag, Doe said. In the gift bag he had oils, and chocolate, and underwear. He grabbed me and he said, I want to give you a massage. I was frozen. I was in shock. Doe says Dinh pushed him down on a mattress, took his clothes off, and began massaging his body with baby oil against his will. Dinh was breathing fast and started to say, Woody, Woody, whats your fantasy? the civil complaint stated. "In the past, Dinh had told Plaintiff he resembled the character Woody from the movie Toy Story. In vivid detail, Doe recounted being blindfolded, having his hands tied in front of him, and raped. I was frozen, I couldnt move, Doe said. After the ordeal was over, Doe says Dinh told him to rest in bed while he made breakfast. Thats when Doe said he ran from the rectory. Immediately after escaping Dinhs residence, Plaintiff drove to the residence of another priest and told him that Dinh had sexually abused him against his will, the civil complaint stated. The priest immediately reported the incident to Gloria Espinoza, a representative for the Diocese. According to the Livermore police report, four days would pass before the Diocese reported the alleged sexual assault to authorities. According to the report, by the time detectives attempted a pretext phone call between Doe and Dinh on November 21, the Diocese had already informed Dinh of the allegations. On 11/21/17, Doe agreed to do a pretext phone call with Father Van Dinh as I monitored the phone call, a Livermore police detective wrote in the report. Father Van Dinh told him that the Diocese had already called him and told him what [redacted] had reported to the Diocese. Father Van Dinh told Doe that he needed to call the Diocese and tell them that I didnt attack you. Father Van Dinh then told Doe that he was trying to be a good friend to him, and that Doe had asked for the massage. Father Van Dinh told Doe, I want to serve the people of the church. Please call the Diocese and [redacted] and say its not true. Sandra Ribera Speed, Does attorney, said the Diocese should have immediately reported the alleged sexual assault to police. Just because theyre over the age of consent does not mean that they consented, Ribera Speed said. Thats the issue here. There was no consent. On November 21, 2017, Livermore police served the search warrant on Dinhs residence. According to the police report, the Diocese hired an attorney for Dinh, and detectives were unable able to interview him. In December, police concluded their investigation and forwarded the case to the District Attorneys office, recommending Dinh be charged with two felonies: Sodomy by force, violence, or fear and oral copulation by force or fear. However, the Alameda County District Attorneys Office declined to file criminal charges against Dinh. Livermore PD did an amazing job, Ribera Speed said. I dont know why charges were not brought. In a statement to NBC Bay Area, the District Attorneys Office defended the decision not to charge Dinh. There are different standards of proof for a criminal prosecution and a civil lawsuit, District Attorney Spokesperson Teresa Drenick said in a written statement. In making a charging decision, the DAs Office must be able to prove that sexual contact between the two adults occurred, and that the contact was non-consensual. In this case, the charging decision was made solely on the evidence that was presented to the office. After an exhaustive review, it was determined that we could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed. Dinh did not respond to NBC Bay Areas calls and texts for comment. The Diocese of Oakland sent a statement Tuesday to NBC Bay Area saying in part: The Diocese cooperated fully with the police investigation. After reviewing the results of the police investigation and the recommendation of the Diocesan Review Board, Bishop Michael Barber, SJ, asked for Father Dinhs resignation as pastor of St. Michael Parish. The resignation was accepted on June 19, 2018. Father Dinh is still on administrative leave and restricted from public ministry or presenting himself in public as a Roman Catholic priest. A Tumultuous Month for the Diocese The details of Dinhs case are surfacing during a tumultuous month for the Diocese of Oakland. The Diocese placed Father Alexander Castillo on leave at the end of January following an allegation he sexually abused a minor. The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) is also calling for an investigation into whether the Diocese, which waited several days to report the Castillo allegation to police, violated Californias mandated reporter laws. And just last week, the Diocese released the names of more than 40 priests who have credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors. SNAP, which compiled its own list of priests accused of sexual assault, said the list should be about three times as long. Conspicuously absent from the Dioceses list was Father Dinh. A spokesperson for the Diocese told NBC Bay Area the list only contained the names of priests accused of abusing minors, and Dinhs accuser was an adult. The Diocese said it does not have plans to release a list of priests credibly accused of sexually abusing adults. I believe that the release of that list was pure damage control, said Tim Stier, a former priest within the Diocese of Oakland and vocal opponent of how the Catholic Church handles sexual abuse claims. Priests and bishops are taught to avoid scandal at any cost, and often, as in this case probably, it leads to the truth being muted or covered up. As the Catholic Church tries to repair its public image, Stier says there needs to be accountability for those in the upper echelon of the church. Unfortunately, I have no trust in bishops and dioceses in terms of being honest about this stuff, Stier said. Doe, who said he can no longer envision a life in the church for himself, echoed Stiers sentiment. The Diocese needs to be held accountable, he said. (Natural News) Though antibiotic-resistant superbugs are becoming a significant public health threat, most Americans are clueless about the superbug problem and its deadly consequences. As bacteria mutate to outsmart and resist antibiotic drugs, some 700,000 people around the world die from an untreatable bacterial infection each year. Recently, public health officials from Nevada reported on the case of a woman who died from an incurable bacterial infection. The woman, who had broken her right femur while on vacation in India a few years ago, had contracted a superbug that could fend off 26 different antibiotics. She developed a bone infection, which caused her to visit several hospitals in India over the following years. It is believed that she contracted the drug-resistant infection while overseas. As more cases of pan-resistant bacteria are occurring, scientists noted that this instance is yet another red flag pointing to antibiotic resistance issues that researchers and government officials need to take more seriously. According to Dr. James Johnson, a professor of infectious disease medicine at the University of Minnesota and a specialist at the Minnesota VA Medical Center, these uncommon deadly infections are the harbinger of future badness to come. While the improper use of antibiotics in humans and livestock has been considered the primary driver of the superbug problem, German broadcasters NDR and WDR together with the daily Suddeutsche Zeitung reported that pharmaceutical manufacturers also appear to be contributing to the development and global spread of dangerous, multidrug-resistant bacteria. Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers breeding drug-resistant bacteria According to the journalists, an estimated 80 to 90 percent of all antibiotics are now manufactured in China and India. Nearly all German pharmaceutical companies receive their antibiotics and antifungal medications from Hyderabad, India. In collaboration with an infectious disease specialist at the University Hospital in Leipzig, the German reporters collected water samples from areas surrounding pharmaceutical factories in Hyderabad. After being tested by the Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research (IBMP) in Nuremberg for the presence of residues of 25 different drugs, the researchers found concentrations of antibiotics that were several hundred, and in some cases several thousand, times higher than the level predicted to promote mutations and the development of antibiotic resistance. Additionally, dangerous, multi-resistant superbugs were identified in all the test samples. Joakim Larsson, a Swedish environmental pharmacologist, explained that many of the measured values were so high that pharmaceutical wastewater is the only reasonable explanation. When the reporters and scientists reached out to these pharmaceutical corporations, most of them remained silent or denied the release of wastewater into the environment, expressing skepticism regarding the test results. Given the growing superbug threat, the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) in Germany is calling for stricter European Union regulations. Today, pharmaceutical manufacturers are monitored by European agencies which perform on-site inspections every few months. However, the focus of these audits is exclusively on the quality of the products and the safety of the consumers. Environmental factors are excluded, allowing these companies to pollute water with harmful substances. Therefore, the UBA is now demanding the inclusion of environmental tests in the regular check-ups. It is imperative that pharmaceutical companies process their wastewater accordingly everywhere, including in developing nations, said German Health Minister Hermann Grohe of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU). Though strengthening the rules is a step in the right direction, Grohe noted that drug agency inspectors do not have the necessary expertise, stressing the need to open the conversation with countries from which the majority of the medications originate. He said that countries such as China and India must recognize their self-interest in keeping the environment clean to protect the effectiveness of the medical care provided. Sources include: Tagesschau.de PRI.org (Natural News) The non-profit group Open Doors recently published its annual report on the state of Christian persecution across the globe, and what it reveals is nothing short of sobering. Just since last year, we now know, the number of Christians from around the world facing persecution has increased by the tens of millions. And on average, some 11 people per day are now killed for their faith in Christ. In Pakistan, for instance, Christians and other religious minorities face the constant threat of mob violence, torture, accusations of blasphemy, rape, and murder. And in Sudan, Christians are constantly harassed simply for gathering peacefully for worship and fellowship. One Sudanese woman by the name of Meriam Ibrahim was actually imprisoned and given the death penalty, simply for refusing to renounce her faith. But she was eventually released, thanks to the legal intervention of he American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which advocates on behalf of persecuted Christians everywhere. As part of our ongoing international legal advocacy campaign for the persecuted Church, we continue to engage with key members of the international community, the ACLJ stated in a recent announcement. At the U.N. Human Rights Council, we file written legal reports and deliver oral interventions detailing the plight of persecuted Christians around the world. We write letters to key U.S. officials and Heads of State urging action be taken to protect the right of Christians to peacefully assemble and practice their religion without fearing for their lives. For more news like this, check out Humanitarian.news. Christian persecution is now happening in places like the U.K. and Canada The ACLJ and Open Doors cite numerous other countries, mostly those far from North America, where Christians are being actively persecuted on a daily basis. But its important to point out that such persecution is now making its way into the West. Just last year, in fact, a Christian preacher from Canada was arrested and detained in the United Kingdom for preaching the Word of God at a train station. While what he experienced is nothing compared to what other Christians are enduring in third-world countries like Pakistan and Sudan, David Lynn was forcibly removed and held in police custody for 20 hours, simply for sharing his faith. With the constant influx of Middle Eastern migrants and other foreigners into Western nations, the religious tide is shifting dramatically. This obviously bodes ominous for Christians, who will increasingly face hostility and persecution for their faith in their own native countries. Case-in-point is the experience of Lauren Southern, who was actually banned from the U.K. for speaking out against Islam. Since the U.K. now has a very large population of Muslim people, so-called blasphemy laws have been enacted in some areas that prohibit speaking out against Islam even when doing so aligns with the Christian principle of evangelism. Christian persecution is also a very serious problem in communist China, from which the U.S. obtains many consumer goods. According to the Open Doors annual report, the Chinese government routinely invades the homes of Christians, as well as their churches, which is why Christianity largely has to be practiced in secret there. Another one of the key ways we are able to highlight these atrocities is through the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the U.N., says the ACLJ. We are able to submit reports detailing human rights abuses in a particular Member State that is up for review through our international affiliate with consultative status as a Non-Governmental-Organization with the U.N., the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). We have used this process for years to highlight the status of Christians in particular Member States. For more news about the Western invasion of foreigners who are hostile to Christianity, be sure to check out InvasionUSA.news. Sources include: ACLJ.org NaturalNews.com After several more hours of debate, the conservatives' proposal, called the Traditional Plan, was approved by a vote of 438-384. Opponents unsuccessfully sought to weaken the plan with hostile amendments or to prolong the debate past a mandatory adjournment time set to accommodate a monster truck rally in the arena. One delegate even requested an investigation into the possibility that "vote buying" was taking place at the conference. (Natural News) Project Veritas has just unleashed another massive bombshell that could begin the process of bringing down the dishonest social media tech giants and their content cartels. Posted at this link on ProjectVeritas.com, a former high-level Facebook employee has gone public with irrefutable proof that Facebook applies a de-boost algorithm to conservative content in order to suppress its visibility and sharing. Shockingly, internal Facebook documents admit this is being done leading up to important elections, thereby admitting to criminal election meddling and fraud. This is the crime that Robert Mueller claims the Russians carried out against the United States of America. In reality, Facebook has been engaged in this election meddling crime for several years now. We are republishing the Project Veritas report here, and we encourage you to visit the original report on their website and also consider supporting Project Veritas with donations at this link. See more coverage of Facebooks abuse of power at MarkZuckerberg.news. Facebook Insider Leaks Docs; Explains Deboosting, Troll Report, & Political Targeting in Video Interview February 27, 2019, a Project Veritas exclusive Insider, Formerly Responsible for Content Review in Facebooks Intellectual Property Dept Speaks Out, Loses Job Facebook Engineers Plan to demote bad content Conservative Facebook Page Livestreams Secretly deboosted, No Notice to Page Owners Facebook Can Classify Users as Trolls Based on Their Vocabulary, Then Punish By Limiting Bandwidth, Blocking Comments Facebook Engineer: hateful content is coming from right-leaning sites. Special features Triggered leading up to important elections Bizarre View of hate speech Includes Content from Conservative Commentator View the documents here. San Francisco) Project Veritas has obtained and published documents and presentation materials from a former Facebook insider. This information describes how Facebook engineers plan and go about policing political speech. Screenshots from a Facebook workstation show the specific technical actions taken against political figures, as well as [e]xisting strategies taken to combat political speech. (Other brave individuals who feel compelled to expose wrongdoing they witness can contact Project Veritas here.) Project Veritas founder James OKeefe said that to expose dishonesty and censorship in big tech companies, he will be relying upon more insiders, informants and leakers in the future: Our future depends on those who are willing to give up everything for what they believe. [Here are screen shots of some of the Facebook presentation materials the whistleblower has released] To gain a better understanding of the documents, Project Veritas spoke with the Facebook insider in an interview. The insider separated from Facebook in 2018 and was later hired by Project Veritas. I saw things that were going on that I personally found to be troubling. According to the insider, the documents revealed a routine suppression of the distribution of conservative Facebook pages. The technical action she repeatedly saw, and for which Project Veritas was provided documentation, was labeled ActionDeboostLiveDistribution. Said the insider, I would see [this term] appear on several different conservative pages. I first noticed it with an account that I cant remember, but I remember once I started looking at it, I also saw it on Mike Cernovichs page, saw it on Steven Crowders page, as well as the Daily Callers page. Conservative commentator Steven Crowders page had been suppressed before in April 2016, and Crowder told Project Veritas they settled a dispute related to the issue with Facebook out of court. Asked for comment on this story, Steven Crowders attorney Bill Richmond said: Louder With Crowder is investigating the allegations of concealed stream throttling by Facebook. The accusations are deeply troubling given the previously settled dispute with Facebook uncovered by Gizmodo.com, which found the show was targeted by Facebook workers with secret audience restrictions on political grounds alongside other prominent conservative voices. A screenshot of an action log on Mike Cernovichs Facebook page provided by the insider, shows the tag. The insider believes that the deboost code suppresses the distribution of livestream videos on Facebook. Project Veritas spoke to a current Facebook employee off the record who said that the code could limit a videos visibility in news feeds, remove sharing features, and disable interactive notifications. When approached for comment, author and filmmaker Mike Cernovich said the troubling issue is that Facebook could just make stuff up about people through these systems. Facebook, or an individual at Facebook, has the unilateral power to create false allegations against someone he or she doesnt like. The person accused not only cant do anything about the allegation, they dont even have an idea the allegation was made, said Cernovich. The insider says that unlike many actions that Facebook content moderators can take against pages, the deboost action, which appears to occur algorithmically, does not notify the pages owner. [W]ith these deboost live stream things, there was no warning sent to the user These were actions that were being taken without the users knowing. Upon further review, the insider says she did not notice the tag on any left-wing pages. I looked at the Young Turks page, I looked at Colin Kaepernicks page, none of them had received the same deboost comment. The deboost tag appears after the word Sigma, which Project Veritas has learned is an artificial intelligence system used to block potential suicide and self-harm posts. Both Mike Cernovich and Steven Crowder cannot recall having ever produced any videos on Facebook that promote suicide or self-harm. Mike Cernovich told Project Veritas that in fact he has long spoken out against suicide and self-harm, and provided tweets of his and a blog post as evidence. Theyre shifting the goal post Also in the in the documents was a presentation, authored by Facebook engineers Seiji Yamamoto and Eduardo Arino de la Rubia, titled Coordinating Trolling on FB. Yamamoto is a Data Science Manager, and de la Rubia is a Chief Data Scientist at Facebook. The presentation appears to describe the current actions, as well as potential future actions, Facebook can take to combat alleged abusive behavior on the platform. Yamamoto, who is responsible for News Feed Reduction Strategy, also authored a post where he said Facebook should address quite a bit of content near the perimeter of hate speech. Said the Facebook insider, the perimeter of hate speech means things that arent actually hate speech but that might offend somebody. Anything that is perceived as hateful but no court would define it as hate speech. The insider believes Yamamotos plans appears to be political in nature, rather than in response to abusive behaviors, [i]t was clearly kind of designed aimed to be the right wing meme culture thats become extremely prevalent in the past few years. And some of the words that appeared on there were, using words like SJW MSM the New York Times doesnt talk about the MSM. The independent conservative outlets are using that language. Also in Yamamotos report was a line appearing to say that online Facebook trolls are involved in destructive behaviors such as [r]ed-pilling normies to convert them to their worldview. In online circles the term red-pilling refers to bluntly showing the truth, and normies refers generally to apolitical or uninformed people. Directly below the line in the document is hyperlink labeled example video. The video linked in the presentation was made by Lauren Chen, a conservative commentator who now hosts a program on BlazeTV. If you actually watch the video you can see that it clearly isnt abusive or promoting harassment, the video was a criticism of social justice, said Chen when asked for comment on this story. She added that the video actually promotes equality and individualism. On a page from the presentation titled Strategies we use today, Yamamoto and de la Rubia list demote bad content. They add, we should still of course delete and demote, but we can do even more (Similar documents from big tech companies can be sent to Project Veritas here.) Other actions that could be interpreted as bad content could be posting words such as zucced, REEE, and normie. Said the insider, Facebook is shifting the goal post. Its one thing, if youre dropping the n-word, or things like that, using some kind of homophobic or racial slur, by all means thats something that a platform should not want on it. But now youre moving it to things like, jokes that conservatives tend to make. Special features triggered leading up to important elections Two of the tactics outlined in the presentation that the Facebook engineers propose for dealing with troll operations involve the introduction of a Troll Twilight Zone. Yamamoto and de la Rubias presentation says that troll accounts, can have their internet bandwidth limited and experience forced glitches like frequent auto-logout[s] and the failed upload of comments. These special features would be triggered leading up to important elections. Facebook could identify trolls by their vocabulary, friend network, and behavior, according to the presentation. Facebook has whats called a Fake Account Index, explained the insider, where they assign a score which helps them determine whether the account is a real person or just a dummy spam account. And rightfully so, they want to delete those accounts, thats okay. They created the troll score so they could help identify, using words they would post, pictures, if they were friends with other trolls and then using that to determine whether this person should be on the platform or not. The insider thinks that Facebooks system to score trolls is problematic because, theres no accountability and especially when they are using machine learning to do this, whenever an individual actions an account, there is a process where at least you can send a message to Facebook However, this is all being done without the users knowledge, there is no recourse for them. Another proposed tactic in the presentation would apparently alert a trolls friends list when they have been banned. The presentation reads: When a user does something egregious, warranting an account suspension or deletion, we should notify the friend network John Smiths account has been suspended for 7 days because he shared hate speech in the group Kekistani Special Forces The presentation says that notifying a trolls friend list would strike fear in the hearts of trolls and [n]otified users who accidentally befriended the offender might be more mindful of suspicious accounts, increasing overall herd immunity. The insider now works for Project Veritas Said the insider: I think that the biggest thing, that getting the documents, getting video or still pictures of what was going on that shows that it is actually happening. This isnt rumors, they talk about how right-wingers, they come up with all these crazy theories, and thats not actually happening at these social media companies. They pooh pooh it. But here it is and its in your face. The insider was terminated by Facebook shortly after Project Veritas published undercover video of Twitter employees discussing shadow banning and other data privacy abuses. When asked if supplying documents and testimony to Project Veritas was worth it, the insider said Yes I knew what I had seen this is something they were trying to keep in the shadows, that they did not want to public to know and yet the public has a right to know. Project Veritas founder James OKeefe believes that our collective future depends on those who are willing to give up everything for what they believe. He believes that if more insiders from large companies step forward and expose similar dishonesty and wrongdoing, that the country will be better educated. OKeefe said: What are you willing to give up? How many of you will step forward? While they may be able to stop one of us, they wont be able to stop an army. Be brave. Do something. (Big tech insiders can reach out to Project Veritas here to help expose similar newsworthy wrongdoing.) (Natural News) Even with Obamacare in full swing, hundreds of thousands of Americans every single year face total financial ruin from sky-high medical bills, a shocking new study has found. Despite the fact that more Americans than ever are now covered by health insurance, research has determined that about 530,000 families each year are financially ruined by medical bills and sickness and the vast majority of these families have health insurance. Another disturbing tidbit uncovered by the study is the fact that the number one cause of bankruptcies in the United States is medical bills, as they account for an astounding two-thirds of all accounted-for bankruptcies. These days, most health insurance policies closely resemble Swiss cheese because they are so full of loopholes, and health insurance companies have become masters at finding ways to wiggle off the hook, explains Zero Hedge. So every year hundreds of thousands of American families find themselves facing huge medical bills that they did not expect to be paying, and as a result medical expenses are the primary factor in 66.5 percent of all personal bankruptcy filings in the United States. For more related news about the multi-billion dollar scam known as modern medicine, be sure to check out BigPharma.Fetch.news. Big Pharma is making people sicker while sucking them dry of their wealth Piggybacking on an earlier study that arrived at similar conclusions, this latest paper is truly an eye-opener as to the unsustainable nature of modern health care. Rather than develop real solutions to help people become healthier and more financially stable, modern health care and more precisely, the Big Pharma pill and vaccine machine is making people more sick while sucking them dry of their hard-earned income and wealth. Not only that, but socialized medicine schemes like Obamacare, which were touted as providing more coverage for cheaper, are actually making things worse than they were prior to their implementation. The current study found no evidence that the ACA reduced the proportion of bankruptcies driven by medical problems: 65.5% of debtors cited a medical contributor to their bankruptcy in the period prior to the ACAs implementation as compared to 67.5% in the three years after the law came into effect, this new study found. The responses also did not differ depending on whether the respondent resided in a state that had accepted ACAs Medicaid expansion. The middle class, NOT the poor, is whos being wiped out by this modern medicine scam So often when Leftists are whining about health care coverage, the subject of their gripes is the poor, whom they see as its biggest victim. But the truth is that its actually the middle class thats suffering the most within this current paradigm of pay-for-play drugs and surgery. As revealed in the new study, bankruptcy is most common among middle-class Americans, who have faced increasing copayments and deductibles in recent years despite the ACA (Affordable Care Act), the paper explains. The poor, who were most helped by the ACA, less frequently seek formal bankruptcy relief because they have few assets (such as a home) to protect and face particular difficulty in securing the legal help needed to navigate formal bankruptcy proceedings. In truth, Americas system of health care, if you can even call it that, is actually a multi-trillion dollar money-making scam thats wiping people out of house and home. Its about enriching the Big Pharma overlords at the expense of families that are simply trying to make a living and survive. Unless youre Bill Gates, youre just one serious illness away from bankruptcy, warns Dr. David Himmelstein, the studys lead author, and a Distinguished Professor at City University of New Yorks (CUNY) Hunter College and a lecturer at Harvard Medical School. For middle-class Americans, health insurance offers little protection. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) A study carried out by researchers from the University of Lome in Togo has revealed that the extract from the leaves of hog plum (Spondias mombin) tree could be used to reduce excessive bleeding during complicated deliveries or postpartum hemorrhage. Postpartum hemorrhage is excessive bleeding after giving birth, typically occurring after the placenta is delivered. While it can occur with a normal vaginal delivery, it usually happens during a cesarean birth. Approximately 500 milliliters (mL) about a half of a quart of blood is lost after the birth of a single baby in vaginal delivery on average. For a cesarean birth, about 1,000 mL or one quart of blood is lost on average. Most postpartum hemorrhage occurs right after delivery, although it can occur later as well. This condition occurs in about one to five percent of women. Postpartum hemorrhage needs to be addressed because excessive and rapid blood loss can cause a severe decline in the mothers blood pressure and may result in shock and death if not treated. (Related: How to stop bleeding almost instantly.) In Sub-Saharan Africa, traditional phytotherapy proposes plants like hog plum for managing postpartum bleeding. Hog plum is a Togolese plant used by rural folk to stop hemorrhage at the time of complicated deliveries. In the study, the research team sought to determine the effects of hog plum on some hemostatic parameters and on cholesterolemia to evaluate its traditional use in treating postpartum hemorrhage. For the study, the research team performed tests on female rats; they treated them with extracts obtained from the leaves of hog plum tree. Published in the journal Phytotherapie, the results of the study showed that compared to control, the treatment with hog plum leaf extract resulted in an increase of hematocrit, the volume percentage of red blood cells in the blood. In addition, there was also an increase of formed elements of blood and of hemoglobin level. Moreover, cholesterol levels in the blood were reduced after treatment with hog plum leaf extract. The research team also observed that the hog plum leaf extract exhibits an antifibrinolytic property, preventing excessive bleeding. Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that hog plum leaf extract can be used to treat postpartum hemorrhage. More on hog plum and its health benefits Hog plum tree is native to Peru. Its fruit, called hog plum, comes in different colors, such as green, orange, purple, red, and yellow. On the outside, it is thick, leathery, while the inside is a pink-yellow pulp with a texture similar to an avocado. Hog plums also offer health benefits for they are rich in antioxidants and other nutrients. Hog plums are a great source of vitamin C, containing about 46 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C per 100 g serving. Vitamin C boosts immunity and helps produce collagen, which keeps the skin, ligaments, tendons, and cartilage healthy. This vitamin is also a natural antioxidant, which means that eating hog plums can help protect the body from free radical damage, potentially decreasing the risk of heart disease. A study published in the journal Cardiovascular Toxicology reported that hog plums were rich in antioxidants and decreased total cholesterol levels, suggesting that the fruit may be beneficial for overall heart health. Hog plums are also rich in iron, containing 2.8 mg per 100 g serving. Iron is required to produce hemoglobin and myoglobin, both of which transport oxygen throughout the body. Purple and yellow hog plums are typically eaten raw as a snack. They taste sweet or sour, depending on ripeness, and are related to mangoes. They can also be pickled with chili peppers to produce a spicy condiment or made into juice or a jam. Purple hog plums can also be eaten as a dessert; they are stewed in sugar and served whole and pitted. Read more news stories and studies on the health benefits of hog plum by going to NaturalCures.news. Sources include: Health.news StanfordChildrens.org HealthyEating.SFGate.com Healthfully.com (Natural News) Its certainly true that American feminists dont speak for all American women, but you know what they say about squeaky wheels and grease: The louder you are, the more attention you get. And so it is with feminists. They have been shrieking from the rooftops for so long that they demand equality in all things and in every part of American society that they are finally getting their wish. The trouble is, theyre taking all women with them, even if they dont want to go. Case in point: The feminist equality movement has evolved to the point where there is now serious consideration being given to requiring women to register for the draft. Because men have to. As PJ Medias Tyler ONeil reports, a mens organization has filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the current men-only requirement for draft registration through the Selective Service System is unconstitutional. And so far at least one federal court agrees. Last week a federal judge in Texas ruled in a suit filed by the National Coalition for Men (NCFM) that the SSS violates the Constitutions prohibitions against discrimination in that in only requires men to register for a military draft. In an interview with ONeil, a lawyer for the NCFM, Marc Angelucci, said if SSS appeals the decision, it is likely to lose again because the discrimination is patently obvious. Whats more, Congress isnt likely to pass legislation overturning the current registration requirement for men, so that means women will, at some point, be required to register as well. (Related: Navy bureaucrats set to put women in Marine combat roles despite evidence that they arent a good fit.) The male-only registration requirement of the Military Selective Service Act violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller ruled. For now, Grays ruling wont change the way the Pentagon operates. The Defense Department still will only require men to register. Also, an 11-member commission that Congress appointed is due to report on the issue of including women in the draft next year. Hey women, you can blame Obama for this one, too The court ruling itself changes nothing as far as the commission is concerned, Joe Heck, a former Army general and currently serving congressman who chairs the National Commission for Military, National and Public Service, said, according to USA Today. The paper noted further that requiring women to register for the draft is only one possible outcome of the court battle. Its possible that Congress could end the requirement that men register as well, though that doesnt seem likely given the fact that Russia and China are rising threats. Regardless of Angeluccis prediction that SSS will lose an appeal, Justice Department spokeswoman Kelly Laco said the government wont have much of a choice but to defend an act of Congress. Gray is a member of the Fifth Circuit, and that appeals court is in New Orleans. But wait didnt the U.S. Supreme Court decide in 1981 that excluding women from the draft was okay? Yes; in Rostker v. Goldberg, the high court ruled that since there were no combat positions open to women then Congress requirement that only men register was deemed reasonable. In his ruling, Miller said facts have changed. In the nearly four decades since Rostker, however, womens opportunities in the military have expanded dramatically, he wrote. In 2013, the Department of Defense officially lifted the ban on women in combat. In 2015, the Department of Defense lifted all gender-based restrictions. Thus, women are now eligible for all military service roles, including combat positions. So in other words, women, blame Barack Obamas liberalism and bowing to feminist demands. The law in question is the Military Selective Service Act; Congress would have to modify it to comply with a federal courts findings if Millers ruling remains or if it is upheld on appeal. Read more related stories at NationalSecurity.news. Sources include: USAToday.com PJMedia.com TheNationalSentinel.com (Natural News) In a telling interview with CNN, the Commissioner for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Scott Gottlieb, stated that vaccine laws at the state level are lax and exemptions are too easy to obtain. Gottlieb said that widespread exemptions to vaccination may force the hand of the federal health agencies to mandate vaccines at the federal level. Perpetual vaccine marketing, propaganda, and vaccine laws have not convinced hundreds of thousands of Americans to blindly submit their children to mandated injections. These pro-common sense Americans have weighed the risk versus reward of vaccines and have either delayed vaccination, chosen a reduced schedule, or decided NO altogether. They have either witnessed vaccine injury, reported vaccine injury, been compensated for vaccine injury (including autism), or have lost a loved one to SIDS, a life threatening allergy, seizure disorders, or encephalitis (brain swelling) following vaccination. Vaccine exemptions should be expanded, not removed by federal laws Because of the widespread problems with vaccination, which are documented extensively by testimonial accounts at the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), vaccine exemptions should drastically be expanded, not removed. Sorry FDA Commissioner, but youre doing a horrible job on public health issues, yet you are doing so well pushing the needless vaccines that your agency should be cracking down on. Its a surprise the President has not fired you after you publicly supported coercion in medicine. Currently, children are not allowed to attend preschool or receive a public education if they have not been vaccinated according to state requirements; however, there are ways to opt out of vaccine requirements in each state. In forty-seven states, parents can opt out of vaccines for religious and/or medical reasons. In eighteen states, parents can additionally opt out of vaccines based on personal belief. Three states, West Virginia, Mississippi, and California, have removed all parental rights and only allow medical exemptions approved by a state-licensed medical doctor. As the authoritarian FDA pressures states to limit vaccine exemptions further, parents must always remember that their child is not the property of the state and definitely not the property of the federal government. Every vaccine dose is a choice that requires informed consent. Because medical professionals are biased and sometimes coercive with vaccine administration, not only should they be required to give informed consent to parents, but they should also disclose their conflicts of interest and provide the full vaccine insert. Most importantly, medical professionals should respect the concerns and decisions of parents, especially informed parents who have witnessed vaccine injury. Medical professionals should never be allowed to discriminate against parents and violate medical ethics by refusing them medical care if they choose to forgo vaccination. Here are five new vaccine exemptions that states should adopt to protect parental rights and reduce coercion: Toxic Substance Abuse Exemption: If after being informed of the ingredients in a vaccine, a parent determines that an ingredient in question would be illegal to feed to their child, they may claim a toxic substance abuse exemption. A parent may determine that an ingredient in question should not be forcefully introduced pass their childs gastrointestinal tract because doing so would be akin to poisoning the child or committing child abuse. Compounding Toxicity Exemption: Upon being informed of the type and amount of toxic ingredients used in the vaccine, a parent may determine that the compounding toxicity of multiple vaccines poses a health threat to their child. The parent may forgo any further vaccine recommendations because higher concentrations of toxic elements pose greater health threats to the low blood volume and body weight of a child. Science Integrity Exemption: Upon determining that the science of vaccination is not synonymous with 100 percent provable efficacy for immunization, a parent should be able to claim a science integrity exemption. With this exemption, parents believe that waning vaccine immunity is not scientifically sufficient to guarantee their child strong immunity throughout life. A parent may choose to opt out of a measles vaccination because they prefer their child is exposed to the virus in the environment so they can gain real, lifelong immunity. Did you know that Health and Human Services recently admitted in court that they havent filed required vaccine safety reports in thirty years? Did you know that Merck virologists admit the company faked mumps vaccine efficacy for more than a decade? Coercion exemption: If a parent feels that a pediatrician, nurse, or other healthcare professional misled them about the need to vaccinate, did not provide adequate informed consent, or coerced them in any way, the parent may claim a coercion exemption. A parent may exempt their kid from the vaccine because the vaccine was promulgated for ulterior interests and controlling reasons that violate medical ethics. Necessity Exemption: A necessity exemption for a particular vaccine could be obtained if a parent determines that the vaccine is unnecessary for the disease it alleges to protect against. For example, parents who do not have hepatitis B should be able to claim a necessity exemption for their newborn. Newborns are currently vaccinated for Hep B carte blanche, with no scientific rationale to justify the measure. Likewise, a parent may determine that a rota-virus vaccine is unnecessary for the problem it is trying to prevent: a specific case of diarrhea. Parents who are informed about disease risk versus adverse events from vaccines should not be bullied by the state and forced to submit to a coercive dictates. Parents should understand that their children can face viruses and bacteria and overcome them, without fearing death. Parents should understand the failure of vaccine efficacy and how impure ingredients cause health problems in their child. Most importantly, parents should have the leading role in determining whether each vaccine is safe or necessary for their child. The FDA should be concerned with vaccine safety, instead of limiting the rights of parents. Keep up-to-date with vaccine research at Vaccines.News. Sources include: CNN.com TheNewAmerican.com AHRP.org TheFreeThoughtProject.com AMA.org NaturalNews.com VaccineSafety.edu The NATO Deputy Secretary General, Ms. Rose Gottemoeller, will travel to Lisbon on Thursday, 28 February and Friday, 1 March 2019. On 28 February, she will deliver a speech at the Catholic University followed by a Q&A session. On 1 March, she will pay a visit to the Naval Striking and Support Forces (STRIKFORNATO) and to the NATO Communications & Information Agency. She will be also visiting the Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre (JALLC). During her visit, the Deputy Secretary General will have meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Augusto Santos Silva, the Minister of Defence, Mr. Joao Gomes Cravinho and members of the Parliamentary Commission of National Defence. Follow the Deputy Secretary General on Twitter (@Gottemoeller). Also follow us at (@NATO, @NATOPress). Yves here. Im glad to see someone call out Parliament after having seen May successfully play it again and again. How many time has she moved back the date of the required Meaningful Vote? Ignored Cabinet resignations and even an unheard of censure? Let us understand all that happened: May made some pretty promises as to what shell do in March. The postcard version: BREAKING: PM makes three promises: 1. Meaningful vote on deal by 12th March 2. If deal fails, next day MPs vote on whether to support No Deal 3. If they dont want No Deal, then MPs can vote on 14th March to extend Article 50 Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) February 26, 2019 Her Withdrawal Agreement being voted down again by large margins is a near certainty. But, pray tell, what does extend Article 50 mean? That is unlikely to be well specified; in fact, since the Government is pretty certain to draft any March 14 motion, that is also a near certainty if things get that far. Recall that the EU Council meeting at which the approval of any extension is expected to take place falls on March 21-22. May could make that fail, either by design or continuing in her May-ness. And the perverse beauty of that would be that no one would be able to tell the difference! For instance, new polls say that popular support for an extension falls off dramatically if it were to go longer than 3 months. A shorter deal is easier to sell since it doesnt raise hairy questions of the extension impinging on the seating of a new European Parliament on July 2. But even though the comments of a lot of EU leaders indicate they grudgingly accept that they probably should give the UK an extension if it asks, at the same time, quite a few express skepticism that a few months will make any difference. They are concerned the UK will try this stunt again when it runs out of rope. (Note I see the idea of a 21 month extension as a non-starter, and appetite for it on the UK and EU side seems low. Plus I cant imagine businesses being left in limbo so long. This may have been a ploy by Tusk rather than a serious idea, but either way, it looks not well thought out). That means even if the UK asks for a short extension, and May was earlier signaling mere weeks, there will be some who will want to impose conditions. This means the EU leaders would need to negotiate among themselves and then with the UK. That takes time and there is hardly any left. Of course, the EU specializes in brinksmanship, but recent crises have been financial crises, and with a central bank at your side, you can fudge timing, which is not on here. Another possibility is that May sabotages the extension, either by design or continued UK obtuseness. The EU has said that the UK needs to give a reason for an extension. Further faffing around doesnt cut it. May could deliver diplo-speak that clearly means further faffing around or alternatively, ask for such a short extension the EU regards the request as nonsensical. Why might May do that? Wellie, if she emerges from the EU Council meeting with no extension, she could put her deal once again to Parliament and have blame for a crash out rest at their feet. History wont remember as well that her pact was loathed. She would still presumably be trying to cinch an extension, but not being able to get all the EU leaders in a room increases the odds of what Barnier has taken to worrying about, an accidental no deal. Remember that May is the creation of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, which makes it vastly harder to dislodge a PM. But he has also been exceptionally lucky in her enemies. The ritual Tory loathing of Labour is intensified by the fear of a Corbyn in power. And as weve discussed at length elsewhere (although mainly in comments), Corbyn has failed to take advantage of the Tories spectacular weakness. And as David has pointed out several times, the paralysis over Brexit is a symptom of erosion in the foundations of the UK political order: the hollowing out of civil service, the fissures in each party between (as Chris Grey puts it) between cosmopolitans and locals, the damage done to communities by austerity. Weak leadership has exposed how pervasive the rot has become. Update: I posted before reading Mays statement. Let me pull out some key bits. May is explicit that she is not ruling out No Deal: I believe that if we have to, we will ultimately make a success of a No Deal But I know Members across the House are genuinely worried that time is running out So today I want to reassure the House by making three further commitments. First, we will hold a second Meaningful Vote by Tuesday 12 March at the latest. Second, if the Government has not won a Meaningful Vote by Tuesday 12 March then it will in addition to its obligations to table a neutral, amendable motion under section 13 of the EU Withdrawal Act table a motion to be voted on by Wednesday 13 March at the latest, asking this House if it supports leaving the EU without a Withdrawal Agreement and a framework for a future relationship on 29 March. So the United Kingdom will only leave without a deal on 29 March if there is explicit consent in this House for that outcome. Third, if the House, having rejected leaving with the deal negotiated with the EU, then rejects leaving on 29 March without a withdrawal agreement and future framework, the Government will, on 14 March, bring forward a motion on whether Parliament wants to seek a short limited extension to Article 50 and if the House votes for an extension, seek to agree that extension approved by the House with the EU, and bring forward the necessary legislation to change the exit date commensurate with that extension. Lordie. May has only committed to offering up more motions. She is proposing only a short limited extension to Article 50. The House will then approve that (when, pray tell? Not many days between March 14 and the start of the EU Council meetings on March 21-22. And the sherpas usually get their briefing books a few days in advance). If this all works out, the Brexit date will be re-hard wired in the Withdrawal Act. By Richard Murphy, a chartered accountant and a political economist. He has been described by the Guardian newspaper as an anti-poverty campaigner and tax expert. He is Professor of Practice in International Political Economy at City University, London and Director of Tax Research UK. He is a non-executive director of Cambridge Econometrics. He is a member of the Progressive Economy Forum. Originally published at Tax Research UK I sat, open-mouthed and incredulous when watching the news that MPs welcomed Theresa Mays announcement of new votes on Brexit on March 12, 13 and 14 as if these were to be welcomed and were, in some way, a major step forward. May is offering another vote on her deal. It has already been resoundingly rejected. Then she is offering MPs the chance to vote on No Deal, which the government estimates will cost 9% of GDP per annum in the long run, and cause social and economic mayhem in the short term, as if this is something MPs might actually want. Finally, she is offering a three-month Brexit extension, which is not within her gift. The EU has to decide whether Article 50 can be extended. All we can do is revoke it without their consent. And the chance that the EU will offer a three-month extension is very low indeed, for three reasons. First, there is no logic to three months: nothing can be resolved in that period. There could not, for example, be another referendum and there is no sign that parliament has any way of resolving Brexit without one. The EU is discussing 21 months to allow appropriate time to resolve matters. That would make sense. Second, extending to June ignores the fact that the EU moves into limbo in April until a new Commission is appointed and a new parliament is elected. There is no EU to negotiate with during these three months, in effect. May must know that. Some MPs are apparently daft enough not to do so. And third, the EU will say no because May asked for it. Why should they let her dictate terms right now? I am sure they will not. A counter-proposal is inevitable. But many MPs also seem unaware of that. I despair. I have despaired before, I know. But the impression that we now have active connivance from those supposed to be opposing Brexit in the process that delivers No Deal by default seems very high, simply because they have no ability to appraise risks, seems extraordinarily high. How did we reach this point? The Government of Botswana has described as unfounded media reports that they are extending lines of credit amounting to $600 million to Zimbabwes private sector. A statement issued by the Botswana government reads: The Office of the President wishes to inform members of the public that the Government of the Republic of Botswana and the Government of the Republic Zimbabwe are currently holding discussions under the framework of the Bi-National Commission which covers a wide range of issues which are mutually beneficial to the peoples of the two countries. As such, media reports that are currently circulating about the line of credit worth Six Hundred Million United States Dollars that the Government of Botswana has committed itself to extend to the Republic of Zimbabwe are unfounded. We wish to advise members of the public that in accordance with International practice a communique which summarises the outcomes of the meeting will be issued following the conclusion of the Bi-National Commission. SIGNED Carter N. Morupisi Permanent Secretary to the President Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News The die has been cast in the MDC ahead of its elective congress as the partys ambitious secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora has expressed his desire to challenge party leader Nelson Chamisa in a contest that could make or break his political career. Mwonzora has previously been keeping his cards close to his chest. But in an interview with the Daily News yesterday, he declared that he has rights including that of contesting the sitting leader since he is a full member of the MDC. I will be giving you a statement regarding what I will be standing for; there are key processes that must happen first and these include the nomination process. Within the MDC set-up, people are nominated by the structures, I want to emphasise (that) I am a full member with full rights including the right to contest any position, said Mwonzora. The former MDC spokesperson has previously been accused by Chamisas legion of supporters of harbouring presidential ambitions. But unlike other MDC officials who chose to side with Chamisa for fear or reprisals, Mwonzora has soldiered on suffering in some instances humiliating boos, jeers and sneers from some who regard him as the opposition partys Judas Iscariot who is turning against the hugely popular Chamisa. The soft-spoken politician, who is a lawyer by profession, said before he could pronounce himself on the matter there are conditions precedent. There are processes that have to be followed. We must have branch congresses, then ward, district, provincial congresses and after that the provincial assemblies will do nominations. It is at that time that we will know if we have been nominated, said Mwonzora. Already, the incumbent Chamisa has received endorsements from several party structures including provincial wings, with the youth league going as far as declaring war on anyone who would dare challenge the youthful opposition leader. Several party heavyweights have also thrown their weight behind Chamisa with those who are seen as potential challengers likely to face a hostile reception in the run-up to the congress and at the elective indaba itself. Mwonzora told the Daily News that he is aware of a smear campaign targeting him but that will not deter him to contest any position because the opposition now requires someone with the right temperament and who understands democracy. We are also aware of the smear campaigns that are going on but that is expected considering that we are now going to the congress, said Mwonzora. Chamisas close allies are sabre-rattling, keen on fending off potential rivals to the 41-year-old politician who amassed more than two million votes during last years presidential elections. Last Sunday, Chamisa told MDC supporters at a rally in Gweru that he was not having sleepless nights over prospects of him being challenged at congress. We are a mature party; the character is that we are a democratic party. Tsvangirai left us this party, so our things will be done quietly, all positions are going to be nominated, they are open and up for contestations from the presidency, Chamisa said. The MDC leader said he is ready to step aside and allow someone to take over should he lose his position at congress. We are all allowed to contest for this position because I came to finish the term of our leader but I said the term has come to an end and I am removing the jacket and giving it to congress. If you still feel that I should continue leading the party, I am still ready but if you think my time is up and someone should take over, let it be because that is the democratic way of working, he said. There are also rumblings within the MDC that there could be a third hand sponsoring some of the candidates so as to remove Chamisa who has thus far failed to accept the results of last years presidential elections. In 2014, Chamisa faced off with Mwonzora who was the then spokesperson but lost in the battle to become secretary-general. Mwonzora scored an unexpected crushing victory over Chamisa in a shock result which saw him getting 2 464 votes against his rivals 1 756. This left Chamisa as an ordinary card carrying member until he was appointed by the partys founding father Morgan Tsvangirai (now late) to the MDC national executive as secretary for policy and research. Mwonzoras 2014 victory came amid reports that Chamisa had had a row with Tsvangirai during the nomination process where he apparently accused his mentor of meddling in the Manicaland party provincial elections. The elections saw Tsvangirai personally taking part in the nomination process there, where Mwonzora who until then had not got any nominations for the post got a ringing endorsement from the region. The results completely flew in the face of the nomination tally that had Chamisa garnering 11 out of 12 provinces. Tsvangirai is suspected to have rigged the results in favor of Mwonzora. DailyNews Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News FEARLESS politician Linda Masarira has said MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisas claim that President Mnangagwa is illegitimate has no legal legs to stand on. Her statement follows Chamisas admission in an interview on France24 TV yesterday that he would accept South African President Cyril Ramaphosa or anyone from the AU or SADC as the dialogue convener with President Mnangagwa. Masarira says that admission by Chamisa leaves him badly exposed, as any dialogue sponsored by the African Union (AU) or SADC will have to abide by the two continental bodies election reports. Both SADC and the AU declared the 2018 harmonized elections free, fair and credible. Desperation for power sharing has disillusioned an erstwhile Cde (Chamisa), his legitimacy issue has no legal legs and basis to stand on. Dialogue even under the auspices of SADC and AU will have to abide by the SADC and AU election observer reports, Masarira, who is also the national spokesperson of rival opposition party MDC-T, has said. Speaking to France 24s Marc Perelman from the Harare, Chamisa said yesterday that he was willing to accept Ramaphosa or anyone from the SADC and AU as dialogue convener. Linda said that statement by Chamisa was made out of desperation for power sharing with Mnangagwa. Chamisa has snubbed both pre-dialogue meetings called by President Mnangagwas government at State House, arguing that the current leadership is illegitimate. He also maintains he was rigged out of his victory in last years elections, a position which has been dismissed by AU and SADC election reports. He said he was ready any time for a credible and genuine dialogue with Mnangagwa but insisted that it should be done through international mediation, pointing to South Africa, SADC and the African Union as ideal go-betweens. Finally, Chamisa brushed aside reports that he had offered Mnangagwa a power-sharing agreement whereby they would each head the country for two years. Watch the full interview Chamisa had on the video below ZOOMZimbabwe Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News Its a little ironic for the head of the Cook County Democratic Party to say shes the independent and not somehow tied to the machine. I dont think people are going to buy that at all, Lightfoot said in an interview Wednesday. I think over the course of the race to date, people see her for what she is, and I feel very confident that were going to be able to make the contrast. Were as different as night and day, and thats going to be very, very clear to people. I think its clear to people already, and any airbrushing of facts is not going to work. AN Airforce of Zimbabwe pilot accused of brutally murdering his Gweru-based girlfriend late last year, has approached the High Court seeking bail pending trial. Tashinga Musonza (29), who is being represented by Mr James Makiya of Makiya and Partners, allegedly killed Lucy Duve (32) in a crime of passion in November last year. Musonzas trial last week failed to kick off for the second time after his lawyer fell sick resulting in the matter being removed from the roll by Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Nokuthula Moyo. Musonza is also challenging the presence of assessors on the High Court bench and has since filed a notice to appeal at the Constitutional Court. The matter was then remanded following an application made by the defence counsel to have the matter referred to the Constitutional Court. Musonza, through his lawyer, filed an application for bail at the Bulawayo High Court citing the State as a respondent. In his bail statement, Musonza argued that there were no compelling reasons justifying his continued detention. The applicant is entitled to his constitutional right to liberty and there is the assumption of innocence until proven guilty which must be considered in this matter. There are no compelling reasons to deny the applicant bail in this matter, said Mr Makiya. Musonza said he would not abscond or interfere with State witnesses if granted bail, arguing that the assertion by the State was mere speculation which lacks tangible evidence. The State through Mr Nqobizitha Ndlovu opposed the bail application, arguing that there was no guarantee that if granted bail Musonza would not abscond due to the seriousness of the offence. Mr Ndlovu said the State has strong prima facie case against Musonza. According to court papers, Musonza allegedly fatally assaulted Duve, who was working for a local non-governmental organisation (NGO), accusing her of cheating on him with his colleague. It is alleged that on November 25, Musonza went to their lodgings at around 10PM and found Duve asleep. He allegedly accused her of cheating on him with his colleague. The two allegedly drove to the airbase since Musonza wanted the matter clarified. They allegedly woke up Duves alleged lover who denied being in a relationship with her. Musonza allegedly got furious and started assaulting his girlfriend. His colleague tried to restrain him but was overpowered before he ran away from the scene to seek assistance from colleagues. Upon their return they found Duve lying unconscious in a pool of blood. Musonza later drove Duve to Clay Bank Hospital in the company of two of his colleagues and another female who was said to be Duves friend. She was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital leading to the arrest of Musonza. Chronicle Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News GOVERNMENT yesterday dismissed claims that a Zimbabwean man was resurrected by a controversial pastor in South Africa as his body was being brought home, saying no repatriation papers had been processed to support the claims. Zimbabwes Consul General to South Africa Mr Batiraishe Mukonoweshuro set the record straight in an interview with The Chronicle following claims by Congolese prophet based in South Africa, Mr Alph Lukau, of the Alleluia International Ministries church on Sunday that he had resurrected a Zimbabwean who had died on Friday in Johannesburg. During a service at his church in Sandton, Johannesburg on Sunday, Mr Lukau said the family of the deceased man decided to stop over for a few minutes before heading to Zimbabwe with the body. In the video circulating on social media, Mr Lukau is seen touching the deceased man in a coffin who is dressed in all white and after a few utterances the dead man sits up with his mouth wide open while church members jump in jubilation. Mr Lukau then continues speaking in tongues. Can you see what happened? This man died since Friday, he was in the mortuary, he told cheering congregants. This is a sign that no matter what the devils done, it is over. Devil, I told you, wherever I find you, I will kick you. The alleged Sunday miracle has received criticism from all angles and has attracted a lawsuit from a funeral parlour. In what has been widely dismissed as a poorly staged miracle, a Kings and Queens Funeral Services hearse was used to carry the coffin from an unknown house to Sandton where the church service was conducted. The resurrected man has not yet been identified officially, but some reports in South Africa reported that he was named Elliot. However, Mr Mukonoweshuro, who signs repatriation letters for locals who die in the neighbouring country said he was not in possession of papers clearing any Zimbabwean to be repatriated on Sunday from South Africa. He said as the man was said to have died last Friday, there was no way the body could have been repatriated on Sunday as the whole process could only be done during weekdays. He said repatriating a body involves a lot of processes that cannot take less than three weekdays. Mr Mukonoweshuro said after the alleged death last Friday, there was no way the so-called family would have managed to clear the body in a day. He said he only heard about the alleged resurrection miracle on news and social media. When someone dies in South Africa, the funeral parlour handling the body needs a death certificate from the department of Home Affairs in South Africa, an embalmment certificate and a post mortem report from the doctor who attended the deceased person, said Mr Mukonoweshuro. All these requirements are processed during weekdays and since this man is said to have died this past Friday, I wonder how they managed to get all that documentation in a space of hours that is if he died at all. Mr Mukonoweshuro said members of the public should note that all South Africa government offices and his office only operate from Monday to Friday and not on weekends. We need to know the time this person died so that we establish how they managed to get through the process for them to claim that the body was being repatriated to Zimbabwe. Did he die in the afternoon or in the evening and where did they get all those papers needed for a body to be cleared for repatriation? he asked. For them to come to the consulate to get a repatriation letter, they first have to deal with the South African Government for the requirements I just listed. After they get a letter from us, they go back to the South African Ministry of Health for the export permit and this is a department that also does not operate on weekends. He said the order of events was questionable and he doubts the resurrected man is even Zimbabwean. The tone and accent of the person who was quoted as the brother to the deceased clearly reveals that he is not Zimbabwean. Its not even Shona, Ndebele or even Zulu as we know these to be our home languages, said Mr Mukonoweshuro. Even if you consult Queens and Kings they would tell you they were hired to pick a body from a home to church and no one knows who was supposed to take it to its final resting place in Zimbabwe. After looking at all these angles you can easily conclude that this person is not Zimbabwean and never died. He said if one does not have papers as they are claiming in the circulating videos, there is still a repatriation procedure that they were supposed to follow. This process involves the Zimbabwean registrar generals office and relatives of the deceased, chiefs and village heads. That process as well takes time and there is no way they were ready to leave the country on Sunday, he added. Kings and Queens Funeral Services has distanced itself from the resurrection claims. As Kings and Queens Funeral Services, we would like to distance ourselves from the supposed resurrection of a deceased man by Hallelujah Ministries who allegedly was at our mortuary, said the parlour in a statement. We were approached by alleged family members of the deceased who informed us they had encountered a dispute with a different funeral service provider and would like to use our transport services which we offered them. According to media reports in South Africa, after the controversial pastor was reported to the police and threatened with a civil suit by Kings and Queens Funeral parlour Mr Lukau is now trying to wriggle his way out of his stunt. He now claims the man was actually alive when his body arrived at the church in Kramerville in Sandton. The ministry claimed Mr Lukau only completed a miracle that God had already started, according to The Sowetan. Chronicle Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News LA Crawfish is a seafood restaurant that aims to provide the community with the tastiest Cajun Vietnamese fusion in town. They offer a unique menu not constricted to the confines of the Cajun brand due to their Asian flavors and dishes. Take for instance their world-famous Crawfish Pho, which fuses the traditional Vietnamese soup to the flavors and cuisine of the Cajun culture. And although their dishes are as delicious as they boast, their true strength lies within their boiled seafoods that prove to be as fresh and delicious as they come! However, the true breadwinner of their store is suggested within their name itself - crawfish. LA Crawfish prides itself in its abilities to attain the best crawfish possible (due to their farms located in Louisiana) and cooking them in seasonings and flavors that remain unmatched. If you do find yourself going to their stores, make sure to try out the mix of their famous Garlic Butter and Cajun flavors. Its been quite a month for downtown San Antonio. First, world-renowned architect Sir David Adjaye presented Ruby City, the Linda Pace gift to the city anchoring the south end of the latest lineal park addition, described as part of the longest such system in the country. The following week brought the American Institute of Architects national award to Confluence Park, anchoring the north end of the creek development. Then we saw the beginning of phase two of what will be the peoples park. More important, as noted by Adjaye, San Antonio must continue to develop its uniqueness and history, and not try to be like other cities. That waterway development and the continued development around the city the latest being the Merchants Ice site will revive downtown or the ring around downtown the anillo. That ring should develop connectivity in dedicated transit incorporating new scooter and bicycle pathways with links into downtown. This downtown boom and revival should be the catalyst for economic and cultural growth to transform San Antonio from a decaying, poor inner city to one in transition for all, with artists leading the way. Jorge de la Garza Scooter fail I give my councilman, Roberto Trevino, an absolute F on how he has handled the e-scooter situation. He has most certainly lost my vote. Id vote for a gerbil before Id ever cast a vote for him again. District 1 is overrun with e-scooters. We have articles on how the handicapped are not able to use sidewalks, how underage kids ride them, how riders dont obey laws, and how the e-scooters are dumped all over our parks, and all over the streets and sidewalks like trash, yet Trevino fiddles while Rome burns. Scooters have ruined downtown. Trevino actually cheered as 2,500 more of these things were dumped on the city by Lyft. He supported the disastrous soft touch, then the new regulations, which are an absolute joke. Houston has none of our issues with e-scooters, but has anyone in San Antonio bothered to contact officials there? Dont get me started on the absolute failure of Ron Nirenberg as mayor and his disastrous handling of the e-scooters. Whats most infuriating is that I voted for both. Fool me once. Shannon Deason Border protected Re: Theirs, but not ours, by Lawrence McMahan, Your Turn, Sunday: Mr. McMahan, with all due respect, you are wrong when you state our politicians send money to foreign borders to protect them but our politicians wont spend money to defend our borders. We spend billions on protecting our borders. The question is whether the building of a wall, in this day and age and given the fact that the problems originate at mostly border crossings, is a wise use of the money we allocate for border defense. In my opinion, it is not. Bobby Allen Fake tax news All media (including front-page coverage by the Express-News) berated the Trump tax cut because the IRS reported smaller refunds. Refunds have nothing to do with taxes paid. Actually, 80 percent of 2018 tax filers are paying less than they did in 2017. Why cant the media be truthful instead of insinuating that the smaller refund is because the tax cut for 2018 is a fraud the Trump administration is pulling on Americans? Fake news at its worse, and this example is just one of many. Phil Ferro The rhetoric of anti-Catholicism has always insisted that the church of Rome is the enemy of what you might call healthy sexuality. This rhetorical trope has persisted despite radical redefinitions of what healthy sexuality means; one sexual culture overthrows another, but Catholicism remains eternally condemned. Thus in a 19th-century context, where healthy sexuality meant a large patriarchal family with the wife as the angel in the home, anti-Catholic polemicists were obsessed with Catholicisms nuns presumed to be prisoners in gothic convents, victims of predatory priests. Then a little later, when the apostles of sexual health were Victorian muscular Christians worried about moral deviance, the problem with Catholicism was that it was too hospitable to homosexuality. Then later still, when sexual health meant the white-American, two-kid nuclear family, the problem with Catholicism was that it was too obsessed with procreation, overpopulating the world with children. And now, in our own age of sexual individualism, Catholicism is mostly just accused of a repressive cruelty, of denying people and especially its celibacy-burdened priests the sexual fulfillment that every human being needs. The mix of change and consistency in anti-Catholic arguments came to mind while I was reading In the Closet of the Vatican, a purported expose of homosexuality among high churchmen released to coincide with the churchs summit on clergy sexual abuse. The book written by a gay, nonbelieving French journalist, Frederic Martel makes a simple argument: The prevalence of gay liaisons in the Vatican means that clerical celibacy is a failure and a fraud, as unnatural and damaging as an earlier moral consensus believed homosexuality to be. The style of Martels account is fascinating because it so resembles the old Protestant critique of Catholic decadence, except its a gay atheist claiming that the gays use Catholicisms gilt and incense to decorate the worlds most lavish closet. Instead of celibacy making men deviant, celibacy is the deviance and open homosexuality the cure. The book is quite bad; too many of its attempted outings rely on the supposed infallibility of Martels gaydar. And yet anyone who knows anything about the Vatican knows that some of the books gossip is simply true just as the other critiques of Catholicism have some correspondence to reality. The churchs teaching that gay sex is sinful has clearly coexisted with and encouraged powerful gay subcultures in the priesthood. Priests really have seduced and abused nuns, and still do today. Celibate men are not more likely to be predators, but particular kinds of predation have flourished in the priesthood, and the worst of that predation looks like an anti-Catholic polemic brought to life. So if Catholics look at these changing-yet-recurring critiques of the church and see only bigotry, they would be making a grave mistake. A critic of the church can be quicker to see problems than a believer, and when critiques are dismissed just because they partake of anti-Catholic stereotypes well, you get the disgraceful way the church treated allegations of clerical sex abuse for many years. But at the same time, the way the healthy sexuality supposedly available outside the church seems to change with every generation offers a reason to be skeptical that all Catholic ills would vanish if Rome only ceased making unnatural demands like celibacy and chastity. The sexual ethic on offer in our own era regards celibacy as unrealistic while offering porn and sex robots to ease frustrations created by its failure to pair off men and women. It pities Catholic priests as repressed and miserable (some are; in general they are not) even as its own cultural order seeds a vast social experiment in growing old alone. It disdains large families while it fails to reproduce itself. It treats any acknowledgment of male-female differences as reactionary while constructing an architecture of sexual identities whose complexities would daunt a medieval schoolman. Catholicism is constantly asked to reform away practices that are there because they connect directly to the New Testament in the case of celibacy, to Jesus example and his hard words for making an idol of family life. This seems like a bad bargain, no matter how much hypocrisy there may be in Rome. That clerical celibacy doesnt guarantee asceticism is obvious. But it preserves the call even when the system is corrupted. And to lose that call, in this era of scandal and unfinished purgation, could easily leave only the corruption, undiluted and unchecked. U.S. operations on the International Space Station would continue until 2030 under a bill filed Wednesday by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas. "The only way to continue learning about the universe around us is to aim high and dream big," Cornyn said in a statement Wednesday. "I'm grateful for the continued work of and input from Houston's space community as we drafted this bill, which sets the stage for a new era of space exploration and to reassert American leadership in space discovery." Currently, operations on the space station are scheduled to end in 2024, but Congress has the ability to extend that date. Experts have said the space station can operate safely until at least 2030. Cornyn isn't the only Congressman who wants to extend the life of the orbiting laboratory in the stars. Last year, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, filed a similar measure in Congress, a response to President Donald Trump's proposal to end federal funding for the space station in 2024, allowing commercial entities to take over its operation by 2025. Cruz, a Republican from Texas, and many other congressional leaders were against Trump's plan, questioning whether commercial companies could step up to fill the government's funding role. Just in fiscal year 2017, NASA spent $1.45 billion on the space station and that doesn't count costs to transport astronauts and supplies there. Cruz's bill also would have extended U.S. operation of the space station to 2030. The measure was approved unanimously by the Senate in December, but failed to pass in the House. Cornyn discussed the measure with the Houston Chronicle on Friday after a tour of Space Center Houston, the museum side of NASA's Johnson Space Center, and a round-table discussion with local technology and space companies. He said he hopes this measure, when passed, will provide some stability for the space program. The bill also would require NASA to create a strategy to retire the space station "to ensure that there is a smooth transition to an eventual successor platform," according to a one-page summary of the measure, and would direct the agency to create next generation spacesuits for future exploration endeavors. Additionally, it would make human settlements in space a national goal. 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. President Donald Trump is expected to propose a 5 percent cut to NASAs budget next year, a decision that stands in stark contrast to the presidents push to return humans to the moon for the first time since 1972. The proposed cuts part of sweeping cuts to non-defense discretionary spending in every agency was disclosed in an article published online Monday by Russ Vought, acting head of the Office of Management and Budget. Its unfortunate that once again when everyone is getting excited about going back to the moon ... that the announcement is on the heels of cuts for NASA, said Keith Cowing, editor of NASA Watch, a website devoted to space news. This is not the signal you would hope to see at an agency that is about to embark on a multi-decade program of returning to and exploring the moon. It would be one of the largest spending reductions in U.S. history, impacting virtually every federal agency, Vought wrote. Recognizing the importance of controlling excessive spending, President Trump directed federal agencies to identify how they can cut a nickel out of every dollar they spend, Vought wrote. Hard-working American families make these sorts of tough decisions every day. The president believes Washington should be no different. Its not clear what programs would get the ax at NASA. In a statement, agency spokeswoman Bettina Inclan said NASA has bipartisan support both in Congress and from the President. "It would be inappropriate to comment [on] what may or may not be in the budget before it is released," she said. Earlier this month, Trump signed a $21.5 billion fiscal year 2019 budget for NASA -- $1.6 billion more than Trump's original proposal. A 5 percent cut would drop NASAs budget to $20.4 billion. At the moment NASA is poised to go off and put words into action, they are going to be handicapped further, Cowing said. Returning to the moon Since taking office in 2017, the president has voiced big plans for NASA, hoping to send Americans back to the moon for the first time since 1972 as a stepping stone for a human mission to Mars. His fiscal year 2019 budget sets into motion developing the foundation for a mini-space station orbiting the moon, called the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, where astronauts can go to explore the astronomical body and its resources. NASA officials hope to have the gateway ready for human habitation by 2023, allowing crews to live and work there for 30 to 60 days at a time. It also could act as a stop-over for astronauts traveling deeper into space to Mars. Just last week, the space agency announced the first round of 12 experiments that will head to the moon on lunar landers built by commercial companies, including Houston-based Intuitive Machines. Agency officials say they hope to begin launching the landers as early as this year but no later than Dec. 31, 2021. Officials also have said they will work with U.S. companies on reusable systems to take astronauts to the surface of the moon. Landers that would carry humans will be tested on the moon beginning in 2024, in the hopes that a crew could be sent to the surface by 2028. We want to go fast. Its important we get back to the moon as fast as possible, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said during a Valentines Day media roundtable in Washington, D.C. But accomplishing all these things will be difficult with a $1 billion budget cut. Discovery selections would definitely be crimped by this, Cowing said. It will derail some things The money has to come from somewhere. Another blow to space exploration NASA, unfortunately, is no stranger to having its goals dashed by budgetary limitations. In 2010, President Barack Obama axed the seven-year Constellation Program created by his predecessor, George W. Bush. Constellation aimed to put humans back on the moon as a stepping stone for Mars, but Obama deemed the program too costly and inefficient. It appeared that NASA was fast-tracking its way back to that course with Trump. But his words and his actions are saying different things, Cowing said. Again, NASA is caught making all these plans with faith-based projections where budgets will be, Cowing said. Theres nothing wrong with being optimistic, but at the end of the day, you cant just click your heels three times and hope money falls out of the sky. A budget cut to NASA also would be problematic given the programs that the agency has struggled to complete in recent years. The long-awaited launch of Orion the spacecraft being built by NASA to take Americans back to the moon likely wont be ready for the planned mid-2020 lift-off because of cost and scheduling problems with the rocket that will send it into space. And the James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, has continued to experience delays and burgeoning costs. Webb which is meant to revolutionize the worlds understanding of planet and star formation initially was expected to launch in 2007 and cost about $500 million. Now, it is expected to launch in 2021 and cost almost $9 billion. Trumps budget proposal still has not been formally released, though he is expected to deliver it to Congress next month. Its still up to Congress to sign off on his spending plans. The federal budget deficit is expected to exceed $1 trillion this year as the impact of the tax reform package approved by Congress last year continues to be felt. In his article, which was published at realclearpolitics.com, Vought urged lawmakers to side with the president. It is time for Congress to join the president in his commitment to cutting spending, reducing bloated deficits, and getting our national debt under control, Vought wrote. Americas future generations are depending on them. 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 San Antonio man was arrested Tuesday, months after he fractured a man's skull with a brick, according to police. Bertin Colin, 33, was taken into custody on suspicion of aggravated assault, jail records showed. On Sept. 25, someone walked into an abandoned building at 519 West Martin Street and found a bloodied man lying on a piece of plywood. The man was had suffered a skull fracture and was hospitalized in critical condition, according to Colin's arrest affidavit. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox The victim's girlfriend told police that one of their friends said they heard a man bragging about the assault. Investigators determined that man was Colin. While being questioned by police, Colin admitted to fighting with the man but denied using a brick to assault him, according to the arrest affidavit. Police interviewed the victim in October as he was recovering from his injuries. He told police that he got into a fight with a man he didn't know, but invited him back into the building when the fight was over, according to the affidavit. The man told police he fell asleep with Colin sitting by him and woke up to his severe injuries, the affidavit says. Colin's bail was set at $30,000, jail records showed. 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 Many of the races will head to an April 2 runoff election between the top two vote-getters. Included in those will likely be 10 sitting aldermen. They are: Ald. Leslie Hairston, 5th, who faced two opponents who were neck-and-neck for second place; Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, who could face Rafael Rafa Yanez; Ald. Toni Foulkes, 16th, who was trailing Democratic Committeeman Stephanie Coleman; Ald. Howard Brookins, 21st, whos likely to face Marvin McNeil; Ald. Ariel Reboyras, 30th, whos likely to face Jessica Gutierrez, the daughter of former U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez; Ald. Milagros Milly Santiago, 31st, whos likely to face Felix Cardona; Ald. Deb Mell, 33rd, who was slightly trailing R. Rodriguez Sanchez; OConnor, 40th, the second-longest serving alderman who was likely to face Andre Vasquez; Ald. Michele Smith, 43rd, who was likely to face Derek Lindblom; Ald. James Cappleman, 46th, with three challengers tightly grouped with several precincts left to count. In a surprise move, Bexar County's sheriff forced the retirement of his second-in-command and fired another high-ranking deputy Wednesday amid continued turmoil at the jail. "In light of current and pervasive issues, this agency needs swift and decisive management," Sheriff Javier Salazar said in a statement. Salazar asked for the resignations of Chief Deputy Don Tijerina and Deputy Chief Ruben Vela, a news release stated. Tijerina, who oversees the other chiefs and has been with the department since 1992, chose to retire, officials said. While Tijerina's retirement takes effect March 31 as he assists Salazar with the transition process, his last working day was Wednesday, the release said. Vela "declined the courtesy" and was immediately terminated, officials said. "These former members of command staff, while they served this agency well during their many years of service, are no longer part of my strategy and vision moving forward," Salazar said in the statement. "It is my commitment to the citizens of Bexar County to provide them with the most effective public safety services possible." RELATED: Internal audit spurs changes at Bexar County Jail after mistakes releasing, transferring inmates Tijerina did not respond to a request seeking comment on his resignation, and Salazar didn't accept an interview request for further comment. It has been a tumultuous time at the Sheriff's Office, with the county jail under particular scrutiny. At least four inmate releases or transfers were botched in January. An internal audit of the jail's inmate processing facility earlier this month found 18 areas of concern that either have been addressed or are being corrected. On Tuesday, Salazar announced that a Texas Commission on Jail Standards inspection, which will be released this week, found the jail out of compliance with state standards. Despite the recent turmoil, the specific reason for the sudden shakeup and how the two men ousted were chosen wasn't clear. The move even came as a surprise to Juan Contreras, president of the Deputy Sheriff's Association of Bexar County. "We recently had a meeting with Tijerina yesterday on a matter," Contreras said. "This just came out of left field." Vela, who served as jail administrator when many of the mistakes were made, was placed on leave Jan. 26. RELATED: Bexar County Jail to fail state standards inspection, sheriff says But on Feb. 18, Salazar said Vela would return to his leadership position, albeit not back to the jail, after healing from an off-duty injury. Tijerina was Salazar's second-in-command but his name had not previously come up in discussions of needed jail improvements. "Right now, I'm looking to keep (interim jail administrator Avery) Walker as our acting jail administrator," Salazar said at the time. "But certainly, Chief Vela is welcome to come back and function as a chief." On Tuesday, Salazar announced the promotion of Capt. Walker, who had been filling in for Vela, to deputy chief and permanent jail administrator. Vela joined the force in 1983 and was appointed as deputy chief of the Adult Detention and Administration and Operations Division in April, replacing former Deputy Chief Laura Balditt. She retired a month after three inmates escaped Bexar County Jail in March by cutting a hole in mesh and scaling a wall. He then assumed the interim responsibilities of Assistant Chief Deputy Bobby Hogeland, who resigned in September, citing "other opportunities." The leadership change is the latest move by Salazar as he works to rectify the issues at the jail and to regain compliance. Though the finalized report from the Texas Commission of Jail Standards has not yet been released, Salazar said state inspectors found issues with allowing nonsworn civilian employees to book and release inmates, the inmate classification system and inmate recreation practices. He said his office already submitted to the commission proposed solutions with a plan of action and has begun correcting certain practices, including reassigning deputies to book and release inmates, and replacing the civilian staffers who had been serving in that role. The last time Bexar County Jail was not in compliance was last April after the escape of the three inmates. It came back into compliance May 4. The internal audit earlier this month spurred significant changes in how jail releases are handled. Salazar put in place a requirement that inmate release documents must be reviewed by two supervisory staff members and limited inmates to exiting through one door, rather than two. The gaffes that led to the changes include: On Jan. 3, jail officials mistakenly released Andrew Taylor Ford, who was in custody on suspicion of failure to stop and give information. The charge was dismissed, but jailers overlooked an order to keep Ford in jail on an unrelated charge out of San Patricio County. On Jan. 15, jail officials let Ricardo Mujica, who was convicted of a domestic violence charge, go free despite an immigration detainer. Because his state charge had already been handled, the sheriff's office said deputies had no authority to bring him back into custody. On Jan. 17, jailers were supposed to send Johnny Villalobos to a rehabilitation facility for a drug offense, but they instead sent him to prison where he was placed in general population. It took three weeks for the sheriff's office to submit the proper paperwork to transfer Villalobos to rehab. On Jan. 26, jail officials released Terrik McCoy, who had been arrested on a charge of evading arrest, without an electronic monitor, which was a condition of his release. Salazar personally tracked McCoy down and brought him into custody the next day. 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 A defense contractor with a top secret clearance was denied bail Tuesday in a case in which he allegedly tried to entice a 14-year-old girl to have sex. Rick A. Benavides, who works in information technology for the Defense Logistics Agency at Port San Antonio, was caught last week in an undercover sting operation by agents of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Benavides thought he was meeting the girl with whom he had been chatting online for sex at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. In reality, the girl was an agent. Benavides, 45, used the online handle Man of Solitude, to chat on a computer application with the girl, according to court records and the testimony of agent Jason Hutchings. According to Hutchings, Benavides tried to persuade the girl to send him nude photos. He told her he had a lot to lose because he worked for the government. On ExpressNews.com: Airman charged with trying to entice minors for sex He even told her to watch To Catch a Predator on YouTube, according to Hutchings and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bettina Richardson. Richardson added that Benavides called himself a predator in the chats and in texts with the agent. For five days, he was grooming her, Richardson told U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Betsy Chestney. He was hell bent on going to Lackland Air Force Base to have sex with a 14-year-old. He brought two Viagras but no condom. Related: Two military members charged with trying to entice minors for sex Benavides lawyer, assistant federal public defender Jack Clark, argued for bond, but could not sway the judge. Chestney said Benavides has a sophistication with technology and might be able to hide other illicit activity if she let him out on bail. The judge also said there was a sophistication in Benavides approach to pursuing the girl. This is a relentless, careful pursuit of someone he thought was 14 years old, Chestney said, denying him bond. If convicted of attempted solicitation of a minor, Benavides faces 10 years to life in prison. 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 A bicyclist in New Braunfels was rushed to a San Antonio hospital with serious injuries after he was struck by a car in foggy weather early Tuesday morning, according to police. Police responded to the accident in the 3200 block of the Interstate 35 South frontage road around 5 a.m., according to a news release from the New Braunfels Police Department. The Bexar County Jail will be deemed out of compliance with state requirements in a soon-to-be released inspection report from the Texas Commission of Jail Standards, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said on Tuesday. Salazar said in a written statement that the commission's executive director, Brandon Wood, informed him of the result after inspectors highlighted "areas of concern," including inmate recreation practices and record keeping, using non-sworn employees to book and release inmates and the inmate classification system. Officials expect the final report to be released this week. Since the inspection, Salazar and newly promoted Deputy Chief of the Adult Detention Bureau Avery Walker have made some swift changes, including assigning sworn deputies to book and release inmates, replacing civilian staff that had been serving in that role. The civilian staff will be reassigned. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox Jail officials sent the TCJS on Monday night proposed solutions and a plan of action regarding each of the areas of concern and said they had already begun working to correct certain practices. "The use of civilian personnel in booking and the system used for classification of inmates are practices that have been in place as far back as 1998," Salazar said in a statement Friday. "We will be making changes as required by TCJS. The needed corrective actions have already begun. Sheriff's offices have 30 days after receiving finalized reports from the TCJS to submit a formal plan to remedy their violations. State statute allows a jail to be non-compliant for up to one year before it faces closure, though jails typically are compliant within six months, Wood said. The last time Bexar County Jail was not in compliance was in April 2018, after three murder suspects briefly escaped from the facility. It came back into compliance on May 4, 2018. The latest inspection follows an internal jail audit that Salazar ordered after at least four inmates were mistakenly released or transferred in January, including a drug offender being sent to prison instead of a rehabilitation facility and a man released without a court-ordered electronic monitor. That audit revealed 18 areas requiring improvement and appeared to highlight similar issues to the state inspection, including training certification and the jail's outdated classification system. RELATED: Internal audit spurs changes at Bexar County Jail after mistakes releasing, transferring inmates Salazar said it led to significant changes in how jail releases are handled. He put in place a requirement that inmate release documents must be reviewed by two supervisory staff members and limited inmates through exiting through one door, rather than two. Short-lived TCJS violations are not rare for jails across the state. According to the commission's website, 23 jails in Texas are currently not in compliance with the accepted standards. Most come back into compliance within the required time frame; it is rare for a jail to be shuttered by the state. Among the changes made at the Bexar County Jail was Walker's promotion from acting to full-time jail administrator. Salazar tapped Walker to run the jail after he suspended Deputy Chief Ruben Vela, the former jail administrator who was in charge when the mistakes were made in January. Salazar has said Vela is welcome to come back as a deputy chief after he heals from an off-duty injury, but that he will not return to overseeing the jail. Walker's promotion comes after a nationwide search with 60 applicants, according to the sheriff's office. "Chief Walker has impressed me to no end since assuming the role of Acting Jail Administrator on January 26th. Through the TCJS inspection, he displayed great leadership ability in swiftly orchestrating a plan to address the concerns raised," Salazar said in a statement. "Chief Walker is reallocating resources as necessary, implementing policies and procedures, and looking at technology to overcome outdated practices which have been around since the mid 90's." With Walker in place, Salazar is confident the issues at the jail will be remedied quickly and that the jail will regain it's compliance status. "Mr. Wood and I have discussed our plan of action which includes TCJS staff coming to San Antonio in the coming days to brief me, Deputy Chief Walker, and jail administration staff on our next steps to regaining compliance very soon." 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 A man died early Wednesday after he was struck by a minivan that fled the scene in Midtown, Houston police said. Houston police said the driver was traveling west on Gray Street around 1:30 a.m. when they made a sharp left onto Hamilton. The vehicle went over a curb and struck the man standing there, police said. The citys longest-serving alderman appeared to throw off the shadow of the charges and was pushing aside two upstart challengers late Tuesday, seeming to make good on a pledge to stay in the race and remain on the City Council despite the allegations against him. With more than 87 percent of the vote counted in his 14th Ward on the Southwest Side, Burke had more than 55 percent of the ballots cast. GALVESTON A judge has ordered the forthcoming trial of the teenager charged in the Santa Fe High School shooting moved outside Galveston County, ruling for the defense, which argued that pretrial publicity and inflammatory social media comments precluded a fair trial locally. State District Judge John Ellisor granted a change of venue motion filed by the defense attorney for Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 18, charged with capital murder in the shooting that killed 10 people and wounded 13 last May. The decision means a jury will be selected from a county of Ellisor's choosing. Galveston County District Attorney Jack Roady, who had argued against a change of venue, said the judge would issue a written ruling later in the week. "We believe the case could be tried here in Galveston County, but we absolutely respect the judge's ruling and we are ready to try the case wherever it needs to be tried," said Roady, the lead prosecutor. Read more: Accused Santa Fe High School shooter makes first public appearance since his arrest Nick Poehl, Pagourtzis' attorney, argued during a hearing Monday that a fair trial in Galveston County would be unlikely due to "intrusive publicity" generated by rampant media coverage and comments county residents posted on Facebook that indicated a strong bias against the defendant. Poehl said he was "very pleased" with Ellisor's decision. Poehl said Ellisor would weigh logistical concerns about a new venue for the trial, including whether a different courthouse could handle what is expected to be a large crowd of victims' family members, survivors and others traveling to watch the proceedings. The trial should be held as close to Galveston as possible, but far enough away to "get away from the problems of the personal connections," Poehl said. The trial could be moved to a county contiguous to Galveston, though Poehl has indicated Harris County would be unlikely. Wherever it is held, Roady still has jurisdiction to prosecute the case and Ellisor will remain the presiding judge. Family members of the shooting victims have previously expressed their hope that the trial would stay in Galveston County, reasoning that the national attention the shooting attracted negates any claim that it was a local crime. Scot Rice, whose wife, substitute teacher Flo Rice, was wounded during the shooting, told the Houston Chronicle on Monday that the jury pool would be tainted wherever the case is moved "because we're not gonna let it go." Rice's comment was cited by Poehl in a court filing on Tuesday as a "threat." But distance won't keep families from attending the trial. Sonia Lopez, whose daughter, Sarah Salazar, was shot and injured, said she, Sarah, and her other daughter, Suzannah, will travel wherever the proceedings take place. "We were a little disappointed because of course we wanted it to stay here," Lopez said ."But we support the judge's decision, because he's looked at all the evidence presented and made what he thought was the best decision for us." Others said they understood the decision would guard against any claim that the jurors' proximity to the case would influence their a verdict. "I think if (Ellisor) hadn't granted (the change of venue), it just would've allowed (the defense) to claim foul, and I think it's very important that he pulls whatever rugs out from under their feet to give them that ability," said Steve Perkins, whose wife, Ann Perkins, was a substitute teacher at the high school killed in the shooting. The trial of Pagourtzis, who faces life in prison if convicted, is expected to be delayed through the end of the year, as the state is still sorting through evidence from federal agencies investigating the case. Staff writer Shelby Webb contributed reporting. nick.powell@chron.com Nick Powell covers Galveston County for the Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and send him tips at nick.powell@chron.com Each spring, Selena-inspired San Antonio events pop up to either honor the day she died, on March 31, or to celebrate her birthday on April 16. The Alamo City doesn't need a codified holiday to plan brunches, tribute bands and parties honoring the Queen of Tejano but celebrations could become more official beginning in 2020 if a bill designating her birthday as Selena Quintanilla Perez Day becomes law. Health officials did not name the Crystal Lake church associated with the six reported cases. But the department said its working with church and jail officials to identify close contacts of those infected and determine their immunization status. People without immunity are being advised to stay home, and those who have tested positive for mumps or who have symptoms, with test results pending, are also being isolated until theyre no longer infectious. Shannon David Scott Missing flyer images View Photos San Andreas, CA Suspected foul play behind the disappearance of a retired disabled military veteran has led forensic investigators to scour his home for clues. According to Calaveras County sheriffs officials, on Monday CCSO and Department of Justice detectives served a search warrant at the Wilseyville residence of 66-year-old Shannon Scott, located in the 4000 block of Blagen Boulevard. Scott was reported missing from the home back on Aug. 31, 2018. As reported here, Scott supposedly departed on that date for a doctors appointment in his vehicle, a white colored 2014 Fiat bearing California Purple Heart license plate #9038PH and a Marine Corps decal on the rear window. He never arrived at his destination in Rancho Cordova and neither he or the vehicle has been seen since. Officials say that although there have been no new leads in locating Scott, detectives have been conducting follow-up regarding possible crimes relating to his finances, which triggered the search warrant. No Bail For Daughter Charged With Probation, Felony Violations While on scene, Scotts daughter, 25-year-old Shaylee Scott was arrested for felony violation of probation, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. She is currently being held at the Calaveras County Jail without bail. Again, Scott is described as a white male, six feet tall and 170 pounds with short blonde hair and blue eyes. He is dependent on a wheelchair or a cane and was last seen wearing a black shirt, white shorts and brown shoes. A flyer still being circulated lists that Scott wears prescription glasses and is a diabetic needing insulin. Distinguishing marks listed are four tattoos: a dragon on his right arm; a winged horse on his right bicep; a rose on his left arm; also a Kentucky flag on his left bicep. As the investigation is active, officials are not providing any other case details at this time and ask anyone with information as to Shannon Scotts whereabouts or other pertinent information to call CCSO Detectives at 209 754-6500. Its pathetic. This is a lawyer who (taped) his own client when he claimed he was being loyal. If you believe him, you are a fool, Giuliani said. He bragged he was connected to Russian organized crime and he may be. His father-in-law who gave him millions to (invest) was convicted of tax fraud in a money-laundering operation. Lets see if these Democrats want to ask about his many crimes having nothing to do with anyone but his coterie of business associates with questionable connections. Making history: Last fall, as the crowd of African-American women candidates in the mayors race swelled to four (and later back down to three), the Tribunes Kate Thayer wrote a prescient piece examining the likelihood that voters would elevate one of them to the citys highest elected office. As Thayer pointed out: Of the 100 largest cities in the U.S., 10 of them have women of color as mayors, seven of whom are black, according to Rutgers Universitys Center for American Women in Politics. Just two years ago, only four black women led major cities. Since November of 2017, Charlotte, N.C., New Orleans and San Francisco each made history in electing their first African-American woman mayors. Read Thayers story here. It will be unfair to castigate ... The IRS then served Vrdolyak with a levy notice requiring him to pay the IRS instead of Soso because of all the back taxes owed. That November, Vrdolyak sent a fax to an IRS investigator claiming that he was no longer paying Soso and, therefore, didnt owe any more in taxes. The fax stated that if there were any payments made in the future, he intended to honor the 2005 levy served on him and remit the funds to the IRS, according to the charges. 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 I think whats really speaking to folks is a message coming from candidates that its not about the identity of who we are, but about the work that we want to do and the change that we want to see thats what really resonated with folks here in the 49th Ward, Hadden said. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 27) President Rodrigo Duterte, an ally of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his family, raised doubts over the ill-gotten wealth amassed during his two-decade regime. The President said this in defense of his decision to allow the burial of the late strongman at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in November 2016, saying that the wealth allegations are still unsubstantiated. "Sino ang pwedeng ilibing sa [who can be buried in the] Libingan ng mga Bayani? Ang sabi ng batas, sundalo o kaya presidente [The law says a soldier or a president]. That's the law. The other law what they want to say is that Marcos was a dictator that he stole ano. Until now you have not proven anything except to sequester and sell --- hindi mo nga sigurado kung talagang kay Marcos ba 'yan [you have not yet proven if that is really from Marcos]?" Duterte told the League of Municipalities on Tuesday night. The Marcoses and their cronies have an estimated $10 billion or around 530 billion supposedly stolen from government coffers. The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) -- which is tasked to collect the stolen wealth -- has only recovered 171.359 billion from 1986 to 2017. The government has 255 pending civil, criminal and administrative cases before the Supreme Court, Sandiganbayan, Court of Appeals and other lower courts as part of efforts to recover ill-gotten wealth. In August 2017, Duterte said the Marcos family had offered to turn over part of its questionable wealth. But senatorial candidate and Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos said they leave it up to their lawyers. Opposition candidates denounce Duterte's remarks Some members of opposition slate Otso Diretso slammed Duterte's statements. Human rights lawyer and senatorial candidate Chel Diokno insisted that the Marcos ill-gotten wealth is not fake news. "Baka nakalimutan ni Pangulo iyong desisyon ng ating Supreme Court mismo noong 2003 na sinabi nila, ang perang iyan ay ill-gotten wealth. Hindi pera ng mga Marcos iyan, pera ng bayan iyan," said Diokno in the People Management Association of the Philippines Senatorial Forum at Fairmont, Makati Wednesday. [Translation: The President may have forgotten the 2003 Supreme Court decision which states that that is ill-gotten wealth. It's not the Marcoses' money, it's the nation's money.] In 2003, the Supreme Court en banc forfeited, in favor of the Philippine government, Swiss deposits in the estimated aggregate amount of US$658,175,373.60. Those were allegedly stashed by the late Marcos and his wife Imelda under names of various foundations. Gary Alejano kept his Wednesday statement brief. "May biktima, may nawalang bilyong pera, hindi pwedeng walang nagnakaw," Alejano said. [Translation: There are victims, billions of money were lost, it's impossible there wasn't anyone who stole.] Samira Gutoc said Duterte has no business "tinkering with history." "Since you were sworn in as President of my beloved country, you have shown nothing but favor to the Marcos family. Simulang-simula pa lang [From the very beginning], you have fought for them, defended their honor, and even help deny the atrocities during martial law," she said in a statement. Duterte has vouched for the Senate bid of Imee Marcos, and has previously said he wants the likes of the late dictator's son and namesake, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, to be vice president. Muskogee, OK (74401) Today Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Cloudy skies early with scattered thunderstorms developing late. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. Villa is the second of three men to go on trial on charges he killed Officer Clifton Lewis, an eight-year police veteran who was working a second job as a security guard at the store just days after he had become engaged to his longtime girlfriend. Justin Cox (left) and Adam Swanson hold two of the many products available from CBD: massage oil and coffee beans infused with the substance. On the blue carpet outside of the Student Union Ballroom, MTSU President Sidney McPhee, right, greets guests arriving for the Feb. 18 Celebration of Scholars event for prospective students who have been offered Trustee and Presidential scholarships. We'll keep you connected to all the updated local news and information about what's happening in Murfreesboro and Rutherford County! Click Here to Subscribe! This rendering shows the planned design of Best Buys new location in The Avenue, where Davids Bridal is currently located. Wagners wife filed for divorce in 2015, and the divorce was finalized in July 2016. Wagner told an investigator that in March 2016, he installed cameras without his wifes knowledge or permission. One was behind the refrigerator in the kitchen, one under a dresser in the bedroom and one inside an air vent in the bedroom, pointed directly at the bed, court records showed. Sun Valley, ID (83353) Today Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 85F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some passing clouds. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable. One week after Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec visited Midland to discuss the shortage of veterinary schools in the state, the Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp told the Reporter-Telegram it was not needed. We read all the stuff that theyre saying, Sharp said earlier this month. We just have a different set of facts were operating from, and we think our facts are a lot better. Schovanec said on Feb. 7 the the current plan is to launch Techs main veterinary campus in Amarillo, while students rotate their clinical experiences at various practices across the state. This is part of the distributed model which he described to be as one of the best examples in the United States, as well as Canada. There will not be a hospital with the distributed model, because hospitals are expensive, Schovanec said. However, that could keep the cost at about $21,000 a year, which is 50 percent less expensive than the average public institutions in the state and even more so than private institutions, he said. RELATED: Texas Tech president wants more involvement in Midland "In spite of having one of the best veterinary schools in the world at College Station, they only admit around 140 students, and they're growing that to 160," Schovanec said. "But it still doesn't address the demand every year. Around 500 get their license 22 to 23 percent will get their education from A&M. Around 20 to 22 percent will get their education at private institutions in the Caribbean, and the other 45 percent will go to places like Colorado State, Oklahoma State and Kansas State." There were nearly 600 applicants in 2017 for A&M's veterinary program, Schovanec said. Sharp provided three reasons that the state didnt need to extend resources to Tech for a veterinary school. (First), the coordinating board has said two times already we dont need another vet school, Sharp said. In 2008, the coordinating board did a study and decided another veterinary school was not needed, but the current existing vet school part of the A&M University System should increase its program by 30 students, he said. However, the number of students in a veterinary school is not controlled by the coordinating board, but by the American Veterinary Medical Association, so when the coordinating board approached the AVMA, the decision was made that the school needed to be built onto, he said. In response to the decision, A&M officials went back to the legislature and asked for the money to add onto the vet school but nobody received money that year, he said. Instead, A&M used money from the university fund in 2011 and spent $125 million to add onto the veterinary schools, finishing about a year ago. After the additions were made, A&M officials asked the AVMA if they could add 50 more veterinary students to the program, but that was too much and only 30 students were approved for. A&M will ask for 16 more students to be added next year, which was pre-planned in 2010, he said. Tech is talking about adding 40, 50, or 60 vet students, Sharp said. We can do that tomorrow with the American Veterinary Medical Association. If there was a problem, that was solved long ago. Sharps second reason was that the Calgary Model (also called the distributed model) has been turned down numerous times. The American Medical Association will not credit the Caribbean medical students who are practicing with the same model. He said the AVMA would do the same thing. They want real, and thats because they want clinics and hospitals, Sharp said. (Calgary Model) is not first-class education. The third reason he provided was that Tech officials did not go to the coordinating board and ask for permission to launch the veterinary school. He said the legislature gave Tech $4 million last session to complete the study and go to the coordinating board to ask for approval, but Tech has still yet to request approval from the coordinating board. All were saying is, if you want a vet school, and you think you can compete without a hospital, get permission from the coordinating board like anyone else, Sharp said. Then if you get it, go to the legislature and get them on board. But if the American Veterinary Medical Association would allow us to add 60 vet students, we could do everything we can because we have a big enough house for them. A&M has the largest large-animal specialties of any veterinary school in the country, he said, so there is plenty of room to welcome more students. A&M also broke ground on a $22 million, Veterinary Education, Research, and Outreach Facility (VERO) on the West Texas A&M campus, just 17 miles south of where Tech wants to locate its school, according to Eleanor Green is the Carl B. King Dean of Veterinary Medicine at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. Green also wrote that in 2016, A&M opened a $125 million teaching facility in College Station with enough capacity to increase enrollment by at least the equivalent of Texas Techs proposed school. The U.S. House joined the Senate in passing Senate Bill 47 -- the Natural Resources Management Act which included Congressman Mike Conaways bill to preserve the Midland home of the Bush family as a national landmark. Midland is proud to be the location of George W. Bushs childhood home and a piece of our nations history, Conaway said in a press release. Now a museum, this historic site has been home to two presidents, two governors, and a first lady. Taking the first step toward preserving this landmark as a part of the National Park System, my legislation ensures that future generations are able to learn from these great American leaders. I thank my colleagues for their support, and look forward to President Trump signing this bill into law. George W. Bush Childhood Home Location: 1412 W. Ohio Ave. Hours of operation: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 2-5 p.m. Sunday The home, which was dedicated on April 11, 2006, currently is on The National Register of Historic Places and is a Recorded Texas Historical Landmark. The Texas Historical Commission marker was dedicated in August 2008. See More Collapse RELATED: U.S. House passes Conaway's George W. Bush Childhood Home Act The House of Representatives in December had passed the George W. Bush Childhood Home Study Act -- known as House Resolution 3008 which was authored by Conaway. Paul St. Hillaire, executive director of the Bush Childhood Home, said in December that the bill appropriated funds for the National Park Service to conduct a study of the historic home. He said in an email that the initial study was conducted three or four years ago, when it was determined that the museum was a good fit. This second study is to determine the feasibility of the National Park Service operating the site. He said there are three levels in which the Bush Childhood Home could be affiliated with the National Park Service: -- in name only as a national landmark; -- operated by the NPS but day-to-day operations would be funded by a separate organization run locally; -- owned and operated by the NPS and funded by the government. If the bill is signed by President Trump, funds then could be appropriated for the NPS budget. Officials then would schedule a round of visits, write up a report and submit it to the Bush Childhood Home board to consider at what level it would like to be involved, St. Hillaire said previously. Munoz, who was appointed to his seat by Mayor Richard M. Daley in 1993, is the citys longest-tenured Hispanic alderman, but he announced in July that he would not seek re-election. At the time he said he was retiring because he was having fun writing the next chapter of my life. The Chick-fil-A at Midland Drive surprised three workers with scholarships of $2,500 each Monday night coincidentally within five days of all their birthdays giving them an even bigger reason to celebrate this upcoming year. Andy Slatken, owner and operator, presented the awards to the three men in an "awesome sauce" folder, designed to look like a dipping sauce. "We're just trying to impact today's youth and provide for our staff," Slat-ken said. "We're honored to have them on our staff, and it truly is our pleasure to reward them for not only what they do for Chick-fil-A and what they do for customers, but what they have done for the community as well. It is a community award." Stephanie Fitzpatrick, executive director of sales, said each of the workers must be active in the community to be able to receive the scholarship. "Not including all their grades and all the hard work they do here, they are pretty great kids," Fitzpatrick said. "We are really honored to give it to them. Two of them received it last year, so that shows they continue to work in their community, and we see it." More than $15.34 million in scholarships have been given this year alone, according to the Chick-fil-A website. Josh Hutchins and Justin McConnell both applied and received the scholarship last year, Slatken said. They can receive it up to four times. Steven Morin received his first scholarship from Chick-fil-A Monday, but he said he plans to re-apply next year. Hutchins said he received it last year, so as soon as he saw his family, he realized he was receiving the scholarship and it was not just a late birthday celebration from Saturday though they did all sing happy birthday to the three men and ate cupcakes after. He is currently studying history and education at Midland College and plans to teach at primary school Morin said when he saw his girlfriend, he still thought they were just celebrating their three birthdays since his was on Thursday and was genuinely surprised when Slatken announced that it was "awesome sauce day." He said he currently studies at University of Texas at Permian Basin and he is studying to become a mechanical engineer. McConnell said he did not know he was going to be a recipient this year, and he really was surprised even though he received it last year. He currently attends MC and plans to study business management when he transfers to a four-year university. He wants to continue to work at Chick-fil-A whenever he graduates. "It's a good company," McConnell said. "They have poured a lot into me, and for the foreseeable future, I plan on pouring back into it. There's a lot of room to grow here, and there's a lot of good we can do in the community, and I'm excited to see where it goes. Proposals to overhaul the US housing finance system set out by Senator Mike Crapo Friday have been welcomed by several industry stakeholders. The Senate Banking Committee chairmans outline for reform legislation includes many of the plans and principles that have been discussed by legislators, stakeholders, and thought leaders. Senator Crapo (R-ID) says his plan would: Reduce the systemic, too-big-to-fail risk posed by the current duopoly of mortgage guarantors; Preserve existing infrastructure in the housing finance system that works well, while significantly increasing the role of private risk-bearing capital; Establish several new layers of protection between mortgage credit risk and taxpayers; Ensure a level playing field for originators of all sizes and types, while also locking in uniform, responsible underwriting standards Promote broad accessibility to mortgage credit, including in underserved markets Background. We must expeditiously fix our flawed housing finance system, said Chairman Crapo. My priorities are to establish stronger levels of taxpayer protection, preserve the 30-year fixed rate mortgage, increase competition among mortgage guarantors, and promote access to affordable housing. I invite my Senate and House colleagues, the Administration and all interested stakeholders to work together to enact this critically needed reform. Stable market with government guarantee Among those who have welcomed the proposals is the Mortgage Bankers Associations Robert D. Broeksmit, CMB, President and CEO. "MBA welcomes the release of Chairman Crapo's principles for housing finance reform as a significant sign of his continued commitment to work toward finally ending the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and ensuring a stable and liquid market - with an explicit, paid-for government guarantee - for both single-family and multifamily mortgages." The chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, Randy Noel, added that Sen. Crapos plan would maintain a limited federal backstop to the housing finance system. This was a proposal the NAHB recommended as critical. Momentum on overhauling the housing finance system is clearly growing, as the administration is also looking to move forward on this issue, said Noel. While a legislative solution will ultimately be required to accomplish comprehensive housing finance reform, NAHB looks forward to working with all interested stakeholders to move this process forward. Competitive and transparent marketplace Ed DeMarco, President of the Housing Policy Council said that the proposals should lead the dialogue to a plan for sensible and balanced reform. Chairman Crapo has identified the critical issues to be resolved safeguarding access to credit for low- and moderate-income households, protecting the government from unnecessary losses by putting private capital first, ensuring a competitive and transparent marketplace where all types of financial institutions may succeed, and generating funds to expand affordable housing opportunities for more American families, said DeMarco. The nonpartisan think tank Milken Institute says that on initial view the reforms have the potential to achieve the housing finance system reform principles that it supports. Chairman Crapos outline is important in that it builds upon last years active legislative debate and reflects the importance of maintaining serious housing finance reform momentum, said Eric Kaplan, director of the Milken Institute Housing Finance Program. We look forward to working with the Chairman, all Members of Congress, Administration officials, and industry participants to be helpful in the legislative effort that follows. NAR to discuss reform The National Association of Realtors will hold its first-annual Policy Forum at the Grand Hyatt in Washington on February 7, and will bring together some of the most engaged and influential figures in America's housing finance system. This will include Dr. Susan Wachter, Professor of Real Estate and Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Richard Cooperstein, head of Risk Management at Andrew Davison and Company, Inc., who will unveil a new, comprehensive vision for GSE reform. "NAR and our members remain committed to ensuring the GSEs continue providing liquidity and stability in the mortgage market for decades to come. Next week's forum will showcase NAR's leadership to advance reforms that are most favorable to consumers, taxpayers and our overall economy." Tambrest Keys-Jones, 26, left, was charged Feb. 20 with perjury in connection with her selection for the jury on a Colquitt County murder trial in 2017. Jaquan Willis, right, was accused of killing Fatisha Clark the year before, but the jury, including Keys-Jones, deadlocked 11-1 and a mistrial was declared. Authorities said least eight people were injured and at least 225 structures were damaged, many severely, from a tornado that tore through Naperville, Woodridge and Darien late Sunday. Meteorologists said the damage was consistent with an EF-3 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita scale, meaning it had wind speeds of 136 to 165 mph. We suspect it was one tornado, said Matt Friedlein, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. We dont know that for certain, but based on the nature of the information and what we know about the character of this event, thats what were leaning toward. The weather service said it was the first significant tornado to hit the Chicago metropolitan area since 2015, when an EF-3 tornado ravaged Coal City, about 60 miles southwest of the city. On the ground, signs of the tornados might were everywhere. A fence post was driven through a roof like a javelin. A backyard trampoline, metal frame and all, was wrapped around the branches of a tall tree. One car was flipped on its roof, while another nearby was so damaged it looked as though it had been bombed. The tornado sirens began blaring in DuPage County at 10:48 p.m. Sunday, according to Woodridge police. The National Weather Service said emergency alerts also screeched on mobile devices in Naperville, Darien and Woodridge, with the goal of waking any sleepers. When the tornado formed, it first hit Naperville about 11:10 p.m., in the area just south of 75th Street and Ranchview Drive in the southeast section of the town, according to Linda LaCloche, spokeswoman for the Naperville city managers office. Sixteen homes were deemed uninhabitable by city engineers, she said. At least 125 damage reports came from Naperville alone, Schultz said. New home sales in the Greater Toronto Area have exhibited a notable annual increase, the Building Industry and Land Development Association announced in its report (supplemented by Altus Group data) released earlier this week. Overall activity involving the housing type went up by 14% year-over-year in January, up to a total of 1,362 transactions for new homes. This year is starting off on a positive note, Altus Group executive vice president of data solutions Patricia Arsenault said. The improvement in new home sales over last January is consistent with our outlook for somewhat higher annual sales in the GTA this year, following the drop in 2018. It looks like the market is starting to return to typical levels after a particularly difficult year, BILD president and CEO David Wilkes noted. With the spring budget coming up, we are calling on the federal government to take steps to make it easier for first-time home buyers to get into the housing market. Read more: Torontos condo market sees notable slowdown in January However, the picture isnt as rosy when looking at single-family homes, as sales are hovering at 53% lower than the 10-year average for this asset class. New condo apartments fared considerably better, with sales being only 5% lower than the 10-year average. Remaining inventory which includes preconstruction projects, units currently under construction, and completed buildings had a slight shrinkage, down to 15,530 units comprised of 10,364 condo apartment units and 5,166 single-family homes. The single-family home benchmark price went down by 8.1% year-over-year in January, to settle at $1,130,046. On the other hand, the value of condo apartment units went up by 12.5% during the same period, to reach $803,638. The British Columbia government is cracking down on assignment flipping, which it says contributes to price escalation and tax evasion, but after a series intrusive policies brokers are sceptical. It addresses a loophole in taxation that I dont disagree withand that should be closed because if you profit from flipping a property, it should be deemed income or capital gainsbut having said that the government has essentially come out and said its addressing a housing shortage when the housing shortage isnt derived from that scenario, said Nick Douce, VP of Tango Financial and VP and managing broker of Paragon Mortgage Group. Its political pandering and BS because its not going to address the housing shortage. British Columbias Finance Minister Carole James announced the Condo and Strata Assignment Integrity Register on Monday, stating that it will help the provincial government track property sales. We said when we were elected we'd be bold about addressing the housing crisis,'' James is quoted in The Canadian Press. This is another of those steps that we're taking to make sure that there's transparency and that people are paying their fair share. But Douce counters that the NDP is simply playing politics. They want to see transparency and that people pay their fair share, he said, but the NDP here is waging class warfare. Having said that, I believe there should be a tax, however, the governments verbiage makes it sound like political posturing to me, and whether anything comes from itI doubt it. Douce also doubts the governments claim that assignment flipping has a contributed to Vancouvers sharp price escalation. Shannon Patterson, regional director of the Vine Group with Mortgage Alliance, concurs, in particular because Vancouvers housing market is freefalling and assignments are flipping for losses, not profits. Up until the last 12 months or so, it might have been a valuable initiative, but with all the changes in mortgage lending and new tax initiatives the government has put into place, do we need yet another measure to cool down the housing market? She added that in Langley alone, shes overseeing three flips that wont turn profits. I disagree that flippers have driven up purchase prices. Forward expectations for the Canadian economy in 2019 continue to be in the neutral range, according to the Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence tracking up to the week ending February 22. The Confidence Index, which tallies financial health and economic expectations, registered at 54.43, the same level it was in 4 weeks prior. For comparison, the 12-month high currently stands at 58.32. Regarding Canadians views on their personal finances and job security, the sub-indice stood at 59.16, a little bit higher than the 59.10 last seen 4 weeks ago. Canadians outlook for the economy and real estate prices slightly worsened from 49.76 to 49.70 last week. Read more: Road to neutral range of rates still highly uncertain BoC The Canadian economy has previously been expected by major banks to slow down to just 1.9% growth this year. Recent numbers from the Bank of Canada showed that national residential mortgage growth has fallen to a 17-year low in December 2018, which posted a mere 3.1% annual increase to reach $1.55 trillion. Observers have warned that this might be a sign of further slowdown this year, with major banks predicting that domestic mortgage growth will hover in the low to mid-single digits in 2019. The bread-and-butter of profitability for Canadian banks is going to have a little less butter on the bread, Edward Jones & Co. investment strategist Craig Fehr told Bloomberg. That is, in many cases, the largest and most profitable and steady of the businesses that these banks operate. Special counsel Robert Mueller 's soon-to-be-delivered report will trigger months of congressional investigations, subpoenas, court challenges, partisan slugfests, media revelations and more desperate conspiracy claims by Donald Trump , all against the backdrop of the burning questions: Will he be impeached by the House? Will he be convicted by the Senate ? Will he pull a Richard Nixon and resign? In other words, will America fire Trump? I have news for you. America has already fired him. When the public fires a president before Election Day, as it did with Jimmy Carter , Richard Nixon and Herbert Hoover, they don't send him a letter telling him he's fired. They just make him irrelevant. Politics happens around him, despite him. He's not literally gone, but he might as well be. It's happened to Trump. The courts and House Democrats are moving against him. Senate Republicans are quietly subverting him. Even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told him to end the shutdown. The Fed is running economic policy. Top-level civil servants are managing the day-to-day work of the agencies. Isolated in the White House, distrustful of aides, at odds with intelligence agencies, distant from his Cabinet heads, Trump has no system to make or implement decisions. His tweets don't create headlines as before. His rallies are ignored. His lies have become old hat. Action and excitement have shifted elsewhere, to Democratic challengers, even to a 29-year-old freshman congresswoman too young to run for president. Don't get me wrong. He's still dangerous, like an old landmine buried in the mud. He could start a nuclear war. Yet even America's adversaries just humor him. Kim Jong Un and Xi Jinping give him tidbits to share with the American public, then do whatever they want. Why did America fire Trump? If the nation were to write him a letter informing him he's no longer president, it would go like this: Dear Mr. President, While many of us disagree on ideology and values, we agree on practical things like obeying the Constitution and not letting big corporations and the wealthy run everything. Your 35-day government shutdown was a senseless abuse of power. So too your "national emergency" to build your wall with money Congress refused to appropriate. When you passed your tax bill, you promised our paychecks would increase by an average of $4,000, but we never got the raise. Our employers used the tax savings to buy back their shares of stock and give themselves raises instead. Then you fooled us into thinking we were getting a tax cut by lowering the amounts withheld from our 2018 paychecks. We know that now because we're getting smaller tax refunds. At the same time, many big corporations aren't paying a dime in taxes. Worse yet, they're getting refunds. For example, GM is paying zilch and claiming a $104 million refund on $11.8 billion of profits. Amazon is paying no taxes and claiming a $129 million refund on profits of $11.2 billion. (This is after New York offered it $3 billion to put its second headquarters there.) They aren't breaking any tax laws or regulations. That's because they made the tax laws and regulations. You gave them a free hand. You're supposed to be working for us, not for giant corporations. But they're doing better than ever, as are their top executives and biggest investors. Yet nothing has trickled down. We're getting shafted. Which is why more than half of us support Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's proposed 70 percent tax on dollars earned in excess of $10 million a year, and more than 60 percent of us support Elizabeth Warren's proposed 2 percent tax on households with a net worth of $50 million or more. You've also shown you don't have a clue about health care. You promised us something better than the Affordable Care Act, but all you've done is whittle it back. A big reason we gave Democrats control of the House last November was your threat to eliminate protection for people with pre-existing conditions. Are you even aware that 70 percent of us now favor Medicare for All? Most of us don't pay much attention to national policy, but we pay a lot of attention to home economics. You've made our own home economics worse. We'll give you official notice you're fired on Nov. 3, 2020, if not before. Until then, you can keep the house and perks, but you're toast. Respectfully, America (Robert Reich's latest book is "The Common Good," and his newest documentary is "Saving Capitalism.") (c) 2019 By Robert Reich; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC Vermilion City sends requests for design and build proposals for firehouse At the Joyce Hanks Community Center, 4575 E. Lake Road in Sheffield Lake, it all starts with a cup of coffee on Monday mornings. So, we have this great resource in this city of ours, and its the high school junior ROTC. And when we call, they come much like the veterans of this city when WWII was here, Korea and Vietnam. We are very, very proud of them. Lorain Veterans Council Secretary Mike Kachure Pull Quote Lorain High School senior Harleyann McQuaid stands at the podium to voice her support for LHS teachers during the Feb. 26, 2019, meeting of the Lorain City School board of education. McQuaid was one of about 28 people who voiced support for Lorain teachers on the night when the school board said district governance was in a "state of emergency." Lorain County Sheriff Phil R. Stammitti thanks the Lorain County Commissioners on Feb. 27 for voting to purchase eight Chevrolet Tahoes for his deputies. A deputy U.S. Marshal testified Feb. 27 in Lorain County Common Pleas Court that Martin L. Robinson asked about the condition of the Amherst p Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Theyre now masters of a city ruled by the hard political left in what could be called San Francisco East. And in political terms, April is just minutes away: Either establishment Chicago does nothing and waits for Preckwinkle and her public-sector unions to take control of Chicago and Cook County, or they go with Lightfoot. If you've got a dog, ever owned a dog or been in the company of a dog, it is no secret that sometimes they like to give you a little lick. Whether it be a couple on your arm, or a fully fledged face licking, there is actually a good reason behind why our furry friends do it. According to Victoria Stilwell from Animal Planet, you will often see puppies licking their mother's mouths. This is a kind of submissive gesture, which they carry over to their owners! "The more subordinate members of a pack will lick the more dominant members and that's important in maintaining pack harmony," Victoria explains. That's not the only reason dogs lick. Dogs definitely enjoy the salty taste of your skin, and you'll also be pleased to know that it's generally a sign of affection. Plus they also just enjoy it! Victoria says, "Licking releases pleasurable endorphins which gives dogs a feeling of comfort and pleasure like the feeling people get when they are biting their nails it relieves stress." And if you are one of the few who don't enjoy getting the lickable love from dogs, then Victoria suggests simply ignoring the pup. If they aren't getting a positive reaction out of the licks, then they will usually give up. February 27, 2019 Tit-For-Tat Bombing By India And Pakistan Could Escalate Towards A Nuclear War Two nuclear powers are currently engaged in a tit for tat military exchange that could easily escalate into a nuclear war. On February 14 a suicide car bomb hit a police convoy in Pulwama in the Indian controlled part of Kashmir. The suicide bomber was a local man. The Pakistan based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) claimed responsibility and uploaded a video of the attacker. General elections in India are due in May and the Hindu-fascist Indian government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is under pressure. The incident in Kashmir led to violence of Modi followers against Kashmiri people. Pakistan denied any involvement in the incident and called for a joint investigation. After the suicide attack Modi immediately threatened to retaliate against Pakistan. He did so yesterday. In an elaborate operation Indian fighter jets released stand-off weapons, purchased from Israel, against an alleged JeM training camp near Balakot. India made explicit that it hit a "non-military" target. bigger While the Indian jets did not enter Pakistan's airspace the target was within Pakistan's undisputed borders. Small scale ground combat between Indian and Pakistani at the line of control in Kashmir is nothing unusual. But the air attack exceed the limits both sides so far held to. Pakistan saw the incident as a failure of its deterrence. India has about 140 nuclear weapons while Pakistan has about 100. Pakistan's conventional military is inferior to India's. It therefore follows a doctrine of asymmetric escalation which allows for nuclear strikes in response to conventional military attacks. Pakistan could not leave the hit within its own borders without response. Not responding would have set a precedence and invite further Indian attacks. Earlier today two Pakistani J-17a jets flew into the airspace of Indian controlled Kashmir and released bombs against what its military claimed to be a "non military target": We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we undertook the action with clear warning and in broad daylight. Two rather antique Indian MIG-21 jets scrambled to chase the Pakistani fighter jets away. They were lured into the Pakistan controlled air space and both were shot down. Pakistan published pictures of one of the downed jets and claimed that the other one fell into an Indian controlled area. An Indian pilot ejected from his plane and was captured by Pakistani troops who had trouble (vid) to keep the locals from lynching him. The captured pilot was blindfolded and interrogated (vid). He identified as Wing Commander Abhi Nandan, Service No: 27981, and did not respond to further questions. His father is said to be a retried Air Marshal of the Indian air force. The pilot now seems to be fine (vid). He thanked the Pakistani military for rescuing him from the mob. Air traffic over Pakistan and west India was shut down. bigger In a TV speech Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan offered talks with India and urged deescalation: "The sole purpose of our action [today] was to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same. That was the only purpose of what we did," he said, referring to the engagement of non-military targets across the LoC. ... "It is important where we go from here. From here, it is imperative that we use our heads and act with wisdom," he continued. "All wars are miscalculated, and no one knows where they lead to. World War I was supposed to end in weeks, it took six years. Similarly, the US never expected the war on terrorism to last 17 years. "I ask India: with the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford such a miscalculation? If this escalates, things will no longer be in my control or in Modi's," the prime minister continued. "I once again invite you: we are ready. We understand the grief India has suffered in Pulwama and are ready for any sort of dialogue on terrorism. I reiterate that better sense should prevail. "Let's sit together and settle this with talks," the prime minister concluded. China, Russia and the United States have urged both sides to stand down and to deescalate the situation. Meanwhile India falsely claimed that it shot down a Pakistani F-16 jet. It will be up to Modi to take the next step. The captured pilot will complicate the issue for the Indian government. It must find a way to get him released. That the Indian air force uses the antique MIG-21, which first flew in 1956, against state of the art Pakistani-Chinese F-17 again opens questions about Modi's corrupt deal to buy Rafale jets from France. As we discussed last September: In short: The previous government signed a contract with France' Dassault to buy 126 Rafale jets for $10.6 billion. Thirty percent of the price would flow back from Dassault to the Indian state owned aviation manufacturer HAL, which would assemble most of the planes. Modi flew to Paris and changed the deal without the knowledge of his cabinet and the country's military. India will get only 36 Rafales but pay $8.7 billion for them. Thirty percent of the money would flow back to a private Indian company belonging to the largely bankrupt, privately held Reliance Group for unrelated projects and without any know-how transfer. How much Reliance, owned by the once very rich Ambani family, would hand over to Modi and his party is yet unknown. There are calls for Modi to step down which he is unlikely to do. The issue will escalate. Not responding to today's attack will let Modi look weak and may well cost him his reelection. Responding with a new attack on Pakistan will gravely endanger both countries. Posted by b on February 27, 2019 at 13:44 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page SMITHERS Twins are shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria, separated and believing each other to be dead. To find her way in the strange place, the female twin disguises herself as a boy and goes into the service of the duke. The duke sends her to woo a countess for himself. The share price of Fluence Corporation Ltd [ASX:FLC] has made significant ground this morning after the company announced it had signed a 165 million contract. At time of writing, the share price is up 4.5 cents to $0.375. Fluence Corp is provider of decentralised water, wastewater treatment and reuse solutions for both municipal and industrial applications across the world. Related: Three In-House Small-Cap Stocks the Experts are Watching in 2019. Download today. Fluence Corps share price upon contract details The wastewater treatment provider announced this morning it had entered into a contract with the Federal Government of Ivory Coast to provide portable water for the countrys largest city, Abidjan. The commercial agreement is said to be worth 165 million, with the contract expected to support up to US$20 million revenue in 2019, US$80 million in 2020, with the remainder in 2021, subject to financial close and project commencement. Are you tracking this industry boom? You should be. Read this free report now. The agreement will see FLC supply a 150,000 cubic meter per day surface-water treatment plant. The plant will treat water from Lagune Aghien, Ivory Coasts largest freshwater reserve near Abidjan, to help meet the fresh water needs of the countrys largest city. The contract is conditional upon the arrangement of export credit financing, which Fluence is in the process of finalising. Fluence Corps contract subject to financial close Fluence Corps new deal hinges on whether the project can obtain appropriate financing. Currently, the company has discussions to arrange third party financing for the Government of Ivory Coast via a loan from Israel Discount Bank. The project also has the support of the state of Israel through its Export Credit Agency (ASHRA). Following Financial Close, which is expected to occur during Q3 2019, construction of the Plant will then commence, with completion occurring within 24 months. The company also stated it had been invited to bid for an operating and maintenance contract, which could provide further recurring revenue but did not disclosure further information. Regards, Ryan Clarkson-Ledward, For Money Morning PS: Our Three In-House Small-Cap Experts Have Revealed Their Top Picks for 2019. Download the free guide today. The Supreme Court has held that mere failure to repay a loan would not automatically become a criminal offence unless there is criminal intent underlying the same, says a report. According to a report from Bar & Bench , a bench of justices NV Ramana and MM Shantanagoudar passed an order clarifying this position while quashing charges of cheating and criminal breach of trust framed by a magistrate court in Gujarat. In January 2008, one Satishchandra Ratanlal Shah took a loan of Rs27 lakh from Dharshan Fiscal Pvt Ltd, which was to be repaid within a year with interest. However, Mr Shah did not repay the loan. When Dharshan Fiscal approached Mr Shah for recovery of loan, it alledged that the borrower threatened with dire consequences. Dharshan Fiscal then filed a first information report (FIR) in the Kagdapith police station in Ahmedabad. On 29 January 2012, Mr Shah was arrested, but was released on bail by the Gujarat High Court on 23 February 2012. When the police filed a charge sheet on 1 March 2012, the metropolitan magistrate issued a summons against Mr Shah. Later in is petition to the apex court, Mr Shah alleged that he was given a copy of the charge sheet and on 4 December 2013, the magistrate framed charges on a blank sheet without giving him an opportunity of being heard. Mr Shah then filed a petition before the High Court requesting squashing of the FIR against him. In an order on 12 April 2018, the Gujarat HC dismissed Mr Shah's petition and directed the trial court to complete the trial within three months. The HC observed that prima facie an offence of cheating under Section 420 was made out but charge under Section 406 pertaining to criminal breach of trust was not applicable in the given factual scenario. However, the court did not removed the charges against Shah under Section 406 while noting that no case had been made out to get the charge quashed. Mr Shah then approached the Supreme Court with his special leave petition (Criminal Appeal no9 of 2019). In its order, the bench, says, "...it is to be noted that the criminal application preferred by Shah before the High Court was against the order of the trial court at the stage of framing of charges, where it is the duty of the court to apply its judicial mind to the material placed before it and to come to a clear conclusion that a prima facie case has been made out against the accused. An order of framing of charges is of serious concern to the accused as it affects his liberty substantially. The courts must therefore be cautions that their decision at this stage causes no irreparable harm to the accused." "...we may note that there is nothing either in the complaint or in any material before us pointing to the fact that any property was entrusted to Shah at all which he dishonestly converted for his own use so as to satisfy the ingredients of section 405 punishable under Section 406 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Hence, the learned magistrate committed a serious error in issuing process against the appellants for the said offence. Unfortunately, the high court also failed to correct this manifest error," the SC said. Pointing out that Dharshan Fiscal's pending summary civil suit for recovery of its loan amount, the bench said, "The mere inability of Mr Shah to return the loan amount cannot give rise to a criminal prosecution for cheating unless fraudulent or dishonest intention is shown right at the beginning of the transaction as it is this mens rea which is the crux of the offence." The Supreme Court then set aside the order passed by the High Court. While allowing application filed by Shah, the bench quashed proceedings initiated against him based on the FIR filed by Dharshan Fiscal. Only 920 MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) seats have been added in the government medical colleges against the approved 10,000, in the last five years, reveals an RTI. According to the RTI filed by Chandra Shekhar Gaur, a resident of Madhya Pradesh, the government has approved 36 medical colleges for adding 2,615 MBBS seats in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, MP, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Manipur and Karnataka. It also released Rs 685 crore in 2015-18 for 12 states for increasing the number of MBBS seats. In Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, only 50 new seats each have been added against the approved 150 and 350 seats, respectively, In Karnataka, 350 seats have been created against the approved 550, the RTI revealed. In states like Jharkhand, MP, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Manipur not a single seat has been added. According to the RTI, 450 seats were to be created in MP. But even after sanction of Rs 108 crore in three years for the four government-owned medical colleges, not a single seat has been added. In Tamil Nadu, too, over Rs 82 crore has been released by the Centre to add 345 seats. But the seat count remains the same. States like Odisha (200 seats), Gujarat (170 seats) and Punjab (100 seats) have upgraded their medical colleges and increased the requisite number of MBBS seats. In 2014, a cabinet committee of the UPA government had approved the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's proposal relating to the Centre-sponsored scheme for upgradation of government medical colleges and increasing the number of MBBS seats. It was also announced that Rs 10,000 crore would be invested for increasing the MBBS seats. Of this, the Centre was to contribute Rs 7,500 crore and states/UTs Rs 2,500 crore. The funding pattern was to be 90:10 between the central and the state governments for northeastern states and the special category states. The ratio of 70:30 was decided for other states. Creation of one MBBS seat cost around Rs 1.20 crore, according to the cabinet committee in 2014. Again in 2018, the cabinet approved the proposal for adding 10,000 under-graduate seats by 2020-21 and 8,058 post-graduate seats -- 4,058 in the first phase by 2018-19 and 4,000 in the second phase by 2020-21. "I had filed the RTI in March 2018 and got the response this month. It was necessary to know the status of medical seats in the country. The government keeps on coming up with new schemes, but how many are implemented? My attempt through the RTI was to expose this," Gaur, an RTI activist, told IANS. Gaur also noted since the doctor-patient ratio is poor in India and private medical colleges are expensive, the government should focus on increasing MBBS seats in the government-run medical colleges. Disclaimer: Information, facts or opinions expressed in this news article are presented as sourced from IANS and do not reflect views of Moneylife and hence Moneylife is not responsible or liable for the same. As a source and news provider, IANS is responsible for accuracy, completeness, suitability and validity of any information in this article. With the water-tight categories segregating asset finance companies, loan companies and investment companies having gone, what impact will the new scheme of regulations have on NBFCs? Clearly, NBFCs will have more liberty in planning their asset allocation, with their business strategies in mind rather than regulation. Asset finance companies will, in particular, enjoy this new flexibility, as the earlier regime was fraught with difficulties of classification about whether funding a taxi is like funding a productive or economic asset which will qualify for the 'productive or economic asset' category, and whether a car purchased for personal use will not. Neither will the NBFCs have to maintain the productive and unproductive asset distinction, nor will they have to keep personal loans, LAP or loans against shares within limits for fear of crossing the 60% bright line. However, the new dispensation should not mean that companies will have blurred lines of asset allocation. In fact, strategy and asset focus would continue to define whether the NBFC in question goes for fin-tech-enabled small business loans, or LAP, or equipment finance, or construction equipment lending. Harmonisation of Three Categories into One The evolution of the NBFC sector has resulted in several categories of NBFCs intended to focus on specific sector/ asset classes. At present, there are 12 broad categories of NBFC, based on the nature of activity, as follows: Out of around 10,190 NBFCs operating in India, more than 95% (10,082) are non-deposit taking NBFCs. Too many categories only increase compliance cost for the entire non-banking sector and monitoring cost for the regulator. RBI has harmonised three different categories of NBFCs into one, on the basis of the principle of regulation by activity rather than regulation by entity. Accordingly, the three categories of NBFCs, viz., asset finance companies (AFC), loan companies (LCs) and investment companies (ICs) have been merged into a new category called NBFC - investment and credit company (NBFC-ICC). Though it was expected to merge all the existing categories of NBFC mentioned above, only the following three categories have been merged into one: I. Asset finance company (AFC): An AFC is a company which is a financial institution carrying on as its principal business the financing of physical assets supporting productive/economic activity, such as automobiles, tractors, lathe machines, generator sets, earth moving and material handling equipment, moving on own power and general purpose industrial machines. II. Investment company (IC): IC means any company which is a financial institution carrying on as its principal business the acquisition of securities. III. Loan company (LC): LC means any company which is a financial institution carrying on as its principal business the providing of finance whether by making loans or advances or otherwise for any activity other than its own but does not include an asset finance company. The merged category has been defined as follows: Investment and Credit Company - (NBFC-ICC) means any company which is a financial institution carrying on as its principal business- asset finance, the providing of finance whether by making loans or advances or otherwise for any activity other than its own and the acquisition of securities; and is not any other category of NBFC as defined by the bank in any of its master directions. The objective of this harmonisation is to allow greater operational flexibility to NBFCs. After the aforesaid harmonisation, there will be the same set of regulations for all the three categories of NBFCs even as they vary widely in their business focus and sources of funding. Further, the principal business criterion for AFC was calculated as aggregate of financing real/physical assets supporting economic activity and income arising therefrom is not less than 60% of its total assets and total income, respectively, which has been reduced to the same level of 50%, pursuant to the harmonisation. The classification of an NBFC as an AFC or LC or IC was done by RBI at the time of issuance of the certificate of registration. Apart from satisfying the principality test, which has now been harmonised for all the three categories, there does not seem any other implementation issue in this regard. Further, the term non-banking financial company has also been defined in the master directions for deposit-taking NBFCs as follows: non-banking financial company means only the non-banking institution which is an investment and credit company or a mutual benefit financial company or a factor registered with the bank under section 3 of Factoring Regulation Act (2011); Accordingly, the broad head of NBFC now consists of only three categories: 1. NBFC-ICC 2. Mutual Benefit Financial Company (MBFC) 3. NBFC-Factor Here, MBFC means any company which is a financial institution notified by the Central government under Section 620A of the Companies Act, 1956 (Act 1 of 1956) and NBFC Factor means a non-banking financial company as defined in clause (f) of Section 45-I of the RBI Act, 1934 which has its principal business as defined in paragraph 40 of these directions and has been granted a certificate of registration under sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Factoring Regulation Act, 2011. This definition is, however, restricted to only deposit-taking NBFCs and does not extend to non-deposit taking NBFCs. Also, the said definition of NBFC does not include micro-finance institutions, infrastructure finance company and infrastructure debt fund as an NBFC. All related master directions for non-systemically important non-deposit taking, systemically important non-deposit taking company, deposit-taking company, standalone primary dealers and residuary non-banking companies have been updated accordingly. Cap on Investment Limit RBI has capped investment limit of deposit-taking NBFC-ICC in unquoted shares of another company which is not a subsidiary company or a company in the same group of the NBFC to 20% of its owned fund. The text of the relevant regulation is reproduced herein below: 40. Restrictions on investments in land and building and unquoted shares (1) No ICC, which is accepting public deposit, shall, invest in a. land or building, except for its own use, an amount exceeding ten per cent of its owned fund; b. unquoted shares of another company, which is not a subsidiary company or a company in the same group of the non-banking financial company, an amount exceeding twenty per cent of its owned fund. Provided that the land or building or unquoted shares acquired in satisfaction of its debts shall be disposed of by the non-banking financial company within a period of three years or within such period as extended by the bank, from the date of such acquisition if the investment in these assets together with such assets already held by the non-banking financial company exceeds the above ceiling; Explanation. - While calculating the ceiling on investment in unquoted shares, investments in such shares of all companies shall be aggregated. Provided further that the ceiling on the investment in unquoted shares shall not be applicable to an investment and credit company in respect of investment in the equity capital of an insurance company up to the extent specifically permitted, in writing, by the bank. It is to be noted that investments done by non-deposit taking NBFCs having an asset size of more than Rs500 crore are already regulated by the concentration norms. Ratings Based Risk Weight Currently, the benefit of risk weighting based on ratings is applicable only in case of asset finance companies as per master circular-Basel III capital regulations dated 1 July 2015. That is to say, in case of all other NBFCs, such as loan companies, the risk weights are 100% irrespective of the rating of the borrower NBFCs. Under extant guidelines on Basel III capital regulations, exposures/claims of banks on rated as well as unrated NBFC-ND-SIs, other than AFCs, non-banking financial companies infrastructure finance companies (NBFCs-IFC) and non-banking financial companies infrastructure development fund (NBFCs-IDF), have to be uniformly risk-weighted at 100%. With a view to facilitating flow of credit to well-rated NBFCs, a separate RBI circular stipulates that exposures to all NBFCs, excluding core investment companies (CICs), will be risk weighted as per the ratings assigned by the rating agencies registered with the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and accredited by RBI, in a manner similar to that of corporates. Exposures to CICs will continue to be fully risk-weighted. Conclusion The harmonisation intends to ensure better administration and uniformity of norms. It is also connected with another proposal to provide risk weight by the banks on the lending to NBFCs based on the credit rating. Further, this comes as a major relief to AFCs that were always facing dilemma whether the asset class qualifies as financing real or physical assets for productive and economic activity. The new regulatory ambit of investment and credit companies will have a huge number of NBFCs, as most NBFCs were investment companies as per RBI parlance. Notably, the Companies Act, 2013 (Section 186) continues to distinguish, from the viewpoint of exemption from lending/investment limits, between companies principally engaged in the business of lending, and those engaged in the business of investments. (Anita Baid is senior manager at Vinod Kothari Consultants Pvt Ltd) The Indian government's announcement to inject $7 billion into public sector banks (PSBs) under its recapitalisation plan is likely to help banks meet minimum regulatory requirements, but is not sufficient to support significantly stronger lending growth, says Fitch Ratings. In a note, the ratings agency says, "A large proportion of the government's latest round of recapitalisation is still likely to go towards addressing regulatory shortfalls rather than to support asset growth. More will be needed as a cushion against future losses at some state banks, as borrower defaults and slow bad loan resolution continue to put pressure on non-performing loan (NPL) provisions." "PSBs' provision cover ratio was around 50% at end-September, still short of the 65% that we believe may ultimately be needed. Much of the capital already injected by the government into state banks over the last few years has been consumed by large financial losses caused by loan loss provisions," it added. Fitch Ratings estimates that banks will need an additional $23 billion in 2019, after these latest injections, to sufficiently meet minimum Basel III capital standards, achieve 65% NPL cover, and leave surplus capital for growth. Capital needs have fallen from the estimate of $65 billion in September 2017, but progress has not been significant enough to spur loan growth, it added. According to Fitch, the Indian authorities' approach to the banking sector has clearly shifted towards spurring lending in recent months. Last month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deferred implementation of the final tranche of the capital conservation buffer (CCB) of 0.625% to end-March 2020. RBI has also lowered risk weights for some lending to non-bank financial companies (NBFCs), despite these companies facing increased liquidity stress in the past year. These steps, along with capital injections, have eased but not removed capital constraints on PSBs' growth, Fitch says, adding, "Six of the 12 state banks that are due to receive the latest government capital injections were below the 7.375% minimum common equity Tier 1 requirement as of end-December 2018. Three more are below the 8% requirement that will apply from end-March 2020, assuming there are no further deferments of CCB implementation." The injections have allowed Allahabad Bank and Corporation Bank to leave the RBI's prompt corrective action (PCA) framework, following earlier exits by Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra and Oriental Bank of Commerce. "This frees these banks from tight restrictions on their management and growth. However, leaving the PCA framework will not remove the constraints on growth imposed by weak capitalisation, unless the state injects more capital into these banks or there is strong turnaround in profitability that support internal capital generation, which looks unlikely," the ratings agency says. The Indian government had announced a $32 billion recapitalisation programme in October 2017, split between the fiscal year ending March 2018 (FY17-18) and FY18-19. It planned to provide $21 billion by issuing recapitalisation bonds and $3 billion from the budget, leaving the rest to be raised by banks from the equity capital markets. However, Fitch says many PSBs have been unable to access capital markets, and the government announced in December 2018 that it would provide an additional $6 billion. The latest injections represent the remainder of these previously allocated funds. Fitch has a negative sector outlook on Indian banks to reflect the near-term pressures from the sector's NPL stock and elevated credit costs on bank earnings and capitalisation. "Absolute NPL and gross NPL ratios fell slightly in the nine months to December 2018 across many banks, but credit costs continue to outweigh weak income buffers. We expect continued weakness in the near term, although substantial resolution of bad assets could put banks on a faster path to recovery," the ratings agency concluded. Signalling that a negotiated new trade deal with China is within reach, US President Donald Trump said Monday he will soon have "a signing summit" with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. A high-powered Chinese trade delegation led by its Vice President Liu He left Washington on Sunday after four days of extensive talks with American team led by US Trade Representatives Robert Lighthizer. Trump said the Chinese trade delegation could soon be coming back again. "It looks like they'll be coming back quickly again. And we're going to have another summit. We're going to have a signing summit, which is even better. So hopefully, we can get that completed. But we're getting very, very close," Trump said at a meeting of Governors at the White House. The US and China have been locked in an escalating trade spat since early 2018, raising import tariffs on each other's goods. Last year, Trump imposed tariff hikes of up to 25 per cent on $250 billion of Chinese goods. The move prompted China to increase tariffs on $110 billion of US goods. Trump and Xi agreed to halt any further tariff increases for 90 days beginning January 1. Trump cited progress made during trade talks in Washington DC this month as a reason to delay the tariff increase. A day earlier, the President had said that the two countries were nearing a trade deal. Trump used the occasion to praise Xi for helping him on fentanyl, an opioid used as a pain medication and for anesthesia, which he said is of tremendous problem to the US. "The fentanyl is a tremendous problem. It seems to be made 100 per cent in China. A hundred per cent. Now, China is paying us, right now, billions and billions of dollars of tariffs a month. Every month, billions of dollars. I love it. Personally, I love it. But they're paying billions of dollars. And it's hurting them; it's not good for them," he said. "I said to President Xi - 'President, you have to do me a favour. As part of our trade deal...' - it has nothing to do with trade, or certainly very little - but we're having shipped over here, from China, fentanyl. "It's killing 88,000 people a year, and probably more. That's just the ones we know about. It's deadly. A little tiny spoonful can wipe out a state, it's hard to believe. It can wipe out an entire state, a spoonful of this stuff," he said. Trump referred to the tough laws in China, including provision of death penalty for them successfully handling the drugs problem. "In China, they have a very, very tough penalty for drugs. It's called the death penalty. And I said to President Xi, 'You don't have much of a drug problem. Do you have a drug problem? No. No drug problem'. I said, So you have 1.4 billion people, and you don't have a drug problem? 'That's right. No drug problem'. I said, What do you attribute that to? Death penalty. Quick trial," Trump said, referring to his conversation with Xi. Trump and his advisers have accused the Chinese of unfair trade practices, from government subsidies to intellectual property theft, claims the Chinese have consistently denied all issues that are the subject of ongoing negotiations. Russia on February 27 urged India and Pakistan to ''show restraint" as it expressed "serious concern" about the escalation of hostilities between the two countries. "We call on both sides to show restraint and step up efforts to resolve existing problems by political and diplomatic means," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia said in a statement. It expressed "serious concern" about the aggravation of the situation along the Line of Control and the outbreak of tensions between the two neighbours. "We are ready to further assist in strengthening the counter-terrorism potential of New Delhi and Islamabad," the ministry added. The fresh confrontation came a day after Indian Air Force launched a counter-terrorism action against a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan, based on credible evidence that the UN-proscribed terror group intended to launch terror attacks. The JeM had taken the responsibility of the terror strike in Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. On February 27, Pakistan Air Force targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is "missing in action". Representative image Pakistan on February 27 said that its jets crossed the Line of Control to undertake strikes in India for "self defence". Indian officials said Pakistani fighter jets on February 27 violated Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Nowshera sectors but were pushed back by Indian aircraft. Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement said, "Today, Pakistan Air Force undertook strikes across Line of Control from within Pakistani airspace. This was not a retaliation to continued Indian belligerence," "Pakistan has therefore, taken strikes at non military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. Sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. "That is why we undertook the action with clear warning and in broad daylight. For the last few years, India has been trying to establish what they call 'a new normal' a thinly veiled term for doing acts of aggression at whatever pretext they wish on a given day. "If India is striking at so called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan. We do not wish to go to that route and wish that India gives peace a chance and to resolve issues like a mature democratic nation," it said. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday called a meeting of the top decision making body on nuclear issues after India targeted terrorist camp in the country. The National Command Authority controls policy formulation, exercises, deployment, research and development, employment and operational command and control of the country's nuclear arsenals. The decision to call the NCA meeting was taken on Tuesday in the meeting of National Security Committee - a civil-military top level body that discussed the situation after the Indian attack. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) 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. Following the incident, India on Tuesday bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The joint session of Parliament has been called today (Wednesday) to discuss the tension with India and formulate a national response. The parliamentary leaders will also be given an in-camera briefing by the government on the situation after India's strikes. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi alleged the Indian government is issuing threatening statements in the aftermath of Pulwama incident on the pretext of terrorism just to divert the world opinion from rights violations in Kashmir. Qureshi said that Pakistan reserves the right to take an appropriate action in self-defence. At a time when Pakistan is under immense global pressure on terrorism, the country's cash-strapped government has gifted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman a gold-plated assault rifle, a media report said. The unusual gift for a visiting foreign dignitary was presented to Mohammad during his first official 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 and a gold-plated gun. The Prince is also Saudi Arabia's defence minister. 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. Khan had thanked him 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 February 17 signed a slew of investment agreements worth $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 on February 18 conferred its highest civilian award Nishan-e-Pakistan on Salman for his "outstanding support" in reinvigorating the ties between the two countries. Manas Chakravarty In 1990, Pakistan's per capita income, according to the International Monetary Fund, was 1.6 times Indias. In 2000, it was 1.3 times. But in 2010, Indias per capita income crossed that of Pakistan for the first time (see chart below). Last year, the IMF estimates Indias per capita income was 1.4 times Pakistans. The data illustrates how Pakistan's wrong policies, including its policy of trying to extract political mileage by fanning religious passions, have affected its economy. To be sure, there are many reasons why Pakistan has lost out, including political instability, faulty economic policies and widespread corruption, but religious fanaticism and the Army's pernicious doctrine of a covert war through proxy terror outfits against India as well as Afghanistan has taken a toll on the economy. For example, a 2015 research paper from Pakistan universities titled 'Impact of Terrorism on Economic Development of Pakistan' comes to the conclusion that, over the period 1981-2012, 'terrorism has negatively affected the economic growth in Pakistan. Among the various variables that were used, terrorism is most significant and major contributor in reducing the economic growth.' That's apart from the huge cost in terms of human lives lost and blighted. The policy of supporting terrorists has boomeranged badly, with bomb attacks a dime a dozen within Pakistan. This has scared away investment in general and foreign investment in particular. Pakistans economic survey estimated that the cost of 'fighting militancy' since 9/11 was as high as $123 billion.' The chart below, taken from the IMF database, shows how India's investment to GDP ratio has improved over the decades, while Pakistan's has deteriorated. A research paper from universities in Lahore titled 'Extremist and Religious Violence: An Economic Overview of Pakistan', says 'terrorism and violent extremism has created a bad name for the country thereby disturbing the investment climate adversely. Increased defense expenditure has reduced public and private investment and areas afflicted with extremism have faced downward spiral in economic activity.' Pakistan's military expenditure, according to the World Bank, was 3.5 per cent of the countrys gross domestic product in 2017, compared to Indias 2.5 per cent. The State Bank of Pakistan has said of extremist violence in the country: 'apart from causing immeasurable human suffering, including casualties and mass displacement, the war had helped drive away foreign investment, stall domestic investment, freeze exports, and slow down trade.' What has kept Pakistan afloat is aid from its friends. They have been more than generous, particularly when they needed Pakistan to support them in Afghanistan. Official development assistance amounted to 2.7 per cent of Pakistan's GDP in 1990 and that has since gone down to 0.7 per cent by 2017. Compare that with development assistance to India at 0.4 per cent of GDP in 1990 and a mere 0.1 per cent of GDP in 2017. The numbers are sourced from World Bank data (see chart). Pakistan has long been a basket case, but they are feeling the full brunt of their wrong-headed policies only now, with the flow of funds being squeezed. Fanning the flames of religious extremism has cost Pakistan dear. Their experience is a lesson and a warning for other countries. The salt room was warm and comforting and only modestly salty. As I reclined in the violet haze, I could feel a light saltiness on my lips. The most memorable sensation was squishing my feet in the salt spilled across the floor like sand, but cleaner and finer. I closed my eyes and nearly dozed off amid the gentle hum of the salt machine. I didnt miss my phone for a moment. Representative Image Nepal's Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Rabindra Adhikari and six others were killed when a private helicopter crashed in eastern Nepal's mountainous Taplejung district, according to a media report. Besides 39-year-old Tourism Minister Adhikari, the Air Dynasty helicopter was carrying Nepal's prominent aviation and hospitality entrepreneur Ang Tsering Sherpa, Prime Minister's personal aide Yubaraj Dahal, two officials of tourism ministry and a bodyguard of the minister. The helicopter caught fire after it hit Chuchche Dada hill in Taplejung district in the mountain region of northeast Nepal. All seven on board the helicopter, including pilot Captain Prabhakar KC, have been killed in the crash, an Air Dynasty official was quoted as saying by the Himalayan Times. Moments after the chopper was reported missing, local residents in Pathibara area informed the police about a huge flame at the crash site. The Chief District Officer of Taplejung, Anuj Bhandari quoted the locals as saying they heard a loud bang followed by a sight of smoke and fire in the area. The tourism minister, along with other officials, was on route to Pathibhara Temple after attending a programme at Chuhan Danda in Panchthar. Authorities have rushed to the incident site. Meanwhile, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Minister has summoned an emergency cabinet meeting at the official residence of the Prime Minister in Baluwatar. France is working on a proposal to ban chief of the UN-proscribed Jaish-e Muhammad (JeM) Masood Azhar after it assumes the Presidency of the powerful UN Security Council in March, sources said. The rotating monthly Presidency of the 15-nation UN Security Council (UNSC) will go from Equatorial Guinea to France on March 1. France, a permanent member of the Council with veto powers, is working on the proposal (to ban Azhar) and it should be ready soon, informed sources told PTI, adding that the proposal against the JeM chief could perhaps be moved in the Sanctions Committee under the French presidency. "France is focussed on bringing individual listing requests of JeM terrorists to the 1267 Sanctions Committee soon," they said. The Pakistan-based JeM claimed the responsibility of the heinous suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14 in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed, sparking outrage in India. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action. The facility at Balakot was headed by Yousuf Azhar, the brother-in-law of the JeM chief. The proposal, when moved, will be the fourth such bid at the UN in the last 10 years to list Azhar as a global terrorist. In 2009, India had moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar. This was followed in 2016 when India moved the proposal with the P3 - the United States, the United Kingdom and France - in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the air base in Pathankot in January, 2016. In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, on all occasions China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UNSC, blocked the proposal from being adopted by the Sanctions Committee. It remains to be seen how China will vote on the proposal this time, following a crucial bilateral meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wuzhen, where she is participating in the Russia, India, China (RIC) Foreign Ministers meeting. Swaraj on Wednesday raised the Pulwama suicide attack in her meeting with her Chinese counterpart, a day after India destroyed a major JeM terror training camp in Pakistan. Stating that the JeM is banned by the UN and other countries, Swaraj told Wang that "this terrorist attack is the direct result of the impunity and cover provided to the JeM and its leaders by the Pakistani side". "After the Pulwama attack the entire UN has spoken with full voice to condemn it," she said. The French Presidency of the UNSC comes after the 15-nation UN organ under the presidency of Equatorial Guinea had issued a highly significant press statement strongly condemning the Pulwama terror attack. China had to sign off on the February 21 UNSC press statement that "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". On the UNSC press statement condemning the Pulwama attack, a UN diplomat here said that what moved the Security Council was that "this is an issue that all the members speak with one voice in the fight against terrorism. Whenever there is an act of terrorism, any where no matter who perpetrates it, it receives the condemnation of not only of the Security Council but of all the international community." The UNSC press statement was seen not only as a strong condemnation of terror against India but also of international solidarity with New Delhi on its fight against terrorism. China's lone opposition in the UNSC to any mention of terrorism resulted in a delay of nearly one week in issuance of the press statement by the powerful body on the dastardly Pulwama terror attack, official sources had said. However, the US assiduously worked as "pen holder" making various adjustments to get the approval by all other members of the Council, they said. In a statement issued by the acting spokesperson of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of France following the air strikes by the Indian Air Force on the JeM training camp in Pakistan, France said it "stands by India in the fight against terrorism in all its forms" and "is fully engaged in mobilizing the international community to sanction the terrorists responsible for this attack and freezing their financing networks." Hours after India carried out the air strikes against the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres reiterated his "urgent appeal to both the Government of India and the Government of Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure that the situation does not further deteriorate." His spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters at the daily press briefing that the UN Chief is "obviously following this situation very closely." German Chancellor Angela Merkel is heading to Paris to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss Brexit, relations with the United States and other European issues. February 27 meeting comes one day after British Prime Minister Theresa May said Parliament would get the chance to vote to delay Britain's scheduled March 29 departure from the European Union. Such a delay would require other EU members' approval. Merkel and Macron will also evoke the French-German defense partnership, according to the French president's office. The leaders in January signed a pact renewing their countries' decades-long friendship. They pledged to increase cooperation in the areas of foreign and defense policy, fighting crime and terrorism, international development and research. US President Donald Trump touted North Korea's "AWESOME" future if its leader Kim Jong Un, whom he will meet for a high-stakes dinner later Wednesday, agrees to give up his nuclear arsenal. The Trump tweet, sporting his familiar use of capital letters for emphasis, said the opportunities facing a denuclearised North Korea were "like almost none other in history". Trump and Kim are due to meet for one-on-one talks, then dinner, in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, followed by more talks Thursday. President Donald Trump hoped for "great things" from his second meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un as he paid a courtesy call on Wednesday on his Vietnamese hosts. Kim was expected to take in some sights before the leaders open their second nuclear summit with private talks and a social dinner. But the carnival-like atmosphere in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, with street artists painting likenesses of the leaders and vendors hawking T-shirts emblazoned with their faces, stood in contrast to the serious items on the agenda: North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and peace on the Korean Peninsula. Trump and Kim first met last June in Singapore, a summit that was long on historic pageantry but short on any enforceable agreements for North Korea to give up its nuclear arsenal. North Korea has spent decades, at great economic sacrifice, building its nuclear program, and there is widespread skepticism that it will give away that program cheaply. Trump has praised Pyongyang for ceasing missile tests and has appeared to ease up on demanding a timeline for disarmament. He hopes that Kim, who is seeking relief from crushing U.S. sanctions, will opt to give up his nuclear weapons program in exchange for help revitalizing his country's economy. Trump has held up the economic vitality of former U.S. adversary Vietnam as model for North Korea should it abandon its nuclear weapons pursuit. As the U.S. delegation, led by Trump, sat down with the Vietnamese, Trump talked of being driven through Hanoi after he arrived and seeing "how Vietnam is thriving. And very importantly we have a very big dinner tonight, as you know, and meetings with North Korea, Chairman Kim, and we both felt very good about having this very important summit in Vietnam because you really are an example as to what can happen, with good thinking." Trump thanked his hosts and added that "hopefully great things will happen later on with our meeting" with the North Koreans. The president sounded a similar message about Vietnamese prosperity in a tweet before he left his heavily guarded hotel. "Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize," Trump tweeted Wednesday, hours before he and Kim were due to meet again. "The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting!" Trump had a full day of meetings with Vietnamese officials on tap before the one-on-one sit-down and dinner with Kim later on Wednesday. Kim was expected to leave his locked-down hotel to visit various sites in Hanoi. Trump remains eager to claim an attention-grabbing victory to offset the political turmoil he faces at home. With the president outside the U.S., his now-disbarred former personal lawyer was testifying publicly on Capitol Hill later Wednesday about alleged misconduct by Trump. The Democratic-led House, with backing from several Republicans, approved legislation aimed at blocking the Republican president from steering billions of dollars to build barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. A House committee also voted to subpoena administration officials over family separations at the border. Michael Cohen, once Trump's loyal attorney and fixer, has turned on his former boss and cooperated with special counsel Robert Mueller, who is looking into whether the Trump's presidential campaign coordinated with Russia and whether the president tried to obstruct the investigation. The president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., accused Democrats in Congress of scheduling Cohen's testimony to overshadow the summit. "After 60 years of failed attempts trying to end the war, trying to end nuclear proliferation on the Korean peninsula, you have finally a president who's willing to do it," he told Fox News Channel. "For the Democrats to try to counter program that kind of progress to try to perhaps somehow distract him with this nonsense ... it just goes to show you how much those Democrats really disdain Trump but also America." The president jabbed at Democrats too, saying in a tweet that they "should stop talking about what I should do with North Korea and ask themselves instead why they didn't do 'it' during eight years of the Obama Administration?". US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet on February 27 for their second summit, betting that their personal relationship can break a stalemate over the North's nuclear weapons and end more than 70 years of hostility. Despite little progress toward his stated goal of ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons since first meeting Kim in Singapore in 2018, Trump has said he is fully committed to his personal diplomacy with Kim. Trump said late last year he and Kim "fell in love", and on the eve of his departure for the second summit said they had developed "a very, very good relationship". Whether the bonhomie can move them beyond summit pageantry to substantive progress on eliminating Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal that threatens the United States is the question that will dominate their talks in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. "This relationship is the biggest single driving force in crafting better relations," said Harry J Kazianis, director of Korea Studies, Centre for the National Interest. "Clearly, there needs to be a more solid foundation for dialogue than Kim and Trump. No two people alone have broad enough shoulders to take on the weight of such challenging issues spread out over 70 years." Trump will meet Kim for a brief one-on-one conversation on Wednesday evening, followed by a dinner, accompanied by two guests and interpreters, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters on Air Force One. They will hold "a series of back and forth" meetings on Thursday, she said. In Singapore, they pledged to work toward denuclearisation and permanent peace on the Korean peninsula. North and South Korea have been technically still at war since their 1950-53 conflict, with the Americans backing the South, ended in a truce, not a treaty. The Singapore meeting - the first between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader - ended with great fanfare but little substance over how to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Both sides are likely to feel pressure to agree on specific measures this time - what concrete steps North Korea will take to give up weapons that threaten the U.S. mainland, and what the United States will offer in return. Many analysts believe North Korea won't commit to significant disarmament unless punishing US-led economic sanctions are eased. Trump has held out the prospect of easing them if North Korea does something "meaningful". Human rights Any deal will face scrutiny from American lawmakers and others sceptical that North Korea is really willing to give up the cherished weapons it has long seen as its guarantee of national security, amid worry a compromise could undermine U.S. regional interests. U.S. intelligence officials have said there is no sign Kim will ever give up his entire arsenal, and United Nations (UN) investigators say human rights have not improved in North Korea. Trump scoffs at the doubters. He has hailed the Singapore summit as a "tremendous success", citing a freeze in North Korea's nuclear and missile tests since late 2017, and has said the United States would have gone to war with North Korea if he had not been president. Whatever the outcome, the summit should boost Kim's bid to end his country's pariah status and cement his place on the world stage. As the young, third-generation leader of one of the world's most impoverished and isolated nations, living under punishing sanctions, Kim will again stand as an equal to the president of the world's most powerful country. For Trump, a deal that eases the North Korean threat could hand him a big foreign-policy achievement in the midst of domestic troubles. While Trump is in Hanoi, his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen is testifying before US congressional committees, with the president's business practices the main focus.Anticipation has also been rising about the impending release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 US election, though a senior US Justice Department official said on February 22 it would not come this week. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said last year Trump deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. This month, Trump said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe nominated him for it because "they feel safe" after he initiated talks and eased tension. Concessions? In the run-up to the second summit, Trump has indicated a more flexible stance, saying he is in no rush to secure North Korea's denuclearisation. The two sides have discussed specific and verifiable denuclearisation measures, such as allowing inspectors to observe the dismantlement of North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear reactor, US and South Korean officials say. US concessions could include opening liaison offices or declaring an end to the technical state of war, they say. Kazianis said a political declaration that ended the war would be a win for both sides. "Nothing could test Kim's intentions more than setting a new course in ... relations and in the best way possible prove America is no threat to his regime," he said. Vietnam, relishing its role as mediator, could serve as a model for North Korea as it seeks a path out of isolation. Vietnam normalised ties with old battlefield foe the United States in 1995 after decades of Cold War mistrust, and its "doi moi" reforms transformed it into one of Asia's fastest-growing economies. Two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants were killed on Wednesday in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Meemendar area of Shopian following information about presence of militants there, the officials said. They said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants opened fire towards the security forces, who retaliated. The two militants were killed in the ensuing gunfight. The officials said the slain militants were affiliated with proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammad. Arms and ammunition were recovered from the scene of the encounter, he said, adding further details are awaited. In a press briefing, MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, "One Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by Indian Air Force. In this engagement, we have lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan claims he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts." Read on to know everything you need to know about India-Pak tussle. (Image: ANI) Moneycontrol News In a strongly-worded statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on February 27 said it objects to Pakistans "vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention". The statement said India expects "immediate and safe return" of its pilot. "It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody," the statement said. Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan, Syed Haider Shah, was summoned by India earlier in the day to lodge a "strong protest" against the "unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan" against India. The statement added that India also lodged its protest against the "violation of the Indian air space by Pakistan Air Force and targeting of Indian military posts." "This is in contrast to the Indias non-military anti-terror pre-emptive strike at a JeM terrorist camp in Balakot on 26 February 2019," the statement said, adding that it is "unfortunate" that "instead of fulfilling its international obligation and bilateral commitment" to take action against "terrorist entities" operating from Pakistan's soil, it has acted "with aggression against India." "It was clearly conveyed that India reserves the right to take firm and decisive action to protect its national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity against any act of aggression or cross-border terrorism," the statement said. According to the statement, a dossier with details of "JeM complicity in Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan" was also handed over to Pakistan. "Regret was expressed at continuing denial by Pakistans political and military leadership at the presence of terrorist infrastructure in territories under its control... It was conveyed that India expects Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from territories under its control," the statement said. Earlier in the day, MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had said that in an aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the IAF. "India had informed about Counter Terrorism (CT) action it took yesterday against a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan based on credible evidence that JeM intended to launch more attacks, Kumar had said. With the escalation of tension between India and Pakistan on February 27, Jammu and Kashmir Tourism has released helpline numbers for tourists stranded in the region due to the prevalent situation. Helpline number for tourists pic.twitter.com/jDYCeyUO9F Jammu & Kashmir Tourism (@JandKTourism) February 27, 2019 "The hotels across the region have set up independent helpline numbers, assuring any kind of help, including providing accommodation and food, apart from anything else that is needed," Sajad Ahmad, media and PR consultant appointed by the state government, told Moneycontrol. He added that if tourists are falling short of cash, even that will be provided. "Hotel associations like the Hoteliers Club and Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Association have also released helpline numbers and are ready to provide their services to stranded tourists," Ahmad said, adding that hotels across the state have started accommodating tourists. The decision was taken during a meeting of state tourism department officials and stakeholders in the morning, he added. "Officials also went to tourist resorts and spoke to them, trying to ensure that they are not facing any problems," he said, adding that in total all almost 900-1000 hoteliers have supported the effort. This includes government and private hotels in the region. Apart from J&K Tourism, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also tweeted a screenshot of Hotel The Kaisar offering free accommodation and food for tourists stranded in Srinagar. For any one stuck in Srinagar & running low on funds please fell free to take up this offer. pic.twitter.com/nMQYrzJQxi Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 27, 2019 "Tourists from any state can come and stay with us for free till the situation gets back to normal," the hotel management has stated. The Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had issued an order to shut down airports and commercial flight services in northern airspace. Reports indicated that a number of flights were also being diverted. The order was later withdrawn. Numbers to contact: Travel Agents Association of Kashmir Point Person (s): Ashfaq Siddiq Dug, President (9419059236 ) Farooq Kuthoo, General Secretary (7006755169) Travel Agents Society of Kashmir Point Person (s): Mir Anwar, President (9419009827) Athar Yamin, Secretary General (9419006526) Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Association Point Person (s): Mehboob Mir Khara, Joint Secretary General (9419002829/7006565210) Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Federation Point person (s): Masqood Ahmad Misri, Secretary-General (9419022933) Abdul Wahid Malik, President (9419428822) File image Amid reports of escalating tensions between India and Pakistan along the Line of Control (LOC), Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on February 27 said if the United States can conduct an operation in Abbottabad, so can India. "I remember when the United States' Navy Seals had conducted an operation in Abbottabad to take away Osama Bin Laden... can't we also do that? This used to be a mere idea, a wish. There was a lot of frustration and dejection, but today even doing that is possible," Jaitley said during a press conference. Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Dharmendra Pradhan were also present. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a US helicopter raid in Abbottabad on May 2, 2011, ending a long worldwide hunt for the mastermind of the 9/11 attack on the United States. Members of an elite Navy Seals team had been air dropped to the compound and were under orders to kill, not capture, bin Laden, who had eluded US forces for 13 years. Jaitley's comments come after India carried out air strikes inside Pakistan early on February 26, targeting terror camps. The strikes involving several fighter jets of the Indian Air Force successfully destroyed camps belonging to Pakistan-based terror outfits in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Earlier in the day, Indian officials said Pakistani fighter jets had violated Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Nowshera sectors but were pushed back by Indian aircraft. On February 26 night, the Indian Army destroyed five Pakistani posts along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir in a befitting retaliation to firing from across the border, resulting in a "number of casualties" to Pak troops, a defence official had said. With PTI inputs. The Atlanta Hawks proved they are more than a one-man team, shaking off Trae Youngs absence to even the Eastern Conference finals with a 110-88 rout of the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 4, while two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo hobbled off the court with an injured left knee, depriving the Bucks of their best player. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on February 27 said he is praying for the safety of the Indian Air Force pilot who is "missing in action" after India foiled Pakistan's attempts to target military installations by using its Air Force in response to India's counter-terrorism operations. Even as the Pakistani Army released a 46-second video showing a blindfolded man and claimed he is the pilot of IAF's shot down aircraft, India said it is "ascertaining the facts". The Delhi chief minister said the entire country is proud of its brave son and hoping that he has a safe return. I pray for the safety of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan. Whole country is proud of this brave son and everyone is hoping for his safe return. We all stand united to keep our country safe and strong Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 27, 2019 "I pray for the safety of Indian Air Force pilot...Whole country is proud of this brave son and everyone is hoping for his safe return. We all stand united to keep our country safe and strong," Kejriwal tweeted. The man in the video released by Pakistani Army is seen as saying "I am an IAF officer. My service No is 27981". The veracity of the video could not be ascertained. In a very brief press statement, MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, accompanied by Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor, said details are being ascertained about Pakistan's claim of having captured one Indian pilot. "Against this Counter Terrorism Action, Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistan's attempts were foiled successfully," Kumar said. He said the Pakistan Air Force was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. "In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. "In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," he said. The statement follows fresh confrontation a day after Indian Air Force launched a counter-terrorism action against a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan based on credible evidence that JeM intended to launch more attacks. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on February 27 said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should suspend all his political activities till the missing Indian Air Force pilot returns home safely. India on February 27 said the pilot went missing after the IAF foiled Pakistan Air Force's attack on military installations in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan claims the pilot is its custody. PM Modi must suspend his political activities until #WingCommanderAbhinandan is returned safely. It cant be business as usual with him cross crossing the country at tax payer expense making political speeches while our pilot is a Pakistani captive. Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 27, 2019 "PM Modi must suspend his political activities until #WingCommanderAbhinandan is returned safely. It can't be business as usual with him crisscrossing the country at taxpayer expense making political speeches while our pilot is a Pakistani captive," Abdullah said in a series of tweets. The former chief minister also appealed to Pakistan to treat the Indian Air Force pilot well. "In the meantime, Pakistan please treat him as you would have us treat one of your men in uniform should he be unfortunate enough to be captured on this side of the border," he said. In the mean time Pakistan please treat him as you would have us treat one of your men in uniform should he be unfortunate enough to be captured on this side of the border. Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 27, 2019 Thoughts with the family, friends & colleagues of #WingCommanderAbhinandan. Prayers for his early & safe return home to all those eagerly waiting for him. Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 27, 2019 "Thoughts with the family, friends & colleagues of #WingCommanderAbhinandan. Prayers for his early & safe return home to all those eagerly waiting for him," he added. Viju Cherian Tuesday, February 26, was an action packed day in the Indian subcontinent. One event with two narratives increased tensions in the region and demanded international attention. India has said that it successfully destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammeds (JeMs) terror camps in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan has claimed that it has averted an attack on its soil. Irrespective of Islamabads version, its clear that India has not only exposed gaping holes in Pakistans defence preparedness but by using Indian Air Force jets India has called Pakistans bluff. The attack has been welcomed across India and with general elections around the corner, it will be interesting to see how political parties portray this attack. India has said that 12 IAF Mirage 2000 jets flew into Pakistani airspace and dropped a payload of 1,000 kilograms on terror camps used by terrorist mastermind Masood Azhars JeM JeM claimed responsibility for the February 14 Pulwama attack that killed more than 40 CRPF jawans. While Vijay Gokhale, Indias foreign secretary, said that a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated, some media reports have put the casualty figure between 200 and 300. As expected, Pakistan rubbished Indias claims and said that there are zero casualties. Nevertheless, Pakistan claimed that it was an act of aggression and that a befitting reply would be given at a time and place of its choosing. It said that, it is your (Indias) turn now to wait and get ready for our surprise. Narrative and sentiment Hours after the attack, multiple reports of ceasefire violations, heavy shelling and firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir have been reported. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Pakistan would definitely respond to Indias action. The present challenge for both sides will be to control emotions and to make sure that events do not escalate from here. In a way, the narrative on both sides of the border suit the respective governments. In India, the Balakot attack is seen as the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government living up to the promise of avenging the Pulwama attack. In Pakistan, by playing it down, the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has dodged, albeit for now, the demand for retaliation. Tough call for Imran Khan If the military establishment, which has traditionally dictated Pakistans India policy, has its way, Khan will have a tough choice to make knowing well enough that it could lead to further losses and even derail his political career. However, it will be tough for Khan to not retaliate, especially since he will have to cater to popular sentiment that brought him to power. If Islamabad continues to pretend that nothing happened, spin doctors in Pakistan will have to work overtime to paint the Khan government emerging from this round as victors. Modis promise and clear message A day after the drastic Pulwama attack, at a political rally Modi had said that those responsible for the attack would pay a very heavy price. Ever since the attack, there has also been popular and near unanimous demand that the deaths of the jawans be avenged. With the Balakot attack these sentiments have more or less been assuaged. With the Balakot attack India has crossed the diplomatic territorial grey area in Kashmir and struck well within Pakistan. The flight path of the IAF and the extent of damage caused is not yet clear but what is clear is that the Modi government has redrawn the red line it has showed Pakistan that India has to stomach to push back and retaliate while staying well within the threshold of a limited attack. By terming it a non-military pre-emptive action aimed at terror infrastructure, New Delhi has limited Islamabads options for retaliation. India has sent out a clear message that it will no longer tolerate Pakistans terror double game. Advantage BJP There is little doubt that the Balakot attack has given the BJP a definitive advantage over its political rivals. Political parties are yet to use this attack across the electoral landscape in India, but if one were to go by how the Pulwama attack was politicised, its only a matter of time before this one too went that way. The Balakot attack has showed that Modi has walked the talk when it comes to national security. The Indian Air Force deserves praise for the operation, but, at the same time the political will, and thereby the risk, showed by the Modi government also deserves kudos. The BJP is expected to cite this operation as an achievement and opposition parties will find it hard to blunt this claim. At a certain level this, along with the recently inaugurated National War Memorial in Delhi, could even obfuscate Congress President Rahul Gandhis Rafale accusations against Modi. For Right-wing groups, this gives an extra edge to Pakistan-bashing (which for many is interchangeable with Muslim-bashing), which is expected to aid the BJP at the hustings. For more Opinion pieces, click here Setting a target of bagging at least 20 seats out of a total 25 from the Northeast, Congress president Rahul Gandhi Tuesday asserted that his party will win the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and nobody can stop it. Addressing party's district and block unit chiefs from all Northeastern states here, Gandhi said the Congress will fight the polls focussing on three to four major issues, including job crisis, farm distress and corruption. "In 2019 elections, Congress party is going to win. It is a reality and no one can stop that," he told the gathering. "I am expecting 20 plus seats in Northeast from Congress party, nothing less than that. But I think you should try to win 22," he added. The Congress had won eight seats in the Northeast in 2014. It got three in Assam, two in Manipur, one each in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Mizoram. The BJP had won seven Lok Sabha seats in Assam and one in Arunachal Pradesh, represented by Union Minister of State for Home Kiran Rijiju. After ruling the region for years, the Congress lost its last bastion in Northeast as BJP ally Mizo National Front (MNF) wrestled Mizoram in December last. The entire Northeast is now ruled by either BJP or its allies in the NEDA (North East Democratic Alliance). Gandhi said after winning the Lok Sabha polls, Congress members should work towards bringing back the party to power in all the states, from where it was thrown out in a "wrong way". "The Congress will fight elections on three to four different aspects in India and the Northeast. One is the Citizenship Bill. The Congress stand is clear that we oppose this Bill. Congress party stood for the Northeast and stopped the Bill from coming to Rajya Sabha," Gandhi said while giving credit to the widespread agitation against the Bill. He also criticised the government for "shoddily" implementing the update of National Register of Citizens (NRC) and said that job crisis is a huge issue. The Congress chief said that there is a massive agrarian crisis across the country and the youths are not getting proper education. "Narendra Modi is not bothered and he is not interested in the problems of the people. We want to make Northeast a hub for education. "Corruption and Rafale are massive issues. Rs 30,000 crore was given to Anil Ambani. Whenever I mention the word 'Chowkidar', all say 'Chowkidar chor hain'. I apologise to all the 'chowkidars' in this country for putting their credibility at risk, but I am saying only one 'Chowkidar is chor'," Gandhi said. Claiming that Rs 3.5 lakh crore loans of big corporates were waived off and mentioning that five airports have already been handed over to "Modi's friend", the opposition leader said handing over of the country's resources to a few industrialists in "wholesale" is a massive issue in the Lok Sabha polls. Besides, Gandhi alleged that BJP is trying to "crush" the regional identities as they do not understand the "Northeast culture and idea". "Northeast will not tolerate this nonsensical idea of imposing the Nagpur culture... Do not fight the polls with hatred. You talk love and brotherhood, which will defeat BJP's hatred," Gandhi added. Earlier, Gandhi also held a close-door meeting of the Northeast Congress Coordination Committee (NECCC), comprising all state unit chiefs, former chief ministers and senior leaders from all states in the region and discussed strategies for the upcoming polls. "I have made it very clear in the meeting that we are not a party like BJP that imposes one idea only. Northeast is a unique region with different types of languages, religions and tribes. It is important for us that issues of Northeast are discussed and represented," he said. The Congress on Wednesday postponed its working committee meeting slated in Ahmedabad on February 28 in view of the security situation prevailing on the border. "In view of the prevailing security situation, the Congress leadership has decided to postpone its meeting of the working committee slated to be held in Ahmedabad on Thursday," Congress' Chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said. He also said Congress president Rahul Gandhi has postponed his public meetings in Ahmedabad as well. The party top brass was expected to attend the meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision making body of the party. Gandhi was to later address a public meeting in Ahmedabad, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on February 27 expressed concern for the Indian pilot who was "missing in action" and said Pakistan must respect its obligations under the Geneva Conventions. "Our prayers are with the brave IAF pilot & his family in this very difficult time. Our prayers are with the brave IAF pilot & his family in this very difficult time Under Article 3 of Geneva Conventions every party is required to treat prisoners humanely. Pakistan must respect its obligations towards the IAF pilot, regardless of ongoing circumstances Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) February 27, 2019 Under Article 3 of Geneva Conventions every party is required to treat prisoners humanely. Pakistan must respect its obligations towards the IAF pilot, regardless of ongoing circumstances," Owaisi tweeted. Pakistan has used its Air Force to target military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is "missing in action", External Affairs Ministry said on February 27. In a very brief press statement, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, accompanied by Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor, also said details are being ascertained about Pakistan's claim of having captured one Indian pilot. Rakesh Sharma | R. Mahadevan There is a saying in Estonia: "Nine trades, the tenth one - hunger." The Koreans press on further: "a man of twelve talents has nothing to eat for dinner." The Greeks believe that the person "who knows a lot of crafts lives in an empty house." The Chinese were brutal while expressing the same sentiment: "All trades known, all trades dull;" "Equipped with knives all over, yet none is sharp." In Catalan, the iteration is "He who embraces too much, has a weak grasp." Harfan maula, harfan adhoora, we say, in Hindustani. Jack of all trades, master of none. An idea that finds expression universally. But, is this idea of being a generalist so bad after all? To the Jacks among us, perhaps it would be soothing to know that the first mention of the great William Shakespeare, actor-turned-playwright, was by writer Robert Greene when he referred to Shakespeare dismissively as an upstart crow, a Johannes fac totum, Jack of all trades. For quite some time now, maybe a couple of decades, it has been a time of specialists. As knowledge grows based on need, it becomes necessary to drill down deep. And the metaphor is an apt one because in the knowledge area too, the deeper you go, you narrower your focus has to be. So, today, we are in an era where, whether it is in the field of engineering, medicine, management, technology, law, or almost any professional arena, specialists are often the ones pushing the boundaries and adding value at the top of the line. The question we are addressing right now, though, is slightly different: if one were to aspire to become the head of an organisation the Chief Executive Officer, to be precise what would one rather be? a specialist, or a generalist? In other words, which is more likely to get one to the post of CEO? First, though, a little background. Before the age of the specialist came about, it was of course the age of the generalist, the person who could slink into any kind of role, or morph from one role to another. Managers were expected to be nimble, with a wide range of capabilities, and generally able to cross any and all hurdles that came in the way of getting things done. That was the time getting things done included a strong physical component. It was a time when action had to stand in for both knowledge and the ease that technology has enabled today. This enabled the generalist to become more flexible in his approach and to take chances with results. The specialist, on the other hand, had the strength of increasing expertise in his chosen area, which meant that as he went along he gained more and more knowledge and understanding, which in turn gave him a higher degree of control over his chosen field. In general, there seem to be inherent differences in the way generalists and specialists are taught to think and to operate. To consider the generalist, lets look at the positives and possible negatives of being one. Range of knowledge The very career graph of a generalist enables one to gain knowledge and understanding of various aspects of the work involved. In an organisation, this translates into knowledge of how different departments work, and to be able to apply the learnings of one to solve problems in another. Inter-disciplinary skills The accumulation of skills across a range of disciplines enables the generalist to address issues more broadly. In a world that changes at an ever-increasing pace, the ability to deal with shifts in focus and approach become vital, and the generalists exposure and training and mental makeup provide the ability to make lateral jumps more quickly. Broad viewThe generalist would, over the decades of his career, spend time and effort coming to grips with the workings of different departments in a workplace. This would give him an understanding of the dynamics of different processes, and eventually give him a multi-dimensional approach to both grasping situations and addressing issues. Empathy A generalist, by his very nature, isnt restricted to silos. This means that, in the long run, his understanding of the way different people work in diverse circumstances and settings increases. He has the opportunity to learn and absorb the uniqueness of functions and the dynamics of processes. So, there is a greater likelihood that he is able and willing to take a step back when the occasion demands, and try and understand a situation from the perspective of the other person. He is able to grant and appreciate the difficulties of people and situations. Nimbleness This again goes back to working outside of silos. Because one is not restricted, one tends to think outside the box. The generalist is able to look at both processes and results, and as conditions change, prioritize one over the one as the occasion demands. This ability to straddle different approaches and to focus on different aspects in a constantly changing scenario gives the generalist an advantage in tackling a diversity of situations and to apply different sets of parameters. But then, if there are advantages, there are also disadvantages. There is the flip side to consider, and the crux of it comes to the clash of breadth and depth. It is rare that a person commands both dimensions. So, all the advantages that the generalists breadth-oriented approach gives him is likely to be at the cost of depth of knowledge, which can affect his overall grasp, which means he could have vital holes in his understanding. In 2001, the Harvard Business Review came up with the T-shaped leader, it described executives with a strong focus on their business unit and the ability to communicate their expertise and ideas across the organisation. Morten Hansen, who was a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who wrote that article, said that by cultivating wider skills and interests you become more aware of connections between different disciplines and threats on the edge of your business, but these days, he said companies seem to want to stretch the vertical stroke of the "t", creating an almost impossible tension between breadth and depth. Prof. Hansen said that his students often studied a wide range of subjects, but they very varied on coming to the job market without an actual speciality. But then again the danger of over specialisation is that you become very narrow in your skill set and rather tribal in your attitude. Now, to come to the specialist. Specialization has its advantages that are a result of the discipline that comes with the time and effort spent on one subject or area, looking at it from different angles and perspectives, and over the years coming to grips with it in a more or less comprehensive manner. Comprehensiveness - The discipline practised by the specialist over his career becomes more or less second nature, and gives the specialist the ability to approach a situation systematically one could say, a scientific, maybe even a mathematical, approach; the doggedness to not let go, to continue to probe in different ways till a solution comes through. Depth of focus This is one of the advantages of being in a silo. The knowledge of your surroundings is very close to complete and highly detailed. This pointed understanding enables minute examination of every possible issue, and the path to resolution is very well mapped. In highly specialized areas of operation, and in sensitive situations this would be a crucial strength because an in-depth examination of the variables would instantly increase manifold the chances of success. Discipline This is actually not a sidelight but the bedrock of the specialist. Discipline in the process, whether it is thought or action. There is little in the manner of error, and gives a more consistent level of success as time goes on. With the specialist, too, there is the flip side, and the other side of his strengths can be projected as possible weaknesses. For instance, the ingrained impulse towards comprehensiveness can also, on occasion, mean an obstinacy in terms of stopping at every turn and insisting that all possibilities have been covered before moving on. This could play with the exigencies of a situation. In the case of depth, this would be the opposite of the generalist: a weakness as far as breadth is concerned and an inability or even unwillingness to step back and take a more wide-ranging look at things. On the whole, the unwillingness to let go can be a useful trait, the inability to do so in given circumstances would turn the strength into a weakness. Okay so we have looked at the inherent and possible strengths and weaknesses as far as generalists and specialists are concerned. To come to the question at hand: when it comes to becoming a CEO, what is better to be a generalist, or to be specialist? Studies have been conducted and papers have been written on the topic. Of course, requirements change with time, but overall, given context and history, conclusions point to a few attributes and personality traits that work in the favour of someone reaching top dog status. In short, it appears that generalists hold the advantage. One study in 1997 by Edward P Lazear, a labour economist at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, involved analysing 5,000 people who had reached the top position in an organisation. Lazear found that those who had been in just one or two roles in their career made it to the CXO position only 2 percent of the time. On the other hand, those who had held five or more positions made it 18 percent of the time a nine-fold increase in likelihood! According to Lazear, The higher you get in an organisation, the more likely you are to encounter problems from a variety of different areas. According to him, many types of organisations, right from small companies to large corporations seem to follow this method of selecting leaders from those who have done their rounds of various departments and positions within a company. The question naturally arises: but wouldnt the managers at each level and in each department be equipped to deal with the situations that crop up? Yes, says Lazear, but a chief who understands the workings of the individual areas is better equipped to hire the right people. Putting together a diverse team seems to be a generalists speciality. The same rule applies in the situation of someone who has worked across not just disciplines within an organisation but across industries. Mittu Chandilya, before he was appointed CEO of Air Asia India, had no experience of the aviation industry, but had worked in startups before, juggled numbers and managed large teams. This experience and learnings from it could be applied in his new position in a new industry. According to Chandily, A CEO has to be a good manager, a people leader. Working across industries actually helps develop these skills. Similar is the case with Wilfred Aulber, who was recently appointed managing director of Mercedes Benz India. Aulber came into the job with wide-ranging experience in sales, marketing, production and research and development. On top of that, he had also been an entrepreneur, supervising every aspect of the business. Aulber says the company took a risk with him, but then they were probably just reflecting another stated strength of the generalist taking risks. Research has found that generalist CEOs are better at taking risks in the pursuit of innovation, transformation and exploring new avenues. It turns out this attitude to risk-taking comes from their willingness to make mistakes, and their ability to see mistakes not as points of failure but merely the often unavoidable steps on the way to reaching a set goal. Research also concludes that generalist CEOs are more likely to go for acquisitions and diversifications on the way to expansion and creating value. A long-term study spanning two decades by Philip Tetlock, professor of organisational behaviour at the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, found that generalists are better forecasters. They predict the outcome of situations more accurately, even when they are operating outside of their area of expertise. They are able to extrapolate and apply learnings across disciplines more fruitfully. In passing, it might also be worthwhile to mention that, according to a research study on the impact of CEO expertise on compensation, generalist CEOs generally get better pay packages than specialist CEOs! Interestingly, in this age of specialization, where increased specialisation is automatically assumed to have better prospects and perhaps even desirability, it appears as if companies prefer generalists. At least, specialists appear to be operating in more generalized domains, according to a study conducted in the UK in 2013, half of the 2,000 people surveyed said though they had been hired as specialists, their duties had been diluted over time and they considered themselves to be in the generalist sphere at the time of the research. It does look like it is not just when it comes to positions of organisational leadership but also further down the line, the generalist seems to be preferred. However, according to the study, this had its negatives too. Though a generalist is looked at as a better fit in terms of promotions, one fourth to one-third of those who drifted towards generalized roles said this had affected their motivation levels. So, in the final analysis, though requirements would differ, and conditions would keep changing, the basket of skills and experience that the generalist brings to the table appears to be distinctly better than that of the specialist, as far as top leadership is concerned. Of course, the specialist, in his own area, is vital but works better as the leader of his own or related verticals. When a wider sweep of the vistas is required, the generalist and his range of skill-sets are preferred. Representative image Two operatives of Jamaat-ul- Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) have been arrested from West Bengal's Murshidabad district and a cache of explosive materials seized from their possession, a senior police officer said on February 27. In a joint operation by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Kolkata Police and the Murshidabad police, Moshibur Rahman (35) alias Farooque and Ruhul Amin alias Saifullah (26) were apprehended on February 26 night, he said. "Both Moshibur and Ruhul, residents of Murshidabad district, are active members of the outlawed JMB. A cache of explosive materials, including aluminium dust, calether (spirit of ether) and sulphuric acid, have been recovered from their possession," the senior officer told PTI. The duo happen to be associates of Kauser and Sajjad, who were nabbed on January 29 for their involvement in 2014 Burdwan blast case, he said. On October 2, 2014, a blast had occurred in a house at Khagragarh in Burdwan district, killing two persons. "We have interrogated Sajjad and found out that Moshibur and Ruhul have been trained in making acid bombs. Their plan was to attack the police and get Kauser released," the officer said. With February 26 successful raid in Murshidabad, the number of JMB operatives arrested in a month rose to six, he added. On February 16, Ariful Islam alias Arif (22) was arrested from the city's Babughat area for his alleged links to the terror outfit. Three days later, Asif Iqbal alias Nadeem, another resident of Murshidabad district, was held at Santragachi railway station in Howrah district. Islam was involved in 2018 Bodh Gaya blast case, police had claimed. On January 19 last year, a low-intensity bomb had exploded at Bodh Gaya in Bihar, shortly after Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama finished a sermon at the Mahabodhi temple. Tension escalated along the India-Pakistan border after an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter crashed in Kashmir's Budgam district on February 27, a day after the air strike on terror bases in Pakistan. On February 26, the IAF pounded Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest terror camp in Balakot, across the Line of Control (LoC), in a pre-dawn strike. The air strike hit a resort-styled camp on a hilltop forest by Mirage 2000 fighter jets and caught a very large number of JeM terrorists in their sleep, said Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale. Heres all the action on the India-Pakistan border after IAFs air strike: > In the early hours, an IAF fighter jet crashed in Jammu and Kashmirs Budgam due to technical fault, News18 reported. However, following reports suggested that it was an IAF Mi-17 helicopter, not a fighter jet. A total of five deaths reported, including two pilots and three civilians. > Pakistan claimed that it shot down two Indian military aircraft over Pakistani air space and arrested one of the pilots. Pakistans military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor, claimed in a tweet that one of the aircraft crashed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. "One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area," he added. Catch the live updates on the IAF strike here. > Defence sources told PTI there were no reports of any IAF jet suffering damage in action by India's adversaries. > Pakistan said its jets crossed the LoC to undertake strikes in India for "self-defence". > Indian officials confirmed incursion of Pakistani fighter jets. According to a PTI reporting quoting an Indian official, Pakistani fighter jets violated Indian airspace in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Nowshera sectors but were pushed back by India. > Srinagar, Jammu, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Dehradun and Leh airports were closed. In Srinagar, an official of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) told PTI, "The civilian air traffic has been suspended temporarily in view of the emergency." The operations resumed later in the day. > Pakistan also stopped its domestic and international flight operations from Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad airports, reported ANI. >China has called on Pakistan and India to "exercise restraint" and seek dialogue after Islamabad claimed it shot down two Indian warplanes in its airspace over disputed Kashmir, said a PTI report. >Top security and intelligence officials huddled into a meet at the prime minister's office in the wake of Pakistan Air Force jets violating the Indian airspace, sources told PTI. >The External Affairs Ministry confirmed Pakistan's Air Force targetted military installations in India, but their attempts were foiled successfully. It further said details are being ascertained about Pakistan's claim of having captured one Indian pilot. >Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan claimed that two Indian MIGs crossed the Line of Control and they were shot down, as he offered to defuse tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours and resolve the issues through talks. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday raised the recent Pulwama suicide attack in her crucial bilateral meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi here, a day after India destroyed a major Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) terror training camp in Pakistan. "I am visiting China at a time when there is grief and anger in India. It is the worst terrorist attack directed against our security forces in Jammu and Kashmir," she said in her opening remarks during the meeting held on the side-lines of Russia, India, China Foreign Ministers meeting. "The attack was carried out by Jaish-e-Muhammed, the Pakistan-based and supported terrorist organisation," she said. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based JeM in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. Stating that the JeM is banned by the UN and other countries, Swaraj told Wang that this terrorist attack is the direct result of the impunity and cover provided to the JeM and its leaders by the Pakistani side. After the Pulwama attack the entire UN has spoken with full voice to condemn it, she said. Swaraj who arrived here early this morning told Wang that this is their first meeting this year and therefore an opportune time for the two sides to take stock of the bilateral relations and look ahead for cooperation. "This is our first meeting this year. Therefore, an opportune time for us to take stock of our bilateral relations and look ahead for cooperation. The India-China relationship is an important relationship for both of our countries," she said. Referring to the Wuhan summit between Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Swaraj said "we have made substantial progress in relations". "It is important for both sides to make sure the through and effective implementation of the guidance given by the two leaders," she told Wang, adding that both side made efforts and "we should sustain this". "Particularly the decision taken by our leaders to maintain strategic communication between them provided an important foundation for the development of our bilateral relations. This channel of strategic communication between the two of us and between senior officials should always remain open," she said. The meeting between Swaraj and Wang also took place in the immediate backdrop of India's airstrikes on terrorist targets in Pakistan. Reacting to India's airstrikes, China on Tuesday called for restraint between India and Pakistan following India's airstrikes against terrorist targets in Pakistan and urged New Delhi to carry out its fight against terrorism through international cooperation. Asked for China's response to India's airstrikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told media briefing in Beijing on Tuesday that "we have taken note of relevant reports." "I want to say that India and Pakistan are both important countries in South Asia. A sound relationship and cooperation between the two serves the interests of both the countries and peace and stability in South Asia," he said. "We hope that the parties remain restrained and do more to improve their bilateral relations," he said. On India's assertion that it was a non-military attack directed against camps of the terrorist groups who are carrying out violent acts in India, Lu said "as for India's claim on taking action against terrorism, well fighting terrorism is a global practice". "It needs necessary international cooperation. And India needs to create favourable condition internationally for the same, he said. Lu also said that Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Shah Muhammad Qureshi also spoke to Wang on Monday over the tensions related to the Pulwama attack. "During the phone call Wang Yi listened carefully to Pakistan Foreign Minister's notification and proposals on the issues and reaffirmed his opinions that the two sides need to advance their cooperation in the counter terrorism for peace and stability in the region," Lu said. The Pulwama attack and its aftermath as well Tuesday's airstrikes were expected to figure in Swaraj's talks with Russian Foreign Minister SergeY Levrov later in the day. After years of minimal regulation of the stem cell industry, the FDA issued guidelines in 2017 making clear that many products are unapproved drugs being marketed illegally. The agency says it is giving many in the industry time to become compliant while targeting riskier treatments, such as injections into the eye and spinal cord, for enforcement. It has also gone to court to try to stop procedures at two clinics. Metro Manila (February 27, CNN Philippines) While saying that she would support President Rodrigo Duterte until the end of his term, House Deputy Speaker Pia Cayetano said she would not agree with all of his policies. "I support the President all the way. It doesn't mean that every policy yes ako nang yes [I will always say yes.] Every policy, it's my job as a senator and member of Congress to debate that," Cayetano told CNN Philippines' The Source on Wednesday. Cayetano, who is running again for senator after a stint in the chamber from 2004 to 2010, said she has always tried to understand where presidents are coming from and determine which of their policies she can support. "When I say I support, what that means is that I understand his (Duterte) vision. Kasi [Because] his vision naman niya for me is very clear it's just the means to get there," she said. Cayetano has differed on at least one key issue backed by Duterte the lowering of the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR). She voted against House Bill No. 8858, which seeks to lower the MACR from 15 to 12, and helped prepare a report recommending that the House retain the MACR at 15 and instead impose stiffer penalties for parents and syndicates. "Walang accountability itong mga batang ito [These kids do not have any accountability,] because they do something bad and all that happens is they go back to their families who most likely were not disciplining them in the first place," Cayetano said. However, she has not yet made a definitive stance on federalism, saying that Congress should be given more time to study the proposal. Cayetano was among the senators who filed a resolution in 2008 seeking to convene Congress into a constituent assembly to revise the Constitution to establish a federal form of government a key campaign promise of Duterte. She has been criticized for her apparent silence on Duterte's comments and actions on women, which include rape jokes, threatening to shoot female rebels in their genitals and a statement on Vice President Leni Robredo's legs. In her defense, she said that she takes up these issues directly with Duterte. Critics have said that Duterte has targeted women, like Robredo, ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and detained Senator Leila de Lima. Cayetano, however, shrugged this off. "The critics have nothing to do with being a woman or not a woman. I mean, you can be a critic, you can be a supporter whether you're a man or a woman," she said. The lawmaker from Taguig City is enjoying the endorsement of Duterte and his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio. She is included in both the President's official lineup and the 13-man slate of Duterte-Carpio's regional party, Hugpong ng Pagbabago. Cayetano, the sister of former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, said her family's relationship with the President can be traced back to his closeness to their father, former Senator Rene Cayetano. She said that way back in 2003, a year before her first senatorial run, she had already approached Duterte for advice. Representative image Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat praised the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 26 following the Indian Air Force strike on the biggest Jaish terror camp inside Pakistan, saying "with Modi, it's possible". Addressing an event here, Rawat said the Modi government has taken a "zero-tolerance" approach towards terrorism and the air strike was the "biggest attack on the root of terrorism". "We congratulate the prime minister for a decisive leadership. With Modi, it's possible," he said in a statement released here. "We also congratulate the Indian Air Force and its daredevil pilots for taking the challenge head-on and destroying terrorist camps inside Pakistan," he added. The chief minister said the air strike about 80 km inside the Pakistani territory from the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir was an "appropriate lesson" to the country that provides refuge to terrorist groups. "This is 'New India' under the secure leadership of Modi ji," Rawat asserted. This was the first time since the 1971 war, that liberated Bangladesh, that Indian fighter jets crossed LoC and hit a terrorist camp inside Pakistan, killing hundreds of them, he said. Citing "reliable sources", Rawat said the Jaish-e-Mohammed group was planning more attacks in India and was training a number of terrorists at the Balakot camp, which the Air Force destroyed in a 'preemptive" strike. The air strike was a necessary step, he stressed. India has been providing proof about anti-India terrorist activities on its soil to Pakistan but it did not take action, he said. This strike, the chief minister asserted, was completely a "non-military action" and attention was paid to ensure no civilian died in the operation. For the BJP, nation comes before the party, he said. "The security of this country is the topmost priority for us," he said. Officials said the Indian Air Force bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp inside Pakistan, killing over 350 terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The swift and precise "preemptive" air strike was conducted early on February 26, they said. senior commanders were eliminated# Political leaders in India, including Congress President Rahul Gandhi, have praised the strikes# PM Modi held a high-level security meeting and has briefed the President and the Vice President# Pakistan has claimed that the IAF jets violated the Line of Control (LoC)# It is violation of ceasefire. We will give a befitting reply: Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi # Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, currently held captive by Pakistan, will be released tomorrow. The announcement was made by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and other top officials of the government are meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Multiple Indian Air Force (IAF) jets on the night of February 25-26 crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and carried out limited strikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist camp. A ceasefire violation by Pakistan Army was also reported in the Gulpur sector of Poonch late night on February 25. The Indian Army also reportedly retaliated. The firing started at around midnight and stopped at around 2.00 am. No casualties were reported. However, it is unclear if the incidents are related. Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday reviewed the security situation in the country, especially along the border with Pakistan, a day after Indian fighter jets bombed the biggest camp of terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad in that country, officials said. During the meeting, attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval among others, a detailed presentation was given about the security situation in the country and steps taken to ensure peace in all sensitive places. Singh directed the officials to ensure the Border Security Force, which guards the India-Pakistan border continues to remain on highest level of alertness so that any misadventure from across the border could be foiled, a home ministry official said. Those who attended the meeting include Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and Intelligence Bureau Director Rajiv Jain. In a pinpointed and swift air strike that lasted less than two minutes, India pounded Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Pakistan early Tuesday, killing up to 350 terrorists and trainers who were moved there for their protection after the Pulwama attack, officials said. The pre-dawn operation described as "non-military" and "preemptive" struck a five-star resort style camp on a hilltop forest that provided a dozen Mirage 2000 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force(IAF) with a "sitting duck target" and caught the terrorists in their sleep, sources said. The strike is the first by the IAF inside Pakistan after the 1971 war. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told the media that the "intelligence-led operation" on the Pakistan-based terror group's biggest training camp in Balakot became "absolutely necessary" as it was planning more suicide attacks in India, after the February 14 attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama in which 40 soldiers were killed. The JeM claimed responsibility for the Pulwama strike. Representative image Pakistani troops Wednesday intensely shelled Indian posts in Uri Sector of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. The shelling comes a day after the IAF carried out air strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps inside the neighbouring country. Pakistani Army fired mortar shells towards Indian posts in the early hours of Wednesday, a police official said. He said there were no reports of any casualties so far. The official said the Indian Army retaliated to the Pakistani action in an equal measure. The exchange of fire across the LoC in Uri sector was going in when reports last came in, he added. A day after Indian fighter jets bombed the biggest camp of terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan, the Shiv Sena on Wednesday demanded continuous operations, dubbing the neighbouring country "dangerous" for the entire world. The Sena, in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', said there cannot be peace across the globe until Pakistan is wiped off the world map. In remarks laced with sarcasm, it sought to know whether the terror launch pads in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) were "cultural centres", as according to that country's Prime Minister Imran Khan, there was no terrorist activity originating from its soil. "There cannot be world peace until Pakistan is eliminated from the global map. Countries like Pakistan are dangerous not only for India, but the entire world. There is no democracy in Pakistan, so their army chief misuses power in the name of prime minister and the government," it said. In a pinpointed and swift air strike that lasted less than two minutes, India pounded Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Pakistan early Tuesday, killing up to 350 terrorists and trainers who were moved there for their protection after the Pulwama attack, officials said. The Sena said, "The question which remains unanswered is if one strike on Pakistan is enough to avenge the death of our jawans? Their blood isn't cheap. There should be continuous operations against the country to put an end to the terrorism continuing from there." It said the way the United States gunned down al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden on Pakistan's soil, JeM chief Masood Azhar needs to be eliminated as well to avenge the killing of 40 CRPF jawans. Recalling that former prime minister Indira Gandhi had showed the Indian Army's might in 1971 by dividing Pakistan into two, the Sena expressed hope that a similar operation would be conducted against the neighbouring country under Narendra Modi's rule. Ex-Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa (Image: indianairforce.nic.in) In a swift air strike, the Indian Air Force (IAF) pounded Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest terror camp in Balakot, across the Line of Control (LoC), in a pre-dawn strike on February 26. The air strike hit a resort-styled camp on a hilltop forest by Mirage 2000 fighter jets and caught a very large number of JeM terrorists in their sleep, reports suggest. The strike, described as "non-military" and "pre-emptive", is the first by the IAF inside Pakistan since the 1971 war. It was conducted under the supervision of Air Force Chief Birender Singh Dhanoa. Catch the live updates on the IAF strike here A Kargil war veteran and first-rate fighter pilot, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa prepared the action plan of the air strike as a retaliatory response after the bombing in Pulwama, which killed 40 CRPF jawans, according to a report by the Indian Today. Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa was born to a family of war veterans on September 7, 1957 at SAS Nagar in Punjab. He is an alumnus of Rashtriya Indian Military College and went to the National Defence Academy (NDA) and the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. Career In June 1978, Dhanoa was commissioned in the IAF as a fighter pilot and has since added many feathers to his hat. As Commanding Officer of a front line ground attack fighter squadron, he led the IAF punch during the Limited War against Pakistan to evict the enemy from their dug in defences in the icy heights of Kargil region in 1999. During the conflict, under his leadership and supervision, the squadron devised unique and innovative methods of bombing in the night at altitudes never before attempted in the history of Air Warfare. Prior to the war, the squadron, known for its high degree of professionalism and peace time training had been adjudged as the best fighter squadron of HQ WAC. After the conflict, it emerged as the most decorated IAF unit of the Kargil War. The Air Chief Marshal himself was awarded Vayu Sena Medal (VSM) for his exceptional devotion to duty prior to the war and the coveted Yudh Seva Medal (YSM) post war for his outstanding bravery and leadership during the conflict, both in the year 1999. In pics: Here's what we know about IAF airstrikes on JeM terror camps In 2015, he was awarded with the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) by the President Pranab Mukherjee. On August 1, 2015, he was appointed Honorary ADC to the President of India. In 2016, was awarded Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) by the President. On January 1, 2017, the Air Chief Marshal took over as the Chief of the Air Staff. He has mainly flown the Kiran and MiG-21 aircraft. However, he reportedly has flying experience across the entire spectrum of fighter jets, from the Jaguar to the state-of-the-art MiG-29 and Su-30 MKi, with an immaculate record of flight safety throughout his distinguished career as a field commander. Masood Azhar, the Jaish-e-Mohammed's chief whose terror academy in Balakot faced a blitzkrieg from Indian Air Force jets early on February 26, is an overweight fugitive released by India in exchange for passengers of a hijacked Indian Airlines plane in 1999 and has since been a blue-eyed boy of Pakistan's external snooping agency ISI. Nearly 20 years after his release, during which he staged some audacious terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and hinterland, his Balakot camp where he trained terrorists to carry out suicide attacks, was in the cross hairs of Mirage 2000 jets, which achieved a spectacular success by destroying the resort-like facility and possibly killing up to 350 inmates. For all his reputation, Azhar was not a hard nut to crack when he was in the custody of Indian forces, according to officials. A former police officer, who interrogated Azhar after his arrest in 1994, said he got shaken up on the first "slap" from an army jawan, prompting him to blurt out details of his movements. He was arrested in Anantnag in South Kashmir in February 1994 after he had entered into India on a Portuguese passport through Bangladesh. It was a chance arrest. He along with Sajjad Afghani were travelling in an auto when it was stopped by armymen at Khanabal. "Both ran from the autorickshaw prompting the army men to nab them. Army men were happy to find Sajjad Afghani and had a little knowledge about the other," former Director General of Sikkim Police Avinash Mohananey, who interrogated Azhar many times during his two-decade tenure in the Intelligence Bureau, told PTI. The 50-year-old Azhar, son of a retired school headmaster from Bhawalpur in Pakistan, always felt his custody in India was going to be short-lived and that attempts would be made for his release, he had said during his first meeting with Mohnaney at Kot Balwal jail in Jammu, immediately after his arrest. Attempts were indeed made - the first one within 10 months of his arrest when some foreigners were kidnapped from Delhi in February 1994 and demanded his release. The plot failed when U.P. and Delhi Police managed to get the hostages freed from captivity in Sahranpur. During that raid on Saharanpur raid, police arrested another militant, Omar Sheikh, who would eventually be released along with Azhar in exchange for the passengers of the 1999 hijacked flight IC814. Sheikh late became well known after he beheaded Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan. Another attempt to release him was made by a shadow group of Harkat-ul-Ansar, Al-Faran, which demanded his release in exchange of five foreigners kidnapped in Kashmir in July 1995. A tunnel was dug in Kot Balwal jail in 1999 to his escape but Azhar could not move out because of his unusual body structure -- he was overweight and had large belly that was too big to be squeezed through the tunnel. However, in the process, Sajjad Afghani was killed. Finally, he was released by the BJP-led NDA government in 1999, along with Omar Sheikh and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar alias 'Latram', in exchange of the passengers of the flight IC-814. The Kathmandu-New Delhi plane was hijacked and taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan by Masood Azhar's men. After the negotiations with hijackers failed, the government succumbed to their demands and the then external affairs minister Jaswant Singh took the three terrorists to Kandahar in Afghanistan in a special plane to ensure the release of passengers of the hijacked plane. Thus began a new chapter of terror in Jammu and Kashmir as well as rest of India. After his release in 1999, Azhar formed the Jaish-e-Mohammed and scripted many audacious terror strikes in India and went on to became a favourite of the ISI. JeM announced its arrival in the Kashmir Valley in 2000 by carrying out a suicide car bombing attack at the gate of Badamibagh cantonment in Srinagar, the headquarters of the Army's 15 Corps. Two armymen were killed in the attack. Later, it was involved in the attack on Parliament, the Pathankot air force base, army camps in Jammu and Uri, and the latest suicide attack on CRPF in Pulwama which claimed the lives of 40 personnel. While in custody, intelligence agencies did not have to do much work on Azhar and he gave insights into the functioning of terror groups operating from Pakistan, the officer said. "'I had never been slapped by my father but for the first time in my life an Army jawan did so even before asking me any question'," the officer remembered Azhar telling him. "He was an easy man to handle and the slap had shaken him completely." Azhar shared information about recruitment process and functioning of terror groups in Pakistan at a time when intelligence agencies were still grappling to understand the proxy-war unleashed by Pakistan's espionage agency ISI, Mohananey, a 1985-batch IPS officer, who headed the Kashmir desk in the agency at that time, said. Azhar gave the Indian agencies vital insights into diversion of Afghan terrorists into the Kashmir Valley and the merger of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HuJI) into Harkat-ul-Ansar, represented by him as its general secretary, he said. The Jaish chief, during his stint as a journalist with 'Sada-e-Mujahid', a tabloid published from Karachi, had travelled in 1993 with a group of Pakistani scribes to some countries drumming up support for "Kashmir cause', he aid. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has confirmed that during the engagement on February 27 with Pakistani aircraft, India lost one MiG 21 and an Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot is held captive by the neighbouring country. Earlier, video footage of the pilot being rescued by the Pakistani army were doing the rounds on social media. In the latter half of the day, a video of him being treated well was also circulated. To this, the MEA, in a statement, said, India also strongly objected to Pakistans vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention. It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return. Which brings us to the question of the procedure to bring back an armed forces personnel who has been captured in enemy territory. These guidelines have been furnished in the Geneva Conventions. Lets take a look: What are the Geneva Conventions? The Geneva Conventions are a series of treaties concluded in Geneva between 1864 and 1949 for the purpose of ameliorating the effects of war on soldiers and civilians. The conventions were established as a result of Red Cross founder Henri Dunant pushing for negotiations to help the wounded in time of war in 1864. What is the objective of these conventions? The convention has the following aims: 1. Immunity from capture and destruction of all establishments for the treatment of wounded and sick soldiers and their personnel 2. Impartial reception and treatment of all combatants, 3. Protection of civilians providing aid to the wounded, and 4. Recognition of the Red Cross symbol as a means of identifying persons and equipment covered by the agreement. What is its relevance in the current scenario? The 1864 convention was ratified by all major European powers and other states within three years. In 1906, the 1864 convention was amended and extended by the second Geneva Convention, which applied all the provisions to maritime warfare. The third Geneva Convention required that belligerents treat prisoners of war (PoWs) humanely, furnish information about them, and permit official visits to prison camps by representatives of neutral states. This came to be known as the Convention Relating to Treatment of Prisoners of War, 1929. It asserted that PoWs be given humane treatment and adequate feeding, forbidding the belligerents to apply undue pressure on prisoners to supply more than a minimum of information. Ultimately, four conventions were approved in Geneva on August 12, 1949. In 1977, the protocol to cover both civilians and combatants in the conventions was approved with the help of negotiations from the Red Cross. Is our IAF pilot a prisoner of war? Neither the Indian MEA nor its Pakistani counterpart has identified the pilot as a PoW. However, as per the third Geneva Convention, The convention applies to all cases of declared war or of any other armed conflict which may arise between two or more of the signatories, even if the state of war is not recognized by one of them. What happens if he is indeed identified as a PoW? If the missing pilot is officially declared as a PoW, then in accordance with Article 118, first paragraph, of the 1949 third Geneva Convention, Prisoners of war shall be released and repatriated without delay after the cessation of active hostilities and unjustifiable delay in the repatriation of prisoners of war or civilians is a grave breach of the Protocol. Once PoW status is awarded to a combatant, he may be interned without any particular procedure or reason. The purpose of this internment is not to punish them but only to hinder their direct participation in hostilities. Article 13 of the third convention states: Prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated. Any unlawful act or omission by the Detaining Power causing death or seriously endangering the health of a prisoner of war in its custody is prohibited, and will be regarded as a serious breach of the present Convention. Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity. Measures of reprisal against prisoners of war are prohibited. Previous instance: During the Kargil War, Flight Lieutenant Kambampati Nachiketa was captured after his MiG-27 suffered a flameout while destroying enemy positions in the Batalik subsector. Flight Lt Nachiketa was captured by Pakistan on May 27, 1999 and remained in Pakistani custody for more than a week. He was repatriated to India on June 3 of that year. After the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed that during the engagement with Pakistani aircraft on the morning of February 27, "we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21" and that the missing pilot is in the captivity of Pakistan, the Opposition expressed their concerns over the safety of the pilot and appealed to the government to get him back securely. MEA spokesperson Ravish Kumar had said the "claims" made by Pakistan that the pilot is in their captivity needed to be "ascertained". However, the Opposition parties collectively passed a statement condemning the "Pakistani misadventure". After the meeting of the Opposition parties on the Parliament premises, Congress President Rahul Gandhi told mediapersons, "Leaders have condemned the Pakistani misadventure and expressed deep concern for the safety of our missing pilot. The leaders have urged the government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity." Im sorry to hear that one of our brave IAF pilots is missing. I hope he will return home soon, unharmed. We stand by our armed forces in these difficult times. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 27, 2019 He tweeted: "The Prime Minister has, regrettably, not convened an all-party meeting as per the established practice in our democracy," the joint statement by Opposition leaders added. The joint statement was passed by leaders of 21 political parties. After the statement by our Ministry of External Affairs, regarding targeting of our military installations and loss of one of our aircraft, we condemn the Pakistani misadventure and are deeply concerned for the safety of our missing pilot. pic.twitter.com/ZiccDSQHqV Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) February 27, 2019 I am praying for the safe return of our brave pilot. May God protect you and give you courage and strength. The nation stands with you. Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) February 27, 2019 For the record its not just unsolicited advice to the PM, I had requested the opposition to postpone the meeting in light of the developments, especially after the news of our pilot being in Pakistani custody but they felt otherwise. I chose not to attend as a result. pic.twitter.com/kxRhSfYdRG Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 27, 2019 Pakistan has expressed its intention to crack down on terrorism and initiate a dialogue with india. Perhaps the best gesture to gain Indias trust at this point would be the safe return of Wing Commander Abhinandan back home. Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) February 27, 2019 Pray for the safe and swift return of IAF pilot Abhinandan N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) February 27, 2019 Our prayers are with the brave IAF pilot & his family in this very difficult time Under Article 3 of Geneva Conventions every party is required to treat prisoners humanely. Pakistan must respect its obligations towards the IAF pilot, regardless of ongoing circumstances Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) February 27, 2019 I pray for the safety of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan. Whole country is proud of this brave son and everyone is hoping for his safe return. We all stand united to keep our country safe and strong Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 27, 2019 Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav tweeted that he prays for the "safe return of our brave pilot".Former Jammu and Kashmir CM and NC leader Omar Abdullah tweeted:Similarly, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti tweeted:Reiterating the sentiment, Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu tweeted:All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen Party (AIMIM) President and Member of Parliament Lok Sabha from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi, in a tweet, asserted that "Pakistan must respect the obligations" of the Geneva Conventions.Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that "we all stand united to keep our country safe and strong". Representative image The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on February 27 confirmed that one Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot was missing in action and that Pakistans claims of his capture were still being ascertained. MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar also said that in an aerial engagement, one PAF fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the IAF. "India had informed about Counter Terrorism (CT) action it took yesterday against a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan based on credible evidence that JeM intended to launch more attacks, Kumar said. Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor was also present during the press conference. Against this Counter Terrorism Action, Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistan's attempts were foiled successfully, he added. Kumar said that a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) aircraft was detected and the Indian Air Force (IAF) responded "instantly." "In that aerial engagement, one PAF fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force," Kumar said, adding that, the Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. #WATCH Raveesh Kumar, MEA: One Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by Indian Air Force. In this engagement, we have lost one MiG 21. Pilot is missing in action. Pakistan claims he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts. pic.twitter.com/Bm0nVChuzF ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," Kumar added. Earlier, Pakistan had claimed that its air force had shot down two IAF jets and that one aircraft fell in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), India. Pakistans Director General of Inter Services Public Relations (DGISPR) Major Gen. Asif Ghafoor has further claimed in a tweet that "one Indian pilot [was] arrested by troops on ground while two in the area (sic)." Earlier in the day, Indian officials said Pakistani fighter jets had violated Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Nowshera sectors but were pushed back by Indian aircraft. On February 26 night, the Indian Army destroyed five Pakistani posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir in a befitting retaliation to firing from across the border, resulting in a "number of casualties" to Pakistani troops, a defence official had said. In a press conference on February 26, Foreign Affairs Secretary Vijay Gokhale had said India struck the biggest camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Balakot. In the attack, a large number of JeM terrorists, leadership and suicide bombers were eliminated. Gokhale further said the information regarding the terror camps in Pakistan and in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) had been provided to Pakistan on multiple occasions, but they had not taken any action. What didnt feel good was being alcohol-free in a culture that embraces alcohol as essential to bonding, celebrating and socializing, Shannon said. Friday nights were lonely because many of her friends were out drinking. But then, inspired by the sober community on Instagram, she decided to start the Meetup she was looking for: one for sober curious women in their 20s and early 30s. About eight people came to the first meeting, and a core group of eight to 10 people emerged over time. India Wednesday handed over to Pakistan a dossier on "specific details" of involvement of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in the Pulwama terror attack on CRPF as also the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in that country. The dossier was handed over to the Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan, who was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs to lodge a strong protest over Pakistan Air Force targeting Indian military installations, a day after the Indian counter-terror action against the JeM. Government sources have claimed that over 350 JeM terrorists were killed in the pre-dawn strike on the terror camps in Pakistan on Tuesday. The JeM had taken the responsibility of the terror strike in Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. "Regret was expressed at continuing denial by Pakistan's political and military leadership at the presence of terrorist infrastructure in territories under its control," the MEA said. "A dossier was handed over to Pakistani side with specific details of JeM complicity in Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan," it said. The MEA said Pakistan was conveyed that India expects Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from territories under its control. In response to the Indian counter-terror operation, Pakistan air force tried to target certain locations in Jammu and Kashmir Wednesday morning which was countered by IAF jets. In the engagement, India shot down a Pakistani jet while an Indian IAF pilot was captured by the Pakistani authorities. India also lost a MiG 21 aircraft. India also lodged a strong protest at the unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan, including by violating the Indian air space and targeting military posts. "This is in contrast to the India's non-military anti-terror pre-emptive strike at a JeM terrorist camp in Balakot on February 26," the MEA added. Representative Image India is building more than 14,000 bunkers suitable for families living along its border with Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, hoping to keep them safe near their homes instead of evacuating them as artillery shells scream over. On Tuesday evening, Pakistan used heavy calibre weapons to shell 12 to 15 places along the Indian side of the de facto border known as the Line of Control (LoC) that divides the disputed Kashmir region, a spokesman for the Indian defence forces said. The Indian army retaliated with its own shelling of the Pakistani side, he said. That had created "panic among people", said Rahul Yadav, the deputy commissioner of the Poonch district, a remote area of the Indian state that faced some of the attacks. The new shelters, which were planned before this week's spike in tensions, are supposed to reduce that fear and prevent people from having to flee when the shelling begins. There have been frequent exchanges of fire along the actual and de facto borders in recent months, but Tuesday's firing marked a major escalation after India carried out an air strike on what it said was a training camp run by an Islamist militant group in Pakistan. India was responding to a suicide car bombing claimed by a member of the group that killed 40 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir almost two weeks ago. As well as the shelling, Pakistan retaliated on Wednesday by carrying out airstrikes on the Indian side of the border and, according to officials in Islamabad, shot down two Indian jets over Pakistan. India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring militancy in Kashmir, Hindu-majority India's only Muslim-dominated region. STEEL AND CONCRETE Villagers on the Indian side of the border said they were tired of fleeing their homes when outbreaks of firing erupt. Some have seen family members killed, and the cost of leaving behind their cattle and crops is too heavy for many poor farmers. Tanattar Singh, a frail 75-year-old man from Chachwal village, said his daughter was killed in 2002 when she was hit by a bullet just outside their house, which is surrounded by wheat fields near a watch tower. "Firing could happen again and we know there are risks of living so close to the border," Singh said, as he and other elders watched earth being dug out for the construction of a bunker for one of the village's 400 families. "But what can we do? We can't leave the village for good like some rich people do." Government engineers said work on the underground steel and concrete structures, which could cost a total of $60 million, began in June last year as relations between the nuclear-armed rivals worsened. State government officials and contractors said hundreds of underground bunkers, with their walls and roofs three times the thickness of a regular house and consuming 10 times as much steel, have already been built. Reuters visited nearly a dozen such bunkers, some waterlogged and constructed on farm land or next to people's houses. "These can withstand simple shelling," said an engineer with the Jammu and Kashmir public works department tasked with building the bunkers. The engineer declined to be named citing government rules. ON THE OTHER SIDE On the Pakistani side of the border, most houses built after a ceasefire in 2003 do not have bunkers, though the Pakistani government does have a programme to build more. A number of people have been killed and injured by Indian shelling in recent days, and many have fled away from the border areas, said local officials. Muhammad Din, a resident of Chakothi, a border town, said most of the residents had moved to safer areas. "The only families still here are those who have concrete bunkers built within or along their homes," he said. Thousands of people have either relocated or are planning to do so, said Umer Azam, senior administration official in Kotli, who has ordered the closure of schools in the most dangerous areas. Back in India, men rode motorbikes along the road between the sleepy Jammu villages of Suchetgarh and Gulabgarh, close to the border fence, despite a warning by security forces to exercise caution and stay indoors as much as possible. Shravan Kumar, whose wheat and mustard fields run along the barbed wire, urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to do more to end the frequent shelling, saying only a tough crackdown on militancy in Kashmir could "break Pakistan's back". "I had to flee my house four times in December alone," said Kumar, a 60-year-old father-of-three. "Can you imagine the toll it takes on our families? Bunkers are not a solution, neither is this 'one strike here, one strike there' policy. Finish militancy in Kashmir, and this will end." Representative image All airports located near the Pakistan border have been kept on high alert after alleged Pakistans fighter jets incursion inside the Indian border, reported News 18. An Indian Air Force (IAF) jet crashed in Budgam district on February 27. Following this, airports in Amritsar, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot and Leh were closed for civilian air traffic amid escalation of cross-Line of Control shelling between armies of India and Pakistan, said PTI. According to News18, the IAF has asked airlines to stop operations to these airports. The civilian air traffic to Dehradun and Dharamshala airports have also been suspended, the report said. International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace now being affected. Some flights returning to origin, while others appear to be seeking alternate routing. https://t.co/sXbkX0qrGI pic.twitter.com/tojnJCii4w Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) February 27, 2019 "The civilian air traffic has been suspended temporarily in view of the emergency," an official of the Airport Authority of India told PTI. While the official did not specify the nature of the emergency, it is believed the step was taken in view of an IAF jet crashing in Budgam district this morning. The flare up in the cross-LoC shelling, which was initiated by Pakistani troops in early hours of February 27 has also resulted in security forces and other establishments being put on a heightened alert. Representative Image live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Moneycontrol News The Delhi air traffic control on February 27 advised airlines to re-route its flight operations in order to avoid flying over Pakistan airspace. According to a Notam (notice to airmen) issued by the Delhi airport, restrictions were imposed for flights exiting Delhi. According to the Notam, restrictions were "conveyed" by Lahore air-control which restricted movement of flights below 32,000 feet. "The restriction is imposed on flights exiting Delhi and entering Pakistan airspace via Sulom, Gugal and Raban," it said. Flights were being diverted to Mumbai, after operations at Delhi airport were disrupted, to find new route towards western countries. Consequently, flights originating from Delhi will first fly to Mumbai, and then turn right towards Muscat to travel further. Pakistan suspended flight operations in its airspace from Lahore, Islamabad, Multan, Faisalabad and Sialkot leading to Indian carriers re-routing their flight operations towards Middle East, Western and European countries. Air India has said that the airline was "avoiding routes of Pakistan airspace with immediate effect". SpiceJet chairman Ajay Singh said that the airline was awaiting instructions from the government and was yet to take call on international routes. Earlier in the day, domestic operations at airports along the border areas were suspended due to safety reasons. According to sources, restrictions were imposed across various airports including Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Amritsar, Pathankot, Gaggal and Bhuntar. While these were first imposed till May 29, DGCA later withdrew the restrictions. "We are following orders from the airforce regarding flight operations in the northern states... I can't say how long will the suspension last," said Jayant Sinha, minister of state for civil aviation. The Notam said that flights to and from Amritsar was not permitted to fly to Jammu, Pathankot, Srinagar, Leh, Shimla, Kullu and Kangra. Flight operations were disrupted at various airports along the border after heavy shelling and shooting started between India and Pakistan. Reports have suggested that Pakistani airforce jets entered the Indian airspace in the morning, which was countered by Indian Air Force. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Raveesh Kumar said that during the ongoing tension at LoC, Indian side lost one MiG 21 whose pilot was missing. "Pakistan claims that he is in their custody... We are ascertaining the fact," he said. Mohammad Faisal, Pakistan's MoFA spokesperson said that Pakistan Airforce (PAF) undertook strikes across LoC from Pakistani airspace whose sole purpose was to demonstrate their right, will and capability for self defence. "We do not wish to escalate but are fully prepared if forced into that paradigm," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high level meeting to take stock of the security situation. Military attacks from Pakistan started a day after 12 Indian airforce jets entered PoK to destroy base camps of terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad, that claimed responsibility of killing 42 CRPF jawans in Jammu on February 14. The airforce, in its statement, said that airstrikes in Balakot were carried out on "credible intelligence input" which said that "multiple fidayeen attacks" were being planned in several parts of the country. The step by IAF was to be seen as "self defence" against terrorism and not "military exercise" against Pakistan. Representative Image Sounak Mitra The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the deadline for complying with Know Your Customer (KYC) norms for pre-paid instrument (such as e-wallet) providers by another six months. It is but temporary relief for e-wallet operators and no solution to their problems. RBI had asked mobile e-wallet operators to complete KYC of their users in October 2017. Its almost a year-and-a-half, and only a fraction has been done. A January 8 story by the Economic Times claimed that more than 95 percent of mobile wallets were not in compliance with the KYC rules. A six-month extension, or for that matter many more months, may not be enough to get 100 percent of e-wallet users to complete KYC. Thats because the problem for e-wallet operators are different. First, with the Supreme Court barring private companies from using Aadhaar for KYC, the concept of e-KYC does not exist. The cost of physical KYC is quite high for e-wallet operators in relation to the average transaction on their platforms which is a low amount and declining. According to RBI data, Rs 16,368 crore were transacted via mobile wallets in December. The total volume of transactions stood at 392.99 million, which was a record high. However, the average transaction was worth Rs 416.48. In November, the average transaction value was 468.45, again down from Rs 509.93 the previous month which was the peak so far. As a Moneycontrol story pointed out, the cost of physical KYC is estimated at around Rs 100 per person, while it is Rs 10 for e-KYC. Second, E-wallets became popular when the Indian government banned high value currency notes in November 2016. But once cash came back into the system a few months after demonetisation, a lot of people stopped using e-wallets except for payments of electricity and mobile bills. If there is a sense that the future of e-wallets may be bleak, there is no reason why companies will spend on KYC, unless its a customer who uses e-wallets on a daily basis. Third, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) that is based on IMPS, or immediate payment service platform, has become a popular alternative to e-wallets because it allows money transfer from one bank account to another bank account which is not permitted on e-wallets. Naturally, people have moved to UPI, and e-wallets are now being used only for specific purposes. According to National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) data, there were a total of 672.75 million transactions on UPI amounting to Rs 1.1 trillion in January, up from 151.83 million transactions amounting to Rs 15,571.20 crore a year ago. A wallet like Amazon Pay is used because of the special discounts and cashbacks that Amazon offers if payment is being made using this instrument while making a purchase. Fourth, stringent regulation restrict e-wallet operators from accessing the Central KYC Records Registry (CKYCR). Currently, only entities regulated by RBI, SEBI, IRDA, PFRDA, and defined under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act are permitted access. That puts e-wallet operators at a disadvantage to banks and some non-bank companies. E-wallets are regulated by the RBI, so are the banks. Both would necessarily benefit if access to CKYCR is opened for cross reference. An e-wallet user already has bank accounts, and debit or credit cards which means the customer has already completed the KYC process at least once. If the e-wallets are given access to CKYCR, the entire issue can be resolved without any hassle. This obviously comes with the risk of consumer data being misused. But then, e-wallets are regulated and the risk is lower when a sector is regulated by the central bank. Also, what is the guarantee that physical KYC documents wont be shared or misused? If an e-wallet operator can be trusted with physical KYC, why not access to the central database? According to Toshiba CTO Dr Shiro Saito, who revealed companys vision on its technology future, the company is aiming to solve social problems with technologies that fuse the cyber and the physical--the real world. We now promote open innovation from the early stages of research, and collaborate with top universities and research institutes worldwide, such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Cambridge University and Stanford University. For example, we are collaborating with Cambridge University on quantum cryptographic communication. This is a technology that enables safe transmission of extremely confidential information -- personal information and financial transaction information and the like -- using communications technology that is theoretically impossible to hack, Saito said. Toshiba plans to invest 930 billion yen over the next five years, in the areas of renewable energy technologies, SCiB, power electronics and robotics. In terms of creating new business, we will release the seeds of businesses created in the R&D department into the world at an early stage. In addition to a learning mechanism based on receiving feedback, a new Corporate Venture Capital fund of 10 billion yen has been set up to create new businesses not bound by our current portfolio. Moving forward, our researchers and developers should work with a heightened awareness that technology R&D is a means to solve social problems and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, he added. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Shares of Allahabad Bank, Corporation Bank and Dhanlaxmi Bank rose 4-10 percent in the early trade on Wednesday after RBI lifted restrictions imposed on the banks under RBI PCA framework. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lifted the restrictions imposed on Allahabad Bank and Corporation Bank under RBI Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework with effect from February 26, 2019 subject to certain conditions and continuous monitoring. Also, RBI decided to take Dhanlaxmi Bank out of the PCA Framework, subject to certain conditions and continuous monitoring, as the bank is found to be not breaching any of the risk thresholds of the PCA framework. Allahabad Bank and Corporation Bank had received Rs 6,896 crore and Rs 9,086 crore respectively. Meanwhile, RBI will continuously monitor the performance of these banks under various parameters. At 09:20 hrs Allahabad Bank was quoting at Rs 45.50, up 3.76 percent and Corporation Bank was quoting at Rs 31.40, 7.53 percent. Dhanlaxmi Bank was quoting at Rs 14.95, up 6.79 percent on the BSE. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Banks have rejected the demand for a forensic audit of Jaypee Infratech's financial accounts since its inception, thus delivering a blow to aggrieved homebuyers. The item put to vote on February 21 was on conducting a forensic audit of corporate debtor from date of incorporation till March 31, 2014 and that the cost of the same be considered as part of the CIRP process. The Committee of Creditors required 51 percent votes to allow this to go through but only 34 percent of the lenders voted in favour of the audit. "Banks are equally responsible or at least have knowledge of this financial mess created by Jaypee promoters. They were on the board of the company since the beginning. They do not want their wrong doings to come out in public. So all PSU banks voted against the resolution to conduct forensic audit since inception," said a Jaypee homebuyer. Homebuyers have been demanding an independent audit to determine why Jaypee Infratech had failed to deliver the projects. Homebuyers are considered financial creditors under the amended Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and their views are taken into account while deciding the resolution plan of the company. The voting started on February 21 and went on until February 25, 2019. The results of voting were announced on Tuesday. Moneycontrol has reached out to IRP Anuj Jain for his comment. The copy will be updated once he responds. It will be another three weeks before the names of the companies that would take over the embattled firm are finalized. The two bids would be discussed at the next meeting on March 1 Lenders of Jaypee Infratech had met on February 18 to discuss the resolution plans submitted by state-owned NBCC and construction company Suraksha Asset Reconstruction Company to take over the realty firm and complete stalled projects, some of which have been delayed by over a decade. In the recently concluded meeting of Committee of Creditors, the home buyers through their authorised representative had once again demanded for a proper forensic audit to be done of the financials of JIL since its inception. Such resistance from the bankers side, creates apprehensions against the bonafide of banks itself, it is apparent that banks wish to safeguard themselves and are hence resisting demands of the home buyers for a forensic audit, homebuyers had said in a statement on Sunday. Buyers also claimed that since the parent company Jaiprakash Associates had also tabled a settlement plan under the IBC, it shows that they had access to money all this while, and hence this should be looked into. It is imperative that such details are delved into properly through a proper forensic audit since inception of JIL. In the past the interim insolvency resolution professional had commissioned an audit of the transactions entered into/done at the behest of JIL, but with only a look back period of two years, which does not serve the purpose, the statement had said. The home buyers themselves had commissioned a parallel audit of the JILs financials based on the freely available documents and details, and came to a conclusion that heavy siphoning of funds did occur But such a study done at the behest of the home buyers, suffered with its own latent disabilities such as no access to exact records and a limited look back period, the statement added. Embattled firm Jaiprakash Associates has for the second time submitted a proposal to lenders of its subsidiary Jaypee Infratech for settling dues worth Rs 10,000 crore. Mumbai-based Suraksha group has made an offer of about Rs 20 crore as upfront payment and land worth Rs 5,000 crore. It has promised to complete pending projects in three years. NBCC has proposed incorporation of an NBCC SPV for the purpose of acquiring a majority stake in the corporate debtor. It has proposed pumping in an upfront amount of Rs 500 crore (part equity and part debt) within 90 days of the approval date to acquire the embattled company, sources say. It has offered 1,400 acre land worth Rs 3,000 crore as well as Yamuna Expressway highway to lenders. NBCC has suggested that banks should raise about Rs 2,000 crore against the expressway and provide half of the amount (Rs 1,000 crore) to the PSU, which will utilise this fund as an upfront payment. NBCC will also fund the gap of about Rs 1,500 crore between estimated construction cost and receivables from customers. In its bid, NBCC has promised to deliver flats to homebuyers in four to five years from the transfer date, subject to the availability of the cash flows from the respective projects. The delivery of plots will begin in 2020 and most of the villas and apartments are expected to be delivered by 2021 until 2024. In October 2018, Insolvency Resolution Professional Anuj Jain started a fresh initiative to revive Jaypee Infratech on the NCLT direction after lenders rejected the over Rs 7,000-crore bid of Suraksha group. Jaypee Infratech Ltd has an outstanding debt of nearly Rs 9,800 crore, of which Rs 4,334 crore pertains to IDBI Bank. Other lenders are IIFCL, LIC, SBI, Corporation Bank, Syndicate Bank, Bank Of Maharashtra, ICICI Bank, Union Bank, IFCI, J&K Bank, Axis Bank and Srei Equipment Finance. vandana.ramnani@nw18.com Quantum Asset Management Co (AMC), India's 36th largest fund house with assets of Rs 1,287 crore, is upset with quant Money Managers, India's 39th largest fund house. After filing a complaint with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) in October 2018, Quantum AMC has now served a legal notice to quant this month asking it to change its name. An industry official privy to the case told Moneycontrol that Quantum AMC felt the names of both fund houses sound similar and it could create "confusion in the minds of investors". Quantum AMC's spokesperson said that such a complaint has been filed with RoC but refused to make any further comments on the matter. "We can confirm that a notice has been issued through our advocates to the representatives of Quant Money Managers Limited. However, in light of the fact that the matter is sub-judice (reserved for the pronouncement of order) before the Regional Director, Northern Region, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, New Delhi, we are unable to comment on the issue with Quant at this point of time," said a Quantum AMC spokesperson. Sandeep Tandon, Founder of quant Group confirmed to have received the notice in February 2019. "We have submitted our detailed response to the regional director's office and copies of the same have been sent to the board members of Quantum Asset Management Company Private Limited and Quantum Trustee Company Private Limited," he said. Tandon and two other senior mutual fund industry officials said that both parties put forth their arguments at the RoC recently. Quantum AMC commenced operations in March 2006 with the launch of its first scheme, Quantum Long Term Equity Value Fund. Quantum Advisors, the sponsor firm of Quantum AMC, was formed in 1990 and has been advising international clients and high networth individuals to invest in India. Tandon had founded quant group in 2007 and managed money for high networth families and family offices. In 2015, Tandon in his personal capacity acquired a small stake of 9 percent in the erstwhile Escorts Asset Management Ltd, a Delhi-based fund house. In December 2017, the Escorts Group decided to exit the Indian MF industry and Tandon's quant group took control of the fund house. It renamed the company quant Money Managers in February 2018 and received the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (SEBI's) final approval in June 2018. Further, Tandon said he owns and is the registered proprietor of the trademark quant "in relation to financial services, mutual funds, monetary services and allied services". Quantum AMC has not yet registered its name with the trademark authorities. Nazneen Ichhaporia who is partner at ANB Legal and heads the intellectual property rights practice at the firm said: "There could be an element of confusion. However, if "quant" is a registered trademark, then theres not much that Quantum AMC can do. Besides, when someone applies for a trademark- as was the case with quant- the trademark authorities would have published the same in the Trade Marks Journal (available on the website of the authority), inviting objections from the general public. If nobody objected within a period of 90 days or the opposition is successfully resolved, only then the trademark gets registered. Post this, the applicant is legally entitled to use the registered trademark." Two industry officials confirmed to Moneycontrol that SEBI has chosen to not intervene in the matter. When contacted CEO at Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC and director on Association of Mutual Fund of Indias (Amfi) board A Balasubramanian said, "The matter is between the two fund houses concerned. Amfi is an association of members; this is not an Amfi-related matter. Its between the two fund houses and registrar of companies." The Registrar of Companies' final order on the case is pending. All those stories that tell us how thousands of crores of rupees are lying in various accounts or how a family spent many years in poverty as they were unaware of the assets they owned after the death of the head of the family should make us write a will. Writing a will following the due process is half the work done. There are a few more things one should be doing after writing a will to ensure that all assets go to the persons of ones choice after his death. Lets look at a few important things one should do after writing a will. Keep it safe and inform your executors about it This may sound very basic but it is essential. You need not tell your family members about the contents of the will. But they must be aware of the document. Inform the executor of the will and your family members about the will and where it is kept. This will ensure that the executor acts on the will after the testators death. If he does not then the family members will ask him to do so, only if they are aware of the existence of the will, says Pankaj Mathpal, founder and managing director of Mumbai based Optima Money Managers. If your executor is a firm, then there is a high possibility that they do offer safekeeping services as well. Pankaj Mathpal says that bank lockers are a good place to keep the documents. Alternatively, he says that the will can be registered. This ensures that a copy of the will is always available with the office of the sub-registrar. Update large asset purchases Each will should have a residual clause. It states that all assets not mentioned in the will should go to one particular beneficiary. It is supposed to take care of trifles. This may include small investments, artifacts, collections arising out of hobbies, personal belongings of the testator and even goods in transit held by the testator. However, there are cases, wherein after writing a will, testator (person writing the will) acquires a large asset with some intentionto enjoy the same in his lifetime and then bequeath it to a person of his choice. If such an asset is not mentioned in the will then it will go to the beneficiary as per residual clause. If you want to give such an asset bought after you have made your will to a person of your choice, it is better to amend your will, says Raghvendra Nath, managing director, Ladderup Wealth Management. Pankaj Mathpal told us a story wherein a couple bought a large piece of land. This purchase was one of the largest investment they did and hence was jointly owned. However, the buyers did not update their wills to that effect. It is essential to update the will to ensure that the land goes to the beneficiary of choice, and not as per the residual clause. There is no worry if the assets are sold and money received as that would reflect in bank balance or some financial asset which would already have a designated beneficiary predetermined as per the will, says Rajat Datta, Founder & Initiator, Inheritance Needs Services, a Mumbai based firm specialising in inheritance services. Financial goals As a destination is important to a journey, financial goals are important to a financial plan. In a will, testator primarily lists those goals that he thinks important and must be accomplished even if he is not around. A will lists the assets earmarked for such goals. For example, one may earmark a bank fixed deposit for his daughters education. If the daughters education is over using some other means of funding then the will can be tweaked to fund some other purpose with that bank fixed deposit. Sometimes, testator comes across new financial goals that he did not envisage in his first will. For example, as one grows older, he may turn more spiritual and may want to keep some money for a charity that he did not think earlier. Such a provision can be made by writing a new will or a codicil. If one does not write a new will, then such a wish cannot be implemented after his death. An estate planner not quoted in the story told us about a dispute going on in a family. The head of the family who was a successful businessman wanted to give a large sum to a charitable cause. However, he did not mention the same in his last will nor updated his will. After his death, the wife and younger son of the businessman wanted to give the money for the charitable cause. However, the elder son and the daughter went to court against it as it was not part of the last will. Entries and exits Most of our financial goals are linked to our family members. Be it daughters education or her marriage or handing over ones business reign to herall these financial goals involve family members. With new entries into the family by way of childbirth, adoption and marriage, new financial goals are created and one would like to fund these goals. One can accordingly make changes in his will. For example, birth of a grandchild may create goals such as education and marriage of the grandchild. Death of a family member also warrant changes in the way the assets need to be disposed of. For example, one may have given an equal share of the property to both of his sons. But, the untimely death of one of them may make him provide more for maintenance for the survivors of his deceased son. If the beneficiary dies before the testator then the testator needs to check whether the will provides for appropriate clauses to address such an eventuality or replacing existing beneficiary with another beneficiary on the demise of the initial beneficiary. If not then an addendum (codicil) of the will needs to be made to name the new beneficiary, says Rajat Datta. For the uninitiated, a codicil is an addition or supplement that explains, modifies, or revokes a will or part thereof. Many times individuals appoint an individual in the extended family who is not a beneficiary of your assets as executor of the will. If such a person dies in your lifetime, then a new executor needs to be appointed by using a codicil. This is because if all the executors have died as on demise of the testator then, there is a process of Letter of Administration that will have to be followed by the beneficiaries. This process is time-consuming and costly, explains Rajat Datta. Letter of Administration is issued by a competent court in case a person dies before writing a will, to the heirs after following the process. It enables the legal heir to inherit, administer and transfer the assets of the deceased person. Nominate it right Each new investment comes with the provision of nomination. Even all your old assets have nominees. A will may have directions overriding your nominations. The law is very clear that the will prevails over nominations, as nominees are custodians of the asset and not beneficiaries. However, not many understand it. If an asset has one persons name as the nominee but given to someone else in the will, then there is a possibility of litigation because of misconceptions. To avoid such a situation, it is better to mention the names of the nominees as mentioned in the will. Or better still, have second names in investments in accordance with the will. Over the lifetime of the testator, the will may be required to change. While small changes can be incorporated using codicil, if there are major changes it is better to rewrite the will all over again, says Anju Gandhi, partner with SNG & Partners a legal firm. Though codicil holds good in the court of law, follow the process, use the right format, mention the objectives and reasons behind the change in clear words, and more importantly, get two witnesses to sign it. If you are changing the Will, do not forget to videograph the process. If the will is registered, then even the codicil needs to be registered. Codicil should have the mention of previous will and be dated and signed with two witnesses. Also, the codicil should mention which particular paragraph or asset is undergoing change. Further, witness of the codicil may not be the same witness who signed the will, adds Rajat Datta. If you have written a will, then you have taken the step in the right direction. But do not sleep over it. Keep reviewing your will from time to time. It will ensure that it will deliver as per your wishes. We used to be a really private family, but I guess that's over. Because my daughter Lena has had so many health issues and so many things have happened publicly, and so much positive, so much negative, I think that our family really knows how to circle the wagons and protect each other, she said. My husband and I are a little bit old-school in the sense that we always had this idea that the work will speak for itself. And I have adapted more to, you know, I really love talking about my work. It's really important for an artist's legacy to leave your own information about the work. So I've really changed about that. When you have a millennial kid who's an oversharer, you're going to have to get used to, um, some changes. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police is filing a supplementary chargesheet against 242 people accused in the National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) scam. Overall the EOW will be filing six chargesheets against brokers, NSEL official and defaulters. A source close to development told Moneycontrol, "We are filing a chargesheet against 195 brokers, NSEL officials and 24 defaulters. The brokers firms include Motilal Oswal Commodities, Philip Commodities, Systematix Group and MK Commodities. Another source told Moneycontrol, "This is the sixth chargesheet by the EOW wherein there is substantial evidence against brokers being involved in illegal trades, influencing customers, not having carried out proper verification of warehouses and misrepresentation of customers. The chargesheet also mentions the role of Joseph Massey, who was recently arrested by EOW and was sent to judicial custody. This chargesheet is not related to the complaint filed by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The EOW had first registered a case against NSEL, Jignesh Shah, Anjani Sinha, numerous brokers and defaulters in 2013. Following which Shah, Sinha and other NSEL officials were arrested. From brokers, Amit Rathi, the Commodities head at Anand Rathi, Chintan Modi of IIFL and CP Krishnan of Geofin Commodities were arrested in 2014. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Highlights- Exclusion from PCA done in haste- PCA banks unlikely to move the needle on credit growth- PCA banks have been losing market share in deposits as well- Liability profile may not make them competitive to chase high quality assets ------------------------------------------------- In an ill-thought-out and hasty move, RBI had taken three banks out of its Prompt & Corrective Action (PCA) framework in January 2019. The PCA had initially covered 11 state-run banks due to their declining capital, rising bad assets and mounting losses. This action was followed up with the announcement of capital infusion in a dozen banks. In the days following the capital infusion, the regulator is signalling all is well and has taken out two more banks, namely Corporation Bank of Indiia and Allahabad Bank , from PCA, along with another small private bank: Dhanlaxmi Bank Perhaps the urgency to take banks out of PCA has been prompted by recent weakness in the NBFC space in the aftermath of the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) crisis. In the past couple of years, most of the NBFCs not only filled in the gaps of stressed PSBs but were also supporting the momentum in the not so creditworthy space of the economy. Simply put, they supported small and medium firms and the government wants to ensure that lending to these firms continues. So the question that needs to be answered is whether the relaxation can fill the void created by the demise of weak NBFCs. More importantly, should the weaker banks accelerate the credit growth pedal at this stage? Is it desirable for the economy in the long run? The two PSBs that have now come out of PCA were recipients of large doses of capital in the latest round of infusion. On the basis of their December 2018 risk weighted assets, the CAR (Capital adequacy Ratio) of Corporation Bank of India stands improved to 19 percent from 11.1 percent. For Allahabad Bank, the post-infusion CAR would be 15.9 percent from 10.4 percent. These banks were part of the PCA club because they had plenty of bad loans, weak capital levels and low return on assets. So have they fared well on all these counts? While gross non-performing assets (NPAs) continues to remain elevated, most banks have resorted to significant provisioning (including the regulatory diktat for insolvency cases) and have succeeded in moderating their net NPAs. Source: Company However, Corporation Banks net NPA in double-digits clearly breaches the PCA threshold. Its return to profitability in recent times came at the cost of lower provision, an abysmal provision cover and hence continued elevated net NPA. The regulator is perhaps hoping the capital infusion will embolden the bank to take the provision cover to a respectable level and bring down the net NPA. In terms of profitability, thanks to the higher provision taken in recent quarters, the reported picture continues to be dismal. In the first nine months, except for Corporation Bank of India (whose profits were due to under provisioning) the rest have reported losses. However, Dhanlaxmi Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce have reported minuscule profits in Q3FY19. Source: Company The regulator perhaps feels the bulk of the slippage and hence bad loans provisions are behind the banks and all that they require now is fresh equity to restart growth. That may be a dubious assumption, given a slowing economy and unaddressed stress from multiple pockets such as IL&FS, Reliance Communications, Jet Airways, the power sector et al. RBI took these banks out of PCA to ensure they start lending, thereby partially filling the gap of weaker NBFCs who are now starved of resources. But the share of these six banks in the banking systems overall credit is only 10.3 per cent and unless they grow above the industry average, they are unlikely to move the needle meaningfully. However, given the fact that they have lost over two percent market share in less than three years, to believe they will recoup rapidly and improve market share is a strong assumption. Note that unlike earlier years, when PSBs rarely lost market share in deposits, in recent times they have lost market share in deposits as well. In the period between March 2016 and December 2018, the aggregate deposits of the six banks out of PCA have declined to the tune of Rs 21,397 crore and advances have declined by over Rs 27,193 crore. It may not be so easy to improve market share in deposits in a highly competitive market place without impacting cost of funds. PCA banks can of course loosen their purse strings with fresh capital infusion. But given the disadvantage on incremental cost of funds, they will not be able to grab the best of assets, which will still go to better run banks with a superior liability franchise. The capital infusion without reform and hasty exclusion from PCA can therefore encourage lending to not so credit worthy borrowers and lead to a rapid drawdown of the infused capital due to higher risk weights of such assets. The risks to these banks if they start lending in the current environment should not be underestimated.Ultimately, the question is this: should the central bank, which is supposed to be a conservative regulator keenly alive to the risks in the financial system, add to those risks in the name of fostering credit growth? live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Tech Mahindra, the country's fifth largest IT company by market capitalisation, is set to buy back from shareholders up to 2.05 crore shares worth Rs 1,956 crore at a price of Rs 950 apiece. Its peers TCS, Infosys and HCL Technologies also completed their buybacks earlier. Generally, the cash-rich company buy back shares to support price as well as to distribute cash among shareholders. It is also seen that when the stock price falls sharply despite strong fundamentals, the company uses share buyback to increase trust among shareholders. A share buyback is a corporate action wherein a company takes back shares from its shareholders at a price higher than the market price. In doing so, the number of outstanding shares in the market reduce. This allows companies to invest in themselves. So should shareholders tender shares in the buyback? Moneycontrol spoke to several analysts about what investors should do and they are mixed in their opinion for short term. Experts are though confident that one should hold the stock for long term. "Minority shareholders, especially retail shareholders, should participate in the buyback and hold on to rest of the shares for long term," Sameer Kalra, Founder & President (Research), Target Investing said. This buyback is more like a replacement of dividend in more tax-efficient manner and the amount announced is 2.7 percent of market cap which is more like a dividend yield, he added. "If investors do not participate they forego the outgo." Vineeta Sharma, Head of Research, Narnolia Financial Advisors also said investor with a short term, one-year horizon may tender shares for the buyback, while those having a long-term horizon may continue holding the stock. Assuming 10 percent of shareholders in retail segment tender shares in the buyback, the acceptance ratio is expected at 45 percent, according to Sharma, who said at CMP of Rs 825, this generates an expected tax-adjusted return of 6.1 percent assuming post buyback price to be Rs 841, valuing 17x FY20E EPS. AUM Capital also advised participating in the share buyback. On the other hand, Shubham Kakrania, Research Analyst at Stewart & Mackertich Wealth Management said one should hold the investment for the long term since the buyback size is small and he believes the strong growth visibility in the telecom vertical on the back of large deal wins in last few quarters fares well for Tech Mahindra in the longer term. He believes with the pressure on telecom industry waning, and enterprise business showing good momentum on the back of manufacturing and public services, the growth trajectory looks much stronger for Tech Mahindra. Astha Jain, Senior Research Analyst at Hem Securities also agreed with Shubham saying as the acceptance ratio is around 5-15 percent, one should be better to hold the stock for long term rather than tendering shares in buyback. She expects the stock to surpass Rs 1,000 levels in next one year. Meanwhile, the outlook on the stock as well as entire sector is positive, experts said. Here are their comments: Shubham Kakrania We have a buy rating on Tech Mahindra with a target price of Rs 954 per share and it is one of our top pick among IT stocks. Central to our investment rational is our view that Tech Mahindra is nicely putting in place the building blocks to win big in 5G. The industry expects 5G spending by the carriers to pick up in CY19, with the company getting its fair share of the network services piece from FY21 onwards. This holds the potential to drive double digit growth in telecom revenues. Further, enterprise is likely to maintain good growth aided by higher digital revenue and strong total contract value. Margin can improve modestly from here, given the scope in profitability improvement among subsidiaries. Sameer Kalra We have buy rating on the company and it is one of top recommended IT stocks post Infosys & TCS. Tech Mahindra has won big deals in past one year which have started showing into the revenue line and telecommunication segment which is biggest contributor to the revenue and margins is showing reversal since last two quarters. There has been improvement in cashflows of the company which should increase from hereon. Vineeta Sharma We expect Tech Mahindras EPS to grow at 14 percent CAGR for the next 2 years led by a strong revival in communication, continued deal wins ($440 million win during the current quarter) and improvement in the enterprise segment. 5G is expected to roll out late in FY20 should provide impetus to growth. Margins are expected to be bit lower level in FY20 as some pressure are expected due to addition in workforce and training and localization challenges which most of the IT companies are suffering from. We have a positive view on the IT sector as digital opens up a new platform of growth. We expect return on equity to sustain around 21 percent. : 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. Here are stocks that are in the news today: Results on February 27: Metalyst Forgings, Nitin Fire Protection, Rain Industries, Vesuvius India, KSB, Merck. Max India: Board approves selling 51 percent stake in Max Bupa Health Insurance for Rs 510 crore to True North. Enterprise value Rs 1,001 crore and company to complete Max Bupa stake sale in FY20. BSE Limited: SP Kothari resigns as shareholder director to join Securities Exchange Commission, Washington. PSU Banks: RBI removes Allahabad Bank, Corporation Bank and Dhanlaxmi Bank from Prompt Corrective Action framework. Greycells Education: American University of Ras Al-Khaimah (AURAK) has entered into a partnership with EMDI - Dubai, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company. Future Retail: CARE reaffirmed A1+ rating for company's commercial paper. MCX: Board of directors recommended the name of P S Reddy as the MD & CEO and a KMP of the Exchange to SEBI for seeking its approval. Central Bank of India: Capital Raising Committee of the bank approved raising of equity capital by issuance and allotment of, upto 68,72,48,322 equity shares at the issue price of Rs 37.25 per share, aggregating to Rs 2,560 crore to government on preferential basis. GMR Infrastructure: GMR Airports emerges as the highest bidder for greenfield airport at Bhogapuram in Andhra Pradesh. ONGC: Its arm, Mozambique partners in LNG pact with Tokyo Gas & others. IFCI: CARE cuts company's long term rating to BBB and downgraded NCD ratings to A- from ABBB+. MRF: Workers call off strike at Chennais Tiruvottiyur plant. Unichem Labs: Company filed plea with European Union court of justice versus general court order which upheld fine on company in Perindropil case. Tata Steel: Board approves raising fund up to Rs 5,000 crore via NCDs. Majesco: Company completed its previously announced rights offering pursuant to which 6,123,463 shares of Majesco's common stock will be issued, resulting in gross proceeds to Majesco of approximately $43.5 million. : CRISIL has downgraded its ratings from A to A- / Stable for Rs 300 crore Tier I perpetual bonds (under BASELII), from AA- to A+ / Stable for Rs 209 crore lower Tier II bonds (under BASELII) and from AA- to A+ / Stable for Rs 1,490 crore Tier II Bonds (under BASELIII). Bank of Maharashtra: Board approved the proposal of raising of equity capital upto Rs 205 crore by way of issue of equity shares to Government on preferential basis. Panacea Biotec: Board approved one time settlement with the consortium of lenders of the company; raising of funds through issue of listed/unlisted, secured/unsecured redeemable non-convertible debentures, aggregating upto Rs 864 crore; demerger of real estate business; raising of funds through issue of warrants by issuing up to 71,11,111 warrants of Rs 180 each, exercisable into equal number of equity shares of face value of Re 1 each of the company on a preferential basis amounting upto Rs 128 crore; and transfer of the pharmaceutical formulations business to a wholly owned subsidiary (to be incorporated), as a going concern. Time Technoplast: Company and Confidence Petroleum India joined hands to give new thrust for making LPG available across India in blast proof composite cylinders. Bharat Financial Inclusion: Company assigned a pool of receivables of an aggregate value of Rs 1,217.80 crore to one of the largest private sector banks on a direct assignment basis. With this transaction, the company has completed Direct Assignment transactions worth Rs 6,666.20 crore in FY19. Share India Securities: Board approved the migration of the company from BSE SME platform to Main Board of BSE Ltd. Sanofi India December Quarter: Profit rises to Rs 79.3 crore versus Rs 76 crore; revenue jumps to Rs 726.4 crore versus Rs 670.4 crore YoY. Board of Directors approved recommendation for payment of final dividend of Rs 66 per share for the year ended December 2018. Maruti Suzuki: Company and Delhi Police joined hands for launch of automated red light violation detection and speed violation detection system. HDFC Asset Management Company: Board approved payment of interim dividend of Rs 12 per share of Rs 5 each for the financial year ending March 2019. Elantas Beck India Q3: Profit increases to Rs 14.35 crore versus Rs 14.15 crore; revenue rises to Rs 111 crore versus Rs 98.83 crore YoY. Board recommended payment of dividend of Rs 4.50 per share of Rs 10 each for the year 2018. Action Construction Equipment: National Company Law Tribunal approved the Scheme of Amalgamation. Indian Overseas Bank: Board approved the issue of equity shares on preferential basis to government for the capital infusion of Rs 3,806 crore received for financial year 2018-19. Monte Carlo Fashions: Special resolution passed by the shareholders through postal ballot approving the buy-back of equity shares. S Chand and Company: Company along with subsidiary Eurasia Publishing House acquired the remaining stake of 26 percent in Chhaya Prakashani and Chhaya has become the wholly owned subsidiary of the company. Union Bank of India: Board of Directors approved the issue of 52,15,62,658 new equity shares on preferential basis to the government for an amount aggregating upto Rs 4,112 crore. : NSE said on account of bonus issue in the ratio of 1:3, the adjustment factor for the corporate action shall be 1.3333 and the ex-date for the corporate action shall be March 6. Out of F&O ban: Allahabad Bank. Bulk Deals on February 26 Gujarat Raffia-Roll: Virtue Ceramics Private Limited bought 25,000 shares of the company at Rs 14.45 per share on the NSE. Sintercom India: Bellwether Capital Private Limited purchased 1,34,000 shares of the company at Rs 59.34 per share. (For more bulk deals, click here) Analyst or Board Meet/Briefings Allcargo Logistics: Analyst/Institutional investor meeting is scheduled to be held on February 27. Voltas: Company's officials will meet Alquity Funds on February 27. Cummins India: Company's officials will meet analysts/investors on February 28. Union Bank of India: Extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders to be held on March 26. Cera Sanitaryware: Extra-ordinary general meeting is scheduled to be held on May 15. Ambuja Cements: Company's officials will meet GIC (P) Singapore on February 27. Andhra Bank: Extraordinary General Meeting of the bank is scheduled to be held on March 22. Mayur Floorings: Board meeting is scheduled on March 7 to consider the approval of bank loan and disposal of fixed assets of erstwhile marble and granite processing machinery due to discontinuation of business. Tide Water Oil (India): Board meeting is scheduled on March 14 to consider payment of 2nd interim dividend for the year 2018-19. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Larsen & Toubro shares gained more than a percent in morning Wednesday after global research firm Credit Suisse maintained its outperform call on the stock. The brokerage expects the stock to rally more than 34 percent to meet its target price of Rs 1,700 apiece as order inflows guidance is no longer a challenge for the company and inflows are likely to exceed company's FY19 guidance. "We stay outperform on strong domestic pick-up, lower dependence on Middle East. Company has adequate pipeline of real estate development," it said, adding the stronger visibility is required to underwrite strong growth. The stock was quoting at Rs 1,280.75, up Rs 16.60, or 1.31 percent on the BSE, at 09:42 hours IST. The brokerage which is sanguine on margin as well said it revised FY19/FY20/FY21 EPS estimate by +2 /-1 /2 percent on model changes. Meanwhile, during the current quarter (January-March 2019) its arm L&T Construction has received a mega contract for design and construction of a major airport, significant contracts for the power transmission & distribution and water & effluent treatment businesses, large contract for construction of hospitals, contracts for individual rural water supply projects by Government of Odisha. The construction arm also won orders valued Rs 1,060 crore. L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering received a mega contract for south west gas fields development project from Sonatrach-Algeria, and two significant contracts for ethylene glycol project from IOCL. Its consortium wins another EPCI order from Saudi Aramco. : The above report is compiled from information available on public platforms. Moneycontrol advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. Instead of investing in markets or stocks, if you are investing in a company that would mean that your vision is at least for the medium-term, and your vision, as well as time horizon, will grow with the company, Vijay Kedia, MD, Kedia Securities, said in an interview with Moneycontrols Kshitij Anand. Edited excerpts: Q: From the bountiful year of 2017 to momentum fizzling in 2018 to an equally dormant 2019 till now, what really happened in this span of these three or four years? A: Actually, this is what we have read in childhood that excess of everything is bad. So, this is what is happening in the markets. We drank too much in 2017, and the hangover is yet to end. But, this is not happening for the first time. In 2017 as well as in 2018, there was so much of euphoria in the market that people forgot what should be the PE ratio and, hence, the fair value of their stock. What people remembered was that if you buy today and sell after 15 days, they can get 10-20 percent returns. The number of multibaggers was reduced to a single digit in 2018 compared to what we saw in 2017. So, we can say hardly 5-10 percent of the shares multiplied or carried momentum in 2018. One has to be very selective and at the same time cautious. Please remember investing is a very risky business. Even if everything is in order, related to the financials of the stock, chances are that things may go wrong due to external factors. So, I think after the euphoria of 2017, it looks like that the market is now correcting itself. But, the good part is that most of the correction is already over for the market. At the same time, there is a possibility that some of the pockets will still correct. But, more or less, I think that the correction is over. That is what I could say about my stocks. Q: Do you think the investors should really worry about who would come at the Centre after the general elections? A: I do not worry about elections, because this is an external event which you dont have any control and thus investors should also not worry about it. If you keep doing the right things in terms of your investment, the health of your portfolio should be fine. See, the elections come and go. Every year there are some elections, so why do you want to gamble with your health by worrying about elections? Data say that for the last 30 years, India's GDP has always grown 5 percent plus irrespective of the government at the centre. So, this tells us that India is in an auto-mode. If any good government comes, the GDP may grow 7 percent or 8 percent. Even if the government is not-so-good (coalition), even then India has grown by about 5 percent. So, I am not actually worried about the outcome of the elections. I am very comfortable with all the investments I have made. I am very sure that in a given time, they will show me good results. Q: You talk about "smile", apart from this there is also a concept of "Chinese Bamboo tree". Can you throw some more light on it? A: According to me, these investment styles are relevant at all times. These concepts do not change with time. Of course, I am following the principle of "SMiLE", which is "Small in size, Medium in experience, Large in aspiration and Extra-large market potential". I am certainly following that and whatever investments I have done, you will know that the flavour "smile" applies to all my investments. But, one very important thing every investor must understand that until and unless your buying price is cheap, you will not succeed in this market. The reason you feel the pain in this market is because if you have made any investment in 2018, or in late 2018 then you are in loss. But, if you have made investments in the year 2016 or maybe an early part of 2017, then even after this fall of 20-50 percent you are above your cost-price. So that gives me good sleep. Alteast I am not losing my money. My principal is still intact. Whatever money I was making in 2018, today, according to that price, I am losing. But, that is not the way to calculate your returns in the stock market. Q: What is the definition of a good return? A: Well, you cannot calculate returns on a year or 2-year basis if you are long-term investors. In a bull market, it is not given that the stock will multiply every year. Even 15 percent, 10 percent or 5 percent market returns for some years can be called a bull market. In one year, you may double your stock; then maybe for the next 2 years, you will get just 5 percent returns or maybe no returns at all which is also good. So, that is also a bull market. Q: You also recently introduced a concept known as bhangar-cap. So, what exactly is bhangar-cap all about and how should investors avoid getting trapped in these bhangar-caps stocks? A: Bhangar-cap simply means penny stocks. But, not necessarily all penny stocks are bhangar-caps. Remember, all mid, smallcaps are not bhangar-caps. Yes, I have noticed that there are a number of stocks around 2,000-4,000 stocks that rise only in the bull market, and when the bull market gets over, these stocks also come down along with the market. And, we have noticed that there are some stocks where the company is not growing, only the PE multiple is growing in a bull market. Just because the market is euphoric, these stocks multiply or they get better evaluations. When euphoria in the market dies down, the stock price and valuation also come down from 15x to 5x or 6x. I call these stocks also bhangar-caps, which have a very limited scope/side of growing. Q: So you are saying that companies whose earnings are not growing, but multiples are getting elevated... A: Multiples are elevated, but that happens only in one season and that is in a bull market. Not only earnings even the top-line is also not growing which should be your first clue, because the size of the company is not growing. So, those companies are actually in trouble. Q: What is your advice to first-time investors? A: Investing is a 24x7 business and it cant be your part-time job. If you have a job then the best way to make money is you invest in markets via mutual funds. For new investors and for small investors, this is the clear-cut message, please do not invest in the markets directly. You are playing with fire. You cannot make money without experience, or without failing in this market you cannot pass in this market. This is well written on the wall. The new investors should start their career with mutual funds. Then side-by-side they should keep on learning which might take 3-5 years. Once you have gained enough experience, investors should think of investing directly in the markets. Because, as I said earlier, this is a very risky business and you cannot predict the markets. Q: In one of your ted-talks you mentioned, "Success is a series of accidents". How many accidents did you experience, before you got the success formula right? A: Oh, I do not remember how many accidents. Even today, I am facing accidents. Accidents come in one form or another. So yeah, that's the process of life. You have to learn from your mistakes and the idea is not to repeat the same mistakes again. If you have not failed in the stock markets then you are in the danger zone. Success and accidents are like two sides of the coin of the stock market. Q: You have a knack of spotting good stocks that give higher returns or generate wealth for investors. What are the key parameters for retail investors or new investors, who want to invest in the stock market for the first time? A: First-time investors should stick with mutual funds. I think the government should ban new investors coming and investing directly into the market, otherwise, you are just ruining your wealth. For direct investing, my principles and fundamentals are very simple. Buy stocks that are actually very cheap, and do not look at the market. I have another concept as well. Either you are investing in the markets or you are investing in the stocks or you are investing in the company. Now-a-day, I am attuning my mind that neither I am investing in the markets, nor I am investing in the stocks, but I am actually investing in the company. If I am investing in the company, this thought process only will change the way you think. If you are investing in a company that means your vision is at least for the medium-term. If you are investing in the company then your vision will grow with the company. See, the idea of choosing 'investing' as a career is to become stress-free. But, if you become a short-term or medium-term investor, that you become at the cost of your health and happiness. Q: There are so many domestic and external factors impacting the markets, should investors be cautious? A" When you mentioned the word "cautious", again it depends on what is the horizon of your investment. If you are invested only for one year then you have to be very cautious. But, if you are invested in the company then your horizon is about 10 years. In that case, you do not have to be cautious. Let the management of the company be worried about all your investments. Why are you worried? There is another quote from my side: "Buy like a bull, sit like a bear and watch like an eagle". So, for me after investing, the only work that is left is to watch my companies. Whatever development is going on in India or in the world, whether my company is going to be affectedthat is the only job which I am left with after investing. I am watching all the development that is taking place in India very closely. That's it. This is the approach I have. : 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 As crackdown on H-1B visas by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) becomes harder, experts say IT firms will have to re-calibrate their hiring process even further. IT firms are under heat as it became more than obvious from the latest data released by the USCIS that revealed that the applications filed by Indian firms such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro for its employees had relatively low approval rate compared to their overseas peers. According to a Wall Street Journal report, approval rates vary significantly for the top 30 biggest users of H-1B visa. For instance, Apple, Facebook, Google, Intel and Microsoft had a 99 percent approval rate. However, there are some companies that had high number of applications but lower approval rates. IT services companies such as Cognizant and Capgemini had a 68 percent and 60 percent approval rate, respectively. Approval rate for Infosys stood at 74 percent and that for Wipro and TCS stands at 82 percent each. Vivek Tandon, founder and CEO, EB5 BRICS, an advisory firm, said, It is clear from the data that it is mostly the Indian companies that are being targeted. Their denial rates are high for H-1B. This hardening of stance is only going to go up. At this juncture, Rogelio Caceres, CCO and co-founder, LCR Capital Partners, said IT firms should re-think their hiring process and adjust revenues going forward. The situation is hardly surprising given that the IT firms have been feeling the heat since the Trump administration began tightening the most coveted H-1B visas to Indians since 2017. However, what has changed was the range of conditions the administration brought in to filter out the candidates. Apart from stringent probe into filtering profiles, the USCIS also restrict people with H-4 visa (spouses of H-1B visa holders) from working in the country (Barack Obama administration allowed it and it benefited a large number of educated spouses). Experts said this is going to put a huge strain on the family as sustaining on a single income is hard in the US. Recently, the USCIS said people who have their graduated from the US universities would get preference while issuing an H-1B visa. Many of the companies have already stepping up their hiring overseas, Caceres said. In the recent times, hiring from US universities has increased. For instance, HCL Technolgies is looking to hire campus hires in the US. However, this might also lead to students losing interest in studying in the US. Number of Indian students going to the US has been dwindling over the last two years. According to media reports, Indian students in US higher institutions grew 5.4 percent in 2017-18 as opposed to 12.3 percent in 2016-17 and 24.9 percent in 2015-16. Indian students account for about 17.9 percent of total foreign students in the US, the second highest after Chinese students at 33.2 percent. Caceres said, These new regulations may make Indian students rethink their choice, but to work in the US you need to study there. Another area to look at might be the work allocation. Tandon said companies might shift some of the work from onsite to offshore. They might recruit people overseas only for machine critical systems and shift rest of the work offshore, which they did not do so earlier due to the cost factor, he added. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Moneycontrol News People from Odisha will soon be able to easily travel to various international destinations as budget carrier SpiceJet will operate flights from Jharsuguda to international airports of Delhi, Kolkata and Hyderabad. "25 percent of our fleet consists of international routes... With Jharsuguda now being connected to Delhi and Kolkata, people from the state can now travel to international destinations easily," said Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet. The airline will start daily flight operations from March 31, 2019 from Jharsuguda (Veer Surendra Sai Airport) to Delhi, Kolkata and Hyderabad. While the routes between Jharsuguda and Delhi/Hyderabad will cost Rs 3,701 initially, it will cost Rs 2,560 between Jharsuguda and Kolkata. Flights from Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata will depart at 1.15 pm, 6.30 pm and 2.25 pm respectively and will arrive to Jharsuguda from these originating cities at 3.10 pm, 8.20 pm and 3.50 pm respectively. Similarly, return flights from Jharsuguda to Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata will depart at 3.40 pm, 4.10 pm and 8.40 pm respectively reaching these cities at 5.35 pm, 6.00 pm and 10.00 pm respectively. The connectivity to the Odisha-based city will open opportunities for tourism, investment and building robust economy in the region, Jayant Sinha, minister of state for civil aviation said. SpiceJet is starting the route under the third phase of government's regional connectivity scheme, UDAN. The airline bagged 22 proposals under the scheme, highest among the 11 airlines that won rights to operate flights. UDAN aims to connect tier-II and III cities with major cities and provide affordable flying experience to passengers. The over two-week long strike by a section of employees of Royal Enfield factory at Oragadam has been called off and normal manufacturing operations resumed, the company said on February 27. "The entire workforce at Royal Enfield's Oragadam, Chennai facility is reporting to work effective February 23 leading to resumption of normal manufacturing operations", it said in a notification to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The employees went on strike from February 9, seeking wage revision. Royal Enfield informed BSE that the demands by the workmen were considered unreasonable by the management but stated that it remained "deeply committed to the welfare of its workforce across all levels". The company said the factory was now fully operational.. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Public sector banks are slowly exiting the insurance sector to focus on their core businesses. However, the exit process may not be smooth since finding a buyer has been a challenge for the exiting banks. Banks like Allahabad Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and Andhra Bank are some of the PSU entities looking to exit their joint ventures. They are part of Universal Sompo and IndiaFirst Life Insurance respectively. Sources said there is a scramble to get a partner on board before they can exit. Insurance being a capital-intensive business requires a player who is able to commit for a longer term to stay invested in the business. Bringing a partner on board on an immediate basis is proving to be a challenging task since there are multiple insurers on the block. Insurance is a cash-intensive business and requires a commitment of at least 8-10 years. Not all investors are ready, said a senior insurance consultant working on a few insurance deals. Focus on core PSU banks have begun to focus on their core assets and this has led to a decision on stake sales or divestments in the existing businesses. The government had also suggested, in its PSB Reforms Agenda, that the banks should focus on its core businesses. With this, it is likely that several other PSU banks will exit their insurance joint ventures in the next 10-18 months. Sources said while a few private equity players have expressed interest to buy a stake, they are not willing to give an assurance to stay invested for the next 10 years. Further, in insurance companies where there are multiple joint venture partners, getting a go-ahead from the foreign partner has also been a challenge. Most JV agreements have a clause wherein a stake sale cannot be completed without the nod of the foreign partner. Giving the majority stake to the foreign partner is not an option since the foreign direct investment norms cap maximum investment by an international partner at 49 percent. A mob enforcer who federal authorities called the overseer of the Chicago Outfits Las Vegas operations, Spilotro was found beaten to death along with his brother, Michael, in a cornfield within an Indiana wildlife preserve in 1986. Chicago mob boss James Marcello was found guilty in 2007 during the Family Secrets trial of taking part in the murders, which were dramatized in the 1995 epic crime film Casino, with Joe Pesci portraying the Spilotro character. Jet Airways owes banks nearly Rs 8,000 crore. Moneycontrol News In the wake of on-going military tensions between India and Pakistan, the pilots' association of Jet Airways - National Aviators Guild (NAG) - has called off its strike against non-payment of salaries, starting March 1, 2019. "All are informed that the Flight Safety First and the black band protest has been called off till further notice," the association said in its statement. The statement reasoned that as "the country was in a state of high alert following the events across border... the union stands united with the rest of the country". Terming the decision as a "hard call" given the "sentiments of the pilots", the association said that "every decision needs to be taken at the appropriate time". The association had planned to go on strike from March 1 to protest against non-payment of salaries, who have not been paid since August, 2018. The pilots had decided not to fly beyond roster hours. The decision comes after India and Pakistan engaged in aerial strikes against one another on February 27. In the early hours, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) targeted military installations on the Indian side after IAF attacked training camps of JeM on February 26. According to Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson for Ministry of External Affairs, while IAF shot down PAF's one fighter aircraft, one pilot of India's MiG 21 is missing in action. MEA said in a statement that while India used air strikes as "Counter Terrorism Action" on February 26, against training camps of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Pakistan "responded by attacking the "military installations". The military escalations led to suspension of air operations at Srinagar, Amritsar, Leh, Dehradun and Pathankot airports. A notam (Notice to airmen) issued by DGCA said that flights operating to and from Amritsar were prohibited to fly to Jammu, Pathankot, Srinagar, Leh, Shimla, Kangra and Kullu. While this notam was withdrawn after strikes between the two countries stopped, airlines were advised to reroute their flights due to suspension of flights over Pak airspace. According to suspension issued by Lahore, flights exiting Delhi could not enter Pakistan via Sulom, Gugal and Raban. All commercial domestic and international flights originating from Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Multan and Sialkot were suspended. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Even as the wait continues for the banks-led resolution plan to ease its liquidity crunch, operational headaches are increasing for Jet Airways. The airline may be forced to ground 42 of its aircraft, almost one-third of its fleet of 123 planes, by the end of month. Sources told Moneycontrol that 28 aircraft have already been taken off service. By the end of February, 14 more aircraft will be grounded, said an executive from the industry. "Many of the 14 aircraft are grounded due to lack of spare parts," said the source. Another executive added that the company may ground more of its Max aircraft by February 27. The airline's fleet includes 18 ATRs, 5 Boeing 737 Max and 71 Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The grounding comes even as State Bank of India is set to meet Jet Airways promoter Naresh Goyal and top executives of Etihad Airways in Mumbai on Wednesday. Etihad owns 24 percent in the Indian airline. Plans stuck Jet Airways had tried to lease or sell some of its owned aircraft to raise money that could help pare its over Rs 8,000-crore debt. But the plans, including a wet leasing deal with TruJet for its ATRs, got stuck. Many of the aircraft have also been grounded due to non-payments of dues to the lessors. On February 23, Jet Airways announced that an additional two aircraft have been grounded due to non-payment, apart from the four that the company had already disclosed. But industry executives said that the actual number was far higher. Responding to Moneyontrol's questions, a Jet Airways spokesperson disputed the number of aircraft grounded, and reiterated that some of the ATRs and Max aircraft continue to operate. But the spokesperson didn't specify how many of the planes were grounded. "Jet Airways also continues to be actively engaged with all its aircraft lessors, providing them regular updates on its efforts to improve liquidity. Our aircraft lessors have been supportive of the Company's efforts in this regard," said the spokesperson. He added that the airline is taking "proactive steps to minimise inconvenience to its guests and avoid disruption to its network." The airline, he said, is "undertaking suitable adjustments to its schedule, as required, and informing its guests well-in-time with appropriate choices of re-accommodation on alternate flights in line with established regulations. Nonetheless, the airline does apologise to its guests for the inconvenience that these interim adjustments may cause to some of them." The airline added that it continues to work towards the finalisation of the provisional resolution plan, along with partner Etihad Airways. The plan was approved by the Board of Directors of Jet Airways on February 14, and was later cleared by shareholders at the extraordinary general meeting held on February 21. Shareholding of both promoter Naresh Goyal (51 percent) and Etihad (24 percent) will dilute, and the lenders will get control of the company. Crucially, all the three stakeholders are expected to pump in more money, important for the airline's survival. The Saudi energy minister said Wednesday he is leaning towards extending oil production cuts in the second half of 2019, despite US President Donald Trump's demand to keep prices down. OPEC cartel countries and other major oil producers in January began implementing a six-month deal to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day to shore up sagging prices. The deal has pushed prices higher but so far failed to boost them to their multi-year peak of $85 a barrel reached in October, triggering speculation of an extension of the deal to cut production. "We remain flexible. I am leaning towards the likelihood of an extension in the second half" of this year for the output cuts, Khalid al-Falih, energy minister of the world's top crude exporter Saudi Arabia, told CNBC television in Riyadh. His comments come just two days after Trump criticised the producer group for rising crude prices. "Oil prices getting too high. OPEC, please relax and take it easy," Trump tweeted on Monday. "World cannot take a price hike - fragile!" Responding to the tweet, Falih said: "We are taking it easy." "The 25 countries are taking a very slow and measured approach... We are interested in market stability first and foremost," he added. Falih said it was hard to foresee the situation in June when the agreement between major oil producers, including Russia, expires. "All of the outlooks that I have seen we'll need to moderate production in the second half of this year, but you never know," he said. OPEC production fell to a four-year low in January as the cartel, and its unofficial leader Saudi Arabia, applied the new pact to shore up prices, the International Energy Agency said this month. Trump has frequently called for OPEC to keep production high to limit rising oil prices that stem economic growth. Oil prices crashed in mid-2014 to below $30 a barrel, down from over $100 a barrel, due to a glut in supplies and weakening global demand. Speaking at a symposium organised by the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum, Falih said a lack of adequate investments in oil and gas, which OPEC estimates at $11 trillion by 2040, would see supplies fall short of demand. "OPEC and our non-OPEC partners, led by Russia, continue to play their role in helping to balance the market," the minister said. "But sustaining that role requires timely investments, reliable supply, and appropriate spare capacity," he added. The Brazilian government on Wednesday asked the World Trade Organization to start a consultation regarding India's sugar industry subsidies, which the South American country says is distorting global trade. Australia also formalized a similar consultation request challenging the Indian government's subsidies, according to a joint statement from Brazil's foreign relations and agriculture ministries. Brazil argues that Indian subsidies have caused significant impacts on the world sugar market. According to the Brazilian government's estimates, India's increased supplies could lead to a drop of as much as 25.5 percent in international sugar prices in the 2018/2019 season. That would cause losses of up to $1.3 billion for Brazilian exporters alone, the ministries said. India's sugar production has risen significantly in recent years, with the country poised to overtake Brazil's position as the world's largest producer of the commodity. In October, Reuters revealed that India is expected to ship sugar for the first time in three years as government subsidies made exports lucrative. Under WTO rules, if the mandatory consultation fails to produce a satisfactory solution within 60 days, the complainants may request adjudication by a panel. A man donning a replica of the Colombian presidential band has copied the ways of Venezuelan oppositional leader Juan Guaido as he proclaimed himself the interim president of Colombia in protest to the US-backed coup next door. A video by RT America's Dan Cohen showing Colombian Alejandro Munoz, described as a social researcher, artist and writer, being sworn in as Colombia's interim president in a public square has gone viral on Twitter Munoz was protesting a meeting of the Lima Group in Bogota on Monday, attended by US Vice President Mike Pence and the leader of Venezuelan opposition, self-proclaimed 'interim president' Juan Guaido. Cheered on by fellow activists, Munoz wasted no time upon taking on his new 'role,' shaking hands with a local policeman and acting all presidential by issuing a bunch of new orders. His first one, Munoz said, would be "to declare peace." "Yes to peace, no to war, no more drug trafficking, no more neoliberalism," he shouted from his impromptu tribune with a Colombian tricolor flag waving behind him. As part of his peace-fostering agenda, Munoz said he would arrange for the US government to "take its military bases from this country." Also on rt.com US amasses special ops in Puerto Rico, army in Colombia to oust Maduro Russian Security Council US military has currently about 200 troops stationed in Colombia. Last month, Bogota was forced to deny that its territory might be used by Washington for a potential Venezuela invasion after US National Security Adviser John Bolton flashed a notepad reading "5,000 troops to Colombia." In a jab at Guaido and US officials urging Venezuelan military to desert Maduro, Munoz tweeted that he would grant amnesty to all Colombian military if they pledge allegiance to him. Taking a swipe at US-backed humanitarian aid convoys, denounced by Caracas as a decoy to mask preparations for an invasion, Munoz announced the "first drug shipment" to the US, since it's the "biggest consumer of drugs in the world." Speaking at the UNSC on Monday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said that trucks supposedly carrying humanitarian supplies to Venezuela were loaded with nails and wire that can be used to build barricades. At the earlier meeting in Bogota, Pence hailed "courageous" Guaido for standing up to Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro and pledged full US support to his quest to oust Maduro and gain recognition as the legitimate leader of the Latin American nation worldwide. Pence reiterated also that the US keeps "all options on the table" in its effort to remove Maduro from power. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! A Marine stationed in Hawaii is in hot water after an amateur investigator linked him to a series of racist and Nazi-supporting tweets, including a photo of a swastika made from TNT blocks. Mason Edward Mead is reportedly under investigation after posts praising Nazis, photos of Hitler, and racist comments made on an account linked to his name were excavated by Marine veteran Ed Beck, who posted dozens of screenshots and claimed "many active service members, vets, and concerned civilians" had also reported the account. Beck also dredged up an earlier account purportedly belonging to Mead, claiming the Kaneohe Bay-based Marine had "made death threats against a left-wing group and socialist leader." Posting screenshot after screenshot, Beck said he had "hoovered up [Mead's] social media after a tip," but gave no hint as to its origins. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service "is thoroughly investigating this situation and the command will address any misconduct at the appropriate judicial or administrative level," III Marine Expeditionary Force wrote in a statement on Tuesday, though they did not confirm the identity, rank, and rate of the individual under investigation, adding "no additional details" would be released "before referral of charges." "Mead"'s account has since been made private, but Beck's screenshots live on. In addition to praising Nazis, the account posted derogatory comments about Asians, coinciding with the time Mead was in Japan. Other photos referenced his unit and even included parts of his name tapes on gear and utilities, according to the Marine Corps Times, which also reports one tweeted photo shows a Marine possibly Mead in ersatz blackface, his face daubed with dark camo paint after a field training exercise but captioned "Hello, fellow black men." "We are thankful for the individuals who brought this to our attention," the Force's statement read. The Marines have a zero-tolerance policy regarding active participation in hate groups, though it's unclear if Mead's social media activities extended offline. Opposition politician Juan Guaido, who declared himself president of Venezuela with US backing, is facing up to 30 years in prison, a judge said. Meanwhile, US is threatening new sanctions against Caracas to compel regime change. Guaidos visit to Colombia on February 22 violated the travel ban imposed by Venezuelas supreme court, deputy judge of the Supreme Tribunal for Justice Juan Carlos Valdez told Sputnik on Tuesday. "He is a person hiding from justice. What happens with runaways who are re-entering the country and are found by the authorities? They must be caught and sent to prison, Valdez said, adding, He may face up to 30 years in jail. Also on rt.com US sending spoiled food and expired medicine as aid Venezuelan ambassador State prosecutors are currently analyzing Guaidos conduct for possible crimes, the judge added. Guaido crossed into Colombia on Friday, ostensibly to lead a human wave of supporters across the border and force the military and border guards loyal to the government to allow in humanitarian aid provided by the US. He was nowhere to be seen, however, as his followers clashed with security forces. The aid was not allowed in. The self-proclaimed president then went to Bogota, where he attended Mondays meeting of the Lima Group of countries backing the US attempt to force Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to resign. Also on rt.com US amasses special ops in Puerto Rico, army in Colombia to oust Maduro Russian Security Council Speaking before a UN Security Council session on the situation in Venezuela, US special envoy Elliott Abrams announced that more sanctions on Caracas will be coming this week. We have said that sanctions will continue, we announced sanctions yesterday, Abrams said. There will be more, there will be more this week, there will be more next week. We'll continue to impose sanctions on high-ranking members of the regime and people who handle their financial affairs. Meanwhile, Guaido told the Colombian broadcaster NTN24 that he intends to return to Venezuela in spite of the risk of being arrested. Like this story? Share it with a friend! A staggering 1.12-million-square-meter megastructure is expected to open in the Chinese city of Chongqing later this year. It will consist of eight skyscrapers connected by a gigantic sky bridge. Known as Raffles City Chongqings ninth horizontal skyscraper, the sky bridge, or The Crystal, is said to be one of the worlds highest. It is 300 meters in length, 32.5 meters wide, and 26.5 meters high. The construction is nestled above four of the 250-meter skyscrapers and links two adjacent towers by cantilevered bridges. At night, it transforms into a giant light beam, illuminating the sky with a rousing light show. The megaproject was developed by one of Asias largest real estate companies, CapitaLand. After six years of construction using state of the art engineering technologies, we are proud to present in Raffles City Chongqing an iconic architectural form resembling a powerful sail surging forward on the historic Chaotianmen site,said Lucas Loh, president (China & Investment Management) at CapitaLand. Upon Raffles City Chongqings structural completion, we are now focusing on the interior fit-out works, including transplanting trees to enliven The Crystal sky bridge, which will feature the tallest observation deck across Western China, he added. The megaproject occupies an area of 9.2 hectares and brings together a 235,000-sq m shopping mall, office spaces, residential apartments, residences, and a hotel. Two of its skyscrapers are 350 meters tall and are known as Chongqings tallest buildings; one of them was also named Chinas tallest residential tower. The other six skyscrapers are about 250 meters tall. The ambitious development is strategically located at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers. For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section Senate Republicans have dodged another effort to end US support of the Saudi-led war in Yemen, ruling that an unrelated amendment added to the bill in the House allows majority leader Mitch McConnell to block the vote. Language condemning anti-Semitism, tacked on as an amendment in the House before the Yemen War Powers bill was due to pass, is "not germane" to the content of the bill, the Senate parliamentarian ruled, stripping the bill of its "privileged" status and allowing McConnell to quash the scheduled vote. Senators are planning to force a vote on a "clean" version of the bill, absent the anti-Semitism amendment, which House Republicans rammed through at the last minute in the wake of Rep. Ilhan Omar's controversial tweets about the Israeli lobby. The streamlined bill, written by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), retains privileged status. Also on rt.com Saudi-led airstrikes rock Sanaa, Yemen casting shadow over 2nd round of peace talks But there's nothing to stop House Republicans re-adding the anti-Semitism amendment after the Senate vote, which would trigger another parliamentarian ruling and scuttle the legislation further unless Democrats vote "no" on the amendment, which would set them at odds with the Israeli lobby that so recently savaged their colleague. Congressional Republicans are old hands at using procedural manipulations to keep the US bankrolling the unpopular Saudi war; a Yemen War Powers resolution that made it through the Senate in December was blocked from a House vote when Republicans appended a rule change unrelated to the bill. Also on rt.com Devastating footage of starving 12yo girl weighing just 10 kg captures Yemen war horror The US has funded, trained, and equipped the Saudi-led coalition to wage their brutal war against the Houthis in Yemen, creating what the UN has deemed the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century. More than 14 million Yemenis exist in "pre-famine conditions," dependent on food aid for their survival, while Saudi airstrikes have deliberately targeted hospitals and civilian infrastructure, leading to widespread disease and suffering, including the world's largest cholera outbreak. Upwards of 80,000 Yemenis have been killed in the violence since hostilities began in 2015, while Save the Children estimates over 85,000 children have died of starvation. Also on rt.com Pentagon denies knowledge of prisoner abuse by US-backed forces in Yemen, but doubts linger Like this story? Share it with a friend! An Indian air raid on the Pakistani side of the disputed Kashmir has raised the specter of war between two nuclear-armed nations. One Indian scholar told RT that such raids have happened before and full war is not inevitable. I do not think this conflict is dangerous for the world or for the two countries, Smruti S. Pattanaik, research fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, told RT. This air strike and the earlier surgical strike proves that limited military action against the terrorists can be taken short of resorting to nuclear weapons, she added. Indian jets bombed locations in Pakistani-controlled part of Kashmir on Tuesday, saying they were camps for terrorist groups responsible for the February 14 terrorist attack that killed more than 40 Indian security officers in Pulwama. Also on rt.com Who would win? India has army advantage over Pakistan, but nuclear stocks assure mutual destruction This is not the first time Indian aircraft have crossed the line of control partitioning Kashmir, Pattanaik said, noting that air raids had taken place during the 1999 Kargil War. Sovereignty cannot be a criteria when all the while Pakistan has been sponsoring terrorism against India, Pattanaik told RT. She accused Pakistans ISI intelligence agency of sheltering and sponsoring groups that carried out the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, and renaming the group that carried out the Pulwama attack so it could avoid responsibility. At the moment de-escalation is not plausible. For any de-escalation Pakistan has to take visible action against terror groups. Though China has urged both Islamabad and New Delhi to exercise restraint, Pattanaik believes Beijing will not get involved in the conflict between its southwestern neighbors. China needs to exercise its influence over Pakistan and make it clear that terrorism as an instrument of state policy cannot be tolerated, she said. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! As tensions escalate between India and Pakistan, celebrities in both countries have hit Twitter to show support for their armies, although many famous faces are also calling urgently for peace. Pakistani actress Mahira Khan said there was nothing uglier, and nothing more ignorant than cheering for war. Meanwhile, Mawra Hocane tweeted a Christopher Holliday quote saying there can be NO winners in war, and called on the media to stop being provocative. Fahad Mustafa, a Pakistani actor, echoed their push for peace, saying war does not determine who is right...only who is left. Not everyone was calling for peace, however. Pakistani actor Hamza Ali Abbasi tweeted: Well done India. Much improvement from the fake Surgical Strike claim, before calling on Pakistans forces to retaliate. Indian actor and director Ajay Devgn showed his support for the Indian army, with a strongly-worded tweet, saying: Mess with the best, die like the rest. Salute #IndianAirForce. Responding to a tweet by MP Rahul Gandhi saluting pilots of the Indian Air Force, actor and former chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India Anupam Kher said: Today will be a good day to start saluting Prime Minister Narendra Modi too. Celebrities like actor Mohanlal Viswanathan and ordinary Indians alike are tweeting a play on a popular phrase from a recent Bollywood movie, Uri: The Surgical Strike, Hows the josh? Instead of josh they are asking, Hows the Jaish? referring to Indias strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). They then answer their own question with the quip: Dead sir. Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated since 40 Indian troops were killed in a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide attack in the contested region of Kashmir on February 14. India responded with an attack on a training camp, entering Pakistani airspace in the process. Two Indian aircraft reportedly entered Pakistans airspace on Wednesday, resulting in Pakistan shooting down two planes and capturing a soldier. India says it shot down a Pakistan fighter jet. Like this story? Share it with a friend! Light emitting diodes (LEDs) provide significant energy savings over conventional light sources. In terms of light quality, however, conventional lighting solutions are still superior to LEDs as the latter are unable to reproduce the entire color spectrum. Most importantly, LEDs lack an efficient red phosphor to produce warmer white light. Four partners have teamed up as part of the EuroLED project to develop a nanoscale phosphor system for white LEDs based on a fundamentally new concept. By generating an energy-efficient warm white light, they hope to increase the publics acceptance of energy-saving LEDs. Like sunlight, the color temperature of light sources influences our well-being. The more red components there are in the perceived spectrum, the warmer and more pleasant it feels to us. A breakthrough occurred 14 years ago when LEDs were finally able to create a physiologically more pleasant working atmosphere, i.e. warm white light. The basis was the red phosphor CASN developed in Japan. Even today, white light LEDs are coated with an additional red phosphor to obtain a warm white light. However, CASN is extremely inefficient because it largely emits near infrared radiation, which is not visible to the human eye. EuroLED project partners are currently developing a suitable alternative. Novel red-emitting light source At Fraunhofer IAP we have already developed and patented a red emitting nanoscale phosphor. It is based on special nanoparticles of utilizing trivalent europium ions. This narrow-band emitter material can be applied as an additional layer to conventional LEDs, explains Dr. Christoph Gimmler, who heads the project at Fraunhofer CAN, a research division of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP. Trivalent europium ions have a very narrow emission band that is up to three times more visible to the human eye than the light emitted by the conventional red phosphor CASN. This makes our Eu material much more efficient than CASN , says Gimmler. The EuroLED project In the project, Fraunhofer researchers will further optimize the fluorescent material based off of YVO4:Eu, placing particular focus on light yield and manufacturing costs. The project partners will then characterize the fluorescent material in detail and process it further to develop and produce prototypes of this new generation of LEDs. The technology will then be made ready for mass production and market launch. Originally we produced the phosphor on a gram scale. In the course of the project we will be able to produce up to 1 kg of material per batch which is sufficient for use within the project. We also have industry-scale synthesis lines available at the Pilot Plant Center for Polymer Synthesis and Processing (PAZ) that would enable us to produce the material on a ton scale. The project is being led by Seaborough Research B.V. a Dutch SME. The research company has been active in the LED market for over ten years. Here, the EuroLED projects demonstrator LED will be built and characterized in terms of its optical properties and long-term stability. The Fraunhofer IAP is joined by two other German partners, the Research Institute of Inorganic Materials Glass and Ceramics (FGK) and MJR PharmJet GmbH. FGK and MJR will further process and integrate the red emitting material developed at the Fraunhofer CAN as well as other components used in the demonstrator LED. MJR PharmJet also has the technical know-how and equipment to carry out these processing steps on an industrial scale. For the 18-month EuroLED project, Fraunhofer CAN will received approx. 212,000 euros from the projects management organization, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), as part of the Eurostars funding program for research-based SMEs. The project launched on November 1, 2018. On February 13, 2019, the partners met in Hamburg at the Fraunhofer IAP's CAN research division to present their initial progress. Stock markets in Karachi and Mumbai got spooked on Wednesday by the latest military conflict between nuclear powers India and Pakistan along the Line of Control in disputed Kashmir. Indias stock market index Sensex slid 189.54 points on Wednesday to 35,784.17, while the Nifty 50 (the National Stock Exchange of Indias benchmark broad based stock market index) dropped 68.10 points to 10,767.20. The rupee was also trading lower, at 71.47 per dollar. Pakistani markets have also extended their losses. The benchmark Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE100 Index) was trading 1,476 points lower at 37,345, down three percent. Its the indexs biggest fall since July 11, 2017. Indian markets are in range-bound position till the 50-stock Nifty trades in between 10,500 to 10,950 levels. Bull or bear run into the Indian markets would become clear as and when the Nifty breaks either sides of the range, Simi Bhaumik, a SEBI registered technical equity analyst, told Zee Business Online. According to the managing director of Equinomics Research, G Chokkalingam, War will be a difficult option with both countries sitting on nuclear weapons. There can be escalation of conflict, but it is unlikely to turn into a full-fledged war, he told the Economic Times. Logically it should die down in some time, he said, adding: There could be other risks to the market, but a risk of war is improbable. Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated dramatically following a suicide car bomb attack in Indian-held Kashmir this month which killed 44 Indian paramilitary police officers. The suicide attack on a large convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was the deadliest attack on security forces in the disputed region since the 1989 insurgency began. Also on rt.com Pakistan downs 2 Indian aircraft inside its airspace, pilots arrested military Responsibility for the attack was claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), an organization with ties to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. In response, India began airstrikes against the terrorist group, accusing Pakistan of failing to crack down on terrorist activity in the area. READ MORE: 1st VIDEO of captured and injured Indian pilot released by Radio Pakistan On Wednesday, the Pakistani Army said it shot down two Indian Air Force aircraft after they crossed into its airspace. One aircraft fell on the Pakistani-controlled area, and a pilot was arrested on the ground. Pakistan has closed its airspace for Indian flights. Indian Air Force jets intercepted Pakistani military jets after they crossed into Indian airspace over disputed Kashmir. Karachi said its jets didnt cross the border and avoided human loss. For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section Video footage showing the horrifying scene of the Cairo train derailment that killed at least 25 and injured another 50 has emerged online. A fire broke out at the main train station in Egypts capital on Wednesday following an explosion caused by a train ramming into a barrier at Ramses station in central Cairo. The raging inferno was caught on camera by bystanders. Eyewitnesses report that the platform was packed as the train came speeding into the station. I saw a man pointing from the locomotive as it entered the platform, and screaming 'There are no brakes, there are no brakes before he jumped out of the locomotive. And I dont know what happened to him, eyewitness Ibrahim Hussein told Reuters. READ MORE: Passenger trains collide in Egypt, at least 12 dead local reports I was standing on the platform and I saw the train speed into the barrier, bystander Mina Ghaly added. Everyone started running but a lot of people died after the locomotive exploded. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said the incident is being investigated. All train arrivals and departures from the station have been suspended. Almost exactly one year ago, 15 people were killed and 40 injured when two trains collided outside a station in Kom Hamada. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! Indias raid into Pakistan was a calculated provocation, and if New Delhi isnt just playing to its home electorate, major world powers will be dragged into a war, a political analyst tells RT. What would they expect to happen? They are quite aware of Pakistans right to defend its territory. What is India hoping to gain? Darius Shahtahmasebi, a New Zealand-based political analyst, says. Either India is making a statement, posturing for its domestic population that it is doing something about Kashmir. Or they are actually trying to escalate the issue further, because they know that eventually Pakistan will respond Also on rt.com India says it shot down one Pakistani war plane, lost MIG-21 fighter While Islamabad preached restraint on Wednesday, if it does strike back, India could unleash a full-scale war. And Shahtahmasebi believes that even if the two countries decide to leave their nuclear arsenals off the table and engage in conventional localized warfare, the impact will be global. Also on rt.com Pakistan 'does not want war' with India - military spokesman He notes that Pakistan is the nexus of Saudi geopolitical ambitions in the area, and India is a rising superpower, able to rely on support from Western allies. For China, the region is the main artery for its ambitious One Belt-One Road project. Its not a minor conflict the rest of the world can close its eyes to. It would bring in China, it would bring in Saudi Arabia, it would bring in the United States, though as a former or current ally of both adversaries, it is now unclear quite where it stands during the Trump administration, Shahtahmasebi told RT. to RT newsletter to get stories the mainstream media wont tell you. SAGINAW, MI Officials with Covenant HealthCare and Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation have announced plans to build a $40.7 million rehabilitation center located at Covenant HealthCares main campus in Saginaw. The new building will include 48 inpatient beds with space for 132 beds and a state-of-the-art outpatient therapy facility, according to a Covenant HealthCare and Mary Free Bed press release. In November 2017, the two organizations signed a partnership agreement creating a 50-50 joint venture for advanced rehabilitation care in Saginaw and the Great Lakes Bay Region. One of our goals when we began the partnership was to study the need for a separate rehabilitation hospital, said Mary Free Bed CEO Kent Riddle. Our analysis shows its time to move ahead with construction of a new building that will be designed specifically for rehabilitation services. The building will provide more private space for patients and enable our teams to be more efficient as they care for patients, says Ed Bruff, Covenant HealthCare President and CEO. In partnership with Mary Free Bed, we believe our Rehabilitation Center of Excellence will better serve Great Lakes Bay Region residents and be a world-class destination for patients from across the east side of the state. The joint venture for inpatient rehabilitation became operational in March of 2018. Once the new project is complete and fully operational, the new hospital is estimated to bring 25-30 jobs, according company officials. Local leaders praised the development plan. It would be exciting to have that investment in the city of course, said Saginaw Mayor FLoyd Kloc. Its exactly the kind of growth were talking about, investing in the city. Saginaw County Commissioner Chairman Michael Webster said the investment will draw others to the community. Its another indicator that strengthening our core is going to be essential for the rest of the county, Webster said. The point by that is that having a world-class healthcare system in place which create retention and attraction to the region. Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance President Matthew Felan called the project a step in the right direction. Anytime that our local healthcare is expanding, and especially in research coming to the region, it is a signal and good sign that we are going in the right direction, Felan said. This is another step that shows how important healthcare is in the Great Lakes Bay Regions economy. Covenant HealthCare is a nonprofit health system with more than 4,600 employees and a 642-bed hospital, services range from high-risk obstetrics, neonatal and pediatric intensive care to acute care, including a Level II Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center, cardiology, oncology, orthopedics, robotic surgery, bariatric services, rehabilitation and more, using leading-edge medicine. Mary Free Bed is a nonprofit, nationally accredited, rehabilitation hospital located in Grand Rapids. Since 1891, Mary Free Bed has offered rehabilitation for children and adults with brain injuries, strokes, spinal cord injuries, multiple traumas, amputations, cancer and other diagnoses. The Mary Free Bed Rehabilitatioon Network includes more than three dozen acute-care hospitals across Michigan. MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI A 46-year-old woman spent two nights in jail recently because of her childrens chronic school truancy. Shawn Marie Anderson was charged with truancy in 2016 by the Muskegon County Prosecutors Office. Despite years of warnings and offers of help, the situation didnt improve and Anderson was sentenced Feb. 20 to two days in the Muskegon County Jail. The office of Prosecutor D.J. Hilson has buckled down on truancy for several years, and routinely charges parents. But rarely do the cases, based on unexcused absences only, get to the point of jail time. Andersons children, both older than age 11, were enrolled at Oakridge Public School and the younger child accumulated 28 unexcused absences when the charge was filed, said Muskegon County Senior Assistant Prosecutor Timothy Maat. He did not have attendance information for Andersons older child. The child had five unexcused absences when Oakridge schools first sent a letter to Anderson followed by a second letter and a meeting, Maat said. However, the absences continued, he said. School officials then contacted the prosecutors office, which sent two letters and also met with Anderson, Maat said. The prosecutor agreed to not file a criminal charge as long as Anderson would sign a contract agreeing to accept help in getting her children to school, he said. However, she didnt follow through and violated the contract, prompting the filing of the truancy charge, he said. After Andersons arraignment, the prosecutor again made a deal with her, offering to dismiss the case if she pleaded guilty and made sure her children attended school, Maat said. She pleaded guilty on May 2, 2018, and sentencing was postponed until Feb. 20, 2019, he said. The woman informed the prosecutor she was leaving the state but would enroll her children in school in West Virginia, Maat said. The prosecutors office contacted the school district there and learned Andersons younger child had 17 unexcused absences. Anderson returned to the Muskegon area, enrolling her children at Whitehall District Schools and the child accumulated another seven additional unexcused absences, Maat said. In addition to jail, Anderson was fined $225. Hilson launched his Operation Graduation program several years ago to combat the issue of truancy. The program provides a series of interventions to try to get parents to send their children to school. In the case of older, uncooperative students, they are provided with interventions as well. KALAMAZOO, MI Using surveillance video of a getaway car, Kalamazoo police tracked down two robbery suspects accused of stealing a cash register from a Sprinkle Road business. A police sergeant spotted the getaway car parked in a driveway about 90 minutes after the robbery. Police responded to a call at 2:43 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, of an armed robbery in progress at a business in the 3500 block of South Sprinkle Road. A robber indicated he had a weapon when he stole a cash register that contained an undisclosed amount of money. A police tracking dog responded and police canvassed the area before police obtained surveillance video showing the robbers vehicle leaving the scene. Around 4:10 a.m., a sergeant spotted the suspects vehicle parked in a driveway in the 1000 block of East Stockbridge Avenue. Police responded to the residence and found a man who matched the description of the robber. A second suspect was identified as the getaway driver. Both were jailed on armed-robbery charges. While the robber indicated he had a weapon, no weapon was seen, police said. Police asked anyone with further information about this crime to contact the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety at 337-8994, the Criminal Investigation Division at 337-8139, or Silent Observer at 343-2100. JACKSON, MI A woman appealing her conviction for providing a lethal dose of heroin and concealing the death of her friend in 2011 is all out of appeals. The U.S. Supreme Court, on Monday, Feb. 25, declined to hear arguments in the case against Mary Lyn Danielak, who was appealing her conviction for her role in the October 2010 overdose death of Cherie Irving, 19. Danielak, 29, was tried and convicted, May 23, 2011, of one count each of delivery of a controlled substance causing death, obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence and removing a body without the medical examiners permission. She was sentenced to concurrent terms of 10 to 20 years in prison for delivering a controlled substance causing death, three to five years for obstruction, two to four years for tampering with evidence and one year for removing a body without notifying the medical examiner. Danielak appealed her conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court claiming she was denied due process guaranteed by the 5th and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution, according to the petition to the court asking for a review of the case. The events surrounding Irvings purchase and consumption of heroin are not disputed; but what is disputed, because of Irvings cocaine use, is her cause of death, Danielaks attorney wrote in the petition. At trial, the prosecution argued Danielak aided and abetted the delivery of heroin causing death by introducing Irving to the drug dealer. But an autopsy revealed that Irving also had a lethal dose of cocaine in her system when she died. In the early morning hours of Oct. 3, 2010, Irving left home and met with Danielak at her apartment. She left a short time later to meet with Danielaks drug dealer, referred to as Chill, and bought four bundles of heroin. The two returned to Danielak's apartment and began injecting themselves with the purchased heroin and at some point went to sleep. Danielak woke up in the late afternoon and found Irving dead on her bathroom floor. She called her boyfriend, Randy Reeser, who told her to go to his mother Anna Marie Rands house, to get ready for work and that he would take care of it. Later that evening, Reeser went to Rand's house and told her there was a dead body in Danielak's apartment. The two then went to Danielak's apartment to pick up Irving's body and placed her in the backseat of the Rand's car. The body was later moved to the trunk. The two drove to the Sandstone Creek Bridge where Reese removed Irving from the trunk and placed her on the side of the road. Her body later slipped down the embankment and fell into the creek. Irving's father reported her missing on Oct. 5. On Oct. 6, a fisherman found Irving's body submerged in Sandstone Creek. Reeser was sentenced to four to 20 years in prison for being an accessory after the fact and other crimes. Rand was sentenced to two years and four months to seven years and 10 months for obstructing justice. Jackson County prosecutors maintained during the trial that Danielak aided and abetted Reese and Rand in committing the crimes she was charged with because she knew what Reeser and Rand intended to do and did nothing to stop it. The petition to the U.S. Supreme Court made no mention of Danielaks role in hiding Irvings body. Danielaks convictions were upheld by the Michigan appellate courts as well as the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in late 2018. Danielak will be eligible for parole in 2021. COLUMBIA TWP., MI A man and teen accused of using fake money to buy a truck and then scrap it for real money have been arrested and are facing felony charges. John Gregory Kina, 49, of Cambridge Township and Jacob William Curtis, 17, of Onsted were arrested and arraigned on Feb. 22. Both are charged with false pretenses of more than $1,000 or more but less than $20,000, according to the Columbia Township Police Department. Curtis faces an additional charge of uttering and publishing counterfeit bills, police said. Jacob William Curtis, 17. On Nov. 28, Columbia Township Police Sgt. Jay Niles began investigating a fraud compliant in Cement City, police said. The victim told police she listed her truck for sale for $1,100 on the selling application Letgo and was contacted by two men who wanted to see the vehicle, police said. The men came to Cement City and bought the truck for $1,000 using 10 $100 bills, police said. After the men left, the woman discovered the bills were counterfeit and called 911. She did not have the mens names or contact information as the deal was done through the Letgo application, police said. Police discovered the womans truck was sold in Jackson and scrapped, police said. On Feb. 21, the victim called police stating she was in Brooklyn and saw the two men who bought her truck in the area, police said. A patrol car picked up the men, later identified as Curtis and Kina, and the victim confirmed they were the men who handed her the fake money to purchase her truck, police said. The case is being prosecuted in Lenawee County. The Columbia Township Police Department was assisted by the U.S. Secret Service. Each felony charge is punishable by up to five years in prison. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A woman who police say ran over her 9-year-old son in a school parking lot has pleaded guilty to reckless driving causing serious impairment. Tiffany Kosakowski, 36, was in a Grand Rapids courtroom Tuesday, Feb. 26 for the plea. In an agreement, prosecutors will drop a child abuse charge at her April 18 sentencing. Kosakowskis son suffered critical injuries, including multiple skull fractures, bleeding on his brain, brain swelling and other injuries. He was run over Dec. 11 at Chandler Woods Charter Academy on Samrick Avenue NE in Belmont. A petition filed in Kent County Circuit Court alleging abuse and neglect said that the mother knew her son was walking alongside her car and that she told him to go back to school before she accelerated. Her son was hanging from the passenger-side front-door handle when lost his grip, fell and was run over by the back tire, according to a petition filed by Child Protective Services. CPS workers wrote that Kosakowski said her son followed her out of school to her vehicle at the start of the school day. She backed up, stopped, and told him to go back to school. Instead, he walked alongside her vehicle. During a brief court hearing Tuesday, Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Alex Grimes said the allegations are that Kosakowski drove 47 yards with the victim holding onto her car. She was deliberately swerving to shake him off the car, he said. The 9-year-old is in rehabilitation but sustained a permanent injury in the incident, his father said outside the courtroom. He did not want to be named. He will never fully recover, the father said. Still, he said his son has made incredible progress. Kosakowski has supervised visits with the boy under Child Protective Services guidance. Her attorney asked Kent County Circuit Court Judge Curt Benson to allow for less restrictive contact with the boy, but the judge ruled against her. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Chants of cops and ICE go hand-in-hand rang out multiple times Tuesday, Feb. 26, at the evening city commission meeting at Grand Rapids City Hall. More than 30 community members attending the meeting voiced their concerns about the detainment of Jilmar Ramos-Gomez -- a U.S. citizen, Marine veteran and Grand Rapids native -- by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents late last year. The majority of community members who spoke during the meeting called for the firing of Grand Rapids Police Capt. Curt VanderKooi, who contacted ICE officials about Ramos-Gomez, which led to the citizens wrongful detainment by ICE. Capt. VanderKooi has made his biases clear and thus cant be trusted to keep our community safe," said Allison Lutz, a Grand Rapids resident. Jose Flores, Grand Rapids resident and Grand Rapids Public School Board member, said he was disgusted by the incident. We have to do better in this community in terms of embracing diversity, stopping police misconduct and making sure were safe in our homes and our environment, Flores said. The ongoing chants eventually caused city officials to adjourn the meeting before everyones public comment could be made and the city commissioners typically give individual statements. More than 70 people attended the meeting. In addition to calling for VanderKoois firing, representatives of Movimiento Cosecha GR and GR Rapid Response to ICE called for the police department to stop all cooperation with ICE and all use of city resources to support ICEs violent work of separating families. Before the public comment period Tuesday, Grand Rapids Interim Police Chief David Kiddle provided a statement from the police department. He detailed the incident surrounding Ramos-Gomezs arrest, and said VanderKooi was reprimanded for his unprofessional language" during his interaction with ICE. Additionally, the interim chief assured the community and commission that the departments top priority is public safety, not immigration status. He said contacting ICE is not a routine part of the investigation process. We are using this case an an opportunity to review our contacts with ICE, Kiddle said. We are evaluating our policies and protocols to ensure our procedures for contacting federal authorities are based on maintaining safety for everyone in Grand Rapids. Kiddle confirmed that VanderKooi was off-duty when he called ICE in regards to Ramos-Gomez, but said he took an oath to keep the community safe and determined that the incident met criteria for a potential act of terrorism. Ramos-Gomez was arrested by Grand Rapids police in November after he allegedly set a small fire inside Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital and then stood on the rooftop helipad. He was booked into 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 officials later claimed that Ramos-Gomez claimed to be a foreign national during a jail interview. But hes a U.S. citizen and Marine veteran born in Grand Rapids. His relatives said he has mental health issues from post-traumatic stress disorder. He was released from ICE custody when an immigration-law attorney provided ICE with documents showing his citizenship. Last week, Kiddle said in a statement that the officer acted properly when he contacted ICE. Police have maintained that ICE was contacted because investigators believed it was a potential act of terrorism, which is the conclusion of the departments Internal Affairs Unit review. Internal Affairs Report by Justin on Scribd The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and Michigan Immigrants Rights Center disagree with the police departments analysis. The ACLU said investigators early on dismissed the potential threat and determined that Ramos-Gomez was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The ACLU said police communications it received outline a pattern of racial profiling based on police actions. MLive/The Grand Rapids Press also sought and received email communications from the police department through a Freedom of Information Act request. Hillary Scholten, an immigration attorney, said Kiddle presented a smokescreen of terrorism to cover-up the actions of Capt. VanderKooi and to assure residents that police contacted the proper federal authorities. Ladonna Norman, a Grand Rapids resident, asked the city commission to pick a police chief who is diverse, who is open enough and considerate enough to know the needs of the community." What we have right now is police putting policies in place that cant tell if a Hispanic is a citizen or not, and if a 12-year-old is a 17-year-old," Norman said. We need some changes now. Tuesdays meeting was adjourned at 8:48 p.m. without conclusion of the public comment period after attendants of the meeting refused to end chants of ICE and cops go hand-in-hand. In recent years, electronic data processing has been evolving in one direction only: The industry has downsized its components to the nanometer range. But this process is now reaching its physical limits. Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) are therefore exploring spin waves or so-called magnons a promising alternative for transporting information in more compact microchips. Cooperating with international partners, they have successfully generated and controlled extremely short-wavelength spin waves. The physicists achieved this feat by harnessing a natural magnetic phenomenon, as they explain in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. For a long time, there has been one reliable rule of thumb in the world of information technology: The number of transistors on a microprocessor doubles approximately every two years. The resulting performance boost brought us the digital opportunities we now take for granted, from high speed internet to the smartphone. But as the conductors on the chip get ever more minute, we are starting to face problems, as Dr. Sebastian Wintz from HZDRs Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research explains: The electrons that flow through our modern microprocessors heat up the chip due to electrical resistance. Beyond a certain point, the chips simply fail because the heat can no longer escape. This also prevents a further increase in the speed of the components. This is why the physicist, who is also currently working at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland, envisions a different future for information carriers. Instead of electrical currents, Wintz and his colleagues are capitalizing on a specific property of electrons called spin. The tiny particles behave as if they were constantly rotating around their own axis, thus creating a magnetic moment. In certain magnetic materials, like iron or nickel, the spins are typically parallel to each other. If the orientation of these spins is changed in one place, that disruption travels to the neighboring particles, triggering a spin wave which can be used to encode and distribute information. In this scenario, the electrons remain where they are, says Wintz, describing their advantage. They hardly generate any heat, which means that spin-based components might require far less energy. How can we control the wave? So far, however, there have been two fundamental challenges complicating the use of spin waves: The wavelengths that can be generated are not short enough for the nanometer-sized structures on the chips, and there is no way of controlling the waves. Sebastian Wintz and his co-workers have now been able to find solutions to both problems. Unlike the artificially made antennas that are commonly employed to excite the waves, we now use one that is naturally formed inside the material, the first author of the study Dr. Volker Sluka explains. "To this end, we fabricated micro-elements comprising two ferromagnetic disks that are coupled antiferromagnetically via a Ruthenium spacer. Furthermore, we chose the material of the disks so that the spins prefer to align along a particular axis in space, which results in the desired magnetic pattern. Within the two layers, this creates areas of different magnetization, separated by what is called a domain wall. The scientists then exposed the layers to magnetic fields alternating with a frequency of one gigahertz or higher. Using an X-ray microscope from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems Stuttgart, which is operated at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, they were able to observe that spin waves with parallel wave fronts travel along the direction perpendicular to the domain wall. In previous experiments, the ripples of the wave looked like the ones you get when a pebble hits a water surface, Sluka reports. This is not optimal, because the oscillation decays quickly as the wave spreads in all directions. To stay in the same analogy, the waves now look as if they were produced by a long rod moving back and forth in the water. As the X-ray images have shown, these spin waves can travel several micrometers at wavelengths of only about 100 nanometers, without any significant loss of signal a necessary prerequisite for using them in modern information technology. Moreover, the physicists have discovered a possible way to control this new information carrier when they set the stimulation frequency below half a gigahertz. The spin waves thus remained trapped in the domain wall: In this scenario, the waves were even able to run in a curve, says Volker Sluka, adding: Nevertheless we were still able to detect the signals. With their results, the researchers have laid important foundations for the further development of spin wave-based circuits. In the long run, this might facilitate a completely novel design of microprocessors, Sebastian Wintz predicts: Using magnetic fields, we can move domain walls relatively easily. That means that chips that work with spin waves dont necessarily need a predefined architecture, but they can later be changed and adapted to fulfill new tasks. KENT COUNTY, MI Quinn James had a powerful motive for killing Mujey Dumbuya, an East Kentwood High sophomore: she said he raped her. James took her innocence first, then took her life so he could avoid a potential life sentence for sexual assault, Assistant Kent County Prosecutor Kellee Koncki told jurors. Dont let him get away with it. The defense said police were so focused on James that police told him, Who else could it be but you? Defense attorney Jonathan Schildgen said the prosecution unfairly characterized evidence to tie James to the killing. Theyre twisting it into something devious when theres an innocent explanation for it, Defense attorney Jonathan Schildgen said. A Kent County Circuit Court jury began deliberations Wednesday, Feb. 27, after attorneys presented closing arguments on the eighth day of trial. Jurors left for the day at about 4:30 p.m. and are expected to begin deliberations again Thursday morning. James, 43, is accused of killing Dumbuya, 16, on Jan. 24, 2018. She had been strangled or suffocated, her body left in a wooded area in Kalamazoo. Koncki said she was abducted before she got to the bus stop for school. She had feared that James -ultimately convicted of sexual assault despite the teens death - would harm her. Koncki said that police, prosecutors and witnesses even a jailed career criminal who never snitched before went to great lengths to find Dumbuyas killer. Why? Because its a little girl. Somebody killed a little girl, Koncki told jurors. Thats why people up and down the line made the extra effort. So we know the why. And we know the who: the defendant. James was arrested in the summer 2017 sexual assaults of Dumbuya, who was dating the nephew of James fiancee. He posted $100,000 bond and was released from jail. He then asked an acquaintance for help. He was hooked up with what the prosecutor called a hit man, Gerald Bennett, 59, of Detroit. Based on cellphone and Google Maps tracking, James drove to Detroit on Jan. 21, 2018, and brought Bennett back to his home in Wyoming. The night before Dumbuya went missing, James and Bennett had stopped by the apartment Dumbuya lived and her bus stop. The next morning, James either left his phone at home or stayed at home when the teen was abducted, the prosecutor said. Both men were at James home from 7 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. A little later, loaner car James was driving, a 2018 GMC Acadia, was spotted on a trail camera near a wooded area off of North Prairie Avenue in Kalamazoo. So they go in the woods and they dump the body, Koncki said. A couple found the victims body four days later. At 9:39 a.m. on the day the girl went missing, the suspects loaner vehicle was caught on surveillance video at a Mister Car Wash in Grand Rapids. Who washes a loaner vehicle? the prosecutor asked. She said that the suspects were there to destroy evidence. Police, however, found the victims blood in the vehicle. DNA testing also showed James DNA on the victims pants. Bennett, who did not previously know James, stayed with him for four days. Telephone records and surveillance video showed Bennett, who awaits trial, leaving James home the afternoon the girl went missing. He was driving a $1,200 car that was his paycheck for taking part in the killing, the prosecutor said. That appears to be the value of Mujey Dumbuyas life, Koncki said Dumbuyas backpack was found a few days later on the side of U.S. 131. A woman stopped and picked it up after she had seen it a couple of days earlier. She tried to contact Dumbuya after finding school identification inside. After the killing, James told others that the rape charges had either been dropped or would be dropped. The prosecutor said the statements showed he knew that the teen was dead before her body had been found. She discounted the defense contention that Dumbuya told two others that she planned to run away from home the morning she went missing. Dumbuya would not have brought her school books and school identification if she planned to run away. She did not know anyone in Kalamazoo, either. Schildgen, the defense attorney, said the prosecution tried to make it appear that everything (James) does looks guilty. He said there was no dried blood found on the victims body. If shes not bleeding, I dont know how it would get in the car, he said. James would have to be a idiot to kill the witness against him in the sex-assault case. So, hes the genius in executing the plan but a complete idiot on the purpose of the plan? SHIAWASSEE COUNTY, MI -- A 45-year-old Owosso man faces charges after he allegedly chatted online with someone he thought was a child. However, the person on the other end of the conversation turned out to be an undercover Michigan State Police detective posing as a child. Chad Michael Stiff was arraigned Feb. 22 in 66th District Court in Shiawassee County on charges of accosting a minor for immoral purposes and using a computer to commit a crime following a forensic examination of the digital evidence. The MSP Computer Crimes Unit encourages parents to speak to their children about the safe use of the internet. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provides a comprehensive list of resources on their website at http://www.missingkids.org. FLINT, MI -- A public relations firm hired to take over all communications about criminal prosecutions related to the Flint water crisis has been terminated just two weeks after starting. Carrie Rathbun Hawks, president of Rathbun Public Relations, told MLive-The Flint Journal Tuesday, Feb. 26, that her contract was terminated after Attorney General Dana Nessels office determined it could continue to handle media questions with its own employees -- without it causing a conflict of interest. Kelly Rossman-McKinney, communications director for Nessel, confirmed the contract termination Tuesday after referring a reporters questions to Rathnum Hawks just one day earlier. Rossman-McKinney said that the contract with Rathbun was originally conceived to keep employees of the attorney generals office working on civil cases against the state of Michigan and related to the water crisis separate from those who are working on criminal prosecutions also related to Flint. Attorneys ultimately determined we could do it (speak for the office about both civil and criminal cases) in-house ... We dont have a conflict," she said. Just last week, the attorney general announced a shakeup in the leadership of the Flint water prosecutions, and made it clear she would not be involved directly in the eight pending criminal cases against current and former city and state government employees charged with Flint water crimes. Nessel said she would focus on resolving civil complaints against the state related to the water crisis and Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy would oversee criminal prosecutions. Rathburn Hawks has practiced public relations for 23 years and is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America, according to her web site. Rossman-McKinney praised her work and said the contract termination has no relation to her performance during the brief time she worked on state business. YPSILANTI, MI - The Eastern Michigan University students allegedly involved in an incident in which a black doll was found hanging from a shower rod will not be prosecuted, officials said. Eastern Michigan University police requested prosecution of three individuals, Washtenaw County Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Steven Hiller said. After review, the request was denied because the acts committed by the individuals do not fit Michigans Ethnic Intimidation statute, he said. A person is guilty of ethnic intimidation if they maliciously intend to intimidate or harass someone based on their race, religion, gender or national origin by causing physical contact, according to the statute. It also applies if the person damages, destroys or defaces any real or personal property of another person or threatens by word or act to cause physical harm or destroy property. In his request denial, First Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Konrad Siller said while claims of the incident offends the common sense of any reasonable person, there was no physical contact or property damaged in the incident. The only reasonable interpretation of (redacted) conduct is that she intended to harass (redacted) because of his race, Siller wrote. However, that conduct alone, does not constitute a violation of the Ethnic Intimidation statute. EMU noted its police assembled a 17-page report to the Washtenaw County Prosecutors Office that included a warrant request for a charge of Ethnic Intimidation. The student conduct investigation, the university noted, remains ongoing. This prosecutors decision in this case does not change how the University views this situation, EMU indicated in a statement. The University remains deeply committed to the overarching principles of attacking both the historical legacies, and the current realities, of racism and hate in all of their forms. This is a nationwide struggle. We are not alone, we are not immune from it, and we will not shy away from it. Best Hall resident adviser Chris Casillas found the doll inside a bathroom shared by suite mates on Feb. 11. The incident was immediately investigated by EMU police and the Office of Wellness and Community Standards. A statement from the university indicated that a guest of one of the suite mates had placed the doll in the shower. The individual told investigators it was done as a prank and did not have malicious or racist intentions, according to the statement. The woman alleged to have placed the doll in the shower was a resident of Best Hall and was friends with two of the other residents Casillas shared a shower with inside the suite, Casillas said. She was talking about doing it, and the suite mate told her not to do it, but at the end of the day she still ended up committing the act, and they didnt take it down, Casillas said. At the end of the day, theyre just as guilty as she is. Describing the incident as a prank is disingenuous, regardless of the alleged perpetrators intentions, Casillas said. The incident and what has happened since then have left him feeling helpless about his job as a resident adviser and his relationships with other RAs. No matter where you come from, you have the basic knowledge of lynching and slavery, he said. "No matter what her intentions were, its still a hate crime. At the beginning of the semester I preached about not being best friends, but I need you guys to at least respect one another, no matter what you personally believe in. For these three Caucasian students to do this is despicable, he said. I feel like they should not be on EMUs campus and this situation shouldnt be taken lightly. HOWELL, MI -- Two Massachusetts men blamed for a 2012 meningitis outbreak that killed 64 people and caused 753 illnesses nationally are jailed in Michigan where they face 11 counts each of second-degree murder. Barry Cadden, 52, and Glenn Chin, 50, are lodged in the Livingston County Jail, where theyve been since Feb. 21, without bond. The men, both pharmacists, are accused of manufacturing steroids through their company, the New England Compound Center, which Cadden owned and Chin supervised, leading to a widespread outbreak due to contamination. CDC map of cases stemming from 2012 meningitis outbreak The company specialized in combining drugs that carried a high contamination risk to produce the steroids they sold. Despite testing that repeatedly revealed the presence of mold or bacteria in rooms where the drug compounding occurred -- referred to as clean rooms -- the company fraudulently misrepresented the safety of their product, federal investigators have said. Cadden and Chin have already been convicted of felonies in federal court related to racketeering, conspiracy and fraud, for which they were sentenced to nine and eight years consecutively. They were, however, found not guilty in federal court of the racketeering charges containing allegations of murder. While the Michigan criminal case relates to 11 victims, the Centers for Disease Control has identified 19 deaths in the state connected with meningitis linked to steroid injections. Meningitis is the inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Both men were extradited to Livingston County from federal prison where they are serving time following conviction on racketeering and mail fraud charges filed in US District Court in Boston, Massachusetts," said Attorney General Dana Nessel spokeswoman Kelly Rossman-McKinney. "Two separate juries cleared them of 25 second-degree racketeering murder charges. The men are scheduled to appear before Livingston County District Judge Shauna Murphy for a probable cause hearing on March 5. If convicted, they face a possible life sentence in prison. Chins state-appointed defense attorney, James D.A. Buttrey, declined comment. MLive/The Ann Arbor News left messages requesting comment from attorney Thomas Cranmer, who is representing Cadden. Federal indictment of Cadden and Chin: ANN ARBOR, MI Former University of Michigan doctor Mark Hoeltzel abused his position to manipulate, sexually assault and ruin their lives, victims of his actions said during his sentencing Monday. Hoeltzel, 47, of Ann Arbor, who pleaded no contest in January to two counts of criminal sexual conduct second and fourth degree. He was sentenced Feb. 25 in Washtenaw County Trial Court to between five and 15 years in prison on the second-degree charge and 13 months to two years on the fourth-degree charge. Hoeltzel also must pay $10,000 in restitution to one of the victims. Four other counts were dismissed at sentencing by Judge David Swartz as part of a plea agreement. The sentence will run concurrent to a 10-year sentence issued in December after Hoeltzel pleaded guilty to online enticement of a minor, the result of an FBI probe opened in February 2018. It does sound like they were placed in their own particular type of hell as a result of the acts of the defendant, Swartz said of the victims during the sentencing. Three victims provided impact statements during the hearing, each describing Hoeltzel preying on them and using his authority to oversee their care. After transferring her to his medical care, Hoeltzel grabbed her and rubbed his body against hers during one appointment, one victim said. She had appointments with Hoeltzel every three to four weeks, all of them, she said, purely sexual for him. In fact, he would get mad and violently aggressive anytime I would ask about my health, she said. He would demand that I take off my pants or skirt, and if I didnt, he would he would forcibly put his hand inside my underwear and penetrate me while also rubbing himself. Hoeltzel began coming over to her apartment, supplying her with alcohol and drugs, often forcing himself on her, the victim said. Whenever I resisted or said no, he would choke me, she said. Once I said no in the clinic, he grabbed my throat, pulled me in front of the mirror so I could watch him choke me as he told me what he was capable of. At another appointment, she said Hoeltzel tried touching her, so she jumped off the examination table, but he continued trying to touch her. "I pushed his hand away and he continued, and I said, You dont get to do that, she said. Then he kept trying and became more and more aggressive until I was backed into a corner and he said to me, Now, theres nowhere for you to go, and stuck his hand in my pants and started rubbing me and only stopped when I started to yell and there were tears in my eyes. During another incident, the victim said there was a medication she needed that Hoeltzel said he would only provide if the victim urinated on him. He never gave me that treatment, she said. So, not only did he seek me out, groom me, manipulate me and sexually assault me, but he purposely made me sicker. He went out of his way to prescribe inaccurate and harmful medications. Im lucky to be alive. Another victim described seeing Hoeltzel at age 17. She said Hoeltzel supported her when she expressed apprehension about how to get her career started. Hoeltzels thoughtfulness shifted, she said, after the assault." "He made me believe that I needed to participate in this act without questioning his medical authority, she said. The worst of it was that I was duped into thinking it was for my own benefit. Hoeltzel said little during the sentencing, but did offer apologies to the victims. I want to sincerely apologize for my conduct in these cases apologize to my victims, to the university, to my family and friends, he said. I did not honor my role as a physician and have chosen to accept significant punishment for my actions. UM police were initially notified of Hoeltzels conduct when the State of Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs called the hospital to speak with him in December 2017. Michigan Medicine immediately took steps to protect its patients by removing Hoeltzel from patient care duties the day it was alerted of the investigation, UM Executive Vice President of Medical Affairs Marschall Runge said. UMPDs investigation was later turned over to the FBI, and Hoeltzel was jailed on separate child pornography charges in February 2018. LARA sent out an email to Hoeltzels patients, which led to another victim coming forward in June 2018. Hoeltzel admitted in September 2018 that he created a fake Facebook account under the name Ryan Gardner in 2017 to contact minor girls while pretending to be a teenage boy, court records show. ANN ARBOR, MI - Federal judges have declined to reconsider a case challenging a mandatory program that had thousands of Ann Arbor residents disconnect footing drains from their homes and install sump pumps. This is the fifth time the footing drains program -- which stopped years ago -- has held up to legal challenge in local, state and federal courts. The ruling from the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals came Tuesday, Feb. 27, the fifth anniversary of the date the original legal complaint was filed. None of this litigation should have ever been filed, City Attorney Stephen Postema said in a press release. This case has tied up the time of one state trial court judge, three state court of appeals judges, one federal district court judge and now 20 federal court of appeals judges. The lawsuit against the City of Ann Arbor was brought by some of the residents who were required to disconnect the footing drains from their homes. In the federal case, the residents alleged that requiring the installation of sump pumps constituted forced labor and violated residents constitutional rights. Ann Arbor started the footing drain disconnect program in 2001 to address problems with basement sewage backups by diverting stormwater from the citys sanitary sewer system to the stormwater drainage system. The city said the program was legal and effective, and homeowners are no longer required to go through the program. Some residents have complained they experience basement flooding and water problems they didn't have before the city made them disconnect their footing drains and install sump pumps. Ann Arbor residents Anita Yu, John Boyer and Mary Raab first filed a lawsuit against the city on Feb. 27, 2014, in Washtenaw County Circuit Court. Their footing drains were disconnected in 2002 and 2003, and concerns about the legality of the footing drain disconnect program were raised in 2012. Judge Timothy Connors ruled in favor of the city in that case in January 2016. Connors later dismissed a second lawsuit related to the citys footing drain disconnect program, filed on behalf of Lynn Lumbard. Both cases were appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals in 2016, and in May 2017, the court of appeals ruled that the circuit court had correctly decided the case. Rather than appeal that decision to the Michigan Supreme Court, the four Ann Arbor residents took their case to the federal court system. In February 2018, U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Murphy dismissed the case, saying the Michigan Court of Appeals decision prohibited the case from being litigated in federal court. The plaintiffs appealed that decision to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, where a panel of three judges considered the case. On Jan. 10, those judges agreed that the claim could not be litigated in federal court. The Ann Arbor residents then requested a review of the case en banc, meaning all regular U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals judges would review the case and consider if a rehearing is warranted. Postema said the en banc request included 17 judges, plus the three federal judges on the panel that previously ruled on the case. No judge has requested a vote on the suggestion for rehearing en banc, states the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision issued Tuesday. Attorneys representing the Ann Arbor residents could not immediately be reached for comment. WEST MICHIGAN -- West Michigan congressmen Fred Upton and Justin Amash were among 13 House Republicans to vote for a resolution to try to block President Donald Trumps emergency declaration to build a border wall. The vote, held Tuesday, Feb. 26 in the U.S. House, was 245-182 in favor of the Democrat-sponsored resolution to terminate Trumps declaration and prevent him from using funds targeted for other programs, according to The Hill. The president has promised to veto any effort to stop his declaration. Upton, R-St. Joseph, released a statement later Tuesday to explain his vote. The Constitution makes it clear that the power of the purse spending be initiated by the Congress. Our founding fathers believed in the principles of checks and balances, and it is our responsibility as members of Congress to maintain that authority no matter who is President. Strengthening our borders is an urgent necessity, but declaring a national emergency and reprogramming already appropriated funds without the approval of Congress is a violation of the Constitution," he said. Amash, R-Cascade Township, posted a letter on his Facebook page from the House Liberty Caucus, which he chairs and focuses on Constitutional issues and those of individual liberty and economic freedom. The letter cites Amash. As Chairman Amash has stated, an emergency declaration for a non-emergency is void. Congress cannot grant the president by statute the authority to assume legislative powers at will, turning the executive branch into a legislative branch whenever the president uses magic words. This national emergency declaration does not conform to our Constitution, and Congress should terminate the presidents misuse of emergency powers before more harm is done to our constitutional system." President Donald Trump is praising Fiat Chrysler for its move to invest $4.5 billion into Michigan, the construction of a new assembly plant in Detroit and the creation of an estimated 6,500 jobs. The Auburn Hills, Michigan-based automaker confirmed the investment in its home state and in the U.S. on Tuesday, Feb. 26. In the move, FCA will spend $1.6 billion on the new plant in Detroit, with the rest going to five existing Michigan-based facilities and in other plants across the U.S. Related: Fiat Chryslers new Detroit plant to come with zero-displacement proposal Related: FCA to invest $4.5B in Michigan, build new assembly plant in Detroit Trump tweeted his support of the move in the early morning hours Wednesday, adding that the U.S. is where the action is! Fiat Chrysler will be adding more than 6,500 JOBS in Michigan (Detroit area), doubling its hourly workforce as part of a 4.5 Billion Dollar investment. Thank you Fiat Chrysler. They are all coming back to the USA, its where the action is! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2019 The presidents support of FCAs future plans comes on the heels of his very public damnation of Detroit-based General Motors move to close five plants in the U.S. and Canada, resulting in the loss of nearly 15,000 jobs by the end of 2019. (It was just announced that the Detroit-Hamtramck plant would have its operations extended through January 2020.) Related: President Trump still taking shots at GM after US cuts, layoffs announced FCA expects that vehicles will start rolling off the line at the new Detroit assembly plant by the end of calendar year 2020, with the new Grand Cherokee coming in early 2021. Construction on converting the Mack Avenue Engine Complex into its new assembly plant is expected to start by the end of 2019s second quarter. The automaker says the first new assembly plant in Detroit in nearly 30 years will handle the production of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and a new three-row plug-in hybrid Jeep once up and running. Other aspects of the $4.5 billion investment, FCA will send $900 million to the Jefferson North Assembly plant and create 1,100 jobs for the Dodge Durango and next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee. The Warren Truck plant will be retooled for the Jeep Wagoneer, Grand Wagooneer and their electrified counterparts which will create about 1,400 jobs. The automaker will send $1.48 billion its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant and create an estimated 700 jobs for added production of the Ram 1500 pickup truck. Were talking about a new $1.6 billion assembly plant with 4000 jobs. The existing Jefferson North Assembly Plant will see $900 million in new investment - with 1000 new people at that plant. This is the way the City of Detroit fights unemployment and poverty. pic.twitter.com/r4CszMks42 Mayor Mike Duggan (@MayorMikeDuggan) February 26, 2019 Fiat Chrysler today (Tuesday) began publicly executing on ambitious plans laid out last June, just before the unexpected death of then CEO Sergio Marchionne, Michelle Krebs, executive analyst at Autotrader, said in an emailed statement. "The companys five-year plan focused the bulk of its investment on four global brands, led by Jeep. The new Jeeps to be built in the Detroit area also deliver on Fiat Chryslers promise to begin electrifying its product line, a necessity particularly for China and Europe. Related: FCA names Mike Manley new CEO after Marchionne suffers complications after surgery Related: FCA invests $10.5B into EV, hybrids with plans to phase diesels out in Europe To round out the investments, FCA will send $245 million to the Warren Stamping facility and $160 million to the Sterling Stamping facility. The Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois will get $350 million, Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio will get $700 million and $273 is going to prepare a facility for the production of the newly-announced Jeep Gladiator, according to the automaker. The promise of USMCA (United StatesMexicoCanada Agreement) is already benefiting the people of Michigan and creating a resurgence in the Detroit auto industry, a White House official said in an emailed statement of their own. This news exemplifies why Congress must pass this critical trade agreement for American workers. During its 18th flyby of Jupiter, NASAs Juno spacecraft shared yet another photo of the planets swirling crowds that looks like it belongs in a frame hanging on a wall. The U.S. space agency says the photo at the top of this post was made a little after noon back on Feb. 12 as the spacecraft passed from about 8,000 miles from the planets cloud tops. The image was created by citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill using the JunoCam imager, which stores raw images from the spacecraft and makes them available for the public to search and process. Related: NASA keeps on churning out never-before-seen, stunning views of Jupiter Dramatic atmospheric features in Jupiters northern hemisphere are captured in this view from NASAs Juno spacecraft, NASA writes in a blog post featuring the photo. The new perspective shows swirling clouds that surround a circular feature within a jet stream region called Jet N6. Two massive storms in #Jupiters turbulent southern hemisphere appear in this new image captured during my latest flyby of the planet https://t.co/GamniM3lQ3 pic.twitter.com/DhHYzhHZ8t NASA's Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) January 17, 2019 Juno has been studying Jupiter since 2016, as it has shared a new level of information about Jupiter in great detail since it first arrived. Notable findings include new information about its unique atmosphere that is unlike anything else in our solar system, its Great Red Spot storm, north pole and some photos that look like they belong in an art museum. The U.S. space agency extended the mission through 2021 back in June 2018. Related: NASAs Juno mission makes fascinating up-close photo of dragons eye on Jupiter Over the second half of our prime mission -- science flybys 17 through 32 -- we will split the difference, flying exactly halfway between each previous orbit," Jack Connerney, the missions principal investigator, said in a previous news release. "This will provide coverage of the planet every 11.25 degrees of longitude, providing a more detailed picture of what makes the whole of Jupiter tick. Important information You are currently not logged in to my.chemeurope.com . Your changes will in fact be stored however can be lost at all times. Metro Manila (February 27, CNN Philippines) House Deputy Speaker Pia Cayetano said she is open to banning political dynasties, but added she is more interested in seeing corrupt people land in jail. Cayetano told CNN Philippines' The Source that she will not stand in the way of the enactment of an anti-dynasty law if majority of Filipinos would support it. "If the majority of Filipinos decide that there should be a clear cut law ... of course we will comply," she said Wednesday. But she also said that people should judge politicians by their character and the kind of service they can deliver. "All over the world, makakita tayo ng mga [we can see] members of whether its parliament or local government, with the same family name, related to each other," she said. Cayetano is running for senator in the May 2019 polls. Her brother, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, and his wife, Lani Cayetano, are both running for two different districts of Taguig City. Another brother, Lino Cayetano, is running for mayor of Taguig. Alan and Lani are facing a disqualification case filed by Taguig resident Leonides Buac Jr. before the Commission on Elections. Buac slammed the Cayetano family's attempt to build a "super dynasty." A 2016 Pulse Asia survey found that 34 percent of Filipinos would vote for members of political dynasties, while 32 percent said they would not. Ateneo School of Government Dean Ronald Mendoza previously said in a Senate hearing that the poorest provinces are often led by "fat dynasties" or families with two or more members in politics. JACKSON, Miss, -- A Michigan man faces up to 10 years in prison after he allegedly made several threats to Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said Harold Joseph Collins, 48, of Detroit was recently arrested for making threatening phone calls to Bryants office in January, according to the Associated Press. These threats were of a very serious and specific nature and we did not take them lightly, said MBI Director Lee Morrison in a statement. Collins was arraigned in a Mississippi court Monday where he was ordered to jail without bail, while the case unfolds. Court records show Collins will be assigned a public defender. According to a sworn statement from MBI agent Andre Cartlidge, Collins made the threats between Jan. 16 and Jan. 19. A warrant was issued in for Collins arrest on Jan. 28 in Mississippi. Collins was arrested by U.S. Marshals Service and Detroit police before being transported to Mississippi. The MBI will now turn over its findings to Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith for review for possible indictment. Collins faces up to 10 years in prison and fines of $25,000 if convicted on all felony charges. The Michigan Chamber of Commerce and environmental groups are on opposite sides of a new law that paved the way for a tunnel around Line 5 pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac, but agree on one thing: part of the law is likely unconstitutional. What they disagree on is what that means for the law overall and the future of the Line 5 tunnel, according to legal briefs submitted to the Attorney Generals office and reviewed by MLive. The law in question is PA 359, a law that preserved Enbridge Energys ability to run oil and gas through the Straits of Mackinac by establishing the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority to oversee the creation of a tunnel around the pipeline. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is considering issuing an official opinion on whether the law is constitutional at the request of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who posed specific legal questions to Nessel. In the process of forming an opinion, Nessel asked for briefs or legal memos from interested parties on the questions Whitmer raised. MLive filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the responses. Nessels office responded with seven responses from five groups or individuals, available at the bottom of this story. A brief submitted by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce argues the law is constitutional except in one regard: the six-year terms for members of the new Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority. Documents submitted by the National Wildlife Federation and For Love of Water separately argue the law is unconstitutional on a number of fronts, including that one. The Michigan constitution states Terms of office of any board or commission... shall not exceed four years except as otherwise authorized in this constitution. Public Act 359 put members of the newly-created authority in place for six years, a direct contradiction to the four the constitution allows. Theres no question that that provision is unconstitutional, said Oday Salim, an attorney with the National Wildlife Federation. Jim Holcomb, executive vice president of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, said that groups brief also pointed out the six-year term could be a violation of the constitution. But, he said, it doesnt mean the statute is invalid. He argued based on previous cases and attorney general opinions, that part of the statute was severable, meaning the rest of the law could stand even if that one portion were found to be unconstitutional. Other groups see the issue differently. I would argue that until the statute is amended to correct it to four years, not six, theres no legally and constitutionally authorized corridor authority to sign any agreements, said James Olson, president and legal advisor of For the Love of Water. And while the Chamber argues only that one portion may be unconstitutional, the environmental groups say the law violates several parts of the constitution. To Olson, the primary constitutional violation is of something called the title-object clause. It's part of the constitution that stats a bill shall have only one object, which shall be expressed in its title. This law, Olson said, doesnt do that. The title represents one thing, and the body of the bill creates another, Olson said. He said the title of the bill makes it seem like it builds on the Mackinac Bridge Authority and is a public project, but actually if you read the bill its really a bill for Enbridge. Both Olson and Salim pointed to a rushed lame-duck process for the bill. The other defects that are present are major, and any one of those fatal flaws could bring the law down, Salim said. The Attorney Generals office expects to issue an opinion within the next couple weeks, Communications Director Kelly Rossmann-McKinney said. The groups that gave input said they were happy to do so. We think its an important issue. We're pleased the Attorney General asked for comments, we were very pleased to submit them, and we hope that she upholds the law, Holcomb said. Environmental groups are hoping for a different outcome. Were confident that shell take the comments that we submitted into account, Salim said. Read all of the input Nessel got on this matter below. GRASS LAKE, MI -- Sometimes you walk into a new place and say, Hey, I think Ive been here before! Thats what happened to us when we visited Barneys Family Diner on Feb. 13, 2019 as part of our search for Michigans Best Diner. It turns out that owner/chef Daniel Pratt is in the same location as the former Grass Lake Diner, which was a Top 10 pick for Michigans Best Breakfast in 2013. Magic struck again. Inside this very intimate, 22-seat diner, Chef Pratt specializes in food completely made in house from scratch and cooked to order. He even makes his own ketchup. I want the dining experience to be very personal, said Pratt, who lives in an apartment above the restaurant located downtown. He even converted his upstairs kitchen into a laundry room. I use the restaurant kitchen down here, he said. Its like Im your personal chef. Originally from the area, he jumped at the chance to open his concept of everything from scratch when the former Grass Lake Diner decided to shut down in January of 2016. With restaurant experience at Smokehouse 52 in Chelsea (Best BBQ Top 10), the Deck Down Under in Jerome (Best Pizza finalist) and Miami, Pratt came up with the name Barneys to honor his great, great, great grandfather Barney Teufel, who opened The Lake House Hotel (which later became the Derby Hotel) in the late 1800s, across the street from the current diner. Pratt has historic photos on the wall to show the connection. History aside, its the food you need to discover. Pratt is creative and adventurous. He served us a Bourbon maple pork belly cheesecake as we walked in the door. Sweet and savory, it was the some of best cheesecake we ever tasted. The rest of the experience even got better. Try the Ribeye Stack ($16.99), a 10-oz. Angus ribeye steak on a bed of home fries smothered in delicious sausage gravy, topped with two eggs any style. The extremely tender steak was nearly perfect with a light house seasoning. We also indulged on a half order of Barneys Famous B&G ($4.19, full order $8.38), handmade/fluffy biscuits with chunky sausage gravy topped with cheddar cheese and green onion. They were the best biscuits and gravy we had on the search. The burgers are also top sellers, which he calls Pratty Patties (8 oz. and 4 oz. patties available for $9.23 and $6.87, respectively). We chose his Jalapeno Popper Burger special, which was topped with Siracha cream cheese, pickled jalapenos and fried onion strings, served with a side of hand-cut curly fries. Again, his burger was nearly flawless as you could taste each flavor, including the burger, with every bite. Sometimes gimmicky or gourmet burgers tend to get lost in their own creativity. Not this one. We also recommend the Cuban B sandwich ($10.37) with ham, pulled pork (smoked in-house) and bacon (also smoked in-house), topped with pickles, Swiss cheese and mustard on grilled homemade, Jalapeno cheddar bread. And the Completely Housemade Corned Beer Ruben (a special on this day) on his beer rye bread and spicy mayo made in house. The chef makes six or seven different breads each day. The only things not made in-house are the jellies and Brioche buns. Hes putting in a lot of work. But its worth it. *Barneys Family Diner ranked No. 4 in our Top 10 picks for Michigans Best Diner. RELATED: These are the 10 best diners in Michigan FINALISTS: 27 of the most delicious diners we found on the search for Michigans Best Barneys Family Diner 108 E Michigan Ave., Grass Lake, MI 49240 517-522-8897 Facebook Hours: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays. How to use the mindat.org media viewer Click/touch this help panel to close it. 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Summary of all keyboard shortcuts Just because your vacation may be delayed by COVID doesn't mean it can't be better than in prior years. As military officials continue to call for a space-based sensor layer capable of detecting and tracking ballistic or hypersonic missiles, leaders also hope existing signal and surveillance systems aren't neglected. Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Air Force Gens. John Hyten, head of U.S. Strategic Command, and Terrence O'Shaughnessy, head of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, said the Navy's sea radars will be needed to thwart missiles headed for the United States. "We need to go and invest ourselves and our ability to have, first, the domain awareness," O'Shaughnessy said. "Right now, we need to invest in the IUSS. IUSS, which is our Integrated Undersea Surveillance System, which is atrophied as it relates to the continental U.S. and our ability to defend there." The technology dates back to the 1950s, when it was used to track submarines and collect "acoustic and hydrographic information" for antisubmarine warfare, according to the Navy. It was included in later technology, including the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS), parts of which are slated to receive upgrades. Related content: IUSS, for example, offers an extra layer of protection as parts of the U.S. lack radars, the generals said. During the period when tensions between the U.S. and Russia relaxed, radars at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, and Eldorado Air Force Station, Texas, were dismantled, leaving the southern coast vulnerable, Hyten said. "So we have no radars that look south," he said. "We have built radars, and we're building a radar in Hawaii, built a radar in Alaska to defend against the Korean threat, in particular, to make sure we can enable [NORAD's] missile defense." Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed his country had developed "invincible" new nuclear weapons, including hypersonic missiles, capable of penetrating U.S. defenses. An animated video portrayed a Russian intercontinental ballistic missile striking Florida. Hyten said the U.S. must turn to space to help fill the gap where no ground or sea radar infrastructure exists. "There's not enough islands in the world to build a radar to defend every avenue. Therefore, we have to go to space. And we can go to space now in an affordable way with distributed constellations that can look down and characterize that threat in a global perspective, so we can see them wherever they come from," he said. Defense Department officials have long touted the use of space-based sensors to monitor missile launches. The Pentagon wants to track missile launches in their boost phase "from locations almost anywhere on the globe," according to the 2019 Missile Defense Review. The sensors "enjoy a measure of flexibility of movement that is unimpeded by the constraints that geographic limitations impose on terrestrial sensors, and can provide 'birth to death' tracking that is extremely advantageous," the review states. Last month, President Donald Trump said the Pentagon's 2020 budget proposal will include a space-based missile defense layer. During a congressional hearing last year, Hyten sent mixed signals on whether the U.S. could defend against a missile attack. He warned lawmakers the U.S. isn't completely prepared to stave off Russia's hypersonic missile technologies. On Tuesday, he said that simply being a nuclear power should repel such moves. "Our defense against hypersonics is our nuclear deterrent. If somebody attacks us with a nuclear hypersonic capability, we have the ability to respond," he said. Hyten added, "But we need to build sensors to be able to understand exactly where those things are going so we can better defend ourselves. You can't defend yourself if you can't see it." -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. A Marine Corps official said Wednesday that many of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle's reliability and safety shortcomings identified in a Pentagon test report have been fixed and the JLTV is ready for battlefield use. A recently released Fiscal 2018 Annual Report from the Defense Department's Director, Operational Test and Evaluation was critical of the joint Army and Marine JLTV program, stating that it will not be operationally suitable until officials fix problems ranging from safety issues, such as a lack of situational awareness, to maintenance issues that led to mission failures during tests last year. But much of the data in the DOT&E report was taken from the Multi-Service Operational Test and Evaluation (MOT&E) that the Army and Marine Corps conducted between February and April last year and does not include the steps the services have taken to address the problems, said Andy Rodgers, program manager for Marine Corps Light Tactical Vehicles. "The Army and the Marine Corps are both joint partners on the JLTV program, so we are attuned to the issues that come up," Rodgers told defense reporters Wednesday in a roundtable discussion of JLTV fielding in the Corps. Related content: "It is worth noting that a lot of the items that have been identified in the past couple of days are items that we saw a year ago. ... The test community does not take into account the ... work that has been done since then," he said. "We have shown that we are operationally suitable and effective." The Corps is scheduled to begin fielding its first 55 JLTVs on Thursday to the Marine School of Infantry-West at Camp Pendleton, California, Rodgers said. After Memorial Day, the service will begin fielding JLTVs to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, II Marine Expeditionary Force, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Fielding will continue to I MEF at Pendleton and III MEF in Okinawa, Japan, in September. By the end of fiscal 2019 in late September, the Corps plans to field between 250 and 300 JLTVs, Rodgers said. Overall, the service plans to field about 9,091 JLTVs compared to the Army's plans to buy about 49,099 of the vehicles. The DOT&E report identified safety shortcomings in the JLTV, such as poor visibility because of blind spots. "Visibility is a subjective statement. I don't have a requirement for something empirical that says a Marine or soldier will have X amount of vision," Rodgers said, adding that the Army is working to increase the size of the rear windows and put a front-facing camera on the vehicle. "The Marine Corps is a joint partner, and we are keeping tabs on it," he said. "We will take a look and assess it and present [it] to the Marines to see what they want to do." Crews also experienced slow egress from JLTVs and numerous reliability failures, such as doors not opening, making it difficult for them to get safely in and out of the vehicle, the DOT&E report states. Rodgers said that minor adjustments have been made to the doors, adding that they have an adjustment system that takes time to understand. "Through proper training and understanding of the armored door system, it will be much easier for them to operate," he said. In addition, the Marine Corps has made a point to identify "a second access/egress point" in case a vehicle is involved in a rollover, Rodgers said. "For the gun trucks, you can go out through the gunner's turret," he said. "For the ... general-purpose variant or the utility variant -- the two-door -- we will have an egress hatch up there also." The DOT&E report also criticized JLTV maintenance and operator training programs and manuals as inadequate. In 2012, as the JLTV entered the engineering, manufacturing and development phase, there were "conscious decisions made, because this was at the height of sequestration, that we were going to take, basically, approaches to reduce the cost and save taxpayer dollars," Rodgers said. One of those approaches was to place less importance on maturing manuals and other logistics products, he explained. It wasn't until after Oshkosh Corp. won the JLTV competition in 2015 that an emphasis was placed on maturing the parts, manuals and training packages, he said. The initial 40-hour maintenance training package has been replaced by an 80-hour program that was matured and validated last summer, Rodgers said. There's also a new 56-hour operator training package. "That class has also matured quite a bit due to the fact that we have now completed our operator training manuals and our ... interactive electronic technical manuals," he said. The DOT&E report was critical of the JLTV's Close Combat Weapons Carrier variant, stating that it was not operationally effective and citing problems such as a complex missile reload process that slowed tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided (TOW) missile crews. Program officials have investigated solutions, such as how to improve the missile reload process. "So, whether it was the firing procedures for the Close Combat Weapons Carrier -- a lot of those problems can be solved by improved tactics, techniques and procedures, or TTPs," Rodgers said. "What I believe is, once we start fielding and we are training the maintainers, training the operators and they are more comfortable with the vehicle, the reliability of the vehicle will go up," he said, "which means there will be less maintenance on the vehicle." -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com. The under secretary of the Army on Tuesday refuted criticisms that its newest, high-tech situational awareness tool -- made by Microsoft -- "is designed to kill people." The recent criticism emerged in a letter from Microsoft employees to the company's leadership entitled "HoloLens for Good, Not War," according to a Feb. 23 Forbes article, referring to the Army's $480 million contract award to Microsoft in November to develop the Integrated Visual Augmentation System, or IVAS. The letter states, "The application of HoloLens within the IVAS system is designed to kill people. It will be deployed on the battlefield, and works by turning warfare into a simulated 'video game,'" Forbes reported. Army Under Secretary Ryan McCarthy said Tuesday that the service's main mission is to deter conflict. "We are not the department of war or the department of offense. We are the Department of Defense, and we will fight if necessary," he told reporters at an Association of the United States Army event. IVAS replaces the service's Heads-Up Display 3.0 effort to develop a high-tech digital system designed to let soldiers view their weapon sight reticle and other key tactical information through goggles or an eyepiece. McCarthy held up a pair of eyeglasses to describe the IVAS system. "I always like to do this," he said, describing the glasses as the soldier's sights. "It looks like a pair of glasses, and you can put an interface in there with thermal, day, night [capabilities] and then, if you have a system where you can pipe synthetic training in, you could wear this same piece of equipment into combat, and you could train with it at home, and you could also collect data." Soldiers can use the IVAS to conduct realistic virtual training to practice key battlefield skills in urban and other combat environments without having to leave home station, he added. Leaders can then view the data IVAS records during the training to see where soldiers need to improve on certain skills, such as room clearing, said McCarthy, a former member of the Army's 75th Ranger Regiment. "So if you are coming in to do the room clear, what is the individual's heart rate, the marksmanship of the shots they took? You can get performance data on the individual," he said. "You are going to be able to see what they looked at when they came into the room. That is where you will see an exponential level of improvement in their performance because, every repetition, you will be able to capture that level of data." The IVAS system is scheduled to leave rapid prototyping by August 2020, military officials say. As for the protest letter from Microsoft employees, McCarthy said the Army needs to have more conversation with industry in Silicon Valley, as well as with the American public, about the service's need for this technology. "We need these capabilities," he said. "We would hope that our best and brightest in the country will want to make systems for us so that we can put the best solutions possible in the hands of our soldiers. I think that it is important for everybody to ask questions, but we hope that American industry will want to make products for us, so we have the best that the world has to offer." -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com. Military Wants to Use Rockets to Deliver Cargo Anywhere in the World in Less Than an Hour The Air Force announced that "Rocket Cargo" will be the fourth experiment under its Vanguard program. Danville leaders are ready to move forward with the new Casino Entertainment Zoning district; A local congressman has 20 co-sponsors for a bill he's introducing to oppose the president's new immigration strategy; DAHS has some tips to help our four-legged friends deal with the heat wave. OLD SAYBROOK - The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center and Community Music School are partnering again for the seventh year under the umbrella of their performing arts summer camp, Kates Camp for Kids, to present a full summer of programming at The Kate, 300 Main St., Old Saybrook. The camp runs for five week-long sessions, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m., starting July 8. Launched in 2013, Kates Camp for Kids is a performing arts camp for children ages 5-10 incorporating music, dance, theater, and visual art. Directed by Martha Herrle, a 17-year member of the Community Music School faculty and certified Kindermusik educator, this years camp themes will be Yee Haw, Everyone Needs Superhero, Arf, Sing Me a Story, and Dinostars. Each show features original songs and easy-to-learn rhyming dialog, and the program culminates in a lively performance for friends and family. Tuition for this camp is $295 and scholarships are available for families with a financial need. For additional information and to register, visit www.cmsct.org or call 860-767-0026. Community Music School offers innovative music programming for infants through adults, building on a 35-year tradition of providing quality music instruction to residents of shoreline communities. CMS programs cultivate musical ability and creativity and provide students with a thorough understanding of music so they can enjoy playing and listening for their entire lives. Learn more at visit www.cmsct.org or call 860-767-0026. Epoch Arts offers classes, programs EAST HAMPTON Epoch Arts is offering a wide variety of artistic classes and programs this spring. Students in Pre-k-12th grade and adults can sign up for classes such as art, animation, acting, art club, improv, and much more. A daytime preschool class and an adult art class are also available and all can be found at epocharts.org. Events including paint nights, dance parties, open stage, Summer Session and Daddy Daughter Dance are also scheduled.To register and see all descriptions go to www.epocharts.org or call 860-365-0337. Classes are held at 27 Skinner Street, East Hampton and begin March 11. Mental health service event set CLINTON When was your last mental health checkup? Join us at Henry Carter Hull Library in Clinton on Saturday, March 23, 2-4 p.m. to learn about adult and youth mental health services, parenting support, substance abuse treatment, mindfulness practices and more. Stop by for information from: Collaborative Problem Solving with Divinna Schmitt M. Ed., CPS Certified; NAMI Shoreline; The Mindful Therapy Studio with Lisa Rogers LCSW; Mobile Crisis Unit with River Valley Services; Rushford Healthcare Substance Abuse Treatment with Melissa Curti, Natchaug Hospital Behavioral Health; Child & Adolescent Therapy with David M. Meyers LCSW; Bridges on Elm with Julia Tucker Wood, LMFT; Art Therapy with Kimberly Heil LPC, ATR, MAAT; Meditation, Yoga, & Psychotherapy with Dana A. Schneider, PhD, LCSW; Psychotherapy with Heidi Hugart, LLC, LPC, NCC and The Nathaniel B. Field Memorial Foundation with Howie & Marie Fields There is no registration for this free, event presented by Changing Minds Advocacy Group and Henry Carter Hull Library. Refreshments served. CMS to hold music technology workshop CENTERBROOK - Community Music School will be offering a new take on music technology this spring, Music Technology for your Creative Projects Workshop, to be held on March 9, 2019 from 9:30 am to 12 pm. The program is designed for students who are interested in learning how to record, notate, compose, and produce music using todays technology. The workshop is open to the public and costs just $40 for a 2.5 hour hands-on workshop. For ages 10 through adult, all skill levels, no prior experience necessary. Students are encouraged to bring their questions and musical ideas to follow through with the details of writing and producing a song. Live performance is encouraged so bring your guitar, voice, any acoustic instrument you would like to record live. For keyboard students an 88 key digital piano will be available for direct recording to an Apple iMac computer. Three of the main programs used will be Audacity (music sequencing software), Sibelius (notation software), and GarageBand (recording, sequencing, and loops). The workshop will focus on the interests and skill level of the group and students who would like to observe and ask questions are also welcome. Information on midi files and other musical tips and tools available on the internet will be covered. This program is led by CMS Faculty Member and Music Director Tom Briggs. Tom studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston and received his BA in Music Education, Summa Cum Laude, at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Tom retired in 2009 from the United States Coast Guard Band after 30 years of service. He was the principal percussionist, arranger/composer, and musical director of the Coast Guard Masters of Swing jazz septet. Tom is also an award-winning published composer. He has written and arranged many works for all types of musical ensembles, from symphonic winds to percussion, chamber groups and jazz ensembles. In the field of education, Tom has published a beginning-intermediate piano method book, two drum-set and two snare drum method books. For additional information or to register, visit www.cmsct.org/musictech or call CMS at 860-767-0026. Art guild to host painting demonstration CROMWELL Award-winning Cromwell artist Bivenne Staiger will give a watercolor demonstration Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m. This demonstration will follow a brief meeting of the Art Guild of Middletown at the Woodside Intermediate School, 30 Woodside Road, Cromwell. Meetings of the Guild are free and open to the public; donations are accepted. Staiger is an award-winning watercolorist who has received several Best in Show awards, Peoples Choice awards, several CT Watercolor Society awards, among many others. She teaches watercolor locally. If interested in lessons, contact her at bivenne@yahoo.com for more information. To see her work, visit www.bivennefineart.com. For any further information contact sack3@comcast.net. EAST HAMPTON - A 66-year-old Southington man accused of sexual assault allegedly molested a girl he knew while they were at a campground last summer, according to a series of arrest warrant affidavits filed in Middletown court. The affidavits were prepared by East Hampton officers Hardie Burgin and David Gionfriddo to support their request for a series of search warrants. The affidavits detail the allegations made against Boulanger for his alleged actions inside a trailer at Nelsons Campground beginning in the morning and continuing into the afternoon of June 22, 2017. What followed was a series of incidents in which Boulanger allegedly fondled private areas of the childs body, and at one point allegedly performed oral sex on her, according to the warrant. In addition, the child said Boulanger took her hand and made her touch his penis under his pants, the warrants detail. He is also alleged to have taken cellphone photos of the child in various stages of undress. When she returned to her home, the child told her mother what had happened. Her mother, in turn, reported it to East Hartford police, who in turn contacted East Hampton police. The child, meanwhile, was taken to the Connecticut Childrens Medical Center for observation and an evaluation of any injuries, police said. The examination revealed an abrasion of the childs genital area, a linear abrasion under her left breast, and an abrasion on her upper thigh, all of which the examining physician said were consistent with the childs reports of what occurred. The states forensic science laboratory also found numerous stains that were consistent with both semen and saliva, according to the affidavit. Police obtained a search warrant for Boulangers cellphone in July 2018 . On it and at his house, Burgin and Gionfriddo say, they uncovered hundreds of pornographic websites he allegedly accessed, as well as downloaded images on multiple electronic devices. Some of the websites depicted toddlers (2-3 years old) and tweens (9-12 years-old) engaged in soft-core pornography as well as photographs and hard-core videos depicting sexual activity, including images of bestiality and children, according to one of the affidavits. Boulanger was arrested Feb. 15 and charged with first-degree sexual assault and possession of child pornography. He appeared in Superior Court in Middletown Tuesday in the company of his new attorney, Robert M. Berke of Bridgeport. Asked if he had a comment to make on behalf of his client, Berke said, Not just yet, explaining he had just met Boulanger. The appearance before Judge Maureen Price-Boreland lasted a few seconds. The case has been transferred to Part A, the portion of the court that handles felony charges. Boulanger, who is free on $250,000 bail, is due back in court March 26. The child told police that Boulangers wife was unaware of the assaults. In one of the affidavits, the wife is quoted as telling Gionfriddo that her husband is innocent and the alleged victim was making up the story for attention. Boulanger also has pending sexual assault charges in Superior Court in New Britain for incidents in June 2015 and August 2016. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges. jmill@middletownpress.com Editors note: This story has been updated to redact details since it was first posted. MIDDLETOWN Macdonough Elementary School student Leah McMullen may still be in elementary school, but she knows as much about stocks, bonds and mutual funds as her friends do about emojis and apps. Now the fifth-grader is offering that winning advice to a famous entrepreneur after recommending an investment portfolio for Walt Disney, according to a press release. It was so compelling, it won her first place in Connecticut in the SIFMA Foundations Fall 2018 InvestWrite competition recently. Leah and her teacher, John Ferrero, were honored Feb. 22 at the 66 Spring St. school as SIFMA Foundation representatives recognized them, along with her parents and the school. The competition required students to select an entrepreneur they admire, research their company, and explain how they would advise the entrepreneur to invest the companys assets. Leah McMullen highlighted the leadership of Walt Disney. From P/E ratios and ROIs to retirement planning and asset classes, McMullens broad knowledge of investing enabled her to climb to the top of the competition in Connecticut in the elementary division, according to the release. InvestWrite is a national essay competition which bridges classroom learning in mathematics, social studies, and language arts with the practical research and knowledge required for long-term personal financial planning, enhancing students ability across important academic and life skills, according to the organization. I admire that Walt Disney started and then had to restart so many times, but he never gave up, Leah said, suggesting a diversified approach. If you diversify, it means that you chose a variety of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds to invest your money in. The more diversification you have the better, because then you have a better chance of making more money, Leah wrote. I would advise Disney to invest their money in a little bit of stocks, a little bit of bonds, and a little bit of mutual funds. They should invest in stocks, because stocks are risky, and you can lose a lot of money, but you can also get a lot of money, too. Risk is how much money you could lose. They should invest in U.S. treasury bonds because bonds are very safe since you are giving money to the government and then they make it grow, the fifth-grader wrote in her winning essay. Winning InvestWrite essays are chosen through rigorous judging by thousands of teachers and industry professionals who evaluate students understanding of long-term investing, diversification, the global capital markets, and factors that drive investments as well as their expression of investment ideas in essay form. Winners receive awards and prizes, including laptops, classroom pizza parties, trophies, plaques and banners, and certificates. For information, visit sifma.org. CROMWELL - For the second time in three days, police say a team of burglars broke into a service station and made off with quantity of cigarettes. Just before 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, a commercial burglar alarm went off at Bishops Citgo service station at 140 Berlin Road, police said in a release. When officers arrived on the scene, they found that the front door had been jimmied open. More for you News Cromwell police looking for help to ID burglary suspects Surveillance video reviewed by police showed two suspects wearing disguises had left an SUV, forced the door, went inside and made off with an undetermined amount of cigarettes, police said. They then made their way out of store and into the waiting SUV, which police said appeared to possibly be a blue Acura. The car then sped off west on Route 372, police said. On Monday, in an almost identical incident, two burglars broke into the Sunoco service station at 164 West St., at the intersection of West Street and Route 9, and made off with cigarettes and cash. Police Chief Denise Lamontagne acknowledged Wednesdays incident was very similar to Mondays. The burglars in that incident, like the ones at the Bishops break-in, were wearing disguises. And they arrived in and left in an SUV, which appeared to be a blue Acura, she said. Police have asked anyone who was in the area and may have witnessed the incident or who otherwise might have information about either of the two events to please contact them at 860-635-2256. jmill@middletownpress.com CLINTON For as long as there have been people in power and people who are not, those feeling powerless when consistently treated unequally, eventually rise up, take a stand, make a change. Now is the time to be inspired by one such revolt and Kidz Konnection Shoreline Theater Academy is the perfect venue for the retelling of it as it presents Disneys Newsies, March 8 - 10 at Clinton Town Hall. After all, the Newsboys strike in 1899, which became a pivotal moment in U.S. history for child labor compensation and fairness laws was entirely youth-led and demonstrates just how influential young people can be when standing in solidarity for a common cause. It is this very determination that the youth performers of Kidz Konnection have risen to become one of the leading community theater companies in Connecticut. Now, with an abundance of enthusiasm and concern for the vitality of the town of Clinton and the preservation of its historic district, the students of Kidz Konnection are using the production to kick off a fundraising campaign to begin renovating the interior second level of their new home, the First Church of Christs Academy Building for the betterment of the future of Clinton. MIDDLETOWN MEWS+, the Middletown Entrepreneur Work Space, has recently engaged Tim Laubacher, a local entrepreneur and experienced co-worker, on a new office hours program. Laubacher has worked with the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce to launch several initiatives designed to help startups, entrepreneurs and those wanting to start new businesses in Middlesex County, according to a press release. The MEWS is a great co-working space that I enjoy using just about every day. But the networking, learning and collaboration opportunities are really what make an entrepreneurial community thrive, he said in a prepared statement. Among programs now available to startups and entrepreneurs are free legal, tech and business advice, the release said. The MEWS+ represents the chambers effort to develop an innovation ecosystem in Middletown, with the larger goal of developing an innovation economy in Middlesex County, Chamber Vice President Jeff Pugliese said in the release. Laubacher has also introduced several networking and learning opportunities for local entrepreneurs. They include monthly Lunch & Learn sessions, where food is provided as experienced founders talk about their journey and advice for starting and growing a successful business. A weekly Leads Group meets to help these individuals find new customers and partners, according to the chamber. Getting a new business off the ground is hard work. The Leads Group gives you a support network in the very important area of lead generation and sales. It really helps to have a group of people use their networks to spread the word about your business. Laubacher said in the statement. This spring, Laubacher, the chamber, and MEWS+ members are organizing a one-of-a-kind pitching competition, during which participants can win cash to help grow their business or get their idea off the ground. The goal of COLLUSION is to connect people from different industries and perspectives in order to spur new types of collaborations, the release said. Last fall, the chamber converted the second floor of its Main Street facility into a co-working space for use by anyone in Middlesex Countys entrepreneur community. The shared work space is designed to attract a creative class of developers, designers, strategists, artisans, writers, inventors, engineers and professional office nomads. It includes more than 600 square feet of dedicated co-working space, high-speed WiFi and access to the chambers conference rooms. Chamber President Larry McHugh thanked CT Next, the city of Middletown, Wesleyan University, Liberty Bank and Middlesex Health for their support. For information, visit themewsplus.co or contact Laubacher at 860-305-5690. BAD AXE One of the nations largest investor-owned, energy delivery companies is in the process of buying Sempra Energys remaining wind operating and development assets for $551 million in cash. And the agreement includes the Apple Blossom Wind farm in Winsor Township near Pigeon. Jeff Smith, the countys zoning and building director, updated the Huron County Board of Commissioners of the agreement during Tuesdays meeting. American Electric Power (AEP), based in Columbus, Ohio, entered an agreement to complete the sale with Sempra Energy earlier this month. The sale should be completed during the second quarter of 2019, a news release from Sempra Energy states. Its (AEP is) a slightly larger corporation than Sempra, Smith told commissioners. The Black Oak Getty Wind project in Minnesota was also included in the sale. AEP will acquire all the other Sempra Renewables wind projects currently in the development pipeline. I am pleased to let you know that all current plant staff will be immediately job offered and remain in place should they so choose, stated Andrew Johnson, wind facility manager for Apple Blossom Wind. The sale will be subject to customary closing conditions, including approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In other news, commissioners: Accepted the resignations dispatchers Laura Horkey and Scott Adam. Approved to employ Briana B. Emming and Elizabeth D. Kostis as part-time dispatcher trainees with Huron Central Dispatch. Authorized the Huron County CA/N Council to hold its annual Pinwheel Planting event on the courthouse lawn at 10 a.m. April 12. Accepted the resignation of Wendy Maikrzek from the position of equalization deputy director, effective March 8. Probation violator nets jail time A Caro man was sentenced 45 days in jail during court hearings this week for previously violating conditions of his probation. Andrew K. Stricker, 30, was given credit for 21 days served and his probation was continued. He was ordered to complete 40 days of community service. Stricker was represented by Bad Axe-based attorney Michelle Siev. Man jailed for false pretenses A Bad Axe man received a 150-day sentence in jail this week for one count of false pretenses. Kyle C. Miles, 28, was given credit for 70 days served and placed on probation for a period of 36 months. He was ordered to pay $130 to the Crime Victims Rights fund, $68 in State Minimum Costs and $6,178 toward restitution. Miles was ordered to complete outpatient substance abuse and mental health treatments. He cannot have any contact with the victim. Miles was also ordered to not consume any drugs or alcohol and will be subject to testing. Miles was represented by Bad Axe-based attorney Dawn Young. Man admits he didnt pay child support A Sebewaing man pleaded guilty in court this week to a charge of failure to pay child support. Larry Owen Cooper, 49, is scheduled for appear for sentencing on April 22. Cooper is being represented by Bad Axe-based attorney Kyle OMara. Man pleads no contest to drug charges A Port Austin man pleaded no contest to two counts of delivery of a controlled substance in court this week. Logan Robert Berry, 21, is scheduled to appear in court next on April 15 for sentencing. His bond was continued. Berry is being represented by Bad Axe-based attorney Michelle Siev. Man confesses to violating probation A Harbor Beach man pleaded guilty to a probation violation charge in court this week. Damon Rae Cash, 26, is scheduled to appear in court next on April 8 for disposition. Cash is being represented by Sebewaing-based attorney Jessica Riskey. BAD AXE A Michigan State Police trooper made his first court appearance as a free man Wednesday on charges connected to an alleged assault on a female trooper, who has been left in fear, according to a state prosecutor. In an all-black suit, Adam S. Mullin appeared in Huron County District Judge David B. Herrington's courtroom for a probable cause conference. The 25-year-old trooper from the Michigan State Police Caro Post faces six charges, with the most serious being assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder. The remaining charges are: aggravated domestic violence; obstruction of justice; misconduct in office; assaulting/resisting a police officer causing injury; and felony firearm. During Wednesday's hearing, Brian J. Kolodzieu, a prosecutor for the Michigan Attorney General's Office, requested to adjourn Mullin's preliminary examination that was supposed to be held Friday to review pieces of evidence, new and old, including phone conversations. Herrington granted the request and set a new hearing date for April 5. He ordered all bond documents be transferred from the Lapeer County Jail, where Mullin was booked, to the Huron County Jail. Prior to adjournment, defense attorneys Matthew L. Norwood and Christopher McGrath asked the judge to consider removing Mullin's tether which is a condition of his bond. Norwood said his client has no problem staying away from the victim, and he isn't a threat to the community. "He needs to be able to support his wife and get a job," Norwood told Herrington, noting Mullin has potential work available in Clio that isn't affiliated with law enforcement. Kolodzieu strongly objected to removing the tether entirely because prosecutors are concerned for the victim's safety and her "expressed fear of what the defendant may do next." Following a 25-minute meeting behind chamber doors, the parties reached an agreement. Kolodzieu said Mullin's inclusion zone on his tether will be expanded to allow him to go to work and take his stepson to school. In the exclusion zone, the tether will be modified to not go off when Mullin is crossing M-46 to come to court. A telephone status conference between all parties was set for March 27. Mullin was arrested Feb. 12 and immediately placed on unpaid suspension. The alleged attack on the female trooper is believed to have occurred Feb. 10 in the Bad Axe area. Mullin has been with the MSP Caro Post since July 2016. BAD AXE Poor winter weather has caused plenty of school cancellations across the county. It's the reason the Bad Axe School District is extending its school year. Bad Axe, which as of Tuesday, had 14 cancelled school days due to winter weather. The district announced yesterday that it plans to schedule June 14 as the last day of school which is a school week longer than originally scheduled. It has certainly been a winter season to remember and we still have more time to go, stated Bad Axe Superintendent Greg Newland in a letter to parents. I am writing about our districts current status related to the number of school closures we have had this school year. School districts in Michigan are allowed to have six forgiven days due to weather, power outages, or any other reason, out of the 180 mandatory days of school. Districts can also apply to the Michigan Department of Education for a waiver for three additional days along with the six original forgiven days. Bad Axe has been approved for those additional days, meaning it will have to make up five of its 14 cancelled days. Our plan is to schedule these makeup days for the end of the year with our last day of school on June 14, Newland said. Please keep in mind that any additional cancelled days will also be required to be rescheduled. Newland added that if the district does have to cancel more days, it will schedule a half day of school on Friday, Apr. 19, in addition to extending the school year past June 14, if necessary. Some districts in the state have discussed potentially rescheduling days during spring break. However, Bad Axe will, along with most of the schools in Huron County, be unable to do that due to a number of reasons, including scheduling with the Huron Area Tech Center, dual enrollment classes, and special education programs that are tied to the county calendar. I would like to thank all of you for your patience and understanding during these weeks of inclement weather, Newland said. Your support in keeping safety as our top priority for students is greatly appreciated. When Independence Day approaches, we often take time to reflect on those who made the sacrifices that allow us to enjoy our democratic freedoms. Sadly, the contributions of Black Americans often get left out of the discussion. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 27) Arnell Ignacio resigned from his post in the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). The resignation of the former television personality was confirmed by Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo in a statement. "Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Deputy Administrator Arnaldo Arevalo Ignacio has signified his intention to leave public service for personal reasons," Panelo said. He added that President Rodrigo Duterte has yet to accept Ignacio's resignation. Ignacio was appointed by Duterte as deputy executive director five last year, having previously appointed as assistant vice president for the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation. He supported Duterte's Presidential campaign in 2016. RTHK: HK action movie shooting thrills Yangon crowds Cars dangling from cranes, street shootouts and actors rappelling from roofs Yangon residents were transfixed this week by the filming of a big-budget Hong Kong action movie around the city's iconic Sule pagoda. Yangon has lent the charm of its colonial-style buildings and golden temple spires to Line Walker 2 the sequel to the 2016 blockbuster of the same name which grossed US$90 million worldwide. Line Walker 2 stars Hong Kong heartthrob Louis Koo and Nick Cheung. The final day of shooting drew hundreds of locals as well as a long line of robed monks crowding onto overhead pedestrian passes, craning for a view of a choreographed gunfight. "It is amazing to see cars flying in the air, like in the big films," said Sai Mine, who was visiting Yangon from northern Shan State. The 25-year-old had heard about the filming and begged her sisters to take her to Sule Pagoda where the smouldering remains of a car lay nearby. Myanmar actors were cast as well, and Aung Myint Myat said he got the "amazing" opportunity to play a Swat team leader in the film. "I'm really proud of it," he said. Amateur filmmaker Thar Nge expressed delight at the chance to witness the day-long process to film a scene that plays out in seconds on the silver screen. "I am a big fan of action and adventure films and it is amazing for me to be able to see these moments," the 22-year-old said. Some were hopeful a big-budget film featuring Yangon's sights could boost tourist numbers. While the number of Chinese tourists increased last year, Myanmar has seen a drop in Western visitors following news of the army's crackdown on the Muslim Rohingya minority in northern Rakhine state. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2019-02-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. The proceedings of the trilateral meeting between Greece-Cyprus-Israel which focused on Diaspora issues and took place in Jerusalem concluded with a visit at the highest State level. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Terence Quick and Cypriot Presidential Commissioner Fotis Fotiou were received by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, accompanied by Isaac Herzog, the head of the "Jewish Agency for Israel". Greece, Cyprus, and Israel reached an agreement on the procedures to be followed regarding the young members of their respective Diasporas, following a decision taken last December at the Trilateral Summit Meeting held in Israel, with the participation of the Prime Ministers A. Tsipras and B. Netanyahu, and President N. Anastasiades. In this respect, it was decided that the first action, which will involve young people aged 25 to 35, be held in late August. "Five young people from each Diaspora community will make a joint trip to Greece, Israel and Cyprus, spending three days in each country, so that they can experience for themselves the homelands of their parents or grandparents," Mr. Quick stated. "As far as Greece is concerned, we will bring over young people from the US, Canada, Australia, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. I shall ask for the selection to be made on the basis of specific criteria related to education and professional history; girls and boys who have already distinguished themselves or who show a great deal of promise in their chosen field of work." The Heads of the diaspora organizations of the three countries also attended the trilateral meeting which was held in Jerusalem. The Greek representatives included Nikos Laryngakis (AHI), Nikos Pagonis (President of the Greater Montreal Area-Canada) and Phanos Pitiris (AHEPA - Supreme Governor of Europe). Before their departure from Israel, Mr. Quick and Mr. Fotiou, together with members of their delegations, visited His Beatitude Theophilos III, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and then prayed at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. A 5% import duty has been applied on Zambian copper concentrates imports since the start of 2019, causing major smelters including Vedantas KCM and Chinese-owned Chambishi to slash planned output due to the added raw material cost pressure Major Zambian copper smelters, except First Quantums integrated Kansanshi facility, typically source part of their output from the neighboring DRC, Africas biggest copper producer.Some of the biggest DRC miners havent lost hope in the Zambian market yet. They still transport their copper concentrate output to bonded warehouses in Zambia, a DRC-based producer source said.Up to 100,000 tonnes of DRC concentrates, including ERGs Frontier copper concentrates from the DRC, have been transported to bonded warehouses in the Zambian city of Ndola, with the intention of selling on to Zambian smelters should the import duty be withdrawn, the producer source estimated. The movement of Frontier [stock]... Meridian, MS (39302) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Considerable clouds this evening. Some decrease in clouds late. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. A year ago, Spotify officially announced its plans of expanding to India, and the company has finally made its way here. While Netflix is the most popular video streaming platform worldwide, Spotify holds the same title in the music streaming segment. The company has the highest number of paying subscribers in the world and India is the 79th where Spotify has launched. It operates on a "freemium" model, meaning users can access all songs for free, but they're streamed at a lower quality and the app has ads to monetize the consumption. The motto is to convert free users to a paid subscription and in return offer more features like high-quality playback and no ads. Spotify The service in India will come with more than four crore songs and 300 crore playlists offering Indian and international music, across moods and moments. The company has already partnered with T-Series and Sony for local licensing and is currently fighting in court against the Warner Music Group (WMG). The app has built-in multilingual recommendations and specially curated playlists for listeners in India and new users can avail a 30-day trial of the Premium offering. To access, you can either visit the website or download the Android. Reuters In terms of pricing, the simple one month plan costs just Rs 119 (US$ 1.67), compared to US$ 9.99 (Rs 700) in the United States. Spotify is offering a wide array of flexible subscription options, including a yearly plan that costs Rs 1,189. If you don't want a recurring subscription, a top-up can be availed and it costs Rs 13 per day and can go up till Rs 719 for six months. The platform has also integrated local payment options like UPI and PayTM, in addition to debit and credit cards. Reuters In comparison, Apple Music costs Rs 120 per month, JioSaavn is free for Jio users (limited period), and Google Play Music charges Rs 99 per month. Amazon Music comes bundled with Prime and costs Rs 1,000 per year (includes Prime Video). While the platform is popular for its music collection and suggestive algorithm, it'll require a ton of local content to succeed in India. And Spotify says plans to solve this in a mutual way. "India has an incredibly rich music culture, and to best serve this market, we're launching a custom-built experience. Not only will Spotify bring Indian artists to the world, we will also bring the world's music to fans across India, said Daniel Ek, Spotify's Founder and CEO. The young lovers of this generation fear getting attached too quickly. And why shouldn't they? Love today moves faster than sound and diminishes quickly without much remorse or regard. We have dating apps at our disposal which make it easier to move on from something as daring as love and, because of this, every relationship is seen as frivolous and daunting. AA Films The worst possible thing to happen to someone at this day and age is to get emotionally attached without many tools left at their disposal for detachment. Detachment is important with the frivolity we all live under today and if someone does break your heart, it takes a while to fix it back, making it harder to fall in love or trust love altogether. So before you set out to like someone and start getting attached to them, maybe keep these 3 very basic things in mind, so that you can protect your heart at the right time. (1) Are You Both Ready? By ready I don't mean for an association but are you both ready to emotionally invest in each other? If not, there are other ways to do this, like having a fling with one another but if you think you both are emotionally fit to have a deeper, more emotional dynamic than that, then go right ahead. If not, stay put because once you're in, it's difficult to get out unscathed. Eros International (2) Are They Emotionally Available? While having feelings for someone and getting attached to them, you may experience the need to let go of your emotions little by little, trying to see if they can handle them. More times than often, they probably will put up a good show of being there emotionally for you but as time goes by, an emotionally unavailable person will begin to show their true colours. You have to recognise that before you're heavily invested. Because if you're associating with an emotionally unavailable woman, you're definitely in for a world of pain because she's not going to recognise or value your emotions after a point in time. So, it's better to make sure your partner's EQ (emotional intelligence) is at par with yours, before heading for a commitment. AA Films (3) Are You Over Your Past? You don't want to get attached for the wrong reasons now, do you? Definitely don't look for someone else to fill a void because that doesn't work out well in most cases. First try and be complete and happy within yourself before you go looking for something more substantial with another person. If you're not happy and are looking to just fill a void, more often than not you'll end up getting hurt because you'll definitely not find what you're looking for. If you do get attached to another person while getting over your past, it's important to recognise that and try and work on it individually before seeking emotional help from another person. Fox Star Studios Emotional attachment wavers on a thin line and if you think you're not an emotional being, so you don't have to worry about attachment, you're wrong. Everyone is emotional and everyone gets attached. You just need the right time, space and cue to figure out when and how to look for a healthy emotional attachment with the right person. The entirety of Mumbai's glitz and glamour is currently shining brightly in Switzerland, as everyone is busy rejoicing and celebrating the pre-wedding festivities of Akash Ambani and Shloka Mehta, who are all set to tie the knot in a few days. The family set up a 'Winter Wonderland' for the lovely couple and it's nothing less than incredible. Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal's pre-wedding bash had John Legend perform for the guests, followed by Beyonce performing during the wedding. This time around, reports suggest that Maroon 5 is all set to perform during the main wedding festivities, but last night everyone had a chill time dancing and crooning to the tunes of Coldplay's Chris Martin performing for the guests. It was not just Chris Martin who made people dance, in fact, 'The Chainsmokers' also brought the house down with their music. Looks like the two families even had a wonderful round of 'Antakshari' moderated by none other than Aamir Khan himself. Ofcourse, there was also a group performance with everyone dancing to 'Gala Goodiyan'. I guess both families know how to rock a party better than all of us. Lets wait to see how beautiful the wedding festivities unfold. WETHERSFIELD, Conn. Feb. 27, 2019 Wethersfield, Conn. Joanne Bean Saint Joseph's College Standish, Maine Saint Joseph's Bar Harbor Ellsworth, Maine Mylan C. Cohen Tufts University School of Medicine University of Vermont Maine Jess Maurer, Esq. Maine Maine's Maine's Maine Timothy Elwell Michelle DeBarge Molly Rees Gavin Angela Mattie Quinnipiac University Rollin Schuster, Jr. Wethersfield, Conn. Manchester, Maine Dover, NH Barre, VT Providence, RI State of Connecticut /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Qualidigm, the mission-driven, national healthcare consulting company based in, announced today three new members to join the organization's board of directors. The newly appointed members previously served on the board of directors for Maine Quality Counts and were nominated as representatives for the combined board of directors as a result of Qualidigm's recent merger with Maine Quality Counts. The new board members are:, MBA, BSN, RN is the vice president and chief advancement officer atinwhere she is responsible for managing relationships to increase understanding and support among the College's key constituents. Bean has more than 25 years of development experience on behalf of hospital, voluntary healthcare, and independent research institutions. Prior to joining, she served as the Senior Director of Development at The Jackson Laboratory, a global nonprofit independent research institution headquartered inand, MD is the medical director for Cardiology Imaging and Diagnostics at Maine Medical Center and for Cardiovascular Informatics at MaineHealth. He is a past-president of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, serves on the Board of Directors of the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC), and is President of the Nuclear Medicine/PET Division of the IAC. He is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at. In 2012, Dr. Cohen was honored by theCollege of Medicine with the Alumni Distinguished Academic Achievement Award, and in 2014 was named Best Cardiologist inby Down East Magazine. Dr. Cohen is board certified in Cardiovascular Disease and Internal Medicine.is the executive director of the Maine Council on Aging where she leads and manages a broad, multidisciplinary network of more than 75 organizations, businesses and community members working to promote the safety, independence, and well-being of older people in. She advances statewide public policy initiatives, provides leadership withinaging network, and supportsLegislative Caucus on Aging. Maurer leads the Maine Healthy Aging Initiative and the Tri-State Learning Collaborative on Aging, a regional learning collaborative aimed at increasing the collective impact of community-driven aging initiatives. A licensedattorney, Maurer worked for 17 years in the Maine Office of the Attorney General where she helped to implement public policy and legislative initiatives related to elder abuse prevention, prescription drug pricing, and end-of-life care."I am excited to welcome our new board members from the Maine Quality Counts Board of Directors representing the academic, healthcare, and nonprofit communities," said, PhD, Qualidigm president and CEO. "Joanne, Mylan, and Jess are dynamic, talented, strong leaders who bring tremendous experience and perspective that align with our strategic goals of delivering comprehensive, cost-effective, coordinated healthcare quality improvement services across New England and the country through one unified organization."In addition to the new board members, existing directors were recently voted to serve the next term on the Qualidigm executive board. Mag Morelli, president of LeadingAge Connecticut is the board chair;, JD, partner, Wiggin and Dana, LLP is board chair elect; and, president, Connecticut Community Care, Inc. is board treasurer., JD, professor at, is continuing to serve as board secretary and, principal at Schuster Driscoll, LLC, is continuing to serve as board past chair."I congratulate Mag, Michelle, and Molly for their elected positions within the executive board of directors," said Dr. Elwell. "These appointments reflect their skills and experience. I am proud of the diversity at the executive board level where 66% of the officers are distinguished women leaders. I am honored to have such accomplished, well-respected, forwarding thinking visionaries lead the Qualidigm Board of Directors."See the full roster of the Qualidigm Board of Directors.About Qualidigm: With its corporate headquarters inand offices in; and, Qualidigm's mission is to transform the quality, safety, and value of healthcare by leading, collaborating, and aligning improvement efforts. Qualidigm provides consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide. These services include consulting, data analysis, health information technology, patient safety, quality improvement, and utilization review. Qualidigm is part of a team that is serving as the Medicare Quality Innovation-Network Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for New England. Qualidigm is also a Patient Safety Organization (PSO) as designated by the. http://www.Qualidigm.orgSOURCE Qualidigm NEW YORK Feb. 27, 2019 Las Vegas David Steinberg Rachel Papka Joseph Marino Leon Steinberg Las Vegas Nevada David Steinberg Mark Winkler Austin Deer /PRNewswire/ -- As the first into partner with openDoctor, Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging (SDMI), a leading outpatient radiology practice, continues to be at the forefront of technology.openDoctor's industry-leading platform will interface with SDMI's RIS system to automate patient calls, proactively communicating with patients. After an initial rollout in what is forecasted to be a long-term partnership, the service will be fully deployed for real-time online scheduling capabilities. The service will be fully deployed at all eight SDMI locations across all modalities such as CT, MRI and mammography.SDMI was founded on the principle of practicing great medicine by putting patients first. "We have upheld these principles since our start in 1988," says Dr., SDMI CEO. "SDMI is consistently the first to introduce new technology to southern Nevada and that doesn't stop at the equipment in their facilities. Through regular workflow analysis and staff education, SDMI is able to identify patient needs and implement innovative options like openDoctor.""We look forward to seeing how this partnership with openDoctor can help patients interact digitally with our practice, all while providing the type of back-office automation required to compete in today's market," says, chief health informatics officer, SDMI."Consumer awareness of digital health tools is now at an all-time high, combined with strong consumer expectations for the convenience offered in everyday industries," says, CEO of openDoctor. "The changing healthcare landscape, like declining reimbursements and increasing pricing transparency, are forcing outpatient centers to better cater to healthcare consumers while reducing administrative costs. We are excited to provide a solution to tackle these current challenges for SDMI."In 1958, Dr.came toto help Sunrise Hospital build the first radiology center in southern. Through the experience in the hospital setting, he saw a need for a more patient-friendly option for medical imaging and aimed to build such a practice so with his son Dr.and Dr.as his partners, Dr. Leon opened the first SDMI office in 1988. Their standards of excellence in patient care and technology have brought national and international recognition from the medical imaging and health care communities. Today, that commitment to deliver top-notch care wrapped around a positive patient experience has never been stronger. With more than 30 years under their belt, the number one priority in this family-owned business is to make sure that we treat every patient like a beloved member of our family.openDoctor is a cloud-based platform bridging the gap between complex scheduling environments of healthcare organizations and a consumer-friendly online experience. The openDoctor white-labeled solution helps healthcare systems and radiology practices maximize patient engagement through real-time online scheduling, appointment reminders, digital registration, online payments and other digital tools.Director Business Developmentadeer@opendr.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/patient-engagement-at-the-forefront-of-opendoctor-partnership-with-steinberg-diagnostic-300802886.html SOURCE openDoctor LOUISVILLE, Ky. Feb. 27, 2019 Fiji Fiji /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Bristol-Plus is the newest member of the BFW LED Portable Headlight System Family. Developed for surgery and exam procedures, Bristol-Plus provides clear, intense, illumination to the surgical site with the added benefit of lightweight comfort and long battery life.Providing ~40,000 LUX of intense illumination at 16"/40 cm working distance and ~132,000 LUX at 10"/25.4 cm, Bristol-Plus is an efficient solution when moving from the exam to the surgical procedure. The variable spot size makes Bristol-Plus a convenient tool for a variety of disciplines. The lightweight battery provides 10-hours of life at the highest setting and 5-intensity settings.BFW offers two comfortable headlight options. The adjustable moldedprovides occipital support and disposable sweatband. Theheadband may also be personalized with a name and/or logo as well as a choice of colors for the rear support. While the design of the Key West headband may look unique at first, it was designed with comfort and user experience in mind. Once the user puts it on their head, they forget it's even there.All BFW portable headlight systems come with a carrying case with a molded interior for secure storage. Other storage options are the new Bay Port System that allows the facility to hang the headlights either on the wall or a mobile stand as well as a multi-bay battery charger (Bay Port System available in Q3).ABOUT BFWBFW, Inc. is a worldwide technological leader in surgical illumination and headlight video imaging. Experience the foremost innovations in bright, portable OR quality LED headlights, the Hatteras high intensity LED light source unmatched intense illumination for headlights and instrumentations, and state-of-the-art Pharos HD Coaxial headlight/video camera system.SOURCE BFW by Larissa Faw , February 26, 2019 Ida Rezvani is returning to the agency that brought her across the pond, now as president, mcgarrybowen New York. Rezvanis first tour with mcgarrybowen started in London in 2010, where as managing director, she helped to transform the agency from Dentsu London to mcgarrybowen. Rezvani then transferred to the agencys New York office where she led United Airlines and Marriott Hotelstwo of the of the agencys top five clients. Since 2015, Rezvani has been a WPP global client leader, leading one of WPPs top 50 clientsIHG. She was responsible for the business across 15 operating companies, 12 brands, and four regions. Rezvani steps in to the role recently held by Angela Johnson, who moved to a global role at agency parent Dentsu Aegis Network. Rezvani will report to Patrick Lafferty, U.S. President, and oversee the mcgarrybowen New York leadership team, including chief creative officer Matt Ian and chief strategy officer Conner Huber. She will start in her new role later this spring. by Sara Guaglione , February 26, 2019 iHeartMedia is acquiring cloud-based audio playout platform Radiojar, adding to the broadcast radio companys recent investments in streaming audio technology. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. The Athens, Greece-based company was purchased by iHeartMedia, Inc. -- a subsidiary of RCS, which provides broadcast and webcast software to over 14,000 broadcast, digital, TV, cable and satellite music companies worldwide. Complementing our recent announcements about our cloud-based scheduling, playout and disaster recovery services, this acquisition will help RCS bring an even wider range of sophisticated online broadcast tools to our customers, stated Philippe Generali, president and CEO of RCS. In the near future, using cloud-based technology, it will be possible to launch a brand-new radio service across broadcast and digital within minutes of the original idea, he added. advertisement advertisement iHeartMedia and other RCS clients will now have access to Radiojars technology, which allows broadcasters to add individual audio elements like DJ voice tracks, music and broadcast spots to create, distribute and monetize music streaming, podcasts and other audio content in real-time, from any location, according to the company. These new capabilities will allow for the seamless nature that has only been available on radio to transition to other audio mediums, including digital stations and podcasts, stated Rich Bressler, president, COO-CFO, iHeartMedia, Inc. Radiojar will continue to provide tools for independent podcasters, radio stations and individuals to create their own radio stations. iHeartMedia recently acquired programming audio platform Jelli, Inc. and its SoundPoint programmatic platform, to create a digital-compatible buying platform with data-based targeting and creative optimization. It also purchased Stuff Media LLC last year , including the HowStuffWorks podcasting business, making iHeartMedia a top commercial podcast publisher. iHeartMedia has 850 live broadcast stations, and streams music, radio and on demand via its iHeartRadio digital service across more than 250 platforms and 2,000 devices. Market Overview: Global Cardiac Implants Market value at USD 8.91 Bn in 2017 and findings suggest a likely CAGR of 7.2% during the assessment period from 2018 to 2023. The growth of the global cardiac implants market at the above-mentioned rate will lead the market toward a value of USD 13.6 Bn by the end of 2023. Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of death. According to the CDC, cardiovascular diseases are responsible for 1 in every 4 deaths in the U.S. Cardiac implants are crucial medical devices which are used to manage or treat heart diseases and the increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases has resulted in considerable growth of the global cardiac implant market. The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases is in part due to the increase in the geriatric population. The global population has expanded immensely, and with the development of advanced medical technology, life expectancy has also increased. As a result of this, the aged population is growing, and with it, the incidence of heart disease. Request Sample Copy at https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/6726 Cardiac implants have been highly useful in helping manage these heart diseases, and many implants are designed for geriatric patients, thus driving market growth. Reimbursement policies regarding implants are increasingly becoming favorable, which has encouraged patients to seek treatment, thus driving demand for cardiac implants. Cardiac implants are consistently being developed and improved upon with the advancement of technology, making certain treatments possible and with time, increasingly affordable. Market participants actively compete to launch new products which increase growth opportunities and product demand in the global cardiac implant market. Newly developed cardiac implants often have to undergo a rigorous approval process and abide by various established standards. These stringent regulatory requirements are expected to deter growth. However, the global market will likely witness increasing opportunities in emerging economies due to the changing healthcare scenario in these countries combined with a rise in disposable income and awareness regarding medical devices. Top Players: MRFRs competitive profiling and analysis of growth strategies of leading market players have been included in the report. Market players of note include C.R. Bard, Inc., Edwards Life-sciences Corporation, Medtronic plc, Boston Scientific Corporation, Terumo Corporation, Thoratec Corporation, SynCardia Systems, Inc., Abbott Laboratories, and B. Braun Melsungen AG. Segmentation: The Global Cardiac Implants Market is made up of several key components that have been analyzed in MRFRs report. Segmentation has been determined on the basis of product, application, end-user, and region. Products have been segmented into cardiac rhythm management devices, coronary stent devices, prosthetic heart valves, and cardiac assist devices. Due to the high demand for devices to help manage arrhythmias, the market share for the cardiac rhythm management devices segment has been observed to be the most significant. Meanwhile, the coronary stent devices segment is projected to witness the fastest growth. Applications of cardiac implants have been found in arrhythmias, myocardial ischemia, acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and others. Arrhythmias are the most common application of cardiac implants. The congestive heart failure segment is growing at the fastest rate and is expected to grow considerably over the forecast period. End-users of cardiac implants are segmented into hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, and others. Although hospitals have acquired the largest share of the market, the ambulatory surgical centre segment is expected to grow at the highest rate due to increased demand for emergency care of cardiovascular disorders. Regional Analysis: The Asia Pacific is expected to be a significant regional market in the global cardiac implant market, primarily due to the presence of several emerging economies in the region. The rising rate of mortality due to cardiovascular diseases in the region has contributed to the increased demand for cardiac implants in the APAC region. Countries such as Japan, China, and India are witnessing large reforms in the healthcare sector, and rapid development of the same, in tandem with government support for the advancement of existing healthcare technologies, is expected to drive the demand for cardiac implants in the region. The APAC market represents a significant opportunity for the growth of the global cardiac implant market in the coming years. The Americas and Europe have somewhat similar growth patterns and are expected to be significant markets for the global cardiac implant market. Well-developed healthcare sectors along with the presence of several market-leading players in these regions have been the key supporting factors for the growth of these regional markets. Moreover, they have a high geriatric population and favorable reimbursement policies, driving the demand for cardiac implants. Browse Complete 120 Pages Premium Research Report Enabled with Respective 30+ Tables and Figures at https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/cardiac-implants-market-6726 About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. Contact Market Research Future Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Pune 411028 Maharashtra, India +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Meadville, PA (16335) Today Scattered thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. High around 80F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Thunderstorms this evening, then cloudy with rain likely overnight. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. 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 Both veteran and new legislators from Paulding said the countys legislative delegation was keeping a close eye on a certain addition to the c Cumberland-based Manhattan Associates Inc. announced it will release its third quarter 2018 financial results on Oct. 23 after the stock marke Clay Center, KS (67432) Today Cloudy skies this morning followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 83F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. McAlester, OK (74501) Today Scattered thunderstorms during the morning. Cloudy skies this afternoon. High 87F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Considerable cloudiness. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 73F. Winds light and variable. Chefs from across Central Massachusetts are getting creative with cookies to benefit the Girl Scouts. The Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts is hosting its annual Fork it Over competition, which asks chefs to use some of the famous cookies to create both sweet and savory dishes. Thin Mints, Samoas and Do-si-dos will be on the menu for the event from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Worcester Art Museum on March 26. Chefs competing this year are from Baba Sushi, Bull Mansion, Bay Path Regional Vocational and Technical High School, JPs Twisted BBQ & Grille, Karols Corner, Lock50, Niche Hospitality Group, Old Sturbridge Village, Pepes Italian Restaurant, Publick House and Samuel Slaters Restaurant. The panel of judges, who will determine the winners in both sweet and savory categories, include MassLives Scott J. Croteau, Barbara Houle of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Worcester Business Journal Editor Brad Kane, Cornelius Rogers of Romaines Restaurant and Diana Casavecchia of Mechanics Hall. Event attendees will vote for a peoples choice favorite. The night will also have a silent auction, including round trip tickets to anywhere from JetBlue, tickets to see Brian Wilson or the Goo Goo Dolls and Train at Tanglewood, Boston Harbor Cruises and other items. Tickets are $50 each or two for $80 and are available online or by calling 413-584-2602. All proceeds benefit the Girl Scouts. In Central and Western Massachusetts, there are 8,500 girl members and 4,100 adult members across 186 cities and towns. President Donald Trumps former personal lawyer Michael Cohen is expected to cast his ex-boss as a racist, conman and cheat Wednesday as he testifies before a U.S. House panel Wednesday. Cohen, who was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to lying to Congress, will address the full U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform at a 10 a.m. Capitol Hill hearing. The presidents former lawyer will reportedly use his testimony to accuse Trump of knowing about alleged conversations regarding WikiLeaks release of Democratic National Committee emails in 2016, according to testimony Politico published late Tuesday. Cohen will also provide documents to the panel, including a copy of a check which he said Trump wrote to reimburse him for covering up an affair; copies of letters he wrote to schools threatening them to not release the presidents grades or SAT scores; and other financial statements, Politico reported. The presidents former lawyer was initially set to go before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform earlier this month, but postponed his testimony due to ongoing threats, including Trumps verbal attacks. Late last month, meanwhile, the Senate Intelligence Committee subpoenaed Cohen to appear before lawmakers in February. He addressed that panel in closed door hearing on Tuesday. Cohen, who became a subject of Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, pleaded guilty in August to federal charges involving his taxi businesses, bank fraud and campaign finance work. In late-November, he pleaded guilty to making false statements in 2017 testimony before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III sentenced Cohen early December. He argued that the attorney deserved a tough punishment for his crimes. Michael Cohen, the President Donald Trumps former personal lawyer, told a U.S. House panel Wednesday that the GOP leader knew of and directed negotiations regarding a Trump Tower Moscow project throughout the 2016 campaign. Cohen, in testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform, accused the president of lying about his involvement in his companys effort to build a Trump Tower in Russia. The presidents former lawyer, who was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to lying to Congress about the Moscow project, added that Trump made it clear that he wanted him to mislead federal lawmakers. To be clear: Mr. Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it. He lied about it because he never expected to win the election. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project, he said in his opening statement. Cohen said he lied about the project because Trump had made clear that he wanted him to lie because his personal attorneys reviewed (his) statement before (he) gave it to Congress. Cohen, who became a subject of Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, pleaded guilty in August to federal charges involving his taxi businesses, bank fraud and campaign finance work. In late-November, he pleaded guilty to making false statements in 2017 testimony before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. This is a breaking news story and will be updated. President Donald Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen told a U.S. House panel Tuesday that the Republican leader had advance knowledge about a WikiLeaks release of hacked Democratic National Committee emails. Cohen, who was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to lying to Congress, accused the president of knowing about WikiLeaks plan to release emails damaging to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clintons campaign as he testified before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform. The presidents former lawyer testified that he was in Trumps office when Roger Stone had informed the then GOP White House hopeful about the email release before the Democratic convention in July 2016. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign, he alleged. "Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of wouldnt that be great. Cohen, who became a subject of Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, pleaded guilty in August to federal charges involving his taxi businesses, bank fraud and campaign finance work. In late-November, he pleaded guilty to making false statements in 2017 testimony before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Mueller, who outlined his case against Stone in a 24-page indictment, has alleged that the GOP consultant communicated with the Trump campaign and its associates about WikiLeaks releases involving Democrats emails in the run up to the 2016 presidential election. The special counsels indictment also accuses Stone of lying to Congress about his communications regarding WikiLeaks and attempting to prevent another persons testimony in an official proceeding. Stone has vocally denied any wrongdoing. This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Massachusetts congressional lawmakers voted Tuesday to terminate President Donald Trumps recent declaration of a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and prevent the White House from bypassing Congress in its push to build additional miles of boundary wall. All nine members of the states U.S. House delegation endorsed a Democrat-led resolution to block Trumps controversial Feb. 15 executive action from taking effect -- marking the first time Congress has sought to cancel a presidential national emergency declaration, various news outlets noted. The measure, which cleared the lower chamber on a 245 to 182 vote, now heads to the Republican-led U.S. Senate where is it also expected to pass. U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Melrose, cast the Houses vote as a move to defend the Constitution and say No to what she called the presidents power grab. Tonight, the House voted to defend our constitution and said No to the Presidents power grab. #FakeNationalEmergency https://t.co/kGor1WEqcL Katherine Clark (@RepKClark) February 27, 2019 Congressman Jim McGovern, a Worcester Democrat and chairman of the House Rules Committee, argued that vote gives Trump a wall: "a wall of resistance built by the American people. We will not sit idly by as (the president) undermines our Constitution and attacks our institutions, he tweeted. Tonight, wannabe-dictator @realDonaldTrump finally got a wall, but its not the one hes been asking for. Its a wall of resistance built by the American people. We will not sit idly by as he undermines our Constitution & attacks our institutions. https://t.co/XBdA5HDYfF Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) February 27, 2019 U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Westford, also touted her vote to terminate what she called the presidents fake national emergency. From the very beginning this was an attempted end-run around Congress that not only threatened to establish a dangerous precedent, but also jeopardized previously authorized military construction funds that were meant to support critical national security objectives, including an estimated $90 million at the Hanscom Air Force Base, she said in a statement. Trahan added that its time to end this charade and move on to addressing issues that are truly national priorities -- climate change, affordable health care, and job creation. U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-Newton, stressed that there is no emergency on the border that will be solved by an expensive, ineffective wall. He further called on Congress to focus on fixing the immigration system and providing relief to Central American refugees. There is no emergency on the border that will be solved by an expensive, ineffective wall. We can fix our immigration system, provide relief to Central American refugees & live up to our proud American values, but only if GOP & POTUS stop fearmongering and lying about immigrants. Rep. Joe Kennedy III (@RepJoeKennedy) February 27, 2019 After unsuccessfully pressing Congress to include $5.7 billion in border wall funds in recent must-pass spending bills, Trump announced that he would sign an executive order to address what he called an invasion of the United States. The president added that he needed to declare an emergency to more quickly crack down on the drugs, human trafficking and violence coming into the country at the southern border. White House officials told reporters that the national emergency declaration would allow the president to access about $8 billion for border security. The White House is looking to build more than 230 miles of new barrier at the border and is reportedly eying money from the Treasury Department drug forfeiture fund, Department of Defense drug interdiction program and other accounts for such construction, according to reports. Massachusetts Democrats spoke out against the presidents decision to declare a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and signed on a co-sponsors of the House resolution. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, pledged to challenge the presidents action "in the Congress, in the courts and in the public, using every remedy available. More than a dozen states, including Connecticut and New York, have signed on to a lawsuit that California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed in U.S. District Court Monday against Trumps executive action. California officials said the challenge seeks to block what they called the presidents unlawful and unconstitutional emergency declaration, unauthorized construction of a border wall and any illegal diversion of congressionally appropriated funds. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey recently said her team has been in contact with officials behind a multi-state lawsuit challenging the federal emergency declaration. This is a breaking news story and will be updated. A Massachusetts congressman criticized Republicans Tuesday for questioning Michael Cohens motives for testifying before a U.S. House panel, arguing that GOP leaders are not afraid the presidents former lawyer will again lie to Congress, but tell the truth. U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, a South Boston Democrat and member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, hit back at Republicans who cast the contentious morning hearing as part of a political effort to remove President Donald Trump from office. Pointing to the number of individuals who have been indicted or pleaded guilty as part of Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation, he offered that GOP panel members are working to protect the president. For two years -- you want to talk about an agenda -- my friends on the other side of the aisle refused to bring any of these people up before the committee. So today, for the first day, we have one witness who voluntarily is coming forward to testify, he said in remarks directed at GOP members. Your side ran away from the truth and were trying to bring it to the American people." Lynch further told Cohen, who was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to lying to Congress, that he doesnt believe Republicans are afraid that hes going again mislead lawmakers. I think theyre afraid youre going to tell the truth, he said. The Massachusetts congressmans remarks came in response to U.S. Rep. Jody Hices, R-Georgia, assertion that the hearing was convened as part of Democrats effort to bring the president down. Hice joined Republican members in criticizing Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, for allowing a convicted liar to testify before the committee. I believe this witness is totally incompatible with the state goal of having to seek the truth in this hearing. This is the first time in the history of Congress we have someone testifying here who has already been convicted of lying to Congress -- so congratulations for being the first in Congress to do that and Mr. Cummings, as well, he said. I cannot believe weve brought the committee to its knees in terms of losing its credibility. Its a shameful mockery of what our purpose is. Cohen, who became a subject of Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, pleaded guilty in August to federal charges involving his taxi businesses, bank fraud and campaign finance work. In late-November, he pleaded guilty to making false statements in 2017 testimony before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Although U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren launched her presidential campaign alongside a handful of Massachusetts lawmakers earlier this month, more than half of the states congressional delegation remains undecided about whom they will support in 2020. With just under a year left before voters begin casting ballots in state primaries, only four of Massachusetts congressional lawmakers have officially endorsed Warrens Democratic presidential bid -- including U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and U.S. Reps. Joe Kennedy III and Lori Trahan who all spoke at her campaigns launch early February campaign event in Lawrence. The six remaining members, meanwhile, said they are waiting to weigh in on the growing field of Democratic presidential contenders. Heres where each member of Massachusetts congressional delegation stands in their support for 2020 candidates: U.S. Sen. Ed Markey: The Massachusetts Democrat endorsed Warren at her campaigns 2020 launch event in Lawrence. Markey, in a statement to The Republican, said he decided to back his Senate colleague because he believes "no one knows how to fight for what is right better than Elizabeth." She understands that true leadership is not about the beliefs you tear down, but the dreams you build up," he said. "We are blessed to have her serving the Commonwealth in the Senate, and we will soon be proud to have her serving the entire nation in the White House. U.S. Rep. Richard Neal: The Springfield Democrats office said he has not yet endorsed any candidate running in the 2020 White House contest. Neal spokeswoman Margaret Boyle noted that the congressman believes that whomever becomes the nominee needs to ensure that the Democratic party is united and fights the divisive politics and practices of our current president. U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern: The Worcester Democrat has officially endorsed Warrens Democratic presidential bid. Im with Elizabeth. I believe in her agenda. I believe she can take on Trump. And I believe she will be a great president. I also know her as a friend and I believe she will restore some compassion and decency to our politics," he said in a statement. U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan: The Westford Democrat endorsed Warrens 2020 bid as the senator launched her campaign in Lawrence. Trahan told supporters who gathered for the early February event that the stakes of the 2020 election could not be higher and argued that its critical the country selects a president who acknowledges that the economy is not working for most Americans. That type of champion, she said, is someone like Elizabeth Warren. U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III: The Newton Democrat also endorsed Warren at her 2020 campaign launch in Lawrence. Kennedy, in his remarks to Warren supporters, argued that the senator is the one candidate in the 2020 race who has dedicated her life to fighting for working class Americans. I am here with you today because this country needs a leader who will restore the solidarity that Donald Trump stole. Who wont cower from the big, tough battles, from the ugly injustice and oppression that still finds its way to American soil, he said. A leader will bring this country together to take on our greatest common threat: a system that protects the powerful and privileged while the rest struggle to scrape by. That leader is my colleague, my mentor, my friend: Elizabeth Warren." U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark: The Melrose Democrats office confirmed that Clark has not yet endorsed any 2020 presidential candidate. Clark, however, said in a statement that shes very excited about Sen. Warrens candidacy. Shes putting a spotlight on issues that matter most to American families: addressing the cost of child care, getting corruption out of politics and making sure our economy works for everyone, she said in a statement. U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton: The Salem Democrat has said hes seriously considering his own 2020 White House run. His campaign confirmed that Moulton will not make any endorsements until he has reached his own decision in the next few months. U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley: The Boston Democrat has yet to endorse any 2020 presidential candidate. Pressley said in a statement that her immediate focus is on the important work to be done in Congress on behalf of the residents of the Seventh District. Im encouraged by the growing field of Democratic candidates and look forward to working to take back the White House and make real progress for the American people, she added. U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch: The Boston Globe reported that the South Boston Democrat has a strong preference for former Vice President Joe Biden, who has yet to enter the 2020 presidential contest. His office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on his 2020 preferences. U.S. Rep. Bill Keating: With essentially two years till the election, it is too early for Congressman Keating to endorse anyone, a spokesman told The Republican on Wednesday. SPRINGFIELD -- Students and environmental activists from across Massachusetts gathered outside U.S. Rep. Richard Neals Springfield office Tuesday to publicly press the Democrat to support the Green New Deal resolution and help move it through Congress. Members of the Boston chapter of Sunrise Movement, a youth-led effort that seeks to force political action on climate change-related issues, joined Western Massachusetts college and high school students in urging Neal to endorse the controversial environmental agenda in both a closed door meeting with his staff and an outdoor rally. Braving high winds and freezing temperatures, activists further called on the Springfield Democrat and use his power as the House Ways and Means chairman to help advance the Green New Deal resolution on Capitol Hill. Jacob Stern, a Sunrise Movement volunteer from Somerville, said he hopes the rally, letters from constituents and meeting with local activists persuades Neal to join every other member of Massachusetts congressional delegation in co-sponsoring the Green New Deal. The message is hopeful. ... We want to see where he stands and were optimistic he will sign on, he said in an interview. But mainly, by coming to him with a group of high school students -- this is my future, its their future -- (the message is) look us in the eyes and tell us you have our back. Neal said this week that hes committed to passing legislation out of the Ways and Means Committee that will help lower emissions, modernize infrastructure, encourage green energy development and slow troubling ecological trends. But, the congressman stopped short of endorsing the Green New Deal resolution, which calls for a series of economic, social and energy overhaul goals to be achieved in the next decade. Neal added that he looks forward to seeing what proposals come out of the new Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and holding hearings on them in the Ways and Means Committee. Activists who rallied outside the congressmans office, however, took issue with the Springfield Democrats approach to climate change. Where we are, thats not good enough, Stern said. It might have been good enough 30 years ago when Rep. Neal was first elected, but now aggressive action is whats needed to address the urgency of climate change. Cathy McPartland, a high school student from Williamstown who spoke at the rally, agreed that America doesnt have time for these incremental changes. Last time, we were in Pittsfield for a visit and the staffer we were meeting with was talking about how Neal had been very supportive of environmental legislation in the past -- and he has, which is good -- but thats on too small a scale. We really do need something thats nationwide and radical, she said in an interview. Ella Dudley, another high school student Williamstown, added that she hopes the congressman acknowledges how many people traveled to Springfield to rally support around the Green New Deal. I think hes worried that people dont support this, but look at all the people here to support it. No ones here fighting it, she said. The late afternoon State Street rally came as Sunrise Movement activists organized events at congressional offices across the country in support for the Green New Deal, which U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, and U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, unveiled earlier this month. The Green New Deal calls for building smart power grids, constructing new buildings to achieve maximum energy and water efficiency, removing all pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and agricultural sectors and cleaning up hazardous waste and abandoned sites, among other things. An American Action Forum analysis released this week estimated that the Green New Deal could cost between $51 trillion and $93 trillion over 10 years. SPRINGFIELD John C. LaRace had rope and duct tape in his backpack and a ski mask pulled over his face as he walked behind a house on Ohio Avenue in West Springfield Sunday morning, according to the arrest report. He was also carrying a loaded 9mm handgun as the homeowner found out when he spotted LaRace lurking by his back door, the report said. What the f--- are you doing? the owner asked before LaRace pointed the gun at him and demanded the keys to his truck. A fight ensued, with LaRace pistol whipping the owner before running off down the street, the report said. He was arrested minutes later, but not before assaulting five other residents and triggering a multi-agency police response that shut down Ohio Avenue for several hours. LaRace, 39, of Springfield, pleaded not guilty in Springfield District Court Monday to 18 charges, including armed home invasion; carjacking while armed; carrying a firearm without a license, second offense; discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling and four counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (firearm). LaRace is no stranger to the criminal justice system, court records show. As an adult, he has been arraigned on 60-plus charges, including repeated firearms and robbery cases. He been sentenced to jail or prison multiple times, including a 14- to 17-year term for armed robbery while masked in 2002. That sentence imposed for two bank robberies was later shortened to 9-12 years following a ruling by the Massachusetts Appeals Court. At 17, LaRace was charged in a three-town crime spree ending when he was spotted in the home of Springfield District Court Judge Jacques Leroy. He later admitted to stealing two cars, a mountain bike, three pocketbooks, cash and coins during a two-hour period in Longmeadow, East Longmeadow and Wilbraham. He was captured after leaving Leroys home in Longmeadow empty handed when the judges wife saw him in the kitchen; the judge called 911. As a juvenile, LaRace was arraigned on a total of 20 charges, records show. Handcuffed and wearing a hospital gown, LaRace rolled into court in a wheelchair Monday the latest in his long history of arraignments. Lacerations were visible on his face and head, the result of a second homeowner hitting him over the head with a coffee cup and pushing him down a flight of stairs, according to the arrest report. Judge John Payne set bail at $100,000 and revoked his release in a 2018 case, effectively jailing him for 90 days. At the request of Assistant District Attorney Frederick Burns, LaRace was ordered to have no contact with the six residents he allegedly attacked Sunday morning. LaRace is due back in court for a pretrial hearing on March 25. From the first moments Republicans on the House Oversight Committee had a chance to question former Trump attorney Michael Cohen in Wednesdays dramatic hearing, their strategy was clear: Not to contest the specifics of what Cohen has to say about the president of the United States, but to do their best to discredit Cohen as a person. Despite their complaints that they hadnt had enough time to peruse his explosive prepared statement, it appeared that they didnt even bother to read it. Which you wouldnt think would be that hard to do. Cohen is, after all, on his way to prison for multiple crimes, some committed in the course of his service to Donald Trump and some committed for his own personal enrichment. Even before he went to work for Trump, Cohen had a long history of associations with criminals. He pleaded guilty to lying to Congress to conceal the extent of the Trump Organizations efforts to obtain a lucrative deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Nevertheless, even a liar can sometimes tell the truth. And while we can approach Cohens testimony with a healthy skepticism, there are some things he has no reason to lie about anymore, and some things he has documents to back up. But the Republicans on the committee werent interested in interrogating Cohens allegations. Rep. Jim Jordan expressed his outrage that Cohen is being represented by Lanny Davis, who is friends with Hillary and Bill Clinton. If the Democrats were after the truth, theyd have an honest person here testifying, said Rep. Mark Green. At one point they even put up a large poster with a picture of Cohen and the words Liar liar pants on fire. Seriously. Every Republican member used their five minutes to look for a new angle to go at Cohen, so long as it didnt touch on what he was testifying to with regard to the president. Rep. Mark Meadows, the head of the House Freedom Caucus and a close ally of President Trump, used his time to question Cohen on the almost comically sleazy efforts he undertook after Trump took office to sell himself to large corporations as an influence-peddler. Its a colorful story, and one that does indeed shed light not only on what kind of guy Michael Cohen is but also the general atmosphere of cashing in that attended Trumps ascendance to the White House. The problem is that like all the other Republican criticisms, it doesnt tell us anything about what Trump knew in 2016 about the Russian campaign to get him elected president. And yes, Michael Cohen is a sketchy character. But its awfully hard to find any honest people around Donald Trump who can speak to what the president did and didnt do. The argument Republicans make about Cohen comes down to this: This gentleman, whom Donald Trump employed for a decade, is such a dishonest criminal that we shouldnt believe anything he says about anything. Cohen himself realized this a few hours in. Not one question so far from the Republicans, he said, has been asked about Mr. Trump. Even the Republicans on the Oversight Committee who arent in regular contact with the president are well aware of what his strategy is to deal with the Russia investigation and his other scandals: Ignore the specifics, insist that any piece of information that reflects poorly on him must by definition be fake, and say the whole thing is a witch hunt. If thats your plan, the last thing you want to do is start asking questions about matters such as Trumps questionable claim that he knew nothing about the infamous Trump Tower meeting with his son, his son-in-law, his campaign chairman, and a group of Russians they hoped would be delivering dirt on Hillary Clinton. Or about the fact that Trump lied and said he didnt know about the hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, when his signature is on the check reimbursing Cohen for the money. Or about how Trump lied about pursuing the Trump Tower Moscow deal through much of 2016. You can see the problem. If Republicans tried to press Cohen on the specifics of what he alleges about Trump, theyd very quickly find themselves in an area where the president is acting like a guilty man, as are so many others around him. So pay close attention to what the president himself and his advocates will say about this hearing in the coming days. They arent going to say much about what Cohen actually said or the documents he presented. Theyll just say hes a liar and we should all ignore him. That message will be repeated over and over on Fox News and conservative talk radio. And a good portion of the country will believe it. WESTFIELD -- Retired Springfield Police Capt. C. Lee Bennett's appointment to the three-person Westfield Fire Commission was unanimously approved by the city council at Monday's meeting. During discussion before voting, one councilor described controversy within the fire department as a "firestorm" while expressing confidence in Bennett's ability to address the issues. Bennett was nominated by Mayor Brian Sullivan. Her term expires the first Monday of February 2021. She replaces Carlo Bonavita, who resigned Jan. 7, citing personal reasons. One order of business for the fire commission will be naming a permanent fire chief. The city has been without a permanent chief since Mary Regan retired in July. The two remaining members of the commission on Jan. 18 named Patrick Egloff temporary chief. The appointment came a short time after unsubstantiated allegations of sexual assault involving Egloff were made public. Last year the commission and the city's law department targeted three Westfield firefighters for termination. A Hampden Superior Court judge subsequently issued a temporary restraining order blocking the terminations. In a court complaint, Capt. Rebecca Boutin and firefighters David Kennedy and Kyle Miltimore alleged the city retaliated against them for speaking with state police detectives investigating alleged sexual misconduct by Egloff, who at the time was a deputy chief. No criminal charges have been brought against Egloff. Earlier this month, Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni's office denied a request by The Republican for any investigatory records involving Egloff. "This response is not intended to confirm that any such investigation has been undertaken or conducted," a statement from the DA's office said. The office also said it was "not able to respond affirmatively to this request because, on its face, it seeks documents which, if in existence, would be exempt under various provisions of law." Separately, Sullivan's office had approved spending $46,000 for an outside law firm to investigate the matter, according to documents provided by the city. On Monday, several city councilors spoke highly of Bennett, and some thanked Bonavita for his service. Two of the councilors alluded to problems in the fire department, and expressed confidence that Bennett would address them. Council President Ralph J. Figy said: "I think she is up to the task. She ran internal affairs (in the Springfield Police Department) for four years. ... She is a master of the civil service system. Her institutional background is going to be very good for the position here." A police department's internal affairs unit investigates allegations of officer misconduct. The Westfield Fire Department is governed by Massachusetts Civil Service laws. Prior to voting to confirm Bennett, Councilor Andrew K. Surprise said: "I think she is a great fit for what we are dealing with right now. I hope she is prepared to step into that firestorm, no pun intended." "She is going to have to make some tough votes and ask some tough questions," he said. "I do think she is up to the challenge," Councilor Matt Emmershy told his colleagues before voting to confirm her. "There is more to come with the fire department. I think that she will be one of the people we need in that position to make the decisions that are necessary." The other two members of the Westfield Fire Commission are Chairman Albert Masciadrelli, whose terms expires next year, and Patrick Olearcek, whose term expires this month. The city council on Monday was not presented with any request by the mayor to reappoint Olearcek for another three-year term. The fire commission usually meets the first Monday of each month, but has not convened since its special meeting in January to appoint Egloff. SPRINGFIELD -- Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said Tuesday he is "dissatisfied" with what he termed the "inconsistency in reporting" of clergy sexual abuse by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield. The district attorney is urging victims and their families to call his office's newly established hotline to report sexual abuse by members of clergy in Hampden County. "I direct them to contact a Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Hampden County District Attorney's Office at 413 800-2958," said Gulluni during a press conference called in response to a recently released abuse report from the Springfield Diocese, whose data Gulluni says does not match what is in his files. "This hotline is created to allow victims to report directly to law enforcement any allegations of any sexual crimes committed by a member of the clergy in Hampden County," Gulluni said. "I have established this hotline so the rights of victims are preserved and any allegations can be properly vetted and investigated by law enforcement where appropriate." While stopping short of accusing the diocese of any wrongdoing and saying the hotline can be used even if someone also contacts the diocese, Gulluni said data on what the diocese said were the number of yearly abuse reports back to 1986 did not match referrals in his possession in recent reviews even given the fact that the diocese covers all four counties of Western Massachusetts. "Given these reviews in the past several months I am dissatisfied with the system in place and in the inconsistency of reporting over the last many years," Gulluni said. "This hotline is a step to rectify and improved the reporting system to ensure victims claims are heard, addressed and respected," he added. Gulluni told reporters that a two-page report on the diocesan website and published in February's issue of The Catholic Mirror shows 15 reports of clergy sexual abuse made to the diocese in 2018. He quoted a Republican news report in which the diocese said its outreach to all victims includes "the commitment to report all cases to the appropriate district attorneys' offices which we have done." "Following a period of appropriate due diligence by my office in reviewing its files we have not received referrals of any kind from the diocese that comport with its own public statements," Gulluni said. Springfield Diocese spokesperson Mark Dupont said that of the 15 cases reported in 2018 "nine were reported, the remainder were either anonymous or came to us via other attorneys directly to the offices of (diocesan) Attorney Jack Egan so there was no intake." Dupont said difference in other referral numbers may be due to the fact that the diocese has followed a directive that he said predates Gulluni's tenure as district attorney here to not refer allegations against deceased priests, but will do so going forward. He also said in response to one specific referral of a letter that Gulluni mentioned to not originally having in his possession in response to a reporter's question but now does from the diocese, that the diocese has "undertaken a new policy to send all future notifications via certified mail with return receipt." Dupont showed a copy of the letter that appeared to be sent to another district attorney's office in 2011. "We maintain this new hotline number should be promoted and made available for all victims of abuse, certainly including church abuse victims," said Dupont, reiterating the diocese's response when initially asked about the hotline. "All victims of abuse are entitled to equal and fair treatment. The diocese will do its part in making this new number available on our website and through all parishes in Hampden County. Gulluni, who said he was "disheartened" by Dupont's suggestion that the hotline should not be specifically for victims of clergy sex abuse as not recognizing "the severity and depth of this issue," said that the new hotline will be staffed by Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to his unit "all who are trained and experienced in dealing with complainants of sexual assault." "Our goal is to answer these calls promptly and to initiate investigations where appropriate," Gulluni said. "The detectives will make referrals to service providers, other law enforcement agencies and the Diocese of Springfield as needed." Gulluni was joined at the conference by Jennifer Fitzgerald, first assistant district attorney, Dana Parsons, head of the domestic and sexual violence unit, Capt. Christopher Wilcox of the Massachusetts State Police, and commander of the unit attached to Gulluni's office. In establishing the hotline and doing its own internal review to "find best practices for sexual assault complaints by this office appropriate to the victims, appropriate for law enforcement" prompted by "recent activity by the Springfield Diocese in other publications and communications with their congregants and news generated by the Vatican internationally," Gulluni said his office would continue to work collaboratively. "We have and will continue to work with our partners in law enforcement in the Attorney General's Office of Massachusetts, the Northwest Attorney General's Office and the Berkshire District Attorney General's Office who all fall within the Springfield Diocese," Gulluni said. "We well continue to assess our best efforts around this issue and work to ensure justice is being served most importantly for victims." BELCHERTOWN -- The Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission certified the the town's police department during a ceremony Tuesday. The certification is in effect for three years, through January 2022, when Belchertown Police Department would be evaluated again. "Achieving state Certification demonstrates your Department's commitment to delivering an exemplary level of police service in your community," MPAC Executive Director Donna Taylor Mooers said in a letter to Belchertown Police Chief Christopher Pronovost. "We commend your department for its accomplishments and applaud you personally for your leadership role in this process," she wrote. "We look forward to working with you in your continuous pursuit of professional excellence. . . congratulation on a job well done!" The accreditation means the town's police force has promulgated written policy and procedures, abides by best police practices, including how they recruit, hire and train new officers, maintain their facilities and vehicles in good order and strives to correct deficiencies right away. Pronovost said the "intense self-scrutiny" of his department during the accreditation process was itself useful. The certification is a "significant accomplishment," he said in a statement. In addition to Belchertown, the MPAC has accredited the following departments in Western Massachusetts: Amherst, Great Barrington, Greenfield, HMS Campus Police Department (Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith colleges), Longmeadow, Ludlow, Northampton, UMass Amherst, and Western New England University. A Medford woman who admitted to lying so she could receive $108,288 in Social Security benefits, Medicare benefits, MassHealth benefits and food stamps over a 10-year period was sentenced to jail on Monday. Stephanie DiPirerro, 39, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and three years of supervised release in federal court in Boston. She was also ordered to pay back all the money she received in benefits by U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young, said Christina DiLorio-Sterling, spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling. DiPierro pleaded guilty in November to three counts of theft of public funds, two counts of making false statements and one count of falsely representing a Social Security number. She was charged with the crimes in 2017, she said. DiPirerro admitted to stealing $73,288 in Social Security benefits, $8,455 in Medicare benefits, $8,615 in MassHealth benefits and $17,929 in food stamps between 2007 and 2017. During that time, she told the state Department of Transitional Assistance that she did not have any other income even though she was working as a personal care attendant, she said. DiPirerro also falsely represented her Social Security number on a time sheet connected to her work as a personal care attendant, she said. The case was investigated by Lelling and officials for the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service and the state auditor. The Nevada Gaming Commission has fined Wynn Resorts a record $20 million after an investigation found that senior executives knew of sexual misconduct allegations against company founder Steve Wynn but failed to act, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports. The company agreed to settle with Nevada regulators in January, acknowledging that it had failed to comply with Nevada gaming laws. Wynn Resorts is currently building its $2.6 billion Encore Boston Harbor gaming resort in Everett. The Massachusetts Gaming Commissions investigation of the company remains unresolved due to a lawsuit by Steve Wynn, who resigned from the company and gave up his ownership stake following an explosive Wall Street Journal report on sexual assault and harassment claims against him. The MGC agreed to settle the suit last week. In a January statement, Wynn Resorts described its settlement agreement with Nevada regulators as an important remedial step and said that every employee identified by the Nevada Gaming Board as failing to investigate or report the allegations is no longer employed by the company. We have undergone an extensive self-examination over the last 12 months, intended to reinvigorate and implement meaningful change across all levels of the organization, cultivate a safe, healthy and supportive workplace culture, and build on our core values of respecting our employees, corporate responsibility and citizenship, and service to the community," the statement said. The Journal reported that Wynn paid out a $7.5 million settlement after a manicurist at one of his casinos alleged that he pressured her into having sex against her will in 2005. Dozens of other people who worked at Wynns casinos told the Journal of a years-long pattern of sexual advances toward female employees, including exposing himself to and requesting sexual services from massage therapists at his casinos. Wynn denied the allegations, claiming they were instigated by his ex-wife during a bitter divorce settlement dispute. The Nevada Gaming Control Boards investigation found that top Wynn executives -- including former President Marc Shore, former Vice President of Operations Doreen Whennen and former Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Arte Nathan -- knew of the manicurists rape allegations and failed to investigate. The investigation also found that former Wynn General Counsel Kimmarie Sinatra had learned of the $7.5 million settlement by January 2012 and knew of the rape allegations by July 2017 at the latest. Massachusetts gaming regulators have said that Wynn did not disclose the settlement during a 2013 investigation of its suitability to hold a gaming license. High-level executives also knew of and failed to investigate a second $975,000 private settlement that Steve Wynn paid out to a cocktail waitress who accused him of pressuring her into a nonconsensual sexual relationship in 2005 and 2006, according to the Nevada Gaming Board complaint. In the settlement, Wynn admitted to nearly all the allegations made by the board, with the exception of three specific allegations of executive knowledge. Wynn Resorts told regulators it has implemented major reforms since Wynn was cut loose from the company he founded, including turning over much of its board, implementing enhanced sexual harassment training and launching programs to promote gender equity in the workplace. The Cannabis Control Commission has been brainstorming ideas to improve the landscape for social equity marijuana businesses, those that will help communities disproportionately affected by enforcement of marijuana laws. The latest idea, courtesy of the Cannabis Advisory Board: withholding local tax money generated by the marijuana industry from cities and towns that do not create an equity program. The impetus is to create a monetary carrot and stick when it comes to making sure the municipalities are complying with equity programs, said Cannabis Advisory Board member Shanel Lindsay, founder and president of Ardent Cannabis, which developed technology to manufacture cannabis products. The advisory board voted 10-1 with two abstentions on Tuesday to recommend that state marijuana regulators ask the Legislature to require municipalities to create an equity program to be eligible for the 3 percent local tax from marijuana establishments in their town. Equity programs provide ways to help or prioritize businesses that meet certain criteria. However, even advisory board members acknowledged that the idea is mostly a way to start a conversation, rather than an expectation that it will become law. Norton Arbelaez, director of government affairs for the marijuana dispensary New England Treatment Access, called it the beginning of a broader conversation to get the issue before the Cannabis Control Commission and get people talking about it. The advisory board makes nonbinding recommendations to the commission, who are the state regulators. Brittney Franklin, senior legislative analyst for the Massachusetts Municipal Association, said communities count on the 3 percent local option tax to build their budgets, and she does not believe that option can be taken away legally, particularly for communities that already have it in place. She said it is also different for a community like Amherst or Somerville, which has staff to create a program, compared to a town that may have a single marijuana point person. I dont think its an appropriate recommendation, nor do I feel it can be carried out, Franklin said. Franklin said the state Cannabis Control Commission has the mandate to establish social equity programs and pushing that mandate onto municipalities will be really difficult. State marijuana regulators have been trying to figure out ways to include people with drug convictions, black and Latino business owners, women-owned and veteran-owned businesses, and people from communities with high rates of drug arrests in the legal industry. So far, those groups have been struggling to enter the industry. Anecdotally, some business owners say they have had trouble dealing with municipalities, which have little incentive to negotiate with smaller companies rather than multi-state marijuana operators with more capital. We need some mechanism to get municipalities to step up to the bat, said Matt Allen of the Massachusetts ACLU. Horace Small, executive director of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods, supports the proposal but warned that trying to withhold tax dollars from municipalities will result in a legislative fight. If we introduce legislation of this type, it is going to be a fight, Small said. The Municipal Association and others will fight us tooth and nail if we talk about taking 3 percent away. SPRINGFIELD The city has hired Julie E. Steiner, a professor at Western New England University School of Law, to serve as a consultant for the city in developing a process to solicit and select marijuana shops. Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, in announcing the selection of Steiner, said she will assist the city with development of a process for inviting applicants to submit their proposals and the creation of evaluation criteria. Her background and experience as an Attorney, Land Use Planning, and in particular, her specialty in Cannabis Law and and Policy, will help assure our process is fair, efficient, and thorough, Sarno said. The contract for services is not to exceed $15,000, officials said. The rate of pay is $165 per hour unless it involves litigation, which is at a rate of $225. Steiner will work with various representatives of city departments. City Solicitor Edward Pikula said he welcomes Steiners expert advice and believes she will help us address the need to protect the public health, safety and welfare of the Citys residents and business in the expansion of this new industry, while meeting the goals of the new marijuana laws in the areas of economic empowerment and social equity in the process. Sarno announced recently that the city will seek proposals and qualifications from applicants interested in opening marijuana shops in Springfield, hoping the process can begin in early March. The City Council approved an ordinance last September that allows up to 15 retail marijuana shops in Springfield in business and industrial zones. The shops are restricted to 58 streets within those zones. Steiner owns Julie E. Steiner Consulting LLC of Amherst. She is a professor of law at Western New England University, where she has taught since 2010. The courses she teaches include Cannabis Law and Policy, Environmental Law, Advanced Environmental Law, Sustainability Law, Torts, Toxic Torts, Land Use, and an introduction to law, the city said. She is a 1994 graduate of Boston University Law School, where she received her law degree (cum laude). She received her bachelors degree (summa cum laude) from Syracuse University in 1991. Prior to Western New England, Steiner taught law at St. Johns University School of Law, and was previously employed at K&L Gages LLP of New York City. A "mover and shaker" from Northampton will be honored as the Distinguished Polish-American for 2019 when The Kosciuszko Foundation New England Chapter meets for a gala luncheon and concert at Mount Holyoke College. John F. Skibiski "has been a mover and shaker in the Northampton area" for years, said Carolyn C. Topor, the chapter's president. A realtor with extensive community involvement, Skibiski's work to promote and preserve Polish culture and heritage in the area includes service to the Polish Genealogy Society, the Polish Genealogical Society of Massachusetts and the Society of Polish American Culture of Western Mass. He was a founding director of the Kosciuszko Foundation New England Chapter and of the Polish Center of Discovery and Learning in Chicopee. He is a member of the Polish Heritage Committee of Northampton that sponsors the annual Pulaski Day Parade and served as master of ceremonies for many years. "Heritage awareness is vital to understanding and enjoying life as we share our time on earth undergoing personal development," he said. "Everyone should honor and respect their heritage; it all has favorable significance to everyone." Like Skibiski, others who have been named Distinguished Polish-American "have done remarkable things for the Polish community in Western Mass. to make people aware of the of the contributions of their Polish American neighbors and to inform all Americans of the history, traditions and contributions of Poland to world civilization since 999," Topor said. "My continued interest in promoting Polish heritage results in recognizing from early days that I had to make the effort to pass on what information I knew along with my researched history of early ancestors because their lives were taken up in hardship and strife over generations, surviving plagues, serfdom and wars," Skibiski said. The Kosciuszko Foundation preserves and promotes cultural, historical, artistic and social activities for those with Polish roots. "It does this in part with scholarships to students seeking educational development," he said. "Through its sponsorships of various programs and events, information is readily available for those who have interest in Polish cultural affairs." The gala at which he will be honored also will recognize Kosciuszko Foundation scholarship grant recipients. It will take place March 24 at 11:30 a.m. at Willets-Hallowell Center at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley. Following the luncheon, there will be a concert, "Chopin and Friends," featuring Claire Huangci, the 2006 laureate of the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition. The concert will take place at 3 p.m. at Abbey Chapel at Mount Holyoke College. Tickets for the luncheon and concert are $60 per person. The cost for the luncheon is $50 per person; concert only cost is $15. For more information or to make reservations by March 15 call 413-433-9014. SPRINGFIELD The U.S. Army Field Band of Washington D.C., will return to Springfield on Sunday, March 24, to perform a free public concert at Symphony Hall. The concert begins 3 p.m., and is sponsored by the city. The combined 70-member Concert Band and 30-member Soldiers Chorus is the oldest and largest of the U.S. Army Field Bands performing components. The group has performed in all 50 states and in 30 countries for audiences totaling hundreds of millions, officials said. Tickets are free and can be obtained by visiting the Army Field Bands website at https://armyfieldband.ticketleap.com/ City officials said that past performances have sold out quickly, and are advising the public to not delay the download of free tickets. We are honored to host the United States Army Field Band in our majestic Symphony Hall, said Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, in announcing the event. "This exciting performance provides residents throughout the Pioneer Valley an opportunity to honor our servicemen and women by attending the concert. I look forward to a beautiful day in Springfield and encourage all of our residents to join me in enjoying a musical extravaganza. Sarno was joined in announcing the event by Parks, Buildings and Recreation Management Director Patrick J. Sullivan, and Health and Human Services Commissioner Helen R. Caulton-Harris. The concert is slated to include classical, semi-classical, popular music selections, choral arrangements, novelty numbers, military marches and patriotic favorites, according to the U.S. Army Field Band concert summary. After more than six decades as the militarys most traveled musicians, the band has gained the title off The Musical Ambassadors of the Army, the city announcement said. The band and chorus also perform independently, and have recently performed with ensembles such s the Boston Pops, the the Cincinnati Pops, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra, officials said. Sullivan said that Symphony Hall provides a beautiful venue. It was great news for our city when they contacted Mayor Sarno and offered to play here for our residents, Sullivan said. This is a unique opportunity for our city and we encourage everyone to come out and enjoy an exceptional afternoon in downtown Springfield. Caulton-Harris said her department can help people if they need assistance in downloading tickets for the event, by having them call (413) 886-5018. She said it was an honor for Springfield to be chosen. for the free performance. This is a once in lifetime opportunity so please get your tickets early so you wont be disappointed, Caulton-Harris said. A 41-year-old woman who was arrested on Cape Cod for allegedly knocking a mans Make America Great Again hat off of his head, before being taken into custody by ICE, has now been released. Rosiane Santos, of Brazil, was arrested by the U.S. Customs and Immigration Fugitive Operations Team in Falmouth Tuesday morning. Her arrest by ICE agents followed an arrest on the Cape for a disorderly conduct charge Feb. 15. Santos is currently facing local charges for assault and other offenses. She has since been released from ICE custody after being entered into removal proceedings in the federal immigration courts and provided a Notice to Appear at a future date before an immigration judge, John Mohan, a spokesman for ICE Boston, said in a statement. Mohan said Santos is an unlawfully present citizen of Brazil. Santos first made news on Feb. 15 after she allegedly insulted and knocked the hat off of a man who was eating with his friends at the Casa Vallarta Mexican Restaurant. The hat read, Make America Great Again," President Donald Trumps campaign slogan. Bryton Turner, 23, who filmed some of the incident and shared video online, told MassLive he went into the restaurant to eat with two friends when Santos, totally unprovoked," began to touch his hat and verbally harass him. Santos was arrested and pleaded not guilty to a disorderly conduct charge, according to the Cape Cod Times. She was released on her own recognizance. Attorney Katarina Kozakova, who is representing Santos, told Boston.com her client has a pending green card application and is married to a U.S. Citizen. Now, Santos must present her application and case before an immigration judge rather than U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Kazakova told Boston.com. Kazakova did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MassLive. WINDSOR LOCKS Bradley International Airport had more than 6.7 million passengers in 2018, up 3.6 percent from 2017 and its sixth consecutive year of year-over-year passenger growth. The number of passengers using Bradley International Airport has increased by 23 percent over the six-year period, from 5.4 million passengers in 2013 to 6.7 passengers in 2018., according to a news release issued Wednesday by the Connecticut Airport Authority. In 2018, we continued to aggressively pursue new nonstop flights and to modernize our facilities with the goal of making Bradley International Airport the airport of choice in the region, said Kevin A. Dillon, the authoritys executive director. Were pleased that our passengers are taking note of the many exciting developments and we take immense pride in the confidence that they continue to place in us. In December, low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines announced that it will begin a nonstop route from Bradley to Denver starting at the end of March. And in January, Frontier announced more flights to Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, and to Orlando, Florida. Also in January, Via Airlines announced it will debut nonstop service to Pittsburgh in July 2019. Bradley also signed a deal in 2018 with Aer Lingus to continue nonstop transatlantic flights to Dublin. Aer Lingus had 40,900 boardings in 2018, down from 41,000 in 2017. Bradley International Airports annual passenger traffic makes it the second-largest airport in New England. The airport contributes nearly $2.6 billion to the regional economy, according to the news release. EASTHAMPTON Hometown Financial Group, the Easthampton-based parent company of bankESB and two other regional banks, will acquire Millbury Savings Bank and merge it into its Oxford-based bankHometown. This is the third acquisition for Hometown Financial Group in 2019. Hometown Financial Group closed on its acquisition of Pilgrim Bancshares, Inc. at the end of January. Hometown Financial Group announced on Feb. 6 the merger of Abington Bank and Pilgrim Bank. The Abington Bank merger, like the Millbury deal, is still awaiting regulatory approval. The Millbury Savings Bank transaction is expected to become final in the second quarter of 2019, according to a news release. After the Millbury merger, Oxford-based bankHometown will have $1 billion in assets and 15 branch offices located throughout central Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut. Millbury is a mutual bank, owned by depositors. Hometown Financial Group is a mutual company as well, so there is no dollar amount being paid for Millbury, its owners will be owners in the combined bank. We are excited to welcome Millbury Savings Banks customers, employees and communities to the bankHometown family, said Matthew S. Sosik, President and CEO of bankHometown. This merger will expand our presence into the Worcester and Millbury markets and will add a team of talented bankers to bankHometown. Sosik has said mergers make sense for local banks because customers demand the latest in technology and regulations are becoming more stringent and time-consuming to comply with. These efforts are expensive and are easier to pay for if banks combine their back-office operations. There will be no staff reductions or branch closures resulting from the merger, according to the news release. No brnachse will closed and the staff will not be cut. The impact to customers is expected to be minimal as both banks share the same data processor. Millbury Savings Bank will take the bankHometown name. Robert J. Morton, president and CEO of Millbury Savings Bank will be president and CEO of bankHometown. Millbury Savings Bank, which has offices in Millbury and Worcester, was founded in 1854. it is a state-chartered mutual savings bank with $228 million in assets Hometown Financial Group is a $2.4-billion multi-bank holding and parent company of bankESB, bankHometown, and Pilgrim Bank. All three banks total 27 branches not counting the two pending mergers. The three parts are: Last January Boston artist Giovanni DeCunto was at dinner with a friend when an idea took hold. Why didnt DeCunto, an expressionist painter, do his own renditions of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museums stolen artwork? I got really excited and this whole thing came from that one comment, DeCunto said, standing in a display room at the Four Seasons Hotel on Tuesday. In 1990 two men posing as police officers broke into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and stole 13 original works worth more than $1 billion. The centuries-old masterpieces by Rembrandt, Edgar Degas, Johannes Vermeer, and Edouard Manet have never been recovered. DeCunto, who is from Lawrence, studied the works as a student at Boston University and the University of Padua in Italy. It was a great loss when they got taken, he said. It is a loss for the city. Those paintings in particular give a lot of culture. It is a treasure thats stolen. When he decided to recreate the masterpieces he went on a mission, he said. From January to April in 2018 he painted non-stop, looking at original works as he went. I just stopped everything in my life and painted these, he said. DeCunto does not use any tools when he works, just the paint tubes, he said. He dreams that someone will buy all 13 paintings and display them in a condominium as a part of history. He declined to share publicly how much the works cost. Thats private, DeCunto said. Its not about money. Its about culture. DeCuntos work will be available for public viewing at his gallery at 116 South St. in Boston from March 1 through 17. 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. Ensure you get a print copy of the Loudoun Times-Mirror delivered weekly to your home or business! Complete online access is included with all print subscriptions purchased online. Plus, up to four other members of your household can share online access through this subscription with their own, individual linked accounts at no additional charge. (Are you a current advertiser? Ask your sales rep for our special advertiser rate code!) Friendly, and in good shape, the leader of the Lebanese Forces (LF) gave his analysis of the regional situation. According to him, neither Tehran, Hezbollah or even the Syrian regime are in positions of power. He also refutes the idea that Syrian influence is back in Lebanon, underlining that Hezbollah cannot have total power over the country because of Lebanons unique character. Why then do some say that the LFs choices, such as supporting Michel Aouns election to the Presidency, have placed the country under Hezbollah's control, while Iran, for some observers, appears to be the regional victor? "It is totally inaccurate to think that Tehran is victorious in the region", Samir Geagea says, adding there are daily proofs. The latest evidence is the President of the Iranian Nuclear Agencys statement, who announced they had to close the Bouchehr plant because of the economic sanctions. Not to mention the Warsaw conference, which was set a precedent, and was held in the presence of more than forty countries in order to pressure Iran. And Egypt, who so far was quite flexible towards Tehran, has hardened its position in recent months. Regarding Syria, the LF leader continues, Despite all the military developments on the ground that have occurred in the last couple of years, Bashar al-Assads power remains unstable. Even the visit of a (Lebanese) minister to Syria to officially meet the Syrian President remains problematic. Moreover, Syria has not yet been reinstated into the Arab League. All these facts tend to show that the Iranian axis is not that victorious in the region. They are facing very strong pressure, as shown by the repeated - and unanswered - Israeli airstrikes against Iran and its allies in Syria". As for Lebanon specifically, some clues belie the claims Tehran is particularly strong here, Geagea adds. Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah recently stated that the Islamic Republic is willing to provide military assistance to the Lebanese Army and export, among other things, pharmaceuticals to Lebanon. A few days later, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif visited Beirut and reiterated the offer, but he was, however, unable to conclude a deal. How come [the deal was not made], if the current government is really, as they say, Hezbollahs government, and if Tehran is victorious? Geagea went on to say that beyond these factors, let's think about what Hezbollah wants in Lebanon, presidency or government-wise. Lets take for example the Iraqi Shiite militia, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), also known as al-Hachd ach-chaabi. A year after its creation, this militia was legalized and became a battalion of the Iraqi Army. Hezbollah, on the other hand, has been in Lebanon for over thirty years. Not only has its military wing not been legalized, but the matter cannot even be brought up, quite the contrary. How can we say that Hezbollah is overly powerful on the Lebanese scene?" Hezbollahs political goal But in the current context, is the dissolution of Hezbollah's military apparatus even discussed by local actors? "In most political circles, it is", says Geagea. And those who dont publicly speak of it, do it privately. Even the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM, President Michel Aouns party, an ally of Hezbollah) occasionally refers to the armys primacy and never brings up whatever opposes that (making Hezbollahs militia legitimate). Hezbollahs second goal is, according to some media close to the party, to share power using the three-thirds principle (the division between Sunnis, Shiites and Christians), and not based on (Muslim-Christian) parity. But the party has not even managed to raise this issue publicly. So, contrary to what everyone thinks, it is not true that the balance of power tilts in favor of Hezbollah. It is safe to say that at least 70 or 80 percent of political parties in Lebanon are against the Hezbollah project." "Those who do believe that Hezbollah has taken over do so because of the outcome of the legislative elections, the LF leader said. These results would have been different if those opposed to Hezbollah had been able to conclude alliances in a better way. If these alliances had been more solid, we could have won a dozen additional parliamentary seats distributed between the Future Movement (Saad Hariris party) and the Lebanese Forces. So the perception that people have of Hezbollah's increased presence is due much more to the lack of cohesion in the faction that is opposed to it, rather than the party getting stronger. Hezbollah has not and cannot control Lebanon, because of the countrys unique circumstances." Regional perspectives and Saudi strategy As for the regional situation as a whole, Samir Geagea feels that "the confrontation is at its peak", calling it very serious. It's hard to know what all this can lead to, but it is certain that politically, economically, and diplomatically, the confrontation against Iran will go on until the end. President Donald Trump shows this very clearly, supported in this by most Arab countries, including Egypt, Israel and even Europeans who, despite appearing not to follow, concretely take part in it". When asked about the recent rapprochement between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and major Asian countries, Geagea dismisses any possible negative consequences for the Kingdom's engagement in the fight against Iranian influence in the region. He stressed instead that this opening with the Asian countries will help in countering Iranian expansionism. Getting closer to Pakistan aims to achieve a strategic balance with Iran", Geagea says. With India, it's about providing oil so that it does not import any from Iran. As for China, different matters come into play". But according to the LF leader, Lebanon is no longer a top priority for Saudi Arabia. "It is obvious that for Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Iraq are more important than Lebanon. But the Kingdom is still focused on the region and therefore on Lebanon". He categorically refutes, however, any talk of a Syrian return in Lebanon. There is no Syrian comeback in Lebanon. In fact, there is not even a Syrian (Assad regime) comeback in Syria itself. Hezbollah, among others, will not accept that the Syrian regime shares its political role in Lebanon." March 14ths core principles In this current context, one of the questions that naturally arises is whether the members of the March 14th alliance are still attached to its core principles, given that its political project is the opposite of Hezbollahs. In this regard, Samir Geagea is realistic. "Each of the March 14th members remains attached to these principles, but each to different degrees and at its own pace. For example, in the commission on the ministerial declaration, we struggled to introduce a sentence underlining the right of every citizen to fight the Israeli occupation within the framework of state institutions. There was a debate on this particular issue between May Chidiac and Camille Abousleiman on one side, and Ali Hassan Khalil, Saleh Gharib and Mohammad Fneiche on the other. The debate remained between those people, while the others did not interfere in order to let the ministerial declaration be approved without hindrance. On the other hand, at the last meeting of the Council of Ministers and during the debate on relations with the Syrian regime, the other members of the March 14th alliance took a stand. Minister Jamal Jarrah gave a detailed statement on this issue explaining that he opposes a normalization with the Syrian regime. The PSP ministers (Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatts party), wanted to address this issue, but the Council President did not give them the opportunity to speak up. So each member of the March 14th alliance remains attached to its principles, but each has its own approach depending on the circumstances. "To improve the situation in this respect, he adds, we must hold on to our fundamental position, and as far as we are concerned, we are aware that we have an essential role to play in reaffirming these fundamentals. Reconciling with the FPM Commenting on the disputes that occasionally arise between the LF and the FPM, Mr. Geagea asserts that such quarrels "lead to nothing and are a negative factor. But what can we do when we are attacked? For example, during the last Council of Ministers, when we disapproved of Saleh Gharib's visit to Syria while the government was still being formed, they accused us of being against the return of displaced Syrians to their country. Was it possible to remain silent when we were accused of that? We are against a diplomatic normalization with the Assad regime, but not against normalization with Syria. What about reconciling with the FPM? Was it done to the detriment of the fundamental principles of the LF? Without hesitation, Mr. Geagea categorically denies it. "This reconciliation was intended to turn the page of a phase of hostility, and replace it with cooperation that still respects each partys political position, he says. The same goes for the reconciliation with the Marada Movement, we were honest with each other. Reconciling with the FPM resulted in electing a President of the Republic and in a new electoral law which allowed, for the first time in 40 years, a very representative balance within Parliament. This appeasement also led to a government in which there is a balance in terms of community, the fifteen Christian ministers actually represent Christians. So from this point of view, this cooperation has proven fruitful. This rapprochement has however shown its limits, at various times, in terms of political commitments made with the FPM, "but not because of the party itself, which has many good elements, that you have to dissociate from their leader" (This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour on the 26th of February) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 27) National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon on Wednesday claimed Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founder Nur Misuari supports the creation of the new Bangsamoro region, despite rumors of dissatisfaction with his group's representation in the transition government. In a media forum Wednesday, Esperon shrugged off reports of dissatisfaction among MNLF members due to their "limited representation" in the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA). With the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is abolished and replaced with Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), with the BTA to serve as the interim government. "I'm saying that Nur Misuari is not against the new BARMM. That (federalism) can come later. In fact to me, the BARMM is one step towards federalism," Esperon told reporters. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Tuesday told CNN Philippines that although Misuari did not find the Bangsamoro law bad, he finds federalism better. READ: Despite favoring federalism, Nur Misuari has 'no choice' but to support BOL - Panelo Panelo said Misuari and President Rodrigo Duterte will meet again next month to discuss what Misuari can contribute to the new region. New region to limit terrorist forces? The security adviser said the government's partnership with Moro groups under a new region will help address terrorism in the South. Esperon said the peace agreement between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), resulting in the Bangsamoro law, would help establish peace in the South. "What is now in front of us is a new narrative of the secessionist movement where the MILF and MNLF are joining hands to rule over what we call the new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao," Esperon said. He added ISIS forces in the region have also dwindled. "MNLF is with us. Misuari wants to work with us. Ang mga remnants na lang nito ay 'yung mga Abu Sayyaf. Marami nang nabawas," he said. [Translation:The only remnants are some members of the Abu Sayyaf Group. It has significantly reduced.] Esperon said the government will remain vigilant against terror threats. "Whether they could rise again or not, that is for us to see. But remember that we are not fighting terrorism on our own. ... But we are not putting our guards down." Aside from counter-terrorism efforts, the security adviser said the government should also focus on preventive measures, including improving state of education so that residents will reject terrorism. CNN Philippines Correspondent AC Nicholls contributed to this report. The death occurred on Wednesday, February 13 of Sr Brigid Grehan, Convent of Mercy, Ballymahon and Longford Town. Baptised Teresa, Sr Brigid was born in Shannon Harbour, Co Offaly. One of her teachers in primary school was later to become mother to Fr Aidan Ryan, one of the concelebrants at her Funeral Mass. Predeceased by her brothers Michael, Jack, Gerry and Brian, Sr Brigid will be sadly missed by her sister-in-law Josephine (Banagher), her nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, her Mercy Community and a large circle of friends. A quiet and unassuming lady whom everyone loved, a lady of great faith, she always got on so well with the students she taught over the years. She spent her secondary year school years as a boarder in Ballymahon and entered the Mercy Community there in September 1942. When a new foundation was made in Lanesboro in 1953, Sr Brigid was one of the first three Sisters to be part of that foundation. She was back in Ballymahon when a new mission was launched in Columbia, Missouri in 1960 and in 1962, Sr Brigid joined the sisters there. She taught in the Grade school in Columbia and also in Kirksville and Fulton before moving to other Mercy schools in Lakeworth and Palm Bay, Florida. When she returned to Ireland she became part of the Mercy Community in Longford and lived happily there until moving to Nursing Home care in Innis Ree Nursing Home, Lanesboro. Sr Brigid died peacefully in the loving care of the staff of Innis Ree and surrounded by her loving family and members of her Mercy Community. She lay in repose at Longford Convent Chapel on Thursday, February 14 where many people came to sympathise with her family members and with the Sisters of Mercy and to join later with priests and all present in Evening Prayer. Her removal took place on Friday morning for Funeral Mass in St Matthews Church, Ballymahon following which she was interred in the Convent Cemetery there. Fr Tom Murray PP, Ballinalee was the chief celebrant at the Mass assisted by Fr Liam Murray PP, Ballymahon, Fr Charlie Healy PP, Carrickedmond and Legan, Fr Michael McGrath CC, Longford and Fr Aidan Ryan PO, Ballinahown. The organist Padraig McGowan, Ballymahon and the lovely Ballymahon Choir enhanced the Liturgy with beautiful and music and song while Sr Brigids grandniece Orla sang the Responsorial Psalm. A lovely tribute was read by her niece Margaret, quoting from words in tribute by Sr Carmel McEnroy, Mercy Sisters and ending with a lovely poem composed by Sr Brigids nephew, John. Our Beloved Sr Brigid Her blue eyes would widen Oh you dont say Sometimes agreement More often dismay. The simple things She cherished the most Like a game of cards Or receiving the Host. Shannon Harbour Was never the same The day Tess joined up And took on a new name. But it was for the better As so many would gain A lifetime spent teaching Brigid found it no strain. Moving to Florida An energetic young Nun Spreading the Word Under Gods warm sun. Home in the Summer And stories were told Missing the warmth Brigid dreaded the cold. A mind of her own Right to the end A very special person And everyones friend. Your journey has ended Back where it started Reunited once more With family departed. (John and Margaret, Grehan family). May her dear Soul rest in peace. Marshall head football coach Charles Huff has secured three verbal commitments in as many days from recruiting targets for the Class of 2022. With more than a dozen players on official visits this weekend, that number could grow by week's end. These terrorists were from various parts of Pakistan, including Bahawalpur, Rawalpindi, Attock, Sahiwal, Rajanpur, Muzaffernagar, Faislabad, Gujrat and Mianwali districts, the sources said. Mirage 2000 fighter jets carried out deep penetration attack on the terror camp of the JeM, 12 days after the terror outfit attacked a CRPF convoy in Pulwama district of Kashmir, killing 30 personnel. The massive terror camp was located in a thick forest atop a hill, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told the media earlier in the day. The terror camp was led by Azhar Yusuf alias Ustad Gauri, brother-in-law of JeM chief Masood Azhar, Gokhale said. He said the "pre-emptive" strike by India had become absolutely necessary as there was credible information that JeM, which recently carried out terror attack in Pulwama, was planning further attacks in this country. -ANI U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas will have the opportunity to demonstrate whether they stand with the Constitution or the president on the matter of his emergency declaration. In our view, they cannot do both. The should choose the Constitution and vote to maintain the relevancy of the allegedly co-equal Congress. Congress legislates spending. The president spends the money, some discretion included, but mostly as Congress intended. The presidents declaration subverts this constitutional process. The House on Tuesday approved a resolution to nullify the presidents declaration of national emergency (to get money for a border wall). The Senate now has 18 days to act on the measure. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, sponsored the resolution. GOP congressional leadership, particularly in the Senate, has been supine for more than two years. On this, it cannot be. And a veto threat must not be cause for not acting on the declaration. If the president vetoes, Congress should vote to override. Even if that override fails, every vote should be noted by Americans and acted upon accordingly come election time. Failure to move forward even after a veto will be a matter of constitutional malpractice. Yes, the courts have given wide leeway to presidents on what they deem an emergency. But here we have a case in which the president requested money for a border wall and it was rejected, prompting a presidential end run around Congress around its constitutionally given power of the purse. And even if the courts wont consider empirical evidence that there is no genuine emergency there are lawsuits filed or pending challenging the declaration Congress can and should employ common sense. There is no emergency in any practical sense, neither at the border nor with immigration generally. No, the 11 million or so undocumented immigrants in the country do not prove the need for the wall or constitute an emergency. That many undocumented immigrants have been here for years, and the number has been larger in the past. The only emergency posed is if they go away, leaving jobs empty that Americans have long rejected. The president alleges rampant crime by immigrants. Yes, violent crime by immigrants happens but is relatively rare. This community is not more violent native Americans commit more crime. The other emergency the president cites involve illegal drugs. But, again, if this is an emergency, it hasnt happened suddenly. And most illegal drugs come through legal ports of entry. There is an emergency only in the sense that Americans have a huge appetite for illegal drugs. Cornyn, the Senates No. 2 leader, expressed early reservations about the presidents action. My concerns about an emergency declaration were the precedent thats going to be established, he said. I also thought it would not be a practical solution because there will be a lawsuit filed immediately. But, as reported by Texas Monthly, Cornyn also sent out an appeal to potential donors, asking them to show their support for the presidents declaration by sending him money. And then, as reported by the American-Statesman, he said this Thursday in Austin: I personally believe that whats happening at the border is an emergency, and we ought to do whatever is necessary within the law to protect the American people and our sovereignty. The senator can clear up the confusion with a simple vote to rescind the declaration. As should Cruz. In what sounded like support for the declaration, Texas junior senator said, Democrats intransigence has left the president with no other choice but to take executive action. But we read reservations in this (also reported by Texas Monthly): I am a constitutionalist, and I have long advocated that every president, Republican or Democrat, be bound by the Constitution and federal laws. I will wait to see what specific course of action the president pursues and what legal authorities are cited as a basis for it. From our outside-the-Beltway vantage point, the president has charted unconstitutional action here. Congress denied him funds; hes raiding the military budget to get money appropriated for other purposes for his border wall. And there is no military involvement warranted here yet another legal issue with the declaration. The Senate including Texas two members must stand with the House in rescinding the presidents emergency declaration. And while Congress is at it, it should also correct the National Emergencies Act of 1976 to make clear precisely what can constitute an emergency. For 25 years, a 74-year-old retired Professor, human rights activist and environmentalist, Mohammad Hasan, has been crafting his life experiences --of thought- evoking despair and hope-- in poems, but was never certain if he should ever put them together in a book. Then social media played a major role in instilling confidence in him. He started sharing different poems written by him over a period on his Facebook wall. Encouraging comments and 'likes' from people helped him to transcend the barriers and come up with the book, 'Sediments of Silence'. Mohammad Hasan But it was not the social media alone. The influence of some close friends played a big role in inspiring him with the idea of the poetry collection. The famed Jaipur Literature Festival(JLF), happening every year in the city in January, also prompted Prof. Hasan with the idea. Both the Professor and his wife Dr. Naseem Quazi have been regular visitors to JLF since its inception. But then Prof. Hasan is not an accidental poet. Outspoken, brave and public-spirited Professor always had poetry in his mind. True that it took some time to come out in the form of an anthology but the collectionthere are 82 poems spread over 162 pagesis quite large number for any poetry book. He assures that there is more left to make another volume. The publisher is the Writers Workshop, Kolkata. The landscape is wide and varied in the collection. Starting from the madrasas and the village schools of the arid western Rajasthan to the haloed corridors of the Syracuse University and to Africa (Nairobi) later, the collection has a vast geographical area and encompasses a variety of human experiences and emotionsthrill, joy, anger, sorrow, anguish, concern, and nostalgia, to mention a few. One of the poems titled 'Incubator', reads, "It never happened that all sand dunes were flattened by camels, that all forests were destroyed by herds and fires, that all hills were dug up by reptiles and insects..." This thought-provoking poem was the outcome of his concern over the deterioration of the environment due to pollution and other human interference. As such the poems in the collection were written over a period of three decades and some of them go back to the era when Hasan was doing research on the environment. "I wrote my first poem in the year 1989. It was about an eagle that encircles the ruins of human-made architecture and feels sorry about the amount of destruction that has taken place. I kept on writing on the environment and other aspects of life that disturbed me. But, it was only in the year 2000 that I started taking a keen interest in poetry. When asked if his poetry is a figment of imagination or his real-life experience, Prof. Hasan said that it is an amalgamation of real-life experiences and his responses to degradation of the environment, calamities, violence, and the wars. The fragments of imagination in the poems pertained to human relationships, love and orthodoxy. Prof. Hasan draws his major inspiration from his geographical mobility and meeting people from diverse cultures. He spent many years teaching in the Universities of Nairobi, Kenya and did doctoral and advance research on South Asians in the USA. This exposure to diverse social diaspora is reflected in one of his poems titled 'Tsunami Waves' that reads, 'I have witnessed Diaspora of Asian men, their looted shops on Kenyatta Road, vandalised sprawling homes in Westland, trapped, fear-frozen campus girls.' Going down the memory lane, Hasan reflected that these lines that talks of campus girls are from his personal experience in Nairobi. There was a time when six Kenyan girls had fled from the grip of army men in fear of sexual assault and were given shelter by him at his place. In his own words, Prof. Hasan is a rebel and an outspoken person who cannot stand injustice. In Nairobi for the first time in his life, he experienced fear. I believe in freedom and the word'fear' was not in my dictionary. But, I would accept, that day I was scared because the army was looking for the girls and they were hiding at my place. However, we were saved because back then army respected university professors. Obviously, Prof. Hasan is not afraid of expression. He is known for his outspokenness and the poems manifest the intense desire to express his multifarious emotions and strong feelings in a better and long-term manner. What is his poetry about? It is about life, a life of his own and of others. In the brief introduction itself, he confesses, It wasnt an easy universe, It was a bleak desert for childhood to grapple with. Here is a person who is an achiever, looking back with nostalgia and a kind of satisfaction that journeys he had made. In his poems, there is an element of wonderment also as to how he could manage himself against the odds of ordinariness, adverse conditions, harsh weather and an indifferentif not hostilesocial environment. There wasnt any firm hand to help Draw straight line on sand, slate or paper A Rajasthani, that too a desert man, need to mention, sand dunes and water scarcity in his expressions. But while describing a geographical entity, Prof. Hasan can bring some mysticism of the wandering spirits settled in the abandoned village wells, which many of us as children, always believed. Our wells were deep, their waters barely sweet. Their depths echoed grief of wandering spirits. Senior journalist and writer Shri Om Thanvi, in his introduction to the collection, observes, the volume has diverse ecological themes, the geographies of emotions and landscapes of conflicts. These poems do not fall into one monotonous category" Also Read: Kripa Nayal Unbridled: Anything for the Horses! The FBI is offering up to $25,000 for information on a Texas man and cartel member who is accused of a litany of crimes. Juan Alberto Mendez, 46, has been on the run since September 2015, when a federal arrest warrant was issued for him in Indiana in connection with his alleged participation in a conspiracy to distribute and possess drugs. The father of 8-month-old King Jay Davila did not appear in court as expected Wednesday as his court-appointed attorney and hired lawyers try to determine who will represent him moving forward. Christopher Davila, 34, was transported from the jail to the courthouse Wednesday in anticipation of the hearing, but he never made an appearance in the courtroom, where several members of King Jays maternal family waited in anticipation. On ExpressNews.com: Asked where missing San Antonio child is, grandfather says: Only God knows. His court-appointed lawyer, Anton Tony Hajek III, and one of his hired attorneys, Bob Behrens, did briefly address Judge Kevin M. OConnell. The attorneys said they were not sure who was representing Davila. Hajek has been appointed to represent Davila on four charges. Green and Behrens were hired by Davila on the remaining one charge. Afterward, Hajek told reporters it likely would be Green and Behrens representing Davila on all five charges. I have talked to Mr. Davila, Hajek said. Hes quite remorseful. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox According to police, Davila failed to seek medical care for his son and staged an elaborate kidnapping to mislead police about the boys death. He has been charged with injury to a child, child endangerment, tampering with evidence, possession of a controlled substance and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He remains in jail in lieu of bail set at $1.25 million. Since he was arrested Jan. 10, Davila has maintained that King died accidentally after falling from a bed at his Northeast Side home. He said he didnt call 911 because he panicked and didnt want to lose custody of his five other sons. On ExpressNews.com: Im so hurt by my actions: King Jays father speaks from jail Police have hinted that they do not believe Davilas latest account. The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office concluded that King died of a blunt force trauma injury and ruled his death a homicide a determination different from the charge brought by police. Police say Davilas mother, Beatrice Sampayo, 64, and his cousin, Angie Torres, 45, helped Davila cover up Kings death by staging the kidnapping. Sampayo, who has been diagnosed with terminal ovarian and bone cancer, was released earlier this month after she asked a judge to lower her bail. Torres remains in jail in lieu of bail set at $300,000. An earlier version of this story incorrectly described which attorneys were present Wednesday. Anton "Tony" Hajek III and Bob Behrens attended the hearing. Emilie Eaton is a criminal justice reporter in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | eeaton@express-news.net | Twitter: @emilieeaton UPDATE: Houston police said family members found Noe "Kino" Medina, 61, in downtown Houston on Monday after having gone missing for almost a week. ORIGINAL STORY: Authorities are searching for a man with dementia who went missing last week. Noe "Kino" Medina, 61, was last seen in the 8200 block of Bangle Street, which is in a neighborhood near East Loop 610 and Texas Highway 225, on Feb. 20. Officials with Texas EquuSearch said Medina has high blood pressure, diabetes, dementia and schizophrenia. He is in dire need of his medications. Medina is described as a Hispanic male, about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs approximately 170 pounds. He has a speech impediment and no teeth, officials said. He walks with a hunched-over posture and has tattoos on his knuckles. He was last seen wearing a black shirt and brown boots. He was also wearing a blue jacket with "MEDINA" spelled out on the back in white letters. Anyone with information about Medina's whereabouts is urged to call the Houston Police Department Missing Persons Division at 832-394-1840 or Texas EquuSearch at 281-309-9500 Photo: The Canadian Press An American and Arkansas flag blow in the wind as snow falls in Fayetteville, Ark. Arkansas legislators on Wednesday rejected a proposal to change the meaning of one of the stars on the state flag from honouring the Confederacy to honouring the contributions Native Americans have made to the state. The majority-Republican House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee defeated the measure, which wouldn't have changed the flag's design but would have changed the legal meaning of the blue star above Arkansas' name on the flag. Instead of commemorating the Confederate States of America, it would have honoured the Native American tribes that inhabited the state, including the Quapaw, Osage and Caddo. Arkansas has four blue stars on its flag and the one honouring the Confederacy was added in 1923. In 1924, lawmakers changed the design so that star was the only one above the state's name. Democratic state Rep. Charles Blake, who proposed removing the Confederate link, said the star was added at the height of the Ku Klux Klan's rise in Arkansas and elsewhere. "One could argue the star was not added to honour the Confederate States of America. The star, in context of the time of 1924 and that period, was added to add presence and prominence of white supremacy in the state of Arkansas," Blake, who is black, told the panel. "It's an ugly history, but we have to be honest about our history." The other three blue stars represent the three countries that have had dominion over what is now the state of Arkansas: France, Spain and the United States. Critics likened Blake's proposal to efforts to remove Confederate monuments and emblems from public view. "I believe revisionist organizations are trying very hard to eliminate everything that has to do with the Confederacy throughout the entire United States right now. ... I believe this is part of that," said Alexander C. Wilson III, the state commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, which has fought efforts to remove Confederate monuments. The flag bill follows widespread debate about Confederate symbols throughout the South, particularly since a white supremacist's killing of nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015 and violence in August 2017 at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Efforts to remove the Confederate battle emblem from Mississippi's flag died in the Legislature this year. WASHINGTON - Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is privately raising questions about Neomi Rao, President Donald Trump's nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and about how she would potentially rule on cases involving abortion, according to people familiar with the matter. Though he hasn't voiced them publicly, Cotton shares concerns outlined by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., earlier this week about Rao's judicial philosophy; Hawley detailed them in a letter to Rao earlier Tuesday. Cotton declined to comment Tuesday evening when asked about Rao. The concerns from two Republican senators with substantial legal credentials - Hawley is a former Supreme Court clerk, while Cotton graduated from Harvard Law School - represent another stumbling block for Rao, who was nominated in November to replace now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh on the influential D.C. Circuit Court. In the letter to Rao on Tuesday, Hawley said he still has questions about her judicial philosophy. "Understanding that lower court judges are bound by precedent, I will not vote to confirm nominees whom I believe will expand substantive due process precedents like Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood of Southeast Pennsylvania," Hawley wrote to Rao, citing two landmark Supreme Court decisions recognizing a constitutional right to abortion. Hawley, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is scheduled to meet one on one with Rao on Wednesday - one day before the committee plans a vote on her nomination. Republicans hold two more seats than Democrats on the committee, and the GOP also controls a 53-47 majority in the full chamber. Yet Hawley's objections to Rao, first reported by Axios on Sunday, have infuriated much of the Republican establishment that has had significant victories during the Trump presidency in getting more conservatives confirmed to the courts. In a meeting Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., upbraided Hawley, a freshman senator, over the Rao nomination, according to two people familiar with it who declined to be identified talking about a private matter. During the meeting, a displeased McConnell told the Missouri senator that there were two sides in the Rao nomination battle - Republicans and allied groups, and Democrats. McConnell then pressed Hawley: Which side do you want to be on? One of the people describing the meeting likened it to a "student being called to the principal's office." A Hawley spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for a comment on the meeting with McConnell, who has made confirming judges a top priority for the GOP-controlled Senate, nor did a spokesman for the majority leader. A significant source of irritation among Republicans upset with Hawley is how the senator injected questions about Rao's personal views of a judge into a discussion about whether she should be confirmed. Hawley told Axios that he has heard from at least one person "who said Rao personally told them she was pro-choice," although Hawley acknowledged in the interview that he was not sure whether that was true. Jonathan Adler, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University who supports Rao's nomination, called concerns from conservatives "extremely odd." Rao, he said, just withstood a "barrage of unfounded attacks" from liberal groups and "suddenly has to turn around and face innuendo and hearsay from the right." Adler said he does not know Rao's personal views when it comes to abortion, but he emphasized that in general Rao understands that as a judge, personal preferences and what the law requires might not always line up. "She is an originalist and a constitutionalist," said Adler, who has known and worked with Rao for two decades. "She has exactly the type of judicial philosophy Hawley says he wants." The caseload on the D.C. Circuit - often referred to as the second most powerful court in the nation - is heavy on disputes involving federal agencies and executive power. Cases involving abortion are rare there. The pushback from allied groups on Hawley have been swift and severe. The Judicial Crisis Network, a deep-pocketed advocacy group that promotes conservative candidates to the bench, plans to begin a $500,000 paid media campaign on television, radio and online next week pressuring Hawley on Rao, who clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas and serves as the administration's regulatory czar. "Sadly, barely a month after moving to Washington, Josh Hawley is already acting like Claire McCaskill when it comes to judges," said Carrie Severino, the group's chief counsel and policy director, likening Hawley to the Democratic senator he ousted last year. "Instead of supporting President Trump's top judicial nominee, he is spreading the very same kind of rumors and innuendo and character assassination that Republican leaders fought during Justice Kavanaugh's confirmation." Severino said the group would monitor whether it should increase the ad buy. Rao's nomination ran into a separate obstacle earlier this month, when Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, raised concerns about controversial writings from Rao in college about date-rape victims. But Ernst, who disclosed earlier this year that she had been raped in college, met privately with Rao after her confirmation hearing, and the senator told The Washington Post at the time that she felt better about Rao's nomination afterward. Rao also publicly apologized for her writings in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee. - - - The Washington Post's Ann Marimow contributed to this report. Twitter has permanently suspended Jacob Wohl, a far-right activist who previously tried to fabricate evidence about special counsel Robert Mueller, for creating fake accounts in an alleged ttempt to try to manipulate the 2020 presidential election. Twitter confirmed in a statement Tuesday that Wohl's efforts violated its rules that prohibit users from creating misleading accounts to influence conversations on the site - a policy Twitter has sought to enforce aggressively since Russian agents tried to destabilize U.S. politics on social media during the 2016 presidential election. Reached by phone Tuesday evening, Wohl said that one of the accounts attributed to him, @women_4_schultz, was largely an "intellectual exercise." Wohl, who didn't dispute having created the account, said it was designed to gauge whether Schultz had much support among liberal women. Wohl's suspension came on the same day as a story in USA Today in which the activist said he planned to create "enormous left-wing online properties" in a bid to steer voters "to what we feel are weaker candidates compared with Trump." But Twitter's investigation found that Wohl already had created some of those accounts, including one called @women_4_schultz, which sought to advance the early candidacy of Howard Schultz, according to a source familiar with Twitter's investigation but not authorized to speak on the record. The former Starbucks CEO is now considering running for president as an independent. But Wohl claimed that other accounts allegedly attributed to him were not his creation. Asked to name specific accounts for which that was the case, Wohl said he could not fully recall. Wohl long has been a controversial figure on Twitter, particularly for his attempts to spread misinformation that claimed that Mueller had sexually assaulted a woman. Photo: Castanet Staff The Okanagan School of the Arts Society will be ending its eight-year lease of the Shatford Centre at the end of March, barring any dramatic last-minute injections of cash. OSA board member Georgia Krebs, who is speaking to media while president Robin Robertson is away, confirmed a letter had been sent to society members saying March 31 will be the end of their Shatford lease. "What happens with the society is up to the members," Krebs said. "Unless something comes along that solves our financial dilemma." "We don't have the operating funds to carry on with that building," she added. The OSA rents from School District 67 for just $1 a year, but would need to inject an estimated $4 million in renovations into the centre on top of a $1.7 million already spent. Society members and groups that currently rent out space in the Shatford through the OSA will need to find new homes. Krebs said they would honour whatever leases they do have, but everything is month-to-month. "If somebody else says 'Hey, I'll take on that building, I'll take that on,' then I guess they'll get to stay," Krebs said. She added that she thought those groups had been told, but that it has been a hectic few days. "It's been less than a week with a weekend in there," Krebs said. The decision follows an attempt to revitalize public interest and boost its financial success at an open house in November. Castanet has reached out to other involved parties for more information. HANOI, Vietnam - President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un downplayed expectations of a deal to dismantle that country's nuclear weapons Thursday, as they kicked off the second day of a two-day summit here. Sitting beside Kim on Thursday morning, Trump said the pair had enjoyed very good discussions over dinner the night before, with "a lot of great ideas being thrown about," adding that "importantly, I think the relationship is, you know, just very strong." "And when you have a good relationship, a lot of good things happen. So, I can't speak necessarily for today, but I can say this that, a little bit longer-term, and over a period of time, I know we're going to have a fantastic success with respect to Chairman Kim and North Korea." Trump repeatedly stressed there was "no rush" to make a deal. "Chairman Kim and myself, we want to do the right deal. Speed is not important," he said. Asked if he was confident the pair would reach a deal, Kim was equally guarded. "It's too early to tell, but I wouldn't say I am pessimistic," Kim said in reply to the question from a Washington Post reporter, a rare response from a North Korean leader to an independent journalist. "From what I feel right now, I do have a feeling that good results will come." Kim, speaking through an interpreter, also said the whole world was watching them. "There will be people welcoming our meeting, and people viewing it with skepticism, but there will also be people who will look at us spending a great time together, like a scene in a fantasy movie," he said. Asked if he was prepared for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Kim replied: "If I'm not willing to do that, I won't be here right now." Both Kim and Trump also said they would welcome the idea of setting up a U.S. liaison office in the North Korean capital. Washington does not have direct diplomatic representation in Pyongyang. On Wednesday night, Trump offered a public embrace of Kim, referring to the brutal authoritarian ruler as "my friend" and stating that he is "satisfied" with the progress of their negotiations. "Some people would like to see it be quicker. I'm satisfied; you're satisfied," Trump told Kim before a private, one-on-one meeting, followed by a social dinner with a small group of aides at the luxurious, five-star Metropole hotel. "We want to be happy with what we're doing." Trump said he believed their first summit, in Singapore, was a success and added that their meetings in Hanoi "will be equal to or greater than the first." He held up Vietnam as a model for economic growth for North Korea, which he said has "unlimited" potential. "I look forward to watching it happen, and we will help it happen," Trump said, sitting next to Kim in front of a row of American and North Korean flags. The president wore a dark suit and striped tie, while Kim wore his traditional Mao-style suit. The North Korean leader smiled as Trump spoke. On Thursday morning, Trump and Kim arrived in separate motorcades for the second day of summit talks at the hotel. After speaking to reporters seated in front of U.S. and North Korea flags, they strolled briefly through the hotel, pausing to chat briefly with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart Kim Yong Chol by the pool. Trump's warm greeting of Kim on Wednesday night suggested that the president was hopeful that their personal rapport can help bridge gaps in the negotiations among lower-level aides ahead of the summit. Trump said the biggest area of progress since Singapore was their "relationship," and in a tweet after the dinner he said the two had "very good dialogue." The dinner of grilled sirloin and chocolate lava cake was an attempt to continue to foster trust ahead of a series of meetings Thursday during which the two sides will attempt to lock down the terms of an agreement. U.S. negotiators are seeking detailed commitments from Pyongyang to dismantle at least some of its nuclear weapons facilities, while Kim's regime wants relief from punishing economic sanctions and a declaration to formally end the Korean War. At the dinner, Pompeo and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney joined Trump and Kim, along with two senior North Korean aides, Kim Yong Chol and Ri Yong Ho, and two interpreters. Kim smiled warmly as the two men shook hands, but looked uncomfortable in the glare of television cameras and the loud clicking of shutters from photographers. He praised Trump for his "extraordinary and courageous political decision" that allowed their reunion to take place after 261 days and hinted that he had his own doubters to overcome at home. But if there was one thing the two men agreed on, it was that this summit was going to be a success. "Disbelief and misunderstandings were everywhere, and old hostile habits were getting in our way, but we've overcome it well, come face to face and walked all the way to Hanoi in 260 days," Kim Jong Un said in the photo op with Trump. "I think it's been a time period that took me more agony, effort and patience than ever. I am confident a great result will be produced this time to be welcomed by everyone, and I will do my best toward that goal." White House aides have said the president is determined to sell Kim on a vision of modernization and present him with a choice between continued global isolation or burgeoning economic growth if he gives up the North's nuclear weapons program. Ahead of meetings with Vietnamese officials earlier Wednesday, Trump praised Vietnam on Twitter as "thriving like few places on earth" and said North Korea has a chance to do the same "very quickly." "The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un," Trump wrote. "We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting!" In brief remarks with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong, Trump said he marveled at the construction projects his motorcade passed during his drive into Hanoi from the airport late Tuesday. "Vietnam is thriving," said Trump, who signed a bilateral trade deal with Hanoi to purchase U.S.-made plane engines and other equipment. Referring to Kim Jong Un, Trump added: "We both felt very good about having this very important summit in Vietnam because you really are an example of what can happen with good thinking." Yet Trump at times appeared distracted. Retiring to his hotel for several hours of downtime before his dinner with Kim, Trump unleashed a Twitter broadside on Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., mocking him as he has before over questionable statements that Blumenthal has made about his military service. "I have now spent more time in Vietnam than Da Nang Dick Blumenthal, the third rate Senator from Connecticut (how is Connecticut doing?)," Trump wrote. "His war stories of his heroism in Vietnam were a total fraud - he was never even there. We talked about it today with Vietnamese leaders!" A readout from White House press secretary Sarah Sanders of Trump's meetings with the Vietnamese made no mention of them discussing Blumenthal. And Trump's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, told Congress on Wednesday that Trump claimed to have a bone spur that won him a deferment from the military draft during the Vietnam War but that Trump provided no evidence of having had a medical problem and privately told him he never had surgery. Trump used another tweet Wednesday afternoon to charge that Cohen is lying. Trump made his economic pitch to Kim during their first summit in Singapore last summer, showing him a four-minute video produced by the White House that interspersed images with war and destruction with gleaming hyper-modern cityscapes. Kim, in his mid-30s, has said in public addresses that he is focused on improving the North Korean economy, which has suffered under decades of international economic sanctions for the country's nuclear and ballistic missile programs - and the regime's corrupt governance. Analysts have said Trump's strategy is risky, given that U.S. intelligence officials have said Kim is unlikely to surrender an arsenal that is thought to include anywhere between 20 and 65 nuclear warheads. Although Trump has pointed to a moratorium on testing that has been in place since November 2017, U.S. intelligence has discovered evidence that the North has sought to conceal its weapons programs despite publicly engaging with the United States and South Korea in denuclearization talks. In another tweet Wednesday afternoon, Trump appeared to take aim at critics who have warned that he could wind up giving unwise concessions to Kim by easing economic sanctions too quickly. "All false reporting (guessing) on my intentions with respect to North Korea," the president wrote. "Kim Jong Un and I will try very hard to work something out on Denuclearization & then making North Korea an Economic Powerhouse. I believe that China, Russia, Japan & South Korea will be very helpful!" Trump administration officials, led by the State Department, have worked over the past two weeks to try to nail down specific commitments from Pyongyang to advance the process, but progress has been slow, according to U.S. and South Korean officials familiar with the talks. The United States is said to be seeking a detailed timeline and verification process for Pyongyang to close its primary nuclear processing facility at Yongbyon - but North Korean negotiators have resisted agreeing to specifics. For his part, Kim visited his country's embassy in Hanoi on Tuesday and later that day met with his advisers at their hotel. North Korea's state news agency published a photograph of Kim sitting at a hotel room table with four senior aides. Kim was smoking and had a clipboard on the table in front of him, while the two men and two women were shown listening intently and taking notes. Experts said the report on the meeting was significant in that it implicitly acknowledged this to be a normal negotiating process and showed Kim invested in making the summit a success. Trump said he would hold a news conference, presumably without Kim, after the summit Thursday afternoon; he is scheduled to depart Hanoi for Washington on Air Force One after that. Kim is scheduled to remain in Hanoi until Saturday and spend the extra time touring some manufacturing, agriculture and tourism development projects. "We have a very busy day tomorrow," Trump said. "A lot of things are going to be solved, I hope." Hanoi, Vietnam With nervous world capitals looking on, President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un are beginning their second nuclear summit with a one-on-one discussion and an intimate dinner as hard questions swirl about what the American president will demand and Pyongyang might be willing to give up. The two leaders and their aides encamped in Hanoi after long journeys by plane, train and automobile Trump on Air Force One, Kim in an armored railcar and limousine for two days of talks addressing perhaps the world's biggest security challenge: Kim's nuclear program that stands on the verge of realistically threatening targets around the planet. Although many experts are skeptical Kim will give up the nuclear weapons he likely sees as his best guarantee of continued rule, there was a palpable, carnival-like excitement among many in Hanoi as final preparations were made for Wednesday's summit opening. There were also huge traffic jams in the already congested streets. Trump was opening his visit in morning meetings with Vietnam's president and prime minister before turning his attention to Kim. Official greetings with the normally reclusive leader will give way to a short one-on-one discussion before what's being described as a social dinner with an exclusive guest list. The White House said Trump will be joined at the dinner by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Kim, too, will have two aides with him, and there will be translators for each side. Trump and Kim will have a series of additional official meetings Thursday. Kim, who arrived in Hanoi first, spent Tuesday traveling around the Vietnamese capital in his limousine. With a squad of bodyguards in tow, he visited sections of Hanoi, including his nation's embassy where a loud cheer went up as he entered the compound. As host, Vietnam is eager to show off its huge economic and development improvements since the destruction of the Vietnam War. But the country also tolerates no dissent and is able to provide the kind of firm hand not allowed by more democratic potential hosts. Trump arrived late Tuesday after a 20-hour trip that included refueling stops in England and Qatar. He shook hands with dignitaries on a red carpet flanked by Vietnamese troops in crisp white uniforms. The route to his hotel was decorated with American, North Korean and Vietnamese flags. Photo: The Canadian Press Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to meet for their second summit Feb. 27 and 28 in Hanoi. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un, leaders of two nations with a long history of hostilities, opened their second summit Wednesday with smiles, hopeful talk and a friendly dinner that will set the stage for more difficult talks to come about curbing North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons. Facing widespread skepticism about what they can achieve, the two men exchanged a warm handshake before a phalanx of alternating American and North Korean flags before disappearing for a private, 30-minute pre-dinner chat. "A lot of things are going to be solved I hope," Trump said as dinner commenced. "I think it will lead to a wonderful, really a wonderful situation long-term." Kim, for his part, said that his country had been "misunderstood" and viewed with "distrust." "There have been efforts, whether out of hostility or not, to block the path that we intend to take," he said. "But we have overcome all these and walked toward each other again and we've now reached Hanoi after 261 days" since their first meeting in Singapore. "We have met again here and I am confident that we can achieve great results that everyone welcomes." For all of the optimistic talk, there was broad concern that Trump, eager for an agreement, would give Kim too much and get too little in return perhaps a peace declaration for the Korean War that the North could use to eventually push for the reduction of U.S. troops in South Korea, for example, or sanctions relief that could allow Pyongyang to pursue lucrative economic projects with the South. Skeptics insist Trump must first get real progress on the North abandoning its nuclear weapons before giving away important negotiating leverage. Asked if this summit would yield a political declaration to end the Korean War, Trump told reporters: "We'll see." The two leaders were joined for an intimate dinner by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Kim Yong Chol, a former military spy chief and Kim's point man in negotiations, and North Korean Foreign Affairs Minister Ri Yong Ho. Interpreters for each side also attended. As Trump reached for a summit victory abroad, back in Washington his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, was prepared to deliver explosive testimony on Capitol Hill that the president is a "racist," a "conman" and a "cheat." Unable to ignore the drama playing out thousands of miles away, Trump tweeted that Cohen, who has been sentenced to three years in prison for lying to Congress, "did bad things unrelated to Trump" and "is lying in order to reduce his prison time." Anticipation for what could be accomplished at the summit ran high in Hanoi. But the carnival-like atmosphere in the Vietnamese capital, with street artists painting likenesses of the leaders and vendors hawking T-shirts showing Kim waving and Trump giving a thumbs-up, contrasted with the serious items on their agenda: North Korea's nuclear weapons program and peace on the Korean Peninsula. Trump has been trying to convince Kim that his nation could thrive economically like the host country, Vietnam, if he would end his nuclear weapons program. ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Maryland House of Delegates gave initial approval Wednesday to legislation requiring a $15 minimum wage, a priority for progressive Democrats that failed to advance to the House floor in previous years. A final vote on the bill is scheduled for Friday. After that it would be considered in the Senate, where proponents expect it to pass as well, after more amendments to soften the impact on business owners. "Phew, I'm just glad we've got something," said bill sponsor Del. Diana Fennell, D-Prince George's, after the voice vote. A handful of other deep-blue states, including California, New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey, have already adopted a $15 minimum wage, and Connecticut, Illinois and New Mexico are weighing bills to raise their wage floors as well. The $15 minimum has been embraced by most 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls, and is being pushed in states and cities by progressive groups such as the Working Families Party. "Our mission is a national standard," said Maurice Mitchell, national director of Working Families. "If you get a toehold, that creates a critical mass that won't stop at the edges of a state line." Maryland's Democratic legislative leaders included the $15 minimum on their legislative agenda for the first time this year, under pressure from new, more liberal lawmakers - and constituents. A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll last summer found 64 percent of registered Maryland voters support a $15 minimum wage. A Goucher College poll released this month showed 86 percent of registered Democrats support it, compared to 37 percent of registered Republicans. The business community is also split on the issue. Groups such as the state Chamber of Commerce and restaurant association have lobbied heavily against the wage increase, arguing that it would result in job losses and lost hours for workers, compress wages and hamper the state's economic competitiveness. "You don't create jobs by increasing costs," said Jay Steinmetz, CEO of Baltimore-based Barcoding Inc., who spoke at a Republican caucus briefing early Wednesday. Maryland is sending the message, he said, that he needs to move his business out of state. Bob Garner, the owner of Glory Days Grill, said the added cost of a wage increase would upend the business model for his seven full-service restaurants. Many of his employees already make more than a $15 hourly wage, he said, but if the wage floor rises, his labor costs will exceed profits. "A lot of businesses never made a plan for this level of an increase," he said. Other business leaders say they favor a higher wage, believing that it can reduce turnover and boost worker productivity. "A low-wage model makes it harder to hire and retain employees when they can go elsewhere and make more," Alissa Barron-Menza, vice president of the group Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, said in an interview. "It locks in poverty in already depressed communities." The legislation was amended Monday to delay the wage-increase schedule, exclude agricultural and some youth workers, and preserve a tipped-wage credit for restaurant workers. Another amendment removed a requirement to link future wage increases to the Consumer Price Index. The bill would require employers to increase the current $10.10 minimum to $11.00 in January 2020. The wage would then increase by 75 cents each January through 2025. "Any forward motion is good," said Del. Shelly Hettleman, D-Baltimore County, who sponsored a similar bill last year. She and others said advocates in the Senate may try to restore some of the bill's original provisions, which would create a need for a conference committee to reconcile the two versions. Five amendments were offered by House Republicans Wednesday to address the bill's impact on less-populated counties, where the cost of living is lower. All were defeated on mostly party line votes. "Fifteen dollars would decimate the economy of the rural areas," said Del. Wayne Hartman, R-Wicomico, who proposed a tiered system with different wage rates for different parts of the state. "The very same people we are trying to help will be hurt by this." Del. Jason Buckel, R-Allegany, cited a Frostburg State University survey of business owners and some workers in his Western Maryland district, which found that a majority believed a wage hike would have negative consequences locally. "When you talk about economic issues in the state of Maryland, one size doesn't fit all," he said. The House also gave preliminary approval to a bill that would make it a hate crime to inscribe or place a symbol of hate - such as a noose or swastika - on property without the owner's permission, to threaten or intimidate others. Bill sponsor Del. Mark Chang, D-Anne Arundel, said two men who hung a noose at Crofton Middle School in 2017 were acquitted of criminal charges because there was no hate crime statute in Maryland. "The Circuit Court judge . . . asked the legislature to specifically address this issue," Chang said in an interview. The legislation would make publicly displaying symbols of hate a misdemeanor punishable up to 3 years in prison and $5,000 in fines. But if the crime involves another felony, the hate crime statue would stiffen those penalties up to a possible 20 years in prison. WASHINGTON - At separate hearings Tuesday on Capitol Hill, Democratic lawmakers hammered the Trump administration over the "zero tolerance" prosecution policy that split thousands of migrant children from their parents last year and devolved into a political fiasco for the White House. Several Trump officials acknowledged to the House Judiciary Committee that they did not speak up to supervisors or attempt to stop the implementation of the family separations at the border, despite warnings that the situation probably would traumatize children. Facing aggressive and sometimes angry questions from Democrats, the officials who formulated and carried out the separation system recognized communication lapses among their agencies but defended their actions as an attempt to uphold immigration laws. At another hearing on "zero tolerance" Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena records from the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security and Health and Human Services for documents related to the policy. Both developments came as the administration faces new legal scrutiny over the separations and the threat that a federal judge could force the government to comb through thousands of files to account for all migrant children potentially separated from their families since July 2017. The intense focus on last year's separations - a policy President Donald Trump rescinded after six weeks - left lawmakers warning that insufficient attention is being paid to the enforcement challenge it was originally meant to address: a soaring number of Central American migrants crossing the border illegally with children. Record numbers of Central Americans have been arriving each month with children, typically seeking asylum or some form of humanitarian refuge. Homeland Security officials say the migrants are taking advantage of what they call "loopholes" that limit the government's ability to hold children in custody, then absconding, upon release, to remain in the United States unlawfully. Some GOP members acknowledged on Tuesday the administrative chaos that left parents unable to locate children as others were sent back to Central America without their sons and daughters. "We must be fair," said Rep. Douglas Collins of Georgia, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary committee, adding that it is "clear the system was not ready to handle the large number of children arriving at the border and separated from their parents." Collins called on legislators to address what he called "perverse incentives" drawing families to cross the border in large groups of as many as 350 adults and children, with the expectation that they will be quickly processed and released into the United States. At the judiciary hearing, where Democrats criticized the separations as immoral and "un-American," Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., said the administration had left children vulnerable to sexual abuse while they were held in shelters, pointing to dozens of alleged assaults by staff members in the past two years. Deutch said the shelters are reporting about one sexual assault per week, adding, in a statement, that the "Administration is not equipped to keep these children safe inside their facilities." "We share concern that I think everyone in this room feels," said Jonathan White, the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps commander and child welfare expert who was tasked with leading the reunification effort. He added that "the vast majority of allegations prove to be unfounded when they are investigated by state law enforcement and federal law enforcement and the state licensure authorities to whom we refer them." Some of the most heated exchanges on the judiciary panel came as Democrats demanded to know whether Trump officials raised objections to the separation plan. White said he told HHS officials in spring 2017 that the policy would traumatize children and potentially inflict long-term harm, warning others, including Scott Lloyd, then-director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the HHS agency in charge of caring for separated children. Lloyd, a political appointee, was seated next to White during the hearing, and he faced much of the Democrats' wrath, mumbling at times through responses while acknowledging that he did not act upon White's warnings. "Did you ever say to the administration: 'This is a bad idea?' " Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., asked. "Here's what my child welfare experts have told us: 'We need to stop this policy.' Did you once say this to anybody above you?" "I did not say those words," Lloyd answered. During the oversight hearing, two Republicans joined Democrats in a 25-to-11 vote authorizing committee chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., to subpoena Attorney General William Barr, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar for records relating to "zero tolerance." In a statement, Cummings described the policy as tantamount to "government-sponsored child abuse" and said that after months of requests by the panel, "further delay is not an option." "These subpoenas will be the first issued by the committee in the 116th Congress," Cummings said, calling the matter "a true national emergency." Republican Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Justin Amash of Michigan joined all of the committee's Democrats in voting to authorize the subpoenas. Tyler Houlton, a spokesman for the DHS, blasted the subpoena vote as a "political stunt" and called it "unnecessary." "The Department has already submitted over 2,600 pages to Congress in response to this request," he said in a statement. "We have worked with congressional committees in good faith and will continue to do so." A report last month by the HHS inspector general said the Trump administration probably separated thousands more parents from their children than was previously made public. The report prompted the American Civil Liberties Union to ask a federal judge this month to order the administration to account for all of the separated children. More than 2,700 children were taken from their parents when Nielsen and then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions teamed up to criminally prosecute adults caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, including parents traveling with children. Because children cannot be held in adult detention, they were taken to shelters overseen by the HHS, while their parents typically pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and were shuttled to immigration jails in preparation for deportation. Trump ended the separations June 20, facing widespread condemnation, a revolt within his own party and pressure from members of his family. Days later, U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw ordered the government to put the families back together. Officials had nearly finished those reunifications when the HHS inspector general issued a new report in January, saying that "thousands" of additional children may have been separated before Sabraw's June 26 order, including during a trial run of the family separation policy in U.S. Customs and Border Protection's El Paso sector, which includes west Texas and New Mexico. Sabraw, a President George W. Bush appointee in San Diego, said last week that he did not know that potentially thousands of children had been separated and then released before his June 26 order. Justice Department officials said the majority of released children had been placed with a parent or close relative. But the ACLU, which filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of separated parents, called the inspector general report a "bombshell" and urged Sabraw to account for all children. Sabraw said he would issue a ruling "as soon as possible," without setting a date. Former Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila approved an oil contract that encroaches on a world-famous national park during his final weeks in office. Kabila signed a decree Dec. 13 validating a production-sharing agreement between closely held South African company DIG Oil Ltd. and the state oil firm for three permits in central Congo. A large section of one licence -- Block 8 -- covers territory inside Salonga National Park, a Unesco World Heritage site. The agreement, published officially last month, may enable Congo to increase crude output above the 25,000 barrels a day it produces on its Atlantic coast. It will also heighten concerns that the world's second-largest rainforest, where Salonga is located, will be opened up to oil exploration, potentially damaging the region's biodiversity and exacerbating climate change. Oil exploration and production activities are forbidden in protected areas in Congo. The government has said it's considering declassifying swathes of Salonga and Virunga National Park, another conservation site that provides sanctuary to many of the world's 1,000 mountain gorillas. Both overlap with oil permits. The Oil Ministry said in June Congo's Cabinet authorized it to establish a commission to advise the government on whether it should shrink the parks to enable oil companies to operate there. About 40 percent of Salonga and 20 percent of Virunga would be affected, according to a briefing Oil Minister Aime Ngoy Mukena submitted to his colleagues last March. The Oil Ministry and DIG originally signed an agreement on the concessions 11 years ago, but Kabila opted not to certify the contract until December. Congo's presidency didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Kabila stepped down last month after 18 years in power. Former opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi won elections that took place on Dec. 30, though he's yet to appoint a prime minister or a Cabinet, leaving it unclear whether his government will continue considering whether to allow oil exploration and production within what is presently Salonga and Virunga. The commission hasn't yet been put in place, according to Tony Chermani, deputy chief-of-staff to Mukena, who remains in the post until the formation of a new ministerial team. "The government which will be established will get to grips with this matter," he said by phone Monday. While DIG surveyed its two other licenses in 2012 and 2013, it hasn't flown over Block 8 because of "the need for clarity on environmental impact and detailed demarcation," Executive Director Andrea Brown said Monday in an emailed statement. The International Chamber of Commerce in Paris made a ruling relating to the three blocks last November in favor of DIG and against Congo, Brown said, declining to provide further details. The company "wants to keep the matter confidential because making it public would not help to settle the litigation," she said. "The approval of another oil license over Salonga is an alarming development," Global Witness, a London-based anti-corruption group, said in an emailed statement. Exploration could have "devastating consequences for the local communities and endangered species who live there, as well as broader environmental implications given the fundamental role it plays in climate change mitigation." Kabila signed off on another contract last February between the state and Compagnie Miniere Congolaise SPRL, or Comico, where one of the three permits infringes on Salonga. Like DIG, Comico had concluded its agreement with the Oil Ministry a decade earlier. DIG is also a junior partner in an oil block in eastern Congo operated by Total SA and partly located inside Virunga. The French oil major pledged in 2013 not to explore in the park and to respect its current boundaries. DIG "has respected the World Heritage site requirements of Virunga," Brown said. "The same approach would have been taken with respect to Block 8 had exploration begun there." If new legislation is passed, teachers statewide may be getting a pay raise. Starting with the 2019-20 school year, public school teachers would get a bump in pay by $5,000, according to Senate Bill 3. The legislation was approved by the Senate Finance Committee on Monday. We need to provide this salary in order to retain our teachers in our classrooms, and to attract new teachers to the profession, said Committee Chair and bill author Sen. Jane Nelson of Flower Mound in a news release. We've got to make sure we attract the best and the brightest, and we've got to keep them. According to the Texas Education Agency, the current minimum a full-time public school teacher may be paid is $28,080 for a 10-month contract in the first year of teaching. That would be equivalent to $13.50 per hour assuming a 40-hour work week over 52 weeks. A teacher with 20 years or more experience is currently paid a minimum of $45,510. TEXAS RANGER CANDIDATE: Katy delays appointment of police chief to March meeting However, according to State Education Commissioner Mike Morath the most teachers in Texas are paid between $50,000 and $60,000 annually, including additional duty pay above base salary. The average teacher starts out at $47,500 per year. According to the news release, the proposed Senate budget has $3.7 billion set aside to pay for the salary increase, but that price tag will go up a little more after it was changed to ensure the state covers increased pension costs. Teacher retirement benefits are based on an average of the five highest-paid years in an educator's career, a statewide increase like the one proposed would increase the total cost of teacher pensions by about $240 million per year over the next two years. According to figures posted on their individual websites, salaries for area school districts include: FOR SUBSCRIBERS: $5,000 raises for Texas teachers proposed as lawmakers take up school funding Katy ISD pays new teachers with a bachelors degree and no experience a minimum of $53,000. A teacher with 20 years of experience earns a minimum of $61,830. Spring Branch ISD pays new teachers with a bachelors degree and no experience a minimum of $54,000. A teacher with 20 years of experience earns a minimum of $62,150. Fort Bend ISD pays new teachers with a bachelors degree and no experience a minimum of $53,000. A teacher with 20 years of experience earns a minimum of $63,000. Stafford MSD pays new teachers with a bachelors degree and no experience a minimum of $51,000. A teacher with 20 years of experience earns a minimum of $60,600. Lamar CISD pays new teachers with a bachelors degree and no experience a minimum of $54,500. A teacher with 20 years of experience earns a minimum of $63,750. SCHOOL FINANCE: The 17 biggest issues in the Texas Legislature 2019 Houston ISD pays new teachers with a bachelors degree and no experience a minimum of $52,530. A teacher with 20 years of experience earns a minimum of $59,956. Needville ISD pays new teachers with a bachelors degree and no experience a minimum of $50,500. A teacher with 20 years of experience earns a minimum of $62,100. Cypress Fairbanks ISD pays new teachers with a bachelors degree and no experience a minimum of $54,000. A teacher with 20 years of experience earns a minimum of $64,658. While most supported the bill, some members asked that lawmakers find a way to also increase pay for librarians, custodians and other public school paraprofessionals that aren't classified as teachers. An amendment added by the committee seeks to ensure the raises are permanent. The bill moves to the full senate for consideration. rkent@hcnonline.com Photo: The Canadian Press Protesters hold placards outside the County Court where Cardinal George Pell is to arrive in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. The most senior Catholic cleric ever convicted of child sex abuse was sent to prison on Wednesday and will wait two weeks to learn his sentence for molesting two choirboys in a Melbourne cathedral two decades ago. Victorian state County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd revoked Cardinal George Pell's bail at the end of a sentencing hearing in a packed, standing room-only courtroom. Kidd said he would deliver his sentence on March 13. The 77-year-old Pell, who could face 50 years in prison, showed no expression as he walked from the dock with a cane escorted by three court security officers and a prison guard. Pell paused at the door, turned to the judge and bowed. He was taken by prison van from the court to the Melbourne Assessment Prison, a maximum security facility where inmates new to the state penal system are assessed. All prisoners are strip-searched on arrival and Pell, like all pedophiles, will be kept in protective custody, where he will remain alone for up to 23 hours a day. A jury unanimously convicted Pell in December of abusing the two 13-year-olds in a rear room of St. Patrick's Cathedral in 1996 weeks after becoming archbishop of Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city. But Pell wasn't taken into custody immediately because he had surgery scheduled to have both knees replaced. Pell faced an abusive crowd Wednesday as he entered court half an hour before his sentencing hearing began. "I hope you burn in hell!" one man shouted while pushing against a cluster of police officers trying to shield the cardinal as he walked into the courthouse. "You're a pedophile! You're a criminal! You're a monster!" Pell's lawyer Robert Richter was heckled by members of the public during the lunch break, prompting Kidd to warn people in the gallery that they could be charged with contempt of court for such behaviour. Kidd said such acts directed at Pell and Richter showed that Pell was being blamed for the sexual abuse and coverups within the Catholic Church recently exposed by a government-commissioned investigation into Australian institutions' handling of abuse allegations. "The Catholic Church is not on trial ... I'm imposing sentence on Cardinal Pell for what he did," Kidd said. The court had until Tuesday forbidden publication of any details about the trial because Pell had faced a second trial in April on charges that he indecently assaulted two boys aged 9 or 10 and 11 or 12 as a young priest in the late 1970s in a public pool in his hometown of Ballarat. Those charges have now been dropped. Pope Francis removed Pell as a member of his informal Cabinet in October. He had remained prefect of the Vatican's economy ministry, but his five-year term expired this month, acting Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said. A man has been arrested and another is wanted for stealing about $10,000 in perfumes and colognes from a store at Mall Del Norte, according to Laredo police. On Friday, Jorge Andres Bernal, 24, was served with an arrest warrant that charged him with theft. A man was arrested for assaulting a woman and two children, authorities said. Laredo police said they responded to a report of "screams and people crying" at about 11:47 p.m. Friday in the 200 block of Martingale Lane. READ ALSO: Laredo bar owner arrested for allegedly serving alcohol past curfew, police say Authorities discovered that a male identified as Eloy Asael Chavez, 38, had assault a woman inside an apartment. During an argument, he allegedly punched her and dragged her by the hair several times. Two children, ages 2 and 3, awoke to the commotion. She held the children, according to police. Chavez then allegedly continued assaulting her and, in the process, assaulted the children. RELATED: Sheriff: Man discovered with $250K worth of cocaine during traffic stop in west Laredo Officers said they discovered a white powdery substance believed to be cocaine on top of a table, a television on the floor and a broken ceiling fan. Chavez was charged with one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, family violence, two counts of injury to a child and one count of possession of a controlled substance. A former Laredo police investigator is under investigation after authorities said they discovered discrepancies in evidence collection. The Laredo Police Department did not identify the investigator or say if the investigator had retired or was fired. Police also did not elaborate on the supposed discrepancies. READ ALSO: BP agents find hundreds of pounds of marijuana discarded on road LPD said it launched the investigation in mid-January after a "discrepancy" was discovered in the evidence collection phase on a case assigned to the investigator. "The Laredo Police Department has a system in place to identify discrepancies with the collection of evidence. The system acts as a check and balance model to ensure the evidence is collected properly," said Chief of Police Claudio Trevino Jr. in a statement. LPD's crimes against persons detectives and the office of public integrity are conducting a parallel investigation. "The investigation is indicative of the efforts the Laredo Police Department makes in policing its own personnel. The Laredo Police Department holds its officers to the highest standard," Trevino said. "All officers of the department have not only a moral but also legal obligation to uphold the very laws we enforce. RELATED: Laredo police officers suspended after they are charged with aggravated assault Should there be any indication of misconduct, (LPD) will thoroughly investigate the incident and proceed with any criminal charges swiftly." LPD is collaborating with the Webb County District Attorney's Office in this investigation. The office deferred comment on the case to LPD. After helping hundreds of veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, leading soldiers on journeys of reconciliation to Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan and guiding wounded warriors through spiritual retreats, Soldier's Heart is closing. Psychotherapists Ed Tick and his wife, Kate Dahlstedt, are shutting down their not-for-profit veterans' organization in Troy after 13 years. Their innovative methods addressed the spiritual and psychological needs of soldiers when they returned from combat. Their practice of healing wounded souls underpinned by ancient warrior archetypes and the universal human stories of Homer's Odyssey and other epic war narratives became a national model. It was adopted by 2,000 Army chaplains and chaplains in other service branches at retreats on military bases across the country. The Feb. 28 closure is forced by Tick's debilitating back pain and a diagnosis of spinal stenosis, which has compromised his mobility. He is preparing for surgery and a lengthy recovery. The psychotherapist who has helped so many wounded warriors find a path to healing and peace is now, himself, in need of support. "Pain is a fierce teacher and I've learned a lot," said Tick, 67, author of "War and the Soul: Healing Our Nation's Veterans from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." "Pain is not the same as suffering and I've been able to keep my spirits above it," he said. "Even though the pain got to be agony, I just wanted to keep doing the work. We have so many wounded warriors roaming America and as a nation we need to carry their burden together." Dahlstedt and Tick met at a Columbia County writer's retreat and have been together for 39 years. The couple have had a hard time letting go of Soldier's Heart. More Information Contact Paul Grondahl at grondahlpaul@gmail.com See More Collapse "I loaded the last box from our Troy office and cried all the way home on Saturday," said Dahlstedt, who led retreats for women veterans and for spouses and children of military veterans. "Many women I worked with came from abusive families and thought they'd be safe in the military and instead they were abused again," said Dahlstedt, who noted that female vets suffer a higher percentage of PTSD and suicidal thoughts than male vets because their wartime trauma was often exacerbated by sexual assault. "Families make a huge sacrifice while their loved one is serving in active duty overseas and they are so hopeful that everything will be fine when the combat veteran comes home," Dahlstedt said. "It rarely is." The improvements they made in veterans' lives was professionally rewarding, but "the problem is still very big and the work will never really be done," she said. New York Times syndicated columnist David Brooks recently praised the work of Soldier's Heart. Brooks wrote: "Tick points out that most ancient cultures put returning soldiers through purification rituals. The men came back from battle and the terrible things they had done there, and they were given a chance to cleanse, purify and rejoin the community. The community would take possession of the guilt the soldiers may have felt for the things they had to do on its behalf. ... I wish our culture had many more rites of passage, communal moments when we celebrated a moral transition." The irony of his life's work with veterans is not lost on Tick, who grew up in Queens and recalled childhood memories of an uncle, a medic at the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. "He was shell-shocked and shuffled through life stuttering and mumbling," Tick said. "He left a lasting memory on me." Tick came to the University at Albany as a freshman in 1968, joined the anti-war movement and participated in student protests against the Vietnam War. He majored in English and his mentor was Harry Staley, an English professor, poet and World War II veteran. Tick's draft number was 244, which meant he was safe from being sent to Vietnam. Several dorm mates in Waterbury Hall were not so fortunate. "I remember some of them crying about being drafted or screaming that they were going to flee to Canada," Tick recalled. He continued at UAlbany in graduate studies for counseling and worked in the mental health field. "I was glad I didn't have to go to Vietnam, but I wanted to contribute to healing and to become the best home-front medic I could be," he said. Tick worked with his first Vietnam vets in 1975, five years before the American Psychiatric Association added PTSD to the third edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Another important mentor for Tick was the late William Herrick, of Columbia County, a novelist who fought against fascism in the Spanish Civil War and published a memoir in 1993 titled "Jumping the Line: The Adventures and Misadventures of an American Radical." "Bill and Harry taught me that storytelling and good writing are the best guides for living a soulful life and the best tools for healing wounded souls," Tick said. Another factor in closing Soldier's Heart was loss of funding from the Kalliopeia Foundation, based in San Rafael, Calif., a philanthropic organization committed to ecological, cultural and spiritual renewal. They gave Soldier's Heart more than $1 million in funding over the past decade. "With so many pressing social problems, it got much harder to get funding for veterans' healing work, especially since these are invisible wounds of the soul," Tick said. Soldier's Heart had four employees and dozens of volunteers and doctoral students from local colleges and universities. "They are taking our methodology into the academic world," Tick said. The couple stressed that Soldier's Heart may be closed, but their work with veterans will go on in their private practice based at their home in Belchertown, Mass., and in leading retreats that promote spiritual healing. "The work goes on," said Tick, who plans to write more books. "My cry to the nation is to open your eyes and your hearts and take care of our warriors because if our warriors go down, we all go down." Paul Grondahl is director of the New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany and a former Times Union reporter. He can be reached at grondahlpaul@gmail.com The play "Vietgone" rattled the theater world when it premiered in 2016. Written by Vietnamese-American writer Qui Nguyen, it presented a comedy/love story about the Vietnam War from a Vietnamese perspective -- showing the experience of a war hero being forced to relocate, unwillingly, to a government camp in the U.S. Now, the largest theater company in Houston -- a city boasting one of the largest Vietnamese populations in the U.S. -- has announced it will bring the play here. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is asking federal regulators to approve a permit for a proposed liquefied natural gas export terminal at the Port of Brownsville. In an open letter made public on Tuesday, Patrick asked Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Secretary Kimberly Bose to approve the proposed Annova LNG project along the Brownsville Ship Channel. A subsidiary of Chicago power generation company Exelon, Annova LNG is seeking permission from state and federal regulators to build a $3 billion plant that would take natural gas from various shale plays around the United States and produce 6 million metric tons of LNG per year that would be exported to customers around the globe. FERC officials are not expected to make a permit decision until July. In his letter, Patrick wrote that the proposed project would create jobs and bring economic benefits. "This project is not only expected to create 700 construction jobs, equivalent to almost $325 million in direct labor income, but also expected to create 165 high-paying permanent jobs for the people of our state," Patrick wrote. Opposition: Enviros file 1,100 comments against Annova LNG project Annova LNG and two other export terminals proposed at the Port of Brownsville face stiff opposition from a coalition of environmentalists, fishermen, shrimpers and community groups working under the banner Save RGV From LNG. FERC officials released Patrick's letter hours after Save RGV From LNG delivered more than 1,100 public comments filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. In the aftermath of the partial federal government shutdown in December and January, FERC officials reopened its public comment period for the Annova LNG project through March 13. In his letter, Patrick wrote that Annova LNG has made multiple changes to the project to address concerns by environmentalists and other opponents. "After collaborating and working closely with various local and federal environmental stakeholders, Annova LNG has modified its layout to create an 185-acre environmental conservation corridor to avoid impacting over 100 acres of wetlands," Patrick wrote. "Additionally, by proposing to restore and enhance over 250 acres of wetlands and shallow water habitats, the efforts would rebuild tidal exchanges and estuarine habitats, lost when the Brownsville Ship Channel and State Highway 4 were constructed." Fuel Fix: Get daily energy news headlines in your inbox Patrick has shown support for the liquefied natural gas industry in the past. The lieutenant governor wrote a June 2016 letter to FERC in support of Texas LNG, another export terminal proposed to be built at the Port of Brownsville. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase an affordable subscription to continue accessing our content. In the darkened depths of French Polynesian waters, a panicked parrotfish shot through clumps of coral on the seafloor, frantically seeking shelter from the dozens of hungry sharks pursuing it. But a reef shark's jaws soon clamped down on the fleeing fish and a photographer was there to capture the moment, winning accolades in an international photo competition. That dramatic scene, titled "The Gauntlet," earned British photographer Richard Barnden the twin titles of Underwater Photographer of the Year 2019 and British Underwater Photographer of the Year for 2019, according to a statement on the contest website. [See the Astonishing Underwater Photography Winners] For Barnden, snapping his standout photo was an unexpectedly harrowing experience, he said in the statement. About 700 sharks typically patrol the channel mouth at Fakarava South Pass in French Polynesia where the photo was taken, and they begin to hunt when night falls, Barnden said. As he descended into the depths and saw hundreds of sharks massed along the ocean bottom, he felt his heartbeat speed up that was the moment he spotted the parrotfish "running the gauntlet" of attacking predators, he said. "In desperation, it hurtled straight towards me as I snapped a few passing shots," Barnden recalled. When the frenzied sharks careened after their prey, Barnden curled up into a protective ball; moments later, nothing remained "but a few falling parrotfish scales," he said. The annual Underwater Photographer of the Year (UPY) contest draws submissions from around the world in 13 categories. Some of this year's prizewinning images include colorful mollusks; eerie shipwrecks; a tiny octopus hitchhiking on a jellyfish; and a rarely seen gathering of sperm whales. But while many of these photos showcase the beauty of undersea life, a new category for marine-conservation images presented more sobering views of marine creatures. Loggerhead sea turtles often navigate treacherous trash when they migrate across the Atlantic Ocean. (Image credit: Copyright Eduardo Acevedo/UPY2019) An arresting image of a loggerhead sea turtle tangled in a plastic fishing net near the Canary Islands earned Spanish photographer Eduardo Acevedo the title of Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year 2019 and sent a powerful message about the impacts of human activity and pollution on ocean habitats, UPY judge Alex Mustard, a marine biologist and underwater photographer, said in a statement. Luckily for the turtle, Acevedo freed it from the net after capturing the photo, according to UPY. Originally published on Live Science. Photo: The Canadian Press First responders work the scene of a collision involving a Manhattan-bound commuter train and a vehicle in Westbury, N.Y. (Howard Schnapp/Newsday via AP) A commuter train going at full speed struck a vehicle on the tracks in Westbury, killing all three occupants in the vehicle before derailing and tearing into a concrete platform Tuesday night, according to authorities. Nassau County Police Chief Patrick Ryder said the vehicle was "trying to beat the gate" when it was struck just before 7:30 p.m. Police said the train, which was carrying about 200 passengers and headed for Manhattan, was going at "full speed" when it crashed. Several of the train's passengers were injured, police said. Local TV news helicopter video showed the train cars standing upright after the wreck, but with the forward cars off the rails. One end of the train appeared to have struck a station platform, crushing part of it. Many emergency vehicles were on the scene, including some ambulances. The doors of the train were open and firefighters and other emergency workers could be seen entering and moving through the cars. April Frazier, 31, of Brooklyn, told Newsday she was on the train going to Manhattan's Penn Station. "I was sitting on the left side and all of a sudden the train really started rocking hard. Flames flared up on my side. I heard the conductor yell 'Brake, brake!' That's when I saw the flames." Another passenger said she heard the sound of metal dragging along the concrete platform. "I knew something was wrong. We were in a panic," Kiara Jackson told Newsday. "There was a screech and then there was a thud. They told us to walk westerly and there were two small fires. Smoke was kind of coming in so they told us to just keep walking." Service has been suspended in both directions on the Ronkonkoma and Huntington/Port Jefferson branches. Into the spotlight (Image credit: Bruno Van Saen/UPY 2019) Photographer Bruno Van Saen travelled to Romblon in the Philippines in search of this tiny sea slug, the Cyerce nigra, after seeing the colorful marine invertebrate on social media. Van Saen used a Nikon D 810 camera with a 105 mm lens, lighting the scene with an underwater strobe light. Judge Alex Mustard, a marine biologist and underwater photographer, noted "this photo allow us to enjoy the visual feast" of a creature too small to appreciate with the naked eye. In the Macro category of the Underwater Photography of the Year 2019 contest, Van Saen collected a Highly Commended award. Bluebonnet (Image credit: Matthew Sullivan/UPY 2019) To capture an image of a fish called a mosshead warbonnet hiding inside a bottle, photographer Matthew Sullivan took advantage of small white barnacles that were clustered on the bottle's mouth, illuminating them with a strobe light to frame the shy fish. Judge Alex Mustard remarked that the photographer's results "cleans up a messy scene into a graphically powerful portrait." The photographer garnered a Commended award in the Macro category of the competition. Female pilot whale with dead calf (Image credit: Eduardo Acevedo/UPY 2019) Heartbreakingly, this female pilot whale in waters near the Canary Islands protected her dead calf for days, displaying an unusual behavior in the animal world. Photographer Eduardo Acevado received a Highly Commended award in the Behavior category. Final love act (Image credit: Pekka Tuuri/UPY 2019) In Lukupuro Creek in Espoo, Finland, photographer Pekka Tuuri found a location to capture river lampreys as they spawned. Tuuri obtained a Commended award in the Behavior category of the contest. Family portrait (Image credit: Mike Korostelev/UPY 2019) Off the coast of the Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, photographer Mike Korostelev searched for almost a month before finding his quarry sperm whales congregating in a group. Korostelev took home a Commended award in the Behavior category for the well-timed image. The mystery argonaut (Image credit: Songda Cai/UPY 2019) Jellyfish are sometimes known as "trains of the ocean" because of the hitchhikers they frequently carry, such as this argonaut a type of deep-sea octopus. Male argonauts often rely on jellyfish for protection from predators. Photographer Songda Cai collected a Commended award in the Behavior category of the Underwater Photography of the Year 2019 contest. Glow in the dark (Image credit: ManBD/UPY 2019) The so-called Shaun the Sheep nudibranch is well-known to divers. Photographer Man Bd lit this individual from below to achieve a unique perspective on the soft-bodied sea creature. The inventive shot captured a Runner-Up award for the photographer in the Compact category. Grass snake swimming along a garden pond (Image credit: Jack Perks/UPY 2019) Snatching a Runner Up award in the British Waters Wide Angle category, photographer Jack Perks captured a unique image of a grass snake hunting in the water of a garden pond. Beauty in the mud (Image credit: Arthur Kingdon/UPY 2019) Photographer Arthur Kingdon unexpectedly came upon a lobster guarding his manmade home. The plastic pipe, decorated with delicate sea loch anemones, also housed several brittlestars. Judge Martin Edge labeled the image "an example of 'isolation lighting' at its very best." Kingdon won the top prize in the British Waters category of the competition. Pipefish portrait (Image credit: Kirsty Andrews/UPY 2019) Camouflaging coloration offers the greater pipefish (Syngnathus acus) some protection in muddy waters. When disturbed, the serpentine creature freezes and waits for the threat to withdraw. Photographer Kirsty Andrews collected a Highly Commended award in the British Waters Macro category of the contest when this pipefish froze long enough for Andrews to take the photo. Valentine tank (Image credit: Paul Pettitt/UPY 2019) On April 28, 1944 a top-secret rehearsal in British waters for the D-Day landings went horribly wrong, sending several Valentine tanks to the bottom of Studland Bay in Dorset, in the United Kingdom. Photographer Paul Pettitt dove at the site for months to capture a photo of the ocean creatures who now call the tank their home. Pettitt garnered third place in the British Waters Living Together category of the Underwater Photography of the Year 2019 contest. A radio tuner receives radio waves and converts them to mechanical vibrations in the speaker to create sound waves that can be heard. Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation best-known for their use in communication technologies, such as television, mobile phones and radios. These devices receive radio waves and convert them to mechanical vibrations in the speaker to create sound waves. The radio-frequency spectrum is a relatively small part of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. The EM spectrum is generally divided into seven regions in order of decreasing wavelength and increasing energy and frequency, according to the University of Rochester. The common designations are radio waves, microwaves, infrared (IR), visible light, ultraviolet (UV), X-rays and gamma-rays. Radio waves have the longest wavelengths in the EM spectrum, according to NASA, ranging from about 0.04 inches (1 millimeter) to more than 62 miles (100 kilometers). They also have the lowest frequencies, from about 3,000 cycles per second, or 3 kilohertz, up to about 300 billion hertz, or 300 gigahertz. The radio spectrum is a limited resource and is often compared to farmland. Just as farmers must organize their land to achieve the best harvest regarding quantity and variety, the radio spectrum must be split among users in the most efficient way, according to the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC). In the U.S., the National Telecommunications and Information Administration within the United States Department of Commerce manages the frequency allocations along the radio spectrum. Discovery Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell, who developed a unified theory of electromagnetism in the 1870s, predicted the existence of radio waves, according to the National Library of Scotland. In 1886, Heinrich Hertz, a German physicist, applied Maxwell's theories to the production and reception of radio waves. Hertz used simple homemade tools, including an induction coil and a Leyden jar (an early type of capacitor consisting of a glass jar with foil layers both inside and out) to create electromagnetic waves. Hertz became the first person to transmit and receive controlled radio waves. The unit of frequency of an EM wave one cycle per second is called a hertz, in his honor, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Bands of radio waves The National Telecommunications and Information Administration generally divides the radio spectrum into nine bands: .tg {border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0;border-color:#ccc;} .tg td{font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;padding:10px 5px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;overflow:hidden;word-break:normal;border-color:#ccc;color:#333;background-color:#fff;} .tg th{font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;padding:10px 5px;border-style:solid;border-width:0px;overflow:hidden;word-break:normal;border-color:#ccc;color:#333;background-color:#f0f0f0;} .tg .tg-mcqj{font-weight:bold;border-color:#000000;text-align:left;vertical-align:top} .tg .tg-73oq{border-color:#000000;text-align:left;vertical-align:top} Band Frequency range Wavelength range Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) <3 kHz >100 km Very Low Frequency (VLF) 3 to 30 kHz 10 to 100 km Low Frequency (LF) 30 to 300 kHz 1 m to 10 km Medium Frequency (MF) 300 kHz to 3 MHz 100 m to 1 km High Frequency (HF) 3 to 30 MHz 10 to 100 m Very High Frequency (VHF) 30 to 300 MHz 1 to 10 m Ultra High Frequency (UHF) 300 MHz to 3 GHz 10 cm to 1 m Super High Frequency (SHF) 3 to 30 GHz 1 to 1 cm Extremely High Frequency (EHF) 30 to 300 GHz 1 mm to 1 cm Low to Medium Frequencies ELF radio waves, the lowest of all radio frequencies, have a long range and are useful in penetrating water and rock for communication with submarines and inside mines and caves. The most powerful natural source of ELF/VLF waves is lightning, according to the Stanford VLF Group. Waves produced by lightning strikes can bounce back and forth between Earth and the ionosphere (the atmosphere layer with a high concentration of ions and free electrons), according to Phys.org. These lightning disturbances can distort important radio signals traveling to satellites. LF and MF radio bands include marine and aviation radio, as well as commercial AM (amplitude modulation) radio, according to RF Page. AM radio frequency bands fall between 535 kilohertz to 1.7 megahertz, according to How Stuff Works. AM radio has a long range, particularly at night when the ionosphere is better at refracting the waves back to earth, but it is subject to interference that affects the sound quality. When a signal is partially blocked for example, by a metal-walled building such as a skyscraper the volume of the sound is reduced accordingly. Higher frequencies HF, VHF and UHF bands include FM radio, broadcast television sound, public service radio, cellphones and GPS (global positioning system). These bands typically use "frequency modulation" (FM) to encode, or impress, an audio or data signal onto the carrier wave. In frequency modulation, the amplitude (maximum extent) of the signal remains constant while the frequency is varied higher or lower at a rate and magnitude corresponding to the audio or data signal. FM results in better signal quality than AM because environmental factors do not affect the frequency the way they affect amplitude, and the receiver ignores variations in amplitude as long as the signal remains above a minimum threshold. FM radio frequencies fall between 88 megahertz and 108 megahertz, according to How Stuff Works. Shortwave radio Shortwave radio uses frequencies in the HF band, from about 1.7 megahertz to 30 megahertz, according to the National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters (NASB). Within that range, the shortwave spectrum is divided into several segments, some of which are dedicated to regular broadcasting stations, such as the Voice of America, the British Broadcasting Corp. and the Voice of Russia. Throughout the world, there are hundreds of shortwave stations, according to the NASB. Shortwave stations can be heard for thousands of miles because the signals bounce off the ionosphere, and rebound back hundreds or thousands of miles from their point of origin. Highest frequencies SHF and EHF represent the highest frequencies in the radio band and are sometimes considered to be part of the microwave band. Molecules in the air tend to absorb these frequencies, which limits their range and applications. However, their short wavelengths allow signals to be directed in narrow beams by parabolic dish antennas (satellite dish antennas). This allows for short-range high-bandwidth communications to occur between fixed locations. SHF, which is affected less by the air than EHF, is used for short-range applications such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and wireless USB (universal serial bus). SHF can work only in line-of-sight paths as the waves tend to bounce off objects like cars, boats and aircraft, according to the RF Page. And because the waves bounce off objects, SHF can also be used for radar. Astronomical sources Outer space is teeming with sources of radio waves: planets, stars, gas and dust clouds, galaxies, pulsars and even black holes. By studying these, astronomers can learn about the motion and chemical composition of these cosmic sources as well as the processes that cause these emissions. A radio telescope "sees" the sky very differently than it appears in visible light. Instead of seeing point-like stars, a radio telescope picks up distant pulsars, star-forming regions and supernova remnants. Radio telescopes can also detect quasars, which is short for quasi-stellar radio source. A quasar is an incredibly bright galactic core powered by a supermassive black hole. Quasars radiate energy broadly across the EM spectrum, but the name comes from the fact that the first quasars to be identified emit mostly radio energy. Quasars are highly energetic; some emit 1,000 times as much energy as the entire Milky Way. Radio astronomers often combine several smaller telescopes, or receiving dishes, into an array in order to make a clearer, or higher-resolution, radio image, according to the University of Vienna. For example, the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope in New Mexico consists of 27 antennas arranged in a huge "Y" pattern that's 22 miles (36 kilometers) across. Additional resources: This article was updated on Feb. 27, 2019 by Live Science contributor Traci Pedersen. JUST one year into his three-year term as Laureate for Irish Fiction, Limerick readers will get their chance to meet writer Sebastian Barry. The playwright, poet and novelist will be the special guest at an event in the University of Limerick on Thursday, March 7 where he will read from his work and will take part in a conversation about the golden age of Irish writers and readers and his role as Laureate for Irish Fiction. Fellow writer and Frank McCourt Professor of Creative Writing, Joseph OConnor, will introduce Sebastian Barry and host the conversation. Sebastian Barry was born in Dublin in 1955 and during a long writing career, his novels and plays have won numerous awards, including the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Prize, Costa Book of the Year award and the Irish Book Awards Best Novel. Two consecutive novels, A Long Long Way (2005) and The Secret Scripture (2008), were shortlisted for the MAN Booker Prize. His most recent novel Days Without End was published in 2016 and won the Costa Book of the Year Award and The Walter Scott Prize, and was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Further awards include the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize for The Steward of Christendom in 2005. He has held a number of academic posts and was named Laureate for Irish Fiction (2018-2021) by President Higgins in February 2018. The Sebastian Barry event will take place in the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at UL at 7pm. Admission is free but see here for booking. THE MONKS of Glenstal Abbey have organised a special retreat for underappreciated nursing home staff. Fr Luke MacNamara said there are 22 nursing homes listed in County Limerick on the nursinghomes.ie website and the number is growing year on year. A significant proportion of Limericks population now either works or is resident in nursing homes throughout the city and county. An even larger proportion of the population regularly visit spouses, relatives and friends in nursing homes. Indeed, our victorious senior hurlers have visited several nursing homes and brought great joy to many in the last six months, said Fr MacNamara. Despite this, the priest and monk says nursing home residents often get overlooked and the contribution of staff is often underappreciated, even by staff themselves. Excellent work is constantly being done by all staff in nursing homes to ensure that residents, despite the limitations of infirmity or old age, can lead as full a life as possible, enjoy tasty meals, sing-songs, chat and fun. Staff also provide great support to each other, particularly when one or other is busy or under pressure. Unlike hospitals where patients come and go in quick succession, residents live in nursing homes and develop over the years, great friendships with each other and with the staff, said Fr MacNamara. He says the communal stability means that nursing homes share much in common with monastic communities. They have people of various ages and various needs, who all share much of their lives together whether as residents or staff. This community dynamic has led us in Glenstal to develop a retreat for staff in nursing homes drawing from the wisdom of the Rule of Benedict and from the monastic communitys practical experience of living under the guidance of the Rule. There are of course challenges to living with ones brother monks in community, as there are in providing support to residents and in collaborating with staff colleagues. Benedict makes allowances for differing levels of human ability and adjusts his rule for those who are ill but also for those who provide for them. Benedict also fosters many communal and personal human resources that individual monks and the community can draw upon to help them to grow together in harmony, said Fr MacNamara. The retreat is entitled Caring for the Self in the Service of Others. There are multiple pressures on staff beyond and within the workplace and it is important to foster a culture of self-care and of mutual care among staff. The retreat will begin with meditation practice by Padraig McIntyre and be followed by a presentation on the Three Rs of self-care by Fr MacNamara. This will be complemented by a talk on the art of living with and caring for others by Fr Henry OShea. Small group discussions led by a number of oblates of the monastery will explore how nursing home staff might identify time and space for self-care in their lives. The one-day retreat will be held on two Saturdays - March 2 and 9 - from 9.30am to 5.30pm. To book, 30, ring 061 621005. Tell us a little about Ecostraws: Ecostraws aims to reduce the one million plastic straws used in Ireland every day by offering a full range of eco-friendly reusable and biodegradable disposable drinking straws and associated products to the domestic, retail, trade and corporate gift markets. Based in Hospital, we employ three people. What does your role entail? Myself, Anthony and Sarah are a small but hard-working team. We share all aspects of progressing the business from research and development to customer service. Although I try to concentrate on financials, logistics and exploring new revenue avenues, I love the dynamics of the fluid role. This week for example I was trying to organise shipment of a container of paper straws from China to Greece one minute, then selling a box of straws to my neighbour in Limerick Milk Market the next! Where were you born and raised? I was born and raised in Adare, before moving to Hospital when we opened Scobys Bar in 2000, and then moved onto Knockainey in 2005. All brilliant communities in their own ways. What is your educational background? I went to Adare CBS, then St. Clements College before studying engineering at DIT Bolton St. How did you get to where you are today? Anyone raised in Adare is encouraged into hospitality and I was no different, working in a number of bars and hotels, before opening Scobys Bar with my parents in Hospital in 2000. By 2015, I felt I needed a new challenge and began work in air traffic control. I am also currently working for Entry Point North in Shannon, which is the training division of the IAA, helping to train air traffic controllers. They have been very accommodating in allowing me the time to concentrate on EcoStraws. I have also been involved in a few other start-ups in between, with varying degrees of success. Why did you decide to go into business? I have always been naturally inquisitive, and love the entrepreneurial challenge. When a solution to a problem presents itself, along with opportunity, correct timing, and a good team, it is hard to ignore. What are your goals for the next 12 months? We have just appointed a national distributor so we hope to see our products across the wider retail sector over the coming months. We would also love to help Limerick Council with its European Green Leaf 2020 application. Finally, we have identified three further markets and about 20 routes into those markets, so we will try to explore all those avenues over the next 12 months. Who do you admire in business? We have lots of successful business people to champion here in Limerick. I admire the likes of the Fitzgerald family, Ralph Parkes, Mark McConnell, Richard Maguire and Colm OBrien, firstly because of their work ethic and determination to succeed, but also because they are so generous with their time. In my opinion, there is nothing more valuable than somebodys time. In business and life, are you guided by any particular motto? I recently spoke at the Shannon College of Hotel Management, and at the UL entrepreneurship summit, and one of the messages I tried to encourage was to have a go, and try and make an impact in life. In my opinion, there is nothing worse than being alive but not living. You may fail, you may succeed, but have a go and enjoy the journey. Away from work, what are your pastimes and hobbies? I have a season ticket for Limerick FC, and Celtic FC so like to get to their games as much as possible. I also volunteer regularly for Special Olympics Ireland and will join Team Ireland in Abu Dhabi for the World Games next month. Ireland West Airport are delighted to announce that Ryanair will operate a new weekly service to Tenerife every Thursday during the winter season. The largest of the seven Canary Islands, Tenerife sits in the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of North Africa and enjoys eternal sunshine one of the reasons that makes this beautiful island such a hotspot for millions of tourists every year. Five million people visit Tenerife every year making it the leading destination in the Canary Islands. Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands with an annual average temperature of 22 degrees. Tenerife is a hugely popular holiday destination and its easy to see why with dozens of great resorts to choose from. From the well-known resorts of Playa las Americas and Los Cristianos, the stunning cliffs at Los Gigantes to the pine forests in the national parkthis island has so much more to offer other than great weather. Commenting on the announcement, Joe Gilmore, Managing Director, Ireland West Airport said: "We are delighted to welcome the news that Ryanair will operate a new weekly service to Tenerife during winter 2019/20. This will be a major boost for our winter schedule and will be the second weekly winter service to the sun drenched Canary Islands, in addition to our weekly Lanzarote service with Ryanair. This will come as welcome news to our loyal customers in the West, North West and Midlands regions of Ireland providing even more choice and low fares to the Canary Islands during the winter season." Ryanairs Kenny Jacobs said: "We are pleased to launch our Irish winter schedule 2019. Irish customers and visitors can now book seats as far as March 2020 and enjoy our latest customer care improvements, so theres never been a better time to book a low fare flight with Ryanair. To celebrate, we are releasing seats for sale from just 14.99 for travel in March and April, which are available for booking until midnight Thursday (28 Feb). Since these amazing low prices will be snapped up quickly, customers should log onto www.ryanair.com and avoid missing out." The announcement is the latest in a number of positive route announcements in recent months with Ryanair set to operate a new twice weekly service to Cologne from June 1 and also adding an extra 20,000+ seats on their services to Barcelona and Bristol in 2019. These positive developments will help significantly grow passenger numbers at the airport in the coming year to close to 800,000 passengers. Read Also: Lough Bofin angler sells Leitrim to 20,000 UK tourists A woman on trial for attempted murder attacked her victim on the street with the intention of killing her, rather than robbing a handbag, according to a consultant psychiatrist. Laura Kenna (37), of no fixed abode, but who grew up in Celbridge and previously lived in Prosperous, is charged with attempting to murder Fionnuala Burke on Lower Drumcondra Road, in Dublin, on January 3, 2017 and assault causing serious harm on the same occasion. Ms Kenna has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to both counts. A jury at the Central Criminal Court has heard that the central issue in the case is Ms Kennas state of mind at the time of the attack and that there will be a conflict in the opinion of two consultant psychiatrists, for both the prosecution and the defence. Dr Stephen Monks, a consultant psychiatrist based at the Central Mental Hospital, told the jury today, Wednesday, February 26, that Ms Kenna was suffering from schizoaffective disorder, a chronic mental illness related to schizophrenia. Dr Monks told Barry White SC, for the defence, that Ms Kenna became homeless in 2013 and thereafter lived a "chaotic transient existence". In the months leading up to the alleged attempted murder, he said Ms Kenna perpetrated three violent assaults on homeless service users in Belfast, two of which were attempted eye-gouges. The jury were told that a few weeks before the alleged attempted murder, Ms Kenna attacked another woman at a LUAS stop. She told Dr Monks that the victim was supposedly saying things to her "so I stabbed her in the face with a pen. At the time of both incidents, Dr Monks said Ms Kenna did not know the nature and quality of her actions and couldn't stop what she was doing. As such, she was entitled to the special verdict of not guilty by reason insanity. It was put to Dr Monks that Professor Harry Kennedy, who will be called to give evidence for the prosecution, laid emphasis on the fact Ms Kenna was committing a robbery when she attacked Ms Burke. In response, Dr Monks said a person could commit a robbery as part of a delusional belief. They could commit a robbery for personal gain. He said he didn't believe the purpose of her "frenzied and vicious" attack on Ms Burke was a robbery. It was with the intention of killing Ms Burke in the context of delusions about death, vampires and cannibalism. Under cross examination from Anthony Salmon SC, for the prosecution, Dr Monks said he disagreed with Prof Kennedys view that Ms Kenna had appropriated a sharp knife for the purpose of a robbery. In his view, Dr Monks said Ms Kenna had a knife, not for the purpose of robbing a handbag but for the purpose of killing somebody. Prof Kennedy will give evidence tomorrow before a jury of six men and six women with Ms Justice Tara Burns presiding. It's the purr-fect escape from the daily grind for cat lovers. Victoria will host Cat Video Fest 2019 on March 15, compiling the best internet videos of feline frivolity. There will be cats on screen, and in the fur at the one-day event at the Vic Theatre, CTV News reports. "On March 15th, you can come to this one-night event and indulge in one of the most joyous activities known to man: watching cats on the screen being silly, being hilarious, and sometimes just being purely weird," said organizer Kinga Binkowska. with files from CTV Vancouver Island The Department of Housing has said that consultants are to be appointed to bring the second bridge in Celbridge to design and tender stage. Kildare North TD, Frank ORourke has welcomed the news. But at the launch of his local election campaign on February 26, Cllr Brendan Young questioned the strategy sayings that in the longer term a second bridge will just attract more traffic leading to sprawl and congestion. SEE ALSO: Kildare Barnhall Buffaloes meet Pope Francis in Vatican Deputy ORourke said Kildare County Council have received approval from the Department of Housing to appoint a consultant to bring the proposed second bridge in Celbridge from concept through to the design and tender stage. The consultants should be appointed within three months approximately. He said he a second crossing over the river Liffey in Celbridge is needed. This is a much needed piece of infrastructure and Celbridge has waited too long for it. But speaking at Celbridge Manor Hotel, Cllr Young said: I dont think a second bridge is a magic bullet. You build a new road and traffic will come to fill it. He said more public transport is needed and could be provided free nationally for 530 million. We need to stop using cars as much as we do. A public transport system would lead to a lot of saving in accident, ambulance and other costs. Cllr Young said in 15 years time the combustion engine car wont be allowed in Paris in France. He also said: The design of public housing was leading to sprawl and higher density housing is needed. Cllr ORourke said that traffic congestion in Celbridge is a major issue. We are making progress on increasing the capacity of the (current) Liffey bridge but congestion will only be substantially relieved when a second bridge is provided with the associated link roads for Celbridge. Deputy ORourke said we also need a ring road around Maynooth and the completion of the ring road in Clane. We must provide the necessary infrastructure as our towns grow. The High Court has dismissed a teacher's bid for a permanent injunction preventing the Kildare based Teaching Council of Ireland from notifying the National Vetting Bureau (NVB) of its concerns over the male teacher's relationship with a former student. In a lengthy judgment dismissing the action, Mr Justice Senan Allen said there was "abundant justification for the concern" raised following an investigation into the teacher's relationship with the male student which the Teaching Council has decided to it should notify the National Vetting Bureau (NVB). There is "not now and never has been any justification for the allegation that the teaching council's concern is not a bona fide concern," the Judge added. The NVB is the Garda unit that vets persons, in order to increase the protection of children and vulnerable persons through safer recruitment decisions. Last year the teacher secured a temporary injunction restraining the Council from making a notification under the 2012 Vetting Bureau Act and sought to make the injunction permanent. The Maynooth based council, which opposed the application, said under the 2012 Act, it is obliged to notify the bureau of its concerns arising out of an investigation into allegations and complaints of his alleged treatment of a former student of the teachers. The proposed notification arose out of the Council's investigation into the teacher following complaints of his conduct towards one of his male students, who was 19 years of age at the relevant time. The allegations related to incidents that occurred in November 2016. They including allegations that the teacher allowed the student consume alcohol while the student was alone with him, and that the teacher was under the influence of alcohol to the degree he was incapable of discharging his duties. In November 2016 the student was found by Gardai in a distressed state on a motorway. Gardai brought the student back to the school he attended. At the school, the Gardai said the student became more distressed when approached by the teacher. The student told Gardai and the school's principal he had spent the evening drinking with the teacher and that the teacher had tried to remove his tracksuit bottoms, and became angry when the student refused to let the teacher do this. Following the argument with the teacher, the student said he left the school and had tried to get to Dublin Airport so he could go home. The student also reported that he had previously smoked something other than cigarettes with the teacher. The Gardai's assessment of what the student said was that no offence appeared to have been disclosed. It is also alleged the teacher sent the student messages requesting the student to retract the information he provided to the school principal and the Gardai in circumstances when the principal expressly said not to contact the student. Following the inquiry, the Council concluded that the public interest was served by requesting the teacher not to repeat the conduct. The teacher gave such undertakings and apologised for any distress caused. The Council did not proceed with allegations of sexual impropriety by the male teacher, which are denied, towards the student. In his High Court action, the teacher claimed that arising out of the investigation the Teaching Council wanted to send a notification concerning the teacher to the NVB was flawed. The teacher, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, claimed the Teaching Council's decision to send a notification breached his rights, was an attack on his right to earn a living and damaged his good name. The Council was not entitled to send the notification on grounds including that the student at the centre of the allegations was 19 years of age and not a child at the relevant time. The Teaching Council, which regulates teaching standards in Ireland, opposed the injunction application. It claimed it had been presented with allegations encompassing sexual assault, providing drugs and alcohol to students, predatory behaviour and emotional abuse. The Council said it was perfectly entitled to form a view that this material triggered its obligation to notify the NVB. In his judgement, Mr Justice Allen rejected the teacher's arguments. He said there was no delay by the council when it decided it had a concern. The teacher the judge said invoked his right to his professional reputation. The Judge added that the teacher "appears to be rather less solicitous" of the same right of the council's staff. The judge also said it was "impossible and impermissible to suggest the council set out to destroy the teacher's reputation without regard for the truth and in disregard of its duty." The Judge said there was "never the merest scintilla of justification for the teacher's allegation that there had been misfeasance by the council." The contents of the 2012 Act impacts on constitutional and legal rights. The potential impact he said arises from the disclosure of information and not from the gathering of facts, he said. Rules had been put in place to ensure information gathered by the NVB will not be disclosed except in cases where there is a genuine concern that the subject of the information may harm a child or vulnerable person. When the notification is made about the teacher the Judge said he will have all the safeguards contained in the 2012 Act. Another 22 refugee families from wartorn Syria are to be resettled in Laois, however councillors want their housing costs met by the EU. Laois County Council CEO John Mulholland has stated that Laois has been allocated 110 people, 22 families, to arrive in autumn as part of Ireland's agreement to accept 4,000 people unde rthe UNHCR Resettlement and EU Relocation Programmes. "The allocation to Laois comprises 22 families which will require the delivery by the council of seven 2 bed units, eleven 3 bed units and four 4 bed units throughout the county. The supply of 22 homes will be part of our Rebuilding Ireland delivery targets for 2019". Mr Mulholland said in his monthly report to the February meeting. In 2015 Laois welcomed 13 families of over 50 men, women and children who were welcomed and settled in to the community. Mr Mulholland explained the details of the new arrivals. The families concerned are in difficult circumstances, leaving wartorn home and floods. They will be vetted by the Gardai over the spring and summer. Then they will come to Ireland to an orientation centre in Waterford or Wexford, where they will be given some skills and and idea of what to expect. They will come to Laois in October, he said. Cllr Aidan Mullins asked who will pay for the housing. I support the refugee programme but is the expenditure from the council's budget or is it separate money from the EU, he asked. Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley agreed. I have no issue with us stepping up to the plate and doing our bit for people from bad situations, but I am concerned that houses are being provided from our own council stocks. We have our own people waiting, some since 2013. If we're not getting funding, why not? Every GP in Portlaoise has closed waiting lists, she said. Cllr Noel Tuohy said he was concerned at the phrase our own people but said he did not believe there was a racist bone in any councillor. We're not looking for our people to have special treatment, just treated the same. If you need to house refugees it should come from central funding, he said. Cllr John Joe Fennelly agreed. "I support the refugee programme but I also support that we should look for extra funding from the department," he said. The CEO Mr Mulholland said that the refugees have to be prioritised the same as Laois people are on the list. He said their homes will be a mix of direct build, leasing, approved housing bodies or the HAP rental system. Housing officer Michael Rainey said that funding of 250k is provided to help the families settle in, for interpreters and support workers. If we do as good a job as last time, when people volunteered to help, it will be very good, said Cllr Willie Aird. Almost 60 sheep were attacked or frightened and three were killed by dogs who were not controlled properly in Laois, the Laois Dog Pound has reported. The Laois Dog Pound Shelter said in a statement on social media that two dogs were killed as a result of the attack in the Clonard, Kilbricken, Mountrath area. "58 sheep attacked/worried and three sheep were killed by dogs not kept under effectual (proper) control and rambling in the Clonard, Kilbricken, Mountrath area. "One dog was shot by the farmer and reported to Gardai and the other dog was followed back to its home and the owner had this dog euthanized by vet." The dog pound has urged people to have dog licences available for inspection and advised that the dog warden is patrolling a 10 km radius of the area where the sheep were killed. The Irish Farmers Association National Sheep Chairman Sean Dennehy issued a strong warning to all dog owners over 'savage' sheep attacks during lambing. Dog owners can be held responsible for any losses involved in dog attacks on sheep, with serious financial and legal consequences. Farmers have a right to protect their sheep flock and can shoot a dog worrying, or about to worry their flock. In recent weeks we have reports of attacks from all over the country. In county Louth alone, we have reports of 42 sheep killed in the last 2 months," he said. Statistics collated by IFA indicate that the problem of dog attacks on sheep may be in the order of 300 to 400 attacks per annum, with 3,000 to 4,000 sheep injured and killed. Data on dog attacks gathered by the IFA show an average of 11 sheep killed or injured per attack. Unfortunately, I am taking calls on a frequent basis from sheep farmers around the country who have suffered attacks. There are far too many dog owners not taking the responsibility that goes with owning a pet. Dog owners have an obligation to have their dog under control at all times," he said. He reminded all dog owners, including farmers, that it is a legal requirement that they microchip and register their dogs. Sean Dennehy also called on the Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed to re-run the TV advertising campaign on responsible dog ownership from the 1980s. He said the TV ad was an excellent reminder to warn dog owners about the dangers of letting their pet out at night and the serious damage they could do to a sheep flock. The key message was Keep your dog under control. Running free he can be a killer. Agreement has finally been reached for a likely multi-million redevelopment of the Laois Offaly Garda HQ in Portlaoise which will necessitate the building of a new facility for Irish Army in the town. The Office of Public Works, which manages all State-owned properties, has invited tenders from companies to bid for the mechanical and electrical consultancy services contract. The project will involve an extensive refurbishment, redevelopment and alteration of Portlaoise Garda Station and the construction of a new facility for the Irish Defence Forces. The Gardai and Army share the existing facility on the Abbeyleix Road in the town centre but the age of the building present issue for members of both parties and members of the public who require the services of the gardai. Tender documents confirm that extensive work on the Garda Station will involve demolition and rebuilding work. As the existing two storey main garda block is a protected structure it will be retained. However, extensive refurbishment work will be carried out within the historic limestone building. A new three storey garda office block will be added as an extension to the building requiring the demolition of some existing structures. The Defence Forces use a hall in a site to the rear of the Garda Station. As part of the redevelopment, this entire property will form part of the new Garda facility. The army hall and garda portacabins will be demolished to be replaced by a new build three storey standalone garda office block. As for timescale, the documents say the anticipated start date should be as soon as possible. Both garda and army projects will be carried out in tandem and the envisaged timescale from preliminary work to handover is five years. It estimated that construction work alone on the Garda Station will take just under three years. The Station will remain operational at all times. The documents do not outline in detail plans for the Army facility. However, a site to the rear of the IDA Business Park near the Mountrath Road has been identified. A 'realistic assumption' section of the tender documents cautions that funding has not been approved and would have to be allocated under the OPW's capital budget. As to how much taxpayer's money will be needed for the project, the OPW says a preliminary estimated construction cost is not available. The main building that houses the Laois Offaly HQ is a former military barracks built in the early 1800s. Thousands of people have driven through the Warren County village of Columbia, even if they didnt know it. Interstate 80 runs through the Knowlton Township community, connecting New Jersey Routes 94 and 46. The toll bridge across the Delaware River there recorded 7,700 crossings a day in 2017; the I-80 toll bridge about 4 miles upriver handled more than 52,000 a day. That's a lot of roads to keep clear in the winter. Which means a lot of road salt. Too much, it seems. A state environmental survey of residential wells started in 2015 and determined a year later that road salt was the source of sodium levels five times higher than the allowed standard. That created problems for residents, not to mention their water heaters, according to a report Sunday in the New Jersey Herald that provided an update on the situation. The Herald report said sources of the salt were identified as the townships salt shed, and road and parking lot clearing by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, Warren County, the township and an I-80 truck stop. The Herald reported that some residents retained an attorney and filed tort claims against the government agencies last year, a precursor to a possible lawsuit. Representatives for NJDOT and the bridge commission either could not be reached or declined comment to both lehighvalleylive.com and The Herald, citing pending litigation. However, some action is being taken. The Herald reported Knowlton Township has completed a $168,000 rebuild of its salt shed, and is working with the county and NJDOT to better coordinate road-salting and prevent redundancy. Mayor Adele Starrs also told the newspaper that the township has established a committee to help find solutions for homeowners. Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveNovakLVL and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. In his testimony Wednesday before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Michael Cohen called President Donald Trump a con man, a cheat and a racist. The presidents former personal attorney spoke about paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels. He said he was asked to lie by Trump about the Trump Tower Moscow project. He testified that he knew of Roger Stones alleged dealings with WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. He said he regularly worked as a fixer, trying to intimidate those critical of Trump, including those who threatened to release his high school records. Trump ran for president out of self-interest, not because he had the nations welfare at heart, and never expected to win the 2016 GOP primary, Cohen said in the live, televised session. Republicans sought to discredit Cohen, asking whether he is appearing before Congress to lessen his three-year prison sentence for lying to Congress and other crimes, or to secure a book deal. They wanted to know why he and his lawyers consulted with the chairmen of House committees before his voluntary testimony. The recurring question: Why should anyone believe Cohen, a convicted felon, after he lied previously to Congress? What do you think? Is Michael Cohen believable? Have a say in our informal, unscientific poll, and feel free to elaborate in the comment section. harrisburg The Pennsylvania Capitol Building in Harrisburg. The Pennsylvania Five Year Economic and Budget Outlook published by the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office paints a daunting future. Those touting property tax elimination as a way to reverse this trend have long cited demographic and budget imbalance information in the report. The report projects these demographic changes from 2017 to 2025. The population from age 0 to 19 will decline by 0.5 percent. The 20 to 64 group will decline by 0.4 percent. The 65-to-79 group will increase by 3.0 percent; the 80-and-over segment will increase by 1.5 percent By 2025 deaths will outnumber births in our state. Thus, population growth will lean heavily on international migration. The report projects structural state budget imbalances averaging $1.6 billion through fiscal year 2024-25. How will the shortfall be funded? One can deduce that a declining working age population coupled with an increasing retired age population results in less income tax revenue. This is contributing to the structural budget imbalance. One can reason that retirement income will be on the block for a new source of revenue. The structural imbalance could have been prevented had action be taken years ago. Smart business policy like the property tax shifts in Senate Bill 76 and soon-to-be-issued House Bill 13 would immediately increase the attractiveness for business location and expansion as cited by the Pennsylvania IFO in their analysis of SB76. This is step one to keeping our youth here in Pennsylvania, by creating employment opportunity. Removing property taxes from homes is the second step, making homes affordable and Pennsylvania a desirable place to raise a family. Taxing retirement income may be collateral damage to resolving our structural imbalance. Robert Kistler Palmerton The mother and daughter charged with murder in the deaths of their five family members, including three children, had been talking about demons and recently isolated themselves, according to a relative. Shana Selena Decree, 45, and Dominique Klaran Decree, 19, were arrested after a wellness check at their Morrisville, Pennsylvania, apartment Monday led to the discovery of the bodies of two adults and three children piled in a bedroom, authorities said. Two of the victims are Shana Decrees children, NaaIrah Smith, 25, and Damon Decree Jr., 13, both of Morrisville. The others are Shana Decrees sister Jamilla Campbell, 42, of Trenton, and Campbells 9-year-old twin daughters, Imani and Erika Allen, police said. Shana and Dominique Decree told police that the whole family had discussed suicide and wanted to die, according to court documents. The mother and daughter were reportedly found in some sort of medical distress and had to be hospitalized before their arrest, authorities said. Walidah Campbell, sister to Shana Decree and Jamilla Campbell, told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday that Decree had been talking about demons and acting strange, which made the extended family very worried. They isolated themselves, Walidah said by phone from Georgia, where she lives. She said others relatives went to the apartment to check on them, but no one would come to the door. Walidah Campbell tried to get through to her sisters on the phone, but no one would answer, she said. She said she did not know what prompted the talk about demons, but Shana Decrees ex-husband and the father of her two children told 6ABC.com in Philadelphia that his ex-wife and daughter had become caught up in some religious cult they found online. He told 6ABC.com his ex-wife had been talking of demons for about a month, and he called a child welfare agency because he was concerned for the children. Jamilla Campbell, left, and Naa'Irah Smith, right, are two of the five people found dead in a Morrisville, Pa., apartment Monday afternoon. (Facebook) A Children and Youth services representatives from Bucks County was called to the home to do a welfare check Monday around 4 p.m. When no one came to the door, a maintenance worker went inside and called police, court documents show. The child services worker said the apartment appeared normal during a visit just three weeks earlier, the affidavit said. On Monday, police found Shana and Dominique Decree and her daughter disoriented in bed and found overturned furniture, shards of broken glass and clutter littering the apartment, court documents show. When police arrived to investigate, they found the bodies in a bedroom down the hall. Shana and Dominique Decree initially blamed the killings on someone else, but later described the massacre as an attempted murder-suicide, according to court documents. Shana Decree told police that the family members had talked about suicide and were desperate to die, so she killed one of the children, and then her sister, Campbell, killed another, and then killed Smith, authorities said. Then Shana and Dominique Decree killed another child, and Dominique Decree killed Campbell, authorities said. But police said Dominique Decree gave a different version. She said her mother killed two of the children and Smith, before Campbell strangled the third child, police said. Dominique Decree said she then strangled Campbell herself, police said. The mother and daughter each face five counts of criminal homicide and one count of conspiracy to commit criminal homicide, according to the Bucks County District Attorneys Office. Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Photo: RCMP A man being sought by Penticton RCMP did time in prison for the swarming death of a 14-year-old boy in Surrey 11 years ago. Police in Penticton offered few details of Cody Pelletiers criminal past when they announced he was wanted for numerous property-related offences Monday. Pelletier was 20 years old when he participated in the Feb. 25, 2008 fatal attack on Justin Vasey, a lonely developmentally-delayed 14 year old that fell into the wrong crowd, according to the Surrey Now Leader. Vasey was beaten and stabbed to death by the drunken group he was hanging out with outside an abandoned home. He was a lamb among wolves, IHIT spokesman Cpl. Dale Carr told the Leader. Pelletier and three others were sentenced in 2009 after pleading guilty to manslaughter. The Province newspaper reports Pelletier was released in 2014 after two prior statutory releases were revoked by the Parole Board of Canada due to drug use and his stay behind bars was extended by six months for trying to stab a prison guard. Court records show he started interacting with Penticton police in 2017 for a variety of mischief and firearm charges. Anyone that knows of Pelletier's whereabouts should call 911. Three months after being sworn-in, Congressman Susan Wild is presiding over the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon, her office announced. Wild, a Democrat representing Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District covering Lehigh and Northampton counties, is scheduled to manage the House floor during "special order" beginning around 2:30 or 3 p.m. A live stream can be found here. Wild, of South Whitehall Township, is presiding as speaker pro tempore, or temporary speaker. She was sworn-in to the House last Nov. 27, to finish the unexpired 15th District term of former U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, a Republican, who resigned. Wild was then sworn-in to her two-year 7th District term on Jan. 3. She was selected to fill in for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., after the days scheduled votes wrap up. There can be an array of activities during "special order," Wild spokeswoman Zoe Wilson-Meyer said. One thing that we know will be happening is a commemoration of Black History Month, Wilson-Meyer said, adding by email: While Rep. Wild is presiding, members on the floor will be giving one-minute speeches on whatever they please (so while some could be commemorating Black History Month, it is certainly not limited to this) -- it will vary from member to member. Wild will be in charge of managing comments on the floor, including letting representatives know when to start and yield. She was expected to serve as speaker pro tempore for an hour. Wild's role comes amid a series of unusual goings-on in the House. On Tuesday, the House took an extraordinary vote to block President Donald Trump's emergency declaration, a measure intended get him billions of extra dollars to build his wall along the Mexico border. Passage by the GOP-led Senate seems possible next month; at least four Republican senators may back the Democrats' resolution. But, Trump said he will veto the move, and Congress seems unlikely to amass the two-thirds majorities needed to override the veto. Wild voted to overturn the emergency declaration, saying it "sets a dangerous precedent." Congress granted the President power to reallocate funds during unforeseen and urgent situations, like wars and natural disasters," she said in a statement. "The situation at the southern border simply does not meet this criteria." Then on Wednesday, the president's former attorney Michael Cohen testified before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Cohen is set to begin a three-year prison sentence in May after pleading guilty to lying to Congress in 2017 and committing campaign finance violations while he was working for Trump. Cohen called the president a liar and a racist, and said he has "suspicions" about whether Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. Republicans on the committee highlighted Cohen's own lies, and Trump's adult sons took to Twitter to ridicule Cohen as a disgruntled ex-employee out to try and save himself. The president himself is in Hanoi, Vietnam, for a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately). He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crookeds lawyer! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2019 The Associated Press contributed to this report. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Bethlehem City Councilman Michael G. Colon announced he is running for a second four-year term on council. The Democrat said if re-elected he would work to grow Bethlehems economy, support small business and listen to feedback from all corners of Bethlehem. Serving the citizens of Bethlehem has been a rewarding and humbling honor since I took office in 2016. An honor I value as one of the highest forms of service to the community, Colon, who lives in West Bethlehem, said in a statement released this week. The next three months Ill continue to be out in the community, in our neighborhoods answering what questions I can for the citizens of Bethlehem while asking for another four years as their representative on council. There are three four-year seats and one two-year seat up for grabs in this years Bethlehem City Council race. Incumbent Shawn Martell is not seeking reelection to his four-year seat. Colon chairs councils public safety committee and is a former 911 emergency dispatcher. Hes used that unique perspective and insight to provide oversight and feedback as Bethlehem merges its 911 center with the Northampton County center, he said. Moving ahead I also look forward to using the public safety committee to continue following how Bethlehem is handling the on-going opioid epidemic which sadly no community is immune from, Colon said in his statement. Colon currently works as an admissions counselor for the countys Gracedale Nursing Home. Hes volunteered with Marvine Elementary School, Historic Bethlehem Museum and Sites, Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley and the Downtown Bethlehem Association. In his next term, Colon pledged to work with all of council to keep moving Bethlehem in the right direction. In recent years Bethlehem has seen a steady decrease in serious crimes, three recent bond rating increases, and numerous initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life for our residents, Colon said. I love calling Bethlehem my hometown and want to continue making it an ideal place for families and business for years to come. The 2019 primary race for city council is proving to be a crowded field. In addition to Colon, incumbent Democrats Councilman J. William Reynolds and Councilwoman Dr. Paige Van Wirt are seeking four-year seats. Van Wirt was appointed to fill then-Councilman Eric Evans seat until the next election when Evans resigned to become city business administration. Shes opted to run for a four-year seat rather than the two-year unexpired term. Democrats Grace Crampsie, a school counselor, and businessman Will Carpenter have announced theyre vying for the two-year seat. Democrats Carol Chamberlain Ritter, a small business consultant, and retired Bethlehem firefighter David Saltzer are running for the four-year seat. Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. - The results of the just concluded National assembly elections for Bayelsa has been announced by INEC - The commission in its declaration said APC took one Senate and two House of Representatives seats - Also, PDP won the Bayelsa central senatorial district election The People Democratic Party (PDP) won two Senate seats and two Federal House of Representatives seats, while All Progressives Congress (APC) took one Senate and two House of Representatives seats in Saturdays National Assembly polls in Bayelsa. Results published by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) show that Douye Diri of PDP won the Bayelsa central senatorial district election. Professor Teddy Adias, INEC Returning Officer for the district, who announced the result on Wednesday in Yenagoa, said that Diri polled 83, 978 votes to defeat Festus Daumiebi of APC, who got 70, 998 votes. Adias said that a total of 163, 587 votes were cast in the election, with 155, 874 being valid votes and 7,713 votes rejected. In his reaction, Diri, the member, representing Yenagoa/Kolokuma/Opokuma Federal Constituency, said his victory belonged to the people. READ ALSO: Follow Live updates: INEC begins official declaration of presidential election results The victory is for my people and from my track record, I am going to continue the good work for the people, he said. In the Bayelsa west senatorial district poll, Lawrence Ewrudjiakpo of PDP defeated Capt. Mathew Karimo of APC. In Bayelsa east, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremenyo of APC emerged senator-elect. Preye Oseke of APC also emerged winner to represent the people of southern Ijaw federal constituency. Oseke polled 56, 804 votes to beat the speaker of Bayelsa House of Assembly, Konbowei Benson, who got 34, 105 votes. Professor Steve Azaiki, of PDP is now member elect in the federal House of Representatives, Yenagoa/Kolokuma/Opokuma federal constituency, while Fred Agbedi was elected as a member of the Federal House of Representatives for Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency. PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news update The Ogbise federal constituency result has yet to be announced. The Commission had declared Isreal Igoli APC as the winner of Brass/Nembe federal constituency election. Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the Bayelsa chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, February 25, denied allegation by Governor Seriake Dickson that the party colluded with the military during Saturdays polls to cause violence. Doifie Buokoribo, the state publicity secretary of APC, disclosed this in Yenagoa, adding that the allegation was to blackmail the party. The party said that it was regrettable that Dickson was raising a false alarm about violence during the presidential and National Assembly elections. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! 6 things that may happen on Election Day - on Legit TV Source: Legit - Army has accused Governor Nyesom Wike of an attempt to compromise INEC officers - The deputy director, Army public relations, Col. Aminu Iliyasu, said Wike attempted to induce its officers financially during the Saturday, February 23, elections - But Wike in his reactions, said the state government had written to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute the Army for alleged crimes against humanity The 6 Division of the Nigerian Army has alleged that the governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, attempted to induce its officers financially during the Saturday, February 23, presidential and National Assembly polls. Channels TV reports that during a press briefing in Port Harcourt, on Tuesday, February 26, which was televised live on national television, the Army played an audio purported to be Governor Wikes voice allegedly trying to compromise the officers. Legit.ng gathered that the deputy director, Army public relations, Col. Aminu Iliyasu, also claimed that some people who were paraded before the public at the briefing were arrested for their alleged involvement in election malpractice. READ ALSO: President Buharis full victory speech after his declaration by INEC But the suspects who included some officials of the state government denied the allegations and faulted the Army for parading them as criminals before the public. Governor Wike has also denied the allegation of financial inducement by the 6 Division spokesperson, describing it as baseless. It was gathered that the INEC electoral officer of Ikwerre local government area, Mary Imawuya, said that the military personnel did not allow the ad hoc staff to carry out collation in their wards. She said: Between 7pm and 8pm on Saturday, February 23, 2019, the military invaded INEC office at Isiokpo and they walked out every ad hoc staff that were there to present their results to the collation officers. The evidence is still there. We took recordings. READ ALSO: PDP urges Nigerians to remain peaceful after election defeat Also speaking, INEC electoral officer for Emohua local government area, Kenneth Etah, blamed the disruption of the collation process in the area on the shootings by the military. As I speak, I do not have any results to present for Emohua Local Government Area because collation did not take place, he said. Sent on:9:35 pm. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that Nyesom Wike, the Rivers state governor, said that the state government had written to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Jamil Sarhem, for alleged crimes against humanity. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better #Elections2019: INEC announces election results #2 - on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit - Adamawa speaker, Kabiru Mijinyawa, has hailed the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari - Mijinyawa said the victory of the president is a victory for democracy - President Buhari defeated other 72 challengers, including PDP's Atiku, polling 15,191,847 votes Alhaji Kabiru Mijinyawa, the speaker of Adamawa House of Assembly, has described the re-election of President Buhari as sign of significant development in Nigerias democracy. Mijinyawas reaction followed the declaration of Buhari as winner of the February 23 presidential election by chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Wednesday, February 27, in Abuja. Buhari was declared re-elected having polled 15,191,847 votes, winning in 19 states, to defeat other 72 candidates including Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who scored 11, 255,978 votes and won 17 states and the FCT, to occupy the second position. READ ALSO: President Buharis full victory speech after his declaration by INEC The Adamawa speaker said Buharis reelection was the true reflection of the wish of majority of Nigerians. He added that: "The reelection of President Muhammadu Buhari did not come to me as a surprise, considering the remarkable achievements so far recorded in his first tenure in various human endeavours, especially in the fight against Boko Haram, corruption and infrastructure development." Mijinyawa noted that majority of people who voted for Buhari were masses who felt the impact of change and development. He said that the victory could also be a sign of APCs victory in the governorship and State Assembly elections on March 9 and urged the electorate in the state to come out en masse and vote for the partys candidates. PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news update Mijinyawa expressed appreciation and thanked the people of the state for the peaceful conduct of the elections. Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that hundreds of jubilant youths took to the streets of Maiduguri, the Borno capital, to celebrate the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 23 presidential election. The youths on Wednesday, February 27, defied the prevailing curfew in the metropolis and trooped to the streets, beating drums and singing party solidarity songs to celebrate the victory of Buhari in the election. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! Elections2019: INEC announces election results #2 on Legit.ng TV Source: Legit - Leaders from all over the world are calling President Muhammadu Buhari to congratulate him on his re-election - Buhari has received congratulatory messages from the presidents of Ghana, Niger and Senegal - According to the presidents, Buhari's re-election was a demonstration of the confidence Nigerians had in him Presidents of Ghana, Niger and Senegal have called President Buhari to congratulate him few minutes after the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the 2019 presidential election result. In a statement signed by the special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, the presidents said his re-election was a demonstration of the confidence Nigerians had in him. READ ALSO: President Buharis full victory speech after his declaration by INEC The statement reads: "Minutes after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him winner of the 2019 elections, three Presidents from the West African sub-region sent congratulatory messages to President Muhammadu Buhari. "They are President Nana Koffi-Addo of Ghana, Mahamadou issoufou of Niger, and Macky Sall of Senegal, who himself just won re-election for a second term. "The Presidents felicitated with President Buhari, saying his re-election was a demonstration of the confidence Nigerians had in him, and wishing him greater exploits." PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app Legit.ng earlier reported that INEC officially declared President Buhari of the All Progressives Congress as the winner of the 2019 presidential election, defeating Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party with over three million votes. Mahmood Yakubu said the duty of the INEC is to conclude and collate the presidential result for final declaration. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! 2019 Election: Nigerians reveal what Buhari did to them| Legit TV Source: Legit - Media personality Toke Makinwa has been sprinkling all manner of spices on Instagram lately - One of her posts however captured the attention of a troll who accused of photo-shopping her photos - Toke clapped back at the troll and lectured them on minding their business Gone are the days celebrities will ignore every troll that troubles them on social media. As they swallow up the love they get on the gram, they also subconsciously have to subscribe to the hate they get as well. The latest troll attacker is Toke Makinwa who has millions of followers on Instagram and thousands of likes and comments but cannot stand one troll who might not adore her. In a recent photo, the media personality flaunted her expensive figure and had a troll accuse of her photo-shopping the photo because of the heavy weight plastered on her back. Obviously angered by the comment, Makinwa lectured the troll on minding their business. READ ALSO: Nigerian big boy Escoba Smith shows off his fleet of expensive cars An Instagram user identified as Bolancola2 had it for the ivory celeb and decided to attack her verbally for looking fly on the gram. An angered Toke then responds, advicing that the troll to face their life. PAY ATTENTION: Get your daily relationship tips and advice on Africa Love Aid group Read the exchange below: Toke Makinwa claps back at a follower who accused her of photoshopping Source: Instagram Meanwhile, many Nigerian celebrities including Toke Makinwa came out to perform their civic duty on February 23. However, Makinwa had something to say following the reports of electoral violence in many polling units scattered across the nation. Expressing her disapproval of the illegal activities surrounding the elections, Makinwa stated that rather than get involved in these acts, it is better for one to lose with dignity like in the case of former president, Goodluck Jonathan. Did you know? NAIJ.com (naija.ng) is now-> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better. PAY ATTENTION: Read best news on Nigeria's #1 news app Nigeria Celebrities: How Much Do They Spend On Luxury Life? on Legit TV: Source: Legit.ng News The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has been urged to stop the announcement of the presidential election results. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) made the call in a press conference addressed by deputy director-general of the PDP presidential campaign organisation, Kabiru Turaki, alongside other party officials on Tuesday, February 26. PDP said the demand was based on available evidence to the effect that data from the card readers are being reconfigured to suit the manipulations, rigging and over-voting already carried out during the election in some states by the All Progressives Congress (APC). LIVE UPDATES: Day 2: Buhari continues to lead as results of more states are released The statement read in full: The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) demands, in line with the commitment to a transparent, free and fair election, an immediate halt to the on-going collation of results by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), until data from the smart card reader accreditation at the polling units are made available to all the parties in the election. The PDP predicates its demand on available evidence to the effect that data from the card readers are being reconfigured to suit the manipulations, rigging and over-voting already carried out during the election in some states by the All Progressives Congress (APC). Already the PDP national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, has communicated this position of our party to the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu. We have evidence from the smart card reader accreditation data that what is being announced by INEC has been seriously tampered with and manipulated. In the meantime, we demand the immediate and outright cancellation of Presidential election results in Yobe, Zamfara, Nasarawa and Borno states as submitted by INEC presiding officers and ask for the conduct of fresh elections in these states. In Yobe, the total number of votes submitted as cast was more than the number of accredited voters. Whereas the number of accredited voters was 601, 056, the total votes cast was 775, 449. This is a clear case of over-voting which, by the provisions of the Electoral Act, renders the election null and void. In such instance, the law provides for another election on a day to be fixed by INEC. In Zamfara state, no actual voting took place and there was no single result sheet in any polling unit in the entire state. There was an arrest in Shinkafi Local Government, where an APC member was caught thump-printing ballot papers inside his house. Results from the presiding officer from Zamfara were concocted and allocated according to the wishes of the leadership of the APC and INEC. PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news update The PDP therefore demands the outright deletion of the results from Zamfara from INEC records and a conduct of free, fair and credible Presidential election in Zamfara state. Also in Borno state, there was no election but a figure writing exercise and allocation of results according to the whims and caprices of the APC leaders. We also demand the outright deletion of the results from Borno from INEC records and a conduct of free, fair and credible Presidential election in Borno state. In Nasarawa, the PDP demands the immediate restoration of our over 157,000 lawful and valid votes which were unlawfully and arbitrarily cancelled by INEC and the announcement of the actual results from the field. Similarly, the PDP demands an immediate restoration of our over 79, 000 valid votes which were unlawfully cancelled by INEC in Kogi state and the announcement of the authentic results inclusive of the restored 79,000 votes In the FCT, the PDP demands the restoration of 27,000 valid votes unlawfully and arbitrarily cancelled by INEC and a declaration of the authentic result, inclusive of our restored 27,000 votes. The PDP had earlier rejected the results of last Saturdays presidential and National Assembly elections being announced by the INEC. Legit.ng gathered that the PDP national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, who is currently addressing a press conference in Abuja, described the figures being announced by INEC as incorrect and totally unacceptable. 2019 Election: Nigerians reveal what Buhari did to them| Legit TV Source: Legit.ng Nigerian big boy Escobar Smith has many internet users talking after showing off his fleet of expensive cars on social media. The self-made millionaire, who has gained over 200,000 followers on Instagram had his followers hooked upon the latest release of photos of his toys. Having worked really hard to be where he is, the businessman also preached success and he showed off his impressive fleet of cars which all had one colour, showing his love for black. Smith is always happy to show off his luxurious lifestyle and even has friends like famous Lagos club owner, Pretty Mike, who has been reported to be a multi-millionaire as well. Indeed, beds of the same feather, flock together. In his latest post, Escobar showed off his range of expensive cars ranging from Porsche to Range Rover to fancy SUVs. He also told the world a thing about success. Clearly, having material possession is a high form of success and achievement. READ ALSO: Actor Saidi Balogun celebrates President Buhari win already, fans curse him See photos below: PAY ATTENTION: Get your daily relationship tips and advice on Africa Love Aid group Meanwhile, self-made business man Lak Siras N59.5m Lamborghini recently went up in flames. The 22-year-old revealed that incident happened just an hour after he picked it up from service. Sira reportedly smelled petrol and was forced to pull over before he heard a loud bang and watched his car get burnt. Did you know? NAIJ.com (naija.ng) is now-> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better. PAY ATTENTION: Read best news on Nigeria's #1 news app Nigeria Celebrities: How Much Do They Spend On Luxury Life? on Legit TV: Source: Legit - There have been rumours of Lassa outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja - However, the federal government, in a statement on Monday, February 25, asked Nigerians to disregard the reports - The head of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Chikwe Ihekweazu, referred to the rumours as untrue and baseless - Moreover, Ihekweazu released these toll-free lines: 0800 9700 0010, or via WhatsApp: +234708 711 0839 in case there is information on the disease The federal government on Monday, February 25, urged Nigerians to disregard Whatsapp and Twitter messages making the rounds about suspected Lassa fever cases in the Asokoro district Hospital of Abuja. This was made known in a statement signed by the chief executive officer, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Chikwe Ihekweazu, in Abuja, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda Ihekweazu who referred to the rumour as untrue and baseless, stressed that there had been no confirmed Lassa fever cases in the FCT since February 2019. He added that contrary to the message being circulated, no death had been recorded from Lassa fever in the FCT recently. He said that the disease normally first appears like malaria, but the chances of survival could be high when reported early. All cases of fever must be tested for malaria using appropriate diagnostic tools like the rapid diagnostic kit (RDT). If the result is negative and other common causes of fever are ruled out, healthcare workers are advised to suspect Lassa fever, he said. The NCDC urged FCT residents to stay alert for Lassa fever, know the symptoms and report immediately to a health facility when symptoms were observed. PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News Anywhere 24/7. Spend less on the Internet! Ihekweazu, however, urged Nigerians to report any information on Lassa fever via NCDC toll-free line: 0800 9700 0010, or via WhatsApp: +234708 711 0839. Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the Congress of the Coalition of Health Sector Unions (COHESU), Kwara branch, had suspended its indefinite strike due to the outbreak of Lassa fever, Yellow fever and Polio in some parts of the state. This was contained in a statement jointly signed by Joseph Adekanye, chairman of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) and Murtala Olayinka, chairman of Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) in Ilorin on Thursday, January 24. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! Monkeypox has no known cure, Nigerians should be careful - Doctor warns | Legit TV Source: Legit Photo: US Navy The U.S. Navy's most technologically advanced destroyer will sail into Victoria next month. The futuristic-looking USS Zumwalt, a guided-missile destroyer, will dock at CFB Esquimalt in mid-March, CTV News confirmed with Royal Canadian Navy Maritime Forces Pacific. The Zumwalt has an angular, stealth design and state-of-the-art electric drive system. It was commissioned in 2016 and is based out of San Diego. with files from CTV Vancouver Island Front-page City OKs bike share ordinance Emmanuelle Contributed photo Gragert Beaton Strobel File photo Weld In hopes of signaling the city is ready and open for bike-share services, Eau Claire established rules for companies that might seek to place bicycles for rent out in public spaces. The City Council voted 9-0 Tuesday evening to create ordinances for dockless bicycle sharing, which is seen in other large cities where people can use smartphones to find and rent bicycles owned by private companies. Councilwoman Catherine Emmanuelle has been interested in seeing bike share services come to Eau Claire for years, citing the health, accessibility and fun factor they would bring to the city. If more people were riding bikes, wed have fewer cars to worry about, she said, noting that vehicle parking often is a major consideration for projects in the city. While shes not anti-car, Emmanuelle said, Eau Claire would see benefits from people riding bicycles or taking public transit more often. Bicycles can be put out for rent from March through November, according to the ordinance that also created a license and fees for vendors that want to do business in Eau Claire. Services would be required to rent two bike parking sites from the city and companies must have a brick-and-mortar location in Eau Claire where bikes will be repaired. One part of the bike share ordinance that did not get approved wouldve also limited where anybody can lock up their personal bikes around Eau Claire. As originally proposed, the new ordinance wouldve specified that locking bikes to trees, streetlights, signposts and public art would be prohibited. Councilman Jeremy Gragert, a bike enthusiast, said there are not enough bike racks and corrals downtown and in other popular areas where people ride. Were just not ready for that because we dont have the bike parking there yet, he said. Councilman David Strobel, a downtown businessman, contended that limits on bike parking would protect the street trees, decorative light posts, benches and other fixtures that businesses helped pay for. I think its fair to leave that language in to protect our investments down there, he said. Strobel added that more bicycle racks will soon be coming to Haymarket Landing and other popular downtown destinations. However, the council voted 7-2 to not impose limits on what bikes can be locked to as the majority contended there arent enough racks or corrals currently. We cant restrict without having another solution, Councilwoman Kate Beaton said. Tax exemption denied The City Council decided that a 200-bed off-campus student housing building owned by a branch of the UW-Eau Claire Foundation should not be exempt from property taxes. The council voted 8-1 Tuesday to deny Blugold Real Estates request for tax exemption for Aspenson-Mogensen Hall, 222 Water St. Emmanuelle cast the lone dissenting vote, seeking a delay so the city could work out an agreement with the nonprofit instead of legal proceedings. I think we could use some more time, and a better solution is out there, she said. However, her colleagues sided with the citys attorney, who advised that Blugold Real Estates claim be denied. Councilman Terry Weld said that despite the vote, the city can still work out a fair and equitable agreement with both parties. The city received about $223,000 in taxes last year from the student apartments valued at $11.15 million at Aspenson-Mogensen Hall. Other business Also during the councils Tuesday evening meeting: Summer road projects for two main streets that link North Hastings Way to north side neighborhoods and businesses were approved in 9-0 votes. Sections of Melby Street and Eddy Lane, just west of North Hastings Way, will be rebuilt by the city while Union Pacific improves safety of the railroad crossings there. State Department of Natural Resources grants will provide $90,000 toward two projects planned this summer in Eau Claire. The grants will partially pay for a downtown recreational trail connecting Haymarket Plaza to Lake Street and replacing a dilapidated outdoor staircase in Carson Park. Beekeepers will have an easier time applying for permits to keep honeybee hives in their backyards. Instead of getting approval from 80 percent of their neighbors, beekeepers will now be allowed to get permits unless more than 40 percent of nearby homeowners object or one has a documented allergy to bees. Beekeepers will not be allowed to place hives in several community parks. That had been proposed in October, but was removed from the final proposal to change beekeeping ordinances that the council approved Tuesday in a 9-0 vote. Photo: Google Street View Orchard Park Bay store in Kelowna. Alison Coville, the president of iconic retailer Hudson's Bay, is stepping down. Hudson's Bay Co., its Toronto-based parent company which also owns Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord and Taylor stores, did not give a reason for Coville's departure. A release from HBC says Coville's exit will be effective Mar. 1 and that the company will be led by key executives until a permanent successor is found. Coville joined HBC in 1999 as a divisional merchandise manager, but eventually rose through the ranks to land the president position in June 2017. Coville also oversaw household goods brand Home Outfitters, which will be shuttering its 37 Home Outfitters stores this year. The company previously said the closure will help it reduce costs, simplify its business and improve overall profitability. Vatican City, February 27 - Pope Francis on Wednesday urged the abolition of the death penalty worldwide Francis sent a video message to the "World Congress Against the Death Penalty" organized by the association, "Together against the Death Penalty" ( ECPM) that is holding a meeting in Brussels, from February 26 to March 1. The pontiff called on rulers and all those who have the responsibility in their countries to take the necessary steps towards the total abolition of the death penalty ECPM acts to fight against the death penalty around the world. The association promotes the universal abolition through the creation and dissemination of publications and teaching tools, as part of public campaigns and lobbies governments at both national and international levels. The pope also said that we should offer those condemned to death the possibility to change their lives. Rome, February 27 - Rosetta Stame, the daughter of Ardeatine massacre victim and partisan fighter Ugo, passed away on Wednesday. She was the head of the Families of Italian Martyrs of Freedom Association and, as the Democratic Party (PD) noted in a statement of condolence, "every year she read off the names of the victims of the Ardeatine massacre as part of a message addressed to the head of state, in the memorial in which the massacre is commemorated". The massacre at the Ardeatine Caves outside Rome on March 24, 1944 was an act of revenge perpetrated by German occupying forces, who killed 335 Italians in retaliation for a partisan attack in Rome the previous day against German SS police forces. Brussels, February 27 - Italy still has "excessive" economic imbalances, the European Commission said in its Country Report on Italy Wednesday. In particular, "the high (public) debt and protracted scant productivity imply risks with a transnational significance, in a context of high levels of NPLs and unemployment," the report said. "The debt will not fall in the next few years, given that weak macro prospects and the current government budget plans, albeit less expansive than before, imply a deterioration in the primary surplus". The Commission said that "the 2019 budget includes measures that overturn elements of important reforms done previously, in particular on pensions, and does not include effective measures to boost the growth potential". It said "despite some progress in mending banks' balance sheets, reforms of bankruptcy law and active policies on the labour market, the impetus of reforms has been amply stalled in 2018". The Commission said that "higher rates with respect to the levels of the start of 2018 are affecting banks' funding costs and capital buffers, weighing on the supply of credit to the economy and GDP growth". It said "the stock of non-performing loans (NPLs) has continued to fall significantly, but keeping up the pace of reduction in NPLs will be challenging given the conditions of the market". Presenting the report, Vice President for the Euro Valdis Dombrovskis said "we remain concerned that debt is not falling because of the government's weak economic plans, and in general the impetus of reforms has stopped". He said "The Commission remains vigilant and will closely monitor the Italian situation" to make a Spring assessment based above all on "the level of ambition of the national reform programme". The Italian situation is "concerning" and the EC's message is "well-known and strong: it must improve its public finances, the efficiency of the public administration and the judicial system, and reinforce the financial system," Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said. He said "the urgency is still more felt given the weakening of the Italian economy which, I remind you, is growing by 0.2%". The Commission will see if the government's new basic income for the poor and job seekers is "sustainable" for the public finances, Employment Commissioner Marianne Thyssen said. The EC will also gauge its impact on employment, given the weakness of employment policies, she said. The basic income is one of two flagship policies in the 2019 budget. The other is the 'quota 100' pension reform. Deputy Premier and Labour and Industry Minister Luigi Di Maio on Wednesday contradicted the EC's concerns that the 2019 budget is stifling growth. "I don't think that our measures are blocking growth," he said. He said government measures "serve to emerge from a state of crisis in which the European Union finds itself". Economy Minister Giovanni Tria suggested it was not the EC's remit to judge individual measures like the basic income and the quota 100 pension reform. Premier Giuseppe Conte said that the EU's country report on Italy "contains growth forecasts that underestimate the impact of the economic measures which we have launched and which will have effects in the months to come". Conte said on the EU's negative assessment of Italian budget moves that "the choices of economic policy may be various. We are convinced about our recipe and we will be proved right and we are convinced that we must avoid the mistake of recessive policies when the economic cycle is not favourable". Conte said on a growth decree announced Tuesday by Deputy Premier Di Maio that "we are focused on legal provisions, it is my subject, I'm also a jurist. But I'm fully aware that the technical-political-legal aspect is fundamental but the perspective must not be missed: the government has a fierce determination to work, it doesn't settle for adopting measures". Turin, February 27 - A meeting in Brussels Wednesday between the Turin-Lyon high-speed rail (TAV) line promoter TELT and the EU funding body INEA had a "positive outcome", sources said. The meeting mapped out upcoming activities and the two sides saw completely eye to eye, sources said. The plan, which would allow the project to keep the 813-million-euro funding, is linked to the publication of tenders by the end of March. Milan, February 27 - A 63-year-old man killed by the father of the granddaughter he had allegedly abused at Rozzano near Milan may have been lured from his new home in Naples, sources said Wednesday. The victim had been transferred to the southern Italian city after an investigation started into the alleged abuse of his granddaughter. Sources said Wednesday he had been accused of abusing the girl for about two years, from 2016 to 2018, when he was a guest at his daughter's house, especially during holiday periods. The girl was then aged between six and eight. The man was killed by his former son-in-law, who has since divorced his wife, along with an accomplice on Monday. The two men who carried out the hit turned themselves in on Tuesday. Emanuele Spavone, 35, the father of the girl, said he shot Antonio Crisanti four times while Achille Mauriello, 27, rode the scooter they used to approach their target near a supermarket, sources said. After they were charged with Crisanti's murder, they told the police that he had allegedly sexually abused his young granddaughter. The Milan prosecutor's office said Crisanti was under investigation for abusing his granddaughter, Spavone's daughter. The girl recently told prosecutors about the abuse, sources said. Rozzano lies south of Milan. Rome, February 27 - Former House justice committee chair Giulia Sarti should be expelled from the 5-Star Movement (M5S) after allegedly lying about where her statutory party fund reimbursement to micro-credit firms ended up, M5S leader Luigi Di Maio said Wednesday. "I think (her) expulsion is inevitable," he said. Sarti, the former M5S spokesperson, claimed the cash was stolen from her by her former boyfriend. Sarti on Tuesday suspended herself from the anti-establishment group after Rimini prosecutors rejected a suit against her former boyfriend for the alleged robbery. The prosecutors said Sarti, who also quit as chair of the House justice committee, was not the victim of misappropriation of the reimbursements by Andrea Tibusche Bogdan, an IT consultant of Romanian origin. Bogdan is reportedly mulling legal action, sources said. Rome, February 27 - The government's 'decretone' (big decree) containing a slew of economic measures passed from the House to the Senate on Wednesday. The omnibus package was passed by 149 votes to 110 with four abstentions. The decretone contains enacting measures on the government's flagship basic income and 'quota 100' pension reform. Rome, February 27 - Former House justice committee chair Giulia Sarti should be expelled from the 5-Star Movement (M5S) after allegedly lying about where her statutory party fund reimbursement to micro-credit firms ended up, M5S leader Luigi Di Maio said Wednesday. "I think (her) expulsion is inevitable," he said. Sarti, the former M5S spokesperson, claimed the cash was stolen from her by her former boyfriend. Sarti on Tuesday suspended herself from the anti-establishment group after Rimini prosecutors rejected a suit against her former boyfriend for the alleged robbery. The prosecutors said Sarti, who also quit as chair of the House justice committee, was not the victim of misappropriation of the reimbursements by Andrea Tibusche Bogdan, an IT consultant of Romanian origin. Milan, February 27 - Italian police on Wednesday arrested 15 people in various regions in connection with a Milan toxic waste fire last October. The 15 are suspected of illegal waste trafficking and falsely ascribing assets, among other things, police said. The waste dump blaze at the IPB warehouse spewed foul-smelling fumes over Milan for almost a week in mid-October. Vercelli, February 27 - Italian police on Wednesday arrested seven people in connection with suspected bribes for authorising fairground rides across Italy without the necessary safety checks. Some 30 people have already been placed under investigation in the probe, police said. Among those involved are functionaries and administrators of several northern Italian towns and cities, police said. The probe, codenamed Luna Park, stems from an accident involving a 13-year-old girl on a ride at Legnano near Milan in November 2017. Photo: Twitter Serena Ryder will perform in a free, outdoor concert this summer at Sun Peaks Resort. The six-time Juno Award winner will perform July 27. Ryder's accomplishments include the 2014 Songwriter and Artist of the Year Junos, while her single Stompa reached four-times platinum in Canada and spent eight weeks at No.1 at AAA radio in the U.S. "We are excited to welcome Serena Ryder to Sun Peaks this July," said Tourism Sun Peaks CEO Arlene Schieven. "Our open-air venue and mountain backdrop will provide the perfect setting for this not-to-be missed free concert. Rome, February 27 - The 5-Star Movement (M5S) "weighs two thirds" of the government while its partner the League "weighs one third", M5S leader Luigi Di Maio said Wednesday. Deputy Premier and Labour and Industry Minister Di Maio reiterated that "my role will last four years". He added that the M5S and the League "have always worked well together" since they teamed up following last year's inconclusive general election. Vercelli, February 27 - Italian police on Wednesday arrested seven people in connection with suspected bribes for authorising fairground rides across Italy without the necessary safety checks. Some 30 people have already been placed under investigation in the probe, police said. Among those involved are functionaries and administrators of several northern Italian towns and cities, police said. We are at that point in the investigation where we feel an increase in the reward can help generate information that will lead to arrests and convictions. Detectives are hopeful witnesses may be more amenable to providing information with the passage of time, Hopkins said. Multiple people were involved, so someone with information is out there. We really just want to bring closure to this case and bring justice to the family. While President Roger Casey said he hopes faculty will stay at the college to see through the graduation of students in the programs, unless there is some guarantee of job security after that, its unlikely professors will stay where they dont feel like they are part of the long-term vision, especially if there is opportunity elsewhere. Thats unfortunate and a painful reality of these types of business-driven decisions. We are hopeful that affected faculty will be able to find opportunities where they can continue to be successful sharing their knowledge with young minds. An effort to pass a different version of the line item veto was The Expedited Legislative Line-Item Veto and Rescissions Act of 2011. This act allowed the president to recommend to Congress individual lines of funding to delete from a budget bill. The act gives Congress 45 days to approve or disapprove of the presidents recommendations, preserving the right of Congress, not the president, to decide. This act, in particular, it seems, will be used in court against Trump's efforts to take money from one congressionally approved project and move the funding to border wall construction. The act clearly allows the president to recommend changes, however, as supported repeatedly by the courts, only Congress has the authority to change congressionally approved funding. A trooper spoke to a woman who said she was contacted by McDevitt that day and asked to pick him up after he wrecked the vehicle he was driving. She met him in the parking lot of the senior center where she said she observed him to be under the influence of controlled dangerous substances. They began to argue and she said she would call the police, she told troopers, according to the statement. MISSOULA- While snow continues to make travel treacherous in Western Montana, Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) snowplows are staying busy in the roads. For Montana residents looking to travel, MDT's road condition map and snowplow cameras provide useful information. The plow cams capture images of road conditions in real time. They're uploaded, unedited, to the MDT road conditions map for the public to view. The 12 plow cameras are located near mountain passes and critical areas of operation across the state. The cameras capture images of the roadways every half mile. "These images that we are showing on our map from the plow cameras show both ambient temperature and the roadway surface temperature. So they can see if its freezing or about to freeze or what may be going on at the actual location where that image was taken, said Montana Department of Transportation Communications Bureau Chief, Steve Killer. For more road conditions and weather information click here. HELENA A bill generating controversy about the future of the Colstrip power plant had its second Senate committee hearing Tuesday. Senate Bill 278 essentially does two things. First, it curbs the Public Service Commissions ability to regulate NorthWestern Energys rates, leaving electricity customers on the hook for at least some of the utilitys costs even if the plant closes early. Second, it allows NorthWestern to acquire additional ownership of the coal-fired plant for no more than $1. The bill sailed through its first hearing in the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee on Feb. 21. The Senate referred the bill to the Finance and Claims Committee on Feb. 25, and the committee held a second hearing on the bill Tuesday, which drew only one supporter and several opponents. To me, the heart of the bill is [the second] section. What were talking about is getting generation for a dollar, said the bills sponsor, Sen. Tom Richmond, R-Billings. Environmental and consumer advocates disagree. Anne Hedges, the lead lobbyist with the Montana Environmental Information Center, called the second section a bait and switch. This bill is about section 1 and NorthWestern Energys existing ownership of that facility, Hedges said. That first section states that for any owner or joint owner of a coal plant in Montana, electricity rates must include the full recovery of the owners investment in the generating station, including a return on the amount invested. It also says that if a plant closes earlier than expected, the utility is allowed to include its costs and investments in electricity customers rates for up to 30 years. Normally, the Public Service Commission approves or denies ratepayer increases for monopoly utilities like NorthWestern. The commission also weighs whether certain investments are warranted and whether the utility can pass on those costs to customers. As written, Hedges said, SB 278 could potentially allow NorthWestern to spend millions on unnecessary equipment. She pointed to the $7.5 billion Mississippi Kemper coal plant as an example. Costs ballooned there, in part, due to unsuccessful carbon sequestration technology. The plant abandoned the project in 2017 and the utilitys shareholders had to swallow most of the costs. Under SB 278, a similar snafu would mean those costs are required to be passed on to NorthWestern Energys 350,000 customers, including the state of Montana, without the regular utility practice of having the Public Service Commission determine whether those investments are in the customers best interest, Hedges said. That is folly. Bob Gilbert, a lobbyist for the city of Colstrip and the only person who spoke in favor of the bill, said he didnt read SB 278 as allowing NorthWestern to bypass the PSCs oversight. But if indeed the Public Service Commission has no say over their utility rates, may I remind you that in the state of Montana, there are a great number of utilities that provide service to electrical customers without the PSCs blessing, so to speak, he said. Thats our co-ops. Numerous small cooperatives provide electricity in Montana, especially in rural areas. Unlike NorthWestern, however, those providers are owned by their customers and governed by boards elected by ratepayers. Monopoly utilities such as NorthWestern are beholden to stockholders and regulated by the PSC. Gilbert implied that regulatory oversight isnt always needed for monopoly utilities. Good businesspeople succeed whether theyre regulated or not, he said. So regulation is not necessarily a thing you have to have, be it telephone companies, be it electrical, be it trucking. The Colstrip plant is currently co-owned by multiple utility providers. Some of its largest owners, headquartered in Oregon and Washington, have taken steps to divest themselves of the Colstrip plant as they move toward renewable energy sources. The Colstrip plant has four generating units co-owned by six companies. Units 1 and 2 must shut down by 2022 as a result of litigation by environmental groups. NorthWestern Energy currently owns 30 percent of Unit 4, a share that generates about 222 megawatts. The utility projects that Unit 4 will be operational until 2042. NorthWestern is the only plant owner that provides power to Montanans. While few details have emerged about NorthWesterns plans for the plant should SB 278 pass, Richmond said at the hearing that the utility is interested in purchasing about 150 additional megawatts. The Senate Finance and Claims Committee adjourned without voting on the bill. Any trip to a grocery store, Target or Walmart will confirm that Easter is quickly approaching, and here in Carroll County, that means PEEPshow! If you want to enter a marshmallow masterpiece into the exhibit, you can register online until March 15, plan out and prepare your confectionery creation. If you are more of a spectator than and exhibitor, mark your calendar for April 12-23. The 12th Annual PEEPshow will be open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day during that period, with extended hours until 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Join us for all the fun you have come to expect, including the PEEP-Mobile, PEEPs mascots, PEEPs candy, and new this year PEEPs slushies! Come vote for your favorites! Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 26) President Rodrigo Duterte and United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are expected to meet Thursday night, Malacanang said Tuesday. "Any subject matter that is mutually beneficial to both countries will be discussed. Or any matter for the secretary will raised," Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said. The Mutual Defense Treaty may be discussed, among other concerns of both the Philippines and the United States. "Mutual concerns like security, like terrorism," Pompeo explained. Pompeo is in the Philippines from February 28 to March 1, where he will also meet with Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro "Teddyboy" Locsin Jr. The U.S. State secretary's visit also comes as the Philippines and U.S. are set to discuss possible changes in the MDT, a nearly 68-year-old agreement that states the Philippines and the U.S. would assist each other when either of them is attacked by a foreign force. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Southeast Asia Joseph Felter is also slated to visit the country to discuss possible changes in the treaty. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana earlier raised concerns over "ambiguities" in the treaty, and the possibility of clarifying provisions in the accord to cover the U.S. role in the South China Sea dispute. CNN's Anderson Cooper speaks to veteran anchor Jorge Ramos, who was one of six Univision staffers briefly detained at the presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela. An Ammon man has been arrested after police say he threatened to shoot another man with a crossbow and lit a fire on the outside of a house. Award winners from the Carteret County Chamber of Commerces Crystal Ball stand with their awards. From left is Millie Chalk, Mary Cheatham King, Debbie Fisher, Cindy Bunch, Lori Tulloch, Frank Rush and Chairman John Hagle. (Chamber of Commerce photo) By every objective measure, the Annapolis Police Departments community policing and engagement is an outstanding part of its fundamental mission of maintaining public safety and investigating crime. For such a small and otherwise busy department, APD provides extraordinary levels of foot patrol where, in ways simply not possible through vehicular patrol, police officers learn the names and needs of the people they protect. EUGENE, OR (KPTV) - A train that was stuck in Lane County for about a day and a half was moving again Tuesday on its way back to Seattle. However, the train encountered another issue in Portland. Officials said the Amtrak Coast Starlight Train 11, which was traveling from Seattle to Los Angeles, hit a tree that had fallen across the tracks in Oakridge at around 6:20 p.m. Sunday. None of the crew members or 183 passengers were hurt, according to Amtrak. The passengers and crew members were stuck on the track in Oakridge for 37 hours. Amtrak and Union Pacific decided to keep the passengers on the train because of road closures and severe weather conditions that made it nearly impossible for them to use alternate transportation. The storm also knocked out power in Oakridge. Passengers told FOX 12 that food and water was provided, but they were worried about running out. They were also worried about running out of some personal hygiene items and diapers. Despite all that, John Gray told FOX 12 that he and others are OK. "I've personally been on the train for probably 36 plus hour right now. After last night, but there are some people who have been on just a touch longer from Seattle," said Gray on Tuesday morning. Amtrak and Union Pacific crews worked to clear the tracks and hook up a new engine to get the train moving again. At around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Amtrak said the train began moving back north towards Eugene. Due to the weather conditions, additional delays were expected along the route. Amtrak officials said donuts, coffee, food and toiletries were provided at the station in Eugene. Once the train was serviced in Eugene, it then went on to Portland. .@RedCrossCasc setting out food and water for the arriving Coast Starlight Train 11 passengers expected here at the Eugene @Amtrak station pic.twitter.com/bexNXUZBui Audrey Weil (@audreytweil) February 26, 2019 Unfortunately for the weary travelers, a fire on the railroad bridge in north Portland blocked train traffic Tuesday. Investigators believe the fire started by railroad crews working on the line using acetylene torches. Nobody was hurt, but some rail ties burned and crews had to physically inspect the line to make sure it was safe. Railroad crews from BNSF worked to reopen the bridge by 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. In the meantime, passengers arriving on the Amtrak train that had been stranded in Lane County were temporarily stuck again in Portland. "My husband and younger son flew home, and I volunteered that we would take the train home for an adventure, not realizing what an adventure it would be," said Jen Carlson upon arriving in Portland. Amtrak said passengers' needs for further travel and accommodations would be addressed on a case-by-case basis. "Right now I feel good that I'm off the train. I don't even care that it's cold outside, just outside is good," said John Gray of Denver, after arriving in Portland. "It was fine, but it was very boring," said 10-year-old Henrik Lilot about the experience. Amtrak Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Scot Naparstek released a statement Tuesday, saying: "We sincerely regret the extended delay customers on the southbound Coast Starlight experienced due to extreme weather issues while traveling with Amtrak. With more than a foot of heavy snow and numerous trees blocking the track, we made every decision in the best interest of the safety of our customers during the unfortunate sequence of events. With local power outages and blocked roads, it was decided the safest place for our customers was to remain on the train where we were able to provide food, heat, electricity and toilets. Amtrak crews worked with local resources and the train is now enroute north to Eugene, Oregon. We will be contacting customers to provide refunds and other compensation as appropriate." Trains between Portland and Eugene have been suspended potentially until Saturday due to track closures because of severe weather conditions. Amtrak said they "regret any inconvenience" and will "waive additional charges for customers looking to change their reservation during the modified schedule." Those changes can be made by calling 800-USA-RAIL. Copyright 2019 KPTV-KPDX Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved. A local doctor is giving her co-worker another chance at life. Once Dr. Melanie Altizer found out her friend at Lee Health, Marianne McGiffin needed a kidney transplant she went and got tested to be a donor. While they are not proposing changing the criteria used to judge schools, they told the board it could change the number of points a school needs to earn a certain star rating. In one scenario, schools would have to earn more points to be awarded four or five stars. In another, more schools would earn a three-star rating. Im hoping that this a start, that this is not a one year, one-time thing because we are behind, Kleiderlein said about the budget. Im thrilled at the idea of (board members) asking for that many additional school counselors and Im really hoping thats something that stays in the budget as it makes its way through the groups that need to see it. Be nice if Spike Lee could read his notes, or better yet not have to use notes at all, when doing his racist hit on your President, who has done more for African Americans (Criminal Justice Reform, Lowest Unemployment numbers in History, Tax Cuts,etc.) than almost any other Pres! New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft yells to fans during their victory parade through downtown Boston, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, to celebrate their win over the Los Angeles Rams in Sunday's NFL Super Bowl 53 football game in Atlanta. The Patriots have won six Super Bowl championships. 3 Aldermen call for recall of Krewson over support for Better Together plan The bill, as revised by the House Economic Matters Committee, falls short of what unions and other advocates for workers hoped for because it would increase the wage more slowly than the original legislation would have and because it would allow restaurants to continue to pay tipped workers, such as servers and bartenders, a wage as low as $3.63 an hour. Jasper, TX (75951) Today Scattered clouds with the possibility of an isolated thunderstorm developing this afternoon. High 89F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Some clouds. Low 72F. Winds light and variable. Mike Hosking writes: The Capital Gains Tax train wreck is all the evidence you need this is a Government that didnt have a plan. Why are we here? Because theyd tried this before, got burned twice and still didnt learn the lesson. Jacinda Ardern personally overrode her party and ran this policy last election to be enacted by now. But she got dragged kicking and screaming into a cupboard and was subdued to the point where she acquiesced, and promised nothing before 2020, then flick it off to a working group. The working group was specifically tasked with finding a way to make a CGT work, they couldnt. They told the Government they couldnt, they were then told to go away and try harder. All the while the Government stalled, pretending they hadnt made up their mind. Theyre still stalling, pretending they havent made up their mind and in that is the naivety, theyre taking their issue, and making a complete and utter hash of it. The Prime Minister, at her post-Cabinet press conference, lectured the media on how to cover this subject, and offered up an olive branch to small businesses and farmers that theyll be at the top of her mind. The PM claims she knows small business because she once ran a NGO, which is of course a non-profit organisation. Rather different. Also her CV doesnt list any NGO she managed except of course when she was President of the International Union of Socialist Youth. So her reassurance to business owners is she has them top of mind as she once ran the global socialist youth NGO. So reassuring. If youre taking farms and businesses out, you open the Pandoras Box of the fast burgeoning industry that is tax avoidance. Not to mention the fact the more you exempt, the less you actually raise. And the less you raise, the more questions are asked about the cost of compliance and chasing the returns. The compliance costs are huge. Experts in this area say it will definitely be in the billions of dollars. not just hundreds of millions. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn More Reddit Pinterest Print Tumblr LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The leader of a pro-Brexit faction in British Prime Minister Theresa Mays Conservative Party on Wednesday scaled back his opposition to her deal for leaving the European Union ahead of a vote on the agreement next month. Jacob Rees-Mogg said he would no longer insist that the so-called Northern Irish backstop be removed as a condition for his support and other legal ways might ensure it was not permanent. "I can live with the de facto removal of the backstop ... I mean that if there is a clear date that says the backstop ends, and that is in the text of the treaty or equivalent of the text of the treaty," Rees-Mogg told BBC radio. With parliament divided on how to proceed on Brexit, Rees-Mogg's European Research Group (ERG) of anti-EU lawmakers in the Conservative Party is key to the outcome of Brexit. The ERG played a big part in the historic defeat suffered by May when she put her Brexit plan to parliament last month. But the group must now decide whether to back a revised version of the plan or risk a delay to Brexit and the possibility of a second referendum after the main opposition Labour Party this week backed a public vote. May on Tuesday paved the way for a delay to Brexit until June from its planned date of March 29 if she loses the latest vote on her divorce deal next month. Rees-Mogg said the time limit he wants for the backstop should be "a short date, not a long date, then that would remove the backstop in the lifetime of parliament." IRISH BORDER The backstop is an insurance policy which aims to avoid the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland. It has become the main point of contention in exit talks, which have reached an impasse with just 30 days until Britain leaves the bloc. London wants the backstop to be provisional rather than permanent, while the EU resists any suggestion it could expire. Rees-Mogg told Sky News he thought an extension of the formal two-year Brexit negotiation period was likely after May opened the possibility of a delay until June. That move by May appeared to have averted a clash with Remainers in her party when amendments to her plan are due to be put to parliament later on Wednesday. But EU countries would have to approve an extension to the former Article 50 process for a country leaving the bloc and ministers from France and Germany said they wanted to know what a delay would achieve. "For us it is important that something substantially new would be put on the table to justify a delay. Then we would all have to vote on it," Germany's European Affairs Minister Michael Roth said. "No one wants to punish the Britons, if we can achieve something with a delay, we would be the last ones to stand in the way," he said. France's finance minister said he would not see the need to grant an extension if Britain cannot state clearly what it intends to do with the extra time. "If there is no clarity on the purpose of that extension, I don't see the necessity of that extension, so it is up to the British government to explain to us if they are asking for an extension," Bruno Le Maire said. (Additional reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary in Edinburgh, Madeline Chambers in Berlin and Padraic Halpin in Dublin Editing by William Schomberg and Janet Lawrence) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will need to maintain the threat of imposing tariffs on Chinese goods for years even if Washington and Beijing strike a deal to end a costly trade war, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told lawmakers on Wednesday. The United States and China still have hard work ahead to secure a pact not only to end the dispute, but to ensure any agreements are met, the top U.S. trade negotiator told the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday at a hearing on U.S.-China issues. In his first public comments since President Donald Trump delayed a deadline to more than double tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods, Lighthizer detailed a long road ahead to overhaul trade dealings between the worlds two biggest economies. The reality is this is a challenge that will go on for a long, long time, Lighthizer said. He earlier said he is not foolish enough to believe that a single negotiation will change the increasingly sour bilateral trade relationship. Lighthizer defended the Trump administrations use of tariffs, saying they are the only tool to push China to make the major structural changes that he, Trump and many of the lawmakers themselves are seeking. If there is disagreement at my level, the U.S. would expect to act proportionately but unilaterally. The continued threat of tariffs would be disappointing news for industry and investors exposed to China and hoping for an end to the uncertainty and disruption caused by the trade war. Lighthizers words on Wednesday appeared to curb market hopes a deal is imminent, with major U.S. stock indexes dipping into negative territory [.N] Global equity markets rose after Trump earlier this week delayed the March 1 deadline to raise tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent and said he may soon meet with Chinas President Xi Jinping to finalize a deal. Lighthizers comments that a deal is not imminent were enough to cause the markets to sell off, said Michael Antonelli, a managing director at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee. MOST SEVERE CHALLENGE The issues that the United States faces with China are too serious to be resolved by promises to purchase more U.S. goods and structural change by China is needed, said Lighthizer, describing a long-term effort for securing the key changes the United States is seeking from China. China has offered to purchase an additional $1.2 trillion of U.S. products over six years, people familiar with the talks have said, which would be welcome relief to farmers and businesses hit hard by Beijings retaliatory tariffs. But lawmakers have urged the Trump administration not to allow potential big-ticket purchases to distract him from pursuing an end to what the United States alleges are unfair trade practices. China represents the most severe challenge ever faced by U.S. trade policy makers and congressional support has been critical in persuading China to take Washingtons concerns more seriously, Lighthizer said on Wednesday. The United States has accused Beijing of forcing U.S. companies doing business in China to share their technology with local partners and hand over intellectual property secrets. China denies it engages in such practices. Trump administration officials also object to non-tariff barriers in China, including industrial subsidies, regulations, business licensing procedures, product standards reviews and other practices that they say keep U.S. goods out of China or give an unfair advantage to domestic firms. Lighthizer on Wednesday said that while some progress has been made in the talks, the United States needs to be able to take unilateral action to enforce any agreement. I dont believe this is going to solve all the problems between the United States and China, Lighthizer said. Were going to be back here and working our way through problems, always with one eye toward the future. The United States is seeking monthly meetings for lower-level officials, quarterly meetings for vice ministers and semiannual meetings at the ministerial level for the enforcement process, Lighthizer said. He also said the United States is seeking to prevent China from competitive devaluation of its currency as part of the talks. SUBSTANTIAL PURCHASES While lawmakers from major agricultural states broadly shared their support for a deal that addresses these core issues, they sounded the alarm about the impact of tariffs. U.S. farmers have been among the hardest hit by retaliation from China, the top market for many of their products. Lighthizer said Trumps team is pushing China to promise to make substantial new purchases of U.S. products, including soybeans, corn, ethanol and cotton. The purchase plan is designed to secure future demand as well, he said. Our hope is if you increase those agriculture sales, you would create new customers and results that go out years and years and years and years, Lighthizer said. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Wednesday that U.S. farm debt has risen rapidly to levels seen in the 1980s at $409 billion, from $385 billion last year, with loan demand remaining historically high. Farm debt has been rising more rapidly over the last five years, increasing by 30 percent since 2013 up from $315 billion to $409 billion, according to USDA data, and up from $385 billion in just the last year to levels seen in the 1980s, he said in Congressional testimony. He added that the debt-to-asset ratio among U.S. farmers has remained relatively low thanks to firm prices for agricultural real estate. GENEVA (Reuters) - Venezuelas foreign minister said on Wednesday that the United States was trying to overthrow the government of Nicolas Maduro and suggested talks with U.S. President Donald Trump - an idea the Trump administration immediately rejected. Jorge Arreaza, addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council, suggested that Maduro and Trump meet to try to find common ground and explain their differences. He also said his country had lost $30 billion in assets confiscated since November 2017 under sanctions. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence ruled out prospects of talks. The only thing to discuss with Maduro at this point is the time and date for his departure, Pence said on Twitter. For democracy to return and for Venezuela to rebuild - Maduro must go, Pence said. Dozens of diplomats, mainly from Latin American countries, walked out as Arreaza began to speak, while some European ambassadors boycotted the speech. The United States and dozens of other nations have recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuelas legitimate president, but Maduro still controls the military, state institutions and oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, which provides 90 percent of the countrys export revenue. Maduro also stands ready for dialogue with the Venezuelan opposition, Arreaza said. There is an attempt by external powers to overthrow an elected government, this goes against all rules of international law, Arreaza said. ILLEGAL PILLAGE The United States targeted Venezuelas government with new sanctions on Monday and called on allies to freeze the assets of state-owned PDVSA after deadly violence blocked humanitarian aid from reaching the country over the weekend. The blockade against Caracas amounts to theft of the assets and gold of Venezuela, Arreaza said. Some $30 billion in state assets had been confiscated since November 2017, he said, adding: This is the illegal pillage of the resources of our state oil company in the United States. U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum Corp is cutting ties with its parent PDVSA to comply with U.S. sanctions imposed on the OPEC country, two people close to the decision told Reuters on Tuesday. The Bank of England has blocked $1.5 billion and Belgium $1.4 billion, Arreaza said. The Bank of England has previously declined to comment on questions about Venezuelas gold, citing client privacy considerations. The humanitarian crisis is being used as a pretext for foreign intervention in my country, Arreaza said. In weekend clashes at the Colombian border, Venezuelan security forces acted with proportionality and caution, as humanitarian aid was burned, he said. Earlier, an aide to President Ivan Duque of neighboring Colombia called for action to end Venezuelas humanitarian crisis and bring about a political transition leading to free elections. OTTAWA (Reuters) - The struggling leader of Canadas left-leaning New Democrats, an opposition party that competes with the Liberals of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on Monday won a parliamentary seat and secured his immediate political future. Preliminary results showed Jagmeet Singh won a special election to fill an empty seat in the parliamentary constituency of Burnaby-South, in the Pacific province of British Columbia. Singh captured just under 40 percent of the vote. A practicing Sikh, Singh made headlines in October 2017 when he became the first person from an ethnic minority to be elected leader of a major Canadian political party. But he has failed to lift the New Democratic Party (NDP), which trails its rivals badly. The NDP and the Liberals - who compete for the same center-left segment of the electorate - will face each other in a federal election this October. The worse the New Democrats do, the better Trudeaus chances become. This staves off all the talk that Singh would have to quit ... at least for the moment he is vindicated, said Richard Johnston, a political science professor at the University of British Columbia. Johnston said in a phone interview that Singh would still need to overcome unhappiness with his leadership. Singh, 40, a former legislator in the province of Ontario, had no experience in federal politics when he took over from former leader Thomas Mulcair. He has clashed openly with senior members of parliament on a number of issues. A quarter of the 44 NDP legislators who won seats in the 2015 election have either already quit or announced they are not running again in October. And in a further sign of challenges ahead, in another special election on Monday, the NDP lost the Montreal seat Mulcair had held to the Liberals. An Ipsos-Reid poll for Global News last week put the Liberals at 34 percent public support and the right-leaning official opposition Conservatives at 35 percent. The NDP was far behind at 17 percent. The Liberals are stumbling amid allegations that officials in Trudeaus office leaned on former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould last year to help a major construction company avoid a criminal trial on bribery charges. Singh and Conservative leader Andrew Scheer are both calling for a public inquiry into the matter. BRUSSELS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Italian public debt is likely to rise this year, rather than fall as forecast by Rome, because Italy is unlikely to record large privatisation revenues in 2019 on which the debt reduction depends, the European Commission said on Wednesday. The comments of the Commission, which is in charge of monitoring the soundness of economic policies of European Union countries, came in a report which called for steps to improve Italian public finances. In 2019, the national authorities expect the government debt-to-GDP ratio to decline by 1 percentage point to 130.7 percent, by assuming privatisation proceeds amounting to 1 percent of GDP, the Commission said. However, this assumption appears unrealistic, considering that almost no privatisation proceeds were recorded over 2016-2018 despite the original targets of 0.5 percent of GDP per year, it said. The report said that without the assumed privatisation money, Italys debt-to-GDP ratio was set to remain stable at close to 132 percent if one were to trust Italian government optimistic growth forecasts. Considering the downside risks to the government macroeconomic and deficit projections for 2019, it is likely that the government debt-to-GDP ratio will increase up to above 132% this year, the Commission said. Italian forecasts of further debt reduction in 2020 were also subject to significant risks, the Commission said. (Reporting By Jan Strupczewski) Commodity Trading Advisers received no fresh impetus to act in gold from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powells congressional testimony Tuesday but have been apparent buyers in platinum, says TD Securities. Powell's testimony yesterday offered little new insights for precious-metal markets, while today's testimony is also unlikely to provide any new hints, and as such CTAs remain in consolidation mode for the yellow metal, TDS says. As of 9:30 a.m. EST, spot gold was $3.80 lower to $1,324.60 an ounce. The next upside trigger for gold stands in the $1,338/oz region, which is within range, but we do not expect a material break above this level until the U.S. fiscal stimulus impact begins to wane and U.S. data turns over, TDS says. Meanwhile, platinum was $12 higher to $871. CTA buying in platinum continues to see the metal outperform, up nearly 1% on the day, TDS says. Investors are starting to take a shine to the metal, as highlighted by ETF [exchange-traded-fund] holdings, which have grown to levels not seen since 2015, as the recent shift in market sentiment with regard to the demand outlook, the turmoil in South Africa and the bullish precious-metals environment all serve to boost prices. By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com Metals Focus: Platinum Under Performance Likely To Continue Platinum has struggled to keep up with rising prices in other precious metals so far this year and platinums price under performance may well continue, says Metals Focus. Platinum has hit three-month highs on fear of a mine strike in South Africa disrupting supplies, but otherwise the price outlook remains challenging, the consultancy says. Analysts cite a lack of interest by futures traders on Nymex. A widening supply/demand surplus in the platinum market since 2016 is expected to persist for the foreseeable future, Metals Focus says. On the supply side, despite the weak metal price, scrap supply is projected to post a small rise in 2019 to its highest level this decade. Further, Metals Focus projects only limited decline in mine output in the coming years, not counting any strike. Meanwhile, the demand outlook remains lackluster as European sales of diesel vehicles continue to weaken (the metal is used in catalysts). Support from the jewelry sector will also remain soft, Metals Focus says. Still, Metals Focus said the metal will benefit from an expected rise in gold prices. As such, for yet another year, we see gold remaining the key factor driving the platinum price, rather than the metals own fundamentals, Metals Focus says. Importantly, the platinum price will remain in a deep discount to both gold and palladium throughout the year. By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com CFTC: Money Managers Increase Gold Positioning In Week To Feb. 12 Money managers modestly trimmed their net-long (bullish) position in gold to 42,619 futures contracts in the week to Feb. 12 from 44,875 as of Feb. 5, the most recent CFTC data show. These accounts had been net long by 50,184 lots as of the end of 2018. Meanwhile, in silver, money managers trimmed their net long to 41,901 futures contracts from 47,729 lots the prior week. This had stood at 30,046 contracts as of the end of 2018. The CFTC is behind on its weekly reporting due to the five-week U.S. government that began in late December. The CFTC has been issuing two reports per week on Fridays and Tuesdays -- with the releases coming out in chronological order until the government gets caught up. Kent, 35, was supposed to be getting her doctorate in clinical psychology, but the Navy reversed their decision to send her to the program last fall because of her history with cancer and sent her to her fifth combat deployment instead where she died two months later, according to Stars and Stripes. SAO PAULO (Reuters) - German online banking startup N26 will open a subsidiary in Brazil next week, marking its first move to enter Latin America, the companys head for Brazil said on Wednesday. Eduardo Prota said N26, which raised $300 million in January in a new funding round that valued it at $2.7 billion, also seeks to form a partnership with a local bank to offer a suite of mobile banking services. N26 has yet to decide whether to operate in Brazil as a bank, and has not applied for a Brazilian banking license, Prota added. In Europe it started operating through partnerships and eventually rolled out some independent online banks. The arrival of N26, which has 2.5 million clients in 24 European countries, underscores how fintechs are ramping up competition with traditional branch-based banks in Brazil, where 30 percent of the population lacks any kind of bank account, according to the World Bank. N26 will compete in Brazil with digital banks such as Nu Pagamentos SA, which has more than 2.5 million digital accounts, Banco Inter, and C6Bank, which started operations in January. N26s investors include New York-based Insight Venture Partners, Singapore investment vehicle GIC, Chinas Tencent Holdings, the digital investment arm of insurer Allianz, and Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel. "The production will then increase close to 60 million tonnes in 2021 and go back to our normal production in 2022," Wenas said. "Our open pit mine will stop production this year, but we still have some stockpile in the open pit. However there will be no activity at all in the bottom pit," the CEO added. Freeport Indonesia has not yet received the government recommendation regarding export ermits, but it has not disrupted production, with continued delivery to domestic smelter PT Smelting, Freeport Indonesia spokesman Riza Pratama told Reuters. (Reporting by Wilda Asmarini) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Michael Cohen, the former fixer and personal lawyer of U.S. President Donald Trump, arrived at Capitol Hill on Wednesday, where he will testify that Trump knew ahead of time about a leak of emails that would hurt his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. Cohen will also tell Congress that Trump directed negotiations for a real estate project in Moscow, even as he publicly said he had no business interests in Russia while he campaigned for the presidency, according to a draft of Cohens prepared testimony. In the text of his planned opening statement before a House of Representatives committee, Cohen calls Trump a racist, a conman and a cheat, and said he would be handing over documents to support his assertions. The draft statement was first reported by the New York Times. Cohen says Trump ordered him to pay $130,000 to an adult film actress known as Stormy Daniels to cover up an affair in violation of campaign finance laws, and also told Cohen to lie about it to First Lady Melania Trump. Although many of the accusations against Trump emerged in news reports during his 2016 election campaign and in the more than two years since he entered the White House, the televised congressional testimony under oath of a former longtime loyalist puts them on the public record - and in greater detail - with the potential to influence a large U.S. audience. The sweeping claims against Trump, from a man who was once a loyal ally, come as Special Counsel Robert Mueller appears to be close to completing his investigation into possible collusion between Trumps 2016 campaign team and Russian efforts to interfere in the election. Trump, who has denied any collusion between his campaign and Moscow, dismisses the Mueller investigation as a witch hunt and has said Cohen is a liar and a rat. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time, Trump said in a post on Twitter on Wednesday from Vietnam, where he was meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to try to break a stalemate over the Norths nuclear weapons. Later, sitting alongside Kim, Trump did not answer reporters questions about Cohen, who has already been sentenced and begins a three-year prison term in May after pleading guilty to multiple crimes. Trump has previously denied knowing ahead of time about the WikiLeaks dump of Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails during the election. Cohen, in his prepared comments, said he was in Trumps office in July 2016 when Roger Stone, a self-described dirty trickster and longtime political adviser to Trump, called the Republican presidential candidate. Cohen said Stone told Trump he had been speaking with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who told him there would be a dump of emails within a couple of days that would damage Clintons campaign. EMAILS On July 22, 2016, WikiLeaks released internal DNC emails that drove a wedge between supporters of Clinton and her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senator Bernie Sanders. Although Clinton won the nomination, that rift weakened her election bid. Stone was indicted by Mueller on charges of lying to Congress about his communications with others related to WikiLeaks email dumps. Stone denies having advance knowledge of WikiLeaks plans, although text messages reviewed by Reuters show that during the campaign he made several attempts to make contact with Assange. Although Cohen will accuse Trump on a wide range of issues in his testimony on Wednesday, he said in his draft statement that he does not have direct evidence that Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia. I do not. I want to be clear. But I have my suspicions, Cohen said. It is not clear whether Cohens testimony will significantly alter public perception of Trumps business practices or put him in greater legal peril. Cohen, 52, was one of Trumps closest aides and fiercest defenders, working with him on business and personal deals for a decade. But he turned against him last year and is cooperating with prosecutors after pleading guilty to tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations. MOSCOW DECEPTION The prepared remarks show Cohen intends to apologize for his initial statements to Congress in 2017, in which he said efforts to build a Trump skyscraper in Moscow had ceased by January 2016, when in fact they continued through June 2016. Cohen said Trumps lawyers reviewed and edited those false statements to Congress. According to a person familiar with the matter, Cohens first statement to Congress was drafted by his lawyer Stephen Ryan and circulated among half a dozen lawyers who were part of a joint defense agreement, including the presidents personal lawyers. Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for Trump, and Ryan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cohen said Trump on multiple occasions inquired about the project while telling the public he had no business dealings in Russia, a falsehood Cohen said reflected Trumps view that the campaign was aimed only at building his brand. He lied about it because he never expected to win the election. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars, Cohen says. Cohen described an incident when Trumps son, Donald Jr., walked behind his fathers desk and told him in a low voice: The meeting is all set. Cohen said Trump replied: Ok good ... let me know. In hindsight, Cohen said he believed the son was referring to the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between a Russian lawyer promising dirt on Clinton and members of Trumps campaign. Trump has denied having advance knowledge of the meeting, which has come under intense scrutiny in the Mueller probe. REGRET Cohen said in his draft statement he regrets the things he did for Trump. They included, he said, hush-money payments to two women and writing letters on Trumps orders that threatened Trumps high school, colleges and the College Board not to release his grades. Cohen said he planned to provide the committee with a copy of a $35,000 check Trump signed on Aug. 1, 2017, one in a series to reimburse him for paying off Daniels after Trump took office. I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty - of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him, Cohen said. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat. Cohens testimony will be made under penalty of perjury, but Republicans on the House oversight panel, including ranking member Jim Jordan, are likely to aggressively question Cohens credibility, given his guilty plea for lying to Congress last year. Republican lawmaker Matt Gaetz, a Trump ally, caused controversy with a tweet on Tuesday suggesting compromising information about Cohens private life might soon be released. He later apologized and deleted the post. How Cohen handles the Republican assault could determine whether he is perceived as credible and if he will have anything like the impact of John Dean, who helped bring down President Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal of the 1970s. Advocates for Cohen have likened his decision to come clean to Muellers team and federal prosecutors in Manhattan to that of Dean. But Dean, former White House counsel to Nixon, told Reuters the significance of Cohens testimony would depend on what he says and how he responds to Republican criticism. It could be historic, said Dean, now a frequent commentator on television. But if he just gets beat up by the Republicans, it wont be. Jeff Mason, Khanh Vu HANOI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un begin their second summit in less than a year in the Vietnamese capital on Wednesday, with the U.S. side seeking tangible steps by North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. The White House said Trump would meet Kim at Hanois French-colonial-era Metropole Hotel at 6:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) and have a 20-minute one-on-one conversation before a dinner scheduled to last just over an hour and a half. Trump flew into Hanoi on Air Force One late on Tuesday. Just arrived in Vietnam, he wrote in a Twitter post. Thank you to all of the people for the great reception in Hanoi. Tremendous crowds, and so much love! Kim arrived by train early in the day after a three-day, 3,000-km (1,850-mile) trip from his capital, Pyongyang, through China. He completed the last stretch from a border station to Hanoi by car. The two leaders, who seemed to strike up a surprisingly warm relationship at their first summit in Singapore last June, will be accompanied at dinner by two aides and interpreters, the White House said, before they meet again on Thursday. Their talks come eight months after the historic summit in Singapore, the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader. While much of that first meeting was about breaking the ice after decades of bitter animosity between their two countries, this time there will be pressure to move beyond a vaguely worded commitment by Kim to work toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Trumps critics at home have warned him against cutting a deal that would do little to curb North Koreas nuclear ambitions, urging specific, verifiable North Korean action to abandon the nuclear weapons that threaten the United States. In return, Kim would expect significant U.S. concessions such as relief from punishing sanctions and a declaration that the 1950-53 Korean War is at last formally over. Trump, landing in darkness, waved as he disembarked Air Force One and was met by senior Vietnamese and U.S. officials. His motorcade passed crowds waving the flags of Vietnam, the United States and North Korea on its way to the JW Marriott Hotel, his accommodation for the two-day summit. Earlier, Vietnamese officials greeted Kim at the station in Dong Dang town after he crossed the border from China by train. He got a red-carpet welcome with honor guard, military band and fluttering North Korean and Vietnamese flags. Kim was accompanied by his sister, Kim Yo Jong, an important aide. About a dozen bodyguards briefly ran alongside his limousine as he began the two-hour journey to Hanoi. Roads were closed with security forces in armored personnel carriers guarding the route to the Melia hotel, where Kim is staying. North Korean officials engaged in working-level talks for the summit briefed Kim after he arrived, the Norths state news agency, KCNA, said on Wednesday. At the Melia hotel, Kim heard concrete details on the pattern of engagement between working-level delegations, KCNA said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. Visiting the North Korean embassy in Vietnam, Kim urged staff there to strengthen two-way ties in line with the needs of the times, KCNA added. Kim will reunite with U.S. President Donald J. Trump from February 27 to 28 and conduct the historic second DPRK-U.S. summit, before embarking on a goodwill visit to Vietnam on March 1 and 2, the agency said. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also arrived on Tuesday and met Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh for talks. TREMENDOUS Trump said before leaving Washington it would be a very tremendous summit and stressed the benefits to North Korea if it gave up its nuclear weapons. With complete denuclearization, North Korea will rapidly become an economic powerhouse, he said. Without it, just more of the same. Chairman Kim will make a wise decision! In a speech on Sunday, however, Trump appeared to play down the possibility of a major breakthrough, saying he would be happy as long as North Korea maintained its pause on weapons testing. Im not in a rush, he said. I just dont want testing. As long as theres no testing, were happy. North Korea has not held a nuclear or missile test since 2017, but analysts say the two leaders have to move beyond summit symbolism. The most basic, yet urgent, task is to come to a shared understanding of what denuclearization would entail, said Gi-Wook Shin, director of Stanfords Asia-Pacific Research Center. The ambiguity and obscurity of the term denuclearization only exacerbates the skepticism about both the U.S. and North Korean commitments to denuclearization. While the United States is demanding North Korea give up all of its nuclear and missile programs, the North wants to see the removal of a U.S. nuclear umbrella for South Korea. Trumps departure from Washington comes at a time of increased pressure at home, and he is keen to show progress on a foreign policy issue that has confounded multiple predecessors. Some analysts fear that may lead him to pull his punches. The main concern is whether the president, besieged by domestic distractions, will give away too much, and take a bad deal that leaves the United States less secure, said Victor Cha, a former White House official who took part in North Korea talks under previous Republican administrations. While Trump is in Hanoi, his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen is testifying before U.S. congressional committees, with the presidents business practices the main focus. Anticipation has also been rising about the impending release of Special Counsel Robert Muellers report on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, though a senior U.S. Justice Department official said on Friday it would not come this week. A South Korean presidential spokesman told reporters in Seoul the two sides might be able to agree to a formal end of the Korean War, a move long sought by North Korea, as the war concluded with an armistice, rather than a peace treaty. For live coverage of the summit, click: here; Reporting by Jeff Mason and Khanh Vu; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in WASHINGTON, Mai Nguyen, Hyonhee Shin, Josh Smith and Ebrahim Harris in HANOI and Joyce Lee in SEOUL; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney I inherited a commercial rental property recently that was built in the 1940s. I understand that the Americans with Disabilities Act requires accessibility, but all the doorways to these shops are too narrow to allow someone in a wheelchair to enter. Is it true that because it was built years before the ADA became law, I am grandfathered in, and do not have to meet current accessibility requirements? A contractor told me that to meet ADA requirements, I would have to tear down and rebuild as there is no other way. So, am I safe in doing nothing? Commonly Held Myths About the ADA Is there such a thing as being grandfathered in to the ADA, allowing a property owner a free pass for accessibility compliance? We put our readers question to Sacramento, Calif., ADA attorney Cris Vaughan. This is a question I get asked often, Vaughan said. There is no provision which allows avoiding compliance since buildings are not grandfathered, he stated, adding, There may be some differences in how the law is applied to a building that existed before the ADA became law, but there is no way to avoid improving access. It is one of several myths about the ADAs accessibility requirements, he says, and points out the importance of the ADA to our country as a whole. Since becoming law in January of 1990, the ADA established comprehensive protection for people with a variety of disabilities and has sought to remove barriers to full participation in all that society has to offer. It has been a highly successful tool in the reduction of discrimination against the disabled. From the day it went into effect, any business or property open to the public was required to meet ADA accessibility requirements. Vaughan outlined some of the commonly held myths about the ADA, which also has versions in every state. Myth No. 1 Since the property has been in existence 30 or more years, I am excused from making alterations necessary to make it meet current disabled access requirements. Generally speaking, a building existing when the ADA went into effect does not have to strictly comply with its requirements if to do so would require an unusual expense or be unusually difficult. The rules must be complied with if readily achievable to do so. He was quick to add, But if you cannot strictly comply, you still must improve the property as much as you can to provide disabled access, and this might include alternative compliance or facilitation when strict compliance cannot be achieved. An example would be a vendor who cannot provide access to the interior of the facility might comply with the law by having curbside service in some circumstances. The whole idea is to make your property accessible through other means. Myth No. 2 The lease on the property I own says the tenant is responsible for ADA, so I do not have any liability. Under Federal ADA law, both tenant and landlord are equally responsible for compliance. However, liability between them can be assigned or allocated in the lease. They can agree who is responsible for what. For example, the lease could specify that while the tenants occupy the premises, they are required to make any changes necessary to bring the property into ADA compliance. I asked, But what if both landlord and tenant are sued for a violation of the ADA? If the lease makes it the tenants obligation to comply with the ADA, will this allow the landlord to get out of the lawsuit? No, he replied. Lease provisions who is responsible for what cant be used as a defense against the person who filed suit for a violation of the ADA. Both tenant and landlord are still legally responsible, even though they have an agreement between themselves. Myth No. 3 If I fix it, I dont have to pay the person who sued me anything. Under both federal and state law (which will vary depending on the state) damages are still collectable regardless of fixing the access issue, and can easily run into the thousands of dollars. In fact, yearly, many small-business owners are forced to close their doors permanently, losing their livelihoods, frequently where the access violation was minor and easily remedied. Myth No. 4 Its not a big deal if I wait until Im sued to do something. The only way to avoid being sued is to fix the property. If you wait until you are sued, you will have to pay to fix it AND pay your attorney, the plaintiffs attorney, and the plaintiff, he observes. So, how can you learn whats wrong with your property? Obtain an evaluation from a Certified Access Specialist, and do it before you are sued, Vaughan concludes. WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer is planning to tell a House committee that Trump knew ahead of time that WikiLeaks had emails damaging to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and that Trump is a "racist," a "conman" and a "cheat." Michael Cohen suggests in prepared testimony obtained by The Associated Press that Trump also implicitly told him to lie about a Moscow real estate project. Cohen has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the project, which he says Trump knew about as Cohen was negotiating with Russia during the 2016 election campaign. The hearing is expected to provide the most damning depiction to date of Trump's campaign and business operations from a onetime member of the president's inner circle. It is the latest step in Cohen's evolution from legal fixer for the president he once boasted that he'd "take a bullet" for Trump to a foe who has implicated him in federal campaign finance violations. Cohen's claims that Trump had advance knowledge of the emails contradict the president's assertions that he was in the dark, but it was not clear what evidence Cohen had to support the allegation or even how legally problematic it would be for Trump. Special counsel Robert Mueller has not suggested that mere awareness of WikiLeaks' plans, as Trump confidant Roger Stone is purported to have had, is by itself a crime. Cohen says Trump did not directly tell him to lie, but "he would look me in the eye and tell me there's no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing." Cohen says that "in his way, he was telling me to lie." He adds that lawyers for Trump had "reviewed and edited" the statement in which Cohen falsely said a proposal for a Trump Tower in Moscow had been abandoned in January 2016. Cohen has since said he continued pursuing the project for Trump for months after that. In the prepared testimony, Cohen apologizes for his actions. "I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience," he says. Trump, at a Vietnam hotel before a planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and unable to ignore the drama playing out thousands of miles away, lashed out at Cohen on Twitter, saying that his lawyer "did bad things unrelated to Trump" and "is lying in order to reduce his prison time." A judge already has set Cohen's sentence, and Cohen's cooperation before Congress will have no bearing on that term. Cohen, ahead of his appearance, said Tuesday that the American people could decide "exactly who is telling the truth" when he testified before the House Oversight and Reform committee, setting the stage for an explosive public hearing that threatened to overshadow Trump's summit in Vietnam with Kim. On WikiLeaks, Cohen says in the prepared testimony that he was in Trump's office in July 2016 when longtime adviser Roger Stone telephoned Trump. Trump put Stone on speakerphone and Stone told him that he had communicated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that "within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign," according to Cohen. Trump responded by saying "wouldn't that be great," Cohen says. That month, WikiLeaks released thousands of emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee's server. "A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr. Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time," Cohen says in the prepared testimony. "The answer is yes." Cohen says he does not have direct evidence that Trump colluded with the Russian government during the election, but that he has "suspicions." Of a meeting in Trump Tower between campaign advisers, including Trump's oldest son, and a Russian lawyer, Cohen says that Trump had frequently told him that Donald Trump Jr. "had the worst judgment of anyone in the world" and he "would never set up any meeting of any significance alone and certainly not without checking with his father." Cohen, once Trump's loyal attorney, has turned on his former boss and cooperated with special counsel Mueller's Russia investigation. He begins a three-year prison sentence in May after pleading guilty to lying to Congress in 2017 and committing campaign finance violations while he was working for Trump. He met with the Senate intelligence committee for more than nine hours behind closed doors on Tuesday. Cohen said in brief remarks afterward that he appreciated the opportunity to "clear the record and tell the truth" to the panel after acknowledging he lied to the committee in 2017. It was the first of three days of congressional appearances for Cohen. After the public hearing Wednesday, he will appear before the House intelligence panel Thursday, in private. Republicans are expected to aggressively attempt to discredit Cohen, given that he has acknowledged lying previously. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement Tuesday it was "laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies." MASON CITY, Iowa - While almost every area business has been indirectly affected by the weekend blizzard, the Plaza West location of Cost Cutters and Cosmo Prof were directly impacted as part of their roof started to cave in. Salon Manager Brittany Hanson says that an employee at Cost Cutters was getting ready to open the store for business when she noticed ceiling tiles started to fall. "One of my gals came in at the normal time to get the daily stuff started before they opened up, and they acknowledged that the roof caved in." After the employee called store management, the Mason City Fire Department was called in around 9:30 a.m. Because the store is located next to a much higher roof, there's a steep drop, and when strong winds carry snow, Hanson says it's a prime spot for it to pile up. "We are kind of in a corner area within the building that can be a catch all for all of the snow. It just so happened that it ended up piling up and the roof caved in." Neighboring businesses including Dollar Tree, Tobacco Outlet Plus, and Sun Tan City were also evacuated as a safety precaution. Fortunately, there were no injuries. Fire Captain Jack Odegaard says despite all the snow this season, this is actually the first incident of its kind reported this year. "Everything keeps blowing and then you get these monstrous drifts, and that's the big deal. It's not that we got 8 inches of snow, it's that it might be 8 inches at your house, and then 26 inches at the house next door. And then 8 foot like right here." Hanson is appreciative of the quick response, even in very bitter temperatures. "Got on top of things to make sure everything's OK and everybody's safe. Super appreciative." A construction crew spent the day building a temporary brace in order to hold the roof up to prevent it from further caving, and to allow the snow to be removed. We reached out to Noddle Companies, who owns the Plaza West shopping center, for comment, but have yet to respond. ROCHESTER, Minn. New classes being offered at the Rochester Area Family YMCA are giving parents another way to communicate with their little ones. Baby sign language has been growing in popularity over the years and newly offered Parent/Child ASL classes at the Y are filling up fast. Prithvi Shenoy is one of the instructors and is currently teaching her 19-month-old daughter Sunny the modified gestures from American Sign Language to better understand what she wants, needs, and feels. Shenoy says its helped ease some frustrations, which is what many of the parents who come to her classes are hoping for. "They want to stave off tantrums and have the kid be able to clearly ask for what they want and communicate their needs. It does stave off tantrums, it does stave off behaviors when you can understand what your child is wanting rather than if they're just screaming and throwing a tantrum," she explains. But thats not the only reason why its important to Shenoy that her daughter learns to sign. "To be able to communicate with kids [she] might encounter in school or adults or someone who is deaf or hard of hearing. I want them to realize that this is a language you can use." The Parent/Child ASL classes at the YMCA are 7 weeks long and for kids 6-18 months. There are still a few spaces available but the classes are filling up fast. FOREST CITY, Iowa A North Iowa abductor is going to prison. Kristofer Warren Voigt, 38 of Mason City, pleaded guilty Tuesday to 3rd degree kidnapping. He was arrested for breaking into a womans Lake Mills home on November 7, 2018, assaulting her and then taking the woman first to another Lake Mills home, then to an apartment, and finally to Mason City. Law enforcement said Voigt was armed with a knife and gun and repeatedly threatened to kill the woman. Hes been sentenced to 10 years in prison and must a $1,000 fine. Besides providing a beneficial social outlet for its members, the ROWC promotes an exchange of ideas and co-sponsorship among its sister agencies on base that also support the active and retired military and civilian communities in Fort Meade. The annual Veterans Appreciation Day Luncheon is an event honoring the service and sacrifice of all veterans who have served. The ROWC continues to co-sponsor the luncheon, held on the first Saturday in November since 2005. ALBERT LEA, Minn. A man caught in a womans bed is now pleading guilty to 1st degree burglary. Kevin Badman Painter, 39, was arrested after a woman reported him violating a no-contact order on November 22, 2018, in Albert Lea. She told police she returned home to find Painter in an upstairs bedroom like he belonged there. Court records state there was a domestic abuse no-contact order in place that allowed Painter only one escorted visit to the home to get his things and that had already occurred. The woman says they argued until Painter threw her down on the bed and he only left when she threatened to call police. The woman told officers she did not know how Painter got inside her home but may have entered through a window or had an extra key made. Painter entered a guilty plea Tuesday. His sentencing is set for April 11. FOREST CITY, Iowa Its more probation for a teen convicted of a series of North Iowa crimes. Jordan Lee Meier, 19 of Forest City, was sentenced Tuesday to five years of probation and ordered to pay $2,750 in restitution after pleading guilty to 2nd and 3rd degree burglary. Authorities say he illegally entered several Forest City homes in September and October of 2016, stealing firearms, medication, and cigarettes. Meier was previously sentenced to two to three years of probation in Worth County for breaking into several vehicles in Fertile in May 2017, then stealing and crashing a white SUV. WORTH COUNTY, Iowa - Three pets were rescued and no injuries were reported after a fire Tuesday night in Northwood. Authorities say at 7:57 p.m., the Worth County Sheriffs Office received a 911 call of a structure fire in the 600 block of 9th St. N. with someone still inside. That person was able to escape by the time fire crews responded. However, there were still three pets in the home. The Northwood and Kensett Fire Departments arrived on scene, extinguished the fire and were able to safely rescue the pets. The extent of the damage to the home is unknown. A Kilkenny man is making a lot of noise up the West. John Tierney from Cuffesgrange is behind The Galway Drum Show, an exciting new Festival which is being held on Sunday, March 10. It's the first event of its kind in Ireland. It is a one day celebration. A celebration of the art of drumming, the drumming industry and will include special performances by some of the worlds most celebrated drummers. Expect an action-packed day on March 10 filled with performances, demonstrations, exhibitions and panel discussions. Special guests include internationally-renowned drummers including phenomenally skilled jazz and rock drummer Chad Wackerman, who famously recorded 26 albums with Frank Zappa. He has also performed with Barbara Streisand, Andy Summers and James Taylor. Another special guest, Darren Beckett is drummer for Brandon Flowers. Also appearing will be Adam Martello musical director and drummer for Katy Perry. Adam has performed in the house band for ABCs American Idol and recorded theme songs for many successful TV series including Modern Family, Arrested Development and Deadwood. Adam will be joining Westlife on their upcoming tour. Another celebrated drummer who will appear at the show, Dan Western has toured with many artists including Jason Donovan, Belinda Carlisle and and Paul Young. John Tierney says this show has something for everyone. Whether drumming is a hobby, you are a professional drummer or just an enthusiast, this show will have something for you. Apart from showcasing the best of Irelands young drummers, we have some of the worlds best drummers performing throughout the day. You can also learn about any aspect of drumming through workshops in our two Experience Rooms. They will cover everything from making, tuning or recording drums to adding electronics to acoustic drum kits. You can also take part in a tribal drumming circle. This is a first for the Irish drumming community and all are welcome. This is a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with these talented musicians whilst celebrating the art and tradition of drumming. Top drumming companies will take part in exhibitions and talks including The Cambridge Drum Company, Yamaha Drums, Gladstone Snares, Remo Drum Heads, Vic Firth, Meinl, Barkley Microphones, Hardcase and many, many more. Early bird tickets have sold out, remaining tickets are available now on Eventbrite. Check Facebook for news and updates. Commenting on the ruling of the Kilkenny District Court against the Health Service Executive in a prosecution brought by the Mental Health Commission, Deputy Kathleen Funchion said that the ruling did not come as a surprise given unsuccessful dealings with the Department in the past, and that although the ruling was needed and welcomed, so was accountability from the HSE. Deputy Funchion said: "I welcome the ruling by Kilkenny District Court against the HSE. The shocking substandard inpatient conditions described by Assistant Inspector for Mental Health Services as 'contrary to everything a hospital should stand for' were inexcusable. "The HSE pleaded guilty at Kilkenny District Court to two charges relating to physical conditions at the unit and two charges relating to the failure to have a consultant psychiatrist sign patient seclusion orders within 24 hours of the seclusion taking place, which is required by law. "Given the problems I encountered over a period of 13 months in failed attempts to arrange a meeting with relevant personnel within the Department regarding over crowding, the ruling, unfortunately, does not come as a surprise to me. "Obviously, the closure of Carlows and Clonmels psychiatric units in 2012 compounded to the problem of over crowding and has put additional stress on resources in St. Lukes in Kilkenny. "However, there is no excuse for the most basic of standards to be so drastically ignored for the seclusion unit used for people who are deeply distressed or at their most vulnerable. "Accountability is now needed from the HSE. Who oversaw the general standards and practices being carried out within that unit? "In light of this ruling, it has never been more timely for the Government to urgently publish the legislation to update Irelands Mental Health Act, 2001 which will ultimately strengthen the protection of peoples rights in mental health services." Hurricanes and horses will get top billing at the Shell Factory and Nature Park next week. The 80-year-old landmark venue will get a jump on Hurricane season with a storm forum set for Tuesday and then, on Thursday, the Budweiser Clydesdales will make a return visit from 1-3 p.m. courtesy of Suncoast Beverages. Last years visit by the Budweiser Clydesdales proved to be one of the biggest promotions ever and this year, organizers are expecting a repeat. Visitors will get to see the full team, with eight horses getting hitched and paraded around the center parking lot. Pictures are not only OK, theyre practically mandatory. The Shell Factory will be the first of four stops in Southwest Florida. We just do great business with Suncoast and they appreciate us and we appreciate what we do for them, said Anne Sheridan, general manager. Its a win-win for everybody and we anticipate a big crowd for this, so ger here early and enjoy the hitch. Last year, thousands came to see the Clydesdales. It had been a dream of owner Tom Cronin to have them come to the Shell Factory. However, Tom passed away before he could see his wish come true. His wife, Pam, rode the wagon last year in his place. We are thrilled that our friends at Suncoast Distributing have once again selected The Shell Factory as a location for the return of Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales, Pam said in a statement. I am personally looking forward to reuniting with Barley, the handsome Dalmatian. The Shell Factory is expected to have some specials on the menu for the occasion, Sheridan said. The hurricane seminar is set for Tuesday, March 5, The Shell Factory will ask this question: Hurricane season will be here soon. Are you prepared? Hurricane season is June 1 to Nov. 30. Early and late storms are not rare. A comprehensive hurricane seminar is being offered by The Shell Factory at 10 a.m. in the Dolphin Room., The program will feature John Patrick, chief meteorologist with ABC-7. Representatives from the Red Cross, StormSmart, Home Depot, and other emergency-related agencies will also be presenters. The program will provide an emphasis on preparation for the hurricane season and recovery procedures should we have a hurricane. Additional information will be provided by Lee County Crime Prevention. A representative of the Deaf & Hard of Hearing Center will provide signing. Also, a representative of ham radio operators has been invited to speak. The program is free to the public. Parking is also free. Pre-registration is not required. Participants will be offered free Nature Park passes for the family and door prizes. Hurricane-related businesses will have table displays that feature hurricane preparedness items. Speakers will cover topics such as what a hurricane is, when to evacuate, flood damage and storm surge, shelters, how to prepare a hurricane kit, what happens after a hurricane, insurance needs, and how to find relief assistance. Participants will be provided with a variety of printed materials which will be invaluable in preparing for a hurricane. Last years spring seminar was packed, as it occurred less than six months after Hurricane Irma. For more information on the seminar, call Chris Forbes at Christine@ShellFactory.com, or 246-6364. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 26) The prosecution may have junked the coup d' etat charge against Senator Antoinio Trillanes IV, but will press on with the case for inciting to sedition. The Office of the City Prosecutor of Pasay City, Manila found enough evidence to charge Trillanes with inciting to sedition for his speech in September 2018 regarding President Rodrigo Duterte's attempt to revoke his amnesty. Trillanes was quoted as saying that Duterte and Solicitor General Jose Calida were involved in removing his amnesty to prevent the hearings on Calida's family's security agency. The prosecutor's office argued that the senator's speech was not covered by his parliamentary immunity, as it was not made when Senate was in session nor in connection with his official duties as a senator. "With respect, however, to the complaint for the proposal to commit coup d' etat, this Office finds such allegation made by the complainants insufficient to warrant the indictment of herein respondent for such crime," the prosecutor's office said, adding that it was merely a reminder to military and police personnel to act within the bounds of law. "Duterte will not be there for long, please do not do anything illegal or unconstitutional," complainants quoted Trillanes in his September speech. The case was filed in the Pasay City Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 44 in February last year. Inciting to sedition has a maximum sentence of prision correctional or six months and one day to six years imprisonment. Weather Alert ...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM PDT SUNDAY... * WHAT...Dangerously hot conditions combined with limited night time cooling. * WHERE...Portions of North and North Central Idaho. Portions of Central, East Central, North Central, Northeast, and Southeast Washington. * WHEN...Until 7 PM PDT Sunday. * IMPACTS...Heat related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...This event will likely be one of the most extreme and prolonged heat waves in the recorded history of the Inland Northwest. Unprecedented heat will not only threaten the health of residents in the Inland Northwest but will make our region increasingly vulnerable to wildfires and intensify the impacts our ongoing drought. 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. Going to a place with air conditioning even for a couple hours can help mitigate heat stress. Consider going to a shopping mall, local library, or community center for relief. 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. && The city of Cape Coral treated delegates from its sister city in China to some of the best the Cape has to offer: world class accommodations, meals at local favorites, a waterfront tour and opportunities related to economic development, including visits to businesses. The Baise delegates, identified by the city as Chairman Wu, chair of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultive Conference; Director Ma, director of the Municipal Industrial Management Committee; and Director Gan, director of Foreign Affairs, visited Monday and today for a grand tour put on the citys Department of Economic Development to not only showcase the city and perhaps start a sister-city relationship, but to also encourage them to consider expanding to the area. Joanne Killian, citizen ambassador who started the sister-city program here two years ago, said she is trying to meld the two cities for cultural and economic opportunities. Theyre having a wonderful time. We are looking into investments, into education and tourism programs. We are also looking into the hotel and shopping industries, Killian said Monday. Nita Whaley, who works in the citys Economic Development Office and chairs the welcoming committee, said she thought the delegation would learn why people want to live in Cape Coral. Were happy theyre here because we want to find economic opportunities for them and for us, Whaley said. They are among the largest exporters of aluminum and we use a lot of it for pool cages, so we have companies who could use them as another source. The delegates arrived in Southwest Florida early Monday morning and were greeted at The Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village with a breakfast in the new conference room. They then took part on a tour of Lee Health and Astro-Durance Bungee Systems before going to Rumrunners, first to go on a boat tour to see the waterfront (and identify the citys expansion and the potential for possible future investment) and then for dinner. Tuesday was to start with a tour of the citys municipal charter schools and lunch prepared by the students. They then were to travel to Ecological Laboratories, a consumer-products testing lab. The visit is to conclude with a closing reception with local business leaders, a tour of the Wicked Dolphin Distillery and dinner at Pinchers before the delegation is to board a plane Wednesday morning. Killian said the delegation seemed to most like Lee Health, which has a wellness center, particularly the yoga and pickleball. We talked about doing pickleball training because China doesnt have it. We can teach them pickleball and maybe someday do a competition, Killian said. In Pittsburgh we had a dragon boat race for fun and then after a few years we competed. The delegation also took a stroll around the Cape Harbour waterfront before taking their boat trip Monday. Chairman Wu was asked what he thought of Cape Coral. The people are very friendly and have welcomed us with open arms. The water is clean and the trees are green and you can see everywhere with the blue skies, Wu said through an interpreter. There are also beautiful women and handsome men. City Council budgeted up to $10,000 for what originally was to be a three-day visit. The city sought sponsorships for host components with the Rainbow Project, the Charter School Authority, Lee Health, Ecological Labs and Big Blue Brewing sponsoring food and meals. Final cost numbers are still be tallied. A delegation from Cape Coral is expected to visit Baise sometime in May. SALEM, Ore. -- Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson died Tuesday night after battling brain cancer, officials said. A statement released by Deputy Secretary of State Leslie Cummings said Richardson died at about 9 p.m. surrounded by family and friends at his home. He was 69. Governor Kate Brown has ordered all flags be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sundown Wednesday. Another flag order will be issued the day of his interment. "Dan and I are saddened to hear this news today. Our hearts are with Secretary of State Richardson's family, friends, and fellow lawmakers today," Brown said. "Regardless of what side of the aisle his colleagues sat on, we all knew Dennis' kind heart guided his career of service to the people of Oregon. His reputation for perseverance not only guided him through the fight with cancer, it also gave us all reassurance that he was fighting cancer with the same determination he brought to work every day." Richardson became secretary of state in January 2017. He served as a combat helicopter pilot in Vietnam and had a 30-year legal career before spending 19 years in public service. Cummings said in his time as secretary of state, Richardson worked to improve the program business practices of Audits, Elections, Archives, Corporations and Small Businesses, and the three Administrative Services Divisions of the agency. Richardson believed in transparency, accountability, and integrity, Cummings said. And his work ethic inspired staff to give their all. His motto was Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamus: Having been given much, what will you give in return? Cummings said Richardson leaves behind a legacy of doing whats right for the people. Oregon Department of State Lands Director Vicki Walker said Richardson sought to preserve Oregons Common School Fund legacy on the State Land Board, advocating for Oregonians and public schools. Walker also commended Richardsons expectations of accountability, which raised the bar for state government. Many other state officials have released statements in the wake of Richardsons death. Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley: I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dennis Richardson. I will always have fond memories of serving with Dennis in the state legislature, and tremendous appreciation for his dedication to serving our state. My thoughts and prayers are with his family. Rest in peace, Mr. Secretary. House Speaker Tina Kotek: I am saddened by the passing of Secretary of State Dennis Richardson. He was a man of integrity and a dedicated public servant. Secretary Richardson lived and served with distinction. My heart goes out to his family during this difficult time. Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick: Dennis Richardson was a kind and decent man. He served his country with distinction in the military. He served his community of Southern Oregon and the State of Oregon with integrity and dedication. I had the pleasure of serving with Secretary Richardson in the Legislature for many years. He loved this state and we will miss him. Treasurer Tobias Read: I am saddened to hear of Secretary of State Dennis Richardsons passing last night. Richardson served his country and Oregonians as a member of the armed forces in Vietnam, and in public office. More importantly, he was devoted to his family who loved and supported him at every step of the way. Although we did not always agree politically, I had respect for the diligence and the energy he brought to his work. Oregon has lost an honorable public servant. My thoughts are with Cathy Richardson, his family and friends. Richardson leaves behind nine children and 31 grandchildren. The Oregon Constitution requires that Brown appoint a new secretary of state, which she will do in the coming weeks. Brown said that she will consider appointees from the Republican party who commit to not entering the 2020 election for Secretary of State, as she did in 2015 when selecting her own successor. Why is age only a concern regarding surgeons, and not government officials? 32 Shares Share Older surgeons are coming under increasing scrutiny as their competence and ability to practice medicine are called into question especially since many continue to work in their 60s and 70s. The New York Times addressed this in a recent article entitled, When is the surgeon too old to operate? They described an 80-year-old chief of vascular surgery at a New Jersey hospital who was the first doctor evaluated by a new aging surgeon program, which after testing, reported that, He could capably continue operating. According to the American College of Surgeons, Approximately one-third of all practicing surgeons are older than age 55. It is clear that certain surgical skills may decline with age, including vision, cognition, and manual dexterity, but it is not at all clear at what age this occurs, and how much it varies from surgeon to surgeon. One study found higher operative mortality rates for surgeons over age 60, with low surgical volumes performing complex procedures. Another study noted the opposite, That patients treated by older surgeons had lower mortality than patients treated by younger surgeons. Better vision and dexterity in younger surgeons compared to more wisdom and experience in older surgeons. Obviously, the science is not settled. Should surgeons have a mandatory retirement age, regardless of individual competency? After a decade of education and training, surgeons may only have a 30-year working career. With projected manpower shortages in medicine, is it prudent to reduce the workforce on the basis of an arbitrary number? Pilots have a mandatory retirement age of 65 which is exacerbating a pilot shortage in the U.S. Pilots and surgeons have much responsibility and hold lives in their hands. Mistakes and lapses in judgment or skill can be deadly. What about other groups that make life and death decisions? Lets look first at Congress. The 115th Congress is among the oldest in history. The average American is 20 years younger than their Congressional representative. Democratic leaders are two decades than their Republican counterparts, with Democrat leadership averaging 72 years old and Democrat chairs and ranking members at 68 years old, well beyond the pilot retirement age. Congress makes frequent life and death decisions, such as authorizing and funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the death toll is high. Around 7,000 U.S. military members, 8,000 U.S. contractors, and 360 journalists perished in these wars. Add in civilians and opposition fighters, and the death toll tops half a million. How old were those authorizing this war? Members of Congress voting for Obamacare made a life and death decision for many who lost their insurance or could no longer afford their medical care. Those who could not afford their deductible skipped going to the doctor or hospital, with potentially fatal consequences. Those currently against border security make a life and death decisions for Americans hurt by the consequences of illegal immigration, such as those hurt or killed by the actions of illegals or the pipeline of illegal drugs crossing the border. The Supreme Court is also an elderly bunch, with six justices over age 60 and two in their 80s. Justice Ginsburg, age 85 with myriad medical problems, is not the subject of any New York Times article questioning her competency to sit on the high court. These nine mostly elderly justices make life and death decisions for millions. Abortion rulings have led to the death of tens of millions of babies. Second Amendment restrictions threaten the lives of those trying to defend themselves from bodily harm or death. Why is age only a concern regarding surgeons, and not government officials? How many decision-makers in Washington may be too old to make life and death decisions? Why dont they undergo competency testing? How old are some of the presidential hopefuls for 2020? Bernie Sanders is 77, Joe Biden 76, Elizabeth Warren 69. If they were pilots, they would have retired. The congressional pharmacy reportedly filled prescriptions for pretty serious health problems for members of Congress, including drugs for Alzheimers disease. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, third in line to the presidency, is 78 years old. Some believe she suffers from senile dementia. Would a surgeon at that age be allowed to operate? A surgeon may be required to undergo competency testing, but what about politicians? I suspect most voters dont know the ages of their elected representatives. The ballot box is an ineffective means of assessing competency, as anyone who follows current events understands. If it is in the public interest to assess the competency of surgeons, why not also assess those high in the halls of power and influence in Washington? Brian C. Joondeph is an ophthalmologist and can be reached on Twitter @retinaldoctor. This article originally appeared in the Daily Caller. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 15 Shares Share Nearly five years into practice, I have negotiated my first contract, multiple pay increases, call compensation and independent contractor status. I prepared by researching my market value and reading about negotiation strategy. The following are some points I have learned along the way. If you negotiate in medicine, you may feel like the only one. Over the years, my mid-career colleagues confided that they have not received a single pay increase, only the occasional pay cut, or extra call duty without additional pay. Since I started at a lower salary than they did, right out of training, I knew negotiation would be critical to getting my salary where I wanted over time. Not negotiating was not an option for me. My first lesson In 2014, the market in my specialty was depressed, and my co-fellows and I worried. After sweating the job search for several months, we each received job offers with the same starting salary. We were each able to increase on the starting offer by asking for more. It is intimidating to ask for a pay increase, especially when making a first impression on a new employer. But the practice managers on the other side of the table see medicine as a business, and if you want to be properly compensated, you should too. Consider your options to counter an initial starting salary offer: a) Counter offer = (initial offer) * 1.05 b) A number just below the one that will get you laughed out of the room. c) Something in between Negotiation isnt taught in medical training During residency and fellowship, salary is based on ones PGY, or postgraduate year level, with some geographic variation. In this model, trainees become accustomed to not negotiating their salaries for three to six years! We dont negotiate our benefits or meal card; we just accept what is given. When training is over, salary increases to a junior attending level and multiple variables are added to the equation. Given this new rulebook, the inexperienced attending must quickly learn to advocate for herself. Know: Whats the going rate for a shift of service you provide? What do others receive for call compensation? Is call pay included in a daily, weekly or yearly rate? What is the most you can realistically hope to get? What is the least you need to feel adequately compensated? Knowing these figures is key to avoiding a negotiation hangover. Renegotiating: Its not a one time deal After a year at my attending job, I prepared to renegotiate. I was working for a flat salary and was often asked to work extra weekends for no additional pay. At the time, I figured I was paying my dues. But after that year, there was no question that I had to negotiate for better terms. Quantify the gap between average attending pay in your field and where you started, for example. I figured my salary should level off at the higher figure in the first five years of practice, if not sooner. Divide the difference between the median and starting salary by five to calculate the yearly raises to aim for. Since these are not familiar numbers to a new attending, it is important to calculate them ahead of time. Being familiar with these figures minimizes the risk of settling for too little in the moment. Yearly Raise = (Dream salary Starting Salary) / Years to partner or peak earning potential Break the taboo of discussing compensation Talk about pay: with those around you, those you trained with, and colleagues at meetings. This behavior fosters transparency and can help even the playing field. Women and minorities are vulnerable to lack of transparency regarding pay. An analysis by Glassdoor in 2016 quantified the gender pay gaps in the U.S., Great Britain, and Australia, based on their crowdsourced data. Controlling for various factors, the authors reveal an adjusted, or unexplained, gender pay gap across various industries, including medicine. Increased transparency helps women, minorities and those early in their careers to bargain for optimal compensation. Research your worth The following are some online resources to help figure out your market value. Radworking has job descriptions including starting and potential compensation. PayScale shares anonymized information from other users regarding pay and benefits, when you create a profile on their site. Doximity has an interactive salary map populated with anonymous data from more than 18,000 physicians across the U.S. Job recruiters and industry representatives can serve as regional sources of information and opportunities. Gauge your target audience Are you negotiating with a peer or someone of a different generation? Are there cultural factors at play? I was negotiating with three men. I was the youngest physician in the practice and the only female interventional radiologist in the group. These factors can contribute to how one is perceived in a negotiation. Consider Sheryl Sandbergs analysis of the tightrope women must walk in her best-selling book Lean In. Put on your thick skin, just in case. I was called money hungry for negotiating early in my career. Going into the discussion, this was my worst fear: being criticized for advocating for myself and my family. At the moment, I was non-reactive and business-like. Later, I received an apology for the inappropriate remark. Its not greedy to negotiate for maximal compensation. Its just smart. Practice (finite) patience After my first year as an attending, my contract negotiation was postponed for months during the groups negotiation with the hospital system we serve. It was a period of uncertainty. My chief operating officer seemed to prepare me for a pay cut. Finally, my contract was reviewed. I was given an increase in call load and a significant increase in compensation. At that time, waiting for the group to secure its footing with the hospital was a key prerequisite to negotiating my first contract amendment. Nurture the relationship with your decision makers. Demonstrate how you are an asset to your group or institution. Toot your own horn, as Debra Condren describes in her book amBITCHous: (def.) A Woman Who: 1. Makes more money 2. has more power 3. gets the recognition she deserves 4. has the determination to go after her dreams. Share any accolades you receive with your boss. When a patient of mine sent a complimentary letter to our hospital CEO lauding my team and me for providing excellent care, I received a thank you letter from hospital administration. I immediately forwarded the letter to my groups CEO. His reaction was to praise me as a star. Highlight any flexibility you offer: can you perform high-end interventional services one week and diagnostic services the next? This allows for tremendous flexibility in physician scheduling. Are you the most up to date in a certain area, for example, just out of fellowship at a transplant center? Have you improved the practice through your leadership? Show your decision-makers evidence of increased referrals, improved departmental efficiency, excellent patient outcomes or rave reviews from your referring physicians. Displaying yourself as a consistent asset to the group raises personal capital and increases leverage at the time of negotiation. Negotiate anything Some institutions pay based on academic rank or other hierarchical factors. If a higher salary is not possible, or even if it is, consider negotiating something else. Like: Paid time off A new title Academic or administrative time An educational stipend Office space Access to assistant(s) At the end of maternity leave, I negotiated an independent contractor agreement. I now have greater control over my schedule and aim for at least 10 weeks off per year. Contract review The contract serves as a framework for the working relationship. Its important to review it with an attorney, particularly one with experience negotiating physician contracts. This is especially important if you are new to concepts like non-compete clauses, partnerships, buy-ins, or malpractice coverage. I was initially offered a standard contract used for diagnostic and interventional radiologists. My attorney was able to help shape my agreement to reflect the combination of work Id be doing as a hospital-based interventional radiologist, in-house diagnostic radiologist, and occasional remote reader. For example, I initially received no call compensation but negotiated a cap on the number of call weeks I would take that year. Tail coverage would not be covered by the practice and was non-negotiable. My attorney helped me to understand the implications of this future cost should I change jobs. The contract indicated a minimum number of studies to be read in an imaging shift. We added language to protect me from docked pay in the case of factors beyond my control, like low hospital volume. I found my attorney using an online marketplace called UpCounsel. The contract review included a phone consultation, follow-up emails and a review of contract revisions. A personal referral to an attorney, particularly in the geographic area you will be working in is ideal if that is an option for you. As the job market has improved, there is a renewed opportunity to negotiate. These strategies are not just for genuinely exceptional candidates or those with multiple job offers. To optimize compensation for the work you do, hone and harness your negotiation skills. Variations of the negotiation game can be played in different settings, whether academic or private, diagnostic or interventional, city or countryside. Go get what youre worth. Barbara Hamilton is an interventional radiologist and blogs at Tired Superheroine. She can be reached on Twitter @TSuperheroine. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 24 Shares Share My response to a colleague who says, I am depressed, is critical for many reasons. As doctors have tough masks, it has been difficult for my colleague to disclose this. Due to mental illness stigma in the medical profession, this doctor may have been suffering quietly for some time and could be at risk, perhaps self-medicating with antidepressants, benzodiazepines or alcohol. When I am the treating doctor of another doctor, listening is my most powerful skill because the presenting problem is usually not the main reason for the consultation. Often a doctor-patient will cry when I ask them how they feel because no one usually asks them this question or takes time to listen to the answer. It is a relief for doctors to disclose their stories of grief, trauma, frustration, and injustice. When I take a history, I keep this framework in mind to ensure I have covered all aspects of a comprehensive mental health assessment. 1. Address common risk factors Doctors have the same risk factors for mental illness as the general population. Unsurprisingly, doctor patients may have chronic illness or pain, negative life experiences and relationships, fractured family structures, family histories of mental illness, alcohol and substance misuse, violence, suicide, and child abuse. These histories can be triggered repetitively when doctors are caring for their own patients with these common problems. Also, we often have a perfectionist, self-critical, hyper-vigilant and task-oriented personality styles that make us great doctors but put us at risk of failing our impossible expectations. When doctors become aware that their personality strengths can also be vulnerabilities, they allow themselves to set healthy boundaries and become even stronger than before. Patients need doctors who are caring, dedicated and healthy not selfless. 2. Recognize a mixed pattern of atypical symptoms Doctor patients may present with a mixed pattern of atypical symptoms related to depressive disorder, anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder due to acute and chronic exposure to patient trauma, violence, abuse, and death, including suicide. Atypical symptoms include uncharacteristic irritability or anger, difficulty concentrating or making decisions because of excessive worry, lack of empathy, social withdrawal and/or fatigue or low energy due to insomnia. 3. Ask the hard questions It is important to cover the other aspects of a comprehensive mental health history in detail past history, family history, past/current medication, developmental history, education, work history, social history, suicide risk, past, and current suicidal thinking. As suicide is more common among doctors than in the general population, doctors are frequently traumatized by a colleagues death and then placed at risk of suicide themselves. Its not easy to ask my doctor patients this question: Many people who are under extreme pressure feel like harming themselves. Have you ever felt this way? Doctors have easy access to means, and ongoing suicide risk assessment is critical. 4. Overcome the special pitfalls of management Its easy to fall into the trap of providing brief telephone follow-up or repeat prescriptions for doctor patients too busy to attend in person. Ongoing face-to-face care is required to prevent a relapse of mental health problems in any patient. Doctors are trained to overthink and have well developed negative mental filters and negative cognitive biases. Being risk-averse is part of being a good doctor. It is not easy to overcome these inherent traits by challenging negative thinking with the usual cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. Structured formal mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective treatment for depression in these situations. Antidepressant medication may also be required. Although doctors tend to take very little sick leave, many medical workplaces fail to support doctors when they request a lower patient load or time off work. Sometimes, my doctor patients require my support to take sick leave because of their fears for their career if they disclose mental health problems to their employer. Unfortunately, these fears about discrimination are often justified. A doctor with a gynecological/urological or gastrointestinal problem is not required to divulge their symptoms to their employer, although these temporary symptoms may prevent them from working. Similarly, no employer has the right to ask about a doctors mental health symptoms. Doctors who have insight seek help and comply with treatment for any physical or psychological condition, continue to provide a high standard of patient care, but sometimes at great expense to themselves unless they take time off work for a while. In this scenario, the necessary certificate can be supplied directly to the medical workplace by the treating doctor without divulging the medical reasons for the temporary absence. 5. Advocate for a kinder, fairer medical workplace Our harsh medical culture predisposes doctors to have mental health problems. Recommending information about resilience to doctors for complex issues such as workplace bullying, harassment, discrimination, racism and patient complaints or medico-legal action is as foolish and harmful as trying to fix a displaced compound fracture by covering it with a dressing. Negative conditions at work must be addressed routinely as part of a comprehensive mental health management plan. As a profession, we can change this by stepping outside our consulting rooms to provide advocacy and leadership. In summary High-quality health consumer-centered care requires doctors to tailor treatments to the individual needs of their patients. Our doctor patients also require tailored treatment for their special needs. As treating doctors, we are skilled at adjusting our consultation styles to the level of health literacy of our diverse patients. For our doctor patients, we can appropriately adjust our approach to their high level of mental health literacy. There is a high level of stigma surrounding mental illness, which is deterring access to early mental health treatment and contributing to rising suicide. The medical profession has a responsibility to dispel this stigma rather than to perpetuate it, and to encourage all patients to access optimal mental health care, including doctor patients. When anyone says I am depressed, simple reassurance is not enough, but a willingness to listen fully can be a powerful skill. Leanne Rowe is a physician in Australia and is the co-author of Every Doctor. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 8:34AM One of the watchfaces Swatch claims Samsung copied is this Jaque Droz Tropical Bird Repeater, a one-of-a-kind design on a timepiece that costs around US$650,000 After what Swatch considers an "inadequate response" from Samsung, the watchmaker is suing the tech company for $100 million over watch faces on its smartwatches it deemed were "identical or virtually identical" to trademarks that Swatch owned. The Swiss watchmaker accuses Samsung of unfair business practices, and that its copied designs could mislead consumers to believe they had an ongoing partnership (which they apparently don't). Swatch's complaint comes with images of smartwatches like the Gear Sport, Gear S3 Classic, and Frontier sporting watchfaces that are dead ringers for Swatch's timepieces. These were available from the Galaxy Apps store and were designed by third-party developers. But as the complaint states, Samsung still pockets a portion of the revenue. One of them, the Jaquet Droz Tropical Bird Repeater, was even the design for a one-of-a-kind watch that cost around US$650,000. Swatch claims it reached out to Samsung directly in late December, sharing with them a list of watchfaces that looked similar to the ones they've made. Samsung allegedly removed the watchfaces, but not to the extent that Swatch wanted. According to Swatch, Samsung didn't admit to copying the watchfaces and didn't agree to review the entire Galaxy Apps store. And that new watchfaces that looked like Swatch's designs still kept turning up. In view of Samsungs inadequate response, it is reasonable to conclude that Defendants will continue to infringe the Trademarks, and thereby cause further loss and damage to the Swatch Group Companies, Swatch wrote. Source: The Verge 26 Shares Share Thirteen years ago, as a student in New York City, I marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to implore my colleagues to fight for universal health care. That day, I enunciated what has become my personal mission by saying, We need universal coverage that is portable. We need universal coverage that is comprehensive. We need universal coverage that ensures equal access to care. Most importantly, we need you to lead the fight, to force the issue, to bring to America a universal health care system where everybody is in, and nobody is left out. For America to achieve universal health care physicians must lead the charge. Our fragmented health care system a mixture of socialized medicine, social insurance, managed competition, and pure capitalism sees almost half the country covered by employers, about 15 percent Medicare, and approximately 17 percent Medicaid. Despite the overwhelming amount of attention received, the ACA only directly covers seven to ten Americans (in a combination of the Medicaid expansion and the individual marketplaces). Meanwhile, another 10 percent of the population remains uninsured. How we tackle that last 10 percent to achieve universal health coverage is the essential question of our generation. Whenever thinking about moving our health care system from where we are to where we want to be, i.e., universal coverage, we must consider these critical questions. What does it mean to be universal? Who would be eligible? How comprehensive do we want the coverage to be? How will we pay for it? First, when asked what percentage of the U.S. population would have to be covered to count as universal, Americans really want it to be 100 percent. Personally, Im a bit less idealistic. Even if a laudable goal, 100 percent seems impractical to achieve. Perhaps you agree with my assessment, 84 percent of poll respondents said that at least 98 percent coverage would be good enough. Interestingly, uninsured, undocumented immigrants represent just under two percent of the U.S. population. Second, defining the percentage of the population that must be covered to be considered universal dovetails into who becomes eligible for coverage. What if we chose to exclude undocumented immigrants from universal coverage? It would likely relegate many undocumented immigrants to care in public hospital systems, but would meeting that 98 percent coverage goal become easier? Third, comprehensiveness of care directly impacts how much taxpayers and households have to pay for coverage. John Graves illustrates this issue of comprehensiveness well. Many people and politicians are now clamoring for Medicare for All. Do they know what they are advocating for? Specifically, how comprehensive do they want Medicare for All to be? Medicare, as it currently exists, pays for about 76 percent of a patients anticipated health care costs. That is roughly equivalent to a high deductible employer plan. On the contrary, the Expanded & Improved Medicare for All would cover nearly 100 percent of a patients anticipated expenses which is essentially equivalent to todays Medicaid plans for children. Do advocates, when talking about Medicare for All, instead mean a health care plan equivalent to employer coverage? If so, the comprehensiveness in terms of actuarial value is closer to 80-84 percent. Since comprehensiveness is something that digs deep into our moral values while simultaneously extracting a price from our collective wallets, it becomes yet one more thing our society must consider carefully. Is it feasible to expect someone making the average American income or, worse yet, someone below the poverty line to pay for 25 percent of their health care tab? Is it fair that someone who makes over six figures pay nothing for their health care other than the taxes used to fund the system? In my view, if an American universal health care plan is going to have an actuarial value less than 100 percent similar to the current Medicare or something close to an employer insurance plan we must have protections for both the poor and the sick to prevent them from skipping necessary health care due to cost. Lastly, the finances are where the rubber hits the road of creating a universal health care system. Mercatus recently released an analysis of Medicare for All. The headlines screamed that it would cost $33 trillion over a decade. That seems like a large sum of money until you consider that all that money is already inside the current health care system. Americans are just paying for that care in a thousand different ways. With a single payer system, we could cover 30 million more people with less money than we currently spend. The math is easy, but the politics are hard. I suspect, however, we wont find a universal health coverage solution for America where both the math and the politics are easy. Were a nation of people who, in general, hate paying taxes and we lack the social solidarity seen by European democracies. I used to think a Swiss-style system would be the easiest to adapt to American culture because it is so similar to the ACA Marketplaces. Unfortunately, the current GOP is stuck on denying that Obamacare was even their (and the Heritage Foundations) idea so, I wouldnt expect any cooperation from them. As for Democrats, until there is a House of Representatives controlled by them, 60 Senate Democrats, and a willing President, I doubt single payer will come to fruition. My suggestion: Do not disrupt the employer-sponsored insurance system upon which half our country relies and is comfortable. Instead, provide Medicare for everyone else. We could fold all those other federal and state health programs into Medicare, add in the currently uninsured, and create a system that leaves no one out, except those who opt to keep employer coverage. Ultimately, the American workforce will have to carry everyone elses burden so that others children, the poor, the elderly, the sick can afford to see a doctor. But, until Americans demonstrate they are explicitly willing to do that, I will continue to sit back and ruminate on this: The arc of the health care universe is long, but it bends toward universal health coverage. Cedric Dark is founder and executive editor, Policy Prescriptions. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 8:54AM Foldable phones not your thing? Well, what about wrapping that display around your wrist. Nubia, an associate company of Chinese phone-maker ZTE, showed off a smartphone-smartwatch hybrid at MWC. The Nubia Alpha has a 4.01-inch flexible OLED display that you can navigate through with the swipe of your fingeror you can even use gesture controls to navigate if you want. It's a water-resistant wearable that comes in gold or black, depending on how showy you want to be. It is available in Bluetooth or eSIM variants. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 2100 processor with a 500mAh battery. You get an abundance of sleep-tracking and health-assistant apps as well as a music player and a 5-megapixel camera. It also has Wi-Fi. The eSIM version will let you place calls. You can dial through the numeric keypad. Now, if you want to type, unfortunately, you're stuck with a T9 keyboard. But as CNET points out, this does have voice controls. The cheapest Bluetooth-only Alpha costs 450 (around CA$670), the 4G eSIM model is 550 (around CA$820), and the 18K gold eSIM version is 650 (around CA$970). It's coming first to China and parts of Europe, but it will come to North America before the end of the year. Source: Digital Trends Four hundred years after the first enslaved Africans arrived in colonial Virginia, Speights is grappling with his newfound identity as the descendant of slaves and the African kings who put them in chains. His internal reckoning serves as a conduit for discussion in the United States over the impact of slavery and racism, and the struggle to find a path forward as a nation of former enslavers and the enslaved. The history of the Atlantic slave trade, colonialism and enslavement are really violent histories that led to families being torn apart, histories and cultures being stolen from many individuals and huge harms to African Americans, said Deborah Bolnick, an anthropological geneticist at the University of Connecticut. DNA testing has been used as a tool to help them start to recover that loss. The king from whom Speights is probably descended was one of several who captured and sold slaves typically members of rival tribes or captives of war to European merchants, who then loaded them onto ships bound for Brazil, Haiti and the United States. Speights said the more he learned, the more questions he had. But he was not sure how to contact a man who could be his sixth or eighth cousin and lived an ocean away. DENTON A Lincoln woman has been accused of stealing more than $107,000 from her employer. Lancaster County Court records say 28-year-old Amy Spencer is charged with felony theft. Her attorney didn't immediately return a call Tuesday from The Associated Press. Her next court hearing is scheduled for March 26. Spencer quit her office manager job in November at Midcon Underground Construction in Denton. The court records say an accountant hired to review the company books and documents showed Spencer had used a company credit card to make more than 1,000 purchases for own benefit from November 2015 until she quit. A sheriff's investigator says in the records that Spencer acknowledged making personal purchases with the company card. Tuesday, February 26, 2019 at 10:57PM Embed from Getty Images Facebook is still refining its Clear History tool and has announced it'll be coming out later this year. David Wehner, Facebook's chief financial officer, made the announcement at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. This tool is designed to let you clear information the social network collects about you from third-party apps and websites. The clamor for this feature to exist was heightened during the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal. It was supposed to be an answer to that problem, but it looks like the company is still working out its kinks. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the tool in a Facebook note as, In your web browser, you have a simple way to clear your cookies and history. The idea is a lot of sites need cookies to work, but you should still be able to flush your history whenever you want. Were building a version of this for Facebook too. It will be a simple control to clear your browsing history on Facebook what youve clicked on, websites youve visited, and so on. Were starting with something a lot of people have asked about recently: the information we see from websites and apps that use Facebooks ads and analytics tools. It isn't clear at the moment how the tool would look like and how it would work. But it'll definitely have an effect on Facebook's ability to target ads to its users, and perhaps the company is preparing for this fallout if enough users employ the tool. Source: The Verge KEARNEY The Buffalo County Youth Advisory Board is accepting applications from students in grades 8-12 at Amherst, Elm Creek, Gibbon, Kearney Catholic, Pleasanton, Ravenna, S-E-M and Shelton high schools. There are no positions available for Kearney High School students. YAB members tackle social problems that concern youths, including alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse prevention, stress relief, and peer support for students. Current projects promote youth peer-mentoring, self-care and training to promote mental wellness and change the culture of their schools and communities. In the 2018-19 school year, YAB hosted a countywide mental health summit where they helped 70 high school students connect with local resources and self-care opportunities. They also produced a recruitment video. Students may apply online at bcchp.org/yab-join. The application deadline is April 5. A paper application is available by contacting youth coordinator Josh Arias at 308-865-2290 or youth@bcchp.org All applicants will be interviewed in April by a panel of YAB members. Buffalo County YAB is governed by a board of 30 youths, four adult mentors and staff. It is supported by grant funds and local donors. Denny-Mickey said TRPHDs goal is to reach all 7,950 children enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grades in Buffalo County. To achieve that goal, she and TRPHD Director Jeremy Eschliman asked the Buffalo County Board at its meeting Tuesday to contribute $127,200 to the program or $16 per student. Denny-Mickey said the average value of its Life Smiles services is $300. TRPHDs investment would be $318,000, which includes the billing for Medicaid and money from the states Health Care Cash Fund, Eschliman told the county board. After the meeting, Denny-Mickey said TPRHD takes donations for their programs. Denny-Mickey believes there would be a high return on investment by the county board. She said after the meeting that a dollar spent on prevention can save $80-$100 in restorative care. This is an important enough service that we need to find a way that its supported locally better, she said. Though not every student in Buffalo County would need screenings and dental treatments, Denny-Mickey said their request is based on what the potential is in the county. If they wouldnt use all the funding, they would give it back, she said. HOLDREGE Holdrege lawyer Doyle Morse allegedly was shot in the abdomen by his client, Manuel Gomez. A Phelps County Court search warrant shows Morse, 65, told officers who arrived at the scene Gomez had shot him with a black powder pistol described by Gomez as a six-shooter. Morse called 911 at 2:31 p.m. Thursday after Gomez, 45, of Holdrege came to Morses house at 416 Logan St., and allegedly shot him. Records dont elaborate what kind of representation Morse was providing to Gomez, or a motive for the shooting. At 2:41 p.m. police received a report of a second shooting at Holdrege Housing Authoritys Sunrise View Apartments at 1422 12th Ave. Four minutes later police located and arrested Gomez near the Phelps County Courthouse, and walked him into jail. During his arrest, the search warrant indicates, a black powder firearm was located in the car a 1991 Honda Accord Gomez was seen driving away from Morses house. At Sunrise View, the search warrant says evidence at the scene indicates Gomez is the perpetrator of these crimes. Although the warrant doesnt provide any details. KEARNEY A new industrial tract will be opening near Kearney Regional Airport and the nearby Patriot Park Ballfields will have a secondary access road. The Kearney City Council on Tuesday approved the transfer of 3.04 acres of city-owned land to The Economic Development Council of Buffalo County to be used by Bowman Agronomics Inc. to expand to the new industrial tract. Bowmans current facilities are at 1850 Ave. H in southeast Kearney. In addition to approving the land transfer, the City Council gave the go-ahead to build Patriot Boulevard, which will skirt the south side of Patriot Park and stretch east and west from Airport Road to the Kearney East Expressway. The new street will give Patriot Park visitors another way to enter and exit and provide access to industrial sites, including the proposed $1,000,050 Bowman facility. Bowman plans to build a 16,140-square-foot, steel frame, warehouse-type building, along with approximately 11,500 square feet of commercial concrete. The building will be fully insulated with approximately 1,140 square feet of office space and will include a brick facade on the office section. KEARNEY For nearly 60 years the Beavers family and their Redmans Shoes and Ranchwear store have been fixtures in downtown Kearney. Three generations are involved now: Dean Beavers, his daughter and son-in-law Tanya and Randy Schleiger, and their son, Brock. But thats only half of the shoe history for the building on the west side of Central Avenue, a few doors south of 22nd Street. An old photo hangs on the back wall of the store building with the name of the first owner, Twidale, and 1898, Randy said. A caption with another old photo says Twidale Shoe Co. opened for business in 1901. The store continued into the 1930s, and became Redmans, Dean said, after Joe Redman came from Minnesota to Kearney in the 1940s. Dean started working for Redman in 1961, training managers for company stores in Minnesota, Kansas and Nebraska. In 1971, Dean became a business partner. The intention was to eventually sell the other stores to the young men who ran them, he said, which is what happened to Dean. The Schleigers came into the business in October 1992, after moving back to Kearney from Lincoln. ciary's/Trustee's/Servicer's Attor- ney. If you are a bidder other than the Beneficiary, and you choose to enter a bid at this sale, you are ac- cepting the terms of this sale with- out recourse as outlined in this No- tice of Sale. Camille R. Hawk, Attorney at Law, Successor Trustee. By: Camille R. Hawk (#20395) For Walentine O'Toole, LLP GOLD BEACH, Ore. Law enforcement agencies in multiple states are still looking for one suspect in a string of "traveling burglaries" but her accomplice is now in custody, according to the Curry County Sheriff's Office (CCSO). Medford Police first put out a request for the public's help in locating 39-year-old Julia Wheatley and an unknown male suspect believed to be her accomplice back on February 20 in relation to fraudulent credit card use. CCSO said that it has been looking for Wheatley in connection with "several attempted and completed burglaries" in the southern area of the county during mid-February. Now CCSO said that the male suspect has been identified as 48-year-old Danny Wayne Light. Troopers with California Highway Patrol took him into custody following a high-speed chase and resulting crash. Wheatley, however, remains at large. "It should be noted that their particular modus operandi, is to use rental vehicles to engage in criminal activity," said CCSO Detective Jaired Freeman. "This allows them to be in an area, in a new inconspicuous vehicle, commit thefts and burglaries and flee without drawing too much attention to themselves. The vehicle is then exchanged for a new one and they move on to a new area." The agency said that the investigation into Wheatley and Light now spans four different states Oregon, California, Nevada and Arizona. There are at least 17 burglaries now linked to the same perpetrators, with over 20 investigators working on those cases. "Wheatley is still outstanding, but I am confident she will be apprehended soon," said Freeman. SALEM, Ore. -- UPDATE: On Friday, the Secretary of State's office announced state funeral services for Dennis Richardson at the State Capitol in Salem. But Richardson was a man with deep roots in Southern Oregon, and he will appear here for a public service before returning to the Capitol one last time. According to Richardson's former Chief of Staff, there will be a viewing and funeral service at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at 3900 Grant Road in Central Point. The viewing begins at 9 a.m. until 10:30 a.m., and the funeral service will be from 11 a.m. to noon. On Wednesday, Secretary Richardson's body will lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda in Salem starting at 9 a.m., and then the state funeral will begin at 2 p.m. (Updated 3/1/19 at 5:30 p.m.) INITIAL REPORT: Oregon's Secretary of State Dennis Richardson has passed away at his home surrounded by family and friends, according to Deputy Secretary of State Leslie Cummings. On Tuesday, February 26, at approximately 9 p.m., Richardson died after a protracted battle with brain cancer. He was 69 years old. Cummings said Richardson was dedicated to accomplishing the work the people of Oregon elected him to do. Richardson took the reins of office in January 2017, with goals to improve the business practices of audits, elections, archives, corporations and small businesses. Cummings says Richardson's work ethic inspired staff to "up their games." His personal motto was the Latin phrase "Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamus," meaning "having been given much, what will you give in return?" Cummings says his challenge to those in the Secretary of States office is to give their very best to each other and to Oregon each and every day. On Tuesday, February 26, at approximately 9:00pm, Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardsons courageous battle with cancer came to a close. Dennis passed away at his home surrounded by family and friends. https://t.co/xW1nttBC7R Dennis Richardson (@OregonSOS) February 27, 2019 Richardson served as a combat helicopter pilot in Vietnam, spent 30 years on his legal career in Central Point and 19 years in public service. He was a father of nine and a grandfather of 31. As a state lawmaker, Richardson served as representative for House District 4, which includes parts of Jackson and Josephine counties, between 2003 and 2015. After an unsuccessful bid for governor in 2014, Richardson won his spot as Secretary of State in the 2016 election. Governor Kate Brown has ordered at that flags at all Oregon public institutions be flown at half-staff in Richardson's honor today and on the day of his internment from sunrise to sundown. The state's governor has the duty to appoint a new Secretary of State, and Brown's office said that it will "begin the process of reviewing candidates" and make an appointment in the coming weeks. Since news of his passing emerged, public figures who knew him have been issuing tributes to his life and career: Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum I was saddened to wake up to the news of the death of my friend and our Secretary of State Dennis Richardson. Dennis was a wonderful and caring personand, the quintessential public servant. His optimism for making Oregon stronger and fairer was contagious. I will miss our 'check-in' lunches in Salem, where we talked about a wide variety of topics affecting both of our agencies. At our last lunch he gave me a coin with his motto engraved on it: 'Having been given much, what will you give in return?' I will treasure it always. From the Oregon Department of Justice, we send our condolences to his wife and family, friends and community. And we will all take Dennis' motto to heart as we continue the work of making Oregon better every day. Thank you, Secretary Richardson, for your extraordinary contributions to our state. You will be greatly missed. U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dennis Richardson. I will always have fond memories of serving with Dennis in the state legislature, and tremendous appreciation for his dedication to serving our state. My thoughts and prayers are with his family. Rest in peace, Mr. Secretary. Oregon Department of State Lands Director Vicki Walker "Throughout Secretary Richardsons time on the State Land Board, he persistently sought to preserve Oregons Common School Fund legacy by advocating for actions that would most benefit Oregonians and their public schools. "Secretary Richardsons expectations of accountable government raised the bar for the service provided by the Department of State Lands and state government. His dedication to good government set an example for us all, and he will be greatly missed." Oregon Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick Dennis Richardson was a kind and decent man. He served his country with distinction in the military. He served his community of Southern Oregon and the State of Oregon with integrity and dedication. I had the pleasure of serving with Secretary Richardson in the Legislature for many years. He loved this state and we will miss him. Oregon House GOP Leader Carl Wilson "We have suffered a great loss with the passing of Dennis Richardson. Dennis was a steadfast man who loved family, his country, the State of Oregon, and the people he served. This loss is a difficult one for us all. His death will be deeply mourned by all his former colleagues in the Oregon House of Representatives. U.S. Representative Greg Walden "I am so saddened to learn of Secretary of State Dennis Richardsons passing. Dennis was such a kind, caring, and thoughtful friend. A wonderful public servant, and a deeply loving husband and parent. Dennis quiet competence and civility is such a rarity in today's world. I feel blessed to have known and worked with him for so many years. Mylene and I are sending our prayers to Cathy and their children. Dennis served his country with honor and his body of work leaves Oregon better for the next generation." Oregon Governor Kate Brown "Dan and I are saddened to hear this news today. Our hearts are with Secretary of State Richardson's family, friends, and fellow lawmakers today. "Regardless of what side of the aisle his colleagues sat on, we all knew Dennis' kind heart guided his career of service to the people of Oregon. His reputation for perseverance not only guided him through the fight with cancer, it also gave us all reassurance that he was fighting cancer with the same determination he brought to work every day." Oregon Senator Jackie Winters I am deeply saddened today to hear of the passing of my dear friend, Dennis Richardson. Oregon has lost a tireless warrior who continuously motivated those around him with his powerful presence, and strong ethics. It was my honor to serve in the Legislature with Dennis and to call him my friend. I am grateful for our phone calls and the opportunities I had to tell him how proud I was of him. "Dennis was a true American, his life was one of dedication and service from his time in the military, his time in the Legislature, his time as SOS, and most importantly, his job as husband, father and grandfather. He was a man of great faith, and he lived out his faith every day of his life. I would like to thank his family for sharing him with us for all these years. The Richardson family is in my thoughts and prayers. | BY Lynchy | OMD China has appointed one of the networks longstanding business leaders in Asia Pacific, Sadhan Mishra, to the role of Managing Director for its Shanghai office. Mishra will now work closely with OMD China CEO, Aaron Wild, to ensure the Shanghai office continues its new business momentum, having won the media business for WH Group, Papadai, Toutiao and JD.com in 2018. He will also oversee the agencys continued delivery of service excellence and market-leading innovation for its existing and new clients, leveraging his extensive experience in managing global accounts for the network. Having joined the OMD network in 2010, Mishra (pictured) has played a prominent role in managing international accounts out of Singapore; growing the agencys operations in Indonesia; and most recently, leading the McDonalds business across APAC, Middle East and Africa. He has been instrumental in the addition of new markets for OMDs remit on the McDonalds business, as well as the networks most recent retention of the account in China and Taiwan. His efforts to help McDonalds advance their digital approach have earned global accolades for the brand, including the prestigious Gunn Reports Campaign of the Year title in 2018 for OMD Singapores Capacity Based McDelivery campaign. Stephen Li, CEO of OMD APAC, said, Sadhan is renowned among our global network and clients for his extensive experience and aptitude in 360-comms planning; his impressive track record of helping market-leading brands achieve fresh growth in their category is truly remarkable. To fill the Shanghai leadership role and ensure the agency continues its upward momentum, there could be no better candidate than Sadhan and we are delighted to be able to promote talent from within the network. Mishra added, I am excited to take on this new challenge in leading one of the worlds most competitive markets. I have worked closely with the Shanghai team over the years and have always remarked how the agencys continued delivery of market-leading research and insights, as well as its highly advanced digital and performance-based capabilities, are second to none. I look forward to working with the highly talented team on ensuring we continue to position our clients ahead of the curve of media disruption in China. FAIRWAY, KS (KCTV) Missouri state road crews did not pre-treat roads Tuesday night, MoDOT spokesman Markl Johnson told KCTV5 News. Road conditions across the Kansas City area, particularly on the Missouri side of the state line, were especially treacherous leading to injuries, multi-vehicle crashes, closed schools and highway closures. Kansas City police report over 300 wrecks in 24 hours Police say on a normal day less than 100 reports are made and over Monday and Tuesday only 79 reports were made. We didnt pre-treat because we already have materials down from the last hundred snows, Johnson said. Pre-treat is not a magic bullet. It only depends of the situation; every situation is different. Tuesday night, Stormtrack5 Meteorologist Gary Amble projected that rain over the weekend likely washed all residual salt off the roads and could become quite slippery. When questioned about the weekend rains, Johnson said that was likely a factor. More than likely yes, it did wash some of the material thats been down, Johnson said. According to Johnson, Missouri Department of Transportation crews are working as quickly to treat roads. Johnson said MoDOT officials meet Tuesday to discuss a game plan. Again, when theres rain coming, when theres precept coming down, pretreating will just wash away. And then youve wasted a lot of products. We have to be very judicious on what we use, Johnson said. Since Johnsons statements at 6 a.m. Wednesday, MoDOT says they did pre-treat roads Tuesday night. KCTV5.com is now with you on the go! Get the latest news updates and video, StormTrack5 weather forecast, weather radar, special investigative reports, sports headlines and much more from KCTV5 News. >> Click/tap here to download our free mobile app. << Copyright 2019 KCTV (Meredith Corp.) All rights reserved. KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- Police say over the last 24 hours the metro has had a reported 301 vehicle crashes. Police say on a normal day less than 100 reports are made and over Monday and Tuesday only 79 reports were made. Road conditions across the Kansas City area, particularly on the Missouri side of the state line, were especially treacherous leading to injuries, multi-vehicle crashes, closed schools and highway closures. Kansas City police say roads are improving but people should still proceed with caution. Sgt. Collin Stosberg of the Missouri Highway Patrol says troopers received 85 calls for service as of 9 a.m. Wednesday. There were 39 slide-offs, 33 wrecks and three injuries due to crashes. | BY Lynchy | MSL has appointed Jun Xu as CEO of Greater China. In his new role he will lead the operations and strategic development of MSL Greater China, while further integrating the agencys business in accordance with the Publicis Groupes the Power of One strategy. Xu will report to Michael Lee, Co-CEO of Publicis Groupe Greater China. Xu will also work closely with Guillaume Herbette, CEO of the MSL global network and other senior MSL leaders. An industry veteran, Xu (pictured) has over three decades of PR experience from both the agency and client side. He joins MSL from Unilever where he was Vice President of Sustainable Business and Communications for North Asia (which includes mainland China, China Taiwan, Hong Kong SAR, Japan and Korea). Prior to that, he worked for DuPont for fifteen years with his last position being Corporate Communications Leader, Asia Pacific. Xu is one of the pioneering practitioners in Chinas PR industry. His career began with Burson-Marsteller in 1993 as the firms first local hire in mainland China. He joined the firm in Beijing, later becoming an integral part of the team in Shanghai, and also completed extensive assignments in Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney Australia. Lee said, Jun is a second-to-none master when it comes to building brands and reputation. It is great to have him on our team to further elevate MSLs presence as the most trust-worthy business partner for our clients at a local and global level. Herbette said, As the MSL leader for Greater China, Jun Xu will play an important role in our global organization as we work to drive influence and build impact for our clients around the world. His deep knowledge of the region along with experience as both a client and an agency leader give him a valuable perspective to share with our clients. | BY Kim Shaw | Terry Savage, the former chairman of the Cannes Lions Festival of creativity, has taken up a consultancy role for Dentsu, working with Dentsu brand agencies worldwide. Savage, who departed the Cannes role in June last year, told CB: I have known [global and APAC president for Dentsu creative agencies] Dick Van Mottman [pictured left with Savage] and the power and vision of Dentsu for a number of years to have the chance to consult with them on the creative future is exciting at a time when creativity is as important, if not more important, than ever. | BY Ricki Green | To celebrate its major partnership with Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, Wella Professionals has partnered with famed drag artist and international celebrity, Courtney Act (aka Shane Jenek) in a social campaign that explains how colour is a metaphor for individuality and identity. By Mango Communications, part of DDB Group, the video features Courtney and a cross-section of Sydneys queer community, all dancing, wearing and celebrating colour in their own unique way. At the same time, Courtney speaks about the power of colour to transform you from one person to the next, from Shane to Courtney, and that colour is an endless spectrum; where there are no boundaries or boxes, no two blues are the same, no one size fits all and it allows us to be fearless. This is the second year of Wella Professionals has been a major partner of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras and the official hair partner, lending their support and colourful skills to the iconic parade. Says Max Amen, general manager, Coty Professional Beauty Australia & New Zealand: We are incredibly excited to kick off our 2019 campaign in colour with Courtney Act and Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. In the wake of our most innovative colour launch to date, we couldnt be prouder to celebrate and represent one of the most vibrant, expressive and inclusive communities in the beauty industry. The video also reveals Courtney to be wearing the Wella Wig of Mardi Gras 2019, a dramatically bold pink and purple hued wig coloured with the Colour Fresh CREATE range by the Wella Professionals Education team. Says Courtney Act: Colour is on a spectrum that never ends. It has the ability to define and create whoever you want to be. | BY Kim Shaw | Entries close at 5pm TODAY (March 29) for the 2019 Snapchat Young Lions Competition, which for Australia will cover Media, Digital and Marketer, three of the seven Young Lions categories. Now in its eleventh year, the Young Lions competition searches for the best young talent in the media, marketing and creative industries to represent Australia at the 2019 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June. All entries will be assessed by a team of over 60 high profile industry judges, with successful entrants taking part in a second round 24-hour brief. Winners of the second and final round will go on to represent Australia at the 66th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity from 17-21 June, 2019. Entries for the first round of the Young Lions competition close TODAY at 5pm AEST, 29 March 2019 and are open to teams of two who meet the category criteria and are under the age of 30. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 26) The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) on Tuesday assured the public funds are enough to implement the Universal Health Care (UHC) law this year contrary to a lawmaker's claim. Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) Acting President and CEO Roy Ferrer refuted Quezon City Representative Angeline Tan's remark that the law lacks funding by as much as 170 billion. Tan is the House health committee chairman and one of the law's authors. The UHC law was enacted on February 20. It automatically enrolls all Filipinos to the National Health Security Program that replaces the National Health Insurance Program managed by Philhealth. Under the law, contributors-or income earners-will have to pay for their premiums while the government will shoulder the contributions of non-contributors. Ferrer said the budget for the implementation of the measure is 257 billion, and not 270 billion as what Tan had said. He added that Congress has set aside 235 billion for the law. These came from Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, income from the Philippine Gaming Corporation, and member contributions. "With the hearings na ginawa po natin coming from the budget hearings, sa bicam po talagang na-appropriate 'yung 217 (billion). 'Yung 40 (million) lang 'yung fund gap," he said. [Translation: With the hearings that we conducted, during the bicameral meeting, we have appropriated 217 million. there is just a fund gap of 40 million.] Ferrer said they are optimistic that they will get the remaining 22 billion from collections of higher tobacco and alcohol taxes. CNN Philippines' Correspondent Rex Remitio contributed to this report. Kansas State University's Black Student Union receives best in Big 12 award again Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019 A small delegation of Kansas State University's Black Student Union attended the Big XII Council on Black Student Government's annual conference, where they were awarded Clarence Wine Award for Outstanding Big 12 Council of the Year for the 11th time in 14 years. MANHATTAN Kansas State University's Black Student Union has been named the best in the Big 12 Conference for the 11th time in 14 years. The Black Student Union, or BSU, received the Clarence Wine Award for Outstanding Big 12 Council of the Year at the Big XII Council on Black Student Government's annual conference Feb. 21-24 at the University of Missouri. The award is presented annually to an outstanding undergraduate African-American student government or council in the Big 12 Conference for a serious commitment to unity, academic achievement, scholarship, campus programming and community service. "Our success has everything to do with our members," said Del'Sha Roberts, BSU president and senior in biology, Kansas City. "Without the attendance and participation, we would have no one to help us live out our mission statement." The Black Student Union's mission is to focus on the development of the Kansas State University community by advancing academic stability, political action and the leadership of black students while promoting black culture across all aspects of life. The award comes as the Black Student Union is celebrating 50 years of work toward that mission at Kansas State University. Roberts said it is a great honor to be the president of the Black Student Union and will continue her leadership beyond the university to serve as chair for the Big 12 Council on Black Student Government. Three other Kansas State University students were also elected to serve the Big 12 Council: Zanaiya Peebles, junior in biology, Overland Park, was elected parliamentarian; and Jeffrey Matthews, sophomore in open option and BSU parliamentarian, was elected treasurer, and Johari Snell, sophomore in food science and industry, was elected conference management chair, both from Kansas City, Missouri. "Our BSU is the epitome of what we want all of our K-State students to be: dedicated, hardworking and servant leaders," said Brandon Clark, BSU advisor and student programs coordinator in the department of diversity and multicultural student affairs. "To be awarded this great honor year after year by their peer institutions is something all K-Staters should celebrate. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to advise these incredible students." In addition to the Wine award, the Legion of Black Collegians and Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center at the University of Missouri recognized Clark for his 15 years of service and dedication to the Big 12 Council on Black Student Government. Before serving in his current position, Clark worked at the K-State Alumni Association from 2003-2009 and the K-State Upward Bound Program from 2009-2012. 05:26:24 AM Today Plentiful sunshine. High 88F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Tonight Mostly clear. Low 63F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow Mostly sunny skies. High 88F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Summerville, SC (29483) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 89F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. Low 71F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, Chris is a regular performer in the region. His CD, Dog Days, has been out since 2018 and he is busy writing new material. Jesse is in charge of the baking. Dad taught me to make the dough. Ive been doing it for about three years now, he said. Only Jesse and his father know the family recipe. Noah, 17, runs the cashier and does other chores in between his home-schooling. I do all the grunt work, Noah said. About the only thing I dont do is mix the dough. Virgil Nestorick, who handles all the ordering and administrative work, is an Army National Guard veteran who spent time in Iraq. My husband just loves America and our history, so thats why he named it Patriot, Amy Nestorick said. Patriots pretzels are best eaten warm and freshly baked. In fact, anyone who buys one in the shop gets it baked to order on the spot which takes about five minutes. Customers who want larger orders are asked to call a day ahead. We make our dough fresh every morning. And we hand-mix and hand-roll all our dough, Amy Nestorick said. Patriot makes a 5-ounce standard twisted-knot pretzel, which sells for $4 or $5 depending on the flavor or toppings. HANOI When President Trump boasts of his wonderful relationship with North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un, or claims that there would have been war if he hadnt been elected, many people cringe. But behind Trumps boasting and bluster, a small band of experts in North Korean affairs see a strategy taking shape. Making Kim feel respected and secure, they say, offers a possible way to persuade him to give up or at least scale back his nuclear arsenal in return for economic and diplomatic rewards. I am not a Trump supporter on 99 percent of what he does. But, strangely enough, his instincts have been right about North Korea, Joel Wit, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington who was involved in past negotiations with the North Koreans while at the State Department. Wits view is a minority one in the polarized world of Washington. Trumps Democratic foes and some Republican hawks see dangerous signs of a president without much grasp of foreign policy who could be played by North Koreans. Even Trumps own intelligence chief, Daniel Coats, testified last month that Kim isnt likely to give up his nuclear weapons. Yet a more jaundiced eye might have been skeptical of a scenario in which two men would attack another man at 2 a.m. in subfreezing Chicago because he was black and gay and in the name of Donald Trump. Then again, people have been acting strangely these days. A woman recently attacked a man in Cape Cod, Mass., for wearing a MAGA hat in a Mexican restaurant. Last month, teen boys from Covington Catholic High School, who had come to Washington for the March for Life, were immediately condemned for what was initially reported as harassment of a Native American activist, but they were cleared of any wrongdoing by a third-party investigation. And last week, a California high school student was banned from wearing her MAGA cap to school. On a far-more serious note, the Coast Guard lieutenant and would-be terrorist arrested recently allegedly was mapping a plan to kill Democratic leaders and journalists. According to a court filing, Christopher Paul Hasson, 49, had been planning a killing campaign for at least two years, amassing an arsenal of weapons, including 15 firearms and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, and contemplating a biological attack. He had studied other mass murderers, read their manifestos and compiled a list of traitors he allegedly intended to kill. Authorities say his motive was to establish a white homeland through focused violence. In short, the declaration should strip away the veneer of concern over national security by which Republicans justify their support of an unconstitutional usurpation of congressional power. Not only is there no emergency, but Republicans will damage national security by further enabling Trump's stunt. This should be a reminder that the GOP is a party without principles or values. Fidelity to the Constitution, ensuring the nation's security, and even simple honesty are foreign to this gang. They have become apparatchiks in Trump's authoritarian scheme. No voter -- Republican, Democrat or independent -- should allow such a cynical breach of these lawmakers' oaths of office. They are as unfit -- more so, because they can read the declaration and other data -- as Trump and should be banished from office in 2020. The Republican Party will likely make an irreversible decision on Tuesday and, in doing so, would confirm my long-held belief that it is not a political organization worthy of salvaging. In a one-paragraph concurrence, Justice Neil Gorsuch almost endorsed Thomas's argument: "[T]he appropriate vehicle for incorporation may well be the Fourteenth Amendment's Privileges or Immunities Clause, rather than, as this court has long assumed, the Due Process Clause." Gorsuch cited Yale law professor Akhil Amar's book "The Bill of Rights," in which Amar notes that if those who wrote and ratified the clause merely meant to apply against the states the Bill of Rights, they could, and presumably would, have said so. Hence it is reasonable to think that, properly construed, the clause denotes a richer menu of rights, encompassing those in Anglo-American legal traditions and state constitutions, and not ignoring the Ninth Amendment: "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." Miller, a Christian missionary and ham radio operator who claimed to have worked on the Manhattan Project, died at 91 in 2015, nearly a year after the FBI raided his home and seized roughly 42,000 items whose cultural value was said to be immeasurable. Up until this week, officials had provided little information about the case and declined to go into detail about exactly what the art crimes detectives had found. Talking Tuesday to CBS This Morning, Carpenter said that, before his death, Miller admitted that he had come by many of the items illegally, and that he had gone on unsanctioned archaeological digs all over the country and the world. He also came to agree that the artifacts should be returned to their proper homes. But since he didnt live long enough to see the investigation run its course, many aspects of his life and the trove he left behind are a mystery. For instance, CBSs Anna Werner asked, why would anyone have so many human bones? I dont know, Carpenter replied, shaking his head. I truly dont know. In all, Amtraks Coast Starlight Train 11 was stranded just outside Oakridge, Oregon, for more than 37 hours after it stalled. In emails and a statement Tuesday, Amtrak apologized for the extended delay and defended the decision to not let passengers off the train while stranded in Oakridge, a small town in the Cascade Range about 40 miles southeast of Eugene and 150 miles south of Portland. With more than a foot of heavy snow and numerous trees blocking the track, we made every decision in the best interest of the safety of our customers during the unfortunate sequence of events, Amtrak chief operating officer Scot Naparstek said. With local power outages and blocked roads, it was decided the safest place for our customers was to remain on the train where we were able to provide food, heat, electricity and toilets. None of the 183 passengers on board were injured in the incident, Amtrak noted. Dodson said the repair crews Sunday night worked on the trains brakes until 6 a.m. Monday, and that it gradually dawned on passengers literally that they could be trapped on the train for much longer than estimated. Gerbers latest Spokesbaby is a 1-year-old from Hickory, according to a press release from the company. Gerber announced Kairi Yang as the baby on Feb. 26. She was chosen among 544,000 entries on Instagram. As soon as we saw her photo, we fell in love with Kairis expressive eyes and angelic face, looking toward the future and being excited for all that it holds, said Bill Partyka, president and CEO of Gerber. Kairi will be the Gerber Spokesbaby for a year and will be featured on Gerbers social media channels. Her family will receive $50,000. Kairi, who is named after a character from the Kingdom Hearts video game series, is described as having a larger than life personality and a spunky attitude. When we first found out Kairi won, we were speechless and couldnt believe it. We are beyond thrilled that our sweet Kairi is Gerbers 2019 Spokesbaby, said Kairis mom, Ying Vue. Kairis personality is larger than life, and she always maintains a spunky attitude. We hope Kairis one-of-a-kind, entertaining personality and vibrant facial expressions radiate positivity around the world, just like she does in our home every single day! ASHEVILLE Another sheriff in North Carolina says he will no longer hold detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. News outlets report Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller told reporters on Tuesday that holding people suspected of being in the country illegally "is not part of our law enforcement duties." The sheriff said if federal agencies provide a valid criminal warrant, that person will be handed over to the respective agency. Miller says it's vital that local immigrants can call the sheriff's office without fear when they need help. Earlier this month, Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough Jr. announced he was severing a contract that allows ICE to use the Forsyth County jail. What were saying at the office of the sheriff is that if you want us to detain someone or arrest someone, all we simply ask, which is legal and logical, is have a judge or a U.S. magistrate to sign, Kimbrough told the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners. Were not going to do anything that is not legal. In December, Wake and Mecklenburg counties pulled out of the federal 287(g) program, in which local law enforcement agencies check the immigration status of people they've arrested. Durham County hasn't participated in 287(g), and has said it will no longer honor ICE detainers. A good Samaritan who bought a trove of cookies from shivering Girl Scouts on Friday evening was arrested Tuesday on federal drug charges, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Detric Lee McGowan was charged with conspiracy to import and distribute fentanyl, heroin and cocaine. He was also charged with racketeering and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Tuesday's charges are unrelated to McGowan's generosity on Friday, when he bought an entire stock of cookies from Girl Scouts in front of a Greenville, South Carolina, grocery store so the girls wouldn't have to continue standing in the cold. "Nobody was hurt. Nobody was threatened," Karen Kelly, a vice president of the local Girl Scouts chapter, said in an interview with the Greenville News. "We had no reason to believe that this man was anything other than one of our valuable customers. . . . This is now in the hands of law enforcement and of course we will cooperate with authorities." Local media reported Tuesday evening that the DEA confirmed McGowan's arrest that day and confirmed he was the man who appeared in the viral social media photo, adding a bizarre coda to a story that was, fleetingly, feel-good. Timeline for services People in a 13-county section of the Triad and Northwest N.C., along with a 14-county section of central N.C. that includes Alamance County, will start being served by the new PHPs in November. The rest of the state will begin services in February 2020. Medicaid serves 2.1 million North Carolinians; 1.6 million will be enrolled in managed care under a federal waiver approved in October. DHHS called the prepaid health (PHP) plan initiative the largest procurement in its history. The PHP contracts will represent a $6 billion expense annually for three years, followed by two one-year options, so the total contract could be worth $30 billion. Medicaid recipients will be enrolled in prepaid plans starting in July. If a recipient does not choose a PHP by Sept. 30, one will be chosen for them. In most instances, recipients will be able to be seen by the same providers they have now. Major reform PHPs represent a major reform in how the state pays for Medicaid patients care. Currently, health providers are paid under a fee-for-service system. Owens flashed a number on the screen: 51.6 percent. Thats the percentage of third-graders here who read at or above grade level, Owens said. We have to make this change, and we have to do it together, Owens said. On the positive side, Owens promoted the potential of Smith Reynolds Airport to boost local economic growth, and noted that the county has launched an effort called Work Ready Forsyth, which aims to better meet the skilled-labor needs of local employers through workforce development. Barnes talked about how promoting business start-ups can lift people out of poverty. Venture Cafe and Piedmont Business Capital are partnering to run a center for minority- and women-owned businesses at Bailey Power Plant in the Wake Forest Innovation Quarter. Im not content for Winston-Salem to be a farm team for Charlotte, Raleigh or Atlanta, Barnes said, echoing a remark that has become commonplace since BB&T Corp. announced it would move its headquarters to Charlotte following a merger with Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks Inc. It is time to double down and really start supporting the start-ups in Winston-Salem. Barnes said Winston-Salem has recently been named as a resurgent community by NationSwell, a company that reports on innovation. CLEMMONS The Clemmons Council will hold a public work session on Monday to give residents a chance to hear from Forsyth County officials on the Tanglewood Business Park, which is being developed outside the village limits on Idols Road. It will be 6 p.m. at Village Hall, 3715 Clemmons Road, and time will be set aside for public comments. Kyle Haney, an economic-development specialist for Forsyth County, is expected to make a presentation on the 170-acre park that the county has been trying to develop on the south side of Tanglewood Park. The village will also make a presentation. The county had asked Clemmons to contribute $1.2 million toward the development of the first phase of the park. The property could eventually be annexed into the village. The county has revised the cost estimate for the first two phases of the park to $8.5 million from $14.2 million. The new cost estimate did not include a recommendation to ask Clemmons for money. However, the village has made several infrastructure requests that amount to about $500,000, Haney told Forsyth County commissioners last week. The American Society of Microbiology names Bangs a Fellow For more than 35 years, Bangs has conducted research on the parasite that causes African sleeping sickness in humans, a fatal, re-emerging disease throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Photo: Sandra Kicman His research focuses on finding novel pathways to develop drugs that treat African sleeping sickness, which is fatal if untreated Bangs will be officially inducted into the ASM fellowship at the organization's annual meeting in San Francisco in June. BUFFALO, NY James (Jay) D. Bangs, PhD, Grant T. Fisher Professor and Chair of Microbiology and Immunology in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, has been named a fellow of the American Society of Microbiology. ASM fellows, recognized for their excellence, originality and leadership in the microbiological sciences, are elected annually through a highly selective, peer-review process, based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology. Bangs will be officially inducted into the ASM fellowship at the organizations annual meeting in San Francisco in June. For more than 35 years, Bangs has conducted research on African trypanosomes, single-celled parasites transmitted by the tsetse fly, which cause African sleeping sickness in humans, a fatal, re-emerging disease throughout sub-Saharan Africa. His pioneering research specializes in the biochemistry and cell biology of African trypanosomes and their secretory processes; it has illuminated the biosynthesis and trafficking of key virulence factors in this important human and veterinary parasite. Bangs explained that because trypanosomes are eukaryotic cells, organized similarly to every cell in the human body, treatment of infection is not unlike cancer treatment in that chemotherapy against the parasite has harsh consequences for the patient. However, since infection is invariably fatal without intervention, new, more specific drugs are desperately needed. The goal of Bangs research is to define aspects of trypanosomal secretory processes that may provide novel pathways to new drugs to treat African sleeping sickness. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1994. Bangs has organized the premier international meeting in his disciplinethe Molecular Parasitology Meeting at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, Mass.and mentored many microbiology students in his laboratory, and hundreds more globally as lecturer, instructor and director of the Biology of Parasitism course at the MBL. He also served as an ad hoc and permanent member of the NIH Pathogenic Eukaryotes Study Section. He has served on the editorial boards of two of the fields main journals, Eukaryotic Cell and Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology. A faculty member at UB since 2013, he was previously on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin where he was a trainer for its microbiological doctoral training program and a member of its Center for Research and Training in Parasitic Diseases. A native of Vineyard Haven, Mass., Bangs received his undergraduate degree in biology from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. He received his PhD in biochemical, cellular and molecular biology from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and completed postdoctoral training in cell biology at Yale University School of Medicine and in microbiology at Stanford University School of Medicine. He is a resident of Buffalo. The Rev. Matthew Farabow, the senior minister at Ardmore United Methodist Church in Winston-Salem, said he reacted with a sense of deep sadness due to the harm done with Tuesdays vote. I cannot serve a denomination that focuses on sin rather than love, Farabow said in an email. How much did Jesus speak about love compared to sin? A whole heck of a lot. The vote was not about love or loving, it was about focusing on specific sin and, according to my understanding, we are all sinners, Farabow said. It is deeply saddening and hurtful to so many who need to hear the love of God for them and the world embodied in Jesus Christ. Farabow said that there is a solution to Tuesdays events, but he didnt elaborate on what that might be. However, the time isnt right now to say that we are splitting, Farabow said. The time has now come for us to work on more ways to love God and loving everybody. Ardmore will focus on that as a model for our ministry. Melissa McGill, a spokeswoman for the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, based in Huntersville, said in a statement that the continued debate regarding human sexuality in the church is deeply wounding to our LGBTQ+ sisters and brothers. Two Lexington residents were arrested Tuesday after a suspect fired a shot into a Dollar General store during a robbery in the 8900 block of N.C. 8 near Lexington, authorities said. Deshane Tomal Wright, 22, and Jahiya Daynell Burton, 19, both of Curry Street, were charged each with robbery with a deadly weapon, assault with a deadly weapon, second-degree kidnapping, safe-cracking, larceny of a motor vehicle and shooting into an occupied building, the Davidson County Sheriff's Office said. Davidson County sheriff's deputies responded to a reported armed robbery at the store around 6:50 a.m. After the shot was fired, a suspect left the scene in a vehicle that was stolen from an employee, according to deputies. The stolen vehicle was later found at the scene of a crash at Old Linwood and Hargrave roads, the sheriff's office said. Deputies said they saw a suspect running from the scene. Investigators later found Wright and Burton in Lexington. The sheriff's office didn't describe the relationship between Wright and Burton. The two were taken to the Davidson County Jail with their bonds set at $1 million each, the sheriff's office said. They are scheduled to appear in court on March 25. 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. One thing readers of Lauren Sephtons Farmers Market to Family Gatherings notice right off the bat is that none of the recipes use butter. Instead, they use extra-virgin olive oil. Thats because Sephton is the daughter of Cindy and Tom Sephton, a Winston-Salem couple who import high-end Italian olive oil under the Batistini label. The Sephtons began their import business which also includes balsamic vinegar and other products in 2014. At the time, Lauren Sephton, now 20, was getting into cooking and spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Once they started their business, they never had any butter in the house, but we had all this olive oil so I had to learn to cook with it, Sephton said the other week. As I found a good recipe, I would write it down. Eventually, her mother suggested she compile all of her recipes into a cookbook. Sephton released Farmers Market to Family Gatherings in November, and she is selling it on her website, ABrightMoment.com, as both an e-book and hard-copy book. An Alabama commercial real-estate company has spent $8.3 million to buy a 12.7-acre tract in Union Cross Business Park in southeastern Winston-Salem. The site at 115 Business Park Drive has The Clearing House Payments Co. as the tenant. The buyer was GCP-115 Business Park LLC, an affiliate of Graham & Co. of Birmingham, Ala. The seller was RT Union Cross I LP, an affiliate of Gramercy Property Trust of New York, N.Y., according to a filing with the Forsyth County Register of Deeds. The sale was completed Monday. According to the Graham & Co. website, the Union Cross property would be its first in the Triad and pads its N.C. holdings to 2.4 million square feet. The Clearing House site was part of a $194 million acquisition of 16 Class A bulk distribution properties in Winston-Salem and Charlotte, Spartanburg, S.C., and Orlando and Tampa, Fla. Graham & Co. called the purchase its Southeast Distribution portfolio, consisting of a 2.7-million-square-foot industrial portfolio brokered by CBRE. The 100,853-square-foot building is fully leased and utilizes approximately 40 percent of the building for office space, GCP said. The best merger Warren has latched onto the proposed deal as another example of financial institutions only looking out for themselves and their profits rather than their customers, employees and the communities they serve. When Warren asked about the Fed not denying any bank deals in recent years, Powell said banks typically determine what chance their deal has of passing the Fed, and either dont apply or withdraw their applications if they learn their proposal wont meet regulatory statutes. Powell acknowledged in many instances decisions not to apply are made after bank executives privately discuss their plans with their Fed supervisors. Kelly King, BB&Ts chairman and chief executive, cited Fed discussions when laying out the merger of equals plans with analysts Feb. 7. King stressed the banks have excellent relationships with our regulators. Combined, BB&T and SunTrust have completed more than 100 bank purchases since 1984. While we, obviously, cant disclose any confidential discussions with our regulators, you might expect that we wouldnt announce something as large as this without feeling confident that our regulators would be positive with regard to such a combination, King said. UB Law Alumni Association to honor five distinguished practitioners and a non-alum BUFFALO, N.Y. Five alumni who have gone on to succeed in widely varied types of practice will be honored as the UB Law Alumni Association confers Distinguished Alumni Awards at its annual dinner on May 9. The 57th annual dinner, which also honors a non-alum, will be held at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Buffalo. Registration is available at www.law.buffalo.edu/AlumniEvent. This years Distinguished Alumni Awards honorees include: For the Judiciary: Hon. Alexander W. Hunter Jr. 74, a United Nations Dispute Tribunal judge, was appointed by the General Assembly in 2016. He hears the appeals of former and current U.N. employees who contest administrative decisions. He previously served in the Bronx as a justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York from 1994 to 2016, when he retired from the Appellate Term, First Department. He also served for eight years as a judge of the Criminal Court of the City of New York. He teaches trial advocacy at Pace School of Law and co-authored a chapter on evidence in a book on practice for trial judges. For Public Service: Caroline A. Wojtaszek 97, is Niagara Countys District Attorney, the first woman to hold the position in Niagara County. Elected in 2017, Wojtaszek previously served for 12 years as assistant district attorney for Niagara County, and for six years was confidential law clerk to Niagara County Court Judge Sara Sheldon. She has long been a leader in the fight against domestic violence and helped develop Niagara County's domestic violence protocols that later served as a model for district attorneys statewide. For Private Practice: Daniel C. Oliverio 82, of the Buffalo law firm Hodgson Russ LLP. A partner and chairman emeritus of the firm, Oliverio has built a nationally recognized practice leading the firms false claims act and whistleblower representation, and business crimes, regulatory offenses and corporate investigations. He also is a member of the firm's business litigation practice, placing him as a leader in both civil business litigation and white-collar criminal and regulatory matters, including corporate investigations and compliance. For Community Service: Lenora Foote Beavers 97 is executive assistant to presiding Justice Gerald J. Whalen for the Appellate Division, Fourth Department. She previously served as support magistrate for Erie County Family Court for 10 years. Active in the community she gives back by serving on the following boards: Erie Community College Foundation, Western New York Women's Foundation, True Community Development Corporation, Minority Bar Foundation Inc., Western New York Chapter, Women's Bar Association of the State of New York, Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission, Canisius College Women's Leadership Council and the Diversity Steering Committee for the Eighth Judicial District. She is a past president of the UB Law Alumni Association. For Business: Christopher A. Wightman 99 is a partner at PJT Camberview, based in San Francisco. He advises clients on all aspects of corporate governance and shareholder engagement with a focus on shareholder activism, complex proxy voting and executive compensation matters. Previously, he led the global corporate governance and portfolio compliance oversight programs for Vanguard. He currently serves on the Deans Advisory Council. For Outstanding Service to the University and the Community by a Non-Alumnus/a: Ilene R. Fleischmann, vice dean for alumni affairs at the School of Law and executive director of the UB Law Alumni Association. Hired as the Law Alumni Associations first executive director in 1985, she has served under four UB presidents, eight law school deans and 33 alumni association presidents, following a career in journalism. She was a founder of many of the schools signature publications and special events and helps more than 11,500 alumni connect with each other and their alma mater. Since its founding in 1887, the University at Buffalo School of Law the State University of New York systems only law school has established an excellent reputation and is widely regarded as a leader in legal education. Counted among of the nation's premier public law schools, its cutting-edge curriculum provides both a strong theoretical foundation and the practical tools graduates need to succeed in a competitive global marketplace, wherever they choose to practice. A special emphasis on interdisciplinary studies, public service and opportunities for hands-on clinical education prepare UB alumni to balance the scales of justice throughout the world. Joplin, MO (64801) Today Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 83F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Page Content In its 14th year running, Meetings Africa the leading two-day Pan-African business events trade show - has grown and attained competitive strength in the global market. Cllr Leah Knott, MMC for Economic Development in the City of Johannesburg, delivered the welcome address on Tuesday, 26 February, at the Sandton Convention Centre. As host city, and in collaboration with our industry partners, Johannesburg is thrilled to be providing the platform for not only Advancing Africa Together", but also spurring Shared Economies A Tool for Collaborative African Growth" in line with this year's Meetings Africa theme," said MMC Knott. Joburg is indeed the right place to be seeking opportunities for networking, identifying future business prospects and collaborative initiatives. We are proud and honoured to be the host city and home of an exhibition of this calibre. Meetings Africa has come a long way and continues its steady growth trajectory. This year we are looking at hosting some 194 international buyers, 55 associations and 55 local corporate buyers a 10% increase on 2018 figures." The Department of Economic Development's strategic objective is to promote the City of Joburg to be the number one African destination of choice for both business and leisure in an effort to: Improve seasonality, length of stay and tourist spend during visits to Joburg. Improve the diversity of the tourism offering in Joburg. Build a positive image / perception for the city among local, national and international audiences. We are committed to creating an investor- and visitor-friendly city in line with the executive mayor's growth targets, the top 10 mayoral priorities and initiatives like A Re Sebetseng, Buya Mthetho and Diphetogo. As we say: A Johannesburg that works is a South Africa that works!" said Knott. I would like to remind all our visitors that while Meetings Africa is one the African continent's most significant business tourism lekgotlas, that There is More to Joburg Than Business and Joburg is Up There with the Best not only are we the most visited city in Africa since 2013 (according to the Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index), Joburg is also the only city on the continent that has made it into the EUROMONITOR INTERNATIONAL'S TOP 100 CITIES ranking - ranking 37th [January 2017]." Other recent accolades for destination Joburg include: 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. Page Content Property owners, developers and businesses say they are beginning to see tangible changes in the inner city, which has bolstered their appetite to invest more in opportunities offered by the City of Joburg. The sentiment was shared by most businesses at the Inner City Partnership Forum, held on the 26 February 2019 at the Council Chambers, Braamfontein. The forum works with the City to achieve the rejuvenation of the inner city, which is integral to achieving economic growth, investment and employment opportunities in the city. The meeting gives partners and stakeholders an opportunity to present the work they have been doing in the inner city. TUHF, which has one of the largest residential property portfolios in the inner city, applauded the City's efforts in turning around the inner city. We recognise the work done by the City in the inner city and the releasing of properties to developers, but also we urge the City to focus on getting the basics right in order to realise the dream. These include service delivery, urban management, by-law enforcement and efficient development application process," said TUHF's Katherine Cox. The Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Cllr Herman Mashaba, assured the forum that the City was committed to working with stakeholders and making safety its priority in the inner city. Our efforts in the inner city are beginning to bear fruit. As the City we understand your frustrations as business and property developers. I understand that as partners operating in the inner city, you are concerned about safety issues, but I can assure you that we are counting days when we will finally release an additional 1 500 JMPD officers, who will take to the streets to ensure the safety of our residents," said Mayor Mashaba. In 2017, the City recruited about 1 500 JMPD trainee officers who are currently undergoing training, who would join the City's law enforcement team at the end of their training. The MMC for Development Planning, Cllr Reuben Masango, said the City was working around the clock to address some of the challenges raised by stakeholders. Some of the challenges we are discussing here, we continue to pursue their resolution in other platforms such as the Inner City Sub-Mayoral Committee. Some of these issues seem to be taking longer, but we are working hard to resolve them," said MMC Masango. Citiq Group acting CEO Nicolaas Erasmus said it has an appetite for the education precinct in in the inner city and of turning the empty spaces into public asset. The fee-free education has created unprecedented demand and also access to mainstream tertiary institutions is not sufficient," said Erasmus. The Joburg Inner City Tourism Association's Chairperson Isaac Chalumbira said his organisation was working hard with the City to realise untapped opportunities of the inner city by giving tourists a uniquely Joburg downtown experience, which is infused with arts, restaurants, hotels, theatres and memories. Managing Editor Rebecca Huntington has worked for newspapers across the West. She hosts a rescue podcast, The Fine Line. Her family minivan doubles as her not-so-high-tech recording studio. Scene Editor Billy Arnold covers arts and entertainment. He apprenticed as a sound engineer at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio before making his way to Jackson, where he has become a low-key fan of country music. Michael C. Duff is a law professor at the University of Wyoming and specializes in Wyomings workers compensation law. Guest Shots are solely the opinion of their authors. Doreen Tome encourages everyone to stay abreast of the news and keep track of the not-so-distant past. Contact her via columnists@jhnewsandguide.com. Mark Huffman edits copy and occasionally writes some, too. He's been a journalist since newspapers had typewriters and darkrooms. Tristan Ahtone is a member of the Kiowa Tribe and associate editor of the High Country News tribal affairs desk. The views expressed in this column are solely his own. This story was originally published at High Country News (hcn.org) on Feb. 20. Botnet definition A botnet is a collection of internet-connected devices that an attacker has compromised. Botnets act as a force multiplier for individual attackers, cyber-criminal groups and nation-states looking to disrupt or break into their targets systems. Commonly used in distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, botnets can also take advantage of their collective computing power to send large volumes of spam, steal credentials at scale, or spy on people and organizations. Malicious actors build botnets by infecting connected devices with malware and then managing them using a command and control server. Once an attacker has compromised a device on a specific network, all the vulnerable devices on that network are at risk of being infected. A botnet attack can be devastating. In 2016, the Mirai botnet shut down a large portion of the internet, including Twitter, Netflix, CNN and other major sites, as well as major Russian banks and the entire country of Liberia. The botnet took advantage of unsecured internet of things (IoT) devices such as security cameras, installing malware that then attacked the DYN servers that route internet traffic. The industry woke up, and device manufacturers, regulators, telecom companies and internet infrastructure providers worked together to isolate compromised devices, take them down or patch them, and make sure that a botnet like could never be built again. Just kidding. None of that happened. Instead, the botnets just keep coming. Botnets examples Here are just some of the known active botnets. Mirai Even the Mirai botnet is still up and running. According to a report released by Fortinet in August 2018, Mirai was one of the most active botnets in the second quarter of that year. Since the release of its source code two years ago, Mirai botnets have even added new features, including the ability to turn infected devices into swarms of malware proxies and cryptominers. They've also continued to add exploits targeting both known and unknown vulnerabilities, according to Fortinet. In fact, cryptomining is showing up as a significant change across the botnet universe, says Tony Giandomenico, Fortinet's senior security strategist and researcher. It allows attackers to use the victim's computer hardware and electricity to earn Bitcoin, Monero and other cryptocurrencies. "That's the biggest thing that we've been experiencing over the past few months," he says. "The bad guys are experimenting with how they can use IoT botnets to make money." Reaper (a.k.a. IoTroop) Mirai is just the start. In fall 2017, Check Point researchers said they discovered a new botnet, variously known as "IoTroop" and "Reaper," that's compromising IoT devices at an even faster pace than Mirai did. It has the potential to take down the entire internet once the owners put it to work. Mirai infected vulnerable devices that used default user names and passwords. Reaper goes beyond that, targeting at least nine different vulnerabilities from nearly a dozen different device makers, including major players like D-Link, Netgear and Linksys. It's also flexible, in that attackers can easily update the botnet code to make it more damaging. According to research by Recorded Future, Reaper was used in attacks on European banks this year, including ABN Amro, Rabobank and Ing. Echobot Discovered in early 2019, Echobot is a Mirai variant that uses at least 26 exploits to propagate itself. Like many other botnets, it takes advantage of unpatched IoT devices, but also exploits vulnerabilities in enterprise applications such as Oracle WebLogic and VMware SD-WAN. Echobot was discovered by Palo Alto Networks, and its report on the botnet concludes that it is an effort to form larger botnets to execute larger DDoS attacks. Emotet, Gamut and Necurs The main purpose of these three botnets is to spew spam at high volume to deliver a malicious payload or get victims to perform a certain action. Each seems to have its own specialty, according to Ciscos Email: Click with Caution report. Emotet can steal email from victims mailboxes, which allows the attackers to craft convincing yet malicious messages to fool recipients. Attackers can also use it to steal SMTP credentials, useful to take over email accounts. Gamut seems to specialize in spam emails that try to establish a relationship with the victims. This might be in the form of a dating or romance guise, or a phony job offer. Necurs is known to deliver ransomware and other digital extortion attacks. Although it hasnt received as much attention recently since discovered in 2012, the Cisco report says it is still very much active and dangerous. The graphic below from Distil Networks' 2019 Bad Bot Report provides an overview of what the different types of bots can do. Distil Networks Why we cant stop botnets The challenges to shutting botnets down include the widespread availability and ongoing purchases of insecure devices, the near impossibility of simply locking infected machines out of the internet, and difficulty tracking down and prosecuting the botnet creators. When consumers go into a store to buy a security camera or other connected device, they look at features, they look for recognizable brands, and, most importantly, they look at the price. Security is rarely a top consideration. "Because [IoT devices are] so cheap, the likelihood of there being a good maintenance plan and fast updates is low," says Ryan Spanier, director of research at Kudelski Security. Meanwhile, as people continue to buy low-cost, insecure devices, the number of vulnerable end points just keeps going up. Research firm IHS Markit estimates that the total number of connected devices will rise from nearly 27 billion in 2017 to 125 billion in 2030. There's not much motivation for manufacturers to change, Spanier says. Most manufacturers face no consequences at all for selling insecure devices. "Though that's starting to change in the past year," he says. "The US government has fined a couple of manufacturers." For example, the FTC sued D-Link in 2017 for selling routers and IP cameras full of well-known and preventable security flaws such as hard-coded login credentials. However, a federal judge dismissed half of the FTC's complaints because the FTC couldn't identify any specific instances where consumers were actually harmed. How to detect botnets Botnets are typically controlled by a central command server. In theory, taking down that server and then following the traffic back to the infected devices to clean them up and secure them should be a straightforward job, but it's anything but easy. When the botnet is so big that it impacts the internet, the ISPs might band together to figure out what's going on and curb the traffic. That was the case with the Mirai botnet, says Spanier. "When it's smaller, something like spam, I don't see the ISPs caring so much," he says. "Some ISPs, especially for home users, have ways to alert their users, but it's such a small scale that it's not going to affect a botnet. It's also really hard to detect botnet traffic. Mirai was easy because of how it was spreading, and security researchers were sharing information as fast as possible." Compliance and privacy issues are also involved, says Jason Brvenik, CTO at NSS Labs, Inc., as well as operational aspects. A consumer might have several devices on their network sharing a single connection, while an enterprise might have thousands or more. "There's no way to isolate the thing that's impacted," Brvenik says. Botnets will try to disguise their origins. For example, Akamai has been tracking a botnet that has IP addresses associated with Fortune 100 companies addresses that Akamai suspects are probably spoofed. Some security firms are trying to work with infrastructure providers to identify the infected devices. "We work with the Comcasts, the Verizons, all the ISPs in the world, and tell them that these machines are talking to our sink hole and they have to find all the owners of those devices and remediate them," says Adam Meyers, VP of intelligence at CrowdStrike, Inc. That can involve millions of devices, where someone has to go out and install patches. Often, there's no remote upgrade option. Many security cameras and other connected sensors are in remote locations. "It's a huge challenge to fix those things," Meyers says. Plus, some devices might no longer be supported, or might be built in such a way that patching them is not even possible. The devices are usually still doing the jobs even after they're infected, so the owners aren't particularly motivated to throw them out and get new ones. "The quality of video doesn't go down so much that they need to replace it," Meyers says. Often, the owners of the devices never find out that they've been infected and are part of a botnet. "Consumers have no security controls to monitor botnet activity on their personal networks," says Chris Morales, head of security analytics at Vectra Networks, Inc. Enterprises have more tools at their disposal, but spotting botnets is not usually a top priority, says Morales. "Security teams prioritize attacks targeting their own resources rather than attacks emanating from their network to external targets," he says. Device manufacturers who discover a flaw in their IoT devices that they can't patch may, if sufficiently motivated, do a recall, but even then, it might not have much of an effect. "Very few people get a recall done unless there's a safety issue, even if there's a notice," says NSS Labs' Brvenik. "If there's a security alert on your security camera on your driveway, and you get a notice, you might think, 'So what, they can see my driveway?'" How to prevent botnet attacks The Council to Secure the Digital Economy (CSDE), in cooperation with the Information Technology Industry Council, USTelecom and other organizations, recently released a very comprehensive guide to defending enterprises against botnets. Here are the top recommendations. Update, update, update Botnets use unpatched vulnerabilities to spread from machine to machine so that they can cause maximum damage in an enterprise. The first line of defense should be to keep all systems updated. The CSDE recommends that enterprises install updates as soon as they become available, and automatic updates are preferable. Some enterprises prefer to delay updates until they've had time to check for compatibility and other problems. That can result in significant delays, while some systems may be completely forgotten about and never even make it to the update list. Enterprises that don't use automatic updates might want to reconsider their policies. "Vendors are getting good at testing for stability and functionality," says Craig Williams, security outreach manager for Talos at Cisco Systems, Inc. Cisco is one of the founding partners of the CSDE, and contributed to the anti-botnet guide. "The risk that used to be there has been diminished," he says. It's not just applications and operating systems that need automatic updates. "Make sure that your hardware devices are set to update automatically as well," he says. Legacy products, both hardware and software, may no longer be updated, and the anti-botnet guide recommends that enterprises discontinue their use. Vendors are also extremely unlikely to provide support for pirated products. Lock down access The guide recommends that enterprises deploy multi-factor and risk-based authentication, least privilege, and other best practices for access controls. After infecting one machine, botnets also spread by leveraging credentials, says Williams. By locking down access, the botnets can be contained in one place, where they're do less damage and are easier to eradicate. One of the most effective steps that companies can take is to use physical keys for authentication. Google, for example, began requiring all its employees to use physical security keys in 2017. Since then, not a single employee's work account has been phished, according to the guide. "Unfortunately, a lot of business can't afford that," says Williams.In addition to the upfront costs of the technology, the risks that employees will lose keys are high. Smartphone-based second-factor authentication helps bridge that gap. According to Wiliams, this is cost effective and adds a significant layer of security. "Attackers would have to physically compromise a person's phone," he says. "It's possible to get code execution on the phone to intercept an SMS, but those types of issues are extraordinarily rare." Don't go it alone The anti-bot guide recommends several areas in which enterprises can benefit by looking to external partners for help. For example, there are many channels in which enterprises can share threat information, such as CERTs, industry groups, government and law enforcement information sharing activities, and via vendor-sponsored platforms. Another area in which a company shouldn't rely solely on its own internal resources is in protecting against DDoS attacks. "Generally speaking, with DDoS, you want to stop it as far away from you as you can," says Williams. "Lots of people assume that if you have an intrusion protection system or a firewall, it will stop a DDoS attack. That's not actually the case." Deepen your defenses It's no longer enough to secure the perimeter, or endpoint devices. "Attackers are really creative these days," says Williams. "They can add stress to your network from a number of different vendors." Having multiple defensive systems in place is like having several locks on a door, he says. If the attackers figure out how to get past one lock, the other locks will stop them. The anti-botnet guide recommends that enterprises consider using advanced analytics to secure users, data, and networks, to ensure that security controls are correctly set, and to use network segmentation and network architectures that securely manage traffic flows. For example, IoT devices should be on a separate, isolated part of the network, says Williams. The Mirai botnet, for example, took advantage of insecure connected devices. "When you have IoT devices that can't be patched on the same network as the rest of the enterprise, it adds a significant level of risk that doesn't need to be there," he says. Botnet takedowns In late 2017, the Andromeda botnet was taken down by the FBI working together with law enforcement in Europe. Over the previous six months, the botnet was detected on blocked on an average of more than a million machines every month. According to Fortinet, however, the Andromeda botnet was still active in the second quarter of this year -- in fact, it was the second biggest by volume, infecting devices on more than 20 percent of companies. It's hard to take them down, says Fortinet's Giandomenico. "Who is responsible? Is it the government that's responsible for going out there and cleaning it up?" And it's about to get even harder, he adds. With a botnet controlled by central servers, once the servers are removed, the botnet becomes inactive. But botnets are starting to operate in mesh fashion, with peer-to-peer communications that can make the botnets extremely resilient, Giandomenico says. It's not just a theoretical problem, he adds, with a few botnets already known to be running in decentralized, mesh mode. "It is a slow but growing trend," he says. "Some of the more famous ones are Hajime, Hide N Seek and TheMoon. In addition to taking down command and control servers, authorities can also attack botnets by going after their customers. DDoS-as-a-service providers, for example, use botnets to launch massive attacks on behalf of anyone with some spare cash in their PayPal or Bitcoin wallets. This spring, authorities from the UK and the Netherlands teamed up in Operation Power Off to take down one of the largest DDoS-as-a-service operators, webstresser.org, and arrested platform admins located in the UK, Croatia, Canada and Serbia. The service had 136,000 registered users and was responsible for 4 million attacks, according to Europol, with services running for as little as 15 euros a month. Webstresser.org is only one of many such sites, according to a report Akamai released this summer. So far, there's been no sign of a drop in DDoS attacks as a result. Authorities also go after the creators who build the botnets in the first place, according to Adam Meyers, VP of intelligence at CrowdStrike, Inc. For example, in 2017, authorities arrested Peter Severa Levashov, the hacker behind the Waledac and Kelihos spam botnets. "He was arrested while on vacation in Spain," Meyers says. "It required coordination between the Department of Justice, the FBI, and Spanish police. There was a lot of international cooperation. Plus, there was technical expertise required to disrupt the botnet, which involved us sending some technical experts to Alaska to help the FBI with the takedown." Shutting down a botnet's servers isn't enough to solve the problem if the creators are still out there. "With Kelihos, that was disrupted five times or so," Meyers says. "But because the author of that botnet was not apprehended, he was able to spin it back up, in some cases within hours of the disruption. After a couple of times, people realized that this wasn't going to go anywhere until we take this guy off the street." In the case of the Andromeda botnet, even arresting the creator wasn't enough. It took a massive cooperative effort by international law enforcement agencies and technology and security vendors to take down the network, which involved 464 botnets, 1,214 command-and-control domains, and 80 malware families. Andromeda has been around since 2011, with ready-to-go botnet kits sold on the dark web, also known as Gamarue and Wauchos. It was responsible for infecting more than 1.1 million systems per month. The law enforcement groups began working to take them down in 2015, says Jean-Ian Boutin, senior malware researcher at ESET, LLC, one of the groups working on the takedown. "This type of operation takes time," he says. During that time, security teams analyzed thousands of Andromeda samples. "Based on this, we believe that this operation led to the disruption of all current Andromeda botnets." However, not only is Andromeda still there, and still big, but the creator who was arrested in the takedown is also back on the street. Sergei Yarets was released this summer by Belarus authorities after six months in prison and a relatively small fine -- the equivalent of about $5,500. "This case is another example of a double standard toward prosecuting cybercriminals in post-Soviet countries, where they treat their own cybercriminals differently, allowing them to avoid fair punishment and then using them in the interests of the state, neutralizing the efforts of the international community to combat cybercrimes," says Alexandr Solad, a researcher with Recorded Future, in a report in August 2018. A long way from a permanent solution to botnets Even arresting the hackers in the first place is difficult. The problem is that there haven't been that many arrests, Meyers says. "[Russian hacker Evgeniy] Bogachev was fingered in June 2014 in the Gameover Zeus attacks, and he's still at large in Russia someplace," he says. "A lot of these guys don't have to worry about arrests. If they work in Russia, and don't target Russian systems, they can pretty much operate with impunity." Bogachev is currently on the FBI's Cyber's most wanted list. Permanently solving the botnet problem requires a global solution to cybercrime, on top of the technical challenges, says Daniel Miessler, director of advisory services at IOActive, Inc. That's not happening in the foreseeable future. "Botnets are an emergent malady that exist because of the vulnerabilities and incentives that exist within society," he says. "Until we fix those, we should expect botnets and other emergent intersections between malice and vulnerability, to be permanent co-passengers." In addition to creating a common, worldwide cybercrime enforcement system, there also needs to be standard regulations for manufacturers, requiring a certain level of minimal security in IoT devices. "Any regulation must also apply to all manufacturers, as many markets tend to be flooded with very cheap devices produced in regions where internet laws are very lax or non-existent," says Rod Soto, director of security research at Jask, an AI cybersecurity startup. It's hard to imagine all the world's nations and affected industries coming together and agreeing on a common approach, and then enforcing it, says Igal Zeifman, product evangelist at Incapsula, Inc. "All initiatives to combat the growth of botnets through industry standards and legislation will likely continue to occur only on a regional or country level," he says. That means that even if individual countries can slow down the growth of botnets in their regions, there will still be plenty of other places where they can grow. "Considering the global nature of the internet, this means that botnet attacks will continue to pose a threat to the digital businesses and the online community for many years to come," Zeifman says. Botnet news What is a DDoS attack? A distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack is when an attacker, or attackers, attempt to make it impossible for a service to be delivered. This can be achieved by thwarting access to virtually anything: servers, devices, services, networks, applications, and even specific transactions within applications. In a DoS attack, its one system that is sending the malicious data or requests; a DDoS attack comes from multiple systems. Generally, these attacks work by drowning a system with requests for data. This could be sending a web server so many requests to serve a page that it crashes under the demand, or it could be a database being hit with a high volume of queries. The result is available internet bandwidth, CPU and RAM capacity becomes overwhelmed. The impact could range from a minor annoyance from disrupted services to experiencing entire websites, applications, or even entire business taken offline. Related video: Early warning signs of a DDoS attack 3 types of DDoS attacks There are three primary classes of DDoS attacks: Volume-based attacks use massive amounts of bogus traffic to overwhelm a resource such as a website or server. They include ICMP, UDP and spoofed-packet flood attacks. The size of a volume-based attack is measured in bits per second (bps). Protocol or network-layer DDoS attacks send large numbers of packets to targeted network infrastructures and infrastructure management tools. These protocol attacks include SYN floods and Smurf DDoS, among others, and their size is measured in packets per second (PPS). Application-layer attacks are conducted by flooding applications with maliciously crafted requests. The size of application-layer attacks is measured in requests per second (RPS). For each type of attack, the goal is always the same: Make online resources sluggish or completely unresponsive. DDoS attack symptoms DDoS attacks can look like many of the non-malicious things that can cause availability issues such as a downed server or system, too many legitimate requests from legitimate users, or even a cut cable. It often requires traffic analysis to determine what is precisely occurring. A DDoS attack timeline It was an attack that would forever change how denial-of-service attacks would be viewed. In early 2000, Canadian high school student Michael Calce, a.k.a. MafiaBoy, whacked Yahoo! with a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that managed to shut down one of the leading web powerhouses of the time. Over the course of the week that followed, Calce took aim, and successfully disrupted, other such sites as Amazon, CNN and eBay. Certainly not the first DDoS attack, but that highly public and successful series of attacks transformed denial of service attacks from novelty and minor nuisance to powerful business disruptors in the minds of CISOs and CIOs forever. Since then, DDoS attacks have become an all too frequent menace, as they are commonly used to exact revenge, conduct extortion, as a means of online activism, and even to wage cyberwar. They have also gotten bigger over the years. In the mid-1990s an attack may have consisted of 150 requests per second and it would have been enough to bring down many systems. Today they can exceed 1,000 Gbps. This has largely been fueled by the sheer size of modern botnets. In October 2016, internet infrastructure services provider Dyn DNS (Now Oracle DYN) was stuck by a wave of DNS queries from tens of millions IP addresses. That attack, executed through the Mirai botnet, infected reportedly over 100,000 IoT devices, including IP cameras and printers. At its peak, Mirai reached 400,000 bots. Services including Amazon, Netflix, Reddit, Spotify, Tumblr, and Twitter were disrupted. In early 2018 a new DDoS technique began to emerge. On February 28, the version control hosting service GitHub was hit with a massive denial of service attack, with 1.35 TB per second of traffic hitting the popular site. Although GitHub was only knocked offline intermittently and managed to beat the attack back entirely after less than 20 minutes, the sheer scale of the assault was worrying, as it outpaced the Dyn attack, which had peaked at 1.2 TB a second. An analysis of the technology that drove the attack revealed that it was in some ways simpler than other assaults. While the Dyn attack was the product of the Mirai botnet, which required malware to infest thousands of IoT devices, the GitHub attack exploited servers running the Memcached memory caching system, which can return very large chunks of data in response to simple requests. Memcached is meant to be used only on protected servers running on internal networks, and generally has little by way of security to prevent malicious attackers from spoofing IP addresses and sending huge amounts of data at unsuspecting victims. Unfortunately, thousands of Memcached servers are sitting on the open internet, and there has been a huge upsurge in their use in DDoS attacks. Saying that the servers are "hijacked" is barely fair, as they'll cheerfully send packets wherever they're told without asking questions. Just days after the GitHub attack, another Memecached-based DDoS assault slammed into a US service provider with 1.7 TB per second of data. Related video: The Dyn DDoS attack one year later The Mirai botnet was significant in that, unlike most DDoS attacks, it leveraged vulnerable IoT devices rather PCs and servers, Its especially scary when one considers that by 2020, according to BI Intelligence, there will be 34 billion internet connected devices, and the majority (24 billion) will be IoT devices. Unfortunately, Mirai wont be the last IoT-powered botnet. An investigation across security teams within Akamai, Cloudflare, Flashpoint, Google, RiskIQ and Team Cymru uncovered a similarly sized botnet, dubbed WireX, consisting of 100,000 compromised Android devices within 100 countries. A series of large DDoS attacks that targeted content providers and content delivery networks prompted the investigation. On June 21, 2020, Akamai reported that it had mitigated a DDoS attack on a large European bank that peaked at 809 million packets per second (Mpps), the largest ever packet volume. This attack was designed to overwhelm the network gear and applications in the target's data center by sending billions of small (29 bytes including IPv4 header) packets. Akamai researchers said that this attack was unique because of the large number of source IP addresses used. "The number of source IPs that registered traffic to the customer destination increased substantially during the attack, indicating that it was highly distributed in nature. We saw upward of 600x the number of source IPs per minute, compared to what we normally observe for this customer destination," the researchers noted. DDoS attacks today While the volume of DDoS attacks has wavered over time, they are still a significant threat. Kaspersky Labs reports that the number of DDoS attacks for Q2 2019 increased by 32% over Q3 2018, primarily due to a spike in attacks in September. For 2020, Cloudflare reports that the volume of DDoS attacks increased every quarter except Q4, Recently discovered botnets like Torii and DemonBot capable of launching DDoS attacks are a concern, according to Kaspersky. Torii is capable of taking over a range of IoT devices and is considered more persistent and dangerous than Mirai. DemonBot hijacks Hadoop clusters, which gives it access to more computing power. Another alarming trend is the availability of new DDoS launch platforms like 0x-booter. This DDos-as-a-service leverages about 16,000 IoT devices infected with the Bushido malware, a Mirai variant. A DDoS report from Imperva found that most DDoS attacks in 2019 were relatively small. For example, network-layer attacks typically did not exceed 50 million PPS. The report's authors attributed this to DDoS-for-hire services, which offer unlimited but small attacks. Imperva did see some very large attacks in 2019 including a network-layer attack that reached 580 million PPS and an application-layer attack that peaked at 292,000 RPS and lasted 13 days. That trend changed in Q4 2020 when Cloudflare reported a "massive uptick" in the number of attacks over 500Mbps and 50K pps. Those attacks also became more persistent with nearly 9% of attacks observed between October and December lasting more than 24 hours. Cloudflare also observed what it called a "distrubing trend" in the increased number of RDDoS attacks in 2020, where organizations receive a threat of a DDoS attack that will disrupt their operations unless a ransom is paid. The malicious parties tend to target victims that are less able to respond and recover from such an attack. DDoS attack tools Typically, DDoS attackers rely on botnets collections of a network of malware-infected systems that are centrally controlled. These infected endpoints are usually computers and servers, but are increasingly IoT and mobile devices. The attackers will harvest these systems by identifying vulnerable systems that they can infect through phishing attacks, malvertising attacks and other mass infection techniques. Increasingly, attackers will also rent these botnets from those who built them. How DDoS attacks evolve As mentioned briefly above, its becoming more common for these attacks to be conducted by rented botnets. Expect this trend to continue. Another trend is the use of multiple attack vectors within an attack, also known as Advanced Persistent Denial-of-Service APDoS. For instance, an APDoS attack may involve the application layer, such as attacks against databases and applications as well as directly on the server. This goes beyond simply 'flooding,' attacks says Chuck Mackey, managing director of partner success at Binary Defense. Additionally, Mackey explains, attackers often dont just directly target their victims but also the organizations on which they depend such as ISPs and cloud providers. These are broad-reaching, high-impact attacks that are well-coordinated, he says. This is also changing the impact of DDoS attacks on organizations and expanding their risk. Businesses are no longer merely concerned with DDoS attacks on themselves, but attacks on the vast number of business partners, vendors, and suppliers on whom those businesses rely, says Mike Overly, cybersecurity lawyer at Foley & Lardner LLP. One of the oldest adages in security is that a business is only as secure as its weakest link. In todays environment (as evidenced by recent breaches), that weakest link can be, and frequently is, one of the third parties, he says. Of course, as criminals perfect their DDoS attacks, the technology and tactics will not stand still. As Rod Soto, director of security research at JASK explains, the addition of new IoT devices, rise of machine learning and AI will all play a role in changing these attacks. Attackers will eventually integrate these technologies into attacks as well, making it more difficult for defenders to catch up with DDoS attacks, specifically those that cannot be stopped by simple ACLs or signatures. DDoS defense technology will have to evolve in that direction as well, Soto says. Editor's note: This article, first published in September 2017, has been updated to include current data from Cloudflare. More on DDoS attacks: Vodafone Hutchison Australia chief executive Inaki Berroeta has criticised Telstra for seeking a drop in NBN prices at a time when it is receiving $2.5 billion from NBN Co for use of its infrastructure and for customers who have been transferred over. In response to a query during the announcement of VHA's results for 2018 on Wednesday, Berroeta said Telstra was complaining despite what he termed a disproportional sum being paid to the company by NBN Co even though it was smaller retail service providers that were being affected more by NBN Co's pricing. Ultimately the ones that have big market share grow their market share and the NBN for one reason or another has made the life of new entrants or smaller players quite complicated," he said. There have been several calls for a write-down of the NBN's value, including from Telstra's chief executive Andrew Penn. But, as iTWire, little consideration has been given to the fact that a major part of the network will need an upgrade to full-fibre after it is completed. Berroeta said there was little margin in the NBN retail business but the company had started a division for this business last April because it believed this was a complementary product for customers. His comments came after Vocus Group chief executive Kevin Russell said the group was no longer going to tussle for NBN business. Vocus indicated that it would instead concentrate on wireless and mobile services based on 5G, through a deal with Optus. Both Telstra and Optus said during recent results' announcements that their businesses had been affected by the NBN. Penn said: "Telstras circumstances today are very different from what they were before the NBN. We are no longer the national wholesale provider. That part of our business the revenue and value is being transferred to the NBN and that is reflected in our income, profit, and dividends." And Optus reported EBITDA of $664 million for the second quarter of 2019, a drop of 8.7% from the $727 million for the corresponding quarter a year ago. This was put down to lower payments from NBN Co for customers who migrated to the broadband network. New Zealand's biggest freight and logistics company Mainfreight has begun using a new Internet of Things Asset Tracking Service developed by telco Spark. A statement from Spark said the service used its extensive IoT networks, cost-effective IoT devices, digital monitoring dashboards and a support service provided by its own daytime help-desk. Businesses which want to keep track of their assets have to pay a one-off device fee and an ongoing monthly subscription cost per connected device. The service is delivered in three monthly subscription packages based on business needs essential, plus or advanced. Sparks Digital Services lead Michael Stribling (below, right) said asset tracking was consistently ranked as a top use case for IoT across consumer, business and industrial markets. Industry forecasts indicate the number of devices using tracking location will grow by 40% in the next two years," he said. "However mainstream adoption has been slow due to high cost, the complexity of deployment, technology limitations and the small number of technology providers offering scaled IoT solutions. The main interface of the asset-tracking device. Our move into providing an end-to-end IoT Asset Tracking service means were providing businesses with key digital services that will allow them the best chance to innovate and succeed in a digital world. Sparks scale and expertise in the IoT industry and our newly launched nationwide networks means weve been able to launch a product that is competitively priced, and we can provide proven guidance to businesses on how to deploy and adopt IoT that fits their needs. Mainfreight is among the 14% of New Zealand businesses who have deployed an IoT solution and early adoption has helped rank New Zealand as the fourth most IoT ready country in the G20, despite its relatively small GDP and population. Stribling said Mainfreight was a prime example of how a business could use data derived from an IoT solution to solve everyday problems and make smarter business decisions. Mainfreights supply chain is in better order thanks to IoT. By keeping a closer eye on their segregation bins across all depots they know if theyre under-utilised and can choose to relocate them as well as ensuring they are where they should be at the right time," he said. The company that is under the US gun, Huawei Technologies, has bitten back, saying it is ironical that while the US keeps flinging evidence-free charges of spying at the Chinese firm, Washington passed a law last year that makes it possible for it to access data in any branch of an American company located overseas. Huawei rotating chairman Guo Ping said during a keynote at MWC in Barcelona on Tuesday that the US accusation about security in its 5G equipment "has no evidence, nothing". "The irony is that the US CLOUD (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data) Act allows their governmental entities to access data across borders," he added. Washington has been campaigning to try and get other countries not to use Huawei equipment in their 5G rollouts, claiming that the firm is obliged to spy for China if Beijing asks it to. The CLOUD Act wasin March last year and came about after a prolonged tussle between Microsoft and the US Department of Justice with the latter seeking access to emails stored on a server at Microsoft's Ireland operations. The DoJ said it needed the data to pursue action in a case involving drug trafficking. The Act changed US law so that law-enforcement warrants would henceforth apply to data stored anywhere by US-based tech firms The legislation was tagged onto a massive spending bill which was signed into law by US President Donald Trump. The new Act means that the one feature sought by foreign companies not to have their data at the beck and call of the American Government would no longer be an option if they chose to use the cloud services of a US firm operating in their own countries. On the downside, the Act also gives companies the right to challenge warrants in court based on privacy laws in the specific country where the data is stored. Guo dwelt in detail on what he claimed was Huawei's superior 5G technology. "Huawei is the first company that can deploy 5G networks at scale. More importantly, we can deliver the simplest possible sites with better performance," he told his audience. "With 100 megahertz, our 5G can reach more than 14Gbps; thats for a single sector. We are at the leading edge of performance. "Strong capacity also needs strong transmission equipment. If fibre is available, we only need to install a blade, attach one fibre, and we can bring bandwidth up to 200Gbps. It's incredible. "If fibre is not available, carriers can use microwave. However, the bandwidth of traditional microwave is only 1Gbps. To address this problem, we use innovative architecture to boost that bandwidth to 20Gbps. "With our 5G smartphone and CPE, Huawei is able to provide end-to-end 5G solutions. We have begun to help carriers deploy 5G at scale." Regarding capacity, Guo said using a performance algorithm, Huawei could more than triple cell throughput. "For hardware, our 5G chips support 64 channels, the highest in the industry. We have also increased the computing power of these chips by 2.5 times," he added. "For microwave, we can support 10 times greater transmission bandwidth than other solutions on the market. Little by little, we are pushing the physical limits of our technology." He said another thing the company was doing was simplifying sites as much as possible without sacrificing performance. "For example, if we made 64T antennas with old techniques, one 5G antenna would be bigger than a door," he said. "Can you imagine installing that? If we put one here on the beach (in Barcelona), it would be blown down. "To address this issue, we are using new materials. We have reduced the number of components by 99%, and with lighter covers, we can reduce weight by 40%. "These new AAUs (active antenna units) are as wide as a backpack and very strong. They can survive grade-15 typhoons. This happened in Shenzhen last year. "Installation is super easy. We can install them directly on a 4G site, or even on a lamp pole. Simple sites greatly reduce carrier CAPEX and OPEX. In Europe, where space is limited, we can help you save 10,000 on site rental, every site, every year." Members of the American official delegation to MWC in Barcelona have been careful to avoid any connection to Huawei to the extent that they even did not sport the official lanyards, which were sponsored by the Chinese telecommunications company, when speaking to the media. Instead, the US team, led by Robert Strayer, the State Departments top cyber security diplomat, wore lanyards which sported the logos of Ericsson and IBM. The American push to paint Huawei as suspect when it comes to 5G equipment, was also rather haphazard and disorganised, The Wall Street Journal reported. In comparison to Huawei, which has staged a number of well-organised presentations for the media in Barcelona, the Americans had to borrow a booth from the organisers for their news conference on Tuesday. US officials struggled to make themselves heard, the WSJ reported, as they had no podium or even a microphone. The Huawei media presentations were made in booths adorned by the company's flower-petal logo and all its team wore the official lanyards which again sported the company's logo. The US team did not present any evidence to buttress their claims about Huawei equipment being suspect, but instead claimed the company was dishonest because it had been allegedly involved in breaking US domestic sanctions against exporting products to Iran. The chief financial officer of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, has been detained in Vancouver since 1 December 2018 on a request by the US Justice Department for allegedly playing a key role in breaking sanctions. Ithaca, NY (14850) Today Mostly cloudy skies. A stray severe thunderstorm is possible. High near 85F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms this evening giving way to periods of light rain late. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. 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: Burma Military Presence Still Needed in Parliament, USDP Says USDP officials hold a press conference in Naypyitaw on Feb. 25. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy NAYPYITAWThe Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has defended the militarys involvement in the countrys national legislature, saying it is necessary to keep the country from breaking up, and to protect national sovereignty and unity. Asked by The Irrawaddy whether the USDP supported amending the 2008 Constitution to limit the role of the military (or Tatmadaw) in politics, the partys senior leader, ex-general U Thaung Aye, parroted the slogan created by the former military regime: Our Three Main National Causesnon-disintegration of the Union, non-disintegration of national unity and perpetuation of sovereignty. Do the 25 percent [of seats guaranteed by the Constitution to military-appointed lawmakers] in Parliament act against the interest of any particular citizen or individual? This percentage [of the parliaments formed in] in 2010 and 2015 served the non-disintegration of the Union, non-disintegration of national unity and perpetuation of sovereignty, said U Thaung Aye, who is also a lawmaker in the Lower House, at a party press conference on Monday. He went on to repeat the militarys oft-cited justification for seizing power at various times in the countrys history. Since independence, the country has almost fallen into the abyss time and again due to the haphazard management of politicians. To put it simply, the Tatmadaw has had to take care of [the problem] whenever that happened. This is the history of the Tatmadaw that cant be erased, he said. Mandalay-based lawyer U Thein Than Oo acknowledged that the Tatmadaw saved the country many times during periods of civil war from 1948 to 1962. However, he said, Myanmar had become one of the worlds poorest countries by 1988 in the years following General Ne Wins unconstitutional seizure of power in 1962. The country has collapsed in all aspects including politics, the economy, socially and the education system. It was not done by politicians. It was done by the military led by Gen. Ne Win, he said. The military seized power [again] in 1988, despite the public uprising, and retained it until 2011. [Former] President U Thein Sein is also from the military. Politicians got the country back only after the 2015 election, he added. The Tatmadaws image has been marred by self-seeking, power-mad military leaders, U Thein Than Oo said. He called on the military to withdraw from politics if it desires to build a genuine democracy and a genuine Union. The public has been robbed of 25 percent of its will, he said, referring to the 25 percent of seats in Parliament reserved for the military. The Tatmadaw does not seem to be retreating from politics, said U Aung Thu Nyein, a director of the Institute for Strategy and Policy. It seems that there is still a need for lengthy negotiations between political and military leaders, he said. At a press conference given by the Tatmadaw in Yangon on Saturday, some generals said the Tatmadaw would remain in politics as long as there are ethnic armed groups in the country. USDP spokesperson Dr. Nanda Hla Myint denied allegations that the party is the militarys proxy. U Thaung Aye said it was necessary for the Tatmadaw to take 25 percent of the seats in Parliament because the country was still affected by rampant personality cults, partisanship and ideological disputes. There will be no need to demand [the militarys retreat from politics] when there are politicians, political parties, individuals and organizations that really care about the interests of the people. The proportion [of military-appointed lawmakers] will decline automatically, he said. The NLD-led government criticizes the Tatmadaw, but many of the top managers in the current government are retired generals, Dr. Nanda Hla Myint said. Arent those assuming the top management positions in the organization that criticizes the Tatmadaw about this and that themselves from the Tatmadaw? Arent they retired military officials? It is a dirty political trick to mar the image of the Tatmadaw that way. As long as there are such people, the country cant develop, cant achieve unity and peace, he said. The parliamentary committee to draft amendments to the 2008 Constitution, whose formation was approved by a majority vote in the Union Parliament last week, is due to start its discussions soon. Meanwhile, the USDP has also submitted a single proposed amendment to Section 261 of the Constitution. If it is approved, regional legislatures will be able to elect their own chief ministers. The ministers are currently appointed directly by the President. Burma Military Majors Wife Killed in Explosion in N. Rakhine Maj. Kyaw Swar and his wife Nan Moh Moh Zaw seen on their wedding day in a photo uploaded to his Facebook profile on February 9, 2019. / Facebook YANGONThe wife of a Myanmar military major, Maj. Kyaw Swar, who had recently arrived in strife-torn northern Rakhine States Buthidaung Township, was killed in an explosion at their home on Tuesday morning. Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for the Office of the Commander-in-Chief, confirmed the death of the majors wife to The Irrawaddy over the phone. He identified the victim as Nan Moh Moh Zaw and explained that Maj. Kyaw Swar was recently transferred from Naypyidaw to northern Rakhines Buthidaung where he is assigned to the militarys No.15 Operational Command. The couple transported their belongings in a private vehicle while they travelled in another car from Naypyidaw to Buthidaung on Monday. On the way to Buthidaung, the truck carrying their belongings was stopped by two men in Rathedaung. Another six men in plain clothes searched the vehicle. The spokesperson assumed that those people discreetly planted an explosive device in their belongings. On arriving at the majors new home, staff unloaded the items without incident. When his wife was checking their belongings, the device detonated unexpectedly and she was killed on the spot. The bomb exploded at home while Maj. Kyaw Swar was on duty in the office, said Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun. AA spokesman U Khine Thukha said the armed group had nothing to do with the incident as it happened inside a military compound and was likely the result of a dispute among soldiers. This is their internal problem but they accused the AA, which is a completely baseless accusation, he said. The incident went viral on Facebook, especially among military supporters. One Facebook user Han Nyein Oo wrote a status with a photo of the couple on their wedding day alongside two stock images of letter bombs with which he claimed the attack was carried out by the Arakan Army (AA). Some countered his accusation saying it could have been the driver or a staff member who planted the bomb. So far, their accusations lack consistency and no solid proof has been found. Meanwhile, some Buthidaung locals and AA supporters also posted on Facebook claiming that both the husband and wife were shot dead due to an internal conflict in the military compound. The Irrawaddy could not independently verify their claims. According to Maj. Kyaw Swars Facebook profile, the couple recently celebrated their wedding ceremony elsewhere in Myanmar. Both Maj. Kyaw Swar and his wife Nan Moh Moh Zaw uploaded photos of their wedding day on Feb. 9. The death comes just days after a Myanmar military major Maj. Aung Ko Nyein was killed in a battle with the Arakan Army in northern Rakhine State. This article was updated to include comment from the AA. Burma Kachin Armed Group Asks UN to Correct Opium Claims Cultivation density map (2013-2018) with reported conflicts in Myanmar (June 2017-May 2018). / UNODC Mon State The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) has asked the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to correct a recent report that claims areas under the armed groups control have some of the highest concentrations of opium cultivation in the country. When we looked at the UNODC survey, we found that they did not go to the area to do the survey for their report. They relied on information from a person or organization. If they had done the survey on the ground themselves, their survey report would not be wrong like this, KIO spokesman Col. Naw Bu told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday. They should confess their mistake and they should tell the people they made a mistake. The KIO says 6,000 acres are under poppy cultivation in Kachin States Special Region 1, under the control of the Kachin Border Guard Force, a former militia now under the authority of the Myanmar military. It says another 1,000 acres or more are also under poppy cultivation in the states Tanai Township in areas under the control of the Myanmar military itself. The KIO sent the UNODC office in Bangkok a letter of Feb. 15 pointing out the reports alleged mistakes and asking for a correction. The areas under the densest cultivation, the letter says, are actually located close to the Myanmar military and government militia camps in and around the town of Tanai. By failing to mark the Myanmar military presence in the armed groups mapa distorted picture of the link between conflict and opium is being conveyed, it adds. Contacted by phone for comment, the UNODC asked The Irrawaddy to email its questions. Emails sent to its Bangkok and Yangon offices have gone unanswered. According to the report, the highest concentrations of opium cultivation are in areas under the control of the KIO in Kachin State and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army in Shan State. It says cultivation remains most prevalent in areas with the most fighting and has dropped most dramatically in parts of Kachin and Shan with less fighting, drawing a clear relationship between conflict and opium production. According to the survey, the total area under poppy cultivation in Myanmar dropped 12 percent to 36,100 hectares between 2017 and 2018. Despite the overall drop in cultivation, the report says Myanmar remains the major supplier of opium and heroin in East and Southeast Asia and Australia. The survey, the UNODCs 16th in Myanmar, was carried out in cooperation with the Home Affairs Ministrys Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control, combining satellite imagery and a yield survey to evaluate the extent of opium poppy cultivation and production. Burma Joint Venture Chinese Company Faces Charges for Assaulting Reporters The Myitkyina Journal reporters, Mun Mun Pan (left) and Ahje (right) outside Waimaw Police Station on February 26, 2019. / Htoi Awng YANGONThe managing director and staff of a mining company who detained and assaulted two journalists on Tuesday, face five charges including assaulting a woman and wrongful restraint, according to the editor-in-chief of Myitkyina Journal where the reporters work. A Chinese joint venture, Tha Khin Sit Mining, Import and Export Companys director and employees forcibly took two reporters from the office of the Myitkyina Journal one day after the journal published a story about local residents plans to stage a protest against the companies which are carrying out site clearances for banana plantations in Waimaw Township, Kachin State. The reporters were detained in separate rooms in the companys compound. One of the company employees slapped the female reporters face with a copy of the Myitkyina Journal. The male reporter was forced to do 300 sit-ups as punishment. The two reporters were only released after their employers contacted Waimaw Township Police Station, which sent police officers to surround the companys compound. The Myitkyina Journal editors opened a case against the managing director and five other employees of the mining company at the Waimaw police station under five charges: assault of a women with intent to outrage her modesty; obscene acts; wrongful restraint; voluntarily causing hurt; and abettor present when offence is committed, according to Seng Mai, publisher and editor-in-chief at the Myitkyina Journal which is a local independent weekly. If found guilty, they could face a one-month to two-year prison sentence and a fine. According to Myanmar TradeNet, the company is a joint venture between a local Kachin business and a Chinese partner which is active in mining, imports and exports and tissue-culture banana plantations. Registration data from the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration shows the companys three directors are ethnic Kachin. According to the Media Law Chapter 8, if any responsibilities or ethics are considered to be breached by a news media worker, the aggrieved department, organization or individual should complain to the Myanmar Press Council first. The council can resolve the problem by meeting with the two parties and seeking a compromise between them. If the two parties cannot work out a compromise agreement, or the arguments cannot be settled, the complainant or aggrieved party can prosecute the other party at the relevant court under applicable laws, it states. The Myanmar Press Council released a statement condemning the mining company for its wrongful criminal act and urged the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Kachin state government to take serious action against the people who committed the crime. For more than two years, China-backed banana plantations have been facing a backlash from local residents in Kachin State, where operators are accused of working lands acquired controversially. As the banana plantations expand, villagers displaced by fighting and living in IDP camps are increasingly concerned that their land may be occupied, and that they will not be able to farm it when they return home. According to the states Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Ministry, there are more than 27,000 acres planted with tissue-culture bananas in Waimaw Township, with most of the plantations being operated by Chinese companies. Statewide, there are more than 60,000 acres of banana plantations. According to a 2017 environmental study by the Lisu Civil Society Organization, Chinese companies have been planting tissue culture bananas since 2012 in Kachin States Special Region 1, which is under the control of the government-allied New Democratic Army-Kachin militia. It said the plantations have been gradually expanding in three townships: Bhamo, Shwegu and Waimaw Township. According to the study, the companies are using insecticides, weed killers and fertilizers and disposing of them carelessly. This has led to the pollution of water supplies in these areas, in turn causing soil damage and killing fish and livestock. The Irrawaddy was unable to reach anyone at Tha Khin Sit for their comments on Wednesday. Burma Politicians and Analysts on Militarys Rebuffing of Charter Reform Clockwise from top left, U Myo Nyunt (NLD), Sai Leik (SNLD), U Ye Tun (SNDP), U Min Zaw Oo and Htoot May. YANGON The ruling National League for Democracys (NLDs) move to amend the military-drafted Constitution has drawn strong resistance from the military, or Tatmadaw, which sees safeguarding the Constitution as one of its main duties. The military said the NLDs formation of a joint committee tasked with amending the Constitution breached constitutional rules and parliamentary by-laws. The militarys commander-in-chief and generals have come out saying they are not opposing amending the Constitution, but warned against any adjustments that might harm its essence or any of the 48 basic principles of the Union, as stated in the charters Chapter 1. The Irrawaddy recently spoke with a number of ethnic politicians and political analysts for their views on the militarys resistance to the NLDs attempts at constitutional changes. U Ye Tun, political analyst and former lawmaker with the Shan Nationalities Development Party (SNDP) It is not [true] that the formation of the committee is breaching the law. For charter amendments, a bill signed by at least 20 percent of lawmakers must be submitted before it can be discussed in Parliament. But what the NLD is doing now is not that step yet. The committee was formed to review potential amendments and thats the same as what the Parliament did under the previous [USDP] government. I think the military dislikes [the NLDs forming of the committee] as it worries about debates and discussions on amending the articles which it is not yet willing to accept. This is because if there are any proposed amendments against their will, they will need to boycott them and that would only backfire on them politically. And if it thinks the NLD is intentionally trying to cause that to happen, it is not good. U Sai Leik, Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) spokesperson The military needs to consider whether the 2008 Constitution has been drafted with all ethnic peoples wishes. It seems it is forgetting that. If the public demand charter change, it needs to accept it. Now, the ethnic parties and the ruling party are taking steps toward constitutional change. The ruling party has the public mandate and thus their attempts to amend the Constitution is the publics desire. If the military really represents the people, it must accept amendments to the Constitution to reflect the peoples aspirations. It has a duty to safeguard all constitutions [not only the 2008 Constitution]. When we are building a democratic Union for equality and autonomy, the military is just an institution. It needs to consider [the fact that] the stance of their institution doesnt represent the entire nation. If it doesnt consider that, the current peace process will be worse. But now I think the military is just looking and thinking [about protecting] their own interests. Htoot May, an Arakanese Upper House lawmaker The elected civilian government is now preparing and making reforms to establishing a democratic federal Union that the public demands. On the other hands, the military which takes a key role under the Constitution has taken a hard line [against the NLDs action] from the outset. It is not a good sign for the country. What is the essence? The essence [of the law] should be for the public, equality and justice. It shouldnt mean privileges for military nor any organization. Even in the basic principles [stated in the Constitution], there are plenty that need to be amended and rewritten. For example, it states the Unions consistent objectives are [the] flourishing of a genuine, disciplined multi-party democratic system. I havent seen such principles in any democratic country where their democracy is based on justice, human rights and freedom. If we say democracy, the administration of the defense services needs to be under the control of the head of the Unionthe presidentand the Parliament needs to be made up of 100 percent elected representatives. It is we, the people, who should be concerned about the essence of the Constitution. Thats because the essence of the current Constitution doesnt ensure the ethnic peoples rights, its not really designed for the State and its people. Instead it gives privileges to an organization. That is why we should be [talking about the essence of the Constitution], but now the wrong group is saying that. U Min Zaw Oo, executive director of the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security The military chief also said that the military wont allow changes which would harm the basic principles of the Union [stated in the Constitution]. Among the basic principles, there are those which directly relate with the military, including enabling the military to participate in a national political leadership role in the State and allowing it the right to independently administer and adjudicate on all affairs of the armed forces [not under civilian control]. The military wont give in to amending those points. It firmly keeps holding its red line. There will be many difficulties in carrying out constitutional amendments without having the militarys agreement. To amend the militarys political leadership role and its right to control security issues granted in the Constitution, we will need to go back to the peace process and negotiate with the ethnic armed groups. U Myo Nyunt, NLD spokesperson We need to question what they (the military) means when it talks about the essence of the Constitution. The essence of the Constitution should be public representation and the deriving of the Unions sovereign power from the public. But if they see maintaining the Tatmadaws important role [in politics] as the essence, I would say we dont share the same view on that. It seems that they [the military] want to amend the Constitution as they desire. But we will amend it as per the wishes of all ethnic people. What we are doing is within the legal framework. We [the NLD] always maintain a policy of non-violence, so nothing will happen that will harm the public. I urge people not to worry and to overwhelmingly support us. Burma Explosion at Govt Office in Rakhine State Injures 10 A small crater marks the spot of an explosion inside the compound of the General Administration Department office in Kyaukphyu Township, Rakhine State, on Wednesday. / Phyu Phyu / Facebook SITTWE, Rakhine State Nine employees of the General Administration Department in Rakhine States Kyaukphyu Township and a firefighter were injured in an explosion inside the departments compound on Tuesday evening. The explosion occurred as staff were burning garbage at the back of the office building, according to township administrator U Soe Moe Kyaw. We are still investigating the cause of the explosion. Two staff members were slightly injured and eight others were sent to hospital, he told The Irrawaddy. One of the victims sent to hospital is a firefighter who came to pick up his wife, who works for the department. He gave the others a hand while they were burning the garbage and he was also hit when the explosion occurred, U Soe Moe Kyaw said. Kyaukphyu residents speculated that the staff might have been burning explosive remnants of war together with the garbage. Capt. Kyaw Zaw, head of the Kyaukphyu Township police station, said there was no explosive device involved and that the eight hospitalized victims were not in critical condition. None of them was seriously injured. We found old computers and accessories, stones and glass splinters at the scene. They were hit by those splinters. If it were a bomb, they would have all died, he told The Irrawaddy. Police have not opened a case as they believed it was an accident, he added. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. Asia That's What I Don't Like: West Java Cracks Down on Adult Foreign Pop Muslim activists staged an anti-Lady Gaga rally against the concert by the American pop star which was to be held in Jakarta in June 2012 and later canceled in this photograph taken on April 29, 2012. / REUTERS JAKARTAIndonesias most populous province has set restrictions on when certain English-language songs can be aired on television and radio, citing concerns over vulgar and negative lyrics. The West Java provincial broadcast commission identified 85 songs labelled adult that can only be aired between 10 pm and 3 am. These include Ed Sheerans Shape of You, Bruno Mars Thats What I Like and Ariana Grandes Love Me Harder. The worlds biggest Muslim-majority country has seen a rise in restrictions on content or behavior deemed pornographic, sometimes through local bylaws based on sharia in the officially secular country. Broadcast programs are prohibited from containing songs and/or video clips that display or contain obscenities, sexand drugs, Neneng Athiatul Faiziyah, a member of the commission, said on Tuesday. She said the action followed complaints from the public and there were similar objections over thousands of songs. Faiziyah said the broadcast commission was also drawing up a list of Indonesian language songs considered adult. West Java is home to 48 million people and is known for being among the most conservative provinces in Indonesia. At the national level, Indonesia already has strict anti-pornography laws that critics say can be misused to threaten tolerance or creative expression in the Southeast Asian country. Indonesias parliament last month dropped a draft music bill after protests by artists and rights activists who were concerned that it could restrict freedom of expression. The bill included articles that aimed to prevent the creation of music deemed to bring in negative influences from foreign cultures or that could incite the public to acts of violence or to break the law, the Jakarta Post newspaper said. Asia Pakistan Says it Shot Down Indian Jets, Carried Out Airstrikes in Kashmir People burn a poster depicting India's flag over what they call airspace violations by Indian military aircraft, in a protest in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Tuesday. / Reuters ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI Pakistan carried out airstrikes and shot down two Indian jets on Wednesday, Pakistani officials said, a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a war in 1971, prompting leading powers to urge both sides to show restraint. Both countries have ordered airstrikes over the last two days, the first time in history that two nuclear armed powers have done so, while ground forces have exchanged fire in more than a dozen locations. Tensions have been elevated since a suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police on Feb. 14, but the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base. The attack targeted the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the group that claimed credit for the suicide attack. India said a large number of JeM fighters had been killed, but Pakistani officials said the strike was a failure and inflicted no casualties. Indian air force planes strayed into Pakistani airspace on Wednesday after Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Indian-occupied Kashmir, said Major General Asif Ghafoor, a spokesman for the Pakistan armed forces. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace, he said in a tweet. One of the aircraft fell on Indias side of Kashmir, while the second came down in Pakistani-held territory and its pilot was captured, he added. In a statement, Pakistans Foreign Ministry said it had hit a non-military target inside Indian-controlled Kashmir, but that it had avoided human loss and collateral damage. If India is striking at so-called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan, the statement said. A spokesman for Indias Defense Ministry was not immediately available for comment. Police officials in Indian-occupied Kashmir said that two Indian pilots and a civilian had died after an Indian air force plane crashed in Kashmir, but did not confirm if the plane had been shot down by Pakistani forces. Indian officials said three Pakistani jets had also entered Indian airspace, before being intercepted and forced to turn back. The Indian air force has ordered Kashmirs main airport in Srinagar along with at least three others in neighboring states to close because of the two incidents, an official said. The latest exchanges hit stock markets in both countries. Pakistani stocks fell sharply during morning trade with the benchmark KSE 100 index down 3.34 percent and the narrower KMI 30 index down 3.6 percent in Karachi. The Indian stock market was down about 0.5 percent. On Tuesday evening, Pakistan began shelling using heavy caliber weapons in 12 to 15 places along the de facto border in Kashmir, known as the Line of Control, a spokesman for the Indian defense forces said. The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focused fire resulted in severe destruction to five posts and number of casualties, the spokesman said. Five Indian soldiers suffered minor wounds in the shelling that ended on Wednesday morning, he added. So far there are no [civilian] casualties, but there is panic among people, said Rahul Yadav, the deputy commissioner of the Poonch district where some of the shelling took place. We have an evacuation plan in place, and if need arises we will evacuate people to safer areas, he said. Officials on the Pakistani side said at least four people had been killed and seven wounded, though it was unclear if the casualties were civilian or military. India has also continued its crackdown on suspected militants operating in Kashmir, a mountainous region that both countries claim in full but rule in part. On Wednesday, security forces killed two Jaish militants in a gun battle, Indian police said. Heightened security Pakistan and India have fought three wars since independence from British colonial rule in 1947 and went to the brink a fourth in 2002 after a Pakistani militant attack on Indias Parliament. In Mumbai, Indias financial capital, there was a visible increase in security levels for a city that has suffered numerous militant attacks in the past. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke separately with the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan and urged them to avoid further military activity following Tuesdays airstrike. I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost, Pompeo said in a statement on Wednesday. I also encouraged both ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity, he said. Both China and the European Union have also called for restraint. On Wednesday New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters also voiced concern over the escalation in tension. In Afghanistan, the Taliban urged both sides to mediate via talks, and that further escalation could impact the Afghan peace process. India should not carry any further violence in Pakistan because its continuation will affect regional security also the continuation of such conflict will cost a lot for India, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement. Asia India Launches Air Strike in Pakistan; Islamabad Denies Militant Camp Hit India's Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers patrol along the fenced border with Pakistan in Ranbir Singh Pura sector near Jammu on February 26, 2019. / Reuters BALAKOT, Pakistan/NEW DELHI India said its warplanes killed a very large number of fighters when they struck a militant training camp inside Pakistan on Tuesday, raising the risk of conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors, although Pakistan officials denied there had been casualties. Pakistan said it would respond at a time and place of its choice, with a military spokesman even alluding to its nuclear arsenal, highlighting the escalation in hostile rhetoric from both two sides since a suicide bombing in Kashmir this month. The spokesperson said a command and control authority meeting, which decides over the use of nuclear weapons, had been convened for Wednesday, adding: You all know what that means. The air strike near Balakot, a town 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the frontier, was the deepest cross-border raid launched by India since the last of its three wars with Pakistan in 1971 but there were competing claims about any damage caused. The Indian government, facing an election in the coming months, said the air strikes hit a training camp belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), the group that claimed a suicide car bomb attack that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir on Feb. 14. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said a very large number of militants were killed in the strikes in northeast Pakistan. The existence of such training facilities, capable of training hundreds of jihadi, could not have functioned without the knowledge of the Pakistani authorities, Gokhale said. Pakistan denies harbouring JeM. A senior Indian government source said that 300 militants had been killed in the strikes and that the warplanes had ventured as far as 80 kilometers (50 miles) inside Pakistan. But no evidence was provided to back up the claims of casualties. The government said the action was ordered as India said it had intelligence that Jaish was planning more attacks. Pakistani officials dismissed the Indian claims, saying the Indian aircraft had dropped their bombs in a wooded area, causing no damage or casualties. Villagers near the town of Balakot were shaken from their sleep by the air strikes. They said only one person was wounded in the attack and they knew of no fatalities. We saw fallen trees and one damaged house, and four craters where the bombs had fallen, said Mohammad Ajmal, a 25-year-old who visited the site. A resident, who did not want to give his name, said there was a nearby madrasa Islamic college run by Jaish, though most villagers were guarded in talking about any militant neighbors. JeM is a primarily anti-India group that forged ties with al Qaeda and has been on a UN terrorist list since 2001. In December 2001, Jaish fighters, along with members of another Pakistan-based militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, attacked Indias parliament, which almost led to a fourth war. Hospitals on alert There has been mounting impatience in India to avenge the Feb. 14 attack, which was the most deadly seen in Kashmir during an insurgency that has lasted three decades, and as news of the raid broke, celebrations erupted across the country. I want to assure you our country is in safe hands, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said to cheers at a rally in western India hours after the raid. I wont let the country down. Pakistans top civilian and military leaders rejected Indias comments that it had struck a terrorist camp inside Pakistan, warning that they would retaliate. Pakistans National Security Committee (NSC), comprising top officials including Prime Minister Imran Khan and army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, said Khan would engage with global leadership to expose irresponsible Indian policy. It also warned that Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing to Indian aggression. China, Pakistans long-time ally, and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged both countries to exercise restraint. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement issued in Washington that he had talked to Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi separately and encouraged both countries to exercise restraint and avoid further military activity. He said he had underscored to Qureshi the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil. Swaraj said she had spoken to Pompeo and Indian diplomats had met foreign ambassadors to assure them no escalation was planned. But as fears grew that the conflict could escalate, hospitals in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were ordered to set a quarter of beds aside for a national cause, officials said. We put all hospitals in the province on high alert due to the present situation on the border with India and issued directives to all heads of the hospitals to be prepared for any sort of emergency, provincial secretary health Dr Farooq Jameel told Reuters. Indian and Pakistan troops exchanged gunfire along several sectors of their contested border in Kashmir later on Tuesday and local officials on the Pakistani side said at least four people had been killed and seven wounded. Giving the Pakistan militarys account of the Indian incursion, spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said Pakistani aircraft were patrolling and identified Indian jets on the Indian side of the border near Okara and Lahore in Punjab as well as Muzaffarabad where they crossed and were engaged. They left Pakistani airspace after only four minutes. He denied the incursion had caused any damage, saying there was no debris, not even a single brick and no casualties. You have proved you are not a democracy, you have chosen the path of war, he said, addressing his remarks to India. Asia Bomb Bunker, War Reporters and Charlie Chaplin: Hanoi's Storied Metropole Hosts Kim-Trump Summit The Metropole hotel is seen ahead of the North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday. / Reuters HANOI A storied French colonial-era hotel once used by the North Vietnamese government to house foreign guests during the Vietnam War is set to host U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as they meet for a second nuclear summit on Wednesday. The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi has hosted dignitaries and celebrities from Charlie Chaplin on his honeymoon in 1936 to Hanoi Jane Fonda during her 1970s anti-war campaign and even Trump himself on a recent visit to the Vietnamese capital. The Metropole could begin a new chapter as a symbol of peace if Trump and Kim, as some officials in Seoul and Washington expect, formally declare an end to the last remaining Cold War conflict after their two-day summit. The United States and North Korea are technically still at war, because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. We hope Trump and Kim make some progress with their denuclearization and hopefully open North Korea to the outside world, said Stephen Fries, a doctor from Colorado whose long-planned family trip was disrupted by preparations for the summit. He was among two dozen Metropole guests touring an underground air raid bunker at the hotel used during the Vietnam War that was rediscovered by chance in 2011 while the hotel was renovating its poolside Bamboo bar. Trump and Kim will meet at the Metropole at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, where the two will have a 20-minute one-on-one chat followed by a dinner with aides, the White House said. Its about time there is a deal. Vietnam had been our enemy, now they are kind of a friend. I hope North Korea would become exactly like Vietnam, and maybe use it as an example to follow for its own economic development, Fries said. Secrets and security The elegant interior of the 118-year-old Metropole thronged with security personnel and hotel staff on the summit eve as final preparations were made. Nearby street corners were guarded by armed police, while security staff searched potted plants around the pool. In a letter distributed ahead of the leaders arrival, the hotels general manager notified guests of the very strict security measures expected in the coming days. All but one entrance to the hotel will be blocked during the summit and a temporary checkpoint has been installed to screen guests, who need to show copies of their passports to gain access to the hotel. The hotel, decorated with U.S. and North Korean flags, was locked down on Wednesday morning, with roads around it blocked and TV crews filming at barricades. Trump and Kim likely chose the Metropole for its ability to keep secrets, Nguyen Dinh Thanh, former head of marketing at Metropole, told Reuters. When superstars come here, some journalists offered $2,000-$5,000 or more to staff to take a photo of that superstar, but that has never happened, said Thanh. That shows Metropole has a tradition of keeping secrets as well as knowing how to treat VIP guests. Celebrities and controversies Heads of state from European kings and British royals to U.S. and South American presidents have all chosen the Metropole as their Hanoi abode. It has attracted celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in 2007, but perhaps its most iconic guest is American actress Jane Fonda, who stayed for two weeks in 1972 when visiting then-enemy territory. A controversial photo of her sitting with North Vietnamese troops atop an anti-aircraft gun used to shoot at American planes earned her the nickname Hanoi Jane. The Metropole also hosted Graham Greene, who wrote part of his seminal 1955 work The Quiet American there, and numerous war correspondents during the 20-year-long Vietnam War that ended in 1975. Trump, who stayed in the hotel on his last visit to Vietnam in 2017, has chosen the easier-to-secure JW Marriott hotel this time. Kim is staying at the Melia Hanoi hotel. Despite its long history of hosting VIPs, the Metropole is not an ideal summit venue from a security point of view, said Le Van Cuong, who used to head the strategy institute of the Ministry of Public Security. Metropole is definitely more tricky to protect the leaders, especially because of the lack of space. In the protection job, space gives us advantages. Metropole sits right in the center of crowded streets, so its difficult to ensure security, Cuong told Reuters. Singapore chose an isolated island and protection on such island is much easier, definitely easier than Metropole. Trump and Kim held their first summit at Singapores Capella hotel, a refurbished British Royal Artillery mess on the resort island of Sentosa. Donald Trump has arrived at the Metropole Hotel ahead of his one on one meeting with Kim Jong Un. Earlier today Mr Trump met with Vietnam President Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Trump said the he hopes the second summit will be as successful as the first, Sky News reported following their meeting. "The first summit was a very successful summit, this one could be equal or greater . The biggest progress is the relationship, which is a great one. Speaking on North Korea, Trump said the country has 'tremendous' potential: "As I've said many times, and I say it to the press, I say it to anyone that wants to listen, I think your country has tremendous economic potential, unbelievable, unlimited. "I think that you will have a tremendous future with your country and I look forward to watching it happen and helping it to happen." Today President @RealDonaldTrump met with President Trong and Prime Minister Phuc of Vietnam. Here are some highlights: pic.twitter.com/6rTIqGEjnG The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) February 27, 2019 Mr Trump and Mr Kim will have a 'social' dinner later tonight, along with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Director of Office of Management and Budget Mich Mulvaney, Kim's brother Kim Jong Chol, North Korea's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ri Yong Ho, and interpreters Dr Yun hyang Lee and Sun Hye Yong. EU negotiator Michel Barnier still hopes the UK can exit the European Union in an orderly fashion. Mr Barnier said in an interview with FranceInfo radio that "I think we can save this accord" but that it was up to Britain to take responsibility. Cubas 86.85% yes vote for its new constitution falls a little short of those 99.99% election endorsements rigged up by Fidel Castro and his friends in the old Soviet Union. In this weeks referendum, there were at least some voters 700,000 of them who felt sufficiently free to mark the no box or spoil their ballot papers. Thats quite an achievement for a plebiscite in which only the government was permitted to campaign. As the US president meets his North Korean counterpart this week, Donald Trump must avoid taking another diplomatic beating, writes Grant T Harris On taking office in January 2017, US President Donald Trump intensified Americas efforts to isolate North Korea. And at first, his administrations diplomatic and pressure campaign seemed to show real progress, particularly in Africa, where North Korea maintains economic and military ties with more than two dozen countries. But that progress was suddenly reversed last year when Trump prematurely declared victory in the aftermath of his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore. Today and tomorrow Trump will hold his second summit with Kim. If he repeats the same mistake, his own administrations efforts to isolate North Korea will take another beating, and Kim will have even less reason to end his weapons programme. Before the Singapore summit, the Trump administration had been strengthening UN sanctions against North Korea, emphasising enforcement, and reaching out to African countries to secure their support. And this combination of US high-level engagement, cajoling, and arm twisting led several African governments including those of Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, and Angola to announce that they would scale back their ties to North Korea. While some committed to expelling North Korean military trainers, others promised to stop buying North Korean arms and doing business with UN-sanctioned companies. These steps promised to isolate North Korea further and reduce its access to the hard currency needed to sustain its nuclear and missile programmes. Sadly, what took years to achieve was lost in a single day. In a characteristically grandiose and unsubstantiated tweet, Trump declared on June 13, 2018, that, There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea. Though his own vice-president and intelligence chiefs would later voice very different conclusions, Trump was committed to selling the fiction of a diplomatic breakthrough, even to the point of stifling US diplomats. As the Wall Street Journal reported this past December: Many in the Trump administration have been instructed to remain quiet on North Korean defiance over concern speaking out could undercut the image of an effective sanctions regime or weigh on negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang. With the Trump administration focused wholly on propping up a false narrative, African governments with illicit ties to North Korea no longer had to worry about US pressure over sanctions, nor did they have any incentive to follow through on their promises to cut ties. After all, for African countries, North Korea poses no direct security threat, but does offer friendship, cheap arms, and infrastructure investments. Since Trump started pretending that he has ended the North Korean nuclear threat, African countries have likewise been pretending to end ties with the Kim regime. Though they are being more surreptitious about it, North Korean commandos are still training Ugandan soldiers, and North Korean companies like Malaysia Korea Partners and Mansudae are still flouting sanctions and making money in Africa. And US officials are hamstrung, unable to respond appropriately, lest they be seen as contradicting the White Houses official line. It is not surprising that Trump chose showmanship over substance, or that he scuttled a long-term sanctions-enforcement effort in the process. But the significance of this blunder should not be understated. Trumps single tweet and ongoing self-delusion about North Koreas nuclear programme will likely leave the US with fewer options for isolating or confronting the Kim regime long into the future. For North Korea, the foothold in Africa is of great importance, especially if and as the US convinces China and Russia to curtail their own illicit support for the Kim regime. According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity at MIT, North Koreas trade with African countries has provided the regime with hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years. At the same time, a UN Panel of Experts has singled out North Koreas connections to various African countries as a concerning weak spot in global sanctions enforcement. Trump has personally undercut years of work to isolate North Korea and deprive it of funding, thereby expanding the Kim regimes options and reducing pressure on it to negotiate peaceful disarmament. Unless Trump aligns his claims with reality after this weeks summit with Kim in Vietnam, he will further weaken the sanctions-enforcement regime needed to choke off the international relationships that enable North Korea to sustain its weapons programs. Self-proclaimed victories on Twitter dont count. Grant T Harris is CEO of Harris Africa Partners and was special assistant to the president and senior director for African affairs at the White House from 2011-2015. Copyright: Project Syndicate Cardinal George Pells conviction for child sexual offences in Australia brings the decades-long abuse scandal in the Catholic Church to the heart of the Vatican, writes Byron Kaye For two decades, George Pell was the dominant figure in the Catholic Church in Australia a boy from a gold mining town whose ambition, intellect, and knack for befriending influential people propelled him to become the third most senior official in the Vatican. That came crashing down in December 2018, when a court found Pell, aged 77, guilty of five charges of child sexual offences committed in a Melbourne cathedral 115km from his hometown of Ballarat. The verdict had been subject to a court order that prevented reporting of the case until the judge lifted the restrictions yesterday. Pell is the most senior Roman Catholic official to be convicted of sexual offences, bringing a rolling abuse scandal that has dogged the Church worldwide for three decades to the heart of both the Vatican and Australian civic life. Pell spent most of his first three decades as a priest in Ballarat, an old gold mining town in the state of Victoria, about 120km from Melbourne. State and federal inquiries would later find it to be one of the Catholic dioceses worst affected by cases of abuse, though none of the complaints against Pell stem from his time there. It was after Pell left his hometown to become Archbishop of Melbourne in 1996 that he committed offences against two choirboys in the citys St Patricks Cathedral for which he was found guilty by the 12-person jury. It was not until 2016 that the complaints against Pell were first made public, with charges laid in 2017, and in the meantime he continued to rise through Australias Church hierarchy. By the time Pell became Archbishop of Sydney, the countrys top-ranking Catholic position, in 2001, he was a polarising national figure, revered by many conservative Catholics but criticised by liberals for his outspoken views. At a 2002 World Youth Day event in Toronto, Pell made headlines by saying abortion is a worse moral scandal than priests sexually abusing young people since abortion is always a destruction of human life. In a short statement outside the court yesterday, after Pell departed in a waiting car, Pells lawyer, Paul Galbally, said: Cardinal Pell has always maintained his innocence and continues to do so. He said an appeal has been filed. In meetings among cardinals before the conclave that elected Pope Francis in 2013, the Australian stood out not only for his imposing height and broad shoulders, but also for his command of financial matters. Hoping to end Vatican financial scandals, the Pope moved Pell to Rome and in 2014 he was appointed to run a new ministry, the secretariat for the economy. Meanwhile, in Australia, a state inquiry into institutional abuse began airing accounts of child abuse and cover-ups in Ballarat and elsewhere over generations, triggering a more powerful, comprehensive federal royal commission inquiry. Pell was not named as an alleged perpetrator at either inquiry. When he was called to give evidence at the royal commission it was only in relation to his knowledge of others conduct, and the question of whether he was present when Church leaders decided to move offending priests between parishes. In testimony to the commission in March 2016, Pell said that he did not know of the sexual abuse of children in Ballarat by another priest in the 1970s until his conviction in 1993, although the commission had heard testimony from others that the priests behaviour was an open secret in the diocese. Its a sad story and it wasnt of much interest to me, he told that inquiry. Pell also said the Church made catastrophic choices by minimising its response to, and covering up, abuse complaints. When the global wave of abuse allegations reached Pell in June 2017, some of the countrys most powerful people stood by him, including former conservative prime minister Tony Abbott, himself a devout Catholic, who told a newspaper the George Pell I have known is a very fine man indeed. Pells successor as Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, also told media at the time that the George Pell I know is a man of integrity in his dealings with others, a man of faith and high ideals, a thoroughly decent man. Mr Abbott and Archbishop Fisher did not immediately respond to requests for comment after the verdict was made public. Mark Coleridge, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said the conviction shocked people around Australia and the world, including the bishops. We pray for all those who have been abused and their loved ones, and we commit ourselves anew to doing everything possible to ensure that the Church is a safe place for all, especially the young and the vulnerable, he said in a statement. Pell took leave from his Vatican finance role to fight the charges but he still officially held that job throughout his trial. Pope Francis and the Vatican made no statement on the guilty verdict when delivered in December, which was reported by some international media at the time, saying they would respect the Australian legal process and suppression order. A day after the December verdict, Pell was one of three cardinals the Pope removed from his group of close advisers. No reason was given at the time. Some victims advocates say the conviction of so high profile a figure could encourage other survivors of clerical abuse to speak out. A lot of people, particularly survivors, are scared to come forward because they think no ones going to believe me, the courts not going to believe me, said Philip Nagel, who went to a Ballarat school where Pell was a priest in the 1970s and testified against another clergyman who has since been jailed. Not getting justice is probably as damaging as the offences being committed, so this will give more people more courage to come forward. The low level of taxes paid by major tech companies headquartered in Ireland came under fresh attack yesterday from Frances finance minister, who said the regime must change. Bruno Le Maire differed with his Irish counterpart Paschal Donohoe in a bilateral meeting as to how big tech companies should be taxed. It has always been the view of France, the key point for us to find a permanent international solution as soon as possible, said Mr Le Maire. As far as corporate tax is concerned, we believe in the necessity of bringing in a minimum level of corporate tax at international level. It remains the French position. We have the support of Germany on that key issue. France has led the charge for such taxes on companies such as Google and Facebook to be increased, but the Government has strongly resisted any moves to impose harmonised tax rates. The European Commission proposed in March 2018, with Frances backing, that digital giants be taxed on three sources of income: Exploitation of data, advertising revenue, and sales on digital platforms. Ireland is one of four EU countries which remains opposed to the proposal. Yesterday, Mr Donohoe did agree to explore possible future solutions through technical talks at OECD level. However, following a bilateral meeting, the gulf between the Irish and French governments was laid bare. Both of us acknowledged that we have some differing views in relation to particular matters, said Mr Donohoe. What we have agreed is that while we do differ on some particular areas, we are going to see how we can progress this matter through the OECD and how we can find a global solution. Mr Le Maire made it clear that change is urgently required. In terms of digital taxation, like all good friends, we have agreements and we have disagreements, he said. Digital taxation does need to change. That is exactly the French position. We need a fair taxation of digital activities. We need an efficient taxation of digital activities and we cannot accept our small and medium-sized businesses paying 14 points more in taxes than the internet giants, he added. When pressed by the Irish Examiner, Mr Donohoe insisted that while differences do exist on digital taxation but also on corporation taxation, the debate is being conducted in a spirit of friendship. We are friends, we agree on much, he said. Both of us acknowledged as colleagues that we do have some differences in relation to digital taxation and we have broader differences, between the minister and me, in relation to corporation tax. But what we did agree on, to work on what we have in common. That is why we can look at working better within the OECD. Over 80,000 images of child pornography were found at the home of a Rochestown man who claimed to he had these and other images because of his interest in naturism but he was jailed for 18 months yesterday. Cynan Rees, of The Residence, Old Belmont, Rochestown, Cork, was sentence yesterday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court where Judge Sean O Donnabhain described the crimes as reprehensible. The 55-year-old pleaded guilty to all three counts which related to different external hard drives. He admitted knowingly having in his possession child pornography at his home in Rochestown on May 1, 2014, in respect of each of the three hard drives. The computer expert said he knew nothing about child pornography but told gardai that he was into naturism. Det Gda Sean Minihan testified that officers searched Reess home under warrant after receiving information from German police through Interpol. Rees initially denied any knowledge of child pornography and said that he was into naturism but he later admitted possessing the images after garda experts examined the three hard drives. Det Gda Minihan said gardai had found 2,280 images and 483 videos classified as Category 1 material, depicting children under the age of 17 engaging in sexual acts with either adults or other children. They had also found a further 78,666 images and 368 video clips classified as Category 2, depicting children under the age of 17 exposing their genitalia on the three hard drives. Ray Boland, defending, asked for leniency for Rees and stressed that while Rees had pleaded guilty to possessing a large number of images, he had not engaged in distributing the material. He also said that by pleading guilty, Rees had saved the State the cost of what could have been a difficult trial. Rees had no previous convictions and had never come to Garda attention prior to this offence coming to light and he had not come to any adverse Garda attention since then. Judge O Donnabhain said: This is an exceptionally serious case given both the number of images and the fact that there are over 2,200 images and more worryingly, videos of children engaging in sexual activity with adults. These are category 1 images, the most reprehensible type of images while he also had another 78,000 criminal images of the category 2 type where children were photographed exposing their genitalia. Judge O Donnabhain said he believed that Rees, even if he had gone for a rehabilitation course prior to coming to court, would still have merited a custodial sentence because of the seriousness of his crime. His approach to rehabilitation is somewhat belated but notwithstanding that, he will get credit for and will get a sentence which provides him with an incentive to engage in rehabilitation upon his release. Judge O Donnabhain acknowledged Rees had not engaged in sharing or distributing the images and he had no previous convictions while he had also pleaded guilty at an early stage, which were to his credit. He sentenced him to three years in jail but suspended the final 18 months on condition that he engage with forensic psychological services as soon as is practicable upon his release from custody and to remain under the supervision of the Probation Service for a period of three years post-release. The HSE has offered to settle a legal action being taken by terminally-ill midwife Philomena Canning, but she has insisted that the settlement be linked to access to the cancer drug Pembro. Ms Cannings plight was highlighted by the Irish Examiner last week when she said she felt compelled to speak out about her condition as she wanted an expedient settlement from the HSE. She launched an action against the HSE in 2015 after it emerged she had been wrongfully suspended from her practice the previous year. The HSE offered a settlement in 2015 but Ms Canning refused it on the basis that she wanted a court hearing over the issues which had given rise to her suspension. She changed her position in recent weeks following her diagnosis on the basis that she needed money to access Pembro in an attempt to prolong her life. In the Dail yesterday, the Taoiseach said it was his understanding that a settlement had been offered to her. However, the Irish Examiner understands that Ms Canning insisted that any settlement be linked to the provision to Pembro to her. At the time of going to print, the HSE had not yet agreed to this condition. The drug has been available for sufferers of cervical cancer on the public health system since January following campaigning by Vicky Phelan and others. However, Ms Canning is suffering from ovarian cancer and is therefore not entitled to Pembro on the public system. A large crowd gathered at the gates of Leinster House yesterday in a protest rally for Ms Canning at which it was revealed that a petition of 5,500 signatures had been collected since last week urging the HSE and the Minister for Health to settle the action immediately. The 53-year-old man killed in a workplace accident in a timber yard in West Cork yesterday has been described as a great character who was well liked locally. Pat Lacey was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident in GP Wood timber processing plant in Enniskeane yesterday morning. He had suffered fatal injuries to his head in an accident with a loader. The driver of the loader, a friend of the deceased, was treated at the scene for shock. The alarm was raised at 8.20am. Paramedics and gardai rushed to the yard, which is located close to the centre of Enniskeane village. However, Mr Lacey succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was taken to Cork University Hospital for an autopsy. Gardai undertook a technical examination of the yard where the accident took place. They seized the loader involved for further examination. Officers have also removed CCTV footage from the sawmills and have spoken to staff working at the time. A spokesperson for the Health and Safety Authority also confirmed that inspectors have visited the timber yard. Mr Lacey was from the neighbouring village of Ballineen. He lived locally and had been a long-term employee at the sawmill where the accident occurred. He was described as a great character who was well known and well liked. Mr Lacey had been caring for his mother until her recent death. He was well known for his love of Cork City FC and Liverpool FC. Cllr Declan Hurley, former mayor of Cork County, offered his condolences to Mr Laceys friends, family, and work colleagues. He said that the entire community is in shock. It is very sad, very unfortunate, said Mr Hurley. Pat was very much a community man. He was very civic-minded and very much into sport, a happy character. It is a big shock and the community is rallying around each other at the moment. He was a young man who was well liked so it really is a big shock for everyone. The Chair of the Land Development Agency wants Irish people to change the way they think about housing. John Moran has suggested that Ireland should look at countries like the Netherlands where they have more focus on communal living. He told RTEs Today with Sean ORourke show that a site like that of the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum should remain in State ownership offering a variety of accommodation options which could see people move from a starter home, to a family home to a retirement option all on the same site. We need to start thinking in 21st century terms. Mr Moran said he was very concerned about the way Dublin and areas in the rest of the country are developing. The Land Development Agency is very excited about Project Ireland 2040 which contains plans for 150,000 homes in 20 years. He questioned why so many facilities had to be based in Dublin such as headquarters for banks and RTE. In terms of growth Dublin had surpassed other European cities as other countries did not develop in the same way with so much concentration on one location. Ireland needs to develop best practices on what urban living looks like, he said. There is an issue with affordability and the need people have to have property to hand on to the next generation. This is not practical as part of a succession plan and instead Ireland should focus on long term rental accommodation. We need to look at things radically different from the way we have thought in the past. The worst we can do is respond with a knee jerk reaction. The Land Development Agency has an opportunity to change the way in which we live. When asked how quickly accommodation could be developed on the Dundrum site, he said that depends how many politicians or locals decide to object. He warned that plans should be fully investigated so there is not a repeat of the national childrens hospital where plans were changed along the way. It is not the role of the Land Development Agency to solve the homeless crisis, he said. Homelessness is a short term problem which would still have to be tackled by the Government if the Land Development Agency did not exist. Homelessness can be tackled through social housing and HAP payments, he said. The role of the Land Development Agency is to rebalance the country and to bring about the plans included in Ireland 2040. We need to look at places like Dublin Port which has the capacity to house 50,000 people. What are the options? Infill? Plans in relation to the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum are also well under way, he said, but could not be developed fully as the agency does not yet have full access to the site which remains a working hospital. A judge recognised potential danger of a woman found not guilty by reason of insanity on charges related to putting a knife to the throat of a colleague during a paranoid delusion but he did not order an in-patient assessment of her yesterday. Erica Gill, aged 40, previously of Ozalid House, Camden Quay, Cork, and now living with her parents in Co Clare, was found not guilty by reason of insanity earlier this week on three charges arising out of the violent incident. The matter was brought before Cork Circuit Criminal Court for Judge Sean O Donnabhain to consider if it would be necessary to order that the accused would be sent to the Central Mental Hospital for a 14-day assessment programme. Referring to the care programme, about which Dr Sinead OBrien gave evidence yesterday, the judge said: The situation is being more than adequately managed at the moment. There are risks. Dr OBrien is aware of them but there is progress. The judge said he would adjourn until November 15 his decision on whether Ms Gill needed to be sent to the Central Mental Hospital for the 14-day period for assessment. Undertakings were given to the judge by Ms Gills father that he would notify the authorities if his daughter stopped taking anti-psychotic medication prescribed of her. Ray Boland, defending, had submitted that it would be a suitable case for Ms Gill to remain under her present regime of care rather than sending her to the CMH in Dundrum. Donal OSullivan, prosecuting, said: What the court has to consider is not that she is in need of in-patient treatment but that she may be. Mr OSullivan asked Dr OBrien if she would agree that the defendant may be in need of care in the future. The doctor agreed with that proposition that Ms Gill may be in need of future treatment. Earlier in her evidence, Dr OBrien told Mr Boland she did not need in-patient treatment at the moment. The jury took only a matter of minutes to find the defendant not guilty by reason of insanity on charges of making a threat to kill and producing a knife during the incident. On the count of assault causing harm there was a similar verdict on direction of the trial judge. The Criminal Assets Bureau has confiscated a house and almost 27,000 as part of its ongoing operation against the Irish branch of the Kinahan crime cartel. The bureau secured a High Court order against the house owned by Maria Byrne, the sister of Liam Byrne, described by CAB as the head of the Byrne Organised Crime Group, the Irish arm of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group. Ms Byrne is also the sister of David Byrne, who was shot dead at the Regency Hotel in February 2016 by the Hutch criminal network. The High Court granted an order today after Ms Byrne agreed to hand over a house on Raleigh Square in Crumlin, south Dublin, along with 26,760 in a bank account to the CAB. The court had already accepted that Ms Byrne was withdrawing 2,000 a month from her bank account on the same date each month, as her brother Liam was making monthly mortgage lodgements of the same amount. CAB established that Ms Byrne got this money when she sold another house in Ashbourne, Co Meath and that 400,000 was lodged to her account and another 50,000 to Liam Byrne's account. A five-day period had been set aside next week when Ms Byrne was expected to contest the confiscation of the property. However, counsel for CAB told the court that an agreement had been reached and signed on consent. It brings the total CAB has seized from the Byrnes' and their associates to three houses in Dublin worth over 1m, 25 high end and luxury cars, three electric bikes and a dune buggy; four Rolex and Breitling watches, two platinum and gold diamond rings and over 50,000 in cash. Last July, the High Court ruled that two houses, one on Kildare Road, adjacent to Raleigh Square, and another in Clondalkin, west Dublin, were bought from the proceeds of crime. The Clondalkin house was bought by Liam Byrne, while the Kildare Road house was bought by Sean McGovern, a close associate. Among the other items seized by CAB, which the judge found came from the proceeds of crime, was a Rolex watch from McGovern and a 1.53 carat platinum diamond ring and a 3.6 carat white gold diamond ring from Simoan McEnroe, partner of Liam Byrne. CAB has told the High Court that the evidence showing Liam Byrnes involvement in drug trafficking and violent crime was extensive and detailed. The bureau said he was a "close and trusted associate" of Daniel Kinahan. CAB has said that the day-to-day operations of the Kinahan OCG were being "managed and controlled" by Daniel Kinahan and his brother Christopher Junior, sons of Christopher Senior. In court documents, CAB has said the cartel has associations that facilitated international criminal activity in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America. A High Court date has been set for a challenge by environmental lobby group CHASE to An Bord Pleanala's decision to grant planning permission for an incinerator in Cork Harbour. The High Court review, sought by Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment (CHASE), is set to begin on March 19 and to run for two weeks. CHASE alleges that the Board acted unlawfully in the way it dealt with the planning application and in how it arrived at its decision. The Boards Planning Inspector had recommended refusal of permission, the third senior Board Inspector to do so since 2004. Permission to bring the case was given by the High Court last July. The case has been in Court several times since then on procedural issues. Most recently the Court dealt over three days with a CHASE application regarding Board and Indaver documents relevant to the case. CHASE said in a statement tonight, that as a result, the Board and Indaver have provided additional affidavits to CHASE. The case is for mention again on March 4 with the full hearing starting after St Patricks bank holiday. The campaign to stop Indaver Ireland building an incinerator in Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, has been ongoing for almost 20 years. The company was granted planning permission for its 160m 240,000 tonnes waste-to-energy facility in May last year. The proposal had been met with sustained resistance from the community, local politicians and members of PDFORRA, the Defence Forces representative body. CHASE is represented by Noonan Linehan Carroll Coffey Solicitors and by Maurice Collins SC, David Holland SC and Alan Keating BL. Former lord mayor of Cork Des Cahill has said that a plaque should be in erected to honour Mary Elmes in her native Ballintemple following a decision to name the citys newest bridge after the woman dubbed Irelands Oskar Schindler. The aid worker, who was born in Cork in 1908, helped hundreds of Jewish children escape Vichy France and the threat of concentration camps. Mr Cahill, a Fine Gael councillor who met with the family of Ms Elmes during his term as lord mayor, said her loved ones knew nothing of her heroics for decades. She never spoke about it, he said. The story didnt come out until she was quite old. She started to talk about it. That is not unusual. We would have a few grandfathers and so on they dont talk about it [the war]. Mr Cahill said Ms Elmes should also be recognised in her native Ballintemple. There is a plaque in Lichfield Cottage [in Ballintemple] in relation to George Boole, , Mr Cahill told the Neil Prendeville Show on Corks Red FM. A plaque should happen [for Mary Elmes]. That is very appropriate. Even to have it a bit more visible in Ballintemple. Mr Cahill said the house where she grew up is known to everyone who lives in the area. Everyone would have known the house as Professor Ryans house, which is two doors up from Lichfield Cottage, where George Boole lived, he said. They [the Elmes] had a chemist in Winthrop St. She was sent to the London School of Economics in the late 20s. They went to Spain for a bit. She started doing food runs. She broadened that and started smuggling Jewish children in to the safety of Spain away from the Nazis. Mr Cahill said Ms Elmes showed extraordinary bravery given that she was arrested by the Gestapo and imprisoned in Paris. Because of her Irish passport, she was released and rather than going back down to Ireland she went back to Spain and continued to smuggle children in to the safety of Spain, he said. Ms Elmes lived a full life, dying in 2002 when she was in her 90s. In 2015, she became the first and only Irish person honoured as Righteous Among the Nations by the state of Israel, in recognition of her work in the Spanish Civil War and Second World War. Mary Elmes Mary in the 1940s For Eoin English vote for the naming of Cork's new Harley St bridge After the war, Ms Elmes was awarded the Legion of Honour, the highest civilian award in France at the time, which she declined on the grounds of not wanting attention for what she did. Bernard Wilson, who wrote a book about Ms Elmes, told Red FM he was delighted to see her works acknowledged in Cork. I am honoured to be able to say that I am the person who brought her to the knowledge of people in Ireland,he said. It was a wonderful experience. The countrys largest telecom firm has claimed there is a material flaw in the desire by the industrys regulator to keep public payphones in operation. Eir has accused ComReg of not carrying out any proper analysis for signalling its intention to keep in place the companys obligations to provide public payphones around the country. The telecom firm said ComReg had not used expert evidence or any sufficient or contemporary empirical evidence to justify its conclusions. It also claimed the regulator had made no effort to quantify the effect that the potential removal of payphones would have on the overall market. Eir said ComReg had made no effort to define or quantify a cohort of end-users which it claimed had no other means of accessing freephone numbers and helplines than via public payphones. It said most users to a free helpline operated by Dublin City Council to access homeless services made contact via mobile handsets. The current universal service obligation on Eir to provide public payphones ended on October 15 last year but ComReg wants to extend it up to October 2020. Public payphone usage is a minuscule fraction of what it used to be. However, ComReg continues to seek to justify intrusive regulation on the basis that some usage, no matter how small, demonstrates a clear societal need, said Eir. Eir said the regulators plans to simply reintroduce the nationwide universal service obligation on the company for another two years in such a haphazard manner were devoid of any justification or logical basis and beggars belief in the face of overwhelming evidence that it is excessive, costly and unjustified. Eir said it did not believe that the continuation of the universal service obligation would offer any meaningful solution to the terminal decline and increasing irrelevance to society of public payphones. Eir is allowed to remove a public payphone where its usage in the previous six months averaged less than one minute per day. It is also allowed to remove phones where there is evidence of anti-social behaviour or its removal is requested by a local authority. At the end of June there were 480 public payphones in 281 locations against 815 a year earlier. ComReg has argued there is a societal case for keeping in place the universal service obligation to provide public payphones in the medium term. The cost of providing public payphones in 2015 was just over 320,000, according to Eir. However, ComReg claims the figure was closer to 122,000. A Cork man described as the controlling mind behind a 20m tax scam is to seek a Supreme Court appeal over his pending extradition to the UK for failing to pay a confiscation order amounting to almost 13m. 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, Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly rejected all of Mr OConnells grounds and ordered his extradition to the UK last Friday. Ms Justice Donnelly refused leave to appeal her judgment today but put a stay on her order pending an application to the Supreme Court for leave to appeal. In a 47-page written judgement last week, Ms Justice Donnelly said the High Court was satisfied that there is no basis for refusing his surrender or referring his case further to the Court of Justice of the European Union. She 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. No such evidence has been put forward, she added. 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 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 over 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 over 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. An Taisce has questioned the sustainability of increased visitor numbers permitted on Skellig Michael. The heritage body raised concerns over the potential for a 50% rise in visitors to the famous island off the Kerry coast in recent years to cause damage to its fragile landscape. The 2008 Skellig Michael Management Plan recommended the total number of visitors per season should not exceed 11,100 with a daily cap of 180 to ensure the protection of one of Irelands best known national monuments. An Taisce claims the figure has risen to more than 16,700 in each of the last two years following the promotion of Skellig Michael as a location in the Star Wars series, generating expectations that cannot be met. It criticised State authorities for allowing the effective rebranding of the island and called for a review of the impact of increased visitor numbers on all issues affecting the island. In a submission to the Department of Culture, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht, An Taisce said any tourism potential of Skellig Michael has to be a secondary consideration compared to preservation of the site. This is a globally iconic place which needs to be respected, cherished and held in trust for the future over any considerations of commercialisation, it said. While the tourism promotion of the island is of major benefit to the local economy, this is subsidiary to the protection of the intrinsic identity and priceless, fragile nature of the island itself, and is something which should never be allowed to dominate. It pointed out that Skellig Michael, along with Bru na Boinne, the Boyne Valley passage tomb complex which includes Newgrange, are the Republics only two Unesco World Heritage sites. An Taisce welcomed the decision of Culture and Heritage Minister Josepha Madigan to hold a consultation in advance of formulating a new draft management plans for Skellig Michael for the next decade. However, it criticised the failure of the department to provide any information on the outcome of the previous 2008 plan which it wants reviewed. An Taisce said data on climate, bird population, and visitor impact is important for any decision on future management of the site. Heritage officer Ian Lumley said climate change is making the steep slopes of the island vulnerable to soil erosion through increased frequency and severity of Atlantic storms. Four serious rock falls between 2016 and 2017 caused damage to the 19th century lighthouse road which resulted in the closure of the island to visitors. An Taisce also expressed concern about lack of regulation of the increased level of helicopter tours and boats circling the island as well as the use of drones and their potential to have a negative impact on bird and marine populations on and around Skellig Michael. It has recommended the introduction of an exclusion zone around the island to protect its peace and character as well as a moratorium on any further commercial filming. Launching the consultation, Ms Madigan said her department and the Office of Public Works have a remit to preserve, conserve, and manage the site not only for the people of Ireland but for the whole world. The department said it had received 22 submissions in response to its initial call for public consultation in relation to the Skellig Michael management plan. The Government's Chief Procurement Officer has confirmed he did not inform Minister Paschal Donohoe or his Secretary General about the cost escalations at the Children's Hospital, even though he sat on its board. His letter to the PAC comes after the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) earlier this month said he was obliged to pass on such information. Paul Quinn, in a letter to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said he is fully aware of his obligations under the code of practice for the governance of state bodies. He confirmed, as chief procurement officer, that he did not personally inform the minister or his top official, Secretary-General Robert Watt, as to the cost escalations. I did not inform either the minister or the Secretary-General of that department as I was satisfied that the National Pediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) was addressing the matters and reporting to both the HSE and the Department of Health, he wrote to PAC members. He said he did not tell Mr Donohoe because he was and is satisfied that the cost issues which developed over the summer and autumn of last year were being appropriately addressed by the board and its chairman. In his letter, dated February 25 and seen by the Irish Examiner, Mr Quinn said he was satisfied the HSE and the Department of Health as the funder of the hospital were aware of the issues given their integration into the committee structure of the hospital. He said he was also satisfied that the issues were being communicated on an ongoing basis both to the HSE and the Department of Health through the reporting and governance arrangements established. Mr Quinn also said he accepts he should have disclosed he sat on the board of the hospital in a letter to the committee in January. I accept in hindsight that I should have advised that I was a member of the NPHDB having been appointed in a personal capacity by the minister for health in 2013. "My work on the board is separate and distinct from the Office of Government Procurement's role in the project, he wrote. Earlier this month, C&AG Seamus McCarthy said he was obliged to pass on concerns about the project to Government Ministers if he felt they were not being addressed. The Government has been dogged by controversy as to how the cost of the hospital rose from an estimated 800 million in 2014 to the current figure of 1.73bn. The Government only became aware of the final figure last November, despite concerns being flagged months earlier by the hospital board. Labour TD Alan Kelly, at the PAC, said Mr Quinn should have been reporting the ongoing issues with the cost overruns to ministers or senior civil servants. Marks & Spencer and Ocado are discussing a joint venture that could expand the retailers home-delivery operations and further shake up the rattled UK grocery sector. Shares of both companies surged after they confirmed talks on a deal, under which M&S could succeed Waitrose as Ocados grocery supplier. The new alliance would boost Marks & Spencers food business, whose growth has slowed recently as the company moves to cut 100 stores across Britain. The companies provided no details of the deal theyre discussing. However, the Evening Standard newspaper has reported that M&S will pay the online delivery operator as much as 900m (1bn) for a 50% stake in the venture. M&S has been slower to move into home delivery than other grocers in Britain, where chains have been struggling to gain scale and savings as the Brexit-riven pound has squeezed profit margins. Online giant Amazon and discounters such as Lidl and Aldi are also challenging the big, established companies like Tesco and Sainsbury, which responded with a deal for Walmarts Asda that has faced growing regulatory opposition. Ocado, founded by former Goldman Sachs banker Tim Steiner, has grown into one of Britains biggest technology success stories. After a slow start for its licensing business, the company has struck a series of deals with US grocer Kroger, Frances Casino Guichard-Perrachon, and others. The moves have given Ocado opportunities in areas where online shopping has seen slower growth to date than in the UK. Ocado rose as much as 13% after the announcement, while M&S was up as much as 4.3%. Theres no certainty the talks will result in a deal, the two companies said in separate statements. A supply agreement would help resuscitate M&Ss grocery sales as clothing sales have lagged. Under chairman Archie Norman, M&S has been trying to cut 350m in costs. Ocado is also looking to bounce back from a major setback earlier this month when a fire destroyed one of its automated warehouses. Revenue growth will suffer until capacity can be increased elsewhere, the company has said. This would give Ocado more time and resources to invest and develop the technology side of the business while retaining some interest on the retail side, said Dusan Milosavljevic, an analyst at Berenberg in London. - Bloomberg By Yousef Gamal El-Din, Nour Al Ali and Mark Gurman Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak doesnt want to wait for a folding iPhone. Apple has been a leader for quite a long time in a few areas such as touch ID, facial ID, and easy payment with the phone, Mr Wozniak said in a Bloomberg TV interview. Theyre not the leader in areas like the folding phone, and that worries me because I really want a folding phone, he said. Mr Wozinak was referring to folding phones that competitors Samsung and Huawei Technologies recently introduced. Apples rivals have taken on its high-price strategy as their own, pricing their folding phones at 1,744 and about 2,290, respectively. Apple recently reported that iPhone revenue declined 15% in the fiscal first quarter from a year earlier. Mr Wozniak is optimistic about Apples future, with the company branching out in a range of projects outside of its core iPhones market. However, he still prefers my Roku to Apple TV. They just got so successful on the iPhone and that was their whole business for a long time, he said. Now theyre branching out, so a lot of their businesses have been very good, he said. Mr Wozniak co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs and helped build the first prototypes of Apple computers. Meanwhile, Apple is said to be testing a sleep monitor for a future version of its smartwatch, a feature that would bolster the company in the health-and fitness-tracking market. The company has been using the sleep-tracking feature for several months with testers at secret sites around its California headquarters, according to sources. If the functionality is successful in the testing stages, the company plans to add it to the Apple Watch by 2020. The company has released new versions of the Apple Watch each autumn since 2016. Sleep tracking on the Apple Watch would reduce a competitive advantage that longtime fitness-wearable developer Fitbit has had on the market. Besides Fitbit, Withings, formally known as Nokia Health, also makes sleep-tracking gadgets. A new Apple Watch wouldnt be the iPhone makers first foray into sleep-tracking hardware. In May 2017, Apple acquired Finnish startup Beddit, which makes a sleep-tracking sensor strip. Apple sells the product on its website under the Beddit brand and launched an updated version at the end of last year. As sales growth of its signature product, the iPhone, has slowed, Apple has pointed investors to its plethora of other devices, including the Apple Watch. - Bloomberg February 27, 2019 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Dr. Quinton Hennigh, chairman and president of Novo Resources, sits down with Maurice Jackson of Proven and Probable to discuss how the road to production looks. Maurice Jackson: Joining us for a conversation today is Dr. Quinton Hennigh, the president and chairman of Novo Resources Corp. (NVO:TSX.V; NSRPF:OTCQX), which is focused on "A New Paradigm in Gold Exploration and Investing." Dr. Hennigh, welcome to the show. Quinton Hennigh: Thank you, Maurice. Maurice Jackson: Last time we spoke, Novo Resources accomplished a major milestone and that was the inclusion into the GDXJ. Since then Novo Resources has been extremely busy on a number of fronts from expanding the project portfolio, providing bulk sample results, mechanical rock sorting and DTC Eligibility, just to name a few. But before we go into greater detail, Dr. Hennigh, for someone new to the story, who is Novo Resources? Quinton Hennigh: Novo Resources is Canada listed company that is focused on exploring in Australia. I founded the company roughly nine years ago, and it was explicitly to explore for a certain type of gold deposit in northwest Australia in a region called the Pilbara, which is just in from the Indian Ocean along the northern coast. Our projects are close to two cities, Port Hedland and Karratha. They're major cities that give access to the interior where there's a lot of active iron ore mining in the region. The Pilbara has had a long-standing reputation, over 50 years, for their iron mines around Newman and Tom Price. Coincidently, within this same region Novo recognized the potential for gold early on in actually in the same strata, believe it or not, as the iron ore sequence. Novo had a hypothesis that the Pilbara was once connected with the Kaapvaal Craton in South Africa. Both of those cratons are very old rocks, they're over three billion years old, they share a lot of geologic similarities, including the strata that's been deposited on each block. In addition, we identified the stratigraphy can be correlated from one side of the ocean to the other. In South Africa, as many people know, there are vast deposits of gold in conglomerates in a basin called the Witwatersrand Basin. These gold deposits have been mined since around 1886 when they were first discovered; they produced something like 35% of all the gold produced on earth, around 1.7 billion ounces. The Witwatersrand Basin is a remarkable deposit; it's basically the Saudi Arabia of gold. The logical conclusion for us was, if deposits like that are present in South Africa, maybe over here in the Pilbara Craton there are similar deposits in conglomerates and of similar age, that have yet been discovered. Therefore, we came to Australia on that premise. We first structured deals with a gentleman named Mark Creasy, a well-known prospector in Australia, and those deals were largely centered over in the eastern part of the Pilbara region. The Pilbara region is quite vast from one side to the other, covering over six hundred kilometers, and from the coast up here down to Paraburdoo is something like 250 or 300 kilometers. This is an enormous target area. Our first exploration ever was at Beatons Creek. In 2011, drilled up a small resource at Beatons Creek, but what we learned is that the conglomerate units were quite continuous, and the gold is indeed there. The gold is a coarser grain than the Witwatersrand, but it is indeed present and appears to be economic. During our time at Beatons Creek we also conducted a bit of exploration at Marble Bar. Since that time, we have focused efforts more to the northwest and acquired this vast land package by Karratha. This was based on a discovery roughly two-and-a-half years ago of gold being found by prospectors in areas like Comet Well and Purdy's Reward, as well as others around the marsh and the basin, including Egina and some other select locals. The gold occurrences had been known by the locals for many years. When the news got out in late 2016, we strategically assembled a land package, including Comet Well and Egina. Novo staked a tremendous amount of ground, which is 100% owned by us. In addition, we also conducted a joint-venture agreement with Artemis Resource. Maurice Jackson: Dr. Hennigh, you've already introduced us to the project portfolio, but introduce us in particular to the value proposition we have before us. Quinton Hennigh: The conglomerate gold systems in our project portfolio are different gold deposits than most people are used to seeing. Our conglomerates are flat-sheet-like, and continuous over large areas. We've latched onto three systems in particular that we're focused on right now, which are Beatons Creek, Comet Well and Purdy's Reward, where we are actively exploring now. In 2018, we assembled the land package at Egina, and we're conducting advanced exploration there now including bulk sampling. For current and prospective shareholders I believe it best to become familiar with our trajectory for each project, as they are separate and unique. At Beatons Creek we've now undertaken a couple rounds of drilling over the past few years and also large-scale sampling, so this would be trench sampling as well as bulk sampling, and our current resource stands at somewhere around 670,000 ounces Measured, Indicated and Inferred. We are looking to grow that and are working to get a resource put together at Beatons Creek north of 1 million ounces in the near future. Not only that, we've done a lot of work like test mining and other things to demonstrate the economics and continuity of this system. We are looking to advance our Beatons Creek project towards monetization over the coming year. Beatons Creek is our most advanced, it's certainly a robust project. What you see there at Beatons Creek, you see conglomerate horizons, in some places it's stacked six high, so we have a conglomerate bed with a bit of intervening material, another conglomerate bed, and so forth. At Beatons Creek we have a robust deposit, easily accessible form surface. Those familiar with coal mines in West Virginia would identify these as tabletop mines. That's the kind of setting we have at Beatons Creek, so it's a really interesting deposit from that aspect, and the most exiting aspect is that Beatons Creek may be very inexpensive from a production standpoint. The gold is coarse and is easily recoverable; gravity recovery captures a lot but you know cyanide captures the rest so we expect very, very good recoveries out of that deposit in particular. At Comet Well and Purdy's Reward, we first evaluated the system, because it is a very coarse gold system, this is not your average gold deposit. The gold particles are often tenths of a gram up to multi-gram even tens of grams, and they're distributed through the conglomerate somewhat randomly. Therefore, one can't just walk up, grab a rock chip sample and expect to know through fire assay what's in this rock. We've had to do some very hard yards in terms of bulk sampling and other means to begin to evaluate the grain here. What we've shown at Comet Well and the Purdy's Reward joint venture with Artemis is that the continuity appears to be good over several kilometers. We've done a lot of core drilling for geology and stepped out into the basin. Presently, we have enough data between the core drilling, three-dimensional modeling, as well as the grade data that we have from the bulk samples, to put together a mineralization report. This is a big step for Novo. All of our tenements are currently exploration licenses. In order to advance a project towards a mining stage, we have to convert exploration licenses to mining licenses in Australia, and to do that we need a couple of things. One, we need a mineralization report, in this case we're not necessarily going to produce a resource per se, we'll demonstrate that we have a potentially economic body of rock here, through the data that we've collected that I just mentioned. Novo Resources will submit a mineralization report within the next few weeks. The other aspect that's needed is an agreement with the Aboriginal community, this would be the Ngarluma Community. The Ngarluma Community basically covers most of this project area here. We've been in negotiations with them, and developed a good relationship with the Ngarlumas, over the past year and a half. We need to strike what's called a "Native Title Agreement" that allows us rights to go mining, as well the Ngarlumas have commercial rights, such as royalty, as part of this project. But these are things that also have to be worked out for granting a mining lease. We anticipate taking Comet Well and Purdy's Reward through a development trajectory, probably first through trial mining. In fact, we might do a certain amount of trial mining this year. That will provide us more supporting data for developing a larger scale mine. But we are definitely moving Comet Well and Purdy's Reward forward in a trajectory towards making a producing asset. Revisiting the map, one can see that Comet Well and Purdy's Reward are really just a small component of a much larger land package. As I alluded to earlier, within the conglomerate horizons, people have found nuggets weathering out of these conglomerates over many kilometers through this region. We have a lot of greenfields work to do along strike (gold line). We also have some very interesting new ground at Egina that we've recently assembled. At Egina the conglomerates have weathered away over time. They used to cover a significant portion in the Pilbara. But as they have weathered away and receded back, they've left the gold that was in them behind across a terrace, or flat country through here in the Pilbara. If one drives across this country, it is absolutely flat as a pancake, very similar to West Texas. If one were to look in either direction, it's like a pool table. But the flat surface throughout this region has what is called a lag gravel horizon on it. The lag gravel horizon is about one to two meters thick. Novo was able to demonstrate last year through our trial bulk sampling at Egina that it contains gold and it's fairly coarse-grain gold; we recovered something like 108 grams of gold out of a hundred cubic meters of bulk sample that we collected. That's pretty remarkable! A lot of alluvial deposits are less than 0.3 grams, and the grades we're seeing at Egina are very enticing. Our hypothesis is that this terrace, of which we own about 400 sq km, could be a sizeable gold project in its own right. Egina is basically another very large target we have. It is earlier stage, but the nice thing about Egina is that it's soft rock, gravels at surface. Novo can advance this in a fairly orderly fashion. We control 100% (of the blue on the map) at Egina. Thus, we are able to get out there and do a lot of test mining and stuff like that that we can't quite undertake presently at Comet Well at the moment. So Egina is definitely going to be a focus for us this year. We're going to tackle that terrace gravel, see what kind of economics that might have, including the size and potential that we might have. Therefore, we are going to do sampling not only in the mining lease but hopefully in some more extensive areas to demonstrate the hypothesis that this region could hold a vast gold deposit could be true. Maurice Jackson: Dr. Hennigh, allow be to interject here. This land package you have here, it looks quite massive, how many square kilometers are we looking at here? Quinton Hennigh: Our land package is around 12,000 square kilometers at present. Maurice Jackson: Let me ask you this, sir. I know Novo Resources has undergone a tedious and methodical process in attempting to figure out grade and tonnage. In the spring of 2018 the company released the first bulk-sample results from Comet Well, how have those been coming along? Quinton Hennigh: The bulk samples from Comet Well that we released in May were the first two that we completed. To get these samples through the lab was a big exercise. It required several renditions of crushing and experimenting and assaying different streams. We also were battling a bit of wet weather down in Perth last year; it took a long time but we did get a pretty comprehensive set of assays out in late October that demonstrated the grade of these conglomerate horizons. What we've identified are two conglomerate horizons at Comet Well and Purdy's Reward. The lower one of which is say 2or 3 meters thick, the grades range from about a 1 to 6 grams, and it sits right on the basement, so it's basically the lowermost bed of rock in this bigger sequence. Twelve to fifteen meters above first horizon is a second horizon. We call it the Upper Cannonball conglomerate, the Upper Cannonball conglomerate is about 1 to 2 meters thick, and again the grades in that bed are in a range of 1 to 3, 4 grams, somewhere in that range. And it's very continuous along strike; we can see good continuity from one trench to the other over three-and-a-half, four kilometers right now. We feel very compelled that it's demonstrating similar continuity to the beds we see at Beatons Creek. For those who have followed Novo Resources for the year are familiar with the challenges we had at Beatons Creek. Specifically, we had to develop sampling protocols to deal with the coarse grade, assay protocols that were unusual; it took some time to develop. But now, Beatons Creek is basically getting close to mine. Comet Well and Purdy's Reward area are going along the same trajectory as Beatons Creek. We've had to cut our teeth with different styles of bulk sampling and assaying but we've now got things under control. We are also experimenting with somewhat unconventional techniques of recovering the gold. Novo has done test work with TOMRA, for example; this was starting in late last year in November. The results that came out are fantastic! We think there is potential to crush up the conglomerate, screen it, of course, but put it through an ore sorting machine, and actually let the ore sorter pick rock with the gold particles. You know the downside of coarse gold is assaying. It's a real challenge, but the upside is that the metallurgy might be very favorable for us. Novo is very excited about that ore sorter possibility. Maurice Jackson: Dr. Hennigh, the following may be a bit premature to address at the moment but the two most frequent questions I receive from prospective shareholders are, "Is this a place for deposit?" and, "How do you intend to extract the gold?" What do you have to say to those two questions? Quinton Hennigh: Sure, the first question is a very good one. I came to this region on the basis that there might be deposits like those in South Africa. Now let me give a little background there, in South Africa there are really two types of ore, there's the conglomeratic ore and in that the gold occurs as particles distributed in the matrix of the conglomerate. In effect those are alluvial deposits in the Witwatersrand Basin. There is also what they call "carbon leader ore." Carbon leader ore is a very, very thin seam of carbon, almost like coal, and I've written several papers (click here to view paper) on this with other authors. We believe that that seam of carbon is basically the fossil remains of early cyanobacterial mats that formed or evolved in a time when Earth's atmosphere was largely reduced. The idea is the sea water back at that time, under reduced conditions, would have been able to dissolve a fair bit of gold. Gold dissolves in reduced atmospheric conditions. The cyanobacteria was the first photosynthetic life. During this time period the cyanobacteria starting to kick off oxygen. What we believe is that that oxygen, which causes gold to precipitate, actually pulled, or started pulling the gold out of sea water and created that little carbon seam type ore, that is very, very rich in gold. This is a very, very unusual style of gold mineralization. It's a thin and very continuous and covers many square kilometers. A seam of carbonaceous gold ore. I came here looking for similar carbonaceous ores. What have we found? Well, at Beatons Creek, in fact we've talked about this in the past, we've actually found particles, pieces of carbonaceous material in the conglomerates here. So to answer your question, at Beatons Creek, we see two types of gold, we see bonafide alluvial gold. These would be loose, somewhat rounded particles in the matrix of the conglomerate, but we also see a component of carbonaceous material at Beatons Creek that tells us that that same process that you see in the Witwatersrand was active over in this area. At Comet Well and Purdy's Reward, what we see in the conglomerates here are large, rounded; they appear to be water-worn nuggets of gold. The origin of that gold we still haven't put our finger on, but it's possible that that gold has been recycled from weathering of previously existing conglomerates or carbonaceous beds that no longer exist. In their present form it's alluvial gold, but it's ultimate origin is still in question. In addition, we have gold that appears to have grown in the matrix around the nuggets. This is what we call "halo gold," it's a thin halo about two or three millimeters wide around the gold nuggets, the coarse nuggets, and we believe that gold is actually a precipitated type gold, probably in response to biogenic activity. So once again I would say it's a mixture of two types of gold that have brought the system together. We have alluvial particles for sure, we have secondary gold that appears to be perhaps biogenic in nature. Maurice Jackson: Alright and the second question: "How do you intend to extract the gold?" Quinton Hennigh: Like the coarse gold is a problem from the sense of assaying but in terms of recovery, it is quite favorable. Gold is dense. One of the easiest ways to treat coarse gold is, of course, gravity recovery, and that's certainly a possibility, but one of the things we wanted to look at was a call it a somewhat portable style of processing, by using ore sorting machines. These ore sorting devices are skid mounted or they're mounted on a transportable platform. They can be moved from one location to the other. Now why is that important? Well, this is a flat deposit, so if you have something that's long, you know rather than trucking ore from one place to another over kilometers, why not mine process, right on the spot, and then move as you mine the material. We looked at TOMRA ore sorters starting late last year (click here). We tried ore sorting early in 2017, had mixed results with the Steinert, first looked like it worked great, second rendition didn't work so well. When we went to TOMRA they showed us some reasons why they thought they could improve things dramatically and just recently we published the final data from that. In fact, the two samples that were good coherent conglomerate material that we put through saw recoveries over 80% just by sorting. This is using a scanner device, X-ray transmission that literally picks out particles of rock off a conveyor belt that have gold embedded in them. It's just remarkable! We essentially took gravel, put it on a conveyor belt, sent it across this machine, and it picks out the little particles of rock with gold. What you end up with is a concentrate that's a very, very small fraction of the overall mass you put in that machine, and it has most of the gold in it. There are a few additional steps we have got to take to test this further. One question is "What do we do with the fines?" At the present, we are considering to conglomerate them, and then put them through the ore sorter as they are. In other words, turn them back into little pellets or something, let the ore sorter pick them out. Or another option we could do is just put the fines through a gravity circuit on their own. These are options we are considering, which are essentially unconventional means of processing for this very unconventional deposit. Maurice Jackson: Looking forward, what are the company's goals and objectives for 2019? Quinton Hennigh: First, at Beatons Creek, which I talked about as being the most advanced project. We have a resource remodel underway right now, this is work that's ongoing and we are expecting some bulk samples back from the project. These are ones we collected late last year. Once we have all that data, which should be available by the end of the first quarter, we anticipate publishing a new, updated resource for Beatons Creek. We are targeting over a million ounces, we'll see if we can get there, I feel pretty confident. Beatons Creek should be a robust deposit. This puts the project in a good path for monetization. Then we will take the next steps of looking at how we potentially develop that project. Second, at Comet Well and Purdy's Reward, we anticipate doing a level of trial mining this year. We are continuing to evaluate some of the test work around the TOMRA, for example, as a means of processing at Comet Well. I think once we get a full evaluation, and we do have a bit more data we got to get back on that, but once we have a full evaluation of that processing, we'll look at that trajectory. Bear in mind, we also are shooting for that mineralization report and working on a Native Title agreement so that we can convert a lot of that country into mining leases. That's the trajectory for Comet Well and Purdy's Reward. Third, at Egina, once the rainy season's over in a few weeks, we anticipate getting out there and hitting the mining lease very hard. This is the mining lease where we took our bulk sample last year. We anticipate putting together on a test basis, a grid of samples across a target area, where we can see if we can put together a resource on the terrace gravels. We also anticipate, because it's a mining lease and we have permit to go up to 50,000 tons extractable, doing some small-scale test mining. We are seeking to help build our confidence around that project. The other aspect to Egina, very important, we anticipate taking some samples further afield in some more distant areas, and trying to get an idea how extensive that deposit may be. If Novo proves that that deposit covers a vast area, encompassing many tens of square kilometers, in that country, I think people will sit up and take note. I think that's really a big add to the story we have in the Pilbara right now. Maurice Jackson: Near term, what is the next unanswered question, when should we expect results, and what determines success? Quinton Hennigh: Per each project, the factors that determine success are a bit different. We have data coming back from bulk samples from Beatons Creek that will help support a new resource model, again that's going to be over the next few weeks. We anticipate getting that resource put together by the end of this quarter. If we see a resource above a million ounces I think we now have critical mass that allows us to look at that project a bit differently and more aggressively in terms of advancing it. As far as Comet Well goes, I think right now we feel comfortable with the grades and the continuities we're seeing. I think we have a fairly decent understanding of what this deposit is. What we really need to do there is to go test mine it on a scale, maybe a few tens of thousands of tonnes, and from multiple locations alone the strike of the conglomerate. We also have to do some ore sorting tests to see if we can use that as a means of processing. Those are the two factors if we can successfully process this material using ore sorter, and that includes capturing the gold that's in the finer material, I think we have an exceptional means of treating this unusual mineralization. Ore sorting and test mining at Comet Well are absolutely critical paths for us. At Egina, because it's free-dig gravel at surface, we have the luxury, and because we have a mining lease, too, of going out there and being pretty aggressive. Right so we can go out and start digging some hundred cubic meter samples like we did late in 2018, and we can advance that project quickly. Basically, it's almost like doing an exploration program in parallel with test mining and test processing. So I really think even though the metrics are not fully defined yet, I think Egina is one where it's an easier project that can be advanced much more quickly. Therefore, we believe going forward Egina is going to become more and more important to the company. Maurice Jackson: Sir, what do you see as the biggest challenge for Novo Resources, and how would you mitigate that situation? Quinton Hennigh: This is a good question. Australia's a very good place to work and in particular in Western Australia. Every single project that's been put up for permitting and advancement has become a mine. There are virtually no examples where a deposit wasn't mined, but it takes time. That's our determining factor. We have to do things like permit, we have to get mining leases from exploration licenses. We have to do the proper steps. We have to work with social license, we can't just go in and start mining. I think a lot of people, they look at our projects and they're very exciting, it's easy to see that these things could be developed, we literally go out and start mining some tomorrow if you had that luxury, but we have to do things right here. We have to do things right, both in terms of permitting, social license and all of those aspects, but we also have to do the right technical work to make sure that we take the right steps. We don't want to go and fall on our sword. I guess my comment to that question would be, time and patience is what we need. Maurice Jackson: Switching gears, sir can you please share with us the current capital structure for Novo Resources? Quinton Hennigh: We have a little over 163 million shares out. We have a few options in warrants out there bringing us to 204 million shares. Right now we have a little less cash than shown above, we're around CA$45 million at the end of the year. We have a good treasury, which is great! Because these projects, as I just said, need time and patience to advance. What we really are appreciative of is the shareholder base. We've got good shareholders, we have Kirkland Lake, we have Newmont Mining, Mark Creasy who I mentioned earlier, we have a lot of long-term shareholders who really understand the geology, and they understand the steps that we need to take to get these projects through to fruition. Maurice Jackson: And at the recording of today's interview, right now the share price is at CA$2.32. Sir, for our U.S. investors, what can you share with us regarding DTC Eligibility? Quinton Hennigh: Novo Resources filed DTC Eligibility in October 2018. This will enable U.S. citizens' shares to be traded electronically in much more user-friendly way to facilitate electronic trading. It allows U.S. shareholders to put those share certificates into a U.S. brokerage accounts and trade them. So we did that for the benefit of our shareholders and I haven't heard any complaints since. Maurice Jackson: Last question. What did I forget to ask? Quinton Hennigh: What does Novo Resources want to become? People who really know us know the story. They know we want to become a gold producer. Novo has tackled a very unusual style of mineralization but we want to prove that these deposits are going to make good economic mines, and we have three very promising projects, each of which has huge potential! Beatons Creek, Karratha, as well as Egina, all have extremely good potential to be very large, and hopefully very high margin, deposits. I think if I had one comment to say, that's the path we're going to take: "Novo would like to become an established Western Australian gold producer." Maurice Jackson: Dr. Hennigh, for someone who wants to get more information on Novo Resources, please share the contact details. Quinton Hennigh: Please contact our Head of Investor Relations Leo Karabelas in Toronto. His telephone number 416.543.3120 or email leo@novoresources.com. Maurice Jackson: And as a reminder, Novo Resources trades on the TSX.V symbol NVO and on the OTCQX symbol NSRPF. Novo Resources is a sponsor of Proven and Probable and we are proud shareholders of Novo Resources for the virtues conveyed in today's message. And last but not least, please visit our website, provenandprobable.com, where we deliver mining insights and bullion sales. You may reach us at contact@provenandprobable.com. Dr. Quentin Hennigh of Novo Resources, thank you for joining us today, on Proven and Probable. Maurice Jackson is the founder of Proven and Probable, a site that aims to enrich its subscribers through education in precious metals and junior mining companies that will enrich the world. Disclosure: 1) Maurice Jackson: I, or members of my immediate household or family, own shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: Novo Resources. I personally am, or members of my immediate household or family are, paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. 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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 27, 2019 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Those who have worked in the business as long as I have will easily remember the rare earth mania of 2008-11. For about three years following China's export restrictions on rare earth elements, which hiked the prices of REEs to record highs, the junior resource market was awash with new rare earth explorers. These tiny companies fanned out across (mostly) Canada, the US and Australia in search of the next rare earths motherlode that would break the world's dependence on China, which then and now has a monopoly - the country either mines or processes something like 95% of the 17 rare earth elements (REEs) and turns them into oxides, then continues the process of making high-purity metals, alloys and powders that are used in everything from cell phones, flat-screen TVs, permanent magnets, and lasers, to wind turbines, nuclear reactors and missile guidance systems. Click here for a more comprehensive list They mostly failed. Not one of those highly touted junior held rare earth deposits outside China has been turned into a mine. The hype dissipated and resource investors moved on to other metals. Arguably though, the importance of rare earth elements has never gone away; in fact they are more crucial than ever, as trade tensions between the US and China and the markets for REEs grow - such as for neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium used in permanent magnets placed in electric vehicles. Fore more read our Rare earths in cross-hairs of new arms race This article will look back at the rare earth mania, describe why none of these companies have made it past the feasibility stage, and present a roadmap for how to build a rare earths mine, one step at a time, that is both feasible and cost-effective. Rare earth mania Today, the only significant non-Chinese firms currently producing rare earth elements are Molycorp, whose Mountain Pass mine in California mines the REEs and ships them to China for processing, and Lynas, whose Mt. Weld mine in Western Australia produces a concentrate that is processed in Malaysia. A few other countries produce a handful, tonnage-wise, of REEs but they are very small compared to China - just 1,600 to 3,000 tonnes annually compared to China's 105,000 tonnes. For a time though, rare earths were on the lips of every mining investment house and resource junior. To not have a rare earths play meant missing out on the party. The chart below courtesy of Avista Group shows the bubble inflating then the pop. For instance dysprosium prices rocketed from $118 a kilogram in 2008 to an insane $2,262/kg in 2011. Europium ran up from around $600/kg in 2010 to $3,000/kg the following year. While the spike in rare earths prices was good for Molycorp and all the exploration companies that sprang up in search of them, buyers of products made from rare earths balked and pressured governments to do something about it. The US, European Union and Japan brought a case to the World Trade Organization to try and settle the dispute and get China to lift the restrictions. In 2015 it did, resulting in a torrent of Chinese rare earth exports into the market and the inevitable collapse in prices. The move caught Molycorp off-guard. The company had just spent over a billion dollars on another upgrade at Mountain Pass but within months, Molycorp fell deeply in debt and went bankrupt. Most of the rare earth juniors withered and died too. For a more detailed history read our How the US lost the plot on rare earths. Separation anxiety Mining rare earth elements is fairly straightforward - if found close enough to surface they can be scooped up in open pits, crushed and gravity-separated from the host minerals - but separating and extracting a single REE takes a great deal of time, effort and expertise. The ore is ground using crushers and rotating grinding mills, magnetic separation (bastnasite and monazite are highly magnetic, they can be separated from non-magnetic impurities in the ore through repeated electromagnetic separation) and flotation gives you the lowest value sellable product in the rare earth supply chain - the concentrated ore. The milling equipment including crushers, grinding mills, flotation devices, and magnetic, gravity, and electrostatic separators all have to be configured in a way that suits the type of ore being mined - no two ores respond the same way. The major value in REE processing lies in the production of high-purity rare earth oxides (REOs) and metals - but it isn't easy. A REE refinery uses ion exchange and/or multi-stage solvent extraction technology to separate and purify the REEs. Solvent-extraction processes involve re-immersing processed ore into different chemical solutions in order to separate individual elements. The elements are so close to each other in terms of atomic weight that each of these processes involves multiple stages to complete the separation process. In some cases it requires several hundred tanks of different solutions to separate one rare earth element. Heavy rare earth elements are the hardest, most time- consuming to separate. The composition of REOs can also vary greatly; they can and often are designed to meet the specifications laid out by the end product users. An REO that suits one manufacturer's needs may not suit another's. For more on mining and processing REEs, read our Mine to Magnet. Doing it wrong The challenges of producing anything more then a rare earth concentrate has always been several fold for junior resource companies - complicated mineralogy means complicated expensive metallurgy, a lack of infrastructure and a lack of technical knowledge of the extraction process. The dispersement of the REEs in a typical deposit is not uniform and they are often contained in different ores as high as 5. The more complicated the minerology the more complicated, expensive and time consuming metallurgy will be. A lack of infrastructure doubles down on your problems. This includes easily accessible power, water, NG, roads and railways. Many rare earth properties are far from any infrastructure, minimizing the prospect of advancement. Even more challenging is developing a hydrometallurgical plant to produce the separate high purity rare earth oxides. One of the world's foremost REE geologists and mineralogists, Tony Mariano, says each REE deposit, assuming a favorable political climate and good logistics, will need certain conditions present: Favorable mineralogy and lanthanide distribution Necessary grade and tonnage Mining and mineral processing at low costs Successful chemical cracking of the individual lanthanides for their isolation and eventual recovery Low values of thorium, uranium and other deleterious impurities Minimum environmental impact Dudley Kingsnorth of Industrial Minerals Company of Australia outlines the necessary steps to take a REE deposit all the way to production: Prove resource: grade, distribution and understand mineralogy Define process and bench scale - each ore-body is unique. Because of this uniqueness a new separation process has to be developed for each individual deposit Conduct pre-feasibility study Demonstrate technical and commercial viability of the process Obtain environmental approval Publish Letters of Intent marketing is customer specific. The main value-added from rare earths is not in the mining and extraction, so it is necessary to either develop your own supply chain or gain access to an existing supply chain Complete a bankable feasibility study Effect construction and start-up There are significant barriers to entry into the rare earths market: Developing a rare earth mine and processing plant is capital intensive. Capacity costs are high - US$30,000+ per tonne of annual separated capacity versus less than US$3500 for an open pit mine in the US. History shows that the development time can be very long at 10-15 years Operational expertise on mining, cracking and separating is very limited outside of China Major mining companies and institutions are put off by high capex investments in such a tightly focused market. This leaves juniors with potential development issues Back in 2008-11, all these challenges didn't dissuade hundreds of juniors, whose booths lined the aisles of PDAC, from grabbing the opportunity to cash in on rare earth mania. Until prices crashed in 2012 and the hype was over. A few are still around, but most perished in the cold winter of investor disenchantment that descended on the rare earths sector post-2012. The phrase over-promised and under-delivered comes to mind. The strategy of most of these companies went something like this: identify a rare earth deposit, then hone in on the most valuable REEs - typically heavy rare earth elements like dysprosium, europium, terbium, gadolinium, etc. - which at the time were commanding record-high prices. The plan was to mine the most lucrative rare earths, produce a concentrate, and then build a refinery, at great expense, for converting the rare earth concentrate into individual 99.5% oxides, powders, metals and alloys for each desired REE for sale to end users. The problem was that most of these companies either didn't understand the complicated process involved in mining/ processing rare earths, or did know, and hid the truth from investors. A couple of examples - no names will be mentioned. The rare earths deposit is located in a remote region with no infrastructure. According to a prefeasibility study, the open-pit operation would target the highest-grade REE mineralization. The project has a capex (capital expenditures) budget of $2.6 billion, including a hydrometallurgical facility that would produce four products: one heavy and one light REE concentrate, one oxide and one by-product mineral. The ore would be crushed at the mine site, trucked to a port, and then shipped along a canal to the hydro-met facility for further processing. Annual revenues would average north of a billion dollars. Another project is also on the middle of nowhere with no towns, roads or power nearby. Total capex including a mine, mill and hydrometallurgical complex is just over $500 million. Ore from the underground mine would be mined and processed into a concentrate, then barged approximately 200 kilometers to the rare earths refinery, where there is energy and transportation infrastructure. Both of these projects have no infrastructure, exorbitant capex that would scare off any institutional investor, and complicated mine plans, both in terms of logistics and processing. We could've chosen many other ill-fated examples. Even if a junior miner was able to produce an oxide, that's not the end of the road. From an initial 98% purity, the oxide must be further refined to 99.5% purity required by most end-users. The cost to increase the purity to 99.5%, and the technical knowhow/ operational expertise, is well beyond the capabilities of almost every junior miner for the several reasons listed above. Very few REE miners will ever get paid for producing a 98% oxide let alone a 99.5% pure oxide. It's far more likely that most REE juniors will end up selling a mixed rare earth concentrate comparable to what a junior copper miner would sell. Others further up the REE value-added supply chain (ie. end-users who have a proprietary process) will turn the concentrate into rare earth oxides and continue the process of making the high-purity metals, alloys and powders. Doing it right Fortunately there is an easier way to mine rare earths without getting into the inordinately high capital expenditures and processing complexity. The answer? Keep it simple and small, take what mother nature easily gives you. At Ahead of the Herd we've identified a project in northern BC that has all the elements in place for a successful, small-scale rare earth operation: Defense Metals' (TSX-V:DEFN) Wicheeda Project. Located close to a major population centre, Prince George, Wicheeda has no uranium, low thorium values, all the necessary infrastructure, the deposit has simple mineralogy, and the metallurgy has already been demonstrated through bench-scale testing. Enough historical drilling has been done to compile an historical non-43-101 compliant resource estimate of 11.2 million tonnes grading 1.95% Light Rare Earth Elements at a 1% cutoff (LREE = Ce + La + Nd). A 2009 study was designed to discover the ease of making a rare earth concentrate from a composite rock sample taken from Wicheeda carbonatite, based on three assay samples. Bench-scale testing yielded more potentially recoverable rare earth elements than the resource estimate's current REEs (lanthanum, cerium, neodymium and samarium) such as dysprosium, europium and praseodymium. The study author, Tony Mariano cited above, noted he's only seen a high-grade REE concentrate similar to the Wicheeda composite in China, the centre of global rare earths processing. Bench-scale flotation and hydrometallurgical testwork was done on Wicheeda drill cores at a SGS Lakefield lab during 2010-11. SGS successfully developed a flotation flow sheet that recovered 83% of the rare earth oxide (REO) and produced a concentrate grading 42% REO. Subsequent hydrometallurgical testing in 2012 on a two-kilogram sample of the concentrate grading 39.7% TREO (total REO) produced an upgraded and purified precipitate that contained 71% TREO through a process of pre-leaching and roasting. For more read our Defense Metals has sights set on rare earths, uranium This isn't just another rare earths story pump, like dozens of others told during rare earth mania. This project differs significantly from others that have tried, and failed, before it. Here's how: Infrastructure in place. At 80 kms northwest of Prince George, Wicheeda isn't remote. The deposit is situated alongside a major forestry service road that is connected to Highway 97, the main artery running through northern BC. Prince George has many industries currently using chemicals such as caustic soda and hydrochloric acid, and by-products of operations range from white/black liquor to lime and others. There is a trained workforce already very familiar with the shipping/receiving, use of, and proper disposal of chemicals, being home to a methanex plant and three pulp mills. A planned 200-tonne-per-day pilot plant on a dormant sawmill site at Bear Lake is a short 40-minute drive north of Prince George on Hwy 97. A CN rail line runs past the old sawmill site and there is a siding running into the site. The Bear Lake site has adequate power, water, a railway siding and a nearby natural gas pipeline - all the elements needed for rare earth processing and shipping. At 80 kms northwest of Prince George, Wicheeda isn't remote. The deposit is situated alongside a major forestry service road that is connected to Highway 97, the main artery running through northern BC. Prince George has many industries currently using chemicals such as caustic soda and hydrochloric acid, and by-products of operations range from white/black liquor to lime and others. There is a trained workforce already very familiar with the shipping/receiving, use of, and proper disposal of chemicals, being home to a methanex plant and three pulp mills. A planned 200-tonne-per-day pilot plant on a dormant sawmill site at Bear Lake is a short 40-minute drive north of Prince George on Hwy 97. A CN rail line runs past the old sawmill site and there is a siding running into the site. The Bear Lake site has adequate power, water, a railway siding and a nearby natural gas pipeline - all the elements needed for rare earth processing and shipping. Uncomplicated mining. The rare earth minerals bastnasite and monazite, containing the REEs, are disseminated fairly uniformly throughout the property. Mining would be an open-pit scenario, which is basically just an earth-moving operation. The raw ore would be run through a magnetic separator - bastnasite and monazite are magnetic - with the resulting early-stage concentrate trucked to DEFN's pilot plant in Bear lake for further processing. The rare earth minerals bastnasite and monazite, containing the REEs, are disseminated fairly uniformly throughout the property. Mining would be an open-pit scenario, which is basically just an earth-moving operation. The raw ore would be run through a magnetic separator - bastnasite and monazite are magnetic - with the resulting early-stage concentrate trucked to DEFN's pilot plant in Bear lake for further processing. Work with Mother Nature. Unlike other rare earth juniors, Defense Metals isn't promising the moon and delivering an asteroid. The company's plan is to use whatever elements are in the rare earth minerals to produce a mixed rare earth concentrate that would be sold, likely on long-term contracts, to end-users. Unlike other rare earth juniors, Defense Metals isn't promising the moon and delivering an asteroid. The company's plan is to use whatever elements are in the rare earth minerals to produce a mixed rare earth concentrate that would be sold, likely on long-term contracts, to end-users. Scale up slowly. Production, under a BC Small Mine Permit, would gradually be scaled up, from a 30-tonne bulk sample to a 200-tonne per day pilot plant that proves the ability to produce a mixed rare earth concentrate for commercial production. Defense Metals could also use its scaled-up processing plant to "contract process" other companies' rare earths into a concentrate. There are three stages to the ramp-up: Step 1: Bulk sample metallurgical testing/ re-assaying the pulps. Defense Metals has sent a 30-tonne bulk sample from the deposit to SGS Canada's Lakefield, Ont. metallurgical facility. "Building on the successful bench scale flotation testwork conducted in 2012 by SGS on a 100 kg composite sample of Wicheeda drill core, the goal of the Phase 1A testwork is to develop a robust flow sheet for producing high-grade REE flotation concentrates from a 200-kg sample of the 30-tonne Wicheeda REE deposit bulk sample. It is anticipated that 20 kg of REE concentrate will be produced by Phase 1A," said Chris Graf, DEFN's technical advisor. After the 20-kg sample of flotation concentrate has been produced, hydrometallugical testwork on the sample is expected to start at the end of May, to produce a purified, mixed REE concentrate and provide data for the design of a 200 tonne-per-day pilot plant at Bear Lake. Step 2: Pilot plant. The concentrate pilot plant will take the entire 30-tonne Wicheeda Lake bulk sample and process it, with the goal of demonstrating that the Phase 1 A flowsheet is capable of producing a high-grade REE concentrate at an industrial scale. Step 3: Hydrometallurgical test plant. The last step, and Defense Metals' ultimate goal, is to build a hydrometallurgical plant at Bear Lake that would convert the rare earth concentrate into individual rare earth oxides, for sale to specific end-users. It's expected that the Phase 2 pilot plant metallurgical testwork will produce about three tonnes of REE concentrate that can be tested by a Phase 3 hydrometallurgical pilot plant. Production, under a BC Small Mine Permit, would gradually be scaled up, from a 30-tonne bulk sample to a 200-tonne per day pilot plant that proves the ability to produce a mixed rare earth concentrate for commercial production. Defense Metals could also use its scaled-up processing plant to "contract process" other companies' rare earths into a concentrate. There are three stages to the ramp-up: Click on the Feb 25 operational update for more details Once the plant enters commercial production, customers could include military defense contractors, considering the high concentration of metals used for defense purposes, and companies in the magnet manufacturing sector, which require combinations of neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium or samarium and cobalt. Like the concentration processing plant plant, the hydro-met plant could also do contract processing of other REEs from companies that ship their rare earth concentrates, by rail, directly to DEFN's Bear Lake facility. Conclusion Sometimes less is more, especially when more comes at great expense and investor risk. Defense Metals has come up with a very manageable plan to cost-effectively put an extremely prospective rare earths deposit into production. Unlike many juniors before it, the plan doesn't involve a billion-dollar capex that includes a mine, mill and processing plant. Instead, DEFN is piggy-backing on previous bench-scale testing to slowly prove the metallurgy and then scale up - first developing a flow sheet from a 200-kg sample, to get 20kg of REE concentrate. Then a pilot plant to test whether the original 30-tonne bulk sample can produce a concentrate at industrial scale. And finally, a hydrometallurgical test plant that can produce three tonnes of REE concentrate - enough for commercial use. Each step that is successfully completed will provide more confidence for investors, and further de-risk the project. If all these steps are completed, we see there being no shortage of customers wanting to purchase DEFN's high-purity REE concentrate. At this stage we would also see Defense Metals as a high-priority takeout candidate by a magnet manufacturer, for example, wanting to lock up a reliable supply of rare earth concentrate, outside of China. I'm looking forward to the successful completion of Phase 1A, a 20-kg concentrate. Richard (Rick) Mills aheadoftheherd.com Ahead of the Herd is on Twitter Ahead of the Herd is now on FaceBook 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. 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Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp A Colorado appeals court has ruled that victims of the 2015 shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs can sue the nonprofit organization over what they argue was lax security. The Gazette reports that the ruling reverses a lower court decision that said only the accused shooter, Robert Dear, was liable for the deaths of three people and wounding of nine. The surviving victims and families of the deceased argued in their lawsuit that the long history of violence at abortion clinics should have alerted Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains to take security precautions that might have prevented the shooting rampage. Dear faces 179 charges, including several counts of murder. However, a court has determined that he is incompetent due to a psychotic delusional disorder. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits Legislation Colorado The FBI is seeking to identify businesses that may be victims of an alleged nationwide workers compensation insurance, health care insurance, and pension plan fraud scheme. The FBI is urging businesses that purchased policies from Clovis, Calif.-based American Labor Alliance or one of its many subsidiaries nationwide to contact their state insurance regulator to ensure the validity of their policies. ALA was fined by former Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones in late 2018 for selling workers comp and liability policies to employers of farmworkers without being properly licensed with the California Department of Insurance. On Jan. 10, ALA and two of its executives were charged with mail fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and money laundering by a 14-count federal grand jury indictment. Court documents allege ALA and its subsidiaries sold what was purported to be workers comp coverage that, in actuality, may offer no coverage. From at least 2011 onward, ALA offered what it purported to be a retirement pension plan to its clients, known by a variety of names including ALA Trust, the ALA Retirement Plan Trust, or the ALA Retirement Plan and Trust, that may also be invalid. According to court documents, ALA and its affiliates allegedly purported to offer a broad range of financial services to potential clients, including tax preparation and drafting of incorporation and other documents. It fraudulently marketed itself as a special type of labor organization under federal law and advertised that its customers could join ALA and receive financial services. This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI, United States Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, San Francisco Regional Office, and California Department of Insurance. Businesses that believe they may have been a victim of this alleged fraud are urged to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or send an email to WCVictims@fbi.gov. Related: Topics California Workers' Compensation Fraud North Carolinas environmental agency says a finalized settlement agreement allows it to make sure a Fortune 500 chemical company follows through on promises to clean up industrial chemicals in the water or face legal penalties. A state judge on Monday finalized a revised agreement between the state, environmentalists and The Chemours Co. that was unveiled last week. The settlement was updated after public input commits the company to speeding up plans to reduce chemicals reaching downstream public water utilities on top of paying $13 million in penalties and costs. The deal doesnt affect lawsuits by residents and Wilmingtons water utility 100 miles (161 kilometers) downstream against Chemours or DuPont, the company which spun off Chemours in 2015. The company says it knows showing progress is far more powerful than words. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Legislation North Carolina Pollution A Plano, Texas, woman pleaded guilty to insurance fraud for faking cancer claims to get more than $300,000 in insurance payments over two years, the Texas Department of Insurance announced. Karissa White Coleman, a former licensed insurance agent, purchased books on how to code cancer claims. She then created fake medical records and submitted almost 100 claims for out-of-pocket expenses not covered by medical insurance. Coleman was sentenced last week in a Collin County court to 10 years of probation and ordered to pay back $313,068. Her sentence also included 180 hours of community service. Source: TDI Topics Agencies Texas Claims Authorities have been searching a bay off southeast Texas for clues about what caused a Boeing 767 cargo plane carrying Amazon packages to nose-dive into the shallow water, killing all three men on board. A north wind aided searchers by exposing more of the three-quarter-mile debris field left Saturday when Houston-bound Flight 3591, which Atlas Air was operating for Amazon, disintegrated on impact in Trinity Bay, about 35 miles east of the city, a sheriff said Sunday night. Crews using airboats and helicopters circled the crash scene, where white chunks of fuselage could be seen above long grass. The muddy landscape has made the process painstaking, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwal said. Deputies and investigators from the FBI and NTSB have been gathering human remains and looking for the planes black box, which records flight data and voices in the cockpit. Emergency workers recovered two bodies, one on Saturday and one on Sunday, and sent them to a medical examiners office for autopsies. A statement from Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne says he was notified Monday evening that the bodies have been identified as those of Conrad Aska, the 44-year-old first officer and co-pilot of Atlas Air Flight 3591, and Sean Archuleta, a 36-year-old jump-seat passenger. Archuleta, a captain with Mesa Airlines, had been getting a lift back to his home in the Houston area, his friend told the Houston Chronicle . The 36-year-old was a new father and weeks away from starting his dream job flying for United Airlines, Don Dalton, Archuletas roommate, told the paper. Archuletas wife lives in Colombia and was devastated by the news of his death, Dalton said. Atlas Air said in a Sunday statement that it has established a program to support the families of the dead and that it has a team, including CEO Bill Flynn, at the crash site to assist investigators. The last previous crash involving a large cargo plane in the United States was in 2016, according to a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman. The landing gear of a FedEx flight collapsed after touching down at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, causing the left wing of the McDonnell Douglas MD-10-10F to catch fire. The plane was badly damaged, but the two crew members were able to evacuate, the spokesman said. Associated Press writer Bleiberg reported from Dallas. Related: 3 Killed in Amazon Cargo Plane Crash Near Houston Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Texas Training Development Aviation In a rare move, Berkshire Hathaway is selling one of its companies, leading workers compensation specialist Applied Underwriters, in order to avoid conflict with its other workers compensation businesses. Berkshire has a number of workers compensation companies, and there was channel conflict between them, Jeffrey Silver, Applied Underwriters general counsel, told the Wall Street Journal. This sale will eliminate that inherent competition that occurred between the Berkshire-owned entities. Silver confirmed the reason with Insurance Journal, while also noting that Berkshire has doubled its own workers compensation writings, excluding Applied Underwriters, since 2012. Asked if there is any reason agents, brokers or customers of Applied Underwriters should be concerned about the move, Silver replied, Absolutely not. It will be business as usual for Applied. It will be business as usual for Applied. Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett told CNBC that Applied Underwriters is a smaller firm that has to compete against two larger insurance companies Berkshire owns that also sell workers compensation coverage. The potential sale was first reported last week. Applied Underwriters provides workers compensation coverage and services or small and medium-sized enterprises. Berkshires own workers compensation providers include Homestate and GUARD that sell through agents and brokers and biBerk and Berkshire Hathaway Direct that sell direct to businesses. Berkshire Direct recently announced it will this summer be launching a new policy called THREE that bundles all small business coverages including workers compensation into a three page document. Warren Buffetts Berkshire bought a majority stake (81 percent) in Applied and its subsidiaries in 2006. Silver said the sale is expected to close in the third quarter but declined to provide any information about the the buyer or buyers. Applied Underwriters subsidiaries include California Insurance Co., Continental Indemnity Co., Pennsylvania Insurance Co., Illinois insurance Co. and Texas Insurance Co. that are collectively known as North American Casualty Co. Founded in 1994 by Sidney R. Ferenc and Steven Menzies, Applied Underwriters is headquartered in Foster City, California and has an operations center in Omaha, Nebraska. Topics Workers' Compensation Underwriting Berkshire Hathaway Young agents want change. They want more diversity in the agency sales ranks. They want better paths to grow in their careers. They want other agents to adhere to professional standards and ethics. They want faster and better technology in their agencies and in the insurance companies they use. Most of all, todays young agents want to see more young professionals like themselves in the independent agency system. Thats according to Insurance Journals 2018 Young Agents Survey, which asked more than 530 young agents for their opinions on the industry, their agencies and their careers as independent agents. I would like to see the younger generation get more interested and involved in the industry, said one young agent participating in the survey. Young agents responding to the survey said they would like to see younger professionals in leadership roles, too. While it is not an issue at the agency that I work for, I do see some hesitance with carriers and agencies in promoting younger, hungry individuals, one young agent wrote in the survey. Other agents agreed saying that more young leaders are needed throughout the industry. Profile of Young Agents Older Side of Young 62.0% are 31 to 40 years old; 38.0% are 30 and under. Career Choice 80.9% consider insurance to be a permanent career choice; 16.1% are unsure; 79.4% would recommend career choice to another young person but 13.7% are not sure they would while 6.7% wouldnt recommend being an agent. Experience 26.6% have less than three years in insurance; 22.2% have three to five years; 23.0% have six to 10 years; 20.3% have 11 to 15 years; 7.8% have more than 15 years. Education 65.6% have a college degree; 8.3% have a masters, doctorate or other advanced degree; 63.0% have completed or are working on an insurance designation. 63.2% have an insurance agent mentor. Family Affairs 61.1% work in family-owned agencies. 24.2% are members of the family that own the agency. Size 53.5% work for agencies generating $1 million to $25 million in P/C premium volume; 27.6% work for agencies generating more than $50 million in P/C premium; 88.3% are privately held. Employment Status 89.2% are independent agents; 8.6% presently are sole owners of an agency; 15.7% share ownership with partner(s) Ownership Dreams 75.7% do not presently own an agency; of these, 51.7% would like to own someday and 24.2% of those feel very confident ownership dreams will come true but 34.3% dont believe it will happen. Book of Business 68.4% target mostly commercial lines; 31.6% target mostly personal lines; Gender ID 60.7% Male 39.3% Female What Young Agents Do 63.4% attend local business or community meetings. 65.3% volunteer in my community. 15.9% get involved in local politics. 76.6% use Facebook. 83.3% use LinkedIn. 30.8% use Twitter. 13.8% write a blog. 59.6% utilize insurance coverage or other checklists. 69.2% take insurance courses on the internet. Leadership needs to become younger, one young agent said. There is a large gap between generations, and I see hesitation to give the millennial generation leadership opportunities. Other survey respondents added that in some instances, younger generations are unfairly stereotyped. I would love to see the industry embrace millennials, another young agent said. I always hear from hiring managers and agency owners that they want to hire younger people, followed quickly by a complaint about how terrible they all are. Young agents also maintain a desire for better and more efficient technology that will make their job easier. They believe that the insurance industry falls behind when it comes to its use of technology. I would like to see more focus on technology, as the industry is very poor at moving in the right direction when it comes to that, one agent wrote. Young agents are split on how they rate the property/casualty industrys use of technology overall. The exclusive survey revealed that slightly more than half of respondents (51.1 percent) rate the industry as excellent or good in terms of its use of technology while nearly the same number of young agents (48.9 percent) rated the P/C industry as fair or poor in this critical area. However, according to the survey, when it comes to career attractiveness to younger professionals, the results werent quite as evenly balanced. According to the IJ survey, only 8.3 percent of young agents rate the P/C industry as excellent when it comes to attractiveness for young people. However, a whopping 68.1 percent rated the industry as fair or poor in this critical area. Lagging Behind Ryan Thomson, executive vice president and an agency owner for the Louisiana-based Thomson Smith & Leach Insurance Group, agreed with the surveys findings stating that industrys slow-pace in advancing technology is one thing that frustrates him about the insurance business. Thomsons father purchased the agency in 1973 after a career in banking. After college, Thomson wanted nothing to do with the insurance industry and took a job with Rubbermaid as a salesman. After five months, he called his dad to ask to interview for a job at the agency. I came crawling back and started out with nothing. I mean literally nothing. I still keep in my top desk drawer the list I made on the first day of the 15 people I could call that had a house or were going to look at buying a house and owned an auto. Since then, Thomas, 37, says its been a great ride as the agency has grown from a small six-person shop in 2003 to a strong mid-sized agency employing nearly 50 people. Now, Thomson says theres not much he doesnt love about the insurance world, except its technology. We are lagging and missing the boat on technology adaptation and being able to serve our clients better, quicker and easier, he said. Lagging carrier tech capabilities make agencies less efficient, he says, and make processes and procedures more difficult than they need to be. In some cases, theres little communication between his agencys system and the carriers systems. Its a frustration from an operations and ease-of-doing business standpoint more than anything. Thomson says his agency has three employees just to check for errors when a policy is issued, especially through surplus lines markets. In south Louisiana, we have to deal a lot with [wholesale] brokers. Thats probably most of my frustration, more than the direct bill, Progressive, types, he said. Thomson believes technology hurdles reflect the industrys slow-to-change mindset. Technology is something we have to embrace, as an industry, he said. We cant stick our head in the sand; we just cant. Its amazing still today [the number of] policies we issue in somebody elses system that have errors. He believes some of those errors could be overcome with better technology aimed at improving communication among agencies, carriers and wholesale partners. What Young Agents Think Basically True Basically False As a younger agent, I have to work harder to gain the confidence of clients. 70.1% 23.9% I fear that my career will be hurt by a merger or sale of my agency. 31.1% 51.7% I wish I could specialize more than I am now permitted to do. 28.5% 59.2% I have one or more areas of specialization 74.9% 16.7% Much of my production supports older producers in the agency. 35.2% 52.7% During my career, I have worked for more than one agency. 41.9% 56.9% While in my present position, I have been offered a job with another agency. 65.2% 31.4% Success in this business is mostly about building relationships. 94.1% 3.6% Success with 40 and younger clientele is built first by relationships online. 28.0% 52.8% Efficiency and effectiveness are more important than relationships to succeed in this business. 28.7% 56.4% I propose new ideas but our firm rarely seems to get to them. 26.2% 57.6% The agency ranks could use more women and minorities. 38.1% 33.4% I wish my agency would expand into new markets. 34.6% 45.3% I think my compensation is fair. 68.1% 22.7% I think my agencys management is fair. 74.2% 17.0% I believe advancement is based on relationships more than performance. 31.3% 55.5% I would like to increase the time I spend on sales versus servicing or administrative tasks. 63.2% 22.3% Insurtech will have an overall positive effect on the insurance industry. 34.4% 12.8% The industry has been too slow to adopt new technology. 64.7% 21.4% In 25 years, the independent agency system will be stronger than it is now. 54.6% 21.8% Agencies Embracing Tech While critical of the overall industry, young agents have a different view of their own agencys use of technology. According to the Young Agents Survey, 73.8 percent of young agents rate their agency as excellent or good in terms of technology use. Thirty-two-year-old Laura Locke Baskind, JD, who serves as the director of agency operations at Dallas-based Independent Insurance Group Inc. (IIG), says her agencys commitment to technology and its quickness to adapt has been beneficial not only in efficiency but also in attracting talent. The ownership of our agency has been wonderful in terms of bringing in young talent, foreseeing the need for younger talent, [and] creating an environment thats very adaptive and open to technology, she said. I now have an in-house IT manager, and we are doing our own coding, and building out our own management services, own agency app, so that we can automate things on our own to make sure that were the most efficient that we can be, she said. The agency went through a complete overhaul of its agency management software last year. She knows IIG is not alone in this tech-forward agency mindset. Other agencies are taking great strides to push forward technology that enables agencies to be more competitive, serve customers better, and attract new employees. I think that that is how we will attract top talent, and the younger generation, she said. Like Thomson, Locke Baskind grew up in her fathers agency but took a different path before joining the insurance world. She went to law school and practiced at a large, international law firm before joining the agency. She also worked for Uber Technologies. She admits her father had been grooming her for the agency world since she was 14 years old. She started off in sales for the agency, then moved to an account executive role before landing into operations when someone retired. For me, it is a much better fit in terms of my skillset, and what Im good at, she said. I love to really dig in and solve problems. Danric Jaime, an associate in Locktons San Francisco office, agrees that while the industry has been pretty slow to adapt new technologies over the past 10 years, there are some agencies such as Lockton pushing forward. That has helped Jaime, age 35, find his niche in the agency channel. Jaime, while not a sales producer, has been involved on the tech-side of sales by helping Lockton producers solve technology issues in the employee benefits sector. He doesnt sell policies to consumers, but instead sells a Lockton-sponsored employee benefits app to Lockton producers and their customers. Our Lockton employees will put me in front of a client, Ill talk through the app, do a demo. If they like it, great, he said. But Jaime also must sell the app to Lockton employees. Lockton employees may not have heard about the app or maybe theyve heard about it but have questions. If Jaime were to give advice to other young people considering a career in the independent agency channel he would tell them there are many areas young professionals could consider in the agency world, not just sales. Thus, they need to be more inquisitive. Make sure you ask as many questions as you can and then really just try to find a mentor that you can trust and help guide you, he said. Theres a lot to consider in the insurance world. A mentor, and it doesnt necessarily have to be your boss, is someone you can lean on and ask advice. Young Agent Opinions on Current Employer Excellent Good Fair Poor Quality of agency technology in general 25.1% 51.2% 19.3% 4.4% Quality of agency management system 27.5% 47.0% 18.8% 6.8% Quality of laptops, phones and other devices 33.7% 43.9% 18.4% 4.1% Mobile technology capabilities for customers and employees 18.6% 37.3% 25.6% 18.5% Quality of rating and quoting system(s) 19.9% 49.5% 23.4% 7.2% Quality of management 41.1% 38.3% 14.6% 6.0% Use of social media 14.3% 30.6% 31.1% 24.0% Use of technology tools to help with sales, marketing and prospecting 17.6% 32.4% 32.2% 17.8% Agency website capabilities 19.0% 34.8% 31.1% 15.1% Employee compensation and benefits 28.2% 41.4% 22.1% 8.3% Opportunities for advancement 30.0% 36.0% 22.2% 11.8% Administrative support 25.2% 43.7% 20.8% 10.3% Opportunities for educational improvement 44.5% 33.5% 14.7% 7.4% Telecommuting/flexibility with work-life balance 39.5% 29.6% 18.4% 12.6% Career Choice Despite the many opportunities in the agency world and insurance overall, many young professionals still shy away from it as a career to enter, but after they do, they end up staying. Flexibility, freedom and work/life balance are key benefits that young agents cite every year in IJs Young Agent Survey. According to the 2018 survey, a large majority of respondents rate their own agencys telecommuting, flexibility and work/life balance as either excellent (39.5 percent) or good (29.6 percent). Dreams of becoming a business owner is partly why Locke Baskind joined her fathers agency, but thats not the only reason, she said. The demanding work schedule she faced working as an attorney in a global law firm helped her understand what makes a career as an independent agent a good choice. The work/life balance that insurance provides, the ability to make more money, to have more control over the money that I can make, and the ability to know that my weekends, my holidays and my vacations to know that this is a place, and an industry, that values your personal time was very appealing for me, she said. The stability of the insurance industry is also a key factor in why young agents choose a career in insurance. Some 78.5 percent of survey respondents view the future of the independent agency system as very optimistic or optimistic while the clear majority (92.1 percent) view the outlook for the future of their own agency as either excellent or good. What Young Agents Think About the P/C Industry Excellent Good Fair Poor Customer service 20.4% 63.8% 15.2% 0.6% Public image 11.6% 38.2% 36.1% 14.1% Treatment of employees 20.4% 58.0% 20.2% 1.4% Professionalism 28.9% 54.3% 16.0% 0.8% Ethics 26.4% 49.5% 20.6% 3.5% Career attractiveness to young professionals 8.3% 23.7% 38.0% 30.1% Use of technology 10.3% 40.8% 36.9% 12.0% Marketing and advertising 11.8% 48.2% 30.0% 10.1% Other young agents cite the challenge that insurance delivers as a reason they like being an insurance agent. What 23-year old Adriana Solomon, associate account manager with global client services at Lockton, likes the most about her job is how dynamic her day-to-day job duties are. No day is the same, no clients the same, so its constantly challenging and really encourages me to grow, she said. As a native Spanish speaker and an international business major in college, Solomon fit right into Locktons global business culture. Im given opportunities that probably most 23-year-olds dont get. I get to travel, Ive been to Canada, Im going to Mexico to visit a client next month I get to go to client meetings and sit at the big kids table, she said. Im sitting with the CFOs of major, multi-national companies and CEOs of Lockton offices. The graying of the current agency workforce is another reason young professionals should consider insurance, says TJ Simmons, a producer at Shield Insurance Agency based in Hudsonville, Mich. A third-generation insurance agent, Simmons decided to accept a position at his fathers agency while still in his junior year at college. Now, at 20 years old, this young professional says insurance is not a bad gig at all. There is plenty of money to be made and hes ready for the challenge. He says other young people looking for a career should take note. Sometimes the industry doesnt do a good job at attracting young people because it seems boring, but I think that young people need to realize that its a young game. The aging of the industry is opening huge opportunities ahead for young agents. All of those older agents are going to retire someday soon and so there will be a lot of policies and customers that are going to need a new agent, Simmons said. Thats where us young guys can come in. Topics Agencies InsurTech Tech Talent Market Property Casualty Training Development Lockton Customer Experience The U.S. Supreme Court said judges are appointed for life, not for eternity, in setting aside a pay-discrimination ruling written by a jurist who died a week and a half before the decision was issued. The unsigned opinion said a federal appeals court was wrong to count the vote of the late Judge Stephen Reinhardt in a ruling that let a female math consultant sue a California school official. In letting the case go forward, the 11-judge appellate panel ruled unanimously but splintered in its reasoning. Reinhardts opinion said employers cant pay female workers less than their male counterparts just because the women earned lower wages in their previous jobs. Five fellow judges joined Reinhardts opinion, making it the appeals courts controlling reasoning by a single vote. The upshot is that Judge Reinhardts vote made a difference, the Supreme Court wrote. The high courts order was issued without published dissent. The appeals court ruling, issued April 9, 2018, contained a footnote that said the judges voted and finished their opinions before Reinhardt died more than a week earlier, on March 29. The lawsuit turned on the U.S. Equal Pay Act, which permits pay disparities if they are based on a factor other than sex. Fresno County Schools Superintendent Jim Yovino says those words leave room for policies that link pay to prior salary. The countys policy is to pay new employees 5 percent more than they received in their previous job, an approach Yovino says is gender-neutral. The math consultant, Aileen Rizo, was hired in 2009 at a starting salary of $62,133. She says she learned in a lunchroom conversation three years later that her three male colleagues all started at salaries more than $10,000 higher even though they do the same job. In his appeal, Yovino contended Reinhardts vote shouldnt have been counted, though the school official acknowledged the result probably wont change without the late judge. The case is Yovino v. Rizo, 18-272. Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Topics Legislation The Hanover Insurance Group has expanded its specialty leadership team to enhance as part of a series of personnel changes the company has made to its specialty business over the last year. The Hanover announced it has appointed Steven M. Mills president of the companys excess and surplus (E&S) business. In this role, Mills will work to make it easier for agents to access the companys E&S offerings. Mills will also help the company expand its existing E&S capabilities, including building a new retail operation for the companys key retail agents to enable more efficient placement of E&S business, according to the announcement. Mills most recently served as senior vice president and unit head for the primary casualty unit of IFG Companies. Prior to his time at IFG, Mills spent 13 years at AIG in various leadership roles, as well as in field and home office underwriting positions. He also held roles at Liberty Mutual, Citizens Insurance Co., CNA Reinsurance Co. and Continental Insurance Co. The Hanover has also promoted James H. Kawiecki to president of surety, responsible for both contract and commercial surety. Kawiecki previously served as vice president of contract surety for the company. In addition, John A. Rowedder has been promoted to vice president of contract surety and will continue to serve in his current role as chief underwriting officer for contract surety as well. To complement the specialty leadership team, the company has added two new roles. Jon Martin has joined The Hanover as its new vice president, distribution management, professional lines. Prior to The Hanover, Martin served as vice president, sales and distribution at Berkley FinSecure. Martin will be responsible for new business across the management liability, professional liability and healthcare lines of business. Christopher J. Zaneski has been promoted as the companys new vice president, distribution management, specialty property/casualty lines. Zaneski previously served as assistant vice president, distribution management, Hanover Specialty Industrial (HSI) at The Hanover and, in this new role, will be focused on developing new, collaborative business opportunities across the companys specialty industrial property, marine and E&S property and casualty businesses. Earlier this month, The Hanover announced it was expanding its international specialty capabilities for domestic businesses with overseas risks through an agreement with RSA Group. Last December. Hanover sold Chaucer Holdings, a major portion of its Lloyds international specialty business, to China Reinsurance Corp. for $940 million in part to reduce its exposure to global catastrophe events. As part of our commitment to be the premier property and casualty insurer for our agent partners, we continue to assess our talent and structure to be sure we are supporting our agents in the most effective way possible, helping them drive growth and opportunity, said Bryan J. Salvatore, president, specialty at The Hanover. Source: The Hanover Topics Excess Surplus Property Casualty Leadership Pie Insurance has begun selling workers compensation insurance to small businesses in Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, and New Mexico. This expansion follows Pies launch in five states earlier this year and nine states in 2018, as the company continues its plans to eventually offer workers compensation coverage nationwide. Pie uses predictive analytics and datasets to digitize the workers compensation experience, with users getting quotes in two minutes at savings of up to 30 percent in some cases. Pie operates as a managing general agency for Sirius America Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Sirius Group, offering A.M. Best A rated workers compensation insurance. Pie Insurance provides workers compensation insurance directly to small businesses at www.pieinsurance.com. The company began offering workers compensation insurance policies in 2018. Pies investors include Greycroft, Aspect Ventures, Sirius Group, Moxley Holdings, and Elefund. Topics Workers' Compensation An Argo Group shareholder is nominating four new directors to counter what it alleges are shockingly high corporate expenses including pricey real estate, an office art collection, and CEO Mark Watson IIIs personal use of company-owned aircraft and housing. Argo, a Bermuda-based underwriter of specialty insurance and reinsurance, denies the accusations from Voce Capital Management LLC, framing them as out of line. Voce Capital Management LLC owns 5.8 percent of Argo shares, which it asserts makes it the companys fourth-largest shareholder. The nominations would be taken up at the companys 2019 annual meeting. Pricey Real Estate, Yachts and Art Voce details its concerns about the company in a Feb. 25, 2019 letter to shareholders. In it, Voce said Argo needs a dramatic improvement in its return on equity to create sustainable, long-term shareholder value. Voce accuses the company of falling short in this area through its current strategy and expenses. Argo has shockingly inappropriate corporate expenses, including personal use of corporate property, gross misallocations of capital on wasteful items and frivolous vanity sponsorships, and an overall spendthrift culture that misdirects [Argo] assets to support the lifestyle and hobbies of [Watson] at the expense of shareholders, the Voce letter said. His tastes in art, architecture, racing, yachting and luxury travel, among other things, are well documented, and he appears to be quite the bon vivant. We in no way begrudge Mr. Watson, or any executive, the right to allocate his personal time or money in pursuit of private passions, the Voce letter states. But were deeply concerned that Mr. Watsons hobbies, pet projects and the cult of personality he apparently wishes to create for himself have commandeered and corrupted Argos priorities. We believe that Argos corporate assetsincluding Mr. Watsons professional time, the companys focus and its capitalare being grossly misspent and misdirected, in furtherance of Mr. Watsons personal agenda at shareholders expense. Voce accuses Watson of having a penchant for dramatic and expensive real estate such as Argos San Antonio office space, which was the old headquarters of AT&T. Watson, Voce said, oversaw every detail of the project and saw it as a place to showcase his creativity and display the corporate art collection acquired at his behest. Argos website (and YouTube channel) are home to scores of professionally produced, slick videos showcasing Watsons many passions, including a series called On the Ground trumpeting the cushy digs and prestigious office locations that Argo occupies around the world, the Voce letter asserts. From San Antonio, one of the executives says on camera if you think about some of the neat things about the San Antonio office, it is the array of artwork that we have in the office. Another staffer chimes in, theres so much artwork, and theres so much beauty about how our office is constructed. Art Prints Would Suffice Voce questions why a small company like Argo has an art collection and argues that prints ordered online would suffice. Voce challenges the companys need for expensive office space in Manhattan in the citys trendy Meatpacking district. Watson, Voce added, appears to have squandered not only a significant amount of shareholder capital but his own valuable time as CEO on this folly, Voce said. Beyond Manhattan, Voce takes issue with Argos real estate choice in London, down the street from Lloyds and near much larger global insurance entities such as Willis, Swiss Re, Aon and Tokio Marine. Watson continues to complain of the low returns available from underwriting in London while at the same time sinking enormous sums of shareholder capital into ostentatious quarters there, according to the Voce letter. Additionally, Voce said the company is wasting money for sponsorships such as the Argo Gold Cup, a sailing match in Bermuda at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club where Watson is a member. Voce, in its letter, accuses the board of lacking independence, property experience and being misaligned with shareholders. As a result, Voce blames the board for this waste of corporate assets and said it must be held accountable for the problem. Further, Voce said that Argo stock is below its peers and that the company has failed in recent years to boost its return on investment (3.6 percent in 2018). Argo has only posted a double-digit ROE once in the past decade, Voce claims. With this in mind, Voce said that Argo has frivolously covered Watsons personal living expenses, reportedly including a $1.5 million relocation allowance for his family to move to Bermuda and another $1.4 billion bonus for agreeing to relocate in the first place. Voce also takes issue with Watson allegedly living when he is in Bermuda at a 1.7 acre waterfront compound and villa made possible through an Argo long-term lease. The compound, Voce said, includes a swimming pool, lush grounds and a private boat dock with neighbors including Michael Bloomberg. Argo: Voce Accusations Are Misleading Argo issued a statement confirming receipt of the director nominations but also strongly denying the Voce accusations. Argos board of directors and management welcome input from all our shareholders and take into account their views. In that spirit, we were looking forward to continuing our dialogue with Voce but are disappointed that Voce has decided not to engage us constructively, Argo said in its response. Instead, Voce has sent a letter to shareholders that contains a number of misleading and inaccurate statements and personally attacks the companys CEO, ignoring Argos track record of strong value creation for all shareholders. Argo also noted it has had leading 1-, 3- and 5-year period total shareholder returns of 39 percent, 69 percent and 136 percent, respectively, and that it has returned in excess of $645 million of capital to shareholders from 2010 to 2018. Whats more, Argo said, its board and management team continue to focus on improving margins, and results are coming in through a lower expense ratio and a company-stated long-term ROE target of 700 basis points above the risk-free rate. Argo added its board and CEO interests are aligned with all shareholders and that Watson is the largest individual shareholder, with the board and executive officers together owning 4.9 percent of outstanding shares. Argo said it would review Voces nomination notice and proposed nominees and offer its formal recommendations in the companys proxy statement, to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and mailed to all shareholders eligible to vote at the 2019 Annual General Meeting. Sources: Argo Group, Voce Capital This article first appeared in Insurance Journals sister publication, Carrier Management. Topics Bermuda The backlash against shale drilling in earthquake-prone regions a thorn in the side of U.S. energy companies for the past decade reached China this week after a series of temblors killed two people and reduced homes to rubble. Chinas biggest oil and gas producer halted drilling in an area of the countrys shale hub after three quakes on Sunday and Monday toppled nine houses and caused cracks in dams holding back five small reservoirs, according to the government website of Zigong city in the southwestern province of Sichuan. A further twelve people were injured and nearly 11,000 homes damaged, with losses pegged at about $2 million. The incident spurred residents to gather at a government building to ask if increased shale drilling in the area was to blame, state-run CCTV reported. The local governments Weibo account said protesters numbered about 1,000, including some calling for a ban on shale exploration. A unit of China National Petroleum Corp. was forced to suspend operations, Zigong city said on its website, although it noted more research is necessary to determine whether the quakes were caused by shale activity. The response echoes concerns in parts of the U.S., whose shale success Chinese drillers are trying to emulate as they attempt to boost domestic oil and gas production after becoming the worlds biggest importer of both fuels. It also underscores how Chinas citizenry is becoming more vocal in contesting any adverse environmental effects of industry. If local populations became wary of this it could mean greater local resistance to drilling programs in Sichuan, said Neil Beveridge, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in Hong Kong. Thats the greatest risk. Sichuan lies at the crossroads of some of the worlds most active fault lines, and a 2008 quake there killed more than 80,000. The province is also the center of Chinas emerging shale industry. CNPC deployed 125 rigs to the province last summer to accelerate its development and the company has a multi-billion dollar spending plan to raise capacity to produce 42 billion cubic meters of gas from the region by 2035, to help meet government targets for higher energy output amid skyrocketing imports. That would amount to about 15 percent of the nations current gas consumption. Fracking Concerns The firm has 15 platforms and 39 wells in the affected area of Rong county, according to the Zigong city website. CNPCs Beijing-based spokesman wasnt available for comment. The companys listed unit, PetroChina Co., fell as much as 1.9 percent in Hong Kong before ending 0.6 percent lower. In U.S. states like Oklahoma and Texas, complaints of an increase in tremors have accompanied the dramatic rise of shale drilling, especially the underground disposal of water used in the fracking process. Regulators in Texas said in December they were considering new water-disposal restrictions because of quakes. A possible link between shale drilling and increased seismic activity in Sichuan province has been an ongoing cause for concern, said Min Na, a BloombergNEF analyst in Beijing. The most recent incident is kindling a more open discussion and could spur a further response from the authorities, she said. Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Topics China Energy Oil Gas Allegations of money laundering against Swedens oldest bank grew this week to draw in some of the former Soviet Unions most notorious individuals. Viktor Yanukovych, the president of Ukraine until 2014, used an account at the Baltic unit of Swedbank AB to transfer money out of the country, Swedens main broadcaster, SVT, reported on Wednesday. Pressure on Swedbank is growing as Swedens state prosecutor said on Wednesday it will investigate insider information allegations against the bank, after it reportedly told its 15 biggest shareholders that SVT was planning a broadcast two days before it was aired. Swedbank has denied wrongdoing. The most recent report by SVT, which the broadcaster says is based on thousands of pages of documents that link Swedbank to the $230 billion dirty money scandal engulfing Danske Bank A/S, appears to contradict previous statements by the Swedish lender. Chief Executive Officer Birgitte Bonnesen had repeatedly denied any link to the Danske scandal, arguing that Swedbank is a local bank servicing local clients. But the allegations point to a broader network of banks that were allegedly used by criminals in the former Soviet Union to funnel vast sums of money into the West until as recently as 2015. Bill Browder, who has brought a criminal complaint against Danske and says hes planning to do the same with Swedbank, says he has evidence pointing to banks in the Nordic and Baltic regions as a hub in Europe for money launderers. Catastrophic Communication Joakim Bornold, a savings adviser at Soderberg & Partners in Stockholm, said the latest development points to what he described as catastrophic communication management from Swedbank, more than anything else. He said the content of the new report is very vague making it hard to draw conclusions. Shares in Swedbank opened roughly 2.9 percent lower on Wednesday before trading little changed about an hour after the market opened. Since allegations of handling suspicious transactions were leveled against the bank last week, its share price has slumped more than 20 percent, wiping almost $6 billion off its market value. The SVT report shows that, via a company called Vega Holding Limited which had an account with Swedbank in Lithuania, Yanukovych transferred 3.7 million euros ($4.2 million) through the Swedish lender in 2011. According to Ukrainian prosecutor Andriy Radionov, the money came from a suspected bribe that was disguised as a book deal, SVT said. Yanukovych, who was Ukraines president until early 2014 when he was ousted in a revolution, is currently hiding in Russia to escape prosecution in his home country. A Kiev court in January found Yanukovych guilty in absentia of treason, sentencing him to 13 years in prison. Russian Oligarch A separate report in Baltic publication Postimees said that Swedbank was also used by Russian oligarch Iskandar Makhmudov, who transferred at least 1.4 billion euros through a network of at least 20 accounts at Swedbank. Postimees said the transfers were made by Carbo One, which is registered in Cyprus and alleged to be linked to Makhmudov. Carbo One was one of Swedbank Estonias largest corporate clients at the time of the transfers between 2007 and 2015, Postimees said. Makhmudovs representatives, contacted by SVT, rejected any links to Carbo One and to any illicit activities, Postimees wrote. Investigations Since SVT started reporting on the Swedbank story last week, the bank has admitted that it handled suspicious transactions, which it says have been reported to the police. Swedbank is now being investigated by the financial supervisory authorities of Sweden and Estonia. According to SVT, Swedbank has known about the Yanukovych transfer since 2017, when Ukrainian authorities sent a request to the bank for information about that specific account. Asked by SVT whether he knew that Yanukovych had done business through Swedbank, spokesman Gabriel Francke Rodau said, I didnt know, and if I had I wouldnt have been able to comment on it, because of bank confidentiality. Still, CEO Bonnesen has in recent months repeatedly claimed that the bank has found no link to the Danske Bank money-laundering scandal, stressing that Swedbanks business model is entirely different from Danskes and not focused on so-called non-resident clients. SVT said that in addition to the suspected 3.7 million-euro transfer, another 12.6 million euros and $5.6 million were funneled via the company that Yanukovych used in Swedbank between 2007 and 2014. The selloff in Swedbank shares suggests that investors have panicked that the lender might be facing the same value-destroying future that Danske experienced after its scandal exploded last year. Denmarks biggest bank admitted in September that much of about $230 billion that flowed through its Estonian unit was probably suspicious in origin. Danske is now being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as numerous prosecutors across the European Union. Its share price has slumped by about 50 percent over the past year, wiping roughly $18 billion off its market value. Related: Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Topics Russia Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman said the number of private market flood insurance policies in Pennsylvania jumped 72 percent from February 2018, as she continued urging homeowners, business owners and renters to shop around in the increasingly competitive flood insurance market to protect their homes, businesses and properties. The number of private flood insurance policies increased from 5,200 in February of last year to 8,950 this February, Altman said in a press release issued by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. Since Governor Wolf directed my department to educate consumers about the increasing availability of private flood coverage in February 2016, the number of private flood policies has leaped almost six-fold and now represents nearly one in seven flood insurance policies in the state. Flood insurance is available through private sector insurance and the federal government-run National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which almost exclusively provided this coverage prior to changes implemented by Congress in 2014. These changes have led to higher NFIP premiums as subsidies for high-risk properties are phased out to reduce the programs roughly $25 billion debt. Phasing out of NFIP subsidies means private insurers can successfully compete in this market, and we have found in some cases, comparable private coverage is available at significantly lower costs than NFIP policies, Altman said in the release. However, private coverage may not be available for some high-risk properties, so consumers should shop both the NFIP and private insurers to find the best plan for their situation. Altman emphasized most standard homeowners and renters insurance policies do not cover flood damage. While many mortgage lenders, including those making home loans backed by the federal government, require flood insurance for properties in what are known as Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs), Altman urged homeowners outside of these areas to consider this additional coverage. In Pennsylvania, we see a lot of flooding outside of SFHAs every year and hear stories from homeowners and renters who suffered significant losses that were not covered because they did not have flood insurance, Altman said in the release. Twenty Pennsylvania-licensed insurance companies now sell private flood insurance, in addition to 59 individual producers who sell this coverage through the surplus lines market. Surplus lines insurance is sold through companies licensed outside of Pennsylvania. However, the producers selling this coverage are licensed in Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Insurance Department monitors the financial condition of the companies selling this coverage. Forty-seven percent of private market flood policies are now sold through Pennsylvania-licensed companies, as compared to only 26 percent two years ago. NFIP policies and some private coverage have a 30-day waiting period following purchase before coverage begins, Altman said in the release. While flooding happens throughout the year, with melting snow and heavy spring rains, the next few months are when flooding can occur throughout the state, so I urge consumers to consider this coverage now. Source: Pennsylvania Insurance Department Topics Flood Homeowners Pennsylvania Im a fan of insurance news and bloggers. Here are some sites and blogs that I read daily (or weekly, depending on frequency). Insurance Journal Of course. I was an IJ fan way before I became so closely related to them. I always start here because the news is worth reading and its focused on what Im concerned about at work, the whole insurance world. Insurance Nerds You need to get their daily dispatch. Tony, Carley & Nick have put together a real community site here. And if you have something to write about, they make it easy to submit articles and get whats in your head into our lives. Insurance Commentary Bill does a great job dealing with coverage issues and his take on some of the goings on in the insuretech space. And hes a friend of the Academy. Coverager EVERYTHING that you need to know about whats going on in the insuretech space, including whos in and whos out, customer interface walk-throughs, whos funding what, and more. Read this and keep up. Property Insurance Coverage Law Chip Merlin and team do a great job helping me to understand whats going on in property insurance law around the country. Everyone that writes here is super sharp and helps me to understand the legal changes and challenges around the country. I really like that I dont always agree with everyone that I read. By the way, it would help you to read things that you dont agree with. There are two distinct benefits to reading things that you dont agree with. It can force you to think through what you believe. When you allow yourself to be exposed to points of view that are different than you own, you learn what other people think and (more importantly) how they came to their point of view. If you can track their trail of logic, two things might happen. You might clarify what you believe and why. On the other hand, they might just convince you that you were wrong. It helps you to continue to grow. Whether you change your mind or not, when you read alternate viewpoints, you grow. You know that Im all into education and growth, so youre not surprised that I mention that. Before I dive into what I disagreed with (of course you saw that coming), I have to say that I disagree with things on all of these sites. Some folks are too high on the insuretech news and others are too low. Some people look at the insurance world through rose colored lenses and others look at us with a different, yuckier color. Let me get to my point. I read todays Property Law Coverage Blog article about some recently proposed legislation in Florida. This is an example of an article that isnt meant to fix the issue but is meant to get people excited about it. Let me explain. The article opens with an embedded link to a news story about someone whose claim was underpaid, and the insurance company wasnt going to be held accountable for it. The would seem to be relevant, except that it had nothing to do with the specific article. It was an example of a claim that was poorly handled by National Flood insurance. Im going to assume that the insured had an NFIP policy. It seems a little dishonest to compare NFIP issues (we already know that there are too many problems to count with this federal insurance program) with proposed legislation in Florida. To his credit, the author tells us which bills he opposes and who sponsored them. Thats great. However, he didnt give us the specific text that he has issues with, nor did he speak with any of the sponsoring legislators. He did, however, speak with another legislator, siting his experience in the Office of Insurance Regulation. He didnt appear to speak with the legislator about the proposal bill, but about insurance legislation in general. It may be worth noting that the sponsor legislators are all of one political party and the legislator that he spoke with is from the other party. Why didnt he study the legislation and talk to the sponsors himself? It would seem that looking at the specific bills and asking specific questions about the text of those bills would be a better way to inform and educate people about them. That only matters if thats the actual point. If, rather, the point is to make people upset about something, this is fine. He then writes this sentence, I suggest that readers of this blog contact these Florida legislators to help inform them. Why didnt he do that? Having read the language in one of the bills (HB751), I have a few comments to make. Please note that Im not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV. I just read things and try to understand them the best way I can. The biggest issue that he has with this bill is that it takes away civil penalties for Not attempting in good faith to settle claims when, under all the circumstances, it could and should have done so, had it acted fairly and honestly toward its insured and with due regard for her or his interests;. This seems like a really bad deal until you note that the bill also creates a new section in the Florida Statutes that provides for the use of an administrative court for those sorts of violations. It would seem that the administrative court would have the appropriate wisdom and authority to deal with bad faith claims. It makes me wonder why thats such a big deal. Other than that, it doesnt appear to allow insurance companies to literally get away with murder and deception with no civil consequence. Im guessing that he really doesnt think that this bill actually makes murder by an insurance company an administrative matter. That might just be metaphorical language. I wonder if its meant to make people feel a certain way. Oh well, Ill read again tomorrow because I love Chips writing. I really think this one was kind of mailed in because it didnt add to the conversation. It took away from it. Next time, why not take the opportunity to inform and educate, rather than rile and irritate. Topics Legislation Florida We want people to check and see if their policies are valid, FBI Sacramento field office public affairs specialist Gina Swankie told Sacramento Business Journal. ALA has been the subject of controversy since the start of the year. On January 10, a 14-count federal grand jury charged ALA and two of its executives with mail fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and money laundering. Court documents allege that ALA and its subsidiaries sold workers compensation coverage that may not actually provide any coverage at all. The documents also allege that, from 2011, ALA offered a retirement pension plan under a variety of names such as ALA Trust, the ALA Retirement Plan Trust, or the ALA Retirement Plan and Trust, that may also be invalid. While ALA and its affiliates claimed to offer a range of financial services, the company fraudulently marketed itself as a special type of labor organization under federal law, the FBI said in a release. The company even advertised that customers could join ALA and receive financial services. NFP is phenomenal in the employee benefits and wealth management space. We want to continue building our expertise and strategic planning on the P&C side so that we can cross-pollinate our accounts and bring a plethora of risk management solutions to clients, both on the benefits side and the P&C side, said Lombardi. In order to become a fully-integrated insurance brokerage firm and consultant, we need to ensure we have the resources to support our talent. We need individuals who are subject matter experts, who can not only sell insurance but can sit with a client and can talk them through business strategy and how to protect their balance sheets. The other thing we need to do is look at how the distribution model is changing, how technology will change our business, and how new risks will develop and evolve. In March 2018, NFP launched a new venture fund and innovation lab focused on strategic partnerships and investments in the emerging insurtech, fintech and HR tech arenas. As the insurance industry undergoes a series of profound technological changes, NFPs innovation lab will help NFP brokers make the most out of technology so they can better respond to customer needs. The firm sees technology as a game-changer and a differentiator that will attract top talent, Lombardi explained. An insurance broker cannot talk about growth today without nodding towards the increasingly robust mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market in North America. Moving forwards, NFP is looking to become more strategic in the way it approaches M&A and the way it looks for talent that will broaden its service capabilities in certain areas. Were pretty well diversified with regards to our geographic presence throughout North America, Lombardi told Insurance Business. Naturally, when considering M&A, you always look for financial areas that are developing. Also, as we continue to see this shift of individuals moving back into the cities, there are huge opportunities to advance in those areas. Moving forwards, we think there are huge opportunities to boost cross-border accounts in the US and Canada. As businesses in all sectors continue to merge, the opportunity to expand across the border in certain subsets of business will continue to evolve, and brokers will need to be able to provide services in both geographies. As we look at things like this, my goal is to work closely with our regional leaders in developing the growth platform we want to accomplish, while always remaining focused on the quality of the services were providing. The services expected of insurance brokers are evolving in tandem with changing customer preferences, Lombardi acknowledged. He said when he started his career in insurance, the brokerage business was very transactional, with brokers selling policies to people they had relationships with. Nowadays, the business has evolved to become one of financial advice and strategy, he argued. As the insurance business continues to evolve, consumers will have more and more options where they can go online and buy insurance. The need for the broker [especially in smaller commercial accounts and personal lines] will change to become one where theyre helping people navigate portals and understand insurance. However, as you move to middle-market and larger accounts, the broker needs to develop more of a strategic relationship with the client. I think brokers have to become more strategic and have a broader understanding of whats happening in the world. Its not just selling a product anymore. Its understanding a clients needs and not so much what their needs are today, but where those needs will go over the next three to five years. You dont want to be approaching a client saying: Oh, you have a new risk. Lets sit down and discuss it. You want to prepare the client for that evolving change in the risk portfolio. With this in mind, Lombardi has set out to equip NFPs P&C brokers with everything they need to thrive in this ever-evolving industry. He said, employees come first at NFP and investing in employees will help them to become a world class brokerage. Crash Vehicle into building A red Ford Fusion crashed into Killingsworth Agency, located at 19259 Cortez Boulevard, Brooksville. Fire and EMS personnel are on scene. Injuries have been reported at this time. Hernando Sheriff (@HernandoSheriff) February 27, 2019 According to ABC Action News, local deputies said the crash involved a red Ford Fusion driven by an elderly woman who accidentally hit the wrong peddle and rammed straight into the agency building. Images from the scene shared by the Hernando County Sheriff's Office support these reports. The red car is shown partially inside the business, desks and paper are scattered, and the front glass window of the agency is shattered. Two injuries were reported both the elderly driver and an employee inside the agency but they were treated at the scene and both denied transport to hospital. Fioretti has 18 years of underwriting experience in the commercial and financial institution sectors. Joining Allianz in 2015, she previously held various underwriting and management roles in companies such as Arch Insurance Group and Hartford Financial Products. She received her Bachelor of science degree in business administration from Monmouth University. Alessandro Carriglio will assume the roles of deputy MLC for AGCS North America financial lines, as well as regional head of AGCS South America financial lines he will relocate to New York as part of his additional responsibilities. Carriglio was most recently the global deputy head of MLC in financial lines CUO, based in Munich. Before that, he was financial lines MLC manager for Allianzs Milan location. He has a degree in business administration from Bocconi University in Milan and a degree in management of insurance companies and social security from Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan. Both Fioretti and Carriglio will report to AGCS North America regional head of financial lines Laura Coppola. Three people have been charged after a home-invasion robbery early Saturday in the Yorkshire area in which the victim was attacked with an ele Real-time social media posts from local businesses and organizations across Northern Virginia, powered by Friends2Follow. To add your business to the stream, email cfields@insidenova.com or click on the green button below. 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. Version 1.12 of Googles Go language (Golang) is now available in its production release, with changes in the implementation of the toolchain, runtime, and libraries. Where to download Go You can download the production release of Go from the Go project site. Current version: The new features in Go 1.12 In the compiler toolchain, the live variable analysis capability has been improved. This may mean that finalizers will be executed sooner than in previous releases. If this is a problem, developers should consider the addition of a runtime.KeepAlive call. Other new and changed features in Go 1.12 include: When GO111Module is set to on , the go command supports module-aware operations outside of a module directory, provided that these operations do not need to resolve import paths relative to the current directory or explicitly edit the mod file. The intent is to have the Go module mode on by default in Go Version 1.13, due in August 2019. is set to , the command supports module-aware operations outside of a module directory, provided that these operations do not need to resolve import paths relative to the current directory or explicitly edit the file. The intent is to have the Go module mode on by default in Go Version 1.13, due in August 2019. go commands that download and extract modules can be safely invoked concurrently. The module cache ( GOPATH/pkg/mod ) must reside in a file system that supports file locking. commands that download and extract modules can be safely invoked concurrently. The module cache ( ) must reside in a file system that supports file locking. The runtime offers better performance in sweeping when a large fraction of the heap remains alive. This reduces allocation latency following a garbage collection. The runtime releases memory back to the OS more aggressively, particularly in response to large allocations that cannot reuse existing heap space. For Linux, the runtime now releases memory to the OS only when the OS is under memory pressure. The Go race detector, for finding race conditions in code, is now supported on the Linux ARM64 architecture. The build cache is now required as a step to eliminating $GOPATH/pkg . Setting the environment variable, GOCACHE=Off causes go commands that write to the cache to fail. . Setting the environment variable, causes commands that write to the cache to fail. The windows/arm platform is supported. platform is supported. The trace tool supports plotting of mutator utilization curves, including cross-references to the execution trace. This helps in analyzing the impact of the garbage collector on application latency and throughput. The core library adds optional support for the crypto/tls package for TLS (Transport Layer Security) 1.3. package for TLS (Transport Layer Security) 1.3. In the bufio package, which implements buffered I/O, the readers UnreadRunE and UnreadByte methods return an error if called after Peek . package, which implements buffered I/O, the readers and methods return an error if called after . libsystem is now used when making calls on Darwin, to ensure compatibility with future versions of Apples MacOS and iOS operating systems. This switch to libsystem has triggered additional App Store checks for private API usage; since it is considered private, syscall.Getdirentries fails with Enosys on iOS. Also, Go 1.12 is the last release that will run on MacOS 10.10 Yosemite. Go 1.13 will require MacOS 10.11 El Capitan or later. Previous version: Whats new in Go 1.11 Released in August 2018, Go 1.11 features an experimental port to the WebAssembly binary format. The port is called JS/Wasm. In addition to potential application performance benefits, WebAssembly provides a binary format that serves as a compilation target for other languages, enabling deployment on the web for both client and server applications. Go 1.11 has added preliminary support for modules, which are collections of related Go packages. Modules replace the Gopath approach to specifying which source files are in a build. With modules, version dependency information is explicit but lightweight. Builds are more reliable and reproducible, documentation states. As part of module support, the module-aware go get command has been added. To take advantage of modules, developers should check out their repository into a directory outside GOPATH/src , create a go.mod file, and run go commands via that file tree. Also new to Go 1.11: The package org/x/tools/go/packages provides an API for locating and loading packages of source code. While not yet included in the standard library, the package effectively replaces the go/build package, which has an API not able to fully support modules. The new package enables development of analysis tools that work equally well with build tools such as Buck and Bazel. provides an API for locating and loading packages of source code. While not yet included in the standard library, the package effectively replaces the package, which has an API not able to fully support modules. The new package enables development of analysis tools that work equally well with build tools such as Buck and Bazel. The runtime/trace packages user annotation API enables recording of application-level information in execution traces and creation of groups of related goroutines. The go tool trace command visualizes this information in the trace view and the new user task/region analysis page. packages user annotation API enables recording of application-level information in execution traces and creation of groups of related goroutines. The command visualizes this information in the trace view and the new user task/region analysis page. Version 1.11 is the last release to support the setting environment variable GOCACHE=off to disable the build cache. With Go 1.12, the build cache will be required as a step toward eliminating $GOPATH/pkg . to disable the build cache. With Go 1.12, the build cache will be required as a step toward eliminating . The compiler tool chain supports column information in line directives. More compiler tool chain functions are eligible for inlining by default. For debugging, the compiler now produces more accurate debug information for optimized binaries, including variable location information and breakpoint locations. The go vet command now reports a fatal error when a package being analyzed does not type-check. command now reports a fatal error when a package being analyzed does not type-check. The runtime uses a sparse heap layout so there is no longer a limit to the size of the Go heap. Minor changes to the standard libraryincludee removing older platform support. The Go 1.11 release requires MacOS 10.10 Yosemite or later, Windows 7 or later, or OpenBSD 6.2 or later. Support has been removed for previous releases of these operating systems. Previous version: The new features in Google Go 1.10 The upgrade offers compiler tool chain and performance improvements but no substantive language changes. Released in February 2018, Go 1.10 provides these key features: Improved performance of code generated by the compiler, spread across supported architectures. Programs should run a bit faster due to speedups in garbage collection, better code generation, and core library optimizations. Dwarf debug information in binaries has been improved, with constant values now recorded. Also, line-number information is more accurate. The linux/ppc64le port now needs external linking with any programs using the cgo command. command. The go build command detects out-of-date packages based on the content of source files, specified build flags, and metadata in stored packages. Modification times are no longer relevant. command detects out-of-date packages based on the content of source files, specified build flags, and metadata in stored packages. Modification times are no longer relevant. The go install command now only installs packages and commands listed on the command line. To force installation of dependencies, developers should use the go install i flag command now only installs packages and commands listed on the command line. To force installation of dependencies, developers should use the flag An update to the grammar for method expressions relaxes the syntax so any type expression is allowed as a receiver, thus matching how compilers already operated. Test results are now cached via go test . . The Unicode package has been upgraded from Unicode 9.0 to version 10.0, adding 8,518 characters, including a bitcoin currency symbol and 56 emojis. Previous version: The new features in Google Go 1.9 Google released Go 1.9 in August 2017. Heres what is new and improved: 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,... Pakistani soldiers stand next to what Pakistan says is the wreckage of an Indian fighter jet shot down in Pakistan controled Kashmir at Somani area in Bhimbar district near the Line of Control on Feb. 27. Pakistan and India said on Feb. 27 they had shot down each other's warplanes, in a dramatically escalating confrontation that has fueled concerns of an all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals. (AFP/Getty Images) A 26-year-old Indian American, Viveik Patel, has raised just shy of $1 million to help the families of the soldiers martyred in the Feb. 14 terror attack in Pulwama. (Viveik Patel/Facebook photo) In a rally organized by the Indian American civil rights group South Asian Americans Leading Together, the Sikh Coalition, and the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, protestors stood on front of the El Paso, Texas ICE detention center Feb. 15 to draw attention to nine Indian asylum seekers held at the facility, who had embarked on a hunger strike, and were being force-fed via nasal tubes. (SAALT photo via Twitter) In the wake of the airstrikes on the terrorist camp in Balakot by the Indian Air Force, it seems Pakistani's frantically started googling for the IAF. PTI According to a search analysis, the search for the Indian Air Force (IAF) was higher than that of the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) among the people in Pakistan, reports India Today. Google searches for Indian Air Force remained greater than PAF for almost an entire day in Pakistan. Source Search frequency for Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Army was lower than that for Indian Air Force, this was determined by comparison of terms like 'Pakistan Army', 'Pakistan Air Force', 'Indian Air Force' and 'Indian Army'. According to the graph, 'surgical strike' remained the most popular term in India, suggested the search graphs of these terms for India and Pakistan, while the term 'Balakot' was the most searched term in Pakistan. Major General Asif Ghafoor, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the army, wrote, "Indian aircrafts intruded from Muzaffarabad sector. Facing timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force released payload in haste while escaping which fell near Balakot. No casualties or damage". Syed Ahmad Rai Barelvi (1700-1850) is known among the Indo-Pak Islamic clergy as 'shaheed' (a martyr of Islam) who led the Mujahideen movement in India. However, Maulvi Syed Ahmad 'Shaheed' Rai Barelvi, was later found out to be an advocate of puritanical fundamentalism and physical jihadism. .wikipedia.org According to this TOI report, 200 years before the IAF bombed the terror camps at Balakot, Syed Ahmad Rai Barelvi used it as a launch pad for 'Jihad'. Syed's main aim was his tahrik-e-jihad or Mujahidin movement against the Sikhs of Punjab. According to a historian Ayesha Jalal, Balakot is said to be the epicentre of jihad in South Asia. 'For these militants, Syed Ahmad Rai Barelvi and Shah Ismail are great heroes, whose jihad their admirers wish to emulate, to redress what they perceive as current injustices', Jalal had written in the book. ANI Syed Ahmed Rai Barelvi is often depicted in several Talibani videos as a jihadi role model to the militants of Tahrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, writes Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi. Rightly so, in many of JeM propaganda material, Syed Ahmed is extensively mentioned. According to Jalal, the location of Balakot is away from the LoC which made it a 'safe heaven' for terrorist training. In a letter to the Nawab of Tonk (Rajasthan), Barelvi hoped, Since Balakot is located at a secure place, surrounded by hills on one side and bounded by the river on the other, God willing, the kuffars (infidels) will not be able to reach us." ANI The Balakot training facility had at the time of the strike nearly 350 terrorists and was a state of the art training camp, The terror camp spreads over an area of around 6 acres in the forest of Balakot and has a capacity to hold more than 600 people. Photos released by intelligence agencies show that amid the several features of the Balakot terror camp were staircases painted with the images of flags of US, UK and Israel - countries considered to be the enemy by Islamic terrorist organisations. Delhi has been actively pursuing the idea of electric vehicles (EVs) for its transportation requirements. Building on this, Delhi Finance Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday announced Rs 100 crore for the State Electric Vehicle Fund in the Budget for 2019 to 2020. Among other positives, the move is also aimed at bringing down the pollution levels in the capital region. As stated by Sisodia in his speech, vehicles are responsible for approximately 40 per cent emission of PM 2.5 in Delhi. He further mentioned that the government has formulated a draft Electric Vehicle Policy to push the use of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) in order to resolve this problem. "Under this policy, our efforts will be to have 25 per cent share of Battery Electric Vehicles in new registered vehicles by 2024. I am proposing Rs 100 crore for constituting the State Electric Vehicle Fund in 2019-20," he said. Representative Image (Sarthak Dogra/ IndiaTimes) Also read: Welcome Move By The Govt, Will Give Hybrid Vehicles Same Incentives As EVs In FAME Scheme II The Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles embraced the move but cleared that the draft policy introduced last year will need a huge fund support to meet its goal. The government has also set aside Rs 50 crore from the Environment Compensation Charge fund for this. While the switch to EVs will eventually bring down the particulate matter concentration in Delhi, Sisodia said that several initiatives already in place have started showing results. The deployment of electric buses under the state transport, promotion of public transport, increased green cover and closure of power plants have already brought down the aforementioned concentration. One of the targets of Tuesday's pre-dwan airstrike in Balakot was said to be Yusuf Azhar, a top commander of Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). The JeM camp in Balakot was reportedly led by Azhar, who is also known as Ustadji. There are reported that Azhar was one among those killed in the air strike. But, it has not been officially confirmed yet. If India has managed to eliminate Azhar it will be a huge success to the country's pursuit for him which spanned decades. The name of Azhar, who is also the brother-in-law of JeM supremo Maulana Masood Azhar has been in the list of India's most wanted terrorists for years. In 2002, India had listed him as one of the 20 terrorists it wanted to be extradited from Pakistan. But Pakistan has even refused to acknowledge the presence of the KArachi-born terrorists in its soil. Azhar became prominent after he led the hijacking of Indian Airline flight IC 814 in 1999. India was forced to free Maulana Masood Azhar, Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargari in exchange of 179 passengers and 11 crew of the flight. In 2000 India had managed to get an Interpol red corner notice against him, but "Ustadji" was never caught by Pakistan. Just like Masood Azhar, Yusuf Azhar also maintained a low profile for nearly a decade before JeM terrorists struck Pathankot Airbase in January 2016. This was followed by another terror attack in Uri, in September. It is widely believed that he was directly involved in the planning and execution of both Uri and Pathankot attacks in some capacity. Hours after India carried out what is being described as the most audacious strike against terrorists inside Pakistan, the latter has resorted to ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC). Pakistan reportedly targeted various locations in Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch districts since Tuesday evening with heavy weapons. India has retaliated the unprovoked aggression with firing at Pakistani posts across the LoC. AFP/ FILE "The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focused fire resulted in severe destruction to five posts and number of casualties to Pak army (along LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts)", a defence PRO said. Five Indian soldiers have reportedly suffered minor injuries in the fire exchange. Following the escalation of tensions, all government and private schools located within 5 kilometres of the LoC in Rajouri district have been asked to will remain closed for the day. "Due to prevailing situation on the Line of Control, all government and private schools located in 0 to 5 km range from the LoC in Rajouri district shall remain closed today. Exams scheduled for today also stand cancelled in," the District Magistrate of Rajouri told ANI. AFP/ FILE It was not immediately clear weather there wa any infiltration attempts during the ceasefire violations. In the past, Pakistan has used ceasefire violations as a destruction to help terrorists from its soil to infiltrate into the Indian side. Meanwhile two Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists were gunned down by security forces during an encounter in Memander area of Shopian. Around 2-3 terrorists who were believed to have links to the Pulwama terror attack were held up in Memander. The encounter which began in the early hours of Wednesday has reportedly ended and security forces have begun the combing operations. BCCL The escalations comes a day after India announced to the world that its Air Force carried out an intelligence based preemptive strike inside Pakistan, targeting JeM training facilities. Even though there are no confirmation on the number of fatalities various estimates have put it somewhere around 200-300 terrorists, including some top JeM commanders. A 100-feet-tall Indian National flag was unfurled at the Ambala Cantonment railway station on Tuesday as part of a railway beautification programme. City MP Ratan Lal Kataria unfurled the flag and he also inaugurated an ultra-modern toilet constructed at a cost of Rs 45 lakh. Under the plan of beautification of railways, the Ministry of Railways provided funds for the railway stations. Kataria praised this decision and said, The Ministry of Railways has taken a very good decision. The Railways has carried out several development works at the local railway station and the flag would instill a sense of patriotism in people. Tribune India reported. Photo: Tribune India He also praised the Indian Air Force for launching non-military, pre-emptive strikes in Pakistan and destroying the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camps. On this day, our army has taken revenge of the Pulwama attack. Ambala is an important station and its a historic day when a 100-feet-tall national flag is installed here on this day. He further added that Indian railways and the french companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop Ambala and Ludhiana stations. On February 23, a 100 feet tricolor was also unfurled at the Nagpur railway station by Union Minister of Road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari. Indian Railway stations have often drawn flak for not maintaining hygiene and sanitation on platforms. Reportedly, besides the National Flag, the railways is also planning to install an aircraft for which the talks are in progress. Indian Railways has more than 8700 stations and in a press release dated December 27, 2018 under the Adarsh station scheme railways stations are beautified and upgraded. Out of 1253 stations identified under this scheme, 1065 stations so far have been developed under Adarsh Station Scheme. and remaining stations are targeted to be developed by 2018-19. Indian Railways has decided to beautify Railway Stations with wall art of paintings and graffiti or local arts. Beautification has been done through participation of local artists, volunteers and private groups etc. So far, station walls of 62 stations in 11 Zonal Railways have been painted with Mithila art painting depicting old mythology. Since the ghastly attack on Pulwama took place on February 14, killing over 40 CRPF personnel, the nation has united in solidarity. Even farmers whose livelihood depends on their produce are willing to give up their profits and bear losses by snapping their trade ties with Pakistan. India gave a befitting reply after launching pre-emptive air strikes across the border in Balakot by the Indian Air Force on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters/ An IAF Mirage 2000 A day after the air attack, paan (betel leaf) farmers in Madhya Pradesh have decided to cut trade ties for the time being with Pakistan, News18 reported. This development comes days after tea exporters and tomato farmers in Madhya Pradesh also took a similar decision. AFP Maharajpur, Garhimalahra, Pipat and Panagar in MP's Chhatarpur district are famous for its variety of paan. The Mahoba paan is quite popular in Pakistan and it reaches the country through Meerut and Saharanpur. The growers have now decided to not send it to these two Indian cities so that it doesn't reach Pakistan. Representative Image/BCCL The farmers could lose around Rs 13-15 lakh but they are not worried about the impending losses. "If the central government could decide to disrupt supplies of water to Pakistan, why cant we cease supplies of our crop?" a farmer from Chhatarpur said. Widow despairs at Rapid City police lies of omission By Kat HolmgrenNative Sun News Today Correspondent RAPID CITY - Mrs. H had been married to Tim Holmgren for nearly 28 years when they shot him. It was April 27, 2017, in Rapid City, South Dakota. She could hear the sirens in the background when the Rapid City policeman called her on the phone. Mrs. Holmgren, this is Officer D. Your husband had a weapon and shots were fired. Im sorry to inform you that Mr. Holmgren is deceased. Whereupon Mrs. H. wailed into the phone, Whhhhyyyyyy? Mr. Holmgren had a weapon and shots were fired. Her son held her as she moaned, No, no, no. . . and disconnected the call. When she could breathe again, she called his sister. They shot him, Cindy. The Police shot my baby. My Timmy is gone. They shot him! They shot Tim! It had begun ten years earlier when Tim had a mental breakdown. He drove off into the night and disappeared for three days, and to this day no one, not even Tim, knows where he went. There was one email that originated somewhere near Omaha. He ended up at his sister Cindys house in Denver. It was from there that he called Mrs. H. and said, I think theres something wrong with me. And there was. Tim was diagnosed with Type I Bipolar disorder along with an Anxiety disorder. He had been self-medicating with alcohol and everyone just chalked up his unusual bad mood and behavior to stress. Tim was a highly intelligent, highly driven man. Before his breakdown, he was the editor of an award winning newspaper, he worked as a graphic artist, and finally as the Director of PR and Marketing at Rapid City Regional Health. After his breakdown, he wrote four novels, more than 30 short stories and 100s of poems. Tim Holmgren, April 1964 April 2017, was shot and killed by law enforcement in Rapid City, South Dakota. Photo courtesy Kat Homgren Bipolar disorder can be treated with medication and therapy. With the careful administration of both of these, patient cooperation, and good self-care, a person with Type I Bipolar disorder can lead a perfectly normal life. Tim had complications. Other medical conditions interfered with his ability to take the proper medication, he developed tardive dyskinesia, there was a lack of good therapists who would take Medicare whatever was lacking or needed, it took its toll on him. Mrs. H. had left her husband at home while she checked into the WAVI shelter because she was concerned for her safety. Tim was suffering through a manic phase caused by his condition. He had never before been dangerous, and Mrs. H. had never been Tims condition and asking that they please do a welfare check and try to get him to speak some help. The police checked on him and returned a call to Mrs. H that he was fine, just tired. On Tuesday, April 25, Mrs. H contacted the police again asking if there was anything she could do to get him some help. She was told that she would have to go down to the courthouse and file a report asking that he be declared a danger to himself. Of course a judge would have to make that decision, so it could take from 3 to 5 business days to get anything done. In the meantime, Tim was becoming more manic as evidenced by his discussion with his stepson. On Wednesday, April 26, Mrs. H. again contacted the police. Again, she explained the situation, this time adding that Tim had been collecting knives and that she was afraid for him. The police agreed to do a welfare check. They later returned her call saying they thought he was fine. They had gone to see him and he would not let them in, which was his right as he had committed no crime. #NativeLivesMatter Native Americans are more likely to be killed by law enforcement than any other racial or ethnic group, according to the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. Jason Pero, 13 Bad River Ojibwe. Ashland, Wisconsin. November 8, 2017. Zachary Bear Heels, 29 Rosebud Sioux. Omaha, Nebraska. June 5, 2017. Loreal Tsingine, 27 Navajo. Winslow, Arizona. March 27, 2016. Paul Castaway, 35 Oglala Sioux. Denver, Colorado. July 12, 2015. Allen Locke, 30 Oglala Sioux. Rapid City, South Dakota. December 19, 2014. Joy Ann Sherman, 52 Oglala Sioux. Mitchell, South Dakota. November 8, 2014. Jordan Willis, 30 Choctaw. Mississippi. August 12, 2014. Mah-hi-vist GoodBlanket, 18 Cheyenne-Arapaho. Clinton, Oklahoma. December 21, 2013. John Williams, 50 Ditidaht First Nation. Seattle, Washington. May 30, 2010. Christopher Capps, 22 Oglala Sioux. Rapid City, South Dakota. May 2, 2010. prev next When she asked about the knives, the officer said, A man has a right to collect anything thats legal. When she repeated that he had bi-polar disorder the response was, Half the people we get called for are bi-polar. They said there was nothing they could do because he hadnt threatened anyone and didnt seem to be a danger to himself. On Thursday, April 27, 2017, Tim called a welfare check on himself, told the police he had a gun, he had a bomb and he was going to create another San Bernadino if the police didnt give him exactly what he wanted. The problem was, nobody but Tim and Mrs. H. knew what Tim wanted. Mrs. H. had known for four days. Tim had been in a manic phase for more than a week. His behavior had become so unstable on Sunday the 23rd that Mrs. H. began to be afraid for him and of him. On Monday, Mrs. H. left their apartment and checked into WAVI. She called the police and told them that her husband had bipolar disorder and that he was not taking his meds properly, he was acting strange and would they please go and do a welfare check. She made similar calls on Tuesday and Wednesday, each one more urgent than the last, each one met with the same cavalier attitude. Fast forward to the aftermath of the shooting. This is where the second victim, the one after Tim Holmgren comes in that is Mrs. H. She was met with callousness, lies of omission and guile in the form of The Investigation . More than one family has experienced the police shooting of another family member. Mrs. H.s experience may or may not be unique. But for all families, it is tragic. The surviving spouse, in this case, suffered not only the grief of losing her husband, but she suffered further from law enforcement members intent on proving that the shooting was justified, that they had followed due diligence, and that they were innocent of any wrongdoing. On Thursday, April 27, the first call that Mrs. H. received from law enforcement asking if she and her husband owned any guns. She said, No. Absolutely not. We believe in strict gun controls, and because of Tims illness, we have never owned one. The next call she received was the call from Officer D. telling her that, Mr. Holmgren had a weapon, shots were fired, and he was deceased. That was the first lie - by implication. Tim did not have a lethal weapon. He had an air pistol. That fact was not released to Mrs. H until three months later, after the investigation was over. She was led to believe that her husband had at some point lied to her and purchased a lethal weapon. This would have put them in danger, and gone against one of their fundamental beliefs that handguns should be illegal (a point they had discussed and debated frequently). She thought that not only had he purchased a gun, but had fired it on innocent people. There were over 25 detectives in and out of that apartment, and no one ever thought to tell Mrs. H that he had used a C02 cartridge pellet gun. Mrs. H. was in shock. She was asked if she wanted anything from the apartment. She visualized the man that she had loved half of her life lying in a pool of blood, shot, and said, No. When asked if there might be a note would she want to see it, she told them if there were any notes, they would be on his computer or iPad. She didnt think there would be any hand written notes. Thus, the second lie by implication. There was a note, hand written, addressed to his Princess. She was not told about it until the investigation was over. Three months later. Even then, they said it was states evidence and couldnt be handed over until everything was settled. Contact Kat Holmgren at kat.holmgren@gmail.com Thumbnail photo of patrol vehicle in Rapid City, South Dakota: S Kaya Copyright permission Native Sun News Today Join the Conversation President gets rebuke from Congress on border wall, but Senate confirms 'extreme' advocate against tribes for court Thirteen Republicans join Democrats supporting the resolution to block emergency declaration; Senate votes to confirm Eric Miller to appeals courtBy Mark TrahantIndian Country Today The Congress sent a message to the White House Tuesday: The Constitution awarded the Congress, not the president, the power of the purse. House Joint Resolution 46 would deny the president his declaration of emergency. It passed the House with 245 votes for and 182 against. Rep. Sheila Jackson, D-Texas, a cosponsor of the resolution of disapproval, said the language of the presidential emergency order was precise, something that could one day be used to declare a national emergency for gun violence or another issue. But we do have that, she said. This emergency order was issued when border arrests are in decline. She said the president is distorting the will of Congress with a manufactured emergency. But Republican leaders said that the resolution -- all of one page -- should have had hearings in committee and more time for consideration. Rep. Bob Woodall, R-Georgia, said it the resolution only took a minute and six seconds a to read. The National Emergency Act allows the president to extraordinary things when there is a national emergency, he said. Congress delegated to him that power. Woodall said that a national emergency is not all that unusual, adding there are declarations in effect from the Carter administration. The President's #FakeEmergency could cost Kirtland Air Force base important funding to update the Wyoming entrance gate as part of a total potential $132 million being stolen from New Mexico's military installations. https://t.co/GJ42hNOA24 Rep. Deb Haaland (@RepDebHaaland) February 26, 2019 But Democrats said the difference in President Trumps emergency was that he was spending money that was not appropriated by Congress. Rep. Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, D-New Mexico, tweeted that she would vote for the House resolution. The President's #FakeEmergency could cost Kirtland Air Force base important funding to update the Wyoming entrance gate as part of a total potential $132 million being stolen from New Mexico's military installations. she said. Rep. Sharice Davids, Ho Chunk, D-Kansas, also voted for the resolution, saying it was a bipartisan bill to support and defend the Constitution and the core principle of separation of powers. The presidents use of an emergency declaration to build his ineffective wall -- with money intended for the military -- is dangerous to national security and our democracy, she said . Border security is extremely important, which is why I supported a bipartisan funding package to fund smart and effective security at our borders and keep our government open. The presidents decision to reject this bipartisan, bicameral package and instead circumvent the Constitution to declare an emergency undermines both the will of the American people and one of the most important principles of our democratic government. How would Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders use this precedent for a national disaster declaration to force the Green New Deal on the American people? pic.twitter.com/S0ECCS4ba6 CathyMcMorrisRodgers (@cathymcmorris) February 14, 2019 However all but 13 Republicans stuck with the president (who has said he will veto the legislation if it is passed by the Senate. The Senate must take up within 18 days and vote on the measure.) Rep. Tom Cole, Chickasaw, said the president was acting within his authority . President Trump preferred a legislative solution to securing our border. Unfortunately, Democrats refused to negotiate in good faith and authorize the necessary funding for the solutions the country needs, Cole said. By declaring a national emergency and not unlike past presidents, President Trump is acting well within his authority under the National Emergencies Act," Cole said. "As usual, Democrats have signaled that they are more interested in opposing the president than confronting a real humanitarian and security crisis on our southern border for American people. Presidents of the United States have the lawful right to declare a national emergency in times of great crisis, said Rep. Markwayne Mullin, Cherokee, R-Oklahoma . Ninety percent of all heroin in the United States comes through our porous southern border. Over 70,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2017. There were 1.7 million pounds of narcotics seized by Customs and Border Protection during fiscal year 2018. Without a doubt, our county is in the midst of a crisis. Presidents since Jimmy Carter have declared national emergencies for any number of reasonsboth foreign and domestic. They range from declarations on the blood diamond trade in Sierra Leone by President Bill Clinton to the swine flu epidemic and the threat of criminal cartels at our southern border declared by President Barack Obama, Mullin said. This politically motivated charade put on by House Democrats must end. We must build the wall in order to combat the crisis at our southern border. Thirteen Republicans voted with the majority, including Rep. Cathy Rodgers, R-Washington. She said the emergency declaration could allow a liberal president to act on climate change. Across the Capitol, the U.S. Senate confirmed Eric Miller to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. That vote was 53 in favor to 46 against. The nomination was controversial for several reasons. Both senators from Washington, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, spoke against the nomination. Cantwell objected to the practice of ignoring the blue slip tradition, which allows home-state senators to have input in judicial selections. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, said it was the first time that the Senate had ignored the blue slip tradition. Durbin cited the movie Roma and the treatment of Native Americans. What does this have to do with this nominee? he asked. In a rare moment, the National Congress of American Indians opposed this nomination," he said. "'Our concern is that [Miller] chose to build a law practice on mounting repeated challenges to tribal sovereignty, lands, religious freedom, and the core attribute of federal recognition of tribal existence. His advocacy has focused on undermining the rights of Indian tribes, often taking extreme positions and using pejorative language to denigrate tribal rights. Indeed, his law firm website touts his record, with over half his private practice achievements coming at the expense of tribal governments,' said NCAI and NARF leadership." Sen. Tom Udall, D-New Mexico, also voted no and spoke against the nominee. He said Miller has donated over 675 hours of pro-bono work against Tribal sovereignty, against Native religious practices, federal recognition, and numerous other respected tribal doctrines. For example Mr. Miller argued [before the Supreme Court] that tribal governments are not entitled to sovereign immunity demonstrat[ing] that he does not understand the inherent sovereignty of our tribal nations. Udall concluded : Mr. Millers record on tribal issues is one-sided and extreme. His history of advocating against tribal interests does not give me confidence that he would be a fair and impartial jurist on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals when tribes come before him. I will vote no on Eric Millers confirmation and urge my colleagues to do so as well. The National Law Journal said : "Millers confirmation marks another win for conservatives, who have aggressively pushed to confirm judges over Democratic complaints about processing picks. Under the Trump administration, 31 federal appeals court nominees have been confirmed." Mark Trahant is the editor of Indian Country Today . He is a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes . Follow him on Twitter @TrahantReports This story originally appeared on Indian Country Today Join the Conversation The Federal Bureau of Investigation is working with tribes to identify and repatriate the remains of about 500 ancestors that were found at a farm in Indiana. The FBI has set up an invitation-only website as part of the process, according to a news release . The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation is among those seeking to reclaim tribal ancestors. "All too often here we have been treated as curiosities rather than a people here," Pete Coffey, an elder who works for the tribe's historic preservation office, told CBS News. "They could very well be my own great, great, great, great grandfather, or grandmother, you know, that had been I characterize it as being ripped out of the earth, you know." Artifacts on display at Don Miller's farm in 2014. Photo: FBI The remains -- consisting of thousands of bones -- were seized by the FBI in 2014. They had been kept by Don Miller at his home in Indiana. We are not treating this material as simply evidence," FBI Special Agent Tim Carpenter, said in the news release . "These objects are historically, culturally, and spiritually important, and you have to take that into consideration. The ancestors were among thousands of artifacts and items found in MIller's home. The FBI says some of them were removed illegally from their original places and locations, both from the U.S. and around the world. Overall, more than 7,000 items were seized from his farm. The FBI said the action was the largest single recovery of cultural property in the agency's history. Miller died in 2015, CBS News reported. The station contacted his widow, who declined comment about her husband's desire to collect bones, artifacts and other items. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act was enacted by Congress in 1990 to return ancestral remains and cultural property to tribes and descendants. Read More on the Story Join the Conversation By Acee Agoyo Democrats are sounding the alarm after Republicans approved a Trump nominee for a lifetime spot on a key federal appeals court despite objections from Indian Country. By a vote of 53-46 the Senate on Monday evening confirmed attorney Eric Miller to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals . The action came after a slew of Democrats -- citing opposition from tribes across the nation -- warned of the nominee's negative record on Indian law and policy. "He has spent much of his career fighting against the interests of tribal governments and tribal sovereignty ," Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) said in a speech in the morning that led off the Democratic assault. "He has argued against tribal fishing rights, challenging tribal sovereignty, and fighting against the protection of Native American religious and traditional practices," added Cantwell, a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs who was the first woman to serve as its chair. In case after case, Miller represented numerous clients who have worked to undermine tribal rights in a number of key areas. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), the second highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said his professional biography looks like a hit list against Indian Country's interests. "His law firm website touts his record -- with over half of his private practice achievements coming at the expense of tribal governments," said Durbin, who serves on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary . 'Given his strong preference for clients who oppose tribes, there are considerable questions about whether he would be fair in hearing cases regarding tribal rights." Later in the day, Sen. Tom Udall (D-New Mexico), the vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs , went further in discussing those doubts. Calling Miller's views "one-sided and extreme," he said they would "lead to the termination of tribal nations" if he adopted them as a member of a court that decides cases affecting more than 400 tribes in several Western states "His history of advocating against tribal interests does not give me confidence that he would be a fair and impartial jurist on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals when tribes come before him," said Udall. Sen. Tom Udall (D-New Mexico) on YouTube: Udall Speaks Out Against Nomination of Eric Miller to U.S. Court of Appeals Concerns also centered on the unusual manner in which Republicans have handled the nomination. They did not hold a confirmation hearing for Miller this year, instead advancing him on a party-line vote at a Judiciary committee meeting earlier this month, only two weeks after President Donald Trump submitted him to the Senate in late January. Miller, however, has appeared before the committee -- at a hearing that took place during a recess period last October, when almost every member was away from Washington. That also happened to be the same week of the 75th annual convention of the National Congress of American Indians , whose leadership was forced to adopt an "emergency resolution" as they met in Colorado for their milestone event. "We must do all we can to prevent anti-sovereignty judges from rising up through the ranks," NCAI President Jefferson Keel said at the historic meeting of the largest inter-tribal advocacy organization in the U.S. NCAI was joined by the Native American Rights Fund , the largest Indian law and policy organization in the U.S., in urging key lawmakers last year to reject Miller due to his record on tribal rights. But if they were looking for assurances that he wouldn't turn his private views into precedents for their governments and peoples, they didn't get any this week. The Senate just voted 53-46 to confirm Eric Miller to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals despite objections from Indian Country. Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), one of several Democrats who spoke out, said Miller's work as an attorney would "lead to the termination of tribal nations." pic.twitter.com/julxD8XqJ7 indianz.com (@indianz) February 26, 2019 As Republicans brought up Miller for an initial procedural vote , only one of them spoke about his background and qualifications. On Tuesday, all were silent before the final vote. "His record of public service at the Justice Department and in private practice reflects a legal mind of the highest," Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), the Republican majority leader in the chamber, said of Miller on Monday. In total, he devoted just six sentences to the nomination in his remarks. The lack of focus was apparent during Miller's hearing last October. Only two GOP members of the Senate were there, and they only spent a few minutes going over his record. In front of the nearly empty crowd, Miller said his private work would not influence his rulings. Its a foundational principle of Indian law that tribes have an independent sovereignty that pre-exists the Constitution, he told the committee. And in written responses , Miller repeated some of those same principles, saying they have already been settled by the courts. Though he acknowledged that his efforts against tribal interests "appears long" he downplayed the significance of it resembling any sort of hit list against Indian Country. He told the committee that "it is worth noting that the list below which appears long in part because it includes the same case listed several times represents a small fraction of the matters I have handled during my time in private practice, which itself has been significantly less than half of my legal career." But Miller's work has had widespread ramifications. His biggest victory to date was the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Lewis v. Clarke , which opened up employees of tribal enterprises to lawsuits , merely for carrying out their duties. Lewis v. Clarke was cited as precedent as recently as last week, with a district court ruling that opened officials of Salish Kootenai College , an arm of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes , to a lawsuit alleging fraud. Previously, the case went on appeal to the 9th Circuit -- the same court where Miller is now headed. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) on YouTube: Klobuchar Remarks on the Nomination of Eric Miller to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit The dispute originated at the casino owned by the Mohegan Tribe in Connecticut. In another case from the state, Miller secured a ruling which opened up the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation to a local government's taxation of slot machines Further away in New Mexico, Miller helped the state defeat the Pueblo of Pojoaque not just once but twice . Those wins forced the tribe into signing a Class III gaming compact that requires more of its revenues to go to the state With a seat on the 9th Circuit, Miller's influence could spread even further across the nation. The court hears a significant number of tribal cases from nine western states, including Washington , where a closely-watched taxation dispute involving the Tulalip Tribes is likely to end up after a negative ruling from the district court. Tribes historically have not played a role in federal court nominations but that has changed in recent years. In hopes of ensuring their voices are heard, they came out against another Republican nominee to the 9th Circuit more than a decade ago due to his negative record on Indian issues. The nominee was defeated in the Senate. More recently, tribes supported Neil Gorsuch to serve on the Supreme Court . Many were impressed by his Indian law record when he served on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Eric Miller, an attorney nominated to a spot on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, defended his record on tribal law, telling the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on October 24, 2018, that he would respect tribal sovereignty as a judge. Photo by Daniel Perle / Cronkite News Thumbnail photo of James R. Browning Courthouse in San Francisco, California, by Ken Lund Join the Conversation Related Stories A non-Indian casino opposed by tribes in two states has been sidelined for now in South Dakota. The State Senate voted 13 to 22 on Monday to kill Senate Joint Resolution 5, a bill that would have put the Port Yankton Project to a vote of the people. Among those voting against advancing the measure were two Indian lawmakers -- Sen. Troy Heinert (D), who is Rosebud Sioux and serves as the Democratic leader in the chamber , and Sen. Red Dawn Foster (D), who is Oglala Sioux. The Yankton Sioux Tribe operates the Fort Randall Casino and Hotel , only about an hour's drive from the proposed development along the Missouri River. Across the border in Nebraska, the Santee Sioux Nation expressed concerns about a facility only 40 minutes from its Ohiya Casino and Resort Non-Indian gaming is already legal in Deadwood in South Dakota . Facilities there offer slot machines, card games and dice games. Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act , tribes are entitled to offer the same types of games that are legal in a state. But the state has limited most tribes to just 250 slot machines as part of their Class III gaming compacts In total, the Deadwood casinos offer more than 3,200 slot machines, according to the South Dakota Commission on Gaming's most recent annual report . That's far more than the nine tribes with gaming compacts. Despite the defeat in the South Dakota Legislature, proponents of the casino in Port Yankton could still organize a petition drive in hopes of putting the issue on the ballot in 2020, according to news reports. A decision hadn't been made on that angle. Read More on the Story Join the Conversation Related Stories Indiana, PA (15701) Today Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. High 87F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms this evening, then cloudy with rain likely late. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Yesterday, on February 26, Indian Air Force bombed the terror camps at multiple locations across the Line of Control (LOC) in Pakistan. And since then many TV celebs are cheering on this success. They shared their thoughts on social media and hailed for IAF's efforts to clean terrorism. Sasural Simar Ka actor Shoaib Ibrahim was also among the many who praised the Indian Air Force for this brave and courageous act. But this didn't go down well with one of his fans. And he tried to preach Shoaib the actual meaning of Islam. And the actor knew how to give it back to him. Shoaib praising the IAF wrote, "Proud of @IAF_MCC Salute to all the brave pilots. #IndianAirForce #jaihind"[sic] The netizen wrote, "india my to lgta sb andhy gongy behry log hyn app log to sach sy bht dour ho Allah reham kry app logon py islam ka matlb nhi pta app logon ko"[sic] and Shoaib replied, "Islam ka matlab hume achche se pata hai mohtarma.. isliye we muslims in india proudly say, proud to be an lndian.. aur Islam me na terrorism na jagah thi na hogi."[sic] Yesterday, post the pre-emptive attack, many have shared their opinions and congratulated the government, minister and IAF for this historic step. He was beloved not just by our community, but by NASCAR fans across the world. I got to know Sam through NASCAR and he even hosted the art competition one year at his gallery. I admired him not just for his talent, but also for his incredible kindness. We continue to pray his wife Denise and the entire Bass family as they go through this difficult time. This year, I hope all local high school students will join me in paying tribute to Sam by participating in the art competition. All entries must be an original in concept, design and execution and may not be larger than 26 x 26 x 4, including the frame. Interested students should submit entries to my Concord or Fayetteville District offices by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 26, 2019 with a completed 2019 Congressional Art Competition Student Information and Release Form. A full list of rules and the release form can be found on my website at https://hudson.house.gov/art-competition/. Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here. Still, both books deal with womens struggles to make their ways in families and communities dominated by men. The central character in the first pages of Rums book is Isra, a 17-year-old Palestinian girl whose family forces her into marriage with an older man, Adam. He owns a deli and lives with his parents and siblings in Brooklyn. Adam and Isra move into the familys basement. Isra becomes a virtual servant to Adams mother, Fareeda, who pushes the couple to have children. She wants males who can make money and build the familys reputation and influence. When Isra produces only four children, all girls, she is dishonored by Fareeda. Adam beats her regularly. The central character of the second part of the book is Deya, Isra and Adams oldest daughter. Because Adam and Isra have died, Fareeda raises the children. Following the communitys customs, when Deya is a high school senior, Fareeda looks for a Palestinian man for her to marry. Deya wants to go to college, but she is afraid to bolt her family and the communitys customs. She knows of women who have stood up against male domination and then faced beatings and even death. A Woman Is No Man is fiction, but it is clearly autobiographical. As such, Dementia is always one of those sidebars that kind of happens and it can impact them from staying in their home where they want to be or going into a facility. If theres any kind of supports that we can do to try to help minimize that, thats what we are trying to do, she said. These are the people we eat, sleep and work with all the time. This is who we are, this is who we are around and we want to make a difference in this community. Saturday, March 2 Vision of Hope Outreach Ministry is hosting a free clothing and shoes event from noon to 3 p.m. The event will be held at 402 N. Cannon Blvd., Kannapolis. For more information, call 704-925-5971. First United Methodist Church of Landis is holding an indoor yard sale from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. It will be held in the church fellowship hall at 209 E. Mill Street Landis. Sunday, March 3 Lakeview Baptist Church Revival with Rev. Steve Clifton will be held today at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. and will continue nightly through Wednesday, March 6 at 6 p.m. The church is located at 2532 Lane Street, Kannapolis. Friday, March 8 Marable Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church, 400 Huron St. Kannapolis, is hosting its 3rd Annual Great Gathering Celebration. A youth talent show will be held today starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10. On Saturday, March 9, there will be a Fine Arts Extravaganza at 5 p.m. with comedy, dancing, African Drumming and more. Tickets are $20. A great gathering worship experience will be held on Sunday, March 10 at 10 a.m. with a repast and program following. Saturday, March 9 Shiloh United Methodist Churchs UMW Annual Chicken and Dumpling Dinner will be held from 4-7 p.m. or until sold out at the church fellowship hall. This is a donation only meal that has been an ongoing tradition for more than 50 years. Dine in or carry out. Take out cartons of homemade chicken salad will be available for $6 a pint. Desserts will be available for $1 each. The church is located at 4149 Odell School Road, Concord. New Gilead Community Young-At-Heart Friends met in the fellowship hall of New Gilead Church on Monday, Feb. 11. Gail Linker, co-president, presided over the meeting. Gail recognized members who had birthdays in February. They were: Frank Barrier, Jo Ann Moose and Linda Smith. She also welcomed guests, Michelle McDonald, Charlie Vonadore, Lori Jones, Garland Carmicheal, Frankie Furr, and Connie and Sylvia McBryde. The blessing was given by John Smith. A covered dish was enjoyed by all. Special guest, Michelle McDonald, with the Cabarrus County Department of Aging, gave us insight into all that the department has to offer seniors of Cabarrus County. Some of these include Lunch Plus, free tax preparation, exercise program,and jam sessions on Wednesday nights at the Senior Center and many other services. Charlie Vonadore, who plays the harmonica on Wednesday night at the Jam Session, played three songs on his harmonica. The meeting was called to order at which time Daphane Blackwelder had the devotions. Linda Bennick gave a treasurers report. The meeting was adjourned with door prizes and funnies by Don Linker,. The group invites everyone to come on the first Monday of every month at 11:30 a.m. to the Young-At-Heart Friends meeting at New Gilead Church, 2400 Old Salisbury Concord Road, Concord. Mining giant Rio Tinto announced a record cash return to shareholders including a four billion US dollar (3 billion) special dividend after posting a 56% jump in annual profits. The Anglo-Australian firm reported net profit of 13.64 billion dollars (10.24 billion) for 2018, up from 8.76 billion dollars (6.58 billion) the year earlier, thanks to eight billion dollars (6 billion) worth of disposals. Last year, the company sold its stake in the Grasberg copper mine in Indonesia and its Dunkerque aluminium smelter in France. The cash from the asset sales helped the company declare a record cash return of 13.5 billion dollars (10.14 billion) to shareholders, including a 3.1 billion-dollar (2.3 billion) final dividend, a four billion-dollar special dividend and a 3.2 billion (2.4 billion) share buyback programme. The special dividend equated to 2.43 dollars (1.82) a share. Chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said Rio Tintos strong results reflect the efforts of the team to implement our value-over-volume strategy as we continued to strengthen the portfolio and invest in future growth. Our world-class portfolio and strong balance sheet will serve us well in all market conditions, and underpin our ability to continue to invest in our business and deliver superior returns to shareholders in the short, medium and long term. Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said that following the disposals, Rio Tintos balance sheet is entirely free from debt despite record cash returns to shareholders and given that the major energy and minerals business has struggled with some major disruption this year, it looks like theres more where that came from. A conservative balance sheet suggests to us that management are a little cautious about the outlook for the near term and, given the importance of Chinese demand to global commodity prices, thats fair enough. Mr Hyett said Chinese steel production hit a record 928 million tonnes in 2018 but recent noises from the Asian giant suggest its economy might be slowing. Rios learnt the hard way that going into a commodity downturn laden with debt is a far from pleasant experience. Pakistans air force said it has shot down two Indian warplanes after they crossed the boundary between the two nuclear-armed rivals in the disputed territory of Kashmir, with two Indian pilots being captured. The civil aviation authority in Pakistan later shut all airspace in the country to commercial flights. The dramatic escalation came hours after Pakistan said mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier dividing the two sectors of Kashmir killed six civilians and wounded several others. Pakistans army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said Pakistani troops on the ground captured the pilots. He added that one of the downed planes crashed in Pakistans part of Kashmir, while the other went down in Indian-controlled section of the Himalayan region. The injured pilot is being treated at a military hospital. Maj Gen Ghafoor said the pilots are being treated well, but made no mention of them being returned to India. He struck a conciliatory tone, saying: We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. Indian air force spokesman Anupam Banerjee in New Delhi said he had no information on Pakistans statement. Expand Close Indian army soldiers arrive near the wreckage of an Indian aircraft (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Indian army soldiers arrive near the wreckage of an Indian aircraft (AP) Earlier, senior Indian police officer Munir Ahmed Khan said an Indian air force plane crashed in Indian-controlled sector of Kashmir and that it was not immediately known if there were casualties. Another police officer, SP Pani, said firefighters were at the site in Budgam area in Indian-controlled Kashmir where the Indian warplane crashed. Eyewitnesses said soldiers fired into the air to keep residents away from the crash site. Indian news reports said airports in the Indian portion of Kashmir closed for civilian traffic shortly after the air force jet crashed. The Press Trust of India news agency said these airports are located at Srinagar, Jammu and Leh. Indian authorities declined to comment. Expand Close Supporters of a Pakistani religious group Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba condemn what they say is Indian aggression (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Supporters of a Pakistani religious group Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba condemn what they say is Indian aggression (AP) Indian administrator Baseer Khan confirmed that the airport in Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir, was closed and said it was a temporary and precautionary measure. The Press Trust of India said two airports in northern Punjab state, which borders Pakistan, were also closed. Meanwhile, the foreign ministry in Islamabad said the countrys air force was carrying out air strikes from within Pakistani airspace across the disputed Kashmir boundary, but that this was not in retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. Maj Gen Ghafoor said the strikes were aimed at avoiding human loss and collateral damage. According to local Pakistani police official Mohammad Altaf, the six fatalities in the Indian shelling earlier on Wednesday included children. The shells hit the village of Kotli in Pakistans section of Kashmir. The disputed territory is split between Pakistan and India and claimed by both in its entirety. Though Pakistani and Indian troops in Kashmir often trade fire, the latest casualties came a day after tensions escalated sharply following a pre-dawn air strike and incursion by India that New Delhi said targeted a terrorist training camp in north-western Pakistan. Expand Close Pakistani watch news bulletins on television in Karachi (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pakistani watch news bulletins on television in Karachi (AP) In Tuesdays strike by India, Pakistan had said that Indian warplanes dropped bombs near the Pakistani town of Balakot, but there were no casualties. Residents on both sides of the de facto frontier, the so-called Line of Control, said there were exchanges of fire between the two sides through the night. In Pakistans part of Kashmir, hundreds of villagers fled border towns. The situation was no different in villages along the Line of Control in Indian-controlled Kashmir, where residents were moving to safer places following the intense exchange of fire, which began on Tuesday and continued on Wednesday. In New Delhi, Indian officials said at least five of their soldiers were wounded in firing by Pakistani troops along the volatile frontier. Indian army spokesman Lt Col Devender Anand said Pakistani soldiers targeted dozens of Indian military positions across the Line of Control throughout the night. An Indian military statement said that out of anger and frustration, Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation. Expand Close Kashmiri villagers gather near the wreckage of one of the aircraft (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kashmiri villagers gather near the wreckage of one of the aircraft (AP) The statement said Indian troops retaliated for effect and claimed to have destroyed five Pakistani posts. It accused Pakistani soldiers of firing mortars and missiles from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields. Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan is expected to convene the National Command Authority to discuss Islamabads response to the incursions by Indian warplanes. On Wednesday, Pakistans foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told state-run Pakistan Television he was in touch with his counterparts across the world about the Indian aggression, adding that New Delhi had endangered peace in the region by Tuesdays air strike on Pakistan. Expand Close Supporters of Indias ruling Bhartiya Janata Party shout slogans as they celebrate reports of Indian aircraft bombing Pakistani territory (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Supporters of Indias ruling Bhartiya Janata Party shout slogans as they celebrate reports of Indian aircraft bombing Pakistani territory (AP) In New Delhi, Indias external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said her country does not wish to see further escalation of the situation with Pakistan and that it will continue to act with responsibility and restraint. She said the limited objective of Indias pre-emptive strike inside Pakistan on a terrorist training camp was to act decisively against the terrorist infrastructure of the Jaish-e-Mohammad group. The latest wave of tensions between Pakistan and India first erupted after Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing of a convoy of Indias paramilitary forces in the Indian portion of Kashmir which killed 40 Indian troops on February 14. Pakistan said it was not involved in the attack and was ready to help New Delhi in its investigations. Sister acts: Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, hurries to help organise her brother's arrival in Vietnam. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer The slapdash nature of US President Donald Trump's second summit with Kim Jong-un was exposed as American journalists were abruptly evicted from a Hanoi hotel housing the North Korean leader and key details of the meeting remained a mystery. The White House has set low ambitions for tomorrow's talks, hurriedly organised after Mr Trump announced the summit on February 8. Expand Close North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: Yonhap via REUTERS / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: Yonhap via REUTERS The two sides haven't even agreed on the meaning of denuclearisation or the ultimate purpose of the talks. Before Mr Kim's arrival in Hanoi on Monday, Vietnam's foreign ministry announced the White House media centre would have to move from the Melia hotel where he is staying. The White House offered no explanation for the move, which forced news organisations operating from the hotel to pack up and relocate several streets away. Mr Trump is due to dine with Mr Kim this evening after meetings with Vietnamese leaders, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters travelling with the president on board Air Force One. She didn't say where the two men would have dinner today, and the White House also hasn't said where they will hold their formal summit tomorrow. Mr Trump will be joined at dinner by his chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo. Mr Kim will also be joined by two aides, Sanders said. Ms Sanders complained on Fox News last week that the American media had manufactured "high expectations" for the summit. Mr Trump has sought to lower public expectations as well, telling state governors on Sunday he has no intention of lifting harsh US sanctions on North Korea and isn't pushing for a hasty deal with Mr Kim. Failure to win substantial concessions from Mr Kim risks turning a dramatic moment into a public disappointment for the US president, who is making his second trip to the other side of the world to try to convince Mr Kim to give up his nuclear weapons. After agreeing to cease military exercises with South Korea after their first summit without anything substantive from Kim in exchange, Mr Trump's critics fear the president may again be talked into a US concession. "This is where the president's unpredictability, his impulsiveness, his inclination not to prepare for meetings could get us into trouble," said Victor Cha, the Korea Chair at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, whom the Trump administration considered nominating for ambassador to South Korea. Talks between Washington and Pyongyang have been deadlocked since the two leaders' first summit in Singapore last June. North Korea has continued to build warheads and missiles, according to satellite-imagery analysis and leaked American intelligence. Speculation before the second summit has focused on steps the two countries could take to show warming relations while avoiding the sorer points in their nuclear negotiations. In Hanoi, the government has festooned the city with US, Vietnamese and North Korean flags and branded the summit as a "partnership for sustainable peace". One significant possibility is that Mr Trump and Mr Kim will conclude their meetings tomorrow with a declaration that their countries are no longer at war, a non-binding political statement that won't officially replace the 1953 Korean War armistice. Some critics worry that a peace declaration - which would come more than 65 years after the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War - could erode the American justification for stationing about 28,500 troops in neighbouring South Korea. That might not be of particular concern to Mr Trump, who has openly questioned the cost of the large US troop presence and recently forced the negotiation of a new cost-sharing agreement with South Korea. Mr Kim could agree to allow a US diplomatic liaison office in Pyongyang, a US goal dating back to Bill Clinton's administration. But the North Korean regime has resisted, figuring the US would use the outpost to expand its intelligence-gathering in the country. This summit may test Mr Kim's willingness to break from the past. ( Washington Post) U.S. President Donald Trump and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc hold flags as they are greeted by students during their meeting at the Office of Government Hall in Hanoi, Vietnam REUTERS/Leah Millis US President Donald Trump hoped for "great things" from his second meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un as he paid a courtesy call on his Vietnamese hosts. Mr Kim was expected to take in some sights before the leaders open their second nuclear summit with private talks and a social dinner. Anticipation for what will come out of the summit is running high in Hanoi. But the carnival-like atmosphere in the Vietnamese capital, with street artists painting likenesses of the leaders and vendors selling T-shirts emblazoned with their faces, stands in contrast to the serious items on the agenda: North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and peace on the Korean Peninsula. "We have a very big meeting planned tonight as you know, with North Korea, Chairman Kim, and I think it may very well turn out to be very successful," Mr Trump told the top leaders of Vietnam. "I look forward to the meeting tonight with Chairman Kim and hopefully it's going to be successful. "We'll see what happens, but he wants to do something great," Mr Trump said, adding that Mr Kim could use Vietnam as a model for economic revitalisation. "If you look at what you've done in a short time, he can do it in a very, very rapid time - make North Korea into a great economic power." Read More The president sounded a similar message about Vietnamese prosperity in a tweet before he left his heavily guarded hotel. "Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize," Mr Trump tweeted on Wednesday, hours before he and Mr Kim were to meet again. "The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting!" Mr Trump said at a separate meeting with Vietnamese officials that "hopefully great things will happen later on with our meeting" with Mr Kim. Mr Trump and Mr Kim first met last June in Singapore, a summit that was long on historic pageantry but short on any enforceable agreements for North Korea to give up its nuclear arsenal. North Korea has spent decades, at great economic sacrifice, building its nuclear program, and there is widespread scepticism that it will give away that program without getting something substantial from the US. That could be a declaration to end the Korean War. While Mr Trump wants Mr Kim to agree to dismantle his nuclear sites in a verifiable way, Mr Kim is seeking relief from crushing US sanctions hobbling his economy. Other items being discussed are opening liaison offices in both North Korea and the United States. North and South Korea also want sanctions dialled back so they can resurrect two major symbols of rapprochement that provided much-needed hard currency to North Korea: a jointly run factory park in Kaesong and South Korean tours to the North's scenic Diamond Mountain resort. 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. Testimony by Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer and "fixer", to a U.S. congressional committee on Wednesday highlighted several legal risks Trump may face. Among his claims, Cohen said the Republican president reimbursed him for making "hush money" payments to two women ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election and that Trump knew in advance that the Wikileaks website planned to release hacked emails damaging to his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. The U.S. Justice Department for decades has held the position that a sitting president cannot face criminal charges, though some lawyers disagree with that conclusion. Under the U.S. Constitution, a president can be impeached by Congress for "high crimes and misdemeanors" and removed from office. Trump also could face criminal charges after leaving office. Trump and his supporters have called Cohen a liar trying to reduce his prison time after pleading guilty to a series of federal criminal charges. Here is a look at some of Cohen's statements and whether they may implicate Trump in criminal conduct. 1. 'Hush money' payments Cohen's testimony and a check he provided to the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform that he said was personally signed by Trump potentially could be used by prosecutors to build a campaign finance law violation case against the president, legal experts said. Cohen said Trump directed him to make a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels days before the election to cover up what she has called a sexual encounter with Trump. Trump has denied the relationship and said the payment was made to stop her "false and extortionist accusations." Cohen gave the committee a copy of two $35,000 checks issued in 2017, one that Cohen said was signed by Trump and the other signed by his son Donald Trump Jr. to reimburse Cohen for paying off Daniels. Cohen pleaded guilty in August to campaign finance law violations for his role in orchestrating the secret "hush money" payments to Daniels and a second woman who also said she had a sexual relationship with Trump. Under federal law, individual campaign contributions cannot exceed $2,700 per election and must be disclosed. Contributions are defined as payments intended to influence the election. Trump's lawyers have said the payment was not a campaign contribution because it was made to protect Trump's reputation, not to influence the election. Expand Close Michael Cohen is sworn in to testify on Capitol Hill (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Michael Cohen is sworn in to testify on Capitol Hill (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) 2. Moscow Trump Tower David Sklansky, a former federal prosecutor, said prosecutors potentially could use Cohen's testimony to build a criminal conspiracy case against Trump regarding false testimony to Congress concerning a Moscow real estate deal that was long discussed but never actually materialized. Cohen testified that, during the 2016 campaign, Trump "made clear" to him that Cohen should lie and say negotiations to build a Trump tower in Moscow ended before the state-by-state Republican primaries began when actually the talks continued for months after that. Cohen pleaded guilty in August to lying to Congress in a 2017 statement in which he had said the talks ended in January 2016 instead of June 2016. Cohen said Trump did not explicitly direct him to lie but looked him "in the eye" and relayed the false version of events. "In his way, he was telling me to lie," Cohen said, adding that Trump's personal lawyers "reviewed and edited my statement to Congress." It is a federal crime to "knowingly and willfully" give false statements to Congress. It is also illegal to conspire with someone to provide false testimony. "He is saying Trump made clear 'you should lie, and this is the story you should tell' - not in as many words, but in a manner that was clear to both of them," Sklansky said. Expand Close Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, reads his opening statement as he testifies at a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, reads his opening statement as he testifies at a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst 3. Hacked Democratic emails If Trump knew about and endorsed Russian efforts to hack Democratic National Committee emails embarrassing to Clinton that later were released by the Wikileaks website, this could be used by prosecutors to build a conspiracy case against the president, legal experts said. Trump could also face liability under election laws if he solicited help from a foreign power, they said. Cohen said Trump knew from his longtime adviser Roger Stone there would be "a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign" ahead of the election. U.S. intelligence agencies have said the emails were stolen as part of Russia's campaign of hacking and propaganda aimed at sowing discord in the United States and boosting Trump's candidacy. Russia has denied it. Trump has denied collusion. Stone has pleaded not guilty to charges brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller that Stone lied to Congress about his knowledge of plans by Wikileaks to release the hacked emails. Expand Close U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) listens to the testimony of former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen at a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) listens to the testimony of former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen at a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst 4. Trump Tower meeting Prosecutors could look at whether Trump violated federal election laws by soliciting a campaign contribution from a foreign national in relation to a June 2016 meeting between senior members of his campaign including his son Donald Trump Jr. and a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer. Cohen said he witnessed Trump's son tell his father in a low voice, "The meeting is all set." Cohen said he suspected this was in reference to the meeting with a group of Russians who had offered "dirt" about Clinton. Trump has denied knowing about the meeting in advance but has defended it as a "totally legal" effort to gain a campaign edge. Under U.S. election law, presidential campaigns cannot accept or even "solicit" campaign contributions from foreign nationals. Opposition research on Clinton would qualify as a contribution, said Jessica Levinson, an election law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. "If he said, 'Take that meeting, I want dirt on Hillary,' I think that could give rise to a federal election law violation," Levinson said of the president. Expand Close Donald Trump / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Donald Trump 5. Wealth and tax claims Trump potentially could face tax fraud charges related to deflating assets to lower his taxes - depending on the steps taken, legal experts said. Cohen testified Trump inflated his assets when it served him, including to the magazine Forbes, which tracks the wealth of the richest people in the United States and the world, and deflated his assets to lower his real estate taxes. It is not a crime to lie to Forbes or the general public. Cohen said Trump inflated his assets to obtain a loan from Deutsche Bank. If true, this could violate federal law that bars lying on loan applications. Expand Close Donald Trump Junior / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Donald Trump Junior 6. The Trump Foundation Prosecutors could look into whether Trump's charitable foundation committed fraud related to the auctioning of a portrait of him. Cohen accused Trump of directing the Donald J. Trump Foundation to reimburse $60,000 paid by a straw bidder to acquire the portrait. Trump kept it for himself, Cohen said. The New York Attorney General's office has said the foundation's use of funds for non-charitable purposes violates a number of state laws. The office sued Trump and his adult children last June alleging mismanagement of the foundation and misuse of its funds for political and personal purposes. The foundation agreed in December to dissolve in a partial settlement of the state lawsuit. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has left the door open to eventual criminal charges. Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, reads his opening statement as he testifies at a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, testifies before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing as he waits to be sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst A $35,000 check signed by U.S. President Donald Trump to Michael Cohen, his former personal attorney, is shown on a television monitor inside the hearing room as Cohen testifies before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, testifies before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, testifies before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, is show on a television monitor outside the hearing room as he is sworn in to testify before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, is sworn in to testify before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, reads his opening statement as he testifies at a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, testifies before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, stands as he waits to be sworn in to testify at a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Tweets by U.S. President Donald Trump about Michael Cohen, his former personal attorney, are shown on a television monitor inside the hearing room as Cohen testifies before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing while committee member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) looks on in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, arrives to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, arrives to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) listens to the testimony of former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen at a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen testified to Congress on Wednesday that reimbursement cheques issued to him for hush-money payments to an adult film star were signed by Donald Trump Jr. and the Trump Organization chief financial officer. Cohen said Trump himself signed a $35,000 cheque repaying him for "hush money I paid on his behalf" while Trump was president, Cohen told a House of Representatives' committee. "Other cheques to reimburse me for the hush money payments were signed by Don Jr. and Allen Weisselberg," he said. Cohen's testimony raises the possibility that Donald Trump Jr. could be prosecuted for violating campaign finance laws, depending on what he knew about what the payments were intended for, said lawyer Andy Wright, who served as associate counsel to President Barack Obama. Expand Close Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, testifies before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, testifies before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for Trump Jr., did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for Trump, declined to immediately comment on Cohen's testimony. Cohen pleaded guilty in August to campaign finance violations over his arranging payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and to former Playboy model Karen McDougal. On Wednesday, Cohen said Trump directed him to use his own funds from a home equity line of credit to pay Daniels to avoid any money being traced back to Trump. Cohen said he was going to jail, in part, because of his decision "to help Mr. Trump hide that payment from the American people before they voted a few days later." President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen also told the U.S. Congress on Wednesday that Trump is a "racist," a "conman" and a "cheat" who knew in advance about a release of emails by the WikiLeaks website aimed at hurting his 2016 Democratic presidential rival. Cohen, Trump's onetime "fixer," said Trump directed negotiations for a real estate project in Moscow during the White House race even as Trump publicly said he had no business interests in Russia, according to Cohen's prepared testimony. "I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat," Cohen said in an opening statement to a House of Representatives committee. Expand Close Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, is show on a television monitor outside the hearing room as he is sworn in to testify before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, is show on a television monitor outside the hearing room as he is sworn in to testify before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria "Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great," Cohen said. "He had no desire or intention to lead this nation - only to market himself and to build his wealth and power." Although many accusations against Trump emerged in news reports during his 2016 campaign and since he took office, the televised congressional testimony of a former loyalist provides a detailed public record with the potential to influence a large U.S. audience. The testimony by Cohen that appeared to be most damaging to the president were allegations that Trump knew in advance about a WikiLeaks dump of stolen emails from senior Democrats, that he pursued plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow deep into the 2016 campaign and that he was directly involved in reimbursing Cohen for hush money payments. But Trump will take comfort in Cohen's assertion that he had no direct knowledge of any collusion between his 2016 campaign team and Russia to influence the election, and will likely dismiss Cohen as a liar out to take down his former employer to save his own skin. Expand Close Tweets by U.S. President Donald Trump about Michael Cohen, his former personal attorney, are shown on a television monitor inside the hearing room as Cohen testifies before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing while committee member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) looks on in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tweets by U.S. President Donald Trump about Michael Cohen, his former personal attorney, are shown on a television monitor inside the hearing room as Cohen testifies before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing while committee member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) looks on in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst The sweeping claims against Trump, from a man who once said he would take a bullet for his boss, come as Special Counsel Robert Mueller appears to be close to completing his investigation into possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Russian efforts to sway the vote. The hearing before a Democratic-led House panel got off to a contentious start when the committee's top Republican tried but failed to postpone the session, complaining there was not enough time to review Cohen's written testimony. Republicans questioned Cohen's credibility and said the hearing was the opening gambit in an effort by Democrats, who took control of the House in November's congressional elections, to impeach Trump. Representative Elijah Cummings, the Democrat who chairs the panel, said Americans could judge Cohen's credibility for themselves. "The days of this committee protecting the president at all costs are over. They're over," Cummings said. Cohen, who said he would hand over documents to support his assertions, said Trump ordered him to pay $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to cover up an affair in violation of campaign finance laws, and also told Cohen to lie about it to first lady Melania Trump. Expand Close Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, arrives to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, arrives to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) The president, who has denied any collusion between his campaign and Moscow, has called the Mueller investigation a "witch hunt" and has called Cohen a liar trying to reduce his prison time and a "rat." "He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time," Trump said in a post on Twitter on Wednesday from Vietnam, where he was meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to try to break a stalemate over the North's nuclear weapons. Later, sitting alongside Kim, Trump did not answer reporters' questions about Cohen, who is scheduled to begin a three-year prison term in May after pleading guilty to multiple criminal charges. U.S. officials have said the emails released by WikiLeaks were stolen by Russia as part of Moscow's campaign of hacking and propaganda during the presidential race aimed at sowing discord in the United States and harming Trump rival Hillary Clinton. Trump has previously denied knowing in advance about the WikiLeaks release of Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails during the election. Cohen said he was in Trump's office in July 2016 when Roger Stone, a self-described "dirty trickster" and longtime political adviser to Trump, called the Republican presidential candidate. Cohen said Stone told Trump he had been speaking with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who told him there would be a dump of emails within a couple of days that would damage Clinton's campaign. On July 22, 2016, WikiLeaks released internal DNC emails that drove a wedge between supporters of Clinton and her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senator Bernie Sanders. Although Clinton won the nomination, that rift weakened her candidacy. "Mr. Cohen's statement is untrue," Stone said in an email, but did not specify which parts of the statement he meant. Stone was indicted by Mueller on charges of lying to Congress about his communications with others related to WikiLeaks email dumps. Stone, who has pleaded not guilty to charges brought by Mueller's team, denies having advance knowledge of WikiLeaks' plans, although text messages reviewed by Reuters show that during the campaign he made several attempts to make contact with Assange. However, Cohen said in his statement he does not have direct evidence that Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia. "I do not. I want to be clear. But I have my suspicions," Cohen said. Cohen also said he would provide letters he wrote at Trump's behest that threatened his high school and colleges not to release his grades or test scores. Cohen, 52, was one of Trump's closest aides and fiercest defenders, working with him on business and personal deals for a decade. But he turned against him last year and is cooperating with prosecutors after pleading guilty to tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations. It is not clear whether Cohen's testimony will significantly alter public perception of Trump's business practices or put him in greater legal peril. Cohen made no comment to reporters as he arrived on Capitol Hill early Wednesday morning. In the prepared remarks, Cohen apologizes for his initial statements to Congress in 2017, in which he said efforts to build a Trump skyscraper in Moscow had ceased by January 2016, when in fact they continued through June 2016. Cohen said Trump's lawyers "reviewed and edited" those false statements to Congress. According to a person familiar with the matter, Cohen's first statement to Congress was drafted by his lawyer Stephen Ryan and circulated among half a dozen lawyers who were part of a joint defense agreement, including the president's personal lawyers. Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer for Trump, and Ryan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cohen said Trump on multiple occasions inquired about the project while telling the public he had no business dealings in Russia, a falsehood Cohen said reflected Trump's view that the campaign was aimed only at building his brand. "He lied about it because he never expected to win the election. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars," Cohen said. Cohen described an incident in which Trump's son, Donald Jr., walked behind his father's desk and told him in a low voice: "The meeting is all set." Cohen said Trump replied: "OK good ... let me know." In hindsight, Cohen said he believed the son was referring to the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between a Russian lawyer promising "dirt" on Clinton and members of Trump's campaign. Trump has denied having advance knowledge of the meeting, which has come under intense scrutiny in the Mueller probe. Cohen said he planned to provide the committee with a copy of a $35,000 check Trump signed on Aug. 1, 2017, one in a series to reimburse him for paying off Daniels after Trump took office. Cohen's testimony will be made under penalty of perjury, but Republicans on the House oversight panel, including ranking member Jim Jordan, questioned Cohen's credibility, given his guilty plea for lying to Congress last year. President Donald Trump is calling the relationship between the US and Vietnam an "example" of what can become of North Korea if it gives up its nuclear weapons. Mr Trump paid a courtesy call to Vietnamese president Nguyen Phu Trong ahead of his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi. Mr Trump said: "We both felt very good about having this very important summit in Vietnam because you really are an example as to what can happen, with good thinking." The Vietnamese leader said his country has "been making all necessary preparations to ensure the best conditions for the success of this very special meeting". President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un have met in Vietnam in the second summit meeting between the leaders. The meeting, sealed with a handshake and laughs, came ahead of a meal with discussions expected to build on last year's breakthrough meeting in Singapore. Ahead of the meeting, Mr Trump expressed his hopes that North Korea could develop a strong economy in exchange for denuclearisation. Mr Trump told reporters: "We look forward to it, we both do." Expand Close President Donald Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp President Donald Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) Asked whether he might formally end the Korean War, he responded: "We'll see." The US president added: "We'll see what happens, but he (Mr Kim) wants to do something great." Nigerias president has been declared the clear winner of a second term in Africas largest democracy. While many frustrated Nigerians had said they wanted to give someone new a try, President Muhammadu Buhari, a former military dictator, profited from his upright reputation. Speaking shortly after the announcement of the official results and as many Nigerians awakened to the morning prayer, Mr Buhari told colleagues that he was deeply humbled by the win. He also said he regretted the loss of dozens of lives in election-related violence. Supporters began dancing in the streets of the capital, Abuja, on Tuesday night as vote counting stretched his lead from the weekend election to nearly four million votes over top opposition challenger Atiku Abubakar, a billionaire former vice president who made sweeping campaign promises to make Nigeria work again. Mr Buhari received 15.1 million votes, the electoral commission said in making its official declaration before dawn Wednesday. Mr Abubakar received 11.2 million. The average national turnout was 35.6%, continuing a downward trend. Expand Close Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari party in Abuja, Nigeria (Jerome Delay/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari party in Abuja, Nigeria (Jerome Delay/AP) In a failed last-ditch effort to stop the official declaration, Mr Abubakars party claimed that election data had been manipulated and demanded fresh elections in four of Nigerias 36 states. Mr Buharis party rejected the accusations. It also called on Mr Abubakar, who has not made a public appearance since Saturdays election, to accept his loss gracefully and concede. Let this nation move forward, campaign spokesman Babatunde Fashola said. Expand Close Oppositions presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar and his wife when casting their votes (Sunday Alamba/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Oppositions presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar and his wife when casting their votes (Sunday Alamba/AP) The election, once described as too close to call, suffered from a surprise week-long postponement and significant delays in the opening of polling stations. While election observers called the process generally peaceful, at least 53 people were killed in an attack claimed by the Islamic State West Africa Province extremist group and other violence, analysis unit SBM Intelligence said. It remained to be seen whether Mr Abubakar will follow through on pledges to accept a loss, or challenge the results. Let this nation move forwardCampaign spokesman Babatunde Fashola A former US ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, said the troubled election had given the candidates grounds to go to the courts. That route could take months. Many Nigerians have prayed for peace. They were surprised in 2015 when President Goodluck Jonathan took the unprecedented step of conceding to Mr Buhari before official results were announced. It was the first defeat of an incumbent president by the opposition in the countrys history. Jonathan set the benchmark on how electoral outcomes should be handled, Chris Kwaja, a senior adviser to the United States Institute of Peace, a US government-backed institution promoting conflict resolution worldwide, told The Associated Press. Accept defeat in the spirit of sportsmanship. This is a critical vehicle for democratic consolidation. Nigerias president has defended his sweeping win of a second term as free and fair and appealed to a common love of country as his top challenger vowed to go to court with allegations of fraud. President Muhammadu Buhari was declared the clear winner by nearly four million votes as citizens of Africas largest democracy gave him another chance to tackle gaping corruption, widespread insecurity and an economy limping back from a rare recession. While many frustrated Nigerians had said they wanted to give someone new a try, Mr Buhari, a former military dictator, profited from his upright reputation in an oil-rich nation weary of politicians enriching themselves instead of the people. I will like to make a special appeal to my supporters not to gloat or humiliate the oppositionMuhammadu Buhari Top opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar, a billionaire former vice president who made campaign promises to make Nigeria work again, quickly rejected the result of what he called a sham election. As many Nigerians awakened to the win along with the morning prayer, Mr Buhari told colleagues he was deeply humbled. He regretted the loss of dozens of lives in mindless election-related violence. I will like to make a special appeal to my supporters not to gloat or humiliate the opposition. Victory is enough reward for your efforts, he said. Expand Close Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari (Jerome Delay/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari (Jerome Delay/AP) At a later event certifying his victory, he added to applause: Election is not war and should never be seen as a do-or-die affair. He congratulated all candidates and the democratic process, however contentious. In a statement shared by aides, challenger Mr Abubakar said he would have conceded within seconds if the vote had been free and fair. Instead he alleged manifest and premeditated malpractices in many of Nigerias 36 states. He asserted that voting was suppressed in his strongholds in the south and that states threatened by an extremist insurgency generated much higher voter turnouts than in peaceful ones. He also objected to the deployment of the military in some areas. Expand Close A woman displays her voters card (Sunday Alamba/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A woman displays her voters card (Sunday Alamba/AP) One domestic election observer, the Civic Media Lab, noted that contrary to normal reasoning the state most affected by extremist attacks, Borno, saw a 13% increase in voter turnout, even as overall turnout dropped. Some residents had said, however, they were determined to vote despite the threat. Court challenges are nothing new in Nigeria, where Mr Buhari himself doggedly fought his past election losses for months, in vain. The Supreme Court of Nigeria has never overturned a presidential election, Chris Kwaja, a senior adviser to the United States Institute of Peace, said. The presidents colleagues had expected a challenge. Expand Close Opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar disputes the result (Sunday Alamba/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar disputes the result (Sunday Alamba/AP) Theres no opposition that will roll over and play dead, Hameed Ali, the ruling party agent attending the vote declaration, told reporters. Mr Buharis supporters began dancing in the streets of the capital, Abuja, on Tuesday night as victory became clear. He is a man of integrity, a Buhari supporter in the northern city of Kano, Mohammed Aliyu, said as jubilant people held up four fingers to mark the new term. He is the only leader in Nigeria today that does not accumulate wealth. Mr Buhari received 15.1 million votes, or 55%, the electoral commission said. Mr Abubakar received 11.2 million, or 41%. The average national turnout was 35.6%, continuing a downward trend. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged greetings as they kicked off their second summit in Hanoi, Vietnam. The two leaders exchanged handshakes, laughs and small talk at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, where they were scheduled to meet for 20 minutes before sitting down for what the White House has described as a social dinner. Mr Trump told reporters of the meeting: We look forward to it, we both do. Asked whether he might formally end the Korean War, he responded: Well see. Mr Trump has made the case that North Korea could thrive economically like Vietnam if the North ends its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Mr Trump said: Well see what happens, but he wants to do something great. Expand Close President Donald Trump waves a Vietnam flag as he meets with Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (Evan Vucci/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp President Donald Trump waves a Vietnam flag as he meets with Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (Evan Vucci/AP) There has been a carnival-like atmosphere in the Vietnamese capital, with street artists painting likenesses of the leaders and vendors selling T-shirts emblazoned with their faces. It stands in contrast to the serious items on the agenda: North Koreas pursuit of nuclear weapons and peace on the Korean Peninsula. Speaking earlier to his Vietnamese hosts, Mr Trump said: We have a very big meeting planned tonight as you know, with North Korea, Chairman Kim, and I think it may very well turn out to be very successful. The president hailed Vietnam as a model for North Korea to follow in his remarks to his hosts, saying: If you look at what youve done in a short time, he can do it in a very, very rapid time make North Korea into a great economic power. In a tweet earlier Mr Trump said: Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearise. The potential is awesome, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon Very Interesting! Last years meeting between the two leaders in Singapore was a historic encounter which had followed sustained and personal insults between the pair over Pyongyangs nuclear programme. Expand Close Donald Trump meets Kim Jong Un in Hanoi (Evan Vucci/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Donald Trump meets Kim Jong Un in Hanoi (Evan Vucci/AP) With tests halted since the thaw in relations, Mr Trump hopes for more progress on denuclearisation from Mr Kim. Reflecting on Singapore, Mr Trump said: I thought the first summit was a great success and I think this one, hopefully, will be equal or greater than the first. Speaking through an interpreter, Mr Kim said he is confident of achieving the great results that everyone will welcome. Detained: TV anchor Jorge Ramos speaks to reporters about his experience in Venezuela after arriving back in Miami yesterday. Photo: REUTERS/Maria Alejandra Cardona Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused the US government of manufacturing a crisis in an attempt to start a war in South America, in an interview. "Everything that the United States government has done has been doomed to failure," Mr Maduro told American broadcaster ABC News from the presidential palace in Caracas in remarks translated by the network from Spanish. "They are trying to fabricate a crisis to justify political escalation and a military intervention in Venezuela to bring a war to South America." Meanwhile, Spanish-language US television network Univision said a news team led by anchor Jorge Ramos was released after being detained at the presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, while interviewing Mr Maduro. The network said Mr Maduro did not like the questions they were asking and confiscated the team's equipment and recording from the interview. "I'm talking with @jorgeramosnews. He and the other members of the team were freed," tweeted Daniel Coronell, president of news for Univision. In response to Univision's claims, Venezuela's Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez tweeted that the government had in the past welcomed hundreds of journalists to the Miraflores presidential palace, but it did not support "cheap shows". Earlier in the day, US vice president Mike Pence announced $56m (49m) in aid to Venezuelans as well as tougher US sanctions as he joined a Lima Group meeting of Latin American countries plus Canada that was also attended by opposition leader Juan Guaido. The United States is among some 50 countries that recognise Mr Guaido as Venezuela's interim president. Mr Maduro blasted the talks in Bogota, Colombia, as being "politics to attempt to establish a parallel government in Venezuela". Washington, he said, "wants Venezuela's oil" and is "willing to go to war for that oil". "The extremist Ku Klux Klan government that Donald Trump directs wants a war over oil, and more than just oil," Mr Maduro said, describing Venezuela as a "pacifist, humble nation." But he also said he was ready for "direct dialogue" with the Trump administration. Former US vice president Joe Biden has said his family, including his grandchildren, are encouraging him to launch a White House bid. Theres a consensus, Mr Biden told an excited crowd during an appearance at the University of Delaware. The most important people in my life want me to run. The veteran campaigner who served as Barack Obamas vice-president did not explicitly say he was running. Expand Close Former US vice-president Joe Biden (Niall Carson/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Former US vice-president Joe Biden (Niall Carson/PA) In fact, the 76-year-old lifelong politician conceded he may not be popular enough to win over the Democratic Party of 2020. Yet roughly 10 months before the first primary votes are cast, Mr Biden sent an unmistakable message to prospective rivals and voters alike that the already-crowded Democratic field is far from set. Should he run, he would instantly become a front-runner, the best-known option for primary voters and perhaps the best-respected by elected officials and donors, who in many cases have a decades-long relationship with the longtime Democratic leader. Mr Bidens potential rivals had little to say publicly about his latest comments on potentially joining the field, but in private, their camps conceded that he would be a political force who could scramble the evolving field. He is the biggest, best-known candidate in the raceGary Pearce, strategist Mr Biden could erode Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders popularity with working-class voters in the Midwest, California Senator Kamala Harris standing with African-American voters in South Carolina and New York billionaire Michael Bloombergs claim to the political centre. Uncle Joe is absolutely beloved within the Democratic Party and for good reason, said Zac Petkanas, an aide to former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. However, this isnt a popularity contest. Not only is he going to have to prove hes got fresh, bold ideas, but that hes tough enough to stand up to (Donald) Trump. While he would be the oldest US president ever elected, toughness has never been an issue for Mr Biden, a native of working-class Pennsylvania, who suggested last year that he would beat the hell out of President Donald Trump for his comments about women if the two were in high school. It is unclear, however, if Mr Bidens profile, politics and policies are in line with todays liberal base, a relatively small slice of the electorate that holds outsized sway in presidential primary elections. Expand Close Air Force One (Andrew Milligan/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Air Force One (Andrew Milligan/PA) Mr Biden would stand out as an old white man just months after Democratic voters sent the most diverse class to Congress in history. He would also be viewed as an establishment-minded moderate unwilling to wholly embrace litmus test issues like free universal health care, free college and the so-called Green New Deal. He is the biggest, best-known candidate in the race, said veteran Democratic strategist Gary Pearce. Personally, I have mixed feelings. Expand Close Joe Biden said he would beat the hell out of Donald Trump over his remarks about women (Niall Carson/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Joe Biden said he would beat the hell out of Donald Trump over his remarks about women (Niall Carson/PA) For all the respect I have for him, I dont know if hes the right thing for the Democratic Party right now. Still, Trump allies have long considered Mr Biden among the most formidable possible general election opponents given his working-class appeal. Despite more than four decades in Washington, most of it as a Delaware senator, he has long played up his upbringing in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Mr Biden also has far more international experience than his would-be Democratic opponents and the president. At a global security conference in Germany this month, he told an international audience that a US leader stands up to the aggression of dictators. Yet he has struggled to develop a strong base of political support in two previous presidential runs. The vote now goes to the Republican-run Senate (PA) The US House of Representatives has voted to block President Donald Trumps emergency declaration, a measure intended get him billions of extra dollars to build his border wall. The Houses 245-182 vote to block Mr Trumps national emergency declaration fell well below the two-thirds majority that would be needed to override his promised veto. Top Republicans worked to keep defections as low as possible 13 backed the Democrats resolution underscoring their desire to avoid a tally suggesting that Mr Trumps hold on politicians was weakening. The vote now goes to the Republican-run Senate, where there were already enough defections to edge it to the cusp of passage. Vice President Mike Pence used a lunch with Republican senators at the Capitol to try keeping them aboard, citing a dangerous crisis at the border, but there were no signs he would succeed. Expand Close Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speak to reporters after a closed-door meeting with Vice President Mike Pence (J Scott Applewhite/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speak to reporters after a closed-door meeting with Vice President Mike Pence (J Scott Applewhite/AP) I personally couldnt handicap the outcome at this point, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is planning a vote within the next three weeks. He even said Republicans remained uncertain about the legality of Mr Trumps move, telling reporters, Were in the process of weighing that. Senate passage would force Mr Trumps first veto, which the House vote demonstrated that Congress would surely fail to overturn. But the showdown was forcing Republicans to cast uncomfortable votes pitting their support for a president wildly popular with Republican voters against fears that his expansive use of emergency powers would invite future Democratic presidents to do likewise for their own pet policies. There is a crisis at our border, but itas not an emergency when Congress doesnat spend money how the President wants. The Presidentas constitutional remedy is to veto spending bills that arenat suitable to him, yet he has chosen to sign many bills that did not fund the wall. Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) February 26, 2019 House Republicans who joined all voting Democrats to support the Democratic resolution included moderates from competitive districts such as Fred Upton of Michigan and libertarian-leaning conservatives such as Thomas Massie from Kentucky. The White House wrote to politicians formally threatening to veto the legislation. Expand Close President Donald Trump issued the emergency declaration last week to fund his long-sought wall along the US-Mexico border (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp President Donald Trump issued the emergency declaration last week to fund his long-sought wall along the US-Mexico border (AP) The letter said blocking the emergency declaration would undermine the administrations ability to respond effectively to the ongoing crisis at the Southern Border. Republicans said Democrats were driven by politics and a desire to oppose Mr Trump at every turn, and said Mr Trump had clear authority to declare an emergency to protect the country. They also defended the presidents claims of a security crisis along the boundary with Mexico, which he has said is ravaged by drug smugglers, human traffickers and immigrants trying to sneak into the US illegally. We are at war on the Southern border with the drug cartels, said Representative Pete Olson. Democrats said the crisis is a fiction manufactured by Mr Trump to dance around Congress vote this month to provide less than 1.4 billion dollars (1bn) for barrier construction. That was well below the 5.7 billion dollars (4.3bn) Mr Trump demanded as he forced a record-setting 35-day federal shutdown. The president does not get to override Congress in a raucous temper tantrum over his inability to broker a deal with politicians for more money, said Representative Hank Johnson Representative Joaquin Castro, sponsor of the one-sentence measure blocking the declaration, called Mr Trumps move constitutional vandalism. Mr Trump used a 1976 law to declare a national emergency and ordered the shift of 3.6 billion dollars (2.7bn) from military construction projects to wall building. Citing other powers, he intends to shift another 3.1 billion dollars (2.3bn) from Defence Department anti-drug efforts and a fund that collects seized assets. The money would be used to build steel barriers up to 30 ft tall and other barriers and for law enforcement efforts, said a White House statement. French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel enter the Elysee Palace (Kamil Zhinioglu/AP) Frances President Emmanuel Macron has said the UK needs a good reason to seek a delay of its scheduled March 29 departure from the European Union. Speaking in a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris on Wednesday, Mr Macron reiterated that the withdrawal agreement cannot be renegotiated. Any delay request would need to be justified by a clear perspective on the goal, he said. Expand Close German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron attend a press conference (Gonzalo Fuentes/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron attend a press conference (Gonzalo Fuentes/AP) We dont need time, we need decisions. Mrs Merkel said that Germany and France agree completely that the already-negotiated withdrawal agreement stands. If Britain needs a bit more time, we will not refuse that, but we are aiming for an orderly solution, an orderly withdrawal by the British from the European Union, she said. Michael Cohen is set to brand the US president a liar, a cheat and a conman (AP) Donald Trumps former personal lawyer is planning to tell a US congressional committee that the president knew ahead of time that WikiLeaks had emails damaging to his rival Hillary Clintons election campaign, and that he is a racist, a conman, and a cheat. Michael Cohen suggests in prepared testimony obtained by The Associated Press that Mr Trump also implicitly told him to lie about a Moscow real estate project. Mr Cohen has pleaded guilty to lying to US congress about the project, which he says Mr Trump knew about as Mr Cohen was negotiating with Russia during the election. Expand Close Mr Cohen is set to brand the president a racist, a conman and a cheat (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mr Cohen is set to brand the president a racist, a conman and a cheat (AP) The lawyer says in his testimony that Mr Trump did not directly tell him to lie, but he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia, and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. Mr Cohen said that in his way, he was telling me to lie. He added that lawyers for Mr Trump had reviewed and edited the statement in which Mr Cohen falsely said a proposal for a Trump Tower in Moscow had been abandoned in January 2016. Mr Cohen has since acknowledged he continued pursuing the project for months after that. In the prepared testimony, Mr Cohen apologises for his actions. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience, he said. Ahead of his appearance, Mr Cohen said on Tuesday that the American people can decide exactly who is telling the truth when he testifies before the US House Oversight and Reform committee. Expand Close Mr Cohen will claim the president knew about the WikiLeaks email dump concerning his presidential rival, Hillary Clinton (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mr Cohen will claim the president knew about the WikiLeaks email dump concerning his presidential rival, Hillary Clinton (AP) This sets the stage for an explosive public hearing that threatens to overshadow Mr Trumps summit in Vietnam with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. On WikiLeaks, Mr Cohen said in the prepared testimony that he was in Mr Trumps office in July 2016 when longtime adviser Roger Stone called his client. Mr Trump put Mr Stone on speakerphone, and Mr Stone told him that he had communicated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign, according to Mr Cohen. Mr Trump responded by saying wouldnt that be great? Mr Cohen says. That month, WikiLeaks released thousands of emails hacked from the Democratic National Committees server. Mr Cohen says in his testimony: A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time. The answer is yes. Mr Cohen said he does not have direct evidence that Mr Trump colluded with the Russian government during the election, but that he has suspicions. Of a meeting in Trump Tower between campaign advisers, including Mr Trumps oldest son and a Russian lawyer, Mr Cohen says that Mr Trump had frequently told him that Donald Trump Jr had the worst judgment of anyone in the world and he would never set up any meeting of any significance alone and certainly not without checking with his father. Expand Close Mr Cohen said he had lied to the US first lady out of blind loyalty to Mr Trump (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mr Cohen said he had lied to the US first lady out of blind loyalty to Mr Trump (AP) Mr Cohen, once the presidents loyal attorney and fixer, has turned on his former boss and cooperated with special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. He begins a three-year prison sentence in May after he pleaded guilty to lying to US congress in 2017 and committing campaign finance violations while he was working for Mr Trump. He met the US senate intelligence committee for more than nine hours behind closed doors on Tuesday. Mr Cohen said in brief remarks afterwards that he appreciated the opportunity to clear the record and tell the truth to the committee after acknowledging he lied to the panel in 2017. It is the first of three consecutive days of congressional appearances for Mr Cohen. After the public hearing on Wednesday, he will appear before the House intelligence panel on Thursday, again speaking in private. Republicans are expected to attempt to discredit Cohen, given that he has acknowledged lying previously. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said that it was laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies. Democrats have been alternately suspicious of Cohen and eager to hear what he has to say. Senator Mark Warner, the intelligence panels top Democrat, suggested in a brief statement to reporters outside Tuesdays interview that Mr Cohen had provided important information. In addition to lying to congress, Mr Cohen pleaded guilty last year to campaign finance violations for his involvement in payments to two women who allege they had affairs with Mr Trump. Expand Close Adult film actress Stormy Daniels (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Adult film actress Stormy Daniels (AP) Federal prosecutors in New York have said Mr Trump directed Mr Cohen to arrange the payments to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in the run-up to the 2016 campaign. Mr Cohen told a judge that he agreed to cover up Trumps dirty deeds out of blind loyalty. He says in his prepared testimony that he lied to the first lady, Melania Trump, about the affairs. Mr Trump has denied that he had the affairs. Lying to the first lady is one of my biggest regrets, Mr Cohen says. She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly and she did not deserve that. On the matter of racism, Mr Cohen says the president made racist comments disparaging African-Americans, saying at one point that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. A British Labour MP has been criticised by several colleagues for saying the party had been "too apologetic" over anti-Semitism. Chris Williamson suggested that Labour's response to complaints of anti-Semitism had contributed to the party being "demonised". In a clip published by the Yorkshire Post, the Derby North MP told a meeting hosted by grassroots group Momentum that the party had "given too much ground". Mr Williamson also described how he had celebrated the resignation of former Labour MP Joan Ryan, who defected to join The Independent Group of MPs last week. Jewish MP Luciana Berger, who quit Labour over its handling of anti-Semitism, wrote on Twitter of the video: "This is what I have left behind. It's toxic. Our country deserves so much better. #ChangePolitics" Labour's deputy leader, Tom Watson, described Mr Williamson's behaviour as "deliberately inflammatory". Meanwhile Cardiff South MP Stephen Doughty tweeted: "This conduct is unacceptable and has no place in our party. "I have made clear to both the Leaders office and our whips that I expect urgent action to be taken." Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips said Mr Williamson's comment seemed "specifically designed to upset", adding: "Must be disciplined." Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy said anti-Semtitism has to be "expunged not ignored", tweeting: "Those who perpetuate it or minimise it bring the party into disrepute. No ifs, no buts. #standupspeakup" And Ilford North MP Wes Streeting tweeted: "Stomach-turning. No action will be taken." In the video, recorded at a meeting in Sheffield, Mr Williamson said: "The party that has done more to stand up to racism is now being demonised as a racist, bigoted party. "I have got to say I think our party's response has been partly responsible for that because in my opinion... we have backed off on too much, we have given too much ground, we have been too apologetic." Mr Williamson also said he had sung Celebration by Kool & The Gang after hearing of Ms Ryan's resignation. She was one of nine MPs who quit in protest at Mr Corbyn's leadership last week, with his handling of anti-Semitism in the party among their central grievances. The video of Mr Williamson emerged as he came under fire for booking a room in Parliament for a screening of a film about anti-Semitism and the activist Jackie Walker. She was suspended by Labour over allegedly anti-Semitic comments in 2016. Mr Watson said he reported the matter to the Chief Whip and General Secretary "as soon as" he found out about it. A UK Labour Party spokesman said Mr Williamson's actions had been "completely inappropriate" and fell below the standards it expects of MPs. Mr Williamson was first elected MP for Derby North in 2010, but was unseated in the 2015 general election. He returned to the Commons in 2017 and was later made a shadow fire and emergency services minister. He left the post by mutual agreement six months later after commenting on policy outside his brief. President Donald Trumps former personal lawyer has told Congress that Mr Trump knew ahead of time that WikiLeaks had emails damaging to Hillary Clintons presidential campaign. He gave evidence that Mr Trump is a racist, a conman and a cheat. Michael Cohen suggested Mr Trump also implicitly told him to lie about a Moscow property project. Cohen has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the project, which he says Mr Trump knew about as Cohen was negotiating with Russia during the 2016 election campaign. Expand Close Michael Cohen (Alex Brandon/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Michael Cohen (Alex Brandon/AP) The hearing was expected to produce the most damning depiction to date of Mr Trumps campaign and business operations from a onetime member of the presidents inner circle. It is the latest step in Cohens evolution from legal fixer for the president, he once boasted he would take a bullet for Mr Trump, to a foe who has implicated him in federal campaign finance violations. I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty, of the things I did for Mr Trump in an effort to protect and promote him, Cohen said. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr Trump is. He (Donald Trump) would look me in the eye and tell me there's no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thingMichael Cohen Cohens claims that Mr Trump had advance knowledge of the emails contradict the presidents assertions that he was in the dark, but it was not clear what evidence Cohen had to support the allegation or even how legally problematic it would be for Mr Trump. Special counsel Robert Mueller has not suggested that mere awareness of WikiLeaks plans, as Trump confidant Roger Stone is purported to have had, is by itself a crime. Underscoring the deeply partisan nature of the proceedings, Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee lifted an earlier restriction that the hearing not delve into Russia, while Republicans tried unsuccessfully to block the hearing as it got under way. That was on the grounds that Cohen had not provided his opening statement long enough in advance. The committees top Republican, Representative Jim Jordan sought early on to undermine Cohens credibility by calling him a fraudster, cheat and a convicted felon. Certainly its the first time a convicted perjurer has been brought back to be a star witness at a hearing, Mr Jordan said. Cohen said Mr Trump did not directly tell him to lie, but he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. Cohen said that in his way, he was telling me to lie. He added that lawyers for Mr Trump had reviewed and edited the statement in which Cohen falsely said a proposal for a Trump Tower in Moscow had been abandoned in January 2016. Cohen has since said he continued pursuing the project for Mr Trump for months after that. Mr Trump, at a Vietnam hotel before a planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and unable to ignore the drama playing out thousands of miles away, lashed out at Cohen on Twitter, saying his lawyer did bad things unrelated to Trump and is lying in order to reduce his prison time. A judge already has set Cohens sentence, and Cohens cooperation will have no bearing on that term. Cohen, ahead of his appearance, said the American people could decide exactly who is telling the truth when he gave evidence before the House committee. On WikiLeaks, Cohen said in the prepared evidence that he was in Mr Trumps office in July 2016 when longtime adviser Roger Stone telephoned Mr Trump. Expand Close US President Donald Trump passes wellwishers in Hanoi, Vietnam (Adam Schreck/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp US President Donald Trump passes wellwishers in Hanoi, Vietnam (Adam Schreck/AP) Mr Trump put Stone on speakerphone and Stone told him that he had communicated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign, according to Cohen. Mr Trump responded by saying wouldnt that be great, Cohen said. That month, WikiLeaks released thousands of emails hacked from the Democratic National Committees server. A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time, Cohen said in the prepared evidence. The answer is yes. Cohen said he does not have direct evidence that Mr Trump colluded with the Russian government during the election, but that he has suspicions. Of a meeting in Trump Tower between campaign advisers, including Mr Trumps oldest son, and a Russian lawyer, Cohen said that Mr Trump had frequently told him that Donald Trump Jr had the worst judgment of anyone in the world and he would never set up any meeting of any significance alone and certainly not without checking with his father. Cohen, once Mr Trumps loyal attorney, has turned on his former boss and cooperated with Mr Muellers Russia investigation. Expand Close The US Capitol (Jose Luis Magana/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The US Capitol (Jose Luis Magana/AP) He begins a three-year prison sentence in May after pleading guilty to lying to Congress in 2017 and committing campaign finance violations while working for Mr Trump. He met with the Senate intelligence committee for more than nine hours behind closed doors on Tuesday. Cohen said afterwards that he appreciated the opportunity to clear the record and tell the truth to the panel after acknowledging he lied to the committee in 2017. Expand Close St Basils Cathedral in Moscow, Russia (Steve Parsons/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp St Basils Cathedral in Moscow, Russia (Steve Parsons/PA) In addition to lying to Congress, Cohen pleaded guilty last year to campaign finance violations for his involvement in payments to two women who allege they had affairs with Mr Trump. Federal prosecutors in New York have said Mr Trump directed Cohen to arrange the payments to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in the run-up to the 2016 campaign. Cohen told a judge that he agreed to cover up Mr Trumps dirty deeds out of blind loyalty. The US presidents former lawyer on Wednesday cast him as a racist and conman who used his inner circle to cover up damaging allegations about sex and lied about his business interests in Russia throughout the campaign that sent him to the White House. In a damning depiction of Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty last year to lying to Congress, testified that Mr Trump had advance knowledge and embraced the news that emails damaging to Hillary Clinton would be released. But he also said he has no direct evidence that the Trump presidential campaign colluded with Russia. Shaking off incessant criticism from Republicans anxious to paint him as a felon and liar, Cohen became the first Trump insider to pull back the curtain on his version of the inner workings of Mr Trumps political and business operations. He likened the president to a mobster who demands blind loyalty from underlings and expects them to lie on his behalf to conceal information and protect him even if it means breaking the law. I am not protecting Mr Trump any more, he declared. In one revelation, Cohen said that prosecutors in New York are investigating conversations Mr Trump or his advisers had with him after his hotel room was raided for documents by the FBI last April. He was asked by a Democratic congressman about the last contact he had had with Mr Trump or any agent representing the president. Expand Close US President Donald Trump passes wellwishers in Hanoi, Vietnam (Adam Schreck/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp US President Donald Trump passes wellwishers in Hanoi, Vietnam (Adam Schreck/AP) Cohen said that happened about two months after his hotel room was raided by the FBI. But he declined to provide more specific details on grounds that the matter was under current investigation by federal prosecutors. His appearance marked the latest step in Cohens evolution from legal fixer for the president he once boasted hed take a bullet for Mr Trump to a foe who has implicated him in federal campaign finance violations. The matter-of-fact testimony about hush money payments and furtive Russian meetings unfolded as Mr Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, offering stark TV counter-programming to the presidents official duties. At a Vietnam hotel and unable to ignore the drama thousands of miles away, Mr Trump lashed out on Twitter, saying Cohen did bad things unrelated to Trump and is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Cohen will soon report to prison for a three-year sentence. At the same time, he is seen as a vital witness for federal prosecutors because of his proximity to the president during key episodes under investigation. He is the first of six Trump aides charged in special counsel Robert Muellers Trump-Russia investigation to testify publicly about crimes committed during the 2016 campaign and in the months that followed. Cohen also gave his first-person account of how he arranged hush money payments to a porn actress and a Playboy model who said they had sex with the president. He testified that he was present for conversations in which Mr Trump denigrated black people as too stupid to vote for him. And he said he overheard Trump confidant Roger Stone telling the candidate that WikiLeaks would dump damaging information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Trump put Mr Stone on speakerphone as Mr Stone relayed that he had communicated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign, Cohen said. Damaging emails US officials say were hacked by Russia were later released by WikiLeaks. Mr Trump responded by saying wouldnt that be great, Cohen said. Mr Stone disputed that account on Wednesday, and Barry Pollack, a lawyer for Mr Assange, said Mr Stone and Mr Assange did not have the telephone call that Cohen described. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr Trump isMichael Cohen I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty, of the things I did for Mr Trump in an effort to protect and promote him, Cohen said. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr Trump is. Cohens claims that Mr Trump had advance knowledge of the emails contradict the presidents assertions that he was in the dark, but it is not clear how legally problematic that could be for Mr Trump. Mr Mueller has not suggested that mere awareness of WikiLeaks plans, as Mr Trump confidant Roger Stone is purported to have had, is by itself a crime. Cohen also suggested that Mr Trump implicitly told him to lie about a Moscow real estate project. Cohen has admitted lying about the project, which he says Mr Trump knew about as Cohen was negotiating with Russia during the 2016 campaign. Expand Close Michael Cohen is sworn in to testify on Capitol Hill (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Michael Cohen is sworn in to testify on Capitol Hill (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) Cohen said Mr Trump did not directly tell him to lie, but he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. Underscoring the deeply partisan nature of the proceedings, Republicans on the House Oversight and Reform Committee sought unsuccessfully to block the hearing as it got under way on grounds that Cohen had not provided his opening statement long enough in advance. Republicans repeatedly pointed out that Cohen had already pleaded guilty to lying to Congress and argued that the sole purpose of the hearing was to bring Mr Trump down. On trial: Cardinal George Pell once the third most powerful man in the Vatican and Australias most senior Catholic arrives at the County Court in Melbourne yesterday. Photo: Michael Dodge/Getty Images An Australian court has found Cardinal George Pell - one of the highest ranking Vatican officials and formerly a leading adviser to Pope Francis - guilty on five charges of child sexual offences committed more than two decades ago against 13-year-old boys. The verdict was made public following the lifting of a court suppression order after a second abuse case against Pell - the most senior Catholic clergyman to be convicted for child sex offences - was dropped by the prosecution. Pell's lawyers have said they will appeal against the verdict, which embarrassed the Vatican because it became public just two days after a major conference on preventing sex abuse. He had pleaded not guilty to all five charges. In the Vatican's first response, spokesman Alessandro Gisotti told reporters the conviction was "painful" for many but the cardinal had proclaimed his innocence and had the right to "defend himself until last level" of judicial process. A jury in Melbourne found Pell guilty on December 11 last year following a four-week trial. He was convicted of offences committed against two choir boys 22 years earlier in the priests' sacristy of St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne, where Pell was archbishop. One victim died in 2014. Expand Close Painful: Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti. Photo: REUTERS/Remo Casilli / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Painful: Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti. Photo: REUTERS/Remo Casilli Each of the offences carries a maximum 10 years' imprisonment. Pell's lawyers have filed an appeal on three grounds, which if successful could lead to a retrial. "Cardinal Pell has always maintained his innocence and continues to do so," his lawyer Paul Galbally said outside court. Pell, who remains on bail, left the court yesterday without speaking to reporters, who surrounded him as he walked from the courthouse steps to a waiting car. A child abuse survivor who identified himself as Michael Advocate, as his real name is suppressed under Australian law, shouted to Pell: "Burn in Hell." Pell is due to return to court today for the start of his sentencing hearing. Mr Gisotti disclosed hitherto unpublished restrictions that Australian Church leaders had imposed on Pell when the cardinal returned to his native country in June 2017 to defend himself. He said Pope Francis "confirmed" measures prohibiting Pell from practising his ministry in public and from having contact with minors "in any way or form". The verdict has been made public as the Church tries to deal with a growing child sexual abuse crisis, following scandals in the United States, Chile, Germany and Australia. The Pope ended the conference on sexual abuse on Sunday by calling for an "all out battle" against a crime that should be "erased from the face of the Earth". The Vatican said in December that Francis had removed Pell (77) from his group of close advisers, without commenting on the trial. Mr Gisotti said Pell's five-year term as economy minister for the Vatican had expired on February 24 but would not say if Pell was still technically in the position pending the naming of a successor. The cardinal took indefinite leave when he returned to Australia to fight the charges, and the department has been run by someone else. Pell was not called to the stand during the trial. A video recording of an interview that Australian police held with Pell in Rome in October 2016, in which he strenuously denied the allegations, was shown in open court. The jury also saw a video of the surviving victim's testimony behind closed doors. The victim, who was a schoolboy when abused by Pell, on Tuesday asked for his privacy to be respected. "Like many survivors I have experienced shame, loneliness, depression and struggle. Like many survivors it has taken me years to understand the impact upon my life," he said in an emailed statement. "The process has been stressful and it is not over yet. I need space and time to cope with the ongoing criminal process." Mark Coleridge, the president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, who attended the Vatican conference, said the conviction "has shocked many across Australia and around the world". "We pray for all those who have been abused and their loved ones, and we commit ourselves anew to doing everything possible to ensure that the Church is a safe place for all, especially the young and the vulnerable," he said. Pakistan last night swore a "befitting" response to an Indian airstrike in its territory after Delhi launched the first such raids against its neighbour in decades. Imran Khan's government said Delhi should prepare to be surprised and that it would respond at a time and place of its choosing after the predawn attack. Yesterday's raid sharply escalated tensions between the nuclear-armed adversaries who have gone to war three times since 1947. India said it had struck a pre-emptive blow against the Pakistan-based militant group it blamed for a suicide bomb that killed at least 40 paramilitary police in Kashmir on February 14. The Indian jets destroyed a hilltop training camp near Balakot where Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) jihadists were preparing an imminent attack, the country's foreign minister claimed. However, Pakistan dismissed that claim as "fictitious" and "self-serving", and said its own jets had intercepted the raiding force and seen it off. It said the Indian jets dropped their bombs "in haste" as they fled and they caused no damage, landing in forest. Villagers near Balakot said they had been woken by jets and four blasts in an area close to a JeM madrassa. But they denied heavy casualties and said the damage was largely to trees. One person was wounded. "We saw trees fallen down and one house damaged and four craters," Mohammad Ajmal, a 25-year-old who visited the site, told Reuters. An attack was widely predicted as Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, faced domestic outrage over the bomb attack in Pulwama blamed on JeM. Pakistan has long been accused of harbouring militant groups. JeM is primarily an anti-India group that forged ties with al-Qa'ida and has been on a UN terrorist list since 2001. India says JeM was also behind attacks in 2001 on the Indian parliament and in 2016 on an Indian air force base. Pakistan denies involvement in the Pulwama attack. Western diplomats now fear any counter retaliation by Pakistan could dangerously escalate the stand-off and trigger an international crisis. With an Indian general election only weeks away, Mr Modi had come under intense pressure to act. As news channels on both sides of the border became increasingly bellicose, a Pakistani military spokesman even alluded to its nuclear arsenal, highlighting the escalation in hostile rhetoric. The spokesman said a command and control authority meeting, which decides over the use of nuclear weapons, had been convened for today, adding: "You all know what that means." The Indian strike 50km from the frontier was thought to be the first inside Pakistani territory since their 1971 war. Indian military sources said 12 French Mirage 2000 fighters crossed the line of control dividing the adversaries in Kashmir at 3.15am local time. Later there were exchanges of fire over the line of control, with Pakistani officials claiming Indian troops killed four people including two children. Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] Donald Trump has found his Instagram posts flooded with comments from Chileans calling him a piss head. The phenomenon was spotted by Twitter users including journalist Jules Suzdaltsev, who noticed scores of people commenting on the American presidents posts with variations of the phrase cabeza de pichi. He wrote: For some beautiful reason Trumps latest instagram post is flooded with Chileans calling him a piss head and I could not be more excited. hi so Chileans are replying by the thousands go trumps insta post saying aCaezae Pichia which is the phonetic spelling of apiss heada in a specific Chilean accent, and I donat understand it but I support it. @realDonaldTrump good night piss head jonathan (@jlzoccoli) February 26, 2019 The phrase is used in Chilean Spanish to take the, ahem, mickey out of people with blond hair. And while the proliferation of it on Mr Trumps Instagram initially caused bewilderment to anyone outside of Chile, thankfully some clued up people were on hand to explain. The deluge of urine-based slurs is thanks to comedian Felipe Avello, who said in a routine on Chilean TV that he used the term to mock Mr Trump on social media. And it certainly appears to be catching on, with variations of the phrase appearing prominently in the comments on all of Mr Trumps recent Instagram posts. Its probably not the sort of response Mr Trump was hoping for as he embarks on his second summit with North Koreas leader Kim Jong-Un. Nigeria's incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari extended his early election lead yesterday based on official results from a third of the country's districts as the death toll from sporadic poll-related violence rose to 47. Provisional results announced in state capitals, but not yet confirmed by the election commission, showed Mr Buhari on course to taking a commanding lead over his main rival, businessman and former vice president Atiku Abubakar. Mr Abubakar's party has rejected the tallies thus far as "incorrect and unacceptable". Mr Buhari's party said the opposition was trying to discredit the returns from Saturday's election. Observers from the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union and the United Nations appealed to parties to wait for the results, expected later this week, before filing complaints. Voting took place on Saturday after a week-long delay which the election commission said was due to logistical problems. But the event - Africa's largest democratic exercise - has been marred by violence in which 47 people have been killed since Saturday, according to the Situation Room, a monitoring organisation linking various civic groups. Some of the deaths came about after gangs allied to either of the leading parties clashed with each other and police over the theft of ballot boxes and vote fraud. Police have not yet provided casualty figures. More than 260 people have been killed in total since the start of the campaign in October. The toll is lower than in previous elections but in the past, the worst unrest broke out after results were announced. Nigeria is Africa's top oil producer and biggest economy but it is struggling to emerge from a 2016 recession and corruption is rife. I fully agree with the letter by Margaret Docherty (Working hard to buy your own home doesnt involve luck, Letters, February 26). Being among the group who paid 18pc mortgage interest and 65pc income tax, we are now viewed as house blockers (if hospitalised, we would be bed blockers). The Government now wants us to go to an old folks farm and get out of the way. Silly us for looking after ourselves in the past. Name and address with editor Sinn Feins silence on crisis in Venezuela is deafening Not one whimper from Sinn Fein about the increasingly fraught and dangerous situation in Venezuela where people are being shot, starved and disappeared. This is the same Sinn Fein whose leader defended sending party members to Nicolas Maduros inauguration. The socialist party of Maduro has been dogged by reports of a rigged election, payments to officials and voters, and all the while supported by Sinn Fein. Maybe Sinn Fein, whose envoys in the IRA went to assist Farc rebels in 2001, were alleged to be the beneficiaries of $2m for election purposes, prefer the subjugation and annihilation of its population. This is the same party which undermined the selection of a candidate for the position of Chief Constable in Northern Ireland. This is the same party which allowed the assembly in Northern Ireland to be dormant for the past two years, thereby ensuring a lack of funding to much-needed services. This is the same party which refuses to sit in Westminster during the most crucial period in our islands history. Sinn Feins alternative is to point the finger somewhere else and to try to prevent us from looking closer at its brand off Marxist socialist politics, much similar to their friend in Westminster, Jeremy Corbyn. We are not fooled by their antics or their bluster but we will remember their support for dictators who kill, disappear and starve their people. Christy Galligan Letterkenny, Co Donegal Corbyn is not an anti-Semite, and his track record proves it Anti-Semitism is abhorrent. The vile vandalism and desecration of cemeteries and racial slurs towards Jews are unacceptable in this contemporary era at best and morally repugnant at worst. The heightened fear and anxiety in the British Jewish community is therefore understandable. However, Jeremy Corbyn is not an anti-Semite and he has demonstrated dedication, devotion and a staunch commitment to thwart racism in all forms. Muslims too have become victims of anti-Islamism. Attacks against Muslims in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum are skyrocketing. Time to preserve the rich mosaic that made Europe a magnet for migrants and a safe haven for those fleeing persecution, social alienation and marginalisation. Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob London, England Taoiseach should show more respect to sidelined Martin When speaking in Egypt at the summit of EU and Arab leaders, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was quoted as saying that Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin was always wagging his finger or sniping from the sidelines. Perhaps the Taoiseach should be mindful of the fact that, were it not for Mr Martin and the Fianna Fail party who, in the national interest due to Brexit, are keeping him in power, he himself might well by now have been sniping from the sidelines. Le gach dea ghui. Tim Maher Inse Geimhleach, Co Chorcai We shouldnt even consider taking back Isil savages Its one thing for our politicians to make inept decisions on the running of our country, but when our leader Leo Varadkar advocates allowing people with a murderous ideology to re-enter and freely live in our community, then I have no problem in proclaiming him an idiot. Surely he must know of the well-documented savage and murderous actions in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and even on the streets of western cities that Isil is responsible for. Ireland may be a neutral country but we have a responsibility to the world community to take part in the war against the savagery of the people carrying out crimes against humanity. Ireland must send a message that we stand with the civilised communities of the world. Anthony McGeough Dublin 24 Awkward conversations of the future made even harder Can you imagine the father and son conversation of the future? Father: Son, Id like to talk to you about the birds and the bees. Son: What are bees, Dad? Anthony Finnin John Carew Park, Limerick Member of Parliament for Selibe Phikwe West Dithapelo Koorapetse has accused Permanent Secretary in the minisrty of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development Pearl Ramokoka of being a bully. The clearly agitated MP asked Minister Thapelo Mabeo in Parliament: Are you aware that your Permanent Secretary is bullying her staff to the point where some people are even suffering from strokes? What is wrong in that ministry? Why are you not addressing problems in your ministry? Koorapetses outbursts were in response to Mabeos answer regarding one female officer on D3 salary scale in the ministry (name withheld) who has been paid close to half a million Pula for the past 24 months while she does not do any work. This happened after the officer disputed her transfer from the department of Labour where she worked as Principal Industrial Relations Officer to the department of Gender Affairs as Senior Gender Officer (D4) in the former Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs on the 28th September 2016. According to minister Mabeo, the officer did not honour the transfer claiming that the Director at her new duty station did not give her work. But, responding to Botswan Guardian through her attorney Letsweletse Martin Dingake this week, the employee explained that the reasons for her transfer were not advanced, neither was there consultation in accordance with The General Orders 12. I did not refuse the transfer, I recieved the transfer letter on the 4th October 2016 then I started winding up at Labour, on the 12 October 2016. I went to report at Gender Affairs, to the Director. During the introductory discussion then the Director indicated issues which in her view would adversely impact on my performance and progression, including the issue of diploma. She said that at the time the PS had just been given a qualification waiver allowing Diploma holders to progress beyond D3. The waiver was not applicable to Gender Affairs and Occupational Safety and Health Department because entry level is strictly Degree. It was only applicable to Labour, Immigration and Civil and National Registration (Omang). She returned me saying that she wants to talk to the PS. I made a written confirmation that I was returned and in an exchange of correspondence they indicated that I did not have proof of return. She later challenged the administrative decision to transfer her and the court ruled in her favour on 24th January 2019 and now occupies her original position as Principal Industrial Relations II, in the Department of Labour and Social Security. Koorapetse wanted minister Mabeo to say if he is aware that this employee has not been allocated work for 18 months following the transfer dispute and that she has been paid up to nearly half a million for two years, that is the total of around P498 000 but without work?. Mabeo said the officer could not be allocated work in the Ministry of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development as she was substantively an employee of the Ministry of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs. The minister did not deny that the officer was not given work. He said the fact that she has been reinstated but even up to now she is not being given work is something that is honestly appalling. He added, We cannot keep on paying an officer that is not doing any work, it is unacceptable. That is why I am saying I am going to follow up this matter. Mabeo told parliament that, I spoke to the officer just before I came to Parliament, and she has regrettably confirmed to me that even though she has been reinstated, she is not being given work. I will be going back to engage the executive at my ministry because this is administrative. Koorapetse asked why the Permanent Secretary cannot be surcharged for the loss of money through payment of work not done and the court case costs, to which Mabeo said the provision under which surcharge could be invoked was deemed irrelevant to this particular case. Surcharge is provided for in Section 43 of the Public Finance Management Act Cap: 54:01. The circumstances under which the power of surcharge may be exercised are varied, but mainly involve wilful default or negligence pertaining to custody of public finance and property. But Koorapetse was not done with the Minister. You know I have several questions coming your way regarding your Permanent Secretary. What is it that you are doing substantively and properly to deal with the Permanent Secretary? Keorapetse asked Mabeo if he realises that he has a problem with his Permanent Secretary and that there will be many such cases of litigation, which the ministry will lose, and you are still telling us that it will not be proper to surcharge the Permanent Secretary? Mabeo promised to follow up the matter. I do agree with you, like I have earlier alluded to. There is no way we can be paying an officer who is just sitting in the office, who is supposed to be providing a service to the people. I fully agree with you, it is very awkward. Not only is the Permanent Secretary allegedly bullying staff members to a point where some employees are suffering from strokes, some officers are said to be rendered irrelevant and allegedly transferred to departments where their skills are of no use. However in an interview with Botswana Guardian the PS dismissed the MPs rantings saying he was misiformed by some employees who just dont want to work. Successful politicians are remembered best for the paths they choose; Theresa May's tenure at 10 Downing Street will be distinguished for the roads not taken. Faced with a mass walkout of ministers, the British prime minister has been forced to offer the House of Commons the choice of no-deal or delaying Brexit, should MPs fail to back her withdrawal agreement. It will be hoped the prospect of a no-deal crash-out has receded, but the febrile atmosphere that has gripped Westminster does not lend itself to certainty. Although compelled into what was a humiliating climbdown and a retreat from her infamous red-lines she has still not brought definition to what happens next, at best the number of known unknowns has been reduced. Brexit has produced many days of drama, but yesterday's shenanigans had an air of desperation about them. Mrs May was beaten down into back-tracking only after 15 minsters - led by David Gauke, the justice secretary, Amber Rudd, the work and pensions secretary, and Greg Clark, the business secretary - had all threatened a revolt. How much of a concession she has actually made is open to question. Sarah Wollaston, one of three Conservatives who defected to The Independent Group of MPs, did not believe Mrs May has taken no-deal off the table at all. She has simply held out the possibility of a short delay. Indeed, Mrs May was anxious to make clear she was opposed to a delay, which "cannot take no-deal off the table" - but needs must. The old Tory warhorse Ken Clarke cut through the nonsense adroitly when he warned of "a new cliff edge at the end of June". He predicted the UK would "continue the present pantomime performance through the next three months". Yet unperturbed by the icebergs on the horizon, Mrs May breezily insisted from the bridge: "I believe that if we have to, we will ultimately make a success of a no-deal." She will now focus on securing assurances from Brussels that the "backstop" will not trap the UK within the EU indefinitely. The trouble is, even if she does wring concessions from the EU, they cannot trump the legally binding Withdrawal Agreement. Besides, getting buy-in from the DUP and the Conservative Brexiteers' Economic Research Group looks an impossibly tall order. Mrs May has been coerced into a tactical retreat and she has won a little more time. What she does with it will be crucial. There is an inherent danger in running down the clock as the poet Delmore Schwartz wrote: "Time is the school in which we learn, Time is the fire in which we burn." The worry is Mrs May has led a charge into a blind alley. The next time she swings a kick at the can it may not disappear into the middle distance, but rather ricochet back in her face. What is it with male politicians continuing to exert control over female reproductive systems? In a disgracefully cavalier approach reinforcing the ongoing discrimination between the sexes, the normally mild-mannered Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has imperiously banned the use of contraceptive pills, patches and injections, starting immediately. "Steroidal contraceptives are a significant risk in respect of pollution to both the environment and the food chain," he announced last week in an imperious missive that you would imagine might have garnered a little more attention in the press. "The main challenge in administering these steroids is that each female must get the correct dose the use of contraceptives for females would have a significant effect on male stress and behaviour." Male stress! Not a dicky bird out of the National Women's Council. Nada. But, he added ominously, vasectomies are also being curtailed as they are now deemed "inefficient" and somewhat perilous. Evidently giving the matter a bracing level of consideration, he added, "Many males would likely roam urban areas in search of oestrus females increasing the likelihood of being involved in road traffic accidents". Crikey. An Bord Snip has taken on a new renaissance. The idea of hundreds of blokes roaming the streets sniffing out ovulating women before being run over by a Ford Fiesta is the ultimate scaremongering. Is it all a crafty ploy to distract us from Brexit? On further scrutiny, it turns out he's talking about deer, rather than old dears. After animal rights activists objected to the culling of 34 Bambis in the Phoenix Park recently they called for contraceptive jabs to be administered to control the population, rather than the OPWs 'Deer Hunter' approach. But apparently, they're too difficult to catch, more than a bit temperamental and run scared of the needle. That's wimmin for you, as one former Taoiseach once so elegantly pointed out. To help defray costs, perhaps the OPW could set up a stall at the Castleknock exit and sell us some cheap venison sausages on the way home. Just a thought. Why the weather will always be a go-to topic It may all seem like a distant memory now, but this week exactly one year ago we were all basking in four feet of snow. Terrified mothers clung to the last slice of Brennans Bread, the Army was deployed to shovel pathways for RTE news crews, and the airport was gamely trying to get planes off the ground with tearful passengers desperate to get to sunnier climes, as we collectively wondered how Sweden and Chicago manage. The pubs, naturally, were packed. You may be enjoying the pleasant feeling of wearing a T-shirt at the moment, but it really does go to underline why the weather is such a fail-safe topic in Irish discourse. For state of the art on budget, ask Center Parcs Bad weather of course won't be a concern for the thousands of holidaymakers flocking to the sub-tropical climate of er, Longford. The fantastical Center Parcs is set to open and details have emerged of the wonderful amenities visitors will enjoy. Amazonian rain-forests, restaurants, bike trails, Burmese palm trees, lodges for up to 2,500 guests at a time in 500 state-of-the-art villas. It was originally due to open in November, but it's been brought forward to August, as building work progressed faster than expected. It will come in on budget, at 233m. Any chance they could be given the contract for the Children's Hospital? Speaking at the party's ard fheis on Saturday, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin told delegates "we have to get through Brexit first and then we must focus on showing the Irish people that there is an alternative". It was a telling remark and one that should chill delegates to the bone. Fianna Fail, as a silent partner in the current Fine Gael Government, is in danger of fading permanently into oblivion. Publicly admitting the party is more concerned with Brexit planning than marketing its policies will not help efforts to rebrand Fianna Fail before an upcoming election. Brexit does represent an existential challenge for this country. But Fianna Fail is not leading the negotiations. It does not have to organise the diplomatic, legislative or civil service response to the UK's exit from the EU. Why then must it consume all of the party's energy - to the point that emphasising what an alternative Fianna Fail government would represent to the electorate is put on the long finger? At the very least, the party's conciliatory approach to Brexit, in adopting a united front with the Government, could be pursued in tandem with its efforts to create clear blue water between its policies and Fine Gael's. Even the most dyed-in-the-wool Fianna Fail supporter would have to concede there is little evidence of this happening. A case in point was the ridiculous grandstanding over whether the Confidence and Supply Agreement would be renewed. As far back as last July, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar requested an extension of the existing arrangement to 2020, a proposal that was given short shrift by Mr Martin, who vowed he wouldn't be giving Mr Varadkar "carte blanche". Then, in September, the two men started exchanging pompous voluminous letters on the subject, with Mr Martin insisting the existing Confidence and Supply deal would have to be reviewed before any extension was agreed. That process began after the Budget, on October 9, and continued for more than two months, to December 12, when Mr Martin announced a renewal of the existing agreement. So, after months of public spats and high dudgeon, what concessions did Fianna Fail manage to extract from Fine Gael in return for its continued support? Nothing. Not a single thing. In fact, it doesn't appear Fianna Fail even demanded anything. On the basis of that result, Mr Martin could have saved everyone a lot of hassle and just agreed to Mr Varadkar's initial request back in July. Embarrassingly, when Sinn Fein attacked that decision, it was left to Fine Gael Minister Simon Coveney to defend Fianna Fail's strategy. He told the Dail that Fianna Fail deserved "credit" for its approach and assured the House it did not mean the party "will not be in opposition putting us under pressure on housing, health reform and a whole range of other issues". When a political party's biggest cheerleader in parliament is the governing party it is supposed to be holding to account, then it's fair to say that things have taken a decided turn for the worse. Mr Martin said he wouldn't give Fine Gael carte blanche, but can he explain what pressure Fianna Fail is exerting on the Government to ensure improvements to the delivery of housing and health care? Fianna Fail has made much of extracting a commitment to create a 300m affordable housing scheme, but the Government will not even let it take credit for that - if it ever materialises. In the Dail last week, Fianna Fail's housing spokesman, Darragh O'Brien, insisted the proposal was a priority for his party and asked when Minister Eoghan Murphy intended to publish regulations in relation to the scheme. In reply, Mr Murphy stated "the affordability schemes were already there, but I very much appreciate Fianna Fail's support for additional funding for the existing affordability scheme". Ouch. The renewal of the Confidence and Supply Agreement was the perfect opportunity to stamp a Fianna Fail logo on some of the measures being pursued by Government, but instead the party just rolled over. The reluctance to force the issue, and demand quantifiable targets in return for continued support, suggests that it, and not Fine Gael, had the weaker hand in the negotiations. Mr Martin and his front bench will argue the party is acting in the national interest. However, it is legitimate to point out that Fine Gael's reliance on its continued support creates opportunities as well as obligations. Those opportunities have been squandered and Fianna Fail, at the next election, will find it difficult to criticise Fine Gael's approach to issues like health and housing when it declined to force any change at a time when it wielded significant influence. Worse, Fianna Fail will find it hard to disentangle itself from its association with Fine Gael, with both parties now straddling the centre ground and little to distinguish them from each other. The eagerness of heavyweight TDs to jump ship, and set their sights on a career in the European Parliament, suggests there is a feeling within the party that its prospects, and theirs, are limited. To date, Cork TD Billy Kelleher and Cavan's Brendan Smith have announced their intention to contest the European elections, while Offaly's Barry Cowen is said to be considering standing. Given Mr Martin has explicitly stated he would prefer if sitting TDs did not put their names forward, it suggests his authority within the party is waning - and not just among the usual suspects like John McGuinness and Eamon O Cuiv. The decision not to withdraw support for the Government while Brexit looms on the horizon is a sensible one, but Fianna Fail supporters may well ask why it is that their party, and not Fine Gael, is the one to make all the sacrifices. Further, given no one knows how long the Brexit fiasco is going to last, Fianna Fail should be wasting no time in selling its unique message to the people. The reluctance to do that means Mr Martin could be accused of using Brexit as a convenient excuse to disguise bigger problems within his party - but the shambles in the UK cannot be used as a pretext for inaction forever. To date, Brexit has been stuffed into the yawning chasm that should be filled with policy proposals, party positions on social issues and a description of what the party stands for, post the Celtic Tiger crash. Once Brexit is squared away, the Government will quickly collapse and the danger is, at that point, it will be too late for Fianna Fail to fill this void. Probe: A forensic officer at the scene of the shooting at the M1 Retail Park in Drogheda, Co Louth. A 40-year-old man was fighting for his life last night after being shot three times in front of children at a busy retail park in broad daylight. A criminal gang with strong links to Dublin's drugs scene is suspected of carrying out yesterday's drive-by gun attack in Co Louth - the latest escalation in the bitter Drogheda feud which has been raging for almost a year. The victim, Brendan Maguire, remained in a critical condition after being shot in the neck and the body. He also sustained facial injuries during the attack. He underwent emergency surgery in hospital where he was under armed Garda protection. He is the older brother of paralysed shooting victim Owen Maguire (35), who survived a murder attempt last July which enflamed the gang warfare in the town. A violent young local criminal who was recently released from jail has emerged as an early suspect in the case but there have been no arrests so far. Brendan Maguire had just left a gym at the M1 Retail Park in Drogheda shortly after 2.45pm and was getting into a white Vauxhall Astra with two other men in the carpark when he was shot at around five times with a handgun. The other two men were not injured. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Gardai investigate a shooting of a man at the M1 retail park in Drogheda. Picture:Arthur Carron Gardai investigate a shooting of a man at the M1 retail park in Drogheda. Picture:Arthur Carron Gardai investigate a shooting of a man at the M1 retail park in Drogheda. Picture:Arthur Carron Gardai investigate a shooting of a man at the M1 retail park in Drogheda. Picture:Arthur Carron Gardai investigate a shooting of a man at the M1 retail park in Drogheda. Picture:Arthur Carron / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gardai investigate a shooting of a man at the M1 retail park in Drogheda. Picture:Arthur Carron Emergency services rushed to the scene, with Maguire being driven to Our Lady of Lourdes's Hospital in the white Astra. One worker at the retail park, who asked not to be identified, told the Irish Independent that a mother and her young son, who was described as being about seven years old, had just pulled into a parking space across from the victim's car when the shooting began. "They were shaking and had to be taken into the toy store to calm down. I didn't see it but I came out after when I heard the bangs and a car was driving away very fast," the worker said. Another man working at the retail park said the shots were fired from a vehicle parked next to the victim's car, and that it appeared to be waiting for the men. The car park was filled with shoppers and gym-goers at the time of the shooting and it was carried out opposite the Smyths toy store and Woodies DIY shop. A Garda spokesman said last night: "At about 2.45pm, a man in his 30s left a premises in the M1 Retail Park in Drogheda and got into a white Vauxhall Astra with two other men. A black Volkswagen Passat with the partial registration 132D pulled up close to the Astra and a number of shots were fired into the Astra. "The man in his 30s, a passenger in the car, was struck at least once. The other two occupants were not injured. The driver of the white Astra managed to drive from the scene and went to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital where the injured man is being treated for serious injuries. The black Passat also drove from the scene and this car has not yet been located. "Gardai have sealed off two crime scenes and a technical examination is underway at the M1 Retail Park and at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital where the white Astra is located," the spokesman added in an appeal for witnesses. A garda could be seen placing several spent cartridges into evidence bags and the M1 Retail Park remained sealed-off for much of the afternoon. Officers are also examining a burned out car located in Termonfeckin yesterday afternoon. Scouting Ireland has been told to reconsider organising overnight trips and review how children in its care are supervised in the wake of sex abuse allegations, the Childrens Minister has revealed. Tusla, the child and family agency, has written to Scouting Ireland chiefs in recent days recommending changes to how children are supervised. It also recommended an urgent review of the manner in which Scouting Ireland is managing disclosures about child protection concerns. Childrens Minister Katherine Zappone said she became aware of the letter today and told the Dail very robust action will be taken in the coming hours to address Tuslas concerns. The concerns, outlined in a letter from Tusla to Scouting Ireland include: *That a proposed meeting between Scouting Ireland Board of Management is progressed without delay. *Secondly the actions of key personnel holding a role in safeguarding within Scouting Ireland may have been comprised and that further consideration may have to be given to this. *Consideration should be given to nominate the CEO of Scouting Ireland to be the principal liaison in relation to work on Children First. *A sub-committee should be put in place to review the child safeguarding statement and procedures throughout the organisation. *An urgent review of the manner in which Scouting Ireland manage current child protection concerns and disclosures from children should commence. *There should be an immediate review of the supervision of children involved in scouting. *Scouting Ireland should consider the viability of continuing with overnight trips. *Consideration should be given to ensure the personnel manning the helpline are independent of Scouting Ireland. Ms Zappone said action will b e taken in the coming hours to address these concerns. "There are serious worries about the issues raised within Scouting I am fully aware of this and as a result of placed this as a top priority for me, and have been fully engaged with the issues involved," she said. "I have placed these recommendations in the public domain because I believe that parents have a right to know the views those who are charged with protecting and safeguarding our children and who work with no other agenda. To date, 313 alleged complainants in relation to historic abuse at Scouting Ireland have been made. These relate to 237 people suspected of alleged abuse. There have been 175 calls to the Scouting Ireland helpline, 49 calls to Tusla and 5 calls to An Garda Siochana. However, scout leaders and families said that scrapping camping trips would ruin childrens rite of passage to gain freedom and grow away from home. Kim Cahill, a mother-of-three from Newcastle, Co Dublin, is a scout leader and she and her son, 12, have benefited hugely by being part of the scouting community. "If scout leaders cant take children on camping trips, theres no point having scouts at all because you cant teach outdoor skills without going camping," she said. "This is just devastating for children and I do understand from a parents point of view, we just want our children to be safe but as a leader, Ive gone through child protection training. The ones who suffer in this are the children. Kim, who had earlier spoken to Liveline on RTE Radio One, told how children had come out of their shell when participating in camping activities. "The Government should be asking all organisations to not take kids away, if they are going to ask one to reconsider trips. Just where do you draw the line?" she said. "I have watched children coming out of themselves in scouts. The difference in them, as they take part in activities, is phenomenal, Kim said. Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell, chairman of the Oireachtas committee on children and youth affairs, told Liveline he would be taking his own seven-year-old child out of the Beaver Scouts in the wake of the new focus on security. "As a parent, Ive lost that confidence. I can only speak by saying Ill withdraw my son from Scouting Ireland. My son wont be attending til this matter has been resolved," he said. Scouting Ireland boasts around 55,000 members but if the State was to place a similar child safety spotlight on all groups that take children away on trips, the consequences would be far reaching. Expand Close Deputy Alan Farrell TD. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Deputy Alan Farrell TD. Lucy Masterson, chief executive of Irish Youth Foundation, who provide grants to organisations who work to support young people and children in vulnerable circumstances, said they ensure all the strictest processes are in place within the organisations they support. All the projects we work with, have strict governance, Ms Masterson said. I have garda vetting and I wouldnt ever be on my own without a youth worker present to safeguard young people. Many of the groups do take young people away and these are young people coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. The trips provide wonderful opportunities for them. Its only possible due to committed youth workers following protocols. All I can say is, giving young people the opportunity to take part in Summer and training programmes, is a right of passage young people should be allowed to experience in the care of fully vetted adults. There should be no reason young people should be denied. Labour TD Sean Sherlock called for responsibility of a victims phone line operated by Scouting Ireland to be handed over to an independent body. I am concerned about the fact it is Scouting Ireland itself that is managing the phone line so that if anyone have concerns it is Scouting Ireland they should go to, or the gardai or Tusla. It is very hard to have confidence if you are expected to go back to that organisation to report any allegations of abuse if you have already been traumatised by that organisation, he said. Chair of the Oireachtas Children's Committee Alan Farrell is expected to write to Scouting Ireland seeking an appearance at the committee as soon as possible. In a statement tonight Scouting Ireland questioned Tuslas allegations and said safeguarding children is a priority. A Scouting Ireland spokeswoman said overnight trips are "an experience every scout should have the opportunity to enjoy". "To allege that "the actions of key personnel holding a role in safeguarding may have been compromised" is a serious statement to make and we would like to understand why Tusla has made this statement. "This is a most serious allegation, which we would have responded to immediately, had we known or understood Tuslas concerns. It has not been raised in any of our meetings with Tusla." Missing: Noel Leeson (left) and Anthony Keegan (right) have not been heard of for a fortnight since they went to Birmingham Two Irishmen who had been missing for three and a half weeks have been found safe and well. Noel Leeson (34) and Anthony Keegan (47), from Tallaght, are understood to have travelled by ferry from Dublin to Holyhead. From there, it's understood they drove to Birmingham where they had arranged to meet with someone. The men were last seen on February 3, but gardai confirmed today that they have been located safe and well. "Thank you for your assistance in this matter," a garda spokesperson said. Speaking last week, Mags Murphy, the mother of Mr Leeson's two children, told the Irish Independent; "I last heard from them on January 27, when Noel said they got to where they were going. It was between 12 and 1am and they said they'd got there. "He had rung me before they went... Noel is always good at keeping in touch, to say goodnight to the kids and things, so it is worrying that they haven't been in touch and we can't get in touch with them." Embargoed: A still image from the CCTV footage of missing Icelander Jon Jonsson (41) walking in Dublin, the last time he was seen Gardai released CCTV footage of the last known steps of missing Icelander Jon Jonsson on Monday, but it came with a caveat - news organisations couldn't publish it until 10.15pm. That's because RTE's 'Crimecall' was going to air the footage first - at 9.35pm on Monday. And everyone else would have to wait. Mr Jonsson (41) vanished after leaving the Bonnington Hotel in Dublin more than two weeks ago. Common sense would suggest valuable CCTV and information should be released to the public as soon as it's made available. It must then be questioned why gardai embargoed such footage until after it aired on RTE's 'Crimecall'. Gardai had released 'stills' of the CCTV footage to news organisations on Sunday, so they obviously had access to the CCTV footage since then at least. But the initial email containing a video link to the CCTV footage was only sent to media organisations at 8pm on Monday. And it came with an embargo. "Gardai wish to renew their appeal to the public for assistance in tracing 41-year-old Jon Jonsson," the statement said. "The investigation is being highlighted on tonight's 'Crimecall'... Please note that there is an embargo on the use of this CCTV until 10.15pm." 'Crimecall' plays a "vital role in assisting An Garda Siochana with its work on various live investigations", gardai say. But does that mean other media organisations should be restricted from publishing CCTV which could help a time-sensitive case? Or was the embargo introduced so the footage would be exclusive to 'Crimecall'? 'Crimecall' is there to provide a public service, but it has been known to refuse showing CCTV that aired elsewhere first. My parents were victim of an armed robbery five years ago and the whole incident was captured by security cameras. They released the footage to Independent.ie and Herald.ie in a bid to help identify the perpetrators. People came forward with information, but no arrests had yet been made, so they then contacted 'Crimecall' in the hope they would broadcast the incident. They were told no. The reason? Gardai decided what aired on the show and it was likely they wouldn't use it as it had "appeared elsewhere". That approach isn't really conducive to catching criminals. Gardai issuing CCTV videos to news organisations via a press release is rare. The embargo added to the unusualness. "An Garda Siochana is releasing CCTV footage aired on 'Crimecall' tonight for the purposes of assisting in a missing persons investigation," the press release said. "This footage is not being released for any other purpose. While every effort has been made to ensure that third parties are not identifiable on the footage, please ensure that you are satisfied that no other parties, other than the missing person are identifiable. If/when the missing person is found it is your responsibility to ensure that this CCTV footage is removed from all your online media sources." Media websites always publish missing person appeals released by gardai and often they help trace the person and encourage people to come forward with information. It begs the question as to why the footage was only released on Monday night, when CCTV images had been released at the weekend. There's probably some GDPR reason behind it which involves a convoluted explanation, but one would think it's in the interests of Mr Jonsson's family that this detail would be made available to the public as soon as possible. Media organisations are competitive, but when it comes to missing people that really shouldn't be the case. 'Crimecall' may be broadcast on RTE, but it shouldn't delay other news sites from showing important footage for fear it might attract fewer viewers. When asked if the embargo was a request by RTE, an RTE spokesperson said: "All decisions around CCTV footage used on 'Crimecall' are operational decisions for An Garda Siochana. RTE does not asked for footage to be embargoed." Asked about the reason for the embargo, the Garda Press Office said: "Firstly, thank you for your support for missing person investigations. Thank you for your feedback on this matter, which will be taken on-board if similar situations arise in the future. "An Garda Siochana uses embargoes to assist the media while protecting ongoing investigations." THE government has launched new proposals on housing for older people including possible incentives to encourage them to downsize to smaller homes. Junior health minister Jim Daly and junior housing minister Damien English this morning announced a new government policy statement entitled 'Housing Options for Our Aging Population'. Among 40 action points announced were: Options to incentivise older people who wish to "right-size" to smaller homes. Implementing housing committee recommendations on reviewing and adding funding to the Housing Adaptation Grant Scheme. A blueprint for Approved Housing bodies and developers on how to construct or refurbish housing for older people. Funding innovative approaches to developing new housing options including home-sharing and house-splitting. The policy statement was said to reaffirm "the strong government commitment to policies that support older people to live in their own homes and communities with dignity and independence for as long as possible". Mr English said it was a "good news story for older citizens" and in the longer term will "enhance the lives of all citizens of Ireland". Mr English emphasised that the policy proposals are about offering older people choices, whether to adapt a home or "rightsize" by moving into a smaller home. He said that at the moment "that choice is not there". Mr Daly said that the statement is "just the start" and the ministers are committed to setting up an interdepartmental implementation group - with an independent chairperson - to deliver on the promises the government has made. The six key principles that form the basis of the policy are "aging in place" - facilitating older people to live in their existing communities; supporting urban renewal; promoting sustainable lifetime housing; using assistive technology; staying socially connected and working together with stakeholders. Kevin and Margo Greaney with a photo of their late brother Michael and his wife Valerie. Photo: Michael MacSweeney/Provision THE brother of a man who received State mental health supports before dying in a double stabbing said the Government and Health Service Executive (HSE) should be ashamed over how families impacted by such tragedies have been treated. Kevin Greaney, whose brother Michael (53) was involved in a Cork murder-suicide in December 2014, said it is "nothing short of a disgrace" how families have effectively been ignored in Ireland over their quest for answers following such tragedies. Mr Greaney warned that he couldn't even bear to watch the RTE documentary on the Hawe tragedy in which four people died. Clodagh Hawe (39) and her three children, Liam (13), Niall (11) and Ryan (6) were killed by their husband and father, Alan Hawe (40), on August 29 2016 in Cavan. Clodagh's mother and sister, Mary and Jacqueline, warned that they have unanswered questions over the tragedy - and have been refused access to the Garda files and relevant investigations. Statistics compiled by Una Butler, who lost her husband and two daughters to a murder-suicide nine years ago, revealed that 43 children have been killed by a parent in Ireland between 2000-2016. Expand Close Michael Greaney pictured with his wife Valerie Photo: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Michael Greaney pictured with his wife Valerie Photo: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision Una's husband, John, took his own life on November 16 2010 after killing his daughters, Zoe (6) and Ella (2). John had been receiving HSE assistance for mental health problems. Una has since devoted herself to promoting better mental healthcare. Of the 30 cases she identified, a startling 50pc involved perpetrators known to Irish psychiatric services. Expand Close Niall, Ryan and Liam Hawe and their mum Clodagh / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Niall, Ryan and Liam Hawe and their mum Clodagh "I campaigned and still do for family involvement where a parent is suffering with their mental health - especially for the welfare of children," Una said. "Why treat a patient as if they are living in isolation? "There should be automatic in-depth investigations into these horrific tragedies - firstly for the families but also to learn from them," she added. Kevin Greaney said that, in the case of his family, they were likewise ignored in their quest for answers. Expand Close Killed: Clodagh Hawe was murdered along with her children / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Killed: Clodagh Hawe was murdered along with her children "We were promised we would be briefed on Michael's treatment and the obvious failures in his treatment regime. We were promised a copy of the report into Michael's treatment review. "But we are still in the dark over what happened. I want the HSE to know that no one is above the law in Ireland. Sadly my belief is that the Government are effectively protecting the HSE. Expand Close Clodagh Hawes mother Mary Coll (left) and sister Jacqueline Connolly arrive at Cavan Court House for the inquest / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Clodagh Hawes mother Mary Coll (left) and sister Jacqueline Connolly arrive at Cavan Court House for the inquest "I don't want any other family to go through the nightmare that we have suffered. "I want lessons to be learned." Michael Greaney, a Naval Service veteran, was admitted to the Central Mental Hospital (CMH) in Dublin after he attempted to kill a teenager and then take his own life in 2013. He was admitted under Section 5(2) of the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act in May 2013. However, he was released from full-time residential care after just six weeks. He then spent the next 18 months effectively being treated in his own Cork community, forbidden only to return to his family home. Even that restriction was lifted when Michael, supported by his wife Valerie (49), took legal action for him to be allowed return home. In December 2014, a short time after being allowed back to his family home in Cobh, Co Cork, Michael fatally stabbed his wife, Valerie, before taking his own life. He also stabbed his eldest daughter but the brave young woman managed to escape the property and has since fully recovered from he injuries. A coroner's inquest in January 2017 heard harrowing details of the December 2014 tragedy in Cobh, Co Cork. Kevin Greaney said he doesnt want any other family to suffer their heartache and he warned hard lessons urgently need to be learned from the circumstances of his brothers death. How on earth can a man who was treated in the Central Mental Hospital for something as serious as happened in 2013 receive such a short amount of residential care?, he asked. Even the treatment programmes for people with alcohol problems are longer. I have absolutely no doubt that Michaels death and the tragedy that happened was a direct result of the chronic under-funding of Irelands mental health system for years, he said. The HSE insisted it has tried to work closely with the family on the issues involved. "All parties concerned have been given the opportunity to comment for factual correctness etc., prior to the submission of the final draft by the investigators to the commissioner," a spokesperson said. "Local mental health services have also provided support to the family and this remains available at the family's request." However, Kevin said his family remain convinced that the December 2014 tragedy was entirely avoidable. "We wanted an independent inquiry into what happened with Michael," Mr Greaney said. "All I want is the truth - but we have been ignored and kept in the dark. It is unforgivable the way my family has been treated by the HSE and the Government. "The HSE promised that our questions would be treated as a priority so as not to cause further hurt and suffering. But the opposite has been the case. "We still don't have the report into Michael's treatment," Kevin said. "It is absolutely unforgivable the way our family has been treated over the past four years." "This is about finding out the truth and ensuring that lessons are learned and other families don't suffer our pain and loss." Kevin said he believes an independent national public inquiry is now the only option as his family has lost all faith in the HSE's ability to examine its own dealings with such cases. He said he had received "not even the courtesy of an acknowledgement" over his call for a national public inquiry into the mental healthcare dealings with other vulnerable adults involved in a number of recent murder-suicides. He warned that Ireland must urgently learn lessons from the shocking spate of such tragedies over recent years - and claimed both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have shown no interest in mental health issues. Mr Greaney said it was clear that major issues need to be clarified surrounding the mental healthcare dealings with some individuals involved in murder-suicides, existing national support services and the adequacy of resources for Irelands psychiatric services. I have said it again and again that we have no problem with any doctor that may have treated my brother but I have a problem with the system and the chronic lack of resources that is provided for mental healthcare professionals in this country. These kinds of tragedies will keep happening until we learn lessons and put proper systems and resources in place, he added. The mother of two young boys who were murdered by their father says putting a mental health diagnosis on Alan Hawe is a "dangerous thing to do" as it almost excuses his actions. Saying she is fully supportive of the family of teacher Clodagh Hawe, Kathleen Chada says there is often a rush to use "mental health" as a reason for such murders. Ms Chada's two sons - Eoghan (10) and Ruairi (5) - were murdered by their father Sanjeev Chada in July 2013. He was subsequently found guilty of their murder and jailed for life. Ms Chada said there are some similarities between the murders of her two sons and the murder of Ms Hawe (39), her three sons Liam (13), Niall (11) and six-year-old Ryan. Alan Hawe murdered his family at their home in Ballyjamesduff in Co Cavan in August 2016. Hawe took his own life after he committed the murders. He wrote letters to family members and transferred money from the family's joint account to his own current account after he murdered his wife and sons, and before he took his own life. Expand Close Niall, Ryan and Liam Hawe and their mum Clodagh / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Niall, Ryan and Liam Hawe and their mum Clodagh "Quite similar to Sanjeev, people say 'he must have been insane'. Well, he wasn't. He didn't fit the criteria. He was just an evil man. Because Alan Hawe is dead, there's the sense of rewriting that narrative," Ms Chada said. "I think it does a disservice to the family, to Clodagh and the boys and a disservice to other families out there and other potential victims. Not everybody struggling with depression or mental illness is going to kill their children. "I spent the first number of months [after the murder of her sons] going would it be easier for me to say my husband was insane rather than my husband is an evil b*****d and killed my children? "Of course it would be easier if he was insane because it puts a diagnosis on something and we're always looking for a diagnosis, a label. "But sometimes people are just evil. That's the only word and that's the only word we can use for people like Sanjeev or Alan Hawe and the meticulous level of planning they both put into trying to put the blame on others - Sanjeev saying 'Mammy's getting rid of me' [to her sons] and Alan Hawe saying he 'didn't want Clodagh to clean up after his mess'. "We all want things to be easy and to try and explain something but you're trying to explain the inexplicable. "There will be more cases unfortunately so we have to learn from them and what has happened. "There's been a lot of saying we need to learn, but not enough being done." Ms Chada said she fully supports the family of Clodagh Hawe - her mother Mary Coll and sister Jacqueline Connolly - in their calls for a new enquiry into their murders. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan last night said he spoke to the family earlier and he will meet Ms Coll and Ms Connolly on Thursday to talk about "any possible inquiry". The two women told RTE's 'Claire Byrne Live' on Monday they have unanswered questions over the tragedy - and have been refused access to the Garda file and relevant investigations. Yesterday in the Dail, the Government was urged to ensure Clodagh's family get access to basic information pertaining to the investigation. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said the tragic murders of Clodagh, Liam, Niall and Ryan "stretches our human capacity to understand". The family also want all information shared with families who lose loved ones to familicide as soon as is practical, after they had to wait 16 months for a copy of a letter that was left by Alan. Mr Martin said: "There is no compelling reason why basic information could not have been given to Clodagh's family much earlier." The Taoiseach said what happened "must be beyond anyone's worst nightmares and it was truly a terrible crime" but noted there were concerns about privileged information given to gardai during an investigation. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article please contact: Samaritans on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.ie Parliament has approved a motion to reconsider its decision to ban plastic bags and introduce the plastic levy policy. Presenting the motion on Friday, Member of Parliament for Gaborone North Haskins Nkaigwa said the standard of plastic carrier bags should be maintained by businesses and government should educate consumers on the danger of plastics on the environment. Government should also encourage research and innovation on the adoption of environmental friendly carrier bags not made from plastics and be adopted over time without compromising the relevant industries, said Nkaigwa. Nkaigwa said if the policy to collect levy is introduced jobs can be created and other development projects could be done. The environment itself presents viable opportunities for job creation and economic development but the ministry is not considering it, he said. Last year the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism reversed the decision to ban the use of plastic bags stating that it is still in discussions with the industry players. According to Kgalagadi Plastics Industries (KPI) Managing Director, Raj Patel government could have raised about P480 million if the levy could have been implemented. Considering our production in a month, we produce 10 million bags and the levy would be charged at 40 thebe per plastic, so government could be collecting P4 million in a month. This means P48 million could be collected every year and now government could have made P480 million in 10 years, said Patel. For his part, Minister of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, Kitso Mokaila said they are currently in discussions with the manufacturers and other stakeholders to come up with the best solution to their concerns. Speaking to Botswana Guardian, Patel said that they are currently looking for ways to come up with biodegradable material and they are suggesting that government should not ban the use of plastic bags. We have engaged consultants from UK and they are coming next week. Government should not ban the use of plastic bags because the problem is not the plastic bags but the people. Government could be educating the consumers about the use of plastic bags, said Patel. He said currently the plastic manufacturing industry employs more than 800 people so jobs are going to be lost if government can ban the use of plastics. We need to find a better solution for our country. If we look at other countries like UK, USA they still use plastic bags but they have policies and have raised awareness on the effects of plastics on the environment, he said. Last year June the ministry issued a statement indicating that effective 1st November the use of shopping plastic carrier bags would be prohibited and offenders would face charges of seven months imprisonment or fined an amount of P5000. 00. However the ministry pointed out that there has never been a detailed research done locally on the dangers of plastic bags but stated that the country must strike a balance between economic growth and environmental conservation. Currently there are more than 40 countries that have banned, partly banned or taxed single use plastic bags, including China, France, Rwanda, Kenya and Italy. Patrycja was described as having the most beautiful smile A nine-year-old girl who died in a road crash in Co Armagh this week has been remembered as "a kind, gentle, outgoing little girl with the most beautiful smile". Patrycja, a pupil at Hardy Memorial Primary School in her home village of Richhill, was the rear seat passenger in a Peugeot 407 that crashed on the Hamiltonsbawn Road near Armagh shortly after 9am on Monday. She died at the scene as a result of her injuries. Her surname has not been released at the request of her family, who are understood to be originally from Poland. The driver, a man in his 60s, was treated in hospital for non life-threatening injuries. A special assembly was held at Hardy Memorial Primary yesterday morning in memory of the popular pupil. In a statement, a spokesperson said the whole school community has been left "numbed" by Patrycja's tragic death. "The entire Hardy Memorial Primary School community is deeply shocked, saddened and numbed to learn of the passing of our Primary 6 pupil Patrycja. "Patrycja was a kind, gentle, outgoing little girl with the most beautiful smile. She loved singing and enjoyed her many outings with our school choir. "She endeared us all with her willingness to help and support others. "Patrycja was extremely popular with both staff and pupils and we are profoundly saddened by her death. "Our hearts go out to Patrycja's parents and wider family circle; they are foremost in our thoughts and prayers at this sad time," the statement added. Chairman of the school's board of governors, Alderman Jim Speers, added: "I have spoken to Hardy Memorial staff who are providing support to the pupils in her class and the wider school, who have all been deeply affected by what has happened. "She was an extremely popular pupil with her classmates and teachers alike. "It is a lot for young children to take in and I must commend Hardy Memorial's principal, Mrs Anderson and her staff for the professional way in which they dealt with this tragic news." Anyone who witnessed the crash or has dash cam footage is urged to contact PSNI officers in Armagh on 101, quoting reference 295 for February 25. The Carington Apartment complex in Northwood, where the underground took place (at the Cedar block) Pic Steve Humphreys It could have been a "very different story" if a blaze at an apartment building happened any later last night, a fire fighter has said. Residents from eighteen apartments at a complex in Northwood, Santry in Dublin had to be evacuated after a fire broke out in an underground car park last night. Gardai were alerted to the incident shortly before 8pm and several units from the Dublin Fire Brigade attended the scene. It's understood that the fire broke out in one car, before spreading to several other vehicles and into apartments above, causing significant damage. Expand Close Emergency services battling underground blaze at Dublin apartment complex (Photo: DFB) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Emergency services battling underground blaze at Dublin apartment complex (Photo: DFB) Nobody was injured in the incident but Darren O'Connor, an officer with Dublin Fire Brigade, said there could have been a much different outcome if the response to the emergency hadn't been so prompt. Speaking on Morning Ireland on RTE Radio One, he said: "It was an intense, well developed fire that had taken hold of the space and there was major damage caused to the car parking facilities, as well as the outside area, a number of balconies and apartments were affected by fire. "This led to the evacuation of 18 apartments overnight, it was a positive outcome that when the crews arrived there was a full evacuation but firefighters did have a very difficult task as it was a very intense underground fire. "It was a very prompt evacuation, it happened early but if happened later into the night it may have been a very different story but thankfully there were no injuries." Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan will meet with the mother and sister of Clodagh Hawe this week. Speaking on RTEs Prime Time Mr Flanagan said: "These are crimes against the essence of humanity. Im very keen to help. "I spoke to the Coll family today, I hope to meet them on Thursday." The minister said he would talk to the family about "any possible inquiry" on Thursday. Expand Close Killed: Clodagh Hawe was murdered along with her children / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Killed: Clodagh Hawe was murdered along with her children Meanwhile, the National Womens Council of Ireland (NWCI) has backed calls by the family of Clodagh Hawe for a multi-agency review into her death and the death of her sons at the hands of Alan Hawe. It has also called on Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan and the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to complete and publish the findings of the ten year domestic homicide review, promised to NWCI and Womens Aid after the death of Clodagh and her family. "In 2016 both the National Women's Council of Ireland and Women's Aid called for a review of domestic homicides, and the then-minister for justice Frances Fitzgerald and then-garda commissioner Noirin OSullivan promised that a review would be published," said Orla OConnor, Director of NWCI. "The NWCI has very serious concerns about the length of time which was elapsed since the review was announced, and we very urgently need the findings of this review to be published," she added. Ms OConnor urged the response from the Justice Department and An Garda Siochana after the sister and mother of Clodagh took part in a television interview on RTE calling for answers from the garda file which could help them try to learn why Alan Hawe (41) killed Clodagh (39), their three young sons Liam (13), Niall (11), and Ryan (6), and then took his own life in August 2016. Responding to questions about the review from the Irish Independent, a spokesperson for An Garda Siochana said that Commissioner Harris, speaking at a Womens Aid event recently, said that preventing and tackling violence against women has been one of the priorities of his policing career. "In general and without specific comment on any individual case, An Garda Siochana has started a process where domestic homicides will be reviewed to establish what lessons can be learnt from a policing perspective. One such review has been undertaken and two further cases have been identified for review," said the spokesperson. "Lessons are also being learnt from the review of 41 homicides that is currently being undertaken and has been subject to public scrutiny in the Oireachtas and Policing Authority," they added. Expand Close Clodagh Hawe with her sons Niall, Ryan and Liam on a holiday in Venice / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Clodagh Hawe with her sons Niall, Ryan and Liam on a holiday in Venice "Coercive control became an offence in January 2019. Training on coercive control has started in An Garda Siochana with the initial focus being on Domestic Violence Inspectors and Divisional Protective Service Units. Training for the rest of the organisation will take place during 2019 and 2020." A spokesman for the Department of Justice said an internal system of domestic homicide reviews is underway within An Garda Siochana to better inform its approach to domestic violence generally. "The timeline for this review is an operational Garda matter," he said. "Jane Monckton Smith of the University of Gloucestershire is currently training members of An Garda Siochana who have been assigned to Divisional Protective Services Units and divisional domestic abuse inspectors on coercive control in relation to domestic homicides," he added. Orla OConnor said the interviews with Clodaghs sister Jacqueline Connolly and mother Mary Coll underlined the importance of multi-agency domestic homicide reviews for the family, in their search for answers, and to work towards the eventual eradication of these crimes. In other jurisdictions, Domestic Homicide Reviews are systematic multi-agency reviews which are used to improve risk assessment and management and to identify gaps in policy and practice, following such crimes, she said. Ireland must initiate the practice of multi-agency reviews of domestic homicides in Ireland every time such a crime occurs. These reviews can provide families with answers but vitally for the protection of women in the future they would assist in developing best practice responses in relation to domestic violence including risk assessment and risk management. Lessons must be learnt to ensure we can best protect victims of domestic violence, she added. An Irish priest is trying to sue a diocese in the US claiming he was slandered because he refused to cover up for another priest's sexually inappropriate behaviour with a young boy. Fr John Gallagher from Co Tyrone alleges that Bishop Gerald Barbarito and the Diocese of Palm Beach ruined his reputation and career as a priest because he reported the sexual misconduct of Indian priest, Joseph Palimattom, who had come to serve in his parish, the Holy Name of Jesus, in December 2014. The Indian cleric showed child abuse images to a 14-year-old parishioner, who complained about the clerics actions in January 2015. Police believe Palimattom was grooming the teenager. The priest was later convicted of showing obscene material to a minor and served a six-month sentence. He was then deported from the USA back to India. Church officials in India did not tell Fr Gallagher that Palimattom had been previously accused of sexually abusing children in his home country. Fr Gallagher (51) claims he was "frozen out" and punished for being a whistle-blower by the diocese and for passing information on the paedophile priest to the police in Florida. He alleges he was placed on medical leave by the diocese and that the locks on his parochial home were changed and his belongings moved while he was in the hospital. He also claims that when he contacted the diocese to report the abuse incident the morning after it had been reported to him, the diocesan official told him, Weve dealt with this before, we normally put them on a plane and send them back. When he told the official that he was co-operating with the sheriff he was told, "Well you dont have to give them all the information." The Diocese of Palm Beach has rejected his claims in the past. It did not respond to the Irish Independents request for a comment. Fr Gallagher told the Irish Independent that while there have been other priests who have been whistle-blowers, "to my understanding I am the first to bring a case of this nature to the Highest Court in the land, the US Supreme Court." He criticised the lack of "protection for anyone who reports sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. I am not the first to report such evils. However, based on how Ive been treated, priests have said they will not report sexual abuse." In failing to protect the person who reports the abuse, "children are now more vulnerable and are in danger of continued violation and of not being protected by the Catholic Church," he warned. Fr Gallagher has had no communication from the Vatican since January 2015 when Cardinal Sean OMalley, who heads up the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, called him and asked him to consider allowing the matter "to blow over". HOMELESS figures for January paint a bleak picture of almost 10,000 people in emergency accommodation. The figure of 9,987 marks a rise of 234 people nationally when compared with the last month of 2018. Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy has described the situation as very disappointing. The Department of Housing report shows there were 6,363 adults requiring a bed in January and 3,624 children/dependants. When added together the figure is just 13 shy of the 10,000 landmark. The report notes a decrease of three families in temporary accommodation, brining the number to the lowest point since January 2018. There is a drop of 32 families accommodated in hotels in Dublin. Some 97 families exited emergency accommodation to an independent tenancy in Dublin during January, while 96 families were also prevented from entering emergency accommodation in the same month. Mr Murphy said the situation remains very difficult. He claimed some increase was expected last month as December usually sees a drop in homeless as people return to their families for Christmas. An increase in January was anticipated but that doesnt mean it is acceptable, the Minister said. That said, we are seeing some very positive movements when it comes to families in emergency accommodation. For two months now we have exited more families in to tenancies than have entered emergency accommodation. Families in emergency accommodation are at their lowest point for a year. If these movements can be sustained as trends in 2019 then we will make important inroads in to the crisis this year. Mr Murphy added that the solution to homelessness are often complex and I am working closely with my cabinet colleagues to deliver solutions for those individuals who require further support to exit homelessness, in particular those with long term health needs. Depaul CEO Kerry Anthony commented on the figures this evening; It is disappointing to see the figures rise again and to see that there are almost 10,000 people experiencing homelessness and living in emergency accommodation. The rise in both adults and children is disappointing given that last months figures showed a decrease in the numbers. The numbers suggest we need to do more in our efforts to stop individuals and families entering emergency accommodation. That requires input and action from all agencies and departments and we must ensure we are doing everything in our power to bring the numbers down. Fighting for Philomena: Ms Cannings god-daughter Erin Gallagher (8) was one of the group who protested outside Leinster House. Photo: Frank McGrath Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has told the Dail that a settlement has been offered to terminally ill midwife Philomena Canning. Supporters of Ms Canning had earlier protested outside Leinster House and delivered a petition to Health Minister Simon Harris calling for the HSE to settle a case involving the independent midwife. She has a case regarding the HSE's withdrawal of her indemnity insurance to practice as a midwife following two alleged safety risks in 2014. Ms Canning, from Co Donegal, has terminal ovarian cancer and had operated as an independent midwife. She is seeking a settlement of the case to access the 6,000-a-dose Pembro drug to treat her condition. A friend and former client of Ms Canning's, Ciara Considine, said: "There were over 100 of Philomena's former clients, activists and friends and family from Donegal in attendance. "This has been a celebration of the woman Philomena is. She said it lifted her spirits immensely. "We are trying to bring all the pressure to bear to gain her wish. "She has fought all her life for women's rights in childbirth...and has been a leading advocate here and internationally for natural birth. We salute her and express our love and gratitude - and we let her know that, just as she was there for us when we most needed her, we are here for her now". Mr Varadkar told the Dail he understood a settlement had been offered to Ms Canning. TDs heard that investigations had exonerated her of any wrongdoing. A spokeswoman for the HSE said last night: "The HSE is currently actively engaging in an effort to bring this matter to a conclusion. At this time, we are unfortunately not able to comment further in relation to live proceedings." Moves to charge VAT on food supplements have been delayed until November amid a political backlash and protests. A 23pc tax increase was due to come into effect on March 1, but Revenue has confirmed that the rate will stay at 0pc for at least another eight months. Last night Revenue said the decision was taken in light of Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe setting out plans to examine the policy and legislative options for the taxation of food supplements. The issue was raised in the Dail earlier in the day by Labour leader Brendan Howlin, who said people were worried about what he claimed was the Government's refusal to alter the Revenue's decision to change the VAT rate. He said he would be handing in a petition with 60,000 signatures on the issue to Mr Donohoe. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said it was Revenue's decision to make. Mr Howlin last night welcomed what he termed "the last minute row back" by Revenue and said: "Common sense has prevailed." In its statement, Revenue said that Mr Donohoe this week wrote to its chairman Niall Cody outlining how - "independent of Revenue's decisions on interpretation" - he is putting in place a policy review on the issue. He also outlined plans for a public consultation process and plans to engage with Health Minister Simon Harris to get his views on the use of food supplements. Revenue said that in support of Mr Donohoe's proposed review process - and to allow time for the enactment of any legislative changes in Budget 2020 - it will delay implementation of its new guidance on the VAT rate for food supplements until November 1. The Department of Education does not lay down a policy on homework and it is up to schools to set their own agenda. According to INTO, each school sets its policy in line with guidance from the Department of Education. In its guide, the department tells parents that if their child gets homework, they should give them the space and encouragement to do it. "If f they need it, offer your help. Take time to talk with your child about what they do in school each day," the guide states. It also advises parents whose child is having ongoing problems with homework to discuss this with the teacher. According to ASTI's education and research officer, Moira Leydon, different schools have different policies with regard to homework. She says: "Increasingly, schools have a whole-school approach to ensure consistency and an appropriate balance of work for students. However, all recognise that homework has a role in consolidating work done in schools, in allowing pupils to work on their own initiative and in fostering self-reliance." "Homework correction allows a teacher to encourage self-directed learning. The most important aspect of homework is establishing a satisfactory routine. Students will be happier going to school if they know their homework is completed. There are no hard and fast rules for the amount of time pupils should spend on homework. A broad guideline for first-year students would be an hour and a half, but this will vary from day to day." "There is international evidence that consistent setting and marking of homework by teachers is associated with higher levels of student achievement. It's important to note schools regularly review their policy on homework as part of their cyclical school self-evaluation process." Teresa Ward, principal of Scoil Naomh Brid in Muff, Co Donegal, says homework acts as an important link between school and home. Photo: Lorcan Doherty 'Have you got all your homework done?" is probably one of the most often asked questions children face. And as your child grows, so too does the amount of homework they get. Doing it can feel like a chore, disrupting family time and causing stress, but it doesn't have to be like that. Martin Stuart, a learning support teacher at Talbot Senior National School in Clondalkin, Dublin, investigated the effectiveness of homework as part of his postgrad diploma in education at Dublin City University. He found there was a dearth of research on homework's effectiveness, but what information there is points to a need for putting in time limits on it to reduce stress. He says that 2016 statistics from the National Parents Council showed that 27pc of parents and 38pc of children did not find homework beneficial, while 62pc of parents found it stressful. Stuart says the research strongly favours children and parents having more of a voice in the homework they undertake and for teachers to provide opportunities for in-class supervised study, including homework time. From the Economic and Social Research Institute's (ESRI) 'Growing up in Ireland' series, we know that 97pc of children receive homework four nights a week. The research also shows that only one per cent of teachers expect homework to take more than an hour, yet it takes 26pc of nine-year-olds that amount of time to complete it, including seven per cent who are taking more than an hour and a half. The results paint a picture of teachers not necessarily in touch with exactly how homework can impact on family time. Stuart believes that before giving homework every day, teachers need to ask is it necessary. Since his study, 'How can we make homework effective for all children?', (available at effectiveforall.blogspot.com) his own school has reviewed its policy. "We gave everyone a voice, truly listening to parents, to teachers, to SNAs and to children. We had many discussions and surveys. "Last October we agreed a new policy. It has a few significant changes. The biggest is we've introduced time limits. We've introduced more choice for children. We've clarified the aims of homework for everyone, including that each child overall enjoys their homework," he says. "We've given parents and children a voice in setting some of their own homework. We're aiming to boost learning, to boost enjoyment, and to ensure that no child gets upset or worried about their homework," he adds. At Scoil Naomh Brid in Muff, Co Donegal, principal Teresa Ward says not only does homework reinforce what the child is learning, but acts as a very important link between home and school. She explains that children don't get homework on something they haven't already done. "They might have project work, which gives the children an opportunity to develop their research skills and pursue something they are interested in," says Ward. She believes homework lays down strong foundations for children to become self-sufficient learners. "That's what we are preparing them for. The ideal situation is to do homework straight away when they come in from school. We would expect that junior and senior infants would not be doing any more than 10 minutes and, for second and third class, the maximum would be 40 minutes. If it's taking longer than that, don't do anymore," she says. Patrick Patton, Principal of Scoil Naomh Fionan in Whitecastle, Co Donegal, says the debate around homework is a complicated one. He says the school's policy is that it gradually increases homework year on year. "Increasing it as they go through the school means they develop a habit of doing homework before transitioning to secondary school," says Patton. "What we would always say is if children sit down and do between 30 to 40 minutes in fourth class and if, at the end of that, they haven't got it done, parents should drop us a line. We ask parents to let us know if there's an issue. Good communication is key," he says. He points out that giving things like tables as homework promotes and embeds the learning children have done in class and while there is an element of rote learning to tables, they are essential to problem solving. "A good knowledge of tables facilitates higher order thinking in maths. It can be a massive stumbling block to problem solving in particular if children don't know their tables properly. While they will do them in school, it's one of those things where children just have to sit down and learn them at home," he says. While there is no Department of Education policy on homework, Anthony Doogan, principal of Moville Community College, Co Donegal, says most students recognise homework as necessary for success in school. And he points to a direct correlation between the students who are most engaged and exam success. Doogan says they would advise students in first year to do an hour of homework a day, working up to three hours or more a day at Leaving Cert level. He says that for a child to be fully engaged with their subject and for them to assimilate the teaching they've received during the day, they'd need to put in a half hour per subject at home to cement their learning. Doogan says a big issue at his school is the number of students taking on part-time work, which means juggling homework and work with extra-curricular activities. "That can sometimes lead to a clash," he says. It's an issue the school addresses with sixth years and their parents at the start of the school year. "We would definitely notice that poorer results are proportionate to how long a student engages with part-time work," he says. Although there are many options open to students as they move from junior cycle to senior cycle, the majority will take traditional programme, known as the Leaving Certificate (Established). The other programmes are the LCVP, which gives a strong vocational dimension to the Leaving Cert (Established), and the Leaving Cert Applied. Regardless of whether they choose to progress directly from third year or to complete Transition Year, at some point students must think about choosing their Leaving Cert subjects. These are very important decisions and can have an impact on a student's Leaving Cert results and third-level options. However, when trying to make these decisions, many students and families get caught up with trying to ensure that they select the correct subjects for third-level entry requirements. This can lead to students feeling so overwhelmed to a point that they make mistakes in their choices and may miss out on some opportunity in the future. When supporting my students to choose their Leaving Cert subjects, I advise them to focus on what they are good at and what they enjoy. Once they have fully considered these two factors, I ask them to spend a little time thinking about what they may need. There are a number of reasons why I approach Leaving Cert subject choice in this way. Firstly, the majority of young people do not know what career or study area they would like to pursue, so asking them to focus on entry requirements seems like a pointless exercise, which will do little more than create stress. Secondly, colleges have less complicated requirements than one may think, as well as a range of entry routes that can lead to the same career destinations. Therefore, it makes better sense to choose Leaving Cert subjects that will assist the student in achieving the best results they possibly can which, in turn, will open up more options for them in the future. Students often hope to pursue areas at third level in which they have been successful in school - so it is likely that by choosing subjects they are good at, they are also choosing subjects they will study or work at in the future. There are a number of ways we can help young people to understand their individual strengths. Firstly, consider Junior Cert results if they are available. It is important not only to look at the subjects in which the student achieved the highest grades, but also why the student performed best in these. Perhaps the subject was taught by a favourite teacher, perhaps a large project component helped. Many students may also have participated in some aptitude testing. It is important to consider these results and discuss them with someone who is able to interpret them, such as a guidance counsellor. Other testing is available on the website, careersportal.ie. If I were to weigh these by importance, I would give 80pc to what you are good at and what you enjoy, and 20pc to what you might need. Every subject at Leaving Cert is challenging. Most schools offer five class periods, or three hour-long periods, a week for each subject. In addition, students should be doing two to three hours further study in their own time. This means students will be spending a lot of time engaging in subjects for the next two years. By choosing subjects that they like and are good at, students will find that the study load is less onerous and even enjoyable. Aoife Walsh is a guidance counsellor at Malahide Community School, Co Dublin Q I have not yet made any PLC applications, but I see there are many open days and interview sessions being held this week. Am I too late? A It is never too late to apply for a further education (FE) course, generally known as post-Leaving Cert (PLC) courses, and it is always a good idea to explore what is on offer. Most FE colleges will accept applications at the open days and some even hold mini interview sessions on these days. It is important to consider why you might like to enrol in an FE course. You may wish to take a short course in your area of interest to ensure it is right for you; you may wish to use a further education qualification to gain entry to third level or you may wish to gain a qualification and then enter the world of work. Next, attend some open days. Ensure you are prepared and have identified a list of questions you would like answered. Finally, submit an application. Further education applications are very straightforward and are submitted to individual colleges. Colleges will continue to accept applications until all places are filled. It is important to note that, as many colleges are currently holding their first round of interviews, popular courses will fill up immediately. If you have not yet applied, now is the time to do so. The legal team for a woman suing over the alleged misreading of her CervicalCheck smear slides has claimed it was "ambushed" in an attempt by a US laboratory to introduce microscopic evidence in the case. The legal team for a woman suing over the alleged misreading of her CervicalCheck smear slides has claimed it was "ambushed" in an attempt by a US laboratory to introduce microscopic evidence in the case. Patrick Treacy SC, for Ruth Morrissey, who has terminal cervical cancer, said his team was only told at the end of last week that an expert witness on behalf of Quest Diagnostics was to make use of a laboratory microscope which had been set up in the court for the hearing. Mr Treacy said this was "grossly unfair" and the Morrissey legal team felt "ambushed". Such microscopic evidence, he said, was not put to their expert witness, consultant cytopathologist Dr Michael McKenna, when he gave evidence weeks ago. The reading of Ms Morrissey's smear slides was the cornerstone issue in the case, he said. The Morrissey side did not have its expert in court yesterday, he said. Michael Cush SC, for Quest Diagnostics, said the substance of the microscopic evidence had been put to Dr McKenna in cross examination. The expert witness on the Morrissey side "chose not to bring his microscope" to court, he said. Ruling not to allow the microscopic evidence, Mr Justice Kevin Cross said that he did not think it would be fair to bring it in at this stage. He said the Quest Diagnostics expert witness, Dr Robert Marshall Austin, medical director of cytopathology at Magee Women's Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, could give evidence as per his reports in the case. After Dr Austin began his evidence, the case was adjourned on the application of Quest Diagnostics. He will resume his evidence on Friday. Ms Morrissey and her husband Paul Morrissey, of Kylemore, Schoolhouse Road, Monaleen, Co Limerick, have sued the HSE and Quest Diagnostics Ireland Ltd, with offices at Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin, along with Medlab Pathology Ltd with offices at Sandyford Business Park, Dublin 18. It is claimed there was an alleged failure to correctly report and diagnose and there was an alleged misinterpretation of her smear samples taken in 2009 and 2012. The HSE has admitted it owed a duty of care to Ms Morrissey. The laboratories deny all claims. The case continues. Joseph Behan (44), of Edenmore Park, Dublin 5, leaving court after he was charged with armed robbery at Mizzonis Pizza, Edenmore Shopping Centre, Dublin 5, in the early hours of New Year's Day, 2019. PIC: Collins Courts A man has appeared in court today charged with a botched armed robbery incident and a shooting at a north Dublin take-away on New Years Day. Joseph Behan (44), with an address at Edenmore Park in Raheny, appeared before Dublin District Court at the Criminal Courts of Justice this morning. Detective sergeant Eoin Colbert, told judge David McHugh that Behan was arrested yesterday morning at 7.30am and brought to Coolock garda station. He was charged with possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence, possession of ammunition with intent to commit an indictable offence, attempted robbery, and reckless discharge of a firearm. The court heard that in response to the charges Behan said I want to know what type of gun its meant to be. An application for bail was objected to by Det Sgt Colbert. He objected on the basis of the the seriousness of the charge, the fact that two shots were discharged, and that the gun was not recovered. Det Sgt Colbert told judge McHugh that the person who committed the crime threw a bag across the counter of the take-away and discharged two shots when challenged by staff, hitting two employees. He then cycled away from the scene and was caught in CCTV. Behans solicitor Eoin Lysaght said his client was entitled to the presumption of innocence. Judge McHugh granted bail on the accuseds own bond of 100 on condition that he sign on daily at Coolock garda station between 9am and 9pm; that he provide a phone number to Gardai on which he can be contacted on a round the clock basis; that he surrender his passport and not apply for a new one; that he obey a curfew from midnight to 7am in which he must stay at his home address; and that he stay away from Mizzoni Pizza shop in Edenmore, the injured parties and witnesses. The case centres around a shooting incident at the Mizzoni take-away at Edenmore Shopping Centre just after midnight on January 1. A 28-year-old man was shot in the stomach and a 38-year-old man was shot in the chest during the country's first gun attack of 2019. The victims were named locally as Ionut Dateu (38), known locally as 'Johnny', and Vasile Bitica (28). Both were innocent workers in the take-away and were treated at Beaumont Hospital for serious injuries. A forensic scientist found "no sign of an assault where large amounts of blood was spilled" in the home of Mary Lowry, the Tipperary murder trial has been told. Sensitive forensic testing proved no blood was found at Ms Lowry's house. Gardai had initially identified blood spots at a number of areas at the scene but further analysis ruled that out. Patrick Quirke (50), of Breanshamore, Co Tipperary, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Bobby Ryan (52), a part-time DJ known as Mr Moonlight, on a date between June 3, 2011, and April 2013. Dr Martina McBride, of Forensic Science Ireland which is part of the Department of Justice and Equality, attended the home of Ms Lowry on May 3, 2013. She had been informed the house had been painted in the interim, Dr McBride told the Central Criminal Court, adding this informed her expectation of what she might find. After testing in the living room and master bedroom, she came to the conclusion she did not find evidence of an assault. "There was no sign of an assault where large amounts of blood was spilled," she said. The house had been painted in the 22 months since Mr Ryan's disappearance but she examined skirting boards and ceilings because traces of blood might be found there, she explained. Dr McBride carried out a visual examination of the living room and master bedroom and a number of samples were taken. The light fitting from the living room contained small spots that could be visually be mistaken for blood, she said. However, two further tests were negative for human blood. Dr McBride said that, in her opinion, the substance was fly faeces, which can give a false positive for blood staining. She explained that preliminary tests can indicate the presence of blood but also give a false positive reaction to a number of different substances, including vegetables, faeces and iron. Asked in cross-examination by Lorcan Staines SC how the house being redecorated might have affected her expectation of finding blood, Dr McBride explained the first thing she wanted to know was what the injuries to the deceased man were. She was told an assault, which would have created a lot of blood staining, she said. "If he was killed in the house and there wasn't a clean-up, I'd expect to find a lot of blood," she added. Asked whether it was fair to say she went there with a "low" expectation, she said: "No, not a low expectation but I would've expected to have found blood if the assault occurred in the house. "I went there with the expectation that it was worth looking for blood," she said. Dr Hillary Clark, also of Forensic Science Ireland, told Michael Bowman SC for the prosecution that she carried out DNA testing on the remains found in the tank, which were positive to 99.99pc that the DNA was that of the father of Michelle and Robert Ryan Jnr and therefore proved the body in the tank was that of Bobby Ryan. No blood was found on the light fitting, carpet samples or the kickboard of a wardrobe, she said. A swab on the wall behind the bed indicated a partial DNA profile but it was not enough for a profile and may have been from saliva, a touch, cough or sneeze, she said. Meanwhile swabs taken from the vehicle of Bobby Ryan showed some elements that were present in Mr Ryan's own DNA profile. Dr Clark had examined a hair clip found in the run-off tank and found that around a third of it was missing and it was unable to close. She also examined a variety of cable ties, 15 in total, none of which had a diameter of more than 4cm when closed and therefore would not have been capable of looping around two arms or two legs, she told the jury. The trial continues. A raft of civil actions against convicted paedophile Michael Shine could be delayed due to a wrangle over whether one of the cases should be heard in front of a jury. More than 100 lawsuits are being taken against the disgraced retired surgeon. The 86-year old, who worked at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, was jailed for four years earlier this week for the indecent and sexual assault of boys aged between 11 and 16 over the course of three decades. In parallel with the criminal proceedings, six lead civil cases were selected to proceed before the High Court, with the HSE and the Medical Missionaries of Mary, who used to own the hospital, named as co-defendants. However, the Irish Independent has learned these cases could be delayed due to the resistance of the HSE and the religious order to them being heard in front of a jury. In the first of these lead cases, Ms Justice Una Ni Raifeartaigh last month refused to grant motions brought by the HSE and the order seeking to set aside the notice of trial whereby the plaintiff was seeking trial by jury. Ordinarily, the general rule is actions claiming damages for personal injuries caused by negligence, nuisance or breach of duty are decided by a judge rather than a jury. However, there are exceptions to the rule and Ms Justice Ni Raifeartaigh found the plaintiff had a right to trial by jury. But consideration is now being given to an appeal of that decision to the Court of Appeal. Should it go ahead, it is likely to delay the hearing of several cases as it is understood other litigants want their civil actions heard in front of juries as well. Last year, President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham warned of waiting times of at least 22 months for hearings. The plaintiff in the first lead case says he was sexually abused by Dr Shine in a private clinic in 1975. He is seeking damages for personal injuries by reason of wilful assault and battery, trespass to the person, negligence and breach of duty, breach of trust, and breach of dominant position by Dr Shine. Negligence is alleged against both the HSE and the order. Liability has not been accepted by any of the defendants. The plaintiff is one of 107 people suing the former surgeon. The complainants are being represented by Dublin law firm Galligan Johnston. A bid to mediate the settlement of the lawsuits last October failed. The lawsuits against Shine involve allegations dating between 1964 and 1995, when he retired. It is the second time a large number of litigants have taken civil cases against Dr Shine. Claims by another 112 complainants were settled out of court on a confidential basis in 2012 by the religious order's insurers Allianz for a sum believed to be in excess of 8m. While the current damages claims could ultimately end up being covered by insurance, an indemnity fund set up when the religious order sold the hospital to the then North Eastern Health Board in 1997 could also come into play. Cynan Rees at Cork Court for sentencing on child porn possession charges Pic Michael Mac Sweeney/Cork Courts A COMPUTER worker who claimed to be a naturist was jailed for 18 months after Gardai, acting on a tip-off from Interpol, found almost 80,000 images of child pornography stored on a series of hard drives at his home. Cynan Rees (55) was jailed as Judge Sean O Donnabhain described some of the images as "reprehensible" and depicted young children engaged in sex acts with each other and with adults. When Gardai arrived to search Rees' Cork home on May 1 2014, he initially told them the large number of nude photos found on various computer hard drives was because of his interest in naturism. However, an analysis of what Det Garda Sean Minihan told Cork Circuit Criminal Court was "a colossal" amount of image files eventually revealed almost 80,000 images of child pornography. The Garda search followed information from Interpol received in September 2013 in respect of a specific Internet site. The information was generated by German police. An investigation into one user name on the site led Gardai to Rees. An analysis of a number of hard drives seized by Gardai from the defendant's home revealed a total of 78,800 child pornographic images and videos. Of those, 2,280 images and 483 videos were found to be classified as category one - or the most serious form of child pornography depicting young children engaged in sex acts with adults. Rees of The Residence, Old Belmont, Rochestown, Cork pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of child pornography on three hard drives at his home. The court was told that Rees is a single man who works in the IT sector. He has no previous convictions and co-operated fully with the Garda investigation after the seizure of the hard drives from his home. Imelda Kelly BL, for the State, said the analysis of the total amount of images involved took some time. There were 78,800 images of child nudity where the genital area is exposed," she said. "There were 2,280 images of children in sexual activity with adults or other children." "And there were 360 videos of child nudity and 483 videos of children in sexual activity with adults or other children. Defence counsel, Ray Boland BL, said his client was eager to secure counselling. He said his client had co-operated with Gardai and now wanted counselling for the issues involved in the case. Judge O Donnabhain said there was a distinction between possession of child pornography and the much more serious count of distribution of child pornography. The defendant was in the former category having been convicted of possession of such images. But the judge said it was an aggravating factor that so many images were found on the three hard drives seized by Gardai. He also noted the number of images which fell into the most serious category. "They are the most reprehensible," he warned. Judge O Donnabhain warned that a custodial sentence was required. "I cannot ignore the seriousness of the possession in this case," he said. He imposed a three year prison sentence but agreed to suspend the final 18 months in light of the defendant's plea, his co-operation with Gardai and his willingness to undergo specialist counselling. The judge acknowledged that such counselling was "prolonged and challenging." He said it was to the defendant's credit that he was willing to undergo such counselling. Judge O Donnabhain directed that, after being released from his 18 month prison term, Rees complete a counselling course with Forensic Psychological Services Ireland. He also ordered that he also remain under the supervision of the Probation and Welfare Service (PWS) for three years. Paddy Lyons: The 90-year-old was found slumped in an armchair at his home. Photo: Paddy Geoghegan A pathologist has described observing the blood-smeared face of a 90-year-old retired farmer who was found slumped in his armchair at his home. The Central Criminal Court heard yesterday that Paddy Lyons suffered multiple blows with a blunt weapon to his head and neck. Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster gave evidence in the trial of Ross Outram. Mr Outram (28), of Ferryland, Waterford Road, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Paddy Lyons at Loughleagh, Ballysaggart, Lismore, Co Waterford, at a time unknown between February 23 and 26, 2017. Dr Bolster told prosecution counsel John O'Kelly SC that she went to the scene at Ballysaggart on February 26, where she observed Mr Lyons slumped in an armchair. Blood was smeared down his face and his penis was exposed through his underpants, she said. Dr Bolster testified that she later carried out a post-mortem examination on Mr Lyons's body at University Hospital Waterford. His face and neck were heavily blood-stained and there was a large amount of blood in his mouth, she indicated. There were 10 wounds on his head and neck which had been caused by blunt force trauma, she explained. The deceased had fractured both sets of ribs from either falling or suffering blows to that area, she said. Bruising He had also fractured his right hip joint and there was "very extensive" bruising to this region. Mr Lyons' injuries were sustained due to multiple blows with a blunt weapon and possibly a heavy fall, she said. Mr Lyons's cause of death was blunt force trauma to his body with a traumatic brain injury and shock due to fracturing his hip joint, jawbone and ribs Dr Bolster concluded. Under cross-examination by Michael O'Higgins SC, defending, Dr Bolster said it was not possible to say in what sequence the blows had been delivered. Dr Bolster accepted that Mr Lyons could have fractured his hip from falling. Earlier, pharmaceutical expert Michael Lyons told Mr O'Kelly that he was asked to prepare a report on the effects of Xanax, a medication which contains a substance called alprazolam. The court heard that Mr Outram claimed he had taken up to 60 Xanax tablets on the day in question and had no memory of the incident at Ballysaggart. Mr Lyons said there was no physical evidence that made it clear the accused had consumed Xanax. The trial continues. Casablanca,The Usual Suspects, Alien, Seven, The Notebook... Whether it packs an emotional punch, takes an unexpected twist, or presents the horror of Gwyneth Paltrows head in a box, an effective movie ending will stay with an audience long after the final credits roll. These movies are classics for many reasons, not least those memorable final scenes, but more often than not there is more than one ending to a Hollywood film. Alternate endings may feature at writing or storyboard stage while others are filmed and discarded due to unfavourable test audience reactions or wrangling between directors and studios. One such alternate has surfaced in the cut of The Notebook currently streaming on Netflix UK and Ireland. The uproar from fans regarding the unexpected alternate ending serves only to prove how beloved the film is, particularly for its original, heartbreaking yet life affirming final scene. Nick Cassavetes' 2004 big screen adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name is the epitome of epic romantic drama, charting the lifelong and tumultuous love between rich young woman Allie (Rachel McAdams) and poor young man Noah (Ryan Gosling) who must traverse social class and family interference to be together. Expand Close The Notebook's Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachel McAdams) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Notebook's Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachel McAdams) The original theatrical ending features an elderly Noah lying in a hospital bed beside his dying wife Allie, who has dementia and flits in and out of periods of lucidity. As she remembers who Noah is one last time, they kiss, and drift off to eternal sleep to be found dead together, holding hands, the next morning by nursing staff. However, in the version on Netflix the scene cuts as they kiss and the final moments are replaced by footage of birds flying in formation across a lake. Its a jarring edit and fans have taken to social media to air their grievances. Netflix have responded to the furore by revealing that they did not edit the film but were supplied with a version featuring an alternate ending and it is something they say they are "getting to the bottom of asap". The version is certainly a more sanitised one which dilutes the emotionally difficult ending. However, many popular, and indeed beloved, films have what you might call sanitised endings. The most recent example comes via Netflixs own production, Bird Box. One of the criticisms of the post-apocalyptic thriller was that the upbeat ending was jarringly at odds with the rest of the film. Expand Close Sandra Bullock in Bird Box / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sandra Bullock in Bird Box For the most part its a bleak and brutal dystopian horror charting the struggle of a mother (Sandra Bullock) and her two children to survive after the arrival of mysterious creatures who, once seen with the naked eye, prompt people to kill themselves in a variety of violent and horrifying ways. Its tense, terrifying, and relentlessly bleak. The ending, however, sees Malorie arrive at a former school for the blind, a Utopia of sorts where people who are blind and people who are not are all sitting around in peace and harmony surrounded by birds who can alert them to the impending arrival of the creatures. Its a much more uplifting end to the tale than the original ending featured in the Josh Malerman novel on which the film is based. In the book the people living at the sanctuary are people who have gouged their own eyes out to avoid being killed by the creatures. Director Susanne Bier defended the change in ending for the Netflix film. The movie is slightly more positive. The movie is, in many aspects, different from the book, but its also very rooted in the book, she told Polygon. The book also has a kind of positive ending and I would not have wanted to do an apocalyptic movie that didnt have a hopeful ending. In a way, pretty much everything Ive done has had some sort of a hopeful ending. Im not particularly interested for the audience to leave, from the cinema or their own screen, with a kind of completely bleak point of view. Thats not really what I believe in. Expand Close Sigourney Weaver in Alien / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sigourney Weaver in Alien Also, Get Out, Jordan Peeles hugely original horror which earned four Oscar nominations last year, winning one for Peeles screenplay, had a different, much bleaker ending. The film follows a young black man called Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) on his first visit to meet his white girlfriends family. He has no idea of the horror that awaits. Its a visceral, edge-of-your-seat, anxiety-laden experience so when that final scene arrives with Chris' best mate Rod (Lil Rel Howery) saving the day, it's a very welcome relief. Expand Close blade runner / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp blade runner However, an alternate ending surfaced online recently in which things don't end up quite so well for Chris who, instead of being rescued by Rod, is handcuffed and dragged away by two white cops. Writer/director Peele wrote several different endings but chose the positive one because he needed "to transform into something that gives us a hero, that gives us an escape, that gives us a positive feeling." For many directors, however, their instinct is to challenge the audience with a darker ending. Often they are overruled by a studio unwilling to turn moviegoers off by denying them their walk into the sunset. On 1979 sci fi classic Alien, director Ridley Scott did not want Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) to survive that final attack by the alien. The theatrical ending sees Ripley escape from the Nostromo on a shuttle, unaware that the alien is on board. Shes attacked by it again but manages to fight it off and kick its backside out into space. Ridleys alternate ending saw the protagonist eaten by the alien in the escape pod and the alien then mimicking her voice in a message back to Earth, informing them shes on her way home. The director was overruled by producers undoubtedly keen to keep their leading lady intact for future endeavours, and the paying audience happy with a nice, neat bow-tie of an ending. A similar stand-off reportedly took place between screenwriter Quentin Tarantino and director Tony Scott over the ending of 1993 romantic crime drama True Romance. The film sees Bonnie and Clyde style lovers Alabama (Patricia Arquette) and Clarence (Christian Slater) survive a shoot-out and escape together to live happily ever after, one assumes. Tarantinos original ending, however, saw Clarence dying of a gunshot wound and Alabama hitchhiking to Mexico by herself. Scott had the final say opted to save the characters he had fallen in love with. Having seen the final cut, Tarantino was in agreement with the positive ending. Of course, the most famous case of diverse endings is Blade Runner. The 1982 sci-fi classic has multiple cuts, with different endings varying in tone. The original ambiguous ending didnt sit well with test audiences. The theatrical release, therefore, had an upbeat ending with Dekard (Harrison Ford) and Rachel (Sean Young) driving through the countryside, which didnt quite meld tonally with the rest of the film. The directors cut, released in 1992 and again in 2007, was more like the original in tone with an ambiguous ending. In some cases, the decision to sanitise a film or opt for a positive ending is down to test audiences, who will often baulk at bleakness. Take 28 Days Later, Danny Boyles 2002 zombie horror, for example. Boyles original ending saw Cillian Murphys character dying of a gunshot wound in a hospital bed as the two female stars head off into the unknown. Following test screenings where audiences deemed it too sad Boyle changed the ending so that Murphy survived. So, it seems that many Hollywood flicks are already sanitised for our viewing pleasure rather than our viewing pain. However, its one thing releasing an alternate ending as part of a directors cut DVD or special, its another thing entirely to offer an alternate ending to audiences who are expecting the original as it was screened in their country. Granted, its a small change of just a few seconds, but in a film like The Notebook, where the emotional punch and payoff comes in those final few seconds, its a hugely significant one. Alex Kingston has called for greater diversity in theatre as she spoke of her joy at returning to the London stage. The ER actress will return to the West End in the play Admissions, penned by Joshua Harmon, when it transfers from New Yorks Lincoln Centre Theatre. She stars as Sherri, the head of admissions at a private school who is fighting to diversify the student intake but whose ambition collides with her progressive values when her son is deferred from his university of choice while his best friend who ticks more boxes is accepted. Expand Close Alex Kingston during rehearsal (Johan Persson) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Alex Kingston during rehearsal (Johan Persson) Kingston told the Press Association: The theme is universal and I think that just from what Ive read in the newspapers recently here regarding ethnicity and higher education, I think its incredibly topical and I think a British audience will completely get what the characters in this play are dealing with. I hope it really does spark the same amount of intense debate that it did in New York. All of the characters are right and wrong at the same time and so that is the thing that is most interesting. You can side with one character during the play and then all of a sudden you will see another side to their opinion that will make you go, Wait a minute, what? But then later on you go, No, I actually do agree with them, and its very fluid and very complex. But that is actually where we are at in society, and its how the hell we sort this out and how far back do we have to go historically to even begin to sort it out. Kingston previously starred opposite Kenneth Branagh in Macbeth at the Manchester International Festival in 2013, and Admissions marks her return to the West End after she appeared with Christian Slater in One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest at the Garrick and played Lady Milford in Luise Miller at the Donmar Warehouse. Kingston relocated to the UK from the US two years ago and said she is loving working in London again. She said: Ive really missed it. The last play I did we never actually got to London with it, the intention was that we were going to but the other actors availability didnt pan out and it never happened, and its just fab to be back in London. Kingston added that she hopes the play will bring in a broader audience than is customary in the West End, saying: The important thing is to bring in an audience that is diverse. The majority of theatre audiences are white and so the hope is you will have people of different ethnicities coming in. Addressing how to diversity the audience for theatre, she said: A little bit like the play, where does it start, where does it have to start? We are trying to be (diverse), in terms of casting. There was an absolute concerted effort to fulfil the diversity quota. Where are the people who are running these theatrical institutions? Aside from the Young Vic and a few, its still a white persons world. Admissions runs at Trafalgar Studios from February 28 until May 25, followed by a UK tour until June 22. Employers' lobby group Ibec has called for a new SSIA-type savings scheme for consumers to encourage them to save more money. Chief executive of the lobby group Danny McCoy said such a scheme would encourage householders to put money aside at a time when the economy was booming and which would help avoid it overheating. The original Special Savings Incentive Account (SSIA) was hugely popular with consumers and an attempt to cool the economy when it was put in place 18 years ago. Governor of the Central Bank Philip Lane has spoken in the past of the merits of having another SSIA scheme to foster more saving among householders, as has Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. The accounts were available to open between May 2001 and April 2002, and featured a State-provided top-up of 25pc of the sum deposited. This meant the Government topped up each account with 25 for every 100 saved, an initiative that was easily understood and proved popular. Most of the funds matured around 2007, pumping 14bn into the economy at a time when there were strong signs of overheating. Average payouts worked out at around 14,000. The money was used for property deposits, extensions, new cars and holidays. However, the scheme was criticised as many of the accounts matured in the middle of a property-price surge. Mr McCoy said a new version of the scheme would need to operate in a way that would ensure it was not pumping money into the economy when incomes are rising. He said this would mean it would have to work on a counter-cyclical basis. "We need to look at measures such as a Special Saving Incentive Account scheme to encourage those households benefiting from the fastest growing sectors to save more in the good times," he said in a speech to the annual Ibec Business Leaders' Conference 2019. "Further incentives could also be built into these schemes to encourage a future staggered withdrawal of these savings or even to provide a bridge to pension provision. "Without flexibility in monetary policy and the limited impact of fiscal policy measures in this new Irish economic model, we must be much more innovative in our policy solutions." Mr McCoy said the greater complexity of the Irish economy, in particular the more pronounced economic cycles, required fresh thinking and new policy responses. The Taoiseach said last year any proposal to reinstate the SSIA savings scheme had to be considered, when reacting to the comment of Governor Lane. "Bear in mind what happened last time, though - the SSIA was initially quite successful in taking money out of the economy at a time when there was a lot of money in the economy. "But when it was released it actually released a lot of money into the economy at the peak of the boom, and as a result, probably made the boom 'boomier' and the crash deeper." He said it might be better to encourage people to save more for their pensions. The company had set a target of 430 departures as it calls a halt to peat harvesting by 2025. Stock Image: Getty Images Bord na Mona will not impose compulsory redundancies after more than 600 workers applied for a voluntary exit scheme. The company had set a target of 430 departures as it calls a halt to peat harvesting by 2025. But sources said it may let up to 450 go this year because the scheme was oversubscribed. This is out of a total of 700 staff involved in peat production, including administrative workers and seasonal machinery drivers. Midlands communities were dealt a devastating blow last October when the company announced the job losses as part of a 'decarbonisation' strategy. In a statement, Bord na Mona said it received more than 600 applications for the scheme, which closed on January 31. "A considerable portion of these have already been finalised," it said. "Of the remaining applications, they are being finalised along different timelines that are largely determined by a range of criteria including business needs and the personal requirements of the individuals involved." The exit package is worth four weeks' pay per year of service, plus a statutory payment. But the head of the group of unions, Willie Noone, claimed many seasonal staff were being "herded out" as they felt their working hours would be cut if they did not go. He said a "hidden" clause imposing a cap on the severance payment meant many with longer service would get only statutory redundancy. Mr Noone said 50 to 60-year-olds who could access their pension after taking exit packages in the past could no longer avail of this. Up to 500 jobs are due to be created in new businesses including renewable energy, but some of these will not be in place for up to 10 years. Tedcastle Oil, or Top Oil, the distribution business that was sold last year to Canada's Irving Oil, saw its pre-tax profits dip to just under 10m in the year to the end of last March, as revenue also slipped, to 1.03bn. The business was sold by the extended Reihill family last year for an undisclosed sum, but believed to be well in excess of 100m. Newly-filed accounts for the business also show that it paid a 1.8m dividend to shareholders in the 2018 financial year, up from 1.3m a year earlier. Top Oil has a petrol station arm, an aviation fuel business, and supplies home heating oil. Noel Moran, CEO, his wife Valerie Moran, Head of Operations & Client Relations and Lee Britton, Commercial Director Payments technology firm Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) is hiring an additional 50 new staff as part of a planned expansion programme. The roles in the Meath-based hub, in the areas of software development, engineering and data centre support are available for application immediately. The London-headquartered firm is also looking for a Head of Technical Infrastructure and Technical Project Manager for its Irish office. Group Head of HR David Kinnear said that the growth of the company in the last 11 years has been "exceptional". "We continue to expand in our current markets but we are rapidly developing into new territories," he said. "We believe that we provide some of the most exciting and challenging opportunities combined with outstanding career development prospects." Last year, PFS started to consider a stock market flotation after pre-tax profits hit 4.3m (4.8m) in 2017 and revenue climbed to 45m (50.5m). CEO Noel Moran told Independent.ie that the company expects to go for an initial public offering this year "in Q3 or Q4". Mr Moran and his Zimbabwean wife Valerie Willis own more than 81pc of Co Meath-based PFS. PFS is being advised by New York investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. Confidence: Pat Gunne, CEO of Green Property Reit Ventures, said: The quality of our portfolio has never been stronger DUBLIN-LISTED Green Reit has reported a 2pc rise in rental income to 34.4m for the six months to December 31, 2018. In its interim results yesterday, the group said its total property value had increased 4pc to 1.48bn in the six-month period, from 1.42bn at June 30, 2018. Green Reit has a number of commercial properties in Dublin and Cork, including Central Park in Leopardstown, Fitzwilliam Hall, in Dublin 2, and One Albert Quay in Cork city. Reits are a special type of company, they can only invest in property but benefit from reduced taxation - including not having to pay corporation tax on rental profits or the standard capital gains on asset sales. Commenting on the group's performance, Colm Lauder, real estate analyst at Goodbody, said the results were in line with Goodbody's "bullish" expectations. "We had forecast bullish growth for Green Reit in H1 on the back of sustained yield compression through its office and industrial focus markets, and it duly delivered," Mr Lauder said. "The portfolio value rose to 1.48bn with growth strongest for Albert Quay, in Cork City." However, profit for the six-month period fell by 14pc to 45.6m, while the group's earnings per share EPRA fell by 2.5pc to 3.1 cent. Pat Gunne, CEO of Green Property Reit Ventures, said: "The quality of our portfolio has never been stronger, and we continue to exploit value-accretive opportunities in both logistics and offices, through our active asset management and development programmes." "The market remains supportive of our strategy, with prevailing values well-underpinned by healthy overseas and domestic demand for prime Irish commercial real estate." The group said it looked forward to the completion of Building I in Central Park, South Dublin, which is due to be finished in the first quarter of this year. This building will add a further 9,400 square metres to the business park. The top two floors of the seven-storey building have been reserved for a tenant, with a lease due to be signed "imminently". Green Reit said its focus remains on delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns to shareholders, with moderate levels of gearing and disciplined speculative property development. AIM-listed Europa Oil & Gas says it has a one-in-three chance of hitting commercial gas at its Inishkea prospect off the northwest coast of Ireland. The site lies immediately to the north-west of the Corrib gas field, which in 2017 was capable of producing 66pc of Ireland's gas demand. The group believes the Inishkea prospect could produce as much as 1.5 trillion cubic feet of gas. Describing the prospect as having "exceeded expectations", Europa CEO Hugh Mackay said the company's detailed and technical work confirms Inishkea to be a "large, robust, low-risk, gas prospect". "The early promise we identified has been validated and the prospect has now been de-risked significantly," Mr Mackay said. "Inishkea's location in a proven play, and close proximity to the nearby Corrib gas field and facilities informed our decision to elevate the prospect to flagship status." Mr Mackay added that the field could potentially be bigger than Corrib. "Fields usually get bigger, if this came in at 1.5 trillion cubic feet it would be a very important discovery. We believe that the prospect is ready to drill and that it could be an important component in the Irish energy picture." A survey is planned for this summer, targeting the drilling of a well - subject to funding and regulatory consent - in 2020. Operations planning for the survey and engineering design are in progress. Mr Mackay said the group had received an offer from a major oil company on a farm-in, which Europa considers acceptable. "The group has to go to its headquarters for final sign-off, so it's not over till its over and we are continuing to market the farm-out," Mr Mackay said, adding there were other interested parties. As the Corrib field is no longer operating at full capacity, the group believes that a gas find in Inishkea could potentially be commercialised quickly, keeping the Corrib infrastructure, which would help to keep costs low. Shares in Europa were trading up over 7pc yesterday on the London Stock Exchange. Nearly one-third of the most critical preparations for a no-deal Brexit are behind schedule, according to newly released government papers on the implications of a disorderly exit from the EU. The documents published on Tuesday after demands from MPs also say that UK citizens are not preparing for a no-deal scenario as it is not viewed as a sufficiently credible outcome by the public. Reporting analysis supplied to the cabinet, the documents add that leaving the bloc without a deal could leave the UK economy between 6.3 and 9 per cent smaller after 15 years than it would otherwise have been. Critically, the government papers state: Notwithstanding the very significant efforts to prepare for a no-deal scenario, the latest internal government-wide delivery reporting reveals the scale of risk remaining in the limited time available. In February, departments reported being on track for just under 85 per cent of no-deal projects but, within that, on track for just over two-thirds of the most critical projects. The papers claimed that the introduction of tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade in the case of a no-deal Brexit can be expected to have a very severe impact on some UK industries. And around 240,000 UK companies which trade only with the EU would be caught up in the customs processes, with a total administrative burden on business from customs declarations of around 13bn a year. In regards to the public, the papers claim: Evidence suggests that individual citizens are also not preparing for the effects that they would feel in a no-deal scenario. Government judges that the reason for this lack of action is often because a no-deal scenario is not seen as a sufficiently credible outcome to take action or outlay expenditure. The document stated that the cumulative impact from a no-deal scenario is also expected to be more severe in Northern Ireland than in Great Britain, and to last for longer. It warned: In a no-deal scenario there is an expectation of disruption to closely interwoven supply chains and increasing costs that would affect the viability of many businesses across Northern Ireland. There is a risk that businesses in Northern Ireland will not have sufficient time to prepare. This could result in business failure, and/or relocation to Ireland with knock-on consequences for the Northern Ireland economy and unemployment. And food prices are likely to increase in the wake of a no-deal exit, the papers said. Much of the information and analysis contained in the paper, released in response to an amendment tabled by the now-Independent Group MPs Chuka Umunna and Anna Soubry, was already in the public domain. But Mr Umunna said it painted a disastrous picture of the catastrophe which would befall our country if there is a no-deal Brexit. He continued: In light of what she knows, it is utterly irresponsible for the prime minister to keep a no-deal Brexit on the table given the extreme damage it will do. These papers set out how food prices will rise, we may see panic buying, there will be severe disruption at the border, and jobs and livelihoods would immediately be put at risk. Today she told the House of Commons she is listening, but MPs have passed a motion rejecting a no-deal Brexit and yet she refuses to request an extension of the Article 50 process in order to stop no-deal happening. Badger vaccinations will be very important in eradicating TB, says professor (Ben Birchall/PA) Tuberculosis (TB) may not be eradicated in Ireland by 2030 despite substantial progress being made to eliminate the disease, an Oireachtas committee has heard. Professor Simon More from University College Dublins School of Veterinary Medicine told the Agriculture Committee on Tuesday it would take decades before TB was fully eradicated in cattle. Prof More said the ongoing rollout of badger vaccination was very important to the national programme for eradication. Despite this, he said there was robust evidence to suggest the current strategies being adopted may not be sufficient to successfully eradicate TB from the country by 2030. Mr More said: TB eradication is likely to be achieved with the addition of badger vaccination to all current control measures, however, it will take a very long time that is, many decades. Further measures will be needed, in addition to current controls plus badger vaccination, if Ireland is to eradicate TB within a reasonable time frame. Efforts to eradicate the disease have been made on an ongoing basis by successive governments since the 1950s. Only a small number of countries internationally have managed to successfully eradicate the disease. Expand Close It will take decades to fully eradicate TB from cattle, says Prof More (Chris Bacon/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp It will take decades to fully eradicate TB from cattle, says Prof More (Chris Bacon/PA) Australia and some northern European countries are among them. The last known case of TB in Australia was in 2002. Mr More said in Ireland the disease was widely considered to be an issue for the government whereas in countries where there the disease has been eliminated successfully TB was very reliant on industry engagement. In Australia, the programme was funded 50:50 by government and industry, with the latter funded through a cattle transaction levy. If TB was to recur on the continent, a cost-sharing model of 20:80 (government: industry) has been legally agreed, which Mr More said reflected a shared understanding of the perceived public and private good associated with getting rid of the disease. During the committee, members conducted scrutiny of a proposal regarding fishing authorisations for European Union fishing vessels in UK waters and fishing operations of UK fishing vessel in EU waters post-Brexit. The decision was made to invite fisheries officials from the Department of Agriculture to appear before the committee at a later date to discuss the matter in greater detail. We'll start again with a scarce piece of Brexit news. Ireland will not miss the UK when it comes to framing EU farm policy. Over 45 years of joint membership, our two nations have shared many reservations about certain EU policies, notably on taxation and social policy which might scare off international investment. But when it came to farm policy, the UK was a pain in the neck, always fighting against increased funding, and still clinging to its post-1945 cheap food policy, where the EU was focused on securing continuity of supply after horrific shortages in the immediate aftermath of World War II. But the immediate bad news is that Ireland will be among the nations who most miss the 12bn per year in UK contributions to the EU Common Agriculture Policy. And we will wince at the prospect of disruption to food exports to Britain worth some 5bn per year for Ireland. Today we are four weeks and three days away from 'B-Day' on March 29. Yes, anything could still happen, but we must also work on the assumption that Brexit will go ahead - and it could be very rough indeed for Irish food sales. So, we pose three key questions: 1. How rough will it be? 2. Who can help? 3. What is the likely extent of such help? The first answer comes via Agriculture Minister Michael Creed, who has stressed that even a benign Brexit result will not be as good as the UK staying with the EU, giving us tariff-free trade. He also stresses that we are left guessing until the UK announces what kind of tariff regime it will adopt for food products. But a worst-case scenario could see some 1.7bn being slapped on those 5bn Irish exports if it adopted the 70pc tariff on beef; 49pc on dairy and 22pc on pigmeat. That would be very disruptive stuff indeed, leading to some dark days on Irish farms. Help of some kind would undoubtedly come from the Irish State and the EU. Brussels has already signalled that it will raise the ceiling for permitted State aid. But the Agriculture Minister told this writer at the start of this year that he has been working on Ireland's case for special support for some time. He has also approached EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan on the issue for preliminary soundings. All of that brings us to trying to figure out the extent of EU support we could expect. You don't have to be a top-flight agronomist to guess that we will get nothing like 1.7bn in additional aid per year. In Dublin the guesstimate is around "several hundred million". In Brussels not too many people are prepared to get into such a guessing game at this stage for some well-founded reasons, not least the sharp reactions of commodity traders who would want to be ahead of farmers in the aid queue. There is an appreciation that Ireland's UK market exposure is especially bad, and there are a range of EU aid tools. There are traditional ones like intervention and aids to private storage and exceptional aid under the CAP's Single Common Market Organisation regulation. In 2016, Commissioner Hogan had to face a Russian trade embargo which deprived former Eastern Bloc states' farmers of 5.3bn in income. Recently it was estimated they received a cumulative 1.7bn in aid. John Downing is an Irish Independent political correspondent UK MPs have rejected Labour's amendment A, which calls on the government to adopt Labour's Brexit plans, including a permanent customs union with the EU. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn favoured a Brexit agreement that would see the UK staying in a customs union and said his party would support a second referendum if his proposed deal was rejected. It now appears that the Labour party are one step closer to supporting a second referendum. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe last night said Ireland would not block an extension of the Brexit deadline. An Government spokesman said "our goal is to see a deal agreed" and that short of the UK deciding to stay in the EU, it was the "best outcome for Ireland". He added: "In the absence of that, we are open to an extension of the Article 50 deadline in order to avoid a crash out on March 29". He said an agreement would still need to be reached regardless of whether an extension is in place. Separately, the UK government published its latest assessment of the implications of a no-deal Brexit on trade. It states that the effect on Northern Ireland would be more severe than in Britain. Expand Close Changing the dynamic: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has signalled his party would back a second Brexit referendum. Picture: PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Changing the dynamic: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has signalled his party would back a second Brexit referendum. Picture: PA The document reiterates the UK government's commitment to avoiding a hard Border "in any scenario". It also promises that the UK will "shortly publish further details on its immediate, temporary, arrangements for trade between Northern Ireland and Ireland in a no-deal scenario". It says that in such a scenario the UK government "would need to work urgently with the Irish Government and the EU to find any sustainable longer-term solution". The Government here has consistently said it is not planning for a hard Border. Tanaiste Simon Coveney has said the Government would push for regulatory alignment similar to what's in the current backstop in the event of crisis talks on avoiding a hard Border. His spokesman declined to speculate on what the temporary arrangements mentioned in the UK government documents would be. He said that the British document "only serves to underline that a no-deal Brexit would be bad for everyone" and "unfortunately worst for Northern Ireland". BRITAIN could cut business taxes and regulation dramatically in a post-Brexit environment and compete directly with the State for foreign investment, business leaders have warned. Ireland has "made hay" during the two years in which Britain has tortured itself over Brexit, but once the wait is over, London will come gunning for corporate balance sheets in the same way as former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne once did. "The tournament has been on and Brexit has interrupted it," Danny McCoy, CEO of Ibec told the business lobby's leadership conference yesterday. In the wake of the financial crisis, the State has ridden a wave of investment that has helped increase gross domestic product by 55pc since 2012 and seen a surge of company payments into the exchequer. "I think there is no doubt that we are going to see Britain compete on a different level," said Michael Jackson, managing partner at international law firm Matheson. "Even within the EU, Britain was one of our main competitors for foreign direct investment." Ireland's low corporate tax rate has attracted many of the top American multinationals to invest here, in some cases to take advantage of profit shifting. In order for the State to compete for new business and continued investment, Ibec - which represents 70pc of the country's employers - called on the government to invest the revenue from the surge in company taxes in infrastructure. Mr McCoy said that corporate tax receipts had outstripped government projections by 14.3bn since 2015. "The proceeds should be set aside for more ambitious ongoing capital investment and for the next economic slowdown so that Ireland has the resources to invest in critical infrastructure and productive investment even when budgetary arithmetic is difficult," Mr McCoy said. The State ran a budget surplus in 2018 for the first time since the financial crisis, despite large overspends on health. Anger: A demonstrator against Brexit protests at the entrance of the Houses of Parliament in London. AP photo As the Dail last night debated emergency legislation for a worst-case Brexit, there was hope in Government circles that the planned sequence of votes in the House of Commons could prevent a no-deal scenario. Senior sources said the latest developments in London "would seem to make a no-deal scenario much less likely". While the situation was still said to be "volatile", the Irish Government believes it is unlikely MPs would vote for a no-deal Brexit. British Prime Minister Theresa May's plan is set to be debated in Westminster today with up to three days of votes to take place next month if it is approved. She outlined her proposals in a statement in the House of Commons. She said she didn't want a delay and was still seeking assurances from the EU on the backstop to avoid a hard Border in Ireland that would win MPs' approval for her Withdrawal Agreement. She announced a "meaningful vote" in parliament on her Brexit deal would take place by March 12. If that fails, a vote on whether the UK should leave the EU without a deal would take place on the next day. Expand Close Deal or no deal: British Prime Minister Theresa May leaving Downing Street yesterday. AP photo / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Deal or no deal: British Prime Minister Theresa May leaving Downing Street yesterday. AP photo If this too is rejected by MPs, a further vote will take place on March 14 on whether the UK should ask Brussels for an extension of Article 50. Mrs May said she wanted any delay to be "as short as possible" and would not go beyond the end of June. She also said: "Let me be clear, I do not want to see Article 50 extended. Our absolute focus should be on working to get a deal and leaving on March 29." Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused Mrs May of "kicking the can down the road". He favours a Brexit agreement that would see the UK staying in a customs union and said his party would support a second referendum if his proposed deal was rejected. Conservative arch-eurosceptic Jacob Rees-Mogg claimed a delay to Brexit "would be the most grievous error that politicians could commit". Fellow Brexiteer Peter Bone warned Mrs May that voters would regard it as a "betrayal". However, former British Chancellor Ken Clarke said he wanted to congratulate Mrs May on "accepting that we're not remotely ready for the chaos of a no-deal departure on March 29". Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe last night said Ireland would not block an extension of the Brexit deadline. An Government spokesman said "our goal is to see a deal agreed" and that short of the UK deciding to stay in the EU, it was the "best outcome for Ireland". He added: "In the absence of that, we are open to an extension of the Article 50 deadline in order to avoid a crash out on March 29". He said an agreement would still need to be reached regardless of whether an extension is in place. Separately, the UK government published its latest assessment of the implications of a no-deal Brexit on trade. It states that the effect on Northern Ireland would be more severe than in Britain. The document reiterates the UK government's commitment to avoiding a hard Border "in any scenario". It also promises that the UK will "shortly publish further details on its immediate, temporary, arrangements for trade between Northern Ireland and Ireland in a no-deal scenario". It says that in such a scenario the UK government "would need to work urgently with the Irish Government and the EU to find any sustainable longer-term solution". The Government here has consistently said it is not planning for a hard Border. Tanaiste Simon Coveney has said the Government would push for regulatory alignment similar to what's in the current backstop in the event of crisis talks on avoiding a hard Border. His spokesman declined to speculate on what the temporary arrangements mentioned in the UK government documents would be. He said that the British document "only serves to underline that a no-deal Brexit would be bad for everyone" and "unfortunately worst for Northern Ireland". France will continue to support Ireland in Brexit talks despite a clash between the two countries on how tech giants are taxed here, according to the country's finance minister. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe met his French counterpart Bruno Le Maire in Dublin yesterday for talks on introducing digital taxes on revenue earned by multinationals through online sales, advertising and collecting users' personal data. The pair clashed on differing tax policies, but Mr Le Maire said France would continue to support Ireland as one of the EU 27. However, he warned that tax policy changes were necessary here for the EU to have a tax regime that is fit for purpose in the 21st century. "The future of Ireland is in Europe. The future of France is also in the EU so we have a common future and the key point for us is to build that common future," he said after his meeting with Mr Donohoe. "That is why Ireland can rely on the full support of France now and in the future, whatever Brexit will bring. "On digital taxation, and I want to be very clear there is no link between the two issues and never has been." He warned that serious tax reform was needed internationally. Last year, the European Commission proposed enforcing taxation on three sources of income for major digital companies: money raised from advertising, exploitation of data and digital sales. France has supported these proposals, but Ireland opposed them. The two countries have also clashed about the low corporation tax rates used to attract multinationals to Ireland. Mr Le Maire said a digital tax and higher corporation tax rates must be introduced to pay for schools and hospitals. Mr Donohoe conceded there were differences between the tax regimes in both countries, but committed to working with Mr Le Maire to create a tax targeting digital revenue streams. "We have some differences on digital taxation and we have some broader differences in relation to corporate tax," said Mr Donohoe. "But what we also agreed is that we will work on what we have in common and we will find new ways in which we will work on that. "That is why I was prepared to offer Bruno the proposal of how we can work better within the OECD to look at the agenda he and President Macron have articulated." TV personality Patrick Kielty has claimed that a hard Brexit could lead to a united Ireland. Writing in the Guardian, the Co Down funny man said Brexit negotiations are being hindered by the red lines drawn by British Prime Minister Theresa May, the DUP and the European Research Group, while Jeremy Corbyn's position is unclear. "If they all hold firm, were heading for a hard Brexit. And a united Ireland," he said. "We were always going to end up here because Brexit has never been about Nissan X-Trails or the shape of your bananas. Its only ever been about sovereignty." Mr Kielty, whose father was murdered by loyalist paramilitaries in 1988, said this causes difficulty in Northern Ireland as many here either identify as British or Irish. "Yet as Brexiteers preach about their precious union, Irish nationalists in the same country are meant to park the union they want and just work out how the chicken crosses the border," he said. The Dundrum-born comedian stated that the majority in Northern Ireland voted remain because the alternative would be either a land border or a border down the Irish Sea and dismissed the idea of any "alternative arrangements" to solve the problem. "If an alternative arrangement that worked actually existed (or was likely to exist in the next couple of years) Brexiteers would have already accepted the backstop, knowing they could easily replace it with their idea during the transition," he said. Mr Kielty said that there are three options of how the Brexit negotiations could unfold. "On the one side is May's deal (complete with backstop). On the other is the ERG (European Research Group) and a hard Brexit," he said. "If the DUP buckles on the backstop, party members will walk away with their UK sovereignty between their legs. For those of us who have their early albums, this isn't going to happen." "Which leaves just one option. The DUP holds firm and jumps off the cliff with the ERG, knowing a hard Brexit is the only scenario that guarantees a hard border in Ireland, a border poll in Northern Ireland and the perfect economic storm where it could lose that vote. "By trying to be the most British person in the room, the DUP could actually end up the most Irish." He added that another referendum on EU membership is the only way to save peace and a continued shared future in Northern Ireland. He continued: "It's now time to act, or Northern Ireland might decide the team is no longer worth playing for." Addressed the Dail: Tanaiste Simon Coveney said he hoped the mammoth piece of emergency legislation will never actually be used. Photo: PA The Government will continue its no-deal Brexit preparations despite more hopeful signals from the London parliament of a positive outcome, Tanaiste Simon Coveney has said. Mr Coveney was speaking as he introduced the biggest-ever law-making package in the State's history, aimed at preparing Ireland for the consequences of a disorderly Brexit on March 29. He said the only ones who could prevent a no-deal outcome were the Westminster MPs. "Today's debate at the House of Commons illustrates the fluidity of the situation and accordingly the need for us to be prepared for all eventualities," the Foreign Affairs Minister told the Dail, in a clear reference to the emerging possibility of a Brexit extension beyond the deadline. Mr Coveney repeated his hope that the mammoth piece of emergency legislation, which will take three weeks to pilot through the Dail and Seanad, will never actually be used because a reasonable conclusion to Brexit can still be found. He said the EU was still trying to help the UK, but would also stand by its commitments to Ireland on the backstop. The Tanaiste said he was happy the UK-Ireland common travel area, which pre-dates the EU, would continue whatever the outcome. He said this would allow continued common work, study, healthcare and welfare provisions to apply between the two islands. He said the Irish Government was determined to maintain strong law enforcement and security co-operation with the UK, particularly regarding Northern Ireland. The draft law provides for this, including extradition provisions. Provisions on transport will protect cross-Border bus services and ensure continued service for passengers and commuters by covering areas such as recognition of EU and UK driver qualification. The bill also enables the Energy Regulator to address possible issues arising from a no-deal Brexit and to maintain the operation of the Single Electricity Market (SEM). It also covers taxation to minimise business disruption and sets out financial support for business. Fianna Fail TD Lisa Chambers noted that the Dail members, across all parties, had taken a more positive and mature approach to the issue than their UK counterparts. But she also castigated Sinn Fein for what she dubbed "a cheap stunt" in moving a no-confidence motion against Health Minister Simon Harris last week. Ms Chambers said the Government had been slow to introduce this legislation and still had to fully outline what income supports would be available to farmers. She said other countries, such as Holland and France, were far more advanced in their planning, but Ireland risked being hit far worse. Sinn Fein's David Cullinane said his party would support the passage of the legislative package. But he also accused the Government of being afraid of planning for the prospect of a united Ireland via a Border poll. Labour leader Brendan Howlin warned that some tax provisions appeared excessive. He also warned that a no-deal outcome could further sour UK-Irish relations as there was a risk that UK Brexiteers would further blame Ireland for some economic fallout. He also queried the Government keeping powers to make special orders. A family-run clothing business which first opened during the recession is now attempting to overcome the odds again by counteracting the negative impact of Brexit. Brothers Mark and JP McCluskey had just signed a lease for their Evolve shop in Letterkenny back in 2007 when the bottom fell out of the financial market; but there was no turning back. "They had already signed the lease, already borrowed from everyone, there was no out so they went ahead and attempted to make the best of things," Evolve Clothing's Financial & Operations Officer Andrew Brolly told Independent.ie. Despite the shaky start, it didn't take long for the menswear store to become a hit for customers in the Northwest and, within a year, the duo approached the landlord to lease a larger unit, five times the size of the original premises. Growing from a 2,000 sq feet shop to having over 20,000 sq feet of shop and warehouse space was initially difficult as the McCluskeys found that a number of well known brands had exclusive supply contracts with other retailers. However, almost a decade on from that move, Evolve is reaching the needs of the casual and suit wearing market with brands such as Gant, Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger and Farah in stock. Expand Expand Previous Next Close Daniel paying the store a visit Donegal GAA team / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Daniel paying the store a visit "The store has supplied and sponsored the Donegal GAA team with their formal and casual wear in the past also, including the All Ireland and Ulster Final days. We've even suited and booted Daniel O'Donnell," Brolly said. But with Brexit causing "a real kick in the teeth for the majority of businesses in the Irish border region", Brolly said that Evolve have turned their concern about its impact into an opportunity. "Sales in 2015 were probably the best the company had ever experienced but six months into 2016, we really felt the effect of Brexit, a lot of our Northern Ireland customer base have stopped shopping with us due to weak sterling rates," said Brolly. But Evolve had already decided to take action, pivoting and expanding their business in an effort to minimise the blow to the bottom line. The company opened up a second store in Derry's Foyle Street and also invested in their suiting department to improve the offering, including suit hire to cater better for their customers. And their evolution continues. "This year, the business is investing almost 250,000 in 2019 to expand and develop into a global clothing retailer. It has employed another buyer, two online retail experts, new warehouse staff and an operations officer." Expand Expand Previous Next Close Evolve store in 2008 New works on store / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Evolve store in 2008 This increased workforce, of more than 25pc, creates a boost for the local economy, but Evolve is also looking beyond, with a 75,000 investment into the upgrade of their online site and service, offering free two day shipping to USA, Canada and Australia. Furthermore, it is relaunching as Evolve Clothing which will incorporate a new ladies department, available at their flagship store in Letterkenny initially, and online in the coming months. "Since that initial drop in sales, we really upped our game on the marketing front, doing what everyone was doing I suppose in terms of: shop local, spend local," said Brolly. "But overall we want to highlight the positives that can come out of Brexit adversity and show how a relatively small family owned business can overcome the negatives and continue to diversify and grow." BREXIT has increased the risk of Ireland being used for large-scale money-laundering, including by criminal or terrorist networks that previously used banks in the Baltic states. Rapid economic growth, an influx of new financial institutions including because of Brexit, combined with historic under-investment in technology by Irish banks creates a "perfect storm for money laundering", according to Eoin O'Shea of London-based Temple Grange Partners. "It would be foolish to believe there isn't a Danske Bank-style risk lurking in the Irish system," he said. Banks in the Baltic region, including foreign lenders like Danske have been wracked by the discovery of massive illicit financial flows. Danske Bank is embroiled in a money-laundering scandal that has triggered criminal investigations, forced out its CEO Thomas Borgen and other top officials after its Estonian branch was found to have had thousands of suspicious customers, responsible for 200bn (180bn) of transactions over nine years. With criminal networks seeking alternative access to the EU, Brexit disruptions makes Ireland vulnerable, Eoin O'Shea said. The former global head of compliance at Credit Suisse was speaking ahead of an industry event in Dublin today. His consultancy, along with speakers from the Central Bank and Garda Financial Intelligence Unit and data provider LexisNexis Risk Solutions will address Irish compliance professionals on anti-money laundering and know-your-customer regulations. Chris Siddens of LexisNexis said markets including Germany and Singapore have explored creating agencies that screen customers on behalf of all banks in a market, instead of each institution carrying out separate compliance processes for all customers. A Garda outside Mizzoni Pizzas in Edenmore shopping centre where a shooting took place. Photo: Damien Eagers Two men have been arrested in connection with a shooting incident at a Dublin takeaway on New Year's Day. A 28-year-old man was shot in the stomach and a 38-year-old man was shot in the chest during the incident at Mizzoni's Pizza at Edenmore Shopping Centre on January 1. Both victims were working in Mizzoni's at the time of the shooting. Gardai from Coolock investigating the shooting arrested two men on the north side of Dublin yesterday. One man in his 40s is due to appear at the Criminal Courts of Justice this morning, while a second man in his 50s remains in garda custody. Paddy Phelan outside his new one-bed maisonette in Co Laois Photo: Michael Donnelly A former soldier has given up his three-bedroom house to help a young family who were on the waiting list for a new home for seven years. Paddy Phelan, who lives in Abbeyleix, Co Laois, decided to downsize as he was "sick of seeing the amount of houses lying idle and families struggling." He moved out of the house he called home for 12 years in January and is now living in a one-bedroom maisonette, which he described as "damn comfortable." Mr Phelan gave up his social housing home to Kieran Ritchie and fiancee Lauren, who were in a two-bedroom property where their ten-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter had to share a room. The family were on the waiting list for a bigger house for seven years. Speaking about his decision, Mr Phelan told the Will Faulkner Show on Midlands 103 that it was "the honourable thing to do." "I was hearing through the media about families crying out for houses and I was thinking to myself well here I am. I'm in a three-bedroom house and I think the right thing to do would be to downsize to a smaller house. "Before I took the maisonette, I actually discussed it with my family. I have four daughters and they all have their own lives and they fly in and fly out. I've met the family, Kieran and Lauren and they've two little children and they're very happy. "I'll never forget the look on all their faces and to see how happy the children were. I'm happy for them and I can only wish them well. Please god it would send out a message to other people to consider." He spent 24 years with the Defence Forces and currently works part-time as a caretaker in Abbeyleix Further Education Centre, where Kierans fiancee Lauren is studying. "My son and daughter were sharing a room, she is an early riser and my young man likes to sleep in. He'd be very agitated and grumpy but since we've moved into this house they're much happier," Kieran Ritchie said. Read More "Having their own space and own rooms and more freedom, it's incredible. [For Paddy] To give that up, is a big thing. I'm going to make memories myself there now and we're very grateful." Paddy Phelan encouraged other people who are living in houses with unused bedrooms to consider making a change also. "It's a crying shame that these houses are lying basically idle. People should seriously consider their position and accommodate a family if they can. "I've downsized now and I'm very happy and I'm very happy the way Laois County Council handled it. "The amount of stuff and clutter I had to get rid of when moving though... When you have too many rooms you're cluttering up all the time and I had a fair amount of decluttering to do and there's a bit of a cost to it too. I didn't have any Christmas... but I'm happy to see that they're happy." Independent.ie revealed last week how the Government is to begin paying older people to downsize and move into age-friendly neighbourhoods. The unpublished report says older people living in social housing will be offered financial incentives before the end of the year, ahead of extending the scheme to private homeowners. The Housing Options for Our Ageing Population Policy Statement says the Government wants to encourage older people to "right-size to appropriately sized units". It also says 50pc of all new apartments and 30pc of houses should be suitable for older people and those with mobility issues. The offer of resignation from Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, is of great importance to Iran and the outside world. His departure will significantly weaken the reformist government of Hassan Rouhani, strengthen the countrys hardliners and help the Trump administrations quest for regime change in Tehran. The grave concern about what is unfolding was shown by 150 out of 290 members of the Iranian parliament signing a petition urging Zarif to stay within hours of him announcing, via Instagram, he was leaving, and other MPs saying they too will be putting their names on it. The Tehran Stock Exchange index fell 1.1 per cent in 24 hours, and the countrys business people and bankers association expressed anxiety about the reaction of foreign investors whose numbers are already dwindling after the reimposition of American trade sanctions to the news. Zarif was the key architect on the Iranian side of the agreement with international states over its nuclear programme an agreement which took years to negotiate and one which five of the signatories (Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China), as well as the UN, stressed was working and making the world a safer place. Revolution in Iran: In pictures Show all 11 1 /11 Revolution in Iran: In pictures Revolution in Iran: In pictures A demonstration against the Shah in 1979 Getty Revolution in Iran: In pictures Armed women on guard in one of the main squares in Tehran at the beginning of the Iranian Revolution Getty Revolution in Iran: In pictures Demonstrators hold a poster of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in January 1979, in Tehran, during a demonstration against the Shah AFP/Getty Revolution in Iran: In pictures Iranian rebels pose with a U.S. flag they bayonetted upside down on trees at Sultanabad Garrison northeast of Tehran on February 12 2019 AP Revolution in Iran: In pictures A gun battle in Khorramshahr during the revolution, 1979 Getty Revolution in Iran: In pictures Ayatollah Khomeini's supporters demonstrate in the streets of Tehran against the Shah among tear gas. The "black friday" caused the death of 200 people according to the Iranian government, 2000 according to the opposition, September 8 1978 AFP/Getty Revolution in Iran: In pictures Women wearing the traditional Chador demonstrate in the streets of Tehran against the Shah on September 7 1978 AFP/Getty Revolution in Iran: In pictures Demonstrators in Tehran calling for the replacement of the Shah of Iran during the Iranian Revolution, 1979. They carry placards depicting Ayatollah Mahmoud Talaghani, one of the leading revolutionaries Getty Revolution in Iran: In pictures Ayatollah Khomeini's supporters demonstrate in the streets of Tehran against the Shah. The "black friday" caused the death of 200 people according to the Iranian government, 2000 according to the opposition, September 8 1978 AFP/Getty Revolution in Iran: In pictures Thousands of the Ayatollah Khomeini's supporters on the streets of Tehran calling for the religious leader's return in January 1979 Getty Revolution in Iran: In pictures The Iranian Islamic Republic Army demonstrates in solidarity with people in the street during the Iranian revolution. They are carrying posters of the Ayatollah Khomeini, the Iranian religious and political leader Getty However, the sixth signatory, the US, egged on by Israel and a group of Sunni Gulf states, is trying to wreck the deal. Western European states have taken measures to protect the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), to the ire of the Trump administration. But American punitive measures have meant that commercial benefits which were supposed to come with the deal are drying up, and within Iran the hardliners are advocating the country should return to developing its nuclear programme. Zarif has been fighting hard to prevent this, and remains the countrys interlocutor with the west. The pressure the Rouhani administration faces on this should not be underestimated. Reporting on the last parliamentary and then presidential elections in Iran, I recall the constant charge from the hardline opposition candidates and parties that the west cannot be trusted, and that the nuclear deal was a grave danger to national security. Zarif spoke about the internal pressures in an interview with the newspaper Jomhouri Eslami, following his resignation. We first have to remove our foreign policy from the issue of party and factional fighting. The deadly poison for foreign policy is for it to become an issue of this party and factional fighting, he said. There are claims that the foreign minister felt he was being sidelined, during a recent visit to Tehran by Bashar al-Assad. The supreme leader, ayatollah Ali Khamenei, met the Syrian president with general Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Revolutionary Guard, a force heavily deployed in the Syrian war, but not Zarif. The question now is whether president Rouhani accepts the resignation and the loss of one of his main allies or, indeed, whether Ayatollah Khamenei would want such a high-profile example of internal divisions at a turbulent time. The external divisions over Iran were laid bare at the meeting this month of the annual Munich security conference. US vice president Mike Pence launched an attack on Nato allies, saying: The time has come for our European partners to withdraw from the disastrous Iran nuclear deal and join with us as we bring the economic and diplomatic pressure. The time has come for our European partners to stop undermining US sanctions against this murderous revolutionary regime. Mike Pence urges Europe to quit Iran nuclear deal Some of the vice presidents remarks were met with whispered mockery. When Pence stated that Iran was the chief state sponsor of terrorism there were sotto voce comments about Gulf state clients of the US supporting Islamist extremists, and the name of the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi came up a number of times. Angela Merkel, in her speech, staunchly defended the Iran deal and spoke up for multilateral agreements and institutions under attack from the Trump administration. The German chancellor spoke before 30 heads of government and 90 ministers. Her speech was greeted with a prolonged standing ovation in the packed auditorium. Zarif, speaking at Munich, accused the US of having a pathological obsession with Iran ever since the Islamic revolution four decades ago, and that animus is now reaching new extremes. Senior members of the Trump administration, he maintained, were seeking to overthrow the Iranian government. Zarif wanted to point out that US national security adviser John Bolton had told an Iranian exile group, the Mujahedin Khalq (MEK), once designated as terrorists in the US and Europe, that the Trump administration should fully back their goal of immediate regime change and recognise the group as a viable alternative. John Bolton is now angry because he said he would celebrate with MEK in Tehran in 2019 and that is not going to happen, said the foreign minister. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Europe, said Zarif, must resist Washingtons pressure to jettison JCPOA and strengthen a payment mechanism under which businesses and banks would, in theory, be able to trade with Iran without incurring American sanctions. But Zarif himself may not be around now to protect the deal. And although Bolton may not be celebrating with the MEK in Tehran this year, Irans adversaries were certainly celebrating the prospect of him leaving the government. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, welcomed the foreign ministers departure, tweeting: Zarif is gone. Good riddance. Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, also went on Twitter to say: Well see if it sticks. Either way he and Hassan Rouhani are just front men for a corrupt religious mafia. Zarif urbane, US-educated with a degree in international law from Denver University has always been a problem for the Trump camp and its international allies in portraying the Iranian government as a bunch of barbaric religious fanatics. The fall of reformists like him and rise of the hardliners will help with this narrative. The course of this could lead to a government in Iran which will leave the deal and restart its nuclear weapons programme, which in turn will allow the US to take even more forceful action. The people of Iran will suffer deeply and the world will become a more dangerous place. Like a faulty shopping trolley, the foreign policy of the Trump administration seems utterly unable to steer anything like a safe and predictable path. This has had mixed consequences. First, foreign entities, friend and foe alike, have in front of them the most wayward president in decades. It used to be called, in the Nixon era, the mad monk theory that the president was so volatile he might do anything, adding credence to the force of Americas nuclear deterrent, for example. Here, Donald Trumps strange irascible Twitter-based diplomacy may have yielded some unexpected benefits. This is most obviously symbolised in the imminent summit meeting between the president and the supreme leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un. 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 After all, no one would have predicted that Mr Trump would claim that he had fallen in love with little rocket man as he once called him. Indeed their mirror-image vanity seems, bizarrely, to be on the brink of delivering a peaceful conclusion to the Korean War, still technically only in a state of ceasefire since 1953. As they approach their second meeting, in Vietnam, the peoples of East Asia can contemplate a future where Pyongyang is no longer randomly loosing off missiles in the general direction of Tokyo, Seoul or Hawaii. Mr Trumps hardball tactics or at least the impression of them may also have softened Chinas attitude towards striking a more durable trade relationship with the United States. Both nations policy misjudgements resulted in the global imbalances that have helped destabilise the world economy over the past decade Americas insatiable appetite for Chinese goods, and Chinas equally unquenchable desire to accumulate US government debt. With some adjustments in tariffs and currency levels on both sides, a source of tension between the two economic superpowers first and second in the world will at least be ameliorated. The viral video clip of the US president publicly contradicting his own trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, about the meaning of memorandum of understanding has overshadowed the fact that the White House has postponed the imposition of fresh tariffs on Chinese products. That is a decision of huge significance for the world economy: it has reduced the risk of a global recession. Against all of that we have the presidents counterproductive attitude to Venezuela, where Caracas doesnt know what he is going to do yet, and it isnt helping. There is no doubt that President Maduro, like President Chavez before him, has impoverished his people and eroded their human rights. He is presently set upon a course of denying them vital aid coming over the border from Colombia. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events It is indefensible but Nicolas Maduro has the unexpected gift of being able to claim that the convoys carrying food and medicines are merely symbols and tools of Yankee imperialisms. Sending the US vice president to Colombia to anoint the alternative, self-proclaimed president, Juan Guaido is a grave tactical error, for much the same reason. Mr Guaido would be better off building his own domestic political base it cannot be so difficult in current conditions rather than posing as a stooge of the Trump White House. It is a curious affair, and one that can only inflame the fissile situation in Venezuela. Indeed, the violence has already begun. Mr Trump is a man full of surprises, and mostly unpleasant ones. His relationship with Russia is unfathomable; his wanton destruction of neighbourly relations with Canada and Mexico is deeply detrimental to US interests; and his alienation of old US allies in Europe and Nato is completely futile. In Venezuela, he is taking far too close an interest in its internal affairs to achieve what America wants and the people of Venezuela need a peaceful transition to a new politics, if not a new regime. Yet, for all that, he seems on the brink of denuclearising North Korea, and of a Korean peace treaty, a feat that has evaded every president from Eisenhower to Obama. For a change, the world should wish President Trump well. Jihadi bride stereotypes are causing female Isis members to be dangerously underestimated by security services, the United Nations has warned. In the wake of home secretary Sajid Javids decision to strip Shamima Begum of her British nationality, an arm of the UN Security Council said there was an urgent need to monitor female jihadis remaining in Iraq and Syria. A report said that countries choosing to leave women in conflict zones could exacerbate future Isis-related threats and, more generally, threaten the long-term recovery and stability of the region. The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate said the situation was also overburdening local judicial capacities and detention facilities, increasing the risk of human rights violations and sowing the seeds of potential further radicalisation. The report comes as the home secretary admitted the government did not know how many women travelled from the UK to join Isis, or how many British children have been born in the groups territories. 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 Asked whether there was any plan for Ms Begums son, Mr Javid told MPs: Sadly, there are probably many hundreds of children that have been born to foreign fighters. As I mentioned, 900 people have gone out, we dont have a breakdown between men and women, but a significant proportion have been female foreign fighters. Some of them may have taken children with them, and many of them would have had children out there whilst in Syria and working with Daesh. Several British women became high-profile radicalisers, including Scottish university student Aqsa Mahmood, who communicated with the Bethnal Green girls on Twitter before they left for Syria. Ms Begum is among at least 20 British women and children being held in Syrian Democratic Forces camps after fleeing Isiss last territory, The Independent understands. The UN report said only a tiny fraction of an estimated 4,700 female foreign Isis members had returned to their home countries compared to their male counterparts, with potential reasons including their inability to travel without a male guardian. Given the low number of female returnees, there is an urgent need to understand what happens to those who stay, the report said. Isiss British recruits included Aqsa Mahmood, who recruited other women from the UK (PA) Even less is known about the fate of local women who lived in Isis-occupied territory and might have been associated with, or supported, the group in various ways, whether or not on a voluntary basis. The UN Security Council called on the UK and other member states to recognise the many different roles, including as supporters, facilitators or perpetrators of terrorist acts that women play. Warning against assumptions that returning men pose a higher threat than women, the UN said not all male Isis members had combat experience and the groups propaganda showed that some women did. The gendered assumption that women lack agency can have serious security implications by letting dangerous actors slip through the cracks, the report said. Women play important roles in Isiss recruitment and propaganda activities even if women do not fight, they can still spread radical ideas and encourage others to commit attacks. Research suggested that women are treated more leniently by courts based on sexist assumptions about them being duped or forced into terrorism, meaning they are given less deradicalisation support and security monitoring. In 2017 a judge spared a woman from prison who spread Isis propaganda online after her lawyer argued she was a good mother who was led astray. In your exceptional case, the sooner you are returned to your children the better for all concerned, Farhana Begum Ahmed was told. The UN report suggested such views may have been fuelled by the stereotype of naive jihadi brides who travelled to conflict zones for romance and adventure. Researchers said the tendency to ascribe rational motivations to men and emotional motivations to women persisted, even though there was no evidence that the drivers of radicalisation differ by gender. Whereas women are infantilised and not taken seriously, and the risk that they pose is underestimated, men and boys are subjected to harsher judgements that ignore their vulnerabilities and dismiss the level of manipulation that they may have experienced, the report said. But the report added that violence against women and disrespect towards female Muslims helped drive them towards Isis, which offered a twisted version of empowerment to western female recruits. Aid agencies have raised the alarm after dozens of children have died after leaving the last territory held by Isis in eastern Syria. Nearly 15,000 mostly women and children have fled the tiny enclave in the past week, overwhelming local Kurdish authorities who are dealing with the exodus. The al-Hol displacement camp in northern Syria, where the fleeing civilians are being taken, has swelled to more than 50,000 people. Around 2,000 are now sleeping rough in the arrivals area in poor weather conditions. Low temperatures, malnutrition and a lack of medical care have led to the deaths of at least 80 people mostly children who died on their journey to the camp or soon after arriving. Two thirds of deaths were of babies under the age of one, and the vast majority occurred in the past month. The sheer scale of the number of people arriving at al-Hol is overwhelming, said Misty Buswell, Middle East Advocacy Director for the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which operates in the camp. Many of the children are having to cope without shoes or coats. Most of the mothers arrived with extremely young children, and many are in poor health after going for many weeks without enough food, water or receiving any medical care, she added. 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 IRC said there have been more than 100 cases of diarrhoea among the new arrivals. The last piece of the Isis caliphate, in a small village called Baghouz in Deir ez-Zor, has been surrounded for months now, as the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces near the end of a military campaign to capture all of the groups territory. Hundreds of hardened Isis members have surrendered over the past few weeks as food and water has run low. Families of fighters, too, have left, realising the end is near. Many escaping have arrived on the brink of starvation, and with injuries from the battle they left behind. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Earlier this week Human Rights Watch expressed concern that not enough was being done to protect the welfare of fleeing civilians. 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 director at Human Rights Watch. Just because they may be families of isis members or sympathised with them does not take away their protected status. Irans high-profile foreign minister rescinded his resignation less than 36 hours after he announced his departure from his position in an Instagram post. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Irans top diplomat and a pillar of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, was back at work Wednesday standing alongside president Hassan Rouhani to welcome Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan to the Iranian capital on a state visit broadcast live on television. Hours earlier Mr Rouhani formally rejected Mr Zarifs resignation. It is the belief of myself and the supreme leader you are a trusted, brave and devout individual standing on the front line against Americas multilateral pressures, Mr Rouhani wrote in a letter published Wednesday on the official presidential website. I think your resignation is against the countrys interests and I do not accept it. The show of support could bolster Mr Zarifs position within the Iranian political establishment but it could also paint Mr Zarif as a somewhat thin-skinned and petty political player after he allegedly resigned after being excluded from meetings with the Syrian president. Revolution in Iran: In pictures Show all 11 1 /11 Revolution in Iran: In pictures Revolution in Iran: In pictures A demonstration against the Shah in 1979 Getty Revolution in Iran: In pictures Armed women on guard in one of the main squares in Tehran at the beginning of the Iranian Revolution Getty Revolution in Iran: In pictures Demonstrators hold a poster of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in January 1979, in Tehran, during a demonstration against the Shah AFP/Getty Revolution in Iran: In pictures Iranian rebels pose with a U.S. flag they bayonetted upside down on trees at Sultanabad Garrison northeast of Tehran on February 12 2019 AP Revolution in Iran: In pictures A gun battle in Khorramshahr during the revolution, 1979 Getty Revolution in Iran: In pictures Ayatollah Khomeini's supporters demonstrate in the streets of Tehran against the Shah among tear gas. The "black friday" caused the death of 200 people according to the Iranian government, 2000 according to the opposition, September 8 1978 AFP/Getty Revolution in Iran: In pictures Women wearing the traditional Chador demonstrate in the streets of Tehran against the Shah on September 7 1978 AFP/Getty Revolution in Iran: In pictures Demonstrators in Tehran calling for the replacement of the Shah of Iran during the Iranian Revolution, 1979. They carry placards depicting Ayatollah Mahmoud Talaghani, one of the leading revolutionaries Getty Revolution in Iran: In pictures Ayatollah Khomeini's supporters demonstrate in the streets of Tehran against the Shah. The "black friday" caused the death of 200 people according to the Iranian government, 2000 according to the opposition, September 8 1978 AFP/Getty Revolution in Iran: In pictures Thousands of the Ayatollah Khomeini's supporters on the streets of Tehran calling for the religious leader's return in January 1979 Getty Revolution in Iran: In pictures The Iranian Islamic Republic Army demonstrates in solidarity with people in the street during the Iranian revolution. They are carrying posters of the Ayatollah Khomeini, the Iranian religious and political leader Getty Mr Zarifs continued service will come as a relief to western diplomats seeking to uphold the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JPCOA), the 2015 nuclear deal, after the US pulled out of the historic accord last year. Many had feared Mr Zarifs departure could weaken attempts to keep Irans nuclear programme in check. People are policy, and having made the deal, he would be one of its most fervent advocates inside the system, a former senior western official who was closely involved in the years-long negotiations preceding the deal told The Independent. Mr Zarif announced his resignation hours after photos appeared online showing him being excluded from meetings during a state visit by Syrias ruler, Bashar al-Assad. But Mr Rouhani and scores of Iranian lawmakers and diplomats demanded he stay on. Iranian news outlets across the political spectrum asked him to also remain in his position. Even conservative voices such as Vatan-e Emrooz, which described his resignation as childish, opined that he should stay. The hardline Kayhan, declared: It is no time to resign. Resolve quarrels in the cabinet. Key support also came from Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Revolutionary Guards foreign expeditionary force. Photos of Mr Soleimani with Mr Rouhani and Mr Assad had apparently rankled Mr Zarif, who claimed his absence from a key state visit weakened his position internationally. But Mr Soleimani said Mr Zarifs absence was the result of a slip-up. Mr Zarif is definitely responsible for the Islamic Republics foreign policy and during his tenure at the Foreign Ministry he has constantly had the support of the establishments highest authorities, including the supreme leader, he said, referring to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the countrys highest authority, in a statement carried by news outlets. In an Instagram post published Wednesday morning, around the same time Mr Rouhani formally rejected his resignation, Mr Zarif vowed to continue in his job. He wrote: As a mere servant, I have had no other concern but the glory of foreign policy and the credibility of the Foreign Ministry as the body responsible for developing foreign policy. At least 25 people have been killed and dozens injured in an explosion at Egypts main railway station, after an unmanned speeding railcar crashed into a barrier, setting a fuel tank on fire. Charred bodies littered the burning platforms and tracks of Ramses station, in central Cairo, which was choked in heavy black smoke and flames on Wednesday morning. Videos shared online showed survivors with severe burns lying in shock on the ground while others staggered in the background engulfed in flames. In CCTV footage, also shared online, people are filmed trying to come to the rescue of those on fire with blankets and water. Egyptian state TV reported that at least 25 had been killed and 40 wounded in the blast. However, Mohammed Said, the head of the Cairo Railroad hospital, warned that the toll is expected to rise. Egypt's top prosecutor General Nabil Sadek later said investigators found that the crash had been caused by a fight between two train conductors. Firefighters and onlookers gather at the scene of a fiery train crash at the Egyptian capital Cairo's main railway station (AFP/Getty) Ahmed Ibrahim, a jewellery salesman at the scene, said he was on his way to work when he heard a loud explosion. "I ran to see a lot of people injured. I had to carry a young girl with my own hands," he said, apparently still in shock. Fiery train crash Cairo: in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Fiery train crash Cairo: in pictures Fiery train crash Cairo: in pictures Fire fighters and onlookers gather at the scene of a fiery train crash in Cairo's main railway station AFP/Getty Images Fiery train crash Cairo: in pictures A fire fighter works at the scene AFP/Getty Images Fiery train crash Cairo: in pictures Fire fighters and onlookers gather at the scene of a fiery train crash in Cairo's main railway station EPA Fiery train crash Cairo: in pictures Firefighters extinguish flames and cool off the train engine EPA Fiery train crash Cairo: in pictures Firefighters extinguish flames and cool off the train engine EPA Fiery train crash Cairo: in pictures Fire fighters and onlookers gather at the scene of a fiery train crash in Cairo's main railway station AFP/Getty Images Fiery train crash Cairo: in pictures Officials inspect the burnt-out train engine EPA Fiery train crash Cairo: in pictures Firefighters stand near burnt-out train wagons on tracks EPA Fiery train crash Cairo: in pictures A damaged train is seen at the main train station after a fire caused deaths and injuries in Cairo Reuters Fiery train crash Cairo: in pictures Onlookers and journalists gather at the scene AFP/Getty "I saw bodies cut in half. I'd never seen that ... I never thought I'd ever touch dead bodies." Mina Ghaly, another eyewitness said: Everyone started running but a lot of people died after the locomotive exploded. I saw at least nine corpses lying on the ground, charred. Egypts prime minister, Mostafa Madbouly, its minister of transport, Hesham Arafat, and a team of investigators attended the scene to inspect the burnt remains of the train, which was photographed leaning on its side and embedded into the barriers on platform six of the usually packed station. Mr Madbouly said anyone found responsible would be held to account. Mr Arafat later handed in his resignation over the deadly incident. Mr Sadek ordered an investigation into the incident and Wednesday issued a statement concluding that a fight between two railway workers was to blame. According to investigators, one conductor exited his railcar without switching the engine off, to fight with a colleague whose own truck was blocking the way. When that truck reversed freeing the trapped locomotive, it gathered speed and hit a concrete and metal barrier exploding. CCTV footage shot outside of the station showed the unmanned truck hurtling towards the station supporting the conclusion. Footage from within the station showed the truck hit the end of the platform, engulfing the train and nearby platform in flames. "The driver left the railcar without taking any measures to brake it," General Sadek said in a statement. He added that the driver was under interrogation and that the investigation was continuing. Named by local media as Alaa Fathy, the driver later appeared in a televised interview with privately-owned network ONTV where he denied responsibility for the crash. "I didn't expect this to happen as I don't know the future. Another [truck] hit mine and I stepped off to argue with the other driver, he told the host. I put the truck into reverse, but the faulty transmission is loose, so it's possible it may have switched back to drive on its own, he continued. Fire rages at Cairo train station following crash at platform He claimed he did not realise he caused a disaster and so went home. I called the control and told them what happened. I was going home and would have returned to work tomorrow as usual. I thought I may get a warning or a salary cut as a punishment. I didn't expect all of this to happen, he added. Egypts antiquated transport network has a long history of deadly crashes. Hours after Wednesday's incident, one person was killed and six others injured in another train accident in El-Alamein, near the northern city of Alexandria, according state media. Members of the security forces and onlookers gather at the scene of a fiery train crash at the Egyptian capital Cairo's main railway station (AHMAD HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images) The crash on Wednesday was the deadliest in Egypt since August 2017 when two passenger trains collided near Alexandria, killing more than 40 people and injuring scores. Last February a crash in the northern province of Beheira killed at least 15 people and injured dozens more. Egyptians have long criticised the authorities for the country's crumbling transport network. In a bid to improve trains, Egypt had signed a deal in 2018 worth one billion euros ($1.14 billion) with a Russian-Hungarian consortium to deliver passenger coaches to the country. A man clears charred objects at the scene of a fiery train crash at the Egyptian capital Cairo's main railway station (STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images) The previous year it signed a $575 million deal with General Electric to purchase 100 locomotives. Despite this, statistics show that the number of accidents is soaring. The latest figures released by the states statistics agency showed that there were 1,793 train accidents in 2017, up from 1,249 in 2016. The deadliest accident on Egypt's railways was in 2002 when 373 people died in a fire that ripped through a crowded train south of the capital. An Egyptian railway worker has been heralded as a hero after he was filmed risking his life trying to extinguish flames which engulfed victims of a deadly train crash in Cairo. Named locally as Walid Mardi, the worker at the Watania Sleeping Trains and Catering Services, allegedly saved the lives of 10 people together with a colleague Wednesday morning when disaster struck. He was filmed on CCTV cameras running towards people who were burning alive and dousing them with water despite the obvious dangers. The horrific footage, in which at least three people are seen completely engulfed in flames, was widely shared by Egyptians who immediately commended Mr Mardi because of his bravery. The fire was burning the people. My only thoughts were focused on extinguishing the fire, he told privately-owned news website Masrawy. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. 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A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The victims were screaming and crying. The scene of the fire was very hard, he said. He later told Akhbar el-Yom, another Egyptian news outlet, that he regarded the victims as his siblings and was still traumatised by the event. I cannot wake up from the shock. The cries of the victims are still ringing in my ears, and I am still amazed at the scenes of the victims and the wounded, he said. At least 25 people were killed and over 45 wounded, when an unmanned railcar used to tow trains smashed through barriers at the end of platform of Cairos main Ramses station before bursting into flames. Recommended 25 dead and dozens injured in fiery crash at Cairo train station Video footage taken at the scene showed charred bodies littered across the platform and tracks, as well as people burning alive and running down staircases in panic. An investigation was launched on Wednesday afternoon. Egypts top prosecutor General Nabil Sadek said investigators found that the crash had been caused by a fight between two train conductors. One exited his railcar without switching off the engine, it gathered speed and hit a concrete and metal barrier exploding, he said. Egyptian officials warned that the death toll may rise because of the severity of the injuries. Some of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition and DNA tests were carried out to determine their identities. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on his government to carry out an investigation and hold those responsible accountable. Prime minister Mostafa Madbouli, who visited the station, promised a tough response. Any person found to be negligent will be held accountable and it will be severe, he said. Transport minister Hisham Arafat later resigned his post, according to a statement released by the cabinet office. Ramses station, located in the heart of the Egyptian capital, is Egypts main and busiest train hub. Walid Mardi is captured on CCTV footage rescuing the injured during a fiery train crash in Cairo (Social media) The countrys crumbling train network has long suffered from deadly crashes and Egyptians have repeatedly complained that the government has failed to deal with chronic transport problems. Hours after the crash, one person was killed and six others injured in another train accident in El-Alamein, near the northern city of Alexandria, according to state media. Wednesdays incident was the deadliest in Egypt since August 2017 when two passenger trains collided near Alexandria, killing more than 40 people and injuring scores. The next year a train crash in the northern province of Beheira killed at least 15 people and injured dozens more. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Statistics show the number of train accidents has increased over the years. The official statistics agency there 1,793 train accidents in 2017, up from 1,249 in 2016. A fat rat that got stuck in a manhole cover in a Germany has been freed after a large-scale rescue operation. The rodent was found wedged after it had apparently tried to clamber out of a sewer in the town of Bensheim, around 35 miles south of Frankfurt, on Sunday. After being discovered in the helpless situation, nine firefighters, aided by animal rescue officers from non-profit organisation Berufstierrettung Rhein Neckar, where dispatched to free the rat. At first we tried to free the animal ourselves. We took leather work gloves and tried to carefully pull it out of the hole, one local resident, named only as Juliana H, told Bild. It was terribly scared, screamed terribly, and bit into the glove. That was actually the plan - we thought if she bites her, she'll be easier to pull out. 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 We noticed very quickly that it did not work that way. And we knew we needed to get help. Rescuers blamed the rotund rodents winterspeck, which translates as winter bacon or winter fat, for landing it in the sticky situation. The local fire brigade said it had dispatched firefighters to the incident, who were able to remove the drain cover, before pushing the rodents rear through the gap. To free it gently, the grate was raised by the fire brigade, so the rat could be removed from the other side, Berufstierrettung Rhein Neckar said in a statement. The rat was released unharmed. When you need a little help, you turn to your friends. But when your friend is Vladimir Putin, youd better also have something else up your sleeve. Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for a long-awaited audience with an old ally in the Kremlin. The trip came amid mounting problems back home a corruption scandal and re-election worries that had even conspired to decided to delay the original date of the visit by a week. Mr Netanyahu needed the meeting to go well, to reaffirm his campaign message as Israels only world player and Moscow knew it too. Few political double-acts are as enduring as Vova and Bibi. The two men disruptive, bombastic, alfa-male share an easy alliance, based as much on personal chemistry as shared history and geopolitics. Today was the 14th time Mr Putin and Mr Netanyahu had met in the last decade alone. That is a record in Israeli-Russian history and a record for any non-post-Soviet leader inside Putins Kremlin. 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 immediate backdrop to Wednesdays meeting mirrored the frost on the ground as the Israelis touched town early morning at Moscow's Vnukovo-2 airport. It was the first time Mr Netanyahu had been granted a sit-down meeting with Mr Putin since a Russian spy plane was downed over Syria in September. it was a tragedy that cost 15 Russian lives and that an emotional Kremlin blamed entirely on Israel. Added to that were continued tensions about the role of Iran in Syria amid the contradictions of Russian foreign policy, which tries to ally with everyone in the region. Mr Netanyahu referred to those tensions in his opening pitch in the Kremlin. Iran and its proxies posed the greatest threat to regional security, he said: We are determined to continue our aggressive activity against Iran, which calls for our destruction, and against its attempts to establish itself militarily in Syria. But the Israeli leader also understood he needed something to break the ice, and get the relationship back on track. So he turned to obvious sweet spots. Close cooperation with the Russian military was what ensured security in the Middle East, he said. Mr Putin, who had up to this point listened with a stone face, brow raised, nodded his head. Then, Mr Netanyahu went further. In the near future, he said, a new memorial to the victims of the Siege of Leningrad would be inaugurated in Jerusalem. Perhaps Mr President would be willing to officiate at its opening? As far as state invitations went, it could hardly have been more personal. Mr Putin might have been born six years after the 872-day siege of his home town ended, but he lost a brother he never knew to to that grim page of Russian history. His entire childhood, as his city rebuilt itself, was spent in the shadow of Leningrad's Siege. Mr Putin switched from poker face to a smile. Thank you, I will come, he said. The memory of those who died in the Second World War of the Jews and of those in Leningrad is sacred. It was a good start for Mr Netanyahu, but whether it was enough to translate into negotiation success on Iran was another thing. Before leaving for Moscow, the Israeli premier said he aimed to use the meeting to prevent Iranian entrenchment in Syria. The presence of Iranian forces close to Golan on the Israeli border in apparent contravention of a Russian-brokered deal to withdraw the forces to at least 80km (50 miles) were of particular concern, he said. According to Jonathan Spyer, Research Fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, few issues are as fundamental to Israel as the question of containing Iran. It was an issue that commanded support across the entire political spectrum from left to right, he added. But Israel also believed that it has a shared interest in supporting Moscow as the regional power broker. Israel needs Russia to remain on the ground, as an arbiter between Turks, [Syrian President Bashar] Assad and Iran, he said. Russia also needs to accommodate Israel to remain that successful mediator. Up until now that message seems to have been heard. Putin threatens to target US with new weapons if it deploys missiles to Europe But the Kremlins careful balancing of its regional alliances meant it was unlikely Jerusalem would be celebrating any major new concessions. The Independent understands the Kremlin feels that it has already done enough to accommodate Israeli concerns and in particular on the border deal. Moscow knows Netanyahu is bringing a list of Iranian and Hezbollah targets, and the sides will likely agree to coordinate, but that is about it, said Yuri Barmin, an expert at the Russian International Affairs Council. Russia has already reached its limits on pressuring Iran, agrees Vladimir Frolov, a security expert and former Kremlin adviser. We are at a point where the Iranians could tell us where to go and begin moving around Syria the way they please, he said. The best Israel can hope for is a deconfliction policy where Russians dont shoot down Israeli planes if they avoid Russian assets and personnel. The rest is God-knows-what-he-is-doing kind of thing. Members of a neo-Nazi group face criminal charges in Germany after staging a torch-wielding march through parts of Nuremberg used by Adolf Hitler to stage rallies in the 1930s. Saturday's procession, which included those affiliated to the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) and Wodan's Erben Germania, began at a hostel for refugees in the Bavarian city. Police asked the gathering to disband but the group, dressed in black and with hoods covering their heads, later re-assembled and marched towards Nuremberg's former Nazi party rally grounds holding lit torches. Members of the group posed on the Zeppelinfeld tribune, an arena which was once adorned by a large swastika that provided seating for 200,000 Nazi faithful. Nazi Nuremberg rallies Show all 4 1 /4 Nazi Nuremberg rallies Nazi Nuremberg rallies The Zeppelin grandstand (Zeppelintribune) can be seen at the former German Nazi party rally grounds on January 23, 2010 AFP/Getty Images Nazi Nuremberg rallies circa 1935: A rally, at the Zeppelin Stadium in Nuremberg, of German women serving in the Nazi Women's Labour Service Getty Images Nazi Nuremberg rallies 12th September 1938: German Chancellor and leader of the Nazi Party Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945) addressing troops on the Zeppelin Field on the last day of the Nuremberg Congress Getty Images Nazi Nuremberg rallies 1933: National Socialist German Workers (Nazi) party rally at Nuremberg Getty Images Police in Bavaria later apologised for missing chances to stop the march, saying they had "used historically sensitive sites for propaganda purposes". Anti-fascist groups expressed outrage that the procession was able to go ahead unhindered. Max Gnugesser-Mair, of the Nuremberg Stop the Nazi Alliance, said he was stunned that there can once again be Nazi torchlight marches on the historic site in the former city of the Nuremberg Rallies such events must be prevented. Sebastian Hansen, of Bavaria's Green Youth, has filed a criminal complaint against the rally for glorifying the Nazis. Robert Pollack of Nurembergs public order office said he was also considering action against those involved. Bavaria's Office for the Protection of the Constitution has designated Wodan's Erben Germania as a right-wing extremist group while the NPD is an ultranationalist group founded as successor to the German Reich Party. Smaller than the better known Alternative for Germany (AfD), the NPD is only represented in regional assemblies. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The group has threatened to carry out street patrols in areas where it claims police are not stopping crimes committed by asylum seekers. Germany has struggled with how to preserve its Nazi-era monuments without allowing them to become meeting points for the far right. Chief among them is the Zeppelinfeld arena, a huge complex designed by Albert Speer, Hitlers favourite architect. The site, one of Germanys largest listed building complexes, is protected by law but has fallen into disrepair in recent years. The battle lines of the conflict in this central African country are drawn by language. About 80 per cent of the country speaks French; the rest speaks English. For decades, Francophones and Anglophones lived in relative harmony. But over the past two years, violence spurred by this linguistic split has brought Cameroon to the brink of civil war. Hundreds have died, close to 500,000 have been displaced, and activists have been rounded up and jailed. The government claims armed English-speaking separatists who want to create a new nation called Ambazonia have terrorised civilians and attacked government forces, prompting the military to retaliate against them. But in more than a dozen interviews, English speakers displaced by military raids on their villages recounted how Cameroonian troops opened fire on unarmed civilians and burnt down their homes. Soldiers often arrived to Anglophone villages early in the morning, they said. But instead of looking for armed independence fighters, they fired indiscriminately, at times leaving the bodies of young men piled in the streets. A map locating the anglophone region within Cameroon (The Washington Post) Witnesses and victims say the governments use of force has driven a growing number of moderate Cameroonians to throw their support behind the armed separatists, a shift that threatens to intensify the government crackdown and deepen divisions between French and English speakers in the once-peaceful nation. If this conflict spreads beyond the Anglophone regions, it could destabilise the whole country. I dont want Cameroon anymore, says Daniel, a civilian who fled to Dschang, a French-speaking city close to the border of one English-speaking region, after government forces attacked his village and shot an old woman dead. He asked for his last name not to be used out of fear of retribution for his comments, as did the other English-speaking Cameroonians in this story. I want to fight for a new country. Late last year, the United Nations warned there had been a surge of violence on both sides. At least 400 civilians were killed in the preceding year, Amnesty International reported in September. Colonel Didier Badjeck, spokesperson for Cameroons military, disputed that estimate and said that around 170 Cameroonian troops had been killed as of November 2018. Among the hundreds of thousands of Cameroonians displaced are about 30,000 who fled to Nigeria as refugees, according to United Nations estimates. Daniel, an English speaker who fled after government forces attacked his village (The Washington Post) Human rights groups have also accused separatists of attacking security forces and burning down schools, among other abuses. The African Union has called for dialogue but affirmed its unwavering commitment to the unity and territorial integrity of Cameroon. Commander Candice Tresch, a spokesperson for the US Defence Department, said that the United States has received assurances from the Cameroonian government that US assistance will not be diverted from its intended purpose, which includes fighting Islamist extremists in the north. She says the United States closely monitors units serving in the northwest and southwest against whom credible allegations of gross violations of human rights have been lodged, to ensure they do not receive additional training or equipment if and when they are transferred to areas dealing with the Boko Haram menace. We will consider suspending or reprogramming additional assistance when and as necessary, she said. Tibor Nagy, US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said the United States takes allegations of human rights violations in Cameroon seriously. The last thing we would want is [if] units that we were training to fight against terrorism are then used against populations in the Anglophone regions, Nagy said. The Cameroonian government denies that it is targeting civilians or burning down Anglophone villages. Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who served as communications minister until January, said that the military is defending civilians from the secessionists and that most Cameroonians living in English-speaking regions are hostages of the separatists. Badjeck said the military is burning only secessionist camps, not civilian villages. You can only ask President Biya why he is sending his army to come attack his own people Amkemngu, 64, a Cameroonian Civilians who have fled Anglophone areas and advocates working with them tell a different story. Survivors and advocates say violent government attacks on villages have prompted an exodus from Cameroons two English-speaking regions in the northwest and southwest of the Anglophone region. * * * As with other countries in Africa, Cameroons modern-day, bilingual identity was shaped by European colonial powers. Even its name, a derivative of the Portuguese camaroes or shrimp, hints at Europes centuries-old control over the countrys identity. In 1916, France and Britain seized the territory from Germany, and it was later divided between them. Then, in 1960, French-speaking Cameroon won independence and established a new nation: La Republique du Cameroun. The following year, English speakers in part of the British territory opted to join Cameroon, and a bilingual country was born. Cameroon is home to more than 200 local languages, making it one of the most linguistically diverse countries in Africa. But French and English are its official languages, unifying its many ethnic groups. French speakers largely control Cameroons government and its elite circles, and some Anglophones have long felt marginalised by the central government. President Paul Biya, a Francophone, has held office since 1982 and was re-elected for another seven-year term in October, after a widely contested election. Many English speakers did not participate in the vote. Todays conflict can be traced to late 2016, when English-speaking lawyers and teachers organised peaceful protests, a movement born of frustrations that the government had assigned French-speaking judges and teachers to English-speaking courts and schools. English speakers claimed that officials in Yaounde were essentially forcing the minority Anglophones to assimilate into Francophone legal and educational systems. A map showing the European colonization of Africa in 1957 (The Washington Post) The government claims to have initially agreed to some reforms but also cracked down on the activists, jailing a number of moderate leaders and killing some protesters. The original activists watched from prison as more-extreme voices, those calling for full separation from Cameroon, drowned out what had started as less-aggressive demands. Those arrests were the turning point in the struggle, says Felix Agbor Nkongho, an Anglophone human rights lawyer who helped organise protests and then was jailed. The movement now had to fall in the hands of people who were more extremist, who were not only clamouring for the rights but wanted independence. Fighting escalated in spring 2018. Separatists ramped up their attacks against the military, and the Cameroonian troops retaliated, leaving civilians caught in the crossfire, according to English speakers who fled from the military during that period. The enemy is inside the population Badjeck, a Cameroonian military spokesperson Early on a clear April morning last year, Amkemngu, a local government official from the southwestern village of Azi, woke to the sound of heavy machine-gun fire. Government troops had come to the village, he says, to look for armed separatists. He fled to the top of a hill, clambering through thick brush until he found a clearing. It was from there that he watched as soldiers below opened fire on an elderly woman who was trying to escape. Hours later, Amkemngu, 64, softly trudged down the hill to dig a hole and bury the womans body. You can only ask [President] Biya why he is sending his army to come attack his own people, he says. A member of Cameroons ruling party, he even decorated his home with photos of the leader whom his brother, a soldier, died protecting decades earlier. Now, hes willing to fight and die for Ambazonia. Theres no turning back, he says. * * * Amkemngu is one of a growing number of English-speaking Cameroonians who, after surviving government attacks on their villages, have grown disillusioned with a unified Cameroon and believe the separatist cause is the only path forward. Akole, a 45-year-old father from Menji in the southwest, says that when the government realises that you are from the English-speaking part of the country, you dont deserve being alive. He says one of his nephews was shot dead by the military, and two of his sons went missing after troops opened fire on their village in April. In the chaos, soldiers set fire to houses and shops, he says. Losing family members during the military attacks made him lose all faith in the government and pushed him into the arms of the separatists, who he says do not target innocent people. Civilians love the way the Amba-boys are behaving with them, he says, using a local nickname for the secessionists. Aaron, who retired to his village, Oshie, in the northwest, was living quietly, tending to his small cocoa farm for a modest living. Then, in June, soldiers opened fire on his village, and Aaron hid in a hole behind his house. When the 76-year-old emerged close to dusk, the home he had spent his life savings to build was on fire. Nearby, a relative, a young man with disabilities, had been shot dead. He took one look at his surroundings and fled on foot, eventually reaching the French-speaking port city of Douala. The military crackdown has caused so much damage, he says, that he now sees no future for a unified Cameroon. If he goes back to his village one day, he wants it to be in Ambazonia. I dont want to be here, he says about Douala. I dont feel free here. Witnesses to government attacks say the militarys aggressive approach to the conflict, including indiscriminate violence against civilians, has eroded English speakers trust in the government and made them fearful of military intervention. Monique, a seamstress who also fled to Douala, says that troops reached the village of Angwi in April and ordered everyone in the main square to lie flat on their stomachs. When her pregnant friend said she couldnt, a young soldier lifted his rifle and shot her dead. The soldier who shot her friend was wearing a black vest emblazoned with the letters BIR, she says, the French acronym for the Rapid Intervention Battalion, an elite unit that US troops have trained to fight the Boko Haram extremist group in the countrys far northern region. Badjeck, the military spokesperson, denied allegations of human rights abuses in these villages, saying the accounts amounted to propaganda. In an earlier interview, he acknowledged that there have been cases of human rights abuses but said that they are appropriately investigated and that misbehaviour is not our code of conduct. He also acknowledged that troops have faced difficulties distinguishing civilians from separatists. The enemy is inside the population, he said. They go in one door and theyre normal citizens, they come out the back door and they have an arm and are secessionists. Thats what makes this combat difficult. Many English speakers who fled the military still live in fear that they will be targeted in the French-speaking areas where they sought refuge. In Dschang, Daniel, 40, who fled from Azi in April, is sharing two small rooms with a dozen family members. His house in Azi was burnt, and he ran through the bush with his children, avoiding the military along the way. Even now, he says, the military is searching for us, the youths. Washington Post Police in Australia have arrested a man who allegedly evaded arrest after finding him hanging by his underwear from a six-foot-high fence. Officers in Adelaide were called just before 3am following reports of someone smashing windows at a house under construction. "They lost sight of him, but soon found him dangling upside down from a six-foot fence by his underwear, after he became caught while trying to jump the fence," senior constable Matt Brown, of South Australia Police, told local radio. "So one day you're going to get caught with your pants down ... and today was that man's day," he continued. The 23-year-old was arrested and charged with being unlawfully on premises, breach of bail, and carrying an offensive weapon after a knife was found in his pocket. Tens of thousands protest against Australia Day Show all 8 1 /8 Tens of thousands protest against Australia Day Tens of thousands protest against Australia Day Invasion Day protesters march down a street during Australia Day in Brisbane, Australia. EPA Tens of thousands protest against Australia Day Invasion Day protesters march down a street during Australia Day in Brisbane, Australia. EPA Tens of thousands protest against Australia Day Invasion Day protesters march down a street during Australia Day in Brisbane, Australia. EPA Tens of thousands protest against Australia Day Invasion Day protesters march down a street during Australia Day in Brisbane, Australia. EPA Tens of thousands protest against Australia Day Invasion Day protesters march down a street during Australia Day in Brisbane, Australia. EPA Tens of thousands protest against Australia Day Invasion Day protesters march down a street during Australia Day in Brisbane, Australia. EPA Tens of thousands protest against Australia Day Invasion Day protesters march down a street during Australia Day in Brisbane, Australia. EPA Tens of thousands protest against Australia Day Protesters shouts slogans as they march through the streets of Sydney in an "Invasion Day" rally on Australia Day. AFP/Getty Images The man was bailed to appear in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court at a later date. Investigations into the property damage are ongoing. PA A lawyer representing convicted paedophile Cardinal George Pell has suggested the senior clerics abuse of two choirboys was merely a plain vanilla sexual penetration case in an appeal for a more lenient sentence. Pell, a former Vatican treasurer, was found guilty in December of five charges related to the abuse of the 13-year-old boys while he was Archbishop of Melbourne in the 1990s. The details of the case emerged this week after a court order banning reporting of the trial was lifted. Each of the five offences for which the 77-year-old was found guilty carries a maximum 10 years imprisonment, and the judge outlined they were serious charges. But Robert Richter, one of Pells lawyer, told the court his clients crimes were on the low end of offending, describing them as no more than a plain vanilla sexual penetration case where a child is not volunteering or actively participating. George Pell convicted of sex abuse Show all 5 1 /5 George Pell convicted of sex abuse George Pell convicted of sex abuse Cardinal George Pell makes his way to the court in Melbourne on 27 February Getty Images George Pell convicted of sex abuse Lawyer Robert Richter QC leaves the County court during a break in Cardinal Pell's trial EPA George Pell convicted of sex abuse The front pages of Australia's major newspapers reporting the conviction Getty Images George Pell convicted of sex abuse A Police van is seen as it leaves Melbourne County Court after Cardinal George Pell was remanded in custody Getty Images George Pell convicted of sex abuse A statue stands on the grounds of St Patrick's College, where Cardinal George Pell attended school, in Ballarat, Australia Reuters That argument was quickly dismissed by the judge, Peter Kidd. At the moment, I see this as callous, brazen offending. Blatant, the judge said. Recommended Vatican treasurer George Pell found guilty of child sexual assault Lawyers representing Pell, a former top adviser to Pope Francis, presented 10 character references, including one from former prime minister John Howard, in an attempt to convince the judge the maximum sentence was not appropriate. His legal team have appealed his conviction and Pell has maintained his innocence. During the trial one victim described how Pell had exposed himself to them, fondled their genitals and masturbated and forced one boy to perform a sex act on him. I see this as a serious example of this kind of offending, Judge Kidd told Melbournes county court. There was an element of brutality to this assault. Robert Richter, lawyer for George Pell, leaves court in Melbourne on Wednesday (Getty) Pell was back in court on Wednesday for his sentence plea hearing, where his bail was revoked and he was taken into custody ahead of his final sentence being determined on 13 March. The Vatican has opened its own investigation into accusations against Pell following his conviction, which was made public just two days after the end of a major meeting of Church leaders on how to better tackle the abuse of children by clergy. Additional reporting by agencies The smallest baby boy to have survived birth has left a Japanese hospital months after he entered the world weighing just 268g. The infant was discharged from Tokyos Keio University Hospital at a weight of 3.2kg, following six months in intensive care. Doctors feared for the boys life after he was born through an emergency caesarean last August, having failed to gain weight at 24 weeks gestation. He was so tiny he could be held in the palm of an adults hand. I am grateful that he has grown this big because, honestly, I wasnt sure he could survive, the infants mother said. The boy was allowed home last week, two months after his initial due date, and is now able to be breastfed, the hospital said on Wednesday. Doctors in the neonatal intensive care unit had previously managed his breathing and nutrition. World's smallest baby pictures Show all 4 1 /4 World's smallest baby pictures World's smallest baby pictures Five days after his birth in August 2018, weighing 268 grams Reuters World's smallest baby pictures A more recent, undated photo of the baby boy Reuters World's smallest baby pictures Baby boy on February 27 2019, at 3.2kg AFP/Getty World's smallest baby pictures Five days after his birth in August 2018, weighing 268 grams Reuters The infant, who has not been named, is only the fourth male baby weighing less than 300g known to have survived birth. Nineteen girls weighing less than 300g have survived. The previous smallest boy was born in Germany in 2009, weighing 274g, according to the University of Iowas Tiniest Babies Registry. I wasnt sure he could survive, says boys mother (Reuters) (REUTERS) Babies born below 1kg are likely to suffer heart failure, breathing problems or contract infectious diseases due to their underdeveloped organs. The survival rate of such babies in Japan has been as high as 90 per cent in recent years, according to The Japan Times, but the rate plunges dramatically for infants weighing less than 300g. I want people to know that babies can return home vigorous even if they are born small, said Takeshi Arimitsu, a doctor at Keio University Hospitals department of paediatrics. United Methodists Reaffirm Biblical Faithfulness Contact: Jeff Walton, Institute on Religion and Democracy, 202-413-5639, jwalton@TheIRD.org ST. LOUIS, Mo., Feb. 27, 2019 /Christian Newswire/ -- United Methodists have upheld their denomination's rules on sexual ethics, rejecting plans that would permit same-sex marriages and clergy to be sexually active outside of monogamous, heterosexual marriages. The General Conference of the United Methodist Church, the only body that can speak for the 12.6 million-member Christian denomination, voted Tuesday morning to reject a plan advocated for by the majority of the church's bishops. Later in the day, delegates gathered in St. Louis adopted a plan advocated by traditionalists which increases accountability measures for clergy and local bodies. The United Methodist Church is the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States, but has a global membership of more than 12 million members in the United States, Africa, Europe, and the Philippines. The denomination's longstanding official standards are that all people are welcome in its churches, while also teaching that marriage is only between one man and one woman. United Methodist Action Director and elected General Conference Delegate John Lomperis commented: "This was a historic turning point for our denomination, and will hopefully help make the United Methodist Church look refreshingly very different from what we have seen in the last several years." IRD President Mark Tooley commented: "This General Conference is further proof that the center of gravity in the United Methodist Church is shifting from the United States and to the vibrant, growing Christian faith of the Global South. "The United Methodist Church is no longer rooted in a declining liberal U.S. mainline Protestant tradition and is instead reflecting its identity as a global church." www.TheIRD.org Share Tweet Malaysia has seized 3,300 rare pig-nosed turtles after intercepting an attempt to smuggle the highly endangered species into the country by sea. Seven packages of the turtles were found during a boat inspection near Johor on Malaysias southern coast on Wednesday. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, which carried out the swoop, also said two people had been arrested. The turtles, which are native to Australia and the island of Papua/New Guinea, were worth about 28,000, the agency added. Authorities believe the smugglers hoped to sell the aquatic reptiles as exotic pets. Spanish police seize stuffed endangered animals Show all 6 1 /6 Spanish police seize stuffed endangered animals Spanish police seize stuffed endangered animals Two stuffed tigers at the illegal workshop Spanish Civil Guard Spanish police seize stuffed endangered animals A stuffed lion found inside the workshop Spanish Civil Guard Spanish police seize stuffed endangered animals Officers seized at least 200 stuffed animals from the workshop Spanish Civil Guard Spanish police seize stuffed endangered animals Six people are being investigated on suspicion of trafficking Spanish Civil Guard Spanish police seize stuffed endangered animals The animals were found in a premises in Alicante Spanish Civil Guard Spanish police seize stuffed endangered animals The inside of the illegal taxidermy workshop Spanish Civil Guard Their unique snout-shaped nose has made them popular but also put them at risk. Recommended Hundreds of species at risk of extinction amid trade crackdown failure Because of rising demand for the turtles which can grow to 28cm in length and weigh up to 20kg the species is becoming increasingly endangered. As well as feeding the exotic pet trade, pig-nosed turtles are also hunted for meat and used in traditional medicine in some Asian countries. One study by researchers at the University of Canberra in Australia estimated the global population of the turtles has plummeted by 50% since 1981. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events A report in 2014 by the conservation group Traffic concluded as many as two million pig-nosed turtle eggs were collected each year, and more than 80,000 live turtles had been seized from smugglers between 2003 and 2013. Malaysia is considered a major transit point for the illegal trafficking of endangered species to other parts of Asia. Donald Trump has described Kim Jong-un, the leader of a country said to be responsible for some of the worlds worst human rights abuses, as his friend. In a tweet from Hanoi ahead of his second meeting with the North Korean leader, Mr Trump said their host country was thriving economically, and that North Korea could as well. Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearise, he wrote. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong-un. We will know fairly soon Very Interesting! Mr Trumps comments posted shortly before he left his hotel for meetings with Vietnams prime minister and president came as human rights activists urged the US president not to ignore Mr Kims record. North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits Show all 16 1 /16 North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea, portraits of former supreme leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are required by law to be hung in the home, the classroom, the factory and all manner of other private and public places Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the classroom AFP/Getty North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the living room AFP/Getty North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the maternity ward of the hospital Alamy North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits On board the ship Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits At the ballot box Mannen av bord North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the office AFP/Getty North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits On the bridegroom Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits On the Pyongyang subway Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits On a government building Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the teacher training facility AFP/Getty North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the home AFP/Getty North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits At the military parade Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the hall Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits At the Chinese border AFP/Getty North Korea is arguably the worst human rights abusing government in the world today so any dialogue with Kim Jong-un should not leave rights off the table, said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch. Pyongyang wants to be brought in from the cold by the international community but there can be no glossing over the DPRKs widespread use of forced and child labour, systemic suppression of free expression and civil society, and gulags holding tens of thousands in the mountains. Kim Jong-un's sister forced to hold crystal ashtray whil North Korean dictator smokes in Vietnam Mr Robertson said that real progress at the summit would require reform in North Korea. Yet he questioned how the US would be able to gauge Pyongyangs commitment without raising tough questions beyond its narrow agenda that is focused on denuclearisation on the North Korea peninsula. Pushing human rights on to the summit agenda is both the right thing to do, and the smart thing to do and remains critical to building a sustained, comprehensive dialogue with North Korea, he said. President Trump and Mr Kim are expected to meet for the first time in Vietnam for dinner on Wednesday night. But the US leader will first sit down with his hosts, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and President Nguyen Phu Trong. Mr Trump will hold a bilateral meeting with President Nguyen before lunch, and then meet with the prime minister afterwards. His references to "thriving" Vietnam point to the country's strong recent economic growth. Its economy has surged since it and the US normalised ties in 1995, leading the World Bank to refer to it as "one of the most dynamic emerging countries in the East Asia region". The White House has barred all but one print reporter from covering Donald Trump's dinner with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Vietnam, citing "sensitivities over shouted questions". It comes after the US president and Mr Kim were met with a number of shouted questions they failed to answer following their opening remarks at their summit in the capital Hanoi. Jeff Mason, a White House correspondent for Reuters, said writers from Reuters, the Associated Press (AP) and Bloomberg were "excluded" from joining assembled media for the dinner that will set the stage for talks about North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons. He noted that he and AP journalist Jon Lemire both asked questions when the two leaders shook hands. CNN and the Wall Street Journal reported that the White House tried to remove all print reporters from the dinner. Trump and Kim: leaders arrive in Vietnam for talks Show all 7 1 /7 Trump and Kim: leaders arrive in Vietnam for talks Trump and Kim: leaders arrive in Vietnam for talks Donald Trump and Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong make their way to a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi Reuters Trump and Kim: leaders arrive in Vietnam for talks Donald Trump waves a Vietnamese flag as Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc looks on AFP/Getty Trump and Kim: leaders arrive in Vietnam for talks Donald Trump waves as he leaves the Presidential Palace in Hanoi AFP/Getty Trump and Kim: leaders arrive in Vietnam for talks North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, is welcomed on his arrival at the Melia Hotel in Hanoi AP Trump and Kim: leaders arrive in Vietnam for talks Kim Jong-un waves as he arrives by train in the Vietnamese border town of Dong Dang AP Trump and Kim: leaders arrive in Vietnam for talks North Korean leader Kim Jong-un receiving a situation report before the summit with Trump AFP/Getty Trump and Kim: leaders arrive in Vietnam for talks The motorcade carrying U.S President Donald Trump drives past Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum AP "Print reporters were told summarily before the dinner that there would be no reporters allowed inside," said CNN news anchor Jim Sciutto, who is in Hanoi. He added: "It was only after really outrage expressed by the reporters covering this trip that the White House relented and allowed just one reporter into that room." Elie Stokols, an LA Times reporter in Hanoi, said photographers at the dinner refused to take photos if no reporters were allowed in, forcing the White House to allow a print and radio journalist in the room. In a statement, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said: "Due to the sensitive nature of the meetings we have limited the pool for the dinner to a smaller group, but ensured that representation of photographers, TV, radio and print poolers are all in the room. "We are continuing to negotiate aspects of this historic summit and will always work to make sure the US media has as much access as possible." Some journalists compared Mr Trump's team's behaviour to that of Barack Obama in 2016, when he forced Cuba's Raul Castro to take questions from the press in Havana's Revolutionary Palace. "In Havana in 2016, Obama aides goaded Raul Castro into a press conference, where Obama made point of forcing him to answer reporters questions," tweeted Edward-Isaac Dovere, a former White House reporter. "In Hanoi today, Trump followed Kims lead in not having reporters ask questions at all, punishes those who tried anyway." Before heading to dinner together, Mr Kim and Mr Trump shook hands and smiled briefly in front of a row of their national flags at the Metropole hotel. President Trump and Vietnam PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc are greeted by school children Mr Trump told reporters he thought the talks would be very successful, and asked if he was "walking back" on denuclearisation, said "no". At their historic first summit in Singapore last June, Mr Trump and Mr Kim pledged to work towards denuclearisation and permanent peace on the Korean peninsula but little progress has been made. Mr Kim said they had overcome obstacles to hold their second summit and praised Mr Trump for his "courageous decision" to begin a dialogue. "Now that we're meeting here again like this, I'm confident that there will be an excellent outcome that everyone welcomes, and I'll do my best to make it happen," Mr Kim said. Mr Trump and Mr Kim held a 20-minute, one-on-one chat before sitting down to dinner with US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, Mr Trump's acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Mr Kim's top envoy, Kim Yong Chol, and North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong Ho. On Thursday, the two leaders will hold a series of meetings, the White House said. The venue has not been announced. Additional reporting by Reuters President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un began their second summit in Vietnam with the US president calling the autocrat a great leader while softly nudging him to work towards a path of denuclearisation in the Korean Peninsula. The two leaders are meeting face-to-face in Hanois historic Metropole hotel for the first time since their historic summit last summer in Singapore. Mr Trump is urging North Korea to surrender its nuclear weapons in exchange for the prospect of an economic revival in the isolationist country. But Mr Kim wants sanctions relieved without losing out on the strategic advantages that comes with nuclear weapons. Following their meeting at the Metropole, Mr Trump and Mr Kim were joined by secretary of state Mike Pompeo, White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and two North Korean officials for a social dinner. While seated next to the North Korean ruler, Mr Trump described his relationship with Mr Kim as very special before predicting tremendous economic potential for the country. Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb Show all 6 1 /6 Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb Photos released by North Korea show Kim Jong-un talking to subordinates next to a device thought to be the new thermonuclear weapon. There is no way of independently verifying the pictures STR/AFP/Getty Images Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb North Korea claims it has successfully tested an advanced hydrogen bomb which could be loaded onto an intercontinental ballistic missile AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb A diagram on the wall behind Mr Kim shows a bomb mounted inside a cone STR/AFP/Getty Images Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) attending a photo session with participants of the fourth conference of active secretaries of primary organisations of the youth league of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in Pyongyang STR/AFP/Getty Images Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb A new stamp issued in commemoration of the successful second test launch of the "Hwasong-14" intercontinental ballistic missile KCNA via Reuters Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb A new stamp issued in commemoration of the successful second test launch of the "Hwasong-14" intercontinental ballistic missile KCNA via Reuters Your country has tremendous economic potential unbelievable, unlimited and I think that you will have a tremendous future with your country, a great leader, Mr Trump said, looking directly at Mr Kim. I look forward to watching it happen and helping it to happen and we will help it to happen. The US president also said he hoped this summit will earn results equal or greater than last years summit, emphasising that the relationships between the two leaders made the biggest progress. Mr Trump also met with Vietnamese president Nguyen Phu Trong and Nguyen Xuan Phuc and reportedly told them that North Korea could have a thriving economy if it started to cooperate with the US. When it comes to denuclearisation, Pyongyang said it would only consider getting rid of its weapons of mass destruction under very specific circumstances: the withdrawal of US troops from South Korea, ending the USs nuclear umbrella in the region, and Washington ending its extended deterrence with South Korea and Japan. North Korea is also unlikely to give up its weapons of mass destruction, missiles and production capability, according to a US intelligence report in January. Since the last Trump-Kim summit in 2018, North Korea has reportedly been continuing to develop missile technology and nuclear weapons in covert facilities. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events However, Mr Trump has repeatedly called attention to the fact that there has been no detection of North Korea testing nuclear devices or ballistic missiles since the US began its diplomatic talks with Mr Kim. Taking a different tone from the last summit, the US president said last week that he was in no rush in clamouring down on Mr Kim and his regime over nuclear weapons. But after meeting with Vietnamese and North Korean officials, Mr Trump insists he is still working towards the denuclearisation of North Korea. Kim Jong-un and I will try very hard to work something out on denuclearisation and then making North Korea an economic powerhouse, he tweeted. The summit will continue on Thursday. It is expected that both Mr Trump and Mr Kim will be holding meetings throughout most of the day, including a formal statement or signing to conclude the event. India said it shot down one of Pakistans fighter jets during an aerial engagement over Kashmir, hours after Pakistan claimed to have downed two Indian jets and captured two pilots. A spokesperson for the Indian foreign ministry said both sides lost one aircraft each in the same exchange and that an Indian pilot was missing in action. The clash took place earlier on Wednesday as Pakistan launched an air raid targeting military installations on the Indian side of the border. The Pakistan air raid was itself a retaliation for an Indian air force operation on Tuesday to target what Delhi described as a major training camp, well inside Pakistans territory, belonging to a militant group. Pakistan denied any damage to infrastructure and described the airstrike as a grave aggression. Follow the latest updates in our live blog Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told reporters attempts were still being made to ascertain the facts regarding the missing pilot, but confirmed Pakistan claimed he is in their custody. He said Indias jets had been on a high state of readiness and had foiled successfully the Pakistan raid. Moments after Mr Kumars statement, the Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan issued a live TV statement urging India to sit down and talk about the escalating crisis. Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Show all 28 1 /28 Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Activists of Al-Badr Mujahideen, an islamic militant group, burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an anti-India protest in Peshawar, Pakistan AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures A Pakistani girl holds a light candle during a vigil for peace in Lahore on March 3 AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures School children react as they celebrate the release of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistan at a school in Ahmedabad Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan, stands under armed escort near Pakistan-India border in Wagah Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian Border Security Force soldiers patrol along the border with Pakistan EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures A videograb allegedly shows the captured Indian Air Force pilot in the custody of Pakistani military SWNS Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani civil society activists hold anti-war signs during a peace rally in Islamabad AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani civil society activists hold anti-war signs during a peace rally in Islamabad AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Activists of Al-Badr Mujahideen, an islamic militant group, burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an anti-India protest in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri onlookers stand look on as an Indian army helicopter lands near the site where an Indian Air Force jet was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures An Indian soldier gestures near the wreckage of an Indian Air Force fighter jet that was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Supporters of a Pakistani religious group Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba brand Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a terrorist at a rally to condemn Indian aggression AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures India's Border Security Force soldiers patrol along the fenced border with Pakistan on February 26 Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Protesters in Pakistan march against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Supporters of India's ruling Bhartiya Janta Party workers hold Indian flags as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Protesters in Pakistan march against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures People in India burn an effigy that represents Pakistan as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Bhartiya Janta Party workers hold Indian flags as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Kashmiris in the border town of Chakoti walk past India-bound cargo trucks that are parked as the road to India is closed AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Workers enter a concrete bunker that they have built in a residential area near the border Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani soldiers and journalists gather at the site where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani soldiers and journalists gather at the site where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace AFP/Getty Mr Khan compared the current situation to the lead-up to the First and Second World Wars, saying that all wars in the world have been started on miscalculations. In an apparent reference to their shared nuclear capabilities, he said: I ask India, with our weapons capability ... on both sides, can we afford a miscalculation? It will neither be in my control nor [Indian prime minister Narendra] Modis. Better sense should prevail, he concluded. Earlier, Pakistan claimed to have shot down not one but two Indian aircraft. An armed forces spokesperson said two Indian pilots had been detained, one of whom was being treated in a military hospital, and shared a video purporting to show one of the pilots, bloodied and blindfolded. The recent chain of events started on 14 February with the deadliest car bombing in the history of the Kashmiri separatist insurgency, when a local man blew up an Indian paramilitary convoy, killing 40 officers. India blamed Pakistan for harbouring the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militant group which claimed the attack. India said its operation on Tuesday morning, the first airstrikes across the Kashmir line of control since 1971, were based on credible evidence that JeM intended to launch more attacks. Meanwhile, on Wednesday morning the Pakistani police claimed Indian shelling across the treaty-agreed line of control in Kashmir had killed at least six civilians on the Pakistan side. Indian and Pakistani forces regularly exchange fire across the border region, but observers say fighting has been particularly fierce since news broke of Indias air sortie on Tuesday. Countries including Australia, the US, China and Russia urged both sides to show restraint and avoid escalating the conflict further. India and Pakistan have fought three major wars over the Kashmir dispute, though not for nearly four decades. There is a certain symmetry to the way things stand in the highly strung conflict between India and Pakistan as of Wednesday night, we should add, given just how fast the situation is developing. On Tuesday morning, India took the unprecedented step of launching airstrikes at what it said were militant targets in Pakistani territory across the Kashmir line of control. Hours later, the Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale appeared on national TV to talk down the action, explaining that the country meant to target only the menace of terrorism and not the state of Pakistan or its citizens indeed, chastising Pakistan for not taking similar action itself. On Wednesday morning Pakistan said it had launched its own airstrikes, targeting and then firing away from Indian military assets so as to demonstrate its defensive capability. Chaos only ensued when India scrambled its jets in response, and in the dogfight that followed one Pakistani and at least one Indian jet were shot down. Then it was the turn of Imran Khan, the Pakistani prime minister, to go on TV and play down his countrys part in the skirmish. His air force had only set out to give India a warning, he said, before things got out of hand. He repeatedly used the phrase miscalculation and said such unforeseen events had led to all wars in the past. Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Show all 28 1 /28 Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Activists of Al-Badr Mujahideen, an islamic militant group, burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an anti-India protest in Peshawar, Pakistan AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures A Pakistani girl holds a light candle during a vigil for peace in Lahore on March 3 AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures School children react as they celebrate the release of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistan at a school in Ahmedabad Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan, stands under armed escort near Pakistan-India border in Wagah Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian Border Security Force soldiers patrol along the border with Pakistan EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures A videograb allegedly shows the captured Indian Air Force pilot in the custody of Pakistani military SWNS Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani civil society activists hold anti-war signs during a peace rally in Islamabad AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani civil society activists hold anti-war signs during a peace rally in Islamabad AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Activists of Al-Badr Mujahideen, an islamic militant group, burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an anti-India protest in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri onlookers stand look on as an Indian army helicopter lands near the site where an Indian Air Force jet was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures An Indian soldier gestures near the wreckage of an Indian Air Force fighter jet that was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Supporters of a Pakistani religious group Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba brand Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a terrorist at a rally to condemn Indian aggression AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures India's Border Security Force soldiers patrol along the fenced border with Pakistan on February 26 Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Protesters in Pakistan march against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Supporters of India's ruling Bhartiya Janta Party workers hold Indian flags as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Protesters in Pakistan march against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures People in India burn an effigy that represents Pakistan as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Bhartiya Janta Party workers hold Indian flags as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Kashmiris in the border town of Chakoti walk past India-bound cargo trucks that are parked as the road to India is closed AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Workers enter a concrete bunker that they have built in a residential area near the border Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani soldiers and journalists gather at the site where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani soldiers and journalists gather at the site where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace AFP/Getty And so, having shot down one aircraft each (though Pakistan still claims two) and conducted one round of airstrikes each across the line of control, where do the two sides go from here? In his statement, Mr Khan invited his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to sit down and talk. Clearly it is Pakistans view that the violence should end with todays misadventures. The Indian government, however, has made plain that it does not see any equivalence between Tuesdays and Wednesdays events. In the governments latest statement, the foreign ministry said Pakistans ambassador here in Delhi had been summoned in protest at the unprovoked act of aggression by the Pakistani air force. But while the statement also said India reserves the right to take firm and decisive action going forwards, there were two glimmers of hope for observers the international community included who want to see a de-escalation of tension. One was that India said it had handed over a dossier to the Pakistani envoy detailing intelligence regarding both militant camps in Pakistan and specific details of JeM [Jaish-e-Mohammed] complicity in the Pulwama terror attack the deadly car bombing in Kashmir on 14 February that, after all, set this whole situation going. Mr Khan had already urged India to share any information it has on militant groups so they can talk about the terrorism that effects us both [sic]. Publicly seizing on the intelligence shared by India would be one way of reopening paths of cooperation. Secondly, the Indian foreign ministry confirmed a man shown in videos released by Pakistan is indeed one of its air force pilots, captured after the Indian fighter jet came down in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. India bemoaned the use of the pilot in the vulgar display, saying it contravened the Geneva Conventions, and demanded he come to no harm and be granted immediate and safe return. The pilot certainly complicates the picture regarding Indias next steps, one analyst told me. His detention may act as an effective deterrent to any further military action, particularly given the already deafening clamour on Indian social media channels for his safety to be assured. There are other options India can pursue. As the larger and more robust economy, the country can continue steps it has already been taking since 14 February to diplomatically isolate and in its view punish Pakistan for its perceived role in militant attacks in Kashmir. For the Indian government, hitting back at Pakistan militarily may be seen as a popular move but with hashtags like SayNoToWar and pakindiaceasefire, there were plenty of calls from ordinary people on both sides of the border to show restraint. So all eyes turn to Mr Modi, who did not make a public statement about Pakistan on Wednesday but met with the heads of Indias armed forces after ducking out of a National Youth Parliament festival that was taking place as the details of this mornings events unfolded. As you read this, he may already have decided what Indias next step will be. Lets hope he has been paying attention to those hashtags. Close Indian pilots captured after being shot down by Pakistan forces India has accused Pakistan of an unprovoked act of aggression after both countries claimed to have shot down each others military jets. Islamabad captured an Indian pilot a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a 1971 war. Tension has been running high since a suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police earlier this month. But the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base. New Delhi claimed at least 300 militants were killed in Tuesdays strike, while Pakistan says no one was killed. Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Show all 28 1 /28 Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Activists of Al-Badr Mujahideen, an islamic militant group, burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an anti-India protest in Peshawar, Pakistan AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures A Pakistani girl holds a light candle during a vigil for peace in Lahore on March 3 AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures School children react as they celebrate the release of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistan at a school in Ahmedabad Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan, stands under armed escort near Pakistan-India border in Wagah Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian Border Security Force soldiers patrol along the border with Pakistan EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures A videograb allegedly shows the captured Indian Air Force pilot in the custody of Pakistani military SWNS Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani civil society activists hold anti-war signs during a peace rally in Islamabad AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani civil society activists hold anti-war signs during a peace rally in Islamabad AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Activists of Al-Badr Mujahideen, an islamic militant group, burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an anti-India protest in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri onlookers stand look on as an Indian army helicopter lands near the site where an Indian Air Force jet was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures An Indian soldier gestures near the wreckage of an Indian Air Force fighter jet that was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Supporters of a Pakistani religious group Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba brand Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a terrorist at a rally to condemn Indian aggression AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures India's Border Security Force soldiers patrol along the fenced border with Pakistan on February 26 Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Protesters in Pakistan march against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Supporters of India's ruling Bhartiya Janta Party workers hold Indian flags as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Protesters in Pakistan march against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures People in India burn an effigy that represents Pakistan as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Bhartiya Janta Party workers hold Indian flags as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Kashmiris in the border town of Chakoti walk past India-bound cargo trucks that are parked as the road to India is closed AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Workers enter a concrete bunker that they have built in a residential area near the border Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani soldiers and journalists gather at the site where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani soldiers and journalists gather at the site where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace AFP/Getty The White House condemned the intensifying conflict and urged both sides to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation. Pakistans envoy to the United States, Asad Majeed Khan, said Islamabad would like to see the Trump administration play a more active role in easing the crisis. We would certainly like to have more, and would certainly like to see more active involvement of the United States, he told reporters. At the same time, he said the lack of US condemnation of Indias strike on Pakistan is construed and understood as an endorsement of the Indian position, and that is what emboldened them even more. Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan called for talks with India and hoped better sense would prevail so that both sides could de-escalate. History tells us that wars are full of miscalculation. My question is that, given the weapons we have, can we afford miscalculation, Mr Khan said during a brief televised broadcast to the nation. We should sit down and talk. Indian Ministry of External Affairs gives update after Indian plane shot down by Pakistan The Pakistan governments official Twitter account released a video of a man it claimed was an Indian pilot who had been shot down. The man, whom Pakistan has named as Wing Commander Abhi Nandan and whose face was bloodied and blindfolded, gives his name and service number before telling a man questioning him: Im sorry sir, thats all Im supposed to tell you. A statement from Indias foreign ministry said the pilots treatment was a vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention, ordering his immediate release. India has not yet named the pilot. Blindfolded Indian Air Force pilot in Pakistan custody following Kashmir strikes Pakistan and India have fought three wars since independence from British colonial rule in 1947, two over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and went to the brink of a fourth in 2002 after a Pakistani militant attack on Indias parliament. The latest escalation marks a sudden turnaround in relations between the two countries, both of which claim Kashmir in full, but only rule in part. Follow how we covered the news as it unfolded Please allow a moment for the liveblog to load Pakistan says it has shot down two Indian air force planes in clashes over the line of control in the disputed region of Kashmir, and that two Indian pilots who came down in Pakistani territory have been captured. Video of a blindfolded and bloodied man, who Pakistan claimed to be one of the arrested pilots, was shown at a news conference by Pakistans armed forces spokesman Maj General Asif Ghafoor. India later said just one of its planes had been shot down, and that it had brought down a Pakistani jet during the same "aerial engagement". The clashes represent a significant escalation since India said on Tuesday it had successfully bombed a major Pakistani militant training camp, in the first airstrikes across the de facto border in Kashmir since 1971. Reuters described it as the first time in history that two nuclear powers had exchanged airstrikes. Live flight tracking data showed commercial jets turning back from the region as Pakistans civil aviation authority said it was closing its airspace to all flights. Indian police said the main airport in Kashmir, Srinagar, had also been closed and the Indian airline Vistara said that due to airspace restrictions, it was stopping flights to four northern Indian cities including Srinagar and as deep into India as Chandigarh. In a statement on its foreign ministry website entitled Pakistan strikes back, Islamabad said it conducted its own airstrikes on Indian targets across the line of control from within Pakistani airspace on Wednesday morning. Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Show all 28 1 /28 Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Activists of Al-Badr Mujahideen, an islamic militant group, burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an anti-India protest in Peshawar, Pakistan AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures A Pakistani girl holds a light candle during a vigil for peace in Lahore on March 3 AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures School children react as they celebrate the release of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman by Pakistan at a school in Ahmedabad Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan, stands under armed escort near Pakistan-India border in Wagah Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian Border Security Force soldiers patrol along the border with Pakistan EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures A videograb allegedly shows the captured Indian Air Force pilot in the custody of Pakistani military SWNS Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani civil society activists hold anti-war signs during a peace rally in Islamabad AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani civil society activists hold anti-war signs during a peace rally in Islamabad AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Activists of Al-Badr Mujahideen, an islamic militant group, burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an anti-India protest in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri onlookers stand look on as an Indian army helicopter lands near the site where an Indian Air Force jet was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures An Indian soldier gestures near the wreckage of an Indian Air Force fighter jet that was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Supporters of a Pakistani religious group Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba brand Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a terrorist at a rally to condemn Indian aggression AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures India's Border Security Force soldiers patrol along the fenced border with Pakistan on February 26 Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Protesters in Pakistan march against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Supporters of India's ruling Bhartiya Janta Party workers hold Indian flags as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Protesters in Pakistan march against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures People in India burn an effigy that represents Pakistan as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Indian soldiers and Kashmiri villagers look on at the smouldering wreckage of an Indian fighter jet after it was shot down by the Pakistani military AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Bhartiya Janta Party workers hold Indian flags as they celebrate the Indian airstrike on allege Pakistan terrorist camp EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Kashmiris in the border town of Chakoti walk past India-bound cargo trucks that are parked as the road to India is closed AP Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani Army soldiers escort journalists to the scene where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace EPA Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Workers enter a concrete bunker that they have built in a residential area near the border Reuters Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani soldiers and journalists gather at the site where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace AFP/Getty Pakistan shoots down Indian fighter jets: Reaction in pictures Pakistani soldiers and journalists gather at the site where Indian fighter jets struck in a violation of Pakistani airspace AFP/Getty The statement said the strikes hit non-military targets, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. It said the raid was intended as a show of force, to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. Maj Gen Ghafoor later explained that the Pakistani jets had locked onto infrastructure targets but then aimed away into open terrain. Ghafoor said India had responded to the strike by scrambling its own fighter jets, some of which crossed the line of control into Pakistan-administered Kashmir. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K (Pakistan-administered Kashmir) while other fell inside IOK (Indian-administered Kashmir), he said. Indian officials said earlier that in a separate incident, one of its aircraft crashed in Indian-administered Kashmir and that both pilots and a civilian were killed. This craft was initially described by officials to be a plane, but images of the wreckage later showed what appeared to be the tail number of an Mi17 military helicopter. Tensions had been rising even before the Indian government said it had completely destroyed a major base of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the militant group which claimed the deadly 14 February car bomb attack on Indian soldiers in Pulwama, Kashmir. Pakistan said Tuesday mornings bombing raid had caused no damage or loss of life, but vowed to respond in due course nonetheless. Meanwhile on Wednesday morning the Pakistani police claimed Indian shelling across the treaty-agreed line of control in Kashmir had killed at least six civilians on the Pakistan side. Indian and Pakistani forces regularly exchange fire across the border region, but observers say fighting has been particularly fierce since news broke of Indias air sortie on Tuesday. Residents on both sides of the de-factor frontier, said there were exchanges of fire between the two sides through the night. In Pakistans part of Kashmir, hundreds of villagers have fled border towns. And the situation was no different in villages along the line of control in Indian-controlled Kashmir, where residents were moving to safer places following the intense exchange of fire. In Delhi, Indian officials said at least five of their soldiers were wounded in firing by Pakistani troops along the volatile frontier. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Lieutenant Colonel Devender Anand, an Indian army spokesman, said Pakistani soldiers targeted dozens of Indian military positions across the Line of Control throughout the night. An Indian military statement said that out of anger and frustration, Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation. The statement said Indian troops retaliated for effect and claimed to have destroyed five Pakistani posts. It accused Pakistani soldiers of firing mortars and missiles from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields. Since the 14 February bombing, which killed 40 Indian paramilitary officers and which the Indian government blamed on Pakistan, the international community has urged both sides to exercise restraint and avoid further military escalation. China has unveiled draft regulations on gene editing and other potentially risky biomedical technologies after a scientists claim of helping to create gene-edited babies roiled the global science community. Under the proposed measures released earlier this week, technology involving gene editing, gene transfer and gene regulation would be categorised as "high-risk" and managed by the health department of the State Council, China's Cabinet. The measures follow assertions in November from scientist He Jiankui that he altered the DNA of twin girls born that month using a powerful new tool. The technology, called CRISPR-cas9, makes it possible to operate on DNA to supply a needed gene or disable one that's causing problems. The revelation that it may have been used to conceive children elicited widespread outcry over the procedure's ethical implications. Researchers said He's actions exposed the twins to unknown health risks, possibly including a higher susceptibility to viral illnesses. Gene editing for reproductive purposes is effectively banned in the US and most of Europe. In China, ministerial guidelines prohibit research on embryos that "violates ethical or moral principles." Ethical guidelines published in 2003 say gene editing is permitted for research, but the experimental embryo cannot be nurtured for more than 14 days. Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures Fireworks explode over ice sculptures on the opening day of the annual Harbin Festival EPA Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures Visitors walk among ice sculptures during the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival Reuters Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures Visitors look at ice sculptures lit by night during the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival in China's northeast Heilongjiang province AFP/Getty Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures A "cityscape" view of Harbin Reuters Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures Visitors walk among ice sculptures during the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival AFP/Getty Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures The palace at Harbin EPA Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures Workers carve snow sculptures during the Harbin Festival AFP/Getty Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures Visitors walk among ice sculptures lit by night during the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival AFP/Getty Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures A "cityscape" view of Harbin AFP/Getty Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures Fireworks explode over ice sculptures on the opening day of the annual Harbin Festival AFP/Getty Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures Visitors walk among ice sculptures lit by night during the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival AFP/Getty Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures The main gate to Harbin AFP/Getty Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures A wall in Harbin EPA Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures Swimmers prepare to dive into a swimming pool carved from ice AFP/Getty Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures Visitors walk among ice sculptures lit by night during the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival AFP/Getty Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures Workers build up Harbin Getty Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures Workers build up Harbin Getty Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures An ice sculpture at Harbin AFP/Getty Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures Visitors walk among ice sculptures during the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival AFP/Getty Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures Visitors ride on the ice in front of a snow sculpture in Harbin AFP/Getty Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures Visitors walk among ice sculptures during the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival Getty Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures A wide view of Harbin AFP/Getty Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures A pig sculpture to celebrate the Year of the Pig at Harbin AFP/Getty Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures Visitors walk among ice sculptures lit by night during the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival EPA Incredible town made of ice in China for Winter festival: in pictures A wide view of Harbin at night AFP/Getty He Jiankui said he edited the babies' genes at conception in hopes of making them resistant to the AIDS virus, as their father is HIV positive. His lab was in Shenzhen, China's southern tech hub, and he recruited study participants through an AIDS advocacy group. He said his goal was to rewrite DNA before birth to make some children immune to HIV during their lifetime. China immediately halted He's experiments after his announcement. He also pursued international experts at Stanford and Rice universities, where he had done graduate studies work, and elsewhere, seeking advice before and during the experiment. In an interview the month before his project was publicised, the 34-year-old scientist said he believed gene editing of human embryos resulting in live births was legal in China because the country has no law specifically forbidding it. The official Xinhua News Agency reported last month the scientist had breached national guidelines and will be punished for any legal violations. The state run news agency did no't say which laws He might have violated, but noted that he had fabricated an ethical review. Along with the birth of the twins, another embryo yet to be born reportedly resulted from He's experiment. All three will remain under medical observation with regular visits supervised by government health departments, Xinhua reported. Late last year, China's education ministry sent notices to universities requiring self-checks on research related to gene editing. In an email, the ministry told AP it called on educational institutions to strengthen management of scientific research ethics and inspect research involving gene-editing technology. Kehkooi Kee, a Tsinghua University researcher who conducts gene editing on stem cells, said that the volume of paperwork he must now fill out has increased as a result of being subject to more checks. China cuts BBC TV feed during discussion of Muslim detention camps "He (Jiankui) is an irresponsible scientist," Kee said in late December after the Education Ministry issued its notification. "I don't even want to call him a scientist he is an irresponsible man." While He's work was widely condemned by his fellow scientists in China, it has had repercussions for others studying gene editing. It has also become more difficult to get gene-editing research approved, Kee said. "The industry will develop at a slower pace," said Kee. "The government will be more cautious with research funds and private organizations, such as charities and start-ups, will be less likely to invest." Washingtons attorney general has subpoenaed Donald Trumps inaugural committee, seeking documents that show how an exorbitant fund was raised and spent in the months following the 2016 presidential election. The presidents inauguration raised controversy from the very beginning, when a pool of elite corporations and major donors began donating millions of dollars, eventually raising a total of $107m (80m) to be spent at the celebration. Spearheaded by billionaire Tom Barrack, the inaugural committees finances have also been shrouded in mystery ever since Mr Trump took office. Despite raising and spending more than twice than that of his predecessors, Mr Trumps festivities lacked any of the staples that would come along with a heft price tag for such an event, such as high-profile performances or tremendous crowds. The nations capitol joined New York and New Jersey in issuing subpoenas against Mr Trumps inaugural committee on Wednesday, reflecting an unprecedented effort by federal prosecutors to understand how a presidents inaugural committee may have wrongfully accepted illegal contributions and later hid those details from the public. When New York prosecutors issued their subpoena earlier this month, the committees spokeswoman Kristin Celauro told the Associated Press it was the committees intention to cooperate with the enquiry. 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 That subpoena reportedly demands documents from the committee related to any donations made by or on behalf of foreign nationals, including but not limited to any communications regarding or relating to the possibility of donations by foreign nationals. The New York subpoena also seeks to determine whether the inaugural committee misspent any of the funds it raised to stage events celebrating the presidents inauguration. The New York Times reported late last year that federal prosecutors are examining whether anyone from Qatar, Saudi Arabia or other Middle Eastern countries made illegal payments to the committee and a pro-Trump super political action committee. Foreign contributions to inaugural funds and PACs are prohibited under federal law. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Mr Barrack confirmed he was questioned by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in 2017, but said he was not a target of the investigation into Russian impact on the 2016 presidential election. Additional reporting by AP Donald Trump dined with dictator Kim Jong Un on Wednesday night in Hanoi, Vietnam, painting a rosy picture for economic prosperity in North Korea after previously claiming the brutal regime is no longer a nuclear threat to the United States. Theres just one problem: intelligence experts say the North has only sought to advance its nuclear ambitions under Mr Trump, who has undermined his negotiators routinely throughout behind-the-scenes conversations ahead of this weeks summit. North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities are more dangerous than when Trump took office and remain a strategic threat to Americas allies in the region, Jon Wolfsthal, former senior director for arms control and nonproliferation at the National Security Council under Barack Obama, told The Independent. A lack of testing by North Korea has had almost no impact on that threat, he added. Mr Trump has touted an apparent calming of tensions with North Korea during his presidency and a lack of missile testing as signs the reclusive regime could be willing to forego its efforts of obtaining an intercontinental missile capable of reaching mainland US. On Wednesday, Mr Trump repeated his claims that North Korea could become on the worlds great economic powers during his face-to-face summit with the regime leader, saying in front of reporters, I think that your country has tremendous economic potential. Unbelievable. Unlimited. And I think that you will have a tremendous future I look forward to watching it happen, and helping it to happen. The president also took a shot at Democrats and his predecessor on Twitter, writing, The Democrats should stop talking about what I should do with North Korea and ask themselves instead why they didnt do it during eight years of the Obama Administration? Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize, he tweeted. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting! In speaking to The Independent, Mr Wolfsthal acknowledged shortcomings by the previous administration in achieving the denuclearisation of North Korea. Trump and Kim: leaders arrive in Vietnam for talks Show all 7 1 /7 Trump and Kim: leaders arrive in Vietnam for talks Trump and Kim: leaders arrive in Vietnam for talks Donald Trump and Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong make their way to a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi Reuters Trump and Kim: leaders arrive in Vietnam for talks Donald Trump waves a Vietnamese flag as Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc looks on AFP/Getty Trump and Kim: leaders arrive in Vietnam for talks Donald Trump waves as he leaves the Presidential Palace in Hanoi AFP/Getty Trump and Kim: leaders arrive in Vietnam for talks North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, is welcomed on his arrival at the Melia Hotel in Hanoi AP Trump and Kim: leaders arrive in Vietnam for talks Kim Jong-un waves as he arrives by train in the Vietnamese border town of Dong Dang AP Trump and Kim: leaders arrive in Vietnam for talks North Korean leader Kim Jong-un receiving a situation report before the summit with Trump AFP/Getty Trump and Kim: leaders arrive in Vietnam for talks The motorcade carrying U.S President Donald Trump drives past Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum AP Still, he noted the supposed difference between past efforts and what Mr Trump has seemingly employed throughout his two public spectacles in meeting with Mr Kim. Under Obama, we sought real progress, not the appearance of progress, he said. We did not succeed, but we remained steadfast and did not give away key steps North Korea has wanted for years. Mr Trumps willingness to claim North Korea was no longer a threat made it less likely that lower level North Koreans would engage with their US counterparts, according to Mr Wolfsthal, who now serves as the director of the nuclear crisis group at Global Zero, a coalition of 300 world leaders seeking to eradicate nuclear arsenals globally. Even Mr Trump's own Secretary of State Mike Pompeo contradicted the president, saying the North was still a threat in an interview with CNN ahead of the summit. A major question remains surrounding Mr Trumps second summit with the North Korean leader about what exactly his administration hopes to accomplish during the historic event. Whereas the North has sought a peace declaration that would effectively end the longstanding Korean War Mr Trump said Well see about that happening before the two sat down for nuclear talks on Wednesday the US has sought verifiable evidence of the Norths denuclearisation. Trump claimed in the campaign that only he can solve problems, he added. It is ridiculous to think that any President would work out the meticulous details needed to achieve and verify destruction of North Korean weapons. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events On Wednesday, the North Korean leader described his regime as misunderstood, without directly indicating whether it would work towards complete denuclearisation. There have been efforts, whether out of hostility or not, to block the path that we intend to take, he said. But we have overcome all these and walked toward each other again and weve now reached Hanoi after 261 days. The US House of Representatives has voted to block Donald Trumps emergency declaration in a major rebuke for the presidents effort to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. The measure will now go before the Senate, where a handful of Republicans could side with Democrats to send the measure to Mr Trumps desk, and force him to sign the first veto of his presidency. Mr Trump made the emergency declaration just under two weeks ago, after Congress agreed to a government funding bill that explicitly left out funding for the border project. That deal averted a second damaging government shutdown in as many months after the president forced what became the longest such closure in US history starting in late December. Since the emergency declaration announcement, Mr Trump has found critics on both sides of the aisle. Democrats have raised a range of concerns, and have referred to Mr Trumps move as an end run around Congress, which is constitutionally mandated to approve spending in the federal government. 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 This is about the Constitution of the United States, House speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Monday during a news conference. Its not about politics, its not about partisanship. Its about patriotism. Republicans, who have so far largely supported the presidents policies and proposals, have also raised concerns with the emergency declaration. So far in the Senate, at least three Republicans have said they see problems with the emergency on constitutional grounds, and because the move sets a precedent for a future Democratic president to declare a state of emergency to further their own agendas. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events When I say probably, I want to make sure that what in fact we are voting on when it comes to the Senate is what I believe it is. If its what I have seen right now, I will support the resolution to disapprove, Alaska senator Lisa Murkowski told an Alaskan TV station on Monday. Ms Murkowski is joined by North Carolina senator Thom Tillis and Maine senator Susan Collins in committing to vote in favour of the resolution that has now passed the House. At least one other Republican senator has indicated he has strong reservations about the measure, but has not committed to voting against the presidents declaration. Donald Trumps former lawyer is set to deliver explosive testimony before Congress claiming the president is a racist, a conman and a cheat. Michael Cohen, the man who who once said he would take a bullet for the president, will tell politicians he is ashamed of what he did allegedly at the behest of the man who occupies the Oval Office. I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty of the things I did for Mr Trump in an effort to protect and promote him, he will tell the House of Representatives oversight and reform committee. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. According to an advanced copy of the 52-year-olds remarks, first obtained by the New York Times, he will add: I am ashamed because I know what Mr Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat. 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 He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails. Last summer, Cohen pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion, bank fraud, and campaign finance violations in relation to hush money payments made to two women, Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, on the eve of the 2016 election. He also pleaded guilty to a separate charge brought by Robert Muellers office that he lied to Congress about discussions over the construction of a proposed Trump Organisation skyscraper in Moscow referred to in court documents as the Moscow Project. He was sentenced to three years in jail and is due to start his sentence shortly. Before he does, the former lawyer was asked to appear on Capitol Hill. On Tuesday, he appeared in private before members of the Senate. Afterwards he told reporters it would be up to the American people who to believe. Donald Trump: 'Even if Michael Cohen was right it doesn't matter, because I was allowed to do whatever I wanted during the campaign' I look forward to tomorrow to being able in my voice to tell the American people my story and Im going to let the American people decide exactly whos telling the truth, he said. Within hours if became clear just how dramatic he intended his appearance to be, ahead of his incarceration in May. In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing, Cohen intends to say. In his way, he was telling me to lie. He will add: Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. Thats not how he operates. Hours before he was to appear, Republican congressman Matt Gaetz, an ally of Mr Trump, suggested in a tweet that compromising information about Cohens private life might soon be released. Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends, he wrote. Mr Gaetz later denied suggestions that his tweet amounted to witness intimidation. It is challenging the veracity and character of a witness. We do it everyday, he told the Daily Beast. Cohen will testify he was intoxicated by Trumps power. I am not a perfect man. I have done things I am not proud of, and I will live with the consequences of my actions for the rest of my life, he will say. But today, I get to decide the example I set for my children and how I attempt to change how history will remember me. I may not be able to change the past, but I can do right by the American people here today. In a statement to The Washington Post, Mr Trumps personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, claimed Cohen was a liar. Its pathetic. This is a lawyer who tapped his own client when he claimed he was being loyal. If you believe him you are a fool, he said. He bragged he was connected to Russian organised crime and he may be. His father in law who gave him millions to [invest] was convicted of tax fraud in a money laundering operation. Lets see if these Democrats want to ask about his many crimes having nothing to do with anyone but his coterie of business associates with questionable connections. Donald Trump threatened his high school and college with legal action in order to prevent them releasing his exam scores, according to explosive testimony Michael Cohen is due to deliver before Congress. Mr Cohen, the US presidents former lawyer and personal fixer, will tell the House oversight and reform committee on Wednesday how his then client directed him to send letters warning Mr Trumps schools against releasing his grades. The revelation is part of a larger picture Mr Cohen plans to sketch of Mr Trump as a racist, a conman, and a cheat who, he will claim, knew his campaign was communicating with WikiLeaks in order to damage his 2016 presidential rival Hillary Clinton. When I say conman, Im talking about a man who declares himself brilliant but directed me to threaten his high school, his colleges, and the College Board to never release his grades or SAT scores, Mr Cohen will say, according to a transcript first obtained by the New York Times. As I mentioned, Im giving the committee today copies of a letter I sent at Mr Trumps direction threatening these schools with civil and criminal actions if Mr Trumps grades or SAT scores were ever disclosed without his permission. 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 He will continue: The irony wasnt lost on me at the time that Mr Trump in 2011 had strongly criticized President Obama for not releasing his grades. Mr Trump branded Barack Obama a terrible student in an interview nine years ago with the Associated Press, in which he pressured the former president to release his academic records. Mr Cohen, who once said he would take a bullet for Mr Trump, will tell lawmakers how he is ashamed over his efforts to protect and promote his former boss. I am ashamed because I know what Mr Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat, he will say. He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails. Last summer, Cohen pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion, bank fraud, and campaign finance violations in relation to hush money payments made to two women, Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, on the eve of the 2016 election. Rudy Giuliani says Donald Trump might have talked to Michael Cohen about testimony He also pleaded guilty to a separate charge by brought by Robert Muellers office that he lied to Congress about discussions over the construction of a proposed Trump Organisation skyscraper in Moscow referred to in court documents as the Moscow Project. He was sentenced to three years in jail and is due to start his sentence shortly. Donald Trump is a racist whose prejudice is even worse in private than his public outbursts suggest, the presidents former lawyer Michael Cohen is due to say in explosive testimony before Congress. Mr Trump is a racist. The country has seen Mr Trump court white supremacists and bigots. You have heard him call poorer countries s***holes, Cohen will tell the House oversight committee on Wednesday, according to a transcript obtained by the New York Times. In private, he is even worse. He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasnt a s***hole. This was when Barack Obama was president of the United States. While we were once driving through a struggling neighbourhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. Cohens racism claims are part of a larger picture he plans to sketch of Mr Trump as a dishonest conman who only entered the presidential race to further his own business interests. Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Show all 7 1 /7 Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Trump made me threaten his high school Cohen disclosed letters that Trump directed him to send to the President's former schools, threatening them never to release his grades and SAT scores EPA Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Trump reimbursed me for the hush money Cohen disclosed a cheque from the President that paid him back for the money he paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels to ensure her silence about her affair with Trump during his presidential campaign Getty Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Trump directed the Trump Moscow negotiations Referring to the controversial business dealings with Russia that were ongoing during Trump's presidential campaign, Cohen stated "Mr Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations" Reuters Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Trump is a racist Cohen noted a number of racist remarks that Trump had made, including saying while driving through a poor neighbourhood of Chicago that "only black people could live that way" Reuters Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Trump knew about the Wikileaks hacks Cohen says Mr Trump knew Roger Stone was talking to Julian Assange about Wikileaks drops of emails from the Hillary Clinton campaign. AFP/Getty Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Nothing went on that Trump wasn't aware of Cohen stated that "nothing went on in Trump world" of the campaign without the President being aware of it AFP/Getty Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Trump did not provide evidence for why he avoided the Vietnam draft Having long said that he was not drafted to Vietnam due to a medical issue, Cohen claimed that Trump could not provide evidence of this. Mr Trump claimed it was because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery," Cohen told the hearing, he also stated that he told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment" Sky I am ashamed because I know what Mr Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat, Cohen is expected to say. The 52-year-old will detail allegations the president was likely aware of a June 2016 meeting between members of his campaign and a Russian lawyer which Mr Trump denies as well as claims Mr Trump lied to the American people about his business links to Moscow. In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing, Cohen will say. In his way, he was telling me to lie. On Wednesday, Mr Trump responded angrily to reports of Cohens upcoming testimony. Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately), Mr Trump tweeted. "He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crookeds lawyer! Mr Trump added, in reference to Hillary Clinton. Rudy Giuliani says Donald Trump might have talked to Michael Cohen about testimony White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement: Disgraced felon Michael Cohen is going to prison for lying to Congress and making other false statements. "Sadly, he will go before Congress this week and we can expect more of the same. Its laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies. Last summer, Cohen pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion, bank fraud, and campaign finance violations in relation to hush money payments made to two women, Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, on the eve of the 2016 election. He also pleaded guilty to a separate charge by brought by Robert Muellers office that he lied to Congress about discussions over the construction of a proposed Trump Organisation skyscraper in Moscow referred to in court documents as the Moscow Project. He was sentenced to three years in jail and is due to start his sentence shortly. Michael Cohen, the long-time consigliere and personal lawyer to Donald Trump, once received an email from a friend since boyhood, Felix Sater, who had become a criminal with gangland connections before becoming a federal informer: Can you believe that two guys from Brooklyn are going to elect a President? Sater had chaperoned Donald Junior and Ivanka to Moscow at Trumps request. Vladimir Putin, Sater declared, would back a project to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. But this would be just the beginning of a very fruitful relationship: Our boy can become President of the USA and we can engineer it ... I will get Putin on this programme and we will get Trump elected. All this may smack of braggadocio from Sater, born Felix Sheferovsky in Russia. But he was not without influence: he claimed he got Ivanka to sit and be photographed on Putins chair in the Kremlin, something she has not denied. He is now once again helping Federal authorities and Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating whether Trump was the Muscovian candidate for the White House, had arrested and turned Cohen. Cohen may not have engineered the election of Our boy to the presidency, but this week the man who is said to know where the Trump skeletons are rattling away is giving testimony which has the potential to gravely damage the chances of the president staying in the White House. Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Show all 7 1 /7 Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Trump made me threaten his high school Cohen disclosed letters that Trump directed him to send to the President's former schools, threatening them never to release his grades and SAT scores EPA Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Trump reimbursed me for the hush money Cohen disclosed a cheque from the President that paid him back for the money he paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels to ensure her silence about her affair with Trump during his presidential campaign Getty Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Trump directed the Trump Moscow negotiations Referring to the controversial business dealings with Russia that were ongoing during Trump's presidential campaign, Cohen stated "Mr Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations" Reuters Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Trump is a racist Cohen noted a number of racist remarks that Trump had made, including saying while driving through a poor neighbourhood of Chicago that "only black people could live that way" Reuters Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Trump knew about the Wikileaks hacks Cohen says Mr Trump knew Roger Stone was talking to Julian Assange about Wikileaks drops of emails from the Hillary Clinton campaign. AFP/Getty Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Nothing went on that Trump wasn't aware of Cohen stated that "nothing went on in Trump world" of the campaign without the President being aware of it AFP/Getty Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Trump did not provide evidence for why he avoided the Vietnam draft Having long said that he was not drafted to Vietnam due to a medical issue, Cohen claimed that Trump could not provide evidence of this. Mr Trump claimed it was because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery," Cohen told the hearing, he also stated that he told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment" Sky Cohen will provide evidence of Trumps lies, racism, cheating and conning, details of his personal finances, including how he allegedly manipulated his income to avoid property tax and, crucially, will supposedly accuse the president of criminal conduct while in office. And he will talk about Russiagate, including the Trump Tower deal Sater was involved in. The alleged criminal conduct is related to hush-money payments made by Cohen on behalf of the president to Stormy Daniels, the adult movie actor who says that she had an affair with Trump a decade ago. An example of the racism, it is claimed, are remarks Trump reportedly made about the intelligence of black people and the type of lives, in his eyes, that they live. Cohens prepared testimony to the committees, which was initially leaked to The New York Times, will say In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie. Mr Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. Thats not how he operates. I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty of the things I did for Mr Trump in an effort to protect and promote him, he will tell the House of Representatives oversight and reform committee. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. He will also make hugely significant claims about the Russia investigation, saying that Trump was aware that Democratic Party emails, damaging to Hillary Clinton, had been hacked and would be leaked. Some of the allegations concern Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder living at the Ecuadorean embassy in London, and Roger Stone, the presidents friend and adviser who has now been arrested. Cohen is due to say: In July 2016, days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr Trumps office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr Trump put Mr Stone on the speakerphone. Mr Stone told Mr Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr Assange told Mr Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign. Mr Trump responded by stating to the effect of wouldnt that be great. Cohen, who will begin a three-year sentence on 6 May after pleading guilty to tax crimes, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress, will appear before three Congressional Committees on three consecutive days this week, one in public and two private sessions. There will be intense focus on his public testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, the same day that Trump will be meeting Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, in Vietnam for their second summit. White House officials told CNN that Trump will be watching the proceedings on television during his overnight stay in Hanoi. Cohen, according to his testimony, will say about Trumps business practices that: Mr Trump is a cheat. It was my experience that Mr Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes. Mr Trump directed me to find a straw bidder to purchase a portrait of him that was being auctioned at an Art Hamptons Event. The objective was to ensure that his portrait, which was going to be auctioned last, would go for the highest price of any portrait that afternoon. The portrait was purchased by the fake bidder for $60,000. Mr Trump directed the Trump Foundation, which is supposed to be a charitable organisation, to repay the fake bidder, despite keeping the art for himself. Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Show all 23 1 /23 Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Joe Biden The former vice president - poised to be a frontrunner - has announced his run. He recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Bernie Sanders The 2016 runner-up has announced that he will be running again in 2020 Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Hillary Clinton The 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State says she is still considering whether she will run again. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Pete Buttigieg The Indiana mayor and war veteran will be running for president. If elected, he would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Kamala Harris The former California attorney general will be running for president in 2020. Introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions testimony, she has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts Senator has formally launched her bid for president in 2020. A progressive Democrat, she is a major supporter of regulating Wall Street. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Beto ORourke The former Texas congressman told Oprah Winfrey that he has been thinking about running for presidency, but stopped short of formally announcing his bid to run in 2020. AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam has announced his bid. He intends to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord. Vice News Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has announced that he will be running for the presidency in 2020. If he secures the nomination he said finding a female vice president would be a priority. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a special meaning for the Latino community in the US. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but is likely to face tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Andrew Yang The entrepreneur has announced his presidential candidacy, and has pledged that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18. AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual advisor has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? John Kerry The former secretary of state has said he is still thinking about whether to run. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Michael Bloomberg The entrepreneur and former New York mayor with a net worth of around $50bn has said he will decide by the end of February whether to seek the presidency. AFP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Howard Schultz Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has not yet ruled out running for president in 2020, despite criticism that his bid could help re-elect Mr Trump by dividing the Democrat vote. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Eric Holder The former attorney general has said he will decide in the next month or so whether to run as a 2020 presidential candidate. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Eric Swalwell The California congressman said he is ready to do this and will decide before April whether to run. MSNBC Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Terry McAuliffe The former Virginia governor, who worked to elect Democratic governors during 2018 midterms, said there was a 50 per cent chance he would run. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Sherrod Brown The Ohio senator is still undecided about whether to run for president in 2020. Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Mitch Landrieu The former New Orleans mayor said he doesnt think he will run for president, but never say never. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin And it should come as no surprise that one of my more common responsibilities was that Mr Trump directed me to call business owners, many of whom were small businesses, that were owed money for their services and told them no payment or a reduced payment would be coming. When I advised Mr Trump of my success, he actually revelled in it. The House Oversight Committees chairman, Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat, has already stated that Trumps former lawyer will speak about Trumps finances, conflicts of interests at the Trump Foundation and the Trump International Hotel. He has also agreed to discuss the Presidents debts and payments relating to efforts to influence the 2016 election. Cummings is certainly looking forward to Cohens testimony. This is one moment in history, and when you get to my age and you look back and you realise these moments are very, very significant. It may well be a turning point in our countrys history..., he reflected. He is the only person that I know who has accused this president of a crime. And I think its only fair to the president and to Michael Cohen and to the public that he comes forward so that theyll have an opportunity to observe his demeanour. Republicans will be able to ask him questions, just like a cross-examination, and they can make their own judgment. On Trumps alleged racism, Cohen is due to say: The country has seen Mr Trump court white supremacists and bigots. You have heard him call poorer countries shitholes. In private, he is even worse. He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasnt a shithole. This was when Barack Obama was president of the United States. While we were once driving through a struggling neighbourhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. The Oversight Committee will, supposedly, not stray too much into the Russia inquiry questions centring on that will come during the closed Senate and House Intelligence Committee hearings. These will look into, among other things, the Trump Tower Moscow project and a meeting in Trump Tower, New York, between a group of Russians, Donald Junior, Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner and Trumps campaign manager, Paul Manafort, who is now in prison. Cohen is due to say on the Moscow Tower project: I lied to Congress about when Mr Trump stopped negotiating the Moscow Tower project in Russia. I stated that we stopped negotiating in January 2016. That was false our negotiations continued for months later during the campaign. Mr Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. Thats not how he operates. In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie. You need to know that Mr Trumps personal lawyers reviewed and edited my statement to Congress about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations before I gave it. To be clear: Mr Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it. He lied about it because he never expected to win the election. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project. Cohen returns to Capitol Hill around 18 months after he appeared for the first time before the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of the Russia investigation when he lied about how long discussions about the Trump Tower project had extended into the 2016 campaign. At the time, Mr Trump was praising his lawyer. But then Cohen started co-operating with Mueller and the president accused him of becoming a rat. In the run-up to the testimony, the Trump team has kept up a barrage of insults. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders called the presidents former lawyer a disgraced felon and declared that it was pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies, and just laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word. Cohen is due to say: I knew early on in my work for Mr Trump that he would direct me to lie to further his business interests. I am ashamed to say, that when it was for a real estate mogul in the private sector, I considered it trivial. As the president, I consider it significant and dangerous. But in the mix, lying for Mr Trump was normalised, and no one around him questioned it. In fairness, no one around him today questions it, either. The beginning of the Trump Presidency saw a high number of former military commanders in the administration. But the president appeared to later fall out with the intelligence services and armed forces and regularly traduced senior officers. Cohen is due to speak about how Trump dodged the Vietnam draft. He is due to say: Mr Trump tasked me to handle the negative press surrounding his medical deferment from the Vietnam draft. Mr Trump claimed it was because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery. He told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment. He finished the conversation with the following comment. You think Im stupid, I wasnt going to Vietnam. Democrats hold that a lot of truth about the president will come out in what Cohen has to say. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said Cohen would be questioned about Kremlin links: Did they go beyond what he told us about Moscow Trump Tower into other areas as well? Who would have been aware of the false testimony that he was giving? What other light can be shed now that hes cooperating on issues of obstruction of justice or collusion? What more could be tell us about the Trump Tower New York meeting or any other issues relevant to our investigation. We think he has a lot to offer. Jared Kushner quietly met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman during a foreign trip featuring meetings with top Middle East officials that is sure to raise controversy in the United States. The White House released a readout of the previously non-disclosed meeting between the Crown Prince and Donald Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser just minutes after the presidents former attorney and fixer began a highly-anticipated public testimony before the House Oversight Committee. News outlets across the country were covering the developments on Capitol Hill in real-time as one of Mr Trumps closest former confidants detailed his alleged criminal conduct, racism and lies from the 2016 presidential election and after assuming the Oval Office. Mr Kushner was meeting with the 33-year-old Saudi Arabian leader for the first time since the Crown Prince was alleged by the international community and global intelligence experts to have ordered the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist killed inside a Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Mr Khashoggi was a notable journalist who frequently wrote reports critical of the Saudi government. Mr Khashoggis death and the Crown Princes supposed involvement in that atrocity was not included in the readout released by the White House on Wednesday, however. As for the president, Mr Trump has repeatedly declined to punish, condemn or even implicate Saudi leadership in the death of Mr Khashoggi, a US resident who lived in Virginia before he was killed. 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 Turkish officials also confirmed on Wednesday that Mr Kushner tasked with restoring peace throughout the Middle East region by the White House had met with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the countrys president. He was joined by Berat Albayrak, Turkeys economy minister who also happens to be a son-in-law of the Turkish president. Mr Kushner, who has said he plans to release a full plan on his Mideast peace initiative after Israel conducts its elections 9 April, said he is ultimately seeking economic opportunities for Palestinians. He did not mention whether hed support the establishment of a Palestinian state, but only that he would address final status issues, reportedly including borders, the Associated Press reported. Saudi officials have long denied any involvement in Mr Khashoggis murder, claiming the Crown Prince and his father were unaware of the attacks. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The Middle East is a rough place, Mr Kushner said in an interview with CNN last year. It's been a rough place for a very long time. We have to be able to pursue our strategic objectives, he added. But we also have to deal with what is obviously a terrible situation. Michael Cohen released his prepared remarks before a public testimony on Capitol Hill in which he was due to detail Donald Trumps alleged lies, corruption and criminal conduct throughout the 2016 presidential election. Among those explosive claims Cohen will say Mr Trump was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails include the president telling his former attorney there was no real medical excuse behind his military deferral during the Vietnam War. Mr Trump tasked me to handle the negative press surrounding his medical deferment from the Vietnam draft, Cohen said in his prepared remarks on Wednesday. Mr Trump claimed it was because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery. He told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment, he added. The remarkable decision by Cohen to expose the presidents supposed crimes and wrongdoings reflects an incredible reversal from one of Mr Trumps closest former confidants who previously said he would defend his ex-boss until the very end. Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Show all 7 1 /7 Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Trump made me threaten his high school Cohen disclosed letters that Trump directed him to send to the President's former schools, threatening them never to release his grades and SAT scores EPA Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Trump reimbursed me for the hush money Cohen disclosed a cheque from the President that paid him back for the money he paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels to ensure her silence about her affair with Trump during his presidential campaign Getty Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Trump directed the Trump Moscow negotiations Referring to the controversial business dealings with Russia that were ongoing during Trump's presidential campaign, Cohen stated "Mr Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations" Reuters Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Trump is a racist Cohen noted a number of racist remarks that Trump had made, including saying while driving through a poor neighbourhood of Chicago that "only black people could live that way" Reuters Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Trump knew about the Wikileaks hacks Cohen says Mr Trump knew Roger Stone was talking to Julian Assange about Wikileaks drops of emails from the Hillary Clinton campaign. AFP/Getty Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Nothing went on that Trump wasn't aware of Cohen stated that "nothing went on in Trump world" of the campaign without the President being aware of it AFP/Getty Racist. Conman. Cheat. The biggest revelations from Cohen's testimony Trump did not provide evidence for why he avoided the Vietnam draft Having long said that he was not drafted to Vietnam due to a medical issue, Cohen claimed that Trump could not provide evidence of this. Mr Trump claimed it was because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery," Cohen told the hearing, he also stated that he told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment" Sky White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders came out in defence against Mr Trump ahead of Cohens public testimony, calling him a disgraced felon and noting he is going to prison for lying to Congress. Sadly, he will go before Congress this week and we can expect more of the same, she said. Its laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies. Cohen was scheduled to meet with the Democratic-controlled House Oversight Committee on Wednesday during a three-day appearance on Capitol Hill. Mr Trump has previously received scrutiny over his deferral from the Vietnam War, with dubious claims he suffered bone spurs at the time never having been held up by verifiable facts or evidence. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events You think Im stupid, I wasnt going to Vietnam, Cohen said the president told him. Mr Trump reportedly told The Times in 2016 his bone spurs healed up over a period of time. Michael Cohen has revealed he is not allowed to discuss his last conversation with Donald Trump with anyone, because it is currently part of ongoing investigations by federal prosecutors. The presidents former attorney told lawmakers during a high-profile public testimony on Capitol Hill that he was aware of additional illegal acts by the president, adding that those alleged acts of misconduct were part of the Southern District of New Yorks probe into the Trump Organization. When asked whether he was aware of additional illegal wrongdoing besides whats already publicly known about Mr Trump, Cohen responded, Yes, and again those are part of the investigation that is currently being looked at by the Southern District of New York. Cohen said his final conversation with the president happened about two months after his hotel room was raided by the FBI in April 2018. But he declined to provide more specific details and said the matter was being investigated by federal prosecutors. He also said he had a conversation with the president prior to his first hearing with the House Intelligence Committee in which Mr Trump encouraged him to claim there was no collusion between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. Democrats asked Cohen about details of his accusations against Trump, while Republicans on the House Oversight and Reform Committee focused on assailing him and his credibility. The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images Accused at length by one GOP lawmaker of being a pathological liar, Cohen responded, Sir, are you referring to me or the president? I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty, of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him, Cohen said. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. Mr Trump, at a Vietnam hotel before a planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and unable to ignore the drama playing out thousands of miles away, lashed out at Cohen on Twitter, saying his lawyer did bad things unrelated to Trump and is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Recommended Cohen says Trump had no medical excuse to avoid Vietnam War A judge already has set Cohens sentence, and Cohens cooperation will have no bearing on that term. Cohen, ahead of his appearance, said Tuesday that the American people could decide exactly who is telling the truth when he testified before the House committee. A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time, Cohen said in his prepared testimony. The answer is yes. Cohen said he does not have direct evidence that Trump colluded with the Russian government during the election, but that he has suspicions. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Of a meeting in Trump Tower between campaign advisers, including Mr Trumps oldest son, and a Russian lawyer, Cohen said that the president had frequently told him that Donald Trump Jr had the worst judgment of anyone in the world and he would never set up any meeting of any significance alone and certainly not without checking with his father. Additional reporting by AP Chicago is expected to elect its first black woman as mayor with two African-American women headed for a runoff election this year. Lori Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, and Toni Preckwinkle, the county board president, are leading the top two spots on Chicagos mayoral election night based on unofficial results posted on the citys Board of Election, with 92.61 per cent of the precincts reporting. There were a total of fourteen candidates on the ballot seeking mayorship, the highest number in Chicago history. The concession of William Bill Daley, the third place candidate, on Tuesday night confirms that the next mayor whether it is Ms Lightfoot or Ms Preckwinkle will be a black woman. Ms Lightfoot could also be Chicagos first openly gay mayor. Mr Daley is a member of the famous political family known for its deep roots in Chicago, with his father and brother Richard J Daley and Richard M Daley, respectively serving as the windy citys mayor for more than 40 years combined. For first time in decades, Chicago faces life without a Daley in charge Show all 8 1 /8 For first time in decades, Chicago faces life without a Daley in charge For first time in decades, Chicago faces life without a Daley in charge 449101.bin AP For first time in decades, Chicago faces life without a Daley in charge 449102.bin AP For first time in decades, Chicago faces life without a Daley in charge 449103.bin AP For first time in decades, Chicago faces life without a Daley in charge 449104.bin AP For first time in decades, Chicago faces life without a Daley in charge 449105.bin AP For first time in decades, Chicago faces life without a Daley in charge 449107.bin AP For first time in decades, Chicago faces life without a Daley in charge 449108.bin AP For first time in decades, Chicago faces life without a Daley in charge 449106.bin AP Before running for mayor, Mr Daley served as Barack Obamas White House chief of staff. He conceded after receiving 14.7 per cent of the vote. Ms Lightfoot had 17.5 per cent and Ms Preckwinkle had 16 per cent. "One of them will have the honour of being the next mayor of Chicago," Mr Daley said. In her election night speech, Ms Lightfoot thanked her supporters and encouraged them to join her in the fight against Chicagos political machine. This campaign was powered by you," Ms Lightfoot said, before adding "this is going to be a race that comes down to the inches" and expressing gratitude to her supporters for their courage "to stand with our campaign against the machine". Ms Preckwinkle told her supporters: Our fight is far from over, and there's a lot more work to do. "We may not yet be at the finish line, but we should acknowledge that history is being made. "It's clear were at a defining moment in our citys history. But the challenges that our city faces are not simply ideological." Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events According to the Chicago Board of Elections, a candidate will need to earn more than 50 per cent of the votes to avoid a run-off election. If no candidate has reached that threshold, the top two candidates will face each other in a run-off election scheduled for 2 April. Incumbent Mayor Rahm Emanuel did not run for re-election. He has served as mayor for two terms since 2011. The other 14 candidates included Susana A Mendoza, the Illinois state comptroller; Gery Chico, an attorney who was the younger Daley mayors chief of staff; Jerry Joyce, a small business owner and attorney; Paul Vallas, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools; Wilie Wilson, who ran for mayor in 2015, Garry McCarthy, who served as Chicago police superintendent before being fired by Mr Emanuel in 2015 following the police-involved shooting of Laquan McDonald; Amara Enyia, a former journalist and community activist; and La Shawn K Ford, a Democratic state representative. A man who was filmed allegedly dipping his testicles in salsa before delivering it to a customer who had ordered Mexican food online could face up to 15 years in prison. Howard Webb, 31, was arrested by police in Tennessee on Friday after a video of a man contaminating the tomato dip went viral on Facebook. In the bizarre footage, a man sat in the passenger seat of a car appears to pull down his trousers before lowering his testicles into the polystyrene container of salsa. The video was taken by Mr Webbs friend, who was on her way to deliver the customers takeaway from a local Mexican restaurant in Maryville, Tennessee. It appears she encouraged Mr Webb to taint the dip with his genitals to punish the unsuspecting customer for only offering a small tip. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty This is what you get when you give an 89 cent tip for an almost 30 minute drive, the driver can be heard saying in the 14-second clip. As her friend dips his testicles into the salsa he can be heard saying Oh, oh, it feels good. Local officers arrested Mr Webb on Friday and he is currently in custody, charged with adulteration of food, liquids or pharmaceuticals. If convicted, he could face a sentence of between three and 15 years in jail and a fine up to $10,000. The online delivery service which contracted the driver, Dinner Delivered, has said it has fired her and passed on her details to the authorities as well. Maryville police chief Tony Crisp told a local newspaper, The Daily Times, their investigation was opened after Dinner Delivered got in touch. The delivery driver, who has not been named, has not been charged but inquiries continue. Zomato takeaway delivery driver sacked after eating customer's food Dinner Delivered has also issued a refund to the customer who unwittingly consumed the tainted salsa. In a statement on their Facebook page, the company said a single, rogue independent contractor has engaged in criminal behaviour that has resulted in indecent acts performed to customer orders, as well as unverified claims of inserting poisonous substances inside customer drinks. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events We deeply and sincerely apologise for the behaviour of this lone outlier and any affected by it, and will be re-examining both our training and hiring policies to help ensure a situation like this does not occur again in the future. Mr Webb appeared before the local courts on Tuesday and had a preliminary hearing set for 12 March. Thousands of people along a flooded river were under evacuation orders on Wednesday as a relentless storm pounded Northern California, drenching the San Francisco Bay Area and pummelling the Sierra Nevada with snow. Some two dozen communities along the Russian River in Sonoma County were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday evening shortly before the waterway passed flood stage. Forecasters predicted it would peak at about 46 feet (14 metres) by Wednesday evening, which would be the highest level in about a quarter-century. Authorities said evacuations were ordered for about 4,000 people in and around Guerneville, located about an hours drive north of San Francisco. We want you to leave now, Sheriff Mark Essick warned. The roads may become impassable and you may not be able to get out. So even if you live in an area that is not flooding at this moment, you may not be able to get out when the water rises. There also was concern about potential mudslides in hillside areas saturated from days of downpours, and in areas scarred by 2017 wildfires. California storms Show all 14 1 /14 California storms California storms (AP Photo/Michael Short) California storms Cars and a large tree are seen in a debris trail in the aftermath of a mudslide that destroyed three homes on a hillside in Sausalito, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. The National Weather Service says the atmospheric river sagged southward from Northern California overnight and is pointed at the southwestern corner of the state early Thursday. (AP Photo/Michael Short) California storms (AP Photo/Michael Short) California storms (AP Photo/Michael Short) California storms (AP Photo/Michael Short) California storms Southern Marin Fire Department members search a crushed house in the aftermath of a mudslide that destroyed three homes on a hillside in Sausalito, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. Waves of heavy rain pounded California on Thursday, filling normally dry creeks and rivers with muddy torrents, flooding roadways and forcing residents to flee their homes in communities scorched by wildfires. (AP Photo/Michael Short) California storms Southern Marin Fire Department members search a crushed house in the aftermath of a mudslide that destroyed three homes on a hillside in Sausalito, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. Waves of heavy rain pounded California on Thursday, filling normally dry creeks and rivers with muddy torrents, flooding roadways and forcing residents to flee their homes in communities scorched by wildfires. (AP Photo/Michael Short) California storms A truck drives over a flooded freeway underpass in San Francisco, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. The National Weather Service says the atmospheric river sagged southward from Northern California overnight and is pointed at the southwestern corner of the state early Thursday. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) California storms A Caltrans work crew removes debris near a flooded lane from under a freeway in San Francisco, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. The National Weather Service says the atmospheric river sagged southward from Northern California overnight and is pointed at the southwestern corner of the state early Thursday. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) California storms A Caltrans work crew removes debris near a flooded lane from under a freeway in San Francisco, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. The National Weather Service says the atmospheric river sagged southward from Northern California overnight and is pointed at the southwestern corner of the state early Thursday. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) California storms Water from recent heavy rain storms breeches a levee in Novato, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. Waves of heavy rain pounded California on Thursday, flooding streets, triggering a mudslide that destroyed homes and forcing residents to flee communities scorched by wildfires last year. (AP Photo/Terry Chea) California storms Water from recent heavy rain storms breech a levee and flows under railroad tracks in Novato, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. Waves of heavy rain pounded California on Thursday, flooding streets, triggering a mudslide that destroyed homes and forcing residents to flee communities scorched by wildfires last year. (AP Photo/Michael Short) California storms Stormy Daniels (C), the porn star who claims to have slept with US President Donald Trump over a decade ago, opens Berlin erotic fair "Venus" in Berlin on October 11, 2018. TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP/Getty Images) California storms A truck drives over a flooded freeway underpass in San Francisco, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. The National Weather Service says the atmospheric river sagged southward from Northern California overnight and is pointed at the southwestern corner of the state early Thursday. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) Earlier in the day, a mudslide near Monte Rio near Guerneville trapped a man and a woman before they were rescued, messy but unharmed. Elsewhere in Sonoma County, several people had to be rescued from cars that became stranded while trying to drive through flooded roads, including one woman who was rescued by boat. Recommended California braced for mudslides and torrential rain after major storm Several communities also were under evacuation orders in Butte County because of flooded creeks. Other waterways, including the Napa River, also were expected to overflow their banks as an ocean-spanning plume of moisture continued tracking through the West. It already closed roads and schools and toppled trucks and trees from Oregon to Montana. The National Weather Service also issued flood warnings and flash flood watches for the San Francisco Bay Area and many parts of the Sacramento area, lasting into Thursday morning. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Several mountain and foothill roads were repeatedly closed in the Sierra Nevada region because of whiteout conditions or to clear trucks and cars that spun out on the slippery pavement. The Associated Press contributed to this report A brewery in Virginia has been forced to apologise after it named a beer after the Hindu god Hanuman. Olde Salem Brewing Company said it was not aware of the religious connotations when it decided to call a new concoction Hanuman, intending only to make a musical reference. The Hanuman beer is a Spanish milk stout which is listed under the Dark Side (Dark and Dangerous) section of the brewerys website. The beverage is the third in just six months to draw criticism after being named after Hindu a Hindu deity. Hanuman uses a variety of roasted malts combined with lactose to produce a sweet base beer reminiscent of milk chocolate, the firm's website 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 It added: With the flavors of natillas de leche on the mind and flamenco on the radio, we decided to add vanilla, cinnamon, and dried peppers to come up with a uniquely wonderful stout. But Rajan Zed, the president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, said it was highly insensitive to use the name of a Hindu deity for an alcoholic drink. Lord Hanuman was highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be used in selling beer for mercantile intent, he said. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts or symbols for commercial or other agenda is not okay as it hurts the devotees. Hanuman is a central character in the Ramayana epic and is normally portrayed as a monkey with incredible strength. A statement from the Olde Salem Brewing Company said that when naming the Spanish milk stout it was unaware Hanuman was a Hindu deity. The moniker was intended as a reference to a flamenco fusion song called Hanuman by the duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, bosses said. We are reviewing options to address the situation and welcome Mr Zed to reach out to us directly so we can work together to find an appropriate solution, the firm added. We apologise if this inadvertent association has offended anyone in anyway. The brewery is the third in recent months to come under fire from Mr Zed for naming beers after Hindu gods. In August the Tollgate Brewery in the East Midlands was criticised for previously featuring a beverage called Kalika. The label of the India Pale Ale featured an image of the blue multi-armed goddess Kalika, holding a bloodied head and wearing a necklace of skulls. Then, in October a microbrewery in Keighley, West Yorkshire, apologised after Mr Zed condemned their lime-infused beer Ganesh, named after the elephant-headed deity revered by Hindus. We try to pick interesting one-word names for the most part that arent used by other brewers, head brewer Adam Chapman said. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Theres one called Black Jesus by one brewer. Other brewers use the name of a deity in their beers so I obviously never thought anything bad about it. Mr Zed said of his requests for name changes: We have nothing against [the brewers]. We are just requesting this of them and it is up to them to do it. Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari has won a second term at the helm of Africas largest democracy, electoral commission results show. The 76-year-old incumbent had a strong lead of 56 per cent of votes before the final district was announced, as against 40 per cent for his main opponent Atiku Abubakar, a businessman and former vice president. A post on Mr Buharis Twitter feed late on Tuesday showed him surrounded by applauding staff at his campaign office, who said they were setting out refreshments of finger food amid celebrations. I met the very hardworking members of our team, many of them young people, and was briefed on the performance of our party so far in the presidential elections. I am very proud of what has been accomplished, he said on Twitter. Earlier, Mr Abubakars party had demanded an immediate halt to the release of results by the Independent National Electoral Commission until turnout figures were made available. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty In a last-gasp effort to prevent the declaration of a winner, he claimed that data from smart card readers used in the vote had been manipulated. His party called for fresh elections in four states: Yobe, Zamfara, Nasarawa and Borno. Mr Abubakars party has rejected the tallies announced so far as incorrect and unacceptable. Mr Buharis party has said the opposition was trying to discredit the returns from Saturdays election. The accusations have increased tensions in a vote marred by outbreaks of violence, delays and logistical glitches. Observers from the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union and the United Nations appealed to all parties to await the official results, expected later this week, before filing complaints. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The candidate with the most votes nationwide is declared winner as long as they have at least one-quarter of the vote in two-thirds of Nigerias 36 states and the capital, Abuja. Otherwise there is a second-round run-off. Mr Buhari has already secured enough votes to meet both requirements, a tally by Reuters showed. The BBC reported that at just under 35 per cent, turnout was the lowest in 20 years. Nigeria is also Africas largest economy and biggest oil producer. Additional reporting by agencies The runner-up in Nigerias presidential vote has rejected the result of what he called a sham election and vowed to challenge the outcome in court. Opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar alleged there had been manifest and premeditated malpractices during a vote which saw president Muhammadu Buhari comfortably secure a second term at the helm of Africas largest economy. The electoral commission on Wednesday declared Mr Buhari the winner of Saturday's election by four million votes. The 76-year-old former military ruler was backed by 56 per cent of the electorate, the commission said. Mr Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, said he would have conceded within seconds if the election had been free and fair. The businessman and former vice-president, who took 41 per cent of the vote, claimed voting was suppressed in his strongholds in the south. He said another red flag was that states in the northeast that have been ravaged by extremist attacks saw much higher voter turnouts than peaceful states. Nigeria delays 2019 presidential election Show all 4 1 /4 Nigeria delays 2019 presidential election Nigeria delays 2019 presidential election Paramilitary forces stand near Daura, native home of Nigerian president Mohammadu Buhari AFP/Getty Images Nigeria delays 2019 presidential election Former vice-president and presidential aspirant Atiku Abubakar speaks in Lagos AFP/Getty Images Nigeria delays 2019 presidential election Staff members of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) unload ballot boxes in southern Nigeria AFP/Getty Images Nigeria delays 2019 presidential election Police officers attend the posting parade for the elction in southern Nigeria AFP/Getty Images "I have never seen our democracy so debased", the 72-year-old added in a statement shared with supporters."It is clear that there were manifest and premeditated malpractices in many states which negate the results announced." Some 327 people died in election-related violence since the campaign began in October, including 67 killed during or after Saturday's vote, according to the Situation Room monitoring group and security sources. The violence included insurgents' attacks to disrupt voting, and clashes between gangs and security forces around polling booths. Opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar talks to the media after casting his ballot in the presidential election (EPA) The vote had been delayed by a week after the electoral commission was unable to get ballots and results sheets to all areas of the country. International observers said that probably reduced turnout. Mr Buhari, of the All Progressive Congress party, had to improve security and reform the economy if re-elected. He urged supporters not to gloat or "humiliate" the opposition after his victory. "We will continue to engage all parties. Our government will remain inclusive and our doors will remain open," he said while receiving his election certificate. The opposition's fraud accusations have heightened tensions in Africa's most populous nation, where six decades of independence have seen long periods of military rule, coups and secessionist wars. But the controversy could also peter out, as happened recently after Democratic Republic of Congo's presidential vote in December. John Ashbourne, economist at Capital Economics in London, said a legal challenge over the Nigerian election was "very unlikely to overturn the official result". Additional reporting by agencies The booby-trapped corpse of a man kidnapped by jihadists last week has exploded in Mali, killing 17 people. Authorities had discovered a body abandoned in bushes in Gondogourou, a rural area close to the town of Koro on the countrys border with Burkina Faso on Tuesday. Relatives are understood to have been burying the remains later that day when the corpse, which had been rigged with an improvised device, exploded. A total of 17 people are thought to have been killed in the blast around half of those in attendance at the funeral while several others were injured. They dug the grave. It was at the moment of sliding the body in that the it exploded, Oumar Guindo a Gondogourou resident told Malian newspaper the North South Journal. From Cairo to Cape Town: In and out of Africa with National Geographic Show all 11 1 /11 From Cairo to Cape Town: In and out of Africa with National Geographic From Cairo to Cape Town: In and out of Africa with National Geographic Horst Luz, Sudan, 1965 A ghostly Nuba glee club bathes in ashes to ward off evil spirits before singing at a sanda festival National Geographic Society From Cairo to Cape Town: In and out of Africa with National Geographic Gervas Huxley, Kenya, 1940s Kenyans trudging along a road battle clouds of ying locusts. Spawned in the vast deserts to the north, periodic irruptions of locusts brought millions of insects descending upon everything in sight, devouring crops, destroying grasslands and forests, even covering roads so thickly that cars skidded out of control National Geographic Society From Cairo to Cape Town: In and out of Africa with National Geographic Chris Johns, South Africa, 1995 A walking stick on one shoulder, a hunting bow slung over the other, a Bushman watches relatives stride across the dunes near the boundary of Kalahari Gemsbok National Park Minden Pictures From Cairo to Cape Town: In and out of Africa with National Geographic Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone, Kenya, 2001 As graceful under water as the sh it swims among, a hippo courses through Kenyas marvelous Mzima Springs, an Edenic oasis in the midst of Tsavo National Park. Tiny sh, the photographers were the rst to discover, each specialised in cleaning various parts of the river horses anatomy National Geographic Creative From Cairo to Cape Town: In and out of Africa with National Geographic Michael K. Nichols, Ethiopia, 2002 Lounging beneath ancient heath trees, gelada baboon bachelors gang up until the day when they will turn against each other in the competition for females National Geographic Creative From Cairo to Cape Town: In and out of Africa with National Geographic Hans Hildenbrand, Egypt, circa 1925 Men lead donkeys past the Tombs of the Caliphs, mosque-like mausoleums erected outside Cairo to house the mortal remains of Egypts medieval sultans, the foreign dynasty of the Circassian Mamluks. No towering pyramids for them! National Geographic Society From Cairo to Cape Town: In and out of Africa with National Geographic Bruce Dale, Kenya, 1968 A Kenyan farmer and his cow climb a hill near Kisii on land that he might well own, since after independence in 1963 the new government had bought some of the choicest parcels and resold them to native smallholders National Geographic Creative From Cairo to Cape Town: In and out of Africa with National Geographic David Doubilet, Egypt, 1981 A young goatherd pipes a tune in the wastes of the Sinai Desert. Wild and rugged, this no mans land occupied by Israel at this time as a result of the 1967 Six-Day War had been claimed by Egypt for thousands of years, but was really home only to wandering Beduoin tribes National Geographic Creative From Cairo to Cape Town: In and out of Africa with National Geographic Dick Durrance III, South Africa, 1970 In a sign of hope for a better future, a Zulu worker gives a thumbs-up sign in the railroad station at Umlazi, a township in the Kwa Zulu Bantustan. During the Apartheid era, hundreds of thousands of workers commuted each day from segregated townships to jobs as menials and laborers in white-only South Africa Minden Pictures From Cairo to Cape Town: In and out of Africa with National Geographic Michael K. Nichols, Chad, 2006 Chads Zakouma National Park is a refuge for the Sahels last remaining elephant herd. But Zakouma is tiny, not even 1,200 square miles, and every year as the dry season relaxes its grip, some 3,500 elephants leave the park to nd better forage." Minden Pictures From Cairo to Cape Town: In and out of Africa with National Geographic National Geographic: Around the World in 125 Years Africa National Geographic: Around the World in 125 Years Africa Joe Yogerst, Reuel Golden Hardcover, 26.9 x 37.4 cm, 312 pages At the time, 17 people died and three others wounded. Local reports said the remains had been that of Boukary Guindo, a 40-year-old man abducted by an extremist group last week. Recommended We ignore Islamist terrorism in Africa at our peril Hes a young man who went to get some grass in the forest, Youssouf Aya, a national assembly representative for Koro, also told North South, He was shot dead by unidentified gunmen. The United Nations has already warned this year of escalating violence in central Mali, fuelled by decades-old disputes over land and cattle and exacerbated by the activities of armed extremist groups. On New Years Day, at least 37 civilians were killed in an attack on a village near Bankass, around 30 miles from Koro. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Violence involving self-defence militias and armed groups has been taking place in Mali since 2012, when extremists seized control of the north of the country. French forces, at the request of the Malian government, have intervened in the conflict and have forced insurgents back, although jihadists groups have maintained a foothold in northern and central regions. Britain may face a new parliamentary vote on its continued military role in Syria after the Isis caliphate is defeated, as Labour calls for a fresh mandate to authorise a changing mission. The UK has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria as part of its role in an international coalition to defeat Isis, and deployed special forces on the ground alongside some 2,000 US troops. But as the caliphate nears defeat, and after President Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal of all but a few hundred US troops, the coalitions aims are shifting. The Trump administration is now pushing for a mostly European combat force to administer a safe zone in northern Syria, according to diplomats, which is partly designed to prevent fighting between Turkey and its bitter enemy, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. The US would also keep some troops in the country to ensure Isis does not regroup. Labours shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, told The Independent that a continued UK military role in Syria after the defeat of the caliphate goes far beyond the policy MPs were asked to support in 2015. The government will clearly need a fresh parliamentary mandate if British engagement in Syria is going to continue even after those Daesh remnants have been destroyed, and even after the majority of US troops have been withdrawn," she added. A parliamentary vote in 2015 authorised the UK to carry out airstrikes against Isis to eradicate the safe haven they have established over significant parts of Iraq and Syria. David Cameron won the vote by a majority of 174. But the wider mission being proposed by the US may require another vote. The US plan now is not anti-Isis, its anti-Turkey, which poses legal issues for Britain, said one Western diplomat. 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 The outcome of the debate over the deployment of US and coalition troops in northeast Syria will have a profound effect on the regions future, and comes at a pivotal moment in the countrys multi-sided civil war. The Isis caliphate, which once stretched across two countries and ruled over 10 million people, has now been reduced to a small patch of land in a village in Syrias eastern Deir ez-Zor province. It was the impending defeat of the caliphate that prompted Mr Trump to announce a full and rapid withdrawal of US troops from Syria in December. That announcement shocked US allies, and officials within his own administration, who warned that a quick exit would allow Isis space to regroup, and leave Americas Kurdish allies open to an attack from Turkey. The presence of coalition troops in Syria has acted as a deterrence in a wider conflict between Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is the main coalition partner in the fight against Isis, but which Ankara views as a terror group. Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has threatened to cross the border and enforce a safe zone inside Syria, which would inevitably lead to a conflict with the SDF. The White House had hoped that the UK and France could fill the gap left by US forces, and reportedly pushed for a multinational force of 1,500 European troops to administer the safe zone. But both countries pushed back on the proposal, saying they could not remain without a similar US commitment. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said there is no prospect of British forces replacing the Americans in Syria. France, too, has made clear they would not remain without the US. Civilians flee Isis's last enclave in Baghouz as Syrian Democratic Forces battle to liberate the village (AFP/Getty Images) (AFP/Getty) In an effort to entice France and Britain to stay engaged in Syria, Mr Trump revised his plan for a full withdrawal and opted to leave 400 troops in the country. Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been in talks with European counterparts about the proposal. But the role these forces would play remains unclear, and European diplomats are seeking clarity before committing to staying in the country. They realised we werent going to stay there on our own, said another Western diplomat engaged in the anti-Isis campaign. Were committed to the fight against Daesh so were seeking more clarity on US plans and the purpose of the mission. There are also important issues like force protection and rules of engagement that need to be worked through, they added. Speaking to The Independent earlier this week, Abdulkarim Omar, co-chair of foreign relations of the political wing of the SDF, said he hoped the US decision to keep troops in Syria would encourage Britain and France to do the same. This decision may encourage other European states, particularly our partners in the international coalition against terrorism, to keep forces in the region, which is very important to to maintain stability and protect our region from the Turkish threats, he said. Recommended Syrian Kurds fear more upheaval as US troops plan withdrawal A decision on whether a vote needs to be held may come down to how the new mission is characterised by the coalition, and what is required of the UK. The US may, for example, try to sell a safe zone operation as a continuation of the anti-Isis mission. Aidan Hehir, reader in International Relations at the University of Westminster and author of several books on humanitarian intervention, said the 2015 vote certainly didn't include permission to deploy troops on the ground in Syria. Such a move is so significantly different to launching airstrikes from Iraq that the 2015 vote could not reasonably be held to cover this, he told The Independent. Additionally, any troop deployment in Syria constitutes a violation of Syria's sovereignty as the Syrian government has not given consent and would thus also require Security Council authorization under Chapter VII of the UN Charter; of course Russia and China would oppose any such proposal. Only one British soldier has been killed in action in Syria. Sergeant Matt Tonroe, from the 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, died in an improvised explosive device blast while embedded with US forces. Two British special forces soldiers were injured in an Isis missile attack in January in Deir ez-Zor. A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: We are in close contact with the US and other allies regarding the future of the campaign against Daesh. A Conservative MP has lost his government job after challenging Theresa May to do more to secure the rights of EU citizens after a no-deal Brexit. Alberto Costa resigned as an unpaid aide to the Scottish secretary after tabling an amendment to ensure millions of people are protected, even if the UK crashes out of the EU with no agreement. His departure came shortly after Sajid Javid, the home secretary, said the government would back the amendment one day after Ms May criticised it as unworkable. Downing Street denied that Mr Cost had been sacked, but the 3million group, representing EU citizens in the UK, condemned the departure as a disgrace It said the prime minister had called their fears its number one priority, tweeting: Now @AlbertoCostaMP gets sacked for wanting to achieve exactly this even in a case of no-deal. And the Govt wonders why we don't trust it. Earlier, Mr Costa, the Scottish-born child of Italian migrants, tweeted that it was brilliant that more than 140 MPs had backed his move, to be debated later on Wednesday. This issue transcends party politics, we are not dealing in borders or backstops, but people's lives and their livelihoods, he tweeted. Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well Show all 18 1 /18 Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well These billboards were plastered by campaign group Led By Donkeys @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well PA Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter Top politicians' Brexit tweets haven't aged well @ByDonkeys / Twitter I have been hugely encouraged by the messages of support and hope received from thousands of EU citizens in the UK & UK citizens abroad. Many MPs were astonished that Mr Costa had been forced to quit despite several cabinet ministers openly defying collective responsibility over Brexit policy. However, a Conservative spokesman said Mr Costa had gone because of a long-standing convention that aides cannot table amendments in the Commons. Hes resigned from the government. Clearly this is an issue he feels very strongly about, he said. Youll see the government wont be opposing that particular amendment and the prime minister thanks him for his service. It is designed to be attached to be attached to the latest Brexit motion being debated by MPs today, amid the continuing crisis over EU withdrawal. It demands that, even if there is no-deal, the citizens' rights part the withdrawal deal is carved out and approved as a separate treaty, to ensure millions of people are not left high and dry. When Jeremy Corbyn urged the prime minister, on Tuesday, to accept the amendment, the prime minister suggested it was pointless, because the rights of British ex-pats were a matter for individual EU countries. Ms May has already promised to protect the 3.2m EU citizens in this country although they are seeking the stronger guarantee offered by the Costa amendment. Mr Javid told a committee of MPs that the government would support Mr Costas amendment because it was a reasonable question to ask. However, the spokesmans suggestion that the Tories wont be opposing it hints at abstaining rather than supporting. Labours deputy leader is demanding the suspension of backbench MP Chris Williamson after he claimed the party had been too apologetic over antisemitism. Tom Watson is writing to Labours chief whip calling for the whip to be stripped from Jeremy Corbyns ally, amid mounting anger over his behaviour in the party, The Independent has learned. In a recorded speech, Mr Williamson also claimed that Labour's response to complaints of anti-Semitism had contributed to the party being demonised. One Labour MP, Phil Wilson, condemned Mr Williamsons speech as outrageous, saying: I think he should be suspended from the Labour party. The Labour party has described the comments, from a meeting hosted by grassroots group Momentum, and published by the Yorkshire Post on Tuesday night, as deeply offensive and inappropriate. Mr Watson has already described the Derby North MPs comments as deliberately inflammatory and the controversy will be raised in a meeting between senior MPs and the leadership later today. They triggered a furious reaction from other Labour MPs, including Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips, who said they seemed specifically designed to upset, adding: Must be disciplined. Protests against Labour antisemitism Show all 14 1 /14 Protests against Labour antisemitism Protests against Labour antisemitism Protesters clashed during the demonstration Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism Members of the Jewish community hold a protest against Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn and antisemitism in the Labour Party AFP/Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism Protesters hold placards and flags during a demonstration, organised by the British Board of Jewish Deputies for those who oppose antisemitism, in Parliament Square Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism Hundreds of people gathered in Parliament Square to protest against antisemitism in the Labour Party EPA Protests against Labour antisemitism Labour MP Luciana Berger speaks during the protest PA Protests against Labour antisemitism A protester blows through a shofar during the demonstration Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism Members of London's Jewish community protest in support of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn outside parliament EPA Protests against Labour antisemitism Labour MP John Mann speaks during a protest against antisemitism PA Protests against Labour antisemitism People protest against antisemitism in the Labour Party as Jewish community leaders have launched a scathing attack on Jeremy Corbyn, claiming he has sided with antisemites again and again PA Protests against Labour antisemitism Labour politicians Stella Creasy and Chuka Umunna leave after attending the demonstration Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism A pro-Jeremy Corbyn protester holds a placard during a counter-protest Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism A support of the Labour Party hold up a placard during the demonstration Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism Jeremy Corbyn supporters during the demo Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism A protester holds up a sign reading For the many, not the Jew AFP Stephen Doughty, the Cardiff South MP tweeted: This conduct is unacceptable and has no place in our party. I have made clear to both the leader's office and our whips that I expect urgent action to be taken. In the clip, from a meeting in Sheffield, Mr Williamson is recorded saying Labour had given too much ground over the antisemitism controversy. The leftwinger also said he had celebrated the resignation of former Labour MP Joan Ryan, who defected to join The Independent Group of MPs last week. The party that has done more to stand up to racism is now being demonised as a racist, bigoted party, Mr Williamson said. I have got to say I think our party's response has been partly responsible for that because in my opinion.....we have backed off on too much, we have given too much ground, we have been too apologetic. In his letter, Mr Watson is likely to point to Labours new code of conduct, adopted last autumn, which states: Any behaviour which incites racism, including antisemitism and Islamophobia, or undermines Labour's ability to campaign against any form of racism, is unacceptable conduct within the Labour party. Last month, Mr Corbyn defended the MP saying: Chris Williamson is a very good, very effective Labour MP. Hes a very strong anti-racist campaigner. He is not antisemitic in any way. However, he was removed as emergency services spokesman in January 2018, after straying from his brief to call for council tax to be doubled for better-off homes. A Labour spokesman said: These comments are deeply offensive and inappropriate and fall below the standards we expect of MPs. Downplaying the problem of antisemitism makes it harder for us to tackle it. Chris Williamson should apologise immediately and withdraw his remarks. Labour has announced that the MP who said his party had been too apologetic over antisemitism will not be suspended, but is being investigated. Jeremy Corbyns spokesperson said Chris Williamson would be investigated over a pattern of behaviour that included and went beyond the comments made in a video recording that has been condemned by fellow MPs. But in a sign of the difficulty facing Mr Corbyn, the spokesperson confirmed the period being investigated stretched further back than three weeks ago when the leader defended Mr Williamson as very good, very effective, in an interview with the MPs local paper. Recommended Labour must expel Williamson to show it is serious about antisemitism It comes amid uproar from many in Mr Corbyns party, including deputy leader Tom Watson, who demanded the MP have the whip removed, as the antisemitism crisis was a key factor in leading MPs to resign from Labour and form the new Independent Group. Mr Corbyns spokesperson said Mr Williamsons comments were deeply offensive and that downplaying the problem of antisemitism makes it harder for us to tackle it. He added: Chris Williamson has rightly apologised and withdrawn his remarks, and has been issued with a notice of investigation for a pattern of behaviour, and is not suspended during the investigation. There is precedence for Labour MPs both being suspended and not suspended during internal investigations in the past, with Mr Corbyns spokesperson saying it was a judgement call that the party would make in each case. He would not go into more detail about exactly what the pattern of behaviour that Mr Williamson is being investigated for involved, but he did say it stretched over a longer period that Mr Corbyns supportive comments to the Derby Telegraph. Protests against Labour antisemitism Show all 14 1 /14 Protests against Labour antisemitism Protests against Labour antisemitism Protesters clashed during the demonstration Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism Members of the Jewish community hold a protest against Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn and antisemitism in the Labour Party AFP/Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism Protesters hold placards and flags during a demonstration, organised by the British Board of Jewish Deputies for those who oppose antisemitism, in Parliament Square Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism Hundreds of people gathered in Parliament Square to protest against antisemitism in the Labour Party EPA Protests against Labour antisemitism Labour MP Luciana Berger speaks during the protest PA Protests against Labour antisemitism A protester blows through a shofar during the demonstration Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism Members of London's Jewish community protest in support of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn outside parliament EPA Protests against Labour antisemitism Labour MP John Mann speaks during a protest against antisemitism PA Protests against Labour antisemitism People protest against antisemitism in the Labour Party as Jewish community leaders have launched a scathing attack on Jeremy Corbyn, claiming he has sided with antisemites again and again PA Protests against Labour antisemitism Labour politicians Stella Creasy and Chuka Umunna leave after attending the demonstration Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism A pro-Jeremy Corbyn protester holds a placard during a counter-protest Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism A support of the Labour Party hold up a placard during the demonstration Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism Jeremy Corbyn supporters during the demo Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism A protester holds up a sign reading For the many, not the Jew AFP It was at the end of January that Mr Corbyn said: Chris Williamson is a very good, very effective Labour MP. Hes a very strong anti-racist campaigner. He is not antisemitic in any way. Criticism of the Derby North MPs words from within the party was widespread on Wednesday, with shadow Northern Ireland secretary Tony Lloyd telling BBC Radio 4s World at One: His actions are grossly unacceptable. And the comments are unacceptable. Labour has got to give signals to the world that not only are we not prepared to tolerate antisemitism, we are not prepared to tolerate those who make an excuse for that antisemitism. So, Chris Williamsons comments, from that point, are offensive and have to be dealt with Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Tony Lloyd Labour has got to give signals to the world that not only are we not prepared to tolerate antisemitism, we are not prepared to tolerate those who make an excuse for that antisemitism. So, Chris Williamsons comments, from that point, are offensive and have to be dealt with. Dame Margaret Hodge, who has been targeted with antisemitic abuse, said she had written to the chief whip and asked that the MP immediately have the whip removed. Mr Watson shared an email he sent to Labour chief whip Nick Brown and general secretary Jennie Formby, in which he also formally requested that Mr Williamson have the whip removed and be suspended from the party. In the email he said the MPs speech was completely unacceptable, it brings the party into disrepute, and amounts to a Labour MP breaching the partys code of conduct on antisemitism in a public forum. Mr Williamson had already provoked his partys ire by booking a room in parliament for the screening of a film about an activist suspended for alleged antisemitism, something which a Labour spokesperson described as completely inappropriate. Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson on antisemitism in Labour party: Corbyn needs 'to rebuild trust' of British Jewish community The video, obtained by the Yorkshire Post, was recorded at a meeting in Sheffield in the wake of last weeks resignation of eight Labour MPs to join the Independent Group. But in the wake of criticism Mr Williamson said he deeply regretted his choice of words, adding: I am therefore sorry for how I chose to express myself on this issue within our party. Labour MP and former shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper tweeted: Appalled by the things that Chris Williamson has said. These are not the values of the Labour Party. Apology is not enough. Party has to demonstrate how seriously we take this. Agree with Tom Watson & Ed Miliband on immediate suspension needed. Former Labour leader Mr Miliband tweeted that Mr Williamson was bringing the party into disrepute over antiemitism, adding: This is a test of seriousness on our part about the whole issue. Disciplinary action, not simply an apology, is required. Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips said Mr Williamsons comment seemed specifically designed to upset, adding: Must be disciplined. Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May clash as Prime Minister calls out Labour party antisemitism Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy said antisemitism has to be expunged not ignored, tweeting: Those who perpetuate it or minimise it bring the party into disrepute. No ifs, no buts, while Ilford North MP Wes Streeting tweeted: Stomach-turning. No action will be taken. Mr Williamson was first elected MP for Derby North in 2010, but was unseated in the 2015 general election. He ran again in 2017, this time receiving a visit from Mr Corbyn during the general election campaign, and won and was later made a shadow fire and emergency services minister. He left the post by mutual agreement six months later after commenting on policy outside his brief to suggest that council tax should be doubled for better-off homes. MPs are gearing up for a fresh set of Brexit votes tonight, when they will seek to force the government to shift its EU exit strategy. The Commons has been presented with a neutral motion by Theresa May, which "notes the prime ministers statement on leaving the EU of 26 February; and further notes that discussions between the UK and the EU are ongoing". Rival amendments have been tabled to the motion, including efforts to force the prime minister to rule out a no-deal exit. However some heat has been taken out of tonight's clashes after Ms May accepted demands for a Commons vote on delaying Brexit. Recommended Tory MP loses government job after challenging May over EU citizens Any successful bids will not be legally binding but they will carry political weight, sending a signal to Downing Street and Brussels over the kind of Brexit that parliament could support. Here are the amendments Speaker John Bercow has selected: Labour - amendment A Jeremy Corbyn has tabled proposals for a softer Brexit, including a "comprehensive" customs union with the EU and closer alignment on rights, protections and the single market. He has written to Tories and the DUP, urging them to join Labour MPs in the division lobbies in support of the plan. This vote is also interesting because Labour has said it will support a second referendum if their plan is rejected - in a major boost for a Final Say vote. SNP - amendment K In the name of SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford, this amendment would require the government to immediately rule out a no-deal Brexit "under any and all circumstances" and regardless of the exit date. This is unlikely to pass as it lacks significant cross-party support. 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 Costa - amendment B Tory MP Alberto Costa tabled this bid to ensure the protection of citizens rights after Brexit. His amendment, which has the backing of more than 140 MPs from across the House, including Mr Corbyn, calls for a separate agreement with the European Union to protect the rights of expats even if there is a no-deal Brexit. The government has indicated it will accept it - but not before Mr Costa had resigned as a parliamentary aide to Scottish secretary David Mundell as government aides are not allowed to table amendments. Cooper - amendment F Labour ex-minister Yvette Cooper is trying to hold the enshrine Ms May's promise to give the Commons a vote on whether to pursue a no-deal Brexit or delay exit day if her deal is rejected. This also has significant cross-party support - including many of the names behind the Spelman/Dromey effort, which was withdrawn during the debate. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Withdrawn: Spelman/Dromey- amendment C Conservative Dame Caroline Spelman and Labour's Jack Dromey put forward this cross-party amendment, which paves the way for a Commons bill that would give MPs a vote on whether to extend Article 50 if no Brexit deal can be agreed. Dame Caroline said during the debate that she would not press her amendment to a vote tonight. The duo were the only ones to successfully win their amendment during the last set of votes. Theresa May was left no room to back out of her pledge to give the commons a veto over a no-deal Brexit, after MPs voted to make it parliaments will. MPs voted by 502 to 20 for a motion locking in the verbal promises given by the prime minister to allow votes on whether to leave the EU without a deal and delay Brexit if her agreed deal is rejected. The vote was one of several that took place in the commons, with the government also accepting a measure from Conservative MP Alberto Costa to guarantee EU citizens rights in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The vote to cement Ms Mays promises was brought forward by senior Labour frontbencher Yvette Cooper who said on Twitter: Strong support from every party & from across the government too. Shows the support across the House of Commons now for parliamentary safeguards in case we face no deal. It comes after Ms May told MPs on Tuesday that if she loses a meaningful vote on her revamped deal, due to take place by 12 March, MPs will be offered separate votes on a no-deal Brexit or extending the two-year Article 50 negotiation process beyond 29 March. Tory MP Mr Costas amendment to seek a treaty on citizens rights after Brexit was approved without a formal vote. He welcomed the fact the government had accepted his amendment on EU citizens rights, but said the fact it needed to be laid down is a very sad state of affairs. 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 The Tory MP for South Leicestershire, who was forced to resign his government position after tabling the amendment, made veiled comments about the situation, calling himself a very loyal Conservative member who has never rebelled and scarcely spoken out of turn. Explaining that his alteration to the Brexit motion had a broad consensus of MPs behind it including the leaders of every opposition party and importantly for me the support of honourable members across the Brexit debate on my side of the House, a sensible government must accept a reasonable amendment. He said: My amendment does not deal in goods or services, backstops or borders, but people, living and breathing, skin and bone. France would block a delay to Brexit unless it had a clear objective based on a new choice by the British, Emmanuel Macron has said. Speaking at a joint press conference with German chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris, the French president gave the clearest signal from an EU leader so far that there would be conditions on an extension to the Article 50 negotiating period. We would support an extension request only if it was justified by a new choice of the British, he told reporters. But we would in no way accept an extension without a clear objective. The president added: As [chief negotiator] Michel Barnier said, we dont need time we need decisions. 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 France has a veto on an Article 50 extension because all EU countries must unanimously agree to an extension for one to happen. Speaking at roughly the same time in Madrid, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez warned that Theresa May would merely be prolonging uncertainty by requesting a short Brexit delay without a realistic plan. Although Spain is not going to oppose the concession of an eventual extension, it must have a certain perspective of resolution, he said. Prolonging uncertainty by postponing deadlines is not a reasonable nor desirable alternative. Ms Merkel struck a softer tone in the French capital, telling reporters: If the UK needs a bit more time, we wont say no. But we want an orderly withdrawal of the UK from the EU. We regret this decision but thats the reality. Theresa May offered the option of an extension to MPs on Tuesday in a bid to head off another Commons defeat. Under the prime ministers plan, MPs will be asked to vote again on her deal on 12 March. Should it be rejected, they will be asked to vote on 13 March on whether the UK should leave without a deal. If both of those are rejected, there will be another vote on 14 March on an extension to Article 50, which would delay Brexit. But Mr Macrons suggestion that the UK would need to make a new choice for an extension to be granted throws a spanner in the works of Downing Streets timeline. Though the French president did not elaborate on what such a choice might entail, the EU has been pushing the UK to soften the terms of Brexit. Mr Macrons statement also suggests time might be granted were the UK to decide to hold a second referendum, which Labour said it would back earlier this week. Last week European Council president Donald Tusk said he believed an extension to Article 50 was a rational course of action for the UK to take, following a meeting with Theresa May. He added, however, that the prime minister still believed she could avoid an extension. YouTube has come under pressure to ban the far-right activist Tommy Robinson, after it was left as the only major social media platform the former EDL leader could still use. The chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Damian Collins, said on Wednesday he thought the video sharing giant should follow Facebooks lead in barring Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. His YouTube channel has hundreds of thousands of followers and includes films viewed by millions of people, Mr Collins said. "Far-right groups are exploiting social media to spread their messages of hate, and the YouTube next up feature helps them by directing viewers to even more of this content once, as soon as, they start to engage with it. "I believe YouTube should also ban Tommy Robinson from their platform. 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 On Tuesday, Facebook and Instagram announced the activist had been permanently banned for posting content which violate our policies around organised hate. A Facebook spokesman said Robinsons page had repeatedly used dehumanising language and urged violence against Muslims. The decision came after the tech firm issued a final written warning to administrators of Robinsons account on 24 January, over posts including one calling Muslims filthy scumbags and calling on people to make war on Muslims. His Twitter account was also blocked in March last year, leaving Google-owned YouTube as the only mainstream platform he was still able to use. Recommended Tommy Robinson permanently banned by Facebook and Instagram The video-sharing websites policy on hate speech prohibits content which promotes violence or hatred against individuals or groups based on attributes including religion, race, immigration status or nationality. In response to the growing furore, 36-year-old Robinson posted a lengthy video on YouTube in which he ranted about conspiracies to silence him, attacked the BBC and campaign group Hope not Hate, and insisted his activism would continue even if YouTube deleted his account. You thought deleting us from Twitter would stop us it didnt, he said during the 16-minute clip. You thought removing our PayPal would stop us. It affected us, they stopped our donations by 70 per cent. Did it stop us? No it didnt. If you think deleting us from Facebook or Instagram will stop us no it wont. As well as losing the ability to fundraise through PayPal, in January Mr Robinson lost a valuable revenue stream when YouTube suspended all adverts on his channel. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events He also said he was considering organising a demonstration against tech companies with other far-right personalities who have been banned, and personally appealed to Donald Trump for help. Donald Trump if you dont step in now, the platforms and the voices that share the truth of what they are doing are being removed across the world. People have to speak now. The Independent has contacted Google for comment. A shooting range has sparked controversy by using Shamima Begums face as a target in what it called lighthearted fun. A blown-up photo of the teenage Isis bride being printed off with a target on her face was posted on social media by the Ultimate Airsoft Range in Wallasey, in Merseyside. It was captioned hot off the press and captions included traitors, made your choice and no remorse. One visitor sent a photo of one used target to the BBCs Victoria Derbyshire programme showing it had been shot almost 100 times. The targets provide some fantastic reactions and conversations and allow people to have some lighthearted fun and bring out the inner child in us all, a spokesperson for the range said. The targets dont always reflect personal opinions and we dont want to condone terrorism. The Ultimate Airsoft Range posted footage of the targets being printed on Twitter (Twitter/Victoria Derbyshire programme) (Twitter/ Victoria Derbyshire Programme) But after watching the interview with Ms Begum being interviewed, there was a lack of empathy that she had shown and we decided to listen to our customers and use them as targets. The range also uses images of other high-profile figures as targets, including Donald Trump, Margaret Thatcher, Osama bin Laden and Justin Bieber. A spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain said Ms Begums case risked inciting violence. In a society where hate and violence against Muslims, particularly Muslim women, is most prevalent and on the rise, it is deeply concerning that people requested an image of a real person as a shooting target, especially in the presence of young children, a statement said. There was a mixed reaction to the shooting ranges choice of Ms Begum on social media, where some people called the target brilliant but others branded it appalling. One person suggested that living people should not be used as targets, while another said it was dehumanising to use Ms Begum and others for light-hearted fun rather than examining why young people make choices to embroil themselves in complex situations beyond their (or most peoples) understanding. It came as Ms Begums familys lawyer revealed that he has been targeted with a wave of death threats and abuse. 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 A letter was sent to Tasnime Akunjees solicitors firm threatening to kill him unless he stops representing her. If you get her back into this country you will be punished most severely, you will not be the first person we have killed or the last, it said. We know where you live so we will be coming for you unless you drop the Begum case. Mr Akunjee said he has reported the letter to police. Messages on social media included a post telling him to kill himself, one telling him to f**k off to Syria, and others wishing death on his family and telling him he does not belong in Britain. Ms Begum remains in a detention camp in Syria with her baby son after home secretary Sajid Javid moved to strip her British citizenship and prevent her return to Britain. The 19-year-old had appealed for help to come home but said she had no regrets, four years after leaving London with two school friends to join Isis. Mr Akunjee said her family would launch a legal challenge against the citizenship removal and Bangladesh said she was not a dual national. The UK government is to announce on Monday whether it will hold a public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane, the Belfast solicitor, during the Troubles in 1989. It follows calls for an official investigation from two dozen members of the US House of Representatives and from Micheal Martin, the Irish premier. Republican congressman Chris Smith called Westminsters refusal to hold the probe until now a public breach of faith with the Northern Ireland peace process. The Supreme Court ruled a year and a half ago that previous investigations by the government had not been properly carried out and returned the matter to ministers for a decision, but they have delayed making a response. Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, is to inform the Finucane family today of what next steps the government plans to take, after a fresh judicial review brought by them forced him to commit to a decision by 30 November. Pat Finucane was 39 when he was killed in front of his wife and three children on 12 February 1989. Two masked loyalist paramilitaries knocked down the front door of his house on on Fortwilliam Drive in the Northern Irish capital with a sledgehammer, burst into his kitchen during Sunday dinner and shot him 14 times. Battle lines: 30 years of unseen 'Troubles' art Show all 6 1 /6 Battle lines: 30 years of unseen 'Troubles' art Battle lines: 30 years of unseen 'Troubles' art 186147.bin Tom Craig Battle lines: 30 years of unseen 'Troubles' art 186148.bin PAINTINGS REPRODUCED COURTESY OF ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE TRUSTEES OF NATIONAL MUSEUMS NORTHERN IRELAND Battle lines: 30 years of unseen 'Troubles' art 186149.bin PAINTINGS REPRODUCED COURTESY OF ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE TRUSTEES OF NATIONAL MUSEUMS NORTHERN IRELAND Battle lines: 30 years of unseen 'Troubles' art 186150.bin PAINTINGS REPRODUCED COURTESY OF ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE TRUSTEES OF NATIONAL MUSEUMS NORTHERN IRELAND Battle lines: 30 years of unseen 'Troubles' art 186151.bin PAINTINGS REPRODUCED COURTESY OF ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE TRUSTEES OF NATIONAL MUSEUMS NORTHERN IRELAND Battle lines: 30 years of unseen 'Troubles' art 186152.bin PAINTINGS REPRODUCED COURTESY OF ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE TRUSTEES OF NATIONAL MUSEUMS NORTHERN IRELAND The victim was a Catholic, the eldest of seven children, who was known for defending members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) members and associated groups, including Maze prison hunger striker Bobby Sands, although he had also represented loyalists. Following his murder, one of the most frightening and shocking events of the Troubles, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) launched a six-week investigation under detective superintendent Alan Simpson that noted the lack of intelligence forthcoming from the relevant security agencies. It later emerged that Brian Nelson, the loyalist paramilitary intelligence officer responsible for directing Ulster Defence Association (UDA) attacks, was a British agent. The UK government duly instigated the three Stevens Inquiries into collusion in Northern Ireland under Sir John Stevens, who began in 1990 by suggesting he believed the problem was neither wide-spread nor institutionalised but had entirely changed his view by 1999, when he concluded there was indeed evidence of collusion between security services in the Finucane case. Amnesty International duly demanded Labour secretary of state for Northern Ireland Peter Mandleson launch a public inquiry. Retired Canadian judge Peter Cory investigated on behalf of the British and Irish governments, concluding in April 2004 by recommending public enquiries be held. Pat Finucane (PA) Five months later, Ken Barrett, a former UDA member, pleaded guilty to being one of the two masked men who burst into the Finucane home. Then-Irish taoiseach Bertie Ahern told a US special envoy to Northern Ireland that everyone knows Westminster was involved in the lawyers killing, prompting the US House of Representatives to pass a resolution calling on the British government to launch a public inquiry. Tony Blairs government agreed to one in 2007, only for it to be blocked under the Inquiries Act 2005. Ex-UN war crimes prosecutor Sir Desmond de Silva, who died last year, was appointed by David Cameron in 2011 to examine the question of possible collusion between the British army, the RUC, Gardai and MI5 in Finucanes killing. Mr Cameron apologised to the Finucane family but caused consternation when it emerged Sir Desmonds investigation would only revisit the Stevens and Cory case files rather than constitute a new public hearing. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Mondays expected announcement by the UK government marks the latest major milestone in the three-decade campaign by Finucanes widow, Geraldine, to establish the true circumstances surrounding his murder. It comes after the Supreme Court ruled in February 2019 that the probe ordered by Mr Cameron fell short of human rights standards because Sir Desmond was unable to question witnesses. But the court did not order a new public inquiry be carried out, returning responsibility for the case to the government, a source of bitter frustration to Ms Finucane who said afterwards the state had unlawfully reneged on its promise to hold a hearing rather than a review. Nonetheless, she added at the time: The British government now knows that it cannot conceal the truth any longer. They have now been told this by the highest court in the land. It is time for the murder of Pat Finucane to be properly and publicly investigated in a public inquiry. Nothing less will suffice. Rescue centres will be banned from releasing animals labelled as illegal aliens such as grey squirrels and muntjac deer back into the wild after Britain leaves the EU. Until now, rescue groups have been able to apply for a licence allowing them to nurse these species back to health and release them once they are rehabilitated. But under strict new government rules from 29 March, it will be illegal to release a list of non-native animals such as grey squirrels to slow the spread of invasive species. The Invasive Alien Species Order 2019 has sparked outcry from rescue groups, who claim they will have their licences revoked and could be forced to euthanise animals. A petition on the parliamentary website to make grey squirrels exempt from the new rules has attracted more than 46,000 signatures. RSPCAs most unusual animal rescues Show all 14 1 /14 RSPCAs most unusual animal rescues RSPCAs most unusual animal rescues A goat who got her head stuck between the bars of a metal fence in Norton, Stockton-on-Tees PA RSPCAs most unusual animal rescues A fox cub who got his head stuck in the hole of an abandoned car wheel in Leyton, London PA RSPCAs most unusual animal rescues A muntjac deer trapped upside down between two walls in Bedworth, Warwickshire PA RSPCAs most unusual animal rescues The dog with his head stuck in the TV cabinet PA RSPCAs most unusual animal rescues RSPCA inspector Anthony Joynes with a dog after it got his stuck in a TV cabinet in Birkenhead, Merseyside PA RSPCAs most unusual animal rescues A snake on a diswasher in Sheffield, Yorkshire PA RSPCAs most unusual animal rescues A squirrel stuck in a toilet in a house in Southwark, London PA RSPCAs most unusual animal rescues A cat who got wedged inside a tumble dryer air vent at her home in Kidderminster PA RSPCAs most unusual animal rescues A cat after falling onto metal railings in London PA RSPCAs most unusual animal rescues A badger wedged between branches in Harefield, London PA RSPCAs most unusual animal rescues A fox was found wedged in a front car grille more than 12 hours after being hit in an accident PA RSPCAs most unusual animal rescues A cat stuck in a gap between two electric doors at the Premier Inn in Luton PA RSPCAs most unusual animal rescues A tiny handcrafted ladder made to get a hamster out of a pipe in Bridgwater in Somerset PA RSPCAs most unusual animal rescues A hamster who got wedged in the tiny pipe for almost a week PA If it reaches 100,000 signatures, it will trigger a parliamentary debate. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has insisted there is no direct requirement to euthanise grey squirrels and muntjac deer. Environment minister Therese Coffey said in a written answer last month that healthy animals taken from the wild may be kept until the end of their natural lives, under licence, provided that they are prevented from breeding or escape. However Natalia Doran, who runs rescue group Urban Squirrels and set up the petition, said many rescue centres do not have the facilities to keep the animals until the end of their natural lives. She told The Independent: There are huge, well-funded centres and they dont believe in keeping animals in captivity, its really not a solution. When you think about the kind of animal that goes 20 metres up in the air what kind of enclosure would you have. (PA (PA) They are saying we dont have to euthanise them but what would we do if fresh ones come in. Ms Doran said she has a licence to keep up to 12 grey squirrels, but receives about 80 phone calls a year from members of the public and refers them to other centres. However the 54-year-old added that while Defra said rescue groups could continue to take grey squirrels in but not re-release them, an email she received from Natural England told her all licences would be revoked from the end of March. Muntjac deer (iStock) Natural England told Ms Doran it was awaiting guidance from Defra and would contact licensees once it knew more. Jade Emery, wildlife campaigner for animal rights group Animal Aid, previously said: Soon this tyrannical and pointless regulation will mean that rescue organisations are forbidden from helping a single squirrel. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Defra says the order is being brought in to protect the countrys ecosystems and protected species. A spokesperson said: This action is to protect our native red squirrels which, with only an estimated 15,000 left in England, are in real danger. Both the grey squirrel and muntjac deer are highly invasive species which cause significant impacts on domestic ecosystems and protected species. Invasive non-native species cost the economy more than 1.7 billion per year. The Independent also contacted the RSPCA for comment, which previously argued the new law will make little or no difference to the wider population of grey squirrels or muntjac deer. The jury in the trial of Ceon Broughton, the man who filmed his girlfriend Louella Fletcher-Michie as she was dying from a drugs overdose at Bestival, has retired to consider its verdict on whether or not he is guilty of manslaughter. Broughton, 29, is also accused of supplying the daughter of Holby City actor John Michie with the Class A drugs that led to her dying from the worlds first 2C-P overdose on the night before her 25th birthday in September 2017. Broughton denies the charges. Before they retired, the judge, The Honourable Mr Justice Goose, asked the jurors to reach a unanimous decision. Winchester Crown Court has heard Louella was just 400 metres from the festivals medical tent, but instead of taking effective action to help, Broughton filmed her enduring a gradual demise over several hours, during which she screamed like a wild animal before collapsing. When he entered the witness box, John Michie stared at Broughton and said I don't know how you could ever say you loved someone if you left them to die in front of you. In pictures: Manslaughter trial into Louella Michie's death Show all 6 1 /6 In pictures: Manslaughter trial into Louella Michie's death In pictures: Manslaughter trial into Louella Michie's death Ceon Broughton leaves Poole Magistrates' Court on 23 March, 2018. PA Archive/PA Images In pictures: Manslaughter trial into Louella Michie's death Family picture of Louella Fletcher-Michie, the daughter of Holby City actor John Michie, who was found dead after taking a party drug at Bestival on 11 September, 2017. Zoe Barling In pictures: Manslaughter trial into Louella Michie's death Louella Fletcher-Michie and Ceon Broughton were said to have been in an on-off relationship for a number of years. Instagram In pictures: Manslaughter trial into Louella Michie's death Ceon Broughton in the music video for his track 'Duracell'. CEONRPG In pictures: Manslaughter trial into Louella Michie's death John Michie attends the Inside Soap Awards, at Ministry Of Sound, in London, 21 October, 2013. Getty Images/Gareth Cattermole In pictures: Manslaughter trial into Louella Michie's death Ceon Broughton, 29, arrives at Winchester Crown Court on 4 February, 2019, where he is charged in connection with the death of Holby City actor John Michie's daughter Louella Fletcher-Michie. PA A medical expert said Louella would have had a 90 per cent chance of survival had she received early medical help. Instead, the court heard, Louella was in all probability dead in the last video that Broughton took. The court heard Broughton had also been worried about getting in trouble with the police because he already had a suspended prison sentence hanging over his head due to a previous offence. When a friend told him to call an ambulance, the jury was told, Broughton messaged back: I cant get bagged [arrested]. Prosecutor William Mousley QC told the jury Louella had been the victim of a "fatal attraction" to her boyfriend. "Her attraction to Ceon Broughton, said Mr Mousley, Her feelings towards Ceon Broughton, turned out to be a fatal attraction." Broughton, the prosecutor added, had "lied and lied" in order to "dodge responsibility" for Louellas death. Referring to the suspended jail sentence, Mr Mousley said the real reason he let Louella down so badly, was to save himself and perhaps even to collect souvenirs of the fatal evening on his phone. That, said Mr Mousley, Is shocking and despicable negligence of the highest order." Broughton declined to enter the witness box to give evidence in his defence, but in his closing speech to the jurors Broughtons lawyer Stephen Kamlish QC said the 29-year-old acted in the way he did because he thought his girlfriend was just having a bad trip, not dying. The act of filming his girlfriend, Mr Kamlish said, actually showed Broughtons innocence: Any decent person, as Ceon is, once you realise someone is at risk of dying, you are going to stop filming and do something else quickly." The act of the filming assists you in seeing he didn't realise the seriousness, however stupid that may be. When interviewed by police, the court heard, Broughton had told officers: I didnt think it would be such a life and death situation, I didnt think it would be serious like this. I would never want anyone to lose life. Mr Kamlish insisted Broughton had attempted to get help to Louella, trying to tell his friend Ezra Campbell, via a mobile with poor signal, where he was, so that the festivals medics could be sent there. "He sent his google pin [to his friend], said Mr Kamlish. He didn't want to leave her alone in the forest. Just think about that: he didn't think she was going to die. "You wouldn't leave your husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, child, alone in the forest at night on drugs. You don't leave them alone in the forest at night until you think there is a risk of dying and the bad trip becomes secondary. Mr Kamlish added: "You will ask why he filmed and filmed to the end. None of us condone this [but] people who live certain lives spend their lives filming everything they do for the Instagram and the Snapchat. The court heard that on the night, Broughton told Louellas brother Sam he had bumped up the dose of drugs he gave Louella. Mr Mousley said this resulted in Broughton giving an "excessive dose" to someone who "had a very careful attitude" towards drugs. "Any reasonable person, said Mr Mousley, Being prudent and careful having given Louella drugs, would have appreciated the risk in seeing her reaction and deterioration and that her life was in danger. "And by taking reasonable steps, quite simply her life could have been saved." Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The defence, however, has argued that Broughton did not admit to bumping up Louellas dose, and Sam misheard what was said due to a failing mobile phone signal. In police interviews, Broughton denied supplying Louella with drugs on the night, saying he thought she had scored some from a fellow festival goer. This case is not about morals, Mr Kamlish told the jury. It is about criminal responsibility decided on the very stringent basis that you must go through. This is not case about vengeance, although there is a temptation to think someone needs to pay. It is not about giving the family something to ease their pain. Nothing can or will do that. The jury will now consider its verdict. Remains of some of the oldest ever frogs have been recovered by sifting through fragments of rock from Arizona. The creatures, which shared the prehistoric landscape with dinosaurs, were identified based on tiny shards of hip bone smaller than a fingernail. Belonging to an as-yet unnamed species that lived around 216 million years ago, they are thought to be the most ancient frogs ever identified in North America. The miniscule remains were found alongside enormous, crocodile-like phytosaurs, as well as early dinosaur species. Scientists are used to finding these much larger animals preserved in the Chinle Formation, a rock structure dating to the Triassic period that stretches from Nevada to New Mexico. Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Show all 19 1 /19 Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Alligator From Alligator Bay zoo in Beauvoir, France AFP/Getty Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Gorilla AFP/Getty Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Wallaby Albino wallaby in a zoo in mother's pouch Bergamo, Italy AFP/Getty Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Panda Spotted in China's Wolong National Nature Reserve on 26 May 2019 AFP/Getty Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Python From Noah's Ark Zoo Farm, Bristol Getty Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Albino squirrel in Louth Stephen Plant Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Tiger AFP/Getty Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Porcupine Albino porcupine from the Kamla Nehru zoo in Ahmedabad, India AFP/Getty Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Albino squirrel in Louth Stephen Plant Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Albino squirrel in Louth Stephen Plant Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Hedgehog An albino hedgehog from a zoo in Sochi, Russia AFP/Getty Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Peacock Not technically an albino, the white peacock in the Nehru Zoo in Hyderabad, India AFP/Getty Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Gorilla AFP/Getty Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Squirrel Albino squirrel in Louth Stephen Plant Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Wallaby Albino wallaby in a zoo in mother's pouch Bergamo, Italy AFP/Getty Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Peacock Not technically an albino, the white peacock in the Nehru Zoo in Hyderabad, India AFP/Getty Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Zebra Albino zebra in Nairobi's national park AFP/Getty Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Tortoise A baby Hermann's Tortoise from the Turtle Valley animal park in Sorede, France AFP/Getty Albino animals: squirrels, gorillas, hedgehogs and more Alligator A baby albino alligator in the Sao Paulo aquarium, Brazil AFP/Getty However, the team said their latest discovery was evidence of a wealth of tiny creatures scuttling around beneath the dinosaurs feet at this time in the planets history. The Chinle frog could fit on the end of your finger, said palaeontologist Dr Michelle Stocker, noting they were now focusing on searching for diminutive life-forms. With this new focus were able to fill in a lot of those missing smaller components with new discoveries. Our development of methods that recover delicate bones from small-bodied vertebrates enabled this exciting discovery, said PhD student Ben Kligman. Our aim is to use similar techniques in the Chinle Formation to uncover the early history of other small-bodied animals including lizards, salamanders, turtles and mammals. The oldest frogs ever discovered have been unearthed in rocks from Madagascar and Poland, dating back roughly 250 million years. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The specimen found by Dr Stocker and her team in Arizona was more similar to modern-day frogs than these older individuals, but is not thought to be a direct ancestor of the amphibians seen today in ponds around the world. As the scientists continue to delve through their rock samples, they hope to find skulls and additional bones that will enable them to learn more about the Chinle frogs. The findings were published in the journal Biology Letters. The 10 or so fishermen I spoke to in Lyme Bay that breathtakingly beautiful arc of unspoilt coastline between Portland Bill and Start Point that straddles Dorset and Devon all told the same story. Fishing is in their blood, otherwise they wouldnt do it. But they are, to a man, concerned about the future of fishing, choked like detritus in a net by the Brussels-imposed bureaucracy of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the looming uncertainty of Brexit. Their contempt for quotas is intense. The quantity and type of fish the men can catch is texted to them arbitrarily by Defra on a weekly basis: break the rules and they will be fined by the fisheries inspector. After Brexit, their hope is that the UK can take back control of the quotas and fishing rights for the nations inshore fishermen. Matt Toms, a fisherman at West Bay who fishes up to 4-5 miles out, says: Im presuming well take control out to 12 miles [at the moment foreign vessels come up to the six-mile mark]. But we can only go up to 12 miles from the French coast. So much for entente cordiale. These are the guys who take their under-10s (boats less than 10 metres) out to fish for crab, lobster, bass, cod and skate (ray) from West Bay, Lyme Regis, Beer and Axmouth just as their fathers and grandfathers did before them. Yet these small boats still have to comply with quotas set for the big trawlers that scoop up all marine life in their wake, leaving the seabed smooth and devoid of its natural ecosystems. remaining of Thank you for supporting local, independent journalism! 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. A ground-breaking implant which allows drugs to be pumped into the brain could massively expand the treatment of neurological disease, strokes and cancer, scientists have said. The valve system, which is screwed into the side of the skull, was developed by Bristol researchers as part of a landmark trial drug trial funded by Parkinsons UK The findings show moderate to large improvements in Parkinsons disease patients, but little difference between those receiving the treatment, known as Glial Cell Line Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF), and patients given a placebo. This means the benefits may be down to the placebo effect or some other factor of the treatment, independent of the drug. And while there were some promising signs of nerve growth, the future of the drug is uncertain. But independent researchers said that, regardless of GDNFs results, the implant could have a much wider impact as the trial demonstrated it could be safely used to treat brain conditions in an entirely new way. Science news in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Science news in pictures Science news in pictures Pluto has 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen Pluto has a 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen that is doing strange things to its surface, Nasa has found. The mysterious core seems to be the cause of features on its surface that have fascinated scientists since they were spotted by Nasa's New Horizons mission. "Before New Horizons, everyone thought Pluto was going to be a netball - completely flat, almost no diversity," said Tanguy Bertrand, an astrophysicist and planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center and the lead author on the new study. "But it's completely different. It has a lot of different landscapes and we are trying to understand what's going on there." Getty Science news in pictures Over 400 species discovered this year by Natural History Museum The ancient invertabrate worm-like species rhenopyrgus viviani (pictured) is one of over 400 species previously unknown to science that were discovered by experts at the Natural History Museum this year PA Science news in pictures Jackdaws can identify 'dangerous' humans Jackdaws can identify dangerous humans from listening to each others warning calls, scientists say. The highly social birds will also remember that person if they come near their nests again, according to researchers from the University of Exeter. In the study, a person unknown to the wild jackdaws approached their nest. At the same time scientists played a recording of a warning call (threatening) or contact calls (non-threatening). The next time jackdaws saw this same person, the birds that had previously heard the warning call were defensive and returned to their nests more than twice as quickly on average. Getty Science news in pictures Turtle embryos influence sex by shaking The sex of the turtle is determined by the temperatures at which they are incubated. Warm temperatures favour females. But by wiggling around the egg, embryos can find the Goldilocks Zone which means they are able to shield themselves against extreme thermal conditions and produce a balanced sex ratio, according to the new study published in Current Biology journal Ye et al/Current Biology Science news in pictures Elephant poaching rates drop in Africa African elephant poaching rates have dropped by 60 per cent in six years, an international study has found. It is thought the decline could be associated with the ivory trade ban introduced in China in 2017. Reuters Science news in pictures Ancient four-legged whale discovered in Peru Scientists have identified a four-legged creature with webbed feet to be an ancestor of the whale. Fossils unearthed in Peru have led scientists to conclude that the enormous creatures that traverse the planets oceans today are descended from small hoofed ancestors that lived in south Asia 50 million years ago A. Gennari Science news in pictures Animal with transient anus discovered A scientist has stumbled upon a creature with a transient anus that appears only when it is needed, before vanishing completely. Dr Sidney Tamm of the Marine Biological Laboratory could not initially find any trace of an anus on the species. However, as the animal gets full, a pore opens up to dispose of waste Steven G Johnson Science news in pictures Giant bee spotted Feared extinct, the Wallace's Giant bee has been spotted for the first time in nearly 40 years. An international team of conservationists spotted the bee, that is four times the size of a typical honeybee, on an expedition to a group of Indonesian Islands Clay Bolt Science news in pictures New mammal species found inside crocodile Fossilised bones digested by crocodiles have revealed the existence of three new mammal species that roamed the Cayman Islands 300 years ago. The bones belonged to two large rodent species and a small shrew-like animal New Mexico Museum of Natural History Science news in pictures Fabric that changes according to temperature created Scientists at the University of Maryland have created a fabric that adapts to heat, expanding to allow more heat to escape the body when warm and compacting to retain more heat when cold Faye Levine, University of Maryland Science news in pictures Baby mice tears could be used in pest control A study from the University of Tokyo has found that the tears of baby mice cause female mice to be less interested in the sexual advances of males Getty Science news in pictures Final warning to limit "climate catastrophe" The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a report which projects the impact of a rise in global temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius and warns against a higher increase Getty Science news in pictures Nobel prize for evolution chemists The nobel prize for chemistry has been awarded to three chemists working with evolution. Frances Smith is being awarded the prize for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes, while Gregory Winter and George Smith take the prize for their work on phage display of peptides and antibodies Getty/AFP Science news in pictures Nobel prize for laser physicists The nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three physicists working with lasers. Arthur Ashkin (L) was awarded for his "optical tweezers" which use lasers to grab particles, atoms, viruses and other living cells. Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou were jointly awarded the prize for developing chirped-pulse amplification of lasers Reuters/AP Science news in pictures Discovery of a new species of dinosaur The Ledumahadi Mafube roamed around 200 million years ago in what is now South Africa. Recently discovered by a team of international scientists, it was the largest land animal of its time, weighing 12 tons and standing at 13 feet. In Sesotho, the South African language of the region in which the dinosaur was discovered, its name means "a giant thunderclap at dawn" Viktor Radermacher / SWNS Science news in pictures Birth of a planet Scientists have witnessed the birth of a planet for the first time ever. This spectacular image from the SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope is the first clear image of a planet caught in the very act of formation around the dwarf star PDS 70. The planet stands clearly out, visible as a bright point to the right of the center of the image, which is blacked out by the coronagraph mask used to block the blinding light of the central star. ESO/A. Muller et al Science news in pictures New human organ discovered that was previously missed by scientists Layers long thought to be dense, connective tissue are actually a series of fluid-filled compartments researchers have termed the interstitium. These compartments are found beneath the skin, as well as lining the gut, lungs, blood vessels and muscles, and join together to form a network supported by a mesh of strong, flexible proteins Getty Science news in pictures Previously unknown society lived in Amazon rainforest before Europeans arrived, say archaeologists Working in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, a team led by archaeologists at the University of Exeter unearthed hundreds of villages hidden in the depths of the rainforest. These excavations included evidence of fortifications and mysterious earthworks called geoglyphs Jose Iriarte Science news in pictures One in 10 people have traces of cocaine or heroin on fingerprints, study finds More than one in 10 people were found to have traces of class A drugs on their fingers by scientists developing a new fingerprint-based drug test. Using sensitive analysis of the chemical composition of sweat, researchers were able to tell the difference between those who had been directly exposed to heroin and cocaine, and those who had encountered it indirectly. Getty Science news in pictures Nasa releases stunning images of Jupiter's great red spot The storm bigger than the Earth, has been swhirling for 350 years. The image's colours have been enhanced after it was sent back to Earth. Pictures by: Tom Momary This is a significant breakthrough in our ability to treat neurological conditions, such as Parkinsons, because most drugs that might work cannot cross from the blood stream into the brain due to a natural protective barrier, said the implants inventor Professor Steven Gill, from North Bristol NHS Trust. Trials are already under way for a system delivering potent chemotherapy drugs directly in children and adults with incurable brain tumours, minimising the damage to other areas of the brain. Once implanted, the only visible part of the system is a small port seated just behind the ear. It sounds like someone furiously drilling a pencil inside my head (Parkinsons UK) At each treatment session, the pump system is sterilised and screwed into the port, drugs are delivered via fine piping running over the surface of the brain to probes which route to the targeted parts. It sounds as if shes furiously sharpening a pencil inside my head, said Christine Proctor of the probe being attached, however once the drugs are being pumped there is no sensation of it in the brain. Ms Proctor said the trial was one of the biggest risk she had ever taken, but she wanted to take part because there are currently no other options to halt or even slow the diseases progress. Do GDNF clinical trial results offer hope for Parkinson's? Researchers were hoping GDNF, a chemical produced naturally in the body which has been shown to help restore nerve damage, could regenerate neurons if pumped directly into the putamen. The putamen is Brazil nut-sized structure in the midbrain affected in Parkinsons and responsible for producing dopamine, the key neurotransmitter that is essential for coordinating movements as well as memory formation. The death of these neurons in Parkinsons causes gradual degeneration, which typically begins with the coordination of movement, facial expressions and posture, but it eventually affects other things like memory causing dementia and death. Forty-one participants in the trial, published in the journals Brain and the Journal of Parkinsons Disease, were randomly allocated to receive GDNF and or a placebo infusion. For nine months each participant had their movement, speech and other traits scored in Parkinsons tests. The second half of the trial saw all patients receive the drug for a further nine months. Over each year sufferers are expected to see around a one point decline, but patients receiving GDNF actually saw their scores improve by around four points in the first nine months, and nine points over all. But disappointingly for those hoping GDNF is a cure, this was only marginally more than those receiving the placebo. However, the Bristol team are not disheartened. Brain scans in the GDNF group showed some of the branching parts of the neurons that connect brain cells were regrowing though whether this means the whole cell is healthy is less clear. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Weve shown with the Pet scans that having arrived, the drug then engages with its target, dopamine nerve endings and appears to help damaged cells regenerate or have a biological response, said Dr Alan Whone, who led the trial at Southmeads Hospital. This represents some of the most compelling evidence yet that we may have a means to possibly reawaken and restore the dopamine brain cells that are gradually destroyed in Parkinsons, he added. He said further trials were needed to understand why this regrowth was not replicated in symptoms and they hoped to test GDNF in higher doses which they have now shown can be given safely and over a longer period. The system developed for use here has been proven safe in practice over 80 weeks, which is a remarkable achievement, said Professor Roger Morris, from Kings College London, who was not involved with the trial. If intra-brain perfusion can be safely achieved for long-term drug delivery inside the brain, the range of medication that can be used to combat brain diseases stroke and cancer as well as neurodegeneration will be massively expanded. Lena Dunham has shared an empowering post on Instagram about self-acceptance, saying she's the "happiest" she's ever felt. The Girls creator has candidly spoken about body positivity in the past, having previously revealed how she used to "fetishise" her body when attempting to lose weight. In her most recent Instagram post, the actor and writer shared a photo of herself lying on a bed in black lingerie. In the picture's caption, Dunham explains that she's often gone through life feeling as though she's "too much" for others, in many respects of the word. "Ive spent a lot of time in this life feeling like too much. Too hungry. Too anxious. Too loud. Too needy. Too sick. Too dramatic. Too honest. Too sexy (jk lol.)," she writes. Body positivity activists protest outside London Fashion Week Show all 9 1 /9 Body positivity activists protest outside London Fashion Week Body positivity activists protest outside London Fashion Week Getty Images Body positivity activists protest outside London Fashion Week Getty Images Body positivity activists protest outside London Fashion Week Getty Images Body positivity activists protest outside London Fashion Week Getty Images Body positivity activists protest outside London Fashion Week Getty Images Body positivity activists protest outside London Fashion Week Getty Images Body positivity activists protest outside London Fashion Week Getty Images Body positivity activists protest outside London Fashion Week Getty Images Body positivity activists protest outside London Fashion Week Getty Images "I was always sent the message, in insidious ways, that I took up too much room and demanded too much from life and sometimes gave too much to people who didnt want any at all." However, Dunham says her perspective changed when she came to the realisation that she doesn't have to please everyone. "For the right people, my too much is just enough," she states. Now, at the age of 32, the creator of the now defunct feminist newsletter Lenny Letter says she has reached a greater level of happiness than she was able to achieve when she was younger. "At 32: I weigh the most I ever have. I love the most I ever have. I read and write and laugh the most I ever have. And Im the happiest Ive ever been," she writes. "Not the frail, precarious happiness of things are going perfectly. The big, generous, jiggly happiness of I think Im finally starting to get the hang of this. Not too much... Just enough." Following the post, fans of Dunham have written comments commending the star for her frankness and positivity. "This sums up my life TOO MUCH! Thank you for being you," wrote journalist Bryony Gordon. "All of this. And all of you. PERFECTION!" remarked American political commentator Sally Kohn. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Dunham recently sparked controversy when she admitted that she hadn't been truthful about the extent of her knowledge of a rape accusation made by actor Aurora Perrineau against Girls writer Murray Miller in 2017. Having previously released a statement attempting to discredit Perrineau when the allegation emerged, a year later Dunham wrote an open letter published in The Hollywood Reporter, in which she apologised to the actor for her actions. "I didn't have the 'insider information' I claimed but rather blind faith in a story that kept slipping and changing and revealed itself to mean nothing at all. I wanted to feel my workplace and my world were safe, untouched by the outside world," she wrote. "There are few acts I could ever regret more in this life." Millers attorney previously said his client categorically and vehemently" denied Perrineaus claims, and in August 2018 the Los Angeles District Attorneys office announced that, following an investigation, Miller would not be prosecuted. An advert for lip fillers has been banned for suggesting the cosmetic procedure is as "commonplace as getting your hair done". The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) launched an investigation into the irresponsible Royal Tunbridge Wells Skin Clinic (RTWSkin) advert in Index Magazine - which is distributed in Kent. The advert depicted three young women looking at a magazine together alongside the caption: We understand, it's concerning, but Dermal fillers are very quickly becoming as commonplace as getting your hair done these days and even more so within the younger age group. Is your daughter beginning to take an interest in LIP FILLERS? Recently, we have seen an increase in young girls visiting our clinic for procedures such as Dermal Filler." The advert went on to describe how the clinic has seen an increase in young girls being brought in by their own mothers, suggesting it would be better to find somewhere safe and suitable with experienced and accredited practitioners than simply telling them 'no'. Photos banned from Instagram - In pictures Show all 14 1 /14 Photos banned from Instagram - In pictures Photos banned from Instagram - In pictures @isaackariuki.jpg Issac Kariuki Photos banned from Instagram - In pictures @c.har.lee Lee Phllips Photos banned from Instagram - In pictures @bloatedandalone4evr1993 Molly Soda Photos banned from Instagram - In pictures @arvidabystrom Arvida Bystrom Photos banned from Instagram - In pictures Arvida Bystrom Photos banned from Instagram - In pictures @besosderebeka Rebecca Diaz Larrain Photos banned from Instagram - In pictures @amaliaulman Amalia Ulman Photos banned from Instagram - In pictures @aleia_ Aleia Murawski Photos banned from Instagram - In pictures @ser_sera Ser Brandon-Castro Serpas Photos banned from Instagram - In pictures @rindonjohnson Rin Johnson Photos banned from Instagram - In pictures The cover designed by Arvida Bystrom and Molly Soda. Photos banned from Instagram - In pictures @verajorgensen Vera Jorgensen Photos banned from Instagram - In pictures @stinawolter Stina Wolter Photos banned from Instagram - In pictures @show_you_mine Cassie Brown The clinic said the advert was written by a 20-year-old member of staff who had aware of concerns among her age group about treatments carried out by untrained and inexperienced therapists and was later signed off by the company director. The watchdog branded the advert irresponsible and found that it breached rules regarding children, responsible advertising, and harm and offence. While the advert warned against going to unsuitable practitioners, the ASA said it made no reference to the risks that would always be attached to lip filler treatment, wherever a customer went for it. We considered that, by presenting lip fillers as normal and safe - if carried out at the right clinic - for young women and teenagers, and something that responsible parents should support, the ad was irresponsible, a spokesperson for the ASA said. We told RTWSkin to ensure future ads did not present lip fillers as normal and safe for young women and teenagers and something that responsible parents should support. RTWSkin director John Sheffield defended the advert, claiming that many young people visited the clinic for a free consultation and advice on dermal filler procedures as a result of the ad. In the vast majority of cases, we were able to satisfy the person that they did not need this procedure. We marked that down as a success, he told ITV News. We have received several commendations for our efforts to educate and were really quite shocked at the attitude and conclusions of the ASA. Jackie Doyle-Price, mental health minister, added: No procedure is without risk. Anyone considering a cosmetic procedure needs to satisfy themselves that they understand those risks. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events I expect providers of cosmetic intervention to act responsibly when advertising and ensure they are screening consumers to identity whether there are any underlying mental health issues or unhealthy motivations driving them to seek cosmetic procedures. Children should not be having these procedures done let alone be targeted. If I have to take additional powers to protect children then I will. One in five British women wrongly believe that a smear test can detect whether or not they have ovarian cancer, new research claims. A survey conducted by the charity Target Ovarian Cancer and YouGov found that more than five million women might be putting their lives at risk due to this confusion, given that ovarian cancer is the UKs deadliest gynaecological cancer. Smear tests are designed to detect for cervical cancer, but no such screening programme exists for ovarian cancer, meaning having a solid awareness of symptoms is key for early detection. There is also no vaccine, unlike cervical cancer, which may be prevented through the HPV vaccine. Target Ovarian Cancer hopes to tackle these common misunderstandings by raising awareness for the symptoms of ovarian cancer, which include persistent bloating, loss of appetite, tummy pain and needing to urinate more often or urgently. Mastectomy: Stand Up To Cancer launches powerful photo campaign Show all 13 1 /13 Mastectomy: Stand Up To Cancer launches powerful photo campaign Mastectomy: Stand Up To Cancer launches powerful photo campaign Joanna, Newcastle (Image: Ami Barwell) Mastectomy: Stand Up To Cancer launches powerful photo campaign Mel, Merseyside (Image: Ami Barwell) Mastectomy: Stand Up To Cancer launches powerful photo campaign Lucy, Wakefield (Image: Ami Barwell) Mastectomy: Stand Up To Cancer launches powerful photo campaign Sharon, Bath (Image: Ami Barwell) Mastectomy: Stand Up To Cancer launches powerful photo campaign Jan, Hereford (Image: Ami Barwell) Mastectomy: Stand Up To Cancer launches powerful photo campaign Gillian, London (Image: Ami Barwell) Mastectomy: Stand Up To Cancer launches powerful photo campaign Fiona, Northampton (Image: Ami Barwell) Mastectomy: Stand Up To Cancer launches powerful photo campaign Anon S, West Midlands (Image: Ami Barwell) Mastectomy: Stand Up To Cancer launches powerful photo campaign Debbie W, Worcestershire (Image: Ami Barwell) Mastectomy: Stand Up To Cancer launches powerful photo campaign Debbie B, York (Image: Ami Barwell) Mastectomy: Stand Up To Cancer launches powerful photo campaign Clare, North Lincolnshire (Image: Ami Barwell) Mastectomy: Stand Up To Cancer launches powerful photo campaign Caroline, Brancaster (Image: Ami Barwell) Mastectomy: Stand Up To Cancer launches powerful photo campaign Anon (Image: Ami Barwell) Annwen Jones, chief executive of Target Ovarian Cancer, said: We need to combat the confusion around ovarian cancer and cervical screening, because while smear tests are a vital tool in public health, a similar option simply does not exist in ovarian cancer. Health officials have been campaigning to encourage women to attend smear tests in recent months after a recent study revealed that appointment attendance was at an all-time low. Recommended Nine women die from rare cancer linked to breast implants In December last year, Public Health England revealed it was considering sending women DIY tests so they could examine themselves at home to make things easier. The governmental health body is also launching a campaign in March devoted to educating women on the importance of attending cervical screenings. Jones acknowledges the benefits of these measures, but insisted that not enough is being done to combat ovarian cancer, which affects more than 25,000 women in the UK. While we welcome government investment in raising awareness of the cervical screening programme this March, the ovarian cancer community is painfully aware that 11 women die every day from ovarian cancer and we urgently need to see a national ovarian cancer symptoms awareness campaign. Women are still waiting. Pat Taylor, 67, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2017 and, like many other women, also thought her illness would've been detected via cervical screening. She describes the diagnosis as "such a shock", adding: "Now I want all women to be vigilant of the symptoms of ovarian cancer," she says, "better awareness will save lives. Samsung has finally revealed more information about its heavily-rumoured bitcoin wallet, which will come with its Galaxy S10 range of phones. Details about the cold-storage cryptocurrency purse were delivered at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, with the world's most popular smartphone maker confirming that it will support bitcoin, ethereum, Cosmee and Enjin, together with a range of decentalised apps (dApps). Samsung's latest flagship phone is a subtle step forward from its predecessor the Galaxy S9 with a host of incremental upgrades, such as a bigger screen and better camera. But it is perhaps the presence of an in-built cryptocurrency wallet that represents the most significant departure from past devices. The presence of a bitcoin wallet on one of the most hyped and popular of consumer devices has led industry analysts to suggest cryptocurrency may well be in for a resurgence in 2019 and could finally become a mainstream form of payment more than 10 years after its inception. "Regulation, application, security and education could be considered to be the main things holding back mass adoption of cryptocurrency and blockchain in general," David Thomas, CEO of Mayfair-based cryptocurrency exchange GlobalBlock, told The Independent. "There is no doubt that inclusion of these wallets on handheld devices gives credibility to the technology and makes it extremely accessible for the general public thus assisting in three out of four points mentioned." Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Satoshi Nakamoto creates the first bitcoin block in 2009 On 3 January, 2009, the genesis block of bitcoin appeared. It came less than a year after the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto detailed the cryptocurrency in a paper titled 'Bitcoin: A peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System' Reuters Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin is used as a currency for the first time On 22 May, 2010, the first ever real-world bitcoin transaction took place. Lazlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins the equivalent of $90 million at today's prices Lazlo Hanyecz Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Silk Road opens for business Bitcoin soon gained notoriety for its use on the dark web. The Silk Road marketplace, established in 2011, was the first of hundreds of sites to offer illegal drugs and services in exchange for bitcoin Screenshot Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures The first bitcoin ATM appears On 29 October, 2013, the first ever bitcoin ATM was installed in a coffee shop in Vancouver, Canada. The machine allowed people to exchange bitcoins for cash Reuters Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures The fall of MtGox The world's biggest bitcoin exchange, MtGox, filed for bankruptcy in February 2014 after losing almost 750,000 of its customers bitcoins. At the time, this was around 7 per cent of all bitcoins and the market inevitably crashed Getty Images Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Would the real Satoshi Nakamoto please stand up In 2015, Australian police raided the home of Craig Wright after the entrepreneur claimed he was Satoshi Nakamoto. He later rescinded the claim Getty Images Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin's big split On 1 August, 2017, an unresolvable dispute within the bitcoin community saw the network split. The fork of bitcoin's underlying blockchain technology spawned a new cryptocurrency: Bitcoin cash Reuters Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin's price sky rockets Towards the end of 2017, the price of bitcoin surged to almost $20,000. This represented a 1,300 per cent increase from its price at the start of the year Reuters Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures What goes up... Bitcoin price crashes spectacularly, losing half of its value in a matter of days Getty Images Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin plunges The cryptocurrency eventually bottoms out below $4,000 in 2019 before slowly rebuilding momentum to outperform more traditional assets Getty Images Rumours of the wallet's inclusion on the device circulated amid a surging cryptocurrency market, which had previously seen months of dropping prices since the highs of late 2017. Several other smartphone makers have included an in-built cryptocurrency wallet with recent devices, including the HTC Exodus 1 and the Sirin Finney, though none have the global reach of the South Korean electronics giant. Little fanfare was made of the new feature, with no mention of it during Samsung's Unpacked event last week. Only one line in its accompanying press release made mention of it. "Galaxy S10 is built with defense-grade Samsung Knox, as well as a secure storage backed by hardware, which houses your private keys for blockchain-enabled mobile services," it stated. One of the cryptocurrencies supported by the Galaxy S10 wallet is cosmee, a cryptocurrency produced by Korea-based blockchain firm Cosmochain, who partnered with Samsung for its dApp. Cosmee describes itself as a "beauty social media platform" that allows users to share content among other members. While it appears like a standard smartphone app on the surface, the key difference is that it will run on a peer-to-peer network much like bitcoin. This means people's data will be spread across this network, rather than being stored on a centralised server. Users will also be able to earn rewards in the form of cosmee cryptocurency by actively participating in the community. What is cryptocurrency and the technology behind bitcoin and its rivals? Cosmee already has more than 30,000 daily active users in Korea, the firm tells The Independent, making it the second most popular beauty app in the country. The inclusion of such apps is anticipated to push cryptocurrency adoption even further into the mainstream, as people will ultimately be able to spend it and trade it on a daily basis. Contactless payments with cryptocurrencies could also be a possibility in the future, as the Galaxy S10 range supports this functionality. Still more is needed before cryptocurrency becomes truly mainstream, with the final stumbling block mentioned by Mr Thomas being that of regulation. Though this may not be very far away, he warned. "With regulation imminent from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), adoption of cryptocurrencies for both personal and investment purposes can only grow and with it the whole blockchain ecosystem," he said. Paris Fashion Week opened today with the Christian Dior AW19 show that saw a special tribute to the late Karl Lagerfeld, who died in the French capital last week at the age of 85. Guests at the show, who included Jennifer Lawrence and Cara Delevingne, were each greeted with a special note on their seat that read: In homage to the alchemist of elegance and beauty, Karl Lagerfeld in both French and English. Lagerfeld was creative director at Chanel, Fendi and his own namesake brand when he died and was revered within the industry, so much so that he acquired the nickname Kaiser Karl. Diors artistic director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, described him as the original creative the director in an interview with Vogue ahead of the brand's autumn/winter 2019 show, which took place in the Musee Rodin. On the day that his death was announced, Dior posted a photograph of Chiuri and Lagerfeld on the label's instagram account alongside a mournful caption that included a statement from Chiuri. Karl Lagerfeld's most iconic designs Show all 13 1 /13 Karl Lagerfeld's most iconic designs Karl Lagerfeld's most iconic designs 70s chic at Chloe Before he worked at Chanel, Lagerfeld designed for bohemian-inspired label Chloe. Here, he's pictured alongside a model ahead of showcasing his spring ready-to-wear collection in 1974 for the French fashion house. While there, Lagerfeld became renowned for cementing the label's romantic roots via bold prints and flowing dresses. Rex Features Karl Lagerfeld's most iconic designs His first collection for Chanel Lagerfeld presented his first collection for Chanel in January 1983, which was widely praised by the press at the time for reinvigorating the brand by bringing hemlines up and adding some pizzazz to the label's accessory line. AFP/Getty Images Karl Lagerfeld's most iconic designs The power suit Thanks to Chanel, the suit has become one of the most adored silhouettes during the 21st Century, with a focus on bolero jackets, tweeds, and chiffons. Following years experimenting with denim, faux rips, hot pants, and concrete beads on the suits, for his spring/summer 2016 haute couture collection the designer hinted at the brands focus on sustainability, adorning one suit from the collect with finely cut pieces of wood. AFP/Getty Images Karl Lagerfeld's most iconic designs The interlocking logo It's one of the most recognisable logos in the world, but the famous interlocking "C" logo might not be on Chanel's products today had it not been for Lagerfeld. The designer modernised the label when he took over as artistic director in 1983, proceeding to put the now-iconic logo on a whole host of Chanel garments and accessories. Some believe the double "c" stands for Coco Chanel, in reference to the brand's founder. But others claim it was inspired by a visit by Chanel herself to Chateau de Cremat in Nice, where she's believed to have attended several parties hosted by her friend, socialite Irene Brez. Here, the logo is seen on one of Chanel's most sought-after products: the chain-strap handbag. Karl Lagerfeld's most iconic designs The pink ruffle gown It was the gown that sparked a thousand "oohs" and "aahs". Lagerfeld ended his spring/summer 2017 show with a thrilling ruffled pink gown as modeled by Lily Rose Depp, whose casting in the show was made all the more significant given that her mother, Vanessa Paradis, was also a model for the brand. Getty Images Karl Lagerfeld's most iconic designs The Fendi 'baguette' It is probably Fendi's most famous item. The slim, baguette bag was designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi, who is the only family member still working at the Italian label. But under Lagerfeld's reign, it has become a cult fashion item, having been reworked season to season with new designs continuously emerging. Getty Images Karl Lagerfeld's most iconic designs CC-logo-ed guitar At Chanel's spring/summer 2009 ready-to-wear collection, the designer sent one model down the runway carrying a CC-logo-ed guitar and matching case. AFP/Getty Images Karl Lagerfeld's most iconic designs The Dying Swan dress Lagerfeld might be better-known for his fashion designs, but he also dabbled in costume and produced this tutu for the English National Ballet in 2009 as part of a special production by the dance company Ballets Russes, for whom Coco Chanel was a benefactor. Getty Images Karl Lagerfeld's most iconic designs The 'lampshade' dress Keira Knightley struck a distinctive silhouette in this Chanel dress, which she wore to Paris Fashion Week in 2014 to attend the brand's autumn/winter show. The corseted layer dress was from the brand's couture spring 2014 collection. AFP/Getty Images Karl Lagerfeld's most iconic designs The multi-layered pearl necklace One of Lagerfeld's most contemporary contributions to Chanel was accessories. The multi-layered pearl necklace continues to be a prominent feature of his collections, and have been firm favourites among celebrities, too. In 2006, it even made an appearance in the cult fashion film "The Devil Wears Prada", in which it was worn by lead actor Anne Hathaway to illustrate her character's newfound fashionable taste. Getty Images Karl Lagerfeld's most iconic designs The Karl Lagerfeld x H&M collaboration In 2004, Lagerfeld was the first designer to collaborate with the Swedish retailer, who has been partnering with major fashion brands ever since. The collection prompted huge excitement among Lagerfeld's fans as they reveled in the fact that they could now purchase his designs as a lower price point. Getty Images Karl Lagerfeld's most iconic designs The pregnant bride For the Chanel autumn 2014 couture show finale, Largerfeld walked hand-in-hand with a seven-month pregnant model down the catwalk. The model was dressed in a crepe de Chine dress with a gold, brocade cape and a line of buttons along the bodice. The models hair was teased into a quiff. AFP/Getty Images Karl Lagerfeld's most iconic designs Cara Delevigne's space-age outfit for the Met Gala The model has been a Chanel muse for several years and chose to support the brand at the 2017 Met Gala by wearing a dramatic sci-fi-inspired suit. The suit featured a plunging neckline and bold shoulders, contrasting with the star's smooth metallic-painted silver bald head. The model-turned-actor accessorised the look with a dusting of silver body glitter and a wide silver belt at the waist. "I was extremely saddened to hear of Karl Lagerfeld's passing," it begins. "He was such an emblematic personality, an icon with whom I had the immense good fortune of working early in my career, at Fendi. "I appreciated his culture, directness and humour and admired his creations for the free and modern vision of fashion he offered women. We will miss him terribly and my thoughts especially go out to his teams at Fendi and Chanel." Though Lagerfeld was renowned for many things namely: his cat, Choupette, his optic white hair and his acerbic sound bites but he was best-known for his work at Chanel, where he had been at the helm for more than thirty years. The luxury French fashion house will debut its AW19 collection in Paris on Tuesday 5 March. Naturally, rumours of a special tribute to the late designer are rife. Amanda Knox, who was acquitted of the murder of Meredith Kercher in 2011, has made reference to the time she spent in jail in an Instagram post. The 31-year-old spent four years in prison after she and her ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were jailed for the murder of Kercher in Italy. Making a joke that she had been accused of murder once again, Knox shared photographs of herself at a murder mystery event posing as English mathematician and writer Ada Lovelace. Knox said her character had been accused of stabbing the owner of an expensive piece of artwork and that she had been exonerated in four hours, adding: Better than four years. The caption read: Victorian London: A priceless painting goes missing and the owner is found both poisoned and stabbed. The Knox watchers: Meet the people who are obsessed with Amanda Knox's fate Show all 6 1 /6 The Knox watchers: Meet the people who are obsessed with Amanda Knox's fate The Knox watchers: Meet the people who are obsessed with Amanda Knox's fate 490061.bin AP The Knox watchers: Meet the people who are obsessed with Amanda Knox's fate 488864.bin Stuart Isett The Knox watchers: Meet the people who are obsessed with Amanda Knox's fate 488867.bin Sam Holden The Knox watchers: Meet the people who are obsessed with Amanda Knox's fate 488865.bin Stuart Isett The Knox watchers: Meet the people who are obsessed with Amanda Knox's fate 488868.bin Simon Hadley/UNP The Knox watchers: Meet the people who are obsessed with Amanda Knox's fate 488869.bin Francesca Ferretti And would you believe it, I, the Countess of Lovelace, am accused. Also acquitted, all in 4 hours. Better than 4 years. #murdermysteryparty. The images divided opinion among Instagram users. While some said they appreciated Knoxs dark sense of humour others called her sick and said she would "do anything for attention". Knox was convicted but later cleared of murdering 21-year-old Kercher in Italy in 2007. The body of the British exchange student, was found by police in the flat she shared with Knox in Perugia, Italy, on 2 November. Meredith Kercher was murdered in 2007 (PA) Knox and her then-Italian boyfriend, Scollecito, were found guilty of murder and sexual assault, but their convictions were later overturned. Two years later, the Perugia Court of Appeal acquitted the pair of the more serious charges, but upheld Ms Knoxs conviction for malicious accusation. The OA is returning to Netflix on 22 March and The Independent has the scoop on what to expect. The first season followed the character OA, played by Brit Marling, who resurfaces after going missing for seven years. In Part II, she finds herself navigating a new dimension where she has a completely different life as a Russian heiress and once again captured by Jason Isaacs character Hap. The follow-up season also introduces the private detective Karim Washington (Kingsley Ben-Adir), who attempts to find the missing teen Michelle Vu (Chloe Levine). Washingtons path eventually crosses with OA, and they try to solve the mystery of Michelles whereabouts. Together, they also attempt to work out whats happening at the house on Nob Hill and its connection to the disappearance of several teenagers. Back in the first dimension, BBA (Phyllis Smith) and the boys find themselves on a journey to understand the truth behind OAs story and the incredible realities she described. The Independent has a set of exclusive images from the upcoming season, as well as the trailer, which you can watch above. Exclusive: The OA season 2 First look Show all 7 1 /7 Exclusive: The OA season 2 First look Exclusive: The OA season 2 First look The OA The cast of The OA in a still from season two Nicola Goode/Netflix Exclusive: The OA season 2 First look The OA The cast of The OA in a still from season two Nicola Goode/Netflix Exclusive: The OA season 2 First look The OA The cast of The OA in a still from season two Nicola Goode/Netflix Exclusive: The OA season 2 First look The OA The cast of The OA in a still from season two Scott Patrick Green/Netflix Exclusive: The OA season 2 First look The OA The cast of The OA in a still from season two Nicola Goode/Netflix Exclusive: The OA season 2 First look The OA The cast of The OA in a still from season two Nicola Goode/Netflix Exclusive: The OA season 2 First look The OA Poster for season two Emory Cohen, Patrick Gibson, Brendan Meyer, Ian Alexander, Brandon Perea and Sharon van Etten are among the returning cast members, while Paz Vega and Riz Ahmed are back as guest stars. Newcomers include Kingsley Ben-Adir and Chloe Levine, while Irene Jacob joins as a guest star. The OA Part II will be available to stream on Netflix on 22 March you can find a full list of everything else joining next month here. Ryan Reynolds has shared a new trailer for the forthcoming Pokemon movie Detective Pikachu, in which he voices the title character. Hell follow those clues no matter where they... oh look, something shiny, the actor wrote next to the two-minute, 24-second clip. The movie, set to be released on 10 May 2019, focuses on a former Pokemon trainer named Tim Goodman, who searches for his missing detective father Harry Goodman with Pikachus help. In the new clip, Pikachu explains he first met Tim after waking up with a heavy case of amnesia in the middle of nowhere and finding Harrys name and address written on a label inside his hat. Tim and Pikachu are seen on their quest to find Tims father, with Tim somewhat reluctantly partnering with the creature. Best films of 2019 (so far) Show all 49 1 /49 Best films of 2019 (so far) Best films of 2019 (so far) The Favourite Macabre and fraught though The Favourite gets, this isnt so much a film about sex or power as it is about plain mischief. Its a hilarious, buffoonish pleasure, right down to the sets and costume design, and a breeze to spend 120 minutes with. Christopher Hooton Fox Searchlight Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Beautiful Boy Casting Chalamet as Nic was a very clever move. The young actor from Call Me by Your Name and Lady Bird has a natural charm and charisma. He still engages an audiences curiosity and sympathy even when his behaviour is at its most selfish and erratic. Geoffrey Macnab Amazon Studios Best films of 2019 (so far) The House by the Sea Guediguians storytelling style is deceptive. At first, it seems as if this is low-key social realism in the Dardennes or Ken Loach mould, albeit set on the French Riviera. Gradually, though, we realise how stylised and theatrical his approach really is. Geoffrey Macnab Best films of 2019 (so far) Stan & Ollie Director Jon S Baird, whose previous film was scabrous Irvine Welsh adaptation Filth, wrings every last drop of pathos he can from his material. This is very much a case of the tears of the clowns. Geoffrey Macnab Entertainment One Best films of 2019 (so far) Vice Vice is bravura storytelling. McKay isnt only taking us through Cheneys life and career but is giving us a whistle stop tour through US politics from the Nixon administration almost right to the present day. Geoffrey Macnab Annapurna Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Can You Ever Forgive Me? Playing Lee Israel, McCarthy manages something very special: she makes a character who is odd, obnoxious, difficult and alcoholic seem lovable and even heroic. The rest of the world is at fault, not Lee. Geoffrey Macnab Fox Searchlight Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Green Book "Green Book flatters the audience about its own good sense and tolerance. It deals with racism and homophobia but still has a fairytale, fantasy feel to it. Whatever humiliations Don endures on their road trip, we know no real harm will ever come to him as long as Tony is at his side. Geoffrey Macnab Universal Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Velvet Buzzsaw The golden age of bonkers horror movies is gloriously evoked by Netflixs latest feature length presentation. Beginning as a satire of the arts world, Velvet Buzzsaw swiftly and gleefully descends into a savage splatter-fest, smeared in paint, viscera and garishly-bright blood. Ed Power Netflix Best films of 2019 (so far) If Beale Street Could Talk The setting is New York in the 1970s. Anyone who has watched Martin Scorseses Taxi Driver knows this was an era of violence, corruption and sleaze on a monumental level, but [Barry] Jenkins somehow makes the city seem like a modern-day Eden. Geoffrey Macnab Annapurna Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) All Is True Written by Ben Elton and directed by its star Kenneth Branagh, the film plays so fast and loose with the playwrights final years that they neednt have bothered fitting Branagh with a prosthetic nose accuracy is clearly not the priority here. Alexandra Pollard Sony Pictures Classics Best films of 2019 (so far) The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is the doomed progeny of a celebrated genius brilliant but slightly stunted by the knowledge they will never live up to their predecessor. Clarisse Loughrey Warner Bros. Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Piercing Nicolas Pesces sleek and stylish horror comedy is repulsive and funny by turns. In adapting Ryu Murakamis cult novel, Pesce strikes just the right balance between humour and Grand Guignol-style shock tactics. Geoffrey Macnab Universal Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Capernaum "The best moments here are remarkable. Labaki elicits an astonishing performance from her young lead. Hes an irrepressible figure with such an inbuilt sense of moral decency the film seems upbeat and optimistic, even at its darkest moments. Geoffrey Macnab Sony Pictures Classics Best films of 2019 (so far) The White Crow "Ralph Fiennes combines thriller elements with poetic flashbacks to ballet legend Rudolf Nureyevs childhood and keeps a tight focus on the dancer. When he is most at risk, Nureyev makes decisions with his artistic future more in mind than his personal safety. As Fiennes reminds us again and again in what is his best film yet as a director, the 'white crow' will do anything to put himself in the limelight, the one place he is convinced he belongs." StudioCanal Best films of 2019 (so far) Border "Border reverses the perspective taken by most other horror films. In more conventional genre fare, Tina and Vore would be portrayed as malevolent outsiders, but in the world conjured up by director Ali Abbasi, the humans are the monsters. Tina is the innocent a visionary who hardly understands her own powers but who can sense human venality and corruption wherever it appears." TriArt Film Best films of 2019 (so far) Fighting with My Family "Certain scenes feel very trite and predictable but the film gets you in a choke hold early on and wont let you go. It is far more gripping than its subject matter might suggest. Who ever would believe a story about a wrestling family from Norwich could have quite such heart and resonance?" James Field Best films of 2019 (so far) Us "Doppelgangers abound in Jordan Peeles weird, creepy and ingenious new horror film. As in his Oscar-winning 2017 feature Get Out, Peele leavens matters with ironic humour but the joking becomes increasingly uncomfortable once the main characters come face to face with dark shadows of themselves which wish them extreme harm." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Avengers: Endgame "The Avengers cycle comes to a rich and very satisfying conclusion with Endgame, surely the most complex and emotional superhero movie in Marvel history. At 181 minutes, this is a veritable epic, but with so many characters and plot strands, it fully warrants its lengthy running time." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Eighth Grade "Its a rare and precious feeling when a film completely dismantles you. Eighth Grade the directorial debut of US comedian Bo Burnham breaks down every delusion we have about ourselves and burrows deep into those parts weve made such an effort to lock away. You may cry. You may shudder as every awkward social interaction thats kept you up at night replays in your head all at once. You may feel the sharp pain associated with those moments when you feel completely isolated from the world. Burnham may have crafted a simple story about the most ordinary of teenage girls, but it speaks with the emotions of a true cinematic epic." A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) Vox Lux "Natalie Portman gives her fiercest, most memorable performance since Black Swan in Brady Corbets enjoyably subversive satire about a troubled pop star whose loss of innocence mirrors the fall from grace of the US itself. Portmans character, Celeste, is certainly one of the most objectionable figures she has played: a pampered, hard-drinking drug-taking floozy whose appearance and high-handed behaviour rekindle memories of Liz Taylor and Joan Crawford at their monstrous worst." Neon Best films of 2019 (so far) High Life Robert Pattinson gives one of his most striking performances as Monte, the death-row criminal in outer space, tricked into making a voyage described at one stage as a class-one suicide ride. The former Twilight star makes his shaven-headed, gaunt-faced character seem hyper naturally sensitive and feral at the same time. A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) Amazing Grace Amazing Grace is as uplifting a film as you will see all year. Its a concert movie filmed over two nights and featuring Aretha Franklin, the first lady of soul, performing gospel standards in a church in Los Angeles in 1972, with a huge backing choir and an enthusiastic congregation. Neon Best films of 2019 (so far) Aladdin Disneys live-action remake of its 1992 animated feature is a rip-roaring, old-fashioned matinee-style spectacle that turns out far better than we had any right to expect. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Booksmart Olivia Wilde is a visually inventive director, who keeps the tempo here so brisk that we hardly notice how glib the storytelling sometimes becomes. We can tell exactly how the film will end, but it still feels original both in its screwball energy and in the deft way it continually reverses stereotypes and gender cliches. Geoffrey Macnab Annapurna Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Late Night Late Night is a caustic satirical comedy that turns into an unlikely tearjerker. Its by turns snide and uplifting, and often very funny too. Its writer/producer/star Mindy Kaling makes vicious observations about the inanity, narcissism and corruption of the mainstream US media at the same time as she celebrates the professionalism of many of those who work within it. The film has a glorious performance from Emma Thompson and a very sly one from Kaling. Thompson is at her most imperious as Katherine Newbury, a legendary entertainer, the only female in a male-dominated field, but one whose career is beginning to slide. Geoffrey Macnab Amazon Studios Best films of 2019 (so far) Gloria Bell Gloria Bell is somewhat exhausting both unbearably intimate and at a constant remove but it is endlessly pulled back into focus by Moore, who has a firm understanding of the delicate balance between contentment and yearning, joy and pain, recklessness and spontaneity. In a remake that could have felt indulgent in the hands of people less skilled, she more than justifies its existence. Geoffrey Macnab Curzon Best films of 2019 (so far) Toy Story 4 "The brilliance of the new film lies in the surefooted way it caters both for children too young to have seen its predecessors and for adults whove grown up (or grown older) watching the previous instalments. It takes some kind of genius for the Pixar animators to give such a searing emotional charge to a story in which one of the main characters is a single use plastic spork retrieved from the trash." Pixar/Disney Best films of 2019 (so far) In Fabric In Fabric feels like Peter Strickland at his most free and playful, drawing as much from the British sense of humour dry and morbid to a fault as from Italian glamour. Curzon Artificial Eye Best films of 2019 (so far) The Flood "Perhaps The Flood isnt quite the urgent, profound film a crisis of this scale deserves, but in a culture where refugees are so rarely shown any empathy in mainstream media, maybe this is the film we need right now." Best films of 2019 (so far) Midsommar "Ari Aster's follow-up to Hereditary serves up much of the same: its a break-up movie wrapped up in pagan horror. Its also bound to be one of this years most memorable films, proving that Aster is far from a one-hit wonder." A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) The Lion King "The Lion King is undoubtedly a technological marvel that, much like Avatar, will come to be viewed as a milestone in special effects history, yet its just as interesting to see how all this innovation has been employed." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Varda by Agnes "For a film thats almost entirely narrated by Agnes Varda's own voice, it doesnt feel driven by ego, but by pure intellectual and emotional curiosity." Best films of 2019 (so far) Animals "Animals treats its subjects with patience and generosity. Youll find no life lessons here. Its main characters are free to pursue their desires, to whatever end." Best films of 2019 (so far) Blinded by the Light "Blinded by the Light offers not only a reminder of Springsteens lyrical genius, but of how hes always served as a beacon for the disenfranchised." Warner Brothers Best films of 2019 (so far) Good Boys Lined up against some of this years other more heartfelt offerings, including Booksmart, Good Boys offers further proof that putting a little humanity in our comedy always gets the best results. Best films of 2019 (so far) Hustlers "Hustlers is an electrifying response to the deluge of stories weve had over the years about very rich, very bad dudes. Finally, we can turn the tables on every film thats used women, specifically strippers, as decorative accessories to drape over businessmen as they conduct their illicit backroom meetings. Or, failing that, to shake their out-of-focus tits in the background of a shot." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) For Sama For Sama is one of the most profoundly intimate depictions of the Syrian conflict ever put to film. Its the push to help those on the outside process something so incomprehensible in the depth of its horrors. Republic Film Distribution Best films of 2019 (so far) Ad Astra The real drama here is not whether or not apocalypse can be avoided but whether Brad Pitts character can reconcile himself with his father and overcome his own extreme emotional repression. In other words, in spite of all the jargon and the hardware, this is an intimate family melodrama at heart. Thanks to Pitts performance and Grays delicate direction, it turns into a very moving one. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) The Farewell Wrapped up in all the intricacies of immigrant identity and family politics, The Farewell is a comedy of warmth and bracing honesty. Simply put, its one of the best films of the year. A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) Judy This is Renee Zellwegers Judy. It doesnt belong to Rupert Goold, its director. Nor does it belong to Tom Edge, its screenwriter. Its a performance of such overwhelming force that it wrests authorship from every other hand that guided the films creation. Pathe Best films of 2019 (so far) Ready or Not As absurd and self-indulgent as Ready or Not can get, it doesnt mess around with its social commentary. The class system is the game we never asked to play, dont get a fair chance at, and have no hope of winning. Its a timeless metaphor. 20th Century Fox Best films of 2019 (so far) A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon Despite its mouthful of a title, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon is an utter delight proof that good storytelling and strong craft are what matters, however familiar the packaging. Studio Canal Best films of 2019 (so far) The Beach Bum Clearly, Harmony Korine is steered by his attraction to the theatrical, the absurd and the grimly nihilistic. The Beach Bum is all of that and absolutely none of it, too a leisurely, neon-soaked stroll through chaos and hazy bohemia, full of slapstick and pathos. It is as much Korines most mature film as it is his most juvenile. Neon/Vice Best films of 2019 (so far) The Last Black Man in San Francisco Its a beautiful, frightening and tragic vignette of the urban nightmare, though The Last Black Man in San Francisco isnt really an angry film. Its less of a rallying cry against gentrification than a rumination on the kind of pained acceptance those who suffer its effects must face. A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) The Irishman Scorseses signature camerawork goes down like a glass of fine whisky, as smooth and as elegant as youd expect. The violence arrives in short, sharp shocks. Steven Zaillians screenplay even nails the mobster patter, with arguments about fish, tardiness, and business shorts that feel destined to one day be quoted to death. Netflix Best films of 2019 (so far) Le Mans '66 The films greatest trick is saved for its final reel. For much of its running time, youd be easily fooled into thinking Mangold had made a grand ode to the American dream. Its a film about an immigrant worker who, through perseverance and toil, gains the respect of one of the richest men in the country. And then the rug is pulled right out from underneath you. Le Mans 66 may relish in the high life, but its final moments feel devastatingly hollow. AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Marriage Story The film never loses its sense of humour and absurdity. Somehow, in spite of the bleakness of the subject matter, it feels more redemptive than despairing. Best films of 2019 (so far) The Report Adam Driver plays Jones, Annette Bening Senator Feinstein, and director Scott Z Burns captures the events in a cold, rigorously factual, and largely dispassionate manner. But thats the point. The Report chooses to value the truth over bombastic displays of morality. AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Knives Out Casting an ensemble film is a little like perfecting a cocktail blend, balancing flavours until they sing together in harmony. Knives Out hits the mark here: the actors all feel well-suited to their roles and they bounce off each other with ease. Lionsgate Several other characters from the Pokemon universe make their appearances, including Charizard, Cubone and Eevee and even a slightly sombre-looking Mewtwo (a character that, as Pokemon fans will recall, rarely means good news). The trailer ends with a humorous sequence involving Mr Mime, while the entire clip is powered by Bonnie Tylers 1984 Holding Out For a Hero. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Reynolds published a photo of himself with his Pika-Dots (the CGI dots drawn on his face) back in December 2018. The previous month, he shared the first Detective Pikachu trailer, writing: I think we all knew Id wind up as a miniature detective repeatedly saying the same two words. Just didnt think itd be this soon. Like countless startups these days, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants to court millennials. As such, the 100-year-old business advocacy group unveiled Wednesday a new entrepreneur-focused website, dubbed "Co-," specifically aimed at younger startup founders. While the site will offer practical advice and how-to guides on a wide array of topics, including collecting sales taxes, choosing the right business insurance, and running background checks on potential employees, it's also designed to liven up the chamber's somewhat musty image. The launch party, which is expected to take place later on Wednesday in New York City, will feature fireside chats with Katia Beauchamp, the co-founder and CEO of beauty subscription service BirchBox, and Sarah LaFleur, the co-founder and CEO of the e-commerce clothing company MM.LaFleur. Head over to Co-'s homepage and you'll see a prominent photo of a fresh-faced Amy Vener, Pinterest's retail strategy lead. The site features advice from successful business leaders, such as Elan Lee the co-founder of card game Exploding Kittens, on commonly asked startup questions. Waller says an independent, "nonpartisan" editorial team based in New York City will create all of the content. The Chamber's chief product officer, Mike Morello, who was previously Inc.'s chief operations officer, says that Co- content will be free and have no ads. Instead, the site will rely on native advertising and sponsorships from other organizations. Eventually the Chamber wants to give business owners a way to connect with each other via free Co-created and -vetted company profile pages. The Chamber, which represents more than 3 million U.S. businesses--both large and small--is best known for its lobbying prowess in Washington, D.C. In recent years, however, it has sought to strengthen its ties beyond the beltway. In 2017, it expanded its annual Small Business Summit into a series of regional events, which will soon be recast under the Co- brand. "It turns out most business owners don't care that much about D.C.," says Justin Waller, chief marketing officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Last year, the Chamber held a series of focus groups with about 150 small business owners from Texas, California, Minnesota, and New Jersey. The main takeaway: many entrepreneurs view changes at the federal level as somewhat inconsequential since they usually take a long time to trickle down to smaller businesses. So while not all business owners have a vested interest in "changing the system," he adds, "they do care about getting through it." With those hyper-specific how-to guides--such as choosing the right wireless router for your company--Co- wants to find out which issues those entrepreneurs care about, and thus what should be at the top of the Chamber's policy agenda. "After we invest in them, we can build equity with them as a brand, and ask for their help as we advocate for them in D.C.," adds Waller. Perhaps they could even shell out $250 a year and become members. "If we see that you are a business that is really concerned about health care, or about H-1B visas," Waller explains, "that could be an area that we could then re-target you and ask if you would like to be part of the conversation in D.C. on that topic." USS Donald Cook Arrives in Odesa, Ukraine Odesa, Ukraine - The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) arrived in Odesa, Ukraine, February 25, 2019 for a scheduled port visit as part of our continued Black Sea presence and support to our region partners. Since arriving in the Black Sea on February 19, 2019, the ships crew conducted maritime interoperability training exercises with the Turkish navy. These operations enhance regional maritime stability, combined readiness and naval capability with our NATO allies and Black Sea partners. This is the fourth U.S. ship visit to Odesa since January 2018. While in port, the ship will host local dignitaries and media for tours and engagements with crew, which will culminate with a reception. Donald Cook is the third U.S. naval vessel to conduct operations in the Black Sea in 2019. The ship entered the Black Sea on February 19, 2019 to strengthen interoperability with NATO allies and partners and demonstrate the collective resolve to Black Sea security. In January, Donald Cook and Fort McHenry conducted port visits to Georgia and Romania, respectively. The U.S. Navy routinely operates in the Black Sea consistent with the Montreux Convention and international law. U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa. President Donald J. Trump Hails Vietnams Commitment to Expanding Commercial Partnerships with American Companies Washington, DC - "Moving forward as partners, we will achieve great prosperity and success for the American people and for the Vietnamese people." ~ President Donald J. Trump BIG-TICKET PURCHASES: President Donald J. Trump is pleased that Vietnamese airlines have agreed to purchase new planes, engines, and services from American companies. President Donald J. Trump, alongside President Trong of Vietnam, participated in the signing of commercial trade deals between leading Vietnamese airlines and American companies. These agreements reflect the deep economic partnership enjoyed by the United States and Vietnam. These agreements are worth over $21 billion and include the following: VietJet will buy 100 American-made Boeing 737-MAX jets and 215 General Electric-developed LEAP engines. Bamboo Airways will purchase 10 Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Vietnam Airlines pledges to acquire a minimum of $50 million in reservation systems and other services from Sabre Corporation. These purchases will support more than 83,000 American jobs and improve safety and reliability for Vietnamese and international travelers. STRENGTHENING TIES: President Trump is committed to deepening economic ties and advancing the partnership between the United States and Vietnam. These deals are a reflection of the work President Trump has undertaken to strengthen the partnership between the United States and Vietnam. In May 2017, President Trump and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc pledged to enhance the comprehensive partnership between the United States and Vietnam. Among other commitments, both sides pledged to promote and grow mutually beneficial economic ties between their two countries. In November 2017, during President Trumps first historic visit, Vietnamese companies announced agreements to purchase $12 billion in American goods and services. Vietnam also committed to eliminate trade barriers on United States agricultural exports, opening up new markets for American farmers. EXPANDING ACCESS: President Trump is expanding markets for American goods and services abroad. President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Individuals to Key Administration Posts Washington, DC - Today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key positions in his Administration: Andeliz N. Castillo of New York, to be the Alternate Executive Director of the Inter-American Development Bank. Andeliz N. Castillo currently serves as Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs in the Office of the Vice President. Before joining the Administration, Andeliz had a managing role in merging national non-profit organizations and was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff for a non-profit organization. Andeliz also spent six years on Capitol Hill in roles such as senior communications and policy advisor at the United States House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, outreach communications and coalitions staff member for a Congressional Republican leadership office (the House Republican Conference), and policy and personal assistant to a South Florida Congressman. During the 2008 presidential cycle, Andeliz led outreach communications efforts at the Republican National Committee. Andeliz earned a B.A. from Brown University. Daniel Habib Jorjani of Kentucky, to be Solicitor of the Department of the Interior. Daniel Habib Jorjani held several position within the Department of the Interior from 2001 to 2009, including Chief of Staff and Counselor to the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget and Counselor to the Deputy Secretary. Since May 2017, Mr. Jorjani has served as principal deputy solicitor at the Interior and has managed more than 330 attorneys in the Department. He is also the Regulatory Policy Officer on the Interiors Regulatory Reform Task Force and a member of the Interiors Executive Resources Board. Mr. Jorjani received an undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University, masters degree from Columbia University, and Juris Doctor degree from Cornell Law School. Mr. Jorjani is a member of the New York and District of Columbia bars. He is married to Aimee Jorjani and resides in Northern Virginia with their three children. Bulldog Gang Member Sentenced to over 8 Years in Prison Fresno, California - Alberto Perez, 31, of Fresno, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. ONeill to eight years and four months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, on June 26, 2017, while riding in a car in the area of Highway 99 and Ventura, Perez fired shots at a car, intending to hit an occupant inside the vehicle. Perez later discussed the shooting in a call with Carlos Montano, who is charged and has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, firearms, and sex trafficking offenses in a related criminal case. Agents monitoring the intercepted communications were able to further connect Perez to the shooting using various investigative techniques. In September, 2017, investigators obtained a search warrant and found ammunition at Perezs residence. The charges are the product of an investigation by the DEA, FBI, HSI, ATF, the Fresno Police Department, the Fresno County Sheriffs Office, and the Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC), with assistance from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly A. Sanchez and Jeffrey Spivak are prosecuting the case. This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nations drug supply. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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. Yuba City Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Child Pornography Offense Sacramento, California - Chad Carl Jaycox, 28, of Yuba City, was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison to be followed by 25 years of supervised release for receiving images of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, Jaycox received the images between April 2011 and September 2013. Jaycox was convicted in 2010 of unlawful sex with a minor, and he was on probation for that offense when federal agents executed a search warrant at his residence in September 2013. Upon the discovery of child pornography, Jaycox was arrested by state law enforcement agents for a violation of his probation. This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew G. Morris prosecuted the case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the resources tab for information about internet safety education. Hydrilla infestations eradicated Sacramento, California - The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), working in cooperation with the Shasta County Agricultural Commissioners office, has eradicated two hydrilla infestations within the cites of Redding and Anderson, ending a quarantine that began on July 18, 1996. Hydrilla, an invasive aquatic weed, was last detected in Shasta County in 2006. CDFA and Shasta County used integrated pest management methods to eradicate these infestations, with the last treatment in 2011.The affected water systems had been surveyed bi-annually through 2017, with zero hydrilla finds. Additional steps were taken to prevent the plant from reaching the adjacent Sacramento River, where the it could have spread throughout Northern California and ultimately to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The Hydrilla Eradication Program has a proven track record in California, eradicating the plant from 15 counties since 1976. CDFA and the Shasta County Agricultural Commissioner acknowledge and thank local area residents for their cooperation in preventing the movement of hydrilla, and for allowing property access to perform critical eradication activities. We spend a lot of time and effort responding to invasive pests like fruit flies, and we are often able to eradicate those infestations in a matter of months, said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. But its important to recognize that some invasive organisms, such as hydrilla, require remarkable dedication and persistence to eradicate. Its also important to note that, while farmers and ranchers may benefit from this work because hydrilla can hinder our irrigations systems, its really the environment that is the main beneficiary of this achievement. Protecting our waterways means protecting water quality, preserving habitat for wild and native species, and even safeguarding recreational opportunities like boating and swimming. Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata) is a non-native, aggressive, submerged aquatic invasive species. Once the plant invades an aquatic ecosystem, it drives out all native and introduced aquatic plants, creating a pure stand of hydrilla. The plant breaks apart very easily and small pieces of stem, no more than one inch long, can produce entire new plants. The plant also produces special survival structures on stems, called turions, and in sediment, called tubers. Each tuber also produces a new plant. The tubers can survive for four to seven years in sediment before sprouting, even if no water is present for much of that time. Hydrilla has the ability to reduce water flow in canals and ditches up to 85 percent and can clog dams, power plants and other water control structures. Hydrilla has the potential to infect 90 percent of Californias water bodies if not eradicated. Man Pleads Guilty to Offenses Related to the Sexual Exploitation of Children Through Social Media Fresno, California - Nikko Adolfo Perez, 26, of Atwater, pleaded guilty Monday to the sexual exploitation of children, coercion and enticement of a minor, and receipt and distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to a criminal complaint, Perez, using the Instagram screen name captainamerica272018, victimized two boys, ages 8 and 10, in Utah by coercing them to create and send him images of them engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Perez offered to pay the boys with Google Play credits if they engaged in requested sexual acts or poses, and when one of the victims said he would call 911, Perez threatened to disseminate the sexually explicit images of the victims. He also threatened to harm family members of the victims. Perez admitted in a plea agreement that he also used Skype, Kik, Discord, Snapchat, and LiveMe to communicate with between 50 and 100 minors for the purpose of soliciting sexually explicit images of those minors. He admitted that he persuaded the victims to pose nude or engage in sexually explicit activities, sometimes with other minors. He admitted that he often paid victims to engage in this conduct, and he sent some of the material that he had requested to other people. Perez is scheduled to be sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. ONeill on May 20, 2019. Perez faces the following possible penalties: a mandatory minimum term of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison for the sexual exploitation count; a mandatory minimum of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison for the coercion and enticement count; and a between 5 and 20 years in prison for the one count of receipt of child pornography. For all counts there is a potential $250,000 fine and a lifetime term of supervised release. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. This case is the product of an investigation by the Salt Lake City Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation offices in Salt Lake City, Utah and Fresno. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa is prosecuting the case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. Imperial Valley News Center Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Traveling to Mexico to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct with Minor Los Angeles, California - A Long Beach resident who traveled to Mexico to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and also enticed his victim to produce child pornography was sentenced Monday to 120 months in federal prison. Jonathan Sandoval-Lepe, 32, was sentenced Monday morning by United States District Judge George H. Wu. Sandoval-Lepe pleaded guilty in November 2018 to federal charges of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place and receiving child pornography depicting other victims. According to his plea agreement, over the course of about two years that began in the spring of 2015, Sandoval-Lepe traveled to Baja California to have sex with the victim, who was 13 when the illicit sexual conduct started. Sandoval-Lepe also admitted that in September 2017 he enticed the victim, who was then 15, to produce child pornography while he was in the United States. The victim sent that child pornography to Sandoval-Lepe in California. In August 2017, Sandoval-Lepe knowingly received child pornography that he downloaded onto his computer from a peer-to-peer network, the plea agreement states. The investigation found more than 600 images and videos of child pornography, some of which depicted children who were under 12 years of age, according to court documents. In addition to the prison term, Judge Wu ordered Sandoval-Lepe to pay $15,000 in restitution to his victims, including $10,000 to the Mexican victim. Judge Wu also ordered him to pay a $10,000 special assessment paid to the Domestic Trafficking Victims Fund. Following his release from custody, Sandoval-Lepe will remain on federal supervised release for the remainder of his life. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. Mexican law enforcement officers in Baja California provided assistance in this investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joshua O. Mausner and Lana Morton-Owens of the Violent and Organized Crime Section. Imperial Valley News Center FBI Seeking to Identify Victim Businesses Issued Fraudulent Workers Compensation Insurance, Health Care Insurance, and Pension Plan Policies Washington, DC - The FBI is seeking to identify businesses that may be victims of an alleged nationwide workers compensation insurance, health care insurance, and pension plan fraud scheme. Businesses that purchased policies from American Labor Alliance (ALA) or one of its many subsidiaries nationwide should contact their state insurance regulator to ensure the validity of their policies. If you believe you/your business may have been a victim of this alleged fraud, please call 1-800-CALL-FBI or send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. On January 10, 2019, ALA and two of its executives were charged with mail fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and money laundering by a 14-count federal grand jury indictment. Court documents allege ALA and its subsidiaries sold what was purported to be workers compensation coverage that, in actuality, may offer no coverage. From at least 2011 onward, ALA offered what it purported to be a retirement pension plan to its clients, known by a variety of names including ALA Trust, the ALA Retirement Plan Trust, or the ALA Retirement Plan and Trust, that may also be invalid. Furthermore, according to court documents, ALA and its affiliates allegedly purported to offer a broad range of financial services to potential clients, including tax preparation and drafting of incorporation and other documents. It fraudulently marketed itself as a special type of labor organization under federal law and advertised that its customers could join ALA and receive financial services. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI, United States Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, San Francisco Regional Office, and California Department of Insurance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Tierney is prosecuting the case. Imperial Valley News Center Participants in $200 Million Workers Comp Scheme Sentenced to Prison San Diego, California - Last week in federal court a slew of conspirators involved in a massive Workers Compensation kickback scheme were ordered to serve prison sentences and pay millions in financial penalties for their roles in the corrupt payment of millions of dollars to induce doctors and other medical professionals to refer hundreds of injured workers for medical treatments and services. According to court records, dozens of marketers, doctors, lawyers and medical service providers conspired to bilk the Workers Compensation system in California by buying and selling patients -- and their individual body parts -- like commodities. Among the defendants sentenced this week was an attorney, a chiropractor, two business owners and several marketers who referred patients for tests (such as MRIs, functional capacity exams and sleep studies), treatments (such as shockwave, x-rays, and ultrasound), pain medications, and durable medical equipment (DME) based on the corrupt payments. The conspirators often subjected patients to uncomfortable and sometimes painful procedures, so the conspirators could thereafter bill insurance companies for millions of dollars. As the government argued in its sentencing papers, the conspirators corruption of the doctor-patient relationship caused physicians to see price tags on every patients body parts. Each of the defendants played a critical role in the corrupt scheme. The Corrupt Network Defendant Fermin Iglesias and co-defendant Carlos Arguello operated a patient-capping enterprise, in which they found individuals who would file Workers Compensation claims against their employers. Iglesias and Arguello then sold, bartered and exchanged these applicants with others in the Workers Compensation industry, including attorneys, primary care physicians, and providers of medical goods and services. Each of these entities had to pay to play, and as the patient was referred throughout this corrupt system, money changed hands at each step. Arguello operated several patient-recruitment entities, including one called Centro Legal. Through billboards, flyers, advertisements and business cards, Centro Legal recruited persons to seek workers' compensation benefits from their employers or former employers. When the injured worker called the 1-800 number on the billboard or card, he or she reached a call center, which might be located in another country. From there, Iglesias company, Providence Scheduling, took over brokering the patient to maximize the profit that could be extracted from him or her. Centro Legal referred the newly-acquired patient to complicit Workers' Compensation attorneys, including, in San Diego, attorney Sean OKeefe, who had one of the largest Workers Comp caseloads in the region. To get these new clients, the attorneys in the corrupt network were expected to comply with certain conditions: first, they had to use Arguellos copying service to fulfil document requests for all of the new clients medical records; second, they had to agree to designate as their clients primary treating physician (PTP) one of the complicit physicians within the corrupt network. In exchange, the attorneys received compensation. For O'Keefe, the compensation took a variety of forms. One hospital administrator paid the salaries of two employees of OKeefes law firm, as a kickback to OKeefe for referring spinal surgeries to that hospital. In another variation, the kickback payments were disguised as payments for nonexistent legal services, for which OKeefe generated phony legal invoices to cover up those obviously illegal payments. The corrupt physician could serve as the patients' primary care physician in the Workers' Comp system. This was a key gatekeeper role, because the PTP was entrusted with the authority to determine what additional goods and services the patient needed. Iglesias required that the chiropractors prescribe a certain minimum quota of goods and services, on average, for each patient. If the chiropractor failed to live up to the quota, Iglesias would cut off the flow of new patients. Dr. Steven Rigler was one of the chiropractors involved in the corrupt referral network. He had clinics in Calexico, San Diego, and Escondido. To get patients for his San Diego and Escondido clinics, Rigler agreed to meet the referral quota set by Iglesias and Arguello. Court records reflect that Iglesias set a value for each type of service the physicians could refer, for example, $30 for each MRI, and $150 for Durable Medical Equipment (DME), to meet the quota of $600. To get credit, physicians had to refer their DME orders to Iglesias company, Meridian Medical Resources. Many of the MRIs were referred to Advanced Radiology, a diagnostic imaging company owned by Dr. Ronald Grusd. In Calexico, Ruben Martinez ran Riglers clinic and managed all of Riglers referrals for ancillary services. Alexander K. Martinez performed the same service for Riglers other clinics. If the physicians failed to meet the quota, Iglesias cut off the pipeline of new patients. Iglesias employed Miguel Morales to ensure that physicians met the quota, and to demand lump-sum payoffs from them if they failed to do so. And to avoid such problems, and ensure a smooth referral process, Arguello hired referral managers who worked in chiropractor offices. For a time, Julian Garcia was paid by Arguello to manage Rigler's referrals. Garcia had Rigler's signature stamp, and if Rigler got behind, Garcia would simply increase the number of MRIs referred for each patient. Eventually, Garcia himself got licensed as a DME provider, and he himself paid chiropractors $50 apiece to prescribe hot/cold packs for pain relief, which were then billed to insurance companies for nearly $6,000. Jennifer Louise White represented providers of other types of services, namely, Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) studies and sleep studies. She worked with Alex Martinez and with providers of the ANS and sleep studies to pay nearly $200,000 in kickbacks to Rigler to refer patients for these services. Sentencing Hearings In sentencing hearings held on February 20 and 21, 2019, U.S. District Judge Cynthia A. Bashant sentenced each defendant to custodial time. For his crimes, Iglesias was sentenced to 60 months in custody, and required to forfeit $1,005,000 in ill-gotten gains. Judge Bashant imposed five years probation on Igelsias corporations, MedEx and Meridian, and imposed a $500,000 joint and several fine. Miguel Morales was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in custody, and was required to forfeit $140,000. Alexander and Ruben Martinez were each sentenced to 33 months in custody and three years of supervised release. Their companies, Line of Sight and Desert Blue Moon, were sentenced to five years probation and fines of $45,000 and $20,000 respectively. Jennifer Louise White was sentenced to 24 months in custody, and ordered to pay fine of $25,000. Onetime Workers Compensation applicant attorney Sean E. OKeefe received a sentenced of 13 months in custody, and was required to forfeit $300,000 in ill-gotten gains. San Diego chiropractor Steven J. Rigler was sentenced to six months in custody, and was ordered to forfeit $150,000. The court substantially reduced both defendants sentences because they cooperated with authorities soon after being confronted by agents, and played critical roles in revealing the scope of the corrupt network. Throughout the sentencing hearings, Judge Bashant expressed dismay that the defendants scammed a system thats set up to help people that really need the help. She further expressed concern that these crimes would undermine public support for social safety-nets, such as the Workers Compensation system for injured workers. She expressed particular disappointment that licensed professionals like attorney OKeefe and Dr. Rigler would engage in the fraud: You are the most educated. You should know better, she reproached them. This weeks sentencing hearings, along with the conviction and sentence of Beverly Hills Radiologist Dr. Ronald Grusd, bring to a successful close the first wave of cases brought by the U.S. Attorneys Office and its law enforcement partners to combat fraud in the California Workers Compensation System. It is unfortunate that some individuals see only an opportunity to profit in a system designed to aid injured workers, said U.S. Attorney Robert S. Brewer, Jr. Whats more, this crime corrupted the doctor-patient relationship. A doctors medical decisions should be based on the best interest of the patient, not the highest bidder. Health care fraud betrays vulnerable patients and steals funds meant to care for injured workers, said FBI Special Agent in Charge John Brown. The cases in 'Operation Back Lash' have shown that these medical professionals, doctors, and attorneys who took bribes chose profit over their patients. This massive investigation, with over 30 convictions to date, demonstrates the FBI's commitment to finding those who commit fraud and bringing them to justice. Anyone with information about healthcare fraud may call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or 1-800-225-5324 or the California Department of Insurances toll-free fraud hotline, 800-927-4357. DEFENDANTS United States v. Grusd, et al., 15cr2821-BAS Sentence Ronald Grusd, Los Angeles, CA 10 years, $1.3 million forfeiture, $250,000 fine California Imaging Network Medical Group 5 years Probation, $500,000 fine Willows Consulting Company 5 years Probation, $500,000 fine Alex Martinez, El Centro, CA 37 months custody Ruben Martinez, Murietta, CA 33 months custody Line of Sight, Inc. 5 years Probation, $45,000 fine Desert Blue Moon, Inc. 5 years Probation, $20,000 fine United States v. Iglesias et al, 16CR0131-BAS Fermin Iglesias 60 months custody, $1,005,000 forfeiture MedEx Solutions 5 years Probation, $500,000 fine Meridian Medical Resources 5 years Probation, $500,000 fine Miguel Morales 12 months 1 day custody, $140,000 forfeiture United States v. Garcia, 15CR2820-BAS Julian K. Garcia, National City, CA 33 months custody, $10,000 fine United States v. White, 16CR2905-BAS Jennifer Louise White, Glendale, CA 24 months, $25,000 fine United States v. OKeefe, 14CR2343-BAS Sean Enrique OKeefe 13 months, $300,000 forfeiture United States v. Rigler, 15CR2773-BAS Steven J. Rigler 6 months, $150,000 forfeiture INVESTIGATING AGENCIES Federal Bureau of Investigation San Diego County District Attorneys Office California Department of Insurance Imperial Valley News Center Leader of Multi-Million Dollar Immigration Fraud Scheme Pleads Guilty San Diego, California - Hardev Panesar pleaded guilty in federal court, admitting that he orchestrated a long-running immigration-fraud scheme that tricked more than 100 victims out of millions of dollars based on false claims that they could secure immigration status in the United States. Panesar pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel to all counts, including one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, four counts of false impersonation of a federal officer, and one count of structuring financial transactions. Panesar also pleaded guilty to a separate count of failing to appear in court, resulting from his decision jump bail and flee to Mexico in June 2018, where he remained a fugitive for two months. According to his plea agreement, Panesar admitted that from at least 2012 through May 24, 2017, he defrauded immigrants and aliens by inducing them to pay money to him based on fraudulent claims that he and his co-conspirators could obtain legal status in the United States for the victims and their families. Panesar managed to defraud the victims by, in part, impersonating an official from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and claiming that he had the power to stop deportation proceedings. To trick his victims, Panesar repeatedly showed fake agency credentials, provided immigration applications, and took fingerprints of victims. He often demanded more money to speed up the process or guarantee the immigration documents by a certain date. Panesar and his co-conspirators never delivered on their promise to provide immigration documents, despite collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars from victims. As part of the plea agreement, Panesar agreed to pay approximately $2.5 million in restitution to his many victims. Panesar also admitted that on June 21, 2018, he fled to Tijuana, Mexico, the day before a hearing scheduled in this case. Panesar remained a fugitive, hiding in Mexico, until August 13, 2018, when he was arrested by Mexican authorities and expelled back to the United States. Panesar has been in custody ever since, pending trial. Panesar is scheduled to be sentenced on May 10, 2019, at 8:30 a.m. before Judge Curiel. Rafael Hastie, one of Panesar co-conspirators, was sentenced to 46 months in custody on January 4, 2019. The investigation into this case continues. The San Diego Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is seeking possible victims in this investigation from 2000 through 2017. If you believe you are a potential victim of this crime, please fill out the questionnaire at https://forms.fbi.gov/SDImmigrationFraud or email the FBI at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . DEFENDANT Hardev PANESAR Age: 70 SUMMARY OF CHARGES (17CR1371-GPC) Count 1: 18 U.S.C. 1349, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud; Maximum Penalty 20 years in prison, $250,000 fine, forfeiture, restitution Counts 2-4: 18 U.S.C. 1343, Wire Fraud; Maximum Penalty 20 years in prison, $250,000 fine, forfeiture, restitution Counts 5-8: 18 U.S.C. 912, False Personation of an Officer or Employee of the United States; Maximum Penalty 3 years in prison, $250,000 fine, forfeiture, restitution Count 11: 31 U.S.C. 5324(a)(3), Structuring at Domestic Financial Institutions; Maximum Penalty 10 years in prison, $250,000 fine, forfeiture SUMMARY OF CHARGES (18CR3229-GPC) Count 1: 18 U.S.C. 3146(a)(1), Failure to Appear AGENCY Federal Bureau of Investigation Imperial Valley News Center Faced with choice overload, farmers in India say, Ill have what hes having West Lafayette, Indiana - Suicide rates among farmers in India remain high, accounting for more than 12,500 deaths in the country in 2015, according to a government report. Although many have blamed climate change for farmers distress, the issue is likely much more complex. After the Indian government liberalized the economy in the 1990s, the agricultural sector went through a plethora of changes; national attention shifted from rural to urban landscapes, new development programs exacerbated inequality, and the government pulled back subsidies on fertilizers, pesticides, water and seeds. Shops stocking a previously controlled market of public agricultural goods were suddenly flooded with new private brands. Consumer scientists call this choice overload. When you step into a supermarket and there are 70 types of mustard to buy, it becomes a stressful situation and people no longer want to deal with making that decision, said Andrew Flachs, an environmental anthropologist at Purdue University. When genetically modified seeds were first introduced, there were just three seeds. Now there are more than 1,200, and figuring out which particular seed to buy has become an incredibly difficult and confusing decision. India is the worlds second largest producer of cotton. The crop, which plays a dominant role in the countrys industrial and agricultural economies, requires heavy use of pesticides. When genetically modified seeds were being debated in the 1990s, Indian cotton accounted for nearly half of the pesticides sprayed in the country, despite being planted on only 5 percent of the farmland. Genetically modified cottonseeds are now widely available, (which should, in theory, reduce pesticide use), but national yields have largely stagnated and use of pesticide sprays has increased over the last decade. Telangana, a state in southern India, is a major cotton producer where most seeds are sown by small farmers. Its also where the peak of farmer suicides in the 1990s happened, which is one reason many thought introducing genetically modified seeds would be a good idea. To figure out how farmers here decide which seeds to plant, Flachs conducted surveys while living in Indian villages from 2012 to 2018. He talked to members of farming households about their experience with genetically modified cottonseeds and asked how they rationalized their purchasing choices in a seed market thats nearly bursting at the seams. The findings were published in the journal American Anthropologist. Flachs argues that without help and expertise from government agencies, cotton farmers in Telangana rely on scripts: socially learned mental maps that reflect local rules, values and expectations. Since 2008, many farmers in the region have planted one brand of seeds en masse, with some brands being planted by more than half the cotton farmers in the area. Yet the following year, they abandon these seeds in favor of a new brand, justifying their choices in hopes of achieving manci digubadi, or good yield. As a social scientist, Flachs saw this as a testable question. The line that came up constantly was, Im doing this to achieve a good yield, Flachs said. That makes sense if you dont think about it too much, but four years in, I had data saying actually this decision has nothing to do with yield. Yields for the six most popular seeds during the study period were all within the normal range of variation for cotton as a whole, even as farmers repeatedly abandoned and adopted new seeds. This suggests that farmers dont have a reliable measure for what constitutes a good yield, or at least that they cant reach their desired potential because of the inherent variability of external factors such as weather, water and pests. What, then, drives these farmers seed choices? Flachs argues that when they say theyre pursuing a good yield, theyre actually chasing a piece of Indias success story. Using genetically modified seeds they see in flashy advertisements is their way of performing their modernity. Its something they see people doing in the rich villages, he said. Theyre using technology to be as successful as they can so that they can help their families. Thats at the core of how people are making these agricultural decisions it doesnt have to do with yields, or economic payoff, or agronomy in this particular context, whats making and breaking Indian agriculture and GMOs in the developing world is people reckoning with being good farmers, good parents, good members of the community. Its entirely a social decision. The best thing Indian policymakers could do to help these farmers, Flachs said, is to slow down or regulate the influx of new seeds each season. There needs to be a way to reduce anxiety and choice-overload associated with agricultural decisions. But if we understand this as more of an existential question, then this isnt really about seeds at all. We need to improve the quality of life for Indian cotton farmers, whether that means better roads or more reliable irrigation, both of which are huge problems in India, Flachs said. Cotton agriculture has grown with the introduction of genetically modified seeds, and people have put a lot of money into growing them, which has created a lot of debt. This is a social problem about justice, not just an agricultural problem about crop pests. Imperial Valley News Center Federal Funds Available to Address the National Emergency at Our Border Washington, DC - "The current situation at the southern border presents a border security and humanitarian crisis that threatens core national security interests and constitutes a national emergency." ~ President Donald J. Trump LEGAL JUSTIFICATION: President Donald J. Trump is clearly justified in declaring a national emergency and utilizing other statutory authorities to address the crisis at our border. In declaring a national emergency, a President may invoke any of more than 100 available statutory authorities. President Trumps declaration invoked two: 10 U.S.C. 12302 authorizes Department of Defense (DOD) officials to order the Ready Reserve to active duty to address a national emergency. 10 U.S.C. 2808 authorizes the Secretary of Defense to direct military construction necessary to support the use of the Armed Forces in connection with a national emergency that requires use of the armed forces. The President reasonably determined that the national emergency at the southern border require[d] use of the armed forces. An emergency that requires use of the armed forces means the President has determined that the armed forces are necessary to address the crisis. More than 5,000 troops are deployed at the border. DOD is now reviewing which emergency military construction projects, such as the building of barriers, may be necessary to support the use of the Armed Forces. DOD is still in the process of making such determinations, so no funds have yet been authorized for use. Separate from the national emergency, the President invoked two other statutory authorities to direct needed funds to the border. Congress expressly authorized the military to support Federal agencies in blocking drug-smuggling corridors across international boundaries, using 10 U.S.C. 284(b). Under 10 U.S.C. 284(b)(7), the United States military may construct fences and road and [install] lighting to block drug smuggling corridors across international boundaries of the United States upon request from the responsible agency. DHS has requested that DOD use this counterdrug authority to construct fencing and roads and to install lighting in high-priority drug-smuggling corridors. To devote additional resources to such construction, DOD will augment existing counterdrug funds by transferring up to $2.5 billion from other DOD accounts. DODs transfer authority is provided in section 8005 of the FY19 DOD appropriations act. In past years, DOD has relied upon its general transfer authority to reallocate up to $4 billion from within the DOD budget. Under 31 U.S.C. 9705(g)(4)(B), the Secretary of the Treasury may provide money from the Treasury Forfeiture Fund to other agencies for use in connection with the law enforcement activities of any Federal agency. Treasury has identified about $601 million that will be made available to DHS for use in law enforcement border security efforts. PAST USES OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS: Presidents have regularly declared national emergencies under the National Emergencies Act. Presidents have declared nearly 60 national emergencies since the National Emergencies Act was passed in 1976. There were 31 ongoing national emergencies when President Trump declared the national emergency at our border, bringing the total number currently in effect to 32. These ongoing national emergencies are reviewed every year by the Presidentand renewed as appropriate. In fact, President Obama declared a national emergency to deal with the threat of transnational criminal organizations, including cartels operating on our southern border. Presidents have regularly issued national emergency declarations to address problems overseas. President Clinton declared a national emergency in response to the blood diamond trade in Sierra Leone. President Obama declared national emergencies related to situations in Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Ukraine, South Sudan, Burundi, and more. National emergencies have also been used to address problems domestically, such as when President Obama declared a national emergency in response to the swine flu. Between 2001 and 2013, DOD undertook 18 emergency military construction projects using the same emergency construction authority President Trump has invoked. FUNDING SOURCES: President Trump is using funds appropriated by Congress, funds reallocated under statutory authority, and funds available when a national emergency is declared. Nearly $8.1 billion has been identified as available, including: $1.375 billion appropriated by Congress $3.1 billion under other statutory authorities $3.6 billion in military construction funds available under a national emergency These funding sources will be used sequentially and as needed, with the $1.375 from appropriated funds used first, then the $3.1 billion from other statutory authorities, then the $3.6 billion from military construction. Only $3.6 billion of the nearly $8.1 billion is dependent on the Presidents declaration of a national emergency. Under the Presidents non-emergency statutory authority, $3.1 billion is available. $601 million from the Treasury Forfeiture Fund will be made available to support border security. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to use funds in the Treasury Forfeiture Fund not reserved for other purposes to support law enforcement activities. The $601 million will be available in two allocations, $242 million available immediately and $359 million from future anticipated forfeitures. Up to $2.5 billion will be made available from DOD funds transferred to its FY 2019 Drug Interdiction and Counter-Drug Activities account. This construction to support counterdrug activities will be used on land already owned by the Federal Government. Based on the Presidents national emergency declaration, DOD is authorized to undertake certain military construction projects using up to $3.6 billion in unobligated military construction funding. DOD will ensure that high-priority projects with national security implications remain funded. Family housing projects will remain funded. The Administration will ask Congress for new military construction funding for the existing projects affected by this, so that no projects will be canceledonly delayed. HOW FUNDS CAN BE USED: These funds will be available to help secure the border and protect the safety and well-being of our country. (The Center Square) Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the Delta variant of COVID-19 will be the dominant strain in Illinois by this fall, but one doctor said it is time for residents to learn to live with the virus.Pritzker took time during an appearance in Lawndale on Monday to urge Illinoisans to UN Member states acknowledged in the 1995 Beijing platform the important role media plays in shaping the publics perception of women in society and their role in the advancement of women, but recent studies highlight how little progress has been made and the continued use of gender-based stereotypes in the media. Women usually make up more than half of all journalism students. However, they represent less than half of the media work force, struggle to reach leading positions, and comprise the majority of those in precarious jobs with lower wages. They also tend to report on fewer topics related to politics and economics, instead covering health and education and so-called soft news issues. In addition, they are increasingly the targets of cyberviolence. Gender equality IS a union issue. The role that female colleagues should play in the media, as well as their presence in our own organisations must form part of what we call the future of journalism. This years campaign around the 8th of March is an opportunity for the IFJ and its members to demonstrate how women can overcome these obstacles, to showcase women's successes in the media world and in our labour unions. Lets make women more visible in our media and our unions! Our campaign also denounces the associated discrimination that women face from issues of equal pay and lack of job security to biased recruitment processes. It will feature data, stories and tips to make fundamental changes and see more women in senior roles or in particular types of reporting. With the aim of identifying the key issues and exploring the future of nuclear power, the International Energy Agency held a workshop this week on the role of nuclear power in a clean energy system. The event brought together representatives from IEA member countries, industry leaders and experts to examine the role of nuclear energy in mature power markets and the implications of an uncertain future for nuclear energy for energy security, the economy and the environment. Nuclear energy plays an important role in both energy security and sustainability in todays energy mix, said Dr Fatih Birol, the IEAs Executive Director, in his opening remarks. However without appropriate policy attention, its contribution will shrink, creating challenges for meeting our energy policy goals in the future. As an all-fuels and all-technologies organization, the IEA monitors the development of nuclear energy and its potential role in the clean energy transitions. The workshop featured Jean Bernard Levy, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Electricite de France, MichaA Kurtyka, Polands Deputy Minister of Environment and President of COP24, and John Parsons from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. Other speakers included Minister of State Peter Kaderjak from Hungary, Deputy Commissioner Shin Hosaka from Japan, Deputy Minister Rene NedAla from the Czech Republic and Assistant Secretary Ted Garrish from the United States Department of Energy. The workshop focused on four themes: the outlook for nuclear power in advanced economies; the economic position of nuclear power in mature power markets; the role of nuclear power in power systems requiring more flexible resources; and the investment challenges for new nuclear power, including Small Modular Reactors. With limited investment in new plants, the contribution of nuclear to the power mix in mature markets is set to decline significantly under current policy frameworks. In the IEAs New Policies Scenario, nuclear power production grows as two countries, China and India, are responsible for over 90 percent of net growth to 2040. By contrast, outside of Japan, nuclear power generation in developed economies is set to decline by 20 percent by 2040. This decrease will be far greater if expected investments in plant life extension or new facilities do not take place. The IEA is preparing a special report, Nuclear Power in a Clean Energy System which will examine these issues and develop policy recommendations. The report will be launched at the 10th Clean Energy Ministerial meeting, held in Vancouver, in May. For more on the recent trends and prospects of nuclear power, visit the IEAs Tracking Clean Energy Progress page on nuclear power. OTTAWA Dr Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, is in Canada this week as part of a North America visit. Dr Birol met with Minister of Natural Resources Mr Amarjeet Sohi to discuss the important role that Canada plays in both strengthening global energy security and accelerating action on sustainable energy policies and technologies. They also discussed IEAs modernization strategy and preparations for this years Clean Energy Ministerial and Mission Innovation meetings, which will be held in Vancouver in May. On Tuesday afternoon, Dr Birol delivered a keynote presentation at Canada 2020s event Global Energy Outlook 2019. In his presentation, titled Positioning Canada in Global Energy, Dr Birol emphasised the key role that Canada plays in global oil and gas markets, while at the same time welcoming the approach that Canada has taken to mapping out a sustainable energy future through its Generation Energy Initiative. The five elements on which Generation Energy is centered provide a framework from which to drive the energy transition, said Dr Birol, and importantly, Canada is well situated to provide global leadership in all these areas based on action already underway or planned. Dr Birol also met with the Executive Committee of the Canadian Nuclear Association, followed directly by a keynote presentation to Association membership and a high-level panel discussion. Dr Birol emphasized the role that nuclear power can play in meeting energy security and sustainability challenges, but highlighted that significant policy action will need to be taken to ensure that the contribution of nuclear power continues to remain at current levels in mature markets. Hemp plants tower above researchers who tend to them at a research farm near Lexington, Ky. Idaho lawmakers are considering whether to legalize hemp as a cash crop in the wake of the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill that removes it from the federal list of controlled substances. Xem them ... Tin bai cuoi cung Khong con du lieu e load 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. Tropicasa Realty Agents Certified by Mexico's CONOCER Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - For some, investing in Mexico may seem a bit perplexing - but you can rely on Tropicasa Realty's experience in Puerto Vallarta real estate to give you the security that you require. As part of their ongoing dedication to be the trusted name in Puerto Vallarta real estate, all Tropicasa Realty agents were recently certified by CONOCER (the National Council for Standardization and Certification of Labor Competencies) through the Secretary of Education, a federally qualifying real estate program endorsed by the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI). The acronym "CONOCER" in Spanish happens to translate to the verb "to know" in English, and this three-day certification program covered the theoretical and practical aspects of real estate sales and legalities in Mexico followed by a two-day exam period. This latest agency-wide certification is just part of Tropicasa's commitment to providing the most professional real estate experience possible for clients. All of their agents are members of AMPI, the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals, which was chaired by Tropicasa Realty's founder, Wayne Franklin, from 2002 to 2007. This established Puerto Vallarta real estate agency is also a member of several reputable associations in the United States including NAR (National Association of Realtors), ICREA (International Consortium of Real Estate Associations), Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate, and an active member of both Multiple Listing Services (MLS) throughout the Banderas Bay region, to ensure that their clients see every property available or have their property seen by every potential buyer. Tropicasa Realty also has strong and long-term relationships with the Banderas Bay region's top developers, lenders, notaries and real estate lawyers to ensure the security of your Puerto Vallarta property investment. "With a name like CONOCER behind every one of our agents, you know we know. But add over 20 years of Puerto Vallarta/Riviera Nayarit real estate experience, and Tropicasa Realty is the trusted choice for every step of your real estate process. It is part of our commitment to each and every one of our clients," Mr. Franklin stated. Pakistan military said on Wednesday that it does not want to escalate the tension with India and urged New Delhi to accept its "offer of peace." Tensions grew between the two neighbors after India claimed to have carried out air strikes in the Pakistani side on Tuesday, and Pakistan said it shot down two Indian fighter jets inside Pakistani airspace earlier on Wednesday. Kashmiri villagers and Indian army soldiers gather near the wreckage of an Indian aircraft after it crashed in Budgam area, outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Feb.27, 2019. [Photo: AP/Mukhtar Khan] India confirmed that Pakistan shot down one of its fighter jets MiG-21 and that the pilot had gone missing, which Pakistan claimed that he was in its custody. "India should accept our offer of peace. But it is understood that if aggression is imposed on us, then we will respond. But that will be under compulsion," Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistan army's media wing, Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Wednesday in a press conference. He urged the international community to play its role to diffuse the current soaring situation to save peace in the region as Pakistan does not want to push the region towards war. Ghafoor was briefing the media about Wednesday's situation in which Pakistan army said its air force shot down two Indian fighter jets inside Pakistani airspace and ground troops arrested two pilots of the destroyed aircraft. According to Pakistani military, one of the Indian aircraft fell inside Pakistan-administered Kashmir while the other fell inside Indian-controlled Kashmir. The military said the Indian fighter jets were intercepted and destroyed by the Pakistani side when they entered into Pakistani airspace, after Pakistan Air Force undertook strikes across Line of Control (LoC) from within Pakistani airspace. The military said Pakistan Air Force engaged with six non-military and non-civilian targets across the LoC from Pakistan's jurisdiction, and hit open areas near the targets. Kashmiri villagers gather near the wreckage of an Indian aircraft after it crashed in Budgam area, outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Feb.27, 2019. [Photo: AP/Mukhtar Khan] "As a result of engaging our target, no human life was affected. Today's action was in self-defense; we don't want to claim any victory. The in-built message was that despite our capability, we look towards peace," said Ghafoor. Earlier Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said in a statement that "Pakistan has, therefore, taken strikes at the non-military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. Sole purpose (is) being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self-defense." Pakistan's military also denied Indian media's reports that Indian forces shot down Pakistan's F-16 fighter jets. "No F-16 of Pakistan was shot down in this action contrary to some reports by Indian media," he said, adding no F-16 was engaged in this action. The incident came a day after the Pakistani army said Indian fighter jets violated the LoC Tuesday morning and released payloads in the Pakistani side. India claimed that its air force had targeted a camp of Jaish-e-Muhammad group in Tuesday's attack. The group was blamed for the Feb. 14 suicide bombing on Indian paramilitary troopers in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed some 40 people. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman said "we have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we undertook the action with a clear warning and in broad daylight." "If India is striking at so-called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan," he added. 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@idahopress.com for help creating one. Strengthening accountability through human rights in Kenya December 17,2018 | Source: The Danish Institute for Human Rights The Danish Institute for Human Rights has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights as a framework for their collaboration in the areas of responsible business and human rights and the SDGs. The Memorandum of Understanding will set the framework for collaboration between these two national human rights institutions for the next two years. The two institutions will work together a human rights-based approach to the implementation and monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals, and on strengthening the implementation of standards on responsible business in Kenya. Lessons from this work will also be used to support other national human Rights institutions to learn from the Kenyan experience. The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding provides a unique opportunity for both these National Human Rights Institutions to generate important lessons for a human rights based approach to the SDGs. Through working together, we can use human rights as a key means of securing accountability in the implementation and follow-up of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, said Eva Grambye, Deputy Executive Director of the Danish Institute for Human Rights. The Memorandum of Understanding builds on and consolidates a long-term collaboration between the two institutions who have been working together on responsible business and human rights for a number of years. Kenya is the first country in the African region to develop a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, which is expected to be adopted in 2019. The Institute has been supporting the institution throughout the process, as well as providing critical capacity building support to Kenya National Commission on Human Rights to work on a human rights-based approach to the SDGs in Kenya. The Danish Institute for Human Rights Theme(s): Communities and Organisations. Consider a possible scenario of a brother, George, who wants to find out why his sister, June, recently diagnosed with cancer, was unexpectedly found dead on her kitchen floor only days after her diagnosis. Junes death certificate would simply indicate that she died of her illness many months earlier than doctors had first advised, making no mention of the poison she ingested. George would have no access to any records of the conversations June had with the doctor provided by Junes insurance company. George would never know that Junes doctor told her that she could elect expensive treatment, paid in part by her insurer, to extend Junes life but that in doing so June would likely become a considerable burden on her family and friends. George would never know that in Junes distraught mental state her doctor advised that she could avoid becoming a burden by taking a very inexpensive pill, paid for by her insurance company, to end her life. George would never know that, despite Junes considerable mental anguish over the decision to take her own life, she was never provided access to a mental health counselor nor did any outside doctor review the terminal diagnosis. George would also never know that all of those who influenced Junes decision to end her life were employed by the same health care provider who stood to gain financially from Junes quick death: the advising doctor, the doctor tasked to prescribe the poison and two hospital staff who witnessed June sign the written consent. If George was sufficiently alarmed and tried to file a lawsuit, he would find that he could not obtain any of the relevant medical records and that the hospital and doctors are immune from suit so long as George cannot prove they acted in bad faith, an impossible burden given that all of the facts rest with June and the records George cannot obtain. Page Content Montreal and Kigali, 27 February 2019 At the Aviation Africa 2019 Civil Aviation Summit taking place in Kigali today, ICAO affirmed that Africa's emergence as one of the world's fastest growing air transport markets is predicated on a deepening of regional cooperation and investment toward the implementation of ICAO's strategic plans, standards, and other guidance materials. On behalf of the President of the ICAO Council, Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, ICAO's Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Mr. Barry Kashambo delivered the encouraging remarks to the attending aviation ministers and CEOs in a keynote address. As air connectivity is a crucial catalyst for local and global development, the realization of traffic growth projections will provide significant contributions towards the sustainable development of aviation in Africa, notably in terms of the achievement of the African Union and the United Nations' respective goals. Reflecting this, ICAO has strongly encouraged bilateral and multilateral co-operation in support of aviation development in recent years. "Under our No Country Left Behind initiative, for example, and in close cooperation with appropriate State authorities, the African Union Commission (AUC), African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), IATA and other key industry stakeholders, ICAO provides distinct assistance and programmes to promote country-by-country ICAO compliance with the Standards And Recommended Practices (SARPs)," Kashambo explained. "In addition to our Global Plans and assistance work, ICAO undertakes the implementation of regional and national capacity-building initiatives and pursues these directly with African governments to address both known and emerging challenges to the safety, security and efficiency of air transport operations." ICAO compliance underpins the safety, security, and sustainability of international air connectivity. It is therefore key to accessing the global civil aviation network. ICAO auditing provides strategic insights as to the levels of compliance within each of its 192 member States, enabling States to prioritize areas for improvement. In turn, ICAO auditing and guidance gives States the capacity to identify the resources needed for enhancements to airport and air navigation infrastructure, the implementation of new air traffic management technologies, human resources development, and the realization of intermodal projects. "While many African States have now established effective safety and security oversight capacities in their territories, and no fatal accidents were recorded in either 2016 or 2017 here in Africa, ICAO audits of government oversight in these areas continue to reveal that a number of States are faced with challenges when it comes to assuring their ICAO compliance," Mr. Kashambo highlighted. "In order to address these shortfalls in a collective and sustainable manner, political and government commitments coupled with a cohesive and focused approach involving all stakeholders are key prerequisites." In addition to cooperation through multilateral bodies, ICAO also encouraged delegates to take note of the importance of the regional coordination mechanisms which permit groups of States to pool and share their resources to prepare for growth. Looking forward, Director Kashambo highlighted human resource development as an area of particular concern, noting that ICAO audits have revealed that a lack of adequately trained and qualified personnel is one of the biggest challenges faced by African civil aviation authorities. He accordingly called for heightened investment in aviation training organizations and the Association of African Training Organizations (AATO). The Summit will close tomorrow. Resources for Editors About ICAO A specialized agency of the United Nations, ICAO was created in 1944 to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation throughout the world. It sets standards and regulations necessary for aviation safety, security, efficiency, capacity and environmental protection, amongst many other priorities. The Organization serves as the forum for cooperation in all fields of civil aviation among its 192 Member States. ICAO's No Country Left Behind initiative ICAO's Eastern and Southern African Regional Office ICAO's Western and Central African Regional Office Aviation and Sustainable Development Contacts Anthony Philbin Chief, Communications aphilbin@icao.int +1 514-954-8220 +1 438-402-8886 (mobile) Twitter: @ICAO William Raillant-Clark Communications Officer wraillantclark@icao.int +1 514-954-6705 +1 514-409-0705 (mobile) Twitter: @wraillantclark LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/raillantclark/ Thursday 2/28 A Berkshire Eagle Conversation: County Youths Speak Up 96 Valentine Road, Pittsfield 6:30 - 8 PM Free for more information The Berkshire Eagle Conversation Series The Youth (Our Present and Future) Sponsored by Berkshire Bank. They are politically minded. They are activists. Theyre worried about the environment. They want the best for the nation. They want to be safe in their schools. They embrace digital media. They love their cell phones too. These are the Berkshire County high school students of today. And they oftentimes feel as if they are misunderstood by the generations above them. For this Berkshire Eagle Conversation, we have a panel of amazing high school students from Berkshire County who are coming together for a memorable evening -- and theyll explain what theyre all about. For parents, community members, educators, business leaders and beyond, this conversation shall be an invaluable one to hear from our youthful leaders of now and the future. Saturday 3/3 FREE First Sundays at the Clark: Hearth and Home Clark Art, 225 South St., Williamstown (413) 458-2303 11AM - 4 PM Free for more information On this First Sunday Free at the Clark, check winter doldrums at the door and spend the day celebrating all things cozy in the spirit of the Danish concept of hygge and other heartwarming traditions from around the world. Settle in by the digital hearth in the Michael Conforti Pavilion to write warm fuzzies to friends and family, make your own cocoa blend to enjoy on a frosty day, and use our fiber art materials to create a weaving project thats soft to the touch. In common spaces around the museum pick up a sketch pad and self-guide to use in the galleries. At a special station downstairs in the Clark Center, watch local fiber artists at work at their looms and enjoy live music that's good for the soul. From 11am-3pm in the Manton Study Center for Works on Paper, listen along to a pop-up exhibition of interior scenes and complementary audio. All activities and admission to the galleries are free as part of the Clarks First Sundays Free program, supported by funding from the officers and employees of Allen & Company, Inc. Feb 20, 2019 (This post is decades overdue) Dear friends and music community members. This is Joe Crookston writing to you from my studio in Ithaca, NY. This last year, as we know, has been a nonstop tumble of sexual misconduct, manipulation and abuse of power by MEN over WOMEN in our performing arts industry. From Ryan Adams and Harvey Weinstein to Mark Panick and Bloodshot Records to Ian Fitzgerald who was recently called out at the Folk Alliance Conference for years of abusive behavior towards women. As a man, and as a performer in our community, I feel it is important to share my perspective and offer a few points in defense of these men and to explain why women should give them the benefit of the doubt. Here they are: 1. 1 3. . 7.. 4.. ..5.7. 9. 8. .21. 45..8. 2. mmmmmm. I couldnt think of any. BECAUSE THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO FUCKING DEFENSE OF THE ACTIONS OF THESE MEN. None. Period. The actions of these men (and thousands others) are WRONG. They are wrong and they need to stop. PERIOD. The dominating, predatory, and coercive sexual behavior that is rampant (yet silent from lack of accountability) in our culture needs to stop. PERIOD. MEN, it is our time to step up our game. MEN, It is our time to acknowledge that for decades we have run the show. We have gained access to multitudes of opportunities while simultaneously, women were kept on the sidelines. Men, we have been given performance opportunities based on our musical and artistic skills and not for how much skin we are willing to show. We are rarely, if ever invited to perform at someones home, only to find out there was a creepy ulterior motives for the after show party. We men feel pretty damn certain that no one will comment on (or rub) our ass as we lean forward to load the van. MEN, it is our time to be strong, unwavering and dedicated ALLIES to WOMEN in our performing arts community. WE MUST DO THIS. It is our time to set a new standard within our brotherhood, and to recognize, acknowledge, and admit that when women are hurt, sidelined, disrespected, constantly sexualized, abused, condescended to, and positioned below us, the great potential and creative power of our arts community suffers greatly, and we all lose. I recently attended the Folk Alliance International Conference in Montreal with 4000 other industry members. 5 days (and very late nights) of roaming the hotel hallways showcasing music in hopes of moving my career to a new level. At 3am. I felt safe. I got handed business cards and offers for gigs in New Zealand. I felt safe. I trusted these offers were about my music and art and not about my body, or power. I felt safe. I wanted more than anything for EVERY SINGLE woman artist at the conference to feel as safe as I did. I wanted my friend Emily Mure to feel that when a man approached her with a gig offer, it did not come with creepy strings attached. I wanted her to be seen for the creative person she is. I wanted my friend Alice Howe to be able to safely navigate her growing career without men imposing their ideas of how she should do it. I wanted EVERY woman at the conference to feel respected and approached with human dignity, just as they should. I had a strong urge to go up and down the hallway at the conference, walk up to my men peers and ask them if they would agree to treat the women artists in the hallway with respect and with clear intent. I wanted to encourage them not violate their women peers for coercive, career, narcissistic or sexual reasons. I wanted to write words on a napkin, like some kind of DECLARATION OF BEING AN ALLY TO WOMEN and walk up and down the hallway and gather signatures from the men. I wanted my women peers to feel safe. I drove back to Ithaca, NY after the conference and I kept thinking about the Ryan Adams bullshit, and the napkin. The Declaration. A declaration that MEN would sign to agree and commit to being an ally to women. Within seven minutes I was writing the first draft of THE DECLARATION OF MALE VOICES. For the rest of the day, I furiously went back and forth honing, editing, refining the wording. I wanted to get it right. I then texted drafts to many women in our music community who I knew would give clear, strong, precise feedback. AND YES they did. Carrie Elkin, Melissa Greener, My sister Andrea, Amy Kucharik, Alice Howe, Emily Mure, Kathryn Caldwell, Courtney Rodland. My daughter Josie. They honed and shaped it with clear feedback. By the end of the day THE DECLARATION OF MALE VOICES was written. It is a declaration that will be stated and then publicly signed by men throughout our arts community, agreeing to be an ALLY TO WOMEN. I knew we needed a digital napkin, for 1000 male performers, agents, presenters, DJs and filmmakers to sign their name. We needed a simple website. I called my friends Ethan Baird and Jake Bush. Together we created a website called: WWW.MALEALLY.COM Jake, Ethan, and I pulled this together in three days, but its been 100 years in the making. MALE ALLY Is a site for gathering 100. 1000. (1 million) names of men who are publicly agreeing to be an ALLY TO WOMEN in our community. MEN. Performers, Agents, DJs, Label Owners, Presenters, I am looking at you. Will you go to www.maleally.com and sign the declaration? You have to. Im making MALE ALLY stickers, t-shirts, and artwork. There will be lots of opportunities to get involved and spread the word, and yes, If you care about safety and dignity of women, Share This post. Post it directly. text it. put it on Instagram and twitter. The link to the website is: MALEALLY.com Ill see you when we have 1,000,000 signatures. When all voices ring true without fear, manipulation, or coercion, women will benefit, men will benefit, fanswill benefit, the arts will benefit, EVERYONE will benefit. Love, strength and solidarity, Joe Crookston Ithaca, NY The Declaration of Male Voices This sends a great message in Nevada that this wont be tolerated, Alamo said. Investigations were launched last year after reports of sexual misconduct against Wynn emerged in a Wall Street Journal report. The former chief executive allegedly pressured several massage therapists into performing sexual acts. He also reportedly paid a US$7.5m settlement to a manicurist on whom he was said to have forced himself. Wynn Resorts launched its own probe into the allegations. Matt Maddox, who had served as president since 2013, has taken over as chief executive following Wynns resignation. The company has since revamped its policies and appointed more women to serve on its board. We are pleased that the Nevada Gaming Commission has recognised the companys transformation and refreshed culture over the course of the last 12 months and acknowledged the paradigm shift that has occurred within the company, the company said in a statement One of the things that is often forgotten is that you have to start from the base. What questions do you want answered? What business challenges are you facing? he said. Identifying workforce challenges early on will help HR leaders prioritize the data sets to build and analytics tools to deploy: What data and tools will help you answer these questions? HR analytics teams, Michaud said, often start backwards looking for the nail to hit. In other words, launching into high-level strategy, looking for a solution without first knowing the actual problem. The right approach is evidence-based and scientific, he said, start from knowing where you want to go, what you need to measure to get there, and how you are going to monitor that regularly in a cost-effective way. Data and strategy The analytics expert recommends looking closely at correlations, comparing data sets and events. While putting the stuff in the big pile back into the right bags for school, the gym, knitting, dog walking and grocery shopping, I remembered that I had a special travel vest for really long trips, like a red eye flight, or a few hours at the beach. It has no less than 88 customized pockets with special spots marked on it for headphones, chargers and probably spots to hold fishing tackle, a small spinning wheel and As Seen on TV items like a Popeil Pocket Fisherman, a Vegamatic and a set of Ginzu knives. I remember I took it to France, so I know it could hold a small cutting board and knife, right next to the compartment for a baguette. As soon as I took the vest out of the coat closet, it sparked joy, and I am going to start wearing it tomorrow. 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. Virginia lived under a spotlight during Black History Month. Revelations of racist pasts and accusations of sexual violence turned the state upside down. The allegations of sexual assault and rape against Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax should shock us. But neither white Virginians participating in blackface nor their obliviousness to their own racism should surprise us. This is, after all, America. And nothing is more American than Virginia. In the midst of the backlash, director Spike Lee who won an Academy Award on Sunday for best adapted screenplay for BlacKkKlansman has provided the frame to understand what we are witnessing in Virginia. In an interview with CNN earlier this month, Lee unearthed the deeper roots of the Virginia crisis: Virginia is the cradle of [our] civilization. Four hundred years ago, in 1619, the first slaves were brought to Jamestown, Va. Racism, Lee reflected, is ingrained into the DNA of the United States. That is, of course, often peoples problem with Lee: He pushes the conversation about race and our nation to a place mainstream audiences prove unwilling to go. But that is also why we need his voice and vision. Any U.S. historian can tell you that Lee is exactly right about Virginias role in the inception of our American civilization. Lee has both the social and historical depth perception to see how understanding Virginias history is critical to understanding both Virginias and our nations current crisis at the intersection of race and politics for the two crises are one in the same. A very brief history: Beginning in the early summer of 1776, colonial leadership worked to harmonize the American experiment with the interests of the Virginian colony. It was not a coincidence that Virginians George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were among the most important Founding Fathers. Collectively, these Virginians were positioned to act as the fathers of our country, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They also accounted for three of our first four presidents. For all the undeniable virtues of our Virginian Founding Fathers, there are undeniable facts about the ways they inspired Americas ongoing racial crisis. Virginian laws empowered slave-owners to rape and dismember slaves. These laws shaped Virginias culture and that culture acted, in Lees words, as the cradle for our civilization. It is a fact that Washington, Jefferson and Madison were all wealthy slave-owners who intentionally designed our nation in a way that reinforced economic and racial divides. The three-fifths compromise came about because many of our cherished Founding Fathers were southern slave-holding racists. Since Virginians designed Americas DNA, Lees accusation that Americas DNA is ingrained with racist instincts is to state simply how Americas history unfolded. Lee desires that we wrestle with the fact that our racial crises still exist because, despite a Civil War and a civil rights movement, we never untangled racist ideas and inequalities from the DNA of the American experiment. Rather than demanding racial equality, America always proves ready to harmonize our politics with racial inequalities without even thinking of such harmony as racist. Our compromises kept the racist imagination ever evolving, but the evolution never eradicated our nations racist instincts. Much of Lees work aims to create awareness of the racial edges of American life. Admittedly, self-awareness is not one of Americas strong suits. We are as good at rationalizing and justifying our inequalities as we are at demonizing and shaming those we feel make our nations problems worse. But the dramatics we employ to rationalize, justify, demonize or shame rarely translate to nurturing the self-awareness or commitment we need not only to address the injustices of our past but to work together for the future we share. As Lee suggests, the truths revealed in Virginia are truths at the heart of our American experiment and our life together. The harmony between politics and racism is not uniquely Virginian, but uniquely American. When we see the 1984 photos of the racist past of our politicians, we see that we are much closer to the racial imagination of 1776 than we ever dared to dream. A hard work is before us. It is a work that much of Spike Lees portfolio invites the audiences he troubles to participate in. It is the work of addressing the presence of the past. It is learning to discern how we perpetuate the harmony between historic racism and contemporary Americas political ideals and public policies. It is the work to bring an end to the racial and economic segregation of our communities and lives. It is the work of developing a deeper self-understanding of both our nations history and our role in our nations current crisis. It demands that we rethink everything and reconsider our choices from how we vote to where we live, play and pray. It is daunting work, but this work must begin if we are to untangle Americas ideals from its racist instincts and Americas future from its racist past. When it comes to race and this American life, Spike Lees works help us understand our nations absurd racial injustices more realistically and that the radical changes that must come can only come when our nation faces its racial sickness more honestly. Goza is the author of Americas Unholy Ghosts: The Racist Roots of Our Faith and Politics, which will be released April 2019. Today, children in Houston, like my niece and nephew, face a rising threat from the past one we had previously eliminated over the course of my own childhood in this Gulf Coast city: measles. Eight measles cases have been confirmed in Texas so far this year, with four in Harris County, according to Texas Health and Human Services. Across the United States, more than 125 cases have been reported in 10 states. Around the globe, the World Health Organization is warning of a resurgence of the disease, with provisional data showing almost 230,000 reported cases last year nearly twice as many reported at the same time in 2017. Measles is one of the worlds most contagious diseases, and it causes suffering and death among societys most vulnerable people young children. It doesnt have to be this way. We have a solution to stop this deadly disease: vaccines. The vaccine against measles is effective, safe and affordable. When I was born in Houston in 1983, the city was grappling with an outbreak at the University of Houston. Thanks to a concerted effort to vaccinate children against the disease, the U.S. eliminated measles in 2000. Worldwide, global partnerships like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Measles & Rubella Initiative (which includes the organization I work for, the United Nations Foundation) have brought together governments, foundations, businesses and U.N. agencies to increase the availability of vaccines to children in need. In fact, since its launch in 2001, the Measles & Rubella Initiative has helped deliver more than 2 billion doses of the measles vaccine, saving more than 21 million lives and reducing measles deaths by 80 percent. Thanks to the power of vaccines and what happens when the world works together 21 million children have had the chance to grow and pursue their dreams. They could be the inventors, pioneers and leaders who change the world. Its important to remember that we have and can continue to make progress. But its not a given; we can also lose it. In fact, that is the direction we are heading unless we turn things around. Vaccination rates in many communities have stalled, and in some places, they are declining. A 2017 survey from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that among major U.S. cities, Houstons children had the lowest vaccination rate against measles. This is a global problem, too: In many low-income countries, children lack access to life-saving vaccines. In our work with the U.N., weve learned of parents who have had to flee their homes because of conflict, only to reach safety and watch their children suffer from this preventable disease. In our interconnected world, diseases dont stop at borders. They travel fast. So, it matters to the health of Houstonians that we help protect children everywhere from measles. We know what needs to be done: We need to increase immunization rates and education about vaccines. We need to expand access to vaccines in countries with weak health systems. And we need to mobilize sustained financing and political will to stop measles. The good news is that global health investments are good economics. According to the World Health Organization, every $1 invested in immunizations yields $44 in economic and social benefits. Its simple: Supporting global childhood immunization programs is the right thing to do, the smart thing to do and the American thing to do. The U.S. has historically been a leader in global health, providing funding and support to save lives and improve health for Americans and people around the world. Lets continue this legacy by urging our leaders to step up the fight against measles, to invest in global immunization efforts and to support the vital work of U.N. agencies and others on the front lines of childrens health. Were at a crossroads, and the path we take will impact children in Houston and around the world. We can provide resources and leadership to vaccinate children everywhere against measles, or we can remain complacent and watch a disease of the past return. I want my niece and nephew to grow up safe from measles. Its what they deserve. Its what all children deserve. Lee grew up in Houston and works for the United Nations Foundation. WASHINGTON - The Democratic-led House handed President Donald Trump an extraordinary rebuke over his emergency declaration for border wall funding on Tuesday, upholding a resolution to block the order in what has become a growing constitutional showdown. The first-ever attempt to nullify a presidential emergency declaration was spearheaded by U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio, who called it a matter of conscience as Democrats seek to test Republican resolve in a budget fight that raises questions about the prerogatives of Congress and the limits of executive power. Facing the prospect of a narrow Senate vote in the coming weeks, some analysts predicted that it could take Trumps veto pen to ultimately thwart Congress from unraveling his declaration of an emergency on the southern border. The 245 to 182 vote in the House gripped the nation in a battle over the presidents power to divert Congressional spending - in this case, taking billions of dollars from military construction projects to build some 200 miles of steel barriers in the Rio Grande Valley, about four times the length of the border fences already approved by Congress. In all, 13 Republicans, including San Antonio U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, joined all Democrats in voting for the resolution. This is the most consequential vote we will take in a generation on the balance of power between the legislative and executive branches of government, said Castro, chairman of the House Hispanic Caucus. Democrats and some conservative critics branded Trumps move a violation of the Constitutions separation of powers doctrine. But many of Trumps Republican allies in Congress cast it as a question of security in a border region they consider to be in crisis. TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox Rep. Michael Burgess, a Republican from North Texas, argued that Trump is operating within existing laws on military spending. It is his goal, it is his requirement to defend our country at the southern border and the president will do just that, he said. If you dont like law that allows the president to declare a national emergency, change the law. With Democrats arguing that the wall has no military purpose, many Republicans opposing the resolution focused on crime, drugs, human trafficking and other ills Trump has long associated with illegal immigration. We are at war on the southern border with the drug cartels from Mexico, said Houston Republican Pete Olson. Democrats, particularly those from the Texas border region, argued that Trump has mischaracterized the immigration flow from south of the border, noting that it is at a historically low ebb and now predominantly made up of asylum seekers from Central America. FOR SUBSCRIBERS: Old fashioned border policies are for a different kind of immigration Democrat Lloyd Doggett, whose district runs from San Antonio to Austin, argued that the true border emergency deals with borders of the Constitution, which he said is meant to prevent an all-powerful executive, a would-be king or the type of tyrant that Trump so admires abroad. But even as Congress wrestles with Trumps border wall push, the president has acknowledged that his initiative is likely to be decided by the courts. At least 16 states have sued to block Trump's move. Meanwhile, dozens of former national security officials and 26 former GOP lawmakers have written separate letters rejecting the president's national emergency declaration. Among them were former Texas Republican Congressmen Alan Steelman and Steve Bartlett, who also served as a Dallas mayor. Although Republicans are naturally inclined to stand with their president, they wrote in an opinion piece in the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News, it is Republicans who should be most worried about the emergency declaration. Hurd, one of the 13 Republicans to oppose the legislation, said afterward that he had voted to support over $220 billion for homeland security including technology, manpower and barriers. But possibly taking money from Joint Base San Antonio, Laughlin Air Force Base and Fort Bliss will not help. Thats why I voted against the national emergency, he said on Twitter. Some conservatives draw parallels to Obama Some conservatives have raised alarms about the precedent that might be set for a future Democratic president who could assert emergency powers to press progressive priorities like gun control, universal health care or climate change. But many Republicans in Texas and elsewhere have been reluctant to publicly break from the president, who remains popular with GOP voters to whom he promised a wall, even if he said Mexico would pay for it. In a further push to pressure the GOP lawmakers, one conservative group ran a national ad on Fox News using 2014 sound bites from both Texas U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn about the limits of executive power. Both Republicans were outspoken in criticizing then-President Obamas use of executive power to protect Dreamers and other large classes of undocumented immigrants from deportation. The group, Republicans for the Rule of Law, recalled Cruz calling Obama an unaccountable monarch and Cornyn arguing that he was abusing executive authority. Cruz and Cornyn's Senate offices had no immediate comment. But Cornyn told a Politico reporter Monday that he "probably" won't support a disapproval resolution of Trumps national emergency declaration. Cornyn has expressed misgivings about an emergency declaration, but has not broken from the White House, suggesting that the president is "using existing authorities that Congress has given him to get access to reprogram other funds." Cruz, a strong backer of Trump's wall proposal, has made no explicit public statement about Trump's order, saying only that he wants to see the underlying legal justifications. Still, several GOP senators have signaled that they could vote to block Trumps efforts to circumvent Congress to get the money for a wall that lawmakers denied him after a 35-day government shutdown. Among them was Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who wrote a newspaper piece this week warning about Congress ceding the legislative and spending powers contained in Article I of the Constitution. It is my responsibility to be a steward of the Article I branch, to preserve the separation of powers and to curb the kind of executive overreach that Congress has allowed to fester for the better part of the past century, Tillis wrote. I stood by that principle during the Obama administration, and I stand by it now. Complicating Trumps position, the House measure is bound for the Senate as a privileged motion, meaning it needs only a simple majority to pass. Merely forcing Trump to veto a resolution of disapproval could be embarrassing for the White House. Trump to Senate: The voters are on board While Republicans are expected to hold the line in the Senate, House GOP leaders sought to minimize the political damage by containing defections by Republican House members. Until Tuesdays vote, the House had never moved to overturn a presidential emergency declaration made under the National Emergencies Act, which Congress passed in 1976. Still, for the White House, the threat of a veto could further the Trump narrative of a maverick president taking on the Washington establishment to further a national security goal. On the eve of Tuesdays House passage, which was expected, Trump took to Twitter to urge his Senate allies to stick with him. I hope our great Republican Senators dont get led down the path of weak and ineffective Border Security, Trump wrote. Without strong Borders, we dont have a Country - and the voters are on board with us. Be strong and smart, dont fall into the Democrats trap of Open Borders and Crime! In all, Trump is seeking more than $5.7 billion for border barriers, a much larger sum than the $1.375 billion Congress recently approved for 55 miles of border fences. While much, if not all, of the new barriers would be in Texas, critics say the states military bases would pay a price. "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," said U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat who has identified nearly $520 million worth of military projects in Texas that he says are at risk. The White House has yet to identify a list of specific cuts. 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. When Attorney General Ken Paxton announced last week he had settled a giant Medicaid fraud case on behalf of Texas, he trumpeted how much money the state would collect from Xerox. AG Paxton Recovers Record $236 Million for Texas in Medicaid Fraud Settlement, he announced in a press release. Yet it might not turn out to be as impressive a haul as it first seemed - in fact, the state could end up losing money. Steep legal fees and money Texas taxpayers had to repay to the federal government lopped a huge chunk of the award off the top. Now, a handful of whistleblowers have filed a legal claim saying they are due a finders fee for helping Texas regulators make the case. Although the amount the state ultimately agrees to turn over will almost certainly be subject to negotiation, experts said the award in what is known as a qui tam proceeding could reach nearly $50 million. The result: despite Paxtons huge-seeming haul, Texas taxpayers may still come out of the five-year legal dispute millions of dollars in the red, illustrating just how relative even an eye-popping cash payment can be in complex and time-consuming litigation. Given the scope of the fraud, the settlement doesnt touch it, said Loren Jacobson, a law professor and qui tam expert at University of North Texas at Dallas School of Law who is familiar with the case. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox The settlement announced last week was to repay state taxpayers who unwittingly footed the bill for thousands of unnecessary dental procedures. Texas hired Xerox Corporation and its subsidiaries, including spin-off Conduent, to analyze requests from dentists and orthodontists seeking to perform Medicaid-funded work. But instead of performing meaningful medical evaluations of the charts, molds and x-rays, Xeroxs untrained workers furiously rubber-stamped nearly every procedure request, court filings show. Given the green light, dentists performed hundreds of millions of dollars-worth of questionable procedures at taxpayer expense. Texas fired Xerox in 2012 and filed its lawsuit two years later, claiming that the company had defrauded taxpayers by allowing the unnecessary dental work. According to public documents, state prosecutors claimed Xerox owed Texas $2 billion in payback and penalties. Complicating matters, however, was Xeroxs claim that state regulators were well aware of how it operated and did nothing. Last week, after a nearly five-year legal battle, Xerox/Conduent agreed to settle the dispute for considerably less. The company, which will pay Texas the money over the next three years, admitted no wrong-doing. Still, Paxton said the $236 million deal represented the largest single resolution in a case filed by the attorney generals office for Medicaid-related claims. Federal government took $133M By the time the agreement was finalized, however, most of the money had already been spent by the State of Texas. In 2015, auditors from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, determined many childrens dental procedures paid through Medicaid should not have been covered. They concluded that by failing to oversee Xeroxs shoddy work, Texas ultimately was to blame for allowing $191.4 million-worth of unnecessary dental work during only a 2.5-year period. States share Medicaid costs with the federal government. Texas taxpayers portion of the misspent money came to just under $60 million - money the state already had lost and needed to recover from Xerox. Subtracting that from the $236 million settlement leaves $176 million of the award. The federal regulators also demanded that Texas reimburse them for the federal portion of the money that was unnecessarily spent on the dental work, according to the audit. Last year, Texas wrote a check to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for $133 million. Leaving $43 million remaining of Paxtons settlement. According to the details of the settlement, $24 million of Xerox/Conduents payment was to cover the Office of Attorney Generals cost of suing Xerox - attorney fees and other legal expenses. More than three dozen attorneys worked nearly 60,000 hours on the case. The state also hired professional help from outside the agency. Subtracting those legal fees and other costs leaves less than $20 million of the settlement remaining. But that, too, could quickly evaporate. In legal documents filed last week, seven people said they were due money for helping Texas uncover Xeroxs inferior work. Whistleblowers could claim up to $47M So-called qui tam cases allow whistleblowers to file lawsuits alleging fraud on behalf of the government. If the claims turn out to be legitimate, state and federal laws award a finders fee of between 15 and 25 percent of the total settlement or judgment. The cases have become increasing common as government regulators have concentrated on attacking fraud using the insider information, particularly in huge healthcare and military programs. In recent years about 80 percent of all fraud claims originated with whistleblower lawsuits, said Joel Hesch, a professor at Liberty University School of Law and author of Whistleblowing: A Guide to Government Reward Programs. A recent U.S. Department of Justice study found the number of qui tam lawsuits has grown significantly in recent years. In 2017, there were 669 filed - nearly 13 every week. The money at stake has soared, too. In 2017, $3.4 billion of the $3.7 billion in settlements and judgments reported by the government came from qui tam lawsuits, according to the study. During that period, whistleblowers were paid nearly $400 million for their help in uncovering the fraud. Hesch said that to qualify for the government reward, whistleblowers must file their claims before the government files its lawsuit, and then regulators must agree to accept the case. Jim Moriarty, a Houston attorney representing the Xerox whistleblowers, said both criteria had been met. Several of the whistleblowers worked for dentists or orthodontists and filed their qui tam lawsuits in 2012, two years before the state sued Xerox. Another was a dentist who also filed her lawsuit in 2012. Moriarty added that, in court filings, lawyers for the attorney generals office had accepted the dentist as a whistleblower soon after. In my view, the state is dead in the water, he said. A spokeswoman for Paxtons office, Kayleigh Lovvorn, declined to comment. Hesch, who led fraud investigations for the Justice Department before becoming a professor, said it appears the Xerox whistleblowers have a legitimate case. If so, he added, they were due the 20 percent of the total settlement they sought $47 million, an amount that would leave Texas taxpayers tens of millions in the red in the litigation. Hesch cautioned the state could contest the reward, and it might be lowered significantly. Jacobson said the state might argue that the quality of information from the whistleblowers was low, or that they didnt fully cooperate with state lawyers, for example. Jason Ray, an attorney representing dentists being sued by the state for performing unnecessary procedures, questioned the value of the whistleblowers inside information. Their attempt to money-grab $47 million when theres no evidence they brought anything of value to this is galling, he said. Moriarty said Paxtons office had already offered him a smaller finders fee, however, he said he had quickly dismissed it as insufficient. A new bill filed this week in the state Legislature would require Child Protective Services to retool its case management system to increase accountability and prevent workers from altering records. The proposed legislation, filed Tuesday by state Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, comes in response to a pair of high-profile cases in recent months that sparked questions about the reliability of the electronic records system that courts rely on to make decisions about whether to remove children from their families. Were talking about taking children away from families, breaking up families we need to have the utmost transparency, Wu said. We want there to be integrity in the reporting system. The case that first brought the issue to Wus attention started last year and ended months later in a $127,000 sanction against the agency after a judge concluded that workers wrongfully removed a Tomball couples children amid allegations of abuse. At the time, the familys attorneys alleged a caseworker had created or altered records weeks after entering them in order to justify taking Dillon and Melissa Brights kids. But since the system didnt track changes, there was no way to tell. Then in February, more questions bubbled up after the Houston Chronicle reported on the termination of a CPS supervisor who allegedly changed records of a family visit to instead show a staff meeting, according to paperwork obtained through a public records request. Later, the caseworker noticed someone else had changed her records, adding notation of a meeting that she believed never happened. An investigation ultimately led back to the supervisor, who said she was just trying to help her worker out by copy-and-pasting information from elsewhere in the same file. The supervisor was fired, but other current and former workers told the Chronicle it was not uncommon for supervisors to change their workers records, even under the workers names. Attorneys worried the circumstances around the womans firing could be indicative of a systemic problem. Earlier this month, Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner Hank Whitman took up the topic during a House Appropriations subcommittee discussion, defending the agencys records system and their handling of the supervisor. Can things be changed in the computer system by a supervisor? he said. It can be, after being confirmed with the employee first, but there are policies in place for them to do that. But now, Wus proposed legislation could change that. The bill would require the department to track who makes every entry in a case and when, and it would require that the electronic records system prohibit users from modifying or deleting information. Instead, users would be able to add updates and revisions without fully removing prior notes. One of the forces behind developing legislation that would require more accountability in agency records was former Harris County Juvenile Court Judge Mike Schneider, who helped draft the bill after reading about the circumstances surrounding the employee termination earlier this month. Its crucial, he said, for court and attorneys to have a reliable record in making life-altering decisions. In light of the history of high turnover at DFPS, he said earlier this month, it makes it even more crucial because whoever is handling that case needs to have accurate information about what actually happened in the past in order to figure out whats in the best interest of children going forward. Dennis Slate, one of the attorneys who handled the Bright case, lauded the bill. CPS says they cannot do what the most basic version of every word processing software in the world does track changes, he said. Everyone should support this proposed legislation, CPS included. Spokesman Patrick Crimmins said the Department of Family and Protective Services which includes CPS doesnt comment on legislation but would act as a resource for any lawmakers needing more information. keri.blakinger@chron.com Joe Cuba is going to need a bigger mailbox. Birthday cards from around the world have been pouring into Brookdale Midwestern retirement community in Wichita Falls all for the WWII veteran pushing the century mark. Last week, Cuba held a sign from his wheelchair saying he wanted to receive 100 birthday cards for his 100th birthday on March 2. Since then, staff members say more than 10,000 cards have been delivered to the home, as well as gifts that Cuba will soon open. Cassandra Gore, the resident programs coordinator at the home, said Cuba has received gifts from countries including Australia, Italy, Germany, Poland and Ireland. "Joe continues to be amazed with everyone's generosity," read a recent post on the home's Facebook page. "Keep the cards coming as we celebrate a 100 years with GI Joe." The initial post featuring Cuba's sign on Feb. 19 has been shared more than 2,100 times on Facebook. Stephanie Veitenheimer, the sales manager for Brookdale Midwestern who took the photo, told the Wichita Falls Times Record News that she's been handling calls from Fox News, military organizations and teachers asking how they can help Cuba celebrate. Medical equipment companies have also reached out to Cuba to see if he needs any equipment for his birthday, according to the Record News. Anyone interested in sending Cuba a birthday card can use this address: Joe Cuba 918 Midwestern Parkway Wichita Falls, Texas 76302 >>> Click through the slideshow above to see Cuba's massive deliveries. 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. An accused serial package thief is behind bars after home surveillance video captured her stealing two packages from separate homes, authorities said. Rosemary Gomez, 44, was seen on video using a stick to pull a package from behind a fenced porch at a home in the 3800 block of Commerce on Feb. 19, police allege. Like many beach lovers, my travel bucket list has long included the Maldives, the tropical island nation about 650 miles from Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean. I envisioned long, lazy days of cozying up to my beloved in a hut perched above Instagram-bait turquoise water and a steady supply of midafternoon fruity cocktails. Maybe a bit of idle snorkeling to feel productive. What I never considered is that its possible to have an active (OK, fairly active) vacation in the Maldives. Which is exactly what wound up happening when I finally visited. It started leisurely enough a welcome drink after a half-hour, nighttime boat ride from the airport to the Four Seasons Kuda Huraa. Then I was presented with a menu of activity options, ranging from sunrise kayaking or fishing to scuba diving and surfing. Having never tried the last option, I figured, what better place to do it? That would wind up being my modus operandi for the rest of the trip. I woke up the next morning in a well-appointed, thatched-roof, over-water villa, one of the resorts 96 bungalows and suites, all of which have private pools. Endless gradients of natural blue beckoned through the windows, however, so I made my way down to the beach for a lesson. It was a bit windy, but after practicing the movement of popping up on my board on the beach, we hit the water. Despite lifelong coordination and balance issues, an instructor had me wobbling upright on the (full disclosure: quite calm) water and riding into shore in under an hour. Back on land, I marveled at the exhilaration of starting my day with sore paddling arms, shaky legs and a tight core. If you go Cathay Pacific flies nonstop from Hong Kong to Male, the international airport in the Maldives. The Four Seasons Kuda Huraa is accessible by boat from the airport; Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru by seaplane on Trans Maldivian Airways. Rates start at $900 per night at the former, $1,350 at the latter; fourseasons.com. See More Collapse Turns out I could have spent a month bopping between the Four Seasons Kuda Huraa and its newer 103-room sister property, Landaa Giraavaru, never feeling bored. The resorts have the most extensive activity offerings in the Maldives. After surfing, I experienced the Seabob Adventure Seabobs are torso-size, missile-shaped floating devices outfitted with jets to propel you through the water at a speed controlled by a button near the steering handles. I started at the lowest speed, gradually got the hang of it and clicked up, hitting all but the very top speed because I feared that my arms and bikini would separate from my body. In the end I was pointing the Seabobs nose to dive down, closer to a massive stingray nestled into the white sand on the ocean floor. Speed snorkeling, yall. The resorts conservation efforts are pretty cool. I chatted with an on-site marine biologist and helped with coral reefscaping, fastening bits of coral to a tiered steel cage before he ceremoniously dropped it in the water where, hopefully, it will grow new life. On another night, I took a spinner-dolphin-spotting cruise as the sun fell into the horizon. A glorious bout of rain that canceled my plans to try X-Jet Blades hose-connected contraptions that strap on your feet to propel you above the water made a day at the resorts island spa, accessed by a wooden dhoni boat, seem downright predetermined. I was able to explore the Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru for two days, too, an add-on Id highly recommend (or vice versa). To access Landaa Giraavaru, which is on the Baa Atoll, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, I took a preposterously scenic and my first ever seaplane ride from Kuda Huraa. Here it was more tempting to be languorous the water seemed even bluer lapping beneath my bungalow, which had a nap-ready al-fresco loft built above the expansive back deck. The marine endeavors at Landaa Giraavaru are even more pronounced, with a discovery center housing educational displays and all manner of tropical fish for study. And three different types of sea turtles, which staffers raise from hatchlings or rehabilitate as ailing adults before releasing them back into the ocean. Guests can help feed the turtles and sponsor them each seemed to have its own personality. My favorite was Trooper, who is missing his front two flippers and gets his exercise from chasing the small bits of food held out by his human or paddling around in his 3D-printed prosthetics. Landaa Giraavaru takes seabobbing to the next level: It was the first resort in the world to offer excursions in the DeepFlight Super Falcon 3S, a million-dollar, two-person-plus-pilot submarine that can venture up to 120 feet deep. It resembles a small airplane, with personal pressurized clear domes for optimal marine life viewing. Booking is essential, and unfortunately, I learned that it also depends on the weather. No matter. I had an antigravity yoga class to attend. In a quiet pavilion surrounded by flora and fauna, a skilled teacher taught us how to stretch and maneuver in our hanging cloth hammocks, though some members of the class (me) regretted eating breakfast and got nauseous from hanging upside down. Afterward, I met with Dr. Shylesh Subramanya, the resorts spa director and an ayurvedic doctor. He assessed my ayurvedic body type, and apparently, I have been eating all wrong. Before flying back to Kuda Huraa for one last night in paradise and an ill-advised, per my new ayurvedic mandate, Indian feast at one of the resorts four restaurants I finally dipped into the ocean for a leisurely snorkel around my villa. Rinsing off my mask and fins, I realized I had barely spent any time sitting still in the Maldives. Yet I was stress-free, tan and happy. Moving forward, perhaps new experiences as opposed to destinations themselves will be whats on my bucket list. Selena took her last bow at RodeoHouston 24 years ago this week. That final performance, in all its details purple jumpsuit, lost earring, disco medley is now legendary, the most revered in rodeo history. And Selena's impact is still being felt today. Grammy winner Kacey Musgraves inspired lots of emotions with a spirited cover of "Como la flor" during Monday's opener. Tuesday night, Prince Royce put his own spin on "No me queda mas," Selena's greatest ballad. It's a testament to the fallen star's enduring and evolving legacy. QUEENS RECOGNIZE QUEENS: Kacey Musgraves covers Selena at RodeoHouston "Selena always in our hearts!" Royce shouted. Now Playing: Bachata singer Prince Royce was the first tropical singer to take the Rodeo stage. Video: Joey Guerra, Luis Carmona The bilingual heartthrob sings bachata, which originated in the Dominican Republic and combines dramatic, romantic lyrics with strings and percussion. He's the first tropical artist to perform at RodeoHouston. Texas was one of the first places to embrace his music, which also boasts pop, hip-hop and R&B elements. Royce is one of several acts with Latin roots on this year's lineup, which also includes Cardi B, Camila Cabello, Los Tigres del Norte and Santana. "What an honor to represent Latin culture this year at an event as historic as RodeoHouston. Humbly grateful," Royce wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of himself onstage during soundcheck. "Let's get it Houston!" SHE READY: But is RodeoHouston ready for Cardi B? He sparkled in a gold-studded jacket and sleeveless white shirt, "rodeo bling," he called it. He addressed the crowd of 51,826 in English and Spanish, effortlessly switching between languages. They screamed every time he spoke or moved his hips or lifted up his shirt. He was visibly excited, frequently jumping up and down or scurrying across the stage. His 2010 breakout hit, a simmering bilingual cover of Ben E. King's "Stand by Me," came early in the set. It typifies Royce's appeal, a smart blend of tradition, youth and swoon-worthy drama. He sat on the edge of one of the stage's star points during "Soy el mismo," serenading the chute seat buyers. He also attempted to throw roses to the crowd, but they landed in the dirt. "This is a big ass place, y'all," he said. HISTORY MAKER: Prince Royce is ready to Rodeo, only on HoustonChronicle.com His songs are made for slow dances and late-night confessions "Soy el mismo," "El amor que perdimos," "Las cosas pequenas." And they're grounded in melodies that immediately stick in your brain. His voice warmed up nicely as the performance progressed. He jumped offstage during "La carretera" and again during "Adicto," throwing roses into the crowd and climbing the rails. He circled the entire venue, a victory lap met with a wall of ear-piercing shrieks and outstretched hands. Prince Royce RodeoHouston setlist "Te robare" "Stand by Me" "Soy el mismo" "Bubalu" "El amor que perdimos" "Las cosas pequenas" "Corazon sin cara" "Sensualidad" "La carretera" "Adicto" "Culpa al corazon" "No me queda mas" (Selena cover) "Extraordinary/Human Nature" "Incondicional" "El clavo" "Back It Up" "Ven conmigo" "Darte un beso" See More Collapse He invited a female fan onstage for a slow dance, conversation and a kiss on the lips. "Are you single?" he asked. "I am," she replied, not missing a beat. "Waiting on you." Royce knows his crowd. But he later thanked the "fellas" for bringing their wives, girlfriends and daughters. And for putting up with a guy who keeps pulling up his shirt, he said. As he pulled up his shirt to more screams. To drive the point home, he handed out beers to several guys near the rails. When he closed with the bachata groove of "Darte un beso," couples were dancing in the aisles. Something, then, for everyone. Joey Guerra writes about music and pop culture for the Houston Chronicle. He will be writing about every single RodeoHouston concert. Follow him on Twitter. Send him news tips at joey.guerra@chron.com. With his first feature in the directors chair, actor Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) plays it straight down the middle with the inspiring Netflix film The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, the ripped-from-real-life story of a teenage Malawi boy in the early 2000s who kept his village from starving by designing and building a rudimentary windmill. William Kamkwaba (Maxwell Simba) is just like all the other boys in his village. He respects his parents -- father Trywell (Ejiofor) and mother Agnes (Aissa Maiga) -- and helps them with the subsistence farming. But his mechanical talents set him apart from his peers; in fact, his ability to repair radios earns the family a little bit of extra cash. But hard times test the familial bonds. The combination punch of flood, drought and political instability -- all made worse by the 9-11 terrorist attacks which sent global markets plunging -- means theres no money to send William to school and when he proposes the idea of building a windmill from rusty spare parts to power the water pump that would give his beleaguered family some relief, his father thinks hes being dangerously unrealistic. Meanwhile, his sister Annie (Lily Banda) is surreptitiously dating Williams teacher, Mike (Lemogang Tsipsa) and is considering accepting his marriage proposal just so she can lessen the financial burden on her family. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind Rated: Unrated (one scene of violence) Running time: 113 minutes In English and Chichewa Where: Netflix ***1/2 (out of 5) See More Collapse While The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, which Ejiofor wrote based on the bestselling memoir by Kamkwaba and Bryan Mealer, is thoroughly predictable and holds few stylistic surprises, it maintains interest thanks to the strength of the performances, especially Ejiofor and Maiga. Simba, who often looks like hes carrying the weight of the world on his slim shoulders, excels in his first role. While some Malawians have complained about what they say is poor use of their Chichewa language in the movie, that Ejiofor called for his pan-African cast -- Ejiofor is of Nigerian descent, Simba is Kenyan, Maiga is Senegalese and others hail from elsewhere -- to attempt to speak Kamkwabas tongue instead of defaulting to English for the entire movie deserves praise. Still, it would have been a pleasant surprise if Ejiofor had wandered off the beaten path of the typical triumph-over-the-odds movie and incorporated more magical elements like the wonderfully mysterious Gule Wamkulu, the masked figures seen at the beginning and near the end of the film who guide the spirits of the recently departed to the afterlife. As it stands though, Ejiofor has made a film for all ages about a remarkable boy who rose out of poverty by saving his family and community with his ingenuity and propelling himself to Dartmouth and TED Talk stardom in the process. Perhaps theres magic enough in that. cary.darling@chron.com After a year of focusing on its own holdings, the Menil Collection will host two major exhibitions next season that expand its horizons. Falls Mapa Wiya show will bring more than 100 works by Australian Aboriginal artists; then Surrealism meets the Caribbean next spring with Specters of Noon, a show of seven, site-specific monumental works by the Puerto Rico-based duo Allora & Calzadilla. Mapa Wiya (Your Maps Not Needed): Australian Aboriginal Art from the Fondation Opale will be on view Sept. 12-Jan. 26 in the Museums west galleries, which currently feature modern works by Max Ernst, Pablo Picasso, Fernand Leger, Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, Georgia OKeefe and others. The exhibitions title is from a recent drawing by Mumu Mike Williams, who will receive his first American museum exposure. Mapa wiya translates as no map in the Pitjantjatjara language of the Central Australian desert region. Williams use of official government maps and postal bags is a pointed response to the foreign cartographies of the country that Australian Aboriginal peoples embody. Curated by Paul Davis, the exhibition draws on the vast Aboriginal art holdings of the Fondation Opale in Lens, Switzerland. Reflecting on the long history of Aborignal art, it will highlight work made after the 1950s, including contemporary paintings, shields, the hollow log coffins known as larrakitj or lorrkkon and engraved mother of pearl (lonka lonka or riji). Artists Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla have studied the Menils Surrealism collection for several years to inform their show Specters of Noon, coming May 15-October 11, 2020 to the Menils east wing, where work by giants of contemporary art is currently displayed. Their new works are inspired by early-20th century Surrealist texts that probe the pre-Christian mythology of noon, the time of day when shadows disappear and delirious visions momentarily reign. Addressing conflicting phenomena of light and darkness from the point of view of the sunny Caribbean, a place of paradox rooted in the instability of environmental and colonial politics, Allora & Calzadilla have planned a dreamlike environment involving light projections; bat guano; ship engines and coal. Their centerpiece,Mains Hum, is being fabricated this year from a Puerto Rican Electrical Authority power transformer damaged during an island-wide blackout. The artists are partly encasing the transformer in bright copper; the deep hum of reverberating electricity will be a tuning device for a live, continuous vocal performance composed by David Lang that will evolve throughout each day. Admission is free to all Menil facilities. molly.glentzer@chron.com Doctors and insurance companies have proven they are more than willing to use patients as human shields. Our elected representatives must intervene. The battle is over money, with doctors and hospitals charging higher prices and insurance companies denying more claims. Providers don halos claiming purity of spirit while running up ridiculous bills, while claims adjusters with green eyeshades scoff at what they consider borderline fraud. One claims to heal your body, the other claims to protect your money. But both will bankrupt you in a heartbeat rather than compromise with the other. My colleague Jenny Deam is digging into the building blocks of the health care business by examining the billing codes used by doctors and hospitals. This past week, she wrote about how emergency room doctors overbill unsuspecting patients with minor problems by using codes reserved for life-threatening conditions, an abuse of discretion and our trust. A free-standing ER billed Sarah Hirsch more than $15,000 for fluid in her ears. A large hospital ER billed Richard Kelley $1,188.75 for walking through the door to have a day-old cut looked at. A small hospital ER charged a $1,706.19 facility fee to get a tetanus shot. On HoustonChronicle.com: Health care prices should be based on costs, not need An abundance of caution is the first excuse doctors and hospitals offer. That CAT scan performed at the hospital ER was necessary to ensure the problem wasnt more severe, even if it cost twice as much as a CAT can at a freestanding imaging center. The second excuse for the big bill is that insurance companies are cheapskates. Doctors and hospitals say they must overcharge and collect from someone because insurance companies pay such a small fraction of the bill. Insurance executives, meanwhile, have watched health care providers send more and more bills coded as emergencies, even though the number of visits has remained flat. If insurance companies pay all of these crazy bills, the cost of health insurance will skyrocket beyond what the average American can afford. After writing about Texas health care for the last seven years, I know these arguments by heart. I also know the horror stories. Too many health plans have networks so narrow that finding a doctor who will accept a new patient is nearly impossible. Some insurers will not pay for life-saving treatments because a drug is either experimental or not on a list of approved medications. Insurance companies intentionally exclude some doctors and hospitals so patients will go somewhere cheaper. Then there are the doctors who see a patient with good insurance as a cash cow. Big practice groups expect doctors to hit billing goals every quarter, so they order extra tests, send patients to imaging centers within the practice and use the most extreme codes to bring in the most money. Until someone needs extensive health care services, most people have no idea the financial minefield they will navigate. Everyone wants to talk about how to make you better, but no one will give you a straight answer about what it will cost. Which brings me to the third excuse trotted out by healthcare professionals. Neither the doctor nor the hospital wants to discuss money because they do not want patients making healthcare decisions based on financial considerations. On HoustonChronicle.com: Drug company graft not only driver of health care costs Free-standing ERs will not tell a potential customer that they are out-of-network because they are worried a person with a severe health problem will do an about-face and go somewhere else. Several doctors claimed that since federal law requires an ER to accept all patients, law enforcement could decide that disclosing the truth about billing is tantamount to turning patients away. None of these excuses, though, solve the problem of patients receiving monstrous bills they cannot afford. None of these excuses did anything to help Melissa Welch-Latronica, a single mother in Illinois thrown in jail this month for a warrant issued after she failed to pay an ambulance bill. Luckily, President Donald Trump and Sen. Lamar Alexander, the Republican chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, have promised to tackle health care billing practices this year. Proposed bipartisan legislation would bar doctors and hospitals from billing a patient for the remainder of a bill when the insurance company doesn't pay. Providers would have to take it up with the insurer, which would have to pay in-network rates. The proposed law would also require hospitals to notify ER patients, once they are stabilized, that the facility is out-of-network and give them the option of getting treated elsewhere. This legislation is common sense, and everyone who might need a doctor someday should support it. Even if the doctors and insurers dont. Tomlinson writes commentary about business, economics and policy. chris.tomlinson@chron.com twitter.com/cltomlinson At this point it is going to take a lot for her constituents to believe that she can faithfully represent all of them, particularly the African Americans voters in Harford County who helped her win office. African Americans represent about one-third of her district, according to the Maryland Democratic Party. It leaves one to wonder what exactly was running through Ms. Lisantis mind when she was the one knocking on doors in African American neighborhoods trying to win votes. Gary Kilgore, senior sales manager for Salzgitter Mannesmann Stainless Tubes USA Inc., says he should be selling pipe. Instead, his time is dominated by filling out government paperwork to try to get exemptions from tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on the foreign steel his company needs to make pipe and tubing for the oil and gas industry. After a second round of steel tariffs went into effect in June, Kilgore spent a full week and a half later that summer filing the first 100 exclusion requests one each for every size and grade of steel the Houston manufacturing plant needed. In December, the company filed another 500, a task that took Kilgore and a temporary worker three weeks to complete. Steve Scott, the owner of U.S. Metals, a steel distributor in Houston, has the same issue. He devoted one of his employees solely to filling out forms and filing them to get relief from the 25 percent duties his company would have to pay to import steel otherwise. Thats pretty much all theyre doing, Scott said. The sea of paperwork represents another burden on hundreds of companies across Houston and Texas that are scrambling to control costs and maintain supplies of specialty steel largely unavailable in the United States. Company executives say they might not mind the paperwork so much if it seemed to do any good. According to government data analyzed by the Associated Press and the Houston Chronicle, nearly four out of five exemption requests filed by Texas companies remain unprocessed by the U.S. Commerce Department, which has been overwhelmed by the number of applications. When the steel tariffs were first enacted last March, the Commerce Department anticipated only 4,500 requests would be filed each year. The government has received over 66,000 exclusion requests since the tariffs started, a Commerce Department spokesperson said. Texas accounted for about one in every five of those requests in 2018, with about 90 percent of Texas applications coming from Houston. While the government is drowning in requests, the vast majority of companies are waiting and paying. Many companies, particularly smaller ones, cant afford to absorb the cost of the tariffs and have tried to pass some or all of it to customers. And some have lost customers unwilling to pay higher prices. Really struggling Ronnie Smith, vice president of operations for McMahon Steel Supply, a family-owned metal distributor and manufacturer in Houston that gets 98 percent of its steel from overseas, estimates that his company has lost at least 25 percent of its customers because of higher prices driven by tariffs. The company, which employs 12 and provides metal to oilfield services companies, has had about 20 exemptions approved, but thats insignificant compared to the hundreds that McMahon needs. Smith expects to lose more customers the longer the tariffs go on. Were really struggling, he said. RELATED: Texas companies requested most steel tariff waivers of any state Part of the problem for companies like McMahon Steel Supply is that many of their customers are international firms with access to steel and steel-products suppliers all over the world, or their own manufacturing facilities overseas that can be expanded. Local companies, for example, say that energy services companies such as Baker Hughes of Houston, and Schlumberger and Weatherford, which have principal offices in Houston, have dropped local orders and begun to shift sourcing of finished steel products or the manufacturing to overseas firms. Baker Hughes and Weatherford declined to comment. Schlumberger did not respond to requests for comment. Youre starting to see more companies adjust their supply chains, said Jeff Otten, senior analyst at the research and consulting firm IHS Markit. Its very expensive to change logistics, but the longer the tariffs go on, more companies are warming up to those decisions. Otten said the market hasnt felt the full effect of the tariffs yet. Many companies had inventory imported before the tariffs went into effect through much of 2018, so they could keep a lid on prices. The situation is about to become more dire this year as companies deplete those inventories and hope and wait for relief. Houstons port receives more steel than any other port in the nation, and companies big and small are requesting relief from the tariffs. Royal Dutch Shells offshore operations asked for several exclusions for proprietary grades of steel from Japan used in the companys deepwater Gulf of Mexico operations. The company said in a statement that it needs to source the materials from Japan because there are no other domestic or foreign suppliers qualified to produce the steel at the standards Shell requires. RELATED: Longshore workers feel sting of steel tariffs Collateral damage Heres how the exemptions work: A company can request an exclusion for each grade and type of steel it wants to import, estimating the quantity it will order in a year. That request is posted for a 30 day public comment period, during which time domestic steel mills could object by claiming that they have the capacity and know-how to make the product. If no one objects to a tariff exemption, Customs and Border Protection reviews the request to see if the company listed the right tariff code for the product. If everything is correct with no security concerns then the request is granted. Nearly 75 percent of the processed requests are approved, data from the Commerce Department shows. But, data also shows that if there is an objection, typically by a U.S. steelmaker claiming it can make the product, the request is almost always rejected and this extends the wait period. While companies can get reimbursed for the duties they paid during the waiting period before their request was approved, getting the money means one thing to managers: more paperwork. Kilgore, the sales manager for Salzgitter Mannesmann Stainless Tubes, said his company has filed for a couple hundred thousand dollars in rebates and hasnt received any money yet after the government got his company confused with one of their sister firms. He believes the delay could be due to both the overwhelming amount of requests and the record-long government shutdown that ended in January after 34 full days. A Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said the amount the government has so far reimbursed to companies is not available. Were collateral damage in this, Kilgore said. Its not going to keep our European or Asian competitors out of the U.S. erin.douglas@chron.com twitter.com/erinmdouglas23 When Khrystyna Greene arrived at Baptist Emergency Hospital, a freestanding emergency room in San Antonio, she repeatedly asked if treatment for her 1-year-old son, who had tripped and cut his temple, was covered by her Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas plan. She was assured it was. Are you positive? she pressed, asking if everything was in-network since she had been burned before by an out-of-network bill. She was told she only had to pay the $600 emergency room co-pay, which her mother-in-law did on the spot. Six weeks later, in May 2018, a bill of nearly $1,200 arrived from US Acute Care Solutions, an Ohio emergency physician staffing firm. While Baptist Emergency Hospital, part of the Baptist Health System was in-network, the contracted doctor working there was not. Insurance paid nothing. RELATED: New bill will get patients out of middle of billing fights I feel like we were tricked, she said. They get you in by saying it is in-network and then the actual treatment is out-of-network. Greene is among the thousands of Texans who, despite their best efforts to determine costs and coverage before treatment, still get slammed with surprise medical bills. For 10 years, Texas lawmakers have promised to fix the problem, passing consumer protections, creating and then tweaking a state-sponsored mediation system for disputed charges, and trying to crack down on deceptions involving insurance coverage. But, as Greenes experience and dozens of patient bills reviewed by the Chronicle show, the surprises keep coming. Lawmakers say they will try again this year. On Thursday, state Sen. Kelly Hancock, a Fort Worth Republican, is scheduled to announce sweeping legislation to further combat surprise medical billing. Its time to take consumers out of this, he said Tuesday. On HoustonChronicle.com: Cracking the code: How facility procedure codes can become weapons Texas has one of the highest incidences of surprise bills in the United States. Health economists have reported a 27 percent likelihood of Texans getting an out-of network bill after out-patient emergency room treatment nearly double the national average of 14 percent. That means patients are most at risk when they are also the most vulnerable. New internal claims data from the states three largest insurers show that two of three out-of-network emergency physician claims in 2017 happened at in-network facilities, according to the Texas Association of Health Plans, the states insurance lobbying group, which studied more than 50 million claims from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, UnitedHealthcare and Aetna. In addition, 83 percent of out-of-network emergency facility claims occurred at free-standing emergency rooms, the insurance claims data showed. Network status matters because under a business practice called balance billing, unsuspecting patients can get stuck paying the difference between what an out-of-network doctor or facility charges and what insurers pay. By law, in-network providers cannot balance bill. No matter what a patient does, they are not going to be able to make sure they wont get a surprise bill, said Stacey Pogue, senior analyst for Center for Public Policy Priorities, an Austin-based think tank. This is not some kind of mere annoyance. People are facing real financial insecurity. Most feared Unexpected medical bills top the list of health care costs Americans fear most -- more than drug costs and insurance deductibles, according to a 2018 poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Americans worry more about these bills that paying for basic needs such as rent, food and gasoline. Hancock acknowledges it has been an uphill climb in Texas since he introduced the 2009 legislation to create the states mediation process for disputed bills. In the years since as measures are added for patient protection, he said everyone in the system seems to have found ways to circumvent them. For instance, the minimum for a bill to be turned over to mediation was originally $1,000. Suddenly, Hancock said, bills began showing up for $999. The threshold was lowered to $500. Other states have implemented laws in which emergency patients are responsible only for the in-network rates for out-of-pocket expenses, such as co-pays and deductibles. After that, they are shielded from further bills. Any remaining payment disputes are left to be hammered out between insurers and providers. Some patient protection legislation has already been introduced this year, including House and Senate measures directing the Texas attorney general to prosecute price-gouging at free-standing emergency rooms. A separate bill, introduced by Rep. Tom Oliverson, a Harris County anesthesiologist, would prohibit free-standing emergency rooms from advertising they take or accept insurance plans unless they are in that plans network. Two years ago, Oliverson sponsored a law designed to bring transparency to the free-standing emergency room industrys insurance status. But in December, a Houston Chronicle investigation showed that many Houston facilities continued to use misleading language on their websites by saying they accepted all major insurance, even displaying company logos. In fact, though, they were outside those networks and left patients open to thousands of dollars in bills. An AARP Texas survey found similar results statewide. The Texas Association of Freestanding Emergency Centers, the industrys trade group, said in a statement it supported legislative efforts, including those by Hancock and Oliverson, to remove patients from the center of billing disputes. Brad Shields, executive director of the group, blamed surprise billing on insurance companies.Patients dont need to suffer through this painful process any longer, he said in a statement. On HoustonChronicle.com: Despite law to force clarity, confusion over free-standing ERs persist The Texas Medical Association, the largest state doctor group in the nation with 53,000 members, also said it would work with legislators to protect patients. The group also blames the insurance industry. Dr. Douglas Curran, the medical association president, said insurers who wont negotiate rates fairly or allow doctors into networks manipulate the health care financing system to pad their bottom line. The Texas Medical Association has previously said it is reluctant to remove patients from the dispute process, contending their anger is valuable in negotiating higher payment from insurers. Fighting back The war of words only further infuriates Greene who fought the emergency room charges for her son for months. What galls her most is that the doctor reassured her Leos wound was minor and closed it quickly with a couple squirts of liquid bandage. When she disputed the doctors bill and refused to pay, it was turned over to collections. She also received another bill of nearly $600 from Baptist Emergency Hospital, on top of the $600 paid in the emergency room. In a blistering email to Emerus Holdings, the company that operates Baptist, she accused it of choosing their moment of vulnerability to swindle, deceive and extort money from a frightened family. She further complained they had no way of knowing the doctor who treated her son was out-of-network. How is it you can run a hospital with half network coverage? In a statement to the Chronicle, Emerus, citing privacy, said it could not respond directly to the case, but that patients sign a financial consent form, which includes a caveat that some providers might be out-of-network. The Ohio physician group said in a statement it is prohibited from asking patients about insurance status and that we aspire to be in-network with the vast majority of payers and when we are not we will work with our patients directly, as we did in this particular case. Indeed, after months of silence Greene recently got a call from US Acute Care Service about her unpaid bill. The company suddenly offered to reduce the balance from $1,171 to $171. Greene said the company explained it had been urged to do so by Baptist ,which had written off her balance, although she was never told. She hopes this year will be the one when lawmakers crack down. In the meantime she worries most for patients caught in the middle. jenny.deam@chron.com It appears weve got some more details regarding YNW Mellys double murder charge. Police told TMZ that the Florida rapper tried staging an elaborate scheme to make it look like his buddies were killed by someone other than him and his pal. To bring you up to speed, YMW Mellys friend, Cortlen Henry, drove to a Florida ER back in October, asking for help for his two friends in his car, whom he claimed had been shot in a drive-by. The two friends, Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr., were both pronounced dead at the hospital after being shot in the head, torso and back. Cortlen told police he and his two pals had just wrapped a late night studio session, and as he was pulling off the freeway, a car pulled up on his driver's side and opened fire. Cops confirm there were 8 bullet holes along the right side of the vehicle where Williams and Thomas were sitting, but YNW Melly was lucky enough to get away. However, the police arent buying it and believe the two guys staged the whole "drive-by" and did the shooting themselves. They apparently have the evidence to back it up too. Cops say they found a shell casing inside the vehicle, along with 8 matching shell casings in a different location, where cops think YNW and Henry shot up the car to make it look like a drive-by. In addition, police say surveillance footage from the recording studio shows YNW, Henry, Williams and Thomas getting in the car to leave. YNW got into the back left seat, which wouldn't make sense or correlate to the drive-by. Cops added that after Williams and Thomas were shot, YNW and Henry drove around with the dead bodies "for a period of time" before eventually driving to the hospital. YNW Melly decided to get out of the car and jump in another vehicle before Henry went to the hospital, however. As we reported last week, YNW and Henry have been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Well continue to keep you posted on any further developments moving forward. [Via] It appears Meek Mill wasn't the only person trying to shoot their shot at the Kardashian & Jenner sisters last night. Former boyfriend & baby daddy of Khloe Kardashian, Tristan Thompson, was also caught liking the photo of Khloe and her sisters posing for the camera. This of course comes just days after Khloe broke up with the Cleveland Cavalier after he cheated her once again with Kylies best friend, Jordyn Woods. The family has done so much for Jordyn," a source said about the family's reaction. "To say they are disappointed is an understatement. She was a friend to all of the girls and they are stunned and in disbelief. Jordyn is set to explain her side of the story this Friday on Facebook Watch with Jada Pinkett Smith as she sits down in this weeks episode of Red Table Talk. Who knows what kind of motive was behind Tristans decision to like the photo, but I think hes had enough chances by now. Check out the liked image (below) and let us know what you think. Was he trying to win her back or just show love? You know what they say: when shit hits the fan... Jordyn Woods has seen her name spike to a new level of notoriety after her now infamous make-out session with Tristan Thompson. The model was previously close with the Kardashian girls, appearing on their reality show frequently and even collaborating with Khloe and Kylie on their businesses. Now that the news is out that she hooked up with Tristan Thompson while he was still dating Khloe Kardashian, she's pretty much been ex-communicated by the family. In a shocking turn of events, it turns out that she reportedly also met up with James Harden, who used to date Khloe, the day after this all went down. Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images According to The Blast, Jordyn confided in her friends that she hooked up with Houston Rockets star James Harden the day after her Tristan make-out sesh. While this may make it seem like Woods was out to ruin Khloe's life, she had actually checked with her former friend before agreeing to meet with him, adhering to their probable girl code agreement. Woods reportedly got Kardashian's "blessing" and went ahead with it. Of course, this was before she even knew about the cheating scandal. We may finally be getting an extensive version of Jordyn Woods' story through her teased appearance on Red Table Talk. Hopefully, that helps to clear up the drama. In complete honesty though, it'll probably just intensify this situation further. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Supplier News 27 February 2019 London, UK - Triometric, the leader in API analytics with 20 years' experience working with the world's leading travel distributors and enterprises, today announced that the Trio analytics platform is being used by Fastpayhotels, to gain clear visibility into its operational performance while benefiting from deep insights into its customer buying patterns, inventory availability and supply chain management. Fastpayhotels launched in 2015 with a market disrupting business model by delivering a strong value proposition at an opportune time for the travel industry. Based on full payment at time of booking, the company promises improved cash flow and zero risk for its 26,645 hotel partners in 78 countries, and can in return deliver unbeatable hotel rates for its customers. As a disruptive innovative company, the Fastpayhotels founders recognise the value of investing in and using their data to increase market penetration and Fastpayhotel's choice of the Trio Enterprise XML analytics platform complements their distribution environment perfectly. Trio Enterprise is highly adaptable to the different operating needs and environments and can be configured to monitor all XML traffic, regardless of booking platform. Triometric and Fastpayhotels collaborated closely to identify the key operational metrics and business intelligence needed to support the performance and commercial objectives. Using Trio's analytics, the Fastpayhotels team will be able to proactively track a full range of key API performance indicators, including critical response times and timeouts in real-time. Armed with alerts, reports and dashboards, the technical team benefits from automated detection of cut-offs enabling them to respond rapidly to any service interruptions or latency issues affecting their customer service or business operations. The business team benefits from intelligence reports into their search and booking traffic covering error reporting, search and booking patterns that aid inventory planning and customer acquisition. "Fastpayhotels is committed to continuous investment in technology to ensure that our hotel distribution operation runs optimally and we can analyse our search traffic to in turn drive value for our 15,240 customers worldwide", said Elodie Leunen COO/CTO & Founder at Fastpayhotels. "By choosing Triometric will fulfil the potential that real-time intelligence will give us to support our global expansion." "Triometric is delighted that this client relationship provides a completely new level of distribution visibility for Fastpayhotels" commented Jonathan Boffey, Business Development Director at Triometric. "It's also fantastic that we have added support for the industry leading Juniper platform". About Fastpayhotels Fastpayhotels is a first of a kind B2B distribution channel that breaks all the conventions of a traditional bed bank. Fastpayhotels guarantees improved cash flow and profitability for hotels across the world and is able to generate market beating availability and prices for travel agents. The company collects payments from travel agents and makes payments to hotels in real time, at the time of booking for low distribution charges with no subsequent cancellations, thus ensuring hotels an assured distribution channel. The business focuses exclusively on the sale of non-refundable rates. Fastpayhotels currently has 26,645 hotels and 15,240 travel agents contracted in over 21 countries and is headquartered in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. www.fastpayhotels.com Press Release 27 February 2019 First ITB Virtual Reality Lab at the World's Leading Travel Trade Show - In Hall 10.2 experts highlight the prospects for VR and AR in tourism and offer an insight into the latest technologies and projects - Visitors can explore ITB Berlin with Pokemon GO Advertisements Berlin, 27 February 2019 - Virtual Reality instead of a travel brochure: with Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) visitors can get an almost lifelike impression of local surroundings before they actually go on holiday. With VR goggles they can take a virtual tour of a hotel room, enjoy 360-degree views walking around New York, or go on a computer-animated tour of a cruise ship. From 6 to 8 March at the new ITB Virtual Reality Lab in Hall 10.2 (Stand 108), for the first time ITB Berlin will be highlighting the importance of VR and AR for boosting tourism sales. Experts will offer an insight into the latest technologies and projects, and a daily VR raffle will give trade visitors a chance to win a set of Oculus VR goggles. On Wednesday, 6 March, from 11 to 11.30 a.m. Robert Eysoldt, creative consultant at Zerooverhead Consulting, will give an introduction providing examples of destination VR, and look ahead to the three-day programme of the ITB Virtual Reality Lab In Hall 10.2. Afterwards at 11.30 a.m., project manager Dr. Mandy Tom Dieck and founder/director Dr. Timothy Jung of the Creative AR & VR Hub at Manchester Metropolitan University will discuss the opportunities and challenges presented by VR and AR. At 1.30 p.m. Adrian Kalcic of Jump will talk about how tour operators can benefit from VR and how it can be put it to effective use. At 2 p.m. in his lecture on the 'walk-in movie', Frank Govaere, VFX supervisor, UFA GmbH, will present the development of Volumetric Video as the technology behind VR and AR. On Thursday, 7 March at 10.30 a.m., Michael Faber of Tourismuszukunft will have information on VR trends in the travel industry. Afterwards at 11 a.m., Prof. Dr. Cornelia Zanger, chair of the Marketing and Commercial Business Studies at TU Chemnitz, and David Ruetz, head of ITB Berlin, will discuss 'Digitalisation at trade fairs and events with a special focus on AR and VR'. At 11.30 a.m. in her lecture on 'Augmented Reality Games meet Tourism', Anne Beuttenmuller, head of Marketing EMEA, Niantic Inc., will show how Ingress Agents and Pokemon GO Trainer can be used to travel the world with AR games, and how the tourism industry can learn from this. At 2 p.m. Johannes Berdin, CEO, Urban Timetravel S.A, Urban Time Travel, and Guy Breden, project manager of VR-Timetravel Luxembourg, will illustrate how the city of Luxembourg has integrated VR and AR in its Smart City concept. At 2.30 p.m. Prof. Dr. Ulrich Wunsch, consultant and former founder and president/rector of Berlin hdpk, Congruens GmbH, will talk about 'Immersion - delving into a virtual environment'. Wunsch will explain the non-technological side of immersion and why our brains want to be entertained. Events on Friday, 8 March will kick off at 11.30 with a lecture by Sebastian Plesch, research associate of Hochschule fur Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin. Plesch will provide an overview of the latest developments in VR/AR and interaction technology as well as its possible uses in the tourism industry. At 2.30 p.m., taking Beethoven VR as an example of tourism promotion in Germany, Thomas Bedenk, director of Immersive Media at Agentur fur Digitale Transformation Exozet, will talk about VR destination marketing. Concluding the event at 2.30 p.m. Andreas Weigel, CEO of digitnetmedia, will present a case study on Virtual Reality in the cruise industry. Programme details can be found online at http://www.itb-berlin.com/ITBBerlin/DestinationsSegments/VirtualReality/. Trade visitors and the public play Pokemon Niantic, the New York-based company and inventor of the smartphone game Pokemon Go, has activated a Pokemon In game especially for ITB Berlin. Visitors to the World's Leading Travel Trade Show can chase the little monsters live on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds and find out how virtual content can be integrated into the real world. Many of the PokeStops will sport an ITB Berlin design. As of 6 March users will get a chance to win a 50 per cent discount code for up to two tickets to ITB Berlin on Sunday 10 March. Press Release 27 February 2019 MCLEAN, Va. - Tapestry Collection by Hilton announces strong development plans for 2019, ushering in a year of milestones and distinguished additions to its portfolio of original hotels. In 2018, Tapestry Collection by Hilton more than tripled in size, adding 14 hotels to the collection brand, including its first in New York City, The Bernic Hotel New York City, and first in the Chicago-area, The Rose Hotel Chicago O'Hare. Advertisements "As we celebrate entering our third year and our impressive growth since launch, we look forward to welcoming guests in new destinations all over the United States, from New Jersey to California and many great locations in between," said Jenna Hackett, global head, Tapestry Collection by Hilton. "Simultaneously, we are actively exploring new development opportunities that provide travelers with an original, vibrant hotel experience combined with the benefits of Hilton Honors." This year, the brand will open its first West Coast properties, bringing unique, urban style to the Pacific Northwest. Hotels that have recently opened or are slated to join Tapestry Collection by Hilton this year include: The Sound Hotel Seattle Belltown, Tapestry Collection by Hilton (February 2019) located in the technology hub of Seattle, Washington, The Sound Hotel is a modern hotel for tech savvy travelers and leisure adventurers alike. The hotel features an outdoor terrace with views of the Space Needle and two meeting rooms with an abundance of natural light. located in the technology hub of Seattle, Washington, The Sound Hotel is a modern hotel for tech savvy travelers and leisure adventurers alike. The hotel features an outdoor terrace with views of the Space Needle and two meeting rooms with an abundance of natural light. Watt Hotel Rahway, Tapestry Collection by Hilton (May 2019) is situated in the heart of revitalized downtown Rahway, New Jersey - just minutes from New York City. The hotel is inspired by innovation and invention, and boasts an urban design aesthetic, lobby lounge and bar, and rooftop terrace with a seasonal bar offering 360-degree panoramic views. is situated in the heart of revitalized downtown Rahway, New Jersey - just minutes from New York City. The hotel is inspired by innovation and invention, and boasts an urban design aesthetic, lobby lounge and bar, and rooftop terrace with a seasonal bar offering 360-degree panoramic views. The Revel Urbandale, Tapestry Collection by Hilton (July 2019) recently underwent an $11 million renovation to transform the space into a refreshed, bespoke hotel, with a nod to the surrounding agriculture in Iowa. recently underwent an $11 million renovation to transform the space into a refreshed, bespoke hotel, with a nod to the surrounding agriculture in Iowa. The Inn at Saratoga, Tapestry Collection by Hilton (July 2019) provides a setting of unparalleled serenity surrounded by lush trees and a running creek in the heart of downtown Saratoga, California. In addition, the brand recently signed the following properties to join Tapestry Collection by Hilton over the next few years. Mt. Kisco Hotel, Tapestry Collection by Hilton - Reimagined property converting in 2020 in the cozy New York village and town. Liberty Hotel Savannah, Tapestry Collection by Hilton - New build property opening in Georgia in 2021. The brand has also confirmed deals outside of the United States of America in the Caribbean and Peru. All existing and upcoming hotels within the Tapestry Collection by Hilton portfolio offer travelers the benefits and reassurance of the Hilton name, which includes Hilton's award-winning guest loyalty program Hilton Honors. Through Hilton Honors, members can earn points for their stay and enjoy digital tools available exclusively through the Hilton Honors mobile app, where members can check-in, choose their room, and access their room using a Digital Key. To learn more about Tapestry Collection by Hilton, visit newsroom.hilton.com/tapestry. Supplier News 27 February 2019 Demand-based data is increasingly important and can allow travel brands to become both more agile in the short-term and better prepared for long-term trends according to the new Understanding Customer Behaviour Through Demand-Based Analytics white paper from EyeforTravel and Datumize, which is free to download now. Looking at ongoing demand patterns will arm travel brands with a wide-range of capabilities, such as more responsive marketing, better-adjusted pricing, more personalised products, superior forecasting capabilities and increased planning capabilities. This kind of data is of utmost importance to a youth brand like Contiki, part of The Travel Corporation's agglomeration of 30 international brands. Raj Dhawan, senior executive, technology at The Travel Corporation, explains that understanding and forecasting demand is critical to keeping Contiki's catalogue of offerings appealing and up-to-date. "The one area that we look at regularly is search terms on our website - the cities and countries where people are searching," he explains. "That may result in us culling some trips and destinations or increasing our inventory on those destinations. "There are areas and destinations that are hot in the market versus those that are not, and every year that changes a bit. Based on that, our product changes to some extent, with variations that could appeal to the audience that we have." Building on this monitoring, the business is experimenting with a machine learning pilot to give these learnings a concrete and immediate use: Depending on patterns of searches, for example for a particular area or cost bracket, Contiki customers will see a website personalized for their type of customer. "When people search for certain terms, the website is curated based on this," says Dhawan. "That's something we are piloting, and that uses machine learning and the search product on the website." This is just one example of the insights from brands featured in the white paper. Download the full research now to get more from industry leaders, including Europcar, IHG, Thomas Cook Hotels & Resorts, Vueling and W2M. Demand-based analytics promise a step-change in travel brands' capabilities, unlocking huge insights that will allow brands to better target consumers, build superior products and adjust faster to changing patterns. To understand how to unlock the value contained in demand-based data, download the Understanding Customer Behavior Through Demand-Based Analytics white paper now! It includes: Real-world examples and case studies Industry survey data Data-based techniques and areas of focus that can improve business performance immediately Expert insight. Click here to download your copy of the white paper for free! Appointment 27 February 2019 The Adolphus, Dallas' premier luxury boutique property, proudly welcomes Nicholas Katz as its new General Manager of Food & Beverage. Katz will oversee operations for all hotel F&B outlets, including Otto's Coffee & Fine Foods, City Hall Bistro and City Hall Bar, The French Room and The French Room Bar, chef-driven menus at the pool deck and in-room dining. Katz will also oversee banquets and events for the properties 24,000 square feet of event space. Katz brings more than two decades of industry experience, working with notable concepts such as Fireside Pies, Victor Tangos, The Porch, American Food & Beverage and most recently, Headington Companies. From server to general manger, Katz - originally from Cape Town, South Africa - has garnered experience in culinary destinations such as Atlanta and Los Angeles before his return to Texas. Katz began his career in food & beverage when he was 16 years old at a mom-and-pop Italian concept and has worked his way up in the industry. In his previous role as Director of Restaurant Operations at Headington Companies, Katz oversaw the opening of four new concepts in Dallas which included Wheelhouse, Sassetta, Go Go, and Commissary. Appointment 27 February 2019 The InterContinental Mark Hopkins is pleased to announce new leadership across its food and beverage team, promoting Jaap Boelens to Food & Beverage Director. Born and raised in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands, Jaap Boelens got his start as a steward at a casual cafe at the age of 14. He later enrolled in the Hospitality Management College in Groningen and began his career in London at the Lancaster Hotel before joining the InterContinental Hotels Group as the Food & Beverage Outlets Manager at the InterContinental Los Angeles in Beverly Hills. While pursuing a Master's degree in International Business at The University of Greenwich, Boelens became Assistant Sommelier at the InterContinental London Park Lane. He then spent a year with the InterContinental Houston before finding his way to the San Francisco Bay Area, taking on the role of Director of Outlets and later Food & Beverage Operations Manager for the iconic InterContinental Mark Hopkins. He moved into an Assistant Food and Beverage Director/Director of Outlets position at sister property InterContinental San Francisco for nearly two years before returning to the InterContinental Mark Hopkins in 2016. During his time on property, Boelens supported the team in receiving a three-star certification by the Green Restaurant Association and was named Manager of the Quarter in late 2016. He also provided his expertise to the InterContinental Downtown Los Angeles for a period of three months, serving on the Food & Beverage pre-opening and opening team for the 890 room destination with multiple food and beverage outlets. Appointment 27 February 2019 The InterContinental Mark Hopkins is pleased to announce new leadership across its food and beverage team, welcoming Chad Bayless back to the property as Executive Chef. Chad Bayless has been cooking since childhood, teaching himself and learning firsthand from cookbooks, food blogs, YouTube videos and hosting his own dinner parties. As a teenager, he took an apprentice cook position at San Francisco's Andronico's Market, and later stepped into a restaurant kitchen at the St. Francis Yacht Club while pursuing a Bachelor's degree in hospitality management at San Francisco State University. In 2013, he joined the team at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins as Executive Sous Chef and was instrumental in the achievement of a three-star rating from the Green Restaurant Association. He also represented the hotel at the acclaimed James Beard Foundation House, bringing a taste of the hotel's restaurants to New York City. In 2017 Bayless accepted the position of Executive Chef at the Crowne Plaza San Jose/Silicon Valley, an InterContinental Hotels Group property, managing seven full-time cooks and three stewards for the 440 room hotel, which included 6,300 square feet of banquet space. The opportunity to return to the landmark InterContinental Mark Hopkins brought Bayless back from Silicon Valley to San Francisco, where he now leads all of the F&B programs across the hotel as the Executive Chef. Appointment 27 February 2019 The Lodge at Blue Sky, Auberge Resorts Collection, the new luxury resort opening May 2019 outside of Park City, Utah, announced the appointment of Jessica Cook as Director of Sales and Marketing. Cook brings more than 15 years of luxury hospitality experience and extensive knowledge of outdoor and adventure travel to her new role overseeing sales and marketing efforts for Auberge Resorts Collection's first Utah property. Cook joins The Lodge at Blue Sky with a background marketing and selling luxury experiential travel, beginning her career in sales and private trip planning for Butterfield & Robinson in Toronto, Canada, followed by both sales and marketing positions for a variety of distinguished properties such as The Ranch at Rock Creek in Philipsburg, Montana, and Aman Resorts' Amangiri and Amangani in Canyon Point, Utah, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming, respectively. She is a graduate of Queen's University in Ontario, Canada with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and received sales accreditation from Canadian Professional Sales Association. In addition, she sits on a number of travel advisory boards lending well-informed perspective to her new role. Appointment 27 February 2019 A German national and highly experienced hospitality professional, Gerd moves to Phuket from Bangkok, where currently holds the position of Area Director of Sales & Distribution for Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. He will take over Phuket Marriott Resort and Spa, Nai Yang Beach from David Ippersiel, who as General Manager successfully led the resort through its extensive refurbishment and opening phase in 2016. Under David's tenure, Phuket Marriott Resort and Spa, Nai Yang Beach was established as one of the island's most desirable beachfront destinations and an award-winning wedding venue. Gerd Kotlorz studied aerospace engineering at the Technical University in Berlin, but soon discovered his passion for tourism and hospitality. He spent his formative years working in the aviation industry with major airlines including Pan Am and JAL, taking him to the US and Japan and introducing him to a career in sales & marketing. Having moved into the hospitality industry, Gerd held a series of senior sales & marketing positions with leading European companies including Maritim Hotels and TUI Hotels. He then joined IHG and spent almost a decade at major hotels in destinations across the world, including Oman, Germany, South Korea, Kenya and the UAE. Gerd arrived in Southeast Asia for the first time in 2011 as Director of Sales & Marketing for the InterContinental Danang in Vietnam. In 2013 Gerd joined Marriott International. He achieved considerable success in his role as Area Director of Sales & Distribution for Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar, leading a multinational team and driving strong results. A passionate photographer and motorcycle enthusiast, Gerd loves travelling around Asia and discovering new sights, sounds and tastes. He devotes his personal time to his wife Julia and his daughter Antonia. Renovation 27 February 2019 Get ready to propel your L.A. adventure to a new level as Holiday Inn Los Angeles-LAX Airport completes an extensive renovation and renewal project. With a convenient location close to Los Angeles International Airport and countless Los Angeles attractions, the property has infused a sleek new design throughout the hotel, with modern versatile meeting spaces, and expanded food and beverage areas. This extensive, multi-phase renovation is set to be completed this month, and will serve to upgrade the Holiday Inn LAX location to be one of the premiere destinations of one of the largest hotel chains in the world. Uncompromising in quality and incorporating a unique pop in design aesthetic, guests will experience a new lobby environment referred to as the Boulevard, which is inviting and sets the stage for the modernized room accommodations that await them. Reconfigured with new stylish decor, the entrance features high ceilings, expanded sightlines, striking windows, and contemporary art and decor. Designed for the modern traveler who desires socializing in open spaces, The Spot is a new e-bar lounge with laptop stations and total connectivity. Other expanded food and beverage offerings include the Sip & Savor for grab and go coffee and small bites, and Taste LA which will serve a breakfast buffet, along with lunch and dinner. Owners went above and beyond the traditional Holiday Inn guidelines, incorporating the activity and L.A. energy surrounding the hotel, all 405 guest rooms have been redesigned to create an atmosphere of a calm, comfortable retreat. Showcasing a modern color palette of blues, greys and chrome accents, each room has been outfitted with new 13" Serta mattresses, double-pane windows, and blackout drapes. Bat hrooms have been refinished with a modern aesthetic, framed mirrors, upgraded fixtures, and feature Bath & Body Works branded toiletries. Now Open 27 February 2019 Autograph Collection Hotels has announced the opening of The Dixon in London, which joins the diverse and dynamic portfolio of more than 160 independent Autograph Collection Hotels around the world that champion values of vision, design and craft. Taking centre stage in the heart of Tower Bridge on Tooley Street, The Dixon is set to become a new cultural hub in the midst of a creative neighbourhood, which boasts The Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe and the diverse cultural offering of the new Bridge Theatre all a short distance away. A product of passion and a personal realisation of its individual vision, The Dixon was named after John Dixon Butler - the architect who originally constructed the Grade II listed building in 1905 as a Magistrates' Court and police station - and draws inspiration from the area's rich cultural heritage, while also capturing its new wave of creative cool. Advocating for the original through art, The Dixon showcases thoughtfully-curated pieces inspired by the history and talent of SE1 in all of its guest rooms and public spaces. The architectural restoration, led by Consarc Design Group, has transformed the hotel in uncompromising style. Rani Ahluwalia, Creative Director at M Studio London, and twenty2degrees have worked closely to bring a stunning interior concept to life that cleverly walks the line between old and new. The 193 rooms, including ten spacious suites, will redefine the traditional boutique hotel by seamlessly incorporating the locale's culture through an artful mix of heritage design. Deeply embedded in the nostalgia of this former Magistrate's Court, restoration has been essential to the interior design. Paying homage to the experiences and memories of a previous time, each and every cell key has been kept and restored, now finding themselves interwoven in a modern design movement. Benches emotionally etched by prisoners when waiting for deliberation will find themselves brought to life once more in the lift lobbies, and a large, finely-crafted chandelier comprised of handcuffs will hang above the staircase. The Courtroom Bar continues this unique theme, with Edwardian oak panelling providing a backdrop for the artisan cocktail bar. Drinks will be served under the original structure of the judge's bench, providing the self-titled bar with a sense of nostalgia unlike anywhere else in London. The hotel's restaurant, Provisioners, is inspired by modern design movements, designers' studios and homes, as well as European cafe culture, while retaining historical elements of the original courthouse structure. With a nod to the Bauhaus and mid-century era, functional design creates a casual and inviting space where all visitors will feel at home. A key influence for Provisioners was modern European design and British industrial designers such as Sir Kenneth Grange, some of whose work hangs in the space with kind permission. Socially and culturally immersive, The Dixon will be as much about the local community as it will be about its guests. Enticing creatives and city hoppers keen to explore Tower Bridge's rich history, The Dixon's support of local art will extend beyond its walls with a diverse cultural offering through local partnerships, including Anise Gallery. Brian Paul Kaufman Times-Mail BEDFORD Call it a last round-up of sorts on the way to greener, more prosperous pastures. After 13 evenings of in-depth and practical study, an Indiana Master Cattleman class graduated at Purdue Extension-Lawrence County Tuesday night. There were 23 attendees from five counties Lawrence, Washington, Jackson, Orange and Knox ranging from a high school sophomore and hobby farmers, to those who make a living raising beef cattle, according to Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Educator Ophelia Davis. The group of producers who chose to participate is really outstanding, Davis said in an email. Theyve brought a lot of diversity in regards to operation sizes, scopes and goals but also diversity in years of experience and knowledge to the weekly sessions. Each weekly topic, presented by either local ag extension educators or campus specialists, taught specific aspects of herd management, Davis said. The hope: those attending would be able to improve their current cattle production efforts, resulting in an increase in profitability and quality. Sam and Kimberly Perry were all for that. The Bedford couple currently has 24 brood cows that is, mama cows as well as 10 goats, with plans to add sheep in the summer. And, eventually, theyd like to turn this part-time job into some real money. Perry has the background for it: When hes not tending his own animals, he works full time at Feldun Purdue Agricultural Center and has farmed his whole life. Because of his experience, Perry was familiar with many of the concepts taught in the course. But he said he learned quite a bit as well, such as making sure to have a farm succession plan in place in case theres an emergency. And instead of attempting to have calves year round, he said, they will now try to synch up their cows so all their calves are born in late spring making them easier to sell. I would recommend this class to anyone who is interested, Perry said. Rayne Held, 16, was the youngster of the group. But dont let her age fool you. The North Knox High School student wants to be a horse chiropractor someday and took the class at the suggestion of her mom. Now she wants her dad and brother to study the thick binder packed with information she got from the course and maybe take the class themselves to benefit their small family farm. Held already knew the importance of nutrition for a herd. But, among other things, she said she came away with a better understanding of the plants and organisms that are needed in a field to create high quality grass and hay. And dairy cows especially need that for milk production, she said. Bedfords Stacey Brown, who also works at the Times-Mail, has been involved in his familys cow calf operation for 38 years. But taking the class was an eye-opener. Ive definitely learned so much, he said. Its been treated like a hobby, but the class is trying to teach you that its a business. For example, Brown said he had yet to create a business plan for his operation. But, that was one of the activities, complete with a mission statement and goals he crafted. With the help of the class, Brown also developed an organizational structure which helps determine areas of farm responsibility for his sons and family. For the first time, Brown is now also working on creating a succession plan, which would detail who will take over and what needs to be done in the event of a family emergency. The program is so thorough, attendees received a flash drive packed with spreadsheets to be completed with information that would be required if something tragic happened, Brown said. One week the group studied what are called forages such as hay for their herds. After his first-ever nutritional analysis of his hay, Brown learned that it required additional supplementation. And then were was the class on Cow Herd Economics. Using spreadsheets, they analyzed the expense of keeping a cow over a year that isnt having calves. I had never done that before, Brown said. I was shocked at how much it costs. Brown also liked that he can reach out to the experts who taught the classes as well as fellow students in the future using their own online Indiana Master Cattleman website. That will come in handy, Brown said. One such professional available online is Extension Beef Specialist Dr. Ron Lemenager, who presented information during three of the classes and was on hand on graduation night. Lemenager said the material isnt designed to be an overnight fix although it could be for some problems. Instead, hes hoping the class encourages the producers to begin planning for next year now. He said his team surveys the classes before and after so they can make sure theyre meeting the students needs and make changes along the way. Weve gotten excellent reviews, he said. There are probably some here tonight who will say: Can we keep going? One new idea that Lemenager said may be taking shape: Someday offering a true beginners class for those who have 40 or 50 acres, but have never had cattle before, he said. Brown said folks should take advantage of the classes that Purdue Extension-Lawrence County offers. Ophelia does a heck of a job, he said. All the extension workers are passionate about helping livestock producers. Davis said much the same about the class: To be able to witness all of these producers learning and growing in their knowledge and skill set ... is one of the reasons I love being an extension educator, she said. Jason Thomas News and Tribune (Jeffersonville & New Albany) SOUTHERN INDIANA When it comes to employee earnings in Clark and Floyd counties, more money is staying in local residents pockets than what is escaping across the Ohio River or to outlying counties. That bodes well for Southern Indianas economic health though an argument can be made that earnings leaving the region might not be such a bad thing. A glance at the latest influx and outflow of commuter earnings from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that Clark and Floyd counties pocketed a combined $1.1 billion in 2017. Clark County in 2017 had an earnings inflow (residents who work outside the county but bring their paychecks home) of $1.7 billion, and an outflow (money earned by people who work in the county but live elsewhere) of $1.4 billion. Floyd Countys inflow was $1.6 billion, with an outflow of $781 million. Subtract inflow from outflow and Clark County had a positive residential adjustment or surplus of $347 million, while Floyds was a whopping $792 million, which ranked 10th in the state. A positive residential adjustment means that more money is earned by residents of a given county from outside that county than what is earned by people from other counties working inside that county, said Matthew Vonkerczek, an economist with the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. A positive residential adjustment is saying that commuting is more beneficial to the county because of the net money coming in. Conversely, a negative adjustment means a county is losing income because of commuting. Looking at it another way: For every dollar leaving Clark County in 2017, it had $1.26 coming back in. Floyd kept $2.01 for every dollar that disappeared into another county. But commuter earnings is not so green and white. Workers who commute into Clark and Floyd counties significantly contribute to Southern Indianas economy and its growth, according to Uric Dufrene, executive vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at Indiana University Southeast. Those workers are driving into Southern Indiana for a reason. It means that both Floyd and Clark have the type of number of jobs that workers are willing to commute, and it suggests that both counties are able to attract labor from outside, Dufrene said. This is critically important to the growth of both counties, and is something that you would expect in a vibrant, regional economy. Attracting workers from the outside is essential to growing county businesses, he added. River Ridge is a prime example: The behemoth commerce center is likely a big reason why Clark Countys outflow is far less than Floyds. In order for River Ridge to continue growing, it must attract workers from outside the county, Dufrene said. These workers will then take those earnings back to their home county. Southern Indiana historically has fared well when it comes to pocketing commuter earnings. Clark County netted $248 million in 2007, ranking 19th in the state, while Floyd County was in the black by $569 million, ranking 11th. A commuting snapshot also paints an interesting picture. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 49 percent of Clark County residents in 2017 worked in their home county, 18 percent worked outside the county and 33 percent worked outside of Indiana. In Floyd County, 42 percent of residents worked in their home county, 25 percent worked outside the county and 33 percent worked in another state. Data from STATS Indiana shows that the top five areas sending workers into Clark County are, by rank: Floyd County, Kentucky, Harrison County, Washington County and Scott County. The top five areas heading to Floyd are: Clark County, Harrison County, Kentucky, Washington County and Scott County. And, just in case you were wondering, the most popular commuting time in Clark County was 15 to 19 minutes, while in Floyd it was 20 to 24 minutes. Interestingly, 86 percent of people in both counties drove to work alone; only 8 percent in both counties car-pooled. (Less than 1 percent in both counties took public transportation). Whether its by car or truck or bus, commuters making their way into Southern Indiana contribute to a healthy economy. Workers who live in other counties will also purchase goods and services in both Floyd and Clark counties, Dufrene said, thus contributing to growth in the respective counties. The revised bill is different from the one that was introduced, which advocates dubbed the clean $15 bill. That bill would have started the minimum wage increases this summer, pushing it to $15 by 2023. And it would have indexed future minimum wage increases to the federal Consumer Price Index meaning that the minimum wage would rise automatically after 2023. Evening World The 500 Festival, a nonprofit organization providing life-enriching events and programs that celebrate the legacy of the Indianapolis 500, today announces that Darby DeFord, a Spencer native and graduate of Owen Valley High School, has been selected as a 2019 500 Festival Princess. Darby is a senior at Butler University majoring in biology and chemistry. Each year, 33 of Indianas most civic-minded, academically driven young women are selected to serve as a 500 Festival Princess. The 500 Festival Princess Program, presented by Reis-Nichols, provides Indianas next generation of leaders with countless opportunities to expand their leadership skills, professional development and positively impact their community. 500 Festival Princesses will participate in the 500 Festival Leadership Development Program, presented by BKD, which empowers participants to make a profound impact within their community and Indiana. Each 500 Festival Princess will receive a $1,000 scholarship, made possible by Marlyne Sexton, an Indianapolis philanthropist and president of The Sexton Companies, and the 500 Festival Foundation. 500 Festival Princesses are also provided with once-in-a-life-time experiences, including involvement with the 500 Festivals statewide community outreach programs, volunteering at 500 Festival events and participating in various Indianapolis Motor Speedway functions, including the pre-race ceremonies and Victory Circle celebration for the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500. The 500 Festival Princess Program, presented by Reis-Nichols, gives women the chance to strengthen their leadership and personal intelligence. With over 50 years of history, the program implements each young woman with a remarkable experience, said Kathy Cabello, 500 Festival board member and Princess Program committee co-chair. The 500 Festival is pleased to engage with Indianas next generation of leaders. The 2019 500 Festival Princesses represent 13 Indiana colleges and universities and 20 cities and towns across the state. With a cumulative GPA of 3.65, this years 500 Festival Princesses were selected from hundreds of applicants based on communication skills, academic performance and community involvement. The 2019 500 Festival Queen Scholar will be announced on Saturday, May 18 during the 500 Festival Breakfast at the Brickyard, presented by Midwestern Engineers, Inc. The Queen Scholar will receive an additional $1,500 scholarship. As representatives of the 500 Festival, Princesses play a crucial role in the execution of the 500 Festivals mission to produce life-enriching events and programs that celebrate the spirit and legacy of the Indianapolis 500 and foster a positive impact on the city of Indianapolis and state of Indiana. Appearances by the 500 Festival Princesses are available by request. Support of the 500 Festival Princess Program is provided by: Reis-Nichols, BKD, Nicole Bryan Salon, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Vera Bradley, and the 500 Festival Foundation. To learn more about 500 Festivals Princess Program, please visit www.500festival.com/princessprogram. About the 500 FestivalFounded in 1957, the 500 Festival is a not-for-profit organization that produces more than 50 life-enriching events and programs that celebrate the spirit and legacy of the Indianapolis 500 and foster a positive impact on the city of Indianapolis and state of Indiana. One of the largest festivals in the nation, each year more than half a million people attend an event or program produced by the 500 Festival. Since its founding, the 500 Festival has contributed more than $400 million in economic value to Indianapolis. To learn more about the 500 Festival, please visit www.500festival.com, follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. From the city of Martinsville The Reporter Times MARTINSVILLE The city of Martinsville is featured in the most recent issue of the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority The Magazine, based, in large part, on its efforts to revitalize the downtown area. Titled Martinsville: Rooted in History, Embracing the Future, the article shows the path the city has been on, starting with a conversation between Martinsville Mayor Shannon Kohl and developer Craig Fenneman about her goals to revitalize the community. Fenneman and his wife Mary, along with Doug and Paula Molin, started the journey by purchasing two downtown buildings through the Artesian Group, LLC, The group has since purchased an additional 18 buildings in the downtown area. The mayors ideas and goals for a revitalized downtown as outlined in her administrations 100-Day and now 200-Day plans were right in line with our long-term goals for Martinsville, Fenneman said in the article. We would not be doing these rehabilitation projects if it were not for mayor Kohls and the city councils vision of an improved downtown and their support of and assistance for our efforts. The article highlights another underserved need in Martinsville namely, senior housing and another partnership that made this happen. Retreat at Mineral Springs can really be viewed as a catalyst for the downtown redevelopment, Mayor Kohl said in the article. Much like Craig and Artesian (Group), Flaherty and Collins has been an excellent partner. The work they did and the care they showed on the building was incredible. It also helped fill a major need in our city for residents 55 years and older. The article continued to cover the efforts Kohl and her administration have made to improve the city, such as an economic impact study for open comments for the construction of INDOTs I-69 Section 6. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to positively impact our community, Kohl said in the article. We want to make sure we get all we can. Items the City of Martinsville has received from INDOT include receiving nearly $11 million for the I-69 project and almost $1 million in Community Crossings grants. Mayor Kohl notes in the IHCDA article the progress made and what it means for the community. The community has come a long way in a short period of time. We have stressed to our residents that this is not a change, but rather we are preserving the great history of Martinsville. Martinsville: Rooted in History, Embracing the Future was published in the Winter Issue 2018 of IHCDAs The Magazine and made available earlier this month. About the IHCDA IHCDA helps communities build upon their assets to create places with ready access to opportunities, goods, and services. It promotes, finances, and supports a broad range of housing solutions, from temporary shelters to homeownership. IHCDAs work is done in partnership with developers, lenders, investors and nonprofit organizations that use our financing to serve low- and moderate-income Hoosiers. Erica Irish TheStatehouseFile.com INDIANAPOLIS A comprehensive mental health and school safety bill is off to the Indiana House for review after a 29-20 vote in the Senate Tuesday. Senate Bill 266 was authored by law enforcement veteran state Sen. Michael Crider, R-Greenfield. He said even though the measure underwent extensive changes and expansions that he did not want, it serves as a critical first step to averting school violence caused by students. I sat in my office across from parents from Noblesville. I saw the looks on their faces, Crider said, referring to the May 25 shooting at Noblesville West Middle School in which a 13-year-old student shot his teacher and a classmate. Someone knew that student was having issues. Its incumbent upon us as policymakers to try and figure out ways to try and address that situation. But the bill survived by a close margin, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressing their concern with how certain provisions might interfere with the lives of children. Theres no doubt in my mind that we have an element of mental health problems in our state and in our country, said state Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville. But sometimes I wonder if we dont have more of an issue of a lack of moral character. If signed into law, SB 266 would allow the state to award secured school grants to schools seeking to partner with mental health professionals outside the school community or provide internal counseling services. Students who would benefit from these programs would have to first receive consent from a parent or guardian, and schools that receive dollars to expand mental health services would have to disclose the available resources to parents. Some legislators including Tomes, say these provisions dont do enough to protect individual privacy. Tomes pointed out a clause in the bill that outlines intervention rules at the state level. For example, the bill would require the Commission on Improving the Status of Children in Indiana to develop a behavioral health plan for individuals from birth to age 22 regarding (1) comprehensive mental health services; (2) early intervention; and (3) treatment services. These are children. Theyre not specimens, Tomes said. Is this some major government program or experiment were going to conduct? His colleague state Sen. Mike Young, R-Indianapolis, dubbed the measure Senate Bill 1984 when voicing his opposition, referring to the classic novel by George Orwell that describes a world regulated by thought police, propaganda and an invasive government called Big Brother. State Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, also warned the parent consent requirement could spur conflict between schools and families. He said if a school identifies a child as a dangerous person based on their behavior and the parents refuse to consent to in-school treatment, the district might be left to a difficult choice. You know what the schools going to do? Taylor asked. Kick them out. But some single parents, including state Sens. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, and Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, said schools are one of the first places where mental health issues can be discovered and treated. When youre a single parent and youre working, youre not spending the most time with your children, Bohacek said. The schools are. Kurt Christian The Herald-Times Democratic mayoral candidates John Hamilton and Amanda Barge engaged in a heated debate Tuesday evening over Bloomingtons and Monroe Countys affordable housing scorecards. Indiana Universitys chapter of Habitat for Humanity hosted an event Tuesday to discuss the Bloomingtons high residential costs. Hamilton stressed helping residents across the income spectrum and taking immediate action to address the citys lacking supply. Barge wants to see higher wages as a path to affordability and more representatives on governing bodies who are actually affected by high housing costs. After saying his mayoral administration helped create more than 600 bedrooms of affordable housing, Hamilton asked Barge how many she has helped create in her role as a Monroe County commissioner. Barge did not give a number and said the city refused to work with the county to help create the infrastructure needed to create such housing. Bill Breeden Owen County I like Leo Morris laid-back style, and his sense of humor, and thus hope my remarks are not taken personally. I would welcome the opportunity to debate him about the moral superiority of capitalism over socialism (Pete Buttigiegs campaign is already over, column, Feb. 12) and I reckon both of us could retain our sense of humor. As Robert Frost once stated, The mark of an educated man is the ability to discuss any subject without losing his temper or his confidence. These days Bobby might use less gender-specific terms, thus applying the same mark to educated women. As for Leos prognostication regarding Buttigiegs presidential aspirations, for Petes sake, I hope he doesnt take it seriously. Its a bit early to be writing anyone out of the 2020 storyline. When it comes to telling the future, we all lose as many as we win, although I do have three sober witnesses who will recall my prediction of Trump being president the day after the Democratic convention in July 2016. We were meeting in my office at Nicks English Hut, and I wish history had proved me wrong. Hopefully, our planet can survive the worst of our instincts. Leos diatribe on socialism needs to be addressed. He wants to leave it to economists, military experts, historians and clear-eyed empiricists to explain to us lesser folks the evils of socialism. I reckon that will work as long as Leo gets to pick the explainers from these honored fields of expertise, while ignoring their vested interests. It is not surprising that the economists of global capitalism will sing praises of its worth. How many economists do you know who have ever relied on food stamps to feed their children, or spent cold winter nights in the homeless shelters of this miracle economy of greed? And should we be surprised that there are military experts who will spread the wonderful gospel of the American military might as the savior of those oppressed by so-called socialist states? After all, is it not in their vested interest to convince us that God is on the side of capitalism? Perhaps Leo should read USMC Gen. Smedly Butlers War is a Racket before trusting military experts about the morality of capitalism. Butler paints a graphic history of the raping of the Americas on behalf of the corporations of the United States. Empires fight for profit, not freedom. (See also Eduardo Galeanos, Open Veins of Latin America.) One wonders which historians Leo trusts. He evidently disregards the history of socialism in the United States. Who stopped child labor? Who fought for womens suffrage? Who gave us the 40-hour work week, the right to organize, public education? Were these simply the fruits of capitalist generosity? Why the hell didnt FDR call it Capital Security instead of Social Security? Does Leo know that on Dec. 27, 1921, more than 50,000 people met the train returning Eugene V. Debs to Terre Haute after his release from federal prison in Georgia, where he was imprisoned for simply speaking out against the capitalist WWI, and that Debs received nearly a million votes for president as a socialist while sitting in that federal prison cell? Finally, lets consider that precious value Leo finds logically expressed by capitalism: Freedom, a lovely sounding word, and the flag under which libertarian capitalists, i.e. Ayn Rand devotees, love to cower when confronted with reality. Is Leo aware that our wonderful Randian utopia has the highest incarceration rate in the history of nations? Or that on any given day in this land of the free, more than 70,000 citizens are in solitary confinement? Is he aware that the majority of those imprisoned are confined for non-violent crimes of property, because in the capitalist state, property is valued over personhood, and that the number of the rich who are incarcerated probably doesnt equal the diminishing number of hairs on my, or Leos head? Finally, with regard to climate change, does Leo think we can have a livable country without a livable planet? We are a global community, sharing one home. We can no longer afford multi-billionaires. Life is not a zero sum game. Democratic socialism is government of, for and by the people, not the corporations. Ernest Rollins The Herald-Times State lawmakers are considering ways to regulate pay-as-you-ride motorized scooters as more and more pop up in cities such as Bloomington. A bill on scooter regulations approved by the Indiana House last week will move to the Senate for consideration. This bill gives the same rights to the operator of a scooter as it does a bicycle, state Rep. Sean Eberhart, R-Shelbyville, said on the House floor last week. Eberhart, author of House Bill 1649, said the regulations are similar to what other states have passed. Here in Bloomington, city officials are in the process of drafting a local ordinance to regulate the hundreds of scooters that appeared on the streets and sidewalks of the city last September, according to Mike Rouker, city of Bloomington attorney. He expects to have proposed regulations for the city council to review soon. Rouker said the city is watching the state regarding any action it takes regarding scooter regulations this legislative session. He said any decision at the state level will inform a local ordinance to avoid potential conflicts. For example, Rouker said local residents may not want scooters parked on sidewalks, but state code may allow it. According to the latest version of the statewide bill, an individual would be allowed to park scooters on sidewalks if it does not impede pedestrian traffic. Other provisions include requiring electric scooters have a lamp on the front and rear brake lights to be used when its dark out. Scooters are also prohibited from operating on interstate highways, according to the House bill. Rouker said city staff agree that scooters should be regulated similarly to how bicycles are addressed. City officials issued guidelines on how to legally operate scooters in Bloomington in November. Those guidelines applied the citys bike laws to the scooters. The city council voted last August, to allow bicycles and subsequently scooters on sidewalks except those marked as a Dismount Zone in the center of Bloomington. Rouker said an ordinance may also include terms outlined as part of an interim agreement between the city and the scooter companies operating in Bloomington currently Bird Rides Inc. and Neutron Holdings Inc. DBA Lime. Companies pay an annual fee of $10,000 plus an additional 10 cents per ride on a scooter being used in the city, according to the agreement. Companies could also face fines for improperly parked scooters if not addressed promptly. Markieff Morris, who recently signed with the Thunder, is still learning Oklahoma Citys playbook and hes trying to make an impact while fitting in with his new squad. For me, you just want to be a help to the team, Morris tells Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman. You dont want to come in and force things. You want everything to go smooth, how they went before you got here. So for me just getting acclimated to the offense and defense, playing with the guys. Morris has switched teams during the season once before. The Suns sent him to the Wizards during the 2015/16 campaign. The forward said he watches film on his new teammates in order to acclimate himself with his new squad. Morris spent the first half of this season with the Wizards before suffering a neck injury. He was sent to the Pelicans in a trade for Wesley Johnson prior to the trade deadline. The next set of leadership could decide to turn it off if they want to. We dont think thats correct, Palmer told members of the House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee. We believe the citizens of the state of Maryland need to see what their legislature is doing, as they do see what their governor is doing. Lima, OH (45805) Today Mostly cloudy. Scattered showers and storms. High 84F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Scattered showers and isolated storms. Low 68F. Winds SW at 3 to 6 mph. Support local journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute We all agree that we are calling for her resignation, said Del. Darryl Barnes, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, after a closed-door caucus meeting. What happened here in the state of Maryland, once again, is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. There is no place here in the House of Delegates for that kind of language to be used. It is unacceptable. It is offensive and it is very hurtful. Copyright 2019 at Sun Newspapers. Digital dissemination of this content without prior written consent is a violation of federal law and may be subject to legal action. Im sure, it would be bad news to shut the government down. Probably. Its the same old, same old every year - special sessions, more money paid to legislators. Im not so sure - everything is always so divided. Vote View Results Ask a Trooper: Do you turn in front of an approaching vehicle or behind it when two vehicles both want to turn left at an uncontrolled intersection? Blacks family pushed for answers about his death for more than four months, but received little to no information. That was until Gov. Larry Hogan told The Baltimore Sun hed taken a personal interest in the case and was pushing for information on what happened to Black. Shortly thereafter, the states medical examiner released to the family an autopsy report that said Black suffered sudden cardiac death and that it was likely that his struggle with law enforcement contributed to his death. Please be aware that Cache Valley Publishing does not endorse, and is not responsible for alleged employment offers in the comments. Recommended for you In February 1968, eight Marines volunteered for a suicide mission After 32 casualties during the first 30 hours of Operation Pursuit, initiated in mid-February 1968 by the 1st Marine Division to search for enemy rocket caches in the mountains west of Da Nang, Lt. Col. Bill Davis ordered Charlie and Delta companies of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, to get off Hills 270 and 310 and return to their base camps in the flatlands to the east. A little later that morning of Feb. 16, the acting commander of Charlie Company, 1st Lt. Dana F. MacCormack, whose men were descending from Hill 270, radioed Davis: Here come the NVA, colonel! Ive got one more KIA that the last helo did not have room for. We are having a hell of a time carrying this body, and the bones are cutting up the body bag. Davis, on Hill 310 with the battalion command group, told MacCormack to get Charlie Company off the mountain immediately to avoid any more casualties. And that meant leaving the body behind. Thousands of North Vietnamese Army troops had trekked down the Ho Chi Minh Trail in eastern Laos and moved through South Vietnams A Shau Valley before making their way to high ground, including Hills 270 and 310, overlooking an area known as Happy Valley and the Marine positions to the east. Units from the 31st NVA Regiment and the 368B Artillery Regiment operated frequently out of Happy Valley before moving into the Rocket Belt, an arc running north to south around the western side of Da Nang at the ideal range for NVA forces firing Soviet-made 122 mm and 140 mm rockets at Da Nang Air Base, Marble Mountain Air Facility and vital ammunition dumps and fuel depots. The inner edge of arcs belt was about 5 miles from the Da Nang installations; the outer edge of the belt was about 7 miles away. If NVA rocket squads were outside that belt on the western side, their rockets would likely fall short. But if they were too close to Da Nang on the inner side of the belt, they might overshoot their targets. Each battalion of the 7th Marines was responsible for a section of the belt, making sure no enemy rockets got inside the arc and within firing range. The 1st Battalions headquarters was on Hill 10, inside the belt. Its 72-square-mile area of responsibility extended westward toward the high ground that included Hills 270 and 310, about 3 miles from Hill 10 (the designations reflected hill elevations in meters). On Feb. 13, the day before the start of Operation Pursuit, Davis met with Col. Paul Graham, the 1st Marine Division operations officer. A few days earlier, a large secondary explosion was observed on the saddle-shaped area connecting Hills 270 and 310. The explosion indicated the presence of NVA rocket caches, and Graham relayed an order from the division commander, Maj. Gen. Donn J. Robertson, to conduct a search of that areaone of the toughest jungle/mountain terrains in the battalions assigned territory. Operation Pursuit began at 11 a.m. on Feb. 14 as Charlie Company crossed the western end of Hill 10 while Delta Company departed from Hill 41, about 2 miles to the southeast. Accompanying them were 1st Division combat correspondent Sgt. Robert Bayer and photographer Cpl. R.J. Del Vecchio. The two companies linked up on the approach to Hills 270 and 310. The dense jungle growth at the base of Hill 270 channeled the Marines into a single-file column during the slow, exhausting climb that forced the men to hack out a trail with machetes. By 6:30 p.m., Delta Company had secured Objective 1, the saddle between Hills 270 and 310. Charlie Company had secured Objective 2, the top of Hill 270. The commander of Charlies 2nd Platoon, 2nd Lt. Mark Whittier, later wrote a letter to his wife describing evidence of the enemy that this men discovered: We got to the top of Hill 270 and found a bunker and communication system that the [NVA] had been using. Also we uncovered a log that we translated. This bunker had a perfect view of the entire Da Nang area and the diary had accounts of when units left our hill and where they were going.The last entry in the diary was that there were beaucoup Marines leaving Hill 10 for this position. The bunker had been vacated in haste, and the radio was still on. Charlie Company used the bunker as an overnight command post and blew it up the next morning, Feb. 15. Around that same time, an enemy ambush wounded four Marines of Delta Company in the saddle area. Charlie Company, with Whittiers platoon in the lead, moved quickly down the south side of Hill 270 to reinforce the ambushed Delta squad. Suddenly, Whittiers point squad, which had reached the saddle, was also ambushed by NVA soldiers concealed in bunkers and spider holes, foxholes hidden underneath a camouflaged lid. Three Charlie Marines were killed immediately, and several were wounded. Pfc. Michael J. Kelly, a member of the point squad who had been with the company for only two months, was hit by an enemy bullet that struck a grenade on his cartridge belt. The detonation killed Kelly, severing a leg in the process. The point squads machine gun team leader, Lance Cpl. Russell Naugle, ran down the trail toward one of the wounded Marines while firing his M60 machine gun from the hip. As the corporal pulled his comrade to safety, he was wounded four times. Naugle died later that day from his wounds and posthumously received the Silver Star. Medevac helicopters flew in to evacuate the casualties, but the side of Hill 310 above the saddle was covered with such dense jungle undergrowth that the choppers had to lower extraction harnesses for the pickups, often while under fire from NVA rocket-propelled grenades, AK-47 assault rifles and 12.7 mm machine guns. Finally, after five hours of battle and medevac efforts, Charlie Company got out all its casualties except Kelly. When the day ended, Charlie and Delta companies had suffered five killed and 27 wounded. The next day, Feb. 16, around 7:30 a.m., after Davis issued the order for Charlie and Delta companies to return to their base camps, his 1st Battalion command group and Delta Company were preparing to move down to the valley floor when Charlie Company commander MacCormack radioed. The lieutenant reported that his men, still in the saddle area, were taking gunfire from bunkers concealed in thick vegetation above them on the north side of Hill 310. Six NVA soldiers were firing at themso close that MacCormacks Marines could make out their uniforms, flak jackets and helmets. A Marine reconnaissance team to the west, on Hill 502, advised Davis that a large NVA force was headed toward the Charlie Marines. The colonel alerted MacCormack, who soon announced that he could see the NVA coming and added that his men were having a hell of a time carrying Kellys body. As the company continued its descent, MacCormack again radioed Davis: Ive got five WIA being helped down Hill 270, which is slowing us down, so I had to leave our KIA [Kelly] in a bomb crater on the saddle. We can come back out and get his body later. In early afternoon, out of food and water and low on ammunition, the weary, battle-shocked Marines of Charlie Company arrived at Hill 10 and were met by the actual company commander, Capt. Karl Ripplemeyer, who had been on leave and just returned. Delta Company, meanwhile, had reached its base camp on Hill 41. Davis radioed the regimental commander, Col. Ross R. Miner, and told him that the Marines were back at the command posts, but added that a dead Marine had to be left behind. A few hours later, Miner told Davis that a B-52 bombing mission was scheduled to strike Hills 270 and 310 and ordered him to send a team to recover Kellys body before the bombing started. Davis, however, did not want to risk any more lives in those mountains before the bombing runs were completed and argued against an immediate recovery mission, but Miner wouldnt rescind his order. Davis discussed Miners order with Ripplemeyer, as well as the battalion operations officer and the officer who coordinated air support for the battalion. Davis decided to use Charlie Company volunteers for the recovery since they knew the location of Kellys body. It was 100% a suicide mission, Whittier, the 2nd Platoon lieutenant, would write to his wife on Feb. 17. This is a point I cant too heavily emphasize. Suicide mission was an unintentionally appropriate term, given Charlie Companys longstanding nickname: Suicide Charley. The unit had earned its nickname during the October 1942 Japanese assault on Guadalcanal, when 1st Battalion was led by Lt. Col. Lewis B. Chesty Puller, who later became the Corps most decorated Marine and finished his career as a lieutenant general. During that battle, Charlie Company held its line against a far larger Japanese force despite suffering heavy losses. The day after the fight, a white flag of parachute cloth with a picture of a skull and crossbones rose over the companys position. Emblazoned on the flag was Suicide Charley. The patrol to recover Kellys body had only a few hours to prepare for its departure. A runner was sent to Charlie Company seeking the volunteers, including an experienced squad leader. John D. McCreless, then a 20-year-old sergeant, recalled: When the decision came down to use a squad of volunteers, I got crazy and raised my hand and said Id lead it. Lance Cpl. Stephen B. McCashin responded similarly: When I heard they were asking for volunteers, I said anyone who would go back into those mountains again would have to be crazy. I thought it was a suicide mission, but since Im on my second tour here, I must be crazy, so I decided to go. Pfc. Joseph A. Hamrick signed up because, he said, I was the only one of the volunteers who knew exactly where the body was, so even though I had only been in the Nam for a month and had never walked point, I figured I could go right to it. The other Marines on the eight-man patrol were Pfc. Thomas M. Adamson, Lance Cpl. Tyree Albert Chamberlain, Pfc. Alfred P. Granados, Cpl. Billy R. Ranes and Pfc. Pedro A. Rodriguez. Someoneno one can remember exactly whodubbed the volunteers the Doom Patrol. Granados, the radio operator, remembers their preparations. Our equipment was light for a short recon patrolno helmets, flak jackets or cartridge belts, and all but one of the men of the Doom Patrol asked to trade their M16s for the more reliable M14, and permission was granted, he said. We were to make no enemy contact, travel by stealth in the dark, get the body and return. If we ran into a superior enemy force, we were to abort, split up and get back any way we could. Before the men departed, a senior staff sergeant told McCreless: None of you will probably return alive, but to increase your chances, if things get hairy you can just bring back the leg. The eight Marines werent totally on their own for the mission. The battalion air officer had arranged for continuous air support for the patrol. At 2 a.m. on Feb. 17, McCreless squad left Hill 10. A little more than an hour later, near the abandoned village of Phuoc Ninh (5)military maps distinguished villages with the same name by numbering themthe Marines spotted NVA soldiers moving toward their position. Chamberlain opened fire and killed one of them, but the patrol was now compromised. McCreless faced a difficult decision: abort the mission or stay the course. He spoke to the battalion command center and was told to proceed. No one wanted an empty casket sent to Kellys family, and the men on the mission knew the odds when they volunteered. On the move again toward the base of Hill 270, the Marines observed another enemy patrol, and McCreless stopped for an hour near another abandoned village, Phuoc Ninh (7), a precautionary pause in the dark to make sure there was no other NVA activity in the area before continuing their journey. By sunrise, around 5 a.m., the patrol had cleared the open rice paddy areas and started into the dense jungle on the side of the mountainwith a long march still ahead, which meant they would have to conduct their stealth mission in broad daylight. Three hours later, the men were in a flat area above the bomb crater where Kellys body lay, covered with a poncho. There they waited while pilots in O1-Bird Dog propeller-driven planes called in airstrikes. One of the pilots radioed McCreless to tell him that napalm drops by F-4 Phantom II fighter-bombers would land just forward of the bomb crater. He instructed the patrol members to take cover, take three deep breaths, exhale and hold their next breath. The napalm struck about a 100 yards in front of the patrol. Granados still remembers the intense heat and dust being sucked past his face into the inferno. The shock waves from the blast seemed to raise him off the ground. After the napalm flames diminished, Granados saw NVA soldiers emerging from bunkers and spider holes. McCreless, worried that the enemy troops were about to move against his seriously outnumbered men, yelled: Get the leg, and lets get the hell out! Moments later, Ranes and Adamson dashed to the crater. They grabbed the severed leg and quickly strapped it to a backpack that Chamberlain carried. The eight Marines then ran back down the trail, amid the still-smoldering napalm and the enemy fire tearing into trees and brush around them. A final strafing run by F-4 Phantoms silenced the firing. After reaching the flatlands, the patrol came upon Charlie Companys 1st Platoon, sent to assist the squad if any of the men had been wounded or killed. The platoon escorted McCreless squad to base camp, and by 2 p.m. all the Marines were back on Hill 10. Amid great rejoicing, Davis summoned the men to his quarters and handed them cigars and cold beer to celebrate their incredible accomplishment. (He wasnt aware at that time that the full body had not been recovered.) As recounted in his autobiography Tet Marine, Davis told the Doom Patrol that he had been a fan of Suicide Charley since the Chosin Reservoir battle during the Korean War. Ive been proud of them during all these years, because they did great things at the Reservoir, he said. But never did they do anything greater than YOU did, as volunteers, last night and today. McCreless said: The only reason I can think of why we were able to pull it off is that the NVA just couldnt believe that we were stupid enough to go in there and do what we did. They must have thought we were bait for some kind of trap. After the celebration, Davis typed a letter to the commander of the 7th Marine Regiment: Dear Colonel Miner, Ive never been prouder to be a Marine than at this moment! This magnificent squad [from Suicide Charley] went on what appeared to be a suicide mission. I wish you could have heard this young Marine [Pfc. Joseph Hamrick] describe why he volunteered. He just couldnt imagine that an empty casket would go to a Marines parents. He knew they had to do the job, and while he was scared all the way out, and all the way back, he knew that they just had to succeed. Ive just lived through an experience that Ill always hold dear to me. Semper Fi. Within 10 hours of the patrols return, the B-52s from Andersen Air Force Base on Guam devastated the high ground on Hills 270 and 310. But the NVA would return to Hill 310, and many more Marines were wounded or killed there the following month during Operation Worth and in August during Operation Mameluke Thrust. On March 8, Whittier and McCreless were wounded. Later that day, at the Navy hospital in Da Nang, Whittier died from his wounds. A few days later, McCreless was medevaced to Japan for additional surgery. During fighting on May 30, Doom Patrol volunteer Rodriguez was killed. Men from E Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, found Kellys body on March 25 during Operation Worth. A medevac helicopter picked up the remains and took them to the mortuary in Da Nang. A funeral with a casket containing Kellys leg was held in his hometown of Findlay, Ohio, in March 1968. A second funeral, with the rest of his remains, was held in April 1968. Jack Wells served in Vietnam during 1968-69 as an artillery forward observer with Alpha and Bravo companies, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, and later as executive officer of H Battery, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. UN chief Antonio Guterres is following the situation between India and Pakistan very closely and has appealed to the governments of both nations to exercise maximum restraint to ensure the situation does not deteriorate further, a top UN official said Tuesday. The UN Secretary Generals remarks came after Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a pre-dawn air strike on a terror training camp inside Pakistan. The strike was the first by the IAF inside Pakistan after the 1971 war. India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammeds (JeM) biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistans restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a very large number of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. He is obviously following the situation very closely and reiterates his urgent appeal to both the governments of India and the government of Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure that the situation does not further deteriorate, UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters when asked about the Secretary Generals remarks on the air strike. Read more| PM Modi monitored airstrikes realtime on Jaish camp across LoC: Report Dujarric said Guterres did not have any information on the possible casualties and has seen the news reports. Guterres is returning to New York from Geneva and Dujarric said he had spoken to the UN chief about the situation between India and Pakistan before he boarded his plane. The air strike came 12 days after the JeM carried out a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama district that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. India launched a major diplomatic offensive against Islamabad after the Pulwama attack and highlighted Pakistans role in using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. The international community led by the US pressed Pakistan to deny safe haven to terror groups operating form its soil and bring the perpetrators of the Pulwama attack to justice. India has asked Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorists and terror groups operating from territories under its control. New Delhi also announced the withdrawal of the Most Favoured Nation status for Pakistan and hiked the customs duty by 200 per cent on goods originating from Pakistan. Read more| Only seven people knew of the timing of air strike on Balakot US President Donald Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen called him racist, a conman and a cheat at a congressional hearing Wednesday, and alleged his former boss knew in advance of the WikiLeaks dump of hacked emails of Hillary Clintons campaign chair and the Democratic party, contrary to his claims. Cohen also spoke at length about lying to Congress about the Trump Tower project in Moscow and alleged the President had lied about it as well during the campaign; presented a copy of a cheque he had received from Trump as reimbursement for hush money payments to women who had claimed to have had affairs with the President; and about the threatening letters he wrote to Trumps schools and colleges telling them not to release his transcripts (mark-sheets) without his consent. Deposing at a highly anticipated hearing of the House oversight committee, Cohen set out by expressing remorse for working for Trump and his misplaced loyalty to him and he apologized, as he has several times before, for lying to Congress at his previous hearing. Also read: Muellers office refutes news report that Trump asked lawyer to lie to Congress The last time I appeared before Congress, I came to protect Mr. Trump, he said, Today, Im here to tell the truth about Mr. Trump. He is a racist, Cohen said of Trump. He is a conman. And he is a cheat. The hearing got off to a predictably contentious start with Republicans on the Democratic-led House oversight committee, which conducted the hearing, citing rules and regulations to ask for a postponement. They were overruled, and focussed on attacking Cohen as a liar and questioning his character during questioning. In his prepared remarks that were delivered with minor alterations, Cohen went on to allege the President knew in advance of the release of hacked emails of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic Party through a long-time associate Roger Stone who was in direct touch with the Julian Assange. Trump has denied he had known of the WikiLeaks releases. Cohen told lawmakers he lied to them about a Trump Tower project in Moscow in his previous hearing. Negotiations had continued till way late into the presidential campaign, much after Trump had become the Republican nominee for the White House. The President has confirmed that earlier saying that was just business and that he wasnt sure he would win. Cohen will start a three-year jail term in May for lying to Congress about and bank and wire fraud and campaign finance law violation, in connection of with the payment of hush money to women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump. He gave the committee a copy of a cheque signed by President Trump, after moving into the White House, as reimbursement for the payments Cohen had given one of the women. About alleged contacts between the Trump campaign and Russians, who, the US has alleged interfered in the 2016 election, Cohen was not certain. But he said he believes Trump knew of a meeting his elder son Don Trump Jr took with a Russian lawyer who had promised political dirt on Hillary Clinton. The US on Tuesday told Pakistan to avoid military action in the aftermath of Indias counter-terrorism action on Jaish-e-Mohammeds biggest training camp in Balakot and underscored the urgency for it to take meaningful action against terrorist groups operating from its soil. The United States also stressed the need for both India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid escalation at any cost. Also read: IAF strike on JeMs Balakot terror camp involved over 200 hours of planning, say sources US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who is in Hanoi for the second US-North Korea summit, conveyed these messages in separate phone calls with Indias external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistans foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the state department said in a statement. Also read: Did the United States know of Indias strike on Balakot? And how much? The statement described the Indian Air Forces strike on a training camp run by Jaish-e-Mohammad in Balakot in Pakistan as counter-terrorism action, which, it was noted by experts, was close to how New Delhi has described it, as a non-military pre-emptive strike on a terrorist camp. The IAFs strike on the Jaish camp in Pakistans restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killed 325 militants and terror recruits, Indian officials have said. Indias action came after 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers were killed in a suicide attack by an operative of Pakistan-based Jaish in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country. Also read: IAF strike on JeMs Balakot terror camp involved over 200 hours of planning, say sources About the call with Swaraj, Pompeo said he spoke to her to emphasize our close security partnership and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region. The tone of the conversation with Qureshi, however, seemed less supportive or conciliatory. I also spoke to Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi to underscore the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action, and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil, Pompeo said. I expressed to both Ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost. I also encouraged both ministers to prioritise direct communication and avoid further military activity, he said. Pakistan has threatened retaliatory action, be ready for a different kind of surprise, a military spokesperson said in Islamabad earlier, even as it has curiously, but predictably, sought to portray the Indian airstrike as ineffective. Also read: Only seven people knew of the timing of air strike on Balakot According to state-owned Radio Pakistan, Qureshi told Pompeo that India is jeopardising peace in South Asia for its political purposes and elections and, he added, Indian aggression can disturb joint efforts to establish peace in Afghanistan. Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistan ambassador to the US, said Pompeos emphasis on Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorists highlights what the US believes is the major issue in the subcontinent. The Trump administration has taken a tough line with Pakistan on terrorism and suspended $1.3 billion security-related aid. Also, the diplomat added, the statement wont please Pakistan because it fails to even mention the Kashmir dispute as the core issue. Also read: UN chief asks India, Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint after IAF strikes Jaish camp The US response to the Indian airstrike on Balakot camp in retaliation for the Pulwama terrorist attack on February 14 was in line with continuing conversations between officials of the two countries. Just days after the attack, as India was weighing retaliatory options, US national security adviser John Bolton had conveyed his countrys acknowledgement of Indias right to retaliate, as a self-defence issue to his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval US. The Obama administration had taken the same position in 2016 to Indias surgical strike in response to the Uri terrorist attack. We do empathize with Indias perception that they do need to respond militarily, Peter Lavoy, a senior White House official then, said a few days after the Indian counter-measure. Sushma Swaraj, who is in China for a meeting with the foreign ministers of Russia and China, defended her countrys action on Wednesday and said the limited objective of the pre-emptive strike in Balakot was to act decisively against the terrorist infrastructure of the Jaish-e-Mohammed in order to pre-empt another terrorist attack in India. In the light of the continued refusal of Pakistan to acknowledge and act against terror groups on its territory and based on credible information that JeM is planning other attacks in various parts of India, Government of India has decided to take pre-emptive action, Swaraj said. The target was selected in order to avoid civilian casualties. Excellences, this was not a military operation. No military installations were targeted, she added. Swaraj was making her opening remarks during the 16th Russia, India and China (RIC) foreign ministers forum being held in Wuzhen, a picturesque water town in eastern Chinas Zhejiang province. India does not wish to see a further escalation of the situation and India will continue to act with responsibility and restraint, she said. She earlier told her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that the worst attack on its soldiers in Kashmirs Pulwama district earlier this month was carried out by Jaish under the cover and impunity given it to by Pakistan. The tension between India and Pakistan has escalated in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack. India blamed Pakistan for the continued terror attacks in India but Islamabad denied having any hand behind the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. All seven on board the helicopter carrying tourism minister Rabindra Adhikari have been killed in the crash near Pathibhara in Taplejung district, confirms Air Dynasty official. Pratap Babu Tiwari, the spokesperson for Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, confirmed that all seven on board the helicopter have been killed in the crash. The crashed occurred when Adhikaris team was returning to Kathmandu after offering worship at Pathibhara temple. Moments after it was reported missing, local residents in Pathibara area informed the police about a huge flame at the crash site. Traveling with Minister Adhikari were the pilot of the helicopter Captain Prabhakar KC, tourism entrepreneur Ang Chhiring Sherpa, security personnel Arjun Ghimire, Prime Ministers close aide Yubaraj Dahal, Deputy Director General of CAAN Birendra Shrestha, and CAAN Engineer Dhruba Das Bhochhibhaya. The Chief District Officer of Taplejung, Anuj Bhandari quoted the locals as saying they heard a loud bang followed by a sight of smoke and fire in the area. It has been learnt that the tourism minister along with other officials had planned to visit Pathibhara Temple and then fly to Panchthar to observe the under-construction airport at Chuhan Danda. Authorities have rushed to the incident site. Meanwhile, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Minister has summoned an emergency cabinet meeting at the official residence of the Prime Minister in Baluwatar. Those on the other side of the debate view the Douglass shooting as further proof that officers must have their guns to keep students and staff safe from an outside threat. School police recovered seven guns during the first six months of this school year, according to the union. The Baltimore school police force is highly trained, they argue, and should be allowed to carry weapons just as their counterparts in suburban districts do. Chief Akil Hamm said his force has reduced the number of school-based arrests dramatically and gone three years without an excessive force complaint. China, Russia and India on Wednesday agreed to enhance coordination and cooperation, firmly uphold multilateralism and jointly fight against terrorism. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj hold the 16th meeting of the foreign ministers of China, Russia and India in Wuzhen, eastern China's Zhejiang Province, on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019.[Photo: mfa.gov.cn] The agreement came as Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held the 16th meeting of the foreign ministers of China, Russia and India in Wuzhen, eastern China's Zhejiang Province. Noting that the world today is undergoing unprecedented changes that have not been seen in the past 100 years, Wang said China, Russia and India, as influential major powers and important emerging economies, should enhance coordination, converge consensus, cement cooperation and jointly promote world peace and stability. Wang said leaders of the three countries successfully held a meeting in Argentina last November, which pointed out the direction for and provided a strong impetus to trilateral cooperation. He suggested that the three countries should firmly safeguard the international system with the United Nations (UN) as the core, and adhere to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and deepen counter-terrorism and security cooperation. It is necessary to resolutely oppose unilateralism and protectionism, continually push forward the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment and promote the construction of an open world economy, said Wang, adding that all of the three countries have proposed their initiatives of connectivity, and they should cooperate with each other and jointly promote the process of regional integration. Lavrov and Swaraj said the international community should observe the principle of the UN Charter and comply with the norms of international laws and relations. They called on the three countries to give full play of multilateral platforms including the UN to further strengthen coordination and cooperation and make joint contributions to properly handle international and regional hotspot issues and tackle challenges facing humanity. After the meeting, the three countries released a joint communique. The three foreign ministers also attended a joint press conference and conducted in-depth exchanges of views regarding the current international situation and trilateral cooperation. The three sides agreed to jointly combat all forms of terrorism, enhance communication over counter-terrorism policy and practical cooperation and will especially make efforts to eradicate terrorism and extremism. On the Venezuela issue, they said it should be settled by Venezuelan people through constructive dialogue rather than resorting to violence, and military intervention is opposed. The three sides also agreed to constantly consolidate and expand trilateral practical cooperation, and work on setting up a meeting mechanism among their defense ministers in an appropriate time. China also proposed to discuss "China, Russia, India plus" cooperation, so as to improve global influence of the trilateral cooperation. The next meeting between three foreign ministers will be held in Russia, Wang said. RTHK: Pakistan says it has shot down two Indian planes Pakistan said on Wednesday it shot down two Indian warplanes in its airspace over disputed Kashmir, in a dramatic escalation of a confrontation that has ignited fears of an all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours. One Indian pilot was captured, a Pakistani military spokesman said, adding that one aircraft had fallen in Pakistani-held Kashmir, while the other fell on the Indian side of the heavily militarised de facto border dividing the Himalayan territory. Indian sources confirmed Pakistani fighter jets had violated airspace over Indian Kashmir, but said they were forced back over the Line of Control (LOC), and there was no immediate response to the claim the planes had been shot down. Indian air force spokesman Anupam Banerjee in New Delhi said he had no information on Pakistan's statement. Earlier, senior Indian police officer Munir Ahmed Khan said an Indian Air Force plane crashed in Indian-controlled sector of Kashmir and that it wasn't immediately known if there were casualties. The incident is the latest in a dangerous sequence of events between the two countries, whose ties have been under intense strain since a February 14 suicide bombing in Indian Kashmir that killed 40 troops. New Delhi had promised to act, and on Tuesday its warplanes flew into Pakistani airspace and struck what it said was a camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the militant group that claimed the Kashmir bombing. It was India's first air strike on Pakistani soil since the neighbours fought a war in 1971 when neither had nuclear weapons. Islamabad, while denying the Indian strike caused any major damage or casualties, quickly vowed to retaliate, fuelling fears of a disastrous confrontation in South Asia. "PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace," military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor tweeted on Wednesday. "One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area," he added, without elaborating. The Pakistani foreign office also released a statement saying that the air force "undertook strikes" on Wednesday but said they were across the border. The foreign office did not elaborate on what it meant by "strikes" and did not mention shooting down planes. India had been vague over the exact location of Tuesday's strike, with analysts suggesting it was signalling to Pakistan that it does not want an all-out conflict. Both sides have said that Indian warplanes penetrated as far as Balakot, a heavily forested region in northwestern Pakistan near the border with Pakistani-administered Kashmir. Balakot residents said they heard explosions in the night, and that one person received minor injuries while no buildings were destroyed. An AFP journalist who visited the site where the military and residents said the payload was dropped could see a large crater and trees snapped in half, and three mud houses, one with a collapsed wall, nearby. The confrontation represents the first major foreign policy crisis for Pakistani premier Imran Khan, who is believed to be close to the powerful military and who came to power last year vowing to seek dialogue with New Delhi. (AFP, AP) This story has been published on: 2019-02-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Did United States President Donald Trump know something about the Balakot strike? Asked about Indias right to self-defence, the President told reporters last week, India is looking at something very strong. And, I mean, India just lost almost 50 people and... with an attack, so I can understand that also. And his national security adviser John Bolton had on his own told reporters at a briefing that he had conveyed to his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval in a phone call that we support Indias right to self-defence. The Mirage 2000 air strikes took place on Tuesday just days after that conversation. It could not be immediately confirmed if the US had an exact heads-up from India, or just a general one that New Delhi will be carrying out retaliatory action. We have nothing to add to what has already been said, an administration official said when asked if the US had advance knowledge of the air strike. In Delhi, the ministry of external affairs had foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale brief ambassadors of P-5 countries, that include the US. One US official pointed to Trumps remarks that India is looking at something very strong. But there is a general acknowledgement in the US of Indias right to carry out retaliatory actions to terrorist attacks carried out by Pakistan-based outfits since the Uri surgical strike in 2016. The retaliatory action had come around Dovals phone call with then US NSA Susan Rice. Pakistan (should) take effective action to combat and delegitimise United Nations-designated terrorist individuals and entities, the White House had said in a readout of their conversation. There was no mention of Indias right to carry out a retaliatory strike in self- defence. But Peter Lavoy, a senior White House official at the time, said a few days later after the surgical strike, We do empathise with Indias perception that they do need to respond militarily. But, he had added, We want to highlight our strong interest in seeing caution prevail. China on Wednesday again asked India and Pakistan to exercise restraint as the tensions between the two neighbours escalated. Beijing urged both India and Pakistan to engage in dialogue to uphold the peace and stability in the region. I understand that in the latest development Pakistan says it had shot down two Indian aircraft and captured Indian pilots, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Lu Kang, said at a press briefing in Beijing, Lu said the international community is following the developments closely. Chinas position is clear. As two important countries in south Asia we hope that the two countries can exercise restraint and engage in dialogue and take actions for the peace and stability in the region, he said. Lus statement came soon after foreign minister Wang Yi also urged New Delhi and Islamabad to be restrained. We are concerned about the current tension in South Asia. As a mutual friend of India and Pakistan, China hopes that both sides will exercise restraint and avoid escalation, Wang said, referring to the strike carried out by Indian Air Force (IAF) in Balakot across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan. It is expected that the two sides will find out the truth of the incident through dialogue and jointly safeguard regional peace, Wang told Indias external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj who is attending the foreign ministers meeting of RIC (Russia-India-China) in Wuzhen, China. Birdman and 21 Grams director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu will head the jury at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival in May, becoming the first Mexican to do so, organisers said on Wednesday. Inarritu, 55, won the best director award in Cannes in 2006 for Babel, a film with a web of narratives spanning three continents and exploring cultural prejudices. He also won back-to-back best director Oscars in 2014 and 2015, for Birdman, a black comedy about a washed-up actor starring Michael Keaton, and The Revenant, which featured Leonardo DiCaprio as a bear trapper battling the elements in the American wilderness. We are proud to welcome the Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu as the Jury President of #Cannes2019! More infos: https://t.co/4eP5CfFXlN pic.twitter.com/gq4s0UI2dH Festival de Cannes (@Festival_Cannes) February 27, 2019 Cannes embraces all types of cinema, and through the presence of... Babels director, it is Mexican cinema that the Festival will be celebrating, organisers including Pierre Lescure, President of the Festival de Cannes, said in a statement. Also read: Inside Akash Ambani sangeet: Coldplay, Chainsmokers, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir perform They cited Carne y Arena (Flesh and Sand) - a virtual reality project showing life as an immigrant and presented by Inarritu at Cannes in 2017 - as a recent highlight of work he has launched in France. Other jury members for the 72nd edition of the festival, which runs from May 14 to 25, will be announced at a later date. Inarritu succeeds Australian actress Cate Blanchett as jury head. Last year the top Palme dOr award went to Shoplifters, by Japanese director Kore-eda Hirokazu. Inarritu is among a trio of Mexican film directors who have risen to global prominence in recent years, alongside Alonso Cuaron, who won this years best director Oscar for Roma, and Guillermo del Toro, whose feature The Shape of Water won the best picture Oscar in 2018. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop The national institute of virology (NIV) Pune has proposed a new regional centre dedicated to handling outbreaks of infectious diseases in Pune. The proposed centre will be set up within the premises of Dr Naidu hospital for infectious diseases, Sangamwadi and will consist of not only isolation wards but also pre-isolation wards, as well as developed critical treatment units or intensive critical units (ICU). The centre will cover Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), Pune cantonment board, Khadki cantonment board and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). Dr Mandeep Chadha, deputy director of NIV Pune said, The idea is to handle and treat outbreaks and new emerging diseases with state-of-the-art infrastructure. NIV will guide health department officials in developing wards, setting up infrastructure and purchasing the right kind of equipment. Sanjeev Wavre, assistant health officer, PMC said, So far we have held two meetings with NIV officials. The next meeting is scheduled for March 2 where the developmental plan of the centre will be discussed. Naidu hospital was selected as it has a history of tackling epidemics such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARs) and H1N1 influenza. Dr RR Gangakhedkar, head of epidemic and communicable diseases, Indian council of medical research, including NIV, said, The possibility of an outbreak is higher during monsoon, and hence it is good to be well prepared. The initiative will prove beneficial for the people of Pune and periphery. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached property belonging to absconding diamantaire Nirav Modi, valued at Rs 147.72 crore, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This is part of the ongoing investigation into the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case in which Modi is a key accused along with his maternal uncle, Mehul Choksi. This latest attachment includes a Rolls Royce, real estate, jewellery and highly-valued art. In a statement on Tuesday, the ED said, The ED has provisionally attached movable and immovable properties located in Mumbai and Surat, having market value of Rs147.72 crore consisting of eight cars, plant and machinery, consignments of jewellery, paintings and immovable property, owned by Nirav Modi and his group companies, namely Firestar Diamond International Private Limited, Firestar International Private Limited, Radheshir Jewelry Company Private Limited and Rhythm House Private Limited. The properties were attached under the PMLA, 2002. The attached pieces from Modis personal art collection include paintings by artists like Amrita Sher-Gil and MF Husain, and have been valued at Rs 50 crore. In 2018, the income tax department had seized more than 100 paintings and artworks while carrying out search operations against Nirav Modi. So far in this case, the ED has attached property worth Rs 1,725.36 crore in India and abroad. Additionally, gold, diamond, bullion, jewellery and other valuables worth Rs 489.75 crore have also been seized. Nirav Modi and Choksi are being probed in a money laundering case and the two are among the accused in the over-13,000-crore PNB scam. They are being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after PNB complained against Modi and Choksis companies, alleging Modi and Choksi had cheated PNB using fraudulent letters of undertaking (LoU). On the basis of a first information report registered by the CBI, the ED registered a money laundering case against them on February 15 last year, under provisions of the PMLA. The ED stated that its investigation has revealed that substantial proceeds obtained fraudulently by M/s Solar Exports, M/s Stellar Diamonds and M/s Diamond RUS all owned by Nirav Modi from PNB were diverted to entities controlled by either Modi or his relatives. The PMLA defines proceeds of crime as any property derived or obtained, directly or indirectly, by any person as a result of criminal activity relating to a scheduled offence or the value of any such property. Recently, the Raigad collectorate, which has been tasked with demolishing Modis bungalow in Alibaug, found expensive fittings, valuable cars and objects that may be antiques in the seaside property. Modi and Choksi both left India in January 2018. While Choksi has become a citizen of Antigua, Modi is currently believed to be in the United Kingdom. No subject is as intimidating to me as wine. We hear so many experts with so many different views that it is hard to know which one to believe. Terroir or winemaker? Grape variety or region? To decant or not to decant? To swirl or not to swirl? And so on. There are still no clear answers to the big questions. I dont think there ever will be. But I have been reading a fascinating book called Flavour by Bob Holmes, where he looks at some of these questions and explains what science has to say about them. Decant: I decant most red wine. Old wine needs to be decanted to get rid of its sediment. And young wines benefit from contact with oxygen, a process known as aerating. Moreover, because I have often noticed that the last half of the final glass of wine from every bottle is usually the best, (or maybe I am just so drunk by that stage of the proceedings that I like everything more), I try to wait a while after opening a bottle of red wine. Wine changes its character in the glass and many people advise us to let a good wine stand in the decanter for at least an hour before serving it. There are many people who disagree with these practices. A lot of Burgundy wine-makers I have spoken to say that decanting a) makes no difference or b) that it bruises the wine. Then, there is swirling. If you watch wine professionals closely, you will notice that they swirl the wine in their glasses to release all the vapours and the flavours. Is this really necessary? (Each time I do it, I spill wine on the tablecloth.) Holmes offers a scientific perspective. He comes down in favour of decanting wine, accepting that the reaction of oxygen with the wine creates new flavor compounds and upto a pointimproves the taste. (Too much oxygen and the wine spoils). Plus, he says, there are off-flavours which have accumulated in the bottles which will escape during normal decanting. On swirling and decanting, he has an interesting perspective. He quotes the currently trendy food writer and science nerd (he used to work for Microsoft), Nathan Myhrvold, who recommends hyper decanting. This involves pouring the bottle into a blender and whizzing for 30 seconds or more. Myhrvold has written even legendary wines like the 1982 Chateau Margaux benefit form a quick run through in the blender. So: dont just swirl; use a blender to swirl faster. Holmes organized a blind tasting to test this hypothesis. He put one third of a bottle into a blender, one third into a normal decanter and kept one third in the bottle. The blind tasters found little difference between the decanted wine and the stuff that had remained in the bottle. But the wine from the blender dazzled the guests with its huge and vivid aromas. There was a catch though. It only tasted great for ten minutes. After that, the wine was dull and lifeless while the other ones kept their flavours. Winetastings: Wine professionals hate blind tastings. All too often they get wines completely wrong. At the famous Judgment of Paris tasting in the 1970s, the great masters of French wine were fooled into praising California wines, believing that they were French. The question people ask after seeing experts fumble at blind tastings is: if these guys cant get it right when they dont know the names (and prices) of the wines they are tasting, then how can we trust their judgments at all? Holmes quotes the experience of an American wine-maker called Bob Hodgson who persuaded the organizers of the California Wine Fair to let him tamper with the wines they had put out for tasting. The experts were given 30 wines to taste blind. Hodgson rigged it so that three of the 30 were glasses of exactly the same wine. And of course, the experts did not get that. They gave each glass of the same wine a completely different rating. Hodgson then compared how wines had done at other competitions. He discovered that there was no consistency. A wine that had won a gold medal at one would not ever be ranked at another. So, is there an objective standard? Or are these experts just making it up as they go along. There are several answers to this question. Yeah, some experts are humbugs. But a tasting is the worst way to judge wines. You taste them within a context that is never revealed. A sour wine may be followed by a less sour one; one may be eaten with bread, the other without anything and so on. If there are 30 wines to be tasted then wont palates start dying after the tenth wine? Nobody can ever make objective judgments in that atmosphere. And yet, these are later presented as gospel. But there are people who know good wine from bad. Not all of them are professionals. I recently went to one of the worlds most famous restaurants with a wine-loving (and rich) friend. He ordered Haut Brion, one of the worlds greatest wines along with a bottle of a very good Spanish wine. I liked the Spanish wine but Haut-Brion is Haut-Brion. My friend was not convinced. Give the Spanish half an hour, he said. We did. And lo and behold it tasted better than the Haut Brion despite being one-fifth the price. Only an expert could have ignored the brand names and judged how both wines would develop. I have witnessed many such instances so yes, there are super tasters who are more gifted than the rest of us when it comes to judging wine. But theres also a lot of bullshit out there. Price: Do people like more expensive wines even if they are not very good. You bet! There are numerous studies documenting how people respond differently to exactly the same wine when they are told it is more expensive than it really is. But it isnt just snobbery. We actually allow our perception of the wine to be altered by price: that is what our brains are hardwired to do. Holmes writes about an experiment where volunteers had their brains scanned as they tried different wines. Once again, they were tricked into drinking the same wines again and again but told there were different price tags. And yes, they liked the ones they thought were expensive. But heres the thing: the scan showed that in the brain, the reward centre was more activated by wines that were supposed to be more expensive. So, it is not always hypocrisy. We genuinely enjoy things that we believe are more expensive. Terroir: One difference between old world and new world wines is that, in the old world, they much make much of terroir. This is a complex concept that includes all kinds of factors such as micro-climate. But one of its key components is the soil. French wine-makers will point to Burgundy where all the white wine is made from the Chardonnay grape. Yet the wines change every 20 miles or so. A Chablis, for instance, is very different from a Meursault. The French say this is because of terroir: the same grape yields a different wine in different soil. New world wine-makers are skeptical of this idea and Holmes is dismissive of the notion that soil can make any difference to the taste of a wine. He is uncharacteristically forthright. The notion that you can somehow taste the soil in a wine is completely false. Grape vines take up only water and simple nutrients like nitrogen, potassium and calcium from the soil. They make all their more complex biomolecules in house. To put it more bluntly, none of the volatile molecules that determine a wines flavor come directly from the soil. There is more in a similar vein (he hates the term minerality favoured by wine writers, for instance). The differences in flavour of the various wine made from the same grape, argues Holmes, have to do with other things: ripeness, perhaps. He gives the example of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc which is noted for its passion fruit and green pepper flavour. The green pepper notes, he says, come from young grapes. Those harvested later have more passion fruit. Methods of harvesting also matter. New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc which is mechanically harvested has a more pronounced passion fruit flavour than French Sauvignon Blanc which is gently picked by hand. Most interesting though are Holmess conclusions about the fermentation process. All Indians know about the role of microbes in creating dahi. If we make a bowl of dahi in London, using exactly the same milk and the same process as we do in say, Lucknow, the dahi will taste different because the microbes in the London atmosphere are different from those in Lucknow. So it is with wine. Holmes gives the example of a test carried out at the University of Auckland where batches of identical Sauvignon Blanc grapes were fermented with six different yeasts. In the end, each wine was noticeably different. So perhaps the French should widen their definition of terroir to include the yeast in each region. And finally: I dont necessarily agree with Holmes about everything (terroir, in particular) but it is good to do a little scientific detective work in an area like wine which is dominated by so much hype and myth. Anything that cleans up mysteries is welcome. To read more on The Taste With Vir, click here Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter The Ludhiana Lok Sabha constituency, a seat that saw a four-cornered contest in 2014, appears set for a triangular show in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Traditionally a Congress stronghold, Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat has always seen a keen contest, mostly between the Congress and the Akali Dal. In 2014, however, Congress candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu won the elections, defeating Aam Aadmi Partys HS Phoolka, while Akali Dals Manpreet Singh Ayali and independent Simarjeet Singh Bains stood third and fourth, respectively. Phoolka has quit active politics since and AAP lacks a prominent face this time. Bains, who had secured over 2-lakh votes in 2014 parliamentary polls, has formed Lok Insaaf Party and is an MLA from Atam Nagar. He has joined hands with the Punjab Democratic Alliance (PDA) that includes Sukhpal Khairas Punjabi Ekta Party, Ranjit Singh Brahmpura-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Taksali) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Insiders say that two-time MLA from Atam Nagar constituency, Bains will throw the hat in the ring and contest the Lo k Sabha polls .Bains has always been very ambitious. Hes PDAs sure shot candidate from Ludhiana, said a political leader on request of anonymity. Bains, however, didnt share his plans, saying, I will do what my party asks me to. Sitting MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, the grandson of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, has become active in the constituency as the polls are approaching and is attending public functions on a daily basis. He is counting on the works done during his five-year tenure. Bittu, as a Congress insider revealed, is relaxed over the party ticket after his rival, former MP Manish Tewari, applied for the ticket from Chandigarh. Bittu loyalists are hopeful of the party ticket. However, Tewari loyalists have also been suggesting that party chief Rahul Gandhi is keen on fielding a Hindu face from Ludhiana. A section in the Congress feels that in case Tewari fails to get the Congress ticket from Chandigarh, Ludhiana will be his second choice. Bittu, on the other hand, says he wouldnt contest from any seat other than Ludhiana. The Shiromani Akali Dal most likely will field former adviser to the chief minister and senior leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal. If the party wants to field me, then why not? said Grewal, who has also become active at public events. Sources said Sahnewal MLA Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, who is close to former CM Parkash Singh Badal and has represented the seat in the past, could also be a formidable candidate. Dhillon, however, said he is happy being an MLA. Speculations are rife that SAD and BJP may swap Ludhiana and Amritsar segments this time. In case the seat goes to the BJP, the party will have to look for a suitable candidate. From AAP, district president Daljit Singh Grewal is in the race for the ticket. In 2014, AAP candidate HS Phoolka had secured over 2.6-lakh votes and he was next only to winner Ravneet Singh Bittu. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad has set up the worlds first gene bank that is powered entirely by solar energy. Spread across 4,500 sq metres, the gene bank is powered by a 500 kW solar power plant generating 60,000 units per month. A gene bank is a type of bio-repository that preserves genetic material of plants and animals. The greening of the gene bank was funded by the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) and is expected to reduce power-related expenses by up to 75%, which will amount to huge savings over the next few decades. Gene banks need constant cooling systems which sometimes need to be at temperatures of minus 20 degrees. They are home to in vitro storage of plants, freezing cuttings from a plant or stocking of seeds. Such banks are critical to global food security as they conserve genetic resources of major crop plants. The facility in Hyderabad is the largest in the world for ICRISATs mandate crops or those which can address food security issues in the semi-arid and tropics of Africa and Asia. These areas which are collectively known as tropical drylands are home to two billion people out of which 600 million are considered to be poor. Their geographical focus area spreads across 55 countries and 6.5 million sq km. Gene diversity of crops is being lost in situ and on the farm. Gene banks such as ours guarantee the conservation of agrobiodiversity, which aids farmers in protecting crops from diseases, insect-pests and climate change, ICRISAT gene banks head Vania Azevedo said. Established in 1979, the institute has one of the oldest and biggest gene banks in the world for crops such as groundnut, millets, chickpea, and sorghum. It is currently in possession of 1,22, 522 accessions. An accession is a single, collected variety or varieties of a wild plant, a landrace or a plant variety that has been produced by selective breeding, more commonly known as a cultivar. ICRISAT is also home to 4,278 accessions of five small millets as well as 7,44,177 samples of plants distributed across 148 countries. Several plants now conserved in the ICRISAT gene banks have disappeared from their natural habitats in Africa and Asia. It has also deposited more than 1,11,000 accessions at Svalbard Global Seed Vault (SGSV), Norway as a safety backup. The Norwegian facility is considered a final refuge to protect earths seed varieties from impending catastrophes and climate change. We have managed to release more than 150 commercial cultivars that were conserved only in our gene banks over the years for the benefit of farmers in different parts of the world. Also, scientific researches on the crops we conserve are particularly significant in the context of changing climatic patterns, Azevedo said. There are a total of 16 gene banks, including one at the ICRISAT, located in different cities across India. For days and weeks to come, there will be finely combed analysis on what the Indian Air Force did in the early hours of February 26. There will be claims and counter-claims from India and Pakistan about the nature, scale and success of the operation. The world will keenly wait to see if there is an escalatory spiral. International relations scholars will ask if this marks the end of Pakistans ability to deploy nuclear blackmail to wage an asymetrical war with India. But in the theatre that means most to political parties, the strikes, although they may not have been motivated by political considerations (the mood across the country was one that was demanding retaliation for the Pulwama terror attack), have given one side the clear edge on national security. With less than 50 days to go before the elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Narendra Modi have locked in their political script. This script, coming in the wake of a challenging political climate, will have three key inter-related ingredients of a decisive and muscular leader who can be trusted; of a nationalist party willing to defend Indian interests; and of a stronger India which has changed the rules of engagement with its arch-rival. Watch: India is in safe hands, says PM Modi after IAF strikes in Balakot To be sure, neither the Pulwama attack nor Indias response to it should be politicised , but the nature of politics anywhere in the world is that attacks and strikes such as these will be used in campaigns. Two caveats are essential at the outset. Indian general elections are deeply complex. It is often a sum of state elections. Each state has its own political dynamic. Regional parties play a huge role in many of these states. Local factors of candidates, caste, social engineering, alliances and arithmetic, religious polarisation matter. So does the economic narrative. The nature of the campaign is also key in determining the outcome. And few elections in India have been won or lost because of a single factor. This is also a fluid diplomatic and military situation. Pakistan has threatened a response. And it is not clear what form it will take, and what India will do next. At the same time, the Pulwama terror attack and now the cross-border air response gives a key talking point for the BJP in the elections and leaves the Opposition scrambling to find an appropriate response. Here is the context. After the setback in the state polls last year, the BJP was staring at a rather drastic reduction of its 2014 tally. The Modi hawa was seen to be ebbing. The Congress revival was the big story. Rahul Gandhi had come into his own, with sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra making an entry into politics. Key opposition alliances had got stitched, particularly in Uttar Pradesh. The issue of jobs and agrarian distress undermined the governments narrative of progress. The BJPs state governments were underperforming too, adding an extra layer of anti-incumbency. And while losses in north, west and central India seemed inevitable, corresponding gains in the east and south were not apparent. When presented with this scenario, BJP leaders often turned to two formulations. The first was how this will be a presidential election.They had Modi. The Opposition had no leader. And the second defence rested on how this narrative underestimated the tremendous work done in creation of rural assets -- housing, toilets, roads, electrification -- and in the structural reforms. But a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader admitted candidly last month, Modi has always believed that you need an emotional factor in elections. That emotional factor is missing so far. The air strikes gives the BJP precisely this emotional factor. Over the past 10 days, there has been both spontaneous outrage and organised campaigns to channel the upsurge of nationalist sentiment. Modi himself ratcheted up expectations at his public meetings emphasising how angry India was, how the terrorists had made a mistake, how he had given a free hand to the forces to respond, and how there will be a price to pay. BJP leaders were deputed to attend funerals and visit the families of martyrs. The party will do everything in the next few weeks to advertise these air strikes as proof of Modis decisiveness. This, then, will be used to reinforce the BJPs commitment to national security, laced with the subtext that the opposition parties have always been weak on the question. The BJP will repeat its assertions that the Congress kept quiet after 26/11, while this government responded after both Uri and Pulwama. It will claim to have called Pakistans bluff and made sponsoring terror more costly for them. And it will suggest in campaign speeches that this is an India which faces threats; it needs a strong leader epitomised by Modi and a strong party and not a chaotic leaderless coalition of disparate forces. The BJP is feeling vulnerable in its stronghold of Hindi heartland and it hopes this message will resonate the loudest exactly in this area. Whether this works or not will only be known on result day. But the Opposition has a clear challenge. It knows the national mood was for strong action after Pulwama. It has praised the air force. But non-BJP parties feel stuck, for they cannot be seen as either congratulating or criticising the government. The former will allow Modi to monopolise credit; the latter will allow the BJP to accuse the Opposition of politicising the attacks even as it does so on its own quite systematically. Rahul Gandhi played a smart tactical card by appointing Lt Gen (retd) DS Hooda to head a task force on national security. But the Opposition now needs to take a call of whether to engage on national security issues at all where the BJP has the edge in public imagination or cede that space and seek to turn the conversation back to domestic economic issues where it may have an edge. The air strikes may or may not alter the outcome of the elections entirely. But they will change the nature of the political conversation and shape the campaign for sure. This suits the BJP. The Opposition will have to find innovative ways to wrest back the initiative. Fear has gripped villagers along the 744-km long Line of Control and 198 km long International Border following overnight shelling by Pakistani troops in Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch districts in Jammu region and in Baramulla district in Kashmir valley and air space violation by Pakistani fighter jets in Nowshera sector on Wednesday morning. After a brief lull Pakistan Army again resorted to heavy shelling in Mankote, Mendhar and Balakote areas of Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir Wednesday evening, prompting India to retaliate in equal measure. Pakistan started opening fire and shot mortars in Balnoi Sagra area of Mankote sector around 6 pm on Wednesday. Ten minutes later they started firing in Mendhar and at 6.40 pm they also spread the arc of fire to Balakote, said an official. Authorities ordered all government and private schools within a range five km from International Border in Samba, Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch to remain closed on Thursday. The nervousness is also visible in the town of Uri in Baramulla district after shelling late Tuesday night continued for several hours in nearby villages of Kalgai and Kamalkote which began. We are living in fear and since 3 am we have been hearing sounds of shelling, said Zaffar Iqbal, who owns a shop in the main town. We are the border residents who will have to pay the price of any escalation. Follow live updates here The town which has a small market is always filled with villagers who come down from mountains wore a deserted look on Wednesday as all shops were closed. Today shops are closed due to strike on Article 35A, and due to shelling villagers prefer to remain in their villages, however, whenever there is shelling on the LoC or nearby villages very few people come to the town, said Manzoor Ahmad a resident of Lagama village which is four kilometre ahead of town and forwards posts of both India and Pakistan are visible for the village. The administration has planned to move people of some villages along the LoC to safer locations after ceasefire violation during the night. Deputy Commissioner Baramulla, G N Ittoo and SSP Baramulla, Abdul Qayoom had a meeting with village heads in the wake of the shelling. Officials said that shells fired from Pakistani side fell at Kamalkote and Kalgai villages which are located along the LoC. Senior Superintendent of Police Baramulla, Abdul Qayoom said that there has been no loss of life or property in Uri by the shelling. If there is a need, people could be shifted to safer places. Pakistan violated 2003-ceasefire agreement by shelling mortars using battalion level artillery through the night. In the Uri sector, the two sides exchanged fire that began around 3 am on Wednesday. In late 1990s cross border shelling was a routine which forced many times villagers near close to Loc to migrate towards safer places. We have lost hundreds of villagers; many were maimed and injured before ceasefire was implemented. That time we had underground bunkers which got damaged in 2005 earthquake. Now we are at mercy of almighty, said Mukthair Ahmad a resident of Garcoat. Also Read | 2 Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists killed in encounter in Jammu and Kashmirs Shopian Tension has escalated between India and Pakistan after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed blew up a bus killing 40 CRPF troopers on February 14 which prompted Tuesdays air strike by India on a JeM camp across the LoC. In Jammu region, despite the Army and the Border Security Force (BSF) being put on high alert along border districts of Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch, villagers fear a spike in shelling. Situation has turned tense on Wednesday. The Army has called me twice on my phone telling me to relay the info to villagers to take precautionary measures. They have asked us to stay indoors and stop sending children to school, said Bachan Lal, former Sarpanch of Abdulian-Chanduchak Panchayat. Lals wife Neelam Devi is the Sarpanch of the Panchayat. Though schools within five km radius of Rajouri and Poonch districts were closed on Tuesday and Wednesday in view of the volatile situation, schools in Jammu district had remained open on Wednesday.. Also Read | Only seven people knew of the timing of air strike on Balakot Jammus Deputy Commissioner Ramesh Kumar said that people have been advised to stay alert and take precautionary measures. Five Indian soldiers were injured late Tuesday when Pakistan pounded around 15 places along the LoC in Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch districts. Defence spokesman Lt Col Devender Anand said, On Tuesday around 6.30 PM onwards Pakistan out of anger and frustration initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with heavy calibre weapons in 12 to 15 places all along the LoC. Pakistan army targeted Akhnoor, Pallanwala in Jammu district, Nowshera, Laam, Jhangar in Rajouri district and Mankote, Mendhar, KG sector, Khari Karmara, Balakote and Poonch in Poonch sectors. Rahul Yadav, District Magistrate of Poonch denied reports of migration from forward villages in Poonch district including Chajala Pathri. A Pakistani was among two Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists killed in a firefight with security forces in south Kashmirs Shopian on Wednesday, a police statement said. As many as 11 JeM terrorists have been killed in Kashmir since the Pakistan-based group claimed responsibility for the February 14 suicide bomb attack that left 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel dead in Pulwama, around 25 km from Shopian. The attack escalated tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad. India launched an air strike on a JeM camp in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday. The police statement said the firefight started after the Jammu and Kashmir police, Army and CRPF launched a cordon and search operation in Shopians Memender area following a tip-off about the presence of terrorists. It said a combing operation was going on when the terrorists holed up in the area, fired upon the search party and triggered the exchange of fire. In the ensuing encounter, two terrorists were killed and their bodies were retrieved from the site of the encounter, the statement said. Both were affiliated with the proscribed terror outfit, JeM. One of the slain was identified as Suhail Nazir Mir, a resident of Saidapora Payeen in Shopian. The statement said the other slain militant was a foreigner from Pakistan, who was identified based on the material recovered from the encounter. It did not name the Pakistani national. The statement cited police records and said the two were involved in conspiring and executing several terrorist attacks, including on security establishments and civilians. Several terror crime cases were registered against them for their terrorist activities, it stated. It added that the security forces recovered arms and ammunition from the firefight site. The statement called it a clean operation with no collateral damage and credited efforts of the police and other security forces for ensuring it. Aman Kumar Thakur, a deputy superintendent of Jammu and Kashmir police, and an Army soldier were killed in a firefight in Kulgam on Sunday. Two Pakistanis, Waleed, and Numan, and local JeM terrorist, Raqib Ahmad Sheikh, were also killed in a gun battle. Thousands of visitors turned up with much enthusiasm and zeal to witness the Beating the Retreat ceremony at Attari border on Tuesday and waved the Tricolour to celebrate the early-morning airstrike on terror camps in Pakistan. We had expected that the footfall of tourists will dip as the tension between India and Pakistan has escalated, but it actually went up, said a BSF official. The visitors gallery on the Indian side, which can accommodate around 25,000 people at a time, was jam-packed. However, the gallery on Pakistan side that can accommodate around 5,000 peole was half occupied. Pakistan had committed a blunder in Pulwama. We are very happy with the action of Indian Air Force, said Raunak, who was at Attari to witness the retreat ceremony. Amit Kumar from Delhi said, We are very happy to have witnessed the ceremony the day India launched the air strike. Our forces should always retaliate against the terror activities by the neighbouring country. At Amritsar-Attari thoroughfare, the movement of army vehicles was observed on Tuesday. Fear in border villages However, people living in the villages near the India-Pakistan border in Amritsar have been living in panic since Tuesday morning. We appreciate the action of Indian Air Force against Pakistan. It was mandatory to give a befitting reply to Pakistan for the Pulwama terror attack. But, we are living in fear as we live about 500 metres from the zero line, said former Sarpanch of Rodawala village, Dalwinder Singh. Baldev Singh, a farmer of the same village, said, During a similar situation in 2016, we were forced to evict our villages. Bachhittar Singh of Dhanoa Khurd, another border village in Amritsar, said, I own some land across the fencing. Today morning when I was on my way to cut fodder from my land, I was not allowed to go by the BSF. This will continue to be so till the situation becomes normal. Indians start returning from Pakistan Indians who had gone to Pakistan have started returning in view of the tension between the two countries. I, along with my wife Varsha, my elder brother Sadhu Ram and his wife Khamaya Bai, had gone to Pakistan around a month ago to take part in a wedding in Balochistan. We had visa for three months, but cut short our stay due to the ongoing tension. We missed the wedding that is scheduled for March, said Radhe Sham, who crossed over to India through the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari on Tuesday. He further said people in Pakistan were also living in fear. No one in India and Pakistan wants war. The tension should be defused as early as possible, said Radhe Shams wife Varsha. Dharminder Singh, an auto-rickshaw driver at Attari, said, We have noticed a spurt in the number of Indians coming back from Pakistan lately. Punjab police beef up security Punjab Police have stepped up security on roads leading to the border with Pakistan. On Tuesday, a number of police teams were seen searching vehicles. A bullet-proof vehicle has also been deployed at the entry point of Attari town. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on Wednesday the group has not issued any press statement about the ongoing clashes between India and Pakistan. Mujahid told Reuters that the statement circulating about their comments on India, Pakistan clashes was fake. We have not said that India, Pakistan clashes will affect the Afghan peace process. The press statement shared on social media and with news companies is fake, he said. (Reporting by Jibran Ahmed in Peshawar, Writing by Rupam Jain; editing by Darren Schuettler) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday raised a strong pitch for concerted international effort to combat terrorism at the foreign ministers meeting of RIC (Russia-India-China) in Wuzhen, China. Swaraj said that she raised Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir with her counterparts from Russia and China during her meeting with these leaders. The external affairs minister said terrorism is a threat to the whole world and requires a mechanism led by the United Nations to combat it. She said, We need a global strategy, global cooperation to counter-terrorism. I am happy to tell you today we discussed the establishment of UN-led global counter-terrorism mechanism and finalising CCIT (Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism) proposed by India to implement it. Chinas foreign minister, Wang Yi spoke in a well-calibrated way about tackling terrorism Beijing and Islamabad are close allies and call themselves iron brothers. Talking about RICs stand against terror, Wang said it was especially important to eradicate the breeding grounds of terrorism. Soon after, he came out in support of Pakistans counter-terrorism efforts. China, Russia, and India have reaffirmed our strong opposition to terrorism in its various forms and manifestations. At the same time, we believe that Pakistan has always been opposed to terrorism, Wang said. On recent developments between India and Pakistan, China appreciates the statements by Indian and Pakistani friends saying that they would exercise restraint and avoid escalation of the situation, he added. As a mutual friend to both India and Pakistan, we do hope that they can conduct dialogue to establish facts through investigations to keep things under control and maintain peace and stability in the region. In this process, China is playing a constructive role not the opposite, he added. The joint communique released at the end of the RIC also talked about tackling terrorism. The statements from the leaders and the communique come a day after India carried out strike at terror camps deep across the Line of Control (LoC) destroying the biggest Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp at Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Jaish-e-Mohammed had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack killing 40 soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir on February 14. The IAF strike, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said, was carried out in the view of concrete intelligence inputs that the Jaish-e-Mohammed was planning to carry out more terror attacks in India. As far as Pulwama is concerned, I had raised this issue in the bilateral meeting with Mr Wang Yi and also at RIC (Russia-India-China) forum, Swaraj said adding that the three countries agreed to cooperate to counter terrorism. She, however, said that given the threat posed by terrorism, a strategy by three countries India, Russia and China, would not be enough to meet the challenge. You heard the address by Mr Wang Yi (Chinese foreign minister), he said - We will cooperate to eradicate breeding ground of terrorism and extremism -, she said, Its not just a joint strategy but also our commitment...Terrorism is a threat to humanity, so strategy by the three countries is not enough. The limited objective of the pre-emptive strike in Balakot across the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan was to act decisively against the terrorist infrastructure of the Jaish-e-Mohammed to pre-empt another terrorist attack in India, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday. In the light of the continued refusal of Pakistan to acknowledge and act against terror groups on its territory and based on credible information that JeM is planning other attacks in various parts of India, the government of India has decided to take pre-emptive action, Swaraj said. The target was selected in order to avoid civilian casualties. Excellences, this was not a military operation. No military installations were targeted, she added. Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter planes destroyed a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist camp in a pre-dawn strike on Tuesday in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwas province after penetrating deep across the LoC to enter Pakistani airspace for the first time in 48 years. India described the air strike, in which government officials said over 300 terrorists, trainers and commanders may have been killed, as a non-military pre-emptive action. Also read: Govts full statement on IAF airstrikes across LoC in Balakot The strike by Mirage 2000 jets at around 3:30am was ordered on the basis of credible intelligence that the Pakistan-based JeM, which claimed responsibility for the February 14 suicide car bombing, planned to carry out suicide attacks in various parts of India. India said the attack on the groups biggest terrorist camp, located in the town of Balakot, was undertaken in self-defence. Swaraj was making her opening remarks during the 16th Russia, India and China (RIC) foreign ministers forum being held in Wuzhen, a picturesque water town in eastern Chinas Zhejiang province. India does not wish to see a further escalation of the situation and India will continue to act with responsibility and restraint, she said. Also read: Yusuf Azhar, IC-814 hijacker, was key target of the Balakot air strike Swaraj earlier told her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that the worst attack on its soldiers in Kashmirs Pulwama district earlier this month was carried out by JeM under the cover and impunity given it to by Pakistan. The attack was carried by JeM, the Pakistan-based and supported terrorist organisation, Swaraj told Wang on Wednesday during her bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the RIC meet. I am visiting China at a time when there is grief and anger in India. It is the worst terrorist attack directed against our security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, she said. Also read: Balakot camp blown up by IAF was Jaishs preferred training spot for 18 years Stating that the JeM is banned by the United Nations and other countries, Swaraj told Wang that This terrorist attack is a direct result of the impunity and cover provided to the JeM and its leaders by the Pakistani side. After the Pulwama attack, the entire UN has spoken with a full voice to condemn it, she said. The Indian foreign minister arrived in Wuzhen hours ahead of her meeting with Wang. She will be meeting Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov besides taking part in the trilateral forum. Swaraj told Wang that this was their first meeting of the year and therefore an opportune time for us to take stock of our bilateral relations and look ahead for cooperation. India-China relation is an important relationship for both of our countries. We have made substantial progress in relations, Swaraj said referring to the informal meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and president Xi Jinping in Wuhan in April last year. It is important for both sides to make sure the through and effective implementation of the guidance given by the two leaders. Both the sides made efforts in this regard and we should sustain this, she said. Particularly the decision taken by our leaders to maintain strategic communication between them provided is an important foundation for the development of our bilateral relations. This channel of strategic communicator between the two of us and between senior officials should always remain open, Swaraj said. Earlier, in a statement to the Hindustan Times about the importance of the RIC, the Chinese foreign ministry said: China, Russia and India, as world powers and important emerging market countries, share common interests and shoulder important responsibilities in promoting world peace, stability and development. It has become an important platform for the three countries to strengthen strategic communication, coordinate their positions on major issues and seek consensus and cooperation, the ministry said. Last November, the leaders of the three countries held informal meetings in Argentina, which pointed out the direction and injected strong momentum into the tripartite cooperation, it said. The foreign ministry said that during this meeting, the foreign ministers of the three countries will take the implementation of the important consensus of the leaders of the three countries as the main line, and will have in-depth communication on major regional and international issues of common concern. Pakistan on Wednesday claimed that its air force undertook strikes on the Indian side of the Line of Control from within Pakistani airspace. The Pakistan government statement said its strikes were not a retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. In a statement titled Pakistani Strikes Back, Islamabad said This was not a retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. Pakistan has therefore, taken strikes at non military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. Sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. (Live updates) There has been no response from the Indian government on Pakistans claim. Pakistan, in the statement, claimed that it had no intention to escalate the situation but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we undertook the action with clear warning and in broad daylight. Also read: Pakistani jets violate Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmirs Nowshera, F-16 shot down The Pakistani statement said: For the last few years, India has been trying to establish what they call a new normal a thinly veiled term for doing acts of aggression at whatever pretext they wish on a given day. If India is striking at so called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan. We do not wish to go to that route and wish that India gives peace a chance and to resolve issues like a mature democratic nation. Pakistani aircraft violated Indian air space in the Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmirs Rajouri district on Wednesday morning. The Indian Air Force scrambled jets and pushed them back. News agency ANI has reported that a Pakistan Air Force F-16 was shot down in Indian retaliatory fire in Nowsheras Lam valley. The air space violation by Pakistani jets comes a day after Indian Air Force jets destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammeds biggest terror camp across the Line of Control in Balakot. Also read: Only seven people knew of the timing of air strike on Balakot Indian forces carried out a strike at the biggest camp of the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot early on Tuesday morning. Indian Air Force dropped 1,000 pound bombs in a thickly-forested hilltop that eliminated a large number of terrorists. The terror camp was headed by Jaish chief Masood Azhars brother-in-law Maulana Yousuf Azhar. The Supreme Court said on Wednesday if the Central Bureau of Investigations allegations against former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar on tampering of call data records in the Saradha chit fund case were true, it was a serious issue and a contemptuous act. The judges, however, questioned the CBIs silence for over six months on the alleged tampering of records and said the agency should have come to the court earlier. This amounts to subversion of rule of law, said a bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprising justice Sanjiv Khanna. The court said the CBI must affirm the allegations and ordered the director to file a sworn affidavit. It fixed March 26 as the next date of hearing as it refused to acknowledge attorney general KK Venugopal and solicitor general Tushar Mehtas oral submissions. Both law officers appeared for the CBI. According to the CBI, the call data records containing details of alleged calls made by several accused persons to important people were with the West Bengal police before the CBI took over on the top courts orders. Venugopal explained to the court that there was a delay in getting verification of the CDRs as various service providers were not parting with the information and did so only after the approval of ministry of home affairs. The CJIs bench was hearing the CBIs contempt petition against Kumar, the state DGP and chief secretary. The CBI had rushed to the top court after an unprecedented turn of events took place in Kolkata on February 3 when the agency officials were arrested by the police after they reached Kumars house to question him in connection with the chit fund scam. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held second high-level security meet during the day on Wednesday evening when he met the three service chiefs and reviewed the situation emerging out of aerial engagement with Pakistan. PM Modi was briefed about the latest security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LoC). He had held a meeting of top security officials earlier in the day at the Prime Ministers Office and reviewed the security situation following violation of Indian airspace by Pakistani fighter jets in Jammu and Kashmir. Indian Air Force responded to the intrusion by Pakistani fighter planes and an F-16 jet was shot down, said external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. India lost one MiG-27 Bison in the aerial engagement with Pakistan Air Force, Kumar said adding, One pilot was missing in action. (Follow live updates) The meetings took place in the background flare up between India and Pakistan especially after Pakistan Air Force violated Indian airspace and attempted to target military establishments on Indian side of the Line of Control. Also read: IAF pilot who engaged Pak jets missing in action, says Govt After PM Modi held the meetings with the security officials and chiefs of Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy, security was beefed up at various places especially around sensitive locations. India issued a strong demarche over vulgar display of injured IAF personnel in a video showing him in the custody of Pakistani authorities. India asked Pakistan to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. The government also handed over a dossier to Pakistan on Jaish-e-Mohammeds role in Pulwama terror attack that killed at least 40 CRPF jawans on February 14. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah to lodge a strong protest over violation of Indian airspace by the PAF. India said it was an unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan and undertaken in sharp contrast to IAFs non-military anti-terror pre-emptive strike at a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist camp in Balakot on Tuesday morning. Watch: India lost one MiG 21, pilot who engaged Pak jets missing in action: Govt Pakistan had earlier said its air force shot down two Indian fighter jets and claimed to have captured two Indian Air Force pilots in custody. By the evening, Pakistan made a U-turn and said that only one pilot was in its custody whose video had surfaced on social media. Also read: Lets not miscalculate: Imran Khan after Pakistan jets violate Indian airspace Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday cut short his address at a function in New Delhis Vigyan Bhawan. This comes amid reports that Pakistan made attempts to violate Indian airspace this morning. News agency ANI said the prime minister cut short his function to attend a meeting to review the security situation arising out of violation of Indian airspace by Pakistan this morning. PM Modi was at the National Youth Festival 2019 and replying to the questions from youngsters when he was handed over a small piece of paper by an official of Prime Minister Office (PMO), ANI reported. The prime minister immediately stopped and left the venue waiving at the audience. Earlier, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh held a high-level security meeting attended by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and Intelligence Bureau Director Rajiv Jain among others. A detailed presentation was given at the meeting about the security situation in the country and steps taken to ensure peace in all sensitive places, PTI report said. The agency also quoted a home ministry official as saying that Singh directed to ensure the Border Security Force continues to remain on highest level of alertness along the India-Pakistan border. The development comes after Pakistan Air Force violated Indian airspace with its F-16 jets. Three F-16 fighter jets violated Indian airspace in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir this morning but were pushed back by the Indian side. The Indian Air Force on Tuesday carried out a strike deep across the Line of Control (LoC) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan to destroy a terror camp at Balakot. The terror camp was the biggest training centre of the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed, which claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack. A CRPF convoy had been targeted by the terrorists on February 14 on its way from Jammu to Srinagar. At least 40 soldiers were killed in the terror attack, which saw India stepping up pressure on Pakistan with a series of measures. Pakistani aircraft violated Indian air space in the Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmirs Rajouri district on Wednesday morning. The Indian Air Force scrambled jets and pushed them back. News agency ANI has reported that a Pakistan Air Force F-16 was shot down in Indian retaliatory fire in Nowsheras Lam valley. The Pakistani jets had entered into Indian air space over Rajouri district this morning, sources said. The air space violation by Pakistani jets comes a day after Indian Air Force jets flew across the Line of Control to blow up Jaish-e-Mohammeds biggest terror camp. The Pakistan government has claimed in a statement that its air force undertook strikes on the Indian side of the Line of Control from within Pakistani airspace. There has been no response from the Indian government on Pakistans claim. The Pakistan government statement said its strikes were not a retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. The strikes were carried out at non military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. Sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. The statement also said Islamabad had no intention to escalate the situation but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we undertook the action with clear warning and in broad daylight. If India is striking at so-called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan, the statement said. We do not wish to go to that route and wish that India gives peace a chance and to resolve issues like a mature democratic nation, it said. Watch | All parties praised IAF, stand behind governments anti-terror efforts: Sushma Swaraj The Preakness is a very valuable component to Maryland racing, there's no question about it. But what drives the jobs, what drives the green space, what drives the ecosystem, is the day in, day out racing, he said. This is about the state of Maryland and the economic impact that racing has on the entire state, not about one day or one race or one city. Here is the full text of the Government statement India had informed about Counter Terrorism (CT) action it took yesterday against a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan based on credible evidence that JeM intended to launch more attacks. Against this Counter Terrorism Action, Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistans attempts were foiled successfully. The Pakistan Air Force was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts. India has asked Pakistan to ensure immediate release and safe return of the IAF pilot who was missing in action after he engaged with Pakistani jets that violated Indian airspace on Wednesday morning. Pakistan Army released a video that shows a blindfolded man, identifying himself as a Wing Commander-rank IAF officer and his service number. India has strongly objected to Islamabad putting out photographs and videos of the pilot. A statement by the ministry of external affairs said the video was a vulgar displayof an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention . (Follow live updates) Watch: Hundreds gather at Attari-Wagah post to welcome IAF pilot The Wing Commander was part of the IAFs Combat Air Patrol (CAP) that engaged the on-coming Pakistani fighters that violated Indian airspace this morning, a day after India carried out a counter-terror strike at Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Pakistan. The ministry of external affairs had earlier in the day summoned Pakistans Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah to lodge a strong protest over Pakistan Air Forces bid to attack Indian military installations. Also read: Pakistan army retracts earlier claim, says only one Indian pilot in custody India said Pakistans unprovoked act of aggression was in sharp contrast to Indias non-military anti-terror pre-emptive strike at a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist camp in Balakot on Tuesday morning. It is unfortunate that instead of fulfilling its international obligation and bilateral commitment to take credible action against terrorist entities and individuals operating from its soil, Pakistan has acted with aggression against India, the statement said. The statement added that it was already conveyed to Pakistan that India reserves the right to take firm and decisive action to protect its national security. New Delhi regretted the continuing denial by Pakistans political and military leadership at the presence of terrorist infrastructure in territories under its control. A dossier was handed over to Pakistan side with specific details of JeM complicity in Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan, the MEA statement said. Also read: IAF pilot who engaged Pakistan jets is missing in action, MiG 21 lost: Govt New Delhi has said that Pakistani fighter jets tried to target its military installations on Wednesday morning but their attempts were foiled by the Indian Air Force. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistans attempts were foiled successfully, said External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. India said that Pakistani fighter jets were detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. The air space violation by Pakistani fighter aircraft comes a day after Indian Air Force jets flew across the Line of Control to blow up Jaish-e-Mohammeds biggest terror camp. Tensions have been elevated since a suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based terrorists killed at least 40 CRPF jawans on February 14. Watch: India lost one MiG 21, pilot who engaged Pak jets missing in action: Govt A joint statement by opposition parties that accused the ruling BJP of politicising the sacrifices of the armed forces has drawn a sharp comeback from the ruling coalition. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said the allegation was baseless and sent a wrong message. What does this show That the country is not together, the minister said at a media conference. Who is happy (with the joint statement)? Pakistan, its army and its media, Javadekar said. He was responding to a statement from leaders of 21 opposition political parties, read out by Congress president Rahul Gandhi before television cameras, which condemned the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, showered praises on armed forces but targeted the BJP for blatant politicisation of the sacrifices made by the jawans. In a series of tweets, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley urged opposition parties to introspect. Please introspect - Your ill advised statement is being used by Pakistan to bolster its case, Jaitley concluded, calling upon all political parties to speak in one .voice. The Cross Border terror attack in Pulwama was a reality. The Balakot Operation was Indias Anti- Terror pre-emptive strike to defend its Sovereignty, he said. My appeal to Indias opposition - "Let the country speak in one voice". Please introspect - "Your ill advised statement is being used by Pakistan to bolster its case". Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) February 27, 2019 Jaitley wondered that when the whole nation had spoken in one voice, then why is Indias opposition alleging that the government is politicising our Anti-Terror Operations. The opposition statement came after an over-120 minute meeting of 21 political parties in the Parliaments annexe. Hitting back at Jaitley, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said that the BJP-led central government required real introspection. Entire opposition stood as one backing the armed forces & the Govt. Still, Amit Shah & entire BJP resorted to credit-seeking for the sacrifice of our martyrs & indulged in blaming the Congress provocatively, Surjewala tweeted. Also read: Blatant politicisation of sacrifices made by armed forces: 21 oppn parties The Supreme Court on Wednesday took note of the Centres submission that no new case of violence has been reported against Kashmiris since February 22 after the suicide bomb attack in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama nearly a fortnight ago. The top court said no further order is required at this stage in view of the submissions by the attorney general, the governments top law official. The top court had directed all states and Union territories last Friday 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 Pulwama attack. Students from Kashmir bore the brunt of the backlash that followed the suicide attack, in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed, 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. The bench, including Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, had said in the order that 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. Pulwama resident and Jaish-e-Mohammed operative Adil Ahmad Dar rammed an explosive-laden 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. The National Investigative Agency (NIA) raided the homes of separatists in the Valley for a second consecutive day on Wednesday, and searched 11 spots in south Kashmir, including the house of the owner of the vehicle that was used in the February 14 suicide bombing, which killed 40 CRPF troopers. On Tuesday, NIA teams raided seven places in Srinagar, including the houses of Hurriyat chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman, Yasin Malik, in relation to a terror funding case. The NIA said Wednesdays raids were in connection to the ongoing investigation in the terror attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy and in a case relating to the terror funding of separatists. The terror funding case pertains to allegations that some separatists received funds from Pakistan through hawala channels. The houses of Mudassir Ahmad Khan and Sajjad Bhat (both active militants of the Jaish-e-Mohammed and accused in the Pulwama attack) were searched. Searches were also conducted in the houses of active overground workers of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Tral, Awantipora and Pulwama areas of south Kashmir. Incriminating materials including diaries containing coded writings were seized, the spokesman said. The NIA said searches were also carried out in the houses of three separatist leaders of south Kashmir Mohammad Shaban Dar, Shawkat Maulvi and Yasmine Raza in connection to the terror funding case. Documents related to terror funding, coded messages and Jihadi literature have been seized. During searches, NIA teams also recovered lot of incriminating documents including property details, documents relating to financial and monetary transactions, electronic devices, mobile phones, sim cards. Families of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) men who died in the February 14 Pulwama terror attack welcomed Tuesdays air strike on the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) camp in Balakot, but said India should more to eliminate the scourge of terrorism and minimise troop casualties. Forty CRPF troopers died when a suicide car bomber rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into a bus carrying men from the paramilitary force. JeM claimed responsibility for the attack. In Uttar Pradeshs Varanasi, Renu Yadav, widow of Ramesh Yadav, welcomed the aerial strike on the JeMs biggest terror camp, but said she would be satisfied only when Prime Minister Narendra Modi took steps to ensure that no soldier was killed in the future. In Bahadurpur village of Chandauli district, Harikesh Yadav, father of CRPF jawan Awadhesh Yadav, said the IAF strike may bring some respite but the government should eliminate terrorism. The army should continue taking action against terrorists to ensure no mother loses her son and no wife loses her husband, said Awadheshs widow Shilpi Yadav. Rohini Tripathi, wife of CRPF constable Pankaj Tripathi of Maharajganj in Uttgar Pradesh, also expressed satisfaction. Action should continue till terrorism is put to an end, she said. The troopers killed in the Pulwama attack belonged to all parts India, from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the north to West Bengal in the east and Tamil Nadu in the south. In Rajasthans Nagar district, the family of Jeet Ram, said India had avenged the loss of their son. In Kota, the family of Hemraj Meena, also killed in the Pulwama attack, said the armed forces should continue to attack Pakistan. The government should carry on the action against terrorists who have been living in Pakistan until all of them are killed, said Rams father Radheyshyam Gurjar. Mita Santra, wife of Bablu Santra, and a resident of West Bengals Howrah, said she supported the strike but struck a sober note. The government has thought it right to strike and, therefore, it has struck But it should also think a little more on how to safeguard the personnels in different parts of the country. If there is a war, many will be killed; mothers will lose their sons, children, their fathers and wives, their husbands. An eyewitness to the alleged sexual abuse at a shelter home in Bihars Muzaffarpur has been found three days after she went missing along with six others, police said. The case was shifted to a Delhi Saket court on February 20. A Bihar police officer said the 16-year-old, who had been shifted to another shelter home in Mokama when the abuse came to light in May, was found at the Madhubani railway station on Tuesday night. She was about to take a train to an unknown destination when she was traced. A special investigating team (SIT) formed to trace the girl found her following specific inputs about her presence at the station. Three men, who were in touch with the girl from West Bengal over the last three days, have also been detained for interrogation, according to the SIT. The other six girls were traced to from Darbhanga, over 100 km from Mokama, hours after from they went missing on Saturday. After sincere efforts by the SIT... the seventh girl was recovered from Madhubani, Bihars additional director general (law and order) Amit Kumar said in a statement. He said the circumstances of the girls escape were yet to be fully established. It is early to say if the girls escaped on their own or received outside help. No evidence about the involvement of the NGO Nazareth Academy [which runs the Mokama shelter home] has surfaced so far. The SIT will soon complete the investigation and come out with all the details. Four of the seven girls are the survivors as well as witnesses to the sexual abuse that came to light after a Tata Institute of Social Sciences audit found that a majority of inmates at the Muzaffarpur shelter home had been sexually abused. Medical tests later confirmed that 34 of the 42 inmates at the shelter home had been repeatedly abused. A local NGO, Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samity, had put up the 16-year-old at the shelter home. Brajesh Thakur, the SSEVS secretary who was arrested in June, is alleged to have trafficked and tortured her along with his guests. He is among at least 20 people arrested in the case. Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday highlighted his partys role in blocking the passage of the citizenship bill in the Rajya Sabha and alleged that the Modi government was attacking the culture and way of life of every Northeastern state by trying to impose Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideology. Kicking off his partys election campaign in Assam at a public rally here, Gandhi said the Congress would fight the BJP-RSS ideology of hatred and violence with its own ideology of tolerance and love. Gandhi alleged that the incidents of two youths being shot at in Arunachal Pradesh, Jats fighting non-Jats in Haryana, people from UP and Bihar being chased in Maharashtra and North-Easterners being threatened in Delhi were examples of the BJP-RSS ideology of hatred. The BJP-RSS ideology is burning every state in the North-East. They are attacking your lifestyle, culture, language and history. They want to impose the Nagpur [RSS headquarters] culture on you, he alleged, adding that his party would protect the cultural identity of every North-Eastern state if voted to power. There have been widespread protests across the North-East over the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill that aims to provide citizenship to religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Last week, Arunachal Pradesh saw a shutdown and violence over a committees recommendation to grant permanent residency certificates to six non-Arunachali tribes. It (the citizenship bill) is an anti North-East bill. Its against the culture, language and history of the region. We are with you in this fight All states are important for us. Different language, identities make India. All people should get place in India and progress together, Gandhi claimed. BJP spokesperson Rupam Goswami was quick to respond to the allegation. Citizenship for persecuted minorities was a promise made by Rahul Gandhis great grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, which they never fulfilled. The BJPs stand is very clear. We stand with the people who have come for reasons of persecution and are suffering without citizenship for more than 70 years, he claimed. Speaking to party cadres after the Guwahati rally, Gandhi set a target for bagging at least 20 out of a total of 25 seats from the Northeast. I am expecting 20-plus seats in the Northeast for the Congress party, nothing less than that. But I think you should try to win 22, he said. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah has reached out to the Apna Dal, an ally in Uttar Pradesh, and assured its leadership that he would address its issues with the partys state unit, two leaders familiar with the matter said. The Apna Dal counts Patels, an Other Backward Class community, among its core support base in eastern Uttar Pradesh. It has been upset over not getting its share in power in the countrys most populous state Uttar Pradesh. The Apna Dal also wants a better deal in the seat sharing for the Lok Sabha elections due this summer, said a BJP leader privy to the discussions between the two parties. Apna Dal leadership has expressed displeasure over the functioning within the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and sent feelers to the Congress that is attempting to get a foothold in eastern Uttar Pradesh. We will try to reasonably address their issues. We do not want to lose a valuable ally, said one of the BJP leaders. Apna Dal president Ashish Patel said they will wait for some more time before taking any call after meeting Shah on Tuesday. His wife, Anupriya Patel, who is a minister in the Narendra Modi government, too, was present at the meeting. The Apna Dal had called a meeting of its national executive committee on February 28 to take stock of the situation and decide the future course of action regarding its alliance with the BJP. That meeting has been put off for now, Patel said. We have some issues related to Uttar Pradesh BJP and the way we have been treated. We shared our views with Amit Shah, and he has assured that there will be a solution, Ashish Patel said. The Apna Dal had contributed two seats to the NDAs tally as it swept the national polls in Uttar Pradesh and won 73 out of the 80 seats in the state in 2014. The two parties also contested the 2017 assembly election together as the BJP returned to power in Uttar Pradesh. Apna Dal won 9 out of 11 seats it contested in the assembly polls. Rohaniya and Sevapuri assembly constituencies are among the Apna Dal strongholds. They are a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modis parliamentary constituency, Varanasi. Anupriya Patel has been a lawmaker from Rohaniya. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday called for de-escalation of hostility in the aftermath of Pulwama terror attack. In a televised address, Imran Khan said violation of Indian airspace by Pakistan air force was a demonstration of our capabilities after strike by Indian Air Force on Tuesday. He said, We didnt take action on Tuesday morning because we werent aware of the damage caused by air strike by India. We did not want to cause much collateral damage in India when there was not much damage on our side. The only motive of Pakistans strike today was to demonstrate that we have the capability to hit back. Also watch: Pakistan PM offers talks with India, says better sense should prevail He was referring to IAF strike on terror camps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The terror camp was believed to be the biggest training centre of terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed. Indias Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Tuesday said that the terror camp was targeted following credible intelligence input that Jaish was planning terror attacks in India. The Pakistan prime minister said the countrys air force crossed the Line of Control (LoC) this morning to demonstrate its capability to carry out a similar exercise inside Indian territories. Three Pakistan Air Force aircrafts were reported to have violated Indian airspace. Indian Air Force shot down one F-16 jet of Pakistan whose debris fell on the other side of the LoC, said Raveesh Kumar, external affairs ministry spokesperson. Other aircrafts of Pakistan Air Force were forced to fly back. Kumar said the IAF lost one MiG-21 Bison in the aerial engagement with Pakistani air force jets. One pilot is missing in action, he told a press conference in New Delhi. Imran Khan, in his statement, claimed that two MiG planes crossed the border in retaliation of Pakistan air forces action. They were shot down. The pilots are with us, he said. Further, Khan appeared to play down the impact of IAF strike saying not much damage was done in the exercise. He appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve the issues through dialogue. All the wars have happened due to miscalculation. With all the weapons that you (India) and we (Pakistan) have, can we afford to miscalculate. If it escalates neither I or Mr Narendra Modi would be in a position to control its course. This is why I suggest that better sense should prevail, Khan said. Khans fresh call for dialogue comes in the wake of Indias effort to corner Pakistan among international community in the wake of Pulwama terror attack, in which at least 40 soldiers were killed. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the attack. In his last televised statement, Khan appeared to ignore the claims made by Jaish. Pakistan has long denied its role in terror acts in India, which has handed it over several dossiers containing evidence of involvement of terror groups working from its soil. "It is time to join the many states providing a commonsense but strong voice for the voiceless children that have yet to be born," bill sponsor Rep. Nick Schroer, R-O'Fallon, told colleagues on the House floor. "Today, let us make known to the citizens of this great state and every state in the nation that Missouri stands for the unborn." Jammu and Kashmir remained on edge on Tuesday after Indian Air Force (IAF) jets dropped bombs in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, with local people saying they apprehend a retaliation from across the border. War planes were seen in the early hours of Tuesday as India targeted a terror camp run by the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which took responsibility for the suicide attack in Pulwama on February 14 in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF ) troopers were killed. I didnt sleep through the night as the planes were roaring in the skies, and in the morning, I came to know that IAF planes had crossed the LoC. Now people are tense and everybody is apprehensive about how Pakistan will respond and if that might lead to a full-fledged war, said engineer Tariq Ahmad, who lives in north Kashmirs Baramulla town, where the headquarters of Indian Armys strategic 19 infantry division, which looks after the LoC in Uri, Gulmarg and Nowgam sectors, is located. For the residents of Baramulla, war will be worst ever nightmare, he added. Omar Tibetbakal, a member of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries based in Srinagar, said the Valley is bracing for the worst. For us, the last three decades have been a war like situation. We dont want escalation, we want peace to prevail. If Pakistan retaliates, it could be a full fledged war and our state will become the main target and more civilians will get killed, he said. At the same time we the Kashmir issue, which is cause of problems, to be resolved. Offices and shops in Srinagar stayed open amid the jittery calm. Cross-LoC trade via Kaman Bridge continued with 70 trucks in total crossing the bridge from both sides. The Pulwama attack, which was carried out by a local Kashmiri suicide bomber, put the spotlight on local militants, who have mushroomed in the south Kashmir region since 2016, when protests against the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani swept the Kashmir Valley. India on Wednesday summoned Pakistans Deputy High Commissioner here to lodge a strong protest over Pakistan Air Forces bid to attack Indian military installations, External Affairs Ministry sources said. According to sources, Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah, who was summoned to the South Block here, also told Indian officials about capturing of an Indian pilot by Pakistani authorities. Follow live updates India has accused Pakistan of using its Air Force to target Indian military installations on Wednesday morning in response to pre-dawn counter-terror strikes of Tuesday against Jaish-e-Mohammad camps in Pakistan. In Islamabad, Pakistans foreign office also summoned Indias Acting High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia and condemned what it called unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian forces along the Line of Control resulting in killing of four civilians. Also read: PM Narendra Modi holds key review meet with top officials on Pak situation New Delhi has said that Pakistani fighter jets tried to target its military installations on Wednesday morning but their attempts were foiled by the Indian Air Force. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistans attempts were foiled successfully, said External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. India said that Pakistani fighter jets were detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. The government said that an IAF pilot who engaged with the Pakistani aircraft that violated Indian airspace on Wednesday morning was missing in action. Pakistan responded on Wednesday to an Indian air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp the previous day, even as the two sides claimed to have downed the others fighter planes, and Pakistan captured an Indian pilot, escalating tensions between the two countries. The Indian Air Force (IAF) shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet that intruded into Indian air space in the Nowshera sector of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir, according to external affairs ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar, who said the wreckage of the plane fell on the Pakistan side of the LoC, and more Pakistani warplanes were forced to return by the Indian aerial riposte. According to the spokesman, India lost one MiG-21 Bison fighter while successfully repelling the Pakistan attempt to attack military installations. Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said that two Indian MiG planes crossed the border. They were shot down. The pilots are with us, he said. Pakistan later said it had only one captain who, according to videos released by Pakistan, has been identified as wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman. It also denied having lost an F-16. Major General Asif Ghafoor, spokesman for the Pakistan military, said that IAF planes strayed into Pakistani airspace after its air strikes and that two Indian pilots had been taken into custody. Pakistan first released a video that showed a blindfolded man identifying himself as Varthaman, and then of the officer refusing to answer specific questions about the nature of his operation. India asked Pakistan to ensure the immediate release and safe return of the IAF pilot, characterising Pakistans act of releasing photographs and videos of the officer as a vulgar displayof an injured personnel and a violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Conventions. The ministry of external affairs earlier in the day summoned Pakistans deputy high commissioner Syed Haider Shah to lodge a strong protest over an attempt by Pakistan Air Force to attack Indian military installations. PM Narendra Modi held meetings with the three service chiefs, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and the heads of the intelligence establishment, twice on Wednesday, including late in the evening. The details of the meetings were not immediately known. India said Pakistans unprovoked act of aggression targeting military installations was in sharp contrast to its own non-military anti-terror pre-emptive strike on Tuesday on a JeM camp in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It is unfortunate that instead of fulfilling its international obligation and bilateral commitment to take credible action against terrorist entities and individuals operating from its soil, Pakistan has acted with aggression against India, the statement said. New Delhi said that Pakistani fighter jets tried to target its military installations on Wednesday morning but their attempts were foiled by the IAF. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistans attempts were foiled successfully, Raveesh Kumar said. India said that Pakistani fighter jets were detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. Pakistan said in the morning that its air force carried out strikes on the Indian side of LoC from within Pakistani airspace. In a statement titled Pakistani Strikes Back, Islamabad said: This was not a retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. Pakistan has therefore, taken strikes at non military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. Sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. Imran Khan, however, conceded that Pakistani jets had indeed crossed the de-facto border in what he called a demonstration of our capabilities after the pre-dawn air strike by the IAF on Tuesday. We didnt take action on Tuesday morning because we werent aware of the damage caused by air strike by India. We did not want to cause much collateral damage in India when there was not much damage on our side. The only motive of Pakistans strike today was to demonstrate that we have the capability to hit back, he said. Khan mixed the tough talk with a renewed attempt at reconciliation: All the wars have happened due to miscalculation. With all the weapons that you [India] and we [Pakistan] have, can we afford to miscalculate? If it escalates, neither I nor Mr Narendra Modi would be in a position to control its course. This is why I suggest that better sense should prevail. The Indian air strike on the JeM terrorist camp was in retaliation for the February 14 suicide car bombing in Pulwama that left 40 men of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) dead. Following Wednesday mornings developments, the national capital Delhi was put on high alert and sensitive facilities such as the Metro were put under closer watch. In Wuzhen, China, to attend the 16th Russia, India and China (RIC) foreign ministers forum, Indian external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, said: I am visiting China at a time when there is grief and anger in India. It [Pulwama] is the worst terrorist attack directed against our security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. Swaraj also sounded a note of restraint, stressing that India does not wish to see a further escalation of the situation and India will continue to act with responsibility and restraint. Chinas foreign minister, Wang Yi , said: On recent developments between India and Pakistan, China appreciates the statements by Indian and Pakistani friends saying that they would exercise restraint and avoid escalation of the situation. UN chief, Antonio Guterres, is following the situation between India and Pakistan very closely and has appealed to the governments of both nations to exercise maximum restraint to ensure the situation does not deteriorate further, a UN official said on Tuesday. The US on Tuesday told Pakistan to avoid military action in the aftermath of Indias counterterrorism action on the Jaishs Balakot camp. US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, who is in Hanoi for the second US-North Korea summit, conveyed these messages in separate phone calls with Swaraj and Pakistans foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the state department said in a statement. In India, 21 opposition parties expressed deep concern over for the safety of the missing Indian pilot and condemned Pakistani misadventure but also expressed deep anguish over the ruling Bharatiya Janata Partys blatant politicisation of the sacrifices made by Indian armed forces. India on Wednesday received support for its efforts to counter Pakistan-based terror groups from Russia and China, which said such organisations cannot be used for political goals and those committing terror attacks must be brought to justice. A joint communique issued after the meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, India and China (RIC) strongly condemned terrorism and said the three sides stressed that terrorist groups cannot be supported and used in political and geopolitical goals. They said those committing, orchestrating, inciting or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with existing international commitments on countering terrorism, including the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, Security Council resolutions and FATF standards. This action should be taken on the principle extradite or prosecute, they added. The statement did not name Pakistan, though there was little doubt which country was being referred to in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack and Indias air strike on Tuesday on a Pakistani base of Jaish-e-Mohammed, which was blamed for the assault. Also read: China again calls for restraint amid tensions between India and Pakistan External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj made a strong pitch for concerted international efforts to combat terror. She said she raised the Pulwama attack during meetings with her Russian and Chinese counterparts. She said, We need a global strategy, global cooperation to counter terrorism. I am happy to tell you today we discussed the establishment of a UN-led global counter-terrorism mechanism and finalising CCIT (Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism) proposed by India. Chinas foreign minister Wang Yi spoke in a calibrated manner about tackling terror Beijing and Islamabad are close allies and said it is especially important to eradicate the breeding grounds of terrorism. Wang, however, backed Pakistans counter-terror efforts, saying: At the same time, we believe Pakistan has always been opposed to terrorism. He added, On the recent developments between India and Pakistan, China appreciates the statements by Indian and Pakistani friends saying that they would exercise restraint and avoid escalation of the situation. As a mutual friend to both India and Pakistan, we do hope they can conduct dialogue to establish facts through investigations to keep things under control and maintain peace and stability in the region. In this process, China is playing a constructive role, not the opposite. Swaraj said given the threat posed by terror, a strategy by India, Russia and China wouldnt be enough to face the challenge. Its not just a joint strategy but also our commitment...Terrorism is a threat to humanity, so a strategy by the three countries is not enough, she said. During a bilateral meeting with Wang on the margins of the RIC meet, Swaraj said the attack on Indias soldiers in Pulwama was carried out by JeM under cover and impunity given by Pakistan. The attack was carried by JeM, the Pakistan-based and supported terrorist organisation, Swaraj said. I am visiting China at a time when there is grief and anger in India. It is the worst terrorist attack directed against our security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, she added. Swaraj used her opening remarks at the RIC meet in Wuzhen, a picturesque water town in eastern Zhejiang province, to explain the reasons for Indias air strike at Balakot. India does not wish to see a further escalation of the situation and India will continue to act with responsibility and restraint, she said. The pre-emptive strike was a non-military action and India had achieved its purpose of destroying a infrastructure of JeM following Pakistans continued refusal to acknowledge and act against terror groups on its soil. He was blindfolded; blood covered and being asked hostile questions. But in the video put out by Pakistan, there was not a hint of fear in Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthamans voice. In the video, he identified himself calmly and in a dignified manner. He told his captors that he was a flying pilot, shared his service number, but politely refused to share more details. I am sorry sir, thats all I am supposed to tell you, he told the commanding voice that had asked him, What else? But his remarkable composure was met with a stiff silence when he politely asked his interviewer whether he was in custody of Pakistan Army. Hours later another video surfaced on social media, this time showing the same Indian Air Force pilot sipping tea and answering questions put to him by an off-camera Major present in room. The blood was gone and so was the blindfold. The soldiers calm demeanour remained intact. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was part of the Indian Air Forces Combat Air Patrol that engaged on-coming Pakistani fighters on Wednesday morning. Pakistan had earlier said its air force shot down two Indian fighter jets and claimed to have captured two pilots. By evening, Pakistans military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor retracted this claim, declaring that it had only one. Also Read | The last time Pakistan captured an Indian pilot was in 1999 Hours earlier, the Indian foreign ministry had summoned Pakistans envoy to Delhi and told him that the government expected the immediate and safe return of the pilot. New Delhi also protested Islamabads move to put out his photographs in public domain. Through the day, Pakistan news outlets put out a series of videos. In one, when the pilot was asked which aircraft he was flying, he bluntly tells his captor: I am sorry Major, I am not supposed to tell you this. But I am sure you have found the wreckage. He continued to sip the tea, which he said was fantastic. Also Read | First aerial dogfight in 48 years escalates India-Pakistan tensions The pilot steadfastly refused to answer any questions related to the mission he was on when his fighter jet was downed. I am not supposed to tell you was his stark response to his interviewer. The 38-year-old has been a fighter pilot for 16 years and is the son of a decorated and senior officer of the air force. Wing Commander Varthaman is an alumnus of the Khadakwasla-based National Defence Academy. He was an accomplished Sukhoi-30 fighter pilot before being assigned to the MiG-21 Bison squadron. Several politicians also sent out statements in support of Varthaman. Im sorry to hear that one of our brave IAF pilots is missing. I hope he will return home soon, unharmed, tweeted Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. Union minister Rajyavardhan Rathore tweeted: As an Air warrior, Wg Cdr Abhinandan Varthaman served the nation by defending it with total disregard to his personal safety. As a nation we pray for his continuous well being and early return. Security beefed up in Paradip, Kolkata ports following Indo- Pak tension Security was stepped up at the two major ports of the Eastern region - Paradip in Odisha and Kolkata - on Wednesday following escalation of tension between India and Pakistan, officials said, reports PTI. Frisking and patrolling of security personnel have started in the two ports. The authorities are extra vigilant keeping in mind that Pakistan based terrorists had entered Mumbai via sea route in 2008 and unleashed terror attacks now known as 26/11. Let the country speak in one voice. Please introspect : Arun Jaitley FM Arun Jaitley: My appeal to Indias opposition - Let the country speak in one voice. Please introspect - Your ill advised statement is being used by Pakistan to bolster its case. Balakot Operation was Indias anti- terror pre-emptive strike to defend its sovereignty: Arun Jaitley FM Arun Jaitley: Cross border terror attack in Pulwama was a reality. Balakot Operation was Indias anti- terror pre-emptive strike to defend its sovereignty.Whole nation has spoken in one voice. Why, then is Indias opposition alleging that government is politicising our anti-terror Ops? Opposition joint statement good news for Pakistan: Javadekar The ruling BJP on Wednesday rejected the joint statement of 21 opposition parties that it was politicising the sacrifices of armed forces, saying such remarks are being used by the Pakistani media to show that Indian parties are not united in the fight against terror. Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Union minister and BJP leader Prakash Javadekar said the allegation levelled by the opposition is baseless. He said the joint statement of the opposition parties was being used by the Pakistani media to project that the Indian polity was not united in its fight against terror. Who is happy (with the joint statement)? Pakistan, its army and its media, Javadekar said. Samba: All govt. and private schools within a range of 0 to 5 Kms from International Border to remain closed tomorrow Samba: All government and private schools within a range of 0 to 5 Kms from International Border to remain closed tomorrow, reports news agency ANI. BJP not politicising security situation: Prakash Javadekar BJP not politicising security situation; claim of opposition parties baseless, shows India not united: Party leader Prakash Javadekar Hope saner counsels will prevail between India and Pak: Manmohan Singh I hope saner counsel will prevail between leadership of India, Pakistan: Ex-PM Manmohan Singh amid growing Indo-Pak tensions, reports PTI. Air Canada has temporarily suspended service to India Air Canada: Due the closure of Pakistani airspace by its government, Air Canada has temporarily suspended service to India. Air Canada: Due the closure of Pakistani airspace by its government, Air Canada has temporarily suspended service to India. (file pic) pic.twitter.com/6GvaGFb30L ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 Havent yet received any instructions from authorities about any change to current running of Samjhauta Express: Piyush Goyal Railway Minister Piyush Goyal: We have not yet received any instructions from the authorities about any change to the current running of the Samjhauta Express, we will follow whatever directions are received in this regard, reports news agency ANI. Extra vigil in Gujarat districts sharing border with Pakistan Amid escalation of tensions with Pakistan, security has been stepped up along Gujarats sea and land borders with the neighbouring country and restriction put on travel of people near them besides increasing vigil at vital installations, police officials said Wednesday, reports PTI. The move comes in the backdrop of Indias aerial strike on terror camps in Pakistan Tuesday following the Pulwama carnage and retaliatory action by Islamabad Wednesday. Pakistan does not want war with India: Pak FM Shah Mahmood Qureshi Pakistans Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Wednesday that his country does not want a war and asked India to come to the table to resolve all outstanding issues. Todays strike demonstrates our right, will and Capability to defend ourselves. We do not want war. We hope India will come to the table to resolve all outstanding issues, Qureshi said. India hands over dossier to Pak with details of JeM role in Pulwama attack India Wednesday handed over to Pakistan a dossier on specific details of involvement of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in the Pulwama terror attack on CRPF as also the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in that country. The dossier was handed over to the Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan, who was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs to lodge a strong protest over Pakistan Air Force targeting Indian military installations, a day after the Indian counter-terror action against the JeM, reports PTI. Government sources have claimed that over 350 JeM terrorists were killed in the pre-dawn strike on the terror camps in Pakistan on Tuesday. Meeting of three Service Chiefs with PM Narendra Modi at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg ends Delhi: Meeting of the three Service Chiefs with PM Narendra Modi at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg ends, reports news agency ANI. Delhi: Meeting of the three Service Chiefs with PM Narendra Modi at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg ends pic.twitter.com/MKV9g1Cy2L ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 Delhi Metro network on red alert from 6 pm: DMRC Delhi Metro network on red alert from 6 pm: DMRC, reports PTI. Army personnel deployed at sensitive locations in Mumbai Army personnel deployed at sensitive locations in Mumbai along with local police in view of increased tensions on the Indo-Pak border: Sources, reports PTI We are monitoring developments closely and considering implications for British nationals: UK PM Theresa May UK PM Theresa May: We are working closely with international partners including through the UN Security Council to de-escalate tensions and are monitoring developments closely and considering implications for British nationals. UK is deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan: PM Theresa May UK PM Theresa May: UK is deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan and urgently calls for restraint on both sides to avoid further escalation. Were in regular contact with both countries, urging dialogue and diplomatic solutions to ensure regional stability, reports Reuters. Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy says nation stands in solidarity with armed forces Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy says nation stands in solidarity with armed forces Deeply pained to hear that one of our #IAF pilots is missing. I pray for his safe and speedy return. The nation stands in solidarity with our armed forces.#IndianAirForce H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) February 27, 2019 PM Narendra Modi holds key review meet with top officials on Pak situation Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding a key meeting with security and intelligence officials after Pakistan Air Force jets violated the Indian airspace early Wednesday morning, sources said. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, senior officials of the Indian Navy, Army and the Air Force and other security officials were present at the meeting, sources said. CWC meet postponed amid India-Pakistan tensions Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, Congress President Rahul Gandhi has cancelled a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and the Jan Sankalp rally which was to be held here on Thursday, reports PTI. After almost six decades, a CWC meeting was scheduled to be held in Gujarat. All the bigwigs of the Grand Old Party were supposed to be present on Thursday including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, new General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Punjab CM Amarinder Singh met top officials of army, paramilitary and the police to review current situation in border areas Jalandhar: Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh met top officials of army, paramilitary and the police to review the current situation in border areas, reports news agency ANI. Ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Krishna Ghati and Mendhar sector of Poonch Jammu and Kashmir: Ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Krishna Ghati and Mendhar sector of Poonch, reports news agency ANI. Pakistan trying to defame India after IAF air strikes: Rajnath Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Wednesday said the Indian Air Force (IAF) air strike on terror camps across LoC in Pakistan was carried out with caution and no civilian was hurt in it, but the neighbouring country wants to defame India nevertheless, reports PTI. India has given a befitting reply to the neighbouring country, Singh said and reiterated that Kashmir will always be a part of India and no power in the world can separate it from the country. Addressing a convention of BJP workers in Bilaspur town of Chhattisgarh, he said, Two days back, our forces gave a befitting reply to Pakistan, which has been trying to destabilise India. It was conveyed that India expects Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorism: MEA Regret was expressed at continuing denial by Pakistans political and military leadership at the presence of terrorist infrastructure in territories under its control. A dossier was handed over to Pakistan side with specific details of JeM complicity in Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan. It was conveyed that India expects Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from territories under its control: MEA India expects immediate and safe return of IAF pilot: MEA India also strongly objected to Pakistans vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention. It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return: MEA India reserves right to take firm and decisive action to protect its national security: MEA It was clearly conveyed that India reserves the right to take firm and decisive action to protect its national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity against any act of aggression or cross-border terrorism: MEA Unfortunate that instead of fulfilling its international obligation to take action against terrorists, Pak has acted with aggression against India: MEA This is in contrast to the Indias non-military anti-terror pre-emptive strike at a JeM terrorist camp in Balakot on 26 February 2019. It is unfortunate that instead of fulfilling its international obligation and bilateral commitment to take credible action against terrorist entities and individuals operating from its soil, Pakistan has acted with aggression against India: MEA Acting High Commissioner of Pak was summoned by MEA to lodge a strong protest at unprovoked act of aggression by Pak against India Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan was summoned this afternoon by MEA to lodge a strong protest at unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan against India earlier today, including violation of the Indian air space by Pakistan Air Force and targeting of Indian military posts. Pakistan says has only one downed Indian pilot Pakistans chief military spokesman said on Wednesday the Pakistani army currently had only one downed Indian pilot in custody, having previously said two pilots had been captured, one of whom was wounded. There is only one pilot under Pakistan Armys custody, Major General Asif Ghafoor said in a tweet above a photograph apparently showing the captured pilot, who was shot down earlier in the day after responding to a Pakistani air strike in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Maharashtra session may be curtailed in view of threat perception The ongoing budget session of Maharashtra Legislature may be curtailed due to threat perception amid rising Indo-Pak tensions, sources said Wednesday, reports PTI. Opposition leaders who attended a meeting chaired Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis here to discuss the security issues amid rising tensions between the nuclear-powered neighbours India and Pakistan said the session may be cut short. The session, which began Monday, is scheduled to be a week-long affair. Pakistan Army retracts; says there is only one Indian pilot under its custody Pakistan Army retracts; says there is only one Indian pilot under its custody, reports PTI. UK junior foreign office minister Mark Field says he will meet India and Pakistan envoys on Wednesday to urge restraint UK junior foreign office minister Mark Field says he will meet India and Pakistan envoys on Wednesday to urge restraint. Himachal on high alert as Indo-Pak tensions escalate Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary B.K. Agarwal here on Wednesday reviewed the security in the wake of heightened tension between India and Pakistan and said the state had been put on high alert. Police had been asked to monitor spreading of any rumour by anti-social elements, he said. Officials of various departments of the state and the central governments participated in the review meeting, Agarwal said. Leaders urged government to take nation into confidence on all measures The leaders expressed concern on the emerging security situation. Post the statement from the MEA regarding targeting of our military installations and loss of one fighter aircraft, the leaders condemned the Pakistani misadventure and expressed their deep concern for the safety of our missing pilot. Leaders urged the Government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect Indias sovereignty, unity and integrity. Leaders observed that the PM has not convened an-all party meeting as per the established practice in democracy The leaders observed that the Prime Minister has, regrettably, not convened an-all party meeting as per the established practice in our democracy. Leaders condemned Pakistani misadventure and expressed deep concern for safety of our missing pilot: Rahul Gandhi Congress President Rahul Gandhi after opposition meeting: Leaders condemned Pakistani misadventure and expressed deep concern for safety of our missing pilot. Leaders urged government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect Indias sovereignty, unity and integrity. Congress President Rahul Gandhi after opposition meeting: Leaders condemned Pakistani misadventure & expressed deep concern for safety of our missing pilot. Leaders urged govt to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity & integrity. pic.twitter.com/v5RYquSz0w ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 The meeting lauded the action taken by the Indian Air Force The meeting paid homage to the soldiers and expressed solidarity with the Armed Forces in crushing the menace of terrorism. The meeting lauded the action taken by the Indian Air Force against the terrorist camp on 26th February 2019 and praised our Armed Forces for their valour and bravery Blatant politicization of sacrifices by forces: 21 Opposition parties The meeting of 21 parties expressed their deep anguish over the blatant politicization of the sacrifices made by our Armed Forces by leaders of the ruling party. National security must transcend narrow political considerations. Leaders of 21 political parties condemn Pulwama attack After the opposition meeting concluded, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said that the meeting of leaders of 21 political parties condemned the dastardly Pulwama attack by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed on 14th February 2019 and lauded the action taken by our armed forces, reports news agency ANI. We stand by our armed forces in these difficult times: Rahul Gandhi Im sorry to hear that one of our brave IAF pilots is missing. I hope he will return home soon, unharmed. We stand by our armed forces in these difficult times, says Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Russia calls on India and Pakistan for restraint Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov: Russia calls on India and Pakistan for restraint in connection with the border incident.Russia is concerned about the aggravation of relations, reports news agency ANI. 21 political parties issue joint statement on Pulwama attack The meeting of leaders of 21 political parties condemned the dastardly Pulwama terror attack by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed on 14th February 2019. Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah arrives at South Block Delhi: Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah at South Block. He had been summoned by Ministry of External Affairs. Delhi: Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah at South Block. He had been summoned by Ministry of External Affairs. pic.twitter.com/ZZEb0tAQ8z ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah arrives at South Block after being summoned by Ministry of External Affairs Delhi: Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah arrives at South Block after being summoned by Ministry of External Affairs. Delhi: Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah (on the right) arrives at South Block after being summoned by Ministry of External Affairs. pic.twitter.com/2GwxqApWLE ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 India, Pakistan must de-escalate tensions: Farooq Abdullah National Conference president Farooq Abdullah Wednesday called for de-escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan and asked both the countries to maintain maximum restraint for the greater good of humanity. History bears testimony to the fact that war did not help both the neighbours resolve their long pending issues. It is in the interest of our region if both the countries shun war rhetoric, Abdullah said in a statement issued by the party. Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah summoned by Ministry of External Affairs Delhi: Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah summoned by Ministry of External Affairs, reports news agency ANI. Dubai Airports says no flights to and from Pakistan until further notice - statement Dubai Airports said on Wednesday there would be no flights to and from Pakistan until further notice as a result of the closure of the countrys airspace, reports Reuters. Civil Aviation Ministry strictly following instructions of IAF: Jayant Sinha Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha Wednesday said his ministry was strictly following the guidelines and instructions of the Indian Air Force. Services at nine airports, including Srinagar, Jammu and Leh, in north India were temporarily suspended in view of hightened tensions between India and Pakistan. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) later in the day said the services at the nine airports have resumed as of now. We are strictly following all guidelines of the Air Force, and we will continue to do that, Sinha said on the sidelines of an event here. Asked how many flights have been impacted, Sinha said, I dont have the number. But, as I said, we are following the instructions of the air force. Earlier on Wednesday, the DGCA issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM), saying flight operations at the airports in Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Pathankot, Amritsar, Shimla, Kangra, Kullu Manali and Pithoragarh will remain shut from February 27 to May 27. Armys Eastern Command chief visits Panagarh base in West Bengal amid escalating tensions Amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, Armys Eastern Command chief Lt General Manoj Naravane visited Panagarh base in West Bengal on Wednesday and reviewed operational preparedness, a defence official said. Lt Gen Naravane, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, emphasised the need for remaining alert at all times to meet the emerging security challenges, the official said. Whole country is proud of this brave son, Arvind Kejriwal tweets for IAF pilots safe return I pray for the safety of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan, tweeted Arvind Kejriwal. Whole country is proud of this brave son and everyone is hoping for his safe return. We all stand united to keep our country safe and strong, Arvind Kejriwal said in the tweet. I pray for the safety of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan. Whole country is proud of this brave son and everyone is hoping for his safe return. We all stand united to keep our country safe and strong Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 27, 2019 Pakistan has long denied its role in terror acts in India In his last televised statement, Imran Khan appeared to ignore the claims made by Jaish. Pakistan has long denied its role in terror acts in India, which has handed it over several dossiers containing evidence of involvement of terror groups working from its soil. Imran Khans fresh call for dialogue comes in the wake of Pulwama terror attack Imran Khans fresh call for dialogue comes in the wake of Indias effort to corner Pakistan among international community in the wake of Pulwama terror attack, in which at least 40 soldiers were killed. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the attack. Imran Khan calls for talks to de-escalate rising tensions with India over Kashmir Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan calls for talks to de-escalate rising tensions with India over Kashmir. Better sense should prevail: Imran Khan after Pak strike We offered that we are ready for any kind of investigation after Pulwama attack in India. We didnt take action on Tuesday morning because we werent aware of the damage caused by air strike by India. We did not want to cause much collateral damage in India when there was not much damage on our side. The only motive of Pakistans strike today was to demonstrate that we have the capability to hit back. All the wars have happened due to miscalculation. With all the weapons that Pakistan and India have, can we afford to miscalculate. If we take to war neither I nor Mr Narendra Modi would be in a position to control its course. This is why I suggest that better sense should prevail, said Imran Khan. IAF pilot who engaged Pak jets missing in action: Govt IAF pilot who engaged Pakistan jets missing in action, said the government. India verifying Pak claims on his custody. Pakistan used air force to target military installations, attempt foiled successfully, the government added. Foreign ministry and Air Vice Marshal brief media Foreign ministry and Air Vice Marshal briefed the media. Maharashtra on high alert amid border tensions Maharashtra and its capital Mumbai have been put on high alert in the wake of the rising tensions on the countrys north-west border, official sources said in Mumbai on Wednesday. Heightened security was seen in Mumbai, the commercial capital of the country. Police vigil has been enhanced in Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Nashik and Kolhapur as well. The government is ensuring there is no disturbance to the ongoing HSC (Class XII) examinations in the state, reported news agency IANS. Pakistan closes its airspace for commercial flights Pakistan has closed its airspace for commercial flights, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced on Wednesday amid escalating tensions with India. The aviation authority made the announcement on Twitter after Major General Asif Ghafoor, Director General of the Pakistan Armys media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), acknowledged the closure of Pakistans airspace due to the security situation, Dawn News reported. Air India avoiding route of Pakistan air space with immediate effect Air India avoiding route of Pakistan air space with immediate effect. India use Pakistan airspace for flights to Gulf countries, Europe and USA, said an Air India official Pakistan says 2 IAF jets shot down, India rejects claim There are no reports of any IAF jet suffering damage in action by Indias adversaries, defence sources said on Wednesday according to news agency PTI. Earlier in the day, Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian military aircraft over Pakistani air space and arrested at least one of the pilots, according to PTI. Army, BSF troops along IB, LoC on highest degree of alertness: Officials The Army and BSF have been put on the highest degree of alertness along the border in Jammu after air space violations by the neighbouring country and the night-long heavy firing and shelling by Pakistani troops on forward and civilians areas across the LoC which stopped on Wednesday, reported news agency PTI. Authorities have ordered temporary closure of educational institutions in a 5-km radius along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri and Poonch districts on Wednesday amid mounting tensions between the two countries, following the Pulwama terror attack on February 14 and an Indian air strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed camp inside Pakistan on Tuesday. Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman chairs DAC meeting The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman met here today and accorded approval for acquisition of defence equipment for about Rs 2700 crores. Approval was granted for procurement of three Cadet Training ships for the Indian Navy, which would be utilised to provide basic sea training for officer cadets including women officer undertrainees. The ships would be capable of undertaking Hospital Ship duties, providing Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, undertaking Search and Rescue (SAR) missions and Non-Combatant Evacuation Operations. China reiterates call for India and Pakistan to exercise restraint Chinas Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said it reiterated its call for India and Pakistan to exercise restraint. Ministry spokesman Lu Kang made the comment at a regular news briefing in Beijing. PM Modi rushes to review security situation: Report Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short his address at a function in Vigyan Bhawan on Wednesday and rushed to attend a meeting to review the security situation arising out of Pakistans attempt to violate Indian air space, reported news agency ANI. Modi was replying to the questions from youngsters during the National Youth Festival 2019 when he was handed over a small piece of paper by an official of Prime Minister Office (PMO). The Prime Minister immediately stopped and walked towards the panelist where Union minister Rajyavardhan Rathore was also present. Pakistan stops domestic, international flight operations from Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad Pakistan immediately stops its domestic and international flight operations from Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad airports, reported news agency ANI. Sensex turns negative; cracks over 200 points The benchmark BSE Sensex gave up all early gains and fell over 200 points in afternoon trade Wednesday on widespread selling after Pakistani fighter jets violated Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmir. After dropping 238 points, the Sensex was trading 161.74 points, or 0.46 per cent, down at 35,811.97 after hitting a low of 35,735.33. The gauge rallied nearly 400 points in morning trade. The 50-share Nifty also fell 62.55 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 10,772.75. According to brokers, investor sentiment took a beating after Pakistan claimed that it shot down two Indian military aircraft over Pakistani air space and arrested one of the pilots. The Pakistani fighter jets on Wednesday violated Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch and Nowshera sectors. Rajnath reviews security situation Home Minister Rajnath Singh Wednesday reviewed the security situation in the country, especially along the border with Pakistan, a day after Indian fighter jets bombed the biggest camp of terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad in that country, officials said. During the meeting, attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval among others, a detailed presentation was given about the security situation in the country and steps taken to ensure peace in all sensitive places. Singh directed the officials to ensure the Border Security Force, which guards the India-Pakistan border continues to remain on highest level of alertness so that any misadventure from across the border could be foiled, a home ministry official said. Dont want to escalate tensions, but we are prepared, says Pakistan Today, Pakistan Air Force undertook strikes across Line of Control from within Pakistani airspace. This was not a retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. Pakistan has therefore, taken strikes at non military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. Sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we undertook the action with clear warning and in broad daylight. For the last few years, India has been trying to establish what they call a new normal a thinly veiled term for doing acts of aggression at whatever pretext they wish on a given day. If India is striking at so called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan. We do not wish to go to that route and wish that India gives peace a chance and to resolve issues like a mature democratic nation, read a statement released by Pakistan on Wednesday. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval arrives at Home Ministry National Security Advisor Ajit Doval arrived at the Home Ministry in Delhi. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval arrives at the Home Ministry in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/LeB5gKOw7I ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 Hope India, Pak conduct dialogue to establish facts through investigation: Wang Yi As a mutual friend to both India and Pakistan, we hope that they can conduct dialogue to establish facts through investigation to keep things under control and maintain peace and stability in the region. In this process China is playing a constructive role not the opposite, said Chinas foreign minister Wang Yi. Russia, China and India reaffirmed strong opposition to terrorism: Wang Yi Russia, China and India reaffirmed strong opposition to terrorism. At the same time we (China) believe Pakistan has always been opposed to terrorism. China appreciates statements from Indian and Pak friends saying theyll exercise restraint and avoid escalation of situation, said Chinas foreign minister Wang Yi. Pakistani jets violate Indian air space in Nowshera Pakistani jets violated Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmirs Nowshera sector but were successfully confronted. An official said the jets were immediately pushed back by Indian jets on air patrol. Discussed establishment of UN led global counter-terrorism mechanism: Swaraj We need a global strategy, global cooperation. Im happy to tell you today we discussed the establishment of UN led global counter-terrorism mechanism and finalising CCIT (Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism) proposed by India to implement it, said external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in Wuzhen, China. As far as Pulwama is concerned, I had raised this issue in the bilateral meeting with Mr Wang Yi and also at RIC (Russia-India-China) forum, she added. All countries need to show zero tolerance towards terrorism: Sushma Swaraj Terrorists attacks like Pulwama are a grim reminder for the need of all countries to show zero tolerance towards terrorism, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday, a day after India conducted pre-emptive air strikes deep inside Pakistan hitting Jaish-e-Mohammad training camps. The operation was carried out in light of Pakistans refusal to acknowledge and act against terror groups operating from its soil and credible information that JeM was planning attacks in India, she said. Indias response to Pulwama attack top agenda of Opposition meet Left parties will participate in the meeting of the opposition parties, scheduled to be held later today. They had earlier said that they will not participate in the meeting. Pulwama attack and Indias response to it are on the agenda of discussion, reported news agency ANI. Defence minister to meet Army, IAF, Navy chiefs shortly Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa and Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba will attend DAC (Defence Acquisition Council) meeting shortly today. Mumbai on high alert, govt asks schools to exercise caution In the wake of air strikes carried out by the Indian Air Force (IAF) on terror camps in Pakistans Balakot, the Maharashtra government has called for office bearers of the School & Co. Bus Owners Association to ensure the safety of school children keeping the prevailing situation in mind, reported news agency ANI. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the state legislature that security has been tightened across the city and appealed to people not to panic. After intelligence informed Mumbai police to be on high alert, the vigilance and CCTV surveillance has been increased in places like the airport, railway stations, and other key locations. 2 Jaish terrorists killed At least two Jaish terrorists were killed in an encounter that broke out with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Villagers being shifted to safer places After cross LoC shelling and ceasefire violations , the villagers in some areas of Jammu and Kashmirs Uri are being shifted to safer places according to officials. Balakot camp blown up by IAF was Jaishs preferred training spot for 18 yrs Balakots Jaba Top first emerged as a preferred training ground for militants in the time of President Zia-ul-Haq. It was an ideal place for a camp for non-state actors remote, located near a small town, yet far enough from it, on a wooded hilltop, and on Pakistani territory in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. India crossed into Pakistans territory in 1971 (and then again, its aircraft on Tuesday), and so the Pakistanis may have thought it was a good place to host a training camp for militants whom the rest of the world called terrorists. Underscore priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action: Mike Pompeo to Pak foreign minister I spoke to Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to underscore the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil, said US Secy of State Mike Pompeo, according to news agency ANI. Objective was to act against terrorist infrastructure: Sushma Swaraj in China It wasnt a military op, no military installation targeted. Objective was to act against terrorist infrastructure of JeM to preempt another terror attack in India. India doesnt wish to see further escalation of situation. Itll continue to act with responsibility and restraint, said external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj at the 16th Foreign Ministers meeting of Russia-India-China (RIC) in Wuzhen, China. Target selected to avoid civilian casualties: Sushma Swaraj In the light of continuing refusal of Pak to acknowledge and act against terror groups on its territory and based on credible info that JeM was planning other attacks in parts of India, GoI decided to take preemptive action and target was selected in order to avoid civilian casualties, said external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj at the 16th foreign ministers meeting of Russia-India-China (RIC) in Wuzhen, China, reported news agency ANI. Pakistan outrightly denied any knowledge of Pulwama attack: Sushma Swaraj Such dastardly terrorist attacks are a grim reminder for the need of all the countries to show zero tolerance to terrorism and take decisive action against it. Following the Pulwama terrorist attack instead of taking seriously the calls by international community to act against Jaish-e-Mohammed and other terror groups based in Pakistan, it denied any knowledge of the attack and outrightly dismissed claims by Jaish-e-Mohammed, said external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj at the 16th foreign ministers meeting of Russia-India-China (RIC) in Wuzhen, China, reported news agency ANI. Did the US know of Indias strike on Balakot? And how much? Asked about Indias right to self-defence, President Donald Trump told reporters last week, India is looking at something very strong. And, I mean, India just lost almost 50 people and... with an attack, so I can understand that also. And his national security adviser John Bolton had on his own told reporters at a briefing that he had conveyed to his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval in a phone call that we support Indias right to self-defence. Only 7 people knew of timing of air strike On February 18, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved the strike. According to intelligence officials, only seven people knew of this decision Modi, Doval, the three service chiefs, and the heads of RAW and Intelligence Bureau. Starting February 22, the Air Force started flying night sorties from various frontline bases to confuse the Pakistanis. On February 25, intelligence inputs suggested the presence of a large number of JeM terrorists, around 300-350, at the Balakot camp. The same evening it was decided to go ahead with the strike immediately. Modi knew by late evening that an attack could happen in the next few hours. Exercise maximum restraint: UN chief to India, Pakistan UN chief Antonio Guterres is following the situation between India and Pakistan very closely and has appealed to the governments of both nations to exercise maximum restraint to ensure the situation does not deteriorate further, a top UN official said Tuesday. The UN Secretary Generals remarks came after Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a pre-dawn air strike on a terror training camp inside Pakistan. Pak must take action against terror groups: US after IAF strikes Pakistan must take meaningful action against terror groups, says US after IAF strikes on Jaish camp, reported news agency PTI. Encounter underway between militants, security forces in J-Ks Shopian An encounter broke out on Wednesday between militants and security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Meemendar area of Shopian following information about presence of militants there, the officials said. They said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants opened firing towards the security forces, who retaliated. Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, whose capture by Pakistan ratcheted up tensions between the two countries on Wednesday, has been a fighter pilot for 16 years and is the son of a decorated and senior officer of the air force. Varthaman is an alumnus of the Khadakwasla-based National Defence Academy. He was an accomplished Sukhoi-30 fighter pilot before being assigned to the MiG-21 Bison squadron. Varthamans MiG-21 aircraft was shot down by Pakistan on Wednesday morning, and he was captured by Pakistani armed forces. In a video shot and released by Pakistan in the morning, Varthaman was seen blindfolded and spelling out his name and service number, without divulging any other information. In a second video released in the evening, Varthaman was seen sipping tea and saying that he was treated well. In the clip, he described the Pakistani armed forces personnel as thorough gentlemen. This is what I would expect my army to behave as, and I am thoroughly impressed, he said. When asked where he hailed from, and what his squadron was, Varthaman refused to give details, only saying he was from down south. India took exception to Pakistans treatment of Varthaman and demanded his immediate and safe return. India also strongly objects to Pakistans vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Conventions. It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody, according to demarche issued to Pakistans deputy high commissioner. The 38-year-old Varthaman, who is married and has two children, hails from Tamil Nadus Tiruvannamalai district but completed his education in Delhi because his father was posted in the Capital. His father, Air Marshal Simhakutty Varthaman, was a distinguished fighter pilot and played a significant role during the 1999 Kargil conflict, when he, as a Group Captain, was the chief operations officer (COO) at the Gwalior airbase, home to the Mirage-2000 fighters. A total of 31 Mirage aircraft took part in the conflict. Air Marshal Varthaman retired as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Shillong-based Eastern Air Command. He also held the charge of the Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Intelligence). He has also served as air attache to France. In 2017, the government constituted a committee under the Air Marshal to assess the viability of building stealth fighters jointly with Russia. In Chennai, as news of his capture spread, relatives and local residents thronged his house while on social media, tens of thousands of people, including prominent politicians, prayed for his safety. We have come to express our solidarity with the family. It was through television news channels that we came to know about Abhinandan being held a captive in Pakistan. We are with the family at this trying time. We want the government to take immediate steps to secure his release without any delay, said Kunthanathan, a relative. Several politicians also sent out statements in support of Varthaman. Im sorry to hear that one of our brave IAF pilots is missing. I hope he will return home soon, unharmed, tweeted Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. Union minister Rajyavardhan Rathore tweeted: As an Air warrior, Wg Cdr Abhinandan Varthaman served the nation by defending it with total disregard to his personal safety. As a nation we pray for his continuous well being and early return. A 45-year-old Indian Air Force (IAF) officer was on Tuesday found dead with a gunshot injury to his neck on a cot in the veranda of his official residence in Prayagrajs Bamrauli Air Force Station area, police said. Wing commander Arvind Sinha, a former defence public relations officer (PRO), is believed to have shot himself dead with his licensed double barrel gun at his residence, according to police. No suicide note was found from the spot but initial probe suggests that Sinha was upset over some personal issues for the last few days, said Sandeep Mishra, the in charge of the Dhumanganj police station under whose jurisdiction the incident was reported. Senior police superintendent Atul Sharma said IAF officials informed the Dhumanganj police about the incident in the morning. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has expressed hope that the missing Indian Air Force pilot returns home soon. Im sorry to hear that one of our brave IAF pilots is missing. I hope he will return home soon, unharmed. We stand by our armed forces in these difficult times, he tweeted hours after the government confirmed that one pilot who engaged Pakistani jets that violated Indian airspace Wednesday morning was missing in action. Im sorry to hear that one of our brave IAF pilots is missing. I hope he will return home soon, unharmed. We stand by our armed forces in these difficult times. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 27, 2019 External affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India is verifying Islamabads Pakistani claims. Also read: IAF pilot who engaged Pak jets missing in action, says Govt Pakistan had earlier said its air force shot down two Indian fighter jets on Wednesday morning and claims to have captured two Indian Air Force pilots. One of them is in hospital, Pakistans military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said. The government has issued a high alert for all vital oil and gas installations, particularly those within the air-strike range from Pakistan, including public and private sector refineries located in Panipat (Haryana), Bathinda (Punjab), Jamnagar and Vadinar (Gujarat), and the crucial offshore producing field, the Mumbai High, officials with direct knowledge of the matter said. An alert was sounded after a directive from the home ministry received on Tuesday, a petroleum ministry official said on condition of anonymity. Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has worlds largest refinery complex in Jamnagar with total annual crude oil processing capacity of 68.2 million tonnes. Nayara Energy Ltd (formerly Essar Oil Ltd) has another 20 million tonne refinery at Vadinar, which is close to Jamnagar. Other vital installations on the high alert are state-owned Indian Oil Corporations 15-million tonne Panipat refinery and the 11.3-million tonne Bathinda refinery, which is jointly promoted by state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and private firm, Mittal Energy Investment Pte Ltd, Singapore. Queries sent to the petroleum ministry, RIL, Nayara Energy, IOC and Bhatinda refinery did not elicit any response. A former chairman and managing director of a refinery said security of all vital oil stations are crucial for the country and the government has standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place. Internal security of oil and gas installations is the responsibility of the respective managements. The government takes care of protecting them from external threats and the government does not distinguish between public and private installations for the purpose of security from external threats, he added on condition of anonymity. Former chairman and managing director of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) RS Sharma recalled a similar situation that came up after 26/11 when terrorists from Pakistan sneaked into the financial capital of India via the sea route. The oil installation at the open sea, spanning around 1,200 kilometers was like a sitting duck, but Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy ensured its safety, he said. According to a recent parliamentary standing committee report, the country has 23 refineries with a total annual processing capacity of 231 million tonnes. It has 15 gas processing plants, four liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, 680 oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) installations and more than 39,000 kilometers cross country pipelines spread across the country. Offshore, there are 21 oil and gas production complexes, 252 well platforms and 33 rigs. On land, there are 301 production installations and 230 rigs. Safety and security of oil and gas installations from both external threats and accidents have been major concerns of the central government as well as states hosting these national assets. In 2013, the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi asked the central government to implement the MB Lal committee report on safety of oil installations in the wake of a fire in IOCs Hazira terminal in Surat. According to executives of public sector oil companies and experts of the sector, some of the recommendations of the panel are yet to be implemented Montague said the markings in the road had deteriorated and that the pavement where his daughter was driving was worn out. He said there was no warning of curves in the road, no rumble strips on the side of the road and no appropriate signage. Hadiya Jahan, a homeopathy student whose marriage to a Muslim man against her parents wishes led her father to appeal to the Kerala high court to annul her wedding, is now a doctor, her husband Shafin Jahan announced on Wednesday. The shining victory is an outstanding achievement because it comes at the end of countless prayers, relentless struggles of separation and imprisonment, love, patience and so on Very proud to address you a doctor, Shafin wrote on Facebook posting a photo of his wife in a doctors coat and with a stethoscope. She had to suspend her studies for a degree in homeopathy from a college in Salem in Tamil Nadu after her father K M Ashokan moved the Kerala high court to annul her marriage to Shafin. Ashokan said he was happy to hear the news but did not want to say anything more. Hadiya was earlier known as Akhila Ashokan before she converted to Islam and married Shafin Jahan from Kollam in south Kerala. Her marriage hit the headlines after her father moved the high court in 2017 claiming that his daughter was indoctrinated and was forcibly converted. Later the HC had annulled their marriage and gave Ashokan custody of his daughter. But in March 2018 the Supreme Court struck down the HC verdict and allowed her to live with her husband. The father had opposed his daughters relation with Shafin saying he was an active member of the Popular Front of India, an extremist outfit, and was involved in many cases. He referred to the case of 21 young men and women who went missing 21 from north Kerala two years ago, most of them after converting to Islam. He said he was not against any religion or conversion but opposed a vicious campaign that pushed innocent girls to volatile areas after conversion. Hadiya is the only child of Ashokan who lives under police protection due to threats from some fundamentalist outfits. During the height of Sabarimala agitation he had joined the Bhartiya Janata Party pledging all support to the partys stir against the Supreme Court verdict which allowed women of all ages to worship at the hill temple. Two terrorists belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed were gunned down in an encounter in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. The encounter broke out this morning between terrorists and security forces in Shopian. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Meemendar area of Shopian following information about presence of militants there, news agency PTI reported quoting unnamed officials. They said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants opened firing towards the security forces, who retaliated. The exchange of fire comes a day after India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammeds (JeM) biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistans restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC), killing a very large number of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The strike was the first by the Indian Air Force (IAF) inside Pakistan after the 1971 war. (With PTI inputs) Flying mortars and loud explosions dont haunt over 1,300 residents of two villages that virtually sit on the mouth of Pakistani barrels and have bore maximum brunt of shelling from across the Indo-Pak international border during skirmishes. On Tuesday also, when Indian Air Force fighter jets struck a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan territory, it was life as usual for the people of Abdulian and Chanduchak, the last Indian villages on the border in RS Pura sector of Jammu district. The villagers, however, were ecstatic over the IAF strike, calling it a real tribute to Pulwama martyrs.For how long will India remain soft to a rogue country like Pakistan? There is happiness among villagers for avenging the dastardly attack that martyred over 40 of our jawans, said Bachan Lal, former sarpanch of Abdulian-Chanduchak panchayat.The villagers were seen exchanging sweets, including milk cake, the indigenously prepared delicacy of this border belt. However, Lals wife Neelam Devi, who is the sarpanch of the Abdulian-Chanduchak panchayat, said there was also a sense of fear among villagers following Indias revenge. No one has moved out of the village. Women and children are attending to their routine work. But fear haunts us because we are surrounded from three sides by Pakistani posts, barely 500 meters to 1 km away, she said. Devi said the men were also going to their farms as they do during normalcy. Former panch Ramesh Lal, 50, also echoed Devis apprehensions. The fear of retaliation is always there. But enough is enough. What India did today (Tuesday), should have been done immediately after the Pathankot air base attack, Ramesh Lal said. Farming activity on Pakistan virtually stopped Balwinder Singh, 52, and other villagers said farming activity on the Pakistani side had virtually stopped since the Pulwama attack on February 14. This morning we heard morning azaan from their mosques but there were no afternoon azaan, which they usually perform at 1.30pm. It is already 3pm, Singh said. The villagers said neither the BSF nor the border police had issued any advisory to them. The Border Security Force (BSF) has the operational responsibility of 198-km long international border, called working boundary by Pakistan. The Indian Army mans the 744-km long line of control in the state. Unfinished bunkers The villagers, however, rued that individual bunkers had been left incomplete and were of no use to them during contingencies. Though Abdulian village has two community bunkers, constructed long ago, but the eight individual bunkers are still not complete, said Bachan Lal. Half of them are filled with slush and not in a position to be used, he added The walls have not been cemented. There is no light and the entrances of these bunkers have been left uncovered. If a bomb lands on the entrance and explodes, none will be left alive, he added. Abdulian has a government primary school and Chanduchak has a government high school. Both the schools functioned normally on Tuesday. British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday expressed deep concern over rising tensions between India and Pakistan, urgently calling for restraint and de-escalation by the two countries. Opening the Prime Ministers Question Time in the House of Commons, May said, May I first say that the UK is deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan and urgently calls for restraint on both sides to avoid further escalation? We are in regular contact with both countries urging dialogue and diplomatic solutions to ensure regional stability. We are working closely with international partners, including through the UN Security Council, to de-escalate tensions and are monitoring developments closely and considering implications for British nationals. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn responded, We strongly support rapid dialogue between India and Pakistan in order to reduce tension and deal with the root causes of the conflict before more lives are lost. The House of Commons is likely to discuss an urgent question on the situation In Jammu and Kashmir. The Pulwama attack figured in the House of Commons on Tuesday, when Bob Blackman (Conservative) wanted an official clear and unreserved condemnation of the attack in which 40 CRPF men were killed, and a call on Pakistan to stop funding terror groups. Foreign Office minister Mark Field responded, The UK government unequivocally condemn the appalling terror attack in Pulwama on February 14. We are actively encouraging the governments of both India and Pakistan to find diplomatic solutions and to refrain from actions that could jeopardise regional stability. We are also working in the UN Security Council to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice, he added. Officials said London has been in close contact at senior levels in India and Pakistan, besides taking steps to promote international efforts to avoid escalation. They added that British representatives have been working with UN Security Council members on listing Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Masood Azhar under UN Resolution 1267 that imposes individual targeted sanctions such as assets freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo. Britain banned Jaish-e-Mohammed in March 2001 and its splinter group Khuddam Ul-Islam in October 2005, on the ground that both seek the liberation of Jammu and Kashmir from Indian control, as well as the destruction of America and India. In an environment of growing religious strife, Padma Shri Ustad Moinuddin Khan, Rajasthans only Sarangi artist, gives a strong message of communal harmony. Khan rebuffs bigots saying he is comfortable praying in temples and mosques and fanatics should not dictate religion to people. A true artist can never be a fanatic. Music is worship. It connects you to god. There can be no fanaticism if you worship music, says Khan who hails from a noted family of musicians of the Jaipur gharana. His is the only family of artists in Rajasthan who play the Sarangi. I have visited several temples. I sing bhajans. Whenever I have performed aarti at the Khole ke Hanuman temple in Jaipur many times, says Khan who was conferred the Padma Shri in 2014. I can never support fanaticism. Nowadays I see some Muslim religious leaders who tell us to pray five times or not visit dargahs. Who are they to dictate us about our religion. We should rise above religion and be good human beings. He recalls that at a programme in Rampur, UP, he was served beef but he didnt touch it and performed on an empty stomach. Cow is like a mother. We venerate her. I can never eat beef. Nestling a 175-year-old Sarangi inherited from his grandfather Ustad Khwaja Baksh Khan against his chest, Khan says since the Sarangi is played by resting it on the chest, Dil ki baat suron se bayan hoti hai (the instrument speaks the language of the heart). Khan hails from Sikar district and is the eighth generation of Sarangi players. He says Sarangi originated in his family and most Sarangi players in India have been trained by his forefathers. He is saddened by the governments attitude towards artists. The government has announced unemployment dole to youth and pension to the elderly but does not support artists, he says. Governments are ignoring art and artists. My family is continuing the legacy of Sarangi in Rajasthan. The government should open a Sarangi academy so more and more people learn the instrument. They should given some monetary help to artists, says the mild-mannered Khan. His grandfather Ustad Khwaja Baksh Khan was at the court of the king of Narsingarh, now in Chhattisgarh. His father Ustad Mehboob Khan lived in Kolkata and Udaipur before finally settling in Jaipur. The youngest of five brothers, Khan started playing the Sarangi at the age of five years. I grew up listening to the sound of the Sarangi instead of lullabies. I asked my father many times to teach me but he kept putting it off. One day I became adamant and said if he did not teach me I would not eat. It was then that he started teaching me. Sarangi is difficult to play as it has to be played with the cuticles. But such was the Ustads passion for the instrument that despite bruises, blisters and pain, he persisted. I would put bandages on my fingers and do my riyaz. Even when I was in school, instead of the lessons, my mind was my busy rehearsing ragas and creating taan patterns, says Khan who studied till class 10. Sarangi is closest to the human voice, being rich in its tonal texture. It can produce nuances of any style of vocal music such as dhrupad, khayal, thumri, bhajan and ghazal, says Khan. That is the reason Sarangi players are trained in classical vocal music. Artists like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Amir Khan were originally Sarangi players and later became vocalists. By the time Khan was 10, he was performing publicly and winning awards. Among the awards he has been conferred with are the Surmani, Sangeet Kala Ratna, Achievement award, Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi award, Dagar Gharana award and Egypt government award. I won praise from senior artists and that gave me self-confidence. When I was 14 years I thought I should audition for Akashvani to get selected as a staff artist. The minimum age was 16 years. However I went and auditioned and was selected as an A grade artist. After that he regularly performed in India and abroad in solo concerts and in accompaniment with other artists such as Girija Devi, Shobha Gurtu, Nirmala Devi, Shubha Mudgal, Pandit Jagdish Prasad, Ustad Zakir Hussain and Pakistani artist Ghulam Ali. He has also performed in the film Holy Smoke. The late Raj Kapoor too had wanted Khan to perform in his film Heena but things didnt work out. Asked if he has any regrets about not moving to Delhi or Mumbai where there are more opportunities for artists, Khan says he was loathe to leave his father. I am happy that I could serve music and accomplish a lot even in Jaipur. A Class XII student from West Bengals East Midnapore district has been arrested on charges of raping a six-year-old, hours after he wrote his first board exam and got back home, police said. The 19-year-old was produced in a Tamluk court on Wednesday, which remanded him in 14 days judicial custody. Sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, have been slapped against him. According to Sabyasachi Sengupta, sub-divisional officer of Tamluk, the youth tempted the child, who is his neighbour, to go to his house in Shyamsundarpur Patna village on Sunday, saying he would give her chocolates. Sengupta said a complaint was filed by the girls parents on Tuesday. She was apparently tutored by the 19-year-old youth not to breathe a word to anyone. But she told her mother about the incident. Another officer of Panskura police station said, The victim has been taken to a hospital for medical tests. On February 18, a 16-year-old boy from Durgapur was arrested for allegedly raping a Class I student on the day between his geography and math board exams, the police said. He was allowed to write his remaining exams under a cops supervision and then sent to a shelter home for juveniles in Burdwan town. According to National Crime Records Bureau data, West Bengal accounted for 11.31%, 10.11% and 9.6% of crimes against women in the country in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively. Unable to bear the humiliation after being caught copying red-handed in an examination, a 16-yeard old girl attempted suicide by jumping off her college building in Telanganas Warangal district on Wednesday. Polasani Raksha Rao, who was appearing for her first year Intermediate examination at R D College near Nayeem Nagar in Hanamkonda town, 150 kn northeast of Hyderabad, was caught by the invigilator while she was copying from a slip. The invigilator confiscated her answer sheet and despite repeated requests by the girl and asked her to leave the examination hall immediately. A humiliated Raksha went out crying and within seconds, she jumped off the second floor of the college building. She suffered multiple fractures and head injuries. The college staff immediately rushed her to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial government hospital, where she is undergoing treatment. Her condition is said to be critical. The examinations for Intermediate (Class XI and XII) began in Telangana on Wednesday. A total of 9.42 lakh students are appearing for the examinations across 1,277 centres in the state. Reuters is withdrawing the story headlined UPDATE 1- Taliban warns India, Pakistan clashes will impact Afghan peace process. The Taliban spokesman quoted in the story told Reuters that the statement emailed to media was not issued by the Taliban. Earlier, Reurters quoted a Taliban spokesperson that ongoing clashes between India and Pakistan would impact the Afghan peace process. The continuation of such conflict will affect the Afghanistan peace process, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahids statement said. Most mainstream opposition parties on Wednesday expressed deep concern over for the safety of the missing Indian pilot and condemned Pakistani misadventure but also expressed deep anguish over the ruling partys blatant politicization of the sacrifices made by Indian armed forces. Their statement came after an over-120 minute meeting of 21 political parties in the Parliaments annexe. Interestingly, the meeting witnessed an admission by some opposition leaders that politicising the issue could actually be counter-productive because they cannot beat the Bharatiya Janata Party on this nor be seen to be criticising the government at this time HT has learnt. Congress president Rahul Gandhi and some others insisted that the Opposition return to the narrative of jobs, farm crisis and corruption, people familiar with the proceedings of the meeting said on condition of anonymity. There were also suggestions that the parties meet again soon to take stock of the fluid situation. At the end of the meeting Gandhi, flanked by West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee and CPIM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, read out a joint statement. The parties lauded the action taken by the Indian Air Force against the terrorist camp on 26th February 2019 and praised our armed forces for their valour and bravery. National security must transcend narrow political considerations. The leaders observed that the Prime Minister has, regrettably, not convened an-all party meeting as per the established practice in our democracy according to the statement. The meeting also paid homage to the martyrs and condemned the dastardly Pulwama terror attack by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed, while expressing solidarity with Indian Armed Forces in crushing the menace of terrorism. The leaders expressed concern on the emerging security situation. Post the statement from the MEA (ministry of external affairs) regarding targeting of our military installations (by Pakistani Air Force on Wednesday morning) and loss of one fighter aircraft, the leaders condemned the Pakistani misadventure and expressed their deep concern for the safety of our missing pilot. Leaders urged the Government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect Indias sovereignty, unity and integrity, the statement added. United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi initiated the discussions, saying that the leaders condemned the terror attacks. She added that the parties have to also wake up to the current situation that Pakistan has retaliated. Yechury, who spoke next, pointed out how BJP president Amit Shah compared the NDA regime with that of the UPA when speaking of Indias attack on the Jaish camp. He maintained that while the situation should not escalate to a war, we make note of how the BJP is misusing the situation. Mamata Banerjee wanted that the Opposition should not be on the defensive and claimed that the Prime Minister and his party have launched a political campaign around the issue of the air strike on the camp. Telugu Desam Party chief and Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu agreed with her. JDS leader Danish Ali pointed out that while his partys HD Devegowda was dubbed as a weak PM , when he demitted office there was peace in Kashmir and also the elections were held after nearly 10 years. He added that the Kandahar hijacking happened and Jaish founder Masood Azhar was escorted out of India by the BJP after it came to power Yechury also said that the Opposition would find it difficult to beat Modi on this agenda: We have to change the prevailing agenda and go back to peoples issues. A chief minister of a south Indian state echoed similar sentiments and quipped that if this India versus Pakistan narrative goes on, then the BJP benefits. The final statement, drafted by Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, underwent changes as leaders argued over the correct choice of words. NCPs Sharad Pawar, who provided his red pen for corrections, objected to attacking the Prime Minister now. We must keep in mind the mood of the country, Pawar said according to the people familiar with the proceedings. He also disapproved any mention of no escalation in the statement and said, If Pak escalates the situation to a war, India has no other choice but to respond. Former PM Manmohan Singh, Tiruchi Shiva (DMK), Satish Chandra Misra(BSP), Manoj Jha(RJD), Sanjay Singh (AAP), Sudhakar Reddy (CPI), JMMs Shibu Soren, RLSPs Upendra Kushwaha were also present in the meeting The pre-dawn attack air strike by Indian Air Force (IAF) on Jaish-e-Mohammeds (JeM) biggest terror camp in Balakot in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on early Tuesday involved over 200 hours of planning that began following intelligence inputs regarding a second suicide terror strike somewhere in India. Highly-placed sources said that the government got the intelligence input just two days after the February 14 terror strike in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama by JeM suicide bomber Adil Ahmad Dar in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers were killed and five suffered injuries. The intelligence input warned of another suicide terror attack - which could be bigger than Pulwama - at any place across India, said the source. Soon after the input, a series of meetings were held among top government officials and ministers concerned, the chiefs of the Army, Navy and IAF and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval to give befitting reply to the JeM terrorists. The final decision to carry out an air strike on a Pakistan-based terror camp was taken in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with home minister Rajnath Singh, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Doval and IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa, present. The meeting finalised an air strike on the terror camps as the only option to take revenge for security personnel killed in Pulwama attack and give a big jolt to the JeMs plan to carry out another strike in India. Over 200 hours of planning went into the air strike in which every aspect was taken care of, said the source. It was decided that the revenge would be taken on the 13th day of Pulwama attack to pay best homage to the slain CRPF personnel who lost their lives after a bus, part of a 78-vehicle convoy, they were travelling in was blown up by Adils car packed with over 200 kg of explosives on the Jammu-Srinagar highway, said the source. Another source said that 16 Sukhoi fighter jets were backing over 12 Mirage 2000 fighter jets that pounded multiple terror camps across the Line of Control (LoC) in what is being seen as the first cross-border air strike India has carried out in nearly five decades. Mirage jets left their base in Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh and after mid-air fuelling over Adampur in Punjab, they struck the terror camps in Balakot. When India decided to raise the bar after the Pulwama attack, Balakot was on the radar of Indian intelligence agencies for being a hub of JeM. Intelligence agencies were sure that the Pulwama attack was also planned in Balakot terror camp which was headed by JeM chief Masood Azhars brother-in-law Maulana Yusuf Azhar. The location of Balakot, well away from the LoC, made it a safe heaven for terrorist training. Even the Border Action Teams (BATs) of Pakistan army regulars, who carry out cross-border raids on Indian patrols on the LoC, are trained in Balakot. Foreign Secretary Vijay K. Gokhale on Tuesday told the media that a very large number of JeM terrorists, including senior commanders, trainers and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen (suicide attack) missions, were eliminated in the operation. India struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot. Credible intelligence was received that the JeM was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country (India), and the fidayeen jihadis were being trained for this purpose, Gokhale said. Pakistan admitted that the IAF planes struck Balakot but claimed that they returned when it scrambled its war planes. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. Benefits are usually dispersed between the first and 24th of each month, but the schedule is being altered after the partial government shutdown from the standoff between Congress and President Donald Trump over money for a border wall. The two sides reached an agreement to reopen the government in January and averted a second shutdown earlier this month. Indias air strike on the terrorist camp in Balakot has made its intentions clear hereafter, a strike by Pakistan through unconventional means will not go without a response on Pakistani territory, and will not be restricted to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Despite the release of limited information, the pre-dawn strike in Balakot was analysed throughout Tuesday and makes for an interesting study by scholars of all disciplines. The target was non-military, a smart euphemism for a non-state entity. This served two ends. First, the world at large is fed up of these non- state actors and would side with India in fact, the Australians have outright supported India and the statement from France too sides with New Delhi. Secondly, and more importantly, it puts the Pakistan establishment in a quandary about whom to strike back against; India does not have any terrorist camps (unless Islamabad invents one) so a riposte would have to be against a military or government target. This would be an act of war, which would be abhorred by the international community, as India would certainly respond with full force. So, and the googly lies here the onus of upping the ante has just been lobbed across to Pakistan; the pressure not to escalate, which hitherto has always been on New Delhi, is on Pakistan. This is a tough call to make. India has termed the air strike a pre-emptive action against a gathering of militants planning more attacks in India. This has brought in an element of the right to self-defence that any country can exercise, and since Pakistan was complicit in terrorism acts against India, New Delhi had to act; this is an argument that no self-respecting country can go against. Also read | France, Australia tell Pak to stop terror after IAF strike at Jaish camp The call that Pakistan has to make is tougher for another reason. In the Indian democratic system, when the 26/11 Mumbai attacks went without a response, the government took the blame and not the Indian military. In Pakistans case, if a response does not come, while (Prime Minister) Imran Khan would be criticised, it would be the standing of the Pakistan Army that would take a fatal hit its standing as the saviour of Pakistan would be called into question. Would this force them to take the intemperate step of escalating to war? Do they have a face-saving device? Its here where the danger of further terrorist strikes ordered by Islamabad comes in; one would be naive to believe that one Balakot would dissuade Pakistan and India would be rid of the scourge of terrorism inspired from across the border. In the short term, we may hope for an extended period of a peace dividend. For the long term, New Delhis guard needs to stay up. Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur VM (retd), Addl Director General, Centre for Air Power Studies Also read | Prepare for all eventualities, Pak PM Imran Khan to citizens after IAF strikes Jaish camp across LoC At least five Indian soldiers were injured as Pakistan fired mortar shells and missiles across the Line of Control at several areas in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, officials said, prompting authorities to shut schools and defer examinations within five kilometres of the border. The Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with heavy calibre weapons in 12 to 15 places all along the LoC in Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch districts since, since 6:30pm on Tuesday, a defence spokesperson said. The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focused fire resulted in severe destruction to 05 posts and number of casualties to the Pakistani army. Pakistani troops were also seen firing mortars and missiles from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields. However, the Indian Army targeted the Pakistani posts away from civilian localities, Lt Col Devender Anand said. (Follow live updates here) Watch | All parties praised IAF, stand behind governments anti-terror efforts: Sushma Swaraj Five army soldiers suffered minor injuries in the exchange of fire and out of which two were evacuated to the military hospital for treatment and are stable, he said. The Pakistan army targeted Akhnoor, Pallanwala in Jammu district, Nowshera, Laam, Jhangar in Rajouri and Mankote, Mendhar, KG sector, Khari Karmara, Balakote and Poonch in Poonch. Read| Encounter underway between militants, security forces in J-Ks Shopian District magistrates of Rajouri and Poonch have closed government and private schools within five km radius of LoC on Wednesday as a precautionary measure. The situation was tense on the LoC in Kashmirs Uri sector amid ceasefire violations during Tuesday night and shelling in the forward posts. Locals said that the army fired shells towards Pakistani posts from Kalgai village. Officials said villagers in some areas in Uri are being shifted to safer places after the ceasefire violations. The escalation came after the Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted a massive pre-emptive strike early on Tuesday on Jaish-e-Mohammeds biggest camp acting on concrete intelligence inputs about the terror group preparing to carry out more attacks in India. IAF dropped 1,000-pound bombs in a thickly-forested hilltop killing a large number of terrorists. Jaish-e-Mohammed had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack on February 14, when at least 40 CRPF jawans were killed. This camp was headed by Jaish chief Masood Azhars brother-in-law Maulana Yousuf Azhar. The skirmishes started around 5.30pm on Tuesday and the intermittent exchange of fire lasted till 6am on Wednesday, said an army officer. Also read| UN chief asks India, Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint Locals from Poonch and Rajouri districts said they were being directly targeted by Pakistan army, which has been using 120 mm mortars, a battalion level flat trajectory weapon. Intense shelling is on and we have been compelled to flee our houses, said Mohammed Rashid of Mankote. Pakistans Dawn newspaper blamed India for firing on Pakistani posts and civilian areas. It reported that four civilians were killed and 11 others were injured in Indian firing. According to PTI, 2018 witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violations 2,936 by Pakistani troops in the last 15 years along the India-Pakistan border. Pakistan continues to violate the ceasefire understanding of 2003 despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the agreement during flag meetings between the border guarding forces of the two countries. Also read| Army, Air Force on highest alert, ready for any Pakistan retaliation The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Wednesday issued instructions to students and their parents urging them to be careful against any kind fake information spread on social media. The CBSE said that the board has made all necessary arrangements for the smooth and fair conduct of the examinations which commenced on February 15, 2019. The board has also directed students and parents to follow some instructions. Here are some of the important instructions given by the CBSE: a) Students must visit the examination centre before the exam, so that they reach on time on the examination day. b) They should keep in mind traffic, weather conditions and distance before leaving for the exam venue. They must reach latest by 9.45am. c) No candidate will be allowed entry after 10am. d) Regular students must be in school uniform, and private candidates should prefer light clothes to avoid delay in checking. e) Candidates should carry only items allowed inside the examination centres (as given in the admit card). f) No communication devices and other similar gadgets should be carried to the examination centre. g) The board has warned unscrupulous elements against spreading rumors by hosting fake videos/messages on YouTube, Face Book, twitter and other Social Media platforms. The board said that it will take strict action as per provisions of law against such people. The Board also urged the public to cooperate with the board for the smooth conduct of the exams. After Pulwama, India was outraged. And New Delhi rightly changed the rules of engagement with Pakistan and showed that Islamabads strategy of using non-State terror groups to wage an assymetric war comes at a price. The decision to use air strikes to target a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp was the correct one. The Pakistani deep State needed to understand that this is a new India; an impatient India, which will not continue to absorb attacks sponsored by them. It will not get bullied by nuclear blackmail; it will push the envelope with retaliatory responses or pre-emptive strikes; and it has the support of a large section of the international community in this battle against terror. The Narendra Modi government laid out new red lines, executed a successful and proportional mission, and played its diplomatic cards well. Pakistan was rattled on Tuesday. As a sovereign state, whose very identity and ideological rationale is based on its opposition of India, the strikes deep in its territory dealt a humiliating blow. In a polity with an all-powerful army, it raised serious questions about Pakistans defence abilities. The strikes generated domestic pressure on the regime to respond. This, we believe, was the wrong lesson for Islamabad to draw. What it should have learnt is that the time to back terror groups is now over. And if it does not act against them, India will. But once it had decided to retaliate to cater to its own domestic constituency, Pakistan went ahead with an air offensive across the Line of Control on Wednesday morning. In the process, both sides shot down each others fighters. The Pakistanis also captured one Indian Air Force pilot. It is now time to step back. The reality is that India demonstrated its capability in a measured way and mobilised all major international powers against the use of terror. It redefined the nuclear threshold. And while it will be a long haul, it has initiated a process to change the cost-benefit calculus in Pakistan about the sponsorship of terror. At the same time, Islamabad, with its symbolic response, can show its domestic constituency that it takes attacks on sovereignty seriously. Both sides need to think about the escalatory ladder. A war will extract tremendous costs and it is time for diplomacy to take over. The roadmap is clear. A back-channel and quiet process of negotiation between both sides must kick off. Pakistan must, immediately, hand over Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, to India. It must then categorically commit to not allowing Pakistani soil for anti-Indian activities. The international community must firmly pressure Pakistan in this direction and seek an enforceable mechanism to judge its future actions. India can then reiterate that it has no intention of prolonging the conflict; its actions were measured and will continue to be measured, as long as Islamabad fulfils its promise of cracking down on terror. There is a narrow window at the moment to de-escalate. It is time to grab it. If Pakistan doesnt see it that way, the new India has indicated its willingness to go the distance. The Delhi Metro network sounded a red alert on Wednesday for its entire network as tension spiralled between India and Pakistan. As advised by security agencies, a red alert has been imposed on the entire DMRC network from 6 pm onwards, a senior DMRC official said, according to PTI. The Delhi Metros current operational span is 327 km with 236 stations, in Delhi and neighbouring cities. After a red alert is sounded, all station controllers are required to inspect entire station premises for any suspicious items or activity, including in parking lots, and report to the control centre every two hours, he said. The alert was sounded as tension mounted between India and Pakistan following the capture on an Indian Air Force pilot in the neighbouring country. Earlier Wednesday, India asked Pakistan to ensure immediate release and safe return of the IAF pilot who was missing in action after he engaged with Pakistani jets that violated Indian airspace in the morning. Presenting the last budget of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government until assembly elections next year, Delhi finance minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday went back to his partys 70-point manifesto giving an account of the promises fulfilled. The budget with a total outlay of Rs 60,000 crore, which Sisodia said is the highest ever for the city, is 13.21% more than the last years Rs 53,000 crore. Despite the fact that Lok Sabha elections are due this year, the Delhi governments budget for 2019-20 had a few new announcements. But unlike last year, it did not specify timelines for the completion of projects, which Sisodia said was not necessary as the AAP governments tenure would end in a year. The contribution of Delhi to the national GDP has increased from 3.97% in 2014-15 to 4.14% in 2018-19, though we are only 1.4% per cent of the total population, Sisodia said in his speech. AAP assumed power in Delhi in 2015. At constant prices, Delhis economy is expected to grow at the rate of 8.61% in 2018-19 compared to the national growth rate of 7.2%, Sisodia said. The annual average growth of GSDP in last four years remained 8.92%, which exhibits strong economic fundamentals of Delhis economy, as per the budget documents. For the fifth year, the government kept a lions share, Rs 15,600 crore or 26% of the total. This year, the government had divided the budget into two categories projects and schemes and establishments and administration. Of the Rs 60,000 crore total outlay, Rs 27,000 crore have been earmarked for projects and schemes, whereas Rs 33,000 crore are kept for establishment and administration. Under the projects and schemes category, three sectors health, transport (including road infra) and urban development (including housing) got the same share of 14% out of Rs 27,000 crore. This was followed by social security and welfare (13%). For the second time in a row, the government kept aside 500 crore to complete its flagship project of installing 1.4 lakh CCTV cameras across the city. Sisodia said last years allocation went unused as the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) had raised unnecessary objections to the project. Installation of cameras have already begun in several constituencies, he said. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal hailed it as everyones budget. In five years, we have doubled the budget. While the economy of the country had gone down due to GST and demonetisation, Delhi is growing and booming, he said. Kejriwal said Delhi people pay nearly Rs 1.5 lakh crore as income tax to the Centre, in return of which Delhi will get only Rs 534 crore. We urge the Centre to at least give us 50% of taxes we pay, he said. Sisodia also said that most of the 70 points of its manifesto have been fulfilled by the AAP government. Some projects havent been completed because we do not have full control over Delhi. The Centre kept interfering which slowed down all projects, the finance minister said. Kejriwal later said the government is going to refurbish its 52,000 flats are lying vacant. Once they are ready, we will relocate slum and JJ cluster dwellers into these houses. An allocation of Rs 800 crore has been made for this purpose, he said. Providing free Wi-Fi, another prominent poll promise of AAP, will start from next year, Sisodia said. The minister said that the project has been delayed because the government could not decide on the model of the project for a long time. Time was taken. We have decided to go for the hotspot model. The project has been given Rs 150 crore. Kejriwal said. The Delhi government has allocated Rs 15,601 crore, 26% of the total budget, for the education sector in its budget for the 2019-20 fiscal. This was the fifth time in a row that the Aam Aadmi Partys (AAP) government has allocated the highest share of the budget to the education sector. Of the total allocated, Rs 7,818 crore will be used for various plans and schemes. The budgetary allocation includes administrative expenditures such as payment of salaries to teachers and other departments (such as PWD) that coordinate with the education department on various schemes. The focus of this years budget was on strengthening the status of higher and technical education in Delhi, with the government proposing to set up two new universities University of Applied Sciences and a University for Teachers Training. While presenting the budget on Tuesday, finance minster Manish Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, said, Education is the first priority of our government and it will continue to be so as long as every child in Delhi gets a good education. Some say we do politics over education. Yes, we are doing politics over education. Its our responsibility to bring education into politics and we are doing that. There is no university for applied sciences in the country now. Due to this, the interest of students in skill-based institutes such as ITI, Polytechnic remains low. To resolve this, and to set a new benchmark for applied sciences, the Delhi government will start a University of Applied Sciences. There will be programmes for vocational education of three to 12 months in various trades, certificate courses of one to two years, diplomas, degrees, postgraduate courses, MPhil and PhD programmes, Sisodia said. The government also announced a new curriculum, family business, at the Delhi Technical University (DTU). From next year, MBA (Family Business) will be started in DTU where children from the business community will be able to learn management skills for furtherance of their respective businesses. It will also be started in the other universities of the Delhi government, Sisodia said. The course is already available in some B-schools such as IIM-Bengaluru and Indian school of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad. DTU vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh said, As per the direction of the government, we will be creating a special programme for those who have family businesses, be it a grocery shop or a manufacturing firm. We will teach these students how to take their businesses forward and provide jobs to others. The construction work on the GB Pant Engineering College and Polytechnic Complex at Okhla also received a fillip with the government allocating Rs 527 crore for this project. Once ready, there will be an additional 3,000 engineering seats in Delhi. Government schools will each receive Rs 5-7 lakh to strength its school management committees (SMCs) in academic session 2019-20. The SMCs will also be provided an additional fund of Rs 1-1.5 lakh to help teachers who want to take up initiatives to make learning better. An allocation of Rs 42 crore was made to provide seed money of Rs 1,000 to every student studying in classes 11 and 12 in government schools and Rs 5,000 each to those studying in the Delhi government-run colleges and universities to start developing their business plan under the upcoming entrepreneurship curriculum. In the aftermath of the Indian Air Forces air strike at terror camps in Pakistan, Delhi police commissioner Amulya Patnaik on Tuesday held a meeting with all deputy commissioners of police to ensure a tight vigil across national capital. The weekly law-and-order meeting is usually held on Friday, but on Wednesday, the police commissioner called a meeting. During the meeting, Patnaik instructed the force to remain on high alert and step up the security, especially in the busy market places, shopping malls, government institutions, national monuments and at the state border areas. Police have also increased visibility at the airport, the interstate bus terminals and the railway stations in the city. We have visibility in local areas and the frequency of patrolling has been increased. Vehicles entering the capital from neighbouring states are being checked thoroughly. We have deployed NSG-trained commandos in anti-terror Parakram vans at strategic locations. Our dog squads are also sanitising VVIP areas and police personnel at each station have been asked to comb their local areas for suspicious atrocity, said an officer who did not wish to be named. Cargo terminals at airport and parcel area at railway stations are also being frisked repeatedly, said the officer. It is possible that terror suspects may use small-time gangs of auto-lifters to procure vehicles and use in Pulwama like attacks so a close watch is being kept on such gangs, second-hand car dealers, and unauthorised parking areas, the officer said. Police have also intensified their tenant verification and are checking backgrounds of the homeless people staying in the governments night shelters. Security personnel at the embassy of Israel in the national capital on Tuesday detained an Afghan man and handed him over to the Delhi Police over suspicion of trying to enter the embassy. Police said the mans antecedents are being verified. According to the police, the man was detained around 1 pm when the police got a call from the embassy about the man attempting to trespass. He was brought to the Tughlak Road police station and questioned later, said a police officer privy to the details of the case. A police team was rushed to the embassy and the Afghan national was handed over to them. The security men at the embassy said the suspect claimed to be a dentist who had come to visit India. During questioning the man said he had gone to the embassy to inquire about his travel plan to visit Jerusalem. We are verifying his antecedents. No case has been registered against him yet, the officer said. Pakistan didnt wait long to squash Indias Balakot airstrike bravado with its own air incursions. However, the financially strapped country cannot afford a serious escalation of hostilities, not least because India could wreak massive punishment. This explains why Pakistans military is at pains to affirm that it is not seeking war. The mass murder attack at Pulwama was Indias moment of truth. For too long, India had put up with Pakistans cross-border terrorism without imposing any tangible costs. So, when the Pulwama massacre happened, it triggered intense anger across the country, not just against Pakistan, but also against the fractious and feckless political class that has reduced India to a soft State. Peace with Pakistan is a mirage, and the Indian Air Force (IAF) aptly employed its Mirage 2000 aircraft to bomb terrorists there. In a chilling message to Pakistans terror masters the military generals it demonstrated its ability to deeply penetrate Pakistani air defences and bomb. This represented a major loss of face for the generals. To salvage their image at home, the generals have responded with aerial aggression. Had the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee quickly responded with punitive airstrikes to the December 2001 Jaish-e-Mohammed attack on Parliament at a time when much of Pakistans F-16 fleet was not airworthy due to a lack of spares India probably would have been spared the Pakistan-scripted terrorist carnages that have followed. The lost golden opportunity was compounded by nearly 18 years of political dithering on allowing limited uses of air power, such as taking out trans-border terrorist launch pads. Indias belated use of air power to strike a terrorist safe haven has finally sent a clear message: it is not afraid to escalate its response to the aerial domain in order to call Pakistans nuclear bluff. Balakot represents the first time a nuclear power carried out an airstrike inside another nuclear-armed State. The current conventional military face-off, however, promises to bust Western academic theories about the inevitability of tit-for-tat actions rapidly triggering a serious nuclear crisis. Pakistani generals may be roguish but they are not suicidal. Their delusions of security behind a supposed nuclear shield stand exposed. A more fundamental question is whether the current face-off will mark a turning point for India, generating a newfound determination not to be continually gored. Or did India carry out the Balakot airstrike like the 2016 ground-launched surgical strike largely to assuage public anger, with the calculation that Pakistan would again not respond in kind? A one-off airstrike, in any event, would be as ineffective in deterring Pakistan as the one-off surgical strike was. Whatever the number of terrorists killed at Balakot, the fact is that Pakistans generals were made to pay no costs. Now emboldened by their own quick military response, they will seek to bleed India further. Tellingly, the 2016 terrorists-targeting surgical strike, while underscoring Indias refusal to impose any costs on the terror masters, was followed by serial Pakistan-orchestrated terrorist attacks from Nagrota to Pulwama. India must bring Pakistan under sustained and multipronged pressure. For example, how can India expect the international community to diplomatically isolate Pakistan when New Delhi is unwilling to do that itself? Indeed, Indias persistent refusal to treat Pakistan as a terrorist State in its policy, as opposed to its rhetoric, has come back to haunt it. India shies away from taking even non-military measures to penalise Pakistan. Nitin Gadkaris stand on the Indus Waters Treaty has only generated bad international publicity. Far from seeking to weaponise water or leverage the treaty, India is adhering to the pacts finer details, including supplying Pakistan design data of three proposed hydropower facilities on the eve of Pulwama. Oddly, just as India called its 1974 nuclear test peaceful, only to endure almost a quarter-century of sanctions until it went overtly nuclear, it labelled its Balakot strike a non-military pre-emptive action. Pakistans military riposte has helped shatter that pretence. More significantly, Indias failure thus far to quickly rebut Pakistans disinformation in the current face-off suggests it has learned little from Chinas psychological warfare during the Doklam standoff. India must face up to the fact that Pakistan has been at war with it for years. Labelling that aggression simply terrorism minimises its larger strategic dimensions and obviates the need to formulate a comprehensive strategy in place of the present ad hoc, reactive approach. It is a grinding, largely one-sided unconventional war since the 1980s whose cumulative costs for India outweigh those imposed by any full-fledged war in the past. Unless India is willing to take the battle to Pakistans terror masters, the latter will continue employing their terrorist proxies against it. Brahma Chellaney is a geostrategist The views expressed are personal If you wanted to understand why there is such gridlock in Congress and our national politics today, all you had to do was watch the GOP members of this panel first try to get Cohens testimony shut down before it began on procedural complaints. And when that didnt work, they went after Cummings. Following the air strikes on the terror training camp in Pakistan, the exhibitors association of the country has decided to boycott Indian films and also asked artists to refrain from working in Made In India advertisements. Pakistans Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday announced a boycott of Indian movies as well as Made in India advertisements in the country. Cinema Exhibitors Association has boycotted Indian content, no Indian movie will be released in Pakistan. Also have instructed PEMRA (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority) to act against Made in India advertisements, Chaudhry tweeted. Cinema Exhibitors Association has boycotted Indian content, no Indian Movie ll be released in Pakistan. Also have instructed PEMRA to act against Made in India Advertisements. #PakistanTayarHai https://t.co/9BPo6LIsVB Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) February 26, 2019 The move comes in the wake of air strikes by the Indian Air Force on Jaish-e-Mohammeds biggest terror camp in Balakot in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province early on Tuesday in retaliation to the February 14 attack in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, which had left 40 Indian CRPF troopers dead. In the light of the prevailing situation, and in solidarity with the government, the film exhibitors fraternity has volunteered to focus on local content till normalisation of the current situation in the region, All Pakistan Exhibitors Association Chairman Zoraiz Lashari said in a statement. Following the Pulwama terror attack on February 14 that killed 44 CRPF personnel, the All Indian Cine Workers Association announced a total ban on Pakistani actors and artists. Producers backed up the decision with announcements that Total Dhamaal, Lukka Chuppi, Arjun Patiala and Milan Talkies will not release in Pakistan. Also read: Akash Ambani pre-wedding bash: Shah Rukh Khan reaches Switzerland as Alia Bhatt-Ranbir Kapoor party with the couple, see pics We believe art and films are universal language that transcend borders and bring people closer. We hope we can all play a positive role in reducing tensions, and supporting policies that bring peace and prosperity to the people of the entire region, Lashari added. Of late, cultural ties between India and Pakistan have been affected owing to cross-border tensions. In December last year, Chaudhry had assured help to Indian filmmaker Nandita Das in releasing her film Manto in Pakistan. Even while the Pakistans Supreme Court had placed a ban on the transmission of Indian content on local television channels, movies were making their way to theatres and finding a good audience. After the Pulwama attack, Indian film associations instructed filmmakers to avoid using any Pakistani talent in their movies and not to release their films in Pakistan. As a result, Total Dhamaal did not release there. Also read: Punjabi singers, lyricists oppose Bollywood ban on Pakistani artistes after Pulwama attack Kartik Aaryans Luka Chuppi, Diljit Dosanjhs Arjun Patiala and Tigmanshu Dhulias Milan Talkies will also not release in Pakistan. Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Akshay Kumar has shared the first song from his upcoming film, Kesari. Titled Sanu Kehndi, the song shows Akshay swinging with his pals to Punjabi music. Watch the video here: The trailer for Kesari was released on February 21. Garnering over 20 million views in 24 hours, the film piqued the audiences interest about the historic Battle of Saragarhi of 1897. The September 12, 1897 battle, in the North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan), is distinct as 21 Sikhs of the 36th Sikh Regiment (now the 4th Battalion of the Sikh Regiment) of British India, defended an army post against more than 10,000 Afghan and Orakzai tribesmen. Also read: Twitter slams Sara Ali Khan for tone deaf, racist shoot with Kenyan tribesman The British government had conferred the highest battle honour of Indian Order of Merit Grade II to the martyred soldiers. This story has been written about in several books, including in one documentation by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. Kesari, directed by Anurag Singh, takes the gripping story to an epic scale with Akshay as Ishar Singh, complete with a turban and beard. The film also stars Parineeti Chopra. Two other Hindi films on the Battle of Saragarhi were in the pipeline, but they have been shelved. Ajay Devgn was making Son Of Sardaar: The Battle of Saragarhi, a project he had announced in 2016, and there was another movie by Rajkumar Santoshi, Battle Of Saragarhi, starring Randeep Hooda. Follow @htshowbiz for more After Indias air strikes across LoC early on Tuesday morning, Pakistani actress Mahira Khan said there is nothing uglier than a war, and hopes better sense will prevail. Nothing uglier. Nothing more ignorant than cheering for war. May sense prevail... Pakistan zindabad, Mahira, who starred in Bollywood film Raees, tweeted. Nothing uglier. Nothing more ignorant than cheering for war. May sense prevail.. Pakistan zindabad. https://t.co/sH0VGGAERC Mahira Khan (@TheMahiraKhan) February 26, 2019 Her tweet was a response to a thread on the Twitter wall of Fatima Bhutto, author and granddaughter of former Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The Indian Air Force jets destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammeds biggest training camp in Pakistans Balakot, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing 325 militants and terror recruits. Indias action came after 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers were killed in a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country. Mawra Hocane, who was seen in Indian film Sanam Teri Kasam, feels it is time to put humanity first. It is time we understand this as humans. The media needs to take charge and stop being provocative. Its our duty to inculcate peace and use our words for better and not worse. Praying for peace always, she posted. "There can be NO winners in war if we value Human Life at all." Christopher Holliday. Its time we understand this as humans.The media needs to take charge & stop being provocative. Its our duty to inculcate peace & use our words for better & not worse. Praying for peace always! MAWRA HOCANE (@MawraHocane) February 26, 2019 Actor Fahad Mustafa also hoped for peace, and said: War does not determine who is right ...Only who is left. Say no to war. While many wished for peace, there were some stars who reacted strongly. Also read: Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar lead Bollywood in saying Jai Ho after IAF strikes Taking a dig at a famous dialogue from Karan Johars film My Name Is Khan, actor Veena Malik said: My Name is tree...And Im not a Terrorist. He is one of the most talented men in Bollywood in the present day and is known for his writing, his poetic acting, writing and performing poetry as well as taking the true meaning of good content forward in what is called mainstream Bollywood. He also started his band and named it Ballimaaraan - after a place full of memories of Old Delhi, Mirza Ghalib and the narrow lanes of Chandni Chowk. Mr Mishra is using the power of music and the magic of words to make a difference - one of the most notable being the conservation of the Aarey forest land which is a proposed project for the Mumbai Metro. He says he was just a helping hand in this conservation effort but it is his wife and the others who have done all the groundwork. His involvement has helped popularise this effort because his name is Piyush Mishra, he humbly adds. Ahead of his headlining performance at HT Imagine Fest 2019, we spoke with Piyush Mishra about his theatre days, his love for Delhi, his band Ballimaaraan, Mirza Ghalib, his favourite medium of expression - films or a live performance (and theatre) and one of his most loved compositions, Husna. Read on. On National School of Drama, Delhi: Piyush Mishra, a noted theatre personality has spent nearly two decades of his professional life in New Delhi, studying theatre at NSD, acting, writing, and eventually directing plays. It was not until 1998 that he decided to move to Mumbai and make a base there. He said that it was a choice he made for his wife and his children because his experiences of following art and theatre which probably filled his soul, but hardly ever filled his pockets. So while he expresses poignantly through his roles in Bollywood and definitely through his words, films are a way for him to earn money before fulfilling any other requirement. He says that wherever I go, I always remember Delhi, especially Mandi House where Ive spent some crucial years. Bombay (Mumbai) too has given me a lot but I cant let go of Delhi, I get refreshed whenever Im in Delhi and my creativity spikes whenever I visit, theres a lot more I want to do here and Im sure Ill write 5-6 songs as soon as I leave here. On writing: He says that I had lesser control over my creativity when life was in turmoil (damadol), he could keep writing and composing upto 3-4 songs in a day. As of today, he is more relaxed and enjoying the space he is in and theres no rush to churn out something creative. His work speaks for himself as of today and he is more at peace now. He says the phase he went through earlier was great in terms of working, writing, composing more but what good is that space or that form of creativity when you cant sleep at night? On Bhagat Singh, his friend: He is credited with writing the powerful dialogues of The Legend of Bhagat Singh followed by more noteworthy projects. It was the play titled Gagan Damama Bajyo, he co-wrote with N.K. Sharma for their theatre group, Act One, that started his friendship with the extremist freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. Speaking about the play and the film which was inspired by it, Mr Mishra said that he has lived with Bhagat Singh while understanding the character and writing for him along with the others who were fighting the freedom struggle with Bhagat Singh. He says that most people dont even know his full name wasnt just Bhagat Singh thats why it was important for him to share the story of Bhagat Singh Sandhu and how he was deeply affected by all that was going on in the country before he decided to join in the struggle and applied his methods to the revolution. Behron ko sunane ke liye ek dhamake ki zaroorat hoti hai, a dialogue in the play and subsequently the film, explains the sentiment of these new-age freedom fighters aptly. Mr Mishra goes on to add that he cannot fully explain the relationship he shares with Bhagat Singh but he has spent time with him and seen him upfront while living the character through the process of writing the play and the dialogues of the film, nearly a decade later. In a TED talk titled My Friend Bhagat Singh a few years ago, he spoke about the man that Bhagat Singh Sandhu was and what inspired him, drove him to tell the story. On Husna, his much-loved composition: Being a big fan of Piyush Mishra isnt always enough, sometimes there are no words to describe what you feel about the impact that an influential person makes on you, especially when your aspirations are linked with his body of work. I asked him to sing a few lines from this song, a love letter from one lover on this side of the border to his beloved on the other side. Mr Mishra, however, refused to do so. For a brief moment, it made me feel I had probably offended him by asking him to sing a song just a few minutes before his LIVE performance at HT Imagine Fest. But the thought was far deeper than I felt. Mr Mishra said he will not sing Husna till Pakistan acknowledges this problem called terrorism. Explaining his stand he says that the song is closest to his heart but he will not sing it till the issue of terrorism is addressed by our neighbouring country. It is a torture for me that my fans want to listen to this song but Ive sworn not to sing it. I have said it at a public forum that I will not be singing Husna until the problem is addressed. We have reached a point where the water has gone above our heads and its not fair that jawans are being martyred left right and centre. I understand that Pakistan might say that we are also victims of terrorism given that there are attacks in your country too, children were gunned down in Peshawar, and the situation in Karachi after the attack on Benazir Bhutto Sahiba. If youre also victims of terrorism, then you must take a stand, Imran Khan Sahab. This is where we must draw the line. It is a political issue so I dont want to comment any more than this, however, I want to see how much Husna is demanded of me and how far am I able to control not singing it. Mr Mishra closed our discussion that evening by singing his heart-wrenching song, Ik Bagal Mein Chaand Hoga, from Gangs of Wasseypur Part 1. Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Breaking News Updates Would you like to receive our Breaking News updates? Signup today! Calendar Updates Would you like to receive our weekly Calendar updates? Signup today! Deals Updates Would you like to receive Deals updates? Signup today! Still, both books deal with womens struggles to make their ways in families and communities dominated by men. The central character in the first pages of Rums book is Isra, a 17-year-old Palestinian girl whose family forces her into marriage with an older man, Adam. He owns a deli and lives with his parents and siblings in Brooklyn. Adam and Isra move into the familys basement. Isra becomes a virtual servant to Adams mother, Fareeda, who pushes the couple to have children. She wants males who can make money and build the familys reputation and influence. When Isra produces only four children, all girls, she is dishonored by Fareeda. Adam beats her regularly. The central character of the second part of the book is Deya, Isra and Adams oldest daughter. Because Adam and Isra have died, Fareeda raises the children. Following the communitys customs, when Deya is a high school senior, Fareeda looks for a Palestinian man for her to marry. Deya wants to go to college, but she is afraid to bolt her family and the communitys customs. She knows of women who have stood up against male domination and then faced beatings and even death. A Woman Is No Man is fiction, but it is clearly autobiographical. As such, Rum explains, the book meant challenging many long-held beliefs in my community and violating our code of silence. Bergs direction takes viewers from the Woodlawn home of Syeds family to Chaudrys home where she is preparing a nursery for her third child. The attorney is shown going through boxes of documents for Syeds case, some of which she still carries in the trunk of her car. She holds up an amateurish-looking flyer she says she created at home to try and raise money for Syeds second appeal. Its headlined: INNOCENT 17-year-old Pakistani Muslim boy wrongfully convicted and sentenced to LIFE PLUS 35 YEARS. Aspiring lunar explorers, take heed any newly discovered ridges on the Moon must be named for a geoscientist. If you want to name a landform on Saturn's satellite Titan, you'd better be a fantasy or science fiction fan: Mountains and plains on the lake-covered moon are styled after places in Tolkien's Middle Earth and Frank Herbert's "Dune" series. And almost everything on Io, the eruptive moon of Jupiter, must have a name associated with fire, volcanoes, or Dante's "Inferno." So decrees the International Astronomical Union, the official arbiter of planetary and satellite nomenclature since 1919. As ever more powerful telescopes and ambitious new robotic missions add to the identified real estate of the solar system, the IAU's brilliant, byzantine and sometimes marvelously nerdy naming guidelines help bring order to our crowded skies. The IAU's rules are in the news this month after the Carnegie Institution for Science announced it needed help naming several moons of Jupiter discovered last year. Carnegie astronomer Scott Sheppard, who spotted the new moons using a giant telescope in Chile, said suggestions should be tweeted to the handle @JupiterLunacy using the hashtag #NameJupitersMoons. But, protocols for planetary nomenclature being what they are, Sheppard can only consider names that meet a few key criteria: Hickory Public Schools received a $200,000 safety grant and the school board changed the grade weight of final exams during Monday's meeting. $200,000 for safety The $200,000 school safety grant was announced by Robbie Adell, superintendent of Hickory Public Schools. The grant will allow Hickory Public Schools to utilize different web-based computer systems such as GPS for school buses to further strengthen our safety protocol, Adell said. The grant is from Global Grid for Learning and their Safer Schools in America Impact Grant. Adell said he would not comment further on the grant until a formal presentation to the school board can be made at an upcoming meeting. Final exams will count less on total grade The board voted to change the policy on final exams for middle and high school students. The exams will now be 20 percent of a students final grade instead of 25 percent. Combining cellphones, following too close, rainy weather and constant construction is not a good recipe, he said. There is no wiggle room out there with the jersey barriers [ along the construction site ] if you get off a little and hit those barriers you will go cart-wheeling, he said. Where the construction starts at the 115 mile marker is where Joines says one of the problems lies. In that little narrowing near the [ start ] of the bridge , that is part of the catalyst right there, he said. When you are in a construction zone such as this one and you combine any type of distracted driving , it will not have a good outcome, Joines said. If you come over the white lines a little bit you are automatically within 2 feet of a barrier, he said. One of the main distracted driving habits that Joines has seen includes people following too close behind the vehicle in front of them . Following too close is the biggest factor out there (because) if you are following too close at 60 mph and you are t wo car lengths [behind a vehicle] and get distracted by your phone or radio you do not physically have the ability to stop in time to avoid a collision, he said. And this goes beyond the visual. The voice of her teen diary is captured in a way that makes it resonate and then imprint in memory even after you move away from the screen. The voice is steeped in optimism and vitality, and that makes the act of someone silencing it seem all the more evil. Uniontown, PA (15401) Today Partly cloudy this morning with thunderstorms becoming likely this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 86F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Thunderstorms. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. I am honored and also excited for the country to understand what a great city Baltimore is we have so much to offer here our waterways, farmers, good people, museums, amazing ethnic neighborhoods, and, well, soul, Wolf wrote to The Baltimore Sun in an e-mail. In contrast, Armstrongs museum will confine itself to life in Africa. Half of her museum will explore the history of the continent as a whole, while the second half will examine one nation in depth on a rotating basis. She will start with her native Ghana, the country with which she is most familiar, and plans to eventually cover all 54. Armstrong hopes to enlist experts from the national embassies located in Washington. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday met with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Wuzhen of east China's Zhejiang Province. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Wuzhen of east China's Zhejiang Province, on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019.[Photo: mfa.gov.cn] Swaraj is in Wuzhen to attend a meeting of the foreign ministers of China, Russia and India. The leaders of China and India held a successful informal meeting last year in the city of Wuhan, leading bilateral relations into a new stage of mature and stable development, Wang said. In the new year, China and India should implement the important consensus reached by their leaders, plan for the celebration activities marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties and promote stable and further development of bilateral relations, he said. Wang said China is concerned about the current tension in South Asia. As a friend of both India and Pakistan, China urges restraint from the two sides to avoid escalation of the situation. China expects the two countries to find out the truth of the relevant incident through dialogue and jointly safeguard regional peace, he said. Swaraj said India and China should work together to safeguard peace and tranquility of their border regions and push forward the stable development of bilateral relations. India maintains that the international community should work in solidarity and coordination to combat terrorism, Swaraj added, noting that India will deal with relevant issues in a responsible and restrained manner. Tim Rowland timr@herald-mail.com Back in the glorious days when it was perfectly fine to smoke in a courtroom, the great American attorney Clarence Darrow once slid a wire down the length of his cigar, then lit it just as the prosecutor was beginning his closing argument. Instead of puffing on it, he just let the cigar smolder. As the ash, held in place with the wire, grew longer one inch, then two, then three the jurors focus shifted from the prosecutor to the cigar, as they watched to see when the ash would drop. Thats the story anyway. Even if its not true, what is true is that lawyers will do anything to gain an edge, even if it involves creating a defense out of breakfast food. In Connecticut, Jason Stiber was cited for distracted driving after police said they saw him talking on a cellphone. The man, however, is passionately defending himself, so he hired a lawyer who contends that the phone was actually an order of McDonalds hash browns. According to The Washington Post, Westport Police Cpl. Shawn Wong Won testified that he clearly saw Stiber speaking into a black cellphone while driving that fateful morning. ... Won said in court that he saw Stiber holding an illuminated object the size of a cellphone up to his face while moving his lips. Stibers attorney, John Thygerson, argued, however, that what Won saw was consistent with chewing. He also said phone records show that Stiber did not make any calls at the time in question. So the police have fallen back on the illumination angle to affirm that it must have been a phone, and that Stiber was using it in an unsafe manner. Thats a tough one. I dont know a whole lot about what kind of ingredients these restaurants use in their products, but if any fast food started to glow, it wouldnt entirely surprise me. At the same time, talking on the phone and eating are not entirely consistent. Except as a student of human behavior, I have identified small subsets of humanity that just do things different, as the old folks used to say. For example, maybe 2 percent of the male population drops its pants entirely when standing at a urinal. You cant explain it, except maybe thats how they were taught to do it as toddlers and they never saw any meaningful reason to change. I guess the thinking is that if it works, why mess with success? There is a similarly small percentage of the public that leaves a hand-held foodstuff at their lips after they have taken a bite and continue to chew. Youve seen it. Someone takes a bite of an apple and then keeps the apple right there at the mouth until its time for the next bite. Much like Darrows cigar, you get fascinated with the situation, waiting to see if and when they will return their arm to a more normal mid-chew position. Why do they do it? Maybe they figure it saves motion. Maybe they were taught to eat by a squirrel. You just cant say. Theres always the aura of absentmindedness, as if they are thinking hard about something and just dont remember to lower their arm. But its a consistent habit, and no one can be that deep in thought all the time. Anyway, it doesnt matter. It is simply to suggest that it is possible that someone might hold hash browns at their face for a prolonged amount of time while working their jaws in a manner that could be mistaken for talking. But if any phone manufacturer is paying attention, heres what you do: Make the next iteration of iPhone look like an order of hash browns. Dumb like a fox. Tim Rowland is a Herald-Mail columnist. Staff reports The Herald-Mail God bats last, and his pinch hitters are out of this world To the editor: Society has changed a great deal in a very short time, hasnt it? Have you noticed that there appears to be a clear-cut pattern to the changes? I am referring to the fact that almost all recent social change runs contrary to the principles found in the Christian Bible. Consider these representative examples. Society says, Diversity is our strength. But the Bible says, Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined . Society says, Gender is fluid. But the Bible says, Male and female He created them . Society condones, encourages and celebrates same-sex marriage. But the Bible says, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. Hooking up is ubiquitous and virginity is widely considered to be a sign of personal failure. But the Bible says, the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body. Society says, We are all Gods children. But the Bible says that only those who live according to Gods moral imperatives can be considered his children. Universal Basic Income, a monthly government check for everyone, promises to be a hot issue in the 2020 election. But the Bible says, if you don't work, you don't eat. Space in this forum is limited, obviously, but you get the point. In the cosmic spiritual battle that is life, it appears as though God is getting hammered. I wouldnt put this one in the record books quite yet, though. We are only in the top of the ninth. Gods side bats last and word has it that he has some out-of-this-world pinch hitters on his roster. When the dust settles on the infield, I predict the "W" will be in God's column. G. Franklin Miller Hagerstown W.Va. Legislature could be wasting money on cameras To the editor: The lead article on page one of The Herald-Mail on Feb. 23 reveals an appalling waste of public funds being considered. The article reports that the West Virginia Legislature is considering placing cameras in special education classrooms at an estimated cost of $2,600 per classroom. This is an outrageous proposal. There are far less expensive, readily available multi-camera, high-definition surveillance systems with five camera arrays for less than $600 each. Each classroom probably would require only four cameras for comprehensive coverage. We have acquaintances whose entire home is under complete surveillance for less than $350 for a high quality, hi-definition four-camera array. Their systems include phone monitoring from anywhere in the world, and almost infinite recording from every camera which detects motion of any sort, and stores each such clip in a secure location in the cloud also readily accessible from any remote location. It seems practically a no-brainer to at least give such a much lower-priced system a trial period of usage. It may reveal that up to seven classrooms could be equipped for less than $2,600. That seems a more responsible stewardship of public funding. Harold Edward Lafferty Hagerstown THOMAS A. FIREY The Herald-Mail Every day, thousands of migrants flood across the border, bringing terror, murder, drugs, thievery and disease. They steal jobs, take government services and benefits, dodge taxes, and harm decent, hardworking citizens. Something must be done about these immigrants from Maryland. While our politicians focus on illegal immigration at the southern U.S. border, far more dangerous Marylanders are invading the great, beautiful states of Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Maryland has one of the highest homicide rates in the nation. In 2014, a typical year, Marylands murder rate was 27 percent above Pennsylvania, 49 percent above Virginia and 53 percent above West Virginia, according to FBI statistics. Maryland also has a very high larceny rate: 24 percent above Pennsylvania, 17 percent above Virginia and 26 percent above West Virginia. Even illegal immigrants arent as dangerous as Marylanders are. The great state of Texas keeps very good crime records on illegal immigrants, and they indicate that such people are 40 percent less likely to be murderers and 73 percent less likely to be thieves than Marylanders are, according to statistics compiled by a Cato Institute colleague. But numbers alone dont begin to tell the murder and mayhem Marylanders bring to other states. Here are just a few of the terrible stories: Just last month, police arrested Christopher Hasson of Silver Spring, Md., who is accused of planning to go on a bloody terrorism spree in Washington, D.C. Also this year, Timothy Nelson of Cumberland, Md., was arrested and charged in the kidnapping and rape of a 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl. In 2017, Gary Jenkins of Hagerstown was convicted of the vicious assault and robbery of an 82-year-old woman in Martinsburg, W.Va. In 2017, heroin dealer Mitchell Peck Jr. of Sykesville, Md., dubbed a merchant of death, was convicted in the overdose death of a young Pennsylvania man. In 2014, Joshua L. Stitley of Hancock was sentenced for the brutal murder of an elderly Falling Waters, W.Va., woman and attempted murder of her husband. His accomplice, Roy L. Wisotzkey of Hagerstown, was sentenced the year before. These are only a few of the dangerous immigrants who stream across the state line from Maryland every day. Presumably, some Marylanders are good people. But even noncriminal Maryland migrants hurt the decent, honest people in neighboring states. They steal jobs usually good-paying ones in Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, taking away wages and benefits. They crowd onto Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia roads and crowd into those states hospitals and parks, making extra work for brave, overworked firefighters, police officers, ambulance crews, doctors and nurses. Yet these migrants pay no income taxes and few other taxes to Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. The state line with Maryland is completely open. There is no immigration agency to screen these dangerous Marylanders, no border patrol and no fences or walls. We must end this border chaos and protect the sovereignty of Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia! Here is a modest proposal: First, there must be a pause on all migration from Maryland until neighboring states have new laws to protect their sovereignty and control their borders. Enforcement agencies must be created and extreme vetting policies implemented for all Marylanders who try to cross the state line. Only when these measures have been fully implemented will the travel ban be lifted. Next, a great, beautiful wall must be built all along the MasonDixon Line and Potomac River so that neighboring states can finally have true border security. And Maryland must be made to pay for this wall! Carefully screened, high-skilled Marylanders who prove that they value freedom will be welcome in Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. But they must be fully examined any time they cross the border to make sure they pose no threat to the safety, health and livelihoods of the decent, hardworking people in neighboring states. Only this will stop the terrorists, murderers, drug dealers and other dangerous Marylanders. Build the Maryland wall, and crime rates will fall! Staff reports The Herald-Mail Build that wall: We need that wall down there in Mexico. Think of the people who live in California, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico, who live close to the Mexican border line. They never know when someone might cross that border and kill their whole family. Just imagine if Mexico was right below Maryland or New York or any other state that doesnt touch Mexico. You might get a different outlook about that wall being built. They might want it built to protect their family. The wall being built in Mexico will affect all of us in the near future. We need that wall built down there in Mexico to protect our country and keep it safe. Curtis Shives, Berkeley Springs, W.Va. Uncle Joe full of hot air: Well, I see Uncle Joe Biden is at it again. He didnt have the courage to speak here in the United States, so, he goes to Germany and calls America an embarrassment. Well, Uncle Joe, youve never been right about anything. And, youre not right now. Lets talk about an embarrassment. What about the sweetheart deal that you and the community organizer gave the Iranians? ... I dont know where youre at, Joe, but wherever it is, stay where youre at because I dont need to listen to your hot air. Kirk Blenard, Hagerstown Socialism doesnt work: This is to ... anyone ... who thinks socialism is so great. Why dont you move to Venezuela and see how you like it? Read your history books. Socialism doesnt work, and it will destroy this country if we try to implement it. Maybe Khruschev was right: This country will go down without firing a shot. Michael Karn, Halfway David Jackson The Herald-Mail HANOI President Donald Trump prepared for a historic second summit with Kim Jong Un here Wednesday as he braced for a tumultuous few days in Washington that threatened to eclipse any progress made with the North Korean dictator. Trump will meet with Kim for a brief conversation followed by a 90-minute dinner, marking their first face-to-face encounter since the two met in Singapore last summer. The initial events, which will splash across U.S. television screens early Wednesday morning, are expected to lead to more substantive talks the next day. But Trump's diplomatic efforts will come as his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, is expected to allege "criminal conduct" by Trump in his first public testimony before Congress. Lawmakers are also busy with a measure, approved by the Democratic-controlled House, to repeal Trump's border wall emergency. White House officials, mindful that Trump's visit to Vietnam is competing for public attention, attacked Cohen as Air Force One touched down in Vietnam on the eve of the summit. And hours later, the White House formally threatened to veto the resolution to halt his emergency declaration. "It's laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. Trump, meanwhile, spent some pre-meeting time launching a Twitter attack on one of his congressional critics, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and claiming he discussed the senator's exaggerations about his war record in a meeting with Vietnam officials. Tweeting that "I have now spent more time in Vietnam than Da Nang Dick Blumenthal," Trump added that "his war stories of his heroism in Vietnam were a total fraud - he was never even there. We talked about it today with Vietnamese leaders!" Trump did not serve in the military during the Vietnam years, claiming college and medical deferments that included bone spurs in his foot. The president's domestic troubles only add to the pressure to deliver results with Kim, who has signaled an interest in stronger relations with the United States but declined to dismantle his nuclear program. In the days leading up to the summit, Trump appeared to lower expectations, claiming he is "in no rush" for denuclearization as long as Pyongyang continues to suspend missile tests. "We want denuclearization, and I think he'll have a country that will set a lot of records for speed in terms of an economy," Trump said before departing for Vietnam. While Trump is pushing for a detailed North Korean plan for denuclearization, Kim wants the U.S. to first end economic sanctions against his impoverished country. Trump has previously said he would not ease sanctions without concrete action from Kim. Hours before the sit-down with the North Korean leader, Trump held largely ceremonial meetings with the leaders of Vietnam, and said their country can be a model for Kim, whom he described as "my friend." "Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize," Trump tweeted early in the day. Describing North Korea's economic potential as "AWESOME," Trump said it is "a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting!" Kim, who arrived in Hanoi after a two-and-half-day train ride through China and northern Vietnam, has said nothing publicly about the new talks with Trump. More than four decades after the Vietnam War, the Vietnamese view the summit as an opportunity to assert themselves on the world diplomatic stage. Heavily promoting the Trump-Kim summit, light poles in Hanoi are festooned with the flags of the U.S., North Korea and Vietnam, mounted on a shield featuring an image of a handshake. Large posters advertising the summit proclaim Hanoi as "The City of Peace." Raising the curtain:Trump-Kim summit: What happened at their first meeting and what to expect at their next The demands:Trump-Kim summit: North Korea must do something 'meaningful' to denuclearize before sanctions relief Trump and Kim are expected to start off with a brief one-on-one greeting in the afternoon, local time. The two leaders and their aides then have a "social dinner." Trump will be accompanied by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Trump and Kim aides are also planning private talks. The results of that effort, if any, are expected to come at Thursday's closing session of the summit. A one-of-a-kind relationship:Trump-Kim summit: From fire and fury to love letters, not your traditional relationship Among the issues on the Trump-Kim agenda: What is 'denuclearization' Trump and aides have demanded that North Korea identify and destroy facilities used to make nuclear weapons. Kim, however, believes denuclearization should cover the entire region including U.S. weapons systems designed to protect ally South Korea. Economic sanctions standoff Kim says he will not take major steps toward denuclearization until the United States and other countries lift at least some of the sanctions that have crippled North Korea's economy. Trump has said sanctions will not be removed until Kim starts to denuclearize, though he has also held out the possibility of other economic assistance. The economy is one of the reasons the U.S. agreed to meet in Vietnam. It hopes North Korea will follow the model of its communist ally, which developed a quasi-capitalist sector after economic reforms in the 1980s. From the golden arches of McDonald's to a Rolls-Royce dealership, western products are now widely available in the country forged by Ho Chi Minh and his followers after the Vietnam War. Follow the money:Trump-Kim summit: Trump hints at rewards for North Korea Business opportunities:Trump touts North Korea's economic potential. North Korea-U.S. relations While neither leader is expected to open an embassy in the other's country, negotiators are discussing "liaison offices" that could be used to improve communications between the two governments. A formal end to the Korean War Trump has been open to a treaty to formally end the Korean War, which is technically ongoing even though hostilities were suspended with an armistice in 1953. Negotiators are working on what aides called a "peace declaration," a nonbinding political statement to affirm North and South Korea are no longer at war. The history:How the North and South negotiated a truce in Korean War Sung-Yoon Lee, a Korea expert with the Fletcher School at Tufts University, said Kim wants to do just enough to satisfy Trump "like retiring an exhausted nuclear site he no longer needs" while retaining a weapons programs he depends on for survival. "Two steps forward and one step back is still progress for North Korea," he said. Olivia Enos, a policy analyst with the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, said she hopes Trump and his team tread cautiously. Give too much, she said, and the U.S. will lose its leverage and get little in return. "The president's willingness to compromise threatens to undermine the administration's maximum pressure strategy that brought Kim Jong Un to the negotiating table in the first place," she said. Some analysts worry that Trump may be too eager to strike even a bad deal with Kim in order to distract attention from Cohen who apparently plans to mention the president's Vietnam trip in his testimony. In a prepared statement first reported late Tuesday by Politico, Cohen cited the deferments Trump received during the Vietnam War. "'You think I'm stupid, I wasn't going to Vietnam,'" Cohen quotes Trump as saying. In his prepared testimony, Cohen adds: "I find it ironic, President Trump, that you are in Vietnam right now." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump-Kim summit Day 1: Nuclear weapons (and Michael Cohen) Matthew Umstead matthewu@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.Va. Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh sentenced a Mexican citizen on Tuesday to seven years and three months in prison in connection with allegations of drug trafficking and illegal re-entry into the United States, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell said. Eduardo Hernandez Sanchez, aka Jorge Andrade-Sanchez, 42, pleaded guilty in October to single counts of re-entry of a removed alien and conspiracy to distribute cocaine, according to a news release from Powells office. Sanchez previously was removed twice from the United States and was convicted in 2016 of drug distribution in Pennsylvania, the release said. Sanchez admitted to being in Berkeley County, W.Va., illegally in February 2018, when he was encountered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, court records said. There was 5 to 15 kilograms of cocaine in the case, records said. Sanchez allegedly conspired with three others to distribute cocaine between August 2017 and February 2018, court records said. Sanchez previously was removed from the United States in January 1999 near Brownsville, Texas; in March 2013 near Calexico, Calif.; and in January 2017, records said. Matthew Umstead Matthew Umstead mumstead@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.Va. A Hedgesville, W.Va. man accused of taking part in a firearms conspiracy was sentenced Tuesday by Chief U.S. District Judge Gina Groh to five years in prison, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell said. Sean Michael Placko, 43, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy in November, admitted to participating in a conspiracy to purchase and transfer firearms out of state and to a prohibited person, according to a news release from Powells office. After completing his prison sentence, Placko is to be placed on supervised release for three years. Placko will forfeit more than a dozen firearms as part of a plea agreement filed in the case. The prosecution alleged that the conspiracy occurred between October 2017 and February 2018 in Berkeley County, W.Va., and elsewhere, the release said. The prosecutions cases against co-defendants Shauntae Cherie Placko and Roger Anthony Williams still are pending in U.S. District Court. As part of the conspiracy, the prosecution alleged that firearms were purchased and then transferred to Williams, a resident of Washington, D.C., and a person prohibited from possession of a firearm, court records said. Williams was convicted of second-degree murder in Prince Georges County, Md., according to an indictment filed in the case. Jennifer Fitch waynesboro@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, Pa. The Waynesboro Area School Board will open its secondary schools as shelters when needed. The school board agreed Tuesday night to sign a memorandum of understanding with the American Red Crosss chapter based in York, Pa., to have its middle and high schools serve as shelters during disasters or emergencies. The agreement doesnt call for the Red Cross to pay the district for utilities or use. We felt itd be a good partnership and a good use of our facilities for the community, Superintendent Tod Kline said. Board member Stephen Kulla highlighted the agreements indemnification clause that releases the district from liability if someone sues over a persons injury or death while in the shelter. In other business at its meeting, the board approved leasing seven postage machines that allow for electronically certified mailing from the buildings. The equipment will cost $930 per month. Kulla questioned the cost of the lease. Administrators told him having the machines in buildings reduces trips to the post office and saves 5 cents in first-class postal rates. The district previously used Pitney Bowes as its vendor for postal machines and now will use Green Trail Solutions Inc. The board also approved an overnight trip request for the high schools music students to go to Boston in spring 2020. The music department is in the early stages of planning a concert there. Jennifer Fitch waynesboro@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. Summit Health representatives laid out the health systems growth plans for the next several years Tuesday as they asked the Franklin County (Pa.) Commissioners to support their borrowing. Among the projects are: adding a second surgical robot; building offices in the Penn National community south of Fayetteville, Pa.; and completing the Greencastle (Pa.) Medical Office building currently under construction. Summit Health, which recently was acquired by WellSpan Health, wants to refinance $450 million in existing bonds and issue $150 million in new ones. Because the nonprofit health system is a tax-exempt entity, it was required under IRS rules to ask the county to be a conduit for the bond issue. The bond issue wont cost the county anything and will not appear on its balance sheet, according to Kimberly Rzomp, chief financial officer for Summit Health. Rzomp and Chief Operating Officer John Massimilla said many of the investments being made are to expand access to primary-care providers, particularly in a neighborhood setting. Our philosophy is to get care as close to the patient as possible, Rzomp said. We have land in Penn National where were planning to build between now and the end of 2020, Massimilla said, noting the property is off Pa. 997. Summit Health also plans to expand in Shippensburg, Pa. The health system, which owns Chambersburg and Waynesboro hospitals, plans to add a second da Vinci surgical robot to its program. It used the acquisition of a second robot when recruiting a new physician. The robots are used for surgeries such as those on the gallbladder or urological system. Rzomp told the commissioners about the Epic electronic medical-record system being installed as part of the WellSpan Health merger. That system is used by some of the biggest hospitals in the country, meaning a patient could have a doctor in Florida look up his or her files. Part of the evolution of health care is to end the disjoined nature of health care, she said. The Greencastle Medical Office Building at exit 3 of Interstate 81 is on target to open in September. Mike Lewis mlewis@herald-mail.com SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. Orrstown Bank has closed two branches in Chambersburg, Pa., and one in Greencastle, Pa. Luke Bernstein, Orrstowns executive president, said Tuesday that the move comes after the $32.4 million merger between the holding companies for Orrstown Bank and First Community Bank of Mercersburg. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. acquired Mercersburg Financial Corp. as part of the agreement, which was announced in May and finalized in October. The bank recently completed what it called a core conversion, moving customers to the same computer system, Bernstein said. With that finished, he said, the bank closed the three former Mercersburg branches. They were all in very close proximity to existing Orrstown facilities, he said. The merger has been a real positive thing for our customers, Bernstein said. He added that the bank plans to enhance our investment in the local community. Even after the closures, which took place Feb. 1, former Mercersburg customers have 10 Franklin County bank branches, up from six. And the number of Orrstown branches in the county increased from seven to 10. We currently have 30 branches (in total), Bernstein said. Former Mercersburg customers also have access to mobile and digital services, which they lacked until the merger, he said. Bernstein said many former Mercersburg employees work in the same branch or in nearby facilities. There was minimal job impact throughout the merger, he said. Robert J. Fignar, who was Mercersburgs president and CEO, serves as Orrstowns market president for Franklin and Perry counties in Pennsylvania and Washington County in Maryland. Orrstown Bank will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year, Bernstein said. We want to keep our community bank model, he said. We want to keep with our history and our traditions. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. has its headquarters in Shippensburg, Pa. With more than $1.8 billion in assets, the company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Orrstown Bank and Wheatland Advisors Inc., provide consumer and business financial services in Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Perry and York counties of Pennsylvania and Washington County in Maryland. In October, after the Mercersburg deal became final, Orrstown Financial announced its second major acquisition agreement of 2018. Under terms of that deal, Hamilton Bancorp Inc. will merge with and into Orrstown Financial Services. Among other things, the $58.5 million acquisition would expand Orrstowns footprint into the Baltimore region. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2019. Joyce F. Nowell jnowell@herald-mail.com GREENCASTLE, Pa. Greencastle residents will have to wait until Monday to get a look at how borough officials are developing potential stormwater-impact fees. For months, officials have been contemplating how to fund federally mandated stormwater-pollutant-runoff-reduction costs. Several proposals have been nixed, but Greencastle Borough Council President Steve Miller has been working on a property-by-property analysis since early December. A retired engineer, Miller has been calculating the amount of impervious surface on each plot of land in hopes of generating an equatable way to levy the fee on residents. No numbers have been released. On Tuesday, Miller called for a meeting to be held Saturday to delve into the nuts and bolts of the plan and open the process to residents. On Wednesday, Miller said a scheduling conflict will prevent the Saturday session, but he continues to encourage citizens to learn about the process during councils regular monthly meeting Monday at 7 p.m. at Rescue Hose Co. at 842 S. Washington St. Now that the mapping is done, I want to get aspects of this thing out in front of the public so we can continue to move forward on it, Miller said. I want to get the council to see in detail whats being developed because there will be some policy decisions that need to be made. Miller has been mapping each property for the amount of impervious land in three categories high (asphalt, concrete, roof tops), moderate (compacted gravel) and low (loose cover). Were not in a position yet to talk about the actual fee, the number, but were going to talk about the mapping the basis of whats going on behind the number, he said. To set the fee, there has to be some policy decisions of agreement to say what goes into it. When we look to start setting the fee, we need to have agreement by everybody about how the impervious area is designated. If there is not agreement on what is impervious and whats not impervious, you cant set a fee. Were really setting the foundation of how the fee will be structured. The stormwater program is required by the Environmental Protection Agency and administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. It is aimed at cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. Officials hoped that the fee could start to be assessed with first-quarter water/sewer utility bills. Miller admitted that might have to be pushed to the second quarter. As far as getting an actual project on track, he believes there is leeway. In my discussions with Harrisburg, they want to know that you are moving and trying, he said. If it needs to be delayed by six months, that doesnt bother me so much. But at the same time, I dont want this thing to drag out. And I dont want the public to feel this thing has all been done in the dark. Ellen Noll aroundwilliamsport@myactv.net Spring craft/vendor show to be held at Post 202 The end of winter will be celebrated by hosting a spring craft/vendor show from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 23 at Williamsport American Legion Post 202, 400 American Legion Ave. Crafts and other items will be sold. Vendor spaces are available, so contact rivertownevents@aol.com to participate. Free community breakfast Rehoboth United Methodist Church, at 30 E. Salisbury St. in Williamsport, is offering a free hot breakfast from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Saturday at its Sonrise Cafe. For details, call the church at 301-223-9554. Church celebrating World Day of Prayer Williamsport United Methodist Church, at 25 E. Church St., is celebrating World Day of Prayer, a worldwide movement by Christian women coming together to observe a common day of prayer, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday. Everyone is welcome. The church is also collecting donations of health kits containing a large hand towel, washcloth, comb, bar of soap, deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste in a large zip-top bag. Donations may be dropped off at the event. For more information, call Dana Thompson at 301-992-6660. Share your news Call 301-223-6345 and leave a message, or send an email to aroundwil liamsport@myactv.net. Alexis Fitzpatrick afitzpatrick@herald-mail.com Since elementary school, Austin High knew he wanted to attend Washington County Technical High School. Now a junior poised to pursue a career in architecture, he is even more excited about his choice, thanks to the newly completed Innovation Center. When we were doing our visits last year, none of this was here, Austin said Tuesday at the public premiere of the updated engineering space. He and fellow junior Righteous James manned the AC/DC generator station, telling curious passersby about the alternating current and direct current which power our daily life. Both said they were interested in engineering and planned to attend Hagerstown Community College following high school. The Innovation Centers facelift began last summer when the area was enlarged and received new lighting fixtures, when the walls were painted and concrete floor polished. New student work stations, more storage and high-tech equipment also were installed. At Tuesdays display for more than 100 guests, including around 60 business representatives, Tech High students were placed at 13 stations. They explained the technology and what theyve been learning since the equipment came at the end of January. Stations included 3-D printing, robotics, prosthetics and hydraulics. Seniors Ben Bernatz and Zack Petras were at the computer numerical control router station, a computer-controlled cutting machine used with various hard materials, such as wood, certain metals, plastics, glass and foams. They had on display several drafts of wooden Tech High signs they helped make. While they will only have a few more months to learn in the center, both said they thought it would be an asset to future Tech High students. Im very excited. I would have loved to have this my junior year, Ben said. I think all technical schools should have something like this. Zack, who has an apprenticeship through the school system with DVF Corporation, said its amazing the amount of experience and knowledge students have leaving the school, which gives them a leg up in their respective industries. He said he feels next years juniors will have the best opportunity to take advantage of the Innovation Center, as it will be in place and fully functioning when they arrive next fall. Standing in front of the schools new 3-D printing farm, Superintendent Boyd Michael encouraged the crowd to visit with the students, saying they would be amazed at how much they know about the new equipment already. He said Washington County Public Schools is chasing education in every aspect, from expanded prekindergarten to career and technology programs and computational thinking, and students across the county have a lot of opportunities. Im excited and concerned about what the future workforce is going to be. I think its going to morph and its going to change on us, Michael said. If youre on the right side of this if youre well-educated, youre prepared, you have a creative mind and have the types of skills the students in this room have the futures going to be very, very exciting. Several dignitaries were present. Tech High received citations from the Maryland Department of Commerce and U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollens office, along with proclamations from the Washington County commissioners and the Washington County Chamber of Commerce. Principal Rodney Gayman said the center would be a great addition and a solid start to grow into what the school will eventually need to teach future engineers of Washington County and beyond. He said the field is constantly refreshing and evolving. The plan is to reevaluate after the first year and see what can be added. Its hard to make a program that doesnt exist, Gayman said. Supervisor for Career Technology Education Cody Pine said Washington County Public Schools was blessed to have a superintendent like Michael, whose vision is to direct education for even the youngest students in careers that dont even exist yet. Pine said community partners are extremely important in such ventures, and he thanked those who supported Tech High over the years. Were trying to move our programs beyond the 21st century, Pine said. Alexis Fitzpatrick afitzpatrick@herald-mail.com The Washington County Board of Education on Tuesday requested $3.8 million more than this years county funding level, asking for $102.4 million for fiscal year 2020. The request includes $2.5 million as a result of being identified as a low effort county and $1.8 million more than maintenance of effort, a state-mandated minimal level of required funding. According to Superintendent Boyd Michael, the district redistributed $2.2 million during the current fiscal year and $746,000 for fiscal year 2020 after adjusting 76 different budget lines. He said the boards budget includes expanding the prekindergarten program by 20 classes, with a goal of 1,345 students, and increasing services to a growing English-learner population by adding three teachers. Coordinator for Early Learning Stacy Henson and Gina Hoover, a prekindergarten teacher at Emma K. Doub Elementary School, spoke on behalf of the program. Hoovers current student Charlotte Beckett and former student Leo Shatzer each read a short story to the commissioners. The districts budget also requests an increase in paraprofessionals and counselors/social workers to meet increasingly complex student needs, such as mental health and the opioid crisis, and two additional school resource officers to improve safety. The school board has asked several times for the school resource officer salaries to come from agency budgets instead of from the district. WCPS Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Proulx said the respective agencies pay for officers equipment. Michael also discussed the nationwide teacher and substitute teacher crisis and health care cost increases. Washington County Chief Financial Officer Sara Greaves said the school system amounts to 43 percent of the general fund budget. She also said that over the past two years, the only amount over maintenance of effort given to WCPS was $220,000. County Administrator Robert Slocum said mandates and required spending are first and foremost with the countys budget, but the hope is for enough revenue to fund beyond those amounts. We want to be very clear that were doing the very best we can with what we have, Slocum said. I think youll see that the Board of Education is, in our budget processing that were doing today, which is going on now, that you are the very first priority here. The school board will have a public hearing on its proposed budget at its meeting at 6 p.m. March 5. The Washington County commissioners have a budget hearing scheduled for May 14. After 13 successful years in the space, we have decided to focus on our three surrounding locations in Gaithersburg, Pike & Rose [Bethesda], and College Park, said Chelsey Orth, regional director for Red Door, in an email. We thank our loyal customers for their continued support and look forward to serving them at our other locations, as well as any new spaces in the future. Dan Dearth ddearth@herald-mail.com One of two Hagerstown teenagers stabbed during a fight Monday in Noland Village has been released from a Baltimore hospital. Officer Heather Aleshire said both of the boys, ages 14 and 15, were flown to Johns Hopkins Childrens Center in Baltimore. She said the 14-year-old was released Tuesday. The 15-year-old is stable and recovering well. Police said the victims were stabbed by a 14-year-old boy during a fight Monday afternoon outside the Boys & Girls Club in Noland Village, a public housing complex off Virginia Avenue on the citys southwest end. The alleged assailant has been charged as a juvenile with two counts each of first-degree assault, second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. The victims initially were taken to Meritus Medical Center east of Hagerstown, then flown to the childrens hospital in Baltimore. Aleshire said the fight had nothing to do with any activities the club was hosting. Joyce F. Nowell jnowell@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. A Hagerstown woman has admitted to trading sex for money and selling drugs to a Chambersburg man who was found dead in a motel last year. Brittany M. King, 20, of East Avenue was charged with one felony count of manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, and one misdemeanor count of promoting prostitution stemming from the Sept. 7 death of 31-year-old Daniel Ross Shaffer at a Chambersburg motel, according to the Chambersburg Police Department. She was being held Wednesday at the Franklin County (Pa.) Jail in lieu of $150,000 bond. Shaffer was found by police in his room at Motel 6 on Wayne Avenue during a welfare check after motel management reported he had not been seen for several days, court records said. Police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause that Shaffer was found on the bed, and it appeared he died several days earlier. Police found various drug paraphernalia, including a marijuana pipe and marijuana, in the room, as well as a pile of tan powder that appeared to be a controlled substance that was confirmed to be fentanyl by the Pennsylvania State Police lab, court records said. Surveillance images from the hotel were reviewed by police that showed Shaffer interacting with a white female who agreed to meet with him at the hotel to have sex in exchange for $200 and to sell him five or six things for an additional $120, the affidavit said. Police wrote that the female was linked to a previous arrest of King, who had multiple arrests for prostitution and one arrest for drug delivery. The affidavit said King had contact with Chambersburg police at the motel on July 23, and Kings mother told officers that her daughter engaged in prostitution to pay for her drug addiction. Police said various attempts to contact King were unsuccessful, but she responded Friday. King admitted to police that she met Shaffer at least three times the year before when he paid her for sex. She said her rate was $200, and she often met others who paid for sex, court records said. King also admitted that she brought Percocet pills with her the last time she met Shaffer and sold them to him, court records said. She said she bought the pills, which police believe were fentanyl, from a man in Hagerstown for $15 each, records said. King is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Franklin County Central Court. Don Aines daines@herald-mail.com A man caught last year while committing a burglary was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in state prison for that and two other residential break-ins. Charles Taylor Gardner Jr., 32, of Frederick, Md., pleaded guilty in January to three counts of third-degree burglary. On Tuesday, Washington County Circuit Judge Dana Moylan Wright sentenced Gardner to 25 years in state prison, suspending all but 10 years. Sentencing had been delayed for a month to let Gardners family pay some of the $12,146.82 he owed in restitution to the victims. Assistant States Attorney Christopher McCormack told Wright that a family member of Gardners had since paid $8,000 owed to one victim. Gardner stole a Hagers- town-area womans Nissan Armada on Dec. 21, 2017, which led to police tracking him down in March 2018. Hagerstown police spotted the vehicle parked in the city on March 6 and called the Washington County Sheriffs Office. To find out who stole it, the sheriffs office got the owners permission to put a GPS tracker on the vehicle. When the Armada began moving on March 7, the sheriffs office tracked it through several neighborhoods and eventually to a house on Old Forge Road. Investigators saw Gardner come out a back door holding a bag, but he went back inside when he saw them. Gardner was caught as he ran out the front door. The bag contained a handgun from the house. Inside the Armada, police found a womans shooting-range identification that matched a Feb. 6, 2018, burglary on Brightwood Drive in which several handguns were stolen. On March 1, another victim saw the Armada in the driveway of her Stanford Road home and took a snapshot of its license plate, which police matched to the stolen vehicle. She found a man in her house who walked out when she confronted him. That victim lost several pieces of jewelry in the burglary, some of which were recovered from a pawn shop. Gardner told police after his arrest that he traded the guns for heroin in Baltimore. McCormack said at the January hearing that the handguns were never recovered. Under the terms of the plea worked out with defense attorney Robert Kline, the state will not oppose a request by Gardner for a substance-abuse evaluation, although it reserves the right to oppose modifying his sentence to long-term drug treatment. The Herald-Mail ANNAPOLIS When Washington County Sheriff Doug Mullendore sought legislation last year to prohibit medical cannabis at the detention center, the bill was amended to include local jails in other counties as well. It won approval in the state Senate only to die in the House of Delegates. This year, the bill is back. But as lawmakers become more acclimated to the legalization of medical cannabis, it might be a tougher sell, even in the Senate. Del. William Wivell presented the bill to the House Health and Government Operations Committee last week. Sen. Andrew Serafini presented a companion bill in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on Tuesday. It was one of 19 bills related to medical marijuana to be heard Tuesday. One of them, filed by committee Chairman Bobby Zirkin, D-Baltimore City, would require both state and local correctional facilities to provide medical marijuana treatment for inmates who qualify for it. Zirkin was one of five senators to vote against prohibiting medical marijuana in local jails last year. Serafini told the committee that while the state can define and prohibit contraband in its correctional facilities, local facilities cant. He noted that local jails lack the appropriate staff to administer dispensing medical marijuana and could lose federal funding if it were attempted. The federal government still classifies marijuana as a controlled dangerous substance. Further, Serafini said, health care providers under contract with local jails might not be authorized to dispense medical marijuana, either. The bill also would prohibit medical cannabis for anyone serving home detention. Zirkin asked Mullendore, who traveled to Annapolis for the hearing, whether prescribed drugs such as oxycontin were permitted for those serving home detention. Mullendore said no opioid narcotics were permitted, even under home detention. I also run a day reporting center to provide holistic treatment for recovering addicts, Mullendore said. We do not allow any within the facility or in home detention. Asked if thats the case for all local jails, Mullendore said, I cant answer for the other facilities. Maj. T.C. Reece, who runs the Calvert County Detention Center, told Zirkin that providing such medications isnt flat-out prohibited in all facilities. He said the decision of what to prescribe is usually left to the contracted health care provider. But, he said, in such cases, the inmate would be transferred to another facility to be treated. Ive fought the battle keeping drugs out of the facility, Reece said. If they need to have it, I would defer it to my medical provider but I would require the inmate to be removed from the general population to prevent the drug from becoming contraband. Even the Ramen soup becomes a hot commodity among inmates, he said. C.J. Lovelace cj.lovelace@herald-mail.com Despite continued opposition over the process by a private landowner, the Hagerstown City Council unanimously finalized an annexation of more than 100 acres Tuesday night. Officials with Meritus Health again aired reservations earlier Tuesday about the annexation. The acreage includes land Meritus owns on the eastern reaches of the city. Jason Divelbiss, a local land-use attorney representing Meritus, told council members during a work session meeting that his greatest concern has been the unconventional manner in which the city initiated the annexation without talking to Meritus. It was not in the spirit that we should all work together, he said. Meritus learned about this when The Herald-Mail called and asked about it. That was the biggest disappointment about it. In November, the city council voted unanimously to annex a 101-acre tract of undeveloped land from Antietam Creek south to Yale Drive. That vote triggered a hearing process that culminated with Tuesdays final vote. The largest piece, about 78 acres, is owned by Meritus. About 11 acres within the Meritus land is owned by Washington County government for a stormwater-management facility. The remaining 12 acres is owned by the city. City officials have said the move represented the citys ability to proactively annex lands viewed for future development. The property in question is adjacent to land owned by the Hagerstown-Washington County Industrial Foundation, also known as CHIEF, which is looking to develop Mt. Aetna Technology Park. The 150-acre park is being marketed to high-tech companies, possibly leading to high-paying jobs and new investment for the area. Meritus other objections have included concerns over potential land uses with a switch from Washington County to city zoning. Another issue relates to the perception that the city is forcing Meritus to annex and could do so with Meritus Medical Center or Robinwood Professional Center, which houses privately owned medical suites. Mayor Bob Bruchey and council members told Divelbiss and Steve Nelson, general counsel for Meritus, that theres been no discussion about that. We cant ever predict what future administrations will do, Bruchey said after Tuesdays work session meeting. But there has been no discussion about annexation, either with Robinwood or the hospital. Divelbiss said he understands city officials could not offer a guarantee, but he wanted assurance that this isnt the first of many annexations involving Meritus lands just east of the city. That has not been a conversation, Councilwoman Emily Keller said. The discussion on Tuesday was to learn more about the citys overall vision for that area. If the goal was to annex as much as possible, that would be a concern because Meritus owns a lot of property there, Divelbiss said. I think what we heard today was thats not their intention, which was good to hear, he said. I think Im satisfied at this time until we sit and talk, go through all the different scenarios and digest all the possibilities that could occur. There are no pending development plans on the Meritus-owned land. Divelbiss has contended that zoning changes could limit uses for the property. Also, a lack of express approval from the county would, by state law, prohibit development for five years for land uses substantially different than the authorized use. The county could vote on express approval at an upcoming meeting. Its delayed such a vote twice in recent weeks. State law lets municipalities annex properties with consent from 25 percent of the registered voters who reside in the proposed area, as well as consent from 25 percent of the property owners based on assessed value. Only two people, both tenants of the city-owned property, live on the properties. They agreed to the annexation. In response to Divelbiss concerns that certain medical-related uses would not be permitted under city zoning, Bruchey said the elected body can make changes if problems arise in the future. Those are the kind of things that everyone that I have ever spoken to ... knows that there has to be changes out in that area to accommodate the kind of growth we want to see and facilitate those higher-dollar-hourly-wage kind of facilities in that area, he said. Hannah Maria Libby Smith House This home at 315 E. Center St. was built in 1875 for Hannah Smith, sixth wife of George A. Smith. Hannah raised her sisters son, John Henry Smith, whose son, George Albert Smith, was a president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Harvey H. Cluff House This home at 174 N. 100 East was built in 1877. Harvey Cluff, the original owner of the home, was an ecclesiastical and business leader in Provo, one of the founders of Brigham Young Academy and served as a Provo city councilman. He also served as the president of the company that published The Enquirer, the local newspaper and a predecessor of The Daily Herald. George Taylor Jr. House Built in 1885, this home at 187 N. 400 West was built for George Taylor Jr., vice-president of the Taylor Brothers Company, the first big department store in Provo. It was restored by Habitat for Humanity in 2013. Silver Row The Silver Row homes were built about 1890, and it is made of five brick apartments. They are an one of the earliest examples of multi-family units in Utah. The buildings have had many owners over more than 125 years, and the homes have been used as rental properties. It is located at 621-645 W. 100 North. Hines Mansion The Hines Mansion at 383 W. 100 South was built in 1895 for R. Spencer Hines. Hines was a successful businessman in Provo, and at the time, his home was considered one of the nicest homes in the area. Hines owned a saloon/drug store in Provo, according to the National Register of Historic Places. At the time, liquor could only be used for medicinal purposes and sold from a drug store. On several occasions, Hines was brought to court for selling more liquor than drugs from the Palace Drug Store. Hines died in 1898, leaving his estate to his wife Kitty Hines. She moved from the home because of financial difficulties in 1906, according to the National Register of Historic Places, and sold the house in 1922. Today it is used as a bed and breakfast. Provo City Library at Academy Square Originally the building for the Brigham Young Academy, the Provo City Library at Academy Square building was built in 1892 at 550 N. University Ave. It was used as various education buildings until 1968. It sat vacant for more than 20 years and in 1997, Provo residents supported the preservation of the building. It was remodeled, and three buildings on site were torn down to make room for a parking structure. The building was rededicated as the Provo City Library at Academy Square in 2001. Reed Smoot House Reed Smoot, U.S. senator, Dean of the U.S. Senate, advisor to five presidents and apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints originally owned this home at 183 E. 100 South. According to the National Register of Historic Places, Smoot paid $4,000 to build the home in 1892. Dr. Samuel H. Allen and Carriage House Dr. Samuel H. Allen had this home at 125 E. 200 North built in 1896. Allen lived in the home and also had his medical office in the home until the Knight Block was built in Provo in about 1900. Allen lived in the home until 1902. The home was later owned by John Taylor, son of the third president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who used the home to house his third wife. Taylor was excommunicated from the church and had to sell the house. It was also owned by Dr. David Westwood, who was the vice president of Provo's first hospital, Provo General Hospital. Startup Building The Startup Building was built in 1898, to house the candy factory owned by the Startup family. According to the National Register of Historic Places, the Startup Candy Company was one of the earliest candy factories in the state when it was started in 1875 by William Startup. William died in 1878 when he was hit by a limestone cooling slab. His wife took over the business and in 1896, they created the Opera Bar, which was, according to the National Register of Historic Places, the first candy bar sold nationwide. The business hit its peak in the 1920s, but the company struggled during the Great Depression. The company downsized, but is still around today. Today, the Startup Building houses several startup companies based out of Provo. The building is also used for weddings and other events. The building is located at 111 W. 600 South in Provo. Maeser School The Maeser School, an elementary school built in 1898, was the oldest school building built in Provo. It was used as an elementary school until 2001 after enrollment slowed. It was one of the longest continuously running public schools in Utah. It was then redeveloped into senior housing and is now called Maeser School Apartments. It is located at 162 S. 500 East in Provo. William H. Ray House Located at 415 S. University Ave., this home was originally built in 1898 for William H. Ray, who was an important turn-of-the-century entrepreneur in Provo. He was a financier, banker, broker and mayor of Provo. He was the first president of the State Bank of Provo. Ray only lived in the home until 1905, though and after years of serving as a residence, the home was sold to the Utah Alcoholism Foundation and used for drug treatment programs in 1958, according to the National Register of Historic Places Knight-Allen House Built in 1899, this home at 390 E. Center St., this home was originally owned by J. Willian Knight, son of prominent Provo resident Jesse Knight. When the younger Knight moved to Canada, he sold the home to his sister, Amanda Inez Knight and her husband Robert E. Allen. Allen was the manager of the Knight Power Company and the secretary of the Knight Investment Company. He also served as the manager of First Security Bank in Provo. Inez Knight Allen was a prominent woman in Provo. She was the Democratic National Committee woman from Utah for four years. John E. Booth House This home at 59 W. 500 North was built in 1900 for John E. Booth, one of the most prominent Provo residents at the time. He served as the Provo City Attorney, and as a district judge. He also served as a city alderman, and was elected as a member of the Utah Territorial Assembly. He served in the Utah Territorial Senate and was elected as mayor of Provo in 1891. He served twice as the president of the Provo City School Board. He also had several business dealings, and was the president of the Utah Valley Iron Mining and Manufacturing Company. Provo Third Ward Chapel and Assembly Hall The Provo Third Ward Chapel and Assembly Hall was built by Watkins in 1903 under Thomas N. Taylor. An amusement hall was later added to the structure and both were used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints until 1979. Following its vacancy, the chapel was privately bought, turned into a restaurant, and then in the '80s became a dance club known as the Ivy Tower. The building is now home to Discovery Academy, a boarding school for troubled teens. The academy took over the historic building in 1992 and has since added on. The building is located at 105 N. 500 West in Provo. Jesse Knight House The home of mining magnate Jesse Knight sits at 185 E. Center St. in Provo. Knight made his fortune after locating a mining property in the Tintic area, and moved to Provo from the Payson area shortly after. This home was built in 1905. Knight died in 1921 and his wife Amanda Knight lived in the home until her death. The Knights used much of their wealth to endow BYU. Their house is now the home of Berg mortuary. Provo, UT (84601) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 81F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight A few clouds. Low 59F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Recently this paper ran an article in which Alan Levine, chairman, president and CEO of Ballad Health, explained how they were able to raise their bond rating from neutral to positive, which will make borrowing money cheaper. He praised the incredible work of their members and physicians who focused on improving quality, whose results demonstrate that better quality reduces costs. He went on to cite dedicated expense management, improved productivity, controlling supply costs and reducing contract labor, all of which resulted in the rating change. Since Mr. Levine was the CEO of Mountain States Health Alliance before their acquisition of Wellmont, I wonder what percent of the internal changes came from MSHA and why they werent made prior to the acquisition? He also gave some financial figures that showed improvement from quarter to quarter and year to year. Im assuming the rating agency was given the net profit or loss figure for the periods, as well as the EBIDTA. The only number that really counts is the profit or loss figure, but the EBITDT numbers were the only ones made public. Could it be these were withheld because the public who supply the revenue would we be shocked to see how much profit a nonprofit actually makes? Mr. Levine stated the system showed declining volumes totaling 374,803 patients in certain service areas, which obviously impacted cash flow. This was more than overcome by making internal changes. Im suggesting that price increases along with internal changes resulted in this improved financial picture with price increases being the easiest to implement since Ballad has a virtual monopoly over the medical services of Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee. We favor a Green New Deal to save the planet. We believe such a plan can be efficient, effective, focused and achievable. The Green New Deal proposed by congressional Democrats does not meet that test. Its proponents, led by Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are right to call for ambition and bold action. They are right that the entire energy sector must be reshaped. But the goal is so fundamental that policymakers should focus above all else on quickly and efficiently decarbonizing. They should not muddle this aspiration with other social policy, such as creating a federal jobs guarantee, no matter how desirable that policy might be. And the goal is so monumental that the country cannot afford to waste dollars in its pursuit. If the market can redirect spending most efficiently, money should not be misallocated on vast new government spending or mandates. Our Green New Deal relies both on smart government intervention and on transforming the relentless power of the market from an obstacle to a centerpiece of the solution. To glimpse what we mean, take a brief trip with us to Dominion Energys Cove Point plant on the Chesapeake Bays western shore in Maryland. ABINGDON, Va. The Washington County Board of Supervisors approved three roofing contracts at its Tuesday meeting at a cost below the $242,000 included for the work in the countys capital improvement fund. That includes awarding bids and approval of contracts for roof replacements to Cornett Roofing for $104,184 on the government center building; Cornett Roofing for $73,520 on the Washington County Courthouse; and $42,208 to Leonard Roofing for the Washington County Public Library at Abingdon. Also on Tuesday, County Treasurer Fred Parker and Commissioner of Revenue David Henry said they have no idea how much lodging tax is being collected in the county through a California-based booking company, Airbnb. This company contracts with the owners of homes, rooms or other places to stay. At present, Parker and Henry say as many as 200 places are being offered as lodges in that companys online listings for overnight rentals in Washington County. Youd be surprised some of the places on there, Parker said as part of the officials Tuesday presentation on revenue projections for the upcoming 2019-20 budget. The officials proposed hiring a company, Host Compliance, for $6,071 to try auditing such rentals to determine if the local rentals are paying the tax. Not knowing whether these taxes are being collected has grown into something of a problem, Henry said. Its a big unknown. ... We have no idea who these people are. ... We could be leaving a lot of money on the table. 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. The move is estimated to take six to eight months. Bristol Compressors products will once again be sold on the market in late 2019, the company said. Bristol Compressors produced hermetically sealed compressors for air conditioning units, heat pumps, geothermal units and refrigeration units. It opened in the Washington County Industrial Park between Bristol and Abingdon in 1975. It became the third largest employer in the county, behind only the Washington County school system and Food City. But over the last decade, it struggled. The plant was sold by KPS Capital Partners to New York-based Garrison Investment Group in 2012. The company laid off 250 people by the end of that year, and the downturn in the construction industry was blamed. More layoffs came in 2016, when 180 lost jobs due to depressed global oil prices and budget cuts by oil producing governments. Things seemed to be looking up when an exclusive global partnership with DHX Electric Machines was announced in January 2018. The deal was to develop new high-efficiency compressors. Last July, the company announced it was closing after struggling for years. The closure resulted in the loss of 470 jobs. BRISTOL, Tenn. A stream of red and blue lights led a hearse carrying the body of Sullivan County Sheriffs Office Sgt. Steve Hinkle to the medical examiners office in Johnson City on Tuesday. Hinkle, a 65-year-old veteran officer, died at Bristol Regional Medical Center on Tuesday afternoon from injuries sustained in a Saturday shooting. This afternoon, Sullivan County lost a hero, the Sheriffs Office said in a written statement announcing the officers death. Sgt. Steve Hinkle passed away from an injury that he received in the line of duty. Hinkle responded to a home on U.S. Highway 11W near state Route 394 on Saturday morning after a family member reported that a man was threatening to harm himself. At some point while officers approached the house, Sheriff Jeff Cassidy said the resident, 44-year-old Jackie Scott Pendergrass, fired at least one shot. The officers then retreated for cover. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Public Information Officer Leslie Earhart said Pendergrass barricaded himself inside the home. A short time later, he began firing at officers again, and deputies returned fire, she said. During the exchange of gunfire, Hinkle was struck and sustained wounds that resulted in his death Tuesday. Pendergrass died at the scene, but an autopsy is being conducted to determine the cause of death. Two days before Hinkles death, hundreds gathered at the Sheriffs Office to pray for the longtime deputy. Sgt. Hinkle proudly served Sullivan County with honor and distinction for over twenty-seven years as a full-time employee, the Sheriffs Office statement reads. He also served as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff for five years prior to his full-time employment. At around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, dozens of law enforcement officers began converging on BRMC, where Hinkle was being treated. At about 4 p.m., officers exited the building, entered their vehicles and began escorting the fallen officers body to the William L. Jenkins Forensic Center at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City for an autopsy. More than 50 cruisers from several agencies, including the Sullivan County Sheriffs Office, Kingsport Police Department, Tennessee Highway Patrol and Tri-Cities Airport Police, joined the procession along interstates 81 and 26. Local volunteer firefighters and emergency medical services personnel were on standby on several bridges over the interstates, saluting as the procession passed under. A number of Sullivan County Volunteer Fire Department members were spotted saluting the procession alongside their trucks on the Airport Parkway bridge. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} The procession also brought out many citizen observers along the route. Heavy traffic that accompanied the procession appears to have caused a crash involving three vehicles from the Sullivan County Sheriffs Office on I-26 near Johnson City, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol. While in a procession and transporting fallen Deputy Steve Hinkle on Interstate 26, three Sheriffs Department cruisers were damaged in a collision, the THP said in a report. The crash occurred due to vehicles suddenly slowing and one of the sheriffs cruisers not being able to stop in time which resulted in a rear end collision. No injuries were reported. A number of area law enforcement agencies and officials shared their thoughts and prayers on Hinkles death on social media. Our sincerest condolences to Deputy Hinkles family, friends, and colleagues at the Sullivan County Sheriffs Office, said the Carter County Sheriffs Office, which provided assistance during the call on Saturday. We have lost a hero today. Hawkins County Sheriff Ronnie Lawson called Hinkle our dear brother. Thoughts and prayers for the family and fellow officers of the Sullivan County Sheriffs Office of Deputy Sheriff Steve Hinkle, may GOD bless and strengthen each of you, Lawson wrote on Twitter. Earhart, a TBI public information officer who previously worked as a spokeswoman at the Sullivan County Sheriffs Office, thanked Hinkle for his service. It was an honor to have known you, Earhart wrote on Twitter. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten. The Knoxville Police Department noted that Hinkles death follows that of a Chattanooga Police Department officer, Nicholas Galinger, on Sunday. We mourn the loss of two great East Tennessee Police Officers killed in the line of duty this past weekend, Knoxville Police said on Twitter. Details of Hinkles funeral arrangements are expected in coming days. SCSO Capt. Andy Seabolt said the family is making the arrangements, but the department will help with anything necessary. A Sheriffs Office cruiser has been placed at the flagpole in front of the departments headquarters in Blountville, where people can leave flowers or other items, Seabolt 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. Be still and know. Thats what Sullivan County Sheriffs Office Sgt. Steve Hinkle, who died Tuesday after being shot on Saturday, said to retired School Resource Officer Carolyn Gudger when she was upset. He was referring to Psalm 46:10 He says, Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Gudger said she was touched when Hinkle gave her a pink rock on which he had written Psalm 46:10. Be still. He told her to keep it on her desk. The two worked together at the Sheriffs Office for 22 years. I had to look at [the rock] because Id get all tore up with issues that would happen, and he would say, Now, be still. Be still, Gudge, Gudger said. He was a gentle giant. He was just so loved by everybody. Hinkle began at the Sheriffs Office as a reserve deputy in 1981 and became a full-time corrections officer in 1986. He went to the police academy in 1987 and, after leaving the department in 1993, returned in 1998. Hinkle was an SRO from 2009 to May 2018, first at Sullivan East High School and then at Sullivan Central High. Hinkle was also a firearms instructor and a member of the Sheriffs Offices honor guard. BRISTOL, Tenn.The Bristol Tennessee Police Department is investigating multiple auto burglaries reported early Tuesday in the Fairfield Acres subdivision. As the investigation has progressed, we have determined at least three unidentified subjects committed multiple auto burglaries in the subdivision, Capt. Terry Johnson said in a news release. The suspects were found on surveillance video roaming through the neighborhood around 4 a.m. Johnson said the individuals were walking driveway to driveway looking to find unlocked cars and taking any lose money or change they could locate. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Michael Nygaard at mnygaard@bristoltn.org or 423-989-5529. Police noted that residents should not leave valuable items in vehicles, such as phones, laptops, tablets, purses, shopping bags, or any other portable electronics, or money. Close all windows and lock all doors, park in well-lit areas or install motion lighting. Make a copy of the vehicles registration and insurance and store them in a secure location. Dont leave garage door openers in parked vehicles. Be sure to check on vehicles periodically. 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. Mrs. Beverly Joan Thompson, age 83, of Estill Springs, TN passed from this life on Monday, June 28, 2021, at Life Care Center of Tullahoma. Beverly was born on January 02, 1938, to the late Harry and Olga Skinner in Dayton Ohio. She enjoyed sewing and was deeply passionate about animals wher 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. As the Dail debated emergency legislation for a worst-case Brexit, there was hope in Government circles that the planned sequence of votes in the House of Commons could prevent a no-deal scenario. Senior sources said last night that the latest developments in London "would seem to make a no-deal scenario much less likely". While the situation is still said to be "volatile", the Government here believes it's unlikely MPs would vote for a no-deal Brexit. Debated Mrs May's plan is set to be debated in Westminster today with up to three days of votes to take place next month if it is approved. Mrs May outlined her proposals in a statement in the House of Commons. She said she doesn't want a delay and is still seeking assurances from the EU on the so-called backstop to avoid a hard border in Ireland that would win MPs' approval for her Withdrawal Agreement. She announced a "meaningful vote" in Parliament on her Brexit deal is to take place by March 12. If that fails, a vote on whether the UK should leave the EU without a deal would take place on the following day. If this, too, is rejected by MPs, a further vote will take place on March 14 on whether the UK should request an Article 50 extension from Brussels. Mrs May said she would want any delay to be "as short as possible" and would not go beyond the end of June. "Let me be clear, I do not want to see Article 50 extended. Our absolute focus should be on working to get a deal and leaving on March 29," she added. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused Mrs May of "kicking the can down the road". Mr Corbyn favours a Brexit agreement that would see the UK staying in a customs union and said his party would support a second referendum if his proposed deal is rejected. Jacob Rees-Mogg claimed a delay to Brexit "would be the most grievous error that politicians could commit". Fellow Brexiteer Peter Bone warned Mrs May that voters would regard it as a "betrayal". However, former British Chancellor Ken Clarke said he wanted to congratulate the Prime Minister on "accepting that we're not remotely ready for the chaos of a no-deal departure on March 29". Finance minister Paschal Donohoe last night said Ireland would not block an extension of the Brexit deadline of March 29. "Our goal is to see a deal agreed," an Irish Government spokesman said and that, short of the UK deciding to stay in the EU, it's the "best outcome for Ireland". "In the absence of that, we are open to an extension of the Article 50 deadline in order to avoid a crash out on March 29," he added. He said an agreement would still need to be reached regardless of whether or not an extension is in place. Severe Separately, the UK government published its latest assessment of the implications of a no-deal Brexit on trade. It states that the impact on Northern Ireland would be more severe than in Britain. The document reiterates the UK government's commitment to avoiding a hard border "in any scenario". It also promises that the UK will "shortly publish further details on its immediate, temporary, arrangements for trade between Northern Ireland and Ireland in a no-deal scenario." It says that in such a scenario the UK government "would need to work urgently with the Irish Government and the EU to find any longer-term solution". Dublin film director Aoife Kelleher has said shooting a documentary series inside the Midlands Prison was "a chance to challenge her own perceptions" of life behind bars. The 36-year-old Ifta-winner from Swords said she was "hit with reality" the first day she pulled up outside the high-security prison. "Going into a prison as a documentary maker, your first thoughts are that it will be exciting and challenging. Pulling up outside, reality hits and you see the big walls, gate after gate, and door after door. "You go through security like the airport, you remove your belt because they may be dangerous in the environment - and you leave your phone behind," she said. As a female, she was by no means the only woman working in the prison at the time, with Ethel Gavin the jail's governor. "You quickly realise that women are working here every day," she said. "They are going about their daily working lives and we show prison officers at work, nurses and the governor, Ethel Gavin, who worked her way up from Mountjoy and is very familiar with the hustle and bustle of a prison landing. "She also has a particular philosophy around rehabilitation of prisoners." This rehabilitation is explored in the final episode of Inside Ireland's Biggest Prison, which airs tonight on Virgin Media One at 9pm. The episode features a convicted sex offender who has been taking part in the prison's Building Better Lives programme for rehabilitation. "We are looking at other stories too: a man in his early 20s who has been in and out of institutions since his early teens," she said. "He was taken into care even though his parents were around and was then in juvenile detention centres and then jail. "The question is, can they go on with life after being institutionalised, is enough being done and can more be done?" Aoife also crossed paths with former accountant Ignatius (65) who is serving an eight-year sentence for fraud despite a past brush with Hollywood. "He attended the Oscars six times and played a part in bringing the film Braveheart to Ireland. He's at an age where he would be hoping to retire. He is now playing guitar and singing with the prison's choir," she said. Impact "He isn't what you'd have in mind as a quintessential prisoner and he talks about the factors that led to him committing fraud." Victim impact was always to the fore as Aoife did not want anyone to be "re-traumatised" and the voices of participants were dubbed with faces blurred. "We worked very closely with the Irish Prison Service from the outset. The priority was victim impact, we were very vigilant," she said. A forensic scientist found no evidence that a serious assault had taken place in Mary Lowry's home, the last place murdered DJ Bobby Ryan was seen alive. Scientists from Forensic Science Ireland examined areas where gardai reported positive results from blood tests in Ms Lowry's bedroom and living room. Further tests designed specifically for human blood showed none of the areas identified were actually bloodstains. Dr Martina McBride said one sample on a light fitting and ceiling that gave a "presumptive positive" result for blood was probably fly faeces, which can be mistaken for blood by equipment routinely used by gardai. Chemical testing and DNA sampling showed no signs of human blood, she said. One spot in the bedroom was positively identified as DNA but testing could not show if the source was blood. She said DNA can be found as a result of someone touching a surface, sneezing, coughing or spitting. All bodily fluids, she said, contain DNA. Affair Dr McBride and Dr Hilary Clarke were giving evidence in the trial of Patrick Quirke (50), of Breanshamore, Co Tipperary, who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Ryan, a part-time DJ going by the name 'Mr Moonlight'. He went missing on June 3, 2011, after leaving Ms 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, Co Tipperary, in April 2013. The prosecution claims Mr Quirke murdered Mr Ryan so he could rekindle an affair with Ms Lowry (52). Dr McBride told prosecuting counsel Michael Bowman SC that, considering the injuries to Mr Ryan, she would expect to see large amounts of blood where he had been assaulted. She concluded there were no signs in Ms Lowry's home of an assault where large amounts of blood were spilled. She also noted the house had been painted in the 22 months since Mr Ryan's disappearance. This was why, she said, she examined skirting boards where water containing traces of blood might seep down when a wall is cleaned. She also examined ceilings because sometimes people don't notice blood there. Under cross-examination, she told Lorcan Staines SC for the defence the nature of the assault, in which Mr Ryan suffered multiple fractures to the head, would lead her to expect to find "a lot of blood". However, the passing of time and fact the house had been painted lowered that expectation. She added: "I went there with the expectation that it was worth looking for blood." Hammers A small spot found beside a press in the bedroom did test positive for DNA, she told Mr Staines, but further testing was unable to show if the source was blood or any other bodily fluid and it was not possible to generate a profile that would have allowed them to identify who the DNA came from. Dr Clarke said she identified the body found in the tank by generating a DNA profile from a tooth. She compared that with the DNA of Mr Ryan's children, Michelle and Robert Jnr, and said she was satisfied the body was their father. She examined samples taken from Mr Ryan's van but found only low-level traces of DNA not suitable for further identification. She also examined two lump hammers sent to the labs by gardai and found male DNA on the handle of one of them. She was able to eliminate Bobby Ryan, Robert Ryan Jnr and Patrick Quirke as the source. She also looked at tubing, cable ties, a broken hair clip and other items found in the tank after Mr Ryan's body had been removed. She did not sample them for DNA as she said she would have no expectation of finding any. The trial continues. 'The items were not forensically analysed until August 2016, during which 681 videos and 3,873 images of child pornography were discovered' (stock photo) A father-of-one who was caught with over 4,000 images and videos of child pornography almost seven years ago will be sentenced later. Michal Wojciak (36), of Ridgewood Grove, Swords, Dublin, came forward to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on a signed plea of guilty from the District Court. Wojciak, who has no previous convictions, admitted possessing the child pornography at his then home in Sandyford on September 19, 2012. Detective Garda Suzanne Carlos told Diarmuid Collins BL, prosecuting, that gardai secured "an address of interest" following peer-to-peer software monitoring in which the downloading of images was "flagged". During the later search of Wojciak's apartment, two laptops, two external hard drives and a CD were seized. The items were not forensically analysed until August 2016, during which 681 videos and 3,873 images of child pornography were discovered. Det Gda Carlos said the images and videos consisted of pre-teen girls and teenage girls engaging in sexual activity, including interactions with adults and exposing their genitals. One video lasting 24 minutes showed a pre-teen girl masturbating, while another video, of a similar duration, showed an underage girl engaging in sexual activity with a man. Confiscated Det Gda Carlos said the laptops were used to download the files which Wojciak then transferred to external hard drives. Wojciak made full admissions, although he initially denied that he had "actively looked for child pornography". Det Gda Carlos told Mr Collins that Wojciak had neither emailed nor shared any of the images and videos. She said the delay in having the confiscated items analysed was due to "a major resource issue" within the unit at the time. But she added that when she took over the case in late 2017, Wojciak came voluntarily to the garda station the following January. Det Gda Carlos agreed with Vincent Heneghan SC, defending, that his client was "quite frank" with gardai, that he treated the officers with respect and "offered up" anything that was asked of him. He told gardai in January 2018 "a lot of stuff happened in the last five years... I regret what I did, what I did was wrong and I have to take the consequences". Det Gda Carlos agreed that Tusla became involved when she learned that Wojciak had a child, but she said that if the agency had any "major concerns" about his relationship with his child or other children, she would have heard about it by now. Mr Heneghan told Judge Cormac Quinn that his client accepted that it was a "horrible offence" for which he had "expressed his shame and remorse". Disturbing He said Wojciak acknowledged that the images were "deeply disturbing" but submitted that he was not a threat to children or his own child, or Tusla would have raised concerns. Mr Heneghan said Wojciak lost his job in 2018 as a result of the case. He requested an adjournment for a forensic psychological report and a report from the Probation Service to be prepared. Judge Quinn remanded Wojciak on continuing bail to May 31. Gardai investigating the theft of an 800-year-old mummified head and the desecration of human remains in a shocking attack at St Michan's Church in Dublin, say CCTV holds the key to identifying the culprits. It is also believed the crypt was deliberately targeted and not a random act of mindless vandalism. "Whoever gained access to that crypt knew which one they were targeting and needed a lot of strength, and probably some equipment, to open the doors leading to it," a source has told the Herald. Gardai are currently studying CCTV footage to pin down when the crypt was breached. "It happened sometime between 2pm Saturday and 7am Sunday. It is hoped the extensive CCTV footage from the church grounds will indicate when exactly it happened as well as whether the people responsible gained access from Bow Street to the rear or Church Street to the front," the source said. "Once that is established there will be a trawl of CCTV from the wider area which is hoped will give us a better picture of what happened." Whoever broke into the crypt decapitated the mummified remains of the 800-year-old Crusader which were in the crypt in the ancient church. The 400-year-old body of a nun was also attacked and her head turned the wrong way around after vandals broke through a steel door and a metal gate leading to the crypt. Gruesome Several other preserved remains were also damaged. A separate skull is also missing. The Church of Ireland's Archdeacon of Dublin, the Venerable David Pierpoint, raised serious concerns over the preservation of the Crusader's head. "I went down to the vault and discovered a pretty gruesome scene. It is pretty bad. The perpetrators of this vandalism, sacrilege, desecration have turned over some of the bodies," he said. "The body of a nun who is there for about 300-odd years... she has been pretty much trashed, her head has been turned around the wrong way. "But the worst thing is the Crusader whose mummified body is down there... it's 800 years there and his body has been pretty much smashed up and his head has been severed from his neck. "Once it's exposed to the extremes of the outside world, my fear is the longer it takes before the head is returned or recovered, then the head will just disintegrate. "It's not a skull, it's a proper head - it's got skin and a nose and ears and everything else," he added. The incident is under investigation by officers at the Bridewell Garda Station, across the road from the church. St Michan's has six CCTV cameras operating in the grounds, including one pointing directly at the vault doors. Q. I am still reeling after reading the news about the 'Momo' avatar that appears on young people's phones, threatens them and encourages them to hurt or even kill themselves. It's terrifying and makes me feel so helpless. I already feel clueless about my teenage daughter's social media, apps, etc. How can I start a conversation with her without watching her eyes glaze over? A. Momo is a cyberbullying app/game that is reported to be appearing on Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube. It features a disturbing avatar of a girl with bulging eyes, a wide mouth and long dark hair. Players are apparently given challenges to do by the grim character 'Momo', which escalate, and finally results in them being challenged to take their own life. It has already been linked to the suicides of some teenagers in South America and Europe. So often, I meet parents who tell me they are utterly clueless about social media, that they don't understand Instagram or Snapchat or that they don't have a Facebook account. But what they need to realise is that so much of their children's communication is now on social media via their phones - and this communication can remain totally hidden from their caregivers, especially if parents don't know their child's passwords or how to open apps to read their messages. If a teenager thinks her parents are clueless about social media, then she is far less likely to worry them if something sinister is going on. Try to engage your daughter in a conversation about her phone use. Be honest with her and say that you are completely out of your depth. Could she help you to set up your own Instagram or Twitter account? Sit down together and try to become familiar with the apps she uses. Ask her questions about them in a casual way. Don't judge her or make any negative comments about the selfies, videos or whatever else she shows you. She is sharing her social online world with you, which is really important to her. Talk to her about the Momo Challenge. Ask her if she's heard of it or if she's tried it? If she doesn't know about it, let her know the dangers associated with it, in a calm way. Make sure not to frighten her. Discuss a plan that includes what she can do if she does receive a message with the Momo Challenge. I always advise parents never underestimate the power of social media in your teenager's lives. Remember you are her closest protector and have every right to know the apps she is using and to check her devices to keep her safe. Smartphones can be a means of building friendships and connecting, but it's also where children can be bullied, lose confidence and feel isolated. They can also become addicted to porn or discover pro-ana sites that actively encourage eating disorders. If you can, try to keep your relationship with your daughter easy and solid, whereby she knows that you have her back; that she can come to you, no matter what's happening in her life. Try to spend time with her daily, so that she can freely talk to you about her interests, her friends or her fears. That way, if something dangerous is going on, she knows she can trust you to help her without drama or judgement. Q. I am an 18-year-old male in my final year at school. I live with my parents who are driving me crazy. My eldest siblings have moved out and gone off to college and they never come home, so I'm alone with them. My parents have a fake marriage, they don't sleep or eat or spend any time together. When they do have to communicate with each other, it is so stressful and they do it through me. My mum gets very sad and sometimes stays in bed all day. I never ask friends over and I'd never ask a girl out in case she ever wanted to meet them. I have some close friends, who I stay with at the weekend and I plan to go away to college once I finish my exams. A. I was so sad when I read your email. I want you to know that your story is not unusual and you are not alone. At 18, you should be exploring your sexuality, finding out who you are and where you want to go in your future. Instead, you are having to balance on the high wire of your parent's messed-up, toxic relationship. Is it any wonder you feel like you are going crazy? When a child is torn between two hostile parents, it creates a storm of anxiety inside that person. They can often feel responsible, as if they have somehow caused all the conflict. You need to hear me when I insist that you are not responsible for your parent's choices. I actually feel sorry for them. That they are so blind, they cannot see what a beautiful, intelligent and caring son you are becoming. I was glad to read that, despite all the chaos at home, you are full of hope and plans for your immediate future. Keep your eye on your dreams and how you want to create a life full of meaning, joy and purpose. Whenever your parents drag you into their relationship, just walk away and go up into your room. Lie on your bed and listen to a meditation or some chilled out music. Check out tarabrach.com. Try running or exercising as its fantastic for your self- esteem and mental health. When you do go to college, consider seeing a counsellor, so you can unpack the impact all of this has had on you. That way, it won't become baggage that may affect your future intimate relationships. If you need to talk anytime, you can also contact teenline.ie or childline.ie LONG DAM WAIT: Now that lake is filled, homeowners hope lakeside loop will reopen LakeRoadClosed The shores of Osceola Lake attracted walkers, joggers, bicyclists and bird watchers even with a dry bed. Now that the lake has refilled, the scenery is much improved. View the Slideshow Related Stories Owner offers to sell Lake Osceola to county for $3M Lake Osceola is awesome, said Jean Saden, who recently moved to a home on Virginia Avenue. Its a little gem. You can bike, walk dogs along the lake, and its safe. Bicyclist Joe Simmons has been enjoying rides around the lake for more than eight years. I probably do 10 miles each time I come out here, he said. I like the lake road because its flat. Pat Chambers, who lives in nearby Devonwood, was enjoying a stroll around the lake recently. People drive down here all the time to walk the lake, she said. They just park their cars along the road. Once upon a time, bicyclists could click off the laps on the 1.6-mile loop around the 32-acre lake and walkers could make their way around unobstructed. (Some sneak by the barricades now.) But now, even though the dam owner has completed repairs the state required, the road over the dam remains blocked off. Its not fair to school buses, garbage trucks and mail carriers, Chambers said. Its been going on forever. When forever ends is up to an administrative law judge in Raleigh who is presiding over a complicated long-running dispute involving the state Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources (DEMLR), Osceola Lake owner Todd Leoni and the NCDOT. One option state regulators favor, would require the owner to drain the lake again. The NCDOT owns and maintains North and South Lakeside drives, which circumvent the lake. The road over the dam has been closed for four years. A big orange detour arrow and metal gates topped with barbed wire greet people who drive into the neighborhood. Work to repair, repave and reopen the road is at the mercy of state regulators and Leoni, who dont agree on whether the dam repair meets state specifications. The detour takes some residents a mile or more out of their way. For safety reasons, the state removed many large trees that grew along the old roadbed but they are waiting on Leoni to complete road work on each side of the now repaired dam. DOT contends that when the owner gets the road bed in an acceptable state of maintenance, the state can pave it, install guardrails, and reopen it. Leoni, who contends hes already done what the state required, expresses aggravation at the regulatory impasse. I dont care if the road stays closed forever, he said. Ive done my job but they havent done theirs. Dam deemed high hazard Since 2004, the DEMLR has cited Leoni, a Miami businessman, for deficiencies in the 30-foot dam. In 2014, regulators ramped up the pressure on Leoni to make the needed repairs. The agency issued a dam safety order with action deadlines and followed by court action. Among the deficiencies were cracks in the 93-year-old structure and trees in the spillway that could be dangerous if the dam was breached. The structure was deemed high hazard because failure could threated lives and property. More than a year passed before an engineer was found to design the repairs. In March 2016 DEMLR, the NCDOT and Leoni sign a settlement agreement under which Leoni committed to repair deficiencies and DEMLR committed to tree removal and other site work. In late 2015 the lake was drained in preparation for the job. Attorneys for DEQ and DOT would not comment on the case because the matter is still in litigation, now into its fifth year. Leoni said the new dam poses no public safety risk. In the most recent court filing, attorney Craig Justus argued on Leonis behalf that the options for draining the lake to fix the clogged drain are impractical and prohibitively expensive. The fact that the lake has remained full, or near fall, is not the result of any act by Leoni, Justus said. Record-setting rain has done the job. Even moderate or typical rains can quickly fill the lake, open drains notwithstanding. Leoni and his crews have explored several options for unclogging the drain or draining the lake, Justus said. Sending a diver down is considered too risky. Removing a section of pipe between the original intake system and a coffer dam would allow the dam to work as originally designed but would possibly discharge an unknown amount of silt for an unknown amount of time downstream. The owner also has looked into using large pumps to assist the drains. In the fall of 2018, responding to demand caused by hurricanes Florence and Michael, suppliers shipped all their pumps to Eastern North Carolina. Moreover, with likely rain events, the likelihood of success over a finite period of time is greatly diminished, Justus said in the court filing. Justus estimates the monthly cost of using at the pump at $21,450, counting pump rental, fuel and labor, after a setup cost of $7,750. A used 12-inch pump would cost $55,000 to $65,000, he said, and Leoni would still have fuel and labor cost. And, given a normal rain event, he would be faced with a full lake after having spent tens of thousands of dollars. Leoni argues that theres no public safety issues. He asks for help from dam safety personnel to identify reasonably feasible options to lower the lake for an inspection. Great flood washes away original dam The original earthen dam that created Osceola Lake in 1908 was washed away by the Great Flood of 1916. Developers replaced it in 1926 with a concrete dam. About that time Osceola Lake Park was platted with 400 narrow frontage lots. Over time, a road was built over the dam and water lines extended. Today, there are some 200 homes in the greater lake community. The historic Osceola Lake Inn, also built in 1908, overlooked the lake and boasted a private beach. The hotel, long-owned by the Rubin family, was sold in 2004 to Miami businessman Ed Hernando, who renovated it for lodging and events and renamed it the Copper Crest Inn. In 2016, after years of neglect, the hotel has a new owner and a new life as the Heartwood Refuge & Retreat Center. Weve nursed it back to life, said Amy Goldweber, who manages the retreat and its 50 rooms. Guests come from far and near to study, among other things, the teachings of Buddha. In late 2017, Leoni pitched the property with two picnic areas to Henderson County for $3 million. The offer was quickly rejected. We had just spent money on recreation projects and we had school funding to think about, said Commissioner Bill Lapsley, a retired civil engineer. For me, the lake was such a large area plus with the dam there was a liability issue. Leslie Wynne who is the treasurer of the Osceola Lake Property Owners Association, said she would like to see something positive done in the lake community. The association has about 200 members but few who pay the $100 annual dues. Our meetings are poorly attended unless there is an issue that would cost more money, she said. Maybe 10 percent of us would support a tax district to acquire the lake. Brenda Coates, a retired professor who owns the Brandy Bar on Seventh Avenue, has lived along the lake for 30 years. She said its depth has been reduced to as little as two or three feet in some places because of sediment. Coates, who is active in the property owners group, thinks Leoni may have gotten a bad deal from DOT. Its not his road, she said. Its the states road to fix. Vance Street resident Steve Simpson lives just out of sight of the lake. Weve had this house in our family since 1961, he said. Its a great area. Were in the county but were so close to town. Hes optimistic about the future of the neighborhood. I think its going up. He may have reason for a sunny outlook. The refilled lake has a profoundly positive effect on property values. Tonya Cochran, a realtor with Coldwell Banker King, said that after the lake refilled in 2018, property values spiked by some 30 percent. Even with the road still closed, Cochran said, that area in the last nine months has seen a number of sales and listings are on the rise. Sheriff's office seeks identity of car break-in suspects Detectives are seeking the identity of suspects in car break-ins in which credit cards were stolen. The Henderson County's sheriff's office is seeking the public's health in identifying two people investigators say were involved in several larcenies from motor vehicles in a gym parking lot in Mills River on Friday. Shortly after, the suspects attempted to use the stolen credit cards in Travelers Rest. They were seen in a white SUV possibly a Honda CRV or a Kia Sorento. If you can identify these individuals or have any information, please contact Detective Travis Pierce at the Henderson County Sheriffs Office. Dear editor, Both of Montanas senators, Sen. Jon Tester and Sen. Steve Daines, promoted and voted for the permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Rep. Greg Gianforte praised this public lands package and called for immediate action in the House. (https://gianforte.house.gov/) Bipartisanship worked in the interest of Montanans. Conserving natural ecosystems and biological diversity is a core Montana value. Another bipartisan bill that will further protect our air and water is H.B. 763, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. A Republican and a Dem... Last updated 2/27/2019 at 9:51am Press release The 70th Montana Seed Show is coming in two weeks and woodworkers are urged to get their projects in. The Seed Show is Thursday through Saturday, March 14-16. The woodworking projects entry day is Thursday, March 14, by 2 p.m. at the Harlem High School gymnasium. Organizers are encouraging everyone to get those wood projects finished and enter them in our show. Judging starts at 2 p.m. sharp that Thursday. People must remember that no kits can be entered. Anyone with questions can call Dale Klungland at 353-2893. Hope to see all of you there, Klungland said. In a telephone press conference from Washington, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, said he plans to vote against President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration once it reaches the Senate. Trump declared a national emergency Feb. 15 to fund building a wall on the border between the United States and Mexico, accessing billions of dollars to use for the wall. Congress previously refused to give him money to build a wall, which led to the longest partial federal government shutdown in U.S. history. Trump's emergency declaration has transformed a policy dispute into a confrontational debate over the Constitution's separation of powers. "I think it's an attack on our Constitution, certainly an attack on the legislative branch," Tester said. Tester was one of the seven senators on the bipartisan conference committee tasked with providing budgets for unfunded agencies, including for border security, created after Congress voted to temporarily reopen the government. Tester said he and the rest of the bipartisan conference committee formulated the budget agreement and sent it to the president. Trump, although he signed the budget, said wasn't good enough on border security and decided to declare a national emergency. "I think it's dangerous," Tester said. "Not only from a constitutional standpoint, but from a precedent-setting standpoint. I think it's very dangerous." He said a large portion of the money the president wants to use for the border wall doesn't exist. He added that the real issue are the ports, with the port officials needing to scan entrants at the ports for drugs, money and guns. This will help with problem, he said - not solve it, but certainly help. "It shouldn't be a political thing," he said. "... In normal days, regardless of party, that would not be tolerated, but these aren't normal days." He added that the bipartisan budget agreement that will keep the government open also provides critical funding for Montana. The budget includes funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Montana Farm Service Agency Offices, which help farmers and ranchers navigate the new farm bill, he said. It also prohibits Montana Department of Transportation from enforcing electronic log rules for people hauling livestock, Tester said, which has a detrimental effect on agriculture. The budget agreement will provide full funding of Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City, despite Trump's efforts to close the laboratory, Tester said. The budget also will fund programs to improve public lands, he said, such as securing $2 billion for wildfire suppression and $40 million for collaborative legacy restoration programs, which are responsible for harvesting timber. This will also include $364 million for construction and deferred maintenance in national parks he said. Tester said the budget will be used to upgrade infrastructure in Montana, fund Amtrak's Empire Builder and fully fund Essential Air Service programs, which many Montanans in rural communities - including Havre - depend on. It will also invest $550 million to expand high speed internet in Montana, he added. The budget will also provide $900 million for grants to expand transportation and infrastructure projects, he said. "After a unnecessary and costly government shutdown, I was glad to be part of the conference committee that got the job done," he said. Many important issues need to be focused on, he said, and health care is the top among them. Tester said he recently introduced bills to support critical access to hospitals, getting qualified doctors to rural Montana and reduce the cost of medication. "Hospitals and health care providers just don't just keep their patients alive, they keep their communities alive as well," Tester said. Tester's SPIKE Act would force pharmaceutical companies to publicly disclose their reasoning for any significant raises in price of prescription drugs. He said that over the years prescription drug prices have skyrocketed and companies haven't been required to provide reasons. Insulin itself, for example, has not changed over the years, he said, although the cost of this crucial medication has risen, costing patients more than a hundred dollars per prescription. The bill, Tester said, will increase transparency so companies have to justify the cost. "If they can't justify it, we'll have the FDA put the screws to them," he said. He added that Congress recently passed a bill to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which, he said, is the best tool the country has to conserve lands and improve outdoor recreation. In the past, he said, this has been used as a political pawn and because of that expired for the first time its 50-year history in 2015 when Congress did not reauthorize it. It is funded by offshore drilling, he said, and was done this way to assure that all states can benefit from it. He added that, along with its permanent authorizing, he is sponsoring a piece of legislation which will provide $900 million to fully fund LCWF. Tester said that last week he was also given the chance to travel across Montana, his first stop being Malmstrom Air Force Base. He said he has fought hard for the past few years to secure funding for the base. Some of this funding is for replacing Huey helicopters, which have been used since the 1960s; securing funding for new weapons storage facilities; upgrading missile alert facilities and funding ground-based missiles initiatives, he said. He added that these are critical and a top priority for the Department of Defense to keep Malmstrom strong, in contrast to taking funds or shutting down the government for a border wall. "It raises many questions about the administration's repeated request for more military funding only to steal it for political priorities," Tester said. "Now this fight is far from over and I'll keep pushing to ensure the president's actions don't come at the expense of our men and women in uniform or to Malmstrom Air Force Base." UM News Service MISSOULA High school and middle school students from across Montana will present their research findings during the 64th annual Montana Science Fair Monday, March 18, at the University of Montana Adams Center. Registration and exhibit set up will take place from 8 a.m. to noon, and this coincides with the UM STEAM Lounge, where UM researchers and scientists will host hands-on activities for parents, teachers and students. Student projects will be judged from 1 and 4:30 p.m., and the exhibits will be open for public viewing from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 19, the public can view the projects from 8 to 9 a.m., and the awards ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. in UMs Dennison Theatre. More than $15,000 in prizes will be awarded to student winners, including cash awards, scholarships and all-expense-paid trips. The grand award winners from the Montana Science Fair and Montanas regional fairs will then compete at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair May 12-17 in Phoenix. Montanas delegates to the National Youth Science Camp, a monthlong science education program that honors two high school seniors from each state, also will be announced. UM sponsors the Montana Science Fair with support from a variety of campus and community groups and individuals. More than 300 judges, including UM staff, students, faculty and community professionals, also volunteer their time. Judges are still needed. Sign up using the Judges & Volunteers button at http://hs.umt.edu/mtsciencefair/. A full schedule of events also is online at http://hs.umt.edu/mtsciencefair/fairInformation/schedule.php. For more information visit http://hs.umt.edu/mtsciencefair/ or reach out to Science Fair Director Earle Adams at 406-830-7620, [email protected] or coordinator Michelle Quinn at 406-243-4866, [email protected] Last updated 2/27/2019 at 10:34am Press release Havre Chapter of the Montana Landlord Association will meet Tuesday, March 12, at the Havre-Hill County Library at 7 p.m. All area landlords are encouraged to attend, and Guests are welcome. People with questions can call 945-4318. Press release The Havre Public Schools Education Foundation has 26 scholarship opportunities available for 2019 Havre High School graduates. A few of the applications are also offered to Hi-Line, North Star High School and continuing education students. One online scholarship application form is used to apply for any and all of the scholarships. The application form can be found on the foundation website at http://www.hpseducationfoundation.com/. A few of the applications require specific criteria along with the general information form. Applicants should be sure to read each description and include requested additional information for the best chance to be selected to receive a scholarship. Recipients are selected by the scholarship donor or the HHS Scholarship Committee. Applicants with questions can contact the foundation via email at [email protected], by phone at 262-3394 or speak with HHS counselors. The deadline for applications is midnight, April 1. Foundation representatives said it is pleased to offer three, possibly four, new scholarships this year along with the previous opportunities offered in 2018. The donors offering new applications include Havre High Class of 1968, which is awarding one $500 scholarship. The Natalie Patrick Foundation is offering two $1,000 memorial scholarships through the HPSEF process this year. The Hal Gilmore Estate is awarding a $1,500 scholarship in memory of Hal, an HHS graduate. One more memorial scholarship may be offered in early March. We are very happy these generous donors have entrusted HPSEF with the honor of awarding their scholarships, the foundation said in a press release. These donors join the generous donors that awarded funds to a deserving applicant for one or many years. The continuing applications are Blewett Wrestling $500, and Blewett All-State Wrestling $1,000, Alfred and Catherine Bradbury Memorial $1,000, two Gene Gabriel Memorial at $500 each, HPSEF Memorial $500 this year in memory of Charles Williams and Stan Joy Bart Nolan Memorial $1,500, HHS Class of 1970 $1,500 Howard Miller Memorial $500, two Friends of Music and Eunice DeRosa Memorial at $500 each, Dr. James and Kay Elliott Memorial $2,000, PEO Chapter AZ $500, C. Lowell and Vivian D. Purdy Memorial $750, Sue Swan Community Service $750, two Sons of Norway Heritage $750, PEO Chapter V $1,000, Wells Lamey Blue Pony Pride $500, Thomas Lafond State Farm Up and Coming Entrepreneurial $500, and two Tillie Patterson Foundation Memorial scholarships. We look forward to receiving several applications, the release said. The awards will be presented in conjunction with the Havre High School Academic Awards in mid May. The Havre Public Schools Education Foundation is a non-profit organization formed to encourage and support excellence in education by raising, accumulating and disbursing funds to improve, enhance and support the educational opportunities for the students of Havre Public Schools. The scholarship program is a very important part of the Foundation as well as awarding small grants to educators when special projects are a part of their educational process but extra funding is needed. Another area of importance to the HPSEF Board of Directors is Havre High School Alumni, keeping alumni connected to each other and our community through the upcoming Fossil Festival. This event will take place in September 2020. It will be the fifth Fossil Festival, but the second hosted by the foundation. We appreciate all the support we receive from alumni and community members, whether as a past, present or future member of the Board of Directors, as a volunteer at one of our events or financial support, the release said. Anyone interested in volunteering in any capacity or serving as a board member please contact us. Thank you for financial support through our annual Blue Pony Spirit Clubs, purchasing and renewing a Blue Pony license plate, signing up for a Blue Pony debit card at Independence Bank, as well as participating in our occasional Blue Pony Bingo or other fundraisers. The sun shines through snow in the air, creating a sundog Tuesday over Beaver Creek Park south of Havre. The Hill County Park Board's Grazing and Haying Committee Monday finalized a draft of proposed changes to the ordinance governing those activities on Beaver Creek Park and sent it to the park board for approval before it would go to the Hill County attorney for review. The draft would finally go before the Hill County Commission for final approval. Editor's note: This version corrects that the committee approved a draft, not an an ordinance, and that the committee is not officially created until the ordinance is changed. It also corrects that the draft goes to the park board first. The Hill County Park Board's Grazing and Haying Committee Monday approved a draft with changes to the ordinance on haying and grazing on Beaver Creek Park including removing a restriction saying people who hay on the park cannot re-sell that hay. Hill County Commissioner and committee member Diane McLean told the rest of the committee that requiring all hay cut on the park be for individual use only and cannot be resold is not enforceable and should be stricken from the ordinance. She said she also spoke to the Hill County Attorney's Office regarding this matter, and they concluded that the park board would be unable to enforce any law around what happens to the hay after it leaves the park. Hill County Park Board proposed replacing its long-standing Grazing Committee, which oversaw grazing in the park, with the Grazing and Haying Committee. McLean said Tuesday that with the grazing committee is bound by the ordinance, so creating a new committee needs to be included ordinance revision merging the previous Grazing Committee Ordinance and the Haying Policies. A primary source of funding for Beaver Creek Park has long been leasing grazing allotments to cattle ranchers between Labor Day and Jan. 1, with the exact duration and number of cattle allowed set each year depending on conditions on the park. Another source of revenue has been selling the harvest of hay on the park. During its meeting Monday, the committee reviewed several other items on its agenda, but focused on reviewing the ordinance covering haying and grazing, revising its language and sending the draft to the Hill County Park Board for approval, then to the Hill County Attorney Office for review. If the haying and grazing ordinance draft is approved by the park board, it will go it to the Hill County Commission for approval as a county ordinance. In the changes to the ordinance, the committee also made a change for grazing allotments that all notifications of non-use must be sent by July 1. Anyone who is not using their allotments must notify the park board by July 1 and all vacant allotments will be divided among other grazers in the assigned area or allotted to new grazers. Park Superintendent Chad Edgar brought a few of the reflective cattle ear tags that the park board has discussed in past meetings. He said the tags have a reflective strip so cattle may be more visual to motorists, which could help prevent crashes. "Anything we can do to make the cows more visible," he said. He added that the tags are $2.10 each. The park board is considering requiring cattle grazing on the park have the reflective tags, but the committee did not add that to the ordinance. Edgar said that this past year was the first year that he has decided to send one bill for grazing fees out in December. In the past, he said, he has sent out two bills, one in October and one in December. Committee member Lou Hagener said sending one bill in December is better, reducing the amount of work. The committee also amended an item under the Fees and Penalty section of the ordinance. Under penalties, the ordinance says that 1.5 percent penalty per month will be imposed on any fees not paid within 60 days from the final billing date. The ordinance previously said the fees would be imposed in 30 days. Edgar said Beaver Creek Park's revenue is up, grossing approximately $91,000 so far this fiscal year, which includes the land management fund. He said $19,000 has gone into the Land Management Fund since last year. Hagener said Montana State University-Northern professor Tom Welch has made an offer to map Beaver Creek Park. He asked the committee to prioritize a list including various parts of the park such as cattle guards, cabin sites and constructed roads. The prioritized lists will be collected and reviewed to see what features should be included on the map when it is created, he said. Edgar said creating the map is not yet a priority. "We are not ready for a map," Edgar said. "But it is good to know where everything is." Hagener said that, since December, Northern Associate Professor Terri Hildebrand has secured additional grants and has her students working on additional grant applications to fund monitoring studies of water quality and vegetation. He added that he should be able to have a draft of a memorandum of understanding prepared for the next meeting that would show a plan of organization to prevent conflict between agencies monitoring Beaver Creek Park. "It is a pretty messy document right now," he said. McLean said Tuesday the document would help Montana State University; Beaver Creek Park; Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and the state Natural Resource Conservation Service understand all the expectations of what the monitoring is going to include, the reason why there is monitoring and what the data will be used for. For roughly 25 years, the movement against abortion has been predominantly incrementalist. Its focus has been on restricting abortion in relat Editor: Our Founding Fathers, as framers of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Const Michigan City, IN (46360) Today Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 76F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Considerable cloudiness. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Published on 2019/02/26 | Source Actor Choi Jin-hyuk declared war with a keyboard warrior. Advertisement Choi Jin-hyuk's agency claimed they will go into legal measures to deal with false rumors and others regarding. There have been many break outs of false rumors and malicious slander about the actor in several communities. They will be receiving information and reports from fans. The rumors stemmed from the message that Choi Jin-hyuk revealed on the 15th stating that he would be unable to star in the extended episodes of the SBS drama "The Last Empress". The reason for that was because he already had pre-scheduled events such as fan meetings. Choi Jin-hyuk posted on his Instagram, "You may have already heard from the news, but I won't be on the drama after this week. Thank you dear viewers who have spared your time to watch the drama". "The Last Empress" ended without Choi Jin-hyuk in the last few episodes. Controversy was hot when Choi Jin-hyuk had to quit the drama when it decided to extend 4 more episodes. Meanwhile, Choi Jin-hyuk has a fan meeting in Taiwan on the 28th. He's also considering the new KBS 2TV drama "Justice". Haiti - News : Zapping... Petit-Goave : The Mayor threatened with legal action Monday, February 25th, the office of Me O. Fever went up to denounce Limongy Samson Jean, the Mayor of Petit-Goave who appropriated a private property located in La Digue belonging to a client of the cabinet, while declaring it of public utility. The cabinet has described this act of the Mayor as vagrancy and spoliation and will take legal action against the Mayor. HL/ HaitiLibre / Guyto Mathieu (Correspondant Petit-Goave). Water : Cornillon Emergency Project The National Directorate of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DINEPA) has launched an emergency program of drinking water distribution in Cornillon (West), to address the water shortage in this municipality and for which a project will soon be executed. New Constitution in Cuba Cuba, Haiti's second closest country, adopted a new constitution on Monday. Cuba has decided, like Haiti, to create a post of President for 5 years and that of a Prime Minister answering in Parliament. Taiwan : Takeover of PAP electrical project The Taiwan Embassy announced in a note the resumption of the power network project in Port-au-Prince after being interrupted during recent protests https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26983-haiti-taiwan-the-project-to-build-an-electricity-grid-in-port-au-prince-temporarily-suspended.html . The embassy has indicated that it is working tirelessly with Haiti for the realization of this flagship project as soon as possible https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25139-haiti-flash-taiwan-will-build-an-electricity-grid-for-port-au-prince.html Threat of interpellation of Minister of Justice 16 deputies of the minority opposition sent a correspondence to the President of the Lower House to set a meeting on Wednesday, February 27, for the interpellation of the Minister of Justice Jean Roody Aly they accuse to have replaced the Commissioner of the Government and of unlawfully and arbitrarily liberating 7 foreigners arrested on February 17 in Port-au-Prince in possession of weapons of war https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26963-haiti-flash-a-mysterious-commando-of-heavily-armed-foreigners-arrested-in-port-au-prince.html , who have returned to the United States. Chancellor Bocchit invited by deputies Thursday, February 28 Edmond Bocchit, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is invited by parliamentarians to come and answer questions on Haitian-Dominican border relations... HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Education : Important meeting around budget cuts Tuesday at the initiative of the Cabinet of the Minister of National Education Pierre Josue Agenor Cadet, was held an important working session between various senior officials of the Ministry of National Education at central and decentralized level, around the planned budget cuts in the implementation of the 2018-2019 budget. Following a presentation by the Education and Programming Unit of the education investment component of the budget, the priority projects to be selected in relation to the amount of budget reductions envisaged were the focus of discussions. Other working meetings are planned in order to better harmonize the actions envisaged to improve the efficiency in the implementation of the investment budget. Minister Cadet also met with a delegation of North-East educators around certain school infrastructure projects. The construction of the Rene Theodore High School and that of the St Francis Xavier National School (FIC) were the two main items on the agenda of this meeting held in the presence of the former Minister Nesmy Manigat, Chairman of the Ethical Committee of the Global Partnership for Education and Ernst Bonnefil, Director of School Engineering. HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Justice : Former DG of the PNH Godson Orelus released After the dismissal of the appeal of the lawyers of the former Director General of the Haitian National Police (PNH) Godson Orelus on January 29th by the Head of Public Prosecutions Yves Martial, who wanted to have time to audition the others indicted before pronouncing https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26314-haiti-justice-seizure-of-weapons-in-st-marc-9-indicted-2-in-prison-and-7-fugitives.html hhttps://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26820-haiti-news-zapping.html , Tuesday, February 26, the Court of Appeal of Gonaives has heard again the appeal of the lawyers of Orelus and the President of the Court of Appeal of Gonaives, Octelus Dorvilien, has granted a release of nut to their client. Recall that the former DG of the PNH had been incarcerated on October 26 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25946-haiti-justice-godson-orelus-former-dg-of-the-pnh-arrested-and-imprisoned.html in the context of the case of the seizure of weapons at the customs of Saint-Marc in 2016 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18569-haiti-flash-worrying-seizure-of-weapons-from-the-usa.html on order of the examining magistrate of Saint-Marc Dieunel Lumerant who had decided deciding Orelus before the criminal court. An order that Godson Orelus's lawyers challenged on appeal https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-26393-icihaiti-justice-the-lawyers-of-godson-orelus-appeal-the-decision-of-judge-lumerant.html , accusing Judge Lumerant of having transformed outside the framework of the law, the status of witness of their client in indictment. Note that although released, Godson Orelus must remain available to justice as needed throughout the duration of the trial. As for Sandra Thelusma, responsible for the clearance of the cargo of arms seized at the Port of Saint-Marc in 2016, also in detention under the charges of : complicity in transnational crime, illicit trafficking of firearms, ammunition and associations of wrongdoing, in view of her request for release from her lawyers refused and she remains incarcerated. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26820-haiti-news-zapping.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-26393-icihaiti-justice-the-lawyers-of-godson-orelus-appeal-the-decision-of-judge-lumerant.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26314-haiti-justice-seizure-of-weapons-in-st-marc-9-indicted-2-in-prison-and-7-fugitives.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25946-haiti-justice-godson-orelus-former-dg-of-the-pnh-arrested-and-imprisoned.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18569-haiti-flash-worrying-seizure-of-weapons-from-the-usa.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18708-haiti-justice-the-investigation-on-the-seizure-of-weapons-in-st-marc-progresses.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18569-haiti-flash-worrying-seizure-of-weapons-from-the-usa.html HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - DR : A Haitian smuggler killed by a Dominican soldier Monday, following intelligence work on the presence of Haitian smugglers in Dominican territory, a military patrol composed of Corporal Aferson Duval Rivas and Rasa Villar Carmona caught in the area of Paso Sena (Province of Pedernales, South-West) several Haitians transporting on on bikes and backpack animals bags full of Guaconejo wood clandestinely cut on the Dominican territory for the manufacture of perfume in Haiti (The Guaconejo is a plant sought for the essential essence it produces high monetary value entering the manufacture of perfume, a plant that has disappeared from Haiti due to uncontrolled cuts). According to the military authorities domicaines, after ignoring the order to stop one of the approximately 35 years, still unidentified, allegedly attempted to seize the rifle M-16 of a military and was injured seriously and died at the scene of hypovolemic shock, according to the medical examiner The Guaconejo wood traffic from the Pedernales forests to extract the essence needed to make perfumes in Haiti is a source of numerous incidents and seizures are frequent. At the beginning of January, 426 bags of Guaconejo had been seized https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26550-haiti-dr-anti-return-operation-3-767-haitians-intercepted-at-the-border-and-turned-back-to-haiti.html and more than 2,000 bags in 2018 https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-23721-icihaiti-rd-partial-assessment-of-the-fight-against-haitian-smuggling.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26364-haiti-dr-seizure-of-more-than-5-000-bottles-of-contraband-alcohol-from-haiti.html The two soldiers of the patrol involved in the incident are in custody pending the end of the ongoing investigation and the body of the Haitian will be handed over to the Haitian authorities. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26550-haiti-dr-anti-return-operation-3-767-haitians-intercepted-at-the-border-and-turned-back-to-haiti.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26364-haiti-dr-seizure-of-more-than-5-000-bottles-of-contraband-alcohol-from-haiti.html https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-23721-icihaiti-rd-partial-assessment-of-the-fight-against-haitian-smuggling.html SL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping... The opposition is preparing to hit hard "The opposition is in concert for the revival of mobilization throughout the national territory. We will hit the big shot," says Andre Michel, one of the leaders of the radical opposition. The PM less affirmative PM on the supposed mercenaries came to kill him Prime Minister Jean Henry Ceant seems to be more restrained and less assertive about his statements that the 7 alleged "foreign mercenaries" has to mission to murder him. "It was simply a hypothesis," said Monday Ceant who said he wanted to let the justice to establish the full truth on this case. Hearing of the CSPN in the Senate The hearing of the members of the Superior Council of the National Police (CSPN) and its President the Prime Minister Ceant, before the Justice and Security Committee of the Senate, on the case of the 7 foreigners arrested on 17 February carrying weapons of war and their transfer to the United States on February 20, originally scheduled for Thursday, February 21, postponed to the 25th, hhttps://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-27019-haiti-news-zapping.html has again been postponed for this Tuesday, February 26, said Jean Renel Senatus President of the Commission. The Commando Driver Released Monday, the Investigating Judge at the Court of First Instance of Port-au-Prince, Jean Osner Petit Papa, proceeded to the release of Haitian citizen Michael Estera. who accompanied as a driver/translator the commandos of 7 foreigners (5 US and 2 Serbian with US residence) and had been arrested in Port-au-Prince on Sunday 17 February with the 7 heavily armed foreigners https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-26963-haiti-flash-a-mysterious-commando-of-heavily-armed-foreigners-arrested-in-port-au-prince.html "Haiti country in bankrupt" dixit Eddy Labossiere "Haiti country in bankrupt, any government that will come after Jovenel Moise will take at least 10 years to put the Haitian economy back into a virtuous circle of growth and job creation for all. But profound changes will be needed," said Economist Eddy N. Labossiere. Exhibition "Tet ansanm" The French Institute in Haiti invites you to the opening of the exhibition "Tet ansanm" David boyer Wednesday, February 27 at 5:00 pm. HL/ HaitiLibre The destruction of Asias forests continues at an alarming pace, averaging 1.8 million hectares a year, or 5,000 hectares a day, states a grim assessment by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization. Frantic governments are instituting measures to arrest the rapid decline, but so far the success has been very limited, concludes the comprehensive survey of Asias forest resources, conducted with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Deforestation is heaviest in Southeast Asia, which produces some of the worlds best timber. According to the survey, Indonesias annual deforestation rate of 500,000 hectares is the highest in the region. Second is Thailand with 333,000 hectares; the range of between 100,000 and 150,000 for West Papua, Malaysia, India, Lao PDR, the Philippines, and Burma. These countries were among the Asian and Pacific nations covered in the study. The others were Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, and Vietnam. The ravaging of forests is felt most by Asias closed or virgin forests which totals over 300 million hectares. The survey said that from 1976 to 1980 alone, the total closed forest ravaged was more than 9 million hectares. The figure leveled off in the next five years to 1.82 million hectares a year. But even at this rate, Asias virgin forests were reduced to just more than 270,000 million hectares after the year 2000. The regions annual rate of deforestation of closed forests is between 0.60 and 1.2 percent. From 1981 to 1985, the deforestation rate was its worst in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Kampuchea, and the Philippines; while there was a decrease in Thailand, Lao, Brunei and India. The other Asian countries had either slight deforestation increases. But other countries turned from being wood exporters to timber importers. Take the case of Thailand, to keep its sawmill industry rolling, the country has become increasingly dependent on log exports. From a net exporter, with depletion of forest resources, ban on exports and growing demand for wood, Thailand has become a net importer. Sizable import of logs started in 1977 and increased even after 2000, mostly from Malaysia and Indonesia. Loggers no longer are the only culprits. The UNFAO-UNDP study said unlike before, loggers are no longer mainly to blame for the rapid destruction of forests. The report noted that forest resources were ravaged faster in areas with high population density and where shifting cultivation has not been effectively stopped. Population pressure on Asias existing forest resources is undeniable. Unorganized and spontaneous encroachments, squatting, migration by lowlandersmanifestations of increasing demand for cultivable land by the landless and unemployed rural poorare already accounting considerable for deforestation, warned the UN bodies. This form of deforestation is more prevalent in the Philippines, where almost all the culprits are landless tenants, farm laborers or just plain land speculators. In Nepal, the population pressure on the hills has caused people to migrate to the plains and encroach into forestland. Over in Thailand, unrest in neighboring countries has let loose a flood of refugees contributing heavily to deforestation. Slash-and-burn agriculture or shifting cultivation also wreaks havoc to Asias forest resources. The practice is variously known throughout the region as kaingin, jhum, chena or podu. Available figures indicate that more than 75 million Asians depend on shifting cultivation for livelihood. The extent of forests affected is over 200 million hectares. Examples abound: In Bangladesh, jhuming is practiced by 26 tribes living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region, involving almost a million people. The overall effects are the loss of timber, water and soil, and the decline of the capacity of the land to produce agricultural crops. In India, shifting cultivation is practiced in 12 states, where some 7 million people are involved in an area of more than 1 million hectares; the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, and Meghalaya account 80 percent of Indias shifting cultivation population. Shifting cultivation is also practiced by more than 20 million Indonesians. However, it is confined on the islands of Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, and Nusatenggara. Over 20 million hectares of forest have been adversely affected from the viewpoint of soil cover and soil fertility. As Asias population increases, so does the demand for timber and fuelwood. And this, in no small measure, contributes to the destruction of forest resources. Estimates are that of all wood cut in Asia, over half for timber, one-third for fuel, most of which are consumed by the regions poor. The oil-price hikes yearly are exacerbating the situation. Logging operations, particularly in Southeast Asia, has been merciless, plus the fact that millions of hectares are being cleared of trees in Indonesia to accommodate palm-oil plantations. The UNFAO-UNDP study said forests are major foreign-exchange earners by many cash-strapped developing Asian countries, but also asks is it worth it? No, it concluded, because, the full amount of export value cannot be viewed as representing a benefit to the exporting country. Simply said, no amount of money can ever compensate for the destruction done to the contribution forests do for humanity and the whole of creation. - Echoing Green Foundation in New York. Islamabad confirms that it has captured an Indian pilot. Yesterday, the Delhi Air Force bombed Pakistani territory to destroy a terrorist training camp. Over 350 dead. Experts believe that the recent violence blocked the BJP's political manifesto for the upcoming elections. New Delhi (AsiaNews) Tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir have spilled over to all out conflict heralding winds of war. This morning, Asif Ghafoor, a senior general of the Pakistani army, confirmed that Islamabad anti-aircraft shot down two Indian jets that raided Pakistani territory, and captured one of the pilots. The aircraft violated the no fly zone over the Line of Control (LoC), the border that divides the two countries in the disputed territory of Kashmir. The reaction of the government of Islamabad was expected, after the repeated bombing of yesterday's Indian aircraft, with which Delhi wanted to "give a lesson" to Pakistan, found guilty of the attack on February 14 in Pulwama (in Jammu and Kashmir), that left 44 Union soldiers dead. Yesterday, the Indian Air Force made a series of raids against Pakistan. Vijay Gokhale, New Delhi defense secretary, explained that the terrorist training camp was located in Balakot, in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, about 200 km from Islamabad. According to Indian intelligence, the camp was one of the bases of the Islamic fundamentalist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) that claimed responsibility for the attack in Kashmir. The secretary said that more than 200 terrorists were killed in the bombings, even if other sources claim that there are more than 350 victims. Among the dead there is also Yusuf Azhar, brother-in-law of the head of JeM Masood Azhar. There are reports that the Pakistani army has retaliated by launching grenades across the border, in the Indian area of Uri. The latter in 2016 was the scene of an attack that reignited the conflict between the two neighboring nations, long at loggerheads over Kashmir. The Uri clashes led to entire months of curfew, summary violence among the population, several schools burned compromising the ability of students to take exams and keep up with the peers of the rest of the country. Basically, it was the local population who lost the most. Experts wonder whether this conflict will lead to a real war, like the one in 1999 in the Kargil area. Today an editorial published in the Hindustan Times, states that the first result of the new conflict is to garner support for the electoral program of Indian premier Narendra Modi. 50 days ahead of the elections, we read, the attacks consolidate the manifesto of the BJP party (Bharatiya Janata Party) and its leader. It is composed of "three interconnected ingredients: a 'decisive' and 'strong' leader who can be trusted; a 'nationalist' party that wants to defend Indian interests; a 'strong' India that changed the rules of engagement with its arch-rival ". In an interpreted interview between CEO of OnePlus Pete Lau and CNET, it was revealed that the next-generation OnePlus handset will not offer wireless charging. The Chinese phonemaker has always been about packing the best flagship features in while leaving out whatever it could to keep the cost of the phone down. One of those features is always wireless charging. It isnt to say that OnePlus will never offer wireless charging on a future device. OnePlus charging is one of the best said Lau in reference to OnePlus proprietary charging standard: Warp Charge (formerly Dash Charge). Lau explained that wireless charging is too slow in its current standard and compared it to a half-hour top up on the Dash charger. OnePlus' 5G phone on display at MWC. Photo credit: CNET OnePlus is actively working to accelerate wireless charging technology that would ultimately be a true benefit to the consumer in OnePlus eyes, that means it should be much faster. The current challenge is figuring out how to charge quickly without generating much heat. When asked whether the newly announced Qualcomm Quick Wireless Charge standard would be incorporated with OnePlus in the future, Lau declined to comment. Apples entry into the Qi wireless charging standard with the iPhone 8 marked the widespread popularity of the feature. Since then, many phone makers have brought wireless charging on their flagship smartphones including Samsung, Huawei, LG, Xiaomi, and Razer just to name a few. At the MWC, OnePlus displayed a prototype of a 5G handset with a taller 21:9 ratio display but it was wrapped up in a case so we couldnt see the actual hardware. This isnt specifically the OnePlus 7. When asked about a OnePlus 7 prototype, Lau commented he had it on his person but it was not ready to show to journalists. Lau also declined to comment about rumors for a pop-out selfie camera. OnePlus usually announces its next-generation flagship around May or June so we can expect to see the OnePlus 7 around the summer time. Well be covering rumors and leaks until then. Source Even though most of Lenovo's handsets at this year's MWC in Barcelona were already introduced at least a month prior to the congress, a Lenovo representative was nice to give us a sneak peek into what the company has in store for us in the near future. The spokesperson began with some short-term and long-term predictions of how 5G connectivity will change the way we interact on the Internet. He said that high-resolution videos and images would dominate the web in a few years, so Lenovo is gearing up to meet the market's demand. The upcoming Lenovo Z6 Pro smartphone will not only be 5G-compliant but will also boast a new HyperVision camera capable of recording Hyper Videos. For now, the Hyper Video doesn't go beyond its marketing meaning, but Lenovo promises to reveal more about it soon. The Lenovo Z6 Pro is expected to launch sometime in June and will be ready to show off the new tech that will supposedly dominate the social media. If you want, you can check out the short presentation below. Via (in Italian) He fit in the hands of an adult, but now weighs 3,238 pounds and feeds normally. The survival rate of premature baby boys is lower than that of girls. Infant mortality in Japan is among the lowest ever. Tokyo (AsiaNews / Agencies) His mother had given birth prematurely in the 24th week of pregnancy and he weighed only 268 grams, but after five months of treatment he can finally go home: The smallest newborn in the world is being discharged in safety from a hospital in Tokyo. The doctors at Keio University Hospital say that when he was born, the baby was so small that he fit into the hands of an adult. At home for a week, he now weighs 3,238kg and feeds normally. I can only say I'm happy that he has grown this big because honestly, I wasn't sure he could survive," the boy's mother said. Dr. Takeshi Arimitsu, who was in charge of the newborn, wants to let the public know that "there is a possibility that babies will be able to leave the hospital in good health even though they are born small". The Keio University Hospital believes that the baby now holds the world record for the smallest premature baby to have the all clear from doctors. Quoting a registry created by the University of Iowa (USA), doctors say the record was previously held by a boy born in Germany in 2009 weighing just 274g.The smallest surviving girl was born in Germany in 2015 weighing 252g, according to the registry. The survival rate of premature baby boys is lower than that of girls. Experts are still not sure why, although some specialists speculate that this may partly depend on the development of the lungs, slower in males. According to UNICEF, Japan has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world. Every March, we look forward to taking the time to celebrate the power of women. From everyday women to the celebrities we admire, we're always up to get schooled on girl power. So, when it comes to Women's History Month, we have some questions, like why is it in March, and how did it even come to be in the first place? We've answered that (and more) below. In March 1910, the Second International Conference of Women was held in Copenhagen, according to the University of Chicago. In the United States, 17 countries were represented by nearly 100 women who advocated for their gender through various clubs, unions and socialist parties. They also formed demonstrations that pushed for voting rights, in addition to better working conditions and pay for female-dominated trades, like the textile industry. At the gathering, it was decided the next year would mark the world's first International Woman's Day (later changed to "women's" day) and it was officially celebrated on March 8, 1911. Then Women's Day grew from a day to a week. Due to its popularity, over half a century later in 1975, the United Nations officially began sponsoring International Women's Day with the UN's General Assembly declaring that the day would be held "to recognize the fact that securing peace and social progress and the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms requires the active participation, equality and development of women; and to acknowledge the contribution of women to the strengthening of international peace and security." However, according to the National Women's History Alliance, by 1978, a California-based organization (the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women) became frustrated with the lack of information about women's history available to the public or in grade school curriculum. Branching off of the initial celebration, they initiated the creation of Women's History Week, starting March 8. It was an instant hit. "Over one-hundred community women participated by doing special presentations in classrooms throughout the country and an annual 'Real Woman' Essay Contest drew hundreds of entries," the NWHA website states. And a week became a whole month. In 1979, NWHP member Molly Murphy McGregor was invited to The Women's History Institute at Sarah Lawrence College. There, after sharing the success of the celebratory week, the national leaders in attendance wanted to bring back a version of Women's History Week to their own communities. Because of the wide-ranging interest, efforts began to secure judicial support. Success came in February 1980 after President Jimmy Carter declared in a presidential proclamation that the week of March 8 was officially National Womens' History Week; congressional support soon followed, according to the NWHP. As a result of its country-wide recognition and continued growth in state schools, government and organizations, by 1986, 14 states had gone ahead and dubbed the third month of the year Women's History Month. A year later, it sparked congress to declare the holiday in perpetuity. Now, let's fast-forward to 2020. The NWHP always declares an annual theme. This year's is "Valiant Women of the Vote." "Our 2020 theme celebrates the women who have fought for womans right to vote in the United States. In recognition of the centennial of the 19th Amendment, we will honor women from the original suffrage movement as well as 20th and 21st century women who have continued the struggle (fighting against poll taxes, literacy tests, voter roll purges and other more contemporary forms of voter suppression) to ensure voting rights for all." Despite the best efforts of health departments across the state, the number of reported cases of sexually transmitted diseases continues to rise dramatically, mirroring a national trend. According to surveillance data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. experienced steep, sustained increases in STDs between 2013 and 2017. In Connecticut, reported cases of syphilis rose 51 percent during the four-year period, while gonorrhea jumped 25 percent and chlamydia rose 27 percent. According to the CDCs ranking of all 50 states, Connecticut was 27th for chlamydia, 40th for gonorrhea, and 45th for syphilis in 2017. Health officials acknowledge that the rise in reported STDs cases is partially due to better testing and tracking. Theres much better sensitivity and specificity to tests, said Carol Steinke, retired public health nurse supervisor for Hartford. Lynn Sosa, deputy state epidemiologist for the Connecticut Department of Public Health, also points to an uptick in electronic lab reporting, which is more reliable than manually recording data. But these factors dont fully explain the recent persistent jump in STD numbers. So, many communities are expanding their outreach efforts to get to the source: those at a high risk of contracting an STD. Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media In the spring, Waterbury Health Departments mobile outreach van will hit the streets of the city Monday through Friday, going to hot spots like parks, soup kitchens and shelters, where people who might not willingly go to a health clinic can step aboard the van. With four medical exam rooms for primary care, the van also offers on-site testing for STDs. In this nonjudgmental setting, a cup of coffee and some free condoms might be accepted. Employees of Hartfords health department show up at local college events to inform students about STDs and where they can go for testing and other resources. They also routinely stop in at four local barbershops to fill condom dispensers theyve placed. Bridgeports health and social services department recently completed its Get Tested campaign, heavily promoting STD clinic hours to the public. New Havens health department works in concert with public school nurses to make sure theyre conveying important messages about educating students about STDs; more broadly, the health department also advocates for consistent, modern sexual health education curriculum in schools. Experts suggest that a complex combination of factors continues to impede prevention efforts, including the publics attitudes some new and others stubbornly old; recent behavior changes; and budget cuts. Together, they help explain how dogged efforts to halt the increase in reported cases of STDs fall short. Flat funding and budget cuts have had a negative impact on statewide efforts to provide STD treatment and tracking. Our federal funds have been stagnant for many years, so we do need more resources to combat the increase we are seeing, Sosa said. One citys plans to enhance STD data-tracking have been put on hold due to state budget cuts. Maritza Bond, director of health and social services for Bridgeport, said plans to hire a part-time epidemiologist to identify and better target age groups affected by increases in STDs was put on hold because of state budget constraints. Instead, Bond said, shes exploring how to work with her counterparts in other cities to share resources regionally. Health practitioners who work to prevent the spread of STDs may encounter evolving attitudes that make their jobs more difficult. A casual attitude about contracting HIV and other serious sexually transmitted diseases is one. Now HIV is not a death sentence, Sosa said. People can live full and healthy lives with HIV. It makes people think differently. Theres also a widespread misconception about the relative safety of oral sex, Sosa and other health officials have learned through patient interviews. I think people do think its safer, said Sosa, who points out that STDs can be contracted orally. Its this and other misconceptions that health officials are up against as they work to educate the public, whether in clinics or in the community. At the Hartford STD Clinic, they provide outreach services relevant to STDs and HIV. We do testing right there, said Steinke, who retired in January as nurse supervisor of the clinic. Also at Hartfords STD clinic, clinicians make it easy for STD-positive patients to halt the spread of infection through a practice called expedited partner treatment. Well give patient information and medication on site so they can pass it on to their partner, Steinke explained. But in some cases, patients may be unwilling to share that information with their partners. Others may not know who they are or where to find them, a problem that some experts blame on the rise in anonymous sex partners, made easier by mobile apps like Grindr. Its important for people to understand that were not trying to be intrusive, said Ava Nepaul, a regional supervisor with the public health departments STD/HIV Partner Notification staff. We are contacting them to make sure they get their health checked out. Nepaul emphasizes that the partner notification program follows a prescribed training protocol thats backed by the CDC and maintains confidentiality of infected individuals and their partners. Clearly, the message were giving now is not working, Sosa said. This story was reported under a partnership with the Connecticut Health I-Team, a nonprofit news organization dedicated to health reporting. GREENWICH The Greenwich Historical Society will bestow plaques on Greenwich Town Hall, the World War I Memorial on Greenwich Avenue and the oldest residence in Greenwich this spring, as well as honor a prominent local business executive and history-maker. The latest additions to the Historical Societys local landmarks campaign were selected for their design excellence and their value in preserving Greenwichs unique architectural legacy. The Landmarks Recognition benefit will be held April 28. The Feake-Ferris House in Old Greenwich will be recognized for a careful restoration the towns oldest house. The project to renovate the old home on Shore Road was carried out by the Greenwich Point Conservancy, and the owners, Martin and Anna Waters. The original builder, Jeffrey Ferris, apparently bought the property from colonial landowner Elizabeth Winthrop Feake. He built the homestead sometime before his death in 1666. The World War I Memorial on Greenwich Avenue will be given a plaque. The 50-foot obelisk pays tribute to the memory of those who died and an inspiration to all who follow, and it lists the major battles where American troops were engaged. The nearby sculpture of Col. Ranal Bolling was carried out by Edward Clark Potter, who also created the lions outside the main branch of the New York Public Library. The keynote speaker at the Landmarks Recognition event will be architect Joseph Pell Lombardi. He helped restore one of the most unusual residences in the Northeast the Octagon House in Irvington, N.Y., which he owns. Lombardis talk has been titled Cabins, Houses, Lofts, Skyscrapers & Castles: Fifty Years of Worldwide Historic Preservation Efforts. The Octagon House, also known as the Armour-Stiner House for its previous owners, will also be cited by the Greenwich Historical Society. Also, on May 8, the Greenwich Historical Society will present its History in the Making Award to Indra K. Nooyi, a town resident and the former chair and CEO of PepsiCo. The presentation to Nooyi will tie in with the societys upcoming exhibition on the role of Greenwich women in the suffrage movement and the centennial commemoration of womens voting rights. Gov. Ned Lamont recently named Nooyi to a new public-private partnership to be known as the Partnership to Advance the Connecticut of Tomorrow or PACT. The organization has been tasked with recruiting new businesses to Connecticut. This week, Nooyi joined the board of directors at Amazon.com Inc. She is the second woman added to the Seattle-based companys board in the last month following a promise last May to add more women to its board. GREENWICH A week after clarinetist Kinan Azmeh left his home in Syria to study at The Julliard School, two planes struck the World Trade Center in New York City. His Syrian passport complicated life in the U.S., but he finished his studies and earned a doctorate in music from the City University of New York. Azmeh now tours the country and the world performing his own musical compositions. The audience can hear influences from his childhood memories of Syria, which he incorporates to blur the harsh distinctions between classical music and everything else, between East and West. He volunteered his triumphant story to the book Nightingales: True Stories of Escape, Hope, and Resilience, a slim, yet rich collection of 16 accounts of people who have escaped Syria and established new lives around the world. Greenwich resident Mimi Melkonian interviewed each of the participants. Her collection of their personal and true tales, which she translated, is compiled in the book, which was published this month. Im bringing to the table people we arent speaking about, she said. I dont think people have written such a collection because everybody speaks about the difficulties. Im not neglecting the difficulties ... but look at what the positives are. She wrote the book to speak the stories of refugees that other people would not hear unless they are interested. If you turn on the TV, you hear about the bad things happening in the world, she said. A lot of people dont know that Syrians are contributing to civilization. Melkonian, who teaches French and Arabic at Brunswick School, is also a linguistics scholar who travels the world for academic conferences. She is preparing for speaking engagements in the U.S. and Europe starting in March. The author connects with the stories in the book. She is an immigrant from Lebanon who arrived in the U.S. in 2001; her parents had fled Armenia for Lebanon during the Armenian Genocide. Growing up in an Arabic country, she spoke multiple languages just to converse with her family: Turkish with her grandparents, Armenian with her parents, Arabic and French outside the home and English at school. For her, different cultures are embedded in the words she spoke growing up, and she tried to bring the richness of the diverse heritages and mindsets to her translation. When I translated their stories, I relived what they are saying, she said. It was a reflection of what I see, what I understand, what my culture is and how I can put this in a new, different language and share that. In speaking the familial languages of Turkish, Armenian and Arabic, she reconnected with parts of herself that she does not often express in English. We have a busy life. We do whats important, and we put aside a lot of things because were busy, she said. This was a time of self-reflection. Ani Kharajian, an early reader of Nightingales, said Melkonian sheds positive light at a time when refugees are perceived as drains rather than as contributors. The countries that are drained are the countries losing these people, she said. Kharajian is an Armenian whose family fled one country during political turmoil. Kharajians family left Aleppo, Syria, after the 1967 war, just before military general Hafez al-Assad became the nations president. Melkonians book tells the stories of those fortunate to escape, who, she said, often carry feelings of guilt. You feel guilty because you survived, youre not in that conflict, but everyone you love is in that conflict still, Kharajian said. Family separation is one of the heart-breaking realities of leaving Syria behind, Melkonian said. Its true these people are looking ahead and doing great things, but also their families are partitioned all over the world, she said. For us, thats not a natural thing to be spread out. But the digital age has brought Syrians together. Refugees relied on smartphone apps while fleeing their home country. Once resettled, they reconnect with family members and establish international networks. Melkonian used social media to connect with refugees and set up interviews. In her part of the world, everyone has a smartphone, which became a tool for survival, Melkonian said. The phones are used to route maps, read up on advice from people who have escaped, and learn which camps and countries to travel through, and those to avoid. Since the uprising, Azhmeh and fellow artists with Syrian backgrounds have made efforts to find and support each other because together, people can do more to advance their culture than individually, he said. In fact, he knows six artists whom Melkonian interviewed for her book. As an artist, I want to be part of a collective always. I feel proud to be one of many Syrian artists traveling the world, performing, he said. I always believe if you really want to learn the Syrian story, one story, two stories, 25 are not enough. You have to listen to 24 million. The book is a small but wonderful window into the culture of the people who are interviewed, including himself, Azhmeh said. He tells people, often while serving them one of his grandmothers recipes, that Syrian culture is not a pure concept, since the country is comprised of many distinct communities. That said, Americans should follow a variety of news sources to understand how the conflict is developing in Syria, but also get to know the culture so they can relate to the people who are the subjects of the news, he said. Many people did not know about Syria before 2011, Azmeh said. While the war and the tragedy deserve immediate attention, by focusing only on the news, it is easy to forget Syrians have culture. The news is not the culture, he said. Azhmeh wishes the book success. I wish that it will trigger the same curiosity that Mimi had when interviewing all of us, he said. Within the Syrian story, there are so many stories to tell. The more you listen to, the more concrete an idea you can have. Among her speaking engagements, Mimi Melkonian will be at the Greenwich Historical Society from 6 to 7 p.m. March 4. The event is $10 for members and $15 for nonmembers. Tickets can be reserved by calling 203-869-6899, ext. 10, or by visiting www.greenwichhistory.org/adult . jo.kroeker@hearstmediact.com BETHEL Downes Construction Company sent a contractor Wednesday to examine the water leaking in the firing range at the towns new police station. The leak potentially caused by water trapped in the panels of a wall isnt the only problem at the $14.4 million building, which opened in October. Its trim boards are already cracking and a handful of items are unfinished. Members of the Public Site and Building Committee said this week they are frustrated with Downes slow progress at finishing the remaining work, which range from the lights that illuminate the flagpole to a critical railing for a retaining wall. Josh Adams, chairman of the building committee, said they have held off paying Downes for the last three months, but it was ineffective. Its still not helping the situation, he said at a committee meeting Tuesday night. Were at a point where we maybe need to pass it along to the town attorney and look at what leverage we have. Downes has come to the headquarters little by little over the past few months to complete the work, Adams said. The whole momentum of the project has significantly fallen to the wayside, he said. Its slowed right down getting this final pass completed. The committee had hoped Downes would come to its Tuesday evening meeting, but a representative from the construction company was only available by phone. Downes did not return requests for comment from Hearst Connecticut Media. The new police headquarters has long been controversial, with voters initially narrowly rejecting a 2014 proposal to build a new station and then a year later approving a less expensive, $13.5 million plan. But last year the building ran about $889,000 over its budget, leaving residents to approve additional money so the headquarters could be completed. Officers moved in a couple months later than the goal. First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker said the leaking in the range is his biggest worry, but he is not as concerned about the other problems. Its kind of an annoying end-of-project thing, but Downes is a good company, he said. The building committee is working very diligently and were trying to wrap it up. Well get this taken care of. Im not particularly worried. He said it is normal for items to be incomplete long after a building is opened. This happened with the high school project, while the contractor for the renovations to the South Street firehouse had to be dismissed because of problems at the end of the project, Knickerbocker said. He said he does not expect the latter would happen with the police station and that the town will not need to spend any more money. Im confident the building committee and the builder will be able to work it out successfully, Knickerbocker said. Meanwhile, the trim boards in some parts of the building are cracking, with gaps forming between the boards. Adams said he suspects Downes installed the material improperly. But the railing is the most important piece because it is needed for the building to earn its full certificate of occupancy. The headquarters has a temporary certificate of occupancy and is allowed to stay open, Adams said. These other items, they are not a safety issue, Adams said at Tuesdays meeting. This is a safety issue. The manufacturer who was supposed to build this railing is out ofmbusiness, so the construction company has ordered a new railing, which is expected to arrive in four weeks. Dave Patrick, of Downes, said he would send the committee written confirmation of when the railing will arrive. Lets get that thing installed and lets be done with it, he said to the committee. The committee considered Tuesday night delaying paying Downes about $31,000 to pressure the company. But the majority of this money would have gone to contractors who have completed their work, so members said that would not be fair. Selectmen will consider whether to approve this invoice. Lighting in the training room and a drainage problem near the radio tower need to be fixed, while a camera needs to be installed to monitor the impound lot. Some landscaping work is unfinished, but the plan was always to do that in the spring. Meanwhile, the firing range cannot be used because it lacks a specialized HVAC unit and other equipment. These features were not part of the project voters approved, but the town aims to purchase this equipment once the building is fully complete, Knickerbocker said. At one point, the equipment was estimated at $600,000, but that figure was expected to change. Chief of Quds force says he is still responsible for Iranian diplomacy. President Rouhani did not accept his decision to leave office. Lack of invitation to meet with Assad and the growing dissatisfaction with Ministers role in government. Teheran (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Mohammad Javad Zarif, who announced his resignation as Iranian foreign minister, is still responsible for the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic and has the full support of the supreme leader, the great ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This was what a leading commander of the Revolutionary Guards said this morning, adding that President Hassan Rouhani did not accept the decision of the Iranian high-ranking diplomat. "Zarif is still responsible for the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic, and has the full support of all top officials, especially the supreme leader," said Qassem Soleimani, head of the Quds force, special unit of the Pasdaran. He did not add any particular information about the reasons for his resignation. Well-informed sources believe that the decisi0on is linked to the lack of an invitation to the meeting between Rouhani and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, on an official visit to Iran. During the last trip of February 25, the Syrian leader saw President Rouhani and the great ayatollah Khamenei. Soleimani, present at both official meetings, said that the absence of Zarif was due to "bureaucratic errors". "There are signs - he added - that there was no intention to exclude Zarif [..] and I would like to underline that, as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, he is chiefly responsible for the country's foreign policy" . He is the great architect of the 2015 nuclear agreement (JCPOA), which was latest cancelled by US President Trump who ordered the introduction of the harshest sanctions in history. Meanwhile, a presidential spokesman clarifies that Rouhani has not accepted the resignation of the head of foreign policy and reiterates his "satisfaction" with the work of Zarif. Yesterday a source close to the minister had leaked his dissatisfaction at having been sidelined in recent times. "I hope that my resignation - said Zarif - will serve as a stimulus for the Foreign Ministry, so that it regains its role as the guide" of international relations. Support local journalism We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story. Yet, a more jaundiced eye might have been skeptical of a scenario in which two men would attack another man at 2 a.m. in subfreezing Chicago because he was black and gay and in the name of Donald Trump. Then again, people have been acting strangely these days. A woman recently attacked a man in Cape Cod, Mass., for wearing a MAGA hat in a Mexican restaurant. Last month, teen boys from Covington Catholic High School, who had come to Washington for the March for Life, were immediately condemned for what was initially reported as harassment of a Native American activist, but they were cleared of any wrongdoing by a third-party investigation. And, last week, a California high-school student was banned from wearing her MAGA cap to school. On a far-more serious note, the Coast Guard lieutenant and would-be terrorist arrested last week allegedly was mapping a plan to kill Democratic leaders and journalists. According to a court filing, Christopher Paul Hasson, 49, had been planning a killing campaign for at least two years, amassing an arsenal of weapons, including 15 firearms and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, and contemplating a biological attack. He had studied other mass murderers, read their manifestos and compiled a list of traitors he allegedly intended to kill. Authorities say his motive was to establish a white homeland through focused violence. The prospect of invalidating 18 months of laws is the definition of chaos and confusion, Senate leader Phil Berger said in response. Quite so. No matter how passionate they feel about blocking voter ID, raising taxes, or reforming redistricting, Democrats should not embrace this radical and irresponsible ruling. Its radicalism and irresponsibility extends beyond redistricting. Among the findings of fact in the decision was that capping the income tax was a racist act that it will act as a tax cut only for the wealthy and tend to favor white households and disadvantage people of color. This claim by one of the plaintiffs, the NAACP, is offensive and factually inaccurate. Before the General Assembly enacted tax reform in 2013, North Carolinians who earned more than $60,000 a year were subject to an income tax rate of 7.75 percent on that income. The threshold was $100,000 for a married couple. Do you consider all these North Carolinians wealthy? Do you think they were all white? That Judge Collins took this claim seriously as a justification for the NAACPs standing to challenge the tax cap should tell you all you need to know. Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content. The board voted 9-0 in 2013, with two members absent, to proclaim opposition to Wades original bill, according to the News & Records report of the meeting. Welborn also said, however, that the board had largely given up on trying to fight the change after it happened and that she wasnt aware of any school board members currently lobbying for this change. She said she didnt appreciate getting reproached by some members of her party for supporting her friend and mentor, Darlene Garrett, a Democrat, in the 2016 general election. Welborn said Garrett supported her in the 2016 Republican primary, and the two see each other as strong advocates for children regardless of party lines. Garrett had been registered as an independent before deciding to run as a Democrat in 2016. Other perspectives Reached Wednesday, Nicole Ward Quick, the chairwoman of the Guilford County Democratic Party, said shed spoken to Amos Quick (no relation) and Clemmons about the bill and felt confident to support it. She said she respects Quicks analysis that a nonpartisan board would best move the schools forward for the children. Armondo Collins will lead a community discussion about black migration at 6 p.m. Monday, March 4, at Central Library, 219 N. Church St. in Greensboro. Using Zora Neale Hurstons book, Barracoon: The Story of the Last Black Cargo, Collins will explore race and class in contemporary America. Collins is the head of the UNC-Greensboros Digital Media Commons. Beverly Burnett, the president of the N.C. Association of Black Storytellers, will perform an excerpt from How it Feels to be Colored Me. Participants will have the opportunity to record their own migration story after the program. These recordings will be permanently archived at the Greensboro History Museum. For information, call 336-373-2169 or visit www.greensborolibrary.org. Used clothing sale will aid job readiness effort StepUp Greensboro will hold a clothing sale featuring gently used clothing at thrift store prices from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m March 9 at 603 N. Elm St. in Greensboro. All proceeds go to support the Job Readiness Training Program. The American Legion Department of North Carolina has invited North Carolina high school students to compete in The American Legion High School Oratorical Scholarship Program, slated for 1 p.m. Saturday, March 2, at the Guilford Country Courthouse, 301 W. Market St. in Greensboro. Jerry McClough, the department's oratorical chairman, has extended the invitation to enter the competition. Those who plan to attend should be in the Guilford County Commissioners Chamber by 1 p.m. The subject in the prepared oration portion of the contest must be about some phase of the Constitution of the United States, emphasizing the duties and obligations of a citizen to the United States government. The prepared oration must be the original effort of each contestant and must be eight to 10 minutes in length. The winner will receive the right to represent the state at the national level American Legion Oratorical Contest to be held on the second weekend in April in Indianapolis. In addition, the winner will receive a $2,500 scholarship from The American Legion Department of North Carolina. North Koreas leader says he will do his best to produce a "great outcome", praises the US president for his "courageous decision" to make the meeting possible in Vietnam. The two leaders will continue negotiations tomorrow. For Trump, tomorrow will be a busy day. Hanoi (AsiaNews/Agencies) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald J. Trump kicked off their second summit today, each expressing the hope and confidence that this week's talks will be successful. Sitting briefly with Trump in a room at Hanois Metropole Hotel, Kim said he would do his best to produce a "great outcome" that could be welcomed by everyone. The North Korean leader praised the US president for his "courageous decision" to start the process that led to the summit in Vietnam. He emphasised that more efforts and patience were needed than at any other time to make the summit happen. Trump said his previous talks with Kim in Singapore eight months ago were a great success and the Hanoi meeting will "hopefully be equal to or greater than the first". The president added that their personal relationship was the biggest progress the two countries had made and told Kim that North Korea has enormous economic potential. Trump described his relations with Kim as "special". A few minutes earlier, the two leaders shook hands for several seconds, smiling and even laughing, in front of the flags of their countries. After a photo-op, Kim and Trump held a one-on-one meeting with the help of their respective interpreters. A small dinner followed, involving some of their top aides. The American delegation includes the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. North Koreas includes Kim Yong-chol, a senior Workers' Party official, and Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho The leaders plan to meet again to continue their negotiations on Thursday, which Trump said will be a busy day. Kim said talking with the US leader was interesting. Buzzed Bull Creamery, a shop specializing in boozy ice cream and milkshakes, may be stampeding into the Triad. Samantha Rincione with Emerging Franchises, a franchise development firm, said no agreements have been signed in Greensboro but there is strong interest. "North Carolina is a very popular state for us," Rincione said by email. Buzzed Bull is a Cincinnati-based brand that is expanding into North Carolina with the recent signing of a franchise in Wilmington. That shop is targeted to to open this spring. Buzzed Bull Creamery specializes in more than 30 flavors of ice cream. Ice cream and shakes are made-to-order with a cream base and flavors that are flash frozen with liquid nitrogen. What sets this ice cream shop apart is that you can get a shot of booze infused into your milkshake or serving of ice cream. Ice cream flavors paired with spiced rum and honey bourbon are popular. For franchise information, visit buzzedbullcreamery.com. Boozy milkshakes are not new to the Triad. Several burger restaurants offer spiked milkshakes including Burger Warfare and Bad Daddy's Burger Bar in Greensboro and Small Batch and Cin Cin in Winston-Salem. Contact at 336-373-7145 or at carl.wilson@greensboro.com. Follow on Twitter at Short_OrdersNR and on Facebook. 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. by Vladimir Rozanskij This is an existing structure in 10 European countries (France, Spain, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and Norway). Bartholomew wanted them to submit to the Greek bishops in European countries. The Patriarchate of Romania, the Russian Church abroad, the Patriarchate of Moscow are open to welcoming them. Moscow (AsiaNews) - Since February 23rd, the Russian Orthodox exarchate, so far linked to the patriarchate of Constantinople, has decided to break ties with Bartholomew, following his choice to approve the autocephalous Church in Ukraine. Anticipating possible objections, Bartholomew himself had suppressed the archdiocese of the European Russians as early as the end of November, more than a month before the delivery of the Autochthonous Tomos to the Church of Kiev. The decision presupposed the self-liquidation of the Russian parishes of Constantinople, with the submission to the Greek bishops in the European countries. In the general assembly of last February 23, Russian parish priests refused to submit to this decision, after a series of meetings and local protests that already anticipated the breakup. The representatives of the ex-exarchate have challenged Constantinoples right to unilaterally decide their fate, recalling the democratic traditions of the European Orthodox communities and the history of Russian emigration in these countries. The Exarchate intends to continue to exist outside the jurisdiction of Bartholomew. This is an existing structure in 10 European countries (France, Spain, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and Norway), including 65 parishes, 11 major historic churches, two monasteries and seven hermitages. For the survival of the exarchate, 191 of the 206 participants in the assembly voted, with only 15 in favor of Constantinople. They now must decide which jurisdiction to join. The possibilities are basically three: the patriarchate of Romania, the Russian Church abroad (in communion with Moscow, but with an autonomous structure), and the same patriarchate of Moscow. All three Orthodox administrations declared themselves ready to welcome the European Russian communities: the Romanians for the large percentage of Romanians and Moldovans present in them; the Russians abroad for the historical bond of Russian emigration; Moscow for the call of the original motherland. During the assembly of 23 February a letter was read from the Patriarch of Moscow Kirill (Gundjaev), who declared himself ready to welcome all the communities respecting their historical characteristics of autonomy and European integration, as expressed by the statutes of these Churches. However, the proposal leaves some perplexities. In the last two decades, Moscow has exercised a very authoritarian policy, imposing on its parishes in Europe (which are more than 200) to adapt to the standards of the patriarchate of Moscow, eliminating the use of local languages and traditions. Many participants in the assembly insisted on postponing the matter to another meeting in 2019. In France the representative of Constantinople, Metropolitan Emmanuel (Adamakis), proposed forming an independent community within his diocese of Gallia, preserving the Russian traditions of the last 100 years. The Greek bishop in Italy, Metropolitan Gennadios (Zervos), has instead imposed the merger with the Greeks, provoking the reaction of the Russians in the historical parishes of Florence and Sanremo, who have passed to the Russian Church abroad to avoid the loss of their own church. The bishop administrator of the Russian parishes in Europe, the metropolitan of Vienna and Budapest Antonij (Sevrjuk), sent a letter to the bishop of the former Russian archdiocese of Paris Ioann (Renneteau). Antonij is assisted by the new metropolitan of Korsun and Western Europe Ioann (Roscin), based in Paris. They have communicated the will of the patriarchate of Moscow to welcome all the European Orthodox who in some way refer to the Russian tradition, divided from the homeland because of "sad circumstances of the past, and of the persecution of the Church in Russia", while today the Church of Moscow is ready to "re-establish its maternal assistance to the communities coming from the Russian tradition in Western Europe", respecting its traditions of the last century, and with the right to participate in the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. Peter J. Pitts, a former FDA associate commissioner, is president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest. This piece originally ran in the Hill. The Christian doctor arrived this morning at Delhi International Airport with his children. The Indian-born US citizen can return to treat the poor in Bihar. New Delhi (AsiaNews) Dr Christo Thomas Philip, a Christian doctor, is back in India after three years. He will now be able to treat poor patients in the Bihar hospital where he used to work, said AC Michael speaking to AsiaNews. Michael is a member of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), an association that acts on behalf of persecuted Christians. Thanks to the tireless work of its lawyers, Dr Philip now has a visa allowing him to work again in India after he was forced out in 2016 on false charge of forced conversions. This morning the doctor landed at the Delhi International Airport on a Jet Airways flight. As soon as he left the T3 terminal with his three children (pictured), he was welcomed by his supporters, who placed the traditional garland of carnations around their necks. A wide smile painted on his face, the Christian doctor now can resume his work to serve the poorest of the poor of Indian society. Born in Kerala in 1982, Dr Philip became a US citizen after his family moved to the United States when he was 10. In 2011 he specialised in Emergency Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Three years later, he returned to India to work at the Duncan Hospital in Raxaul, Bihar, with an OCI (Overseas Citizens of India) card. The card is a lifelong visa for overseas doctors, nurses and dentists of Indian origin, which allows them to keep their foreign citizenship whilst working in India. In 2016 Indian authorities stripped Dr Christo of his visa, following complaints that he was engaged in "evangelical and subversive activities" and performed forced conversions leading to unrest and law and order problems. As a result of this, he was deported to Turkey but later moved to Nepal to be closer to India where his case was before the courts. In January of this year, the Delhi High Court ruled in his favour and ordered that his visa be reinstated. More importantly, the court made a historic ruling, recognising the petitioners right to engage in mission in India. "India is a secular country, the judgment says. All persons in this country have a right to practice their faith in the manner they consider fit so long as it does not offend any other person. If the petitioners faith motivates the petitioner to volunteer for medical services at a hospital, there is no law (certainly not of this land) that proscribes him from doing so. For Tehmina Arora, director of ADF India, Nobody should be persecuted because of their faith. It [the court ruling] certainly is a landmark judgement protecting the rights of foreign nationals working in Christian organizations to freely live out their faith in India. It restricts the arbitrary action of the Ministry of Home Affairs targeting foreigners merely because they are Christians. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. will invest a total of $4.5 billion in five of its existing Michigan plants, and will work with the city of Detroit and state of Michigan on building a new assembly plant within city limits. The move would increase capacity to meet growing demand for its Jeep and Ram brands, including production of two new Jeep-branded white space products, as well as electrified models. The proposed projects would create nearly 6,500 new jobs. The plant actions detailed in todays announcement represent the next steps in a US manufacturing realignment that FCA began in 2016. In response to a shift in consumer demand toward SUVs and trucks, the Company discontinued compact car production and retooled plants in Illinois, Ohio and Michigan to make full use of available capacity to expand the Jeep and Ram brands. Those actions have resulted in the recent launches of the award-winning all-new Jeep Wrangler and all-new Ram 1500, and the introduction of the newest member of the Jeep family, the all-new Jeep Gladiator, at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show. Three years ago, FCA set a course to grow our profitability based on the strength of the Jeep and Ram brands by realigning our US manufacturing operations. Todays announcement represents the next step in that strategy. It allows Jeep to enter two white space segments that offer significant margin opportunities and will enable new electrified Jeep products, including at least four plug-in hybrid vehicles and the flexibility to produce fully battery-electric vehicles. Mike Manley, CEO, FCA N.V. The city of Detroit has 60 days to meet the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding, which requires the acquisition of property critical to the execution of the Mack project. The additional investments are subject to the successful negotiation and final approval of development packages with the state and other local governments. Plant investment details. FCA would invest $1.6 billion to convert the two plants that comprise the Mack Avenue Engine Complex into the future assembly site for the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee, as well as an all-new three-row full-size Jeep SUV and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models, adding 3,850 new jobs to support production. The company intends to start construction of the new Detroit facility by the end of Q2 2019 with the first three-row vehicles expected to roll off the line by the end of 2020, followed by the all-new Grand Cherokee in the first half of 2021. Also as part of this announcement, the Jefferson North Assembly Plant would receive an investment of $900 million to retool and modernize the facility to build the Dodge Durango and next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee. FCA expects to create 1,100 new jobs at Jefferson North. The reborn Mack facility would be the first new assembly plant to be built in the city of Detroit in nearly three decades. In 1991, Jefferson North was the last new assembly plant built in the city. When complete, Mack would join Jefferson North as the only automotive assembly plants to be located completely within the city limits of Detroit. The Pentastar enginesthe 3.6-, 3.2- and 3.0-litercurrently built at Mack I would be relocated to the Dundee Engine Plant as part of a $119-million investment. Pentastar production at Mack I would end by Q3 2019. Mack II has been idle since it ceased production of the 3.7-liter V-6 in September 2012. FCA also confirms the investment at Warren Truck to retool for production of the all-new Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, announced in 2017, along with their electrified counterparts, would increase to $1.5 billion. Production is expected to launch in early 2021. In addition to the new Jeep models, the plant would continue building the Ram 1500 Classic, which is being extended to meet market demand. It is expected that 1,400 new jobs would be added. As a result of this investment announcement, production of the all-new Ram Heavy Duty will continue at its current location in Saltillo, Mexico. To support the additional production, the Companys Warren Stamping (Warren, Michigan) and Sterling Stamping (Sterling Heights, Michigan) plants would receive investments of $245 million and $160 million, respectively, with Sterling Stamping expected to add more than 80 new jobs. This investment is part of the Companys capital spending plan presented in June 2018. Realignment of FCA US manufacturing operations. Over the past two years, FCA has realigned production at four plants in Illinois, Ohio and Michigan to increase capacity for the Jeep Cherokee, Jeep Wrangler and Ram 1500 light-duty truck, and created additional manufacturing capacity for the Jeep Gladiator in Ohio. The investments included: $350 million in the Belvidere Assembly Plant (Illinois) to produce the Jeep Cherokee, which moved from Toledo, Ohio, in 2017. More than 300 new jobs were added to support production, which launched in June 2017. $700 million in the Toledo Assembly Complex (Ohio) to retool the North plant to produce the next-generation Jeep Wrangler. Approximately 700 new jobs were added to support production, which began in December 2017. $1.48 billion in the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (Michigan) to build the next-generation Ram 1500 truck, adding more than 700 new jobs. Production of the new truck began in March 2018. Production of the Ram 1500 Classic continues at Warren Truck (Michigan). $273 million in the south plant of the Toledo Assembly Complex to prepare the facility to produce the all-new Jeep Gladiator. The new truck is scheduled to launch in the first half of 2019. In total, FCA has committed to invest nearly $14.5 billion in its U.S. manufacturing operations, creating nearly 30,000 new jobs since June 2009. Continental and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) announced a new platform, expected to be available this year, for sharing vehicle data to enable new digital services that improve driver safety and convenience. At the same time, the platform will help car manufacturers monetize their data and differentiate their brands. Based on blockchain technology, the platform provides data sovereignty, security, transparency, and efficiency to overcome the barriers of sharing vehicle data. Enterprises across different industries have understood that they need to find ways to break down data silos and enable multiple parties to work together to extract the full value from their data. In the case of connected and autonomous vehicles, data sharing across automotive brands is key to providing driver-assistance services that help drivers avoid traffic hazards and find the most convenient, practical and efficient travel routesfor example real-time traffic warnings and locating available parking. Several existing digital ecosystems enable data sharing based on a middleman model, where platform owners centrally coordinate the data flows and monetization. Applying a complimentary approach, HPE and Continentals platform leverages a decentralized architecture based on blockchain technologies. Participants, such as car manufacturers, continue storing the data in their own data centers and only share specific data sets upon purchase directly with the buyer. This approach gives data sovereignty to all participants in the ecosystem, while at the same time providing a highly efficient and secure procedure for monetizing vehicle data. Sharing vehicle data across vendors can solve some of the toughest traffic problems and improve driver experience by leveraging the power of swarm intelligence. Together with Continental, we provide the key to unlock the value of this data treasure, not by taking control of the data ourselves, but by giving control to the drivers and car manufacturers. Phil Davis, President Hybrid IT, Chief Sales Officer, HPE The data-monetization platform will enable car manufacturers and other partners to trade data with each othereither to improve digital services for their customers or to monetize vehicle data. However, trading is only feasible upon a drivers consent. Therefore, the platform will integrate a consent management system and provide an easy to use opt-in and opt-out system for drivers. HPE and Continental take data privacy seriously to be compliant with GDPR and data protection regulations in other countries. HPE and Continental say that they have already received overwhelmingly positive feedback on the new platform from car manufacturers. We are sure that our platform cuts the Gordian knot of data sharing and data privacy. We invite car manufacturers globally to join our platform and collaboratively shape this quickly growing ecosystem. Helmut Matschi, Member of the Executive Board, Interior Division, Continental AG As part of a strategic partnership between HPE and Continental, the new platform was jointly designed by HPE Pointnext and Continentals Interior division. HPE and Continental will provide additional services to facilitate data trading and the integration of vehicle data into car manufacturers backend systems and services. The platforms interface capability will enable multiple ecosystemsboth centralized or decentralizedto interconnect and to leverage new ways of data monetization. Furthermore, the platform is compliant with the VDA NEVADA Share & Secure concept which was developed by the German automotive industry to govern the secure transmission and transfer of vehicle generated data to third parties. No threat or intimidation can stop me from carrying on with my spiritual and pastoral duties, says the bishop of Caloocan, a harsh critic of Duterte's controversial war on drugs, and the victim in recent months of the presidents unproven accusations. Manila (AsiaNews) Mgr Pablo Virgilio Siongco David (pictured), bishop of Caloocan and vice president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), has confirmed that he received death threats two weeks ago, "But I dont know who they are coming from, he said. The case came to light on Sunday, a little less than three months before the countrys mid-term general elections on 13 May, when President Rodrigo Duterte known for his verbal attacks against the Catholic Church suddenly changed his tune at an event in Cebu City. Do not touch the priests, they had nothing to do with politics, the president said. Either Muslims or Christians, they had nothing to do with us, he added. Do not do it. Do not try to do it. Ang (The) religious [leaders] had nothing to do with the vagaries of life. Lay off! Stop threatening them or ako ang makakalaban ninyo (you will have to face me). During the rally, Duterte quoted part of a letter he received from Card Luis Antonio Tagle, archbishop of Manila. In it, the prelate mentions death threats against Bishop David and some priests from someone claiming to be working for the presidents family. ". Duterte did not say who Bishop David was, but most people realised that the reference was about the bishop of Caloocan. Mgr Pablo David has been a harsh critic of the presidents war on drugs, whose death toll has surpassed 20,000 since Duterte took office in 2016. In recent months, the bishop has been the victim of unproven accusations made by Duterte, such as stealing donations and involvement in drug trafficking. On CbcpNews, when asked if the death threats are tied to his campaign against drug killings, David said, your guess is as good as mine. Still, he added, No threat or intimidation can stop me from carrying on with my spiritual and pastoral duties as a bishop. Posted 2/26/19 Staying caught up on vaccinations according to schedules recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is always important, but now is the time to get caught up if any doses have been by Nirmala Carvalho Fernando Szlajen is attending the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life. This year's theme is "Roboethics. Humans, Machines and Health ". For the rabbi, there is a common denominator among religions, that technology came to serve human beings and not human beings serve technology." Vatican City (AsiaNews) The plenary assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life is currently underway in the Vatican with artificial intelligence as one of its topics. Rabbi Fernando Szlajen, from Argentina, is one of the participants. Speaking to AsiaNews, the Jewish clergyman said that "God gave intelligence only to man, not machines. This is why there is no 'artificial' intelligence" as such. Rabbi Szlajen agrees with Pope Francis, who, in receiving participants, highlighted how artificial machines are useful, but should not be confused with human beings. "In Judaism [. . .] intelligence and conscience are an exclusively human quality, he explained. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Academy's founding. In his address to its members, the pontiff emphasised the risk that man is being technologized, rather than technology humanized. For the rabbi, "when God created humans and breathed life into man, the explanation is that within this life God gave humans intelligence and conscience. So intelligence and conscience are exclusively for humans. Therefore, there does not exist any artificial intelligence. The theme of the assembly at the Vatican is Roboethics. Humans, machines and health. For Szlajen there is a common denominator among religions, at least the major religions, that technology, in Greek techne, came to serve human beings and not human beings serve technology. Thus, the major message to secular civilisation from all religions is Don't be a slave to your own production. You need to conserve your status. In the same way that God created human beings and human beings can never be God . . . for human beings who produce technology, technology can never be a human being. Finally, the rabbi praises Pope Francis' initiatives to support interfaith dialogue. "It is the time to act. The Pope is very helpful in this way. Supports Bill of Rights Grand Coulee considered adopting a resolution refusing to enforce Washington states Initiative 1639 related to gun control, but chose instead to have a resolution drafted saying the city supports the United States Bill of Rights. Several sheriffs and police chiefs in Washington have refused to enforce the law, and a resolution Cowlitz County commissioners approved stating their refusal to enforce the law was included in the councils agenda packets as an example of what the city could adopt. I-1639 took effect on Jan. 1, and raises the age limit for buying semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. Beginning July 1, it requires purchasers to pass an enhanced background check, show proof of firearms training, and wait 10 days before getting the gun. The new law also makes gun owners guilty of community endangerment if their gun is not properly stored and is accessible by a child or by anyone who then uses the gun in a crime. The law passed in November with the support of 60 percent of Washington voters. State Attorney General Bob Ferguson recently released a response to those refusing to enforce the law. In the event a police chief or sheriff refuses to perform the background check required by Initiative 1639, they could be held liable if there is a sale or transfer of a firearm to a dangerous individual prohibited from possessing a firearm and that individual uses that firearm to do harm. In short, the taxpayers of your city or county assume the financial risk of your decision to impose your personal views over the law. The Grand Coulee city council and mayor discussed the issue at their Feb. 19 meeting. Just so everyone is up to speed, the attorney general is going after them on this, Mayor Paul Townsend said. Maybe we should go after the attorney general for crimes against the people, Councilmember Alan Cain responded. The group discussed that the law is being challenged by the National Rifle Association, among others. Townsend said the law represents western Washington residents more than eastern Washington residents, and that voters were misled when they voted on the law, thinking it would help make schools safer. Criminals dont follow laws, so new laws dont impact criminals, Townsend said. Townsend also said that allowing rights to be taken away sets a dangerous precedent. Wheres it going to stop? he asked. City Clerk Lorna Pearce pointed out that there could be financial repercussions if the city would choose to openly defy state law. We all take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, first and foremost, Councilmember Tammara Byers said. I find it ironic that I went to a foreign country and shot people to defend the Constitution, and now were looking at deleting the Constitution, said Cain, who served in the Vietnam War in the U.S. Army. I find it very unsettling. Maybe we should have a resolution supporting the Bill of Rights as written and the way they were intended 200-plus years ago, Byers said. Thats positive rather than negative, Cain said, and the council agreed that was the route to take at a future council meeting. Copenhagen's mix of high-end restaurants and cheap eats makes it the perfect city for food-lovers of every budget. Copenhagen Copenhagen, Denmark's capital, is a world-class city filled with trendy restaurants, cool cafes, and delicious markets. It attracts people from all over the country, all over Europe, and all over the world to its seaside ports. 10% of the Danish population lives in Copenhagen, and the city is composed of 73% Danish-born citizens, with the other 27% from diverse roots. The city boasts 27 Michelin-starred restaurants, including the world famous Noma and the 3 Michelin-star Geranium. However, even for travelers with more conservative budgets, Copenhagen is one destination you won't want to miss. Food Markets Home to several food markets, part of Copenhagen's foodie charm is wandering through the numerous stalls. Among the most well-known are Torvehallerne with 60 stands, and the new Reffen with 50. Opened in 1889, Torvehallerne is one of the oldest markets in Copenhagen. There, you can find everything from sit-down restaurants to bookstores and spice shops. Reffen just opened in May 2018, but already it has caused a buzz thanks to its multifaceted attractions. At this market, not only will you find delicious up-and-coming spots to get a bite, but also cultural programs and events. Michelin-Starred Restaurants Though Copenhagen is relatively small, the 2019 Michelin Guide awarded 27 of the city's restaurants with its prestigious stars. The country's only restaurant with 3 stars is Geranium, and as its name suggests, the menu explores the human relationship to nature. Rene Redzepi is known for his innovative cooking techniques and use of local ingredients. His 2 Michelin-starred restaurant Noma features a highly seasonal menu that showcases Copenhagen's local offerings, as well as the chef's love for traditional cooking methods, like fermentation. If you're looking for an excellent dining experience that's still budget-conscious, however, here are a few suggestions. Juno the Bakery - Arhusgade 48 We often refer to breakfast pastries as "danishes" here in the US, and one stop at Copenhagen's Juno the Bakery is all it takes to understand why. The bakery and cafe is famous for their cardamom buns, but there are plenty of buttery, delicious pastries to choose from. No matter what time you go, you're sure to wait in line, but it moves quickly and the payoff is definitely worth it. Mirabelle - Guldbergsgade 29 This organic restaurant features freshly made pasta and a sumptuous mix of artisanal Italian products with Danish produce. If you visit Mirabelle in the morning or afternoon, you may even snag one of their tasty pastries, like their sourdough croissants. This bakery and restaurant is a favorite with locals and tourists alike. Riz Raz - Kompagnistrde 20 Featuring both a Mediterranean buffet and a full menu, Riz Raz brings modern Mediterranean cuisine to the heart of Copenhagen. The cozy dining experience and fresh dishes have endeared the restaurant to the city. Cafe Petersborg - Bredgade 76 To enjoy traditional Danish fare, head over to Cafe Petersborg. They offer a mix of fish and meat courses in a convivial environment that's perfect no matter what time of year you go. This laidback spot has been around since the 1700s and is now seen as a must for visitors and loyal locals. Want more? Check out Foodie Destinations Around the World: Toronto. 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@skagitpublishing.com for help creating one. Major General Asif Ghafoor, denied reports that an F-16 had been shot down by India. Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday said all wars in history have been miscalculated and made an attempt to de-escalate heightened tensions by offering dialogue to India hours after the Pakistan Air Force shot down an Indian fighter jet and captured an IAF pilot who remains in its custody. Given the weapons India and Pakistan has, Mr Khan said, if there is a war between the two nuclear-armed nations, it will not be in my control or in Narendra Modis control. A day after 12 Indian Mirage 2000 fighter jets crossed into the Pakistani side of Line of Control (LoC) and targeted three JeM terror camps, on Wednesday Pakistan claimed to have carried out strikes across LoC from within Pakistani airspace, but with clear warning and in broad daylight. It claimed to have shot down two Indian MiG-21 fighter jets and captured two Indian pilots. Pakistan later corrected the claim to say that one MiG had been shot down and one Indian pilot was in its custody. Hours after the aerial clash between Indian and Pakistani air forces, Mr Khan, in a televised address to the nation, said that the sole purpose of carrying out the strikes across LoC was to convey to India that if they can come here, we can go there too. From here, it is imperative that we use our heads and act with wisdom, he said. Looking confident and speaking in a calm, relaxed tone, Mr Khan said, I wanted to take the nation into confidence over the prevailing situation in the country During Pakistans retaliation, two Indian MiGs crossed the border. We shot them down. The pilots are with us The question is, where do we go from here. This is very important. Citing the Pulwama attack in which more than 40 CRPF men were killed, Mr Khan said, We offered peace to India after what happened in Pulwama. I understand the pain of the families. I have visited hospitals and seen the pain of people affected by violence. We offered India that we would investigate. We wanted to cooperate and were ready to do so I suspected that they would take some action because elections are coming up in India. And I had, therefore, warned India against aggression. World history tells us that that there are miscalculations in wars, and no one knows where they lead to. World War I was supposed to end in weeks, it took six years. Similarly, the war on terrorism was not supposed to last 17 years. My question to the Indian government is with the weapons that you have and we have, can we afford a miscalculation? Shouldnt we think about what will happen if the situation escalates? This will not be in my control or in Narendra Modis control, Mr Khan said. Reiterating his dialogue offer to India for resolving simmering issues, Mr Khan said, If you want any kind of talks on terrorism, we are ready. Better sense must prevail. We should sit and talk. Later, addressing a news conference, Inter-Services Public Relations director general, Major General Asif Ghafoor, denied reports that an F-16 had been shot down by India. He said no F-16 was engaged in this action. Gen. Ghafoor said that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had engaged six targets across the LoC in India, But being a responsible state, we decided that we will not aim any military target. We also wanted to ensure that no human loss or collateral damage is done during our engaging the targets. We selected six targets but we hit the areas close to them while keeping a safe distance, in order to demonstrate our capability. This action was purely in self-defense with no aggressive designs and we do not want to claim any victory on it. We wanted to show to Indians that we are capable of doing all things, but not at the peril of regional peace. We are a peaceful country and do not want to go to war. He added, War is failure of policy which India needs to understand. As our Prime Minister said it is easy to start war but difficult to conclude it. We do not want to escalate and are pursuing path of peace. Responding to a question, he said if aggression is imposed on us we will definitely give a response under compulsion. Foreign office spokesperson Dr Mohammed Faisal said for the last few years India has been trying to establish what it calls a new normal a thinly veiled term for doing acts of aggression at whatever pretext they wish on a given day. If India is striking at so-called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan, he said. Mr Faisal added, We do not wish to go to that route and wish that India gives peace a chance and to resolve issues like a mature democratic nation. The Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce is coordinating a trip to Prague and Vienna with an optional post tour in Budapest, departing on Oct. 9. Highlights of the trip include the Vienna city tour, Schoennbrun Palace, Old Town Prague, Cesky-Krumlov, Prague Castle/city tour, Royal Palace, St. Vitus Cathedral, Strahov Library and an optional visit to Kutna Hora. The optional two-day, post tour in Budapest includes famous sights such as the Fisherman's Bastion and the Church of St. Mathias in Buda, Heroes' Square in Pest and the elegant Chain Bridge, which dates back to 1873. The cost for the trip is $2,899 for attendees who register by March 31, and the optional Budapest stop is an additional $599. To learn more, visit www.dpchamber.org/international-trip, and attend an information meeting at noon March 6 at the chamber. Oliver Bergeron, president of CI Destinations, will be onsite to answer questions about the trip. The information meeting is free, but reservations are requested and can be made at (434) 836-6990, chamber@dpchamber.org or online at www.dpchamber.org. The Danville Symphony Orchestra will present its Winter Classical Concert on Saturday night and will welcome back Kevin Newton, a Danville native, as featured horn soloist. Newton was deeply engaged in music throughout his years in Danville Public Schools. He participated in the George Washington High Schools band and orchestra programs and for three years was a hornist in the Danville Symphony Orchestra. He attended Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, where he earned his Bachelor of Music degree in horn performance in 2017. For the 2017-18 season he was a hornist in the Waynesboro Symphony. During that season he auditioned and was accepted as a masters candidate at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. Newton will be the featured horn soloist in Concerto for Horn by Gordon Jenkins. Other classical pieces for the evening are 1st Movement of Palladio for strings by Karl Jenkins and Symphony in D Minor by Ceasar Franck. The free classical concert will begin at 8 p.m. at George Washington High School. Unlike other concerts, there will not be a food drive collection. Richmond Ballet II, the second company of Richmond Ballet, the State Ballet of Virginia, returns to The Prizery in South Boston for a performance at 7:30 p.m. Friday in An Evening of Elegance, Drama, and Fascinating Rhythms. This diverse program includes Ron Cunninghams Summerset, a deeply passionate and retrospective work that explores love in different relationships; Salvatore Aiellos Senza Fretta, a powerful piece set to Nozipos Pieces of Africa that captures the happiness, twists and simplicity of life; and excerpts from George Balanchines salute to New York City Who Cares?, a gleeful romp performed to such Gershwin classics as S Wonderful, Embraceable You and I Got Rhythm. Please log in to keep reading. Enjoy unlimited articles at one of our lowest prices ever. The spokesman also rejected the Indian claim about targeting any infrastructure and said their claim of 350 dead is also false. Islamabad: Vowing a suitable response, Pakistan on Tuesday described the Indian Air Forces (IAF) strike in Balkot as an aggression and violation of the LoC, while confirming that Indian fighter jets dropped four bombs during an operation. Islamabad downplayed the IAF strikes significance, saying the Indian attack was repulsed and while going back the aircraft jettisoned their payload Warning that Pakistan will hit back at the time of its own choosing, Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor said that Pakistan will surprise India with its response that will be in all domains including diplomatic, political and military. Prime Minister Imran Khan told the Army and the people that get ready for any eventuality. Now it is time for India to wait for our response. We have decided. Wait for it, Maj. Gen. Ghafoor said. A joint session of Pakistans Parliament will on Wednesday discuss the tension with India. Maj. Gen. Ghafoor said that Indian aircraft intruded from Muzafarabad sector. Facing timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force, IAF jets released payload in haste while escaping which fell near Balakot. No casualties or damage, he said. He said that he was ready to take the media to the place where payload fell to show that there was no damage done, but cancelled the trip due to bad weather. He added that apart from the media, defence attaches can also go. The spokesman also rejected the Indian claim about targeting any infrastructure and said their claim of 350 dead is also false. A special meeting of the National Security Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Khan, discussed the Indias early morning strike. The forum strongly rejected Indian claim of targeting an alleged terrorist camp near Balakot and the claim of heavy casualties. Once again Indian government has resorted to a self-serving, reckless and fictitious claim. This action has been done for domestic consumption being in election environment, putting regional peace and stability at grave risk. The claimed area of strike is open for the world to see the facts on ground. For this domestic and international media is being taken to the impact site, said an official statement issued after the meeting. The meeting was attended by ministers of foreign affairs, defence, finance, chairman joint chiefs of staff committee, the Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force. Foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said India has committed aggression by violating the LoC and Islamabad has the right to respond. First, they committed aggression against Pakistan today. It is a violation of the LoC. I consider it a violation of the LoC, and Pakistan has the right to give a suitable response in self-defence, he told reporters after an emergency meeting with high-level officials at the foreign office. Mr Qureshi said he has spoken to his UAE counterpart and expressed reservations about invitation to Indias external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to attend the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting scheduled in Abu Dhabi from March 1 to 2. Aggression has been done against a founding member of the OIC, he said. The OIC is a grouping of 57 countries, majority of which are Muslim majority. It has usually been supportive of Pakistan and, often sided with Islamabad on the Kashmir issue. Pakistan also plans to raise the issue of Indias violation of the LoC at the United Nations and other international forums, media reports said, quoting sources. A section of Pakistani media reported that the Indian government had staged a symbolic intrusion due to domestic pressure. Most TV channels broadcast throughout the day that Indian jets violated the LoC, but did not talk much about the Indian claim of having destroyed JeM camps in the Balakot valley. Earlier, Maj. Gen. Ghafoor claimed that India failed to surprise Pakistan. We were ready and not surprised. I said we will surprise you and wait for the surprise. (Our) response will come and it will be different. Our response will be in all domains including diplomatic, political and military, the General added. He claimed that the Indian planes were in Pakistans airspace for just four minutes and went back when challenged by the Pakistani aircraft. Maj. Gen. Ghafoor said that Indian jets first tried to enter Lahore-Sialkot sector, while another formation of jets came close to Okara-Bahawalpur area of international border but found Pakistan Air Force ready and went back. Then a third formation was picked in Muzaffarabad sector which was heavier... It was repulsed, but while going back they jettisoned their payload and four bombs fell in Jabba, near the town of Balakot, causing no casualties or damage, he said. Tensions between Pakistan and India have been escalated since a suicide attack in Kashmir killed over 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers. The attack saw explosives packed inside a van rip through a bus in a convoy of 78 vehicles carrying some 2,500 members of the paramilitary CRPF. On Tuesday, Pakistan also summoned the Indian acting high commissioner and strongly condemned the Indian violation of Pakistans sovereignty and territorial integrity. Baseless, reprehensible Indian claims of targeting a large terrorist camp and resultant causalities to placate Indian domestic audience and electioneering were strongly rebutted, said and official aware of the meeting attended by the Indian diplomat. Gloucester, MA (01930) Today Mostly sunny skies this morning. Scattered showers and thunderstorms developing during the afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 92F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Cloudy skies after midnight. Low 69F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. UK, US join countries opposing Russia's plan to expand ban on deadly chemicals Iran Press TV Tue Feb 26, 2019 09:12AM Britain, the United States and 18 other members of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have voted down a proposal by Russia to add a broad array of deadly agents to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) arms control treaty. The British delegation to the OPCW announced in a tweet on Monday that it was joining a 20-nation group opposed to the move, shortly before the OPCW Executive Council members reconvene for a meeting in The Hague. The OPCW meeting rejected Russia's proposal in a 20-9 vote while 10 nations abstained from voting. According to Netherland's delegation, Russia had called for the inclusion of five chemical families on the list. The British delegation noted that the OPCW Technical Secretariat "has been clear some elements of proposal don't meet criteria for inclusion." Yet the group said London "fully supports Canada, Netherlands and US proposal to add two families of Novichok chemicals, including the substance used in Salisbury, to CWC control lists." "This demonstrates resolve of the international community to address a very real threat posed by new types of chemical weapons," it said in another tweet. Novichok, a deadly nerve agent, took the headlines last April, when unknown assailants used it to attack Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter outside a mall in Salisbury, their city of residence. British prosecutors ruled that Moscow was directly involved in the apparent assassination attempt, arguing that Novichok, as the name suggested, was only in Russia's possession. Moscow dismissed the allegations, arguing that Novichok was a Soviet-era chemical that many countries, including the US and the UK, had experienced with. Last November, when tensions between the two sides reached their peak, Moscow said it was planning to hand over its evidence on Novichok-related research to the OPCW. Viktor Kholstov, director of the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry's department on implementation of convention liabilities, said then that Russia had also listed hundreds more chemical agents that the US and other countries had patented long before the CWC was signed in late 1990s and were therefore excluded from it. "The Americans held back those chemicals, despite the fact that they already knew that those were highly toxic substances," Kholstov said. "There are about 400 such toxic agents," Kholstov said, adding that Russia had identified 600 more agents that needed to be added to the CWC. "About 1,000 toxic agents are to be added to the Convention's lists." Ukrainian Presidential Hopeful Starts Impeachment Process Against Poroshenko Sputnik News 16:00 26.02.2019(updated 16:01 26.02.2019) KIEV (Sputnik) - Yulia Tymoshenko, the head of Ukrainian pro-European Batkivshchyna party and a presidential candidate, announced that her party, along with other factions, would launch impeachment proceedings against Petro Poroshenko in light of the publication of a journalistic investigation into large-scale fraud in the country's defence sector. "We believe that the doings that the journalists have disclosed fall within the scope of Article 112 of the [Ukrainian] Criminal Code high treason We announce that we, together with other factions, are launching the impeachment process against the president," Tymoshenko said in her address for the Ukrainian parliament. According to a report that was published on the Ukrainian journalistic investigation website Bihus.info on Monday, several Ukrainian officials close to Poroshenko have been selling spare parts for military equipment to national defence enterprises, setting the markup at up to 300 percent, since 2016. They have reportedly been smuggling the spare parts from Russia or buying them at Ukrainian depots. The authors of the report claim that the offenders have acquired at least 250 million hryvnias (over $9 million) using this scheme. Under Ukrainian law, high treason, along with other criminal offences, may trigger presidential impeachment. According to the established procedure, a temporary investigation commission is created in the parliament, and then lawmakers discuss the conclusions of the commission at a special session. A total of 226 votes are needed for the 450-seat parliament to bring charges against the president, while impeachment requires support by at least 300 lawmakers. Sputnik Death Toll Up To 13,000 In Ukraine Conflict, Says UN Rights Office By RFE/RL February 26, 2019 KYIV -- Some 13,000 people have been killed, a quarter of them civilians, and as many as 30,000 wounded in the war in eastern Ukraine since it broke out in April 2014, the United Nations says. The estimated toll includes more than 3,300 civilian deaths, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a document dated February 25 and provided to RFE/RL the same day. It comes as the simmering conflict between Russia-backed separatists and government forces approaches its sixth year, with little progress toward the implementation of a Western-brokered cease-fire and political-settlement deal known as the Minsk Accords. "OHCHR estimates the total number of conflict-related casualties in Ukraine...at 40,000-43,000" from April 14, 2014 to January 31, 2019, the statement said, including "12,800-13,000 killed." The estimated death toll includes 3,321 civilians, among them the 298 passengers and crew members who died when Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down on July 17, 2014 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. A Dutch-led international investigation concluded that the jet was shot down by a Buk missile from a Russian system that had been brought from Russia into separatist-held territory in Ukraine and later returned to Russia. The estimated death toll also includes 4,000 members of Ukrainian forces and 5,500 "armed groups," the OHCHR document said. OHCHR estimates the total number of people wounded at 27,500 to 30,000, including 7,000 to 9,000 civilians. The proportion of civilians in the casualty figures has declined sharply, with the estimated share of civilians in total conflict-related deaths at 33-34 percent in 2014 and 10-11 percent in 2018, the OHCHR said. In the past, OHCHR released updated casualty figures from the conflict several times a year. But the new document said that the "previous conservative estimate of total conflict-related casualties was as of 15 November 2017." That report said that the OHCHR had recorded 35,081 conflict-related casualties -- 10,303 people killed and 24,778 wounded -- and said the real toll could be higher. Russia has provided military, economic, and political support to separatist militants who control parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the corner of southeastern Ukraine known as the Donbas. The International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled in November 2016 that the war in eastern Ukraine is "an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation." Critics say Russia encouraged separatism and fomented unrest across much of Ukraine after Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country in February 2014 in the face of mass protests known as the Maidan. The protests erupted in the fall of 2013, when Yanukovych abruptly abandoned plans to sign a pact tightening Ukraine's ties with the European Union and called for closer economic interaction with Russia instead. With reporting by Christopher Miller in Kyiv Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/death-toll-up -to-13-000-in-ukraine-conflict-says-un- rights-office/29791647.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. Weeks Ahead Of Ukraine Vote, Poroshenko Under Fire Over Smuggling Claim By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service February 26, 2019 KYIV -- Ukrainian presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko has called for the impeachment of President Petro Poroshenko, accusing him of treason after a media outlet aired a program alleging that people close to the incumbent enriched themselves by smuggling spare parts for military equipment from Russia. With the March 31 election less than five weeks away and polls indicating that she and Poroshenko are among the three front-runners, former prime minister Tymoshenko told a parliament session on February 26 that her Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party and others have launched an impeachment process. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a comedian who some polls have put in the lead in the presidential race, sharply criticized Poroshenko in a social media post. The report on media outlet Bihus.Info's program Nashi Hroshi (Our Money) threw an explosive new element into a campaign in which Poroshenko -- the pro-Western tycoon who came to power after Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych was pushed out by protests known as the Maidan -- is seeking to overcome a steep drop in popularity to win a new term amid a continuing war against Russia-backed separatists and persistent economic challenges. The report posted on YouTube on February 25 alleged that Ihor Hladkovskyy, the son of close Poroshenko ally Oleh Hladkovskyy, who is deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, organized a ring to smuggle spare military-equipment parts from Russia in 2015, a year after Moscow seized Ukraine's Crimea region and threw its support behind militant separatists in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. "We believe that the facts uncovered by investigative journalists fall under Article 111 of the Criminal Code, and are defined as treason deliberately committed by a citizen of Ukraine at the expense of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability, defense, and economic security of Ukraine," Tymoshenko said in parliament. "This is collaboration with the enemy, the destruction of the Ukrainian army, and assistance to the occupying country in capturing our homeland, which is a criminal matter." Zelenskyy, in a video posted on Facebook on February 26, said that he had "no words" to comment on the report and added that "people who came to power on blood are 'earning' money on blood." He joked bitterly that he now knows what Poroshenko's campaign slogan "Army, Language, Faith!" means: "To steal from the army, to selectively split people by language, so that there will be no faith in you." The report by Bihus.info, which conducts journalistic investigations, alleged that state defense facilities purchased the smuggled spare parts from private companies linked to Hladkovskyy and his friends at highly inflated prices. It claimed that Ukroboronprom, the state concern that supervises defense industry production facilities, knew the origin of the smuggled parts origin but agreed to buy them. The report also alleged that two men, Andriy Rohoza and former Ukroboronprom employee Vitaliy Zhukov, helped Hladkovskyy smuggle the spare parts from Russia and that the three illegally earned at least 250 million hryvnyas ($9.2 million) through three major private firms, one of which belonged to Poroshenko at the time. The report came as Poroshenko, who has been dogged by accusations that he has failed to tackle corruption or rein in influential magnates, was seeing his poll numbers improve after indications in 2018 that his reelection chances were very slim. There was no immediate comment from Ihor Hladkovskyy or from Poroshenko, but Poroshenko's spokesman, Svyatoslav Tseholko, said on February 26 that Oleh Hladkovskyy had been suspended from his post at the National Security and Defense Council. Ukroboronprom called the Bihus.info report "manipulative," claimed it did not present all the facts, and suggested that the proper authorities should assess whether the report violated any laws. "The journalists did not indicate the source of its information [and] presented the information in a manipulative fashion," Ukroboronprom said in a statement on its website. "We emphasize that the journalists manipulatively used non-public information from criminal investigations and should contact the original sources in order to verify it." Ukroboronprom said the "use of information relating to issues of national security should be given a proper legal assessment by the competent authorities." The state company said journalists should "act responsibly" and called on politicians to refrain from speculation and from the further use of what it called "information sabotage." Oleh Hladkovskyy and another Poroshenko associate, Ihor Kononenko, have been involved in running Poroshenko's businesses following the confectionery tycoon's election in June 2014. Bihus.Info announced that two more parts of its investigation will be aired soon. Allegations about ties or transactions involving Russia are particularly sensitive because of Moscow's seizure of Crimea and its role in the war that has killed some 13,000 people in eastern Ukraine, where the Russia-backed separatist hold parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Ukrainian Constitution says the president "can be impeached if he or she commits high treason or other crimes." Among other things, the process requires an investigation by a special prosecutor and multiple votes in parliament, including a three-fourths vote following approval by the Constitutional Court. Written by Merhat Sharipzhan with reporting by Christopher Miller in Kyiv and Bihus.info Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/weeks-ahead-of- ukraine-vote-poroshenko-under-fire-over- smuggling-claim/29791859.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. New Senate bill to force Trump to issue public report on Khashoggi killing Iran Press TV Tue Feb 26, 2019 10:23PM US senators have introduced a bill aimed at forcing the administration of President Donald Trump to issue a public report on the killing of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's Turkey consulate last year. On Tuesday, Democrats in the upper chamber of US Congress filed the bill that would require US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats to release a report on the murder of the US-based columnist within 30 days of passing the measure. "Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National Intelligence shall submit to Congress a report on the death of Jamal Khashoggi," the legislation states. Senators Ron Wyden, Chris Coons, Martin Heinrich, Kamala Harris and Jack Reed have endorsed the measure. "The murder of Jamal Khashoggi was a tragedy and represented an attack on journalists everywhere," said Harris, the only 2020 contender backing the bill. "Unfortunately, the White House has not provided clear answers about what happened or who in the Saudi government might bear responsibility for the attack. We must always defend the rights of a free and independent press both at home and abroad, which is why I'm standing with my colleagues to demand a public report on this incident." Trump has thrown his support behind Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - known as MbS despite allegations implicating him in the murder. "The brutal murder of U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and the brazen cover up by the Saudi government cannot be tolerated. The American people deserve to know the truth about what happened," said Senator Reed, ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. US lawmakers and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintain that the crown prince and other top Saudi leaders should be held accountable for Khashoggi's assassination, Turkish intelligence intercepts reportedly show that Khashoggi, who was last seen entering the Saudi mission in Istanbul on October 2, was murdered on a direct order from Saudi de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. Khashoggi had been there to obtain a document certifying he divorced his ex-wife. Bin Salman reportedly ordered the assassination of the former Washington Post columnist at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. "As I said, 'Maybe he did, maybe he didn't [order the killing],' Trump said. "But I will say very strongly that it's a very important ally. And if we go by a certain standard we won't be able to have allies with almost any country." Putin's Spokesman Reveals What His Daughter Is Doing in European Parliament Sputnik News 14:56 26.02.2019(updated 15:06 26.02.2019) Several European politicians have indicated that Dmitry Peskov's daughter, who is studying in France, could have a conflict of interest, but the French MEP who hired the intern said she had the full right to enter the programme and that she does not have access to sensitive data. Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has commented on reports that his daughter Elizaveta Peskova is working in the European Parliament. He explained that 21-year-old Elizaveta had enrolled in a student internship programme. "You know, this is about a regular student and a regular internship," he said on Tuesday, stressing that the matter has nothing to do with his professional duties. On Monday, right-wing French MEP Aymeric Chauprade, who sits on the EP's foreign affairs committee and the subcommittee on security and defence, confirmed that Elizaveta is working with him as an assistant trainee. Her name and position are listed on Chauprade's page on the website of the European Parliament. After news about Elizaveta's internship emerged in the media, several politicians voiced concerns over a relative of a senior Russian official that could have access to the European Parliament's data bases. French Socialist MEP Christine Revault d'Allonnes-Bonnefoy told AFP she was "appalled" and "surprised" that the European Parliament had validated her position. Western media reported that Latvian MEP Sandra Kalniete, who served as the country's foreign minister in 2002-2004, called this situation a "breach of general security rules" of the European Parliament. Lithuanian MEP Petras Austrevicius also reportedly called Peskova's position a "very big shame on the face of the European Parliament". Chauprade, who had earlier worked as National Front leader Marine Le Pen's foreign affairs adviser, slammed European parliamentarians' criticism related to Peskova's employment as Russophobia. The French lawmaker, who is known for supporting Crimea's reunification with Russia, told Sputnik on Monday that Peskova, who was hired in November, had the full legal right to undertake the internship, stressing that she had no access to strategically important data and could not attend closed meetings. According to the programme, she receives 1,000 euros, just like his other trainees, and has no access to confidential data. Sputnik Kremlin Spokesman Peskov Defends Daughter's Internship At European Parliament By RFE/RL February 26, 2019 Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has defended his daughter's internship with a lawmaker at the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels after an RFE/RL report revealing that she works there prompted concerns among lawmakers. "We are talking about an ordinary student and an ordinary internship," Peskov, who has been President Vladimir Putin's main spokesman for many years, told journalists on February 26. Yelizaveta Peskova, 21, serves as a trainee with Aymeric Chauprade, a French member of the European Parliament (MEP) who has publicly supported Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, RFE/RL reported a day earlier. Peskova's name appears on Chauprade's official European Parliament webpage and Chauprade confirmed to RFE/RL that she is part of his team. "This is about my daughter. It is not about my duties and my job," Peskov said when asked about the issue in a daily briefing with reporters. Several European Parliament members contacted by RFE/RL earlier said they were unaware that a relative of a high-level Russian official was working among them. Latvian MEP Sandra Kalniete called it a "breach of general security rules of the European Parliament." Lithuanian MEP Petras Austrevicius said it cast "very big shame on the face of the European Parliament." State-run Russian news agency TASS cited Chauprade as saying that Peskova and other interns do not have access to confidential documents. Chauprade said Peskova receives what he said was the standard intern's pay of 1,000 euros ($1,135) per month, TASS reported. He rejected the criticism of his colleagues at the European Parliament as "conspiratorial Russophobia." With reporting by Current Time, Interfax, and TASS Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/kremlin-spokesman- peskov-defends-daughter-s-internship -at-eu-parliament/29791943.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. From 'Not Us' To 'Why Hide It?': How Russia Denied Its Crimea Invasion, Then Admitted It By Carl Schreck February 26, 2019 In the darkness of the morning on February 27, 2014, heavily armed men wearing green uniforms with no identifying insignia stormed the regional parliament in Simferopol, the capital of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and raised the Russian flag atop the building. The seizure came a day after pro- and anti-Russian protesters had clashed outside the building over the future of the peninsula following the ouster of Kremlin-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who had fled Kyiv days earlier. And it was just the beginning. As masked commandos in similar garb fanned out across the peninsula over the next two weeks, surrounding Ukrainian military bases and taking control of other strategic facilities, it was clear to many on the ground that they were Russian military. One of the soldiers said as much on camera. But despite clear indications that Moscow had dispatched these forces -- or "little green men," as they came to be widely known -- Russia embarked on a campaign of denials and obfuscations about their provenance and role in helping cement Moscow's annexation of Crimea in March 2014. Russia described them as "self-defense units" created by locals concerned about alleged threats against Crimea's Russian-speaking population from Ukrainian ultranationalists. Only later did the story begin to change. Nothing To See Here A day after the seizure of the Crimean parliament and the regional government headquarters, masked Russian soldiers took control of the Simferopol airport. One woman in the crowd appeared certain about their nationality, yelling "Russia, Russia!" as a group of commandos loaded their weapons and equipment into a military truck. But the same day, Russia's ambassador to the European Union told Euronews that the troops at the airport were not Russian. "There are no troops whatsoever, no Russian troops at least," Vladimir Chizhov said. Days later, during his first public comments on the events in Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked directly whether Russian troops were blockading Ukrainian soldiers inside their bases on the peninsula. Despite the clear evidence of Russian soldiers' role in these blockades over the previous days, Putin replied: "Those were local self-defense units." The Bloomberg reporter who asked the question noted that the armed men wore "uniforms strongly resembling Russian Army uniforms." Putin responded: "Take a look at the post-Soviet states. There are many uniforms there that are similar. You can go to a store and buy any kind of uniform." The same day, Ukrainian journalists published a video on YouTube in which one of several commandos deployed in Crimea said of himself and his colleagues: "We're Russians." Asked about videos in which the armed men in Crimea say they are Russian, Putin's defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, said: "It's complete nonsense," Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported at the time. Asked whether the men in unmarked uniforms in Crimea were Russian, Shoigu added, "Absolutely [not], are you kidding?" Russia's state-run TASS news agency reported. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, meanwhile, told a news conference in Madrid alongside his Spanish counterpart that "pro-Russian forces" in Crimea were not taking orders from Moscow and that military personnel at Russia's naval base in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol were staying put. "With regard to the servicemen of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, they are staying at the sites of permanent deployment. Yes, there were additional special measures of elevated alert for ensuring the security of the Black Sea Fleet," Lavrov said. Admitting It...Kind Of After weeks of denials, Russia gradually changed its tune following a March 16, 2014, secessionist referendum in Crimea that paved the way for Moscow's formal annexation of the peninsula two days later. The referendum was rejected as illegitimate by 100 members of the UN General Assembly. Speaking to the BBC the day the annexation treaty was signed, Putin's spokesman still insisted that "servicemen from self-defense regiments of Crimea" were blocking "some" Ukrainian soldiers from leaving their posts. He appeared to concede that at least some Russian soldiers controlled the ground in Crimea, including the borders between the peninsula and the rest of Ukraine. "It's not all Russian forces. There are Russian forces that are increasing the security level for [the] Russian naval base. And from now on, I don't know, because from now on, from today, starting from today, Crimea has joined the Russian Federation. And now, the situation is different there," Peskov said. Addressing senior security officials at the Kremlin 10 days later, Putin praised both the Black Sea Fleet "and other units stationed in Crimea" for avoiding bloodshed and ensuring "the referendum took place in a peaceful and free manner." The following month, Putin said for the first time publicly that Russian troops were active on the peninsula ahead of the referendum -- though he suggested they were there only to provide backup for the locals. Asked specifically about the identity of the "little green men," Putin said during his annual televised question-and-answer session with the public that "certainly, our officers stood behind Crimean self-defenders." "There was no other way to conduct the referendum openly, fairly, with dignity, and help them express their opinion," Putin added during the April 17, 2014, live broadcast. OK, It Was Us Nearly a year after the annexation, Russia finally dropped all pretenses that its military wasn't involved in the seizure of Crimea. In a March 2015 documentary aired on state television, Putin said he told top security officials of his intent to take Crimea shortly after Yanukovych abandoned power. "I said that the situation in Ukraine has unfolded in such a way that we are forced to begin the work of returning Crimea to Russia," Putin said in the documentary. He added that he had ordered his military and security agencies to save the life of Yanukovych, who turned up in southern Russia less than a week after fleeing Kyiv on February 22, 2014. The film, titled Crimea: The Way Home, makes clear that the "little green men" who took control of the Crimean government buildings, airports, and other facilities were Russian soldiers. The Simferopol airport -- where Putin's ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, had said there were no Russian troops operating -- was taken over by marines from Russia's Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol, the film states. It also says that Putin sent thousands of officers and soldiers of various ranks into Crimea from Russia, claiming this deployment was legal because Moscow was still within the 25,000 allowed under a bilateral treaty on Russia's naval presence there. That agreement also required Ukrainian approval for movements of Russian military beyond its Sevastopol base and barred Russian forces in Crimea from "interference in Ukraine's internal affairs." Putin said his decision to deploy Russian troops there was necessary to protect locals in predominantly Russian-speaking Crimea from violence and repression by Ukrainian nationalists, an argument Kremlin critics and Western governments dismiss as specious, and to prevent clashes between Russian and Ukrainian soldiers. "In order to block and disarm 20,000 well-armed [Ukrainian soldiers], you need a specific set of personnel. And not just in numbers, but with skill. We needed specialists who know how to do it," Putin said in the documentary. "That's why I gave orders to the Defense Ministry -- why hide it? -- to deploy special forces of the GRU (military intelligence) as well as marines and commandos there under the guise of reinforcing security for our military facilities in Crimea," Putin added. Putin had a high-profile opportunity to explain his turnaround regarding the identity of the armed men operating in Crimea. In a testy interview with Putin last year, Austrian journalist Armin Wolf pressed the Russian president repeatedly on the "little green men" and Moscow's military activities in Crimea ahead of the annexation, though Putin sidestepped the issue of his contradictory statements. Instead he denounced what he called an "armed coup d'etat" in Kyiv, saying that "our armed forces" allowed "the free expression of the will of the people living in Crimea." He also repeated his earlier assertion that Russia did not exceed its permitted troop levels under the bilateral agreement with Kyiv. At one point during the exchange, Wolf told Putin: "You later admitted that the Russian military was in Crimea, even though you had previously denied it." Putin replied: "I did not deny anything. The Russian Army was always there." Putin's assertion that he "did not deny anything" was omitted from the Kremlin's official transcript of the interview. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/from-not-us-to- why-hide-it-how-russia-denied-its-crimea-invasion- then-admitted-it/29791806.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. Forty Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based JeM in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. Washington: Mourning the loss of more than 40 Indian security personnel in a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist attack in Pulwama early this month, an influential American lawmaker has endorsed India's move to diplomatically isolate Pakistan. Forty Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based JeM in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. We mourn the victims of this act of terror and call for continued action against any nation to include Pakistan that harbour terrorists and promotes violent extremism, Republican Congressman Rick Perry, on the floor of the US House of Representatives, said. India has announced its plans to diplomatically isolate Pakistan and cancelled its preferential trade status. We support these efforts, he said. To the nation of India, we mourn with you, we pray for you and we stand in solidarity with you during this difficult time, Perry said. Pakistan's Nuclear Arsenal Body Set to Meet in the Wake of Indian Air Strike Sputnik News 16:01 26.02.2019(updated 16:02 26.02.2019) Following the violation of its airspace by the Indian Air Force (IAF), the government of Pakistan has summoned a special meeting of the apex body that oversees policy formulation, exercises, deployment, research and development, and operational command and control of the country's nuclear arsenal. New Delhi (Sputnik) A meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA) chaired by the prime minister is scheduled to take place on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) following which his office released a statement threatening India with consequences for its actions. "Forum concluded that India has committed uncalled for aggression to which Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing, " the Pakistani PM said in a tweet. The news comes as the NSC rejected claims made by the Indian government that the Indian Air Force destroyed terrorist camps near Balakot and that there have been heavy casualties on the terrorists' side. "Once again Indian government has restored to a self-serving, reckless and fictitious claim The claimed area of strike is open for the world to see the facts on ground," a statement issued by the Pakistani PM office read. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has also directed the armed forces and the people of Pakistan to remain prepared for all eventualities. He decided to "engage with global leadership to expose irresponsible Indian policy in the region." The NSC meeting was attended by Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan and other military and civilian officials, including cabinet members. Earlier in the day, India's Ministry of External Affairs claimed that the Indian Air Force conducted a night operation to dismantle the biggest training camp operated by Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot, Pakistan. The group had claimed responsibility for the suicide car bomb attack that killed at least 45 Indian paramilitary police in Pulwama district of Kashmir on 14 February. After the attack, India blamed Pakistan for harbouring and protecting terrorists, accusing the country of having a "direct hand" in the incident. As a punitive measure, India has withdrawn Pakistan's most-favoured nation (MFN) status and raised customs duties on goods imported from Pakistan to 200 per cent. Pakistan has, in turn, rejected the allegations of its involvement in the attack and said that this was New Delhi's strategy to divert international attention from human rights violations taking place in the Kashmir region. The two countries have gone through three wars over the contentious Kashmir region, but the conflict has not been resolved. The unstable situation in the region has led to the emergence of extremist groups. In 2011, Pakistan confirmed that it had acquired tactical nuclear weapon capability with smaller nuclear warheads that are attached to short-range missiles (50-100km) as a deterrent against relatively small-scale conventional Indian attacks. Pakistan has 140 to 150 nuclear warheads, compared with India's 130-140 warheads, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Sputnik IDF Concludes Three-Day Military Drill Simulating War With Hamas Sputnik News 02:10 27.02.2019 The large-scale military exercise comes amid fears of possible military escalation in both Palestinian territories. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have concluded a large-scale military exercise that simulated various scenarios, including war with Hamas, the organization that runs the Gaza Strip and which is considered a terrorist group in Tel Aviv. During the exercise, IDF's Southern Command practiced rapid troop deployment, firepower and squad-level combat, together with air support, troop maneuvering, logistics, maintenance, transportation, medical support and administrative assistance, according to the Jerusalem Post. The surprise drill incorporated all branches of the military, including ground troops, artillery, aircraft, the armored corps and intelligence corps, the IDF said in an announcement. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi joined troops taking part in the drill on Tuesday, speaking with soldiers and commanders. Head of Israel's ground forces Maj. Gen. Kobi Barak, as well as head of the IDF's technology division Maj. Gen. Itzik Turgeman, also visited troops during the exercise, the Jerusalem Post reported. The drill was designed to check the operational readiness of the Israeli military in response to increasing criticism following allegations by former military ombudsman Yitzhak Brick that the IDF is not prepared for a large-scale war. The exercise comes during heightened tensions between Israel and Gaza and in the wake of the IDF Intelligence Directorate's assessment that a military escalation is possible this year in both Gaza and the West Bank. UN Special Coordinator to the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov also told the UN Security Council that there was a growing risk of war between Israel and Gaza. "With the prospects of intra-Palestinian reconciliation dimming, the people of Gaza feel more and more left to their own devices with no representation, no relief and no way out. The Palestinians, who are the weaker people in the conflict, need international support more than ever," he said, speaking before the council on 20 February. This is the third large-scale IDF military drill in the last 30 days. The most recent one, a week-long exercise, concluded on 15 February. The previous drill concluded on 31 January. Sputnik US Policy Towards Iran to Remain Unchanged Despite Zarif Resignation - Pompeo Sputnik News 03:53 26.02.2019(updated 03:54 26.02.2019) WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement said that US policy towards Tehran will not change even if Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has resigned. Zarif, who has been heading the Iranian Foreign Ministry since 2013, earlier in the day announced via Instagram that he was leaving his post. Media reported that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had accepted the minister's resignation although Rouhani's chief of staff denied the reports. "We note @JZarif's resignation," Pompeo said in a Twitter post on Monday. "We'll see if it sticks Our policy is unchanged the regime must behave like a normal country and respect its people." Pompeo added that, either way, Rouhani and Zarif are simply front men and that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "makes all final decisions." A US State Department spokesperson told Sputnik that the United States is closely monitoring reports of Zarif's resignation. Iranian foreign minister's aide told Sputnik on Monday that the ministry's personnel were unaware of Zarif's resignation or the possible reasons behind it. The aide also stressed that Zarif's Instagram account was official and it had not been hacked. Mahmoud Vaezi, the chief of staff of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, refuted media reports that the country's leader had accepted Zarif's resignation. The Iranian parliament will debate on the resignation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at Tuesday's session, a source told Sputnik. Sputnik Iranian President Praises Zarif, Tight-Lipped On Resignation By RFE/RL February 26, 2019 Iranian President Hassan Rohani has not specified whether he will accept the resignation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, but has praised him for his "resistance" and "capabilities." In a televised speech on February 26, Rohani made no mention of Zarif's announcement that he was resigning, saying the minister was on the "front line of the battle" against the United States, Tehran's archenemy. "If our Foreign Ministry is doing something, it is because it is from the people and it represents the people," Rohani said. "The government, in general, is elected by the people." The comments come after Zarif announced his resignation in a message posted on Instagram late on February 25, amid mounting pressure from hard-liners who have criticized his role in negotiating a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The United States pulled out of the deal in May 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran, fueling a deepening economic crisis and political infighting in the country. Iran's parliament will discuss Zarif's resignation during a meeting on February 26, the assembly's news website ICANA reported. "With attention to the internal and international situation, sanctions and the pressure from America, I emphasize that more than any other time we need internal unity and solidarity," said Ali Najafi Khoshroodi, the spokesman for the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, which will hold the meeting. A report by Fars news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying on February 26 that Zarif's resignation "has not been accepted." "All interpretations and analysis around the reasons behind the resignation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, beyond what he posted on his Instagram account, are not accurate and, as the chief of staff of the president of Iran said today, the resignation has not been accepted," spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by Fars. Meanwhile, Rohani's chief of staff said on Instagram that the president stands behind Zarif. "The words of the president today in praising his foreign minister are a clear sign of the satisfaction of the representative of the people of Iran about the wise and effective positions and work of Dr. Zarif and a tough response to some biased and incorrect analyses," Mahmud Vaezi wrote in the post. "In the view of Dr. Rohani, the Islamic Republic of Iran has only one foreign policy and one foreign minister," Vaezi added. 'Deadly Poison' In an interview published in the Jomhuri Eslami newspaper on February 26, Zarif was quoted as saying that infighting between parties and factions in Iran was a "deadly poison" undermining foreign policy, suggesting he may have quit over pressure from hard-line conservatives. However, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported that the interview had taken place last week, before Zarif announced his resignation. Meanwhile, a majority of Iranian lawmakers signed a letter to Rohani on February 26, asking for Zarif to continue in his job, according to IRNA. It quoted Khoshroodi as saying that 150 out of 290 lawmakers in the chamber had so far signed the letter. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington had taken note of Zarif's resignation, saying: "We'll see if it sticks." Zarif and Rohani "are just front men for a corrupt religious mafia," he also wrote on Twitter. The prime minister of Israel, Iran's arch-foe in the Middle East, welcomed Zarif's announcement. "Zarif is gone. Good riddance," Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted. Iran's stock market dropped around 2,000 points on the news that Zarif had resigned, IRNA reported. 'Shortcomings And Flaws' In his message on Instagram, Zarif thanked the Iranian people and authorities but gave no reason for the resignation. "I apologize for not being able to continue in the post and for all the shortcomings and flaws in the period," he wrote. Zarif has served as the Iran's top diplomat since August 2013, replacing Ali Akbar Salehi, the current head of Atomic Organization of Iran. He headed the Iranian negotiation team that led to the 2015 deal between Tehran and six world powers, which saw Iran limit its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Zarif's resignation could further undermine the deal after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the accord, saying it did not address Iran's missile program and "destabilizing" activities in the Middle East. The other signatories to the agreement have been working to keep it alive and have resisted U.S. pressure to abandon the deal. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa, IRNA, ISNA, and the BBC Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-zarif -resignation-president-rohani-praise- tight-lipped/29791501.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. Explainer: What We Know About The Shock Resignation Of Iran's Top Diplomat By Golnaz Esfandiari February 26, 2019 Iran's foreign minister of five years, Mohammad Javad Zarif, abruptly announced his resignation via social media on February 25, taking many Iranians and foreign diplomats by surprise. But one day later, with calls among lawmakers and many moderates mounting for Zarif to stay on the job, his fate was still unclear. In a cryptic televised address on February 26 that did not explicitly mention the resignation, President Hassan Rohani cited Zarif's place at "the front line of the battle" against the United States. In a hint at possible infighting of the sort that has pitted hard-line conservatives against Zarif for years, the president sought through an aide to beat back perceptions that rivals were foisting their policies on the country's Foreign Ministry. Later in the day, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said that the president had not accepted Zarif's resignation. Top Iranian officials, including Rohani, have suggested that Iran is facing its toughest economic situation in 40 years, due in part to the resumption last year of U.S. sanctions. It is also trying to juggle its support for combatants in a number of conflicts around the region, including Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. Here are some of the most significant aspects of Zarif's shock announcement and the ripples it is sending through Iranian and global politics. Why all the confusion? Zarif, a veteran diplomat and active social-media user with a mastery of English, abruptly resigned via Instagram, one of the only social-media sites that remains unblocked in Iran. The U.S.-educated Zarif made the announcement after offering greetings on the birthday of Fatima Zahra, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, which is being celebrated in Iran as Mother's Day. In it, he thanked the Iranian people and officials for their support and then announced he was resigning after serving the country as foreign minister for the past five years. "I apologize for my inability to continue to serve and for all the flaws and shortcomings during my sincere years of service. Be happy and proud," Zarif wrote in brief, late-night Instagram post. The surprise resignation was soon confirmed by a Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman, who told the official government news agency IRNA that Zarif's Instagram post was authentic. It was not clear if the Iranian foreign minister had also submitted an official letter of resignation. Minutes later, Rohani chief of staff Mahmud Vaezi "strongly" rejected unspecified reports that Rohani had accepted Zarif's resignation. On February 26, Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi said that "any interpretations and analysis about the reasons behind the resignation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, beyond what he posted on his Instagram account, is not accurate and, as the chief of staff of the president of Iran said today, the resignation has not been accepted," according to the semiofficial ISNA news agency. Years Of Hard-Line Pressure Zarif's offer of resignation followed weeks of rumors that he had resigned or was planning to resign due to pressure from Iranian conservatives. The speculation even prompted a reaction from the Foreign Ministry, which said in November that "some illusionary and sick-minded" circles were spreading the reports. One day after his resignation offer, Zarif appeared to suggest that he had made the decision because he was being undermined in his job. He urged Foreign Ministry staff not to quit over his presumed departure, adding, "I hope my resignation will act as a spur for the Foreign Ministry to regain its legal role in the conduct of foreign affairs." In an interview published in the conservative daily Jomhouri Eslami on February 26, Zarif was quoted again hinting at political infighting, which, he said was a "deadly poison." The interview was reportedly conducted the week before his resignation offer. "A deadly poison for foreign policy is that it becomes the subject of factionalism and parties' quarrel," Zarif was quoted as saying. "There should be trust toward servants of foreign policy on the national level. Without trust in them, everything will go with the wind." The Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), quoted an "informed source" within the ministry as saying that Zarif's exclusion from a meeting between Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and visiting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had triggered his resignation. Zarif's was absent from photos of the February 25 meeting issued by Iranian news sites. Qassem Suleimani, the head of the IRGC's elite Quds Force, attended the meeting. The unnamed source was quoted by Fars as saying that Zarif "is likely to return to the government." Reformist lawmaker Elias Hazrati also suggested that the exclusion from the meeting with Assad had led to Zarif's rush for the door. "It's very bad for a foreign minister not to be informed of a special move in foreign policy. Bashar al-Assad has traveled to Tehran but the foreign minister doesn't know about it! It's very bad," Hazrati was quoted as saying by IRNA. Hazrati added that Zarif had been also upset about "different institutions" that are involved in foreign policy. "In our country, the foreign minister is not the first man in the field of foreign policy," Hazrati said, without elaborating. In Iran, the Quds Force is said to play the leading role in Iran's involvement in countries such as Syria, where Iranian and Russian forces have played a key part in propping up Assad against antigovernment militants. The IRGC is also in charge of Iran's missile program. Zarif was considered the public face of Rohani's detente policy with the West, opposed by conservative hard-liners who have sought to apply greater pressure on the Iranian president and his allies. He has faced hard-line pressure ever since the 2015 nuclear deal with the United States and other world powers, as well as over his dealings with former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Observers have wondered aloud whether a May exit from the nuclear deal by U.S. President Donald Trump strengthened Iranian hard-liners who had long argued that Washington should have never been trusted. In recent months, Zarif had been working to salvage the deal, under which Iran significantly limited sensitive nuclear work in exchange for sanctions relief. Zarif also came under pressure from the right last year for saying publicly that money laundering was a reality in Iran and that unnamed institutions that relied on such activities were behind efforts to block legislation against money laundering and terrorism financing as required by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which promotes policies to protect the global financial system from money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Hard-line conservative have opposed the measures, saying they undermine Iran's support for militant groups in the region such as Hamas and the Lebanese Hizballah. A small group of conservative lawmakers even moved to impeach Zarif over his comments, which they said were against national interests. The motion was later dropped after about 15 lawmakers withdrew their support for it. Domestic Reactions Zarif's resignation offer sent shock waves through Iran, where the diplomat had won some respect for negotiating the 2015 nuclear deal -- which many Iranians hoped would lead to economic improvements. So his resignation raised questions about the future of the deal, which has effectively been on life support following the withdrawal by the Trump administration and with European states struggling to balance their reluctance to do the same with their desire to display unity with Washington. Beyond Rohani's words of praise in his televised speech, Iranian news agencies reported that more than 160 lawmakers reportedly signed a letter calling on Zarif to remain in his post. Some, including Hazrati, urged Rohani to reject Zarif's resignation. For their part, Iranian hard-liners who oppose engagement with the West are rejoicing over Zarif's decision to quit. "I'm happy that Zarif resigned, but I'm upset that he won't be put on trial," Amir Hossein Sabeti, a member of the paramilitary arm of the IRGC, the Basij, said via Twitter. "It's not fair for you to escape after telling people lies for five years about the removal of sanctions and after destroying Iran's nuclear capabilities." Meanwhile, pro-reform lawmaker Parvaneh Salahshuri suggested that two groups would welcome Zarif's resignation: "The America-Zionist lobby and domestic hard-liners who benefit from a crisis in Iran." International Reactions U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said via Twitter that Washington had taken note of Zarif's move but added that his resignation would make no difference. "Either way, he and @HassanRouhani are just front men for a corrupt religious mafia," Pompeo wrote. Pompeo also said of Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, who is ultimately in charge of political and religious affairs but who has so far remained silent on the Zarif resignation: "We know @khamenei_ir makes all final decisions. Our policy is unchanged -- the regime must behave like a normal country and respect its people." Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu welcomed word of Zarif's resignation, saying, "Zarif is gone. Good riddance." There was no official reaction from EU officials, who have been negotiating with Zarif to find ways to keep the 2015 nuclear deal alive. But Nathalie Tocci, a special adviser to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, called Zarif's resignation a "huge loss" for Iran and for the EU in a tweet posted shortly after the news broke on February 25. She posted an update on February 26 saying she was "happy" to have awakened to reports that the resignation had not been accepted by Rohani. What's Next? Sanam Vakil, a senior consulting research fellow in the Middle East North Africa Program of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, called Zarif's resignation "a back-to-the-future moment" if it were accepted by Rohani and Khamenei. "It could suggest a shift from a strategy of compromise to confrontation similar to what we observed during the transition from [reformist Mohammad] Khatami to [the hard-line Mahmud] Ahmadinejad presidency in 2005," Vakil told RFE/RL. "The consequence of this shift could be evidenced in more resistance and leverage on building tactics to up the ante in the current standoff with the U.S." Ali Vaez, the director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group (ICG), told RFE/RL that Zarif's resignation would not necessarily mean a shift in policy. "If it is up to Rohani, he'd either tap his chief of staff, Mahmud Vaezi, or Zarif's deputy, Abbas Araghchi [to replace Zarif]. Both men would bring more continuity than change to style and substance of Iran's foreign policy," Vaez said. "However, if a hard-liner like former Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian is imposed on the president by the deep state, it could augur a hardening of Iran's outlook on the outside world," he added. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/explainer-what- we-know-about-the-shock-resignation-of-iran-s -top-diplomat/29792156.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. Iranian lawmakers urge President Rouhani to reject Zarif's resignation Iran Press TV Tue Feb 26, 2019 11:23AM A majority of Iranian lawmakers have signed a letter to President Hassan Rouhani, calling on him not to accept Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's resignation. Ali Najafi Khoshroudi, spokesman for the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told IRNA on Tuesday that he was collecting signatures from lawmakers. He noted that about 160 parliamentarians had already signed the letter, asking for Minister Zarif to be kept in office. Meanwhile, Chairman of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh said the body was set to convene an extraordinary session on Tuesday to address Zarif's resignation, according to Mehr news agency. President Rouhani has not formally accepted the resignation. 'Zarif on frontline of fight against US' Addressing the 58th annual meeting of the general assembly of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) on Tuesday, Rouhani said Zarif along with Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zanganeh and Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati was at the frontline of the battle against America, without mentioning the top diplomat's resignation. The Iranian chief executive thanked the three officials for the efficient roles they had played in confronting Washington under the sanctions. 'One foreign policy, one foreign minister' Shortly after the speech, the president's Chief of Staff Mahmoud Vaezi highlighted Rouhani's words in praise of Zarif as "a clear sign of the satisfaction of the representative of the people of Iran about the wise and effective positions and work of Dr. Zarif and a tough response to some biased and incorrect analyses," "In the view of Dr. Rouhani, the Islamic Republic of Iran has only one foreign policy and one foreign minister," Vaezi wrote in an Instagram post that included a picture of Rouhani and Zarif together. Meanwhile, reacting to news that a number of Foreign Ministry employees and diplomats were planning to quit following his resignation, Zarif advised them against the move and urged them to "continue to fulfill their duties in defense of the country." "I require that all [my] dear brothers and sisters in the Foreign Ministry and representative offices continue to fulfill their duties in defense of the country with strength," Zarif said on Tuesday. The 59-year-old diplomat started serving as the Islamic Republic's foreign minister when Rouhani took office in 2013. He was reinstated in the post when the chief executive won a second term. The foreign minister's discourse has notably featured rejection of Iranophobia and promoted international interaction. Zarif played an instrumental role in the negotiations leading to the conclusion of a nuclear deal between the Islamic Republic and world powers in 2015. President Rouhani refuses FM Zarif's resignation: Qassemi Iran Press TV Tue Feb 26, 2019 03:50PM The Iranian Foreign Ministry says President Hassan Rouhani has not accepted Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's resignation. "Any interpretation and analysis revolving around the reasons behind the resignation of Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif, except for what he has posted on his Instagram account, are incorrect," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Tuesday. "As the chief of staff of the Iranian president said today, the resignation has not been accepted," he added. Late on Monday, the Iranian foreign minister took to his Instagram account to announce his unexpected resignation. "I am grateful for magnanimity of the dear and courageous people of Iran and the respectable authorities' over the past 67 months," read the post. In a post on his Instagarm account on Tuesday, the president's Chief of Staff Mahmoud Vaezi said, "In the view of Dr. Rouhani, the Islamic Republic of Iran has only one foreign policy and one foreign minister." Qassemi further lashed out at "certain circles" for attempting to reap political and factional gains from Zarif's announcement. The foreign minister has always been doing his utmost to promote the prestige and esteem of Iran's foreign policy, said Qassemi, stressing that the Iranian nation is undoubtedly thankful for Zarif's "effective" efforts to that end. It is thus unfair to downgrade efforts to safeguard Iran's foreign policy to emotional attitudes, the Iranian spokesperson said, adding that such an approach is against the lofty ideals of the Islamic Revolution, Islamic morals and national interests. India Test Fires Short-Range Quick-Reaction Missile Following Kashmir Airstrike Sputnik News 17:31 26.02.2019(updated 17:34 26.02.2019) This has boosted morale at India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which developed the missile; during the last test, conducted in April 2018, the missile took off from its launcher successfully but rolled uncontrollably during flight and then plunged into the Bay of Bengal. New Delhi (Sputnik): India successfully tested its short-range Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) on Tuesday from a test facility off the coast of Odisha, located in the eastern part of the country. The highly mobile air defence system was fired from a canister mounted on a rotatable truck-based launch unit. The test was conducted a few hours after the Indian Air Force destroyed three terrorist camps in the early hours of Tuesday. It is believed that the camps were used to train terrorists by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, both jihadi organisations. Defence sources in Delhi told Sputnik that all the technology and subsystems incorporated in the missile have performed well, meeting all the mission requirements. In an earlier test, conducted in April 2018, the missile took off from its launcher successfully but rolled uncontrollably during flight before plunging into the Bay of Bengal. A total of five tests have been conducted on QRSAM so far; three of them were successful while two ended in failure. QRSAM uses a solid-fuel propellant and has a stated strike range of 25-30 kilometres. The system is capable of surveillance, target acquisition, and tracking while on the move. The missile features an active seeker that uses X-Band Quad Transmit Receive Modules (QTRMs). A Two Way Data Link (TWDL) facilitates guidance of the missile. "The two missiles were tested for different altitude and conditions. The test flights successfully demonstrated the robust control, aerodynamics, propulsion, structural performance and high manoeuvring capabilities, thus proving the design configuration," a statement issued by the Indian defence ministry reads. Radars, electro-optical systems, telemetry and other stations have tracked the missiles and monitored through entire flights. All the mission's objectives have been met, it adds. Indian Pefence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman congratulated DRDO on the successful test flights and said the locally-developed state-of-the-art QRSAM will significantly boost the defence capabilities of our armed forces. Sputnik What to Expect from the US-North Korea Summit in Vietnam By VOA News February 26, 2019 President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un will meet this week in Vietnam for a second summit on denuclearization. In an interview Monday with VOA News Center Deputy Managing Editor David Jones, VOA's Korean Service Chief Dong Hyuk Lee talked about the outcome of the 2018 summit and what can be expected from the meeting in Hanoi. Jones: Do you believe Kim Jong Un is serious about ever giving up his nuclear program? What do you think he wants in exchange? Lee: One thing is really important here: Kim Jong Un has never promised to unilaterally denuclearize his country. What he has promised to do is the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Now, the U.S. maintains that the denuclearization of the peninsula, in essence, means the denuclearization of North Korea, because there are no nuclear weapons in South Korea. From the North Korean perspective, it's a different story. North Korea believes that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula requires the removal of the U.S. nuclear umbrella, which has larger implications. So, the definition of denuclearization is critical. And so far, it is unclear whether both sides have an agreement on that definition. Jones: Do you believe the way is free for Kim to actually go ahead with this deal? Is there opposition within North Korea, within his government or military? What kind of an obstacle does that present? Lee: Most North Korea watchers would agree there's no clear indication that there's a serious opposition or challenge to Kim Jong Un's nuclear policy inside the country. Having said that, due to the nature of the regime, and it's a system, one cannot completely rule out anything. Maybe down the road, at some point, Kim Jong Un might face some sort of a pressure, internal pressure, I'll say, for more freedom and openness. Jones: What has the North Korean public been told about this process? Do they understand what's going on, and what do they expect? Lee: Well, it's hard to tell how well informed the North Korean public is about the situation. I will say there was no major development on the nuclear issue. In the country, the current talks with the U.S. are portrayed as Kim Jong Un's efforts to revive the country's economy and promote peace on the peninsula and renormalize relations with the United States. Jones: What are the expectations and understanding among the South Korean public? Lee: The majority of South Koreans hope that the second summit will produce some sort of substantive result. That doesn't mean the majority of South Koreans are optimistic about the prospects for the summit. For example, there is a fair amount of skepticism. In the country, a lot of conservatives view President Moon's (Jae-in's) policy that favors reconciliation and engagement with North Korea with deep, deep skepticism. Jones: Trump and Kim met before in Singapore and came out with a grand pronouncement about peace. What has actually been accomplished since then? Lee: North Korea has basically suspended the test of nuclear weapons and missiles. In Bhutan, the U.S. has suspended joint drills with South Korea. As a result, tensions between the two Koreas, and tensions between the U.S. and North Korea, have substantially deescalated. There has not been much progress on the nuclear issue. Jones: The U.S. initially was demanding complete denuclearization on the North's side before they can be relieved from sanctions. Now, they seem to be more open to a step-by-step process. Is that correct? Lee: What has become sort of an evolution or change from the previous position as you described is now, the U.S. Is more open to taking corresponding measures in return for North Korea's action toward denuclearization. That's separate from a step-by-step approach to denuclearization. I think the U.S. is still highly interested in having a big package deal in which they are open to taking corresponding measures, again, in exchange for North Korea's action. Jones: The North also seems interested in some kind of treaty to formally end the Korean War after all these decades. Do you think that will come up this week? Lee: It could. I think if there is any agreement on that issue, it will be more like a bilateral one. Remember, China is one of the parties who was involved in the whole process. So, I don't think they'll have time to have China on board. So, if you have any agreement on that declaration, it'll be something between the United states and North Korea. Jones: What can we realistically expect to come out of this summit? Lee: First, we have to think about what the key difference is between the two sides. North Korea puts high priority on normalizing relations with the United States. So, their view is, denuclearization can come as a result of normalized relations between the United States and North Korea. The United States puts a high priority on denuclearization North Korea's denuclearization. So, it's vice versa. The U.S. views that normalized relations could come as a result of North Korea's denuclearization. So, how much both sides can bridge the gap, is a key question. North Korea has offered to dismantle its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon contingent upon unspecified corresponding measures from the U.S. side. They also proposed to dismantle its missile launch site, and possibly allow nuclear inspectors to their nuclear test site to check or confirm the status of the site. Well, North Korea also demands possibly sanctions relief, and they're also seeking some sort of security guarantee from the U.S. side. The U.S. is interested in possibly offering the establishment of liaison offices in both capitals. China Watching, Waiting for Progress at Hanoi Summit By Bill Ide February 26, 2019 This week in Hanoi, the lights will be shining brightly on U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Not far away from that big stage, China will be watching closely and if all goes smoothly, asserting that it too has played a role in efforts to promote peace on the Korean peninsula. Kim arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday, a journey by train and automobile that lasted more than 60 hours and took him from the Northeast of China to the Vietnamese capital. For his trip, China has once again ensured Kim's security as he traveled. For the first summit in Singapore, Kim flew on a chartered jet that Beijing provided. This time he was given an escort across the country, sparking complaints online about traffic restrictions that Chinese authorities eventually censored. Slow train through China Lu Chao, a North Korea expert at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, said there was nothing strange about Kim's travel arrangements. "This is just one of his choices of transportation," Lu said. "And perhaps since he is traveling all the way from the north to south of China, across all of China, it might give him an opportunity along the way to see different parts of the country." He said that while there was speculation that Kim might stop in Beijing on his way to Hanoi, there was no need for that as Kim and China's President Xi Jinping met in early January and had in-depth talks about the Hanoi summit. "Perhaps after the meetings in Hanoi, on his way back through China, Kim will deliver a short report to China's leader," Lu said. Lips and teeth again Lu added that such close communication was a long-established tradition between the two countries. The relationship between China and North Korea has often been described as being as close as lips and teeth, but for the first five years while Xi Jinping was in office, some felt the relationship had had its teeth knocked out. China joined other nations in sanctioning Pyongyang in response to its repeated missile and nuclear tests and it wasn't until March of last year that Xi Jinping met with Kim for the first time. Since then, they have met on multiple occasions for extended periods of time, noted Alexander Neill, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore. "China as North Korea's only ostensible ally, China wants to be seen as the key stakeholder in this whole initiative, Neill said. Now, Beijing is choreographing the relationship as something that is more than just tentative, he said. "I think Xi Jinping, quite fairly, wants to be seen not only as an arbitrator, but perhaps someone who has been proactive in initiating this sort of a dialogue," he said. Hanoi limbo Just how much praise China can claim, however, depends on how much progress is made in Hanoi. And how much progress can be made will depend on what the two can agree on in terms of denuclearization and what steps Washington is prepared to take in response. In China there is hope that progress will be made, but clarity that big differences still remain, Lu Chao said. "For this summit, while we may not believe that there will be comprehensive progress, we do hope that some encouraging progress will be made that heads in that direction," Lu said. Progress that could at least lead to a loosening of sanctions, he added. In the United States there is concern that President Trump may lower the bar too far when it comes to the question of what actions might qualify Pyongyang to receive a loosening of sanctions. Those concerns are being echoed in commentaries in China as well, said David Kelly, research director at China Policy, a Beijing-based research group. "There is a lot of theatrical elements in this (summit). Everyone is being massaged to expect friendly faces, a nice lunch, nice meetings and nice communiques, but there is a lot of fine detail that we will need to see in the commentary (that follows in China)," Kelly said. "I really don't see China being less concerned about the Korea issue." Officially, China will want to claim to be the patron of the summit, the ringmaster, but it remains to be seen whether Trump may be able to pull Kim a little closer to Washington, Kelly said. There is definitely concern in China that that could happen, he added. "This is what they were worried about last year and there is no reason to think that those fears have ended," Kelly said. "Beijing is not as secure in its hold over North Korea as it claims and as a lot media believe." Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State said, 'We encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost.' Pompeo said that in talks with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, he stressed 'the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action, and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil.' (Photo: File) Washington: Amid heightened tensions, the US has called for India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and urging Islamabad to take action against terrorists. Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State said, We encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost. "Following Indian counter-terrorism actions on February 26, I spoke with Indian Minister of External Affairs Swaraj to emphasize our close security partnership and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region," Pompeo said in a statement. Pompeo said that in talks with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, he stressed the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action, and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil. US Secy of State issues statement in the light of strike by Indian Air Force in Balakot;states,"I spoke to Pak Foreign Min to underscore priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action&urgency of Pak taking action against terror groups operating on its soil pic.twitter.com/ac5nFKf8nw ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 In a separate call with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Pompeo emphasised the close security partnership between the US and India and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region. Pompeo is currently in Vietnam to attend the second summit between President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on the denuclearsation of the Korean peninsula. Last week, US National Security Adviser John Bolton told his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval that America supports India's right to self-defence as both sides vowed to work together to ensure that Pakistan ceases to be a safe heaven for JeM and other terror groups. Trump in Hanoi for 2nd Summit with Kim By Steve Herman February 26, 2019 U.S. President Donald Trump is in Hanoi for his second summit with Kim Jong Un amid hopes for a deal that would lead the North Korean leader to give up his nuclear weapons. Trump received a red carpet welcome at Noi Bai International airport where white uniformed military guards marched into place on a cool and somewhat foggy night. Trump stopped for brief conversation with the dignitaries, who included Vietnam's ambassador to the U.S., Ha Kim Ngoc; Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Daniel Kritenbrink. Thousands of Vietnamese lined the sidewalks as Trump's motorcade entered the city, some waving small American, North Korean and Vietnamese flags. Shortly after he arrived at the luxury hotel in Hanoi where he will spend two nights, Trump tweeted: "Just arrived in Vietnam. Thank you to all the people for the great reception in Hanoi. Tremendous crowds and so much love! National Security Advisor John Bolton, two months ago, said a second summit was needed because North Korea had yet to live up to the commitments it made last June in Singapore. Negative political ramifications A lack of a major breakthrough for the second time could have negative political ramifications for Trump. "If the president makes substantive concessions, I think he will get serious bipartisan criticism," says James Jay Carafano, the vice president of the Heritage Foundation's institute for national security and foreign policy. That would "probably be the last thing he needs" amid the possible release this week of a summary of the special counsel's report into ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 election campaign, adds Carafano. "If the report is good news, a distraction is bad," he tells VOA. "If it's bad news, it will compound his problems." Some analysts, however, predict there would be scant political damage for Trump as he can just declare a foreign policy victory. "All it takes is Kim pretending to disarm and Trump pretending to believe him," says Vipin Narang, an associate professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "So long as Kim doesn't embarrass Trump publicly by testing a nuclear weapon or a ballistic missile, domestically Trump can keep rinsing and repeating," Narang, author of the book Nuclear Strategy in the Modern Era tells VOA. "The advantage for Trump is that Kim's continued expansion of his nuclear weapons program is largely silent, and, at best, shows up on page 10" of local newspapers in the United States. "If nothing positive happens, the Democratic Party hawks and the media may mock Trump's pretensions and claims to be a master negotiator," says Professor Peter Kuznick, director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University. "But as long as tensions don't re-erupt on the Korean peninsula, most Americans will be satisfied with the status quo and move on to other issues." Foreign policy win If Trump can keep the North Korean leader engaged, diplomatic efforts continue with sanctions still in place and Pyongyang maintains its moratorium on nuclear and missile testing, "Trump can pocket a foreign policy win going into the election," according to Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Rebeccah Heinrichs. With a status quo for at least another year, the president "can tell his supporters to stick with him so he can 'finish the job' in another four years," Heinrichs tells VOA. There is anxiety Trump might trade away the presence of U.S. troops in the Far East for concessions by Kim on nuclear weapons or intercontinental ballistic missiles. Such a move, besides alarming allies, could also open Trump to severe political criticism back home from both the left and the right. "There is concern "Trump will ad-lib concessions to Kim Jong Un without his team knowing about it before hand," says Duyeon Kim, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. "Concrete denuclearization steps don't mean getting rid of things they don't need anymore. It means touching parts of their program that matter, even if they are baby steps at first." She adds that a "front-loading on U.S. concessions without getting anything proportionate in return, as Trump did in Singapore, risks losing negotiating leverage very quickly and allowing Pyongyang to dictate this entire process. " One unresolved issue is a mutually-agreed definition of denuclearization. Trump administration officials have insisted there must be "complete, verifiable and irreversible" removal of North Korea's nuclear arsenal, including its delivery systems. Denuclearization For the North Koreans "denuclearization" also includes U.S. strategic assets leaving the region, as well as its long-harbored desire for American forces to depart from South Korean and, possibly, Japan where the United States military has posted 75,000 personnel and maintains about 50 installations, not including rapid response air and naval forces on the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam that Pyongyang also considers threatening. A senior U.S. official says the American team has been seeking with the North Koreans a "shared understanding of what denuclearization is," while it is yet unclear whether Kim has even made the decision to fully denuclearize. Asked whether there has been any demand from the North Koreans about removing U.S. troops from the peninsula in exchange for a peace treaty, the official responded in a background call with reporters last week, "I've never discussed that in any round of negotiations." Another possibility is that the summit pivots from an emphasis on denuclearization. There is speculation the two leaders could announce an agreement to exchange liaison officers, a step short of diplomatic recognition that would see full-fledged ambassadors posted to each other's capitals. Trump has hinted at further one-on-one diplomacy between himself and Kim. "I don't think this will be the last meeting by any chance," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last Wednesday. One desired outcome for the U.S. president is a Nobel Peace Prize, for which he says Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has already nominated him. "While the thought of Trump as a Nobel laureate seems patently absurd, he desperately wants to win, and there have been some other patently absurd winners in the past, including the recent past," Kuznick tells VOA. "So, let's see if Trump can pull a rabbit out of his hat or out of somewhere and surprise the world." US-North Korea summit: Kim arrives in Vietnam Iran Press TV Tue Feb 26, 2019 06:29AM North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been warmly received in Vietnam, where he has arrived for a second summit with US President Donald Trump. Kim, who left a railway station in Pyongyang on Saturday, arrived at the Vietnamese town of Dong Dang on Tuesday, and is due in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi for the two-day summit. While Trump is on his way, Kim has been received by Vietnamese officials in front of a guard of honor. North Korean and Vietnamese flags were also on display. Kim is accompanied by senior officials and his sister, Kim Yo-jong, who has emerged as an important aide. Meanwhile, security is tightened in Hanoi as the North Korean leader heads to the Vietnamese capital, where he will stay in Melia Hotel. Kim and Trump, who is due to arrive in Hanoi on Tuesday evening, will meet for a brief one-on-one conversation on Wednesday evening, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters on Air Force One, adding that the meeting would be followed by a dinner, at which the leaders will each be accompanied by two guests and interpreters. Another meeting will be held between Kim and Trump on Thursday, according to Sanders. The Vietnam talks come eight months after Trump and Kim held their first summit in Singapore, in which they reached a vague denuclearization agreement. Washington has said it will not lift sanctions unless a full denuclearization of North Korea is confirmed. Pyongyang says the agreement reached on denuclearization includes the entire Korean Peninsula and should entail the removal of the US nuclear umbrella over South Korea and the pullout of American forces from the region. Trump stressed on Thursday that the issue of troop withdrawal from South Korea was not "on the table" in the Hanoi summit. But Trump has also claimed that he and Kim "fell in love" after Kim wrote him "beautiful letters and has said their good chemistry can produce results. Separately, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday. Both Kim and Trump are also scheduled to hold separate talks with Vietnamese leaders. Most of Trump's advisers have low expectations for the talks. And some in the US fear that Trump could be outsmarted by Kim. North Korean state media have said that if Trump listened to skeptics at home, he could face a "shattered dream" and "miss the rare historic opportunity" to improve relations with North Korea. DPRK's top leader Kim arrives in Vietnam People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 13:02, February 26, 2019 HANOI, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong Un arrived in Vietnam's northern Lang Son province Tuesday morning by train for his first official visit to the country and the second summit with his U.S. counterpart. Kim's special train arrived at the Dong Dang station at around 8:13 a.m. local time (0113 GMT), and he was welcomed in the train station by Vietnamese officials and civilians, according to Vietnam News Agency. During the visit, the first by a sitting DPRK top leader in 55 years, Kim is expected to meet with Vietnamese leaders. Kim is accompanied by senior DPRK officials, including his younger sister Kim Yo Jong, alternate member of the Political Bureau of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee and first vice director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, and Vice Chairman of the WPK Central Committee Kim Yong Chol, the Korean Central News Agency reported. Kim, who left Pyongyang on Saturday afternoon, will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump for their second summit on Feb. 27-28 on bilateral relations and issues related to peace on and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. A "comprehensive" agreement was signed at the first DPRK-U.S. summit in Singapore in June 2018. The meeting resulted in improved bilateral ties. Issues such as a roadmap for denuclearization, the lifting of sanctions and whether to issue a war-ending declaration will be the focal points at the upcoming Kim-Trump talks. Kim is expected to have a one-on-one meeting with Trump, local reports said. Earlier on Monday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in voiced his wish for a successful second DPRK-U.S. summit, saying that "we wish for the success of the summit as an expression of our support for the two leaders." Security in Hanoi has been beefed up for Kim's visit. Kim picks hotel in Hanoi which was planned to be US press center Global Times By Yang Sheng and Zhao Juecheng in Hanoi Source:Global Times Published: 2019/2/26 22:38:40 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a surprise change of hotel to one that had originally been planned as the US press center after arriving in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam on Tuesday. US President Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive Tuesday night, as Hanoi becomes the focus of the world over the next two days. At about 5 pm on Tuesday, Kim's motorcade left the Melia Hanoi Hotel and 5 minutes later arrived at the North Korean embassy in Hanoi, where Kim was greeted with great shouts of joy and hurrah from people inside the embassy, before he walked into the compound and went upstairs under protection. Almost at the same time, the US side transported the journalists who signed up with the White House to the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi to wait for the arrival of Air Force One. According to the White House, Trump is scheduled to arrive at 9:15 pm local time. "Due to technical issues, the White House Press Filing Center will be relocated to dedicated space inside of the International Media Center," according to a White House email sent to journalists about 90 minutes before Kim's arrival at the hotel. Many journalists began moving to the Viet Xo Friendship Cultural Labour Palace, a giant Soviet-era edifice a few blocks from Kim's hotel. More than 3,000 journalists from around the world including US, Vietnamese and South Korean government-related media are attending. Some journalists privately speculated that Kim was trying to send a signal to the world that he will not play by US rules and can dominate the process as long as he wants. But the surprise change just a few hours before Kim's arrival could also be out of security concerns, said Zheng Jiyong, director of the center for Korean studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. To attract shoppers, tourists and journalists, some stores in downtown Hanoi are selling T-shirts with pictures of Kim and Trump, many featuring last year's handshake in Singapore. The Kim-Trump T-shirt costs about 1000,000 VND ($4.31). A seller who didn't give her name told the Global Times that they are made in Vietnam and her store sold about 100 a day in the last two days. Motorbikes are everywhere in Hanoi and some drivers have decorated their motorbikes with national flags of Vietnam, North Korea and the US. A rider told the Global Times on Tuesday that after dousing his bike with flags, he and friends will circle around the city to show their welcome to the two leaders as they want to deliver a message to the world that Hanoi is a city of peace and they hope the two leaders can reach an agreement. The Hanoi summit on Wednesday and Thursday will consist of a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Kim and expanded talks with their respective delegations. A joint statement is expected to be issued after the meeting. Task Force: US Efforts to Battle Extremism 'Unsustainable' By Jeff Seldin February 26, 2019 The United States will need to significantly change its approach to fighting terrorists and extremist groups or face the prospect of more never-ending wars in the Middle East, Africa and beyond, according to a new report that is already resonating with key lawmakers. The blunt assessment, issued by the bipartisan Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States in a report released Wednesday, is the result of a comprehensive look at U.S. military campaigns against terror groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaida. But after nearly two decades and an estimated $5.9 trillion spent on various campaigns and initiatives, the report concluded no amount of success on the battlefield will ever be enough to stop the spread of extremist ideology. "Terrorism is a symptom, but extremism an ideology calling for the imposition of a totalitarian order intent on destroying free societies like ours is the disease," the report warns. "The United States thus finds itself trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of crisis response." Prevention over military solutions Instead, the task force said, the U.S. and its partners have no choice but to prioritize prevention over military solutions. "Even modest preventive investments if they are strategic, coordinated and well-timed can reduce the risk that extremists will exploit fragile states," the report added. Already, the findings are gaining momentum on Capitol Hill. "You literally cannot kill your way into winning this battle against extremism," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters, expressing support for a change in U.S. counterterror and counterextremism strategy. "Bullets and bombs alone cannot defeat an ideology," added Congressman Michael McCaul, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "We need to deal with it at its core root problem. And that is despair." McCaul, along with House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Eliot Engel, is reintroducing the Global Fragility and Violence Reduction Act. The legislation, which gained approval in the House last year, aims to build on many of the task force's recommendations, helping to focus U.S. efforts and money on preventing the rise of extremist ideologies in nations that are fragile and at risk of collapse. "Our efforts right now are fractured and disjointed across the government," Engel said. Under the proposed legislation, key government agencies, such as the Defense Department, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, would be required to coordinate their efforts, "so their work is more efficient and effective," Engel said.The task force's findings, and the move by lawmakers to embrace them, come as IS, whose ideology attracted tens of thousands of fighters to flock to Syria and Iraq and helped conquer large swaths of Syria and Iraq, appears to be in decline. SDF-IS battle near Baghuz Its self-declared caliphate has been reduced to a small collection of tents and damaged buildings on a patch of land in the northeastern Syrian village of Baghuz. And while the remaining fighters have so far refused to surrender, commanders with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces say their defeat is inevitable. But rather than see the collapse of the IS caliphate as an end, the task force report calls on U.S. policymakers to view the problem with "a sense of urgency." Drawing on a number of studies, the report found that the number of annual terror attacks has increased fivefold since 2001, while the number of Salafi-jihadist fighters has more than tripled over the same period. Even IS, which has ceded ground to U.S.-backed forces in Syria and Iraq, remains poised to reemerge. U.S. military and intelligence officials warn the terror group still has up to 30,000 fighters and followers across Syria and Iraq, with thousands more across Africa and southeast Asia. Al-Qaida has managed to strengthen its position in Syria, as well, while maintaining close ties to affiliates in Yemen and elsewhere. So, too, there are concerns that U.S. intervention has either backfired, or at the most, produced only short-term gains against terrorist and extremist groups, citing examples in Iraq, Libya, Mali and Yemen. "If we don't get ahead of this curve and invest more in prevention in sustainable and meaning strategies," we will never get to the end of this," said Democratic Sen. Chris Coons. "The hope is, if we do this right, the military will always be the last resort," said Task Force co-chair, former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean. Streamlining efforts In addition to streamlining U.S. policy efforts, the Task Force said it is critical for the U.S. to find partners on the ground who are, at the least, committed to governing responsibly. It also called for the creation of a so-called Partnership Development Fund, a "new international platform for donors and the private sector to pool their resources and coordinate their activities." Task force members and lawmakers admitted Wednesday the shift in focus will not likely yield immediate results and that there is no guarantee the proposals will find favor with the White House, despite projected cost savings over the long term. But Graham held out hope they can sell President Donald Trump on the benefits, in places like Latin America, which is seeing an outflow of migrants, to Africa, which has seen a proliferation of terror groups. "You know how you prevent endless wars? Prevent them from starting," Graham said. "You have a chance in Africa, Mr. President, to prevent what's going to be a long, drawn-out bloody fight," he added. "A little bit of money now can prevent the (military) engagement in Africa like we've had in the Mideast." Remarks by Vice President Pence Before Meeting with President Duque of Colombia and Interim President Guaido of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela February 26, 2019 Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bogota, Colombia PRESIDENT DUQUE: President Guaido, welcome again to Colombia. We value your resolve, your leadership, your courage. And for me, it's a great pleasure to host you and to host Vice President Pence. We share the values of freedom and democracy, so please feel at home today. And please, Mr. Vice President, feel at home here in Colombia. We have worked together for the liberation of Venezuela and to put an end to the dictatorship. And we want to listen to you, President Guaido (inaudible). INTERIM PRESIDENT GUAIDO: (Speaks Spanish.) PRESIDENT DUQUE: (Speaks Spanish.) VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: Well, thank you, President Duque, and thank you for your hospitality here in Colombia and for convening the Lima Group at such a critical time in the cause of freedom in Venezuela. President Trump was pleased to welcome you to the White House a week ago. But he sent me here to stand with you and to stand with our friends and allies in Venezuela. And to you, President Guaido, it's a great privilege to share this moment. I send you and President Duque the greetings of the President of the United States of America. And to you, President Guaido, a very simple message from President Trump: That we are with you 100 percent. And, President Duque, we are grateful for your stand for freedom and the stand for freedom that member nations in the Lima Group are making. And, President Guaido, we admire your courage and the courage of all the opposition leaders who have come together to make this stand to end the suffering and end the oppression, and end the usurpation and dictatorship in Venezuela. The United States was proud to be the first nation on Earth to recognize you as the legitimate President of Venezuela. And we are grateful to President Duque and now more than 50 nations around the world who have joined us in this cause. And I want to assure you, President Guaido, the tragic events of this past weekend have only steeled the resolve of the United States of America to stand with you and stand with freedom-loving people in Venezuela until liberty and democracy are restored. Again, it's an honor to be here in Colombia with you, President Duque, and a particular honor to share this with President Guaido. I look forward to our discussion, and we'll have more to say in a few moments. But the people of this hemisphere, the people of the wider world should know the United States of America stands for freedom in this hemisphere. We stand with President Juan Guaido as the legitimate President of Venezuela. And we will keeping standing until your libertad is restored. END Remarks by Vice President Pence During Visit with Venezuelan Migrant Families | Bogota, Colombia February 26, 2019 Academia Diplomatica Augusto Ramirez Ocampo Bogota, Colombia VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: Well, thank you all for taking time to meet with us. And I'm here to say, on behalf of the people of the United States of America: We are with you, and we will stay with you until your libertad is restored. The American people are proud to work with Colombia to provide assistance to you and your families as you fled from the oppression and the deprivation that has fallen upon Venezuela. The people of the United States will continue to support you and your families. But we will also stand strong with the only legitimate President of Venezuela, President Juan Guaido. So I encourage you to have faith. Have faith in this courageous family and all the leaders for freedom in Venezuela that they represent. Have faith that, under President Donald Trump's leadership, the United States of America and freedom-loving nations around the world will stand with you. And have faith that you will someday go home and that Venezuela will one day be free. I believe it with all of my heart. For where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. PARTICIPANTS: Amen. (Applause.) THE VICE PRESIDENT: With that, it's my great honor to stand here with the Interim President of Venezuela, President Juan Guaido. INTERIM PRESIDENT GUAIDO: (Speaks Spanish.) END Venezuelan President Maduro Accuses US of Fabricating Crisis By VOA News February 26, 2019 Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has accused the U.S. of trying to create a crisis with the intent of starting a war in the region. "They are trying to fabricate a crisis to justify political escalation and a military intervention in Venezuela to bring war to South America," Maduro said in an interview with ABC News in the Caracas presidential palace. Monday, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence announced an additional $56 million in humanitarian aid to Venezuelans as he met in Colombia with opposition leader Juan Guaido and other representatives of the Lima Group, an intergovernmental body tasked with establishing solutions to the Venezuelan crisis. Pence announced sanctions against four Venezuelan state governors who support Maduro and also said the U.S. would impose "stronger sanctions" on the Maduro government's "corrupt financial networks." Maduro described the Bogota meeting as part of an ongoing effort to establish a "parallel government in Venezuela" so that the U.S. can access the country's vast oil reserves. "The extremist Ku Klux Klan government that [U.S. President] Donald Trump directs wants a war over oil, and more than just oil," Maduro added. The Lima Group meeting followed a violent weekend along Venezuela's borders with Brazil and Colombia, where food, medicine and other aid much of it sent by the U.S. is sitting in warehouses waiting to be delivered. Maduro has refused to let the aid into the country, calling it the pretext for a U.S. invasion. Guaido heads Venezuela's National Assembly. He invoked the constitution to declare himself interim president after calling Maduro's leadership illegitimate because of election fraud. The U.S. was the first to recognize Guaido as president, followed by about 50 other countries. Lima Group members want the International Criminal Court to declare Maduro's refusal to let humanitarian aid into the country a "crime against humanity," but ruled out the use of force to push Maduro out of office to make way for new elections. "The transition to democracy must be conducted peacefully by Venezuelans within the framework of the constitution and international law, supported by political and diplomatic measures without the use of force," the group said in a statement. But Guaido wants the international community to consider all options in dealing with Maduro. "All political and diplomatic resources have been exhausted," Guaido told group members. "Now, what can we do as a region in order to support Venezuela?" he asked. Trump has said all options are on the table, but he has not specified under what conditions he would send military forces to the area. India Says It Carried Out Airstrike Targeting Militant Camp in Pakistan By Anjana Pasricha February 26, 2019 India says it has carried out pre dawn airstrikes in Pakistan on a camp of the Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad, which claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb that killed 40 paramilitary troops in Indian Kashmir nearly two weeks ago. The airstrikes, which India says killed many militants, will escalate military tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals. Pakistan claims the strikes caused no damage or casualties. In a brief statement, Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale called it a "pre-emptive strike" prompted by credible intelligence that the Jaish-e-Mohammed was planning another suicide terror attack in the country. He said India struck the group's biggest training facility located at Balakot in Pakistan. "In this operation a very large number of Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis, who were being trained for fidayeen action had been eliminated," he added. India had taken care to avoid civilian casualties, according to Gokhale. "The facility is located in thick forest on a hilltop far away from any civilian presence," he said. In Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan called an emergency meeting of his national security committee Tuesday. His office after released a statement after the meeting. "Once again [the] Indian government has resorted to a self-serving, reckless and fictitious claim," said the statement. "This action has been done for domestic consumption being in [an] election environment, putting regional peace and stability at grave risk. The claimed area of strike is open for the world to see the facts on ground. For this domestic and international media is being taken to the impact site." Major General Asif Ghafoor, a spokesman for Pakistan's military, has disputed India's version of the attack. In a tweet Tuesday, he said, "Indian aircrafts intruded from Muzafarabad sector. Facing timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force released payload in haste while escaping which fell near Balakot. No casualties or damage." Pakistan's U.N. Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi told VOA that Indian claims it hit a JeM training camp were "absolutely untrue" and she warned that a dangerous situation is evolving. "We had told the international community that India's rhetoric of belligerence and bellicosity was leading our region to a very dangerous escalation, and now we are at that point," Lodhi said. "Pakistan also reserves its right to self-defense. We will do that at a time and place of our own choosing." She said that her foreign minister would speak by telephone with the U.N. secretary-general early Wednesday to discuss the escalation. "We will wait to see how the Secretary-General shows leadership and prevents our region from going over the precipice," Lodhi said. Analysts said this is the first airstrike launched across the line of control in Kashmir since the two countries fought a war in 1971. Indian forces and air defenses have been put on high alert in anticipation of retaliatory action by Pakistan, which had vowed to respond to any military action by India. There also has been a large troop buildup in Indian Kashmir in recent days. The Indian foreign secretary reiterated New Delhi's calls on Pakistan to take action against militant groups in its territory. "We expect that Pakistan lives up to its public commitment and takes follow up actions to dismantle all JeM and other camps and holds the terrorists accountable for their actions," he said. Pakistan has long denied India's allegation of giving support and shelter to militant groups that target Kashmir. The latest assault the deadliest in Indian Kashmir led to widespread anger in India and calls for retaliation. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised a strong response and said the armed forces had been given the freedom to take action. The targeting of militant camps is a departure from India's decades-old policy of restraint born out of fears of triggering an outright conflict. The militant groups are fighting for either Kashmir's independence or its merger with Pakistan. The military action follows a diplomatic offensive in which India says it is seeking to isolate Pakistan for its alleged support to militant groups. The Himalayan territory is divided between the two countries and has triggered two of their three wars. Last week India welcomed a United Nations Security Council statement that condemned the attack in Kashmir and called on all countries to "cooperate actively" with the Indian government in holding the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of such attacks accountable. Ayesha Tanzeem and Ayaz Gul in Islamabad, and Margaret Besheer at the United Nations contributed to this report. UN Launches Massive Appeal to Save Yemen's People By Lisa Schlein February 26, 2019 A United Nations pledging conference for Yemen is seeking record amounts of money to provide life-saving aid for some 19 million of the most destitute people struggling to survive nearly four years of civil war. The U.N. is hoping for a good response to the four-point-two billion-dollar appeal it issued for Yemen in December. The U.N. reports 80 percent of Yemen's population, or 24 million people, need humanitarian aid and protection. It warns famine is stalking nearly 10 million people, while millions of others are unable to feed themselves and their families. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who convened the pledging conference, is appealing to international donors to respond generously to what he calls "a crisis of devastating proportions." He noted that tens of thousands of people have been killed or injured since the conflict escalated in March 2015. That is when the Saudi-led coalition began its bombing campaign against the Houthi rebels in support of the Yemeni government. As in all conflicts, Guterres said, children, who did not start the war, are paying the highest price. "Some 360,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, fighting for their lives every day. One credible report put the number of children under five who have died of starvation at more than 80,000," he said. Guterres said more than three million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes, adding that nearly 20 million people lack adequate medical care because the health care system has largely collapsed. Some two million children are out of school, robbing them of a future. Though aid agencies are chronically underfunded, Guterres noted whatever money is received is put to good use. For example, he said, aid agencies successfully stopped the spread of the 2017 cholera epidemic, the worst in the country's history. He also said the World Food Program is feeding 8 million people a month. The UN Secretary Generals remarks came after IAF carried out a pre-dawn air strike on a terror training camp inside Pakistan. The strike was the first by the IAF inside Pakistan after the 1971 war. (File Photo) United Nations: UN chief Antonio Guterres is following the situation between India and Pakistan very closely and has appealed to the governments of both nations to exercise maximum restraint to ensure the situation does not deteriorate further, a top UN official said Tuesday. The UN Secretary Generals remarks came after Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a pre-dawn air strike on a terror training camp inside Pakistan. The strike was the first by the IAF inside Pakistan after the 1971 war. India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammeds (JeM) biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistans restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a very large number of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. He is obviously following the situation very closely and reiterates his urgent appeal to both the governments of India and the government of Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure that the situation does not further deteriorate, UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters when asked about the Secretary Generals remarks on the air strike. Dujarric said Guterres did not have any information on the possible casualties and has seen the news reports. Guterres is returning to New York from Geneva and Dujarric said he had spoken to the UN chief about the situation between India and Pakistan before he boarded his plane. The air strike came 12 days after the JeM carried out a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama district that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. India launched a major diplomatic offensive against Islamabad after the Pulwama attack and highlighted Pakistans role in using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. The international community led by the US pressed Pakistan to deny safe haven to terror groups operating form its soil and bring the perpetrators of the Pulwama attack to justice. India has asked Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorists and terror groups operating from territories under its control. New Delhi also announced the withdrawal of the Most Favoured Nation status for Pakistan and hiked the customs duty by 200 per cent on goods originating from Pakistan. With 10 million Yemeni's 'one step away from famine', donors pledge $2.6 billion 26 February 2019 - Donors have pledged $2.6 billion to provide urgently needed support to millions of Yemeni civilians facing an "overwhelming humanitarian calamity" after nearly four years of brutal war, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday. Speaking on the sidelines of a pledging conference in Geneva, Mr. Guterres welcomed the generosity of Member States, who pledged 30 per cent more than during last year's conference to raise life-saving funds for Yemen. The UN chief also announced that the World Food Programme (WFP) has been able to reach the so-called Red Sea Mills food stores in the key port city of Hudaydah, where more than 50,000 tonnes of wheat - enough to feed 3.7 million people for a month has been trapped for months, due to fighting between coalition forces backing the Government, and Houthi rebels who control the city and port. The UN emergency food assistance agency confirmed the information but has yet to announce if its stocks are fit to eat, after months without access. The highest contributors at the conference - at $500 million each - were Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, supporters of the internationally recognized Government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi. "The donors have pledged 30 per cent more than last year to help address the dramatic humanitarian situation in Yemen," the UN Secretary-General said. "From $2 billion in the pledging conference of 2018, to U$2.6 billion in the pledging conference of 2019. Several countries have naturally increased their contributions, but I think it is fair to say that the two most relevant elements in this increase came from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates." Nearly four years since fighting escalated in Yemen, civilians continue to suffer most. "Tens of thousands of people have bene killed or injured since the conflict escalated, many of them civilians," Mr. Guterres said. "Many more have died from preventable diseases, exacerbated by malnutrition." He noted that around 20 million are unable to "reliably feed themselves or their families", adding that "almost 10 million are just one step away from famine." 360,000 Yemini children 'fighting for their lives every day' Highlighting the impact on the youngest Yemenis, the UN chief noted that "children did not start the war in Yemen, but they are paying the highest price. Some 360,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, fighting for their lives every day. One credible report puts the number of children under-five who have died of starvation, at more than 80,000." Conference co-host Sweden's Foreign Minister Margaret Walstrom described a similarly dire situation in the country, which was already one of the poorest in the world before violence cut desperately needed imports of food, fuel and medicine. Citing the latest food security data, which is known officially as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) index, she said: "We must now face the shocking fact that 240,000 people, according to newly published IPC report, are in Category 5, meaning that they are facing starvation. Ten million people don't know where to find their next meal, and as so often is the case, women and girls find themselves in a particularly vulnerable situationWomen eat last and least." Speaking on behalf of second co-host Switzerland, Vice-President Simonetta Sommaruga confirmed that the Confederation's near $15 million contribution for 2019 would focus on the protection of civilians and sustainable support for Yemen: "Our strategy for co-operation, which covers four years, is up to 54 million francs in total," she said. "In Yemen, Switzerland is focusing on the areas where it has particular expertise such as the water sector, protection of the civilian population and food security." Referring to the UN-brokered ceasefire agreement signed between the Yemeni Government and Houthi opposition in December, Mr. Guterres acknowledged that significant challenges remained in implementing a withdrawal from the key Red Sea port of Hudaydah. "We had an important moment in Stockholm, in which it was possible to agree on a ceasefire in Hodeida and a number of other aspects," he said. "We know that there is a hope for the end of the conflict, but we know that we are also facing many obstacles in the implementation of the Stockholm Agreement." Mr. Guterres also rejected suggestions that the UN was ignoring human rights concerns in Yemen while the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE "and other countries", provided military support for the Government of Yemen: "We are not disregarding the war that exists and the fact that a number of countries, not only the one that you mentioned, have had direct impact on that war," he said. "Obviously, what we want is to end the war and to end all the consequences of the war: the people that are killed, the people that suffer from all other kind of impacts. Independently of that, today we had the pledging conference to address humanitarian needs." The 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen requires $4 billion to reach 21.4 million people who are barely surviving. More than half of the funding is destined for emergency food aid for 12 million people - a 50 per cent increase compared to last year. Maduro Accuses US of Attempt to Fabricate Crisis Justifying War in South America Sputnik News 04:04 26.02.2019(updated 04:22 26.02.2019) Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused the United States of trying to "fabricate a crisis" to start a war in South America in his first interview with an American broadcaster in years. "Everything that the United States government has done has been doomed to failure [] They are trying to fabricate a crisis to justify political escalation and military intervention in Venezuela to bring a war to South America", Maduro told ABC News in an interview made in Caracas. Maduro also slammed the recent Lima Group meeting in Bogota as "part of that politics to attempt to establish a parallel government in Venezuela", stressing that the US "wants Venezuela's oil" and is "willing to go to war for that oil". The Venezuelan president also told ABC News that US President Donald Trump needs to fix his policy over Venezuela. "Venezuela has the right to peace, Venezuela has legitimate institutions. I, as President of Venezuela, am prepared for a direct dialogue with your government and with you to look for, like the Americans that we are. We are South Americans, you are North Americans. To look for 21st century solutions not Cold War solutions. The Cold War should stay behind", Maduro said in an interview with ABC News. Last month, Maduro accused Washington of trying to orchestrate a coup after US-backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president. Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia and a number of other states reaffirmed their support for constitutionally elected Maduro as Venezuela's only legitimate president after the United States and several allies recognized Guaido. The United States has imposed numerous rounds of sanctions on Venezuela. In January, Washington blocked around $7 billion in assets belonging to Venezuela's state oil firm PDVSA. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that the restrictions were tantamount to illegal seizing. Earlier on Monday, the US Treasury Department sanctioned four Venezuelan governors. The US Department of State said earlier in a separate statement that the designated governors "prevented desperately needed international humanitarian assistance from entering Venezuela and/or engaged in corruption to the detriment of the Venezuelan people, in some cases involving human rights violations". On Saturday, attempts to bring in unauthorized aid into Venezuela led to clashes between Venezuelan police officers, who tried to prevent aid-filled trucks from crossing the country's border without permission, and protesters. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has refused to allow any US-sponsored aid into the country, calling it a "fake show" and accusing Washington of trying to use it as a ploy to oust him from power. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has dismissed allegations about a humanitarian crisis in the country and recalled that international law provides for deliveries of foreign humanitarian aid only in cases of natural disasters and armed conflicts. Caracas has also warned that the illegal entrance of any vehicle into Venezuelan territory would be considered an offense by the country's military officers. Meanwhile, US Vice President Mike Pence has said that Washington would announce another set of sanctions against Venezuela's government in coming days. Sputnik Indian Jets Destroy Terrorist Camp Across Line of Control in Kashmir - Minister Sputnik News 07:36 26.02.2019(updated 13:38 26.02.2019) MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Indian Air Force carried out on Tuesday an airstrike against a 'terror camp' located across the Line of Control (LoC) separating the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region and completely destroyed the facility, Indian Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said. "[Indian] Air Force carried out aerial strike early morning today at terror camps across the LoC and Completely destroyed it," Indian Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said. The Indian Foreign Ministry stated that the airstrike was carried out due to Pakistan's inability to take measures to destroy terrorist infrastructure. "India has been repeatedly urging Pakistan to take action against the JeM to prevent jihadis from being trained and armed inside Pakistan," the ministry said in a statement. "Credible intelligence was received that JeM was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country, and the fidayeen jihadis were being trained for this purpose. In the face of imminent danger, a preemptive strike became absolutely necessary," the statement added. Pakistan Forces 'Ready to Respond to Any Misadventure' Reacting to the incident, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan convened an emergency meeting, Radio Pakistan reported. According to his office, he vowed to "engage with global leadership to expose irresponsible Indian policy". Earlier in the day, Spokesperson for the Pakistan Armed Forces Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor said that Indian aircraft had violated the Line of Control. "Indian Air Force violated Line of Control. Pakistan Air Force immediately scrambled. Indian aircrafts gone back", the spokesperson said on Twitter. According to Ghafoor, the Indian aircraft released their payload near the northeastern Pakistani town of Balakot, located close to the Line of Control, but no damage or victims have been reported. "Indian aircrafts intruded from Muzafarabad sector. Facing timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force released payload in haste while escaping which fell near Balakot. No casualties or damage", the spokesperson said. Separately, Pakistan's foreign minister stated that the country's forces are ready to respond to any misadventure. Tensions Escalate in the Wake of Kashmir Attack The relations between New Delhi and Islamabad have been increasingly tense after the deadly terrorist attack on 14 February, when a car carrying over 100 pounds of explosives detonated on the Jammu-Srinagar highway next to a security convoy, killing 45 Indian paramilitary officers. India blamed Pakistan for harbouring and protecting terrorists, accusing the country of having a "direct hand" in the incident. Pakistan in turn rejected the allegations of its involvement in the attack and said that this was New Delhi's strategy to divert international attention from human rights violations taking place in the Kashmir region. Both India and Pakistan along with China have been contesting Kashmir since 1947. The state is currently divided between the three sides, with Line of Control serving as a de facto border between the Indian and the Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir. Sputnik India Calls Its Air Strike Across Border 'Non-Military' and 'Pre-Emptive' Sputnik News 10:34 26.02.2019(updated 10:35 26.02.2019) In response to the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, India's air force carried out an assault on an alleged terrorist base in Pakistan-administered-Kashmir; several facilities were destroyed. Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad had claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, which killed over 40 Indian soldiers. New Delhi (Sputnik): India's Ministry of External Affairs has referred to the Tuesday morning air strike in Balakot, located across the line-of-control (LoC) in Pakistan-administered-Kashmir, as a 'non-military' and preemptive move, adding that the Indian Air Force had ensured that there were no civilian casualties in the strike, which aimed to neutralise what India has described as the biggest terrorist training camp operated by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). In a media briefing in New Delhi, Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said that the airstrike was made following credible intelligence inputs that pointed towards plans to conduct several suicide attacks throughout India. "In the face of imminent danger, a preemptive strike became absolutely necessary," Gokhale stated. "In an intelligence-led operation in the early hours of today, India struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot. In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadists who were being trained for fidayeen activities were eliminated," Gokhale said, while emphasising that the move was necessary, as Pakistan hadn't taken action despite the fact that it had known about the group's activities for a long time. This facility at Balakot, situated around 80 kilometres away from Line of Control (de-facto border), was headed by Maulana Yusuf Azhar, alias Ustad Ghouri, the brother-in-law of Masood Azhar, chief of JeM. India's External Affairs ministry emphasised that New Delhi had been repeatedly urging Islamabad to take action against JeM and put a stop to the training and arming of jihadis from inside Pakistan. Pakistan has not taken any concrete action to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism on its soil, it claimed. "The Government of India is firmly and resolutely committed to taking all necessary measures to fight the menace of terrorism. Hence this non-military preemptive action was specifically targeted at the JeM camp," Gokhale said. Meanwhile, according to media reports, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will hold an emergency meeting at 11 am on Tuesday, according to Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. On 14 February, a suicide attack was conducted by the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad, leading to the killing of 40 Indian soldiers. After the attack, India blamed Pakistan for harbouring and protecting terrorists, accusing the country of having a "direct hand" in the incident. As a punitive measure, India has withdrawn Pakistan's most-favoured nation (MFN) status and raised customs duties on goods imported from Pakistan to 200 percent. Pakistan has, in turn, rejected the allegations of its involvement in the attack and said that this was New Delhi's strategy to divert international attention from human rights violations taking place in the Kashmir region. Jammu and Kashmir is a region that has been disputed by India and Pakistan since 1947, when both countries gained independence from the British Empire. The two countries have gone through three wars over the region, but the conflict has not been resolved. The unstable situation in the region has led to the emergence of extremist groups. The Line of Control currently divides the disputed area into two zones administered by the two rivals. India has repeatedly blamed Pakistan-backed militants for numerous inroads into its territory. Sputnik US Preparing for Military Incursion in Venezuela - Moscow Sputnik News 13:04 26.02.2019(updated 15:04 26.02.2019) Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said that the United States show "sarcasm and arrogance towards the Venezuelan people" while it imposes humanitarian aid that will be rejected. Nikolai Patrushev stressed that the United States, deploying military forces to Puerto Rico and Colombia, is preparing an invasion of Venezuela to remove legally elected incumbent President Maduro from power. "By showing sarcasm and arrogance towards the Venezuelan people, the United States is preparing a military invasion on an independent state. The transfer of American special forces to Puerto Rico, the landing of US forces in Colombia and other facts clearly indicate that the Pentagon is reinforcing the grouping of troops in the region in order to overthrow the lawfully elected incumbent president (Nicolas) Maduro," Patrushev said. As he explained, Venezuela refused to accept humanitarian aid imposed on it by the United States because it understands that Washington is preparing to overthrow the democratically elected president. "And the Venezuelan people understand this well. Hence, such a reaction, the refusal to accept cargo from the aggressor country and the support of their president," Patrushev added. The Russian security official noted that the United States proposed to Russia to hold separate talks on Venezuela, and Moscow agreed. However, Washington later started using far-fetched pretexts to avoid these consultations, Patrushev added. Earlier, Juan Guaido escalated Venezuela's political crisis by declaring himself interim president, with US support. Nicolas Maduro, who was sworn in for his second presidential term on January 10 after winning the May election, which part of the opposition boycotted, qualified Guaido's move as an attempt to stage a coup orchestrated by Washington. Sputnik Tomahawk-Capable Destroyer USS Gravely Enters Baltic Sea - Reports Sputnik News 18:06 26.02.2019(updated 21:58 26.02.2019) Currently, the destroyer is passing the German coast, and this is the second time since 2009 that USS Gravely arrives in the Baltic Sea. The Russian National Defense Control Center has reacted to the reports on the missile destroyer USS Gravely's actions in the Baltic Sea, saying that it was closely monitoring the situation. "On February 26, at 02.00 p.m. Moscow time [11:00 GMT], US Navy destroyer USS Gravely entered the Baltic Sea. The designated forces and means of Russia's Baltic Fleet have been mobilized to carry out continuous monitoring of the American destroyer," the centre said in a statement. Earlier in the day, Russia's Zvezda broadcaster reported that USS missile destroyer Gravely (DDG-107) has entered the Baltic Sea. Previously it passed the Great Belt Strait, the media specified. It was earlier reported that the vessel took part in joint drills of NATO ships, according to the Vesti news outlet. The USS Gravely is the flagship of NATO's Standing Maritime Group 1 in the US 6th Fleet's area of operations, which includes Europe and Africa. It can carry up to 56 Tomahawk cruise missiles. A similar ship, the USS Donald Cook, is now in the Black Sea. On 25 February it arrived to the port of the Ukrainian city Odessa, following wargames that involved the Turkish frigate TCG Fatih in the Black Sea. According to reports, the destroyer will remain in the port until 27 February. The last time it sailed into the area was at the end of January 2019, spending five days in the port of Batumi, Georgia. Sputnik Maduro: Guaido Will Have to 'See Face of Justice' After Return to Venezuela Sputnik News 18:08 26.02.2019 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday said he thinks that opposition leader Juan Guaido must face trial after his return to Venezuela from Colombia, where he travelled in defiance of the travel ban imposed by the Venezuelan Supreme Court. "He can leave and come back and will have to see the face of justice because justice had prohibited him from him leaving the country He has to respect the laws," Maduro told ABC News. Answering a question about the possible arrest of Guaido, the president noted that only a court can make such a decision. Opposition leader Juan Guaido, who seeks to oust Maduro and backed by the United States, arrived in the Colombian border city of Cucuta on February 22, despite the travel ban issued on him. He went there to help deliver humanitarian aid from the United States and a number of other countries, even though the Venezuelan government refused to accept it. While the attempt to forcefully bring the aid into Venezuela failed, Guaido stayed in Colombia to take part in Monday's meeting of the Lima Group in Bogota. Guaido announced on Monday that he intends to return to Venezuela this week. Guaido's Declared Himself Interim President On January 5 Guaido was elected as president of the Venezuelan opposition-run National Assembly, whose authority has not been recognized by any other branch of power since 2016. On January 23, days after the Supreme Court nullified Guaido's election as the National Assembly's head, the opposition leader proclaimed himself Venezuelan interim president. Maduro, whose new presidential term, disputed by the opposition that boycotted last year's election, began on January 10, accused "US puppet" Guaido of trying to stage a US-orchestrated coup. The United States and around 50 other countries have endorsed the opposition leader as the Venezuelan acting president. China and Russia, along with many other countries, have voiced their support for Maduro's legitimate government. Mexico and Uruguay, in turn, have refused to back Guaido and declared themselves neutral, promoting dialogue as a means to resolve the crisis in the country. Sputnik Timeline: India-Pakistan Spat Over Kashmir Spanning Five Decades Sputnik News 20:16 26.02.2019 The Kashmir dispute dates back to 1947, when shortly after India and Pakistan gained independence from British colonial rule, Pakistani forces along with the local militia attacked the Kashmir valley region ruled by Maharaja Hari Singh, who, after initially resisting acceded to India, much to Islamabad's dismay. New Delhi (Sputnik) Tuesday's cross-border air strikes by the Indian Air Force (IAF), which Pakistan claims its fighter jets successfully repelled, wasn't alone instigated by the 14 February Pulwama terror attack. India and Pakistan have been at loggerheads ever since the British, at the time of leaving the subcontinent, divided its colonial landmass, called British India, into two nations along religious lines carving out the Muslim-majority portion as the nation of Pakistan while the rest of it was retained as India. At the time, Pakistan as a nation consisted of West Pakistan on the western side of India, and East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) situated on the eastern side of India. The bone of contention between the two countries has been the status of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir which despite being Muslim-majority in population, was ruled by a Hindu ruler Maharaja Hari Singh. The state initially decided against joining India or Pakistan at the time of independence from British India. However, in 1948, Maharaja Hari Singh decided to accede to India. First War The two countries fought their first war in October 1947 within the first three months of their independence. This war was fought over Kashmir when Pakistani forces entered the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. The war resulted in Maharaja of Kashmir signing the letter of accession to India even as the Pakistani Army, in support of local militia, occupied part of the region that is currently administered by Pakistan. Second War In August 1965, India and Pakistan fought over Kashmir once again. Pakistan was led by President Ayyub Khan and India by then-Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. Third war The two countries fought once again in December 1971 and this time it was not for Kashmir. The war was fought for the liberation of East Pakistan and the creation of an independent nation of Bangladesh. It was a 13-day war in which Pakistani forces surrendered to India. Fourth skirmish In May 1999, India launched air strikes and ground offensives in the Kargil mountainous region of Jammu and Kashmir after Pakistani soldiers and militants occupied Indian military posts, taking advantage of the snowy winter conditions. However, the intruders were eventually pushed out. Kandahar Hijack Incident In the ongoing Indo-Pak standoff, the December 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines Flight to Kandahar in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan holds special importance because it was during this incident that Azhar Masood, the founder of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror outfit that claimed responsibility of the recent Pulwama terror attack, was released by India in a hostages-to-prisoners swap. With the release of Azhar Masood and him being sheltered on Pakistani soil, the Indo-Pakistan moved to more of a proxy war, wherein Pakistan has reportedly served as a base for terrorist organisations. October and December 2001 Terror Attacks Pakistan-based Azhar Masood's outfit launched brazen terror attacks, with the first one in October 2001 against the state legislative assembly in the Indian side of Kashmir, killing 38, and again in December 2001 this time against the Indian Parliament in New Delhi, leaving 14 people dead. November 2008 Terror Attack This was a high-tech, high-impact terror attack orchestrated by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, in which armed, GPS-equipped terrorists entered India from Pakistan by sea and killed 166 people in Mumbai including Indians and foreigners at luxury hotels, a Jewish centre, and major railway stations across the city. January 2016 Terror Attack This was a four-day attack on an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot in north India in which Pakistan militants dressed in Indian forces' fatigues infiltrated the base compound and killed 7 Indian soldiers. Six militants were killed in the battle. September 2016 On 18 September 2016, four terrorists belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit attacked the 12th Brigade of the Indian Army in Uri sector of Kashmir killing 19 soldiers. 30 September 2016 India, in its first pre-emptive move, reportedly carried out "surgical strikes" on terror camps and militants in Pakistani side of Kashmir. Pakistan has however denied that this strike ever took place. 14 February 2019 A suicide bomber, driving an explosive-laden vehicle, rammed into a convoy of Indian paramilitary troops killing 40 personnel. The Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed direct responsibility for the attack. 26 February 2019 The Indian Foreign Ministry claimed its air force's Mirage 2000 fighter jets and dropped 1000 kg explosives on Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps in the Balakot region across the Line-of-Control (LoC) in Pakistan. India claimed that Azhar Masood's brother-in-law Yusuf Azhar, who was involved in the Indian Airlines Flight 814 hijacking, was among those running the jihadi camps. Pakistan acknowledged the Indian incursion into Pakistani airspace but maintained that a fighter squadron successfully repelled the Indian planes. Sputnik Over 320 Venezuelan Servicemen Defected to Colombia Official Sputnik News 21:59 26.02.2019(updated 22:00 26.02.2019) MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) The number of Venezuelan servicemen who defected to Colombia within recent several days has exceeded 320, head of the Colombian migration service Christian Kruger Sarmiento said on Tuesday. "As of now, we have accepted more than 320 Venezuelan brothers military and officers of the Venezuelan guard who are fleeing Venezuela, asking for help in our country. And this figure is increasing," the official said, as quoted by the Caracas Radio broadcaster. According to the head of the Colombian migration service, some of the servicemen crossed the border in uniform and with weapons, while others in civilian clothes and with children. He pointed out that many of the defected Venezuelan servicemen asked for asylum and the Colombian authorities were checking whether they really needed it. The day before, Colombian President Ivan Duque said that more than 140 Venezuelan servicemen had defected to the neighbouring country. The Venezuelan authorities have not commented on the issue yet. Chile, Mexico Stand for Peaceful Resolution Meanwhile, Chilean Foreign Minister Roberto Ampuero has underlined the country's stance on the crisis, saying that Chile was against any use of force in Venezuela. "As a member of the Lima Group, Chile reaffirms its commitment and conviction that the only solution to the Venezuelan problem is a peaceful way within the framework of international law Peace and dialogue are the principles of our foreign policy," Ampuero said. According to the minister, at the Lima Group meeting, Chile proposed to incorporate in the final declaration a paragraph that outlines commitment to a political and diplomatic solution to the crisis in Venezuela without any use of force. A similar position has been voiced by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who said that Mexico was ready to become a host for dialogue on the normalization of the situation in the Latin American country. "Mexico has always been able to help in the implementation of dialogue in order to achieve peace in any country. The doors on our territory are open to dialogue," Obrador told a press conference in Mexico City. Crisis in Venezuela Venezuela is currently going through a political crisis. On January 5, lawmaker Juan Guaido was elected as the president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, which all other government branches have been refusing to recognize in 2016. On January 23, two days after the Venezuelan Supreme Court annulled his election, Guaido declared himself the country's "interim president." Incumbent President Nicolas Maduro, who was sworn in for his second presidential term on January 10 after winning the May election, which part of the opposition boycotted, qualified Guaido's move as an attempt to stage a coup orchestrated by Washington. The United States immediately recognized Guaido, after which some 50 other countries followed suit. Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia and a number of other states have, in the meantime, voiced their support for the legitimate government of Maduro. Mexico and Uruguay have refused to recognize Guaido, declaring themselves neutral and promoting crisis settlement via dialogue. Sputnik US F-35Bs Bombarded Daesh Targets for More Than 50 Days Sputnik News 22:02 26.02.2019(updated 22:08 26.02.2019) Since launching its combat career in Afghanistan in September, US F-35B aircraft, highly touted by the US military and defense contractors, have gone to work in Iraq and Syria, dropping bombs on targets for more than 50 days. "They were active and did very well," said Col. Chandler Nelms of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit in an interview for Military.com on Monday. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211 conducted some 1,200 flight hours in combat missions in the campaign against Daesh, according to the colonel. The number of encounters between the US F-35 aircraft and Russian air forces was described by the US side as minimal, according to the commander. Russia's forces are in Syria at the request of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "We were aware they were airborne," the commander said of Russian aircraft, adding that "there are some established de-conflictions that are already set up between Russian and US forces. They were all adhered to, but we were aware." The first F-35 combat mission took place in September, Sputnik reported, when the fifth-generation jet conducted a strike in Afghanistan against the Taliban. The plane's reduced radar cross-section makes it much harder to detect, and has led the likes of the US commander-in-chief, President Donald Trump, to call the plane "an invisible fighter" in a speech to US Coast Guard personnel in November 2017: "With the Air Force, we're ordering a lot of planes, in particular the F-35 fighter jet, which is almost, you know, like an invisible fighter. I was asking the Air Force guys how good is this plane, and they said, 'Well sir you can't see it.' I said yeah but in a fight, you know a fight, like I watch on the movies, the fight, they're fighting, how good is it? 'Well it wins every time, because the enemy cannot see it, even if it's right next to it, it can't see it.' I said that helps; that's a good thing." Sputnik The Line of Control has for various reasons been considered sacrosanct by most Indian governments. Pakistan is at a crossroads. The decision it takes in the hours and days ahead is going to determine its future. It can either change course and accept that its policy of proxy war through jihadis will no longer work with respect to India, or else it can choose to continue on that slippery slope and raise the ante through a military strike against India. Whatever it decides, it must know that the February 26 Indian airstrikes on the Pakistan Army-run terrorist camps constitute a paradigm shift in Indias strategic doctrine. The air attacks deep into Pakistani territory have made it clear that the arena has been enlarged and instead of the low-cost jihadi option, henceforth any confrontation with India must involve the regular military with all its attendant risks. For decades, Indias posture vis-a-vis Pakistani belligerence, even aggression, has been defensive. Even the 1999 Kargil War was entirely defensive, with the Indian leadership steadfastly refusing its military the option of expanding the conflict beyond the Line of Control (LoC), which is the de facto border in most of Jammu and Kashmir state. The Line of Control has for various reasons been considered sacrosanct by most Indian governments. This has hamstrung military options and produced a doctrine which is essentially defensive. Even the surgical strikes of 2016 by the Indian Army at terrorist targets across the Line of Control was both defensive and tactical. In the end it did not prove to be a sufficient deterrent. Indias former Northern Army commander, Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda, said in a recent interview that the 2016 surgical strike had not worked: I would say the amount of pressure India has put on Pakistan till now has not been consistent, the retired general said. You have one cross-border operation, and nothing sort of changes. So, we are seeing an increase in ceasefire violations, infiltration is continuing and (also) cyberattacks. I dont think doing one odd operation in two years is going to make them change their behaviour. The Pakistan Army responded to the surgical strikes with stepped-up ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and international border in J&K. There were reports of 2,936 cases of ceasefire violations by Pakistan in 2018, which is the highest in the past 15 years. These border firings have claimed 61 lives and injured over 250 Indians. In contrast, in 2017, ceasefire violations totalled only 971, with 31 killed and 151 injured.The minister of state for home admitted in Parliament that ceasefire incidents have killed more Border Security Force personnel in 2018 than in earlier years. BSF casualties shot up three times to 14 in 2018, compared to just four in the previous year.Militancy within the Kashmir Valley also intensified during 2018 with as many as an estimated 181 local youth joining terrorist ranks in that year. The graph of local youth joining militancy has only been rising it was 66 in 2015, 88 in 2016 and 126 in 2017.In other words, far from being cowed down by the surgical strikes, Pakistan was only further emboldened. The re-activation of the Jaish-e-Mohammed and its murderous chief, Maulana Masood Azhar, was a clear indication. The use of military-grade RDX explosives in the Pulwama blast suggested an increased degree of confidence on the part of the Pakistan Army.It was becoming increasingly clear that in order to stop Pakistan from pursuing its strategic goal of keeping the Indian Army suppressed in Kashmir, as Gen. Pervez Musharraf once put it, India would have to exercise a strategic and not a tactical response.A surgical strike or two does not comprise a strategic response, neither does the decision to rescind the Most Favoured Nation status on Pakistani trade with India. These are at best symbolic gestures which Islamabad would have no trouble shrugging off.Another response would have been to beef up the internal security grid in the Kashmir Valley. However, this would constitute a defensive measure and not address the source of the problem. The United States and Natos military action against the Taliban insurgents for over 17 years has ended in failure precisely because of this.New Delhi also had to consider the international implications of a strategic response to Pakistan. Any move that could invite international opprobrium would be a huge setback.Ayesha Siddiqa, a Pakistani strategic expert, writing just a day prior to the airstrike, maintained that India would find it difficult to isolate Pakistan internationally as now Pakistan is engaged with multiple international players. She said that in the words of the chief of Inter-Services Public Relations, India could not isolate Pakistan. Everyone wants to talk to Islamabad. Western countries that cant talk to China or Russia use us (Pakistan) as an interlocutor.The US reliance on Pakistan for a successful deal with the Taliban, the Saudi Crown Princes Islamabad visit and so on seem to have lulled the Pakistan Army into believing in its self-importance, while the truth is that most countries today see Pakistan as a vicious promoter of terrorism and regional instability.The global response to the Indian airstrikes proved just how wrong Islamabads assessment of its own importance was. Even its all-weather friend China did not condemn India, but like all other powers called for restraint. A few countries like France and Australia even demanded that Pakistan rein in its terrorist outfits, while the United States said Pakistan should take meaningful action against the terrorists on its soil.New Delhi was wise to stress that the airstrikes were an intelligence-based counter-terror strike and not a military action for sake of war. The dean of the diplomatic corps in New Delhi, ambassador Hans Castellanos of the Dominican Republic, said he was satisfied to learn that the airstrikes did not affect any civilian or any Pakistani military installation.It is decision time for Islamabad. Pakistans Prime Minister Imran Khan has responded by declaring the airstrikes constitute Indian military aggression, to which Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing. On Wednesday, Pakistani fighters have bombed the Indian side of the LoC.So be it. No strategic shift comes free of risks or costs. This is true of India and Pakistan as well. The subcontinents future will depend on who is best able to absorb the inevitability of rising risks and costs in the long term. Guaido Could Face 30-Year Jail Term for Violating Travel Ban - Venezuelan Court Sputnik News 23:14 26.02.2019 Self-proclaimed Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaido could face a significant term in prison after his return to Venezuela from Colombia, where he traveled in defiance of the travel ban imposed earlier by the Venezuelan Supreme Court, Deputy Judge of the Venezuelan Supreme Tribunal of Justice Juan Carlos Valdez told Sputnik on Tuesday. "He is a person hiding from justice. What is happening with runaways, who are reentering the country and found by the authorities? They must be caught and sent to a prison He may face up to 30 years in jail", the deputy judge said. He added that the prosecution was currently analyzing the possible crimes committed by Guaido. At the same time, Guaido, who is currently in Colombia, told Colombian broadcaster NTN24 that he was going to return to Venezuela, despite the risk of being arrested. In January, Venezuelan Prosecutor General Tarek Saab announced his intention to conduct an investigation into Guaido and asked the Supreme Court to implement a travel ban. US National Security Adviser John Bolton has said that Washington condemns Venezuelan prosecutors for threatening Guaido. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has dubbed the opposition leader a "US puppet" and repeatedly accused Washington of attempting to organize a coup in Venezuela. On 22 February, Guaido arrived in the Colombian border city of Cucuta, where the so-called humanitarian aid from the United States and a number of other countries was being collected, in order to help deliver the supplies to Venezuela, despite the fact that the legitimate government has refused to accept the aid. While the attempt to forcefully bring the aid into Venezuela failed, Guaido stayed in Colombia to take part in Monday's meeting of the Lima Group in Bogota. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez had dismissed allegations of a humanitarian crisis in the country, noting that international law provides for deliveries of foreign humanitarian aid only in cases of natural disasters and armed conflicts. Caracas has warned that the illegal entrance of any vehicle into Venezuelan territory will be considered an offense by the country's military officers. The United Nations and the Red Cross have urged Washington not to politicize humanitarian assistance and not to deliver aid without the consent of the Venezuelan government. Venezuela is currently going through a political crisis. On 5 January, Guaido was elected as the president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, which all other government branches have refused to recognize since 2016. On 23 January, two days after the Venezuelan Supreme Court annulled his election, Guaido declared himself the country's interim president. Incumbent President Maduro, who was sworn in for his second presidential term on 10 January after winning the May election, which part of the opposition boycotted, called Guaido's move an attempt to stage a coup orchestrated by Washington. The United States immediately recognized Guaido as Venezuela's leader, after which some 50 other countries followed suit. Russia, China, Cuba, Bolivia and a number of other states have, in the meantime, voiced their support for the legitimate government of the constitutionally elected Maduro. Mexico and Uruguay have refused to recognize Guaido, but have declared themselves neutral and promoted a crisis settlement via dialogue. Sputnik Taliban Hopeful On Possible Agreement On U.S. Afghanistan Pullout February 26, 2019 A spokesman for the Afghan Taliban has said the group is close to reaching an agreement with the United States on the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Spokesman Suhail Shaheen made the comment in Doha, Qatar, following the second day of negotiations with U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad on February 26. "If we do not reach a solution in this round of talks, then we will in the next round of talks," he told AP. Khalilzad's past rounds of talks with the Taliban focused on U.S. troop withdrawal in exchange for guarantees of no attacks against the United States, but it was unclear how close he was on a deal on those issues. He said that in exchange for a U.S. withdrawal, the Taliban would offer guarantees that Afghanistan would not be used as a staging area for anti-American attacks. Shaheen said it was very important that Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was in Doha for the talks, saying it showed "how much importance we are giving to these talks and how [high] expectations are." Khalilzad did not comment on the February 26 round, but he posted on Twitter on February 25 that this round of talks could be "a significant moment" in the process of winding down the 17-year U.S. war in Afghanistan. In the past, Khalilzad has tried to pressure the Taliban to hold direct talks with the government of Afghanistan, which the Taliban considers a U.S. puppet. Earlier on February 26, the Afghan government said that nine members of a government-back militia had been mistakenly killed in an air strike in the eastern province of Ghazni. Based on reporting by AP, dpa, and TOLOnews Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/taliban- hopeful-on-possible-agreement-on-u-s- afghanistan-pullout/29792382.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. Indian jets strike 'militant training camp' inside Pakistan Iran Press TV Tue Feb 26, 2019 05:32AM India says it has conducted "preemptive" airstrikes against a militant training camp inside Pakistan, shortly after the Pakistani military accused New Delhi of violating its territory in the Kashmir region. India's Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said Indian Air Force jets conducted airstrikes against a militant training base in Balakot, Kashmir, on Tuesday. According to an Indian government source, some 300 militants were killed in the strikes. Pakistan, however, has denied that there were any casualties. The camp is believed to belong to a Pakistan-based militant group, the so-called Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), which claimed responsibility for an attack on an Indian security convoy in Pulwama, in Indian-administered Kashmir, on February 14. That attack killed more than 40 Indian troops. But, while India had promised to retaliate that attack, Gokhale said Tuesday's airstrikes were "preemptive." "In the face of imminent danger, a preemptive strike became absolutely necessary," the Indian foreign secretary said. He further said that the existence of such training facilities "could not have functioned without the knowledge of the Pakistani authorities." Earlier in the day, Pakistan said India violated its airspace when its military jets crossed the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir. Pakistani military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Twitter early on Tuesday, that Indian aircraft "release payload in haste, while escaping, which fell near Balakot. No casualties or damage." He said Indian jets faced "timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force." Ghafoor also posted four pictures on his Twitter account that purportedly showed the bombarded site. They showed what appeared to be a bomb crater in a forest area. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also reacted to the airstrikes in a Twitter message, calling on New Delhi not to challenge Pakistan. Pakistan 'to respond at time, place of its choosing' Later in the day, Pakistan's National Security Committee (NSC) also rejected claims by India that it had struck "terror camps" inside the country. It also vowed to "respond at the time and place of its choosing." The committee, comprising top officials, including Prime Minister Imran Khan and army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, also said Khan will "engage with global leadership to expose irresponsible Indian policy." This is believed to be the first time India's Air Force has crossed into Pakistan since 1971. The confrontation comes amid rising tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi in the wake of a deadly bomb attack on an Indian security convoy in Pulwama, in Indian-administered Kashmir, on February 14. The attack, which was claimed by a Pakistan-based militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), killed more than 40 Indian troops. Reacting to the attack at the time, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that those behind the bombing "have to pay a heavy price." An Indian commander then accused Pakistan's main intelligence agency, the ISI, of having been involved. Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, who denied Islamabad's involvement in the attack, vowed to retaliate any attack by India. India and Pakistan have long been at loggerheads over the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir. They have fought four wars since their partition in 1947, three of them over Kashmir. Pakistan is widely accused of arming and training militants. The Indian military incursion now risks sparking a conflict between the two nuclear-armed rivals, which partitioned in 1947. US ramps up recon flights near Venezuela amid threats of looming military action Iran Press TV Tue Feb 26, 2019 11:22AM The US military has been flying more reconnaissance flights near Venezuela over the past few days to collect intelligence that could come handy in case of a military action against the government of President Nicolas Maduro, two American military officials say. The unnamed officials told CNN on Monday that the US spy aircraft stayed in international airspace as they flew off the coast of the South American country. They did not detail which specialized US military reconnaissance aircraft were being used for the mission. Both the US Navy and Air Force maintain several large fixed-wing aircraft that can snoop communications from a distance while keeping an eye on military movements. Unconfirmed social media reports identified one of the aircraft as a USAF Boeing RC-135V. The plane flew off Venezuelan cost for six hours to reportedly gather information on the country's slew of advanced air defense systems, including the Russian-made S-300. President Donald Trump and other US officials have been increasingly threatening Caracas with military action in case Maduro refuses to give up power to opposition leader, Juan Guaido. Washington rushed to back Guaido in early January when he declared himself "interim president" of Venezuela. The US also introduced new sanctions against Maduro's government and the Venezuelan oil industry. While some Pentagon officials insist that the Trump administration is not actively considering military options for the crisis, countries like Russia and Cuba have recorded of growing US military activity near Venezuela's borders. Guaido has welcomed US threats of potential military intervention in his country, openly asking Washington and its allies to send in "humanitarian aid" for thousands of people he claims are in dire need of basic commodities. Russia warned Friday that the White House was using the humanitarian aid scenario as a cover to arm the country's opposition while moving its own forces closer to Venezuelan borders in preparation for a military invasion. Maduro has said that Trump wants to facilitate regime change in Venezuela under the cover of manufacturing a humanitarian crisis there. On Thursday, he ordered shut Venezuela's border with Brazil and threatened to close the border with Colombia as well. Violence broke out in Venezuela's border over the weekend, after the Venezuelan military blocked US aid convoys. The Trump administration has asked the United Nations Security Council to discuss the situation in Venezuela on Tuesday. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for the end of violence in the Latin American country conflict. Iran urges India, Pakistan to exercise restraint amid tensions Iran Press TV Tue Feb 26, 2019 02:52PM Iran says India and Pakistan should exercise restraint and resolve tensions peacefully after New Delhi conducted airstrikes against what it called a militant training camp in Pakistani territory. Tehran "calls on the two countries of India and Pakistan to [exercise] restraint and make more efforts to reduce tensions and peacefully settle the existing differences and problems through dialog," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Tuesday. As a victim of terror, Iran believes that the only way to fight terrorism and extremism is bolstering all-out cooperation among all countries in the world without any discrimination, the Iranian spokesperson pointed out. Tensions have seen a sharp hike between the two nuclear-armed states since February 14, when Pakistan-based militants carried out a deadly bomb attack against Indian paramilitary forces on the New Delhi-controlled side of Kashmir. The tensions reached a peak on Tuesday, when India's Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said his country had conducted "preemptive" airstrikes against what it described as a militant training camp in Balakot near Kashmir, shortly after the Pakistani military accused New Delhi of violating its territory in the Kashmir region. According to an Indian government source, some 300 militants were killed in the strikes. Islamabad, However, rejected New Delhi's claim that it had killed many militants as "self serving, reckless and fictitious." Pakistani officials have said that Indian warplanes did breach the country's airspace and drop a payload over Balakot in the country's northwest, but said there was no damage or casualties. The camp is believed to belong to a Pakistan-based militant group, the so-called Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), which claimed responsibility for the attack that killed 44 Indian forces in Pulwama, in Indian-administered Kashmir, on February 14. Pakistan says 'shall respond' to India's 'uncalled-for aggression' Iran Press TV Tue Feb 26, 2019 06:20PM In the wake of India's airstrikes on purported militant training camps, Pakistan is talking retaliation. The office of Prime Minister Imran Khan said in a statement that "India has committed uncalled-for aggression to which Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing." "This action has been done for domestic consumption in the election environment, putting regional peace and stability at grave risk," the statement said, referring to general elections in India that start in two months. In a posting on Twitter, the spokesman for the Pakistani armed forces, Major General Asif Ghafoor, said the Indian military aircraft crossed into Pakistan airspace but were driven back. Ghafoor alleged that Indian jets crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and were pushed back by Pakistan Air Force jets that were scrambled to the scene. He said Indian jets had dropped their bombs in an empty forested area; "No infrastructure got hit, no casualties." The LoC is the de facto border between India and Pakistan in the disputed Kashmir region. The Pakistani military official also pledged that the army would respond to the airstrikes at an unspecified time. "It is your turn now to wait and get ready for our surprise," Ghafoor said. Earlier, India's Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told reporters in New Delhi that the airstrikes took place in the early hours of Tuesday, and came in response to "credible intelligence" about potential militant attacks. Gokhale said the camp was run by Jaish-e-Mohammed, the group India blames for a car bomb attack in Pulwama in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 Indian paramilitary troops on February 14. In New Delhi, senior authorities said a "very large number" of JeM militants were killed in the airstrikes. Addressing an election rally a few hours after the airstrikes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about protecting India. "I want to assure my countrymen that the country is in safe hands." Modi has threatened a "jaw-breaking" response to the February 14 bombing. India's military had been weighing up a response to the bomb attack, conducting raids over the past two weeks to weed out armed fighters hiding in Kashmir. Drone gets shot down In a separate development on Tuesday, India's air force shot down a drone near the frontier with Pakistan. Indian police sources said villagers discovered debris from a drone not far from the Pakistan border in western Gujarat. An investigation has begun into whether the drone came from Pakistan, the sources said. Nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India frequently claim to have shot down surveillance aircraft in each other's territory. Tensions between the two neighbors have drawn international attention. China and the European Union have called for both sides to show restraint. A spokeswoman for the EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, Maja Kocijancic, called on India and Pakistan to "avoid further escalation of tensions." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Beijing hopes India and Pakistan will work toward regional stability. "Pakistan and India are two important countries in South Asia. Maintaining good relations and communication between the two sides is conducive to regional peace and stability. And it is fundamentally in line with the interests of both India and Pakistan. China hopes the two sides could exercise restraint, and take measures to stabilize the regional situation and improve bilateral ties, instead of doing the opposite." VP-47 To Participate in Avalon 2019 Airshow, Exhibition Navy News Service Story Number: NNS190226-11 Release Date: 2/26/2019 2:33:00 PM From Patrol Squadron 47 Public Affairs VICTORIA, Australia (NNS) -- The "Golden Swordsmen" of Patrol Squadron (VP) 47 and the unit's P-8 Poseidon will participate in the Australian International Airshow and Aerospace & Defence Exposition 2019 at Avalon Airport in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, Feb. 26. The Australian International Airshow and Aerospace & Defence Exposition is one of Australia's premiere biennial aerospace exhibition, trade and airshows. "Our participation will strengthen our ties and working relationships with our Australian counterparts as well as our other partners within the Indo-Pacific," said Senior Chief Aviation Structural Mechanic (Equipment) Ronald Lilley, VP-47 Australian International Airshow and Aerospace & Defence Exposition detachment senior enlisted leader. "It is important to all of us that we have this cohesion of services to operate in the diverse environments that we deploy to." VP-47 will join the Royal Australian Air Force, Army, and Navy as well as air forces from France, Japan, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Singapore. "We have had the opportunity to work with our Australian allies on numerous exercises throughout the Pacific, including Sea Dragon, our most recent exercise in Guam and RIMPAC this past summer in Hawaii," said Lt. Derek Hinkley VP-47 Australian International Airshow and Aerospace & Defence Exposition detachment officer in charge. "Working with them at this airshow will allow us to see familiar faces as well as continue our great partnership." VP-47's P-8 Poseidon will be on display throughout both days of the trade show and will conduct a flight demonstration during the general public days. The last event held in 2017 included 664 companies from 25 countries, 158 delegations and more than 33,000 accredited trade attendances, with a total event attendance of 210,664. "I expect to receive a ton of positive feedback from our counterparts and especially from the general public," said Lilley. "Most people have probably flown in a Boeing 737 and I'm sure the P-8A will peak their interest. I'm anticipating some pretty awesome displays of airpower." The "Golden Swordsmen" are currently deployed to Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan, conducting maritime patrol and reconnaissance and theater outreach operations within the U.S. 7th Fleet (C7F) area of operations in support of Commander, Task Force 72, C7F, and U.S. Pacific Command objectives throughout the Indo-Pacific region. VCNO Visits Lincoln, CSG 12 Navy News Service Story Number: NNS190226-09 Release Date: 2/26/2019 11:11:00 AM By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Cody Anderson, USS Abraham Lincoln Public Affairs ATLANTIC OCEAN (NNS) -- Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bill Moran visited the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), Feb. 19-20, during the final stage of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12's composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX). Moran visited the Abraham Lincoln Strike Group to observe COMPTUEX and speak with Sailors in the strike group as they work toward certification to deploy later this year. COMPTUEX enables a strike group to prepare for and conduct global operations, establish lasting command and control, and demonstrate dedication and commitment to becoming the strongest warfighting force for the Navy and the nation. The visit aligns with Moran's responsibilities to assess readiness, confidence and safe operations, and to evaluate how well the Navy's commitment to changing the way it trains to become more effective and competitive. While on board, he focused on attaining feedback from Sailors at every level during the exercise to see what the Navy can do to better train as warfighters while maintaining safety as a top priority. "The C2X for the Abraham Lincoln Strike Group was one of the most complex and integrated training environments we've conducted to date," Moran said. "It was an impressive orchestration of a multi-domain challenge for everyone in the strike group - not only was it good to see how leaders, operators and maintainers dealt with this complexity, but to also see our incredible teams working together to learn how to win in a high-end fight. It was truly impressive." While aboard Abraham Lincoln, Moran visited Sailors in engineering, aircraft maintenance and operations work centers. He also spent time on the ship's bridge and flight deck, observing the launching and recovery of aircraft. Additionally, the VCNO spent a few hours visiting the strike group's air defense platform Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55). "We talked about repair and all the service we provide to the ship and to the carrier strike group," said Hull Technician 1st Class Tim Jakubisin. "It's not every day that someone that high up comes down to your shop. He seemed very interested in what we had to talk about, and we had a very normal and casual conversation." "It was an honor to meet and speak with the VCNO," said Aviation Structural Mechanic 3rd Class Asaad Plummer. "He was very personable, and he really took the time to listen to us and made me feel like my voice was heard." Moran's visit during COMPTUEX comes at a time when CSG 12 is working to demonstrate its readiness across every warfare area through simulated and live events as a single combat-ready force. Participating units must show that they are capable of operating as a "team-of-teams," combining advanced surface, air and systems assets to create and sustain operational capability. CSG 12 is comprised of Abraham Lincoln, Carrier Air Wing 7, Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55), Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 2 and the Alvaro de Bazan-class frigate ESPS Mendez Nunez (F 104). It is a multinational, multi-platform unit of ships, aircraft and more than 6,000 Sailors who are ready to respond wherever and whenever required through a variety of mission sets. NATO Deputy Secretary General visits Hungary NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 26 Feb. 2019 The NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller travelled to Budapest on Tuesday (26 February 2019) and met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter Szijjarto, with Minister of Defence Tibor Benko and with other high-level government officials. She also delivered a keynote speech at the Ambassadorial Conference of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In her speech Ms. Gottemoeller noted that the security environment today is more complex and often more chaotic than it has been in a long time. She highlighted that with its ongoing pattern of aggressive actions, "Russia continues to reject and undermine the rules and institutions that have created stability, prosperity and peace in Europe and around the world for many decades" and that Russia is undermining one of the pillars of nuclear arms control. "Russia's new SSC-8 missile system directly contravenes the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces - INF- Treaty", she said. "Russia's new missiles are mobile, easy to hide and nuclear capable. They can reach cities such as Budapest in minutes". Ms. Gottemoeller stressed that "there are no new US missiles in Europe, only Russian ones". She also noted that NATO Allies have repeatedly raised concern with Russia over this new missile system for the last six years, but that "Unfortunately, our concerns have been ignored". Ms. Gottemoeller mentioned that this is one of the many reasons why ongoing dialogue with Russia is so important. "We disagree on so many things. But to stop talking to each other would only increase the risk of actions on either side being misinterpreted and of events spiralling out of control". She said that Russia's "consistent cheating by developing, testing and deploying the SSC-8" has forced the United States, with the full support of all NATO Allies including Hungary, to suspend its obligations under the INF Treaty, stressing that Allies hope that that Russia will return to compliance and destroy its missiles, launchers and associated equipment. "There is still a window of opportunity for Russia to comply with the treaty, until August", she said. Ms. Gottemoeller thanked Hungary for its support to Ukraine in the conflict with Russia, including with reverse gas flows, humanitarian assistance and medical treatments to wounded soldiers. Ms. Gottemoeller underscored that the meetings of the NATO-Ukraine Commission are "a central part of our support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a powerful way to ensure its government stays on track with reform". "Allies have acted in solidarity with Hungary when it comes to Ukraine's Law on Education. In the Brussels Declaration and in the assessment of Ukraine's Annual Programme, all Allies urge Ukraine to fully implement the recommendations of the Venice Commission", she said. Ms. Gottemoeller also welcomed the resolution by the Hungarian government to reach 2% GDP on defence by 2024, and the intent to spend 20% of the defence budget on major equipment from next year onwards. "Our actions must demonstrate that we are investing in our deterrence and defence, and doing everything in our power to maintain peace and stability in our neighbourhood be that to the south or to the east", she said. "NATO has helped to keep the peace in Europe for 70 years. By standing in solidarity, I fully expect that we will do so for many more to come". Pakistan rejects Indian claims of targeting terrorists' camps IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Islamabad, Feb 26, IRNA -- A special meeting of Pakistan's National Security Committee chaired by the Prime Minister on Tuesday rejected Indian claims of targeting an alleged terrorist camp in Pakistan's Balakot area and the claim of heavy casualties, state media reported. The meeting was attended by Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Finance, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Army Chief and other civil and military officials. "The claimed area of strike is open for the world to see the facts on ground. For this domestic and international media is being taken to the impact site," it said. To take the nation on board, the government has decided to requisition joint session of the Parliament. "PM has directed that elements of national power including the Armed Forces and the people of Pakistan to remain prepared for all eventualities," it said. He decided to engage with global leadership on Indian policy in the region. PM appreciated timely and effective response of PAF to repulse Indian attempt without any loss of life or property. 272**1771 We are proud of our Indian Air force. Mumbai: The chief minister presented a congratulatory motion in the state Assembly. The central governments decision to carry out a surgical strike on Pakistan was appreciated by the MLAs. The leader of the upper house and revenue minister Chandrakant Patil also tabled a congratulatory motion in the Council. Members of the Lower House joined in when the Maharashtra chief minister presented the congratulatory motion in the Assembly on Tuesday. We are proud of our Indian Air force. We will teach a lesson to each one who has an evil eye on the country, Mr Fadnavis said. This was an emotional moment for both the benches treasury and Opposition. Both houses of the state legislature on Tuesday passed a unanimous resolution heartily congratulating the armed forces for the air strikes on terrorist camps across the line of control in Pakistan. Our armed forces did not allow the martyrdom of our jawans to go in vain. I am extremely proud of our armed forces, said Mr Fadnavis while presenting the congratulatory motion. Anyone casting an evil eye on our country will be given an apt answer by us. Everyone in the country is proud of our armed forces. Whenever the country is under crisis, we all make sure that we are standing together, said NCP leader Ajit Pawar. Congress MLA Naseem Khan said, We have retaliated to the Pulwama attack with an apt and extremely strong answer. Pakistan should now come to their senses otherwise they will be wiped off from the world map. Reacting to Tuesdays air strikes Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Abu Azmi said, The strike carried out by our jawans have eased the pain and anger of every Indian in the country. Shiv Sena MLA Subhash Sabane said, Now, every Indian will feel that he has a 56-inch chest. Leader of the Opposition in the Council, Dhananjay Munde seconded the congratulatory motion. Mr Munde said that the killing of around 300 terrorists and destruction of the launch pads of Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizbul Mujahideen and Let were only a mere trailer and the complete picture would be released when the Indian forces decided to release it. China urges peace and dialogue between India and Pakistan Global Times By Sun Haoran and Wang Bozun Source:Global Times Published: 2019/2/26 22:28:40 China urged India and Pakistan to practice good communication and exercise restraint, which will help maintain regional stability, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said after Indian fighter jets crossed into Pakistani territory on Tuesday. The Pakistan military said on Tuesday that Indian warplanes violated the Line of Control (LoC) in the Kashmir region and dropped "payload" hastily. Pakistan military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor, chief of the army's Inter-Services Public Relations, said the Pakistan Air Force "immediately scrambled and Indian aircraft went back." Confirming the airstrikes, Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Keshav Gokhale said a JeM terror camp was the lone target of the "non-military pre-emptive action" taken by India in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. India's actions are "putting regional peace and stability at grave risk. The claimed strike area is open for the world to see the facts on the ground," according to an official statement provided by the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing. "India has been repeatedly urging Pakistan to take actions against the JeM to prevent jihadis from being trained and armed inside Pakistan. Pakistan has taken no concrete actions to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism and its soil," the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday. The incident came amid growing tensions between Pakistan and India following the February 14 suicide attack on the Indian police in the Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed over 40 policemen. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said in a news briefing Tuesday that India and Pakistan are both important countries in South Asia, and they should maintain good relations and communication, which aids regional stability. China hopes that the two sides can exercise restraint and take actions that can stabilize the regional situation and improve mutual relations, not the opposite, he said. Lu said that fighting terrorism is a global problem and challenge, which requires global cooperation and countries should create a beneficial atmosphere for necessary international cooperation. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone conversation with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday to exchange views on the recent suicide attack in Kashmir. In the phone conversation, Wang said China supports Pakistan and India to resolve the issue through dialogue as soon as possible and avoid an escalation of the situation. He called on both sides to collaborate on fighting terrorism and jointly safeguard the security and stability of South Asia. Former Israeli Minister Sentenced to 11 Years for Spying for Iran - Prosecutor Sputnik News 12:13 26.02.2019(updated 13:05 26.02.2019) The former official, who served as energy and infrastructure minister from 1995 to 1996, has agreed to a plea bargain on charges of espionage and transfer of information to Iran. The Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday sentenced Gonen Segev, a former Israeli minister of energy and infrastructure, to 11 years in prison for spying for Iran after a plea bargain was agreed, the prosecutor stated. "The indictment which Segev confessed to as part of the plea bargain included grave crimes of spying and providing information to an enemy with the intent of harming national security," prosecutors Geula Cohen and Rachel Aharoni Zeevi stated, adding that he "confessed that he acted on behalf of the Iranian intelligence forces for five years, maintained regular communications with his handlers using a clandestine channel and that he provided them with a diverse range of information including top secret information." According to the prosecutors, the former minister met with his handlers both in Iran and other countries at secret locations. As they specified, Segev sought to promote contact between Iran and Israelis he knew in the defence establishment. Explaining his motives, Segev previously stated, as quoted by Channel 10, he tried to help Israel and return as a "hero" under the guise of spying for Iran. As the Jerusalem Post reported, he lived in Nigeria for almost 10 years where he practised medicine there, since his license had been revoked in Israel. According to the media outlet, in 2005 he had been previously arrested and convicted of drug smuggling and credit card fraud. Sputnik Butina Set To Appear In U.S. Court After Foreign Agent Guilty Plea By RFE/RL February 26, 2019 Maria Butina was set to make her first appearance in U.S. federal court since pleading guilty last year to charges of being an unregistered foreign agent. The February 26 hearing in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., comes ahead of a final decision on whether the Russian native will serve time in a U.S. prison or be deported to Russia. Defense lawyer Robert Driscoll told the Russian state news agency TASS that Butina's Russian passport had been handed over to U.S. immigration authorities, a possible signal she may end up being forced to leave the United States rather than serving more time in custody. Driscoll said he hopes a final sentence will be announced no later than April. "Our hope would be that she'll receive a sentence that will be equivalent to the time already served and that she will be released and deported soon after that," he was quoted as saying. In December, Butina pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government. In court documents, prosecutors had charged that Butina had sought to infiltrate conservative U.S. political organizations, including the influential National Rifle Association. As part of their evidence, prosecutors pointed to one of her key backers, Aleksandr Torshin, a former lawmaker and top official at Russia's Central Bank, who was hit with financial sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department in April -- three months before Butina's arrest. Earlier this month, an American conservative political activist who was identified as Butina's boyfriend was indicted by a federal grand jury in the state of South Dakota on financial fraud charges. The Kremlin has called the charges against Butina "groundless," and Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted that Butina pleaded guilty "under pressure." Meetings With Top Officials The upcoming sentencing comes as U.S. senators have begun inquiring into two meetings that Butina and Torshin held in 2015 with two top U.S. financial officials: Stanley Fischer, then Federal Reserve vice chairman, and Nathan Sheets, then Treasury undersecretary for international affairs. On February 15, the Senate Finance Committee sent a letter to a Washington think tank that organized the meeting, the Center for the National Interest. The center, which also has a magazine that had published articles authored by Butina, is a foreign policy think tank that is supportive of efforts to improve U.S.-Russia relations. Its chief executive is a Russian-born man, Dimitri Simes. "It is concerning that Ms. Butina and Mr. Torshin were able to gain access to high-level administration officials responsible for U.S. economic and monetary policy to reportedly discuss U.S. Russian economic relations," the lawmakers wrote. Letters were also sent to the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve. Butina's father, who lives in the Siberian city of Barnual, told TASS that his daughter's health was normal. "Her health is normal, and she feels confident [before the court session] and hopes that it all will end soon," he was quoted as saying. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/maria- butina-court-appearance-foreign- agent/29790960.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. Israeli Ex-Minister Gets 11 Years In Prison For Spying For Iran February 26, 2019 An Israeli court has sentenced a former cabinet minister to 11 years in prison for spying for the country's arch-foe Iran. Prosecutor Geula Cohen told journalists outside the Jerusalem court on February 26 that the judge had issued the sentence against Gonen Segev after accepting a plea bargain on charges of espionage and transferring information to Iran. The court hearings had been held in secret due to the nature of the case. Segev, who served as energy minister from 1995 to 1996 under Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, was convicted in 2005 of attempting to smuggle 32,000 chocolate-covered ecstasy pills from the Netherlands to Israel. The ex-minister was released from prison in 2007, and has lived in Nigeria for nearly 10 years where he practiced medicine after his license was revoked in Israel, according to The Jerusalem Post. He was extradited from Equatorial Guinea to Israel in May 2018. The Shin Bet security service has said that Segev served as an agent of the Iranian intelligence services, and that he visited Iran twice for meetings with his handlers. It said that Segev tried to put Israeli citizens with ties to Israel's security and foreign relations sectors in touch with Iranian agents posing as "innocent business officials." He also supplied Iran with "information related to the energy sector, security sites in Israel, and officials in political and security institutions," according to Shin Bet. Based on reporting by AFP and The Jerusalem Post Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/israeli-ex-minister- segev-11-prison-iran-spying/29791564.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. Two Russian Cybersecurity Figures Convicted Of Treason, Sentenced To Long Prison Terms By RFE/RL February 26, 2019 A Russian military court has convicted a former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer and an expert at the cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab of treason and handed them long prison terms in a case that is reportedly linked to the United States. After a trial held behind closed doors, the Moscow regional military court on February 26 convicted former FSB officer Sergei Mikhailov and Ruslan Stoyanov, chief of the computer incidents investigation team at Kaspersky Lab, of passing secret information to foreign intelligence agencies. Mikhailov, who worked in the FSB's information-security division, was sentenced to 22 years in prison and Stoyanov to 14 years, Russian news agencies reported. Mikhailov was also stripped of his colonel's rank and his decorations. "We will appeal the sentence," Stoyanov's lawyer, Inga Lebedeva, told the TASS news agency. "The guys think that they have stepped on some toes during their counterhacking activity." Russian media reports have said that investigators accused the two of selling confidential documents to the FBI. Reports have said the documents were files from a Russian investigation into the former head of payment services company Chronopay, Pavel Vrublevsky, who is accused in the United States for alleged cybercrimes. Defense lawyer Lebedeva was unable to give details about the closed trial but told AP that the verdict was based on Vrublevsky's testimony. Mikhailov was arrested in December 2016 and Stoyanov was detained in January 2017. Two other suspects were charged during the inquiry, Bloomberg reported on February 22, quoting people familiar with the case. They were identified by the sources, who asked not be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the case, as businessman Georgy Fomchenkov and Dmitry Dokuchayev, a member of Mikhailov's staff, who is also accused in the United States of involvement in the hacking of 500 million Yahoo e-mail accounts. The two have pleaded guilty to U.S. ties and will be sentenced later, Bloomberg reported. All four men were arrested in December 2016, shortly after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency, and charged with treason along with a researcher for the private computer company Kaspersky Lab. The FSB, along with Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU, have both been blamed for hacking campaigns that targeted U.S. political operatives, including the Democratic National Committee. The Kremlin dismissed suggestions of links between the case and alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. With reporting by Reuters, TASS, Interfax, Meduza, and Bloomberg Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia- sentences-cyberexperts-to-long-jail-terms- for-treason-/29791990.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. The officials said that the said assets include costly paintings, luxury properties and high-end cars, among other things. Mumbai: As a part of a fresh crackdown in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case involving fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday, attached illicit assets of his worth Rs 147.72 crore from Mumbai and Surat. The officials said that the said assets include costly paintings, luxury properties and high-end cars, among other things. The attached properties are in the name of Modi and his fraudulent companies, ED officials said. The provisionally attached movable and immovable properties consists of eight cars, machinery, consignments of jewellery, paintings and immovable property owned by Modi and his groups such as M/s Firestar Diamond International Private Lim-ited, M/s Firestar Intern-ational Private Limited, Radheshir Jewellery Company Private Limited and Rhythm House Private Limited. The officials said that substantial proceeds of crime obtained fraudulently by Modi-owned group of firms M/s Solar Exports, M/s Stellar Diamonds, M/s Diamond RUS from PNB were diverted to Modi, his relatives and entities controlled by the businessman. The attachment was done after these properties came up during the investigation in the PNB fraud case. ED attaches movable and immovable properties in Mumbai and Surat, worth Rs 147.72 crore consisting of 8 cars, Plant & Machinery, consignments of jewellery, paintings and properties owned by Nirav Modi and his group Companies in bank fraud case (sic), stated ED in an official tweet it put out following the attachment. The ED had registered a money-laundering case against Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others on February 15, 2018, based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). While the CBIs case pertained to cheating and criminal conspiracy along offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act involving PNB officials, the ED began looking into the money-laundering angle. The probe revealed that laundering was facilitated by the issuance of fraudulently Letters Of Undertaking (LoUs) that were issued without following the prescribed procedure, which caused a wrongful loss to the bank. The total attachment in the case has crossed over to Rs 4,800 crore, ED officials said. Earlier in October, ED issued a provincial order pertaining to Rs 255 crore of his overseas properties. The attachment of the said assets includes those valuables that were exported from Dubai to Hong Kong in 26 shipments. The valuables and jewellery were attached as per the PMLA. The said exports had taken place from Modis companies after the PNB had registered a case with the CBI. Dear Editor, Have you noticed that 'sustainability' is the latest buzz word related to ranching? Ever wonder what they are talking about? I have attended several workshops and read many articles in an attempt to determine what they mean by 'sust... Dear Editor, The Montana University System is made up of the public Montana colleges and universities working to support each other during this legislative session. One of the goals of Montana State University during this session is to obtain fun... This is just some of the artwork done by local and regional artists available for purchase at the new location of Wheatgrass Arts and Gallery, 523 2nd Ave S, Glasgow. Wheatgrass Arts and Gallery has found a new home on 2nd Ave S, in downtown Glasgow, only a few doors down from their previous location inside of Little Campers. This move allows owner and local artist Mary Fahlgren the opportunity to have a bigger... School board elections countywide have commenced and will be held on Tuesday, May 7. The Glasgow School District will hold an election to fill one school board seat. They will also have an election to approve a general levy fund, "for the purpose... The tight vigilance was imposed at the border areas of national capital by the security agencies to avert any mishap. A security personnel stands guard at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: As tensions escalated between India and Pakistan, security arrangements were tightened at all the major installations, including Pakistan embassy, Delhi airport, Delhi Metro and high footfall areas of the national capital on Wednesday. The tight vigilance was imposed at the border areas of national capital by the security agencies to avert any mishap. Earlier, the police top brass were asked by Delhi police commissioner Amulya Patnaik to keep a strict vigil in their respective areas. As advised by security agencies, red alert has been imposed in entire DMRC netwok from 6 pm onwards on Wednesday. Under red alert, all station controllers are required to inspect entire station premises for any suspicious items/activity including parking lots and report to the control centre every two hours, said the DMRC official. Earlier on Wednesday, the flight operations were hit by the ongoing tension which forced to cancel a total of 47 flights that include 25 departures and 22 arrivals at IGI airport in Delhi. The Delhi police have instructed the force to remain on high alert and step up the security in the busy market places. The Branson Board of Aldermen on Thursday (now postponed to July 28) will consider an ordinance that would require face coverings in public spaces. The aldermen might approve it, disapprove it, or approve an amended version. Would you be in favor of some form of mandatory face covering ordinance in the city of Branson? You voted: Yes, fireworks are a July 4th tradition and an expression of patriotic spirit. Yes, we have suffered a difficult year and need a return to normalcy. No, fireworks are too loud and are stressful for many people and pets. No, I love a good fireworks display, but the fire threat is too great during a drought. Vote View Results Asteroid trackers prepare for worst in a bid to "save the Earth" News oi-Vishal Kawadkar The scientists are prepping for the D-day. A new documentary has revealed how scientists in Glasgow, Scotland cleaned the local riverbeds to find remains of an asteroid that collided with Earth hundreds of years ago. The team of scientists claims that this was done in a bid to "save the Earth." Apophis 99942 is a two-mile-wide near-Earth-orbit asteroid to could be civilization-threatening. NASA, back in 2004 confirmed that there's a 2.7 percent chance that the space rock could collide with Earth in 2029. However, the space agency has since ruled out that data in 2013, saying there's only 150,000/1 probability of an impact with our planet in 2068. But, that hasn't stopped scientists from worrying about it. Amazon Prime's "Asteroid Trackers" show how astronomy students are prepping for the worst case scenario. Massimiliano Vasile, from the University of Glasgow, said in 2009: "We are talking about saving life on Earth. Apophis is, at the moment, something we have to seriously take into account." While they failed to locate an actual space rock, they still ran some tests on a rock to observe the results. "We asked if we could try to beam the same power density that we would use on an asteroid on a standard rock. A lot of debris ejected from the rock, followed by a lot of gas. We expected it to be more violent and it would be more gas leaving. We did not expect the laser to break the rock," said Vasile. The results fall in line with Jay Melosh's theory: "In space, we would use a mirror like a magnifying glass. As we hit the asteroid, we begin to vaporize material and, as it vaporizes, the asteroid gets pushed the other way. What we would do with a real asteroid is focus some light on it until the rock vaporizes. All we need to do is change the velocity of the asteroid by one centimeter a second. That tiny nudge over the year will push it off a collision course and save Earth." Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Samsung Galaxy M30 launch live stream: Comes with a massive 128 GB storage News oi-Vivek Galaxy M30 launch event will commence at 6:00 PM Samsung is all set to launch the third smartphone from the Galaxy M series in India on the 27th of February. The Samsung Galaxy M30 is expected to be the most expensive and most modern smartphone of the lot. The smartphone will be unveiled on the 27th of February @ 6:00 PM. Just hours before the launch of the Samsung Galaxy M30, the company has now released a new teaser, which re-affirms some of the specifications of the smartphone. With huge 6GB LPDDR4x RAM, powerful Exynos 7904 Processor and massive 128GB Storage, the new #GalaxyM30 can multitask without breaking a sweat. Stay tuned, unveiling on 27th Feb at 6pm. Click here https://t.co/57ny7Gk5bB & https://t.co/ApWs8NSUj7 to get notified. #IM3XPOWERD pic.twitter.com/T27HEhtSeA Samsung Mobile India (@SamsungMobileIN) February 26, 2019 Expressive specs at an affordable price? According to the latest teaser from Samsung, the Galaxy M30 will offer up to 128 GB of internal storage with a dedicated microSD card slot, which can accept microSD memory cards up to 512 GB. The smartphone also has a gradient design, which is missing from the first two Galaxy M smartphones. The Exynos 7904 SoC will power the smartphone (same processor found on the Galaxy M20) with 6 GB of LPDDR4x RAM. As expected, the smartphone will come with a 5000 mAh battery with 15W fast charging via USB type C port. The Galaxy M30 offers a triple camera setup with a 12 MP primary camera, 5 MP super wide angle lens, and a 5 MP depth camera. On the front, the device is expected to offer a 16 MP selfie camera. The Samsung Galaxy M30 is also the first smartphone from the brand to offer a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution and an Infinity U notch on the top. What makes the Galaxy M30 a special smartphone is the fact that the smartphone is expected to retail in India, well under Rs 15,000 price mark, which makes it the best budget smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy M30 is also expected to compete against the likes of the upcoming Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro. 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 If you are game for staying in glass igloos, ride a reindeer and catch the Northern lights, then Finland is the place to visit. Happiness although, a term which can be related by all, is ambiguous and subjective as it differs from individual to individual. According to the 2018 World Happiness Report it was found that the happiest country in the world is Finland. Not many know but this country also grabbed the top ranks for best education system. What could be a more happy moment than to enjoy an Indian palate amid the boundless beauties of nature in Finland. The country offers some of the worlds unique experiences of staying in glass igloos and snow hotels, unique nature activities like riding a reindeer, berry picking, kayaking, among others. Moreover, Aurora Borealis can appear on 200 nights a year in the Finnish Lapland and who can forget Santa Claus who actually comes from Finland. These are experiences that one will never forget. The travel packages offer experiences that are both simple and extreme and can be embraced with all senses to the depths of the soul. The four must visits in Finland are Helsinki, Lakeland, Lapland and Archipelago. According to Nina Vaskunlahti, ambassador of Finland, the country has reinvented itself in just one short century from a largely agrarian society into a high tech country. Our national character and northern heritage have boosted us to the top of many kinds of country rankings from quality of life to clean air. Finland is one of the worlds most sparsely populated countries. Almost 80 per cent of the land is covered by forest and 10 per cent by water. So its no wonder that tourists are blown away by the sheer beauty of the Finnish landscape, she says. Data reveals the average growth of Indian travellers has increased by 13 per cent and the overall growth shot up to 320 per cent in the years spanning from 2000 to 2018. With 40 national parks, 188,000 lakes and over two million saunas There are seven UNESCO World Heritage sites like the Fortress of Suomenlinna in Helsinki. In Helsinki one can definitely try and must walk in the cool neighborhood of Kallio, which has various kinds of bars and restaurants that would make one indulge in some gastronomical shenanigans. One can visit the local markets and try some lip-smacking delicacies like rye bread, salmon, sausage and pea soups, Karjalapaisti (meat stew) and much more. Lapland is located at the north of Finland. The mystery behind Finnish folklore is deeply connected with Lapland. It is said that once you visit this place, you would never be the same. One can doze off under the Northern lights under the glass igloo. Forget writing a letter to Santa! See him up close and in person, sitting on his lap with a list (not a huge one though). To top it off, one can even ride with the huskies or the reindeers. Lakeland is said to be a significant place as it is one of the important birthplaces of Finnish identity with deep green forests, rolling hills and the glittering lakes. A visit to the Savonlinna opera festival is a must. Engage on a forage for fresh berries and mushrooms in the forests. One can even rent a cottage here. Coast and Archipelago are located on Finlands west coast. Shaped by the Ice age, the Turku archipelago has 20,000 small islets. To add to it, wooden towns, historic manors and many stone churches, also there are lighthouses and ferries bridging islands. The Santa Claus country is welcoming when it comes to solo women travellers, she says. As far as Finland is concerned, we are an open society. Its a society where trust prevails, says Nina. Sara Sodhi Juneja, country head - India, Visit Finland and a frequent traveller to the country says, Finland received a very warm welcome in the Indian market with the arrivals growing by 15 per cent from India to Finland in 2018. We are focusing on developing Finland as an all year destination for Indians with the four unique seasons. With midnight sun in the summer, and the ephemeral allure of the Northern Lights in the winter, Finland possesses a wealth of rare beauty, and a truly distinctive ambience. It takes six hours from Delhi to fly to Helsinki. In summer, there are flights four times a week and in the winter there are daily flights. There is a variety of Indian restaurants in Finland, Sara says adding, Some of the Indian food we get there is better than what we eat here as the ingredients over there are so fresh. The Indian restaurants are in the city centre at a walking distance and can be easily found. Apart from the beautiful holiday destination, the home of Santa Claus, in recent times, its education system has also been titled as one of the best in the world at all levels be it primary, secondary and tertiary, education is free. When asked about how can India and Finland help each other in the field of education, the ambassador says, We are happy to share our experience nd ideas. She later advises that the best way the two countries can help each other out is by experiencing each others education system and understanding it. Mywanderlust about the Chronicle of Georgia or Tbilisis Stonehenge - GeorgianJournal 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. Sangh sources said the RSS was keen to see Bharti to return to MP politics and contest from Chhindwara. Bhopal: The BJP circle here is abuzz with talks that Union minister Uma Bharti may be asked to contest from Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh, considered a Congress bastion, in the ensuing parliamentary polls. The speculation on her return to Madhya Pradesh politics after a gap of 16 years to contest from Chhindwara parliamentary seat, currently represented by MP chief minister Kamal Nath, has gained strength following recent visit of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to the state. Mr Bhagwat visited Indore and Jabalpur where he interacted with the Sangh members and local intellectuals during his three-day-stay in the state last week. Sangh sources said the RSS was keen to see Ms Bharti to return to MP politics and contest from Chhindwara. She is currently representing Jhansi Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh. Shah hailed the Indian Air Force for the non-military pre-emptive actions against terrorists. Ghazipur: Nearly 900 kilometres away from the national capital, a small village, Gaurhat, celebrated Diwali weeks ahead of Holi to celebrate India avenging Pulwama terror attack. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah, who launched his partys Kamal Jyoti Sankalp campaign from this village on Tuesday also took a pledge from the people to vote for the BJP in the coming Lok Sabha polls. On the day, Indian Air Force acted against terror camps across the border, Mr Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the only one who can protect the country and take on Pakistan. Mr Shah also took a jibe at the proposed grand alliance of the opposition parties as he asked the gathering whether or not the alliance can protect the nation and the crowd shouting back no. He reminded that the region had given the nation two heroes Maharaja Suheldev, who fought with the British and Abdul Hamid, hero of the 1965 India Pakistan war who posthumously received countrys highest military decoration, the Param Vir Chakra. Mr Shah hailed the Indian Air Force for the non-military pre-emptive actions against terrorists. The campaign is part of BJPs election related strategy to reach out to maximum number of people including the 22 crore beneficiaries of Modi government's various schemes. Mr Shah also lit an earthen lap at the house of a Dalit Rudranaths, who had availed the PM Awaas Yojana. The numerically significant Dalits and OBC are two casted that the BJP is aggressively wooing. Evers' budget will contain plan for independent redistricting MADISON Gov. Tony Evers will propose in his state budget a way to draw legislative boundaries in a way that favors neither political party. The move would put election maps in the hands of a nonpartisan state agency instead of with Republicans who control the Legislature and drew the states current legislative boundaries that are being challenged in federal court. The people should get to choose their elected officials, not the other way around, Evers said in a statement. By creating a nonpartisan redistricting commission in Wisconsin, were making sure that when were redrawing district maps in 2021, were putting people before politics. But Republican lawmakers are sure to block the proposal that is the latest in a series of measures revealed before Evers releases the entirety of his first state budget Thursday. In a case that has reached the U.S. Supreme Court, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos are defending the states election maps that favor keeping Republicans in power. A panel of judges in 2016 ruled 2-1 that Wisconsins maps violated Democrats voting rights because they were so heavily tipped in Republicans favor. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2016 found that those who brought the case didnt have legal standing to sue and sent the case back to the lower court. A new trial is scheduled for July. Under Evers proposal, the maps would be drawn by state employees at the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau, which writes comprehensive reports on issues facing the Legislature and houses files associated with drafting bills. The plan would bar mapmakers from using voting patterns, party information, incumbent residence information and demographic information to draw the boundaries, except where required by law. The bureaus map process would be overseen by a nonpartisan five-member commission appointed by legislative leaders of both parties. Each of the four leaders would get to appoint one commissioner each and those four members would appoint a fifth commissioner to serve as the commissions chairperson. Under Evers proposal, commissioners may not be anyone who holds a partisan public office or political party office nor may they be employed by or related to any lawmakers. Public hearings on the proposed maps would be held in each congressional district. In a recent Marquette University Law School poll, an overwhelming 72 percent of those polled said they support legislative and congressional district boundaries being drawn by a nonpartisan commission, as Evers has proposed, rather than the state Legislature. Thats compared with just 18 percent who said the Legislature should continue to draw the boundaries. Gov. Evers has heeded our call for moving nonpartisan redistricting reform forward, and now the Legislature must follow suit, said Sachin Chheda, chairman of the Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition, which is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the states current election maps. Aides to Fitzgerald and Vos did not immediately have a reaction to Evers proposal. For the most part, Partin has represented herself in court, although she did accept the appointment of Corvallis defense attorney Clark Willes to act as an adviser. She has insisted on speaking from behind the wooden bar that separates the gallery from the attorneys tables and the judges bench, saying that to cross the bar would be a recognition of the courts authority. In a hearing Tuesday morning, Judge Locke Williams set a 12-person jury trial in the case to run June 12-13, but Partin, as she has done before, demanded that the case be transferred to federal court. There are filings that have been made that show I am an entity of Minnesota, she said. I would like this case, again, to find its proper jurisdiction in federal court. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Williams told Partin she could file a formal motion to that effect and he would consider it, but in the meantime the case would move ahead. Im going to schedule your case for trial, the judge said. You can test your legal theories before a jury. Partin may still face similar charges in an unrelated case. On Feb. 7, Partin was pulled over for an alleged equipment violation by an Oregon State Police trooper within a block of the scene of her November traffic stop. A Lebanon double murder suspect was arraigned in Linn County Circuit Court on Wednesday afternoon. Brenton Wade Richmond, 48, was charged with two counts of aggravated murder for the deaths of Tammy Hopper, 42, of Lebanon, and Erik Jacobs, 48, of Independence, who were shot to death earlier this month. Judge David Delsman ordered that Richmond be held without bail, as requested by prosecutor Richard Wijers. Defense attorney Nicolas Ortiz offered not guilty pleas on behalf of his client. However, Ortiz told Delsman he reserved the right to contest bail and the charges. He also reserved the right to make an affirmative defense at a later date, as he didnt have enough information to make such a determination for the initial court hearing. Richmond, who was apprehended at the border with Mexico in San Diego, arrived in Oregon and Linn County on Tuesday night, Ortiz said. The next hearing in the case was scheduled for March 21 at 10:30 a.m. Hopper and Jacobs were dating and they were killed in Hoppers Lebanon home in the 200 block of Shannon Place on or about Feb. 7. THE UPSIDE 2 stars (Drama, PG-13, 125 minutes, playing at the AMC Corvallis 12) An ex-con (Kevin Hart) lands a job as a life auxiliary for a wealthy investor who is quadriplegic (Bryan Cranston); the two strike up an unlikely relationship in this plodding remake of a French hit that never seems sure what to do with Hart. The cast includes Nicole Kidman and Julianna Margulies. (Katie Walsh, Tribune Media Service) GREEN BOOK 3 stars (Comedy-drama, PG-13, 130 minutes, playing at the Darkside and the Regal 4 in Corvallis, the AMC Corvallis 12 and the Regal 7 in Albany) Viggo Mortensen plays a thick-headed lunk from the Bronx and Mahershala Ali is the musician he's driving through the South in 1962, and both are nothing but believable. This is a friendship story, and one of the best times I've had at the movies this year. Oscars for best picture, supporting actor (Ali) and original screenplay. (Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times) A STAR IS BORN 4 stars The cause of Monday night's fire at the former Champion Mill site in Lebanon remains under investigation, according to Lebanon Fire Division Chief Jason Bolen. The call came in at 8:15 p.m. Monday, and crews from Lebanon, Sweet Home, Brownsville and Scio remained on scene until about midnight. Bolen said it was possible the fire was started by homeless individuals attempting to stay warm after a winter storm dumped snow in the area. Its one possibility, he said. When cold weather hits like this and when we have properties known to have transient individuals moving through them, its a possibility it was a warming fire and that could have been the cause. Its a 50,000-square-foot building thats completely on the ground so its going to be difficult to determine the cause. Bolen said initial observations by responding personnel yielded an area of origin. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} David McClain, who maintains the property that stretches from the highway to the mill site, said homeless individuals have been camping in the area for at least three years. Theres a strip of land there that I cleaned up 11 homeless camps and two of those camps had childrens belongings in them, he said, noting that he had called to report a fire on the property four months ago. In an interview with Famitsu, SIEs executive vice president Masayasu Ito has revealed why Sony decided to build PS4 Pro and not PS5 right away. Back in the days, according to Masayasu, Sony looked into ways to craft something similar to incremental upgrades that release from time to time for smartphones. Cant we do something similar to that, even if it isnt every year?, the Japanese platform owner asked itself. Then, it was decided to improve graphics and make the system HDR-compatible while staying with the PS4 format, so they didnt want to skip to another generation already. On top of that, there was also a lot of trust in what the HDR couldve achieved in terms of visuals upgrade. So, Sony anticipated that the technology wouldve got a boom in a few years, and thats why they implemented the support in the PS4 from the start. They didnt advertise the feature since TVs out there back in 2013 didnt even have HDR, but they knew the right time wouldve come soon. Of course, Ito added that PS4 and PS4 Pro are being sold in parallel since they serve very different users: one who wants the cheapest PlayStation possible, and the other who is rather picky for what matters graphics. PlayStation 5 is rumored to be releasing late 2020, even though theres someone who believes the next-gen isnt kicking off until one year later. You can read the full translated interview here. He said India targeted the terrorists camps in Pakistan, not its army nor civilians, during the Tuesdays airstrikes. Bilashpur (Chhattisgarh): Referring to Tuesdays airstrikes by the Indian Air Force (IAF) on the terror camps in Pakistan, Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had kept his words that the sacrifice made by jawans in Pulwama attack would not be allowed to go waste. Addressing a public meeting here, Mr Singh said Indias security system was too strong to allow enemies to escape and it would prove an unsparing Sudarshan Chakra for them. Any interference in our security is unacceptable and will be dealt strongly, he said and dismissed any disputes relating to Kashmir, saying, Kashmir is ours and it will remain with us. Prime Minister had assured the nation that the sacrifices of jawans in Pulwama attack will not be allowed to go waste. And we did it (with the airstrikes), he reiterated. He said Pakistan had been repeatedly asked not to harbour terrorists in its soil. But, the neighbouring country failed to heed to Indias requests. He, however, added We are prepared to cooperate with other countries to root out terrorism. He said India targeted the terrorists camps in Pakistan, not its army nor civilians, during the Tuesdays airstrikes. Not long after the reveal of tomorrows mini Pokemon direct, the latest trailer for the Pokemon Detective Pikachu movie dropped. The trailer showed off more wacky shenanigans that our title Pikachu will get involved in, including getting involved with an underground Pokemon fighting ring and facing against one of the franchises most infamous Legendary Pokemon. Detective Pikachu is based on the video game of the same name, which is a spin-off title of the highly successful Pokemon mega-media franchise. The movie is live-action and takes place in the fictional city of Rhyme, with the CGI Pokemon having a more realistic look, a contrast to their video game/anime appearances. Other than our fabled Pikachu, the other Pokemon that have been showcased in the city of Rhym are Psyduck, Greninja, Charizard, Bulbasaur, Jigglypuff, and, of course, the creepy Mr. Mime. This newest trailer revealed even more Pokemon, with Flareon, Snorlax, Ludicolo, Blastoise, Gengar, Cubone, Loudred, and many more making their live-action debut. The trailer also showed off some Pokemon moves, including ones that look like Volt Tackle, Thunder Shock, and Double Team. *GASP* Is that a new #DetectivePikachu trailer!? Now that's very twisty. pic.twitter.com/MKlWXMmcbz POKEMON Detective Pikachu (@DetPikachuMovie) February 26, 2019 Bonnie Tylers Holding Out for a Hero is played in the background in the trailer. The trailer ends with the surprise reveal of the original Legendary Pokemon, Mewtwo, who smashes its way through a Pikachu balloon. The plot of Detective Pikachu may seem odd, it is about a talking Pikachu who trying to solve the disappearance of a boys father, and Pikachu is played by none other than Ryan Reynolds. But the trailers have looked a ton fun. While we all are still recovering from seeing Mr. Mime in live action, the Pokemons have actually looked pretty cool. The latest showed off more interesting Pokemon stuff, and ends with the cool reveal of Mewtwo, setting the stage of what may be an adequate adaptation of the Pokemon brand that is safe for the whole family. Pokemon Detective Pikachu is expected to release on May 10 of this year. Galveston, TX (77553) Today A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some clouds. Low near 80F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. The A-G told a bench that the Supreme Courts intervention had been an effective deterrent. New Delhi: Attorney-general K.K. Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday that not a single instance of violence has happened ever since the order was passed on February 22 asking nodal officers in the states to ensure the safety of Kashmiri students. The A-G told a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna that the Supreme Courts intervention to protect Kashmiris and minorities from mob violence in the wake of Pulwama incidents had been an effective deterrent. The court had directed the Centre, chief secretaries and police chiefs of several states to protect Kashmiris and minority communities, especially students, from backlash in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack that claimed the lives of over 40 CRPF personnel. On hearing the submission by Mr Venugopal, Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said there was no need to pass any further orders on the issue. The court, however, asked the Centre and 10 states to file their responses in seven days, explaining the violence against Kashmiri students. In the last hearing the A-G had told 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 court had directed the chief secretaries and director generals of pol-ice of various states were asked to take immediate steps in this regard. Fort Wayne, IN (46808) Today Mixed clouds and sun with scattered thunderstorms. High 79F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Submit your obituary and service information for community members and people with ties to our area. Submit This was the first duel between the IAF and PAF since the 1971 war. New Delhi: In a setback to India, an Indian Air Force fighter pilot, identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, was captured alive by the Pakistani military after a dogfight in the skies between his MiG-21 Bison fighter and a Pakistan Air Force fighter on Wednesday after the PAF violated Indian airspace. India said Pakistan had responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side, and that a Pakistani fighter aircraft was shot down, adding the IAF too lost a MiG-21 fighter. New Delhi also said the Pakistani attempts were foiled successfully by Indias instant response and alertness, a day after the IAF struck terror camps of the Jaish-e-Mohammed at Balakot in Pakistan. This was the first duel between the IAF and PAF since the 1971 war. By Wednesday evening, the Indian government had summoned Pakistans acting high commissioner and issued a demarche to lodge a strong protest over the unprovoked act of aggression, adding that India reserves the right to take firm and decisive action to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Delhi also said a dossier was handed over to Pakistan with specific details of JeMs complicity in the Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan. After disturbing footage from Pakistan went viral on the social media of the captured IAF officer being beaten up and later given a cup of tea by his captors, India also strongly objected to Pakistans vulgar display of injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention. New Delhi also told Islamabad to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody, adding India also expects his immediate and safe return. Pakistan is likely to treat the captured IAF pilot as a prisoner of war. The capture evoked memories of another IAF officer, (then Flight Lieutenant) K. Nachiketa, who was captured by the Pakistanis during the Kargil war and later released. Soon after the capture of the IAF pilot on Wednesday, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan warned against any miscalculation in case of an escalation in conflict with India and offered to defuse tensions through talks. Our action was only intended to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same, he said, adding that the IAF pilot was in his countrys custody and that Pakistan simply wanted to show its capability. On Wednesday afternoon, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said: Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistans attempts were foiled successfully. The Pakistan Air Force was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG-21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistani side. In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG-21. Acknowledging that the IAF pilot was in Pakistani custody, the MEA later said: India also strongly objected to Pakistans vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention. It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return. On the demarche issued, the MEA said: The acting high commissioner of Pakistan was summoned this afternoon by the MEA to lodge a strong protest at the unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan against India earlier today, including by violation of Indian airspace by the Pakistan Air Force and targeting of Indian military posts. This is in contrast to Indias non-military anti-terror pre-emptive strike at a JeM terrorist camp in Balakot on 26 February 2019. It was clearly conveyed that India reserves the right to take firm and decisive action to protect its national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity against any act of aggression or cross-border terrorism. The MEA added: It is unfortunate that instead of fulfilling its international obligation and bilateral commitment to take credible action against terrorist entities and individuals operating from its soil, Pakistan has acted with aggression against India... A dossier was handed over to the Pakistan side with specific details of JeM complicity in the Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan. It was conveyed that India expects Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from the territories under its control. Meanwhile, inviting India for talks, Pakistan PM Imran Khan said: I ask India: with the weapons (nuclear) you have and the weapons (nuclear) we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this (situation) escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in (Prime Minister) Narendra Modis, Lets sit together and settle this with talks. He said Pakistan had offered India its cooperation in the investigation after the Pulwama terror attack. We know how the families of those killed in Pulwama incident must have felt. We have been the victims of war for decades... Since the beginning we have asked India to share actionable evidence with us. It is nowhere in the interest of Pakistan for it to be used as a base for militancy. But I had a hunch that India would escalate, and that is why I had said that if India escalates, we will retaliate. Murder-suicide: AST provides more information about the deaths of two people found in Wasilla earlier this month Have any questions? Please give us a call at 907-352-2250 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. DGCA later declared that operations at these nine airports have resumed as of now. According to PTI, airlines such as Air India, Jet Airways, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines Wednesday announced they were rerouting their flights as Pakistan had closed its airspace in the wake of escalating tensions with India. New Delhi: There was massive inconvenience and chaos for thousands of passengers traveling by air on Wednesday due to a massive cancellation of flights in northern India, with flight operations at nine airports initially being shut down, but aviation regulator DGCA later declared that operations at these nine airports have resumed as of now. These airports are Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Pathankot, Amritsar, Shimla, Kangra, Kullu Manali and Pithoragarh. Various airlines like Air India, Jet Airways, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines announced on Wednesday that they were rerouting their flights as Pakistan had closed its airspace in the wake of escalating tensions with India. Re-routing of international flights from northern India to Europe and America via Mumbai is likely now to increase the flying time by about two hours and will also add to the airlines operating costs as more aviation fuel has to be spent. This is because international flights to these places from northern India will now have to take a circuitous route. But commercial flights from India to locations such as Afghan capital Kabul are bound to be affected, at least in the short term. On Wednesday morning, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) initially issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM), saying flight operations at the airports in Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Pathankot, Amritsar, Shimla, Kangra, Kullu Manali and Pithoragarh would be shut for a whopping three months from February 27 to May 27. This was seen in the context of the Pakistan Air Force violating Indian airspace. But the DGCA on Wednesday later said operations at the nine airports had resumed as of now. A DGCA official was quoted by news agencies as saying: As of now, operations to these airports have resumed. According to PTI, airlines such as Air India, Jet Airways, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines Wednesday announced they were rerouting their flights as Pakistan had closed its airspace in the wake of escalating tensions with India. Inbound and outbound flights from USA and Europe for Delhi are being re-routed through Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Flights landing into India from USA and Europe are being re-routed via Dubai and Sharjah and will land into India with a delay, Air India tweeted Wednesday evening. The national carrier, however, added that no flights are cancelled and there will only be an increase in the flying time. Pakistan on Wednesday closed its airspace for commercial flights and suspended flight operations across major airports, including in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, for an indefinite period in the wake of the escalating tensions with India. Pakistans Civil Aviation Authority made the announcement after the director-general of Inter-Services Public Relations, the militarys media arm, acknowledged the closure of Pakistans airspace due to the security situation. Meanwhile, civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted Wednesday evening: Reviewed the current airspace restrictions with Member (ANS), AAI in view of the current cross-border situation. I assure you that we are working out modalities so that air passengers are least inconvenienced. All stakeholders were kept informed. @AAI_Official. Will solar farm pose a threat to birds? I live in Loudoun County. But my earliest found Virginia ancestor, John Payne, arrived in Jamestown in 1635 and is buried just across the river from Fredericksburg. I was unaware of the proposed solar project in Spotsylvania until I saw a national news story about it. I then did some research and discovered a story in the Los Angeles Times from 2016 about a smaller, 350-megawatt solar plant in the Mojave desert. Local residents should do a search on their own computers for the words: solar power and streamer. You will learn that a streamer is what the employees of that solar farm call a bird that has been vaporized when it has flown too close to the solar panels. And yes, there are photos in the LA Times story of these unfortunate birds. So before this project is approved, please ask sPower what effect, if any, will the much larger 500-megawatt station have on Virginias wildlife? Will they guarantee no Virginia streamers? Walter Hooks Purcellville Its really hard to demonstrate that, so McKees lawsuit was bound to be dismissed. Thomas is an originalist; he believes that interpretation of the Constitution should be settled by reference to the original public meaning of its terms. He offers considerable evidence that at the time of ratification, those who wrote and ratified the Bill of Rights were comfortable with libel actionsand did not mean to impose anything like the actual malice standard. A defamed individual (including a public figure) needed only to prove that a written publication was false and that it subjected him to hatred, contempt or ridicule. And for 170 years, the Supreme Court never held that the First Amendment forbids the states from protecting people from libel. Thomas concludes that New York Times v. Sullivan, and the many subsequent decisions implementing it, were policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law. There are strong objections to originalism, of course. But whatever your theory of constitutional interpretation, it is hardly obvious that the First Amendment forbids rape victims from seeking some kind of redress from people who defame them. It's been nearly seven months since the launch of a criminal investigation of forged signatures to help get a candidate on the ballot in November congressional race. The prosecutor overseeing the investigation said Wednesday, in response to questions from The Richmond Times-Dispatch, that it remains underway. The investigation is continuing. I have no further comment," Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Don Caldwell said in a voicemail to a reporter. A Virginia Beach Circuit Court judge assigned Caldwell to the case on Aug. 7. The investigation stems from forged signatures submitted by staffers for then-Rep. Scott Taylor, R-2nd, to help get an independent spoiler candidate on the November ballot in Taylor's bid for a second term against Democrat Elaine Luria. Independent candidate Shaun Brown qualified for the ballot but was removed by a Richmond Circuit Court judge, who found "out and out fraud" in the signatures Taylor's staff submitted to help Brown meet the requirement for placement on the ballot. The apparent motive of the Taylor campaign was to help Brown, a disaffected Democrat and former Democratic congressional candidate who had criticized her party, get on the ballot to dilute votes from Luria. Caelynn MillerKeyes showed Colton Underwood a good time in Fredericksburg on Tuesday nights episode of The Bachelor, but it turned out to be their last date. Underwood did not give the Stafford County native a rose, choosing to keep three other women in the running for his heart on the ABC reality dating show. MillerKeyes, 23, tweeted after the episode aired: Watching your heart break all over again kinda makes your heart break all over again. Love was still in the air when Underwood met MillerKeyes in Market Square behind the Fredericksburg Area Museum to start the date in her hometown. While they stood in front of the museum waiting to be picked up by Olde Towne Carriages, Hyperion Espresso got some camera time. The couple was driven by the Fredericksburg courthouse and eventually ended up at Carls on Princess Anne Street. This is my favorite spot in Fredericksburg, Carls Ice Cream, MillerKeyes said. (Locals will have to forgive her for forgetting that its actually Carls Frozen Custard.) The best part about Carls is it smells really good, she said before she smushed her cone into the bachelors mouth. Cullinan said Brooks also joked that when his time came, he was going to line his coffin with lead or rig some kind of device to create a knocking noise from inside. At that point, Cullinan looked down from the pulpit, around the coffin, just in case Brooks had pulled one of his practical jokes. Quinn remembered being on the receiving end of those gags. When he was a rookie firefighter, Brooks once told Quinn to go ask Thomas [Oesterheld] to get the sky hooks for you. Some in the audience laughed, and Quinn let the rest of the crowd in on the joke. Theres no such thing as sky hooks in fire service, just like theres no frequency grease for radios or air brake fluid for tankers. Brooks loved a good belly laugh, Quinn said, recalling the days he and other volunteers, such as Lewis Curtis, organized the ugliest women beauty contests as part of the annual firemens carnival. Brooks won the prize several times. Norman made for one ugly woman, didnt he? Quinn asked the laughing audience. He was a great person to be around, but when the tones went out, Normans serious side always took over because peoples lives were at stake. Several years ago, I talked to a host of folks involved with a documentary called The Sailor Bob StoryA Documentary Tribute, a 90-minute look at Sailor Bob, the television personality who aired on PBS stations across the state. Bob Griggs had that something special that made the program special to thousands of children watching each day, said Leslie Custalow, the producer of the documentary. Its hard to put into words. We on the team began calling it the Sailor Bob phenomenon. She and others on the VGO creative team dedicated two years and their own funding to make the documentary, and they came up with a list of things that made the show successful. Most say Griggs was simply special. He was a young cameraman when, one Friday afternoon at 5 p.m., he was offered the hosting job. His new show would kick off the following Monday morning at 8. He made it a success on WRVA and on other stations in various incarnations until the mid 70s. Richmond artist Jack Adkins put it this way: He never talked down to kids, but treated them as hed treat another adult. He seemed to genuinely care about his audience. An Alexandria man has been arrested in connection with a shooting Monday evening in Locust Grove, police said. Joey Cornell Turner, 43, is charged with malicious wounding. A release from the Orange County Sheriffs Office states that the shooting occurred about 7:40 p.m. in the 7000 block of Embrey Drive. The victim was not identified, but police say the victim was shot and beaten with a pistol. The Sheriffs Office declined to give any other details about the incident, including the motive for the shooting, the condition of the victim and the connection between Turner and the victim. Turner, a former Spotsylvania County resident, is being held under no bond in the Central Virginia Regional Jail in Orange. He is expected to be arraigned Wednesday in Orange General District Court. Malicious wounding is a Class 3 felony that carries a maximum prison term of 20 years. Keith Epps 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. A Fredericksburg pharmacy was robbed late Tuesday by a man who implied that he had a gun, police said. The robbery took place about 10 p.m. at the CVS at 591 Jefferson Davis Highway near Mary Washington Hospital. City police spokeswoman Aimee Lynch said the robber entered the store and demanded cash from the register before leaving with an undisclosed amount of cash. Police set up a perimeter around the store and a police dog conducted a track, but no suspect was found. The robber was described only as a black male. It was at least the sixth armed robbery in the city already this year, including two at the Sunoco at 201 Jefferson Davis Highway north of the CVS. Police have arrested two people in connection with three of the robberies; both men were in jail when the CVS was robbed. Anyone with information regarding Tuesdays robbery is asked to call Detective Johnny Wright at 540/654-5759. Residents can make an anonymous tip by sending a text to 847-411 and text FPDtip followed by the tip. 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. Mike Pompeo in a phone call with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also called for avoiding military action. In a separate call with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Pompeo emphasised the close security partnership between the US and India and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region. (Photo: AP) Washington: The US on Wednesday firmly asked Pakistan to take "meaningful action" against terrorist groups operating on its soil after India's counter-terrorism action against it and asked the two neighbours to exercise restraint and avoid escalation at any cost. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a phone call with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also called for avoiding military action. In a separate call with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Pompeo emphasised the close security partnership between the US and India and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region. His statement came amid growing tensions between the two countries after 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) 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. Following the incident, India on Tuesday bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC), killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. Pompeo is currently in Vietnam to attend the second summit between President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the denuclearsation of the Korean peninsula. "Following Indian counter-terrorism actions on February 26, I spoke with Indian Minister of External Affairs Swaraj to emphasize our close security partnership and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region," Pompeo said in a statement. "I also spoke to Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi to underscore the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action, and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil," Pompeo said. "I expressed to both Ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost. I also encouraged both ministers to prioritise direct communication and avoid further military activity," said the Secretary of State. Last week, US National Security Adviser John Bolton told his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval that America supports India's right to self-defence as both sides vowed to work together to ensure that Pakistan ceases to be a safe heaven for JeM and other terror groups. 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 EAM Sushma Swaraj raised the recent Pulwama suicide attack in her crucial bilateral meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Wuzhen/New Delhi : External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday raised the recent Pulwama suicide attack in her crucial bilateral meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi here, a day after India destroyed a major Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) terror training camp in Pakistan . "I am visiting China at a time when there is grief and anger in India . It is the worst terrorist attack directed against our security forces in Jammu and Kashmir ," she said in her opening remarks during the meeting held on the side-lines of Russia , India , China Foreign Ministers meeting. "The attack was carried out by Jaish-e-Muhammed, the Pakistan-based and supported terrorist organisation," she said. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based JeM in Jammu and Kashmir 's Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan 's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. Stating that the JeM is banned by the UN and other countries, Swaraj told Wang that this terrorist attack is the direct result of the impunity and cover provided to the JeM and its leaders by the Pakistani side. After the Pulwama attack the entire UN has spoken with full voice to condemn it, she said. Swaraj who arrived here early this morning told Wang that this is their first meeting this year and therefore an opportune time for the two sides to take stock of the bilateral relations and look ahead for cooperation. "This is our first meeting this year. Therefore, an opportune time for us to take stock of our bilateral relations and look ahead for cooperation. The India-China relationship is an important relationship for both of our countries," she said. Referring to the Wuhan summit between Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Swaraj said "we have made substantial progress in relations". "It is important for both sides to make sure the through and effective implementation of the guidance given by the two leaders," she told Wang, adding that both side made efforts and "we should sustain this". "Particularly the decision taken by our leaders to maintain strategic communication between them provided an important foundation for the development of our bilateral relations. This channel of strategic communication between the two of us and between senior officials should always remain open," she said. The meeting between Swaraj and Wang also took place in the immediate backdrop of India 's airstrikes on terrorist targets in Pakistan . Reacting to India 's airstrikes, China on Tuesday called for restraint between India and Pakistan following India 's airstrikes against terrorist targets in Pakistan and urged New Delhi to carry out its fight against terrorism through international cooperation. Asked for China 's response to India 's airstrikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan , Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told media briefing in Beijing on Tuesday that "we have taken note of relevant reports." "I want to say that India and Pakistan are both important countries in South Asia . A sound relationship and cooperation between the two serves the interests of both the countries and peace and stability in South Asia ," he said. "We hope that the parties remain restrained and do more to improve their bilateral relations," he said. On India 's assertion that it was a non-military attack directed against camps of the terrorist groups who are carrying out violent acts in India , Lu said "as for India 's claim on taking action against terrorism, well fighting terrorism is a global practice". "It needs necessary international cooperation. And India needs to create favourable condition internationally for the same, he said. Lu also said that Pakistan 's Foreign Minister, Shah Muhammad Qureshi also spoke to Wang on Monday over the tensions related to the Pulwama attack. "During the phone call Wang Yi listened carefully to Pakistan Foreign Minister's notification and proposals on the issues and reaffirmed his opinions that the two sides need to advance their cooperation in the counter terrorism for peace and stability in the region," Lu said. The Pulwama attack and its aftermath as well Tuesday's airstrikes were expected to figure in Swaraj's talks with Russian Foreign Minister SergeY Levrov later in the day. Pancheros Mexican Grill Strengthens Leadership Team with Major Role Expansions Fast-casual Mexican Chain Strengthens Executive Roster Amid Brand Expansion February 27, 2019 // Franchising.com // IOWA CITY, IOWA - Pancheros Mexican Grill announced today two major role expansions within its existing leadership team along with the addition of a new social media manager position. Nanette Beiner, formerly the director of real estate for Pancheros, has taken on an expanded role at the company. Now Chief Administrative Officer, Beiner will lead the charge on all administrative functions including: accounting, human resources, benefits and technology. Additionally, she will continue to provide real estate support to both the corporate team as well as to franchisees as they navigate site options for their locations. The expansion of my role comes at a pivotal time for Pancheros, and I look forward to expanding my ability to serve as an adminstrative resource within the company and franchise system, said Beiner. I look forward to streamlining high-level administrative efforts so we can continue to flourish as a brand on the consumer and franchise development side, as well as internally as a team. In addition to Beiners role expansion, Ryan Murrin, previously the vice president of marketing, has taken on the role of Vice President of Marketing & Franchise Development. Murrin joined the Pancheros team in September of 2018 and has since taken his 15-plus years of restaurant marketing experience to enhance Pancheros marketing program. Pancheros has undergone a robust marketing strategy revamp over the last six months to prepare the brand for widescale growth, said Murrin. Weve started to build capabilities and functions to drive sales through a refreshed brand campaign, a new social media strategy, a unified customer experience approach and integrated marketing planning for our franchisees and company operated restaurants. In tandem, weve also revamped our franchise recruitment marketing and content over the last few months, and I look forward to taking on the addition of franchise development for the brand. This is an opportunity to connect all the dots for a brand that has a passionate, loyal following and position it as a great investment for experienced restaurant franchise owners. In his new role, Murrin will lead all consumer marketing and digital strategies for Pancheros as well as spearhead its franchise development efforts to find innovative ways to attract more multi-unit restaurant investors. In addition to the role expansions for Beiner and Murrin, Alexis Puebla has been hired on to the Pancheros team in the newly added role of Social Media Manager. In her role, Puebla will work with company leadership to define the social media strategy, engage Pancheros fans and create content. The new role will allow Pancheros to expand its social media strategy and presence, and will solidify the brand as a leader in the fast-casual market. About Pancheros The beginning of Pancheros dates back to 1992 when Rodney Anderson opened the brands first restaurant in Iowa City, Iowa. Originally modeled after the Chicago taquerias that Anderson had visited often with his friends during his teenage years, the brands pursuit of constructing a better built burrito launched Pancheros into an evolution based on simplicity and fresh-pressed tortillas. Since its humble beginnings, Pancheros has earned a loyal following for redefining the standards of modern burritos by using fresh-pressed tortillas and perfectly-mixed ingredients with the help of BOB the Tool, a unique plastic spatula used to carefully mix ingredients together to create the perfect taste in every bite. Amid its popularity, the brand has successfully grown from its roots and today a robust franchising program has led to approximately 70 locations across 13 states. For information about the company, visit https://www.pancheros.com/menu. To learn about franchising opportunities with Pancheros, visit https://franchise.pancheros.com/. Media Contact: Alex Hopkins All Points Public Relations (847) 897-7469 ahopkins@allpointspr.com SOURCE Pancheros ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus SPARTANBURG, SC (FOX Carolina) - On Thursday, the coroner confirmed that a man shot and killed by deputies on Wednesday night was wanted in Spartanburg County for attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend in 2020. LAS VEGAS -- A mother accused of killing her 2-year-old son and then trying to kill herself was surrounded by multiple knives, pill bottles an (CNN) -- Bill Jenkins had already started a promising career in public health in the mid-1960s when he learned about one of the darkest chapters in American medical history: the Tuskegee syphilis experiment. Jenkins, an epidemiologist, played a significant role in exposing the experiment to the public and he funneled his outrage over the racism at the root of the Tuskegee study into a lifelong effort to reduce racial disparities and discrimination in health care. He died on February 17 in Charleston, South Carolina, at age 73. His death was confirmed by the Morehouse School of Medicine, where he worked for many years. How the study began Jenkins noted that the infamous study actually grew out of an effort started with good intentions, to get a handle on the syphilis health problem in early 20th century America. "Things that start with a good purpose could end up being a very bad thing," Jenkins said during a speech to the American Public Health Association in 2010. In response to skyrocketing rates of syphilis from the decade before, the US Public Health Service and the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama began a study in 1932 to record the natural progression of the disease. The study offered free medical exams, meals and burial insurance to recruit 600 black men, 201 of whom did not have the disease. Initially the study was only supposed to follow the untreated men for a year, Jenkins recalled. But in 1936 the decision was made to follow them until death. The men were not informed of what was being investigated, and those who carried the disease were not treated for syphilis -- even when penicillin became an effective cure in 1947. Many of the men ended up infecting their wives with syphilis, who in turned passed it on to their children. Jenkins, who started his career in 1967 as one of the first African-Americans in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, said he learned about the study in 1968 and worked with fellow epidemiologist Peter Bauxum to bring some attention to the study so that it could be stopped. "Those efforts were rebuffed, until Peter got with the (Associated Press) reporter who was able to write that first article (about the study)," he said. The study did not end until 1972, after congressional hearings were held and an advisory panel was appointed to review the study. It determined that the knowledge gained "was sparse" in comparison to the risk it posed to the subjects. A class action lawsuit quickly followed, which resulted in a $10 million settlement and compensation for living participants and their wives and children like medical benefits and burial services. President Bill Clinton formally apologized for the study in 1997, expressing regret that the "federal government orchestrated a study so clearly racist." The last participant of the study died in 2004, and the last widow receiving benefits died in 2009, according to the CDC. As of 2015 there were 12 offspring of the study's participants receiving medical and health benefits. He was a vocal critic of racism in health care Jenkins went on to help take care of the many of the men who participated in the study by serving as the manager of the Participant Health Benefits Program, which offered medical services to them. "At first I took the responsibility because I thought that I had failed to end the study has soon as I heard about it," Jenkins said during a speech at the American College of Epidemiology's Minority Affairs Workshop in 2015. "But it became to be a gift to me because I talked to these black men, these old black men, who participated in that study because they thought they were doing a good thing." A few years later, while working as a professor at the University of North Carolina, he founded the Minority Health Conference. Starting in 1980 he went on to work in various roles for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention. Jenkins started the Master of Public Health program at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta in 1995, the school said in a statement. The program sought to increase the number of minorities in leadership positions in public health. He was also a public health sciences professor and associated director of the Research Center on Health Disparities at Morehouse College. He remained a vocal advocate for reducing racial health disparities. He often criticized the medical community for what he considered its reluctance to delve into America's legacy of racism and what role it plays in the chronic health issues that plague minority communities. "It is the only health condition where we want to study the symptom -- race -- rather than the ideological factor -- racism," he said in the American Public Health Association speech. "It's amazing to me as an epidemiologist. To solve health disparities, we must also study racism." A Quaker service for Jenkins is scheduled for March 23 in Decatur, Georgia. A memorial service is set for April 6 at Morehouse College. The-CNN-Wire & 2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved. SARALAND, Ala. (WALA) -- Saraland authorities confirmed that a juvenile male has been arrested after posting a threat to Saraland High School Tuesday morning. Officials say the threat was made on SnapChat and that the juvenile talked about violence taking place at the high school. The social media post happened around 8:30 a.m. The juvenile was arrested approximately an hour later. He is being charged with making a terroristic threat. The arrested juvenile is not a student of any Saraland city school and it is unclear where and if the male is a student of any school system. Officials say light security was place at the school, "just to keep everyone's mind at ease but there is no imminent threat to the school." Dr. Aaron Milner, superintendent of Saraland City Schools, made the following statement Tuesday morning shortly after the threat was made: "Saraland City Schools in conjunction with the Saraland Police Department are currently investigating a threat toward Saraland High School through an online platform. It has been determined the threat was made by someone currently not affiliated with Saraland City Schools. At this time, Saraland High School is operating under a normal schedule and as a precautionary measure additional security is being provided by the Saraland Police Department. As always, the safety of our students will remain at the forefront of every decision. Thank you for your support, understanding, and patience as we attempt to ensure the individual who conveyed this threat is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." Milner said some students saw something online and said something to officials. He said he is proud of that. Milner is also encouraging parents to play an active role in screening their children's phone activity. Milner said, "Make sure your child is not utilizing their phones for things such as this, or their computer. Under Alabama law, parents can be held accountable for their child's behavior. I would urge our judges to begin holding parents accountable for anything like this that's done through a cell phone." In the past two months, threats have been made to four Mobile County Public Schools. Police made arrests in all of those cases. There was also a threat to St. Paul's. The Pakistani jets dropped bombs while returning, officials said. There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage. Jammu: Pakistani fighter jets on Wednesday violated Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Nowshera sectors but were pushed back by Indian aircraft, senior officials said. The Pakistani jets dropped bombs while returning, officials said. There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage. "The jets entered Indian air space over Nowshera and Poonch sectors this morning," officials said. They were immediately pushed back by Indian jets on air patrol. Pakistan has claimed they launched strikes across the Line of Control from within Pakistani airspace, a day after India destroyed the largest Jaishe-e-Mohammed terror training camp in Balakot 80 kilometeres inside the Pakistan border. Pakistans foreign ministry statement said: This was not a retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. Pakistan has therefore, taken strikes at non military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. Sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we undertook the action with clear warning and in broad daylight." It added: For the last few years, India has been trying to establish what they call "a new normal" a thinly veiled term for doing acts of aggression at whatever pretext they wish on a given day. If India is striking at so called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan. We do not wish to go to that route and wish that India gives peace a chance and to resolve issues like a mature democratic nation." #Pakistanstrikesback #PAF undertook strikes across LoC from Pakistani airspace. Sole purpose of this action was to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. We do not wish to escalate but are fully prepared if forced into that paradigm#PakistanZindabad Dr Mohammad Faisal (@ForeignOfficePk) February 27, 2019 Meanwhile, Srinagar, Jammu and Leh airports were on Wednesday closed for civilian air traffic on Wednesday morning amid escalation of cross-Line of Control shelling between armies of India and Pakistan. MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) -- Police have identified a suspect connected to a series of thefts at a hotel in Mobile. The crimes were reported at the Marriott on Airport Boulevard. Police said hotel employee Tyler Weaver, 29, is responsible for stealing items from the rooms of guests. Investigators said they found several of the items stolen at the Marriott in Weaver's possession, including a necklace that belonged to Jo Ann Mertins, a guest from Texas who stayed at the hotel. Detectives said Weaver was arrested Saturday in Baldwin County on seperate drug and theft charges. He's seen a lot of time behind bars in Baldwin County Jail in Bay Minette. According to jail records, that was his 8th time being arrested since 2014 in Baldwin County. We reached out to the Mobile Marriott for a comment and to find out the status of Weaver's employment, but we have not heard back. Weaver remains in the Baldwin County Jail. Meanwhile, the Mertins ,who said they were offered complimentary drinks for their trouble while in the city, told FOX 10, the Marriott has since refunded them for their hotel room. MPD said the Mobile Marriott has been fully cooperating with them in the investigation. MOBILE, Ala. -- Juan Evans Sr. is the father of the man police say was found in his apartment after he was struck by a stray bullet last week. Evans who lives in New York said his family is heartbroken and has had a hard time coming to grips with his son, Juan Evans Jr.'s death. "For him to be struck down doing nothing, innocent and your house is supposed to be your safe haven." Mobile Police said Juan Evans Jr. was killed last Monday while inside of his home at Dauphin Gate Apartments. They said two people were having an altercation outside when one of them pulled out a rifle-styled gun and started shooting. Detectives said one of the bullets went into Evans' apartment and hit him in the head. He was found two days later when police were called out for a welfare check. "Guns got to get off the street. These children are really out of control," said Evans Sr. "I never thought that my son would be destroyed by gun violence." Evans Sr. said he'd planned to make the trek down soon anyway, but he expected for his trip to be on better terms. "I forgive him, I do forgive him, but I won't forget what he did to my son. I feel sorry for him, something happened along the way that turned that young man wrong," the father added. Family members are asking for help with funeral expenses. They have a GoFundMe page set up in his honor. To donate, click here. William "Liam" Renihan is only 3 years old, but he's been through a lot. He started having seizures and was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 15 months old. He was having up to a 100 seizures a day, according to his mother. "When he had a seizure his whole upper body fell to the floor. So he would hit his head, his face, collarbone," Kimberly Renihan, Liam's mother, explained. His parents, Kimberly and Matthew Renihan, had nearly lost hope before they met Dr. Juan Ochoa, a Neurologist with USA Physicians Group and Director of SouthCEP Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. Liam had been on five seizure medications, and had seen three neurologists; none of whom reportedly believed Liam was a candidate for epilepsy surgery. However, Dr. Ochoa offered the Renihan's a different opinion. "The technology we used to localize the seizure is called EEG source imagine," said Dr. Juan Ochoa, USA Health. Using EEG source imaging technology, doctors at USA health were able to map Liam's brain and define a focal point for surgery. He ended up having a hippocampectomy to remove the part of the brain where the seizures were occurring. "Our surgical goal is to stop the seizures the second is to plan an approach without causing any neurological deficitsOur hope is we stop the seizures and we improve function," said USA Health Neurosurgeon, Dr. George Rusyniak. The results were amazing. Days after surgery, Liam was talking and showing affection, giving his parents kisses for the first time in nearly two years. "What is remarkable in William is that right after surgery he completely changed. He kissed his mom for the first time in two years. He was able to interact," Dr. Ochoa described. His parents say, the doctors not only restored their hope...but gave them back their son. They say the doctors are true heroes. "Everything we've done led us to where we needed to be and we had the best outcome that we could have hoped for." HMD Global at the MWC 2019 event has introduced the Nokia 1 Plus Android Pie (Go Edition). It is the successor of Nokia 1 that was introduced last year at the MWC. It comes with a textured finish and the swappable rear covers. Here we bring you Hands On and Photo Gallery of the phone. It has a 5.45-inch FWVGA+ IPS display and packs a 2500mAh battery and back panel gets changeable back covers. It is powered by the MediaTek MT6739W 64-bit processor with PowerVR Rogue GE8100 GPU, 1GB of RAM and runs Android (Pie) Go Edition. On the storage front, it comes with 1GB RAM with 8GB storage, expandable up to 128GB via micro SD card. It doesnt come with a fingerprint sensor. As for the camera, it has an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP sensor on the front. On the right, you have the power and volume rocker buttons which are tactile and offer good feedback. On the back, you have Nokia branding, camera module, LED flash, and speaker. The microUSB port is present on the bottom, while the 3.5mm audio jack is placed on the top. This device measures 8.55 mm in thickness. It also has support for 4G VoLTE. The Nokia 1 Plus comes in Red, Blue and Black colors, is priced at $99 (Rs. 7,030 approx.) and will roll out from March. Sai Krishna contributed to this post Earlier this week at the MWC OnePlus showcased its first Prototype Smartphone powered by Snapdragon 855 combined with the Snapdragon X50 5G modem and Qualcomm RF Front-End solutions. It added that it will also be amongst the first OEMs to launch smartphones powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform in India, and plans to work with Qualcomm on 5G trials. Several companies have introduced their 5G smartphones at the MWC. OnePlus has already announced that it will be partnering up with EE to be among the first to release a commercial 5G smartphone in the UK, which will likely the the OnePlus 7. OnePlus has also partnered with Qualcomm to launch the 5G Apps of Tomorrow challenge among global developers that will award a total of 250,000 in cash for the winners. The company aims to integrate industry resources, and push forward for the next steps of 5G apps for users. 5G will be rolled out starting in the first half of 2019 across the U.S., Europe, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and China, with deployments in sub-6 GHz and mmWave. By 2020-21, 5G is expected to be deployed in India and Latin America. Commenting on the same, Pete Lau, Founder and CEO, OnePlus, said: We have been loyal to Qualcomms 800-series Snapdragon chipsets since the release of our very first flagship device. This strong partnership with Qualcomm makes us believe that we could bring the best 5G device to the world. After releasing Android 9.0 (Pie) beta update for the 2.1 and Nokia 6 last week, HMD Global has released Pie update for its Nokia 3.1, which comes after a month of delay even though it had promised it in January. The phone was released back in October last year running Android 8.1 (Oreo). Android P includes Adaptive Battery that uses machine learning to prioritize system resources for the apps, App Actions that helps you raise the visibility of your app and help drive engagement using machine learning, and Slices are a new way to surface rich, templated content in places like Google Search and Assistant. The Nokia 3.1 v2.2.30 update also includes Android security patch for January, 2019. We can expect Android Pie update for other older Nokia smartphones in the coming weeks. Whats New New system navigation, settings menu and notifications Adaptive Battery power prioritisation for users most commonly used apps/services Adaptive and optimised brightness levels Predictive Application Actions Google Security Patch 2019-02 Xiaomi recently confirmed that the Redmi Note 7 Pro will be announced this week in China. Now the smartphone has been certified by TENAA with the model number M1901F7BE. It already confirmed that it will feature Sony IMX586 sensor replacing the Samsung ISOCELL Bright GM1 sensor on the Redmi Note 7. It also reveals 2GHz Octa-Core SoC that confirms it will be powered by Snapdragon 675, compared to Snapdragon 660 on the Redmi Note 7. It has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. TENAA doesnt confirm secondary rear camera resolution, so it is not clear if this will come with a better sensor compared to 5MP secondary camera on the Note 7. Redmi Note 7 Pro rumored specifications 6.3-inch (2340 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19:5:9 2.5D curved glass display, 1500:1 contrast ratio, 450 nits brightness, 84% NTSC Color Gamut, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection 2GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 675 Mobile Platform with Adreno 612 GPU 3GB LPDDR4x RAM with 32GB storage, 4GB LPDDR4x RAM with 64GB storage, 6GB LPDDR4x RAM with 128GB storage, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD Android 9.0 (Pie) with MIUI 10 Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD) 48MP rear camera with LED Flash, f/1.8 aperture, Sony IMX586 sensor, PDAF, EIS, secondary camera 13MP front-facing camera Fingerprint sensor, IR sensor 3.5mm audio jack, AK 98937 Smart PA Dimensions: 159.21 x 75.21 x 8.1mm; Weight: 186g Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4 /5GHz) Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C 4000mAh (typical) / 3900mAh (minimum) battery with Quick Charge 4 The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro is expected to come in Black, Blue, Purple, Red and more colors. We should know the price when it goes official later this week. Source OnePlus at its MWC event announced the launch of 5G Apps of Tomorrow programme to support and galvanize creators around the world to develop a new 5G application that would benefit users. OnePlus aims to integrate industry resources and support the design of future 5G apps with talented developers. At the event OnePlus CEO Pete Lau was joined by Qualcomm President, Cristiano R. Amon, and EE CEO, Marc Allera where the they discussed the future and possibilities of 5G. With access to experts at OnePlus, as well as 5G smartphone hardware, and 5G network environments with support from EE, and consultation with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc, 5G Apps of Tomorrow will draw on the unique OnePlus community to reimagine 5G capabilities. Applications to the program are open from today at OnePlus.com/5G and close on 26th March, and the eventual winners will be evaluated by a panel including the CEOs of OnePlus and EE, and executives from Qualcomm Technologies, and a community vote. 20 finalists will be selected on April 10th and 5 winners will be announced on April 18th, who will get 50,000 Euros. . OnePlus will establish a 5G hub on its Forum, and from the pitches received, of those shortlisted, the Top 5 creators will then receive: A paid-for trip to OnePlus HQ in Shenzhen to discuss their idea with Pete Lau A OnePlus 5G device Access to 5G experts via the OnePlus forums Access to EEs test environment Financial support for one year OnePlus CEO Pete Lau, said: OnePlus pursuit in 5G is a mission decided together with our community. We understand that the developer community is an essential driving force behind the development of 5G. This is why right now, wed like to galvanize these talented developers and encourage them to be as creative as possible as we embrace the dawn of the 5th generation of mobile network. The Interpol had issued a Red Corner notice against him in 2002. Yousuf is said to be heading the terror training facility at Balakot and was one of the main operational commanders of Jaish. New Delhi: The pre-emptive airstrike carried out by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the early hours of Tuesday at a Jaish-e-Mohammed training facility in Pakistans Balakot region resulted in major casualties, said to be more than 300, for the dreaded terror outfit. These include some important commander and high value targets like Maulana Yousuf Azhar alias Ustad Ghouri, who is said to be the brother-in-law of Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar. Indian security and intelligence agencies claimed that while they were still in the process of gathering details of the militants killed in the air strike, there were unconfirmed reports suggesting that Yousuf was among those eliminated in the incident. Yousuf is said to be heading the terror training facility at Balakot and was one of the main operational commanders of Jaish. Intelligence sources claimed he was personally monitoring training of the Jaish cadres, particularly its fidayeen or suicide squad. He is said to have trained Ghazi alias Kamran, who was the mastermind of Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed on February 14. Yousuf, sources claimed, played a key role in securing the release of Jaish chief Masood Azhar in 1999 as he was one of the masterminds and hijackers of the India Airlines flight IC-814. The Interpol had issued a Red Corner notice against him in 2002. However, none of the passengers was hurt and the aircraft made a safe landing at Kolkata airport, it added. The number of passengers on board the turbulence-hit aircraft was not immediately known. (File Photo) Kolkata: Two cabin crew members of Kolkata-bound GoAir flight from Bhubaneswar suffered "minor" injuries when the plane experienced severe air turbulence on Tuesday, the airline said. However, none of the passengers was hurt and the aircraft made a safe landing at Kolkata airport, it added. The number of passengers on board the turbulence-hit aircraft was not immediately known. "GoAir flight G8 761 operating on Bhubaneswar-Kolkata route experienced severe turbulence wherein two crew members suffered minor injuries and were administered medication at the dispensary at Kolkata airport," a GoAir spokesperson said in the statement. For the last two days, weather has been extremely unforgiving, the airline said. It said the flight captain and co-pilot had a successful and safe landing at the Kolkata airport. There was no damage to the aircraft and it was thoroughly checked after landing at Kolkata airport, it said adding that the aircraft was released for subsequent flights from Kolkata later. The Pak troops were also seen firing mortars and missiles from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields. From 6:30 pm onwards, the Pakistani army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with heavy calibre weaponry along the LoC out of frustration, he said. (Photo: Representational Image) Jammu: The Indian Army destroyed five Pakistani posts along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday night in a befitting retaliation to firing from across the border, resulting in a "number of casualties" to Pak troops, a defence official said. "The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focused fire resulted in severe destruction to five posts and number of casualties to Pak army (along LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts)", the defence PRO said. From 6:30 pm onwards, the Pakistani army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with heavy calibre weaponry along the LoC out of frustration, he said. The Pak troops were also seen firing mortars and missiles from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields. However, the Indian Army targeted the Pak posts away from civilian areas, the PRO said, adding that this resulted in a "number of casualties" to Pak troopers. In exchange of fire, five soldiers of the Indian Army suffered minor injuries, out of which two of them were shifted to a military hospital for medical treatment; they are stable. 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 HANOI (Reuters) - The White House barred reporters from Reuters, the Associated Press, Bloomberg and the Los Angeles Times from covering a dinner between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday after two of them asked Trump questions during his initial interactions with Kim. The reporters are part of the White House press pool, which covers the U.S HANOI (Reuters) - The White House barred reporters from Reuters, the Associated Press, Bloomberg and the Los Angeles Times from covering a dinner between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday after two of them asked Trump questions during his initial interactions with Kim. The reporters are part of the White House press pool, which covers the U.S. president wherever he goes. Reporters in the pool regularly shout out questions to leaders and on Wednesday they asked Trump about the summit and the testimony in Congress of his former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen, in two separate opportunities known as "pool sprays." The reporters were later excluded from covering the dinner because of what White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said were "sensitivities over shouted questions in the previous sprays," the Washington Post reported. The pool was present when Trump and Kim first met and shook hands. During that short initial meeting, while cameras were rolling, Reuters correspondent Jeff Mason asked Trump what he wanted to achieve at the summit and whether he had backed away from his demand for North Korea's denuclearisation. Trump replied "No" to the second question and gave a longer answer to the first. AP reporter Jonathan Lemire then asked Trump if he expected to end the Korean War. Trump said: "We'll see." Reporters were escorted out of the room. Shortly thereafter they were brought back in to listen while Trump and Kim, seated this time, visited. At the conclusion of that "pool spray," the AP's Lemire asked Trump if he had a reaction to Cohen's testimony due to take place later on Wednesday. With excerpts from Cohen's prepared remarks having already been made public, Trump scowled and shook his head. Cohen accused Trump of being a racist, a conman and a cheat. After the second interaction, pool reporters returned to their work space, followed by Sanders, who voiced concern about the questions asked and announced that the third "pool spray" would be limited to photographers. Pool reporters argued against the move and persuaded Sanders to include a print reporter and a radio reporter along with the television journalists. The four reporters, Mason, Lemire, Justin Sink of Bloomberg News and Eli Stokols of the Los Angeles Times, remained excluded. Due to the sensitive nature of the meetings we have limited the pool for the dinner to a smaller group, but ensured that representation of photographers, tv, radio and print Poolers are all in the room," Sanders said in a written statement. "We are continuing to negotiate aspects of this historic summit and will always work to make sure the U.S. media has as much access as possible. Reuters said it was "deeply troubled" by the exclusion of Mason and other reporters from covering the dinner. "We believe it is essential that government provide access to and the ability to ask questions of officials and hold them to account," Reuters said in a statement. The Associated Press said it opposed White House efforts to restrict access to the president. "It is critically important that any president uphold American press freedom standards, not only at home but especially while abroad," said AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton. Los Angeles Times executive editor Norman Pearlstine called the reporters' exclusion "another sad example" of the White House's "failure to uphold the American publics right to see and be informed about President Trumps activities." (Additional reporting by Steve Holland in Washington; Editing by Mary Milliken and Howard Goller) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has called for a meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA) in the aftermath of India's pre-emptive, non-military air strike at terror camps in and around Balakot in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has called for a meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA) in the aftermath of India's pre-emptive, non-military air strikes at terror camps in Balakot in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. This is the second high-level meeting that Imran has called for in the wake of the Indian Air Force's operation. On Tuesday, he had convened an emergency review meeting of top defence and foreign ministry officials. However, the meeting with the NCA stands out as the first significant reaction by Pakistan to India's air strikes as the NCA oversees not only Pakistan's strategic components but also its nuclear arsenal. Spokesperson of the Pakistan Armed Forces Major General Asif Ghafoor said as much at a press conference on Tuesday. "I said we will surprise you. Wait for that surprise. I said our response will be different. There is a joint session of Parliament tomorrow (Wednesday) and then the prime minister has summoned a meeting of the National Command Authority. I hope you know what the NCA means and what it constitutes," Ghafoor was as saying by News18. The meeting will be attended by Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa as well as officials of the defence and foreign ministries. What is the NCA? The NCA was formally set up in 2000 after National Security Council chief executive General Pervez Musharraf overthrew the government in a military coup. However, the Nuclear Threat Initiative traces the beginning of the nuclear body to 1996 when then Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto said in a clear departure from the pre-existing norm of the country's nuclear ambivalence that if India conducts a nuclear test, Pakistan could be forced to "follow suit". By 1997, the then Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif had acknowledged his country's nuclear capabilities. In a speech at the United Nations, Sharif had offered to begin discussions with India on a non-aggression pact between the two countries and on mutual restraint on nuclear weapons and delivery systems. On 3 February, 2000, Pakistan formally announced that it has created the NCA to facilitate the command and control of its nuclear weapons. That same year, China handed over the Chashma nuclear plant to Pakistan. The NCA comprises the Employment Control Committee, Development Control Committee and a Strategic Plans Division of Pakistan. All three committees were to be led by the head of the government, which was Musharraf at that time. The other members of the body will be the ministers of foreign affairs, defence and interior departments, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee, the chiefs of the armed forces and the director-general of the Strategic Plans Division. In 2019, the Pakistani National Assembly approved the National Command Authority (NCA) Bill, 2009, legally establishing the NCA as a civilian-led body in charge of the country's nuclear assets. Late in 2016, the Pakistani Senate passed the National Command Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2016, giving it the power to disburse funds to the country's Central government, instead of the finance department, Pakistani newspaper Daily Times had reported. The NCA has had its share of controversy, with allegations of leaks of nuclear technology surfacing in 2004. Abdul Qadeer Khan, known as "the father of the nuclear bomb", was accused of selling the country's nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya. In the years to come, Pakistan has confirmed that Abdul had, indeed, sold nuclear secrets but has maintained that the government was not in the know about this. Abdul, meanwhile, has gone back and forth on several confessions. When it comes to relations between India and Pakistan, the nuclear strength of the two countries has often been raked up but has never been on the forefront of tensions. The NCA has repeatedly assured world watchdogs that it would prevent a nuclear showdown and manage the country's assets carefully. The US House of Representatives dealt a blow to President Donald Trump on Tuesday, approving a resolution blocking him from obtaining funding for a Mexican border wall through his declaration of a national emergency Washington: The US House of Representatives dealt a blow to President Donald Trump on Tuesday, approving a resolution blocking him from obtaining funding for a Mexican border wall through his declaration of a national emergency. Dismissing a veto threat by the president, the Democratic-controlled House struck down Trump's emergency declaration by a comfortable margin of 245-182, sending the measure to the Republican-held Senate. Thirteen Republicans joined Democrats in voting to "terminate" Trump's emergency declaration, which the Republican president issued on 15 February after failing to secure billions of dollars from Congress for the wall. The emergency declaration would allow Trump to find funding for the Mexican border wall his signature campaign promise from other sources, notably the Pentagon budget for military construction projects. The president has threatened to veto the resolution if it passes both the 435-member House and the 100-seat Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 edge and its prospects are uncertain. Democrats have denounced the emergency declaration as a power grab by the president and a violation of the Constitution because it usurps the power of Congress to decide government spending. At least two Senate Republicans -- Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina -- have said they would back the resolution overturning Trump's emergency declaration. Four Republicans would need to break ranks for the measure to pass the Senate but neither chamber is likely to be able to muster the two-thirds majority needed to override an expected presidential veto. Should the measure clear both the House and the Senate and reach his desk, Trump would be faced with a stinging rebuke and cornered into issuing the first veto of his presidency. Trump's national emergency declaration gives him access to billions of dollars to construct the border wall beyond the nearly $1.4 billion allocated by Congress. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday that Trump's emergency order was an unconstitutional attempt to expand executive authority and strip lawmakers of the power to control how federal funds are spent. "The president's power grab usurps that responsibility and fundamentally violates the balance of power envisioned by our founders," Pelosi said. As several Republican senators expressed reservations about Trump's emergency declaration, the president sought to head them off. "I hope our great Republican Senators don't get led down the path of weak and ineffective Border Security," Trump tweeted on Monday before heading for Vietnam for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "Be strong and smart," he said. "Don't fall into the Democrats 'trap' of Open Borders and Crime!" Republican senators Collins and Tillis have openly broken ranks already and others appeared to be wavering. While Trump is "rightfully frustrated with Congress's inaction" on border security, the president made a mistake declaring an emergency, said Tillis. "I have grave concerns when our institution looks the other way at the expense of weakening Congress's power," the Republican senator from North Carolina wrote in The Washington Post. "The emergency course is not one I favor," Senator Mitt Romney of Utah said. Trump has said he is "100 per cent" certain to issue a veto if the House and Senate override his emergency declaration and the White House reiterated that on Tuesday. "The current situation at the southern border presents a humanitarian and security crisis that threatens core national security interests and constitutes a national emergency," the White House said in a statement. "The southern border is a major entry point for criminals, gang members, and illicit narcotics." Dozens of Republican ex-lawmakers and a bipartisan group of former national security officers, including secretaries of defence and CIA directors, spoke out strongly against the emergency declaration on Monday. In a joint declaration, the 58 national security officials warned of an abuse of the Constitution. The group includes former secretaries of state Madeleine Albright and John Kerry, along with George W Bush's undersecretary of state Nicholas Burns. "Under no plausible assessment of the evidence is there a national emergency today that entitles the president to tap into funds appropriated for other purposes to build a wall at the southern border," they said. The Metropole has been in operation since 1901, making it Vietnams oldest continuously operating hotel. It was originally built by French investors and has hosted many famous guests over the years, including Charlie Chaplin and British writer W Somerset Maugham US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet at the Sofitel Legend Metropole in Hanoi, a luxury hotel with a rich history in the heart of Vietnams capital city. Trump and Kim will hold their 28 February summit at the hotel, and then sign a joint declaration on the results of the talks. In view of the all-important meeting, security at the posh hotel was increasingly tightened throughout Tuesday, with a metal detector set up in the lobby, just down the hall from boutiques for jeweller Chopard and watchmakers Hublot and Patek Philippe, Bloomberg reported. Guests who are already put up at the hotel were issued special badges and were advised in a letter that due to the summit, some services might not be available to them. The Metropole has been in operation since 1901, making it Vietnams oldest continuously operating hotel. It was originally built by French investors and has hosted many famous guests over the years, including Charlie Chaplin and British writer W Somerset Maugham, the report said. Interestingly, while constructing a bar on the premises in 2011, workers uncovered a bomb shelter dating to the Vietnam War. The bunker is now open to tour groups and in 2013 was awarded a UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award. Whereas, both the leaders would be staying in the Melia Hanoi hotel which is a part of the Spain-headquartered Melia Hotels International chain, opened on Ly Thuong Kiet Street in 1999. It is a 21-storey property made up of 306 rooms and suites and is near the Hoan Kiem Lake. It is also pretty close to the Government Guest House and the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel, which is the venue for the talks between the two leaders. In fact, the North Korean Embassy in Vietnam is also just a mile away from the Melia hotel. The hotel has several different room options, starting with the basic deluxe room to the 68-square-meter "Level Suite," which has a separate living room and access to an executive lounge and a single Grand Suite, which is 135 square meters in size. There is also a Presidential Suite at the top which is close to 185-metres and this is where the guests are expected to stay. Offering a dramatic view of the city's Red River, it's on the 22nd floor and includes a master bedroom, a separate living room, dining room and a workspace. The hotel has two main restaurants as well as two lounges. The El Patio Restaurant features an international buffet and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the El Oriental, meanwhile, serves Vietnamese and Thai cuisine. Other facilities include a fitness centre, an outdoor pool and a spa/beauty salon, according to a CNN report. Meanwhile, apart from the luxurious properties, the Vietnamese capital's historic architecture, cultural attractions and eating options will provide a colourful sideshow to the meeting which would be keenly watched by the world. General Joseph Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Tuesday spoke to his Pakistani counterpart General Zubair Mahmood Hayat to discuss the 'current security environment' in Pakistan Washington: General Joseph Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Tuesday spoke to his Pakistani counterpart General Zubair Mahmood Hayat to discuss the "current security environment" in Pakistan, the Pentagon said, amid the spike in Indo-Pak tensions following the Pulwama terror attack. The telephonic talk is the highest level of contact between the two armies a day after India's air strikes destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-kilometre from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The strike was the first by the Indian Air Force (IAF) inside Pakistan after the 1971 war. Ramping up the rhetoric, Pakistan has threatened retaliation. "Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph F Dunford, Jr spoke today with Pakistan Chief of Defence Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat. The senior leaders discussed the current security environment in Pakistan," Joint Staff Spokesperson Col. Patrick S. Ryder said in a brief statement. No other details were immediately available. Forty Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based JeM in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in India and global condemnation. Over the years, despite a deterioration in US-Pakistan bilateral ties, Gen Dunford has maintained a good working relationship with both his Pakistani counterpart Gen Hayat and Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Together, Russia, India and China form the crucial RIC grouping, but even though it comprises three of the most powerful countries in Eurasia, the efficacy of their trilateral meetings have gradually diminished with time. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday raised the recent Pulwama terror attack at her bilateral meeting with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi in Wuzhen, a day after India claimed to have destroyed a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Pakistan. Sushma arrived in China for a trilateral meeting with Russia and the host country. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov also reached Wuzhen and will meet separately with Sushma after a meeting between the three countries. Together, the three form the crucial RIC (Russia-India-China) grouping. The countries are three of the largest in Eurasia and geographically contiguous. Together, the RIC countries occupy over 19 percent of the global landmass and contribute to over 33 percent of global GDP, notes the Observer Research Foundation. Russia, India and China have met 16 times (including this one) for their Foreign Ministerial Meetings. They have also met for trilateral discussions on sidelines of bigger international meets. How the RIC has evolved Conceived by the then Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov during his visit to Indian in 1998, the strategic triangle of the RIC has not been given much importance despite occasional meetings between the respective foreign ministries and heads on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and other multilateral meetings, says ORF. Over time, the RIC has decreased in importance as a standalone group and developed into the core of several other international groupings like the BRICS (comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which include Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan along with the RIC countries. The last time the heads of states of these three countries sat together was in Buenos Aires, on 30 November, 2018, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian president Vladimir Putin and People's Republic of China president Xi Jinping held a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit. The idea of the RIC meeting which Sushma is attending now, took on tangible form in 2002, when former the then foreign ministers of Russia, China, and India Igor Ivanov, Tang Jiaxuan and Yashwant Sinha met on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York. The Ministry of External Affairs, in its official statement on the 2019 meeting, said the three countries are "expected to exchange views on the global situation, regional developments of common concern, address global challenges such as terrorism and discuss trilateral exchanges and activities". This is exactly what they have done in their earlier meetings as well. But analysts remain unconvinced when it comes to the results of these meetings. How useful is the RIC While all three countries are nuclear powers and two, Russia and China, are permanent members of the UN Security Council, the efficacy of their meets are invariably ruined by fraught relations between India and China, which have worsened over the Doklam stand off and China's stand on Pakistan's terror funding. The last RIC Foreign Ministerial Meeting had been held in New Delhi on 11 December 2017. This meeting, reported ORF, should have taken place in April 2017, but was delayed because the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi did not respond to the invitation extended by India, in what was considered a protest by the country against India allowing the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh earlier that month. The RIC meeting of 2017 offered an opportunity to India and China to discuss Doklam and other challenges. However, even though favourable press statements were made at the end of the meet, as is often the case, there was no significant stride made in handling China's ambitions in the North East. Even though India, China and Russia may disagree on a number of security issues in Eurasia, there are areas where their interest converge, like, for instance, on Afghanistan and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (which India wishes to join). But analysts have suggested that it is contradictory, if not counterproductive, for India to be a member of these groupings at the same time as they hold opposing views on several issues. While Russia and China grow increasingly closer, India has effectively been pushed into a corner in this grouping, even as it grapples with Chinese incursion. India's friendship with the United States, a country which is at the forefront of Russia and China's concerns also does it no favours in finding solutions to common issues. In line with its attempts to keep the spotlight on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, India has significantly always made a case for strengthening cooperation among the three countries in effectively countering terrorism and naming Pakistan-based terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in the RIC communique. Sushma is set to repeat these demands once again on Wednesday. By Ju-min Park and James Pearson HANOI (Reuters) - For sufferers of nuclear anxiety, how about a little dried persimmon punch to settle the stomach? By Ju-min Park and James Pearson HANOI (Reuters) - For sufferers of nuclear anxiety, how about a little dried persimmon punch to settle the stomach? North Korean chefs helped prepare the dinner shared by U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their first meeting in Hanoi on Wednesday, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Trump and Kim met in the Vietnamese capital for the second summit since their first historic meeting in June last year and had dinner at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in the centre of Hanoi. "Great meetings and dinner tonight in Vietnam with Kim Jong Un of North Korea," Trump said in a message on social network Twitter late on Wednesday. Chefs from North Korea worked together with staff at the colonial-era hotel to create a medley of Western and Korean dishes for the two leaders as they chewed over their differences, the two sources said. The result was an evening that blended two American and two Korean dishes, according to a copy of the menu released by the White House late on Wednesday. The two Western dishes, a shrimp cocktail and a "hot and runny-centred" chocolate lava cake, were created by chefs at the hotel, the sources said. The two Korean dishes - grilled steak with a pear kimchi and a non-alcoholic dried persimmon punch digestif - were prepared by North Korean chefs specially brought in for the event, the sources added. It was not the first time Trump had tried the sweet persimmon drink. South Korean President Moon Jae-in served it to him as a dessert during a 2017 meeting. The punch, which is designed to aid digestion at the end of a meal, tasted "really good", one of the sources told Reuters. (Reporting by Ju-min Park and James Pearson; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Sri Lanka requests India and Pakistan to act in a manner that ensures the security, peace and stability of the entire region Colombo: Sri Lanka said on Wednesday that it was deeply concerned about the increasing tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pulwama attack and asked the two nations to act in a manner that ensures the security, peace and stability of the entire region. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it has unequivocally condemned this terrorist attack in Pulwama and stands firmly in the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on 14 February, sparking outrage in the country. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early on Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. Sri Lanka requests India and Pakistan to act in a manner that ensures the security, peace and stability of the entire region, it said. "Sri Lanka strongly supports peace and stability in the South Asia region and all endeavours towards the diffusion of tensions including the resolution of bilateral problems through dialogue and building confidence," the statement added. By Gina Cherelus and David DeKok NEW YORK (Reuters) - A teen whose mother and twin 9-year-old sisters were among five family members killed in their Pennsylvania home was staying at a friend's house at the time of the murders and is safe, officials said on Tuesday. By Gina Cherelus and David DeKok NEW YORK (Reuters) - A teen whose mother and twin 9-year-old sisters were among five family members killed in their Pennsylvania home was staying at a friend's house at the time of the murders and is safe, officials said on Tuesday. Joshua Campbell, 17, was not at home when his aunt Shana Decree, 45, and her daughter Dominique Decree, 19, are alleged to have murdered five relatives in their apartment in Morrisville, about 30 miles (50 km) northeast of Philadelphia, Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said. After police found the bodies on Monday, relatives of the victims said they had begged authorities for weeks to check on Shana Decree due to concerns she might have fallen under the influence of a fringe religious group. Weintraub said finding Joshua was "one bit of good news" in what he described as an "unspeakable tragedy." Authorities charged Decree and her daughter early on Tuesday with five counts of homicide and one count of criminal conspiracy in the deaths of Shana Decree's daughter, Naa'Irah Smith, 25; her son, Damon Decree, 13; her sister, Jamilla Campbell, 42; and Campbell's twin daughters, Imani and Erika Allen, Weintraub said. Police were investigating the cause of the deaths and possible motives. Asked whether it could have been a murder-suicide pact, Weintraub said "that is a potentiality." Both Shana and Dominique, who had visible injuries to her neck, gave police an account of how they killed each person, prosecutors said in court papers. The women also alleged that Decree's sister, Jamilla, had choked one victim to death before being choked to death by Dominique. "Shana later told police that everyone at the apartment, including the 9-year-olds and the 13-year-old, wanted to die," prosecutors said in an arrest affidavit. "Shana advised that all, including the children, were talking about suicide." WARNED CITY OFFICIALS Shana Decree's niece, Toya Nelson, told Reuters she was beyond heartbroken. "We've been trying to call for three weeks and I'm so angry at city officials because we've been calling them," Nelson said in a phone interview. "It just makes me angry because now they want to be sorry but you had the opportunity to save them." Nelson, 29, said she began to worry about the family after learning from relatives that the children were no longer attending school and the family was getting wrapped up in a fringe religious group. She said authorities had visited the home at least two weeks ago but found no cause for concern. The two suspects, five victims and Joshua Campbell lived together in what Weintraub described as a "tiny" apartment. There are no other suspects in the crime, Weintraub added. A representative for the Bucks County Children and Youth Social Services Agency did not respond to a request for comment. Child services officials arrived at the apartment on Monday to perform a wellness check and found the home in disarray, with broken glass and furniture turned over, according to an arrest affidavit. They called the police, who found the five bodies in one bedroom. Nelson said she suspected that Shana Decree may have planned a family murder-suicide and believed that her cousin, Dominique did not intentionally participate in the crime. Shana Decree was ordered held without bail and did not enter a plea during a brief Tuesday arraignment, according to court records. Her daughter, Dominique, was expected to be arraigned later on Tuesday. (Additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles and Andrew Hay in New Mexico; Editing by Scott Malone, Bernadette Baum and Tom Brown) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. 12 Mirage jets drop 1,000 kg bombs on JeM terror camps across LoC. New Delhi: After the surgical strikes on the ground across the Line of Control in 2016, India retaliated to the terror attack in Pulwama on February 14 and fears of another attack by launching yet another pre-dawn strike, this time by air. Tuesdays pre-dawn attack through IAF Mirage-2000 fighter jets at Jaish-e-Mohammeds biggest training camp of at Balakot in Pakistans Khyber-Pakhpunkhwa province killed a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen (suicide terror) action. This was the first time since the 1971 war that IAF fighters crossed the LoC, something they hadnt done even during the 1999 Kargil conflict. Foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said the terror camp was headed by Maulana Yousuf Azhar, alias Ustad Ghouri, brother-in-law of JeM chief Masood Azhar, and credible intelligence was received that JeM was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country. The foreign secretary described it as a pre-emptive strike and also as non-military pre-emptive action specifically targeted at the JeM camp. Mr Gokhale said the terror camp struck was located in the thick forest on a hilltop far away from any civilian presence. Confusion initially persisted on whether the camp struck was in Pakistans Khyber-Pakhpunkhwa (KPK) province or in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), as both have towns known as Balakot/Balakote, but sources told this newspaper later that this was the one in KPK. Some reports said Yousuf Azhar may have been killed in the strike. Sources said Indias air defence systems and armed forces had been put on high alert to thwart any bid by Pakistan to retaliate. The Indian forces are bracing themselves for a Pakistani retaliation. Dismissing Indias version of events as fictitious, Pakistan nevertheless accused India of committing uncalled-for aggression to which Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing. Sources said 12 French-origin Mirage-2000 fighters took part in the strike, with about six bombs of 1000 kg being dropped on the camp. The entire operation took over 20 minutes, starting at 3.45 am and ending at 4.05 am. To confuse the Pakistani defence forces, fighter aircraft took off from several air bases in the Western and Central Command areas in a synchronised operation, at about the same time. Then a small group of aircraft broke away from the swarm and headed to hit the Balakot camp. According to some reports, early-warning systems (Awacs) were used to keep an eye on any action emanating from Pakistan and mid-air refuellers were also deployed for any emergency use. Sources said 250 to 300 terrorists were at the camp when the IAF warplanes struck it and perished in the assault. Sources said Balakot in KPK is 60 km by air from the LoC and 180 km by road. Sources also said JeM used to run basic arms training, advanced arms training and Border Action Team training at the camp. Meanwhile, admitting that IAF fighters had crossed the LoC in the Muzaffarabad sector (of PoK) upto three to four miles, the Pakistan Army claimed the Pakistan Air Force had scrambled its fighter aircraft in response, following which the IAF fighters went back. The Pakistan Army also claimed that IAF fighters had released their payload in haste, which fell near Balakot(in PoK) in an open area and that there were no casualties or the destruction of any infrastructure. A statement issued from Islamabad said Pakistan strongly rejected the Indian claim of targeting an alleged terrorist camp near Balakot and the claim of heavy casualties, adding that India has resorted to a self-serving, reckless and fictitious claim. Islamabad also accused New Delhi of putting regional peace and stability at grave risk, adding that the domestic and international media would be taken to the impact site. In what was an indication of political will and resolve, photographs on Tuesday morning showed a meeting held after the strike presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, flanked by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and finance minister Arun Jaitley to his right, and home minister Rajnath Singh and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman to his left, apart from NSA Ajit Doval and Mr Gokhale. Experts point out that Indias emphasis of it being a non-military pre-emptive action was a clear signal to the rest of the world, including Pakistan, that the strike was not aimed at the Pakistani military or civilians but was aimed only at a terror camp to neutralise a terror attack on India. Addressing reporters, Mr Gokhale said: In an intelligence-led operation in the early hours of today, India struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot. In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated. This facility at Balakot was headed by Maulana Yousuf Azhar alias Ustad Ghouri, the brother-in-law of Masood Azhar, chief of JeM. Mr Gokhale further said: Credible intelligence was received that JeM was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country, and the fidayeen jihadis were being trained for this purpose. In the face of imminent danger, a pre-emptive strike became absolutely necessary... The Government of India is firmly and resolutely committed to taking all necessary measures to fight the menace of terrorism. Hence this non-military pre-emptive action was specifically targeted at the JeM camp. The selection of the target was also conditioned by our desire to avoid civilian casualties. The facility is located in thick forest on a hilltop far away from any civilian presence. However, Pakistan Army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor claimed in a series of tweets: Indian Air Force violated Line of Control. Pakistan Air Force immediately scrambled. Indian aircrafts (have) gone back. Indian aircrafts intruded from Muzaffarabad sector. Facing timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force released payload in haste while escaping which fell near Balakot. No casualties or damage. Payload of hastily escaping Indian aircrafts fell in open. Indian aircrafts intrusion across LoC in Muzaffarabad Sector within (PoK) was 3-4 miles. Under forced hasty withdrawal, aircraft released payload which had free fall in open area. No infrastructure got hit, no casualties. Giving the background of events, foreign secretary Gokhale said: On 14 February 2019, a suicide terror attack was conducted by a Pak-based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed, leading to the martyrdom of 40 brave jawans of the CRPF. JeM has been active in Pakistan for the last two decades, and is led by Masood Azhar with its headquarters in Bahawalpur. This organisation, which is proscribed by the UN, has been responsible of a series of terrorist attacks including on the Indian Parliament in December 2001 and the Pathankot airbase in January 2016. Information regarding the location of training camps in Pakistan and PoK has been provided to Pakistan from time to time. Pakistan, however, denies their existence. The existence of such massive training facilities capable of training hundreds of jihadis could not have functioned without the knowledge of the Pakistan authorities. Mr Gokhale added: India has been repeatedly urging Pakistan to take action against the JeM to prevent jihadis from being trained and armed inside Pakistan. Pakistan has taken no concrete action to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism on its soil. He then said: The Government of Pakistan had made a solemn commitment in January 2004 not to allow its soil or territory under its control to be used for terrorism against India. We expect Pakistan lives up to its public commitment and takes follow-up actions to dismantle all JeM and other camps and hold the terrorists accountable for their actions. By Abu Arqam Naqash and Asif Shahzad BALAKOT, Pakistan (Reuters) - Villagers near the town of Balakot in northeast Pakistan were shaken out of their sleep by what seemed like an earthquake in the early hours of Tuesday, only discovering once dawn broke that there had been an Indian airstrike on their neighbourhood. Indian officials said the raid destroyed a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed, the militant group behind a suicide attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 members of a paramilitary police force on Feb. By Abu Arqam Naqash and Asif Shahzad BALAKOT, Pakistan (Reuters) - Villagers near the town of Balakot in northeast Pakistan were shaken out of their sleep by what seemed like an earthquake in the early hours of Tuesday, only discovering once dawn broke that there had been an Indian airstrike on their neighbourhood. Indian officials said the raid destroyed a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed, the militant group behind a suicide attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 members of a paramilitary police force on Feb. 14. India's foreign secretary said "a very large number of JEM terrorists" had been eliminated in what was the first Indian air strike on Pakistani territory since 1971. The villagers, however, said only one person was wounded in the attack and they knew of no fatalities. A resident, who did not want to give his name, said there was a nearby madrasa run by Jaish, though most villagers were guarded talking about their militant neighbours. "There is this madrasa on the hilltop. The Jaish-e-Mohammed runs it," he said. Another person, who also declined to give his name, said the militants had had a presence in the area for years. "I belong to that area. I know for sure that there has been a training camp. It used to be there. I know Jaish people ran it," he said. "This camp was turned into a madrasa several years ago, but no one would still be allowed to get close to this infrastructure. There are scores of students in the madrasa at any given time," he said. Set in a wooded, hilly area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on the way to the scenic Kaghan valley, some 40 kilometres from the de facto border with India, Balakot was of many towns that was devastated by a massive earthquake in 2005. From what villagers could see, the Indian attack had missed its target as the bombs dropped exploded about a kilometre away from the madrasa. Mohammad Ajmal, a 25 year-old villager near Jaba Top, where the attack took place, said he had heard four loud bangs in succession just before 3.00 a.m. (2200 GMT). "We couldn't tell what had happened. It was only in the morning that we figured out it was an attack," he told Reuters after visiting the site, in a wooded hilltop area. "We saw fallen trees and one damaged house, and four craters where the bombs had fallen." Fida Hussain Shah, a 46 year-old farmer, said he and other villagers had found pieces of Indian ordnance that had splintered pine trees on the hill but the only casualty was a man sleeping in his house when shrapnel broke the windows. (Additional reporting by Jibran Ahmad in PESHAWAR; writing by James Mackenzie; Editing Cameron-Moore) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is travelling to Paris to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for France's embassy in Washington said. Representatives for the U.S WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is travelling to Paris to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for France's embassy in Washington said. Representatives for the U.S. Treasury could not immediately be reached for comment. The Treasury has made no announcement about the trip. The French Embassy spokeswoman said the meeting was listed on Macron's official schedule at around 5 p.m. Paris time (1600 GMT), but no details about the subject matter were available. (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Peter Cooney) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - A manager at Brazilian iron ore miner Vale SA told authorities that the company's executive board knew there had been a 'decrease in security' at the dam that burst in January, killing hundreds, according to a newspaper report on Tuesday. RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - A manager at Brazilian iron ore miner Vale SA told authorities that the company's executive board knew there had been a "decrease in security" at the dam that burst in January, killing hundreds, according to a newspaper report on Tuesday. The manager told authorities he had discussed the dam with his superiors, a columnist at newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported, without saying how the information was obtained. Vale denied the report, saying that none of the company's managers had made statements on a decrease in security at the dam, nor had they said that the company's board received information suggesting an imminent risk to the structure. Technical evaluations of the dam had not indicated an immediate risk that it would burst, Vale said in a statement. In the month since the dam burst in the town of Brumadinho, likely killing over 300 people, prosecutors and media have raised questions about the security measures that were in place to prevent such a burst. Earlier in February, Reuters reported that internal Vale documents showed the dam had an elevated risk of rupture. The newspaper report did not name the manager or give further details on his or her testimony. (Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Leslie Adler) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. The Pakistan government has also called a joint session of Parliament on Wednesday in to discuss the tension with India and formulate a national response. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday called a meeting of the top decision-making body on nuclear issues after India targeted terrorist camp in the country. The National Command Authority controls policy formulation, exercises, deployment, research and development, employment and operational command and control of the country's nuclear arsenals. The decision to call the NCA meeting was taken on Tuesday in the meeting of National Security Committee - a civil-military top-level body that discussed the situation after the Indian attack. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on 14 February, sparking outrage in the country. Following the incident, India on Tuesday bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The Pakistan government has also called a joint session of Parliament on Wednesday in to discuss the tension with India and formulate a national response. The parliamentary leaders will also be given an in-camera briefing by the government on the situation after India's strikes. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi alleged the Indian government is issuing threatening statements in the aftermath of Pulwama incident on the pretext of terrorism just to divert the world opinion from rights violations in Kashmir. Qureshi said that Pakistan reserves the right to take appropriate action in self-defence. France is working on a proposal to ban the chief of the UN-proscribed Jaish-e Muhammad Masood Azhar and could move it in the Sanctions Committee United Nations: France is working on a proposal to ban the chief of the UN-proscribed Jaish-e Muhammad (JeM) Masood Azhar and could move it in the Sanctions Committee after it assumes the Presidency of the powerful UN Security Council next month, sources said. The rotating monthly Presidency of the 15-nation UN Security Council (UNSC) will go from Equatorial Guinea to France on 1 March. France, a permanent member of the Council with veto powers, is working on the proposal (to ban Azhar) and it should be ready soon, informed sources told PTI, adding that the proposal against the JeM chief could perhaps be moved in the Sanctions Committee under the French presidency. "France is focussed on bringing individual listing requests of JeM terrorists to the 1267 Sanctions Committee soon," they said. The Pakistan-based JeM claimed the responsibility of the heinous suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on 14 February in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed, sparking outrage in India. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action. The facility at Balakot was headed by Yousuf Azhar, the brother-in-law of the JeM chief. The proposal, when moved, will be the fourth such bid at the UN in the last 10 years to list Azhar as a global terrorist. In 2009, India had moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar. This was followed in 2016 when India moved the proposal with the P3 - the United States, the United Kingdom and France - in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the air base in Pathankot in January, 2016. In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, on all occasions China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UNSC, blocked the proposal from being adopted by the Sanctions Committee. It remains to be seen how China will vote on the proposal this time, following a crucial bilateral meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wuzhen, where she is participating in the Russia, India, China (RIC) Foreign Ministers meeting. Swaraj on Wednesday raised the Pulwama suicide attack in her meeting with her Chinese counterpart, a day after India destroyed a major JeM terror training camp in Pakistan. Stating that the JeM is banned by the UN and other countries, Swaraj told Wang that "this terrorist attack is the direct result of the impunity and cover provided to the JeM and its leaders by the Pakistani side". "After the Pulwama attack the entire UN has spoken with full voice to condemn it," she said. The French Presidency of the UNSC comes after the 15-nation UN organ under the presidency of Equatorial Guinea had issued a highly significant press statement strongly condemning the Pulwama terror attack. China had to sign off on the February 21 UNSC press statement that "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". On the UNSC press statement condemning the Pulwama attack, a UN diplomat here said that what moved the Security Council was that "this is an issue that all the members speak with one voice in the fight against terrorism. Whenever there is an act of terrorism, any where no matter who perpetrates it, it receives the condemnation of not only of the Security Council but of all the international community." The UNSC press statement was seen not only as a strong condemnation of terror against India but also of international solidarity with New Delhi on its fight against terrorism. China's lone opposition in the UNSC to any mention of terrorism resulted in a delay of nearly one week in issuance of the press statement by the powerful body on the dastardly Pulwama terror attack, official sources had said. However, the US assiduously worked as "pen holder" making various adjustments to get the approval by all other members of the Council, they said. In a statement issued by the acting spokesperson of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of France following the air strikes by the Indian Air Force on the JeM training camp in Pakistan, France said it "stands by India in the fight against terrorism in all its forms" and "is fully engaged in mobilizing the international community to sanction the terrorists responsible for this attack and freezing their financing networks." Hours after India carried out the air strikes against the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres reiterated his "urgent appeal to both the Government of India and the Government of Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure that the situation does not further deteriorate." His spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters at the daily press briefing that the UN Chief is "obviously following this situation very closely." By Nathan Layne and Ginger Gibson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen assailed the president's character in a tense congressional hearing on Wednesday, calling him a 'conman' who knew in advance about the release of stolen emails aimed at hurting his 2016 election Democratic rival. But Cohen, the Republican president's onetime 'fixer,' said he had no direct evidence that Trump colluded with Moscow to bolster his White House campaign, a key line of inquiry in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation which has dogged Trump during his two years in office. By Nathan Layne and Ginger Gibson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen assailed the president's character in a tense congressional hearing on Wednesday, calling him a "conman" who knew in advance about the release of stolen emails aimed at hurting his 2016 election Democratic rival. But Cohen, the Republican president's onetime "fixer," said he had no direct evidence that Trump colluded with Moscow to bolster his White House campaign, a key line of inquiry in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation which has dogged Trump during his two years in office. "I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat," Cohen told a House of Representatives committee. "Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great," Cohen added. "He had no desire or intention to lead this nation - only to market himself and to build his wealth and power." The White House had no immediate comment about Cohen's testimony but Trump earlier on Wednesday accused his former employee of lying. "He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time," Trump wrote on Twitter from Vietnam, where he was meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Cohen testified that Trump approved hush payments to cover up extra-marital sexual relationships in violation of campaign finance laws, and directed negotiations for a real estate project in Moscow during the White House race even as he publicly said he had no business interests in Russia. He stopped short of saying that Trump or his campaign directly conspired with Russia, although "I have my suspicions." "I wouldn't use the word colluding," Cohen said of Trump's dealings with Russia, but he added there was "something odd" about the president's good relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "There are just so many dots that seem to lead in the same direction," he said. Republican lawmakers at the hearing repeatedly tried to undermine Cohen and his testimony, portraying him as an irredeemable liar who had benefited from financial crimes, and saying the hearing was an opening gambit in a Democratic push to impeach Trump. "I dont believe Michael Cohen is capable of telling the truth," said Republican Representative James Comer. Cohen, 52, was one of Trump's closest aides and fiercest defenders, working with him on business and personal deals for a decade. But he turned against him last year and is cooperating with prosecutors after pleading guilty to tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations. Many of Cohen's accusations had emerged in news reports during his 2016 campaign and since he took office, but the televised congressional testimony of a former loyalist provided a dramatic public record with the potential to influence a large U.S. audience. Cohen, who handed over documents to support his assertions, said Trump ordered him to pay $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to cover up a sexual relationship with Trump in violation of campaign finance laws, and also told Cohen to lie about it to first lady Melania Trump. The most damaging Cohen testimony indicated that Trump knew in advance about a WikiLeaks dump of stolen emails from senior Democrats, that he pursued plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow deep into the 2016 campaign and that he was directly involved in reimbursing Cohen for hush money payments. The president, who has denied any collusion between his campaign and Moscow, has called the Mueller investigation a "witch hunt" and has called Cohen a liar trying to reduce his prison time and a "rat." Russia denies trying to influence the election. The sweeping claims against Trump, from a man who once said he would take a bullet for his boss, come as Mueller appears to be close to completing his investigation into possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Russian efforts to sway the vote. U.S. officials have said the emails released by WikiLeaks were stolen by Russia as part of Moscow's campaign of hacking and propaganda during the presidential race aimed at sowing discord in the United States and harming Trump rival Hillary Clinton. Trump has previously denied knowing in advance about the release of hacked Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails during the election. Cohen said he was in Trump's office in July 2016 when Roger Stone, a self-described "dirty trickster" and longtime political adviser to Trump, called the then Republican presidential candidate. Cohen said Stone told Trump he had been speaking with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who told him there would be a dump of emails within a couple of days that would damage Clinton's campaign. EMAILS On July 22, 2016, WikiLeaks released internal DNC emails that drove a wedge between supporters of Clinton and her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senator Bernie Sanders. Although Clinton won the nomination, that rift weakened her candidacy. "Mr. Cohen's statement is untrue," Stone said in an email, but did not specify which parts of the statement he meant. Stone was indicted by Mueller on charges of lying to Congress about his communications with others related to WikiLeaks email dumps. Stone, who has pleaded not guilty to charges brought by Mueller's team, denies having advance knowledge of WikiLeaks' plans, although text messages reviewed by Reuters show that during the campaign he made attempts to make contact with Assange. Cohen's testimony was being made under penalty of perjury, but Republicans on the House oversight panel, including ranking member Jim Jordan, questioned Cohen's credibility, given his guilty plea for lying to Congress last year. MOSCOW DECEPTION Cohen apologised for his initial statements to Congress in 2017, in which he said efforts to build a Trump skyscraper in Moscow had ceased by January 2016, when in fact they continued through June 2016. Cohen said Trump's lawyers "reviewed and edited" those false statements to Congress. Cohen said Trump on multiple occasions inquired about the Moscow real estate project while telling the public he had no business dealings in Russia, a falsehood Cohen said reflected Trump's view that the campaign was aimed only at building his brand. "He lied about it because he never expected to win the election. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars," Cohen said. Cohen described an incident in which Trump's son, Donald Jr., walked behind his father's desk and told him in a low voice: "The meeting is all set." Cohen said Trump replied: "OK good ... let me know." In hindsight, Cohen said he believed the son was referring to the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between a Russian lawyer promising "dirt" on Clinton and members of Trump's campaign. Trump has denied having advance knowledge of the meeting, which has come under intense scrutiny in the Mueller probe. Cohen said he planned to provide the committee with a copy of a $35,000 check Trump signed on Aug. 1, 2017, one in a series to reimburse him for paying off Daniels after Trump took office. Cohen said some reimbursement checks issued to him for the hush-money payments were signed by Donald Trump Jr. and the Trump Organization chief financial officer, raising the possibility that the president's son could be prosecuted for violating campaign finance laws. (Reporting by Nathan Layne and Ginger Gibson; additional reporting by Karen Freidfeld, Doina Chiacu, Sarah Lynch and Mark Hosenball; Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Will Dunham and Alistair Bell) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. While Kim Jong-un appears committed for a denuclearisation process, there have been disagreements over what that actually means. Donald Trump, on the other hand, has appeared to lower US expectations for the summit by saying that he would be happy if Pyongyang's pause in nuclear and missile testing continued The Donald Trump-Kim Jong-un summit in Vietnam has been much talked about, but it remains to be seen whether the US president can persuade the North Korean leader to give up his nuclear arsenal or at least scale it back in return for economic and diplomatic rewards. Trump also need to show North Korea how it can follow in the footsteps of Vietnam, and achieve economic reforms. Days ahead of the summit, Donald Trump said he was in no hurry to achieve denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. Ahead of the summit, on Wednesday, he again tweeted an "AWESOME" future for North Korea if his "friend" agrees to give up his nuclear arsenal. Hours before the high-stakes dinner, Trump again said that he was not walking back on US' demands for North Korea's denuclearisation. According to Foreign Policy magazine, a series of reports have indicated little progress on elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons in advance of the Hanoi meeting. This concern was raised even as US has been willing to engage with North Korea along the lines of the Sunshine Policy: the approach embraced by progressive South Korean leaders from Kim Dae-jung to Moon Jae-in. The idea, the report states, is a simple one: "Hostility causes Kim to cling to his nuclear weapons, as the cold wind makes people pull their coats more tightly around themselves. But the warm sun can cause those same people to willingly abandon their coats. The idea is that the same approach might cause Kim to abandon his nuclear weapons, or at least his hostility to his neighbors". But with North Korea hit heavily by food shortages and burdened by international sanctions over its nuclear programme, what the country now needs most is to shift focus to its economic development. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Kab-Woo Ko, a political science professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, earlier said how Pyongyang "needs to secure economic, political and diplomatic benefits from this summit". What North Korea can learn from Vietnam? Both North Korea and Vietnam are two of the world's last remaining communist regimes. But unlike North Korea, Vietnam learned long ago to make its mark on the world map through economic reforms. In 1986, Vietnam launched its free-market reforms, similar to that of China. It is called the Doi Moi, meaning renovation, and the intent was to transform its centrally-planned economy to a market-oriented system in order to compete effectively in the international arena. From being one of the poorest countries in the world, Vietnam now has a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 6.88 percent (in 2018) which was double the 3.40 percent GDP growth rate of the US in the same year. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo made a similar point when he visited Hanoi in July 2018 after two days of talks in North Korea. "The leaders of Vietnam realised their country could reform, it could open up and build relationships without threatening the country's sovereignty, its independence, and its form of government," he said in a speech to Hanoi's business community. "I have a message for Chairman Kim Jong-un: President Trump believes your country can replicate this path. It's yours if you'll seize the moment." The world is watching and waiting for any concrete outcomes. BUDAPEST (Reuters) - A Bulgarian man was sentenced on Wednesday to 4 years and 8 months in prison by a Hungarian court for human trafficking in connection with the death of 71 migrants in a truck in August 2015, the Hungarian state news agency MTI said. The migrants, including eight women and four children, suffocated in the lorry and were found dead beside an Austrian motorway near Parndorf. While 39-year-old Bulgarian, who was not identified, as is usual in Hungarian court cases, was not directly involved in the Parndorf case, he was convicted of recruiting two of the main defendants as people-smugglers BUDAPEST (Reuters) - A Bulgarian man was sentenced on Wednesday to 4 years and 8 months in prison by a Hungarian court for human trafficking in connection with the death of 71 migrants in a truck in August 2015, the Hungarian state news agency MTI said. The migrants, including eight women and four children, suffocated in the lorry and were found dead beside an Austrian motorway near Parndorf. While 39-year-old Bulgarian, who was not identified, as is usual in Hungarian court cases, was not directly involved in the Parndorf case, he was convicted of recruiting two of the main defendants as people-smugglers. He took part in organised human trafficking and he roped in at least six smugglers, MTI said. The ruling is final as neither the prosecutors or the defendant appealed against it. Last year the same court sentenced three Bulgarians and an Afghan to 25 years in jail in the same case, but those rulings are not final, pending any appeal. The migrants who died were among the hundreds of thousands of people from war-torn and poor regions in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, who headed through the Balkans and Hungary towards Western Europe in 2015. (Reporting by Sandor Peto; Editing by Alison Williams) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday touted an 'AWESOME' future for North Korea ahead of a high-stakes dinner with its leader Kim Jong Un if his 'friend' agrees to give up his nuclear arsenal Hanoi: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday touted an "AWESOME" future for North Korea ahead of a high-stakes dinner with its leader Kim Jong Un if his "friend" agrees to give up his nuclear arsenal. The Trump tweet, sporting his familiar use of capital letters for emphasis, said the opportunities for a denuclearised North Korea were "like almost none other in history". Trump and Kim are due to meet for one-on-one talks, then dinner, in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, followed by more talks on Thursday. He described Kim as "my friend," a far cry from when the two leaders were slinging personal insults and threats of destruction at each other at the height of tensions over the North's weapons programmes. Trump also lashed out at his domestic opponents for their criticism of his engagement with the isolated regime. "The Democrats should stop talking about what I should do with North Korea and ask themselves instead why they didn't do 'it' during eight years of the Obama Administration?" said Trump, referring to his predecessor in the White House. The two days of talks aimed to put some flesh on the bones of a vague declaration issued after their first historic meeting in June in Singapore. Then, Kim committed to work "towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula", but diplomatic progress has since stalled due to disagreements over what that means. Trump has appeared to lower US expectations for the summit, saying that he would be happy if Pyongyang's pause in nuclear and missile testing continued. The president is believed to be considering dangling relief from tough international sanctions. The opening of diplomatic liaison offices is another possible US concession. In return, Washington hopes to get Kim to dismantle the key nuclear facility at Yongbyon, allow in international inspectors, or even hand over a full list of all the country's nuclear assets something the North Koreans have categorically refused to do. In Washington DC, it's business as usual in reaction to India's 3:30 am airstrikes on 26 February against terrorist training camps in Pakistan's Balakot which came in retaliation for the Pulwama attack on 14 February. The American capital's politicos busied themselves for multiple headline grabbing events that will unravel this week. In Washington DC, it's business as usual in reaction to India's 3:30 am airstrikes on 26 February against terrorist training camps in Pakistan's Balakot which came in retaliation for the Pulwama attack on 14 February. The American capital's politicos busied themselves for multiple headline grabbing domestic events that will unravel this week. An ANI update says India's foreign minister Sushma Swaraj briefed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the airstrikes against Pakistan but there's no readout from either side yet. By the late evening hours of Tuesday in the US, India watchers among the local foreign policy wonks went neck deep into analysis mode. Alyssa Ayres from the Council on Foreign Relations connects one thread of the muted response to the shift in White House communications culture itself. "Press briefings and backgrounders help signal USG diplomatic priorities and approaches. The Trump administration has scaled back WH press briefings and State dept press briefings. Others hv noted that DOD is way less transparent than in the past", she tweeted late Tuesday evening. And then, Ayres speaks to a familiar pattern in the White House - the many directions a direct call from Trumpworld could go. (I worry that with the Trump administration, the most helpful page of the "teeing up a call" playbook is actually a complete uncertainty. Would Trump get derailed onto Harleys in an India call? Get sidetracked on something else w Pakistan? Don't know.) (@AyresAlyssa) February 26, 2019 A detailed thread from Brookings' Tanvi Madan lays out the many dominos to factor while considering a US response. Madan says US will likely factor its own relation with India and China, its concerns with Pakistan, Afghanistan imperatives, military versus civilian targets and level of escalation before wading in. Also, reactions have been different since the Obama term, says Madan. US response will factor in the following: - rel with India (imp. esp. vis-a-vis China/Indo-Pacific) - its own CT concerns re Pak - Afghanistan imperatives, given peace talks & Pak role 4/ Tanvi Madan (@tanvi_madan) February 26, 2019 Long time Washingtonian Seema Sirohi says in a tweet that the quiet in the US capital shows "how well people see Pakistan as a hub of terrorists. And how they accept Indian retaliation as justified". A video clip where Pakistan's Major General Asif Ghafoor elaborates on Pakistan's possible pushback has come in for closer scrutiny. Shashank Joshi, Defence Editor at The Economist says it amounts to "heavy-handed and clumsy nuclear signaling by Pakistan". "But it's intended to serve as reminder of risks of conventional escalation, either to deter further Indian strikes or, perhaps more likely, to backstop India's response to any forthcoming Pakistani counter-retaliation". Heres the relevant clip from the @OfficialDGISPR press conference on Balakot and Pakistans retaliatory plan, including the NCA reference. Prepare for any eventuality, Ghafoor quotes @ImranKhanPTI as having said. Says Pakistan will retaliate at time and place of its choosing. pic.twitter.com/D754ZvvDiG Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) February 26, 2019 The Diplomat's Ankit Panda says the language is anything but "subtle" because NCA is in charge of the employment of Pakistans nuclear weapons. "Pakistan appears caught with its pants down and needs to reestablish deterrence and disabuse Delhi of the notion that nuclear red-lines have either evaporated or shifted, contra some commentary already making the rounds in India", says Panda, on Twitter. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba, Air Force Chief BS Dhanoa. India sent Pakistan a strongly-worded message, insisting that the Indian pilot 'must be returned immediately.' (File Photo) New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with the three service chiefs of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force at his official residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg here on Wednesday. India Pakistan tensions escalated when Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG 21 pilot was detained by Pakistan today after Pakistani Air Forces failed attempt to breach the Indian air space at Nowshera in Jammu and Kashmir. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba, Air Force Chief BS Dhanoa. Meanwhile, India sent Pakistan a strongly-worded message, insisting that the Indian pilot must be returned immediately. Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haidar Shah was summoned by ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to lodge a strong protest at the "unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan against India earlier today, including by violation of the Indian air space by Pakistan Air Force and targeting of Indian military posts." MEA pointed out that the IAF jets had carried "non-military anti-terror pre-emptive strike" at a JeM terrorist camp in Balakot on Tuesday, while Pakistan Air Force had targeted Indian military posts today after violating the Indian air space. MEA statement said, "India also strongly objected to Pakistans vulgar display of injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention." Press Trust of India NASA scientists have recreated the conditions in which life formed deep in the Earth's ocean four billion years ago, which may offer insights into possible habitats in the cosmos which could host alien life. Astrobiologist Laurie Barge and her team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, are working to recognize life on other planets by studying the origins of life here on Earth. Their research focuses on how the building blocks of life form in hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. To re-create hydrothermal vents in the lab, the team made their own miniature seafloors by filling beakers with mixtures that mimic Earth's primordial ocean. These lab-based oceans act as nurseries for amino acids, organic compounds that are essential for life as we know it. Like Lego blocks, amino acids build on one another to form proteins, which make up all living things. "Understanding how far you can go with just organics and minerals before you have an actual cell is really important for understanding what types of environments life could emerge from," Barge said in a statement. "Also, investigating how things like the atmosphere, the ocean and the minerals in the vents all impact this can help you understand how likely this is to have occurred on another planet," said Barge, lead investigator of the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Found around cracks in the seafloor, hydrothermal vents are places where natural chimneys form, releasing fluid heated below Earth's crust. When these chimneys interact with the seawater around them, they create an environment that is in constant flux, which is necessary for life to evolve and change. This dark, warm environment fed by chemical energy from Earth may be the key to how life could form on worlds farther out in our solar system, far from the heat of the Sun. "If we have these hydrothermal vents here on Earth, possibly similar reactions could occur on other planets," said Erika Flores, of JPL. Researchers used ingredients commonly found in early Earth's ocean in their experiments. They combined water, minerals and the "precursor" molecules pyruvate and ammonia, which are needed to start the formation of amino acids. They tested their hypothesis by heating the solution to 70 degrees Celsius the same temperature found near a hydrothermal vent and adjusting the pH to mimic the alkaline environment. They also removed the oxygen from the mixture because, unlike today, early Earth had very little oxygen in its ocean. The team additionally used the mineral iron hydroxide, or "green rust," which was abundant on early Earth. The green rust reacted with small amounts of oxygen that the team injected into the solution, producing the amino acid alanine and the alpha hydroxy acid lactate. Alpha hydroxy acids are byproducts of amino acid reactions, but some scientists theorize they too could combine to form more complex organic molecules that could lead to life. "We've shown that in geological conditions similar to early Earth, and maybe to other planets, we can form amino acids and alpha hydroxy acids from a simple reaction under mild conditions that would have existed on the seafloor," said Barge. This line of research is important as scientists study worlds in our solar system and beyond that may host habitable environments. Understanding how life could start in an ocean without sunlight would assist scientists in designing future exploration missions, as well as experiments that could dig under the ice to search for evidence of amino acids or other biological molecules. tech2 News Staff WhatsApp's search feature isn't the most polished out there and if you're someone who uses WhatsApp to converse on groups with hundreds of chats every day, it does become extremely difficult to look for something specific. In the past few weeks, the WhatsApp team has been trying to polish its in-app search feature with a number of discreet changes under the hood, but a bigger feature may be in the works. As per a report by WABetaInfo, the popular messaging service has begun work on a new 'Advanced Search' feature for users. The feature is currently under development for iOS, but sources closely tracking progress do state that the feature will be rolled out to Android users as well. The report, however, states that the feature is at a very native stage and that for reasons linked to the development of the feature, it may not show up for all iOS beta users right away. The Advanced Search feature could take a few weeks before it sees a wider, stable rollout. An official beta program for iOS was never available for everyone because it always was restricted to a few users. But WABetaInfo found that WhatsApp had unexpectedly opened its public beta program, making it available to any iOS user for a while. At the time of writing this report though, the Beta program on Testflight is full. Nimish Sawant Spotify, one of the most popular music streaming services, has officially launched in India today. It is available on Android, iOS as well as on the web platform. The freemium streaming service will be available for free starting today. In the case of Spotify, this means that while you can stream content for free, you will have to endure unskippable ads. Also, the option to skip a track you don't like is only available in the paid version free users can skip up to 6 tracks a day. If you'd rather not suffer through that, Spotify is also offering a free, 30-day trial of its Premium tier, which you can then pay for by selecting from one of the following subscription packages: One day: Rs 13 Seven days: Rs 39 One month recurring: Rs 119 One month prepaid: Rs 129 Three months: Rs 389 Six months: Rs 719 One year: Rs 1,189 In a conference call post the official launch announcement in India, the Spotify India team comprising India managing director Amarjit Batra, head of India marketing operations Akshat Harbola and Spotify's global director of product Owen Smith, spoke at length. For the purpose of simplicity, quotes would be attributed to the Spotify India team. Spotify India is official The Spotify India launch has been speculated for quite a while now. Initially, the launch was scheduled towards the end of last month. Then it was speculated to be delayed to mid-March. But on the night of 26 February, the Spotify app started showing up on Android and iOS app stores. India already has a lot of audio streaming services including Apple Music, Google Play Music, Amazon Music and local ones such as JioSaavn and Gaana. Spotify is entering a crowded market, so to speak. But according to the Spotify India team, there is still a huge gap to fill in the audio streaming space. When asked who Spotify considers as its main competition, the team didn't name any of the existing players but instead said that its main challenger was the pirate mindset and it hopes to change that with is freemium offering. Considering that Spotify has come late to the party, it has taken ample measures to ensure that its offering is localised to Indian tastes. To that effect, Spotify India will have regional language catalogues and its recommendation engine is already active for four Indian languages. India playlists will not be just genre based, but considering the love of films among Indians, playlists according to the actors in those films will also be up from day one. Focus on localising content to Indian tastes "In India, a service that just deals with music artists won't work. It has to have musicians, films, actors, music according to the varied decades of cinema and so on. The recommendation engine had to adapt to that. We also have in-house curators, who build a host of playlists around films and actors," said the team as part of its differentiation efforts for India. According to the Spotify India team, the company could have launched earlier in India, but merely plugging in the international version would be pointless. "We like to look at any market with a local perspective and we pay a lot of attention to local content. We also look at consumer insight. We then go back and improve the product and that takes time," said the team stating that Spotify would be partnering with a lot of local content creators, independent artists along with brand partnerships. Considering a lot of Indian users are still on 2G/3G networks, how would Spotify scale the streaming when you are in a weak network area? "By default, Spotify streams at 96 kbps for free users. If you are on the Premium plan, you are streaming music at 320 kbps. But at instances where your network strength isn't too strong, the streaming can happen at 24 kpbs at the minimum," said the team. According to a Deloitte report, the music streaming industry will see revenues of Rs 3,100 crore by 2020. Considering Spotify just crossed the 200 million subscriber mark last month, it will be looking forward to a huge growth opportunity in India as well. According to the team, while it is still unpredictable to see how its Premium offering will play out, it still thinks there is enough to get people to subscribe. "The video OTT space is growing here and people are willing to pay for quality content. That wasn't the case two years ago. Even payment ecosystems have undergone a sea-change, so we are seeing that also translating into getting users to pay for services online. Spotify's freemium model has worked in emerging markets abroad and we feel confident that it will work here as well," said the team. Spotify would also be looking at working closely with its partners to have data-backed 'live' properties. These can either be concerts streamed live on the internet or experiences such as Spotify on Stage. Nothing is concrete yet, but the team said that Spotify would be open to partnering with music festivals in India as well. Spotify India vs Warner Music Group The Spotify India launch hasn't been as smooth as one would have expected. Just a day before its India launch, there was news floating that it was being sued by Warner Music Group. The group, which comprises artists like Ed Sheeran, Madonna, Led Zeppelin, asked an Indian court to block Spotify from streaming songs from artists on the groups roster. So naturally, some artists are not present on the platform. Also, a lot of the content available on international playlists is coming greyed out for Indian users. "Spotify is an evolving service and will be working with labels to add more content for Indian users. We will review the gaps and will update those as and when needed," said the team. This was the standard response on questions around its local podcasts plans for India, family plans for Indian users, Alexa or Google Home integrations and more. Stiff competition in the audio streaming space The anticipation for the Spotify India launch was huge. Now that it has finally launched in India, it has established competitors in the space to deal with. But with other streaming services already having a significant lead in India and some users already having invested in these streaming services with their playlists and music selections, will Spotify be able to convert those users? Or is there a completely new market segment Spotify has its eyes on? It's too early to opine on that. (Also Read: Spotify vs Apple Music vs JioSaavn vs Gaana vs Google Music vs Amazon Music: A comparison of services) But being the first audio streaming service around with a catalogue of 40 mn plus songs and over billions of user-curated as well as algorithmically-created playlists, the recommendation engine of Spotify is surely its USP. How quickly it adapts to local tastes and regional content is what will make it stand out in the crowd. Disclaimer: JioSaavn is owned by Reliance Industries which also owns Network18, the publisher of Firstpost and Tech2 tech2 News Staff OnePlus at the annual mobile exhibition, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 showcased a prototype of its first 5G phone to the public. While the Chinese OEM is reportedly planning to launch its 5G smartphone in the second quarter this year, OnePlus has now announced that it plans to work with Qualcomm on 5G trials in India. The company in a press statement noted that it will be among one of the first smartphone manufacturers' in India to launch a smartphone with Qualcomm's latest high-end mobile platform, the Snapdragon 855. We have been loyal to Qualcomms 800-series Snapdragon chipsets since the release of our very first flagship device. This strong partnership with Qualcomm makes us believe that we could bring the best 5G device to the world, Pete Lau, Founder, and CEO of OnePlus stated. Notably, OnePlus began its 5G research in the year 2016 and it later collaborated with Qualcomm to develop a OnePlus 5G device. The company's 5G project team managed to establish a 5G connection to Qualcomm Technologies laboratory in the US in August last year. As mentioned earlier, OnePlus introduced its first prototype 5G smartphone at MWC this week. The device was seen wrapped around in a large white box that covered every part except for the phone's display. The company didn't share much detail about the device, however, The Verge quoting OnePlus said that the phone could hit a maximum speed of 500 Mbps. The device was connected to a local 5G base station which used a mmWave connection. Shadow, the cross-platform cloud gaming service demoed its game Ace Combat 7 content on the 5G device. There are no details regarding the price, features, and design on the upcoming OnePlus 5G smartphone. However, Pete Lau at Qualcomm's Snapdragon Summit last year mentioned that 5G phone could cost around $200-$300 more than the current OnePlus flagship model. While OnePlus has confirmed that it will be one of the first OEMs to launch a Snapdragon 855-powered smartphone in India and tabled its plan of bringing 5G trials in the country, it remains to be seen as when a fully commercialised OnePlus 5G arrives in the Indian market. For all the latest Mobile World Congress 2019, you can head to our MWC 2019 page. tech2 News Staff One thing that has been missing from OnePlus devices as of late is the ability to wirelessly charge the device. Many had believed that OnePlus will bring this feature to the OnePlus 7 smartphone when it is announced somewhere in May or June. However, it appears that those rumours have been squashed. OnePlus CEO Pete Lau, in an interview with CNET, has made it clear that OnePlus has no plans of bringing wireless charging to the OnePlus 7. To make the device more affordable, OnePlus has been known to do a bit of cost cutting here and there and wireless charging is one of them. That is not to say that OnePlus will not be bringing wireless charging in its future phones. However, since wirelessly charging a device a painfully slow compared to OnePlus' proprietary dash charge, the company will hold out until it finds a way to increase the former's speed. Lau declined to comment when asked if OnePlus will use the recently released Qualcomm Quick Wireless Charge. As per the report, Pete Lau actually had the OnePlus 7 Prototype in his pocket but said that it was not currently ready to be displayed to journalists. To be clear, the 5G OnePlus demoed at MWC 19 is not the OnePlus 7 but a separate standalone device. It remains to be seen when will OnePlus incorporate wireless charging on its device. Representing the 21 Opposition parties, Rahul Gandhi said that the leaders have noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has 'regrettably not convened an all-party meeting as per the established practice in our democracy.' Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday expressed the collective anguish of 21 Opposition parties, that met in Parliament on Wednesday, over the BJP's "blatant politicisation" of the killings of Indian armed personnel. The Opposition leaders also released a written statement following the meeting. His comments are in reference to the 42 CRPF personnel who were killed in a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama on 14 February. Following the attack, India conducted a pre-emptive attack on a JeM camp in Pakistan on Tuesday, after which Pakistan reportedly shot down two Indian aircraft and arrested an Indian pilot on Wednesday. Rahul was flanked by Opposition leaders including TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu. Speaking to media in New Delhi, Rahul said, "national security must transcend narrow political considerations," he said. He added that the leaders of the Opposition parties have noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "regrettably not convened an all-party meeting as per the established practice in our democracy." He also said that the parties are concerned about the emerging security situation in the nation, particularly the safety of the IAF pilot who was captured by Pakistani forces on Wednesday, following Pakistani troops infiltrating Indian airspace. Finally, Rahul urged the government to be transparent about all measures being taken to protect India's sovereignty, unity, and integrity. Follow LIVE updates on the ongoing situation between India and Pakistan The Congress will take a final call on the matter in a meeting of its Election Committee slated to be held Wednesday, state Congress leaders said. Kolkata: Miffed by the "adamant" attitude of the CPM-led Left Front, the Congress is likely to go it alone in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha polls. The Congress will take a final call on the matter in a meeting of its Election Committee slated to be held Wednesday, state Congress leaders said. According to party sources, the Congress has already sought bio-data of prospective candidates for all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. "We are now preparing to contest the Lok Sabha polls alone in the state. The CPM and Left Front seem to be adamant on some of the seats. The talks don't appear to be moving forward. So it's better to contest alone," a senior state Congress leader privy to the development said Tuesday. The development comes a day after the CPM managed to bring along two of its allies the RSP and the CPI on board on forging an alliance with the Congress in the state. However, another Left Front constituent Forward Bloc is not ready to toe the line, as the party is keen on contesting Purulia, Coochbehar and Barasat Lok Sabha seats in which the Congress also wants field its candidates. "Apart from the three seats, Raiganj and Murshidabad seats continue to be the bone of contention. Plus, we want to contest at least 18 seats. But the CPM is ready to give us only 12. So it's better to go it alone," another senior state Congress leader said. Represented by the CPM, Raiganj and Murshidabad are the only two Lok Sabha seats that the Left has in West Bengal, its erstwhile stronghold. These two places, however, are known as pockets of the Congress in the state. The Left Front, which has to distribute seats among its constituents, is keen on fielding candidates in at least 31-32 seats. The Congress had won four seats in 2014 general election. Of the four winners, Mausam Benazir Noor, the MP from Malda North, defected to the ruling Trinamool Congress in January. The world knows Pakistan's deceit. It has been breeding terror groups under the protective cover of nuclear weapons New Delhi: "[W]hat is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy," Chinese military thinker Sun Tzu had wrote. On Tuesday night, the Indian Air Force achieved just that. The bombing at Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camps inside Pakistan not only ended the nuclear blackmail, but also isolated the country diplomatically in the international forum. Moreover, India's extremely subtle response by keeping army officials out of press briefing made Pakistanis scrambling for support and sympathy. None came. The reactions trickling in from various countries asked both countries to exercise restraint, however, recognised India's legitimacy to secure itself from terrorist organisations based in Pakistan. Australia, in fact, chided Pakistan, saying it needs to take strict action terror outfits operating there. Australian foreign minister Marise Payne's statement after the JeM terror camp bombing read: "Pakistan must take urgent and meaningful action against terrorist groups in its territory, including Jaish-e-Mohammed which has claimed responsibility for the 14 February bombing, and Lashkar-e-Taiba. Pakistan must do everything possible to implement its own proscription of Jaish-e-Mohammed. It can no longer allow extremist groups the legal and physical space to operate from its territory". Another hard-hitting statement came from France, which backed the Indian attack inside Pakistan and asked the latter to put an end to the activities of the terrorist groups established in its territory. "France recognises India's legitimacy in ensuring its security against cross-border terrorism and calls on Pakistan to put an end to the activities of the terrorist groups established in its territory," the French government's statement said. Even Pakistan's 'best friend' China distanced itself and advised both the countries to exercise restraint. As expected, the only condemnation came from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), although it too drafted a carefully-worded statement calling upon both the countries to seek a peaceful solution to the current crisis. Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj is expected to address the OIC summit in Abu Dhabi as a 'Guest of Honour' on 1 March. American politician American Ellen Tauscher had famously said, "Preemption is the right of any nation in order to preserve its national security, however, preemptive war is a tactic, not a strategy." India did just that, even though action on the ground was not limited to a preemptive strike. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale had immediately briefed foreign diplomats from the USA, UK, Russia, Australia, Indonesia, Turkey and six ASEAN nations immediately after the Indian air strike and subsequently Swaraj spoke to Secretary of State Michael Pompeo. She is holding meetings with the Russian and Chinese foreign ministers on Wednesday in at Wuzhen, China, with counter-terrorism on the agenda. India clearly told the world that it has no intention to escalate and its limited operation was a preemptive strike that had become absolutely necessary in the face of imminent danger. Top government sources said India had to adopt a different strategy from the surgical strike in 2016 because this operation deep inside Pakistan territory was executed to achieve the twin issues of putting an end to Pakistan's nuclear blackmail by targeting terror camps and also isolating Pakistan on the global platform. "We have not only dismantled a JeM terror camp, but also demolished Pakistan's position in its global strategy that was upgraded after the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan and more particularly with advent of the Ronald Reagan administration. The myth that a strong, self-reliant Pakistan was an essential anchor to the entire South-West Asia region has been busted. The world now knows Pakistan is harbouring terrorists," sources said. The world knows Pakistan's deceit. It has been breeding terror groups under the protective cover of nuclear weapons. A 2011 Pakistan Army Green Book, its internal publication with essays by serving defence personnel, had said that a nuclear deterrent had changed the entire spectrum of regional security environment by introducing a 'balance of terror' paradigm between India and Pakistan an important facet to ensure strategic stability in the region. The chapter by Brigadier Muhammad Javed had said, "Nuclear deterrence did work in Kargil where it prevented Indians from escalation beyond Kashmir. Whereas during 2001-2002, Indian coercive diplomacy could never make Pakistan bow down, it prevented India from launching conventional attacks, despite having completed strategic assemblies. This is a clear indication of reliability of nuclear deterrence." According to government sources, India's intelligence-led operation to dismantle a terror camp, which is officially termed as 'non-military preemptive action' satisfactorily ended the decade's long hesitation with a clear message to Pakistan that its treachery will no longer be tolerated. More than 500 JeM recruits were trained every year at the Balakot camp that was targeted by the Indian Air Force and intelligence reports were shared with Pakistan in the past. Sources said Pakistan's tactic of using terrorists and pretending to be a non-aggressor is clear violation of the Shimla Agreement of 1972 that clearly stated that both countries shall always respect each other's national unity, territorial integrity, political independence and sovereign equality, but Pakistan failed to act against terrorist outfits. "It did nothing. Instead, a majority of terrorists groomed by ISI were transported to Jammu and Kashmir with the help of the Pakistan Army and ISI. We never attempted such an operation in the past, not even after 26 November, 2008. It could have been an act of divine justice for our soldiers and civilians. Nevertheless, the decisive and ruthless strike on Tuesday has improved our standing in chasing and killing terrorists planning to harm our nation," sources said. Pakistan's present predicament is its own creation. Its military and proxy adventures against India resulted in harsh lessons to the rulers. The continued support to terror groups may ultimately result in their own downfall and Pakistan's further disintegration. Follow all the latest LIVE updates from this developing situation here India stands by Wing Commander Abhinandan, because, in him, the IAF pilots who went and destroyed JeM camps in their Mirages now have a face India can identify with It is ironic that the MiG 21 Bison is to be phased out of the Indian Air Force at the end of 2019. And it is tragic that this old, plagued-by-problems aircraft that has cost over 170 lives of Indian pilots and is diabolically nicknamed the flying coffin, was up in the air at all in an aerial conflict in the beginning of 2019. Even though it's an updated version after the MiG 21 FL was decommissioned by the Indian Air Force in 2013, in todays context, a MiG 21 Bison has a limited combat role. To send it up against F-16s, if that is what India did, was like sending a pigeon to fight a falcon. Wing Commander Abhinandan, who reportedly engaged one of the F-16s had no chance in terms of firepower and manoeuvrability. It was nowhere near an even playing field in the air. But boy, did he make us proud! All of India must have seen the unverified video put out by Pakistan in contravention of the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War (that proscribes the parading of PoWs). They must have also seen the officer giving his name and his serial number and not letting the enemy cow him down. Wing Commander Abhinandan must be going through hell. His family, friends and a nation of 1.2 billion are in shock and dismay. India salutes him for showing grace in the face of grave danger. This author just loved the way he asked his captors blindfolded as he was if he was with the Pakistani Army and would they please clarify. His voice never quavered. He stood tall, and even though they had tied him up with a rope, he showed great riposte when he said, Under the rules, I do not have to give you any more information." And they had no idea what to do. Pakistan may have released the unverified video of his captivity to rub Indias nose in the mud but, thanks to Wing Commander Abhinandan, it delivered the exact opposite result. Because, in those few minutes in the unverified video, the way he conducted himself with pride and poise, he showed the world what Indian soldiers are made of. It is a grateful nation that stands by Wing Commander Abhinandan because, in him, all those faceless pilots who went and destroyed JeM camps in their Mirages now have a face India can identify with. Also read on Firstpost: 'Abhi is alive, not injured, sound in mind': Captured IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman's father hopes for his safe return For what it is worth, India must also now wake up and ensure that her ace guns are not jeopardised by second rate or poor or limited armament. If one truly wishes to honour Wing Commander Abhinandan and the Indian Armed Forces, the country should stop with the political infighting and go defence hardware shopping. Not to repeat oneself but to put him in a MiG 21 Bison is criminal. This aircraft first flew in 1956 but the remnants of the 11,500 aircraft built still remain in India. He was probably on a recce flight or simply spotting since it is inconceivably off the charts that he would have been sent into combat. The Wing Commander was clearly unable, with his dated machine, to outwit any air-to-air, surface-to-air missile or even ground fire and went down. After which, he stood up and he is still standing erect with all of India behind him. It is incumbent upon the military authorities and the government in New Delhi to see the Wing Commander as the symbol of the country and demand from Pakistan the reassurance of his rights and protection. Here is an officer and gentleman who will come back to a ticker tape parade in India for sure. Sooner the better for India, for Pakistan, and for the world at large. Meghalaya governor Tathagata Roys tweets have attracted sharp and widespread criticism and even spurred debate if governors are needed Shillong: Days after the 14 February attack on a Central Reserve Police Force convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, Meghalaya governor Tathagata Roy relayed an appeal from a retired colonel of the Indian Army on Twitter asking people to not visit Kashmir or Amarnath for the next two years. An appeal from a retired colonel of the Indian Army: Dont visit Kashmir,dont go to Amarnath for the next 2 years. Dont buy articles from Kashmir emporia or Kashmiri tradesman who come every winter. Boycott everything Kashmiri. I am inclined to agree Tathagata Roy (@tathagata2) February 19, 2019 The tweet immediately drew sharp reactions from several politicians and media houses, with some asking for his removal from the governors post. Even Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said he did not agree with Roys tweet. In his office at Shillongs Raj Bhawan on Monday, looking up from a printed copy of an opinion piece entitled Tathagata Roy is Indias first toxic Twitter governor, Roy said he did not wish to speak about that particular tweet anymore. Having finished a long email response to the author of the piece, he moved on from the issue by simply saying he thought the larger response to the tweet was disproportionate. Although Roy refused to take questions on the tweet, he earlier responded to the criticism on Twitter itself by calling it vociferously violent reactions from media and several others to my ECHOING OF a suggestion from a retired army colonel. A purely NON-VIOLENT REACTION to the killing of our soldiers by the hundreds and the driving out of 3.5 lakh Kashmiri Pandits (sic). When asked about how these incidents of violence against Kashmiri Pandits 30 years ago are relevant in the current situation in Kashmir, Roy said, The Kashmiri Pandit issue is extremely important to understand the current debate. Three-and-a-half lakh people were just given a go-by? What kind of justice is this? What kind of politics is this? This is the height of irresponsibility. On the question of taking back Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) or thwarting separatists, the Kashmiri Pandits issue is of the highest importance. Will addressing the injustices against Kashmiri Pandits solve the problems in in the state today? It will not solve (the problems). But it will take the situation quite a number of steps towards a solution, the governor said. His tweet on boycotting Kashmiri tradesmen gained attention mainly because it came at a time when incidents of violence against Kashmiri students were reported in several parts of the country, a trend that the Meghalaya governor believes was inaccurately reported. Im sure it is hugely exaggerated. That way, northeastern students have been hustled in north India and other places. Even if they are not physically harassed, a lot of people make fun of them. As a governor of a Northeastern province, I find it very objectionable. But nobody talks about it. But a few Kashmiri students get roughed up somewhere and they make a huge issue out of it. I think this is improper journalism, Roy said. This episode was, however, not the first time Roys tweets attracted sharp and widespread criticism (and even spurred debate on whether governors are needed). In March 2018, soon after two statues of Vladimir Lenin were demolished in Tripura following the Bharatiya Janata Party's historic win, many construed the following tweet by Roy (who was then Tripura governor) to be endorsing such destruction of public property: What one democratically elected government can do another democratically elected government can undo. And vice versa https://t.co/Og8S1wjrJs Tathagata Roy (@tathagata2) March 5, 2018 In Tripura, I simply made a very generic statement, that what one man has done another man can undo. I hadnt said anything more specific. But the response to my tweet wasnt proportionate. A whole lot of people think Lenin was some kind of demi god: Lenin or Marx or whosoevers statue was brought down. Do you know what Lenin died from? He died from syphilis. You can look up European-Neurological-Journal-plus-Lenin-plus-death on the internet, you will find that he died from syphilis, Roy said. But what has that got to do with Tripura politics? No, this fact is not well known. But this will detract from peoples idea of Lenin being some kind of god. In Lenins own country, his statues have been taken down and sold for scrap, but in the Bengali speaking part of the world, he is still considered a demi god. So, I am against that. Someone who dies from syphilis without receiving blood transfusion cant be a god. Roy, who describes himself as a right-wing Hindu socio-political thinker, writer and ideologue, is clearly the most vocal governor in India, and does not regret it. "Holding a constitutional post does not require one to be speech and hearing-challenged, he told Economic Times last year. So why is it that his views are, so often, considered inappropriate for someone holding his office? See, everyone imagines themselves to be a constitutional expert. What do you do about it? I am obliged to follow the Constitution as it is laid down therein or as it has been interpreted by a high court or the Supreme Court. If these institutions have said something about what the governor can or cant do, Im obliged to follow that. But Im not obliged to follow everybodys personal construct of the Constitution. That is what is irking a lot of people: that I hold an opinion at all. Why shouldnt I hold an opinion? The governor then opined on a few issues: On the media Generally, I think there is nothing wrong with the Indian media, except that some of them toe the lines of political parties. Every media (organisation) has some kind of slant: I dont find any fault with that. But brazenly following the line of a political party or trying to prop up a particular leader, or misrepresenting facts by photoshopping, for instance, is reprehensible. Some media persons do that, and that is the bad part of this. Otherwise I dont find anything seriously wrong with the Indian media. On fact-checking websites Oh, they are good, they are good. Alt News and Snopes.com, these are good ones. But they (pieces in such fact-checking websites) are not written by God. So, there is bound to be partisanship on these platforms and there is bound to be distortion of news. But so long as you have more sources and so long as you can find out different versions of stories, and so long as you have the liberty to come out and clarify what you intended to say over social media, the truth is more likely to emerge. The tyranny of the mainstream media which was prevailing until social media came into view was much worse than what we have today. So, we have improved in our quest for truth. How do you respond to the opposition to your tweets? Do you find some of the trolling disturbing? On trolls There are several possibilities. One is that if they are arguing sensibly, you can engage with them. If they are not sensible, you can refuse to engage with them. And if they are abusive, you can block them. That is what I do, habitually. On Indian politics I dont think it has come to a particular low today. See, politics is said to come down to a low when it gets mixed with violence. Right now, in politics, there isnt much violence. For instance, I have seen what kind of violence, threatening of voters what used to be called scientific rigging used to go on in West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Its not happening now. In West Bengal, its still there, but its not as bad as (it was) under the Left front. On Article 370 The heading over Article 370 says temporary and transient provisions. Temporary provisions must go, they must be temporary. On sedition laws Anything under the sun can be misused. That is no reason why it should be done away with. A human brain can be misused, does it mean that the brain should be taken out? Misuse should be prevented by the will of the people. But there is nothing intrinsically wrong with the section. I can be hammer and tongs against the government, but I cant be against the Indian State. If I am, the sedition law will come into action, as it has in the past. On secularism As the interview wound down, Roy shared a short excerpt of his response to Kaveree Bamzai, the author of Tathagata Roy is Indias first toxic Twitter governor: I am not an Islamophobe either, although I had a right to be one, having seen the driving out of a crore of Hindus from East Pakistan and Bangladesh, among which members of my extended family were also there. I am just, if I can coin a term, virulently anti-anti-Hindu. Reports received here said that intense shelling took place in Balakote and Krishna Ghati areas of Poonch district. Dozens of mortar shells fired from across the LoC landed in Balakote, the police said, but added that there were no casualties reported. (Representational Image | PTI) SRINAGAR: The Indian and Pakistani Armies exchanged heavy mortar shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmirs Rajouri and Poonch districts. The skirmishes which came hours after the IAF carried out strikes across the de facto border triggered panic among the border-dwellers. Reports received here said that intense shelling took place in Balakote and Krishna Ghati areas of Poonch district. Dozens of mortar shells fired from across the LoC landed in Balakote, the police said, but added that there were no casualties reported. The Indian Army retaliated to the Pakistani firing and the exchanges continues for some time, affecting Nowshehra, Baba Khori, Kalal, Pokhra and Tarkundi areas of Rajouri district also. The police officials said that the authorities had a few days ago asked the people living in as many as 27 villages along the LoC in Nowshera sector to be ready to vacate their homes at short notice. The border-dwellers had been asked to carry with them only essential belongings when asked to shift to temporary shelters set up in schools and government buildings away from the firing range. Rajouri deputy commissioner Mohammed Ajaz Assad had after visiting the areas which were affected by Pakistani firing recently said that though the majority of the villagers wanted to stay back, they were informed that that the government has set up makeshift camps and also informed the border dwellers about the evacuation plan. Meanwhile, the Border Security Force (BSF) on Tuesday claimed that one trooper from Pakistan Rangers was killed in retaliatory firing. The state government's move comes days after a 50-year-old Pakistani convict was allegedly killed by fellow inmates in Rajasthan's Jaipur Central jail. Kolkata: The West Bengal government has shifted 14 Pakistani prisoners, lodged in two correctional homes here, to separate barracks and "high-security" cells, amid soaring tension between India and its western neighbour, a senior official said. The state government's move comes days after a 50-year-old Pakistani convict was allegedly killed by fellow inmates in Rajasthan's Jaipur Central jail. "Strict instructions have been issued to separate Pakistani inmates from others following the incident in Rajasthan jail." A three-layered cordon has been set up for the security of the 14 prisoners, he said. "Most of these prisoners share a good rapport with their fellow inmates, but we cannot take the risk in the wake of the Pulwama attack," the official told PTI on Wednesday. Of the 14 inmates, four are lodged at Presidency Correctional Home in the city and the other 10 at Dum Dum Central Correctional Home, he said. "Some were jailed for flouting visa norms, while a few were waiting to be taken to other correctional homes. There are also others who were imprisoned for their involvement in criminal activities," the state government official said. Along with the chief head warden, the head warders are keeping an eye on the cells, he said. "The Pakistani inmates will not be allowed to move out of the sensitive zones for now. Our officers are keeping a close watch on these cells round the clock," he added. Follow LIVE updates on the India-Pakistan tensions US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday called on India and Pakistan to 'exercise restraint' amid soaring tensions between the two nuclear-armed countries, while urging Islamabad to take action against militants. Washington: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday called on India and Pakistan to "exercise restraint" amid soaring tensions between the two nuclear-armed countries, while urging Islamabad to take action against militants. "We encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid escalation at any cost," Pompeo said in a statement after speaking with his counterparts from both countries. Pompeo said that in talks with Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, he stressed "the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action, and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil". India on Tuesday said it launched strikes against militant camps in Pakistan New Delhi's first use of air strikes on its neighbor's territory since the two countries went to war in 1971. Pakistan, while confirming the incursion, denied India's claim that the attack had inflicted major damage and casualties on militants. The Tuesday air raid came after India threatened retaliation over the 14 February suicide bombing, claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) group, that killed 40 Indian troops in Pulwama in the Kashmir region. The JMB duo in West Bengal happen to be associates of Kauser and Sajjad, who were nabbed on 29 January for their involvement in 2014 Burdwan blast case, he said. On 2 October, 2014, a blast had occurred in a house at Khagragarh in Burdwan district, killing two persons Kolkata: Two operatives of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) have been arrested from West Bengal's Murshidabad district and a cache of explosive materials seized from their possession, a senior police officer said on Wednesday. In a joint operation by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Kolkata Police and the Murshidabad police, Moshibur Rahman (35) alias Farooque and Ruhul Amin alias Saifullah (26) were apprehended on Tuesday night, he said. "Both Moshibur and Ruhul, residents of Murshidabad district, are active members of the outlawed JMB. A cache of explosive materials, including aluminium dust, calether (spirit of ether) and sulphuric acid, have been recovered from their possession," the senior officer said. The duo happen to be associates of Kauser and Sajjad, who were nabbed on 29 January for their involvement in 2014 Burdwan blast case, he said. On 2 October, 2014, a blast had occurred in a house at Khagragarh in Burdwan district, killing two persons. "We have interrogated Sajjad and found out that Moshibur and Ruhul have been trained in making acid bombs. Their plan was to attack the police and get Kauser released," the officer said. With Tuesday's successful raid in Murshidabad, the number of JMB operatives arrested in a month rose to six, he added. On 16 February, Ariful Islam alias Arif (22) was arrested from the city's Babughat area for his alleged links to the terror outfit. Three days later, Asif Iqbal alias Nadeem, another resident of Murshidabad district, was held at Santragachi railway station in Howrah district. Islam was involved in 2018 Bodh Gaya blast case, police had claimed. On 19 January, 2018, a low-intensity bomb had exploded at Bodh Gaya in Bihar, shortly after Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama finished a sermon at the Mahabodhi temple. Qureshi had on Tuesday 'expressed reservations' about the invitation to Swaraj to attend the OIC meeting. His comments came in the wake of India's air strikes inside Pakistan early Tuesday. Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has told his UAE counterpart that he will not be attending the foreign ministers' conclave of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), if his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj was attending, reports have said. The meet is scheduled to be held in Abu Dhabi on 1 to 2 March. According to a report from Times Now, Qureshi said that it "would not be possible for him to sit in OIC meet if India's Sushma Swaraj attended it". Qureshi had on Tuesday "expressed reservations" about the invitation to Swaraj to attend the OIC meeting. His comments came in the wake of India's air strikes inside Pakistan early Tuesday. The strike is supposedly in response to the terror attack on a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on 14 February. In a strategically significant development, Swaraj will attend the inaugural plenary of the foreign ministers' conclave of the OIC, a powerful grouping of Muslim majority nations, as the 'guest of honour'. The OIC has usually been supportive of Pakistan and, often sided with Islamabad on the Kashmir issue, PTI reported. In view of the tensions between India and Pakistan, the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir held an emergency meeting at the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah on Tuesday and called for immediate de-escalation. In a series of tweets, the OIC "called upon both parties to act responsibly, and encouraged them to seek a peaceful solution to current crisis without resort to use of force. It also called on them to embrace dialogue and work towards the de-escalation of the current situation as a matter of priority". With inputs from agencies The intermittent shelling along the border and the Pakistani aircraft in Poonch caused a panic among the residents, several of whom moved to safer places. The residents of Mendhar town of Poonch saw Pakistani aircraft fly across the sky during the day while those living in the other border areas, including Nowshera in Rajouri, witnessed heavy shelling by the Pakistani troops at night. Intermittent shelling along the border and the Pakistani aircraft in Poonch caused a panic among residents, several of whom moved to safer places. Residents said shelling continued for several hours in the border area of Nowshera in Rajouri during the night, forcing people to move to safer spots. In the afternoon, a number of residents of Mendhar town said they saw Pakistani aircraft in the sky. It was around 12: 30 pm that I saw some Pakistani aircraft for quite some time. Later, they moved on, said Mendhar resident Aijaz Kholi. The 27-year-old said while the aircraft dropped no bombs in Mendhar, relatives learnt of bombing in other areas through relatives. Some Mendhar residents woke up to the sound of the fighter jets at night and the aircraft flying overhead during the day. Others confirmed they saw Pakistani aircraft around 10:30 am, following which the police asked them to stay indoors. Locals said the police used the public address system to urge people not to panic. A resident of Nowshera said the area saw intense mortal shelling during the night. On Tuesday, Pakistani troops resorted to intense shelling and firing along the Line of Control (LoC) for several hours, using heavy artillery 120 mm mortar guns. The firing, which stopped for some time, resumed during the night in several areas, residents said. Earlier, army officials said there was heavy shelling along the LoC. They said the shelling was more intense than usual. Authorities also identified safer places which are not usually in the targets of the Pakistani artillery to which to move the public. The administration also identified several buildings even as locals constructed their own bunkers. Rajouri deputy commissioner Mohammad Aijaz said authorities decided to close down the schools within five kilometres from the LoC. Keeping in view the safety of children, we decided to close the schools. Some 82 schools were closed from the Sunderbani area of Rajouri to Manjakote. We also identified the buildings in the safer areas which are not affected by the border shelling where we can shift residents, he added. Veteran industrialist Ratan Tata on Wednesday praised the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hailed the Indian Air Force (IAF) for carrying out strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed's terror camp in Pakistan New Delhi: Veteran industrialist Ratan Tata on Wednesday praised the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hailed the Indian Air Force (IAF) for carrying out strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed's terror camp in Pakistan. "We congratulate the PM and the IAF for the successful air strikes on the terrorist training camps which Pakistan has claimed never existed! India is proud of the firm action taken in retaliation to the suicide attack on our soldiers a few days ago," Ratan Tata said in a tweet. On Tuesday India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC), killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The air strikes came 12 days after the JeM carried out a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. The NIA raided the houses of Mudassir Ahmad Khan and Sajjad Bhat, active terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed and key accused in the 14 February terror attack at Pulwama, New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday carried out searches at 11 locations in southern Kashmir in connection with cases related to the 14 February terror attack on a CRPF convoy and funding of separatists and terror groups, according to an official statement. The houses of Mudassir Ahmad Khan and Sajjad Bhat, active terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed and key accused in the terror attack at Pulwama, were searched, the NIA statement said. In addition, the residences of active overground workers of JeM in Tral, Awantipora and Pulwama areas of south Kashmir were searched, it said. Incriminating materials, including diaries containing coded writings, have been seized, the NIA said. The probe agency said the houses of three separatist leaders of south Kashmir Mohd Shaban Dar, Shawkat Maulvi and Yasmine Raza were also searched in connection with a terror funding case. Documents related to terror funding, coded messages and Jihadi literature have been seized, it said. During the searches, NIA teams also recovered a large number of incriminating documents containing details of property and financial transactions, electronic devices, mobile phones, SIM cards etc, it said. Pakistani fighter jets violated Indian air space in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district but were pushed back by Indian aircraft Jammu: Pakistani fighter jets on Wednesday violated Indian air space in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district but were pushed back by Indian aircraft, a top official said. "The jets entered into Indian air space over Nowshera sector this morning," the official said. They were immediately pushed back by Indian jets on air patrol. Officials also said that Pakistani jets dropped bombs on way out of the Indian territory. This action comes a day after the Indian Air Force carried out air strikes in the wee hours of Tuesday morning on Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps across the Line of Control in Balakot, Muzaffarabad and Chakoti. Since Tuesday evening, ceasefire violations by Pakistan's troops have been reported. On Wednesday, Pakistan Army shelled Indian posts in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri sector, while ceasefire violation was reported in Rajouri. A day after Indian Air Force strikes on JeM training camps, Pakistan troops on Wednesday intensely shelled Indian posts in Uri Sector of Jammu and Kashmir Srinagar: Pakistani troops on Wednesday intensely shelled Indian posts in Uri Sector of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. The shelling comes a day after the Indian Air Force carried out air strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps inside the neighbouring country. Pakistani Army fired mortar shells towards Indian posts in the early hours of Wednesday, a police official said. He said there were no reports of any casualties so far. The official said the Indian Army retaliated to the Pakistani action in an equal measure. The exchange of fire across the LoC in Uri sector was going in when reports last came in, he added. A day after India said it bombed Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Pakistan, the tensions between the two countries further escalated on Wednesday after Islamabad launched retaliatory strikes and claimed it had one Indian Armed Forces (IAF) pilot in its custody. A day after India said it bombed Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp in Pakistan, the tension between the two countries further escalated on Wednesday after Islamabad launched retaliatory strikes and captured one Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot. The developments followed night-long heavy firing and shelling on forward and civilian areas from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri and Poonch. All residents of the border areas had been told to remain inside their homes and not venture outside. Early on Wednesday, Islamabad claimed that it had bombed the Indian territory across the border areas. Pakistan military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said that when IAF crossed the LoC in response, they hit back at India by bringing down two Indian military aircraft, one of which crashed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. Ghafoor then claimed that two IAF pilots were captured. One pilot is injured and has been shifted to a hospital, while another one is unhurt, he added, showing documents of the arrested pilots but identifying only one. "This was an act of self-defence and the inbuilt message was that Pakistan did not want to hurt any civilian. The target for the attack was crucial. We wanted to prove that we have the capability of defending ourselves," he said in a televised address. Later in the day, Ghafoor said on Twitter "only one pilot under Pakistan Armys custody". India said that during the Wednesday operation, a MiG 21 Bison was lost and an IAF pilot was missing. In a terse press statement, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, accompanied by Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor, said that details were being ascertained about Pakistan's claim of having captured one Indian pilot. "Pakistan has responded this morning by using its air force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistan's attempts were foiled successfully," Kumar said. He said the Pakistan Air Force activity was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. "In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. "In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," he said. As tensions grew, the entire airspace north of New Delhi was briefly "vacated". Nine airports in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab were closed for civilian traffic for some part of the morning but opened later in the day. Jammu and Kashmir was the centre of much of the action on a day of escalating tensions between the two neighbours. In an unrelated incident, an IAF helicopter crashed in Budgam in Kashmir, killing at least six IAF officers and one civilian. The civilian was identified as Kifayat Hussain Ganaie, a local resident. In Islamabad, the Pakistan Army released a 46-second video showing a blindfolded man claiming he is IAF's Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. "I am an IAF officer. My service No is 27981," the man was seen as saying in the video. A video later also did rounds showing the same man drinking tea and again asserting that he was the IAF pilot. There is only one pilot under Pakistan Armys custody. Wing Comd Abhi Nandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics. pic.twitter.com/8IQ5BPhLj2 Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 27, 2019 In a live television broadcast, Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan also reiterated the military's claim that two Indian MiGs were shot down, as he offered to defuse tensions and resolve the issue between the neighbouring countries through talks. Imran said the Pakistani incursion into the Indian air space was "only intended to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same". Two Indian MiGs were shot down in the ensuing action, Imran said, one day after Indian government sources told PTI that up to 350 JeM terrorists were killed in Tuesday's attack. "I ask India: with the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this (situation) escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's," Imran said. It was our plan to not cause any collateral damage, and not to cause any casualties.We simply wanted to show capability. Two Indian Migs crossed Pakistans Borders, and we shot them down.I want to now address India and say let sanity prevail. #BetterSenseShouldPrevail pic.twitter.com/HsicyaqgUu PTI (@PTIofficial) February 27, 2019 Clamour grows to bring back missing pilot Top security and intelligence officials on Wednesday huddled into a meet at the Prime Minister's Office in the wake of Pakistan Air Force jets violating the Indian airspace. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, senior officials of the Indian Navy, Indian Army and the Indian Air Force and other security officials held a meeting to discuss the security situation. While the Indian government and the defence establishment took stock of the situation building up since the 14 February attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 40 soldiers were killed, attention swivelled on the missing IAF pilot in enemy territory, who was neither named nor was his designation disclosed by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) during the press briefing. The demand to bring back the missing pilot grew on social media. #Abhinandan, #SayNoToWar, and #BringBackAbhinandan were among the top three trends in India on Twitter. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said, "Pakistan, please treat him as you would have us treat one of your men in uniform should he be unfortunate enough to be captured on this side of the border." Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, too, expressed their concerns for the Indian pilot who was "missing in action". Opposition condemns Pakistan's 'misadventures' A total of 21 political parties of the Opposition held a meeting at the Parliament building, Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressed the media, reading out the joint statement signed by the parties. "The leaders expressed concerned. Post the MEA statement, the leaders condemned the Pakistani misadventures and expressed deep concern for the safety of our missing pilot. The leaders urged the government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity," he said. In the joint statement, the parties also expressed "deep anguish over the blatant politicisation of the sacrifices made by our armed forces by leaders of the ruling party" following the Pulwama attack. "National security must transcend narrow political considerations. The leaders observed that the prime minister has, regrettably, not convened an all-party meeting as per the established practice in our democracy," the parties said. Congress President Rahul Gandhi after opposition meeting: The meeting of leaders of 21 political parties condemned the dastardly Pulwama attack by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed on 14th February 2019 and lauded the action taken by our armed forces pic.twitter.com/XaGeQXJGTg ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 India issues demarche on Pakistan's 'act of aggression' In a press statement on Wednesday evening, the MEA said that it had summoned the acting high commissioner of Pakistan on Wednesday afternoon to lodge a strong protest against the "unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan against India, including violation of the Indian air space by Pakistan Air Force and targeting of Indian military posts". "It was clearly conveyed that India reserves the right to take firm and decisive action to protect its national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity against any act of aggression or cross-border terrorism," the MEA said. The ministry said that India "strongly objected to Pakistans vulgar display of injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention". "It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return," it said. The MEA added that it expressed regret at Pakistan's "continuing denial" of the presence of terrorist infrastructure in its territories and handed over a dossier to the Pakistani side with details of JeM complicity in Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM leadership in Pakistan. "It was conveyed that India expects Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from territories under its control," it said. UK, Russia call for restraint The UK, Russia, Nepal and Sri Lanka were among the countries which expressed concern over rising tensions on Wednesday. "The UK is deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan and urgently calls for restraint on both sides to avoid further escalation. We're in regular contact with both countries, urging dialogue and diplomatic solutions to ensure regional stability," said British prime minister Theresa May. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia said in a statement, "We call on both sides to show restraint and step up efforts to resolve existing problems by political and diplomatic means....We are ready to further assist in strengthening the counter-terrorism potential of New Delhi and Islamabad." Meanwhile, Turkey "categorically" announced to stand by Pakistan and its people in the "face of Indian aggression", Karachi-based newspaper Dawn reported. Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reportedly shared the sentiments in a telephonic conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi. The report quoted Cavusoglu as saying that "Turkey would also oppose" the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's invitation to the upcoming Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Abu Dhabi. Pakistan had earlier expressed concerns over Swaraj attending the meeting with the UAE. Meanwhile, Nepal underlined the importance of peace and stability in South Asia and called on both India and Pakistan not to engage in actions that would threaten security in the region. As the current Chair of the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), Nepal, while underlining the importance of peace and stability in South Asia, calls on both sides to exercise utmost restraint and not engage in actions that would threaten peace and security in the region," Nepal's foreign ministry said. Sri Lanka requested India and Pakistan to act in a manner that ensures the security, peace and stability of the entire region, it said. "Sri Lanka strongly supports peace and stability in the South Asia region and all endeavours towards the diffusion of tensions including the resolution of bilateral problems through dialogue and building confidence," a statement by the Sri Lankan foreign ministry said. With inputs from agencies 'Our air warriors returned unscathed after taking action against the terrorists' hideouts,' Mahajan said. Mahajan also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the air strike, saying the action sent a strong message to Pakistan that it should not look at India with evil eyes. (Photo: File) Indore: Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Tuesday praised the Air Force for the strike on a terror camp in Balakot and equated the operation to the tale of Lord Hanuman returning safely after setting Lanka ablaze, as mentioned in the Ramayana. Mahajan also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the air strike, saying the action sent a strong message to Pakistan that it should not look at India with evil eyes. "Pawan Putra Hanuman returned after torching Lanka. Our Air Force displayed bravery like Lord Hanuman. Now the entire country is confident of terrorism being eliminated," the parliamentarian from Indore said. She said the operation was so swift that Pakistan appeared clueless about what happened. "Our air warriors returned unscathed after taking action against the terrorists' hideouts but the neighbouring country is still clueless about what happened," she said. In an air strike, India bombed Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Pakistan early Tuesday. The air strike was in response to the terror attack in Pulwama that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. Pakistani troops resorted to intense shelling and firing along the Line of Control After India's surgical strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camps, Pakistani troops resorted to intense shelling and firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, injuring five army jawans in Akhnoor. The shells from 120 mm mortar guns landed in civilian areas, forcing the public to remain indoors. Many residents described it as a "war-like" situation. Defence spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Devinder Anand said intense shelling took place all along the LoC. He said unlike the smaller size mortars, which were being used by Pakistani troops during the border skirmishes earlier, this time the shelling was heavy and artillery landed in many civilian areas. Anand added that shelling was carried out in all the major areas the army is stationed along the LoC in the Jammu region, including some strategically important locations of Nowshera, Balakote (in Poonch) and Akhnoor. Akhnoor has a large number of defence installations. However, Anand said there were no reports of casualties. Anand described the shelling by Pakistani troops as an act of unprovoked firing, adding that both the small arms as well as mortars were resorted to for many hours. He said shelling was carried out in most of the areas along the LoC between India and Pakistan and started at around 5:30 pm and continued for a long time. Indian Army is retaliating strongly and effectively to the intense shelling at Nowshera (Kalal, Baba Khori, Kalsian, Jhanger, Rajouri (Tarkundi forward), Balakote, KG Mankote sectors. Pakistani troops also resorted to firing in Akhnoor and Krishna Ghati sectors which was effectively repulsed, Anand said. A senior army official said the shells landed two to three kilometres inside the Indian territory. He said that the maximum distance the shells can land in Indian territory was around six kilometres from the Pakistani side. Anand said 120 mm mortar shells were rarely used. Following the intense shelling, the locals preferred to stay indoors and the roads witnessed a deserted look. Ahead of the IAF strike, the movement of troops was increased in many areas of the border villages of Jammu, including that of Mendhar in Poonch in the past few days. Residents said fighter jets flew late Monday night over some areas, but they presumed that it was part of the heightened vigil along the border. I have never been witness to shelling of this scale. I also heard cries of people and saw smoke billowing up from the fields where the shelling took place, said Majid Khattana, a resident of Balakote area of Poonch. Shells also landed in many areas of Mendhar sector, but not in the main city, residents said. The intense shelling triggered panic and disrupted the movement of roads for several hours. I fear there could be many civilian casualties, said Majid. Pakistan jets reportedly violated Indian air space in Rajouri sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday and dropped bombs on their way out Rajouri: Pakistan jets reportedly violated Indian air space in Rajouri sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday and dropped bombs on their way out. Craters were reportedly spotted at the places where the bombs were dropped by the Pakistan Air Force fighter jets. No casualties have been reported yet. J&K: Pictures of craters formed from Pakistani bombs dropped near Indian Army post in Rajouri sector. Pic courtesy: Army sources) pic.twitter.com/bAqG1YW3AO ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 This comes a day after the Indian Air Force carried out an aerial strike at a terror launch pad in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, destroying a control room of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and other infrastructure of the terror outfit. Air space over Pathankot in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir has been shut down. Srinagar, Leh, Jammu, Chandigarh and Amritsar airports have been shut for civilian traffic. In a similar incident, Pakistani fighter jets violated Indian air space in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district but were pushed back by Indian aircraft, a top official said. Reports had said that in retaliation to Tuesday's airstrike, Pakistani jets had violated the Indian airspace in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri sectors. Pakistan on Wednesday claimed that its air force had shot down two Indian aircraft and that an Indian pilot was arrested by troops. Reports had said that in retaliation to Tuesday's airstrike, Pakistani jets had violated the Indian airspace in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri sectors. PAF fighters reportedly dropped bombs at Nadian, Laam Jhangar and Kerri in Rajouri district and in the Hamirpur area of Bhimber Galli in Poonch, at about 10 am. In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area. Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 27, 2019 In a tweet, Pakistan army spokesperson Asif Ghafoor said one of the aircraft that was struck, fell inside Pakistan occupied Kashmir and another fell inside the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs also released a statement stating that the Pakistan Air Force undertook strikes across the Line of Control, but claimed that they were from within the Pakistani airspace. "This was not a retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. Pakistan has therefore, taken strikes at non-military targets, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. Sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability to self defence. We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm," the release read. It added that Pakistan had issued "clear warning" of the attack in broad daylight. The statement also mentioned that the attack was a strike against what India had been trying to establish as a "new normal". "If India is striking at so called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan," it said. The statement also asked for India to give "peace a chance". The confirmation by Pakistan came minutes before Pakistan Air Force's F-16 jet, that violated Indian air space, was shot down in Indian retaliatory fire three kilometres within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, in Nowshera sector. Meanwhile, an Mi-17 transport chopper has crashed in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam and two bodies have been found at the site. The exact cause behind this attack has not been determined. Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan had called for a meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA) in the aftermath of India's preemptive, non-military air strikes at terror camps in Balakot in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The NCA is Pakistan's apex body in charge of its nuclear arsenals. Follow LIVE updates of the tensions between India and Pakistan here The Opposition also raised concerns and 'deep anguish' on the 'blatant politicisation' of the sacrifices of the armed forces, by the ruling party. The statement mentions that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not convene an all-party meeting after the air strike, which is the 'established practice of democracy'. The Opposition leaders met on Wednesday in the wake of India and Pakistan's air strikes earlier in the day and jointly raised a request to the government to take the Opposition in confidence on "all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity". Members of 21 political parties participated in the meeting and paid tribute to the martyrs of the 14 February Pulwama terror attack on CRPF while condemning the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) strike. The Opposition also expressed confidence in the armed forces and said in the statement that it lauds the Indian Air Force's effort to air-bomb a terrorist camp inside Pakistan on 26 February. However, the Opposition also raised concerns and "deep anguish" on the "blatant politicisation" of the sacrifices of the armed forces, by the ruling party. The statement mentions that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not convene an all-party meeting after the air strike, which is the "established practice of democracy". The leaders also expressed on the current security situation in the country amidst the military tension. They condemned the Pakistani Army's action on Indian military posts and hoped for the safe return of the missing pilot. Follow LIVE updates on the India-Pakistan air strikes aftermath here Earlier in the day, Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian military aircraft over Pakistani air space and arrested at least one of the pilots. New Delhi: There are no reports of any Indian Air Force jet suffering damage in action by India's adversaries, defence sources said on Wednesday. They added that they were verifying reports that an F16 Pakistani jet had crashed in Lam Valley across the Line of Control. Earlier in the day, Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian military aircraft over Pakistani air space and arrested at least one of the pilots. Reports had said that in retaliation to Tuesday's airstrike, Pakistani jets had violated the Indian airspace in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri sectors. Military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor claimed in a tweet that one of the aircraft crashed in Pakistan occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. "In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was up all night as he monitored the Indian Air Force operation to destroy a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Pakistan, relaxing only after all the pilots returned safely home, government sources said Tuesday. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was up all night as he monitored the Indian Air Force operation to destroy a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Pakistan, relaxing only after all the pilots returned safely home, government sources said Tuesday. After congratulating all those involved in the operation around 4.30 am, he got busy with his daily routine as he prepared for a full day's schedule, including the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security at his residence around 10 am. He then rushed to the Rashtrapati Bhawan, where President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2015-2018. Later, Modi flew to Rajasthan for a rally and returned to New Delhi to attend an ISKCON event. "The prime minister did not sleep a wink all night and remained intimately involved in the operations," said one source, speaking on condition of anonymity. Modi attended a News18 television channel conclave at the Taj Palace hotel on Monday night, and left for home at 9.15 pm. After reaching his 7 Lok Kalyan Marg residence in 10 minutes, he took a light meal and became involved in the operation, going through the preparations for the airstrike on the training camp, the source said. It is not clear if he was at home or at some other location where a control room monitored the historic events about to unfold. The prime minister was in touch with Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Air Force Chief BS Dhanoa before, during and after the operation, the source, who is close to the prime minister, said. Once the operation ended, he checked with officials about the well-being of the pilots involved. the source said. When it was clear everyone was safe, the prime minister withdrew and turned his attention to other matters, he said. In the meantime, Abdullah appealed Pakistan to treat Abhinandan well. 'Thoughts with the family, friends and colleagues of Wing Commander Abhinandan,' Abdullah added. Srinagar: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should suspend all his political activities till the missing Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot returns home safely. Earlier on Wednesday, India said the pilot went missing after the IAF foiled Pakistan Air Force's attack on military installations in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan claimed the pilot is in its custody, however, Indian authorities said they were still ascertaining the facts. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi must suspend his political activities until Wing Commander Abhinandan is returned safely. It can't be business as usual with him crisscrossing the country at taxpayer expense making political speeches while our pilot is a Pakistani captive," Abdullah said in a series of tweets. The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister also appealed to Pakistan to treat the IAF pilot well. "In the meantime, Pakistan please treat him as you would have us treat one of your men in uniform should he be unfortunate enough to be captured on this side of the border," he said. "Thoughts with the family, friends and colleagues of Wing Commander Abhinandan. Prayers for his early and safe return home to all those eagerly waiting for him," he added. The police successfully found the seventh girl, who is one of the prime witnesses in the infamous Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case Patna: After finding six missing girls, the police successfully also found the seventh girl, who is one of the prime witnesses in the infamous Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case from Madhubani on Tuesday night. "After sincere efforts by the SIT constituted to investigate the Mokama Shelter Home case, the seventh girl was recovered last night (26-27/2/19) from Madhubani," said police in its press statement. "It is to be noted that circumstances of the girl's escape are yet to be fully established. It is early to say if girls escaped on their own or received outside help," the police added. "No evidence about the involvement of the NGO Nazareth Academy has surfaced so far. The SIT will soon complete the investigation and come out with all details," it further stated. Six of the minor girls were found in Gangauli village under the Sakatpur police station area on February 24. Seven girls, including five, who were abused at the Muzaffarpur shelter home last year, escaped from the Mokama shelter home on Friday night. It is worth mentioning that five girls were shifted to Nazareth Hospital Society from Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti, Muzaffarpur, in August last year after their ordeal of sexual abuse was highlighted in the audit report of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). More than 40 minor girls were allegedly sexually assaulted over a period of time in the shelter home which was run by Brijesh Thakur's state-funded non-governmental organisation (NGO). Subsequently, the NGO was blacklisted and the girls were shifted to other shelter homes in Patna and Madhubani. WHY DONT YOU READ THESE? The encounter, which broke out between the security forces and terrorists in the wee hours of Wednesday in Shopian, has ended and security forces have begun the combing operations in the area. Shopian: Two Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists were gunned down by security forces on Wednesday during an encounter in Memander area of Shopian district in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. The encounter, which broke out between the security forces and terrorists in the wee hours of Wednesday in Shopian, has ended and security forces have begun the combing operations in the area. The encounter comes a day after India carried out air strikes at a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) camp in Balakot in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Tuesday said Indian Air Force has eliminated a large number of terrorists, including top commanders, during multiple air strikes in the terror launch pads. The terror camp in a thick forest area atop a hill was led by Ustad Gauri, brother-in-law of JeM chief Masood Azhar, Gokhale said, making a statement before the media, hours after the air strikes using Mirage 2000 were carried out. In retaliation, Pakistan reportedly violated ceasefire in a number of places along the LoC. Heavy shelling was also reported in the region. On 24 February, the three JeM terrorists were killed in an encounter in Kulgam, said the Jammu and Kashmir Police. Follow LIVE updates on the IAF surgical strikes The locals who rushed to the site of the crash said that the three bodies were charred in the incident. The IAFs MI-17 crashed in an open field near Garend Kalaan village, 7-km way from the district headquarters of Budgam, at 10.05 am, the officials said. (Photo: ANI) Srinagar: Seven including civilians were killed after an Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper crashed in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam on Wednesday morning. One of the civilians killed when the burning aircraft fell on the ground has been identified as 30-year-old Kifayat Ahmad Ganai. However, the authorities have not confirmed their identities yet. The IAFs MI-17 crashed in an open field near Garend Kalaan village, 7-km way from the district headquarters of Budgam, at 10.05 am, the officials said. The jet broke into two and caught fire immediately, the officials said. The locals who rushed to the site of the crash said that the three bodies were charred in the incident. They also said that Ganai and several other youths were sitting in the field when the aircraft crashed. Two Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists were killed in an encounter in Shopian on Wednesday, according to the Jammu and Kashmir Police. Srinagar: Two terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), including one from Pakistan, were killed in an encounter in Shopian on Wednesday, according to the Jammu and Kashmir Police. "Shopian encounter has completed. On specific information, this operation was launched. Two terrorists were killed. These terrorists belonged to proscribed terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammad," confirmed Kashmirs Inspector General of Police SP Pani. He added, "Arms and ammunition have been recovered. From the material we have recovered, it is ascertained that one terrorist belonged to Pakistan, and the other is from a local area." The investigation is underway. Early morning on Wednesday, the encounter between the security forces and militants broke out in Memander area of Shopian district in the Kashmir Valley. The encounter comes a day after India carried out air strikes at JeM's "biggest" terror camp in Balakot in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Masood Azhar, the Jaish-e-Mohammed's chief whose terror academy in Balakot faced a blitzkrieg from Indian Air Force jets early on Tuesday, is an overweight fugitive released by India in exchange for passengers of a hijacked Indian Airlines plane in 1999. He has since been a blue-eyed boy of Pakistan's external snooping agency ISI. New Delhi: Masood Azhar, the Jaish-e-Mohammed's chief whose terror academy in Balakot faced a blitzkrieg from Indian Air Force jets early on Tuesday, is an overweight fugitive released by India in exchange for passengers of a hijacked Indian Airlines plane in 1999. He has since been a blue-eyed boy of Pakistan's external snooping agency ISI. Nearly 20 years after his release, during which he staged some audacious terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and hinterland, his Balakot camp, where he trained terrorists to carry out suicide attacks, was in the cross hairs of Mirage 2000 jets, which achieved a spectacular success by destroying the resort-like facility and possibly killing up to 350 inmates. For all his reputation, Azhar was not a hard nut to crack when he was in the custody of Indian forces, according to officials. A former police officer, who interrogated Azhar after his arrest in 1994, said he got shaken up on the "first slap" from an army jawan, prompting him to blurt out details of his movements. He was arrested in Anantnag in South Kashmir in February 1994 after he had entered into India on a Portuguese passport through Bangladesh. It was a chance arrest. He, along with Sajjad Afghani, was travelling in an auto when it was stopped by armymen at Khanabal. "Both ran from the autorickshaw, prompting the armymen to nab them. The armymen were happy to find Sajjad Afghani and had a little knowledge about the other," former Director General of Sikkim Police Avinash Mohananey, who interrogated Azhar many times during his two-decade tenure in the Intelligence Bureau, told PTI. The 50-year-old Azhar, son of a retired school headmaster from Bhawalpur in Pakistan, always felt his custody in India was going to be short-lived and that attempts would be made for his release, he had said during his first meeting with Mohnaney at Kot Balwal jail in Jammu, immediately after his arrest. Attempts were indeed made the first one within 10 months of his arrest when some foreigners were kidnapped from Delhi in February 1994 and demanded his release. The plot failed when Uttar Pradesh and Delhi Police managed to get the hostages freed from captivity in Sahranpur. During that raid on Saharanpur, police arrested another militant, Omar Sheikh, who would eventually be released along with Azhar in exchange for the passengers of the 1999 hijacked flight IC814. Sheikh late became well known after he beheaded Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan. Another attempt to release him was made by a shadow group of Harkat-ul-Ansar, Al-Faran, which demanded his release in exchange of five foreigners kidnapped in Kashmir in July 1995. A tunnel was dug in Kot Balwal jail in 1999 to facilitate his escape but Azhar could not move out because of his unusual body structure he was overweight and had large belly that was too big to be squeezed through the tunnel. However, in the process, Sajjad Afghani was killed. Finally, he was released by the BJP-led NDA government in 1999, along with Omar Sheikh and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar alias 'Latram', in exchange of the passengers of the flight IC-814. The Kathmandu-New Delhi plane was hijacked and taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan by Masood Azhar's men. After the negotiations with hijackers failed, the government succumbed to their demands and the then external affairs minister Jaswant Singh took the three terrorists to Kandahar in Afghanistan in a special plane to ensure the release of passengers of the hijacked plane. Thus began a new chapter of terror in Jammu and Kashmir as well as rest of India. After his release in 1999, Azhar formed the Jaish-e-Mohammed and scripted many audacious terror strikes in India and went on to became a favourite of the ISI. JeM announced its arrival in the Kashmir Valley in 2000 by carrying out a suicide car bombing attack at the gate of Badamibagh cantonment in Srinagar, the headquarters of the Army's 15 Corps. Two armymen were killed in the attack. Later, it was involved in the attack on Parliament, the Pathankot air force base, army camps in Jammu and Uri, and the latest suicide attack on CRPF in Pulwama which claimed the lives of 40 personnel. While in custody, intelligence agencies did not have to do much work on Azhar and he gave insights into the functioning of terror groups operating from Pakistan, the officer said. "'I had never been slapped by my father but for the first time in my life an Army jawan did so even before asking me any question'," the officer remembered Azhar telling him. "He was an easy man to handle and the slap had shaken him completely." Azhar shared information about recruitment process and functioning of terror groups in Pakistan at a time when intelligence agencies were still grappling to understand the proxy-war unleashed by Pakistan's espionage agency ISI, Mohananey, a 1985-batch IPS officer, who headed the Kashmir desk in the agency at that time, said. Azhar gave the Indian agencies vital insights into diversion of Afghan terrorists into the Kashmir Valley and the merger of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HuJI) into Harkat-ul-Ansar, represented by him as its general secretary, he said. The Jaish chief, during his stint as a journalist with 'Sada-e-Mujahid', a tabloid published from Karachi, had travelled in 1993 with a group of Pakistani scribes to some countries drumming up support for "Kashmir cause', he aid. Some of the flights en route to Jammu, Leh and Srinagar airports have been diverted to their origin stations Srinagar, Jammu and Leh airports were among five airports closed on Wednesday for civilian air traffic shortly after an IAF jet crashed in Kashmir's Budgam district, officials said. All commercial flights to the five airports were suspended. In Srinagar, an official of the Airports Authority of India told PTI, "The civilian air traffic has been suspended temporarily in view of the emergency". Sources at Jet Airways said NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) was not issued but there were instructions from ATC to stop flights. Hence flights to Srinagar and back has been cancelled. Jet Airways said: As per instructions from Delhi ATC regarding airport closure, flight operations to/from Amritsar, Srinagar, Jammu & Leh have been suspended until further notice. We request our guests check their flight status before proceeding to the airport. IndiGo tweeted that due to airspace closure, flights to and from Srinagar, Jammu, Chandigarh, Amritsar and Dehradun have been temporarily suspended. It advised passengers booked on these flights to opt for cancellations. #GoAlert Please note due to airspace restrictions, flights to and from Srinagar, Leh, Chandigarh and Jammu are currently on hold. Passengers are requested to check #GoAir flight status: https://t.co/rGDDlTgiyz or SMS G8 FlightNo to 57333. GoAir (@goairlinesindia) February 27, 2019 Officials said they received instructions from air traffic controllers that the airports have been shut for civilian flights. Some of the flights en route to Jammu, Leh and Srinagar airports have been diverted to their origin stations, they added. #TravelUpdate2: Due to airspace restrictions, flights to and from Amritsar, Srinagar, and Jammu are currently on hold. Chandigarh is now open again for flights. Customers are requested to check flight status before commencing their journey to the airport. (1/2) Vistara (@airvistara) February 27, 2019 The Indian Army destroyed five Pakistan posts along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday night in a befitting retaliation to firing from across the border Jammu: The Indian Army destroyed five Pakistan posts along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday night in a befitting retaliation to firing from across the border, resulting in a "number of casualties" to Pak troops, a defence official said. "The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focused fire resulted in severe destruction to five posts and number of casualties to Pakistan army (along LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts)", the defence PRO said. From 6:30 pm onwards, the Pakistan army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with heavy calibre weaponry along the LoC out of frustration, he said. The Pakistan troops were also seen firing mortars and missiles from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields. However, the Indian Army targeted the Pakistan posts away from civilian areas, the PRO said, adding that this resulted in a "number of casualties" to Pak troopers. In exchange of fire, five soldiers of the Indian Army suffered minor injuries, out of which two of them were shifted to a military hospital for medical treatment; they are stable. The foreign ministers of Russia, India and China held their 16th meeting in Zhejiang, China on 27 February, 2019 and discussed international and regional issues of common concern Joint Communique of the 16th Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Russian Federation, the Republic of India and the Peoples Republic of China February 27, 2019 1. We, the Foreign Ministers of the Russian Federation, the Republic of India and the Peoples Republic of China held our 16th meeting in Zhejiang, China on 27 February 2019 and discussed international and regional issues of common concern. 2. The Ministers recalled that the Russia-India-China (RIC) Informal Summit in Buenos Aires in November 2018 was an important milestone, during which the three leaders agreed to strengthen coordination, build consensus, enhance cooperation and promote world peace, stability and development. The Informal Summit imparted fresh impetus into the trilateral cooperation. The Ministers reiterated their commitment to work together to further their cooperation on important issues discussed at the Informal Summit and take the trilateral cooperation to a new level. 3. The Ministers reiterated the importance they attached to the Russia-India-China trilateral format as a platform to foster closer dialogue and practical cooperation in identified areas. As countries with significant international and regional influence, the three countries stand ready to expand mutual consultations and cooperation on international and regional issues of mutual interest in the spirit of mutual respect, respect for sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, unity, mutual understanding and trust. The common development and close cooperation of the three countries is conducive for world peace and stability and promoting global growth. 4. The Ministers reiterated their firm commitment to multilateralism and the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. The Ministers recognized the need for reform of multilateral institutions. They recalled the 2005 World Summit Outcome document and reaffirmed the need for a comprehensive reform of the UN, including its Security Council, with a view to making it more representative, effective and efficient, and to increase the representation of the developing countries so that it can adequately respond to global challenges. Foreign Ministers of China and Russia reiterate the importance they attach to the status of India in international affairs and support its aspiration to play a greater role in the United Nations. 5. The Ministers supported the G20s leading role in global economic governance and international economic cooperation. They expressed their readiness to enhance communication and cooperation including through G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting and other means, through consultations and mutual support in areas of respective interest. They looked forward to positive outcomes from this years Osaka Summit. 6. The Ministers reiterated the importance of BRICS cooperation and commended the fruitful results of the Johannesburg Summit. The three countries will work actively to implement the outcomes of the successive BRICS summits, deepen BRICS strategic partnership, strengthen cooperation in the three pillar areas of economy, political and security cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges. 7. The Ministers underlined that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an important, effective mechanism in promoting multilateral political, security, economic and people-to-people exchanges in the region, plays an important role in maintaining regional peace and stability and promoting prosperity and development of its member states. The Ministers welcomed the outcomes of the Qingdao Summit held in June 2018, which emphasized inter alia, the principle of "Shanghai Spirit. The Ministers reiterated necessity to expand cooperation between SCO member states, observers and dialogue partners. They called for broadening contacts and interactions between SCO and international and regional organizations especially with United Nations Organization and its specialized bodies, as well as with ASEAN and others. 8. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to equal, indivisible common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. The Ministers reiterated the importance of the role and the need for closer cooperation and consultations in various regional fora and organizations such as the East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus), Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), to jointly contribute to regional peace, stability, sustainable development and prosperity. 9.The Ministers strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They called on the international community to strengthen UN-led global counter-terrorism cooperation by fully implementing the relevant UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law , while respecting sovereignty and independence of all states, and expeditiously finalizing and adopting the UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the earliest. They reiterated that states and their competent agencies play a central role in both national and international counter-terrorism efforts. They also stressed that terrorist groups cannot be supported and used in political and geopolitical goals. 10. The Ministers stressed that those committing, orchestrating, inciting or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with existing international commitments on countering terrorism, including the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the FATF standards, international treaties, including on the basis of the principle "extradite or prosecute and relevant international and bilateral obligations and in compliance with applicable domestic legislation. 11. The Ministers underscored the importance of the three international drug control convention and other relevant legal instruments which constitute the cornerstone of the drug control system. They reiterated their commitment to address the world drug problem, on a basis of common and shared responsibility. The Ministers expressed their determination to counter the spread of illicit drug trafficking in opiates from Afghanistan, which poses a serious threat to regional security and stability. 12. The Ministers believed that the United Nations should play a key role on security-related issues in the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and welcomed adoption by the UN GA 73-d session of the resolutions "Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security and "Countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes. They agreed that the UN has a key role in developing universally accepted norms of responsible state behavior in the use of ICTs to ensure a peaceful, secure, open, cooperative, stable, orderly, accessible and equitable ICT environment. They recognized the need for a universal and binding regulatory instrument on combating the criminal use of ICTs in the UN framework and reiterated that all countries should participate in the evolution and functioning of the Internet and its governance on an equal footing. It is important to ensure the inclusiveness and openness of relevant international processes and the fair distribution of basic internet resources, and to build a multilateral, democratic and transparent Internet governance system.They remained committed to working together for the peaceful, secure, open, cooperative and orderly use of ICTs. 13. Emphasizing the indivisible nature of peace and security, the Ministers stressed that current challenges to international security require urgent efforts to promote global stability. Such efforts should be based on the principles of consensus and respect for interests and concerns of all interested States. 14. Prevention of arms race in outer space is a key factor for maintaining international peace and security. The Ministers expressed their serious concern about the possibility of an arms race in outer space and of outer space turning into an arena for military confrontation. They reaffirmed that the prevention of an arms race, including of the placement of weapons in outer space, would avert a grave danger for international peace and security. The Ministers emphasised the paramount importance of strict compliance with the existing legal regime providing for the peaceful use of outer space. They also reaffirmed that there is a need to consolidate and reinforce this regime. They welcomed the meeting of the Group of Governmental Experts to discuss possible elements for a legally binding instrument on the prevention of an arms race in outer space including inter alia, on the prevention of the placement of weapons in outer space. They stressed that practical transparency and confidence building measures may also contribute towards non-placement of weapons in outer space. They reiterated that the Conference on Disarmament, as the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum, has the primary role in the negotiation of a multilateral agreement or agreements, as appropriate, on the prevention of an arms race in outer space in all its aspects. They supported the UN Group of Governmental Experts to consider and make recommendations on the substantial elements of the above-mentioned internationally binding instrument. 15.They advocated the compliance and strengthening of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction (BWC), including by the adoption of the Protocol to the Convention with the effective verification mechanism. To address the threat of chemical and biological terrorism, they supported and emphasized the need for launching multilateral negotiations on an international convention for the suppression of acts of chemical and biological terrorism within the Conference on Disarmament. 16. The Ministers reiterated support for the Government and people of Afghanistan in their efforts to achieve an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process and to build a peaceful, secure, united, sovereign, democratic, stable, prosperous and inclusive country that exists in harmony with its neighbours. The Ministers reaffirmed their support to the efforts of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces in fighting terrorist organizations. 17. The Ministers stressed the importance of multilateral interactions on the Afghanistan issue, including the SCO, the Moscow Format, the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process, the Kabul Process and the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan. They welcomed the successful holding of a meeting of the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group at the level of deputy foreign ministers in Beijing on 28 May, 2018 and the Second Round of the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan on 9 November, 2018. India offers to host the next SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group at the level of deputy foreign ministers meeting in 2019. 18. The Ministers welcomed the significantpositive changes in Korean Peninsula since 2018 and DPRKs declared commitment for denuclearization. They welcomed the talks and consultations between the US and the DPRK, as well as improvement of inter-Korea relations. The Ministers reaffirmed that the Korean Peninsula issues should be resolved by peaceful and diplomatic means and expressed the hope that all parties concerned work together for continued progress in the political settlement process and realize denuclearization and lasting peace on the Peninsula at an early date. 19. The Ministers underscored that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear issue was an important achievement of multilateral diplomacy, which serves international and regional peace and security and the common interests of the international community. Recalling the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian Nuclear Programme and the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, they called upon all parties to fully comply with their obligations and ensure full and effective implementation of the JCPOA to promote international and regional peace and security. They recognized Irans right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy as also the international communitys strong interest in the exclusively peaceful nature of Irans nuclear programme. 20. The Ministers reiterated that a two-state solution should be pursued to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian issue through negotiation based on the relevant UN resolutions, the principle of "land for peace, the Arab peace initiative and pre-existing agreements between Israel and Palestine, leading to the establishment of a sovereign, independent and united State of Palestine coexisting peacefully with the State of Israel. 21. The Ministers stressed that a political and diplomatic solution, is the only reliable way to solve the Syrian issue. They reaffirmed support for the Geneva peace talks, the role of the UN as the main channel of mediation and the implementation of UNSC Resolution 2254. The Ministers welcomed the efforts of the Astana guarantors for improvement of the situation in Syria and the results of the fourth trilateral meeting in Sochi in February 2019. The Ministers hoped to see that the Constitutional Committee starts its work as early as possible, and that a political solution that accommodates the legitimate concerns of all parties could be found through an inclusive "Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process, with a view to seeking a political settlement of the Syrian conflict and safeguarding Syrias sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.The Ministers called for enhanced coordination to fight against all terrorist organizations in Syria including those listed by the UNSC. The Ministers stressed the urgent need for socio-economic reconstruction in Syria and called upon the international community to provide necessary assistance in that regard in de-politicized and non-discriminatory manner, contributing, inter alia, to the return of Syrian refugees. 22. The Ministers expressed concern over the continuing conflict in the Republic of Yemen, which has resulted in civilian casualties and damages to civilian infrastructure. The Ministers called on the international community to take necessary measures to support the political settlement process and improve Yemens economic and social conditions. The Ministers also called on all parties to the conflict to abide by the Stockholm Agreement. 23. The Ministers stressed that the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Libya should be respected and upheld. They encouraged various factions in Libya to overcome their dissension and engage in broad-based, inclusive political dialogue pursuant to the Libyan Political Agreement to seek mutually acceptable solutions on all outstanding issues. The Ministers reaffirmed support for the UN-led political settlement process and the political transition plan proposed by the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Libya Ghassan Salame, and called on the international community to make joint efforts for substantive progress in the political settlement process. The Ministers expressed support to Libya in its fight against the ISIL, Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. 24.The Ministers declared that they are closely following the emerging situation in Venezuela. They called for the principles of United Nations Charter, the norms of international relations and international law to be adhered to by all. They are of the view that it is for the people of Venezuela to find political solution to resolve their differences through constructive dialogue and discussions, without resorting to violence. They stated that democracy, development, peace and security in Venezuela are of paramount importance for the progress and prosperity of the people of Venezuela. 25.The Ministers noted the intensified cross-border capital flows and risks as a result of the monetary policy adjustments by key developed economies. The Ministers supported strengthening the global financial safety net (GFSN), with a strong, quota-based and adequately resourced IMF at its centre. The Ministers stressed their hope to see the IMF complete the 15th General Review of Quotas by the Spring Meetings 2019 and no later than the Annual Meetings 2019, and agree on a new quota formula as the basis for realignment of quota shares to result in increased shares for dynamic economies in line with their relative positions in the world economy and hence likely in the increased shares of emerging markets and developing countries as a whole, while at the same time ensuring the voice of the poorest members. 26. The Ministers expressed their firm commitment to a rules-based, transparent, non-discriminatory, open and inclusive multilateral trading system centring around the WTO and firmly opposed to unilateralism and protectionism. They supported efforts to improve the WTO and believed such efforts should uphold its core values and basic principles and reflect the interests of all its members, especially developing members.The pressing task is to resolve the deadlock on appointments to the Appellate Body, an issue which concerns the WTOs survival. 27. The Ministers agreed that the imposition of unilateral sanctions beyond those adopted by the UNSC as well as "long-arm jurisdiction were inconsistent with the principles of international law, have reduced the effectiveness and legitimacy of the UNSC sanction regime, and had a negative impact on third States and international economic and trade relations. 28. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals in order to achieve equitable, inclusive, open, all-round, innovative and sustainable development in a balanced and coordinated manner in the economic, social and environmental dimensions and attain the goal of eradicating poverty by 2030. The Ministers urged developed countries to honour their ODA commitments on time and in full and provide capital, technological and capacity-building assistance to developing countries in accordance with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. 29. The Ministers welcomed the agreement reached at COP 24 of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Katowice on guidelines for operationalizing the Paris Agreement. They restated their commitment to combating climate change. 30. The Ministers welcomed the holding of a Russia-India-China Vice Foreign Ministers/Deputy National Security Advisors Consultation on Afghanistan in May 2018 in Moscow. 31. The Ministers expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of the 16th Trilateral Academic Conference held in Russia in May 2018 and welcomed the 17th Trilateral Academic Conference to be held in China. 32. The Ministers welcomed the successful second edition of the visit of RIC young diplomats hosted by India in April 2018 and agreed to hold the third such interaction in Russia in 2019. 33. The Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation and the External Affairs Minister of the Republic of India thanked the Peoples Republic of China for hosting and making excellent arrangements for the meeting. 34. The Ministers decided to hold the next trilateral meeting in Russia. The time and venue of the meeting will be agreed through diplomatic channels. The above joint communique has been published as it appears on the Ministry of External Affairs website. It has not been edited by Firstpost. These locations targeted by PAF are significant in the context of the escalating India-Pakistan tensions as they have a number of Indian Army formations under the Northern Command in these parts, especially Bhimber Gali. Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated on Wednesday, a day after the Indian Air Force (IAF) destroyed a major Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist training camp in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a claim Pakistan denies. While Islamabad has maintained that India violated the Line of Control (LoC) but didn't inflict any casualties on its side, it emphasised that it has the right to retaliate in defence. Since early on Wednesday, there have been multiple reports of ceasefire violations as well as an encounter in Shopian, where two suspected JeM militants were gunned down. There have also been reports of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jets violating Indian airspace over Rajouri and Poonch and shooting down and IAF jet across the border, but India has denied this claim. Police sources in Rajouri, around 150 kilometres from Srinagar, said PAF fighters jets dropped bombs at a number of locations in Kashmir around 10 am on Wednesday. These include Nadian, Lam and Keri in Rajouri district and Hamirpur area of Bhimber Gali in Nowshera. IAF jets were patrolling the airspace, and local residents said they had seen a PAF airplane on fire across the LoC headed towards Lam Valley. These locations are significant in the context of the escalating India-Pakistan tensions as they have a number of Indian Army formations under the Northern Command, especially Bhimber Gali. The Northern Command, with its headquarters at Udhampur, is responsible for overseeing defence operations in the northern borders with Pakistan and China with its three corps: XIV Corps (Leh), XV Corps (Srinagar) and XVI Corps (Nagrota). The XIV Corps is responsible for Ladakh and Kargil and intelligence about enemy positions near the LoC with Pakistan. The XVI Corps handles the stretch from LoC and the Line of Actual Control with China, from Kargil to Siachen. The XV Corps is responsible for military action in the Valley. Police officials said the search operation turned into an encounter after terrorists opened fire towards the security forces. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Shopians Meemendar area after getting information about presence of terrorists there. (Representational Image) Srinagar: Two Jaish-e-Mohammed militants were killed in an encounter that broke out early on Wednesday morning in Jammu and Kashmirs Shopian. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Shopians Meemendar area after getting information about presence of terrorists there. Police officials said the search operation turned into an encounter after terrorists opened fire towards the security forces. The exchange of fire comes a day after India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammeds (JeM) biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistans restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC), killing a very large number of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The strike was the first by the Indian Air Force (IAF) inside Pakistan after the 1971 war. India-Pakistan air strikes LIVE updates: DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Twitter, 'There is only one pilot under Pakistan Armys custody. Wing Comd Abhi Nandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics.' Auto refresh feeds In aftermath of the Indian Air Force strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed installations across the border, the hostilities between India and Pakistan seems to have escalated. Pakistani troops Wednesday intensely shelled Indian posts in Uri Sector of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Pakistani troops Wednesday intensely shelled Indian posts in Uri Sector of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. The shelling comes a day after the IAF carried out air strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps inside the neighbouring country. Pakistani Army fired mortar shells towards Indian posts in the early hours of Wednesday, a police official said. He said there were no reports of any casualties so far. Reports have said that an IAF MCC jet has crashed in Grendh Kalaan area of Jammu and Kahsmir, which is around seven kilometres away from Budgam. An IAF fighter jet crashed in Jammu and Kashmirs Budgam area, with initial reports attributing it to a technical snag. Reports also claim that the pilot and co-pilot have been killed in the incident. Reports have said that in retaliation to India's yesterday's airstrike, Pakistani jets have violated the Indian airspace on Wednesday. Jets were sighted in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri sectors and they have reportedly dropped bombs on vacant areas. The exact extent of the damage, if at all, was not immediately clear. Authorities have suspended civilian air traffic to and fro Srinagar airport due to security reasons. The airports in Leh, Jammu, Srinagar and Pathankot have also been put on high alert. The residents of Uri are reportedly being shifted out of the town after repeated shelling in the area. The border hostilities have gone up since yesterday's IAF strike. Budgam police has arrived at the site where an IAF jet crashed. The city SSP said that two bodies, of the pilot and co-pilot, have been recovered and the IAF's technical team is yet to arrive. The team will ascertain the cause of the crash. Budgam police has arrived at the site where an IAF jet crashed. The police confirmed that two bodies have been recovered from the site. As the security situation is fragile near the border in Jammu and Kashmir, NSA Ajit Doval is in a meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh at his residence. "In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) while other fell inside IOK (the state of Jammu and Kashmir). One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area," said Pakistan Army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor. All this while, the Pakistani statement explicitly stressed that Islamabad did not want to escalate the hostilities. Pakistan claimed that it has bombed Indian territory across the border areas. Pakistan Air Force also claimed to have downed two Indian jets, one of which it said fell inside Jammu and Kashmir, while another crashed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Pakistan Air Force's F-16 jet that violated Indian air space was shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3 kilometres within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, in Nowshera sector. A parachute was spotted going down, but the condition of the pilot is not known. One civilian has also been killed at the crash site in Budgam. CNN-News18 reported that one more body has been recovered in the wreckage of the crash. Pakistan Army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor claimed in a tweet that one of the aircraft crashed in Pakistan occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. "One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area," he said without elaborating. Pakistan Air Force (PAF) claims to have arrested an Indian Air Force pilot, who was flying the IAF aircraft that was reportedly shot down in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Further details on this are awaited. The areas chosen to be bombed by Pakistan have strategic importance as there are several Indian Army brigade-sized formations in these parts, especially in Bhimber Gali. Police sources in Rajouri say that PAF fighters dropped bombs at Nadian, Laam Jhangar, and Kerri in Rajouri district and Hamirpur area of Bhimber Galli in Poonch, at about 10.00 am. The Indian jets seen in air, are still patrolling the area. Local residents have reported that they witnessed one Pakistani jet go up in flames across the Line of Control. Reports have said that four people, two pilots and two aircrew, have been killed in the Indian Air Force Mi-17 crash in Kashmir. Reports have said that four people, two pilots and two aircrew, have been killed in the Indian Air Force Mi-17 crash in Kashmir. The areas chosen to be bombed by Pakistan have strategic importance as there are several Indian Army brigade-sized formations in these parts, especially in Bhimber Gali. Police sources in Rajouri say that PAF fighters dropped bombs at Nadian, Laam Jhangar, and Kerri in Rajouri district and Hamirpur area of Bhimber Galli in Poonch, at about 10.00 am. The Indian jets seen in air, are still patrolling the area. Local residents have reported that they witnessed one Pakistani jet go up in flames across the Line of Control. We sat in the place it took off and after five minutes returned to the airport, Sadaf-ul-Islam, a passenger told Firstpost. When we asked the authorities they said no flight can travel to Srinagar. All the flight coming to Kashmir from the rest of the country have been suspended. All the commercial flight from Delhi to Srinagar suspended, and passengers were told to deboard after five minutes the plane tool from Delhi airport. Pakistan Air Force (PAF) claims to have undertaken strikes across the Line of Control from Pakistani airspace. "Sole purpose of this action was to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self-defence. We do not wish to escalate but are fully prepared if forced into that paradigm," said the Pakistani foreign office. At least, six Indian Army soldiers were injured after a vehicle, in which they were travelling, skidded off the road near Tota Wali Gali in Gursai area of Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. Reports said that the vehicle was on the way towards Jammu from Poonch, on reaching near Totawali Gali, the vehicle turns turtle resulting in injuries to six soldiers. Reports have also said that International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace now being affected. Some flights returning to origin, while others appear to be seeking alternate routing. Pakistan has stopped its domestic and international flight operations to and from Lahore, Multan, Faislabad, Sialkot and Islamabad Airports. India has already temporarily shut Jammu, Srinagar, Leh and Amritsar airports. The Jammu and Kashmir government issued an order shutting all schools located in the radius of 0 to 5 km range from Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch districts, fearing escalation on the borders. All the exams scheduled for Wednesday have been cancelled across the state in all educational institutions. Meanwhile, the firing on the LoC continues and different locations. Flight Radar took note of the current airspace and compared it with the same time a month ago and the difference is quite shocking. International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace now being affected. Some flights returning to origin, while others appear to be seeking alternate routing. Earlier in the day, Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian military aircraft over Pakistani airspace and arrested at least one of the pilots. Military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor claimed in a tweet that one of the aircraft crashed in Pakistan occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. "One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area," he said without elaborating. There are no reports of any IAF jet suffering damage in action by "India's adversaries", defence sources told PTI on Wednesday even as confusion prevailed over border standoff between India and Pakistan. The Prime Minister immediately stopped and walked toward the panelist where Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore was also present. The PM waived at the audience and immediately left the dais and rushed to his office. Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short his address at a function in Vigyan Bhawan on Wednesday and rushed to attend a meeting to review the security situation arising out of Pakistan's attempt to violate Indian air space. Modi was replying to the questions from youngsters during the National Youth Festival 2019 when he was handed over a small piece of paper by an official of Prime Minister Office (PMO). "There was no F-16 to be shot down," claimed Ghafoor and blamed India for war mongering. "Only humanity loses in a war. This was an act of self-defence and the inbuilt message was that Pakistan did not want to hurt any civilian. The target for the attack was crucial. We wanted to prove that we have the capability of defending ourselves." "We do not want war. We want to take a path that leads to peace," Major General Asif Ghafoor said at a televised press conference. The media briefing by the DG Inter-Services Public Relations was held after several reports claimed that Pakistani Air Force's F-16 were shot down in Indian retaliatory firing. We did not have any F-16 for India to shoot down: Pakistan Ghafoor said that Pakistan violating Indian airspace on Wednesday was just an act of self-defence. "We only targeted those spots where we were sure we won't harm any civilians." DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor addressing the media on Wednesday cautioned India media against war mongering. "Pakistan media should continue objective reporting. We do not want war and we will never initiate war from our side. But if India forces us, we will not keep quiet." It was an act of self-defence, says Major Ghafoor of after India shoots down Pakistan F-16 jets "Due to operational reasons the airspace at Amritsar has been closed for now. No commercial flights are coming to Amritsar, there is no base here, so flights are not even taking off from here," said AP Acharya, director at Amritsar Airport. Jaitley said, "If America can go to Pakistan to get Osama Bin Laden, why can't we?" At an event of Namami Gange , finance minister Arun Jaitley remarked saying that everything is possible in this day and age referring to the ongoing standoff between Pakistan and India after reports claimed that Pakistan F-16 jets violated Indian airspace. If America can go to Pakistan for Osama bin Laden, why can't we: Arun Jaitley Pakistan claims to have a pilot "identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan" and has circulated a video of a blindfolded man in jumpsuit being questioned but Firstpost has not been able to establish the veracity of Pakistan's claim. India has not yet responded to Pakistan's claim. Internet services have been suspended in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), while schools and colleges have also been shut in the area. On the other hand, Congress has postponed its working committee meeting. Some of the flights en route to Jammu, Leh and Srinagar airports have been diverted to their origin stations, they added. Airports at Chandigarh, Pathankot, Halwara are Bathinda have been put on high alert. The move to close the airports comes amid escalation of tension between India and Pakistan after the IAF carried out strikes on terror bases in Pakistan. In Srinagar, an official of the Airports Authority of India told PTI, "The civilian air traffic has been suspended temporarily in view of the emergency". While the official did not specify the nature of the emergency, it is believed the step was taken in view of an IAF jet crashing in Budgam district this morning. Officials said they received instructions from air traffic controllers that the airports have been shut for civilian flights. Nine airports, including the ones in Srinagar and Jammu, were closed on Wednesday for civilian air traffic amid escalating tension with Pakistan, officials said. Airports at Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Pathankot, Amritsar, Shimla, Kangra, Kullu Manali, Pithoragarh were among those closed, they said. India will make its official position clear on the various claims made by Pakistani authorities. Amid much speculation on the arrest of IAF pilot and downing of any Indian and Pakistani fighter jets, the Ministry of External Affairs has said it will hold a media briefing at 3.15 pm today. Amid Pakistani claims that it has captured two IAF pilots, ANI has confirmed that Wing Commander Abhinandan is yet to return to the base. He had left today morning in a a MiG 21 Bison jet. Notice to Airmen to alert aircraft pilots of potential hazards along a flight route has been withdrawn. Flight operations will resume, ANI reports Meanwhile, Pakistani Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has announced that its airspace has officially been closed for commercial flights. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has withdrawn NOTAM (Notice to Airmen to alert aircraft pilots of potential hazards along a flight route), flight services to resume. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar is addressing a press conference, says Pakistan has targeted military installations on Indian side. "One Pakistani aircraft was shot down. We have lost one fighter jet. One pilot has been missing. Pakistan has claimed they have arrested him. However, we are still ascertaining the fact," he adds. Ministry of External Affairs confirmed on Wednesday that there was an air-to-air engagement between India and Pakistan. MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar said, "One Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by Indian MiG 21 Bison. In this engagement, we lost one MiG 21. Pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed he is in their custody, we are still ascertaining the facts." India had informed about Counter Terrorism (CT) action it took yesterday against a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan based on credible evidence that JeM intended to launch more attacks. Against this Counter Terrorism Action, Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistans attempts were foiled successfully. The Pakistan Air Force was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts. The Ministry of External Affairs has confirmed that an Indian pilot is missing in action after a Mig-21 Bison fighter plane was lost while engaging with Pakistani jets after they violated Indian airspace. Pakistan military has, however, claimed to have captured two Indian pilots, saying one of them was in hospital. MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar added that Pakistani planes targeted military establishments in Jammu and Kashmir, but were forced to retreat by alert Indian forces. Pakistan claims he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts, Kumar said. When asked whether India will take up the case of IAF pilot through diplomatic channels or via United Nations, MEA has said Pakistan still has not formally informed India about the detention of the pilot which it claims to have in its custody. Will India take up the case of IAF pilot through diplomatic channels or via UN: MEA says Pakistan hasn't officially confirmed anything Rejecting claims of Pakistan hand in the crash of the Indian aircraft in Budgam, DG ISPR, Pakistan, Major General Asif Ghafoor said, "There are reports of crash of an Indian aircraft on the Indian side (in Budgam), we had no engagement with that aircraft." Pakistan confirms it had nothing to do with the Mi-17 crash in Budgam "But, all wars have been miscalculated. I urge Narendra Modi to sit across the table and talk to us." Imran referred to nuclear weapons available to both India and Pakistan and said, "Can we afford to miscalculate the situation with the kind of weapons we have." "We offered peace to India after what happened in Pulwama. I understand the pain of the families (who lost family members in Pulwama). I have visited hospitals and seen the pain of people affected by violence," Imran further added. Imran Khan, in his address to the nation, raised several important issues. "We had offered India full cooperation for investigation after Pulwama attack. We understand you are pained by Pulwama tragedy. We do not support Pakistan's soil be used for terrorism but we were bound to retaliate and take action," says Imran. "It was our plan to not cause any collateral damage, and not to cause any casualties. We simply wanted to show capability," said Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan. NSA Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, are present at a review meeting, along with defence and intel officials. IAF and navy chief are also present at the Narendra Modi's office. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said, "Pakistan, please treat him as you would have us treat one of your men in uniform should he be unfortunate enough to be captured on this side of the border." Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, too, expressed their concerns for the Indian pilot who was "missing in action". After Pakistan claimed that it has an IAF pilot in their custody, the demand to bring back the missing pilot grew on social media. #Abhinandan, #SayNoToWar, and #BringBackAbhinandan are currently the top three trends in India on Twitter. India is yet to name the missing pilot. The airports in Chandigarh, Pathankot, Halwara, Adampur and Bathinda are on high alert in view of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, while Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar resumed commercial operations. "The arrival and departure of all civil flights from Amritsar international airport, which was suspended earlier, has began," Amritsar airport director Manoj Chansoria was quoted as saying by News18. Pakistan deputy high commissioner Syed Haider Shah arrived at South Block after being summoned by Ministry of External Affairs. The Ministry of External Affairs is largely located in South Block. Dubai airports said on Wednesday there would be no flights to and from Pakistan until further notice as a result of the closure of Pakistani airspace. Dubai airports says no flights to and from Pakistan until further notice After 21 political parties of the Opposition held a meeting, Congress president Rahul Gandhi addressed the media. "The leaders expressed concerned. Post the MEA statement, the leaders condemned the Pakistani misadventures and expressed deep concern for safety of our missing pilot. The leaders urged the government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity & integrity." he said, It is in the interest of our region if both the countries shun war rhetoric. I also urge both the countries to shun violence for the greater good of people living in both countries especially for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, he added. It is the people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially those living on both sides of the LoC or international border who have to face the brunt of skirmishes between the two countries. Let the war belong to the tragic past in history. It should find no place in our agenda. Let me remind the two nations that war is a plague that will have far-reaching consequences on the growth and development of the two nations, besides that it will make the lives of people living on both sides of the border no less a scourge. A war apparently seems a little word of few letters but its effects are always harmful. It brings destruction which cannot be compensated for many years. No peaceful mind wants war. I urge the peace-loving people in both countries to come forth and help de-escalate the situation. I am pretty sure that a number of people who want peace far exceed the hawkish people numerically, it is the right time for the doves to come forward. Abdullah said while addressing people from south Kashmir at party headquarters in Srinagar. National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday called for de-escalation of India-Pakistan tensions and urged both countries to maintain maximum restraint for the greater good of humanity. "Im sorry to hear that one of our brave IAF pilots is missing. I hope he will return home soon, unharmed. We stand by our armed forces in these difficult times," Congress president Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said that he "had requested the Opposition to postpone the meeting in light of the developments, especially after the news of our pilot being in Pakistani custody but they felt otherwise". "I chose not to attend as a result," he wrote on Twitter. Earlier in the day, Ghafoor had said that Pakistan had captured two Indian pilots, one of whom was injured and receiving treatment in hospital. DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Twitter, "There is only one pilot under Pakistan Armys custody. Wing Comd Abhi Nandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics." (sic) "Regret was expressed at continuing denial by Pakistans political and military leadership at the presence of terrorist infrastructure in territories under its control. A dossier was handed over to Pakistan side with specific details of JeM complicity in Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan," the statement said. In MEA's press release on India summoning acting high commissioner of Pakistan, it said that India strongly objected to Pakistans "vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention". "It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return," it said. For the record its not just unsolicited advice to the PM, I had requested the opposition to postpone the meeting in light of the developments, especially after the news of our pilot being in Pakistani custody but they felt otherwise. I chose not to attend as a result. pic.twitter.com/kxRhSfYdRG National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said that he "had requested the Opposition to postpone the meeting in light of the developments, especially after the news of our pilot being in Pakistani custody but they felt otherwise". "I chose not to attend as a result," he wrote on Twitter. According to him, Moscow is following developments. "We are extremely concerned about the news coming in, we are very closely monitoring the situation and, of course, we urge all parties to show restraint," said a Kremlin spokesman. Russia is concerned about the aggravation of relations between India and Pakistan and calls on both sides to show restraint this was stated to journalists by the press secretary, commenting on the military incident in the region. According to the press secretary of Russian president Dmitry Peskov, Moscow is following the development of events. In Islamabad, Pakistan's foreign office also summoned India's acting high commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia and condemned what it called "unprovoked ceasefire violations" by the Indian forces along the Line of Control resulting in killing of four civilians. According to External Affairs Ministry sources, the Pakistani deputy envoy also told Indian officials about capturing of an Indian pilot by Pakistani authorities. "Due to the escalation of tension along the Western border, the Pakistani airspace has been closed. In view of this, we have to reroute flights South of Pakistan FIR (flight information region) leading to increase in flight and flight duty times," Jet Airways vice-president for operations Floyd Gracious said in a communication to the airline pilots. The dispensation has been sought as these west-bound flights, which were earlier using the Pakistani airspace, will now have to be operated over the sea, entailing higher flying time than the regular routes, a source said. Jet Airways has sought relaxation in flight duty and rest-hour norms from the regulator DGCA due to the closure of the Pakistani airspace and subsequent There is only one pilot under Pakistan Armys custody. Wing Comd Abhi Nandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics. pic.twitter.com/8IQ5BPhLj2 Earlier in the day, Ghafoor had said that Pakistan had captured two Indian pilots, one of whom was injured and receiving treatment in hospital. DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Twitter, "There is only one pilot under Pakistan Armys custody. Wing Comd Abhi Nandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics." (sic) "It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return," the release said. In a press release, the Ministry of External Affairs said that the acting high commissioner of Pakistan was summoned on Wednesday afternoon by the ministry to lodge a strong protest at unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan against India earlier on Wednesday, including violation of the Indian air space by Pakistan Air Force and targeting of Indian military posts. UK is deeply concerned about the rising tensions between India and Pakistan. We urgently call for restraint on both sides to avoid further escalation pic.twitter.com/CZF83OHFAF UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said in a Twitter message that UK is "deeply concerned" about the rising tensions between India and Pakistan. "We urgently call for restraint on both sides to avoid further escalation," he said. "Regret was expressed at continuing denial by Pakistans political and military leadership at the presence of terrorist infrastructure in territories under its control. A dossier was handed over to Pakistan side with specific details of JeM complicity in Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan," the statement said. In MEA's press release on India summoning acting high commissioner of Pakistan, it said that India strongly objected to Pakistans "vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention". "It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return," it said. Indigo offers complimentary tickets with no cancellation fees to Indian soldiers on leaves who have been asked to resume their duties by the Indian Armed Forces. NDTV reported that a total of 47 flights 25 departures and 22 arrivals have been cancelled at Delhi airport on Wednesday. India-Pakistan air strikes Latest updates: DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Twitter, "There is only one pilot under Pakistan Armys custody. Wing Comd Abhi Nandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics." (sic) After 21 political parties of the Opposition held a meeting, they released a joint statement which said, "The leaders expressed concern on the emerging security situation. Post the statement from the MEA regarding targeting of our military installations and loss of one fighter aircraft, the leaders condemned the Pakistani misadventure and expressed their deep concern for the safety of our missing pilot." After Pakistan claimed that it has an IAF pilot in their custody, the demand to bring back the missing pilot grew on social media. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said, "Pakistan, please treat him as you would have us treat one of your men in uniform should he be unfortunate enough to be captured on this side of the border." Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding a review meeting with NSA Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, defence and intel officials. IAF and navy chief are also present at the Prime Minister's Office. Imran Khan, in his address to the nation, raised several important issues. "All wars in world history have been miscalculated, those who started the wars did not know where it will end. So, I want to ask India, with the weapons you and we have, can we afford miscalculation," he said. "We had offered India full cooperation for investigation after Pulwama attack. We understand you are pained by Pulwama tragedy. We do not support Pakistan's soil be used for terrorism but we were bound to retaliate and take action," said Imran. "We offered peace to India after what happened in Pulwama. I understand the pain of the families (who lost family members in Pulwama). I have visited hospitals and seen the pain of people affected by violence," Imran further added. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar is addressing a press conference, says Pakistan has targeted military installations on Indian side. "One Pakistani aircraft was shot down. We have lost one fighter jet. One pilot has been missing. Pakistan has claimed they have arrested him. However, we are still ascertaining the fact," he adds. Pakistan claims to have a pilot "identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan" and has circulated a video of a blindfolded man in jumpsuit being questioned but Firstpost has not been able to establish the veracity of Pakistan's claim. India has not yet responded to Pakistan's claim. Flight operations temporarily suspended at Shimla, Bhuntar and Gagal airports in Himachal Pradesh. Prime Minister Imran Khan is set to address Pakistan shortly. Meanwhile, nine airports, including the ones in Srinagar and Jammu, were closed on Wednesday for civilian air traffic amid escalating tension with Pakistan, officials said. Airports at Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Pathankot, Amritsar, Shimla, Kangra, Kullu Manali, Pithoragarh were among those closed, they said. Major General Asif Ghafoor, spokesperson of the Pakistani army, said Indian jets had entered Pakistan in response and two fighter jets had been shot down, with two pilots captured. Pakistan claims to have a pilot "identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan" and has circulated a video of a blindfolded man in jumpsuit being questioned but Firstpost has not been able to establish the veracity of Pakistan's claim. India has not yet responded to Pakistan's claim. DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor addressing the media on Wednesday cautioned India media against war mongering. "Pakistan media should continue objective reporting. We do not want war and we will never initiate war from our side. But if India forces us, we will not keep quiet." Ghafoor said that Pakistan violating Indian airspace on Wednesday was just an act of self-defence. "We only targeted those spots where we were sure we won't harm any civilians." "We do not want war. We want to take a path that leads to peace," Ghafoor said at a televised press conference. The media briefing by the DG Inter-Services Public Relations was held after several reports claimed that Pakistani Air Force's F-16 were shot down in Indian retaliatory firing. "There was no F-16 to be shot down," claimed Ghafoor and blamed India for war mongering. "Only humanity loses in a war. This was an act of self-defence and the inbuilt message was that Pakistan did not want to hurt any civilian. The target for the attack was crucial. We wanted to prove that we have the capability of defending ourselves." There are no reports of any IAF jet suffering damage in action by "India's adversaries", defence sources told PTI on Wednesday even as confusion prevailed over border standoff between India and Pakistan. Earlier in the day, Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian military aircraft over Pakistani airspace and arrested at least one of the pilots. Due to air space restrictions, flights UK611 (Delhi-Sringar-Jammu), UK612 (Jammu-Srinagar-Delhi), UK735 (Mumbai-Amritsar), UK736 (Amritsar-Mumbai), UK976 (Delhi-Amritsar) and UK707 (Amritsar-Delhi) stand cancelled for today, tweeted Vistara Airlines. Flight Radar took note of the current airspace and compared it with the same time a month ago and the difference is quite shocking. International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace now being affected. Some flights returning to origin, while others appear to be seeking alternate routing. Pakistan has stopped its domestic and international flight operations to and from Lahore, Multan, Faislabad, Sialkot and Islamabad Airports. India has already temporarily shut Jammu, Srinagar, Leh and Amritsar airports. Reports have also said that International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace now being affected. Some flights returning to origin, while others appear to be seeking alternate routing. Pakistan Air Force's F-16 jet that violated Indian air space was shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3 kilometres within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, in Nowshera sector. A parachute was spotted going down, but the condition of the pilot is not known. "In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) while other fell inside IOK (the state of Jammu and Kashmir). One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area," said Pakistan Army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor. Budgam police has arrived at the site where an IAF jet crashed. The city SSP said that two bodies, of the pilot and co-pilot, have been recovered and the IAF's technical team is yet to arrive. The team will ascertain the cause of the crash. Authorities have suspended civilian air traffic to and fro Srinagar airport due to security reasons. The airports in Leh, Jammu, Srinagar and Pathankot have also been put on high alert. Reports have said that in retaliation to India's yesterday's airstrike, Pakistani jets have violated the Indian airspace on Wednesday. Jets were sighted in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri sectors and they have reportedly dropped bombs on vacant areas. In aftermath of the Indian Air Force strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed installations across the border, the hostilities between India and Pakistan seems to have escalated. Pakistani troops Wednesday intensely shelled Indian posts in Uri Sector of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. The shelling comes a day after the IAF carried out air strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps inside the neighbouring country. Pakistani Army fired mortar shells towards Indian posts in the arly hours of Wednesday, a police official said. He said there were no reports of any casualties so far. The official said the Indian Army retaliated to the Pakistani action in an equal measure. The exchange of fire across the LoC in Uri sector was going in when reports last came in, he added. Meanwhile, an air space violation was reported in Rajouri sector as well, as unconfirmed reports said a Pakistani chopper sighted in Indian air space. With inputs from PTI it is worth taking note of the way the Indian Army is preparing for the security challenges it faces. The era of conventional wars was followed by sub-conventional counter-insurgency challenges; the method of war corresponds both to the challenges in the field and the technologies available to the army taking on those challenges. After the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai, Indias current National Security Advisor Ajit Doval had spoken about the need to shift from defensive defence to offensive defence. Hours after the counter-terror air strikes occurred beyond the Line of Control (LoC), it is worth taking note of the way the Indian Army is preparing for the security challenges it faces. Indias porous borders lie at altitudes of 4,500 metres and troops fight in life-threatening climatic conditions that demand ab-initio deployment of a huge number of troops. The versatility of the nature of terror threats and limited defence budgets necessitate a manpower-centric deployment of troops. The truth is that all forces of the Union need to be synergised for fighting a war whose complexity is increasing. One way of doing this is the integration of civil infrastructure and resources to reduce the teeth-to-tail ratio. After the Kargil War of 1999, the Andaman and Nicobar Command was created as the first step towards integrated services as it was realised that single service silos had not been effective in acquiring necessary assets for them to execute their tasks. The Ministry of Defence, on its part, could have coordinated within the three services through logistical and procurement services. The broader question is: are civil service generalists in the MoD equipped with the skills to respond to the evolving nature of challenges? The shift from attrition to manoeuvrability lies at the core of military operations that are offensive in nature. In obstacle-ridden terrains, force multipliers like helicopters and bridge-laying tanks are needed to enhance mobility. What the army requires to execute swift operation, along with the unafraid political backing that it now has, is the integration of its brigade groups. On the traditional lines, within the army, there are corps, commands, divisions and brigades. These are self-sustaining fighting units. The creation of integrated brigade groups will do away with the divisional commander, so they report directly to the corps. This can offer flexibility to smaller, self-sustaining units. Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General DS Hooda (retd), under whose watch the 2016 surgical strikes were conducted, submitted a report to the National Security Advisory Board in 2017. He recommended that like America and Israel, India should set up a reserve force (combat and logistics units) that can be called up during war. Army chief General Bipin Rawat is of the view that the implementation of this could create integrated groups that could be mission-deployed adroitly. Earlier this year, the army chief spoke of testing IBGs. Last year, the biennial army commanders conference decided to proceed with the formation of IBGs. The operationalisation of the IBGs is Indias official acceptance of the doctrine of cold start, which is letting your forces remain in the hinterland and moving them to the desired operational sector in a minimum period of time. One example that perhaps indicates the need of IBGs is Operation Parakram. Critics of General Padmanabhan's management of Operation Parakram, which was launched after the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001, have argued that air strikes against terror training camps could have been carried out immediately. During the operation, the three strike corps took longer to mobilise. The baggage of old strike formations need reform, because all three corps were moved at the same time and that had huge cost and time implications. Back in 2003, the then Defence Minister George Fernandes had said that the number of personnel killed or wounded in Jammu and Kashmir and the western sector during Operation Parakram stood at 1,874 (more than the reported casualties in the Kargil war). In the case of Operation Parakram, the Indian military leadership was directed to hold back a huge offence operation against Pakistans defence positions in PoK. At that time, India seemed to have lacked the political will to thrust into Pakistan through the Rajasthan border, even though this was the biggest troop mobilization since 1971. The concept of offensive defence isnt new to Indian military history. In 1986, when General Sundarji was the chief of the army, he decided to use the IAFs new Russian-made heavy lift MI-26 helicopters to air land a brigade at Zemithang, that lies south of the Sino-Indian border. They took up positions on Hathung La ridge overlooking Sumdorong Chu. It was not the Chinese but the Indians who held high ground. Subsequently, in 1987, Sundarji launched Exercise Chequerboard to reinforce the Indian posture in the Himalayan region. In the way Indias security concerns are developing, it needs to be prepared for cold starts, which will enable it to retain the advantage of surprise. The MEA said Pakistan was conveyed that India expects it to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from territories under its control. New Delhi: India Wednesday handed over to Pakistan a dossier on "specific details" of involvement of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in the Pulwama attack on CRPF jawans as also the presence of terrorist camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in that country. The dossier was handed over to the Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan, who was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to lodge a strong protest over Pakistan Air Force (PAF) targeting Indian military installations, a day after the Indian counter-terror action against the JeM. Government sources have claimed that over 350 JeM terrorists were killed in the pre-dawn strike on the terror camps in Pakistan on Tuesday. The JeM had claimed responsibility of the terror strike in Kashmir's Pulwama district on 14 February, in which 42 CRPF personnel were killed. "Regret was expressed at continuing denial by Pakistan's political and military leadership at the presence of terrorist infrastructure in territories under its control," the MEA said. "A dossier was handed over to Pakistani side with specific details of JeM complicity in Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan," it said. The MEA said Pakistan was conveyed that India expects it to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from territories under its control. In response to the Indian counter-terror operation, Pakistan air force tried to target certain locations in Jammu and Kashmir Wednesday morning which was countered by IAF jets. In the aerial engagement, India shot down a Pakistani jet while an Indian IAF pilot was captured by the Pakistani authorities. India also lost a MiG-21 aircraft. India lodged a strong protest at the "unprovoked act of aggression" by Pakistan, including violation of Indian air space and targeting military posts. "This is in contrast to the India's non-military anti-terror pre-emptive strike at a JeM terrorist camp in Balakot on 26 February," the MEA added. Supporting Indias push to isolate Pakistan, China and Russia agreed for a closer policy coordination to eradicate the breeding grounds of terrorism Wuzhen: In a significant gain for India in its push to isolate Pakistan internationally on the issue of terrorism post-Pulwama attack, China and Russia on Wednesday agreed for a closer policy coordination to eradicate the "breeding grounds of terrorism". Their commitment came at the conclusion of the Russia, India and China Foreign Ministers' meeting here in the east Chinese city. "We agreed to jointly combat all forms terrorism through closer policy coordination and practical cooperation. Especially important is to eradicate the breeding grounds of terrorism and extremism," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at the end meeting summing up the discussions on terrorism, specially in the backdrop of the 14 February Pulwama terrorist attack. The mention of the "breeding grounds" of terrorism by Wang is significant as India justified its air strikes on Pakistan saying that they were directed against the terror camps of the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. India on Tuesday bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC), killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The Chinese foreign minister, however tried to cautiously tread the fine line by highlighting that Pakistan, which is a close ally of Beijing, is also opposed to terrorism. "China, Russia and India have reaffirmed our strong opposition to terrorism in various forms and manifestations. At the same time, we believe that Pakistan has always been opposed to terrorism," he said at the joint press conference with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Elaborating on China's stand Wang said "on the recent developments between India and Pakistan, China appreciates the statements from Indian and Pakistani friends saying that they will exercise and avoid escalation of the situation." He said China for its part is playing a constructive role as a "mutual friend". "As a mutual friend to both India and Pakistan, we do hope that they can conduct dialogue to establish facts through investigation to keep things under control, maintain peace and stability in the region. In this process, China is playing a constructive role and not the opposite," he said. Answering a question on whether there were differences between India and China on the Pulwama incident, Swaraj pointedly referred to Wang's comments on eradication of breeding grounds of terrorism and the agreement on close policy coordination. "As far as the joint strategy is concerned, you just heard foreign minister Wang Yi's speech. What he said during his concluding statement, he reiterated here and he said that we would cooperate on eradicating the breeding grounds of terrorism". "This is not only a common strategy for the three of us, but it is resolution for the three of us. Wang Yi said this during his concluding remarks and reiterated it here," she said. "Terrorism is a threat to the humanity that is why not only for our three countries, we also need a global strategy. We need global cooperation," she said and cited references to terrorism in the joint statement. "On the one hand we have gained consensus on the UN led counterterrorism mechanism, while alongside we have also discussed the India proposed Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) mechanism should also be soon finalised and adopted," she said. "Regarding Pulwama, I just told you both during my bilateral meeting with Wang Yi and also in the trilateral platform I strongly put forth India's perspective," she said referring to her speech outlining India's case against Pakistan and New Delhi's defence for the airstrikes against JeM targets. In her speech at the RIC Ministers meet, Swaraj referred to Pakistan's reluctance to take any action after the Pulwama incident. The joint statement issued at the end of the RIC Ministers' meeting also spoke strongly against terrorism. In the statement, the ministers called on the international community to strengthen UN-led global counter-terrorism cooperation by fully implementing the relevant UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. It said the the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy should be in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law while respecting sovereignty and independence of all states, and expeditiously finalising and adopting the UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the earliest. "They reiterated that states and their competent agencies play a central role in both national and international counter-terrorism efforts. They also stressed that terrorist groups cannot be supported and used in political and geopolitical goals," the statement said. Those committing, orchestrating, inciting or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with existing international commitments on countering terrorism, it said. The ministers stressed that those committing, orchestrating, inciting or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with existing international commitments on countering terrorism, including the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the Financial Action Task Force standards. The explosion of tourism, the lack of proper garbage disposal mechanism, and hyribidisation of breeds has led to a growth in feral dog population, leading to attacks on livestock, wildlife, and humans. A dog, they say, is mans best friend. In the high mountains of the Himalaya, that expression comes with a slight twist these days. The global estimate of stray dogs, according to Free-Ranging Dogs and Wildlife Conservation by Matthew E Gompper, is close to a billion; India has about 60 million of them, with regular reportage on the conflicts associated with them in urban areas. When one considers this issue in the context of the mountains, which are home to a sensitive ecosystem and scarce resources, dogs are proving to be an unexpected threat to both human beings and wildlife alike. GROWING NUMBERS Where there are humans, dogs are sure to follow, including the Trans Himalaya, where they are often employed as guard dogs for livestock. While pursuing his PhD in the Pin Valley of Himachal Pradesh in the early 90s, Dr Yash Veer Bhatnagar, a scientist with the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), noticed some stray dogs belonging to the migratory herding communities, such as the Bakharwals and Gaddis, stay back in the winter, instead of moving back to the foothills with the flock of sheep and goats they were meant to protect. One of those dogs, Sheru, was great company and stayed with us for over a month in Gechang during the autumn. But we soon realised he was chasing ibex that came near our camp, and we promptly escorted him to the nearest village, Bhatnagar recalls. Villagers then told him that these free-ranging or feral dogs formed packs and attacked local livestock, including cows and foals. A few years later, he heard a colleague from Sikkim complain about the severity of the problem in the state, where they thrived around camps of the armed forces. He finally realised how serious the problem was when he saw packs of 40-50 dogs around such camps in eastern Ladakh in the early 2000s. When it comes to these guard dogs, most relationships with the herders seem rather loose, so they stay back. We dont have classic shepherding dogs in most of India. For survival and breeding, they need enough resources. The reason why the problem was under control earlier was probably because they didnt have much to thrive on, especially during the harsh winters. This kept their populations under check, Bhatnagar adds. DOG ATTACKS The explosion of tourism in towns such as Leh and Kaza, in addition to the defence camps, and the lack of sensibility when it comes to garbage disposal mechanisms led to a surplus of food. Dr Tsewang Namgail, director at the Snow Leopard Conservancy - India Trust (SLC-IT), estimates their population to be around 10,000 in Ladakh. While carrying out a survey in January 2018, in collaboration with the wildlife department and other NGOs working on the environment, they counted 1,500 dogs just driving along roads in Changthang and arrived at an estimated figure of 3,000 in the region. Free ranging dog attacks on humans are quite rampant these days. The SNM Hospital in Leh records an average of five dog bite cases each day, Namgail says. He speaks about a gruesome attack in 2014, when a girl was killed by dogs. The following year, a mother of two was devoured by a pack of dogs in Saspol village. In 2017, another woman was killed in Nyoma. The dogs thrive on discarded food in the summer, but they disperse in the landscape, killing wildlife, livestock and humans in the winter, he adds. While working on a research paper as part of her PhD thesis, Chandrima Home of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) documented 64 percent of the losses in Spiti due to dogs in 2013-14, which exceeds the damage caused by snow leopards and wolves put together. An NCF study in 2008 also highlighted this fact. A recent survey conducted by SLC-IT revealed that feral dogs were the most important predators attacking domestic livestock in Ladakh. This is turn, has had a detrimental effect on the livestock insurance program that has been implemented by them, to compensate attacks by snow leopards and wolves. Its hard to determine the culprit when theres not much of the carcass left. This not only leads to the intensification of people s negative attitudes towards wild predators, but also affects the insurance program by draining capital, which is meant for compensating loss due to wild predators, Namgail says. Most livestock have lost their anti-predatory instincts and are easy prey. They are particularly vulnerable when left in the vicinity of settlements and on just-harvested fields. Homes study shows that it is a problem serious enough for farmers to stop keeping small-bodied livestock like sheep and goats altogether," Bhatnagar exlains, In fact, larger packs are even able to hunt down wild ungulates, large livestock like yaks, and even challenge predators such as snow leopards, he adds. THREAT TO WILDLIFE Its not just the domesticated animals that are under threat. Packs of dogs are known to hunt wild animals such as mammals, birds and fish, including rare species like black-necked cranes and snow leopards. Bhatnagar remembers watching a couple of dogs after a two-day trek from the village of Langza in Spiti in 2008. In fact, a camera trap placed in a remote location near Sumdo, which is at the border of Spiti and Kinnaur, documented a snow leopard and feral dogs at the same location last year, which explains the range that the dogs roam today. In 2013, while tracking red pandas in the Everest National Park in Nepal, Debby Ng and Mukhiya Gotame realised a startling pattern. All the people we spoke to mentioned that they had seen dogs chasing and even killing the red panda. One local even reported that red pandas were easy to spot, because they were brought into the village by the dogs. Besides, they even chase ground birds, attack blue sheep and musk deer, says Ng, who founded the Himalayan Mutt Project in 2014. Having worked in animal welfare since 1994, Ng also came across several reports of dogs with distemper-like symptoms. Distemper is a deadly disease that affects many animals and can kill large numbers of wildlife suddenly and quickly, similar to what was observed among the lions of Gir last year. Domestic dogs are a reservoir of distemper, simply because they are so many of them and can be found everywhere, Ng explains. Another major cause for concern is the hybridisation of the dog population that roams the remote mountains with the Tibetan wolf, thereby diluting the gene pool. In Ladakh, these hybrids called Khibshang are known to be more vicious when it comes to attacking livestock. Many genetic studies are suggesting that the wolf in the Himalaya is a distinct species of a more primitive form of wolf. This highly persecuted species is under the serious threat of being swamped out even before we begin to understand its ecology, Bhatnagar says. POPULATION CONTROL In these mountains habitats, then, keeping a check on the dog population is key. In Leh, the municipality resorted to poisoning street dogs, but the program was stopped due to protests by Buddhists and animal activists. A few unsuccessful attempts were made to translocate dogs in other valleys in Spiti. There are cases reported where those found to attack livestock are poisoned, stoned or hanged. However, the systematic culling of dogs is a sensitive issue in India, with no policy in place yet. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, deems cruelty to to animals as a punishable offence, and defines cruelty as: ...mutilates any animal or kills any animal (including stray dogs) by using method of strychnine injections, in the heart or in any other unnecessarily cruel manner. The dichotomy of views is for the whole of India. But since these are Buddhist communities, they will not directly engage in killing dogs due to religious beliefs. Then theres the fear of staunch animal welfare groups, which deters them from taking drastic steps, Home says. The Himalayan Mutt Project implemented the first Animal Birth Control and Rabies Vaccination (ABC-RV) program in Nepals Himalaya, with a pilot project in Manang through a fundraising campaign. Till date, the program has successfully neutered and vaccinated about half the known population of domestic dogs in the district. In Pisang, they approached the local lama to convince villagers to bring their dogs for neutering and vaccination. The number of such treated dogs must be maintained at 80 percent. But when new dogs are introduced to a region, this rate can decrease. Weve often come across folks who buy special dog breeds, but are reluctant to neuter them. This can be a problem for the community, as unwanted pups often end up roaming the village or forests as strays, Ng says. ENCOUNTERING HURDLES The first sterilisation program in Spiti, conducted by NCF, took place in 2013. One of the key learnings from that exercise was the fact that it was quite a task to capture the dogs, more so when it came to dogs that had become more or less independent of human settlements and were wary of people. We had to ask the senior members of the community to put forth a mandate for each home to bring one dog. We needed all the help that we could get from the locals, recalls Ajay Bijoor of NCF. Though they managed to sterilise around 100 dogs, that number came down significantly during their last drive in 2017, since this time around, they were harder to catch. Besides, these dogs would still go ahead and hunt in order to survive. Sterilisation is a very expensive affair. The running costs are high, and in order to see any significant reduction in dog populations, it can take several years, Home says. A local NGO Ladakh Animal Care Society, too, started sterilising dogs with the assistance of Vets Beyond Borders. The Department of Animal Husbandry and Young Drukpa Association have also been spaying and neutering dogs under the Live to Rescue Program, founded by Gyalwang Drukpa Rinpoche. But Namgail believes that it has had little impact on the dog population, since the rate is way below the 80-90 percent recommended by the World Health Organisation. Population ecologists say that for species like dogs, a single ABC drive should cover 80 percent of the population, especially females, to have a discernible effect on the population in five years, Bhatnagar says. The Live to Rescue program has started a dog sanctuary on the outskirts of Leh, which is home to around 200 dogs. This though is just a fraction of the population in Ladakh, while also resulting in high operational costs. THE HUMAN-DOG RELATIONSHIP The Sikkim Anti Rabies and Animal Health (SARAH) program was initiated in 2006 by the Government of Sikkim, in collaboration with Vets Beyond Borders and French NGO Fondation Brigitte Bardot. It was the first state-wide rabies program in India. Between 2011 and 2016, the program was instrumental in vaccinating around 1.25 lakh dogs across four districts in Sikkim, and today, it has been adopted by the state government. SLC-IT creates awareness among the locals by handing out leaflets on how to protect themselves from dogs, besides conducting surveys to understand their distribution in Ladakh. Another major undertaking is the work on the prototype of a biogas digester at a paramilitary camp near Leh. If this is successful, we will scale it up and encourage military establishments to use them to produce gas for the kitchen from the leftover food, Namgail says. Poor law enforcement and improper garbage disposal in the developing world is a major issue, according to Bhatnagar. I think many developed countries have stringent laws regarding free ranging domestic animals. They are either culled or put in shelters. The problem is thus contained before it becomes a big issue, he says. On the other hand, Home suggests reexamination of the human-dog relationship in India. We hardly have any strict ownership policies, and it needs to be given more thought. All methods of population control such as garbage control, capture-neuter-release and vaccination have to be working together, she says. Understanding and taking steps to reduce plastic requires a drastic change in human behaviour. This is no different, she adds. Sushma Swaraj has raised the Pulwama attack at the foreign ministers' meeting in China with Wang Yi in Wuzhen, a day after IAF attacked a JeM camp in Balakot. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday raised the recent Pulwama suicide attack on the CRPF soldiers at her bilateral meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wuzhen, a day after India destroyed a major terror training camp in Pakistan. "I am visiting China at a time when there is grief and anger in India. It is the worst terrorist attack directed against our security forces in Jammu and Kashmir," she said in her opening remarks during the meeting held on the sidelines of the 16th foreign ministers' meeting of Russia-India-China. "The attack was carried out by the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the Pakistan-based and supported terrorist organisation," Sushma said. "Such dastardly terrorist attacks are a grim reminder for the need of all countries to show zero tolerance to terrorism and take decisive action against it." Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) 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. EAM: We're aware of the recent dastardly terrorist attack on our security forces in Pulwama, J&K perpetrated by Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan based&supported terrorist org proscribed by UN&other countries. We lost over CRPF 40 personnel while several others are injured seriously. pic.twitter.com/4k2GudVzkq ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 Sushma raising the Pulwama attack with her Chinese counterpart is significant as China has been blocking India's efforts at the United Nations to have Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar designated as a global terrorist. At the meeting in China, Sushma also referred to Pakistan's refusal to admit that the JeM was behind the Pulwama terror attack. "Instead of taking seriously the calls by the international community to act against Jaish-e-Mohammed and other terror groups based in Pakistan, it denied any knowledge of the attack and outrightly dismissed claims by Jaish-e-Mohammed," she said. "In light of Pakistan's continuing refusal to acknowledge and act against terror groups on its territory, and based on credible information that JeM was planning other attacks in parts of India, the Government of India decided to take preemptive action." Adding that India choice its target in Balakot "to avoid civilian casualties", she explained that the IAF airstrike "was not a military operation as no military installation was targeted". "The objective was to act against the terrorist infrastructure of JeM to preempt another terror attack in India. India doesn't wish to see further escalation of the situation. It'll continue to act with responsibility and restraint," Sushma asserted. On bilateral relations, Sushma said: "India-China relations, as you said, is an important relationship for both of our countries. We have made substantial progress in our relations since the informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Wuhan in April 2018. It is important to both sides to ensure thorough and effective implementation of the guidance given by our leaders. Both sides have made good efforts in this regard, and we should sustain this effort." After the Pulwama terror attack, the Indian Air Force destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80 kilometres from the Line of Control (LoC), early on Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. After the IAF's pre-dawn operation, China urged India and Pakistan to "exercise restraint" and asked New Delhi to carry out its fight against terrorism through international cooperation. "India and Pakistan are both important countries in South Asia. A sound relationship and cooperation between the two serves the interests of both countries and peace and stability in South Asia," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said on Tuesday. "We hope both India and Pakistan can exercise restraint and do more to improve their bilateral relations." With inputs from agencies Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan called for dialogue to resolve issues between India and Pakistan, hours after one Pakistani F-16 fighter jet crossed the Line of Control and was engaged by Indian Air Force MiG jets Prime Minister Imran Khan called for dialogue to resolve issues between India and Pakistan, hours after one Pakistani F-16 fighter jet crossed the Line of Control and was engaged by Indian Air Force MiG jets. Defending the Pakistani F-16 jets entry into Indian air space, Imran said, "It was our plan to not cause any collateral damage, and not to cause any casualties. We simply wanted to show capability. Two Indian MiGs crossed Pakistans borders, and we shot them down. I want to now address India and say let sanity prevail." "I urge Narendra Modi to sit across the table and talk to us," Imran said in the televised address. "All wars in world history have been miscalculated, those who started the wars did not know where it will end. So, I want to ask India, with the weapons you and we have, can we afford miscalculation?" he added. Speaking about the Pulwama attack, the Pakistan prime minister said, "We understand you are pained by the Pulwama tragedy. We do not support Pakistan's soil be used for terrorism but we were bound to retaliate and take action," Imran said. The Pakistan prime minister also said that Pakistan had to bear the brunt of terrorism as well and has seen over 70,000 casualties in the last decade. "I have been too many hospitals where I have seen bomb blast survivors. I have seen people missing their limbs and eyes. On one side there are people who are gone and their families, and then there those who have been are injured and their families. I know the pain they (survivors and families of the dead) have to go through," he added, Addressing the nation, the Pakistan prime minister also said that Pakistan was ready to cooperate with India on Pulwama attack. "We said that if there is any Pakistani involved then Pakistan is ready to cooperate with you. Because it's not in Pakistan's interest if Pakistani soil is used for terrorism anywhere in the world and that anyone from outside use Pakistan's soil for the same." "But we were bound to retaliate and take action," he said, defending Pakistani jets entering Indian air space on Wednesday. Imran also defended his previous statement warning India against any aggression. "I knew that India will take some action. And that's why I had said that Pakistan would be forced to respond if India carried out aggression. No sovereign nation will allow another country to carry out any operation inside their soil. You can't be the judge, jury and executioner," he said, "I also knew that the parliamentary elections in India are around the corner, and that's why I had said that Pakistan would be forced to respond." Explaining why Pakistan waited for a day before responding to Tuesday's air strike at Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Imran said, "Yesterday, we had a meeting with the chiefs of armed forces. We didn't have information about the damage, and so we waited." Arun Jaitley's statement comes in the aftermath of the Indian Air Force strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed installations across the border. Pakistani troops Wednesday intensely shelled Indian posts in Uri Sector of Jammu and Kashmir. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that if the US Navy SEALs could take out Osama bin Laden in Pakistan's Abbottabad, then anything could be possible. He made the statement in reference to the India-Pakistan air strikes and escalating tensions between the neighbours. Jaitley made the comments on the sidelines of a Namami Gange function in New Delhi. #JustIn -- If the US can conduct an operation in Abbottabad (Pakistan), then India can also do that : Union Finance Minister @arunjaitley #IndiaStrikesBack pic.twitter.com/8OVjQ8ZALr News18 (@CNNnews18) February 27, 2019 "I remember when the US Navy SEALs had cornered Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad... So why can't we do it?" the minister asked, adding that "anything is possible today". "This used to be just imagination, a desire, a frustration, a disappointment. But today this is possible," he said. The finance minister's statement comes in the aftermath of Indian Air Force strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed installations in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. In retaliation, Pakistani troops on Wednesday intensely shelled Indian posts in the Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan jets also reportedly violated Indian airspace in Rajouri sector and dropped bombs on their way back to their territory. The country claimed that its air force had shot down two Indian aircraft captured two Indian pilots. "This was not a retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. Pakistan has, therefore, taken strikes at non-military targets, avoiding human loss and collateral damage, the sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability of self-defence. We have no intention of escalation but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm," Pakistan said in a statement, adding that Pakistan had issued a "clear warning" of the attack in broad daylight. The statement also mentioned that the attack was a strike against what India had been trying to establish as a "new normal". "If India is striking at so-called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan," it said, urging India to give "peace a chance". During the nighttime raid by US Navy SEALs on 2 May, 2011, a team in Blackhawk helicopters swooped in on Osama's hideout in Abbottabad in Pakistan. There were no casualties among US forces in the operation, in which Osama and four others at the compound that was raided. The then US president Barack Obama had ordered the operation after the Central Intelligence Agency traced Osama's courier to the high-walled compound. Follow LIVE updates on the India-Pakistan tensions here Police sources have also said that Pakistani jets dropped bombs on their way out at Nadian, Lam Jhangar, and Kerri in Rajouri district and Hamirpur area of Bhimber Galli in Poonch of the Indian territory Top officials on Wednesday said one Pakistan Air Force's F-16 jet that violated Indian air space in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmirs Rajouri district was shot down in retaliatory firing, three kilometres within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, along the Line of Control. The jets were immediately pushed back by Indian aircraft on air patrol, a top official has said. Police sources have also said that Pakistani jets dropped bombs on their way out at Nadian, Lam Jhangar, and Kerri in Rajouri district and Hamirpur area of Bhimber Galli in Poonch of the Indian territory. A parachute was spotted going down across the Line of Control but the condition of the PAF pilot is not known. This action comes a day after the Indian Air Force carried out air strikes in the wee hours of Tuesday morning on Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps in Balakot, Muzaffarabad and Chakoti. Pakistan military, in the meanwhile, has claimed to have arrested an Indian pilot after shooting down two IAF aircraft. Major General Asif Ghafoor, the head of the media wing of Pakistans military, claimed in a tweet that one of the aircraft fell in Jammu and Kashmir, while the other fell in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. He also claimed that the Indian Air Force had crossed the Line of Control once again on Wednesday morning. The Indian jets are still patrolling the area. Pakistan Air Force's F-16 that violated Indian air space shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3KM within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, Nowshera sector. pic.twitter.com/8emKMVpWKi ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 Where is Nowshera and Lam valley? Soon as reports about the Pakistani fighter jet spread, there were confusions about where exactly was Nowshera and Lam valley. Nowshera, where the air space violation took place, is in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, about 10 kilometre North of Srinagar's Lal Chowk. It lies close to the LoC. This shouldn't be confused with Nowshera, the primary city in Nowshera district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Lam Valley, on the other hand, lies in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). Places near Lam Valley include Jhangar, Nadian, Kerri, Mendhar, Bhimber Galli in Poonch and other places. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the Pakistani warplane was shot down by the Indian Air Force after it attempted to target military establishments in Jammu and Kashmir. It was earlier reported that three Pakistani Air Force jets attempted to violate the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Nowshera sectors but were chased away by Indian combat air patrol team of Sukhoi SU-30s. The Pakistan government later claimed in a statement that its air force undertook strikes on the Indian side of the Line of Control from within Pakistani airspace and for "self-defence". It denied that the F-16 was shot down. It is now clear that at least one pilot, reportedly named Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, is in Pakistans custody. Which is not surprising. This is what happens in war. Each side accepts this reality Editor's note: This article was published on 27 February in the aftermath of Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan being captured by Pakistan. It is being republished in light of Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan announcing in Parliament that Abhinandan will be freed on Friday as a 'peace gesture'. The war on social media is steadily climbing, almost at the same pace that it is occurring on the ground. It is now clear that at least one pilot, reportedly named Wing Commander Abhinandan, is in Pakistans custody. Which is not surprising. This is what happens in war. Each side accepts this reality, which is why each treats captured soldiers, particularly officers, with far more courtesy than would be accorded civilians. There are several accounts of prisoners of war of both sides of the 1971 conflict being treated with rare politeness. If and when India's pilot says he is being treated well, he may be believed. As a uniformed officer, the pilot is covered by the Geneva Convention. But the basic point is that the capture could considerably confuse decision making: on both sides. Liddle Hart and other strategists of an earlier period did not have to contend with social media, and the complications this raises in a democracy, which also happens to be going to the polls. But the downing of a pilot and his capture, and the subsequent media outrage leads to what these theorists often called the fog of war. Loosely translated, that means difficulties in decision-making and uncertainty of outcomes. In actual terms, a prisoner of war (POW) does not fundamentally change the conduct of war or preparation for it. These incidents are expected, and would normally be taken in our stride. But social media changes all that. So here is where the whole fog of war comes in. Both sides see the capture differently. In Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan sees this as a time to pause and reflect. Certainly, nothing could have been more conciliatory than the press conference of Major General Ghafoor (DG-ISPR) or even that of Imran. The latter was particularly persuasive and effective. This was not a Pakistan frothing at the mouth. Both performances showed a rare maturity. Clearly, Pakistan does not want war. It cannot afford one, particularly at this juncture when its debt to China once calculated to reach the highest point at about 2020 is already crippling. Beijing has not come to its rescue and is clearly disinclined to put its investments in danger as the result of a conventional war. Pakistan, therefore has the option to make a grand gesture: put the captured pilot in a Pakistan Air Force craft and offer to send him back. That would not just mollify New Delhi (and social media), but could lay the grounds for trust in Imrans leadership. That delivers Pakistans objectives of avoiding war and beginning dialogue. Holding the pilot at ransom to restart dialogue is not going to deliver any of that. Rather the reverse. India is clearly furious. The MEA has already issued a demarche to the Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan, accusing it not only of unprovoked aggression. All this after Imrans offer of dialogue. India could use the capture to fuel further outrage. Indeed, political leadership may have little choice. It will certainly refuse to accede to talks as Imran suggests at the barrel of a gun held to the head of a captured man. Matters could therefore continue to escalate, particularly since Indian objectives may not have been fully met. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has been reported as saying 25 top Jaish commanders were killed in the Indian attack at Balakot. This will cripple the group but not end it. There are also far worse actors in neighbouring camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. India has the option of continuing air action against known terrorist camps, thus opting for strong escalation and outright war. Alternatively, it could announce that the armed forces are standing down which seems to be the gist of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swarajs statement in the Russia-India-China dialogue and demand that Pakistan take action to close terrorist camps, or else. But all those options come up against the fact that a pilot has been captured. That could sway public opinion so far on the side of Prime Minister Narendra Modi against him for abandoning a brave man. No one knows the fickleness of public opinion better than politicians. Bringing the captured IAF pilot home, but in a blaze of glory rather than submission to Pakistan would be the ideal option. Both sides can get this whole episode over with on the shoulders of one man. Diplomatically, its not that difficult. It just needs a bit of good script writing. However, the basic problem is that in the final analysis, war is merely an extension of politics by other means. Thats the trip wire that has to be crossed. Coming back to her professional life, we ask Richa if she considers her profession insecure and if she has any plan B on her mind. Even after spending over a decade in the Hindi cinema industry and proving her mettle with films like Gangs of Wasseypur, Masaan, and Fukrey, actress Richa Chadha says she still feels like an outsider at times and has accepted this feeling. Ya! I still feel (an outsider) sometimes... maybe my kids won't feel like an outsider, she says and adds, Honestly, I don't think my feelings of being an outsider will ever change. I feel like an outsider and I'm fine with it. There is nothing wrong with the industry. I have been received well by the people and I love being here. My parents are from an academic background I am not born here and that cannot change. I came to Mumbai for a job. And, thus being an outsider is fine with me. Since she mentioned kids, the actress was quizzed if she is fond of children. Yes! If we all love kids, the world can become a better place for them, says the actress who has been dating actor Ali Fazal for quite some time now. Since both of them are actors and spend a lot of time in different cities, do they have a common place to meet? Yes, we both are busy owing to our professional commitments. Life is such! Thus, we have a common place where we usually meet. Its the airport, she laughs and adds, Also, when I am in Mumbai and he (Ali Fazal) is not around. I come home and play with my cat, this keeps me busy. Revealing about the experience shooting for a music video, she said, We had gone on the shooting spree for this video titled, Neel Samandar. Being directed by National Award winner none other than Pradeep Sarakar. Being busy I could not explore much, but its such a beautiful place. Nature out there is utterly beautiful; I found the beauty of the nature at its best when compared to other areas in this World. The beaches are so wonderful. The water is so clear its really amazing and also has amazing wildlife. Looking at these pristine beaches I really felt that we have polluted the beaches here in Mumbai. Coming back to her professional life, we ask Richa if she considers her profession insecure and if she has any plan B on her mind. I do not have any financial insecurity. I have other interests apart from just acting - I am passionate about writing and photography. If my interest is diverted on the basis of feeling insecure then I will start taking roles anyhow, she says and adds that insecurity lies in every profession. Also, if I will think of any substitute business, I will lose my focus in acting. I am happy and enjoying this profession by and large, she concludes. The Geneva Conventions are international treaties concerned with preventing or limiting the barbarity of armed conflicts. With an Indian pilot, reportedly named Indian Air Force's Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, in Pakistani custody after his plane was shot down on Wednesday, the Geneva Conventions have now come into the limelight. The Geneva Conventions are international treaties concerned with preventing or limiting the barbarity of armed conflicts, especially between two nations. They are also concerned with protecting the rights of civilians, medics, aid workers and prisoners of war. PTI reported that the rules protecting prisoners of war (POWs) are specific. They were first detailed in the 1929 treaties and later amended in the third 1949 Geneva Convention following the lessons of the Second World War. According to the rules, the status of POW only applies in international armed conflict. "POWs are usually members of the armed forces of one of the parties to a conflict who fall into the hands of the adverse party," the Convention states. It says POWs cannot be prosecuted for taking a direct part in hostilities. "Their detention is not a form of punishment, but only aims to prevent further participation in the conflict. They must be released and repatriated without delay after the end of hostilities. The detaining power may prosecute them for possible war crimes, but not for acts of violence that are lawful under international humantarian law," it says. The rules specify that POWs must be treated humanely in all circumstances. "They are protected against any act of violence, as well as against intimidation, insults, and public curiosity," the Geneva Convention states. The 1949 Geneva Conventions comprise four conventions, the first of which protects the wounded and sick soldiers during war, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The second convention deals with protecting the wounded, sick and shipwrecked military personnel at sea. The third and fourth conventions apply to prisoners of war and civilians respectively. There is also a Common Article 3 which applies to all the four Geneva Conventions. It deals with situations of non-international armed conflicts, which include civil wars, internal armed conflicts that spill over to other countries or an internal conflict in which a group belonging to another state is involved. In the years following the adoption of the four Geneva Conventions, three Additional Protocols were added to the Geneva Conventions, strengthening the protection of victims of international and non-international armed conflicts. Notably, India has signed the four 1949 Geneva Conventions and Protocol III, but has not acceded to Protocols I and II. Because Protocol I is linked with war against colonial domination and Protocol II deals with internal conflict, India is concerned about the effects of the two Protocols on its sovereignty. With inputs from PTI Pakistan on Wednesday said it does not have any intention to escalate the confrontation with India and wanted peace to be given a chance, hours after its jets violated Indian air space and dropped some bombs in Rajouri sector in Jammu and Kashmir. Islamabad: Pakistan on Wednesday said it does not have any intention to escalate the confrontation with India and wanted peace to be given a chance, hours after its jets violated Indian air space and dropped some bombs in Rajouri sector in Jammu and Kashmir. In a statement, Pakistan Foreign Ministry said: "If India is striking at so-called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan." At the same time, it added: "We have no intention of escalation but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we undertook the action with the clear warning and in broad daylight." Islamabad said that it does not wish to pursue retaliation and escalate the situation, instead wishes that "India gives peace a chance and to resolve issues like a mature democratic nation". A day after India carried out air strikes deep inside Pakistan, Islamabad said that its air force undertook strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) to demonstrate its "right, will and capability for self-defence". "Pakistan Air Force undertook strikes across Line of Control from within Pakistani airspace," the Foreign Ministry statement said, adding it took strikes at a non-military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. Earlier in the morning, Pakistan jets reportedly violated Indian airspace in Rajouri sector and dropped bombs on their way out. Craters were reportedly spotted at the places where the bombs were dropped. No casualties have been reported yet. On February 26, the Indian Air Force carried out an aerial strike at an advance training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Balakot of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan, destroying a control room of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and other infrastructure of the terror outfit. The convention clearly states PoWs cannot be prosecuted for taking a direct part in hostilities There is nothing to crow about in the shooting down of each other's jets. Actually, the wonderment and surprise would come if a fighter was able to deflect a missile homing in on it. Chaff (tiny pieces of foil) was once considered to be a decoy, but those days are pretty much gone as is climbing into the sun to create a second heat source and confuse the missile sensors. Releasing high-intensity heat flares to generate more heat than the exhaust might still work but avoiding radar sites, jamming radars or employing electronic countermeasures (ECMs) to block the memory of the missile locking in on the pilot are some of other measures available. Amazingly, in the 1980s, stealth aircraft simply outflew the missile, so it could not catch up. Another possible option is to come down to ground-level, so that the back-scatter on the terrain gives the missile multiple signals and messes with its circuitry. So it is most likely India did lose two jets and that Pakistan does have two pilots in custody. It is just as likely as our having shot down an F-16 Fighting Falcon and sighting any other intruder and putting it down. One of the names released by Pakistan is Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman and in case this is true, he and the second pilot (presumably in hospital) have to be treated and protected as Prisoners of War under the Geneva Convention of 1929 (first promulgated in 1864 and updated by the additional protocol of 1977 that demands that soldiers, sailors and airmen be treated with respect at all times). If Pakistan parades them around or tries to make an exhibition, it will be against all tenets of civilised conduct. The convention clearly states PoWs cannot be prosecuted for taking a direct part in hostilities. Their detention is not a form of punishment, but only aims to prevent further participation in the conflict. They must be released and repatriated without delay after the end of hostilities. They must be treated humanely in all circumstances. The absence of an official declaration of war does not deactivate the scope of the convention or its intent. It clearly states: The Geneva Conventions are rules that apply only in times of armed conflict and seek to protect people who are not or are no longer taking part in hostilities. It is hostile, the wing commander is no longer taking part in the hostilities and so is covered by the Geneva Convention. Ask a fighter pilot, including those shot down on Wednesday, and he will agree that prayer is probably a better bet than all these other tactics put together when out-thinking a fourth generation missile. Although modern fighters are largely fitted with radar homing and warning systems that alert them to a lock and even in advanced versions, give a visual of the missile closing in, it isn't that easy to react in the very small window. While some manuals suggest multiple rolls to disengage the weapon from its trail, others have the capability to recognise the sort of firepower being aimed towards them. Their glare shield will specific aural warnings. US fighter pilot John Cheshire (not related to the famous Group Captain Cheshire who was on the Nagasaki mission) says it like this: With dots, think like they are BBs. That means anti-aircraft guns. With dashes, think like they are telephone poles. That means SAMs. With a straight line strobe, that means a fighter aircraft is going to shoot you right now. Ace pilots even train in complex aerial manoeuvres in an attempt to outwit the missile coming at them. This is not an easy option fighting G-forces and requires patience, fortitude, guts and gumption to stay cool when you can see the missile coming straight for you. One also has to remember that it is not just the well-trained top gun who is integral to the escape. He has to respect the performance envelope of his plane and ensure he does not cross that line and break up in the sky. This is why maintenance is so vital for an air force and why older planes become vulnerable. If the aircraft shot down are of older vintage and have hours on them, they will always be less efficient in their capability. The essence lies in the attacked creating maximum distancing from the missile or what is technically known as terminal 'miss' distance. The Mitsubishi Corporation made a report in which it said of evasive tactics: The aircraft may take a maximum G-turn, produce linear acceleration with maximum thrust or engage in an optimal evasive manoeuvre. All this is theoretical and even if the maths of angle, descent, speed, attitude, attitude, geometry, create an equation of success the human factor and response time and the plane's own limitations will not ensure success. So it is not the enemy showing prowess, it is pure technology that brings aircraft down. India also strongly objected to Pakistans vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention. In a strongly worded statement, India on Wednesday summoned Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan to lodge a strong protest at the country's "unprovoked act of aggression" and strongly objected to Pakistans "vulgar display" of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force (IAF). India also condemned Pakistan for not fulfilling the bilateral commitment to take credible action against terrorist entities and individuals operating from its soil. Pressing the issue diplomatically, the government has also issued a demarche to Pakistan on its act of aggression against India. A dossier was handed over to Pakistan with "specific details" of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) complicity in Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan. Here is the full text of the statement by the Ministry of External Affairs: The Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan was summoned this afternoon by MEA to lodge a strong protest at the unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan against India earlier today, including by violation of the Indian air space by Pakistan Air Force and targeting of Indian military posts. Six days and more than 30,000 litres of water later, the wildfire in Karnatakas Bandipur Tiger Reserve is still not completely out. Bengaluru: Six days and more than 30,000 litres of water later, the wildfire in Karnatakas Bandipur Tiger Reserve is still not completely out; activists on the ground, however, say its spread has been curtailed, while calling it the worst forest fire in the states history. Thousands of acres of forestland and numerous trees have been destroyed in the blaze, and there are reports of several animals having perished as well. A top state forest official said it has been confirmed that this is an act of sabotage. Whats the ground situation? The Bandipur range, which is spread over 874 square kilometres, has the highest tiger population in India. Almost 500 guards along with officials, firemen, eco-volunteers and people from the area have been working non-stop to douse the flames with hand pumps; on Monday, the IAF (Indian Air Force) helicopters were roped in to pour water on the affected areas. Forest officials claimed that they havent come across carcasses of any big animals so far but have spotted dead reptiles. They added that the pictures of burnt carcasses being shared on social media dont belong to the Bandipur incident. Activists said they spotted deer, elephants, and sambar fleeing from the smoke. Since last Thursday, movement of people and vehicles has been banned on NH-67, which connects Mysore and Ooty, and inter-state roads until further notice. And since Friday, forest officials have stopped issuing permits for safaris and have even banned tourist vehicles from entering the forest area. Wildlife warden of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary P Dhanesh Kumar said, The Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is near Bandipur and, hence, has put all its 168 forest guards on high alert. A few of them have joined the firefighting operation at Bandipur. Who started the fire? Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Punati Sridhar said, We had contained the fire on Sunday, but on Monday, it suddenly sprang up and spread to a few other places. Hence, we requested IAFs help. We dont know how or why it re-started, but we are working round the clock to check the spread. Officials say that their surveys show the fire could have started on its own in some of the affected areas. However, we have reason to suspect a few people and have booked them for violating forest laws." We believe a man and his friend did this for revenge; their suspected motive was to have the range forest officer and other senior officials transferred or suspended when things got out of hand and the fire caused more damage. We have information on who is responsible and will investigate thoroughly. Range Forest Officer Gangadhar, along with two forest guards identified as Manu and Manju who belong to the local tribal community, have sustained injuries and are being treated at a private hospital in Mysuru. Forest officials said none of the nearby residential settlements have been affected, and that people just need to be careful of the mounds of ash and wear protective garments and footwear while venturing out. What kept it blazing for so long? A wildlife activist and conservationist, Joseph Hoover, who has been helping forest officials since Day 1, said, The forest department of Bandipur did not hire fire watchers or trim bushes in the affected areas; in short, it fell woefully short in terms of adequately preparing for the fire season. Based on previous incidents, the start and peak of summer, Hoover explained, has been designated as fire season the period from February end right up till June is most vulnerable to forest fires. Though hundreds of volunteers were present, we were helpless due to the massive size and spread of the blaze. During fire season, the department needs to take the required precautions every year in December or the following January, forest department officials hold a meeting with wildlife wardens, officials, and locals to discuss the measures that need to be taken for the upcoming fire season and start preparations accordingly; this year, the meeting wasnt held. Had it been done, this tragedy could have been avoided. Also, the governments involvement is negligible. All departments concerned need to pull up their socks if we are to protect our forests, he added. Another wildlife activist from Eco Volunteers India, Nakul M Dev, who too has been volunteering and helping forest officials to combat the blaze, echoed Hoover. It started on Thursday and we all rushed to Bandipur, as the forest department is short on manpower. Bandipur is a dry forest, so even a small spark can snowball into a raging blaze and spread fast. That said, all forest fires in India are man-made disasters, including this one. We believe people who were not given access to the forest are behind this no traffic is allowed in at night in a bid to curb illegal activities and not disturb the animals; we suspect some people who were barred from entering did this on purpose, he said. Nearly 10,000 to 15,000 acres of forestland has been destroyed so far; it was a struggle to contain it due to the lack of support from the state government. Wildlife also has been affected small animals and reptiles cant run fast and have perished; however, tigers, elephants, and other large animals, who know the forest better, fled on seeing the smoke. But, now, this may result in some man-animal conflict if the animals have taken refuge in nearby villages. What the government says Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwara said, The forest fire in Bandipur is very saddening; more than 70 percent of the forest has been gutted. The forest department is working hard to mitigate the damage. Whoever is responsible for this will be dealt with in the strictest manner possible. Forest Minister Satish Jarkiholi visited the affected areas along with forest officials to take stock of the destruction. He also held a meeting with Sridhar and other officials. Data provided by the state fire department has revealed a steady rise in forest fires since 2015 from 589 in 2015 to 913 in 2016, further up to 925 in 2017 and then 985 in 2018. (The author is Bengaluru - based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com.) Given the relatively short period of time within which these three developments broke, confusion reigned on social media where journalists, news portals and those following the news traded various versions of the yet unverified reports of the three air crashes. Pakistan on Wednesday claimed that its air force had shot down two Indian aircraft and that an Indian pilot was arrested by troops. Minutes later, reports arrived a F-16 jet of Pakistan, that had violated Indian air space, was shot down by India in the Lam valley, in Nowshera sector. Meanwhile, a Mi-17 transport chopper has crashed in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam. The exact cause behind this attack has not been determined. Given the relatively short period of time within which these three developments broke, confusion reigned on social media where journalists, news portals and those following the news traded various versions of the yet unverified reports of the three air crashes. A number of the images and videos circulated in the immediate aftermath were claimed to be fake, with many pinning the blame for the circulation of fake images on Pakistan. Pakistan army spokesperson Asif Ghafoor's tweet, that set off the cycle of claims, mentioned that of the two Indian aircraft that Pakistan reportedly hit, one fell inside Pakistan occupied Kashmir while other fell inside the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Shortly afterwards, videos of what was claimed to be the wreckage of the aircraft were shared by several people on Twitter, among them the Pakistani dailies Dawn and Express Tribune and the channel, the Pakistan Television Corporation. The latter claimed that a video of a man blindfolded and another of a pilot lying wounded on the ground were both "exclusive" videos that showed Indian pilots who had been flying jets that were allegedly struck down by Pakistan. However, the time stamp of the videos, uploaded to YouTube, was 26 February, 2019. Both videos were widely shared on Twitter and shown on Pakistani television channels. Many have since claimed that the video of the soldier lying on the ground was shot at the Yemlur grounds of Bengaluru, after one of the pilots on the Surya Kiran fell to the ground after the crash. He was later identified as Wing Commander Vijay Shelke, one of the pilots who had ejected safely after the two aircraft crashed. Some said Kannada could clearly be heard in the background, causing both "Kannada" and #PakFakeClaims to trend on Twitter. 2nd Indian Pilot Arrested Alive... pic.twitter.com/TaYWNCCljY Dr Shahid Masood (@Shahidmasooddr) February 27, 2019 The Ministry of External Affairs has confirmed that there has been an air-to-air engagement between Pakistan and India and a pilot of a MiG 21 is missing in action. However, there is no clarity on whether the widely shared video of a man who is injured and is standing upright, blindfolded, does indeed show the Indian pilot who is missing. In the circulating video, the captured man can be heard identifying himself as "Wing Commander Abhinandan" but there is no clarity yet on whether he is the man missing in action. The two IAF jets shown on Pakistani media had the tail numbers TU657 and A3492. The first was an IAF Mikoyan MiG-27MU which crashed in a residential area of the city on 12 June, 2016. The aircraft was on a routine training sortie when it crashed and around three people had been injured. Two houses in the area had been damaged. The second, A3492, was a Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer which crashed on 3 June, 2015 in Odisha's Mayurbhanj. Since the Hawk A-3492 crashed in a paddy field about 200 metres from human habitation around noon, there were no reports of any civilian casualties or loss of property, The Hindu had reported. Both the Dawn and the Express Tribune have taken down the contentious images and instead run with two images attributed to Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations. Those have not been proven to be fake yet. The spread of misinformation regarding flights continued on Thursday when it emerged that photographs of a jet being circulated as a felled MiG-21 were actually that of the Pakistani F-16 that had been brought down by India and were found in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. ANI reported that the Commanding Officer of Pakistan's 7 Northern Light Infantry was also visible in the photograph. The discrepancies in terrain between the sites of the MiG-21 and F-16 crashes are evident from the photographs shared, even though many claimed that both jets were Indian. Pakistani social media accounts also shared what appeared to be a manufactured video of an Indian Air Force jet being shot down, reported the fact-checking website Alt-News. The video has been picked up from a 2015 video uploaded by a YouTube channel "Pakistan Defense." Paksitani website The News claimed that the Indian government has removed a senior air force officer reportedly after Pakistans successful strikes and capturing of a pilot on 27 February. ANI clarified on Friday that Western Air Command Chief Air Marshal C Hari Kumar retired on 28 February, the day he was scheduled to retire, after completing more than 39 years of service. Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar took over as his successor Fake news of IAF strike In India, fake images of JeM camps which were struck by Indian Air Force jets on Tuesday were circulated too. According to Alt-News, a bunch of images showing the destruction caused by the IAF jets in Balakot and circulated on social media, were fake. Some of these images, which were shared on social media, including on 'I Support Amit Shah' a fan group on Facebook dedicated to BJP president Amit Shah and on WhatsApp were, in fact, from the 2005 Kashmir earthquake which caused maximum damage in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The fan group shared the image of the devastation caused in Balakot after the earthquake as damage caused by IAF jets. Another image, which has been circulating on social media is that of a crowd mourning their dead. This image was (presented as victims of IAF strikes in Balakot), but was originally from a bomb blast in 2014, which took place near the India-Pakistan border. According to Reuters, which published the image in 2014, 57 Pakistanis were killed in the attack. Another image which shows rescue workers in Pakistan carrying dead bodies on a stretcher (below), was in fact, from a 2017 blast in Lahore, Pakistan. The image was taken by AFP. According to Dawn, which published the image, at least "26 people, including nine policemen, were killed while 58 others were injured in the bombing attack near the Arfa Karim IT Tower on Lahore's Ferozepur Road". Tensions between India and Pakistan have been escalating since the 14 February terror attack at Pulwama, killing 42 Central Reserve Police Force soldiers. After the IAF carried out air strikes on terror training camps of the Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan has convened two high-level meetings involving Prime Minister Imran Khan. While Pakistan has acknowledged the IAF operation in Balakot, it has denied that the effort resulted in any casualties. Follow LIVE updates on tension between India and Pakistan here An encounter broke out on Wednesday between militants and security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Meemendar area of Shopian following information about presence of militants there, the officials said. Srinagar: An encounter broke out on Wednesday between militants and security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Meemendar area of Shopian following information about presence of militants there, the officials said. They said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants opened firing towards the security forces, who retaliated. There were no reports of any casualties so far in the operation, the officials said. The exchange of fire comes a day after India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC), killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The strike was the first by the Indian Air Force (IAF) inside Pakistan after the 1971 war. Sources at airlines said they were aware of the notice but it would take a little while for flights to resume The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has withdrawn its order to shut down nine airports. Commercial flight services is expected to resume soon. NOTAM (Notice to Airmen to alert aircraft pilots of potential hazards along a flight route) has been withdrawn. Flight operations will resume pic.twitter.com/5WvzEgVQ34 ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 Aviation watchdog DGCA on Wednesday said operations at the nine airports, which were shut earlier in the day, have resumed "as of now". A spokesperson of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said, "As of now, ops to these airports resumed (sic)." The DGCA Wednesday issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM), saying flight operations at the airports in Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Pathankot, Amritsar, Shimla, Kangra, Kullu Manali and Pithoragarh will remain shut from 27 February to 27 May. The move to close the airports had come amid escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan after the IAF carried out strikes on terror bases in Pakistan. Sources at airlines said they were aware of the notice but it would take a little while for flights to resume. "Decisions take time," said an airline official. Jet Airways has informed its passengers through a tweet that penalties have been waived off for the flights cancelled due to air space closure: #9Wupdate: Due to air space closure, we'll waive off penalties for date/ flight change, refund & no-show on confirmed tickets for travel to/ from Amritsar, Chandigarh, Dehradun and Srinagar on 27th February 2019. Jet Airways (@jetairways) February 27, 2019 All airlines have asked passengers to visit their offices online to know about flight status: #Update. We're experiencing high call volumes at our contact center on account of Air space closures. Customers are requested to check flight status by visiting https://t.co/9eL33N630U or SMS UK to 9289228888. Thank you. Vistara (@airvistara) February 27, 2019 #6EUpdate: To cancel your reservation owing to airspace closure at Srinagar, Jammu, Chandigarh, Amritsar and Dehradun, please visit https://t.co/Mj1tYZIvoE. To have the cancellation charges waived off for travel till 31st March, e-mail us the PNR at customer.relations@goindigo.in IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) February 27, 2019 --With PTI inputs Day's top stories: Pakistan convenes NCA meeting, LoC sees intense shelling, Opposition parties to meet to chalk out Common Minimum Programme, India look for win against Australia in the Bengaluru T20I, and more. Pakistan PM to convene NCA meeting; India cautions safety Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, has summoned a special meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA). The prime minister has directed that elements of national power including the Armed Forces and the people of Pakistan to remain prepared for all eventualities following India's pre-emptive, non-military airstrikes at Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist camps around Balakot in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Meanwhile, the National Investigative Agency (NIA) in India has carried out searches at several locations, including the houses of separatist leaders, in Srinagar in connection with its ongoing investigation into terror funding in Jammu and Kashmir. These included premises belonging to top separatist leaders. Several heads of state governments, including Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Mallik asked people to maintain law and order in the aftermath of India's strike. The Maharashtra government has called for office bearers of the School and Company Bus Owner's Association to ensure the safety of school children keeping the prevailing situation in mind. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the state legislature that security has been tightened across the city and appealed to people not to panic. Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh will camp in the border areas of Punjab as part of a confidence-building measure undertaken by the state in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack and Indias airstrike. Cross-LoC shelling injures ten soldiers Meanwhile, intense shelling across the Line of Control was seen at Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir. Two houses were partially damaged due to shelling from the Pakistani side in the Chajla Patri area of Mankote sector in Poonch and six Indian soldiers were injured. In Akhnoor sector, four jawans were injured. An encounter was reported by ANI to have broken out between terrorists and security forces in Memander area of Shopain district in Jammu and Kashmir in the early hours of Wednesday. Sushma Swaraj in China A day after India's counter-strike on the biggest Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be visiting China to take part in the Russia-India-China trilateral meeting. JeM leader Maulana Masood Azhar and Pakistan are on Sushmas agenda. The Union minister is also expected to hold bilateral meets with the two countries before and after the trilateral meeting. Opposition parties to chalk out Common Minimum Programme Leaders of a number of Opposition parties will meet in the Parliament House Annexe Extension building to chalk out a "Common Minimum Programme" for fighting the 2019 general elections. The prime focus is expected to be the Pulwama terror attack on 14 February, Tuesdays air strike and the countrys national security. On 13 February, leaders of six major opposition parties including the Congress held a meeting after which it was announced that there will be a pre-poll alliance and a "Common Minimum Programme" for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The meet was attended by Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Aam Aadmi Party Chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, National Congress Party president Sharad Pawar, Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah and others. Supreme Court to hear petition on attacks on Kashmiri students The Supreme Court will hear the petition on attacks across the country on Kashmiri people, especially students, in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack. On 22 February, the apex court issued notices to the central government and 11 states and sought their response on the matter. Hearing the public interest litigation (PIL), the court had 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. In another development, AgustaWestland middleman Christian Michel will be produced at the Patiala House Court, which will also hear a plea of Gautam Khaitan. India seek to level series in second T20I against Australia After suffering a narrow defeat against Australia, Virat Kohli-led Indian side look to bounce back on Wednesday in the second T20I at Bengaluru . India look to flex their batting muscle in favourable conditions at the M Chinnaswamy stadium as they aim to square the series in the second and the final match of the series. Paediatrician uncovers suicide instructions in videos for children on YouTube, YouTube Kids Free Hess, a paediatrician and mother, spotted chilling videos for kids which gave out tips for committing suicide while watching cartoons with her son on YouTube Kids. Minutes into the clip, a man appears on the screen and simulates cuttig his wrist. Remember, kids, sideways for attention, longways for results, he says and then walks off screen. The video then quickly switches back to the cartoon. The videos come at a time when YouTube, the worlds largest video-sharing platform, is spiralling amid questions of how the platform monitors and removes problematic content French prosecutors drop rape case against director Luc Besson French prosecutors have dropped a preliminary investigation into the allegations of rape against filmmaker Luc Besson. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the public prosecutor's office said on Monday that the investigation was dropped due to lack of evidence. In May 2018, Besson, known for movies like Leon: The Professional, was accused of raping a woman in France. The complaint was filed by actor Dutch-Belgian actor Sand Van Roy at a Paris police station, saying that she had been repeatedly raped by the 59-year-old director during an on-off relationship. SBI calls lenders' meet today with Naresh Goyal and Etihad CEO State Bank of India (SBI) has called an urgent meeting of lenders with Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal and the domestic carrier's significant shareholder Etihad Airways' CEO Tony Douglas on Wednesday to discuss a way forward for the debt-laden airline, sources said, according to PTI. The meeting, to be held at SBI's office in Mumbai, assumes significance amid differences persisting between Goyal, the lenders and Etihad, which has 24 percent stake in Jet Airways. SBI is the lead lender of a consortium that has extended loans to Jet Airways. While there was no official word from the airline, as also from the lenders, officials aware about the development said the meeting has been called by SBI and both Goyal and Douglas would be present. On India's assertion that it was a 'non-military pre-emptive strikes' directed against training camps of the terrorist groups who are carrying out violent acts in India, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said, 'as for India's claim on taking action against terrorism, well fighting terrorism is a global practice Beijing: China on Tuesday urged India and Pakistan to "exercise restraint" and asked New Delhi to carry out its fight against terrorism through international cooperation, hours after Indian fighter jets struck Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest camp in Pakistan in a pre-dawn attack. When asked for China's response to India's air strikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told the media that "we have taken note of the relevant reports." "I want to say that India and Pakistan are both important countries in South Asia. A sound relationship and cooperation between the two serves the interests of both the countries and peace and stability in South Asia," he said. "We hope that both India and Pakistan can exercise restraint and do more to improve their bilateral relations," he said. India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Pakistan early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders, officials said in New Delhi. On India's assertion that it was a "non-military pre-emptive strikes" directed against training camps of the terrorist groups who are carrying out violent acts in India, Lu said, "as for India's claim on taking action against terrorism, well fighting terrorism is a global practice. "It needs necessary international cooperation. India needs to create favourable condition internationally for the same," he said. To another question, he said Pakistan Foreign Minister Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has spoken to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. "During the phone call, Wang listened carefully to Pakistan foreign minister's notification and proposals on the issues and reaffirmed his opinion that the two sides need to advance their cooperation in the counter terrorism for peace and stability in the region," the spokesman said. Lu's comments came ahead of Russia, India and China (RIC) Foreign Ministers' meeting at Chinese city of Wuzhen on Wednesday in which External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is due to take part. The Pulwama terror attack and India's air strikes on the terrorists training camps were expected to figure in the her talks with Wang and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Levrov. The issue of listing of JeM chief Masood Azhar in the UN 1267 committee was also expected to figure in their talks. Relations between Pakistan and India have been tense since the Pulwama terror attack which took place on February 14. New Delhi: In response to air strikes by the Indian Air Force (IAF) against terror camps in Pakistan, the Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry of Pakistan on Tuesday announced a boycott of Indian films and 'Made in India' advertisements in the country. Pakistan's Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry took to his Twitter handle to state that the Cinema Exhibitors Association has decided to boycott the Indian content completely and that no Indian movie will be released in Pakistan. Cinema Exhibitors Association has boycotted Indian content, no Indian Movie ll be released in Pakistan. Also have instructed PEMRA to act against Made in India Advertisements. #PakistanTayarHai https://t.co/9BPo6LIsVB Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) February 26, 2019 The minister further stated that he has also instructed PEMRA (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority) to act against advertisements made in India. The move comes hours after India on Tuesday carried out air strikes at a massive Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, targeting a large number of terrorists. Relations between Pakistan and India have been tense since the Pulwama terror attack which took place on February 14 that killed over 40 CRPF personnel. The tensions soared even more after todays attack. A similar decision was taken by India against Pakistani content and artists after the ghastly attack in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. Makers of a few films including Total Dhamaal and Notebook among others also decided that their films will not screen in Pakistan. Reportedly, in 2016, PEMRA had imposed a complete ban on airing Indian content on local television and FM radio channels. In 2017, the Lahore High Court had lifted the ban, declaring it null and void as the government had no objections regarding the same. Should Pakistan resolve to seek revenge for the Indian Air Force operation, then its commitment to maintaining peace in the subcontinent will be in more doubt than usual. The India-Pakistan Composite Dialogue, born out of the 6 January, 2004, joint statement by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and General Pervez Musharraf, set the ball rolling for the foreign secretaries of both States to frame an eight-point agenda the next month. Pakistan's capability to combat terrorism was a cornerstone of this composite dialogue, as enshrined in the joint statement. Vajpayee had agreed to participate in the dialogue only after Musharraf had reassured him that he will not permit any territory under Pakistan's control to be used to support terrorism in any manner. Since then, Pakistan has betrayed the 2004 dialogue time and again. Unfortunately, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance attached no special relevance to the document, and in its decade-long rule, Pakistan's well-advertised image of a terror victim shrouded its home-grown terror crisis with instances of cross-border terror, while the eyes of a politically-unwilling India remained blind. But Modi's India is handling matters differently. Vajpayee had issued a diktat to maintain the sanctity of the Line of Control (LoC). When the Kargil War was at its peak in 1999, an Indian Air Force fighter pilot had mistakenly set its sights on a Pakistani military base and was ready to bomb it, but his seniors had pulled him back and taken a strict view of the inadvertent transgression into Pakistani airspace. The law of the land was: if they cross it, we will push them back. When the Indian Army had carried out the surgical strikes in 2016, the Central government had acknowledged that it had crossed the border and hit its targets. But the line they had taken then was clear India had attacked those who had attacked it, not the Pakistan Army or its civilians. And as per the 2004 agreement, these were the groups that Pakistan had committed to neutralise. During the Kargil War, it was units of the Pakistan Army masquerading as mujahideens that had occupied positions on the Indian side of the LoC. Vajpayee had then directed the Indian armed forces to evict them but with a caveat that the sanctity of the LoC not be violated. This had made the task difficult for the army and the Indian Air Force and resulted in additional casualties, but both forces had complied. The Kargil War was, hence, a localised conflict of the conventional military 'force-on-force' nature. But that was 1999. Today, 20 years after Kargil, Pakistan has groomed groups such as the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen to give in-depth effect to its plans on the Indian side without deploying its own forces. But the Pakistan Army's Border Action Teams also make incursions but not deep inside Indian territory. The surgical strikes of September 2016 was the first time Indian forces crossed the LoC to conduct operations. The principle adopted then was that the mission was not against Pakistan or its army but against the groups perpetuating terrorist strikes in India. The same principle underlies the air strikes carried out by the Indian Air Force in Pakistan's Balakot, which the Ministry of External Affairs asserted as a "pre-emptive, non-military" strike, segregating the State of Pakistan from the activities of the terrorist groups, a fig leaf for the Pakistani establishment. Follow LIVE updates on India-Pakistan developments here It wouldn't be right to say that Indian forces or its leadership were hesitant before the Kargil operation. There was a gross intelligence failure because of which the Indian side underestimated the strength of enemy forces and the extent of transgression. The army and air force chiefs had had a rather well-known dispute over the deployment of the IAF to support ground forces. The air force's concerns were accuracy, vulnerability at low altitudes and inadvertent casualties on the Indian side. They were not wrong though, as their contributions were effective eventually. General Malik, who was both the Chief of Army Staff and chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, was in Poland on an official visit when India realised the full extent of transgression of the LoC. He took charge and led an effective coordinated action, immortalising the line "we will fight with what we haven't" in the history of the Indian Army. Diplomatic relations with Pakistan have evolved since the Kargil War, now demanding new kinds of reactions from India. The military objectives and the desired end are both different. Unlike conventional force-on-force, we are in the era of technology where asymmetrical warfare is used to bust terror modules. The military is not contesting another military on the border, and India has not aimed to attack the Pakistan Army, it has only attempted to neutralise terror outfits. So be it 2016 or today, India has still maintained the sanctity of the LoC as far as the army and civilians of Pakistan are concerned. The days of the Gujral Doctrine believed to have brought substantial changes to India's policy on bilateral relations with its immediate neighbours are behind us, and India is no longer a big benign brother. Should Pakistan resolve to seek revenge for the IAF operation, then its commitment to maintaining peace in the subcontinent will be in more doubt than usual. The probable timeline of the surgical strikes suggests that the entire operation was executed within 30 minutes, and the attack, including crossing over to the other side of the border and returning to Indian airspace, was achieved in under 21 minutes. In a high-impact precision air strike that lasted under 21 minutes, the Indian Air Force flattened the oldest training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan's Jaba Top near Balakot area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The IAF struck two more places in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where it had reliable intelligence inputs about terrorist hideouts. In a synchronised operation, fighter and other aircraft took off from several airbases at the Western and Central commands around the same time, leaving the Pakistani defence confused about where they were heading, sources said. How did the operation pan out? A report in India Today detailed how multiple aircraft were deployed at the same time from various airbases. Around 3.30 am, 12 Mirage 2000 aircraft of the Tiger Squadron took off from the Gwalior airbase in batches. Meanwhile, an early warning jet of the IAF took flight from Bathinda and a Embraer AEWS IAF mid-air refuelling tanker from Agra. IAF also deployed Sukhoi 30 MKIs from the Halwara and Bareilly airbases, which acted as decoys and were also meant to provide cover if the Mirages were intercepted. Heron Surveillance Drones were also used to photograph the attack and the target sites, Hindustan Times reported. AWAC (advanced warning and control system) aircraft led by the indigenous Netra jets played a significant role in the IAF operation, as well. Their radars pinpointed the position and activity of Pakistan fighter aircraft on all their bases and gave the go-ahead to the Indian planes to get a window to penetrate Pakistani airspace. The Mirage 2000s were armed with 500- to 1000-kilogramme laser-guided bombs whose specialty is to hit targets even in darkness. The pilots of the Mirage 2000 conducted final checks on the targets and waited for clearance from the command centre to proceed, after which the jets flew across LoC at a low level and used laser pods, a targeting system with a laser beam that can calculate the range to a target, to 'paint' the target with precision. Finally, the Mirage 2000s dropped their payload either Crystal Maze missiles or SPICE 2000 smart bombs at the targets. A timeline of the air strikes The probable timeline of the surgical strikes suggests that the entire operation was executed within 30 minutes, and the attack, including crossing over to the other side of the border and returning to Indian airspace, was achieved in under 21 minutes. The IAF jets struck Jaish-e-Mohammad's oldest base camp in Balakot around 3.45 am and then hit another location in Muzaffarabad around 3.48 am. They finally dropped their final payload at Chakoti around 3.58 am, before safely crossing back into Indian territory. Pakistan Airforce's F16s were scrambled to respond to the Indian incursion, but being outnumbered and gauging the formation of the Indian jets, the Pakistani airplanes beat a hasty retreat, thereby giving the Indian jets an opportunity to destroy their intended targets. After the planes returned from Pakistan, the Indian air defence systems were on high alert and scanning the Indian airspace for any Pakistani aircraft that may have flown in as part of any retaliatory hit. The first Pakistani reaction came in from the western sector in Gujarat, when an unmanned aerial vehicle believed to be of the Pakistan Air Force entered Kutch. The drone was promptly shot down by the Israeli made SPYDER Missile defence system, which fired a well-aimed 'Derby' missile to blow the PAF drone out of the sky. The navy had also halted its exercise TROPEX on the western seaboard and sent its warships on forward patrol in a posturing towards the Pakistan Navy, further confusing the chain of command in the Pakistani establishment. Moreover, the Indian Army has been placed on high alert as an attack by Pakistan's Border Action Teams could be considered an imminent threat. Top sources in the government have termed the aerial strikes as one of the most successful coordinated operations as the targets were identified and selected by intelligence agencies while the three forces coordinated very well with them to strike the enemy. With inputs from ANI Reports said that the IAF helicopter crash happened due to a technical fault At least one civilian and six Indian Air Force (IAF) officers were killed on Wednesday after a Mi-17 chopper crashed near Garend Kalan village in Jammu and Kashmirs Budgam. According to reports, the accident happened due to a technical glitch, killing the pilot and the co-pilot along with crew members. The incident occurred on a day IAF fighter jets crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and destroyed the "biggest" JeM terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot in a pre-dawn strike on Tuesday. Scene of the crash site in #Budgam. Major flood of military personnel into the area. pic.twitter.com/u1GIRxPY1R (@IntelCrab) February 27, 2019 "Locals gathered around the accident site and a major presence of military personnel was also reported from the area. One civilian also died in the crash," said reports. One of the deceased persons has been identified as Kifayat Hussain Ganaie, a local resident, while the identity of other four - believed to be IAF personnel - is being ascertained, they said. "The helicopter crashed in an open field near the Garend Kalaan village in Budgam at 10.05 am," News18 reported. Earlier, officials in Srinagar had described the downed aircraft as a jet. They said the aircraft broke into two and caught fire immediately. With inputs from PTI The news comes amid air space violations and the night-long heavy firing and shelling by Pakistani troops on forward and civilians areas across the LoC. Jammu: The army and BSF have been put on the highest degree of alertness along the border in Jammu after air space violations by the neighbouring country and the night-long heavy firing and shelling by Pakistani troops on forward and civilians areas across the LoC which stopped on Wednesday. Authorities have ordered temporary closure of educational institutions in a 5-kilometre radius along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri and Poonch districts on Wednesday amid mounting tensions between the two countries, following the Pulwama terror attack on 14 February and an Indian air strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed camp inside Pakistan on Tuesday. All residents of the border areas have been asked to remain inside their homes and not venture outside. "There was night long-heavy firing and mortar shelling along the LoC in most areas in Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch districts. However there was no firing and shelling from across the border on Wednesday," officials said. "Army and BSF troops have been put on highest alert along the LoC and International Border (IB) in view of the high degree of tension in wake of air space violations," they added. According to some reports, panic gripped the residents of border areas and some locals have left their homes and moved to safer areas. Pakistan on Wednesday said that its jets crossed the Line of Control to undertake strikes in India for "self-defence". Indian officials said Pakistani fighter jets on Wednesday violated Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Nowshera sectors but were pushed back by Indian aircraft. On Tuesday night, the Indian Army destroyed five Pakistani posts along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir in a befitting retaliation to firing from across the border, resulting in a "number of casualties" to Pak troops, a defence official had said. "The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focused fire resulted in severe destruction to five posts and number of casualties to Pak army (along LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts)," a defence PRO said. From 6:30 pm on Tuesday, the Pakistani Army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with heavy calibre weaponry along the LoC out of frustration, he said. The Pakistani troops were also seen firing mortars and missiles from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields. However, the Indian Army targeted the Pakistani posts away from civilian areas, the PRO said, adding that this resulted in a "number of casualties" to Pakistani troopers. In an exchange of fire, five soldiers of the Indian Army suffered minor injuries, out of which two of them were shifted to a military hospital for medical treatment. They are stable. As many as 28 aircraft have already been grounded and by the end of February, another 14 planes will be grounded making it almost one-third of Jet Airways' fleet of 123 planes. Trouble is mounting for debt-laden Jet Airways as latest media reports state the airline may not be able to operate as many as 42 of its fleet of aircraft in the next two days. As many as 28 aircraft have already been grounded and by the end of February, another 14 planes will be grounded making it almost one-third of Jet Airways' fleet of 123 planes, reported Moneycontrol quoting an executive from the industry. "Many of the 14 aircraft are taken off service due to lack of spare parts," the report said quoting a source. Earlier this month, international lessors grounded more Jet Airways planes prior to potentially moving them out of India, as skepticism builds whether a state-led bailout of the carrier can clear their dues on time, sources familiar with the matter said, Reuters reported. Theres some talk that the money is going to come but lessors have heard this for too long, one leasing source said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. "We are not convinced with the restructuring plan. This is panning out just like Kingfisher. Banks took control but they never wanted to take a majority stake and run the airline, sources said to Reuters. Nine of Jet Airways planes have been grounded by lessors, versus the four it reported last month, with AerCap Holdings NV and BOC Aviation Ltd among those who have pulled out planes, sources told Reuters. Cross-checks of the Jet Airways fleet by Reuters on FlightRadar24 also show that nine of its planes have stopped flying over the last four weeks. That excludes two more that are at Singapores Seletar Airport for, according to sources, maintenance work. Jet Airways, however, said on 21 February that five planes had been grounded due to non-payment of dues to lessors, as reported to regulators. The carrier added it was keeping its lessors informed about efforts to improve its financial situation. Jet Airways' fleet comprises mainly Boeing planes, including 16-owned aircraft. The rest are leased from many lessors including GE Capital Aviation Services, US-based BBAM and Japans SMBC Aviation Capital, sources said, underscoring the need to get lessors on board with the bailout plan. SBI meet with Naresh Goyal, Etihad CEO Tony Douglas today Meanwhile, State Bank of India (SBI) has called an urgent meeting of lenders with Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal and the domestic carrier's significant shareholder Etihad Airways' CEO Tony Douglas on Wednesday to discuss a way forward for the debt-laden airline, sources said. The meeting, to be held at SBI's office in Mumbai, assumes significance amid differences persisting between Goyal, the lenders and Etihad, which has 24 percent stake in Jet Airways. SBI is the lead lender of a consortium that has extended loans to Jet Airways. While there was no official word from the airline, as also from the lenders, officials aware about the development said the meeting has been called by SBI and both Goyal and Douglas would be present. Earlier on Monday, Jet Airways and Etihad said in a joint statement they along with key financial stakeholders are working towards finalisation of bank-led provisional resolution plan for the debt-laden domestic airline. On February 14, Jet Airways board had approved a Bank-Led Provisional Resolution Plan (BLPRP), whereby lenders would become the largest shareholders in the airline. Its shareholders have also approved conversion of loan into shares and other proposals during the extra-ordinary general meeting (EGM) on 21 February. With inputs from agencies The benchmark BSE Sensex gave up all early gains and fell over 200 points in afternoon trade on Wednesday Mumbai: Sensex slumped 221.57 points to 35,752.14 in mid-afternoon trade on widespread selling after Pakistani fighter jets violated Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmir. Nifty too fell 71.75 points to 10,763.55. Most of the BSE sectoral indices too turned negative. The Sensex sheds 636 points from the day's high of 36,371. The benchmark BSE Sensex gave up all early gains and fell over 200 points in afternoon trade on Wednesday. After dropping 238 points, the Sensex was trading 161.74 points, or 0.46 percent, down at 35,811.97 after hitting a low of 35,735.33. The gauge rallied nearly 400 points in morning trade. The 50-share Nifty also fell 62.55 points, or 0.58 percent, to 10,772.75. According to brokers, investor sentiment took a beating after Pakistan claimed that it shot down two Indian military aircraft over Pakistani air space and arrested one of the pilots. The Pakistani fighter jets on Wednesday violated Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Nowshera sectors. Major losers include Vedanta, Tata Motors, HDFC, Kotak Bank, Infosys, Tata Steel, Yes Bank, Maruti Suzuki and RIL, falling up to 2.56 percent. In opening trade, the Sensex rebounded over 256 points and the Nifty recaptured the 10,900-mark on unabated foreign capital inflows amid short covering. Asian markets were also trading in the green ahead of the second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam. --With PTI inputs In other words, since the public sector bank honcho salary is abysmally low, what the RBI is doing according to critics is reducing the salary of foreign and private banks. Chanda Kochhar, the disgraced and tainted former CEO and managing director of ICICI Bank, got a salary of Rs 7.85 crore in 2017-18, according to news reports. That translated into a whopping Rs 2. 6 lakh per day assuming 300 working days. In a country where Kochhar's daily salary is virtually the annual salary for many, it naturally raised eyebrows, a notch or two more when she was arraigned on charges of corruption. Be that as it may, it is not as if she was the first to indulge in such self-aggrandizement. Indian corporate literature is replete with examples of mind-boggling honcho salaries that outstrip the next in line of command by a country mile. NR Narayanamurthy, the founder of Infosys, caused a flutter in honcho circles by suggesting a cap about a decade agothe CEO salary should not exceed 15 times the salary of the lowest employee at the bottom of the salary pyramid. Predictably, no one took him seriously. But now the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has taken the issue seriously. It has proposed a cap of 200 percent on the variable salary with reference to the fixed salary as opposed to 70 percent now with the additional condition that the variable component should be a minimum of 50 percent of the fixed salary. The other difference is the extant cap of 70 percent does not include employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) but the proposed cap of 200 percent and floor of 50 percent both include ESOP. The proposal is for both Indian private as well as foreign banks. Cynics would say this is practically shortening the length of the first line so that the second line looks decently longer. In other words, since the public sector bank (PSB) honcho salary is abysmally low, what the RBI is doing according to critics is reducing the salary of foreign and private banks. The proposed move targets all whole-time directors of these banks and not only the CEO. As per the Companies Act, 2013, the managing directors salary is capped at 5 percent of the companys profit with minimum salary thrown in when the profits are inadequate in the manner of 'heads I win, tails you lose'. Naturally, it tempts promoters to aggrandize themselves with a fixed salary plus commission based on profits. To wit, if a company makes a profit of Rs 1,000 crore, its honcho can be paid Rs 50 crore, by way of fixed salary or commission or combination of both. What the RBI is planning is for the fixed component to be the pivot around which the variable portion would be woven. If a CEO of a private bank is appointed on a fixed salary of Rs 10 lakh per month, a minimum 50 percent i.e., Rs 5 lakh per month must be variable subject to the condition that this cannot be more than 200 percent, i.e., Rs 20 lakh per month. Mind-boggling salaries on the back of variable pay has been considered less invidious and scandalous as it is linked to profits on the facile ground that the CEO has worked hard to produce profits and has thus earned his spurs. But this approach undermines collective approach to running a company, the linchpin of the Eastern culture and the antithesis of the CEO-driven western establishments culture. One hopes the RBI also puts in place a limit on fixed salary with reference to the mean salary of the company. Vishal Sikka, Infosys CEO, caused heartburn by taking a salary that was 900 times the mean salary. One also hopes that the government, may be the next, takes a leaf out of the RBI and makes division of the salary pie more democratic even while batting for recognition and encouragement of talent at the top. Commission based on annual profits encourages short-term expedients. If at all such commission is going to stay, it should be based on three to five years profits. In other words, a honcho should be made to cool his/her heels for at least three to five years so that business vicissitudes play out fully. (The writer is a senior columnist and tweets @smurlidharan) Aircraft lessors have been supportive of the company's efforts to improve its liquidity, Jet Airways said. Debt-ridden Jet Airways Ltd said on Wednesday it grounded seven more aircraft as the carrier failed to make payments to its lessors. Aircraft lessors have been supportive of the company's efforts to improve its liquidity, Jet Airways said. Saddled with a billion dollars in debt, Jet has defaulted on loans and has not paid pilots, leasing firms and suppliers for months. "As mentioned earlier, the Company is actively engaged with all its aircraft lessors and regularly provides them with updates on the efforts undertaken by the Company to improve its liquidity," the airline said in a statement issued to stock exchanges. International lessors had grounded many Jet Airways planes before potentially moving them out of India, as skepticism built over whether the bailout of the carrier can clear their dues on time. Earlier in the day, the airline cancelled multiple flights for 28 February due to operational issues. "As per instructions from Delhi ATC regarding airport closure, flight operations to / from Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jammu, Leh and Srinagar have been suspended until further notice," Jet Airways said. According to Moneycontrol, Jet Airways may have to ground 42 of its aircraft by the end of the month. Meanwhile, Jet Airways domestic pilots body, National Aviators Guild (NAG), has deferred its proposed agitation from next month in view of the developments on the nation's Western borders. The Naresh Goyal-founded airline has 1,600 pilots, over 1,100 of whom are unionised and represented by the NAG. Pilots had on Monday said that they would not perform additional duties and wear black bands from March to protest against salary delays. The airline has been delaying salaries to its pilots along with engineers and senior management since last August. Jet Airways has a debt of nearly Rs 8,200 crore and needs to make repayments of up to Rs 1,700 crore by March-end. In the three months to December 2018, the airline reported the fourth consecutive quarterly net loss of Rs 732 crore. Due to the liquidity crunch, the airline has defaulted on payment of principal and interest to a consortium of domestic banks besides payments to lessors and a section of employees. On 14 February, the airline board approved a bank-led provisional debt resolution plan, whereby lenders would become the largest shareholders in the airline owning up 51 percent equity. But the plan is yet to get the final nod. Its shareholders had last Thursday also approved conversion of debt into equity and other proposals during the extraordinary general meeting. Jet has a fleet of about 123 mainly Boeing planes, including 16-owned aircraft. The rest are leased from a range of lessors including GE Capital Aviation Services, U.S.-based BBAM and Japans SMBC Aviation Capital, sources have said. With inputs from agencies The NCLAT was hearing RCom's plea, which has approached the appellate tribunal seeking waiver over the moratorium placed by it on 4 February New Delhi: Financial creditors of the debt-ridden Reliance Communications Wednesday opposed its plea to release the Income-tax refunds to clear dues of Ericsson before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). The NCLAT was hearing RCom's plea, which has approached the appellate tribunal seeking waiver over the moratorium placed by it on 4 February. A two-member bench of the NCLAT headed by Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya has directed the financial creditors of the company, including the State Bank of India, to file their reply on the issue by 8 March. Senior advocate Kapil Sibbal, appearing for RCom, requested the appellate tribunal to allow the release of money directly into the account of Ericsson, to which the ADAG group firm has to pay Rs 550 crore. However, this was opposed by senior advocate Krishnan Venugopal and others who were representing the financial organisations. "This tribunal is not the appropriate forum to decide the issue. The Supreme Court has already considered the issue. The sum has to come independently," said Venugopal, who was appearing for the SBI. The appellate tribunal has directed to list the matter on 11 March for next hearing. On 20 February, the Supreme Court held RCom chairman Anil Ambani guilty along with two others of contempt of court for wilfully violating its order by not paying Rs 550-crore dues to telecom equipment maker Ericsson. The apex court had said they faced a three-month jail term if remaining Rs 453 crore was not paid to the telecom equipment maker in four weeks. Earlier on 4 February, the appellate tribunal had said that until further orders of the NCLAT or the Supreme Court, no one can sell, alienate, or create third party rights over RCom's assets. "Until further orders, the Appellants, corporate debtor (RCom), Respondent (Ericsson India), guarantors or any third party will not sell, transfer or alienate any moveable or immoveable property of RCom nor invoke any guarantee or mortgage or any other instrument without prior permission ..," the tribunal had said. On the issue of 5G trials, Sundararajan said a committee has been set up to come up with a framework for the said trials. New Delhi: As Chinese telecom gear makers face heat globally over alleged security risks, Department of Telecom (DoT) on Wednesday said it will "carefully" study the issue on which many countries have raised concerns. The comments come at a time when developed markets like the US, Australia and New Zealand have taken a position against the use of equipment by Chinese vendors, particularly Huawei. "(Many countries) have expressed security concerns, so India will also have to study it very carefully," Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan told reporters here on the sidelines of the launch of India's first indigenous semiconductor chips by Signalchip. Telecom operators are keenly monitoring the developments in the space, following the dispute between the US and China's Huawei that is among the world's largest telecom equipment makers. The US has alleged that Chinese equipment could pose security risks involving eavesdropping on global internet traffic. However, not all nations are convinced and Germany has said it is not ready to block Huawei from its 5G network. India's largest telecom operator Vodafone Idea had recently said it will comply with the decision of the Indian government on the issue of use of communications equipment from Chinese vendors, such as Huawei. This will be done to ensure that India's strategic needs and security are fully looked after, Vodafone Idea Chief Technology Officer Vishant Vora had said last week. On Tuesday, telecom czar Sunil Bharti Mittal had also stated that his company is tracking the developments closely, although it doesn't "see any alarm bells ringing" just yet. "In the end, Huawei is a big player in the telecom space. They have gone through rough patch with the US. Europe has largely taken decision that they will continue using Huawei. We are tracking this space very closely," Mittal had said. On the issue of 5G trials, Sundararajan on Wednesday said a committee has been set up to come up with a framework for the said trials. "So it (committee) will have to look at several things. It will have to define what will be the size of the trial, what will be the duration of the trial, (we) have to define lot of parameters, quantum of spectrum, how many locations, etc," she said. India imports natural rubber mainly from Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia. Mumbai: Indias natural rubber imports in January eased 4.8 percent from a year earlier to 39,997 tonnes, the state-run Rubber Board said on Wednesday, as local consumption fell due to weak demand from tyre makers. The countrys production last month eased 1.4 percent from a year ago to 72,000 tonnes, while consumption dropped 2.4 percent to 97,000 tonnes, the board said. Indias imports between April to January jumped more than 30 percent from a year ago to 489,085 tonnes, it said. India imports natural rubber mainly from Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia. Tyre companies are cutting purchases due to a slowdown in auto sales, said a rubber dealer based at Kochi in the southern state of Kerala. The Indian pharmaceutical companies exports over $140 million to Pakistan with 50 percent active pharmaceutical ingredients. Hyderabad: In the wake of escalated tension between India and Pakistan, Indian exporters of pharmaceuticals are apprehensive of their future. According to a top official of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council, a body under the ministry of commerce, the agency was flooded with inquiries if there was any directive from the ministry on the continuance of exports to the neighbouring country. The Indian pharmaceutical companies exports over $140 million to Pakistan with 50 percent active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). "There are inquires from the exporters whether they can continue to supply or not. At this point of time, exporters are very cautious. There is a concern over the future, but as of now we are not in a position to say anything. We need to wait and watch," director general of Pharmexcil Udaya Bhaskar told PTI. A pharmaceutical company, which exports to Pakistan, said the firm was observing restraint under the current situation. A senior executive of a city-based pharma company said as there was tension between both the nations, exports may become costlier to some of the countries in the Middle-East as cargo and passenger flights need to avoid Pakistani skies and take a detour. The new tariff structure was to come into force from 2 March. New Delhi: India has once again delayed implementation of higher tariffs on some goods imported from the United States to 1 April, according to a government order issued on Tuesday. The new tariff structure was to come into force from 2 March. Angered by Washingtons refusal to exempt it from new steel and aluminium tariffs, New Delhi decided in June to raise the import tax from 4 August on some US products including almonds, walnuts and apples. But since then, New Delhi has repeatedly delayed the implementation of the new tariff. (Reuters) - General Electric Co has too much debt and needs to reduce it 'thoughtfully and soon', Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Culp said in a letter to shareholders on Tuesday. (Reuters) - General Electric Co has too much debt and needs to reduce it "thoughtfully and soon", Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Culp said in a letter to shareholders on Tuesday. On Monday, the company said it would sell its biopharma business to Danaher Corp for $21.4 billion as the industrial conglomerate reduces its debt pile, which stood at $121 billion at the end of December. Since taking over as CEO last year, Culp has taken a string of steps, including slashing the company's dividend to just a penny a share and selling assets at the 126-year-old, Boston-based conglomerate. "We have more options available to us down the line to generate cash to help bring down our leverage, including our remaining interests in Baker Hughes and Wabtec Corporation and continued flexibility for our go-forward Healthcare business," Culp wrote in the letter https://www.ge.com/investor-relations/sites/default/files/GE_AR18_Letter.pdf. General Electric has reduced its stake in oil-services firm Baker Hughes and will sell nearly half of its healthcare unit, the company said. "We intend to maintain a disciplined financial policy, targeting a sustainable credit rating in the single-A range ... ultimately a dividend level in line with our peers," Culp said. Culp made the power business one of his top priorities, reorganizing the division by separating gas-turbine business from units that make coal- and nuclear-fuelled power plants, power grids and other equipment. The company lost two-thirds of its market value in the last two years amid a series of operational and investment missteps. "2019 will be a year of change for Power in particular," Culp added. (Reporting by Uday Sampath and Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Shinjini Ganguli) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Nikki Haley, 47, is the first female governor of South Carolina and a three-term legislator in the South Carolina House of Representatives. Seattle/Washington: US aerospace manufacturer Boeing Co said on Tuesday it has nominated Nikki Haley, former US ambassador to the United Nations and a close ally of President Donald Trump, to join its board of directors at the companys annual shareholders meeting on 29 April. If elected by Boeing shareholders, she would help guide the future of Americas largest exporter, with a network of suppliers across the United States and the world, as Washington and Beijing have been locked in intense negotiations to end a trade war. Viewed as a rising Republican Party star, Haley has often been mentioned as a future presidential candidate. Her counterparts at the United Nations saw her as a voice of clarity in the Trump administration. In a statement, Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg praised Haleys record in government and industry partnership. Boeing will benefit greatly from her broad perspectives and combined diplomatic, government and business experience to help achieve our aspiration to be the best in aerospace and a global industrial champion, Muilenburg said. Based on total compensation for Boeings other 13 board members, Haley can expect to earn more than $300,000, well above her salary as UN ambassador. Haley, 47, is the first female governor of South Carolina and a three-term legislator in the South Carolina House of Representatives. As governor in 2015, Haley was a key opponent of a campaign by Boeings largest labour union to form a collective bargaining unit at its 787 Dreamliner factory in South Carolinathough the machinists were later successful in forming a small bargaining unit there. Boeing has faced growing scrutiny over its links to the Trump administration after a former senior planemaking executive, Pat Shanahan, was named deputy defence secretary and later acting defence secretary. The 31-year Boeing veteran has recused himself, however, from matters relating to the aerospace company. The US government has been weighing the purchase of an advanced version of the F-15 Boeing fighter. Last year, Boeings defence side had a series of wins, including the U.S. Air Forces next training jet, which could be worth up to $9.2 billion, as well as a contract to replace UH-1N Huey helicopters worth $2.4 billion over the life of the programs. Dan Grazier, a defence analyst with the Project on Government Oversight, said Haleys nomination seems a bit curious given her lack of aerospace experience. The practice of government employees trading on their public service to secure high-paying positions at the top levels of government contracting firms has been long established and it sets up all kinds of potential conflicts of interest, Grazier said. Separately on Tuesday, the shareholders of Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA approved a deal to sell 80 percent of the Sao Paulo-based companys commercial jet division to Boeing, a move that could reshape the global market for aircraft of up to 150 seats. Boeing shares closed flat at $426.77 a share on the New York Stock Exchange. By Diane Bartz and David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Inc emerged victorious on Tuesday over the Trump administration's drawn-out attempts to block its $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner as the U.S. Justice Department said it would not fight an appeals court ruling approving the deal. The deal had been closely watched in political circles after coming under fire from U.S. By Diane Bartz and David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Inc emerged victorious on Tuesday over the Trump administration's drawn-out attempts to block its $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner as the U.S. Justice Department said it would not fight an appeals court ruling approving the deal. The deal had been closely watched in political circles after coming under fire from U.S. President Donald Trump, who opposed it because he saw it helping Time Warner's CNN unit, which he has accused of broadcasting "fake news." The three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled unanimously in favour of the deal earlier on Tuesday, saying that the government's case that the merger would result in higher consumer prices was "unpersuasive." The decision ended a 15-month effort by the Justice Department to block it. It was AT&T's second major court victory against the Justice Department, setting the stage for the No. 2 wireless carrier to integrate its WarnerMedia business as well as its new Xandr advertising unit. "We are grateful that the Court of Appeals considered our objections to the District Court opinion. The department has no plans to seek further review," Justice Department spokesman Jeremy Edwards said in a statement. Makan Delrahim, the head of the departments antitrust division, telephoned AT&T General Counsel David McAtee and Time Warners former general counsel, Paul Cappuccio, to congratulate them on the court victory, according to a source familiar with events. The deal has been seen as a turning point for a media industry that has been upended by companies like Netflix Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google which put content online with no need for a cable subscription. The merger, which was announced in October 2016, closed on June 14 shortly after Judge Richard Leon ruled the deal was legal under antitrust law. AT&T closed the deal but agreed to manage the Turner network separately until Feb. 28, 2019, or until the conclusion of any appeal by the Justice Department. AT&T agreed it would have no role in setting Turners prices to distributors and the number of Turner employees would remain largely unchanged. The appeals court took a shot at District Court Judge Leon, who had been scathing in his assessment of the government's attempt to stop the deal. "Undoubtedly the district court made some problematic statements, which the government identifies and this court cannot ignore," the panel said in its opinion. Gigi Sohn, who worked in the Federal Communications Commission during the Obama administration, said that the ruling showed a need to reform antitrust laws so the government can stop problematic deals. "AT&T is favouring both Time Warner and DirecTV content over its broadband services through its DirecTV Now and Watch services," she said. "Consumers are the losers." (Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson; additional reporting by Sheila Dang and Helen Coster; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Meredith Mazzilli) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. For Adani anything that has to do with logistics is of immense interest. Airports represent not merely passengers. They represent cargo as well. At first blush, many may wonder why Gautam Adani who has already become the largest ports player in India has suddenly become interested in airports. A simple answer is that airports spell money. And anything that makes money should be of interest to Adani. The second, more strategic, reason is that for Adani anything that has to do with logistics is of immense interest. Airports represent not merely passengers. They represent cargo as well. To that extent, airports are synergistic with Adanis core business interest. Third, Adani owns a 2 km airport strip himself at the Mundra port. This is long enough to take the biggest wide-bodied aircraft. The airport was ready almost ten years ago. But it is used only for special aircraft, and often by his own private aircraft. Whenever an important person wishes to travel to Mundra port and see the facilities there which also includes the sprawling special economic zone he normally travels to that place in a chartered flight (sometimes on Adanis own aircraft) to the Mundra airport. As the business at the SEZ grows, expect this airport to become more significant. But more on this later. There is a fourth reason as well. Adani has had some exposure to airports, because he is familiar with the workings of GSEC Ltd (an Ahmedabad headquartered company owned by a relative) which was once in charge of cargo operations for the Ahmedabad airport. At that time, this company had plans to bid for cargo operations in Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad, but for some reasons unknown to this author, these plans did not take off. GSECs operations convinced him that he had to get into the airport business as well, because it meant further integrating his logistics related business plans. What many people forget that is just as in ports the biggest profits come from demurrage -- the charges cargo owners (or their agents) have to pay for keeping the cargo in warehouses. Charges for operating the cargo on or off aeroplanes (or ships) actually take care of the operational costs. The profits come from the land nearby. That is why Adani prefers his ports to have lots of land. And where he has little land, he begins to invest either directly or otherwise in large warehouses or freight stations. In fact, ten years ago, Adani had considered converting his private airstrip into an international airport. This way, Mundra would be the only airport in India to have a port, an airport, a railway line, and a roadhead as well. But those plans were kept aside for several reasons. Most important among them was that much of cargo the world-over is carried by passenger planes. In fact, 70 percent of the income comes from passengers and 30 percent comes from cargo. It is passenger income that allows for cargo to be priced reasonably. Since Mundra does not have much of a residential population, plans for making the airstrip into a full-blown airport would have been premature and unviable. But once the SEZ becomes more active, with more plants moving into that area, expect residential population and cargo business to grow exponentially. That is why the plans for making Mundra an international airport have not been forgotten. It would not be far-fetched to believe that, sooner or later, Adani may think of linking nearby cities with high-speed trains to Mundra, so that passengers could travel to these nearby cities via the Mundra airport. Since the airport already belongs to him, the cost of operations could be significantly lower. That takes us back to the bids that Adani made to ensure that he got the six airports that were being offered on the public-private partnership basis. Watch the numbers in the chart alongside. While most bids are in sync with what the closest bidder to the Adani bid offered, there is one exception. Take a look at the Mangalore bid. Adani has offered the government a fee of Rs 115 per passenger compared to Rs 45 by Cochin International Airport, the next highest bidder. So had Adani miscalculated? Or could it have been that Adani with his knowledge of ports and the potential of development plans for the hinterland, knew that the New Mangalore Port would bring in lots of business? It is worth remembering that in May 2018, Udupi Power Corporation Ltd (UPCL), a subsidiary of Adani Power Ltd, signed a concession agreement with New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) for additional 4.99 hectares in the New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) complex so that he could expand the scope of business for the Udupi Power plant. UPCL operates two 600 MW thermal power plants at Yellur village in Udupi district. Exactly ten years earlier, in May 2008, UPCL had entered into a 30-year concession agreement with NMPT for 15 hectares for setting up a bulk coal terminal. This involved the construction and operation of a captive jetty for coal. The agreement for the 4.99-hectare land was an addendum to the existing concession agreement. Clearly, Adani must have done his homework and knew that both passenger and cargo business for this airport would increase in the coming years. That could explain his willingness to offer a revenue per passenger that was significantly higher than what his closest competitor offered. Another interesting airport is Guwahati. The present government has already made this city the hub for most of its North-east operations. Expect business volumes both passenger and cargo to swell in the coming years. It will be a matter of time that Adani will try to grab airports on the eastern coast as well he already owns Damra Port and has other port interests along this coast. Moreover, with Chittagong becoming another hub for the transportation of goods and services to the Northeast, expect the importance of having an airport (in addition to ports) on this coast to increase. In other words, expect Adani to continue consolidating his hold on the logistics sector. (The author is a senior journalist) (Disclaimer: this author has worked on a book on Gautam Adani The Gamechanger which was strictly for private circulation among family and friends) BAAR, Switzerland, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Weatherford International plc (NYSE: WFT) (the "Company" or "Weatherford") today announced it has completed the sale of four contracted drilling rigs in Algeria. The Company expects that the remaining two rigs will transfer within the following four weeks after relocating within Algeria. This will complete the sale of Weatherford's land drilling operations in Algeria, which in total includes six drilling rigs, 350 employees and contractors and associated customer contracts to ADES International Holding PLC for $60 million in cash. Proceeds are expected to be received in tranches with $40 million received upon sale of the contracted rigs and $10 million for each of the rigs to be relocated, subject to other customary adjustments agreed in connection with finalizing the overall transaction. In July 2018, a subsidiary of Weatherford signed definitive agreements with ADES International Holding PLC for the sale of Weatherford's land drilling rig operations in Algeria, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as well as two idle land rigs in Iraq, for an aggregate cash purchase price of $287.5 million (the "Transaction"). The Transaction includes 31 land drilling rigs and related drilling contracts, as well as approximately 2,300 employees and contract personnel. This is the third in a series of four closings subject to regulatory approvals, consents and other customary closing conditions. In December 2018, the Company announced the closing of its Precision Drilling Services Saudi Arabia land drilling operations for $92.5 million in cash. In November 2018, the Company announced the closing of its Kuwait land drilling rigs sale for $123 million in cash, and an additional $12 million to be received in equal $6 million increments upon the delivery of two idle land drilling rigs from Iraq. Weatherford intends to use the proceeds to reduce its debt. About Weatherford Weatherford is one of the largest multinational oilfield service companies providing innovative solutions, technology and services to the oil and gas industry. The Company operates in over 80 countries and has a network of approximately 700 locations, including manufacturing, service, research and development, and training facilities and employs approximately 26,500 people. For more information, visit www.weatherford.com and connect with Weatherford on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. About ADES International Holding ADES International Holding extends oil and gas drilling and production services through its subsidiaries and is a leading service provider in the Middle East and Africa, offering onshore and offshore contract drilling as well as workover and production services. Its over 4,000 employees serve clients including major national oil companies ("NOCs") such as Saudi Aramco, Kuwait Oil Company and Sonatrach as well as joint ventures of NOCs with global majors including BP and Eni. While maintaining a superior health, safety and environmental record, the Group currently has a fleet of twenty-six onshore drilling rigs, thirteen jack-up offshore drilling rigs, a jack-up barge, and a mobile offshore production unit ("MOPU"), which includes a floating storage and offloading unit. For more information, visit investors.adihgroup.com . Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements as defined under federal law, including, but not limited to, those related to the sale transactions described in this press release and the use of proceeds therefrom. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "may," "should," "could," "will," "would," and "will be," and similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Such statements are subject to significant risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Known material factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by such forward-looking statements are described in the forward looking statements and risk factors in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and those risk factors set forth from time-to-time in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Weatherford undertakes no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except to the extent required under federal securities laws. Contacts: Christoph Bausch +1.713.836.4615 Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Weatherford Karen David-Green +1.713.836.7430 Senior Vice President, Stakeholder Engagement and Chief Marketing Officer, Weatherford Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/73933/weatherford_international_logo.jpg NUC-3373 Inhibits Thymidylate Synthase and Induces Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Colorectal Cancer Cells EDINBURGH, United Kingdom, Feb. 27, 2019) today announced that two abstracts related to NUC-3373 were selected for presentation at the AACR Annual Meeting 2019 to be held March 29 to April 3, 2019, in Atlanta, Georgia. NUC-3373, NuCana's second ProTide in clinical development, is a transformation of the active anti-cancer metabolite of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), one of the most widely prescribed anti-cancer agents. NuCana is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on significantly improving treatment outcomes for patients with cancer. The scientific findings from these non-clinical studies demonstrate that NUC-3373 has an additional mechanism of action for promoting anti-cancer activity that is independent of the DNA damage pathway. NUC-3373 inhibits the target enzyme, thymidylate synthase (TS), causing nuclear to cytoplasmic translocation and induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress. Hugh Griffith, NuCana's Chief Executive Officer, said: "These latest scientific data highlight NUC-3373's mechanisms of action and further support the clinical development program of this ProTide." These non-clinical data build upon the interim results from the ongoing Phase 1 study of NUC-3373 in patients with advanced solid tumors, which were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2018 Congress in Munich, Germany. Those results showed that NUC-3373 has the potential to overcome the key cancer resistance mechanisms associated with 5-FU and capecitabine and may be capable of achieving anti-cancer activity even in patients who have progressed on prior treatment with a fluoropyrimidine. Mr. Griffith continued: "We look forward to presenting additional data in 2019 from the ongoing clinical study with single agent NUC-3373 in patients with advanced solid tumors. We are also excited about announcing in 2019 the first data from the NuTide:302 study, evaluating NUC-3373 in combination with other agents typically administered with 5-FU in patients with advanced colorectal cancer." Details of NuCana's poster presentations at AACR are as follows: Abstract Title: NUC-3373 induces a cytoplasmic translocation of thymidylate synthase in colorectal carcinoma cell lines (Abstract #2081, Poster #18) Session Category:Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics Session Title:Cellular Responses to Anticancer Agents 2 / Overcoming Resistance Session Date and Time:Monday April 1, 2019 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM Location:Georgia World Congress Center, Exhibit Hall B, Poster Section 10 Abstract Title: NUC-3373 induces endoplasmic reticulum stress in colorectal cancer cells (Abstract #2082, Poster #19) Session Category:Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics Session Title:Cellular Responses to Anticancer Agents 2 / Overcoming Resistance Session Date and Time:Monday April 1, 2019 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM Location:Georgia World Congress Center, Exhibit Hall B, Poster Section 10 Abstracts and full session details can be found at www.aacr.org About NuCana plc NuCana is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on significantly improving treatment outcomes for cancer patients by applying our ProTide technology to transform some of the most widely prescribed chemotherapy agents, nucleoside analogs, into more effective and safer medicines. While these conventional agents remain part of the standard of care for the treatment of many solid tumors, their efficacy is limited by cancer cell resistance mechanisms and they are often poorly tolerated. Utilizing our proprietary technology, we are developing new medicines, ProTides, designed to overcome key cancer resistance mechanisms and generate much higher concentrations of anti-cancer metabolites in cancer cells. Our most advanced ProTide candidates, Acelarin and NUC-3373, are new chemical entities derived from the nucleoside analogs gemcitabine and 5-fluorouracil, respectively, two widely used chemotherapy agents. Acelarin is currently being evaluated in three clinical studies, including a Phase Ib study for patients with biliary tract cancer, a Phase II study for patients with ovarian cancer and a Phase III study for patients with pancreatic cancer. NUC-3373 is currently in a Phase I study for the potential treatment of a wide range of advanced solid tumors and a Phase Ib study for patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on the beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management of NuCana plc (the "Company"). All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release are forward-looking statements, including statements concerning the Company's planned and ongoing non-clinical and clinical studies for the Company's product candidates and the potential advantages of those product candidates, including Acelarin, NUC-3373 and NUC-7738; the initiation, enrollment, timing, progress, release of data from and results of the planned and ongoing clinical studies; and the utility of non-clinical and clinical data in determining future clinical results. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2017 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 22, 2018, and subsequent reports that the Company files with the SEC. Forward-looking statements represent the Company's beliefs and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this press release to conform any of the forward-looking statements to actual results or to changes in its expectations. For more information, please contact: NuCana plc Hugh S. Griffith Chief Executive Officer +44 131 357 1111 info@nucana.com Westwicke, an ICR Company Chris Brinzey +1 339-970-2843 Chris.brinzey@westwicke.com Of the total contracts, about 8-10 lakhs have already been shipped overseas, ISMA Director General Abinash Verma said. New Delhi: Indian sugar mills have contracted to export 18-20 lakh tonnes of the sweetener so far in the current marketing year ending September, out of the 50 lakh tonnes mandatory quota assigned by the Centre, a top industry official said. Of the total contracts, about 8-10 lakhs have already been shipped overseas, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) Director General Abinash Verma said. "Mills have contracted for exports of about 18-20 lakh tonnes of sugar, mostly raw sugar. Our traditional export markets are Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Middle-East and some African nations," he told PTI. Asked whether mills have contracted sugar exports to Iran, Verma said he is not aware of any such development. Indian Sugar Exim Corporation Ltd (ISEC) MD and CEO Adhir Jha said it has exported 2 lakh tonnes of sugar so far in 2018-19 on behalf of mills and is exploring the possibility of exporting sugar to Iran, which is facing sanctions from the US. ISEC was formed by the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Limited (NFCSF) and the ISMA to undertake exports. Verma said the country is unlikely to achieve the mandatory export of 50 lakh tonnes set by the government as part of its effort to liquidate surplus stocks and enable mills to clear cane arrears to farmers. Although sugar production is estimated to decline to 307 lakh tonnes in the 2018-19 marketing year (October-September) from record 325 lakh tonnes in the previous year, the output will be much higher than annual domestic consumption of 260 lakh tonnes. Moreover, mills had an opening stock of about 100 lakh tonnes of stock from previous year's production. On cane arrears, Verma said it is about Rs 20,000 crore currently and will rise further as mills will operate till April end. However, he said the government's recent move to increase the benchmark price of sugar at factory gate by Rs 2 to Rs 31 per kg will improve millers' liquidity by about Rs 5,000 crore and limit any sharp rise in cane arrears. The Central government has taken a number of measures to bail out sugar mills as well as cane farmers in the last one and half years. The steps include doubling of the import duty on sugar to 100 per cent and scrapping of the export duty. In June last year, the government announced a Rs 8,500 crore package for the industry, which included soft loans of Rs 4,440 crore to mills for creating ethanol capacity. It is bearing an interest subvention of Rs 1,332 crore for this. An assistance of Rs 5.50 per quintal of cane crushed was announced, amounting to Rs 1,540 crore to mills, for 2017-18. This has been raised to Rs 13.88 per quintal for 2018-19, costing over Rs 4,100 crore to the exchequer. Around Rs 1,200 crore was allocated for the creation of 30 lakh tonnes of buffer stock of sugar. That apart, the Centre is providing assistance worth Rs 1,375 crore to mills by compensating expenditure towards internal transport, freight, handling and other charges to facilitate 50 lakh tonnes export during the 2018-19 marketing year. NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 27, 2019 / In a keynote speech delivered several years ago at the Wharton Graduate Retail Conference, Chanel marketing director Stephanie Kramer stated, "Digital is our advocate and our ambassador, but it's also our nemesis." In part, she was referring to the challenge of walking the fine line between the prestige and exclusivity associated with luxury brands and the pursuit of instant gratification, which has become a defining feature of modern-day consumers. YourWatch.com, a leading retailer of luxury pre-owned and unworn watches, has succeeded in striking a balance between preserving the ritualistic nature of a premium product acquisition and this desire for immediate ownership. Unlike other luxury e-commerce sites, YourWatch.com maintains a massive inventory, which allows it to ship the products immediately to any part of the world. Clients in the United States can have the watch of their choice on their wrist within 24 hours as opposed to waiting for weeks or months to take delivery. Aside from having the products in stock, the company aims for the best prices on the market and takes great pride in the fact that it is never knowingly undersold on pre-owned unworn watches. Ultimately, it overshadows the competition by offering customers the unbeatable combination of a vast collection of the latest timepieces, immediate shipment, attractive prices, and impeccable service. YourWatch.com has been setting new standards in its market for over 25 years, redefining the customer experience for buyers of luxury pre-owned and unworn watches. Its exceptional selection of fine Swiss timepieces includes the outstanding creations of brands such as Rolex, Patek, Chopard, Hublot, Bvlgari, Audemars Piguet, and Chanel. YourWatch.com, which is headquartered in New York City, has made unrivaled customer service its trademark, relying on the extensive experience of its in-house experts and providing a luxury concierge service for every timepiece sold. The high-end goods industry has long operated under a set of strict rules, especially when it comes to the journey of the products from the drawing board to the store. However, digital technologies have changed every aspect of contemporary life, including consumer psychology, and "The younger customer does not want to wait any longer; they want to see it and wear it that day or the next day," as designer Tommy Hilfiger noted in an interview for AFP. So far, mostly fashion brands have reacted to this shift in consumer preferences, but YourWatch.com is demonstrating that buyers of high-end timepieces can enjoy the same benefits. The speed of delivery is one of the chief reasons for the success of the company, which has become the most trusted online retailer of luxury pre-owned and unworn watches. YourWatch.com - The Leading Retailer of Luxury Pre-Owned and Unworn Watches: http://yourwatchnews.com Yourwatch #1 Source for Iconic Swiss Watches Hublot Bvlgari: http://yourwatch.com Your Watch (@yourwatchllc) - Instagram photos and videos: https://www.instagram.com/yourwatchllc/ Contact Information: YourWatch.com 546 5th Avenue New York, NY 10036 (212) 888-6602 concierge@yourwatch.com SOURCE: YourWatch.com View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/537358/YourWatchcom-Rises-to-the-Challenge-of-Serving-a-Luxury-Market-Where-Instant-Gratification-is-Becoming-the-Norm CALGARY, AB and SAN ANTONIO, TX / ACCESSWIRE / February 27, 2019 / Emerald Bay Energy Inc. (TSX Venture: EBY, OTC: EMBYF) (the "Company" or "Emerald Bay") announced today that the Company has received Railroad Commission ("RRC") regulatory approval, and re-entry operations have commenced at the Isabella Unit, well #2, in Gonzales County, Texas. The RRC requested an H15 fluid test which was conducted yesterday. Logging operations confirming tubular depth were completed today. Emerald Bay is approved to drill and deepen the well to 8400 feet. Multiple cement squeezes will be performed to isolate fluids coming into the wellbore from the previous operator's completions. The Company plans to test the Buda formation at approximately 8300 feet and the Eagle Ford formation at approximately 8200 feet deep. Pending those results, the Company will isolate and test the Navarro formation at approximately 6200 feet. It is anticipated that these operations will take several weeks to complete. The Isabella prospect includes the Company's acquisition of several mineral leases, totaling approximately 86 acres, and the Isabella #2 wellbore. The Isabella 2 well produced from the Austin Chalk formation in the past, but the previous operator did not drill to the deeper Eagle Ford and Buda formations. The Company, and partner Cotulla Energy Resources Ltd. ("Cotulla"), have identified the Isabella 2 wellbore as a prime target to explore for a high impact well on trend with Eagle Ford and Buda production in Gonzales County, Texas. The Company and Cotulla have also identified a potentially prolific Navarro zone in the well. Under terms of the partnership agreement, Cotulla will pay 100% of the Isabella prospect costs to earn a 75% interest. Emerald Bay retains a 25% interest in the well and acreage at no cost to the Company. About Emerald Bay Emerald Bay Energy Inc. (TSX Venture: EBY, OTC: EMBYF) is an energy company with oil producing properties in Southwest Texas as well as non-operated oil and natural gas interests in Central Alberta, Canada. EBY is the operator of the Wooden Horse and Nash Creek Projects in Guadeloupe, Texas, where the Company currently now owns a 50.00% working interest those projects. Additionally, the Company owns and operates various working interests in the HugoCellR, Cotulla, and MarPat partnerships. The Company also owns 75% of Production Resources Inc., a South Texas oil company. For all upcoming news releases, articles, comments and questions, to stay updated and speak with management about Emerald Bay Energy. Please JOIN our Investor Information Group at: http://bit.ly/8020EBY For further information, please contact: Emerald Bay President, Shelby D. Beattie, by telephone at (403) 262-6000 Email: info@ebyinc.com www.ebyinc.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: Emerald Bay Energy Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/537357/Emerald-Bay-Energy-Re-Enters-Isabella-2-Well TORTOLA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS / ACCESSWIRE / February 27, 2019 / Blockchain Holdings Ltd. (the "Company") (CSE: BCX) is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Wishland Properties Limited ("WPL"), has entered into a definitive agreement on February 26, 2019 pursuant to which it intends to make an investment in Airbeam 60 GHz Holdings Ltd. (Airbeam 60Ghz). Airbeam 60Ghz, a private B.C. company, has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase the 60 Ghz portfolio of gigabit-class wireless infrastructure assets "Airbeam" from a leading US publicly-traded semiconductor company. Blockchain believes that this Airbeam technology contains the potential building blocks for a new generation of wireless network technologies that are designed to take advantage of existing and emerging high-speed data markets, including 5G: the future global telecommunication standard. "AirBeam's combination of speed, power, efficiency, and wire-free capability makes it an ideal candidate for solving a core issue of building new 5G networks - the high cost. Carriers are searching for solutions to rollout 5G networks with many more towers than before, and Airbeam 60Ghz looks like a potential answer," said Wayne Lloyd, CEO of Blockchain. Mr. Lloyd continued: "Correctly harnessed, this technology can form the foundations upon which the Smart Cities of the future are built." In addition to the proprietary IP portfolio, Airbeam 60Ghz's acquisition, which is planned to be completed in Q1 2019, includes millions of sale-ready chipsets and a robust backlog of orders with longstanding clients that can provide Airbeam 60Ghz revenue on day one and with a roadmap offering rapid growth potential. In addition to real-world applications in wireless backhaul, real-time HD video streaming and radar/sensing, AirBeam 60Ghz is also developing a technology stack and innovative product line to unlock the economic potential of Internet-of-Things ("IoT") including Smart Cities. This includes, significantly, potential machine-to-machine IoT applications governed by blockchain technology. To this end, Blockchain, through WPL, is establishing a collaborative relationship with Airbeam 60Ghz pursuant to which any further blockchain data aggregation developed will be made available for use by WPL to strengthen Blockchain Holdings' future blockchain data aggregation business. "We believe that AirBeam 60Ghz has a unique IP and technical team capable of developing a product that we believe can form the infrastructure backbone to power the Smart Cities of the future," added Mr. Lloyd. "This investment is consistent with Blockchain Holding's vision to become a leading player in blockchain data aggregation" Blockhain's intended investment, through WPL, is expected to be for $2.5M and subject to certain closing conditions, including, among others, the availability of financing on terms acceptable to Blockchain. The investment is anticipated to be completed in or about March 2019. About Blockchain Holdings Through the proprietary portal BCXdata.com, Blockchain Holdings provides investors and fund managers with unique insights into the growing ecosystem of crypto-assets. BCXdata.com captures and aggregates data from different blockchains for use and analysis with a clean and approachable API. With a portfolio of proprietary tools, Blockchain is giving users an institutional-grade analysis package that forms the basis for an extended suite of product offerings in the future. About AirBeam AirBeam is a new company that is looking to unlock a worldwide opportunity in Smart Cities and 5G rollout. Based off of a production-ready modular chip design, AirBeam is a next generation wireless solution that is primed to take advantage of existing and emerging high speed data markets. For further information, please contact: Malcolm Burke +1 604 220 2000 mpb@primarycapital.net Alan Tam, CFO +1 604 377-7575 alantamca@gmail.com Wayne Lloyd, CEO +1 604 629-9975 wayne@blockchainholdingsltd.com This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on Blockchain's expectations, estimates and projections regarding its business and the economic environment in which it operates, including with respect to its business plans, completion of its investment in Airbeam 60Ghz, and the timing thereof, the completion of Airbeam 60Ghz's purchase of "Airbeam", including the timing thereof, the expected benefits from Airbeam, including with respect to revenue, growth, costs and markets, and the timing thereof, the potential for a new generation of wireless network technologies, the implementation of new applications and the development of new technologies and products. Although Blockchain believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guaranteed of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements and readers should not place undue reliance on such statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and Blockchain undertakes no obligation to update them publicly to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances, unless otherwise required to do so by law. The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. SOURCE: Blockchain Holdings Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/537343/Blockchain-Holdings-Ltd-Announces-Strategic-Investment-in-Global-5G-Rollout Sudbury, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 27, 2019) - Transition Metals Corp (TSXV: XTM) ("Transition", "the Company") is pleased to announce that it has staked additional gold targets effectively doubling the size of its Highland Gold project in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The staking covers targets within areas interpreted to be structurally and geologically similar to mineralized zones elsewhere on the Highland property, including the Main Zone which returned 9.14m @ 23.22 g/t Au from recent drilling (see Transition news release dated January 14, 2019). Company geologists surmise the new staking may cover the sources of unexplained anomalous gold detected in regional stream sediment and till data. These are similar to the anomalies which led to the initial discovery of the Main Zone and other mineralized zones on the Highland property. Transition CEO Scott McLean commented "The eastern coast of North America is becoming a highly prospective district for gold exploration. In particular, the Avalon terrane hosts significant gold deposits and mines in the Carolinas, New Brunswick and Newfoundland. Transition is one of the first companies in Cape Breton to secure a camp scale land position covering what it considers to be some of the most promising geology in the region." Initial exploration in the region during the 1980's was sparked by the identification of anomalous gold in stream sediment samples from several drainages along the eastern portion of the project area. Subsequent prospecting identified a cluster of gold showings along the MacMillan Road access at the core of the Highland property. A review of detailed topography and glacial transport directional data has led Company geologists to conclude that known zones of mineralization are unlikely to have shed gold-bearing material into drainage systems that highlight new target areas depicted in Figure 1 described in more detail below: North Block: Covers a two kilometre long north-south trend of anomalous gold in till in the northern portion of the property coincident with historic, anomalous stream sediment sampling including a sample that returned 22.5 g/t Au. West Block: The area is interpreted to be the source of anomalous stream sediments that returned a 3.1 g/t Au sample in a historic program. South Block: The area is interpreted to underlie the source of a cluster of gold occurrences associated with angular quartz boulders yielding up to 8.4 g/t gold and high gold in stream sediment values. "Significant amounts of gold are being shed into constrained drainage systems in this part of Cape Breton", comments McLean. "This gold is coming from a limited number of potential source locations which we have now secured." PDAC 2019 The Company cordially invites you to visit with Company representatives from Sunday, March 3rd to Wednesday, March 6th at Booth #2126 within the Investors Exchange at the 2019 Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention to be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Transition Metals looks forward to updating shareholders and conference attendees on its exploration plans for 2019. The Highland Gold Property The Highland Gold property covers an extensive cluster of high-grade gold occurrences in an area that has seen very limited exploration. The property is located approximately 60 kilometres northwest of the city of Sydney, Nova Scotia in the Cape Breton Highlands. The expanded property now consists of approximately Figure 1. Additional staking to acquire new target at Highland To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2766/43093_4bc830b5b476db15_002full.jpg 107 square kilometres of staked and optioned mining licenses on crown land located in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The property can be easily reached by a major road (Highland Road) and a network of logging roads. Rocks of similar age and formation are known to host significant gold deposits in the Carolinas, Newfoundland and the British Isles. The regional geologic framework in Cape Breton is interpreted by Transition to be similar to that hosting First Mining Gold's Hope Brook deposit in Newfoundland (844,000 ounces of gold grading 4.77 g/t gold in the Indicated Resource category and 110,000 ounces grading 4.11 g/t gold in the Inferred Resource category) and Oceana Gold's Haile Mine in South Carolina (3.32 million ounces grading 1.77 g/t gold in the Measured and Indicated Resource category and 0.6 million ounces grading 1.4 g/t gold in the Inferred Resource category4). Source: DP ME 135, Version 2, 2006, Geochemical Analyses of Bulk Stream Sediment and Water Samples by the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources over northern Nova Scotia, 1986-1987 Source: Slauenwhite, D. M. 1986: Exploration Program during 1986 on the Cape Breton Highlands, N.T.S. 11K/7, 11K/8, 11K/10; Inco for Scominex; Nova Scotia Department of Mines and Energy, Assessment Report 86-145. Source: First Mining Gold Website - https://firstmininggold.com/projects/newfoundland/hope-brook-project/ 4 Source: Oceana Gold Media Release dated March 29, 2018 Qualified Person The technical elements of this press release have been approved by Mr. Greg Collins, P.Geo. (APGO, APGNS), a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Historical assay results cited above have not been verified by the Qualified Person. Transition Metals Corp Transition Metals Corp (TSXV: XTM) is a Canadian-based, multi-commodity project generator that specializes in converting new exploration ideas into discoveries. The award-winning team of geoscientists has extensive exploration experience which actively develops and tests new ideas for discovering mineralization in places that others have not looked, often allowing the company to acquire properties inexpensively. Joint venture partners earn an interest in the projects by funding a portion of higher-risk drilling and exploration, allowing Transition to conserve capital and minimize shareholder's equity dilution. Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Information Except for statements of historical fact contained herein, the information in this news release constitutes "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities law. Such forward-looking information may be identified by words such as "plans", "proposes", "estimates", "intends", "expects", "believes", "may", "will" and include without limitation, statements regarding estimated capital and operating costs, expected production timeline, benefits of updated development plans, foreign exchange assumptions and regulatory approvals. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could differ materially from such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others, metal prices, competition, risks inherent in the mining industry, and regulatory risks. Most of these factors are outside the control of the Company. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as otherwise required by applicable securities statutes or regulation, the Company expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Further information is available at www.transitionmetalscorp.com or by contacting: Scott McLean President and CEO Transition Metals Corp. Tel: (705) 669-1777 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/43093 Lyon, 27 February 2019 - Theranexus, a biopharmaceutical company innovating in the treatment of neurological diseases and pioneer in the development of drug candidates modulating the interaction between neurons and glial cells, today announces the preliminary results of its Phase II trial in narcolepsy patients. The trial entitled "Safety and Efficacy of THN102 on Sleepiness in Narcoleptic Patients" aimed to demonstrate THN102's superiority over the standard of care drug (modafinil) in a population of narcoleptic patients already taking modafinil, and who despite this treatment are experiencing residual disabling sleepiness. THN102's safety and tolerability profile has been deemed very satisfactory. However, the results do not indicate any difference in efficacy between THN102 (combination of modafinil and flecainide) and modafinil alone with respect to the trial's primary endpoint (Epworth Sleepiness Scale). AN OVER-REPRESENTATION OF POORLY RESPONDING NARCOLEPTIC PATIENTS MAY ACCOUNT FOR THN102'S LACK OF DIFFERENCE IN EFFICACY FROM THE STANDARD OF CARE DRUG Theranexus will continue to examine trial data with a view to evaluating the clinical profile of THN102. In particular, the company will be looking at the overly poor response to modafinil in some trial patients which prevented it from demonstrating THN102's superiority. Chief Medical Officer of Theranexus, Dr Werner Rein stated, "We are very grateful to the patients and investigators for their commitment to this clinical trial. We will be investigating the reasons why THN102 failed to demonstrate superiority over the standard of care drug in this population of narcoleptic patients experiencing significant residual sleepiness while taking modafinil. We believe that this patient group's low response capacity did not provide the necessary basis for achieving optimal activity from the combination." THN102 IN PARKINSON'S PATIENTS: UNTREATED PATIENTS WITH HIGH UNMET MEDICAL NEEDS CAUSED BY VIGILANCE AND ATTENTION IMPAIRMENTS THN102 is being further developed to treat a triad of non-motor symptoms (sleepiness, attention and cognition disorders) in Parkinson's disease patients with no existing registered treatment. This combination, which addresses a significant unmet medical need in the disease, has a very high market value potential (estimated at more than $2 billion). The ongoing Phase II trial aims to demonstrate the efficacy of THN102 on sleepiness, attention and cognition parameters in Parkinson's disease patients. THN102, unlike modafinil, had already demonstrated a substantial benefit on these parameters in the Phase Ib clinical trial of sleep deprivation in healthy subjects. In addition, unlike the Narcolepsy trial, the Phase II trial in Parkinson's patients compares THN102 to placebo in a patient population not receiving any treatment for these symptoms. In parallel, Theranexus will continue to develop its two other active agents already in clinical trials, THN201 for neurocognitive disorders in Alzheimer's disease and THN101 for neuropathic pain, two indications for which unmet needs and market potential are very high (market > $3 billion for each). The company will also work to consolidate its platform, specifically through its collaboration with the College de France and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) on the Neurolead project, in order to broaden and diversify its drug candidate portfolio. Franck Mouthon, Chairman and CEO of Theranexus, concludes, "We are maintaining our efforts to develop our various clinical assets, in particular by capitalizing on the value potential of THN102 in Parkinson's disease. Indeed, the triad of targeted non-motor symptoms without any registered treatment, as well as THN102's efficacy profile on these symptoms demonstrated in our Phase Ib trial, are key factors in ensuring this program's success". PORTFOLIO RECAP THN102 - Parkinson's Disease THN102 (modafinil/flecainide combination) is currently undergoing a Phase II clinical trial in Parkinson's disease patients. The trial's primary endpoint is safety of the drug candidate THN102 and secondary efficacy endpoints include an assessment of sleepiness, attention and cognition. The trial, enrolling 60 individuals, has already recruited more than a third of its patients, with all 20 planned sites open across Europe and the United States. Recruitment is expected to be completed by the end of the first half of 2019. THN201 - Alzheimer's Disease THN201 is a drug candidate for the treatment of neurocognitive disorders associated with Alzheimer's disease and moved into a phase Ib trial in September 2018. It contains a combination of donepezil, which acts on neuronal activity, and mefloquine, affecting glial cell activity. The recruitment of 150 healthy subjects at 8 sites in France is underway. Results will be made available by the close of 2019. THN101 - Neuropathic pain The THN101 Phase Ia safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic study in patients with neuropathic pain is ongoing. The Phase II program is now defined. It will include 370 patients suffering from neuropathic pain of diabetic or post-Zosterian origin (following shingles) in 40 to 45 investigation sites in Europe. The main criterion will be based on a regular self-assessment of the patient's pain by patients themselves using a numerical scale. Neurolead, a new platform enabling active agent screening in neuron-glia interactions Theranexus was awarded a 6.2 million funding package under Bpifrance's Investments for the Future scheme, for the Neurolead program. This program, coordinated by Theranexus in collaboration with the College de France and the CEA, aims to design and industrialize a unique platform for the identification and characterization of drug candidates targeting neurological disorders. Using the latest innovations in neuroscience and AI tools, the platform will enable Theranexus to extend and systematize its therapeutic concept by enhancing its therapeutic application capabilities. Next financial publication: Monday April 29, 2019 (before market opening): 2018 annual financial results ABOUT THERANEXUS Theranexus is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that emerged from the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) in 2013. It develops drug candidates for the treatment of nervous system diseases. Theranexus identified the key role played by non-neuronal cells (also known as "glial cells") in the body's response to psychotropic drugs (which target the neurons). The company is a pioneer in the design and development of drug candidates affecting the interaction between neurons and glial cells. The unique, patented technology used by Theranexus is designed to improve the efficacy of psychotropic drugs already approved and on the market, by combining them with a glial cell modulator. This strategy of combining its innovations with registered drugs means Theranexus can significantly reduce development time and costs and considerably increase the chance of its drugs reaching the market. The proprietary, adaptable Theranexus platform can generate different proprietary drug candidates offering high added-value for multiple indications. Theranexus is listed on the Euronext Growth market in Paris (FR0013286259- ALTHX). More information at: www.theranexus.com Contacts THERANEXUS Thierry Lambert Financial and Administrative Director investisseurs@theranexus.fr ACTUS finance & communication Caroline Lesage / Theo Martin Investor Relations +33 (0)1 53 67 36 79 / +33 (0)1 53 67 36 75 theranexus@actus.fr FP2COM Florence Portejoie Media Relations + 33 (0)6 07 76 82 83 fportejoie@fp2com.fr ------------------------ Copyright Actusnews Wire Recevez gratuitement par email les prochains communiques de la societe en vous inscrivant sur www.actusnews.com Communique integral et original au format PDF:Telecharger le PDF A well-known market intelligence company, Infiniti Research, has announced the completion of their latest downloadable resource on five ways artificial intelligence will impact healthcare. Advanced and promising technologies are determined to improve healthcare outcomes. Healthcare industry experts at Infiniti Research have highlighted five applications of artificial intelligence in healthcare and how this technology will impact healthcare and patient outcomes. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005737/en/ Artificial intelligence applications in healthcare (Graphic: Business Wire) From chronic diseases including cancer to risk assessment and radiology, there are nearly endless opportunities to leverage advancements such as artificial intelligence (AI) to deploy more precise, efficient, and impactful interventions at the right stages of patient care. AI technology offers a wide range of advantages over traditional clinical-decision making and analytics techniques. Healthcare professionals can gain unprecedented insights into treatment variability, diagnostics, and patient outcomes with the help of algorithms which are more precise and accurate. Furthermore, AI tools can support human providers to provide faster service, diagnose issues and analyze data to identify trends or genetic information that would predispose someone to a particular disease. Know more about Infiniti's solutions can open doors of market opportunity for companies in the healthcare market. Get in touch with our experts Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in healthcare AI-assisted robotic surgery Surgical robots can analyze data from past medical records and guide a surgeon's instrument during surgery. As a matter of fact, robotic surgery is "minimally invasive" meaning the wound will heal faster and are less painful as compared to the traditional large incisions. The 'Da Vinci' is known to be the most precise surgical robot that guarantees five times fewer complications and gives surgeons greater control in the surgical process. Clinical judgment and diagnosis Using AI technology to diagnose patients is still in its early stages of testing, however, there have been some exciting developments. For instance, a breakthrough research has been done by Baidu Research that claimed that their deep learning algorithm can outperform humans in identifying breast cancer metastasis. Know how Infiniti's solutions help companies in the healthcare industry to stay updated on the latest market trends and techniques to enhance patient care. Request a free proposal Virtual nursing assistants Virtual nursing assistant could save the healthcare industry billions annually. They can be used to interact with patients and direct them to the most effective care setting. Moreover, virtual nurses are available 24/7 and they can monitor patients and provide quick answers to their queries. These systems provide for regular communication between patients and care providers and also prevent unnecessary hospital visits and re-admissions. Download the free resource to read more. About Infiniti Research Established in 2003, Infiniti Research is a leading market intelligence company providing smart solutions to address your business challenges. Infiniti Research studies markets in more than 100 countries to help analyze competitive activity, see beyond market disruptions, and develop intelligent business strategies. To know more, visit: https://www.infinitiresearch.com/about-us View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005737/en/ Contacts: Infiniti Research Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager US: +1 844 778 0600 UK: +44 203 893 3400 https://www.infinitiresearch.com/contact-us 10th President and CEO of the New York Fed played critical role in addressing worldwide financial crisis. NEW YORK and JERSEY CITY, New Jersey, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP), the only globally recognized membership association for risk managers, is pleased to announce that William C. Dudley, the 10th president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, has been named the 2018 GARP Risk Manager of the Year. The award, conferred by the GARP Board of Trustees, recognizes outstanding achievement in, and career contributions to, the risk management profession. Mr. Dudley accepted the award at GARP's 20th Anniversary Risk Convention, held February 26-27, 2019, in New York. William C. Dudley has been well respected in the financial world, and especially on Wall Street. He was a partner and managing director at Goldman, Sachs & Company, where he served for more than a decade as its chief U.S. economist. He had his biggest impact on global finance when he joined the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, first as the head of the Markets Group, and then, from 2009, as President and CEO of the New York Fed, just as the financial crisis was unfolding. As a central banker and committee chair of the Bank for International Settlements, Mr. Dudley played a critical role in deploying emergency policy measures to support the global economy. In the years after the crisis, Mr. Dudley became a staunch advocate for improved culture and conduct in the financial services industry. Mr. Dudley retired from the New York Fed in June 2018, and currently serves as Senior Research Scholar for the Griswold Center for Economic Policy Studies at Princeton University. "On behalf of GARP's Board of Trustees and the global risk management community that GARP represents, I am proud to recognize William C. Dudley as our 2018 Risk Manager of the Year," said GARP President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Apostolik. "The role he played at the New York Fed during the financial crisis and its aftermath was indeed exceptional. He exemplifies precisely what GARP seeks for this award." "I'm honored to be named Risk Manager of the Year by GARP," said William C. Dudley, "and in turn would like to recognize all my colleagues at the New York Fed who worked tirelessly to bring stability to the global economy and financial services industry." About the Global Association of Risk Professionals The Global Association of Risk Professionals is a non-partisan, not-for-profit membership organization. GARP offers certification and educational programs for risk professionals at financial institutions, government agencies, central banks, academia and corporations. GARP also sponsors research in risk management and promotes collaboration among practitioners, academics and regulators to promote a culture of risk awareness. Founded in 1996, governed by a Board of Trustees, GARP is headquartered in Jersey City, NJ, with offices in London, Washington, D.C. and Beijing. CONTACT: Kris Slethaug, +1 201-205-1773, kris.slethaug@garp.com Company aims to be ready to launch the trial in Q2-2019 Regulatory News: NOXXON Pharma N.V. (Euronext Growth Paris: ALNOX), a biotechnology company focused on improving cancer treatments by targeting the tumor microenvironment (TME), announced today that it has filed the clinical trial application (CTA) with the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (Bundesinstitut fur Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte, BfArM), to start a Phase 1/2 clinical trial combining NOX-A12 with radiotherapy to treat newly diagnosed brain cancer patients who would not benefit from the current standard of care and whose tumor cannot be fully resected by surgery. NOXXON plans to conduct the trial in collaboration with investigators at three hospitals in Germany: Mannheim, Essen and Bonn. The primary endpoint of this dose escalation study, which will assess up to three doses of NOX-A12, is the safety and tolerability of NOX-A12 combined with radiotherapy. Secondary endpoints include activity of the therapy, assessed through the monitoring of tumor vascularization by MRI scans, progression-free survival, overall survival and rates of response. "Provided we can rapidly address any regulatory questions from the independent ethics committee, we should be ready to initiate the trial in mid-2019. The combination of NOX-A12 with radiation is the second therapeutic approach that we have developed for solid tumors and we believe that it can be applicable to many tumor types. We are encouraged by the strong support of clinical experts in both, the US and Europe," said Dr. Jarl Ulf Jungnelius, Chief Medical Officer of NOXXON Pharma. About NOXXON NOXXON's oncology-focused pipeline acts on the tumor microenvironment (TME) and the cancer immunity cycle by breaking the tumor protection barrier and blocking tumor repair. By neutralizing chemokines in the tumor microenvironment, NOXXON's approach works in combination with other forms of treatment to weaken tumor defenses against the immune system and enable greater therapeutic impact. Building on extensive clinical experience and safety data, the lead program NOX-A12 has delivered top-line data from a Keytruda combination trial in metastatic colorectal and pancreatic cancer patients in December 2018 and further studies are being planned in these indications. The company initiated preparations for an additional trial with NOX-A12 in brain cancer in combination with radiotherapy. The combination of NOX-A12 and radiotherapy has been granted orphan drug status in the US and EU for the treatment of certain brain cancers. The company's second clinical-stage asset NOX-E36 is a Phase 2 TME asset targeting the innate immune system. NOXXON plans to test NOX-E36 in patients with solid tumors both as a monotherapy and in combination. Further information can be found at: www.noxxon.com Keytruda is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp Dohme Corp https://www.linkedin.com/company/noxxon-pharma-ag https://twitter.com/noxxon_pharma Disclaimer Certain statements in this communication contain formulations or terms referring to the future or future developments, as well as negations of such formulations or terms, or similar terminology. These are described as forward-looking statements. In addition, all information in this communication regarding planned or future results of business segments, financial indicators, developments of the financial situation or other financial or statistical data contains such forward-looking statements. The company cautions prospective investors not to rely on such forward-looking statements as certain prognoses of actual future events and developments. The company is neither responsible nor liable for updating such information, which only represents the state of affairs on the day of publication. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005591/en/ Contacts: NOXXON Pharma N.V. Aram Mangasarian, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer Tel. +49 (0) 30 726247 0 amangasarian@noxxon.com MC Services AG Raimund Gabriel, Managing Partner Tel. +49 (0) 89 210228 0 noxxon@mc-services.eu Trophic Communications Gretchen Schweitzer or Joanne Tudorica Tel. +49 (0) 89 2388 7730 or +49 (0) 176 2103 7191 schweitzer@trophic.eu NewCap Alexia Faure Tel. +33 (0) 1 44 71 98 51 afaure@newcap.fr Onlineprinters has leveraged the industry transformation LONDON, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- In spite of the fact that the industry's doom has been predicted several times, the European printing sector continues to flourish, generating an annual revenue of EUR 80 billion. "Companies that embrace the transformation have significant growth opportunities," says Michael Fries, the CEO of Onlineprinters. The international group of companies is one of the top 3 online print providers in Europe. The printing industry has undergone massive transformation for years. Figures published by Intergraf, an organisation that promotes and protects the interests of the printing and graphic industry, confirm this: Over a period of ten years (from 2005 to 2015), the number of print shops declined by 14 percent to just over 110,000 companies in 2015. During the same time, the number of employees decreased by a third to 622,000. Sales in contrast have continued to be robust: For more than ten years, the European printing market has generated around EUR 80 million in turnover each year. "Nevertheless, the industry is experiencing a massive and disruptive transformation process which shakes the whole sector," says Michael Fries and he adds: "Each company has to challenge its business model and align it to the new requirements on the market. In the future, products such as business cards and flyers will be ordered online almost exclusively and produced by large online printers. But this does not mean that local printers have no future, quite to the contrary, today there is a growing trend to work together: "Special print solutions, local support and customised services are the strengths of classic print shops. A lot of them purchase products such as letterheads, posters and brochures from online print shops such as Onlineprinters and operate as resellers. At the same time, we also purchase from specialist providers such as manufacturers of letterpress business cards and promotional items for which Onlineprinters provides a marketing platform. Companies that differentiate their business model will be successful." This new form of competition only has advantages for customers: The quality of service in the industry is increasing and there is a suitable provider for every print project imaginable. Online printers are a trend In the early 2000s, Onlineprinters made the transition from being a traditional, family-run commercial printer to becoming an e-commerce business that has established a strong position today. Local print shops can thrive, too, but only if they adopt a clever marketing concept and specialise in specific products or services. Onlineprinters is a reliable partner for such printers, especially when it comes to top-selling products such as flyers, business cards and brochures. The commercial printer E. Meyer in the town of Neustadt an der Aisch near Nuremberg in the south of Germany was forced to realign its business to survive the fierce competition in the industry. In 2004, founder Walter Meyer took the business online: He launched the website diedruckerei.de which offered printed flyers and posters customers could order online. The initial objective was to support his parents' print business; today the group generates an annual turnover of more than EUR 200 million. The former pioneer of the industry has become one of the major online print providers in Europe. Quantity and quality Michael Fries expects online print shops in Western Europe to continue their two-digit growth in turnover in the next years. "We currently serve one million clients, most of whom are business customers, in more than 30 European countries," Michael Fries says. Since 2008, the Franconian company has expanded its operations to other European countries. With the acquisition of UK printer Solopress and Danish market leader LaserTryk, the company became the Onlineprinters group, one of the market leaders in Europe today, which produced and sold 3 billion+ printed products in 2018 - from business cards, letterheads and flyers to brochures, roller banners and large-format advertising banners. The products, which are for the most part standardised, are printed in gang runs to guarantee low and transparent prices. Instead of printing each job separately, the e-commerce business combines up to 50 print projects on the same sheet using complex algorithms. In this extremely economical process, less paper goes unused which helps save cost and the environment. More employees Contrary to the general trend in the industry, the workforce of Onlineprinters continues to grow: starting with some 20 employees in the Franconian town of Neustadt an der Aisch before launching its e-commerce operations in 2004 to more than 1,400 employees in 2018, working in an international corporate group at sites in Germany, the UK, Denmark and Poland. The company is looking for qualified employees at all its sites: More than 100 vacancies are currently available. About the company The Onlineprinters Group, which operates under the brand name of diedruckerei.de in Germany, is one of the leading online print shops in Europe. Employing a staff of more than 1,400, Onlineprinters produced 3 billion+ printed advertising products last year. More than 1,500 print products including business cards, letterheads, flyers, catalogues, brochures, large-format advertising systems and more are sold to 1,000,000 customers in 30 European countries through 18 web shops. Internationally, the provider of online print services is known under the brand name of Onlineprinters. British market leader Solopress and LaserTryk, the Scandinavian number one, are members of the Onlineprinters Group. The video "A look behind the scenes of Onlineprinters": http://bit.ly/onlineprinters-en-printing-press The video "How an offset lithography printing press gets installed": http://bit.ly/onlineprinters-en-printing-press Picture "Printing benefits from the digital transformation": https://www.onlineprinters.co.uk/c/about-us/press-info-and-pr/press-releases/2019/continued-growth-online-printers-transform-the-printing-sector Press contact Onlineprinters GmbH Patrick Piecha Head of Press & Public Relations press@onlineprinters.uk Phone: +49 9161 6209807 Mobile: +49 174 30 77 250 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/827891/Onlineprinters_GmbH_Infographic.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/827892/Onlineprinters_GmbH.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/827893/Onlineprinters_GmbH.jpg Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 27, 2019) - Precipitate Gold Corp. (TSXV: PRG) (the "Company" or "Precipitate") is pleased to announce it has received the geological evaluation report and recommendations from independent geological consultant Dr. Stewart Redwood for the Company's 100% owned Pueblo Grande Project in the Dominican Republic. Dr. Redwood's report interprets the Pueblo Grande project's Lithocap Zone to be an extensive area of silica and advanced argillic lithocap-style alteration related to the neighboring Pueblo Viejo deposit, deeming Precipitate's Lithocap Zone to be highly prospective for high suphidation epithermal gold-silver-copper-zinc and concealed porphyry copper-gold mineralization. Additionally, Dr. Redwood's report postulates that the neighboring Pueblo Viejo deposit is epigenetic in origin which opens significant new exploration targets within Precipitate's whole Pueblo Grande project area, most notably the potential to test a new porphyry lithocap model within the Lithocap Zone. Dr. Redwood's report highlights significant new exploration targets, as follows: 1) Three types of gold-silver and/or copper-zinc targets identified within the Pueblo Grande project: a)high sulphidation epithermal oxide Au-Ag mineralization in outcrop or shallow depth, and concealed sulphide Au-Ag-Cu-Zn mineralization at shallow depth (Lithocap Zone); b)porphyry Cu-Au mineralization concealed beneath the alteration lithocap; and c)volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) Au-Ag-Cu-Zn mineralization (Tres Bocas Zone) and/or epithermal replacement or veins (La Lechoza Zone). 2) Pueblo Viejo high sulphidation epithermal mineralization is likely of epigenetic origin following a buried porphyry + overlying alteration lithocap deposit model. 3) The lithological contact between the outcropping strongly silicified and advanced argillically altered Hatillo Formation limestone unit (which forms an aquiclude to the mineralizing fluids) and the underlying Los Ranchos Formation volcanic-sedimentary unit (the host rock of gold-silver mineralization) is a conformable one and not a structural unconformity contact as earlier interpretations suggest. Jeffrey Wilson, Precipitate President & CEO, stated, "We are very pleased with the contents of Dr. Redwood's report, as many of his observations support the Company's views about the unrecognized and untested potential of several target areas within our new property package. Importantly, the report highlights the untested potential of the priority Lithocap Zone by reinforcing the Company's belief that high sulphidation epithermal gold-silver mineralization could exist at shallow depth within the lithocap. This thesis has not been adequately tested by prior operators, allowing us to augment our exploration plans with many of Dr. Redwood's suggestions in executing our current and future exploration programs. Dr. Redwood's geological expertise and unique insight and familiarity with the Pueblo Viejo Mining region provide our technical team with invaluable guidance on how best to target possible gold and copper mineralization in the region and is certain to be a critical component of our ongoing exploration in multiple zones within the project." Conceptual Epigenetic Model To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1718/43086_de2db176247aa8b9_003full.jpg Hypothetical schematic section produced by Precipitate Gold (not taken from the Redwood Report). Michael Moore, Precipitate VP Exploration, stated, "There is an ongoing debate about the age and origin of the Pueblo Viejo mineralization and whether the deposit is syngenetic or epigenetic. Dr. Redwood et al.'s epigenetic origin model proposes a mineralization system where gold-silver and base metal enriched fluids emanate from a concealed porphyry intrusive to the conformable contact between the Hatillo Formation limestone and the Los Ranchos Formation volcanic-sedimentary rock units. Precious and base metals are deposited along vertical fault structures and laterally through permissive lithologies of the Los Ranchos Formation, in conjunction with the development of extensive silica and advanced argillic lithocap style alteration which was ponded beneath the overlying or "capping" Hatillo Formation limestone rock unit. This epigenetic Pueblo Viejo deposit model interpretation will shape our exploration at Pueblo Grande, not just at our priority Lithocap Zone located immediately west of the Pueblo Viejo Mine site, but also for deep porphyry and VMS-Replacement style deposits targets outlined by Dr. Redwood." Lithocap Zone aster image and magnetic map here To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1718/43086_de2db176247aa8b9_004full.jpg Evaluation and Recommendations Highlights: Lithocap Zone (Loma la Cuaba) high-sulphidation epithermal Observations & Recommendations: (Lithocap Zone aster image and magnetic map here) The primary mineralization controls at the Pueblo Viejo deposit are north-south and northwest trending structures. These are also the main structures identified in the lithocap. Exploration should define these structures by geological and structural mapping, lineament analysis and geophysics, and use of geochemistry to look for leakage anomalies. The second control on mineralization is the flat lying, volcaniclastic, chemically reactive sediments of the Pueblo Viejo Member of the Los Ranchos Formation resulting in a stratabound and stratiform control. These sediments are known to occur in parts of the lithocap and should be targeted as a host for concealed, stratabound and stratiform mineralization beneath the silicification and within the lithocap. In the absence of the Pueblo Viejo Member sediments (Los Ranchos Formation), porosity and permeability to host epithermal mineralization can be created in other ways such as structurally-prepared zones with a high fracture density, by breccias, or hydrothermal alteration to vuggy silica, within the Los Ranchos Formation volcanic units. The high pyrite content of the mineralization will respond well to electrical geophysical surveys such as induced polarization (IP) and electromagnetic (EM) geophysical surveys. However, barren pyrite is widespread in the lithocap and underlying volcanic rocks, and thus may limit its usefulness. 3D magnetic modelling will help to define the geometry of bodies of alteration-mineralization in the lithocap and deeper underlying intrusions. Abundant magnetite in the shallow part of the lithocap gives a strong magnetic high. The advanced argillic alteration is magnetite-destructive and will give a magnetic low. Airborne hyperspectral imaging could be used to map alteration in the lithocap and look for "hot-spot" targets. Short-wave infrared (SWIR) core scanning such as Corescan or TerraCore is recommended to log alteration in drill core. The Hatillo Formation limestones underwent massive silicification with veins and pods of massive hematitized magnetite at the contact with the underlying Los Ranchos Formation. For more Pueblo Viejo deposit model technical information review the 2006 Economic Geology article (v.101, p 1427-1435), titled 'Pueblo Viejo High Sulphidation Epithermal Gold-Silver Deposit, Dominican Republic: A New Model of Formation Beneath Barren Limestone Cover', co-authored by Dr. R. Sillitoe, David Hall, Dr. Redwood and Precipitate Director, Alistair Waddell. About Dr. Stewart Redwood, BSc (Hons), PhD, FIMMM, FGS: In the early 2000's Dr. Redwood served as the first President & CEO of GoldQuest Mining, where he worked extensively exploring and evaluating multiple projects throughout the Dominican Republic. Dr. Redwood is a renowned economic geologist, having worked for numerous mining and exploration companies in over 35 countries around the world, with a specific focus and expertise within Latin America. During his 30+ year career, Dr. Redwood has authored multiple technical reports and published papers in Economic Geology and other journals and has authored (or co-authored) several technical reports and publications on Dominican Republic geology and ore bodies, including the Pueblo Viejo gold deposit located immediately adjacent to Precipitate's new Pueblo Grande Project in central Dominican Republic. Full details of Dr. Redwood's credentials, work history and publications can be found on his website at sredwood.com. About Precipitate Gold: Precipitate Gold Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on exploring and advancing its two district scale landholdings in the Dominican Republic's two most significant mining and exploration camps, specifically its flagship Pueblo Grande Project immediately adjacent to Barrick's world-class Pueblo Viejo mine operation, and its Juan de Herrera Project adjacent to GoldQuest's Romero Project. The Company also maintains assets in southeast Yukon Territory, specifically the Company's Reef property located immediately adjacent to Golden Predator's 3 Aces Project in the Upper Hyland River area. The Company has entered into an Option to Purchase Agreement with Golden Predator whereby Golden Predator can earn a 100% interest in the Reef claims by making certain staged payments in cash and shares and warrants. Precipitate is also actively evaluating additional high-impact property acquisitions with the potential to expand the Company's portfolio and increase shareholder value. Additional information can be viewed at the Company's website www.precipitategold.com. On Behalf of the Board of Directors of Precipitate Gold Corp., "Jeffrey Wilson" President & CEO For further information, please contact: Tel: 604-558-0335 Toll Free: 855-558-0335 investor@precipitategold.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service 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 press release may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward looking information. Generally, forward-looking information may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "proposed", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases, or by the use of words or phrases which state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, or might occur or be achieved. This forward-looking information reflects Precipitate Gold Corp.'s ("Precipitate" or the "Company") current beliefs and is based on information currently available to Company and on assumptions it believes are reasonable. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Precipitate to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: the exploration concessions may not be granted on terms acceptable to the Company, or at all; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the concessions acquired by the Company may not have attributes similar to those of surrounding properties; delay or failure to receive governmental or regulatory approvals; changes in legislation, including environmental legislation affecting mining; timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; conclusions of economic evaluations; and lack of qualified, skilled labour or loss of key individuals. Although Precipitate has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Precipitate does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/43086 The meeting of the council, the highest decision-making body for defence purchase, was chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. New Delhi: The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Wednesday approved acquisition of defence equipment for about Rs 2,700 crore, official sources said. The meeting of the council, the highest decision-making body for defence purchase, was chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. It granted approval for procurement of three cadet training ships for the Indian Navy, which would be utilised to provide basic sea training for officer cadets including women officer undertrainees. The ships would be capable of undertaking hospital ship duties, providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, undertaking search and rescue (SAR) missions and non-combatant evacuation operations. Vancouver British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 27, 2019) - MAX RESOURCE CORP. (TSXV: MXR) (OTC: MXROF) (FSE: M1D1) ("MAX" or the "Company") is pleased to report the results of a "cloud stitched" Long Wave InfraRed (LWIR) survey over a 1,000 sq. km area within the Company's 1,757 sq. km "Choco Gold Bearing Conglomerate Project", located 100km SW of Medellin, Colombia. Highlights The LWIR results appear to suggest a strong correlation between the gold bearing conglomerate Trial Pits and Outcrop sample sites and LWIR anomalies. The LWIR survey area encompasses the previously reported 36 sq. km gold bearing zone and covers or is adjacent to historic production (1906 - 1990) of 742,308 oz. gold and 769,049 oz. of platinum and the 2006 ANM drill hole which identified conglomerates units down to 500m. Source: R.J. Fletcher & Associates 2011 Review of Gold and Platinum Exploration & Production in Choco Province Colombia, P3 Private Report for Condoto Platinum Ltd. The LWIR identified anomalous zones interpreted to be conglomerates continue further to the northeast and southwest. Image 1 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3834/43089_0d17a507b40e1b47_002full.jpg Brett Matich, MAX's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented: "The LWIR has yielded responses throughout the 1000 sq. km survey area similar to responses over the 36 sq. km area of our concentrated exploration efforts to date." He continued: "The LWIR survey has also further increased our level of confidence in a possible link between overlying Choco Pacific production and underlying gold-bearing conglomerates." LWIR Survey Max conducted the cloud stitching Long Wave InfraRed (LWIR) survey to investigate a potential correlation between conglomerate outcropping and areas of historic production. Historically, satellite imagery has been hindered because of year-round cloud cover. This survey sourced multiple bands through the gaps in the clouds over a 20-year period, stitching the imagery together. 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, in addition, an ANM hole drilled for hydrocarbons in the northern end of the current 1000 sq. km exploration area, that 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. 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/43089 Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 27, 2019) - Minera Alamos Inc. (TSXV: MAI) ("Minera" or the "Company") cordially invites you to visit with Company representatives on Sunday, March 3rd and Monday, March 4th at Booth #2423A within the Investors Exchange at the 2019 Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention to be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The Red Cloud 2019 Pre-PDAC Mining Showcase will be held on Friday, March 1 at the Omni King Edward Hotel. Minera will have a company display and will also be meeting with the investment community throughout the day. Minera looks forward to updating shareholders and conference attendees on its exploration and development plans for 2019, following the notice of approval of permits at the La Fortuna gold project, Durango, Mexico and pending permits at the Santana gold project, Sonora, Mexico. For more information and/or to register for the conference please visit: https://www.pdac.ca/convention For Further Information Please Contact: Minera Alamos Inc. Doug Ramshaw, President Tel: 604-600-4423 Email: dramshaw@mineraalamos.com Website: www.mineraalamos.com About Minera Alamos Inc. Minera Alamos is an advanced-stage exploration and development company with a growing portfolio of high-quality Mexican assets, including the La Fortuna open-pit gold project in Durango with positive PEA completed, the Santana open-pit heap-leach development project in Sonora with test mining and processing completed and the Guadalupe de Los Reyes open-pit gold-silver project in Sinaloa with mine planning in progress. The Company's strategy is to develop low capex assets while expanding the project resources and pursue complementary strategic acquisitions. 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. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/43087 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 27, 2019) - First Vanadium Corp. (TSXV: FVAN) (OTCQX: FVANF) (FSE: 1PY) (formerly Cornerstone Metals Inc.) ("First Vanadium" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc. ("SRK") has completed an independent National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") compliant mineral resource estimate (Table 1) on the Carlin Vanadium deposit located 6 miles south of Elko, Nevada. The mineral resource estimate replaces the 2010 SRK historic mineral resource estimate. Table 1. Carlin Vanadium Mineral Resource Statement at 0.3% V 2 O 5 Cut-off grade (CoG) (Effective Feb. 1, 2019) Classification CoG (% V 2 O 5 ) Grade (% V 2 O 5 ) Tons (in millions) V 2 O 5 lb (in millions) Indicated 0.3 0.615 24.64 303 Inferred 0.3 0.520 7.19 75 Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. There has been insufficient exploration to define the Inferred Resources tabulated above as an Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource. There is no guarantee that any part of the mineral resources discussed herein will be converted into a mineral reserve in the future. The Mineral Resources in this estimate were calculated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by CIM Council. The mineral resources listed in Table 1 are confined within a Whittle Pit Shell with a 45 pit slope and a strip ratio of 2.6:1 waste to ore including all categories. The following parameters were used to construct the Whittle pit shell and to derive the mineral resource cut-off grade of 0.3% V2O5: Metal prices: US$12.50/lb V2O5 flake, Mining: US$2.50/t, Processing: US$52.50/t, G&A: US$1.50/t, Product Transport: $2.00/t, Process Recovery: 85%. Contained pounds may not add due to rounding. This is the first time Indicated mineral resources have been established for the deposit, justified by the Company's two drill campaigns totaling 89 holes which verified historic drilling, twinned 6 historic holes either replicating or demonstrating improved grade, and in-filled to tightened the previous drill pattern. The resource as defined within the pit shell has a defined strike length of approximately 1,800 metres and width averaging 600 metres, starting at surface to depths of 120 metres. The thickness of the main mineralized zone ranges from 15 metres to 50 metres. As noted in the Company's press release of January 31, 2019, the recent acquisition of adjoining lands via a mineral lease has had a positive impact on the overall pit shell design. First Vanadium President and Chief Executive Officer, Paul Cowley stated, "Our Maiden resource estimate far exceeds our expectations. Approximately 77% of the estimation reports to the Indicated category, grades are higher than expected in the Indicated category, and the contained pounds of V 2 O 5 metal in the deposit in both Indicated and Inferred categories are higher than expected." The Carlin Vanadium deposit mineral resource was estimated by Dr. Bart Stryhas of SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc. based on 216 rotary, reverse circulation and diamond drill holes completed by Union Carbide in the late 1960s and First Vanadium in 2018. The grade estimation utilizes an Inverse Distance Squared algorithm and is confined by a 0.2% V 2 O 5 grade shell. The raw sample data was capped at 2.5% V 2 O 5 prior to being composited to 10ft lengths. A dynamic sample search orientation was employed which follows the trends of the mineralized horizons. The 0.3% V 2 O 5 cut-off grade was chosen for resource reporting based on the reasonable potential for economic extraction under a conceptual open pit mining and milling scenario using US$2.50/t mining cost, US$52.50/t milling cost, US$1.50/t admin cost, US$2.00/t product transport cost, 85% recovery, and a US$12.50/lb V 2 O 5 value. The results of the resource estimation provided a CIM classified Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource. The SRK Technical Report will be prepared and filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under the Company's profile, in accordance with NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects within 45 days of this news release. The Carlin Vanadium deposit is considered the largest, highest grade primary vanadium deposit in North America and now exceeds the numbers quoted in USGS Professional Paper 1802 Critical Mineral Resources of the United States-Economic and Environmental Geology and Prospects for Future Supply dated December 18, 2017. Sensitivity Table Sensitivity analysis of the Carlin Vanadium Project's NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate for V2O5 at various cutoff grades (CoG): Classification CoG (% V 2 O 5 ) Grade (% V 2 O 5 ) Tons (in millions) V 2 O 5 lb (in millions) Indicated*1 0.2 0.539 31.26 337 0.3*2 0.615 24.64 303 0.4 0.702 18.64 262 0.5 0.776 14.44 224 0.6 0.849 10.92 185 0.7 0.929 7.80 145 0.8 1.012 5.32 108 Inferred*1 0.2 0.450 9.72 87 0.3*2 0.520 7.19 75 0.4 0.596 4.94 59 0.5 0.677 3.18 43 0.6 0.745 2.08 31 0.7 0.847 1.05 18 0.8 0.959 0.53 10 *1 Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. There has been insufficient exploration to define the Inferred Resources tabulated above as an Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource. There is no guarantee that any part of the mineral resources discussed herein will be converted into a mineral reserve in the future. *2 The Base Case reported resources are highlighted in bold and have been constrained within a US$12.50/lb V 2 O 5 optimized pit shell described above. Vanadium prices have been on a steady rise again since January 11, 2019 and now sit at US$17.60/lb for V 2 O 5 flake. First Vanadium President and Chief Executive Officer, Paul Cowley stated, "Our Maiden resource estimate provides a base for an economic study on the project." Technical disclosure on the mineral resource estimate in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Bart Stryhas, PhD, CPG., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Technical disclosure excluding the mineral resource estimate in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Paul Cowley, PGeo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, and President and CEO of the Company. About First Vanadium Corp. First Vanadium (formerly Cornerstone Metals Inc.) has an option to earn a 100% interest in the Carlin Vanadium Project, located in Elko County 6 miles south of a major rail hub and mining community of Carlin, Nevada, a major highway (I-80) and power. The Carlin Vanadium Project hosts the Carlin Vanadium Deposit which is a black shale-hosted flat to shallow dipping vanadium deposit at shallow depths, 0-60 m (0-200 ft) below surface. ON BEHALF OF FIRST VANADIUM CORP. per: "Paul Cowley" CEO & President (778) 655-4311 pcowley@firstvanadium.com www.firstvanadium.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. Forward-looking information To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3372/43088_4d227da9644bf9cf_002full.jpg To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/43088 NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR THE UNITED STATES DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR THE UNITED STATES OR ANYOTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF ANY OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN. Hexagon Composites ASA: Contemplated private placement Hexagon Composites ASA ("Hexagon" or the "Company") has retained DNB Markets, a part of DNB Bank ASA as Global Coordinator and Joint Bookrunner and Carnegie AS as Joint Bookrunner (together the "Managers") to advise on and effect an undocumented private placement of new shares directed towards Norwegian and international investors, subject to applicable exemptions from relevant registration, filing and prospectus requirements, and subject to other applicable selling restrictions, after the close of Oslo Stock Exchange today (the "Private Placement"). In the Private Placement, the Company is offering up to 16,662,780 new shares, representing up to approximately 9.99% of the outstanding capital of the Company. The price in the Private Placement will be determined through an accelerated bookbuilding process. The minimum application and allocation amount has been set to the NOK equivalent of EUR 100,000. The Company may however, at its sole discretion, allocate an amount below EUR 100,000 to the extent applicable exemptions from the prospectus requirement pursuant to applicable regulations, including the Norwegian Securities Trading Act and ancillary regulations, are available. The net proceeds of the Private Placement will be used for continued investment in growth opportunities across all of Hexagon's business areas, hereunder hydrogen opportunities and new market development. The bookbuilding period for the Private Placement opens today at 16:30 CET and closes on 28 February 2019 at 08:00 CET. The Managers and the Company may, however, at any time resolve to close or extend the bookbuilding period at their sole discretion and on short notice. The new shares to be issued in connection with the Private Placement will be issued based on a Board authorization granted by the Company's annual general meeting held 19 April 2018. The new shares allocated in the Private Placement will be settled through a delivery versus payment transaction on a regular T+2 basis by delivery of existing and unencumbered shares in the Company that are already listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange pursuant to a share lending agreement between DNB Markets, the Company and Flakk Composites AS. The shares delivered to the subscribers will thus be tradable upon delivery. The Company has received significant indications from both existing shareholders and new investors to apply for Offer Shares in the Private Placement. Further, Flakk Composites AS, controlled by Mr. Knut Flakk, has pre-committed to subscribe for NOK 10 million in the Private Placement. Mr. Knut Flakk is the Chairman of the Company's Board of Directors. The Board has considered the Private Placement in light of the equal treatment obligations under the Norwegian Securities Trading Act and Oslo Brs' Circular no. 2/2014, and is of the opinion that the contemplated transaction is in compliance with these requirements. The share issuance will be carried out as a private placement in order to complete a transaction in an efficient manner without the significant discount typically seen in rights issues, and without the need for a guarantee consortium. On this basis, and based on an assessment of the current equity markets, the Company's Board of Directors has considered the Private Placement to be in the common interest of the Company and its shareholders. As a consequence of the Private Placement structure, the shareholders' preferential rights will be deviated from. Allocation of the New Shares will be determined at the end of the book-building process. The final allocation will be made at the Company's Board of Directors' (the "Board") sole discretion, where the Board will focus on criteria such as (but not limited to), existing ownership in the Company, timeliness of the application, price leadership, relative order size, sector knowledge, investment history, perceived investor quality and investment horizon. Subject to successful completion of the Private Placement, the Board may consider to carry out a subsequent offering of new shares in the Company directed towards shareholders in the Company as of 27 February 2019 (as registered in the VPS on 1 March 2019) who were not allocated Offer Shares in the Private Placement and who are not resident in a jurisdiction where such offering would be unlawful or, for jurisdictions other than Norway, would require any prospectus, filing, registration or similar action. Such shareholders will be granted non-transferable preferential rights to subscribe for, and, upon subscription, be allocated new shares. The subscription price in such subsequent offering will be the same as the subscription price in the Private Placement. For more information: David Bandele, CFO, Hexagon Composites ASA Telephone: +47 920 91 483 | david.bandele@hexagongroup.com Hiva Ghiri, VP Investor Relations, Hexagon Composites ASA Telephone: +47 958 66 790 | hiva.ghiri@ hexagongroup.com About Hexagon Composites ASA Hexagon delivers safe and innovative solutions for a cleaner energy future. Our solutions enable storage, transportation and conversion to clean energy in a wide range of mobility, industrial and consumer applications. For more information, please visit www.hexagongroup.com This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. Important information: The release is not for publication or distribution, in whole or in part directly or indirectly, in or into Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States (including its territories and possessions, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia). This release is an announcement issued pursuant to legal information obligations, and is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. It is issued for information purposes only, and does not constitute or form part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities, in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. The securities mentioned herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act"). The securities may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the US Securities Act. The Company does not intend to register any portion of the offering of the securities in the United States or to conduct a public offering of the securities in the United States. Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be distributed or sent into Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States. The issue, subscription or purchase of shares in the Company is subject to specific legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions. Neither the Company nor the Managers assume any responsibility in the event there is a violation by any person of such restrictions. The distribution of this release may in certain jurisdictions be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this release comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. The Managers are acting for the Company and no one else in connection with the Private Placement and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company providing the protections afforded to their respective clients or for providing advice in relation to the Private Placement and/or any other matter referred to in this release. Forward-looking statements: This release and any materials distributed in connection with this release may contain certain forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they reflect the Company's current expectations and assumptions as to future events and circumstances that may not prove accurate. A number of material factors could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. 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: Hexagon Composites ASA via Globenewswire Local contractors in St Kitts and Nevis will benefit from a second pier at Port Zante, which will be able to receive up to three Oasis Class vessels at the same time. Up to $500,000 a month is already being spent buying local supplies for the pier. Its construction is being funded as a result of St Kitts and Nevis' successful Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme. The Government is also advocating to strongly support local suppliers, businesses and workforce by involving them in the construction of the second pier in Port Zante. All of the necessary rock is sourced locally, as is all timber, steel and fuel for the project. A number of local companies have been contracted to carry out the work, propping up local businesses and creating approximately 100 new jobs. "All the local companies are participating. Don't lose sight of the fact that the material is being quarried locally," said Ian Liburd, the Minister for Public Infrastructure. He further added that Public Works Quarry is to do more than supply the materials for this ambitious project: "I am advocating that they bring the quarry up to a state of efficiency and effectiveness that we will start to export material from the quarry rather than importing." The project is yet another infrastructural development made possible thanks to funding provided by St Kitts and Nevis' Citizenship by Investment Programme. Over the past three decades, the twin islands have been attracting a select number of investors wishing to become its citizens. In March 2018, Prime Minister Timothy Harris introduced a new investment channel called the Sustainable Growth Fund (SGF). It balances investors' need for a more straightforward yet secure way of obtaining second citizenship, while native citizens benefit from socio-economic advancement. To ensure its Platinum Standard moniker, St Kitts and Nevis recently introduced two new security layers to its already strict due diligence process: stricter escrow account legislation and digital fingerprinting. The latter is a premiere in the Caribbean region amongst countries offering citizenship by investment. International legal advisory CS Global Partners is government-mandated to promote St Kitts and Nevis' Citizenship by Investment Programme. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005588/en/ Contacts: Thomas Kohn pr@csglobalpartners.com +(44)2073184343 www.csglobalpartners.com Glashutte/New York (ots) -- Querverweis: Bildmaterial wird uber obs versandt und ist abrufbar unter http://www.presseportal.de/bilder -Grossmann Uhren documents the meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un with a unique pieceIt was just eight months ago that a US president met the North Korean head of state for the first time since North Korea was founded in 1948. Donald Trump will meet North Korea's ruler Kim Jong-un for the second time on 27 and 28 February in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. The independent watch manufacturer Moritz Grossmann documents the meeting of both politicians with a special timepiece.The new MEET IN FEBRUARY watch is a variant of the ATUM Pure X model line. The handcrafted, lance-shaped hands of the watch are lined with red and blue HyCeram, the national colours of both countries.Moritz Grossmann will meet its friends, Cellini Jewellers, in New York on 27 and 28 February and present the timepiece at the Cellini Watch Fair, which will take place from 26 February to 2 March at Park Avenue in New York.The special model comes with a stainless steel case and a dial whose centre, with its discreet contours, suggests the silhouette of the heads of both heads of state in the longitudinal view. The fine cut-outs of the contours allow a glimpse of the 201.1 calibre. In the lower third of the dial in the space from four to seven o'clock is engraved the date of the summit, 27/28/02/19.The Moritz Grossmann MEET IN FEBRUARY will be offered as a unique piece with a price of RRP USA EUR 13,400 excl. VAT.The watch is available from the Grossmann Uhren retailer CELLINI JEWELLERS in New York, contact@CelliniJewelers.comImage material for download:https://my.hidrive.com/share/2pdr1662ctGrossmann Uhren GmbH:www.grossmann-uhren.comOriginaltext: Grossmann Uhren GmbH digital press kits: http://www.presseportal.de/nr/131401 press kits via RSS: http://www.presseportal.de/rss/pm_131401.rss2Contact: Sandra Behrens 0049-35053-320020 sandra.behrens@grossmann-uhren.com Gaming+ brings faster speeds, better image quality and higher definition to mobile gaming on HONOR View20 HONOR View20 receives five star awards and media praise BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- HONOR, a leading smartphone brand, has unveiled its revolutionary Gaming+ technology at Mobile World Congress 2019 (MWC 2019). Gaming+ includes a series of technology updates that significantly increase the performance, graphics quality and image definition of mobile games on the HONOR View20. These upgrades come as HONOR has also announced an ecosystem of applications utilizing its 3D TOF camera that herald a new era of AR life. Mr. George Zhao, president of HONOR, said: "HONOR is happy to announce that the latest member of HONOR's View series, the HONOR View20, has already reached the 1.5 million sales milestone. We are moving one step closer to our goal of becoming the top five smartphone brands in three years. With the revolutionary Gaming+ technology, we have further enhanced the smartphone's graphic performance, satisfying young consumers' increasing demands for better mobile gaming experience. Together with the futuristic TOF 3D camera applications, HONOR is bringing consumers the most diverse and exceptional experiences." GAMING+ AND MORE FUN FOR GAMERS The HONOR View20 was unveiled in Paris last month with five world's first features, including: 48MP smartphone camera, 25MP in-screen front camera, 7nm Kirin 980 AI chipset, AI Triple-Antenna Wi-Fi technology, and aurora nanotexture design. Gaming+ improves the gaming experience by upgrading the overall system with GPU efficiency upgrade, GPU load optimization, high definition and AI loading prediction technology. With these advances on Kirin 980 chipset, the HONOR View20 strives for the highest level of mobile gaming performance. The brand new Gaming+ improves SOC energy efficiency by 20.34%[1]. The Mali-G76 GPU chipset upgrade on Kirin 980 includes transform optimization, which enhances job scheduling and parallel computing. This reduces duplicate instructions and GPU overdraws, as well as increases the data transfer speed between CPU, GPU and memory. In addition, the Kirin 980 GPU works seamlessly with the innovative AI frequency modulation scheduling technology to predict task loads by monitoring frame rate per second (fps), image quality and touchscreen inputs in real time, and intelligently identifies performance bottlenecks. For gaming, the new AI technology improves the load prediction accuracy of each frame by more than 30% compared to traditional methods. Another key feature, GPU optimization, enhances image quality and reduces power consumption. The upgrade also brings high definition capability to gaming, achieving better contrast, higher brightness levels and a wider color palette. As a result of the Gaming+ upgrade, Fortnite Vulkan version can also be supported on the HONOR View20, bringing gamers a faster and smoother experience[2]. In addition, popular mobile games such as QQ Speed and Arena of Valor have been optimized to support the high definition feature. Gamers can now experience greater clarity and capture more details. Moreover, the HONOR View20's TOF 3D camera creates a new dimension of interactive gaming and more possibilities for the next generation of AR life. This camera is equipped with depth sensing, skeletal recognition and real-time motion capture capabilities, allowing consumers to enjoy various interactive functions such as 3D shaping, AI calorie counting, Magic AR and 3D motion-controlled gaming. Brave Jelly is the latest motion-controlled game added to the family. In the future, HONOR plans to partner with more third parties to create an integrated 3D TOF ecosystem that opens up a new era for AR measure, social media and shopping. THE HONOR VIEW20 RECEIVES NUMEROUS MEDIA PRAISE Since its global launch in January, the HONOR View20's superior design and features have been widely recognized by industry experts and consumers. It has received praise from media and influencers, including 5-star ratings from the most prestigious media in the industry: 5-star rating from Stuff - "Honor enters the big leagues with one of the most impressive phones in its class." - 5-star rating from The Guardian - "It is the first phone out of the gate with a hole-punch notch." - 5-star rating from T3 - "The Honor View 20 is, overall, the best mid-range smartphone on the market today." - 5-star rating from Expert Reviews - "With its in-screen selfie camera and 48-megapixel rear shooter, the Honor View 20 is one of the most exciting phones we've seen in ages." At the regional level, the HONOR View20 has also achieved great sales performance. In China, the HONOR View20 is crowned as the dual champion (sales and sales revenue) on online platforms in the price range of RMB 3,000 and above. In the first week after its launch in France, the latest flagship became Amazon's No.1 Best Seller in the category of EUR 499 and above. It also received the Best Selling Flagship Smartphone in Senheng, one of the leading independent retailers in Malaysia. THE HONOR 8X WITH NEW PHANTOM BLUE For the HONOR 8X, HONOR has brought a new phantom blue color to fans in Western Europe. The HONOR 8X has a 2.5D double texture aurora glass body with a grating effect, offering an elegant and smooth look and feel. Since its launch last September, more than 10 million Honor 8X series have been shipped worldwide. Starting from early March, the new HONOR 8X phantom blue will be sold in Fnac in France, on Amazon in Germany, on Hihonor in the U.K., in open market in Italy (including Mediaworld, Unieuro and etc.). About HONOR HONOR is a leading smartphone e-brand. The brand was created to meet the needs of digital natives through internet-optimized products that offer superior user experiences, inspire action, foster creativity and empower the young to achieve their dreams. In doing this, HONOR has set itself apart by showcasing its own bravery to do things differently and to take the steps needed to usher in the latest technologies and innovations for its customers. For more information, please visit HONOR online at www.hihonor.com or follow us on: https://www.facebook.com/honorglobal/ https://twitter.com/Honorglobal https://www.instagram.com/honorglobal/ https://www.youtube.com/honorglobal [1] Tested in 60fps Vulkan games in HONOR lab [2] Fortnite Vulkan version will be coming soon on HONOR View20 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/827741/HONOR_president_at_MWC.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/827740/Honor_Gaming_MWC.jpg AMSTERDAM, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As a precaution, HEMA is recalling all wooden toy train sets (article number 15.12.2235). An internal check revealed that one of the parts of the train set - the red pointed tip of the church tower - could pose a potential hazard to small children. The part could possibly cause choking or suffocation if swallowed by children younger than three. Customers who have the product are urgently requested to keep the product out of reach of children younger than three years. Customers can return or send the product to a HEMA store for a full refund. No sales receipt or original packaging is required. Quality is a key HEMA value in addition to design and price. HEMA always puts customer safety first and applies strict safety standards. HEMA is sorry that this wooden toy does not meet our quality standards. We offer our sincerest apologies to our customers for any inconvenience caused. For more information, customers should contact HEMA's Customer Service Department by phoning 0845 - 606-09-03. Note to the editors About HEMA Ever since 1926, HEMA has been making daily life better, easier and more fun for its customers. With products and services that stand out because of their good quality, attractive design and affordable prices. HEMA has over 32,000 own-brand products and services, more than 750 stores in 10 countries on 2 continents, and over 19,000 employees. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/774176/HEMA_BV_Logo.jpg) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/827735/HEMA_Train.jpg) Company Plans to Acquire Majority Interest in Cebadora Brand Yerba Mate Beverages Denver, Colorado--(Newsfile Corp. - February 27, 2019) - The Pocket Shot Company, (OTC Pink: PCKK), a ten-year-old specialty alcoholic beverage distribution company based in Denver, Colorado, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire a 51% interest for stock and cash consideration in Cebadora, Inc., an early stage California based company engaged in the development of yerba mate based beverages. The letter of intent also allows The Pocket Shot Company an option to further acquire up to an 81% interest in Cebadora, Inc. "We are excited to expand our existing beverage business with our development plans for yerba mate based products infused with cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabis, in accordance with what is specifically allowed in various markets," said David Lamadrid, CEO of the Pure Harvest Cannabis Group and the Pocket Shot Company. "Cebadora presents an ideal opportunity to offer health conscious consumers alternative products that support wellness and active life styles." "On behalf of Cebadora, we are thrilled to be working with the team at Pure Harvest. Their resources and knowledge, both in the beverage space and in cannabis infused product lines, makes them an ideal partner for us," stated Lucas Hildebrand, CEO of Cebadora Inc. "Pure Harvest also provides Cebadora with strategic opportunities to expand our product lines and execute our vision on a much larger scale." The Cebadora brand is inspired by the very popular South American tea beverage called "yerba mate", a mineral rich stimulant known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. The naturally caffeinated beverage is widely known as the National Drink of both Argentina and Uruguay. By long standing tradition it is a "Cebador(a)" that prepares and serves a great tasting yerba mate and ceremoniously shares with a group of friends. About the Pure Harvest Cannabis Group The Pure Harvest Cannabis Group is a new science-based medical cannabis company with a commitment to the highest quality products, ethical growing standards, environmental awareness, and corporate integrity. Pure Harvest intends to develop into a large scale vertically integrated producer and distributor in large, established, and growing markets. Pure Harvest is focused on developing precision dosed cannabinoid health and wellness consumer products. The Company's goals include establishing Pure Harvest Cannabis as an iconic consumer product brand offering a wide variety of cannabis/CBD products that can be sold in multiple international markets that have legalized cannabis and hemp-derived products. Pure Harvest has recently merged with The Pocket Shot Company and plans to transition into a vertically integrated multi-state operator (MSO) and multi-country producer and purveyor of the finest quality cannabis and hemp derived products for active life styles, and to support patient health and well-being. About The Pocket Shot Company The Pocket Shot Company, a portable spirit company, designs, produces, and distributes hard liquor and other beverages in flexible single-serving pouches in the United States. It offers Pocket Shot, a grab and go package for alcoholic beverages. The Company offers Pocket Shot in bourbon, whiskey, rum, vodka, brandy, tequila, cherry vodka, cinnamon whiskey, peppermint schnapps, spiced rum, and cinnamon schnapps flavors. It also offers its products through online retailers. The Pocket Shot Company was founded in 2003 and is based in Evergreen, Colorado. Forward Looking Statements Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933, are subject to Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to the safe harbors created by those rules. All statements, other than statements of fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential future plans and objectives of the company, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. Future events and results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements. Investor Relations & Financial Media info@integrityir.com Toll Free: (888) 216-3595 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/43084 Our current bank account offering aims to provide the best in class banking facilities to businesses, especially msmes:Gupta PPBL md,ceo. New Delhi: Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), Indias largest payments bank, has announced the launch of its zero-balance current accounts facility. PPBL already offers savings account which comes with features like no minimum balance requirement, unlimited free digital transactions, free digital debit card and more. The bank aims to target more than 40 million small and medium enterprises in India who do not have access to free current accounts. Small & medium enterprises will find these features very helpful, along with an easy to use interface to operate the account. PPBL current account customers will also enjoy free banking services and a user-friendly interface to operate the account with very secure & robust technology infrastructure. The current account will be available to individuals, sole proprietors, SMEs, and large corporates. Small businesses who are unable to meet the minimum balance requirement in their current accounts and incur charges associated with it, will benefit from PPBL current accounts offering. Customers can also deposit money, an unlimited number of times without incurring any charges on it. This feature is helpful to shop owners who receive a majority of payments in cash on a daily basis. Customers balances above rupees one lakh at end of the day will be automatically sweeped out to a current account with a partner bank. However, there is no restriction on depositing any amount and conducting transactions during the day. Customers can redeem these sweeped out balances at any point of time, instantaneously on-demand. Large corporates also benefit from the current account through its interactive net banking panel. The bulk payment mechanisms enable corporates to transfer funds to employees bank accounts for salary, reimbursements or any other payments. Enterprises using PPBLs current account can also process bulk bill payments and can customize the approval matrix for the same as per requirement. PPBL has designed these offerings keeping in mind the usage and requirements of small business holders/merchants and even large enterprises. Satish Kumar Gupta, MD, and CEO, Paytm Payments Bank Limited said We are on a mission to bring under-banked Indians to the mainstream economy. There are a large number of small businesses who do not have a current account or do not actively use their current account for everyday payments. With our current bank account offering aims to provide the best in class banking facilities to businesses, especially small and micro enterprises. The addition of current accounts to our product portfolio is in sync with our vision of driving real financial inclusion. About Paytm Payments Bank: Paytm Payments Bank is Indias largest payment bank, providing zero balance accounts and zero charges on digital transactions. Paytm Payments Bank aims to build a new business model in the banking industry that is focused on bringing financial services to 500 million un-served or underserved consumers across India. It is headquartered in the National Capital Region, India. Paytm Founder and CEO, Vijay Shekhar Sharma owns a majority stake in the company. Amsterdam, 27 February 2019 --- AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V. ("AMG", EURONEXT AMSTERDAM: "AMG") is pleased to announce that Dr. Stefan Scherer has joined AMG as the Chief Commercial Officer ("CCO") of AMG Mineracao BV. Dr. Scherer has over 20 years of experience in the specialty, fine chemical and lithium industries in various operational and management positions. The Management Board of AMG Mineracao BV will be comprised of Fabiano Costa as CEO, who will continue his current role as the CEO of our Brazilian operations, Dr. Scherer as CCO, and Michael Connor as CFO, who will continue his current role as AMG's Corporate Controller. As CCO of AMG Mineracao, Dr. Scherer will also oversee our newly established laboratory in Hochst, Germany. Dr. Scherer will be supported by Dr. Martin Janssen, Dr. Vera Nickel, and Dr. Hannes Vitze, all three of whom have vast experience in research and development of lithium-based materials. This research team and laboratory will support our lithium operations in Brazil as well as our downstream lithium chemical strategy. About AMG AMG is a global critical materials company at the forefront of CO 2 reduction trends. AMG produces highly engineered specialty metals and mineral products and provides related vacuum furnace systems and services to the transportation, infrastructure, energy, and specialty metals & chemicals end markets. Critical Materials produces aluminum master alloys and powders, ferrovanadium, natural graphite, chromium metal, antimony, lithium, tantalum, niobium and silicon metal. AMG Technologies produces titanium aluminides and titanium alloys for the aerospace market; designs, engineers, and produces advanced vacuum furnace systems; and operates vacuum heat treatment facilities, primarily for the transportation and energy industries. With approximately 3,300 employees, AMG operates globally with production facilities in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the Czech Republic, the United States, China, Mexico, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka and Mozambique, and has sales and customer service offices in Russia and Japan (www.amg-nv.com (http://www.amg-nv.com)). For further information, please contact: AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V. +1 610 293 5814 Grace Stubel gstubel@amg-nv.com (mailto:gstubel@amg-nv.com) Disclaimer Certain statements in this press release are not historical facts and are "forward looking." Forward looking statements include statements concerning AMG's plans, expectations, projections, objectives, targets, goals, strategies, future events, future revenues or performance, capital expenditures, financing needs, plans and intentions relating to acquisitions, AMG's competitive strengths and weaknesses, plans or goals relating to forecasted production, reserves, financial position and future operations and development, AMG's business strategy and the trends AMG anticipates in the industries and the political and legal environment in which it operates and other information that is not historical information. When used in this press release, the words "expects," "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "may," "will," "should," and similar expressions, and the negatives thereof, are intended to identify forward looking statements. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. AMG expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in AMG's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any forward-looking statement is based. AMG Mineracao Management Team Additions (http://hugin.info/138060/R/2236648/880903.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: AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V. via Globenewswire Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc - Result of AGM Legal Entity Identifier 213800NN4ZKX2LG1GQ40 FINSBURY GROWTH & INCOME TRUST PLC (the "Company") Results of the Annual General Meeting At the Annual General Meeting of Finsbury Growth & Income Trust PLC held on Wednesday, 27 February 2019, all resolutions were duly passed. Details of the proxy votes received can be found on the Company's website www.finsburygt.com A copy of the full text of the special resolutions passed at the Annual General Meeting has been lodged with the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for viewing at http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM. The special business resolutions will additionally be filed with Companies House. The special business resolutions passed were as follows: Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 27, 2019) - Peekaboo Beans Inc. (CSE: BEAN) (OTCQB: PBBSF) ("Peekaboo Beans" or the "Company"), a children's apparel brand with a focus on environmentally responsible clothes that are intentionally designed to inspire play, today announced that the Company's Chief Executive Officer, Traci Costa, will present at the upcoming Gravitas Growth Conference, which is being held on February 28, 2019 at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in Vancouver. Ms. Costa is scheduled to present on February 28, 2019 at 11:45 AM PST and will also be a member of the "Engaging Consumers in the Modern Age" panel at 1:15 PM PST. Ms. Costa will be available for one on one meetings throughout the conference. Investors that wish to view the presentation can do so from the following live webinar link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jkW7azbBT92c_9nRJlZ8TA Traci Costa, CEO and President of Peekaboo Beans, commented, "The upcoming Gravitas Growth Conference is a great opportunity to further discuss the success of Peekaboo's business model initiatives and the targets we are aiming for in this upcoming year. Regarding the panel discussion, Peekaboo Beans has done extensive research on the millennial shopper and the trends that are driving today's consumer market, so I am eager to add our findings to the discussion." About Gravitas Growth Conference 2019 Gravitas Growth Conference 2019 is North America's leading growth investment conference, which is expected to bring together leading institutional, retail, family office, and high net worth investors with more than 20 of the fastest growing companies in North America. The conference will be held on Thursday, February 28, 2019 at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel, 1038 Canada Place, Vancouver, Canada. The Conference hours will be from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM PST. About Peekaboo Beans Peekaboo Beans is a children's apparel brand with a focus on environmentally responsible clothes that are intentionally designed to inspire play. Through an omni-channel approach, Peekaboo Beans engages sellers through social platforms, including Instagram and Facebook, as well as online retailers, to maximize revenue and build brand loyalty. The Company works to promote a playful lifestyle for children by designing comfortable clothes that are built to last. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Peekaboo Beans Inc. Ms. Traci Costa, President and CEO (604) 279-2326 For more information, please contact the Company at: BEAN@kincommunications.com 1-866-604-6730 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/43062 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 27, 2019) - Upco International Inc. (CSE: UPCO) (OTCQB: UCCPF) (FSE: U06) ("Upco") is pleased to announce that it is continuing to develop UpcoPay, an innovative, highly secure and convenient eWallet solution to address the multi trillion dollar digital payment industry. Upco has signed its first agreement with SixthContinent Inc. www.sixthcontinent.com SixthContinent, with offices in San Francisco, Ca, and Milan, Italy, is the largest international platform for Shopping Cards. The company has agreements with more than 3000 leading brands (including Walmart, Apple, Amazon, Carrefour, and IKEA, Adidas and Shell Oil), and is fast becoming a major player in the expanding Social Commerce market. UpcoPay is an advanced eWallet system comprising a front-end app and robust back-end software to manage transaction tracking, reporting and a full range of other functions. This solution is based on live transaction processing through integration with Upco's banking partner, eMoney plc. Upco anticipates to have UpcoPay live by mid April. Mr. Andrea Pagani, CEO and President of Upco stated: "the digital commerce market place is growing tremendously. PayPal www.paypal.com CEO has stated that the digital payments industry may become a $100 trillion market as the financial technology sector continues to grow rapidly. We want to position Upco as a major player in this space." Statista estimated total transaction Value in the Digital Payments segment amounts to US$3,952 Billion (US$3.9 Trillion) in 2019 and is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2019-2022) of 13.2% resulting in the total amount of US$5,728 Billion (US$5.7 Trillion) by 2022. Upco has issued 300,000 stock options exercisiable at $0.10 to consultants and advisors. About Upco International Inc. Upco International Inc. is a cloud-based mobile service company which provides high-quality voice termination to a market driven by the growing activity in online communications and commerce. Upco is a licensed Global Telecom Carrier within the international VoIP (voice over IP) wholesale business. Upco has designed a software application for Apple iOS and Android, similar to SKYPE and WhatsApp. With the forthcoming addition of the Upco e-Wallet, users will be able to: send invoices, approve payments, transfer international funds, convert international currencies, and track transfers and payments. The application will also allow vendors to securely share account information with their clients. Please visit upcointernational.com or upcomobile.com for further information. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Andrea Pagani, CEO and Director office@upcointernational.com 212 461 3676 Trent Collett, Investor Relations 778 808 1175 Trent.collett@gmail.com SixthContinent Inc. AD MIRABILIA - PR and Marketing Communication Agency (Italy) +39 02 43 82 191 Forward-Looking Statements Except for the statements of historical fact, the information contained herein is of a forward-looking nature. Such forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by statements containing forward-looking information. Such factors include continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that statements containing forward looking information 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 statements containing forward looking information. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/43075 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 27, 2019) - Alto Ventures Ltd. (TSXV: ATV) is pleased to provide an update on its Destiny project in Quebec, Miner Lake project in Ontario and Oxford Lake project in Manitoba. The Company will feature a booth, number 2622A in the Investors Exchange at the 2019 PDAC Convention in Toronto on Sunday March 3 and Monday March 4, 2019 to provide additional information on these projects. Destiny, Quebec The Destiny project hosts the DAC Gold Deposit, one of several mineralized zones along a six kilometre segment of the Despinassy shear which splays from the regionally extensive Chicobi Fault in the Abitibi subprovince. The DAC Deposit has Indicated Mineral Resources of 10.8 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.05 g/t gold and Inferred Mineral Resources of approximately 8.3 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.92 g/t gold using a 0.5 g/t gold cut-off grade. The estimated contained ounces in the Indicated category are 364,000 plus 247,000 ounces in the Inferred classification*. The gold mineralization is open to depth and along strike. Alto has completed compilation of all drill, geophysical and geochemical data available for the project to determine if there are targets on the Destiny property that when drilled could significantly increase the gold resources on the project. In addition to the Gap and Darla zones, the compilation work has identified three target areas for follow up drilling (see Figure 1). Target 1 is located 800 m west of the DAC Deposit and is interpreted to lie along the western extension of DAC mineralization. This area was drilled previously by two holes, one of which intersected several intervals of anomalous gold. From the compilation work and interpretation of geology, it is believed that these holes stopped short of the main DAC target horizon and further drilling is required. Target 2 comprises Zones 20 and 21, located three km east of the DAC Deposit. These were sparsely tested by drilling and mineralization in both zones remains open on strike to the east and west and to depth. Target 3 is located approximately 500 m south of the DAC Deposit and is interpreted to be along the folded extension of the DAC mineralization. Previous drilling was limited to only two holes 300 m apart, and each intersected intervals of anomalous gold values. If financing becomes available, selected holes could be drilled on each of these targets during the summer of 2019. Figure 1: Destiny Project - Location of target areas for drilling to increase the gold resources on the property To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4910/43071_6e5b55e1f411ea09_003full.jpg In addition to gold, the Destiny property has high potential for VMS type deposits as indicated by the presence of airborne VTEM anomalies and the large number of previous drill holes at the DAC Deposit that intersected significant copper, zinc and lead mineralization associated with an exhalite unit containing semi-massive and massive sulphides (see Alto news releases dated February 18, 2010, April 12, 2010). Grades up to 5.79% copper, 3.42% zinc, 1.21 g/t gold and 117.0 g/t silver were intersected over 0.7 m core length at the DAC Deposit. Zones of semi-massive and massive sulphide bands and veins containing anomalous base metals were also intersected in a historical drill hole two kilometres northwest of the DAC Deposit. These sulphide intersections were detected by Alto's 2008 VTEM survey. There are numerous other airborne electromagnetic anomalies on the property that have not been drilled. Miner Lake, Ontario In October, 2018 the Company completed 1,010 m of diamond drilling in five holes. The program was designed to further test the main East-West mineralized corridor previously drilled by holes MIN11-06 and 07 as well as other targets on the property. This program continued to build on Alto's previous work which identified persistent anomalous gold mineralization in widespread breccia zones hosted by feldspar porphyritic diorite. Gold values greater than 100 ppb (0.1 g/t) were intersected in each of the five holes, including 0.48 g/t Au/15.0 m in MIN18-10; 4.48 g/t Au/1.5 m and 0.36 g/t Au/10.5 m in MIN18-11; 0.94 g/t Au/1.5 m in MIN18-12; and 0.23 g/t Au/23 m in MIN18-14. In 2011, drill hole MIN11-06 returned 0.6 g/t Au/39.2 m including higher grade intercept 4.24 g/t Au/1.5m; mineralization in this hole starts at 9.8 m depth. Results from compilation of previous work indicate that mineralization occurs in two parallel structures approximately 500 m apart. Drill holes MIN18-10 to 13 as well as MIN11-06 and 07 were drilled in the "Main E-W Mineralized Corridor" and hole MIN18-14 tested the structure 500 m to the north. Both of these structures are open along strike and to depth. Prospecting in 2018 located a third area of anomalous gold mineralization a further 500 m north of the northern structure. Several bedrock grab samples returned gold values greater than 100 ppb (0.1 g/t), including one sample that assayed 2.88 g/t Au. This area is still relatively poorly explored but may be indicative of a third mineralized structure occurring parallel to the other two. Oxford Lake, Manitoba In December 2018, Alto received a work permit to carry out exploration programs consisting of line cutting, ground geophysics and 3,000 m of diamond drilling. The work permit was issued with certain conditions including a requirement that a heritage resource impact assessment (HRIA) study satisfactory to the Historic Resource Branch of Manitoba Sport, Culture and Heritage be completed before work begins. Requests for quotations were sent out to several archaeological consultants to obtain costs estimates for the HRIA, which is anticipated to be carried out during summer 2019. Alto remains open to working with the Bunibonibee Cree Nation (BCN) to resolve the outstanding issues in order to advance the Oxford Lake Project and plans to engage with the BCN in the future. Alto had planned a 2017-18 winter program of ground geophysics and approximately 3,000 m of diamond drilling. However, in December, 2017 the Company was advised of last minute challenges to obtaining a work permit for its 2017-18 winter program and decided not to proceed with the planned program during the 2017-18 winter season. The Oxford Lake property is being explored for iron formation hosted gold mineralization. The Rusty Gold Deposit is hosted by iron formation and has a Historical Resource of 800,000 tonnes averaging 6 g/t gold and containing approximately 154,000 ounces of gold**. In 2012 the Company drilled hole RUS12-03 in the Blue Jay area, another iron-formation gold target approximately two kilometres on trend and to the east of the Rusty Deposit. RUS12-03 intersected two zones of high-grade gold mineralization: Zone One - 2.7 m averaging 6.7 g/t gold including 22.5 g/t gold over 0.5 m and Zone Two - 6.8 m averaging 5.7 g/t gold including 11.7 g/t gold over 1.6 m and 16.5 g/t gold over 1.0 m. Gold mineralization at both the Rusty Gold Deposit and the Blue Jay Zone is open along strike and to depth. *The Resource Estimates were calculated consistent with guidelines set out in National Instrument 43-101 and filed on Sedar on March 7, 2011. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and by definition do not demonstrate economic viability. **The Historical Resource was estimated in 1990 and a Qualified Person (QP), as defined by NI43-101, has not done sufficient work to classify this historical estimate as current mineral resources. Alto is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources, as defined by NI43-101, and thus the historical estimate should not be relied upon. Alto's President, Mike Koziol, P. Geo. is a qualified person under the provisions of National Instrument 43-101 and approves the technical data and conclusions in this news release. About Alto Ventures Ltd Alto Ventures Ltd. is an exploration and development company with a portfolio of highly prospective Canadian gold properties. The Company is active in the Abitibi greenstone belt in Quebec on the Destiny gold property and is exploring in the Beardmore-Geraldton gold belt in Ontario. In Manitoba, the Company is focused on the gold and base metals potential of the highly prospective but relatively under-explored Oxford Lake property. For more details regarding the Company's projects, please visit our website at www.altoventures.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD, Richard J. Mazur, P. Geo., CEO Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. For further information contact: Mike Koziol, President and Director ALTO VENTURES LTD. Unit 7 - 1351C Kelly Lake Rd Sudbury, ON., P3E 5P5 Tel: 705-522-6372 Email: koziol@altoventures.com Rick Mazur, CEO and Director ALTO VENTURES LTD. Suite 615-800 W. Pender Street Vancouver, BC, V6C 2V6 Tel: 604-689-2599 Email: mazur@altoventures.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/43071 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 27, 2019) - Appia Energy Corp. (CSE: API) (OTCQB: APAAF) (FSE: A0I.F) (FSE: A0I.MU) (FSE: A0I.MU) (FSE: A0I.BE) (the "Company" or "Appia) is pleased to provide details regarding the Company's forthcoming diamond drilling program for high-grade uranium on the Loranger property (the "Property"). The Property is located 28 km southeast of Cameco's Rabbit Lake mill, Athabasca Basin area, northern Saskatchewan. The planned diamond drill hole program (the "Program") will consist of approximately 5 to 10 drill holes totalling a minimum of 1,000 metres, and will be guided by the Company's Vice-President, Exploration and Development, James Sykes, who has had direct and indirect involvement with five major discoveries in the Athabasca Basin in the past decade, most notably leading the discovery of NexGen Energy's Arrow high-grade uranium deposit. The Program will be targeting two or three areas which display coincidental geophysical features commonly exhibited with other Athabasca high-grade uranium deposits, such as i) broad gravity lows, ii) diminished and/or broken electromagnetic conductors, and iii) apparent magnetic lineation offsets. Mr James Sykes comments; "We are very excited to start the winter drill program on the Loranger property. The 2017 drill program successfully intersected uranium mineralization over broad intervals in six out of seven drill holes carried out in two target areas. In addition, the 2017 summer prospecting program identified numerous radioactive occurrences, including bedrock outcrops that were not previously discovered. These details demonstrate that the Loranger property is fertile with uranium. Based on the coincidental geophysical features and geological interpretations from the 2017 programs, we feel confident the proposed winter target areas are highly prospective for uranium mineralization." Diamond drilling will be conducted by Revolution Diamond Drilling Ltd. of Smithers, BC. All necessary exploration permits are in-hand. About Appia Appia is a Canadian publicly-traded company in the uranium and rare earth element sectors. The Company is currently focusing on delineating high-grade critical rare earth elements ("REE") and uranium on the Alces Lake property, as well as prospecting for high-grade uranium in the prolific Athabasca Basin on its Loranger, North Wollaston, and Eastside properties. The Company holds the surface rights to exploration for 64,045 hectares (158,259 acres) in Saskatchewan. The Company also has a 100% interest in 13,008 hectares (32,143 acres), including rare earth element and uranium deposits over five mineralized zones in the Elliot Lake Camp, Ontario, which historically produced over 300 million pounds of U 3 O 8 and is the only Canadian camp that has had significant rare earth element (yttrium) production. Appia's Management and Board have over 250 years of combined industry experience, and the Technical team is directed by James Sykes, who has had direct and indirect involvement with over 450 million lbs. U 3 O 8 being discovered in five deposits within the Athabasca Basin. Appia has 64.0 million common shares outstanding, 86.7 million shares fully diluted. The technical content in this news release was reviewed and approved by Dr. Irvine R. Annesley, P.Geo, Advisor to the Board of Directors of Appia, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This News Release contains forward-looking statements which are typically preceded by, followed by or including the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "plans" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance as they involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements and shareholders are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such statements. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. For further information, please contact: Tom Drivas, President, CEO and Director: (tel) 416-546-2707, (fax) 416-218-9772 or (email) appia@appiaenergy.ca James Sykes, Vice-President Exploration and Development, (tel) 306-221-8717, (fax) 416-218-9772 or (email) jsykes@uraniumgeologist.com Frank van de Water, Chief Financial Officer and Director, (tel) 416-546-2707, (fax) 416-218-9772 or (email) fvandewater@rogers.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/43081 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 27, 2019 / Viridium Pacific Group Ltd. ("Viridium" or the "Company") (TSXV: VIR) (OTC PINK: VIRFF) is pleased to announce it has signed an exclusive supply agreement with Open Fields Distribution, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fire and Flower (TSXV: FAF), supplying the Saskatchewan retail market. Under the terms of the agreement, Experion Biotechnologies, a licensed standard cultivator and processor licensed by Health Canada and wholly owned subsidiary of Viridium Pacific, will supply a variety of Adult-Use retail cannabis products throughout Saskatchewan exclusively through Open Fields. Open Fields is a wholesale distribution company located in Saskatchewan specialising in supplying cannabis products throughout the province to registered retailers. Initial products will include cannabis flower under the Citizen Stash brand. Experion is activity preparing its first shipment and will keep the market informed of product availability and new offerings as they become available. In order to become a cannabis supplier in the province of Saskatchewan, Experion Biotechnologies became a registered supplier with the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority on January 28, 2019. Jay Garnett, Viridium's President and Chief Executive Officer commented: "We are excited to supply our second province with Citizen Stash quality Adult-Use cannabis flower with Open Fields. As a distributor and retail owner, they will be a key partner to develop, test and shape the emerging retail market." About Viridium Viridium Pacific Group Ltd. is a consumer wellness and biotech innovation company based in British Columbia, and the parent company of operating subsidiaries involved in horticultural production (Experion Biotechologies Inc.), Medical products (EFX Labs), property development (Fish Trap Ventures Ltd.), and human resource management (Stave Lake Services Ltd.). Experion Biotechnologies Inc., is a Health Canada licensed cultivator and processor of cannabis, which operates in an 8,300 square-foot indoor facility outside of Mission, BC. More information about Viridium can be found under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. For further information: www.viridiumpacific.com Jarrett Malnarick, Info@viridiumpacific.com 604 837 8688 Disclosure This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Although the Company believes that such information is reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward looking information is typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, forecast, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking information as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to: the state of the financial markets for the Company's equity securities; recent market volatility; the Company's ability to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies; the risks identified in the Filing Statement, and other risks and factors that the Company is unaware of at this time. The reader is referred to the Filing Statement dated September 25, 2017 and/or the most recent annual and interim Management's Discussion and Analysis for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects, copies of which may be accessed through the Company page on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. SOURCE: Viridium Pacific Group Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/537192/Viridium-Signs-Agreement-with-Open-Fields-Distribution-to-Supply-Saskatchewan-Retail-Cannabis-Market SpendEdge, a global procurement market intelligence firm, has announced the release of their Global IT Application Development Services Category Procurement Market Intelligence Report. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005320/en/ Global IT Application Development Services Category Procurement Market Intelligence Report. (Graphic: Business Wire) The IT application development services market is slated for exponential growth in the coming years. Incremental category spend done by significant end-user sectors such as BFSI and Healthcare because of the widespread digitization and the simultaneous migration to cloud computing are some of the factors that are credited for the category growth. Because of the technological strides made on a global scale, web application development and application testing category segments have claimed a combined share of over 50% of the total category spend. Download the Free Sample copy of this IT application development services sourcing and procurement report. Leading end-users in the US are deepening their focus on fortifying their security standards and on improving customer experience. This growing focus is resulting in substantial demand for IT application development services in the region. Innovations and the increasing requirement to handle large amounts of data of the healthcare companies will augment the category spend in North America. The rising popularity of smartphones and tablets in APAC will accelerate the category spend momentum in the region. 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"Buyers must adopt risk assessment measures such as periodic vulnerability measures, adoption of a module-based application development approach, and availability of disaster recovery services to tackle the potential category risks," says SpendEdge procurement expert Anil Seth. This IT application development services sourcing and procurement report has estimated that the following cost drivers will influence the category growth in the following years: Buyers have high bargaining power due to a highly fragmented supply market Adoption of AI and machine learning can disrupt the category growth Buy the full IT application development services market intelligence repor t here! SpendEdge is now offering limited-time discounts on report purchases. Buy two reports and get the third one for free SpendEdge's procurement market intelligence reports for the information technology category provide detailed supply market forecasts and information on cost drivers that impact category growth. Such information will help procurement managers as well as the suppliers to determine the total cost of ownership and change their procurement strategies accordingly. Additionally, SpendEdge's reports provide category management insights and information on the procurement best practices for the category. Report scope snapshot: IT application development services US market insights Supplier cost structure in the US Margins of suppliers in the US Category management strategies in the US Interested to know more about the scope of our market intelligence reports? Download a FREE sample Best practices Procurement excellence best practices Procurement best practices Sustainability practices Want customized information from the IT application development services sourcing and procurement report? Get in touch Category ecosystem Competitiveness index for suppliers Buyer power Supplier power score To view the table of contents of this market intelligence report, Download a FREE sample Do you purchase multiple reports in a year? Our subscription platform, SpendEdge Insights, provides ready-to-use procurement research reports for various categories. Now access latest supplier news, innovation landscape, markets insights, risk assessment strategies, supplier tracking, and much more at the click of a button. Start your 7-day FREE trial now Related Reports: Global Workplace Computing Devices Category Procurement Market Intelligence Report Global Cybersecurity Services Category Procurement Market Intelligence Report 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. To know more, https://www.spendedge.com/request-free-proposal View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005320/en/ Contacts: SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager US: +1 630 984 7340 UK: +44 148 459 9299 https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us Creates Canada's First Neutral-Host Provider of Small Cell and 5G Infrastructure and Enterprise and Wholesale Fiber Connectivity Strengthens Hybrid-Solutions Managed Service Offering for Enterprises Cogeco Peer 1, a leading provider of colocation, network connectivity and managed services, today announced plans to become a standalone business following its sale to Digital Colony, a global investment firm dedicated to strategic opportunities in digital infrastructure. Digital Colony has reached a definitive agreement with Cogeco Communications Inc. (TSX:CCA) to acquire Cogeco Peer 1, which will remain headquartered in Toronto and adopt a new brand. Cogeco Peer 1's portfolio includes over 3,300 route kilometers of owned, dense metro fiber in greater Toronto and Montreal. The company also owns and operates several data centers across North America and Europe which serve a global blue-chip customer base. As a standalone business, Cogeco Peer 1 will have a fiber division and a data center division in order to assume focus on meeting the needs of customers in each market. The fiber division will be Canada's first independent, neutral-host provider of small cell and 5G infrastructure and enterprise and wholesale fiber connectivity. The company's data center division will concentrate on enabling multi-cloud services for enterprises while reinforcing its role as a leading hybrid-solutions managed service provider. "We are grateful for the support and resources Cogeco Communications has provided as we established a strong fiber footprint in Canada's two largest cities, and served customers across the globe with secure enterprise data center solutions," said Susan Bowen, CEO of Cogeco Peer 1. "As we enter our next phase of growth as a standalone company, we will continue to focus on meeting the needs of customers while looking for new ways to innovate and deliver the digital infrastructure solutions they need. We are excited to work with Digital Colony, whose deep knowledge and experience, strong balance sheet and successful track record in the sector will be invaluable as we scale and enter a new era of digital communication." "Cogeco Peer 1 is poised for continued success and growth as changes in the sector, including increased demand for connectivity, drive digital infrastructure spending in Canada," said Marc Ganzi, Managing Partner of Digital Colony. "We look forward to investing in the company, the team and the network assets to continue to build the business and unlock value by providing exceptional solutions to their customers." The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2019, subject to customary closing conditions. RBC Capital Markets is acting as sole financial advisor to Digital Colony, Miller Thomson LLP is serving as the firm's legal counsel, and TD Bank is leading on debt financing. BMO Capital Markets is acting as the exclusive financial advisor to Cogeco Communications, and Stikeman Elliott LLP is providing legal advice. ABOUT COGECO PEER 1 Cogeco Peer 1 is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cogeco Communications Inc. (TSX:CCA) and is a global provider of essential business-to-business products and services, such as colocation, network connectivity, managed hosting, cloud services and managed services, that allow customers across Canada, Mexico, the United States and Western Europe to focus on their core business. With 16 data centers, extensive FastFiber Network and more than 50 points-of-presence in North America and Europe combined, Cogeco Peer 1 is a trusted partner to businesses small, medium and large, providing the ability to access, move, manage and store mission-critical data worldwide, backed by superior customer support. For more information, visit www.cogecopeer1.com. ABOUT DIGITAL COLONY Digital Colony is a global investment firm dedicated to strategic opportunities in digital infrastructure. The firm was launched in 2018 by Digital Bridge Holdings, LLC, a leading investor in and operator of companies enabling the next generation of mobile and internet connectivity, and Colony Capital, Inc. (NYSE: CLNY), a leading global real estate and investment management firm. The firm brings together Digital Bridge's industry, operational and investment expertise in the telecommunications sector with Colony Capital's 26 years of experience as a global investment manager. For more information, please visit www.digitalcolony.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005660/en/ Contacts: FOR INFORMATION Richard Cook Champion Communication richard.cook@championcomms.com For Digital Colony Charlyn Lusk Stanton +1 (646) 502-3549 clusk@stantonprm.com Operators are optimistic about the future services 5G will enable, but estimates suggest network energy consumption could increase by up to 170 percent by 2026 Vertiv, together with technology analyst firm 451 Research, has released the findings of an in-depth survey which reveals a good sense of optimism about the services 5G will enable and the interplay with edge computing. The majority of telecoms operators surveyed believe the 5G era will start in earnest in 2021 in all geographies, with 88 percent of respondents planning to deploy 5G in 2021-2022. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005164/en/ Internal analysis by Vertiv shows that the move to 5G is likely to increase total network energy consumption by 150-170 percent by 2026, with the largest increases in macro, node and network data center areas. (Graphic: Business Wire) However, more than 90 percent of respondents believe 5G will result in higher energy costs and are interested in technologies and services that improve efficiency. This is consistent with internal analysis by Vertiv, which finds the move to 5G is likely to increase total network energy consumption by 150-170 percent by 2026, with the largest increases in macro, node and network data center areas. The survey questioned more than 100 global telecoms operators about the opportunities and potential obstacles of deploying 5G services and the impact on edge computing adoption. Vertiv and 451 Research will provide more detail on these findings as part of Vertiv's Partner Programme today at MWC19, from 3 p.m. CET, NEXTech Hall 8.0, Theatre E. The programme includes a keynote from Vertiv on the interdependent relationship between 5G and edge computing. "The challenge for operators considering 5G will be choosing the most mature use cases, verticals and eco-systems where they can play a meaningful and sustainable role. The research Vertiv has undertaken into edge computing use cases and archetypes, together with this latest survey with 451, will help our operator customers and telecoms partners to build more robust business cases for 5G investments and associated edge compute deployments," says Giordano Albertazzi, president for Vertiv in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Regarding edge and 5G specifically, the survey reveals that a large majority of operators have deployed (37 percent) or plan to deploy (47 percent) edge compute that is aligned with mobile infrastructure also called multi-access edge computing (MEC). "This survey brings us clarity on telecom operators' hopes and fears around 5G and edge deployments," says Brian Partridge, research vice president for 451 Research. "The two toughest connectivity challenges for supporting 5G topologies were revealed to be upgrading access and aggregation layer networks and adding new backhaul links. Survey respondents indicated that the availability of high quality connectivity to distributed POPs and ease of site acquisition were viewed as the most critical enablers to 5G success. We were frankly surprised by some of these results and believe it brings clarity to the level of transformation the industry now faces." In addition to this latest survey, Vertiv has been conducting extensive research in the field, analyzing more than 100 use cases to define four main edge computing archetypes and recently releasing the paper, "Turning on 5G: Using Edge Archetypes to Identify the Most Mature Cases," to quantify the potential impact of specific 5G implementations. As well as the important touch-points between 5G and edge computing, the study from 451 Research and Vertiv examines some of the potential obstacles to 5G adoption and, importantly, the measures operators can take to mitigate them, such as Energy Savings as a Service (ESaaS). According to the survey, more than 90 percent of respondents said they are either extremely or moderately interested in ESaaS. At last year's MWC, Vertiv developed a global ESaaS contract for Telefonica, covering all facets from initial site assessment to comprehensive maintenance services and fit-for-purpose infrastructure solutions for core and access sites. Together with its partners and customers, Vertiv is developing new infrastructure, software and services to help manage the energy requirements associated with 5G and proactively optimize energy use. Don't miss Vertiv's Partner Programme taking place this afternoon at MWC19, which includes a press reception, for an opportunity to learn more and discuss the results findings with 451 Research and Vertiv. About Vertiv Vertiv brings together hardware, software, analytics and ongoing services to ensure its customers' vital applications run continuously, perform optimally and grow with their business needs. Vertiv solves the most important challenges facing today's data centers, communication networks and commercial and industrial facilities with a portfolio of power, cooling and IT infrastructure solutions and services that extends from the cloud to the edge of the network. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, USA, Vertiv employs around 20,000 people and does business in more than 130 countries. For more information, and for the latest news and content from Vertiv, visit Vertiv.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005164/en/ Contacts: Vince McMorrow T +614-383-1622 E Vince.McMorrow@Fahlgren.com Osram, a global high-tech lighting company, announces the launch of its Phytofy RL horticultural research grow light. Phytofy RL was developed to meet the growing demands of researchers at universities, private institutes and plant production in greenhouses and vertical farms. Researchers and modern agriculturists can use the LED-based lighting system Phytofy RL in the lab or in climate chambers in order to develop new plant-specific light and growth recipes. These recipes can lead to desired outcomes in plant quality, yield and flavor. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005157/en/ Each of the six spectral channels can be addressed individually with Phytofy RL and the intensity planned and managed precisely in real time. Source: Osram Various light wavelengths and intensities allow selective intervention in the metabolic processes of agricultural crops and ornamental crops. Yield, coloration and taste as well as other features can be influenced in this way. The latest research shows that not only is this process impacted by photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) in the range of 400 to 700 nanometers (nm) but that shorter and longer wavelengths also influence plant development. With Phytofy RL, six spectral channels - from a natural far-red end-of-day light to UV light as night interruption light can be addressed individually and the photosynthetic photo flux density (PPFD) planned and controlled precisely in real time: 385 nm, 450 nm, 521 nm, 660 nm, 730 nm as well as a warm white channel with 2,700 Kelvin. At the same time, the large number of LEDs in the fixture allows a higher photosynthetic photon flux (PPF). A special feature of the system is its highly uniform light distribution. The calibrated system furthermore supplies a precise irradiance map, calculated by the software with no quantum flux measurements required. Use of Phytofy RL allows for evaluation of the most varied light recipes, without having to change fixtures between individual tests. Diverse combinations of wavelengths also can be programmed, in different light profiles and across the entire photoperiod. In addition, users get five light recipes following registration, which have been specially developed by Osram. The Phytofy RL system was developed by Osram's Innovation Americas and German teams, who partnered with plant biologists to develop the software which can be used intuitively via the graphical user interface. Manufacturers of climate chambers benefit too, with integration possible in their systems. The grow lights can be networked via wired Ethernet or WiFi. The flat and robust design (667 x 299 x 44 mm, just under 9 kilos) is optimized for vertical farms, rack systems and growth chambers. Phytofy RL is already being used by NASA and Michigan State University. Osram is using it to carry out research of growth, anthocyanins and taste, conducted in a climate chamber at the TU Munich. For further information on horticultural applications at Osram and Phytofy RL, visit: www.osram.com/phytofy ABOUT OSRAM OSRAM, based in Munich, is a leading global high-tech company with a history dating back more than 110 years. Primarily focused on semiconductor-based technologies, our products are used in highly diverse applications ranging from virtual reality to autonomous driving and from smartphones to smart and connected lighting solutions in buildings and cities. OSRAM uses the endless possibilities of light to improve the quality of life for individuals and communities. OSRAM's innovations enable people all over the world not only to see better, but also to communicate, travel, work and live better. OSRAM has approximately 26,200 employees worldwide as of end of fiscal 2018 (September 30) and generated revenue of more than 3.8 billion from continuing operations. The company is listed on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt and Munich under ISIN: LED 400 (WKN) and OSR (trading symbol). Additional information can be found www.osram.com. ABOUT OSRAM SYLVANIA OSRAM SYLVANIA is part of OSRAM Americas, a group of OSRAM companies located in North and South America. As a leader in lighting solutions and services specializing in innovative design and energy-saving technology, the company sells products under the brand names OSRAM, Traxon, ENCELIUM and SYLVANIA. The portfolio ranges from high-tech applications based on semiconductor technology, such as infrared or laser lighting, to smart and connected lighting solutions in buildings and cities. The OSRAM SYLVANIA and OSRAM Americas regional headquarters is located in Wilmington, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.osram.us or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. OSRAM is a registered trademark of OSRAM GmbH. ENCELIUM is a registered trademark of OSRAM SYLVANIA Inc. All other trademarks are those of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005157/en/ Contacts: PRESS Ellen Miller Phone 978-570-3755 E-mail: e.miller@osram.com VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 27, 2019 / Silver Range Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: SNG) ("Silver Range") announces that it will carry out a 2,750,000 share private placement. Each common share will be sold at a price of $0.11 for total proceeds of $302,500. All common shares issued will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day from the date the placement closes. The proceeds from this private placement will be used for working capital and exploration work in Nevada, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. This offering is subject to regulatory acceptance. Closing is expected to occur in mid-March, 2019. Silver Range is a precious metals prospect generator working in Nunavut, Nevada and the Northwest Territories. It has assembled a portfolio of 42 properties, 16 of which are currently under option to others. Silver Range is actively seeking other joint venture partners to explore the high grade precious metal targets in its portfolio. The securities referred to in this news release have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from the U.S. registration requirements. This news release does not constitute an offer for sale of securities for sale, nor a solicitation for offers to buy any securities. Any public offering of securities in the United States must be made by means of a prospectus containing detailed information about the company and management, as well as financial statements. ON BEHALF OF SILVER RANGE RESOURCES LTD. "Mike Power" President, C.E.O. & Director For further information concerning Silver Range or its exploration projects please contact: Investor Inquiries Richard Drechsler Vice-President, Communications Tel: (604) 687-2522 NA Toll-Free: (888) 688-2522 rdrechsler@silverrangeresources.com http://www.silverrangeresources.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 may contain forward looking statements based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results that may prove to be inaccurate as a result of exploration and other risk factors beyond its control, and actual results may differ materially from the expected results. SOURCE: Silver Range Resources Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/537232/Silver-Range-Resources-Ltd-Announces-Private-Placement CHICAGO, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Ball Valves Market by Size (Up to 1", 1"-6", 6" to 25", 25" to 50", 50" and Above), Type (Trunnion Mounted, Floating, Rising Stem), Material (Stainless Steel, Cast Iron, Alloy, Cryogenic), Industry, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2024", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Ball Valves Market is expected to be worth USD 12.6 billion in 2019 and reach USD 15.2 billion by 2024, at a CAGR of 3.75% from 2019 to 2024. The growth of this market can be attributed to the high demand for ball valves from various industries such as oil & gas, energy & power, and water & wastewater, especially from APAC and North America. Ask for PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=80882742 Oil & gas industry to hold the largest share of the ball valves market in 2019 By industry, the oil & gas leads the ball valves market. Recent uptrend in the oil & gas industry, the latest discovery of shale gas in North America, and increasing demand for cleaner fuels are the major factors that are likely to drive the ball valves market growth in the next few years. In addition, the increased production of crude oil in the Middle East will be due to the uptrend in the oil production in the coming years and the activation of oil rigs in the region, resulting in high demand for ball valves. Market for cryogenic material to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period The ball valves market for cryogenic material is expected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period. Uptrend in the oil & gas industry and increased focus on cleaner fuels will boost the market for natural gas production and transportation, which, in turn, will boost the demand for cryogenic ball valves during the forecast period. Cryogenic valves are used in the oil and gas industry at a cryogenic temperature starting from -238F. The production, transport, and storage of liquefied gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, argon, natural gas, hydrogen, or helium present several technical problems. This demand generates the need for cryogenic material to handle cryogenic temperature safely. Browse in-depth TOC on "Ball Valves Market" 72 - Tables 50 - Figures 150 - Pages APAC expected to hold largest share of ball valves market in 2019 APAC is expected to hold the largest share of the ball valves market in 2019. The growth is mainly attributed to the numerous initiatives taken by the government to encourage the implementation of IoT in the companies in APAC. The dense population; the presence of automotive, chemical, pharmaceutical, oil and gas, and metal and mining industries in the region; and the growing per capita income with increasing industrialization are the major factors driving the growth of the ball valves market in APAC. Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=80882742 A few key players operating in the ball valves market are Emerson (US), Flowserve corporation (US), Cameron Schlumberger (US), Metso (Finland), and IMI PLC (UK). Please Explore Relevant Reports: Industrial Valves Market by Material Type (Cast Iron, Steel, Cryogenic, Alloy Based), Size, Valve Type (Ball, Butterfly, Gate, Globe, Check, Plug), Industry (Oil & Gas, Water & Wastewater, Energy & Power), and Geography - Global Forecast to 2023 Control Valve Market by Valve Type (Ball, Butterfly, Gate, Globe, Check, Plug), Valve Size, Valve Components (Actuators, Valve Body, Others), Industry (Oil & Gas, Water & Wastewater Treatment, Energy & Power), and Geography - Global Forecast to 2024 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/ball-valve-market.asp Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 27, 2019) - TerraX Minerals Inc. (TSXV: TXR) (FSE: TX0) (OTC Pink: TRXXF) is pleased to announce that a Land Use Permit (LUP) has been issued by the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board (MVLWB) approving TerraX's exploration plan on all the land holdings of its Yellowknife City Gold (YCG) property. The new LUP replaces two smaller LUPs and provides for water usage required in exploration drilling. The new permit is effective until January 2024, extendible to 2026, and covers all of TerraX's claims and leases, providing complete flexibility in planning and carrying out long term exploration plans on the entire 70 kilometer length of the YCG property. President and CEO David Suda stated: "This new land use permit is much better than the two previous permits that TerraX has worked under as it allows the company to drill anywhere on its 783 square kilometer property. We are also looking forward to results from the historical core assays from 5 holes ahead of our refined 2019 drill targeting which we will complete and announce in the coming weeks." In anticipation of the summer drill season, TerraX is formulating a drill plan to be carried out under the new LUP. Historical core recovered by TerraX (press release Jan 14, 2019) has recently been catalogued and a select portion of the core has been logged and sampled. Information from this program will help inform final drill plans for the summer of 2019. Under the LUP permit conditions, TerraX is capable of drilling up to 20,000 meters of core during the summer/fall season. The technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Joseph Campbell, the Chief Executive Officer of TerraX, who is a Qualified Person as defined in "National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects." About the Yellowknife City Gold Project The Yellowknife City Gold ("YCG") project encompasses 783 sq km of contiguous land immediately north, south and east of the City of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. Through a series of acquisitions, TerraX controls one of the six major high-grade gold camps in Canada. Being within 10 km of the City of Yellowknife, the YCG is close to vital infrastructure, including all-season roads, air transportation, service providers, hydro-electric power and skilled tradespeople. The YCG lies on the prolific Yellowknife greenstone belt, covering 70 km of strike length along the main mineralized break in the Yellowknife gold district, including the southern and northern extensions of the shear system that hosted the high-grade Con and Giant gold mines. The project area contains multiple shears that are the recognized hosts for gold deposits in the Yellowknife gold district, with innumerable gold showings and recent high-grade drill results that serve to indicate the project's potential as a world-class gold district. For more information on the YCG project, please visit our web site at www.terraxminerals.com. On behalf of the Board of Directors "DAVID SUDA" David Suda President and CEO For more information, please contact: Samuel Vella Manager of Corporate Communications Phone: 604-689-1749 Toll-Free: 1-855-737-2684 svella@terraxminerals.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 contains forward-looking information, which involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectation. Important factors - including the availability of funds, the results of financing efforts, the completion of due diligence and the results of exploration activities - that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time to time on SEDAR (see www.sedar.com). Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The company disclaims any intention or obligation, except to the extent required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/43070 SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / February 27, 2019 / GreenBox POS, LLC ("GreenBox", "GRBX", the "Company") is pleased to welcome Sigue Corporation top executives at the Company's headquarters in San Diego. The group, which included Sigue's President Mr. De La Vina, SVP Business Development Mr. De Feria, and GRBX CEO Mr. Nisan, EVP and Chairman Mr. Ben Errez, and SVP Payment Systems Ken Haller, assembled to kick off the JV agreement between the two companies that was already announced. "This is just the beginning," stated Ben Errez, Executive Vice President and Chairman of GreenBox. "The two companies are capable of executing on collaborative relationships along much larger business interests. We are happy to have such a partner with exceptional operational pedigree." About GreenBox POS: GreenBox POS (USOTC: GRBX, "GRBX") is a groundbreaking technology company that builds customized payment solutions for a multitude of industries. The company has developed the fastest and safest way to send and process money using Blockchain technology. The company was awarded 5 provisional patents for its technology. GreenBox POS develops the following main products: POS (Point of Sale software and hardware solutions); DEL (delivery app, APIs to POS and PAY); PAY (payment app, providing financial APIs to all other components); KIOSK (deposit, cash and E-wallet management). All products, services and custom hardware are available now from GRBX. GRBX is based in California with offices in Seattle, WA; Las Vegas, NV; Vancouver, BC, Canada; and HQ in San Diego, CA. For more information, visit the company's website at https://www.greenboxpos.com/ Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer: This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain as they are based on current expectations and assumptions concerning future events or future performance of the company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are only predictions and speak only as of the date hereof. In evaluating such statements, prospective investors should review carefully various risks and uncertainties identified in this release and matters set in the company's SEC filings. These risks and uncertainties could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Public Relations and Media Contact: GreenBox POS www.GreenBoxPOS.com Office: 619-631-4838 Info@GreenBoxPOS.com SOURCE: GreenBox POS, LLC View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/537248/GreenBox-POS-OTC-GRBX-and-Sigue-Corporation-Deepening-Collaboration OKAYAMA, Japan, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at Okayama University report in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatology that monitoring a particular antigen can be used for predicting relapse of the vascular disease AAV. Antibodies are molecules produced by a human's immune system to counteract bacteria and viruses. When a bacterial or viral pathogenic molecule (a so-called antigen) is detected, an antibody neutralizes it by binding to it. However, autoantibodies are sometimes produced against our own protein and cause autoimmune diseases. For the autoantibody known as ANCA (antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody) cause ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), at least two antigens exist: proteinase 3 and myeloperoxidase (abbreviated as PR3 and MPO, respectively). Assistant Professor Haruki Watanabe and Associate Professor Ken-Ei Sada from Okayama University and colleagues have now investigated whether MPO-ANCA can be used as a biomarker for the relapse of AAV, a blood-vessel inflammation disease. The researchers' findings suggest that monitoring MPO-ANCA is useful for predicting relapse in patients with AAV. The scientists looked at data for 271 MPO-ANCA-positive patients who had achieved remission (disappearance of the signs and symptoms) of AAV during 6 months after therapy was started. Levels of MPO-ANCA were measured at several times in a 2-year period. Assistant Professor Haruki Watanabe and Associate Professor Ken-Ei Sada from Okayama University and colleagues found that for 72% of the patients, MPO-ANCA levels decreased to normal within 6 months after therapy began. MPO-ANCA reappeared for 40% of the patients for which there were complete follow-up data; this reappearance was associated with a relapse occurring simultaneously or later. The researchers therefore concluded that reappearance of MPO-ANCA is a promising marker for AAV relapse. Assistant Professor Haruki Watanabe and Associate Professor Ken-Ei Sada from Okayama University and colleagues found indications that MPO-ANCA reappearance could be particularly useful as a biomarker for relapse of AAV with kidney involvement (renal AAV). Since only 4 patients without renal involvement experienced relapse, a larger study would be necessary to establish any link between MPO-ANCA reappearance and relapse of non-renal AAV. The researchers point out that their study has some limitations: the data were obtained earlier, in the context of other investigations, and different participating institutions used different analytic procedures for qualitatively assessing ANCA content. Nevertheless, the study was the largest so far, and also the first with case-control analysis (based on comparisons of patients with and without the disease relapse). Watanabe and colleagues conclude that for patients recovered from MPO-AAV, "routine MPO-ANCA monitoring should be implemented [to predict possible relapse]". Background Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) refers to a set of diseases (granulomatosis with polyangiitis, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis and microscopic polyangiitis), the characteristics of which are destruction and inflammation of small blood vessels. Clinical signs vary, and different organs can be affected, including kidneys, stomach, and lungs. A study by Assistant Professor Haruki Watanabe and Associate Professor Ken-Ei Sada from Okayama University and colleagues has now shown that for patients having had AAV, monitoring the presence of an antigen known as MPO-ANCA should help to predict AAV relapse. Reference Haruki Watanabe, Ken-Ei Sada, Yoshinori Matsumoto, Masayoshi Harigai, Koichi Amano, Hiroaki Dobashi, Shouichi Fujimoto, Joichi Usui, Kunihiro Yamagata, Tatsuya Atsumi, Shogo Banno, Takahiko Sugihara, Yoshihiro Arimura, Seiichi Matsuo, Hirofumi Makino, For Japan Research Committee of the Ministry of Health Labour,Welfare for Intractable Vasculitis (JPVAS) Research Committee of Intractable Renal Disease of the Ministry of Health Labour, Welfare of Japan. Association Between Reappearance of Myeloperoxidase - Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody and Relapse in Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody - Associated Vasculitis: Subgroup Analysis of Nationwide Prospective Cohort Studies. Arthritis & Rheumatology, 2018 Oct;70(10):1626-1633. DOI: 10.1002/art.40538. Correspondence to Assistant Professor Haruki Watanabe, M.D. Department of Medicine and Clinical Science, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1, Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama 700-8558, Japan. E-mail: harukiw@okayama-u.ac.jp Further information Okayama University 1-1-1 Tsushima-naka , Kita-ku , Okayama 700-8530, Japan Public Relations and Information Strategy E-mail: www-adm@adm.okayama-u.ac.jp Website: http://www.okayama-u.ac.jp/index_e.html Okayama Univ. e-Bulletin: http://www.okayama-u.ac.jp/user/kouhou/ebulletin/ About Okayama University (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDL1coqPRYI Okayama University Image Movie (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU3hOIXS5kk Okayama University Medical Research Updates(OU-MRU) The whole volume: OU-MRU (1- ) About Okayama University Okayama University is one of the largest comprehensive universities in Japan with roots going back to the Medical Training Place sponsored by the Lord of Okayama and established in 1870. Now with 1,300 faculty and 13,000 students, the University offers courses in specialties ranging from medicine and pharmacy to humanities and physical sciences. Okayama University is located in the heart of Japan approximately 3 hours west of Tokyo by Shinkansen. Website: http://www.okayama-u.ac.jp/index_e.html VANCOUVER , British Columbia, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ParcelPal Technology Inc. ("ParcelPal" or the "Company"), (CSE: PKG) (CSE: PKG.CN) (FSE: PT0) (OTC: PTNYF) is pleased to welcome Brian Storseth as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Storseth is a businessman and was a Member of Parliament (MP) for the electoral district of Westlock-St Paul for the Conservative Party of Canada for 9 years from 2006-2015. During his tenure as an MP he served on committees for Aboriginal Affairs, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada. Brian currently serves as Chairman of Reliq Health Technologies' (TSXV:RHT) or (OTCQB:RQHTF) Board of directors and a managing partner of Maverick Capital Fund. In addition to his current business affairs, Brian has also taken an active role to give back to his community. He is the founder of the Westlock Women's Hope Resource Centre and currently is on the Board of Progress Mental Health. Brian studied political science at the University of Alberta while simultaneously working in Office of the Speaker of the legislative Assembly of Alberta. President and CEO, Kelly Abbott states, "Brian is an incredibly accomplished business leader and policy expert, having spent 9 years in Ottawa in the House of Commons. He is intimately familiar with ParcelPal's business, our plans for future expansion and will be an invaluable asset moving forward as we navigate multiple opportunities across various Government entities, namely within the Ontario market. We are excited to leverage his network, experience and leadership to assist with our national expansion plans." Brain Storseth stated, "I am thrilled to join ParcelPal's board as a Chairman. Having watched the progress of ParcelPal over the past year, I am very impressed with management as they begin their rollout across Canada. I am looking forward to providing guidance and value across the business in all verticals." About ParcelPal Technology Inc. ParcelPal is a technology-driven logistics company that connects consumers to the goods they love. Customers can shop at partner businesses and through the ParcelPal technology receive their purchased goods within an hour. The Company offers on-demand delivery of merchandise from leading retailers, restaurants, medical marijuana dispensaries and liquor stores in Vancouver and soon in major cities Canada-wide. ParcelPal Website: www.parcelpal.com The Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") or any other securities regulatory authority has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release that has been prepared by management. CSE - Symbol: PKG FSE - Symbol: PT0 OTC - Symbol: PTNYF Forward Looking Information This news release contains forward looking statements relating to the Proposed Transaction, and the future potential of ParcelPal. Forward looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "intends", "anticipates", "expects", "plans" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the risk that the Proposed Transaction will not be completed due to, among other things, failure to execute definitive documentation, failure to complete satisfactory due diligence, failure to receive the approval of the CSE and the risk that ParcelPal will not be successful due to, among other things, general risks relating to the mobile application industry, failure of ParcelPal to gain market acceptance and potential challenges to the intellectual property utilized in ParcelPal. There can be no assurance that any forward looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company cannot guarantee that any forward looking statement will materialize and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will only update or revise publicly any of the included forward looking statements as expressly required by Canadian securities laws. Contact: Peter Hinam, Director Investor Relations peter@parcelpal.com +604-401-8700 April 17, 2019 Regulatory News: The shareholders of Gecina (the "Company") (Paris:GFC) are invited to attend the Ordinary General Meeting to be held on: Wednesday April 17, 2019 from 3 pm, at Pavillon Cambon, 46 rue Cambon, 75001 Paris, France. A meeting notice containing the agenda, the full text for the proposed resolutions and the main conditions for attending and voting at the Ordinary General Meeting on April 17, 2019 has been published in the French official gazette (Bulletin des Annonces Legales Obligatoires) today. This meeting notice and the Board of Directors' report on the proposed resolutions can be consulted on Gecina's website at www.gecina.fr. The meeting notice will be followed by an invitation to attend, which will be published in the French official gazette (BALO) and a French legal announcement journal within the legal and regulatory timeframes. The Company will be sending out the postal and proxy voting forms directly to all shareholders. The preparatory documents for this General Meeting will be made available to the Company's shareholders in accordance with the regulatory conditions and timeframes applicable. All shareholders may ask the Company to send them these documents with written requests to be sent to the Company's registered office or faxed to +33 (0)1 40 40 64 81 up until the fifth day (inclusive) before the Ordinary General Meeting on April 17, 2019, i.e. April 12, 2019. They may also be consulted at the Company's registered office and will be available on the Company's website (www.gecina.fr). The Board of Directors French limited company (societe anonyme) with a share capital of 571,991,190 Registered office: 14-16, rue des Capucines 75002 Paris France Paris trade and companies register: 592 014 476 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005426/en/ Contacts: Laurent Le Goff Tel: +33 (0)1 40 40 62 69 HONG KONG, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2018 IFR Asia Awards for the category of Indonesia Best Capital Markets Deal was awarded to PT Jasa Marga (Persero) Tbk. by International Financing Review (IFR Asia) as Jasa Marga funding scheme, Komodo Bond, has been successfully attracting infrastructure investments in Indonesia, toll roads in particular. Steve Garton, representing IFR Asia, presented the award to Jasa Marga Finance Director Donny Arsal at Four Seasons Hotel, Hong Kong, on February 26, 2019. "Komodo Bond generates new funds, not only from domestic but also global market. The issuer does not even have to bear rupiah-volatility risks. It will hopefully keep developing and become a new funding alternative," says Donny Arsal after receiving the award. Komodo Bond is a term for a debt security or rupiah denominated-bond which is sold and legally documented on a global scale (global IDR bond). Earlier, corporations and the government used to sell dollar denominated bonds (global USD bond) instead. Despite the rupiah denominated issuance, investors will acquire the due date repayments with interests in US Dollar (USD settlement) based on the current dollar exchange rate. Komodo Bond is one of Jasa Marga's five funding scheme breakthroughs, which was globally issued for the first time on November 30, 2017 in which Jasa Marga has managed to issue a Rp4 trillion bond. The bond is a debt security with a three-year coupon, without guarantee. The bond received Baa3 ranking, by Moody's and BB + by S&P, for its December 11, 2020 due date 7.50% coupon. Komodo Bond was believed to have created a new asset class for global investors and new ways to fund Asian infrastructures. It also enables Jasa Marga to manage currency risks, particularly after Bank Indonesia urge companies to steer clear of excessive foreign currency-denominated loans. This is a milestone in the history of Indonesian Capital Market. The bonds are allocated to United States (26%), Europe (19%), Asia (40%) and domestic investors (15%). Based on the type of investors, 84% and 16% are offered to asset management and bank/public institution/private banking, respectively. Media Contact: Dwimawan Heru Corporate Communication & Community Development Group Head PT Jasa Marga Tbk. Plaza Tol Taman Mini Indonesia Indah Jakarta 13550 Tel. (021) 841 3526/ext. 117/118 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/827707/IFR_Asia_Awards.jpg TSX: JAG TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Jaguar Mining Inc. ("Jaguar" or the "Company") (TSX: JAG) today announced drilling results from 19 holes over 4,523m as part of its growth exploration drill program on Orebody C, and 46 holes over 4,708m from infill drilling (39 holes at C-SE and 7 holes at C-Central) completed since June 2018 (Refer News Release February 26 and June 18, 2018) at Turmalina Gold Mine ("Turmalina"). The growth drilling focused on targeting Orebody C extensions down plunge and laterally along strike, and to upgrade mineral resources to mineral reserves. Turmalina Exploration Highlights Drill results confirm the structure hosting Orebody C extends to depth beyond mine level 8,500m down plunge ( 400m vertically) from current operations and remains open at depth down plunge ( vertically) from current operations and remains open at depth Drill results confirm changes in the plunge direction of the higher-grade ore shoot as mapped structurally in mine development on levels 3 and 4 in Q3 2018 4 growth exploration holes intersected grade x thickness of > 10 GM including an intercept of 7.08 g/t Au over 3.85m (ETW 3.2m ) Completed infill drilling on Orebody C to upgrade and covert mineral resources to mineral reserves between levels 3 and 5 Key infill drilling intersections on Orebody C-SE include 5.76 g/t Au over 29.63m (ETW 22.69m ), 6.40 g/t Au over 14.80m (ETW 12.56m ) and 5.65 g/t Au over 26.54m (ETW 19.09m ) Infill drilling continued to define wide; high-grade intercepts in 19 intersections with a grade x thickness of > 10 GM including 15 intersections with grade x thickness > 25 GM, 5 intersections with grade x thickness > 50 GM and 3 intersections with grade x thickness > 100 GM 8 infill holes targeting Orebody C-Central based on the new plunge interpretation include two higher grade intersections from the drilling in this area completed to date of 18.35 g/t Au over 8.76m (ETW 8.23m ) and 9.95g/t Au over 2.29m (ETW 2.0m ). Intersections appear to define a high-grade plunging mineralized shoot, which extends over a strike length of approximately 50m Definitions: ETW - estimated true width, g/t Au - grams per tonne gold, m - metres, Grade (g/t Au) x Thickness (m) = GM (gram - meters) Ben Guenther Interim CEO, Jaguar Mining commented: "We continue to improve our geological understanding of Orebody C through structural mapping, targeted growth drilling and prioritized infill drilling. This strategic approach enables us to plan and develop shallow mineralization that will provide Turmalina with additional ore faces and operational flexibility. Development of C Central will also provide exploration platforms for C NW and extend the orebody laterally to increase longer term production capability. We look forward to reporting our update Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves during March 2019." Jon Hill, Expert Advisor, Geology and Exploration, Jaguar Mining Management Committee commented: "During 2018 exploration programs focused on upgrading mineral resources to mineral reserves on both principle orebodies at Turmalina. Concurrently, the Company has significantly advanced the understanding of the structural and related geological controls on Orebody C mineralization through detailed geological mapping of current and ongoing underground development. The recognition of a new plunge control to the distribution of the higher grade and wider mineralized zones clearly broadens the potential to find additional higher-grade mineralized "pay shoots" at shallower depths along the strike of the host structure and, more significantly, depth extensions, down plunge from the C-Central and C-NW historically mined open pits." "The recent high-grade intercept on orebody C-Central with a grade x thickness value > 150 GM is encouraging as we begin to evaluate previously under-tested areas assuming the newly identified plunge control. This work is being prioritized as any increase in grade, tonnes and ounces per vertical meter added in shallow areas of the mine may leverage access from existing infrastructure and provide more flexibility in the mine plan and ultimately potential for higher production". Turmalina Orebody C Growth Exploration and Infill Drilling Results Growth exploration drilling, targeting down dip extensions from level 4, continues to confirm the structure hosting Orebody C extends to depth beyond mine level 8 approximately 500m down plunge and 400m vertically from current operations. Importantly, this drilling successfully tested and confirmed the changes in the plunge direction of the higher-grade ore shoot highlighted by earlier drilling and subsequently geologically - structurally mapped in the mine development on levels 3 and 4 in Q3-2018 (Refer June 18, 2018 news release). The new plunge direction assumed is N75/48 (azimuth / dip) (previous N45/55). This high-grade plunge direction approximates the observed Orebody A high-grade zone plunge of N65/48. Further drilling is planned for Q2 and Q3 2019 to fully test this ore-shoot between level 4 and level 8 once a new drilling platform has been prepared for this purpose from the C-ramp on level 5. (Refer figure 2). Infill drilling on Orebody C focusing on upgrading mineral resources to mineral reserves between levels 3 and 5 was prioritized in Q3 and Q4 to inform the Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves update during March 2019. This infill drilling continued to define wide; high-grade intercepts consistent with those previously reported (Refer news releases dated June18, 2018 and February 26, 2018). In the results released today 19 intersections with a grade x thickness of > 10 GM including 15 intersections with grade x thickness > 25 GM, 5 intersections with grade x thickness > 50 GM and 3 intersections with grade x thickness > 100 GM. (Refer figure 3, table 2). The observed change in the plunge control of the higher grade and wider parts of the Orebody Host Structure has positive implications for interpreting and targeting additional shallow mineralization further along the strike of the Orebody C structure where clear potential exists for the identification and delineation of additional high grade shoots below the C-Central and C-NW open pits. Results are reported from 8 infill holes targeting Orebody C-Central along strike from Orebody C-SE (using the mine drill rig) drilled as part of an ongoing drilling programme testing the potential for additional shallow, structurally controlled "payshoots" associated with the new plunge interpretation. Two higher grade intersections are reported from this drilling completed to date; 18.35 g/t Au over 8.76m (ETW 8.23m) and 9.95g/t Au over 2.29m (ETW 2.0m). These two holes define a high-grade plunging mineralized shoot, which extends over a strike length currently estimated to be of the order of 50m in this area. Further drilling and evaluation work targeting Orebodies C - Central and C-NW is in progress with the aim of identifying and delineating mineable material close to existing development that is currently within 150m on Orebody C-SE level 4. (Refer figure 4 and table 2). Of Note, results and data from 18 infill drill holes out of the 46 infill drill hole results included in this report were drilled after the database closed for the estimation at the end of 2018 Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. The hole numbers and coordinate data for these 18 holes are included in Appendix 2. Turmalina Gold Mine Drill Results and Intercepts Table 1. Growth Exploration Drilling Results Orebody C. (OREBODY - CSE) Turmalina Gold Mine Growth Exploration Drill Results Ore Body C Hole ID From To Down Hole Interval (m) Estimated True Width (m) Gold Grade (g/t) GT (ETW) FTS1489 183.00 186.15 3.15 2.34 4.66 10.90 FTS1553 93.95 95.05 1.10 0.90 1.79 1.61 FTS1555 176.00 177.90 1.90 1.70 1.27 2.16 FTS1558 256.80 257.70 0.90 0.87 3.32 2.89 335.30 336.30 1.00 0.97 2.73 2.65 FTS1559 191.00 193.05 2.05 1.98 2.90 5.74 FTS1560 154.30 155.30 1.00 0.85 1.82 1.55 FTS1561 222.35 224.35 2.00 1.90 5.24 9.96 FTS1562 186.45 187.45 1.00 0.89 1.50 1.34 FTS1563 120.45 121.45 1.00 0.90 1.23 1.11 FTS1564 208.35 209.35 1.00 0.90 1.29 1.16 FTS1565 109.30 110.45 1.15 0.95 1.12 1.06 FTS1566 No impact FTS1567 138.50 139.50 1.00 0.92 3.68 3.39 FTS1568 148.85 151.75 2.90 2.68 4.17 11.18 FTS1569 101.10 103.05 1.95 1.83 1.94 3.55 165.60 169.65 4.05 3.78 2.44 9.22 FTS1646 184.95 188.80 3.85 3.20 7.08 22.66 FTS1647 195.85 198.15 2.30 1.88 1.55 2.91 FTS1668 174.40 180.60 6.20 5.82 2.76 16.06 FTS1678 186.90 189.95 3.05 2.86 1.55 4.43 Table 2. Infill Drilling Results Orebody C - Turmalina Please note assay results reported in the tabulation below were analyzed at Jaguar's Caete Laboratory. Turmalina Gold Mine Infill Drill Results Ore Body C Hole ID From To Down hole Interval (m) Estimated True Width (m) Gold Grade (g/t) GT (ETW) Drilling Company FTS1537 No impact JAGUAR FTS1544* 65.20 72.38 7.18 6.99 2.78 19.43 JAGUAR FTS1545* 74.95 79.10 4.15 3.75 7.57 28.39 JAGUAR FTS1546* 67.70 69.80 2.10 1.80 4.44 7.99 JAGUAR FTS1547A* 80.41 83.60 3.19 2.76 2.96 8.17 JAGUAR FTS1574 82.54 85.44 2.90 2.58 2.80 7.22 JAGUAR 107.67 114.48 6.81 6.06 2.62 15.88 JAGUAR FTS1627 77.79 80.42 2.63 2.58 3.55 9.16 JAGUAR 102.91 105.06 2.15 2.11 3.45 7.28 JAGUAR FTS1628A 57.00 59.00 2.00 1.73 9.23 15.97 JAGUAR 73.00 75.00 2.00 1.63 5.13 8.36 JAGUAR 78.00 89.85 11.85 9.70 2.07 20.08 JAGUAR 94.60 96.00 1.40 1.23 4.73 5.82 JAGUAR FTS1629 66.00 76.00 10.00 7.00 3.78 26.46 JAGUAR 82.00 88.00 6.00 4.24 8.41 35.66 JAGUAR FTS1630 66.30 84.77 18.47 17.50 3.81 66.68 JAGUAR FTS1631 56.73 73.00 16.27 14.95 3.82 57.11 JAGUAR FTS1632 69.22 70.22 1.00 0.90 3.07 2.76 JAGUAR FTS1649 21.80 35.03 13.23 11.45 1.72 19.69 JAGUAR FTS1650 20.00 22.10 2.10 1.43 1.43 2.04 JAGUAR 27.35 29.39 2.04 1.76 2.50 4.40 JAGUAR FTS1651 22.10 45.09 22.99 18.83 2.35 44.25 JAGUAR FTS1652 29.34 58.97 29.63 22.69 5.76 130.69 JAGUAR FTS1659 37.13 39.15 2.02 1.98 3.13 6.20 JAGUAR 42.23 43.27 1.04 1.02 4.68 4.77 JAGUAR FTS1660 26.30 40.67 14.37 9.98 4.63 46.21 JAGUAR FTS1661 20.70 33.67 12.97 9.17 1.61 14.76 JAGUAR 44.70 47.99 3.29 2.52 3.39 8.54 JAGUAR FTS1662 32.82 50.72 17.90 15.65 5.03 78.72 JAGUAR FTS1663 39.22 54.02 14.80 12.56 6.40 80.38 JAGUAR 59.68 68.07 8.39 7.03 2.72 19.12 JAGUAR FTS1664 49.91 58.59 8.68 6.24 5.32 33.20 JAGUAR 63.22 76.45 13.23 9.51 7.79 74.08 JAGUAR 49.91 76.45 26.54 19.09 5.65 107.86 JAGUAR FTS1682 48.28 52.08 3.80 2.95 1.23 3.63 JAGUAR FTS1683 56.88 72.00 15.12 11.91 2.49 29.66 JAGUAR 78.94 79.63 0.69 0.54 20.35 10.99 JAGUAR FTS1684 46.85 60.41 13.56 10.97 3.75 41.14 JAGUAR 65.83 68.61 2.78 2.19 8.42 18.44 JAGUAR FTS1685 49.32 64.34 15.02 13.26 2.42 32.09 JAGUAR FTS1686 54.10 58.01 3.91 3.51 4.56 16.01 JAGUAR FTS1687 No impact JAGUAR FTS1688 43.32 46.17 2.85 2.77 2.09 5.79 JAGUAR FTS1690* 66.90 74.85 7.95 7.20 2.00 14.40 JAGUAR 105.70 114.46 8.76 8.23 18.35 151.02 JAGUAR FTS1691* 60.81 61.67 0.86 0.79 1.66 1.31 JAGUAR 81.38 82.36 0.98 0.83 1.51 1.25 JAGUAR 99.65 100.60 0.95 0.86 1.09 0.94 JAGUAR FTS1692* 137.00 139.29 2.29 2.00 9.95 19.90 JAGUAR FTS1693* 123.44 124.31 0.87 0.71 4.13 2.93 JAGUAR FTS1717 100.18 102.20 2.02 1.90 6.20 11.78 JAGUAR FTS1671 101.00 108.30 7.30 6.32 4.07 25.72 MAJOR FTS1672 49.91 58.59 8.68 6.24 5.32 33.20 MAJOR FTS1673 80.60 88.85 8.25 8.00 5.25 42.00 MAJOR FTS1674 62.50 65.00 2.50 1.05 10.95 11.50 MAJOR 88.45 92.50 4.05 2.02 3.60 7.27 MAJOR FTS1675 112.00 113.00 1.00 0.76 10.01 7.61 MAJOR FTS1676 88.00 98.00 10.00 9.06 1.63 14.77 MAJOR 104.60 110.50 5.90 5.34 3.34 17.84 MAJOR FTS1677 82.67 88.14 5.47 4.91 2.81 13.80 MAJOR 95.70 98.59 2.89 2.45 6.31 15.46 MAJOR FTS1706 78.00 91.00 13.00 12.05 3.94 47.48 MAJOR FTS1707 62.75 65.00 2.25 2.11 2.22 4.68 MAJOR 89.30 91.60 2.30 2.16 13.13 28.36 MAJOR FTS1708 95.65 96.65 1.00 0.85 7.76 6.59 MAJOR FTS1709 109.60 111.75 2.15 1.90 8.70 16.53 MAJOR FTS1711 84.00 94.80 10.80 8.50 5.73 48.71 MAJOR * Infill Drilling Results Orebody C - CENTRAL Qualified Person Scientific and technical information contained in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Jonathan Victor Hill, BSc (Hons) (Economic Geology - UCT), FAUSIMM, Senior Expert Advisor Geology and Exploration to the Jaguar Mining Management Committee, who is also an employee of Jaguar Mining Inc., and is a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). Quality Control Jaguar continues to use a quality-control program that includes insertion of blanks and commercial standards in order to ensure best practice in sampling and analysis. HQ, NQ, and BQ size drill core is sawn in half with a diamond saw. Samples are selected for analysis in standard intervals according to geological characteristics such as lithology and hydrothermal alteration. All diamond drill hole collars are accurately surveyed using a Total Station instrument and down-hole deviations are surveyed using non-magnetic equipment (SPT Stockholm Precision Tools with GyroMaster Solid State North Seeker) and a Reflex Gyrosmart 642. Mean grades are calculated using a variable lower grade cut-off (generally 0.5g/t Au). No upper gold grade cut has been applied to the data. However, the requirement for assay top cutting will be assessed during future resource work. Half of the sawed sample is forwarded to the analytical laboratory for analysis while the remaining half of the core is stored in a secure location. The drill core samples from growth exploration drillholes are transported in securely sealed bags and sent for physical preparation to the independent ALS Brazil (subsidiary of ALS Global) laboratory located in Vespasiano, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The analysis is conducted at ALS Global's respective facilities (fire assay are conducted by ALS Global in Lima, Peru, and multi-elementary analysis are conducted by ALS Global in Vancouver, Canada). ALS has accreditation in a global management system that meets all requirements of international standards ISO/IEC 17025:2005 and ISO 9001:2015. All major ALS geochemistry analytical laboratories are accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 for specific analytical procedures. The infill drilling results presented on this news release are from drill holes completed by both Major Drilling on contract and Jaguar Mining Inc's own drilling machines. The infill samples are transported for physical preparation and analysis in securely sealed bags to the Jaguar in-house laboratory located at the Roca Grande Mine, Caete, Minas Gerais. For a complete description of Jaguar's sample preparation, analytical methods and QA/QC procedures, please refer to the "Technical Report on the Roca Grande and Pilar Operations, Minas Gerais State, Brazil", a copy of which is available on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. The Iron Quadrangle The Iron Quadrangle has been an area of mineral exploration dating back to the 16th century. The discovery in 1699-1701 of gold contaminated with iron and platinum-group metals in the southeastern corner of the Iron Quadrangle gave rise to the name of the town Ouro Preto (Black Gold). The Iron Quadrangle contains world-class multi-million-ounce gold deposits such as Morro Velho, Cuiaba, and Sao Bento. Jaguar holds the second largest gold land position of a gold producer in the Iron Quadrangle with just over 25,000 hectares. About Jaguar Mining Inc. Jaguar Mining Inc. is a Canadian-listed junior gold mining, development, and exploration company operating in Brazil with three gold mining complexes and a large land package with significant upside exploration potential from mineral claims covering an area of approximately 64,000 hectares. The Company's principal operating assets are located in the Iron Quadrangle, a prolific greenstone belt in the state of Minas Gerais and include the Turmalina Gold Mine Complex and Caete Mining Complex (Pilar and Roca Grande Mines, and Caete Plant). The Company also owns the Paciencia Gold Mine Complex, which has been on care and maintenance since 2012. The Roca Grande Mine has been on temporary care and maintenance since April 2018. Additional information is available on the Company's website at www.jaguarmining.com. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements and information are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's expectations and plans relating to the future. All of the forward-looking information set forth in this news release is qualified by the cautionary statements below and those made in our other filings with the securities regulators in Canada. Forward-looking information contained in forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "are expected", "is forecast", "is targeted," "approximately," "plans," "anticipates," "projects," "continue," "estimate," "believe," or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may," "could," "would," "might," or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, may be considered to be or include forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and the dates of technical reports, as applicable. This news release contains forward-looking information regarding potential and, among other things, expected future mineral resources, potential mineral production opportunities, geological and mineral exploration statistics, ore grades, current and expected future assay results, and definition/delineation/exploration drilling at the Pilar Gold Mine and the Turmalina Gold Mine in Brazil, as well as forward-looking information regarding costs of production, capital expenditures, costs and timing of the development of projects and new deposits, success of exploration, development and mining activities, capital requirements, project studies, mine life extensions, and continuous improvement initiatives. The Company has made numerous assumptions with respect to forward-looking information contained herein, including, among other things, assumptions about the estimated timeline and for the development of the drill program at the Pilar Gold Mine (and its expanded exploration footprint) and the Turmalina Gold Mine; its mineral properties; the supply and demand for, and the level and volatility of the price of, gold; the accuracy of reserve and resource estimates and the assumptions on which the reserve and resource estimates are based; the receipt of necessary permits; market competition; ongoing relations with employees and impacted communities; and political and legal developments in any jurisdiction in which the Company operates being consistent with its current expectations including, without limitation, the impact of any potential power rationing, tailings facility regulation, exploration and mine operating licenses and permits being obtained and renewed and/or there being adverse amendments to mining or other laws in Brazil and any changes to general business and economic conditions. Forward-looking information involves a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including among others: the risk of Jaguar not meeting its plans regarding its operations and financial performance; uncertainties with respect to the price of gold, labor disruptions, mechanical failures, increase in costs, environmental compliance and change in environmental legislation and regulation, weather delays and increased costs or production delays due to natural disasters, power disruptions, procurement and delivery of parts and supplies to the operations; uncertainties inherent to capital markets in general (including the sometimes volatile valuation of securities and an uncertain ability to raise new capital) and other risks inherent to the gold exploration, development and production industry, which, if incorrect, may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by the Company and described herein. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of gold exploration, development, mining and production, including without limitation environmental hazards, tailings dam failures, industrial accidents and workplace safety problems, unusual or unexpected geological formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding, chemical spills, and gold bullion thefts and losses (and the risk of inadequate insurance, or the inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks). 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 information. Appendix 1 Drill Hole location data for holes reported in this Press-Release - Orebody C Growth Exploration Drilling. Hole ID Easting (m) Northing (m) Elevation (m) Total Depth (m) Collar Azimuth () Collar Dip () Date Orebody Drilling Company Technical Report- 2019 FTS1489 513131.08 7817115.40 340.1 230.65 247.92 -51.17 9/5/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1553 513300.41 7817178.30 64.35 180.10 229.35 -34.32 7/3/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1555 513131.92 7817115.11 340.26 248.75 224.94 -70.27 17/05/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1558 513299.24 7817179.45 65.62 337.30 261.19 11.57 25/06/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1559 513301.02 7817180.56 63.59 271.50 295.06 -76.84 31/07/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1560 513300.02 7817179.61 63.53 201.65 265.86 -45.48 7/8/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1561 513299.76 7817179.92 64.62 253.95 270.98 -10.51 29/06/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1562 513300.49 7817180.39 63.72 284.90 285.17 -64.49 18/10/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1563 513301.00 7817180.76 63.69 263.80 301.44 -67.50 18/10/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1564 513301.57 7817181.16 63.48 330.15 324.08 -78.53 24/08/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1565 513300.45 7817180.19 63.64 227.55 278.64 -54.83 17/09/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1566 513300.72 7817180.64 63.74 270.00 293.83 -56.44 19/09/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1567 513300.79 7817177.40 64.17 164.85 214.09 -20.79 5/9/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1568 513301.27 7817176.97 64.15 171.10 201.08 -18.82 6/9/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1569 513301.85 7817176.12 63.97 195.20 188.00 -17.82 13/09/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1646 513301.71 7817176.12 64.14 204.90 180.02 -16.42 26/09/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1647 513302.35 7817175.89 64.14 247.05 172.71 -12.36 17/10/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1668 513302.38 7817176.71 63.52 207.50 168.87 -36.20 23/10/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1678 513301.15 7817176.61 64.84 232.35 192.36 -2.13 25/10/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES Appendix 2 Drill Hole location data for holes reported in this Press-Release Infill Drilling Orebody C (C-SE and C-CENTRAL). Hole ID Easting (m) Northing (m) Elevation (m) Total Depth (m) Collar Azimuth () Collar Dip () Date Orebody Drilling Company Technical Report- 2019 FTS1537 512761.01 7817072.58 487.80 72.86 188.86 -34.63 16/01/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR YES FTS1544 512741.90 7816981.58 481.28 83.70 84.29 -16.43 28/05/2018 Corpo CCE JAGUAR YES FTS1545 512742.43 7816981.30 481.19 125.24 6.38 -29.07 18/05/2018 Corpo CCE JAGUAR YES FTS1546 512741.59 7816981.65 481.21 77.88 41.02 -33.95 18/05/2018 Corpo CCE JAGUAR YES FTS1547A 512741.75 7816981.59 481.25 111.59 18.31 -34.18 25/06/2018 Corpo CCE JAGUAR YES FTS1574 512929.31 7816980.17 494.69 131.22 286.01 -64.67 29/05/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR YES FTS1627 513050.38 7817004.04 342.60 111.85 225.00 18.29 9/7/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR YES FTS1628A 513049.91 7816986.66 341.73 120.98 262.15 3.24 20/11/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR YES FTS1629 513050.14 7816986.40 341.67 110.19 254.78 3.08 19/11/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR YES FTS1630 513049.65 7816986.92 341.54 96.85 250.19 4.96 10/11/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR YES FTS1631 513049.89 7816986.62 341.53 91.10 235.71 4.84 10/11/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR YES FTS1632 513050.19 7816986.39 341.53 84.95 224.80 4.38 9/11/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR YES FTS1649 512946.20 7816896.99 415.32 46.35 2.46 30.58 12/9/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR YES FTS1650 512946.78 7816896.76 415.35 45.45 26.76 30.00 12/9/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR YES FTS1651 512949.31 7816896.09 414.86 61.09 340.14 18.42 5/12/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR YES FTS1652 512948.89 7816896.25 414.85 79.95 329.38 13.22 5/12/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR YES FTS1659 512949.22 7816895.77 413.24 65.44 55.08 -12.71 24/09/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR YES FTS1660 512949.82 7816895.92 413.97 65.25 31.69 -14.16 5/12/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR YES FTS1661 512949.46 7816896.13 414.07 69.03 10.20 -11.00 4/12/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR YES FTS1662 512946.40 7816897.05 413.69 75.20 353.58 -13.57 16/10/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR YES FTS1663 512945.87 7816897.25 413.76 85.81 342.69 -10.79 15/10/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR YES FTS1664 512945.46 7816897.41 413.82 96.63 335.16 -8.57 17/10/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR YES FTS1682 513051.17 7816985.58 341.83 71.51 207.79 4.68 27/11/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR NO FTS1683 513049.74 7816986.74 341.00 92.95 263.72 -12.82 6/12/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR NO FTS1684 513050.62 7816985.94 341.27 84.35 255.01 -17.08 6/12/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR NO FTS1685 513051.00 7816985.85 341.31 77.59 244.84 -16.88 7/12/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR NO FTS1686 513051.33 7816985.77 341.32 82.87 231.49 -20.97 11/12/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR NO FTS1687 513051.30 7816985.20 341.10 66.99 210.47 -22.11 11/12/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR NO FTS1688 513051.75 7816984.84 341.12 75.79 186.22 -22.64 11/12/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR NO FTS1690 512781.32 7817136.22 495.03 137.48 254.76 -45.08 9/11/2018 Corpo CCE JAGUAR YES FTS1691 512781.30 7817135.65 495.14 121.00 232.62 -47.85 17/01/2019 Corpo CCE JAGUAR NO FTS1692 512781.26 7817136.57 495.26 148.35 272.70 -39.78 22/01/2019 Corpo CCE JAGUAR NO FTS1693 512781.27 7817136.80 495.36 175.81 282.49 -34.30 22/01/2019 Corpo CCE JAGUAR NO FTS1717 513020.74 7817055.05 345.09 132.55 266.11 -16.66 12/12/2018 Corpo CSE JAGUAR NO FTS1671 513024.73 7817051.82 344.79 154.75 177.71 -22.34 5/12/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1672 513024.00 7817053.23 345.14 131.90 196.30 -27.58 6/12/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1673 513023.23 7817053.59 345.11 119.75 215.24 -31.15 12/8/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1674 513022.47 7817054.16 344.91 118.40 241.44 -28.76 11/12/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1675 513021.44 7817055.10 345.06 133.50 262.68 -20.39 12/12/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR YES FTS1676 513025.11 7817052.90 344.95 145.80 168.32 -29.78 29/11/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR NO FTS1677 513024.43 7817052.77 344.79 125.65 183.16 -34.14 29/11/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR NO FTS1706 513023.67 7817053.47 344.90 112.80 202.84 -39.76 1/12/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR NO FTS1707 513022.37 7817054.27 344.80 126.00 240.13 -39.76 28/11/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR NO FTS1708 513021.89 7817054.53 344.80 114.50 252.27 -35.83 1/12/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR NO FTS1709 513021.16 7817055.22 344.85 126.40 266.23 -27.86 13/12/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR NO FTS1711 513024.23 7817053.32 344.77 123.55 188.29 -46.70 13/12/2018 Corpo CSE MAJOR NO Ben Guenther, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Jaguar Mining Inc., bguenther@jaguarmining.com, 416-847-1854; Hashim Ahmed, Chief Financial Officer, Jaguar Mining Inc., hashim.ahmed@jaguarmining.com, 416-847-1854 Consumer Electronics and Internet of Things Sectors Implementing Technology in New Products; Over 90 Mobile Companies Supporting GSMA eSIM Specifications for Consumer Devices Worldwide The GSMA today announced the release of a new report highlighting the significant progress made by Chinese mobile operators, vendors and manufacturers in adopting Remote SIM Provisioning and eSIM technologies. The in-depth report which is titled eSIM in China: the road ahead and was prepared by GSMA Intelligence in partnership with the Telecommunication Terminal Industry Forum Association (TAF), draws on fresh insights from China's three mobile operators China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom as well other companies from the wider mobile ecosystem1 and highlights developments particularly in the consumer electronics and IoT sectors. "In China and around the world, the huge adoption of eSIM technologies has been underpinned by the GSMA's common and interoperable specification that is reducing fragmentation and delivering a consistent consumer experience," said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA. "From consumer electronics to automotive we are seeing a diverse array of products hitting the market utilizing the benefits of connectivity and bringing consumers choice." Smartwatches Dominate eSIM Deployments; Smartphone Adoption Will Take Time Smartwatches with eSIM technology are gaining momentum in China supported by products from numerous vendors. Although eSIM smartwatches still account for a small percentage of total smartwatch ownership this is likely to increase in the future. To drive adoption, Chinese operators are also allowing consumers to use their smartwatches as secondary devices with one mobile subscription. Despite creating smartphones for the global market, the Chinese domestic market has not formally adopted eSIM technology which will require appropriate regulation and new manufacturing, logistical and supply chain processes. Globally, over fifty mobile operators already support eSIM functionality in smartphones. "China has a unique mobile market, both in terms of size and revenue growth and leadership in mobile developments and tech innovation has reached unprecedented levels. China is increasingly demonstrating its technological innovation and is emerging as a leading global market to test and implement new technologies," said Xie Yi, Chairman of TAF. "Promoting the steady development of eSIM in China will help support developments in both the consumer and industrial markets. Based on the premise of national conditions, TAF has been committed to all parties in the joint industrial chain and cooperation with the GSMA, to make the best efforts to this end." China Setting the Groundwork The report highlights the role of industry-wide collaboration in driving eSIM developments in China involving operators, government and regulatory bodies. China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom are all developing eSIM solutions and have launched cellular M2M and IoT eSIM platforms. The Chinese eSIM market is still in an early phase of development in which some proprietary solutions coexist with GSMA specifications. However, it is anticipated that there will be a transitional period as the market matures before it settles on the GSMA specification. Regulation Key to eSIM Adoption The report highlights the significant efforts being made in China to help set a favourable regulatory framework for eSIM deployments. Streamlining procedures and setting clear, unified rules on eSIM requirements for consumer and industrial devices is critical to accelerating the deployment of eSIM technology and its market adoption. This includes credentials management, designation of root certificate issuing and security and cross-border interoperability. The report also recommends that the government should facilitate trials of eSIM services, particularly in the nascent industrial IoT to promote an open eSIM ecosystem. Global Adoption of eSIM Technology The report highlights that there have been significant developments in the global eSIM ecosystem over the past two years with more than 90 mobile industry players supporting the GSMA's specifications for Remote SIM Provisioning of consumer devices around the world. All are aligned behind a single, defacto approach avoiding industry fragmentation and interoperability issues, driving global developments and allowing consumer choice. While smartwatches were the first mass market product to adopt the technology, there is now growing implementation of eSIM functionality in tablets, laptops, notebooks and smartphones (e.g. Google and Apple). The automotive industry is also at the forefront of eSIM deployments and built-in connectivity is also now a specific requirement in Europe following the European Emergency Call (eCall) initiative. eSIM at MWC19 The GSMA will host a seminar on eSIM at MWC19 on Thursday 28th February between 9-11am. The session will include a panel of expert speakers to explore and debate the challenges in deploying eSIM and bringing devices to market including topics such as. Security, Scalability and Connectivity. For further information, please go to: https://www.mwcbarcelona.com/session/esim-seminar-from-specification-to-live-products/ Get Involved at Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2019 For more information on MWC19 Barcelona, including how to exhibit or sponsor, visit www.mwcbarcelona.com. Follow developments and updates on MWC19 on Twitter @GSMAEvents using MWC19, on our LinkedIn MWC page www.linkedin.com/showcase/mwcbarcelona/ or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mobileworldcongress/. Follow other GSMA news and activity on Twitter @GSMA. -ENDS- Notes to Editors 1. The following companies contributed to the report: Audi, China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, China-ASEAN Information Harbor (CAIH), Gemalto, Giesecke+Devrient (G+D), Gotell, Hengbao, HPE, Huawei, Infineon Technologies, Little Genius, Microsoft, Mobvoi, Redtea Mobile, Samsung, Showmac and Valid. About the GSMA The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators with over 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces the industry-leading MWC events held annually in Barcelona, Los Angeles and Shanghai, as well as the Mobile 360 Series of regional conferences. For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005041/en/ Contacts: Media Contacts: For the GSMA Beau Bass +44 79 7662 4962 beau.bass@webershandwick.com GSMA Press Office pressoffice@gsma.com Nokia's Nuage Networks Virtualized Services Platform (VSP) will help Airtel to automate the network at its data centers Airtel reconfirms its technology leadership position by being the first service provider to deploy such a solution in India 27 February 2019 New Delhi, India - Nokia's Nuage Networks VSP solution will be deployed by Bharti Airtel ("Airtel"), India's leading telecommunications services provider, in 15 circles (service areas) in the northern and southern part of the country to automate its data center networks. Once deployed, the Nuage Networks VSP solution will allow Airtel to provide new and exciting services, including Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC), ensuring customer delight. India has been recording unprecedented growth in data and this requires that service providers, like Airtel, increase the number of data centers. Further, they need to take the data centers closer to their subscribers to meet capacity demand and deliver best-in-class user experience. This is also driven by the need to prepare the networks for new technologies like 5G and Internet of Things (IoT). Nuage Networks VSP is the critical component in Nokia's end-to-end Software Defined Networking (SDN) solution that enables automation across the data center and transport networks. It helps by adding agility and flexibility to networks, making them more responsive. Randeep Sekhon, CTO at Bharti Airtel, said: "We are committed to providing innovative and best customer services to our subscribers. The upcoming technologies, including 5G and IoT, demand that we move the data centers closer to our customers, so we are able to provide ultra-high speeds and extremely low latency. This is crucial for a number of new-age use cases such as Virtual Reality, autonomous driving and remote surgery. We are confident that this partnership with Nokia will allow us to upgrade our data center and will enable us to continue to provide the best-in-class services to our subscribers." Sanjay Malik, Head of India Market at Nokia, said: "Bharti Airtel is our longstanding partner and we are thrilled to support them in this endeavor to automate their data center network. Nokia's Nuage Networks products and solutions have emerged as a clear leader in helping service providers in their journey to leverage virtualization and SDN for better operational efficiency and quality of experience. It promotes an open ecosystem which enables multi-vendor deployment and allows seamless integration with the deployed infrastructure at massive scale." Overview of the solution part of the deployment: Nuage's Virtualised Services Assurance Platform (http://www.nuagenetworks.net/products/virtualized-services-assurance-platform/) allows service providers to improve network monitoring, troubleshooting and fault correlation leading to improved network experience for the subscribers Nuage Virtualized Services Assurance Platform (http://www.nuagenetworks.net/products/virtualized-services-assurance-platform/) allows service providers to improve network monitoring, troubleshooting and fault correlation leading to improved network experience for the subscribers Resources: Web page: Nokia Nuage Networks (http://www.nuagenetworks.net/) Web page: Nuage Telco Cloud (http://www.nuagenetworks.net/products/telco-cloud/) Press Release: Nokia MBiT Index reports 4G contributed to 92% of total data traffic in 2018 in India (https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2019/02/21/nokia-nokia-mbit-index-reports-4g-contributed-to-92-of-total-data-traffic-in-2018-in-india/) 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 (http://www.nokia.com/) Media Inquiries: Nokia Manisha Singh Nokia Media Relations Phone: +91 8376922734 E-mail: manisha.singh@nokia.com (mailto:manisha.singh@nokia.com) Communications Phone: +358 (0) 10 448 4900 E-mail: press.services@nokia.com (mailto:press.services@nokia.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 BIRMINGHAM, England, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Script&Go has unveiled a major overhaul of its Site Diary app with the inclusion of an integrated task/allocations feature which allow user to create tasks and report progress on a task with the diary. A common complaint we heard in the industry is that information about a task is often repeated in the diary, which leads to duplication of work and a loss of time. The update is first-of-its-kind to integrate diary and task management, allowing users to create and add information about a task (such as manpower, equipment/plant and materials) and assign it to people involved in the project. When reporting progress on a task, the diary form will be automatically filled with all the task info which will make for quick report and no additional work to fill the entire form. With legacy Site Diary, users reported time savings of between 45 minutes to 2 hours per day per user. The 2019 update will even save more time per day for site managers, construction managers, site engineers, project managers and foremen. The key advantage of Site Diary is its simplicity, offline availability, real-time synchronisation, linking photos to diary entry and automatic weather reports. Site Diary is a powerful app that enables those in the construction industry to keep a record of everything that happens on site while maintaining visibility on the progress of work projects. Khaldon Evans, Site Diary's Chief Marketing Officer, says: "People in the construction industry don't want to spend time filling out diaries day after day because it is a time-consuming activity that could be better spent elsewhere. This major overhaul of our Site Diary software is a real game-changer as it enables site workers to fill their diaries on the go, saving valuable time and effort. Spend less time filing paper and more time building." The New features for 2019 edition of Site Diary also include ability to add materials data, improved user experience, more accurate weather reports, taking humidity into account and data hosted in Microsoft Azure Cloud. Site Diary ensures that a company's diary records can never be lost, damaged or be tampered with - an essential feature in case of disputes. In addition, firms can share info and collaborate with site workers and office teams, and employees can create, assign and monitor tasks in any location on any device, giving them total flexibility. About Site Diary: Site Diary was first developed by Swedish company Appear Network in 2014 as a part of the European-Union-funded MobiCloud Project. This first Site Diary was developed in conjunction with Costain and COMIT. In 2016, French construction software developer Script&Go acquired Site Diary as a part of its strategy for international expansion as well as addressing the needs of field workers. Since the acquisition by Script&Go, Site Diary is being used by more than 6,000 construction workers in 94 countries and more than 240,000 diary records were created between 2016 and 2018. Site Diary is a construction diary and task-management app that keep records of everything that happens on site while having visibility on work progress. Contacts For more information and product images, contact hi@sitediary.com or by phone +44(0)121-728-0554 or visit sitediary.com. Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - February 27, 2019) - Benchmark Metals Inc. (TSXV: BNCH) (OTCQB: CYRTF) (WKN: A2JM2X) (the "Company" or "Benchmark") is pleased to report 1751 hectares of new claims added to the Lawyers Gold & Silver Project, located in the prolific Stikine terrane of the Toodoggone Mineral District, which also hosts the Golden Triangle region of British Columbia, Canada. The new claims are contiguous to the southeast, increasing the Lawyers land package to nearly 120km2, and highly prospective for additional gold-silver mineralization. CEO John Williamson commented, "The Lawyers Trend is emerging as an important regional scale prospect that follows a linear magnetic and radiometric anomaly with a northwest to southeast orientation connecting multiple gold-silver showings across the Lawyers land package. Several lines of evidence now support the potential that this anomaly may represent a regional scale structure providing a conduit for gold and silver bearing fluids." Benchmark retains 100% in the new claims that contain highly prospective host rocks and an important unconformity between the Stuhini Group and the lower Toodoggone volcanics. This stratigraphic horizon is an important marker, with many of the deposits in the Gold Triangle and the Toodoggone Mineral District concentrated along it, including Brucejack, KSM, Baker-Shasta and Dolly Varden. The horizon cuts through the new claims with more than half of the new ground covered by the Metasan member of the Toodoggone volcanics, which is host to all known mineralisation along Lawyers Trend. The Toodoggone Mineral District contains several significant epithermal and porphyry mineral deposits. In geological terms, Toodoggone represents the eastern extent of the prolific Stikine terrane, which also hosts British Columbia's Golden Triangle region. Toodoggone and the Golden Triangle are thought to be parts of a deeper and continuous mineralized system, which was overlain by the younger sedimentary rock of the Bowser and Sustut Basins that now separate them. Lawyers Trend is hosted by the same rocks as the Golden Triangle, within the same highly prospective setting of tectonics, volcanic sequence and mineral deposition. The following location map provides new claim orientation and its potential to add new targets that may trend southeast of the Lawyers Trend. Radiometrics To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6169/43066_8ea467e4344039fa_001full.jpg The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Michael Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol., P.Geo., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Benchmark Metals Inc. Benchmark is a Canadian mineral exploration company with its common shares listed for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada, the OTCQB Venture Market in the United States and the Tradegate Exchange in Europe. Benchmark is managed by proven resource sector professionals, who have a track record of advancing exploration projects from grassroots scenarios through to production. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS s/ "John Williamson" John Williamson, Chief Executive Officer For further information, please contact: Jim Greig, President jimg@BNCHmetals.com Tel: (604) 260-6977 Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain certain "forward looking statements". Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that 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. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this news release and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/43066 TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 27, 2019 / Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd (AIM: ECO, TSX-V: EOG), the oil and gas exploration company with licences in highly prospective regions in Guyana and Namibia, is pleased to announce its results for the three and nine months ended 31 December 2018 and to provide a corporate and operational update. Highlights: Financials o The Company ended the third financial quarter (and calendar year end) with cash and cash equivalents of CAD 25.7 million, total assets of CAD 28.1 million, total liabilities of CAD 0.8 million and total equity of CAD 27.3 million. o As a result of the Total E&P Activites Petrolieres ("Total") farm-in deal income, which amounted to CAD 16.8 million (USD 12.5 million), the Company completed the three and nine months period ended 31 December 2018 with a net profit of CAD 14.4 million and CAD 11.3 million, respectively. Operations - Guyana o Eco announced the filing of a National Instrument 51-101 compliant resource report on the Orinduik Block, offshore Guyana, with 2.9 Billion Barrels of Oil (Equivalent) prospective resource P50 Best Estimate. The report does not take into account certain recent developments, including ExxonMobil's Hammerhead-1 Tertiary discovery and additional Tertiary prospects. o On 27 November 2018, Eco completed the Total farm-in deal and received the USD 12.5 million and all necessary approvals and documentation to effect the 25% interest transfer in the Orinduik Block to Total. Accordingly, the working interests in the Orinduik Block are now Tullow (Operator) 60%, Total 25% and Eco 15%. o On 5 December 2018, Eco announced its first planned well out of two in the 2019 drilling program for the Orinduik Block. The net cost of the first well, named the Jethro-Lobe prospect, is currently expected to be approximately USD 7.6 million. The prospect, which will be drilled from a conventional drillship, is an Upper Tertiary stratigraphically trapped canyon turbidite in about 1,350 meters of water. The prospect is estimated to hold 250mmbbl of gross prospective resources with the 'Chance Of Success' estimated by Eco to be 44%. o On 20 February 2019, Eco announced that, along with its partners, Total and Tullow, it has contracted a rig, the Stena Forth, a sixth-generation drillship from Stena Carron Drilling Limited ("Stena"), to drill the Jethro-Lobe prospect on the Orinduik Block offshore Guyana. The Stena Forth, which is currently drilling off West Africa, is fully crewed and is operating. The contract with Stena secures the rig for transport at the end of May, targeting an early June 2019 spud date. Further, the agreement also defines a window for a second well on the Orinduik Block, which would be drilled after the Jethro-Lobe well. Long lead items, including the well heads and casings for two wells, have been secured and ordered. o The Orinduik Joint Venture partners are currently reviewing plans and prospects for a second well and anticipate formalizing those plans in the coming weeks. The anticipated cost of a second well is expected to be less than the first, as the costs for the mobilization, demobilization, well heads and casings are already included in the budget for the first well. Namibia o Eco was granted a one-year extension to the First Renewal Exploration Period on all of its Namibia Licenses to March 2019 by the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy (the "Ministry"). Each license will then automatically enter the Second Renewal Period, which in turn has a two-year exploration phase which can be extended by a third year at the discretion of the Ministry. o -The Company acquired the remaining 10% of the shares of Pan Africa Oil Namibia Ltd ("PAO Namibia") as announced on 20 September 2018. Following completion of the acquisition, PAO Namibia became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. As a result, Eco's working interest in the Tamar License (PEL 50) increased to 80% from 72%. o On 26 October 2018, Eco received a formal notice from Tullow Namibia informing that it had elected not to enter into the Second Renewal Period for the PEL 30 License ("Cooper Block"). As a result, the Company automatically received back Tullow Namibia's 25% working interest and the Company now holds a 57.5% working interest in PEL 30. o -Eco continues to monitor developments in Namibia, specifically the recent entries by Exxon Mobil and Kosmos Energy, and the planned 2019 wells by Total S.A. and Royal Dutch Shell plc. Corporate o -On 20 February 2019, Eco announced the appointment of Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited and Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG as the Company's joint corporate brokers with immediate effect. o Eco 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 the Company has been included in the TSX Venture 50, an annual ranking of the top-performing companies on the TSX Venture Exchange. Gil Holzman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eco Atlantic, commented: "We are pleased to report that we started calendar year 2019 with the same intensity with which we ended 2018. During the first two months of 2019, following the announcement of our initial drilling program on our Orinduik Block offshore Guyana, we, together with our partners on the block, have signed a drilling contract and confirmed our intention to spud the first well during the second quarter of 2019. The completion of Total's farm-in to our block and the receipt of USD 12.5 million, together with our existing cash resources, means that we are fully funded for at least two wells on our high impact 2019 drilling program in Guyana. With our strong balance sheet we remain in a robust financial position. "On the corporate side, we appointed two of the leading UK and international investment banks, Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited and Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG as our joint corporate brokers. Berenberg and Stifel will work alongside our existing corporate broker Pareto Securities Limited and Strand Hanson, the Company's nominated adviser. These additions will broaden and strengthen our brokerage and market making performance. "As a reward for the significant milestones that we have achieved over the last 12 months, we ranked second in the Energy Sector on the 2019 TSX Venture 50, up from fifth in 2018. This marks the second consecutive year that we have been included in the TSX Venture 50, an annual ranking of the top-performing companies on the TSX Venture Exchange. "We look forward to updating the market on the selection of the second target well to be drilled on the Orinduik Block, immediately after the Jethro-Lobe well, and we are very excited by this opportunity to hopefully discover very significant oil resources in the coming months." The Company's unaudited financial results for three months and nine months ended 31 December 2018, together with Management's Discussion and Analysis as at 31 December 2018, are available to download on the Company's website at www.ecooilandgas.com and on Sedar at www.sedar.com. The following are the Company's Balance Sheet, Income Statements, Cash Flow Statement and selected notes from the Condensed Consolidated Interim Financial Statements (Unaudited). All amounts are in Canadian Dollars, unless otherwise stated. Balance Sheet December 31, March 31, 2018 2018 Unaudited Audited Assets Current assets Cash and cash equivalents 25,745,351 14,316,042 Short-term investments 74,818 74,818 Government receivable 19,722 23,626 Accounts receivable and prepaid expenses 783,992 832,322 26,623,883 15,246,808 Petroleum and natural gas licenses 1,489,971 1,489,971 Total Assets 28,113,854 16,736,779 Liabilities Current liabilities Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 567,590 521,537 Advances from and amounts owing to license partners, net 201,444 209,487 769,034 731,024 Equity Share capital 44,952,511 43,813,254 Shares to be issued 249,000 1,139,257 Restricted Share Units reserve 70,393 70,393 Warrants 167,931 167,931 Stock options 2,983,827 2,979,367 Non-controlling interest - (55,065) Accumulated deficit (21,078,842) (32,109,382) Total Equity 27,344,820 16,005,755 Total Liabilities and Equity 28,113,854 16,736,779 Income Statement Three months ended Nine months ended December 31, December 31, 2018 2017 2018 2017 Unaudited Unaudited Revenue Income from option agreement 16,759,307 - 16,759,307 1,248,000 Interest income 47,877 5,997 144,852 39,554 16,807,184 5,997 16,904,159 1,287,554 Operating expenses Compensation costs 247,330 256,811 771,953 660,524 Professional fees 72,295 196,812 172,591 351,653 Operating costs 1,891,595 1,217,364 3,656,989 4,226,274 General and administrative costs 337,005 155,972 968,458 618,398 Share-based compensation 1,487 1,438,224 4,460 2,536,628 Foreign exchange (gain) loss (96,049) 213,426 (4,897) 325,948 Total expenses 2,453,663 3,478,609 5,569,554 8,719,425 Net profit (loss) and comprehensive profit (loss) 14,353,521 (3,472,612) 11,334,605 (7,431,871) Basic and diluted net profit (loss) per share attributable to equity holders of the parent 0.09 (0.03) 0.07 (0.06) Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing basic and diluted net profit (loss) per share 159,785,217 135,918,317 158,998,512 124,395,401 Cash Flow Statement Nine months ended December 31, 2018 2017 Unaudited Cash flow from operating activities Net loss from continued operations 11,334,605 (7,431,873) Items not affecting cash: Share-based compensation 4,460 2,536,628 Changes in non-cash working capital: Government receivable 3,904 2,612 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 46,053 (218,949) Accounts receivable and prepaid expenses 48,330 261,788 Advance from and amounts owing to license partners (8,043) (130,146) 11,429,309 (4,979,940) Cash flow from investing activities Short-term investments - (25,000) - (25,000) Cash flow from financing activities Proceeds from Brokered Private Placement - 14,016,000 Costs incurred on Brokered Private Placement - (721,792) Net proceeds from AIM listing - - - 13,294,208 Increase in cash and cash equivalents 11,429,309 8,289,268 Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 14,316,042 6,088,567 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period 25,745,351 14,377,835 Selected Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Interim Financial Statements (Unaudited) The Company's business is to identify, acquire, explore and develop petroleum, natural gas, and shale gas properties. The Company primarily operates in the Co-Operative Republic of Guyana ("Guyana") and the Republic of Namibia ("Namibia"). The head office of the Company is located at 7 Coulson Street, Toronto, ON, Canada, M4V 1Y3. As used herein, the term "Company" means individually and collectively, as the context may require, Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas Ltd. and its subsidiaries. These consolidated financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors of the Company on 26 February 2019. 1. Basis of Preparation These condensed consolidated interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") on a going concern basis, which assumes the realization of assets and liquidation of liabilities in the normal course of business. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair statement of results in accordance with IFRS have been included. 2. Subsequent Events a) On 25 January 2019, the Company announced that it had issued 1,090,313 new common shares in the Company pursuant to an exercise of warrants, previously issued in connection with the AIM admission, at an exercise price of CAD 0.33 (19.2p) per common share for total proceeds of CAD 364,420 (209,340). b) --On 25 January 2019, the Company announced that it had issued 50,000 new common shares in the Company pursuant to an exercise of share options at a price of CAD 0.30 per common share for total proceeds of CAD 15,000. c) On 8 February 2019, the Company announced that it had issued 150,000 new common shares in the Company pursuant to an exercise of share options at a price of CAD 0.30 per common share for total proceeds of CAD 45,000. **ENDS** For more information, please visit www.ecooilandgas.com or contact the following: Eco Atlantic Oil and Gas +1 (416) 250 1955 Gil Holzman, CEO Colin Kinley, COO 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 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. 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 km2 Orinduik 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 Corporation. The more recent discovery by ExxonMobil and Hess Corporation, Pluma-1, increased the estimate of recoverable resources for the Stabroek Block to more than 5 billion barrels of oil equivalent, and the latest discoveries at Tilapia-1 and Haimara-1 will further add to that estimate. In Namibia, the Company holds interests in four offshore petroleum licences totalling approximately 25,000km2 with 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/537250/Eco-Atlantic-Oil-and-Gas-Limited-Announces-Unaudited-Results-and-Business-Update WISeKey International Holding SA / WISeKey signs a perpetual license agreement with Daimler AG for certain components of its ISTANA PKI platform . Processed and transmitted by West Corporation. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. WISeKey signs a perpetual license agreement with Daimler AG for certain components of its ISTANA PKI platform GENEVA, ZUG, Switzerland, February 27, 2019 -WISeKey International Holding Ltd ("WISeKey" or the "Company") (SIX: WIHN), a leading Swiss cybersecurity and IoT company announced that WISeKey SA, its wholly owned subsidiary, recently signed a perpetual license agreement with Daimler AG ("Daimler"), one of the world's most successful automotive companies, for certain components of its ISTANA PKI platform. Launched in mid-2017, WISeKey's ISTANA PKI platform allowed WISeKey to enter the Connected Car industry by offering Daimler AG a secure way to validate the authenticity of different vehicle components, protect onboard communication between vehicle components and provide over-the-air software updates. Additionally, ISTANA PKI's authentication certificates are used by employees, dealers and suppliers to access car components to diagnose mechanical/technical issues and update software, from any location. The ISTANA PKI platform also allows users to securely interact with a car's smart features using smartphones and other devices. Two years later, WISeKey cemented its role in the Connected Car industry by granting Daimler a perpetual license for the use of certain ISTANA PKI modules in its vehicles. Also, WISeKey will continue to further upgrade its ISTANA PKI platform into an attractive solution to secure a variety of IoT applications. About WISeKey WISeKey (SIX Swiss Exchange: WIHN) is a leading global cybersecurity company currently deploying large scale digital identity ecosystems for people and objects using Blockchain, AI and IoT respecting the Human as the Fulcrum of the Internet. WISeKey Microprocessors Secures the pervasive computing shaping today's Internet of Everything. WISeKey IoT has an install base of over 1.5 billion microchips in virtually all IoT sectors (connected cars, smart cities, drones, agricultural sensors, anti-counterfeiting, smart lighting, servers, computers, mobile phones, crypto tokens etc.). WISeKey is uniquely positioned to be at the edge of IoT as our semiconductors produce a huge amount of Big Data that, when analyzed with Artificial Intelligence (AI), can help industrial applications to predict the failure of their equipment before it happens. Our technology is Trusted by the OISTE/WISeKey's Swiss based cryptographic Root of Trust To receive WISeKey's latest news, visit the WISeKey Investors Corner. Press and investor contacts: WISeKey International Holding Ltd Company Contact: Carlos Moreira Chairman & CEO Tel: +41 22 594 3000 info@wisekey.com (mailto:info@wisekey.com) WISeKey Investor Relations (US) Contact: Lena Cati The Equity Group Inc. Tel: +1 212 836-9611 lcati@equityny.com (mailto:lcati@equityny.com) Disclaimer: This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of article 652a or article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey. 10-for-1 reverse stock split: 10 existing shares with par value of 0.10 for 1 new share with par value of 1.00 Start date of the reverse stock split operation: February 27, 2019 Reverse stock split will become effective on March 29, 2019 (delisting of old shares and listing of new shares) Regulatory News: Genkyotex (Paris:GKTX) (Brussels:GKTX) (Euronext Paris Brussels: FR0011790542 GKTX) a biopharmaceutical company and the leader in NOX therapies, today announced the launch of the reverse stock split, as approved by Genkyotex' shareholders at the January 24, 2019 Extraordinary General Meeting. This technical adjustment is purely arithmetical and has no impact on the value of Genkyotex shares held by the shareholders. Reverse stock split terms and conditions The reverse stock split process will start as of today, in accordance with the terms of the reverse stock split notice published on February 11, 2019 in the Bulletin des Annonces Legales Obligatoires (BALO). Genkyotex' reverse stock split will become effective on March 29, 2019. All shareholders will automatically receive from their financial intermediary 1 new Genkyotex share with a par value of 1.00 and all rights pertaining to shares, in exchange for 10 existing Genkyotex shares with a par value of 0.10. The reverse stock split will thus reduce the number of outstanding common shares from approximately 79.3 million with a par value of 0.10 to approximately 7.9 million with a par value of 1.00. Shareholders who hold a total number of shares that is an exact multiple of 10 will not need to take any action, and the reverse stock split will be carried out automatically on March 29, 2019. Shareholders who do not hold a total number of shares that is an exact multiple of 10 must, between today and March 28, 2019 inclusive, deal with their fractional shares by purchasing or selling directly on the market the number of existing Genkyotex shares needed to obtain a multiple of 10. After March 28, 2019, shareholders who have been unable to obtain a number of shares that is an exact multiple of 10 will be compensated for their remaining fractional shares by their financial intermediary within 30 days from March 29, 2019. The existing Genkyotex shares (ISIN code: FR0011790542) will be delisted from Euronext and will be replaced by the new Genkyotex shares (ISIN code: FR0013399474) on March 29, 2019. The ticker will remain unchanged (GKTX). For more information on the operation, shareholders are invited to read the Reverse Stock Split notice dated February 11, 2019, on the BALO's and the Company's websites. Genkyotex' Investor Relations team is available to answer any question by e-mail at genkyotex@newcap.eu. All operations relating to Genkyotex' reverse stock split will be managed by CIC Centralisation et Domiciliation, 6 avenue de Provence, 75009 Paris, as the centralization agent. About Genkyotex Genkyotex is the leading biopharmaceutical company in NOX therapies, listed on the Euronext Paris and Euronext Brussels markets. A leader in NOX therapies, its unique therapeutic approach is based on a selective inhibition of NOX enzymes that amplify multiple disease processes such as fibrosis, inflammation, pain processing, cancer development, and neurodegeneration. Genkyotex's platform enables the identification of orally available small-molecules that selectively inhibit specific NOX enzymes. Genkyotex is developing a pipeline of first-in-class product candidates targeting one or multiple NOX enzymes. The lead product candidate, GKT831, a NOX1 and NOX4 inhibitor is evaluated in a phase II clinical trial in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC, a fibrotic orphan disease) and in an investigator-initiated Phase II clinical trial in Type 1 Diabetes and Kidney Disease (DKD). A grant from the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) of $8.9 million was awarded to Professor Victor Thannickal at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to fund a multi-year research program evaluating the role of NOX enzymes in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a chronic lung disease that results in fibrosis of the lungs, the core component of the program will be to conduct a Phase 2 trial with the GKT831 in patients with IPF. This product candidate may also be active in other fibrotic indications. Its second product candidate, GKT771, is a NOX1 inhibitor targeting multiple pathways in angiogenesis, pain processing, and inflammation, currently undergoing preclinical testing. Genkyotex also has a versatile platform well-suited to the development of various immunotherapies (Vaxiclase). A partnership covering the use of Vaxiclase as an antigen per se (GTL003) has been established with Serum Institute of India Private Ltd (Serum Institute), the world's largest producer of vaccine doses, for the development by Serum Institute of cellular multivalent combination vaccines against a variety of infectious diseases. This partnership could generate approximately 150 million in future revenues for Genkyotex, before royalties on sales. For further information, please go towww.genkyotex.com Disclaimer This press release may contain forward-looking statements by the company with respect to its objectives. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs, estimates and expectations of Genkyotex's management and are subject to risks and uncertainties such as the company's ability to implement its chosen strategy, customer market trends, changes in technologies and in the company's competitive environment, changes in regulations, clinical or industrial risks and all risks linked to the company's growth. These factors as well as other risks and uncertainties may prevent the company from achieving the objectives outlined in the press release and actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements, due to various factors. Without being exhaustive, such factors include uncertainties involved in the development of Genkyotex's products, which may not succeed, or in the delivery of Genkyotex's products marketing authorizations by the relevant regulatory authorities and, in general, any factor that could affects Genkyotex's capacity to commercialize the products it develops. No guarantee is given on forward-looking statements which are subject to a number of risks, notably those described in the registration document (document de reference) registered by the French Markets Authority (the AMF) on 27 April 2018 under number R.18-037, and those linked to changes in economic conditions, the financial markets, or the markets on which Genkyotex is present. Genkyotex products are currently used for clinical trials only and are not otherwise available for distribution or sale. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190226006268/en/ Contacts: INVESTORS NewCap Dusan Oresansky, Tristan Roquet Montegon and Emmanuel Huynh +33 1 44 71 94 92 genkyotex@newcap.eu MEDIA NewCap Nicolas Merigeau, Arthur Rouille +33 1 44 71 00 15 genkyotex@newcap.eu US LifeSci Advisors, LLC Brian Ritchie +1-212-915-2578 britchie@lifesciadvisors.com DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2019 / What if there was a way to prioritize drug discovery by the consumer? By probability of FDA approval? AND by the science itself rather than the traditional big patent pay day? IKU is addressing all of the above with the IKU DAO. AND they are opening it to the world. For those unfamiliar with the DAO - decentralized autonomous organization - the concept was birthed out of the blockchain uprising, basically an opt-in jurisdiction you need to stake with digital assets to participate in governance and collateralization of agreements. It is a smart contract, where the bylaws of the decentralized organization are embedded into code. The intention is to create an open p2p network, and in the context of IKU, the DAO would essentially be a global marketplace accelerating funds and development for bio-innovation, allowing anyone to create, license, and trade fundable bio datasets. CEO Gregory Rigano, with his experience in pharmaceutical IP Law and as advisor to Stanford SPARK, has been leading IKU for almost two years now, aligning all pieces necessary to make such a project work. One critical infrastructure element being the artificial neural network dubbed ELI, used to derisk all proposed projects by prioritizing FDA approval. The plan is for ELI to function in tandem with the wisdom of the biomedical crowd in determining the viability of projects and whether not you would fund, a method in simplifying for the consumer. The other element being Ethereum (for now), required for the smart contract implementation and tokenization of IP. Important sidenote: As a treatment passes through phase I, II, and III, and then into the market after FDA approval, the market value tends to exponentially increase, and a lot of times into the $ billions. The license value of the associated data obviously increases. After reading the whitepaper, it seems as IKU is sort of like a pseudo ETF where you can participate in the funding and development of r&d with the mutual interest of delivering treatments and biotechnologies to market. The value of the license is essentially the market facilitator. There's a lot going on here, but the UI in their alpha greatly simplifies thankfully. My first impression of IKU: OK, this is quite ambitious. AI and blockchain, quite the buzzword combo. But after drilling into their alpha, seeing their research relationship with Stanford SPARK and Oxford University, as well as a planned fundraiser for a clinical trial to treat Alzheimer's Disease this summer in collaboration with MakerDAO, I realized IKU is not just a bunch of anti-pharma anarchists. They are very much real and they are going for it. Their research collaboration with Oxford's Health Economics Research Centre on manufactured drug auction mechanisms and incentivization of lesser known disease markets is currently ongoing and is set to be released in the near future with plans of incorporating the results into the DAO model. Stanford SPARK greatly influence their business model as well. IKU employs the Stanford University SPARK MONEYBALL strategy - driving undervalued r&d into the market - which has generated an additional 1,000% follow-on funding for SPARK funded r&d. SPARK prioritizes science, a complete 180 from the Big Pharma approach, and has generated unprecedented results. But what about patents? How do you incentivize an industry that is notoriously silo'd to participate in the IKU model if everyone is chasing patents? Gregory Rigano addresses my patent questions below: Greg: The patent pay day is what drives investment into biotechnology, the 20 year exclusivity period. The issue is the internet and digital age makes it very difficult to obtain a patent and enforce a patent. Estimates are as high as 90% of patents are invalidated after they are granted because there is so much information out there which basically says that this invention, this discovery is not new. And isn't it amazing that there is potentially all of this research out there and the smartest people want to leverage it? But patent offices worldwide say these words on paper show that what you're creating is not new, even though its never made it to the market. So you think patents sideline science? Yes. The way industry industry prioritizes their r&d pipeline is purely based on profits and patent positions. Science is secondary. There are essentially unlimited amount of scientific hypotheses for using various molecules, stem cells to treat certain diseases or to increase life expectancy. For a publicly traded pharmaceutical company to justify investment, they need to have that 20 year exclusivity period or else it doesn't work for them. So instead of science prioritizing r&d, capital gains dictate r&d pipelines. There is this concept, that because it is so difficult to obtain a patent to get that 20 year exclusivity period, pharmaceutical companies traditionally only invest in brand new molecules. Molecules that have never been conceived before, there's no publishing on it, essentially no previous research. What this has caused is the cost and and time of bringing a therapy or biotechnology to market is dramatically increasing - the opposite of Moore's Law. And what can IKU do? We can leverage all of the research that has already been done to date to create new forms of biotechnology and attach exclusivity periods ranging from 3 - 12 years. The amazing thing is that instead of it costing $2 billion to get a treatment or tech to market, it can cost as little as a few million. We've uncovered a host of biotechnologies and a tremendous amount of research in which we can get new forms of treatments, cures, and preventative measures to the market under $10M while still maintaining an exclusivity period of between 3 - 12 years. That is 200x less the cost and just a few years less in exclusivity than brand new molecules. We are able to take this research and these amazing biotechnologies, independent of whether or not you can get a patent, and we can prove scientific and economic justification for contributing funds, owning the intellectual property, and bringing that to market. IKU is a potential game changer. Like any app, or dApp for that matter, adoption is required. Luckily for IKU, high volume transactions are not required, and it would be super exciting to see even just a few new treatments develop through the DAO. We want to be the digital solution that simultaneously solves for liquidity, storage of IP, and commoditization of IP. With the ease (hopefully) of creating specific use case chains in 2019 I see great potential of IKU becoming standalone. - Project Lead, Michael Kisselgof CONTACT: shazirm@aol.com SOURCE: SV Advisory Group View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/537236/Meet-IKU-DAO-The-Company-Prioritizing-Drug-Discovery-By-The-Consumers Teijin Limited announced today that it has agreed to acquire Renegade Materials Corporation (Renegade), a leading North American supplier of highly heat-resistant thermoset prepreg for the aerospace industry. Renegade will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Teijin. The shares of Renegade will be purchased by Teijin Holdings USA Inc., the Teijin Group's holding company in the United States. The acquisition is anticipated to be completed this spring after customary closing conditions have been satisfied including receipt of regulatory approvals. Teijin will benefit from Renegade's well-established proprietary technologies and solution capabilities in heat-resistant thermoset prepregs to expand its business in aerospace field including next-generation aircrafts' engine parts. Renegade's products will reach wider markets thanks to Teijin's expertise in carbon fibers and intermediate materials as well as its large product lineup and global sales network. Global marketing initiatives will be supported by Teijin's carbon fiber business, including Teijin Carbon Fibers, Inc., which plans to launch a new carbon fiber production facility in South Carolina by the end of FY 2020, Teijin Carbon America, Inc., a carbon fiber sales base in Tennessee, and Teijin Carbon Europe GmbH, a core company of the carbon fiber business in Europe. Teijin is strengthening its carbon fiber and intermediate materials businesses to solidify its position as a leading provider of solutions for aerospace applications. Teijin is targeting annual sales in this field in excess of USD 900 million by around 2030. Renegade's heat-resistant thermoset prepregs are well trusted by U.S. and European aircraft manufacturers and aircraft engine suppliers. The company was established in 1993 as a resin manufacturer and launched its thermoset prepreg business for aerospace applications under the Renegade brand in 2007. Headquartered in Miamisburg, Ohio, Renegade offers specialized knowhow in highly heat-resistant resins and provides unique thermal-cycle resistant prepregs incorporating highly heat-resistant polyimide resin made from low-toxicity raw materials. Teijin is increasingly emphasizing strong, lightweight, high-performance materials that offer environmentally sensitive solutions for improved fuel efficiency. Teijin is focusing its carbon fiber business on the aircraft field, where it is rapidly developing midstream and downstream applications. A top supplier to world-leading aircraft makers for over 30 years, Teijin is noted for its TENAX carbon-fiber-filament yarn, which is used in primary and secondary structural parts for aircraft. The company is now leveraging its intermediate material and processing technologies for next-generation aircraft applications. Tenax carbon fiber and Tenax TPUD carbon-fiber thermoplastic unidirectional pre-impregnated tape were qualified by Boeing as advanced intermediate composite materials for primary structural aircraft parts. "Demands for highly heat-resistant thermoset prepregs are increasing in the global aerospace industry," said Shukei Inui, General Manager of Teijin's Carbon Fibers Business Unit. "Renegade offers well-established technologies and sales channels in this field, so we expect this acquisition to help us expand our related applications development and global business." About the Teijin Group Teijin (TOKYO:3401) is a technology-driven global group offering advanced solutions in the areas of environmental value; safety, security and disaster mitigation; and demographic change and increased health consciousness. Its main fields of operation are high-performance fibers such as aramid, carbon fibers composites, healthcare, films, resin plastic processing, polyester fibers, products converting and IT. The group has some 170 companies and around 19,000 employees spread out over 20 countries worldwide. It posted consolidated sales of JPY835 billion (USD 7.6 billion) and total assets of JPY 986.2 billion (USD 9 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018. Please visit www.teijin.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190226006271/en/ Contacts: Corporate Communications Teijin Limited +81 3 3506 4055 pr@teijin.co.jp Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2019) - Cuda Oil and Gas Inc. (TSXV: CUDA) ("Cuda" or the "Company") releases the results of its 2018 year-end oil and gas reserves evaluation for Wyoming and Alberta. In 2018, Cuda completed the merger with Junex Inc., a TSXV listed company and concurrently acquired a 27.75% working interest ("WI") in the Barron Flats Federal Deep Unit ("BFU") and subsequently 33.33% WI in the Cole Creek Unit both located in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. Cuda participated in the drilling and completion of 11 gross (3.4 net) Shannon Sand conventional oil wells in the BFU. Cuda invested significant capital into oil field development and associated infrastructure at BFU in 2018 to create liquids production and build out the facilities for a planned miscible flood in the Shannon formation. Reserves Report Highlights The independent Reserves Report prepared by Ryder Scott is effective as of December 31, 2018 ("2018 Reserves Report"). All reserves information contained in this press release is based on the 2018 Reserves Report and includes reserves attributed to the BFU, the Cole Creek Unit and Alberta assets. The 2018 Reserves Report did not attribute reserves to the Company's Quebec assets due to regulatory matters restricting production from those assets. Unless specifically indicated, all financial and operational information in this press release is based on estimates and is unaudited and accordingly, such financial information is subject to change based on the results of the Company's audit. Proven Developed ("PDP") and Proved Non-Producing ("PNP") Reserves The Company's PDP + PNP reserves grew 112% over 2017 reserves to 1,534 Mboe (62% oil and liquids). NPV10 of $26.8 Million or $1.22 per basic common share. Total Proved Reserves ("1P") The Company's 1P reserves grew 515% over 2017 reserves, to 4,949 Mboe (84% oil and liquids). NPV10 of $77.8 Million or $3.55 per basic common share. Future development costs of $40.6 Million. Reserve Life Index ("RLI") based on 4th quarter, 2018 production of 15.5 years. Proved plus Probable Reserves ("2P") The Company's 2P reserves grew 1,239% over 2017 reserves, to 14,571 Mboe (84% oil and liquids). NPV10 of $191.6 Million or $8.74 per basic common share. Future development costs of $94.7 Million. RLI of 45.6 years. Oil and Gas Reserves The 2018 Reserve Report represents Cuda's oil and gas properties in Alberta and Wyoming and was prepared in accordance with the definitions, standards and procedures contained in the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation Handbook and National Instrument 51-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities ("NI 51 - 101") by Ryder Scott. The following table summarizes certain information contained in the 2018 Reserve Report: Reserves Category Summary of Oil and Gas Reserves 1 (company share gross volumes before royalties) Reserves Category Light and Medium Oil (Mbbl) Natural Gas (MMcf) Natural Gas Liquids (Mbbl) Total BOE 2018 (Mboe) Total BOE 2017 (Mboe) Proved Developed Producing 723 2,638 85 1,248 574 Proved Developed Non-Producing 122 903 14 286 151 Proved Undeveloped 3,007 1,290 193 3,415 80 Total Proved 3,853 4,831 292 4,950 805 Probable 6,904 9,121 1,197 9,621 283 Total Proved Plus Probable 10,757 13,952 1,489 14,571 1,088 Note: 1. BOEs are derived by converting gas to oil equivalent in the ratio of six thousand cubic feet of gas to one barrel of oil (6 Mcf:1 boe). Reserve Category Summary of Net Present Values of Future Net Revenue (Before Tax)4 (based on forecast price and costs) As at December 31, 20181 Per Share2 As at December 31, 20173 Discount Rate 10.00% 10.00% Reserves Category (M$) ($) (M$) Proved Developed Producing 24,168 1.10 5,700 Proved Developed Non-Producing 2,683 0.12 300 Proved Undeveloped 50,955 2.32 1,700 Total Proved 77,806 3.55 7,800 Probable 113,783 5.19 2,700 Total Proved Plus Probable 191,589 8.74 10,500 Notes 1. Forecast pricing used is based on Ryder Scott published price forecasts effective December 31, 2018 2. Per share amounts are calculated on basic common shares outstanding (21,929,855) as of December 31, 2018 3. Forecast pricing used is based on GLJ published price forecasts effective December 31, 2017 4. Estimates of future net revenue do not represent fair market value About Cuda Oil and Gas Inc. Cuda Oil and Gas Inc. is engaged in the business of exploring for, developing and producing oil and natural gas, and acquiring oil and natural gas properties across North America. The Cuda management team has worked closely together for over 20 years in both private and public company environments and has an established track record of delivering strong shareholder returns. Cuda will continue to implement its proven strategy of exploring, acquiring, and exploiting with a long-term focus on large, light oil resource- based assets across North America including significant operational experience in the United States. The Cuda management team brings a full spectrum of geotechnical, engineering, negotiating and financial experience to its investment decisions. For further information please contact: Glenn Dawson President and Chief Executive Officer Cuda Oil and Gas Inc. (403) 454-0862 Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this news release, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties and are based on forecasts of future operational or financial results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. In particular, forward-looking information included in this news release includes: (i) Cuda's exploration and development plans, which assume accuracy of technical and geological information and analysis and may be impacted by unscheduled maintenance, labour and contractor availability; (ii) future development costs and reserve life, which assume foreign exchange rates and accuracy of production estimates, and may be impacted by unexpected maintenance, the need to hire external resources and accelerated capital plans; and (iii) reserves which are forward-looking statements by their nature involving the implied assessment that the reserves can be profitably produced, and may be impacted by energy prices, future drilling results and operating costs. Risk factors that could prevent forward looking statements relating to Cuda and its operating activities from being realized include ongoing permitting requirements, the actual results of current exploration and development activities, operational risks, risks associated with drilling and completions, uncertainty of geological and technical data, market conditions, the availability and nature of alternative sources of energy, conclusions of economic evaluations and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined as well as future prices of oil and natural gas. Although Cuda has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. 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. Oil and Gas Advisories This news release contains metrics commonly used in the oil and natural gas industry, such as "future development costs", "net asset value" and "reserve life index". These oil and gas metrics have been prepared by management and do not have standardized meanings or standard methods of calculation and therefore such measures may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies and should not be used to make comparisons. Such metrics have been included in this news release to provide readers with additional measures to evaluate Cuda's performance and to compare Cuda's operations over time. Readers are cautioned that the information provided by these metrics, or that can be derived from the metrics presented in this news release, should not be unduly relied upon. Future development costs are estimates of capital expenditures required in the future for the Company to convert proved developed non-producing reserves and probable reserves to proved developed producing reserves. Net asset value or NAV is calculated by subtracting the Company's indebtedness from the net present values of estimated future net revenues (before income taxes and discounted at 10% per year) associated with its reserves. Reserve Life Index or RLI is calculated based on the amount for the relevant reserves category, divided by current production. "BOEs" may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A BOE conversion ratio of six thousand cubic feet of natural gas to one barrel of oil equivalent (6 Mcf: 1 bbl) is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. As the value ratio between natural gas and crude oil based on the current prices of natural gas and crude oil is significantly different from the energy equivalency of 6:1, utilizing a conversion on a 6:1 basis may be misleading as an indication of value. 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. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/43067 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2019 / Mucho Cobre Resources Ltd.(formerly, 1169080 B.C. Ltd.) ("MCR" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the immediate appointment of Mr. Daniel Kunz as director and CEO. Mr. Daniel Kunz, B.Sc. Engineering Science, M.B.A., Mr. Kunz has a distinguished career in international construction, engineering, geothermal energy, mining and natural resource development for more than 35 years. He has extensive management and corporate governance experience with public natural resource development companies. Mr. Kunz is currently Managing Partner of Daniel Kunz & Associates, LLC ("DKA"), a natural resource-focused consulting company started in 2014. DKA has provided advisory and consulting services to companies involved in mineral exploration in BC Canada, Alaska, Idaho, Nevada, Bolivia, and Puerto Rico. DKA is involved in incubating start-up companies in natural resource areas including oil and gas, renewable energy, and mineral exploration by providing management advice and support. From 2013 to 2018, Mr. Kunz was Chairman and CEO of Gold Torrent, Inc. a mine development company with a gold project in Alaska that was sold to the project lender last year. Mr. Kunz is currently a member of the board of directors of Chesapeake Gold Corp (TSX-V:CKG) and its subsidiary Gunpoint Exploration Ltd., Greenbriar Capital Corp (TSX-V:GRB), and Silver Bull Resources, Inc. (TSX:SVB). For further information please contact: Kevin Beaulieu, Director E-mail: info@muchocobre.com Forward-Looking Information: This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business of MCR. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of MCR. Although MCR believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based on are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because MCR can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. MCR disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws. SOURCE: Mucho Cobre Resources Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/537231/Mucho-Cobre-Resources-Announces-the-Appointment-of-Daniel-Kunz-as-Director-and-CEO Taking advantage of the Chinese governments more liberal approach towards private financing, a Wanda Group unit issued its first offshore bond since July 2016, which was lapped up by investors. Since 2016, the Chinese government has tightened restrictions on the expensive overseas acquisitions of large private Chinese firms like Wanda and HNA Group. It was alarmed by soaring corporate debt and the potential flight of capital. But with more recent concerns over financial difficulties in the private sector, Chinese authorities have switched course and allowed companies to pursue offshore funding. The Reg S offshore US dollar bond from Wanda Properties Global,... 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. Looks like 2019 is going to be a memorable year for Sandalwood. Though the year began with KGF's fever, Puneeth Rajkumar's Nata Sarvabhouma managed to make headlines. Puneeth Rajkumar, who returned to cinema after one and-a-half years, didn't fail to impress his fans. The horror-thriller became the biggest Kannada release so far by opening with over 350 shows. Also, the viewers couldn't get their eyes of the on-screen couple Puneeth and Anupama Parameswaran. Their chemistry became the talk of the town and fans were seen requesting Yuvaratna makers to bring them together again. On the other end, Rashmika and Darshan will be seen romancing each other for the first time. Ever since their duet song Ondu Munjabe was launched, everybody is eagerly waiting to witness their sizzling chemistry in the film. Talking about her chemistry with Darshan, she told in an interview, "Unlike other love stories, our characters have been in love since childhood. We are always seen teasing each other and fooling around." Similar to Puneeth and Anupama, Rashmika and Darshan's pairing has also set high expectation among D Boss fans. Rashmika has a huge fan following and is one of the biggest stars of the Southern film industry. She has never ceased to entertain her fans irrespective of who she stars opposite. Similarly, Anupama too gained a huge fan following after starring opposite Puneeth in Nata Sarvabhouma. MOST READ : Rashmika Mandanna Says Kirik Party Is Her Most Special Moment; But Has Great Hopes On Yajamana! We would like to hear from you, as to which one of these jodis you like the most. Let us know in the comments below! Rajkummar Rao's Horror Comedy Gets A Quirky Title According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, the film has been titled Rooh Afza. Speaking about it, producer Dinesh Vijan told the tabloid, "Even though the film is named after a refreshing summer drink, there is nothing sweet about Rooh-Afza." Roof Afza Will Be Based In Uttar Pradesh While Stree was based in Chanderi, this new film will be set in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh and revolves around another urban legend. The film is scheduled to go on floors in May this year. Roof Afza Revolves Around This Folk Legend Reportedly, the horror comedy revolves around a singing ghost who puts grooms to sleep so that it can possess their brides. Dinesh Vijan Spills The Beans The producer told Mirror, "In Rooh-Afza, every time a wedding happens in the town, the women scramble to keep the groom awake through his first night. At the same time, the chudail is trying to put him to sleep with a lullaby. It is believed that if a groom dozes off, she proceeds to possess his bride in a bid to make his marital life hell." Vijan further added, "The film is a laugh riot all the way while at the same time, talk of the legend and the spirit will have you looking around yourself, wondering if she is anywhere close by." Varun Sharma Is Also A Part Of This Film While Rajkummar Rao had Aparshakti Khurrana and Abhishek Banerjee for company in Stree, Varun Sharma plays Rao's buddy in Roof Afza. Priyanka & Nick At The Former's Brother's Roka Ceremony It was family time again for Priyanka Chopra Jonas and her hubby Nick Jonas as they flew to India to attend the Roka ceremony of Priyanka's little brother Siddharth Chopra with Ishita Kumar. Priyanka and Nick can be seen on stage with the engaged to be married couple, and some other family members. Priyanka and Nick look like the gorgeous couple they are. PeeCee is wearing a silver anarkali dress whereas Nick looks handsome in a cream colored embellished sherwani. Priyanka's Mother Madhu Chopra This Picture This was another picture from the Roka ceremony which was posted by Priyanka's mother Madhu Chopra. She captioned it, "Blessing of the family at Siddharth's n Ishita's Roka...." (sic). Priyanka Took To Instagram To Congratulate The Couple Priyanka herself announced about the Roka ceremony when she took to Instagram to post pictures of the couple and congratulate them. She wrote, "So proud of my baby brother. Ishita welcome to the family.. you r so beautiful together.. I wish you both the best for the future ! Happy Roka!! @ishittaakumar @siddharthchopra89 " (sic). Priyanka's brother Siddharth looks handsome in a cream colored sherwani with a printed white Nehru jacket, whereas Ishita looks very pretty in a pink embellished kurta with palazzo pants. Doesn't This Bring Back Memories Of When Nick And Priyanka Got Married? Priyanka and Nick are themselves newlyweds, having gotten married in December of last year in a lavish wedding ceremony at the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur. The celebrations went on for three days, and the couple got married in a traditional Hindu style ceremony as well as a Christian style ceremony to honor the groom's traditional background. Pictures from their wedding were truly beautiful and Priyanka made for a drop dead gorgeous bride. Neeti Mohan Wrote A Touching Thank You Note After Her Wedding Neeti Mohan posted this gorgeous picture of herself from the wedding day and left a touching thank you note to her friends for being there for her on her wedding day. "A heartfelt THANK YOU to my friends for making me feel n look beautiful on a my wedding day! Love you all." (sic). Doesn't she look absolutely beautiful in the pastel colored lehenga? The Mohan Sisters With The New Addition To Their Family Recently, Mukti Mohan had posted this adorable picture of herself, and her sisters, Shakti Mohan, Kriti Mohan and Neeti Mohan, with her jiju and had captioned it, "When promises are made with an open heart, we experience the divine rain. @neetimohan18 @nihaarpandya My NeeNis I Love You more than myself. Just like the showers in your wedding, I wish you love, good health, success everything in abundance." (sic). How Neeti Met Nihar's Family Talking about how love blossomed between her and Nihar, Neeti had once told in an interview, "We both have strong values and quite similar ones. I think Jimmy knew that, and trust me, he was very sure that we would click. He introduced us at a wedding, where Nihaar was accompanied by his parents. They met me very warmly and there was an instant connect with not just Nihaar but also his family members." Neeti And Nihar Got Married In A Beautiful Ceremony In Hyderabad Neeti and Nihar got married in a private wedding ceremony in Hyderabad on February 15th. However, the couple's wedding reception was postponed because Neeti's father took to ill health on the day of the wedding and had to be hospitalized. Mukti Mohan had told a daily, "Dad cannot take too much physical stress, so we had kept him in the hotel room. He was not to be seen at the mandap and people freaked out. We had called the doctors to the hotel room and they suggested that he should be shifted to the hospital." Adnan Sami is one proud Indian and there's no denying about that! Post the surgical strike 2, which took place on February 26 after Pulwama attack, Adnan Sami praised PM Narendra Modi & IAF and tweeted, "The Force Is With You" @narendramodi ji. Respect to @IAF_MCC. #HowsTheJosh #StopTerrorism #JaiHind." The actor also took a sharp dig at Pakistani trolls and tweeted, "Dear Pak trolls, Its not about ur egos being given a reality check today; its about eliminating terrorists who u 'claim' r also ur enemies! Ur Ostrich mentality is laughable.Btw, ur abuses expose ur reality & therefore d only difference between u & a bucket of shit is the bucket!" On the other side, Alia Bhatt's mom, Soni Razdan also posted a tweet after IAF air strike and wrote, "I'm just curious ... if India has hit only a terror camp that Pak does not want either ... what would they be upset about ? And why ? And why talk of 'retaliation' ? Surely this is what we all want and need ? Lets do the over and out now @ImranKhanPTI." Soni Razdan has also tweeted, "We can destroy terrorists together Pakistan. I say what a novel idea. As long as civilians are safe (and that is paramount) we can fight this scourge for you to some degree... I think this is genius :)." [sic] Meanwhile, many B-town celebs including Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu, Mohit Raina and Kangana Ranaut lauded the surgical strike 2 and showered respect on Indian Air Force. One of the most prolific filmmakers of Indian cinema, Prakash Jha celebrates his 67th birthday today. The director is known for his hard-hitting portrayal of real-life social issues in his films. Born in Barharwa, Bettiah, West Champaran, Bihar, Jha left his B.Sc (Hons) in Physics course mid-day to pursue a career in painting in Mumbai. While he was preparing for J.J. School of Arts, he happened to witness the shooting of the film Dharma and got hooked on filmmaking. He soon joined the prestigious FTII ( Film and Television Institute of India) in Pune to pursue a course in editing. Unfortunately, due to student agitation, the institution had to be shut down for a while and Jha left his course midway and landed up in Mumbai in search of work. He made his first documentary, Under the Blue, in 1975, and continued to do so for the next eight years. Prakash made his directorial debut with Hip Hip Hurray in 1984, scripted by Gulzar and starring Raj Kiran and Deepti Naval. His next film Damul which revolved around the theme of bonded labour in Bihar landed him with the National Film Award for Best Feature Film and the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie in 1985. Over the years, Jha went on to direct films like Mrityudand, Rahul, Gangaajal, Apaharan, Rajneeti, Aarakshan, Chakravyuh, Satyagraha, Jai Gangaajal amongst others. He also produced films like Aarakshan, Chakravyuh, Satyagraha, Lipstick under My Burkha, Fraud Saiyyan. Speaking about his films springing from the world around him, the director once quoted in an Outlook India interview, "I have chronicled social changes through my films. In Mrityudand I talk of the open market economy, how the traditional zamindari is gone, the contractor coming in. My effort as a filmmaker is how to tell it to an audience that wants to be entertained. The idea is to reach out, make money yet say something. Damul and Parineeti were purely my own films. I started negotiating from Mrityudand onwards. Otherwise I'd have to shut shop and go back to Bihar. It's something I am learning, and it continues till date. It's a constant struggle. Sometimes it gets better balanced, at others not." Prakash Jha contested and lost the election to the Lok Sabha from his native Champaran in 2004. He again lost the election to the Lok Sabha in 2009 as Lok Janashakti Party candidate from West Champaran. He again contested in the 2014 elections as a JD(U) candidate from Paschim Champaran but ended up losing the elections. Bipasha Basu's Sister Vijayeta Ties The Knot, Her Dreamy Wedding Pictures Are Not To Be Missed! Fountain Hills, AZ (85268) Today Sunny to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 101F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear. Low near 80F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. As many as 400 visitors will be walking a tightrope when they visit the Antalya region this weekend quite literally. The seventh Turkish Highwire Carnival takes place in the Geyikbayr region 30kms from the Mediterranean resort from Saturday (March 2). The event expects to attract so-called slackliners from all over the world many of them taking to over 20 highwire lines in costume. Highwire locations Heights involved will vary from 15m to 100m with most of the highwire locations to be found around Josito Camp, which is a sponsor of the event. Rock-climbers are also heading for the region to be part of the programme; there will also be taster sessions for those who are new to highwire activities as well as workshops in juggling and yoga. A closing party on Saturday, March 9, will include displays of the trickline skills and fire dancing. The event is expecting to welcome guests from 30 countries in 2019. It was founded by a group of friends in 2013 and has since become one of the best-known festivals of its kind in the world. International meeting Its importance to the slacklining community is underlined by the fact the programme also includes a meeting of the International Slackline Association. It will be held on the evening of Tuesday (March 5) at Rido Camp. Formed last spring, the Turkish branch of the association also holds regular meetings in Istanbuls Yogurtcu Park in Kadkoy and Mackas Demokrasi Park. More information is available online at www.slackline.org.tr or the Slackline Dernegi, Slackline Istanbul and Slackline Turkey Facebook pages. Source: https://www.dailysabah.com/expat-corner/2019/02/26/spirit-in-the-sky-turkish-highline-carnival The end of the cold war, German unification, the implosion of the Soviet Union, and the wider changes in Europe have set Germany on a new trajectory: from security consumer and full-time U.S. client to security provider, anchor nation and even hegemon. In security and military terms, the country has been transiting from a culture of restraint to a culture of responsibility. Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger Redakteur in der Politik. Folgen Ich folge Before and after the turn of the century, demands and expectations that Germany carry more of the burden of transatlantic and European security and prosperity were constantly increasing to the point where a Polish foreign minister, in November of 2011, called Germany the indispensable nation of Europe. Imagine. While Germany has always been Europes economic powerhouse, it was around that time that the increase in political clout became all too clear. When the European debt crisis gripped many European countries and the future of the Euro zone was on the line, Germany clearly moved to center stage. It fell upon Germany to save the Euro and avert disaster for the global economy, on terms and conditions that were too lenient in the eyes of the believers of fiscal and monetary orthodox and too harsh for the recipients of aid packages. As a consequence British political scientist William Paterson argued that Germany had become Europes reluctant hegemon. I do not think this is a useful term, because it suggests a kind of behavior we usually associated in the past with the behavior and power of the United States. Its new influence, authority and power notwithstanding, Germany does not fit in this category. It is a rich country with considerable power, but its resources are limited and, unlike in France and the United Kingdom, a strategic culture is almost nonexistent. Since a couple of years, however, things dont look so bright anymore, if not outright dark. Most recent political and geopolitical changes in and around Europe were not in favor of Germany. Quite the opposite. Some developments directly challenge its core interests, beliefs and principles. We have seen Russias aggression in and against the Ukraine changing borders, undermining states, threatening neighbors, popping up dictatorial regimes. We witness the return of big power rivalries and conflicts. The power struggle in Venezuela, by the way, may be an example for this. The rise of China is no longer merely seen as an economic opportunity but as a serious, geopolitical and economic challenge. Global order is seen as dissolving, as the concept of common rules and institutions is shared less and less. When it comes to Russia, it fell primarily upon Germany and France, in this order, to organize a response. This response, sanctions, is asymmetrical, and until now has not changed Russias behavior. But it has signaled to President Putin that his aggression at least comes with a price. Peace is more fragile than we had hoped for at the end of the Cold War, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the other day. 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. The Scottish pig industry are working together to fight a debilitating and costly disease first seen in herds in 1992, becoming the single most important endemic disease in pigs. Pig producers are working with the wider-industry to try to develop a strategy to eliminate Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS). The disease is a global problem, and infects sows and growing pigs, leading to reproductive failure characterised by abortions, weak and stillborn piglets and infertility as well as respiratory problems and increased mortality in young animals. The virus also has an immuno-suppressive effect, which means that animals infected with the PRRS virus are susceptible to repeated infections, often resulting in increased antibiotic use. The loss of production seen as a result of PRRS has a significant economic impact. The disease is estimated to cost the UK pig industry around 80 per sow, 3.50 per finished pig, or typically 40,000 for a 500-sow herd per year. When this is multiplied by the number of affected herds, this cost is calculated to be around 3 million each year to the UK pig industry. PRRS only affects pigs and poses no risk to human health. The virus that causes PRRS can be transmitted in boar semen, through the air, from pig to pig, and via contact with things like contaminated boots, overalls and vehicles. One of the key elements of controlling the disease is to prevent the risk of infection or re-infection in pig herds which are free of PRRS or have invested in disease elimination. 'Reduce mortality' Pig vet Dr Grace Webster, chair of the Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) Scottish working group established to try to combat the disease, is convinced that developing a strategy to eliminate the virus from the Scottish pig sector would be a major benefit to the industry. She said: Eliminating the PRRS virus in Scotland would undoubtedly improve pig health and welfare by reducing disease and mortality in Scottish pigs. She added that another advantage of eliminating PPRS would be a reduction in antibiotic use: As pigs with PRRS are affected by secondary infections, eliminating the virus would help reduce antimicrobial use in pigs and could also reduce abattoir condemnations due to chronic health issues such as pleurisy. The first stage of the eradication programme was to determine how many pigs in Scotland are, or have been, exposed to PRRS virus. Over the last 18 months, blood and oral fluid samples have been collected from pig units across Scotland and tested for the presence of antibodies to the virus. Much of this work was carried out by Allan Ward, QMS Pig Specialist at abattoirs across Scotland, and the remainder were collected by private vets on units not slaughtering pigs in Scotland. Mapping the disease Results show that 40% of pig units in Scotland tested positive for the virus, which is 15% lower than in 2012/2013. Using this data, researchers have mapped the disease showing each individual site, by unit type, size and PRRS status. Phase Two of testing will begin soon and will involve characterising the units that have already tested positive via a more in-depth blood survey. This will identify what strains are present on infected units, which will help inform improvements in biosecurity. Dr Webster said: The next key steps towards control and elimination need to be done in a co-ordinated manner within a region, to prevent neighbours re-infecting each other. The Moray Coast region has been identified as the preferred starting point for trying to eliminate PRRS, as there are very few positive units in this area. In areas where there is a greater density of pigs, such as Aberdeenshire, the first step will be to move towards control and to reduce the shedding of the virus in the area before starting to establish clusters of units that have the potential to eradicate PPRS. Dr Webster stressed the urgency of trying to eradicate the virus in Scotland. She said: Viral isolates from Scottish farms that have had their DNA sequenced are already seeing a diversity from region to region, so eliminating the virus quickly will hopefully protect the Scottish herd against the development of highly pathogenic strains. A new scheme which creates private markets for ecosystem services in a bid to fund farmers' work in improving the environment could be expanded to include carbon reduction. The Natural Infrastructure Scheme (NIS), a model devised by the National Trust and Green Alliance, has been proposed for services such as flood prevention and water quality improvement, and is due to be trialled in Cumbria. A new report released on Wednesday (27 February) shows that carbon reduction could be added to the package of services offered in NIS. This could help the UK meet its carbon targets and provide a new source of funding for farmers and land managers, it says. Land use is becoming a significant focus in the effort to reduce carbon across the economy, with agriculture accounting for about ten per cent of UK emissions. The Committee on Climate Change is currently preparing advice for the government on setting a net zero carbon target for the UK. But the report's analysis suggests that new government policy will be needed, specifically targeting the farming and land use sectors to achieve this. 'Game changer' By changing land management through practices such as planting cover crops or trees, farmers and land managers can reduce their carbon emissions, the report highlights. However, making these changes can be expensive. The analysis suggests that, in most circumstances current funding arrangements mean tree planting, peat restoration and changes to agricultural management are not financially attractive. But new government policy to strengthen demand for carbon credits from these services could be a 'game changer'. The report proposes that a new Farming and Soil Carbon Code, building on existing carbon credit schemes for woodland and peatland restoration, would mean UK farmers and land managers could sell carbon credits alongside other environmental benefits as part of a Natural Infrastructure Scheme, making many more environmental projects viable. 'Financially-rewarded' Patrick Begg, of National Trust, said farmers should be financially rewarded for helping the UK meet its long-term ambitions on climate change. Our latest research shows that by stacking up these climate change benefits alongside improvements to water quality and better flood management, farmers can benefit through new Natural Infrastructure Schemes which unlock money from the private sector. But we need government to get behind this, including by acting as a buyer of services themselves, and also backing new carbon credit schemes, he said. Halal and kosher meat cannot be labelled 'organic' as the practices do not place high emphasis on the animals' welfare, the EU's top court has ruled. Non-stun ritualistic slaughter 'fails to observe the highest animal welfare standards', the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) said on Tuesday (26 February). The lack of anesthesia before slaughter means the animal suffers too much pain and cannot be placed under the EU's organic standard, the court found. The case was brought to the court in 2012 by an animal welfare association in France, which said that halal meat should not be labelled organic. French courts initially dismissed Oeuvre d'Assistance aux Betes d'Abattoirs' (OAB) case before the CJEU got involved. The Court recalls that scientific studies have shown that pre-stunning is the technique that compromises animal welfare the least at the time of killing, the CJEU said in a statement. The ruling follows a joint call made by the RSPCA and British Veterinary Association (BVA) urging the UK government to repeal a legal exemption that permits animals to be slaughtered without pre-stunning. Both groups say slaughtering without pre-stunning causes 'unnecessary pain and suffering'. The latest figures from 2017/18 reveal that over 120 million animals were slaughtered without being stunned first in the UK - more than three animals slaughtered every second on average. Several European countries, including Belgium, Iceland, Sweden, Switzerland and Denmark have banned non-stun slaughter. The Campaign for the Farmed Environment has relaunched as Championing the Farmed Environment to focus on the green benefits farmers deliver. The partnership, initially launched in 2009, supports farmers to deliver environmental benefits within a productive farm business. It was launched in response to the abolition of compulsory set-aside through the EUs Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Amid concerns around the environmental impacts of the announcement of a 0% agricultural set-aside level for 2008, the NFU and the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) put forward a proposal to establish the partnership as a preferred alternative to compulsory set-aside in England. The campaign has now relaunched as Championing the Farmed Environment (CFE) to mark the development of the partnership since its inception a decade ago. The CFE will also be supporting events around the country to talk to farmers about the future direction of the project and encourage others to get involved. A new website is also being launched based around the central campaign themes of soils, water, air and wildlife. It will set out actions which farmers can take to ensure their farms produce environmental benefits within the operation of a sustainable business. CFE project officer, Laura Harpham said: Alongside producing safe, traceable and affordable food, the focus has increased on the environmental goods which farming delivers for the landscape, wildlife and the public. The name change is a great opportunity to celebrate the work farmers who are already engaged with CFE are doing, and to get more people involved. The CFE is supported and advised by Defra and other organisations such as LEAF, AHDB, Catchment Sensitive Farming, and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. It follows the governments 25-year Environment Plan which calls on the farming community to balance the production of safe, traceable and high-quality British food with the protection and enhancement of the British countryside. This includes protecting the essential public goods it manages for the nation; clean air and water, healthy soils and a flourishing natural environment. The continued uncertainty surrounding Brexit is now impacting the grain trade, the NFU has warned, with British arable businesses struggling to plan ahead. In a typical year, UK grain exports to the European Union are worth 514 million. In 2015/2016, wheat exports to the EU were worth 220 million and barley exports were worth 294 million. But with no clarity around the future EU-UK trading relationship and what tariffs will be imposed, arable businesses and the wider supply chain are struggling to plan ahead meaning they are being more exposed to risk from a volatile grain market. Trading opportunities with the EU are becoming increasingly limited for the UK arable industry because of Brexit uncertainty and businesses are already feeling the impact, the NFU warned on Wednesday (27 February). NFU combinable crops board chairman, Tom Bradshaw stressed the need for a deal to be agreed to mitigate the impact on farmers, allow trading contracts to be put in place with European buyers and enable the free flow of food products between the UK and EU to continue. He said it is 'appalling and completely irresponsible' to have this level of uncertainty at such a late stage in the process. It is no longer a case of business as usual uncertainty is preventing normal trading practices from taking place today. We rely on simultaneous import and export trade to keep the UK market balanced, and with the vast majority of British grain exports going into the EU market it is essential that this flow of trade is maintained and protected, Mr Bradshaw said. 'Overlooked' At the NFUs annual conference last week, Defra Secretary Michael Gove outlined plans to protect various sectors of British agriculture from imports produced to standards that would be illegal in the UK. However, he did not say whether UK arable farmers would be offered any protection. Mr Bradshaw added: Our nations cereal production underpins all other farming sectors from producing biofuels to helping to feed livestock and its strategic importance must not be overlooked. It would only take the government putting minimal tariffs on cereals coming into the UK to help maintain balance on our market and offer some protection to UK growers from imports of lower standards. And lets be clear, tariffs on grain have very little impact on food prices. If British grain exports are going to face EU tariffs, its not unreasonable for our government to reciprocate and put in place levels of protection for our own growers, he added. The warning follows the NFU President Minette Batters saying how it is 'unacceptable' for farm businesses to remain in constant uncertainty due to Brexit. (Developing story. Expect updates; updated 11:15 a.m.) SALEM, Ohio A controversial measure intended to give Lake Erie its own legal standing is being challenged in federal court, one day after Toledo city voters approved its passage. Known as the Lake Erie Bill of Rights, or LEBOR, the policy was approved Feb. 26 by a 9,867 to 6,211 margin, with a voter turnout of about 9 percent of those registered. As it stands, LEBOR gives citizens of Toledo the right to sue polluters on behalf of the lake and its right to exist in a healthy condition. However, city council members and area farmers have expressed concern over whether such a measure is constitutional, and how exactly the bill of rights might be implemented. Taking issue Wood County grain farmer Mark Drewes filed suit in the Federal District Court for Northern Ohio, arguing that LEBOR is unconstitutional and oversteps the legal rights of Toledo residents. Drewes is represented by the law firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease. The Charter Amendment is an unconstitutional and unlawful assault on the fundamental rights of family farms in the Lake Erie watershed like the Drewes fifth generation family farm, said Thomas Fusonie, attorney with the law firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease. The lawsuit seeks to protect the Drewes family farm from this unconstitutional assault. The constitutionality of the action was also publicly voiced by Toledo-area leaders, including some of those who voted in favor of its passage. Members of the Lucas County Board of Elections and Toledo City Council all voiced concerns about constitutionality. Lengthy battle Farmers and non-farmers have battled the water quality issue the past several years, stepping up the efforts to keep nutrients in place and improve water quality. Lake Erie continues to be at the center of disussions, because of issues related to harmful algal blooms, which feed off of phosphorus and threaten the safety of the water for drinking and recreational use. In 2018, the state declared portions of the lake impaired, and there was a push by former Gov. John Kasich to have eight northwestern watersheds declared in distress. Farmers and some conservation leaders, however, said progress was still being made and argued that the rule package that coincided with Kasichs order was too onerous. Since taking office in January, Gov. Mike DeWine and his administration have set a plan of stakeholder input and listening sessions, before putting together his own water quality proposal. Under review Newly appointed ag director, Dorothy Pelanda, said Feb. 26 that the rules developed by the Kasich administration have been put on pause, so that stakeholders can give additional input and a workable solution can be reached. The rule package was heard before the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review in December, but the committee voted to send the rules back to the ag department for further review and re-filing, because of concerns with the cost and staffing needs, and the effect on agriculture and business. The suit by Mark Drewes is supported by Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, which said Drewes is an exemplary farmer who is employing new methods of monitoring and controlling nutrient flow. The Farm Bureau has supported new research and farming practices in the area, including demonstration farms that test and display the results of new farming practices. Farmers want and are working toward improving water quality, but this new Toledo law hurts those efforts, said OFBF Executive Vice President Adam Sharp, in a released statement. Mark Drewes understands this, and its Farm Bureaus job to back his important actions on behalf of Ohio farmers. TransUnion provides risk and information solutions. The company operates in three segments: U.S. Markets, International, and Consumer Interactive. The U.S. Markets segment provides consumer reports, actionable insights, and analytics, such as credit and other scores, as well as technology solutions for businesses. These businesses use its services to acquire new customers; assess consumer ability to pay for services; identify cross-selling opportunities; measure and manage debt portfolio risk; collect debt; verify consumer identities; and investigate potential fraud. This segment serves various industry vertical markets, including financial services, healthcare, insurance, tenant and employment, collections, public sector, media, and other markets. The International segment offers credit reports, analytics, technology solutions, and other value-added risk management services; consumer services, which help consumers to manage their personal finances; and consumer credit reporting, insurance and auto information solutions, and commercial credit information services. This segment serves customers in financial services, retail credit, insurance, automotive, collections, public sector, and communications industries through direct and indirect channels. The Consumer Interactive segment provides credit reports and scores, credit monitoring, fraud protection and resolution, and financial management solutions that enable consumers to manage their personal finances and take precautions against identity theft. This segment offers its products through online and mobile interfaces, as well as through direct and indirect channels. The company serves customers in approximately 30 countries and territories, including North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, India, and the Asia Pacific. The company was formerly known as TransUnion Holding Company, Inc. and changed its name to TransUnion in March 2015. TransUnion was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Read More Ad Investing Trends New this week - 68 interested Scientists Now Saying the Secret to America's Happiness Is THIS It's hard to believe But the psychedelic drugs we've demonized for decades are quickly becoming the foundation for a new mental health revolution. By 'micro dosing' scientists have worked what some are calling miracles and now is the time to invest in this burgeoning industry before Wall Street catches on. Seattle Cannabis Blockbuster Set to Double Sales in Next 2 Years! (Ad) Thanks to a recent reorganization, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships, one Seattle cannabis blockbuster is poised for a massive expansion in the coming 24 months. With plans to double its annual sales in the next two years, this companys shares could potentially skyrocket in value. Get all the details on this potential penny stock Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. provides natural gas compression services and equipment to the energy industry in the United States. It fabricates, manufactures, rents, and sells natural gas compressors and related equipment. The company primarily engages in the rental of compression units that provide small, medium, and large horsepower applications for unconventional oil and natural gas production. As of December 31, 2020, the company had 2,224 natural gas compression units in its rental fleet with 438,524 horsepower. The company also engages in the design, fabrication, and assembly of compressor components into compressor units for rental or sale; engineers and fabricates natural gas compressors; and designs and manufactures a line of reciprocating compressor frames, cylinders, and parts. In addition, it is involved in the design, fabrication, sale, installation, and service of flare stacks and related ignition and control devices for the onshore and offshore incineration of gas compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gases. Further, the company offers customer support services for its compressor and flare sales business; an exchange and rebuild program for small horsepower screw compressors; and maintains an inventory of new and used compressors. Its primary customers are exploration and production(E&P) companies that utilize compressor units for artificial lift applications; E&P companies that focuses on natural gas-weighted production; and midstream companies. Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas. Read More WESTPORT The gray, custom colonial house at 62 Old Road was built almost two years ago and contains many inspiring and attractive modern features. The hallmark of this house could be its transitional design within its wide, open floor plan, but there are so many other striking features that could and should be highlighted. Among them are the floating linear fireplace of the great or family room which has a 20-foot ceiling, the Trion air purification system, Nest thermostats, smart home technology, Emtek door knobs and hardware, wide window ledges, Lutron Maestro dimming switches throughout, and dazzling lighting features in every room. There are two more antonyms, besides old and new, that suit this property. Large and tiny. The large main house features 5,500 square feet of living space on four finished floors with 14 spacious rooms, while in front of this sizable residence there is a small cottage that existed long before the tiny house trend began. This is a legal rental, and while it comes with this house and property the cottage actually has a different address 64 Old Road and its own mailbox, as well as laundry facilities, eat-in kitchen, bedroom, full bath, and enclosed porch. Tiny House Nation, the popular television show, highlights ingenious architectural designs on a small scale for people who are looking to downsize and live a more simple life. This house was ingeniously designed and built in 2017 to accommodate modern living and entertaining for those who prefer large, open residential spaces but still also appreciate a minimalistic style. This house has clean, distinctive architectural lines, a neutral palette, a stripped down simplicity, and serenity and tranquility, the listing agent said. Whether the homeowners are controlling the temperature or choosing the fireplace flame options to set a particular mood, everything is one step away on a smartphone. This Nantucket cedar, shingle-style house and the cottage sit on a 0.64-acre largely level property in the Hunt Club neighborhood. ABOUT THIS HOUSE STYLE: Custom Colonial, New Construction ADDRESS: 62 Old Road PRICE: $1,880,000 ROOMS: 14 FEATURES: 0.64-acre level property, guest house/legal rental, covered porch, raised Trex deck, exterior lighting, underground utilities, professionally landscaped, brass up-lighting, cable - available, open floor plan, walking distance to shops and restaurants on the Post Road (Route 1), proximity to local beaches, programmable Nest thermostats, Anderson windows, hard-wired for a generator, two fireplaces, stone wall, attached under house three-car garage, full partially finished walk-out finished basement, finished walk-up attic, ridge vents, central air conditioning, five zoned natural gas heat, 100-gallon hot water tank, possible in-law/au pair suite, six bedrooms, five full and one half baths SCHOOLS: Long Lots Elementary, Bedford Middle, Staples High School ASSESSMENT: $1,310,200 MILL RATE: 16.86 mills TAXES: $22,090 See More Collapse Because the main house is set well back from the road, it enjoys a large measure of privacy, and yet its location in this neighborhood places it conveniently close to the Post Road (Route 1) for commuting, shopping, and dining. It is also close to the Fairfield County Hunt Club equestrian facility, Westport beaches, the Greens Farms Metro-North train station, and within walking distance to local public schools. A stone wall sits along the front of the property, and a long driveway leads down to the attached under house three-car garage. A bluestone path leads to the covered front porch of granite. The front door opens into the foyer, where the staircase to the second floor was given the same attention to detail as the rest of the house. Its custom-made metal balusters or spindles have a satin nickel finish. The foyer also features a large mudroom with cubbies, a walk-in closet, and access to the garage. The formal living room features a marble fireplace and modern designed coffered ceiling. The same style ceiling is found in the formal dining room, which also features paneling on the lower walls. The butlers pantry features a white quartzite counter, marble backsplash in a herringbone pattern, and wine refrigerator. In the cavernous gourmet kitchen, there is a massive center island/breakfast bar. It and the perimeter counters are topped with White Princess quartzite. Other features include the dual temperature wine refrigerator in the island, custom painted maple cabinetry, stainless steel farm sink, LED under cabinet lighting, and Thermador appliances. There is also a door to the expansive raised Trex deck. The great room features an accent wall of textured wood tile wall with the linear fireplace creating a cosmopolitan flair. This house has five bedrooms, all of them generous in size. The sixth bedroom is in the cottage. Four bedrooms are on the second floor and have specially designed windows, and the fifth is on the finished third floor, which also has a sitting room. This bedroom could serve as an office. The luxurious master suite features custom cut paneled accents, two walk-in closets with designer lighting, and a marble bath with an Aria soaking tub, double vanity, and shower with multiple body sprays and rain showerhead. On the lower level, there is space for a recreation or game room and media room. The full bath has a marble counter and French doors access the backyard. There will be a public open house on March 3, from 1 to 4 p.m. For more information visit www.bethsaundersrealestate.com. To make an appointment to see the house contact Beth Saunders of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties at 203-913-2762 or bethsaunders5@gmail.com. Jeenah Moon / Bloomberg MILFORD - A 22-year-old New Haven man has been arrested for allegedly stealing more than $1,800 worth of merchandise from a Victorias Secret store. Police said Stephen Blackshear was arrested on a warrant charging him with taking the merchandise without paying for it on Nov. 19, 2018. WESTON Gov. Ned Lamont emerged from a closed-door meeting with a dozen Fairfield County municipal leaders on Tuesday, pledging he is not out to force anyone on his plans for regionalization of some school operations. I am a believer of shared services but my plan uses ... a carrot, not a stick, Lamont insisted. I am not using anything to force any of the folks here to give up local control they have over their own schools. The bipartisan group of first selectmen and some school superintendents seemed happy to have an audience with a governor who heard them out. We didnt agree on everything, Darien First Selectman Jayme Stevenson, a Republican, said. Still, she called it a great discussion. Having the governor here, listening to us, is critically important, Stevenson said. It is not something I expected, Monroe First Selectman Ken Kellogg added. Kellogg said he was encouraged to hear Lamont is not out to force Monroes 3,200-student school district to merge with anyone, and satisfied he got to vent about the $1 million affect the governors proposed budget would have on Monroes budget in the next fiscal year, because of reduced grants and the expectation the town will contribute to the teacher retirement fund. This is a budget I have already presented to the Town Council, Kellogg said. The roundtable was hosted at Weston Town Hall by First Selectman Chris Spaulding and arranged by freshman state Sen. Will Haskell, D-Westport. Others participants came from Easton, Redding, Wilton, Monroe, Darien, Westport, Fairfield and Trumbull. The meeting comes ahead of a public hearing set for Friday at 1 p.m. on Lamonts bill before the state Legislatures education committee. Already, more than 100 letters in opposition to the plans have been submitted. Lamont said he came to clarify his proposal, saying it would be a win-win for the state, municipalities and taxpayers because it would create greater efficiencies. Connectcut has 169 municipalities, 206 school districts, and 1,493 public schools. That is costing us a fortune, Lamont said. He wants to establish a Commission on Shared School Services that would begin developing plans for the sharing or consolidation of some school services and school districts with municipalities and school districts that choose to participate. Incentives would be offered for districts that, for instance, shared superintendents or back-office services such as information technology. One carrot would be participants getting priority when it comes to state bonding. But Lamonts plan threatens to withhold funding for some costs for districts who resist efforts to economize. If that is heavy-handed, we will do it another way, Lamont said. At the end of the day, he said, his aim is to make sure children get the best education with the least amount of inefficiencies. Haskell, who arranged the session, said he is all for incentivizing small districts to spend their dollars more efficiently and directing them toward the classrooms. But offer a pathway, Haskell said, adding he let the governor know he opposes anything that would force districts to merge, particularly municipalities like the ones he represents that contribute so much to state coffers. Lamont told reporters after the hour-long session that he has no intention of forcing anyone to do anything. His plan to make municipalities start sharing in the cost of teacher pensions something his predecessor, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, tried and failed to get approved also got pushback. Lamonts plan calls for all districts to contribute something. Districts that pay their teachers more than the state median would contribute more. Its a big hit, Westons Spaulding said of the pension shift. My message was that I understand that there is shared sacrifice, but I want him to understand the particular impact of all the parts of his budget. Spaulding said the governor listened and was receptive to what he was told. Fairfield First Selectman Michael Tetreau, who was also at the roundtable, said he has never seen a governor come down and meet with first selectmen like this. Its great, he said. While there wasnt total agreement, Tetreau said ideas were exchanged. He called it a change in tone and process from past administrations. Wilton First Selectman Lynne A. Vanderslice she was pleased that she was promised the chance to sit with the governors staff to fix errors she saw in proposed legislation. Trumbull First Selectman Vicki A. Tesoro said she got a similar pledge when she told the governor about combined Education Cost Sharing formula cuts and new pension costs that would cause a $1.2 million hit to Trumbulls budget. He listened and said he would get back to me, Tesoro said. lclambeck@ctpost.com; twitter/lclambeck ANSONIA The collapse of a nearly 100-year-old sewer pipe near the Riverwalk on Pershing Drive is threatening the Naugatuck River and nearby businesses, including several restaurants along the busy street that runs into Derby. An emergency bypass has been built around the broken pipe, allowing a pump operated around the clock by four Public Works employees to redirect the raw sewage away from the river to the treatment plant. This is an emergency situation, said Frank Pepe, owner of Pepe Construction in Derby and the on-call emergency contractor for the city and its Water Pollution Control Authority. You got a heavy flow coming down from Clifton Avenue. If one of your (bypass) pumps sucks up a rag or a wipe in its propellers youre going to have raw sewage going into ... basements. A sewage flood in the basement of the Lemko Club late last week led to the discovery of the break. Pepe said the owner of another building near the social club reported hearing gurgling in his pipes but experience no flooding. Pepe said any discharge into buildings could result in lawsuits against the city. Discharge into the Naugatuck River would result in state fines. Raw sewage is nothing to fool with, Pepe said. Youve got a large liability if you get backed up downstream. As a result, the Board of Aldermen and the Water Pollution Control Authority Commission met in an emergency session Tuesday night at City Hall. They approved hiring Pepe, who had already begun some work, in a no-bid contract. The city is incurring costs of at least $8,000 a day between Pepe and stationing Public Works employees at the site, according to calculations made by Dan King, a 1st Ward alderman. This is the third major break in the citys sewer lines since December. Two lines collapsed on Wakelee Avenue during the re-construction of that street. One took place near the intersection with Mary Street and the other near the Dwight Street intersection. Thats what happens in cities with old, unmaintained infrastructures and no capitol improvement plans, said Sheila OMalley, the citys economic development director and grants writer. Pepe estimated the work to lay 98 feet of pipe will take 25-30 days and cost at least $760,000 and thats if your manholes are in good condition and dont have to be relined. But he warned they are lined with 100-year-old brick. Pepe also suggested inspecting and if necessary relining the trunk line that goes from the sewage treatment plant on North Division Street under the railroad tracks while the equipment is there that way youll be able to sleep nights. He said vibrations from the trains rattling the tracks may have caused some instability. Pepe hired the Baker Group to do the engineering on the structural support of the trench and Quick Pick Crane and Rigging in Derby. He said once the state Department of Transportation approves this method he will start digging perhaps as soon as Monday. The collapsed line is about 37 feet underground. Pershing Drive was raised 15 feet after the (1955) flood, that why its so deep, Pepe said. That Flood of 1955 destroyed much of the downtown. Still Pepe said an attempt was made Saturday to cut the pipe and repair it without excavation but that was unsuccessful. GREENWICH When Interim Superintendent Ralph Mayo walked into his new office last July 15, his chief operating officer told him point-blank that the school district has few systems in place to manage capital projects. That was because earlier that month, members of the towns finance department discovered that work had started to replace the roof at Julian Curtiss School without the funding in place to pay for it. An interim appropriation for $617,000 was rushed through the Board of Education, the Board of Estimate and Taxation and the Representative Town Meeting. As the request made its way through the process, town officials asked how such a misstep could have occurred. Together, the BOE and the BET asked blumshapiro, a consulting firm, to investigate how the district manages maintenance work and capital projects. The boards got their answer Tuesday night. The school district has no policies outlining to staff how to open, manage and close projects; no checklists to hold them accountable; no software to keep track of progress; and little understanding of their financial management software, MUNIS, the consultants said. We had hoped to see policies, procedures and a protocol manual, blumshapiro partner Jeff Ziplow said. That does not exist. The way things are tracked right now manual notebooks, Excel spreadsheets there is nothing centralized. There is no consistency across all projects. There are no governing standards in place. Ziplow said other town departments also lack procedures and software knowledge, and he told board members the current staff is not to blame. You have a team before you that inherited these problems, he said. Ziplow explained to school and finance officials what Chief Operating Officer Lorianne ODonnell sees every day. At the close of the meeting, she said she was eager to fix the problems so that the town does not have to worry about missing roofs and unpaid contractors. We have a long way to come, ODonnell said. I would like to get started immediately. Bungled bundling The root of the problem at Julian Curtiss was that the project was lumped with other roof projects. The initial cost of the project was too high, so staff split the project into two phases, appropriated enough money for the first phase and banked on finishing other roofing projects under budget so money could be internally transferred to cover the second phase. But that money was not sufficient, and because all the subprojects were filed under one project, the staff did not know the funds had not been secured for phase two. I think bundling is OK, but I think we need to put better standards in place to track the bundling, Ziplow said. Ultimately, we need to understand the impact on transfers. We need to be deliberate and transparent. This needs to be disseminated within the BOE, the BET and the RTM. Shallow use of technology Ziplow and his partner Lindsey Donato interviewed 20 people, and he said no one was 95 percent sure how to use MUNIS, the financial management system in place. MUNIS has a more robust project management solution than what youre using right now. You have a module, but youre just scratching the surface as to what you can do, he said. Lets get them up to speed. The software company provides free educational programs, which he said will improve the efficiency of the current staff enough to postpone the need to hire a project manager which Ziplow recommended would supplement the recent hiring of Eric Haaga in the short-term. The school board should not have sole responsibility to oversee MUNIS training, and any financing that may require, BET member Michael Mason said. Why would we not want to have this training for the whole town? he asked. First steps ODonnell said the responsibility of reforming the departments processes falls to three administrators: herself, the Director of Facilities Dan Watson and a Elisa Gonzalez, a part-time administrator who also provides IT support for the phone system in the district. The firm recommended the district hire a consultant to help implement some initial changes, such as writing policies and documenting projects that are underway. The estimated cost would be $25,000. The boards do not have much time to decide on a consultant, BET Chair Jill Oberlander reminded the room. We are in the midst of our budget process, Oberlander said. If there are additional requests for the fiscal year 2020 budget, the BET would need to receive it as soon as possible. With the staffing headcount finalized and the administration onboarding superintendent Toni Jones, of Fairfield Public Schools, the district needs a plan, school board chair Peter Bernstein said. What I dont want to end up doing is saying, Were not ready, he said. We need to keep moving. We need to get an outside consultant to help develop policies, procedures and protocols. ... If you want to start quickly, thats what you need to do. jo.kroeker@hearstmediact.com David Paul Morris / Special to the Chronicle Connecticut Attorney General William Tong published Wells Fargo redress plan to reimburse customers who have yet to receive money after a multistate investigation into employees opening bogus accounts to increase their commissions and other infractions. Connecticut received $5.2 million as its share of a $575 million national settlement, with those funds having been deposited in the states General Fund. Egypt Air's subsidiary Air Cairo will introduce scheduled flights between Sharm El Sheikh and Belgrade, boost its existing year-round operations from Hurghada and cooperate more closely with Air Serbia this summer season. The airline's CEO, Yasser Elramly, announced that the carrier would launch a two weekly service from Sharm El Sheikh, located on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, at the beginning of May. Tickets are to be put on sale soon. Furthermore, the carrier will boost its existing operations between Hurghada and the Serbian capital from five weekly to daily. As a result, the airline will maintain a total of nine weekly services to Belgrade. Mr Elramly noted that the airline has been present on the Serbian market on a year-round basis for the past five years and did not discontinue services to the country during the tourism downturn in Egypt. Last year, the carrier handled 27.000 passengers on its services to and from Belgrade. "In 2016 we handled 6.000 travellers on our Belgrade flights. This figure grew to 15.000 by the end of 2017 and in 2018 we welcomed 27.000 passengers on board our aircraft". He added, "Our target for 2019 is to carry 35.000 travellers to and from Belgrade". The airline is also planning to introduce services to Nis. This summer, Air Serbia will resume year-round operations between Belgrade and Cairo, linking the two cities with a scheduled air service for the first time in fourteen years. Air Cairo's CEO noted the airline was seeking to cooperate closely with the Serbian carrier on the new two weekly service, which is set to launch on June 4. This may include a codeshare agreement between the two airlines. Air Cairo's parent company, Egypt Air, currently codeshares on Aegean Airlines' service between Athens and Belgrade. The number of Serbian tourists visiting Egypt increased 144% in 2018 compared to the year before, according to the Egyptian Embassy in Belgrade. Air Cairo, Air Serbia and AlMasria Universal Airlines all maintained flights between the two countries, the latter with a widebody Airbus A330 aircraft. AT&T Inc. is selling its most valuable San Antonio property more than a decade after the telecommunications giant moved its headquarters to Dallas, the company said Tuesday. On ExpressNews.com: W Hotel in the works for downtown San Antonio, sources say AT&Ts eight-story building and 10-acre lot at 4119 Broadway valued at $17 million last year is already attracting potential buyers. The University of the Incarnate Word, which sits across Hildebrand Avenue from the AT&T property, is considering a bid, said Doug Endsley, the universitys vice president for business and finance. The $227 billion company hasnt set a selling price for the property but expects to open the bidding process in March, said local developer Ed Cross, CEO of Cushman & Wakefield affiliate San Antonio Commercial Advisors. Cross, who is handling the sale, said the Broadway corridors ongoing redevelopment has attracted prospective buyers who could use the property to house more offices or educational facilities. The success of the Pearl and whats happening around the Pearl is now being extended up Broadway, Cross said. The sale will have minimal effect on AT&Ts San Antonio employees and operations, the company said in a statement. AT&T plans to move most employees currently at the Broadway building to its two downtown facilities. AT&T did not say how many employees work at the Broadway facility or how many of its workers remain in San Antonio. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio airport losing more than a dozen flights, including nonstop to Toronto The Broadway property is one of the last remaining vestiges from when AT&T called San Antonio home. The company moved its headquarters from San Antonio to Dallas in 2008, blindsiding local officials. AT&T executives at the time cited San Antonio International Airports lack of nonstop routes and the companys desire to be close to Dallas telecom tech hub as reasons for the move. The relocation prompted years of hand-wringing by elected and economic development officials, who aimed to retool city and county incentives for attracting and retaining companies and beef up the San Antonio airports offerings of nonstop routes. After the sale of the Broadway property, AT&Ts most valuable San Antonio holding will be its 476,000-square-foot office building at 105 Auditorium Circle, near the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in downtown San Antonio valued at $8.5 million last year by the Bexar Appraisal District. AT&T sold its building at 1010 N. St. Marys St. in 2014 to a New York real-estate investment trust but leases the space. That property was valued at $28.8 million in 2015, the earliest figure available from the appraisal district. Joshua Fechter is a San Antonio-based staff writer covering real estate, economic development and philanthropy. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | jfechter@express-news.net | Twitter: @JFreports AUSTIN The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday struck down a key provision of the states Open Meetings Act, finding the section that makes it a crime for government officials to meet secretly to discuss the publics business is unconstitutionally vague. The ruling makes such violations no longer punishable as crimes in Texas, so long as the meetings do not involve a majority of a governing board such as a school district, city council or county commission. The court stuck a knife into the heart of the Open Meetings Act, said Joe Larsen, a board member of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas who has worked on the case. Its the real world where the consequences are going to be backroom deals hidden from the public. The court said it was up to the Legislature, which is currently in session, to decide whether to revise the provision so it would pass constitutional muster. We do not doubt the Legislatures power to prevent government officials from using clever tactics to circumvent the purpose and effect of the Texas Open Meetings Act, wrote Presiding Judge Sharon Keller. The courts ruling could have immediate impact on a state investigation of the Houston school districts board, and of the economic development agency in Pasadena. As written, the act makes it illegal for members of a government body to knowingly conspire to circumvent this chapter by meeting in numbers less than a quorum for the purpose of secret deliberations. The attorney generals office, which defended the law in court, defined this violation as a walking quorum, with members of a governing body gathering in groups with fewer than a majority, but through successive meetings essentially conducting business in secret. The attorney generals office described this practice as building a daisy chain of members the sum of whom constitute a quorum. The Office of the Attorney General strongly believes in the transparency of government to ensure its accountability to Texans. Were disappointed that the court did not follow the brief we filed, but we look forward to working with the Legislature to address this vital issue, said Jeff Mateer, First Assistant Attorney General. Larsen suggested the ruling could have national implications if other states use it to justify arguments that their own open meetings laws are also unconstitutionally vague. He said he hopes the state would appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The attorney generals office did not respond when asked to comment on that possibility. The ruling stems from the indictment of Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal, who, as a member of the commissioners court, met privately with a fellow commissioner and a political consultant about the potential structure of a county road bond in 2015. For subscribers: Appeals court reinstates indictments against top Montgomery county leader Doyal, two others Doyal asked the courts to dismiss the 2016 indictment, arguing that the law is too vague and violates free speech rights. The trial court agreed with him, although an appeals court overturned that decision, reinstating the indictments of Doyal, fellow commissioner Charlie Riley, and political consultant Marc Davenport. The three faced misdemeanor charges of violating the open meetings law, punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $500. What a tragic waste of time, energy, effort, money and reputation on the part of several elected officials in Montgomery County that we had to fight this battle, said Doyal, who blamed much of his loss in the 2018 primary election to the case that allowed his opponent to imply he was a criminal. But the truth always finds a way I expected this result because I always knew we never did anything wrong. Thats whats frustrating. I worked with the county for 32 years. I know the TOMA rules, and I did not violate them. Judge Kevin Yeary wrote the dissenting opinion to the criminal courts 7-2 ruling. Also dissenting was Judge David Newell. Yet another perfectly good statute falls today, adding fuel to the claims that this court is often too quick to reject the considered will of our states Legislative Department, read the filing from Yeary. Advocates for open government in Texas expressed frustration. The Open Meetings Act is not as vague as some make it out to be, said Kelly Shannon, executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. If its public businesses, dont be talking about it in secret. Several organizations representing government and school officials say the law is less than clear. The Texas Municipal League, the Texas City Attorneys Association and the Texas Association of Counties told the court that officials desperately need guidance as to what they can and cannot do. The provision is one of the major pillars of the Open Meetings Law. Others remain intact, however, including requirements that boards, councils and commissions vote in public, post meeting agendas and give notice of upcoming meetings. Ruling could impact investigation of HISD The ruling could impact the Texas Education Agencys investigation into allegations of Open Meetings Act violations by some members of the Houston ISD Board of Trustees. TEA officials are investigating whether five trustees illegally coordinated ahead of an October 2018 vote to oust Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan, who took over the position indefinitely in March 2018. The five trustees each spoke with Lathans chosen replacement, Abelardo Saavedra, prior to the vote. Some trustees have said they communicated with one other board member about a potential motion to remove Lathan. Trustees ultimately voted 5-4 to replace Lathan with Saavedra, but they reversed the decision several days later following intense public backlash and Saavedras decision to back out of the job. Saavedra told the Houston Chronicle he quickly discovered HISDs issues stemmed from the school board, as opposed to Lathans administration. TEA opened a special accreditation investigation in January after receiving multiple complaints about violations of the Open Meetings Act. TEA leaders said they are investigating whether trustees were deliberating district business prior to a regularly scheduled board meeting, regarding Lathans removal. While the notice alludes to misconduct described in the same statute that was overturned Wednesday, TEA officials did not indicate they are investigating HISD based on that statute. Rather, the TEA notice lists the entire chapter of open meetings laws, leaving it unclear whether the investigation rested entirely on the now-invalidated statute. TEA officials declined to comment Wednesday due to the open investigation. All five trustees who voted to oust Lathan have denied allegations of misconduct or declined to comment about the TEA investigation. Case against Pasadena agency threatened Six current or former members of the Pasadena Second Century Corp., an economic development agency, were indicted in January 2018 for intentionally dividing the board into two groups to meet separately with a contractor in order to avoid having a quorum that would trigger public meeting requirements. The six members of the board allegedly met twice on Nov. 28, 2016, with engineering firm Civil Concepts about potential designs for a new civic center. Board members Ernesto Paredes and Emilio Carmona, former board President Roy Mease and ex-board members Brad Hance, Jackie Welch and Jim Harris were all indicted on charges they violated the Texas Open Meetings Act. There can be no prosecution of anyone under that statute, so they have to decide how they want to proceed, said Houston attorney Stanley Schneider, who is representing Mease. All judges are bound to follow the ruling of the Court of Criminal Appeals, so we know what the results will be on any similar review of the issue. It also vindicates the conduct of Mr. Mease and the other people charged that they did nothing illegal. Jimmy Ardoin, a Houston attorney representing Carmona, echoed that, and said hes not sure what the appetite would be for continuing to pursue the case, particularly given that the board members serve on a volunteer basis. Im optimistic that the District Attorneys office will decide to no longer pursue the case, he said. I dont know if they want to try and test it under some new theory; I dont know how they would. My guess is its going to be pretty difficult for them to do it. Staff writer Jacob Carpenter contributed reporting from Houston; Catherine Dominguez contributed from Montgomery County. Paula Gold-Williams is president and CEO of city-owned CPS Energy. Shes also chairwoman of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. Those dual roles create a potential conflict of interest as city leaders push for aggressive action to eliminate reliance on fossil fuels in San Antonio. Business leaders question whether the citys Climate Action and Adaptation Plan would be too costly and burdensome. Mayor Ron Nirenberg has said Gold-Williams should recuse herself from chamber decisions about the plan, although some Council members say she could use her twin roles to promote greater understanding of the threats of climate change and the costs of addressing it. Gold-Williams told the Express-News that to avoid the appearance of a conflict, she will not vote on any Chamber position regarding the plan. My pledge as President & CEO of CPS Energy is to continue to be a resource on public energy matters for all our customers throughout our service territory, she said in a statement. Our focus at CPS Energy is always on all of our customers. The Climate Action & Adaptation Plan (CAAP), which the City is leading, will be important for San Antonios future, and strong community discussion of the plan is vital, Gold-Williams said. I am not the first Chamber Chair to face broad issues that intersect with the businesses they run, and I will not be the last. Experts say San Antonio will continue to become warmer and drier, even as the frequency of increasingly severe storms grows. Local leaders have developed a multi-pronged approach to both adapt and reduce the effects of climate change. The plan, known as SA Climate Ready, sets an ambitious goal of ending the use of fossil fuels in San Antonio by 2050. Richard Perez, president and CEO of the chamber of commerce, has said San Antonio business leaders, particularly those in the oil-and-gas industry, are concerned the plan will cost billions of dollars over the next few decades. The chamber has yet to take a formal position on the plan. Doug Melnick, the citys chief sustainability officer, is delivering a presentation on the plan to the business groups Energy and Sustainability Committee this week. Recusal over intersecting business issues is something that chamber chairpersons, who are elected to one-year terms, confront from time to time, Perez said. The immediate past chairman, banker Shaun Kennedy, and chairman-elect Adam Hamilton, president of the Southwest Research Institute, can stand in for Gold-Williams as necessary, Perez said. It goes without saying that Paula is a person who approaches everything with the highest of integrity, Perez said. Im not concerned in the least the chamber will go through its normal process, and we will come up with a position for or against the (climate plan) and she will not have influence over that process. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonians grapple with proposed climate plan The city is gathering public response to the plan and recently announced that because of robust interest, the deadline for submitting comments will be pushed back to March 26. That is expected to delay a City Council vote on the plan until mid-May after the May 4 council election, but before the new councils term begins. On Tuesday, Councilman Greg Brockhouse, who is challenging Nirenberg for the mayors office, criticized Nirenberg for delaying the council vote, calling it a political ploy to aid his re-election effort. Nirenberg said the vote was postponed to allow for vigorous public discussion of the climate plan. Nirenberg, who serves as an ex-officio member of the CPS Energy board, had suggested that Gold-Williams step back from chamber business related to the plan. I believe that it would be prudent for her to recuse herself from any action taken regarding the climate action and adaptation plan as the chamber chair, given her role as CEO of CPS, he said. Its critically important that CPS present the data and the details of the decisions that we will confront to achieve the goal of lowering emissions. Other council members said Gold-Williams could play a useful role in the debate. For which side? Depends on whom you ask. Council members Ana Sandoval and Rey Saldana both said she could be an advocate. I expect to see CPS Leadership play an active role not just in funding the development of the plan but in helping us develop the path and solutions to meet our Paris agreement goal, Sandoval said. Over 40 percent of our climate change emissions come from the energy sector. We cannot succeed without their collaboration and leadership. Saldana said Gold-Williams could help sell the plan, particularly to the business community. On ExpressNews.com: Advocates for San Antonios climate plan outnumber critics Why couldnt Paula Gold-Williams be an advocate? There is a reasonable sweet spot here that I dont think the folks from the chamber or the business community are giving the benefit of the doubt to this plan, he said. I suppose it depends on what her position is I could see her moderating the chamber as much as the chamber moderating her. Brockhouse said he didnt see a reason for Gold-Williams to recuse herself from climate matters. Brockhouse, who hasnt been supportive of the city plan, said Gold-Williams could serve as a counterbalance to environmental activists. I dont see a problem with it at all, he said of Gold-Williams being involved with the chambers position on the plan. In fact, she brings a temperance to the role, which is an actual cost-control mentality. I think thats whats obviously scaring the CAAPs supporters, which is shes going to be slowing things down and taking the business line. Russell Seal, a conservation leader for the Alamo Group of the Sierra Club and a member of the chamber of commerce, said he attended the chamber gala celebrating Gold-Williams swearing-in, hoping to see her take a stand on reducing greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. But he said he never heard her directly address climate change or the citys plan. She could use her role as chamber chair to sell the CAAP, to talk to the business community about where we need to be going, about the investments they need to be making in their buildings, Seal said. At a recent public comment session, Perez said the business community had legitimate concerns about the climate plan. Seal said the comments were very disheartening, He added: Its not Richard setting the direction; its the board, and shes the chair. Josh Baugh covers environmental issues in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | jbaugh@express-news.net | Twitter: @jbaugh Bexar County commissioners again balked at a work of public art with a six-figure price tag proposed for San Pedro Culture Park, this time worried over a $300,000 piece instead of a much larger, $735,000-plus sculpture that was shelved last year because it was considered to be too expensive. Money was the overall focus of the park discussion at the commissioners meeting Tuesday. Commissioners Tommy Calvert and Kevin Wolff were vehement about keeping the project, whose design began five years ago, within budget and focused on its key functions of flood control and pedestrian access. The first segment of a 2.2-mile widening and redevelopment of the 5-mile creek downtown was completed last year. The second segment is under construction. I dont mean to get my feathers up in a ruffle here, but this could have a distinction of being the most cost-overrun project of any governmental entity in the history of Bexar County, said Calvert, who raised concerns about future changes to the project. The initial half-mile, $57.3 million segment of the park opened in May 2018 as a major highlight of San Antonios yearlong tricentennial celebration, marking the anniversary of the founding of a presidio and the first Spanish mission here in 1718. But officials of the San Antonio River Authority, the projects manager, reported in December that the cost of the three-block extension, now under construction in one of the oldest, most densely developed portions of downtown, had run about 20 percent over its preliminary cost estimate. On ExpressNews.com: San Pedro Creek project called costly but worthwhile To make up the difference, the county applied about $14 million in federal reimbursement funds for the Mission Reach project to the second segment, now fully funded at $74.7 million and set for completion in about two years. It initially was set to open next year. Judge Nelson Wolff said the current segment is the hardest piece of the project, following up on a first phase that was almost as hard. But he said downstream portions of the project, south of Nueva Street, will cost less, shifting to simple environmental restoration. So we need to be sure that what weve been over budget on in these first two, we make up on the bottom end, he said. As we get into design on this bottom, lets not get glitzy. Lets stick to environmental restoration, similar to what we did on the Mission Reach of the river. SARA General Manager Suzanne Scott said the projects initial cost estimates were produced as part of a preliminary engineering report that was more of a fatal flaw analysis than anything else. It was to establish, can this project actually occur, Scott said. I understand the concerns, but we are very diligent in trying to manage the cost of this project. Her words during an update gave commissioners some assurance, but did not alter Commissioner Wolffs position to support funding the basic construction components before allocating funds for public art and other amenities. Im not personally ready to commit to spending money on the nice-to-haves until I have a much better feeling for what it is that were going to be doing for the have-to-haves, the commissioner said. So on the next item for discussion, about the public art piece for the Plaza de Fundacion in the completed northern section of the Culture Park, Commissioner Wolff was the first to ask for a delay. The piece, titled Creek Lines, features 30 stainless steel poles each representing a specific decade in San Antonios 300-year history as a community. Each pole is 3 inches thick and 24 feet tall and has its own distinctive curved upright geometry. Bridge Projects of San Antonio was chosen among 116 applicants from six countries for the artwork. On ExpressNews.com: San Pedro Creek: a drainage ditch becomes a culture park The poles represent currents flowing in the creek, which provided water for indigenous people and early settlers. The piece also would include benches, historical interpretive texts and colorful night lighting. The work, estimated to cost $300,000, would tie in with a $125,000 educational outreach program and replace an earlier proposed work canceled because of cost overruns. That earlier proposed artwork, titled Plethora, was a 45-foot-tall aluminum sculpture, originally designed at 60 feet, of fluid lines forming an image of a womans face. It was budgeted at $735,000, and would have been visible from Interstate 35. But projections showed the artist, Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada, would have incurred higher costs to fabricate the metal. Calvert said he was not sure that Creek Lines was the grand piece commissioners had in mind when they agreed to fund Plethora not out of the creek project funding, but an allocation for the tricentennial as a highlight of the linear park. Commissioners are concerned about costs of the project, but do not necessarily want to negate the importance of its art component, he said. My sense of this piece, lovingly and respectfully, is that it hasnt gotten the same support on the court, Calvert told the works designers. Youre kind of caught up in a couple of different quagmires that are not your fault. Commissioners agreed to postpone action on the art piece for about two months. Scott Huddleston covers Bexar County government and the Alamo for the San Antonio Express-News. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA A federal judge has blocked the release of a former Texas State student accused of preparing for potential mass violence. The order by Senior U.S. District Judge David Ezra, filed late Monday, supersedes an order by U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Bemporad to release Benjamin Bogard on bond. Bemporad had said Bogard could get released Monday, but Ezra stayed the release until he takes up an appeal by federal prosecutors at a hearing on March 6. In the meantime, a federal grand jury has indicted Bogard on a charge of possession of child pornography, which stems from a video and images found on his cell phone during the FBI mass violence investigation. Bogard, 20, of New Braunfels, remained behind bars Tuesday, and his lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf, records show. At Bogards bail hearing last week, FBI agents testified that Bogard 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. On ExpressNews.com: Ex-Texas State student eyed in domestic terrorism investigation in San Antonio The counterterrorism agents contend he could have been this countrys next mass shooter or bomber had they not stepped in and arrested him in early February over the child porn allegation, the easier charge to prove. 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. The tipster provided screenshots of the Instagram posts and the account appeared to belong to a member of the neo-Nazi group, Atomwaffen Division in part because the person in the posts was saluting Adolf Hitler and wearing a mask of a skull that covered half his face, signature signs of the group, officials said. The account was traced to Bogard in New Braunfels, and it led to other posts Bogard made that the agents found worrisome. They included a story he posted about where to buy a precursor for explosives, discussions on Twitter that his favorite firearm part is the part that kills 30 babies per trigger pull; a chat about buying a new gun and ammunition and going ham on the state capitol and many more, according to court testimony. He turned his phone over to agents, who searched it and found he had conducted Internet searches for the phrase buildings to bomb; 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. One video on his phone showed Bogard shooting a shotgun in a wooded area and another showed him racking a shotgun and talking about shooting minorities whom he made derogatory comments about, according to FBI agents. The agent also said the phone contained numerous videos of violence and gore, including hangings, beheadings and summary executions in the Middle East. Bogard had attended Texas State University in San Marcos for the fall 2017 and spring 2018 semesters, according to college records. But he left his job and dropped out of fall 2018 classes, according to testimony. He had also disappeared for a short period and his parents hired a private investigator who tracked him to Dallas, where he had bought a van and the shotgun, testimony showed. FBI agent Russell Doran testified that it appeared Bogard was mobilizing to violence, so when agents found child pornography on his cell phone, they immediately moved in to arrest him. Bogards lawyer, Michael Morris, has argued that none of what Bogard allegedly posted is a crime, other than the child porn images hes accused of having in his cell phone. Morris also has said that Bogard was acting as an edgelord, posting shocking and offensive things to gain attention, followers and likes and had no plans to carry out any violence. If convicted, Bogard faces up to 20 years in prison. 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 A former Reeves County judge who pleaded guilty to splitting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from a contractor with ex-state Sen. Carlos Uresti was sentenced Tuesday to two and a half years in federal prison. Jimmy Galindo, who was county judge for Reeves County in West Texas from 1995 to 2006, will return to court in May to be taken to prison. Senior U.S. District Judge David Ezra also ordered Galindo to serve three years of federal supervision and to pay $876,000 in restitution. The contractor, Lubbock businessman Vernon Trey Farthing III, 45, was acquitted of charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to commit money laundering, but Galindo and Uresti had already pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy. Galindo also pleaded guilty to failure to file a 2013 tax return. Galindo, 54, testified at Farthings San Antonio trial in October that he persuaded Farthing to hire Uresti as a consultant at $10,000 a month so that Farthings company could get a contract in 2006 to provide medical services to federal immigrant prisoners at the Reeves County Correctional Center in Pecos. On ExpressNews.com: Feds star witness testifies Uresti was on board with bribery scheme Galindo also testified that he advised Farthing to raise the price his Physician Network Association would charge the county per inmate, per day, to pay for the consulting arrangement. The increased price came out of the countys end. The ex-county judge said Farthing paid Uresti, who agreed to give Galindo half of the $10,000 every month. The deal with Uresti came as Galindo decided not to seek re-election. Under the terms of the contract, the consulting fee was renewed over 10 years, providing the pair with money long after Galindo was no longer a public servant. I deeply regret the choices that I made, Galindo told the judge Tuesday, his voice breaking. I know that the rest of my life will be difficult, but I ask your consideration of allowing me to continue to provide to my family. I sincerely and deeply apologize to Reeves County, to this court, and to my family. On ExpressNews.com: Jury acquits Uresti co-defendant in bribery case Galindo faced six years in prison, but the judge granted a motion for leniency from federal prosecutors, who suggested three years in prison because he cooperated. Even though his cooperation did not result in a conviction of Farthing, it helped sway Uresti to plead guilty. Mr. Galindo was the public official, who was voting on (the contract), Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Blackwell told the judge. He was the one who initiated this bribery scheme. The idea of increasing contracts to funnel the money through Mr. Uresti originated from Mr. Galindo, who saw an opportunity for private gain. It cant be tolerated when a public official uses his position for their own private gain. Galindos lawyer, David Botsford, described his clients conduct as aberrant behavior and asked for less time or probation so Galindo could continue working and start paying restitution. The judge said Galindos conduct was not aberrant behavior because he didnt immediately report his actions. Instead, he kept collecting checks for years. Each time he took a check, its a reaffirmation of the crime, Ezra said. Related: Uresti enters guilty plea in bribery case Uresti did not testify at Farthings trial, but the judge said there was ample evidence to support the charges for which Uresti and Galindo pleaded guilty. Ezra on Feb. 12 sentenced Uresti to five years in prison for the bribery case, rolling it into the 12 years the judge had given Uresti last year for an unrelated fraud case involving a now-defunct oil services company called FourWinds Logistics. Uresti turned himself in last week to begin serving his 12-year sentence. He is being held by federal marshals in Karnes County, pending his transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. 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 The Bexar County Democratic Party is becoming the Keith Moon of political organizations. Moon, the late, maniacal drummer for The Who, made such an art of trashing his hotel rooms that he got himself banned by lodging establishments across North America. In the past three months, the Bexar Dems have been kicked out of one meeting site and threatened with expulsion from another because they cant control their penchant for intra-party fighting and verbal roughhousing. For years, the party has held its monthly County Executive Committee meetings in the banquet room of the Lubys on North Main Avenue. That ended Dec. 11. That night, loyalists of Manuel Medina, the former party chair ousted by voters in last years primary election, disrupted all attempts by Monica Alcantara, the current party chair, to maintain order. When representatives of the Texas Democratic Party, who made the trip from Austin specifically for the meeting, launched into what should have been a feel-good presentation on how well Democrats performed in the 2018 midterms, Medina supporters known to party insiders as Manuelistas shouted down the guests and dismissed the presentation as a waste of time. The Manuelistas were anxious to get to their agenda, their perpetual cause: undermining Alcantara and making sport of paralyzing the party organization. Adrian Flores, one of those Manuelistas, got tossed out of the meeting, at Alcantaras request, by security guards. Things got so ugly at the December meeting that Lubys management asked Alcantara to find a new meeting place for the party. The party skipped its January CEC meeting while Alcantara searched for a new location. She ultimately found a good one. On Feb. 5, the CEC gathered at VFW Post 76, just north of downtown. Party precinct chairs met at the banquet hall next to the white Victorian -style home that serves as the base for Post 76. Before long, the proceedings descended into chaos. One attendee threw a chair from the back of the room, according to Post 76 Commander Johnny Ornelaz. It got very out of hand, Ornelaz said. Everybody was arguing with everybody. They were trying to control the meeting and they had no control over the meeting. I was a police officer with the SAPD (San Antonio Police Department) for 31 years and Ive never seen such a chaotic assembly. Ornelaz grabbed the microphone and announced that the meeting was adjourned. He had to say it a couple more times to be heard over the din, while party activists tried to wrest the mic away from him. Once again, Flores had to be booted from a meeting. We felt bad that we were disrupting business (at Lubys) and, unfortunately, until we get certain things handled, I dont think things are going to change, Alcantara said. So we went to the VFW and, of course, the same characters were causing the same problems. After subsequently talking with Alcantara, Ornelaz agreed to let the party meet at the VFW hall in March, but he insists that if things get disruptive again, hell immediately end the meeting and ban the party from ever using Post 76 again. We dont like to have the post disrespected, Ornelaz said. All this party drama is rooted in something deeper than hard feelings among the Manuelistas over an election that their hero lost. Alcantara has pushed to gain access to the partys financial records, an effort which Medinas loyalists seem determined to block. In particular, she has found herself at war with party secretary Garrett Mormando and party treasurer Stephanie Carrillo. Last December, when Alcantara began the process of moving out of the old West Side headquarters that Medina had leased, she hired a locksmith to open the offices of Mormando and Carrillo. Alcantara said she discovered that documents were missing and a safe in the treasurers office was empty. As new precinct chairs join the party organization, the power of the Manuelistas is being diluted and Alcantara is gaining strength as the party leader. But her detractors remain loud and forceful. Alcantara clearly would prefer to focus her attention on the March 12 special election runoff in Texas House District 125, with former San Antonio Councilman Ray Lopez, the Democratic candidate, facing a tough challenge from Republican Party activist Fred Rangel. There are so many people wanting to do a good job for the Democratic Party and to help move the party forward, she said. Its very disappointing to see a select group be so disruptive. If they dont get banned from every meeting hall in the county, the Bexar Dems might yet be able to turn things around. @gilgamesh470 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 UPDATE: Positive Brexit sentiment alongside wavering risk-sentiment related to US-China trade negotiations and flaring India-Pakistan tensions spurred the Pound Sterling to a fresh 14-week best against the New Zealand Dollar in Wednesdays session. The Pound-to-NZ-Dollar (GBPNZD) exchange rate reached NZ$1.9517 before retracing to the $1.94 level overnight. At the time of writing the GBP/NZD cross was last seen trading at $1.94430, up 0.1%. The NZD was further weighed by the overnight release of the latest ANZ business confidence release which reported a further deterioration in business sentiment, printing -30.9, down from -24.1. In a report simply titled stalled, the ANZ bank wrote Clearly the economy is stretched at the moment, but it does appear that momentum has waned markedly over the last six months. We continue to expect that the RBNZ will, as the year goes on, become less certain that core inflation will continue rising towards the midpoint of the target band. We are forecasting a cut in the Official Cash Rate in November. The Pound New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) exchange rate soared over 1% today and is currently trading around NZ$1.9416 on the inter-bank market. The New Zealand Dollar has suffered from diminishing risk-appetite as US President Donald Trump is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to continue trade negotiations. Amy Celico, a Principal at the business advisory firm, Albright Stone Bridge Group, remained pessimistic, however, saying: [blockquote]Thats not very good for our negotiating position to leave it to a dinner or a day-long meeting between the presidents [Trump] still talks about wanting to have a full-fledged agreement, and just based on the past few days, my pessimism is were going to accept a half-loaf.[/blockquote] Sterling, meanwhile, has continued to gain following Prime Minister Theresa Mays concession to MPs yesterday in which she said that MPs would be able to vote on a possible extension of Article 50, or the removal of a no-deal should her deal be rejected on 12 March. Today also saw Mays deal gain increasing traction from Eurosceptics, with Jacob Rees-Mogg a previously unlikely candidate saying he would back her deal on the condition of a time-limit on the Northern Irish backstop. May is still pushing for a March 29 leaving date, saying: [blockquote]Our absolute focus should be on working to get a deal and leaving on March 29... Doing so would give businesses and citizens the certainty they deserve.[/blockquote] The increasingly likelihood of a no-deal Brexit being removed is continuing to buoy market confidence in Sterling today. GBP/NZD Exchange Rate Climbs Higher on Hopes of Article 50 Extension The Pound further benefited against the Kiwi today following reports that the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, was in favour of an extension to Article 50 if the Commons arrives at a clear objective. Sterling rose after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pledged to support the possibility of second-referendum, which has continued to buoy confidence in the Pound as the threat of a no-deal Brexit is seen as diminishing. Meanwhile, many Pound traders will be focusing on further Brexit developments during todays vote on a motion, and various amendments, which effectively provide more options regarding the withdrawal agreement if Mays own deal is rejected. GBP/NZD Forecast: Pounds Gains Could Be Clipped on Poor Consumer Confidence Pound traders are looking ahead to tomorrow which will see the release of the Gfk consumer confidence figures for February, which are, however, expected to decrease. Kiwi investors, meanwhile, will be awaiting the publication of the Chinese manufacturing PMI figures for February tomorrow, and if New Zealands largest trade partner shows signs of a recovering economy, this could see the NZD/GBP exchange rate rise. Tomorrow will also see the printing of the New Zealand building permits figures for January, and if they show any signs of a decrease, this could see the GBP/NZD exchange rate soar further. Copyright 2006-2021 Exchange Rates UK. All rights reserved. The advice provided on this website is general advice only and does not constitute as a financial recommendation. Any news, opinions, research, analysis, values or other information contained on this story, by Exchange Rates UK, its employees, partners or contributors, is provided as general market commentary. Exchange Rates UK will not accept liability for any loss or damage, including without limitation to, any loss of profit, which may arise directly or indirectly from use of or reliance on such information. Prices for ordinary recovered paper grades go up again in Italy PITTSBURGH, Feb. 27, 2019 - Suicide is the second leading cause of death in the U.S. among those aged 15 to 34 years and yet, despite years of mental health research, our ability to predict suicidal behavior is only slightly better than chance. Research from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine provides a new approach to tackling the problem, showing that fluctuation and severity of depressive symptoms are much better at predicting risk of suicidal behavior in at-risk young adults than using psychiatric diagnoses alone. Published today in JAMA Psychiatry, the findings, which include the description of a new Prediction Risk Score, may help clinicians better identify patients at risk for suicidal behavior and intervene earlier. "Predicting suicidal behavior is one of the most challenging tasks in psychiatry, but for an outcome that is so life-threatening, it is definitely not acceptable that we're only doing slightly better than chance," said senior author Nadine Melhem, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry at Pitt's School of Medicine and a researcher at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital. Physicians rely heavily on psychiatric diagnoses when estimating suicide risk, but though they are quite useful, diagnoses alone don't do a great job because they are labels that often don't change. Instead, Melhem wanted to develop a predictive model that would identify symptoms that can change over time because such a model, she surmised, would be more accurate at signaling the likelihood of suicidal behavior in at-risk young adults. In the study, Melhem along with her colleagues David Brent, M.D., professor of psychiatry at Pitt's School of Medicine, and John Mann, M.D., professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, followed 663 young adults who were at high risk for suicidal behavior because their parents had been diagnosed with mood disorders. Over 12 years, the parents and their children were periodically evaluated through standard assessments for psychiatric diagnoses and symptoms of depression, hopelessness, irritability, impulsivity, aggression and impulsive aggression. After analyzing data for all these symptoms, the researchers found that having severe depressive symptoms and a high variability of those symptoms over time was the most accurate predictor of suicidal behavior. The severity and variability in impulsivity and aggression over time did not add to the prediction model. Combining this measure of variability in depressive symptoms along with other relevant factors such as younger age, mood disorders, childhood abuse, and personal and parental history of suicide attempts, Melhem and her team developed a Prediction Risk Score. They concluded that a score of 3 or more of these risk factors indicated a higher risk for suicidal behavior. Using this threshold in the study population, they found the predictive test to be 87 percent sensitive, much better than currently available models. The model has to be independently tested and replicated in different populations, and future research to include objective biological markers will be needed to make the Prediction Risk Score more accurate, notes Melhem. "Our findings suggest that when treating patients, clinicians must pay particular attention to the severity of current and past depressive symptoms and try to reduce their severity and fluctuations to decrease suicide risk," Melhem said. "The Prediction Risk Score is a valuable addition to the physician's toolkit to help predict suicide risk in high-risk individuals, and it can be done at little cost because the information needed is already being collected as part of standard evaluations." ### Additional study authors included Giovanna Porta, Jamie Zelazny, Ph.D., Satish Iyengar, Ph.D., Boris Birmaher, M.D., all of Pitt; Maria A. Oquendo, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania; and John G. Keilp, Ph.D., Ainsley Burke, Ph.D., and Barbara Stanley, Ph.D., all of the New York State Psychiatric Institute. The study was funded by National Institutes of Health grants MH056612, MH056390 and MH077930. To read this release online or share it, visit http://www. upmc. com/ media/ news/ 022719-suicide-prs-jama [when embargo lifts]. About the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine As one of the nation's leading academic centers for biomedical research, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine integrates advanced technology with basic science across a broad range of disciplines in a continuous quest to harness the power of new knowledge and improve the human condition. Driven mainly by the School of Medicine and its affiliates, Pitt has ranked among the top 10 recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health since 1998. In rankings recently released by the National Science Foundation, Pitt ranked fifth among all American universities in total federal science and engineering research and development support. Likewise, the School of Medicine is equally committed to advancing the quality and strength of its medical and graduate education programs, for which it is recognized as an innovative leader, and to training highly skilled, compassionate clinicians and creative scientists well-equipped to engage in world-class research. The School of Medicine is the academic partner of UPMC, which has collaborated with the University to raise the standard of medical excellence in Pittsburgh and to position health care as a driving force behind the region's economy. For more information about the School of Medicine, see http://www. medschool. pitt. edu . About UPMC A $19 billion world-renowned health care provider and insurer, Pittsburgh-based UPMC is inventing new models of patient-centered, cost-effective, accountable care. UPMC provides more than $900 million a year in benefits to its communities, including more care to the region's most vulnerable citizens than any other health care institution. The largest nongovernmental employer in Pennsylvania, UPMC integrates 87,000 employees, 40 hospitals, 700 doctors' offices and outpatient sites, and a 3.5 million-member Insurance Services Division, the largest medical insurer in western Pennsylvania. As UPMC works in close collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside on its annual Honor Roll of America's Best Hospitals. UPMC Enterprises functions as the innovation and commercialization arm of UPMC, and UPMC International provides hands-on health care and management services with partners around the world. For more information, go to UPMC.com. http://www. upmc. com/ media Contact: Arvind Suresh Office: 412-647-9966 Mobile: 412-509-8207 E-mail: SureshA2@upmc.edu Contact: Erin Hare Office: 412-864-7194 Mobile: 412-738-1097 E-mail: HareE@upmc.edu LOWELL, Mass. - If you're accused of a crime, it is unlikely you'll ever get your day in court, according to a UMass Lowell legal researcher. That's because people are far more likely to plead guilty, often in exchange for a reduced sentence, rather than risk a guilty verdict at trial that would come with a more severe punishment, says UMass Lowell Prof. Miko Wilford, who studies how and why people plead guilty - even when they are innocent. More than 95 percent of all U.S. criminal charges are resolved by guilty pleas, not through trials, according to Wilford, whose work focuses on the human dynamics behind legal proceedings, including the reliability of eyewitnesses and the effectiveness of interview techniques used by law enforcement. A new, five-year $498,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER grant will allow Wilford, a psychology professor from Dracut, to study why defendants opt for plea deals. The prestigious grant program recognizes outstanding faculty researchers who are making significant contributions as scholars and mentors early in their careers. The award will help fund further development of a computer simulation she created with UMass Lowell students and Art and Design Prof. Misha Rabinovich to explore these issues. Using the simulation, Wilford examines how plea-bargain proceedings affect outcomes, which she said vary widely between states and even jurisdictions within the same state. Her goal is to reduce false guilty pleas and to improve how the justice system serves criminal defendants. "In many jurisdictions, there are no clear procedural guidelines, so prosecutors can approach defendants directly with plea offers before they even have been given a chance to ask for an attorney," Wilford said. "When prosecutors offer really dramatic plea discounts, like five years in jail compared to 25 years, then, innocent or guilty, you're likely to seriously consider it. That kind of sentencing should not be allowed because then plea bargains essentially punish innocent people for exercising their constitutional right to a trial." The simulation is built on an open-source platform so that other researchers can adapt it to their work. The program draws on Rabinovich's use of animation, video and other media to create interactive scenarios. In one of these, participants play the role of a driver who is charged with hitting a parked car and then leaving the scene of the accident. Some participants then see a "flashback" scene in which they "remember" hitting the car, while others see a flashback that indicates they are innocent. Next, the simulation's prosecutor offers role players a deal: probation and a fine for a guilty plea, compared to jail time and higher costs if they reject the offer and are found guilty at trial. After making their choice, participants are asked to explain the reasons behind their decision. The simulation is allowing Wilford to test the variables that can change the likelihood of a guilty plea, including the defendant's age and the difference between the plea offer and the penalty for a conviction at trial. She plans to administer the exercise to groups including college students and other adults. Along with Rabinovich, Wilford's research team includes UMass Lowell professors Joseph Gonzales of Psychology and Jill Lohmeier of the College of Education. UMass Lowell students contributing to the project are Matthew LeBlanc, a computer science major from Milford; Cassidy McAuliffe, an art major from Lawrence; and Kelly Sutherland, a Ph.D. candidate in psychology from Lowell. Recent graduates who also worked on the project include Dracut residents Annmarie Khairalla, who earned a degree in psychology; Jordanne Love, who majored in art; and Thomas Nelson, whose degree is in computer science. ### Research tracked the drinking habits of more than 4,000 people in their teens, twenties and thirties Most women dramatically reduce their alcohol intake on learning they are pregnant, but by the time their child is five they are back to their pre-pregnancy drinking levels, a new international study has found. The research, led by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, reported little change in the drinking patterns of men on becoming fathers. The paper, 'Alcohol and parenthood: an integrative analysis of the effects of transition to parenthood in three Australasian cohorts' is published in the latest edition of Drug and Alcohol Dependence journal. Lead author, psychologist Dr Rohan Borschmann, said the study drew on data from three longitudinal population studies - two in Australia and one in New Zealand - which tracked the drinking habits of more than 4,000 people in their teens, twenties and thirties. "Most mothers with a child aged under one take a brief time out from drinking, but it doesn't last," Dr Borschmann said. "By the time their youngest child has turned five, most mothers have returned to their pre- motherhood drinking patterns." Dr Borschmann said the research found that 15 per cent of mothers with a child aged five or older reported binge drinking in the past week. "The reasons why women increase their drinking over the first five years after childbirth need to be explored in future studies. "One of the important messages of our findings is that both men and women need to find different ways to put their brakes on their drinking during this time of life. "The traditional combination of marriage, mortgage and kids no longer has any impact on men's drinking, while motherhood only prompt women to have a brief reprieve from drinking." Dr Borschmann said policy advisors and health professionals could send a message to people that if they can manage to reduce their drinking over the first 12 months, they have shown it can be done longer term. "Reducing parental drinking is likely to produce a double dividend that is both good for the parent and good for the child," he said. MCRI's Dr Rohan Borschmann, who is also a research fellow at the University of Melbourne, said the aim of the research had been to investigate the extent that becoming a parent protects against heavy and problematic drinking in young men and women. ### Participants for the study came from the Australian Temperament Project, the Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study and the Christchurch Health and Development Study. Available for interview: + Dr Rohan Borschmann + Case study Media Contact Christine Tondorf MCRI communications advisor (media/PR) +613 9936 6197 +61 413 307 092 christine.tondorf@mcri.edu.au Bridie Byrne MCRI communications specialist (media/PR) +613 9936 6211 +61 403 664 416 bridie.byrne@mcri.edu.au The study received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Australian Research Council grant. The CHDS has been supported by funding from the Health Research Council of New Zealand, the National Child Health Research Foundation (Cure Kids), the Canterbury Medical Research Foundation, and the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board. The VAHCS has been supported by the NHMRC, the Royal Children's Hospital Foundation and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. Research at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute is supported by the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Program. The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) at UNSW Australia are supported by funding from the Australian Government. The development of the CCRC harmonised cohort was supported by two NHMRC Project Grants with additional support from the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) Australian Research Council/ NHMRC Research Network (Seed Funding 2009). The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) is funded by the Australian Government under the Substance Misuse Prevention and Service Improvements Grants Fund. The study has also been supported by the Financial Markets Foundation for Children (Australia). Rohan Borschmann is supported by an NHMRC Early Career Fellowship. Craig Olsson is supported by an Australian Research Council Principal Research Fellowship (DP1311459). Delyse Hutchinson is supported by an Australian Unity Senior Research Fellowship. Richard P. Mattick is supported by a NHMRC Principal Research Fellowship. George Patton and Louise Degenhardt are supported by NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellowships. The symbiosis of plants and fungi has a great influence on the worldwide spread of plant species. In some cases, it even acts like a filter. This has been discovered by an international team of researchers with participation from the University of Gottingen. The results appeared in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. In the colonisation of islands by plant species, it isn't just factors like island size, isolation and geological development that play an important role, but also the interactions between species. The scientists found that the symbiosis of plant and fungus - the mycorrhiza - is of particular importance. The two organisms exchange nutrients via the plant's fine root system: the fungus receives carbohydrates from the plant; the plant receives nutrients that the fungus has absorbed from the soil. "For the first time, new data on the worldwide distribution of plant species in 1,100 island and mainland regions allows us to investigate the influence of this interaction on a global scale," says Dr Patrick Weigelt from the University of Gottingen's Department of Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography, who worked on the study. The results: mycorrhiza-plant interactions, which are naturally less frequent on islands because the two organisms rely on each other, mean that the colonisation of remote islands is hindered. The lack of this symbiotic relationship may act like a brake on the spread of the plants. This is not the case for plant species introduced by humans, as fungi and plants are often introduced together. Head of Department, Professor Holger Kreft, adds, "The proportion of plant species with mycorrhiza interactions also increases from the poles to the equator". One of the most prominent biogeographic patterns, the increase in the number of species from the poles to the tropics, is closely related to this symbiosis. Dr Camille Delavaux, lead author from the University of Kansas (US), explains, "We show that the plant symbiotic association with mycorrhizal fungi is an overlooked driver of global plant biogeographic patterns. This has important consequences for our understanding of contemporary island biogeography and human-mediated plant invasions." The results show that complex relationships between different organisms are crucial for understanding global diversity patterns and preserving biological diversity. "The absence of an interaction partner can disrupt ecosystems and make them more susceptible to biological invasions," Weigelt stresses. ### Original Publication: Camille S Delavaux et al. Mycorrhizal fungi influence global plant biogeography. Nature Ecology & Evolution (2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-0823-4. Contact: Dr Patrick Weigelt University of Gottingen Department of Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography Busgenweg 1, 37077 Gottingen Telephone: +49 (0)551 39-10443 Email: pweigel@uni-goettingen.de http://www. uni-goettingen. de/ en/ 157014. html While fossil fuel emissions in New Delhi account for 80 percent of the air pollution plume during the summer, emissions from biomass burning (such as crop residue burning) in neighboring regions rival those from fossil fuels during the fall and winter. "Black carbon aerosols are damaging to human health and their levels are higher in New Delhi than in many other megacities. During fall and winter, the levels of polluting air particles in New Delhi can reach ten times the limit recommended by the World Health Organization. To determine the environmental effects of black carbon in this highly populated city, it is crucial to quantify the contributions from the key emissions sources," says August Andersson, Researcher at the Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University and co-author of the study. The researchers collected air samples from New Delhi during 2011 and analyzed their black carbon content by creating carbon isotope signature profiles of each of the samples to identify the source of the particles. Different sources of carbon give their own unique isotopic fingerprints. When they compared the relative amounts of the black carbon particles from the different sources over the course of a year they discovered a strong seasonal variation. The relative contribution from fossil fuel combustion peaked during rainy summers and the contribution from biomass burning (for example wood and straw burning) peaked during the dry fall and winter months. In addition, the scientists found that the sources of the high biomass emissions were regional rather than local and urban, for example, burning of residual crops by farmers living approximately 200 km away from New Delhi. In India, crop residue burning occurs after harvest, which typically occurs in October/November for wheat, and in April/May for rice. "Our findings contradict the widespread notion that the emission flux between cities and the countryside is mainly one-way. No other study has conclusively reported such high amounts of black carbon from biomass burning in the middle of a megacity, where the main source is expected to be traffic. The wintertime regional influx of black carbon into New Delhi suggests that to efficiently combat severe air pollution, it is necessary to not only mitigate the urban emissions, but also regional-scale biomass emissions, including agricultural crop residue burning," says August Andersson. He continues: "Air pollution in the Indo-Gangetic region, which includes eastern Pakistan, northern India and Bangladesh, is a regional problem, potentially affecting nearly 1 billion people." ### Contact information August Andersson, co-author Tel: +46 (0) 727 078 984 E-mail: august.andersson@aces.su.se Orjan Gustafsson, co-author Tel: +46 (0) 703 247 317 E-mail: orjan.gustafsson@aces.su.se High quality cutting tools can now be 3D printed, with potential for time and cost savings in aerospace and Defence manufacturing PhD candidate Jimmy Toton from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, has won the 2019 Young Defence Innovator Award and $15,000 prize at the Avalon International Airshow for the research, which was conducted with Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC) and industry partner Sutton Tools. Because the metals used in Defence and aerospace are so strong, making high quality tools to cut them is a major, and expensive, challenge. This collaborative project conducted at RMIT's Advanced Manufacturing Precinct is the first convincing demonstration of 3D printed steel tools that can cut titanium alloys as well as, or in some cases better than, conventional steel tools. "Now that we've shown what's possible, the full potential of 3D printing can start being applied to this industry, where it could improve productivity and tool life while reducing cost," Toton said. The team's high-performance steel milling cutters were made using Laser Metal Deposition technology, which works by feeding metal powder into a laser beam. As the laser moves and the metal solidifies at the trailing edge, a 3D object is built layer by layer. This additive manufacturing process also allows for objects to be built with complex internal and external structures. Toton overcame significant challenges in getting the layers to 'print' to form strong, crack-free parts as he took this from initial concept through to development. He is now working towards establishing a print-to-order capability for Australia's advanced manufacturing supply chains. "Manufacturers need to take full advantage of these new opportunities to become or remain competitive, especially in cases where manufacturing costs are high," Toton said. "There is real opportunity now to be leading with this technology." DMTC Chief Executive Officer, Dr Mark Hodge, said the importance of productivity and cost-efficiency to Australian manufacturers should not be underestimated. "Supply chain innovations and advances like improved tooling capability all add up to meeting performance benchmarks and positioning Australian companies to win work in local and global supply chains," he said. "The costs of drills, milling cutters and other tooling over the life of major Defence equipment contracts can run into the tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars. This project opens the way to making these high-performing tools cheaper and faster, here in Australia." Sutton Tools Technology Manager, Dr Steve Dowey, said having Toton working closely with them as an engineering intern during his research was crucial in ensuring industry-relevant outcomes. "This project exemplifies the ethos of capability-building through industrial applied research, rather than just focusing on excellent research for its own sake," Dowey said. RMIT's Advanced Manufacturing Precinct Director and Toton's supervisor, Professor Milan Brandt, said the work was a clear demonstration of the technology's potential. "Additive technology is rising globally and Jimmy's project highlights a market where it can be applied to precisely because of the benefits that this technology offers over conventional manufacturing methods," Brandt said. ### Wednesday, 27 February 2019: A study led by researchers at RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) has analysed the pattern of skin cancer rates in kidney transplant patients, which suggests the increased risk is related to the anti-rejection medications. The research is published in JAMA Dermatology and was a collaboration between the National Cancer Registry Ireland and the National Kidney Transplant Service in Beaumont Hospital. Patients who receive a kidney transplant are at increased risk of cancer, in particular skin cancer. The study found that this skin cancer risk falls when the transplant fails and the patients return to dialysis but rises again when they receive another transplant. However, the rate of skin cancer is still higher in patients with failed transplants than pre-transplant patients on dialysis. Due to this pattern of skin cancer rates, the data suggests that the cancer risk is related to the stopping and starting of anti-rejection medications. "In recipients of multiple kidney transplants, the incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancer fell during periods defined by transplant failure, but there was still an elevated risk. The incidence of cancer overall highlights the need for continued cancer surveillance during graft failure," said the study's lead author Dr Donal Sexton, Department of Nephrology and Kidney Transplantation, Beaumont Hospital, RCSI. The study analysed the rates of cancer in 3,821 individual deceased and living kidney transplant recipients. Of the patients analysed, 3,215 recipients had one transplant, 522 recipients a second; and 84 recipients had three kidney transplants. During the patient's first kidney transplant, the rate of skin cancer rose 15 times higher than before the procedure. That skin cancer rate fell by half when the transplant failed and the patient returned to dialysis; however, the rate was still seven times higher than the pre-transplant patient's rate. When they received a second transplant, the rate of skin cancer rose again to 12.8 times more than pre-transplant rate. "Our study has provided a comprehensive analysis of cancer risk over multiple kidney transplants in the same individuals. However, the retrospective nature of the analysis makes it difficult to capture the effect of the lag between exposure, cancer development, presentation, and diagnosis, and which may vary by treatment period," said Professor Peter Conlon, Associate Professor of Medicine at RCSI. ### RCSI is ranked among the top 250 (top 2%) of universities worldwide in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2019) and its research is ranked first in Ireland for citations. It is an international not-for-profit health sciences institution, with its headquarters in Dublin, focused on education and research to drive improvements in human health worldwide. RCSI has been awarded Athena Swan Bronze accreditation for positive gender practice in higher education. Results from a pioneering clinical trials programme that delivered an experimental treatment directly to the brain offer hope that it may be possible to restore the cells damaged in Parkinson's. The multimillion-pound study, funded by Parkinson's UK with support from The Cure Parkinson's Trust and in association with the North Bristol NHS Trust, aimed to investigate whether boosting the levels of a naturally-occurring protein, Glial Cell Line Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF), can regenerate dying brain cells in people with Parkinson's and reverse their condition, which is something that no existing treatment can do. To get GDNF to the brain cells that need it, a specially designed delivery system was developed. In total, 41 participants underwent robot-assisted surgery to have four tubes carefully placed into their brains, which allowed GDNF to be infused directly to the affected brain areas with pinpoint accuracy, via a port in the side of their head. Six took part in the initial pilot study to assess the safety of the treatment approach. A further 35 people then participated in the nine-month double blind trial, where half were randomly assigned to receive monthly infusions of GDNF and the other half placebo infusions. After the initial nine months on GDNF or placebo, all participants had the opportunity to receive GDNF for a further nine months. While there were some encouraging signs of improvements in those receiving GDNF, disappointingly there was no significant difference between the active treatment group and those who received placebo on any assessments of Parkinson's symptoms. However, results from brain scans revealed extremely promising effects on damaged brain cells. All participants had brain scans before starting the trial and after nine months to assess how well their dopamine-producing brain cells were working. After nine months, there was no change in the scans of those who received placebo, whereas the group who received GDNF showed an improvement of 100% in a key area of the brain affected in the condition - offering hope that the treatment was starting to reawaken and restore damaged brain cells. By 18 months, when all participants had received GDNF, both groups showed moderate to large improvements in symptoms compared to their scores before they started the study. This offers further encouragement that the treatment may have long-term beneficial effects but because everyone knew they were receiving the active treatment and there was no comparison group, these improvements need to be treated with caution. The findings from these ground-breaking trials are published today in Brain and the Journal of Parkinson's Disease. The trial also features in an upcoming two-part documentary series for BBC Two - The Parkinson's Drug Trial: A Miracle Cure? Dr Alan Whone, Principal Investigator on the GDNF trial, said: "The spatial and relative magnitude of the improvement in the brain scans is beyond anything seen previously in trials of surgically delivered growth-factor treatments for Parkinson's. This represents some of the most compelling evidence yet that we may have a means to possibly reawaken and restore the dopamine brain cells that are gradually destroyed in Parkinson's. "Its failure to produce the same effect on symptoms could be for a number of reasons. It may be that the effects on symptoms lag behind the improvement in the brain scans, so a longer double-blind trial may have produced a clearer effect. "It's also possible that a higher dose of GDNF would have been more effective, or that participants at an earlier stage of the condition would have responded better. "This is why it's essential to continue research exploring this treatment further - GDNF continues to hold potential to improve the lives of people with Parkinson's." Dr Arthur Roach, Director of Research at Parkinson's UK, said: "While the results are not clear-cut, the study has still been a resounding success. It has advanced our understanding of the potential effects of GDNF on damaged brain cells, shown that delivering a therapy in this way is feasible and that it is possible to deliver drugs with precision to the brain. "All the partners involved - including the scientific team, companies, charities and patients - are continuing to work together to explore possible routes to further studies. It is vital that we learn everything we can from these recent trials and we're keen to work with both the wider research community and people affected by Parkinson's so that any future trials have the very best chance of success." Trial participant Tom Phipps, 63, from Bristol, was the first person to undergo the pioneering surgery. He said: "Clinical trials around Parkinson's are so important because it's a condition that's not going to go away unless people do proper research. Being a scientist myself - I'm a graduate of biological sciences - I wanted to contribute. "During the trial I noticed an improvement in my mobility and energy levels, and I was even able to reduce my medication. Since it ended, I have slowly increased my medication but I still ride my bike, dig my allotment and chair the local branch of Parkinson's UK. "My outcome was as positive as I could have wished for, I feel the trial brought me some time and has delayed the progress of my condition. "The best part was absolutely being part of a group of people who've got a similar goal - not only the team of consultants and nurses, but also the participants. "You can't have expectations - you can only have hope." Professor Steven Gill, lead neurosurgeon and designer of the device, commented: "This trial has shown that we can safely and repeatedly infuse drugs directly into patient's brains over months or years through a small implanted port that emerges through the skin behind the ear. This is a significant breakthrough in our ability to treat neurological conditions, such as Parkinson's because most drugs that might work cannot cross from the blood stream into the brain due to a natural protective barrier. "Even at a low dose we have seen evidence of patient improvement, which is incredibly encouraging. Now we need to move towards a definitive clinical trial using higher doses and this work urgently needs funding. I believe that this approach could be the first neuro-restorative treatment for people living with Parkinson's which is, of course, an extremely exciting prospect." Helen Matthews, Deputy CEO at The Cure Parkinson's Trust, said: "It is fantastic to see these encouraging results. This was an extremely complex trial delivered with thanks to the dedication of the entire trial team of participants, researchers, industry and charities. "The Cure Parkinson's Trust has been involved in and has championed the GDNF story since 2003 through the commitment and determination of the charity's late co-founder and president Tom Isaacs. "These results, particularly the brain scans show that GDNF, delivered with Convection Enhanced Delivery, has promise as a potential treatment to slow, stop or even reverse Parkinson's. However, it is critical we now concentrate on how to best support moving GDNF forward, to understand if it can be a viable treatment to potentially regenerate dopamine cells and impact the lives of people living with Parkinson's." Dr Erich Mohr, Chairman and CEO of MedGenesis, the biotechnology company who owns GDNF, commented: "While the results are not as clear cut as would have been desirable, when you look more closely there are exciting signs of promise for Parkinson's. "In particular, when the scores on three of the key assessments are combined - motor response, activities of daily living and good quality "on time" - it reveals a highly significant difference between the treatment and placebo groups. We believe this experimental Parkinson's Disease Composite Response (PDCORE) may better capture the full effects of GDNF and we're working to get it scientifically validated so that it can be used in future trials." Paul Skinner, General Manager for Neurological Products at Renishaw, the engineering company which developed and built the device, said: "It has been a privilege to work alongside the study team and with the participants in this ambitious trial. "We are very encouraged that there were changes in the brain scans, demonstrating that GDNF is having an effect, and that the delivery system achieved precision administration of drugs into the brain. "This provides great potential for using the drug delivery system, being developed by Renishaw, for future Parkinson's studies and experimental treatments for other neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumours." ### For more information and interviews, please contact: Amy Dodge, Media and PR Manager, Parkinson's UK: 0207 932 1362 or 07961 460248 (out of hours) adodge@parkinsons.org.uk Notes to editors This press release highlights the findings reported in two papers both published on Wednesday 27 February 2019: * 'Randomised trial of intermittent intraputamenal glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor in Parkinson's disease' - published in Brain: A Journal of Neurology. 'Extended Treatment with Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Parkinson's Disease' - published in Journal of Parkinson's Disease. Further case studies are available with images. Image 1: Tom Phipps - photo credit Parkinson's UK Image 2: Photo credit - MintMotion for Passionate Productions Video content is available including: a trial participant receiving an infusion https:/ / youtu. be/ NGgqr_gu9lc interviews with Tom Phipps and Renishaw, the company behind the device https:/ / youtu. be/ cHnvke1p0VI an animation to explain the project https:/ / youtu. be/ PN5bJ-ookJk Please credit Parkinson's UK. The trial 35 people with Parkinson's took part in this nine-month placebo controlled, double-blind clinical trial of GDNF. A further six people were involved in the initial safety phase. To deliver GDNF to the correct brain region, an innovative delivery system, specially designed for the task called Convection Enhanced Delivery (CED) was used. Participants underwent surgery to have four tubes carefully placed into their brains. These were connected to a small port behind their ear to allow GDNF to be pumped directly to the affected brain areas with pinpoint accuracy. Participants attended Southmead Hospital every four weeks to have GDNF or placebo therapy and undergo careful monitoring and assessments to measure how their symptoms are impacted by the treatment. After the initial nine months on GDNF or placebo, all participants had the opportunity to receive GDNF for a further nine months. The study was completed in February 2017. All participants enrolled in the study successfully completed it. 99% of GDNF infusions were successfully administered and there were no serious side effects from the study drug. The partners The study was funded by Parkinson's UK, with support from The Cure Parkinson's Trust and in association with the North Bristol NHS Trust. Study drug, additional project resources and supplementary funding was provided by MedGenesis Therapeutix, who in turn received some program funding support from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Renishaw plc manufactured the CED device on behalf of the North Bristol NHS trust and provided additional technical and analytical support. PET scans were acquired at the Wales Research and Diagnostic PET Imaging Centre, Cardiff University and analysed at the PET Imaging Centre at the University of British Columbia. Most importantly, the researchers would like to gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the study participants. The BBC Documentary The Parkinson's Drug Trial: A Miracle Cure? will air on Thursday 28th February at 9pm on BBC Two, and the second episode will air on Thursday 7th March at 9pm on BBC Two, subject to TV schedules being confirmed. About Parkinson's Every hour, two people in the UK are told they have Parkinson's. It affects 145,000 people in the UK - which is around one in 350 of the adult population. Parkinson's is a degenerative neurological condition, for which there currently is no cure. The main symptoms of the condition are tremor, slowness of movement and rigidity. About Parkinson's UK Parkinson's UK is the UK's leading charity supporting those with the condition. Its mission is to find a cure and improve life for everyone affected by Parkinson's through cutting edge research, information, support and campaigning. For advice, information and support, visit http://www. parkinsons. org. uk or call our free, confidential helpline on 0808 800 0303. About The Cure Parkinson's Trust In the tropical jungle of Central America where predators abound, a species of cuckoo has found safety in numbers by building communal nests guarded by two or three breeding pairs. Why then do these agreeable avians sometimes ditch the collaborative lifestyle and instead deposit eggs into nests outside the communal group, acting like social parasites, in the hopes that other females will raise the chicks as their own? In a paper published online in the journal Nature, Princeton researchers show that the cuckoos, known as greater anis (Crotophaga major), act collectively for the most part but can become social parasites after their communal nest is destroyed. They start the breeding season placing all their eggs in one basket, but if predators intervene, the birds switch to a strategy of spreading the eggs around in other nests. "When different females in a population pursue different reproductive tactics, like cooperative and parasitic nesting, this poses an evolutionary puzzle. We wondered why some females lay their eggs into other groups' nests, whereas other females never do," said Christina Riehl, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. She and co-author Meghan Strong, a research specialist in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, conducted the study with help from undergraduates, graduate students and interns, including several from the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI). "We found the parasitic strategy is more of a second-line option," Riehl said. "It's as if the birds say, 'If our cooperative attempt fails, let's go to Option B.'" The team concluded that the two reproductive strategies can coexist in the population because the mixed strategy of first cooperating and then parasitizing yields about the same number of offspring as the pure cooperative strategy does. If one or the other were clearly better, then all the birds would most likely adopt the most successful strategy. The greater ani is one of the few bird species in which unrelated females come together to raise their young communally. In contrast, social parasitism is quite common, found in over 250 bird species. To find out why the normally collaborative anis resort to parasitism, the scientists observed the birds and their nesting behaviors over an 11-year period at Barro Colorado Nature Monument in Panama. The birds build the nests in branches that overhang the Panama Canal, requiring the researchers to reach the nests by boat. Under constant threat from predators such as snakes and monkeys, nearly all of the anis start the breeding season in communal groups, the researchers found. However, social parasitism is also widespread, the researchers found, with about 25 percent of the nests being parasitized by a female who was not a member of the group. The team found that females whose nests were destroyed by predators early in the nesting cycle were most likely to lay parasitically, typically in nests close to their own failed nest. The researchers also asked whether switching mid-season from collective nesting to social parasitism might actually lead to more offspring. Although laying as many eggs as possible sounds like a good strategy, social parasitism has drawbacks. The eggs tend to be slightly smaller and thus less likely to thrive. And due to the risk of being found out, these eggs have a lower chance of survival to the stage where the chicks leave the nest. In contrast, the cooperative females lay fewer eggs but they put more effort into tending them, so more chicks survive to leave the nest. The take-away: Both of the reproductive strategies -- communal breeding only versus the mixed approach of starting as communal breeders and switching to parasitism -- are viable reproductive strategies. Mark Hauber is an ornithologist and behavioral ecologist of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who was not involved in the study. "The study explains why cooperative breeding is maintained evolutionarily in this species -- solitary breeding or parasitism alone are simply not productive enough," Hauber said. "But either cooperative breeding with large clutches or failed cooperative breeding followed by parasitism are equivalent strategies fitness-wise. Thus parasitism continues to be present in the population and so is cooperative breeding." The team also found that the same females turned to parasitism after the failure of their nests year after year. "Previously in my own work on captive zebra finches I found that some individuals are more likely to become brood parasites than others," Hauber said. "This is now demonstrated and confirmed firmly in a wild population of free-living tropical birds." The ongoing study monitors roughly 40 to 60 nests per year. Overall, for the current finding, the team studied genetic data from 1,776 eggs laid by 210 females in 240 nests from 2007-17. Each year the team begins the breeding season in June by searching for nests in the vegetation along the shoreline. The researchers check the nests daily, swabbing each new egg to collect cells and blood left on the egg with the goal of using genetics to identify each egg's mother. They weigh and measure every egg, and collect blood from the chicks to confirm their parentage. "Getting into the nest is actually often the trickiest part of collecting measurements," said Luke Carabbia, Class of 2019, who conducted field work as a PEI intern. "While some groups of birds cooperate with us very well and nest right at an accessible chest height, others build their nests all the way at the top of their trees or in flimsy reeds deep in grass, and the birds often have a real knack for picking spots that are either incredibly thorny or right next to a nest of angry wasps." ### The field work included contributions from PEI interns Luke Carabbia, Class of 2019, and Zachariah Smart, Class of 2019; Amanda Savagian, a graduate student in ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton; and Janeene Touchton, a visiting lecturer in ecology and evolutionary biology. Also providing field work were Chiti Arvind, then an undergraduate at Mount Carmel College, Bangalore, India; Laura Jara Reyes, then an undergraduate at the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia; and Wendy Webber, a graduate from the New College of Florida. Laboratory assistance was provided by Emily Jiang, Class of 2018, and Maria Smith, a graduate student in ecology and evolutionary biology. Funding for this project was provided by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Harvard University, and Princeton University. The study, "Social parasitism as an alternative reproductive tactic in a cooperatively breeding cuckoo," by Christina Riehl and Meghan Strong, was published online in the journal Nature on Feb. 27, 2019. Giraffes that live close to densely populated towns have larger home ranges than giraffes that live far from towns, according to a new study by an international team of wildlife researchers from the University of Zurich, Penn State, and the Wild Nature Institute. This suggests that the giraffes in human-impacted areas need to travel longer distances--and expend more energy--to obtain critical resources. The researchers found that average rainfall also impacts giraffe home ranges, which are smaller in areas with more rain. The study was published February 22, 2019 in the journal Animal Behaviour. "Giraffes are huge browsing animals that live in African savanna ecosystems where they must find everything they need to survive and reproduce in landscapes increasingly impacted by human activities," said Derek E. Lee, associate research professor of biology at Penn State and principal scientist of the Wild Nature Institute. "People are converting natural savannas to towns and farms, and cutting trees for fuelwood and charcoal industries, all of which potentially degrade giraffe habitat." The team quantified home range sizes--the spatial area over which an animal repeatedly travels in search of food, water, shelter and mates--for 71 adult giraffes from data collected over six years in the spatially heterogeneous Tarangire Ecosystem of Tanzania. They examined correlations between individual home range sizes and environmental and anthropogenic--human related--factors, to better understand the mechanisms driving space use of this threatened megaherbivore. Home range behavior is an expression of an animal's decision-making process about how to access the resources needed for survival and reproduction. The researchers found that giraffes that lived closer to large human settlements had larger home-ranges. No such relationship was evident with bomas, which are homesteads built by indigenous livestock-keeping Maasai people, suggesting that giraffes are tolerant of more traditional, lower-impact land uses. "Giraffes are vulnerable to extinction after a 40 percent population decline during the past three decades," said Mara Knusel, a graduate student at the University of Zurich and first author of the study. "Identifying factors affecting space use help wildlife conservationists to make better decisions for at-risk species such as giraffes." As one of the largest herbivores on earth, giraffes have a profound impact on plant populations, vegetation structure, and ecosystem processes where they live. Giraffes are also a favorite animal sought by ecotourists on safari in Tanzania, where the safari industry is the largest economic sector in the country. "Most studies that previously looked at home ranges of giraffes didn't look for environmental factors that determine the observed home range size, so this study goes beyond the pattern to reveal the process behind it," said Monica Bond, PhD candidate at the University of Zurich and senior author of the study. The research team also compared home range estimates from published data for eight giraffe populations across Africa and examined the relationship between giraffe home range size and mean annual rainfall as a potential explanation for observed variation in space use among populations. Rainfall was negatively correlated with home range size--giraffes in areas with less rainfall had larger home ranges. "This relationship between rainfall and space use by a large herbivore is not surprising, given that rainfall is the main driver of vegetation productivity and thus food availability," said Lee. "Greater availability and access to critical resources such as food and water leads to smaller home range sizes." "Human disturbance and fragmentation of habitat in and around densely populated areas likely reduced the local forage and water resources available for giraffes, forcing individuals to increase their movements and use of space to obtain these resources," said Knusel. "Similarly, lower rainfall and lower primary productivity forces individuals to range more widely." ### In addition to Lee, Knusel, and Bond, the research team includes Barbara Konig at the University of Zurich. The research was funded by the University of Zurich Grant of the Forschungskredit, the Sacramento Zoo, the Columbus Zoo, the Tulsa Zoo, the Tierpark Berlin, the Cincinnati Zoo, the Parrotia Foundation, the Temperatio Foundation, the Promotor Foundation, the African Wildlife Foundation, and Save the Giraffes. The same brain network that adults use when they hear angry vocalizations is at work in infants as young as six months old, an effect that is strongest in infants whose mothers spend the most time controlling their behavior, according to a new study in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Chen Zhao of the University of Manchester, UK, and colleagues. The study indicates that the network recruited in adult vocal emotion processing is up and running quite early in life, and that its sensitivity to anger is partly a result of maternal interactions. It has been recognized for generations that infants can distinguish the emotional content of their mothers' voices long before they understand words, based on intonation, tone, rhythm, and other elements. In adults, that emotional content is processed in the frontal and temporal lobes. Brain imaging studies in infants have been performed, but the noise of an MRI machine has made analysis of response to sounds challenging. In the current study, the authors overcame that limitation by using functional near infrared spectroscopy, a silent, noninvasive method that measures blood flow to cortical areas, while infants sat in their mothers' laps and listened to recorded non-speech vocalizations that were angry, happy, or neutral in emotionality. Separately, the team also observed the same mother-infant pairs during floor play, quantifying the mother's interactions in terms of both sensitivity to infant behavior as it changed, and directiveness, or the degree to which the mother sought to control the infant's behavior. They found that both angry and happy vocalizations activated the fronto-cortical network, and the level of activation in response to anger was greater for those infants whose mothers were more directive in their interactions. The results suggest that greater experience with directive caregiving, or the stress it produces, heightens the infant brain's ability to detect and respond to angry vocalizations. Zhao adds: "Brain science shows that babies' brains are sensitive to different emotional tones they hear in voices. Such tones can cause different activation patterns in the infant's brain areas which are also known to be involved in processing voices in adults and older children. These patterns also reveal that the early care experienced by babies can influence brain responses so that the more intrusive and demanding their mother, the stronger the brain response of these 6-month-olds is to hearing angry voices." ### In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS ONE: http://journals. plos. org/ plosone/ article?id= 10. 1371/ journal. pone. 021220 Citation: Zhao C, Chronaki G, Schiessl I, Wan MW, Abel KM (2019) Is infant neural sensitivity to vocal emotion associated with mother-infant relational experience? PLoS ONE 14(2): e0212205. https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 1371/ journal. pone. 0212205 Funding: Chen Zhao was supported by the program of China Scholarship Council (201406990026) while carrying out the study. Professor Kathryn Abel is an NIHR senior Investigator and is funded by a European Research Council Consolidator award. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Medically high-risk patients and communication breakdowns between providers contribute to the difficulty of medication management for older adults receiving home health care, finds a study led by researchers at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. The findings are published in the journal Medical Care Research and Review. "Our study suggests that medication management coordinated from home care has the potential to improve medication safety for older adults and reduce the risk for initial hospitalization and readmission to hospitals," said Allison Squires, PhD, RN, FAAN, associate professor at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing and the study's lead author. Older adults are more likely to be taking multiple medications, creating complex drug regimens. These regimens vary in complexity based on the number of medications, the dosages and frequencies of those medications, and any special instructions related to taking them as ordered. Increased medication complexity can impair patients' abilities to take their medications as directed and raises their risk for hospital admission, readmission, and adverse events. Home health agencies provide person-centered care for patients in their homes, often through the use of interdisciplinary clinical teams of nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, home health aides, and social workers. Medication management is a primary service provided by home care. This study sought to understand medication management challenges from the home care provider perspective. The researchers conducted interviews with 77 home health care professionals, including nurse practitioners, nurses training to become nurse practitioners and midwives, social workers, social work students, pharmacists, and pharmacy students. The researchers identified two key themes in their interviews: a "fragmented system of care" and "vulnerable patients in vulnerable situations," with patient-, provider-, and system-level factors contributing to both communication and coordination challenges. The "fragmented system of care" highlighted through the interviews involves communication breakdowns between health care providers--including between multiple home health providers and between home health and office-based providers--and between providers and patients. This breakdown of information due to patient-level factors (e.g., lack of trust with providers), provider-level factors (e.g., inadequate provider-provider communication or lack of relationship between home health and office-based providers), and system-level factors (e.g., lack of time with patients, electronic medical records not being available across providers) creates opportunities for medication errors. In describing "vulnerable patients in vulnerable situations," home health providers shared how many older adults in home care are both high-risk, or medically complex, and in high-risk situations, as most live alone. These risks were described as a complex interplay of patient-level factors (e.g., living alone, language barriers, or cognitive issues), provider-level factors (e.g., not giving clear instructions for taking medication), and system-level factors (e.g., clinical turnover, lack of resources) that affected patients' medication complexity and their ability to take medications safely. Participants also described medication errors they observed. A patient taking the wrong drug was the most common error reported (54.5 percent), followed by a patient taking the wrong dose (31.8 percent) and taking a drug at the wrong time (13.6 percent). Medication safety issues along with provider-provider communication problems were central themes with medication complexity, and fragmented care coordination contributed to this complexity. As such, the researchers note that medication management coordinated by home care providers has the potential to improve medication safety for older adults, which in turn would reduce their risk for hospitalization and readmission. "Allowing nurse practitioners in home care to conduct medication coordination with a patient's physicians has the potential to address the issues with fragmented care coordination and may save costs. Even better would be a coordinated effort between interdisciplinary home care teams, including nurse practitioners, social workers, and pharmacists," said Squires. ### In addition to Squires, study authors include Laura Ridge, Sarah Miner, Sherry A. Greenberg, and Tara Cortes of NYU Meyers and Margaret V. McDonald of the Center for Home Care Policy & Research at the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. The study was funded by the Nursing Education, Practice, Quality, and Retention (NEPQR) program funded through the Division of Nursing, Bureau of Health Workforce, Health Resources, and Services Administration (HRSA) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (grant # UD7HP26049). About NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing (@NYUNursing) NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing is a global leader in nursing and health. Founded in 1932, the College offers BS, MS, DNP, and PhD degree programs providing the educational foundation to prepare the next generation of nursing leaders and researchers. NYU Meyers has three programs ranked in the top 10 by U.S. News & World Report and is among the top 10 nursing schools receiving NIH funding, thanks to its research mission and commitment to innovative approaches to healthcare worldwide. About VNSNY Center for Home Care Policy & Research A Chinese research team joined forces with Russian and U.S. biologists to obtain the crystal structure of the human type 2 cannabinoid receptor. Their findings will help develop drugs against inflammatory, neurodegenerative, and other diseases. The authors of the paper in Cell compare the newly discovered structure to that of the type 1 cannabinoid receptor, deeming the two receptors to be the "yin and yang" of the human endocannabinoid system. Drugs rely on knowing receptor structure The two cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, belong to the so-called endocannabinoid system. This refers to a signaling system in the human body that regulates biological processes such as metabolism, pain sensation, neuronal activity, immune function, and so on. It has been shown that the cannabinoid receptors can be targeted to alleviate certain pathological conditions, including chronic pain. While the CB1 receptors are mostly found in the nervous system and are responsible for psychoactive effects, the CB2 receptors are predominantly present in the immune system. Studies indicate that CB2 is a promising target for immunotherapy, as well as treating inflammatory and neuropathic pain, and neurodegenerative diseases. It has also been shown that molecules blocking CB2 can reduce tumor growth. To effectively treat pathological conditions, drugs need to specifically target CB1 or CB2. However, the two receptors are very much alike. The amino acid sequences that encode them are 44 percent identical. So developing a selective medicine requires knowing the structure of both targets in great detail. Unlike CB1, the structure of CB2 has remained unknown up until now. X-raying CB2 crystal reveals its structure To identify the shape of an individual molecule, researchers make a crystal from many such molecules. When arranged in this highly ordered way, the molecules can be exposed to X-rays, revealing their structure. The team made a crystal (figure 1) from CB2 receptors bound to molecules blocking this receptor, which are potential drug candidates. That way, the X-ray analysis allowed the team to see both the structure of CB2 and how it connects to the blocking molecule, or antagonist. However, receptors are unstable proteins by nature. To study them, they need to be modified using gene engineering. This involves introducing mutations that make the protein stable without changing its structure or function. CompoMug is a software suite that predicts mutations potentially useful for stabilizing receptor molecules. The mutations then need to be tested experimentally. This software was developed by two researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and the University of Southern California: visiting MIPT professor Vsevolod Katritch and Petr Popov from the Laboratory of Structural Biology of G Protein-Coupled Receptors. In the study, the CB2 receptor had five mutations prompted by CompoMug. Receptor structure discovery enables smarter drugs The researchers contrasted the structure of CB2 with that of CB1. They concluded that substances activating one of the receptors can actually weaken or inhibit the other, and vice versa. This opens up a possibility not just for drugs that target exclusively one receptor, but those that affect both receptors, but in different ways. Figure 2 shows the therapeutic implications. "Every G protein-coupled receptor structure that is discovered has prospects for rational design of more efficient drugs," study co-author Petr Popov explains. "Now that the structures of both cannabinoid receptors are known, we can design selective compounds targeting only one of the receptors, as well as agents with a desired polypharmacological profile targeting both receptors at once." ### This research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation. The review, published in Nature, outlines how healthcare workers in low-income countries, like those in sub-Saharan Africa, could use existing smartphones to diagnose, track and control infectious diseases in low-income countries. There are already initiatives focused on using established mobile technologies like text messages and calls to connect healthcare workers and patients to each other, and to test results. This new review by researchers from Imperial, Karolinska Institute, UCL, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Africa Health Research Institute, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says that smartphones could also help enable people to test themselves, and get results and support in their own homes. This would make it easier for people to look after their own health - particularly in rural regions, where clinics can be too far away to travel. In addition, patients worried about a potential HIV infection might be more inclined to get tested if they could do it at home and avoid the stigma of attending a clinic. Many smartphones have sensors built in that could aid diagnosis, such as a heart rate monitor and an oximeter, as well as a camera and microphone that can be used to analyse images and sounds like a person's breathing. In addition, simple testing technologies are being developed that can be linked into a phone, via a USB stick or wirelessly. In theory, a person could test themselves using an easy to collect sample, such as a pinprick of blood, and the results would be scanned onto mobile apps. The apps would send the results to local clinics before being uploaded to a central online database - instead of patients having to attend in person. Lead author Professor Molly Stevens, from Imperial's Departments of Bioengineering and Materials, said: "People increasingly use smartphones to manage their money and connect with the world. It makes sense that phones can also play an even larger role in healthcare than they already do." The bigger picture Smartphones are increasingly used in sub-Saharan Africa. By 2020, one in two mobile phone connections in the region will be via smartphone - a similar figure to worldwide smartphone adoption. The researchers say this presents a prime opportunity to harness the existing technology where clinics in rural areas can be scarce. Approaches outlined in the review include apps that use the phone's camera to interpret test results, send findings to local clinics or healthcare workers, and host virtual follow-up appointments with healthcare workers. The authors say these approaches might help increase rates of disease testing in regions with limited facilities. Combined, the test results would build a picture of symptoms across a region to help predict and fight current and future outbreaks. Health on the move Co-author Dr Chris Wood, who conducted the work at Imperial's Department of Materials and Sweden's Karolinska Institute, said: "By developing mobile health interventions, we address a number of challenges in healthcare and public education. Connected diagnostic tests for diseases have the ability to improve and build on these in new and exciting ways." The authors add that these ideas are not without challenges. Although rapid technological advances have improved access to testing, more than 35 per cent of the world has no access to mobile phones. It is also easier to accurately collect and analyse samples in a healthcare setting, where there are trained staff and the environment is designed to be sterile, than in a person's home. Safeguarding measures must be put in place to protect privacy and confidentiality of patient data, the authors say. These measures must also be fully explained to users to build trust in and encourage adoption of these new healthcare services. Still, the report's authors remain optimistic. As of 2016, global smartphone adoption has reached 51 per cent and is predicted to keep growing - particularly in resource limited settings such as sub-Saharan Africa. This means more and more of the world's population is equipped with a powerful pocket computer that can connect patients and share healthcare data. Professor Stevens said: "This is an exciting opportunity for researchers and policy makers to develop new tools and systems that could drastically improve human health and wellbeing in the future." ### This work was led by the Stevens Group at Imperial College London and the i-sense Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration, which is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Mosquitoes that landed on surfaces coated with the anti-malarial compound atovaquone were completely blocked from developing Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum), the parasite that causes malaria, according to new research led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study showed that atovaquone--an active ingredient in medication that's commonly used in humans to prevent and treat malaria--can be absorbed through mosquitoes' tarsi (legs) and prevents the insects from developing and spreading the parasite. The findings indicate that treating bed nets with atovaquone or similar compounds would be an effective way to reduce the burden of malaria while significantly mitigating the growing problem of insecticide resistance. "Mosquitoes are amazingly resilient organisms that have developed resistance against every insecticide that has been used to kill them. By eliminating malaria parasites within the mosquito rather than killing the mosquito itself, we can circumvent this resistance and effectively prevent malaria transmission," said Flaminia Catteruccia, professor of immunology and infectious diseases. "Ultimately, the use of antimalarials on mosquito nets could help eliminate this devastating disease. It's a simple but innovative idea that's safe for people who use mosquito nets and friendly to the environment." The study will be published online in Nature on February 27, 2019. Malaria poses a risk to nearly half of the world's population. Annually, more than 200 million people become sick with malaria and more than 400,000 people die from it. During the past 20 years, bed nets treated with long-lasting insecticides that kill mosquitoes have significantly reduced the global malaria burden. It's estimated that such bed nets are responsible for 68% of all malaria cases averted since 2000. Recent years, however, have seen a surge in mosquitoes that are resistant to the most commonly used insecticides. In some malaria hot spots, there is near total resistance to pyrethroids, one of the key groups of insecticides currently in use. The waning effectiveness of insecticides is a public health emergency that threatens to undo decades of progress toward controlling malaria and highlights the urgent need to develop new approaches to stop the spread of the disease. For this study, the researchers reasoned that they could introduce antimalarial compounds to Anopheles mosquitoes in a way that's similar to a mosquito making contact with insecticides on a bed net. Rather than kill the mosquitoes, the aim was to give them a prophylactic treatment so that they could not develop and transmit the malaria-causing parasite. To test the approach, they coated glass surfaces with atovaquone and covered them with a plastic cup. Female mosquitoes were then introduced into the cup. Prior to or immediately after the mosquitoes made contact with the atovaquone-coated glass, the researchers infected them with P. falciparum. Over the course of the study, mosquitoes were exposed to different concentrations of atovaquone and were kept in the cups for different amount of times. The study found that P. falciparum development was completely blocked at relatively low concentrations of atovaquone (100 mol per m2) and when mosquitoes were exposed for just 6 minutes, which is comparable to the time wild mosquitoes spend on insecticide-treated bed nets. The researchers had similar success when using other compounds similar to atovaquone. While atovaquone effectively killed parasites, it had no effects on mosquito lifespan or reproduction. "When we put these data into a mathematical model using real-world data on insecticide resistance, bed net coverage and malaria prevalence, it showed that supplementing conventional bed nets with a compound like atovaquone could appreciably reduce malaria transmission under almost any conditions we had data for in Africa," said Douglas Paton, research fellow and lead author of the paper. "What got us really excited is that it also showed that this new intervention would have the greatest impact in areas with the highest levels of mosquito insecticide resistance." ### Other Harvard Chan School co-authors included Maurice Itoe, Inga Holmdahl, and Caroline Buckee. Visit the Harvard Chan School website for the latest news, press releases, and multimedia offerings. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health brings together dedicated experts from many disciplines to educate new generations of global health leaders and produce powerful ideas that improve the lives and health of people everywhere. As a community of leading scientists, educators, and students, we work together to take innovative ideas from the laboratory to people's lives--not only making scientific breakthroughs, but also working to change individual behaviors, public policies, and health care practices. Each year, more than 400 faculty members at Harvard Chan School teach 1,000-plus full-time students from around the world and train thousands more through online and executive education courses. Founded in 1913 as the Harvard-MIT School of Health Officers, the School is recognized as America's oldest professional training program in public health. A human study published in The FASEB Journal suggests a novel type of biomarker to predict the progression of atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common form of irregular heart rhythm. Despite inconsistent evidence to date, one idea that has surfaced is that AF may be regulated by alterations in circulating microRNAs (miRNAs), which regulate cell-to-cell communication. If this hypothesis were correct, by better understanding such alterations, scientists could potentially monitor the progression of heart disease. Researchers at Seoul's Yonsei University recently tested a hypothesis that exosomal miRNAs could be used as biomarkers to monitor AF progression. Exosomal miRNAs are highly stable, as they are protected from degradation by their encapsulation in exosomes (small membrane vesicles secreted by most cell types that contain samples mirroring the genetic information of their original cells). In conducting the human study, the research team aimed to identify differences in exosomal miRNA by evaluating different stages of AF. Researchers assessed serum exosomal miRNA from three groups: 1) patients with a sinus rhythm, or supraventricular tachycardia (SVT); 2) patients with intermittent AF; and 3) patients with persistent AF. Patients with SVT were designated as controls. Interestingly, the study found that patients with persistent AF demonstrated the highest expression of five miRNAs that are associated with signaling pathway, atrial function and structure, oxidative stress, and fibrosis involved in AF. Significant miRNA changes can be observed in persistent AF patients; thus, serum exosomal miRNAs may be used as novel biomarkers to predict the various stages of AF. "Our study shows that early diagnosis of AF will be possible through exosomes, the messenger of the cells," said Dasom Mun, a researcher with the Division of Cardiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, and Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University. "It is our hope that these newly discovered biomarkers will eventually be helpful for heart disease risk stratification and therapy." "The idea that circulating microRNAs impact cells at distal sites is expanding but not confirmed. This study adds a bookmark in this evolving hypothesis," said Thoru Pederson, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. ### This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Korean Healthcare Technology R&D project funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare. The FASEB Journal is published by the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). The world's most cited biology journal according to the Institute for Scientific Information, it has been recognized by the Special Libraries Association as one of the top 100 most influential biomedical journals of the past century. Receive monthly highlights for The FASEB Journal; subscribe at http://www. faseb. org/ fjupdate. aspx . FASEB is composed of 29 societies with more than 130,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States. Our mission is to advance health and well-being by promoting research and education in biological and biomedical sciences through collaborative advocacy and service to our societies and their members. Aerial migration is the fastest, yet most energetically demanding way of seasonal movements between habitats. A new study led by scientists at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) investigated the energy requirements and travel speeds of migrating Nathusius' bats (Pipistrellus nathusii). Using a wind tunnel experiment to determine the exact energy demands of different flying speeds and a field study to record actual travel speeds of migrating bats, the scientists demonstrated that bats travel at the speed where their range reaches a maximum, enabling them to cover long distances with a minimum amount of energy. How the researchers tracked down this cruise control is published in the Journal of Experimental Biology. For many taxa, and bats in particular, scientists still lack a clear understanding of the energy requirements for migration. A team of scientists lead by Sara Troxell and Christian Voigt from the Leibniz-IZW designed an ambitious experimental study to make substantial progress on this question. The first part of the study was a wind tunnel experiment combined with measurements in a respirometry chamber. The chamber allowed the scientists to precisely track the CO2 enrichment in the air from the breath of the bats, from which they calculated the metabolic rate during flight. By repeating these measurements directly before and after one-minute flights at various speeds in the wind tunnel, the scientists recorded flight metabolic rate in relation to air speed and then calculated the flight speed with the best energy to distance ratio. The second part of the study was conducted at a migratory corridor along the Baltic Sea coast in Latvia. Using the echolocation calls of migrating Nathusius' bats, the scientists established the flight trajectories of these bats which allowed them to measure the actual speed of migration. "Our study confirms that the observed flight speeds are consistent with the expectation that migratory bats practice optimal flight speeds for covering the largest distance with the least amount of energy," Troxell and Voigt concluded. This speed is around 7.5 meters per second, equivalent to 27 kilometres (16 miles) per hour. The field study also facilitated the comparison of the flight speed of migrating bats with the speed of bats foraging for insects. Foraging bats fly at significantly lower speeds than the most efficient speed determined in the wind tunnel experiments. "When foraging in a dune forest, bats performed sharp turns in order to catch insects," Troxell explains. "These tight turns require slower flight speeds and the overall speed might be reduced in anticipation of such turns." Previous studies in less confined habitats revealed average foraging speeds that were much closer to the calculated ideal speed. Data of migratory flight speed and flight energy expenditure make it possible to estimate energetic requirements of trans-continental migration in small-sized bats. "However, it is important to realise that our insights into the migratory behaviour of bats are still in their infancy," Voigt explains. Extrapolation of the energy needed by a Nathusius' bat travelling a distance of 2,000 kilometres from northeastern Europe to hibernacula sites in western or southern France result in an estimated total energy demand of almost 300 kilojoules. A journey of this length needs at least 12 days to complete when flying in a straight line. Currently, the exact routes, flying hours and distances flown per night are still unknown, so need to be investigated in more detail. ### Electricity can be generated by renewable sources such as sunlight, wind Electricity can then be used to split water, which makes hydrogen as a fuel for emerging energy devices such as fuel cells. Because hydrogen is a clean fuel, researchers in the world are putting a lot of effort in developing water-splitting catalysts, which are essential for the reaction's energy efficiency. The focus is mostly on the so-called oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which is arguably the most challenging process in water splitting. After many years of intense research, nickel-iron oxide is now established as the go-to catalyst for OER in alkaline conditions due to its high activity and earth-abundant composition, and also because it has the highest activity per reaction-site among all metal oxides. About three years ago, scientists with the lab of Xile Hu at EPFL discovered another catalyst that was significantly more active than nickel-iron oxide, even though it had a similar composition. Still, it was robust, easy to synthesize, and open to industrial applications. The discovery was led by Fang Song, a postdoc in Hu's group who has since joined the faculty at Shanghai Jiaotong University in China. Recognizing its technological potential, Hu, Song, and their colleague Elitsa Petkucheva filed an international patent application. They also got funding from the European Research Council to test the catalyst in a proof-of-concept project. The catalyst proved to enable an efficient electrolyzer that could work under industrial conditions while requiring 200 mV less voltage. They are now seeking industrial partners to transfer the technology. But the new catalyst was also unconventional in terms of chemistry. "We didn't have a clue why the catalyst would be so active," says Hu. So, his team turned to the group of Clemence Corminboeuf at EPFL for help. Working with her postdoc, Michael Busch, and supported by NCCR MARVEL (Centre on Computational Design and Discovery of Novel Materials), Corminboeuf used density functional theory (DFT) computations to search for possible theoretical explanations. DFT is a computational, quantum mechanical method that models and studies the structure of many-body systems, e.g. atoms, and molecules. The result was radical: The high activity of the new catalyst originates from a cooperative action of two phase-separated components of iron and nickel oxides, which overcame a previously identified limitation of conventional metal oxides where the reaction occurred locally on only a single metal site. They called it the "bifunctional mechanism". While the DFT-derived mechanism was hypothetical, it guided experimental studies on the activity and properties of the catalyst with Benedikt Lassalle-Kaiser at Synchrotron SOLEIL in France. Using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), the work uncovered found evidence of two phase-separated iron and nickel oxides in the catalyst. But because catalysts can undergo compositional and structural changes during catalysis, it became necessary to study the catalyst "in operation" with XAS. To do this, the researchers established a long-term collaboration program with the group of Professor Hao Ming Chen in National Taiwan University. In a comprehensive operando XAS study, Chen and his graduate student, Chia-Shuo Hsu, revealed a unique structure of the catalyst: that it is made of nanoclusters of -FeOOH covalently linked to a -NiOOH support - which makes it an iron-nickel oxide catalyst, as opposed to the conventional nickel-iron oxide. Although not a direct proof, this structure is compatible with the DFT-proposed bifunctional mechanism. "This is a truly interdisciplinary study involving many fruitful collaborations," says Hu. "The fundamental studies not only provide insights into the structure and activity of this unconventional catalyst, but also lead to a thought-provoking mechanistic hypothesis". ### Other contributors Shanghai Jiao Tong University Synchrotron SOLEIL National Taiwan University Acad. E. Budevski Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems (IEES) EPFL Institute of Environmental Engineering Reference Fang Song, Michael M. Busch, Benedikt Lassalle-Kaiser, Chia-Shuo Hsu, Elitsa Petkucheva, Michael Bensimon, Hao Ming Chen, Clemence Corminboeuf, Xile Hu. An unconventional iron nickel catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction. ACS Central Science 26 February 2019. DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.9b00053 ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Whetstone, a software tool that sharpens the output of artificial neurons, has enabled neural computer networks to process information up to a hundred times more efficiently than the current industry standard, say the Sandia National Laboratories researchers who developed it. The aptly named software, which greatly reduces the amount of circuitry needed to perform autonomous tasks, is expected to increase the penetration of artificial intelligence into markets for mobile phones, self-driving cars and automated interpretation of images. "Instead of sending out endless energy dribbles of information," Sandia neuroscientist Brad Aimone said, "artificial neurons trained by Whetstone release energy in spikes, much like human neurons do." The largest artificial intelligence companies have produced spiking tools for their own products, but none are as fast or efficient as Whetstone, says Sandia mathematician William Severa. "Large companies are aware of this process and have built similar systems, but often theirs work only for their own designs. Whetstone will work on many neural platforms." The open-source code was recently featured in a technical article in Nature Machine Intelligence and has been proposed by Sandia for a patent. How to sharpen neurons Artificial neurons are basically capacitors that absorb and sum electrical charges they then release in tiny bursts of electricity. Computer chips, termed "neuromorphic systems," assemble neural networks into large groupings that mimic the human brain by sending electrical stimuli to neurons firing in no predictable order. This contrasts with a more lock-step procedure used by desktop computers with their pre-set electronic processes. Because of their haphazard firing, neuromorphic systems often are slower than conventional computers but also require far less energy to operate. They also require a different approach to programming because otherwise their artificial neurons fire too often or not often enough, which has been a problem in bringing them online commercially. Whetstone, which functions as a supplemental computer code tacked on to more conventional software training programs, trains and sharpens artificial neurons by leveraging those that spike only when a sufficient amount of energy -- read, information --has been collected. The training has proved effective in improving standard neural networks and is in process of being evaluated for the emerging technology of neuromorphic systems. Catherine Schuman, a neural network researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratories, said, "Whetstone is an important tool for the neuromorphic community. It provides a standardized way to train traditional neural networks that are amenable for deployment on neuromorphic systems, which had previously been done in an ad hoc manner." The strict teacher The Whetstone process, Aimone said, can be visualized as controlling a class of talkative elementary school students who are tasked with identifying an object on their teacher's desk. Prior to Whetstone, the students sent a continuous stream of sensor input to their formerly overwhelmed teacher, who had to listen to all of it -- every bump and giggle, so to speak -- before passing a decision into the neural system. This huge amount of information often requires cloud-based computation to process, or the addition of more local computing equipment combined with a sharp increase in electrical power. Both options increase the time and cost of commercial artificial intelligence products, lessen their security and privacy and make their acceptance less likely. Under Whetstone, their newly strict teacher only pays attention to a simple "yes" or "no" measurement of each student -- when they raise their hands with a solution, rather than to everything they are saying. Suppose, for example, the intent is to identify whether a piece of green fruit on the teacher's desk is an apple. Each student is a sensor that may respond to a different quality of what may be an apple: Does it have the correct quality of smell, taste, texture and so on? And while the student who looks for red may vote "no" the other student who looks for green would vote "yes." When the number of answers, either yay or nay, is electrically high enough to trigger the neuron's capacity to fire, that simple result, instead of endless waffling, enters the overall neural system. While Whetstone simplifications could potentially increase errors, the overwhelming number of participating neurons -- often over a million -- provide information that statistically make up for the inaccuracies introduced by the data simplification, Severa said, responsible for the mathematics of the program. "Combining overly detailed internal information with the huge number of neurons reporting in is a kind of double booking," he says. "It's unnecessary. Our results tell us the classical way -- calculating everything without simplifying -- is wasteful. That is why we can save energy and do it well." Patched programs work best The software program works best when patched in to programs meant to train new artificial-intelligence equipment, so Whetstone doesn't have to overcome learned patterns with already established energy minimums. The work is a continuation of a Sandia project called Hardware Acceleration of Adaptive Neural Algorithms, which explored neural platforms in work supported by Sandia's Laboratory Directed Research and Development office. The current work is supported by the Department of Energy's Advanced Simulation and Computing Program. ### Paper authors in addition to Aimone and Severa are Sandia researchers Craig Vineyard, Ryan Dellana and Stephen Verzi. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. Sandia Labs has major research and development responsibilities in nuclear deterrence, global security, defense, energy technologies and economic competitiveness, with main facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Livermore, California. Enid, OK (73701) Today Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 85F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies this evening followed by thunderstorms late. Low near 70F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Josephine Smith Lively Davis passed away June 27, 2021, at the age of 83 at her home in Decatur, Alabama. A celebration of life will be at Ridout's-Brown Funeral Home on Friday, July 2, 2021. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to noon. Funeral services will follow in the chapel at noon with Cha Parents warned of Momo challenge Children on the Isle of Man are being encouraged to talk to their parents if threatening messages pop up on YouTube clips of things like Peppa Pig and Fortnite. The disturbing content - known as the 'Momo challenge' - orders the viewer to self-harm or worse. Schools on the Island including St Ninan's High School have written recently to parents about the new social media trend. Matthew Smith from the suicide prevention charity If U Care Share wants host platforms to do more: Media Momo Webb Winter Hill victims to be remembered on 61st anniversary A service of remembrance will be held this morning to mark the 61st anniversary of the Winter Hill air crash, which saw the loss of 35 Manx people. Douglas Rotary Club will be marking the tragedy with a service at Cooil y Ree Park, St. Johns, at 11am Its anticipated the service will be attended by family members of those who lost their lives, in what is regarded as one of the UKs worst high ground aviation accidents. Mexico City, Feb 27 (efe-epa).- Two photo exhibits, "Un Estudio Propio. Mujeres en el Arte" (A Room of One's Own: Women in Art) and "Desde Nosotras" (From Us), opened this week as part of the Mexican capital's celebration of International Women's Day, observed March 8. The exhibits at the Galeria Abierta de las Rejas de Chapultepec, an open-air gallery on Mexico City's Paseo de la Reforma, were organized in conjunction with the municipal government's Tiempo de Mujeres (Time of Women) Festival. "The time of women has come to this city," the municipal secretary of women's affairs, Gabriela Ramirez, said during the inauguration of the exhibits. Across 10 days, from March 8 to March 17, 790 artists will take part in 150 events at 27 venues. "The feminine city will become reacquainted with its women," capital Culture Secretary Jose Alfonso Suarez said. While the situation for women has changed since the first International Woman's Day in 1910, "more than half" of women still lack access to certain opportunities and to full human rights, Mexico City's director of heritage, Maria Guadalupe Lozada, said. To remedy that deficiency represents "a challenge for the country and for the city," she said. The objective of the photojournalism exhibition is for "people to know what we are doing every day," EFE photographer and event organizer Sashenka Gutierrez said. The idea for the show emerged from a gathering in the Mexico City neighborhood of Coyoacan and a committee was formed to solicit entries. Organizers expected interest in the project to be limited, committee member Jasmin Ortega said, but more than 60 women photojournalists submitted examples of their work for display along the railing of Chapultepec park. Some of the photos included date from 40 years ago. "We see each other on the street and we recognize each other. Together we make a 12-hour shift into something fun and we can tell the story of this country," Ortega said. "We exhibit on the street because that is where we create our visual discourse and where we suffer discrimination." In today's Mexico, where violence against journalists is reaching an unprecedented level, women in journalism are a particularly vulnerable group. Women journalists are "starting to notice the micro-aggressions" they must combat, another member of the group, Monica Gonzalez, told EFE. "Un estudio propio. Mujeres en el arte" includes images of women in the arts, ranging from painting to literature to dance. Inspired by novelist Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own," the aim of the exhibition is to insist on women's right to a private space where they can create, according to Rossana Cervantes of the ComuArte collective. Effingham, IL (62401) Today Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 82F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Showers and thunderstorms likely. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. In an online video interview last year, television personality John Stossel drew U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos attention to rows of empty desks as they walked through the Department of Education. DeVos made it clear she sees a streamlined staff as a feature of her administration, not a bug. Shes made it clear to managers that, If youre going to make a case to hire more people, you better have a really good reason, she said. That extends to the main office for K-12 policy, charged with overseeing billions in funding for K-12 schools, most of it aimed at vulnerable children. The office of elementary and secondary education lost nearly 14 percent of its staff between the end of the Obama administration in January 2017 and the midpoint of the Trump administration at the start of this year. OESE has also gone through a top-to-bottom reorganization that consolidated some smaller offices within the agency and merged K-12 with the office of innovation and improvement, which oversaw charter school grants and other programs. The goal, according to a department spokeswoman: to make OESE, which is in charge of implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act, more efficient and to enable its staffers to look at the various grant programs it handles more holistically. For the Trump administration, a streamlined department is a step toward shrinking the federal footprint on K-12 and allowing states and districts to take the lead, since they are closer to the students and, in the administrations view, can best serve their needs. But civil rights advocates have serious concerns about whether a smaller team can adequately ensure that states are following federal rules for the most-vulnerable groups of students, including poor children and those of color. And there are big questions about how the changesespecially the staff reductionsare affecting the departments core customers": state officials, who often look to the federal government for technical assistance and to explain ESSA, a relatively new and often murky federal law. Some state officials say they havent noticed much difference between their interactions with staffers during the Obama administration and the Trump years, and they attribute any changes to ESSA, which turned over a lot of decisionmaking authority to states. But other officials describe long waits for answers to technical questions, harried staffers, and a lack of overall support and technical know-how, including when it comes to improving the lowest-performing schools. In the past, youd reach out to a program officer and youd get timely responses to inquiries, said one state official who, like five others interviewed for this article, requested anonymity to speak candidly about interactions with the department. Now what were seeing in some instances is that responses are going unanswered for months at a time. But others say they cant tell the department has slimmed its ranksand that the new leeway gives them room to make progress on their own priorities. Im enjoying the flexibility to get our legs underneath us, said Matthew Blomstedt, the commissioner of education in Nebraska, which has recently made changes to testing and other areas. He thinks the department hasnt veered from its mission of working to protect vulnerable children. Officials pushed Nebraska hard on its ESSA plan, one of the last to be approved, he said. I give them credit for making us think a bit harder about the equity charge under [the law]. Dear Parent Letters For her part, DeVos appears proud that her agency has focused its efforts on educating families about the law, issuing, for instance, a parent guide to ESSA, rather than reams of guidance for state officials. Instead of Dear Colleague letters, I much prefer Dear Parent letters, she told the National School Boards Association last month, according to prepared remarks. I encourage you to lead within your state. Embrace the freedom ESSA allows and the freedom for which many of you fought. The Education Department did not respond to questions about how state officials perceive its interactions with agency staff. Ary Amerikaner, who served as a deputy assistant secretary in OESE during the Obama administration, worries that the thinning ranks may jeopardize the departments ability to support states in educating historically disadvantaged students and to provide needed oversight. As a civil rights advocate, I know that some state leaders are trying to do the right thing, and Im worried for them that they are not getting answers from the department that are allowing them to move forward, said Amerikaner, who is now the vice president of P-12 policy, practice, and research at the Education Trust, a civil rights organization. History tells us some state leaders are not trustworthy when it comes to vulnerable kids, and we need the federal government to be playing their role as watchdog. Without sufficient bodies, the OESE cant do either of those things well. But Michael J. Petrilli, who served in the Education Department during President George W. Bushs administration, said now that ESSA has turned over much decisionmaking authority to states theres not a ton for those folks to do, or at least theres not as much for them to do. Those staff cuts reflect an administration that really is not trying to lead when it comes to K-12 education, said Petrilli, who is the president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a think tank. They do not see it as their role to have a vision of what school improvement looks like or how [federal funds] should be spent or what the next set of reforms should be at the state and local level. Dwindling Morale The total number of staff members in the elementary and secondary education office has dropped from 294 career staffers at the end of Obamas tenure to 258 midway through Trumps term, in part due to attrition. And the number of political appointees, such as deputy assistant secretaries, has fallen, too, from 15 at the end of the Obama administration to nine about midway through Trumps term. One potential reason for the departures: a dip in employee morale. The department ranks dead last among 27 midsize federal agencies when it comes to employee job satisfaction, according to a December report from the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service that ranks the best places to work in the federal government. Whats more, a separate report administered by the Office of Personnel Management earlier this year, found that morale had slipped at the Education Department. Only 61 percent of employees felt the agency was successfully completing its mission in 2018, compared with 73.2 in 2016, before the Trump team took office. The current leaders at the department really see the role of [the agency] as one of compliance, to only hold states accountable for what is in the law, as opposed to helping them look beyond it, said one recently departed department employee. Theres a space for leadership thats just going to be a void. Its clear that career staffers are trying to do more with lessbut they are largely succeeding, one state official said. You can definitely tell theyre stressed and busy and trying to cover way more than they probably can handle. But at least the folks that we work with have done everything they can to get back to us. The official said the department is responding to states within the time limits set by ESSA, but it definitely is taking every last second of what theyve got. An official in another state said the department has been responsive to any questions asked, but the officials state has largely steered clear of asking the federal government for help or clarification. I think in some ways thats an approach that many states are taking, to not necessarily ask a lot of questions, the official said. Making This Stuff Up Some state officials, though, say things are slipping through the cracks. For instance, one state official said the department didnt provide clarity on how to distribute a federal grant until deep into the school year. That created a potential mess, the official said. State officials also say they could use more clarity on parts of ESSA they are not getting now from the federal government, particularly on pinpointing research-based solutions for low-performing schoolswhat the law calls evidence-based interventions. Theres not enough support coming from the federal government in terms of what constitutes acceptable interventions, one official said. Weve had to do a lot of [professional development] on our own on how to vet evidence. This officials state wants to make sure its districts are only spending school improvement dollars on things that are proven to work, this official added. But without clear direction from the department, districts are pushing back on the states efforts to impose stricter standards for what constitutes a school improvement strategy backed by evidence, the official said. An official in another state has had largely positive interactions with department staff but still sees the leeway as a double-edged sword. Its good to have flexibility, but then you really are making this stuff up, that official said. I would like to have some guidance because I imagine their guidance is research-based. This official wishes the department were more proactive, offering additional assistance on things like college-and-career readiness, prekindergarten, serving English-learners, and strategies for fixing low-performing schools. Thats something former staffers say is harder to do with fewer hands. Thats what we try to do for districts, anticipate the needs, the official said. But others see the changes as welcomeand say they may not go far enough yet. Theres still a little bit of a disconnect between the appointees and the career, an official from another state said. In general, we appreciate less prescriptiveness. I think its going to take some time for the general ethos of the DeVos regimeless prescriptive, more-hands-offto actually spread to the people doing the work. Melissa McGrath, the chief of staff for the Council of Chief State School Officers, which represents state school chiefs, said the interactions have been smooth. CCSSO has maintained a productive working relationship with the U.S. Department of Education, and they have been responsive to our organization. Christopher Ruszkowski, who until recently served as secretary of education in New Mexico, said he felt like the ESSA plan process offered states healthy scrutiny. But hes worried the departments hands-off attitude could lead it to approve changes to plans that water down accountability. (The states new governor, Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham, has pledged to make big changes to the ESSA plan Ruszkowski put in place.) I dont think [the department] should be given a pass when states start to create lower expectations for teachers and lower expectations for students, when they start to not hold students accountable for performance, he said. Ted Kolderie has worked since 1982 on strategies for the redesign of public education. He was involved with passing Minnesotas pioneering school chartering legislation in 1991 and subsequently in more than 20 other states. Previous to that, he was concerned with urban policy and on the redesign of public services in the Minneapolis region and nationally. He was the executive director of the Citizens League of Minnesota and a senior fellow at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. He is the co-founder of Education Evolving, which champions student-centered learning through schools designed and run by teachers and policy that fosters innovation. He is an inaugural member of the Charter Schools Hall of Fame and in 2011 won the Conant award given by the Education Commission of the States for outstanding contributions to public education. His latest book is Thinking Out the How, published in 2018. Kolderie recently spoke with Education Week contributing writer Bess Keller to share his perspective on the charter movement, school accountability, the evolving role of teachers, among other topics. This question-and-answer has been edited for brevity and clarity. Youve worked for 35 years on approaches that would change public education for the better, including charter school legislation in Minnesota and elsewhere. What has been the single greatest barrier to making progress? Theres a failure to see the way large systems actually change, which is through innovation that gradually spreads. The effort to improve education through central master planning has just not worked in this country. Theres been a steady progression of decisions moving upward from classroom to school to district to state to national. For a strategy to work, it has to be a school-based. It has to encourage innovation. Minnesota was your policy laboratory. What could the rest of the country learn about education from Minnesota? Minnesota has just about got it right for strategy. Up until the late 80s and early 90s, we had the standard public utility model. There was effectively a series of little franchised territories in which one and only one organization offered the servicethe school district. Then Minnesota dramatically moved away from that model in a series of actions that were quite bipartisan. The legislature opened up public education, so that five or six different kinds of entities could offer public school: the nonresident district [districts that accepted students without regard to residence], postsecondary organizations, schools created under the chartering legislation, an online option, alternative schools, area learning centers. It opened up the system, but it remains a public system. We dont do private vouchers or for-profit organizations here. Substantial changes in enrollment patterns have resulted. Most of the students moving are using interdistrict enrollment, some are using the charter programs and the other options approved by the legislature. Now, it is quite a dynamic system with growing pressure on the districts to figure out how to adopt program changes that the parents, particularly parents in the cities and in communities of color, want. Where, in your view, did accountability go wrong as a strategy for school improvement? The failure has been the narrow definition of student achievement. In the media and in a lot of policy discussions, the notion is deeply implanted that success is measuredand in some respects only measuredby scores on the tests. What the public wants districts accountable for is getting the students engaged in learning. The public cares much less about what the scores show. Most of the judgments we make are based on satisfaction. You feel something works or doesnt work based on satisfaction. Satisfaction can be measured; its just that the system weve had doesnt do it. How would you describe the current state of the charter movement? To what degree have charter schools fulfilled their promise? Theres some real conflict. A schism developed within chartering about 10 years after the first laws. There are people who mostly want to concentrate on doing traditional school better, which is fine, and there are people who want to create nontraditional schools. We have national organizations that represent both philosophies. Its unfortunate weve had so much education research focused on, Do school charter schools score better than district schools? Of course, the research is mixed because charter schools are so different from each other. Youd hope wed be doing more of going inside these schools and looking to see what teachers and schools actually do with the opportunity. But generally speaking, theres been enough innovation to say the charter sector is performing well as the R&D sector of public education. Theres been worthwhile innovation in teaching and learning, school organization, and the role of teachers. Since the 2016 election, after about 25 years of bipartisan support for charter schools, you have in the [Trump] administration an explicitly private-sector, voucher impulse. So thats an invitation to political attack for the people who would like to go back to the public utility model, who dont like chartering. But I think the states will hold with this new, more open concept of public education just because it is just so much in states own interests to do that. You talk about how your view of teaching and the role of teachers has evolved. How so? A principal once told me it was his job to motivate his teachers as much as he could for as long as he could in what essentially are dead-end jobs. That hits pretty hard. The Minnesota charter law included an objective to open new professional opportunities for teachers. With that came the idea of organizing schools as teacher partnerships. Union folks began to get curious about this and interested in it. Now, weve had five years of a national effort to use this partnership model [by the Teacher-Powered Schools initiative]. What this has taught me is the substantial potential for change that results from passing professional autonomy to teachers. In addition to retaining teachers because their jobs are no longer dead-end, you will always find a broader definition of student learning operating in partnership schools than in the more conventional schools. For another thing, any successful effort to improve student learning will begin by improving student motivation. And only the teacher knows the classroom well enough to understand the differences in motivations among students. Do you think public education is capable of significant and needed change? Out there beyond conventional K-12 is the software industry, which has been disrupting one industry after another. The software industry simply hasnt decided yet whether the institution of school is going to open up or whether they need to go around it and directly market to families. If they do that, it has a potential to reduce public education to the status of public housing. The policy people in public education need to think about that. The U.S. House of Representatives voted 363-62 to pass the Natural Resources Management Act Tuesday, which means the biggest public lands bill in more than a decade has now passed both houses of Congress with bipartisan support. "This bill represents Congress at its best and truly gives the American people something to be excited about," House Natural Resources Committee Chair and Arizona Democrat Raul M. Grijalva in a press release. "It's a massive win for the present and future of American conservation. Everyone from inner cities to suburbs to rural communities wins when we work together to preserve the outdoors." The bill designates more than 1.3 million acres as wilderness, permanently authorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund to pay for conservation measures using money from offshore oil and gas drilling and demonstrates a renewed commitment on the part of both parties to protect the public lands widely loved by their constituents, National Geographic reported. "It's rare to see Congress act in an overwhelmingly bipartisan manner, but today reminds everyone that the protection of our public lands isn't a red or blue issue, it's an American one," Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said in a press release. Here are some of the other key achievements of the bill, according to the Associated Press and the House Natural Resources Committee: 1. Protects more than 350 miles of "wild and scenic" river. 2. Creates almost 700,000 acres of new recreation and conservation areas. 3. Protects 370,000 acres around Yellowstone National Park in Montana and North Cascades National Park in Washington from mining. 4. Creates five new national monuments including the Mississippi home of civil rights activists Medgar and Myrlie Evers. 5. Expands Joshua Tree and Death Valley National Parks. 6. Authorizes the Every Kid Outdoors Act, which will give every fourth grader in the country free access to public lands for another seven years. The bill is a victory after a variety of conservation projects like the protection of the Evers' home had stalled in Congress in recent years as other issues took priority, National Geographic reported. The Land and Water Conservation fund ran out of its previous authorization in September of 2018 and Congress could not agree on language to extend it at that time. The full act delayed from passing late in 2018 because Republican Utah Senator Mike Lee argued his state should be exempt from a provision allowing the president to turn federal lands into national monuments to protect them from development, according to The Associated Press. However, the final bill was championed by both Republicans and Democrats. "I think the reality is, even when the politicians are getting in each other's way, communities across the country have never stopped caring about public lands," Wilderness Society Director Drew McConville told National Geographic. Utah Representative and top Republican on the Natural Resources Committee Rob Bishop praised its "wins for America's sportsmen, hunters and fishermen." The bill opens all federal lands to hunting and fishing unless the management plan for the area prevents it. As National Geographic explained, this does not mean every public land will be opened to sportspeople, but rather that the process of gaining access will be easier. The package now heads to the White House for a signature. By Alan Poole A hundred years ago, a person wandering the back roads of coastal New England might have come across an odd sight: at the edge of a farmyard, cheek by jowl with pigs and chickens and cows, a tall pole topped with a massive stick nest. And standing guard in the nest, a large brown-backed, white-headed wild bird of prey an osprey (Pandion haliaetus). Farmers in this region knew that nesting ospreys were vigilant watchdogs, quick to chase "chicken-hawks" and other predators away. But as fish eaters, ospreys were no threat to farm animals. And they were trusting enough to live comfortably near humans. So farmers lured them by building them places to nest generally, an old wagon wheel atop a bare pole, mimicking the dead trees in which ospreys had nested for millennia. Although these clever farmers didn't know it, they were pioneering methods that would help to bring ospreys back from the edge of extinction decades later. As I recount in my new book, Ospreys: The Revival of a Global Raptor, these birds have made a spectacular recovery from chemical pollution, guns and traps, thanks to many dedicated conservationists and an amazing ability to thrive in close quarters with humans. An osprey fishing in spectacular super slow motion | Highlands - Scotland's Wild Heart youtu.be Gone in the Blink of an Eye Up to 1950, ospreys were one of the most widespread and abundant hawks in North America. Few rivers, lakes or ocean shorelines lacked a nesting pair. In certain favorable spots, such as islands along the Atlantic coast, wooded swamps in Florida and western states, and shallow-water lagoons bordering the Gulf of Mexico and Baja California, hundreds of nests were often clustered together in just one or two square miles. But the bottom dropped out after World War II. Insecticides developed for military use particularly DDT flooded onto the civilian market to control farm and forest pests and mosquitoes in towns and villages. These chemicals accumulated in food chains, so ospreys received large doses from the fish they consumed. In their bodies, DDT thinned their eggshells, causing a disastrous drop in the number of eggs that produced live chicks. In addition, other insecticides poisoned nestling and adult ospreys. By the mid-1960s, the number of ospreys breeding along the Atlantic coast between New York City and Boston had fallen by 90 percent. And, as I document in my book, most other populations in the U.S. and Canada had declined by half to two-thirds. Spraying DDT in Barker County, Oregon to control spruce budworm, 1955 R. B. Pope / USDA Forest Service / Wikimedia This was the era of Silent Spring, biologist Rachel Carson's blockbuster expose, which sounded one of the first alarms about the hidden environmental costs of pesticides. Ospreys played a lead role in this drama. Their well-documented crash provided concrete data for court cases brought to block indiscriminate spraying. Sanity prevailed: The most lethal and persistent insecticides were banned by the 1970s, giving ospreys and other birds, including the Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon, a respite in the nick of time. A Seismic Shift in Nesting Sites But restoring robust numbers of ospreys to regions where most or all of the breeders were gone required more than just curbing the flow of environmental contaminants. Nest sites were increasingly scarce along shorelines as development consumed old pastoral landscapes. With fewer safe places to raise young, osprey recovery prospects appeared dim, no matter how clean the environment or how abundant local fish populations were. But concerned naturalists took a cue from those old farmyard nest poles and began to erect new poles in the 1970s and '80s, especially along the broad ribbon of salt marshes hugging the Atlantic seaboard. Ospreys adapted remarkably, zeroing in to nest on these poles, as well as on a kaleidoscope of other artificial sites springing up along U.S. coasts and rivers: power and lighting structures, channel markers and buoys, and more recently, even megatowers supporting cellphone and other electronic communications equipment. Other nesting birds of prey make occasional use of such sites, but ospreys have been the champion colonizers. No one could have predicted such a dramatic shift a generation ago, or what a boost it would give to osprey numbers. Within just a few miles of where I live along the Massachusetts coast, more than 200 ospreys now nest each year, lured in by abundant nest poles we've built on wide-open marshes. Fewer than 20 ospreys were found here in the 1960s. This is not an isolated phenomenon. Thousands of pole nests now dot the coastal landscape from Maine to Florida testimony to persistent work by hundreds of dedicated people. In Florida, at least 1,000 pairs of ospreys have made cell towers their nesting homes. Along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, nearly 20,000 ospreys now arrive to nest each spring the largest concentration of breeding pairs in the world. Two-thirds of them nest on buoys and channel markers maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard, who have become de facto osprey guardians. A Global Resurgence These new nests have powered quick growth in numbers, with more ospreys in the U.S. and Canada today than ever before. Many are colonizing new areas. And this revival extends well beyond the Americas. Ospreys have a global reach, from Scotland to Japan and from the Mediterranean to Australia. Particularly in Europe, where most ospreys were eliminated by guns and traps rather than by insecticides, we are seeing extraordinary recoveries. Traveling to Europe in the summer of 2016 to research my book, I discovered flourishing new osprey populations. Artificial nest sites supports built mostly in trees to stabilize existing nests and encourage new ones were plentiful and packed with young ospreys ready to fledge. In Germany, shallow wire baskets secured atop enormous power pylons provided foundations for hundreds of new nests that had taken hold in areas long-abandoned by ospreys. Some researchers complain that providing these birds with nest sites is making them "prisoners of platforms" creating artificial populations where none were meant to be. But rampant coastal development, plus industrial farming and forestry in surrounding regions, have badly degraded the landscapes in which ospreys once thrived. To have robust numbers of this species back again is a reward for all who value wild animals, and a reminder of how nature can rebound if we address the key threats. Alan Poole is a research associate at Cornell University and the author of Ospreys: the Revival of a Global Raptor. Disclosure statement: Johns Hopkins University Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US. Reposted with permission from our media associate The Conversation. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution Tuesday to overturn President Donald Trump's emergency declaration to fund the construction of a border wall that would put 93 endangered species at risk. Trump issued the declaration to secure around $8 billion in funding for the wall after a bipartisan spending bill passed by Congress Feb. 15 allocated only $1.375 billion to border security. Trump had originally requested $5.7 billion for the wall during a stand-off with Congress that resulted in the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The resolution against the national emergency passed the House 245 to 182, with 13 Republicans breaking ranks to join with Democrats to pass the measure, CNN reported. The Sierra Club celebrated the news in a press release Tuesday. "Today, the House showed Donald Trump that Americans will not sit idly by as he steals taxpayer money, claims our country is in a non-existent emergency, and manufactures a humanitarian crisis on the border. All of these actions are the Trump administration's efforts to advance a twisted, racist, and cruel agenda built on inhumane deportations and a divisive, environmentally destructive, congressionally rejected border wall," Sierra Club federal policy director Melinda Pierce said in a statement. The fight over the national emergency now moves to the Senate, where the passage of a resolution blocking it is less certain. Four Republican senators would need to vote with every Democratic senator to pass the resolution. So far, three Republicans have indicated they will support the measure: Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Tillis wrote a Washington Post op-ed Monday announcing his decision, in which he said he supported Trump's desire to increase border security, but was worried about the precedent he was setting. Part of what concerned him was whether a future Democratic president would declare a national emergency to pursue sweeping action on climate change. "[Conservatives] should be thinking about whether they would accept the prospect of a President Bernie Sanders declaring a national emergency to implement parts of the radical Green New Deal," he wrote. Environmental groups have been at the forefront of the fight against the border wall and the emergency declaration. The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) tweeted urging followers to call their senators and encourage them to vote for the resolution against the declaration. CBD has also joined with Defenders of Wildlife and Animal Legal Defense Fund to sue the Trump administration, arguing its use of an emergency declaration to divert funds for wall construction was not legal, as The Hill reported Feb. 18. "Separation of powers is at the heart of our democracy and the power of the purse is a critical check on the president. Trump's authoritarian attempt to build his destructive border wall is a flagrant abuse of that constitutional structure. If he gets his way, it'll be a disaster for communities and wildlife along the border, including some of our country's most endangered species," CBD senior attorney Brian Segee said in a statement reported by The Hill. It is likely the issue will ultimately be decided in the courts, BBC News reported. That is because, even if the Senate passes the resolution, Trump has promised to veto it. At that point, a two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate would be required to override the veto. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the Senate would vote on the resolution before its next recess the week of March 18, CNN reported. By Julia Conley Most Americans now recognize the scientific community's consensus that human activity is fueling the climate crisis, according to pollsbut for those who are still unconvinced of the conclusion reached by 97 percent of climate scientists, a new study makes an even more definite assertion. Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California found that the information available can now be classified as "five-sigma"a standard in the scientific community meaning that there is a one-in-a-million chance that the same data would be observable if humans were not causing the planet to grow warmer through activities like fossil fuel extraction. The classification represents a "gold standard" level of certainty. "The narrative out there that scientists don't know the cause of climate change is wrong," Benjamin Santer, who led the study, told Reuters. "We do." Scientists applied the same "five-sigma" measure to research confirming the existence of the Higgs boson subatomic particle in 2012, a finding that was received with applause from the science community and the press. The report, which was published in the journal Nature Climate Change, builds on the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report from 2013, which found that it was "extremely likely" that humans were causing the climate crisiswith a 95 percent chance. In recent years, although President Donald Trump and other Republican lawmakers have attempted to cast doubt on the scientific consensus that human activity is causing global warming and the climate crisis, the American public has increasingly believed scientists. In a 2018 survey by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, 62 percent of Americans believed that man-made climate change was taking place, versus just 47 percent convinced that was the case just five years earlier. The Nature Climate Change study also comes on the heels of reports that the melting of ice in Antarctica and the warming of the ocean are both occurring much faster than previously thought; that the last four years have been the hottest on record; and that the warming of the globe could cause clouds to disappear from the sky in the next generation, leading to an 8 Celsius (14.4 Fahrenheit) jump in temperature. "Humanity cannot afford to ignore such clear signals," the authors of the most recent study wrote in Nature Climate Change. Reposted with permission from our media associate Common Dreams. Around 4,000 people were ordered to evacuate from a town about 60 miles north of San Francisco Tuesday night, as heavy rain and snow is expected to raise a river to flood levels not seen since 1995, The Sacramento Bee reported. "Evacuate now if you live near the Russian River," the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office urged, according to AccuWeather. The Russia River in Guerneville had already reached 32 feet by 6 p.m. Tuesday and is expected to hit 46 feet by Wednesday evening, The Sacramento Bee reported. "If it gets to 46 feet, it's done. There is no way to prepare for that," the manager of the one-story River Inn Grill Andre Vazquez told The Sacramento Bee. He said the restaurant would be submerged if water levels reached that point. The flooding comes due to a wet, slow weather event called an atmospheric river storm, The Mercury News reported. "It's pretty serious," Sacramento National Weather Service (NWS) hydrologist Peter Fickenscher told The Mercury News. "We consider this a major flood. There will be numerous impacts. It's a rare event. The rainfall has been very focused and concentrated right through the Russian River basin. It has been non-stop rain for 24 hours and it will continue overnight into Wednesday." In addition to Guerneville, evacuations had been ordered in Mendocino County in the Ukiah Valley and Hopland areas, where the Russia River was expected to begin flooding low elevations by 7 p.m. Tuesday and reach its highest levels by 1 a.m. Wednesday. Evacuations were made more difficult by a mudslide on Bohemian Highway near Monte Rio, Accuweather reported. A man and woman were trapped in the slide but were rescued, according to The Sacramento Bee. "Well I fell into the mud when the tree fell over the top of me. It happened so fast you don't even know, you know?" survivor Kear Koch told KGO-TV, as The Sacramento Bee reported. The rain came from a weather system that moved off the Pacific from Hawaii and has caused power outages and taken down trees across the West, adding to a winter that has seen record precipitation in the Western U.S. The city of Santa Rosa received a record 5.66 inches of rain, the most since 1902. A study released last year found that California could expect more extreme weather due to climate change, with both longer droughts and increased flooding as precipitation falls in heavy bursts. "I feel like I'm living in a perpetual state of disaster here in California," journalist Kent Porter tweeted Wednesday. Evacuations were also ordered in Butte County, according to KRCR News, which was devastated by the Camp Fire last fall. The fight over the controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline may be headed to the Supreme Court. Dominion Energy, the lead developer of the project that would carry fracked natural gas for 605 miles through West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina, said Tuesday it would appeal to the nation's highest court after an appeals court refused to reconsider its decision to throw out a crucial permit for the project on Monday, The Associated Press reported. Dominion and the U.S. Forest Service had asked the fourth U.S. Court of Appeals for a re-hearing of the court's December 2018 decision to toss the U.S. Forest Service permit allowing the pipeline to cross the George Washington and Monongahela National Forests as well as part of the Appalachian Trail. The court refused. The court had ruled in December that the U.S. Forest Service did not have the authority to grant the pipeline company permission to cross the Appalachian Trail. "The Fourth Circuit's decision, now final, confirmed that this pipeline has to play by the same rules as everybody else," Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) Senior Attorney D.J. Gerken said in a press release. "The Forest Service has never approved a new pipeline across the Appalachian Trail but, under intense political pressure, it did for Atlantic, while ignoring routes that would avoid the forest. Atlantic could reroute, but instead it should scrap this boondoggle and stop running up a bill it wants to stick to customers." The SELC brought the lawsuit that resulted in December's decision on behalf of the Sierra Club, the Virginia Wilderness Committee and other environmental groups. Dominion said it would file an appeal with the Supreme Court within 90 days, The Associated Press reported. It is also seeking "legislative and administrative options" in case the Supreme Court refuses to hear its case, thought it did not specify what those might be. Gerken speculated to The Associated Press that Dominion might ask Congress to grant the U.S. Forest Service or another body the authority to allow it to cross the trail. Construction is now stopped along the entire route of the pipeline, and the cost of the project has gone from an estimated $4.5 to 5 billion when first announced to $7 to $7.5 billion, West Virginia Public Broadcasting reported. Despite this, the company said it would complete the project and that "at least partial construction will recommence in the third quarter of 2019." However, pipeline opponents are hoping the company will admit defeat. "The Fourth Circuit has once again made it clear what everyone but the corporate polluters behind the Atlantic Coast Pipeline already know: it is impossible to construct this fracked gas project without causing massive landslides and threatening the Appalachian Trail and our clean water. Any proposal to threaten our communities, our clean water, and our national parks and public lands simply cannot ever be permitted. It's past time that the companies behind the disastrous Atlantic Coast Pipeline abandon this dirty and dangerous project once and for all," Sierra Club Senior Attorney Nathan Matthews said in the SELC release. 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. Apple plans to launch a subscription news service at an event next month, according to reports. The service has been described as "Netflix for news," because it would let customers access an unlimited amount of content from publishers for a single monthly fee. It will be based on a reworked version of Texture, the media subscription service Apple purchased last year. The monthly fee for the service is expected to be about US$10. "Apple is targeting consumers who are serious about the news and willing to pay for it," said Michael Goodman, a research director at Strategy Analytics. "Apple sees service revenue as an important part of future revenue growth," he told TechNewsWorld. "This is another step towards making that vision a reality." No Fear of Competition Facebook has been the leader in social media news sites, with 43 percent of Americans getting their news from its platform. YouTube has been supplying 21 percent of Americans with their news, and Twitter has been the main news source for 12 percent of Americans. However, the news offerings from Facebook and Twitter are no threat to Apple's plans, Goodman argued. "Facebook and Twitter are free, so you're really comparing apples and oranges here," he said. "That's not to say users don't care about the news, but they support a different business model." About 68 percent of American adults got news on social media at least occasionally in 2018, a Pew Research survey found. Convenience was the most mentioned benefit of news on social media, with 21 percent of the nearly 4,600 respondents citing it as a factor. Still, 57 percent expected the news they saw on social media platforms to be inaccurate. What Google is doing in the news space wasn't clear to Goodman. Google has been pumping money into publishers, but the real issue dogging media companies is the question of how much revenue they can garner from digital ads. Google and Facebook account for two thirds of digital ads between them, according to eMarketer. Hell No, Publishers Won't Go Apple "is in the enviable position of being the device -- not just the app -- delivering news, giving it an advantage," Rebecca Wettemann, vice president of research at Nucleus Research, told TechNewsWorld. Whether that will translate into more revenue for publishers is not clear. Publishers have been balking because Apple reportedly wants 50 percent of the gross. The rest would be split among the publishers based on the amount of time readers spent on their sites. Further, Apple's plans reportedly do not include sharing customer data, including credit card numbers and email addresses, with publishers. "Apple's biggest challenge will be whether it can get the publishers on board," Goodman said. "The publishers are not happy with the revenue split," he noted. "Where have we heard that before? In addition, they are ceding a lot of control to Apple, which could come back to haunt them in the future." Apple reportedly has spoken with The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. Conde Nast, Hearst and Meredith -- founders of Texture, the media subscription service Apple bought last year, which will form the basis of the new service -- are expected to sign on. Apple reportedly has been considering bundling the news service with other media subscriptions -- Apple Music and a new streaming TV service slated for unveiling this spring. Apple has suggested that its partners can make 10 times more than they were making with Texture. The company reportedly told one publisher it could make about $2 million in the first year, but the publisher was skeptical about the figure. Apple's existing service, Apple News, attracts about 90 million readers a month, and it's not yet clear how it will interact with the new premium service. Publishers have not fared well with Apple News. Although it has increased their audiences -- by up to 400 percent in some cases -- their profits have not kept pace. Slate makes more money from a single article running on its own site than from the 6 million page views it receives on Apple News in an average month, Slate writer Will Oremus calculated. "Consumers who want the news will get a new source," Strategy Analytics' Goodman said. "A bigger question might be, what happens to Apple News?" The main issue for consumers is how much bang they can get for their buck. Whether publishers or news distribution channels survive is of no consequence. "For most consumers, the convenience of an all-you-can-eat service is likely to outweigh concerns about Apple strong-arming publishers," Wettemann observed. "Unfortunately it will be tough for publishers to take the Taylor Swift route, given Apple's market share," she added. Pop star Taylor Swift locked horns with Apple over the free trial version of the vendor's streaming service, arguing that artists should get paid for their songs in the service and refusing to let Apple stream her new album, "1989." Swift won. Richard Adhikari has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2008. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, mobile technologies, CRM, databases, software development, mainframe and mid-range computing, and application development. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including Information Week and Computerworld. He is the author of two books on client/server technology. Email Richard. B2B Lead Generation Service Reach key decision makers with sales-ready leads that shorten your sales process. Move the needle by delivering funnel qualified leads to your sales team. Learn more. Salesforce will be celebrating its 20th birthday on March 8. Where did those decades go? "Time flies like an arrow," said Groucho. "Fruit flies like a banana." There it is. A respectable chunk of the analyst community that follows Salesforce converged last week in San Francisco inside the company's cavernous new headquarters to hear about its plans for the year ahead. I'll get to some of the non-NDA ideas floating around the sessions momentarily, but first some impressions of the first (or last?) 20 years. Fitting the Need In many ways, Salesforce has executed a typical and nearly flawless grassroots maneuver of the kind explained by gurus like Geoffrey Moore and Clay Christenson. It entered the market late, after Siebel was already a billion-dollar company, but its entry was not of an also-ran. From the beginning, Salesforce positioned itself as fundamentally different because it was what would become known as a "Software as a Service," or SaaS, company. Competing with an established player can be hard. Initially, the Salesforce app comprised just four tabs, compared to Siebel's many. In fact, Marc Benioff said they were so numerous they were useless. That's nothing you'd hear from Salesforce today, with its numerous clouds. However, Salesforce was selling something that every company wanted at that point and it had little to do with the merits of its CRM -- quick delivery and low costs. You see, Salesforce arrived at the start of the century, just as the smoke was clearing from the traumatic change of financial systems to accommodate four-digit date formats. Conventional CRM in those days was largely a custom programming market, and implementation cost metrics often stipulated that the total cost of ownership in CRM would be three to four times the software costs. They weren't wrong, and there was a kind of fatalism, at least among large companies, that that was the way things would be. You can't grow a market or a category like that. If prices had not come down, CRM would have become a not-very-good major corporation plaything. Prices had to come down, and functionality had to expand in order to get CRM into the hands of medium-size companies and even those smaller. SaaS, with its very low cost of ownership, fit the need precisely. Commoditization of IT Salesforce changed that equation and in so doing gave itself and multiple other dot-com companies running room. Still, it was amazing to me even then that the CEOs of most of the other CRM competitors offering SaaS services failed to understand the importance of what they had. Most simply regarded SaaS as another delivery mechanism, rather than the revolutionary commoditization of IT that the industry badly needed. IT in the earliest decade of the century was ripe for commoditization. It was traditional and highly manual. There were no smartphones or social media then, and analytics was a failed idea from the 1990s in need of greater CPU horsepower and data storage before it could take on its natural role. Much of this comes together in one observation. If you wanted to brief me, or any analyst, about your company, products and strategies, in the hope that I'd write about you, it was necessary to fly to Boston to do that in person. There were no products like WebEx yet. It was a long time ago if you're basing your analysis on such things. So, into that milieu Salesforce launched in 2000, after a year of software development led by cofounder Parker Harris, but what's interesting is that the company hasn't changed that much in the intervening decades. Instead, the industry has continued to play catch-up over numerous product cycles that have included basic SaaS, social media, mobility, platforms, customer journeys, analytics and machine learning. Corporate Social Responsibility Always lurking in the background has been the company's famous 1:1:1 approach to corporate social responsibility. It still donates 1 percent of its people's time, its equity and product to charity. Most interestingly, more than 2,000 companies have taken the hint and developed similar programs. They aren't all small companies, either. Google instituted such a program before its IPO, and on the day it went public automatically spun up a large charity. Lately Salesforce has described the four pillars of its business as trust, customer success, innovation and equality, which neatly ties together its attitudes about customers, employees, the community, and its responsibility to deliver innovative products, which brings us full circle to last week. Commoditization of IT hasn't ended. Salesforce might have taken advantage of a nascent trend at its inception, but the need already was pronounced. Understanding that trend in relation to the IT industry is important, in part because it seems like cloud computing is now the thing that's commoditizing. Closing the Frontier My observation today is that not only Salesforce but most of the industry is built out. That's far from saying there's nothing left to do, though. It's more like closing the American frontier in 1890 -- there's no more frontier, but there's still plenty to be done internally. In Salesforce's case, as well as much of IT, we've entered an era of efficiency and effectiveness, meaning that we've produced various automations and our focus now is optimizing them. Fair enough -- but this also means that the importance of product announcements and making release dates begins to recede into the background. What takes prominence are the services needed to help customers to be successful, and we've seen Marc Benioff harping on this aspect repeatedly. So rather than big news items, we'll be on the lookout for more individual customer accomplishments. For example, for several years already, Salesforce has been edging toward the position of change agent and corporate culture transformation maven, and you see it in the discussion of digital disruption. No one buys digital disruption, there are no products labeled as such, just as there are no cans of whoop-ass (a technical term) on store shelves that you can pour on an IT problem. If you go back to the company's four pillars -- trust, customer success, innovation and equality -- you realize that only one is about technology. The others are about how you encourage people to take the leaps necessary to achieve digital prowess, to have the courage to become data-driven, and to make better business decisions. It's culture change. That's what I think last week was about, and I think one data point neatly encapsulates this. They told us that this fiscal year 55 percent of the sales team will be focused on industries like insurance, financial services, healthcare and more, and that number is trending. Working that angle, you can expect more things like My Trailhead, a learning system that can deliver knowledge about anything to a user that's relevant to a business process. My Two Bits Despite its great success, Salesforce is not the CRM industry; it has revenues of US$10 billion in a market that generates $80-ish billion in revenues. In Salesforce's history, though, you can discern all of the industry's major inflection points. Looking at CRM today you can conclude that it's mature, and that major systems are already in place. However, there's still ample room for growth, and in a mature market you typically see vendors working to make their products easier to use through more service offerings, such as in industry versions. In line with this, CRM will continue enabling users to be more effective. This enablement will become increasingly fine-grained as the vendors reach into industries with detailed solutions for specific business problems. I think the next big milestone for CRM will be inter-vendor inter-process communication -- something beyond integration. It will take the whole industry to solve that challenge, just as it took the whole industry to come up with SQL and the relational database. Based on what I saw last week, Salesforce already is working on it. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ECT News Network. Denis Pombriant is a well-known CRM industry analyst, strategist, writer and speaker. His new book, You Can't Buy Customer Loyalty, But You Can Earn It, is now available on Amazon. His 2015 book, Solve for the Customer, is also available there. Email Denis. North Andover, MA (01845) Today Sunny early then increasing clouds with some scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High around 95F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Mainly cloudy. Low 73F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Shown is the National Elks Beacon Grant presentation at the VA Hospital by the Springfield Elks Lodge #1560 recently. Shown left to right are Karen Whitney, Beacon Grant chair, Trevor McCants, VA logistics supply chain officer, Vicki Siliski, veterans chair of Springfield Elks Lodge and Karen Campbell, VA chief voluntary service officer Have any questions? Please give us a call at 928-428-2560 Marketer Henry Reith uses Digivizers SaaS platform to understand what works and what doesnt in his digital marketing program and maximize social and search ROI Wheres theres muck, theres brass is a saying well-known in Englands northern county of Yorkshire. It means that, wherever theres rubbish of any kind, theres usually money to be made. It springs to mind when talking about Oh Crap, the Australian startup doing something meaningful and practicable about doggy doo-doo. We love dogs but we got sick and tired of not being able to do something good for the environment about what they leave behind even when their owners do the right thing, explains Oh Crap Marketer Henry Reith. So we took action. Weve started a mission to try and reduce the problem one poop at a time! Oh Craps dog poop bags, made from cornstarch, are an eco-friendly alternative to plastic. Theyre designed to contain the 1.2 tonnes of waste produced every day by more than three million Australian dogs. Up to 4% of landfill is poop, in the ground in plastic bags that will take 1,000 years to break down. In comparison, Oh Craps corn starch bags are gone in three months. As a startup, every dollar of Oh Craps marketing budget has to count. Henry Reith is using Digivizers SaaS platform to understand how his budget is actually performing across multiple social and digital media platforms. Those insights translate directly to improved business performance, because he now knows where he should direct his precious marketing budget to best effect. Oh Craps Facebook and Instagram engagement increased 25% in six weeks, and impressions in Facebook have doubled over the past 12 months. More-importantly, Henry Reith knows which impressions deliver the best ROI: he has moved beyond simplistic numbers to the insights behind them. Even as an analytics geek, it was still difficult to track performance and know what was going on with our digital and social marketing. Part of being able to grow our performance has come from being able to see which parts of our program work. Its great to see all our numbers in one place inside the Digivizer platform, without having to struggle with each social and search channels own analytics. I can simply see the numbers that matter to our business, instantly. Henry is already seeing direct links between Oh Craps social and digital marketing and sales. Along with growing social media, weve hired another person because weve gone through stock so quickly, with about half our first-time sales now coming from organic social media marketing. Our first container shipment from our manufacturer arrived in Australia in January 3 million doggy doo-doo bags, a big step up from our original purchase of just 30,000. And I can track sales to social. Using Digivizer means Henry Reith is able to track all he needs to in real-time, across platforms, and so create tactical programs that make a real difference to outcomes, as well as letting him take a more-strategic view of his marketing efforts. Take hashtags as one example: Digivizer lets me see and track every hashtag that we use, which means they can all be used for our share and win competitions. I can see the details of every person who shares one of our hashtags, every month, and ensure I send them a prize and market to them into the future, of course. As to future plans, Henry and the Oh Crap team are gearing up a bigger future: The Digivizer platform is super-affordable for a startup like ours. Im now doing the same type of things that huge companies do and I can see the effects. Now I have access to data and insights that make me competitive, and of course Digivizer is pitched at SMBs to be affordable and easy to use. Although Im a digital marketer, not everyone is, and in any case my focus has to be on growing our revenue, not learning complex software tools. Theres a reason why huge companies are huge and were getting there! About the author Henry Reith at Oh Crap How do we ensure that the startup market doesnt become saturated? In less than 10 years, Australia has experienced a startup explosion with innovative entrepreneurs founding some of Australias most exciting and successful businesses. And with one of the worlds strongest economies, Australia is home to a thriving startup ecosystem, but how do we ensure the market doesnt become saturated? According to general partner of Our Innovation Fund, Jerry Stesel, The Australian startup ecosystem has developed some incredible people and businesses and we think there is an exceptional amount of opportunity yet to be generated. Australia is still a growing market for startups and in this competitive era, its important for budding entrepreneurs to go beyond B2B marketing and connect personally with their customers. Serious Levity CEO, Michael Langdonsays: A play button is the most attractive Call to Action button there is, so embrace it and showcase your personality through video Remember, youre not in B2B or a B2C market its now all H2H: Human-to-Human. Use video to make those all-important human connections. In this weeks issue of Lets Talk we asked business leaders their thoughts on The Startup Generation How do we ensure that the startup market doesnt become saturated? Adam Theobald, Founder, Ordermentum and Hey You (formerly Beat the Q) In my opinion its too late the startup market is already saturated. But thats ok. Startups are about what actually counts. They are about real meaningful change and impact, not just selling a dream. To a certain extent, the shine has already come off the sector in the last 12 months. Reduced confidence levels and some high-profile wobbles in Uber and Tesla have taken some of the gloss out of the market. However, they needed to. Startups must deliver meaningful results, and not just talk about being the next Uber of something. They should be changing an industry in real terms, like the Canvas, Atlassians, Airtaskters and hopefully Ordermentums of the world. Ren Butler, Community Lead, Inspire9 The day we think the startup market is saturated is the day we think weve solved every business and consumer problem. Thats practically impossible. I think the key is to put an emphasis on diversity of perspective. In the startup community we often see clusters of ideas, as we are influenced by many of the same factors. The more diversity of perspective and experience we have; the more dynamic and distinct startups will flourish. This will in turn challenge the startup services market to elevate their current service offerings and create new ones. Most of the global entrepreneurship research studies reflect that Australia is still a growing startup market. This is good news for the startup community because theres a plethora of other blueprints to look to for direction. It is important we strive to have a startup market evolution that reflects our unique cultural and professional diversity. Jerry Stesel, General Partner, Our Innovation Fund Wed LOVE the startup market to be saturated with high-quality people and teams who are working hard to add value to their customers and communities and who are building meaningful businesses. Building a meaningful business obviously involves an incredible amount of hard work, focus, resilience, luck and dedication. We see our role as helping exceptional founders materially increase their chances of success by working hard each day to add material value to them and their business. Were keen to see as many Australian startups succeed and founders should take a few steps to increase their chances of success and decrease their risks. Validating ideas in a cost-effective way is key. Speaking to customers, getting your product in market and developing and constantly iterating your MVP and product is key. Founders should also surround themselves with value-adding people who complement their own skill set be it co-founders, employees, advisors and investors. Startups should also try bootstrap as far and as long as makes sense: a dollar of revenue is better than a dollar of funding any day of the week! The Australian startup ecosystem has developed some incredible people and businesses and we think there is an exceptional amount of opportunity yet to be generated. Our role is to help that become a reality and to help develop our local ecosystem so that we meet our potential. Michael Langdon, CEO, Serious Levity Leveraging the emotive powers of video is without doubt the best way to generate new business. Here at Serious Levity we send personalised video messages and proposals to prospective clients and the conversion rate from these is phenomenal! A play button is the most attractive Call to Action button there is, so embrace it and showcase your personality through video to future clients. Chances are that by injecting a little bit of charisma and humour youll make a real connection to those prospects. Remember, youre not in B2B or a B2C market its now all H2H: Human-to-Human. Use video to make those all-important human connections. Jonathan Englert, founder, AndironGroup Im not sure you can actively do anything about saturation or whether its actually a problem. After all, startups with value should thrive no matter how many other startups there are. If there is a problem, I think its an institutional one. It seems to me the startups that are born outside the institutionalised startup machinery (in other words, in the actual market) seem to do better than those which arent. Often were seeing institutionalised startups based on ideas that are either warmed-up versions of better ideas being developed overseas or with no clear path to viability. Australia seems to sell itself short on its innovation and it shouldnt its just that some of the most exciting innovation isnt happening in controlled, institutionalised environments and as a result is hard to quantify. A Dundalk school teacher is leading the way nationally in the fight to improve the health and fitness of Irish students. PE teacher at St Louis school, Jenny Spain, just recently graduated from Maynooth University Masters degree in Education. However, back in 2015 she began investigating the health of students in her school when she joined a teachers network in north Leinster which focussed on Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century. Her initial findings proved fruitful and motivated Jenny to pursue research at Masters level where she spent a further two years monitoring fitness of students in St Louis school. Teaching methodologies recommended by fellow researchers in Ireland and globally were incorporated into the PE curriculum along with whole school initiatives designed to help students lead healthier more active lives. Jenny says that the work was action research based, which involved identifying a problem from ones own context and through collaborating with others, explores strategies of overcoming the issue at hand. In recent years I have observed an increasing number of students entering school from primary level who were overweight and lacked fitness, says Jenny. My observations followed similar and worrying statistics found globally. Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality with major implications for the general health of the population worldwide. Jenny continues: In Ireland type 2 diabetes accounts for 11% of all deaths which according to the Department of Health is higher than both European and global averages. Modern life has a lot to answer for, says Jenny, in particular the widespread use of technology by young people today. Life for adolescents in Ireland today is very different to thirty years ago. Data from studies conducted within Ireland show how sedentary children have become and as a result of this, their health is a real concern. I worked with students in my school to understand how different lifestyles are nowadays. The increasing dependence on technology is a central factor and which is contributing to students in my school from leading healthier lives. Our throw away I want it now culture also means adolescents view life very differently to adolescents in the past and this has a huge bearing on their motivation. A change of mindset is necessary to adopt new habits and for some students to see beyond their potential. Action research is a continually evolving process. I hope work, which has been initiated over the past two years, will continue to evolve and develop in order to positively influence the health of more students in the Dundalk area, as well as families and friends in a much greater context. Technology is not going away. The marketing of food and drink detrimental to health is likely to become more sophisticated and lifestyles will continue to become more hectic. On a local level, Kenny is keen to improve education around this issue for students in Dundalk. It is paramount that students in St Louis school and their families are educated sufficiently in order for them to make suitable choices to impact health positively. Children are open to learning and the students at St. Louis school are passionate and driven when they can be sufficiently inspired. Society across Ireland can lead students to make poor choices and Dundalk is no different, explains Jenny. You have only got to look at the area directly surrounding St Louis School to see the factors which can impact health negatively. The young women in our school are capable of changing the Dundalk of today in order for future generations to live a healthier more active lifestyle. I am realistic to know that this is not an easy task, but I believe it is also, not impossible, the PE teacher says. Without good physical and mental health, life is much more challenging and brings with it many more problems. She adds: Belief, action and support along with determination, commitment and resilience are key factors in achieving nearly anything and which I hope to see more evidence of in the years ahead to truly bring about better health for all. Born in the Lynns in Annagassan on February 22 1919, Tess Roe, who turned 100 last week, is still blessed with a sharp intellect, a positive approach to life and an unstoppable can-do attitude too! According to her family, she has been a great influence for good in many peoples lives and continues to inspire and touch people every day. She even lived a full life at home until she was 97, supported by her family, neighbours and friends. Tess then moved down the road to St Peters Nursing Home in Castlbellingham, where she remains a big part of her community. Her parents were Brigid and Andrew Roe. She had an older sister Kathleen who died in 1980. Her life has been rooted in the Lynns, where she ran a small farm up until just a few years ago. She was knowledgeable about animals and their welfare, say the family. Tess kept a donkey over the years, sometimes even looking after one from the Donkey Sanctuary. Tess ventured into the world of employment in the late 1950s - going to work as a shop assistant in Dundalk and after gaining valuable experience opened up a shop in her own home serving the local community for several years. Some years later she went to work in St John of God, Drumcar, where she was employed as a seamstress and remained there until her retirement in the 1980s. She was a great friend of the brothers there and, together with her sister Kathleen, helped with fundraising and the annual sale of work. She befriended some of the older men as they moved to community life and made it an annual event to have them to her home for dinner on St Stephens Day. Tess remained a constant and active member of her parish community, right up until December last year, when a bout of ill health prevented her from continuing. She received the Fr. Cullen Medal in 2011 for her dedicated service to the Pioneer Association and later received the Bene Merenti Medal in 2015, in recognition for her unfailing support and good works in the Parish of Kilsaran. She was a frequent visitor to Knock and Lough Derg over the years - her last trips being as recently as 2017. Tess embarked on continental travel in her 90th year too, travelling to Austria, Belgium, Poland and Portugal. There has been much reminiscing over the past few days on Tess and her life . The family say they are so indebted to her for all that she has so generously given to us over the years and wish her well. The death has occurred of Patrick (Paddy) Mullen of Blanchardstown, Dublin, formerly of St. Annes Street, Dundalk and former Sergeant, 2, logs Base Hospital, St. Bricins, Dublin On February 25 2019, peacefully in the loving care of the staff at St. Marys Hospital, Phoenix Park and surrounded by his family. Patrick (Paddy), beloved husband of Kathleen and the late Winifred, dear step-father of Natasha, Derek and Jonathan, brother of Margaret, Ann, Carmel and the late Bernard and a devoted step-grandfather. Sadly missed by his loving family, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. Removal to St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dundalk on Thursday afternoon arriving for requiem mass at 1 pm followed by burial in St. Patricks Cemetery, Dundalk. Family flowers only, please. Donations, if desired, to Alzheimers Society of Ireland. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis The death has occurred of Brian Lynch of Doylesfort Road, Dundalk, Louth Peacefully, in the tender and dedicated care of the staff of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda. Beloved husband of the late Patricia and loving father of Rosemarie. Predeceased by his brothers Peter, Pat and Harry and sisters Nan, Maureen and Betty. He will be sadly missed by his sorrowing daughter and her partner Pat, his brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, relatives and many friends. Reposing at home from 4pm to 9pm on Wednesday and Thursday. Removal on Friday at 10.30am, to St. Patrick's Cathedral, arriving for Funeral Mass at 11am. Burial afterwards in St. Patrick's Cemetery. Family flowers only. Donations, if desired, to a charity of your choice. House private on Friday morning, please. May he rest in peace The death has occurred of Jim (Jimmy) Kennedy of Oaklawns, Dundalk, Louth / Dun Laoghaire, Dublin On Monday February 25 2019, peacefully in the loving care of The Louth, Co. Hospital. Jim, beloved husband of Maureen (nee Townsend) and dearly loved dad of Margaret. Predeceased by his parents James and Kathleen, sister Kathleen. He will be sadly missed by his wife, daughter, brothers Paschal, Bill and Joe, sisters Anne, Bernie and Marie the entire Keane family, brothers and sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, extended family relatives, wonderful friends and neighbours. Reposing at Shevlin's Funeral Home Barrack Street, from Wednesday afternoon 2pm Removal at 6.45pm proceeding on foot to Saint Joseph's Redemptorist Church arriving for Reception Prayers at 7pm. Funeral Mass on Thursday morning at 11am followed by burial in Saint Patrick's Cemetery, Dundalk. Donations in lieu of flowers please to Palliative Care House strictly private by request Saint Padre Pio pray for him Local election candidate for Dundalk Carlingford Erin McGreehan says she wants action to be taken to warn motorists on the need to apply for Green Cards in the case of a no Deal Brexit. With a No Deal Brexit becoming more likely on a daily basis and with March 29th just over a month away, it is so important that drivers are properly informed on the need to apply for the cards. According to the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) - If a no deal Brexit were to take place then anyone taking their Irish registered motor vehicle to the UK, including Northern Ireland, will require an internationally recognised insurance document to show the law enforcement authorities there that you have valid motor insurance. This is what is known as a Green Card. "At the minute the onus is on the motorist to contact their insurance companies to inform them that they intend to travel North", says Fianna Fail candidate McGreehan. "It is a bitter pill to swallow that we require a document to be able to drive legally in the North. This piece of bureaucracy on our windscreens is not huge but its what it symbolises its another reminder of the jurisdictional differences on our island." Green Cards wont be needed if the EU and the UK reach an agreement on Brexit or if a transitional arrangement is implemented but there is no guarantee to this and the insurance companies need one month to process the application. McGreehan also calls on the insurance companies to automatically process the green cards for motorists living in the Border Counties and this way there maybe an easier transition. ADA [ndash] Jesse G. Denslow, 93, of Ahloso, passed away Saturday, June 26, 2021, in Shawnee. He was born to Leslie Earl Denslow and Poca Vanderpool Denslow in 1927 in Scullin, Oklahoma, "a wide place in the road". He claimed that his secret to long life was that he never drank, never smoked FDA Approves Gloperba FDA Approves Gloperba (colchicine) for Prophylaxis of Adult Gout Flares WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--February 26, 2019 ROMEG Therapeutics, an innovative drug development company focused on alternative formulations to better meet clinical and patient needs, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Gloperba (colchicine) Oral Solution, 0.6 mg/5 mL for prophylaxis of gout flares in adults. Gloperba is the first liquid formulation of colchicine approved by the FDA for the prophylaxis of gout flares. Existing therapies do not adequately address the physicians need to adjust dosages of colchicine to manage the toxicity profile for patients with renal and liver impairments, side effects, common drug-to-drug interactions, and age-related health disorders. The approval of Gloperba addresses a significant unmet and underserved medical need. Gloperba represents an important advancement for patients who are experiencing the recurring, painful effects of gout, said Naomi Vishnupad, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of ROMEG Therapeutics. Existing therapies do not adequately address the physicians need to adjust dosages of colchicine to manage the toxicity profile for patients with renal and liver impairments, side effects, common drug-to-drug interactions, and age-related health disorders. The approval of Gloperba addresses a significant unmet and underserved medical need. Gout is a form of arthritis affecting an estimated 8.7 million people in the United States. The current U.S. market for colchicine products is approximately $800 million. The disease is caused by elevated levels of uric acid in the bloodstream, and symptoms from the buildup of uric acid crystals in the joints include sudden, severe attacks of pain, swelling and redness, frequently at the base of the big toe. Gout can become chronic if left untreated. Physicians have used colchicine to treat gout for decades, but they are often required to adjust the dose or interrupt treatment to address drug interactions or health conditions such as when patients are undergoing kidney dialysis. Compared with currently available capsule and tablet formulations of colchicine, the Gloperba oral solution allows physicians to easily make dosage adjustments for their patients. Gloperba is also beneficial for patients who cannot swallow solid doses or pills. About 15 percent of elderly patients have difficulty swallowing and therefore require liquid formulations. Gloperba will be available at chain, independent and specialty pharmacies, long-term care facilities, and hospitals across the U.S. in summer 2019. About ROMEG Therapeutics, LLC ROMEG Therapeutics, LLC, a privately held specialty pharmaceutical company based in Woburn, Mass., was founded by Indu Muni and Gita Muni in 2015. The companys mission is to develop new FDA-approved therapies by formulating novel dosage forms, improving the design and function of existing approved drugs, and expanding clinical indications for use of those drugs, thereby bringing greater value to earlier scientific discovery. The company is focused on developing a broad intellectual property portfolio to offer novel therapies to provide patients and physicians better treatment options. For more information, visit www.romegrx.com. Source: ROMEG Therapeutics, LLC Gloperba (colchicine) FDA Approval History Moments after Kirsten Gillibrand announced her candidacy for president, the Democratic senator demonstrated burping a baby doll on national television. Asked by late-night host Stephen Colbert why she was running, she billed herself as a "young mom," willing to "fight for other people's kids as hard as I would fight for my own." Parallel parking The new lines have been drawn, the meters are up and from now on it will be parallel parking on both sides of Market Street in downtown Marianna. The new spaces replace the angle parking on one side of the street. The new parking system went into effect Wednesday. Jackson County Floridan, Thursday, March 1, 1973 Patient release hearings begin in Chattahoochee The first hearing under a new law to determine which mental patients are entitled to release from state mental hospitals was conducted in Chattahoochee Wednesday. But the hearing examiner said no patients would be released immediately. Jon Caminez, a Tallahassee attorney appointed to implement the Baker Act, started taking testimony from 30 patients after holding a closed session earlier to examine clinical records. The hearing was held at Chattahoochee State Hospital at the request of hospital Supt. Milton Hirshberg to determine which of his facilitys 3,650 patients fell under the law passed by the 1972 Legislature. Donegal transplant survivor and health campaigner Brendan McLaughlin will be laid to rest on Thursday. Tributes have been paid to Mr McLaughlin, Irelands longest-surviving lung transplant patient, who passed away on Monday at the Mater Hospital in Dublin. Mr McLaughlin, 51, had a lung transplant in 1992 and received a new kidney nine years later. The Stranorlar man was a well-known campaigner on health issues and served as the chair of the Donegal Branch of the Cystic Fibrosis Association. He frequently raised issues with national and local media. Among the issues he campaigned on was the establishment of a lung transplant unit in Ireland. Mr McLaughlin was born with cystic fibrosis. He was the first recipient of a lung transplant of a person with cystic fibrosis living in Ireland at a time before the lung transplant programme in Ireland had commenced. He was also the longest-surviving cystic fibrosis transplant recipient in Ireland, at 26 years post-transplant, and the longest-surviving cystic fibrosis single lung transplant recipient in the world. He spent nine weeks on a life-support system in the intensive care unit in Blanchardstown while waiting for a donor before he travelled to Newcastle England to undergo the transplant at the Freeman Hospital. The operation was carried out on August 10, 1992. Brendan had spent most of his last years in hospital Philip Watt, Chief Executive, Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, said: Brendan was a campaigner all of his life and very proud of being from Donegal. He was the leading light in the Cystic Fibrosis Ireland Donegal branch for many years. Brendan was a lifelong campaigner on cystic fibrosis and organ donation, and a strong supporter of Letterkenny General Hospital. Brendan campaigned for better cystic fibrosis services and the need for improved transplant services in his native Donegal and at a national level. Brendan became a regular contributor to Highland Radio on everything from social welfare cutbacks to organ donation. We, at Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, wish to extend our sincere sympathy to his family and wide circle of friends. Mr McLaughlin was predeceased by his mother Frances who passed away in 2016. His sister Martina, who also had cystic fibrosis, passed away in 2007. He is survived by his by his partner Martina, his father Seamus, sister Frances, brothers Gerard, Seamus, and Kevin. His funeral will take place this morning, Thursday, at 11 am at the Church of Mary Immaculate, Stranorlar, with interment afterwards in Drumboe cemetery. An Grianan Theatre in Letterkenny has been awarded Ulster Live Music Venue of The Year 2018 at the IMRO Live Music Venue of the Year Awards. The theatre has been nominated for this award every year since it began in 2008, reflecting the theatres long commitment to artistic excellence. The award was accepted on the venues behalf by Lorna McLaughlin of The Henry Girls at the ceremoney at the Irish Music Rights Organisation Headquarters in Dublin on Tuesday. Already this year An Grianan has hosted very successful music concerts by Altan, Eddi Reader, Maria McCormack, and had a fantastic musical celebration of Nollaig Na mBan with over 20 female artists, and are looking forward to gigs by Mick Flannery, and American bluegrass legends Sideline, in the near future. Over the years such Irish and International luminaries as Ray Davies, Lisa Hannigan, David Grey, Beth Orton, John Prince with Sturgill Simpson, Billy Bragg, Moya Brennan, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Gretschen Peters, Desmond Dekker, Glen Hansard with both The Swell Season and The Frames, and Josh Ritter have all wooed the crowd in this atmospheric venue, since it opened nearly 20 years ago. The award for National Live Music Venue of the Year 2018 (via public vote) went to The Sugar Club, Dublin. Of the annual awards voted by over 12,500 IMRO members Victor Finn, IMRO Chief Executive said: Were privileged in Ireland to have such a vibrant and eclectic live music scene, which is the backbone of the music industry as a whole. We feel it is vital to acknowledge the venues and festivals who support live music from a musicians first performance right through to internationally known headline artists on main stages. It is these venues and festivals across the country that allow music creators to continue making music and bring it to new audiences. Performances on the night came from Pillow Queens, Moncrieff and Inhaler. Hot Press Editor Niall Stokes also gave special commendations, presenting awards to Mike the Pies, Listowel Hot Press Live Venue of the Year for 2018, Live at St. Lukes, Cork and The Chasin Bull, Bundoran. He said: This is a hugely optimistic moment for Irish music. There is an extraordinary talent pool here. A growing number of artists and bands are releasing music of real heft. And as a result Irish artists are achieving significant successes beyond these shores in greater numbers than ever before. But it is still extremely difficult for musicians to earn a living. Which is why a vibrant live music scene is so important. "Live music venues and festivals play a vital role in the music industry in Ireland, giving international and homegrown artists a platform to engage with fans and build new audiences. They also play a central role in urban and rural communities across the country, providing a social gathering space for varied audiences, and contributing hugely to the domestic economy." Signalchip unveils India's first indigenous semiconductor chip Bengaluru-based semiconductor company Signalchip today unveiled Indias first indigenous semiconductor chips for 4G/LTE and 5G NR Modems, placing India among a select of nations capable of designing and building semiconductor chips. Launching the chip at a function in New Delhi, telecom secretary Aruna Sundarajan said it is tremendously significant for India to break into the elite club and this will have huge implications for Indias data security and data sovereignty, besides the positive economic implications. She said the launch of a world class product by Signalchip is the start of the third technology wave, after Software and Digital India. At present, only 8 companies and a few countries can design and build semiconductor chips and launch of indigenous chip is in a real sense `Make in India for the World, he said, adding that the pioneering work will lead to a whole new architecture of tower building, mainly in the light of emission complaints and growing environmental concerns. When the US and China are battling it out for the core ICT technology, India cannot lag behind, Sundararajan said. The development comes at a time when the high powered committee headed by Stanford University professor AJ Paulraj to outline a road map for 5G telecom services has suggested breaking into the IPRs of 5G. She also congratulated the founder and CEO of Signalchip Himanshu Khasnis and CEO of global company Zoho, Sridhar Vembu for joining hands to write Indias most amazing success story. Sundararajan unveiled four chips at the event designed by Signalchip. SCBM3412: a single chip 4G/LTE modem including the baseband and transceiver sections in a single device a single chip 4G/LTE modem including the baseband and transceiver sections in a single device SCBM3404: a single chip 4X4 LTE baseband modem a single chip 4X4 LTE baseband modem SCRF3402: a 2X2 transceiver for LTE a 2X2 transceiver for LTE SCRF4502: a 2X2 transceiver for 5G NR standards The RF sections cover all LTE/5G-NR bands up to 6GHz. These chips also support positioning using Indias own satellite navigation system, NAVIC. The Agumbe series builds up on SCRF1401: Indias first RF transceiver chip for high performance wireless standards like 3G/4G and WiFi, created by Signalchip in 2015. The combined multi-standard system-on-chip (SoC) can serve as a base station chipset for a wide range of form factors from low-cost indoor small cells to high performance base stations. These are optimally designed to support evolving network architectures like Open RAN/CRAN with flexible interface configurations. Through the IPs created for this device, the company now has the potential to design products for multiple related fields and is currently forging ahead with additional chipsets for advanced 5G NR features. With India having more than 1.1 billion mobile phones in use, one of the highest in the world, Signalchip has created high performance and cost-efficient systems to enable densification of the network. Global mixed signal System-on-Chip (MxSoC) market is expected to reach $765.1 billion by 2022 Mixed signal System-on-Chip market caters to consumer electronics, ICT, automotive, industrial, military and aerospace, computers, medical, RF applications and other applications. The global MxSoC market supports various industries, product manufacturers, organisations, vendors, and suppliers by opening doors for them with many opportunities to expand their business at the global level. Some of the major market holders at the global level are competing with one another and developing organizations in terms of sales, supply, manufacturing quality products, revenue generation, and providing satisfactory after-sales services to the clients. Ayush ministry, WHO discuss benchmarks for Yoga training The ministry of Ayush and the World Health organisation (WHO) are jointly organising a three-day working group meeting for reviewing the WHO document `Benchmarks for Training in Yoga from 26 to 28 February 2019 at New Delhi. The meeting is coordinated by Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY). WHO is developing a benchmarks document for training in yoga as part of its global strategy to strengthen the quality, safety and effectiveness of traditional and complementary medicine. Development of the benchmarks document is a part of the project collaboration agreement signed between WHO and the ministry of Ayush on cooperation in the field of traditional and complementary medicine under WHO strategy covering the period 2014-2023. A total 16 experts of yoga would be reviewing the draft document. Out of 16 experts, 11 international experts are from the US, UK, Canada, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Japan, Australia and Malaysia. There would be 4 session on all 3 days. All the technical sessions would be coordinated by the experts from WHO Secretariat. The meeting will discuss challenges in training of Yoga, review and discuss the scope and structure of the working draft document, review and discuss the contents of the working draft document, identify the type, scope and criteria of information/data that are further required, and discuss the working procedure and time frame for further development of the document. This benchmarks document will be used in evaluating Yoga therapy, identifying trends in utilisation, developing payment structures for service models, establishing regulatory framework for Yoga practice. World Health organisation launched Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023 to help health care leaders to develop solutions that contribute to a broader vision of improved health and patient autonomy. The strategy has two key goals: to support member states in harnessing the potential contribution of traditional and complementary medicine to health, wellness and people centered health care and to promote its safe and effective use through regulation of products, practice and practitioners. These goals will be reached by implementing three strategic objectives, namely: Building the knowledge base and formulating nations policies; Strengthening safety, quality and effectiveness through regulation; and Promoting universal health systems. Updating and enhancing the strategy has allowed WHO to acquire a better understanding of how to boost the global integration of traditional and complimentary systems of medicine into health systems. It will provide member states with a road map to achieving further success in strategic planning. Under this WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023, a project collaboration agreement (PCA) was signed between WHO and the ministry of Ayush on 13 May 2016 for cooperation on promoting the quality, safety and effectiveness of service provision in traditional and complementary medicine between WHO and the ministry of Ayush (2016-2020). The areas of collaboration for development of the WHO publication include benchmarks for training in Yoga, benchmark for practice in Ayurveda, Unani and Panchakarma, basic (essential) terms for traditional and complementary medicines, establishment of a WHO database for global system for practitioners and support the establishment of a network of international regulatory cooperation for its practice. RBI lifts PCA curbs on Allahabad Bank, Corporation Bank and Dhanlaxmi Bank The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday lifted curbs under the Preventive and Corrective Actions (PCA) regulations on Allahabad Bank and Corporation Bank after the government issued fresh capital into the two banks as part of its bank recapitalisation programme. The central banks Board for Financial Supervision (BFS), at its meeting held on 26 February, reviewed the performance of banks under PCA and noted that the government on 21 February infused fresh capital into various banks, including some of the banks currently under the PCA framework. Allahabad Bank and Corporation Bank had received Rs6,896 crore and Rs9,086 crore, respectively, the BFS noted. The infusion of fresh funds has shored up their capital funds and also increased their loan loss provision to ensure that the PCA parameters were complied with. The two banks have also made the necessary disclosures to the stock exchange that post infusion of capital, the CRAR, CET1, Net NPA and Leverage Ratios are no longer in breach of the PCA thresholds. The banks also apprised RBI of the structural and systemic improvements put in place to maintain these numbers. Accordingly, based on the principles adopted by the BFS in its earlier meeting, it was decided that Allahabad Bank and Corporation Bank be taken out of the PCA Framework subject to certain conditions and continuous monitoring, the RBI stated. RBI also announced its decision to take private sector lender Dhanlaxmi Bank out of the PCA framework, subject to certain conditions and continuous monitoring, as the bank was found to be not breaching any of the Risk Thresholds of the PCA framework. RBI said it would continuously monitor the performance of these banks under various parameters. RBI to issue new Rs100 banknotes : RBI on Tuesday said it would shortly issue Rs100 denomination banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series bearing the signature of governor Shaktikanta Das. The design of these notes is similar in all respects to Rs100 notes in Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series. All banknotes in the denomination of Rs100 issued by the RBI in the past will continue to be legal tender, it added. UN court rules Britain's occupation of Chagos Islands illegal The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has backed Mauritius in a colonial-era dispute over the Chagos Islands and ruled that Britain illegally split the islands from Mauritius in 1965 and later forcibly displaced its entire population for building a US military base. In a non-binding advisory opinion, the World Court at Hague on Monday said Britains handling of decolonisation and the displacement of islanders from the Indian Ocean archipelago had been unlawful. Britain, which gained control of the islands in the early 1970s, evicted almost 2,000 residents and resettled them in Mauritius and the Seychelles to make way for the US military base on the island of Diego Garcia. The ICJ, which has been set up to resolve disputes between states, said Britains 1968 decolonisation of the islands said Britain should relinquish control over the territory as soon as possible. Reading a summary of a the 14-member tribunals decision, presiding judge Abdulqawi Yusuf said Britain was under obligation to bring to an end the administration of Chagos Islands as rapidly as possible. The UN General Assembly asked the court in February 2017 to weigh the legality of the decolonisation process of the Chagos islands, which was part of Mauritius before its colonisation. Mauritius had told the court that it had been forced to give up the remote archipelago as Britain had made it a condition for decolonisation. Britain maintained that Mauritius had given up the islands willingly. The court found the agreement between Britain and Mauritius at the time had not been based on the free and genuine expression of the will of the people concerned and thus did not comply with standards for self-determination. Welcoming the ruling, the Mauritian government said it was a historic moment in efforts to bring colonialism to an end, and to promote human rights, self-determination and the international rule of law. This is a historic moment for Mauritius and all its people, including the Chagossians who were unconscionably removed from their homeland and prevented from returning for the last half century. Our territorial integrity will now be made complete, and when that occurs, the Chagossians and their descendants will finally be able to return home, Mauritiuss Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth said. Namira Negm, legal counsel of the African Union, which played an important role in the proceedings, said: It is unthinkable that today, in the 21st century, there is a part of Africa that still remains subject to European colonial rule. The full decolonisation of Mauritius, and of Africa, is long overdue. The ICJ has made it clear that this must be accomplished today and not tomorrow. Only then the Africans can be free and the continent can aspire to live free of colonialism. Prof Philippe Sands QC, who represented Mauritius at The Hague, said: The court has given a crystal-clear verdict, which upholds the rule of law. This is a historic and landmark judgment. It will be for Mauritius and the UK to sit down and implement this advisory opinion. It will be for Mauritius now to decide on the resettlement of the islanders. Theres no veto at the UN general assembly. It will decide how to go forward with the matter. Theres no question of the UK coming up with new arguments: their arguments were put forcibly and well. Its difficult to imagine the UK as it moves forward into this Brexit world, ignoring what the international court of justice and the UN general assembly have said. The UK is a country which prides itself on respect for the rule of law. Our hope and expectation is that the UK will honour the ICJs findings and give effect to it as rapidly as possible. David Snoxell, coordinator of the all-party parliamentary group in the Chagos Islands, said: This is a searing indictment of the UK detachment of the Chagos archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 and its subsequent defence of that action. The UN general assembly must now decide what to do about this post-colonial legacy, including the human rights of the Chagos Islanders. Opinion in the UN and the Commonwealth is highly critical of our policy towards Chagos. The UKs reputation and human rights record suffer. Litigation costs to the taxpayer multiply. HMG [Her Majestys government] should seize the opportunity to engage in serious discussions with Mauritius for an overall settlement. There is no defence, security, political or legal reason to delay it any longer. India acted against terror, not against Pakistan: Sushma Swaraj External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj today said the air strikes on terror camps inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was only intended to deter the perpetrators of terror and do not amount to any military action against the Pakistani state. Indias action was not a military operation and the aim was to dismantle the terror infrastructure, she said, adding that India does not wish to see further escalation of the situation and will continue to act with responsibility and restraint. Speaking to Chinese and Russian diplomats in New Delhi today, the external affairs minister said India specifically targeted terrorist training camp in Pakistan, adding that Indias action has the backing of all nations that show zero tolerance to terrorism. Launching a scathing attack on Pakistan for the 14 February Pulwama terror attack at the Russia-India-China (RIC) meeting here, she defended Indias airstrikes on terrorist bases in Pakistan, saying that it was pre-emptive action aimed at stopping further attacks by Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM). Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama district on 14 February, sparking outrage in the country. It was this that prompted India to bomb and destroy JeMs biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistans restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC), early on Tuesday, killing a very large number of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The recent dastardly terrorist attack on our security forces in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir is perpetrated by Jaish-e-Muhammad, a Pakistan-based and supported terrorist organisation proscribed by the UN and other countries . We lost more than 40 personnel from CRPF, Swaraj said. Such dastardly terrorist attacks are grim reminder for all the countries to show zero tolerance to terrorism and take decisive action against them, she said at the meeting attended by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavarov. Pakistan, she said, instead of taking serious action against the terrorists and their supporters and taking the call of the international community to act against JeM and other terror groups, decided to deny any knowledge of the attack and out rightly dismissed claims by the JeM. In the light of continued refusal of Pakistan to acknowledge and act against terror groups on its territory and based on credible information that the JeM is planning other attacks in various parts of India, Government of India has decided to take pre-emptive action, she said. The target was selected in order to avoid civilian casualties, she said. She said Indias action was not a military operation and the aim was to dismantle the terror infrastructure. No military installations were targeted. The limited objective of the pre-emptive strike was to act decisively against the terrorist infrastructure of the JeM in order to pre-empt another terrorist attack in India, she said. India does not wish see further escalation of the situation and India will continued to act with responsibility and restraint, she said. Pakistan escalates conflict with shelling, air raids India and Pakistan looked set for real conflict after Pakistans latest proxy war got a prompt response from India with the bombing of terrorist camps within Pakistan after a dastardly terror attack on Indian security forces by Pakistan-backed Jaishi-e-Muhammad terrorists. While the scope for war breaking out is apparent, there is probably more chance of intervention by superpowers advising restrain as the stakes are high for both countries. India was shaken off its slumber after a car bomb detonated by a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant set off a car bomb that killed 46 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir a fortnight ago. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised a jaw-breaking response and he kept up his word, and it has now been delivered, knocking off several terrorists. On Wednesday, however, the conflict between India and Pakistan escalated after Pakistan resorted to heavy shelling and retaliatory action by the Indian Army. Pakistani air force jets also crossed the Indian air space but were repulsed by the IAF. Reports said one of the Pakistani F16 fighter jets crashed into Pakistani territory after being chased and shot by IAF aircraft. However, an Indian Air Force spokesman denied any shooting down of Pakistani aircraft and said the F-16 must have been hit by Pakistani firing According to ANI, Pakistan Air Force's F-16 that violated Indian air space was shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3KM within Pakistan territory, in Lam valley, Nowshera sector. The SSP of Budgam said that a military aircraft crashed in J&Ks Budgam, but that details are not clear so far. ANI quoted the SSP as saying, Some aircraft has fallen. As of now we aren't in a position to ascertain anything. Technical team is here, they'll ascertain facts. We have found 2 bodies so far and have evacuated them. Search is going on here. On Wednesday morning, Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi released a statement, that said, Today, Pakistan Air Force undertook strikes across Line of Control from within Pakistani airspace. This was not a retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. Pakistan has therefore, taken strikes at non-military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. Sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we undertook the action with clear warning and in broad daylight. There is no confirmation on this from the Indian defence forces or the Indian government about these strikes. Pakistan also claimed that the Indian Air Force has violated Pakistani airspace, and that an IAF pilot has been taken into custody by them. The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group claimed responsibility for the attack on the Indian troops, and have now found themselves losing some of their own. It marks the first aerial bombing in the region since the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971. While it may not be the last of the violence in this region, the latest development marks a new front in the war on terror. The danger of escalation is obvious, and Pakistan has said it has scrambled fighter planes in response to the Indian attack. If the Indians choose not to make further bombing raids and they have no immediate justification or take other direct military action against the insurgents, then the tensions may subside, for now. If not, then a gradual slide into low-level warfare seems inevitable. Even that might not develop into an escalation, but, as ever in the relationship between India and Pakistan, there are other agendas at work, with China, Russia and America all interested parties in the scramble for regional influence. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has historically been close to the US and, more recently, China; the Hindu/nationalistic India was always inclined towards friendship with Russia, and once fought a brief border war with China. Like the Middle East, then, the scope for an accidental proxy war breaking out is apparent. However, volatile as the situation is, it is not a perfect parallel, and that should give the world some cause for hope. But, if war breaks out between India and Pakistan, it would be a much larger one than any earlier ones. The one deterrence could be the rise of the Indian economy, and the balance of power between the two states. Pakistan now says it captured one IAF pilot and not two as claimed earlier Pakistan has retracted an earlier statement that claimed the capture of two Indian Air Force pilots, and said it had taken only one - Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman - in its custody. Wing Commander Abhinandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics, military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said in a tweet in the evening. At a press briefing earlier in the day, he said that two pilots were arrested after Pakistani fighter planes shot down two Indian Air Force jets after they crossed the Line of Control (LoC). Ghafoor had claimed that the second pilot, who was injured, was receiving treatment at a hospital. Two air force jets crossed over the LoC. Pakistans Air Force was ready. We engaged them and shot down two of their jets, he said. The wreckage of one fell on our side and that of the other fell towards the Indian side, he said. We have arrested two pilots. We are behaving with them the way responsible countries behave with soldiers of other countries, Ghafoor had claimed. Pakistan PM Imran Khan had also backed the claim of two Indian pilots being captured. In a statement, Indias ministry of external affairs has acknowledged that Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has been captured by the Pakistani forces after his MiG-21 was shot down after he engaged Pakistani jets that violated Indian airspace. MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that Pakistani planes targeted military establishments in Jammu and Kashmir, but were forced to retreat by alert Indian forces. In the engagement, a Pakistani aircraft was shot down by an IAF fighter jet, and the MiG-21 piloted by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman "was also lost". Meanwhile, India lodged a strong protest against Pakistans inhuman treatment of an injured IAF pilot in violation of all norms of international law and the Geneva Convention. It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return, the MEA stated in its protest note issued to the acting high commissioner of Pakistan. India also lost six Air Force personnel when a helicopter crashed in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir. The crash took place in Garend Kalan village of Budgam at around 10.10 am. According to a statement released by the IAF an Mi-17 V5 helicopter of the IAF, from the Srinagar Airfield, was on a routine airborne mission. "The helicopter crashed at around 10.10 am near Badgam, J&K. All six air warriors on board the helicopter suffered fatal injuries. A court of inquiry has been ordered into the incident," the IAF statement reads. According to reports, the aircraft developed technical issues and crashed. Officials say that the aircraft was 50 years old. The Srinagar Airport has been temporarily shut after the crash. Meanwhile, Pakistani jets violated the Indian airspace as it entered border areas of Nowshera sector in Jammu and Kashmirs Rajouri district on Wednesday, PTI reported. Adani takes all 6, wins bid for Guwahati airport as well The Adani Group, which on Monday emerged the highest bidder for five of the six airports that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) planned to hand over to private sector, has now emerged winner of the sixth airport Guwahati Airport as well. Gautam Adanis infra group quoted the highest per passenger revenue share of Rs160 to emerge the highest bidder for Guwahati airport after the financial bids were opened by Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Tuesday. With this, Adani Enterprises has won bids to operate all six airports Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangalore, Trivandrum, Lucknow and Guwahati the government plans to run on a public-private partnership basis for the next 50 years. Adanis per passenger, per month revenue share bid of Rs160 is the highest for Guwahati, said a senior AAI official. He did not reveal the revenue share offered by the other five bidders, including GMR airports. Now that the tendering process is complete, AAI sources said, the actual award of work and transfer of the airports to the highest bidder will happen after cabinet clearance. The Adani Group is delighted on winning the bids that were invited by AAI in December 2018 for the management of domestic airports under the PPP model. The Indian aviation industry is a growing sector with the governments continuing focus on creating world class airports. For the Adani Group, initiatives that contribute to nation building remains a focus area, an Adani Group spokesperson said. The airports at Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Trivandrum and Mangalore remain lifelines to their respective states that will enable us to infuse enhanced growth and give wings to the aspirations of the Indian people. We would be aiming to scale up the infrastructure to bring these facilities on par with global standards," the spokesperson added. GMR Airports, which currently operates some of the countrys major airports, had also bid for all the six airports. According to the request for proposal issued for these airports last December, the letter of award has to be issued to the winning bidder on 28 February. AAI had in the first round of airport privatisation, handed over the Delhi and Mumbai airports to private players, GMR and GVK. It has now shifted from revenue share to a fixed fee model. The concessionaire shall pay the Authority, on a monthly-basis, a fee (the per-passenger fee or PPF) in respect of each passenger (both domestic and international) handled at the airport in accordance with the concession agreement, as per the RFP document. ROME - The UN on Tuesday urged the United Arab Emirates to release Alia Abdulnoor, a terminally ill prisoner, so she could "live her final days in dignity." The UN statement said that the 42-year-old woman had been arrested in July 2015 and charged with "financing terrorism" after she had helped raise funds for needy Syrian families in the UAE and war-affected women and children in Syria. The UN experts under Dainius Puras, the UN special rapporteur on health, issued a joint statement condemning Abdulnoor's imprisonment, stressing that her breast cancer had reached its final stage. "We are extremely concerned about the physical and mental integrity of Ms. Abdulnoor, and about reports that the conditions of detention are causing her unnecessary pain," said the three UN Special Rapporteurs. Abdulnoor is currently imprisoned in the Tawam hospital in an unventilated, windowless hospital room, chained to her bed and under armed guard and thus reportedly subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment". The experts said they had received information that for six months, Ms. Abdulnoor was held in secret detention and solitary confinement following her arrest, where she was threatened and subjected to severe physical and psychological humiliation. Under torture, the critically ill woman was forced to sign a written confession. ''Now in its final stage, Ms. Abdulnoor's cancer has spread to her vital organs. In November, her deteriorating health prompted the authorities to transfer her to Mafraq Hospital in Bani Yas, Abu Dhabi,'' the statement noted. ''While the authorities have rejected her family's many requests that she be released on medical grounds, the last one submitted on 10 January, resulted in her transfer to Tawam hospital, in Al Ain, where reports say she continues to be denied appropriate medication to reduce her pain,'' it added. "We call on the authorities to release Ms. Abdulnour and to allow her to live her last days of life in dignity and with her family at home," said the experts. ''We also call on the State to investigate alleged acts of torture and ill-treatment, and to prosecute the suspected perpetrator(s) in line with its obligations under international human rights law,'' the statement added. SEVILLE - Seville mayor Juan Espadas opened the 10th plenary assembly of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) on Wednesday. ''Divisions and incomprehension towards others just push us backwards. This is one of the reasons why it makes sense to belong to this association: not only to exchange experience, but also to build cultures and exchanges and unite us for the shared goal of citizens' well-being,'' he said. ARLEM approved two opinions on governance transparency in the Mediterranean region and on empowerment of youth entrepreneurship. ''The last ten years have not been easy for the Mediterranean region. We thus need any occasion to speak together and create a joint area of peace and prosperity as foreseen by the 1995 Barcelona Declaration,'' European Economic and Social Committee chairman Luca Jahier added. ''We can choose many things in our lives but not geography. This gives us the mandate to share our incredible cultural heritage and cooperate for a brighter future,'' Jahier said, insisting also on the need to include more young people in the drawing up of policies on them, which he said should be done ''with the young, not for the young''. Subscriber content preview People bit when the smooth talking, high rolling Kyle Sandler opened a business incubator in their town. He swindled $1.9 million from about 50 people. By JAY REEVES Associated Press OPELIKA, Ala. Looking back, there are so many reasons Kyle Sandler was able to separate so many people from so much of their money. Sandler rolled into this old railroad crossroads at a time when Opelika (Oh-puh-LIE-kuh), and nearly every other city in America was trying to bounce back from the Great Recession. Opelika's downtown, dating to the late 1800s, was dotted with vacant buildings. The city of 30,000 people needed a boost. . . . Subscriber content preview PORTLAND (AP) A railroad trestle trains use to cross the Columbia River from Oregon to Washington state was shut down after fire erupted. That means all train traffic including Amtrak and Union Pacific trains are stopped. . . . The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7( 10800 at amazon) will be launched in India on Thursday. The company is hosting an event in New Delhi to unveil the mid-ranger that is already available in China. Like with every Redmi Note device, Xiaomi plans to cut ahead of the competition this time as well. The Redmi Note 7 offers a 48-megapixel camera on the back, which Xiaomi hopes will set the phone apart from the rest. The company is also expected to announce the Redmi Note 7 Pro and the Redmi Go at the event. Over the course of the past few months, multiple leaks and rumours have given us an idea how the Redmi Note 7 Pro will turn out to be. Before the phone launches in India, heres everything you need to know How to watch the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 launch live? The Redmi Note 7 launch is expected to start at 11:30AM. The event will be streamed live on Xiaomis social pages on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. Digit will also go live from the event, so you can tune into our Instagram page to get all the action. What does the Redmi Note 7 offer? The Redmi Note 7 went official in China a month ago. The phone offers a 48MP Samsung GM-1 sensor on the back coupled with a 5MP depth sensor for portrait photos. On the front, theres a 13MP selfie camera, housed in a waterdrop notch. Theres a 6.3-inch LCD display with Gorilla Glass 5 on top. The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC and is offered in three RAM/storage variants. Xiaomi is expected to launch the phone in 3/32GB, 4/64GB and 6/64GB variants. Xiaomi also claimed the phone to have exceptional durability thanks to the protective glass on both sides. The phone also packs a 4,000mAh battery and now finally supports fast charging. The Redmi Note 7 is expected to come in a range of gradient colour finishes including red, blue and black and twilight gold. Will Xiaomi launch the Redmi Note 7 Pro? At the China launch of the Redmi Note 7, Xiaomi did tease the launch of the pro variant. After that, Lu Weibing, Redmi General Manager, shared the Redmi Note 7 Pro will be announced after the Xiaomi Mi 9. The Mi 9 launched on February 20 and the timeline adds up. Furthermore, we have seen multiple leaks of the phone detailing the specs and features. Based on the latest leak by smartphone leakster @ishanagarwal24, the Redmi Note 7 Pro is expected to bring the flagship Sony IMX586 sensor with 48MP resolution and a 1/2-inch sensor size. If the recently launched Honor View 20 is anything to go by, the camera offers a good amount of detail and has features like pixel-binning to improve low-light photography. The form factor is expected to remain the same as the Redmi Note 7 A 6.3-inch display with a waterdrop notch. However, under the hood, the phone is expected to pack the Snapdragon 675 SoC, which we saw debut in the Vivo V15 Pro. Based on our performance comparison, the chipset is much more powerful than the Snapdragon 660, sometimes even beating the Snapdragon 710. The Xiaomi Redmi Go is an Android-Go device made for the entry-level segment. Its Xiaomis first smartphone with Android Go and is expected to run a toned-down version of MIUI. The phone went official with a 5-inch HD display and a Snapdragon 425 SoC under the hood. The phone is based on Android Oreo (Go Edition) and offers 1GB RAM and 8GB of expandable storage. On the back is an 8MP camera while the front houses a 5MP selfie shooter. The phone packs a 2,200mAh battery. Redmi Note 7, Redmi Note 7 Pro, Redmi Go Price The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 was launched for an astoundingly low price of RMB 999 in China which roughly converts to Rs 10,000 in India. While the phone certainly wont be priced that cheap, considering import duties that Xiaomi has to pay for the components, we expect the phone to be priced under Rs 15,000. The Redmi Note 7 Pro with the 48MP Sony sensor is expected to fetch a higher price. We expect the price to be around Rs 16,000. The entry-level Redmi Go is expected to be priced below the going market price of other Android Go phones like the Samsung Galaxy J2 Core and the Nokia 1. WinFuture reports the phone will be priced under 80 Euros in Europe, which rough converts to Rs 6,400 in India. Even while Samsungs global team is busy with showcasing the flagship Galaxy S10 lineup and the futuristic Galaxy Fold, Samsung India is busy fighting it out in the mid-range segment. The company introduced the Galaxy M series with two smartphones The Galaxy M10 and the Galaxy M20 back in January. Just a month later, the Galaxy M30 is here, making Samsungs presence stronger in the ever-evolving mid-range smartphone segment in India. The Galaxy M30 arrives just a day before Xiaomi is expected to take the wraps of the Redmi Note 7 and the Redmi Note 7 Pro and the phone landed up in our test lab just a few hours before launch. The phone also came with an aggressive price-tag of Rs 14,999. After using the device for a limited period of time, this is what we thought of it Lets get the hardware specs of the Samsung Galaxy M30 out of the way first. The phone houses a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution. Samsung particularly stressed upon the fact that the phone comes with Widevine L1 certification that allows one to stream HD content in Netflix, Amazon Prime and more. This is something other Chinese OEMs like Xiaomi and Honor skip in their devices and might give the M30 an edge over the others. Under the hood is a Samsung Exynos 7904 SoC, the same as the Galaxy M20. From what we had noted on the Galaxy M20, the Exynos 7904 has the same CPU as that of the older Exynos 7885 octa with two 1.8GHz high-performance cores and six 1.6GHz cores for low-power tasks. The only major difference is an upgraded ISP that supports a triple-camera setup. Added to that is 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Theres also another variant of the phone with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage priced at Rs 17,999. You also get the option to expand storage via a dedicated microSD card slot, up to 512GB. The Samsung Galaxy M30 is also notable for having a USB-C port along with a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and a triple-camera setup on the back. Powering it all is a massive 5,000mAh battery, same as the Galaxy M20. In fact, theres very little separating the Galaxy M20 and the Galaxy M30 save for the extra camera sensor on the back. Both phones have the Infinity-U display with an U-shaped notch that lights up every time you flip the front camera open. The phone supports 15W fast charging. Samsung Galaxy M30 design and display The Samsung Galaxy M30 looks a lot like the other M-series phones. It has the same glossy exterior with a subtle gradient finish. It does look nice. The corners curve to fit the palms offering a good grip while the screen itself is a little raised from the body. We couldnt confirm whether the phone has a protective glass on top of the display. The spec-sheet reads the Galaxy M30 display has a pixel density of 394 ppi, which is standard across most FHD+ devices in the mid-range segment, while the aspect ratio is 19:9. Its an AMOLED display where the Galaxy M20 offers a TFT LCD panel. At first glance, the Super AMOLED felt a cut above the other common LCD panels. The stock wallpapers have deep contrasts that feels a lot more vibrant. We will test out the phone's display vigorously, but we have a feeling the Galaxy M30 may have one of the best displays in the under-15k range. Samsung has used the Infinity-U design for the front. While the company bucked the wide rectangular notch in all of its devices last year, the U-shaped cutout in the display debuted with the Galaxy M-series. Its fairly acceptable and doesnt really intrude into what youre viewing, at least for the little time we used the phone. The area around the notch shows the notification icons and other status bar elements. The notch also lights up when you open the front camera which looks really nice. The Galaxy M30 feels a little larger than the M20 because of the extra screen-real estate. It seemed the bezels are equally large on both the phones. Samsung Galaxy M30 camera One of the reasons why Samsung believes the M30 will be a hit in the Indian market is because the phone offers a triple-camera setup in the mid-range segment. Ultra-wide cameras seem to be the rage this year and right from flagships to mid-rangers, every smartphone seem to offer one. The one on the Galaxy M30 has the same specs as that of the Galaxy M20. Both phones have a 5MP ultra-wide sensor with fixed focus and f/2.2 aperture. Then theres a 5MP depth sensor along with a 13MP primary sensor with f/1.9 aperture and 1.12um pixel pitch. Once again, the specs indicate this is the same primary sensor as that on the Galaxy M20. The triple-camera setup, as a result, is used to shoot ultra-wide photos, standard shots and portrait photos. The latter allows one to adjust the amount of depth in post-processing. However, the initial few photos that we took had the same amount of barrel distortion seen on the Galaxy M20s camera. Samsung does offer a shape-correction feature though, which straighten the lines by cropping out the frame. On the front, the Samsung Galaxy M30 bumps up the camera specs and offers a 16MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture. The front camera also support portrait shots but uses software to simulate the bokeh effect. The rear cameras on the Samsung Galaxy M30 can shoot slo-mo videos (not in 960fps though) and can record panoramas, hyperlapse and even has a pro mode. However, the pro-mode lacks a few essential controls like shutter-speed. Samsung Galaxy M30 performance and UI Based on the limited time of usage, the Samsung Galaxy M30 felt fairly responsive and usable. Its not terribly slow, but its not blazing fast either. The lock screen shows various photos and articles every time you unlock, which makes unlocking the phone a little longer. We also noticed a little lag between opening the camera app and getting to the viewfinder. The fingerprint sensor works pretty fast though and is easy to reach. We will be putting the phone through our suite of performance tests to see how it fares against its peers. The Galaxy M30 uses the same Samsung Experience 9.5 UI thats there on the Galaxy M20. Its based on Android 8.1 Oreo and Samsung didnt give a definite timeline as to when the phone will be upgraded to the latest version. Surprisingly, the Galaxy M30 skips the OneUI interface that Samsung debuted with the S-series and then the recently announced Galaxy A-series at MWC. The Samsung Galaxy M30 should also last for a very long time thanks to a massive 5,000mAh battery. We are expecting similar battery life as the Galaxy M20 as not much has changed inside. Samsung Galaxy M30 Price and Availability The Samsung Galaxy M30 is also sweetly priced at Rs 14,999. At that price, you get an AMOLED display and three-cameras on the back. We did feel the 6GB RAM variant to be a little more expensive, though. Samsung announced the phone will be available from March 7 on Amazon India. First Impressions The Samsung Galaxy M30 is certainly an upgrade if you consider the devices Samsung was launching in the mid-range segment even a year back. There are a sufficient number of new features like a triple-camera setup, a bright and vibrant display and a big battery to make this smartphone a worthy rival to the upcoming Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 and the likes, especially for the price it launched in. However, theres not much changed from the Galaxy M20 in terms of spec-sheet, except for the display quality and the number of cameras on the back. Just how the phone performs in the real-world remains to be seen and we will let you know once the phone has gone through our tests for the in-depth review. Stay tuned! Highlights: Google Duo is now available on the web It gets the Knock Knock feature we see on the app for phones. If youre an ardent user of Google Duo, youve got some good news coming your way. We reported exactly a month ago that the popular video-calling app for Android and iOS platforms would get a web version in a few weeks time, and there we go: Google Duo for web is currently available on duo.google.com for both new and existing users alike. Though the site seems to be live when accessed from India, Google admits that Duo for web is not available in all countries. According to Googles help article on setting up Google Duo, the web app works on all computers including Chromebooks. Supported browsers include Google Chrome (quite obviously), Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari. Empirical evidence tells us that Microsoft Edge is not a supported browser. We cant say for sure if Google has omitted Edge support on purpose. Lets not forget that Microsoft asks you to reconsider when you try to switch your default browser from Edge to Chrome on Windows 10. Interestingly, when the Google Duo site is opened on the latest version of Chrome, expanding the 'More' menu from the right side of the address bar reveals a list item called Install Google Duo... Clicking on it creates a new dedicated window for the web app while placing a shortcut to it in Chrome's Apps list. Though Google Duo is finally on the web, it still needs a valid mobile phone number to work, unlike Google Hangouts, which only needs an active Google account. A new Google Duo user will have to submit a code sent to their mobile phone via SMS to get started on the service. Like its iOS and Android counterparts, Google Duo for web gets features like Knock Knock, which lets recipients see a live video preview of their caller before they answer the call. When rumours about Google shutting down Hangouts for good flooded the internet in December last year, Google was quick to clarify. The search engine giant assured everybody that it would upgrade Hangouts users to Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet, two separate G Suite products, before sunsetting the long-standing app. Though Hangouts Chat is currently for G Suite accounts, and Google is expected to make it available on regular Google accounts in the coming months. Related Read: Google Hangouts won't shut down, users will be upgraded to Hangouts Chat and Meet Back in 2003, Brian and Jill Faherty founded the esteemed brand Schoolhouse Electric. The company was born after Brian discovered a long-lost collection of cast-iron glass shade molds inside an old storage warehouse in Port Jervis, NY. After carefully restoring the molds, Brians vision of well crafted, American-made home goods came to life. The concept behind all products Schoolhouse carries can be summed up in Brians articulate explanation: Were rooted in the notion of domestic utility where things are useful, but beautiful. While the lighting and housewares company is based in Portland, OR, Schoolhouse Electric recently opened its third brick-and-mortar store on the east coast, in Pittsburgh, PA. Now in its 16th year, this design-centric companys new space is housed in the citys East Liberty neighborhood in a New Formalism structure named The Detective Building. When Brian learned that this proud structure encompassing an entire city block was being auctioned off by the city, he knew the Schoolhouse universe would begin a new chapter in western Pennsylvania. Rather than viewing the space as a singular entity, Schoolhouse operates The Detective Building as a communal destination for locals and visitors alike. The first floor holds Schoolhouse Electrics newest retail store as well as a cafe aptly titled The Bureau, owned by Pittsburgh restaurateurs Joey Hilty and Emily Slagel. Floors two through four boast breathtaking office and event spaces run and curated by the visionary Beauty Shoppe a company renowned for transforming and optimizing historic buildings into elevated co-working areas. Photography courtesy of Schoolhouse Electric 1/14 Custom wooden slats are configured to show Schoolhouse Electrics pendant lighting, while a frame attached to a wall shows off wall lamps in a cozy setting. 2/14 These wood pieces are artwork created by Leroy Setziol, who is known as the father of Oregon wood carving. They were brought from Portland to Pittsburgh because Schoolhouse wanted an artifact from their flagship store. in their new space. 3/14 Custom detailing on one of the four custom wood dividers. 4/14 Outdoor goods like stylish house numbers and planters with live specimens occupy a sunny side of the space. Note the wood dividers from the previous two slides in the background. 5/14 More Schoolhouse Electric wall mounted lights mark the singular addition to the wood paneled wall. On the right, vintage-style office pieces help highlight Schoolhouse staples like the Mushroom Desk Lamp, wall clocks and office necessities like pencils and notepads. 6/14 Number 2 pencils in shades of blue share inspiration mantras. They rest on small trays in retro colors that make themselves useful in a variety of home and office settings. 7/14 Artfully displayed tabletop pieces with that signature Schoolhouse Electric mid-century flair occupy vintage industrial shelving, given a second life in The Detective Building. 8/14 Soft goods, books and specialty lighting sit below wall clocks that come in hues that make their standard-issue look a bit more playful. 9/14 Visitors to the new Schoolhouse Electric dispatch in The Detective Building can look forward to an expanded textile selection that could easily be enjoyed as sculpture. 10/14 This tabletop shows the variety of goods available at Schoolhouse from textured pitchers and dessert cups to striking black utensils. The stools add vintage silhouettes and colors to the party. 11/14 Varying shades of blue, olive and caramel, along with the tulip shape make these Andy stools stand out in any setting. 12/14 An old phone booth stands guard next to stackable Schoolhouse chairs in the companys upper floor conference area. 13/14 Welcome to The Bureau. This cafe on the main floor of the new Schoolhouse Electric space is the place to meet for a coffee break. Its brought to you by the team behind Pittsburgh eatery The Vandal. ANSAmed - Today's events in the Mediterranean (ANSAmed) - ROME, FEBRUARY 27 - These are the main events scheduled for today in the Euro-Mediterranean area: PARIS - Visit by German chancellor Angela Merkel, who will be taking part in a meeting at the presidential palace with French president Emmanuel Macron. ANKARA - Visit by Jared Kushner, advisor to and son-in-law of US president Donald Trump, who is in these days on a tour in the Gulf region. He will be meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. MADRID - Witness statements will be given by political witnesses, including former prime minister Mariano Rajoy, in a trial before the highest court in Spain of 12 Catalan separatist leaders. ABU DHABI - Exhibition 'Rembrandt, Vermeer and the Dutch Golden Age: Masterpieces from the Leiden collection and the Musee du Louvre' (until May 18). ROME - Exhibit titled 'Shapes of the Soul' in the Dali Room of the Cervantes Institute with works of painting, sculpture, photography, video and installations by 14 Spanish artists continues (to March 30). Exciting news from London: ten promising design talents, among them Dion Lee and Vivetta, were invited by Mercedes-Benz to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their programme Mercedes-Benz Fashion Talents. The celebrations of London Fashion Week offered a retrospective exhibition, that underlined the exciting future of this programme. As location, a presentation in Somerset House, was selected. Interesting fact: in the past decade, this programme supported by Mercedes- Benz, gave 90 young designers the chance, to present their collection. Thus, the ten design talents that were invited in London, were the ones that were embodying the spirit of the brand. Exactly these ones had the honour to be part of this event (some of them might sound familiar to you because of our fashion week coverages): Amesh Wijesekera, Dion Lee, Julia Seemann, Situationist, Steven Tai, Tiziano Guardini, Vivetta, William Fan, Wataru Tominaga and Xiao Lee. Continue below to read full review by our Germany Contributor SUSSAN ZECK:. The project itself had its kick off in 2009 as an International Designer Exchange Programme (IDEP). The aim was to give young talents a platform and present their visions and ideas to a wide public, both on regional and international markets. In addition to that, Mercedes- Benz wants to expand this programme and also build cooperations with schools, that are working in creative branches. Worth of knowing is the fact Mercedes- Benz is a very active player in title sponsoring of fashion weeks and events for the past 24 years. The brand is currently active in over 40 countries, for instance at the Mercedes- Benz Fashion Weeks that take place in Sydney, Mexico City, London, Madrid, Tiflis and Berlin. Apart of that, the brand supports the International Festival of Fashion, Photography and Fashion Accessoires in Hyeres. The next big happening: the search for upcoming Mercedes- Benz Fashion Talents Next to the exhibition, Mercedes- Benz offered its guests and followers of its social media networks the opportunity, to suggest new design talents. Therefore they were given the chance to decide about the composition of the future of this project. The audience was invoked to follow @MercedesBenzFashion and post a look of their favourite upcoming designer. By naming #MercedesBenzFashionTalents as hashtag, each designer was directly nominated to be part of this programme. The auction call started on the 15th and ended on the 18th of February. From all nominations, one designer will be part of the MBFT 2019. As young talents are the future, this programme is definitely one to watch and deserves devotion. Review by Sussan Zeck for DSCENE Magazine Minima Processor Licenses Arm Artisan Physical IP to Optimize Arm-based SoC Designs with Minima Dynamic Margining IP Ultra-Low Power Technology OULU, FINLAND February 27, 2019 Minima Processor Oy today signed a multi-year Strategic Intellectual Property (IP) Agreement with Arm in which Minima Processor will have access to ArmArtisan Physical IP for 22nm ultra-low leakage (ULL) process technology. This agreement allows Minima Processor to optimize Arm-based system-on-chip (SoC) designs featuring Minima Dynamic Margining IP ultra-low power technology. Mobile and consumer IoT applications demand low-power, always-on, wake-up capabilities, remarks Kelvin Low, vice president of marketing, Physical Design Group, Arm. By implementing Arm physical IP, Minima Processor is able to optimize these features and deliver significant power and area reductions while meeting the performance requirements for these applications. Access to Arms physical IP portfolio gives us the means to provide Arm users with optimized ultra-low power solutions for a variety of applications, says Tuomas Hollman, Minima Processors executive vice president of products and business development. The collaboration helps designers achieve their SoC performance, power, and area targets. Intended for a range of markets, including microcontroller, IoT, hearables and smart speakers, Minima Processors ultra-low power technology minimizes energy consumption while maintaining yield in IC production. Combining hardware and software enables circuits to function at their lowest possible power for any given task, data or ambient condition. Arm and Minima Processor will be featured in panel sessions at the Design Automation Conference Pavilion area and ES Design Wests Meet the Experts Theater. DAC will be held June 2-6 in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. The inaugural ES Design West will be co-located with SEMICON West July 9-11 at San Franciscos Moscone Center. About Minima Processor Minima Processor of Oulu, Finland, provides near-threshold voltage design solutions that deploy dynamic margining and ultra-wide dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) to minimize energy consumption in SoC designs while maintaining yield. The Minima dynamic-margining approach is an IP-based methodology for near-threshold voltage design that combines hardware and software to enable circuits to function at their lowest possible power for any given task, data or ambient condition. Founded in 2016 by seasoned technical and R&D professionals with expertise in energy-efficiency technology, it is privately held and funded by Aalto University, CFT Nordic Investment Center, Lifeline Ventures, VTT Ventures, and angel investors. UTAH STATE PRISON Brian Keith Stack admits it has taken time, but he says he is not the same person he was 40 years ago when he entered prison at age 18 for shooting and killing a Utah Highway Patrol trooper. "Im no longer the 18-year-old kid whose thoughtless and selfish actions brought so much pain into so many peoples lives. It saddens me to say its taken so many years to become the man before you, he said in a recording of his most recent parole hearing on Feb. 19. On Nov. 7, 1978 just two days after he transferred from the UHP's field office in Moab to his hometown of Panguitch trooper Ray Lynn Pierson, 29, pulled over a pickup truck on state Route 20 for a minor traffic violation. What he didn't know was that the truck was stolen out of Montana, that the driver was a fugitive from Illinois, and the truck had just left a Texaco in Cove Fort without paying for gas. Just as Pierson approached the truck, Stack shot him in the chest without warning. Pierson was able to fire off six rounds as the truck sped off. Pierson, who was found by a citizen still lying in the road, died as a result of his injuries. Stack was arrested following a chase and after he hit a police car set up as part of a blockade. Despite 87 holes law enforcers later counted in the stolen truck from bullets officers had fired in an attempt to stop Stack, including 11 in the windshield, he suffered only a minor injury, according to the UHP. Stack, who had turned 18 just a few weeks earlier, eventually pleaded guilty to aggravated murder avoiding a possible death penalty and was sentenced to life in prison. At the time, life in prison without the possibility of parole was not an option for Utah judges. Over the years, Stack has filed motions in court challenging his sentence as well as prior decisions made by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole. In 1996, he was one of six Utah inmates who escaped from a private prison facility in Texas. Utah had contracted with a Texas company to send 100 inmates to that state to help alleviate overcrowding problems at the Utah State Prison. Stack was recaptured about two weeks later. Stack, now 59, is once again seeking parole. But Pierson's son, Clint Pierson, who followed in his father and his grandfather's footsteps to become a law enforcer himself, wants his father's killer to serve his full sentence. "We have been sentenced to life without my father now for 40 years because of choices that Mr. Stack made on Nov. 7, 1978, he said at Stack's recent parole hearing. "My sisters have no memory of my father. My brother has very few memories of my father, and I don't have as many as I could have because of Mr. Stacks decision. "He chose the most violent option. He could have chose to run. He could have chose to give up. He could have chose a lot of other things. He chose to point a gun at my father and pull the trigger, Pierson continued. Even after four decades, he said the shooting is still "raw" for his family. "Every time this comes up, its a fresh wound. It tears it open as it was yesterday, he said. Pierson pointed to the judge's original sentencing order in which the judge crossed out the word "indeterminate" when sentencing Stack to up to life in prison. "I believe that the order was clear, that he should remain in prison for the remainder of his natural life. And that he made that deal in order to avoid the death penalty, which could have been imposed in the case because of the circumstances, Pierson said. "He needs to remain here. Hes been incarcerated so long now, I dont believe he could operate in a regular society." Stack responded by first reading a prepared statement in which he apologized to the Pierson family. He then noted for the board that "life without parole" was not a sentencing option back then, and that he believed he could survive in the outside world. Stack then told board member Denise Porter, who conducted his hearing, that he experienced a big change during his last parole hearing in 1996 in which one of Pierson's daughters spoke. Because of her words, Stack said he "began to have the physical effects of a broken heart and a contrite spirit," and that he finally "fully understood the amount of pain and loss Ive caused this family." Because of that hearing, he said he vowed to strive to be a better person, even when his possibility of being released from prison seemed "hopeless." He earned his high school diploma, an associate degree, and has been a team leader at many prison jobs. "Ive worked very hard over the years to become a better person than the one that entered prison 40 years ago, he said. Porter, however, noted that according to prison records, Stack has had streaks of being a model inmate, and periods where he has gotten in trouble, including testing positive for drugs and being caught with alcohol within the last five years. Stack claimed he was making "alcohol" in his cell to sell to other inmates for extra money and that he hasn't had a dirty urinalysis test for four years. He also asked for a new psychological evaluation so the board would have updated information to consider when making a determination of whether to grant parole. Porter agreed, as did the full five member board, who recently ordered that Stack receive a new psychological evaluation and an updated risk/needs assessment. Once that information is collected, a new parole hearing will be held in about four months, according to the board. SALT LAKE CITY "Black Panther" scored big at the Oscars this week, taking the award for best original score, best production design and best costume design categories. The film is also being praised this week for saving the life of a young Missouri boy after he fell from a treehouse and landed face-first on a meat skewer, according to Fox News. What happened: Back in September, Xavier Cunningham was playing in a treehouse with some friends at his home in Harrisonville, Missouri, when he was attacked by a swarm of wasps, according to Fox News. Cunningham attempted to escape and fell 4 feet from the treehouse ladder onto a foot-long meat skewer that went through his face and out the back of his skull, according to People magazine. Gabrielle Miller, Cunninghams mother, told CBN, "He had this metal-looking rod, what I thought was an arrow, coming out of his cheek. Cunningham was rushed to the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, where doctors were shocked to find that the skewer had barely missed the boy's nerves, brain stem and other vital organs, according to the Kansas City Star. Koji Ebersole, director of endovascular neurosurgery at the University of Kansas Health System, told the Kansas City Star, I have not seen anything passed to that depth in a situation that was survivable, let alone one where we think the recovery will be near complete if not complete. Cunningham credits Black Panther and Jesus for survival When asked why he didnt attempt to remove the skewer from his face, Cunningham cited "Black Panther," according to Fox News. In the climactic battle of "Black Panther," Michael B. Jordans character Erik Killmonger dies after being stabbed in the chest with a dagger and removing it. "I watched 'Black Panther,' Cunningham said, according to Fox News. "At the end of it, how he just takes it out and dies so I was like, 'Nope!'" When asked ahead of the Oscars what message hed like to convey to the cast, Cunningham told CBN, Well, I'll just say I'm glad they put it (the scene) in there because otherwise, I probably would have pulled it out. Cunningham also credits his faith in Jesus Christ for helping him survive the injury, Fox News reported. "He gave his life for us," he told CBN. "And after this, it's just like He really truly is the God almighty." In the five months since his fall, Cunninghams scars are barely noticeable and hes fully recovered, according to CBN. He couldve bled to death in that field, covered in yellow jackets, Xaviers father told FOX 4 in September. Only God could have directed things to happen in a way that would save him like this. It really was a miracle. SALT LAKE CITY A resolution calling for a convention to consider amendments to the U.S. Constitution that has opposition from both the right and the left barely passed the Senate Wednesday, 16-12. SJR9 was described by sponsor Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City, as "a tool we need to use" to get Congress to pay attention to concerns about balancing the federal budget and other issues. The resolution, which now goes to the House, would add Utah to the list of states seeking to convene a convention to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution to address those issues. Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, backed the resolution but acknowledged it is controversial. "I know emotions are high on this issue," Thatcher said. "A lot of people believe this will either save or destroy the republic." But because any constitutional amendments would have to be approved by at least three-quarters of the states, he said he doesn't "believe you will get things that are radical or extreme." Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, was one of six Republicans joining the Senate's six Democrats in voting against the resolution. Christensen said it is "a dangerous thing to open up the Constitution." Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City, also said the resolution was "a dangerous call" and warned that had there been a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, the nation would "never have gotten out of the Great Depression." Vickers tried to keep the debate light by wearing a paper crown and a cape made up of some of the many notes sent into the chamber about the resolution. SALT LAKE CITY Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump, had a pair of viral moments on Wednesday morning during a hearing before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Cohen, who is Trumps former personal lawyer, said Wednesday that Trump knew ahead of time that WikiLeaks had emails that would damage Hillary Clintons presidential run, according to The Associated Press. During the hearing, Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., called Cohen a liar, and Cohen had a snappy comeback. "You're a pathological liar! You don't know truth from falsehood, Gosar said. Cohen responded, "Sir, I'm sorry, are you referring to me or the president?" See the moment in the video below. Rep. Paul Gosar: "You're a pathological liar! You don't know truth from falsehood." Michael Cohen: "Sir, I'm sorry, are you referring to me or the president?" https://t.co/55qPzPJjvk pic.twitter.com/trRI0IH2u6 ABC News (@ABC) February 27, 2019 Rep. Meadows: This wasnt the only major moment for Cohen in the early part of the hearing. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., attempted to defend Trumps charges of racism, bringing up Lynne Patton, a Trump administration official, according to RawStory. She says that, as a daughter of a man born in Birmingham, Alabama, that there is no way that she would work for an individual who was racist, Meadows said. And neither should I, as the son of a Holocaust survivor, Cohen responded. But Mr. Cohen, I guess what Im saying is, Ive talked to the president over 300 times, Ive not heard a racist comment out of his mouth in private, Meadows said. Cohen responded, Ask Ms. Patton how many people who are black are executives at the Trump organization. And the answer is zero. Watch that moment below. SALT LAKE CITY A man accused of beating another man to death inside their home was overheard saying "he was making fun of me" shortly after the incident, according to charging documents. Tyler James Vernon, 37, of Millcreek, was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with murder, a first-degree felony. On Feb. 18, Unified police were called to a house at 1280 E. 3770 South on a possible murder, according to the charges. When officers arrived, they found Vernon standing on the porch "holding a black rod over his head" and blood on his hands, the charges state. Inside, the body of Steven Richard Nyce, 61, was found on the floor in the front room with severe head trauma, according to the charges. Police interviewing neighbors found one who stated that Vernon was holding a black fire poker and heard him yell "his head is smashed in," the charges state. Another neighbor told police that Vernon made statements such as "I killed him," "He's not breathing," and "He was mocking me, he was making fun of me." A possible motive was not revealed in court documents. Investigators believe both men lived in the house, but police have not said how they were associated. Vernon declined to speak to detectives once he was taken into custody. He did, however, refer to the officers as "demons" and "commanded them to release him in the name of his god," according to a Salt Lake County Jail report. Prosecutors have requested Vernon be held on $1 million bail. Vernon has a lengthy history of alcohol-related crimes, including DUI and intoxication, according to court records. SALT LAKE CITY A Utah Senate resolution with the endorsement of Gov. Gary Herbert received unanimous approval in a legislative committee Wednesday encouraging the pursuit of a new federal designation for the Wasatch canyons. The vote by the Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee came despite strong reservations about SCR10 by committee Chairman Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City. Thatcher said his vote to advance the resolution out of the committee was only because of a promise he made to former Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, but his support would not continue on the Senate floor unless his concerns were addressed. "There is a pretty clear indication there are some concerns," Thatcher said after hearing from 10 dueling witnesses lined up on opposite sides of the resolution. "I have long had questions about Mountain Accord, I have long had concerns about Mountain Accord," he said, adding his concerns on the issue were amplified after receiving multiple out-of-state emails in support of the resolution. Mountain Accord, which was sued for violating the state's open meetings law, fostered an interlocal agreement to form the Central Wasatch Commission. The commission represents 10 entities and 1.2 million people and is pursuing congressional legislation for an 80,000 recreation and conservation designation, including 8,000 acres of wilderness. Christopher Robinson, who said he had been involved in the Mountain Accord process since its inception and is a new member of the commission, said it was the most "collaborative and consensus-based process" he'd been involved in. Some canyon residents disputed that and said they don't see the need for a designation until transportation and other infrastructure improvements are made. "Now is not the time for a federal designation," said Barb Cameron, head of the Big Cottonwood Canyon Association. "A no vote today would be a mountain of help for our struggling canyons." Norm Henderson, who sued Mountain Accord, said the process remains the "fruit of the poisonous tree," and the resolution flies in the face of a state law requiring counties themselves to seek legislative approval and provide detail on the designation itself. Nathan Rafferty, president of Ski Utah, also spoke in favor of the resolution and described a collaborative process. SALT LAKE CITY Long-anticipated hate crimes legislation, sponsored by Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, will be considered by the Senate on Monday at 2:15 p.m. Senators agreed Wednesday to set a time for the first of two votes on the floor for SB103, which allows for an enhancement of penalties for crimes targeting victims because of their race, religion, sexual orientation or other specified factors. The bill was unanimously passed to the floor last week by the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee. Thatcher and other lawmakers before him have been trying for years to strengthen Utah's existing laws on victim targeting. Last month, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints clarified it would not oppose hate crimes legislation. At the committee hearing, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said the bill is long overdue because of the frustration felt by victims and prosecutors over not having "a workable statue that can offer a sanctuary of support." Before the bill was assigned to a committee, Thatcher had to win over a majority of the Senate Republican caucus. He did so in part by expanding the types of targets in the bill. That list now includes where someone attended college, as well as age, homelessness, marital or family status, and military service. There have also been several recent incidents seen as hate crimes. SALT LAKE CITY During the first three years of life, a baby's brain develops faster than at any other time, laying a foundation on which the child will thrive or falter, the impact lifelong. And the state where the baby is born can make a huge difference. That's according to national, nonpartisan nonprofits Zero to Three and Child Trends. During a Tuesday press briefing streamed live from Washington, D.C., the organizations released a first-of-its-kind look at states where babies get the start they need and states where programs and policies have gaps that hurt child development. In general, states in the Northeast ranked the highest across measures, while those in the South ranked near the bottom. For many states, rankings were mixed. Utah earned the equivalent of two of four stars overall, earning its highest score in the "good health" category and a low score for "positive learning experiences." The State of Babies Yearbook: 2019 finds that America is home to 12 million infants and toddlers. "The foundation we lay for them today is the most important investment we can make for our society tomorrow." Those three years, the report adds, "are a period of incredible growth and opportunity that shape every year that follows." An inadequate food supply, unstable housing and being around violence are among factors that undermine a baby or toddler's development. And the report finds that "as many as 45 percent of infants and toddlers live in poor or low-income households" that have a hard time providing basics. As a result of those and other challenges, the report says, "These children may fall behind early, lag in later education and earnings achievements and experience health problems later in life or even have a shorter lifespan." Amid those negatives, it's important to view the actual child through a positive frame, according to Myra Jones-Taylor, chief policy officer for Zero to Three. "Rather than labeling babies 'at risk,' we should stamp 'unlimited potential' on each tiny onesie," she said, to change how policymakers view issues that can stunt children and instead will tackle policy challenges. "Our work is rooted in the belief that every child deserves to live the best, healthiest life possible," said Jamie Bussel, senior program officer at the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, who was among child advocates who spoke at the event. She said her organization has invested heavily in learning what families need to be healthy; her list includes access to high quality health care, child care and nutritious foods. Caregivers who have experienced trauma need support, Bussel added, and families need "enough paid family leave to bond." That's the recipe to help not just children but their families thrive, she added. Bussel and others emphasized a need to work with communities including individual families, but also policymakers to be sure that "no babies start and stay behind because of where they live." Data-driven findings The yearbook takes data across 60 indicators and groups them under three headings with separate scores: Good Health, Strong Families and Positive Early Learning Experiences. They found big differences between states on specific measures. For example: Infant mortality rates range from 0 in Vermont to 9.1 per 1,000 in Alabama. Nationally, the average is 6 deaths per 1,000 infants. Child maltreatment rates range from 1.6 per 1,000 babies in Pennsylvania to 38.9 in Massachusetts. The number of children who experience adverse childhood experiences known to follow children into teen years and beyond, creating challenges in adulthood, also varies greatly. In most states, fewer than 10 percent of very young children have had two or more of those adverse experiences, with the low of 2 percent in Massachusetts and a high in Arizona of 27.3 percent. Rankings for the report are expressed using the word "GROW." The lowest ranking on any of the measures is G, for "getting started," then GR for "reaching forward." States who do better than that are ranked GRO for "improving outcomes." The best score is GROW, the W representing "working effectively." Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont were the only states to earn the full GROW ranking in all three measures. There is no better way to predict the future of our nation than to look at how we are treating our babies today. Myra Jones-Taylor, chief policy officer for Zero to Three Other states did better on some measures than others. For example, Utah didn't receive a top score on any category, but was GRO for "good health." In the "strong families" category it earned a GR. The Beehive State earned its lowest mark, a G, for "positive early learning experiences." Thirteen states got the lowest overall ranking, G: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky. Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming. Policy blueprint Nationally, there's been a demographic shift, and 51 percent of babies are now children of color, the report says. It also notes about half of children under age 3 receive medical care through Medicaid. "Those who are covered have better long-term health, education and employment outcomes than those who are uninsured." "There is no better way to predict the future of our nation than to look at how we are treating our babies today. It is a bundle of unlimited potential. We cannot afford to squander that," Jones-Taylor said. Helping babies and infants and their families is incredibly important, said Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican from Montana, who also made a pitch for having more babies. The United States has a birth rate of 1.7 children per woman of childbearing age, below the replacement rate of 2.1. "We have a baby shortage in this country. We need more babies. We need more healthy families," he said. But babies need adults to step up. "We know that kids do better when they get a better start," said Terry Haven, interim CEO of Utah Children. She said the Utah Legislature recently appropriated more money for maternal mental health, which is great news for Utah families. Haven called poverty a major issue reaching deep into family struggles: "We know it's important to read to kids, but if you're working two or three jobs to put food on the table and that's vital, too you don't have time to do those important things." Preschool programs are a great tool to help low-income families, she said, adding first-time parents may also benefit from home visitation programs to answer questions and assess needs. While the report shows mixed results in terms of helping babies and toddlers, it offers some guidance on what policymakers can do. Advocates during the press conference highlighted the need to fund family friendly programs and policies, particularly those that help low-income families, such as early childhood development programs, mental health services for low-income parents and more. States don't all need to do the same things; the goal is to get each state to look at its own rankings and gaps and then address them, Jones-Taylor said. "Let us take the areas of strength as a national source of pride and the areas of weakness as a national call to action," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut. ROME - Amnesty International has called on all states to immediately suspend the sale and transfer of weapons to Israel and all the parties involved in the conflict in Yemen. This suspension, it said, should remain in place until there is no longer the risk that these weapons will be used to carry out or facilitate serious human rights violations. "It's time the world followed in the footsteps of states such as Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Norway, which have announced suspensions of arms sales to Saudi Arabia, sending a clear message that flouting human rights has clear consequences,'' Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, said. An Amnesty International statement on a review of human rights in 19 states said that the ''USA has also committed to provide Israel with US$38 billion in military aid over the next 10 years despite the impunity that Israeli forces enjoy and the vast number of human rights violations they continue to commit in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces killed at least 180 Palestinians last year, including 35 children, during protests for the right to return of refugees, according to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. While a UN Human Rights Council commission of inquiry was set up to look into the killings, Israel has refused to co-operate with the inquiry and has faced little to no pressure to do so.'' ''Time and again allies of governments in the region have put lucrative business deals, security co-operation or billions of dollars' worth of arms sales fuelling abuses and creating a climate where MENA governments feel 'untouchable' and above the law,'' Luther said. The organization is calling on all states to give greater support to international mechanisms aiming to provide justice to victims, such as UN inquiries into killings in Gaza, violations in Yemen and those in Syria, as well as the International Criminal Court. Amnesty decries human rights violations in MENA region The international community's chilling complacency towards wide-scale human rights violations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has emboldened governments to commit appalling violations during 2018 by giving them the sense that they need never fear facing justice, said Amnesty International in a statement on Tuesday. The statement came with the publication of a review of human rights in the region last year. ''Across MENA throughout 2018 thousands of dissidents and peaceful critics have been victims of shameless government violations on a shocking scale, amid deafening silence from the international community,'' Heba Morayef, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, said. Amnesty International's report reveals that the crackdown on dissent and civil society intensified significantly in Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia during 2018. These three states are emblematic of the inadequacy of the international response to rampant government violations, it said. "In Iran, a wave of mass protests was violently suppressed, with thousands arrested and detained throughout the year. However, the response from the European Union, which has an ongoing human rights dialogue with the country, was muted,'' it added. The statement also criticized the fact that Western countries such as France and the US continue to sell arms to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Israel despite serious international and human rights violations by the three states. SALT LAKE CITY Ever since the Utah Legislature's special session last summer to reach a compromise between Salt Lake City and state leaders on the controversial Utah Inland Port Authority, there's been no other legislation filed to bring major changes to the port authority. That is until late Tuesday, when a member of House GOP leadership filed a bill, HB433, that would allow the Utah Inland Port Authority to expand its reach outside of its current 16,000-acre jurisdiction as well as prohibit any city from bringing legal action or any other challenge to the authority's creation or existence. The Utah Inland Port a global trade hub made up of an import-export network of shipping yards, rail, truck and air connections is expected to be the largest economic development project in Utah's history. While Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski called the bill "yet another power grab" from the state "even after assurances were made at the beginning of the session this would not happen," the bill's sponsor says that's a far cry from the truth. 'Hub and spoke' The goal of the bill, according to its sponsor, House Majority Leader Francis Gibson, R-Mapleton, is to create a "hub and spoke" or a "spider-leg" model for the inland port, to allow other counties or cities to join the project. In an interview with the Deseret News Wednesday afternoon, Gibson, who sits on the port authority board, said he doesn't want to "overturn" the compromise legislation of last year, but rather to develop "more parameters for the inland port" to operate throughout the state, not just in Salt Lake City. "To say it's a power grab, that is a very far stretch," Gibson said. The bill would let the port authority "adopt a project area plan for an area outside the authority jurisdictional land" if the port authority receives written consent from the legislative body of the county or city where the land is located or from the private owner of the land, according to the bill. "It allows other parts of the state to participate with the inland port," Gibson said. "The body of the spider, or the hub, would be Salt Lake City. But we've always said the inland port is the Utah Inland Port." Gibson noted "there are lots of rural communities" that import and export goods out of the state and could benefit from the ability to clear international customs in their own communities, rather than having to ship goods to Salt Lake City first. "In Carbon County, if we produce coal why can't we just ship the coal from there instead of bringing the coal here?" Gibson said. "The whole aim is to be able to have customs and have people export our hay, oil and gas, things that we produce here let's get it out to their area so it doesn't have to be shipped all the way to Salt Lake City and turned around to ship it all the way back out." Rural interests Later Wednesday, Stuart Clason, a former inland port board member and now a representative for the Utah Association of Counties, gave a presentation to the port board on potential partnership opportunities with other areas across the state, including rural counties. "This board needs to recognize that throughout the rest of the state there is a very high interest figuring out how to work with this body and connect us with the global supply chain," Clason said. Spreading out the inland port's operations particularly through rail connections could help "soften environmental impact" of the inland port and "help communities that are off the Wasatch Front that are desperate to figure out how to grow their economic activity," Clason said. Representatives from Weber County, Tooele County, Box Elder County and Millard County then spoke in support, making their own pitches to participate in the "hub and spoke" model or a "constellation" model, as Derek Miller, chairman of the Utah Inland Port Authority put it. Miller didn't discuss HB433 specifically but said leaders have been talking about a "hub and spoke" model from the beginning, and the inland port was never intended to benefit only Salt Lake City or even the Wasatch Front but rather the entire state. 'Power grab' The Utah Legislature's final-hour passage of the sweeping legislation that created the Utah Inland Port Authority last year sparked fear and outrage from Salt Lake City leaders, who called it a state "land grab" that usurps the city's ultimate land use authority. The issue split Biskupski and Salt Lake City Council leaders after council members negotiated with state leaders resulting in last year's "compromise" bill, which Biskupski refused to endorse, calling it a "bad deal" that still did not address the city's major concerns. In addition to allowing the inland port to expand its reach, Gibson's bill would also allow the port authority to capture 100 percent of the area's property tax growth for an additional 15 years beyond the 25 years previously allowed in original legislation, as well as half of all sales taxes collected from transactions "involving construction materials transported from out-of-state" and delivered within a port authority project area. The bill would also ban political subdivisions from bringing legal action to "dispute the creation, existence, funding, powers, project areas, or duties of the authority," and prohibit public money "from any source" to be used to fund such a legal challenge," the bill states. Biskupki has indicated a lawsuit against the Utah Inland Port Authority is imminent, though the mayor has not explicitly stated the city itself intends to sue. In a statement issued later Wednesday, Biskupski said she wasn't surprised by Gibson's bill. "HB433 makes clear what I knew last year, which is that any attempt to negotiate in good faith over this unprecedented bill will be met with goal shifting on the part of the state, designed to incrementally force Salt Lake City to bend to the legislatures will under the cover of cooperation," Biskupski said. "Rather than seriously address the significant issues of transparency, environmental impact, and respect for local control, the bill released today reinforces the worst parts of the original legislation," the mayor continued. "This bill effectively creates a government entity, not only unaccountable to the community but immune from judicial scrutiny, closing the courtroom door to local communities. Deeda Seed, a former Salt Lake City councilwoman and a Utah campaigner for the Center of Biological Diversity who has been a loud critic of the port authority, also expressed deep concerns Wednesday about the bill. "Taking away the authority of local public entities to challenge actions by the port authority is another enormous and troubling power grab in a process that has been full of them already," Seed said. "They keep saying, 'Trust us.' This legislation is evidence that we have absolutely no reason to trust anyone involved in this misguided boondoggle." The progressive group Alliance for a Better Utah also issued a statement Wednesday criticizing the bill, saying it would "expand" the port authority's powers and "further solidify its hostile takeover of land that previously was under the control of Salt Lake City." It was hard for us to imagine how the inland port process could get any worse. Based on the shenanigans during last years session, his comportment as a member of the board, and now this bill, Rep. Gibson seems determined to push the bounds of our imagination, said Chase Thomas, executive director of Alliance for a Better Utah. Thomas added: "The surrounding community continues to be trampled over in the Legislatures haste, robbing it of valuable revenue and limiting its ability to seek justice in court. Ongoing negotiations Gibson pushed back on ongoing criticisms of the Utah Inland Port, saying, "It doesn't matter what we do. Those critics are going to say, 'no inland port.'" "As (the bill's sponsor), I'm working with city leaders, I'm working with legislative leaders, trying to find a way to make this work and still protect the people around us," he said. "We're going to continue to work with the public, try and make an inland port that is functional that works for the state of Utah. Sen. Derek Kitchen, D-Salt Lake City, said he was surprised to see Gibson's bill, saying there are "some clear red flags to me as somebody who represents Salt Lake City," including the lawsuit ban provision. Kitchen said the compromise legislation passed last year "gave us a better deal," and as negotiations continue on Gibson's new bill, "hopefully we can find that same common ground that we achieved last year." Asked about the bill's provision that would prohibit cities from filing a lawsuit against the port, Gibson indicated that measure may not stay. "We are negotiating that and that piece will probably be adjusted," he said. Gibson earlier Wednesday met with Salt Lake City Councilman James Rogers, who is also an inland port board member. Rogers declined to comment before the meeting. After he walked out of House leadership offices, he again declined to comment to the Deseret News about the bill other than saying "we're working on it" with leadership. Salt Lake City Council Chairman Charlie Luke later Wednesday sent a prepared statement indicating council members will be negotiating with Gibson. "We have significant points of disagreement on the inland port bill, but Majority Leader Rep. Gibson has committed to working through our concerns," Luke said. "We're encouraged by the open dialogue and (are) hopeful that we can come to a reasonable and productive solution." Gibson credited Rogers with "working hard for his community," and said he planned to sit down with other council members as well as House Democrats to work on the bill. Asked if he plans to meet with Biskupski, Gibson said, "probably not," adding "I think the legislative branch and the council can really drive this." "On a personal level, I love her. She's a great lady. We get along really well," Gibson said. "There's just some wounds over this inland port issue that I don't know can be overcome." Correction: An earlier version of this story said the bill was filed late Wednesday. HB433 was actually filed late Tuesday afternoon. SALT LAKE CITY Water in Utah schools and child care centers would be regularly tested for lead under a bill approved Tuesday by the House Education Committee. HB360, sponsored by Rep. Steve Handy, R-Layton, also calls on the state Drinking Water Board to establish a lead concentration level in drinking water "at or above which schools and child care centers are required to undertake mitigation activities." In 2017, there was a voluntary request to test for lead in water in schools, Handy said. "Seventy-five percent of the schools participated. Ninety-two percent had detectable levels of lead. The other thing I came away with was there is no level of lead in water that is acceptable," Handy said. Under HB360, schools would pay up to $1,000 of mitigation costs and then they could seek funding from the state's Environmental Mitigation and Response funding. Dr. Claudia Fruin, a pediatrician who is founder of the Utah Lead Coalition, an organization of some 30 public and private partners, told the committee that "Utah has been extremely behind the times in lead awareness and testing initiatives." It is critical that the state move beyond a voluntary program because "there is no safe level of lead, period. Its toxic to everyone," Fruin said. It is particularly toxic to children age 6 and younger and to unborn children, she said. "It affects nearly every organ system in the body. Its more readily absorbed in children. It targets their developing brain, their nervous systems resulting in developmental delays, lower IQ scores, aggressive behaviors, along with attention and behavior problems," Fruin said. In adults, it can lead to heart disease hypertension, kidney disease, as well as miscarriage and infertility. "All the studies coming out of Flint (Michigan) now are showing mass increases in rates of miscarriages and infertility during the time Flint River water was used," she said. No one spoke against HB360, but Rep. Adam Robertson, R-Provo, voted against the bill because there can be other harmful heavy metals and substances in water that should be tested for as well, he said. "Id like to see this a little more developed. I think it would be short-sighted to just test for lead," he said. But others spoke in favor of the bill. Rep. Steve Waldrip, R-Eden, said there is urgency to act now. "I shudder to think of the liability even an implied knowledge theres lead in the water," he said. Rep. Lowry Snow, R-Santa Clara, said the issue is "on everyone's radar," after high concentrations of undiluted fluoride were released into a portion of Sandy's drinking water system over a period of up to 48 hours. The acidic concentration of fluoride ate away at pipes, which elevated levels of copper and lead in the water, resulting in a no-drink order for that area of Sandy City from Feb. 15 until Feb. 17. Several adults were sickened, and at least one infant became ill from drinking formula mixed with the contaminated water. Terry Shoemaker, representing the state's school boards and superintendents' associations, urged the committee to support the bill. A large number of schools participated in the voluntary testing and the results stirred "a great deal of concern" among principals, school board members and families who send their children to public school. "Safety our primary concern," he said. SALT LAKE CITY Could Utah's recent little earthquakes trigger a volcano in Yellowstone? Has anyone checked on the dormant volcanoes around our state to see whether they're getting ready to spew lava? Is my house about to be swallowed? Aaargh! First, calm down. The answers to the first two, actually posed by worried callers to people at the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, is no. Second, you can panic a little. The answer to the third one is maybe. But then, life in general is pretty dangerous on a daily basis, even if the ground isn't trying to knock you down. Nothing wakes up a population quite like a couple of early morning ground-shakers. And, to be fair, parts of the Wasatch Front have had more than a few in recent days. Between Feb. 13-25, 139 small quakes shook the area around Bluffdale, the largest two registering 3.7 and 3.2 on the Richter Scale. Those were big enough that a local television news crew felt the need to approach me on the train platform as I began my morning commute. Had I felt them? No, but my wife had, briefly. Unlike me, she doesn't wait until the last minute to get out of bed each day. But most of those 139 were not felt by anyone, or may have been indistinguishable from a passing truck. And no, they didn't relieve any pressure from the main Wasatch Fault. We're still in for "the big one," some day. If you didn't realize it before, you're living in earthquake country. Also, if you didn't realize it before, these types of things happen all the time in Utah, just not in metro areas. To put it in perspective, earthquake seismologist Mark Hale told me the quakes near Bluffdale generated about 8,800 reports. Meanwhile, a stronger 4.04 quake on Feb. 20, 5 miles southwest of Kanosh, generated 82. Kanosh is about 12 miles south of Fillmore. Together, those two towns have just enough population to fill the Eccles Theater. The obvious conclusion is that human beings tend to care more about things they feel than even bigger things no one was around to feel. A tree falling in an empty forest may make noise, but who cares? Well, we all should, of course. Hale told me seismologists are happy about the recent small quakes because they generated a lot of serious discussion about preparing for "the big one." "We are not prepared for it," he said. First, too many buildings are made with unreinforced masonry, which would crumble if the shaking got serious. Second, too few of us have plans for how to unite with loved ones, continue to eat and drink or take care of sanitary needs if sewage systems break. Various state and professional organizations have combined to produce a handbook titled, "Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country" that is designed to help people plan. (A free copy can be downloaded at quake.utah.edu/new-news/putting-down-roots-in-earthquake-country.) That book says 36,000 quakes have been reported in Utah since 1962. That also happened to be the year of the last decent-sized one, a 5.5 shaker centered in Cache County. News accounts from the day describe some brick homes falling apart in the town of Richmond, as well as damage to a sugar plant north of Logan and to four buildings at Utah State University. You have to go back to 1934 for that last truly "big one" a 6.6 magnitude quake in Hansel Valley. Newspapers that day reported huge cracks in the earth and two deaths, but the area was so remote that damage was limited. In a lighthearted vein, the Philadelphia Inquirer called it "Mother Nature's underground spring housekeeping." People probably wouldn't be as lighthearted today. Not long ago, I went to a Krystal Burger in downtown New Orleans and decided, on a lark, to ask the man bagging my food how long it had been since Hurricane Katrina. He answered quickly and precisely, as if he had been cramming for a history test. Clearly, Katrina was a defining moment for many people in that city, partly because of how poorly prepared people and public institutions were for the storm and its aftermath. Today, you can take guided tours of the areas worst hit. Chances are, a large quake along the Wasatch Front would be a defining moment, as well. Just how defining, however, may hinge on whether we let the recent small quakes spur us to prepare. After following the Platte River west to the city of North Platte, Nebraska, the 1847 pioneer company led by President Brigham Young continued west, now following the North Platte River. Shortly after arriving in present-day Wyoming, the pioneers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints crossed to the opposite side of the North Platte River near its confluence with the Laramie River. Contemporary journals note that in those days, the North Platte River was over 100 yards wide, fast moving and turbulent (Horace K. Whitney and Helen Kimball Whitney's experiences in "The Journey West," edited by Richard Bennett, pages 256-257). From June 1-3, 1847, the Brigham Young-led company camped about a mile and a half east of a trading post known as Fort John. Historian Richard Bennett explains that although the post was officially referred to as Fort John by its owners, most travelers called it Fort Laramie after the nearby river. This designation was not officially recognized until the fort was purchased by the United States in 1849 (see "Well Find the Place," Richard E. Bennett, pages 171-172). LaMar C. Berrett and A. Gary Anderson have written that Fort Laramie was considered by the pioneer Saints as the Halfway House between the Missouri River and Salt Lake City. It was 522 miles from Winter Quarters and 509 miles from the Salt Lake Valley. The fort provided all travelers a place to rest, repair and resupply (see "Sacred Places Vol. 6: Wyoming and Utah," edited by Anderson Berrett, pages 16-17). The fort is now a national historic site located a few miles from the small town of Fort Laramie. Both are located in Goshen County and are different from Laramie, Wyoming, the county seat of Albany County. SALT LAKE CITY The bill raising Utah's tobacco age to 21 narrowly passed through the House Business and Labor Committee with a 7-6 vote on Tuesday. Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, said according to the Student Health and Risk Prevention (SHARP) survey, there has been an explosion of smoking and vaping among youth a 77 percent increase in one year. He said about 1 in 3 children who begin using tobacco will die from a smoking-related illness. Its the most preventable form of death, Eliason said. Comments on HB324 during the committee meeting were varied, with a representative from the Utah Vapors Business Association supporting the bill and a representative of 13 local health departments speaking against it. We cannot support the bill with its current language which would remove the right of local health departments to make decisions regarding the health of their local communities, said Kirk Benge, health officer from San Juan County. Eliason said the bill says nothing about local health departments. Eliason said the preemption language is in the original code and he was confused about the health departments' concerns. "Just like we do with alcohol, tobacco and firearms we believe the Legislature should set that policy so we have a consistent policy across the state instead of a patchwork quilt policy which is starting to develop," Eliason said. The bill would increase the legal age incrementally, with the age increasing to 20 in July of 2020 and to 21 the next year. The committee adopted a substitute to the bill that addressed some concerns raised with Eliason before the meeting. The substitute changed the penalty to youth from a class C misdemeanor to an infraction but raised the fee. It also increased the penalty for adults purchasing tobacco products to sell to youth to a third-degree felony. SALT LAKE CITY On the heels of news Monday that the BYU Police Department has been decertified by the state of Utah, a bill that would clarify in state law that agencies like BYU's police force are subject to Utah public records law cleared its first legislative hurdle. The bill, SB197, won easy support from a Senate committee Monday afternoon after both Brigham Young University officials and an attorney representing the Utah Media Coalition urged support for the bill. "This clarifies an ambiguity in the law that if an institution is going to have a police department then they have to be subject to transparency like any other police department," the bill's sponsor, Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, told lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee. The bill modifies a definition in state code to include private institutions of higher education whose law enforcement entities are certified by the Utah Department of Public Safety as agencies that are subject to Utah's public records laws. Whether BYU police will regain its certification from the state is another issue. It will remain active as a police department until a deadline of Sept. 1 while BYU appeals the decision. "We have no issue with being held to the same government requirements as other law enforcement agencies," BYU Police Department Chief Chris Autry told lawmakers Tuesday. Yet the question of whether BYU's police should be subject to Utah's public records laws like any other Utah police force is at the heart of an ongoing lawsuit between BYU police and the Salt Lake Tribune. The university and the newspaper remain embroiled in a lawsuit after BYU denied the Tribune's public records request seeking emails regarding rape allegations made by a 19-year-old student in 2016. BYU declined to release the emails, arguing it is a "privately funded, managed and operated police department within a private university." University attorneys contended the "stated purpose of (Utah's public records law) is to allow access to certain government records held by governmental entities not to allow access to private records of private institutions such as BYU, or internal departments of private institutions, such as university police." The Salt Lake Tribune sued BYU, and in July, a judge ruled that because BYU is a state-certified police force, it must comply with the state's public records law. BYU has since appealed that ruling. The case is currently pending in the Utah Supreme Court, which has not yet set a date to hear the case. Heather Gunnarson, BYU's general counsel, spoke in favor of the bill, saying the university "welcomes" the clarification in state law. "We agree that university police should be subject to the same level of transparency and accountability as any other law enforcement office in the state," Gunnarson said. But because SB197 is not retroactive, it will only apply to future public records requests, and it won't settle the lawsuit between BYU and the Salt Lake Tribune, Bramble said. "That will be resolved however the courts resolve it or the parties resolve it," Bramble said. And as for whether or not BYU police will regain its certification, Bramble said the ambiguity in state law needs to be addressed regardless of that decision. "Whether it gets worked out or not, we need to have this statute in place," he said. Michael O'Brien, a media lawyer representing the Utah Media Coalition who is also representing the Tribune in its lawsuit, said the media coalition supports the bill. He conveyed support from editors of both the Tribune and the Deseret News. The Senate committee passed the bill with a unanimous vote. It now goes to the full Senate for consideration. Editor's note: This is the 15th of a weekly series featuring highlights from a KSL investigative podcast series titled "Cold" that reports new information about the case of missing Utah woman Susan Powell. WEST VALLEY CITY A man who told West Valley police that Josh Powell confessed killing his wife to a stripper has shared his story publicly for the first time. Andrew Colton Andersen, 32, spoke with the podcast "Cold" about the information he first provided to police while incarcerated on felony fraud charges in 2010. I was trying to get creeps off the street and to help a family get their daughter back, Andersen said. However, serious doubt remains in the minds of investigators about the veracity of Andersens story. Andersen first told police that he had seen a man he later identified as Josh Powell with a woman named Summer at the Fat Cats bowling alley in South Salt Lake in July of 2009. The night at Fat Cats had come roughly five months before Josh Powells wife Susan Powell disappeared on Dec. 7, 2009. Thats where I first met him and then Ive been to Wendover with him and a couple other places, Andersen said. Summer was a stripper and she was just using him 'cause he was paying, just giving money, money, money, money. Andersen said months later, Powell and Summer had been involved in an argument. Summer threatened to tell Powells wife of their affair. Powell had responded by telling Summer hed murdered his wife. For some reason he spilled beans to her, Andersen said. Andersen said Summer relayed that story to him after he was incarcerated, so he could use the information to better his situation. Search for Summer Retired West Valley police detective Ellis Maxwell, who led the Powell investigation, at first found Andersens account persuasive, based on his track record of providing valid information in other cases. Some of his information sounded credible, sounded legit and we certainly followed up on it, Maxwell said. Detectives spent the better part of two years attempting to locate Summer. Those efforts included flying to Michigan with the U.S. Marshals Service to find and interview a possible associate of Summers, as well as numerous interviews in Utah and Nevada with exotic dancers who were named or using the alias Summer. None of those women provided any information that could corroborate Andersens claims. In numerous letters to investigators, Andersen said he could help them find the right Summer, if theyd only secure his release from custody. I said, Well, I cant do a dang thing sitting in here. How can I go find Summer? You get me on the street with a furlough or something, get me out of prison, then I could do it, Andersen said. His cooperation did not result in an early release but it did allow him to secure transfers between various county jails, where he served a portion of his prison sentence. Credibility in question During his June 2018 interview for "Cold," Andersen made several claims that directly contradicted known, factual information about the Powell case. He claimed the Aug. 25, 2011, search warrant raid of Steve Powells home in Washington occurred thanks to information he provided to West Valley police. I give them that information and then they go up there and arrest him. They wouldnt have gone up there otherwise, Andersen said. A search warrant affidavit authored by Pierce County sheriffs detective Gary Sanders said the purpose of the raid was to retrieve Susan Powells childhood journals. Steve Powell, Josh Powell's father, had displayed the journals during a national TV news broadcast a month prior. The affidavit made no mention of Andersen. There wasnt anything that Andrew shared with us that benefited the investigation nothing, Maxwell said. Police operational plans reviewed by "Cold" also confirmed detectives had for months considered seeking a search warrant for Steve Powells home as part of what eventually became known as Operation Tsunami. They go up there, I see it on the news. They come back and talk to me and theyre like, Yeah, you were right, Andersen said. I said, Well, am I getting out?" Find Summer, find Susan Andersen insisted to "Cold" that Summer was a real person with critical information about the location of Susan Powells remains. Theres a lot to the story that Summer could add to it, that would close it, pretty much, Andersen said. Yet he said he gave up searching for Summer following his release from custody in 2014. The only way to do it is to start going to strip clubs and hanging out with escorts and strippers again, Andersen said. I dont like that, so Im far beyond that. Andersen also stated he believed Summer had died from a heroin overdose and that his searching for her now would prove futile. As for Susan Powell, Andersen said last hed heard her remains were in a mine in Idaho. He couldnt say precisely where in Idaho. From what I was told, theres no way anybodys going to stumble upon it, stumble upon her bones or anything, Andersen said. Ultimately, police decided his tip about Josh Powell spending time with a stripper named Summer was not credible. Thats a really good example of depleting your resources and burning up valuable time, Maxwell said. We had some very frank conversations with him through that time frame and eventually we shut the door. Subscribe for free to the KSL podcast at thecoldpodcast.com. Engage with "Cold" on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @thecoldpodcast. A hate crimes bill, SB103, is wending its way through the Utah Legislature this year one based on model legislation proposed by the Anti-Defamation League. Lawmakers should pass it. The group speaks with authority on this issue. Jews worldwide know all too well what it means to be targets of crime because of religion or ethnicity. Such crimes go well beyond their face value. For instance vandalism is, by itself, a disturbing crime punishable by law; but vandalism meant as a threat or intimidation against an entire class of people is far more serious, and its punishment must reflect that. Such crimes are attacks on the publics welfare, as well as basic human rights. This years bill, sponsored by Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, would replace a 2006 version prosecutors say is unenforceable. It would list 17 types of personal attributes that, if demonstrably used as a reason for committing a criminal offense, would result in enhanced penalties. These attributes include race, religion, sexual orientation, service in the armed forces and ancestry, among other things. Current law enhances only misdemeanor offenses, without defining any personal attributes. This years bill would apply to felonies, as well. Its time Utah had such a law. Opponents tend to raise worries that a hate-crimes law would target people for their thoughts, that it might curb their constitutional right to free speech, or that it would create specially protected classes of people. In truth, it would do none of these. Because of the widespread existence of such laws in other states, it is clear that the objections are baseless. People would be convicted of hate crimes only when their intent to attack an entire class of people could be proven in a court of law. SB103 specifically reiterates the constitutional right to speak as one may please, regardless how offensive. Only actual crimes would be punished. Virtually anyone could be a target of such crime, even if targeted by mistake. Perhaps the ADLs website explains the need for such a law best: These crimes merit a priority response because of their special impact on the victim and the victim's community, it says. Failure to address this unique type of crime could cause an isolated incident to explode into widespread community tension. The damage done by hate crimes cannot be measured solely in terms of physical injury or dollars and cents. Hate crimes may effectively intimidate other members of the victim's community, leaving them feeling isolated, vulnerable, and unprotected by the law. By making members of minority communities fearful, angry, and suspicious of other groups and of the power structure that is supposed to protect them these incidents can damage the fabric of our society and fragment communities. In 2016, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (which owns this newspaper) opposed passage of a hate-crimes bill, but a church spokesman recently clarified that this was only because it did not want to risk upsetting the delicate compromise of a new 2015 law that protects both religious liberty and LGBT rights to employment and housing. He said the church had no objections to a hate-crimes bill this year, while also declining to comment on any specifics of the bill. We hope this clarification leads to passage of a strongly worded, carefully crafted law that imposes appropriate punishments on such heinous crimes. SALT LAKE CITY A bill to overturn President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration regarding what he has called a crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border passed in the House Tuesday, but with only one vote from Utah's representatives. The bill passed 245-182, with 13 Republicans crossing partisan lines to support the resolution and no Democrats voting against it. Ben McAdams, Utah's lone Democrat in Congress, was the state's only representative to vote for the legislation. "I support the House resolution to block the president from ignoring the Constitution to spend almost $7 billion without approval from Congress," McAdams said in a news release Tuesday after the vote. "Border security was funded with overwhelmingly bipartisan backing. Our Constitution separates powers to ensure a democratic process. The presidents action sets a dangerous precedent and harms our constitutional checks and balances. The bill to revoke the executive order was introduced Friday, and Trump said he would use his first veto if it passes through both chambers. The measure now moves to the Republican-controlled Senate. The Associated Press reported that Trump's emergency declaration gives him access to about $3.6 billion in funding for military construction projects that he could divert to building a barrier at the border. Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, said Tuesday he disagrees with the principle of what Trump is doing but can't support the resolution because he disagrees with the wording. Following the vote, he issued a statement saying he wants long-term solutions. I consider this legislation a wasted opportunity to address an issue that has bipartisan support," he said. "I have consistently spoken out against executive overreach, but this legislation does nothing to limit presidential powers. We need reform, not a temporary statement that does nothing to solve a long-term concern. Stewart also spoke about the measure Tuesday morning on CNN. "The language of this bill is so tightly construed, it said that the president doesn't have this authority and it says that there isn't an emergency on the border," he said on the show. "I disagree with those two things. He does have the authority. There clearly is an emergency. I just wish the president didn't have this authority." Rep. John Curtis, who voted against the bill, said earlier Tuesday on KSL Newsradio that the heart of the problem with Trump's emergency declaration is executive overreach and the bill focused on the wrong aspects of the issue. The Democrats have made this about the wall," he said. The problem is we spend too much time here doing things that are symbolic which is why were having this problem. After the vote, Curtis, R-Utah, said in a news release he doesn't think Tuesday's vote was helpful in solving the problem. Governing by executive declarations sets a dangerous precedent, weakens our system of checks and balances, and empowers Congress to ignore the difficult issues facing our country," he said in the release. "Unfortunately, todays rushed show vote lacks the substance to have an impact on truly reigning in the exponential growth of the executive branch." Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, also voted nay. I voted against this resolution because it does nothing to solve the issue of border security or properly limit executive overreach," he said in statement issued Tuesday. "Bringing this vote to the floor is nothing more than a political stunt." He explained he believes Congress made a mistake in the past granting the president the power to make such a declaration. "I dont think the President should have been forced to make this emergency declaration, but I do recognize his legal power to do so," he said. "Congress ceded this power to the president in 1976, and they were wrong." Bishop called for his Democratic counterparts to find a solution to executive overreach. I would encourage my colleagues to actually formulate legislation that will reform the National Emergencies Act to permanently limit the potential for presidential overreach," he said. "Not just for this president, but for all those who follow. Utahs two Republican senators didnt immediately respond to requests for comment on the resolution. Both have said previously they disapprove of Trumps national emergency declaration. I do not believe declaring a national emergency is the right approach, Sen. Mitt Romney said in a Feb. 14 statement. I would also expect the president to stay within statutory and constitutional limits. Sen. Mike Lee agreed in his Feb. 15 news release. My initial assessment is that what President Trump announced is legal, Lee said. Whether or not it should be legal is a different matter. Congress has been ceding far too much power to the executive branch for decades. We should use this moment as an opportunity to start taking that power back. Trump spoke out on Twitter Monday reinforcing his position on the border wall. "I hope our great Republican Senators don't get led down the path of weak and ineffective Border Security," Trump wrote. "Without strong Borders, we don't have a Country and the voters are on board with us. Be strong and smart, don't fall into the Democrats 'trap' of Open Borders and Crime!" SANDY A Sandy mother has been arrested after her 7-year-old son was found not breathing and without a pulse in what police say is a case of child abuse Reyna Elizabeth Flores-Rosales, 30, was arrested Tuesday for investigation of two counts of child abuse and one count of child endangerment. On Monday, emergency crews were called to Flores-Rosales' home, 7890 S. Manzano Drive, where they found her 7-year-old son on the living room floor, according to a Salt Lake County Jail report. She claimed her son had been in the shower for an hour, and when she went to check on him "found him unresponsive on the floor of the shower," the report states. She also stated that her son had previously been treated for burns, according to the report. Flores-Rosales allegedly told police she'd put the boy in the shower after he'd "'gone' in his diaper," according to the report. Herriman police on Tuesday declined to say whether the boy had a previous disability, stating that it is part of their investigation. Paramedics and police officers noticed bleeding from the boy's nose and "orange-red fluid in his mouth," the report states. "They noted multiple injuries and scars on (his) body in various stages of healing. (He) had older burns on parts of his body as well as what appeared to be scars or ligature marks on his neck. He had scrapes and cuts on his nose, ear and hands and deeper wounds on his left leg, left hand and armpit," the report states. The boy was taken to Alta View Hospital and then flown by medical helicopter to Primary Children's Hospital where doctors found he was suffering from "significant head trauma," according to the report. "They ruled out an accident as a possible cause. They compared the damage and the bleeding on the brain to what is seen in shaken baby syndrome," officers wrote in the report. A witness told investigators that Flores-Rosales has been reported to the Division of Child and Family Services in the past because her son "constantly had new bruises, marks and injuries," according to police. "Another witness reported that he would often hear Reyna screaming and yelling. Though he did not see her abuse (the boy), he believes that is what was happening," the report states. Police noted that Flores-Rosales has no family ties to Utah, that she was planning to move on Tuesday, and that she "has a history of being a fugitive from justice and has been extradited as can be seen in her criminal history. She has also been charged with false info to police." According to court records, Flores-Rosales was convicted of felony drug distribution in 2015. She was given a suspended one-to-15-year prison sentence and placed on probation. A warrant was also issued for her arrest in that case in 2017 for Flores-Rosales to be released to immigration officials for deportation, but that warrant was recalled in September. Court records do not indicate whether Flores-Rosales was deported. Amnesty decries human rights violations in MENA region 'Complacency fosters atrocities' (ANSAmed) - ROME, FEBRUARY 27 - The international community's chilling complacency towards wide-scale human rights violations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has emboldened governments to commit appalling violations during 2018 by giving them the sense that they need never fear facing justice, said Amnesty International in a statement on Tuesday. The statement came with the publication of a review of human rights in the region last year. ''Across MENA throughout 2018 thousands of dissidents and peaceful critics have been victims of shameless government violations on a shocking scale, amid deafening silence from the international community,'' Heba Morayef, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, said. Amnesty International's report reveals that the crackdown on dissent and civil society intensified significantly in Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia during 2018. These three states are emblematic of the inadequacy of the international response to rampant government violations, it said. ''In Iran, a wave of mass protests was violently suppressed, with thousands arrested and detained throughout the year. However, the response from the European Union, which has an ongoing human rights dialogue with the country, was muted,'' it added. The statement also criticized the fact that Western countries such as France and the US continue to sell arms to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Israel despite serious international and human rights violations by the three states. (ANSAmed). SALT LAKE CITY Utah lawmakers are considering a bill that would create $30 million in tax credits to businesses providing jobs for people looking for higher pay who are veterans, disabled or have been convicted of a crime. The Senate Business and Labor Committee voted 5-2 in favor of SB196, the Employment Advantage Act. Ryan Dressler, with Advantage Capital, said the bill is designed to get people who are out of the workforce to a place where they can earn a living wage and take advantage of the high quality of life in Utah. He said the money would go back to the state if the predetermined number of jobs are not created. But Heather Williamson, of Americans for Prosperity Utah, said the state is already thriving and the tax breaks are counterproductive and unnecessary. She said Forbes has rated Utah the best state for business and Utah leads the nation in job growth and unemployment rates. "Why should Utah spend millions of dollars in taxpayer money for a job creation program in a state that, by nearly all measures, doesnt need it," Williamson said. The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, thanked Williamson for her comments and said the statistics she shared supported the concept of his bill as they are the result of similar incentives. "Its been programs like this that have put Utah No. 1 for the last 11 years," Bramble said. Ben Hart, deputy director at the Governors Office of Economic Development, said this bill would help to fill gaps the market is not fixing. "We, always, only believe in an incentive where there is a market failure. Weve got a market failure here where were still seeing a lot of these people who are not able to take advantage of the prosperity," Hart said. Hart said now is the right time for the bill and it is the right approach to help those in the Utah economy flourish. The bill will now go to the full Senate for consideration. SALT LAKE CITY Two people shopping for a dress face felony charges, including making a terroristic threat, after allegedly becoming upset when they were told they'd have to make an appointment. Ivy C. Allen Grant, 22, and Ashley Eden Ayers, 31, both of West Jordan, were charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony. Grant was also charged with making a terroristic threat, a third-degree felony. On Feb. 18, Grant and Ayers, along with their mother, went into LatterDayBride, 360 W. 300 South, to find a dress for their mother. The business specializes in modest dresses for weddings, proms, missions and everyday use. But the group was told they would not be able to buy a dress without first making an appointment, according to charging documents. The mother became upset and shoved the employee who gave them the news, the charges state. The group was told to leave the store immediately. But on the way out, "Grant said he was going to come back to the store and 'blow it up,'" according to the charges. Ayers accidentally left her purse in the store. When employees called police, an officer took a report from them and took possession of the purse, the charges state. About an hour later, Grant and Ayers returned to the store looking for the purse. Ayers demanded that the employee "give me my bag" and then punched the employee "in both eyes, grabbed (her) by the hair and smashed her face onto the counter, then Ayers kicked and stomped on (the employee's) chest," the charges state. The employee was taken to a local hospital to be treated for minor injuries. After the attack, Ayers and Grant called police to arrange a meeting to pick up the purse. When they arrived, they were taken into custody, according to charging documents. SALT LAKE CITY The Utah House of Representatives gave unanimous approval to HB71on Tuesday, a bill that clarifies that public school educators can teach about contraceptive methods and devices as well as their effectiveness, limitations and risks, but may not advocate for their use. However, HB71, sponsored by Rep. Ray Ward, R-Bountiful, also says the Utah State Board of Education may not require a school district or charter school board to teach or adopt instructional materials that include information on contraceptive methods or devices. While the State School Board establishes standards for sex education, local school boards and charter school boards select curriculum. Most opt for curriculum that is abstinence-based but others prefer an abstinence-only curriculum. It is a local decision. While the state board permits contraception instruction and prohibits advocacy of contraception use, Ward said there is a need for clarity because some educators wont teach about contraception even when it is permitted by their local school boards for fear that their instruction could be misconstrued as inappropriate or beyond the scope of what is allowed. "It leaves for some uncertainty to an individual teacher knowing where the line is when you're advocating and where you're just teaching about it," he said. If a school or district allows instruction on contraception, HB71 says "these are some basic things that are allowed," Ward said. "Hopefully, having both prohibition (of advocacy) in place but a line of code that balances that will help make it clear," Ward said. Ward said the bill was amended to satisfy concerns of "pro-family" organizations. Rep. Jeffrey Stenquist, R-Draper, spoke in support of the bill. In the context of other policy questions the Legislature is considering this session such as "viability of life and those kind of issues, this kind of education can help prevent unwanted pregnancies and I see it as a preventative measure," Stenquist said. Following the 72-0 vote, HB71 moves to the Senate for further consideration. SALT LAKE CITY At the same time about a dozen companies were gathered in the Capitol rotunda Monday to celebrate Tech Day at the Legislature, new data was released showing more than 1 in 7 Utah jobs are supported by the state's burgeoning innovation and technology sector. And with a growth rate that is outpacing other Utah industries, and the national tech employment rate, by a 2-to-1 margin, high-tech businesses are likely to drive an even bigger segment of the state's economy going forward. Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, who visited with some of the companies displaying their wares Monday morning, said the findings of the tech industry report released by the University of Utah's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute earlier in the day showed performance metrics that were even bigger than he anticipated. "We know that the growth is happening and that it has been big, but I dont think I even realized how big it really is," Cox said. "Double the growth rate of our other industries, but double the growth rate across the country is a big deal." The Gardner report found in 2017 that Utah's tech companies were directly and indirectly supporting over 302,000 jobs in the state, while paying out some $20.1 billion in wages and generating almost $30 billion in contributions to Utah's gross domestic product. Levi Pace, report author and Gardner Institute senior research economist, said Utah's portfolio of tech efforts, which range from multibillion-dollar interests to fledgling startups, are forging the state's status as a force to be reckoned with on the international stage of innovation achievement. "Utah's tech companies compete on a big stage when it comes to software, IT services, devices and e-commerce," Pace said in a statement. "From startups to billion-dollar valuations, Silicon Slopes' companies connect Utah to the global innovation economy and are key components of Utah's recent economic successes." State lawmakers are reviewing numerous proposals in the current session aimed at helping to keep Utah's technology industries on a continued growth arc. Joseph Woodbury, founder and CEO of Neighbor, a company that's applied the peer-to-peer model to solving storage needs, said he's encouraged by what he sees as legislators finally catching up, or at least trying to, with changes wrought by tech innovators. "Utah has always been a business friendly state and were starting to become a tech-centered state," Woodbury said. "Weve been good at nurturing industry and now were starting to nurture tech. "In the past, the Legislature has sometimes been challenged by peer-to-peer ideas ... but as they've become more educated theyre starting to protect those industries," Woodbury said. "They're now realizing that those companies not only provide jobs within those companies but jobs or income to all the Utahns who are their hosts as well." Woodbury noted some Neighbor storage hosts are earning between $15,000-$20,000 a year through subletting unused storage space in their homes or businesses through the Neighbor platform. Val Hale, executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development, said his agency has multiple efforts in play that are aimed at bolstering the workforce challenges that have surfaced as a result of the state's booming tech success. Data from the state's Department of Workforce Services last month showed almost 6,000 unfilled tech positions in the state. Hale noted a number of proposals making their way through the Legislature were crafted to help address building the tech talent pool. "Tech has been one of the prime drivers of our economy now for probably the last decade," Hale said. "I dont think its a secret that legislators realize this and youre seeing that manifest in a lot of bills. "Everyone wants to keep this going and keep the great jobs going and the high wages that come with it." The Gardner report found annual compensation packages averaged $102,000 for tech employees versus just over $58,000, on average, for other Utah industries. The combined economic wherewithal for the state's tech sector accounted for over one-sixth, or 17.6 percent, of the state's gross domestic product in 2017. Feeding the education pipeline is a topic that's foremost on many of the state's tech CEOs and founders, and it's an effort lawmakers are working to address. Rep. John Knotwell, R-Herriman, who also oversees tech trade group Utah Technology Council, said his HB227 would, in partnership with state tech leaders, help boost computer science offerings in schools across the state through an innovative grant program. Knotwell said only about half of the state's high schools and middle schools currently offer any computer science courses and the classes are essentially nonexistent at the elementary school level. "So far, we're seeing wide support for the effort," Knotwell said. "Industry leaders, stakeholders and government alike are behind this. "I strongly believe that if we can get kids interested and engaged in computer science topics at an early age, they'll be much better prepared for and interested in these classes at the high school and college level." Cydni Tetro, CEO of tech platform ForgeDX and co-founder and president of advocacy group Women Tech Council, said the state's level of tech success is historic and will only continue growing if challenges can be addressed. "I think were in an uprecedented time for technology in the state," Tetro said. "One of the reasons were seeing so much activity here at the Legislature is because were also at a juncture where we need to lay a really good foundation for that growth. "There are a lot of opportunities that are coming with our tech successes, but we need to start planning now how we're going to address critical needs, from infrastructure to education." Jeff Burningham is a serial entrepreneur and current chairman and CEO of real estate investment firm Peak Capital Partners and is a principal and co-founder of venture capital firm Peak Ventures. He's also considering a run for Utah governor and believes it's time for government to embrace some of the goals that help drive successful entrepreneurial efforts. "As the economy moves quicker, tech continues to innovate but government, for the most part, remains the same," Burningham said. "We need a more innovative government for the more innovative time we live in." Burningham also underscored the critical needs to bolster tech education for the state's students in K-12 and beyond. "Technology and innovation is one of the keys to our future," Burningham said. "What we need to ensure is that our children are educated for the jobs that exist now and the ones that are coming. I think were falling short in that regard." BEIRUT - Intense government air raids and artillery strikes were reported on Wednesday morning in north-western Syria where Turkey exercises influence over local militias, most of whom are affiliated to al Qaida, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The UK-based monitoring group said that the raids occurred along the road between Hama and Aleppo that crosses the Idlib region out of the government's control. Over the past few weeks, the UN reported, over 7,000 civilians left their homes in the area following government air raids. In a statement released over the last few hours on the humanitarian emergency in Syria, the UN said that, between February 1 and February 21, 7,033 women, children and men abandoned their homes in the district of Khan Shaykhun, which was heavily bombarded by government forces. crime $500 reward for information leading to arrest of Yeadon fugitive Vimercati's photos compared with Morandi's works in Madrid Exhibition at Italian Institute of Culture 1/3-21/6 (ANSAmed) - MADRID, FEBRUARY 27 - Eighteen years after the artist's death, the Italian Institute of Culture in Madrid is holding an exhibition starting March 1 on Franco Vimercati. Vimercati was born in Milan on 1940 and died in 2011. The exhibition is entitled 'Franco Vimercati: Photography, Life. A Dialogue with Giorgio Morandi'. Curated by Elio Grazioli, the project juxtaposes works by the photographer, whose personal search played a key role in the history of Italian photography in the second half of the twentieth century, with etchings by Giorgio Morandi, one from 1928 and the other from 1946. Sources at the Italian Institute of Culture said that ''a great deal of critics have compared Franco Vimercati's way of working and living to that of Morandi, calling him the 'Morandi of photography', but it is this exhibition that the similarities and differences between the two artists are looked at more closely''. Having lived far from the noise of the 'art system', Vimercati became a living legend during his lifetime for his series of 100 soup bowls, to which he dedicated himself for 10 years and, like Morandi, for having focused exclusively on everyday objects, 'still lives', as the subject of his work. In explaining the decision to present the two etchings by Morandi alongside Vimercati's photos, Elio Graziani quoted the photographer's words in noting that ''photography has many things in common with etchings: the plate, the negatives and printing, alongside the relationship between black and white, the depth of the mark, the precision'', the technical attention that becomes linguistics and formal attention - like in Minimal Art and Conceptual Art - and not just an end in and of itself. The exhibition, which will be inaugurated at the same time as the International Contemporary Art Fair (ARCO) in Madrid, will remain open until June 21 at Palacio de Abrantes in Calle Mayor 86. In the catalog, produced by the Italian Institute of Culture in Madrid and published in Italian and Spanish, there are texts written by critics and by Elio Grazioli, Javier Hontoria and Marilena Pasquali.(ANSAmed). Even though Pakistan has denied Indian Air Force had ambushed terror camp and cause heavy casualties, Islamabad vowed to respond 'at the time and place of its choosing and will raise issue at the United Nation and other international forums. (Photo: PTI) Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has called a meeting of National Command Authority on Wednesday, hours after India attacked on a terrorist camp in Balakot in response to attack in Pulwama terror attack. Even though Pakistan has denied Indian Air Force had ambushed terror camp and cause heavy casualties, Islamabad vowed to respond at the time and place of its choosing and will raise issue at the United Nation and other international forums. A spokesperson of Pakistans Army said, We will surprise you, adding the response would include all domains including "diplomatic, political and military." On early Tuesday, India bombed and destroyed the Jaish-e-Mohammeds biggest training camp in Balakot, killing very large number of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. This air strike came after 12 days after JeM carried out a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama that killed at least 40 CRPF soldiers. Apart from the National Command Authority meet, Pakistan government has also called a joint session of Parliament on Wednesday. Islamabad: In a media address, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday claimed that two Indian MIGs crossed the Line of Control and they were shot down, as he offered to defuse tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours and resolve the issues through talks. Imran Khan said that they offered every kind of investigation after Pulwama attack in India. He said that Pakistan didnt take action on Tuesday morning because they werent aware of the damage caused by the Indian air strike. "Our action was only intended to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same. Two of their MiGs were shot down (in the ensuing action)," Khan said in a live TV address. Khan said, We did not want to cause much collateral damage in India when there was not much damage on our side. The only motive of Pakistans strike on Wednesday was to demonstrate that we have the capability to hit back. All the wars have happened due to miscalculation. With all the weapons that Pakistan and India have, can we afford to miscalculate. If we take to war neither I nor Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be in a position to control its course. This is why I suggest that better sense should prevail, said Imran Khan. "Let's sit together and settle this with talks," he added. His comments came minutes after the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said that Pakistan Air Force targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is "missing in action". Islamabad: India has strongly rejected Pakistan's claim that it shot down two Indian military aircraft over Pakistani air space and arrested one of the pilots. Indian military sources told NDTV that all pilots are accounted for. Also Read: Pushed back, says India to Pak claims of violating' Indian air space Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistan military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor had claimed in a tweet that one of the aircraft crashed in Pakistan occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. Major General A Ghafoor, DG ISPR, Pak Army: In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down 2 Indian aircraft inside Pak airspace. 1 aircraft fell inside AJ&K, other fell inside IOK. 1 Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground,2 in area pic.twitter.com/drXPdWXYfh ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 "One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area," he said without elaborating. The French Presidency of the UNSC comes after the 15-nation UN organ under the presidency of Equatorial Guinea. (Photo:File) United Nations: France is working on a proposal to ban chief of the UN-proscribed Jaish-e Muhammad (JeM) Masood Azhar and could move it in the Sanctions Committee after it assumes the Presidency of the powerful UN Security Council in March, sources said. The rotating monthly Presidency of the 15-nation UN Security Council (UNSC) will go from Equatorial Guinea to France on March 1. France, a permanent member of the Council with veto powers, is working on the proposal (to ban Azhar) and it should be ready soon, informed sources told PTI, adding that the proposal against the JeM chief could perhaps be moved in the Sanctions Committee under the French presidency. "France is focussed on bringing individual listing requests of JeM terrorists to the 1267 Sanctions Committee soon," they said. The Pakistan-based JeM claimed the responsibility of the heinous suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14 in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed, sparking outrage in India. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action. The facility at Balakot was headed by Yousuf Azhar, the brother-in-law of the JeM chief. The proposal, when moved, will be the fourth such bid at the UN in the last 10 years to list Azhar as a global terrorist. In 2009, India had moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar. This was followed in 2016 when India moved the proposal with the P3 - the United States, the United Kingdom and France - in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the air base in Pathankot in January, 2016. In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, on all occasions China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UNSC, blocked the proposal from being adopted by the Sanctions Committee. It remains to be seen how China will vote on the proposal this time, following a crucial bilateral meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wuzhen, where she is participating in the Russia, India, China (RIC) Foreign Ministers meeting. Swaraj on Wednesday raised the Pulwama suicide attack in her meeting with her Chinese counterpart, a day after India destroyed a major JeM terror training camp in Pakistan. Stating that the JeM is banned by the UN and other countries, Swaraj told Wang that "this terrorist attack is the direct result of the impunity and cover provided to the JeM and its leaders by the Pakistani side". "After the Pulwama attack the entire UN has spoken with full voice to condemn it," she said. The French Presidency of the UNSC comes after the 15-nation UN organ under the presidency of Equatorial Guinea had issued a highly significant press statement strongly condemning the Pulwama terror attack. China had to sign off on the February 21 UNSC press statement that "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". On the UNSC press statement condemning the Pulwama attack, a UN diplomat here said that what moved the Security Council was that "this is an issue that all the members speak with one voice in the fight against terrorism. Whenever there is an act of terrorism, any where no matter who perpetrates it, it receives the condemnation of not only of the Security Council but of all the international community." The UNSC press statement was seen not only as a strong condemnation of terror against India but also of international solidarity with New Delhi on its fight against terrorism. China's lone opposition in the UNSC to any mention of terrorism resulted in a delay of nearly one week in issuance of the press statement by the powerful body on the dastardly Pulwama terror attack, official sources had said. However, the US assiduously worked as "pen holder" making various adjustments to get the approval by all other members of the Council, they said. In a statement issued by the acting spokesperson of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of France following the air strikes by the Indian Air Force on the JeM training camp in Pakistan, France said it "stands by India in the fight against terrorism in all its forms" and "is fully engaged in mobilizing the international community to sanction the terrorists responsible for this attack and freezing their financing networks." Hours after India carried out the air strikes against the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres reiterated his "urgent appeal to both the Government of India and the Government of Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure that the situation does not further deteriorate." His spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters at the daily press briefing that the UN Chief is "obviously following this situation very closely." US President Donald Trump shakes hands with North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un before a meeting in Hanoi on Wednesday. (Photo: AFP) Hanoi: US President Donald Trump touted North Koreas AWESOME future if his friend Kim Jong Un, whom he was to meet for a high-stakes dinner later on Wednesday, agrees to give up his nuclear arsenal. Trump's upbeat message came in a tweet hours before a second summit in Hanoi to build on the pair's first meeting in Singapore in June. Trump, seeking a big foreign policy win to push back against domestic troubles, believes his unique brand of personal diplomacy and business acumen can make history. His goal is to persuade Kim to dismantle his nuclear weapons and resolve a stand-off with the totalitarian state that has bedevilled US leaders since the end of the Korean war in 1953. To lure Kim into radical change, Trump is believed to be considering offering a formal peace declaration though not a treaty to draw a line under the technically still unfinished war. But Washington faces mounting pressure to extract significant concessions from Kim, who has so far shown little desire to ditch the nuclear capability. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday the Hanoi meeting could be an important step towards advancing the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. While the Singapore summit ended with a statement promising to work towards denuclearisation, Washington and Pyongyang disagree on what that even means. And while North Korea has now gone more than a year without conducting missile and nuclear tests, it has done nothing to roll back the weapons already built. Trump, a former real estate tycoon who often boasts of being one of the world's best negotiators, is pitching a vision of North Korea as a new Asian economic tiger if it surrenders its nuclear status. He said the country could one day emulate Vietnam a communist state once locked in devastating conflict with the United States, but now a thriving trade partner. And he has invested himself personally in the relationship with Kim, creating the diplomatic equivalent of a Hollywood odd-couple bromance. Before Singapore, they were slinging bizarre insults Trump calling Kim rocket man and Kim calling him a dotard. With North Korea then busily testing missiles and conducting underground nuclear tests, analysts feared the duo were egging each other on towards a catastrophic confrontation. Now, Trump talks of love and claims that his ground-breaking policies defused the threat posed by Kim. The Hanoi summit is more elaborate than the Singapore occasion. The White House said Trump and Kim will hold a 10-minute meeting before an approximately 20-minute session without aides, followed by dinner lasting around 90 minutes. On Thursday they are due to meet again, although no details have been released, adding to the impression that much is being decided at the last minute. Critics warn Trump is so keen to score a deal with Kim that he could give away too much, too quickly, endangering US allies South Korea and Japan. Washington would ideally like Kim to dismantle a key nuclear facility at Yongbyon. Washington: Donald Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen will tell Congress on Wednesday that the president is a racist and conman and knew in advance that WikiLeaks would publish dirt on Hillary Clinton, US media reported. In explosive public testimony to Congress, Cohen will also state that Trump essentially instructed him to lie about a real estate project Trump had in the works in Russia while running for president in 2016, according to a prepared statement by Cohen that was provided to the New York Times and other US news outlets. Cohen will testify on Wednesday before the House of Representatives Oversight Committee on the second of three scheduled days of testimony on Capitol Hill. Tuesday's first session at the senate was behind closed doors. Cohen, 52, worked closely with Trump for more than 12 years becoming vice president of the Trump Organization, where he was the billionaire property magnate's behind-the-scenes fixer. Last year, Cohen pleaded guilty to illegally using campaign funds for hush payments to two women who said they had affairs with Trump. He also pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in testimony in 2017 when he sought to cover up Trump's pursuit of a lucrative Moscow real estate project during the previous year's presidential election. In the testimony Wednesday, Cohen will tell Congress again that he kept working on a Trump Tower project in Moscow well into the 2016 presidential campaign and did not stop in January of that year as he had originally told lawmakers. Trump has insisted he had no contacts with Russia during the campaign. (ANSA) - Rome, February 27 - The performance of Italian universities has improved in this year's newly released edition of the QS World University Rankings, which focuses on leading institutions by region and subject. Italy this year came in fourth in Europe - after Great Britain, Germany and France - and seventh in the world for the total number of universities included in the most-consulted global rankings worldwide. Rome university La Sapienza was the only Italian institution that ranked at the top for classical studies and ancient history. Italy moreover ranked third in Europe after the United Kingdom and Germany and seventh in the world for the total number of positions it holds this year. The rankings include 41 Italian universities. The area of life sciences and medicine of Italian universities is the most represented in the world ranking. As far as single subjects are concerned, the rankings included physics and astronomy, medicine, economics and econometrics. In particular, the Polytechnic in Milan was the only Italian university to rank among the top 10 in three subjects; Bocconi University, also in Milan, ranked eighth for business and management, gaining two positions compared to last year. It also rose 11 positions in finance, conquering 18th place and keeping its 16th position in economics. The Polytechnic in Turin made it into the ranking for the first time in minerals engineering for which it gained 24th place. Other debuts included the University of Bologna in dentistry (44th place) and the University of Pisa in library studies (50th place). La Sapienza, the University of Bologna (Unibo) and the University of Padua were the Italian institutions most represented in the rankings while the Italian cities with the highest number of ranked institutions were Milan with seven, Rome with four and Pisa with three. A total of 18 Italian universities were ranked among the top 100 in 36 different subjects. Overall, Italian universities occupied 521 positions in the ranking with 192 remaining unvaried compared to last year, 166 that improved, 85 downgrades and 78 new entries. Compared to last year, Italy boosted its presence in all rankings, including among the top 50 (with 34 this year compared to last year's 29) in the top 100 (98 in 2019 from 83 last year) and in the top 200 (236 from 213). Ben Sowter, who is in charge of research and analysis at QS, said the trend in Italy was "noteworthy", especially considering "fierce global competition" in the international academic world. Nevertheless, the positive result was reported as the OECD warned that Italy ranked eighth for the number of emigrants, including one-third who are university graduates. Italy spends on education one percentage point less (4% of GDP) than the European average, with 164,000 euros per undergraduate and 228,000 for a PhD graduate. Yet, Sowter noted, other countries are increasingly benefiting from this investment as Italy is struggling with a brain-drain phenomenon. Kathmandu: Nepal's Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Rabindra Adhikari and six others were killed on Wednesday when a private helicopter crashed in eastern Nepal's mountainous Taplejung district, the latest aviation accident in the Himalayan nation. Besides the 39-year-old tourism minister, the Air Dynasty helicopter was carrying Nepal's prominent aviation and hospitality entrepreneur Ang Tsering Sherpa, Prime Minister's personal aide Yubaraj Dahal, two senior Civil Aviation Authority (CAAN) officials and a Nepal Army officer. Rescue workers retrieved the bodies of Adhikari, the pilot and five other passengers from a hillside in Taplejung district where the Air Dynasty chopper went down. Tourism Ministry spokesperson confirmed that all seven on board the helicopter have been killed in the crash. The helicopter crashed as it hit a hill while Tourism Minister Adhikari was returning to Kathmandu after visiting famous Hindu temple Pathibhara in Eastern Nepal. Earlier, the minister accompanied by the technical team from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Sherpa, managing director of Yeti Airlines, had gone for a feasibility study for an airstrip in Chuhandanda, in Tehrathum district. The helicopter crashed right after it had taken off from the temple, officials said, adding the cause of the crash is being probed. Trump, who has previously spoken of the "love" between him and the North Korean strongman, said that by abandoning nuclear weapons the country would very quickly emulate Vietnam. (Photo:AP) Hanoi: US President Donald Trump touted North Korea's "AWESOME" future if his "friend" Kim Jong Un, whom he meets for a high-stakes dinner later Wednesday, agrees to give up his nuclear arsenal. Trump's enthusiastic tweet came hours before a second summit in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi to build on their historic first meeting in Singapore last June. In just a few words, Trump encapsulated his fervent belief that only his uniquely personal brand of diplomacy and business acumen can break a stand-off with the isolated, nuclear-armed state that has bedevilled US leaders ever since the end of the Korean war in 1953. Trump, who has previously spoken of the "love" between him and the North Korean strongman, said that by abandoning nuclear weapons the country would very quickly emulate Vietnam -- a communist country once locked in conflict with the United States, but now a thriving trade partner. "The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting!" Trump tweeted. Trump has torn up the script by bringing Kim out of the cold, giving him a legitimacy once considered unthinkable in Washington, which has long seen North Korea as the world's most repressive state. But now there is intense pressure for results. The Singapore summit ended only with a vague statement promising to work "towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula". Since then Washington and Pyongyang have disagreed even on what this means. And while North Korea has now gone more than a year without conducting missile and nuclear tests, it has done nothing to roll back the arsenal already built. That leaves Trump, who claimed after Singapore that North Korea is "no longer a nuclear threat," scrambling to get something concrete out of Kim in Hanoi -- or face growing criticism that he is being played by the man about half his age. On the defensive, Trump said in another tweet Wednesday that opponents in the Democratic Party should "stop talking about what I should do with North Korea and ask themselves instead why they didn't do 'it' during eight years of the (Barack) Obama Administration?" The Kim-Trump relationship, bringing together two leaders fond of showmanship, has turned into the diplomatic equivalent of a Hollywood odd-couple bromance. Before the Singapore get-together they were slinging bizarre insults -- Trump calling Kim "rocket man" and Kim calling him a "dotard" in response. With North Korea then busily testing missiles and conducting earth-shaking underground nuclear tests, analysts feared that the duo were egging each other on toward a catastrophic confrontation. Now Trump promotes himself as someone who by daring to do things differently actually defused what he said was a near-war situation inherited on taking over the White House. "He's never had a relationship with anybody from this country, and hasn't had lots of relationships anywhere," Trump said of Kim before leaving Washington. The Hanoi summit is more elaborate than the brief first occasion. The White House said Trump and Kim will hold a 10-minute meeting, before going off for an approximately 20-minute session without aides, followed by dinner lasting around 90 minutes. On Thursday they are due to meet again, although no details have been released, adding to the impression that much of the occasion is being decided at the last minute. With Congress back home investigating Trump for alleged illegal activities and also trying to stop his controversial use of executive power to fund the construction of a US-Mexican border wall, the president would dearly like to change the news narrative by proclaiming a dramatic win. Critics warn he is so keen to deal with Kim that he could give away too much in his desire to make headlines, endangering rock-solid US allies South Korea and Japan. In Singapore, Trump took his own generals by surprise when he announced a suspension of military exercises with the South -- something the North badly wanted. Washington would ideally like Kim to dismantle a key nuclear facility at Yongbyon, allow in international inspectors, or even hand over a full list of all the country's nuclear assets -- something the North Koreans have categorically refused to do. In return, Trump is believed to be considering dangling relief from tough international sanctions. Opening diplomatic liaison offices is another possible US concession. Trump could go further by making a joint declaration that the 1950-53 Korean War is over, after hostilities ended with a ceasefire but no peace treaty. Although that would be seemingly a mostly symbolic gesture, many analysts caution that it could open the door to a cascade of real-world consequences upsetting a region where the US and China are already in a growing struggle for influence. (From right to left) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Chinese Foriegn Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foriegn Minister Sergey Lavrov after RIC meet in Wuzhen on Wednesday. (Photo: ANI) Wuzhen: China on Wednesday endorsed India's position on cross-border terrorism, adding that terrorist groups cannot be supported and used in political and geopolitical goals. In a veiled reference to Pakistan, China in very strong terms said that "those committing, orchestrating, inciting or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice." While condemning the terrorism, Russia, India and China in a Joint Communique of the 16th Meeting of the respective countries' foreign ministers, said: "The Ministers strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations." It added, "They called on the international community to strengthen UN-led global counter-terrorism cooperation by fully implementing the relevant UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, while respecting sovereignty and independence of all states, and expeditiously finalizing and adopting the UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the earliest." "They reiterated that states and their competent agencies play a central role in both national and international counter-terrorism efforts. They also stressed that terrorist groups cannot be supported and used in political and geopolitical goals," stated the Joint Communique. "The Ministers stressed that those committing, orchestrating, inciting or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with existing international commitments on countering terrorism, including the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the FATF standards, international treaties, including on the basis of the principle "extradite or prosecute and relevant international and bilateral obligations and in compliance with applicable domestic legislation," the statement added. RIC meet, which held in China, was attended by India External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Addressing the threat of chemical and biological terrorism, Russia, China and India said, "They supported and emphasised the need for launching multilateral negotiations on an international convention for the suppression of acts of chemical and biological terrorism within the Conference on Disarmament." The three countries also expressed support to Libya in its fight against the ISIL, Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. Pompeo said that in talks with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, he stressed 'the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action, and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil.' (Photo: File) Washington: Amid heightened tension, the US has called for India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and urged Islamabad to take action against terrorists. Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State, said, We encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost. "Following Indian counter-terrorism actions on February 26, I spoke with Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj to emphasise our close security partnership and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region," Pompeo said in a statement. Pompeo said that in talks with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, he had stressed the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action, and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil. US Secy of State issues statement in the light of strike by Indian Air Force in Balakot;states,"I spoke to Pak Foreign Min to underscore priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action&urgency of Pak taking action against terror groups operating on its soil pic.twitter.com/ac5nFKf8nw ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 In a separate call with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Pompeo emphasised the close security partnership between the US and India and the shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region. Pompeo is currently in Vietnam to attend the second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on denuclearsation of the Korean peninsula. Last week, US National Security Adviser John Bolton told his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval that America supports India's right to self defence as both sides vowed to work together to ensure that Pakistan ceases to be a safe haven for JeM and other terror groups. New York: An Indian student has been arrested after being charged with intentionally causing damage to over 50 protected computers owned by a college in New York state capital Albany, officials said on Wednesday. Vishwanath Akuthota, 26 was arrested on February 22 in North Carolina after being charged with intentionally causing damage to protected computers owned by The College of Saint Rose in Albany, US Attorney Grant Jaquith said. According to a criminal complaint, on February 14, Akuthota entered numerous locations around the Saint Rose campus and inserted a device into more than 50 computers used by students. The device, which resembles a normal USB memory stick, sends a rapid series of power surges into a computer's electrical hardware, rendering it inoperable. The damage exceeds USD 50,000. Akuthota, an Indian citizen, is residing in the US on a student visa. He appeared in the federal court in Raleigh, North Carolina, where a US Magistrate Judge ordered him detained and transported to the Northern District of New York. The charge filed against Akuthota carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to USD 250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. Frances Avenir Telecom, which licenses the Energizer brand, promises a weeks worth of use, or two full days of continuous video playback despite that gargantuan battery. Move over 3,000mAh and 5,000mAh battery phones. At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019, Energizer launched a smartphone that is powered by a gigantic 18,000mAh battery! The MWC 2019 is already a little weird with the presence of foldable phones, and the mammoth battery phone added to it. As The Verge reports, the Energizer Power Max P18K Pop is an 18mm thick slab for a phone. Frances Avenir Telecom, which licenses the Energizer brand, promises a weeks worth of use, or two full days of continuous video playback despite that gargantuan battery. There are already phones, with lesser thickness, and similar battery backup. As for specifications, the Energizer Power Max P18K Pop features a 6.2-inch LCD display, a pop-up dual camera for selfies, triple cameras at the back, and runs the latest Android 9 Pie. It is powered by a MediaTek processor, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of default internal storage. Although the 18,000mAh battery supports fast charging, it would take you eight hours to charge it to full. Despite the rough edges, the Energizer Power Max P18K Pop will be the phone with the biggest battery in the world when it launches in the summer. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. In August of 2018, the OnePlus 5G Project Team successfully established a 5G connection to Qualcomm Technologies laboratory located in San Diego, in the US. OnePlus recently displayed its first OnePlus 5G prototype smartphone powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform at MWC (Mobile World Congress). The company will also be amongst the first OEMs to launch smartphones powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform in India, and plans to work with Qualcomm on 5G trials. OnePlus will be among the first smartphone companies to feature the new flagship with the Snapdragon 855, to provide users with unmatched imaging, gaming, and intelligence for the new decade of wireless experience. OnePlus began research on 5G in 2016. A year later, in 2017, the company proudly started working with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., on OnePlus 5G device development. In August of 2018, the OnePlus 5G Project Team successfully established a 5G connection to Qualcomm Technologies laboratory located in San Diego, in the US. It has been working closely with Qualcomm for two years to perfect the technology to meet OnePlus standards of Fast and Smooth. In October 2018, OnePlus rolled out the worlds first 5G tweet by connecting a prototype device to a 5G Non-standalone Network, via an LTE b7 + 5G NR n78 air interface. The tweet sent out by the founder and CEO, Pete Lau read Say Hello to 5G. By Never Settling, OnePlus is constantly challenging itself to deliver the best. This is why 5G is of great strategic importance to OnePlus. At MWC, for the first time, the brand showcased its 5G prototype smartphone powered by the Snapdragon 855 chipset at Qualcomms booth. Users could also experience cloud-gaming using a stable 5G network and Say Hello to the OnePlus community users there. OnePlus recently announced that it is also cooperating with Qualcomm to launch the 5G Apps of Tomorrow challenge among global developers. The winners will be awarded a total of 250,000 in cash, as well as other supporting resources. We aim to integrate industry resources, and push forward for the next steps of 5G apps for users. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. The mobile market slipped 1.2 percent in 2018, research company Gartner says, although it expects growth of 1.6 percent in 2019, driven by replacement cycles in the largest and most saturated markets China, the United States and Western Europe. Flexible and folding formats framed the future of smartphones this week as manufacturers focused on new forms in an effort to jolt the market out of uniformity and re-invigorate sales. But anyone hoping to tap or swipe Huaweis Mate X, a smartphone that wraps the screen around the front and back, was soon disappointed at Barcelonas Mobile World Congress. Initial cheers were quickly followed by gasps when the Chinese firm revealed its eye-watering 2,299 euros (USD 2,600) price tag, although that includes a 5G connection. This is even more than Samsungs Galaxy Fold, which was unveiled last week and will be priced from USD 1,980 when it goes on sale in some markets in April. It was on display in Barcelona in a glass case like a museum artefact. While the hands-off stance indicates neither firm has a consumer-ready device, 2019 would be remembered as the year of the foldable Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight, said, adding that the new format was still in its infancy. But we are at the stone age of devices with flexible displays; its a whole new phase of experimentation after the sea of smartphone sameness we have seen for the last decade. Samsung took the opposite approach to Huawei by putting its folding screen on the inside of its device, with another smaller screen on the front panel for use when its is closed. That was the solution we felt was best for longevity, Samsungs European Director of Mobile Portfolio & Commercial Strategy Mark Notton told Reuters. Smartphone makers have been trying to innovate to persuade consumers to upgrade from devices which already meet most of their needs, in an effort to reverse falling sales. And although more vendors will soon follow with their own takes on foldable displays, 2019 will not be the year they go mainstream, market analysts Canalys said. They will remain exclusively ultra-luxury devices with fewer than 2 million expected to be shipped worldwide this year, Canalys added. The mobile market slipped 1.2 percent in 2018, research company Gartner says, although it expects growth of 1.6 percent in 2019, driven by replacement cycles in the largest and most saturated markets China, the United States and Western Europe. With 5G next generation mobile networks not becoming widely available until 2023 in the United States and China and 2026 in Europe, analysts say, the vast majority of customers will be buying the latest 4G devices like Samsung new Galaxy S10. Nonetheless, manufacturers such as LG were keen to show they could squeeze 5G technology into 4G smartphone form, although most lacked launch or pricing information. Chinese maker OnePlus had a 5G device running a video game using a 5G connection on show, but visitors were teased with only a glimpse of the phones screen in a display cabinet. For us, launching means commercial availability, it doesnt mean PowerPoint, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei told Reuters. We are confident we are going to be one of the first with a commercially available smartphone in Europe, he said, adding that this would be within the first half of 2019. Xiaomi Corp, which ranked fifth in smartphone shipments in the last quarter according to IDC, did reveal pricing information along with its first 5G device. Xiaomi has fired the starting gun with a USD 599 price. That will bring tears to the eyes of many other mobile phone makers, Wood said, adding that many sub-scale makers such as Sony, LG and others could find it tough to make any kind of margin on 5G. Sony did not show a 5G device, relying instead on its ownership of a major Hollywood studio to release a new line of Xperia phones with a 21:9 display ratio optimised to watch movies and Netflix content. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Huawei has grown rapidly to become the worlds biggest maker of telecoms equipment and is embedded in the mobile networks and 5G plans of many European operators. (Photo: AP) European governments are listening to the US message that Chinas Huawei exposes telecoms networks to security risks, a senior US cyber official said on Tuesday. The State Department official was part of a US delegation in Barcelona seeking to persuade governments and telecoms operators at the Mobile World Congress, the worlds biggest wireless fair, to follow the US lead in shunning Huawei equipment. People are understanding our point that we are making about the security risks that are inherent in this technology coming from China, said Robert L. Strayer, US State Department ambassador for cyber and international communications. We have been very successful in convincing these governments to work with us to think about these types of threats to their future infrastructure, Strayer told reporters. The United States warns that next-generation 5G equipment, which some telecoms experts see as more vulnerable to attack than previous technology, could be exploited by the Chinese government for spying if supplied by Huawei. Huawei has grown rapidly to become the worlds biggest maker of telecoms equipment and is embedded in the mobile networks and 5G plans of many European operators. It denies that its technology represents a security risk. In the United States, 5G networks will largely be built by Nordic equipment makers Ericsson and Nokia, and Strayer said there were multiple safer alternatives to Huawei. The US has also alleged Huawei violated its regime of sanctions on Iran and stole intellectual property. We know that Huawei itself has been duplicitous and deceitful, Strayer said. Speaking in Barcelona on Sunday, Huawei Chairman Guo Ping reiterated his companys position that it has never and would never allow any country to spy through its equipment. Guo, who holds Huaweis rotating chairmanship, said President Donald Trumps recent assertion that the United States needed to get ahead in mobile communications through competition rather than seeking to block technology was clear and correct. No evidence of spying has been presented publicly even as scrutiny on Huawei has intensified, and several Western countries have restricted the firms access to their markets. Asked what evidence he had that Huawei had installed so-called backdoors - a deliberate coding vulnerability to grant access to intelligence services - Strayer pointed to a British government report released last July. The British report found that technical and supply-chain issues with Huawei equipment had exposed national telecoms networks to new security risks. British intelligence officials have since said they are able to manage the risks and have no evidence of spying. When asked about the British conclusion that there was no evident backdoor, Strayer replied: Really I think the question is this: do you want to have a system that is potentially compromised by the Chinese government or would you rather go with a more secure alternative? Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. The regulator did not say what remedy it wanted the court to impose, but the commitment was part of a settlement that headed off demands from the SEC for Musk to resign as Tesla CEO, seen by investors in the company as a substantial risk to its future. (Photo: AP) Silicon Valley billionaire Elon Musk laid into the US Securities and Exchange Commission again on Tuesday, after it accused the Tesla Inc chief executive officer of violating the terms of a settlement last year of fraud charges against him. In a filing on Monday, the SEC said that in a tweet on Feb. 19 Musk had broken a promise made last year to have his public statements vetted by the companys board, part of the deal. The regulator did not say what remedy it wanted the court to impose, but the commitment was part of a settlement that headed off demands from the SEC for Musk to resign as Tesla CEO, seen by investors in the company as a substantial risk to its future. Musk, who initially on Monday accused the SEC of failing to read the companys annual reports, followed up with another tweet in the early hours of Tuesday. Something is broken with SEC oversight, he wrote. Shares of the electric carmaker dipped 0.3 percent to close at USD 297.86, paring losses from an early sell-off fueled by concern among investors that Musk had reopened his feud with the regulator. The companys only junk bond also dipped 0.75 points to a cash price of 87.75 in thin trading, still some way off last years lows. With Tesla/Musk settling with the SEC in October this black cloud was in the rear view mirror for the company, analysts from brokerage Wedbush said in a note to clients. This latest tweet (is) a wild card that could potentially bring this tornado of uncertainty back into the Tesla story until resolved. J.P. Morgan Securities analyst Ryan Brinkman said that in a worst case scenario, the SEC could again seek Musks removal as CEO for violating the terms of the agreement and its shares could fall by a fifth, or more than USD 50, in value. It is difficult to judge the likelihood of the reappearance of this worst case scenario ... but on the other hand the current allegations seem much less serious (than last years), Brinkman told clients in a note. If the SEC were to seek Mr. Musks removal (perhaps subject to yet another settlement), we believe the shares may approach the mid-USD 200 levels. Thirteen of 32 Wall Street brokerages now rate the electric car company a buy or higher. Eight view it as a hold and 11 sell or lower, with a median PT of USD 327.50 Teslas general counsel Dane Butswinkas, hired as an outside counsel to help settle the case with the SEC, resigned a day after Musk made the tweet to which the new SEC case refers. The tweet read: Tesla made 0 cars in 2011, but will make around 500k in 2019, an inaccurate claim which the SEC said had not been pre-approved by the board and was disseminated to over 24 million people. Musk corrected his tweet four hours later to say that the annualised production rate at year-end 2019 would probably be about 500,000, with deliveries expected to be about 400,000. While this tweet (after market hours) and the quick correction seem innocuous, the SEC isnt likely to cut Musk any slack, said another analyst, Gene Munster from Loup Ventures. Musks unwillingness to follow the rules is part of what you have to be willing to accept as an investor in Tesla. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. The GSMA finds itself caught up in a broader political struggle as trade tensions between the United States and China buffet the telecoms industry. (Photo: AP) The telecoms industry is acutely aware of the need to ensure that ever-more complex mobile networks are safe, the head of its main lobby group told Reuters, as debate swirls over whether to bar some equipment vendors on national security grounds. The GSMA, which groups 300 operators worldwide, has pushed back against US calls on its European allies to bar Huawei Technologies over concerns the firm is too close to the Chinese state and its equipment may be open to cyber spies. It has instead proposed a stronger Europe-wide testing regime to ensure that, as operators build next-generation 5G networks, smartphones and the billions of connected devices that will be hooked up to the Internet of Things are protected from hackers. We are now moving into intelligent connectivity, which means that more stuff will be connected, said Mats Granryd, director general of the GSMA that is hosting the Mobile World Congress, a major annual industry gathering in Barcelona. If we have doubts today, the risk is that those doubts would be magnified going forward. The GSMA finds itself caught up in a broader political struggle as trade tensions between the United States and China buffet the telecoms industry. US officials have lobbied their European allies to ban Huawei, the global networks market leader. That is opposed by operators, with some saying the rollout of 5G services could be delayed by years if they have to rip out and replace Chinese kit in their networks. Huawei denies that it has ever spied for Beijing, and says no credible evidence has ever been presented that its gear allows illicit access to the countrys intelligences services. European industry leaders have called for the United States to substantiate its arguments. Vodafone CEO Nick Read said in Barcelona that this was needed to enable a fact-based, risk-assessed review. The European Commission is weighing whether to impose what would amount to a de-facto ban on Huawei, sources in Brussels have told Reuters. In a keynote address to the Mobile World Congress, Digital Single Market Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said she took the industrys concerns seriously and also called for a fact-based assessment. Its not yet clear whether that this similar rhetoric means Brussels will heed the industrys arguments and refrain from imposing a blanket ban on Chinese suppliers. For European operators, though, the preference is clear that competition between, and choice of, network vendors is vital to ensure that they can innovate and seek new ways to grow. We have always worked with security and we will always continue to work security and network integrity, said Granryd, a 57-year-old former CEO of Swedens Tele2. We live from scale, from having a community that can help us propel through innovation, through cost-effective solutions, through quick rollout. That is our aim, to make sure that we have a healthy supplier base, that [is] competing with each other. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. The announcement comes as fellow Apple supplier Luxshare Precision Industry Co Ltd late on Monday said 2018 net profit likely rose a 61 percent. Apple Inc supplier AAC Technologies Holdings Inc saw its shares dropped 13 percent on Tuesday after the acoustic component maker said it expected first-quarter net profit to fall as much as 75 percent due to reduced orders. The Hong Kong-listed firm late on Monday forecast January-March profit to fall 65-75 percent compared with the same period a year earlier, and said its gross profit margin would narrow. In addition to a usual weak seasonal quarter, the companys revenue for Q1 2019 is expected to be significantly negatively affected by reduced orders from customers, AAC said in a stock exchange filing. AAC supplies acoustic and haptic components to Apple, which last month said revenue from iPhone sales in the December quarter declined 15 percent from the previous year. The US tech firm issued a rare revenue warning citing weaker iPhone sales in China where economic growth is slowing. AAC said profitability would increase due to improvement in its product portfolio, production efficiency and cost control. It also expects customers to upgrade their smartphone offerings. The announcement comes as fellow Apple supplier Luxshare Precision Industry Co Ltd late on Monday said 2018 net profit likely rose a 61 percent. Jefferies analyst Rex Wu said in a research note last month that Luxshares expected earnings growth reads negatively on its peers order allocation and margin, including AAC, and that Luxshares fourth-quarter earnings were likely boosted by the firm winning increased iPhone custom. The price of AAC shares had risen 29 percent so far this year as of the previous market close. On Tuesday, the stock fell as much as 13 percent to HKUSD 50.85, versus a 0.7 percent fall for the benchmark Hang Seng Index, and was the fourth most actively traded in early trade. AAC is scheduled to announce first-quarter earnings at the end of May. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. The best part of Aero India 2019 was undoubtedly the impressive display by Indias indigenous fighter aircraft Tejas, with the full support extended to it by the top brass of Indias defence forces for induction into frontline squadrons. The recently-concluded Aero India 2019 in Bengaluru undoubtedly appeared subdued for two reasons. The first, of course, is that it was truncated. India is perhaps the only major country which believes, wrongly, in hosting two air shows one military and the other for civil aviation. This is simply due to lack of cooperation among the various stakeholders, and the competing interests at work. Nowhere else in the world, such as at Farnborough (UK), Le Bourget (France), Dubai or Singapore are the biennial air shows divided/truncated in this manner, into military and civilian, with expensive logistics and added paraphernalia duplicated. India needs to realise, the sooner the better, that an air show is meant to demonstrate and market the latest technology, as well as to facilitate commercial contracts and an investment by those responsible for the management of companies in the defence and aviation sector to strike deals and make money, thus boosting the national economy. The second factor was the two accidents in the air and on the ground. First, the mid-air collision of fighters led to the death of an ace Air Force pilot and the second, a catastrophic fire, destroyed over 300 parked vehicles (though without any human casualty), adjacent to the sole operational runway where flying displays were being held with thousands of spectators thronged on the ground and all around. That said, its now challenging times for future show organisers of the military Aero India 2021, minus civil aviation, the visible presence of the latter in the arena notwithstanding. Coming back to brass tacks, the best part of Aero India 2019 was undoubtedly the impressive display by Indias indigenous fighter aircraft Tejas, with the full support extended to it by the top brass of Indias defence forces for induction into frontline squadrons. No doubt the Tejas has taken time to bloom a long 36 years, having being conceived in 1983 but one does have a sense of fulfilment owing to the crafts aerial display and reported research and development on its future sustainability through upgrades, as is the practice followed across the world. From all accounts, as well as through first-hand personal experience, Tejas seems an extremely effective aerial platform for multi-role tactical battlefield scenarios in the under-10 ton class fighter, like the MiG-21 with a maximum takeoff weight varying between 8.2 tons and 9.4 tons, depending on the mission sortie objective. Despite Tejas impressive performance, it is important to remember that an indigenous power plant is sine qua non for the craft; as on it depends the quality performance of a combat machine. Hence, there is a need to constantly strengthen, and recalibrate the design, research and development of indigenous engine production and technical parameters. Absolute top-of-the-line indigenous machines is Indias priority as the aero-engine thrust, measured as/in pound static, of the engine/power plant requires ceaseless upgradation. All the more as things are changing fast on the technological advancement of combat aircraft design and development, leading to enhanced payload and complex operational requirements, thereby creating and unfolding new issues on man-machine interfaces in the air. The importance of the single-engine Indian-made Tejas further emanates from the fact that of 24 multi-role fighters produced around the world today, six are built by China single-engine CAC J-10; twin-engine CAC J-20; twin-engine SAC J-15; twin-engine SAC J-11; twin-engine SAC J-16 and twin-engine SAC FC-31 Gyrfalcon. In the attack fighter category too, out of five products worldwide, Chinas share stands at two SAC J-18 and SAC JH-7. In comparison, the United States makes four types of multi-role fighters the twin-engine F-15E (Eagle); twin-engine F/A-18 E/F (Super Hornet); single-engine F-16 (Fighting Falcon) and the latest product, the single-engine F-35 Lightning II. The above-mentioned Chinese scenario, therefore, reconfirms the supreme necessity of indigenous engine power to increase the overall combat capability of fighter aircraft; and the Chinese model too deserves a closer look by those, like India, who aspire to deploy state-of-the-art technologically-driven fighter engines. Like Beijing, India too needs to identify and develop quality and enhance thrust for the engine power of fighter combat to succeed in any conflict. Thus, first and foremost, Tejas being a single-engine aircraft, (unlike the twin-engine Marut, which India manufactured in the 1970s), it has to make its dry power a minimum of 25,000 pounds static and 28,000 pounds static with afterburner to enable it to be counted upon in the worlds fighter market. Hence, todays Production Mark 1: 19,000 pound static General Electric F404-GE-IN20 afterburning turbofan with full-authority digital engine or electronic control (FADEC) must try to upgrade several notches to make the Indian aircraft available for a broader and bigger clientele, besides making its utility felt over the long term. Nevertheless Tejas today, without doubt, has fulfilled several major parameters of flight-testing that go on to make a fighter successful both in substance and utility to the military. The future upgradation of Tejas could well look into an engine having (regular and reserve) power for multi-mission objectives with full armament payload in longer range, with a quicker turnaround time. Engines rule the roost, and Indias agenda stands clearly defined. Power to the aircrafts engine gives power to the nations force. Besides Tejas, what caught this writers imagination at Aero India 2019 were two other HAL products the 3-ton class single-engine light utility helicopter (LUH) for high-altitude missions in the Himalayas; and the 5.8-ton advanced light helicopter (ALH) Dhruv MKIV (Rudra), with a 6,000m service ceiling and a four-hour endurance capacity. The only critical issue among the gaps that is, the power plant remains to be finalised as without a strong, powerful, reliable engine matching the weight and payload to fly smoothly across Indias terrain, it will be stressful to make missions successful. Professional competence of the air warriors needs to be interfaced with the crafts technical capability in the air. However, the overall performance of both indigenous helicopters so far has been excellent, which is a good sign. Finally, a few words about the next Aero India in 2021. One can only hope that the authorities do not attempt to shift the venue from Bengaluru due to two accidents. Second, the sooner the two separate civil and military air shows are merged into one, the better for all. Air show investment worldwide is usually high on economics, trade, commerce and profitability, and low on political showmanship and bickering between politicians. Air shows are meant to showcase the nations achievements and not for squabbling between the stakeholders. Pakistan is at a crossroads. The decision it takes in the hours and days ahead is going to determine its future. It can either change course and accept that its policy of proxy war through jihadis will no longer work with respect to India, or else it can choose to continue on that slippery slope and raise the ante through a military strike against India. Whatever it decides, it must know that the February 26 Indian airstrikes on the Pakistan Army-run terrorist camps constitute a paradigm shift in Indias strategic doctrine. The air attacks deep into Pakistani territory have made it clear that the arena has been enlarged and instead of the low-cost jihadi option, henceforth any confrontation with India must involve the regular military with all its attendant risks. For decades, Indias posture vis-a-vis Pakistani belligerence, even aggression, has been defensive. Even the 1999 Kargil War was entirely defensive, with the Indian leadership steadfastly refusing its military the option of expanding the conflict beyond the Line of Control (LoC), which is the de facto border in most of Jammu and Kashmir state. The Line of Control has for various reasons been considered sacrosanct by most Indian governments. This has hamstrung military options and produced a doctrine which is essentially defensive. Even the surgical strikes of 2016 by the Indian Army at terrorist targets across the Line of Control was both defensive and tactical. In the end it did not prove to be a sufficient deterrent. Indias former Northern Army commander, Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda, said in a recent interview that the 2016 surgical strike had not worked: I would say the amount of pressure India has put on Pakistan till now has not been consistent, the retired general said. You have one cross-border operation, and nothing sort of changes. So, we are seeing an increase in ceasefire violations, infiltration is continuing and (also) cyberattacks. I dont think doing one odd operation in two years is going to make them change their behaviour. The Pakistan Army responded to the surgical strikes with stepped-up ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and international border in J&K. There were reports of 2,936 cases of ceasefire violations by Pakistan in 2018, which is the highest in the past 15 years. These border firings have claimed 61 lives and injured over 250 Indians. In contrast, in 2017, ceasefire violations totalled only 971, with 31 killed and 151 injured.The minister of state for home admitted in Parliament that ceasefire incidents have killed more Border Security Force personnel in 2018 than in earlier years. BSF casualties shot up three times to 14 in 2018, compared to just four in the previous year. Militancy within the Kashmir Valley also intensified during 2018 with as many as an estimated 181 local youth joining terrorist ranks in that year. The graph of local youth joining militancy has only been rising it was 66 in 2015, 88 in 2016 and 126 in 2017.In other words, far from being cowed down by the surgical strikes, Pakistan was only further emboldened. The re-activation of the Jaish-e-Mohammed and its murderous chief, Maulana Masood Azhar, was a clear indication. The use of military-grade RDX explosives in the Pulwama blast suggested an increased degree of confidence on the part of the Pakistan Army. It was becoming increasingly clear that in order to stop Pakistan from pursuing its strategic goal of keeping the Indian Army suppressed in Kashmir, as Gen. Pervez Musharraf once put it, India would have to exercise a strategic and not a tactical response. A surgical strike or two does not comprise a strategic response, neither does the decision to rescind the Most Favoured Nation status on Pakistani trade with India. These are at best symbolic gestures which Islamabad would have no trouble shrugging off. Another response would have been to beef up the internal security grid in the Kashmir Valley. However, this would constitute a defensive measure and not address the source of the problem. The United States and Natos military action against the Taliban insurgents for over 17 years has ended in failure precisely because of this.New Delhi also had to consider the international implications of a strategic response to Pakistan. Any move that could invite international opprobrium would be a huge setback. Ayesha Siddiqa, a Pakistani strategic expert, writing just a day prior to the airstrike, maintained that India would find it difficult to isolate Pakistan internationally as now Pakistan is engaged with multiple international players. She said that in the words of the chief of Inter-Services Public Relations, India could not isolate Pakistan. Everyone wants to talk to Islamabad. Western countries that cant talk to China or Russia use us (Pakistan) as an interlocutor. The US reliance on Pakistan for a successful deal with the Taliban, the Saudi Crown Princes Islamabad visit and so on seem to have lulled the Pakistan Army into believing in its self-importance, while the truth is that most countries today see Pakistan as a vicious promoter of terrorism and regional instability. The global response to the Indian airstrikes proved just how wrong Islamabads assessment of its own importance was. Even its all-weather friend China did not condemn India, but like all other powers called for restraint. A few countries like France and Australia even demanded that Pakistan rein in its terrorist outfits, while the United States said Pakistan should take meaningful action against the terrorists on its soil.New Delhi was wise to stress that the airstrikes were an intelligence-based counter-terror strike and not a military action for sake of war. The dean of the diplomatic corps in New Delhi, ambassador Hans Castellanos of the Dominican Republic, said he was satisfied to learn that the airstrikes did not affect any civilian or any Pakistani military installation. It is decision time for Islamabad. Pakistans Prime Minister Imran Khan has responded by declaring the airstrikes constitute Indian military aggression, to which Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing. On Wednesday, Pakistani fighters have bombed the Indian side of the LoC. So be it. No strategic shift comes free of risks or costs. This is true of India and Pakistan as well. The subcontinents future will depend on who is best able to absorb the inevitability of rising risks and costs in the long term. Almost every one of the so far nine MPs who have deserted the British Labour Party cited its attitude towards anti-Semitism, alongside its approach towards Brexit, as a clincher. On Brexit, their plaint, not always clearly articulated, is that the party has refused to completely ignore the verdict of the 2016 referendum - never mind that to do so would be electoral suicide in all too many constituencies, apart from being ethically questionable. The anti-Semitism accusation is more complicated. Jeremy Corbyn's elevation to party leader was greeted with horror by some of those familiar with his empathy for the Palestinians. No one could seriously question his consistency in backing beleaguered or dispossessed nationalities. But when it comes to Palestinians, the dynamic changes. Corbyn has been accused of sharing platforms with Hezbollah and Hamas. British Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell has acknowledged that some of the party's Facebook forums and other social media groups are peppered with anti-Semitic posts. The unanswered question is whether those who post them are indeed Labour members or supporters, or merely trolls. We have heard a great deal in the past couple of years about Russian cyber efforts to queer the electoral pitch in the US and parts of Europe. Instances of Chinese and Iranian hacking also attract attention. It is rarely mentioned, though, that Israel was among the pioneers of the concept whereby fake personas are created to infiltrate social media groups. The antipathy towards Corbyn is driven in large part by sheer horror at the idea of a potential British Prime Minister who is unequivocal in his support for Palestinian self-determination and vehemently opposed to all forms of colonialism. That in turn feeds into the discomfiture of those who are allergic to the Labour Party's mildly socialist platform, partly because the long years of Blairism have implanted in their minds the notion that neoliberal capitalism, with peripheral modifications here and there, is the only way forward. None of the above is intended to suggest that anti-Semitism is a figment of the imagination. It has lately been gathering momentum across the right through much of the West. To some extent, it is an inevitable product of the resurgence of neo-fascism. It may seem curious that some of these elements are huge fans of Benjamin Netanyahu and members of a mutual fan club, but they are ideologically in the same boat, and the Likud leader seldom hesitates to reciprocate their affection. It occasionally surfaces on the left as well, which is particularly distressing. It's sometimes a case of anti-Semitic tropes being adopted (or adapted) by anti-Zionist activists. But it certainly doesn't help to conflate the two, much as it is absurd to suggest that condemning violent Islamist radicalism is automatically Islamophobic. Yet there are efforts afoot to outlaw anti-Zionism in France, and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement across the US, where Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar has been castigated for the reasonable Twitter comment that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) accounts for the near-blanket backing for Israel among members of Congress. She felt obliged to apologise for associating money with Jews, a long-standing anti-Semitic jibe, even though the idea that Aipac deploys its resources to back particular candidates and push back against others is hardly controversial. Other lobby groups do the same, but Aipac and the National Rifle Association are among the most influential. It is absurd to regurgitate the nonsensical idea that Jews control the world's finances or the Western media. It is equally absurd to pretend that Israel isn't a settler colony that has for the past half century brutalised the Palestinians, sometimes in patently fascistic ways, and done all it could to forestall a two-state solution to the conflict, while pretending that a one-state solution would be inherently anti-Semitic because it would decisively undermine the notion of an exclusively Jewish (apartheid) state. A British government that repels anti-Semitism without kowtowing to Israel or feeding the war machine of Israel's latest ally, Saudi Arabia might be something of a miracle, given the forces arrayed against. But it would also be a most welcome change. By arrangement with Dawn As per the Indian Army, retaliatory firing resulted in severe destruction and a number of casualties. (Photo:ANI) Rajouri: Pakistan on Tuesday violated ceasefire as they resorted to heavy shelling at around 12 to 15 places along the Line of Control (LoC), leaving five Indian Army personnel injured. The shelling began hours after the Indian Air Force carried out air strikes targetting terror launch pads in Pakistan's Balakot and eliminating a large number of terrorists, including top commanders of the terror group which attacked the CRPF convoy in Pulwama 12 days back. As per the Indian Army, retaliatory firing resulted in severe destruction and a number of casualties to Pakistan Army personnel. Pakistani troops were seen firing mortars and missiles from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields. However, the Indian Army targeted Pakistani posts away from civilian localities, the Army said. Among the five Army soldiers who suffered injuries, two of them were evacuated to Military Hospital for medical treatment. Their condition is said to be stable. In a swift operation launched at around 3.30 am on Tuesday and completed within minutes, 12 Mirage-2000 fighter jets pounded the training centre, housing around 300 terrorists, in Balakot area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province with six bombs, while SU-30 combat aircraft maintained air superiority to ward off any retaliation by the Pakistan Air Force, sources said. The camp, located in a forest area atop a hill, was headed by Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhars brother-in-law Yusuf Azhar alias Ustad Gauri, who was involved in the 1999 hijack of Indian Airlines plane IC-814 and was on Interpol lookout notice since 2000. A large number of JeM terrorists, including top commanders, trainers and those terrorists who were to be the fidayeen (suicide attackers) were eliminated in the non-military air strike, India's Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told media while officially disclosing information about the air strike, hours after the action. Sources said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa kept a watch on the operations throughout the night till all the jets returned safely. Later, the Prime Minister chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) which took stock of the situation arising out of the action. Intelligence sources said the IAF demolished the entire terror set up at the suicide bombing training centre in Balakot and over 300 terrorists were targeted. Among the targets were Maulana Ammar, who is associated with Afghanistan and Kashmir operations, and Maulana Talha Saif, brother of Maulana Masood Azhar and head of suicide bomber preparation wing, the intelligence sources said. Mufti Azhar Khan Kashmiri, head of Kashmir operations, and Ibrahim Azhar, elder brother of Masood Azhar were also targetted, the sources added. Pictures provided by the Intelligence sources showed flags of the United States, United Kingdom, and Israel painted on staircases at the camp. Vijayawada: In a major development, the Centre on Wednesday made a surprise announcement of creating a new railway zone with Visakhapatnam as its headquarters. The new zone will be called South Coast Railway (SCoR) with Gunt-ur, Guntakal and Waltair divisions. The demand for the separate railway zone with Vizag as its headquarters has been there for more than a decade now, even before a separate Telangana agitation gained mome-ntum around 2009.This announcement comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis scheduled visit to Vizag on March 1. BJPs Vizag MP K. Haribabu went to polls in 2014 on the plank of achieving a railway zone with Vizag as the headquarters. As per item 8 of Schedule 13 (Infrastructure) of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014, Indian Railw-ays was required to exa-mine establishing a new railway zone in the successor State of Andhra Pradesh. The matter has been examined in detail in consultation with stake holders and it has been decided to go ahead with the creation of a new zone with headquarters at Visakhapa-tnam. The new zone named South Coast Railw-ay (SCoR), will comprise of existing Guntakal, Guntur and Vijayawada divisions. Waltair division shall be split into two parts. One part of Waltair division will be incorporated in the new zone i.e. in South Coast Railway and will be merged with the neighbouring Vijaywada division. Remaining portion of Waltair division shall be converted into a new division with headquarter at Rayagada under East Coast Railway (EcoR). "South Central Railw-ay will comprise of Hyd-erabad, Secunderabad and Nanded divisions", said Railway Minister Mr Piyush Goyal. These POWs were looked after like our own soldiers, they were given the befitting respect and treated with dignity and freedom to follow their religion. Hyderabad: The Geneva Convention was laid down after the experiences gained in World War 1 and 2. The bottomline is, a PoW should be treated with the dignity he deserves as a soldier. The capture of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, a MiG-21 Bison jet pilot, reminds the nation of the Kargil war when flight lieutenant K. Nachiketa became a PoW and was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army on May 27, 1999, following ejection from his MiG-27 aircraft after suffering engine flame-out. But, after widespread protest and escalating demands he was sent back to India eight days later after being interrogated by the authorities. Lieutenant general Mohan Bhandari (retired) told this newspaper that though the Geneva Convention was in place, it all depended on the integrity of the country who is holding custody of the PoW and Pakistan has a history of violating the convention. Post-1971 war, India took custody of 93 PoWs, all from Pakistan. These POWs were looked after like our own soldiers, they were given the befitting respect and treated with dignity and freedom to follow their religion. After all a soldier is fighting for his/her country and there is no personal enmity between the counter country soldiers. But as far as Pakistan is concerned, we have had a bad experience with how it treats PoWs. The officer said, During the 1999 Kargil war, while I was directing operations, Pak brutally mutilated the bodies of our soldiers. They poked our soldiers in their eyes, burnt them with cigarettes butts, they cut them into pieces and even burnt a few. I cant mention the inhumane treatment they gave to the bodies of our soldiers. There is an old saying, Destiny beyond the grave, for these soldiers, it was brutal. Also, one must respect the dead. In the Army all over the world, the dead solider is given the highest respect. But we have had a bad experience with Pakistan treating our soldiers. One of the videos that was in circulation on Wednesday, showed how a mob in PoK pounced on Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman after he ejected to safety near a water body. He was reportedly hit by stones and was found bleeding from his lips and sustained bruises in his right eye. Later he was rescued by the Pakistan Army, said reports. He was then seen blindfolded, with hands tied and bleeding while being interrogated. Another incident to support the claim on how Pakistan ill-treated POWs in the past, was after 1971 war when, Lieutenant Col A.G.J. Swittens (late) was taken into custody. Pakistan Army for a year or more denied his presence. While living in denial, the Indian officer was reportedly ill treated, and shifted from jail to jail. Fortunately, a committee from the Red Cross visited Pak jails to check on how inmates were treated. A jailer there who forgot that he was an Indian Army officer given that his records were destroyed, allowed Lieutenant Col A.G.J. Swittens to speak to the committee. During the interaction , the officer slipped a paper into the hands of a lady who was part of the panel. The officer then disclosed his name, fathers address in India, rank and identity. The member of the Red Cross Committee then conveyed the message to the Indian parliament and the family, after which Pakistan admitted his presence and released him. Lt Gen K. P Rao explained, While treating PoWs, the country should identify the soldier and treat him according to his rank. The country is also authorised to provide employment and substantially pay him for the labour, after release. He should be given the basic facilities, medication, shelter and should be educated about the consequences if he tries to escape. He is liable to be shot if tries to escape. However, there should be no physical force imposed. Also, a POW should only disclose his rank, name and country he belongs to and the defence wing. Beyond this nothing must be disclosed and the military is not authorized to impose physical pressure to extract information. New Delhi: India seems to broadly have two options after the capture of IAF fighter pilot Wing Cmdr Abhinandan Varthaman and the violation of Indian airspace by the Pakistani Air Force on Wednesday. New Delhi, which on Wednesday handed over a dossier to the Pakistan side with specific details of JeM complicity in the Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan, now has the option of waiting and watching to see if Islamabad will take action. India is also aware its IAF pilot is in Pakistani custody and has already demanded his immediate and safe return. This may play a major role in determining New Delhis restraint. The second option is to keep the military pressure up on Pakistan and hit more targets of terror camps, thus sending a signal to Islamabad that New Delhi will not be cowed down. While accusing Pakistan of using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side, New Delhi has already told Pakistan that India reserves the right to take firm and decisive action to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity. As Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan warned India against any miscalculation and offered talks, Islamabad is also strongly conveying the message that it has not backed down and holds the aces in this battle of nerves, with the capture of the IAF pilot. Foreign policy experts note that the Pakistan PM is now projecting an image of magnanimity after showing Pakistan can retaliate militarily, having downed an IAF fighter and captured an IAF pilot. Islamabad is also likely to send out the message globally that it is treating the captured IAF pilot well and could use this to shape global opinion in its favour and attempt a propaganda coup. It may be recalled that the Pakistan PM had earlier urged India to provide proof of the involvement of Pakistan-based organisations with the Pulwama bombing. Indias submission of a dossier to Pakis-tan with specific details of JeM complicity in Pulw-ama is also an important diplomatic strategy to ensure Mr Khan cannot use the excuse that India did not provide his country with proof. This is also seen as crucial to retain global support for Indias actions against terror. Speaking earlier on Wednesday morning at a trilateral meeting of the Russia-India-China foreign ministers at Wuzhen, China, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, explaining Indias stand and its action against terror camps in Pakistan, said India does not wish to see further escalation of the situation and that India will continue to act with responsibility and restraint. But this was before the Pakistani military respo-nse and the capture of the IAF pilot by Pakistan. Global pressure on both India and Pakistan to de-escalate and restrain themselves from further military action is also likely to increase. The United States had earlier asked both India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid escalation. The same message had come earlier from Pakistans all-weather friend China. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman in a video shared by Pakistan. He politely refused to reveal anything more than his name, service number, profession and religion during his interrogation. Hyderabad: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, a MiG-21 Bison jet pilot currently in the custody of the Pakistan Army, passed out of the Hakimpet IAF training centre in 2003. He is the son of Air Marshal Simhakutty Varthaman (retired). The pilot opted for fighter pilot training after completion of stage 1 and 2 training at Dundigal and Hakimpet-Hyderabad respectively. Squadron Leader Varthaman (service number 27891), said to be an avid reader and outstanding speaker, was commissioned into the IAF in 2004. He was trained at the IAF centres of Bathinda and Halwara. A senior retired IAF officer who knows the Varthaman family well, told Deccan Chronicle: Air Marshal Simhakutty Varthaman was my junior. He was Assistant Chief of the Air Staff-Intelligence before he was promoted to the rank of Air Marshal. He and his wife live in Chennai while the son, Abhinandan, lives in Jodhpur. When Senior Varthaman was promoted to Air Marshal he was made in-charge of the Eastern Air Command. He said, We identified Abhinandan Varthaman the moment the Pakistani military released the video. We saw him wounded and blindfolded. At around 12.30 pm, we knew that Junior Varthaman was in their custody. Chennai: As irony would have it, IAF pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthamans father air marshal Simhakutty Varthaman was the consultant for the Mani Ratnam movie Kaatru Veliyidai. The film plot revolves around the story of a fighter pilot captured in Pakistan. The 2017 film starts with images of the Kargil War during which an IAF fighter jet is shot down by the enemy. The pilot Varun Chakrapani aka VC (Karthi) ejects from the aircraft and lands in enemy territory and is surrounded by the Pakistani Army. They imprison him in Rawalpindi as a PoW and subject him to torture. While being held captive, he reminisces about his romance with Leela (Aditi Rao Hydari). It might appear as if fiction has become fact to haunt the air marshal, a recipient of the PVSM, as his son has become a PoW today in Pakistan. The Varthaman family resides in Madambakkam, near the Tambaram, IAF station from where both father and son have taken off many times. Air marshal Varthaman refused to speak to mediapersons, asking them not to contact him regarding his sons capture. The military establishment had decided to keep the family insulated from unwelcome visitors, dropping in for sharing concern and offering prayers but ending up adding to the family's anxiety. Pakistan media aired fake footage of IAF aircraft being shot down in the aftermath of the attack by the IAF on militant training camps across the LoC early Tuesday morning Hyderabad: Fake news had a field day after the Pakistan Air Force tried to retaliate against the Indian attack across the Line of Control. Pakistan media aired fake footage of IAF aircraft being shot down in the aftermath of the attack by the IAF on militant training camps across the LoC early Tuesday morning. Several Pakistani TV channels ran old footage of a MiG and a Hawk aircraft going down, claiming this happened in the recent aerial engagement. But the IAF Hawk had gone down near Subarnarekha River on the Odisha-Jharkhand border in March 2018, while the MiG-27 fighter aircraft had crashed in a residential area in Jodhpur in Rajasthan in 2016. Another channel aired a video clip of an IAF pilot who survived the twin crash of the Suryakiran aerobatics display team in Bengaluru on February 19 this year. The Pakistani newspaper The Dawn, on Wednesday morning, carried a report with the headline 'PAF shoots down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace, one pilot arrested'. The accompanying photograph showed an aircraft in flames. Some fact-checking showed that the image was of an IAF fighter trainer aircraft that crashed in Odisha in 2015. The newspaper's website then pulled down the image. Another Pakistani newspaper, Express Tribune, ran a story headlined 'PAF strikes Indian targets across LoC, two IAF jets shot down'. But Major General Asif Ghafoor of Pakistan was quick to deny it. All through Wednesday, numerous pictures were making the rounds on social media, some of them posted by Pakistani journalists and citizens (identified through their Twitter handle). Similarly, the Indian government also lied about all pilots being accounted for and only admitted a pilot was missing in action during the afternoon briefing by the ministry of external affairs spokesperson. New Delhi: The Attorney General K.K. Venugopal, appearing for the Centre informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday that not a single instance of violence has happened ever since the order was passed on February 22 asking Nodal officers in the States to ensure the safety of Kashmiri students. The AG told a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna that the Supreme Courts intervention to protect Kashmiris and minorities from mob violence in the wake of Pulwama incidents had been an effective deterrent. The court had directed the Centre, Chief Secretaries and police chiefs of several States to protect Kashmiris and minority communities, especially students, from backlash in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel. On hearing the submission by Mr Venugopal, Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said there was no need to pass any further orders on the issue. The court, however, asked the Centre and 10 States to file their responses in seven days, explaining the violence against Kashmiri students. In the last hearing the AG had told 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 court had directed the chief secretaries and director generals of police (DGPs) of Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kash-mir, Haryana, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Chhattisg-arh and Uttarakhand and J&K were asked to take immediate steps in this regard. The PIL by advocate Tariq Adeeb alleged that students from Kashmir Valley are being attacked at different educational institutions across the country. New Delhi: India on Wednesday handed over to Pakistan a dossier on specific details of involvement of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in the Pulwama terror attack on CRPF as also the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in that country. The dossier was handed over to the Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan, who was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs to lodge a strong protest over Pakistan Air Force targeting Indian military installations, a day after the Indian counter-terror action against the JeM. Government sources have claimed that over 350 JeM terrorists were killed in the pre-dawn strike on the terror camps in Pakistan on Tuesday. The JeM had taken the responsibility of the terror strike in Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. Regret was expressed at continuing denial by Pakistan's political and military leadership at the presence of terrorist infrastructure in territories under its control, the MEA said. A dossier was handed over to Pakistani side with specific details of JeM complicity in Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan, it said. The MEA said Pakistan was conveyed that India expects Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from territories under its control. In response to the Indian counter-terror operation, Pakistan air force tried to target certain locations in Jammu and Kashmir Wednesday morning which was countered by IAF jets. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman (second from left) who has been captured by the Pakistani military on Wednesday. New Delhi: In a setback to Inda, an Indian Air Force fighter pilot, identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, was captured alive by the Pakistani military after a dogfight in the skies between his MiG-21 Bison fighter and a Pakistan Air Force fighter on Wednesday after the PAF violated Indian airspace. India said Pakistan had responded on Wednesday morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side, and that a Pakistani fighter aircraft was shot down, adding the IAF too lost a MiG-21 fighter. New Delhi also said the Pakistani attempts were foiled successfully by Indias instant response and alertness, a day after the IAF struck terror camps of the Jaish-e-Mohammed at Balakot in Pakistan. This was the first duel between the IAF and PAF since the 1971 war. By Wednesday evening, the Indian government had summoned Pakistans acting high commissioner and issued a demarche to lodge a strong protest over the unprovoked act of aggression, adding that India reserves the right to take firm and decisive action to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity. After disturbing footage from Pakistan went viral on the social media of the captured IAF officer being beaten up and later given a cup of tea by his captors, India also strongly objected to Pakistans vulgar display of injured personnel of the IAF in violation of all norms of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention. New Delhi also told Islamabad to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody, adding India also expects his immediate and safe return. Pakistan is likely to treat the captured IAF pilot as a prisoner of war. The capture evoked memories of another IAF officer, (then Flight Lieutenant) K. Nachiketa, who was captured by the Pakistanis during the Kargil war and later released. Soon after the capture of the IAF pilot, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan warned against any miscalculation in case of an escalation in conflict with India and offered to defuse tensions through talks. MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said: Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistans attempts were foiled successfully. The Pakistan Air Force was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG-21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistani side. In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG-21. Hyderabad: A student from Andhra Pradesh has been arrested by the Albany Police Department of New York under the charges of intentionally causing damage to over 50 protected computers owned by a college in the New York state of Albany on Wednesday. According to sources, Vishwanath Akuthota, 26, is a citizen of India and a native of Chittoor who was residing in the United States on a student visa since 2015. Vishwanath was arrested on February 22 in North Carolina after being charged with intentionally causing damage to protected computers owned by The College of Saint Rose in Albany, US Attorney Grant Jaquith said in a statement. He added that Vishwanath destroyed dozens of computers worth more than $50,000 (approximately Rs 35.5 Lakh). Video surveillance foot-age showed a man with a red sweatshirt, blue jeans, black sneakers and a gray backpack, the agent stated. Investigators and college employees later confirmed that it was Vishwanath, who according to school records graduated in December 2017 with a masters degree in business administration. According to a criminal complaint, on February 14, Vishwanath entered numerous locations around the Saint Rose campus and inserted a device into more than 50 computers used by students. The device, which resembles a normal USB memory stick, sends a rapid series of power surges into a computers electrical hardware, rendering it inoperable. Vishwanath was arrested in Raleigh, NC, and was charged with the clandestine destruction of more than 50 computers at the school through the use of the USB Killer Device. The official charge is intentional damage of a protected computer. An FBI agents affidavit in a federal complaint states that on February 14, an assistant director of security at the college told Albany police that a man had entered several locations on campus and inserted a device that destroyed each computers motherboard, rendering them inoperable. He appeared in the federal court in Raleigh, North Carolina, where a US Magistrate Judge ordered him detained and transported to the Northern District of New York. The charge filed against Akuthota carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. This case is being investigated by the APD and the FBI, and is being prosecuted by Assistant US attorney Wayne A. Myers. Speaking about the local students getting into trouble in other countries, the Telangana State Engineering Colleges Association (TSECA) president said that they must obey the laws of foreign countries. Those going abroad should maintain good conduct and must not take part in any illegal activities or create nuisance for the authorities there. It will bring a bad name to our country, he said. According to TSECA secretary Yellaswamy, students should be told about the rules and regulations by the university management while being accepted for courses. The 'Shivarathri Punyakaalam' this year is accompanied by the transits of the planets of 'Guru', 'Sukran', 'Rahu' and 'Kethu', and such a phenomenon is occurring as per the Hindu almanac after 54 years, said the chief priest at the Sri Ramanathaswamy temple here, Sri Chandrasekhara Sarma. (Representational Image) Rameswaram: Several lakh pilgrims from different parts of India are expected to congregate in Rameswaram for the coming 'Shivarathri' festival on March 4 this year, as it is a rare occasion with astronomical significance re-appearing after 54 years. The 'Shivarathri Punyakaalam' this year is accompanied by the transits of the planets of 'Guru', 'Sukran', 'Rahu' and 'Kethu', and such a phenomenon is occurring as per the Hindu almanac after 54 years, said the chief priest at the Sri Ramanathaswamy temple here, Sri Chandrasekhara Sarma. "Offering worship to Lord Shiva on this Shivarathri on such an occasion will confer all possible benefits to the devotees," explained Sarma, adding, due to this rare astronomical combination with its astrological implications, heavy rush of pilgrims, particularly from North India was expected for the festival this year. The 12-day festival, which began on Monday, has lined up special 'poojas' each day and as part of the festivities, the processional deities of Lord Ramanathaswamy and his consort Parvathavarthini Ambal, were taken in a procession on the four 'Mada' streets around the temple today on the second day. Hundreds of people came out of their houses to have 'darshan' of the Lord. PAMBAN RAIL BRIDGE TO REOPEN TODAY Meanwhile, the historic India's first cantilever rail bridge over the sea between Pamban on the mainland and Rameswaram island, which was closed for traffic following repair work, is being reopened for passenger train services operation from February 27 (Wednesday). The Southern Railway authorities announced that with the repair works on the rail bridge and the painting work over, engineers have certified that the bridge could be thrown open for train services and accordingly train services suspended on this bridge for the past three months, would resume from Wednesday. This would be a very big relief to tourists and pilgrims travelling to Rameswaram. 'We are ascertaining the facts,' Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Ravish Kumar said in a media meet. (Photo: ANI | Twitter) New Delhi: The Indian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said that India had successfully thwarted Pakistani air aggression across the Line of Control on Wednesday morning but unfortunately lost an MiG 21 and its pilot is missing in action. Also Read: Showed might, but want peace: Pakistan admits to strikes across LoC In the aerial engagement, one Pakistani aircraft was shot down. The aircraft was seen falling on the Pakistani side. Unfortunately we lost an MiG 21 and a pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a media meet. Kumar said after India successfully destroyed a Jaish terror camp in Balakot, Pakistan retaliated with air aggression. Pakistan retaliated by targeting military installations in India. We detected their aircraft and the attempts were foiled successfully. Kumar, sitting along with Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapur, said Indian forces engaged their jet and brought one down, in the process losing an aircraft and the pilot. Pakistan has claimed there is a second pilot in its custody. The Indian government is still trying to know about his whereabouts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi left an event early to meet top officers, including Nationa; Security Adviser Ajit Doval, defence and foreign secretaries and other intelligence officials. For a few hours since Wednesday morning, all airports north of Delhi were shut down but the order was lifted in the afternoon. India had carried out the surgical strikes in the early hours of Tuesday, stating they were 'non-military, preemptive action' to thwart any act of terror on its soil. India had said it had credible intelligence that terrorists were being trained in Balakot's Jaish camp to carry out more attacks in the country. During the meeting, a detailed presentation was given about the security situation in the country and steps taken to ensure peace in all sensitive places. (Photo: ANI) New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh Wednesday reviewed the security situation in the country, especially along the border with Pakistan, a day after Indian fighter jets bombed the biggest camp of terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad in that country, officials said. During the meeting, attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval among others, a detailed presentation was given about the security situation in the country and steps taken to ensure peace in all sensitive places. Singh directed the officials to ensure the Border Security Force, which guards the India-Pakistan border continues to remain on the highest level of alertness so that any misadventure from across the border could be foiled, a home ministry official said. Those who attended the meeting include Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and Intelligence Bureau Director Rajiv Jain. In a pinpointed and swift air strike that lasted less than two minutes, India pounded Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Pakistan early Tuesday, killing up to 350 terrorists and trainers who were moved there for their protection after the Pulwama attack, officials said. The pre-dawn operation described as "non-military" and "preemptive" struck a five-star resort-style camp on a hilltop forest that provided a dozen Mirage 2000 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force(IAF) with a "sitting duck target" and caught the terrorists in their sleep, sources said. The strike is the first by the IAF inside Pakistan after the 1971 war. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told the media that the "intelligence-led operation" on the Pakistan-based terror group's biggest training camp in Balakot became "absolutely necessary" as it was planning more suicide attacks in India, after the February 14 attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama in which 40 soldiers were killed. The JeM claimed responsibility for the Pulwama strike The Samajwadi party was absent from the meeting. (Photo: ANI) New Delhi: A crucial meeting of the Opposition parties began in Parliament Library Building on Wednesday, with the agenda to discuss the prevailing security situation in the country. Among those present were former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Parliament, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP president Chandrababu Naidu, Loktantrik Janta Dal leader Sharad Yadav, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and party colleague Praful Patel. CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, BSP's Satish Chandra Mishra, JDU's Upendra Kushwaha, former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, Congress' Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, CPI's Sudhakar Reddy, JDS' Danish Ali, DMK's Tiruchi Siva, AAP's Sanjay Singh and others were also in attendance. The Samajwadi party was absent from the meeting. The Opposition on Tuesday had decided to drop the formulation of the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) as the agenda for their meeting in view of the prevailing security situation in the country. Senior leaders in the opposition confirmed that in a discussion with the Congress, the CPI(M) and the CPI said that they will only be part of the meeting if the Common Minimum Programme is off the table. With the change in agenda, Left parties joined the meeting. It was after the February 13 meeting of opposition leaders, the decision to formulate a Common Minimum Programme was mooted, which would act as a roadmap for them to fight the Lok Sabha elections against the BJP. However, it is not clear when a CMP will finally be formulated. Chennai: Latvia, an EU state, welcomes Indian students and filmmakers with open arms. Education is a cost-efficient product and we are happy to offer it to genuine Indian students of engineering and medicine, said the Latvian Ambassador to India Artis Bertulis. In a freewheeling chat with the media in Chennai where he has come to further India-Latvia business ties, the envoy was most forthcoming on his countrys strengths and what it can offer as the gateway to the 500 million EU population. His beautiful little country also offers excellent, pristine locales for cinema shooting and Mr Bertulis says Indian filmmakers are most welcome to come and shoot there. There are 1,233 Indian students studying in my country and they can move on to jobs in Latvia and EU if they wish. The doctors can practice in EU too, he says in promoting his country as a premier education destination for aspiring youngsters looking for quality degrees. And it has international cuisines too, he points out. Considering there is no capitation fee involved in signing up for medical degrees, Latvia presents itself as a very good option for aspiring Indian doctors. Even as food is said to be cheap by European standards, the country has five Indian restaurants already, says Mr N. Ramachandran, Honorary Consul for Latvia in Chennai. The IT major Cognizant has 300 employees stationed in Riga and Latvia has a strong services industry accounting for 70 % of its GDP. Agent Vinodwas shot there, so too parts of a few Tamil films. What impresses Japanese filmmakers most in Latvia is the winter season with plenty of snow, during which they can shoot their World War I and II films on excellent locales. This amuses Mr Bertulis who sees his country as one that offers three ice-free ports of 17 metre depth and a significantly strategic location on the trade route to the Balkans, Russia and China as well as the EU. Latvia offers cost-effective logistics by sea and rail to cover long distances. Even though it is 4,000 miles away from India (8 hours via Helsinki by air), it still offers economical container movement to several countries, Mr Bertulis explains. Its main airport in the capital Riga also serves upto 7 million passengers in a year, which is impressive for a country of just 2 million people. He said he could get his personal effects into his New Delhi posting within 36 hours by air cargo, which is proof of his countrys efficiency in logistics. Latvia is also a gateway to Kazakhstan, with which country Indias trade touches $2 billion, and the country sees itself as a transshipment point. Having come through the economic crisis post-2008, Latvia sees itself as a positive country that does not necessarily like overheating economies even as it aspires for double digit growth, although from a low base, says Mr Bertulis. In keeping with that sunny outlook, the envoy sees his outfit in India, with three honorary consuls in Chennai, Bengaluru and Mumbai, as a bridge between Indian industry and the logistics and connectivity that Latvia offers. What are you waiting for? may well have been the line he teased members of Chennais business community with in a meeting at the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The jet broke into two and caught fire immediately, the officials said, adding one body was seen near the site crash. (Photo: ANI | Twitter) Srinagar: An Indian Air Force jet crashed on Wednesday in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, killing at least three, officials said. The jet crashed in an open field near Garend Kalaan village in Budgam at 10.05 am, the officials said. The jet broke into two and caught fire immediately, the officials said, adding one body was seen near the site crash. The identity of the deceased could not be confirmed immediately, they said, adding the fate of the pilots was not known. Pakistan Army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said Pakistan had no engagement with the crash of the Indian aircraft in Budgam. Besides regulars to the park, some friends of the seven- year old, who was electrocuted Sunday, were outside its gate on Tuesday. Bengaluru: The flex boards outside the park said it all, announcing the "Sad demise of Uday" and telling visitors that "The Dr. Rajkumar Karanji (fountain) park is temporarily shut for emergency work." Besides regulars to the park, some friends of the seven- year old, who was electrocuted Sunday, were outside its gate on Tuesday. One of Uday's friends, Chetan, tearfully recounted the incident that cost him his life. "Uday jumped over a stainless steel railing near a streetlight and was playing with us when he made contact with a live wire that was jutting out and fell to the ground, screaming loudly in pain. Walkers and joggers rushed him to a nearby hospital, but ..," he said, eyes welling up with tears. A class II student of a private school at Kullappa Circle, Uday who stayed just a couple of streets away was a regular visitor as his aunt lived in the neighbourhood. The wires that claimed Uday's life, meanwhile have been insulated but they are still in the park. The watchman who said the park was shut for a week, claimed he often stopped children from entering the "no playing" area, but couldn't explain why it wasn't kept cordoned off. Mahajan also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the air strike, saying the action sent a strong message to Pakistan that it should not look at India with evil eyes. (Photo: File) Indore: Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Tuesday praised the Air Force for the strike on a terror camp in Balakot and equated the operation to the tale of Lord Hanuman returning safely after setting Lanka ablaze, as mentioned in the Ramayana. Mahajan also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the air strike, saying the action sent a strong message to Pakistan that it should not look at India with evil eyes. "Pawan Putra Hanuman returned after torching Lanka. Our Air Force displayed bravery like Lord Hanuman. Now the entire country is confident of terrorism being eliminated," the parliamentarian from Indore said. She said the operation was so swift that Pakistan appeared clueless about what happened. "Our air warriors returned unscathed after taking action against the terrorists' hideouts but the neighbouring country is still clueless about what happened," she said. In an air strike, India bombed Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Pakistan early Tuesday. The air strike was in response to the terror attack in Pulwama that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. On October 2, 2014, a blast had occurred in a house at Khagragarh in Burdwan district, killing two persons. (Representational Image) Kolkata: Two operatives of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) have been arrested from West Bengal's Murshidabad district and a cache of explosive materials seized from their possession, a senior police officer said Wednesday. In a joint operation by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Kolkata Police and the Murshidabad police, Moshibur Rahman (35) alias Farooque and Ruhul Amin alias Saifullah (26) were apprehended Tuesday night, he said. "Both Moshibur and Ruhul, residents of Murshidabad district, are active members of the outlawed JMB. A cache of explosive materials, including aluminum dust, calether (spirit of ether) and sulphuric acid, have been recovered from their possession," the senior officer told PTI. The duo happens to be associates of Kauser and Sajjad, who were nabbed on January 29 for their involvement in 2014 Burdwan blast case, he said. On October 2, 2014, a blast had occurred in a house at Khagragarh in Burdwan district, killing two persons. "We have interrogated Sajjad and found out that Moshibur and Ruhul have been trained in making acid bombs. Their plan was to attack the police and get Kauser released," the officer said. With Tuesday's successful raid in Murshidabad, the number of JMB operatives arrested in a month rose to six, he added. On February 16, Ariful Islam alias Arif (22) was arrested from the city's Babughat area for his alleged links to the terror outfit. Three days later, Asif Iqbal alias Nadeem, another resident of Murshidabad district, was held at Santragachi railway station in Howrah district. Islam was involved in 2018 Bodh Gaya blast case, police had claimed. On January 19 last year, a low-intensity bomb had exploded at Bodh Gaya in Bihar, shortly after Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama finished a sermon at the Mahabodhi temple Visakhapatnam: Former Congress party worker Bhogasamudram Vijaya Reddy was found brutally murdered at her residence, the police said on Tuesday. The murder occurred on Monday and according to police, gold jewellery was also stolen from the spot. On Monday, at around 11 AM, a text message was sent from Reddy's phone to her husband (Narayana) that she was moving elsewhere on work and later the phone was switched off, the police informed adding that the husband spent that night at a neighbour's house. Next day, when he returned to the locked home, he opened the door with another key which was with a relative. After entering the home and while walking towards the bedroom he noticed blood which eventually led him to discover the dead body of his wife. "The body of the deceased was found in the bathroom dipped in a pool of blood," the police official added. The police added that during the course of the investigation it was revealed that two unidentified persons had recently come in contact with the deceased woman for the sale of the residence where she was later found dead. Prima facie it was ascertained that the Congress worker was killed by a sharp object particularly a knife. The body has been sent for postmortem. A case under relevant sections of the law has been registered and the police is probing the matter from numerous angles including political, real estate or any other conspiracy. CDP found that European makers of fast-moving consumer goods are ahead of U.S. rivals in preparing for climate change. (Photo: Representational/Pixabay) Berlin: Companies behind some of the best-known consumer products from soaps to sodas are beginning to factor climate change into their business equation, according to a report published early this week. The survey of 16 major corporations by non-profit group CDP found that many are working to lower their carbon emissions, prepare for the effects of global warming on their supply chain and respond to growing environmental consciousness among customers. Examples include brewer AB InBevs efforts to develop a variety of barley that needs less water and Unilever adjusting its detergent formulas so they work at the lower eco temperature settings on modern washing machines, the London-based group said. We were surprised how much these companies were aligning themselves with changes in consumer preferences, said Carole Ferguson, the reports lead author. This includes chasing trends such as veganism, a small but growing factor in the market thats driven by people who shun animal products for ethical or health reasons, but also because meat and dairy have a large carbon footprint. PepsiCos recent acquisition of Health Warrior, a maker of plant-based nutrition bars, is a typical example where a large company has snapped up a small brand to fill a niche it didnt yet cover. Such purchases help companies bolster their green credentials at a time when theyre beginning to feel the heat of climate activism. Consumer goods account for about a third of greenhouse gas emissions, meaning companies that make them play a key role in efforts to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) by the end of the century. But manufacturers like Nestle, Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble also face growing scrutiny from investors who want to know what business risks they face from climate change before deciding whether to buy their stock, Ferguson said. CDP ranked the companies surveyed according to how strongly their business is threatened by climate change, what they are doing to prepare for it and how much information they disclose to the market. In general, CDP found that European makers of fast-moving consumer goods are ahead of U.S. rivals in preparing for climate change a disparity also seen in other sectors, such as automotive or oil and gas. Frances Danone came first in the food and drinks sector, while Kraft Heinz came last out of nine; similarly Paris-based cosmetics company LOreal ranked second in the household and personal care sector, against New York-based rival Estee Lauder, which came last out of seven. Mumbai: Makers of Mere Pyare Prime Minister dropped the exciting making video of the film where it shows the exciting journey of Khandoba Slum becoming the home of 8 years old Kanhu and all the exciting journey of shooting in Khandoba Slum by accepting the challenge. The video has shown the whole Mere Pyare Prime Minister team accommodating in the Khandoba slum which is situated on the hills and the team's struggle shooting in the most challenging location. Om Kanojia a.k.a. Kanhu also explains the struggle when he was first introduced to Khandoba Slums. In the video, director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra also shares an incident where he explains how the localities understood the depth of the film themselves during the shoot. Sharing this unique transformation of thoughts among the localities from Khandoba Slum director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra shared, "Sharing this unique transformation of thoughts among the localities from Khandoba Slum director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra shared, "It was difficult for the localities of Khandoba more than my team because there were 200 houses in every 100-meter distance which was quite difficult to shoot but when they heard the narrative of the film they took no time and they welcomed us to shoot with great warmth and expressed gratitude for telling their story to world". The makers have shared the special video on their official Twitter handle and captioned it, "Watch how Khandoba became Kanhu's home #KanhuKiGullyMein" Mere Pyare Prime Minister focuses on the issue of open defecation and sanitation problems in the country told through the story of a slum boy who wants to build a toilet for his mother. The film starring National award-winning actress Anjali Patil, Makarand Deshpande, Rasika Agashe, Sonia Albizuri and Nachiket Purnapatre brings together power-packed performances. The music of the film is given by Shankar Ehsan Loy and lyrics by Gulzar. Dr. Jayantilal Gada (Pen) and PVR Cinemas present, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's directorial Mere Pyare Prime Minister is all set to release on 15th March, 2019. New Delhi: In response to air strikes by the Indian Air Force (IAF) against terror camps in Pakistan, the Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry of Pakistan on Tuesday announced a boycott of Indian films and 'Made in India' advertisements in the country. Pakistan's Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry took to his Twitter handle to state that the Cinema Exhibitors Association has decided to boycott the Indian content completely and that no Indian movie will be released in Pakistan. Cinema Exhibitors Association has boycotted Indian content, no Indian Movie ll be released in Pakistan. Also have instructed PEMRA to act against Made in India Advertisements. #PakistanTayarHai https://t.co/9BPo6LIsVB Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) February 26, 2019 The minister further stated that he has also instructed PEMRA (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority) to act against advertisements made in India. The move comes hours after India on Tuesday carried out air strikes at a massive Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, targeting a large number of terrorists. Relations between Pakistan and India have been tense since the Pulwama terror attack which took place on February 14 that killed over 40 CRPF personnel. The tensions soared even more after todays attack. A similar decision was taken by India against Pakistani content and artists after the ghastly attack in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. Makers of a few films including Total Dhamaal and Notebook among others also decided that their films will not screen in Pakistan. Reportedly, in 2016, PEMRA had imposed a complete ban on airing Indian content on local television and FM radio channels. In 2017, the Lahore High Court had lifted the ban, declaring it null and void as the government had no objections regarding the same. A baffling video featuring actor Ali Fazal appeared on social media on Monday morning. It features the distressed-looking actor telling the world that his nude pictures have been leaked on the internet and that they are indeed him and not an impersonator. Ironically, Ali ends the post by imploring his fans to respect his privacy. The entire exercise smells of publicity for Ali Fazals next release the ill-fated Milan Talkies, which was tossed for years from one actor (Imran Khan) to another (Shahid Kapoor) until it finally landed in Fazals lap. Since its completion, the films makers and director Tigmanshu Dhulia have been desperately trying to create some buzz around their product. But to no avail. A friend of Ali Fazal debunks the conspiracy theory. He has not mentioned any leaked nudes to us. Even if there were such leaks, by talking about them you are only attracting more attention to what you claim to be a breach of your privacy. The minute Ali says his nude pictures have been leaked, people will try to find them online. That seems to be the strategy to create some interest in his new film. It is unfortunate that the actor had to give clarifications that its him in the video. Between February 22 and February 26, Sebi declared four commodity broking subsidiaries of leading NBFCs India Infoline, Motilal Oswal, Anand Rathi and Geojit Financial Services as not fit and proper for the commodity derivative business. New Delhi: Though the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has declared select broking entities as not fit and proper for the commodity derivative business, the criteria, as per norms, apply to all the 300 brokers under the regulators lens, it is learnt. This, legal and industry experts believe, could be in the nature of in rem, which means good against all the world, that is, on all the persons who may have or claim any right or interest in the subject matter of litigation, whether or not they were parties to or participants in the action constituting the subject matter of the action. This is in contrast to judgments made in personam, which are against specific persons. The Sebis invocation of in rem principle will make final adjudication similar for all brokers, a legal expert told Financial Chronicle on condition of anonymity. Between February 22 and February 26, Sebi declared four commodity broking subsidiaries of leading NBFCs India Infoline, Motilal Oswal, Anand Rathi and Geojit Financial Services as not fit and proper for the commodity derivative business. The market regulator in its order also stated, In view of the seriousness of the matter, facts and circumstances of the case, the conduct of the noticee in its functioning as a commodity broker is questionable and has certainly eroded its general reputation, record of fairness, honesty and integrity and has therefore affected its status as a fit and proper person. In all the orders, Sebi had used observations of various authorities. Investigating agencies like both Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) have observed that paired contracts were not in the nature of spot trades and were in violation of exemption conditions. The recent Bombay High Court in Writ Petition No 2743 of 2014 also mentioned that contracts by NSELprima facie constituted breach of the condition that the exemption from applicability of FCRA was only in respect of contracts of one days duration. Sebi has inferred from these orders that observations about paired contracts are applicable to brokers as well. More than 90 per cent of contracts on NSEL were paired contracts. All 300 brokers who traded on NSEL issued paired contracts to their clients. Three hundred brokers have done the same thing as the four brokers did. Do you think more than 300 brokers will do something illegal together? No, the truth is someone has made a fool of all the brokers. It is the exchange, said Rajesh Baheti, President, Association of National Exchanges Members. The Sebi order, however, considers NSELs conduct so heinous that any association with it makes one not fit and proper.The order says "Since NSEL is observed to have misused the exchange platform for purposes other than for which permission was granted, these observations are seriously adverse in nature. In view of the gravity of the adverse nature of the observations, the same would be sufficient to determine the fit and proper status of these (brokers)." According to him, companies are moving towards a system that helps them assess the work of employees more periodically. (Representational Image) Chennai: Annual employee performance assessment can become a thing of the past, with new-age companies going for periodical assessment and continuous feedback. Aided by technology tools, continuous assessment of the entire team is no longer an arduous task for the human resource (HR) managers. The annual assessment often makes the employees feel that the performance and appraisal are separated far away in time. When the assessment is closer to the work, the company can judge better and the employee too accepts it. Hence hardly a dispute arises, said Akchansh, CHRO, Transsion. According to him, companies are moving towards a system that helps them assess the work of employees more periodically. It could be monthly or quarterly depending upon how fast the work can be assessed. Continuous feedback of stakeholders also form part of this assessment system. Almost 15 to 20 per cent companies would have moved to this system and these are largely IT and ITeS companies as well as technology startups. New-age companies are adopting this much faster than traditional ones, said Siddhartha Gupta, Chief Revenue Officer, Mercer- Mettl. Mercer-Mettl is one of the talent assessment service providers who have come up with technology solutions that make periodical 360 degree assessments easier for companies. These tools will have key performance indicators based on the competencies needed for each job. The tool also collates continuous feedback from the stakeholders from e-mail interactions and other sources. Periodical assessment helps faster course correction and aligns the employee with the goal of the company in a better way. The KPIs are well-defined and hence there are less chances of dispute, he said. It eradicates doubts about manager bias, inculcates the habit of providing and receiving feedback instantly, provides opportunity to unlearn and learn and offers clarity on the next level of responsibilities, added Krishna Prasad, Head HR- APAC, Skillsoft. New York: Immigrants with specialised skills are being denied work visas or seeing applications get caught up in lengthy bureaucratic tangles under federal changes that some consider a contradiction to President Donald Trump's promise of a continued pathway to the US for the most talented foreigners. Getting what's known as an H-1B visa has never been a sure thing the number issued annually is capped at 85,000 and applicants need to enter a lottery to even be considered. But some immigration attorneys, as well as those who hire such workers, say they've seen unprecedented disruptions in the approval process since Trump took office in 2017. "You see all these arguments that we want the best and the brightest coming here," said John Goslow, an immigration attorney in Ann Arbor, Michigan. "Yet we're seeing a full-frontal assault on just all aspects of immigration." For American businesses, there is a bottom-line impact. Link Wilson, an architect who co-founded a firm in Bloomington, Minnesota, said finding enough qualified workers within the US has been a problem for years. That's due to a shortage of architects, but also because his firm needs people with experience developing senior housing. He said employers who turn to international applicants do so as a last resort, putting up with legal fees and ever-expanding visa approval times because they have no other choice. "We're just at the point where there's no one else to hire," said Wilson, who hired an architect under an H-1B visa last year after enduring a long wait. He estimates his firm turned away about USD 1 million in projects in 2018 because it didn't have enough staff to handle them. Three months after taking office, Trump issued his "Buy American and Hire American" executive order , directing Cabinet officials to suggest reforms to ensure that H-1B visas are awarded to the "most-skilled or highest-paid" applicants to help promote the hiring of Americans for jobs that might otherwise go to immigrants. Subsequent memos have allowed for greater discretion in denying applications without first requesting additional information from an applicant, tossed the deference given to people seeking to renew their H-1Bs, and raised concern that the government would revoke work permits for the spouses of H-1B holders. One order restricted companies' ability to use H-1B workers off-site at a customer's place of business, while another temporarily rescinded the option of paying for faster application processing. Attorneys who handle these applications say one of the biggest shifts is an increase in "requests for evidence," or RFEs, from US Citizenship and Immigration Services. An RFE can delay a visa for months or longer as applicants and employers are forced to submit additional documentation over things such as the applicability of a college degree to a prospective job or whether the wage being offered is appropriate. If the responses are unsatisfactory, a visa may be denied. "They're just blocking the avenues so that employers will get frustrated and they won't employ foreign nationals," said Dakshini Sen, an immigration lawyer in Houston whose caseload is mostly H-1B applications. "We have to write and write and write and explain and explain and explain each and every point." USCIS data released on Friday shows an increase in the number of completed H-1B applications receiving an RFE, from about 21 per cent in the 2016 fiscal year to 38 per cent last fiscal year. As long as it took Wang to achieve his goal, it disappeared in record time. Wang was working at Seagate Technology under an immigration provision known as Optional Practical Training, which gives those on student visas permission to work. But that expired last year, and because his H-1B application was in flux, he was forced to take a leave from Seagate and withdraw from the master's program he was pursuing at Berkeley. He says he and his company dutifully responded to an RFE, compiling examples of his work at Seagate. But on Jan 11, Wang got a final answer: He was denied an H-1B. New Delhi: Fitch Ratings on Wednesday said government's USD 7 billion (around Rs 48,000 crore) fund infusion into public sector banks (PSBs) would not be sufficient to support significantly stronger lending growth. Fitch estimates that banks will need an additional USD 23 billion (around Rs 1.6 lakh crore) in 2019, after these latest injections, to sufficiently meet minimum capital standards. Stating that the Indian authorities' approach to the banking sector has clearly shifted towards spurring lending in recent months, Fitch said these steps, along with capital injections, have eased but not removed capital constraints on state banks' growth. The Indian government's announcement on February 21 that it will soon inject USD 7 billion into state-owned banks under its recapitalisation plan is likely to help banks meet minimum regulatory requirements, but is not sufficient to support significantly stronger lending growth, Fitch Ratings said in a report titled Indian government's bank recap may not unlock faster growth'. The finance ministry last week announced infusion of Rs 48,239 crore in 12 public sector banks in this fiscal to help them maintain regulatory capital requirements and finance growth plans. A large proportion of the government's latest round of recapitalisation is still likely to go towards addressing regulatory shortfalls rather than to support asset growth, Fitch said. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in early January deferred the implementation of the final tranche of the capital conservation buffer (CCB) of 0.625 per cent to end-March 2020. The RBI has also lowered risk weights for some lending to non-bank financial institutions, despite these companies facing increased liquidity stress in the past year. Fitch, however, said more will be needed as a cushion against future losses at some state banks, as borrower defaults and slow bad loan resolution continue to put pressure on non-performing loan (NPL) provisions. Fitch said the capital injections have allowed Allahabad Bank and Corporation Bank to leave the RBI's prompt corrective action (PCA) framework, following earlier exits by Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra and Oriental Bank of Commerce. This frees these banks from tight restrictions on their management and growth. However, leaving the PCA framework will not remove the constraints on growth imposed by weak capitalisation, unless the state injects more capital into these banks or there is strong turnaround in profitability that support internal capital generation, which looks unlikely, Fitch said. Overall, we estimate that banks will need an additional USD 23 billion in 2019, after these latest injections, to sufficiently meet minimum Basel III capital standards, achieve 65 per cent NPL cover, and leave surplus capital for growth, it said. Capital needs have fallen from our estimate of USD 65 billion (over Rs 4 lakh crore) in September 2017, but progress has not been significant enough to spur loan growth, Fitch said. Fitch has a negative sector outlook on Indian banks to reflect the near-term pressures from the sector's NPL stock and elevated credit costs on bank earnings and capitalisation. 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. Tunnel Spray Painter Identified The Tribute Homeowners Association asked Chung to paint a mural on the walls of the tunnel connecting the east side of the neighborhood to the Prestwick STEM Academy and the... Announcing Nasher Public | Cameron Schoepp at the Nasher Store Gallery For Nasher Public, Schoepp has created Twist, a loop of industrial chain suspended from the ceiling on a motor. The motor turns the chain, at first very slowly, incrementally increasing in... Sign up today! Get our newsletters delivered right to your inbox. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Hong Kong: Gov't boosts land supply The Government will ensure that adequate resources are provided to support fully the short, medium and long-term measures to increase land and housing supply. Unveiling his 2019-20 Budget at the Legislative Council today, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the estimated public housing production for the next five years is about 100,400 units, including about 74,200 units for public rental housing and under the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme, and about 26,300 other subsidised sale units. The supply of first-hand private residential units is expected to remain at a relatively high level in the coming three to four years at about 93,000 units, including 9,000 unsold units in completed projects, 64,000 units under construction and not yet sold through pre-sale, and 20,000 units from disposed sites where construction may start anytime. The 2019-20 Land Sale Programme comprises a total of 15 residential sites, including seven new sites. Together with projects from railway property development, Urban Renewal Authority and private development/redevelopment, the potential land supply for the whole year is expected to have a capacity to provide about 15,500 units. Transitional housing serves to alleviate the housing problem of those living in inadequate accommodation. Mr Chan said he will set aside $2 billion to support non-governmental organisations in building transitional housing. The Government has all along strived to boost the supply of commercial floor area to meet industrial and commercial development needs. It will include seven commercial sites in the 2019-20 Land Sale Programme, estimated to provide about 814,600 sq m of floor area. To optimise the use of limited land resources, Mr Chan has set aside about $22 billion to take forward the first batch of projects under the "single site, multiple use" initiative, which will include redevelopment of Tuen Mun Clinic, development of a proposed ambulance depot near Sheung Wan Fire Station, and consolidation of several government sites in Tsuen Wan town centre. This story has been published on: 2019-02-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Hazy Mountain Vineyards and Brewery in Afton recently celebrated its grand opening on Thursday, June 17, with a slew of new guests looking to enjoy a glass of Valley-produced wine while taking in the extraordinary views of the surrounding mountainscape. Please register or log in to keep reading Stay logged in to skip the surveys. RICHMOND Chesterfield County police are investigating a home invasion that led to a dog being fatally shot after it chased six assailants out of the apartment. Police said the incident occurred about 9 p.m. Monday in the 4100 block of Mallard Landing Circle in the Mallard Cove Apartments, about a mile northwest of the intersection of Genito and Courthouse roads. The victims told police that six people knocked on their apartment door, forced their way inside and displayed a firearm. The victims dog chased the assailants out of the apartment before anything was taken and continued to chase them. As the assailants fled, a gunshot was fired outside of the apartment that struck and killed the dog. Police described the assailants only as black men who were wearing all-black clothing. One of them was wearing a red-and-blue jacket. Authorities said they believe this was an isolated incident and that no other people or homes were in any immediate danger, as it appears that one of the assailants is known to the victims. WASHINGTON A new poll shows that Virginians slightly favor Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax remaining in office as he fights allegations of sexual misconduct, the first such finding in statewide polling since the scandal broke three weeks ago. Forty percent of Virginia residents said Fairfax should not resign, compared with 31 percent who said he should step down, according to the Roanoke College poll released Tuesday. Twenty-nine percent had no opinion. Fewer than half of Virginians favored any of the states three embattled executive branch leaders resigning from office as they deal with separate scandals, the poll found. A plurality of 44 percent said Gov. Ralph Northam should not resign over a racist incident from his past, while 41 percent said he should go and 16 percent had no opinion. Attorney General Mark R. Herring had the broadest margin of support, with 49 percent favoring him remaining in office despite admitting his own racist incident, compared with 33 percent who said he should resign and 19 percent with no opinion. Platania said Sidebottom would wait for the neighbor to get off the bus and say I love you and youre beautiful. He said Sidebottom would invite her to his house to talk and would sit in a way that his genitals were purposefully exposed through the leg of his shorts. Sidebottom repeatedly shook his head as Platania detailed the incidents in court on Wednesday. A city detective decided to pay Sidebottom a visit to discuss the allegations and arrived at the time the neighbor would typically be getting off the bus, Platania said. The detective noted that Sidebottom was sitting on his truck and visibly adjusted his shorts as the detective approached. Platania said neighbors would have testified that he had been seen nude and masturbating at the windows of his home in clear view of children at other times. As part of the agreement, Sidebottoms attorney, Rhonda Quagliana, said he would agree to a permanent protective order for the neighbor and register as a sex offender. The plea agreement didnt make the victims families happy, Platania said, but would bring some closure and avoid making the children testify. Madison County sheriffs deputies arrested a county resident Monday night after threats were made toward persons connected with Madison County High School. During the overnight hours the Madison County Sheriffs Office received a call in reference to a potential threat towards several individuals at Madison County High School, sheriffs officials said on the departments Facebook page. The Sheriffs Office acted swiftly responding to the individuals home. The suspect was taken into custody without incident. Neither the arrested persons name nor age were released, but officials said the person is currently being held without bond. After meeting with deputies, school officials decided it was safe to hold classes on Tuesday. Send news tips to news@dailyprogress.com, call (434) 978-7264, tweet us @DailyProgress or send us a Facebook message here. 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. The following companies are subsidiares of TotalEnergies: ALVEA, AS 24, AS24 Belgie N.V., AS24 Espanola S.A., AS24 Fuel Cards Limited, AS24 Lithuanie, AS24 Polska SP ZO.O., AS24 Tankservice GmbH, Adani Green Energy, Aerowatt Energies, Aerowatt Energies 2, Aerowatt Energies Nogara, Aerowatt Energies Nogara 2, Air Total (Suisse) S.A., Air Total International S.A., Albatros, Alcad AB, Altinergie, Angola Block 14 B.V., Antilles Gaz, Argedis, Aristea, Atlantic Trading and Marketing Financial Inc., Atlantic Trading and Marketing Inc., BOU Verwaltungs GmbH, Balzatex S.A.S., Barry Controls Aerospace S.N.C., Bassin Du Capiscol, Bay Junction Inc., Biogaz Breuil, Biogaz Chatillon, Biogaz Corcelles, Biogaz Epinay, Biogaz Libron, Biogaz Milhac, Biogaz Soignolles, Biogaz Torcy, Biogaz Vert Le Grand, Biogaz Viriat, Borrachas Portalegre Ltda, Brass Holdings S.A.R.L., CPE Energies, CSSA - Chartering and Shipping Services S.A., Caldeo, Catelsa-Caceres S.A.U., Centrale Eolienne De Couloumi, Centrale Eolienne De Coume, Centrale Eolienne De Dainville, Centrale Eolienne De Goulien, Centrale Eolienne De L'Olivier, Centrale Eolienne De La Vallee Gentillesse, Centrale Eolienne Des Malandaux, Centrale Eolienne Du Plan Du Pal, Centrale Eolienne La Cote Du Moulin A Vent, Centrale Eolienne La Croix De Cuitot, Centrale Eolienne Les Champs Parents, Centrale Eolienne Varades, Centrale Hydrolique Alas, Centrale Hydrolique Ardon, Centrale Hydrolique Arvan, Centrale Hydrolique Barbaira, Centrale Hydrolique Bonnant, Centrale Hydrolique La Buissiere, Centrale Hydrolique Previnquieres, Centrale Photovoltaique De La Croix, Centrale Photovoltaique Du Seneguier, Centrale Photovoltaique Le Barou, Centrale Solaire 2, Centrale Solaire Autoprod, Centrale Solaire Base 112, Centrale Solaire Betheniville, Centrale Solaire Briffaut, Centrale Solaire Centre Ouest 2, Centrale Solaire Cet De Hesse, Centrale Solaire Chemin De Melette, Centrale Solaire Couloumine, Centrale Solaire De Cazedarnes, Centrale Solaire Dom, Centrale Solaire Du Centre Ouest, Centrale Solaire Du Lavoir, Centrale Solaire Du Pla De La Roque, Centrale Solaire Felix, Centrale Solaire Ficon, Centrale Solaire Forum Laudun, Centrale Solaire Fremy, Centrale Solaire Gardanne, Centrale Solaire Gigognan, Centrale Solaire Guinots, Centrale Solaire Heliovale, Centrale Solaire La Metairie, Centrale Solaire La Potence, Centrale Solaire La Sauteirane, Centrale Solaire La Tastere, Centrale Solaire Le Castellet, Centrale Solaire Le Cres, Centrale Solaire Les Ancizes, Centrale Solaire Les Aspres, Centrale Solaire Les Canebieres, Centrale Solaire Les Cordeliers, Centrale Solaire Les Cordeliers 2, Centrale Solaire Les Galliennes, Centrale Solaire Les Melettes, Centrale Solaire Lodes, Centrale Solaire Lyreco, Centrale Solaire Manosque Ombriere, Centrale Solaire Mazeran Lr, Centrale Solaire Mazeran Paca, Centrale Solaire Ombrieres Cap Agathois, Centrale Solaire Ombrieres De Blyes, Centrale Solaire Ombrieres De Boujan, Centrale Solaire Ombrieres P5, Centrale Solaire Pezenas, Centrale Solaire Piennes, Centrale Solaire Plateau De Pouls, Centrale Solaire Pont Sur Sambre, Centrale Solaire Quadrao, Centrale Solaire SPW2, Centrale Solaire Sableyes, Centrale Solaire Supdevenergie, Centrale Solaire Toiture Josse, Centrale Solaire Valorbi, Centrale Solaire Viguier, Centrale Solaire Zabo, Centrale Solaire Zabo 2, Centrale Solaire de la Med, Charvet La Mure Bianco, Cie Tunisienne du Caoutchouc S.A.R.L., Compagnie Petroliere de l'Ouest - CPO, Composite Industrie Maroc S.A.R.L., Composite Industrie S.A., Cosden LLC, Cray Valley (Guangzhou) Chemical Company Limited, Cray Valley Czech, Cray Valley HSC Asia Limited, Cray Valley Italia S.R.L., Cray Valley S.A., Cristal Marketing Egypt, DAJA 148, DAJA 154, DAJA 160, DCA-MORY-SHIPP, Deer Creek Pipelines Limited, Digital Energy Solutions, Direct Energie, E.F. Oil And Gas Limited, Egedis, Electricite Solaire De Molleges, Elf Aquitaine Fertilisants, Elf Aquitaine Inc., Elf E&P, Elf Exploration UK Limited, Elf Forest Products LLC, Elf Oil UK Aviation Limited, Elf Oil UK Properties Limited, Elf Petroleum Iran, Elf Petroleum UK Limited, Eole Balaze 2, Eole Balaze S.A.R.L., Eole Boin, Eole Broceliande, Eole Champagne Conlinoise, Eole Cote Du Moulin, Eole Desirade 4, Eole Du Bocage, Eole Fonds Caraibes, Eole Grand Maison, Eole La Montagne, Eole La Motelle, Eole La Perriere S.A.R.L., Eole Les Buissons, Eole Les Patoures, Eole Maxent, Eole Morne Carriere, Eole Morne Constant, Eole Moulin Tizon, Eole Petit Fougeray, Eole Petite Place, Eole Pierrefitte Es Bois, Eole Saint-Jean Lachalm, Eole Sorbon II, Eole Sorbon S.A.R.L., Eole Yate, Eoliennes Arques 1, Eoliennes Arques 2, Eoliennes Arques 3, Eoliennes De L'Ourcq Et Du Clignon, Eoliennes De La Chaussee Brunehaut, Eoliennes De La Chaussee Brunehaut 1, Eoliennes De La Chaussee Brunehaut 2, Eoliennes De La Chaussee Brunehaut 3, Eoliennes De La Chaussee Brunehaut 4, Eoliennes De La Chaussee Brunehaut 5, Eoliennes Du Champ Chardon, Espa S.A.R.L., Ethylene Est, Etmofina, FINA Technology Inc., Fast Jung KB, Feluy Immobati, Fina Pipeline Co, Finansol 1, Finansol 2, Finansol 3, Fioulmarket.fr, Fonroche Biogaz, Frieman & Wolf Batterietechnick GmbH, G2MOBILITY, Gapco Kenya Limited, Gapco Tanzania Limited, Gapco Uganda Limited, Gasket (Suzhou) Valve Components Company Limited, Gasket International S.R.L., Glaciere De Palisse, Global Energy Armateur SNC, Global LNG Armateur S.A.S., Global LNG Downstream S.A.S., Global LNG North America Corporation, Global LNG S.A.S., Global LNG Supply S.A., Global LNG UK Limited, Grande Paroisse S.A., Greenflex, Greenflex Actirent Group S.L., Greenflex S.A.S., Guangzhou Elf Lubricants Company Limited, Gulf Africa Petroleum Corporation, HBA Hutchinson Brasil Automotive Ltda, HETTY, Helio 100 Kw, Helio 21, Helio 974 Toitures, Helio Bakia, Helio Beziers, Helio Boulouparis, Helio Boulouparis 2, Helio Florensac, Helio Fonds Caraibes, Helio Koumac, Helio L'R, Helio La Perriere, Helio Logistique, Helio Moindah, Helio Orange, Helio Piin Patch, Helio Popidery, Helio Reunion, Helio Tamoa, Helio Temala, Holding Eole 2018, Holding Otev, Holding Pdr, Hutchinson (UK) Limited, Hutchinson (Wuhan) Automotive Rubber Products Company Limited, Hutchinson Aeronautique & Industrie Limited, Hutchinson Aeroservices S.A.S., Hutchinson Aerospace & Industry Inc., Hutchinson Aerospace GmbH, Hutchinson Aftermarket USA Inc., Hutchinson Antivibration Systems Inc., Hutchinson Automotive Systems Company Limited, Hutchinson Autopartes Mexico S.A. de C.V., Hutchinson Borrachas de Portugal Ltda, Hutchinson Corporation, Hutchinson Do Brasil S.A., Hutchinson Fluid Management Systems Inc., Hutchinson GmbH, Hutchinson Holding GmbH, Hutchinson Holdings UK Limited, Hutchinson Iberia S.A., Hutchinson Industrial Rubber Products (Suzhou) Company Limited, Hutchinson Industrias Del Caucho SAU, Hutchinson Industries Inc., Hutchinson Japan Company Limited, Hutchinson Korea Limited, Hutchinson Maroc S.A.R.L. AU, Hutchinson Poland SP ZO.O., Hutchinson Polymers S.N.C., Hutchinson Porto, Hutchinson Precision Sealing Systems Inc., Hutchinson Research & Innovation Singapore PTE. Limited, Hutchinson Rubber Products Private Limited Inde, Hutchinson S.A., Hutchinson S.N.C., Hutchinson S.R.L. (Italie), Hutchinson S.R.L. (Roumanie), Hutchinson SRO, Hutchinson Sales Corporation, Hutchinson Seal De Mexico S.A. de CV., Hutchinson Sealing Systems Inc., Hutchinson Stop - Choc GmbH & CO. KG, Hutchinson Suisse S.A., Hutchinson Transferencia de Fluidos S.A. de C.V., Hutchinson Tunisie S.A.R.L., Hutchinson Vietnam Company Limited, Hutchinson d.o.o Ruma, Hydro-M Ingenierie Des Energies Renouvelables, Hydromons, Industrias Tecnicas De La Espuma SL, Industrielle Desmarquoy S.N.C., Jehier S.A.S., Jmb Hydro S.A.R.L., Jmb Solar, Jmb Solar Nogara, Jmcp, Joint Precision Rubber, KTN Kunststofftechnik Nobitz GmbH, La Compagnie Electrique de Bretagne, La Seauve, Lampiris S.A., Le Joint Francais S.N.C., Legacy Site Services Funding Inc., Legacy Site Services LLC, Les Eoliennes De Conquereuil, Les Moulins A Vent De Kermadeen, Les Stratifies S.A.S., Les Vents De Nivillac, Les Vents De Ranes, Libcom, Libwatt, Lone Wolf Land Company, Lubricants Vietnam Holding Limited, Machen Land Limited, Maersk Oil, Marathon Oil Libya Limited, Margeriaz Energie, Messigaz SNC, Methanergy, Mide Technology Corporation, Miyagi Osato Solar Park G.K., Nouvelle Entreprise D'Energie Solaire, Novogy Inc., Olutex Oberlausitzer Luftfahrttextilien GmbH, Ombrieres Te Vendres, Omnium Reinsurance Company S.A., PFW Aerospace GmbH, PFW Havacilik Sanayi ve Dis Ticaret Limited Sirtketi, PFW Uk Machining Ltd., Pamargan (Malta) Products Limited, Pamargan Products Limited, Pan Insurance Limited, Parc Des Hauts Vents, Parc Eolien De Nesle La Reposte, Parc Solaire De Servian, Parc Solaire De Servian 2, Paulstra S.N.C., Paulstra Silentbloc S.A., Pitpoint B.V., Pitpoint Cng B.V., Polyblend GmbH, Pos Production Ii, Pos Production Iii, Pos Production Iv, Pos Production V, Produits Petroliers Stela, Quadran Caraibes, Quadran Holding Nc, Quadran Nogara, Quadran Pacific, Quadrelio, Quadrica, Quimica Vasca S.A.U., Resilium, Retia, Retia USA LLC, Roquefort Solar, Saft (Zhuhai FTZ) Batteries Company Limited, Saft (Zhuhai) Energy Storage Co, Saft AB, Saft AS, Saft Acquisition S.A.S., Saft America Inc., Saft Australia PTY Limited, Saft Batterias SL, Saft Batterie Italia S.R.L., Saft Batterien GmbH, Saft Batteries PTY Limited, Saft Batteries Pte Limited, Saft Batterijen B.V., Saft Do Brasil Ltda, Saft Ferak AS, Saft Finance S.A.R.L., Saft Groupe S.A., Saft Hong Kong Limited, Saft India Private Limited, Saft Japan KK, Saft LLC, Saft Limited, Saft Nife ME Limited, Saft S.A.S., Saudi Total Petroleum Products, Savanna Energy Services Corp., Septentrion Participations, Servauto Nederland B.V., SigmaKalon Group B.V., Smalt Energie, Socap S.A.S., Societe Bearnaise De Gestion Industrielle, Societe Civile Immobiliere CB2, Societe Urbaine des Petroles, Societe d'exploitation de l'usine de Rouen, Societe mahoraise de stockage de produits petroliers, Sofax Banque, Solaire Grand Sud, Solaire Libron, Solaire Villon, Solar Energies, Solar Mimizan, Stillman Seal Corporation, Stogg Eagle Funding B.V., Stop-Choc (UK) Limited, SunPower, Synova, TOTAL E&P NORGE AS, TOTAL MAROC, TOTSA Total Oil Trading S.A., Tadiran Batteries GmbH, Tadiran Batteries Limited, Techlam S.A.S., Tenesol SPV 1, Tepkri Sarsang A/S, Termokarstovoye S.A.S., Terneftegaz JSC(a), Thermal Control Systems Automotive Sasu, Thezan Solar, Toitures Capiscol, Total (Africa) Limited, Total (BTC) B.V., Total (Fiji) Limited, Total Abu Al Bu Khoosh, Total Activites Maritimes, Total Additifs et Carburants Speciaux, Total Africa S.A., Total American Services Inc., Total Atlantic Trading Mexico SA De CV, Total Austral, Total Aviation & Export Limited, Total Belgium, Total Bitumen Deutschland GmbH, Total Bitumen UK Limited, Total Botswana (PTY) Limited, Total Brasil Diesel Comercio e Transportes Ltda, Total Brasil Distribuidora Ltda, Total Brazil Services B.V., Total Burkina, Total Cambodge, Total Cameroun, Total Capital, Total Capital Canada Limited, Total Capital International, Total Caraibes, Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures Europe, Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures International, Total Ceska Republika S.R.O., Total China Investment Company Limited, Total Congo, Total Consulting, Total Corporate Management (Beijing) Company Limited, Total Corse, Total Cote D'Ivoire, Total Country Services Belgium, Total Danmark Pipelines A/S, Total Delaware Inc., Total Denmark A/S, Total Denmark ASW Inc., Total Denmark ASW Pipeline ApS, Total Deutschland GmbH(e), Total Developpement Regional S.A.S., Total Direct Energie Belgium, Total Direct Energie Centrale Electrique Bayet, Total Direct Energie Centrale Electrique Marchienne au Pont, Total Direct Energie Centrale Electrique de Toul, Total Direct Energie Concessions, Total Direct Energie Generation, Total Direct Energie Hambregie, Total Direct Energie S.A., Total Direct Energie Services, Total Direct Energie Yfregie, Total Direct Energies Centrale Electrique de Pont Sur Sambres, Total Dolphin Midstream, Total Downstream UK PLC, Total E&P Absheron B.V., Total E&P Al Shaheen A/S, Total E&P Algerie, Total E&P Algerie Berkine A/S, Total E&P Americas LLC, Total E&P Anchor LLC, Total E&P Angola, Total E&P Angola Block 15/06 Limited, Total E&P Angola Block 16 A/S, Total E&P Angola Block 16 Holding A/S, Total E&P Angola Block 17.06, Total E&P Angola Block 25, Total E&P Angola Block 32, Total E&P Angola Block 33, Total E&P Angola Block 39, Total E&P Angola Block 40, Total E&P Angola Block 48 B.V., Total E&P Angola Chissonga Holdings Limited, Total E&P Aruba B.V., Total E&P Asia Pacific Pte. Limited, Total E&P Australia, Total E&P Australia Exploration PTY Limited, Total E&P Australia II, Total E&P Australia III, Total E&P Azerbaijan B.V., Total E&P Barnett Usa (75), Total E&P Bolivie, Total E&P Borneo B.V., Total E&P Bulgaria B.V., Total E&P Cambodge, Total E&P Canada Limited, Total E&P Chine, Total E&P Chissonga Limited, Total E&P Colombie, Total E&P Congo, Total E&P Cote d'Ivoire, Total E&P Cote d'Ivoire CI - 514, Total E&P Cote d'Ivoire CI - 515, Total E&P Cote d'Ivoire CI - 516, Total E&P Cote d'Ivoire CI-605 B.V., Total E&P Cyprus B.V., Total E&P Danmark A/S - CPH, Total E&P Danmark A/S -EBJ, Total E&P Deep Offshore Borneo B.V., Total E&P Do Brasil Ltda, Total E&P Dolphin Upstream, Total E&P Dunga GmbH, Total E&P East El Burullus Offshore B.V., Total E&P Egypt Block 2 B.V., Total E&P Egypte, Total E&P Europe and Central Asia Limited, Total E&P France, Total E&P Golfe Limited, Total E&P Gom Moh. LLC, Total E&P Greece B.V., Total E&P Guyana B.V., Total E&P Guyane Francaise, Total E&P Holding Ichthys, Total E&P Holdings Australia PTY Limited, Total E&P Holdings Russia, Total E&P Holdings UAE B.V., Total E&P Ichthys B.V., Total E&P Indonesia Mentawai B.V., Total E&P Indonesie, Total E&P International K1 Limited, Total E&P International K2 Limited, Total E&P International K3 Limited, Total E&P International Limited, Total E&P Iraq, Total E&P Ireland B.V., Total E&P Italia, Total E&P Jack LLC, Total E&P Jutland Denmark B.V., Total E&P Kazakhstan, Total E&P Kenya B.V., Total E&P Kurdistan Region of Iraq (Harir) B.V., Total E&P Kurdistan Region of Iraq (Safen) B.V., Total E&P Kurdistan Region of Iraq (Taza) B.V., Total E&P Kurdistan Region of Iraq B.V., Total E&P Liban S.A.L., Total E&P Libye, Total E&P Lower Zakum B.V., Total E&P Malaysia, Total E&P Mauritania Block C18 B.V., Total E&P Mauritania Block C9 B.V., Total E&P Mauritania Blocks DW B.V., Total E&P Mauritanie, Total E&P Mauritius Holding Limited, Total E&P Mexico S.A. de C.V., Total E&P Mozambique Area 1 Limitada, Total E&P Mozambique B.V., Total E&P Myanmar, Total E&P Namibia B.V., Total E&P Nederland B.V., Total E&P New Ventures Inc., Total E&P Nigeria Deepwater A Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Deepwater B Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Deepwater C Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Deepwater D Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Deepwater E Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Deepwater F Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Deepwater G Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Deepwater H Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Limited, Total E&P Nigeria S.A.S., Total E&P North Sea UK Limited, Total E&P Oman, Total E&P Oman Dev. B.V, Total E&P PNG 2 B.V., Total E&P PNG 5 B.V., Total E&P PNG Limited, Total E&P Participations Petrolieres Congo, Total E&P Philippines B.V., Total E&P Qatar, Total E&P RDC, Total E&P Research & Technology USA LLC, Total E&P Russie, Total E&P Salmanov, Total E&P Sebuku, Total E&P Senegal, Total E&P Services China Company Limited, Total E&P South Africa B.V., Total E&P South Pars, Total E&P South Sudan, Total E&P Syrie, Total E&P Tajikistan B.V., Total E&P Thailand, Total E&P Three Pl B.V., Total E&P Timan-Pechora LLC, Total E&P UAE Unconventional Gas B.V., Total E&P UK Limited, Total E&P US Well Containment LLC, Total E&P USA Inc., Total E&P USA Oil Shale LLC, Total E&P Uganda B.V., Total E&P Umm Shaif Nasr B.V., Total E&P Uruguay B.V., Total E&P Uruguay Onshore B.V., Total E&P Well Response, Total E&P Yamal, Total E&P Yemen, Total E&P Yemen Block 3 B.V., Total East Africa Midstream B.V., Total Egypt, Total Energie Gas GmbH, Total Energy (Meuk) Limited, Total Energy Investments Tianjin, Total Energy Marketing A/S, Total Energy Services, Total Energy Ventures Emerging Markets, Total Espana S.A., Total Especialidades Argentina, Total Ethiopia, Total European Trading, Total Exploration M'Bridge, Total Facilities Management B.V., Total Facilities Management Services (TFMS), Total Finance, Total Finance Corporate Services Limited, Total Finance Global Services (TOFIG), Total Finance Nederland B.V., Total Finance USA Inc., Total Finance international B.V., Total Fluides, Total Freeport Corporation, Total Fuels Wuhan Company Limited, Total Funding Nederland B.V., Total Funding Nederland International B.V., Total GLNG Australia, Total GLNG Australia Holdings, Total Gabon, Total Gas & Power Actifs Industriels, Total Gas & Power Asia Private Limited, Total Gas & Power Brazil, Total Gas & Power Chartering Limited, Total Gas & Power Limited, Total Gas & Power North America Inc., Total Gas & Power Services Limited, Total Gas & Power Thailand, Total Gas Pipeline USA Inc., Total Gas Y Electricidad Argentina S.A., Total Gas and Power Limited London Meyrin - Geneva Branch, Total Gasandes, Total Gass Handel Norge AS, Total Gastransport Nederland B.V., Total Gaz Electricite Holdings France, Total Gestion Filiales, Total Gestion USA, Total Glass Lubricants Europe GmbH, Total Global Financial Services, Total Global Human Ressources Services, Total Global IT Services (TGITS), Total Global Information Technology Services Belgium, Total Global Procurement (TGP), Total Global Procurement Belgium S.A. (TGPB), Total Global Services Bucharest, Total Global Services Philippines, Total Guadeloupe, Total Guinea Ecuatorial, Total Guinee, Total Holding Allemagne, Total Holding Asie, Total Holding Dolphin Amont, Total Holding India, Total Holdings Europe, Total Holdings International B.V., Total Holdings Nederland B.V., Total Holdings Nederland International B.V., Total Holdings S.A.S., Total Holdings UK Limited, Total Holdings USA Inc., Total International NV, Total Investment Management Tianjin, Total Investments, Total Iran B.V., Total Italia, Total Jamaica Limited, Total Jordan PSC, Total Kenya, Total LNG Angola, Total LNG Supply Services USA Inc., Total Laffan Refinery, Total Laffan Refinery II B.V., Total Learning Solutions (TLS), Total Liban, Total Liberia Inc., Total Lindsey Oil Refinery Limited, Total Lubricants (China) Company Limited, Total Lubricants Taiwan Limited, Total Lubrifiants, Total Lubrifiants Algerie, Total Lubrifiants Service Automobile, Total Luxembourg S.A., Total Madagasikara S.A., Total Malawi Limited, Total Mali, Total Marine Fuels, Total Marketing Egypt, Total Marketing France, Total Marketing Gabon, Total Marketing Middle East Free Zone, Total Marketing Services, Total Marketing Tchad, Total Marketing Uganda, Total Mauritius, Total Mayotte, Total Mexico S.A. de C.V., Total Midstream Holdings UK Limited, Total Mineraloel und Chemie GmbH, Total Mineralol GmbH, Total Mozambique, Total Namibia (PTY) Limited, Total Nederland NV, Total New Energies Limited, Total New Energies USA Inc., Total New Energies Ventures USA Inc., Total Niger S.A., Total Nigeria Plc, Total Oil Asia-Pacific Pte Limited, Total Oil Gb Limited, Total Oil India Private Limited, Total Oil UK Limited, Total Oil and Gas South America, Total Oil and Gas Venezuela B.V., Total Olefins Antwerp, Total Operations Canada Limited, Total Opslag En Pijpleiding Nederland NV, Total Outre-Mer, Total Overseas Holding (PTY) Limited, Total P&G do Brasil Ltda, Total PAR LLC, Total Pacifique, Total Paiement Services, Total Pars LNG, Total Participations, Total Petrochemicals & Refining S.A./NV(e), Total Petrochemicals & Refining USA Inc.(e), Total Petrochemicals (Hong Kong) Limited, Total Petrochemicals (Shangai) Limited, Total Petrochemicals Development Feluy, Total Petrochemicals Ecaussinnes, Total Petrochemicals Feluy, Total Petrochemicals France, Total Petrochemicals Iberica, Total Petrochemicals Pipeline USA Inc., Total Petrochemicals Security USA Inc., Total Petrochemicals UK Limited, Total Petroleum (Shanghai) Company Limited, Total Petroleum Angola, Total Petroleum Ghana, Total Petroleum Puerto Rico Corp., Total Philippines Corporation, Total Polska, Total Polymers Antwerp, Total Polynesie, Total Profils Petroliers, Total Qatar, Total Quadran, Total RDC, Total Raffinaderij Antwerpen N.V., Total Raffinage Chimie S.A.S., Total Raffinage France, Total Raffinerie Mitteldeutschland GmbH, Total Refining & Chemicals Saudi Arabia S.A.S., Total Renewables, Total Research & Technology Feluy, Total Resources (Canada) Limited, Total Reunion, Total Romania S.A., Total Senegal, Total Singapore Shared Services Pte Limited, Total Solar Intl, Total Solar Latin America SPA, Total South Africa (PTY) Limited, Total South Pars, Total Specialties USA Inc., Total Splitter USA Inc, Total Supply MS S.A., Total Swaziland (PTY) Limited, Total Tanzania Limited, Total Tengah, Total Tianjin Manufacturing Company Limited, Total Togo, Total Trading Asia Pte Limited, Total Trading Canada Limited, Total Trading Products S.A., Total Trading and Marketing Canada LP, Total Treasury, Total Tunisie, Total Turkey Pazarlama, Total UK Finance Limited, Total UK Limited, Total USA International LLC, Total Uganda Limited, Total Ukraine LLC, Total Upstream Danmark A/S, Total Upstream Nigeria Limited, Total Upstream UK Limited, Total Venezuela, Total Vietnam Limited, Total Vostok, Total Yemen LNG Company Limited, Total Zambia, Total Zimbabwe, Totalgaz Vietnam LLC, Trans-Ethylene, Transalpes S.N.C., Tssa Total Storage & Services S.A., Uintah Colorado Resources LLC, Unitah Colorado Resources II LLC, Upbeatprops 100 PTY Limited, V Energy S.A., Valorene, Vent De Thierache 01, Vent De Thierache 02, Vent De Thierache 03, Vents D'Oc Centrale D'Energie Renouvelable 18, Vents D'Oc Energies Renouvelables, Vibrachoc S.A.U., Watt Prox, WayKonect, Winergy, Zeeland Refinery NV, and Zeeland Solar B.V.. SunTrust Banks, Inc. operates as the holding company for SunTrust Bank that provides various financial services for consumers, businesses, corporations, institutions, and not-for-profit entities in the United States. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Wholesale. The Consumer segment provides deposits and payments; home equity and personal credit lines; auto, student, and other lending products; credit cards; discount/online and full-service brokerage products; professional investment advisory products and services; and trust services, as well as family office solutions. This segment also offers residential mortgage products in the secondary market. The Wholesale segment provides capital markets solutions, including advisory, capital raising, and financial risk management; asset-based financing solutions, such as securitizations, asset-based lending, equipment financing, and structured real estate arrangements; cash management services and auto dealer financing solutions; investment banking solutions; and credit and deposit, fee-based product offering, multi-family agency lending, advisory, commercial mortgage brokerage, and tailored financing and equity investment solutions. This segment also offers treasury and payment solutions, such as operating various electronic and paper payment types, which comprise card, wire transfer, automated clearing house, check, and cash; and provides services clients to manage their accounts online. The company offers its products and services through a network of traditional and in-store branches, automated teller machines, Internet, mobile, and telephone banking channels. As of December 31, 2018, it operated 1,218 full-service banking offices located in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia. SunTrust Banks, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Read More Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company primarily in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. It operates through two segments, PSE&G and PSEG Power. The PSE&G segment transmits electricity; distributes electricity and gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers, as well as invests in solar generation projects, and energy efficiency and related programs; and offers appliance services and repairs. As of December 31, 2020, it had electric transmission and distribution system of 25,000 circuit miles and 860,000 poles; 54 switching stations with an installed capacity of 38,353 megavolt-amperes (MVA), and 245 substations with an installed capacity of 8,647 MVA; four electric distribution headquarters and five electric sub-headquarters; and 18,000 miles of gas mains, 12 gas distribution headquarters, two sub-headquarters, and one meter shop, as well as 58 natural gas metering and regulating stations. The Power segment operates nuclear, gas, oil-fired, and renewable generation assets. It has total generating output was approximately 52,900 gigawatts hours; and owns and operates 467 MW direct current of photovoltaic solar generation facilities. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated was incorporated in 1985 and is based in Newark, New Jersey. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Lloyds Banking Group: A G Finance Ltd, A.C.L. Ltd, ACL Autolease Holdings Ltd, ADF No.1 Pty Ltd, Addison Social Housing Holdings Ltd, Alex Lawrie Factors Ltd, Alex. Lawrie Receivables Financing Ltd, Amberdate Ltd, Anglo Scottish Utilities Partnership 1, Aquilus Ltd, Automobile Association Personal Finance Ltd, BOS (Ireland) Property Services 2 Ltd, BOS (Ireland) Property Services Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland) No. 2) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland) No. 3) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland)) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 1 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 2 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 3 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 4 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 5 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 6 plc, BOS (USA) Fund Investments Inc., BOS (USA) Inc., BOS Edinburgh No 1 Ltd, BOS Mistral Ltd, BOS Personal Lending Ltd, BOSSAF Rail Ltd, Bank of Scotland (B G S) Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland (Stanlife) London Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Branch Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Central Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Edinburgh Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Equipment Finance Ltd, Bank of Scotland Foundation, Bank of Scotland LNG Leasing (No 1) Ltd, Bank of Scotland London Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Nominees (Unit Trusts) Ltd, Bank of Scotland P.E.P. Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Structured Asset Finance Ltd, Bank of Scotland Transport Finance 1 Ltd, Bank of Scotland plc, Bank of Wales Ltd, Barents Leasing Ltd, Barnwood Mortgages Ltd, Birchcrown Finance Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Financial Services Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Land Development Ltd, Birmingham Midshires Mortgage Services Ltd, Black Horse (TRF) Ltd, Black Horse Executive Mortgages Ltd, Black Horse Finance Holdings Ltd, Black Horse Finance Management Ltd, Black Horse Group Ltd, Black Horse Ltd, Black Horse Offshore Ltd, Black Horse Property Services Ltd, Boltro Nominees Ltd, British Linen Leasing (London) Ltd, British Linen Leasing Ltd, British Linen Shipping Ltd, C.T.S.B. Leasing Ltd, CBRail S.A.R.L., CF Asset Finance Ltd, CF1 Ltd, CM Venture Investments Ltd, Cancara Asset Securitisation Ltd, Capital 1945 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 12 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 3 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 5 Ltd, Capital Bank Leasing 9 Ltd, Capital Bank Property Investments (3) Ltd, Capital Personal Finance Ltd, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation 2018-1 Plc, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation 2019-1 Plc, Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Cardnet Merchant Services Ltd, Cashfriday Ltd, Cashpoint Ltd, Caveminster Ltd, Cedar Holdings Ltd, Celsius European Lux 2 S.A.R.L., Central Mortgage Finance Ltd, Chariot Finance Ltd, Cheltenham & Gloucester plc, Cheltenham II Securities 2020 DAC, Cheltenham Securities 2017 Ltd, Chepstow Blue Holdings Ltd, Chepstow Blue plc, Chester Asset Options No.2 Ltd, Chester Asset Options No.3 Ltd, Chester Asset Receivables Dealings Issuer Ltd, Chester Asset Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Chester Asset Securitisation Holdings No.2 Ltd, Chiswell Stockbrokers Ltd, Clerical Medical Finance plc, Clerical Medical Financial Services Ltd, Clerical Medical International Holdings B.V., Clerical Medical Investment Fund Managers Ltd, Clerical Medical Managed Funds Ltd, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Guadalix Hold Co BV, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Guadalix Spanish Prop Co SL, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Megapark Hold Co BV, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Megapark Prop Co SA, Clerical Medical Non Sterling Property Company S.A.R.L., Cloak Lane Funding S.A.R.L., Cloak Lane Investments S.A.R.L., Conquest Securities Ltd, Corbiere Asset Investments Ltd, Create Services Ltd, Credit Card Securitisation Europe Ltd, Dalkeith Corporation, Deva Financing Holdings Ltd, Deva Financing plc, Deva One Ltd, Deva Three Ltd, Deva Two Ltd, Dunstan Investments (UK) Ltd, Edgbaston RMBS 2010-1 plc, Edgbaston RMBS Holdings Ltd, Elland RMBS 2018 plc, Elland RMBS Holdings Ltd, Eurolead Services Holdings Ltd, First Retail Finance (Chester) Ltd, Fontwell Securities 2016 Ltd, Forthright Finance Ltd, France Industrial Premises Holding Company, General Leasing (No. 12) Ltd, General Reversionary and Investment Company, Gresham Nominee 1 Ltd, Gresham Nominee 2 Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 1) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 10) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 11) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 12) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 13) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 14) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 15) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 16) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 19) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 20) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 21) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 22) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 23) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 24) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 25) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 26) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 27) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 28) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 29) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 3) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 30) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 31) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 32) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 33) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 34) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 35) Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 36) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 37) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 38) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 39) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 40) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 41) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 44) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 45) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 46) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 47) UK Ltd, Gresham Receivables (No. 48) UK Ltd, Guildhall Asset Purchasing Company (No 3) Ltd, Guildhall Asset Purchasing Company (No.11) UK Ltd, HBOS Covered Bonds LLP, HBOS Final Salary Trust Ltd, HBOS Financial Services Ltd, HBOS Insurance & Investment Group Ltd, HBOS International Financial Services Holdings Ltd, HBOS Investment Fund Managers Ltd, HBOS Social Housing Covered Bonds LLP, HBOS UK Ltd, HBOS plc, HSDL Nominees Ltd, HVF Ltd, Halifax Credit Card Ltd, Halifax Financial Brokers Ltd, Halifax Financial Services (Holdings) Ltd, Halifax Financial Services Ltd, Halifax General Insurance Services Ltd, Halifax Group Ltd, Halifax Investment Services Ltd, Halifax Leasing (June) Ltd, Halifax Leasing (March No.2) Ltd, Halifax Leasing (September) Ltd, Halifax Life Ltd, Halifax Loans Ltd, Halifax Ltd, Halifax Mortgage Services Ltd, Halifax Nominees Ltd, Halifax Pension Nominees Ltd, Halifax Premises Ltd, Halifax Share Dealing Ltd, Halifax Vehicle Leasing (1998) Ltd, Heidi Finance Holdings (UK) Ltd, Hill Samuel Bank Ltd, Hill Samuel Finance Ltd, Hill Samuel Leasing Co. Ltd, Home Shopping Personal Finance Ltd, Horizon Capital 2000 Ltd, Housing Association Risk Transfer 2019 DAC, Housing Growth Partnership GP LLP, Housing Growth Partnership LP, Housing Growth Partnership Ltd, Housing Growth Partnership Manager Ltd, Hyundai Car Finance Ltd, IBOS Finance Ltd, ICC Enterprise Partners Ltd, ICC Equity Partners Ltd, ICC Holdings Unlimited Company, Inchcape Financial Services Ltd, Intelligent Finance Financial Services Ltd, Intelligent Finance Software Ltd, International Motors Finance Ltd, Kanaalstraat Funding C.V., Katrine Leasing Ltd, LB Healthcare Trustee Ltd, LB Motorent Ltd, LB Quest Ltd, LB Share Schemes Trustees Ltd, LBCF Ltd, LBG Brasil Administracao LTDA, LBG Capital Holdings Ltd, LBG Equity Investments Ltd, LBI Leasing Ltd, LDC (General Partner) Ltd, LDC (Managers) Ltd, LDC (Nominees) Ltd, LDC GP LLP, LDC I LP, LDC II LP, LDC III LP, LDC IV LP, LDC Parallel (Nominees) Ltd, LDC V LP, LDC VI LP, LDC VII LP, LDC VIII LP, LTGP Limited Partnership Incorporated, Legacy Renewal Company Ltd, Leicester Securities 2014 Ltd, Lex Autolease (CH) Ltd, Lex Autolease (VC) Ltd, Lex Autolease Carselect Ltd, Lex Autolease Ltd, Lex Vehicle Finance 2 Ltd, Lex Vehicle Leasing (Holdings) Ltd, Lex Vehicle Leasing Ltd, Lime Street (Funding) Ltd, Lingfield 2014 I Holdings Ltd, Lingfield 2014 I plc, Lloyds (Gresham) Ltd, Lloyds (Gresham) No. 1 Ltd, Lloyds (Nimrod) Specialist Finance Ltd, Lloyds America Securities Corporation1, Lloyds Asset Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Branches) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Colonial & Foreign) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Fountainbridge 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Fountainbridge 2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (I.D.) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank (International Services) Ltd, Lloyds Bank (Stock Exchange Branch) Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Asset Finance Ltd, Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance Ltd, Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance Scotland Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (HP) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.3) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Asset Finance (No.4) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets Wertpapierhandelsbank GmbH, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets plc, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds (LM) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Covered Bonds LLP, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 7) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Equipment Leasing (No. 9) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Financial Services (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales, Lloyds Bank Foundation for the Channel Islands, Lloyds Bank General Insurance Holdings Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Insurance Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 11) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 17) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 20) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 3) Ltd, Lloyds Bank General Leasing (No. 5) Ltd, Lloyds Bank GmbH, Lloyds Bank Hill Samuel Holding Company Ltd, Lloyds Bank Insurance Services Ltd, Lloyds Bank International Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing (No. 6) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing (No. 8) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Bank MTCH Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 10) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 13) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No. 17) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Maritime Leasing (No.16) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Offshore Pension Trust Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pension ABCS (No. 1) LLP, Lloyds Bank Pension ABCS (No. 2) LLP, Lloyds Bank Pension Trust (No. 1) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pension Trust (No. 2) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Pensions Property (Guernsey) Ltd, Lloyds Bank Properties Ltd, Lloyds Bank Property Company Ltd, Lloyds Bank S.F. Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Subsidiaries Ltd, Lloyds Bank Trustee Services Ltd, Lloyds Bank plc, Lloyds Banking Group Pensions Trustees Ltd, Lloyds Capital GP Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Properties Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Property Investments Ltd, Lloyds Corporate Services (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Development Capital (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Engine Capital (No.1) U.S LLC, Lloyds Far East S.A.R.L., Lloyds General Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Group Holdings (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Holdings (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Hypotheken B.V., Lloyds Industrial Leasing Ltd, Lloyds International Pty Ltd, Lloyds Investment Bonds Ltd, Lloyds Investment Fund Managers Ltd, Lloyds Investment Securities No.5 Ltd, Lloyds Leasing (North Sea Transport) Ltd1, Lloyds Leasing Developments Ltd, Lloyds Nominees (Guernsey) Ltd, Lloyds Offshore Global Services Private Ltd, Lloyds Plant Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Portfolio Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Premises Investments Ltd, Lloyds Project Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No. 3 Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No. 4 Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No.5 Ltd, Lloyds Secretaries Ltd, Lloyds Securities Inc., Lloyds TSB Pacific Ltd, Lloyds UDT Asset Leasing Ltd, Lloyds UDT Asset Rentals Ltd, Lloyds UDT Hiring Ltd, Lloyds UDT Leasing Ltd, Lloyds UDT Ltd, Lloyds Your Tomorrow Trustee Ltd, Loans.co.uk Ltd, London Taxi Finance Ltd, London Uberior (L.A.S. Group) Nominees Ltd, Lotus Finance Ltd, MBNA, MBNA Direct Ltd, MBNA Europe Finance Ltd, MBNA Europe Holdings Ltd, MBNA General Foundation, MBNA Global Services Ltd, MBNA Indian Services Private Ltd, MBNA Ltd, MBNA R & L S.A.R.L., MBNA Receivables Ltd, Mainsearch Company Ltd, Maritime Leasing (No. 19) Ltd, Membership Services Finance Ltd, Mitre Street Funding S.A.R.L., Molineux RMBS 2016-1 plc, Molineux RMBS Holdings Ltd, Moor Lane Holdings Ltd, NFU Mutual Finance Ltd, NWS Trust Ltd, Nominees (Jersey) Ltd, Nordic Leasing Ltd, Ocean Leasing (July) Ltd, Oystercatcher Nominees Ltd, Oystercatcher Residential Ltd, PIPS Asset Investments Ltd, Pacific Leasing Ltd, Penarth Asset Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Penarth Funding 1 Ltd, Penarth Funding 2 Ltd, Penarth Master Issuer plc, Penarth Receivables Trustee Ltd, Pensions Management (S.W.F.) Ltd, Peony Eastern Leasing Ltd, Peony Leasing Ltd, Peony Western Leasing Ltd, Permanent Funding (No. 1) Ltd, Permanent Funding (No. 2) Ltd, Permanent Holdings Ltd, Permanent Master Issuer plc, Permanent Mortgages Trustee Ltd, Permanent PECOH Holdings Ltd, Permanent PECOH Ltd, Perry Nominees Ltd, Prestonfield Investments Ltd, Proton Finance Ltd, R.F. Spencer And Company Ltd, Ranelagh Nominees Ltd, Retail Revival (Burgess Hill) Investments Ltd, SARL Coliseum, SARL Hiram, SAS Compagnie Fonciere De France, SCI Astoria Invest, SCI De LHorloge, SCI Equinoxe, SCI Rambuteau CFF, SW Funding plc, SW No.1 Ltd, SWAMF (GP) Ltd, SWAMF Nominee (1) Ltd, SWAMF Nominee (2) Ltd, Saint Michel Holding Company No1, Saint Michel Investment Property, Saint Witz 2 Holding Company No1, Saint Witz 2 Investment Property, Salisbury II Securities 2016 Ltd, Salisbury II-A Securities 2017 Ltd, Salisbury III Securities 2019 DAC, Salisbury Securities 2015 Ltd, Sandown 2012-2 Holdings Ltd, Sandown 2012-2 plc, Sandown Gold 2012-1 Holdings Ltd, Sandown Gold 2012-1 plc, Savban Leasing Ltd, Scotland International Finance B.V., Scottish Widows Administration Services (Nominees) Ltd, Scottish Widows Administration Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Annuities Ltd, Scottish Widows Auto Enrolment Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Europe, Scottish Widows Financial Services Holdings, Scottish Widows Group Ltd, Scottish Widows Industrial Properties Europe B.V., Scottish Widows Ltd, Scottish Widows Pension Trustees Ltd, Scottish Widows Property Management Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Personal Wealth (ACD) Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Personal Wealth Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Wealth Holdings Ltd, Scottish Widows Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Trustees Ltd, Scottish Widows Unit Funds Ltd, Scottish Widows Unit Trust Managers Ltd, Scottish Widows Fund and Life Assurance Society, Seabreeze Leasing Ltd, Seaspirit Leasing Ltd, Share Dealing Nominees Ltd, Shogun Finance Ltd, Silentdale Ltd, St Andrews Group Ltd, St Andrews Insurance plc, St Andrews Life Assurance plc, St. Marys Court Investments, Standard Property Investment (1987) Ltd, Standard Property Investment Ltd, Sussex County Homes Ltd, Suzuki Financial Services Ltd, Swan Funding 2 Ltd, Syon Securities 2019 DAC, The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation Plc, The British Linen Company Ltd, The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland, The Mortgage Business plc, Thistle Financing Holdings Ltd, Thistle Investments (AMC) Ltd, Thistle Investments (ERM) Ltd, Thistle Leasing, Three Copthall Avenue Ltd, Tower Hill Property Investments (10) Ltd, Tower Hill Property Investments (7) Ltd, Tranquility Leasing Ltd, Trinity Financing plc, UDT Budget Leasing Ltd, UDT Sales Finance Ltd, Uberior (Moorfield) Ltd, Uberior Co-Investments Ltd, Uberior ENA Ltd, Uberior Equity Ltd, Uberior Europe Ltd, Uberior Fund Investments Ltd, Uberior Infrastructure Investments (No.2) Ltd, Uberior Infrastructure Investments Ltd, Uberior Investments Ltd, Uberior Nominees Ltd, Uberior Trading Ltd, Uberior Trustees Ltd, Uberior Ventures Australia Pty Ltd, Uberior Ventures Ltd, United Dominions Leasing Ltd, United Dominions Trust Ltd, Universe The CMI Global Network Fund, Upsaala Ltd, Vine Street IX LP, WCS Ltd, Ward Nominees (Abingdon) Ltd, Ward Nominees (Birmingham) Ltd 1, Ward Nominees (Bristol) Ltd 1, Ward Nominees Ltd 1, Waverley Fund II Investor LLC, Waverley Fund III Investor LLC, Waymark Asset Investments Ltd, West Craigs Ltd, Wetherby II Securities 2018 DAC, Wetherby III Securities 2019 DAC, Wetherby Securities 2017 Ltd, Wood Street Leasing Ltd, and Zurich Insurance Group - UK Workplace Pensions and Savings Business. Ultrapar ParticipaAAes S.A. engages in the gas distribution, fuel distribution, chemicals, storage, and drugstores businesses primarily in Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Venezuela, other Latin American countries, the United States, Canada, the Far East, Europe, and internationally. Its Gas Distribution segment distributes liquefied petroleum gas to residential, commercial, and industrial consumers primarily in the South, Southeast, and Northeast regions of Brazil. The company's Fuel Distribution segment distributes and markets gasoline, ethanol, diesel, fuel oil, kerosene, natural gas for vehicles, and lubricants; operates convenience stores; and offers lubricant-changing and automotive specialized services. Its Chemicals segment produces ethylene oxide and its derivatives, and fatty alcohols that are raw materials used in the home and personal care, agrochemical, paints, varnishes, and other industries. The company's Storage segment operates liquid bulk terminals primarily in the Southeast and Northeast regions of Brazil. Its Drugstores segment trades in pharmaceutical, hygiene, and beauty products through its own drugstore chain in the North, Northeast, and Southeast regions of Brazil. As of December 31, 2020, the company operated through 7,107 Ipiranga service stations and 1,804 AmPm convenience stores; 1,172 Jet Oil franchises; 405 Extrafarma drugstores and 3 distribution centers; and 6 Ultracargo terminals with storage capacity of 838 thousand cubic meters. It also operates Abastece AA, a digital payments app; and offers Km de Vantagens, a loyalty program. The company was founded in 1937 and is headquartered in SAo Paulo, Brazil. Read More John Bean Technologies Corporation provides technology solutions to food and beverage industry and equipment and services to air transportation industries. The company operates through JBT FoodTech and JBT AeroTech segments. It offers poultry processing, mixing/grinding, injecting, marinating, tumbling, portioning, packaging, coating, cooking, frying, freezing, weighing, and X-ray food inspection. The company also provides processing solutions for extracting, mixing, blending, pasteurizing, sterilizing, concentrating, high pressure processing, filling, closing, sealing, and final packaging, as well as processing equipment; and packaging systems for poultry, beef, pork, seafood, ready-to-eat meals, fruits, vegetables, dairy, bakery, pet foods, soups, sauces, and juices. In addition, it offers automated guided vehicle systems for material movement in the manufacturing and warehouse facilities. Further, the company provides mobile air transportation equipment, such as commercial and military cargo loading, aircraft deicing, aircraft towing, and aircraft ground power and cooling systems; and fixed equipment for passenger boarding. Additionally, it offers airport equipment, systems, and facilities maintenance services to domestic and international airport authorities, passenger airlines, airfreight and ground handling companies, military forces, and defense contractors. It markets and sells its products and solutions through direct sales force, independent distributors, and sales representatives. John Bean Technologies Corporation was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Read More AmerisourceBergen Corporation sources and distributes pharmaceutical products in the United States and internationally. Its Pharmaceutical Distribution segment distributes brand-name and generic pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, home healthcare supplies and equipment, outsourced compounded sterile preparations, and related services to various healthcare providers, including acute care hospitals and health systems, independent and chain retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, medical clinics, long-term care and other alternate site pharmacies, and other customers. It also provides pharmacy management, staffing, and other consulting services; supply management software to retail and institutional healthcare providers; and packaging solutions to various institutional and retail healthcare providers. In addition, this segment distributes plasma and other blood products, injectable pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and other specialty products; provides other services primarily to physicians who specialize in various disease states, primarily oncology, as well as to other healthcare providers, including hospitals and dialysis clinics; and offers data analytics, outcomes research, and additional services for biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturers. The company's Other segment provides integrated manufacturer services, such as clinical trial support, product post-approval, and commercialization support; offers specialty transportation and logistics services for the biopharmaceutical industry; and sells pharmaceuticals, vaccines, parasiticides, diagnostics, micro feed ingredients, and various other products to customers in both the companion animal and production animal markets, as well as provides demand-creating sales force services to manufacturers. AmerisourceBergen Corporation was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania. Read More Wall Street analysts have given iShares Core High Dividend 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 Core High Dividend ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. Teledyne Technologies Incorporated provides instrumentation, digital imaging, aerospace and defense electronics, and engineered systems in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and internationally. The company's Instrumentation segment offers monitoring and control instruments for marine, environmental, industrial, and other applications, as well as electronic test and measurement equipment; and power and communications connectivity devices for distributed instrumentation systems and sensor networks deployed in mission critical and harsh environments. Its Digital Imaging segment provides image sensors and digital cameras for use in industrial, scientific, academic research, and medical applications; and hardware and software for image processing and automatic data collection in industrial, academic research, and medical applications, as well as manufacturing services for micro electro-mechanical systems. This segment also offers light detection and ranging systems; focal plane arrays, sensors, and subsystems; and geospatial software products. The company's Aerospace and Defense Electronics segment provides electronic components and subsystems, as well as communications products, such as defense electronics; environment interconnects; data acquisition and communications equipment for aircraft; components and subsystems for wireless and satellite communications; and general aviation batteries. Its Engineered Systems segment offers systems engineering and integration, technology development, and manufacturing solutions for defense, space, environmental, and energy applications; and designs and manufactures electrochemical energy systems and electronics for military applications. The company markets and sells its products and services through sales forces, third-party distributors, and commissioned sales representatives. Teledyne Technologies Incorporated was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. Read More Embraer S.A. designs, develops, manufactures, and sells aircrafts and systems in Brazil, North America, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Brazil, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Defense and Security; Executive Jets; Service & Support; and Other segments. The Defense and Security segment engages in the research, development, production, modification, and support for military defense and security aircraft, as well as offers a range of products and integrated solutions that include radars, special space systems (satellites), and information and communications systems, such as command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems. The Executive Jets segment develops, produces, and sells executive jets. It also leases Legacy 600 and Legacy 650 executive jets in the super midsize and large categories; Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 executive jets in the midlight and midsize categories; Phenom family executive jets in the entry jet and light jet categories; Lineage 1000, an ultra-large executive jet; and Praetor 500 and Praetor 600, disruptive executive jets in the midsize and super midsize categories. The Service & Support segment offers after-service solutions, support, and maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for commercial, executive, and defense aircraft; provides aircraft components and engines; and supplies steel and composite aviation structures to various aircraft manufacturers. The Other segment is involved in the supply of fuel systems, structural parts, and mechanical and hydraulic systems; and production of agricultural crop-spraying aircraft. The company was formerly known as Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de AeronAutica S.A. and changed its name to Embraer S.A. in November 2010. Embraer S.A. was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in SAo Paulo, Brazil. Read More Drax Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the generation and supply of electricity in the United Kingdom. The company operates through three segments: Generation, Customers, and, Pellet Production. It produces low carbon and renewable electricity; and provides system support services to the electricity grid. The company owns and operates Drax Power Station that produces electricity from biomass and coal with an installed capacity of 3,906 megawatts (MW) located in Selby, North Yorkshire; Cruachan Power Station, a pumped hydro storage station, with an installed capacity of 440 MW located in Argyll and Bute, western Scotland; and Lanark and Galloway hydro-electric power stations with an installed capacity of 126 MW located in southwest Scotland. It also owns and operates combined cycle gas turbine power stations, including Damhead Creek power station with an installed capacity of 805 MW; Rye House power station with an installed capacity of 715 MW; Shoreham power station with an installed capacity of 420 MW; and Blackburn power station with an installed capacity of 60 MW located in England. In addition, the company owns and operates Daldowie fuel plant that processes sludge from a wastewater treatment plant and converts it into dry and low-odour fuel pellets. Further, it manufactures and sells compressed wood pellets for use in electricity production; supplies and manages electricity and gas for large industrial and commercial sector customers, as well as small businesses; and provides debt recovery services. Drax Group plc was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Selby, the United Kingdom. Read More 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 Enel Chile S.A., an electricity utility company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Chile. It operates through Generation Business and Distribution Business segments. As of December 31, 2020, the company had 7,200 megawatts of installed capacity with 109 generation units, as well as distributed electricity to approximately 2.0 million customers with 2,105 square kilometers of transmission lines in 33 municipalities of the Santiago metropolitan region. It generates electricity through various sources, such as hydroelectric, thermal, wind, solar, and geothermal power plants. The company also engages in the sale and transportation of natural gas; and provision of construction works, engineering, and consulting services. It serves residential, commercial, industrial, governmental, and other customers. The company was formerly known as Enersis Chile S.A. and changed its name to Enel Chile S.A. in October 2016. The company was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Santiago, Chile. Enel Chile S.A. is a subsidiary of Enel S.p.A. Read More This Shocking Industry Set to Become a Massive $400 Billion Market (Ad) It's worth next to nothing today But soon, this burgeoning industry could blossom into a massive $400 billion market. That's the kind of ground floor opportunity that only comes along once in a generation. Discover the company well positioned to capitalize Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that primarily focuses on investing in, financing, and managing mortgage-backed securities and other mortgage-related assets. It invests in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) that are guaranteed by a U.S. government agency or federally chartered corporation; RMBS and CMBS that are not issued or guaranteed by a U.S. government agency or federally chartered corporation; credit risk transfer securities that are unsecured obligations issued by government-sponsored enterprises; residential and commercial mortgage loans; and other real estate-related financing arrangements. Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. has elected to be taxed as a REIT and would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was formally known as Invesco Agency Securities Inc. and changed its name to Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. in June 2008. Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Read More (Image source from: Thehindu.com) Three More Arrested In Jayaram Chigurupati's Murder Case:- Florida based NRI businessman Jayaram Chigurupati has been brutally murdered and the investigation is currently on. The main accused Rakesh Reddy has been nabbed and the investigation is currently on. The cops arrested three more in connection with this case and they are identified as Vishal, Nagesh and Subhash Reddy. Deputy Commissioner of Police A R Srinivas revealed the details of this case. He said that Vishal and Nagesh are rowdy-sheeters. As per the instructions from Rakesh Reddy, all these three killed Jayaram. While two of them killed Jayaram, Nagesh recorded the video of the murder. After questioning number of people in relation with this case, the cops arrested three people. Jayaram's body was recovered on the national highway near Nandigama on January 31st. He came to Hyderabad few days before he was murdered. After lot of speculations, Rakesh Reddy agreed that he committed the crime and he killed Jayaram for money. On the other side, Jayaram's wife made allegations that some key documents went missing from her residence and she blamed Shikha Chowdary responsible for the happenings. Tesla Faces Critical Lithium Shortage (Ad) How in the world will Tesla meet rising lithium demands? This company may have the answer. Get Your Free Report Now! 6 hours ago | June 30th | 2021 5:15 AM Inherited an IRA? You Could Pay Major Taxes if You Don't Follow the New Rules Do you expect to inherit the contents of an individual retirement account (IRA)? If you are not the spouse of the individual who died and inherited IRA money, you want to know the new withdrawal rules. For example, if someone in your family (such as a parent, a grandparent, aunt, uncle, sister, brother, etc.) passes away and leaves you money in an (Image source from: Twitter.com/ANI) Imran Khan Says Pakistan Is Willing To Talk:- After a massive attack by Indian Air Force on the terrorist base in Balakot, Pak attempts to stage attacks at the Line of Control today. All the leaders of the opposition parties in India met this afternoon in the premises of Parliament to discuss about the surgical strike and attacks. "India can do what USA did to Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan" said Union Minister Arun Jaitley. Pakistan on Wednesday summoned India's Acting High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia. A Pakistan fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison and it fell on Pakistan's side. We, unfortunately, lost one MiG 21 in this engagement and the pilot went missing. Pakistan claims that IAF's Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman is in their custody. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan during his today's press conference offered talks with India saying that " If a war takes place, it will not be in my or Narendra Modi's control. If you want any kind of talks on terrorism, we are ready. Better sense must prevail. We should sit down & talk". I only buy one kind of stock. 37 of these cash cows are in my portfolio right now... and for every dollar invested in them they are sending us 69 cents in dividends. That's an effective yield of 69% a year-every year. All without leverage, options, or gimmicks. Brown & Brown, Inc. markets and sells insurance products and services in the United States, Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It operates through four segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services. 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Lotery & Co. Ltd. Invesco Ltd. was founded in December 1935 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia with an additional office in Hamilton, Bermuda. Read More Even as the tension escalated with Pakistan reacting to the Indian Air Forces night raids a day before, Punjab Government on Wednesday refused to order evacuation of border villages as yet. At the same time, the operation of civil flights resumed from all airports of the state, including Chandigarh, by the evening that were suspended in the morning following Paks air raids. With the clouds of war looming large and rising levels on anxiety among the people in the wake of escalation between the two neighbouring nations, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh continuously reviewed the situation with the army, police and civil administration. Capt Amarinder had tweeted that Punjab was absolutely ready for any eventuality, and he has communicated to the Union Home Ministry that Punjab is prepared to do whatever may be needed in the service of the country. As per reports, the army and paramilitary officers are holding meetings with the sarpanch and people of the villages in the states border areas to make them aware about the prevailing situation and keeping them prepared in case of any eventuality. The activity of the Border Security Force (BSF) and Army troopers was heightened in view of the high alert sounded by the state government a day before. Notwithstanding, there was no panic among people of birder villages because of possibility of war. While the people in some of the border villages show concern over the volatile situation and were seen shifting their valuable belongings to other villages, many others were unmoved and were seen performing their daily chores including farming at the border. Amritsar MP Gurjit Singh Aujla, who visited a number of villages in Amritsar districts border belt, maintained that there was no panic amongst the people. I have visited several villages to assure people that all security measures were in place and there is nothing to fear. And people are quite upbeat about the situation. There is no panic, he said. Punjab shares a 553-km-long international border with Pakistan which has barbed wire fence inside the Indian territory. Its six border districts Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka have been put on high alert on Tuesday following the IAF strike. The Chief Minister has issued strict instructions to the Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendents of Police of these districts to put in place all contingency plans to ensure the protection and safety of the citizens. At different strategic locations, including installations, highways and border areas, the Army troopers took control of the state. By the evening, the army was maintaining security at all strategic points. In the morning, the civil or commercial flights were suspended from all major airports in the northern region, including Amritsar, Bathinda, Chandigarh, Pathankot, Adampur, and Halwara. However, by the evening, the aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) announced resumption of operations as of now at the nine airports, which were shut earlier in the day. The arrival and departure of all civil flights from Amritsar international airport, which was suspended earlier, has began, said Amritsars Guru Ram Dass International Airport director Manoj Chansoria. At the same time, the official sources maintained that the airports in Chandigarh, Amritsar, Halwara, Pathankot, Adampur, Bathinda, Sirsa and Ambala have been put on high alert. Owing to the air space restrictions, the Chief Ministers scheduled tour to the border districts, which was to begin from Wednesday, has been rescheduled to Thursday. Capt Amarinder reached Jalandhar by road where he held a high level meeting with the top brass of the Army, the Border Security Force (BSF), the ITBP and the Punjab Police, to review the situation. The Chief Minister will tour the border areas of sensitive districts to take stock of situation in view of tensions at LoC, and camp in the border areas as a part of confidence-building measures undertaken by the State Government. I will go around the border areas in the districts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Pathankot, Faridkot and Ferozepur over the next two days to instil confidence among the people, he said while asking the police and security forces to sensitize the people about the situation, in wake of IAF air strikes on militant hideouts across the Line of Control (LoC) following the Pulwama attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir. The officials briefed the Chief Minister about the security measures undertaken at all the sensitive installations, including the army bases and the airports, in the region. Adequate steps had also been taken to prepare the civil hospitals to handle any situation, which might arise in the current circumstances. Capt Amarinder said that later, the armed and paramilitary forces had taken sufficient measures to ensure the states preparedness and the safety of its people. Earlier before leaving Chandigarh, the Chief Minister chaired a high-level meeting of the police and civil administration of the state to take stock of the situation and discuss steps to maintain peace and law and order in the state. FULLY PREPARED TO DEAL WITH ANY EVENTUALITY: PUNJAB CM Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday made it clear that the state is fully prepared to deal with any eventuality amid the escalating tensions at the LoC. At the same time, he appealed to the people in the border areas to be wary against rumour mongering in the prevailing volatile situation. Chief Minister, who had to delay his departure from Chandigarh due to inclement weather followed by air space restrictions, said that the situation was under control and the armed and paramilitary forces, along with the police and district administrations, were aggressively countering all rumours. Capt Amarinder extended all possible help from the State to the Army to tackle the situation and ensure that the border areas remain stable and secure amid the rising tensions between India and Pakistan. KARTARPUR CORRIDOR CONSTRICTION WORK IN PROCESS The construction work on the Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib corridor continued without interruption on Wednesday with the Gurdaspur District Administration maintaining that no orders have been received as yet from anyone to stop the work. Scotching rumours of work being halted, the Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Vipul Ujjwal said that the work is going on at full pace. I have received no instructions from Army to stop work, he said. Chhattisgarh in-charge of the All India Congress Committee P. L. Punia is arriving at Raipur on a two-day visit on March 1 to oversee the partys preparations in the state for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls. The budget session of the state assembly will conclude on February 28, after which the party will be totally concentrating on the electioneering for the 2019 general elections. Chhattisgarh is likely to have polling in the first phase. As per Punias itinerary provided by Chhattisgarh Congress, he will be arriving by a regular flight at 12.30 pm on March 1. Soon after, he will have a meeting with party leaders. After that at 7.00 pm he will be meeting all the ministers and MLAs at the residence of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. On March 2, Punia will hold meeting with state units of the partys different cells and frontal organization at 11.00 am at Rajiv Bhawan, party headquarters, Shankar Nagar Raipur. It will be followed by a meeting with block level in-charge at 1.00 pm and meetings of district presidents at 2.00 pm. He will be participating in the partys state election committee meeting at 4.00 pm and returned to New Delhi from Raipur by a regular flight at 7.40 pm. The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh will add another feather to its cap by organising the second groundbreaking ceremony for several new projects, in Kanpur on March 8. The second mega groundbreaking ceremony, in which foundation stones of projects worth over Rs 65,000 crore will be laid, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at one go in Kanpur, once called the Manchester of North India. Earlier, the state government had proposed to host the ceremony on February 27 but the date was postponed. We are preparing to host the ceremony on March 8 for laying the foundation stones of projects worth Rs 65,000 crore. There can be even more projects, but we are proceeding with due diligence so that all companies are on board before we announce the total value of the projects, UP Industrial Development Minister Satish Mahana said here on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Additional Chief Secretary Avanish Awasthi said the second groundbreaking ceremony would be held in Kanpur on March 8 and the Prime Minister would be its chief guest. He said that several projects of the state tourism were also in the list of the projects lined up for the second groundbreaking ceremony. These projects are part of the Rs 4.68 lakh crore worth memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed by the Yogi Adityanath government with more than 1,600 private and public companies at the UP Investors Summit held in Lucknow on February 21-22, 2018. The first groundbreaking ceremony was held in Lucknow on July 29 last year in which the Prime Minister had laid the foundation stones of about 80 projects worth Rs 60,000 crore. On the occasion, he had called upon UP to compete with Maharashtra for becoming the first state of India with GSDP of a trillion dollar. The second groundbreaking ceremony has been delayed due to several factors, including incomplete groundwork, land acquisition and clearance hurdles. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had last year expressed displeasure over the slow pace of the follow-up of these projects and had directed officials to expedite their processing. A large number of industrialists, investors and industry representatives are expected to participate in the March 8 groundbreaking ceremony, which also aims to put Kanpur back on the industrial landscape of UP and India. Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is on an overdrive to launch projects before the Election Commission declares the poll schedule and the model code of conduct comes into force as it would restrict the governments from launching new projects or making fresh announcements. On February 15, Modi had laid the foundation stone of Bundelkhand defence industrial corridor in Jhansi district of UP. It is expected to attract investments of more than Rs 20,000 crore. The defence industrial corridor will have various infrastructure projects totalling over Rs 40,000 crore in the arid Bundelkhand region. These projects were either inaugurated or witnessed foundation stone laying by the Prime Minister. Odisha University of Agriculture University Vice-Chancellor Prof Surendra Nath Pashupalak on Wednesday expressed strong resentment over the Governors action allowing him to go on a leave for smooth conduct of an inquiry against him. I received a letter on February 26 which says that I am allowed to proceed on leave. When I didnt apply for leave, how come I am allowed to go on a leave? It is very confusing, the VC lamented at a Press conference. He also expressed unhappiness saying that while the letter stated about an inquiry, there was no communication to him about the probe. One the allegation of an advertisement for recruitments in Krishi Vigyan Kendras, he said all rules were followed in making advertisements for SMSs of KVKs. On fixing of the pension amount of the Vice-Chancellor, Pashupalak said that was done as per the rule of the university. The rule was exactly the same, which was followed in other cases when the person, who has raised allegation against him, was an officer of the university. The VC stated that he followed the rules for appointment of a Professor to the BPCL Chair and took mild action to one person who was found involved financially irregularities issuing forgery certificate and indiscipline violating service code handled transfer cases in justifiable manners. He attended the international meeting at Kathmandu with due permission from the Chancellor. On reaching Kathmandu, information reached there that the permission was cancelled. Later, he was asked to reimburse the expenditure incurred due to the journey, which he couldnt. Pashupalak said he had personally met the Chancellor and apprised him of the issues. He called Additional Secretary and Personal Secretary and asked them to undo the wrongs and allow the Vice-Chancellor to work freely. But later on, things continued and wrongs were not redressed, he said. He demanded that all the documents regarding all the related cases be made public for scrutiny. He accused the Governors Secretariat of plotting against him. Uttar Pradesh State Tourism Corporation has turned the tide and is slowly coming out of the red, thanks to the ongoing Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, as it is all set to earn a profit of more than Rs 16 crore. The profit is more than 100 per cent, Additional Chief Secretary and head of Tourism department, Avanish Awasthi, said here on Wednesday. He said the Tourism Corporation was incurring loss when this government took over in March 2017 but it had turned a tide and now it was making money. In 2017-18, the corporation earned a profit of Rs 8 crore whereas it was in loss in the previous years. But in the current fiscal, the profit will cross Rs 16 crore, wiping out the accumulated losses, Awasthi told reporters here. He said that more initiative had been taken to improve tourist facilities to make UP the most favourite tourist destination of the country. After the grand success of the Kumbh at Prayagraj, UP has now become the most desired tourist destination and we have also promoted the tag line of UP nahi dekha, to Bharat nahi dekha, he said. When asked about the defunct units of the Tourism Corporation, including its hotels and other facilities, Awasthi made it clear that efforts were on to hand over the loss-making units to private entrepreneurs on lease. Out of around 100 units of the Tourism Corporation, only 15 are profit making and the rest can be leased out. Meanwhile, the Tourism department has shown interest in going for a joint partnership with countrys largest chain of hotels, OYO, to provide quality and affordable rooms to the tourist visiting the state. Awasthi gave the partnership offer to OYO officials here when the first OYO Townhouse units were launched in the state capital. UP certainly requires more rooms for the tourists and the state is set to be on the top of the most desired tourist destination of the country. We have witnessed shortage of rooms during the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas in Varanasi in January and later even after making record arrangements through tent house and other facilities there is need for more rooms in the Prayagraj Kumbh, Awasthi said. As UP requires large number of rooms to promote tourism, hence it will be better for the state to go for a partnership with OYO, he said. Senior officials of the Tourism department also have started talks with OYO and very soon a memorandum of understanding could be signed. With India avenging the terror attacks being allegedly engineered from Pakistan, the morale of the people of Uttarakhand where every other family has someone in the armed forces is very high. After the initial euphoria of Tuesday when Indian Air Force ( IAF) fighter pilots destroyed terrorist camps deep inside Pakistan territory settled down and news of an IAF fighter pilot being in the custody of Pakistan spread on Wednesday, people expressed concern over the safety of their fighter pilots. Ashish Kumar of Mianwala said that the Centre should ensure that the pilot does not meet the same fate as that of Saurabh Kalia who had been allegedly tortured to death by the Pakistanis. Inderpreet Singh of Racecourse said that the time is appropriate to teach Pakistan a befitting lesson to end the menace of terrorism once and for all. He further said that the nation is standing rock- like behind its armed forces. Preeti Sethi, a housewife, said that the time has come when everyone should stand united and support its armed forces. I have told my children that I am ready to prepare and serve food for the troops when required, she said. Notably, Uttarakhand has a rich tradition of sending its youth to serve in the armed forces of the country. A rough estimate has put the number of armed forces veterans and Veer Naris (widows of armed forces personnel) at 1.65 lakh and the state is home to about thirty thousand retired paramilitary forces personnel. Similarly, an estimated 1.50 lakh personnel hailing from the state are serving in different wings of armed forces of the country. declamation contests at PU Chandigarh: The issue of IAF strike in Pakistan dominated the proceedings of declamation contests in Panjab University on Wednesday as participants spoke at KK Grover and AC Bali Declamation Competition organized by Department of Hindi at Gandhi Bhawan. A total of 37 students from various colleges and university departments participated in the event. Hindi Department chairperson Dr Gurmeet Singh informed that PUs Dean International Students Professor Nandita Singh was the chief guest for the KK Grover contest, and PUs Dean Research Professor RK Singla was the chief guest for AC Bali Contest. travel enthusiasts at India Travel Mart-2019 Chandigarh: Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board (MPTB) participated in one of the biggest tourism fair of Chandigarh India Travel Mart-2019 held at Himachal Bhavan from February 22 to 24 to showcase diversity in different travel segments by the tourism board. The aim to participate in the travel mart was to provide knowledge among the buyers and operators on the latest offerings along with increasing awareness about the vast travel opportunities available in Madhya Pradesh. Eight booked under Gambling Act Chandigarh: Haryana Polices Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) has arrested eight persons under Gambling Act from Rampura Bagria village in Sirsa district. More than Rs 2.03 lakh was also recovered from their possession. Spokesperson said that all accused were arrested following a tip off during patrolling in the area. Acting on a tip-off, CIA team immediately raided and nabbed eight persons indulged in gambling at public place. A case under Gambling Act had been registered against them in Police Station Nathusari Chopta. National conference on power concludes Chandigarh: The two-day conference of Power, New and Renewable Energy Ministers of States and UTs, held under the chairmanship of Union Minister of State for Power, New and Renewable Energy RK Singh, concluded at Gurugram on Wednesday. Haryana Transport Minister Krishan Lal Panwar, who attended the conference, said that the conferences aim was to ensure reach of electricity in those villages, which were deprived of it till now. Apart from this, it also aims at modernization of power supply system, reduce line losses and to reduce the losses of power corporations. 1187 degrees awarded at Shoolini University Shimla: A total of 1187 students of the Shoolini University received degrees, including 51 PhD other than the post-graduates and graduates, at the varsitys convocation ceremony on Wednesday. Besides, 26 gold medals and nine merit certificates were also awarded to the students who had done extremely well in their academic fields. Shoolini University Chancellor Ramesh Mehan, a leading industrialist and philanthropist, was the chief guest on the occasion, while Sanawar Lawrence School headmaster Vinay Pande was Guest of Honour. Chief Western Command felicitates soldiers Amritsar: Western Command Investiture Ceremony was conducted at Hayde Auditorium, Amritsar Cantt by the Panther Division under the aegis of Vajra Corps. Lt Gen Surinder Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, felicitated 49 officers and soldiers of the Indian army with gallantry and distinguished service awards for their acts of bravery, exceptional devotion to duty and distinguished service to the nation. A total of one YSM, two Bar to Sena Medal (Gallantry), 29 Sena Medal (Gallantry), one Bar to Sena Medal (Distinguished), four Sena Medal (Distinguished), and 12 VSM were awarded during the ceremony. The Army Commander bestowed Unit Citation to 17 units of the Western Command for their meritorious and outstanding performance. (Image source from: Kashmirnarrator.com) IAF Strike: Indian Airports Shut:- Indian Air Force surprised Pakistan by blasting all the terror camps across the Pak border which killed over 350 terrorists yesterday. The situations across the Line of Control have been extremely tense. The airports in Jammu, Leh. Amritsar and Srinagar are shut. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up for an emergency meeting to review the situations. On the other side, the flight operations at Dehradun airport too have been suspended. Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian military aircraft over Pakistani air space and arrested at least one of the pilots. Indian Air Force rejected the statement saying that nothing of such sorts happened. Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short his address at a function in Vigyan Bhawan and rushed back to attend the high profile meeting. International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace now being affected. Pakistan immediately stops its domestic and international flight operations from Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad airports. There are tense situations across the border and Indian Air Force is all prepared for the counter attack on step Pakistan initiates. The economys record-breaking streak of job growth for the last eight years has many politicians bracing for the next recession. The latest prediction from Moodys, the financial services company, is that the next recession could come as soon as 2020. And the next recession, according to Marguerite Roza, a school finance professor at Georgetown University, could have a more far-reaching impact on school districts than the last one. The majority of states this year are flush with cash, and many school officials are advocating for state officials to pour millions more dollars from those surpluses into school districts coffers for teacher raises, pre-K programs, and new facilities. The last recession, between 2007 and 2009, had devastating effects on school districts, and it took a surge of money from the federal government in the form of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to stave off further cuts. So are districts ready for the next recession? In the years before the last recession, most districts had a mixed funding model and were equally dependent on state and local funds. But today, Roza points out there are lots more districtsespecially in low-income areas that are disproportionately dependent on state sales and income tax revenue. Similarly, in wealthy enclaves there are a lot more districts that are mostly dependent on local property tax revenue. In a recession, state sales and income tax revenues are often the first to be effected. That means many more of the nations districts (many of them with large enrollments of poor students) could lose a large portion of their funding with little recourse to replace those funds. Following are five things Roza suggests district administrators consider when crafting their budgets for next school year and lessons learned from the last recession. Roza is fiscally cautious and her suggestions deal strictly with the bottom linenot the political lift it might take to put them into effect. Suggestions such as outsourcing some district tasks, for example, would be likely to raise fierce opposition from teacher unions, parents, and advocates. 1. Be realistic. Are you really broke? With the mainstream media providing wall-to-wall coverage of this years teacher strikes in California, Colorado and West Virginia, school officials and parents across the nation are starting to think that all the nations districts are broke. That may not actually be true. Since the end of the Great Recession in 2009, many states have increased K-12 spending. Last year, for example, states provided more than $294.8 billion in K-12 dollars, a 4 percent increase from the previous year. And local property tax revenue is finally starting to climb after getting off to a slow start after the end of the recession. With the news focused on states with teacher strikes, its made everyone feel that education is underfunded. It may not be in their state, Roza said. Youre so used to kind of saying, We dont have enough money. Its a [political] strategy. But you dont notice when you have more money than you normally do. In the year before the last recession, there were similar news stories about how broke districts were but, in hindsight, those were actually glory days, Roza said. When the bottom fell out of the national economy and districts really did fall on hard times, it was hard to convince the public that districts were worse off than they already were. Roza suggests that for districts where spending is up this year, administrators convey that to school board members, the local press, and parents. 2. Hire Sparingly. Many districts may be eager to continue reducing class sizes by using new money to hire more teachers and support staff. But hiring new employees can significantly increase districts overall health care and pension costs, two of the biggest drivers of districts budget woes. Its very hard to shrink your work force in a recession, Roza said. She said its logistically difficult to lay off and close schools fast enough to make up for large budget deficits. And figuring out who to lay off can be politically thorny and academically devastating, since a schools success is in large part dependent on people and culture. Roza suggests that districts consider strategies such as contracting out certain servicesnursing, for examplewith a local agency, rather than hiring new permanent employees. Or districts could consider allowing existing staff to pick up extra duties such as tutoring or after-school programs for extra compensation. Bottom line: Its easier to end a contract with an outside vendor than it is to figure out which employee you need to lay off. 3. Consider alternative ways to give teachers a raise. With the wave of strikes across the nation, many teachers are demanding that district administrators provide them with significant pay increases to make up for the years many went without raises. Roza points out that giving teachers a pay raise can have a compounding impact on districts costs since most teachers pay climbs with the more years theyre in the classroom. A pay raise also means retirement benefits will also be higher. So while a district might be able to afford an across-the-board pay raise this year, it might not be able to afford it next year. Roza suggests alternatives to teacher pay such as providing teachers with a one-time stipend or allowing teachers to pick up after-school and before-school duties to make extra money. 4. Save, Save, Save. During the last recession, districts emptied their rainy day funds in order to spare mass layoffs, but many districts failed to replinish those rainy day funds, Roza says. Los Angeleswhich has a $1.8 billion rainy day fundwas criticized during a recent teachers strike for hoarding those funds instead of giving teachers a raise. But Roza says that while stashing away a percentage of your budget may look illogical, it could be the difference between how long a district could survive a recession without having to make dramatic cuts that could ultimately cripple it. In other words, think long term. I do think that if a district is looking ahead, and it has money that [it] could roll over or spend, its not the worst time to roll it over, Roza said. 5. Be honest and transparent with constituents. Roza, who for several years has advocated for more transparency in school spending habits, said one of the biggest hurdles for district leaders in deciding how to spend their money is that parents, teachers, and school board members dont understand how districts receive and spend money. She suggests that before a recession hits, district administrators should spend time explaining why they spend taxpayers money the way they do. When it comes time to cuta politically fraught and emotional draining processthe public will have a better understanding as to why youre doing what youre doing. For the first time in India, the researchers and scientists of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-D) Delhi, has developed a DotBook- the countrys first Braille Laptop for the blind students and the community. This laptop which is exclusively created for the differently abled will be afforadable and have refreshable Braille display. Presently, 40 cell Refreshable Braille Devices is available of Rs 1 lakh but this laptop built on IIT Delhis patented Shape Memory Alloy Technology will bring down the cost down by almost 60%, and thus helping make this solution accessible to the millions who were previously un-catered-to. This becomes very significant as low income countries contribute to over 90 per cent of the worlds visually impaired population, said Professor M Balakrishnan, Head of the project. The laptop, known as the DotBook which was launched on Wednesday have two types of variants such as DotBook 20P:20-Cell Braille Variant with Perkins Keys and DotBook 40Q:40-Cell Braille Variant with QWERTY Keyboard. Our vision with the DotBook has been to enable VI persons to compete and succeed independently in an office or educational environment and hence, the DotBook comes packed with all the applications and features that a VI User would need to independently carry out their tasks with ease. These features include Email, Calculator, Web Browser and comes with a QWERTY Keyboard, added the professor. According to, project-lead, DotBook represents an excellent example of user oriented applied research. On one hand it is not only inter-disciplinary in nature as it brings together advanced techniques in mechanical, low power electronics, software and UI design together but is also a result of sustained efforts over four years of a multi-organizational team comprising academics, two industry partners and a user organisation. In the backdrop of the tense situation at the border, Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary B.K. Agarwal on Wednesday reviewed the security situation in the state and said the state had been put on high alert. Agarwal said all arrangements regarding security in the State had been made. It has been observed that the situation in the Pradesh is by and large peaceful and under control and every department and organization is already taking necessary steps to manage the situation. He directed the officers to take all the precautionary measures so that any untoward incident could be averted in the State. He asked the police and security agencies to keep strict vigil on the miscreants so that they could not spread rumors in the state. Agarwal urged all the organisations and agencies to be on high alert and said that if anyone needs any help regarding security then they should contact administration immediately. He said that all Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police have been directed to be more vigilant in this regard. Top officials of the state government, including Director General of Police, representatives of Army, Railways, HPSEB, SJVNL, BSNL, Doordarshan, All India Radio and other senior officers of the State government were present in the meeting. For the air travellors, Wednesday was the day of chaos as conflicting information floated on the social media platforms about the government deciding to close down Dehradun airport, Jollygrant after Pakistan Air Force planes intruded Indian air space in Rajauri sector of Jammu and Kashmir. Passengers faced problems as many operators cancelled their flights. The operators which cancelled their flights on the day included Indigo, Spicejet and Jet Airways. Throughout the day, the passengers were seen inquiring into the status of their flights from the officials. My flight scheduled at 4 pm for Hyderabad has been cancelled. Though it is inconvenient, I am ready to face problems for the sake of the country, said Surya Prakash of Hyderabad. Jermock of Italy said that he is unaware as to what had caused suspension of flights. Contacted, the director Dehradun Airport Vinod Sharma clearly said that the airport was fully operational on the day. Since the Jammu and Amritsar airports were closed, the flights to these destinations were cancelled. Later in the day, Indigo, Jet and Spicejet suspended their flights. At 2.15 pm, a flight for Jaipur departed while Alliance Airs Pantnagar flight operated. The airport is operational as we have received no instruction to close down, he said. Sharma claimed that all the flights scheduled for Thursday would remain operational. Notably, Dehradun airport caters 2000 to 2500 passengers a day with about 22 flights operating from here. The State Government has agreed to provide required number of trained Special Armed Police (SAP) personnel to the Alliance Air to start flight services from the Jharsuguda Airport, tentatively from the first week of March. The Alliance Air has offered flight services from the States second airport, Veer Surendra Sai Airport at Jharsuguda. However, it needs around 50 specially trained security personnel for deployment in security area, screening baggage and guarding aircrafts. Sources said large numbers of SAP personnel have undergone specialised training under the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), which is attached to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The BCAS provides all sorts of specialised training to security personnel all over the country, especially for protection of airports and aircrafts. Recently, the Alliance Air informed the State Government that it has been awarded the Kolkata-Jharsuguda-Rourkela and Bhubaneswar-Jharsuguda-Raipur-Kolkata routes under the RCS UDAN. It requested the State Government to provide required numbers of security forces so that flight services can be started from the Jharsuguda Airport at the earliest. Looking at the urgency, the State Government has agreed to provide required numbers of security forces, said a senior officer. Meanwhile, a high-level team of the Alliance Air inspected the facilities at the VSS Airport to begin flight operations from Jharsuguda to Kolkata and Raipur. Sources said that the Alliance Air authorities have decided to operate flight services from Jharsguguda tentatively from March first week. Notably, the Jharsuguda Airport was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 22, 2018. The Air Odisha operated flights for some time but stopped services a few weeks later. Apart from the Alliance Air, the Spice Jet and the IndiGo Airlines have also agreed to start operations. Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday informed Assembly that Fire Safety Certificates of over 150 guest houses in the Karol Bagh area has been cancelled by Delhi Government in the aftermath of 17 people being killed in a hotel fire on February 12. Jain said six teams have been formed to inspect the guest houses in the Karol Bagh area.These teams are conducting raids and about 200 guest houses have been inspected. Certificates of about 150 of them were cancelled, Jain said. Replying to the members, Jain said, the Licensing Department of the Delhi Police and the Health Department and the North Delhi Municipal Corporation have been asked to shut them forthwith. The places, after cancellation of certificate are not operational, he said, adding people can file a complaint if any of those found functioning. Jain said the fire department will intensify drives across the city to locate illegal constructions and hotels violating fire safety norms to prevent recurrence of any more incident. The raids, being conducted in Karol Bagh at present, will be extended to other parts of the city as well, he said. The minister has approved around 10 amendments to the Delhi building bylaws 2016 to enhance safety. In the amendments, special directives have been issued regarding use of rooftops, basements, passages and exit routes, he said. 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, he said. Draft rule for events organised in tents is being drafted. It will soon will be publicised for seeking public opinion. Prolonged spell of cold weather coupled with continuing rain could further increase the number of swine flu cases in Doon valley and other areas. Experts opine that the weather conditions are conducive for spread of H1 N1, the virus of the dreaded disease, which has already claimed 31 lives in less than one month. The maximum temperature of Doon Valley is hovering around 18 degree Celsius while the minimum temperature is around at 7 degree Celsius these days. The spells of the rains have increased humidity and brought the temperature further down. The senior physician of Chardham Hospital here, Dr K P Joshi said that the lower temperature conditions are suited for multiplication and proliferation of virus, raising chances of the spread of the diseases like swine flu. He said that state health department has so far reported 344 cases of swine flu after their swab samples were found positive for the disease. The department sends the swab samples of the suspected patients of the disease to the laboratory of National Centre of Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi for testing. Recently the health department has refused to give credence to the swine flu report of the Mahant Indiresh Hospital as according to it a team of officials of Union health ministry had found that the molecular lab of the hospital is not conforming to the guidelines of the NCDC, New Delhi. This was however objected by the hospital. The chief medical officer ( CMO) of Dehradun, Dr S K Gupta claimed that the department is on alert mode on the disease. He accepted that the number of cases may increase with the drop in temperature. He, however, added that with increase in temperature, the spread of the virus would get contained. The Manohar Lal Khattar Government in Haryana on Wednesday got the contentious Punjab Land Preservation (Haryana Amendment) Bill 2019 passed in the State Assembly, amid sloganeering and walkout by the opposition. The Bill, which essentially allows construction and other activities in areas where it was previously disallowed due to the enforcement of the 119-year old PLPA, was passed after the State Government rejected the demand of opposition to send it to an all-party committee of the State Assembly for greater scrutiny. It was among the 18 Bills passed by the State Assembly, most of them in absence of the entire opposition, on the last day of budget session of Haryana Vidhan Sabha. The opposition Indian National Lok Dal and Congressobjected to the amendment in PLPA claiming that it will endanger the ecologically fragile Aravallis and other forest areas in the state and will open up Aravallis for real estate development while the State Government argued that the amendment is necessary in public interest and to strike a balance in regulating environment and development. The amendments have been made with retrospective effect from 1966, meaning anything done after that will become null and void. The amendment involves excluding tracts of land included in the final development plans, any other town improvement plans from the ambit of the PLPA. The land that is the part of any infrastructure like railways, roads, canals, government or public establishments will also go out of the purview of PLPA now. The amendment has granted legitimacy to Kant Enclave, Faridabad nestled in the Aravalli Hills and built on PLPA notified land, which was ordered to be demolished by the Supreme Court last year. Notably, residents, conservationists, environmental activists from the region had been protesting against the amendments in PLPA claiming that it will destroy the forest areas in Gurugram and Faridabad districts, which were under protection due to PLPA, 1900. The state has a forest cover of around 3.58 per cent only. Launching a scathing attack on the State Government for amending PLPA, Congress legislature party (CLP) leader Kiran Choudhry said this is an anti-environment bill which will lead to tampering of Aravallis and other forest areas of the state. The PLPA protects the Aravallis from construction and other activities but by bringing such amendments, the government is opening the entire Aravali area for the real estate business, she alleged while taking part in the discussion on the bill in the House. Stating that not only the southern Haryana but the entire state will be adversely affected due to this, the Congress leader demanded that the bill should be withdrawn. INLDs legislator Parminder Singh Dhull accused the State Government of amending the Act for the benefit of mining mafia. Questioning governments intent to amend the Act, retrospective effect from 1966, the INLD leader asked, What is the need of this? This will be challenged in the Court as the governments move will adversely affect the ecosystem. This bill should be withdrawn and sent to an all-party committee of the State Government to examine objections of the members, he demanded. Terming it as a Black Bill, Congress Karan Dalal said that the government is hiding its true intentions for bringing the amendment in PLPA. If you want to save Kant Enclave from demolition, we have no objection. But in the name of protecting Kant Enclave, this government is destroying the forest areas of the state. This is the biggest scam of this government as they have sold the forest land to the builders, Dalal alleged. Following this, Congress legislators Raghubir Singh Kadian and Lalit Nagar also demanded withdrawal of the bill. Strongly defending the bill after around 45-minute discussion, Chief Minister Manohar Lal said, Punjab Land Preservation (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2019 is in the interest of the people of the state and the provisions made in the Bill would help address various concerns effectively. He said, The orders and notifications issued under section 4 or section 5 of PLPA extend over an area of about 10,94,543 hectares accounting roughly for about 25 per cent of the total geographical area of the state. Notifications extend to the geographical area, wholly or partly, of 14 out of 22 districts and almost the entire districts of Gurugram, Rewari and Mahendergarh are covered under PLPA. Citing the example of Kant Enclave, Manohar Lal said, Lakhs of dwelling units, commercial buildings, industrial units, public buildings and massive public infrastructure and agriculture activities over about one fourth of the geographical area of the state are affected due to provisions of PLPA. We have faced difficulties due to the orders of Supreme Court, High Court and NGT in this regard. Targeting previous governments in Haryana, he said that 1500 licences were given for projects in the past. There should have been some check while issuing licences, he said. He added, The amendments are required as the PLPA does not have any provision to rectify, amend or de-notify the orders and notifications issued under the Act even where the same have been found to have inherent defects, mistakes or where certain lands have been inadvertently included or found to have been issued in violation of the prescribed procedure. Soon after, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh asked Manohar Lal to send the bill to a joint legislative committee and get it examined. Retorting, Manohar Lal said, The government is working with right intent and I do not need to prove my integrity. We will make amendment wherever it is required in the interests of people. If you do not want to understand, I cannot do anything, the Chief Minister told the opposition legislators. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ram Bilas Sharma and Finance Minister Capt. Abhimanyu too hit back at the Congress legislators asking them to raise objection on clauses of the bill, if any and refrain from leveling baseless allegations. After this, the Congress MLAs trooped into the Well of the House and pleaded with the Speaker Kanwar Pal Gujjar to withdraw the bill. 3 MLAs of the INLD, who were present during the discussion, left the House while the Congress legislators started shouting slogans, Haryana Sarkar Murdabad against the ruling BJP. After sloganeering, the Congress legislators finally staged a walkout even as the Bill was passed amid the din. Guest teachers regularized Ahead of ensuing Lok Sabha polls, Haryana Government on Wednesday passed the 'Haryana Guest Teacher Service Bill, 2019', paving the way for regularization of guest teachers in the state. The decision will benefit around 14000 guest teachers in the state. Haryana Guest Teacher Service Bill, 2019 moved by Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma was passed unanimously by the House. Sharma said, Although these guest teachers were appointed by the Congress Government, yet the present government has passed the Bill in favour of these teachers without any discrimination. With this, we have fulfilled our poll promise made in 2014, the Minister said in the House. He said that during the tenure of Congress Government in 2014, about 22,000 guest teachers were appointed including JBT, TGT and PGT teachers. Total of 18 bills passed On the concluding day of budget session, Haryana Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday passed 18 bills. Most of the bills were passed in the absence of entire opposition. At one point of time, only INLDs Naseem Ahmad was present in the House while the other opposition benches were vacant. Similarly, Congress Karan Dalal was also present alone for sometime in the House as the ruling party hurriedly passed the bills. The State Assembly passed the Haryana Municipal Entertainment Duty Bill, 2019 to provide for the levy of entertainment duty in respect of admission to public entertainments while Haryana Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Adoption (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed to amend the Haryana Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Adoption Act, 2018. Haryana Animal (Registration, Certification and Breeding) Bill, 2019 was passed for welfare and genetic improvement of animals by regulating animal breeding activities including use of breeding animals for production, processing, storage, sale and distribution of animal semen and embryos by way of artificial insemination, in-vitro fertilization, embryo transfer technology etc. by registration and certification of animals and to prevent victimization of the owners of the animals by way of unregulated breeding activity in the state. The Assembly also passed Haryana Legislative Assembly (Facilities to Members) Amendment Bill, 2019. On the request of some members, an amendment in Section 3 of the Act was proposed to be made to allow them to avail the facility of house building advance for a third time. Haryana Legislative Assembly (Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members) Amendment Bill, 2019 was passed to allow the facility of free journey in State Transport Department buses including Volvo Buses, one attendant with an ex-MLA of 60 years or more. Among other bills passed included Haryana Appropriation (No. 1) Bill 2019, Electricity (Haryana Amendment) Bill 2019, Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill 2019, Punjab Courts (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2019, Haryana Accountability of Public Finances Bill, 2019, Punjab Labour Welfare Fund (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2019, Haryana Management of Civic Amenities and Infrastructure Deficient Municipal Areas (Special Provisions) Amendment Bill, 2019. Armed miscreants broke into the residence of one Suranjit Rana at Kanan Vihar under the Chandrasekharpur police station on late Tuesday night and decamped with valuables brandishing sharp weapons at the family members. Sources said the miscreants barged into the house by breaking the grill gate at around 2.30 am. Then, they tied the hands and legs of the house owners parents and wife and looted 250 grams of gold jewellery and other valuables before fleeing away. After getting information in the morning, police rushed to the spot along with a forensic team and began investigation. Fortunately, the CCTV installed in the house has captured the images of the miscreants. Sources said the looters might have held a recce of the house earlier as they planned the crime when the house owner was not present. The incident has triggered panic in the area, particularly among the senior citizens, who are staying alone. The locals have demanded that the local police intensify patrolling in the area. Two young photographers of the city Tanoy Datta and Aman Mehta have won the World Forestry Day National Photography contest. IIFM Bhopal has declared the results of the photography contest here on Wednesday. The winners were Tanoy Dutta, Ph.D. student, IISER Bhopal and Aman Mehta, Management student, IIFM Bhopal. These winners were felicitated with attractive prizes and certificates. The event was open for all the students registered in any university and college and management professional at any organization. The event was organized to spread the message of world forestry day and forestry awareness and interest among youth and professionals. The event attracted the entries from different parts of the country. The event was organized by IIFM Bhopal and supported by MP state biodiversity board. The youngsters of the city explored the panache in them to the fullest, in photography. Similarly, the young photographers residing here got a platform to display their talent before the spectators. Photographs are a powerful medium of expression. It is an art by which one can describe hues of life. The beauty of nature, the pretty smile of a lady, the angry child, friends standing together in a field, elephants walking, chirping of birds, companionship of two lover, the mystic sky all the feelings could be seen in the artistic perception. Similarly, both the youngsters presented their best clicks in the competition which won hearts as well as appreciation. The photographs were a pure work done by the students and were appreciated by the judges. In an address to the nation which was telecast live, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said all wars have been started on miscalculations on the time and the human cost of war. This was the same with the World War I, with the World War II and the war on terror and no one knows where the wars lead to. Khan said better sense must prevail and the two sides should act with wisdom. I ask India: with the weapons (nuclear) you have, and the weapons (nuclear) we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this (situation) escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in (Prime Minister) Narendra Modis, Khan said. Lets sit together and settle this with talks, he added. Our action was only intended to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same. Two of their MiGs were shot down (in the ensuing action) and their pilots are with us, Khan said. His comments came minutes after the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said Pakistan Air Force targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is missing in action. However, the Pakistan Army later said only one Indian pilot was under their custody, retracting from its earlier statement that two IAF pilots were captured. Khan said when India stuck Tuesday morning, he spoke with the army chief and Pakistan did not respond in haste. He said Pakistan offered India its cooperation in the investigation after the Pulwama terror attack. We know how the families of those killed in Pulwama incident must have felt. We have been the victims of war for decades...Since the beginning we have asked India to share actionable evidence with us. It is nowhere in the interest of Pakistan for it to be used as a base for militancy, he said. But I had a hunch that India would escalate, and that is why I had said that if India escalates, we will retaliate, he said, adding that Pakistan simply wanted to show its capability. The sole purpose of our action (on Wednesday) was to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same, Khan added. Alvin, TX (77511) Today Partly cloudy early followed by scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. High 88F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some clouds. Low 74F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. PAF violates Indian airspace; IAF shoots down 1, but loses 1 A day after Indias punitive air strikes against terrorist camps in Pakistan, the possibility of a major escalation increased with both the sides downing one fighter jet of each other and Islamabad capturing an IAF pilot who landed in its territory after ejecting from the shot-down jet. His captivity is now in the focus with the Indian Government assessing all pros and cons to ensure his safe return even as countering Pakistan militarily. While New Delhi said an IAF pilot was missing in action, Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian jets which entered its airspace and captured two pilots. Later, Paksitan made U-turn and said it captured only one Indian pilot. Earlier in the day, in a terse Press statement, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, accompanied by Assistant Chief of Air Staff(space)Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor, said details are being ascertained about Pakistans claim of having captured one Indian pilot. There is only one pilot under Pakistan Armys custody. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman is being treated as per norms of military ethics, Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said in the evening after claiming in the morning that two IAF pilots were captured. Incidentally, during the Kargil war in 1999, an IAF pilot K Nachiketa was captured by the Pakistanis and released after some days as per Geneva Convention norms regarding treatment of prisoners of war (POW). Giving details of the Pakistani action on Wednesday morning, the External Affairs Ministry officials said Pakistani fighter jets violated Indian airspace in Jammu regions Poonch and Rajouri sectors but were pushed back by Indian aircraft. The jets dropped bombs while returning, but there were no reports of damage, they said. India had informed about counter terrorism (CT) action it took yesterday(Tuesday) against a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan based on credible evidence that JeM intended to launch more attacks. Against this counter terrorism action, Pakistan has responded this morning (Wednesday) by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistans attempts were foiled successfully, Kumar said. He said the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) activity was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG- 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts, he said. The aerial engagement took place soon after at least three Pakistani fighter jets, including F-16, crossed the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district around 10.30 am. The jets first dropped a bomb in Krishna Ghati area and then turned towards Narian in adjoining Naushera when the Indian air combat patrol aircraft team including SU-30s and MIG-21s intercepted and engaged the intruding aircraft, sources said. In the ensuing fight one F-16 of Pakistan Air Force was shot down and crashed on the other side of the LOC. A MIG-21 of IAF while chasing the Pakistani jets was also shot by air defence teams of the Pakistani army. The Indian jet crashed there and Varthman was captured by the Pakistanis. Video clips on the social media showing the IAF officer being bitten up. Explaining the significance of Pakistans retaliation to the Indian attack deep inside its territory on Tuesday, officials said the PAF wanted to target brigade headquarters of the Army in Krishna Ghati and an ammunition point of the Army in Narian in Naushera. The Pakistani jets dropped a bomb in Krishna Ghati but there was report of any damage. The Pakistani jets entered the Indian airspace from the Lam(India)-Khuretta (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) in the Krishna Ghati region to undertake their mission of hitting military installations, they said adding the ammunition point is transit depot for disbursing mortars and other ammunition like bullets and rockets to the troops deployed on the LOC. As tension mounted after the incident, the entire airspace north of New Delhi was briefly vacated. Nine airports in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab were closed for civilian traffic for some part of the morning but opened later in the day. Jammu and Kashmir was the centre of much of the action on a day of escalating tensions between the two neighbours. There was nightlong heavy firing and shelling on forward and civilian areas from across the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch with the Army and the Border Security Force (BSF) on the highest degree of alertness. All residents of the border areas were asked to remain inside their homes and not venture outside. Meanwhile, Pakistan also closed its airspace for commercial flights and suspended flight operations across major airports, including in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, for an indefinite period. The airport will be used for military purposes till it is reopened for commercial activities, an official told DawnNewsTV, adding that a red alert has also been issued, said PTI. Addressing a Press conference in Islamabad, Ghafoor said one of the IAF aircraft crashed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. This morning PAF (Pakistan Air Force) jets while remaining in Pakistani airspace engaged six targets across the LoC, he said. Our pilots locked on those six targets and we struck on open places, he said, adding that it was decided that the PAF will not hit the military targets. He said some of the targets were in Bhimber galli and Narian area where the supply depots were engaged from a distance. After the PAF strikes, 2 IAF jets entered Pakistani airspace and the PAF took them on and the two IAF were shot down. The wreckage of one (aircraft) fell inside Pakistan (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) while the second fell inside India, Ghafoor said. Original targets were military posts and administrative facilities but we did not target those, he said. The spokesman claimed that targets engaged by the PAF were changed to avoid any loss of life.It was not retaliation in the true sense but it was an action to show that we can retaliate. We do not want to push the region to war. We want peace, the spokesman asserted. He also rejected reports that Pakistan used F-16 fighters and one of them was shot down by India. Top Opposition leaders on Wednesday reviewed the security situation in the country and expressed anguish over blatant politicisation of sacrifices of Armed forces by the ruling party. In a joint statement they said national security must transcend narrow political consideration and regretted that the Prime Minister has not convened all-party meeting as per established practice. Further with Pakistan claiming that it has captured the missing pilot of a downed IAF plane, leaders of various parties expressed concern over the well-being of the officer and voiced hope that he will return soon. In a joint statement, leaders of 21 parties who met here condemned the Pakistani misadventure and expressed their deep concern for the safety of our missing pilot. Post the statement from the MEA regarding targeting of our military installations and loss of one fighter aircraft, the leaders condemned the Pakistani misadventure and expressed their deep concern for the safety of our missing pilot, Rahul Gandhi said while reading out the statement. In a joint statement, the Opposition leaders said, Anguished over blatant politicisation of sacrifices of armed forces by ruling party. Urge Government to take nations into confidence on all measures to protect Indias sovereignty, unity, integrity. National security must transcend narrow political consideration. Early in the day National Conference leader Omar Abdullah who is also in the Opposition umbrella urged the Opposition parties to put off their meeting in the national Capital. The parties also condemned the dastardly Pulwama terror attack by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed on February 14. The leaders paid homage to the soldiers killed in the attack and expressed solidarity with the Armed Forces. Taking to Twitter, the leaders said their thoughts are with the family and friends of the pilot and the whole country is standing with them. Im sorry to hear that one of our brave IAF pilots is missing. I hope he will return home soon, unharmed. We stand by our armed forces in these difficult times, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said. DMK leader MK Stalin urged the Centre to do everything necessary to get him safely back home at the earliest. Omar Abdullah said Pakistan should treat the pilot as you would have us treat one of your men in uniform should he be unfortunate enough to be captured on this side of the border, while AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi said Islamabad must respect its obligations under the Geneva Conventions and treat him humanely. Abdullah also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must suspend his political activities until the pilot is returned safely and that he had suggested the Opposition parties to also put off their meeting in Delhi. It cant be business as usual with him criss-crossing the country at tax-payer expense making political speeches while our pilot is a Pakistani captive, Abdullah said in a series of tweets. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress leaders AK Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ahmed Patel; Sharad Pawar (NCP); Chandrababu Naidu (TDP); Mamata Banerjee (TMC); Sharad Yadav (LJD); T Shiva (DMK); Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M); Satish Chandra Misra (BSP); Manoj Jha (RJD); Sanjay Singh (AAP); Sudhakar Reddy (CPI); Danish Ali (JD-S); Shibu Soren(JMM); Upendra Kushwaha (RLSP); Ashok Kumar Singh (JVM); Jitan Ram Manjhi (HAM); Kodandaram (TJS) among others participated in the meeting. The Samajwadi Party did not attend the meeting. The Opposition decided to drop the formulation of the common minimum programme as the agenda for their meeting on Wednesday in view of the prevailing security situation in the country. Senior leaders in the Opposition confirmed that in a discussion with the Congress, the CPI(M) and the CPI said that they will only be part of the meeting if the common minimum programme is off the table. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, the fighter pilot of the crash-landed Mig-21 Bison aircraft of the Indian Air Force, who was caught by the Pakistan Army hails from Chennai. The young pilot is the son of Simhakutty Varthaman, a decorated Air Marshal of the IAF. His father has been honoured with Param Vishisht Seva Media, one of top honours of the Indian military service. No more details about the pilot were available as his father S Varthaman asked the media not to disturb him with queries at this juncture. The Varthamans have their residence in Chennais Jalvayu Vihar. The Pulwama attack is the direct result of the "impunity and cover" provided to the Jaish-e-Muhammed terror group by Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said Wednesday as she forcefully raised the terror strike with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi here. Swaraj's meeting with Wang came a day after India destroyed a major Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) terror training camp in Pakistan. China, a close ally of Pakistan has repeatedly foiled India's attempts to brand JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN. The JeM, founded by Azhar, has already been in the UN's list of banned terror outfits. In 2009, India had moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar. This was followed in 2016 when India moved the proposal with the P3 - the United States, the United Kingdom and France in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the air base in Pathankot in January, 2016. In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, on all occasions China blocked India's proposal on Azhar. "I am visiting China at a time when there is grief and anger in India. It is the worst terrorist attack directed against our security forces in Jammu and Kashmir," she said in her opening remarks during the meeting held on the sidelines of Russia, India, China Foreign Ministers' meeting. "The attack was carried out by Jaish-e-Muhammed, the Pakistan-based and supported terrorist organisation," she said. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country and international condemnation. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. Stating that the JeM is banned by the UN and other countries, Swaraj told Wang that "this terrorist attack is the direct result of the impunity and cover provided to the JeM and its leaders by the Pakistani side". "After the Pulwama attack the entire UN has spoken with full voice to condemn it," she said. Swaraj, who arrived here early this morning, told Wang that this is their first meeting this year and therefore an opportune time for the two sides to take stock of the bilateral relations and look ahead for cooperation. "This is our first meeting this year. Therefore, an opportune time for us to take stock of our bilateral relations and look ahead for cooperation. The India-China relationship is an important relationship for both of our countries," she said. Referring to the Wuhan summit between Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Swaraj said "we have made substantial progress in relations". "It is important for both sides to make sure the through and effective implementation of the guidance given by the two leaders," she told Wang, adding that both side made efforts and "we should sustain this". "Particularly the decision taken by our leaders to maintain strategic communication between them provided an important foundation for the development of our bilateral relations. This channel of strategic communication between the two of us and between senior officials should always remain open," she said. Wang said last year's Wuhan meeting between Modi and Xi led the bilateral ties into a new stage. "Led by the leaders, all aspects of our bilateral relationship are going well. Both nations and the international community are more optimistic of our bilateral relations. In 2019 we are going keep working on the consensus of the two leaders," he said. Meanwhile, China on Wednesday again called on India and Pakistan to exercise restraint amid the escalation of hostilities between the two countries and urged them to engage in dialogue to uphold the peace and stability in the region. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang's remarks came after Pakistan targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism strikes in Balakot. "I understand that in the latest development Pakistan says it had shot down two Indian aircraft and captured Indian pilots," Lu told the media in Beijing. He said the international community is following the developments closely. Among other things like a good Budget or bureaucratic will, the cleaning of Ganga needs better groundwork at the initial stage The Ganga, which is the most sacred river in India, is caught in a vortex of pollution. Its salvation seems not only difficult but almost impossible. According to the original plan, as envisaged by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in May 2015, this year (2019) was supposed to be clean in true essence of the word. The deadline, however, has been pushed to 2020 now. Two months into this year have gone by but we are yet to witness any change in the quality of Gangas water. In fact, according to a map of Ganga rivers water quality presented by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in August 2018, only five out of the 70-odd monitoring stations had water that was fit for drinking and seven for bathing. Initiatives to clean the Ganga began with the Ganga Action Plan I in 1986. Various projects have been launched since then. They year 2014 saw over Rs 4,000 crore being spent for cleaning up the river. To top this, the Namami Gange plan of the NDA Government infused a further Rs 20,000 crore to clean the holy river. But all of this has still not evoked the desired result and the river still remains dirty. It is a monumental failure that even after three decades of efforts to clean the national river, it is not even fit for bathing. A glance at the humongous effort put to clean the river will impress anyone. The Namami Gange project was taken up under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG). Under the plan, the NMCG would establish field offices wherever necessary. The National Ganga Council (NGC), too, was created. To give it utmost importance, the Prime Minister was made its head. This council replaced the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA). NGC would have on board Chief Ministers of five Ganga basin States Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal besides several Union Ministers who were supposed to meet once every year. The Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with 10 other Ministries to synergise activities under the Namami Gange programme. The Government said that it would involve grassroot level institutions such as urban local bodies and panchayati raj institutions to implement the scheme. To add teeth to its efforts, the Centre also set out to establish a four battalion eco-task force which would spread awareness about pollution and protect the river. Additionally, the Government contemplated a legislation to arrest and fine those found flouting norms regarding Ganga pollution. The Government also tasked seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to prepare a report on best strategies to clean up the river. Finally, an empowered task force, headed by Union Water Resources Minister, was also created, which had on its board chief secretaries of the five Ganga Basin States. Its mandate was to meet once in every three months. Further, State Ganga committees have been formed, which were to be the nodal agencies to implement the programmes in States. These committees would conduct safety audits of the river and take remedial measures. But surprisingly, in spite of all this bureaucratic action, the beleaguered river still flows polluted. The reason is the existence of practical hurdles that should have been addressed before the setting up of an elaborate and mostly irrelevant superstructure. Take for instance, the state of sewage treatment. Sewage treatment plants (STPs) are the key to Ganga pollution abatement. But here, too, the news is grim. As per Namami Gange targets, STPs with over 2,000 million litres a day capacity had to be rehabilitated, of which only 328 MLD have been done. Moreover, as far as sewage infrastructure projects are concerned, 68 of them were sanctioned after the Cabinet approved the Namami Gange project and only six were completed. Till August 31, 2018, a total of 236 projects, including STPs, had been sanctioned, out of which only 63 had been completed. In addition to the insufficient sewage treatment plants, industries, especially the tanneries in Kanpurs Jajmau area, have several times attracted the wrath of both the Supreme Court and the NGT for their role in consistently polluting the Ganga with emissions. To make matters worse, the Uttar Pradesh Government is unable to rein in these errant units for reasons best known to it. In the background of lax policing of these polluting units, industries at Jajmau are discharging much more than nine MLD industrial effluents, mainly containing chromium, into the Ganga. What should be the way forward considering the fact that the deadline year, 2020, is just round the corner? As an urgent initiative, the Government must stop all effluents flowing into the Ganga forthwith and start a daily pollution control board monitoring of the river water quality. It must also install mobile sewage treatment plants at various pollution hotspot locations along the length of the river. These measures will help prevent the river from turning into one of the biggest man made pollution disasters of our times. (The writer is an environmental journalist) The air strike at Balakot in Pakistan was a brilliant tactic! It maximised political impact, without losing sight of the intricacies of diplomacy. The strike was explained in a calibrated way to the chanceries of the world as a pre-emptive, non-military strike against an isolated hub of terror. A bold move. Smart too. (Source: India Today) The boldness of the move was, however, unmissable. Not since 1971 have Indias armed forces avowedly executed a tactical operation in Pakistan. Even amid the huge provocation of the Kargil war in 1999, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had categorically ordered that air sorties must not cross the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir leave alone Pakistani territory. Despite that, an Indian pilot was shot down across the LoC during one of those sorties. In contrast, all 12 pilots returned unscathed from Pakistan early on Tuesday (February 26) morning. It is amazing that Pakistan did not guess what was coming. Kashmiris had been all agog on social media since Friday over the screams of IAF jets at night. Obviously, those jets had been practising for this strike and, in the process, getting people used to the noise, so that undue attention wasnt paid when the actual attack came. Multi-pronged initiative The airstrike is part of a multi-pronged Indian initiative. The Indian Armys hardware has been on the move over the past few days. Videos from Jammu have been doing the rounds on social media. This is clearly meant to demonstrate to Pakistan that India is ready for an all-out conventional war if Pakistan retaliates. On the other hand, the first official government announcement came from the foreign secretary, rather than from the military, as happened after the surgical strikes in 2016. Vijay Keshav Gokhale called the strike non-military meant to pre-empt another terror strike of which India had intelligence. A series of diplomatic briefings was slated for the rest of the day. #WATCH Foreign Secy says,"This facility in Balakot was headed by Maulana Yusuf Azhar alias Ustad Ghauri, brother in law of JeM Chief Masood Azhar...The selection of the target was also conditioned by our desire to avoid civilian casualty. It's located in deep forest on a hilltop" pic.twitter.com/QENnnkU5Rh ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2019 The combination of steps makes it like a poker game, with lots of enthralling side-lights to keep the main players confused and observers pre-occupied. Pakistans timing uncertain This will escalate. Let us have no illusions on that. The question is how long will Pakistan wait? And will it opt for open military tactics or fall back again on the deniability of the terror option? The problem with the latter course is that, if India gets the backing of world powers as it already has it will have established that it will hit back against a terror operation with conventional military means within Pakistan. This, after all, is the second operation to do so. The first was the operation by special forces coordinated by the Northern Command following the Uri attack in September 2016. Deniability, therefore, is running out of steam as a smokescreen, it would seem. On the other hand, Pakistans economy is in no condition for it to be able to afford an all-out war. Most estimates also give India the advantage in a potential conventional war. The Pakistan army has shown that it is capable of pulling tactics that are quite out of the box the Kargil incursion, for instance. It is possible that they will come up with other sorts of attacks that are far more deniable than an attack in the centre of the Kashmir Valley, for which a terror group based in Pakistan promptly claimed responsibility. Somehow, the Pakistan Army will try to worm its way out of its current Catch-22. Dragon in the room US President Donald Trumps prediction of the attack indicated that the US was not against it it is also an indication of the EU's reduced ballast that India ignored the European Unions public call to eschew any kinetic action. Geopolitically, the most important factor is the dragon in the room, but China has hemmed in Pakistan by urging restraint. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Beijing has told Islamabad to exercise restraint. (Source: Reuters) China has deep economic, military, and geopolitical interests in Pakistan. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) a euphemism for Chinas takeover of energy, agricultural and industrial production, as well as water resources, communication, and military installations in Pakistan is described as the fulcrum of President Xi Jinpings Belt and Road Initiative. Explaining why China would not bail out Pakistan, Lt Gen (retd) Rameshwar Roy, a former Corps Commander in Jammu and Kashmir and a highly respected thinker in army circles, pointed out that a weakened Pakistan would in fact suit China. Also read: Where is Masood Azhar? In a paradigm shift from Indias Pakistan policy of the past, New Delhi for the first time in the history of India-Pakistan aggression entered the sovereign space of Pakistan. New Delhi avenged the death of the 40 CRPF soldiers by taking out an entire terror camp in Balakot deep inside Pakistani territory. While Pakistan is calling it a violation of its territorial integrity, India maintains that it only acted on actionable intelligence of further plans to carry out suicide attacks in India, which were being hatched by the Jaish-e-Mohammed in the Balakot camp. India had intelligence on further Pulwama-like terror attacks planned against it. (Photo: PTI) The action taken by India would have many bilateral, regional and international ramifications. Bilateral Bilaterally speaking, while the initial response of Pakistan seemed rattled and confused, Islamabad continued to maintain that no real damage was done. What is interesting to see is the multi-pronged response from Pakistan on aggression by India, which they claim was caught in time with no casualty. Three cabinet ministers briefed the media, Prime Minister Imran Khan held an emergency meeting and not to mention the media blitzkrieg to counter Indias claims. Pakistan was taken by utter surprise and total confusion. (Photo: Screengrab) Expect a response from Pakistan on one count alone i.e, Pakistans territorial sovereignty violated by India. Islamabad will start its own outreach with the international community to explain why it is important to respond to such an audacious move by India. Pakistan might change the theatre of the retaliatory move. A response from Pakistan might not be in the Kashmir sector but could move to Jammu or other states on Indias western border. Regional Indias bordering countries that have suffered at the hands of terrorism emanating from Pakistan will mostly welcome the move. Afghanistan, for a very long time, has been asking India to be more bold with its response to Pakistan. The action by New Delhi will be welcomed, almost celebrated in Kabul. Afghanistan will cheer New Delhi's response to Pakistan. (Photo: Reuters) Iran will be keenly observing the developments that will follow in the coming days as it has also been suffering from acts of terrorism. China, on the other hand, will be worried about the escalation of tensions between the two nations. It has become very hard for Beijing to balance its ties between India and Pakistan, in the recent past. While Pakistan will always remain a priority for China, Modi-Xi have also found common ground on the economic front. Having said that, every time things become difficult for Pakistan, Beijing comes to its rescue and opens up Indias eastern front with problems at the border. Experts continue to believe that India is prepared to take on Pakistan but does not have the capacity or capability for a two-pronged war with both the western and the eastern front open in conflict. Will the 'Great Wall of China' help Islamabad again? (Photo: Reuters) The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), an important bloc of Muslim nations, has already come out and condemned Indias action, calling it a violation against an OIC founding member state. This comes days before External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is to attend the OIC Conference in Abu Dhabi as Guest of Honour and the keynote speaker. She would have her task cut out for her to convince the Islamic nations that India acted against terrorists and not the State of Pakistan. This, even as Pakistan has already ratcheted up the issue of Kashmir by calling for an emergency meeting of the OIC. We will have to see what the final resolution on Kashmir will look like, if there is going to be one this year as well. Internationally The Western nations, for now, have come out and endorsed Indias action for the purpose of self-defence. But this would be acceptable only if it is not a regular occurrence. Many have asked what happens if Pakistan retaliates? Will India strike back again? Where is this headed? For those western nations that are invested in the AfPak region, Pakistan will use its old ploy and signal their lack of resources to help out in the peace efforts since they would be busy on their eastern front with India. They have done it in the past as pressure tactics with the US. A repeat will not be a surprise but the timing could have grave consequences. At a time when the US is involved in the Taliban talks and are looking at a withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, Pakistan becomes a key player; any diversion or digression from the objective could make Washington rethink its support for India. The US is talking with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Pakistan could use this situation to its advantage. (Photo: Reuters) Pakistan could also use the Balochistan card to retaliate, claiming Indias involvement in anti-Pakistan activities and raking up the alleged confessions of Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian naval officer in Pakistani custody. This could also be a pretext to respond militarily. Having said that, Pakistan economically is not in a position to have even a limited military, conventional conflict with India. And if it is going to be asymmetrical warfare (using terror launchpads and terror networks) to avenge Balakot ingression by India, then there is no surprise element there. It will just vindicate Indias position to the world community that Pakistan uses terrorism as an instrument of state policy and India no longer has the option or the bandwidth to withstand attacks from Pakistan if it can carry out preemptive strikes. Pakistan will have to think very hard now before taking any action against India because India has shown with the Balakot strike that its national security trumps Pakistans territorial sovereignty. Also read: Surgical Strikes Part 2: This works, war does not We will not have the full picture of what transpired between India and Pakistan on the morning of February 26 for some time. However, based on official statements from the two countries, and initial reporting, a few takeaways can be gleaned with some certainty within the first 24 hours. Under the cover of darkness, Indian Air Force (IAF) jets entered Pakistani air space where they struck a terrorist training camp at Balakot in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. We may never know the full extent of the damage, and any reporting on casualties is for now no more than guesswork. Pakistan admits that the IAF entered its air space and dropped a payload in Balakot, but apparently inflicted no damage. Quiet but effective: Bits of debris from the payload reportedly released by Indian military aircraft at the JeM facility in Balakot. (Twitter/@OfficialDGISPR) Given that similar denials initially followed the US raid in Abbottabad, in which Osama bin Laden was killed, and the 2016 surgical strikes by India across the Line of Control (LoC), Pakistans face-saving claims should be taken with a considerable degree of scepticism. How is this strike significant? First, India has shown its willingness to rewrite the rules of engagement. For many years, New Delhi was effectively limited by the constraints dictated by Pakistan. These included no reprisals against Pakistan outside Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, even though Pakistan-sponsored terrorists had no hesitation in attacking targets in Punjab, Delhi, Mumbai and elsewhere in India. Another aspect was that India had contemplated and effectively ruled out air strikes in the 1980s and again in the 2000s. Such a measure, it was believed, would cause too much collateral damage, risk Indian casualties and increase the prospect of escalation, including potentially to the nuclear level. The latest air strike tests this proposition. Second, Indias official statement delivered by foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale argued that the air strikes were pre-emptive, based on intelligence about Jaish-e-Mohammeds (JeM) preparations for future attacks. As self-defence against an imminent attack, Indias strikes were also proportional, limited and designed to inflict minimal collateral damage, such as civilian casualties. This line of reasoning both strengthens Indias case in the eyes of the international community and coupled with Pakistani denials helps to mitigate the prospect of Pakistani reprisals. #WATCH Foreign Secy says,"This facility in Balakot was headed by Maulana Yusuf Azhar alias Ustad Ghauri, brother in law of JeM Chief Masood Azhar...The selection of the target was also conditioned by our desire to avoid civilian casualty. It's located in deep forest on a hilltop" pic.twitter.com/QENnnkU5Rh ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2019 Third, the target, a JeM training camp in Balakot, is significant. This was one of the earliest training camps established by JeM after Masood Azhars release from Indian custody in 1999, and was built up over 2000 and 2001. In its early years, it was a centre for planning, equipping and training suicide bombers used against Pakistani and foreign targets. These included terrorists responsible for attacks against religious minorities in Pakistan, US targets in Afghanistan and infiltrations across the LoC. In 2005, the camp was damaged by the massive earthquake in Kashmir, and was subsequently rebuilt. Over the years, it was a regular site of speeches and lectures by Maulana Masood Azhar, his relatives and other associates. Gokhale said the camp was being run by Yousuf Azhar, Masood Azhars brother-in-law. There had been a noticeable uptick in activity at Balakot in recent years as part of JeMs revival. On the run? Terrorist Masood Azhar had been a regular visitor at the Balakot camp in the past. (Source: India Today) This revival was a consequence of increased JeM recruitment efforts after 2014 and limitations on Lashkar-e-Taibas activities. Given the number of terrorists in custody who had passed through the training facility at Balakot, it is probable that not just India, but also the United States and Saudi Arabia, among others, had detailed intelligence inputs about the training facility, its layout and activities. There are still a lot of unanswered questions and some may never be fully answered. The repercussions are also impossible to predict, but will depend in part on how the strikes are perceived in Pakistan. After the Abbottabad raid in which Osama bin Laden was killed, the public narrative in Pakistan did an abrupt about-turn within 48 hours. The Pakistan army went from claiming it had been informed about the attack to lambasting the US for violation of its sovereignty (while conveniently side-stepping questions about how bin Laden ended up there). There are already signs that we may see something similar, which will increase pressure on the Pakistan army to escalate. Alternatively, we could still see events stage-managed so that India will have achieved a degree of retribution for Pulwama, Pakistan will claim a response, and the needle will continue to slowly shift in Indias favour on Pakistan-based terrorism in the eyes of the international community. Also read: The implications of Indias Balakot action A train company has launched a new service enabling disabled passengers to book travel assistance using voice commands. Virgin Trains customers can request help getting on and off trains and reserve wheelchair spaces with Alexa-enabled devices. The JourneyCare service for people with special requirements could previously only be booked by completing an online form or calling a helpline after train tickets were bought. Alexa a virtual assistant developed by Amazon will speed up the process by allowing passengers to request assistance using voice commands immediately after purchasing tickets. In May 2018 Virgin Trains became the first travel company in the world to sell train tickets through Alexa. Chris Tomson, who has brittle bone disease and uses a wheelchair, took part in a trial of the process. Passenger Chris Tomson using JourneyCare assistance at Stoke-on-Trent station (Matthew Pover/Virgin Trains/PA) The 28-year-old said it does a great job of combining booking tickets with requesting assistance. He went on: It also comes in handy if I have any pain in my arms and I am unable to use a computer, phone or tablet to book my journey. Virgin Trains claims using its Alexa app also known as a skill halves the time it takes to request assistance. Stephen Brookes, a campaigner for disabled passengers, said: Those who are comfortable with and can access technology will find the system quick and efficient. But it doesnt mean that those who cannot access or use new technology will miss out, as the staff involved in phone booking will be more freed up. Toby Radcliffe, customer proposition director at Virgin Trains, said: We want to ensure train travel is accessible to as many people as possible and this is a further innovation in that direction. Analysis by charity Leonard Cheshire published in November 2018 found that more than 1,000 railway stations in Britain cannot be used by some disabled passengers as they do not have full step-free access. Disabled comedian Tanyalee Davis made headlines in July last year when she was forced to move her mobility scooter from a disabled space on a Great Western Railway train. She was reduced to tears when a train guard made her move so a woman could put her pram in the wheelchair area. In March 2018 a disabled doctor was left stranded on a train in her wheelchair when no staff arrived to help her get off at London Euston, despite her booking assistance. Dr Hannah Barham-Brown said it was one of a number of incidents she has suffered, adding that they make her feel worthless. Adventurer Mollie Hughes has announced a bid to become the youngest woman ever to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole. The challenge will see Hughes travel across 702 miles of Antarctica, aiming to reach the South Pole by New Years Day. The Devon-born mountaineer, who lives in Edinburgh, became the youngest person to have successfully climbed both the north and south sides of Mount Everest in 2017, aged 26. Her next adventure will begin in mid-November, when she leaves from Hercules Inlet in Western Antarctica. If successful, Hughes will be the youngest woman by four years to achieve the feat. The current record is held by Johanna Davidson from Sweden, who was 33 when she completed the same route solo and unsupported. Temperatures will be around minus 50C, and she faces hauling her 75kg sled across crevasse fields while also negotiating 6ft waves of snow. Hughes, who is seeking to raise 100,000 for the expedition, aims to raise awareness of The Polar Academy, a youth mental health charity for which she was recently appointed a guide. She said: Im fully aware that to ski solo 702 miles through the worlds coldest and most unforgiving terrain will require immense mental and physical strength. To date, records show that only six women and 17 men have ever completed the Hercules Inlet route on skis, alone and without resupply. Aside from the unrelenting cold, I envisage my constant battle with facing all the challenges on my own will be the toughest challenge down there. Hughes has been hauling tyres across a beach as part of her training (Mike Wilkinson/PA) As part of her preparations, Hughes will undertake a two-week expedition in Arctic Norway in March followed by 15 days on the ice of Eastern Greenland. She is being advised by The Polar Academy founder Craig Mathieson, who led Scotlands first dedicated expedition to the South Pole in 2004. Mathieson said: I have no doubt that she has the skills and mental toughness to achieve her goal. Success will further underline Mollies credentials as an inspirational explorer and as a role model for young people in Scotland and throughout the world. Turkey: The Case of the Missing Priests Bishop Yuhanna Ibrahim (left) and Bishop Paul Yazici. It has been six years since two archbishops and other members of the Christian clergy went missing in Syria (AINA 2013-04-24); their whereabouts still are unknown. Yohanna Ibrahim, head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Aleppo, and Boulos Yazigi, head of the Greek Orthodox Church, also in Aleppo, were abducted from their car in 2013. Their driver was later found killed. Erkan Metin, an Istanbul-based Assyrian human-rights lawyer who has been following these cases and written about them extensively, told Gatestone: "Prior to the kidnapping, the bishops were on their way to Aleppo to secure the release of two other abducted priests -- Father Michel Kayyal, an Armenian Catholic, and Father Maher Mahfouz, a Greek Orthodox -- who are also still missing. When Paolo Dall'Oglio, an Italian Jesuit priest, went to Raqqa to secure their release, he too was kidnapped, and is still missing. I believe he was murdered." Metin said that the terrorist who is believed to have killed the two clergymen -- Magomed Abdurakhmanov (Abu Banat), is currently in jail in Turkey. "While fighting in Syria, Abu Banat was the leader of the jihadist Katibat al-Muhajireen brigade. He was also a member of Jaysh al-Muhajireen wa'l-Ansar, affiliated with the Kavkaz Center, the official website of the Caucasus Emirate (Imarat Kavkaz), a pro-jihad, Chechen internet news agency. Jaysh al-Muhajireen wa'l-Ansar was initially aligned with ISIS and then pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda. Banat was also a right arm of Abu Omar al-Shishani, who was once one of the most senior commanders of ISIS." Metin added that Abu Banat was first detained in 2013 for entering Turkey illegally, but was then released. However, Metin continued: "After a police officer thought he recognized Abu Banat from an ISIS beheading video on YouTube, Turkish police raided his home in Istanbul, where they found weapons and ammunition. During his criminal investigation, police discovered that it was Abu Banat who had kidnapped the clergymen, and that he was a jihadist leader in Syria. They also learned that it was indeed Abu Banat who appeared in the decapitation video. 'The people whose heads I chopped off were spies of Assad,' he said during his interrogation. But the police did not ask him whether the men he beheaded in the video were the abducted archbishops, Ibrahim and Yazigi. It was an odd, careless investigation." Meanwhile, Metin said, international condemnation of the beheading videos spurred the Kavkaz Center, with which Abu Banat was affiliated, to distance itself from Abu Banat and clean up its image. This is why, Metin explained, the Kavkaz Center "published an article accusing Abu Banat of having been a Russian spy before his arrest in Turkey; of having kidnapped Ibrahim and Yazigi, and of then having 'executed' them by detonating bombs strapped to their bodies." Metin explained to Gatestone that the Turkish Justice Ministry has not allowed prosecutors to try Abu Banat and others for crimes committed against the archbishops. Abu Banat was tried only for "membership in al-Qaeda and for possessing weapons and explosives." According to Metin: "A prosecutor's office in Istanbul requested permission from the Turkish Justice Ministry to investigate Abu Banat for committing a crime against humanity. But the ministry rejected the request, on the grounds that the crime was committed in Syria, a foreign country, and thus it would be difficult to collect evidence there." Had such an investigation been launched, Metin said, "it would have exposed the Syria policy of then-Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, which can be summed up as a 'strategic swamp,' which defines everyone from outside of Syria who commits savage acts inside Syria as 'opponents of the Assad regime.'" Furthermore, according to Metin: "Abu Banat testified during his trial that his jihadist organizations were supported by the Turkish intelligence organization (MIT). Although there is no concrete evidence of this, Abu Banat claimed that he received weapons, money and vehicles from the MIT, and that he and the MIT were on the same side against Assad. Abu Banat complained that after he was imprisoned in Turkey in July 2013, he wrote letters to the MIT, with which he claimed to have been in constant touch while he was in Syria, but received no response. Currently, Abu Banat is in the Maltepe prison in Istanbul, but he has filed an appeal with the Turkish Supreme Court. If he wins the appeal, he could be set free." According to Metin: "Unlike Turkey, which has failed to investigate the crimes committed against the clergymen, there is an ongoing investigation in the U.S. on their kidnappings and another is being conducted by Russia on the terrorist leadership of Abu Banat, and the U.N. is investigating the financing of terrorism in Syria." Metin noted that the Assyrian and other Christian peoples indigenous to the region are still awaiting justice for the kidnapped priests and other Christian victims of persecution in Syria. "The abductions have shaken our people at their core," Metin said. "We want the truth to be revealed, and Abu Banat, the person possibly best able to reveal it, is in a Turkish jail. The government of Turkey should finally do what is required, and get to the bottom of these crimes." Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute and is currently based in Washington D.C. A man has been stabbed to death during a fight in east London. The Metropolitan Police said officers were called at 2.35pm on Monday after reports of a fight breaking out. A man believed to have been in his mid 20s or early 30s was found with stab wounds in Globe Road, Tower Hamlets. A murder investigation has been launched in #TowerHamlets after a man was fatally stabbed in #GlobeRoad E1 - there have been no arrests at this stage. Anyone with info that could assist police should call 101 ref 4064/25 Feb https://t.co/UL1o0Ws8IW pic.twitter.com/KG5wjAj5hw Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) February 25, 2019 Despite the efforts of paramedics he was pronounced dead at the scene. No arrests have been made and a crime scene remains in place, the force said in a statement. Scotland Yard asked anyone with information to call 101 quoting CAD 4064/25 February or tweet @MetCC. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111. Three ministers have urged Theresa May to take a no-deal Brexit off the table as they threatened to back a Commons move to force a delay if her deal is voted down. Richard Harrington, Claire Perry and Margot James said the Government should say it will seek a way to extend Article 50 to avoid leaving with no deal on March 29 if there is no agreement. Writing in the Daily Mail, they warned against being swept over the precipice on March 29, and said: It is a commitment that would be greeted with relief by the vast majority of MPs, businesses and their employees. We implore the Government to take that step this week. But if the Prime Minister is not able to make this commitment, we will have no choice other than to join MPs of all parties in the House of Commons, including fellow ministers, in acting in the national interest to prevent a disaster in less than five weeks time that we may regret forever. The paper also claimed 15 ministers would be ready to resign to stop no deal. It came after Mrs May suggested she could try to take her EU Withdrawal Agreement through Parliament before it has been formally approved by the other 27 member states. Amid growing pressure to delay Brexit with just 32 days left on the clock, the Prime Minister insisted it is within our grasp for Britain to leave the EU with a deal on March 29. European Council president Donald Tusk revealed that he had discussed the legal and procedural process for extending the two-year Article 50 withdrawal negotiations with Mrs May when he met her on Sunday in Egypt. Mr Tusk said delaying the UKs withdrawal beyond March 29 is now a rational solution, warning that the only alternative, if MPs cannot agree a deal, is a chaotic Brexit. Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, who had talks with Mrs May in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Monday, said the UK needed to wake up. Theresa May met Mark Rutte of the Netherlands on the margin of the Sharm El-Sheikh summit (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Mr Rutte told the BBC: The Netherlands is one of your best friends. What you guys are doing leaving EU in this time of insecurity in the world, instability in EU is the wrong decision. Its four weeks until the end date and still the UK has not agreed a position. So, now we are sleepwalking into a no-deal scenario. Its unacceptable and your best friends have to warn you. Wake up. This is real. Come to a conclusion and close the deal. Despite also facing pressure from pro-Europe Tories for a delay, the Prime Minister insisted in a press conference at the end of a summit of EU and Arab nations that she was sticking to her timetable. Its within our grasp to leave with a deal on March 29 and thats where all of my energies are going to be focused, she said. Challenged over whether MPs would be able to vote on any additional assurances she secures from Brussels before they have been formally signed off by the EU27, Mrs May told reporters: It is possible to do it either way. Prime Minister Theresa May (left) had breakfast with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right) (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Rejecting calls for a delay, the Prime Minister said: An extension to Article 50, a delay in this process, doesnt deliver a decision in Parliament, it doesnt deliver a deal. All it does is precisely what the word delay says. Any extension of Article 50 isnt addressing the issues. We have it within our grasp. Ive had a real sense from the meetings Ive had here and the conversations Ive had in recent days that we can achieve that deal. Mr Tusk said it was absolutely clear that if there was no majority in the Commons to approve a deal, Britain faces chaotic Brexit or extension. The less time there is until March 29, the greater the likelihood of an extension, said Mr Tusk. This is an objective fact. Not our intention, not our plan, but an objective fact. I believe that, in the situation we are in, an extension would be a rational solution, but Prime Minister May still believes she is able to avoid this scenario. Theresa May held talks with Donald Tusk in Sharm El-Sheikh (Francisco Seco/AP) Mrs May said she had good meetings in Egypt with Mr Tusk, Mr Rutte, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Irish premier Leo Varadkar and Italys Giuseppe Conte. What I sense in all my conversations with my fellow leaders, both here in Sharm El-Sheikh and in recent days, is a real determination to find a way through which allows the UK to leave the EU in a smooth and orderly way with a deal, she said. The meetings came after the PM admitted she will not get a Brexit deal in time for MPs to hold a meaningful vote this week. She said she will put her deal to Parliament by March 12 at the latest 17 days before Britain is due to leave the EU. The PM faces the prospect of another potentially damaging Commons revolt on Wednesday, when MPs are expected to mount a fresh attempt to block a no-deal break and extend Article 50. A cross-party group of MPs immediately confirmed they will table an amendment giving the House the power to demand a delay to Brexit if an agreement is not in place by March 13. In recent days three pro-EU Cabinet ministers Amber Rudd, David Gauke and Greg Clark signalled they could be prepared to back the amendment if there is no breakthrough in negotiations. There was speculation that up to 100 Tory MPs including as many as 20 ministers could be prepared to join them as patience among MPs opposed to no deal is stretched to breaking point. Labour MP Yvette Cooper, who drew up the amendment with Conservative former minister Sir Oliver Letwin, said it would become the real meaningful vote on the Brexit deal. She told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: The Government doesnt feel to me to be behaving like a responsible government at all at the moment the idea that we could be only a few weeks from Brexit and we still dont know what kind of Brexit we are going to have and were not even going to have a vote on it until two weeks before that final deadline. I dont see how businesses can plan, I dont see how public services can plan, and I think its just deeply damaging. Mrs May confirmed that Brexit negotiators will return to Brussels on Tuesday for further talks with the EUs Michel Barnier. Britain could experience more record-breaking temperatures this week after Monday became the warmest winter day on record. Forecasters said the unusually warm weather will continue on Tuesday after a record high of 20.6C (68.5F) was reached at Trawsgoed in Ceredigion, west Wales. (PA Graphics) Luke Miall, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said on Monday night: We could well again see similar values whether it will be record-breaking again were not quite sure, but I think it could be quite close. Temperatures of 20.4C (68.4F) in Northolt, west London, and 20.1C (68.2F) in Gogerddan, west Wales, were also recorded on Monday. The previous winter record was 19.7C (67.5F) at Greenwich, east London, in 1998. It is also the earliest an above-20C (68F) temperature has been recorded in a calendar year since 20.2C (68.4F) was recorded at Exeter Airport on March 2 1977. Following another day of maximum #temperature records here in the UK, we are now able to confirm that on Saturday morning Achnagart in Scotland recorded the UK's highest daily minimum temperature for February, with 13.9 C. The previous record stood at 13.7 C in Aboyne 13.2.1998 pic.twitter.com/sZxK0KIdRZ Met Office (@metoffice) February 25, 2019 The warmth follows last Februarys Beast from the East, which plunged temperatures below freezing and brought heavy snowfall across the country. Cooler temperatures expected from Wednesday onwards will be still above average for February, Mr Miall said. Tuesday could start with some light frost and fog before the temperatures rise to highs of about 19 or 20 degrees, similar to Monday. North west Wales and London are most likely to feel the highest temperatures. Frost covers a field at Normandy in Surrey on Monday morning (Steve Parsons/PA) Wednesday could also start foggy with some frost but it is expected to be dry and bright throughout the day. Heavy showers are possible on Thursday as temperatures struggle to breach 11C (51.8F) or 12C (53.6F). Friday, March 1, will mark the first day of meteorological spring and is expected to be mostly dry before a wet weekend. Mr Miall added: The weekend doesnt look great, its looking wet and windy across the country. Theres lots of uncertainty over the details because its still a long way off but wet and windy seems to be the theme through many areas. Mondays record highs were likened to a climate breakdown by Green MP Caroline Lucas. Mr Miall said: This kind of event is what climate change would expect but we cant directly relate it to climate change. A group of 15 Iranian men were found on board two small boats as they tried to cross the English Channel. Four of them have been arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry to the UK, the Home Office said. Border Force dealt with two incidents involving small boats off the Kent coast, a spokeswoman said. Officials were first called at 9am on Monday. Men are bought ashore at Dover Marina (Gareth Fuller/PA) A cutter and a patrol boat were sent to the scene and nine of the men were brought to Dover. Six were handed to immigration officials and the remaining three were arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry to the UK. At midday officials were called again after the sighting of a second small boat. A Border Force RIB vessel arrives at Dover Marina (Gareth Fuller/PA) The six men found on board were also taken to Dover, five were handed over to immigration officials and one was arrested. The group, wearing life jackets and covered in blankets, were seen being brought ashore at Dover Marina from a Border Force cutter on Monday afternoon. All of them claimed to be from Iran and were medically well, a spokeswoman said. Men are bought ashore at Dover Marina, following a small boat incident in the English Channel (Gareth Fuller/PA) On Sunday, a family of seven was found near Kingsdown after an empty dinghy was spotted in the Channel. The mother, father and five children were handed over to immigration officials. At the time a Home Office spokesman said: Since the Home Secretary declared a major incident in December we have tripled the number of cutters operating in the Channel, agreed a joint action plan with France and increased activity out of the Joint Coordination and Information Centre in Calais. The number of people attempting to cross the Channel dropped from roughly 250 in December to 90 in January, with about half of the January attempts being intercepted in France before reaching British waters, the spokesman added. A week ago a group of 34 men, women and children were detained after cutters and a coastal patrol boat intercepted a dinghy. Donald Trumps eldest son has accused federal authorities of using Stalinist tactics as they investigate the US presidents inaugural committee and family enterprise. Donald Trump Jr told Fox & Friends in an interview that the investigation is as political as it gets. He said the dream of federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York is to try to find something to get Trump, adding: Its that old Stalinist tactic, you know? Joseph Stalin led the former Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until 1953. But Mr Trump Jr, who is helping run the family business while his father is president, said he is not worried about the investigations because we know theres nothing there. Prosecutors are investigating, among other potential crimes, whether foreigners illegally contributed to inaugural events in 2017. Islamic State bride Shamima Begums father has said she belongs to England and urged the Government to restore her citizenship. Ahmed Ali said his 19-year-old daughter should face justice in Britain despite previously appearing to back the removal of her citizenship. His comments, speaking to ITV News at his home in Bangladesh, contradict an earlier interview with The Mail On Sunday in which he reportedly said he does not have a problem with the Governments handling of the case. Shamima Begum, then 15, who fled the UK to join the Islamic State terror group in Syria aged 15, and has been stripped of her British citizenship by the Home Office (PA) Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, stripped Ms Begum of her citizenship on advice she qualified for Bangladeshi citizenship through her mother. Mr Ali told ITV News: I dont think hes (Sajid Javid) done the right thing because she is a British citizen, and if it turns out she has committed any crimes, then she should face justice in the UK. She belongs to this country, she belongs to England. My daughter was a little child, she made a mistake, she didnt properly understand. I would like to make a plea to the British Government not to strip her of her citizenship. If she has made any mistakes, bring her back to London, and let them do whatever they think is necessary, but I think taking her back to London, I think is necessary. I see my daughter as British and I am hoping she will return, and whatever needs to be done, I and my family will do to support this. We will all fight to bring my daughter back to Britain. My wife is trying, and I will support my wife in her effort to bring our child back to the UK. Home Secretary Sajid Javid stripped Ms Begum of her citizenship on advice she was eligible for Bangladeshi citizenship (Dominic Lipinski/PA) I dont believe shell be given Bangladeshi citizenship. And Shamima has never been to Bangladesh, I think the best thing will be if Britain takes her. Ms Begum has given several media interviews since she surfaced in a Syrian refugee camp, where she recently gave birth. Her father added: My message to Shamima is, if any reporters come to you, acknowledge your mistake, she was a child, and she was a child and didnt understand what she was doing. Id tell her to also apologise to the British Government. An 800-year-old mummy has been decapitated and its head stolen from a church in Dublin. The head of The Crusader was removed from a crypt in St Michans Church over the weekend. The crime was discovered when a guide went to open the church for visitors on Monday afternoon. The crypt has been badly damaged and several of the mummies, including the 400-year-old remains of a nun, had been desecrated. A historic photo of one of the mummies lying in the crypt of St Michans (Francis Frith Collection/Ancestry/PA) The Crusaders body was turned over and his head removed. The Archbishop of Dublin Michael Jackson expressed sadness and outrage at the incident. I am shocked that someone would target this ancient burial place and desecrate the remains of those lying within it, he said. Not only have these individuals desecrated the sacred crypt but they have destroyed these historic mummies which have been preserved in St Michans for hundreds of years. I would appeal to those responsible to examine their consciences and return the head of The Crusader to its rightful place. Archdeacon David Pierpoint said he has been left upset and disappointed that the church has been targeted again after the crypt was vandalised in 1996. The actions of these people are devastating and sacrilegious, he said. We are upset at the amount of damage that has been caused. But also the crypt will have to close so tourists will not be able to visit. It is very frustrating. I would appeal to anyone with information to contact the gardai. A spokesman for the gardai said: Garda are investigating a break-in at St Michans Church on Church Street, Dublin. The matter was reported to gardai this afternoon. The incident is believed to have occurred between 7pm on Saturday and 8am on Sunday 24th. Gardai are appealing for anyone with information to contact them at Bridewell garda station on 01 666 8200. A man who was shot in the back during a disputed shooting incident in west Belfast in 1971 has described how giving evidence to an inquest made him feel like he was on trial. Joseph Millen was hit by a bullet just below his right shoulder blade which passed through his back and out of his left side. He lay on waste ground afterwards for around two hours while the shooting went on before he was able to be taken to hospital. Speaking outside court, he said he was lucky he had not bled to death Joseph Millen (Rebecca Black/PA) Father Hugh Mullan, 38, and Frank Quinn, 19, were killed in the incident on the waste ground close to Springfield Park on August 9 1971. The day had seen attacks on the area by loyalists from the nearby Springmartin estate. Mr Millen was giving evidence to an inquest examining a series of shootings in which 10 people died in August 1971. The sequence started after the introduction of internment in Northern Ireland on August 9, and mass arrests sparked rioting across the region. Over three days, from August 9 to 11, 10 people died in shootings at a number of locations in west Belfast. The events have become known as the Ballymurphy Massacre. Soldiers have long been held responsible for killing all 10 people, but the accepted narrative became clouded last year when former members of the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force claimed their organisation was also involved. Mr Millen told the inquest he saw loyalists in Springmartin throwing stones at Springfield Park, and also saw a soldier wearing a black beret on the roof of flats aiming a gun, but did not see him fire it. He saw another survivor, Bobby Clarke being shot on the waste ground, and went with Fr Mullan to help him. He described hearing Fr Mullan scream several times as he was shot and went to ground before being shot in the back himself. Bobby Clarke (Liam McBurney/PA) Mr Millen described the situation as chaotic. He told the inquest he believes the bullet that struck him came from Springmartin. Mr Millen spent three weeks in hospital and submitted a criminal injury claim to the Northern Ireland Office (NIO). He was awarded 2,250, the inquest heard. He also told the inquest that before the main shooting incident he saw a boy with a shotgun and a boy with a revolver, and estimated they were teenagers. He said he did not see them fire the weapons and did not see them again. Asked by counsel for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) why he did not tell them to leave in case they attracted unwanted attention, Mr Millen said he was not going to tell someone with a gun what to do. He said no one was shooting from the waste ground. Challenged by the MoD lawyer about how he would have seen any gunmen behind him if he had been lying face down, Mr Millen responded that he would have heard shots being fired. Speaking outside court after giving evidence, Mr Millen described the experience as like being on trial. I thought I was on trial, that was how difficult it was, he said. Its hard to remember 47 years ago, getting asked so many questions, was I right or was I wrong. But its important to go through this process to tell people what really happened. Its about time something happened about it. Earlier the inquest heard from Eilish Meehan, who helped evacuate children from the area, and described the fear after Fr Mullan had been shot. Eilish Meehan (Rebecca Black/PA) We thought we were going to be overrun, we thought we were going to be massacred, she said. I hadnt a clue why we were being shot at. I am a citizen, I expect protection, people had gone down to the Henry Taggart barracks to ask for protection, that protection never came. Ms Meehan said she initially believed loyalists were behind the gunfire directed at the Springfield Park area, but now believes soldiers and loyalists were involved because of how the shots sounded. Soldiers at that time mainly used high-velocity self-loading rifles (SLRs). I thought it was loyalists were firing on us, she told the inquest. Now I think it was a mixture of loyalists and security forces mainly because of the type of the weapons being used. At that time there was a lot of gunfire, you got to know the different types of rifle fire. I think mostly it was SLR. The inquest continues. MPs in the new Independent Group have appointed a convener as they held their first meeting after dramatically breaking away from their former parties last week. Eight Labour MPs were followed by three Tories in quitting their parties to form a new centrist grouping in potentially the most significant realignment in British politics in a generation. At their first formal meeting as a group on Monday afternoon, they unanimously appointed former Labour MP Gavin Shuker as convener, but did not elected a leader. Speaking after the meeting, the group said it had discussed its values and priorities, but former Conservative Anna Soubry said the most important priority was Brexit. The Broxtowe MP added that the group of 11 parliamentarians will be supporting the Cooper-Letwin amendment this week. She said: The most important thing this week is Brexit. We know we have the Cooper-Letwin amendment, I dont think theres any doubt about the fact we will be supporting it. MPs Heidi Allen, Chuka Umunna, Anna Soubry and Mike Gapes arriving at One Great George Street in Westminster for the meeting (John Stillwell/PA Wire) Mr Shuker said Parliamentary business was the most important thing we can be doing. And Heidi Allen said: We have just had a really good first meeting, discussing a lot of things structural around process, values and priorities. We have elected Gavin (Shuker) as convener. That was a unanimous choice. Ex-Labour member Chuka Umunna insisted at the weekend that they were not yet a party or a movement, with a fully worked out programme for government, but simply a group of independent MPs. Members have said they are united by a shared non-tribal belief in progressive values combined with deep unhappiness at the directions their former parties had taken, particularly on Brexit. Among the ex-Labour MPs there was also anger at what they said was the failure of the party leadership to deal with the spread of anti-Semitism in the party. However they are likely to face pressure to move quickly to formally establish themselves as a party with reports that some former Labour backers are ready to help bankroll them. MPs Heidi Allen, Gavin Shuker, Anna Soubry and Angela Smith after their first meeting (John Stillwell/PA) Mr Umunna, a former shadow minister, played down reports that he was favourite to be the first leader, although he acknowledged that he wanted to play the biggest role in the group. Liberal Democrat deputy leader Jo Swinson said she was expecting to meet with the new group later this week, having spoken with some of its members in recent days. Ms Swinson said the Lib Dems were ready to work with the new grouping, though she played down suggestions of a formal pact between the parties, insisting she had no fixed blueprint for how they should co-operate. I think we need to be working together with the Independent Group MPs but we need to find a 2019 way of doing that and Im open-minded about how that looks, Ms Swinson told BBC Radio 4s Today programme. I want to approach this with a very very open mind, potentially to have radical change. It is not very often we get a moment to break up the broken political system and we have that moment now. Asked if that could include Lib Dems agreeing not to stand candidates against the 11 TIG MPs, Ms Swinson said: I dont think we should be taking any of these things off the table. She added: I will welcome anyone to the Liberal Democrats who shares my liberal values, and obviously I want more people to join the Lib Dems. But I am not going to be petty about this and suggest that I am not going to work with somebody who shares many of my values just because for whatever reason they dont feel that they can join my party. A school cleaner who stole 25 iPads was caught on camera stuffing the devices down her trousers. Christ Church Primary School in Streatham, south London, initially thought pupils were taking them home accidentally. Staff became more concerned over time and CCTV was installed in the schools IT suite, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Footage showed Fiona Rabess, 29, in the area which she was not assigned to clean stuffing thousands of pounds worth of iPads into her bottoms. Some of the devices were later recovered from a pawnbroker in Brixton, where she had sold them. The sales were linked to Rabess by police after the pawnbroker sent them back upon seeing stickers of the schools logo on them. Stock photo of an Apple iPad (Nick Ansell/PA) Two iPads were also found at her home address in Streatham. On Monday, she was sentenced at Camberwell Green Magistrates Court to a 12-month community order, told to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay back 600 for some unrecovered devices. Rabess had pleaded guilty to five counts of theft between October 2017 and June 2018 at an earlier court hearing. Senior Crown Prosecutor Robert Short, said: Fiona Rabess had worked at the school for more than two years and was a trusted member of cleaning staff. However, she used her access into the building to take educational tools away from schoolchildren for her own financial gain. Rabess initially claimed the iPads were a gift from the schools caretaker for her amazing work cleaning the toilets but the prosecutions case against Rabess was so strong that she had little choice but to plead guilty to the thefts. This overview of the tract that Kyrene School District wants to find a long-term tenant for shows its proximity to I-10. Some members of the Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee think it would be a perfect location for a full-service hospital, but healthcare providers are not among the early parties interested in the property. The United Kingdom must end its administration of the Chagos Islands as rapidly as possible, the United Nations highest court has said. Britain forcibly evicted people from the Chagos Archipelago, a sovereignty in the Indian Ocean disputed by the UK and Mauritius, in the 1960s and 1970s so the United States could build a military base. Judges at the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, said on Monday that the UKs detachment of the islands and their incorporation into the British Indian Ocean Territory was unlawful. The UKs ongoing administration is a wrongful act, according to an advisory opinion given by the court, which is not binding. The ICJ said: The court finds that the process of decolonisation of Mauritius was not lawfully completed when that country acceded to independence and that the United Kingdom is under an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible. The UK agreed a package including 3 million with Mauritius for the detachment of the archipelago in 1965. Chagossians were forcibly removed between 1967 and 1973 to make way for a US military facility on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the group. Louis Olivier Bancoult, leader of the Chagos Refugee Group at court in London in 2015 (PA) Mauritius, which gained independence in 1968, maintains the islands are its own and Chagossians have also brought cases in British courts for the right to return. A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: This is an advisory opinion, not a judgment. Of course, we will look at the detail of it carefully. The defence facilities on the British Indian Ocean Territory help to protect people here in Britain and around the world from terrorist threats, organised crime and piracy. The ICJ said the opinion the UK should ends its administration was given with a majority of 13 votes to one. READ HERE: summary of the #ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Separation of the #Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 https://t.co/S4IAVRFhyG pic.twitter.com/ZpuNn6qWhN CIJ_ICJ (@CIJ_ICJ) February 25, 2019 Another part of its advisory opinion which said member states are under an obligation to co-operate with the United Nations in order to complete the decolonisation was given with the same majority. After recalling the circumstances in which the colony of Mauritius agreed in principle to such a detachment, the court considers that this detachment was not based on the free and genuine expression of the will of the people concerned, the ICJ said. The resettlement of Mauritian nationals on the islands should be addressed by the General Assembly during the completion of decolonisation, it added. About 2,000 people were evicted from the islands, with many resettling in Britain, Mauritius and Seychelles. (PA Graphics) The UK has said the islands will be returned to Mauritius when the need for military facilities ends. Rosa Curling, a solicitor with law firm Leigh Day, who represents Solange Hoareau, a Chagossian woman fighting a legal battle to return, said: We are considering the judgment carefully with our client, but clearly the UK should stop breaching international law. The time has come to allow the islanders to return home. An investigation into a rape allegation against filmmaker Luc Besson has been dropped because of a lack of evidence, Paris prosecutors have said. A woman had filed a complaint in May accusing the 59-year-old director of drugging and raping her at Le Bristol Paris hotel. The Paris prosecutors office said the case was dropped after the investigation did not establish evidence of a rape. The lawyers firm representing Besson said the filmmaker was satisfied with the prosecutors decision and that he had always denied the accusations. Besson has produced nearly 100 films and written and directed many of them. His films include the Taken series, Subway, The Fifth Element, The Big Blue and Leon. Care for Scottish veterans is being reviewed to try and improve support for ex-service men and women. Charities and academics from the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) have launched a review into the care available to retired service personnel, funded by a 4 million grant. The three-year long Unforgotten Forces project will evaluate and develop the current services available to Scotlands older veterans, with the aim of improving the care available to those over 65. A total of 14 armed-forces charities, including Poppyscotland, Legion Scotland and the Defence Medical Welfare Service, will work on the project with contributions from retired veterans. The funding for the work comes from a 4 million grant awarded by The Aged Veterans Fund using money from fines levied on the banking industry for manipulating the Libor rates. Leading the project is Dr Liz Frondigoun, a senior lecturer in criminology and criminal justice at UWS. A review into the care available for retired armed forces veterans in Scotland has been launched (Andrew Milligan/PA) Dr Frondigoun said: As we get older, we unfortunately lose the close connections in our personal support network, which is why social and health care for the elderly is so important. Weve found that some of Scotlands veterans feel they must make do and deal with issues such as loneliness because they are unaware of the services available to them. Unforgotten Forces isnt just about evaluating the current work these organisations are doing, but also how we can spread the reach of these services to benefit those who have given so much for our country. Gary Gray, Head of Welfare Services at Poppyscotland, said: Having commemorated the 100-year anniversary of the end of the First World War, the welfare of our veterans is at the forefront of many peoples minds. The research group will be asking for feedback from those using the services throughout the process, ensuring we are delivering exactly the support that our ex-Service personnel need. A year on from the Beast from the East which left Britons battling snow and ice, a new record has been set for the UKs warmest February day. What weather records have been broken? The temperature reached 20.6C (68.5F) at Trawsgoed in Ceredigion, west Wales, on Monday, making it the UKs warmest February day on record, beating the previous high of 19.7C (67.4F) recorded in Greenwich in 1998. (PA Graphics) Meteorologists said it was the first time the temperature has exceeded 20C (68F) in winter (December to February). It is also the earliest recording of an above 20C (68F) temperature in a calendar year, since 20.2C (68.4F) was recorded at Exeter Airport on March 2, 1977. On Monday, temperatures of 20.4C (68.4F) in Northolt, west London, and 20.1C (68.2F) in Gogerddan, west Wales, were also recorded. Why is it so warm? According to the Met Office the record-breaking conditions are a result of warm air combining with a period of sunshine across the UK, resulting in higher temperatures. People are seen through a heat haze walking in the sunshine on the promenade in Folkestone, Kent (Gareth Fuller/PA) Winds from the south and southeast of the country, including from Spain and Africa, are pushing air over a part of Wales that has the greatest land track, causing it to get gradually warmer. The further the air travels over land the more moisture it loses and faster it heats up, the Met Office said. Temperatures in west London are also high as the air is warmed by travelling over the city. How unusual is this warm weather? Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said: Its exceptional for it to be this warm at this time of year. Average temperatures for the month of February in the UK are around 8C, the Met Office has previously said. Snow falling in Edinburgh, on February 28 last year (PA) This time last year the country was being blasted by the Beast from the East, which brought snow and freezing conditions. According to the Met Office, being a small island, the UK is usually a relatively mild country with weather mostly affected by conditions over the Atlantic and west of the country. What has been the reaction to the conditions? Mr Burkill said the current conditions were forecasted by experts but are exceptionally high for the time of year. Green Party MP Caroline Lucas linked the warm weather to concerns over climate breakdown and called on the government to wake up to this crisis. She said: I like spending an afternoon in the sunshine as much as anyone, but its impossible to shake the feeling that this isnt right. After last years unprecedented global heatwave and last months deadly temperatures in Australia, our baseline perception of whats normal is shifting. The Met Office said the predictions around climate change are that the UK will experience greater extremes of weather, including more higher and lower temperatures and unsettled conditions at times. How long will the warm weather last? The Met Office warned that conditions could be chilly, frosty and cloudy overnight on Monday, with temperatures in some places getting below freezing. A change in the jet stream means a change in the weather later this week... pic.twitter.com/Z6PAjjwkIq Met Office (@metoffice) February 25, 2019 But the warm weather is expected to be repeated on Tuesday with temperatures possibly reaching 21C. Later in the week temperatures will drop and conditions will become more changeable. Britains native carnivorous mammals, from otters to polecats, have staged a remarkable comeback in recent decades, a review has said. With the exception of the wildcat, the fortunes of the mammals have markedly improved since the 1960s. The animals have largely recovered by themselves, making a return once harmful human activities had been stopped or reduced. Driven into decline as a result of hunting, trapping, control by gamekeepers, use of toxic chemicals and destruction of their habitat in the 19th and early 20th century, they were able to recover once the pressures were reduced. Scientists from the University of Exeter, Vincent Wildlife Trust, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and Scottish Natural Heritage collected survey reports from the last 40 years to compare changes in populations and where species are found. Pine marten have expanded from the Scottish Highlands (Robert Cruickshanks/PA) They also looked at human activities in recent decades that helped or hindered the species progress. Otters, which faced problems ranging from hunting to harm caused by organochlorine pesticides, have almost completely recolonised Britain. Badger populations have roughly doubled since the 1980s, though they face increasingly widespread, intensive culling, while fox numbers are up since the 1960s, though an apparent decline in the last decade may be due to dwindling rabbit numbers. And two of the rarer carnivores, pine martens and polecats, have staged remarkable recoveries, the paper published in the journal Mammal Review found. Polecats have expanded across southern Britain from Wales, and pine martens have spread from the Scottish Highlands. Wildcats are the exception, now restricted to small numbers in isolated parts of the Scottish Highlands and suffering declines largely as a result of inter-breeding with domestic cats. And the status of stoats and weasels remains largely unknown, the review found. Lead author Katie Sainsbury, from the University of Exeter said: Unlike most carnivores across the world, which are declining rapidly, British carnivores declined to their low points decades ago and are now bouncing back. Carnivores have recovered in a way that would have seemed incredibly unlikely in the 1970s, when extinction of some species looked like a real possibility. Professor Robbie McDonald, head of Exeters Wildlife Science group, said: Most of these animals declined in the 19th Century, but they are coming back as a result of legal protection, conservation, removal of pollutants and restoration of habitats. The recovery of predatory mammals in Britain shows what happens when you reduce the threats that animals face. For the most part these species have recovered by themselves. He added that reintroductions of groups of animals such as pine martens was also helping the species reestablish themselves. Work is now needed to find ways to prevent conflict between growing numbers of the carnivorous mammals and people such as gamekeepers, anglers and farmers they may cause problems for, the experts said. The three-month prison sentence given to disgraced MP Fiona Onasanya is not unduly lenient, the Attorney Generals Office has concluded. The Peterborough MP was convicted at the Old Bailey of perverting the course of justice after lying to police to avoid a speeding charge. She was jailed in January, but is continuing in her role despite calls for her to stand down. A complaint was made to the Attorney Generals Office that the sentence given to the 35-year-old solicitor was unduly lenient, but a review found it was not. A spokesperson for the Attorney Generals Office said: After careful consideration, the Solicitor General has concluded that he could not refer this case to the Court of Appeal. A referral under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme to the Court of Appeal can only be made if a sentence is not just lenient but unduly so, such that the sentencing judge made a gross error or imposed a sentence outside the range of sentences reasonably available in the circumstances of the offence. The Attorney Generals Office has concluded that Fiona Onasanyas three-month prison sentence is not unduly lenient. (Jonathan Brady/ PA) The threshold is a high one, and the test was not met in this case. If the sentence had been deemed to be unduly lenient, the Court of Appeal would have decided whether or not to increase it. Parliamentary rules require the removal of an MP who is jailed for 12 months or more. A lesser sentence can result in a recall petition, which can force a by-election if it is signed by more than 10% of the electorate in the constituency. Onasanya, an Independent after being expelled by the Labour Party, is appealing against her conviction. Jurors at the Old Bailey heard that Onasanya colluded with her brother Festus after her car was clocked doing 41mph in a 30mph zone in the village of Thorney, near Peterborough, in July 2017. The court was told that she was sent a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) to fill out, but it was sent back naming the guilty driver as Aleks Antipow, an acquaintance of her brother, who was away visiting his parents in Russia. Her brother received 10 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to three counts of perverting the course of justice over speeding, including over the July 24 incident. Former glamour model Katie Price has been given another driving ban for being nearly twice the limit while in charge of her pink Range Rover. Police found the 40-year-old slurring her speech and slumped in the back of her car in a very drunken state in Greenwich, south-east London, in the early hours of October 10 last year. She told Bexley Magistrates Court on Monday that a mystery man had been driving her car but Judge Nigel Dean found she was not a plausible or credible witness. He found her guilty of being in charge of the vehicle while over the legal limit, but ordered a charge of drink-driving to be dropped because prosecutors offered insufficient evidence. Katie Price arrives at Bexley Magistrates Court Price was banned from driving for a further three months and ordered to pay a fine of 1,500. Along with costs and a victim surcharge, her total bill for the offence came to 2,425. PCs Benjamin Jones and Balvinder Mann first saw her car veer off Shooters Hill and hit a grass verge at 12.40am before seeing it stationary about 15 minutes later. They discovered her in the back of the Range Rover, which police noted had damage to the bumper, shrubbery attached to it, as well as vomit. Price, of Horsham, West Sussex, blamed her fellow passenger and friend Kris Boyson for not revealing the identity of the person who was supposedly driving her 130,000 car. As she clashed with the prosecutor, Price told the court: No hes not helping me at all. Thats why Im in this trouble. Labours deputy leader Tom Watson has written to all the partys MPs and peers to say that from now on he will be logging and monitoring all complaints of anti-Semitic abuse and bullying. In an email, Mr Watson asked Labour parliamentarians to inform him of any complaints of anti-Semitism so he can ensure that they are shared with Jeremy Corbyn and other leading figures. The Board of Deputies of British Jews said that the move was a sad commentary on the failure of the Labour leadership so far to take satisfactory action against a culture of anti-Semitism and bullying. Meanwhile, the founder of the influential Corbyn-backing Momentum group warned that a few hundred Labour members are hardcore anti-Semites who need to be kicked out of the party. Jon Lansman told BBC Radio 4s Today that Labour needed to be more proactive in tackling anti-Semitism and said that more rigorous disciplinary procedures had taken very much longer than we had hoped to take effect. Mr Watson announced on Sunday that he was sending a dossier of 50 complaints of anti-Semitism to Mr Corbyn and calling on him to take a personal lead in examining them and recommending action. "From now on my team will be logging and monitoring all complaints" Tom Watson just sent this to all Labour MPs and peers pic.twitter.com/00L71jfdwC Henry Zeffman (@hzeffman) February 25, 2019 His move came after Jewish MP Luciana Berger quit the party, citing the leaderships failure to act on anti-Semitic bullying and abuse. In his message to MPs obtained by The Times he said that any concerns about anti-Semitism should be raised with general secretary Jennie Formby. And he added: As your deputy leader, I am deeply alarmed at the amount of abuse that colleagues are receiving from within the party. In order to properly assess and monitor the scale of the problem, I would like to see any issue or complaint you raise with the general secretary. From now on, my team will be logging and monitoring all complaints. I will ensure that this information is shared with both Jeremy, the shadow cabinet and colleagues on the National Executive Committee. MP Luciana Berger cited the Labour leaderships handling of anti-Semitic abuse as one of the issues behind her decision to quit the party (Stefan Rousseau/PA) The president of the Board of Deputies, Marie van der Zyl, responded: It is tragic that the deputy leader of the opposition has felt the need to personally push for greater transparency in Labours complaints process for anti-Semitism, racism and bullying including that suffered by the partys MPs. The fact that Tom Watson has felt the need to do this himself is a sad commentary on the fact that the Labour leadership that has so far failed to take satisfactory action against a culture of anti-Semitism and bullying in the party. This noxious behaviour is so rife within Labour that it is leading to the resignations of MPs, councillors and other members. What will it take for Jeremy Corbyn to act? Labour MP Ruth Smeeth said she was delighted that Tom Watson is showing leadership when we arent seeing it from Jeremy Corbyn on this issue. The Stoke-on-Trent North MP told LBC radio that Ms Berger had been hounded out of the Labour Party for being a Jewish woman and that she herself had suffered vile abuse from party members. Im adamant to fight my corner from within the party, said Ms Smeeth. I am not prepared for any Jew to be hounded out. If the party wont fix this, then they are going to hear from me every single day until this is resolved. Mr Lansman who is Jewish told Today that he was extremely upset by Ms Bergers departure, adding: I think any Jewish member of the party leaving the party because of anti-Semitism is a source of tremendous regret and sadness and some shame. He rejected Ms Bergers claim that the party is institutionally anti-Semitic. But he said: I do think we have a major problem and it always seems to me that we under-estimate the scale of it. I think it is a widespread problem. I think it is now obvious that we have a much larger number of people with hardcore anti-Semitic opinions which unfortunately is polluting the atmosphere in a lot of constituency parties and in particular online. We have to deal with these people. Mr Lansman, who has been sitting on a panel hearing complaints of anti-Semitism, later tweeted: Just last Friday, we referred 19 out of 35 cases reviews to the NCC (National Constitutional Committee) almost all with a strong recommendation for expulsion. Of Labours 500,000 members perhaps a few hundred are hardcore anti-Semites. If we improve our processes, we can make sure they are kicked out of the party. 2/2 Just last Friday we referred 19 out of 35 cases reviews to the NCC almost all with a strong recommendation for expulsion. Of Labours 500,000 members perhaps a few hundred are hardcore antisemites. If we improve our processes, we can make sure they are kicked out of the party Jon Lansman (@jonlansman) February 25, 2019 Mr Lansman said measures had been taken to speed up decision-making in anti-Semitism cases, but added: It has taken very much longer than we had hoped and it has proved larger and larger. But he was wary of calls for Mr Corbyn to take personal charge. Jeremy Corbyn has been an anti-racist campaigner all his life, I have known him for decades and I do absolutely believe in his commitment to eradicate that, he said. I think he is overseeing the partys battle against anti-Semitism. Im not sure about him taking personal responsibility for cases. I think if he did that, some people might argue that that would be inappropriate. Irish premier Leo Varadkar said the UK will either delay Brexit or leave the EU with a deal at the end of March. Amid growing pressure on Theresa May to delay Brexit with just 32 days left to go, Mr Varadkar said he is confident the UK will not crash out of the EU at the end of next month. Speaking to reporters before a meeting with the British Prime Minister in Egypt, Mr Varadkar said a no-deal Brexit is a lose-lose-lose scenario for everyone. The Taoiseach travelled to Egypt to take part in the first ever EU-Arab League summit in Sharm El-Sheikh. Talking #Brexit with Prime Minister @theresa_may at the end of the #EULASSummit. Its evident to me that no one wants the UK to crash out of the EU without a deal. Thats a lose lose. Focus remains on ratifying the withdrawal agreement. pic.twitter.com/zC2PQrMg9f Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) February 25, 2019 Brexit isnt officially on the agenda, but given that there are over 20 EU heads of state and government here, there will be lots of meetings on the sideline about it, he said. Whats evident to me is that absolutely no-one wants the United Kingdom to crash out of the EU without a deal. Prime Minister Theresa May during a bilateral meeting with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar as they attend the EU-League of Arab States Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt (Stefan Rousseau/PA) That gives me confidence, or at least a sense that the UK will not crash out of the EU without a deal on 29 March. We will either have a deal or have an extension. Addressing rumours that Mrs May will seek an extension to Article 50, Mr Varadkar said that the EU cannot consider an extension until a request is made. He added: From my point of view and from Irelands point of view, I would certainly rather see an extension than the UK leaving without a deal. A long extension does create a complication in terms of the European elections and so on, but thats a small complication relative to the impact on our economy and Northern Ireland if there is a no-deal Brexit. Sex crimes have risen while violent crimes have fallen, Police Scotlands latest figures indicate. The cruel and unnatural treatment of children highlighted by the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry was said to be partially behind the 7.9% rise in serious violent crime, classified by the force as group one crimes, in April to December 2018 compared to the same period in 2017. The ongoing inquiry is investigating the abuse of children in care in Scotland. Police Scotland recorded a 7.2% rise in overall sex crimes in the same period, with 1,795 rapes and attempted rapes in April to December 2018, up 101 (5.9%) on the nine months in 2017. Overall violent crime has fallen 1.6%, largely driven by a drop in common assaults of more than 844 to 43,635 and a fall in serious assaults by 53 to 3,024. Group one violent crimes, which includes killings, serious assault and robbery, rose by 7.9% to 6,015 with an increase in recorded murders from 40 to 48 and attempted murders up from 181 to 235. Police Scotland said an inquiry into child abuse in care in Scotland is partially behind an increase in sex crime reports (Niall Carson/PA) Recorded threats and extortion crimes rose by 39% to 340, while threats to publish explicit images jumped from 248 to 415. Meanwhile domestic housebreaking fell 3.4% to 5,266 recorded crimes its lowest level in five years, down just under a fifth (19.5%) on the five-year mean. The figures for April to December 2018 show recorded crime in groups one to five was down by more than 3,000 compared to the same period the previous year, an 0.4% drop and a 2.5% fall on the five-year average. Meanwhile, detection rates for these crimes rose marginally from 49.3% to 50.4% in the same period. Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Taylor said: While the reduction in overall violent crime is to be welcomed there have been increases in certain crime classifications and we are not complacent. Some of the increase in non-sexual violent crimes can be attributed to more reports of cruel and unnatural treatment of children attributable to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry. Another area of group one crimes which increased are crimes of threats and extortion. Many of these are cyber related crimes where threats have been made to disclose images of a sexual nature on social media. Any violent crime is unacceptable and local action plans and specific operations are in place to ensure it is tackled robustly. She added: It is encouraging to see overall crime is down and detection rates have increased in the last year. A reduction in domestic housebreaking means fewer citizens face what can be a harrowing and invasive experience. The figures are from Police Scotlands management information and performance report for the quarter, which the force said are not official statistics but provide in-depth information about crime across the country. The report indicates the proportion of people satisfied with how the force dealt with incidents has risen marginally up 1.4% percentage points to 81.4%. Between April and December 2018 Police Scotland received 1,879,294 calls to report 1,305,892 incidents. The report will be discussed at the Scottish Police Authority Board Meeting on February 28. Liam Kerr, Scottish Conservative justice spokesman, said: Yet again we are seeing an unnerving rise in serious violent and sexual crime. Police Scotland should be commended for the increase in detection rates. The SNPs presumption against prison sentences of less than a year will mean that many of these violent criminals will not be given a custodial sentence. The community justice system is overburdened, meaning that nearly a third of criminals do not finish their community sentence. A plane passenger who called a 78-year-old an ugly black bastard will not face criminal charges in the UK. Essex Police confirmed on Monday that prosecutors have no authority to bring charges against David Mesher, who lives in Birmingham, over a racist rant he directed at Delsie Gayle on a flight from Barcelona to London in October. Her daughter Carol Gayle told HuffPost UK: My mum is disappointed. Although the police have said from day one that the matter could go to Spain because it didnt happen on British soil waiting for nearly four months to hear that is upsetting. She said that the confrontation still plays on my mums mind. The force said: Following disturbing footage on social media we have completed a thorough investigation into reports a woman was subjected to racial verbal abuse on a stationary plane at Barcelona Airport. The incident took place on Friday, October 19, last year and was reported to us when the victim returned to the UK. Officers from West Midlands Police leave a sheltered retirement housing block where Mr Mesher lived (Aaron Chown/PA) Although the offence did not happen within the jurisdiction of England or Wales, we conducted a thorough investigation and sought advice from the Crown Prosecution Service. They did not have the jurisdiction to advise on any charging decision. We have completed our inquiries as far as we are legally able to, given that the incident did not happen within our jurisdiction and are now in contact with the Spanish legal authorities so that they can determine how they wish to proceed. Footage recorded on flight FR015 from Barcelona to London Stansted on October 19 showed Mr Mesher calling Ms Gayle an ugly black bastard, and shouting dont talk to me in a foreign language you stupid ugly cow. He was not removed from the flight and Mrs Gayle moved seats. In an interview with ITVs Good Morning Britain after the incident Mr Mesher apologised, denied he is racist and put the abuse down to a fit of temper. But Ms Gayle and her daughter rejected the apology. Three members of Southern Rail staff have been suspended after a homeless man was dowsed with dirty water outside a railway station on Sunday. Footage posted online shows a man in a Southern Rail uniform repeatedly emptying a mop bucket of soapy, brown liquid around another man who is lying outside Sutton station in south London. This is how Southern fail staff treat another human being in Sutton and I didnt start filming till they had already wacked (sic) him with the mop and put even more water on and around him, wrote the person who is believed to have filmed the video, posting it to Facebook. British Transport Police said they are investigating the incident as common assault. Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP said: This shocking act shows a complete lack of empathy towards someone who is vulnerable and in need of help. I am writing to Southern Rail to ensure this distressing incident is dealt with swiftly and effectively. File photo dated 11/06/15 of a Southern rail logo, as the company has been named among the most improved brands by UK consumers in a ranking topped by John Lewis. The video begins showing a staff member in a Southern Rail uniform swilling the water towards the mans right side before walking round to his left. It smells. Youve been here all morning. Get up and go, he says, before swilling more water onto and around the man laying prone on the ground. The homeless man sits up to talk to a second member of staff, but the conversation is not audible. A woman can be heard saying: Thats absolutely disgusting. Disgusting behaviour of another human being. Angie Doll, passenger services director for Southern Railway, said: We take this incident extremely seriously and have started an investigation. We suspended the two members of staff seen in the video and a third colleague who we identified from station CCTV. We would like to apologise to the homeless man and we are trying to make contact with him to offer help and support. Rail Minister Andrew Jones said: This behaviour is absolutely unacceptable and we have a zero tolerance approach to abusive behaviour across our network. I was pleased to see Southern Railway acting swiftly to suspend the two individuals concerned, and would urge passengers to report any incidents of this kind to the British Transport Police immediately. The long-awaited inquests into the deaths of 21 people in the 1974 IRA Birmingham pub bombings have begun with a minutes silence for the victims. The coroner Sir Peter Thornton told jurors they would hear evidence of how the two bomb blasts ripped apart two pubs on what was a perfectly ordinary evening, in Birmingham. He told them there would be evidence alleging British security forces may have had some forewarning about the attacks, widely thought to have been carried out by the provisional IRA, including an over-heard conversation which took place in prison two weeks before the bombings. Sir Peter, continuing his opening statement, added that the inquests would not deal with the issue of who planted the bombs, adding that was a task of police, prosecutors and the criminal courts. The Mulberry Bush pub (PA) He added that although a single hearing, lasting up to six weeks, the inquests would deal with 21 separate people, 21 separate lives lost from two terrible events. As well as those killed, 220 were injured in the blasts, which were carried out at the height of an IRA bombing campaign in the West Midlands, the jury was told. A third bomb, jurors heard, was planted near the Barclays Bank on the Hagley Road but failed to properly detonate that night. The coroner said that there had been over 50 incidents involving bombs and incendiaries in and around Birmingham in 1973 and 1974, but that after the pub blasts the campaign in the West Midlands stopped. He told the six women and five men of the jury it would be a matter for them whether the IRA called off its Midlands campaign because of the outrage of civilian deaths on this scale or some other reason. Sir Peter said: This is something that the city of Birmingham has suffered now for many years. While the inquests will inevitably focus on those who died we must also remember many other lives were and continue to be affected. The Tavern In The Town pub, which was in a basement, was devastated by the blast (PA) Jurors, sitting at Birmingham Civil Justice Centre, were told they would hear evidence from only a few eyewitnesses of those there on the evening, because some were no longer alive. He added: They will be doing their best to recollect events accurately, but we all know memory will sometimes have gaps. Recollection may sometimes be distorted or inaccurate, it may be correct. Sir Peter said nobody has been successfully prosecuted for the attack, and that the only men ever to stand trial, the Birmingham Six, were freed on appeal in 1991. He also said: Nobody is on trial here, an inquest does not decide matters of criminal or civil liability, and this is not a question of attributing blame to any individuals. He told jurors who may well be wondering why now, that the original inquests were put aside in 1975, with the start of the six mens criminal trial. The former chief coroner for England and Wales added that there would be details of the so-called forewarning issue, and evidence the British authorities may have received information signalling there were to be bomb attacks. Among them, evidence of an alleged tip-off concerning a possible conversation in a local prison nearly two weeks before the bombings. Jurors would also hear an account of evidence of a students visit to a police station the evening of the bombings, which was cancelled. Detailing the chain of events that night, Sir Peter said that at 8.11pm, the Birmingham Post and Mail newspaper received a coded bomb warning from a man with an Irish accent accompanied with the code word double X. The caller, ringing from a telephone box, spoke of a bomb in the citys landmark Rotunda, and the tax office in New Street. The aftermath of the blast at the Mulberry Bush, which was on the ground floor of the Rotunda (PA) Sir Peter said that the newspapers telephonists record of the message made no mention of pubs. The two bombs detonated in massive explosions between 8.15pm and 8.20pm, killing 19 on the night eight in the Mulberry Bush, at the foot of the rotunda, and two outside the nightspot. Another nine died in the Tavern In The Town, which was a large pub in the basement of the same building as the tax office, King Edwards House. Two died later of their injuries, with 12 of the victims under 25. Sir Peter said: It was a normal Thursday evening in Birmingham, on November 21, 1974. It was not a weekend, but the pubs, two in particular, were busy enough and both quite popular with young people. He added the premises were only some 50 yards away from one another. At 8pm that evening, it was a perfectly ordinary evening in the two pubs, a film was showing at the Odeon cinema but just after 8.15pm, all of that changed, Sir Peter said. Moments later there was an explosion at the Mulberry Bush, and just minutes later a second explosion at the Tavern In The Town. They were massive explosions. He told jurors: After hearing the evidence you may conclude the bombs were brought and planted in such a way that extensive loss of life, injury and devastation, would have been caused. They were planted in enclosed spaces in busy pubs, where there were many people. You may be asked to determine whether those who died were unlawfully killed. Hearings will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday with pen portraits of each of the victims, while on Thursday, the jurors will be taken to the former sites of the pubs both since long gone. The inquests, which are being held in Birmingham, are the culmination of years of campaigning by relatives of the dead for a full account into the circumstances of what happened on the night of November 21, 1974. Julie Hambleton, whose sister Maxine Hambleton was a victim (Aaron Chown/PA) Julie Hambleton, whose 18-year-old sister Maxine was among those killed, attended the inquest, alongside some 15 other bereaved family members. She has said previously that all the bereaved were seeking was truth, justice and accountability. Irish businesses are responding to the challenges posed by Brexit by tapping into markets beyond the UK, the countrys finance minister has said. As the government continues to urge firms to be prepared for the UK leaving the European Union, Paschal Donohoe and Minister for Business Heather Humphreys visited businesses in the border region. New regional enterprise plans have been launched to support growth and job creation in border counties, which are considered to be most vulnerable to Brexit. Mr Donohoe, who visited Drumshanbo Food Hub in Co Leitrim, said: Seeing businesses like this fills me with optimism about the ability of Irish businesses to respond back to all of the different challenges that Brexit will bring. On now to the Drumshambo Food Hub with @Paschald - home to the famous @SHEDDISTILLERY Gunpowder Gin pic.twitter.com/q5OVkgLmi2 Heather Humphreys (@HHumphreysFG) February 25, 2019 We have seen a business that is now a global leader, that has diversified its markets beyond the UK and businesses like this, there are thousands of them all over Ireland, have already responded to the challenges that our domestic economy has had and because of that are really well positioned to deal with future challenges. In response to reports that Brexit could be delayed for up to two years, Mr Donohoe said that more time would allow Irish businesses and the economy to plan for the future. Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys and Minister for Finance Pascal Donohoe looking a Gin bottling facility, during a visit to the Shed Distillery in Drumshambo Co Leitrim. He added: It will be in the long term interests to get clarity regarding what the future relationship will be like between the UK and the EU. A transitional period that gives more time to plan for that future would be of benefit to all but we will be looking to move all of this forward as members of the EU and through the task force led by Michel Barnier. The north-west regional plan has a total of six objectives which aims to enhance the visibility of skills and maximise the potential of the Wild Atlantic Way and tourism. Minister Humphreys said companies like Drumshanbo Food Hub is already prepared for Brexit. There are a wide range of supports available through Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) and I would particularly encourage companies to register online with Revenue, she added. Later today I am launching an online customs training programme and also one-to-one mentoring and we already have an Enterprise Ireland website that gives training for customs and we want people to engage in that. There are lots of other supports out there we have been providing to businesses. We have been encouraging businesses to prepare for the worst case scenario while we continue to negotiate for the best possible outcome. We still have some time to go but I am saying to businesses, be ready. The north-west plan is one of nine regional enterprise plans. Minister Humphreys said there are 8,200 more people working in the border region than at the beginning of 2015, and the unemployment rate has reduced from 8.6% down to 3.8%. Notwithstanding this huge success, it is clear that there are new challenges emerging for enterprises in the external environment, she added. Theresa May has suggested she could try to take her EU Withdrawal Agreement through Parliament before it has been formally approved by the other 27 member states. Amid growing pressure to delay Brexit with just 32 days left on the clock, the Prime Minister insisted it is within our grasp for Britain to leave the EU with a deal on March 29. European Council president Donald Tusk revealed that he had discussed the legal and procedural process for extending the two-year Article 50 withdrawal negotiations with Mrs May when he met her on Sunday in Egypt. Mr Tusk said he believes delaying the UKs withdrawal beyond March 29 is now a rational solution, warning that the only alternative, if MPs cannot agree a deal, is a chaotic Brexit. And Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who had talks with Mrs May in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Monday, said the UK needed to wake up. Theresa May met Mark Rutte of the Netherlands on the margin of the Sharm El-Sheikh summit (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Mr Rutte told the BBC: The Netherlands is one of your best friends. What you guys are doing leaving EU in this time of insecurity in the world, instability in EU is the wrong decision. Its four weeks until the end date and still the UK has not agreed a position. So, now we are sleepwalking into a no-deal scenario. Its unacceptable and your best friends have to warn you. Wake up. This is real. Come to a conclusion and close the deal. Despite also facing pressure from pro-Europe Tories for a delay, the Prime Minister insisted in a press conference at the end of a summit of EU and Arab nations that she was sticking to her timetable. Its within our grasp to leave with a deal on March 29 and thats where all of my energies are going to be focused, she said. Challenged over whether MPs would be able to vote on any additional assurances she secures from Brussels before they have been formally signed off by the EU27, Mrs May told reporters: It is possible to do it either way. Prime Minister Theresa May (left) had breakfast with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right) (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Rejecting calls for a delay, the Prime Minister said: An extension to Article 50, a delay in this process, doesnt deliver a decision in Parliament, it doesnt deliver a deal. All it does is precisely what the word delay says. Any extension of Article 50 isnt addressing the issues. We have it within our grasp. Ive had a real sense from the meetings Ive had here and the conversations Ive had in recent days that we can achieve that deal. (PA Graphics) Mr Tusk said it was absolutely clear that if there was no majority in the House of Commons to approve a deal, Britain faces the two alternatives of chaotic Brexit or extension. The less time there is until March 29, the greater the likelihood of an extension, said Mr Tusk. This is an objective fact, not our intention, not our plan, but an objective fact. I believe that, in the situation we are in, an extension would be a rational solution, but Prime Minister May still believes she is able to avoid this scenario. Theresa May held talks with Donald Tusk in Sharm El-Sheikh (Francisco Seco AP Pool) Mrs May said she had good meetings in Egypt with EU leaders Mr Tusk, Mr Rutte, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Italys Giuseppe Conte. What I sense in all my conversations with my fellow leaders, both here in Sharm El-Sheikh and in recent days, is a real determination to find a way through which allows the UK to leave the EU in a smooth and orderly way with a deal, she said. The meetings came after the PM admitted she will not get a Brexit deal in time for MPs to hold a meaningful vote this week. Mrs May said she will put her deal to Parliament by March 12 at the latest just 17 days before Britain is due to leave the EU. The PM now faces the prospect of another potentially damaging Commons revolt on Wednesday, when MPs are expected to mount a fresh attempt to block a no-deal break and extend Article 50. A cross-party group of MPs immediately confirmed they will table an amendment giving the House the power to demand a delay to Brexit if an agreement is not in place by March 13. In recent days three pro-EU Cabinet ministers Amber Rudd, David Gauke and Greg Clark signalled they could be prepared to back the amendment if there is no breakthrough in the negotiations. There was speculation that up to 100 Tory MPs including as many as 20 ministers could be prepared to join them as patience among MPs opposed to no-deal is stretched to breaking point. Labour MP Yvette Cooper, who drew up the amendment with Conservative former minister Sir Oliver Letwin, said it would now become the real meaningful vote on the Brexit deal. She told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: The Government doesnt feel to me to be behaving like a responsible government at all at the moment the idea that we could be only a few weeks from Brexit and we still dont know what kind of Brexit we are going to have and were not even going to have a vote on it until two weeks before that final deadline. I dont see how businesses can plan, I dont see how public services can plan, and I think its just deeply damaging. Mrs May confirmed that Brexit negotiators will return to Brussels on Tuesday for further talks with the EUs Michel Barnier. The people of an area of west Belfast should have been protected by soldiers during a shooting incident in 1971 but instead hid fearing a massacre, an inquest has heard. Eilish Meehan was 19 on the evening of August 9, 1971 as she helped evacuate children from the Springfield Park area close to a developing flash-point within the mainly Loyalist Springmartin area. She told an inquest that people in the area had come under attack by Loyalists and some had gone to the nearby Henry Taggart barracks to ask for protection. As the shooting intensified, she found shelter with a number of others close to flats in Moyard. Relatives of Father Hugh Mullan (Rebecca Black/PA) Local priest Father Hugh Mullan, 38, and teenager Frank Quinn, 19, were both killed by bullets. Ms Meehan said news of Fr Mullans death spread like wildfire among those sheltering from the gunfire, sparking fear of a massacre. We thought we were going to be overrun, we thought we were going to be massacred, she said. We had nothing to fight back against these crazy people shooting at us and we didnt know why. I hadnt a clue why we were being shot at, I am a citizen, I expect protection, people had gone down to the Henry Taggart barracks to ask for protection, that protection never came. Ms Meehan was giving evidence to an inquest which is examining a series of shootings in which 10 people died in August 1971, The sequence of events started after the introduction of internment in Northern Ireland that year on August 9. Mass arrests sparked rioting across the region. Over three days, from August 9-11, 10 people died in shootings at a number of locations in west Belfast. The events have become known as the Ballymurphy Massacre. The victims of the Ballymurphy Massacre (Ballymurphy Massacre Committee/PA) Soldiers have long been held responsible for killing all 10 people, but the accepted narrative became clouded last year when former members of the Loyalist paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force came forward to claim their organisation was also involved. Ms Meehan told the inquest that before the shooting started she had seen a number of boys throwing stones at soldiers based at the Henry Taggart barracks in the area, but described that as not unusual. Later a crowd had gathered at the back of the houses in Springfield Park, Ms Meehan said someone shouted they are coming in, in reference to Loyalists in Springmartin, and there was a single shotgun blast, which she described as a warning shot. She said she did not see who fired the shotgun in Springfield Park, but said she overheard someone say it was a legally held gun used for hunting. Ms Meehan described the main shooting event that evening as crossfire with shots coming from two directions, including from people lying on top of flats in Springmartin. The Ballymurphy inquest is today hearing from Joseph Millen who was injured in the Springfield Park area in August 1971. Fr Frank Mullan and teenager Frank Quinn died in the same incident pic.twitter.com/WbfU7Au3sH Rebecca Black (@RBlackPA) February 25, 2019 She said she initially believed Loyalists were behind the gunfire directed at the Springfield Park area, but over time she now believes both soldiers and Loyalists were involved because of how the shots sounded, explaining that those who lived in Belfast at that time got used to hearing different types of shots. Soldiers at that time mainly used high velocity SLR rifles. I thought it was Loyalists were firing on us, she told the inquest. Now I think it was a mixture of Loyalists and security forces mainly because of the type of the weapons being used. At that time there was a lot of gunfire, you got to know the different types of rifle fire. I think mostly it was SLR. An injured survivor of the incident, Joseph Millen, is expected to give evidence to the inquest on Monday afternoon. An independent review into the impact of policing during the 1980s miners strike is to be extended due to the amount of evidence put forward, including powerful and moving testimony. The Scottish Government announced the independent review last June. It has received 108 responses to a call for evidence, including submissions from the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) Scotland and the Retired Police Officers Association Scotland. A total of eight public meetings have been held in former mining communities across the country, which a total of 167 people attended. Review leader John Scott QC said in an interim report: We are extremely grateful to those who attended and shared their experience and views with us. We heard powerful and moving testimony from individuals and their families who had been very badly affected by the strike, especially those who were arrested, charged, prosecuted, convicted and sentenced. Some were remanded in custody, especially if they were already on bail for similar allegations connected to the strike. Most were simply fined. Some were acquitted. Many lost their jobs, with their employers appearing to take a policy decision to dismiss regardless of the gravity of the allegation or the penalty imposed. Some of these men secured employment elsewhere, sometimes quickly but sometimes only after years. Some, especially because of having to declare their conviction, were unable to find other jobs. For some individuals and their families, the lasting damage was obvious. The meetings confirmed that, as a result, strong feelings persist on the subject of the 1984/85 strike and its policing. The review group also met retired police officers and examined official records. The group was due to publish its recommendations in June but due to the extent of the evidence gathered, Mr Scott asked Justice Minister Humza Yousaf for extra time, which has been granted. Mr Scott said: In order to take full account of the evidence we have received, as well as the other material available to us, we decided that it would be necessary to ask for some more time to complete our final report, which was originally due to be submitted in June. I am grateful to the Cabinet Secretary, Mr Yousaf, for agreeing to this request. Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf agreed to the extension (Danny Lawson/PA) Mr Yousaf welcomed the report and said: In light of the extent of this evidence, I have agreed to a request from John Scott for the review group to be given a short extension. A final report, setting out lessons learnt and making recommendations for any other action required, will follow at the end of the summer and be made publicly available. It is important that we recognise the generous contributions made to the review by those who were affected. I want this review to bring openness, understanding and a degree of closure to all those involved. Labours Neil Findlay, who campaigned for the review, said the level of submissions is encouraging and called for the review to consider pardons for those convicted. The miners strike, which lasted from 1984 to 1985, took place after then Prime Minister Thatcher announced plans to close a number of pits which were deemed inefficient. The UK Government has already ruled out an inquiry into the violent confrontations between police and striking miners in Orgreave, South Yorkshire, in 1984. The Duchess of Sussex has sympathised with a nervous Shetland pony she met at an equestrian centre admitting she sometimes gets a little camera shy. Meghan has been photographed throughout her career as an actress and even more so now she is a member of Britains Royal Family but it appears even she sometimes recoils from the limelight. Her admission came when the duke and duchess visited Moroccos Royal Equestrian Club Dar Essalam in the capital Rabat, the countrys main equestrian venue. The couple were there to learn more about the countrys developing programme of equine therapy for children with special needs, funded by Moroccos King Mohammed VI, who Harry and Meghan will have an audience with later. They watched children, who have benefited from the Equine Assisted Therapy, grooming three Shetland ponies Caramel, Xina, and Molly. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex chat to Patrick Alerini, whose private school in Rabat, Morocco brings autistic children for horse riding therapy at a prestigious riding club in the capital. pic.twitter.com/17cfGQzfns PA Royal Reporters (@PARoyal) February 25, 2019 Has anyone got any carrots? joked Harry, noticing that Molly was shaking. Shes a bit nervous, this one, he said. Meghan, who is heavily pregnant, joked: Well, we all get a little camera shy, I understand. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex meet disabled young people grooming horses at the Royal Equestrian Club and hear how spending time with horses is a source of therapy for them. #RoyalVisitMorocco pic.twitter.com/o7orIy9efO The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) February 25, 2019 When the couple first arrived they were introduced to Louis Broski, from Holland, the founder of the Centre Social Kariat in Sale, near Rabat, an organisation working with mentally and physically disabled young people. Mr Broski, who has trained horses for more than 30 years, is one of the countrys leading figures in equine therapy. It was a challenge, he told them, I started with one child, but now 16 years later we have 100 children. My aim is for all disabled children to be fully integrated into Moroccan society. The couple learned about the countrys developing programme of equine therapy for children with special needs (Hannah Mackay/PA) That is just so important, and this is just a gorgeous space you have here, said Meghan, before being introduced to some of the young people Mr Broski brings to ride at the club. Harry and Meghan met Ekram, 20, who has Down Syndrome, and began riding at the club a month ago. Speaking through a translator, the rider told them: I love the connection with the horses, it already makes me feel relaxed and more confident. And I like being outside, with nature. Meghan replied: Wow, youre very impressive. What an accomplished lady. I imagine its so therapeutic as well as meditative. The Duke of Sussex during the visit (Yui Mok/PA) During the day, Harry and Meghan took up the offer of a meal for the whole family from top chef Moha Fedal, who hosts the North African nations version of MasterChef. When the couple joined him for a cookery demonstration with underprivileged children in the capital Rabat, he said Come with your baby and I will cook for all three. Harry clearly inspired by the delicious spread he had sampled replied: We will cook for you. In the colourful Villa Des Ambassadeurs, a privately owned guest house set up with temporary cooking stations, the royal couple sampled an array of fragrant and spicy dishes some cooked by the children. Also on the menu was Moroccan pancakes with honey and almond butter, a recipe by Cherine Mallah taken from the Grendel cookbook the duchess helped to produce. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex meet the King of Morocco at his residence in Rabat (Yui Mok/PA) Harry and Meghan ended their three-day tour by spending around an hour with Moroccos King Mohammed VI at his private residence surrounded by his immediate family. Missing was the Kings wife Princess Lalla Salma, who has been the subject of much speculation after disappearing from public life more than a year ago with rumours circulating she may be living abroad. Harry described how he had an invitation from an unknown individual to stay on after their tour ended: He was very keen on getting us down there two days after this trip, unfortunately we have commitments to get back to. He also said to the king he would not be able to take up your fantastic invitation. But he added: Next time we will schedule it properly. We will keep it very quiet from everybody out there. ANAHUAC, Texas (AP) - In a story Feb. 25 about a cargo plane crash in Texas, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the first two bodies were recovered Sunday. One was recovered on Saturday and the other was recovered Sunday. A corrected version of the story is below: The Latest: Bodies taken from Texas plane crash site ID'd Officials have confirmed the identities of two crew members whose bodies have been recovered after the crash of a Boeing 767 in Texas ANAHUAC, Texas (AP) - The Latest on the search and recovery effort after the crash of a Boeing 767 cargo jet in Texas (all times local): 9:15 p.m. Officials have confirmed the identities of two crew members whose bodies have been recovered after the crash of a Boeing 767 in Texas. In a statement, Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne said he was notified Monday evening that the bodies have been identified as those of Conrad Aska, the 44-year-old first officer and co-pilot of Atlas Air Flight 3591, and Sean Archuleta, a 36-year-old jump-seat passenger. Aska's remains were recovered Saturday from the muddy waters of Trinity Bay, while Archuleta's were recovered Sunday. The jet crashed Saturday in the bay just off the waterfront of the small town of Anahuac (a-nuh-WAK'), about 35 miles (55 kilometers) east of Houston. ___ 11:30 a.m. Authorities continue to scour the shallow waters of a southeast Texas bay for clues about what led to the sudden crash of a Boeing 767 cargo plane, and for the body of one of the three people aboard. An area sheriff says a north wind has exposed more of the three-quarter-mile debris field left Saturday when Houston-bound Flight 3591 disintegrated on impact with Trinity Bay, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) east of the city. The jumbo jet's owner, Atlas Air, has confirmed no one survived the crash. The Chambers County Sheriff's Office says the two bodies, which were recovered Saturday and Sunday, were sent to a medical examiner's office for autopsies. Sheriff's deputies and federal officials are searching for the remaining body and the plane's black box, which records flight data and voices in the cockpit. CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - A team of American journalists led by Univision's Jorge Ramos said they had their camera equipment and phones seized at Venezuela's presidential palace after Nicolas Maduro abruptly ended an interview Monday. Ramos, one of the most influential Spanish-speaking journalists in the U.S., told The Associated Press late Monday that Maduro cut short the interview after 17 minutes when he was shown video on an iPad shot a day earlier of young Venezuelans eating food scraps out of the back of a garbage truck. The Univision team left the Miraflores palace after two hours without having their telephones, footage or four cameras returned, Ramos said. He said they were informed by intelligence agents that they would be deported Tuesday, when they were already scheduled to return to their base in Miami. "They stole my work," Ramos said. "My job is to ask questions." Venezuela's government denied Ramos' account. They accused him of trying to stage an international incident after a senior State Department official and Sen. Marco Rubio relayed reports on social media of what they called Ramos' detention at the same time an interview shot earlier in the day with U.S. network ABC was being aired. "Hundreds of journalists have passed through Miraflores and received the same decent treatment we give all those doing journalistic work," Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez said on Twitter. Univision's Jorge Ramos shows a video he says his crew shot the previous day showing Venezuelan youth picking food scraps out of the back of a garbage truck in Caracas, during an interview at a hotel in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. According to Ramos, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro cut short an interview when he showed Maduro the same footage during the interview at Miraflores presidential palace, before leaving two hours later without having his crew's equipment returned. (AP Photo) Ramos, who interviewed Maduro's mentor, Hugo Chavez, three times, said Maduro accused him of siding with the government's opponents in the political fight for power now raging in Venezuela. More than 50 governments around the world have recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's rightful leader after Maduro was sworn in for a second term last month following what the critics say was an illegitimate election. Ramos has previously angered one of Maduro's strongest critics: U.S. President Donald Trump, who famously had the journalist removed from a news conference on the campaign trail in 2015 when he asked about his anti-immigrant views toward Mexicans. WASHINGTON (AP) - North Carolina's Thom Tillis on Monday became the second Senate Republican to promise a vote to block President Donald Trump's declaration of an emergency at the Mexican border. Tillis said Congress must defend its power of the purse and warned that a future Democratic president might abuse the power to advance "radical policies." He revealed his view a day before the Democratic-run House was set to vote to annul Trump's emergency declaration, which he made Feb. 15. The declaration would give Trump access to billions of dollars beyond the nearly $1.4 billion that Congress approved to build segments of barriers along the boundary with Mexico. While Republicans control the Senate 53-47, it seems likely there would be enough GOP defectors for the measure to win initial approval there. The bill would need a simple majority to pass, and four Republican defectors joining all Democrats and their two independent allies would suffice. Trump has promised a veto and it seems all but certain that Congress won't be able to muster the two-thirds majorities required to override a veto. Even so, the votes are posing tricky decisions for GOP lawmakers from swing states, where Republican voters are divided between Trump loyalists and those with more moderate views. The only other Senate Republican to clearly declare a vote to block the emergency is Susan Collins of Maine - who, like Tillis, faces a potentially competitive re-election next year. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who doesn't face the voters until 2022, has said she is likely to oppose Trump's emergency declaration. FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2018, file photo, Sen.. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., stands during a break in a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Tillis says he'll vote to block President Donald Trump's emergency declaration at the border with Mexico, becoming the second Senate Republican to do so. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool) In an opinion column posted late Monday by The Washington Post, Tillis wrote that while he agrees with Trump that there is a crisis at the border, he has "grave concerns when our institution looks the other way at the expense of weakening Congress's power" over spending, which is granted by the Constitution. Tillis noted that Republicans complained when former President Barack Obama used executive powers to protect some immigrants in the U.S. illegally. "There is no intellectual honesty in now turning around and arguing that there's an imaginary asterisk attached to executive overreach - that it's acceptable for my party but not thy party," he wrote. He said that as a conservative, "I cannot endorse a precedent that I know future left-wing presidents will exploit to advance radical policies that will erode economic and individual freedoms," such as restrictions on polluters, banks and guns. Vice President Mike Pence was expected to attend Tuesday's weekly lunch of Senate Republican senators in hopes of persuading them to vote to support the emergency declaration. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said enough Republicans would support Trump's emergency that the House won't be able to muster the two-thirds majority required to override a veto. It would take 55 of the 197 House Republicans to join all Democrats and reach the 290 votes needed to override what would be Trump's first veto. "There's an emergency along the border," McCarthy said in a brief interview, describing the argument GOP leaders are using to tamp down Republican opposition. Democrats and some Republicans have argued there is no border emergency and say Trump declared it simply to get around Congress. By law, the Senate is supposed to vote on the measure within 18 days of receiving it from the House. But Congress has not challenged a president's emergency declaration before and it is unclear if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will attempt procedural moves aimed at thwarting Democrats. Asked in a brief interview what he would do, McConnell said, "We'll see what comes over" from the House. McConnell originally opposed having Trump declare an emergency, but said he would support it after Trump said he would sign the legislation this month that ended the record 35-day federal shutdown. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a close adviser of McConnell, said in a brief interview that the Senate would vote on the emergency declaration sometime in the next three weeks. ___ AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Joseph Peterson was a college student on Feb. 25, 1960 when he and other African-American students walked to the whites-only lunch counter at the Montgomery County Courthouse, sat down and asked to be served. He and eight other students at what is now Alabama State University were later expelled for leading the state's first known sit-in protest against segregation. Fifty-nine years after the protest, Peterson and other students were honored in the city. Montgomery city and county leaders presented resolutions to ASU President Quinton Ross expressing sorrow for the "wrongs from the past." "I feel good about it," Peterson, now 83, said at the ceremony. "I never really thought it would happen and this is just an opportunity for Montgomery to do the right thing and for the state of Alabama to do the right thing" Peterson said. Civil rights attorney Fred Gray said the students were not arrested but were suspended or expelled from the university at the behest of the state's white governor. The resolutions expressed sorrow for the actions against the students. Asked if the resolutions were an apology, Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange noted the punishments against the students were taken by the state. Joseph Peterson, one of the Alabama State University students that was expelled for taking part in the 1960 lunch counter sit-in in Montgomery, sits with his wife Mable Peterson as he is honored at a news conference at the ASU campus in Montgomery, Ala., on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. (Mickey Welsh/Montgomery Advertiser via AP) "What we want to say is it is wrong," Strange said. Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton Dean called it an apology. "I'm not going to try to be politically correct at all. We are sorry. We apologize," Dean said. Peterson said he learned from the newspaper that he was expelled and lost his GI Bill benefits. But he has no regrets about participating. "The whole South needed to change," Peterson said. He later graduated from New York University and worked for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Joe Reed, who participated in the sit-in and was suspended, said local officials shut down the cafe after the students walked inside. Reed recalled that when he sat down that day, a white woman who was eating at the cafe looked up, saw him and quickly scurried away. State academic officials announced last year that they had expunged the students' academic records. Joseph Peterson, one of the Alabama State University students that was expelled for taking part in the 1960 lunch counter sit-in in Montgomery, is honored at a press conference at the ASU campus in Montgomery, Ala., on Monday Feb. 25, 2019. (Mickey Welsh/Montgomery Advertiser via AP) Civil Rights Attorney Fred Gray talks about representing Alabama State University students that were expelled for taking part in the 1960 lunch counter sit-in in Montgomery, during a news conference at the ASU campus in Montgomery, Ala., on Monday Feb. 25, 2019. (Mickey Welsh/Montgomery Advertiser via AP) MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy says approximately $2.3 million in U.S. Department of Justice grants that have been withheld from Vermont over an immigration policy dispute with the Trump administration will be released. The Democrat says the grants for public safety and to fight the opioid epidemic were withheld due to Trump's policies regarding so-called "sanctuary cities" that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration agencies. Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Tom Anderson said Monday that the Justice Department concluded that Vermont State Police fully comply with the requirements of federal law. The Justice Department didn't respond to an email seeking comment after hours. Anderson says the Legislature and state police have always balanced ensuring immigrants living in the U.S. illegally feel safe reporting crimes with the obligation to comply with federal law. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Republican legislative leaders have appealed a court ruling striking down new North Carolina constitutional amendments mandating photo identification to vote and lower caps on income tax rates. The notice filed on Monday with the Court of Appeals challenges Friday's decision by a Wake County judge voiding legislative directives to put the amendments on the ballot and voter approval of them in November. Judge Bryan Collins ruled the 2017-18 General Assembly that approved the amendment referendums last year were illegally established because federal courts had declared legislative district boundaries illegal gerrymanders. The ruling doesn't specifically cancel a December law implementing the voter ID mandates, but the decision calls into question whether it will stand. GOP lawmakers say the ruling threatens the validity of laws approved over an 18-month period. WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on Trump Organization attacks on investigations into its business (all times local): 6:30 p.m. The Trump Organization is firing back at investigations into its business, demanding that a House panel end its probe because of ethical conflicts and accusing federal prosecutors in Manhattan of "Stalinist" tactics. The Trump Organization says in a letter to the House Judiciary Committee on Monday that a lawyer assisting its investigation, Barry Berke, has tainted the panel's work because he is partner for a law firm that has represented the family company for more than a quarter of a century. It is calling for the committee to cease its probe. Separately, President Donald Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., accused federal prosecutors in a "Fox & Friends" interview of resorting to "Stalinist" tactics as they investigate the president's inaugural committee and company. __ 12:45 p.m. President Donald Trump's eldest son is accusing federal authorities of using "Stalinist" tactics as they investigate the president's inaugural committee and family enterprise. Donald Trump Jr. told "Fox & Friends" in an interview Monday that the investigation is "as political as it gets." He says the "dream" of federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York is to "try to find something to get Trump," adding: "It's that old Stalinist tactic, you know?" Joseph Stalin led the former Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until 1953. But Trump Jr., who is helping run the family business while his father is president, says he's not worried about the investigations "because we know there's nothing there." Prosecutors are investigating, among other potential crimes, whether foreigners illegally contributed to inaugural events in 2017. WASHINGTON (AP) - The Associated Press and other news organizations are asking a judge to unseal documents in the special counsel's investigation of Trump confidant Roger Stone. The media coalition is asking for all records related to search warrants the FBI obtained before its arrest of Stone at his Florida home last month. Stone has pleaded not guilty to charges of false statements, witness tampering and obstruction. "The Russia investigation goes to the heart of the integrity of the political process, the potential corruption or other misconduct of the President of the United States and his closest advisers - or, as some of the President's supporters have argued, a corrupt conspiracy by some in law enforcement to harm the President - and the ability of the justice system to fairly and effectively investigate and, where necessary, prosecute any of these potential crimes," the news groups wrote. The coalition argues that the "gravity and importance of this criminal investigation is second to none in our nation's history, and therefore the public's interest in the transparency of that investigation could not be greater." They say the public interest in the investigation far outweighs the government's interest in keeping it confidential. Besides The Associated Press, the other news organizations include CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Politico. WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on Senate legislation on abortion (all times local): 5:45 p.m. Senate Democrats have blocked a Republican effort to pass legislation threatening prison for doctors who don't try saving the life of infants born alive during abortions. Monday's vote was 53-44 for the measure. That was seven short of the 60 votes Republicans needed to end Democratic delaying tactics aimed at killing the bill. The measure was sponsored by Nebraska GOP Sen. Ben Sasse. He says the bill gave senators a chance to show they oppose infanticide. Opponents say the measure was an effort to appeal to conservative voters and continue a GOP assault on abortion rights. They say live births during abortions are extremely rare and usually occur when doctors decide the infant could not survive. They say laws already prohibit killing infants born alive during abortions. __ 4:50 p.m. Republicans are pushing toward a Senate vote Monday on legislation that would threaten prison for doctors who don't try saving the life of infants born alive during abortions, a measure that seemed certain to fail but offered the GOP a chance to appeal to conservative voters. The measure seems certain to fail. But it offers the GOP a chance to appeal to conservative voters. Opponents say the bill is unneeded. They say such births are rare and laws already make it a crime to kill newborn babies. Doctors' and abortion-rights groups say it is extremely unusual for live infants to be born during attempted late-term abortions, which they say usually occur when the baby is extremely deformed or deemed unable to survive after birth. OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma would automatically ban abortions if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide under a bill that has cleared a Senate panel. While abortion opponents chanted, prayed and sang hymns outside the committee room, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted 11-4 on Monday for the so-called "trigger" abortion ban . Similar bills already have passed in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota and South Dakota. Many of the abortion opponents were upset that a separate bill by Republican Sen. Joseph Silk to make abortion a felony crime was not granted a hearing. Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat described Silk's bill as a dangerous precedent by a state to ignore a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Oklahoma state Sen. Greg Treat, R- Oklahoma City, President Pro Tempore, answers a question during a news conference Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, in Oklahoma City. Treat is the sponsor of a bill in which Oklahoma would automatically ban abortions if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Oklahoma state Sen. Greg Treat, R- Oklahoma City, President Pro Tempore, answers a question during a news conference Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, in Oklahoma City. Treat is the sponsor of a bill in which Oklahoma would automatically ban abortions if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Oklahoma state Senator Joseph Silk, R-Broken Bow,, addresses an abortion opponents rally Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City. Silk is the sponsor of a bill that would make abortion in Oklahoma a felony crime. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Abortion opponents cheer for a speaker at a rally Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Oklahoma state Senator Joseph Silk, R-Broken Bow speaks during a news conference Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, in Oklahoma City. Silk is the sponsor of a bill that would make abortion in Oklahoma a felony crime. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Oklahoma state Senator Joseph Silk, R-Broken Bow, left, debates with Oklahoma state Sen. Greg Treat, R- Oklahoma City, President Pro Tempore, right, on the best way to ban abortion in Oklahoma during a Senate committee meeting Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Latest on the trial of a man accused of planning to detonate what he believed was an explosive device outside an Oklahoma City bank (all times local): 5 p.m. A man accused of trying to detonate what he believed was an explosives-laden van outside an Oklahoma City bank has been found guilty by a federal jury. Jurors on Monday convicted 24-year-old Jerry Drake Varnell of attempted use of an explosive device and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. Prosecutors alleged Varnell planned to detonate what he thought was a half-ton (450-kilogram) vehicle bomb on Aug. 12, 2017. The FBI learned of the plan and an undercover agent posing as someone who could help construct the device provided inert materials. Varnell's attorneys claimed he was entrapped and his parents say he suffers from mental health issues. FILE - This file photo provided by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections shows Jerry Varnell, of Sayre, Okla. Prosecutors have rested their case in the federal trial of Varnell, accused of trying to detonate what he believed was an explosives-laden van outside an Oklahoma City bank. Varnell has pleaded not guilty and his parents have said he is a paranoid schizophrenic who has been in several mental hospitals. Defense attorneys say he was entrapped. Varnell has been found mentally competent to stand trial. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP, File) No sentencing date was set. Varnell faces up to life in prison for attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. ___ 1 p.m. Prosecutors have rested their case in the federal trial of a man accused of trying to detonate what he believed was an explosives-laden van outside an Oklahoma City bank. The trial of Jerry Drake Varnell of Sayre resumed Monday with defense attorneys scheduled to call a psychologist. Varnell has pleaded not guilty and his parents have said he is a paranoid schizophrenic who has been in several mental hospitals. Defense attorneys say he was entrapped. Varnell has been found mentally competent to stand trial. Authorities allege that Varnell planned to detonate what he thought was a half-ton (450-kilogram) vehicle bomb on Aug. 12, 2017. The FBI learned of the plan and an undercover agent posing as someone who could help construct the device provided inert materials. NEW YORK (AP) - Gerald LaBelle, a former editor and correspondent with The Associated Press who spent years covering tumultuous events in the Middle East, including Lebanon's civil war, the bombing of a U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut and the kidnapping of his own boss Terry Anderson, has died. He was 76. LaBelle died early Monday at a hospital in Brooklyn, New York, said his wife, Eileen Alt Powell, also a former AP reporter who covered the fighting in Lebanon. He had pneumonia, and had also been suffering for several years with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. After joining the AP in 1968, LaBelle was named news editor in Beirut in 1983. He was working there in March 1985 when Anderson, then chief Middle East correspondent for the AP, was kidnapped off the street by Islamic militants. It was a time when journalists were frequently targeted, but LaBelle "never balked at the danger or the incredible workload of covering Lebanon's travails," said Anderson, who was freed after seven years in captivity. "G.G. and Eileen were sent together to Beirut in the midst of the long civil war. They were covering an airplane hijacking at the airport before they'd done more than drop their bags at the Commodore Hotel," Anderson said in an email. "The two were a dynamite pair." LaBelle's time in the Middle East also consisted of covering Israel's invasion of Lebanon, including the aftermath of the September 1982 massacre at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps by Christian militants. Sent to check out reports that there had been killings, he reported that "bodies of men lay in a jumble as if they had been herded together and gunned down." This July 27, 2009 photo shows Associated Press news editor Gerald LaBelle, during a retirement celebration for editorial staffers at AP's New York headquarters. Labelle, 76, who spent years covering tumultuous events in the Middle East including the kidnapping of his own boss Terry Anderson, died in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Monday Feb. 25, 2019. He was 76. (AP Photo/Santos Chaparro) Other stories he covered included the Iran-Iraq War and Palestinian clashes with Israel. LaBelle was once hit by shrapnel while peering out of a hotel to watch militiamen fighting in the streets. LaBelle also spent time reporting from New Delhi, Jerusalem and finally Cairo, where he was AP's chief Middle East correspondent from December 1996 to February 1999. "He loved every minute of it," Powell said. "I think that he would say having an opportunity to translate foreign events for domestic audiences was both a thrill and a challenge." LaBelle returned to the AP's New York City headquarters in 1999, where he worked as a news editor in the New York City bureau and other areas. He retired from AP in 2009 as an enterprise editor for international news. "It was people like G.G. who made you proud to be in the news business and to be part of the same organization he served so well in so many places," said Larry Heinzerling, the AP's former deputy international editor. "No matter where I went, everyone high and low with whom he had ever worked said they loved G.G. and Eileen for their journalism, their courage, their ethics and their empathy." Born in New Rochelle, New York, LaBelle grew up in Tucson, Arizona. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Arizona. He worked at a small paper before joining the AP, where he did stints as a broadcast writer, reporter and editor in New York City, New Jersey and Washington before going abroad. Along with Powell, LaBelle is survived by his daughter; two grandchildren; his ex-wife and a brother. RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - A Minnesota company is preparing to conduct exploratory drilling for gold near Silver City in the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota and two other companies have withdrawn bids to drill on forest land. Forest Service officials are working on an agreement with Big Rock Exploration that would require the company to fund an environmental analysis, the Rapid City Journal reported. Mark Van Every, Forest Service supervisor, said Big Rock Exploration wants to drill around 40 holes on national forest land. The proposed drill sites are near the west end of the Pactola Reservoir, in an area accessible by roads. Federal mining statutes prohibit the Forest Service from rejecting an exploratory drilling project. The Forest Service, which oversees the surface rights, is only permitted to evaluate the project and place conditions on it. The agency will collaborate with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which controls the mineral rights below the surface. Van Every said Mineral Mountain Resources, a Canadian company that had been conducting exploratory drilling for gold on privately owned land in the Rochford area, suspended its plan to conduct additional drilling on national forest land in order to focus on fundraising efforts. Van Every also said that another company recently expressed interest in exploratory drilling in the Wyoming portion of the Black Hills National Forest, but the company decided against pursuing that project. Gold exploration and mining have taken place in the Black Hills since the 1870s. The only active, large-scale gold mine in the Black Hills is the Wharf Mine, which is near Terry Peak. ___ Information from: Rapid City Journal, http://www.rapidcityjournal.com MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Latest on Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers withdrawing National Guard troops from the nation's southern border (all times local): 4:35 p.m. An Illinois congressman who says he's a member of the Wisconsin National Guard is ripping Gov. Tony Evers for pulling troops off the nation's southern border. Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker sent troops to Arizona in June. Evers, a Democrat, pulled them back with an executive order Monday. Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who represents Illinois' 16th Congressional District, tweeted Monday that he's a member of the Wisconsin National Guard. He blasted Evers for withdrawing state troops, saying stopping illegal immigration is honorable. He asked Evers if his decision was political and to reconsider. A Wisconsin National Guard spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to an email seeking to confirm that Kinzinger is a member of the Wisconsin National Guard. A Kinzinger spokeswoman also didn't immediately respond to an email. ___ 4:20 p.m. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers is ordering the state's National Guard troops to withdraw from the nation's southern border and return home. Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker ordered troops to Arizona in June to assist with administrative duties along the border. Evers, a Democratic, issued an executive order on Monday ordering them to withdraw. Evers said in a news release announcing the order that about 112 troops are currently serving in Arizona. He said in the release that keeping the borders safe and protecting immigrants seeking asylum is the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol's job and there's not enough evidence to support Republican President Donald Trump's declaration that a national emergency exists along the border. He says there's no justification for Wisconsin National Guard troops to remain at the border. DETROIT (AP) - William Broomfield, a foreign-policy specialist from Michigan who was in Congress for nearly four decades, has died at age 96. Broomfield's family released a statement Monday saying he died Feb. 20 in Kensington, Maryland, where he lived. No cause was disclosed. Oakland County voters first elected Broomfield to the House in 1956. For 18 years, he was the senior Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Broomfield's family described him as a "fiscal conservative" who believed "democracy equaled freedom." His family says Broomfield's support was "unwavering" for Israel, Greece and South Korea. Broomfield didn't seek re-election in 1992. The Royal Oak, Michigan, post office was named for him in 2001. Memorial services will be held in Washington and Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Broomfield's wife, Jane, died in 2013. File-This July 28, 1987, file photo shows Rep. William Broomfield, R-Mich., left, pretends to rap Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate project panel investigating the Iran-Contra affair, on the head while Sen. Paul Sarbanass, D-Md., watches during a break in the Iran-Contra hearings on Capitol Hill in Washington. Broomfield, a foreign-policy specialist from Michigan who was in Congress for nearly four decades, has died at age 96. Broomfield's family released a statement Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, saying he died Feb. 20 in Kensington, Maryland, where he lived. No cause was disclosed. (AP Photo/Lana Harris, File) LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The Arkansas House on Monday approved a proposal to ban abortion 18 weeks into a woman's pregnancy, moving the state closer toward enacting what could be the strictest prohibition in the country. Without any debate, the majority-Republican House approved the ban by a 77-13 vote. Arkansas already has some of the strictest abortion limits in the country and bans the procedure 20 weeks into a woman's pregnancy. The bill advanced Monday includes an exemption for medical emergencies, but not for rape or incest. The 18-week ban now heads to the majority-Republican Senate. "We're pulling it back two weeks," Republican Rep. Robin Lundstrum told lawmakers before the vote. Arkansas' Republican governor last week signed into law another measure that would ban abortion in the state if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing the procedure nationwide. Gov. Asa Hutchinson has not said whether he'd sign the 18-week ban if it reaches his desk. Abortion rights supporters said they'd fight the measure, which they called an effort to challenge Roe v. Wade. "(The bill) does nothing to improve patient health and safety, and leading medical groups agree that it is dangerous for lawmakers to prioritize scoring political points over a woman's need for expert medical care," said Gloria Pedro, Arkansas lobbyist for Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes. "Instead of creating more barriers, lawmakers should be making it easier for women to seek timely, safe health care throughout their pregnancy." Other states have enacted measures that ban abortion earlier than Arkansas' proposed 18-week ban, but those restrictions have been blocked by courts. Mississippi and Louisiana last year both enacted measures banning abortions at 15 weeks. Mississippi's ban has been blocked by a federal judge. Louisiana's ban will only take effect if Mississippi's law is upheld. Iowa's governor last week said she wouldn't appeal a judge's ruling striking down a state law banning abortions at six weeks. Limits earlier than the one advanced Monday in Arkansas have also been proposed in several other states. Arkansas lawmakers in 2013 approved a measure banning abortions at 12 weeks, but that prohibition was later struck down by federal courts. The state's 20-week ban was also enacted in 2013 and has not been challenged in court, though similar prohibitions in two other states have been struck down. Other abortion restrictions are pending in the Legislature, including a measure that would extend the waiting period before having the procedure from 48 hours to 72 hours. Another measure would prohibit doctors from performing abortions because of a Down syndrome diagnosis. The measure passed on a mostly party-line vote, with two Democrats joining 75 Republicans to back the ban. No Republicans voted against the ban. ___ Follow Andrew DeMillo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ademillo ST. LOUIS (AP) - The United Methodist Church teetered on the brink of breakup Monday after more than half the delegates at an international conference voted to maintain bans on same-sex weddings and ordination of gay clergy. Their favored plan, if formally approved, could drive supporters of LGBT inclusion to leave America's second-largest Protestant denomination. A final vote on rival plans for the church's future won't come until Tuesday's closing session, and the outcome remains uncertain. But the preliminary vote Monday showed that the Traditional Plan, which calls for keeping the LGBT bans and enforcing them more strictly, had the support of 56 percent of the more than 800 delegates attending the three-day conference in St. Louis. The primary alternative proposal, called the One Church Plan, was rebuffed in a separate preliminary vote, getting only 47 percent support. Backed by a majority of the church's Council of Bishops in hopes of avoiding a schism, it would leave decisions about same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT clergy up to regional bodies and would remove language from the church's law book asserting that "the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching." Monday's voting did not kill the One Church Plan but makes its prospects on Tuesday far more difficult. As evidence of the deep divisions within the faith, delegates Monday approved plans that would allow disaffected churches to leave the denomination while keeping their property. Lois McCullen Parr, 60, a United Methodist elder of Albion, Mich., poses for a picture at a national Methodist conference Monday, Feb. 25, at in St. Louis. Nearly 900 delegates will decide whether America's second-largest Protestant denomination will fracture due to divisions over same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBT clergy. Parr identifies as bi-sexual and queer and said no one should be left out of God's love. (AP Photo/Jim Salter) "This is really painful," said David Watson, a dean and professor at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, who was at the gathering. "Our disagreement has pitted friend against friend, which no one wanted." Formed in a merger in 1968, the United Methodist Church claims about 12.6 million members worldwide, including nearly 7 million in the U.S. While other mainline Protestant denominations, such as the Episcopal and Presbyterian (U.S.A.) churches, have embraced the two gay-friendly practices, the Methodist church still officially bans them, even though acts of defiance by pro-LGBT clergy have multiplied and talk of a possible breakup has intensified. The strong showing for the Traditional Plan reflects the fact that the UMC, unlike other mainstream Protestant churches in the U.S., is a global denomination. About 43 percent of the delegates in St. Louis are from abroad, mostly from Africa, and overwhelmingly support the LGBT bans. "We Africans are not children in need of Western enlightenment when it comes to the church's sexual ethics," the Rev. Jerry Kulah, dean at a Methodist theology school in Liberia, said in a speech over the weekend. "We stand with the global church, not a culturally liberal church elite in the U.S." The Africans have some strong allies among U.S. conservatives, including the Rev. John Miles II, senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in Jonesboro, Arkansas, who opposes same-sex marriage and gays in the pulpit. "I have a very difficult time even though I have gays in my family and in my church," he said. "I know it grieves them and it grieves me to grieve them. But it's just what we believe is the truth." In recent years, the church's enforcement of its LGBT bans has been inconsistent. Some clergy members have conducted same-sex marriages or come out as gay from the pulpit. In some cases, the church has filed charges against clergy who violated the bans, yet the denomination's Judicial Council has ruled against the imposition of mandatory penalties, which typically called for an unpaid suspension of at least one year. The Traditional Plan would require stricter and more consistent enforcement. Among the outspoken supporters of the more permissive One Church Plan was the Rev. Adam Hamilton, a pastor in Leawood, Kansas, who said it offered a way for Methodists "to live together - conservatives, centrists and progressives - despite our differences." For LGBT Methodists, it is a time of anxiety. "For me it's about who's in God's love, and nobody's left out of that," said Lois McCullen Parr, 60, a church elder from Albion, Michigan, who identifies as bisexual and queer. "The Gospel I understand said Jesus is always widening the circle, expanding the circle, so that everyone's included." ___ Crary reported from New York. The Rev. John Miles II, 63, senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in Jonesboro, Ark., poses for picture at a national conference Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, in St. Louis. Nearly 900 delegates will decide whether America's second-largest Protestant denomination will fracture due to divisions over same-sex marriage and the ordination of LGBT clergy. Miles opposes efforts by progressives, saying the "core of our sexual value is heterosexual monogamy." (AP Photo/Jim Salter) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley's Monday comment that President Donald Trump's nominee to a high-profile appeals court doesn't have a clear anti-abortion record is meeting swift pushback from conservatives. Hawley on Monday told KFTK 97.1 FM Newstalk's Marc Cox that he hasn't yet made up his mind about D.C.-area U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Neomi Rao. He said he wants to make sure she's anti-abortion, and "it's as simple as that." Trump named Rao to replace Brett Kavanaugh after he left the influential appeals court to join the U.S. Supreme Court. "I've got some concerns about Neomi Rao," Hawley said. "She does not have a strong record on life. She's written some things in the past that suggest to me that she might be more of a judicial activist in this area and not somebody who respects life." Rao, who currently serves as administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, worked in the George W. Bush White House but has never tried a case in state or federal court. Without a court record to review, Hawley and other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are instead relying on her past writings. In one law article cited by NARAL Pro-Choice America, which lists Rao as one of "Trump's anti-choice judicial nominees," Rao wrote against the citation of Greek philosophers in the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade abortion ruling. "By contrast, there were many persuasive legal arguments against recognizing a constitutional right to abortion," Rao wrote. "For instance, substantive due process arguably has no textual support in the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause." Ed Whalen, president of the Judeo-Christian group Ethics and Public Policy Center, wrote in an opinion piece for the National Review online that he's not clear on Rao's past or current positions on abortion. But he said she has "outstanding qualifications" and questioned Hawley's standards. "How many of the thirty federal courts of appeals judges that President Trump appointed over the past two years had an actual 'strong record on life,' as Hawley defines the concept?" Whalen wrote. "It seems to me far from clear that Chief Justice Roberts (for whom Hawley clerked) had such a record when he was appointed to the Court. Ditto for Justice Thomas, Justice Alito (some pro-lifers expressed concerns about his record), and Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh (both of whose nominations Hawley strongly supported)." Hawley's lukewarm response to Rao comes after he spent much of his Senate campaign fiercely criticizing former Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill for voting against Kavanaugh's confirmation. Hawley unseated McCaskill in November. Conservative groups are seizing on the parallel. "Sadly, barely a month after moving to Washington, Josh Hawley is already acting like Claire McCaskill when it comes to judges," Carrie Severino, chief counsel and policy director of the Judicial Crisis Network, said in a statement. "Instead of supporting President Trump's top judicial nominee, he is spreading the very same kind of rumors and innuendo and character assassination that Republican leaders fought during Justice Kavanaugh's confirmation." The Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative advocacy group that backed Kavanaugh's nomination, on Monday announced plans to spend $500,000 on television, radio and digital ads in Missouri to push Hawley to support Rao. Americans for Prosperity also is launching digital ads urging support for Rao. Hawley spokeswoman Kelli Ford said in a statement that the senator "is single-minded and focused only on representing the commonsense conservative voters of Missouri. "No threat from any group in Washington on either side of the aisle matters to him," she said. Rao has also faced criticism - from liberal activists, some Democrats and even Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst - for language she used as a college student in writing about sexual assault, race and equal rights for women. Rao has since backed off, telling the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month that writings in which she criticized affirmative action and suggested that intoxicated women were partly responsible for date rape do not reflect her current thinking . WASHINGTON (AP) - More than 17 years after the 9/11 attacks, first responders and their advocates were back at the Capitol Monday urging Congress to ensure that a victims' compensation fund does not run out of money. Members of the New York delegation, joined by first responders, survivors and family members, lamented an announcement by the Justice Department that the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund is running low on money and future payments may be cut by up to 70 percent. Comedian Jon Stewart, a longtime advocate for 9/11 responders, called the Feb. 15 announcement by the fund's special master "unconscionable" and said Congress has a moral obligation to step in. At a news conference at the Capitol, Stewart said it was "nonsense" that first responders and their families again have to "beg" Congress for money nearly 18 years after the attacks. "This is nonsense. This is theater. You know it and I know it," Stewart said. "If the American people in their busy lives had any sense that these shenanigans were going on, they would be outraged." He and other speakers urged Congress to act quickly to restore the fund and ensure it has enough money to pay benefits for the next 70 years - or as long as victims need it. Entertainer and activist Jon Stewart, center, speaks with members of the FealGood Foundation as they arrive on Capitol Hill to speak with lawmakers about the compensation fund for victims of 9/11, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Stewart has been involved in urging support for the first responders, volunteers, and survivors of the September 11 attacks. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Anything less than full and permanent funding is "shameful," said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., adding the death toll from the 2001 attacks "is still growing." "It should not be a fight to pass this bill again," Gillibrand said. The collapse of the World Trade Center in September 2001 sent a cloud of thick dust billowing over Lower Manhattan. Fires burned for weeks. Thousands of construction workers, police officers, firefighters and others spent time working in the soot, often without proper respiratory protection. In the years since, many have seen their health decline, some with respiratory or digestive-system ailments that appeared almost immediately, others with illnesses that developed as they aged, including cancer. Nearly 40,000 people have applied to the federal fund for people with illnesses potentially related to being at the World Trade Center site, the Pentagon or Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after the attacks. About 19,000 claims are pending. Nearly $5 billion in benefits have been awarded out of the $7.3 billion fund. Rupa Bhattacharyya, special master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, said she was "painfully aware of the inequity" of the potential cuts, but said awarding some funds for every valid claim would be preferable to sending some legitimate claimants away empty-handed. Fund officials estimate it would take another $5 billion to pay pending claims and claims that officials anticipate will be submitted before the fund's December 2020 deadline. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said the cost of restoring the program is minimal compared to the cruelty of failing to do so. "A great nation cannot nickel-and-dime people that have sacrificed their health on our behalf," he said. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., said the 9/11 attacks "were not just a New York event" or an East Coast event, but were an attack on all Americans. "This is a sea-to-shining-sea moment, a sea-to-shining sea promise, a sea-to-shining-sea obligation," Gardner said. The victims' fund should "not be extended for a moment but for a lifetime," he added. Stewart, reverting to comic form, said the victims' fund was "like a Starbucks card. We're just asking to get a little more money." Several Democratic presidential candidates are embracing reparations for the descendants of slaves - but not in the traditional sense. Over the past week, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro spoke of the need for the U.S. government to reckon with and make up for centuries of stolen labor and legal oppression. But instead of backing the direct compensation of African-Americans for the legacy of slavery, the Democratic candidates are talking about using tax credits and other subsidies. Long defined as some type of direct payment to former slaves and their descendants, the shifting definition of reparations comes as White House hopefuls seek to solidify their ties with African-Americans whose support will be crucial to winning the Democratic nomination. But it risks prompting both withering criticism from Republicans and a shrug from black voters and activists if the proposals are seen as an empty gesture that simply renames existing policy ideas as reparations. "Universal programs are not specific to the injustices that have been inflicted on African-Americans," said Duke University economist William Darity, a veteran advocate of reparations. "I want to be sure that whatever is proposed and potentially enacted as a reparations program really is a substantive and dramatic intervention in the patterns of racial wealth inequality in the United States - not something superficial or minor that is labeled as reparations and then politicians say the national responsibility has been met." Montague Simmons of the Movement for Black Lives, which has pushed for reparations, said the debate is "not just cash payments." But "unless we're talking about something that has to be systemic and transfers power to the community, it's not likely going to be what we would consider reparations," he said. In this Feb. 23, 2019, photo, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris speaks at the Story County Democrats' annual soup supper fundraiser in Ames, Iowa. Several Democratic presidential candidates are embracing reparations for the descendants of slaves _ but not in the traditional sense. Over the past week, Harris, Elizabeth Warren and former Obama cabinet secretary Julian Castro spoke of the need for the U.S. government to reckon with and make up for slavery. But instead of backing the direct compensation for African-Americans, they are talking about more universal policies that would also benefit blacks. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) For now, that's not how most Democratic presidential contenders are talking about reparations. Harris has proposed monthly payments to qualified citizens of any race in the form of a tax credit. Warren has called for universal child care that would guarantee the benefit from birth until a child enters school. Families with income less than 200 percent of the poverty line would get free access and others would pay no more than 7 percent of their income. Those benefits would likely have a disproportionate impact on African-Americans. But except for longshot candidate Marianne Williamson, no Democratic White House hopeful has called for financial remuneration for blacks. Harris told reporters in Iowa on Sunday that "we have to all acknowledge that people have not started out on the same base and have not had equal opportunities to success." Castro told The Root, a black online news site, that America "would be better off" if the government addressed the issue of reparations, which he said he would explore if elected. And in New Hampshire on Friday, Warren said the U.S. needs to confront its "ugly history of racism" and "talk about the right way to address it." Asked whether she would support reparations for Native Americans, she responded: "It's an important part of the conversation." Warren has been criticized for claiming Native American identity early in her career and apologized recently to the Cherokee Nation for releasing DNA test results as evidence she had Native American in her bloodline, albeit at least six generations back. In terms of a direct payment, reparations could be a tough political sell. In a Point Taken-Marist poll conducted in 2016, 68 percent of Americans said the country should not pay cash reparations to African-American descendants of slaves. About 8 in 10 white Americans said they were opposed to reparations, while about 6 in 10 black Americans said they were in favor. Republican strategist Whit Ayres said the issue of reparations is "symptomatic of the fundamental debate that is roiling the Democratic Party today." "There is no doubt that issues of race have been and remain critically important in American society," he said. "But the idea that you resolve those issues by taking money from white people and giving it to black people will make race relations worse, not better. Republicans would love to have that debate." Pressed on "Fox News Sunday" on whether reparations would ultimately end up in the Democratic platform, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said the issue is "something that will be discussed during the course of the presidential nominating process." Even if Democrats are rethinking the definition of reparations, Ta-Nehisi Coates, who sparked a national debate over the issue with a 2014 essay in The Atlantic, said the recent chatter is promising. He noted that a Dave Chappelle comedy skit mocked the idea in 2003. "It has generally been dismissed as utter lunacy," Coates said. "It's not being mocked now. Step one is to get people to stop laughing." When Barack Obama ran to become the nation's first African-American president, he opposed reparations. But in an interview with Coates in the final days of his presidency, he didn't question the legitimacy of the concept. "Theoretically, you can make, obviously, a powerful argument that centuries of slavery, Jim Crow, discrimination are the primary cause for all those gaps," Obama said, referencing the racial disparities faced by black Americans today. "That those were wrongs done to the black community as a whole, and black families specifically, and that in order to close that gap, a society has a moral obligation to make a large, aggressive investment, even if it's not in the form of reparations checks, but in the form of a Marshall Plan, in order to close those gaps," Obama said, referring to the American initiative to provide economic assistance to Western Europe after World War II. Still, he said it was politically difficult to achieve such a goal. If presidential candidates want to prove they're serious about reparations, some proponents say they should back H.R. 40, the Reparations Study Act first introduced by former Michigan Rep. John Conyers in 1989. He reintroduced the bill every session until his resignation in 2017. Texas Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee took up the legislation after Conyers' departure and reintroduced the bill in 2018, but it has not been introduced in the current Congress. "It's not wrong to say we need to cure cancer - which is what I take the support of reparations to actually be - but we don't have a full diagnosis yet," Coates said. "If you can actually get a study that outlines what actually happened, what the needs are, what the debt actually is, and how it was incurred, then you can design programs to actually address it. That gets you out of the vagaries of just saying you support reparations." ___ Whack is The Associated Press' national writer on race and ethnicity. Follow her work on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/emarvelous. In this Feb. 21, 2019, photo, Julian Castro, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, speaks during a town hall meeting at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa. Several Democratic presidential candidates are embracing reparations for the descendants of slaves _ but not in the traditional sense. Over the past week, Senators Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and former Obama cabinet secretary Castro spoke of the need for the U.S. government to reckon with and make up for slavery. But instead of backing the direct compensation for African-Americans, they are talking about more universal policies that would also benefit blacks. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - The attorney for a North Carolina teen accused of his father's mysterious strangulation death says her client is innocent. News outlets report that Allyn Sharp told a judge during a hearing on Monday that 16-year-old Alexander Bishop didn't kill his father, prominent real-estate developer Bill Bishop. Alexander Bishop, who was charged Friday with murder, was released from jail Monday on bond. Alexander Bishop called authorities last April to say that he had found his father unresponsive in their Durham home with a dog leash around his neck and the other end still attached to the dog. The father died later in a hospital. The state medical examiner's office ruled that the father died of homicide by strangulation. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The Florida Supreme Court is granting Republican Ron DeSantis' request to impanel a statewide grand jury to investigate whether school districts are following laws enacted in the wake of the Parkland high school shooting that left 17 dead. The Supreme Court issued the order Tuesday, less than two weeks after DeSantis called for the grand jury. The 18-member panel will meet for a year. The grand jury will have the power to call witnesses and return indictments. It will mark yet another probe launched in the aftermath of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The grand jury will investigate whether school officials have committed fraud by misusing money intended for school safety and whether they are failing to report criminal activity in schools to the Department of Education. The city of the most colourful carnival in the world is open 24/7 for tourists willing to enjoy its multiple beauties. Ill help you get the most of Rio. #1 - Lets begin by the arrival reaching the airport and bus tickets A very practical tip is to buy your bus tickets online and print them in the totems in Rodoviaria. This is the bus terminal strategically located near town and the citys main access points.Totems are practical machines that allow you to print the tickets bought on the Internet. Youll only need the password obtained when buying the ticket from home. Therefore, have it with you all the time. Make sure not to lose it. Totems are the solution to avoid waiting in the long queue to buy bus tickets in the window. To reach Rodoviaria, you need to take one of the premium blue buses at the airport terminal. #2 Is it a good idea to book everything beforehand? Booking in advance is a good idea when talking about tickets, either for the bus or for a special unmovable event you may want to assist to. However, I realized that booking the tickets for the Sugar Loaf Mountain wasnt wise. The day I had booked then for, there was bad weather. I wished I hadnt bought them minutes before reaching that summit. #3 Accommodation a good range of options From five-star hotels to cheaper options, everything is possible under the Brazilian sky. My advice is to stay in an apartment. Such option will allow you to prepare your own food (something very important when trying to save some dollars) and you can also book it online before flying there. Try to find one near the beach for thats the place you will need to have very close to you. #4 - The food eating out or at your improvised home? Even though Subway and McDonalds provide the best options in prices, dont forget youre visiting an exotic country, so you may want to try typical dishes youll probably never find at home.Take into account that food stall near the beach are much more expensive than local restaurants scattered around the city. On the other hand, theres always the option of diving in the supermarket and prepare your own homemade Brazilian dish. #5 The bus the best alternative to save money I was determined to move around by taxi, especially after having heard about the insecurity, but my pocket convinced me that buses were not that bad. Actually, they are really cool with the air conditioning refreshing you after a morning sunbathing in Copacabana. There are also those vans that pick you in the main avenue, which are even cheaper than buses. #6 Walking in the street an adventure or a risk? Both. Never forget youre in Rio, mainly when you go to the beach. Nothing was stolen from me, but I cant say the same about a couple who was next to me on the beach and whose backpack was stolen without anyone realizing when or how. Look at both sides when youre walking down the street and if you happen to have eyes on your back, they will also be very useful. #7 Monuments you cant come back without having been in them To have a view of Rio from the space, dont forget to conquer Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountains peaks. #8 Careful with the beer Its delicious and it will do no harm to you as long as you drink it responsibly, but bear in mind that in some pubs it can be as expensive as one of the best Brazilian desserts. Again, I think the supermarket can be your hero when you crave for barley. #9 Is it worth go to the shopping centre? Well not really. I went to Rio to find something different and the shopping center showed me more of the same. I can buy those wonderful brands in my home town, but I cant bargain for the handmade bracelets, rings and sarongs offered on every corner. #10 The art of bargaining Yes, definitely! Never accept the first price youre asked for. And Im not only talking about street stalls tour sellers are ready for a price-based talking show in the middle of the street. HOUSTON (AP) - Prosecutors have dismissed a second case being re-examined because it involved a Houston officer accused of lying in an affidavit that led to a drug raid last month that killed a married couple. Court records show the drug case against Treveon Cornett was dismissed Monday. Another case was dismissed last week. Cornett's case is one of 27 active cases tied to Officer Gerald Goines. They're among more than 1,400 being reviewed by the Harris County District Attorney's Office. The district attorney's office said Cornett's case was dismissed in the "interest of justice." Goines did not arrest Cornett but was at the scene. An attorney for Cornett didn't immediately return a call Monday. Cornett was arrested in July for possessing less than one gram of cocaine. DAVIE, Fla. (AP) - The driver of a Tesla Model S was killed when his car crashed near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and erupted in flames. Witnesses told police in Davie, Florida, that the car was traveling 75-to-90 miles per hour (120-to-145 kilometers per hour) Sunday afternoon when it left the road for an unknown reason. The driver over-corrected and the car slid across three lanes and into some trees in the median. A police officer arrived almost immediately after the crash but wasn't able to rescue the driver before the car was engulfed in flames. Officers identified the driver as Omar Awan. The crash remains under investigation. Tesla said in a statement that it was deeply saddened by the crash and is cooperating with police. "We understand that speed is being investigated as a factor in this crash, and know that high speed collisions can result in a fire in any type of car, not just electric vehicles," the company said. The Tesla's battery reignited twice on Monday morning at a salvage yard where it was towed, Davie Fire Marshal Robert Taylor said. Tesla said in a statement that it posts language on its website for first responders saying that fires can take up to 24 hours to extinguish and that they should consider letting the battery burn while protecting exposures to buildings. Last year the National Transportation Safety Board opened investigations into two Tesla fires in California, one in West Hollywood and the other near Mountain View. A spokesman for the NTSB said Monday that it is not investigating the Davie crash. IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - At least 28 priests are credibly accused of having sexually abused more than 100 boys and girls while working for a Roman Catholic diocese in Iowa, church officials announced Monday. The Diocese of Sioux City identified those 28 priests as it published a long-awaited list of those who have been the subject of credible allegations of sexual abuse involving minors. The list included about 5 percent of the priests who have worked for the diocese at some point since its inception in 1902. A 29th priest has been accused but his name is being withheld pending an appeal to the Vatican. "Publishing this list is the beginning of a new chapter in the history of our diocese," said Bishop R. Walker Nickless, who released the list at a news conference. "We want it to usher in a climate of openness and transparency, resulting in the protection of our youth and accountability for clergy and church leaders." He said releasing information about the church's "shameful history" might help some victims heal while reopening old wounds for others. Advocates for abuse victims had long urged the diocese to release such a list, as two of Iowa's three other Roman Catholic dioceses have done. The diocese had promised to do so in November after an investigation by The Associated Press exposed its 32-year cover-up of the Rev. Jerome Coyle, who had allegedly confessed to abusing more than 50 boys over a 20-year period. FILE - This August 2010 photo provided by Reuben Ortiz, shows retired Catholic priest Jerome Coyle in Albuquerque, N.M. A Roman Catholic diocese in Iowa says it will release a list of 28 priests who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors over the last century. The diocese publicly promised in November 2018 that it would finalize the list and make it public. The vow came in response to an investigation by The Associated Press that exposed a 32-year cover-up of Coyle, who had allegedly confessed to abusing more than 50 boys. (Reuben Ortiz via AP, File) The diocese, which operates churches and schools throughout northwestern Iowa, urged victims to come forward at that time. Its review board has spent recent weeks reviewing files and weighing the credibility of allegations. The diocese said the alleged abuse took place between 1948 and 1995 and involved 106 individuals who have come forward to make claims. Additional complaints of abuse have been made more recently, but none have been deemed credible by police or a church review board, the diocese said. Attorney Levi Monagle, whose New Mexico law firm represents clergy abuse victims, said the release of such lists is an important gesture that usually helps some victims heal and inspires others to come forward. He praised Albuquerque resident Reuben Ortiz, who became aware of Coyle's abuse last year while the priest was living with Ortiz's family and made it public. Ortiz's disclosure prompted the diocese to move Coyle out of an Iowa retirement home where he was quietly living next to a Catholic school, and provided the "jolt to the status quo" that the diocese needed to finalize and release the long-discussed list, Monagle said. "It's tragic that it took so long for this information to come out," said Monagle, whose firm represents one man who was allegedly abused by Coyle decades ago. All but six of the priests on the list have died. Those who are still living are not involved in the ministry or active with youth, and have been stripped of their ability to celebrate mass or represent themselves as priests, the diocese said. One of the accused, John Perdue, 71, told the AP that his inclusion on the list was embarrassing but that he denies the allegation of abusing a boy in the 1980s. The Iowa Court of Appeals in 2011 dismissed lawsuits filed against Perdue and another priest by two alleged victims, ruling that the statute of limitations had expired. Diocese officials acknowledged the list is likely incomplete because additional victims have not come forward. For instance, the diocese said that it was aware of 13 victims of Coyle even though he allegedly confessed to abusing dozens more. The list included 39 victims of the Rev. George McFadden, whose abuse has long been documented and spawned an array of civil lawsuits, and 11 victims of the Rev. Peter Murphy. More than half of the identified priests, however, only have one known accuser. The list does not include former Sioux City Bishop Lawrence Soens even though he allegedly abused boys while he was a priest and principal. Soens, who retired as bishop in 1998, is not included on the list because the allegations date to when he worked for a different diocese. The list also did not include a priest who was removed from the ministry in 2017 after being accused of improperly touching a girl's leg during confession, or an active priest who chased after an adult parishioner in 2013 while naked and yelling about raping her. Those cases didn't meet the criteria used by the review board, a spokeswoman said. Still, the list represents a more comprehensive accounting than statistics that were released by now-Cardinal Daniel DiNardo when he was Sioux City bishop in 2004. DiNardo, who is now archbishop of Galveston-Houston and leads the church's response to the sexual abuse crisis, told Sioux City parishioners in 2004 that it was aware of 33 allegations against 10 priests since 1950. The diocese says it had paid $4.7 million in legal settlements to 58 individuals since 2002. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Services are this week for North Carolina Democratic politician Frank Ballance, who served briefly in Congress and later went to federal prison for activities related to a charitable organization. Family spokesman Carlton Pressley confirmed on Monday that Ballance died Friday at a Raleigh hospital, saying he didn't survive after undergoing a procedure there. He was 77. Ballance served over two decades in the state House and Senate, rising to the No. 2 post in the Senate chamber. He was elected to North Carolina's 1st Congressional District seat in 2002, but resigned in June 2004, citing ill health. Ballance pleaded guilty later that year to conspiring to divert taxpayer money to his family and others through a foundation he helped start while at the General Assembly. Prosecutors said Ballance, during his time at the legislature, channeled $2.3 million in state money to the John A. Hyman Memorial Foundation, created to help low-income people fight drug and alcohol abuse. Ballance then diverted some of that money from its intended purpose, according to authorities, giving some of it to his children and to share with his mother for community programs. Ballance left prison in 2009 after more than three years behind bars. In a television interview after his release, Ballance said he was unfairly targeted by prosecutors and should have never served prison time. A Bertie County native, Frank W. Ballance Jr. was an attorney who lived in Warrenton, about 55 miles (89 kilometers) north of Raleigh. He was among several black elected officials in northeastern North Carolina whose prominence grew over the past 40 years as civil rights legislation and rulings increased access to the levers of power. FILE - In a June 13, 2003 file photo, U.S. Rep. Frank Ballance, D-N.C., addresses the 57th annual meeting of the Flue-Cured Tobacco Cooperative Stabilization Corporation, in Raleigh, N.C. Family spokesman Carlton Pressley confirmed on Monday, February 25, 2019 that Ballance died Friday Feb. 22 at WakeMed in Raleigh, saying he didn't survive after undergoing a procedure there. He was 77. (AP Photo/Bob Jordan, File) U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, who succeeded Ballance in the 1st District seat, said Ballance and his law partner gave him his first job out of law school. "Frank was a voice for everyday North Carolinians, working tirelessly to elevate issues impacting our communities," Butterfield said in a release. "Frank was a giant of a man and I am honored to have called him a friend." Ballance's memorial service is set for Thursday evening at Elevation Baptist Church in Raleigh, followed on Friday by a funeral at Indian Woods Missionary Baptist Church in Windsor. Pressley said Ballance, who was married, died on the same day as his mother-in-law. Her funeral is Tuesday. OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Two men have been arrested in the shooting of the security guard for a news crew that was robbed while covering the Oakland teachers' strike, authorities said Monday. KPIX said a reporter and a photographer were gathering interviews Sunday afternoon at the Oakland Library when a car pulled up and two men got out and of them pointed a gun and demanded their camera. The crew surrendered the equipment and began walking away. One of the suspects then shot the guard, Matt Meredith, in the leg, the news station said. KPIX reporter Joe Vazquez said on Twitter that the guard, a retired Berkeley police officer, returned gunfire. Alameda County Sheriff spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said a 21-year-old man with several gunshot wounds went to a hospital after the incident. Oakland police arrested the man on suspicion of shooting the guard. Oakland Police spokeswoman Johanna Watson confirmed Monday two people were detained and the stolen camera was recovered. The guard was treated at a hospital and released, she said. Assaults on routine assignments became so commonplace in recent years that some television stations have hired armed guards to ride with news crews. It's not the first time the station has been the target of theft. In November 2012, a group of men punched a KPIX cameraman while he was filming in front of an Oakland high school and fled with his camera while it was still recording. The Associated Press tallied five robberies in 2012, two in 2013, three in 2014 and at least three in 2015 plus several burglaries of news vehicles. "We don't know what the market is for these cameras," San Francisco Police Sgt. Michael Andraychuk told The Associated Press in 2015. Even though the cameras can cost upward of $50,000 each, it is specialized equipment that can't be easily sold on the black market, Andraychuk said. TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif resigned without warning late Monday, offering an "apology" to the nation as the nuclear deal he negotiated with world powers is on the verge of collapse after the U.S. withdrawal from the accord. Zarif's resignation, if accepted by Iran's relatively moderate President Hassan Rouhani, would leave the cleric without one of his main allies in pushing the Islamic Republic toward further negotiations with the West. It remains unclear why Zarif chose to leave his post now and what effect it will have on the atomic accord, which Iran has been complying with. He likely briefed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei before offering his resignation. Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, previously backed the American-educated envoy through the nuclear negotiations. "We'll see if it sticks," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted about Zarif's resignation. "Our policy is unchanged - the regime must behave like a normal country and respect its people." The veteran diplomat first hinted at his resignation with a vague Instagram post in which he offered an "apology" for his "inability to continue to his service." The post included a drawing honoring Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, as Iranians commemorate her birth Tuesday. A Foreign Ministry spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, confirmed to the state-run IRNA news agency minutes later that Zarif had resigned but gave no reason for his departure. FILE- In this Sept. 6, 2015, file photo, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stands prior to a meeting in Tehran, Iran. On Monday Feb. 25, 2019, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has resigned. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File) Earlier Monday, Zarif met with members of the activist group Code Pink in Tehran, smiling as he posed for a photograph with them. However, he was not seen in images later in the day showing Syrian President Bashar Assad meeting with Khamenei and Rouhani. Iran has been one of Assad's main supporters during the years-long war in Syria. On Sunday, Zarif criticized Iranian hard-liners in a speech in Tehran, saying: "We cannot hide behind imperialism's plot and blame them for our own incapability." "Independence does not mean isolation from the world," he said. Analysts say Rouhani faces growing political pressure from hard-liners within the government as the nuclear deal unravels. Iranian presidents typically see their popularity erode during their second four-year term, but analysts say Rouhani is particularly vulnerable because of the economic crisis assailing the country's rial currency, which has hurt ordinary Iranians and emboldened critics to openly call for his ouster. Reaction to Zarif's resignation was swift. A prominent reformist lawmaker, Mostafa Kavakebian, wrote on Twitter that Rouhani should reject Zarif's resignation as his departure would only "make enemies of Iran's dignity happy." Hassan Mohammadi, a Tehran-based political analyst close to Rouhani, said he understood it was Zarif's third time submitting his resignation in the last year. "It is part of plan for changing the track in foreign policy in Iran. A negotiation-seeking foreign minister is not a favored person anymore," Mohammadi told The Associated Press. "Iran needs a tough foreign minister from now on. Someone who does not offer smile towards the West." The son of a wealthy family, Zarif overcame hardline objections and Western suspicions to strike the accord with world powers that saw Iran promise to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions. But the deal was later challenged by the administration of President Donald Trump, which pulled America out of the accord. In doing so, Trump also fueled doubts of Iranians still wary of U.S. interests decades after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Zarif himself faced withering criticism at home after he shook hands with President Barack Obama. Meanwhile, officials in the Trump administration have also been pressuring Iran through social media, with one State Department official tweeting an unflattering GIF of Zarif saying: "How do you know @JZarif is lying? His lips are moving." Zarif, 59, served as Iran's ambassador to the United Nations from 2002 to 2007, first under reformist President Mohammad Khatami and then under hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad wanted him replaced, but Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei intervened to keep him in the position for another two years as Iran soon found itself an international pariah over its nuclear program. Iran insisted its atomic program was for peaceful purposes only, while the West feared it could be used to make nuclear weapons. Secret backchannel talks between the United States and Iran in Oman became full-fledged negotiations over its nuclear program. During the talks, Zarif met with then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry more than 50 times - something that would have been unimaginable only a few years earlier. Kerry and Zarif's rapport extended beyond just the nuclear negotiations. Kerry directly reached out to his counterpart in January 2016 to help secure the release within 24 hours of 10 U.S. Navy sailors seized by Iran after they mistakenly entered Iranian territorial waters. Cliff Kupchan, chairman of the Eurasia Group and a longtime Iran watcher, described Zarif's resignation as a "bolt from the blue" from a diplomat who had served as "the face of Iran" for years. He said that while it was still too early to determine what prompted Zarif's resignation, it didn't necessarily signal a major shift away from the nuclear deal. "I think Zarif can charm the fangs off a snake and has done so many, many times," Kupchan told AP. "Whether it's dealing with Bashar Assad or (Russian President) Vladimir Putin, he's their ambassador to a very tough neighborhood." "The Iranians are pretty good at making their life even harder than it has to be and this would be another step in that direction if he was forced out," Kupchan said. ___ Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi reported in Tehran and AP writer Jon Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. File-This Feb. 13, 2019, file photo shows Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaking at a news conference in Tehran, Iran. Zarif suddenly resigned late Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, without warning, offering an "apology" to the nation as the nuclear deal he negotiated with world powers stands on the verge of collapse after the U.S. withdrew from the accord. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File) FILE - In this Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018 file photo, Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, speaks at the Security Conference in Munich, Germany. The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog says Iran still is complying with the terms of a 2015 deal that aims to keep Tehran from building atomic weapons in exchange for economic incentives. The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a confidential quarterly report on Friday, Feb. 22 that Iran has been abiding with key limitations set in the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP, file) FILE - In this Nov. 29, 2015, file photo, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif listens to a question during a news conference in Tehran, Iran. On Monday Feb. 25, 2019, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has resigned. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File) FILE- In this Nov. 24, 2015, file photo, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, right, listens to his Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif prior to a meeting in Tehran, Iran. On Monday Feb. 25, 2019, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has resigned. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File) FILE- In this Oct. 7, 2018, file photo, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during an open session of parliament in Tehran, Iran. On Monday Feb. 25, 2019, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has resigned. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File) HIDALGO, Texas (AP) - Immigration officials say a 24-year-old woman delivered a stillborn baby while in custody last week. They say the Honduran woman was about six months pregnant when she went into premature labor and delivered a stillborn boy on Friday after having been hospitalized but cleared for release a day earlier. She had spent four days in immigration custody. In a joint statement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, two separate agencies that fall under the homeland security department, said the woman was arrested by the Border Patrol on Feb. 18 near Hidalgo, Texas. Authorities haven't identified the woman and said they're not releasing any more details. CBP and ICE said the woman was taken to a hospital and released on Feb. 21 after undergoing two screenings. The woman was then transferred to ICE custody and was in the process of being released from the Port Isabel Detention Center when she complained of stomach discomfort. An ambulance was called, but the woman delivered the baby before she could be sent to the hospital. FILE - In this June 26, 2018, file photo, vehicles leave the Port Isabel Detention Center, which holds detainees of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Fresnos, Texas. Immigration officials say a 24-year-old woman delivered a stillborn baby while in custody last week. They say the Honduran woman was about six months pregnant when she went into premature labor and delivered a stillborn boy on Friday, Feb.22, 2019 after having been hospitalized but cleared for release a day earlier. She had spent four days in immigration custody. In a joint statement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, two separate agencies that fall under the homeland security department, said the woman was arrested by the Border Patrol on Feb. 18 near Hidalgo, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, file) The government says a stillbirth isn't considered an in-custody death. But this follows at least three in-custody deaths since December. A 45-year-old Mexican man died while in Border Patrol custody last week, and two children died late last year while in custody. They include 8-year-old Felipe Alonzo Gomez, who died in custody at a New Mexico hospital on Christmas Eve, and the Dec. 8 death of 7-year-old Jakelin Caal in El Paso. The Border Patrol has struggled to keep up with a growing number of families with children who come to the border, many seeking asylum. Agents regularly see large groups of hundreds of people at a time, and some require medical care but are in remote areas without hospitals. Agents also have very limited medical training, and the agency has had to deploy special units to help with medical emergencies in areas like western New Mexico, where a growing number of Central American migrants are crossing the border. OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on a news crew robbed at gunpoint in California (all times local): 11:55 a.m. Police in Northern California say they have arrested two people in the armed robbery of a news crew and the shooting of their security guard. The Oakland Police Department said Monday the equipment belonging to CBS affiliate KPIX was recovered. Police say the guard was treated and released at a hospital for a gunshot wound. KPIX says a reporter and a photographer were gathering interviews Sunday at the Oakland Library when a car pulled up and two suspects got out and one of them pointed a gun at them and demanded their camera. The station says the suspect shot the guard who returned fire, wounding one of the suspects. Police say they arrested one of the robbers after he crashed the car during a police pursuit. The other suspect was detained after he walked into a hospital seeking treatment of several gunshot wounds. ___ 3:30 a.m. A news station says a security guard for a filming crew that was robbed while covering the Oakland teachers strike is stable in a hospital after being shot. CBS affiliate KPIX said authorities arrested a man suspected of shooting the guard in the confrontation that took place before 5 p.m. Sunday. KPIX says a reporter and a photographer were gathering interviews at the Oakland Library when a driver pulled a gun, demanding their camera. The crew surrendered the equipment and began walking away. The station says the suspect shot the guard, Matt Meredith, in the leg. An Alameda County sheriff's spokesman says a 21-year-old man with gunshot wounds walked into a hospital afteward. Oakland police arrested the man on suspicion of shooting the guard. A Muslim-American radio host is asking a federal court in Ohio to award him more than $1 million in damages for his claims that a neo-Nazi website operator falsely accused him of terrorism. Attorneys for SiriusXM Radio show host Dean Obeidallah said in a court filing Friday that they are seeking $250,000 in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages from The Daily Stormer founder Andrew Anglin and his company. Anglin hasn't formally responded to the suit. Obeidallah's lawyers are trying to secure a default judgment against Anglin and his company, Moonbase Holdings LLC. Obeidallah's lawsuit says Anglin falsely labeled him as the "mastermind" behind a deadly bombing at a concert in England. Obeidallah said Anglin libeled him, invaded his privacy and intentionally inflicted "emotional distress." Obeidallah, a comedian and Daily Beast columnist, said he received death threats after Anglin published an article about him in June 2017. The site embedded fabricated messages in the post to make them seem like they had been sent from Obeidallah's Twitter account, tricking readers into believing he took responsibility for the May 2017 terrorist attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, his lawsuit alleges. "The emotional harm and anguish that I suffered as a result of the (article) was especially damaging because it undermined the dedication that I have shown to improving the image of Muslims and Arab-Americans in American culture," Obeidallah said in court filing Friday. FILE - In this June 25, 2015, file photo, Muslim comedian Dean Obeidallah speaks at a news conference in New York. The radio host is asking a federal court in Ohio to award him more than $1 million in damages for his claims that a neo-Nazi website operator falsely accused him of terrorism. Attorneys for Obeidallah said in a court filing Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, that they are seeking $250,000 in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages from The Daily Stormer founder Andrew Anglin and his company. Anglin hasn't formally responded to the suit. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File) Fearing for his safety, Obeidallah said he changed his habits. "I became concerned when walking around in public, and found myself having suspicious and nervous thoughts when passing strangers," he said. "Instead of interacting normally, I wondered if other people might be looking at me and thinking of me as a terrorist." An earlier court filing by Obeidallah's attorneys said Anglin's father, Greg, testified that he helped his son collect and deposit between $100,000 and $150,000 in readers' mailed donations over a five-year period. Obeidallah's lawyers subsequently asked for the court's authorization to subpoena financial records from three banks that Greg Anglin used to funnel donated money to his son. Friday's court filing says one of Anglin's bank accounts received more than $198,000 in donations between February 2016 and October 2018. Obeidallah's lawyers cited an estimate that Anglin has received more than $378,000 in bitcoin. He also used a crowdfunding website to raise more than $152,000 in donations to help pay for his legal expenses. Anglin's site takes its name from Der Sturmer, a newspaper that published Nazi propaganda. The site includes sections called "Jewish Problem" and "Race War." Obeidallah is represented by attorneys from Muslim Advocates, a national legal and educational organization. They argued Anglin's "refusal to participate in this proceeding, while mocking its existence, justifies an award of significant punitive damages." Obeidallah's case is one of three federal lawsuits filed against Anglin by targets of his racist and anti-Semitic trolling campaigns. Montana real estate agent Tanya Gersh sued Anglin in April 2017, saying anonymous internet trolls bombarded her family with hateful and threatening messages after Anglin published their personal information. Another lawsuit said Anglin directed his site's readers to cyberbully a black college student, Taylor Dumpson, after she became the first black woman to serve as American University's student government president. Marc Randazza, an attorney defending Anglin against Gersh's lawsuit, said in an email Monday that he hasn't been retained to represent Anglin in Obeidallah's case and isn't following it. FULTON, Mo. (AP) - Two people have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors in the death of a developmentally disabled Missouri man whose body was found encased in concrete after he was reported missing from a supported living home. KMIZ reports Anthony R.K. Flores and Shaina Osborne pleaded guilty Monday to making a false report in the death of 61-year-old Carl DeBrodie. DeBrodie's body was discovered in a storage unit in April 2017. Investigators believe he went missing months before his disappearance from the Second Chance home in Fulton was reported. Flores was sentenced to eight months in jail. Osborne was sentenced to 30 days in jail that was suspended while she serves two years of probation. Flores' father, Anthony R. Flores, and Sherry Paulo, who operated the Second Chance home, are charged with involuntary manslaughter . ___ FILE - This June 5, 2018, file photo provided by the Callaway County Sheriff's Office in Fulton, Mo., shows Shaina Osbourne. Osborne and Anthony R.K. Flores have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors in the death of a developmentally disabled Missouri man whose body was found in concrete after he went missing from a supported living home. KMIZ reports Anthony R.K. Flores and Shaina Osborne each pleaded guilty Monday, Feb. 25, 2019 to making a false report in the death of 61-year-old Carl DeBrodie. (Callaway County Sheriff's Office via AP, File) Information from: KMIZ-TV, http://www.kmiz.com A questionable amount of racist, neo-Nazi and white supremacist publications have been found available for sale on Amazon. Interestingly, these materials are only available in certain areas of the business, while they are banned or regulated in others. For instance, a t-shirt having a racist inscription might be difficult to sell on the site, but a book containing even more racist thoughts and ideas could be sold easily on the site because unlike t-shirts, the sitepolicy does not require the company to ban books that hold questionable viewpoints. An excerpt from its guidelines on books, quoted on Quartz, reads, as a bookseller, we provide our customers with access to a variety of viewpoints, including books that some customers may find objectionable. The same guidelines make a provision for Amazon, to refuse to sell certain content, such as pornography or other inappropriate content. When asked what constitutes inappropriate content however, the company could not provide any details. Quartz list a number of questionable publications' that can easily be bought off Amazon. They include; The manifesto by the White Rabbit Three Percent Illinois Patriot Freedom Fighters Militia, a hate group responsible for bombing a mosque in Minnesota. Its just one of the episodes that prompted calls for Amazon to get rid of hateful publications. The manifesto is still on the site, where it sells for $6.75. The Turner Diaries, a 1978 novel by neo-Nazi leader William Luther Pierce that has inspired extremists from Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh to Idaho domestic terrorist group The Order, according to the FBI. The story portrays the violent overthrow of the US government, beginning with the bombing of FBI headquarters in Washington, DC. The Turner Diaries, which is banned in Germany, has been reviewed 353 times on Amazon, with an average rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars. A whole lot of other publications by white nationalist and neo-Nazi titles are still sold on Amazons website, long after they were exposed by activists. There is also a lot of racist material which is sold by both Amazon and third-party sellers, and most are created through Amazons self-publishing platform. Examples of such books include George Lincoln Rockwell, a Holocaust denier and the founder of the American Nazi Party. Rockwells 1966 tract, White Power, sells for $13.95 in paperback, $24.99 in hardcover, and $6.45 for the Kindle version. Amazon described this book as, The last and most powerful book written by the founder of the American Nazi Party, George Lincoln Rockwell. It is equally disturbing that these books have an audience who seem to enjoy them. According to the article, one verified purchaser of White Power gave the book a 5-star review, writing that the Jews employ psychological devices to bring about the complete destruction of a once honourable people, namely whites, and added, Anybody who has the European spirit flowing through their veins should read this bookShow the world that there is nothing wrong with loving the white race and embracing its inherent power. Interestingly, seventy-eight people found that review helpful, according to Amazons site. NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - After nearly 17 years, United States Navy warships will return to flying the Union Jack, replacing the First Navy Jack flown in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. A news release says Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson issued an order Thursday calling for the blue banner with 50 white stars to return June 4 to commemorate the World War II Battle of Midway. The Navy's current maritime flag, the First Navy Jack, features red and white stripes with a rattlesnake and the words "Don't Tread On Me." As the commissioned ship with the longest total period in active status, the USS Blue Ridge will become the only warship authorized to fly the First Navy Jack. Richardson says the return to the Union Jack accompanies a "new era of competition." FILE - In this March 15, 2015 file photo, Dwayne McCornick, a deck hand on the Natchez steamboat for 16 years, raises the Union Jack naval flag on the Mississippi River in New Orleans. After nearly 17 years, United States Navy warships will return to flying the Union Jack, replacing the First Navy Jack flown in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. News outlets report Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson issued an order Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, calling for the blue banner with 50 white stars to return June 4 to commemorate World War II's Battle of Midway. The Navy's current maritime flag, the First Navy Jack, featured red and white stripes with a rattlesnake and the words "Don't Tread On Me." (AP Photo/Samantha Kaplan, File) COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Authorities say a 17-year-old girl has been taken to the hospital with serious injuries after she was stabbed in a South Carolina high school. Richland County deputies say a 15-year-old girl stabbed the other student around noon Monday at A.C. Flora High School in Columbia. Deputies say the students had an ongoing argument, and no one else was injured. Deputies said in a news release that the 15-year-old is in custody and will face charges. Her name has not been released because of her age. Deputies called the injuries to the teen who was stabbed "serious," but did not give details or release her name. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Over 8,000 marijuana-related convictions were erased or reduced using a technological approach that prosecutors nationwide should adopt to address a growing backlog of criminal cases eligible for modification, San Francisco's district attorney announced Monday. San Francisco is the first California county to announce full compliance with the state's broad legalization of marijuana that also made an estimated 200,000 past pot convictions eligible for erasure or reduction. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon credited the nonprofit technology organization Code for America for solving the biggest hurdle to identifying eligible cases dating back decades. When voters passed Proposition 64 in 2016 to allow adult use of marijuana, they also eliminated several pot-related crimes. The proposition also applied retroactively, but provided no mechanism or guidance on how those eligible could erase their convictions or have felonies reduced to misdemeanors. A few hundred people hired attorneys, paid court fees and filed petitions to modify their records since November 2016, but the vast majority of convictions still remain untouched. Many district attorneys throughout the state said they lack the resources to sift through and review decades' worth of criminal cases to identify eligible convictions. In January 2018, Gascon announced his office would take on the time-consuming task of sifting through many thousands of criminal cases to identify eligible marijuana convictions. Until then, only 23 people who hired lawyers and paid court fees took advantage of the new law in San Francisco. FILE - In this Nov. 9, 2016 file photo, a marijuana joint is rolled in San Francisco. The San Francisco top prosecutor says his office used high-tech to erase or reduced 8,000 marijuana convictions dating back decades, the first California prosecutor's office to publicly announce full compliance with clearing criminal records required when voters approved the broad legalization of pot. District Attorney George Gascon made the announcement Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2019, saying the nonprofit Code for America organization used computer-based algorithms to identify eligible cases. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) In May, when Gascon announced a partnership with Code for America, his office managed to identify and dismiss a little more 1,000 eligible misdemeanor cases. Since then, an additional 8,132 cases have been identified. Gascon said a total of 9,300 cases dating back to 1975 will be dropped or reduced without cost, active participation and, in many cases, the knowledge of the defendants. "We don't have to do it," Gascon said Monday. "It was just a matter of dignity." Code for America is a San Francisco-based nonprofit group that seeks to use technology to make government more efficient. Director Jennifer Pahlka said coders developed a "light weight" and simple computer-based algorithm dubbed "Clear My Record" to quickly identify eligible cases. The program automatically fills out forms to be filed with the courts. Pahlka said Monday that Code for America was working with several other California district attorneys to identify eligible marijuana cases in their counties. In December, Michigan became the latest state to broadly legalize marijuana, eliminate pot crimes and allow past convictions to be erased or reduced. Meanwhile, prosecutors in Baltimore, Seattle, Chicago and multiple others across the country followed Gascon's lead and announced their intentions to clear eligible marijuana convictions in their jurisdictions. Gascon and Pahlka called on prosecutors across the country to adopt Code for America's technology. "I want to continue to evangelize, if you will, to get others around the country and the state to do the same things and push the envelope to continue to reduce the impacts of criminal convictions when we can," he said. FILE - In this April 20, 2018 file photo, a marijuana plant is seen on Hippie Hill in San Francisco. The San Francisco top prosecutor says his office used high-tech to erase or reduced 8,000 marijuana convictions dating back decades, the first California prosecutor's office to publicly announce full compliance with clearing criminal records required when voters approved the broad legalization of pot. District Attorney George Gascon made the announcement Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2019, saying the nonprofit Code for America organization used computer-based algorithms to identify eligible cases. (AP Photo/Josh Edelson, File) TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas lawmakers are considering a proposal that would require election officials to notify voters before their ballots are thrown out because of problems with signatures. The proposal comes after last year's GOP primary for governor between Kris Kobach and then-Gov. Jim Colyer was decided by only 343 votes . Hundreds of mail-in ballots weren't counted because voters didn't sign them. Currently, Kansas law allows election officials to throw out advance ballots from voters who forget to sign their envelopes. Voters have only until the end of Election Day to fix the problem. The proposed law would require election officials to try to notify voters whose advance ballots are missing signatures before the ballots are counted at county canvass meetings. The law would also apply to voters whose ballot signatures don't match signatures on file with county offices. The change would give voters an additional week or longer to provide a signature, until the canvass in each county, The Wichita Eagle reported . Voters would also no longer wonder whether their vote counted, because officials would have to try to contact them. "I just think it's going to be so helpful to make sure people know their votes are counted," said Sen. Oletha Faust Goudeau, D-Wichita. Several hundred ballots were rejected statewide during the last election because they lacked signatures, according to Bryan Caskey, state director of elections. The bill, which a committee passed to the Kansas Senate floor on Friday, is supported by election officials across the state, including the Kansas County Clerk and Election Officials Association. Katie Koupal, spokeswoman for the Kansas Secretary of State's office, said the office was remaining neutral on the bill, in deference to county election officials. Senate elections committee Chairwoman Elaine Bowers, a Concordia Republican, said election officials in different counties handled advance ballots differently and supported a single standard. She said the bill has proven to be non-controversial. "It's a fix-it bill," she said. The thin margin between Kobach and Colyer prompted some voting rights advocates to raise the issue of the limited amount of time Kansas voters now have to correct missing or mismatched signatures. Davis Hammet, president of the Kansas-based liberal advocacy group Loud Light, sued Johnson County election officials to force them to reveal the names of voters whose ballots had been rejected because of signature problems. Earlier this month, a judge ruled the county's refusal to provide the names violated the state's open records laws. "This should be one of the least controversial things they deal with this year," Hammet said about the legislation. "It's obviously a glaring gap in our election laws." . ___ Information from: The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, http://www.kansas.com RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - The Brazilian state of Minas Gerais on Monday banned the type of dam that collapsed a month ago and caused the death of at least 179 people. The bill was signed by Gov. Romeu Zema even as recovery teams kept looking for 131 people still missing from the Jan. 25 collapse in the city of Brumadinho. The legislation gives companies operating in the mineral-rich state 90 days to present plans to substitute the dams within three years. A similar bill was introduced in 2016 following the rupture of another upstream tailings dam that killed 19 people. That proposal, by state legislator Joao Vitor Xavier, didn't pass. Xavier said that this time the staggering death toll in Brumadinho woke lawmakers up to the dangers of mining dams. "The facts are indisputable: Over 300 people died because these kinds of dams are unsafe," Xavier told The Associated Press. "Those who chose to ignore this reality can't deny it anymore." The collapse of the dam, owned and operated by Vale SA, sent a torrent of mud to Brumadinho and beyond, burying a cafeteria where Vale employees were eating, an inn and several other structures. FILE - In this Jan. 28, 2019 file photo, firefighters prepare a body to be lifted away by a helicopter, after pulling the dead person from the mud days after a dam collapse in Brumadinho, Brazil. The Minas Gerais state government said in a statement Wednesday, Feb. 20, that blood and urine tests conducted on firefighters searching through muddy mine waste for missing people after a dam collapse show high levels of potentially toxic metals. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File) Last week, firefighters said they had discovered a buried warehouse where they expect to find more bodies. Hope of finding missing people alive has all but vanished, and even recovering all the bodies is beginning to look hopeless. "Due to the quantity of mining waste, the size of the area affected by the tragedy and the fact that the bodies are very spread out, it makes some recoveries impossible," said Pedro Aihara, a fire department spokesman. Sueli de Oliveira Costa, one of hundreds of family members desperate for closure, goes each day to the rescue center in hopes of finding that her husband's body has been recovered. "I feel really disrespected," Costa said. "What I really want is just to have him back, but since I can't have that, I think at the very least they need to give him to me, at least, what is left of him, so I can give him a dignified funeral. He deserves that." "He must have been one of the first to die, poor thing," she added, explaining that he worked as a caretaker on a ranch very near the dam's base. The disaster called attention to the dangers of mining dams, which hold back massive quantities of mud created from mining iron ore. There are 50 such dams in Minas Gerais, and many sit above populated areas. Since the Brumadinho disaster, 1,200 people who live in rural zones below iron ore dams have been evacuated. "Everyone's living in great fear now," said Carolina de Moura, a Brumadinho local and activist with the "People Affected by Vale," movement. "Lots of communities are mobilizing and mounting pressure to hold this company accountable." Authorities have made 13 arrests in connection with the disaster. Two contract consultants and three Vale employees were arrested days after the tragedy and have since been released. On Feb. 15, authorities arrested eight Vale employees, who remain in prison. The company said it would donate $27,000 to the families of those who died or are presumed dead, and as of Monday had completed 264 such payments. Vale also announced it would be giving a monthly payment of $268 per adult in the region affected for the next year, as well as $134 per teenager and $67 per child. In a full-page advertisement in Brazilian daily O Estado de S. Paulo, Vale called the payments "an unprecedented move" that showed its "respect for the affected families." But many have criticized Vale's handling of the situation. During a public hearing in the lower house of Congress, Vale's CEO said that the company was "a Brazilian jewel that can't be convicted for an accident at one of its dams, no matter how large the tragedy is." "If you've got the CEO going to Congress and calling the company a 'Brazilian jewel' after committing this crime, do you think they've learned their lesson? Of course not," said Carolina de Moura, the activist from Brumadinho. JOHANNESBURG (AP) - The United States military said Monday that its latest airstrike in Somalia killed 35 fighters with the al-Shabab extremist group not far from the Ethiopian border. The U.S. military command for the African continent said Sunday's airstrike targeted the al-Qaida-linked fighters as they were traveling in a rural area about 23 miles (37 kilometers) east of Beledweyne in central Hiran region. The U.S. has dramatically increased airstrikes against al-Shabab since President Donald Trump took office. Its military has carried out 22 such strikes this year, including four on Saturday that eliminated checkpoints used by al-Shabab to collect taxes to fund its violent campaign to establish an Islamic state in the long-chaotic Horn of Africa nation. The U.S. carried out nearly 50 strikes in Somalia in 2018. A small number of strikes have also targeted fighters pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group, who have been warring with al-Shabab in recent months. Authorities and experts acknowledge it will take more than airstrikes to defeat al-Shabab, which continues to hold large parts of rural central and southern Somalia and to carry out deadly attacks in the capital, Mogadishu. The group, which claimed the deadly attack on a luxury hotel complex in the capital of neighboring Kenya last month, was also behind the deadliest attack in Somalia's history, a massive truck bombing that killed well over 500 people in Mogadishu in October 2017. The U.S. military is one of several security actors in Somalia, along with a multinational African Union mission and troops from Kenya and Ethiopia. The United States says it acts in coordination with Somalia's government, whose military is expected to take over primary responsibility for the country's security over the next few years. The African Union mission has begun a step-by-step withdrawal of forces, but some in the U.S. military and elsewhere warned that Somali forces were not yet prepared. A United Nations panel of experts monitoring sanctions on Somalia has described the country's troops as largely poorly equipped and underpaid, conditions that cause some personnel to sell their weapons or uniforms for a little cash. ___ Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - The Latest on violent weather and flooding in the Southeast (all times local): 4:15 p.m. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will begin opening a historic flood control structure near New Orleans this week to divert water from a rain-swollen Mississippi River. Col. Michael Clancy, the Corps' district engineer in New Orleans, says heavy rains in the Mississippi Valley led to the decision to open the Bonnet Carre (BAHN'-eh CARE'-ee) Spillway, upriver from New Orleans. The spillway will be opened in anticipation of the river reaching a rate of 1.25 million cubic feet per second at New Orleans. The spillway diverts some of the flow from the river into Lake Pontchartrain, easing pressure on the levees that protect New Orleans. This will mark the 13th opening of the spillway since it was completed in 1931 - and the first time it's been opened in consecutive years. The eastbound lanes of Interstate 24 are blocked after a landslide occurred after several days of heavy rains Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, north of Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) ___ 2:10 p.m. Mississippi officials say flooding and tornadoes have damaged more than 500 buildings and 200 roads and bridges over the last week. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said Monday that preliminary reports show nearly 500 homes and more than 30 businesses have been damaged. The agency says numbers could change as flooding continues and reports are finalized. National Weather Service surveyors have confirmed at least five tornadoes in Mississippi on Saturday, including one that killed a woman in Columbus, injured 19 other people and damaged more than 150 homes and businesses. Damage has been reported in 36 of the state's 82 counties. Beyond Columbus, the heaviest damage so far has been reported in Calhoun, Clay, Lee and Tallahatchie counties. A handful of state and federal highways remained closed by flooding in Mississippi on Monday. ___ 1:40 p.m. Two Alabama towns are imposing curfews because of flooding caused by days of rain that drenched the Southeast. City officials are ordering people off the roads overnight in the city of Leesburg, where multiple roads are covered by water. The town of Cedar Bluff previously imposed a similar curfew. Both cities are located northeast of Birmingham in Cherokee County, where property around Weiss Lake has been inundated by floodwaters. Campers and mobile homes in the area are lying on their sides in muddy water. Mudslides, washouts and floods also have forced officials to close roads in the Tennessee Valley to the north. ___ 12:10 p.m. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee won't be visiting the damage caused throughout the state by recent storm activity over the weekend, but instead plans on remaining in close communication with emergency officials to monitor the situation. Lee's spokeswoman Laine Arnold said the governor planned to meet with cabinet members Monday to review ongoing issues connected to the heavy rainfall. Arnold says the flooding wasn't as extensive or widespread as initially feared and added that the governor's office feels the more prudent decision would be to let local resources focus on repairs without distractions. However, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and the governor's office will continue to keep an eye out as rivers and other bodies of water still have the potential to flood over the next few days. Days of storms dumped more than a foot of rain on the Southeast. ___ 9:50 a.m. Authorities are searching for two people believed missing on waterways swollen by days of heavy rain in Alabama. Crews are looking along the Cahaba River near Birmingham for a woman who disappeared Sunday. A spokesman with Cahaba Valley Fire and Rescue says her vehicle was found near the river, but crews don't know where she is. In northeast Alabama, authorities say a teenage boy is still missing days after the vehicle he was riding in was swept off a bridge by floodwaters from a creek at Bucks Pocket State Park. Marshall County emergency management officials say two other teens who were riding in a Jeep were found clinging to a tree after the vehicle foundered in water Friday. Police have used a helicopter and drone to search for the missing youth. ___ 7:25 a.m. Residents are using boats to reach flooded-out neighborhoods and schools are shut down after days of torrential rains in north Alabama. The sun was out Monday in most of the Tennessee Valley, but dozens of roads are closed because of flooding. Brick homes stand amid muddy Tennessee River waters in Muscle Shoals. The National Weather Service says many areas got around 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain last week, and some spots received more than 12 inches (30 centimeters). The city of Decatur says water levels already have exceeded 100-year levels and could rise another 2 feet (0.6 meters). Schools are closed in at least a half-dozen systems in the region. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has declared a state of emergency allowing the state to assist with disaster response. The eastbound lanes of Interstate 24 are blocked after a landslide occurred after several days of heavy rains Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, north of Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Church members watch as student pastor Craig Blaylock, left, baptizes Blake Brown, at the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. The church, in the background, was destroyed by a tornado Saturday afternoon, but church members opted to go ahead with the baptisms as planned. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Pastor Steve Blaylock looks over the broken lumber, loose paneling, insulation, and destroyed pews in the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019 after a Saturday tornado. While no-one was injured during the storm, at least one person was killed in town among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Church members watch as student pastor Craig Blaylock, left, baptizes a church member at the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. The church, in the background, was destroyed by a tornado Saturday afternoon, but church members opted to go ahead with the baptisms as planned. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) The eastbound lanes of Interstate 24 are blocked after a landslide occurred after several days of heavy rains Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, north of Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) The eastbound lanes of Interstate 24 are blocked after a landslide occurred after several days of heavy rains Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, north of Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) The eastbound lanes of Interstate 24 are blocked after a landslide occurred after several days of heavy rains Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, north of Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Downed telephone poles on 15th Street in Columbus, Miss., Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, following Saturday's tornado. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Pastor Steve Blaylock looks over the broken lumber, loose paneling, insulation, and destroyed pews in the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019 after a Saturday tornado. While no-one was injured during the storm, at least one person was killed in town among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Charles Lowery of Columbus, Miss., rescues carved stands from the remains of his home, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, following Saturday's tornado. Lowery lamented not staying at home and protecting his property as his home was looted that evening. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) A backhoe is used to removes fallen tree limbs in this Columbus, Miss., neighborhood, Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. At least one person was killed among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes that dotted the South as severe storms followed a weekend of drenching rains and a rising flood threat. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Tornado strewn debris and fallen trees in this Columbus, Miss., neighborhood, Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. At least one person was killed among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes that dotted the South as severe storms followed a weekend of drenching rains and a rising flood threat. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Church members lift beams as they try to determine the status of a Hammond organ that was trapped by tornado debris in the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. At least one person was killed in town by Saturday's storm that shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Broken lumber, loose paneling, insulation, and destroyed pews are all that remains of the First Pentecostal Church Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019 after a tornado Saturday in Columbus, Miss. At least one person was killed during Saturday's storm that shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Tornado strewn debris and fallen trees take their toll in this Columbus, Miss., neighborhood, Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. At least one person was killed among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes that dotted the South as severe storms followed a weekend of drenching rains and a rising flood threat. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) A child plays around the podium that was virtually undamaged or moved in the tornado that destroyed First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. While no-one was injured during Saturday's storm, at least one person was killed in town among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) A church member tosses to the side a large stone that was part of the exterior of the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. While no-one was injured during Saturday's storm, where at least one person was killed in town among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Pastor Steve Blaylock looks over the broken lumber, loose paneling, insulation, and destroyed pews in the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019 after a Saturday tornado. While no-one was injured during the storm, at least one person was killed in town among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Tornado strewn debris, including this roofing, and fallen trees in this Columbus, Miss., neighborhood, Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019 after Saturday's tornado that killed at least one person and shattered businesses and several homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Jack Gordman flips over a boat trailer that was tossed several feef from his parent's home in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019, after Saturday's tornado that killed at least one person and shattered businesses and several homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Al Bordelon salvages a tool box from what remains of his mother-in-law's shed in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019, after Saturday's tornado that killed at least one person and shattered businesses and several homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) A car in the parking lot of Fast Dog Printing Co. on Conway Drive in Columbus, Miss., has it's rear window smashed after a tornado struck the area Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Jim Lytle) Thomas Aaron checks on his beagles in the foreground of the remains of his tool and work shed, in Columbus, Miss., Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. Aaron was at home Saturday when his neighborhood was hit by a tornado that knocked out his front windows, blew out his back door, knocked over a tree that destroyed his tool shed, but did not disturb his dogs. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) The eastbound lanes of Interstate 24 are blocked after a landslide occurred after several days of heavy rains Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, north of Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) BERLIN (AP) - Frenchman Yannick Glemarec has been picked to head a U.N.-backed body that helps developing countries fund efforts to tackle climate change. The Green Climate Fund said Monday that its board selected Glemarec at a meeting in South Korea, where it is based. The fund has received billions of dollars (euros) to help poor countries' reduce their emissions and prepare for the impact of climate change. But the fund's work has been fraught with difficulty and its previous director, Australian Howard Bamsey, resigned in July. Glemarec, who has a background in environmental science, was previously U.N. assistant secretary-general and held a senior position at the agency U.N. Women from 2015 to 2018. WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump's scheduled meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (all times local): 6:45 p.m. President Donald Trump will begin his second summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un with a private dinner Wednesday. The White House said Monday that the leaders' two-day meeting in Hanoi will begin with an official greeting and a meal. Trump will be joined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Kim will also have two aides present and both men will have translators. Trump and Kim will then hold a series of official meetings Thursday. President Donald Trump speaks during the 2019 White House Business Session with Our Nation's Governors in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Trump is set to land in Vietnam late Tuesday and will have meetings with the host country's president and prime minister Wednesday before seeing Kim. Trump and Kim first met last June in Singapore, a summit that yielded powerful images but few concrete steps for North Korea's denuclearization. __ 12:50 p.m. President Donald Trump is on his way to Vietnam for his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (kim jawng oon). Trump and Kim will discuss one of Asia's biggest security challenges: North Korea's pursuit of a nuclear program that stands on the verge of threatening any target on the planet. Before leaving Washington on Monday, Trump told the nation's governors that "I think we'll have a very tremendous summit." Trump says the U.S. wants denuclearization. He appears to be holding out economic progress for North Korea as a potential reward. He says of North Korea, "I think he'll have a country that will set a lot of records for speed in terms of an economy." Trump was the driving force behind this week's Vietnam summit. It's his second meeting with Kim after the first yielded few concrete results. ___ 1:50 a.m. President Donald Trump will head into his second meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un lowering expectations for Pyongyang's denuclearization while eager to declare a flashy victory to offset the political turmoil he faces at home. Trump was the driving force behind this week's Vietnam summit, aiming to re-create the global spectacle of his first meeting with Kim, although that initial summit yielded limited results and the months that followed left many questions about what will be achieved in the sequel. Trump once warned that North Korea's arsenal posed such a threat to humanity that he may have no choice but to rain "fire and fury" on the rogue nation, yet last week he declared that he was in "no rush" for Pyongyang to prove it was abandoning its weapons. ___ Follow all of AP's summit coverage at https://apnews.com/Trump-KimSummit MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico has accepted 112 Central American migrants from the United States, and they include 25 minors in a policy reversal, the head of Mexico's immigration agency said Monday. Late last month, the U.S. launched the so-called "remain in Mexico" program negotiated with Mexico to make some asylum applicants wait in Mexico during the months and even years that it can take to resolve such cases. National Immigration Institute Commissioner Tonatiuh Guillen had said last month that Mexico wouldn't accept migrants younger than 18 while they await the resolution of their U.S. asylum claims. But Guillen said Monday that Mexico is accepting children who are accompanied by their parents, saying the numbers remain small. Guillen said the 112 migrants sent back through Feb. 21 included 17 families from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. The migrants return to Mexico through the El Chaparral crossing in Tijuana. So far, there has been capacity to handle the returnees in Tijuana's shelters, but Guillen said that "there's a limit." The U.S. has expressed interest in expanding the program to other ports of entry along the border, but so far it remains limited to Tijuana. Guillen believes the program's expansion would draw more legal challenges in the U.S. alleging that it violates the due process of the asylum seekers or puts them in danger. "The paradox is that by the same amount that the returns grow, so does the possibility that this program, which is the United States', is unsuccessful - (that) the lawsuits that are already in their courts increase," he said. Guillen said Mexico is also taking steps to restrict the passage of large caravans of Central American migrants that drew U.S. attention last year. Central American migrants will now have to apply for Mexican humanitarian visas in their countries' capitals rather than applying once they arrive in Mexico, he said. Since late last year, Mexico has issued more than 15,000 "visitor cards for humanitarian reasons." Giving them to a migrant who has already entered Mexico would be a rare exception now, Guillen said. Those arriving at Mexico's southern border now are more likely to be eligible for "regional visitor" permits or "border worker" permits that would require the migrants to stay in southern Mexico. "Yes, we are trying to take more control," Guillen said. "It's not convenient for anyone to have these kinds of movements ... We're going to try to review closely the situation of each person. There are those who need humanitarian support, but there is also another group that has been very aggressive and doesn't have the expected profile of those who are asking for help." The U.S. is warning pilots to use caution when flying to or over Venezuela because of civil unrest there. The Federal Aviation Administration said there is no evidence to suggest that Venezuela's military would target civilian planes, but it said mistakes are possible. And warned that some of the military's shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles could fall into the hands of groups "who may have different intent and a lower level of training." The FAA issued a notice Friday warning pilots to use caution when flying lower than 26,000 feet over the country. Several airlines halted flights to Venezuela as chaos and political strife grew, but a few still fly there. "We continue to serve two airports in Venezuela, and our team is closely monitoring the situation in coordination with the FAA," American Airlines spokesman Ross Feinstein said Monday. American flies daily from Miami to Caracas and Maracaibo. Demonstrators push a bus that was torched during clashes with the Bolivarian National Guard in Urena, Venezuela, near the border with Colombia, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. Venezuela's National Guard fired tear gas on residents clearing a barricaded border bridge between Venezuela and Colombia on Saturday, heightening tensions over blocked humanitarian aid that opposition leader Juan Guaido has vowed to bring into the country over objections from President Nicolas Maduro.(AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) The FAA's notice stopped short of banning U.S. airlines from flying to Venezuela. The FAA generally bans flights over North Korea and six other nations. In a similar warning about North Korean missile tests, the FAA advises pilots and airlines to be cautious about flying over Japan and a large swath of the Pacific Ocean that is heavily used by flights between the U.S. and Asia - but does not ban such flights. The FAA warning raises comparisons to the situation in Ukraine in 2014, when a Malaysia Airlines jet flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down by a missile while flying over eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian rebels were fighting the Ukrainian military. All 298 people on the plane died. The Netherlands and Australia blame Russia for arming the rebels suspected of firing the missile. The Dutch safety board said this month that airlines still need better information to make judgments about the risk of flying over war zones. National Guard officers walk towards a border crossing in Urena, Venezuela, on the border with Colombia, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) The Latest on a windstorm affecting the Northeast (all times local): 12:45 p.m. A wind gust of 144 mph (231 kph) has been recorded on the highest peak in the Northeast. The gust at New Hampshire's Mount Washington was clocked during a windstorm that is raking the country from Michigan to New England down to Virginia. Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses are without power. Wind-driven ice is piling up along the eastern end of Lake Erie and has led officials to urge evacuations in a New York community. A tree toppled by wind fell upon a home in Springfield, Pa., Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Thousands of utility customers remain without power in Pennsylvania as high winds continue to roar through the state, knocking down trees and power lines. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) The 6,288-foot (1,916-meter) Mount Washington is notorious for extreme weather. It long held the world record for fastest wind speed ever recorded at 231 mph (371 kph). ___ 10 a.m. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost power in parts of the country's eastern half as high winds persist into their second day. Toppled trees and fallen branches took out power lines across the region Sunday and Monday as winds gusted to 60 mph or higher. The wind pushed chunks of Lake Erie ice onto land in New York and Ontario. Some coastal residents were urged to evacuate. Wind gusts of 74 mph - hurricane strength - were reported in Tucker County, West Virginia, and Niagara Falls, New York. In Sandusky, Ohio, a motorist captured video of a tractor-trailer flipping over on a bridge. Wind advisories and warnings are in effect through Monday in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A Minnesota judge says there will be no audio or video recording allowed during the trial of a former Minneapolis officer who shot and killed an Australian woman. Mohamed Noor is charged with murder in the July 2017 death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, who was shot after she called police to report a possible sexual assault behind her home. Several media outlets, including The Associated Press, asked for permission to record the proceedings. Minnesota does not allow recording of court proceedings unless both parties consent. In this case, prosecutors and defense attorneys objected to visual and audio coverage. Noor is scheduled to appear in court Friday for a hearing on a range of issues in the case. His trial starts April 1 with jury selection. WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump Organization fired back at investigations into its business Monday, demanding a House panel end its probe because of ethical conflicts. Separately, President Donald Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., accused federal prosecutors in a "Fox & Friends" interview of resorting to "Stalinist" tactics as they investigate the president's inaugural committee and company. The Trump Organization said in a letter to the House Judiciary Committee that a lawyer assisting its investigation, Barry Berke, has tainted the panel's work because he is partner at a law firm that has represented the family company for more than a quarter of a century. In his letter to the House panel, Trump Organization lawyer Alan Futerfas said hiring Berke, a partner at Kramer Levin in New York, violates "basic ethical precepts that govern the legal profession" and his help "irreparably taints the Committee's work." The letter to House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York demands the panel cease its investigation and hand over all his emails, text messages and other communication with the committee. Kramer Levin said in an emailed statement that Berke's assistance to the committee violates no ethical rules and that the firm has worked with the Trump Organization on mostly minor tasks, such preparing amendments to offering plans for condominium sales. It said the letter "grossly misstated the facts of our prior representations." A spokesperson for the House Judiciary Committee majority said Berke was working for it only in his personal capacity, and the assertions in the Trump letter were "without merit." In his interview on Fox News, Donald Trump Jr. said the investigation is "as political as it gets." He said the "dream" of federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York is to "try to find something to get Trump," adding, "It's that old Stalinist tactic, you know?" The U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan declined to comment. Joseph Stalin led the former Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until 1953. Trump Jr. - who, with his brother, Eric, is helping run the family business while their father is president - also said he's not worried about the investigations "because we know there's nothing there." Prosecutors are investigating, among other potential crimes, whether foreigners illegally contributed to inaugural events in 2017. SEATTLE (AP) - Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Monday he will sue to challenge President Donald Trump's policy setting up new obstacles for women seeking abortions, calling it "a transparent attack on Planned Parenthood" that would severely impair access to many types of medical care, especially for low-income women in rural areas. It's the first of several legal challenges expected to be announced by Democratic-led states. A national organization representing publicly funded family planning providers said Monday it would file a separate lawsuit over the policy. The new rules announced Friday by the Department of Health and Human Services would bar taxpayer-funded family planning clinics from making abortion referrals. They would also prohibit clinics that receive federal money from sharing office space with abortion providers - a rule that Ferguson said would force many to find new locations, undergo expensive remodels or shut down. Clinics that receive money under Title X, the 1970 law designed to improve access to reproductive health care for communities around the nation, provide a wide array of services, including birth control and screening for diabetes, sexually transmitted diseases and cancer. Beyond interfering in a patient's relationship with her doctor, Ferguson said, the rules could leave vast areas without such care for low-income residents. "Rural communities currently have a shortage of health care providers," Ferguson told reporters. "This rule will make the shortage even more acute." Abortion is a legal medical procedure, but federal laws prohibit the use of taxpayer funds to pay for abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the woman. Religious conservatives and abortion opponents have long complained that Title X has been used to indirectly subsidize abortion providers. Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks at a news conference announcing a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's Title X "gag rule" Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, in Seattle. The rule issued last Friday would impact federal funding for reproductive health care and family planning services. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) Chris Plante, policy director of the Christian group Family Policy Institute of Washington, called the legal challenge "wrongheaded" and said the new policy "simply returns the Title X regulations back to their original legislative intent: 'None of the funds appropriated under this title shall be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.'" "A doctor can still talk about abortion," Plante said. "The doctor simply can't say, 'There's an abortion provider three streets down, turn left.'" While the new rule would permit clinic staff to discuss abortion with clients, it would no longer be required that they do so. If patients ask for an abortion referral, staff would be required to give a list of primary care providers with no indication as to which provide abortions. The list would have to include providers who do not offer abortions, and it could not include clinics or organizations that aren't primary care providers, such as Planned Parenthood, Ferguson said. Ferguson, who has filed nearly three dozen lawsuits against the Trump administration, including over the travel ban, said he would file the challenge in federal court in Spokane, in eastern Washington, after the policy is made official with its publication in the federal register. He intends to seek a court order blocking it from taking effect. Eastern Washington has 20 counties, 11 of which would be left without Title X providers, he said. Across Washington state in 2017, 14,000 patients received federally funded services at 85 of the clinics, many of them operated by Planned Parenthood. Ferguson said Trump's policy violates the Affordable Care Act, which protects providers and patients from government interference in the health care relationship, and a federal law that requires doctors to provide information about abortion and prenatal care to patients in an unbiased manner. It also violates the Administrative Procedures Act by contradicting Title X regulations without sufficient justification, and it violates doctors' right to free speech and women's right to an abortion under Roe v. Wade, he alleged. The National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association said it would sue separately. Erin Berry, Washington state medical director of Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands, was one of many advocates who joined Ferguson at his news conference. "I cannot imagine withholding information from my patients. It's unethical," she said. "Politicians have no business telling me what I can talk to my patients about." Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks at a news conference announcing a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's Title X "gag rule" Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, in Seattle. The rule issued last Friday would impact federal funding for reproductive health care and family planning services. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks at a news conference announcing a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's Title X "gag rule" Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, in Seattle. The rule issued last Friday would impact federal funding for reproductive health care and family planning services. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) Dr. Erin Berry, Washington State Medical Director for Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands, holds a folder as she listens at a news conference announcing a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's Title X "gag rule" Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, in Seattle. The rule issued last Friday would impact federal funding for reproductive health care and family planning services. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - With rivers still rising after days of storms that dumped more than a foot of rain on the Southeast and damaged hundreds of buildings, authorities searched Monday for two missing people along Alabama waterways as a Mississippi community cleaned up from a killer tornado. Crews looked along the Cahaba River near Birmingham for a woman who disappeared Sunday. A spokesman with Cahaba Valley Fire and Rescue said her vehicle was found near the waterway. In northeast Alabama, emergency workers used a helicopter and drones to look for a teenage boy still missing days after the vehicle he was riding in was swept off a bridge by floodwaters from a creek at Bucks Pocket State Park, authorities said. Two other teens escaped the vehicle. Residents used boats to reach flooded-out neighborhoods and schools were shut down even though the sun was out in most of the Tennessee Valley. Two towns in northeast Alabama imposed curfews because of flooding around Weiss Lake. Mudslides, washouts and floods also have forced officials to close roads in the Tennessee Valley to the north. The weather service reported flooding at nearly 80 locations mostly in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee. Tornado strewn debris and fallen trees in this Columbus, Miss., neighborhood, Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. At least one person was killed among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes that dotted the South as severe storms followed a weekend of drenching rains and a rising flood threat. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Dozens of roads were closed because of flooding, and conditions will worsen to the south as water drains toward the Gulf of Mexico. Flooding and tornadoes have damaged more than 500 buildings and 200 roads and bridges over the last week, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, with damage in nearly half of the state's 82 counties. A woman was killed when a tornado hit Columbus, Mississippi, and a man died when he drove into floodwaters in Tennessee, officials said. Columbus Mayor Robert Smith Sr. said Ashley Glynell Pounds, 41, of Tupelo and her husband were renovating a house Saturday evening, and when the husband went to get them something to eat, the building collapsed in the storm, killing her. Smith said 12 other people were injured, but the injuries did not appear to be major. City spokesman Joe Dillon said the tornado also seriously damaged a school and two community center buildings. "There was pretty extensive damage," Dillon said Sunday, a day after the Columbus twister struck. "But the streets today have been filled with workers and volunteers, all working hard to clean up the mess." In Knox County, Tennessee, officials said a man died after his vehicle became submerged in high water. But flooding in the state wasn't as bad as initially feared, and Gov. Bill Lee was monitoring the situation rather than planning a visit, spokesman Laine Arnold said. The National Weather Service said many areas got around 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain last week, and some spots received more than 12 inches (30 centimeters). In Alabama, the riverside city of Decatur said water levels already have exceeded 100-year levels and could rise another 2 feet (0.6 meters). Schools are closed in at least a half-dozen systems in the region. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency allowing the state to assist with disaster response. Elsewhere around the South, homes, highways, parks and bridges were flooded or put out of commission amid the heavy rains and severe storms. News outlets report that water rescues were performed over the weekend in some Middle Tennessee counties. Interstate 40 near the Tennessee line with North Carolina was closed by a rockslide, one of the dozens of roads and highways shut down throughout the region, transportation officials said. Church members lift beams as they try to determine the status of a Hammond organ that was trapped by tornado debris in the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. At least one person was killed in town by Saturday's storm that shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Pastor Steve Blaylock looks over the broken lumber, loose paneling, insulation, and destroyed pews in the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019 after a Saturday tornado. While no-one was injured during the storm, at least one person was killed in town among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Church members watch as student pastor Craig Blaylock, left, baptizes Blake Brown, at the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. The church, in the background, was destroyed by a tornado Saturday afternoon, but church members opted to go ahead with the baptisms as planned. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Church members watch as student pastor Craig Blaylock, left, baptizes a church member at the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. The church, in the background, was destroyed by a tornado Saturday afternoon, but church members opted to go ahead with the baptisms as planned. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) The eastbound lanes of Interstate 24 are blocked after a landslide occurred after several days of heavy rains Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, north of Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) The eastbound lanes of Interstate 24 are blocked after a landslide occurred after several days of heavy rains Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, north of Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) The eastbound lanes of Interstate 24 are blocked after a landslide occurred after several days of heavy rains Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, north of Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Downed telephone poles on 15th Street in Columbus, Miss., Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, following Saturday's tornado. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Pastor Steve Blaylock looks over the broken lumber, loose paneling, insulation, and destroyed pews in the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019 after a Saturday tornado. While no-one was injured during the storm, at least one person was killed in town among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Charles Lowery of Columbus, Miss., rescues carved stands from the remains of his home, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, following Saturday's tornado. Lowery lamented not staying at home and protecting his property as his home was looted that evening. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) A backhoe is used to removes fallen tree limbs in this Columbus, Miss., neighborhood, Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. At least one person was killed among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes that dotted the South as severe storms followed a weekend of drenching rains and a rising flood threat. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Broken lumber, loose paneling, insulation, and destroyed pews are all that remains of the First Pentecostal Church Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019 after a tornado Saturday in Columbus, Miss. At least one person was killed during Saturday's storm that shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Tornado strewn debris and fallen trees take their toll in this Columbus, Miss., neighborhood, Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. At least one person was killed among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes that dotted the South as severe storms followed a weekend of drenching rains and a rising flood threat. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) A child plays around the podium that was virtually undamaged or moved in the tornado that destroyed First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. While no-one was injured during Saturday's storm, at least one person was killed in town among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) A church member tosses to the side a large stone that was part of the exterior of the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. While no-one was injured during Saturday's storm, where at least one person was killed in town among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Pastor Steve Blaylock looks over the broken lumber, loose paneling, insulation, and destroyed pews in the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019 after a Saturday tornado. While no-one was injured during the storm, at least one person was killed in town among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Jack Gordman flips over a boat trailer that was tossed several feef from his parent's home in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019, after Saturday's tornado that killed at least one person and shattered businesses and several homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Al Bordelon salvages a tool box from what remains of his mother-in-law's shed in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019, after Saturday's tornado that killed at least one person and shattered businesses and several homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) A car in the parking lot of Fast Dog Printing Co. on Conway Drive in Columbus, Miss., has it's rear window smashed after a tornado struck the area Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Jim Lytle) ANAHUAC, Texas (AP) - In a story Feb. 25 about a cargo plane crash in Texas, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the first two bodies were recovered Sunday. One was recovered on Saturday and the other was recovered Sunday. A corrected version of the story is below: Search continues for body at Texas plane crash site Authorities continue to scour the shallow waters of a southeast Texas bay for clues about what led to the sudden crash of a Boeing 767 cargo plane, and for the body of one of its three crew members By JAKE BLEIBERG and JOHN L. MONE Associated Press ANAHUAC, Texas (AP) - Authorities scoured the shallow waters of a southeast Texas bay Monday for clues about what led to the sudden crash of a Boeing 767 cargo plane carrying Amazon packages, and for the body of one of the three people aboard. A north wind has aided searchers by exposing more of the three-quarter-mile debris field left Saturday when Houston-bound Flight 3591, which Atlas was operating for Amazon, disintegrated on impact with Trinity Bay, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) east of the city, an area sheriff said Sunday night. But the National Transportation Safety Board said on Twitter that it would not be releasing more information on the search Monday. White chunks of fuselage could still be seen Monday sticking out of the bay's long grass as airboats skimmed the low water around the crash site. None of the three people on the jumbo jet survived the crash, according to authorities and the plane's owner, Atlas Air. Emergency workers recovered a body on Saturday and another on Sunday from the costal bay. They were sent to a medical examiner's office for autopsies. Sheriff's deputies and investigators from the FBI and NTSB are searching for the remaining body and the plane's black box, which records flight data and voices in the cockpit. Crews are searching the area with boats and helicopters, but the muddy landscape has made the process "painstaking," NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwal said Sunday. The only person aboard the flight from Miami to be officially identified was a pilot for another airline who had been riding in a passenger seat on the cargo plane. Mesa Airlines Capt. Sean Archuleta had been getting a lift back to his home in the Houston area, his friend told the Houston Chronicle. The 36-year-old was a new father and weeks away from starting his "dream" job flying for United Airlines, Don Dalton, Archuleta's roommate, told the paper. Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne confirmed Monday the identities of Archuleta and First Officer Conrad Aska, the 44-year-old co-pilot whose body was found Saturday. Archuleta's wife lives in Colombia and was "devastated" by the news of his death, Dalton said. Atlas Air said in a Sunday statement that it has established a program to support the families of the dead and that it has a team, including CEO Bill Flynn, at the crash site to assist investigators. Before Saturday, the most recent crash involving a large cargo plane in the United States was in 2016, according to a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman. The non-fatal incident began when the landing gear of a FedEx flight collapsed soon after it touched down on a runway at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The left wing of the McDonnell Douglas MD-10-10F caught fire and the plane was badly damaged in the crash, but the two crew members were able to evacuate, the spokesman said. ___ Associated Press writer Bleiberg reported from Dallas. TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Syrian President Bashar Assad has made an unannounced trip to Iran, where he met with the supreme leader and other top officials to discuss the planned U.S. troop withdrawal and Turkey's efforts to set up a buffer zone in northern Syria, state media reported Monday. Assad met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani on the rare trip abroad - his third since the civil war broke out in 2011. The other two trips were to Russia. Tehran has given the Syrian government billions of dollars in aid and sent Iran-backed fighters to battle alongside his forces - assistance that, along with Russian air power, has helped turn the tide in Assad's favor. Syrian and Iranian media released photos showing Assad warmly embracing Khamenei and shaking hands with Rouhani. The visit was not announced beforehand, and both countries made it public late Monday. Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said Khamenei told the visiting Assad that "the buffer zone that Americans are after in Syria is among dangerous plots that should be rejected," and that the U.S. plan to maintain a presence in Syria near the Iraqi border "is another sample of their designs." U.S. President Donald Trump announced in December that all American forces would leave Syria, but he recently backtracked in the face of intense criticism, saying about 200 soldiers would remain indefinitely to help keep the peace alongside Syrian partners and prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group. In this picture released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, right, welcomes Syrian President Bashar Assad in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Syrian state-run media say President Bashar Assad has visited Iran and met with officials there on a rare trip abroad. SANA said Assad met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani on the trip - the first time he has traveled anywhere other than Russia since the Syrian civil war erupted nearly eight years ago.(Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP) U.S. officials said Trump's decision authorizing a small number of U.S. troops to stay is a key step in creating a larger multinational observer force that would monitor a so-called safe zone along Syria's border with Turkey. The buffer zone is meant to prevent clashes between Turkey and U.S.-backed Kurdish forces. It is also aimed at preventing Assad's forces and Iran-backed fighters from seizing more territory. Syrian officials have blasted Turkey's plans for such a safe zone, saying both Turkish and U.S. troops are occupiers. Assad accused the U.S. and its regional allies like Saudi Arabia of creating rifts among various religious and ethnic groups in Syria, saying such efforts have backfired. "Today in Syria, Kurds and tribes have good relations with the government," he said, according to Fars. Syrian state TV said Assad "thanked the Islamic Republic's leadership and people for what they have given to Syria during the war." Assad's office said "both sides expressed their satisfaction with the strategic levels reached between the two countries in all fields." Khamenei said Iran is "proud" of the assistance it offers to Syria, Fars reported. Syria's conflict began almost exactly eight years ago, when Arab Spring-inspired protests broke out against the Assad family's decades-long rule. The protests prompted a harsh response from Syrian security forces, which led to the emergence of an insurgency. The resulting war has killed some 450,000 people and driven millions from their homes. The visit to Iran comes a day before a trip by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Russia for talks expected to focus on Iran's role in Syria. Israel has said it will not tolerate a permanent Iranian military presence in Syria, and it has carried out scores of airstrikes against Iran-linked targets there. ___ Aji reported from Damascus, Syria. In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, shakes hands with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, before their meeting in Tehran, Syria, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. SANA said Assad met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani on the trip, the first time he has traveled anywhere other than Russia since the Syrian civil war erupted nearly eight years ago. (SANA via AP) In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, shakes hands with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during their meeting in Tehran, Syria, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. SANA said Assad met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani on the trip, the first time he has traveled anywhere other than Russia since the Syrian civil war erupted nearly eight years ago. (SANA via AP) In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, speaks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during their meeting in Tehran, Syria, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. SANA said Assad met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani on the trip, the first time he has traveled anywhere other than Russia since the Syrian civil war erupted nearly eight years ago. (SANA via AP) BERLIN (AP) - The mayor of Hildburghausen in Germany has apologized for publishing a Nazi-era memorial ad as part of an official notice commemorating the town's bombardment by Allied forces during World War II. Mayor Holger Obst was widely criticized over the weekend for posting the ad, which described the Feb. 23, 1945 bombardment as a "terror attack" and listed a memorial event that included an address from Adolf Hitler. In a follow-up published Monday on the town's website, Obst said it had been a mistake to publish the historical notice without further comment, but insisted he hadn't intended to downplay the Nazi dictatorship. Far-right groups frequently try to portray Germans as victims in the war by highlighting instances involving large numbers of civilian casualties, such as the Feb. 1945 bombing of Dresden. UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. assistant secretary-general for Africa says Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's declaration of a countrywide state of emergency and replacement of all governors will affect peace efforts in Darfur - but it's too soon to assess the impact, the U.N. assistant secretary-general for Africa said Monday. Bintou Keita told the Security Council that "some rebel groups have demonstrated a stiffening of their position" since al-Bashir's announcement Friday of the yearlong emergency, amid protests calling for his resignation. "The Darfur peace process had come to a standstill - once again - in the context of the ongoing demonstrations against the economic and political conditions in Sudan," she said. Last July, the Security Council voted to dramatically cut the United Nations-African Union military force in the vast western Darfur region in response to reduced fighting and improved security conditions, with a target of ending the mission on June 30, 2020. The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when ethnic Africans rebelled, accusing the Arab-dominated Sudanese government of discrimination. The government in Khartoum was accused of retaliating by arming local nomadic Arab tribes and unleashing them on civilian populations - a charge it denies. The conflict has forced close to 2 million people to flee their homes and killed thousands. Facing genocide charges at the International Criminal Court stemming from the Darfur conflict, al-Bashir's rule has been marred by civil wars and increasing street demonstrations. The latest wave of protests began in December over price hikes. A heavy security crackdown has left scores of protesters dead. U.S. deputy ambassador Jonathan Cohen urged the government "to end the use of violent measures to address these protests and hold all responsible for human rights abuses and violations accountable." The Trump administration calls for "an inclusive political process toward elections" with guarantees of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, as well as the immediate release of all journalists, opposition leaders, human rights activists and other protesters "who've been arbitrarily detained," he said. The Russian and Sudanese ambassadors objected to Cohen and several other ambassadors raising the state of emergency at a council meeting on the situation in Darfur. In recent years, as the result of a successful government military campaign, the rebellion in Darfur has been reduced to rebel Sudan Liberation Army forces loyal to founder Abdul Wahid Elnur in western and southern Jebel Marra who have refused to join the peace process. Keita said intermittent clashes between government forces and those loyal to Elnur continue, in addition to infighting between two sub-factions of the SLA founder's fighters. "Reportedly, these factions disagree over their prospects of participation in the peace process, while some of their clashes also seem to indicate competition over scarce resources," she said. During a recent visit to Sudan and Darfur with other senior U.N. officials, Keita said all internally displaced people they spoke to expressed "deep concern" over the departure of the joint U.N.-AU force known as UNAMID "in the absence of trusted and professional law enforcement agencies." She said "fear of sexual violence" is also hampering the return of civilians. "It is our collective responsibility to ensure that the exit of UNAMID does not create a vacuum that leads to persistent local-level tensions or new risk factions," Keita told the council. "The engagement of the government of Sudan will be ever more critical in this context." She called for additional funding, strengthened local efforts to improve the rule of law and resolve inter-communal tensions and stepped up efforts to ensure human rights and to protect women, children and "vulnerable youth from violence." 10:30 pm 02/24/2019 As my husband and I got off the car and I limped into the emergency room, my head and weight leaning against his shoulder, a wheel chair was immediately pushed over to invite me on. The painful expression and intermittent groans earned me an immediate attention after the insurance checkup. Soon I was in a room, stripped off the waist-upper, covered with a hospital blouse and a warm sheet before being put on tubes, medication and IV. Nurses and caregivers hushed in and out. Then a nurse stood in front of a computer and started her routine questions. In a weak voice, I answered and told the nurse the story of what I thought that brought me to ER. An hour earlier, as we were having dinner with two other families at my house, a pang of sharp pains suddenly wrenched me. I tried hard to conceal them, but the pain only grew stronger by minutes. Apologetically I had to ask them to leave and go upstairs. Then came the outbreak of acute stabbing pains, throw-ups, and I knew I could not stay the rest of night at home like that. The midnight hospital was empty and quiet, with occasional muffled babies crying from a closed room in a distance. A young doctor named Brian came to see me. He listened to my story again, asked a couple of questions and then prescribed an ultra-sound. But the continued vomiting, and the unstoppable pain after the two attempted pain-killers put me on an oxygen. Apart from that, a CT scan was added on the exam list. As I wheeled to a CT room along the light-lit passage, a wind from the moving wheels breezed by. I tried to open my eyes to identify the area but then gave in to the refreshing breeze and to sounds from the grinding wheels over the smooth floor. Life was on the move, and my hope of finding the cause of the pain was on the horizon. Soon I was diagnosed with a 6mm kidney stone dropped to a certain area that caused the sharp pain. The doctor jokingly said that I tricked him, as the story I told him diverted his attention to the ovary. To add to his humor, he uttered some broken Chinese that sounded funny and made no sense. By the way, how could he tell that I am a Chinese? When I got released, it was around 1:30 in the morning. The street was deserted and void of cars, and the two pharmacies that we stopped by for a strong pain-killer and the other prescribed medication were closed. Tired, weak and light-headed, I refused to try another one but go home instead. Luckily, I had the rest of five hours sleep sound and painless. ROME (AP) - A court in Italy's capital convicted a former Rome mayor of corruption and illegal financing Monday and sentenced him to six years in prison and a lifetime ban on holding public office. Prosecutors had alleged that far-right politician Gianni Alemanno received nearly 300,000 euros ($345,000) in illegal financing through a foundation he ran, thereby skirting political party financing laws. The court acquitted Alemanno, who was elected Rome's mayor in 2008 and lost a 2013 re-election bid, of mafia association. Alemanno was allowed to remain free pending the outcome of any appeals. Leaving the courthouse, he told reporters that the "verdict is wrong. We'll surely appeal," and adding, "I'm innocent." His was one of several cases based on allegations that local mobsters created a Mafia-like clique to win lucrative public contracts and other advantages in exchange for kickbacks to City Hall officials and administrators. As part of a sprawling investigation the Italian media dubbed "Mafia Capital," prosecutors alleged they unearthed a well-oiled system of corruption that involved politicians from right to left. FILE - In this May 21, 2013 file photo former Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno stands during a photo opportunity in Rome. Former Rome mayor has been convicted Monday Feb. 25, 2019 by a Rome court in a corruption and illegal financing case and sentenced to 6 years in prison. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File) During Alemanno's trial, prosecutors alleged that suspected mobsters paid money to the foundation he ran to grease the way for cronies to be appointed to top posts in municipal agencies, such as the one that oversaw trash collection, Italian newspapers reported. The public contracts mobsters allegedly were eager to infiltrate included those dealing with supplying food and other services for migrants who were rescued from smugglers' boats in the Mediterranean Sea. NEW YORK (AP) - President Donald Trump's company said on Monday that it donated nearly $200,000 to the U.S. Treasury to make good on its promise two years ago to hand over profits from foreign governments using its properties. The Trump Organization said a check for $191,538 sent to Treasury represents profits from embassy parties, hotel stays and other foreign government spending at its Washington hotel and other properties last year. The voluntary donation is up from $151,470 sent a year ago to cover the president's first calendar year in office. Trump announced the donation plan before his inauguration two years ago in response to criticism that in refusing to sell off his business, people would suspect his decisions in office would be influenced by spending at his properties and not necessarily reflect the public interest. Since then, Kuwait, the Philippines and other foreign governments have thrown parties at his Washington hotel, and Trump has been sued by good-government groups and others alleging he is violating the emoluments clauses of the Constitution by opening his door to such business. Those clauses ban presidents from accepting gifts or payments from foreign or domestic governments without permission from Congress. The president's adult sons running the business have bristled at the charge they are profiting off the presidency. "Unlike any other luxury hospitality company, we do not market to or solicit foreign government business," said Eric Trump, an executive vice president of the Trump Organization. "In fact, we go to great lengths to discourage foreign government patronage at our properties." The company did not respond to requests for detail on how it has discouraged foreign government spending. In addition to Treasury donations, Trump agreed not to strike any foreign deals for his business while in office, and to hire an outside counsel to vet any domestic deals for possible conflicts of interest. The Trump Organization has said that it has made "tremendous sacrifices" by putting brakes on its business expansion. Earlier this month, Eric Trump and his brother, Donald Jr., announced they were scrapping plans to roll out two new hotels chains in the U.S. due to intense media scrutiny and what it called a hostile political environment. Donald Trump Jr. on Monday told Fox News that Manhattan federal prosecutors investigating the president's inaugural committee and family business were engaging in "Stalinist" tactics, where if they "massage things enough," a crime can be found. The Treasury donations have been criticized by watchdog groups and Democrats as insufficient and shrouded in secrecy. They say the money doesn't cover all of Trump's properties, such as resorts, and its unclear how the company is calculating profits. Trump is facing two lawsuits charging that he is violating the Constitution's emoluments provisions. The president's lawyers argue that the framers of the Constitution's ban on foreign gifts and payments did not intend for it to include such ordinary business transactions as hotel stays. ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia's Republican House Speaker David Ralston is firing back at reports that he has used his elective position to delay court proceedings for clients he represents as a criminal defense lawyer. Ralston took to the House floor Monday and got emotional at times in a speech criticizing the media reports as well as political opponents and fellow Republicans who have called for his ouster. Ralston said he is assembling an advisory group to review the legislative-leave law he's been accused of abusing. He said they will look at practices in other states and recommend changes to the law if necessary. An investigation by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB-TV found Ralston asked judges to reschedule court cases at least 57 times in the past two years. Clients of Ralston's private law practice who have benefited from the delays include men charged with child molestation, assault and drunk driving. Some cases, according to the investigation, had been delayed for nearly a decade. Georgia law requires judges to reschedule hearings and trials that conflict with the legislative duties of attorneys who also serve in the state's part-time legislature. House Speaker David Ralston takes to the well during Morning Orders Monday, February 25, 2019 to address accusations that he has abused his authority. Several Republican lawmakers signed onto a resolution calling for Ralston to resign over his use of power to delay court proceedings for his clients as a criminal defense lawyer. (Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) A resolution introduced Friday by fellow Republican state Rep. David Clark of Buford encourages Ralston to resign, accusing him of an "unacceptable abuse of power" over his use of the provision. Ralston said that he rejects "in the strongest possible way any accusation or insinuation that I have abused or misused" the legislative-leave law. He called the investigation a "media hit piece" and said that of the four cases highlighted in the report, two were set to be finished by the end of June. Ralston said that not all the continuances had been requested by him, and that no judge or prosecutor had ever questioned any of his requests. But he also said he won't take more criminal cases until those highlighted in the investigation are finished. Ralston, who is from Blue Ridge in the north Georgia mountains, has been House speaker since 2010, a position that gives him tremendous influence over proposed changes to state law and how Georgia spends taxpayer money. House Speaker David Ralston leaves the well to a standing ovation after he spoke during Morning Orders to address accusations that he has abused his authority. Several Republican lawmakers signed onto a resolution calling for Ralston to resign over his use of power to delay court proceedings for his clients as a criminal defense lawyer. (Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) House Speaker David Ralston takes to the well during Morning Orders Monday, February 25, 2019 to address accusations that he has abused his authority. Several Republican lawmakers signed onto a resolution calling for Ralston to resign over his use of power to delay court proceedings for his clients as a criminal defense lawyer. (Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - The latest on Venezuela's political crisis (all times local): 10:35 p.m. The U.N. Security Council has scheduled an open meeting Tuesday on the latest events in Venezuela at the request of the United States. U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo is expected to brief the afternoon meeting. The Security Council is divided over Venezuela. The U.S. and many Western and Latin American nations back opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president, while Russia, China and other countries support President Nicolas Maduro and oppose any interference in Venezuela's internal affairs. The U.S. call for the meeting follows a widely publicized effort by Guaido to deliver humanitarian aid to the economically devastated nation that met strong resistance from security forces loyal to Maduro. A youth, right, who was injured in clashes with Venezuelan National Guardsmen, who are blocking the entry of U.S.-supplied humanitarian aid on the Simon Bolivar International Bridge, is carried by medics to a safe zone in La Parada, Colombia, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, on the border with Venezuela. The delivery of humanitarian aid to the economically devastated nation has faltered amid strong resistance from security forces who remain loyal to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) The Trump administration announced new sanctions on Maduro's allies Monday. ___ 4:45 p.m. Colombia's foreign minister says Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido and his family face "serious and credible" threats on their lives that if carried out would lead to a forceful international response against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Carlos Holmes Trujillo's accusation came at the conclusion of a Monday meeting of regional diplomats and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence to discuss Venezuela's crisis. He provided no details about the alleged plot against Guaido and his family, saying only that Maduro will be held responsible if any of them are harmed. The Lima Group of nations and Guaido issued an 18-point declaration Monday in which they reiterate their call on the Venezuelan military to recognize Guaido as their commander in chief. They also ask the International Criminal Court to consider Maduro's blocking of emergency food and medical supplies a crime against humanity and urge the United Nations to play a bigger role in resolving the crisis. ___ 2:15 p.m. Brazil's vice president says his nation will maintain its strategy of avoiding military intervention when it comes to neighboring Venezuela. Monday's tweet by Vice President Hamilton Mourao came as U.S. Vice President Mike Pence met with regional leaders about Venezuela and said that "all options are on the table." Mourao said Brazilian officials "believe in diplomatic and international economic pressure." Pence, Mourao and several other top leaders were in the Colombian capital of Bogota for a meeting of the so-called "Lima Group." The group is a 14-nation coalition of mostly conservative Latin American nations and Canada that has joined together to pressure President Nicolas Maduro to leave power. The meeting comes two days after a U.S.-backed effort to deliver humanitarian across the border from Colombia and Brazil ended in violence. ___ 12:30 p.m. Vice President Mike Pence says the United States is sending another $56 million to neighbors of Venezuela to help them cope with migrants fleeing that nation's deepening crisis. Pence said Monday that the United States has already provided more than $139 million in aid to help Venezuela. He spoke in Colombia's capital at a meeting of The Lima Group, a coalition of mostly Latin American nations formed to address Venezuela's turmoil. Pence also met with opposition congressional leader Juan Guaido, who has declared presidential powers, arguing that the re-election of socialist President Nicolas Maduro was invalid. Pence said the U.S. has sent five military transport planes with 400 tons of food and medicine to Colombia and Brazil. Deadly clashes erupted over the weekend when Maduro refused to allow the aid cross, calling it part of a U.S.-led coup. ___ 12:05 p.m. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is asking a coalition of mostly Latin American nations to freeze assets of Venezuela's state oil company following a weekend of violent clashes over blocked humanitarian aid. Pence met in Colombia's capital on Monday with regional leaders in the Lima Group after President Nicolas Maduro's security forces blocked U.S. aid from crossing Venezuela's borders. At least four protesters died while more than 300 were injured in nationwide clashes. Pence called on regional leaders to freeze PDVSA assets - a measure taken earlier by the U.S. He repeated President Trump's threat that "all options are on the table" to push out Maduro, whose re-election the United States and dozens of other countries consider invalid. Pence says the U.S. is also slapping financial sanctions on officials loyal to Maduro who blocked emergency aid and another in his inner circle. ___ 11:50 a.m. The United States is imposing new sanctions against allies of President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. The Treasury Department on Monday announced the measures against four governors: Omar Prieto of Zulia, Ramon Carrizales of Apure, Jorge Garcia Carneiro of Vargas and Rafael Lacava of Carabobo state. The move blocks them from financial or commercial transactions with U.S. citizens or entities. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said they had blocked humanitarian aid shipments backed by the United States and opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is recognized by some 50 nations as Venezuela's legitimate leader. ___ 11:45 a.m. Germany is calling for greater pressure against the Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro to bring about fresh elections. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Adebahr said Monday that Germany believes "the pressure on Maduro needs to be increased so as to move in the direction of free, fair and democratic presidential elections." Adebahr said Germany is consulting with fellow European countries, but would seek to have additional EU sanctions target those close to Maduro "and of course not worsen the dramatic hardship experienced by the citizens of Venezuela." Government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer condemned violence at points on the Venezuelan border where opposition figures have been trying to bring in aid shipments. Demmer said Germany was particularly concerned by "the apparent deployment of militias and groups of thugs to intimidate the population. ___ 10:30 am. The United States is planning new ways to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to give up power and to provide assistance to the people of the economically devastated South American nation. Vice President Mike Pence arrived in the Colombian capital on Monday and immediately met with Colombian President Ivan Duque. He'll also meet with members of a regional coalition and Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido to discuss the next steps aimed at ousting Maduro. Pence's appearance before the Lima Group comes two days after a U.S.-backed effort to deliver humanitarian across the border from Colombia ended in violence. Forces loyal to Maduro fired tear gas and buckshot on activists accompanying the supplies and setting the material on fire. Four people have been reported killed and at least 300 wounded. Venezuela's self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido visits with a Venezuelan migrant and her daughter, in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Guaido in his visit to the Colombian capital was afforded all the trappings of a head of state. He posed for selfies with well-wishers upon arriving for or an emergency summit of regional leaders and stood before a pile of aid boxes stamped with the U.S. flag as he and Vice President Pence greeted a group of Venezuelan migrants. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) Venezuela's self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido, Colombia's President Ivan Duque and Vice President Mike Pence, pose for a photo after a meeting of the Lima Group concerning Venezuela at the Foreign Ministry in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Pence's appearance before the Lima Group comes two days after a U.S.-backed effort to deliver humanitarian across the border from Colombia ended in violence. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) Colombian soldiers escort two Venezuelan National Guardsmen who deserted their post near the Simon Bolivar International Bridge, in La Parada, Colombia, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) OUTSIDE BAGHOUZ, Syria (AP) - Dozens of women, enrobed in black, huddled with their children in circles in the chilly desert Monday night after they were searched and screened in the dark following their evacuation from the last pocket held by the Islamic State group in Syria. It was the second organized mass evacuation since Friday, when hundreds left the same area in the village of Baghouz in eastern Syria. The evacuation of men, women and children comes amid a standoff between the militants and the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces besieging them in a small sliver of land along the Euphrates river. The evacuees arrived in over 40 trucks used for transporting sheep from Baghouz, where about 300 IS fighters are believed to be holed up with civilians in a dramatic final showdown. The presence of thousands of civilians in the small speck of land has surprised officials and slowed the campaign to declare the military defeat of the extremist group. Those arriving from the tiny IS enclave included Syrians, Iraqis, French, Polish, Tajiks, Egyptians and others. Exhausted and bewildered, the women and children looked spooked by the cameras as several journalists approached them in the nighttime darkness. The evacuees were lit only by the vehicles of the SDF parked nearby. Toddlers were in tears and mothers looked for diapers for their babies after their trip over a rugged road for a couple of hours to the desert screening area. A woman who was evacuated out of the last territory held by Islamic State militants holds her baby after being screened by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the desert outside Baghouz, Syria, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) Men were separated from the women and children. Soldiers said they were checking for any sharp objects, weapons or information about the militants remaining inside. A woman who identified herself as Um Ahmed, or mother of Ahmed in Arabic, said she had been with the IS fighters until the end because she didn't have the money to pay for smugglers. Pregnant and traveling with two children and a wounded husband, she looked tired and was perched over her few belongings, resting her head and arms on her legs. Once a truce was in place days ago, she managed to get out after having moved with the militants from town to town. "Every time we got to a place, there were airstrikes and we had to leave," she said, explaining she had been on the move from Iraq's Anbar province into Baghouz as IS militants retreated. Those who left Baghouz said IS leaders had ordered their evacuation. SDF officials predicted a military offensive will follow after the last civilian has left the IS pocket. A Syrian woman in her 20s said she was a widow and had been living in a house with other widows. She said their stipend distributed by IS had stopped in recent days as the siege tightened. "My husband is dead and there was no one to tell me any news. I was like all the other widows," she said without giving her name. Many of those interviewed have used aliases or declined to give their names for security reasons. The military campaign to uproot the militants from the eastern banks of the Euphrates began in September, pushing them down toward this last corner. The evacuees said food was running low and clean water and medicine were scarce. Despite its demise, many defended what remained of the group's territorial hold, which once spanned a third of Iraq and Syria. SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said the militants are desperate to cause damage and have tried to smuggle weapons and infiltrate fighters among men and women leaving Baghouz. "We found silencers, bombs, and a suicide belt. This signals that IS tries to benefit from the exit of civilians to smuggle its cells outside," Bali said. Bali said the number of people leaving the pocket has been "surprising." He expected more to exit in the coming days. A woman carries her baby at a screening center ran by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after being evacuated out of the last territory held by Islamic State militants, outside Baghouz, Syria, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) A girl evacuated out of the last territory held by Islamic State militants waits after being screened by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the desert outside Baghouz, Syria, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) Women and children evacuated out of the last territory held by Islamic State militants wait after being screened by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the desert outside Baghouz, Syria, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) Women and children evacuated out of the last territory held by Islamic State militants wait at a screening center ran by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the desert outside Baghouz, Syria, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A 24-year-old man is guilty of trying to detonate what he believed was an explosives-laden van outside an Oklahoma City bank, a federal jury ruled Monday. Jurors convicted Jerry Drake Varnell, of Sayre, of attempting to use an explosive device to damage a building and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. Prosecutors alleged that Varnell planned to detonate what he thought was a half-ton (450-kilogram) vehicle bomb on Aug. 12, 2017. The FBI learned of the plan and an undercover agent posing as someone who could help construct the device provided inert materials. Varnell had pleaded not guilty and his defense attorneys claimed he was entrapped. His parents testified that he is a paranoid schizophrenic who has been in several mental hospitals. Testimony in the case began on Feb. 12 and included an informant who made recordings of his conversations with Varnell and an undercover FBI agent who helped Varnell build what he thought was a bomb. Authorities said the explosives were not live and the public was never in danger. Federal investigators had been monitoring Varnell closely for months as the alleged bomb plot developed. They had received information that Varnell originally wanted to blow up the Federal Reserve Building in Washington, D.C., with a device similar to the one used in the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building that killed 168 people. FILE - This file photo provided by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections shows Jerry Varnell, of Sayre, Okla. Prosecutors have rested their case in the federal trial of Varnell, accused of trying to detonate what he believed was an explosives-laden van outside an Oklahoma City bank. Varnell has pleaded not guilty and his parents have said he is a paranoid schizophrenic who has been in several mental hospitals. Defense attorneys say he was entrapped. Varnell has been found mentally competent to stand trial. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP, File) During a 2017 meeting with undercover FBI agents, Varnell said he held "III% ideology" and wanted "to start the next revolution," a reference to the "Three Percenters" patriot movement - begun in 2008, galvanized by President Barack Obama's election - that has rallied against gun control efforts and pledges resistance to the federal government over the infringement of constitutional rights. Prosecutors said Varnell will remain in custody until his sentencing, which will be scheduled in about 90 days. He faces up to life in prison for attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and a maximum sentence of twenty years for attempting to use an explosive device. PARIS (AP) - The Paris prosecutor's office says an investigation failed to turn up evidence to support a woman's rape allegation against filmmaker Luc Besson and the case has been dropped. The woman filed a complaint in May 2018 accusing the 59-year-old director of drugging and raping her at Le Bristol Paris hotel. The prosecutor's office said Monday that investigators didn't find evidence of a rape. The law firm that represents Besson said the filmmaker was satisfied with the prosecutor's decision and noted he always denied the woman's allegation. Besson has produced nearly 100 films and written and directed many of them. His films include the "Taken" series, "Subway," ''The Fifth Element," ''The Big Blue," and "Leon." File - In this Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014 file photo, French director Luc Besson listens to reporters' question during a press conference for his new movie "Lucy" in Seoul, South Korea. A rape investigation targeting filmmaker Luc Besson was dropped because of a lack of evidence, the Paris prosecutor's office said on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File) NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The 2019 Essence Festival will feature headlining performances by Mary J. Blige and rappers NAS, Pharrell, Jermaine Dupri and Missy Elliott as Essence Magazine's "party with a purpose" turns 25 this year. Festival producers announced a partial lineup Monday, listing more than 80 artists for the event held during the July Fourth weekend in New Orleans, hosted by comedienne and talk show host Loni Love. Also on the lineup are Anthony Hamilton, H.E.R., Ledisi, MC Lyte, Morris Day, Musiq Soulchild, Sheila E., Teddy Riley, Teyana Taylor, Queen Naija, Timbaland, Luke James, Big Freedia and Grammy winning New Orleans native PJ Morton. Producers said there also will be a special mainstage moment honoring Frankie Beverly for his lifetime contribution to music and special performance highlights spotlighting Blige's "My Life" and NAS' "Illmatic" - seminal albums marking 25-year anniversaries in 2019. Others scheduled to participate are 702, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Brownstone, El Debarge, Elle Varner, Force MDs, Ginuwine, Jacquees, Mase, Normani, Rakim, Scarface, City Girls and more performers who will be announced later. "When the ESSENCE Festival was founded 25 years ago, it marked a pivotal moment of vision and reverence - a critical acknowledgement of and investment in the power of our culture," said Michelle Ebanks, chief executive officer of ESSENCE Communications, in a news release. She said it has set a standard that other festivals aspire to, and has become an annual homecoming for black artists from around the world. The festival is scheduled July 4-7, with the three-night concert series in the Superdome and free workshops and opportunities to interact with artists in the city's convention center. FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2019 file photo, cast member Mary J. Blige arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of "The Umbrella Company" at The ArcLight Hollywood. The 2019 Essence Festival will feature headlining performances by Blige and rappers NAS, Pharrell, Jermaine Dupri and Missy Elliott as Essence Magazine's "party with a purpose" turns 25 this year. Festival producers announced a partial lineup Monday, Feb. 25 with more than 80 artists for the event held during the July Fourth weekend in New Orleans. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File) Ticket packages are now on sale. Visit www.essence.com/festival for more details. GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - A leading rights group is calling on Gaza's Hamas rulers to cancel the trial of a Palestinian journalist who exposed government corruption. Amnesty International said Monday the prosecution of Hajar Harb was "an outrageous assault on media freedom." A 2016 report by Harb highlighted misconduct at the Hamas-run health ministry, where healthy people purportedly paid doctors to help them get around the Israeli and Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip by issuing referrals to hospitals abroad. A year later, a Hamas court sentenced Harb in absentia to six months in prison and a fine. She appealed the ruling and has a hearing Tuesday. Rights groups often charge that fair litigation is not guaranteed in Hamas's judiciary system. Hamas wrested control of Gaza from the internationally-recognized Palestinian Authority in 2007. BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) - Serbia took delivery of four Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets from Belarus on Monday, the defense ministry said, part of an arms purchase that could heighten tensions in the Balkans and increase Moscow's influence in the region. Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin attended the ceremony at an air force base in Belarus, saying that with the delivery "our air force has never been stronger in decades." Serbia has recently received six MiG-29 jets from Russia, which has also promised the delivery of 60 armored vehicles, air defense systems and battle and transport helicopters. Serbia, a Russian ally, was at war with neighbors Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s during the bloody breakup of the former Yugoslavia. Its military, especially the air force, was depleted in 1999 during a NATO air war that stopped a bloody crackdown against Kosovo Albanian separatists. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, which hasn't been recognized by Belgrade. Vulin said in a statement that with Monday's delivery of the four secondhand jets that need refurbishing, Serbia will have 14 operational MiG-29s. In this photo taken Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, a Serbian Army MiG-29 jet fighter performs during ceremony in Batajnica, military airport near Belgrade, Serbia. Serbia's defense ministry says it has taken delivery of four Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets from Belarus, part of an arms purchase that could heighten tensions in the Balkans and increase Moscow's influence in the region. Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin attended the ceremony at an air force base in Belarus on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic) "The sky over Serbia will be safe, free and independent," said Vulin, a staunchly pro-Russian politician. Serbia faces a mini arms race with NATO-member Croatia, which has recently failed to purchase 12 used F-16 fighter aircraft from Israel after a deal that went wrong after opposition from Washington. Serbia formally wants to join the European Union, but under political and propaganda pressure from Moscow, Belgrade has steadily slid toward the Kremlin and its goal of trying to keep the countries in the region out of NATO. In this photo taken on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, Serbian Army MiG-29 jet fighters perform over the military airport Batajnica, near Belgrade, Serbia. Serbia's defense ministry says it has taken delivery of four Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets from Belarus, part of an arms purchase that could heighten tensions on the Balkans and increase Moscow's influence in the region. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic) WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump smashed the blue wall in his first White House bid, chiseling a path to the presidency through Midwestern states that hadn't backed a Republican presidential contender in three decades. But as he gears up for his re-election bid, there are early signs that Democrats are regaining their strength in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, clinching governorships and making inroads in state legislatures. There is no surer way for Democrats to block Trump's re-election than to reclaim that trio of states, which may have supplanted Florida and Ohio as the nation's premier presidential battlegrounds. But Democrats who know the region best are warning against overconfidence and suggesting the leftward lurch from some candidates could alienate the region's working-class voters. "I would never underestimate Donald Trump," Wisconsin's newly-elected Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said when asked if Trump would win his state a second time in 2020. "I don't agree with almost anything he's done," Evers added. "But he's an extraordinary politician and extraordinary human being." Michigan's freshman Gov. Gretchen Whitmer encouraged Democrats to rally behind a "pragmatic" candidate focused on achievable policies, a subtle dig at the aggressive liberal agenda that has been embraced by some candidates. Above all, she suggested that the Democrats' blue wall would not be resurrected in 2020 without significant time and attention from the Democrats who want to take down Trump. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers speaks during an interview during the National Governors Association 2019 winter meeting in Washington, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) "At some point I may get involved in this primary and support a candidate," Whitmer said. "But right now, I think everyone, for their sake and the sake of the people my state, needs to come to Michigan." The contrasting visions over how to defeat Trump were on display this weekend. As Midwestern governors were in Washington talking about everyday governing challenges at the National Governor's Association, high-profile presidential contenders were promoting ambitious liberal priorities in early-voting primary states. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and California Sen. Kamala Harris stumped in New Hampshire and Iowa for universal health care, free college tuition and tax hikes on the rich. Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is considering launching a presidential campaign, played up his local roots as he told voters in Nevada that other Democrats weren't spending enough time talking to workers, including union members, about issues like wages, benefits and workplace safety. A handful of others - Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and even Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders - have promoted their working-class appeal as well as they fight to stand out in the crowded Democratic field. For now, Trump says he isn't worried. In conversations with friends and confidants, the president has expressed confidence he can maintain his grip on the blue wall in 2020. He has told people at his private club in Florida that he expects to win Pennsylvania and Michigan. He also cited former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's 1-point loss in November as a sign that he could still win the state, which hadn't backed a Republican presidential contender since 1984 before Trump's 2016 win. The friends and confidants didn't speak on the record because their conversations with Trump were private. The president's optimism ignores signs of trouble for him and his party across the Midwest, where Democratic governors dominated the GOP last fall. Democrats scored governorships in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota. White House aides and Trump campaign officials were more cautious than the president when assessing his re-election prospects. Speaking on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly, they acknowledged Trump's path to victory relies almost exclusively on holding the states he won in 2016. They're exploring more unlikely routes to victory, such as carrying Minnesota, a state that hasn't voted for a Republican presidential candidate since Richard Nixon in 1972. Trump lost the state by less than two percentage points in 2016. The GOP is also eyeing the effects of the recent turmoil in Virginia's Democratic Party with interest. "We are looking not just to defend states but to expand into blue territory," said the campaign's political director Chris Carr. "President Trump's accomplishments and the campaign apparatus behind him are an unstoppable combination." Trump and his allies are also betting that Democrats will make their task easier in 2020 by nominating a candidate aligned with the far-left wing of the party. Midwestern Democrats conceded that could be a problem. "In the Midwest, being pragmatic is probably more important," Wisconsin Gov. Evers said. He noted that Klobuchar in particular "has been labeled a pragmatist." ''If I was her I'd embrace that," he said. "I think that's a good place to go. I'm not sure if she is or isn't. It's too early to tell." Democrats are divided, however, on whether a pragmatic appeal to the working class is the key to victory in 2020. Trump did not defeat Hillary Clinton in the Midwest because working-class voters preferred Trump, according to former Pennsylvania Republican Gov. Tom Corbett. Trump beat Clinton largely because urban voters who typically support Democrats weren't excited about her candidacy and didn't turn out, he said. "She lost," Corbett said. "That's not going to happen this time." Corbett's successor, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, pointed to signs of cracks in Trump's base as evidenced in his own 17-point re-election last November. "They are with him, but I got a chunk of Trump voters," Wolf said, charging that Trump's presidency has "not made the lives of people in Pennsylvania measurably better." In Michigan, Whitmer noted that Trump won in 2016 with fewer votes than former President George W. Bush earned when he lost the state in 2004. "I was heartbroken, but we didn't turn out the vote," Whitmer said of Trump's 2016 victory, offering a warning to any Democrat that believes last fall's gains will means the blue wall is back for sure: "2020 should not be taken for granted." THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - The Latest on the status of the Chagos Islands (all times local): 9:10 p.m. Cyprus' attorney general says a United Nations top court ruling on Mauritius is a "legal tool" the Cypriot government could use to negotiate the status of two British military bases on the east Mediterranean island nation. The International Court of Justice said in an advisory opinion that the U.K. illegally carved up Mauritius when it ended its colonization of the Indian Ocean islands. Costas Clerides told private TV station Sigma the "landmark" opinion underscores that such issues must be examined under current international legal principles and not those of the past. Britain retained two military bases on Cyprus when the country gained independence from British colonial rule in 1960. The bases are enshrined in Cyprus' constitution. The Peace Palace, home of the International Court of Justice, in the Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The United Nations' highest court will deliver a non-binding opinion on the legality of British sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, in the Indian Ocean some 2000 Km (1250 miles) south of Sri Lanka, the largest of which, Diego Garcia, has housed a strategically important U.S. military base since the 1970s. (AP Photo/Mike Corder) But Clerides said this may be challenged because agreements signed under conditions that prevailed during that time were "far removed" from what could be considered as an "exercise in free will." ___ 6:40 p.m. Britain says it will look "carefully" at a United Nations' court ruling that it should relinquish control of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, while stressing that the court's view is "an advisory opinion, not a judgment." The International Court of Justice ruled Monday that Britain must "bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible." The opinion is non-binding, but represents a victory for islanders who were evicted by Britain in the 1960s and 70s to make way for a U.S. military base on one of the islands, Diego Garcia. In a statement after the court's ruling, Britain's Foreign Office said "the defense facilities on the British Indian Ocean Territory help to protect people here in Britain and around the world from terrorist threats, organized crime and piracy." ___ 5:40 p.m. A lawyer representing the island nation of Mauritius says an International Court of Justice ruling saying the U.K. must give up the Chagos Archipelago as its territory will put significant pressure on the British government to act. While the ruling from the United Nations' highest court on Monday came in the form of a non-binding advisory opinion, lawyer Philippe Sands said Britain and Mauritius, a former British colony, should work out how to move forward. The Chagos Islands were split off from Mauritius when it gained independence in 1968 so the United States could build a military base on one of the islands, Diego Garcia. Sands says Mauritius has good relations with the U.K. and with the United States. He says the ties between the countries "will continue to be excellent. A way will be found to move this forward." ___ 4:15 p.m. The United Nations' highest court says the United Kingdom carved up Mauritius illegally when it ended its colonization of the Indian Ocean islands and must "bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible." The International Court of Justice's advisory opinion issued Monday is non-binding, but carries weight since it came from the top U.N. court and puts pressure on London to act. Britain evicted about 2,000 people from the Chagos islands during the 1960s and 1970s so the U.S. military could build an air base. Many of them resettled in the U.K. and have fought in British courts to return to the islands. ___ 2:30 p.m. The United Nations' highest court is set to deliver an advisory opinion on the legality of British sovereignty over the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, the largest of which houses a strategically important U.S. military base. The island nation of Mauritius argues that the Chagos archipelago was part of its territory since at least the 18th century and was taken unlawfully by the United Kingdom in 1965, three years before Mauritius gained independence. Britain insists it has sovereignty over the archipelago, which it calls the British Indian Ocean Territory Britain evicted about 2,000 people from the Chagos archipelago in the 1960s and 1970s so the U.S. military could build an air base on Diego Garcia. Many resettled in the U.K. and have fought in British courts to return to the islands. Monday's opinion by the International Court of Justice is nonbinding. KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - A comedian who is leading Ukraine's presidential election race on Monday urged his supporters to propose candidates for top government jobs. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who plays the nation's president in a popular TV series, called on his backers to suggest candidates for prime minister, foreign and defense ministers and other top officials. Zelenskiy said in a video message Monday that Ukrainians have grown sick of presidents naming their friends to key positions. He challenged the public to name candidates for top government jobs on his campaign's website and its Facebook page. "Let's do it together," Zelenskiy said. Opinion polls have shown Zelenskiy ahead of incumbent President Petro Poroshenko and ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in the run-up to the March 31 vote. Zelenskiy's popularity has been driven both by his TV star status and by public dismay with current leaders. Ukraine has seen economic troubles and a sharp drop in living standards after Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and Russia's support for a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. FILE In this file photo taken on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019, Ukrainian comedian and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during his interview with The Associated Press, in Kiev, Ukraine. A comedian who is leading Ukraine's presidential election race has urged his supporters to propose candidates for top government jobs. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who plays the nation's president in a popular TV series, called on his backers to suggest candidates for prime minister, foreign and defense ministers and other top officials. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, FIle) The most recent poll completed last week had 26.4 percent backing Zelenskiy, while Poroshenko was supported by 18 percent and Tymoshenko was backed by 13.8 percent. Most others in the crowded field of 44 candidates are trailing far behind. The poll of 2,042 people was conducted by Kiev International Institute of Sociology and had a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points. MEXICO CITY (AP) - Voters in central Mexico have approved a stalled gas-fired power plant, one of seven projects that have been postponed, in many cases for years, by community opposition. Roughly 60 percent of those voting in the weekend referendum called by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador voted in favor of the project in Huexca, southeast of Mexico City. The project cost $1.3 billion to build, and it costs the government $200 million per year even if it's not running. Feelings ran high; a few days before the referendum, anti-plant activist Samir Flores Soberanes was killed in front of his home by armed assailants. Lopez Obrador said Monday he hopes the referendum will serve as a model for solving at least half a dozen other stalled natural gas projects. "This is part of the whole mess of gas pipelines and plants that they left hanging," Lopez Obrador said of previous administrations, which frequently contracted the projects out to private companies that get paid whether the plants are producing or not. Local communities have been fighting for years against the Huexca project in Morelos state, just south of the capital. The project includes two thermoelectric plants, a gas pipeline to supply the plant with natural gas from Tlaxcala state and an aqueduct. The mostly indigenous communities around the Popocatepetl volcano have concerns about health, safety and the water supply. In recent years Mexico tried to take advantage of lower gas prices to switch many plants that burned fuel oil to cleaner natural gas. But previous administrations often didn't consult local communities about the gas pipelines needed to supply the plants. Many communities opposed the projects and stalled them for years, costing the government at least $500 million per year, though even higher figures have been given. The Huexca project, for example, is almost completely finished except for about 150 meters (yards) of pipeline. While Lopez Obrador praised the referendum - similar to earlier ones he held on a partly built Mexico City airport, and his "Maya Train" project in the Yucatan peninsula - critics complain about a lack of consultation on his own pet projects. Lopez Obrador said Monday he plans to issue a call for bids within about a month for the Maya Train, which would connect pre-Hispanic ruin sites with resorts on the Yucatan Peninsula. But some of the communities along the proposed route have rejected the plan, others say they haven't been consulted and environmental impact statements haven't been submitted for much of the route. Lopez Obrador would presumably start with the part of the route where train tracks already exist. For much of the rest of the route, tracks would have to be laid, often through environmentally sensitive nature reserves. SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) - Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi defended on Monday his country's widely-criticized human rights record and warned the nations of Europe not to lecture the Arab world. In a fiery speech after a summit of European Union and Arab League leaders, el-Sissi said that Europe is prosperous and does not understand the concerns of many Arab countries that are struggling to prevent conflict from tearing them apart. "You are not going to teach us about humanity," he told reporters after the issue was raised at a news conference. "We have our own sense of humanity, values and ethics, and you have your own idea of humanity and ethics, and we respect it. Respect our values and ethics, as we do yours." "This city, through one terrorist act, could be turned into a ghost city," el-Sissi said. Egypt's tourism industry was hard hit after a bomb downed a Russian passenger plane flying out of Sharm el-Sheikh airport in 2015. El-Sissi was applauded after his remarks, prompting European Council President Donald Tusk to say: "I really appreciate how enthusiastic your media are. It's impossible in Europe to have such a reaction. Congratulations." No concerns about human rights in Egypt - or any of the other 48 countries - were raised publicly in Sharm el-Sheikh, even amid an unprecedented crackdown on dissent and a recent spike in executions. At least 15 people have been put to death this year. European Council President Donald Tusk, front left, speaks with Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, front right, during a group photo at an EU-Arab summit at the Sharm El Sheikh convention center in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. Leaders from European Union and Arab League countries are holding their first-ever summit, meeting in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss migration, security and business deals. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) The summit statement made no general appeal for human rights to be respected. "No one in particular talked about one country or another, or the practices in one country or another," Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit told reporters. But European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker insisted that "it is not true that we did not talk about human rights." Juncker said the issue was raised behind closed doors in bilateral meetings between leaders. But he did not name any country. The meeting, held under tight security, was offered by the Europeans to el-Sissi in October in part to secure Egypt's help to stop people seeking sanctuary or jobs in Europe from leaving northern Africa. A similar summit was granted to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2015 - then later billions in aid for refugees in Turkey and other incentives - to persuade him to help halt the flow of well over a million migrants into Europe. Mired in a deep political crisis over their inability to stem migrant arrivals or share the burden with countries like Greece, Italy and Spain, the Europeans want the Egyptian coastguard to patrol the waters off lawless Libya and take migrants back to the African mainland. The summit was held weeks after Egyptian lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to extend presidential term limits for el-Sissi that could see him remain in power until 2034, part of a package of constitutional amendments that would further enshrine the military's role in politics. Human Rights Watch says the amendments would undermine judicial independence and expand executive powers that are already being abused in Egypt. The group says over 15,000 civilians, including children, have been referred to military prosecution in Egypt. Rights researchers broadly agree that Egypt holds tens of thousands of political prisoners - mostly Islamists but also some secular liberals. ___ Associated Press writer Brian Rohan in Cairo contributed to this report. European Council President Donald Tusk, left, and Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, right, attend a round table meeting at an EU-Arab summit at the Sharm El Sheikh convention center in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. Leaders from European Union and Arab League countries are holding their first-ever summit, meeting in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss migration, security and business deals. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) German Chancellor Angela Merkel, front right, is greeted by Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, front left, during a group photo at a meeting of leaders at an EU-Arab summit at the Sharm El Sheikh convention center in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. Leaders from European Union and Arab League countries are holding their first-ever summit, meeting in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss migration, security and business deals. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center right, greets Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, center left, during a group photo at a meeting of leaders at an EU-Arab summit at the Sharm El Sheikh convention center in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. Leaders from European Union and Arab League countries are holding their first-ever summit, meeting in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss migration, security and business deals. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) LONDON (AP) - Britain's meteorological agency says temperatures have reached 20.3 C (68.5 F) in the west of the country, marking a record high for February. The Met Office said Monday that the mercury in Trawsgoed, Wales, beat the previous February record of 19.7 C (67.4 F). The agency said it's also the first time it has recorded temperatures above 20 C (68 F) during the winter months. A high pressure region is forecast to bring unseasonably warm weather to other parts of the continent, with large parts of Western Europe expected to see temperatures in the high teens over the coming days. COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) - The Latest on violent weather and flooding in the Southeast (all times local): 9:50 a.m. Authorities are searching for two people believed missing on waterways swollen by days of heavy rain in Alabama. Crews are looking along the Cahaba River near Birmingham for a woman who disappeared Sunday. A spokesman with Cahaba Valley Fire and Rescue says her vehicle was found near the river, but crews don't know where she is. In northeast Alabama, authorities say a teenage boy is still missing days after the vehicle he was riding in was swept off a bridge by floodwaters from a creek at Bucks Pocket State Park. Marshall County emergency management officials say two other teens who were riding in a Jeep were found clinging to a tree after the vehicle foundered in water Friday. Church members watch as student pastor Craig Blaylock, left, baptizes Blake Brown, at the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. The church, in the background, was destroyed by a tornado Saturday afternoon, but church members opted to go ahead with the baptisms as planned. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Police have used a helicopter and drone to search for the missing youth. ___ 7:25 a.m. Residents are using boats to reach flooded-out neighborhoods and schools are shut down after days of torrential rains in north Alabama. The sun was out Monday in most of the Tennessee Valley, but dozens of roads are closed because of flooding. Brick homes stand amid muddy Tennessee River waters in Muscle Shoals. The National Weather Service says many areas got around 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain last week, and some spots received more than 12 inches (30 centimeters). The city of Decatur says water levels already have exceeded 100-year levels and could rise another 2 feet (0.6 meters). Schools are closed in at least a half-dozen systems in the region. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has declared a state of emergency allowing the state to assist with disaster response. Pastor Steve Blaylock looks over the broken lumber, loose paneling, insulation, and destroyed pews in the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019 after a Saturday tornado. While no-one was injured during the storm, at least one person was killed in town among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Church members watch as student pastor Craig Blaylock, left, baptizes a church member at the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. The church, in the background, was destroyed by a tornado Saturday afternoon, but church members opted to go ahead with the baptisms as planned. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) The eastbound lanes of Interstate 24 are blocked after a landslide occurred after several days of heavy rains Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, north of Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) The eastbound lanes of Interstate 24 are blocked after a landslide occurred after several days of heavy rains Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, north of Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) The eastbound lanes of Interstate 24 are blocked after a landslide occurred after several days of heavy rains Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, north of Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) Downed telephone poles on 15th Street in Columbus, Miss., Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, following Saturday's tornado. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Pastor Steve Blaylock looks over the broken lumber, loose paneling, insulation, and destroyed pews in the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019 after a Saturday tornado. While no-one was injured during the storm, at least one person was killed in town among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Charles Lowery of Columbus, Miss., rescues carved stands from the remains of his home, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, following Saturday's tornado. Lowery lamented not staying at home and protecting his property as his home was looted that evening. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) A backhoe is used to removes fallen tree limbs in this Columbus, Miss., neighborhood, Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. At least one person was killed among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes that dotted the South as severe storms followed a weekend of drenching rains and a rising flood threat. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Tornado strewn debris and fallen trees in this Columbus, Miss., neighborhood, Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. At least one person was killed among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes that dotted the South as severe storms followed a weekend of drenching rains and a rising flood threat. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Church members lift beams as they try to determine the status of a Hammond organ that was trapped by tornado debris in the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. At least one person was killed in town by Saturday's storm that shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Broken lumber, loose paneling, insulation, and destroyed pews are all that remains of the First Pentecostal Church Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019 after a tornado Saturday in Columbus, Miss. At least one person was killed during Saturday's storm that shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Tornado strewn debris and fallen trees take their toll in this Columbus, Miss., neighborhood, Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. At least one person was killed among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes that dotted the South as severe storms followed a weekend of drenching rains and a rising flood threat. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) A child plays around the podium that was virtually undamaged or moved in the tornado that destroyed First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. While no-one was injured during Saturday's storm, at least one person was killed in town among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) A church member tosses to the side a large stone that was part of the exterior of the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019. While no-one was injured during Saturday's storm, where at least one person was killed in town among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Pastor Steve Blaylock looks over the broken lumber, loose paneling, insulation, and destroyed pews in the First Pentecostal Church in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019 after a Saturday tornado. While no-one was injured during the storm, at least one person was killed in town among the shattered businesses and wrecked homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Tornado strewn debris, including this roofing, and fallen trees in this Columbus, Miss., neighborhood, Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019 after Saturday's tornado that killed at least one person and shattered businesses and several homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Jack Gordman flips over a boat trailer that was tossed several feef from his parent's home in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019, after Saturday's tornado that killed at least one person and shattered businesses and several homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) Al Bordelon salvages a tool box from what remains of his mother-in-law's shed in Columbus, Miss., Sunday morning, Feb. 24, 2019, after Saturday's tornado that killed at least one person and shattered businesses and several homes. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) A car in the parking lot of Fast Dog Printing Co. on Conway Drive in Columbus, Miss., has it's rear window smashed after a tornado struck the area Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Jim Lytle) Thomas Aaron checks on his beagles in the foreground of the remains of his tool and work shed, in Columbus, Miss., Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. Aaron was at home Saturday when his neighborhood was hit by a tornado that knocked out his front windows, blew out his back door, knocked over a tree that destroyed his tool shed, but did not disturb his dogs. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) The eastbound lanes of Interstate 24 are blocked after a landslide occurred after several days of heavy rains Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, north of Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - In a victory for a group of displaced Indian Ocean islanders, the United Nations' highest court said Monday that Britain must end its administration of the Chagos islands "as rapidly as possible." The International Court of Justice ruled in an advisory opinion that is non-binding that Britain had unlawfully carved up Mauritius, which the Chagos were a part of, when it agreed to end colonial rule in the late 1960s. The court's opinion, however, carries weight since it came from the top U.N. court and could put significant pressure on London to act. The islands are currently known as the British Indian Ocean Territory. Britain has in the past paid compensation to islanders, but the court says that London now needs to go further. The U.K. government reacted to the ruling by saying that it will look "carefully" at the ruling, while stressing that the court's view is "an advisory opinion, not a judgment." Britain evicted about 2,000 people from the Chagos archipelago in the 1960s and 1970s so the U.S. military could build an air base on Diego Garcia. Many resettled in the U.K. and have fought in British courts to return to the islands. One of them was Olivier Bancoult, who said he and his family were forcibly moved to Mauritius when he was just four years old. The Peace Palace, home of the International Court of Justice, in the Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The United Nations' highest court will deliver a non-binding opinion on the legality of British sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, in the Indian Ocean some 2000 Km (1250 miles) south of Sri Lanka, the largest of which, Diego Garcia, has housed a strategically important U.S. military base since the 1970s. (AP Photo/Mike Corder) "Oh, I feel so happy today because it's a big victory against injustice done by the British government for many years," he said outside court. "I am so lucky today and to have this opinion delivered by the International Court of Justice - to say what has been done to us and what has been done to Mauritius is unlawful," he added. The court said it concluded that even though Mauritius' government agreed to split off the Chagos islands shortly before the country's 1968 independence, "this detachment was not based on the free and genuine expression of the will of the people concerned." The court said that it is up to the U.N. General Assembly to decide how to "ensure the completion of the decolonization of Mauritius." The opinion was delivered by a majority of 13 of the court's 14 judges, with the U.S. judge, Joan E. Donoghue, dissenting. While the United States still has a military base on Diego Garcia, the court said that in its opinion "all member states are under an obligation to cooperate with the United Nations in order to complete the decolonization of Mauritius." Britain's Foreign Office said in a statement that "the defense facilities on the British Indian Ocean Territory help to protect people here in Britain and around the world from terrorist threats, organized crime and piracy." At hearings last year, Mauritius Defense Minister Anerood Jugnauth said that the U.S. base would not be threatened by the outcome, telling judges that "Mauritius recognizes its existence and has repeatedly made it clear to the United States and the administering power that it accepts the future of the base." Philippe Sands, a lawyer who represented Mauritius, hailed the decision which he said would put pressure on Britain to act. "One hopes that the two countries will sit down and work out a sensible way of taking this forward," Sands said. "Relations between Mauritius and the UK are excellent; relations between Mauritius and the US are excellent. They will continue to be excellent. A way will be found to move this forward, safeguarding the interests of everyone but recognizing what the court has said." ___ Jill Lawless contributed to this report from London. LONDON (AP) - The British government said Monday it plans to ban Hezbollah as a terrorist group, accusing the Iran-backed organization of destabilizing the Middle East. A draft order laid in the U.K. Parliament will ban Hezbollah and two other groups. Subject to Parliament's approval, the order will go into effect Friday and being a member of, or inviting support for, Hezbollah will be a criminal offense, carrying a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Until now the military wing of the Lebanon-based group has been outlawed in Britain, but not its political arm. Hezbollah - Party of God - is a Shiite Muslim movement that emerged during the early 1980s with financial backing from Iran. It made electoral gains in Lebanon last year and now has three ministers in the government. The U.S. and others accuse the group of destabilizing the region through its military intervention in Syria on the side of President Bashar Assad's government. Home Secretary Sajid Javid said he would take action against groups that threaten safety and security, and he accused Hezbollah of destabilizing the Middle East. "We are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party," Javid said. "Because of this, I have taken the decision to proscribe the group in its entirety." There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah officials in Beirut. FILE - This July 29, 2017 file photo, Hezbollah fighters stand near a four-wheel motorcycle positioned at the site where clashes erupted between Hezbollah and al-Qaida-linked fighters in Wadi al-Kheil or al-Kheil Valley on the Lebanon-Syria border. The British government will make inciting support for Hezbollah a criminal offense as senior officials accused the Iran-backed organization of destabilizing the Middle East. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File) The European Union put the armed wing of Hezbollah on its terrorism blacklist in 2013, due to Hezbollah's alleged role in blowing up an Israeli tour bus in Bulgaria. But unlike the United States, European countries had until now differentiated between the group's military and political wings. The group does not specifically divide itself into armed and political wings and its leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has said the group does not operate as two wings. Commenting on the U.K. decision, EU Foreign Policy Chief Frederica Mogherini called it a "domestic decision" that does not affect the European Union's position to list the military wing of Hezbollah but not the political wing. "This decision will continue to be in place for the European Union, so the U.K. announcement doesn't have any impact on the European decision which is a clear one," she said. Mogherini spoke in Beirut at a joint news conference with the Lebanese foreign minister. The British ban comes as the United States is increasing its pressure on Hezbollah, placing several sets of sanctions on the group and its regional backer, Iran. Last week, the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon described what she labeled as Hezbollah's "growing" role in the new Lebanese cabinet as a threat to the country's stability. U.S. officials have also expressed concern that Hezbollah would exploit the ministries it runs to funnel money to fund the group's operations. Israel's ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, welcomed Britain's decision, calling the separation between the political and armed wings of the group "false and artificial." "We will continue to lead the struggle for the Security Council to recognize Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, and mobilize the international community against it as it serves as an arm of Iran to spread Tehran's aggression," Danon said. Ansaroul Islam, which seeks to impose its strict view of Salafist Sharia law in Burkina Faso, and Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam Wal-Muslimin, which has similar aspirations in Africa's Sahel region, were also banned Monday. ___ Associated Press writer Danica Kirka reported in London and AP writer Zeina Karam reported from Beirut. FILE - This April 20, 2017 file photo, shows a Hezbollah fighter holding an Iranian-made anti-aircraft missile on the border with Israel, in Naqoura, south Lebanon. The British government will make inciting support for Hezbollah a criminal offense as senior officials accused the Iran-backed organization of destabilizing the Middle East. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File) FILE - In this Sept 17, 2012 file photo, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, center, escorted by his bodyguards, waves to a crowd of tens of thousands of supporters during a rally denouncing an anti-Islam film that has provoked a week of unrest in Muslim countries worldwide, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. The British government will make inciting support for Hezbollah a criminal offense as senior officials accused the Iran-backed organization of destabilizing the Middle East. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File) KANO, Nigeria (AP) - The Latest on Nigeria's election (all times local): 9:25 p.m. Nigeria's ruling party is dismissing the main opposition's claims of vote-rigging, accusing it of trying to "discredit and destabilize" the election process while results are announced state by state. The party backing opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar has alleged ruling party agents hacked into the electoral commission's server and manipulated election results. It has rejected election results as "incorrect, thus unacceptable." The ruling party said in a statement on Monday that the electoral commission "has done a good job despite the challenges" of conducting an election for some 73 million eligible voters. President Muhammadu Buhari has taken an early lead in results. The spokesman of the ruling party's campaign council, Festus Keyamo, says that "our elections have progressed over the years and we ask that the (opposition) do not derail us to the dark past with its childish antics." Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari celebrate the announcement of results favoring his All Progressives Congress (APC) party in their state, anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) He also urges Nigerians to be patient. Final results are expected Tuesday or Wednesday. ___ 6:50 p.m. Nigeria's leading opposition party is rejecting the presidential election results being announced by the electoral commission as "incorrect, thus unacceptable." Party chairman Uche Secondus accuses ruling party agents of hacking into the electoral commission's server and manipulating results. The ruling party hasn't publicly responded. President Muhammadu Buhari so far has won six of Nigeria's 36 states, while challenger Atiku Abubakar has won the territory that includes the capital, Abuja. At stake is Africa's most populous country and largest economy. Final results are expected Tuesday or Wednesday. ___ 5:05 p.m. The United States ambassador to Nigeria is praising the country on its presidential election, saying that "the peaceful achievement of millions was overshadowed by the violence of a few." At least 39 people were reported killed in election-related violence as Africa's largest democracy voted on Saturday. Ambassador Stuart Symington's statement urges all candidates to honor the pledges they signed to contribute to a peaceful election and accept the results. He calls on candidates to warn supporters against using violence to interfere with the electoral commission, which has begun announcing results from Nigeria's 36 states. He adds that "no one should ... break the peace by claiming victory before the results are final." ___ 4:15 p.m. A large Nigerian observer mission says it expects there will be no need for a runoff presidential election because a "clear winner will emerge," though no candidate is expected to receive more than 55 percent of votes. The Africa's Watching the Vote project deployed more than 3,900 observers for Saturday's election throughout Africa's largest democracy. Its statement says only Nigeria's electoral commission can announce the final results. It projects that election turnout dropped to between 36 and 40 percent, down from just below 44 percent in the previous election in 2015. ___ 3:45 p.m. Nigeria's electoral commission has begun announcing official presidential results from the country's 36 states in a process that will take hours and could extend into Tuesday or beyond. President Muhammadu Buhari has won in the states of Ekiti, Osun and Kwara in the west and southwest while top challenger Atiku Abubakar has won the Federal Capital Territory, the name of the state that encompasses Abuja. To win the presidency, a candidate must garner a majority of overall votes as well as at least 25 percent of the vote in two-thirds of Nigeria's 36 states. If that isn't achieved, the election moves to a runoff. ___ 2:40 p.m. More election observers are criticizing the late opening of polls in many areas of Nigeria in Saturday's presidential election, saying those delays and a weeklong postponement discouraged many people from voting. The European Union and other observers are issuing their first statements on the vote that has been described as generally peaceful, though at least 39 deaths were reported. The Commonwealth observers call the violence "deeply troubling" and say Africa's largest democracy can do better. Official results are expected as early as Monday as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term in the nation of some 190 million people. ___ 1:55 p.m. Nigeria's air force asserts that it has "neutralized" dozens of fighters with the Islamic State West Africa Province extremist group in the northeast near Lake Chad. A statement says airstrikes were carried out on Sunday, a day after the country's presidential election. The statement says the airstrikes occurred as fighters met in Kolloram in Borno state. The statement could not immediately be independently confirmed. The IS in West Africa Province group is a recent offshoot of the Boko Haram extremist insurgency, which has killed well over 20,000 people in the course of a decade. Nigeria's government recently acknowledged a "resurgence" by the fighters as they attack and overrun military bases. Insecurity is a major issue in the election as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. ___ 1:20 p.m. An observer mission from the United States is critical of the delays in Nigeria's election. A joint statement by the International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute issued Monday said that "the last-minute postponement of the election by INEC (Nigeria's electoral commission) and significant delays in the opening of polling units risk undermining citizen confidence in elections and disenfranchising voters." The election was originally scheduled for Feb. 16 but then, just hours before polls were to open, the election was postponed a week, citing numerous logistical issues. When voting took place on Feb. 23 there were numerous delays causing many polling stations to open hours late. Some polling stations had to remain open a day later in order to allow people in line to vote. The U.S.-based observers noted that Nigeria's major political parties remain the weak link in ensuring an inclusive election process and have issued worrisome statements. The observers said that despite the voting issues, Nigerians have showed resilience and patience. __ Nigeria is counting votes in its presidential election and observers are giving mixed assessments of the process. The African Union said the "overall political climate remained largely peaceful and conducive for the conducting of credible elections" but criticized poor preparation and called for calm until final results. That could happen as early as Monday as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term in Africa's most populous country. A nationwide civil society platform of observers issued a more critical statement citing "major logistic lapses" including widespread delays and "disappointing" conduct by political parties. It called this election a step back from the one in 2015, seen as one of Nigeria's most transparent and efficient. The Situation Room platform said at least 39 people were killed in violence related to Saturday's vote. ___ Follow AP's full coverage of the Nigeria elections here: https://www.apnews.com/Nigeria Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari celebrate the announcement of results favoring his All Progressives Congress (APC) party in their state, anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari celebrate the announcement of results favoring his All Progressives Congress (APC) party in their state, anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Riot policeman wear gas masks and carry a tear gas grenade launcher, but did not fire, during a celebratory gathering of supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari celebrate the announcement of results favoring his All Progressives Congress (APC) party in their state, anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Nigeria's electoral commission chairman Mahmoud Yakubu, left, handles presidential election sheets on which results are recorded in Abuja, Nigeria, Monday Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term, while observers criticized the weeklong delay in balloting that they said discouraged some voters from taking part. (AP Photo) Nigerians read newspapers at a newsstand in Abuja, Nigeria, Monday Feb. 25, 2019. Official results of Nigeria's presidential election are expected as early as Monday in what is being seen as a close race between Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Security forces direct two disabled men in hand-pushed wheelchairs away from a road which has been closed to vehicles for security reasons, leading to the electoral commission offices in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria is counting votes in its presidential election and observers are giving mixed assessments of the process. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) School girls walk on the streets in Yola, Nigeria, Monday Feb. 25, 2019. Official results of Nigeria's presidential election are expected as early as Monday in what is being seen as a close race between Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba) Vigilantes and local hunters armed with locally made guns patrol on the street near the Independent National Electoral Commission office in Yola, Nigeria, Monday Feb. 25, 2019. Official results of Nigeria's presidential election are expected as early as Monday in what is being seen as a close race between Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba) Vigilantes and local hunters armed with locally made guns patrol on the street near the Independent National Electoral Commission office in Yola, Nigeria, Monday Feb. 25, 2019. Official results of Nigeria's presidential election are expected as early as Monday in what is being seen as a close race between Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba) Vigilantes and local hunters armed with locally made guns patrol on the street near the Independent National Electoral Commission office in Yola, Nigeria, Monday Feb. 25, 2019. Official results of Nigeria's presidential election are expected as early Monday in what is being seen as a close race between Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba) Electoral officials compile voting results at a collation center in Yola, n Nigeria, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. Vote counting continued Sunday as Nigerians awaited the outcome of a presidential poll seen as a tight race between the president and a former vice president. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba) Torn posters of Nigerian Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari are seen in Abuja Sunday Feb. 24, 2019. Buhari faced opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar in the presidential election. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) GENEVA (AP) - South Korea's top diplomat said Monday that an end to North Korea's nuclear and missile tests would be good, but "just the beginning," after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would be "happy" as long as no testing takes place. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said South Korea hopes for tangible results from this week's summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam. Kang said she was hopeful for "a substantial outcome" on issues of denuclearization and "corresponding measures from the United States." The comments came after Trump said Sunday he was in no hurry for North Korea to prove it was abandoning its weapons, adding: "I just don't want testing. As long as there's no testing, we're happy." Speaking to the U.N.-backed Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Kang insisted complete denuclearization "requires many more concrete steps." U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres later told the 65-member body that he hoped the U.S. and North Korean leaders would agree on "concrete steps for sustainable, peaceful, and complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers his statement, during the Conference on Disarmament, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP) RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The Poor People's Campaign will hold bus tours of poverty-stricken areas in more than 20 states to call attention to "what the national emergencies really are" in the wake of President Donald Trump's emergency declaration over the U.S.-Mexico border, a leader of the campaign says. The tours will begin in late March and continue through April, said the Rev. William Barber of North Carolina. Participants will include poor people, religious and political leaders and other advocates, he said. The tours were always planned as part a revived version of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Poor People's Campaign that launched in December 2017 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of King's original campaign, Barber said. But Trump's declaration of a national emergency to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico added urgency, he said. "Part of the problem that we see in policies of Democrats vs. Republicans is one talks about they want the wall and the other side said they don't want the wall," Barber said in a phone interview. "But nobody has sat down and said: 'Here are the real emergencies and here is how these resources could be used to address these real emergencies.'" Barber is co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign, along with the Rev. Liz Theoharis of the Kairos Center. The renewed Poor People's Campaign began after Barber led the "Moral Monday" movement in North Carolina , which began in 2013 and held protests about issues including voting rights, gerrymandering, LGBTQ rights and unions. Instead of spending almost $6 billion on a wall, the country could invest in health care, clean energy jobs or placing more children in Head Start programs, he said. FILE - In this Saturday, June 23, 2018 file photo, Rev. Dr William Barber II accompanied by Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis and Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks to the crowd outside of the U.S. Capitol during a Poor People's Campaign rally at The National Mall in Washington. The Rev. William Barber, a leader of the Poor People's Campaign says the social justice movement is planning bus tours of poverty-stricken areas in more than 20 states to refocus the country on its true emergencies. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) He and Theoharis announced details of the bus tours Monday in Washington. Theoharis said the tour is scheduled to visit almost 30 states and Washington, D.C. In California, the tour will visit the Yurok Indian reservation, while in New York state, the tour will go to Elmira, home to two maximum security prisons. "We know as a nation we can lift up the load of poverty," she said at a news conference. Trump issued an emergency declaration so he could access billions of dollars beyond what Congress authorized to start erecting a border wall that was a trademark of his presidential campaign. Congress approved a vast spending bill earlier this month that provides nearly $1.4 billion to build 55 miles of border barriers in Texas' Rio Grande Valley while preventing a renewed government shutdown. Trump had demanded $5.7 billion to construct more than 200 miles. In June, the Poor People's Campaign plans a People's Moral Action Congress in Washington with more than 2,000 people to discuss the realities of poverty. In conjunction with the meeting, the group will release a poor people's higher ground budget that focuses on inequality. Attendees will call on Congress to hold a hearing with people hurt by poverty and racism regarding what Barber calls "interlocking injustices" of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, a war economy and a distorted moral narrative. The U.S. needs to "shut up and shut down the foolishness that our greatest threat is who comes across our border rather than that the greatest problem is racism and poverty inside the border," Barber said. ___ Follow Martha Waggoner on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mjwaggonernc ___ This story has been updated to correct the name of the organization where Theoharis works to Kairos Center, not Institute. VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Francis' summit on preventing sexual abuse was never going to meet the expectations placed on it by victims groups, the media and ordinary Catholics outraged over a scandal that has harmed so many and compromised the church's moral authority so much. Indeed, no sweeping new law was announced to punish bishops who cover up abuse. No files were released or global reporting requirement endorsed requiring priestly rapists to be reported to police. In his final speech to the summit Sunday, Pope Francis even fell back on the hierarchy's frequent complaint of unfair press coverage. But something has changed. By inviting the leaders of Catholic bishops conferences and religious orders from around the world to a four-day tutorial on preventing sex abuse, Francis has made clear that they all are responsible for protecting the children in their care and must punish the priests who might violate them, or risk punishment themselves. "In people's justified anger, the church sees the reflection of the wrath of God, betrayed and insulted by these deceitful consecrated persons," the pontiff said. And yet as strong as his words were, it was actually the handful of women invited to address the summit who drove the message home most forcefully. That too speaks volumes about the future of an institution where women are officially barred from the hierarchy's ranks but are increasingly raising their voices and walking out when they aren't heard. Pope Francis celebrates Mass at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. Pope Francis celebrated a final Mass to conclude his extraordinary summit of Catholic leaders summoned to Rome for a tutorial on preventing clergy sexual abuse and protecting children from predator priests. The Mass was celebrated Sunday in the Sala Regia, one of the grand, frescoed reception rooms of the Apostolic Palace. (Giuseppe Lami/Pool Photo via AP) Nigerian Sister Veronica Openibo, superior of her religious order, shamed the men in the room for their decades of silence over the "atrocities" committed by their priests and warned them that they would be judged for their inaction going forward. "This storm will not pass by," she said. Valentina Alazraki, the longtime Vatican correspondent for Mexico's Televisa, challenged the men in power to decide whether they are on the side of the victims, or the priests who raped them. "We have decided which side to be on," Alazraki told the summit, warning that unless the hierarchy too sides with victims, "journalists, who seek the common good, will be your worst enemies." Francis was so impressed by the address of Linda Ghisoni, a canon lawyer and under-secretary in the Vatican's laity office, that he delivered an impromptu ode to women at the end of her speech. And by all indications, the searing testimony of a woman who as a child endured five years of rape at the hands of a priest - and a lifetime of trauma, eating disorders, depression and suicide attempts - brought the 190 bishops and religious superiors to a stunned, shameful silence. She told them that she had wanted to tell them something about her childhood, but couldn't because since she was 11 years old "I, who loved coloring books and doing somersaults on the grass, have not existed." "Instead, engraved in my eyes, ears, nose, body and soul, are all the times he immobilized me, the child, with superhuman strength." The Rev. Hans Zollner, one of the conference organizers, said her tearful testimony stopped the bishops cold. "This has really reached the heart level," he said. "And if you get to that level, you cannot be as you were before." And some concrete steps were announced at the summit's end that will change things as they were before. For starters, the Vatican in the coming days is expected to issue a new child protection policy for the Vatican City State. Despite having instructed all the world's bishops' conferences to draft such a policy in 2011, the headquarters of the global Catholic Church still has none. The Vatican will soon issue a step-by-step guidebook for bishops around the world explaining how to investigate and prosecute abuse cases. Task forces at the regional or continental level will be established to give them expert help, since many dioceses in poorer countries simply don't have the legal resources on hand. All indications are that the Vatican will be re-evaluating the use of "pontifical secret" in abuse cases, so that victims can actually learn the outcomes of their cases. New "clarifications" are expected to be issued about implementing a 2016 law on holding bishops and religious superiors accountable when they cover up abuse cases. And individual bishops conferences, such as in the U.S., are plowing ahead to articulate clear accountability proposals for their leadership. Archbishop Charles Scicluna, the Vatican's longtime sex crimes prosecutor, told reporters at the summit's end that his main takeaway after four days was that there is now a recognition within the church that "abuse of minors is an egregious crime, but so too is cover-up." And with that, he said, "There is no going back." ___ EDITOR'S NOTE: Nicole Winfield has covered three papacies and the Vatican since 2001. ___ More AP coverage of clergy sex abuse at https://www.apnews.com/Sexualabusebyclergy BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - High winds howled through much of the eastern U.S. for a second day Monday, cutting power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, closing schools, and pushing dramatic mounds of ice onto the shores of Lake Erie. Wind gusts of hurricane force - 74 mph (119 kph) - or higher were reported around the region, including West Virginia and New York. While atop Mount Washington, the Northeast's highest peak of 6,288 feet (1,916 meters) in New Hampshire, a gust of 144 mph (231 kph) was recorded. Toppled trees and power poles, easy targets for strong winds that uprooted them from ground saturated by rain and snowmelt, plunged homes and businesses into darkness, though in most places power was expected back quickly as winds died down by the end of Monday. Hundreds of schools were delayed or canceled in New York alone. The wind peeled off roofs in places. In Syracuse, New York, scaffolding blown off a building knocked down power lines. Wind advisories and warnings were in effect through Monday in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast up to northern New England. In Maine, police say a trucker blamed wind for causing his tractor-trailer loaded with bananas to swerve and overturn on the Maine Turnpike. While in Sandusky, Ohio, a motorist captured video of a tractor-trailer flipping over on a bridge . Giant chunks of ice spilled over the banks of the Niagara River across from Buffalo on Sunday, creating a jagged, frosty barrier between the river and a scenic road. Mounds of ice collect along the Lake Erie shore at Hoover Beach, in Hamburg, NY, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. High winds howled through much of the nation's eastern half for a second day Monday, cutting power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, closing schools, and pushing dramatic mountains of ice onto the shores of Lake Erie. (AP Photo/Carolyn Thompson) Dramatic footage captured by park police in Ontario showed the massive chunks roiling onto shore. High winds had raised water levels on the eastern end of Lake Erie in a phenomenon known as a seiche and then, according to the New York Power Authority, driven ice over a boom upstream from the river. Ice mounds 25 to 30 feet (8 to 9 meters) high also came ashore farther south, piling up on several lakefront properties in suburban Hamburg. "We've had storms in the past, but nothing like this," resident Dave Schultz told WGRZ. "We've never had the ice pushed up against the walls and right up onto our patios. ... It's in my patio, the neighbor's patio, and the patio after that." A voluntary evacuation for the area was issued Sunday. Empty tractor-trailers and empty tandem trucks have been banned on some highways. Trucks were also banned on some bridges in New York City, where the winds sent litter swirling in the canyons between skyscrapers and rocked sidewalk food carts precariously. Rose Hirschbeck, of Hamburg, NY, photographs mounds of ice collected along the Lake Erie shore at Hoover Beach, in Hamburg, N.Y., Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. High winds howled through much of the nation's eastern half for a second day Monday, cutting power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, closing schools, and pushing dramatic mountains of ice onto the shores of Lake Erie. (AP Photo/Carolyn Thompson) A family walks near a massive build up of ice that was pushed onto the shore of Mather Park in Fort Erie, Ont., Monday, February 25, 2019. A windstorm Sunday broke an ice boom in Lake Erie and allowed the ice, which was floating on the water at the mouth of the Niagara River, to shove over the retaining wall and onto the shore and the roadway above. (Tara Walton/The Canadian Press via AP) A family walks near a massive build up of ice that was pushed onto the shore of Mather Park in Fort Erie, Ont., Monday, February 25, 2019. A windstorm Sunday broke an ice boom in Lake Erie and allowed the ice, which was floating on the water at the mouth of the Niagara River, to shove over the retaining wall and onto the shore and the roadway above. (Tara Walton/The Canadian Press via AP) A massive build up of ice is seen after being pushed onto the shore of Mather Park, near the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie, Ont., Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. A windstorm Sunday broke an ice boom in Lake Erie and allowed the ice, which was floating on the water at the mouth of the Niagara River, to spill over the retaining wall and onto the shore and the roadway above. (Tara Walton/The Canadian Press via AP) Mounds of ice collect along the Lake Erie shore at Hoover Beach, in Hamburg, N.Y., Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. High winds howled through much of the nation's eastern half for a second day Monday, cutting power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, closing schools, and pushing dramatic mountains of ice onto the shores of Lake Erie.(AP Photo/Carolyn Thompson) A man photographs a massive build up of ice that was pushed onto the shore of Mather Park in Fort Erie, Ont., Monday, February 25, 2019. A windstorm Sunday broke an ice boom in Lake Erie and allowed the ice, which was floating on the water at the mouth of the Niagara River, to shove over the retaining wall and onto the shore and the roadway above. (Tara Walton/The Canadian Press via AP) A tree downed by strong winds lays across the front of a vehicle parked on Beech Ave. Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, on the North Side of Pittsburgh. (Jessie Wardarski/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP) Jill Anszis holds her dog Tinker Bell as she looks at the house she was in at the time a tree fell upon it in Springfield, Pa., Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Thousands of utility customers remain without power in Pennsylvania as high winds continue to roar through the state, knocking down trees and power lines. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Drew Mitchell, an employee of Falling Timber Landscaping of Saxonburg, Pa., removed branches from a tree the fell on the roof of the home of Joe and Alise Zylinski Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, in Natrona Heights, Pa. Mr. Zylinski said work was done on the roof on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. (Nate Guidry/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP) New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, right, joins Captain Brian MacLaren, left, on an ice breaking mission aboard the New York Power Authority's ice breaker William Latham on the Niagara River, to keep water intakes clear, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Giant chunks of ice spilled over the banks of the Niagara River across from Buffalo on Sunday, creating a jagged, frosty barrier between the river and a scenic road and high winds howled through much of the nation's eastern half for a second day Monday. (John Hickey/Buffalo News via AP, Pool) Parking enforcement officer Sally Carnevale struggles with a gust of wind as she checks out cars on North Street in Pittsfield, Mass., Monday, February 25, 2019. Winds over 30 miles per hour with gusts even higher are causing poor visibility and local power outages. (Ben Garver/The Berkshire Eagle via AP) LONDON (AP) - Prime Minister Theresa May returned from a seemingly unproductive meeting with European Union leaders Monday to a growing attempt by British lawmakers to stop her from taking Britain out of the EU on March 29 without a divorce deal. With May and the EU at odds over not just how, but when Brexit should happen, her political opponents were getting increasingly desperate to take control of Britain's muddled departure from the bloc. At an EU-Arab League summit in Egypt, the EU warned Britain it faces the prospect of delaying its planned March 29 departure or the consequences of a chaotic exit. European Council President Donald Tusk, who chairs meetings of EU nation leaders, said Monday it would be "rational" to postpone Brexit day. May insisted she intends for Britain to leave as planned in a little more than a month. But her often divided opponents may be coalescing around a plan to prevent Britain crashing out of the EU with no agreement in place. The main opposition Labour Party took a big step Monday toward backing a new referendum on the country's EU membership. The party has previously said it would support a referendum as a last resort if it could not secure a new election or make changes to May's EU divorce deal. Britain's Parliament has so far rejected the deal struck between May's government and the bloc, and is due to hold a series of votes Wednesday on next steps in the Brexit process. British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a media conference at the conclusion of an EU-Arab League summit at the Sharm El Sheikh convention center in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. British Prime Minister Theresa May stays convinced that March 29 remains a realistic Brexit date, despite the EU urging Britain to delay its departure from the bloc to avoid a chaotic rupture. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) Labour has proposed its own withdrawal plan as an alternative to the government's deal with the EU. The party said Monday it would back a second public vote if the House of Commons rejects its plan this week, as is widely expected. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the party is committed to "putting forward or supporting an amendment in favor of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country." The party did not specify what voters might be asked to consider in any future vote, though it has previously said the option of Britain remaining an EU member would be included. Labour has previously said it would only support a second referendum as a last resort if it could not secure a new general election or make changes to May's divorce deal. The change in approach follows the resignations of nine Labour lawmakers last week, partly over the party's failure to back another Brexit referendum. It is likely to cheer many party members, who have backed calls for a so-called "people's vote." While there is little chance of a second referendum taking place without the support of Labour, the path to another Brexit vote is far from clear. It would require the support of numerous lawmakers from the governing Conservative Party, for example. Since lawmakers rejected May's deal with the EU last month, the prime minister has sought to get changes from Brussels on a provision for the border between the U.K.'s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland. The mechanism, known as the backstop, is a safeguard that would keep the U.K. in a customs union with the EU to remove the need for checks along the Irish border until a permanent new trading relationship is in place. May wants to revise the deal to reassure opponents from her Conservative Party, as well as from a Northern Ireland party that props up her minority government, the backstop would only apply temporarily. But EU leaders insist that the legally binding Brexit withdrawal agreement, which took a year and a half to negotiate, can't be reopened. The impasse has raised concerns that Britain will leave the EU without a deal, a scenario that would likely mean new tariffs on British exports and serious disruption to trade between the two sides. The Bank of England has warned that the British economy could shrink by 8 percent in the months after a disorderly Brexit. May has said a new vote on any revised Brexit deal won't be held this week and could come as late as March 12. A number of British lawmakers are seeking to wrest control of the process from the government and are looking to get support for an amendment that would require May to seek an extension to the Brexit date if Parliament fails to back her deal. "I don't see how businesses can plan. I don't see how public services can plan, and I think it's just deeply damaging," Labour lawmaker Yvette Cooper, one of those behind the move, told the BBC. On Monday, the EU's Tusk warned that the chances of a withdrawal agreement being concluded in time are receding, and that sticking by the planned Brexit date would be too risky. "I believe that in the situation we are in, an extension would be a rational solution," Tusk told reporters at an EU-Arab League summit in Egypt after talks with May that he said included discussions over extending the Brexit process. May insisted a deal in time was still possible. "It is within our grasp to leave with a deal on 29th of March and I think that that is where all of our energies should be focused," May said. She said that "any delay is a delay. It doesn't address the issue." Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte warned her against "sleepwalking" into a chaotic Brexit next month. "It's absolutely unacceptable. And I think your best friends have to warn you for that," Rutte told the BBC. "Wake up. This is real." ___ Raf Casert in Brussels and Pan Pylas in London contributed. ___ This story has been corrected to show nine Labour Party lawmakers, not eight, resigned last week. ___ Follow AP's full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit European Union Council President Donald Tusk, right, speaks with British Prime Minister Theresa May during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a summit of EU and Arab leaders at the Sharm El Sheikh convention center in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. British Prime Minister Theresa May is set to hold Brexit talks with European Council President Donald Tusk ahead of a potentially pivotal week for her plans to lead her country out of the European Union. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, Pool) British Prime Minister Theresa May makes her way to a media conference at the conclusion of an EU-Arab League summit at the Sharm El Sheikh convention center in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. British Prime Minister Theresa May stays convinced that March 29 remains a realistic Brexit date, despite the EU urging Britain to delay its departure from the bloc to avoid a chaotic rupture. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) British Prime Minister Theresa May, center, speaks with Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, left, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, right, during a meeting of leaders at an EU-Arab summit at the Sharm El Sheikh convention center in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. Leaders from European Union and Arab League countries are holding their first-ever summit, meeting in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss migration, security and business deals. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) British Prime Minister Theresa May makes her way to a media conference at the conclusion of an EU-Arab League summit at the Sharm El Sheikh convention center in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. British Prime Minister Theresa May stays convinced that March 29 remains a realistic Brexit date, despite the EU urging Britain to delay its departure from the bloc to avoid a chaotic rupture. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) British Prime Minister Theresa May takes her seat as she prepares to meet with European Council President Donald Tusk for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a summit of EU and Arab leaders at the Sharm El Sheikh convention center in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. British Prime Minister Theresa May is set to hold Brexit talks with European Council President Donald Tusk ahead of a potentially pivotal week for her plans to lead her country out of the European Union. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, Pool) British Prime Minister Theresa May, left, meets with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of an EU-Arab League summit at the Sharm El Sheikh convention center in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Leaders from European Union and Arab League countries met for a second day in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss migration, security and business deals. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, Pool) British Prime Minister Theresa May attends a meeting of leaders at an EU-Arab summit at the Sharm El Sheikh convention center in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. Leaders from European Union and Arab League countries are holding their first-ever summit, meeting in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss migration, security and business deals. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) KANO, Nigeria (AP) - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari surged to an early lead in election returns Monday, winning seven of 36 states in Africa's largest democracy, while the main opposition rejected the count, alleging manipulation. Election observers said the last-minute postponement of the vote until Saturday discouraged some Nigerians from going to the polls as Buhari seeks a second term heading a country troubled by corruption, insecurity and a weak economy. Buhari, a former military dictator from the north, faced a strong challenge from top opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president and businessman, in a race many saw as too close to call. As of midnight, Abubakar had won three southern states and the territory that includes the capital, Abuja. Buhari led by more than 450,000 votes overall. Abubakar's party chairman, Uche Secondus, accused ruling party agents of hacking into the electoral commission's computer server and manipulating results. He rejected the count as "incorrect, thus unacceptable." The ruling party dismissed the claim and accused Abubakar's party of trying to discredit the election. Spokesman Festus Keyamo urged the opposition not to "derail us to the dark past with its childish antics." Supporters of the ruling party and main opposition party briefly pull knives and machetes on each other during an otherwise celebratory gathering of supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Final results are expected on Tuesday or Wednesday. African Union observers called the political climate "largely peaceful and conducive for the conducting of credible elections" but urged the country of some 190 million people to remain calm. A Nigerian civil society platform, the Situation Room, noted "major logistic lapses" in the vote. The election was a step back from 2015, praised as one of Nigeria's most transparent and efficient votes, the group said. At least 39 people were killed in voting-related violence over the weekend. Election observers organized by the Commonwealth, of which Nigeria is a member, called that "deeply troubling," saying Africa's largest democracy can do better. "The peaceful achievement of millions was overshadowed by the violence of a few," U.S. Ambassador Stuart Symington said. Nigeria's election was originally scheduled for Feb. 16 but the electoral commission postponed it just hours before polls were to open, citing logistical issues. The late arrival of election officials and materials, as well as malfunctions and harassment, caused voting to continue in parts of the country into Sunday. The delays "risk undermining citizen confidence in elections and disenfranchising voters," the U.S.-based International Republican Institute and National Democratic Institute observers said. European Union observers said many people were discouraged from voting. It was not yet clear how many of Nigeria's estimated 73 million eligible voters turned out. The YIAGA Africa project, which deployed more than 3,900 observers, put it at between 36 percent and 40 percent, down from 44 percent in 2015. It projected that no runoff election will be needed. Widespread concerns continued about possible incitement to violence by the major political parties, the U.S.-based observers said, while noting that Nigerians have showed resilience and patience. Supporters of Buhari and Abubakar briefly confronted each other in the northern city of Kano, pulling knives and machetes. The overall mood was celebratory, however, as the ruling party anticipated victory in Nigeria's largest city and the heart of the largely Muslim north. The president is widely seen as being relatively upright in a country riddled with corruption. But some voters said he has not delivered on his promises. "I believe we need a change," said 34-year-old Cosmos Eze in Kano, as a television in his auto parts shop broadcast election results. Shops along his street are sprinkled with names like Blessed, Success and Godswill, but workers grumbled. Nigeria's economy dipped into a rare recession in 2016 when global oil prices crashed, and unemployment shot up to 23 percent. Recovery from the recession has been slow. A bag of rice that was 7,500 naira ($20) before Buhari took office is now twice that, said Nasir Auwal, a 35-year-old bank worker. He supported the president, however, saying the threat from the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram has essentially disappeared in the city that once saw scores of people killed. "Before, when I left my house, my wife would cry because she was afraid I would not come back," Auwal said. The extremists were largely pushed out of communities under Buhari but have made a deadly resurgence in recent months, attacking military bases in the northeast. Waiting for the announcement of a winner, 48-year-old shop worker Innocent Akannam repeated the wishes of many Nigerians. "What I'm expecting after the final results is, let there be peace," he said. ___ Associated Press writer Cara Anna reported in Kano, Nigeria, and AP writer Jerome Delay reported from Abuja, Nigeria. AP photographer Ben Curtis in Kano contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP's full coverage of the Nigeria elections here: https://www.apnews.com/Nigeria ___ Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari celebrate the announcement of results favoring his All Progressives Congress (APC) party in their state, anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari celebrate the announcement of results favoring his All Progressives Congress (APC) party in their state, anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari celebrate the announcement of results favoring his All Progressives Congress (APC) party in their state, anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari celebrate the announcement of results favoring his All Progressives Congress (APC) party in their state, anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Riot policeman wear gas masks and carry a tear gas grenade launcher, but did not fire, during a celebratory gathering of supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari celebrate the announcement of results favoring his All Progressives Congress (APC) party in their state, anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Supporters of the ruling party and main opposition party briefly pull knives and machetes on each other during an otherwise celebratory gathering of supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) A riot policeman wears a gas mask, though no gas was fired, during a celebratory gathering of supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari's anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Nigerians military guard the campaign headquarters of President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Nigeria, Monday Feb. 25, 2019. - Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term, while observers criticized the weeklong delay in balloting that they said discouraged some voters from taking part. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari celebrate the announcement of results favoring his All Progressives Congress (APC) party in their state, anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Supporters of the ruling party and main opposition party briefly pull knives and machetes on each other during an otherwise celebratory gathering of supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari celebrate the announcement of results favoring his All Progressives Congress (APC) party in their state, anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari celebrate the announcement of results favoring his All Progressives Congress (APC) party in their state, anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari celebrate the announcement of results favoring his All Progressives Congress (APC) party in their state, anticipating victory, in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission on Monday began announcing official results from the country's 36 states as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a second term. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) In this photo released by the Nigeria State House, Nigeria Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, of the All Progressives Congress party, left, and wife Aisha Buhari, right, upon arrival Abuja from Daura Nigeria on Monday Feb. 25, 2019. Official results of Nigeria's presidential election are expected as early as Monday in what is being seen as a close race between Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar (Bayo Omoboriowo/Nigeria State House via AP) Nigerians read newspapers at a newsstand in Abuja, Nigeria, Monday Feb. 25, 2019. Official results of Nigeria's presidential election are expected as early as Monday in what is being seen as a close race between Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) School girls walk on the streets in Yola, Nigeria, Monday Feb. 25, 2019. Official results of Nigeria's presidential election are expected as early as Monday in what is being seen as a close race between Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba) Vigilantes and local hunters armed with locally made guns patrol on the street near the Independent National Electoral Commission office in Yola, Nigeria, Monday Feb. 25, 2019. Official results of Nigeria's presidential election are expected as early as Monday in what is being seen as a close race between Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba) In this photo released by the Nigeria State House, Nigeria Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, of the All Progressives Congress party, waves as he departs from Daura, Nigeria, to Abuja on Monday Feb. 25, 2019. Official results of Nigeria's presidential election are expected as early as Monday in what is being seen as a close race between Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar (Bayo Omoboriowo/Nigeria State House via AP) Nigerians read newspapers at a newsstand in Abuja, Nigeria, Monday Feb. 25, 2019. Official results of Nigeria's presidential election are expected as early as Monday in what is being seen as a close race between Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) A child roasts meat over a fire in Yola, Nigeria, Monday Feb. 25, 2019. Official results of Nigeria's presidential election are expected as early as Monday in what is being seen as a close race between Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba) A street vendor selling popcorn walks past a police anti-riot truck guarding the offices of the electoral commission in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria is counting votes in its presidential election and observers are giving mixed assessments of the process. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Vigilantes and local hunters armed with locally made guns patrol on the street near the Independent National Electoral Commission office in Yola, Nigeria, Monday Feb. 25, 2019. Official results of Nigeria's presidential election are expected as early Monday in what is being seen as a close race between Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba) Security forces direct two disabled men in hand-pushed wheelchairs away from a road which has been closed to vehicles for security reasons, leading to the electoral commission offices in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria is counting votes in its presidential election and observers are giving mixed assessments of the process. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Security forces and an anti-riot truck guard the offices of the electoral commission in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria is counting votes in its presidential election and observers are giving mixed assessments of the process. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) A woman carries her child along a road which has been closed to vehicles for security reasons, leading to the electoral commission offices in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria is counting votes in its presidential election and observers are giving mixed assessments of the process. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) A mounted policeman rides his horse as he patrols outside the electoral commission offices in Kano, northern Nigeria Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Nigeria is counting votes in its presidential election and observers are giving mixed assessments of the process. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - A global battle between the U.S. government and Chinese tech company Huawei over allegations that it is a cybersecurity risk overshadowed the opening Monday of the world's biggest mobile industry trade fair. Huawei has an outsize presence at MWC Barcelona, from its displays in three separate show halls down to its red sponsorship logo adorning visitor pass lanyards. The focus at this year's meeting is new 5G networks due to roll out in the coming years. But the dispute over Huawei, the world's biggest maker of networking gear, is casting a pall. The United States government dispatched a big delegation to press its case with telecom executives and government officials that they should not use Huawei as a supplier over national security concerns. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration says the Chinese government could use Huawei equipment to snoop on the world's internet traffic - accusations Huawei has rejected, saying there has been no proof of a cybersecurity breach. In a fresh salvo, 11 U.S. senators on Monday called for the federal government to ban solar power inverters - advanced control systems - made by Huawei, saying they pose a national security threat to U.S. energy infrastructure. Huawei's counteroffensive includes making its case directly to government officials, companies and journalists. It has unveiled a new folding 5G phone and its executives are speaking on keynote panels at the show. Formerly known as Mobile World Congress, the show is a key forum for lobbying and deal-making that's expected to draw 100,000 visitors. "The geopolitical tensions between the U.S.A. and China will undoubtedly be a hot topic," said Shaun Collins, CEO of research firm CCS Insight. "There is little doubt that operators around the world are concerned that draconian sanctions on their ability to use Huawei's 5G infrastructure could have detrimental effects on their 5G roll-out plans." A man uses the new glasses VR 02 Real during the Mobile World Congress wireless show, in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) runs from 25-28 February in Barcelona, where companies from all over the world gather to share new products. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) Behind closed doors, U.S. officials have been suggesting that Ericsson of Sweden and Finland's Nokia should be preferred suppliers, but telecom providers like Huawei for its cheap but good quality equipment. That helps lower the cost to customers of using new 5G networks, which promise lightning fast download speeds and less signal lag - advancements that will help develop self-driving cars, factory robots and remote surgery. At Huawei's sprawling main pavilion, lit in shimmering LED lights, the company showed off virtual reality racing games that use 5G to provide crisper graphics and quicker response times than 4G. "Definitely compared to other big global vendors, they're cost efficient," said Sharif Shah Jamal Raz, a vice president at Bangladesh mobile operator Robi Axiata, as he and his colleagues inspected Huawei's display of network base stations and modular antennas. Trump tweeted last week that he wanted the U.S. to catch up in the 5G race through competition, "not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies." Though he didn't mention China or Huawei, the comments could be seen as a more toned-down approach to the company, which has long been blocked in the U.S. Guo Ping, one of three Huawei executives who take turns as chairman, told reporters Sunday that he read Trump's tweet as an admission that the U.S. needs faster internet networks and is lagging in this respect. Guo stressed that his company "will never allow for backdoors in our equipment," and it would never violate laws and regulations in countries where it operates. U.S. allies in Europe are still making their minds up on allowing Huawei gear in 5G networks and it's not clear if Washington's lobbying campaign is having an effect, with some viewing it as a calculation of technical risks rather than as part of a broader battle for tech supremacy between China and the U.S. The CEO of Ericsson, Borje Ekholm, said countries face "critical decisions" as they roll out 5G networks. "As we talk to our customers, they are feeling the uncertainty and they are concerned," Ekholm said at the MWC show. A ban on Huawei could delay the rollout of 5G in Europe by two years, said Nick Read, CEO of Vodafone, one of the world's biggest mobile operators. The "implication is suddenly you've got to do a massive swap of equipment. Hugely disruptive to national infrastructure, consumers (and) very, very expensive," he said. The head of Britain's government surveillance agency, Jeremy Fleming, said Monday that China's tech dominance posed a complex strategic challenge. "We have to understand the opportunities and threats from China's technological offer," Fleming said in a speech in Singapore, according to a transcript. "We have to take a clear view on the implications of China's technological acquisition strategy in the West." The British government is carrying out a review of the risks involved with telecom infrastructure that will help it decide on Huawei's role in 5G networks. U.K. cybersecurity officials have said previously they think the risks involved with Huawei can be managed. GSMA, an association that represents 750 mobile operators worldwide, is recommending a testing and certification regime for Europe to ensure confidence in network security. Guo called for the industry and governments to develop "clear and unified" cybersecurity standards and regulations, and said decisions should be made by technical experts rather than politicians. ___ Follow Kelvin Chan at www.twitter.com/chanman A banner of the 5G network is displayed during the Mobile World Congress wireless show, in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) runs from 25-28 February in Barcelona, where companies from all over the world gather to share new products. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2019, file photo, the logos of Huawei are displayed at its retail shop window reflecting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Beijing. China's Huawei is set to take the wraps off a new folding-screen phone, in a fresh bid for global dominance of the stagnating smartphone market. The company is expected on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019 to unveil the new device, which can be used on superfast next-generation mobile networks due to come online in the coming years. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File) Attendees dance inside a capsule called Orbiting, by Samsung Galaxy, during the Mobile World Congress wireless show, in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) runs from 25-28 February in Barcelona, where companies from all over the world gather to share new products. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) A man uses the new glasses Playgiga during the Mobile World Congress wireless show, in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) runs from 25-28 February in Barcelona, where companies from all over the world gather to share new products. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) The new models of Sony Xperia 10 are seen displayed at the Mobile World Congress wireless show, in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) runs from 25-28 February in Barcelona, where companies from all over the world gather to share new products. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Attendees take pictures of the new Huawei Mate X foldable 5G smartphone during the Mobile World Congress wireless show, in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) runs from 25-28 February in Barcelona, where companies from all over the world gather to share new products. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Attendees walk along the Mobile World Congress wireless show, in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) runs from 25-28 February in Barcelona, where companies from all over the world gather to share new products. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) Visitors sit inside an Intelligent Mobility Ecosystem vehicle, powered by SAP Leonardo, during the Mobile World Congress wireless show, in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) runs from 25-28 February in Barcelona, where companies from all over the world gather to share new products. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) A visitor jumps inside a capsule called Orbiting, by Samsung Galaxy, during the Mobile World Congress wireless show, in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) runs from 25-28 February in Barcelona, where companies from all over the world gather to share new products. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Attendees walk to enter at the Mobile World Congress wireless show, in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) runs from 25-28 February in Barcelona, where companies from all over the world gather to share new products. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) A XR-1 5G cloud robot by CloudMinds speaks with a visitor, during the Mobile World Congress wireless show, in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) runs from 25-28 February in Barcelona, where companies from all over the world gather to share new products. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Huawei CEO Richard Yu displays a new Huawei MateBook X Pro laptop at the Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. The fair started with press conferences on Sunday, before the doors open on Monday, Feb. 25, and runs until Feb. 28. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) Huawei CEO Richard Yu displays the new Huawei Mate X foldable 5G smartphone at the Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. The fair started with press conferences on Sunday, before the doors open on Monday, Feb. 25, and runs until Feb. 28. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) Attendees take pictures of the new Huawei Mate X foldable 5G smartphone during the Mobile World Congress wireless show, in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) runs from 25-28 February in Barcelona, where companies from all over the world gather to share new products. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) Attendees take pictures of the new Huawei Mate X foldable 5G smartphone during the Mobile World Congress wireless show, in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) runs from 25-28 February in Barcelona, where companies from all over the world gather to share new products. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) Attendees take pictures of the new Huawei Mate X foldable 5G smartphone during the Mobile World Congress wireless show, in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) runs from 25-28 February in Barcelona, where companies from all over the world gather to share new products. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) LOS ANGELES (AP) - Right off-stage from where the Oscars are handed out, there's a whole mini-show happening in the wings with a cast of busy production people, anxious stars and dazed winners circulating in and out of the tight space. The Associated Press got a front seat to the action, where "Aquaman" star Jason Momoa could be seen giving a bear hug to "Free Solo" director Jimmy Chin, Lady Gaga asked, "Did I nail it?" after her show-stopping "Shallow" performance and "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" producer Amy Pascal looked at her Oscar and proclaimed, "It's so cute!" Here are some highlights that didn't make the broadcast of the 91st Academy Awards. BUT WHERE'S MY DRINK? Winners are often quite shell-shocked walking off the main stage of the Dolby Theatre and into the wings where they're immediately photographed and asked to do a reaction video, but some quickly decide on what they want: A drink. Lady Gaga, still wiping away tears from her emotional win for best song, came backstage and asked, "Is there champagne?" By the time she'd made it to the main hallway, a flute had found its way into her hands, but she hoped that photographers wouldn't capture her downing it. Others had friends to help, and best actress winner Olivia Colman had two: Sam Rockwell and Frances McDormand. "White wine for this woman, white wine," McDormand said as soon as they got off-stage. Mark Ronson, from left, Anthony Rossomando, Lady Gaga, and Andrew Wyatt, winners of the award for best original song for "Shallow" from "A Star Is Born", attend the Governors Ball after the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Eric Jamison/Invision/AP) Rockwell chimed in: "She needs a white wine." And sometimes, you don't even need to have won to get one. Sarah Paulson told her co-presenter Paul Rudd they were going to get cocktails - after they'd finished their job of course. CAPTAIN AMERICA MEETS AQUAMAN Chris Evans had moments with more than a few people backstage as one of the early presenters, many of which came in line for the restroom of all places. One such encounter was when comic book imprint rival Jason Momoa, aka DC's "Aquaman," came backstage. "Captain America" kept things civil as the two exchanged "hey mans." Later, a woman came through saying, "I have somebody who needs to be in the theater" who hoped to skip the line. That somebody was best supporting actress nominee Rachel Weisz. "Oh, just somebody," Evans joked, while letting Weisz cut to the front of the line. Steve Rogers would be proud. EVERYONE WHO'S ANYONE HAD A COMFORTABLE SHOE OPTION The Oscars can be a long night for women in uncomfortable footwear, so Jennifer Hudson and Bette Midler came prepared. Hudson, who performed the nominated song "I'll Fight," wore slippers with royal blue feathers before putting on her lacy high heels for her moment on stage. And Midler had on a pair of black boots and socks, as well as a corduroy jacket, that were switched out for a pair of metallic platforms to sing "Where the Lost Things Go." But there was one woman who stayed in the comfy footwear all night: last year's best actress winner Frances McDormand rocked a pair of bright yellow Birkenstock sandals. A BACKSTAGE SING-ALONG Sure, everyone who tuned in for the Oscars probably caught the opening number at the very least, but right off-stage, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey and Maya Rudolph all had their own private sing-and-dance-along to the performance. They bobbed their heads along to "We Will Rock You," but really got into it for "We Are the Champions," before taking the stage to present the best supporting actress trophy to Regina King. Not even "Shallow" got such a karaoke reception - but perhaps it was because everyone, KiKi Layne included, was too rapt with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's performance. EVEN THE PRESENTERS ARE NERVOUS "I'm so nervous," said Awkwafina as she made her way to stage to present the sound editing and mixing awards with John Mulaney. Thankfully her bit was all about being nervous, so it wasn't exactly a bad thing to actually be feeling that way. Others get ribbed. Guillermo del Toro laughed and greeted Allison Janney, who had just walked off stage, telling her, "You didn't (expletive) it up!" And some treat themselves to a snack. Jennifer Lopez grabbed a small plate of cheese and crackers after presenting. "You deserve it," said Evans. BRIE LARSON OFFERS OSCARS ADVICE Brie Larson seemed a little hesitant to join in on Spike Lee's adapted screenplay win moment. She presented the award to him with Samuel L. Jackson, who Lee called to join in on a photo backstage. Larson demurred. "No, no, I'm in the back," she said as Jackson tried to pull her up to the front of the photo with a beaming Lee, still clutching his speech in one hand and his Oscar in another. "Major," Larson said, as they all posed. As they walked out, Larson gave co-writers David Rabinowitz and Charlie Wachtel a piece of advice about winning an Oscar. "Enjoy the moment," she said. "It won't make sense for a long time." Larson won her best actress trophy for "Room" in 2016. AMY ADAMS IS A SUPPORTIVE CO-STAR Late into the show, Amy Adams dashed out of the green room, champagne in hand. Her husband Darren Le Gallo chased after her with her purse. "You forgot this," he said. But Adams had more important things to think about, like where she was going to stash the champagne. "I want to be back there for this," she said. The best actor category was quickly approaching and her "Vice" co-star Christian Bale was a nominee. ___ Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr ___ For full coverage of the Oscars, visit: https://apnews.com/AcademyAwards . Lady Gaga, appears with Andrew Wyatt, from left, Anthony Rossomando, and Mark Ronson, with their award for best original song for "Shallow" from "A Star Is Born", in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) Maya Rudolph, from left, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler present the award for best performance by an actress in a supporting role at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Helen Mirren, left, and Jason Momoa present the award for best documentary feature at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Jennifer Lopez, left, and Chris Evans walk on stage to present the award for best production design at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Brie Larson arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Eric Jamison/Invision/AP) Frances McDormand, left, presents Olivia Colman with the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for "The Favourite" at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) DAKAR, Senegal (AP) - Senegal's electoral commission on Monday urged presidential candidates and their supporters to avoid making premature declarations about the outcome of Sunday's vote. The call came after Senegal's prime minister claimed that the party's unofficial results showed incumbent president Macky Sall had won re-election. That declaration was rejected however by two opposition candidates who asserted the vote would go to a runoff. Senegal's electoral commission said that the Feb. 24 elections went generally well nationwide and abroad, adding that vote counting continued Monday and results are being collected by "authorized structures." "It is the Constitutional Council that will carry out the final proclamation of the results," it said, once all votes are tallied, properly transmitted and the court approves provisional results. The commission "calls on the candidates and their supporters, as well as the actors of the civil society and the population, to abstain from making any premature declaration on the results," it said in a statement. "It calls on the usual the political actors to adopt the same exemplary behavior as that observed by the citizens, who put forward their civic spirit" on Sunday. Prime Minister Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne, who is from the president's ruling party, told reporters late Sunday that his unofficial results show that Sall had won 57 percent of the vote according to results compiled by their team. The winning candidate must get more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a second round. Senegalese men cast their ballot at a polling station in Dakar, Senegal Sunday Feb. 24, 2019. Voters are choosing whether to give President Macky Sall a second term in office as he faces four challengers.(AP Photo/Jane Hahn) "Tomorrow, the people will have the results in all departments. We will see that President Sall was re-elected in the first round," said Dionne, adding that his party's unofficial results show that Sall won in 13 of Senegal's 14 regions. However, top opposition candidate Idrissa Seck told reporters that he and his supporters do not accept the unofficial reports of a Sall victory. "We congratulate the people who have mainly expressed their choice in favor of the opposition," said Seck. He blamed media outlets for wrongly citing results given by Sall's party as official. "We will not accept these results, we call on all Senegalese people to remain vigilant and carefully prepare for the second round," said Seck. Opposition candidate Ousmane Sonko, who is popular with the youth, also spoke at the press conference with Seck and agreed that preliminary results indicate a second round should be held. "I call on the religious leaders to call the ruling party to their senses," said Sonko. The official provisional results announced by Senegal's National Census of Votes Commission are not expected until Thursday or Friday, according to Demba Kandji, chairman of the commission. The constitutional court then must approve them. If no candidate wins a clear majority of more than 50 percent, the country will go to a second round of voting next month. Sall faced four challengers in Sunday's vote including Seck, who has run for the office twice before. The 57-year-old incumbent sought re-election on his record of building roads and creating jobs, while opposition supporters maintained those efforts had not reached many in this West African country where young men often risk their lives to migrate to Europe. Senegal's civil society observation mission, which deployed more than 3,000 observers, said Monday it welcomed "the maturity of the Senegalese people but deplored the statements and irresponsible behavior of some actors." The missions called out opposition members for targeting national and international media, and the statement by the prime minister suggesting a victory for Sall, which it said encroached on authorities who are officially meant to proclaim results. The missions called on all actors to show restraint in order to preserve the peace that has marked Senegal's vote. This year's vote also has been marked by allegations that the presidency had effectively blocked two prominent opposition politicians from taking part: Dakar's former mayor and the son of the president who Sall ousted from office in 2012. That year he had campaigned on a message of change to beat longtime former President Abdoulaye Wade. A constitutional referendum since then has shortened the presidential term from seven years to five. Sall weathered some criticism after he finished out his seven-year mandate following that law change. Senegal has long been a democratic example in West Africa where coups and clinging to power used to be all too common in neighboring countries. European Union election observers reported no major irregularities by mid-day Sunday. ___ Associated Press writer Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal contributed to this report. A Senegalese woman picks up voting cards before casting her ballot at a polling station in Dakar, Senegal, Sunday Feb. 24, 2019. Voters are choosing whether to give President Macky Sall a second term in office as he faces four challengers.(AP Photo/Jane Hahn) Senegalese voters line up to cast their ballot at a polling station in Dakar, Senegal, Sunday Feb. 24, 2019. Voters are choosing whether to give President Macky Sall a second term in office as he faces four challengers.(AP Photo/Jane Hahn) Senegalese voters line up to cast their votes at a polling station in Dakar, Senegal, Sunday Feb. 24, 2019. Voters are choosing whether to give President Macky Sall a second term in office as he faces four challengers. (AP Photo/Jane Hahn) Marshs Political Risk Map 2019 is based on data from Fitch Solutions, a leading source of independent political, macroeconomic, financial, and industry risk analysis. The interactive map rates more than 200 countries and territories on the basis of short- and long-term political, economic, and operational stability and gives insight into where risks are most likely to emerge. The map can be used to help multinationals make more informed decisions about how to deploy their financial resources in the year ahead. Key findings of the Political Risk Map 2019 include: A transition to a more multi-polar world order of protectionism is likely to continue in 2019, with isolationist and protectionist sentiments and practices rising in some counties, halting, at least momentarily, the process of globalization. Trade tariffs and geopolitical disputes between the US and China could escalate in 2019, bringing the risk of further Chinese retaliation and US counter-retaliation. Export heavy economies, like Germany, are likely to be impacted. Russias relations with the West will remain tense in 2019 and could result in further sanctions on Russia. The UKs negotiations to exit the European Union continue to loom over the political risk landscape, while continued political instability in Spain led to a sharp decline in the countrys short-term political risk index (STPRI). Positive results from 2018 presidential and legislative elections in Guatemala, Chile, and Paraguay led to improved STPRI in those countries, while continued political unrest in Nicaragua significantly reduced the countrys STPRI. The African region once again saw some of the biggest improvements in political risk and also some of the most notable deteriorations. STPRI scores in South Africa, Mozambique, and South Sudan all improved, while uncertainty around elections and deteriorating economic and humanitarian conditions have led to sharp increases in political risk in Zambia, Mali, Algeria, Tunisia, Cameroon, and the Central African Republic. Businesses with direct foreign investments are facing an unprecedented breadth of challenges today from emerging economies to so-called developed economies, said Evan Freely, Global Practice Leader, Credit Specialties, Marsh. In uncertain times, vigilance and broad, systemic risk analysis coupled with political and trade credit insurance, will be vital to minimizing these threats. Findings from Marshs Political Risk Map 2019 are similar to the World Economic Forums Global Risks Report 2019, which ranked rising geopolitical and geo-economic tensions as the most urgent risk in 2019. Marshs Political Risk Map 2019 DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - The first astronaut from the United Arab Emirates will blast off into space on Sept. 25 on a trip to the International Space Station, authorities announced Monday. Either military pilot Hazza al-Mansoori or engineer Sultan al-Neyadi will be the first Emirati in space, part of an ambitious space program for this Gulf Arab nation home to the world's tallest building and the busiest airport for international travel. But the two men, selected from over 4,000 applicants, say they aren't worried after the recent failure of another Russian rocket carrying astronauts to the space station. "After the incident we were more confident with the preparedness of the mission," al-Mansoori told The Associated Press. "In case of any failure there is equipment onboard the rocket to ensure the safety of the crew, which made us more confident that the system works with a high level of adequacy." That incident happened Oct. 11, which saw a Soyuz-FG rocket carrying U.S. astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin fail shortly after launch due to a damaged sensor. The two men landed safely in Kazakhstan. "The astronauts who were involved will go into space soon," al-Neyadi said. "This shows how safe the Soyuz is, that astronauts are able to survive in case of any accident." Emirati astronauts Sultan al-Neyadi, left, and Hazza al-Mansoori, are interviewed by The Associated Press in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The UAE said on Monday it will send either astronaut al-Mansoori or al-Neyadi to the International Space Station on Sept. 25 aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket. The UAE has a fledgling space program with big ambitions. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell) Both men have undergone intensive training at the Star City space center outside of Moscow, which included pressure chamber tests, centrifuge tests, parabolic flight training, and winter survival training. Parabolic flights allow astronauts to train for being weightless in space. "Since I'm a pilot, I was able to withstand a gravitational force of 9-G," al-Mansoori said. "Now I must train in this sort of gravitational force, 0-G, the lack of gravity." Al-Neyadi said the biggest challenge he faced was not a physical one. "The most difficult thing perhaps was learning Russian, since it's the only language which we will use to communicate with the crew onboard the vessel," he told the AP. "It was also the language they used while training at the center in Russia." The Russian Soyuz spacecraft is currently the only vehicle that can ferry crews to the International Space Station after the U.S. space shuttle fleet retired. Organizers had said they'd announce the name of the astronaut going Monday. They didn't, without offering an explanation. It remains unclear when authorities will choose the first astronaut to go in September. The first astronaut will travel in September with the Russian space mission aboard Soyuz MS-15 and spend eight days at the International Space Station. The selected astronaut will return onboard the Soyuz MS-12 and then be replaced by the second astronaut. The UAE has a fledgling space program with big ambitions. It launched its first locally made satellite, KhalifaSat, in October from Japan. It also wants to launch a probe to Mars in 2020. The UAE also says it wants to colonize Mars by 2117, with a fully functioning city of 600,000. Though the men will be over 400 kilometers (250 miles) above the Earth's surface while on their trip, the Emirati astronauts will have a taste of home when they travel closer to the stars. Russia's state-owned RIA Novosti news agency quoted an unnamed industry source saying that UAE space travelers have been offered a menu of Arab dishes to select from when they go into space. The men have chosen maqloubeh, a one-pot rice dish, salona, a lamb stew, and the standard hummus, the agency reported. ___ Associated Press writer Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow contributed to this report. ___ Follow Malak Harb on Twitter at www.twitter.com/malakharb . Emirati astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi, right, speaks to journalists with astronaut Hazza al-Mansoori, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The UAE said on Monday it will send either astronaut al-Mansoori or al-Neyadi to the International Space Station on Sept. 25 aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket. The UAE has a fledgling space program with big ambitions. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell) Spike Lee bounding into the arms of Samuel L. Jackson, and trading shout-outs to Brooklyn (and hats!) with Barbra Streisand. A weeping Lady Gaga in her elegant up-do, extolling the virtues of hard work. A stunned Olivia Colman and her delightfully daft acceptance speech. Historic breakthroughs for winners of color, and for women. Yes, the hostless Oscars at first threatened to be a rather antiseptic affair, but the brisk-moving ceremony soon came alive with genuinely moving feel-good moments and heartwarming surprises - though it finished on a decidedly unsettled note with a best-picture win for the divisive segregation-era drama "Green Book." Some key moments from one of the more unusual nights in recent Oscar memory: ___ WAKANDA MAKES HISTORY, AGAIN It was a great night for diversity at the Oscars, thanks in part to the groundbreaking Marvel film "Black Panther." Celebrated costume designer Ruth E. Carter won for her vivid, futuristic designs, the first black winner in the category, and moments later Hannah Beachler became the first black winner (and nominee, too) in production design. "This has been a long time coming," mused Carter, who thanked the academy for honoring "the empowered way women can look and lead onscreen." As for Beachler, she gave a deeply emotional speech, singling out the ways she had become stronger. "I give the strength to all of those who come next to keep going, to never give up," she said. Jay Hart, left, and Hannah Beachler kiss their awards for best production design for "Black Panther" in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) FINALLY, OSCAR DOES THE 'RIGHT THING' Carter also thanked Lee, with whom she worked on the 1992 "Malcom X," and soon Lee himself was onstage, accepting his award for best adapted screenplay for "BlacKkKlansman." It was perhaps the feel-good moment of the night as the director, who'd never won a competitive Oscar, leaped up into the arms of presenter Jackson. His speech touched on Black History Month, Jamestown, and his own grandmother, "who called me Spikey-poo," and used her Social Security checks to put him through school. He ended with a political call to arms: "Let's all be on the right side of history," he said of the presidential election. "Let's do the right thing!" A GREAT NIGHT FOR GRANDMA... It wasn't just Lee's grandma who came in for special praise. Best supporting actor Mahershala Ali dedicated his second Oscar to his own grandmother, "who has been in my ear my entire life, telling me that if first I don't succeed, try try again, that I could do anything I put my mind to." And if it wasn't Grandma, it was Mom. Best supporting actress Regina King brought mother Gloria as her date, and thanked her tearfully "for teaching me that God is always leaning in my direction." Best actor Rami Malek also pointed out his mom as he accepted his award for "Bohemian Rhapsody," saying, "I love you, lady." Carter, winning her costume award, called her own 97-year-old mother "the original superhero." Best actress nominee Yalitza Aparicio brought her mother as her date, at one point introducing her to actor Diego Luna. Not to be outdone, while closing the show presenter Julia Roberts thanked her children - and "Bradley Cooper's mother." ... AND ACTUALLY FOR ALL WOMEN... A record number of women took home Oscars on Sunday - 15. It had been a record year for female nominees, too . But that doesn't mean the picture is entirely rosy. After all, none of this year's nominated films for best picture had a female director. And there's still the glaring statistic that only one woman has won best director in the history of the Oscars: Kathryn Bigelow. And only five have been nominated, including none this year. AND FOR ... BUNNIES? So there may not have been an actual Oscar host giving regular comic asides, but Melissa McCarthy delivered a huge laugh just when it was needed. Presenting the costume award along with Brian Tyree Henry, McCarthy, a nominee for best actress, appeared in an elaborate royal get-up, channeling Olivia Colman's Queen Anne in "The Favourite," including a cape embellished with stuffed rabbits - a reference to the queen's beloved pets. The two actors dryly hailed costume designers for their "nuance and sophistication," and also for "never distracting from the story." This, as McCarthy wrestled with a stuffed rabbit on her hand that prevented her from opening the envelope. THE QUEEN PREVAILS In the night's most stunning upset, it was Colman, and not the heavily favored Glenn Close, who took the best actress trophy for her blazingly eccentric turn in "The Favourite." The British actress then proceeded to charm the audience - and the world - with a tearful yet goofy acceptance speech. "Ooh, this is genuinely quite stressful," she began, adding that it was "hilarious" that she had an Oscar. Her delightfully daft remarks got better and better, culminating with a random gush: "LADY GAGA!!" OH, SPEAKING OF GAGA While the lady herself didn't take home the actress prize for "A Star Is Born," she did get her Oscar, for the addictive song "Shallow," which she performed with co-star and director Bradley Cooper. Gaga was weeping with joy as she accepted the award along with co-writers Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt and Anthony Rossomando. After thanking Cooper for believing in her, she gave the kind of inspirational talk she's become known for on the awards circuit : "If you are at home and you're sitting on your couch, and you are watching this right now, all I have to say is that this is hard work," she said. "I've worked hard for a long time, and it's not about winning. But what it's about is not giving up." A FIRST FOR MEXICO This was definitely not the first rodeo for Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron, who'd already won the best director prize for the 2014 "Gravity." With this year's much-lauded and highly personal project "Roma," he picked up another directing award and the cinematography prize, but "Roma" also won the foreign language award, a first for Mexico. "I grew up watching foreign language films and learning so much from them and being inspired," Cuaron said, noting slyly that they included "Citizen Kane" and "Jaws" and "The Godfather." Despite his growing Oscar haul, Cuaron remarked with a smile: "It never gets old being up here." ___ For full coverage of the Oscars, visit: https://apnews.com/AcademyAwards . Samuel L. Jackson, center left, embraces Spike Lee, winner of the award for best adapted screenplay for "BlacKkKlansman" as Brie Larson, right, looks on, at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Ruth E. Carter accepts the award for best costume design for "Black Panther" at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Mahershala Ali accepts the award for best performance by an actor in a supporting role for "Green Book" at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Margarita Martinez Merino, left, shakes hands with Diego Luna, right, as Yalitza Aparicio looks on during arrivals at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) Melissa Berton, center left, and Rayka Zehtabchi accept the award for best documentary short subject for "Period. End of Sentence." at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Melissa McCarthy walks on stage to present the award for best costume design at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Olivia Colman reacts as she accepts the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for "The Favourite" at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Alfonso Cuaron poses with the awards for best director for "Roma", best foreign language film for "Roma", and best cinematography for "Roma" in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - The United States is planning new ways to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to give up power and other means to provide assistance to the people of the economically devastated South American nation after a weekend effort failed to deliver aid. Vice President Mike Pence arrived in the Colombian capital and headed immediately into a meeting with Colombian President Ivan Duque. Pence will also meet with members of a regional coalition and Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido to discuss the next steps aimed at ousting Maduro. A senior administration official said Pence is expected to announce "clear actions" as he speaks to members of the Lima Group, a coalition of more than a dozen nations organized to address the crisis in Venezuela. Pence's appearance before the Lima Group comes two days after a U.S.-backed effort to deliver humanitarian across the border from Colombia ended in violence, with forces loyal to Maduro firing tear gas and buckshot on activists accompanying the supplies and setting the material on fire. Two people were killed and at least 300 wounded. For weeks, the U.S. and regional allies had been amassing emergency food and medical kits on Venezuela's borders in anticipation of carrying out a "humanitarian avalanche" by land and sea to undermine Maduro's rule. Guaido, who has been recognized as interim president by the U.S. and 50 other governments who say Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate, has called on the international community to consider "all options" to resolve Venezuela's crisis. A close ally, Julio Borges, the opposition ambassador to the Lima Group, was more explicit Sunday, urging the use of force against Maduro's government. But U.S. officials have avoided talk of military action. An anti-government Venezuelan migrant wearing protective gear rests from confrontations with Venezuelan National Guards who are blocking the Simon Bolivar International Bridge, in La Parada near Cucuta, Colombia, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, on the border with Venezuela. A U.S.-backed drive to deliver foreign aid to Venezuela on Saturday met strong resistance as troops loyal to President Nicolas Maduro blocked the convoys at the border and fired tear gas on protesters. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) The administration official said the U.S. plans to bring "the full measure of its economic and diplomatic weight to bear on this issue." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in interviews on "Fox News Sunday" and CNN's "State of the Union," did not rule out U.S. military force but said "there are more sanctions to be had." But any additional sanctions will increase the suffering of the Venezuelan people and may lead to more political violence, said Mark Weisbrot, the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, who advocates a negotiated end to the political crisis. "The 'humanitarian aid' this weekend was a public relations stunt, since the aid was just a tiny fraction of the food and medicine that they are depriving Venezuelans of with the sanctions," Weisbrot said. "As the Trump administration admitted, it was an attempt to get the Venezuelan military to disobey Maduro. It was a farce, and it failed." An anti-government Venezuelan migrant uses a T-shirt to mask his face as he rests from confrontations with Venezuelan National Guards who are blocking the Simon Bolivar International Bridge, in La Parada near Cucuta, Colombia, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, on the border with Venezuela. A U.S.-backed drive to deliver foreign aid to Venezuela on Saturday met strong resistance as troops loyal to President Nicolas Maduro blocked the convoys at the border and fired tear gas on protesters. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) Venezuelan migrants rest from clashing with Venezuelan National Guards blocking the Simon Bolivar International Bridge, in La Parada near Cucuta, Colombia, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, on the border with Venezuela. A U.S.-backed drive to deliver foreign aid to Venezuela on Saturday met strong resistance as troops loyal to President Nicolas Maduro blocked the convoys at the border and fired tear gas on protesters. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) WASHINGTON (AP) - Redefining success, President Donald Trump headed to his second meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un on Monday, determined to tamp down expectations that he'll achieve big strides toward denuclearization. Yet he was still eager to claim an attention-grabbing victory to offset the political turmoil he faces at home. Trump is set to land in Vietnam late Tuesday and will have meetings with the host country's president and prime minister Wednesday before sitting down later with Kim for a private dinner. Trump will be joined at the dinner by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, the White House said Monday. Kim also will have two aides with him, and there will be translators for both sides. Trump and Kim, who arrived in Vietnam Tuesday, will have a series of official meetings Thursday. Trump laid out ultimate goals for both the U.S. and Kim in an appearance before the nation's governors Monday before boarding Air Force One to fly to Vietnam: "We want denuclearization, and I think he'll have a country that will set a lot of records for speed in terms of an economy." Worries abound across world capitals about what Trump might be willing to give up in the name of a win, but there seems less mystery about his North Korean counterpart. Survival of the Kim regime is always the primary concern. Trump was the driving force behind this week's summit, aiming to re-create the global spectacle of his first meeting with Kim last year. But that initial summit in Singapore yielded few concrete results, and the months that followed have produced little optimism about what will be achieved in the sequel. President Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One for a trip to Vietnam to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) Trump is publicly unconcerned. He once warned that North Korea's arsenal posed such a threat to humanity that he might have no choice but to rain "fire and fury" on the nation. However, in the leadup to the new summit, he's proclaimed himself in no hurry for Pyongyang to prove it is abandoning its weapons. "I'm not in a rush. I don't want to rush anybody, I just don't want testing. As long as there's no testing, we're happy," Trump told the governors on Sunday. In fact, he is ready to write himself into the history books before he and Kim even shake hands in Hanoi. "If I were not elected president, you would have been in a war with North Korea," Trump said last week. "We now have a situation where the relationships are good - where there has been no nuclear testing, no missiles, no rockets." While Trump was airborne, Kim's armored train was on the move in China, bound toward Vietnam's capital. Vietnamese officials promised security at "the maximum level." Reporters from 40 nations were expected to transmit the story to the world. Kim inherited a nascent nuclear program from his father, and after years of accelerated effort and fighting through crippling sanctions, he built an arsenal that demonstrated the potential to rocket a thermonuclear weapon to the mainland United States. That is the fundamental reason Washington now sits at the negotiating table. Kim, his world standing elevated after receiving an audience with a U.S. president, has yet to show a convincing sign that he is willing to deal away an arsenal that might provide a stronger guarantee of survival than whatever security assurance the United States could provide. The North Koreans have largely eschewed staff-level talks, pushing for discussions between Trump and Kim. Though details of the summit remain closely held, the two leaders are expected to meet at some point one-on-one, joined only by translators. The easing of tension between the two nations, Trump and his allies contend, stems from the U.S. president's own unorthodox and unpredictable style of diplomacy. Often prizing personal rapport over long-held strategic interests, Trump has pointed to his budding relationship with the young and reclusive leader, frequently showing visitors to the Oval Office his flattering letters from Kim. Trump, who has long declared that North Korea represented the gravest foreign threat of his presidency, told reporters recently that his efforts to defang Pyongyang had moved Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, something Abe would not confirm or deny. Four main goals emerged from the first Trump-Kim summit: establishing new relations between the nations, building a new peace on the entire Korean Peninsula, completing denuclearization of the peninsula and recovering U.S. POW/MIA remains from the Korean War. While some remains have been returned to the United States, little has been achieved on the other points. Korean and American negotiators have not settled on either the parameters of denuclearization or a timetable for the removal of both Korean weapons and American sanctions. "The key lessons of Singapore are that President Trump sees tremendous value in the imagery of diplomacy and wants to be seen as a bold leader, even if the substance of the diplomacy is far behind the pageantry," said Abraham Denmark, director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. U.S. intelligence officials testified before Congress last month that it remains unlikely Kim will fully dismantle his arsenal. And many voices in the Trump administration, including National Security Adviser John Bolton, have expressed skepticism that North Korea would ever live up to a deal. Mark Chinoy, senior fellow at U.S.-China Institute at the University of Southern California, said that after generations of hostility, the convivial atmosphere of Singapore "can't be discounted." But Chinoy noted that Trump had agreed to North Korean's "formulation of 'denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,' which Pyongyang has long made clear meant an end to the US security alliance with South Korea and an end to the U.S. nuclear umbrella intended to defend South Korea and Japan." After the last summit, Trump unilaterally suspended some military drills with South Korea, alarming some in Seoul and at the Pentagon. But he was insistent this week that he would not draw down U.S. troops from South Korea. And American officials, even as they hint at a relaxed timetable for Pyongyang to account for its full arsenal, have continued to publicly insist they would not favor easing sanctions on North Korea until denuclearization is complete. A year ago, North Korea suspended its nuclear and long-range missile tests and said it dismantled its nuclear testing ground, but those measures were not perceived as meaningful reductions. Experts believe Kim, who is enjoying warmer relations with South Korea and the easing of pressure from Russia and China, will seek a U.S. commitment for improved bilateral relations and partial sanctions relief while trying to minimize any concessions on his nuclear facilities and weapons. "Kim is doing pretty well as it is," said Scott Seaman of the Eurasia Group. "The threat of a U.S. military strike is essentially zero, Kim's diplomatic charm offensive has made him into a bigger player on the world stage, and he continues to whittle away at international commitment to sanctions." The Hanoi summit comes at a politically uncertain time for Trump. His potential 2020 foes have begun unleashing attacks. The newly elected Democratic House has begun its investigations of the president, calling his former legal fixer, Michael Cohen, to appear before Congress while Trump is in Vietnam. And special counsel Robert Mueller, who has investigated possible ties between Trump's campaign Russian election interference, may finalize his report within days of the president's return to the United States. ___ Associated Press writers Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul and Deb Riechmann, Catherine Lucey, Zeke Miller and Jill Colvin in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire ___ Follow all of AP's summit coverage at https://apnews.com/Trump-KimSummit FILE - In this June 12, 2018, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un walk from their lunch at the Capella resort on Sentosa Island in Singapore. The success of the second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hinges largely on whether Kim proves he's truly committed to denuclearization. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) President Donald Trump waves while boarding Air Force One for a trip to Vietnam to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) FILE - In this June 12, 2018, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, right, reaches to shake hands with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un at the Capella resort on Sentosa Island in Singapore. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) A T-shirt with images of U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is displayed at a tourist area in Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. As Vietnam's capital gears up for the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, people leave offerings at temples, snap selfies and buy snacks in Hanoi. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu) A man installs flags of North Korea, the U.S and Vietnam on a post in a street neighboring Government Guesthouse and the Metropole hotel ahead of the North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The second summit between U.S President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will take place in Hanoi on Feb. 27 and 28. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe) BLADENSBURG, Md. (AP) - Steven C. Lowe says he has always thought that a 40-foot-tall (12-meter-tall) concrete cross that stands on a large, grassy highway median near his home was odd. For years, he says, he didn't know that the cross in Bladensburg, Maryland, is a war memorial. A plaque on the cross' base lists the names of 49 area residents who died in World War I, but it isn't easily read from the road and getting to the monument requires dashing across traffic. Lowe said he felt the cross implied that the city where it stands favored Christians over others. "It certainly made me raise my eyebrows," said Lowe, 68, who is retired from the telecommunications industry. In 2014, Lowe, two other area residents and the District of Columbia-based American Humanist Association, a group that includes atheists and agnostics, sued to challenge the cross. They argue that the cross' location on public land violates the First Amendment's establishment clause, which prohibits the government from favoring one religion over others. The group lost the first round in court, but in 2017 an appeals court ruled the cross unconstitutional. Now, the cross' supporters are asking the Supreme Court to overturn that ruling in a case the justices will hear Wednesday. The memorial's supporters would seem to have a good shot based on the court's decision to take the case and the court's more conservative makeup, seen as more likely to uphold such displays. Plus, even liberal Justice Stephen Breyer voted in a 2005 case to uphold a Ten Commandments display on public property. Backers of the nearly 100-year-old cross, also called the "Peace Cross," say if the justices rule against them it could threaten hundreds of monuments nationwide. Opponents, for their part, say few memorials are truly similar. They argue the cross should be moved to private property or modified into a nonreligious monument such as a slab or obelisk, a suggestion backers say would be desecration. Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association, speaks near the 40' Maryland Peace Cross dedicated to World War I soldiers on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019 in Bladensburg, Md. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf) Arguing for the cross at the high court are The American Legion, which raised money for the cross and completed it in 1925, and officials with the state of Maryland, which took over managing the site in 1960. They have the support of the Trump administration and 30 states. Supporters say the cross is a fixture of Bladensburg, Maryland, just about 5 miles from the Supreme Court. Traffic reporters use it as a reference point in radio reports. Residents give directions that refer to it. Maryland officials argue that the cross doesn't violate the Constitution because it has a secular purpose and meaning, honoring veterans, in an area where several other memorials to veterans stand. On the other side, the American Humanist Association says that using a cross as a war memorial doesn't make the cross secular; it makes the war memorial Christian. Similar monuments have met with a mixed fate at the high court. On the same day in 2005, for example, the court upheld a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Texas state capitol while striking down Ten Commandments displays in Kentucky courthouses. Justice Breyer, whose vote made the difference in the outcome in both cases, said the history of the courthouse displays demonstrated a government effort to promote religion while the Texas display had a primarily nonreligious purpose. The American Legion, represented by lawyers with the Texas-based First Liberty Institute, says that a test the court announced in 1971 for use in such cases, which asks whether the government's action has a secular purpose, advances or inhibits religion or fosters "an excessive government entanglement with religion," has proved unworkable. They say that question the justices should be asking is whether the government's action is coercive, which they say the cross is not. The court doesn't have to rule that broadly, however, to side with the monument's supporters. The monument's backers say they just want the cross left alone. Speaking recently at an American Legion post near the cross, member Stan Shaw said modifying the cross would be "a slap in a veteran's face." As for the suggestion the monument should be moved, Mike Moore, another member, said he's "not sure how one could do it." Add that to the fact that the monument is cracking and repair work has been on hold. Relatives of the men whose names are on the cross have also asked the court to let it stand where it is. Mary Ann LaQuay, whose uncle Thomas Fenwick's name is on the cross, says it's a way for her to remember her uncle, who caught pneumonia and died while fighting in France. His grave is in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, but LaQuay, 80, says she feels "like the cross represents his memorial." Those challenging the cross say they want to make clear that they aren't against veterans or veterans memorials. Fred Edwords, a longtime official with the American Humanist Association, says they just don't think it's right to leave the impression that only Christian soldiers are being celebrated. Lowe, who lives near the cross in the District of Columbia, said some people have asked him: Why not just leave the cross alone? "I think it was a violation of the Constitution when it was built," he said. "The fact that it is old doesn't make it right. It's an old wrong." ___ Follow Jessica Gresko on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jessicagresko ___ This story has been corrected to show Lowe lives in Washington, not Maryland. DOHA, Qatar (AP) - U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met with one of the founders of the Taliban for the first time on Monday ahead of the latest round of talks with the insurgents aimed at ending the 17-year war in Afghanistan. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the movement, was released last year from a Pakistani jail where he had been held since his arrest in a joint Pakistani-CIA operation in 2010. His release was seen as a first concession to the Taliban after Khalilzad's appointment in September and the start of his talks with the insurgents. Baradar arrived on Sunday in Doha, the capital of Qatar, from Pakistan. His presence in Doha, where the Taliban maintain a political office, and his lead role in the talks with Khalilzad is considered significant because of his stature within the Taliban, who control or hold sway over nearly half of Afghanistan. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid raised expectations ahead of talks with Khalilzad, telling The Associated Press "there is a possibility we will reach some results." Following his release, Baradar had circulated an audio tape promising Taliban fighters he would have a greater presence within the movement. Khalilzad described the Taliban interlocutors in this round of talks as "more authoritative" - an apparent reference to Baradar - and tweeted that this could be "a significant moment" in the talks. He also gave a shoutout to Qatar for hosting the talks and to Pakistan for facilitating some of the Taliban delegation's travel. FILE - In this Feb. 8, 2019, file photo, Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad approaches the microphone to speak on the prospects for peace at the U.S. Institute of Peace, in Washington. Senior Taliban leaders, including one of the group's founders, have arrived in Qatar for another round of talks with Washington's special envoy tasked with finding a negotiated solution to Afghanistan's protracted war. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) Khalilzad also tweeted about his luncheon meeting with Baradar, saying it was his first meeting with the Taliban co-founder. The Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent Kabul-based research organization, describes Baradar as "one of the most experienced Taliban commanders" who had been with the group since its earliest days. "Baradar is a highly experienced military commander and keen political strategist and played a major role in organizing the insurgency in its formative years," the research group said in a report following Baradar's release in October. Past rounds of talks between Khalilzad and the Taliban have focused on the withdrawal of American troops in exchange for guarantees that Afghanistan will not be used again as a staging area for attacks on the United States. The U.S. envoy is also expected to pressure the Taliban to hold direct talks with the Kabul government. The Taliban, who had harbored al-Qaida and its leader Osama bin Laden, ruled Afghanistan before U.S. forces invaded in October 2001 following the 9/11 attacks. The Taliban have made a major comeback in recent years, and today carry out near-daily attacks on Afghan security forces. They view the U.S.-backed government in Kabul as a dysfunctional Western puppet and have refused repeated offers to negotiate with it. However, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently told the AP that the Taliban would talk with Afghan government officials on condition they are part of a larger group of prominent Afghan figures - similar to a gathering held earlier this month in Moscow. Karzai attended the meeting in Russia, as did Afghan opposition figures, but no one from the Kabul government was there. Since his appointment as Washington's peace envoy, Khalilzad has crisscrossed the region, meeting the Taliban on several occasions, as well as powerbrokers in Kabul, including Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. He has also been to Pakistan, India, Russia and China and held meetings with NATO and EU officials. Last week, he was in Turkey for talks with government officials as well as Zamir Kabulov, Russia's envoy to Afghanistan. Ghani has called a Loya Jirga, a traditional gathering of political and tribal leaders, for next month to draw up the government's negotiating position for talks with the Taliban, though he has yet to put together a negotiating team that would have wide support. Khalilzad has said he hopes to broker a "roadmap" for Afghanistan, but the current talks are focused on safeguarding America's national interests and security. The U.S. envoy has said it is up to the Afghans to determine their country's future. ___ Gannon reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump made the astonishing claim Monday that a small spoonful of fentanyl can kill everyone in a U.S. state. That's not close to true. A teaspoon of illegally made fentanyl could conceivably kill 3,000 people, by one measure. The state with the smallest population, Wyoming, has about 578,000 people. It would take close to 200 teaspoons to kill a population of that size. TRUMP: "A little tiny spoonful can wipe out a state. It's hard to believe. It can wipe out an entire state, a spoonful of this stuff." - remarks at a meeting with governors. THE FACTS: It can't. To be sure, fentanyl can be extraordinarily lethal as well as addictive. The Drug Enforcement Administration cited evidence in a case last year that 1 gram of fentanyl can kill 300 to 500 people. The case involved a Belleville, Illinois, man convicted in Texas of trafficking nearly 12 kilograms (26 pounds) of the drug, which the agency says is enough to kill up to 5.8 million people. President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md., en route to Hanoi, Vietnam. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) A teaspoon generally holds 4 to 6 grams, depending on the dry substance, equating to a theoretical death toll from fentanyl of 1,200 to 3,000, far from Trump's claim that an amount that small can wipe out "an entire state." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says illicitly manufactured fentanyl is the main driver of recent increases in synthetic opioid deaths. Trump made his assertion while discussing efforts to get China to crack down on illicit fentanyl sold to the U.S. The drug killed tens of thousands of users in the U.S. last year. ___ AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard contributed to this report. ___ Find AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - With North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on an armored train barreling through China toward Vietnam's capital, and U.S. President Donald Trump en route to Hanoi, Vietnamese officials scrambled Monday to finish preparations for a rushed summit that will capture global attention. Officials in Hanoi said they had about 10 days to prepare for the summit - much less than the nearly two months they said Singapore was given for the first Trump-Kim meeting last year- but still vowed to provide airtight security for the two leaders. "Security will be at the maximum level," Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung told reporters at a briefing meant to showcase the nation's efforts to welcome Kim and Trump. Another official, Nguyen Manh Hung, the leader of the information ministry, said the 3,000 journalists from 40 countries expected in Hanoi could rely on his agency as "you'd count on a family member." The world will be watching as Trump and Kim deal with one of Asia's biggest security challenges: North Korea's pursuit of a nuclear program that stands on the verge of viably threatening any target on the planet. Although many experts are skeptical that Kim will give up the nukes he likely sees as his best guarantee of continued rule, there was a palpable, carnival-like excitement among many in Hanoi as the final preparations were put in place. Vietnamese soldiers stand guard at the entrance to Dong Dang train station where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is expected to arrive at the border town with China, in Dong Dang, Lang Son province, Vietnam, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will take place in Hanoi on Feb. 27 and 28. (AP Photo/Minh Hoang) T-shirts were being sold bearing Kim's face along with the phrase "Rocket Man," a nod to the insulting nickname Trump gave Kim in 2017, when North Korean weapons tests and back-and-forth threats by the leaders had many fearing war. Kindergarteners dressed in traditional Korean Hanbok were practicing songs meant to welcome Kim. Grinning tourists were posing in front of the hundreds of U.S. and North Korean flags around the city. The ultra-tight security will be appreciated by North Korean authorities, who are extremely vigilant about the safety of Kim, the third member of his family to rule the North with absolute power. Kim's decision to take a train, not a plane, may have been influenced by better ability to control security. When Kim flew to Singapore, North Korea borrowed a Chinese plane. Vietnam is eager to show off its huge economic and development improvements since the destruction of the Vietnam War, but the country also tolerates no dissent and is able to provide the kind of firm hand not allowed by more democratic potential hosts. Take the reaction to two men impersonating Kim and Trump who'd been posing for pictures with curious onlookers ahead of the summit. Last week, the Kim lookalike, whose name is Lee Howard Ho Wun, posted on Facebook that about 15 police or immigration officers demanded a mandatory "interview" and threatened him with deportation. He said officials later told him that his visa was invalid and he had to leave the country. "I feel a little bit annoyed," the Hong Kong-based impersonator, who uses the name Howard X, said as he checked out of his hotel. "But what is to be expected of a one-party state with no sense of humor?" Vietnam has also announced an unprecedented traffic ban along a possible arrival route for Kim. The Communist Party's Nhan Dan newspaper quoted the Roads Department as saying the ban will affect the 169-kilometer (105-mile) stretch of Highway One from Dong Dang, on the border with China, to Hanoi. Hundreds of soldiers guarded the area near the Dong Dang railway station on Monday ahead of Kim's expected arrival. Kim may get off his train in Dong Dang and finish his journey to Hanoi by car. "Dong Dang station will receive leader Kim Jong Un's train, after it passes the Vietnam-China border, starting his official visit to Vietnam and attend USA-DPRK summit," Vietnam's Government Office said in a statement. DPRK is an abbreviation of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. There are high expectations for the Hanoi summit after a vague declaration at the first meeting in June in Singapore that disappointed many. In a meeting with senior aides in Seoul, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Monday that the Trump-Kim talks would be a critical opportunity to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula. Moon, who met Kim three times last year and has lobbied hard to revive nuclear diplomacy between the U.S. and North Korea, is eager for a breakthrough that would allow him to push ambitious plans for inter-Korean engagement, including lucrative joint economic projects that are held back by U.S.-led sanctions against the North. "If President Trump succeeds in dissolving the world's last remaining Cold War rivalry, it will become yet another great feat that will be indelibly recorded in world history," Moon said. Trump, via Twitter, has worked to temper those expectations, predicting before leaving for Hanoi a "continuation of the progress" made in Singapore but adding a tantalizing nod to "Denuclearization?" He also said that Kim knows that "without nuclear weapons, his country could fast become one of the great economic powers anywhere in the World." North Korea has spent decades, at great political and economic sacrifice, building its nuclear program, and there is widespread skepticism among experts that it will give away that program cheaply. South Korean media have reported that Trump and Kim might strike a deal that stops short of a hoped-for roadmap for full North Korean denuclearization. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on "Fox News Sunday" that he was hoping for a "substantive step forward." He cautioned, "it may not happen, but I hope that it will." ___ AP journalists Yves Dam Van in Dong Dang and Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report. Vietnamese soldiers guard a road near Dong Dang train station where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is expected to arrive at the border town with China, in Dong Dang, Lang Son province, Vietnam, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will take place in Hanoi on Feb. 27 and 28. (AP Photo/Minh Hoang) Workers decorate with flowers outside the Opera House ahead of the North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The second summit between U.S President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will take place in Hanoi on Feb. 27 and 28. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu) A worker decorates with flowers outside the Opera House ahead of the North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The second summit between U.S President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will take place in Hanoi on Feb. 27 and 28. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu) Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Le Hoai Trung, speaks during a press conference at the International Media Center for the U.S and North Korea summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The second summit between U.S President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will take place in Hanoi on Feb. 27 and 28. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu) A woman walks past banners for the U.S and North Korean summit at the International Media Center in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will take place in Hanoi on Feb. 27 and 28. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu) National flags of the U.S. North Korea and Vietnam are displayed at the International Media Center for the U.S-North Korean summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will take place in Hanoi on Feb. 27 and 28. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu) KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) - A Pakistani rescue official says at least two bodies have been recovered from a three-story building that collapsed in a suburb of the southern port city of Karachi. Mohammad Shaukat says the small residential building collapsed as construction work was underway next to it in the city's Malir neighborhood on Monday morning. Shaukat says four injured, including a woman and two children, have been rescued. He says rescue workers and volunteers are searching for more people. The narrowness of the street is preventing them from bringing in more heavy equipment. Police officer Amir Farooqi says it's unclear how many were trapped but the building housed two families with a total of about 13 people. Lack of implementation of safety regulations and shoddy construction often cause such incidents in Pakistan. People gather near a collapsed building while rescue work is in progress in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The small residential building collapsed as construction work was underway next to it in the city's Malir neighborhood. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan) People gather near a collapsed building as a rescue work is in progress in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The small residential building collapsed as construction work was underway next to it in the city's Malir neighborhood. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan) Volunteers carry a body of a victim from a collapsed building in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The small residential building collapsed as construction work was underway next to it in the city's Malir neighborhood. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan) LOS ANGELES (AP) - Spike Lee's first-ever competitive Oscar award turned a mostly staid ceremony into one with joy and passion, but that later gave way to frustration. Lee, who captured the best adapted screenplay trophy for "BlacKkKlansman," jumped into the arms of presenter, longtime collaborator and close friend Samuel L. Jackson when he took the stage Sunday to accept his award with Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott. The audience gave him a standing ovation. But Lee's mood appeared to turn sharply when the trophy for best movie went to competitor "Green Book." Seated in the audience, a visibly angry Lee waved his hands in disgust and appeared to try to walk out of the Dolby Theatre. He made his way back to his seat and later backstage to answer questions. "This is my sixth glass, and you know why," he said, smiling and holding a champagne flute aloft when he met with reporters. He briefly touched on his reaction to the "Green Book" win. "I'm snake-bit. Every time someone's driving somebody, I lose," Lee said. He was drawing a parallel between "Green Book," about the real-life Southern journey of a white man driving African-American pianist Don Shirley, and the 1989 best-picture Oscar winner "Driving Miss Daisy," about a wealthy white woman and her black chauffeur. "Green Book" has been lauded by its makers and cast as tribute to racial tolerance, but critics have condemned it as sentimental and outdated. Spike Lee poses with the award for best adapted screenplay for "BlacKkKlansman" in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) Lee's "Do the Right Thing" was a best original screenplay nominee and not in direct competition with "Driving Miss Daisy," he noted, wearing rings bearing the words "LOVE" and "HATE" on his left and right knuckles, recalling a key prop from "Do the Right Thing." The veteran filmmaker had waited a long time to be recognized by his peers in the movie industry beyond the honorary Oscar he received in 2016 for his contributions to movies, earning his first Oscar nod for his 1989 film. On stage as he won his award, Lee was the epitome of excitement. After unleashing an expletive as he warned Oscar producers not to put a clock on his speech, Lee noted that his award came during Black History Month, and recited a litany of facts, among them the 400-year-old enslavement of Africans and transport to America. He also said his grandmother was a graduate of the predominately black Spelman College, despite her mother having been a slave. "Before the world tonight, I give praise to our ancestors who helped build this country," Lee said. "We all connect with our ancestors ... when we love our humanity." He also waded into politics, citing the 2020 presidential election and calling on people to mobilize and "be on the right side of history. Make the moral choice between love versus hate." "Let's do the right thing - you know I had to get that in there." Lee's film includes footage of Trump after the 2017 violent white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia. Lee did not directly name Trump at the Oscars but Trump tweeted Monday that Lee did a "racist hit on your President." Trump claimed that he had "done more for African Americans" than "almost" any other president. Spike Lee, foreground center, Charlie Wachtel, from left, David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott accept the award for best adapted screenplay for "BlacKkKlansman" at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Spike Lee holds up brass knuckles reading "hate" and "love" from his iconic film "Do The Right Thing" as he arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) Spike Lee accepts the award for best adapted screenplay for "BlacKkKlansman" at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Charlie Wachtel, left, and Spike Lee accept the award for best adapted screenplay for "BlacKkKlansman" at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Interim Financial Report Perth, Feb 27, 2019 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Ardea Resources Ltd ( ASX:ARL ) ( OTCMKTS:ARRRF ) provides the Company's Interim Financial Report for the half-year ended 31 December 2018.Ardea is a mineral exploration and development group, currently focussed on its cobalt, nickel and scandium project at Goongarrie, gold and nickel sulphide exploration in Western Australia and spin-out of the NSW assets including gold, zinc, silver and lead at its Lewis Ponds project.Ardea's strategy for ultimate growth is to combine the following elements:- Commercial nickel-cobalt-scandium production from Goongarrie.- Maximise the commercial value of the existing WA tenement portfolio through the ongoing exploration and if required establishment and maintenance of suitable joint ventures and other alternate funding arrangements where appropriate.- Ongoing commitment to the identification and review of projects/corporate opportunities that have the capacity to successfully develop into a profitable mine.Ardea's major development projects are as follows:- Goongarrie Nickel Cobalt Project as a subset of the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project (WA)- Mt Zephyr and BTZ Gold Projects (WA)- Lewis Ponds Project (NSW)To view the full report, please visit:About Ardea Resources Ltd Ardea Resources Ltd (ASX:ARL) (OTCMKTS:ARRRF) (FRA:A91) is an ASX listed resources company, with 100% controlled Australian based projects, prioritising a three-pronged value creation strategy which is: - development of the Goongarrie Nickel Cobalt Project, which is part of the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project, a globally significant series of nickel-cobalt deposits which host the largest nickel-cobalt resource in the developed world, coincidentally located as a cover sequence overlying fertile orogenic gold targets; - advanced-stage exploration at WA gold and nickel sulphide targets within the Eastern Goldfields world-class nickel-gold province; and - the demerger of the NSW gold and base metal assets with planned in-specie share distribution, with projects located within the Lachlan Fold Belt world-class gold-copper province. CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) - The Latest on Venezuela's political crisis (all times local): 9 a.m. China's foreign ministry has issued a rebuke to foreign opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, saying China opposes "intervention by external forces in the internal affairs of Venezuela." Foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang says China "also opposes using the so-called humanitarian aid to serve political ends and stir up instability and even turmoil in Venezuela and its neighborhood, which is not in the interests of any party." He said in a statement Monday that China urges both the ruling and opposition parties to seek solutions through dialogue within the framework of the constitution and laws, and calls on the international community "to do things that are truly conducive to the country's stability, economic development, and the improvement of its people's livelihood" while respecting Venezuala's sovereignty. ___ Destroyed public buses sit parked after anti-government protesters attacked them during clashes with soldiers a few blocks from the border bridge in Urena, Venezuela, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, on the border with Colombia where Venezuelan soldiers continue to block humanitarian aid from entering. A U.S.-backed drive to deliver foreign aid to Venezuela on Saturday met strong resistance as troops loyal to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro blocked the convoys at the border and fired tear gas on protesters. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) 2:25 p.m. The U.N.'s high commissioner for human rights is condemning violence at points on the Venezuelan border where opposition figures have been trying to bring in aid shipments. Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet focused her criticism on excessive use of force used by the Venezuelan security forces, as well the involvement of pro-government groups. She said Sunday that has led to at least four confirmed deaths and more than 300 injuries over the previous two days. She said, "The Venezuelan government must stop its forces from using excessive force against unarmed protesters and ordinary citizens." Socialist President Nicolas Maduro is using his troops to block shipments of aid that are meant to undermine his authority and bolster that of opposition leader Juan Guaido. Bachelet urged Maduro's government "to rein in" pro-government groups reportedly using force against protesters. She said: "The use of proxy forces has a long and sinister history in the region," and added, "it is very alarming to see them operating openly in this way in Venezuela." ___ 1:35 p.m. Renewed clashes have broken out between protesters and Venezuelan national guardsmen at the border with Brazil. Dozens of Venezuelans who had come to the Brazilian border city of Pacaraima began throwing rocks across the closed border at Venezuelan troops, who responded with tear gas and buckshot. Globo television broadcast images of a Brazilian soldier advancing to the border line on Sunday to appeal for calm on the part of the Venezuelan soldiers and to urge protesters and journalists to move back. Local officials say dozens of people were injured in more violent clashes on Saturday as Venezuelan forces blocked aid shipments from crossing the border. Brazilian Navy Col. George Feres Kanaan is coordinating humanitarian logistics in Roraima state, and he says two Venezuelan National Guard sergeants sought refuge in Brazil on Saturday, abandoning President Nicolas Maduro's forces. ___ 11 a.m. Officials in the Brazilian border state of Roraima say they've treated 22 Venezuelans who suffered bullet or buckshot wounds during a confrontation over aid shipments. A spokesman for Gov. Antonio Denarium says 18 of those required surgery. And he says dozens of other Venezuelans are being treated for other injuries suffered in Saturday's clashes at the border city of Santa Elena. The spokesman says the influx has overwhelmed the health system in the state capital of Boa Vista and officials plan to declare a state of emergency for the public health sector on Monday. That would give officials the ability to more quickly buy medicine and to contract rooms at private hospitals. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is blocking aid shipments organized by the opposition that are meant to undermine his rule. The border was closed for a third straight day on Sunday. ___ 10 a.m. Venezuelan migrants are helping clean debris from a bridge where troops loyal to President Nicolas Maduro earlier fired tear gas on activists trying to deliver humanitarian aid in violent clashes that left two people dead and some 300 injured. Colombian President Ivan Duque has reinforced security around two international bridges near the city of Cucuta and ordered them closed for 48 hours to allow for the cleanup effort. Duque says that acts of "barbarism" committed by Maduro's troops in blocking the delivery of humanitarian aid require a forceful international response - something that could come as early as Monday, when U.S. Vice President Mike Pence travels to the Colombian capital for an emergency summit on Venezuela with foreign ministers from more than a dozen mostly conservative Latin American and Caribbean states. Masked anti-government protesters gather a few blocks from the border bridge in Urena, Venezuela, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, on the border with Colombia where Venezuelan soldiers continue to block humanitarian aid from entering. A U.S.-backed drive to deliver foreign aid to Venezuela on Saturday met strong resistance as troops loyal to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro blocked the convoys at the border and fired tear gas on protesters. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) A walks away from Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guards trying to disperse demonstrators protesting their presence in Urena, Venezuela, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, on the border with Colombia. A U.S.-backed drive to deliver foreign aid to Venezuela on Saturday met strong resistance as troops loyal to President Nicolas Maduro blocked the convoys at the border and fired tear gas on protesters. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) A street vendor pushes her cart away from Venezuelan Bolivarian National Guards firing rubber bullets at people protesting their presence in Urena, Venezuela, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, on the border with Colombia. A U.S.-backed drive to deliver foreign aid to Venezuela on Saturday met strong resistance as troops loyal to President Nicolas Maduro blocked the convoys at the border and fired tear gas on protesters. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) It is the first time in eight months that Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi, seen on the left, has held talks with Ossufo Momade, who heads the opposition Renamo, the onetime rebel movement turned political party Mozambique's president and leader of the main opposition Renamo held peace talks on Wednesday, reviewing efforts to integrate former rebels into the police and army, the presidency said. It was the first meeting in eight months between President Filipe Nyusi and Ossufo Momade, who was named the group's leader in January after the death of the party's veteran head Afonso Dhlakama. The pair met "to review progress made in the implementation of the memorandum of understanding on military matters and set out the next steps to speed up the process," the presidency said in a statement. In the mid-1970s, Renamo fought a brutal 16-year civil war against the Frelimo government that left one million people dead before the fighting stopped in 1992. The group has since transformed into a political party but it retains an armed wing, with fresh clashes erupting in 2013 between Renamo rebels and government troops. The fighting lasted three years, with peace talks beginning in 2016 between Nyusi and Dhlakama. The last time they met in July, Nyusi and Momade made progress on key sticking points -- the disarmament and integration of former Renamo rebels into the police and army. And at Wednesday's talks, the two hailed "effective" progress. "The two leaders reaffirmed their determination to continue and maintain dialogue at the highest level.. and agreed to sign a peace agreement marking the ultimate cessation of hostilities as early as possible," the presidency said. Mozambique goes to the polls in October to pick a president, members of parliament, provincial governors and provincial lawmakers. Thousands of children displaced from the Islamic State group's last pocket of territory in northeastern Syria show signs of psychological distress, according to Save the Children Hundreds of people boarded trucks leaving the last scrap of the Islamic State group's "caliphate" in eastern Syria on Wednesday as US-backed forces prepared to deliver the final blow to holdout jihadists. Several thousand people -- fighters and their relatives -- are believed to be cornered in the last pocket of IS-held territory, barely half a square kilometre near the Iraqi border. Nearly five years since IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ascended a pulpit in a Mosul mosque to urge Muslims to join the newly proclaimed "caliphate", the proto-state is only days away from dying in a tiny village that until recently few even in Syria had ever heard of. Thousands of its last denizens, many of them women and children, have been pouring out of the riverside hamlet of Baghouz in recent days, posing a huge humanitarian challenge for the Kurdish fighters leading the operation. On Wednesday alone, 15 trucks rumbled out of Baghouz, the fifth such evacuation in a week. After being screened, the evacuees are sent on to the Al-Hol camp further north. The International Rescue Committee said that "the large numbers of arrivals mean there are estimated to be around 2,000 people currently sleeping rough at the arrivals area despite the poor weather conditions." IS group's last bastion in eastern Syria Survivors of the months-old siege who spill out of the double-trailer trucks tell harrowing tales of starvation. Many need immediate medical attention. Lines of black-veiled women holding scruffy children and carrying their scant belongings in bags can be seen walking down from a hill near Baghouz and across the arid plain. Save the Children said many of the surviving children have witnessed horrifying events in recent months and are "showing signs of psychological distress". - Human shields - An AFP reporter saw that the latest trucks to leave were not as full as in previous days. It was not clear how far this was because fewer people are trapped in the IS-held pocket or because those who remain either cannot leave or want to stay and fight. The men who leave are carefully screened by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who have spearheaded the battle against IS in Syria, with support from a US-led coalition. Suleiman Mohammad Terbu, a Syrian who walked on crutches because of an injury, said he had been a teacher at an IS-run school. The jihadist group ran schools throughout the territories it controlled, indoctrinating boys into its ideology, but Terbu insisted he only taught the Quran, maths and sport. "My family were smuggled out before me, but I couldn't do that because (IS fighters) don't let anyone leave," he said. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces are struggling to process and provide emergency aid to those evacuated from the Islamic State group's embattled holdout The remaining diehard jihadists -- many of them foreigners -- have also been using civilians as human shields. Footage captured by the BBC from positions held by Iraqi paramilitary forces across the Euphrates river shows an improvised camp where an apparent jihadist can be seen running among makeshift tents. As warplanes fly overhead, a woman is seen collecting water from the river in a plastic jerrycan while men move stealthily among the jumble of minivans and civilian shelters that make any direct air strike impossible. The SDF launched its final offensive against IS-held territory in September 2018. The operation has been deadly and slow, and one top French officer even published stinging criticism of the coalition's reluctance to fully involve its ground forces. US President Donald Trump late last year announced a complete troop pullout from Syria, leaving the SDF exposed to Turkish military threats. A security vacuum could also see a quick resurgence of IS, which has lost all its strongholds in Syria and Iraq but remains a potent guerrilla force. Even the US military warned that the jihadists could potentially re-establish territorial control in some areas within six months if there were no "sustained counterterrorism pressure". Almost eight years into a multi faceted conflict that has killed more than 360,000 people, Syria's humanitarian emergency shows no sign of relenting. - Traumatised children - With aid agencies struggling to provide basic relief to famished civilians evacuated from the remote Baghouz area, Save the Children highlighted the trauma the youngest among them had suffered. The children who fled IS-held areas were "likely to have witnessed acts of brutality and lived under intense bombardment and deprivation", it said. Men leaving the last pocket of territory controlled by the Islamic State group are carefully screened by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces In a statement, it quoted an 11-year-old saying: "I always tried not to look when there were beheadings. I would hide behind my mum." It called for much greater efforts to help the children. "That includes funding and access for case management and protective services, and for foreign children repatriation to their countries of origin," said Save the Children's Syria response director, Sonia Khush. The local Kurdish administration is struggling to cope with the humanitarian burden and has repeatedly urged the world to step up its aid effort. Detained jihadists' countries of origin are reluctant to repatriate them, fearing a public backlash and security threats. The pig-nosed turtle is in high demand in Singapore and China, where they are often sold as exotic pets Smugglers were arrested in Malaysia on Wednesday with some 3,300 endangered turtles aboard their boat, officials said, as the country battles to clamp down on the burgeoning illicit wildlife trade. Malaysia has in recent years developed a reputation as a transit point for trafficked animals. This haul comes two weeks after authorities seized a record 30 tonnes of pangolins and their scales. The two unidentified smugglers were stopped by the coastguard just after midnight off the southern state of Johor. "Seven packages containing about 3,300 turtles were believed to be... brought in to be sold in the country," senior coastguard official Commander Mohammad Othman said. The seized turtles were estimated to be worth about 150,000 ringgit ($37,000) and the case is now being handled by wildlife officials, he said in a statement. Othman did not say where the smugglers might have come from. The animals were identified as the pig-nosed turtle, a freshwater species classified as "endangered" by The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and found in the south of Indonesia's Papua and Papua New Guinea as well as in northern Australia. The species is in high demand in Singapore and China, where they are sold as exotic pets and sometimes end up in food markets. Wildlife trafficking watchdog Traffic Southeast Asia called the number of turtles seized "incredible", adding that it was a big concern for the species, which is only found in a limited area and is heavily threatened by trade. "There is a need to look into whether there is a demand for these pets here and whether it would be sent further on to other markets," said the group's senior communications officer Elizabeth John. "We hope the investigation into the case leads to more intel on smuggling patterns from Indonesia and neighbouring countries," she said. Rights groups have accused the Bangladesh government of undermining free speech Bangladesh's most popular Bengali blog platform has been blocked by telecom regulators in what critics Wednesday denounced as an assault on freedom of expression. The somewhereinblog.net platform was among more than 20,000 websites that internet service providers were ordered to shut down as part of a crackdown on online pornography and gambling. But the platform, which hosts more than 250,000 registered bloggers, said it does not allow any obscene content, adding the crackdown was a clear attempt at censorship. The sweep also blocked the Bengali version of Google Books as well as popular social media apps such as TikTok and Bigo. "We were stunned after discovering our blog was blacklisted and blocked," said Mozaddid Al Fasani, a moderator and spokesman for somewhereinblog.net "Our platform, in no way, supports or spreads pornographic or obscene material and we always stay on a high alert regarding content that might hamper national security or sovereignty." The spokesman described reported allegations by the telecoms minister that the site promotes atheism as "disheartening". "We ... believe in the freedom of speech. As long as someone doesn't cross the boundary (of inciting hatred) and expresses his or her opinion about social issues and religion, we see no reason to censor them," Al Fasani told AFP. Telecoms Minister Mustafa Jabbar, who ordered the crackdown, told the Dhaka Tribune newspaper that somewhereinblog.net was closed due to objectionable content. "Have you ever gone through the content that blogging websites publish? After verifying reports on all the websites, we made the move," Jabbar said. Rights groups have accused the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, which has just started a fourth term, of undermining free speech. Last September the government passed a controversial digital security act that journalists said severely curbs media freedom. Dozens of social media activists including celebrated photographer Shahidul Alam were detained for several months last year for social media comments about student protests in Dhaka. Thai tycoon Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, leader of the Future Forward Party, arrives at the fffice of the attorney general in Bangkok A 40-year-old tycoon who has become the darling of Thai millennials thanks to his sharp social media messaging on Wednesday decried efforts to "kick out his legs", as his upstart pro-democracy party soars in profile ahead of next month's election. Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the scion of a billionaire auto-parts maker, is the charismatic frontman of Future Forward, a new party targeting the urban youth vote with a staunchly anti-junta platform. He has disrupted the Thai political scene, offering a fresh option to the long-standing binary political choice between a royalist, military-aligned bloc or the populist parties of billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Thanathorn has drawn an adoring social media following, mainly among young, first-time voters, who appear enamoured as much by his good looks as his policies, dubbing him "Daddy" in a reference to a soap opera character. But legal troubles have come in lock-step with popularity. On Wednesday he appeared at the prosecutor's office over a case brought by the junta under Thailand's hardline Computer Crimes Act. He and two other party officials could face five years in jail if convicted of spreading false information about the junta in a Facebook live broadcast last year. "We are confident in our innocence and we are confident in people power," Thanathorn told reporters. "I think people understand that as the popularity of Future Forward rises ... there are efforts to kick out my legs. But we will keep moving forward." Prosecutors will again meet on March 26, for further consideration on whether to indict. Thanathorn later took to Twitter, warning his 182,000 followers "this is not the last hurdle that will obstruct us". Future Forward are running candidates in every constituency. They are eying a possible king-making role in a pro-democracy coalition if elections fail to deliver an outright winner. - March 7 verdict - The likelihood elections will result in a stalemate has increased since the future of Thai Raksa Chart, a party linked to Thaksin Shinawatra, was plunged into doubt by a botched bid to field Princess Ubolratana as their candidate for prime minister. The move was swiftly snuffed out by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who rebuked the use of his older sister in frontline politics as "highly inappropriate". The party is now also mired in legal troubles. Thai tycoon Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, leader of the Future Forward Party, is shaking up Thai politics by drawing on his millennial base The Constitutional Court will rule on March 7 over allegations Thai Raksa Chart committed "a hostile act against the constitutional monarchy", it said in a statement Wednesday. The court could dissolve the party -- as it has done with several Shinawatra parties before. Thai Raksa Chart is key plank of the Shinawatra electoral strategy, which aims to soak up constituencies in its north and northeastern heartlands with the bigger Pheu Thai party, leaving smaller affiliates to boost seat numbers via the party list. Army chief turned premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha wants to return as a civilian leader after next month's polls. He seized power from a Shinawatra government in 2014 and is running for premier for a junta-linked party. Critics say he has tilted Thailand's political landscape in his favour. The senate is set to be appointed by Prayut's number two, while electoral rules have been redrawn to prevent a big win by a Shinawatra party. The gruff retired general this week turned down the chance to join television debates, but insisted he was "not afraid" of public discourse. burs-apj/rox A veiled woman looks back at Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria in this file picture taken on February 17, 2019 The motley crew of foreign jihadist wives held at the Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria are united by at least one thing: the fear of being separated from their children. Penned in a special section of the camp and huddled in rudimentary tents, most of them are tight-lipped about the lives they led in the Islamic State group's "caliphate". Kenza, from Morocco, is one of the few who agreed to talk, as a swarm of children of various origins ran around her tent to collect water for their mothers. She slipped out of Baghouz two weeks earlier, as Kurdish-led forces closed in on the riverside hamlet where holdout IS fighters are making their very last stand. The 38-year-old, fully veiled in black like nearly all other women in the camp, sums up her four years under IS rule in a few laconic words. Her husband brought her to Syria, he never worked for IS "because he brought his own money" and then he died in a bombardment. When asked why she and her three children followed him all the way to the hell of Baghouz, she says: "The jihadists prevented us from fleeing." She is now sheltered in a large UN tent which she shares with dozens of other families. Kenza, who would not give her full name, says she hopes Morocco will take her and her children back and sees no reason why she should be detained. - How long? - In the camp's dusty alleys, a black child who says he is American stops every adult he sees and asks them in a soft, plaintive voice: "Hey, my father is dead. Do you know how much longer we're going to stay here?" Nobody answers him because nobody knows. Some of the foreign suspects held at Al-Hol have been there, in the custody of the Kurdish forces administering the area, for two years. Foreign jihadist wives held at the Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria are united by the fear of being separated from their children Their countries of origin are not in a hurry to repatriate radicalised citizens and claim the legal framework for any returns is too weak. A few yards away, two young French women are wondering if France will allow them to return with their children. France, which has one of the largest Western contingents among jihadist ranks in Syria, has hinted it may take back children but without their parents. "Being separated from our children is not an option. They are all we have left," says one of them, who would not give her name. Most women in the camp have the same reaction but relations between the dozens of nationalities represented in the foreign women's section are not always easy. - Tension in the camp - Besides those who hail from Syria and Iraq, the two countries the "caliphate" once straddled, the largest groups are from Russia, the former Soviet republics, Turkey and Tunisia. One British woman says she would rather not talk to reporters for fear of retaliation from her more radical "sisters" from central Asia. "The situation is bad here. There are quarrels between sisters," says one woman from Trinidad and Tobago. Tensions are rife at Al-Hol camp between the foreigners and Syrian and Iraqi families who were displaced by teh conflict and resent the jihadists Tension is also rife between the foreigners and the Syrian and Iraqi families who were displaced by the conflict and resent the jihadists. "There have been attacks against foreign women" at the camp's main market, camp manager Nabil Hassan tells AFP. Al-Hol is now home to 50,000 people, including 30,000 who arrived over the past two months. The humanitarian burden is huge on the Kurdish administration, which is calling for stepped up efforts from the international aid community. Baghouz has been under intense bombardment for months, health conditions inside the besieged IS pocket are dire and many of the families who arrive in Al-Hol need medical assistance. At least 78 people, mostly children, have died on the way to the camp or shortly after arriving in recent weeks, according to the International Rescue Committee. Pell's trial, held in Melbourne, was subject to a blanket gag order that even blocked the reporting of its existence Cardinal George Pell's trial and conviction of child sex abuse in Australia was one of the biggest scandals to hit the Catholic Church, but the public was not allowed to know about it for months. A blanket gag order stopped reporters from even mentioning the trial's existence in what experts called an example of the tussle between open justice and the right to a fair trial in the digital age. The court order -- first imposed in mid-2018 after the Vatican finance chief was called to face two trials in Melbourne -- was meant to guard against jury bias in the second case as the first was heard. But with a single judge in effect seeking to prevent worldwide reporting of court proceedings, some observers said it represented excessive use of suppression orders. It also raised questions about whether the borderless online world renders such measures outdated -- and ultimately futile -- in restricting the spread of information. "There's this kind of mentality that 'if in doubt, we suppress'," said Jason Bosland, a media law expert from the University of Melbourne, of the use of suppression orders in Australia. "They are applied far too readily, they're granted far too readily. But it's not only the number, it's also the scope of orders -- they are very broad." Melbourne is in the state of Victoria, dubbed the "suppression order capital of Australia" due to the sheer number of restrictions issued, although South Australia state also issues them frequently. - Witness protection - The use of gag orders is also controversial in other countries. In 2011, Britain's privacy laws were thrown into chaos after the names of celebrities thought to have obtained so-called super-injunctions to hide scandals were circulated on Twitter. That year a judicial report said gagging orders should only be granted where strictly necessary and that media who may be silenced by such bans should also be informed beforehand. In Australia open justice is a crucial aspect of the court system, with suppression orders originally meant to be used only in exceptional cases such as those involving sexual assault or national security. An unprecedented gangland war in Melbourne in the late 1990s changed that. In a complex web of high-profile trials, courts turned to gag orders to protect witnesses and defendants -- and became accustomed to using them in other cases. "It caused a real cultural shift... if you were representing someone who had been charged with a serious offence, one of the things that would run through your mind is, 'Oh, I'll apply for a suppression order'," Bosland said. Meanwhile, growth in internet use meant the judiciary was struggling to control the flow of information from cases, making it harder for defendants to get a fair trial. Fearful that jurors, who are not sequestered, could be unfairly influenced, judges, prosecutors and defence lawyers used suppression orders to shut down public reporting. "You can't stop everything... what I think the courts are trying to do is demonstrate to jurors that it's really important that they only listen to or act on evidence that's before them in court," La Trobe University researcher and former veteran court reporter Peter Gregory told AFP. A major 2017 review of Victoria's suppression orders found that while the number issued was small compared to the caseload, of the 1,594 orders made between 2014 and 2016, more than one-fifth were blanket bans and 12 percent did not even specify on what grounds they were made. - Right to know - Only after Cardinal Pell's guilty verdict in December did a small number of international media organisations publish news of the case. Local media resorted to cryptic articles hinting that a big case had concluded but that they were blocked from telling readers about it. Reporting on the trial's existence was in itself a breach of Chief Justice Peter Kidd's order, and as he berated the media, some pulled stories offline while others went quiet again, fuelling further speculation on social media. Prosecutors wrote to up to dozens of publishers including News Corp Australia and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, accusing them of breaching the order, Guardian Australia reported Tuesday. Bosland said the case should spark a re-think of the process and is calling for a publicly funded "open justice advocate" to argue against gag orders and in support of open courts. Following the 2017 review, the Victoria state government is also starting to implement some of its recommendations and last week introduced a bill requiring courts to detail the reasons for, duration and scope of gag orders. "Suppression and closed court orders must be exceptions to the principle of open justice and should only be made when absolutely necessary," Victorian Attorney-General Jill Hennessy said. Craig Coley was convicted of the 1978 murder of Rhonda Wicht and her son Donald and was sentenced to life in prison without parole, but was released nearly four decades later and was pardoned thanks to new DNA evidence that proved his innocence A California man who spent 39 years behind bars after wrongfully being convicted for the murder of his ex-girlfriend and her four-year-old son has reached a $21 million settlement in the case, authorities said. Craig Coley, 71, was convicted of the 1978 murder of Rhonda Wicht, 24, and her son Donald and was sentenced in 1980 to life in prison without parole. He was released nearly four decades later and was pardoned by then-governor Jerry Brown thanks to new DNA evidence that proved his innocence. In announcing the settlement on Saturday, the city of Simi Valley said it had agreed to the payout to avoid costly litigation. "While no amount of money can make up for what happened to Mr Coley, settling this case is the right thing to do for Mr Coley and our community," city manager Eric Levitt said in a statement. "The monetary cost of going to trial would be astronomical and it would be irresponsible for us to move forward in that direction." Last year, Coley was also awarded nearly $2 million dollars -- representing $140 dollars for each day of his erroneous incarceration -- by the California Victim Compensation Board. The Navy veteran, who had consistently maintained his innocence, was convicted in the case partly based on the testimony of a neighbor who reported seeing his truck leave the scene of the crime. Both victims were found murdered in their beds. Wicht had been beaten, raped and strangled to death while her son had been smothered. In 2016, police and prosecutors reopened the investigation that uncovered new DNA evidence. Specifically, sperm found on Wicht's bedsheets did not match Coley's. Investigators also identified other potential suspects and determined that the neighbor who reported seeing his truck leave the scene through a window could not have spotted his vehicle because of insufficient light. Coley's attorney Ron Kaye said he hoped the settlement agreement will help his client find some closure. "He now can live the rest of his life, which we hope will be really well into the future, with the security he deserves," he told the Los Angeles Times. Shamima Begum, who gave birth this month in a refugee camp, has said she wants to come back to the UK The father of London teenager Shamima Begum, who married an Islamic State group militant in Syria, insisted in an interview with AFP on Monday that Britain must take her back before deciding any punishment. Begum, who gave birth this month in a refugee camp, has said she wants to come home -- but the British government has decided to revoke her citizenship, calling her a security threat. The 19-year-old's father Ahmed Ali said that while his daughter had made mistakes, Britain was duty-bound to let her return. "The British government should take her back because she is a British citizen," said Ali, who has been following Begum's plight from a remote village in northeastern Bangladesh. "If she has committed any crime, they should bring her back to London, to her country, and punish her there." Begum left the UK for Syria with two schoolfriends in 2015, when she was just 15, and her case has caused political divisions in Britain. It highlights a dilemma facing many European countries, divided over whether to allow jihadists and IS sympathisers home to face prosecution or bar them as the so-called "caliphate" crumbles. Public sentiment hardened against Begum after she showed little remorse about IS attacks in media interviews from the camp in eastern Syria, where she arrived after fleeing fighting between the terror group and US-backed forces. Ali, 60, said comments he had made to a London newspaper saying he backed UK interior minister Sajid Javid's decision to strip Begum of her nationality had been "misinterpreted". "I don't think that (to revoke Begum's citizenship) was a right thing to do," he said. "To err is human. You and I can both can make a mistake. It is OK to commit an error, all humans do that. One feels sad if a child commits a mistake," he told AFP. Ali, who lives with his second wife in the village of Daorai in Sunamganj district, said he felt sorry for his daughter and believed she may have been brainwashed into joining IS. "It was certainly a mistake to go to IS. Perhaps it was because she was a child. She may not have gone there (Syria) willingly. She may have been ill-advised by other people," he said. Ahmed last saw his daughter in Britain just two months before she fled to Syria with Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase in March 2015. He says she did not show any sign of having been radicalised. "I did not see any such thing at all." He also highlighted how the Bangladesh government has declared that Begum would not be allowed into the country. The British government reportedly believes that Begum was entitled to claim Bangladesh citizenship, though this is disputed by the South Asian country. "She can't come to Bangladesh since she is not a citizen of this country," he said. Tasnime Akunjee, a lawyer for Begum's family, earlier said the teenager was born in Britain and had never had a Bangladeshi passport. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir announced a slew of new measures on Monday to end demonstrations Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Monday banned unauthorised rallies as he announced a slew of new measures to end demonstrations that have rocked his rule for weeks. Bashir's latest orders come as part of a nationwide state of emergency he imposed on Friday after a sweeping crackdown failed to suppress protests against his administration. "As part of a state of emergency declared by the president, he issued an order banning any gathering or rally that has not been authorised," the presidency said in a statement. Bashir gave sweeping powers to the country's security forces to raid buildings where "suspicious activities were being carried out" and also search people, the presidency said. Blocking roads and stopping traffic was banned, after protesters obstructed streets with rocks and tree trunks to prevent security forces from entering their neighbourhoods. Publishing news "that hurts the citizens or the constitutional system" on any platform, including social media, was also outlawed. But the group that is spearheading the demonstrations rejected the new measures, which also banned strikes. "We are calling on our people in the capital, across all states, towns and villages to take to the streets now to express their rejection of the new emergency measures," said the Sudanese Professionals Association. The state of emergency prompted Washington's acting envoy to the United Nations, Jonathan Cohen, to urge Khartoum to "respect the rights of all individuals in Sudan". The US diplomat called on Bashir's government to "bring an immediate end to the violent repression of peaceful protests." - 'We are not scared' - A new court and a special prosecutor were created to investigate violations of the measures, with offenders facing up to 10 years in prison. Deadly protests began on December 19 after the government tripled the price of bread and quickly evolved into demonstrations against Bashir's rule Deadly protests began on December 19 after the government tripled the price of bread and quickly evolved into demonstrations against Bashir's rule. Officials say 31 people have died in protest-related violence so far. Human Rights Watch says at least 51 people have been killed, including medics and children. Hours before the latest measures were announced, hundreds of protesters rallied in some areas of Khartoum, chanting their rallying cry "freedom, peace, justice". Riot police confronted them with tear gas, witnesses said. "We are challenging the regime and we are not scared of the state of emergency," said protester Erij who gave only her first name for security reasons. "We have only one aim and that is to make the president step down." Riot police also fired tear gas into the compound of Ahfad University for Women after students staged a sit-in, witnesses said. In the face of public anger over Sudan's economic woes, Bashir on Monday announced measures to tackle the foreign currency shortage. The presidency said no more than $3,000 would be allowed to be carried by any individual travelling outside the country. Bashir also ordered that buying and selling of foreign currency be done only through official channels. Over the past two years, the foreign exchange market has seen high volatility, forcing the country's central bank to devalue the local pound twice last year. -- Party deputy sacked -- The financial measures came after Bashir made top-level changes in his administration, including sacking his long time ally and first vice president Bakri Hassan Saleh. He continued with more changes, by sacking his deputy in the ruling National Congress Party on Monday. Faisal Hassan Saleh was replaced by former governor of North Kordofan state, Ahmed Harun, the party said. "The NCP executive bureau approved Ahmed Harun, nominated by President Bashir as his deputy in the party replacing Faisal Hassan Saleh," party spokesman Ibrahim al-Siddiq told AFP. Harun is wanted by The Hague-based International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the conflict in Darfur. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is wanted by the ICC for alleged genocide and war crimes in Darfur The Darfur conflict erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Khartoum's Arab-dominated government, accusing it of socially and economically marginalising the region. About 300,000 people were killed and millions displaced, according to the United Nations. Harun was Sudan's minister of state for the interior during the peak of the conflict. Bashir himself is wanted by the ICC for alleged genocide and war crimes in Darfur. He denies the charges. On Sunday, he swore in a new prime minister and appointed 16 army officers and two others from the feared National Intelligence and Security Service as governors for Sudan's 18 provinces as part of a major shake-up of his adminstration. The USS Stethem, pictured during a 2015 port visit to Shanghai, sailed between the South China Sea and the East China Sea through the Taiwan Strait on February 24-25 2019 The US Navy has sailed two ships through the Taiwan Strait, officials said Monday, in what the military described as a "routine transit" that is nonetheless sure to upset China. In a statement, the Pentagon said the USS Stethem destroyer and the USNS Cesar Chavez cargo ship sailed between the South China Sea and the East China Sea through the Taiwan Strait Sunday through Monday. "This routine transit through international waters of the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," the statement read. The Defense Department "will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows." In recent months, US Navy ships have repeatedly passed through the waterway, which separates mainland China from the island. Beijing views any ships passing through the strait as essentially a breach of its sovereignty -- while the US and many other nations view the route as international waters open to all. China sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since the end of a civil war on the mainland in 1949. The self-ruled island has its own currency, flag and government, but is not recognized as an independent state by the United Nations. Beijing has said it will not hesitate to use force if Taipei formally declares independence, or in the case of external intervention -- including by the United States, the island's most powerful unofficial ally. US President Donald Trump said an American held hostage in Yemen for 18 months has been freed US President Donald Trump announced Monday that an American had been freed after being held hostage in Yemen for 18 months. Danny Burch has been "recovered and reunited with his wife and children," Trump said in a tweet. Trump did not say who had been holding Burch but he expressed appreciation for the "support of the United Arab Emirates in bringing Danny home." According to Burch's family, the Texas native, who has lived in Yemen for more than two decades, was kidnapped in the capital Sanaa in September 2017. A number of foreigners have been abducted in Yemen by the country's heavily armed tribes for use as bargaining chips in local disputes and there have also been some kidnappings by Al-Qaeda. In a telephone call with AFP at the time of his kidnapping, Burch's wife, Nadia Forsa al-Harazi, urged Huthi Shiite rebels to secure the release of her husband. She said her husband had lived in the capital for more than 20 years and the couple had three children. Trump said "recovering American hostages is a priority of my (administration)." "With Danny's release, we have now secured freedom for 20 American captives since my election victory," he said. "We will not rest as we continue our work to bring the remaining American hostages back home!" Monsanto has argued the products are not dangerous if the conditions of use are followed, and says hundreds of scientific studies prove this The controversial weed killer Roundup was a "substantial factor" in the cancer of a US man who woke up one day with a lump in his throat and was soon diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, his lawyer said Monday, opening the first US federal trial of its kind. Edwin Hardeman, of Sonoma County north of San Francisco, filed a complaint against Roundup's manufacturer Monsanto in early 2016, a year after being diagnosed with the cancer. His is the first case to be heard in a US District Court but follows the groundbreaking case last year of Dewayne "Lee" Johnson. Jurors in a California State Court last August unanimously found that Monsanto acted with "malice" and that its weed killers Roundup and Ranger Pro contributed "substantially" to Johnson's terminal illness. Roundup, a brand owned by German chemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer after its purchase of US-based Monsanto last year, contains glyphosate that environmentalists and other critics have long maintained leads to cancer. Glyphosate is used in weed killers made by several companies, and is currently the most used herbicide around the world. Hardeman used Roundup extensively to treat his property from the 1980s until 2012. One of his lawyers, Aimee Wagstaff, told the court he would put the concentrate into a two-gallon (7.5-liter) pump, dilute it with water and then spray. "On Christmas Day 2014 he wakes up and feels this lump in his throat," Wagstaff said. "He goes to the doctor the next day." He was diagnosed in February 2015 with the cancer, the same type as that of Johnson. Beside the lawyer sat Hardeman, 70, his features drawn and wrinkled, with brushed chestnut hair and a sparse white beard. The weedkiller glyphosate A screen in the courtroom showed a picture of Hardeman's throat, with the tumor visible. In another photo he is smiling with his wife Mary in front of the ocean. Another image showed a Monsanto factory. The first phase of the four-to-five week trial is to determine "whether the Roundup caused the plaintiff's cancer," District Judge Vince Chhabria said. If the jury concludes that it did, the next step will be to decide whether or not Monsanto has a liability. The plaintiff's lawyers argue that the company concealed the risks. Monsanto, which has sold Roundup worldwide for more than 40 years, contends the products are not dangerous if the conditions of use are followed, as proven by hundreds of scientific studies. The earlier complainant Johnson was awarded $78 million but Monsanto asked an appeals court to toss the verdict. Men suspected of being Islamic State group fighters are searched after leaving the jihadists' last holdout of Baghouz in Syria By pledging to try 13 French Islamic State group fighters, Iraq has assumed the role of judge and jailor for the suspected jihadists -- thereby saving Paris the controversy of repatriating them. France has been rocked by fierce public debate over whether to repatriate dozens of its nationals, including children, caught fleeing IS's collapsing "caliphate" in east Syria. Most are held by US-backed Syrian forces, but 13 French citizens were transferred across the border to be tried in Baghdad, Iraqi President Barham Saleh announced on Monday. The alleged fighters, who were turned over to Iraq after being seized by Syrian Kurdish forces, "will be judged according to Iraqi law," Saleh told a news conference after talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. "Those who have engaged in crimes against Iraq and Iraqi installations and personnel, we are definitely seeking them and seeking their trial in Iraqi courts," he said. The issue is extremely sensitive in France, where a deadly 2015 attack on the capital claimed by IS killed 130 people -- but this arrangement could be Paris's best option. "This deal suits Iraq, but it's also politically favourable for France, which will avoid having to deal with the difficult return issue. Baghdad will have done it a favour," said Hisham al-Hashemi, an Iraqi expert with intimate knowledge of the issue. "This way, France will no longer have to deal with organisations calling to repatriate, rehabilitate, and re-assimilate these people," he said. - Death penalty - Western governments are reluctant to repatriate their nationals who are suspected jihadists Transferring foreign fighters to Iraq for trial appears to resolve a legal conundrum for Western powers. On the one hand, the Kurdish-run administration in northern Syria is not a legally recognised government, so trying them there would be dubious. On the other, repatriation is a politically-fraught issue, and governments fear they may not have enough evidence to convict IS members who claim they did not fight. But Iraq has already tried hundreds of foreign IS fighters, including some caught in Syria and transferred across the border. It has sentenced many, including 58-year-old French national Lahcen Ammar Gueboudj and two other French nationals, to life in prison. Baghdad has even handed down death sentences to around 100 foreigners, only one of which has been implemented. Iraq's 2005 counterterrorism law condemns any individual who provided material support for extremist groups to death, even if they did not pick up arms. "This means Iraq can put anyone on trial who just passed through their territory on their way to Syria," said Hashemi. He said the 13 French nationals now in Iraqi custody had battled government troops in Iraq, and were transferred in coordination with the US-led coalition fighting IS. France initially insisted its citizens should face trial wherever they were caught, then seemed to soften its stance last month by saying it was considering repatriations. But Macron appeared to double-back on Monday, saying it was "up to the authorities of these countries to decide, sovereignly, if they will be tried there." "These people are entitled to benefit from our consular protection, and our diplomatic service will be mobilised," he added. - 'Much tougher sentences' - The Kurdish-run administration in northern Syria is not a legally recognised government, so trying alleged jihadists there would be dubious An Iraqi judicial source told AFP that Western countries had a vested interest in making sure their nationals were tried in Iraq, not at home. "In their own countries, their lawyers could claim their clients were abducted in Syria," which could hurt the prosecution's case, the source said. "But trying them in Iraq guarantees these countries that this point won't matter." Handing them over to Iraqi courts would also ensure "much tougher sentences," the source added. The 13 French nationals were brought to Iraq in parallel with the repatriation of 280 Iraqi IS members from Syria. Fadel Abu Ragheef, a security advisor and strategic analyst, said there was more to come. "There's another wave of Iraqi and foreign jihadists that will arrive soon to Iraq," he told AFP. But Human Rights Watch said any transfers should be completed in full transparency. "When these transfers get done in the middle of the night with no one knowing, there's no way to track these people," said Nadim Houry, HRW's head of counter-terrorism. He told AFP on Monday that he was concerned about a lack of due process in Iraqi courts and the possibility of abuse in its detention centres. "Iraqi trials are rife with due process abuses and the trials are not providing justice to the victims or information about the crimes," said Houry. "It seems the West is still looking for someone to take that burden off of them without them engaging on the substance of the trials." Somali forces stand guard outside a hotel near the presidential palace in Mogadishu last year after a Shabaab attack US forces have conducted an air strike in Somalia that killed 35 Al-Shabaab militants, officials said Monday, in the latest in a string of attacks against the Al-Qaeda affiliate. Sunday's strike took place in the Hiran region of central Somalia and targeted armed Shabaab fighters "as they were transitioning between locations in a rural area" and trying to "mass their forces," the US military's Africa Command said in a statement. "At this time, it is assessed this air strike killed 35 terrorists," the statement read. Although the military did not specify, such air strikes in Somalia are typically carried out by armed drones. The Pentagon has increased the rate of strikes in Somalia in recent years, partly because President Donald Trump loosened constraints on when the US military can take action against alleged terrorists. Shabaab fighters were pushed out of Somalia's capital in 2011, and subsequently from other towns and cities, by African Union troops. But the Islamists still hold sway in large parts of the countryside. They launch regular gun and bomb attacks on government, military and civilian targets in Mogadishu as well as ambushes on military convoys and outposts. In one strike last month, Africa Command said it killed 52 Somali militants. In December, the US military said it had killed 62 Shabaab militants during six air strikes in the Horn of Africa nation. But Africa Command head General Thomas Waldhauser this month told US lawmakers that air strikes alone would not stop Shabaab, and he called on Somalia's army to take more responsibility in the fight. Sudanese protesters have been holding anti-government protests that have been met with a brutal response from security forces The United States, Britain and France on Monday criticized Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for imposing a state of emergency as the UN Security Council weighed next steps in the drawdown of a peace mission in Darfur. Bashir imposed the sweeping security measures on Friday in a bid to end more than two months of anti-government protests, but the demonstrations have continued. US Acting Ambassador Jonathan Cohen urged Khartoum to "respect the rights of all individuals in Sudan" and "bring an immediate end to the violent repression of peaceful protests." The council met to take stock of the situation in Darfur, where the United Nations is preparing to pull out peacekeepers serving in the joint UNAMID mission with the African Union. UN official Bintou Keita told the council that the emergency measures, in particular Bashir's decision to replace all governors, "will have a bearing on the process and some rebel groups have demonstrated a stiffening of their position" in Darfur. Two Darfur rebel groups pulled out of talks with the government in January and the Jebel Marra region "is still a conflict zone," said Keita, the UN assistant secretary-general for Africa. The Darfur peace process "has come to a standstill -- once again -- in the context of the ongoing demonstrations against the economic and political conditions in Sudan," she said. - UN exit from Darfur? - Under a UN plan, peacekeepers in Darfur are to hand over to security forces if the Khartoum government shows that it has made progress on respect for human rights and the rule of law. Sudan's security forces have been accused of brutally suppressing the protests, that were sparked by a hike in the price of bread but have since escalated into widespread opposition to Bashir's rule. Bashir's emergency measures and the conduct of the security forces "call into question the government's commitment to delivering progress on human rights, the rule of law and security sector reform," said British diplomat Stephen Hickey. France called for restraint and urged Sudanese authorities to respect the right to freedom of association and of speech, while stressing that the withdrawal of UNAMID must take place "in a prudent fashion." Russia hit back at the Western criticism, arguing that the government's response to the protests had nothing to do with the situation in Darfur and insisting that the peace mission must shut down by the end of 2020. Darfur has been torn by violence since 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Khartoum, accusing it of economic and political marginalization. Bashir has been charged by the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) with genocide and war crimes committed in Darfur. US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One before departing from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, February 25, 2019, bound for a two-day summit in Hanoi, Vietnam with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un headed toward Hanoi on Monday for their second high-stakes summit, with the world watching to see if the US leader can deliver concrete results on curbing the nuclear threat from Pyongyang. Tweeting from Air Force One, Trump said he was "looking forward to a very productive Summit," after earlier reiterating his case for North Korean disarmament. "With complete Denuclearization, North Korea will rapidly become an Economic Powerhouse," he tweeted. "Without it, just more of the same." "Chairman Kim will make a wise decision!" The Hanoi summit comes after Trump and Kim met in June in Singapore, producing a vaguely worded agreement on denuclearization, but progress has since stalled, with the two sides disagreeing over what the agreement meant. The summit set for Wednesday and Thursday will present them with a second shot at progress on the world stage. Trump's departure after noon on Monday came as an armored train carrying Kim and members of his delegation moved southward through China to Vietnam, in a journey cloaked in secrecy. The train station on the Vietnam-China border where Kim was expected to arrive was effectively on lockdown Monday. Sources in Vietnam said Kim could arrive at the Dong Dang border station in the early hours of Tuesday following his epic 4,000 kilometer (2,500 mile), two-and-a-half-day journey. With the two mercurial leaders en route to Hanoi, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he looked forward to the pair reaching key agreements. "I hope that the leaders... agree to concrete steps for sustainable, peaceful and complete and verified denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," Guterres said in a speech in Geneva. But at a White House event Sunday, Trump appeared to temper any expectations of a major breakthrough, saying sanctions imposed over Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests would remain. "The sanctions are on. Everything is on. But we have a special feeling and I think it will lead to something very good. Maybe not," Trump said. "I don't want to rush anybody. I just don't want testing. As long as there's no testing, we're happy." - 'Strong deal' sought - Members of Trump's Republican Party, however, were demanding the president stand tough, with Senator Marco Rubio calling for the US and its allies to "maximize" pressure on Pyongyang, including immediate intensification of sanctions, if there is no breakthrough. "American negotiators must push for no less than a strong deal to completely, verifiably, and irreversibly dismantle the North Korean nuclear and missile programs," Rubio said in a statement minutes after Trump took off. Pyongyang insists it has already taken appropriate steps by not testing ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons for more than a year and blowing up the entrances to its atomic test site. But at the same time, North Korea says it has completed the development of its arsenal and the facilities are no longer needed. While Pyongyang and Washington have taken guarded approaches to the summit, hopes rose in Seoul that Trump and Kim could formally declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War, after South Korea said the two leaders could reach an agreement. The devastating conflict between communist North Korea, backed by China, and the capitalist South, aided by the United States, ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving Pyongyang and Washington still technically at war. "I believe that the possibility is there," the South's presidential Blue House spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told reporters about a formal declaration. "There is no way of knowing what kind of declaration it might be, but I believe the US and North Korea may reach an agreement." Trump is expected to arrive in the Vietnamese capital on Tuesday evening local time. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad meets Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on his first visit to Iran since the start of the war in his country Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Monday on his first visit to the Islamic republic since the start of the Syrian conflict. During the meeting, Assad expressed his gratitude to Iran for all that it has done for Syria during the conflict, according to the Syrian presidency's account on the Telegram messaging app. The leaders "reviewed the fraternal and strong relations between their two peoples, which have been the main factor in maintaining Syria and Iran in the face of plots by enemy countries", the presidency said. Khamenei told Assad that "Iran considers helping the government and nation of Syria to be helping the resistance movement and is proud of it from the bottom of its heart", his website said. "The creation of the buffer that the Americans are seeking to create in Syria is an example of these dangerous conspiracies which must be strongly denounced and resisted," Khamenei added. Assad also met with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani during his trip. "The Islamic Republic of Iran as before will be alongside the people and government of Syria," Iran government's official website quoted Rouhani as saying. Iran and Russia have been the key allies supporting Assad as he has battled to maintain his grip over Syria during nearly eight years of fighting that has claimed more than 360,000 lives. Britain's decision to ban Hezbollah's political wing comes after outrage over the display of the movement's flag featuring a Kalashnikov assault rifle at pro-Palestinian protests in London -- a Lebanese girl is seen here carrying the flag in Beirut Britain said Monday it will seek to ban the political wing of Hezbollah, making membership of the movement or inviting support for it a crime, in a move that earned swift praise from the United States and Israel. The decision follows outrage last year over the display of the Hezbollah flag, which features a Kalashnikov assault rifle, at pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London. "Hezbollah is continuing in its attempts to destabilise the fragile situation in the Middle East," British interior minister Sajid Javid said in a statement. "We are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party. Because of this, I have taken the decision to proscribe the group in its entirety," he said. The ban is subject to a vote in the British parliament this week. Hezbollah is a Shiite militant movement established in 1982 during the Lebanese civil war. Its capture of two Israeli soldiers in 2006 sparked a 34-day war in which 1,200 people were killed. Israel's foreign minister welcomed Britain's decision and called for the United Nations to follow suit. "I would like to praise the British government on the decision to recognise the entire Hezbollah organisation as a terrorist organisation," Israel Katz wrote on Twitter. "In my upcoming meeting with the UN secretary-general in New York next week I will stress that the UN institutions should take a similar resolution." US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also commended the move and said it showed that "international unity to confront Iran's regime continues to grow". "This Iran-sponsored terrorist group has American blood on its hands & continues to plot & carry out attacks in the Mideast, Europe & around the world," he tweeted. The Hezbollah movement, now a major political party in Lebanon, holds three cabinet posts there. But British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said in a statement any distinction between its military and political wings "does not exist". "This (decision) does not change our ongoing commitment to Lebanon, with whom we have a broad and strong relationship," he added. Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said senior British officials had agreed the issue should not "impact on bilateral relationships between Lebanon and Britain". Bassil, whose Free Patriotic Movement party is allied with Hezbollah in government, added it "will not have direct negative consequences on Lebanon because we are already used to this situation with other countries". Britain's government is also banning Ansarul Islam, a jihadist group which emerged near the border between Mali and Burkina Faso in 2016, and the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM), which has sworn allegiance to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The country has 74 international terrorist organisations proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000. Feb 27, 2019 | By Thomas 3D printing specialist Aurora Labs has signed a deal with the University of Western Australia and Royal Perth Hospital to explore use of 3D printing to create human medical implants. Under the collaboration agreement, the partners will develop designs, specifications and parameters for 3D printing of human medical implants using Auroras S-Titanium Pro Small Format Printer. The results will then serve as an instructional guide for future 3D printing of titanium medical implants. Aurora will provide one 3D printer and the metallic consumable powders free of charge for this six-month project. It will also supply maintenance and training of staff if needed to provide advice and assistance on metal printing and use of the printer. The University of Western Australia will investigate implant characteristics suitable for tissue ingrowth and assess materials that will determine the best size and distribution for consistent printing results. The Royal Perth Hospital will provide appropriate designs of craniology plates for printing for the project and consult on the cranioplasty application after printing. The partners will apply for a $26,000 Innovation Connections grant from the Australian Trade and Investment Commission to help cover costs. Aurora Managing Director David Budge said: This partnership is a significant achievement for Aurora, it enhances our credibility, as well as certifying the potential application of additive manufacturing to the healthcare industry. It also demonstrates the advancement of additive manufacturing into multiple fields. The diversified use of titanium across a range of industries is well known, but in the medical field titanium is the most compatible metal with the human body. The suitability of Auroras technology can service the need for on-demand medical implants that are customised to the patient. Posted in 3D Printing Application Maybe you also like: Ali Bongo and his father Omar Bongo have ruled Gabon since 1967 President Ali Bongo, whose stroke last October plunged Gabon into uncertainty, held a string of meetings on Monday ahead of the first gathering of the cabinet, according to the government. The authorities released photos of Bongo meeting the heads of the Constitutional Court and National Assembly and his chief of staff. Film footage was also disseminated on social media, showing Bongo waving to passers-by through the lowered window of his car as it negotiated heavy traffic in the capital Libreville. National Assembly president Faustin Boukoubi told Gabon 24 television that he was "pleasantly surprised" by the meeting with Bongo. It had "warmed his heart" to meet Bongo, Boukoubi said, adding that the president had "retained his powers of memory" and "lucidity" and was "very alert". A statement from the president's office said Bongo had also received several ministers and added that "the new government's first cabinet meeting" under Prime Minister Julien Nkoghe Bekale would be held on Tuesday. Bongo returned to Gabon overnight from Morocco, where he has been receiving treatment after suffering a cerebral haemorrhage on October 24 while on a visit to Saudi Arabia, officials said. He "may go back" to Morocco later, an aide to Bongo told AFP. On January 15, Bongo made a swift return from Morocco to presidence over the swearing-in of new ministers. Official footage of that ceremony showed him opening and closing the session, and a few brief shots showed him seated in a wheelchair and squinting slightly. During his months abroad, speculation about Bongo's health has proliferated despite the government's insistence that he was in good shape. His prolonged absence also stoked concern about a vacuum of power, apparently sparking a brief attempted coup by renegade soldiers on January 7. Bongo took office after an election in 2009 that followed the death of his father, former president Omar Bongo, who took office in 1967. Bongo senior had the reputation of being one of the wealthiest men in the world, allegedly amassing a fortune derived from Gabon's oil. Prime Minister Dionne claimed President Macky Sall's re-election just hours after polling closed Senegalese leader Macky Sall's camp crowed victory on Monday after presidential elections for which his key rivals had been barred, but the opposition dubbed the declaration premature and predicted a runoff vote. Full official results from the vote are expected by Friday midnight at the latest. If none of the five candidates wins more than 50 percent, a second round is scheduled for late March. Prime Minister Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne sparked controversy by declaring Sall's victory just hours after polling closed on Sunday. He claimed Sall had won in 13 regions, according to early results, and only lost in one. "The results allow us to say that we should congratulate President Macky Sall on his re-election," Dionne said, predicting his boss would receive "at least 57 percent" of the vote. Sall's two main challengers -- former prime minister Idrissa Seck, who is making his third run for president -- and taxman-turned MP Ousmane Sonko, immediately challenged that claim. "A second round is inevitable," Seck said. "At the current state of the vote count, no candidate, I say no candidate, including myself, can claim to have won the presidential election," added Sonko. Senegal has a population of 16 million of whom 6.7 million were registered to vote. A source in the interior ministry told AFP that turnout appeared to be around 68 percent. Turnout appears to have been high -- more than two-thirds of voters cast their ballot, according to unofficial estimates A geologist by training, Sall took over as president in 2012 after beating his former mentor Abdoulaye Wade. He campaign for a second term championing his "Emerging Senegal" infrastructure project to boost economic growth. A new system approved by parliament last year required presidential candidates to demonstrate support from a minimum number of citizens and regions. Senegal Once the regulations went into force, only seven candidates made the cut, but two of them -- popular Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall and Karim Wade, the powerful son of President Sall's predecessor, were then disqualified over their convictions for misuse of public funds, which they say were engineered to bar them from the race. As a result, neither the Socialist Party nor the Senegalese Democratic Party, which have dominated the country's political landscape since independence, fielded presidential candidates. Despite tensions spawned by the conflicting results claimed by the government and the opposition, the coastal capital Dakar was calm on Monday. However, there was less traffic and the state-run bus company did not run its services, fearing attacks on its vehicles. - 'No manipulation' - The opposition also accused private and international media of inflating the figures to favour Sall, an accusation denied by some news organisations. Some voters like Fatou Kane Aidara, who lives in a Dakar suburb, said the figures claimed by the presidential camp were solid. "The results are coming directly from the counting offices and the journalists are taking them after they have been published and transmitting them to radio and television stations," she complained. President Macky Sall pitched for re-election on the basis of his massive infrastructure programme -- the project includes building a new town outside Dakar Often held up as a model of stability in Africa, Senegal has enjoyed strong growth. The Muslim-majority country has largely escaped the jihadist attacks that destabilised neighbours such as Mali. Sall has made transport infrastructure a priority. But basic services, healthcare and education often remain inadequate, sometimes triggering strikes and protests. Senegal has known two peaceful power transfers in 2000 and 2012 and has never experienced any coups. But election campaigns are often marred by charges of corruption, disinformation and sometimes violence. European Council President Donald Tusk said postponing Britain's exit from the EU would be "a rational solution" given the country's political turmoil The European Union opened the door Monday to Britain postponing its exit from the 28-nation bloc beyond the March 29 deadline, saying it would be a "rational solution" given the political crisis in the UK. European Council President Donald Tusk said he had discussed the "legal and procedural context of a potential extension" when he met Sunday with British Prime Minister Theresa May, on the sidelines of an EU-Arab summit in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh. "I believe in the situation we are in, an extension would be a rational solution but Prime Minister May still believes she's able to avoid this scenario," Tusk told a closing summit press conference. The European Union has been watching with growing alarm the possibility Britain will crash out of the bloc without a deal, risking chaos on both sides of the Channel. Britain remains as divided as ever over Brexit, which a narrow majority of voters called for in a June 2016 referendum. May sparked outrage at home when she suggested Sunday that parliament may not be able to vote on her Brexit deal until March 12, just 17 days before Britain leaves the EU. The decision increases the chances that lawmakers will move next week to delay Brexit beyond March 29, to avoid a no-deal Brexit. May said Sunday she was still discussing with the EU possible amendments to the deal's arrangements for the Irish border. British Prime Minister Theresa May said she was still discussing with the EU possible amendments to the Brexit deal's arrangements for the Irish border Taking a united stand, the EU and its remaining 27 countries have repeatedly rebuffed May's efforts to reopen the Brexit deal struck with her government in November. Since lawmakers rejected her withdrawal deal last month, the prime minister has sought to address their concerns about the text's "backstop" arrangement. - 'Achieve that deal' - London wants the "backstop" -- the clause binding Northern Ireland into the EU customs union if a new deal to keep the border open is not found -- to be time-limited or to be allowed to unilaterally end it. The EU opposes any changes to an arrangement designed to keep the border between British Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland flowing. It also sees the "backstop" as an insurance policy for the peace process in the British province of Northern Ireland. Brussels is not budging, though it is offering political reassurances. Tusk said "we'll face an alternative chaotic Brexit or an extension" under the current circumstances where it is "absolutely clear" to him there is no majority in the British parliament for May's deal. The former Polish premier added that "the less time there is until 29 of March, the greater the likelihood of an extension". May and Tusk met Sunday on the sidelines of an EU-Arab summit in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh This was not an EU plan but a reading of objective fact, he added. Tusk said he told May that "no matter which scenario, all 27 (EU countries) will show maximum understanding and good will". During a press conference Monday in Sharm El-Sheikh, May said she believes she can still deliver Brexit on time. "I've had a real sense from the meetings I've had here and the conversations I've had in recent days that we can achieve that deal," May said. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm leading the Brexit negotiations, is still working on the assumption that Britain will leave the bloc on March 29, commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva told reporters earlier in Brussels. She recalled that Britain would first have to request an extension and the remaining 27 EU countries would have to agree to it unanimously. May's negotiating team is due to return to Brussels on Tuesday for more talks. US President Donald Trump said the US and China are very close to a trade deal after progress in talks over the weekend US President Donald Trump said Monday he expects to hold a "signing summit" with China's President Xi Jinping to seal a trade deal, since negotiators "very, very close" to an agreement. Negotiators worked through the weekend and citing progress in the four day so talks, Trump extended the March 1 deadline, postponing for now a sharp increase in tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods. Trump said he expected trade negotiators to resume quickly "and we're going to have another summit." "We're going to have a signing summit, which is even better. So hopefully we can get that completed. But we're getting very, very close," he said at a meeting with US governors. Trump last week he expected to meet with Xi at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida in March. After exchanging punitive tariffs on more than $360 billion in total two-way trade, Trump and Xi declared a truce in December and agreed to hold off on further tariffs or retaliation for 90 days. The United States was poised to more than double the tariffs on the most recent and largest round of Chinese exports. Trump told the state leaders late Sunday to expect "very big news over the next week or two." Officials and economists worldwide have been watching the negotiations closely as the trade war has hit company profits, raising prices for importers and cutting sales for exporters, which could erode global growth if it is not resolved. But even after four rounds of talks, progress towards achieving the more difficult parts of a deal has been unclear. News reports indicate China has pledged to resume or increase purchases of US agricultural goods but Washington is pushing for changes to the country's industrial strategy and enforceable protections for American technology. Iraqi President Barham Saleh (L), at a Paris press conference with French President Emmanual Macron (R), says French IS fighters captured in Syria will be put on trial in Iraq Iraqi courts will prosecute 13 French citizens captured while fighting for the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria, Iraq's President Barham Saleh said Monday. The fighters, who were turned over to Iraq after being seized by Syrian Kurdish forces, "will be judged according to Iraqi law," Saleh told a news conference after talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. "Those who have engaged in crimes against Iraq and Iraqi installations and personnel, we are definitely seeking them and seeking their trial in Iraqi courts," he said. An Iraqi government source in Baghdad had told AFP earlier Monday that 14 French fighters had been brought to Iraq by the US-backed forces trying to dislodge IS jihadists from their last bastion in Syria. France has long maintained that any of its nationals caught in Syria or Iraq should be tried locally, a stance which critics say could leave them facing the death penalty, which is outlawed in France. Macron reiterated this position Monday, saying that "it is up to the authorities of these countries to decide, sovereignly, if they will be tried there." "These people are entitled to benefit from our consular protection, and our diplomatic service will be mobilised," he added. Macron also said he would visit Iraq in the coming months, after France announced in January that it would provide one billion euros ($1.1 billion) in reconstruction funds for the war-ravaged country. US-backed Syrian forces are preparing for new evacuations of civilians from the last jihadist redoubt in Syria as they press for a final assault to defeating IS US-backed forces evacuated over 40 truckloads of people from the Islamic State group's last Syria redoubt on Monday, as they sought to clear out civilians before a final push to crush the jihadists. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have slowed down their offensive on the final pocket due to the presence of civilians, with just a scrap of the IS "caliphate" remaining from a territory that once spanned Syria and Iraq. An AFP correspondent saw more than 46 trucks crammed with men, women and children, approaching an SDF outpost, 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of the jihadist redoubt. One vehicle was packed with women clad in black and men who covered their faces. Wounded people were also among the latest evacuees. Holdout IS fighters and civilians, mostly relatives of jihadists, are trapped in less than half a square kilometre in the village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border. The Kurdish-led SDF evacuated nearly 5,000 men, women and children from the jihadist redoubt on Wednesday and Friday, but none over the weekend. Earlier on Monday, SDF spokesman Mustefa Bali, told AFP that thousands remained inside the IS pocket. "According to what we heard from those who have left, there are nearly 5,000 people still inside," Bali said. At the SDF screening point outside the village, SDF fighters expressed hopes that Monday's arrivals would be the last one. "We want it to be over," Mazloum, a 29 year-old SDF fighter told AFP. "Every day we say today is the day but we hope it will all end today and not tomorrow," he said. - 'Secret' transfers - Kurdish foreign affairs official Abdel Karim Omar told AFP on Monday that the SDF will announce the end of the IS proto-state "in the next few days". "But this does not mean that we have eliminated terrorism, which must be eradicated at the roots," he said. Beyond Baghouz, IS still has thousands of fighters and sleeper cells across several countries. In Syria, it retains a presence in the vast Badia desert, and the jihadists have claimed deadly attacks in SDF-held territory. Thousands of suspected IS fighters have attempted to blend in with civilians fleeing the crumbling "caliphate". Suspected Islamic State group fighters pray as they wait to be searched and interrogated after leaving the jihadists' last holdout in eastern Syria According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, around 46,000 people, including thousands of jihadists, have streamed out of the Baghouz pocket since early December. The SDF screens those exiting at an outpost outside the village to weed out potential IS fighters. After being vetted, women, children, and men not suspected of belonging to the extremist group are transported north to the Kurdish-run camp of Al-Hol, while suspected jihadists are sent to SDF-held detention centres. The Observatory on Monday said that 1,400 people, mainly IS relatives, were secretly transported from orchards on the outskirts of Baghouz to neighbouring Iraq over the past 24 hours. Kurdish foreign affairs official did not confirm the transfer, but denied that the SDF was responsible. "In principle, we do not hand over any person passing through our territories to Iraqi authorities or any other party," Omar said. Such transfers can only happen if they were trucked from Baghouz "by another party", he explained, without specifying. Baghdad on Sunday said the SDF have transferred 280 Iraqi nationals accused of fighting alongside IS to Iraqi authorities. Fourteen suspected French jihadists were among those transferred, an Iraqi government source told AFP on Monday. Hisham al-Hashemi, an Iraqi expert with intimate knowledge of the issue, said the transfer had taken place in coordination with the US-led coalition fighting IS. - Criticism of international response - Women and children are among nearly 5,000 people evacuated by US-led forces from the last IS redoubt in eastern Syria in recent days The mass outpouring of men, women and children from the IS foothold has overwhelmed the Kurdish-run Al-Hol camp, six hours north of Baghouz. "The international community is not currently taking responsibility towards the large number of people leaving the last IS pocket, especially children," Omar said. The International Rescue Committee said Friday that new arrivas had pushed the camp's population to over 45,000, exacerbating already dire conditions at the crammed facility. At least 78 people, mostly children, have died on the way to the camp or shortly after arriving in recent weeks, the IRC said. A warehouse fire on Friday caused by a gas cylinder explosion "destroyed 200 family tents" and five larger ones and injured 16 workers, it said. The UN's humanitarian coordination office OCHA on Friday warned the camp was struggling to keep up with the flood of evacuees. Algerians have taken to the street to protest ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's bid for a fifth term Algeria's prime minister on Monday insisted voters would determine if ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika gets a fifth term at the ballot box, after major protests against his candidacy. Tens of thousands of people on Friday took to the streets, including in the capital Algiers where demonstrations are forbidden, to vent their ire at Bouteflika's bid to extend his 20 years in power at elections in April. Presidential polls "will take place in less than two months, and everyone will make their choice freely", Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia said in televised comments that were the first official reaction to the protests. "Everyone has the right to support their candidate and be against any other candidate, the ballot box will decide in a peaceful and civilised way." 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 office. Algerian lawyers joined in the protests against a fifth term for incumbent Abdelaziz Bouteflika The 81-year-old leader flew to Switzerland on Sunday for what the presidency called "routine medical checks" ahead of the April 18 vote. "Thank god the rallies were peaceful, but I urge vigilance" as "calls to demonstrate were from an unknown source", Ouyahia said. The premier insisted Bouteflika has pledged to hold a national "conference, unprecedented in the history of Algeria" if he is reelected, where "everything" can be discussed. "Algeria has been through enough suffering and experienced enough reforms to have the opportunity to choose in peace and quiet," he said. - 'Pass on the baton' - The scale of the demonstrations on Friday took many in the North African state by surprise. A follow-up call for protests by a small opposition group drew hundreds in central Algiers Sunday, but they were met by a heavy police deployment and tear gas. On Monday around a hundred lawyers protested at court over the fifth term, waving placards that they were "with the people". Students have called on social media for fresh demonstrations Tuesday, while teachers and university lecturers have urged their colleagues to join in. At a university campus in Algiers students said that the president's moment to leave had come. "Bouteflika has done good things for Algeria but it is time for him to pass on the baton," second-year computer science major Sid Ahmed Hanoun told AFP. Bouteflika, who has governed Algeria since 1999, was instrumental in fostering peace after a decade-long civil war in the 1990s. Bouteflika has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013 The veteran leader's allies argue his presence ensures security in the country, but that did not wash with the students. "I was born in 1999. In 20 years I have known only Bouteflika as president and in that time there have been four presidents in the United States," said Adel, also in his second year. "There is no evidence that Bouteflika leaving would destabilise the country." The European Union is following developments in Algeria closely and wants to see free elections, Maja Kocijancic, the spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, told reporters in Brussels. "When it comes to the upcoming elections as for any other partner, we wish this election would allow the citizens to express themselves freely, calmly and in compliance with the democratic framework and the rule of law," she said. Tension: Party representatives argue over the vote count at a collation centre at Port Harcourt, Nigeria's oil hub Nigeria's main opposition on Monday accused the ruling party of trying to rig presidential elections as the incumbent cemented a lead, but monitors voiced concern about polling day problems and violence that caused dozens of deaths. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of President Muhammadu Buhari of colluding with the electoral commission in an attempt to "manipulate the results". PDP chairman Uche Secondus told reporters the APC was using security agencies and ministers to put pressure on the authorities. "It's as if we are in the military era," he added. The accusation, rejected by the APC as a "childish" attempt to discredit the commission and the process, came as Buhari -- a former military ruler -- took an early lead when first results were announced. With 12 states declared and counting adjourned until 0900 GMT Tuesday, Buhari was ahead by seven states to five, with 2,976,721 votes to 2,690,616 for former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, of the PDP. To win, a candidate needs a majority of votes and at least 25 percent of support in two-thirds of Nigeria's 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. A total of 72.7 million people were eligible to vote in the presidential poll as well as parliamentary elections held at the same time. No caption The election -- the sixth in the 20 years since Nigeria returned to democracy after decades of military rule -- took place on Saturday, a week after a last-gasp postponement. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) blamed logistical difficulties, which were not entirely ironed out by the weekend, forcing voting to go into a second day. - 'Serious shortcomings' - The European Union said there were "serious operational shortcomings", which saw polling units open late, leaving voters waiting for hours with no idea when voting would start. The Situation Room umbrella group of over 70 civil society organisations observing the vote called for an inquiry into what it said was INEC's "poor management" of the process. It highlighted lapses in logistics, technology and security and said INEC had "not managed the election efficiently and significant shortcomings have been recorded". "The election has been a step back from the 2015 General Election and actions should be taken to identify what has gone wrong and what can be corrected," it added. The head of the African Union observer mission, Ethiopia's former prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn, also said they were concerned "by the pattern of consistent postponement". Wait: Voters queue at a polling station in Malkohi refugee camp in Adamawa state -- a facility for people displaced by the Boko Haram jihadist insurgency The last two elections suffered similar delays and Hailemariam said the latest postponement had "implications for citizens' participation and turnout". "Last-minute election postponements should not become the norm in Nigeria," added the National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute. Monitors Yiaga Africa said early indications put voter turnout at 36-40 percent. In the southeast state of Abia, where pro-Biafran separatist leaders had urged supporters to boycott the vote, turnout was just 18 percent. - Security gaps - The election took place against a backdrop of fears about security across the country, as well as claims from both parties that the other was looking to rig the result. Neither produced evidence but INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu on Sunday said there were reports of ballot-snatching, vote-buying and violence. One election volunteer was killed by a stray bullet in the southern state of Rivers, where some INEC staff and even police were held hostage before being released unharmed. Nigeria Other election staff were attacked in the southern state of Akwa Ibom and Kogi in the north central region. The Situation Room, which had some 8,000 monitors on the ground, said "at least 39 Nigerians" were killed in election-related violence in 11 states on Saturday and Sunday. Worst-affected was the oil-rich southern state of Rivers, where 16 people were killed. Previously, analysts SBM Intelligence said 233 people were killed in 67 incidents of election-related violence from last October to Friday -- an average of two people per day. The Situation Room said just over a quarter of the nearly 120,000 polling units were under-policed, and said there were "shortfalls and gaps" in security elsewhere. At least six states saw disruption in polling. In the Okoto area of the country's biggest city, Lagos, voters were chased away. Ballot boxes were destroyed in Okoto as well as in Osun state, where voting papers were also affected. There were also reports of some "partisan" security officials as well as "compromised" INEC staff and incidents involving the military, including blocking some voters. Police said 128 people had been arrested for electoral offences. Comedian Trevor Noah, host of the award-winning Daily Show and the son of a Xhosa-speaking mother and a Swiss-German father, often uses South African languages in his stand-up routines Comedian Trevor Noah brought a wry smile to his fellow South Africans during the Oscars when he poked fun at white people in Xhosa, one of his country's official languages. Noah, host of the award-winning Daily Show and son of a Xhosa-speaking mother and a Swiss-German father, often uses South African languages in his stand-up routines. As he prepared Sunday to present the Academy Award for best picture, for which Black Panther was a contender, he referred to the 2018 blockbuster and said: "Growing up as a young boy in Wakanda, I would see our King T'Challa flying over our village. And he would remind me of a great Xhosa phrase." Noah proceeded to speak in Xhosa, a language spoken by more than eight million people, and translated the phrase into English as "in times like these, we are stronger when we fight together, than when we try to fight apart". But Noah's comment actually meant "white people don't know I'm lying". Comedian Trevor Noah proceeded to speak in Xhosa, a language used by more than eight million people, with a comment that only South Africans would understand meant "white people don't know I'm lying" Black Panther, the story of black superhero King T'Challa which is set in the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda, lost out on the best picture award to Green Book. Within hours, Noah was one of the top trending topics on Twitter in South Africa where members of the black majority often poke fun at their white compatriots for not speaking African languages. "Trevor Noah really stood on a Global stage and told a joke only South Africans could immediately chuckle at. I know a Greatest Of All Time when I see one," wrote South African Twitter user Wally. "Hilarious!!!" posted psychologist Suntosh Pillay. Serame Kibi said simply "Trevor Noah made it", calling the entertainer a "very classy individual". Opinion was more divided on his material at the expense of Mel Gibson who he jokingly claimed had approached him backstage and said: "'Wakanda forever.' He said another word after that, but the 'Wakanda forever' part was nice." Noah, who grew up in the township of Soweto, shot to fame in 2015 as the surprise choice to host the nightly satire show, taking over after Jon Stewart's celebrated 16-year stint. A child of a then prohibited relationship between a black woman and a white father, Noah has often joked about his upbringing as a mixed-race boy among black children in Soweto where both Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu once lived. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan petted the horses which are providing a source of therapy for young people with disabilities Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan wowed Morocco Monday, visiting stables where horses provide therapy for disabled youngsters, sampling local cooking with underprivileged children, and taking tea with the king. The royal couple, on their last official foreign tour before becoming parents, petted horses and strolled hand in hand through the equestrian club in Sale in the outskirts of Rabat. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as they are formally known, met disabled young people grooming horses, and heard how spending time with the animals helps them face their challenges. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan meet staff at an equestrian club in Rabat helping young people with disabilities Meghan chatted with Zakaria, a 20-year-old with mobility issues who become an IT instructor with the help of equine therapy, 24-year-old Driss, who has speech difficulties, and Ikram, a 19-year-old with Down syndrome. The royal couple, who married last year, appeared relaxed as they stroked horses poking their heads out of the stable doors in the morning sunshine. A joking Harry asked if anyone had carrots to feed them, and confided that he missed his own horses. - Dressing down - A heavily pregnant Meghan, wearing her hair in a pony tail, came dressed in casual black jeans, a Breton striped shirt, green jacket and ankle boots. The focus of the royal visit is on initiatives promoting girls' education, women's empowerment and the inclusion of people with disabilities Harry also opted for a casual look with grey jeans, a light blue shirt and a black, padded jacket for the visit to the Moroccan Royal Federation of Equestrian Sports. At a later event the couple sampled Moroccan cuisine -- which Meghan declared "delicious" -- and heard how cooking is used to help disadvantaged children. They met renowned Moroccan chef Moha and tasted harira -- a traditional Moroccan soup -- as well as tajines, salads, and couscous. The children made Moroccan pancakes using a recipe from a cookbook launched by Meghan last year in her first solo charity project to support families affected by the Grenfell Tower fire disaster in London. Meghan then changed into a black pleated dress and white jacket while Harry donned a grey suit to visit the Kasbah of the Udayas, a fortress at the mouth of the Bou Regreg river. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan chatted to artisans in the Kasbah of the Udayas Later, the pair met King Mohammed VI for what was the first British royal visit to Morocco since Prince Charles and Camilla in 2011. Harry and Meghan were received at the palace by Crown Prince Moulay Hassan -- the former actress resplendent in a long, blue, flowered dress, and her husband bearing letters from his grandmother, the Queen. The couple's trip focuses on initiatives to promote girl's education, women's empowerment, and bringing disabled people into the mainstream. When the New Gods Fail The 1860s in Sweden saw a disastrous series of failed harvests. The good farmers of Tisselskog, Dalsland repeatedly went to church and pleaded for divine assistance, but none, apparently, was forthcoming. Each subsequent harvest was worse than the one before. What do you do when the new gods fail you? Of course, you turn to the old. Tisselskog is home to one of west Sweden's richest collections of Bronze Age rock art. More than 50 rock panels are covered with thousands of carvings of footprints, warriors, Sun wheels, and ships. Common also is the cupmark, known rather more poetically in Swedish as an alvkvarn, an elf-quern or elf-mill. Those who wished, in the skald Sighvatr orarson's words, to offer to the elves would place their offeringsmilk, a coin, a little smeared fatin one of these elf-querns. Among Tisselskog's carved rocks is one panel covered with cupmarks. Here, in this time of need, a young man and woman publicly made love while the farmers of the area gathered around them to witness. The youth's semen was collected and mixed with seed in one of the elf-querns (Bojs 295). An ancient rite, remembered, or a new one, born of need? Likely the latter, but it's impossible to know. One wonders about the social dynamics of such actions in 1860s Sweden. Who were the young man and woman? Were they a couple? Who collected the semen? How did people treat them afterwards? There's a rich story here, just waiting to be told. This much we can say: from then on, harvests began to improve. Above: Great Marriage (?) Bohuslan, Sweden ca. 1000 bce Karin Bojs, My European Family: The First 54,000 Years (2017). Bloomsbury: Sigma. European Council president Donald Tusk (L) and King Salman of Saudi Arabia (R) listen to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (C) at the first joint European Union-Arab League summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh European and Arab leaders on Monday ended their first summit pledging to launch a "new era" of cooperation on topics ranging from counter-terrorism to migration despite sharp differences over human rights. Around 40 EU and Arab leaders stressed at their two-day summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh how their challenges were interlinked and required joint efforts to meet them. In a final statement, the leaders pledged to "embark on a new era of cooperation and coordination" that would boost stability and prosperity in both regions and beyond, all within a rules-based international order. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the summit host, highlighted common interests on counter-terrorism, migration, economic development and efforts for peace in Yemen, Syria, Libya as well as between Israel and the Palestinians. But Sisi shot back at a European journalist who asked him to respond to EU criticism of human rights in Egypt. "You are not going to teach us about our humanity, our values, and our morality," Sisi said during the closing news conference. "Respect our humanity and our morality as we respect yours." Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi addresses a press conference at the end of the first joint European Union and Arab League summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, on February 25, 2019 The Egyptian leader said "our priorities are different" as people of the region faced hundreds if not thousands of terrorist acts, compared with Europe which had only a few. Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, told the same news conference that differences on "respect for human rights should not prevent us from envisaging the future with optimism." There were also differences on how to deal with Iran, with the Sunni-led Arab countries taking a harder line toward the government in Shiite-dominated Tehran. A Western diplomat told AFP several Arab countries wanted a firmer position on Iran in the final summit statement, which the Europeans refused to do. Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel earlier cautioned against expecting too much from the first EU-Arab League summit. "If you think that by seeing each other for 24 hours in Sharm el-Sheikh and it's peace in the world and in the region, then you believe in Father Christmas," Bettel told reporters. But Bettel said the summit helped lay the ground for future talks and led to important personal contacts. - 'Same concerns' - Both sides agreed the need to work together to manage migrant and refugee flows as well as fight extremists, though Europe is itself divided on migration. More than one million people, most of them fleeing the war in Syria, entered the bloc in 2015. Eastern EU governments have refused to admit asylum seekers landing in front line states like Italy and Greece. European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini attends the first joint European Union and Arab League summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, on February 25, 2019 Conflict-wracked Libya meanwhile is used as a staging area by smugglers and traffickers to take economic migrants and asylum seekers to Italian shores. European leaders have also stressed the need to defuse conflicts in the region because they are linked to extremists implicated in a wave of terrorist attacks in Europe. Arabs and Europeans have both been battling the Islamic State group, and its followers. The group has territorially been pushed out of its strongholds in Iraq and Syria. The summit in the southern Sinai desert was heavily guarded by Egyptian security forces who are fighting a bloody jihadist insurgency a short distance to the north. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Sunday the two sides "share the same concerns when it comes to fighting terrorism, preventing radicalisation". Mogherini also said "we largely share the same positions" on Syria, the Arab-Israeli peace process, Yemen and Libya. Egyptian special forces stand guard outside the International Congress Centre for the first joint European Union-Arab League summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh Most of the leaders of the 22-member Arab League attended, except for Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, whose country was suspended from the League over the civil war, and Sudan's Omar al-Bashir, who is grappling with protests at home. Absent on the EU side were the leaders of France, Spain, Latvia and Lithuania. European Union countries viewed the summit as a way to protect their traditional diplomatic, economic and security interests while China and Russia move to fill a vacuum left by the United States. A Bowery Farming employee inspects some of their greens grown at the hydroponic farming company in Kearny, New Jersey Workers at Bowery Farming's warehouse near New York have swapped out a farmer's hoe for a computer tablet that takes real-time readings of light and water conditions. Launched in 2015, Bowery is part of the fast-growing vertical farming movement, which employs technology in a controlled, man-made setting to grow fresh vegetables indoors all year long. Champions of the practice see vertical farming as a key tool to meet the world's food needs at a time when the population is rising and the climate is changing. Irving Fain, CEO and co-founder of Bowery Farming, talks about his hydroponic grown greens The company's chief executive and co-founder, Irving Fain, said his company's Kearny, New Jersey site uses fewer resources than traditional farms and does not employ pesticides. "I have been a big believer my entire life in technology as being able to solve not only hard problems, but also important problems," said Fain, who previously ran a company that provides data analysis for big companies on their loyalty programs. Bowery employs more programmers than agricultural scientists. The company says its use of algorithms enables it to be 100 times more productive per area compared with a traditional farm and to use 95 percent less water. - Lower electricity costs - Greens are grown at Bowery Farming, a vertical farming site founded in 2015 Vertical farming has long been practiced in Japan and some other places but it did not take off in the United States until recent technological leaps made it viable. A key component has been LED bulbs, which have enabled indoor farmers to drastically cut electricity costs. But Bowery is also making heavy use of robotics and artificial intelligence to keep prices under control. Bowery makes heavy use of robotics and artificial intelligence to keep prices under control The combination of these newer tools "is how we really rethink what agriculture will look like in the next century and beyond," Fain said. The company has also benefited from more than $120 million in funding from tech titans including Google Ventures and Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi. The Silicon Valley connection has also boosted San Francisco-based Plenty, another prominent vertical farming company, which has garnered more than $200 million from Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, Softbank and others. US-based Crop One and Emirates Flight Catering have launched a $40 million joint venture to build a giant vertical farming facility in Dubai. - Profitable? - AeroFarms co-founder and chief marketing officer Marc Oshima looks at baby kale The world's biggest vertical farm is in Newark, New Jersey, and operated by AeroFarms. The company, founded in 2004 and considered a pioneer in the sector, remains privately-held and does not disclose financial data. But AeroFarms, whose business model evolved over the years, says it is now profitable. It started as a farm selling produce locally but decided, in 2009 to shift to selling the technologies and solutions it had developped to other growers. The company then pivoted back toward growing its own leafy greens for sale in 2011. AeroFarms exclusively uses company-made technology that has now made its way to China, the Middle East and Europe, said its co-founder Marc Oshima. AeroFarms's vertical grow towers in Newark, New Jersey In a warehouse that was once a steel mill with 40-foot (12-meter) ceilings, the company is growing kale and arugula leaves set in rows of 12 metal racks each. The roots are suspended in the air as they are intermittently irrigated while the leaves bask under LED lights. AeroFarms experiments regularly with lighting and nutrients with an eye towards finding the optimal recipe for each plant and developing the best algorithm. The company produces watercress that reminded a reporter of her grandmother's soup, kale as tender as spinach and arugula with a hint of spice. David Chang, founder of the noodle restaurant brand Momofuku, is an investor. Basil from Bowery Farming was tinged with the flavor of lemon. But it can take a while for vertical farms to find solutions that are viable. "The big, big vertical farms are having a difficult time being profitable because they are so capital-intensive at the beginning," said Henry Gordon-Smith, founder of Agritecture, a consultancy. Large farms typically need seven or eight years before they are profitable, with smaller farms requiring perhaps half as long. But entrepreneurs in the business are confident in their prospects as more young people in cities express worry about climate change and pesticides. Baby kale is grown at AeroFarms "Vertical farming is not THE solution to food security," said Gordon-Smith. "It is one out of the possible solutions." Critics of vertical farming say it has a large carbon footprint due to heavy use of lighting and ventilation. But defenders say that this negative impact is more than offset from the benefits of lower water use, the location near population centers and the non-use of pesticides. A bigger issue may be the limitations of the output itself, at least in terms of nutrition. "You can't feed the world with salad alone," said Princeton University plant researcher Paul Gauthier, who says vertical farmers will need to develop more protein-rich offerings. Gauthier -- who grew spicier peppers in his own lab by subtly increasing potassium levels -- said vertical farming could supply fresh food to so-called food "deserts" where it is absent and could in the long-term meet growing food demand as the climate changes. In another realm Snowy 2.0 could be Australia's next big waterpark: 27 kilometres of tunnels with water pumping up and down, all located 700 metres underground. But rather than elicit squeals of excitement from punters, the renewable energy project is designed to create reliable electricity to power Australia. Scott Morrison sported a "Let's Get Pumped" cap that could easily pass at a waterpark - but in reality he was given it as he visited one of Snowy Hydro's stations in the NSW town of Talbingo. The prime minister was on Tuesday flanked by Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, Energy Minister Angus Taylor and Environment Minister Melissa Price to announce the commonwealth will stump up $1.38 billion for the $4.5 billion project. The coalition quartet helicoptered into the remote Snowy Hydro site as company boss Paul Broad showed them the rolling bushland area where the tunnels will be built. There was a sense of melancholy from Mr Taylor, who told reporters he had stood in the same spot more than 40 years ago alongside his grandfather Sir William Hudson, the chief engineer for the original Snowy scheme. The expanded pumped hydro scheme will create enough electricity to power 500,000 homes once complete in 2024, and will transform the neighbouring sleepy town of Tumut. Tumut's population of 300 is expected to soar in response to thousands of jobs. Snowy 2.0 will produce 2000 megawatts of energy that Mr Morrison says can firm the east coast's power supply and provide reliable generation. "If you want to transition over time to a renewable future for energy, you cannot do it without stations like this," he said. So far it's been the government's environment week. With multiple independent candidates popping up to go head to head with government MPs over climate policy at the next election, the coalition is attempting to flex its environmental muscles. The prime minister on Monday announced a $2 billion top up over the next decade to the Emissions Reduction Fund - rebranded as the Climate Solutions Fund - and $56 million for another transmission link between Tasmania and the mainland. Mr Morrison spruiked the Snowy Hydro project as being more viable than coal due to creating less pollution and cost. "Lower emissions, lower prices and reliability: that's what I'm looking for," he said. "It is absolutely fair dinkum power, it doesn't get more fair dinkum than this." Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull took to Twitter to say how delighted he was to see his pet project given the go-ahead. Power network operator Spark Infrastructure has recorded a $96.7 million full-year loss and warned its shareholders it will likely have to start paying tax soon. The owner of electricity networks in Victoria, South Australia and NSW reported a one per cent increase in total income for the 12 months to December 31 but registered a loss from a $88.6 million net profit in 2017. A federal court decision on February 7 related to tax payable by Victoria Power Networks effectively means Spark will have to start paying taxes from this year. "In the absence of a successful appeal, Spark Infrastructure will pay tax from 2019 onwards," the company said, adding that it may need to restate tax losses and recognise a potential tax liability of $65 million to $70 million for all years up to and including 31 December 2018. Spark also noted a downgrade in dividend payout for 2019 "to at least 15.0 cents per share" which it said was "more closely aligned with the five-year regulatory periods of our businesses". "While this reduction is of course disappointing, we have confidence in the robustness of our investment businesses and their continued outstanding performance," chairman Doug McTaggart said. Chief executive officer Rick Francis said regulatory decisions were likely to put pressure on revenues and operating cashflows of the business after 2020. Spark said operating cash flow was down 3.3 per cent for the company's SA Power Networks, was up 1.6 per cent for the Victoria Power Networks and surged more than 200 per cent for TransGrid in NSW from $10.9 million to $33 million. "An impairment of $270 million to the carrying value of SA Power Networks has been recorded reflecting, in part, the regulatory decisions and tax litigation outcome as at 31 December 2018," the company said. Mr Francis said Spark had a strategy to "become a leader in delivering essential service infrastructure" and was aiming for capital growth and continuing distributions to shareholders. "We aim to do this by growing and diversifying our portfolio through disciplined acquisitions and/or building sustainable businesses arising out of the technology, climate and customer-driven transformation occurring across the energy sector," Mr Francis said. The company said it will pay an unfranked final dividend of 8 cents per share, up from 7.63 cents a year ago. SPARK FULL-YEAR LOSS * Full-year net loss of $96.7m after $88.6m profit in pcp * Total income up 1 pct to $287.9m * Final distribution up 0.37 cents to 8 cents per share, unfranked. NSW Labor has promised an extra 200 specialist domestic violence housing places for women and children if it is elected in March. Opposition leader Michael Daley on Tuesday made a $158 million commitment to domestic violence services, including 29 more specialist domestic violence case workers. The extra 200 beds will be delivered in priority areas, including Penrith, Goulburn, the North Coast and Bega, Mr.Daley said. "Labor is making the prevention of domestic violence a key commitment and I will bring responsibility for this issue into the heart of government, within the Premier's Department," Mr Daley said in a statement. As Cardinal George Pell ascended the senior ranks of the Catholic Church, he kept secret a dark history of sexually molesting young boys. In the priest's sacristy of Melbourne's imposing St Patrick's Cathedral in 1996, then newly-installed as Archbishop of Melbourne, Pell sexually molested a 13-year-old choirboy. Exposed and pleasuring himself and still dressed in his ornate ceremonial robes, fresh from presiding over Sunday solemn mass, Pell then raped and abused the boy's 13-year-old friend. Pell has always denied the claims, calling them a "product of fantasy" and "absolute rubbish" when interviewed by police in Rome three years ago. But after a month-long trial and three delays of deliberations, a jury unanimously convicted Pell in December. The verdict has been suppressed until now for legal reasons. Physically ailing, the cardinal has been free on bail. But on Wednesday the man who rose to become Australia's highest-ranked Catholic, the Vatican's No.3 man and a trusted adviser to the Pope, will be taken into custody. Pell is the world's most senior Catholic to be charged with or found guilty of child sex offences. He stood down from his position as Vatican treasurer to fight the charges and his membership of the Group of Nine Cardinals was suspended by Pope Francis in December. Pell will be sentenced in March on one charge of sexually penetrating a child and four counts of committing indecent acts with children. An appeal has already been lodged and Pell continues to maintain his innocence. Only one of Pell's victims gave evidence at the trial. He knows the verdict and will hear Pell's punishment when it's handed down by County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd. The other died of a heroin overdose in 2014 having never admitted the abuse he suffered, not even to his parents when they asked if he'd been a victim. But his absence didn't matter to the jury who believed the prosecution's case and his friend's evidence that the abuse was not the "far-fetched fantasy" Pell's legal team claimed. Jurors accepted the memories of the surviving choirboy, now in his 30s, about the awful minutes that followed that mass a week or two before Christmas. The boys, both on scholarships to the prestigious St Kevin's College, had been "caught" by Pell swigging sacramental wine in the priest's sacristy after sneaking away from the post-mass procession. Pell planted himself in the doorway and scolded them. He then undid his pants and pulled his penis from under his ceremonial robes. The court was closed for the survivor's evidence of the events that followed - his recollection of standing frozen, watching his friend "squirm" as his head was pulled toward Pell's genitals. "Then he turned to me," he said, in evidence quoted later by Senior Crown Prosecutor Mark Gibson SC. The survivor recalled Pell orally raping him and demanding he then remove his pants, which he did. Pell fondled the boy's genitals while masturbating himself. The teen put his pants back on and together the boys rejoined their choir. Afraid of jeopardising his schooling and not understanding what had happened or "if it was normal", the survivor didn't say a word for years. Not even when, a month or so later, Pell shoved him against a wall in a cathedral corridor and fondled his genitals. "It's something I've carried for the whole of my life ... it took a courage much later in life for me to even think about coming forward," he told the jury. Pell's high-profile barrister Robert Richter QC told the jury Pell had returned voluntarily from Rome - where he had diplomatic immunity - to clear his name. He made the same point months earlier in a first trial that ended with jurors discharged, some sobbing, after being unable to reach a unanimous verdict. In a move rarely - if ever - seen in a Victorian court, Mr Richter used a slideshow to lay out the defence case in his closing remarks. It relied largely on the claim that 10 "independently impossible" events would have to have occurred in the same 10-minute window for the abuse to have occurred unseen. He had wanted to use a graphic - compared by prosecutors to the Pacman game - to demonstrate his point but permission was denied. Instead he relied on dot points and bold quotes. "Only a madman would attempt to rape boys in the priest's sacristy immediately after Sunday solemn mass," he declared, with the words projected in big, bold letters on a screen behind him. Victoria's Court of Appeal will decide if the jury's verdict stands. In the meantime the Catholic Church, tainted by a child sexual abuse scandal in archdiocese worldwide, must deal with its advent at the highest levels of the Holy See. THE GEORGE PELL CASE: PROSECUTION - KEY ARGUMENTS Director of Public Prosecutions Kerri Judd QC, senior crown prosecutor Mark Gibson SC and crown prosecutor Angela Ellis. * There were opportunities for Cardinal George Pell, newly-installed as Archbishop of Melbourne, to sexually abuse two choirboys in the late 1990s. Evidence that the boys slipped away unnoticed from the post-mass procession because of "mischief" and were "caught" by Pell while drinking wine in the priest's sacristy, withstood defence arguments. * Pell used the priest's sacristy to vest and disrobe during Sunday mass because of renovations which rendered the Archbishop's sacristy unusable. There were times Pell was left alone while still robed. It was still possible for Pell to expose his penis to the boys while robed because of slits in the alb, an under-tunic, which were designed to access pockets. * Neither victim reported the abuse at the time but that does not mean it didn't happen. Mr Gibson quoted the surviving complainant: it "took a courage much later in life" to even consider speaking out. He feared jeopardising his scholarship to the prestigious St Kevin's College, making things difficult for his parents and struggling to understand what had happened and if it was "normal". DEFENCE - KEY ARGUMENTS Barristers Robert Richter QC and Ruth Shann. * The prosecution timeline relied on 10 "independently impossible" events involving 40 or more people occurring within the same 10-minute window in order for the events to have happened and gone unnoticed. That includes: the two 13-year-old boys slipping away from the middle of the post-mass procession without being seen; Pell being alone and robed in the sacristy and not on the cathedral steps; and there being no other priests or altar servers moving between the sanctuary and priest's sacristy as was their practice after mass. * It would have been "inhumanly possible" for Pell to expose his penis to the boys while wearing the Archbishop's robes. The ensemble was made up of the alb, an ankle-length white under-tunic which included two slits to allow access to pockets, locked into place around the waist with a knotted rope cincture. A decorative chasuble was worn over top and, on special occasions a dalmatic as well. Pell required help robing and disrobing and Pell's master-of-ceremonies recalled only twice in five years not assisting. * The surviving complainant's memories aren't of real events, but are a far-fetched fantasy that he, now aged in his 30s, may have come to believe as the truth. Mr Richter pointed to the fact neither victim came forward immediately, that the complainant who has since died denied being abused when asked directly by his parents, and that after the first incident involving both boys the surviving complainant did not warn his friend when he was later abused again. A Queensland politician dumped by his own party after he was accused of sexual harassment says he's done nothing wrong. Whitsunday MP Jason Costigan, 47, was thrown out of the Liberal National Party over a sexual harassment complaint by the family of an 18-year-old woman. "I do not believe I did anything wrong whatsoever and I shall be taking the strongest possible action against the person or persons involved in what can only be described as a malicious attempt to destroy someone's career," he told parliament on Tuesday. FROM ALLEGATIONS TO CONVICTION: A TIMELINE OF THE PELL CASE 1996 - Pell appointed Archbishop of Melbourne by Pope John Paul II - Pell sexually abuses two 13-year-old choirboys after a Sunday solemn mass at St Patrick's Cathedral, according to a jury finding on Tuesday - A second indecent act is committed by Pell against one of the choirboys in a corridor at the Cathedral, according to a jury finding on . 2016 - The Herald Sun reports Pell is being investigated by Victoria Police's Sano taskforce for "multiple offences" committed while he was a priest in Ballarat and Archbishop of Melbourne - Pell says the allegations are "without foundation and utterly false" and calls for an inquiry into how the police investigation became public - Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton asks the anti-corruption watchdog to investigate the leak, but denies it came from police - Pell gives evidence to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse's inquiry into abuse in Ballarat - Under Vatican rules, Pell gives Pope Francis his resignation on his 75th birthday, as is customary. It is not accepted - Victoria Police investigators hand over to the state's Office of Public Prosecutions a brief of evidence on allegations of sexual abuse by Pell - Officers travel to Rome to interview Pell over the abuse claims. He voluntarily participates in the interview. 2017 - Police present their final brief of evidence to the Office of Public Prosecutions to consider charges - Prosecutors give police the green light to charge Pell. JUNE 2017 - Pell is charged with multiple counts of historic child sex offences - He denies the charges and vows to clear his name - Lawyers for Pell appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court - Pell takes leave from his Vatican finance chief role to fight the charges. JULY 2017 - Pell returns to Australia - He hires top barrister Robert Richter QC - Supporters set up a fund to help Pell fight the charges. MARCH 2018 - Prosecutors drop one of the charges against Pell - A month-long committal hearing begins to determine if Pell will face trial - Prosecutors withdraw more charges - Mr Richter claims police conducted a "get Pell operation" and accuses magistrate Belinda Wallington of bias. She refuses to disqualify herself from the case. MAY 2018 - Magistrate Belinda Wallington orders Pell stand trial on some charges, but throws out others - Pell formally pleads "not guilty" - Two trials are ordered, separating the 1970s and 1990s allegations - A Victorian County Court employee is sacked for looking up information on the Pell case. AUGUST 2018 - The 1990s "cathedral trial" begins in the Victorian County Court in Melbourne - Pell pleads not guilty again to one charge of sexual penetration of a child under 16 and four of indecent acts with a child, over incidents involving two 13-year-old choirboys at St Patrick's Cathedral in 1996. SEPTEMBER 2018 - The jury is discharged, unable to reach a verdict following a week of deliberation. Some jurors weep. NOVEMBER 2018 - A retrial begins. The jury aren't told of the previous hung jury. DECEMBER 2018 - Pell is found guilty on all charges by an unanimous jury - Mr Richter says Pell will appeal - Suppression orders prevent Australian media reporting the verdict but it spreads through international media within hours. FEBRUARY 2019 - Hearings begin ahead of the second trial. Prosecutors drop another charge - An appeal is filed against the cathedral trial conviction - A County Court judge deems vital evidence inadmissible - Prosecutors withdraw all remaining charges against Pell and drop a second trial over allegations Pell indecently assaulted boys in Ballarat in the 1970s when he was a parish priest - Pell is due to be taken into custody on Wednesday February 27 as the plea hearing begins. MARCH 2019 - Pell is due to be sentenced by County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd. Ten days ago, Amy Harrison replaced Chloe Logarzo in Sydney FC's W-League grand final triumph after the forward suffered an ankle injury. That same injury will now see Harrison take Logarzo's spot in the Matildas camp for the Cup of Nations, completing the 22-year-old midfielder's second recovery from a serious knee injury. The Sydney FC star will link up with the team in Sydney on Tuesday. Harrison has seven caps for the Matildas in a young career marred by injury. She was hopeful of competing at the 2016 Olympics, only to tear the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments on her right knee. After returning to the sport and the national team set-up, she suffered the same injuries on her left knee in January last year. She returned to the W-League in December, proving her fitness during Sydney's run to the title, and is now likely to don a Matildas shirt. Australia will play three matches in seven days at the Cup of Nations against New Zealand, South Korea and Argentina, starting on Thursday. The 24-year-old Logarzo didn't travel to Brisbane for the Matildas' pre-tournament camp but has been cleared of serious injury. A lawyer who worked for Attorney-General Christian Porter until late last year is among his latest appointees to a key tribunal. William Frost is one-of-86 appointments made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and was an adviser to Mr Porter for four years, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age report. Mr Porter has defended the decision to appoint him to a position that pays up to $244,520 a year, noting Mr Frost's decade of experience in commercial litigation and administrative law and Labor's previous appointments of ex-staffers to the AAT. A fifth person has been charged over a vicious attack on two Melbourne policemen who were left severely battered and bruised. A 26-year-old St Kilda man has been charged with two counts of assault police officer, violent disorder, affray, two counts of intentionally cause injury and assault by kicking, and will appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday. It comes after three men, aged 26 to 38, and a 25-year-old Langwarrin woman appeared in the same court a day earlier over Sunday's St Kilda assault. When the Darling River runs dry Wayne Smith's stock runs wild. And that's a big problem for an organic sheep farmer. The river itself forms the boundary for much of Mr Smith's vast property - but only when it's flowing. A dry riverbed means serious headaches when it comes to organic certification. "I've suddenly got uncertified sheep among my stock," the fifth-generation farmer told AAP on his property south of Menindee. "As soon as there's no water, there's nothing to stop other stock walking through, and my stock walking to the other side." Mr Smith suspended his organic certification in 2018 for what he thought would be a 12-month hiatus. But now, a dry and possibly toxic river, means it will likely be much longer. A blue-green algae bloom which contributed to a series of mass fish deaths this summer at Menindee means if rain does come it could push the toxins downstream to Mr Smith. "I don't want to be on the front page news as an organic sheep owner with sheep that drink toxic water," he said. Much of NSW is doing it tough under extreme drought conditions. But the decision to drain the Menindee Lakes in 2017 has exacerbated the problem for Mr Smith and his neighbours. Mr Smith says the Murray-Darling basin has been managed well enough for decades but something has gone very wrong in recent years. "The rules seemed to have changed," he said. "Is it climate change, or is it floodplain harvesting or illegal extraction?" The softly-spoken farmer questions the actions of big irrigators in the northern basin - especially those who capture floodplain water before it reaches the rivers. "It's not illegal but it's immoral," he said. Menindee is left high and dry, he argues, with northern irrigators keeping water and what's left allocated to South Australia. "They seem to be using Menindee as the whipping boy for the Darling to get the water for South Australia," Mr Smith said. Australian National University Professor Jamie Pittock says the Menindee Lakes have been drained before without resultant mass fish kills. The NSW and federal governments need to step up and put in place "competent" water plans, the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists member told AAP. The plans should account for all the water that's being taken - including from the floodplains. "It's extraordinary you can have this legal fiction that water moving across a floodplain isn't a river and is a free for all for all to take," he said. The Wentworth Group recently released a report into the Murray-Darling Basin Plan which suggested environmental flow targets haven't been monitored. The report warned that without the return of environmental flows, blue-green algae blooms will continue to strain the rivers and impact pastoral industries. Scott Morrison has defended his intense focus on asylum seekers who arrive by boat, when thousands more people arrive by plane each year asking for Australia's protection. For the past several weeks, the prime minister has accused Labor of weakening border security by making it easier for asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru to seek medical treatment in Australia. Mr Morrison has accused the opposition of allowing rapists and murderers into the country, restarting the people smuggling trade, and wilfully destroying national security. On Monday night, he was pressed on how allowing "a handful" of people into the country would undermine border protection, when allowing thousands to enter by plane would not. "People don't die on planes. They die on boats," Mr Morrison told the ABC's 7:30 program. "These are people who have to pass a character test to get on a plane. The character test applies to everybody who comes to this country through the official channels." However, people can come to Australia on tourist visas and then claim asylum, without undertaking character tests. The government is bracing for hundreds of people on Manus Island and Nauru to come to Australia for medical treatment, after Labor and the crossbench passed laws giving doctors greater input. The immigration minister will still be able to block their transfers on national security and character grounds, but these veto powers have been curtailed. Meanwhile, Mr Morrison has defended a contentious $423 million contract awarded to a little-known company called Paladin for services on Manus Island. The company, whose Australian arm was until recently registered to a beach shack on Kangaroo Island, was awarded the contract through a closed tender process. Defending the contract, the prime minister said Paladin was "quite a large company" based in Singapore. "I've been involved in having to put these sort of services in remote locations for a very long time and it is not a cheap exercise," he said. "That's why you have to be so vigilant that you never allow this trade (people smuggling) to occur again." Mr Morrison said the proper processes were followed in relation to the tender. "Nobody has been able to establish that it hasn't been followed," he said. Scott Morrison's decision to save Anzac Day dawn services in the French countryside has sparked fresh calls for prime ministerial intervention in another aspect of military history. Former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer has seized on the swift captain's call to again urge Mr Morrison to posthumously promote World War I commander General Sir John Monash to the rank of field marshal. "I strongly welcome the prompt decision of the prime minister to retain the dawn service at Villers Bretonneux," Mr Fischer told AAP on Monday evening. "I seek from him an equally prompt decision to push through the John Monash bill in the last three days of sitting of this parliament. "This bill provides for the long overdue posthumous promotion of John Monash to the rank of field marshal, as a gift from the prime minister and the parliament in the same way that Menzies promoted (Thomas) Blamey to field marshal in 1950." Mr Fischer and other supporters of the campaign to promote Sir John Monash argue his contribution to the allied victory in World War I has not been sufficiently recognised. Last year, they urged the coalition government to grant him the highest military rank, hoping the elevation would coincide with the opening of the Monash Centre at Villers Bretonneux. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten supported the campaign but then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull decided against the idea. Military leaders past and present argued against the posthumous promotion, saying it would break with protocol. The prime minister stepped in on Monday to stop the Villers-Bretonneux dawn service being moved to later in the morning. The Department of Veterans' Affairs has been blamed for trying to shift the start time. Veterans organisations are now questioning whether it should be organising such events at all. James Brown, president of the NSW RSL, said the department should focus on making sure veterans receive the medical help they need. "Asking them to also run a series of really important ceremonies all over the world, maybe that's too much," he told Sky News. Mr Brown believes the Australian War Memorial would be a better organisation to run such services. The dawn service has been held at the memorial near Villers-Bretonneux since 2008, the year which marked the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I. Federation Square's newest addition is set to be unveiled - a limited edition reproduction of New York's famous "Fearless Girl" statue. The replica will be unveiled by artist Kristen Visbal on Tuesday, ahead of International Women's Day on March 8. The original Fearless Girl rose to global attention when she was installed in front of the "Charging Bull" on Wall Street for International Women's Day in 2017. Australia's statue is one of four in the world, another two are in South Africa and Norway. The statue has been brought to Melbourne by law firm Maurice Blackburn and industry super funds HESTA and Cbus. A search is due to resume for a man who was swept off rocks at the famous Figure Eight Pools in the Royal National Park south of Sydney. Emergency services including a Westpac Lifesaver Helicopter were called to the area about 2pm on Monday after the man, believed to be 22, and another man in his 20s were swept off the rocks. The younger man was able to climb to safety on a rock shelf and was treated for minor lacerations at the scene but the older man disappeared under the water and didn't resurface, police said. At the time of the incident, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service wave risk at the pools was listed as 'extreme'. Under these conditions, NPWS urges people not to visit the pools. The search for the man is expected to resume on Tuesday morning. NSW Police say three other people who were with the pair on the rocks at the time weren't injured. She is the bubbly blonde who has gone from radio presenter to endometriosis advocate. And on Wednesday, Mel Grieg, 36, enjoyed a dinner and a night in with friends including former Bachelor star Heather Maltman, 33. They also welcomed the new addition of Rhyce Power, 27, who was dubbed Married At First Sight's 'hot brother' by fans of the show following his younger sister Jessika's wedding to Mick Gould. Scroll down for video Who knew they were friends? Former radio personality Mel Greig, 36, has hosted dinner and a Married At First Sight viewing party with friends including Heather Maltman and MAFS' 'hot brother' Rhyce Power on Wednesday The group enjoyed dinner and wine while watching Wednesday's explosive MAFS episode that saw Jessika's desperate attempt to strike up a connection with two different men during the dinner party. Mel shared a video of the evening in, panning from the TV across to her guests. 'Just worked out what the plot twist is on Married At First Sight. They bring back that really hot brother from episode one,' she joked as her camera showed off the tattooed breakout star. She said: 'Oh hey, hello everybody. Nothing awkward going on here at all,' she added as her female friends attempted to contain their excitement. 'Welcome to the neighbourhood!' Mel was joined by her good friend, former Bachelor star Heather Maltman (left) and Married At First Sight's 'hot brother' Rhyce Power (right), who recently moved from Perth to Sydney But as the camera turned back to Rhyce, Mel greeted him: 'Welcome to the neighbourhood!' Rhyce recently revealed that he was making the move to Sydney from Perth. Mel's dinner party comes after the former radio star, who suffers from stage 4 Endometriosis, admitted she was on the hunt for a father after having her eggs frozen through IVF in a refreshingly open column for Yahoo. Part of that process involves her swiping through profiles on a website to find what sounds like the right match which she described as basically 'Tinder for sperm'. On the hunt: Mel recently revealed she is searching for a father after having her eggs frozen through IVF. Part of that process involves her swiping through profiles on a website to find what sounds like the right match, which she described as 'Tinder for sperm' Mel said that while they don't show what the donors look like, they do thoroughly describe them. 'They use a describing sentence in their title too like 'Sir Laugh A lot' or 'Beach Body' its truly fascinating reading through the anonymous descriptions and I would have full control of the embryos and my child.' While the odds are stacked against her, she added that she needed to know she tried everything in her power. 'One day I might get that miracle baby, but if I dont at least I know I really did try everything to have my own child,' Mel wrote. She's a self-described exercise addict, even going so far as to recently workout outside an In-N-Out Burger restaurant. And Victoria's Secret model Kelly Gale showed off the fruits of her labour during a Pilates session on Wednesday. The 23-year-old flaunted her six-pack abs in a crop top and leggings as she balanced on a reformer machine. Abs-olutely RIPPED! Victoria's Secret model Kelly Gale showed off her insane six-pack abs in a crop top and leggings during Pilates workout on Wednesday in New York Kelly recently opened up about finding success in the modelling industry and revealed it requires more than just a pretty face. You have to feel good to look good,' the brunette beauty told The Daily Telegraph. She has previously spoken about her intense training to achieve her optimum physique all year long. 'I workout six days a week, even when I'm travelling I make it work': In a March 2018 interview with InStyle Australia, Kelly revealed she even exercises while on holiday In a March 2018 interview with InStyle Australia, Kelly revealed she even exercises while on holiday. 'I workout six days a week, even when I'm travelling I make it work,' she said. The stunner continued: 'I do a lot of Pilates, jump-rope, running and walking. I try to walk between 20 and 30 kilometres per day, which is really far!' Kelly has proven herself to be a Victoria's Secret favourite having walked for the lingerie brand five times (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018), making her debut in 2013 at just 18. Last year Kelly received backlash for 'shaming' In-N-Out diners last week by exercising outside the fast food restaurant and posting a video of it to Instagram. 'I do a lot of Pilates, jump-rope, running and walking. I try to walk between 20 and 30 kilometres per day, which is really far!': Kelly works hard to achieve her stunning frame As guests walked in and out of the Monterey, California establishment carrying fast food, Kelly worked up a sweat using a skipping rope. It showed her arriving at the restaurant with friends before eating fruit instead of ordering food inside. While skipping and performing core exercises, several passers-by could be seen looking at Kelly rather quizzically. The fact she was positioned directly outside the front entrance to In-N-Out Burger meant several patrons had to walk around her. In the caption, she claimed there were 'no excuses' when it came to healthy living and encouraged her fans to squeeze in workouts whenever possible. She added: 'Not gonna pretend I was eating here'. Several Instagram followers were left confused at Kelly's behaviour, with one commenting: 'Way to make people around you feel very uncomfortable.' 'This is low key kinda f**ked up,' another person wrote. 'Were you trying to guilt-trip their customers,' one social media user asked the model. Another said: 'I bet this made a lot of people feel bad about buying In-N-Out.' This recipe is as easy and simple. The idea for showing this recipe came from a good reader of ours Blackseabrew. He was just in Ukraine and looks to me like he had some of these fantastic pancakes. So since Blackseabrew suggested it, I present Syrniki or Curd Pancakes! Ingredients: 1 1/4 cup of well drained cottage cheese 1 large egg 2-3 tbs of sugar 1/2 cup flour Mix: Put all the ingredients in a medium size mixing bowl. Mix until the consistency is that of a bread dough and even lumpy in appearance. Add a pinch more flour if it seems to be to thin. Make and Fry: I use my fingers and dust them with flour. I pinch off a large spoonful size chunk of dough and roll in a ball. On a floured surface I flatten the ball into a flat pancake. Make sure that you flip dough and coat both sides with flour. In a preheated (medium heat) non stick skillet with a layer of veggy oil in the bottom. Lay the pancakes one at a time into the oil. (Careful do not splash) Fry until first side is golden brown (or even darker like we like them). Turn the pancake over and fry until the second side is golden brown. Eat: Syrniki taste great with sour cream, jam, jelly, preserves, molasses, sorghum, maple syrup and they are great just plain Yummy! Notes: They are best made with farmers cheese, goat cheese, Syrniki are many times made with a mixture of pot cheese (similar to cottage cheese but is drained longer and therefore has a slightly drier texture). Hense the need to drain cottage cheese very thoroughly in America. (singular syrnik; in Russian, []) Windows to Russia! comments always welcome. He was the unlikely standout star from Netflix's eye-opening documentary Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened. Detailing the chaos of the failed event headed up by fraudster Billy McFarland, the documentary features a scene where Andy King said he was willing to 'suck d**k' when customs refused to released the event's water supplies - bottles of Evian. And King is taking full advantage of his viral fame, appearing in the role of bartender on Watch What Happens Live on Tuesday, dishing out drinks to guests including Real Housewife Of Beverly Hills star ' Dorit Kemsley. Viral star: Fyre Festival's Andy King plays WWHL bartender (with no Evian in sight)on Tuesday night... before revealing Billy McFarland has called from jail to ask him to visit Fame: King is taking full advantage of his viral fame, appearing in the role of bartender on Watch What Happens Live on Tuesday, dishing out drinks to guests including Real Housewife Of Beverly Hills star ' Dorit Kemsley The documentary star also recorded an interview with WWHL host Andy Cohen for his SiriusXM channel Radio Andy on Wednesday morning, revealing the McFarland had been in contact from jail. Asked by Cohen: 'Does Billy have any remorse?' King replied: 'I think so, he reached out last week from jail, his girlfriend wants to take me up to see him.' Asked if would go, event producer King was uncertain. Memorable: In Netflix's eye-opening documentary Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, King said he was willing to 'suck d**k' when customs refused to released the event's water supplies - bottles of Evian Fyre Festival's founder Billy McFarland was sentenced to six years behind bars for fraud, but Andy said he hasn't spoken to him (Pictured: Ja Rule, left, with Billy McFarland, right) 'You know I have mixed emotions. That's who I am, that's why the world is embracing me. But that can get you into trouble every once in a while, i.e. Fyre. And so I... it's mindboggling.' However King said watching the Netflix documentary (Hulu has it's own version) had opened his eyes to McFarland, who was sentenced to six years behind bars for fraud. 'When I watched the doc first of all the PTSD killed me, and then secondly to see him launching into another scam broke my heart,' he admitted. Priyanka Chopra was putting on a stylish display in a classic black one-shouldered gown on Wednesday, as she attended a Ralph Lauren fashion event in Mumbai. The Quantico star, 36, highlighted her trim figure with the simple frock as she arrived at the event in India, this time without her husband Nick Jonas. Priyanka's outing came after her and Nick, 26, recently returned to India for the first time since their lavish wedding in December, as they posed for a sweet social media selfie after touching down in Delhi. Flawless: Priyanka Chopra was putting on a stylish display in a classic black one-shouldered maxi dress on Wednesday, as she attended a Ralph Lauren fashion event in Mumbai Despite her simple look, Priyanka was oozing glamour as she made her way into the fashion showcase. The form-fitting black gown boasted one long sleeve and the other side sleeveless, as Priyanka accessorised her look with matching strapped heels. Styling her glossy raven tresses into loose curls Priyanka finished her look with several dainty rings and a twisted gold bracelet, along with hint of brown lipstick to perfectly accentuate her flawless complexion. Going solo: The Quantico star, 36, highlighted her trim figure with the simple frock as she arrived at the event in India, this time without her husband Nick Jonas Flawless: Priyanka was effortlessly chic in the frock which highlighted her trim figure, teamed with matching strapped heels and her glossy raven tresses in effortless waves Priyanka is of course an avid fan of Ralph Lauren as she donned one of the designer's gowns to attend the Vanity Fair 2019 Oscars Party on Sunday, where she was seen cosying up to her husband Nick. Back in December, Nick and Priyanka had one of their numerous wedding receptions in New Delhi which is an urban district of Delhi and serves as the capital of India. The beaming couple were the picture of marital bliss as they held hands and gazed adoringly at one another while taking photographs alongside their families. Priyanka looked absolutely breathtaking wearing a dazzling silver lehenga with white roses tucked into her hair. Earlier this couple Priyanka and Nick made a sensational return to India for the first time since their grand nuptials, and took to social media to mark the occasion with a sweet selfie. The happy couple had big smiles on their faces in the snap the Baywatch star, wearing a Madiyah Al Sharqi duster, captioned: Best travel buddy ever..hello Delhi.. so good to be back.. @nickjonas.' She has been conquering the catwalk during Paris Fashion Week. And Gigi Hadid showed no signs of slowing down as she left her hotel in the capital on Wednesday evening and headed to a party celebrating Prada's unveiling of their Ready To Wear A/W collection. The model, 23, cut a sleek figure in a structured strapless black dress as she joined a stylish Olivia Culpo, 26, for the launch. Stylish display: Gigi Hadid stunned in a black dress as she left her hotel in the capital on Wednesday evening and headed to a party celebrating Prada's unveiling of their Ready To Wear A/W collection Gigi highlighted her slender physique in the form-fitting dress which clung to her tiny waist before falling out into an a-line midi skirt. Proving she was one of the world's most in-demand models, the American beauty wore her own personalised heart-shaped pin. Gigi toughened up the look with patent black Chelsea boots and ankle socks, while she wore her long blonde locks in a slicked back braid. Monochrome chic: The model joined Olivia Culpo, 26, who wore a semi-sheer monochrome dress and studded velvet headband to the fashion bash Catwalk queen: The model, 23, cut a sleek figure in the structured strapless black dress Strike a pose: Gigi highlighted her slender physique in the form-fitting dress which clung to her tiny waist before falling out into an a-line midi skirt Model of the moment: Proving she was one of the world's most in-demand models, the American beauty wore her own personalised heart-shaped pin The model ensured she let all her outfit do the talking as she opted for a pared-back makeup look, with just a flush of pink blush to accentuate her pretty features. Olivia, meanwhile, looked equally as fashionable in a semi-sheer monochrome dress and studded velvet headband. She complemented her dress with pop socks and matched her black and white bag with her court shoes. Gigi has been ruling the runway alongside her stylish sister Bella as well as the likes of Irina Shayk, Kaia Gerber and Candice Swanepoel. Sartorially-savvy: Gigi toughened up the look with patent black Chelsea boots and ankle socks, while she wore her long blonde locks in a slicked back braid Gigi has flown to Paris 's outing comes after she paid her respects to 'King' Karl Lagerfeld at the preview of his final Fendi collection. The model had paid tribute to the 85-year-old's 'genius mind' and 'indescribable presence' after his passing in Paris on Tuesday. Gigi initially paid tribute to Karl on Instagram on Tuesday, when it was announced that the fashion icon had died, aged 85, following a short illness. Radiant: The model ensured she let all her outfit do the talking as she opted for a pared-back makeup look, with just a flush of pink blush to accentuate her pretty features Fashionista: Olivia complemented her dress with pop socks and matched her black and white bag with her court shoes She wrote: 'Karl, I will miss your indescribable presence, watching your calm, quiet genius mind working, your little jokes, amazing stories, and experience the clothes, sets, and productions only you could dream up.' 'Thank you for believing in me and for the beautiful, incredible opportunities you brought to my career, but mostly thank you for giving me the honor of knowing the magic behind the myth. 'There will never be another Karl Lagerfeld. I am overwhelmed with sadness today, but also with so much love, admiration and gratitude for you. 'To all his beloved friends and colleagues, and his favourite girl Choupette, my heart is with you. Rest in Peace King Karl. I didn't want this day to come.' Glam: Ahead of the fashion show Gigi was seen making exiting her car as she made a dramatic entrance Jude Law was putting on a dapper display as he attended the Captain Marvel European Premiere on Wednesday, just hours after fiancee Phillipa Coan confirmed their engagement. The movie superstar walked the blue carpet solo for the event after his partner was seen sporting an enormous diamond engagement ring, amid claims they are planning 'a spring wedding.' Jude led the star-studded lineup for the premiere ahead of Captain Marvel's UK release on Sunday 8th March, following endless speculation from fans around who he would be playing. Beaming: Jude Law was in good spirits as he attended the Captain Marvel European Premiere on Wednesday, just hours after fiancee Phillipa Coan confirmed their engagement Jude looked to be in good spirits as he made his way along the blue carpet in London's Curzon Mayfair, donning a low-key velvet bomber jacket and white jeans. The Fantastic Beasts star's character in Captain Marvel had previously been shrouded in secrecy, but according to SYFY WIRE was recently revealed as 'Mar-Vell, the leaders of Starforce.' Jude's outing came after Phillipa was seen sporting an enormous diamond engagement ring, confirming recent rumours that the couple were set to wed. Looking good: The actor, 46, couldn't stop smiling as he walked the blue carpet, after Phillipa, 32, was seen earlier in the day sporting an enormous diamond engagement ring Low-key: Jude was putting on a casual display in a black velvet bomber jacket and white jeans as he arrived for the premiere in Curzon Mayfair The Sun also reported that the Sherlock Holmes star has asked his eldest son Rafferty, 22, whom he shares with ex wife Sadie Frost, to be his best man. A source revealed to the publication: 'The wedding itself will be a good old fashioned knees up with plenty of booze and dancing. 'All his old pals are going from when he was growing up in London and just starting out in his career.' Smile! As he walked the blue carpet Jude also stopped for selfies with die-hard fans Exciting: The much-anticipated Marvel adaptation is set for a UK release on Friday 8th March The source added: 'Jude and Phillipa have been going out together for years and get on really well, so this is the next natural step.' It appears as though the nuptials will be an A-list affair with several of Jude's actor pals reported to attend including Jonny Lee Miller, Ewan McGregor, Brad Adams and Sean Pertwee. It is thought the wedding will take place in May, MailOnline has contacted Jude's representative for comment. The haka is an ancient New Zealand Maori war dance traditionally used on the battlefield. But Ashley Graham seemed to mistake it for the latest dance move, when she begged Jason Momoa to do 'just one haka move' on Sunday's Oscars red carpet. Addressing the Hawaiian-born Aquaman star, Ashley asked: 'I gotta a haka move. I gotta get like one hakka move, like come on.' Ashley Graham begs Jason Momoa to do 'just one haka move' on the red carpet... but Lisa Bonet steps in and tells her 'we'll skip that' Model moment: Jason then stuck his tongue out in the pukana, the facial gesture performed in a haka, pleasing Ashley, who responded in kind, before she ended the segment As Jason smiled awkwardly, his wife. The Cosby Show star Lisa Bonet stepped in, holding up a hand and saying simply 'We'll skip that', a phrase her husband then repeated. Jason then stuck his tongue out in the pukana, the facial gesture performed in a haka, pleasing Ashley, who responded in kind, before she ended the segment. Ashley's request was perhaps sparked by the fact that Mamoa and his colleagues did indeed do the haka at the U.S. premiere of Aquaman. Ashley's request was perhaps sparked by the fact that Mamoa and his colleagues did indeed do the haka at the U.S. premiere of Aquaman While the haka is not performed in the movie, Aquaman does have plenty of Maori influences, combined with aspects of Jason's own Hawaiian heritage. Picture perfect: The Aquaman star attended the Oscars with his wife Lisa Bonet, the mother of his two children While the haka is not performed in the movie, Aquaman does have plenty of Maori influences, combined with aspects of Jason's own Hawaiian heritage. Viewers were quick to call out model Ashley for the 'cringeworthy' moment. One Twitter user, Ottilia Anna MaSibanda, pointed out simply: 'Jason Momoa is Hawaiian. The Haka is a Maori ceremonial dance.' Twitter user noscrubsmps3 wrote: 'Lisa Bonet looked like she was going to knock Ashley Graham's head off for asking Jason Momoa to do "haka moves".' While MC pointed out: 'That's part of a culture, not some party trick.' Unimpressed: Viewers were quick to call Ashley out for her cultural insensitivity Awkward: The moment was quickly picked up by social media commentators 'Morons': Lisa Bonet's interjection did not go unnoticed 'That's part of a culture, not a party trick': Fans thought the interview was 'cringeworthy' 'Ignorant': Even fans of the model were cringing He is one of the most iconic actors in the world thanks to his role in the James Bond movies. And Pierce Brosnan, 65, couldn't contain his delight as he enjoyed a coffee with his face on it in Dubai on Wednesday. In a short clip shared to his Instagram, the American actor ploughed his spoon through his 007 coffee etching before the camera panned to him to show his enthusiastic reaction. 'I asked for a coffee and I got myself': Pierce Brosnan, 65, couldn't contain his delight as he enjoyed a coffee with his face on it in Dubai on Wednesday Fun: In a short clip shared to his Instagram, the actor ploughed his spoon through his 007 coffee etching before the camera panned to him to show his enthusiastic reaction Looking as dashing as ever in a navy suit and baby blue shirt, Pierce looked in his element as he enjoyed the warm personalised beverage. 'Good morning one and all ...yep! I asked for a coffee and I got myself ! thank you @Jetex Dubai ... camera work and laugh by the beautiful ,' he delightedly captioned the snap. Pierce appeared to be without his wife Keely Shaye Smith, who he has been together with for 25 years. The silver fox and Keely have been together since 1994 and tied the knot at Ballintubber Abbey in County Mayo, Ireland, in 2001. Handsome: Looking as dashing as ever in a navy suit and baby blue shirt, Pierce looked in his element as he enjoyed the warm personalised beverage He delightedly captioned the snap: 'Good morning one and all ...yep! I asked for a coffee and I got myself ! thank you @Jetex Dubai ... camera work and laugh by the beautiful ' The actor was previously married to Australian actress Cassandra Harris. The couple met in 1977 and married in 1980, but Pierce was widowed in 1991 when his wife passed away at the age of just 43 after a battle with ovarian cancer. Pierce and Cassandra had one son, Sean, 35, together; and the actor adopted his wife's two children, Charlotte and Chris, 46, when their father Dermot Harris died in 1986. Love: Pierce appeared to be without his wife Keely Shaye Smith, who he has been together with for 25 years Charlotte tragically died from ovarian cancer - the same illness that took the life of her mother - in 2013 at the age of just 41. The actor has often been vocal about how Keely saved him from depression following his personal tragedies, describing her as a ' strength I wouldnt be able to live without'. Meanwhile, Pierce will next be starring in the adventure fantasy The King's Daughter, alongside Kaya Scodelario and William Hurt Georgia Steel and Megan McKenna reportedly suffered a major fall-out behind the scenes of Celebs Go Dating, according to The Sun. A source told the publication that the pair were at odds during filming for the series finale in Tenerife, after Georgia accused Megan of name-calling and badmouthing her. This comes just hours after the pair appeared on Good Morning Britain together where they insisted that the cast got along well on the E4 show, though the source also claimed that this is likely to be the last time the pair will cross paths. At odds? Georgia Steel and Megan McKenna reportedly suffered a major fall-out behind the scenes of Celebs Go Dating, according to The Sun The source said: 'They started to grate on each other while they were in Tenerife shooting the finale. Since coming back Georgia has accused Megan of name-calling and talking negatively about her. 'The more she thought about it and began questioning why Megan had an issue, the more it agitated her. 'She was upset and started lashing out, branding Megan nasty.' MailOnline has contacted representatives for Megan McKenna, Georgia Steel and Celebs Go Dating for further comment. Not so close? A source claimed that the pair came to blows while filming the series finale, when Georgia (right) accused Megan of badmouthing her Made amends: However the source also claimed that Georgia has since apologised to Megan This revelation comes just hours after Megan and Georgia made a joint appearance on Wednesday's Good Morning Britain, where they discussed whether fake tan should be banned from schools. The source went onto add that since the clash Georgia has apologised to Megan for making the accusations. During her breakfast TV appearance Georgia also touched on a hilarious blunder that left fans baffled during the show, where she appeared to mix up the locations of Wales and Ireland. Sat alongside Megan she said: 'I just got a bit confused people just get confused don't they.' Close now? These revelations come just hours after the pair were guests on Good Morning Britain together Pushed on her blunder even further, Georgia went on to explain where they were situated on the UK map. She continued: 'Ireland, it's obviously the island away from where we are. Wales is just below us...' However, GMB host, Ben Shephard, was quick to correct Georgia once again as he said: 'If you look at the UK, it's to the left...' Defending her geography confusion once again, she said: 'I did have a few drinks at this point as well, so...' Celebs Go Dating Airs Sunday - Thursdays 9pm on E4 Margot Robbie was back on set this week to film more scenes for her new Harley Quinn movie. Titled Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), the movie's cast and crew were pictured in Los Angeles shooting some night scenes. The all-female Suicide Squad spin-off, to be released in 2020, sees the 28-year-old actress reprise her role as the maniacal DC Comics villain. DC villain: Margot Robbie is seen back on set for her latest film Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) The actress was pictured filming a scene in a truck where she jumps out and lets the truck crash as she watches the explosions. Margot's stunt double took her place to do the actual jump from the moving vehicle. The Australian born actress wore some tiny striped shorts and a fluorescent pink crop top along with a bolero cardigan adorned with metallic ribbons. The I, Tonya beauty sported pigtails with pink and blue dip-dye tips. Margot revealed she would reprise her role as demented doctor Quinn back in September, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter . Bad girl style: The Australian born actress wore some tiny striped shorts and a fluorescent pink crop top along with a bolero cardigan adorned with metallic ribbons Colorful look: The I, Tonya beauty sported pigtails with pink and blue dip-dye tips The actress was pictured filming a scene in a truck where she jumps out and lets the truck crash to watch explosions. A stunt double is pictured doing the jump The starlet also confirmed she would produce the Cathy Yan directed film alongside Sue Kroll and Bryan Unkeless. The movie revolves around a group of female supervillains and also stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Huntress and Black Canary respectively. Rosie Perez stars as Renee Montoya and Ella Jay Basco as Cassandra Cain. The Mindy Project star Chris Messina takes on the role of Batman villain Victor Zsasz and Ewan McGregor is playing the villain Black Mask. Ali Wong, Steven Williams, Derek Wilson, Dana Lee, Francois Chau, Matthew Willig and Michael Masini round out the cast. Soft landing: A roll mat was placed nearby as the stunt woman jumped The movie revolves around a group of female supervillains and also stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Huntress and Black Canary respectively The plot follows Harley after she frees herself from the Joker and find new allies in Black Canary and Huntress. They team up to rescue teen superhero-to-be Cassandra Cain from villains Black Mask and Victor Zsasz. The sequel comes two years after Margot played crazed former psychiatrist Harleen Quinzel/ Harley Quinn in the Warner Bros.' DC Comics film Suicide Squad. Birds of Prey is scheduled to be released in theaters February 7 2020. Oscars viewers have slammed the Academy for snubbing late actor Verne Troyer from their In Memoriam tribute on Sunday, ten months after he passed away aged 49. The star, best known for his role as Mini-Me in the Austin Powers franchise, died of suicide by alcohol intoxication last April and had suffered a long battle with depression. Verne was noticeably snubbed from the video, as were other stars such as Carol Channing and Stanley Donen. 'Disappointed': Fans SLAMMED the Oscars for not including Verne Troyer in their In Memoriam tribute on Sunday night... 10 months after Austin Powers star's tragic death at 49 The actor was rushed to a hospital with possible alcohol poisoning in early April, and then passed away about three weeks later on April 21. Fans took to Twitter to air their disappointment, writing: 'The Oscars just snubbed Verne Troyer during [the] "In Memoriam" video. We will never forget you Verne.' While another said: 'The fact that Verne Troyer was left off the Oscars Memoriam is unsettling and disappointined. RIP little guy.' One user blasted the Oscars for forgetting Full Metal Jacket star R. Lee Ermey, as they wrote: 'I try not to be the guy who b****** about the Oscars, but not to include R. Lee Ermey in the Memoriam section of the show is just f****** sad. Same with Verne Troyer and Carol Channing.' Upset: Fans took to Twitter to express their disappointment that Verne was snubbed Tests released in December showed Troyer consumed about three times the legal limit of alcohol before he was taken to the hospital. A friend told police and paramedic dispatchers at the time that he appeared to be very upset, drunk and suicidal. The actor had reportedly done several stints in rehab as a result of his alcohol problems, which included being hospitalized in April of 2017. 'I've been hearing from some concerned fans, so I'd like to address a very personal situation,' Troyer said in a statement to PEOPLE at the time. He continued: 'As you know, I've battled alcohol addiction in the past and while it's not always been an easy fight, I'm willing to continue my fight day by day.' Troyer was born with achondroplasia dwarfism, which caused him to stop growing at 2foot8. He welcomed a son into the world on Feb. 4. And Andy Cohen admitted to Howard Stern during an impromptu visit to the Sirius/XM studios in New York on Wednesday morning that circumcising his son was an easy choice. The 50-year-old Bravo patriarch also told Stern that he's been inundated with love and support since Benjamin was born and good friend John Mayer made sure to visit the father and son in the hospital just days after his birth. In the family: Andy Cohen admitted to Howard Stern during an impromptu visit to the Sirius/XM studios in New York on Wednesday morning that circumcising his son was an easy choice; seen on Instagram 'He is circumcised,' Andy admitted. 'I have a gorgeous, circumcised penis and I want him to have the same.' His surprise visit to the studio was brought on when Howard told Stern-staffer Chris Wilding that he could hook him up with Top Gay Andy Cohen after Chris lamented dating woes during an on-air segment. Cohen was apparently listening to the show and decided to head over to the studio to see what all the hype was about, but made sure to catch up with Howard about his new bundle of joy. Andy has been a longtime fan of the legendary radio personality and frequently visits the studio to catch up with his good friend, with Howard even bestowing Andy the title of Top Gay. Best in the business: The 50-year-old Bravo patriarch also told Howard Stern that he's been inundated with love and support since Benjamin was born; seen in November Cutest: He also shared a sweet photo of 'Uncle Anderson Cooper' meeting the little guy during an 'exclusive' interview Friends! Andy said John Mayer made sure to visit the father and son in the hospital just days after his birth; seen together at Andy's wild Real Housewives baby shower in January 'We're falling in love with each other and getting to know each other,' the proud dad boasted about his little boy'; seen on Instagram with rescue pup Wacha He also said that a lesbian mohel performed the procedure and his buddy John Mayer visited him in the hospital just days after Ben was born. John has often appeared on Watch What Happens Live and even made sure to support his buddy at his wild baby shower at The Palm in Beverly Hills, hosted by many of his Real Housewives friends in January. As for his dating life now that he's a father to a newborn? Andy revealed he may not be quite ready for love, saying 'you're getting me at not a great time cause I just had a baby.' 'I made the decision in December 2017 to do this and I wasn't dating that much ... this was a bad time for me getting into this,' Cohen said. 'He is circumcised,' Andy admitted. 'I have a gorgeous, circumcised penis and I want him to have the same'; seen on Instagram A friend indeed: John has often appeared on Watch What Happens Live and even made sure to support his buddy at his wild baby shower at The Palm in Beverly Hills, hosted by many of his Real Housewives friends in January; seen with Jimmy Kimmel during an episode of the show Power couple: Howard has amassed millions of listeners during his decades-long career in the radio industry and is credited with the success of Sirius satellite radio; seen with wife Beth Ostrosky Stern at the North Shore Animal League Gala in November When Howard asked if the mother of baby Benjamin would be involved in any way, Andy said that the 'egg donor will not be involved.' Despite the usual chaos of his large, late-night life, Cohen said he is enjoying settling into fatherhood. 'We're falling in love with each other and getting to know each other,' the proud dad boasted about his little boy. Andy regularly shares updates on social media about his son and their new life with his 'first born' pup Wacha. Howard has amassed millions of listeners during his decades-long career in the radio industry which began in the late '70s before the creation of The Howard Stern show in 1986 and a feature film about his life, Private Parts, in 1997. After many trials and tribulations including lengthy FCC battles, Howard's final terrestrial radio show was on Dec. 16, 2005 before he moved the show to a subscription-based service in 2006 and is now credited with the massive success of Sirius satellite radio. Judge Jeffrey D. Cramer addressed the following matters in Wetzel County Circuit Court on Thursday, Feb. 21: Lewis Ray Anderson, 24 of 6310 McElroy Creek Road, West Union, appeared in court for a scheduled status hearing on his charge by the Wetzel County Grand Jury of failure to update sex offender registry information. The felony offense is alleged to have occurred between July 16 and July 28, of 2018 in Wetzel County. Andersons attorney, Brett Ferro, told the court there has been no agreement in the case, and a trial date should be set. Judge Cramer set Feb. 27 as a date for a voluntariness hearing, if necessary, and scheduled March 11 as the trial date. It was anticipated it would be a one-day trial. Anderson was ordered to return to court on the above dates. His bond was allowed to continue and he was free to go. ** John Wesley Blake, 48, of 8742 Mountaineer Highway, New Martinsville, was also in court on Thursday with his attorney, Ferro. Blake is charged in a one-count indictment with child neglect creating risk of injury, a felony offense alleged to have occurred on April 6, 2018 in Wetzel County. Prosecutor Tim Haught and Ferro both told the court there is a resolution agreement between the parties, which involves a diversion. Judge Cramer said bond would continue in the matter until the diversion is put in place. Blake was allowed to remain free. ** Michael Tyrone Blare, 36, of 957 Husky Highway, Fairmont, W.Va., was previously charged in a one-count indictment with the felony offense of DUI third offense. On Feb. 21, it was announced a proposed plea agreement had been reached but has not yet been reduced to writing. Judge Cramer told the parties to return to court for a plea hearing on Feb. 27, at 9 a.m. Blare is on bond which was allowed to continue. ** Attorney Kevin Neiswonger reported a trial date is necessary in the case involving James Willis Bright Jr., 60, of 88E Club Road, Pleasants Plains, Arizona. Bright is charged in a six-count felony indictment, including one charge of attempted murder and five counts of wanton endangerment involving a firearm. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in Pine Grove, Wetzel County on October 29, 2018. Judge Cramer set a trial date of April 23. He ordered Bright to be at court by 8:30 a.m. and said jury selection would begin at 9 a.m. Bond for Bright was allowed to continue without objection from the state; he was free to go, pending the trial. ** Attorney Ferro told the court a plea agreement had been reached between the state and the defense in the case involving Randy Lee Cline, 50, of 607 North Seventh Avenue, Paden City. Cline was charged in a two-count felony indictment with driving while revoked for DUI third offense and fleeing from an officer in a vehicle, allegedly occurring on November 26, 2018. Judge Cramer set a return date of Feb. 27, 9:30 a.m. for the plea hearing. Cline was allowed to remain free on bond, pending the hearing. ** Attorney David White reported a resolution had been reached in the case involving Nancy Mae Cox, 35, of 8742 Mountaineer Highway, New Martinsville. Cox is charged in a one-count felony indictment, child neglect creating a risk of injury. The offense allegedly occurred on April 6, in Wetzel County. White said the resolution involves Cox being placed on a diversion. Judge Cramer allowed bond to continue until the matter is resolved. ** Prosecutor Tim Haught reported that a resolution had been reached in the case involving Amanda Nicole Dennis, 37, of Florida. Dennis had been charged by the grand jury with the felony offense of embezzlement. Haught said Dennis would make restitution in the case, but she is waiting for her income tax return. Judge Cramer set a return date for March 6, if needed. He said if Dennis makes the restitution, she will not have to return to court. Bond in the case continued, and Dennis was free to leave. ** Attorney Patricia Kurelac said the defense had received a tentative offer from the state, but had yet to review it yet in the case involving Jenna Kay Erb, 38, of 253 Chelsea Street, Sistersville. Erb has a three-count indictment against her, charging felony burglary and two misdemeanor counts of destruction of property. The offenses are alleged to have occurred on August 5 in Wetzel County. Judge Cramer set a return date of March 6 at 10 a.m. He said if theres no plea, he will set a trial date. Erb was ordered to return on that date. Her bond was allowed to continue. ** A trial date of April 8 was set in the case involving Mitchell Lee Erb, 33, of New Matamoris, Ohio. Erb is charged by the grand jury in a three-count indictment with the offenses of grand larceny, unlawful taking of a vehicle (joyriding), third or subsequent offense, and felony receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle. The offenses allegedly occurred on November 5, 2018. It was noted there was no plea agreement reached; thus, the trial date was set, and Erb was remanded to jail. ** A trial date of April 10 was set in one of the cases involving Nicholas Chad Fletcher, 39, of 245 Lemley Ridge Road, Littleton, W.Va. This case involves the charge of felony fleeing from an officer in a vehicle, allegedly occurring Nov. 14. A second trial date, regarding charges of felony burglary and grand larceny, will be set after the first trial. These offenses allegedly occurred between July 17 and July 22, 2018. ** Attorney White said no plea had been reached in the case involving Kristi Rhena Fox-Hall, 35, of 46 Anson Street, Apt. 7, New Martinsville. She was charged in a two-count indictment with the felony offenses of burglary and grand larceny. Both offenses are alleged to have occurred on September 22, 2018 in Wetzel County. Judge Cramer set a trial date and time of March 20, 9 a.m. for the trial. Fox is to be in court at 8:30 a.m. Fox was remanded to jail. ** A trial date of March 20 was set for the case involving George Patrick Hallowell, 39, of 131 Commercial Street, New Martinsville. Hallowell, represented by Ferro, is charged with the felony offense of uttering a false bill or note. At the status hearing ** No plea has been reached in the case involving Brandon Scott Lloyd, 33, of Route 1 Box 219, West Union, W.Va.; thus, a trial date of April 8 was set. Lloyd was charged by the grand jury in a two-count indictment; he is charged with fleeing from an officer in a vehicle, and gross child neglect creating a risk of death or serious bodily injury, both offenses allegedly occurred on August 21, 2018. Lloyd is on bond, and bond was allowed to continue. He was ordered to retun to court April 8. ** Attorney Brent Clyburn reported he was in the process of obtaining telephone records, which would be beneficial to his client Denzil Ray Owens, 38, of 308 Fair Street, Middlebourne. Owens is facing a one-count indictment, charging him with felony failure to register as a sex offender, alleged to have occurred between Sept. 1-29, 2018. Judge Cramer set a return date for April 24, for a trial. Owens is on bond, which was allowed to continue. ** Jeffrey Allan Starkey, 65, of HC 61, Box 64, New Martinsville, will return to court Apirl 10 for trial. Starkey received a four-count indictment, charging him with possession of a controlled substance (psilocybin mushrooms) with intent to deliver, misdemeanor driving while revoked for DUI, misdemeanor expired registration, and misdemeanor no insurance. It was noted that after hearing from the probation office, Starkey was in violation of his supervised probation. Starkey was remanded to jail to await trial. ** Attorney Kurelac reported that a plea agreement had been reached in the case involving Ronald Lanson Wood, 40, of 1736 Doolin Run Road, New Martinsville. Wood received an eight-count indictment from the grand jury, charging him with burglary, the misdemeanor offense of domestic battery, two counts of the misdemeanor offense of battery, the misdemeanor offense of destruction of property, two counts of strangulation, and the misdemeanor offense of unlawful restraint. Judge Cramer set a return date of March 6 for a plea. Wood is on bond, and bond was allowed to continue pending the plea hearing. ** Attorney Clyburn reported the defense is in negotiations with the state over a plea agreement in the case involving Randall Wayne Yoho, 58, of 732 American Ridge Road, New Martinsville. Thus, Judge Cramer ordered a return date of Feb. 27 for entry of a plea. Yoho is on bond, and bond was allowed to continue. Yoho was given a three-count indictment, charging him with possession of a controlled substance (marijuana) with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled narcotic substance (Xanax) with intent to deliver, and possession of a controlled substance (Tramadol) with intent to deliver. ** Vincent Tustin, 81, of 1664 Pennsylvania Ave., Hundred, pleaded guilty to felony fraudulent schemes. He was originally charged in a five-count indictment with fraudulent schemes. As part of his plea agreement, Tustin was sentenced to one to 10 years in prison, which was suspended for three years supervised probation. He was ordered to make restitution to the victims in the amount of $12,135, plus pay the cost of prosecution. ** The attorney of Johnny Dean Hobson, 42, of 615 Kapple Street, New Martinsville, informed the court that he was engaged in talks with the state, in hopes of a resolution. Judge Cramer ordered a return to court date of April 3 for a voluntariness hearing, and a trial date was set for April 24, 9 a.m. ** John David Wells, Jr., 22, entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit forgery, a felony. He waived his right to a speedy trial and agreed to proceed on information. Prosecuting Attorney Timothy Haught noted Wells had conspired with another to forge checks at various places in Wetzel County. Judge Cramer sentenced Wells to one to five years in prison, with credit for time served. He was also ordered to make restitution and pay the cost of his prosecution. He will be evaluated for drug court, and if approved, will be eligible for a rule 35 early release after six months incarceration. If he is not approved for drug court, the state will oppose the rule 35 motion. Wells was remanded to to begin serving his sentence. ** Josuha Streight, 31, of 214 South Second Ave., Paden City, entered a not guilty plea to the charge of malicious assault. He will return to court April 3 for a status hearing and further proceedings. He is currently represented by Attorney Tom White. ** Cody Allen Baters, 31, of 44493 State Route 7, Clarington, Ohio, pleaded not guilty to a two-count indictment, containing charges of felony entry of a building other than a dwelling and misdemeanor petit larceny. He will return to court April 3 for a status hearing. Bond was set at $10,000 cash/surety, and Baters was remanded to jail. OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- After a nervous night of rain and fog, organizers of the 2nd annual rescue dog show, this year dubbed 'Krewe de Critters', were greeted by sunny skies and cool temperatures as the event got underway Sunday. By the time the day-long event had ended, roughly 25 rescue dogs had found homes. For organizer Linda Bock, that's what it's all about. "We had a lot of support," Bock said. "Everything went really well. We had a beautiful day and a lot of dogs found forever homes." Several local shelters/rescues participated, with an estimated 60 dogs at the event, held in the parking lot of Ocean Springs Lumber on Government Street. Forty of those participated in the show, with Ocean Springs Mayor Shea Dobson selecting two "Best in Show." The male winner was JoJo of Just Cause Rescue, with locations in Ocean Springs and Gulfport; and the female winner was Noelle of Tired Dog Rescue in Gulfport. "Overall, it went really well," Bock said. "I think the storms the night before may have deterred a couple of our vendors and possibly some of the public. But we're still really pleased with how it went. We raised about $300 and we're still selling t-shirts which will add to that." Among those who were not deterred were the staff and volunteers from the Jackson County Animal Shelter, participating in the rescue show for the first time after a scheduling conflict kept them out of last year's event. "It was a really good event," said Maridee Mallett, the shelter's Adoption Coordinator. "We had nine adoptions. It was fund for the animals and good exposure for rescues and the shelter. "Along with the exposure, it was good to let the dogs get out and about and socialize, as well as get some adoptions. We'll definitely participate again." In addition to the show, a Mardi Gras-themed parade was held, with both rescues and dogs with their owners participating. "The parade was fun," Bock said. "The kids really loved that. The dogs were dressed to the nines -- they were really cute." They've been hard at work filming new scenes for the long-running soap. And the cast of Coronation Street had a beer in the sunshine, as Jack P. Shepherd and Daniel Brocklebank headed to the Dockyard Pub in Media City, Manchester, with a friend on Wednesday. The actor, 31, who plays David Platt, and the Billy Mayhew star, 39, looked like they were in good spirits as they chatted animatedly during a break from filming. Fun in the sun: Coronation Street stars Jack P. Shepherd and Daniel Brocklebank enjoyed a beer with a pal in Media City, Manchester on Wednesday, during a brief break from filming Jack looked dapper in a casually chic ensemble, which saw him don a white Diesel T-shirt that he tucked into a pair of black jeans for a monochrome look. He completed his outfit by using a brown belt around his waist, while the actor stepped out in heavy-duty black boots. The star shielded his eyes from the brilliant sun by wearing a pair of jet-black shades, while his brunette curls were brushed into a messy style. Enjoying the sunshine: The David Platt actor, 31, and the Billy Mayhew star, 39, looked like they were in good spirits as they chatted animatedly during a break from filming Handsome: Jack looked dapper in a casually chic ensemble, which saw him don a white Diesel T-shirt that he tucked into a pair of black jeans Daniel, meanwhile, looked relaxed in a white and blue chequered shirt, which he wore over a simple white T-shirt. He completed his casual ensemble with a pair of denim jeans, while he sported a salt-and-pepper beard for a dapper look. The actor seemed to be buying a round for the table, as he was spotted generously carrying a number of beers in his hand and sharing them out. Casual chic: Daniel meanwhile looked relaxed in a white and blue chequered shirt, which he wore over a simple white T-shirt Jack recently revealed that he suffers from excruciating migraines that can make him go blind and causes him to vomit for ten hours at a time. The actor, whose starredin the soap since he was twelve years old, made the shock confession about the debilitating health condition when explaining to a fan that he's 'never had a cold', according to The Sun. Taking to social media, the star told the fan that he 'didn't know why' he never suffered from a cold, to which another person teased: 'You must've been breast fed as a baby... or maybe you still are.' At this point, Jack went on to defend himself and admitted to having a migraine issue in the process. He messaged: 'Wasn't breast fed, had milk off the door step. I ate really well as a child, and that builds your immune system, also I played outside, climbed trees, played in mud... maybe that's why?' Dapper: The star shielded his eyes from the brilliant sun by wearing a pair of jet-black shades, while his brunette curls were brushed into a messy style Jack then continued: 'I suffer with migraines and throw up for 10 hours, and ultimately go blind! So I'm not superman.' His confession comes shortly after he opened up about his hair transplant, with the actor claiming stresses in his love life as the reason for him losing his locks. Jack, who is currently in a relationship with Hanni Treweek after splitting from childhood sweetheart Lauren Shippey in 2017, explained he has gradually been losing his hair over 10 years but noticed it recently after watching himself onscreen. He said: 'I could see the difference when I watched myself on screen and when I was travelling in a lift and the mirror would highlight my hair loss. 'A few of the make-up girls at Corrie suggested that I should have it done and I have talked it through with a few people at work.' Eva Longoria brought the cutest carry-on to catch a flight at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday. The producer and actress was spotted holding her adorable seven-month-old son Santiago Baston as she checked in for her travels to Toronto. Longoria, 43, glowed as she pushed her little one in his strolled to find her gate. Mommy and son: Eva Longoria was spotted looking flawless, makeup free, as she checked into a flight in Los Angeles with her son Santiago on Tuesday After checking in with the baby, Eva smiled and giggled with Santiago as she looked lovingly down at him in his stroller. The star was chic and makeup free showcasing her flawless bare-faced complexion. Dressed casually, Eva sported a smart pair of black sneakers with white soles and an all black ensemble. She topped the look off with a menswear inspired charcoal gray wool coat. All smiles! The star wrapped up a busy day of work and headed out to her flight with the happy seven-month-old boy Chic: Dressed casually, Eva sported a smart pair of black sneakers with white soles and an all black ensemble and topped the look off with a menswear inspired charcoal gray wool coat. Her brunette locks were coiffed in sleek waves and laid gently beneath her shoulders. Earlier in the day Eva had gotten glam for a L'Oreal photo shoot and let fans see some of the behind the scenes action on social media. Celebrity hair stylist Chris McMillan was seen putting the final touches on Eva's enviable locks on set while she swayed to Queen's timely hit Bohemian Rhapsody. Styled: At the airport Eva was still rocking coiffed curls from an earlier photo shoot for L'Oreal Hair BTS: Longoria let fans see some of the behind the scenes action on social media The Desperate Housewives star is a longtime spokesperson for the beauty brand since 2005. Eva and Santiago were Canada bound and touched down in Toronto, Ontario on a snowy day. The star took a snow filled selfie video when she landed and did not sound thrilled about the inclement weather. Enviable! Eva's brunette tresses were styled into soft polished waves for the advertisements Collaboration: The Desperate Housewives star is a longtime spokesperson for the beauty brand since 2005 'I miss LA already,' she lamented. Last week Eva stood honored domestic workers at an Oscar's party in partnership with the National Domestic Workers Alliance. The watch party aimed to shed light on the plight of domestic workers, a topic that was at the forefront of the Academy Award winning Netflix film Roma. Brrr! Eva and Santiago were Canada bound and touched down in Toronto, Ontario on a snowy day 'I think a movie like Roma is very important, specifically for the Latino community because we get villainized every day by this administration,' Longoria said on the red carpet at the event. She continued: 'To see a story humanized, the role that a domestic worker has, has the impact that it's had. 'The way that she is needed, not only by the children, but by the mother in this film. It's important for us that we see that storytelling in the media.' She's the doting mother to sons George, five, Harry, seven, and Archie, eight, with ex-husband Jamie O'Hara, and son Ronnie, 17-months, with beau Michael O'Neill. And Danielle Lloyd revealed during an appearance on Jeremy Vine on Wednesday that she has an IQ of 152, and believed she could have been a member of Mensa, the largest and oldest high IQ society in the world. Speaking candidly about her intelligence, the star, 35, explained: 'I could have actually been in Mensa, how that happened I dont know.' Intelligent: Danielle Lloyd revealed on Wednesday she could have been a member of MENSA as she has an IQ of 152... as star joked she's 'lost a few brain cells' since having children Danielle then joked: 'Well, Ive probably lost a few brain cells since Ive had children, each one.' In 2007, she proved her high intellect when she won a celebrity edition of The Weakest Link, beating stars such as Page 3 girls Lucy Pinder, Michelle Marsh and TOWIE star Lauren Pope. Meanwhile Danielle and Michael have been swept up in a whirlwind romance, with the electrician popping the question to his ladylove after just six months of dating. Candid: In the interview, Danielle admitted, 'I could have actually been in Mensa, how that happened I dont know' Success: In 2007, Danielle proved her high intellect when she won a celebrity edition of The Weakest Link, beating stars like TOWIE's Lauren Pope Doting mum: Speaking candidly about her high intelligence level, the star (pictured in 2014) joked: 'Well, Ive probably lost a few brain cells since Ive had children, each one' The engaged lovers, who have one son Ronnie together, decided the pair wanted to get married in 2016, just two years ago now. Michael was the man to heal Danielle's heartache two years after she had split from her ex-husband Jamie O'Hara. In a house of four little boys and her love Michael, Danielle has previously talked about how she feels 'lonely' as the only female. Family of six: Danielle is mother to sons Archie, Harry and George who she shares with ex-husband Jamie O'Hara, and son Ronnie with electrician boyfriend Michael O'Neill Danielle has previously caused controversy because she said she wanted to undergo gender selection treatment in a quest to have a little girl. Gender selection treatment is currently illegal in the UK. Not only will Danielle be able to select a baby girl, she will also be able to choose the number of embryos she wishes to have implanted. Last year, she told The Mirror 'If I was to have another one, I'd hope it was a girl, I feel so lonely in the house. They all do boys stuff and I'm like the cleaner and the cook!' A new cover story has given supermodel Gigi Hadid the rare opportunity to pose for her first photoshoot with celebrated photographer Peter Lindbergh. Hadid, 23, has collaborated with the German, famed for his highly cinematic images, for the very first time on behalf of Vogue Arabia's second anniversary - with predictably dramatic results. In the first of six photos - including two cover images - Gigi smoulders as she poses in a sweeping Ashi Studio Couture dress adorned with tasteful cream flourishes and embellishments. Iconic: A new Vogue Arabia cover story has given supermodel Gigi Hadid the rare opportunity to pose for her first photoshoot with celebrated photographer Peter Lindbergh Behind her, the glimmering lights of the city at twilight provide an added touch of drama as she leans against an enormous high-rise window, her outfit completed with Yohji Yamamoto boots and Maison Fabre gloves. In a second image Hadid appears from the shadows, her striking features accentuated by dusky eye-shadow and rich red lipstick as she offers the camera a coquettish glance. A third provides a variation on the same theme, with the American-Palestinian model wearing the same smoky make-up while wearing a Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello dress, Haider Ackermann leggings and gloves by Ann Demeulemeester. Special occasion: Hadid has collaborated with the German, famed for his highly cinematic images, for the very first time on behalf of Vogue Arabia's second anniversary Seasoned pro: The American supermodel is posing for her second Vogue Arabia cover and 37th Vogue cover in total In a fourth image Hadid is captured in tasteful black and white while leaning against a bare plaster wall, a gaze wondering thoughtfully off camera. Always elegant, the model commands attention in a tasteful top, skirt, boots, harness belt and scarf - all from Belgian designer Demeulemeester. Leaning across a table for the Arabian language cover of the fashion monthly, Gigi is clothed in androgynous Givenchy couture, while the English language edition finds her draped in tasteful cream outfit from Giambattista Valli. Looking good: Hadid smoulders as she leans against a bare plaster wall in one of six moody shots from iconic photographer Lindbergh Stunning: Leaning across a table for the Arabian language cover of the fashion monthly, Gigi is clothed in androgynous Givenchy couture The shoot marks familiar ground for Gigi, who is posing for her second cover for Vogue Arabia and her 37th Vogue cover in total. But she insists the incredible success shared by Gigi and supermodel sister Bella relates to hard work and determination, rather than the social standing of their parents - wealthy real-estate developer Mohamed Hadid and his ex-wife, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Yolanda Hadid. 'A lot of people make assumptions about my family, but our childhood wasnt "Hollywood,"' she told Vogue Arabia Editor-in-Chief Manuel Arnaut. Bold choice: The English language edition finds her draped in tasteful cream outfit from Giambattista Valli 'My parents never made their success an excuse for me, I always knew that after high school I was expected to work towards supporting myself, so I never put all my eggs in the modeling basket.' Currently dating former One Direction star Zayn Malik, Hadid also credits her mixed American-Palestinian heritage for making her the well-rounded person she has become. She added: 'Being Arab has influenced me to be open and loving of all backgrounds, realizing that being more of one thing doesnt make you less of something else.' The full interview is available to read in the latest issue of Vogue Arabia. Katie Price has emerged for the first time since her court case for drink-driving. The model, 40, kept a low-profile as she emerged in London two days after she was banned from driving for three months and fined 1,500 after being found slumped in a 'very' drunken state in the back of her vomit-covered pink Range Rover. After her defiant display outside court on Monday, Katie shielded her eyes behind sunglasses while holding an umbrella branded with the name of a car company over her face before pointedly stepping into the backseat of a chauffeur-driven car. She's out: Katie Price has emerged for the first time since her court case for drink-driving After her appearance, The Sun revealed Katie had been investigated by police for a fracas at the school gates with her ex Kieran Hayler's girlfriend Michelle Pentecost - however insiders told MailOnline the scenario was 'blown out of proportion'. The incident, which happened at the West Sussex school in September, saw Katie 'shout and swear' at Michelle, who reported the star to police, with the site now alleging two other parents are preparing to speak to police. Police officials confirmed to The Sun that 'they received a report of verbal abuse by a woman in the playground about 3.15pm on 5 September 2018'. It was alleged that Katie shouted: 'Are you f**king my husband?' Insiders close to Katie however told MailOnline: 'The whole situation is blown out of proportion and totally ridiculous'. Representatives for Katie declined to comment when approached by MailOnline. Troubles: Katie was almost twice the legal limit after drinking four pornstar martinis when she was arrested in the early hours last October in Greenwich, South East London Happy days: After her appearance, The Sun revealed Katie had been investigated by police for a fracas at the school gates with her ex Kieran Hayler's girlfriend Michelle Pentecost (pictured together last month) - however insiders told MailOnline the scenario was 'blown out of proportion' Elsewhere, Katie was keen to show she was nowhere near the wheel on Wednesday as she headed out and climbed into the backseat of the car. She was also pointedly holding an umbrella adorned with the name of the cab company she was using to ferry her around. Clad in a white ensemble with acid wash jeans, she kept things more low-key than usual while keeping her face fresh and shielded. Katie was almost twice the legal limit after drinking four pornstar martinis when she was arrested in the early hours last October in Greenwich, South East London. No front seat for me: Katie made a point of heading into the backseat of the plush motor Got a car? She was also pointedly holding an umbrella adorned with the name of the cab company she was using to ferry her around Despite this, on Monday, she brazenly vowed to buy a new car as she spoke outside Bexley Magistrates' Court. 'I was given a choice of having 10 points on my licence or to be disqualified for three months,' she said. 'I chose to be disqualified for three months because it adds on to my disqualification that I'm already on, which means I get my driving licence back on the 24th of May which means I can go car shopping - let's ban the pink car.' She was said to have climbed into the back seat of her 4x4 to avoid being caught as the driver last year - but had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and smelled of alcohol. Out and about: The model, 40, kept a low-profile as she emerged in London two days after she was banned from driving for three months and fined 1,500 after being found slumped in a 'very' drunken state in the back of her vomit-covered pink Range Rover Who's that girl? While she is quite the exhibitionist by nature, Katie kept a low profile The mother-of-five allegedly repeatedly denied she had been driving and claimed the driver was her boyfriend's friend - and anyone was insured to drive her car if they were aged over 30. She also told the court she was wearing a hoodie, socks and trainers, but no pants, when she was arrested. She said: 'It was an oversized hoodie but I wore it as a dress'. At Bexley Magistrates' Court, Price was cleared of drink driving after the judge said there was no case to answer, because there was no evidence of who had been driving the Range Rover before police arrived. On the up: She also told the court she was wearing a hoodie, socks and trainers, but no pants, when she was arrested. She said: 'It was an oversized hoodie but I wore it as a dress' Shocker: She was convicted of being nearly twice the legal limit while in charge of the vehicle She was convicted of being nearly twice the legal limit while in charge of the vehicle. She was banned from driving for another three months and told to pay a 1,500 fine. Along with costs and a victim surcharge, her total bill for the offence came to 2,425. Price had claimed she was not in control of the car and a mystery man had driven it, but Judge Nigel Dean found she was not a 'plausible' or 'credible' witness. Asia Argento attended Paris Fashion Week, and put on a defiant display after being accused of having underage sex with a former child actor in December last year. The actress, 43, stepped out to watch the Lanvin show as part of the the city's Womenswear Fall/Winter 2019/2020 collections in the French capital on Wednesday. Showcasing her sartorial prowess in a white shirt which had a dramatic billowing cape, the Marie Antoinette star paired the chic top with a sleek power suit. Stepping out: Asia Argento headed out for Lanvin show at Paris Fashion Week and put on a defiant display on Wednesday, amid underage sex claims Wearing her raved-haired locks in sleek ringlets and styled with a side fringe, the actress wore smokey eye-shadow and light pink lipstick for a natural look. Asia boosted her height in a pair of simple pointed black heels, and she added a pop of colour with a floral print handbag. Enjoying a great view from the front row, Asia posed up a storm with French actress Beatrice Dalle, who looked chic in a black military-style jacket. Chic: Showcasing her sartorial prowess in a white shirt which had a dramatic billowing cape, the Marie Antoinette star paired the chic top with a sleek power suit Stylish: Wearing her raved-haired locks in sleek ringlets and styled with a side fringe, the actress wore smokey eye-shadow and light pink lipstick for a natural look Gal pals: Enjoying a great view from the front row, Asia posed up a storm with French actress Beatrice Dalle, who looked chic in a black military-style jacket Her outing comes after it was reported that former child actor Jimmy Bennett, who has publicly accused Asia of sexually assaulting him when he was 17 years old, has gone underground without ever reporting the alleged crime to the police in Los Angeles as he promised to do months ago. As TMZ first reported December 24, the 22-year-old Bennett has been laying low since late September, when he travelled to Rome for a live taping of an Italian talk show, during which he was mocked for claiming to have been forced into a sexual intercourse by Argento, then aged 37. Officers with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office have reportedly made several attempts to contact Bennett about the incident, but to no avail. Yet Bennett has continued posting messages on social media, most recently on December 14, when he shared a selfie showing himself looking disheveled while enjoying a massive breakfast of bacon, eggs and waffles. Finishing touches: Asia boosted her height in a pair of simple pointed black heels, and she added a pop of colour with a floral print handbag Posing up a storm: Asia and Beatrice put on an animated display as they posed for photos Although in early September Bennett signaled his intention to file a sexual assault report against Argento and cooperate with the investigation, he has yet to follow through on his promise. Argento, who has emerged as a vocal participant in the #MeToo movement after accusing Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexually assaulting her, has alleged that she was the real victim and 'froze' when Bennett 'jumped' on her. In April, Argento agreed to pay Bennett a $380,000 settlement, which the actress' then-boyfriend, celebrity chef and TV host Anthony Bourdain, financed before taking his own life, it was reported by Bloomberg. The brunette actress played Bennett's mother in the 2004 movie The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things. Allegations: Asia's outing comes after former child actor Jimmy Bennett, who publicly accused Asia of sexually assaulting him when he was 17 years old, has gone underground Calls: Jimmy Bennett, 22, reportedly has not been taking calls from the LA County Sheriff's Office and has not filed a police report against Asia concerning their 2013 sexual encounter They reconnected in 2013, when the Italian actress reached out to Bennett about a film project and invited him to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Marina Del Ray, California, for a meeting. During his appearance on the popular Italian program Non e l'Arena in late September, Bennett, accompanied by his lawyer told the host that he showed up at the hotel thinking there would be a film audition. Instead, he claimed Argento offered him champagne, started passionately kissing him, then unbuckled his pants and pushed him onto the bed, where the two ended up having a sexual intercourse. The host of the show questioned the idea that Argento, as a woman, could rape a young, healthy, 17-year-old man, and sought to poke holes in Bennett's narrative by asking him whether he climaxed during the encounter, which the interviewee said he did. Snapshot: Although Bennett has not spoken publicly since September, he has remained active on social media, including posting this snapshot on December 14 Onetime co-stars: Argento played Bennett's mother in the 2004 movie The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things (pictured) A week after the bombshell interview, Argento appeared on the Italian talk show and offered a completely different version of events, claiming that she 'froze' when Bennett began to kiss her and touch her 'in a way that was not that of a child with his mother, but that of a boy with crazy hormones.' 'He literally jumped on me; he put me sideways across the bed. He did what he had to do. He didn't use a condom. It lasted for two minutes. He had an orgasm. 'I was cold, unable to move. Shocked, I asked him afterwards why he had done this, and he told me that I had been his sexual fantasy since he was 12 years old.' She also compared the incident to her encounter with Weinstein. Reconnect: The pair reconnected in 2013, when Bennett was 17 years old and Argento was 37 'I had not even defended myself in the meeting with Weinstein. I think it's because of some childhood trauma.' She told a magazine that she continued to have a relationship with Weinstein because she was afraid of angering him. The revelation in August that Argento had sex with Bennett and then agreed to pay him $380,000 four years later after he threatened to go public with the story hit the actress and the #MeToo movement like a bomb. Argento initially denied they had had sex. But when texts leaked two days later that showed her saying 'He jumped me', Argento said through an attorney that she was the victim, not Bennett. She will play the mother of a murder victim in a new BBC drama based on the crimes of Stephen Port, known as the Grindr serial killer. And Sheridan Smith looked focused as filming commenced on The Barking Murders in Manchester on Wednesday. The Cilla actress, 38, plays Sarah Sak, the mother of Port's first victim Anthony Walgate, in the drama told from the point of view of the families of the victims amidst a now widely-criticised police investigation. First look: Sheridan Smith looked focused as filming commenced on The Barking Murders in Manchester on Wednesday Port, 44, drugged, raped and murdered four young men-Anthony, 23, Gabriel Kovari, 22, Daniel Whitworth, 21, and Jack Taylor, 25 - between 2014-2015. He met his victims online using dating apps including Grindr leading to him being dubbed The Grindr serial killer. Transforming into the brave parent, Sheridan donned an auburn wig and plum quilted jacket as she filmed dramatic scenes in the street. She carried a mobile phone and a cigarette as she climbed out of a car and headed to a corner shop. Actor: An actor dressed as a waiter was seen taking a quick break between scenes An actor dressed as a waiter was seen taking a quick break between scenes while an actress in a leopard print coat filmed outside the corner shop. Sheridan will star alongside Stephen Merchant as Stephen Port. Also joining the cast is Jaime Winstone (Five Daughters, Babs) as Donna Taylor, one of the sisters of Jack Taylor. The director is David Blair (Care, Reg). Sheridan said: 'I love playing real life characters - especially an inspirational woman like Sarah Sak - but with it comes responsibility. 'Along with the other families, Sarah went through so much heartache and it would have been easy for her to just accept what she was being told by the police, but something inside made her keep fighting for her son.' New role: The Cilla actress, 38, plays Sarah Sak, the mother of Port's first victim Anthony Walgate, in the drama told from the point of view of the families of the victims amidst a now widely-criticised police investigation Port had a fetish for sex with the unconscious so drugged and raped his victims to 'satisfy his lust' after meeting them on dating app Grindr. Between June 2014 and September 2015 he abused and killed them using date rape drug GHB before dumping their bodies in the street or his local graveyard in Barking, east London. With each of the murders Port tried to cover his tracks and he even wrote a fake suicide note for Daniel Whitworth and stuffed it into his hand, He was sentenced to serve a whole life term for his crimes in November 2016, joining a list of killers including Fred and Rose West, the Moors Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, Robert Black, and Mark Bridger who were handed this sentence. Port first came to the attention of the police in June 2014 when a young man he had drugged collapsed next to him at Barking train station in East London. Despite admitting that both he and his companion had taken illegal drugs, he was released without charge. Scene: While an actress in a leopard print coat filmed outside the corner shop Victims: (L-R) Daniel Whitworth, 21, Jack Taylor, 25, Anthony Walgate, 23, and Gabriel Kovari, 22, were killed by Stephen Port Two weeks later Port raped and murdered his first victim, Anthony Walgate, before dumping the body outside his flat. He then called 999 anonymously and pretended he had merely come across the lifeless body of the 23-year-old fashion student. Police realised that Port was lying and charged him with perverting the course of justice after he claimed that Mr Walgate died of an accidental overdose after consensual sex. The Metropolitan Police spent 25,000 and 980 man-hours on the investigation - but crucially never opened a murder investigation. While on police bail, Port raped and killed two more victims, his Slovakian flatmate Gabriel Kovari, 22, and chef Daniel Whitworth, 21. The bodies were found within a month of each other in the summer of 2014 in the same graveyard by the same dog walker only 400 yards from Port's flat in Barking. Role: Stephen Merchant will play the serial killer in the new drama Evil: Stephen Port, now 44, drugged, raped and murdered four young men between 2014-2015. Port's first three victims were all found in a seated position with their clothes pulled up to expose their stomachs which was caused by the bodies being dragged. In each case, their mobile phones were missing and post-mortem examinations found the cause of death to be a GHB overdose. Scotland Yard had faced allegations that it failed to link Port to all four murders, despite their marked similarities. It was only after the death of his final victim, Mr Taylor, that a full investigation was launched. The serial killer, who worked as a cook in a bus garage canteen, was finally caught in October 2015 after the family of his fourth victim Jack Taylor carried out their own research and showed police the striking similarities between Mr Taylor's death and the previous three murders. The Independent Office for Police Conduct launched an investigation after Scotland Yard admitted 'missed opportunities' to catch serial killer Port. Its report, which includes an assessment of 17 officers, will be published after the victims inquests later this year. Jude Law's fiancee Phillipa Coan has confirmed the pair are engaged after a four-year romance after the psychologist was pictured wearing a huge diamond ring. Phillipa, 32, was pictured wearing a huge smile on her face as she headed out on a shopping trip, flashing the sparkler on her ring finger. The outing comes as it was reported that Jude, 46, and Phillipa are planning a springtime wedding in France, surrounded by their showbiz pals. Bling: Jude Laws fiancee Phillipa Coan CONFIRMED those engagement rumours when she stepped out flashing a huge diamond ring on Wednesday ahead of a 'spring wedding in France' Big news: Jude Law is taking his relationship with Phillipa Coan to the next level after getting down on one knee No expense spared: Phillipa was sporting a huge rock after the proposal Phillipa looked super happy when she stepped out beaming. The blonde beauty wore leggings with a grey jumper and trainers, wearing a black denim jacket over the top. She carried a small Chanel bag on one shoulder and completed her look with a pair of sunglasses. The Sun reported that the Sherlock Holmes star has asked his eldest son Rafferty, 22, whom he shares with ex wife Sadie Frost, to be his best man. A source revealed to the publication: 'The wedding itself will be a good old fashioned knees up with plenty of booze and dancing. Happy news: Phillipa was dressed in leggings and a jumper as she headed out with a shopping bag in hand Stylish: The blonde beauty wore leggings with a grey jumper and trainers, wearing a black denim jacket over the top Looking good: Coan was sporting a fresh blow-dry and looked thrilled with her recent news Lots going on: No doubt the psychologist has much to look forward to as she plans her big day 'All his old pals are going from when he was growing up in London and just starting out in his career. 'Jude and Phillipa have been going out together for years and get on really well, so this is the next natural step.' It appears as though the nuptials will be an A-list affair with several of Jude's actor pals reported to attend including Jonny Lee Miller, Ewan McGregor, Brad Adams and Sean Pertwee. Sweet: And it's further claimed that the Sherlock Holmes star has asked his eldest son Rafferty, 22, whom he shares with ex wife Sadie Frost, to be his best man Loved-up: A source revealed to the publication: 'The wedding itself will be a good old fashioned knees up with plenty of booze and dancing.' (Jude and Phillipa pictured in 2016) It is thought the wedding will take place in May, MailOnline has contacted Jude's representative for comment. Jude previously opened up about his romance with Phillipa in an interview with Modern Living. He said: 'Shes mine and no one elses. Im very, very happy. Our relationship is a very private thing, and I think part of the fact it works so well is exactly because of that.' This will be the second time lucky for father-of-five Jude, who was previously married to designer Sadie from 1997 until their divorce in 2003. The former couple share three children together, Rafferty, 22, daughter Iris, 18 and 16-year-old Rudy. Jude also has an nine-year-old daughter Sophia with model Samantha Burke and Ada, three, with musician Catherine Harding. The star famously dated fellow A-lister Sienna Miller, with Jude famously issuing a public apology to her after having an affair with his children's nanny. Ex-wife: This will be the second time lucky for father-of-five Jude, who was previously married to designer Sadie from 1997 until their divorce in 2003 (pictured in 2018) Love is in the air for My Kitchen Rules star Lesley, 50, who has secretly tied the knot. According to Who magazine, the flight attendant married her man earlier this month in an intimate backyard ceremony. The Queensland-based amateur cook's nuptials were far from traditional, with the bride describing it as a 'non wedding'. Their special day! Who magazine reported on Wednesday that My Kitchen Rules star Lesley (right) tied the knot in a secret location earlier this month with her partner (left), whose identity she wishes to keep private While private Lesley kept the identity of her new-husband secret, it is understood she met him at work. Lesley told the publication she only invited two of her closest girlfriends to attend her wedding, with one acting as the celebrant. The newlywed said the couple enjoyed 'a beautiful seafood lunch' and 'best quality champagne' as they celebrated their union. 'I'm glad to wear the same dress that I wore for our first date': Lesley didn't wear a wedding dress on the day, instead she opted for a silk cream champagne-coloured midi dress Lesley went on to say she wore a dress with special significance when saying 'I do' to her long-term partner. 'No wedding dress, I'm glad to wear the same dress that I wore for our first date. It's a silk cream champagne-coloured midi dress, so that's a memory of our first date.' Lesley is currently competing on MKR with her friend Chris who she has known for more than 20 years. When they served a lobster tortellini during their Instant Restaurant, they received high praise by judge Manu Feildel. Cooking up a storm: Lesley is currently competing on MKR with her friend Chris (left) who she has known for more than 20 years Love is in the air! Meanwhile, engaged Byron Bay sweethearts Stacey, 27, and Ash, 34, are in the process of planning their own wedding The French chef called it the 'best pasta in ten years of MKR', adding: 'I cannot fault it at all, I can't find anything negative to talk about.' Meanwhile, engaged Byron Bay sweethearts Stacey, 27, and Ash, 34, are in the process of planning their own wedding. The hipsters are likely to tie the knot in September. My Kitchen Rules returns on Sunday from 7pm on Channel Seven Orange Is The New Black fans might want to reach for the tissues as the cast confirmed on social media that they have finished filming the final season. The characters all shared some behind-the-scenes moments on what was no doubt an emotional time for the stars of the Netflix production after filming season seven. Orange Is The New Black was first aired in 2013 and tells the story of Piper Chapman, who, convicted of a decade old crime of transporting drug money to an ex-girlfriend, is sentenced to a year and a half behind bars. It's done! Orange Is The New Black cast confirmed they have finished filming the final season as they shared behind-the-scenes photos with Laura Prepon (Alex Vause) and Taylor Schilling (Piper Chapman) taking the lead on Instagram Finale: The show's creator, Jenji Kohans shared a photo of her the whole cast on set, with Tasha 'Taystee' Jefferson, played by Danielle Brooks holding a 'it's a wrap' sign There she meets a series of friends, enemies and lovers, as well as the ex who put her behind bars as she gets to grips with life in Litchfield Penitentiary. The seventh and final season of the hit show is expected to air around July but no official date has yet been set by Netflix. Natasha Lyonne, who plays Nicky Nichols, took to Instagram to share a picture of her ID badges for the show and her on-screen character. The Russian Doll creator wrote: 'On the last shot, a guttural sound came out of me, like some wounded animal.' All together now: Jackie Cruz, who played Marisol 'Flaca' Gonzales posted a picture of the ladies in the jail uniforms A sad farewell: Jenji also shared this snap of the OITNB 'family' Taylor Schilling, who plays Piper Chapman shared a clip of a moodboard which had photos of all the characters pinned to it. She wrote: 'OITNB series wrap! WHOA. My heart is full and achey and so overflowing with gratitude Im a little dizzy. #orangefamily forever. #thatsawrap.' Her love interest, Laura Prepon, who plays Alex Vause shared a snap of herself and Taylor, writing: 'Always love working alongside this beauty.' Love at last: Alysia Reiner, who plays nasty-but-nice Fig, shared a snap of herself and Joe Caputo, played by Nick Sandow - the pair played lovers who had a testing relationship Done: He, in turn, shared a snap of himself pulling his name off the door of his dressing room, writing: 'Thats a final wrap on Joe Caputo! Im gonna miss you Joe. Its been a hell of a ride' Kate Mulgrew who plays Russian matriach Red, shared a snap of her beloved character and one of her as Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager. She wrote: 'Today is my last day filming @oitnb. As Red bids goodbye to seven extraordinary years, Janeway lifts a glass and both blow kisses. 'Happy Valentines Day to all the captains and cooks who make life sizzzle. #valentinesday #oitnb #red #janeway.' Miss her: Taryn Manning, who played Tiffany 'Pennsatucky' Doggett, wrote a lengthy post, alongside a picture of her character carrying a wooden cross Alysia Reiner, who plays nasty-but-nice Fig, shared a snap of herself and Joe Caputo, played by Nick Sandow. She captioned it with the words: 'And thats a wrap on Fig & Caputo. What a ride. Who would have thunk it? 7 year roller coaster of hate f***ing turns to, dare I say....??? '@nicksandow I will forever be grateful for your partnership on this magical @oitnb carpet ride. @ijnej seven million thank yous. & fans: share your fav #fig&caputo moments to help us say ... see you next Tuesday. ;) #oitnb #oitnbfamily #season7.' A step back in time: Kate Mulgrew who plays Russian matriach Red, shared a snap of her beloved character and one of her as Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager He, in turn, shared a snap of himself pulling his name off the door of his dressing room, writing: 'Thats a final wrap on Joe Caputo! Im gonna miss you Joe. Its been a hell of a ride. Season7 @oitnb.' Elizabeth Rodriguez, who plays impassioned Aleida Diaz, posed outside her dressing room door, writing: ' Thats a wrap on #aleidadiaz THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ... #orangeisthenewblack #oitnb #netflix #aleidaforever.' Lea DeLaria, who plays Carrie 'Big Boo' Black shared a few pictures and wrote: 'On this the last day of shooting I present, in no particular order, some fond memories. Thank you @oitnb for making me the #lordofthelesbians. #byeboo.' Jackie Cruz, who played Marisol 'Flaca' Gonzales posted a picture of the ladies in the jail uniforms. Memories: Natasha Lyonne, who plays Nicky Nichols, took to Instagram to share a picture of her ID badges for the show and her on-screen character Remembering them: Taylor Schilling, who plays Piper Chapman shared a clip of a moodboard which had photos of all the characters pinned to it She wrote: 'Where it all started @thecrusher007 to the left to the left. Lol #daschawashere.' Taryn Manning, who played Tiffany 'Pennsatucky' Doggett, wrote a lengthy post, alongside a picture of her character carrying a wooden cross. She wrote: 'Thats a wrap for me What a neat, exciting, enlightening, sometimes traumatic but fantastic 7 year journey we had on a 7 year amazing, life changing show @oitnb A forever experience I shall never forget Elizabeth Rodriguez, who plays impassioned Aleida Diaz, posed outside her dressing room door, writing: ' hats a wrap on #aleidadiaz THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU' 'A life changing one I will always remember. All the amazing people I worked with and for, all the feelings we shared and all the time spent. This is for anyone I could not share a goodbye with I do not like goodbyes. 'I am off to another loving and loyal job I am so grateful to have had in Hawaii! My good fam @hawaiifive0cbs #aloha!!! I love you and think of me during the wrap party where goodbyes are shared! I Wish my cast mates, crew, Netflix, Lionsgate, New York, and my beloved team and everyones teams for seeing the potential in the show and for winning! Finale: Lea DeLaria, who plays Carrie 'Big Boo' Black shared a few pictures and wrote: 'On this the last day of shooting I present, in no particular order, some fond memories. Thank you @oitnb for making me the #lordofthelesbians. #byeboo' Hey Boo! She also shared this picture of herself after being in hair and make-up 'I wish a beautiful life and future for all! I Really love you all! Thank you from the bottom of my #7 #oitnb #netflix #lionsgate #actor #god Maybe one day my cast mates will like my photos and invite me out if I get to be as cool! .' The show's creator, Jenji Kohans shared a photo of her the whole cast on set, with Tasha 'Taystee' Jefferson, played by Danielle Brooks holding a 'it's a wrap' sign. Laura Gomez, who plays Blanca Flores hints that her character returns to the show after her release as she shared a picture of her character lighting up, in front of a no-smoking sign. She wrote: Whatever rebel in me, I got to put it all to use in this amazing character. First time we ever saw her, she was a crazy lady talking to the devil in a bathroom stall. Little did we know. Stanislavsky said it first: 'There are no small roles.' 'If ever there was proof, I can testify to that. What a run. What a show. What a visionary creator -@ijnej- producers & writers. What a memoir by @piperkerman. What a cast & crew. What a gift! Recuerdos del set. Rebelde con causa. Todo tiene su final. Gracias totales! @oitnb #oitnb #blancaflores #sorrynotsorry.' Finally, Jessica Pimentel who plays meanie Maria shared a picture outside her dressing room, while holding a flower, writing: 'I'm not crying, you are!' Could it be? Laura Gomez, who plays Blanca Flores hints that her character returns to the show after her release as she shared a picture of her character lighting up, in front of a no-smoking sign Hundred High School senior Jocelyn Prado engaged in a unique experience recently, as she was named Honorary Secretary of State. According to information from West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warners website, located at sos.wv.gov/Pages/default.aspx, the Honorary Secretary of State program is for high school seniors and juniors who have an interest in state government and a love for civic engagement. Students who recognized as Honorary Secretary of States are leaders in their high schools and have committed to registering, informing, and mobilizing their peers to vote. This program is the result of Warners office and non-partisan organizations such as Inspire West Virginia, which encourage eligible high school juniors and seniors to register to vote. More information on the Inspire program can be found at www.inspire-usa.org/about. This program promises to support high schools in planning and conducting student peer-to-peer voter registration activities. Prado said she became involved with Inspire about two years ago when she filled out an application to become an ambassador for West Virginia Inspire. After an interview and subsequent acceptance into the program, Prado was able to register 100 percent of her class to vote. As a result of these efforts, Hundred High School will also be the recipient of the Jennings Randolph award, which will be presented by Secretary of State Warner. Notably, the late Randolph, who was a U.S. Senator from Harrison County, is known as the father of the 26th Amendment. According to the above-mentioned WV Secretary of States website, Randolph introduced a bill 11 times to lower the required age to register to vote from 21 to 18. He believed that if U.S. citizens were old enough to fight and die for their country, then they were old enough to vote for the leaders who were sending them to these conflicts. In 1971, the 26th Amendment was passed and changed the voting age to 18. The Secretary of States office has since created the Jennings Randolph award, which is given to high schools that have 100 percent of eligible students registered to vote. Of her efforts to register her peers to vote, Prado noted, I have always thought civic responsibility and engagement have been very important. I was excited to get to share my passion with my classmates and encourage them to take part in the government, even if it was just their local government. I am incredibly proud of Jocelyn, and the initiative she has taken not only in getting her peers registered to vote, but in understanding the importance of civic engagement as well. So many are quick to complain about our current conditions in West Virginia, but not nearly as many are willing to pull a seat up to the table and work to be a part of the solution. Jocelyn understands that everyone has a voice, as well as the opportunity to use that voice to better their communities. This is how real change occurs. I look forward to witnessing all that Jocelyn will accomplish in the future in her chosen field of political science and national security, stated Hannah Evans, Prados teacher. As an Honorary Secretary of State, Prado spent a day shadowing Secretary of State Warner. She was also recognized and introduced by the WV House of Delegates. I was honored by the Secretary of State award, Prado noted. I got to spend the day with Secretary of State Warner and ask him questions about his views on different bill and things going on in the world. He gave a presentation on cyber security and how it impacts us daily, and most people dont realize it. He wants to raise more awareness for young students. I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to get involved with politics or government. Overall, my experience at the capital was amazing Mr. Warner is very easygoing and a great man. This experience only made me want to push myself more into politics and national security after high school! She's one of the biggest Australian stars in Hollywood, who has an estimated net worth of US $16 million and is often seen wearing expensive designer labels. And it appears Rebel Wilson's staff aren't shy to splash their cash either, after the actress revealed she received a very ritzy birthday present from her housekeeper on Tuesday. Taking to Instagram Stories, the actress and comedian flaunted her new Louis Vuitton Clemence wallet, which retails for AUD $750, along with the gushing caption: ''I have the BEST housekeeper ever!' Scroll down for video 'I have the best housekeeper ever!' Australian actress Rebel Wilson (right) revealed she was gifted a $750 Louis Vuitton wallet (left) from her housekeeper She gave me this early birthday present. WOW!' the blonde star added. Rebel snapped a picture of the luxurious monogram canvas piece, which featured a cute pink flower charm hanging from its zipper. However, despite her fame, fortune and an extremely generous housekeeper, Rebel is reportedly struggling in the real estate market. According to the Daily Telegraph this month, Rebel has just slashed the rent on her two-bedroom Gladesville apartment from $660-a-week to $595. Prices are down! Rebel (pictured) has slashed the rent on her two-bedroom Gladesville apartment from $660 a week to $595 The Pitch Perfect star already dropped the price to $625 in January, but was still unable to find a tenant. She purchased the modern open-plan apartment in late 2015 for $740,000. Rebel has been expanding her property portfolio over the past couple of years. Picturesque: The apartment comes with its own private courtyard, which features a natural patch of grass It's a steal! The Pitch Perfect star already dropped the price to $625 in January, but was still unable to find a tenant In 2017, she dropped $3 million on a 'paparazzi proof' apartment in New York. Shortly after picking up the apartment, Rebel told Women's Wear Daily: 'I just love New York and since Im filming a movie here this summer I thought I may as well buy a place.' In December last year, she forked out $1.88 million on a two-bedroom apartment in Sydney's Balmain. The red brick Balmain building is a conversion of the Lever Brothers soap factory, which has been transformed into a trendy apartment in the inner-city suburb. A spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia at the time that the apartment was bought off-the-plan and has never been photographed. The actress also owns a three-bedroom Birchgrove house in Sydney, which she bought for $3.76 million and is undergoing a $900,000 renovation. She's been busy promoting her new film Greta, as she walked at the red carpet for its premiere in New York and a special screening in Los Angeles on Tuesday. And Chloe Grace Moretz was ready to talk about the film once again, as she made a stylish entrance at a press conference in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, on Tuesday. The actress, 22, upped the glamour as she slipped into a monochrome polka-dot print shirt, which she tucked into high-waisted flare trousers. Chic: Chloe Grace Moretz upped the glamour in a monochrome polka-dot print shirt and flared trousers as she attended a press conference for new film Greta in Beverly Hills on Tuesday Chloe boosted her height with a pair of black heels, and added a touch of glitter to her look by wearing an array of silver stud earrings. The Kick Ass star wore her blond locks in glamorous curls that she had pinned back for a chic half-back hairstyle. Accentuating her stunning features, the actress wore pink lipstick and matching eye-shadow for a natural look. Beaming: The Kick Ass star wore her blond locks in glamorous curls that she had pinned back for a chic half-back hairstyle Stylish: Chloe boosted her height with a pair of black heels, and added a touch of glitter to her look by wearing an array of silver stud earrings Stunning: Accentuating her stunning features, the actress wore pink lipstick and matching eye-shadow for a natural look Chloe's outing at the press conference comes after she walked the red carpet again, this time at a special screening of the movie in Los Angeles. She arrived for the event after sitting down with ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel to talk about her latest big screen release. For her big night, the actress opted to pair a black long-sleeved top with a white ankle length skirt gathered at the back. West coast premiere: Chloe's outing at the press conference comes after she walked the red carpet again, this time at a special screening of the movie in Los Angeles In the spotlight: Chloe opted to pair a black long-sleeved top with a white ankle length skirt gathered at the back. She added black sandal heels and left her long blonde hair loose She added black sandal heels and left her long blonde hair loose. Moretz was joined at the screening by the film's writer and director Neil Jordan. Jordan, who won an Oscar for his screenplay for the 1992 film The Crying Game, shot the movie predominantly in his native Ireland with some additional filming in Toronto. Horror tale: In Greta, she plays a young woman who strikes up a friendship with an eccentric French piano teacher... but the relationship starts to unravel in darkly disturbing ways His project: The actress was joined by the film's writer and director Neil Jordan at the event In Greta, the former child star plays a naive young woman who strikes up a friendship with an older eccentric French piano teacher in New York City. Having recently lost her mother, she grows close to the mysterious widow but the relationship starts to unravel in darkly disturbing ways. The piano teacher is played by French movie star Isabelle Huppert. Greta was screened for the first time at the Toronto Film Festival last September. Moretz's most recent big screen credits include Suspiria, The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Neighbors 2; Sorority Rising. Icon: The piano teacher is played by French movie star Isabelle Huppert, pictured with Moretz in an image from the film Star: Isabelle posed with Neil Jordan at the premiere, looking chic in a hat and shades Money men: Also at the screening were the film's producers Lawrence Bender, far left, and John Penotti, far right Dynamo revealed his ongoing battle with Crohn's disease a year ago. And on Monday the magician was pictured looking healthier as he walked with wife Kelly and their dog Bunty. The 36-year-old put on two stone in weight as a result of the medication needed to treat a flare up of his Crohn's from 2017-2018, but has recently slimmed down. Healthy: Dynamo revealed his ongoing battle with Crohn's disease a year ago. And on Monday the magician was pictured looking healthier as he walked with wife Kelly and their dog Bunty The world-famous magician dressed in all black, including a beanie hat as he stopped by the local vets with his Newfoundland pooch. Dynamo recently gave an update on his health on Instagram, posting a message about his motivation. 'One thing Ive learnt while dealing with my illness is how important it is to stay focused!' he told his fans. Out and about: The 36-year-old put on two stone in weight as a result of the medication needed to treat a flare up of his Crohn's from 2017-2018, but has recently slimmed down 'Its easy to get distracted when your world feels like its falling apart around you, but having a real perspective on whats actually important allows you to zone in on your inner strengths and helps give you direction and purpose.' Dynamo - real name Steven Frayne - has suffered from Crohn's disease since he was a teenager and had half of his stomach removed when he was seventeen. Last year, Dynamo revealed he is debating taking legal action after uncooked chicken served in a restaurant led to his hospitalisation for a Crohn's disease flare up. Family: The star was seen with his wife Dawn as they stopped by the vets with their pooch Man's best friend: The world-famous magician dressed in all black, including a beanie as he walked his Newfoundland pooch All good: The couple looked in good spirits as they emerged with their beloved pet The star, who first opened up about his battle with the autoimmune disease at the beginning of 2018, insisted his hospital stint in summer 2017 was down to the raw food, as he revealed his plight in an interview with The Sun. The magician previously said he was unable to shuffle a pack of cards due to the arthritis associated with the condition. Dynamo said: 'I know exactly what it was that caused the food poisoning it was chicken. I know where I got it from. I've got the receipt. 'I'm considering taking action right now and seeing what I can do. I'm talking to my team about it.' Helping hand: The magician gave Bunty a lift into the back of his car after the checkup Recovering: Dynamo first revealed his Crohn's diagnosis in a Twitter video a year ago, revealing his weight gain after a flare up due to food poisoning Advertisement Gigi Hadid put on a very racy display as she went braless under a sheer pink top while walking the runway for Lanvin's A/W2019 show held at the The Musee Cluny in Paris on Wednesday. The 23-year-old teamed the number with a matching baby pink coat and midi length skirt, wearing a longer patterned skirt under that to give the impression of layering and cream boots. Gigi was joined by catwalk favourite Kaia Gerber, 17, for new creative director Bruno Sialelli's Lanvin debut. Stunning: Gigi Hadid bared all by going braless under a sheer top, (left) as she and Kaia Gerber, (right) walked the runway for Bruno Sialelli's Lanvin debut at Paris Fashion Week at the The Musee Cluny on Wednesday High-esteem: Those in the FROW applauded the designs as models walked out of the arches of the famous Musee Cluny Kaia wrapped up warm in an oversized cream shearling coat which had a blue and green pattern running down the sides. It is Lanvin's new creative director Bruno Sialelli's first ever show and fans have been wondering if he can save the 130-year-old brand after he is the fourth designer to take the helm in as many years. Slalelli was most recently the head of menswear at Spanish house Loewe. Incredible: The 23-year-old teamed her sheer top with a matching baby pink coat and midi length skirt, wearing a longer patterned skirt under that to give the impression of layering Details: Kaia's look had a pop of colour with the coat's blue and green side panelling and a bright orange bag Muted tones: Gigi's look was perfectly matched and layering was clearly a key theme Their looks: The lovely ladies posed backstage alongside another model who was wearing Scalelli's designs Glam squad: Kaia was pictured before the show having gold foils applied to her nails, while wrapped in that cosy coat Inked: Cartoon faces and light fabrics were key themes at the hotly-anticipated show According to The New York Times: 'Sialelli, Lanvin's could be a saviour [for the fashion house.] A relatively unknown and untested designer, he is the French fashion houses fourth in less than four years, and something of a Hail Mary pass. He said: 'We cant be one of those houses where theres something for everyone. We take compelling archetypes and make them our own. I have a way of thinking thats intrinsic to my age. 'I believe its possible to find modernity and come up with new ways of doing things that recreate desire.' Purple reign: Bold hues and sheer fabrics layered on top of one another were key themes on the catwalk It is Lanvin's new creative director Bruno Sialelli's first ever show - he is the fourth designer to take the helm of the fashion house in four years Plaid's a good look: Tartan capes have featured on many runways during Paris Fashion Week so are likely to be a key trend in autumn Take a bow: Sialelli's took to the catwalk at the end of the show Forbes documented the brand's recent upheaval, writing: 'Beloved designer Alber Elbaz was unceremoniously let go in 2015 by then-owner Shaw-Lan Wang, (after a 14-year stint there). 'Since his exit, designers Bouchra Jarrar and then Olivier Lapidus were charged with overseeing the brand but lasted only a few seasons due to declining sales and the many management problems the brand has faced before being bought out by Fosun. They continued: 'This announcement marks the culmination of decisions by Fosun to finally lay the groundwork for Lanvin's future, after naming Hecquet CEO last summer and letting go of longtime (and lauded) menswear designer Lucas Ossendrijver last fall.' According to Reuters, sales fell 23 percent in 2016. There were a couple of celebrities in attendance on the FROW, including actress Uma Thurman, 48, who sat alongside American Football Player Odell Beckham Jr, 26. Uma wore a simple blue shirt tucked into leather leggings, high heels and a navy coat, while Odell wore an all-black ensemble and a collection of chains. Superstar: Uma Thurman wore a simple blue shirt tucked into leather leggings, high heels and a navy coat as she was pictured arriving at the venue On her way: The actress looked every inch the Hollywood A-lister as she stepped out of her car and crossed the pavement Friends in high places: There were a couple of other celebrities in attendance on the FROW, and Uma sat alongside American Football Player Odell Beckham Jr, 26 Here come the girls: Italian actress Asia Argento, 43, was also present (left), as was French star Beatrice Dalle (right) Before the show, Gigi was seen wearing a low-key look which consisted of a tight white T-shirt and baggy acid-wash jeans, draping a green scarf around her shoulders. Kaia wore an all-black ensemble, ripped jeans and white lace-up flat shoes for her arrival as she headed in alongside her rumoured model boyfriend Wellington Grant, 21. Kaia and Wellington were first spotted together on Valentine's Day. Is that her man? Kaia wore an all-black ensemble, ripped jeans and white lace-up flat shoes for her arrival as she headed in alongside her rumoured model boyfriend Wellington Grant, 21 Before the show: Gigi was seen wearing a low-key look which consisted of a tight white T-shirt and baggy acid-wash jeans, draping a green scarf around her shoulders In demand: Gigi carried her phone in hand and ran her fingers through her tousled hair as she made her way inside It's fair to say that Kim Kardashian is a slave to fashion and that was certainly the case when she stepped out on Monday wearing a skimpy dress by Thierry Mugler. The 38-year-old left her coat at home to wear the gowns as she opened an exhibition of the designer's work in Montreal, Canada, where the temperature was a freezing -18- minus 20 degrees. What's more, she risked a serious injury when she was forced to walk across an icy pavement in her Yeezy heeled mules, taking tiny pigeon steps so she didn't fall. Fashion, darling: Kim Kardashian has been mocked for wearing a barely-there dress on -20 degree night out in Montreal to open the Thierry Mugler exhibition on Monday... as she struggled to walk on ICE in six inch Yeezy heels Brrr: Kim was given a helping hand as the streets were lined with piles of snow Kim first modelled the flowing pink gown and golden breastplate created by the French fashion designer. The reality star then changed into an equally skimpy white corset-style dress later in the day. One person wrote on social media: 'So @KimKardashian is in Montreal right now and I dont think she got the memo of our freezing weather cus sis showed up wearing this. How does she do it? Kim left her coat at home to wear this Mugler gown to open his exhibition but Canadians were shocked that she would wear so little in such cold temperatures Sultry look: The 38-year-old wore the flowing pink gown and golden breastplate created by the French designer, (left), before rocking a white corset dress, (right) Steady on: Kim took tentative steps in her six inch Yeezy heels as the pavements were covered in a thin sheet of ice Revealing outfit: The pink dress featured a clasp over its sole shoulder and Kim showed no signs of being freezing She cant even walk cus shes wearing heels n tryna walk on ice.' Another wrote: 'Kim honey, put a jacket on, this is Montreal. Aint no LA weather #ColdAsBalls.' Others wrote: 'Walking on ice with Heels with no f***ing coat on... In Montreal where our sidewalks need @nusr_ett on them... 'And Why does she wears fur coats in LA but not here... #KimKardashian #Montreal #TheNorth #Northerner.' 'Dear @KimKardashian how did you survive the Montreal cold in that (unreal!!) dress? I cant survive summer without a sweater. For real, tips please?' Something to say: Once fan proved that the temperature was -18 degrees - it was actually two degrees colder at certain points as they urged her to wrap up warm Why would you do it? People took to Twitter to mock Kim for going out in the cold like that Fashion: Yet others gave her props for braving the freezing weather all in the name of fashion 'Did u not check the weather before you went out in Montreal you do know its Canada during winter n not LA right it gets cold here.' Others praised her for braving the cold in a bid to show off her gowns. They wrote: 'Lmao @KimKardashian is in Montreal and she didnt excpect our weather -20 and ice is incredible I almost fell but props to Kim for surviving.' Grin and bear it: Kim showcased her final look on her Instagram account for her fans before heading out Glam: Kim's glam was kept simple with a contoured complexion and overlined nude pout 'I think this what you ment to say So @kimkardashian is in Montreal and sis show up so hot she melted the ice beneath her feet as she slayed walking back to her black car. Im not worthy of her presence.' 'Gotta give props where theyre due; @kimkardashian in 6 heels and bare chested and bare legged when its -20C and the streets of Montreal are a literal ice rink. Bless.' The 5ft3in brunette beauty first displayed herself wearing the sheer, pale pink dress on her Instagram stories. The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star seemed to be channeling Wonder Woman with the dress' golden breastplate and her fabric cuff bracelet on one arm. Kim rocked a sultry bedhead look as she tied her hair up in bun, leaving a few strands to cover one eye. Here for the art: The exhibition, Thierry Mugler: Couturissime, includes 140 of his outfits, plus Thierry's (above) sketches and dozens of fashion photographer shots of his work The sometimes-model was visiting Canada for the Montreal Museum of Fine Art's tribute to the French designer's fashion. The exhibition, Thierry Mugler: Couturissime, includes 140 of his outfits, plus his sketches and dozens of fashion photographer shots of his work. Veteran model Pat Cleveland and RuPaul's Drag Race winner Violet Chachki also appeared in Mugler's couture for the preview event. Let's hope they stuck the heater on: Kim was greeted by the man of the hour whilst on the carpet Standing next to that flame: The 5ft3in brunette beauty made sure to place herself next to some very warm heaters upon arrival and who could blame her? Making an entrance: Kim made quite a stir as she arrived at the museum exhibit already wearing the sheer dress Strong woman: The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star seemed to be channeling Wonder Woman with the dress' golden breastplate and her fabric cuff bracelet on one arm. Kim rocked a sultry bedhead look as she tied her hair up in bun, leaving a few strands to cover one eye After modeling her pink gown, Kim had a quick costume change. The wife of Kanye West posted photos of herself being styled on the fly after switching over to a form-fitting white dress. The dress' torso was done up in tight pleats.The bust-lifting outfit looked like a corset, though it extended below her waist. While she filmed, backstage helpers twisted her hair into thick tendrils. Figure-hugging: After modeling her pink gown, Kim had a quick costume change Fashionista: Kim's second look featured a shell like top that flared out into a rectangular base to emphasize her curves Hot mama! Kim once again took to social media to showcased her impressive look, ensuring all eyes were on her ample cleavage Personal tour guide: Thierry was seen leading Kim into one of the various showrooms during the evening Figure-hugging: The wife of Kanye West posted photos of herself being styled on the fly after switching over to a form-fitting white dress Tight squeeze: The dress' torso was done up in tight pleats. The bust-lifting outfit looked like a corset, though it extended below her waist New 'do: While she filmed, backstage helpers twisted her hair into thick tendrils The Strasbourg-born designer is perhaps best known for creating the iconic black black dress worn by Demi Moore in the 1993 film Indecent Proposal. The outfit featured a spider-like web of straps over the shoulders and bust that were reminiscent of the 1998 vintage Mugler dress recently worn by Kim Kardashian. The racier variation featured straps that showed off Kim's breasts, compared to the earlier, more chaste variation. Putting on a show: The racier variation featured straps that showed off Kim's breasts, compared to the earlier, more chaste variation Inspired: Kim as seen taking in all the designs Classic style: The Strasbourg-born designer is perhaps best known for creating the iconic black black dress worn by Demi Moore in the 1993 film Indecent Proposal. The outfit featured a spider-like web of straps over the shoulders and bust that were reminiscent of the 1998 vintage Mugler dress recently worn by Kim Kardashian Last Tuesday, Kim took to her Instagram to public call-out rapid fashion house Fashion Nova, which had introduced an affordable copy of her black Mugler dress less than 24 hours after she wore it. She lambasted the organization for stealing the work of the designers she collaborates with and for misleading followers into thinking the dresses are readily available. She went a step further by suing fast fashion house Missguided USA for 'damages in excess of $10 million,' according to TMZ. The legal filing cited Missguided's practice of using photos of Kim wearing the original dress in their complaint that customers might mistakenly believe she was working with the fashion company. Rapid: Kim Kardashian filed a lawsuit against another 'rapid' fashion company, Missguided USA, on Wednesday Before: On Tuesday, Kim took to her Instagram and Twitter to hit back at fast fashion companies after Fashion Nova advertised a copy of the 1998 Thierry Mugler vintage gown she wore on Sunday Slam: 'Only two days ago, I was privileged enough to wear a one-of-a-kind vintage Mugler dress and in less than 24 hours it was knocked off and thrown up on a site - but it's not for sale. You have to sign up for a waitlist because the dress hasnt even been made to sell yet Megan McKenna has sparked concern among fans after displaying her alarmingly plump pout during an appearance on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday. The 26-year-old former TOWIE star, who appeared on the chat show alongside Georgia Steel to discuss Celebs Go Dating, came under fire on social media for her plump pout as fans urged her to stop cosmetically enhancing her smile. Swarming Twitter with concerned comments, fans seemed shocked by her appearance and begged her to stop - despite Megan previously insisting to MailOnline that she is 'proud' to have her lips done. Changing faces... Megan McKenna has sparked concern among fans after displaying her alarmingly plump pout during an appearance on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday Megan has been lighting up screens this week after Celebs Go Dating's new series launched, and as she blazed the promo trail with Georgia on GMB. While she chatted about the show, fans were distracted by her plump pout, as users flooded Twitter to write: '@Megan_Mckenna_ lips look ridiculous on @GMB this morning!! Why on earth do girls think these big lip fillers look good... 'Wish megan mckenna had just left her lips alone... Anyone else think she has over done it with lip filler shame cos I actually feel like shes a proper stunner aswell... 'Who replaced @Megan_Mckenna_s lips with actual hotdogs?... @Megan_Mckenna_ why is it so many females think that injecting crap into their lips to make them look like balloons someone enhances their appearance?.' That was then... Swarming Twitter with concerned comments, fans seemed shocked by her appearance and begged her to stop - despite Megan previously insisting to MailOnline that she is 'proud' to have her lips done (pictured in 2015) Plumped up: Megan has been lighting up screens this week after Celebs Go Dating's new series launched, and as she blazed the promo trail with Georgia on GMB In depth: Georgia and Megan chatted all things Celebs Go Dating on the show In a previous interview said: 'The only thing I've ever had done is my lips and I'm proud to say I've had my lips done.' Despite criticism from some, Megan was also praised by her devoted fans, as one user wrote: '@georgia_steel @Megan_Mckenna_ great interview on @gmb I just love you both as your so funny honest and down to earth... 'Nothing fazes you. Loving this new series of #CelebsGoDating as I like all the cast. This is a funny series and so far the best one.' A representative for Megan declined to comment when approached by MailOnline. That was then: Megan climbed the slippery showbiz ladder after her first attempts at stardom when she tried her luck on BGT in 2009 (pictured) before attempting Open Mic UK a year later Changing look: She went on to enjoy two turns on Ex On The Beach, one in 2015 and one last year - in the same year as she starred on Celebrity Big Brother shortly before becoming a full-time TOWIE cast member in March (pictured in 2015) Co-star and former flame: The couple subsequently split yet he is starring opposite her on Celebs Go Dating Megan climbed the slippery showbiz ladder after her first attempts at stardom when she tried her luck on BGT in 2009 before attempting Open Mic UK a year later. She went on to enjoy two turns on Ex On The Beach, one in 2015 and one last year - in the same year as she starred on Celebrity Big Brother shortly before becoming a full-time TOWIE cast member in March and leaving in 2017. The brunette beauty has become one of the central characters in the show after she began dating co-star Pete Wicks when she first entered the show. The couple subsequently split yet he is starring opposite her on Celebs Go Dating. Ian McShane confirmed that American Gods will return for a third season ahead of the second outing's release on Amazon Prime in March. The actor, 76, was making an appearance on Lorraine on Wednesday to promote the new season, when he admitted the cast would be back to film again in the summer. He explained: 'We'll start again with series three of American Gods in July.' It'll be back: Ian McShane CONFIRMED American Gods will return for a third season on Wednesday, as he gushed about the show ahead of the release of its second outing Ian gushed about the new outing of the show, as he spoke passionately about it being a 'very visual' project that's 'not Harry Potter, or the Marvel universe, or DC comics.' The series, which is based on Neil Gaiman's novel of the same name, sees Ian play Mr. Wednesday, an old god who teams up with newcomer Shadow (Ricky Whittle) to try and combat the growing power of the New Gods: Mr. World, Technical Boy, and New Media. Reassuring fans that they will be pleased with whats to come in the second series, Ian said to Lorraine: 'I think, for those of you that love the book, it goes back to the book more this year.' Talking about how the show has adapted the story, he added: 'Well, Gaimans book, he wrote it 17 years ago and a lot has happened since then, along with the advancement of technology, so there's a lot more to work with now.' Impressed: Ian gushed about the new outing of the show, as he spoke passionately about it being a 'very visual' project that's 'not Harry Potter, or the Marvel universe, or DC comics' Intense: The series sees Ian play Mr. Wednesday, an old god who teams up with newcomer Shadow (Ricky Whittle, pictured) to defeat the rising New Gods Excited: Reassuring fans that they will be pleased with whats to come in the second series, Ian said: 'I think, for those of you that love the book, it goes back to the book more this year.' That wasn't the only project the actor was on hand to discuss, as he also talked about his cult-hit show Deadwood, and returning to the story with a HBO film. Speaking enthusiastically with the daytime talkshow host, he revealed: 'We finished the two hour movie just before Christmas, I had a month off after American Gods to grow the beard and we're all back, except Powers [Boothe] who passed on. 'The great thing about the show is everyone had their own weight. Tim [Olyphant, who plays the show's lead Seth Bullock] and I could have done that, but we didn't.' Hotly-anticipated: Ian also talked about his cult-hit show Deadwood, and returning to the story with a HBO film, and revealed its set 10 years after the end of the third season Pleased: The actor reprises his role as the foul-mouthed Al Swearengen, as the actor gushed that he 'loved him, to bits' and was very happy to return Ian also revealed that the film is set 10 years after the end of the third season, and begins 'literally after we've finished.' The actor reprises his role as the foul-mouthed Al Swearengen, as the actor gushed that he 'loved him, to bits' and was very happy to return. The show, which ended in 2006 but became a huge hit amongst fans despite this, is also notorious for its use of profanity, dropping the f-bomb said 43 times within the first hour of the show. Of this, Ian continued: 'That was David Milch who created the show, and he's back again writing the script for this.' Challenging: Ian added that it was 'difficult to get everyone back again' as it took 'half a year' for the show to go for talks, before they could start filming Emotional: Of making the film, he admitted: 'The sad thing was that this time we knew it was goodbye. So every time you finish a scene, youd say [crying] "This is our last scene"' He added that it was 'difficult to get everyone back again' as it took 'half a year' for the show to go for talks, before they could start filming. And of making the film, rather than a show, he admitted: 'The sad thing was that this time we knew it was goodbye. So every time you finish a scene, youd say [crying] "This is our last scene."' Season two of American Gods will be available on Prime Video March 11, while the Deadwood film will air on HBO in early 2019. She left show watchers stunned earlier this week when she confused the two places. And Georgia Steel was grilled over getting Wales and Ireland confused on Celebs Go Dating during an interview on Wednesday's Good Morning Britain. Yet the Love Island star, 20, defended her embarrassing blunder and admitted that she was 'confused' after a few drinks during her date. Scroll down for video Oops: Georgia Steel was grilled over getting Wales and Ireland confused on Celebs Go Dating during an interview on Wednesday's Good Morning Britain Sitting alongside co-star Megan McKenna, she said: 'I just got a bit confused people just get confused don't they.' Pushed on her blunder even further, Georgia went on to explain where they were situated on the UK map. 'Confused': Yet the Love Island star, 20, defended her embarrassing blunder and admitted that she was 'confused' after a few drinks during her date She continued: 'Ireland, it's obviously the island away from where we are. Wales is just below us...' However, GMB host, Ben Shephard, was quick to correct Georgia once again as he said: 'If you look at the UK, it's to the left...' Defending her geography confusion once again, she said: 'I did have a few drinks at this point as well, so...' Awkward: Sitting alongside co-star Megan McKenna, she said: 'I just got a bit confused people just get confused don't they.' Another blunder: However, GMB host, Ben Shephard, was quick to correct Georgia once again as she claimed Wales was below the UK, as he said: 'If you look at the UK, it's to the left...' Earlier this week, Georgia riled-up Celebs Go Dating viewers with her lack of general knowledge as she headed on her first date with insurance agent, Aaron on Tuesday's show. The reality starlet, 22, left the 31-year-old stunned when she asked him what a sausage dog was, if there were sheep in Wales and confused it for Ireland, prompting fans to call her out for 'putting on an act'. After turning up 40 minutes late, Georgia dropped a clanger when she asked Aaron if he took a boat from Wales to London. Boozy: Defending her geography confusion once again, she said: 'I did have a few drinks at this point as well, so...' Pretty in pink: Georgia looked chic for her interview in a pink high-neck jumper and a grey tweed belted skirt Glamorous: The reality star styled the items of clothing with a matching grey coat, handbag and high heels She said: 'Youre from Wales, thats an island from us, isnt it? So how did you get across, on a boat? With Aaron replying he took the train, Georgia went on to ask: 'Does the train go under the water? So you didnt swim then?' Celebs Go Dating continues weekdays on E4 at 9pm. Luscious: Georgia styled her glossy brunette locks into a sleek blow-dried curly hairdo as she added a slick of glamorous make-up Eek: Earlier this week, Georgia riled-up Celebs Go Dating viewers with her lack of general knowledge as she headed on her first date with insurance agent, Aaron on Tuesday's show Playing dumb? The reality starlet, 22, left the 31-year-old stunned when she asked him what a sausage dog was, if there were sheep in Wales and confused it for Ireland She enjoyed a glamorous date night at the Vanity Fair Oscars party with her movie producer husband Cash Warren on Sunday. But it was back to normality for Jessica Alba as she doted on son Hayes, 14 months, while running errands at Century City Mall in Los Angeles on Tuesday. The actress, 37, kept casual for her afternoon of shopping, wrapping up in a ruby red knitted turtle-neck and indigo jeans as she pushed her little boy's Bugaboo stroller through the parking lot. Back to normality: Jessica Alba doted on son Hayes, 14 months, while running errands at Century City Mall in Los Angeles on Tuesday after her glamorous night at the Oscars The Sin City star teamed her low-key look with camel-coloured shoe boots, while accessorising with a black leather cross-body by Celine. The mother-of-three wore her brunette locks slicked back in a low bun, while sheltering her eyes from the winter sunshine with a pair of aviator shades. Jessica completed her look with oversize silver hoop earrings and minimal make-up to accentuate her naturally beautiful features as she clucked over her baby boy. The Honest Company entrepreneur's low-key appearance comes after she enjoyed a date night with movie producer husband Cash Warren, 40, at the Vanity Fair Oscars party on Sunday. Me and my boy: The actress, 37, kept casual for her afternoon of shopping, wrapping up in a ruby red knitted turtle-neck and indigo jeans as she pushed her little boy's stroller The actress was stunning as she hit the red carpet at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, looking classically elegant in a black, one-shoulder, backless gown with draping detail, which was custom made by Narciso Rodriguez. Jessica wore her hair in a low bun at the nape of her neck and kept the accessories simple with a small black handbag and stiletto heels. Not letting his leading lady down in the sartorial stakes, Cash looked dapper in a black tux and bow-tie as the couple kissed on the red carpet at the star-studded event. The businesswoman later took to her Instagram page to post a number of candid selfies of the couple enjoying their night out at the party. Date night: The Sin City star's low-key appearance comes after she enjoyed a date night with movie producer husband Cash Warren, 40, at the Vanity Fair Oscars party on Sunday Red carpet glamour: The mother-of-three looked classically elegant in a black, one-shoulder, backless gown with draping detail, which was custom made by Narciso Rodriguez Jessica and Cash have been together for almost 15 years after meeting on the set of Fantastic Four in 2004. The couple tied the knot four years later in Los Angeles in 2008 and have three children together; daughters Honor, 10, and Haven, seven, and son Hayes, 14 months. After enjoying a successful career as a Hollywood actress, Jessica set up ethical baby and beauty line The Honest Company in 2012, which was valued at almost $1 billion in 2017. The film star and entrepreneur recently said she wants to instill in her children the importance of the value of hard work and lead by example. Sealed with a kiss: Cash looked dapper in a black tux and bow-tie as the couple kissed on the red carpet at the star-studded event Party time! The businesswoman later took to her Instagram page to post a number of candid selfies of the couple enjoying their night out at the party Long-term love: Jessica and Cash have been together for almost 15 years after meeting on the set of Fantastic Four in 2004 In an interview with Parents magazine in November 2018, she said: 'If my kids complain when Cash and I go to work, I say, "Do you like your life? 'Because it's not free. Your dad and I work hard so you can have everything you have. That's why you take care of your stuff". 'And guess what? If you don't work hard, your life won't always be like this. You've got to figure out what you want to do. Go to school, do well, treat others well". I'm hardcore about that.' Speaking of her relationship with eldest daughter Honor, Jessica added: 'I can't be at every school drop-off and pickup, but I'm showing her [Honor] my time is valuable and that she has value to me. 'I also want her to see that my work is important and that I'm trying my best to make a difference, and maybe she'll absorb it.' Celebs Go Dating viewers have voiced concern over the stars of the show's excessive make-up and orange on-screen presence. As personalities including Megan McKenna, Georgia Steel, Pete Wicks and Sam Thompson look for love, Twitter has been swarmed with comments from fans who have noted their skin tone and the amount of cosmetics on show. While no stars in particularly were targeted, viewers contemplated whether the lighting, bad products or a make-up artist who was at fault for the seemingly universal problem occurring to both the men and women on the show. Oh my: Celebs Go Dating viewers have voiced concern over the stars of the show's excessive make-up and orange on-screen presence (Megan McKenna, pictured) The show, which kicked off on Monday, began with the stars meeting their potential dates at a mixer, however the bright light in the room seemed to impact their skin. Both the ladies and gents seemed to have ladled on their make-up, and while all parties were still looking their glam selves, the cosmetic faux pas was noted. Users swarmed the microblogging site to pen: ' Everyones makeup on Celebs go dating... Watching #CelebsGoDating and whoever has done all of their makeup needs sacking because it looks f**king terrible... 'There's no wonder they are all single, talk about cringe!And who is responsible for the makeup? Their faces are practically gold!! #CelebsGoDating... Shock: As personalities including Megan McKenna, Georgia Steel (pictured), Pete Wicks and Sam Thompson look for love, Twitter has been swarmed with comments from fans who have noted their skin tone and the amount of cosmetics on show Shocking: The cosmetics on the show were not the only faux pas, as Tuesday night's episode saw fans blast Hollyoaks star Chelsee Healey for being 'vulgar' and 'disgustingly rude' after watching her run out of a first date 'Sack the makeup artist.... absolutely awful makeup.... they either all look like Shrek or Umpa Lumpa... Catching up with #CelebsGoDating as I missed it last night-not being funny but why is everyone caked in bright orange makeup with really bad eyebrows? Is this seriously the norm nowadays? xxx... 'Well you can tell #CelebsGoDating isn't sponsored by a company selling makeup remover... Great first episode, fun line-up, but seriously the makeup is truly terrible, everyone looks SO orange... 'Its one thing on Instagram, but looks way worse on screen... And blow up lips but theyre not the makeup artists fault I guess but literally every series there are people on Twitter slating how heavily made up/badly colour matched'. All aboard! Even the boys fell victim to the light, as TOWIE star Pete suffered a cosmetic faux pa Bold: Their make-up looks came under fire, yet it seemed lighting was the problem MailOnline has contacted Celebs Go Dating representatives for comment. The cosmetics on the show were not the only faux pas, as Tuesday night's episode saw fans blast Hollyoaks star Chelsee Healey for being 'vulgar' and 'disgustingly rude' after watching her run out of a first date. The actress appeared to irk viewers with her entitled attitude after she headed out for dinner with wind turbine engineer, Mike, 31. The pair got off to a frosty start after Mike confessed he had never watched Hollyoaks, leaving Chelsee gobsmacked that he didn't know who she was. Graves Pair Face Endangerment, Marijuana Charges By West Kentucky Star Staff GRAVES COUNTY - Two people were arrested Monday for endangering the welfare of minors and possession of drugs. According to the Graves County Sheriff's Office, deputies received information that a fugitive was staying at a home on Tom Drive just south of Mayfield. When deputies arrived at the home they made contact with 28-year-old Austin Burnett and 28-year-old Anne Clapp. According to deputies, Burnett was wanted in McCracken County on contempt charges. While inside the home, deputies said they smelled the odor of marijuana. A search warrant was executed and marijuana was allegedly found in the bathroom and bedroom of the home. Police say two infant children had access to the marijuana and vials of THC used in smoking in vape pipes. Clapp and Burnett were charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. They were lodged in the Graves County Jail. They're both set to deliver bundles of joy this year. And on Wednesday, expectant mothers, Laura Byrne, 32, and Nikki Phillips, 36, certainly boasted that pregnancy glow as they attended the Mercedes-Benz Sydney Women In Business luncheon in Centennial Park. The former Bachelor winner, who is expecting her first child with partner, Matty 'J' Johnson, 31, in June, simply shone as she stepped out in a cream one-shoulder jumpsuit. Yummy mummies! The Bachelor's Laura Byrne (left) and fashion blogger Nikki Phillips (right) showed off their blossoming bumps at the star-studded Mercedes-Benz Sydney Women In Business luncheon in Centennial Park on Wednesday Herensemble featured a brown round tortoiseshell buckle, which drew attention to the Toni May jewellery designer's stunning pregnancy figure. She enhanced her look with a pair of brown heeled sandals and accessorised with two gold bracelets, embellished with turquoise stones from her popular jewellery line. The natural beauty opted for a minimal makeup palette, consisting of a light slick of foundation, a thin dusting of blush and lashings of black mascara. Details: Her frock featured a brown round tortoiseshell buckle, which drew attention to the jewellery designer's stunning pregnancy figure She continued her less-is-more approach in the hair department as she styled her honey tresses into subtle waves. Fellow pregnant star Nikki also showed off her baby bump at the event. The fashion blogger, who is preparing to welcome her second child with musician husband Dane Rumble in March, looked radiant in a purple body-con frock by designer, Manning Cartel, The high-neck design of the ribbed knit number highlighted the gorgeous model's toned arms and flawless decolletage. Bumping along nicely! Clad in a purple bodycon gown, Nikki affectionately cradled her burgeoning bump What's more the splash of lilac further enhanced the stunning brunette's deep brown tan. Meanwhile she slipped her slender stems into a pair of Balenciaga BB Knife houndstooth slingback pumps, which retail at approximately $1,470. The beaming beauty, who is already a mother to adorable son Jett, showed off her luxe wristwatch as she affectionately cradled her burgeoning bump. Model, Jesinta Franklin, Miss Universe Australia 2018, Francesca Hung and AFL WAG and fashionista, Clementine McVeigh also attended the business lunch. They're fresh off tying the knot. Darren Criss and his new bride Mia Swier, who got married earlier this month, were snapped Wednesday as they attended the premiere of the third season of FX's Better Things, which was held at The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica, California. The 32-year-old actor wore a grey zip-up jacket with black jeans and brown boots, with his dark locks neatly combed to the side. Scroll below for video Glitzy: Darren Criss, 32, and his new bride Mia Swier, 33, were snapped Wednesday as they attended the premiere of the third season of FX's Better Things, which was held at The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica, California Swier, a 33-year-old writer-producer who's worked for national and cable networks, donned a black leather jacket over a plunging gown with red and pink floral patterns. She wore a long necklace as well as a choker, and had her dark blonde locks parted at the industry event. The couple exchanged vows in an opulent ceremony in New Orleans on February 16 with a number of famous faces in attendance, such as Criss's one-time Glee co-stars Lea Michele, John Stamos and Harry Shum Jr. It's been a phenomenal few months for the San Francisco-born actor, who in addition to tying the knot, won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of serial killer Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, which aired on FX. Newlyweds: The couple exchanged vows in New Orleans on February 16 Dapper: The 32-year-old actor wore a grey zip-up jacket with black jeans and brown boots Stylish: Swier donned a black leather jacket over a plunging gown with red and pink floral patterns The show's cast was front and center at the Southern California premiere, including Pamela Adlon, Mikey Madison, Hannah Alligood, Olivia Edward and Alysia Reiner. The series - which is about a single mom/actress (played by Adlon) who's raising her daughters (Madison, Alligood and Edward) in Los Angeles - was co-created by Adlon and comedian Louis C.K., who in 2017 was dumped from nearly all of his projects after his admission to multiple acts of sexual misconduct. Adlon on Tuesday told NPR that the show almost came to an end after Louis C.K. was dumped as an executive producer of the show. 'I could not wrap my mind around how I could continue this professionally. I did not know how to put my feet one in front of the other and move forward,' she said. 'I had to take a knee for some time.' Surging: Criss won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of serial killer Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, which aired on FX Pretty in pink: The show's co-creator Pamela Adlon wore a bold red carpet ensemble Revelation: Adlon on Tuesday told NPR that the show almost came to an end after Louis C.K. was dumped as an executive producer She opened up to the outlet over the complicated dynamic of having been professionally linked to one of the most prominent names accused in the #MeToo movement. 'It's almost like women who are connected somehow to these men who have been shaken down by this thing - the women are almost being "reverse #MeToo-ed,"' she said. 'If you have any affiliation, you're ending up answering for these things ... we're having to answer for men, as opposed to talking about our lives and ourselves.' Adlon added that 'the women who were affected - the victims of these people and Louis - it's heartbreaking if there's anything but support coming in their direction. 'I wish that I could do something for them. And I wish that we would have to stop answering for the men.' All in the family: Adlon posed with the actresses who play her three daughters on the show: (L to R) Hannah Alligood, Olivia Edward and Mikey Madison Beauty: Pamela's daughter, actress Gideon Adlon, wore a plunging top with a large black jacket and white dress On solid ground: Skate legend Tony Hawk donned a casual ensemble to the premiere She said she prefers a more 'natural-looking' visage after she became 'addicted' to Botox and facial fillers while married to millionaire medic, Geoffrey Edelsten. But it appears Brynne Edelsten, 36, is ready to get back in the chair. In a video reposted to Brynne's Instagram account on Tuesday, the socialite took fans inside a consultation at a Melbourne cosmetic clinic and admitted she wants to 'age' gracefully now she's in her mid-30s. Scroll down for video 'I want to look like I'm ageing gracefully!' Brynne Edelsten, 36, (right) took fans inside her cosmetic consultation in Melbourne on Tuesday. Pictured with Dr Eugene Green 'Sounds like you haven't done anything for a while, so what would you like to achieve today?' Dr Eugene Green asked Brynne in the clip. 'It's been at least two years... there's really nothing left in my face,' Brynne said. 'Obviously I want to look natural. As much as I love it, I'm getting a bit old for that,' she added. The buxom blonde went on to share more details about her new cosmetic journey with her 26,800 followers. 'There's really nothing left in my face!' The buxom blonde said she took a 'two year' break from augmenting her visage with cosmetic procedures in an Instagram video shared on Tuesday. Brynne pictured on the left in February 2019. Brynne on the right in Melbourne March 2017 'I want to look like I'm ageing gracefully with that little bit of extra help,' she said before adding: 'to actually smooth things over so I'm not so self-conscious.' 'Well that's my approach as well, so that's excellent,' Dr Green remarked. It appears the US star, who's long been known for her cleavage-baring ensembles, heavy makeup and liberal layers of fake tan is favouring a more demure look in recent months. The blonde socialite took to Instagram in August last year to debut her dramatic makeunder, complete with soft curls, muted nude lipstick and a cleavage-concealing outfit. Brynne, is that you? Geoffrey Edelsten's ex wife debuted a more 'natural' look in August last year (right). Brynne (left) in Melbourne last year 'Loving my fresh look,' she captioned the gallery. Brynne, who has long enjoyed flaunting her surgically-enhanced assets, was pictured covering-up her cavernous cleavage in the new attire. Gone was her usual deep plunging neckline in favour of a faded black T-shirt and a pair of jeans. Modest: Brynne ditched her flamboyant style in favour of a more demure in August last year. She is pictured wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt (right). She is pictured on the left March 2017 Busting-out: Brynne has long been known for flaunting her cavernous cleavage. She is pictured here at the races in 2014 The drastic changes didn't stop there, as she also swapped her tight pageant-style curls in exchange for softer waves. Brynne, who recently confirmed she's off the market also toned down her heavy makeup palette. She sported a markedly fresher visage by opting for a light slick of pale foundation a thin-dusting of shimmer eye shadow and a pop of nude lipstick. The Californian fitness instructor's transformation comes after she confirmed her new romance to Daily Mail Australia in early May last year, sharing: 'Yes, I am in a relationship with Leno Cachia.' 'Yes, I am in a relationship with Leno Cachia (left)': The Californian fitness instructor's transformation comes after she confirmed her new romance to Daily Mail Australia in early May last year, sharing: 'Yes, I am in a relationship with Leno Cachia' 'We met on New Year's Eve and have been seeing each other romantically since March,' she said. Last year, Brynne - who was once married to Geoffrey Edelsten - announced her split from Coby Boatman after just two months of dating. Brynne wed Geoffrey in 2009 before splitting in 2014 and their divorce was finalised the following year. The bubbly blonde is the latest bride to turn heads on Nine's controversial dating series, Married At First Sight. And Susie Bradley has admitted her look isn't completely natural, having detailed how she underwent a dramatic surgery transformation over the past four years. Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle on Wednesday, the single mother, 25, admitted she had had used cosmetic enhancements to give herself a self-confidence boost. Lip fillers, anti-wrinkle injections and a boob job: Married At First Sight's intruder bride Susie Bradley reveals her dramatic cosmetic transformation (Pictured left in 2015, right in 2018) Photos of the aged-care nurse in 2015 show the reality TV star with a petite frame, smaller bust, noticeably less-plump lips and brunette locks. 'Ive had my lips done. I had no top lip back in the day so thats perfected my smile,' she happily told the publication. Susie added: 'Ive had anti-wrinkle [treatment] but that obviously doesnt really change how you look and Ive had my boobs done. I had them done after I had Baby because breastfeeding annihilated what I had.' 'I had no top lip back in the day so thats perfected my smile': Susie claimed her cosmetic enhancements have helped boost her self confidence (Pictured left in 2016, right in 2018) 'I had my boobs done after I had Baby because breastfeeding annihilated what I had': Susie said she had a breast augmentation after welcoming her daughter in 2014 (Pictured: 2018) In old Instagram uploads from before the birth of her daughter, now four, Susie can be seen looking svelte. Since having a boob job and cosmetic procedures on her lips, Susie had become far from shy on social media. The Brisbane-based bombshell, who calls herself Susie Pearl on Instagram, regularly strips down to swimwear and lingerie for her thousands of followers to see. Having posted topless in the past, Susie also regularly flaunts her busty assets in a string of provocative photos. If you've got it, flaunt it! Since having a boob job and cosmetic procedures on her lips, Susie had become far from shy on social media Hot mama! Susie is the single mother to four-year-old daughter Baby The single mum became one of four new intruders to debut on Married At First Sight's sixth season this week. She has been paired with personal trainer Billy Vincent, 28. Married At First Sight returns on Wednesday night from 7.30pm She is in the middle of an impossible dilemma, after it was revealed her BFF Jordyn Woods was caught making out with Tristan Thompson last week. But now insiders have claimed Kylie Jenner, 21, initially didn't want to believe the allegations when they first surfaced - and even had her best friend's back. 'Kylie defended Jordyn in the beginning,' a source told Us Weekly. She had her back: Insiders have claimed Kylie Jenner initially defended her best friend Jordyn Woods when she first learned about the accusations (pictured June 2018 in Paris) The reality star is reportedly conflicted about how to move forward with the friendship. Though Kylie stood up for Jordyn at the start of the scandal, things have apparently changed. Sources revealed the Kardashians aren't so sure there will a chance of reconciliation between the pair, even though they initially believed Kylie would take Jordyn back. Jordyn is at the heart of a cheating scandal that sparked Khloe Kardashian and Tristan's breakup. Controversy: Jordyn is at the heart of a cheating scandal that sparked Khloe Kardashian and Tristan's breakup Last week it was reported the reality star was caught making out with Tristan at a party, which subsequently led to the end of his relationship with Khloe. Jordyn has since revealed she will be breaking her silence with a sit-down interview on Jada Pinkett Smith's Facebook show, Red Table Talk. On Tuesday she gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at her appearance on the show. It's over: Last week it was reported the reality star was caught making out with Tristan at a party, which subsequently led to the end of his relationship with Khloe (pictured January 2019) Jordyn has remained silent since the scandal broke, and has reportedly been living with her mother after moving out of Kylie's home. The star has reportedly claimed she was 'blackout drunk' at the time she kissed Tristan, according to TMZ. However, the Kardashian/Jenner family reportedly aren't buying the excuse because she was able to drive home at 7am the next morning. Weighing in: Larsa Pippen did not mince her words when she commented on Hollywood Unlocked's post about the interview The family reportedly are not happy Jordyn will be sitting down for an interview with Jada, and are upset their former friend is attempting to 'spin the story' before giving them an apology, according to TMZ. According to the website, Jordyn has signed a non-disclosure agreement with the Kardashians, which prevents her from sharing details about the lives of the family, including Kris, Kim, and Khloe. Family friend Larsa Pippen weighed in on the drama after Hollywood Unlocked discussed the upcoming sit-down interview in an Instagram post. 'Can't wait to see which version of her story she tells. Hope it's the same she told @khloekardashian when she checked her,' Larsa commented. Last week she attended the premiere in New York for her new film Greta. And on Tuesday, Chloe Grace Moretz walked the red carpet again, this time at a special screening of the movie in Los Angeles. She arrived for the event after sitting down with ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel to talk about her latest big screen release. West coast premiere: Chloe Grace Moretz walked the red carpet at a special screening in Los Angeles Tuesday of her new movie Greta For her big night, the actress, 22, opted to pair a black long-sleeved top with a white ankle length skirt gathered at the back. She added black sandal heels and left her long blonde hair loose. Moretz was joined at the screening by the film's writer and director Neil Jordan. Jordan, who won an Oscar for his screenplay for the 1992 film The Crying Game, shot the movie predominantly in his native Ireland with some additional filming in Toronto. In the spotlight: Moretz, 22, opted to pair a black long-sleeved top with a white ankle length skirt gathered at the back. She added black sandal heels and left her long blonde hair loose Horror tale: In Greta, she plays a young woman who strikes up a friendship with an eccentric French piano teacher... but the relationship starts to unravel in darkly disturbing ways His project: The actress was joined at the screening by the film's writer and director Neil Jordan In Greta, the former child star plays a naive young woman who strikes up a friendship with an older eccentric French piano teacher in New York City. Having recently lost her mother, she grows close to the mysterious widow but the relationship starts to unravel in darkly disturbing ways. The piano teacher is played by French movie star Isabelle Huppert. Greta was screened for the first time at the Toronto Film Festival last September. Moretz's most recent big screen credits include Suspiria, The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Neighbors 2; Sorority Rising. Icon: The piano teacher is played by French movie star Isabelle Huppert, pictured with Moretz in an image from the film Star: Isabelle posed with Neil Jordan at the premiere, looking chic in a hat and shades Money men: Also at the screening were the film's producers Lawrence Bender, far left, and John Penotti, far right She is the former beauty queen who makes bold choices when it comes to the fashion stakes. And Jesinta Franklin turned heads once again on Wednesday in a white ensemble at the Mercedes-Benz Sydney Women In Business luncheon in Centennial Park. The 27-year-old dressed in floor-length wide-leg trousers featuring a sheer white checked pattern that flashed a hint of trim pins. Taking the plunge! Jesinta Franklin turned heads on Wednesday in a white ensemble as she attended the Mercedes-Benz Sydney Women In Business luncheon in Centennial Park She also went braless, flaunting her bare decolletage in a plunging cape-like jacket. Jesinta accessorised with a thin brown belt that cinched her waist, and a pair of statement earrings. For makeup, the Miss Universe Australia 2010 showed off her flawless complexion in minimal makeup including mascara, a hint of a peachy blush on her cheeks and nude lips. Sheer daring: The 27-year-old dressed in floor-length wide-leg trousers featuring a sheer white checked pattern that flashed a hint of trim pins Beauty queen babes: Jesinta also posed for a photo with fellow beauty queen and Miss Universe Australia 2018, Francesca Hung Jesinta also posed for a photo with fellow beauty queen and Miss Universe Australia 2018, Francesca Hung. The 24-year-old followed the white attire memo for the event, dressing for the event in a white lace frock that hugged her slender figure. She elevated her look with a pair of nude heels and added a touch of glamour with sparkling drop earrings. Elegance: The 24-year-old followed the white attire memo for the event, dressing for the event in a white lace frock that hugged her slender figure Stunning: Mother-to-be Laura Byrne stepped out in a Grecian-inspired, one-shouldered gown that flattered her stunning pregnancy figure Meanwhile, former Bachelor star and mother-to-be Laura Byrne also attended the business event. The 32-year-old stepped out in a Grecian-inspired, one-shouldered gown that flattered her stunning pregnancy figure. She elevated her ensemble with a pair of brown sandals and accessorised with turquoise bangle and gold bracelets from her jewellery line, Toni May. Bumping along! Fellow mother-to-be and fashion blogger Nikki Phillips also showed off her baby bump at the event Fellow mother-to-be and fashion blogger Nikki Phillips also showed off her baby bump at the event. The 36-year-old, who is expecting to give birth in March, added a pop of colour in a purple body-con frock that hugged her body. Also in attendance was AFL WAG and fashionista Clementine McVeigh, who also opted to ditch the white outfit dress code. Designer diva! Also in attendance was AFL WAG and fashionista Clementine McVeigh, who also opted to ditch the white outfit dress code. She dressed head-to-toe in designer labels, including a Chanel shirt, jewellery and shoes, as well as a Christian Dior handbag She dressed head-to-toe in designer labels, including a Chanel shirt, jewellery and shoes, as well as a Christian Dior handbag. Meanwhile, model and Olympic high jump hopeful Amy Pejkovic kept in line with the dress code, attending the event in a white outfit. The 26-year-old donned a blazer suit dress that showcased her trim and toned legs with trendy PVC transparent sandals. Annie Smith, the pregnant fiancee of rapper Lil Xan, is denying accusations she lifted an online image of an ultrasound and said it was her own in a recent clip she posted to YouTube. In a YouTube clip she posted Friday titled 'FIRST BABY PICTURES!!' Annie and the 22-year-old rap artist, whose full name is Nicholas Diego Leanos, sat on a bed as they perused photos of their baby's ultrasound on her phone. A number of online commenters claimed that the ultrasound Annie showed in the clip, from the ninth week of her pregnancy, was lifted from Google. The latest: Annie Smith, the pregnant fiancee of rapper Lil Xan, 22, is denying accusations she lifted an online image of an ultrasound and said it was her own in a recent clip she posted to YouTube Smith opened up to E! News that she was 'honestly really disappointed' that 'this is the rumor floating around,' pointing at a third party she claimed to be responsible for the mix-up. Annie told the outlet: 'When i posted my YouTube video with my ultrasound pictures, a girl (i'm not going to comment on who) photoshopped them with another persons name, year, birthday etc, and uploaded them to Google.' Smith said she was likely going to pull back from engaging online to ensure she's happy in her pregnancy. 'I'm traveling and stressed at the moment so i think for the baby and myself it's best to stay in a positive environment,' Smith said. 'I really am just staying off the internet for the time being because it's really sad for me to see these things.' Proud papa-to-be: The rap artist, whose full name is Nicholas Diego Leanos, showed off the ultrasound on his fiancee's phone Adapting: Smith said she was likely going to pull back from engaging online to ensure she's happy amid her pregnancy Annie said that she wasn't letting the naysayers get to her during what should be a wonderful time for her. 'In my opinion it doesn't matter what anyone else says it's a special time between my fiance and i and like i said we are very happy that's all that matters,' she told the outlet. Lil Xan, who dated Noah Cyrus last year, earlier this month took to Instagram to announce his impending fatherhood. Skeptics: A number of Twitter users called the authenticity of Annie's ultrasound into question Happy day: Lil Xan earlier this month took to Instagram to announce his impending fatherhood Distressed? News of the pregnancy seemed to upset his ex Noah Cyrus, as she took to social media with a teary selfie 'I wanted to wait but i just can't leave my fans in the dark,it's official im going to be a father,' the Redlands, California native said. 'I love you guys so much and hope you stay along for this crazy journey and i've never felt more happy in my life.' Annie later told E! that news of their pregnancy came with a range of emotions: 'We were definitely shocked because we have been trying, but we haven't really been pushing it, so we were definitely shocked, but we were so excited.' The pregnancy news appeared to upset Noah, 19, as she took to social media with a teary selfie and a separate message in which she vowed, 'i WILL be happy if its the last thing i do.' They are very engaged in the New York arts scene. And on Tuesday night, Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde turned out to support the opening of the off-Broadway musical Alice By Heart. The longtime couple posed for photos as they made their way into the The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space. Date: They are very engaged in the New York arts scene. And on Tuesday night, Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde turned out to support the opening of the off-Broadway musical Alice By Heart Wilde, 34, chose a ruffled sleeveless black dress for her night out. Sudeikis, 43, was more casual in a green sweater paired with black trousers and a black jacket. He added a cream felt Fedora for a jaunty look. Alice By Heart is inspired by Lewis Carroll's beloved classic Alice In Wonderland and set during the London Blitz in World War II. Simply stylish: Wilde, 34, chose a ruffled sleeveless black dress for her night out and added a pair of black boots Relaxed: Sudeikis, 43, was more casual in a green sweater paired with black trousers and a black jacket Fun: The SNL alum added a cream felt Fedora for a jaunty look Sudeikis and Wilde who have been together since 2011 share two children together. They are parents to son Otis, four, and daughter Daisy, two. The Vinyl actress recently completed work on her directorial feature debut Booksmart. Her SNL alum husband stars in the movie along with Lisa Kudrow, Billie Lourd and Will Forte. Parents: Sudeikis and Wilde have been together since 2011 and share two children - son Otis, four, and daughter Daisy, two The film, to be released in May, revolves around two overachieving high school seniors (played by Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever) who on the day of graduation, start to think they should have worked less and played more. So they decide to try and pack in four years of partying into one night, according to Variety. Wilde told Variety in early January that she was determined to ooze confidence on set even though it was the first movie she had helmed. 'Actors can smell fear in a director, and sometimes it stops them from doing their best work,' she explained. 'So I just wanted to create this super-safe environment, where everyone knew that I had their backs in every department.' Musical devotees: Marilu Henner, left, Sara Bareilles, center, and Dana Delany, right, were also among the VIPs who came to the first night performance His genre: Broadway musical star Ben Platt from Dear Evan Hansen and The Book Of Mormon also showed up in an eye-catching striped sweater Ryan Coogler had more to celebrate at the Academy Awards besides the three wins for his blockbuster superhero movie Black Panther. The 32-year-old director walked the red carpet Sunday with his wife Zinzi Evans, 33, displaying a baby bump. Zinzi announced her pregnancy in style wearing a long, sleeveless black maternity dress with a plunging neckline. New addition: Ryan Coogler and wife Zinzi Evans revealed her pregnancy on the red carpet Sunday at the 91st annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles She also donned a clinging maternity dress that showed her bump earlier this month while attending the Writers Guild of America Award ceremony where Ryan was co-nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. Zinzi's hairstylist Alexander Armand shared a photo on Instagram before they headed to the Writers Guild Awards. The couple have been married since 2016 and this will be the first child for both of them. Ryan and Joe Robert Cole were nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the WGAs for the Black Panther screenplay based on the Marvel Comics by creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Hit movie: The 32-year-old director, shown earlier this month in Los Angeles, directed and co-wrote the screenplay for the Marvel Studios blockbuster Black Panther Maternity wear: Zinzi also wore a maternity dress earlier this month while supporting Ryan at the Writers Guild of America Award ceremony They lost out to the screenplay writers of Can You Ever Forgive Me? based on the book by Lee Israel. Black Panther had seven nominations at the recent Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It won Oscars for Best Original Score, Best Costume Design and Best Production Design. Together again: Black Panther stars Michael B. Jordan, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Zinzi and Ryan got together on the red carpet at the Oscars Ryan will return as director and writer for the Black Panther sequel currently in development. He also will produce the upcoming sequel Space Jam 2 featuring Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, 34. Zinzi like Ryan was born in Oakland, California and they started dating when he was in college. Cute couple: Zinzi and Ryan, shown in January in Palm Springs, California, have been married since 2016 21 Charged in Joint McCracken Drug Investigation By West Kentucky Star Staff PADUCAH - Authorities in McCracken County have charged 21 people with drug and other offenses in a joint investigation with the the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that spanned about two weeks.The McCracken County Sheriff's Office says on Feb. 13 sheriff's and DEA detectives searched homes on Virginia and Mississippi Streets in Paducah. Detectives reportedly found more than 80 grams of crystal methamphetamine, marijuana, a stolen handgun and $7,600 in cash. Deputies arrested 29-year-old Patrick Owens Monday on charges of first-degree meth trafficking, receiving a stolen handgun and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.Three days later deputies stopped a vehicle and reportedly found meth inside. They arrested 35-year-old Jodi Gainey, 56-year-old Monty Turner and 55-year-old Kenny Cooper. Deputies said Turner and Gainey gave them false names, and were wanted on probation and bail jumping charges. Turner and Gainey were both charged with first-degree possession of meth and giving an officer false identifying information. Cooper was additionally charged with first degree possession of meth.Deputies executed a search warrant on Feb. 19 at a home on Flora Avenue where they reportedly found 12.7 grams of meth, marijuana, scales and other items of drug paraphernalia. They arrested 52-year-old Lex Thornton and 30-year-old Meghan Romaine on charges of meth trafficking, possession of drug paraphernalia, tampering with physical evidence and third-degree possession of a controlled substance. They also charged Thornton with menacing, resisting arrest and marijuana possession.Deputies searched a South 19th Street home on Feb. 20 and reportedly found meth, a handgun and Pseudoephedrine pills, drug paraphernalia and marijuana. During a search of another vehicle at a different home they reportedly found 235 grams of meth and drug paraphernalia. Deputies arrested 42-year-old Sue Ann Tramble, 49-year-old Douglas Jones and 34-year-old Dale Lynn. Jones is charged with first-degree trafficking in meth, two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, marijuana trafficking, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, carrying a concealed weapon and driving with a suspended or revoked license. Tramble was charged with first-degree possession of meth, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana and public intoxication. Lynn was charged with first-degree meth trafficking, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving with a suspended or revoked license.Detectives from Marshall and McCracken County were watching a home the same day on U.S. 68 in Marshall County when they saw a vehicle leave and pulled it over. During a search of the vehicle, deputies reportedly found meth, and arrested Jamie Tubbs for meth possession. They also served a search warrant at a home on Brian Lane in Marshall County, where they found meth, marijuana, drug paraphernalia and $8,500 in cash. Deputies arrested April Novetske at the home, and said they intercepted a package intended for Novetske that contained more than a kilo of meth.On Feb. 21 deputies executed a search warrant at a home on Sheehan Bridge Road. There they found crystal meth, paraphernalia and a drug ledger. They arrested 55-year-old Thomas Downs on charges of first-degree meth trafficking, possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to notify the department of transportation of an address change.The next day deputies charged 32-year-old Brian Wilson, 30-year-old Jamie Bailey and 23-year-old Justin Crabtree following a search of an apartment on New Holt Road that revealed meth, paraphernalia, and marijuana. Both Bailey and Wilson were arrested on charges of possession of meth and drug paraphernalia. Bailey was also arrested on an outstanding Calloway County warrant. Crabtree was cited to court on charges of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Deputies also arrested 38-year-old Timothy Cossey, 38-year-old Karen Lewis, 57-year-old James Williams and 47-year-old Michael Ezell after executing a search warrant at a Kinkead Street home that revealed meth, drug paraphernalia, and a gun. They charged all three suspects with possession of meth and drug paraphernalia. Cossey was also wanted in McCracken County for a contempt of court charge. Lewis and Williams were also wanted for failure to appear. Deputies also cited 27-year-old Beatrice Ford, 33-year-old John Tucker and 45-year-old James Mullins on marijuana and drug paraphernalia possession charges. Parking tickets can be particularly expensive in Los Angeles. But the fine didn't seem to bother Ben Affleck so much when he received a dreaded citation in Brentwood on Tuesday. The actor, 46, actually seemed rather upbeat as he chatted with parking enforcement, who was busy issuing him the ticket. That's the ticket! Ben Affleck didn't seem to mind getting a parking ticket during a coffee run in Brentwood on Tuesday The star even had a smile on his face as he approached the officer during a coffee run. Ben appeared to have run into the officer after she had already issued him a ticket, which was tucked beneath his car's windshield wiper. She was still inspecting his vintage Chevy Chevelle with a handheld device by the time Ben had arrived after picking up an iced coffee. It's never fun getting a parking ticket, but Ben seemed to be in good spirits as he waited patiently for parking enforcement to finish writing him the ticket. What's this? Ben didn't seem bothered at all by the fine Coffee break: The Argo actor was enjoying an iced coffee when he received the ticket Can't ruin his day: The actor could not hide his smile even while receiving the costly parking ticket The Batman Begins actor looked casual and cool for his coffee run. Ben opted for a plain black top underneath a fitted bomber jacket. He teamed the look with grey chino pants and a pair of sneakers of the same color. Pep in his step: The star made his way towards the scene after picking up a cup of Joe Let's get this show on the road: The woman carefully tucked the ticket beneath the windshield wiper Man of style: The Batman Begins actor looked casual and cool for his coffee run It really hasn't been the best week for Ben and his vehicles, with his Range Rover towed on Monday after two of his tires popped. But amid all the drama Ben's personal life is rumored to be soaring, allegedly reconciling with ex-girlfriend Lindsay Shookus. Lindsay and Ben were spotted this weekend on a Starbucks run in Los Angeles before he drove her off in a gleaming black Bentley. Not what he was expecting: Affleck returned to his car to learn he'd received a parking ticket Caught out: As he returned back to his car, he was greeted by a parking attendant who appeared to be writing him up a ticket Casual: Ben opted for a plain black top underneath a fitted bomber jacket The Argo director and Lindsay were together nearly a year before their breakup last summer, shortly before he entered rehab again. A source told People: 'They are hanging out again.' 'They have been for over a month now. They still enjoy each others company.' Another source told the magazine that the duo aren't interested in rekindling a 'full-blown' romance just yet and are more focused on their careers and families. Standby: The actor waited patiently for the officer to finish writing the ticket Coffee run: Ben had his phone out when he returned to the car following his quick stop Will it come in threes? And it really hasn't been the best week for Ben and his vehicles, with his Range Rover towed on Monday after two of his tires popped New-York based Lindsay is mom to daughter Madeline, six, with ex-husband Kevin Miller. 'He really enjoys spending time with her but his focus will remain his kids and family,' the insider said. 'I think hes always been interested in seeing where his relationship with Lindsay could go, but these are two people who are very focused on their families and that distance between New York and L.A. is difficult sometimes.' Ben split from his ex-wife Jennifer Garner split in 2015 after almost 10 years of marriage and co-parent three children together; Violet, 13, Seraphina, 10, Samuel, six. Her new film is the second horror movie in a row for the young actress. Chloe Grace Moretz, 22, arrived in Hollywood on Tuesday for a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live to plug her new thriller, Greta. The blonde beauty was unmissable in her striking red sweater. Hot look: Chloe Grace Moretz, 22, arrived in Hollywood on Tuesday for a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live to plug her new thriller, Greta The 5ft4in former child star displayed a sultry look with her scarlet sweater, which she pulled down to show off some shoulder. The sweater featured thick lines of metallic studs running up the arms. It looked to be part of a set with her navy blue jeans, which also featured the same metallic stripes. Center of attention: The blonde beauty was unmissable in her striking red sweater Chloe had on a pair of black open-toe heels, and her long, wavy blonde hair fluttered in the breeze. Before arriving, she shared a photo of herself to her Instagram Stories. '@jimmykimmellive here I come!!! Watch me TONIGHT!!' she wrote over a picture of herself in the car. Edgy styled: The 5ft4in former child star displayed a sultry look with her scarlet sweater, which she pulled down to show off some shoulder. The sweater featured thick lines of metallic studs running up the arms Coordinated outfit: It looked to be part of a set with her navy blue jeans, which also featured the same metallic stripes Getting ready: Before arriving, she shared a photo of herself to her Instagram Stories. '@jimmykimmellive here I come!!! Watch me TONIGHT!!' she wrote over a picture of herself in the car Chloe was visiting the late-night talk show to promote her new chiller, Greta. She stars in the film as Frances, who attempts to do a good deed by returning a lost purse to Greta, played by French film icon Isabelle Huppert. Frances, who recently lost her mother, initially gravitates toward the maternal stand-in, but their relationship becomes increasingly treacherous as she discovers Greta's twisted secrets. After her TV appearance, Chloe graciously paused to sign autographs for adoring fans before departing. Making the rounds: Chloe was visiting the late-night talk show to promote her new chiller, Greta Twisted relationship: She stars in the film as Frances, who attempts to do a good deed by returning a lost purse to Greta, played by French film icon Isabelle Huppert. Frances, who recently lost her mother, initially gravitates toward the maternal stand-in, but their relationship becomes increasingly treacherous as she discovers Greta's twisted secrets Class act: After her TV appearance, Chloe graciously paused to sign autographs for adoring fans before departing Making her mark: Chloe put her John Hancock on some photos from enthusiastic fans Busy busy: Chloe's talk show appearance came after a long awards-themed weekend Chloe's coming off a long awards-themed weekend. On Sunday, she rubbed elbows with Hollywood's biggest stars at the elite Vanity Fair Oscars after-party. The lace and sequin-dotted gown sparkled among the glitterati. High society: On Sunday, she rubbed elbows with Hollywood's biggest stars at the elite Vanity Fair Oscars after-party Hypnotizing look: The lace and sequin-dotted gown sparkled among the glitterati Stellar stars: On Saturday, Chloe showed off her low-cut dress and flared sleeves while supporting her Suspiria remake at the Independent Spirit Awards. She starred in the witch-centric horror epic with Dakota Johnson (M) and Mia Goth (R) On Saturday, Chloe showed off her low-cut dress and flared sleeves while supporting her Suspiria remake at the Independent Spirit Awards. She starred in the witch-centric horror epic with Dakota Johnson and Mia Goth, both of whom were also in attendance. The film was the follow-up for Oscar-nominated director Luca Guadagnino. His previous film, the coming-of-age romance Call Me By Your Name, was a contender for Best Picture at the 2018 Academy Awards. Chloe can be seen in Greta when it's released in the US on March 1. She's channeled her love of food into a successful kitchen and tabletop collection in addition to writing multiple cookbooks. And Chrissy Teigen was sure to enjoy the cuisine at one of the hottest Italian restaurants in town as she left Il Pastaio in Beverly Hills on Tuesday afternoon. The 33-year-old connoisseur rocked a chic black ensemble for the late lunch before taking to Instagram to show off her budding foodie daughter Luna. No reservations: Chrissy Teigen was sure to enjoy the cuisine at one of the hottest Italian restaurants in town as she left Il Pastaio in Beverly Hills on Tuesday afternoon Teigen covered up in the brisk weather wearing a long sheer duster with a black tank top and matching cargo pants. She added inches to her supermodel frame with a towering pair of heels featuring black leather straps wrapped around her ankles and pant legs. The mother-of-two carried a black purse with a small silver chain draped across her shoulder with hoop earrings peering out from her freshly dyed blonde hair. All black everything: The 33-year-old connoisseur rocked a chic ensemble for the late lunch before taking to Instagram to show off her budding foodie daughter Luna Whisked away: She's channeled her love of food into a successful kitchen and tabletop collection in addition to writing multiple cookbooks 'New color ... thank you Tracey Cunningham,' she said on her Instagram Stories. 'I love it ... good call on the blonder.' While Chrissy is building quite the food empire, she's also helping her almost three-year-old daughter Luna create an impeccable palate. Teigen shared a sweet video of the little girl slurping up glass noodles like a pro, as she boasted 'so proud' in the caption. Later in the day, the ladies were back in the kitchen for a fashionable round of desserts with little Luna decked out in a pink princess gown. Yum! While Chrissy is building quite the food empire, she's also helping her almost three-year-old daughter Luna create an impeccable palate Good eats: Teigen shared a sweet video of the little girl slurping up glass noodles like a pro, as she boasted 'so proud' in the caption Adorable: Later in the day, the ladies were back in the kitchen for a fashionable round of desserts with little Luna decked out in a pink princess gown Taste-tester: Chrissy asked her baby girl what they were doing as she excitedly explained they were 'making cupcakes' Chrissy asked her baby girl what they were doing as she excitedly explained they were 'making cupcakes.' 'I want to do this topping,' she told her mom before sprinkling white sugar crystals on the cupcake to a rousing 'good job' from Teigen. She released the Cravings by Chrissy Teigen collection exclusively with Target in September, which featured cast iron Dutch ovens, serving ware, cutlery and glasses, to name a few of the affordable items. Her first cookbook, Cravings: Recipes for All of the Food You Want to Eat, debuted in February 2016 and became a New York Times bestseller, with a coveted follow-up, Cravings: Hungry for More, released in September. She'll celebrate six years of wedded bliss with husband John Legend in September, and the couple welcomed son Miles in May. Put a mermaid on it! Luna sprinkled white sugar crystals on the cupcake to a rousing 'good job' from Teigen She soared to public recognition last year when she was crowned the winner of Love Island with beau Jack Fincham. And Dani Dyer has now detailed her whirlwind year in a candid interview for the April issue of Cosmopolitan, in which she addresses allegations of a showmance and the relationship advice she has received from her parents - Danny Dyer and Joanne Mas. Proving that she is already rubbing shoulders with Hollywood celebrities, the reality star, 22, also discusses her unlikely friendship with Millie Bobby Brown as she stuns in an accompanying photoshoot. Spilling the beans: Dani Dyer has now detailed her whirlwind year in a candid interview for the April issue of Cosmopolitan, in which she addresses allegations of a showmance Swapping out her bikinis and scanty partygear, Dani looks incredible in a slew of chic monochrome looks as she strikes a series of sensational poses. In the interview, Dani discussed sceptics of her romance with Jack, confessing: 'Ive had messages calling me fake, or saying I only got to where I am because of my dad, or articles saying [Jack and I are] going to split up. It hurts because its not true.' 'Im 22 and this isnt a normal situation that Im dealing with. I dont know what money they think weve got together but were not David and Victoria! 'Were not a brand. Im my own woman, my own person,' she passionately revealed. 'It hurts because its not true': In the interview, Dani discussed sceptics of her romance with Jack Smitten: Dani and Jack are the only remaining couple from the last season of Love Island Speaking of what her mum and dad had taught her about relationships, Dani stated: 'They taught me never to give up when it comes to your relationship. No relationship is easy and theyve been through it all.' Dani revealed that her mum would 'never' let her read things about them in the press growing up. 'I remember when I was growing up and started realising what the press is. You always know when your parents are arguing, but when things about them splitting up would be in the papers, that was sh*t because I was young.' With her and Jack being the only remaining couple from the last season, Dani looked at the future, admitting in five years' time, she 'want to be married or at least engaged, but I want a solid career before I have a baby. 'They taught me never to give up': Dani also revealed the relationship advice she has received from her parents - Danny Dyer and Joanne Mas 'If in a few years I was happy and wanted one, then why not? Jacks 27 this year so hell be saying, "Come on!"' Meanwhile, her reality TV success has caught the eye of teen Millie Bobby Brown, who has earned herself a legion of fans thanks to her role in Stranger Things. On being famous and in the celebrity world, Dani joyfully confessed: 'I mean, Millie Bobby Brown messages me saying she wants to meet up. Shes only 14, where would I take her? 'Shes only 14, where would I take her?' Her reality TV success has caught the eye of teen Millie Bobby Brown, who has earned herself a legion of fans thanks to her role in Stranger Things 'I nearly invited her to a family party because I just wanted to meet her! In the celebrity world, they start giving you this nod because they know who you are like youre allowed in the gang. 'But Ive got my gang. Theres nothing like the girls youve been mates with for years who know the real you. The only difference now is that I have to have my wits about me and always think before I do anything,' she concluded. The full interview appears in the April 2019 issue of Cosmopolitan, on sale Thursday 28th February. Bronson Norrish was accused of using Married At First Sight as a platform to promote his boat business on Tuesday. However, his co-stars Daniel Webb and Tamara Joy have come out in defence of the MAFS groom's character. Speaking to Who magazine on Wednesday, Tamara, 29, said: 'I don't know my vibe from him personally - in the short time that I met with him was that he was a pretty genuine kind of guy.' Scroll down for video 'He was pretty genuine': MAFS' Daniel Webb and Tamara Joy defended Bronson Norrish (pictured) over accusations he was fame hungry on Wednesday 'Yeah, he's so nice. I said hello to him a couple times,' added Daniel, 35. However, the duo did not address claims that Bronson's main motive on the Channel Nine show was to promote his boat business. In an Instagram post on Tuesday, former MAFS 'bride' Scarlett Cooper, 31, posted a Facebook exchange that allegedly took place between Bronson and a former flame. Speaking to Who magazine on Wednesday, Tamara (left), 29, said: 'I don't know my vibe from him personally - in the short time that I met with him was that he was a pretty genuine kind of guy.' 'Yeah, he's so nice. I said hello to him a couple times,' added Daniel (right) Naughty but nice? However, the duo did not address claims that Bronson's main motive on MAFS was to promote his boat business In the messages, Bronson, 35, appears to confirm that he was only on the show to promote his boat business - Party Boat Charters. 'Not doing it for meeting someone. Just the publicity for my boats. #cheeky. And yes I know I am definitely missing out on someone great here,' Bronson allegedly wrote. Scarlett, who appeared on season four of the program, did not name the woman who Bronson allegedly sent the jaw-dropping message to. 'It's just for publicity for my boats': Former MAFS star Scarlett Cooper revealed bombshell messages from Bronson (2-L) on Tuesday which suggest he only went on MAFS to promote his business Bombshell: Scarlett (left), who appeared on season four of MAFS, shared the Facebook exchange which allegedly took place between Bronson and a former flame. Pictured right is Scarlett's ex Michael Shocking: In the Facebook exchange, Bronson appears to have admitted he only went on MAFS for publicity 'Not his ex, another victim of Bronson (laughing emoji). Will the real Bronson please stand up,' Scarlett wrote on the Facebook post. Bronson hit back at Scarlett's claims on Tuesday, accusing her of making up a 'fake' story just for her own personal gain. Taking to Facebook, Bronson shared a private chat he had with the fiery blonde, where she asked for a free ticket to his boat cruise. 'The whole thing, fake or not, people believe it. Well if there's a ticket I will come and say hi, because I go back to Sydney and then LA,' she wrote to him. She continued: 'If there's a ticket and you don't mind I'll come and say hi, or I'll say hi after you dock? Would be good to meet you Bronson!' Bronson then posted the slew of private comments along with an insightful comment. 'When someone makes up a fake story' Bronson hit back at Scarlett's claims on Tuesday, accusing her of making up a 'fake' story just for her own personal gain 'When it's your birthday and you try to be nice,' he wrote. 'When someone asks for free ticket... and it's still not good enough so they make up a fake story?' he added. It was the controversial leg rub that sparked a physical brawl between two wives on Tuesday's episode of Married at First Sight. And as viewers continue to speculate about what actually happened between Jessika Power and Nic Jovanovic, Martha Kalifatidis has revealed that a second groom was also caught in the drama. 'Ok so what you guys don't see...,' she told Kyle and Jackie O on Wednesday. Simply irresistible? Jessika Power (pictured) has been accused of telling a co-star on MAFS that Sam Ball inappropriately touched her legs under the table at a dinner party... after she accused Cyrell Paule's 'husband' Nic Jovanovic of doing the same thing 'So at the dinner party, Jess came up to me and she said to me (she was really drunk)... she started off by saying "Oh my God Sam [Ball] just touched my leg!" 'Now Sam was sitting right next to me, I go "Sam did you touch her leg?" [He] goes "no". I go "Jess what are you talking about, he hasn't touched you?" She goes "Oh babe sorry, it wasn't Sam... it was Nic".' The Kim Kardashian wannabe went on to claim that Jess, who is 'married' to farmer Mick Gould, told her that Nic rubbed her legs in a flirtatious way, despite him denying it on the show. Leg-gate: Martha Kalifatidis claims Jessika first accused Sam Ball (right) of inappropriate touching then said it was actually Nic (left) 'It'll all come out, everyone will see the truth,' Martha said matter-of-factly. 'I'm not going to lie, Nic isn't what we all see and think he is... [this] probably has been admitted [on the show] but you don't see everything. There's 14 hours of filming and you see 90 minutes. Nic had ulterior motives.' On Tuesday, viewers watched as Nic's wife, Cyrell Paule, furiously confronted Jessika and Martha about rumours surrounding Nic and Jessika. Flirty rub: Nic acknowledged that while he did rub Jessika's leg with his foot, it was not a sexual gesture, however, Jessika, who is married to Mick Gould (right), told TV Week on Tuesday that is not the case Nic acknowledged that while he did rub Jessika's leg with his foot, it was not a sexual gesture, however, Jessika told TV Week on Tuesday that is not the case. 'Nic rubbed my leg under the table with his leg. I told Ines [Basic] and Martha at the time because I didn't know if it was sexual or not,' 'There had been some sort of flirtation going on with Nic and I, but I always passed it off as quite childish.' She often delights fans with her racy outfits on social media. And on Tuesday, Iggy Azalea was back to her old tricks when she flaunted her enviable figure in a bold ensemble. Putting on a revealing display, the busty rapper, 28, struck a sultry pose in a photograph shared to Instagram. Daring beauty! Iggy Azalea (pictured) put on a revealing display as she flashed her enviable figure in this sheer jumpsuit and skintight latex corset in a photo shared to Instagram on Tuesday The Fancy rapper looked simply sensational in a sheer black jumpsuit and latex corset. Showing off her curvaceous figure and trim pins thanks to the attire's transparency, Iggy also wore a skimpy black bodysuit underneath. She completed the striking look with a pair of black boots and wore her silky blonde tresses straight. Hot! Showing off her curvaceous figure and trim pins thanks to the attire's transparency, Iggy also wore this skimpy black bodysuit underneath Her glamorous makeup look consisted of dark smokey eye shadow, a chiselled visage and a pop of nude lipstick. The sizzling snap comes after Iggy, who is dating 22-year-old hip hop star Playboi Carti, dropped a major hint recently that she is about to release new music. The Black Widow hitmaker has been an unsigned artist since November, but shared a video to Instagram earlier this month of herself lip-syncing to an unreleased track. New tunes? It comes after the Australian-born star dropped a major hint recently that she is about to release new music In the clip, she danced suggestively in a denim mini skirt and matching cropped jacket while spitting rhymes. In November 2018, Iggy announced she had parted ways with Island Records after just nine months with the label. In a series of tweets, the Mo Bounce star said she was 'elated' to be a free agent. 'I'm officially unsigned!' she wrote. '[It's] wild you spend so long trying to get in a record deal... [I] never thought I'd be so elated to be out of one.' 'Now I'm free to release whatever kind of music I like, whenever I'd like!' Cyrell Paule's explosive showdown with Martha Kalifatidis shocked Married At First Sight viewers across Australia on Tuesday. But the 29-year-old hinted to 9 Honey Celebrity that there was more to the incident than meets the eye. 'There's two sides to every story and the truth eventually comes out,' she told the online publication. 'Just because someone looks so sweet and innocent doesn't mean they really are': Married At First Sight's Cyrell Paule hinted to 9Honey Celebrity on Tuesday that there may have been more than meets the eye to her explosive clash with co-star Martha Kalifatidis 'For me, basically, if I don't like you chances are I'll never like you. I'm the type of person that I will forgive a certain incident, but I won't forget it, and people's true characteristics definitely will come out,' the health consultant explained. 'People get judged so much on how they look, and just because someone and maybe I'm not referring just to Martha when I say this but just because someone looks so sweet and innocent doesn't mean they really are.' On Tuesday's episode, a producer was forced to step in and drag Cyrell away from Martha after she aggressively grabbed her by her bathrobe and yelled at her. The confrontation occurred after Cyrell found out Martha had asked Nic Jovanovic about a rumour that he'd touched Jessika Power's leg at the last dinner party. Confrontation: On Tuesday's episode, a producer was forced to step in and drag Cyrell away from Martha (right) after she aggressively grabbed her by her bathrobe and yelled at her Upset: A furious Cyrell then packed her bags and fled the show while telling her 'husband' Nic Jovanovic (right) to 'get the f*** away from me' Speaking to Martha about the rumour, Cyrell raged: 'I'm just going to be straight up and frank with you, I genuinely don't like you. As things became heated, Martha responded, 'B****, if you f***ing swear at me,' prompting Cyrell to grab her. Cyrell even went as far as throwing a large ceramic fruit bowl at Martha, her husband Michael and camera crew, before storming out. Forced to make amends: She was later sat down by expert John Aitken (left), who demanded she apologised to Martha Lacklustre apology: Cyrell returned to Martha's apartment, making a lacklustre sorry: 'I am apologising for my aggression and breaking your bowl, I am not apologising for what I said' A furious Cyrell then packed her bags and fled the show while telling her 'husband' Nic to 'get the f*** away from me'. She was later sat down by expert John Aitken, who demanded she apologised to Martha. Cyrell returned to Martha's apartment, making a lacklustre sorry: 'I am apologising for my aggression and breaking your bowl, I am not apologising for what I said.' Married At First Sight continues Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel Nine Advertisement With two British TV streaming firms surpassing the one million mark with the number of subscribers, one travel company is offering a pricey tour appealing to square-eyed anglophiles. US-based Transcendent Travel is offering a one-week excursion taking people to UK film sets, with the trip priced at $6,495 (4,883). The itinerary includes a visit to Highclere Castle in Hampshire, the set of Downton Abbey, a tour of all of the Midsomer Murders sites in the Oxfordshire village of Dorchester-on-Thames and a stop in Port Isaac, the Cornwall fishing village made famous by Doc Martin. Transcendent Travel is offering a one-week tour taking people to UK film sets, with the trip priced at $6,495 (4,883). The itinerary includes a visit to Highclere Castle in Hampshire, the set of Downton Abbey For Poirot fans, there is a trip to the Greenaway Estate in Devon, which was the former holiday home of the Belgian detective's creator, Agatha Christie. And if you're hooked on Sky One's comedy crime drama Agatha Raisin, there's a chance to slink through the picturesque Cotswold village of Biddestone, where the series is set. Acorn TV and BritBox, which are competing firms offering classic UK programming to North American subscribers, have collectively amassed more than one million users in the past couple of years. Andrew Lannerd, a self-confessed anglophile from Indiana who founded Transcendent Travel in 2013, says this increased viewership means his tours are more popular than ever. The TV-themed tour calls in at Port Isaac, the Cornwall fishing village made famous by Doc Martin Travellers on the tour will get the opportunity to wander around all of the Midsomer Murders sites in the Oxfordshire village of Dorchester-on-Thames He told The Times: '[My clients are] looking for something that is very different than their day-to-day lives. 'I think that there's so much turmoil in the U.S. that it's a kind of escape.' Lannerd designs TV-themed trips on behalf of Acorn TV and says wealthy elderly women form his main client base. His Best of Acorn TV 7 Day Tour of England is now in its third year. If you're hooked to Sky One's comedy crime drama Agatha Raisin, there's a chance to slink through the picturesque Cotswold village of Biddestone where the series is set, during the TV tour It costs $6,495 (4,883) for seven days, excluding flights, or $5,495 (4,132) per person, per couple. There are around 25 to 30 people in each tours and along with meals, transport and accommodation is provided. Perks include behind-the-scenes tours of some sets and promised 'meet-and-greets' with cast members. Lannerd, whose love of the UK started when he studied British history, added: 'Most of my clients have been to the UK before but they will have just done London.' A family claim they were left in tears after their dream 11,600 Tui holiday turned into a nightmare. Tim Hill, his wife Becky and their three children Freddie, Macey and Jonjo, jetted to the Dominican Republic in December to spend Christmas at the Riu Bambu hotel in Punta Cana. However, when they got there, the family from Buckinghamshire say they found cockroaches in their room, a dirty pool area that hadn't appeared to have been cleaned and drunk people vomiting in the hotel reception. The pool at the Riu Bambu hotel in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic where the Hill family stayed over Christmas. They said that the pool area was dirty and littered with cigarette ends The family paid 11,600 for the two-week holiday last December. They claim that the pool deck was filthy with dirt and spilled drinks And after the family also came down with a sickness bug while at hotel, Mr Hill says the holiday totally ruined their Christmas. He told MailOnline Travel: 'I'm a pretty well grounded, level headed person but even I was close to tears during this holiday. 'It totally ruined our Christmas, we felt like we were robbed of our Christmas. At one point all we wanted to do was just come home.' The family had booked the holiday at the Tui store in Uxbridge and say they were assured that even though the Riu Bambu was not a five star hotel, it was still a good four star resort. However, when they came to board their Tui flight to the Dominican Republic, Mr Hill says none of the TV screens were working on their upgraded seats - leaving his three children without anything to watch during the nine hour flight. Once they reached the hotel, they say their room had a broken safety deposit box, a bathroom door that came off the hinges, which on one occasion locked his wife in the toilet, and bed sheets that weren't clean. The family had booked the holiday at the Tui store in Uxbridge and say they were assured that even though the Riu Bambu was not a five star hotel, it was still a good four star resort. Pictured is the bathroom in the family's room. Mr Hill said his wife got locked in the bathroom as the door was broken Mr Hill's son discovered a cockroach in their room at the Riu Bambu hotel which he captured under a glass The family also discovered that the in-room hairdryer at their hotel was also broken They also say that they kept receiving early morning wake-up calls to their room at 4am - even though they did not ask for them. In the restaurant, Mr Hill claims that the food was just reheated from the day before, and the deck around the pool area was constantly dirty with cigarette butts and hair in the water. He also says that the pool was also full of big groups of young people playing loud music on boomboxes and that in the hotel reception area there were numerous drunk people vomiting onto the floor. Mr Hill, who works as a landscaper, explained: 'It felt like it was an 18-30 holiday rather than a family holiday. 'When people were throwing up drunk in reception, you'd expect the staff to do something fairly quickly as there were children present. The family say that the pool was also full of big groups of young people playing loud music on boomboxes The Hill family say that in the hotel reception area they saw numerous drunk people who were vomiting onto the floor Mr Hill with his wife Becky and three children Freddie, Macey and Jonjo. He says his family were left in tears during the holiday 'But they were just leaving them there and were just walking past and ignoring it. 'It was quite intimidating for families really.' After consistently complaining to the Tui rep in the resort, the Hill family were given access to the nearby Riu Palace hotel to use its swimming pool and restaurant for the second week of their holiday. But Mr Hill refuses to accept that allowing them to use the neighbouring resort is adequate compensation and says so far Tui have not been responsive to his complaint. He added: 'We book consistently year on year with Tui and Im a loyal customer. 'But when theres a problem, Tui dont want to know. Tui said weve had compensation they are referring to the second week where my family were in tears and they gave us wrist bands for the hotel next door. 'But I believe we should have the full cost of our holiday back and compensation for what happened. My family were traumatised.' A spokesperson for Tui said: 'Were sorry to hear of Mr Hills experience. 'While we did try to resolve some of the issues raised in resort, we will be looking at the case once again and will contact the customer directly to discuss further.' A spokesperson for Riu Hotels told MailOnline Travel that it has no complaints registered in its internal data system against the Riu Bambu by Mr Hill. They also added that when they do receive complaints, they reply to all customers' correspondence. Mercy Health Offers Free Day Camp for Children By WestKyStar & Mercy Health Staff For the past 14 years, Mercy Health - Hospice has offered Camp Robin, a day camp that provides support and counseling to children affected by the loss of a loved one or friend. This years camp will be on Saturday, March 23 from 9 am to 2 pm at Heartland Church. Registration begins at 8:45 am. Camp Robin consists of therapeutic activities in a fun, safe environment to help children (ages 4-17) deal with grief. The camp is offered free to children and their parents or guardians living in Western Kentucky and Southern Illinois. Campers will enjoy Animal Tales, a free lunch, arts and crafts, story and letter writing time and a memorial ceremony with a balloon send-off at 1:45 pm to end the day. Sessions available for parents or guardians that will be offered include How to Help Yourself and Helping Children Grieve. We continually work to improve our camp and the techniques that will most benefit those who attend, says Shannah D. Poindexter, Community Relationship Manager. Our teen program, like the other age grouped sessions, focuses on specific needs that teens face. Just being around others your same age who have experienced loss enables an open atmosphere and the understanding that I am not alone. This year we have a group of teen volunteers who will help and further enhance the idea of kids helping kids. Camp Robin was named to honor a Mercy Health - Hospice patient who passed away in the fall of 2005; she died at the tender age of thirteen. For registration information or volunteer opportunities, contact Shannah Poindexter at 270-415-3636 or spoindexter@mercy.com or stop by Mercy Health Hospice, Paducah at 911 Joe Clifton Dr. or register online at www.mercy.com/camprobin. PADUCAH - Mercy Health - Hospice, Paducah is committed to providing support for both patients and their families during times of transition, illness, death and grief. The name Champneys conjures up a vision of English luxury a country house set in manicured lawns with guests wandering about in fluffy bathrobes. But now Britain's oldest health resort has launched something a little different a floating spa, Champneys-on-sea, if you will. It's on the Marella Explorer, an 860ft cruise ship which I join in Livorno, Italy. Champneys-on-sea: The spa has steam rooms, Turkish baths and the 'biggest sauna afloat' As a cruise novice, the sheer size and bustle are overwhelming. The pool is fringed with tightly packed rows of sunloungers, their occupants bronzing under the cloudless sky as children dash from the water to the snack bar and back again. This particular poolside will spend the summer trundling from one gorgeous Mediterranean city to another, offering the perks of a city break without the planning. And, of course, there's a spa with all the trimmings a few steps from my cabin. At nearly 10,000 sq ft, it's spacious, decked out in a mix of soothing, neutral tones and sea-blue tiles. If you're a fan of Champneys on shore, you'll feel at home every effort has been made to reproduce the understated atmosphere of the original, down to the wicker swing chairs in the relaxing room. Treatment prices are the same, too, while a day pass costs 15. Star sailing: There is also an open-air pool and ten restaurants, serving adventurous cuisine It's the perfect place to unwind after a morning exploring. Our first stop is Villefranche on the French Cote D'Azur, then into neighbouring Monaco, where you can while away your time in the pretty streets and fritter your money at the casino. Since high stakes aren't my thing, I visit the Oceanographic Museum, home to an aquarium and some opulent decor who wouldn't love a chandelier in the shape of a many-tentacled octopus? There's opulence on board, too, with ten restaurants to choose from. An 'experimental tasting menu' offers lobster with leeks and star anise. Sticky dumplings at the sushi restaurant are another highlight. As for the spa, it has all the fluffy robes you could desire, glorious views out to sea and a huge range of treatments. Fancy itinerary: The ship stops at Villefranche on the Cote D'Azur and neighbouring Monaco One woman says she'll be topping up her Botox 'since no one at home will know'. And I'm surprised to see more men than women in the hair salon! They recommend a cooling leg treatment to counter all my walking ashore. But I feel I've earned a soothing 'Marella' massage, with movements that are supposed to feel like waves on your skin. I'm asleep in minutes. Naturally, there are steam rooms, Turkish baths and the 'biggest sauna afloat'. My only worry? Whether I'll be able to summon the energy to go ashore at the next port. Advertisement Boeing has unveiled a new autonomous fighter jet plane that's designed to be a sidekick for piloted planes and could take to the skies as soon as 2020. The unmanned drone, dubbed the 'Loyal Wingman,' is 38 feet long, has a 2,000 nautical mile range and is equipped with onboard sensors that enable it to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, as well as electronic warfare. It's particularly suited for long-distance surveillance missions that humans can't typically perform, according to the firm. Wingman may also be able to carry missiles or bombs at some point in the future. Boeing hopes to sell the planes to customers around the world, though for now it remains a prototype design. Scroll down for video THE 'LOYAL WINGMAN' FIGHTER JET 38ft-long unmanned aircraft Capable of flying more than 2,000 nautical miles Can fly alongside a F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Equipped to handle intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions Could one day carry bombs or missiles Set to take to the skies in 2020 Advertisement The aerospace giant revealed the drone, which it says is part of a new unmanned platform, called the Boeing Airpower Teaming System, at the Australian International Airshow on Tuesday. It's being developed in Australia as part of a classified program and marks the country's first domestically developed combat combat aircraft since World War II. Boeing claims that the fighter jet will cost a 'fraction' of a typical manned fighter, but declined to share what it will be priced at, noting that the number will vary depending on the jet specifications chosen by each buyer. Kristin Robertson, vice president and general manager of Boeing Autonomous Systems, said: 'It is operationally very flexible, modular, multi-mission. 'It is a very disruptive price point. Fighter-like capability at a fraction of the cost.' She declined to specify whether it could reach supersonic speeds, common for modern fighter aircraft. The aerospace giant revealed the drone, which it says is part of a new unmanned platform, called the Boeing Airpower Teaming System, at the Australian International Airshow on Tuesday. Pictured is a prototype version of the aircraft The drone, dubbed the 'Loyal Wingman,' is 38 feet long, has a 2,000 nautical mile range and is equipped with onboard sensors that enable it to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, as well as electronic warfare Boeing claims that the fighter jet will cost a 'fraction' of a typical manned fighter, but declined to share what it will be priced at, noting that the number will vary depending on the jet specifications chosen by each buyer Robertson described the Wingman as a 'force multiplier' for military units around the world that may need the extra manpower. 'With its ability to reconfigure quickly and perform different types of missions in tandem with other aircraft, our newest addition to Boeing's portfolio will truly be a force multiplier as it protects and projects air power,' she said. Four to six of the new aircraft can fly alongside a F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, said Shane Arnott, director of Boeing research and prototype arm Phantom Works International. Not only can the jets fly for longer periods than humans, but they're also capable of withstanding higher g-forces and has high-powered computers that can process large amounts of data quickly. 'To bring that extra component and the advantage of unmanned capability, you can accept a higher level of risk,' he said. 'It is better for one of these to take a hit than for a manned platform.' Further details of the 'Loyal Wingman' project remain scant but it's understood the primary purpose of the drone is to conduct electronic warfare and reconnaissance missions in 'risky' terrain. The UAV is said to be capable of flying up to several thousand kilometres, and can also carrying sensors or electronic warfare equipment on its underside. Boeing described the jet as a 'force multiplier' that can bulk up military units in need of manpower. The aircraft can be reconfigured based on each customer's needs and four to six of the new aircraft can fly alongside a F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Not only can the pilot-less jets fly for longer periods than humans, but they're also capable of withstanding higher g-forces. Boeing noted that they're equipped with high-powered computers that can process large amounts of data quickly The unmanned craft, which is roughly the size of a traditional jet fighter, was developed in Brisbane by aerospace giant Boeing. The Loyal Wingman is just a prototype right now, but could take to the skies as soon as 2020, according to the firm The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies in the United States said last year that the US Air Force should explore pairing crewed and uncrewed aircraft to expand its fleet and complement a limited number of 'exquisite, expensive, but highly potent fifth-generation aircraft' like the F-35. 'Human performance factors are a major driver behind current aerial combat practices,' the policy paper said. 'Humans can only pull a certain number of G's, fly for a certain number of hours, or process a certain amount of information at a given time.' The precise amount of investment the US firm has pumped into the endeavor remains unknown but it's believed to be the largest investment in UAVs outside the US. The Australian government is investing $28.75 million (A$40 million) in the prototype program due to its 'enormous capability for exports,' Minister for Defence Christopher Pyne told reporters at the Australian International Airshow. The drones could be used alongside existing Royal Australian Air Force aircraft such as the P-8A Poseidon. Shark attacks on people are becoming more common and research warns the trend will continue. The East Coast of the US and Southern Australia have seen attacks by the predators double in among the regions where attacks by the predators are most on the rise. Scientists have said that the risk of shark attacks is still 'low' and the likelihood changes depending on geographic location. Scroll down for video Experts found that shark attack rates, although extremely low, have doubled over the past 20 years in highly populated regions including the East Coast of the U.S. and Southern Australia (stock) Researchers conducted the first statistical analysis of shark attacks worldwide using data from 1960 to 2015 collated from the International Shark Attack File housed in the Florida Museum of Natural History. A spate of shark attacks in North Carolina in 2015 made study lead author Dr Stephen Midway curious about the frequency of the events. Dr Midway, an assistant professor at Louisiana State University, said: 'I was curious what the likelihood of shark attacks is in a certain number of years at different places around the world. 'While shark attacks are often reported in numbers, we factored in the regional human populations to determine the rate of shark attacks worldwide. 'I think this information could contribute to a more scientifically grounded discussion about sharks in general and help with the management and conservation of them.' Dr Midway and his colleagues applied time series models to shark attacks in 14 countries and further investigated specific regions within three countries that had the highest number of shark attacks: the US, Australia and South Africa. Dr Midway said: 'As development increases along the coast and in beach communities, more residents and tourists frequent these waters. 'With more people in the water, the chance for a shark attack increases. 'However, I must stress the fact that not all places across the globe saw an increase. 'And even in the places where we saw an increase, the chances were still one in several million.' A spate of shark attacks in North Carolina in 2015 made study lead author Dr Stephen Midway curious about the frequency of the events. He said: even in the places where we saw an increase, the chances were still one in several million' For example, from 1960 to 2015, there were 1,215 reported shark attacks in the US. Most of them resulted in minor skin injuries akin to a dog bite but 24, around two per cent, were fatal over the 55-year period. Study co-author George Burgess, director emeritus at the University of Florida, said: 'Humans have always demonised sharks because they are elusive and live in an environment that's not native to us - the sea. 'We would like people to know that these shark attack events need to be put into perspective whenever they occur. This study helps us step back and look at the big picture.' Other studies have shown that year-over-year variation in the number of shark attacks is often the result of a combination of several factors. For instance, the increased number of attacks in North Carolina in 2015 is now thought to be the result of a combination of factors, including a very warm summer. Dr Midway added: 'We ought to think of the risk of a shark attack like we would think of the risk of a car accident. 'For example, we don't assess our personal risk of getting into a car accident by the national statistics on car accidents year over year. 'We think about our specific car, the weather, the road conditions and other very local factors.' He said other variations include the number of people in the water and the type of water activity conducted at specific locations. Their findings were published in the journal PLOS One. Facebook's $1 billion acquisition of Instagram in 2012 is widely considered to be the smartest deal in the company's 15-year history. Not only did it expand Facebook's clout in the social media industry, but critics say it has helped elbow out competitors - something the firm may have intended to do all along, according to a new report. As it worked to finalize the deal, a Facebook executive reportedly said the tech titan was buying Instagram to kill a competitor, The New York Post reported, citing sources close to the situation. Scroll down for video A Facebook executive reportedly said the firm was acquiring Instagram to kill a competitor. It comes as Facebook faces fresh antitrust concerns over its decision to merge its family of apps It's unclear which Facebook executive was behind the comments, or which competitor they were referring to. Facebook faced pushback from Jon Leibowitz, who was chairman of the Federal Trade Commission at that time, over its Instagram deal, according to the Post. Leibowitz reportedly sought to squash the Instagram acquisition and pointed to the Facebook executive's comments toward rivals as a reason for why the deal would threaten competition among social media platforms. However, he lacked enough support to block the deal. The FTC ultimately approved Facebook's purchase of Instagram four months after it was first announced. The UK's Office of Fair Trading, which works with the FTC, said at the time that it approved the deal because Instagram didn't generate any revenue, while Google's ad business was a formidable competitor to Facebook's own, among other reasons. Mark Zuckerberg confirmed last month his efforts to merge the messaging functions of Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook. The move has already ignited antitrust concerns 'Under existing standards, there was probably not enough evidence to sue Facebook,' Herbert Hovenkamp, a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, told the Post. However, that may soon change with the creation of a new FTC task force. The FTC on Tuesday announced the launch of an antitrust task force that will focus on competition in the tech sector. It will include officials from the FTC's Bureau of Competition. The task force will examine deals that have already been approved, as well as prospective mergers. Bruce Hoffman, the director of the Bureau of Competition, said the task force will 'consider transactions that have occurred in the digital space in the past to determine if any of those might be good subjects for an investigation.' However, it will be up to regulators to prove that previous acquisitions have hurt competitors or harmed consumers. It comes as Facebook last month announced that it would merge Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp by letting users message one another across all the services. The move has sparked antitrust concerns among many experts. The announcement also coincided with a letter from advocacy groups calling on Facebook to 'unwind' its acquisitions of Instagram and popular messaging platform WhatsApp. Britain's only group of killer whales will die out because the females have been made sterile by chemical pollutants, scientists have said. Found off the west coast of Scotland, the eight whales are the UK' s only resident orca population have not produced a calf in 25 years. The researchers believe that this is because they have been exposed to catastrophic levels of chemicals that interfere with their hormones. The pod are now believed to be doomed to extinction because these chemicals have destroyed their ability to reproduce. Scroll down for video Britain's only group of killer whales will die out because the females have been made sterile by chemical pollutants, scientists have said (file photo) 'There's no way that this population can recover,' Dr Paul Jepson, of the Zoological Society of London, said. Experts have warned that these pollutants being dumped into Britain's landfill sites, rivers and seas that can affect the fertility and growth of wildlife. Marine biologists have been monitoring the pod, consisting of four males and four females, and have not seen any new animals enter the family. They're identifiable through marks and coloration on the parts of the body that are visible when they surface. Certain medications contain a complex compound known as Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs). The environmental impact of EDCs are not yet fully understood. One of these EDCs is a chlorine compound known as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) which can interfere with any aspect of hormone action. The seas around Europe are known to be a particular hotspot for PCBs, which are now mostly banned from use but take a long time to decay. Found off the west coast of Scotland, the eight whales are the UK' s only resident orca population have not produced a calf in 25 years (file photo) Killer whales are susceptible to high concentrations of contaminants because they are at the top of the oceanic food chain. PCBs are soluble in lipids, which include fats, oils and waxes, which it is thought that the females are thought to pass high levels down to their calves through the fatty milk that they produce. Professor John Sumpter of Brunel University told the Times that 2,000 new chemicals were being released every year. 'For a very large proportion of all the chemicals in everyday use, we know nothing about their toxicity or very little,' he said. 'There are huge gaps and it's very difficult to know how to fill them. It will take decades. Many people think that the gaps are getting wider.' A female killer whale found dead on the Isle of Tiree in Scotland in 2016 contained some the highest levels of PCBs ever recorded in a marine mammal. Professor Sumpter also told the Times that he fears that perfluorinated compounds used to make non-stick cooking equipment, will also remain in the environment for decades and may cause problems. 'We are still making the same sort of mistake we made with PCBs. But society wants us to have frying pans that eggs don't stick to,' he said. Those who subscribe to outrageous conspiracy theories are more likely to commit low-level crime, a new study has found. Belief in such ideas - like the theory that Princess Diana was murdered by the British establishment - has often been associated with negative outcomes such as political disengagement, prejudice, and environmental inaction. And now psychologists from the universities of Kent and Staffordshire suggest it can also make people more inclined to be involved in antisocial and 'unethical' acts. Scroll down for video Those who subscribe to outrageous conspiracy theories are more likely to commit low-level crime, a new study has found WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR CONSPIRACY THEORIES? Researchers say some of the most commonly held beliefs include: The Apollo moon landing was staged The CIA killed JFK. 9/11 was a plot by the U.S. government to justify a war in the Middle East President Barack Obama was not a natural born citizen The massacre at Sandy Hook elementary school was staged as a pretense for increased gun control The 'deep state' is trying to destroy Donald Trump's presidency Advertisement These actions include petty crime, such as trying to claim for replacement items, refunds or compensation from a shop when they were not entitled to do so. A second study showed that those who were exposed to conspiracy theories during the experiment were immediately more accepting of low-level crime. Professor Karen Douglas, of Kent's School of Psychology, said: 'People who believe in conspiracy theories - such as the theory that Princess Diana was murdered by the British establishment - are more likely to accept or engage in everyday criminal activity.' 'Our research has shown for the first time the role that conspiracy theories can play in determining an individuals attitude to everyday crime. 'It demonstrates that people subscribing to the view that others have conspired might be more inclined toward unethical actions. ' Dr Dan Jolley, of Staffordshire University, said: People believing in conspiracy theories are more likely to be accepting of everyday crime, while exposure to theories increases a feeling of anomie, which in turn predicts increased future everyday crime intentions. The study, entitled Belief in conspiracy theories and intentions to engage in everyday crime, and published in the British Journal of Social Psychology, was performed in two parts with separate groups of people. Belief in such ideas - like alien invasions - has often been associated with negative outcomes such as political disengagement, prejudice, and environmental inaction WHAT MAKES SOMEONE BELIEVE IN CONSPIRACY THEORIES? Over the course of three online-based studies, researchers at the University of Kent showed strong links between the belief in conspiracy theories and certain psychological traits. Narcissism and self-esteem levels have a large impact on a persons belief in conspiracy theories. The results showed that people who rated highly on the narcissism scale and who had low self-esteem were more likely to be conspiracy believers. However, while low self-esteem, narcissism and belief in conspiracies are strongly linked, it is not clear that one - or a combination - causes the other. But it hints at an interesting new angle to the world of conspiracy and those who reinforce belief. There are widely believed to be three main reasons as to why people believe in conspiracy theories. The desire for understanding and certainty - Seeking explanations for events is a natural human desire. The desire for control and security - Conspiracy theories can give their believers a sense of control and security. The desire to maintain a positive self-image - People who feel socially marginalised are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories and it gives them a sense of worth in the UFO community. These three things tie in with the previously stated qualities and combine to create an avid conspiracy theorist. Advertisement In the first, the researchers asked 253 participants what their attitudes towards conspiracy theories were - including the British government duping the public on issues of national security. These same participants were then asked how acceptable they considered small crime, which ranged from 'unethical action' to petty crime. The team found a high positive correlation between the two. In the second study, 120 people were asked the same questions about crime, but 50 per cent of the participants were given an article about a conspiracy theory to read during the experiment. The results showed that those who read the article had a stronger inclination to engage in petty crime than those who didn't. A Soviet spacecraft that launched in 1972 and was destined to land on the surface of Venus before the mission failed is expected to crash land on Earth later this year. The 1,091 lbs (495 kilogram) hunk of Russian technology is 'highly likely' to survive re-entry in one piece as it was built to be hardy enough to withstand Venus's dense atmosphere. Most of Kosmos 482 has been circling aimlessly in orbit around Earth ever since a disastrous launch on March 31, 1972 ruined the project and turned it into useless space debris. Scroll down for video Soviet probe Kosmos 482. It launched in 1972 and was destined to land on the surface of Venus before the mission failed is expected to crash land on Earth this year Its eventual demise and return to the surface of our planet has been expected for a long time but previous estimates placed the landing between 2023 and 2025. Revised analysis from Space.com has now found it may happen in 2019. It was launched before its sister probe, Venera 8, but became stranded in Earth's orbit. Venera 8 successfully completed its landing on our celestial neighbour in July 1972 and became only the second spacecraft to reach the surface. It transmitted data for 50 minutes and 11 seconds before it succumbed to the 300 g-force and 100 atmospheres of pressure on Venus. Kosmos 482 was launched by a Soviet booster and successfully made it into an Earth parking orbit before failing to launch onward towards Venus. At this point it splintered into four different pieces. A cutaway diagram of the soviet Venera 8 landing capsule, 1972. It transmitted data for 50 minutes and 11 seconds before it succumbed to the 300 g-force and 100 atmospheres of pressure on Venus It was launched before its sister probe - Venera 8 - but became stranded in Earth's orbit. Venera 8 (model, pictured) successfully completed its landing on our celestial neighbour in July 1972 and became only the second spacecraft to reach the surface Two stayed in orbit but four fell to Earth and landed in the land of a New Zealand farmer. The balls were 15 inches in diameter (38 cm) and were supposed to be returned to their home state but the Soviet Union refused to acknowledge the debris belonged to them. They inflicted no harm but did scorch holes in crops and were confirmed to have been gas pressure vessels from the Kosmos 482 calamity by later analysis. 'Yes, the descent craft will survive a re-entry with no problems,' said satellite watcher Thomas Dorman of the northeastern Oklahoma community of Zeb, speaking to Space.com. 'It would be funny if it was spotted coming down and the parachute has deployed but I am sure the batteries to fire the pyrotechnics to release the parachute have died long ago!' Eccentric billionaire Elon Musk has once again left his Twitter followers scratching their heads. In a flurry of late-night tweets on Wednesday, the Tesla CEO changed his display name to 'Elon Tusk' without explanation, aside from an elephant emoji to punctuate it. The change came amid a spike in Elon Musk-related memes all centered on wordplay with the CEO's name which Musk himself has joined in on sharing. Further baffling his followers, Musk later swapped out the elephant emoji for an alien, and tweeted a reference to the movie ET. He quietly removed the alien symbol not long after. The Tesla and SpaceX boss also posted a poll about making 'the Mars Technocracy real.' As usual, however, he has not elaborated on what the tweets might mean. But, just hours prior, Musk announced he would be sharing 'some Tesla news' on Thursday. In a flurry of late-night tweets on Wednesday, the Tesla CEO changed his display name to 'Elon Tusk' without explanation, aside from an elephant emoji to punctuate it. He also said he would be sharing 'some Tesla news' on Thursday The Tesla CEO promised he would have 'news' at 2 p.m. California time (5 p.m. ET) on Thursday. A few hours later, Musk tweeted cryptically: 'ET phone home. No answer.' The company, deep in debt as it ramps up production of its popular Model 3 sedan, is due to repay a $920 million convertible bond a day later. In a series of tweets to his 25 million followers following charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this week, Musk accused the regulator of failing to read Tesla's annual reports and said its oversight was 'broken'. On Wednesday, he changed his display name and added an elephant tag. Musk had promised last year to have his public statements vetted by the company's board, as part of a settlement with the SEC that headed off demands for him to resign as Tesla CEO. Musk's ET tweet came hours after promising he would share Tesla news on Thursday - though what that news might be is a mystery Baffling his followers, Musk swapped out the elephant emoji for an alien, and tweeted a reference to the movie ET. He quietly removed the alien symbol not long after, though eagle-eyed followers were quick to pick up on the change The Tesla and SpaceX boss also posted a poll about making the Mars Technocracy real. As usual, however, he has not elaborated on what the tweets might mean The SEC contempt motion followed Musk's tweet on Feb. 19: 'Tesla made 0 cars in 2011, but will make around 500k in 2019,' meaning 500,000 vehicles. According to the SEC, Musk violated his October 2018 settlement agreement by sending that tweet without first seeking approval from Tesla's lawyers. Musk says he will have 'news' at 2 p.m. California time (5 p.m. ET) on Thursday It also said the outlook contrasted with guidance that Tesla had given on Jan. 30 that it would deliver about 400,000 vehicles in 2019. The settlement resolved an SEC lawsuit over another Twitter post in which Musk said he had 'funding secured' to take his Palo Alto, California-based company private at $420 per share. Musk agreed to step down as Tesla's chairman, and both he and Tesla agreed to pay $20 million civil fines. Four hours after his Feb. 19 tweet, Musk corrected himself, saying annualized production would probably be around 500,000 by year end, with full-year deliveries totaling 400,000. The name-change comes amid a spike in Elon Musk-related memes all centered on wordplay with the CEO's name which Musk himself has joined in on sharing Bradley Bondi, a lawyer for Tesla, had told the SEC in a Feb. 22 letter that Musk thought the substance of his first tweet had been 'appropriately vetted, pre-approved, and publicly disseminated.' It is not clear what punishment the SEC will seek. The regulator could seek a higher fine, further restrictions on Musk's activities, or removal of him from Tesla's board. Alternatively, it could seek to ban Musk from being a public company officer, which would force him to step down as Tesla's chief executive. 'Fine to flush' wet wipes will hit UK stores for the first time next month after being given official certification for passing strict sewer tests. Organic health and beauty brand Natracare are the first to carry the symbol and claim that the moist tissue wipes, which cost 1.99, will fully break down in drains. The UK launch is part of a worldwide effort to tackle the growing scourge of 'fatbergs', congealed masses of non-biodegradable matter - include wet wipes, congealed grease and fat. Fatbergs can be hundreds of feet long can block sewers costing cities around the world millions to remove each year. Scroll down for video The first 'fine to flush' wet wipes will hit UK stores for the first time next month after being given the official certification after passing stricter sewer tests. Organic care brand Natracare are the first to carry the symbol and claim that the wipe will fully break down in drains Water UK, which represents water and sewerage companies in Britain, says wipes need to pass strict tests to gain the approved logo, Fine to Flush. The symbol is designed to reassure eco-conscious customers that the products they use do not contain plastic and are biodegradable. Most brands adhere to standards set by the European industry body Edana allowing products to be labelled as 'flushable'. However these products do not break down when they enter the sewer system because they contain plastic or wood pulp. Water UK says that the tests they conduct are less rigorous and accurate because they don't replicate conditions inside sewers. The launch is part of a worldwide effort to tackle the growing scourge of 'fatbergs', a congealed mass in a sewer system formed by non-biodegradable solid matter. This matter can be hundreds of feet long and includes wet wipes, congealed grease and fat Water UK's tests, which cost 8,000 ($10,000) for each product, look for plastics and other residual matter that could contaminate rivers, estuaries and the sea. They found that the Natracare wipes are made from 100 per cent paper tissue and are plastic free, marine friendly and compostable. Water UK Chief Executive Michael Roberts said: 'This is an important step in the battle against blockages. We've all seen the impact of fatbergs recently, and we want to see fewer of them. 'Improving the environment is at the core of what the water industry does, and the new "Fine to Flush" standard that we've created will make it easier for consumers to buy an environmentally-friendly product instead of one which clogs up drains and sewers.' A piece of fatberg, a congealed lump of fat, sanitary napkins, wet wipes, condoms, diapers and similar items found in sewer systems, is seen on display at the Museum of London. It was part of a 250-metre blockage in Whitechapel A sewer technician works in the intersection of the Regent Street and Victoria sewer in London. Most brands adhere to standards set by the European industry body Edana allowing products to be labelled as 'flushable'. However these products do not break down when they enter the sewer system Thousands of properties suffer sewer flooding caused by these sewer blockages every year in the UK, leading to high clean-up bills and increased insurance costs. Sewer flooding also has a major impact on the environment, contaminating water and harm huge amounts of wildlife. Last week, a giant fatberg was found blocking a sewer in the seaside town of Sidmouth in Devon. It measures 210 foot (64m) fatberg is expected to take about eight weeks to remove. The new flushable wipes will be sold in Waitrose, Ocado and independent health shops next month and are plastic free and compostable. Advertisement A submarine mission to the bottom of Belize's Great Blue hole has generated the first ever map of what it looks like on the inside. Sonar scans were taken of one of the world's largest sink holes, which measures 984 feet (300m) across and roughly 410 feet (125m) deep. The three-week mission let researchers collect enough data to generate a 3D picture as well as images of never-before-seen details from its depths. That includes stalactites, mineral formations shaped like icicles near the bottom that are encrusted with marine growth, as well as a conch 'graveyard' created by thousands of the shellfish falling into the chasm. The gaping maw is also filled with hydrogen sulphide - a foul smelling, colourless gas that is toxic, flammable, and highly corrosive - and its furthest depths is completely free of oxygen. Scroll down for video The map from the latest expedition is the first ever generated of the Belize Blue hole and was produced using military grade sonar technology. It captures the entire diameter and depth of the hole, which is 984 feet across and 410 feet deep. The divers also found new features inside that include a 'conch graveyard' as well as never before seen stalactite caverns The three week mission allowed the team to collect enough high-resolution images to generate a 3D picture and find new discoveries inside the hole. The Blue Hole was once on dry land but became submerged around 10,000 years ago The expedition, which was part funded by Virgin founder Richard Branson, took place in a three man submarine navigated by Erika Bergman, oceanographer and chief pilot on the mission. 'The aptly named Great Blue Hole is a collapsed cave, filled with stalactite caverns, and built up from layers of fine limestone and rougher calcium carbonate walls,' said Ms Bergman, writing in a blog on the website Southern Fried Science. 'With a variety of sonar heads, used sequentially over the course of the Expedition, we've been able to create a high resolution, three dimensional sonar image of the interior of the Great Blue Hole.' Describing the depth of the hole as 'other worldly', Ms Bergman described never before seen details, including the stalactites filling the cavern. 'Some of the targets we were particularly interested in studying in detail were the stalactite caverns from 130 feet to 160 feet deep, formed back when sea level was 500 feet lower and this was a dry cave,' she added. 'These enormous stalactites have now been entirely encrusted in marine growth.' She also noted a number of other memorable features, including a 'conch graveyard' and wrote about diving in 'acid' at the hole's deepest layers. The team observed hundreds of dead conches that they believe had fallen in to the hole and been unable to escape its steep walls. There is also a thick layer of hydrogen sulphide around 300 feet down the Great Blue Hole that the team's submersible had to penetrate to reach the ocean bed. Not everything they saw were identifiable, however. Ms Bergman has spoken about 'tracks' at the very base of the hole, an enigma that the team has not been able to decipher. Scans were carried out with a professional sonographer on board who used military grade technology to capture high resolution sonar scans by bouncing soundwaves off the walls of the cavern surrounding the sub. The expedition, which was joined by Virgin founder Richard Branson, took place in a three man submarine (pictured) navigated by Erika Bergman, oceanographer and chief pilot on the mission Writing about their findings in a blog on the website Southern Fried Chicken, Erika Bergman, the pilot of the submarine on the mission, said: 'The aptly named Great Blue Hole is a collapsed cave, filled with stalactite caverns, and built up from layers of fine limestone and rougher calcium carbonate walls.' The three week mission which featured Sir Richard Branson, allowed researchers to collect enough high-resolution images to generate a 3D picture and discover never been before seen details inside. That includes stalactites, mineral formations shaped like icicles near the bottom, as well as a conch 'graveyard' (pictured) created by thousands of the shellfish falling in Virgin founder Richard Branson (left) is behind the project off the coast of Belize, which set out to explore the complex cave system. Branson was joined by Fabien Cousteau - an ocean conservationist, documentary maker, and grandson of famed explorer Jacques Cousteau (right) In addition to the toxic layer of hydrogen sulphide, the team found traces of human pollution at the bottom of the hole in December, including plastics from water bottles that have been found 400 feet (120m) below the ocean's surface. Branson wrote about this in his blog about the expedition: 'The real monsters facing the ocean are climate change and plastic. 'Sadly, we saw plastic bottles at the bottom of the hole, which is a real scourge of the ocean. We've all got to get rid of single-use plastic.' He warned of similar submergence events in the present day, calling what he saw at the bottom of the hole 'the starkest reminders of the danger of climate change I've ever seen'. 'It is proof of how oceans can rise quickly and catastrophically,' he added. A thick layer of hydrogen sulphide was found at the bottom of the hole. The chemical is a foul smelling, colorless gas that is toxic, flammable, and highly corrosive. It was discovered 300 feet deep and the team says they dived straight into it The Blue hole was once on dry land but became submerged around 10,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. The expedition at the popular tourist site deployed two three-man submersible submarines. Branson and Fabien Cousteau - an ocean conservationist, documentary maker, and grandson of famed explorer Jacques Cousteau - who was also on the previous dive, spent hours deep inside the Blue Hole. Two large floating vessels were on hand to provide research and logistical support. It is hoped the information gathered during the expedition will also shed more light on how climate change has impacted the planet over the course of millennia. Branson's Belize expedition was also in support of Ocean Unite, an organisation which brings leaders and voices together to promote ocean conservation. They are campaigning to protect at least 30 per cent of the ocean by 2030 Submersibles allowed the team to spend more time at the bottom of the Blue Hole. The expedition is the first time that the Blue Hole has been properly explored by scientists Cousteau's links to the Blue Hole go beyond just professional interest. In 1971 his grandfather, famed French diver-explorer Jacques Cousteau, brought his research vessel Calypso 43 miles (70km) off the coast of Belize to explore the wondrous 1,000ft (300m) long sinkhole. Jaques Cousteau's team had discovered that the Blue Hole, the largest sea sinkhole in the world and one of Belize's main tourist attractions, was in fact a submerged cave that had formed over a period of tens of thousands of year. While divers have previously reached the bottom of the Blue Hole, the total darkness and difficult conditions had limited their ability to collect scientific data. The latest expedition was the first time that modern technology, in the form of a submarine, has given a scientific team time and access to study the geological formation in detail. Mr Cousteau said: 'There's a lot of discoveries left to be had there, including finding the sediment, looking at the variations in the walls, the oxygen and CO content.' 'There's a whole laundry list of things that we are going to be doing there that haven't been done. Facebook users who want to preserve their privacy from advertisers will have to wait a little longer. The social media giant has revealed that its 'Clear History' tool, first teased in the wake of its Cambridge Analytica scandal in early 2018, will finally become available later this year. The firm previously admitted that launching the tool was taking 'longer than expected.' Scroll down for video Facebook has revealed that its 'Clear History' tool, first teased in the wake of its Cambridge Analytica scandal in early 2018, will finally become available later this year In the tool's absence, many have grown frustrated and impatient over what some say are the company's excuses for not releasing the tool almost a year later. A recent BuzzFeed investigation explored why Facebook has stumbled in its efforts to bring the Clear History tool to the platform, with a Facebook spokesperson telling the site that it plans to roll it out this spring. The clear history tool enables users wipe clean any data that tracks websites they've visited, as well as scrub any records of what ads they've clicked on while logged into Facebook. Facebook CFO David Wehner told attendees at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference that the site expects to have it ready for users in the coming months. However, in a noteworthy move, he also said investors should be aware that it could make it harder for brands to target advertisements toward users when they scroll through Facebook. Facebook's sprawling advertising network is the major cash cow of its business and generates tens of billions of dollars for the company each year. Called 'clear history,' the feature would scrub any records of what ad's you've clicked on while logged into Facebook. The tool is part of Facebook's 'arms race' to protect user privacy In the Clear History tool's absence, many have grown frustrated and impatient over what some say are the company's excuses for not releasing the tool almost a year later 'Broadly, [the tool is] going to give us some headwinds in terms of being able to target as effectively as before,' Wehner said at the conference, according to CNBC. The feature was revealed just a few months after Facebook revealed that some 87 million users' data had been harvested and shared with Trump-affiliated campaign research firm Cambridge Analytica. It was pegged as a way for users to regain some control over how their personal data is collected by Facebook. It's not yet clear how exactly the tool would work once implemented by Facebook. CEO Mark Zuckerberg first described the tool in the lead up to Facebook's F8 developer conference last May. Zuckerberg said the Clear History tool would function similarly to how users can erase their browser history by clicking a button. 'The idea is a lot of sites need cookies to work, but you should still be able to flush your history whenever you want,' Zuckerberg said. 'We're building a version of this for Facebook too. It will be a simple control to clear your browsing history on Facebook - what you've clicked on, websites you've visited, and so on. 'We're starting with something a lot of people have asked about recently: the information we see from websites and apps that use Facebook's ads and analytics tools,' he added. Facebook already has some privacy tools that let users control what information advertisers can use for targeting. For example, users can prevent advertisers from showing them ads based on their relationship status, among other characteristics. Some bacteria appear to go into a zombie-like state in order to survive extreme conditions. A new study has identified a previously unknown survival strategy in the single-celled organisms that could help to explain why infections re-emerge after treatment. In this mode, the bacteria are not asleep, but instead demonstrate processes that have been slowed down to the extreme while still remaining somewhat active. Some bacteria appear to go into a zombie-like state in order to survive extreme conditions. The non-pathogenic bacterium, Bacillus subtilis, which demonstrated the unusual tactic, is illustrated above WHAT IS ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE? Antibiotics have been doled out unnecessarily by GPs and hospital staff for decades, fueling once harmless bacteria to become 'superbugs.' The World Health Organization has previously warned if nothing is done the world was headed for a 'post-antibiotic' era. Bacteria can become drug resistant when people take incorrect doses of antibiotics, or they are given out unnecessarily. Figures estimate that superbugs will kill ten million people each year by 2050, with patients succumbing to once harmless bugs. Figures estimate that superbugs will kill ten million people each year by 2050, with patients succumbing to once harmless bugs. Around 700,000 people already die yearly due to drug-resistant infections including tuberculosis (TB), HIV and malaria across the world. Concerns have repeatedly been raised that medicine will be taken back to the 'dark ages' if antibiotics are rendered ineffective in the coming years. In addition to existing drugs becoming less effective, there have only been one or two new antibiotics developed in the last 30 years. Advertisement In a study published to Nature Communications, researchers investigated the survival strategies of the non-pathogenic bacterium, Bacillus subtilis. The bacteria were starved for long periods of time, and the team observed their response. While bacteria are known to form what are known as endospores under stressful conditions, which allow them to sleep within a protective coating, the specimens in the study represented a variant that could not do this as the result of a mutation. Even without the ability to become dormant, however, the researchers found that some were still able to survive. This was thanks to a third, previously unknown state the team is now calling oligotrophic growth. We saw clear differences between the active state, the dormant state and this state, said Professor Leendert Hamoen of the University of Amsterdams Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences. Normally, Bacillus is rod-shaped, but the starved bacteria shrank until they were almost spherical. All kinds of processes that are normally active in the bacterium were altered. But they didnt stop completely, as happens when the bacterium retreats to a spore in a dormant state. The bacteria even continued to divide. Only not once every forty minutes, but once every four days; more than a hundred times slower than usual. This zombie-like state translates to mean nutrient-poor growth, and has never been seen before. But, the new findings raise questions about how prevalent it might be. Spore-forming allows bacteria to resist extreme environments including cold, UV light, and antibiotics in a dormant state. Similarly, the so-called zombie mode appears to help them survive even when starved of nutrients. The big question is: do bacteria other than Bacillus know this trick too? Hamoen asks. In a study published to Nature Communications, researchers investigated the survival strategies of the non-pathogenic bacterium, Bacillus subtilis. The bacteria were starved for long periods of time, and the team observed their response. Artist's impression above If so, this fundamentally changes our outlook on bacteria. Apparently, they do not always have to form spores to survive,' the researcher says. Apparently, they do not have to form spores to survive. Forming endospores requires a lot of energy, and the bacteria are not always able to wake up from this condition. It is much easier for them to switch to and from this oligotrophic growth state. Once conditions improve, they can easily form new colonies. Hence this state is much more favorable for them. If more bacteria are found to be able to switch to this state, it will throw a whole new light on, among other things, how bacteria can escape antibiotics. Four out of ten people flush wet wipes down the loo despite warnings they block sewers, pollute beaches and threaten wildlife. The findings highlight the need for more awareness of the threat wet wipes pose to environment as well as the risk of causing blockages in drains which can cause flooding. Among 18-24 year olds nearly two out of three - 65 per cent of respondents admitted they would flush wet wipes. Wet wipes are considered an environmental hazard as being much more durable than toilet paper, they fail to break down in water and can persist in the environment for decades. Even when wet wipes break down, the threat they pose remains as the individual pieces contribute to microplastic pollution and can end up being eaten by marine creatures Despite some wet wipes being labelled as being safe to flush, tests show that they do not break down easily. They end up in rivers, beaches and in the sea by passing through sewage overflow pipes after being flushed. The wipes are also a threat at water treatment works where they can block machinery. The survey revealed that 76 per cent of people would stop buying toilet tissue wet wipes if they were told they were not, as manufacturers claim, flushable. A further 85 per cent of consumers said they would view these products less favourably if they were to learn that they went on to cause blockages and/or environmental pollution. Even when wet wipes break down, the threat they pose remains as the individual pieces contribute to microplastic pollution and can end up being eaten by marine creatures. The survey carried out by Keep Britain Tidy and United Utilities was carried out on 1,140 respondents in the north of England. Ignorant: Four out of ten people flush wet wipes down the loo despite warnings they block sewers, pollute beaches and threaten wildlife The research by Lorna Jackson and Rose Tehan, published in the Journal of Litter and Environmental Quality said: There is a clear issue with products marketed as being flushable. Consumers of these products, as would be expected, trust manufacturers, believing it to be acceptable to flush an item when it is labelled as flushable. The reality is there remains no agreed criteria for flushability against which these disposable products are assessed. Keep Britain Tidy Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton: This research has important implications for the consumers and manufacturers of so-called flushable products. If we can prove the link between flushing these wipes, blockages and subsequent marine litter, consumers will dispose of these items appropriately or stop buying them altogether. Research last week found an average of 1,000 wet wipes washed up on each 100 metres of a stretch of Thames foreshore near Hammersmith. In Merseyside last week, a 10ft long fatberg composed of dirty grey wet wipes held together by fat was pulled out of a drain by United Utilities. The British oak tree provided the timber for Nelsons fleet and a hiding place for King Charles II. But the time may have run out for native varieties of oak - and we should replace them with tougher foreign varieties, scientists warn. The two types of native British oak trees the English oak (Quercus robur) and Cornish oak (Q. petraea) are increasingly being ravaged by pests. These include the oak processionary moth, sudden oak death and bleeding canker. Under pressure: The two types of native British oak trees the English oak (Quercus robur) and Cornish oak (Q. petraea) are increasingly being ravaged by pests The pests, coupled with a warming climate is also posing problems for Britains 121 million oak trees, many of which are losing their bark. Now a research project backed by six universities including Reading, York, Oxford as well as the James Hutton Institute and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology say British varieties of oaks may no longer be the best choice for planting. Tougher oak trees such as the American red oak and the Austrian Oak, sometimes called the Turkey oak should be considered instead, the group said, presenting their findings at the Royal Geographical Society in London. Another alternative is to ditch planting oak trees altogether and plant the sweet chestnut. Professor Rob Jackson, biological scientist at the University of Reading, said: Britains oak trees are part of its cultural landscape, but they could look very different in future. The oak is a key component of woodland ecosystems in the UK and so its decline would have a much wider impact on other species, like fungi, insects and even humans. Humans have long been influential in the management of oak trees, as it was historically used for many activities including use for buildings, and charcoal production for metal smelting, thus it was planted widely. One problem with replacing British oaks is they support many other creatures - with around 2,300 species depending on oak trees, including 18,000 types of fungi that live on oak tree roots and 40,000 bacteria Now humans must take action to protect our oaks for future generations. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, so forest managers need support to face the specific challenges facing different forests and put in place long-term strategies. Other pests and diseases currently threatening Britains native oak trees include acute oak decline, chronic oak decline, and powdery mildews. One problem with replacing British oaks is they support many other creatures - with around 2,300 species depending on oak trees, including 18,000 types of fungi that live on oak tree roots and 40,000 bacteria. The foreign varieties do not support so many other psecies. Defra Biosecurity Minister Lord Gardiner said: I welcome todays Protecting Oak Ecosystems event to highlight the important work undertaken to address the serious threats to our iconic oak trees. It is inspirational to see so many people gathered together to discuss this critical issue. The learnings from this project will feed directly into our Action Oak initiative, a collaboration of charities, government, landowners and research institutions whose aim is to protect the UKs 121 million oak trees from plant pests and diseases.' Angkor, the ancient capital of the Khmer empire, suffered a gradual decline rather than a sudden, catastrophic demise, a new study suggests. The abandonment of Angkor has long puzzled archaeologists and historians, with many attributing it to the 1431 AD invasion by Thai forces. But a slow and prolonged exodus of its inhabitants has been found dating back to the start of the 14th-Century. A decline in human activity on the land over a few decades was discovered by scientists who examined soil and sediment in the region. A major flood is also believed to have contributed to the settlement's final collapse and abandonment. Scroll down for video Angkor, the ancient capital of the Khmer empire, suffered a gradual decline rather than a catastrophic demise, a new study suggests. An entry gate to Angkor Thom, capital of the ancient Khmer empire (file photo) 'The historical record is effectively blank for the 15th century at Angkor,' said Dan Penny from the School of Geosciences at the University of Sydney who took part in the study. 'We don't have a written record that tells us why they left or when or how. Everything that survived is carved on stone.' Experts examined sediment cores more than two feet (70 cm) long taken from a moat that surrounded Angkor Thom. Mr Penny said the earth's cores serve as a 'natural history book recording changes in land use, and climate, and in vegetation, year after year.' Human activity is also identifiable as process such as fire, soil erosion and agriculture all leave an indelible mark. Analysis proved that there was a steady decline in land use dating back to the 1300s. 'By the end of the 14th century, the southern moat of Angkor Thom was overgrown with vegetation, and management, by implication, had ceased,' the authors said in the study. Mr Penny said: 'Angkor was never fully abandoned, but the elite were shifting away from Angkor, moving to new communities elsewhere with more commercial opportunities.' 'This was not a collapse. This was in fact a decisive choice to shift focus away from Angkor.' Many archaeologist believe a flood caused by climate change in the 14th and 15th century destroyed Angkor's famous system of reservoirs and water channels and signalled the end of the city as a settlement. The 15th-century abandonment of Angkor has long puzzled archaeologists and historians, with many attributing it to the 1431 AD invasion by Thai forces. Ta Prohm complex (pictured) at Angkor Wat, another temple near Angkor Thom and considered the most famous in Angkor The latest data, say scientists, show that this final collapse was 'presaged by a protracted demographic decline'. The latest study suggests that the urban elite did not leave Angkor due to hte collapse of the area's infrastructure as has been suggested, but that it happened the other way round. 'The infrastructure failed because the urban elites had already left.' 'The absence of Angkor's ruling elite by the end of the 14th century casts a different light over the Ayutthayan occupation of the city from 1431 CE, and over Cambodian narratives that emphasize loss at the hands of interventionist neighboring states,' the research team added. Evidence that humans are contributing to global warming has reached a 'gold standard' level of certainty, say climate change scientists. A new study, based on satellite measurements of rising temperatures over the last 40 years, claims that there is only a one-in-a-million chance they are wrong. This adds even more pressure on governments to take more urgent measures to cut greenhouse gases to limit rising temperatures. Scroll down for video Evidence for man-made global warming has reached a 'gold standard' level of certainty and that it is 'virtually certain' , say scientists. The new study, based on satellite measurements of rising temperatures over the last 40 years. Here, a file photo of melting ice caps in Greenland The US-led team said that confidence that human activities are raising the heat at the Earth's surface have reached a 'five-sigma' level. This statistical gauge, a measurement of how certain scientists are of their results, means that there is only a one-in-a-million chance that the outcome would appear if there was no warming. Level five indicates that the researchers' conclusions are more than 99.7 per cent accurate, also known as the 'gold standard.' The findings said evidence for global warming reached level five by 2005 in two of three sets of satellite data widely used by researchers, and the third was reached in 2016. 'Humanity cannot afford to ignore such clear signals,' the US-led team wrote in the journal Nature Climate Change of satellite measurements of rising temperatures. The 'gold standard' was applied in 2012, for instance, to confirm the discovery of the Higgs boson subatomic particle, a basic building block of the universe. Dr Benjamin Santer, lead author of the study at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, said he hoped the findings would win over sceptics and spur action. The narrative out there that scientists don't know the cause of climate change is wrong, he said, 'we do'. Despite growing evidence, President Trump, pictured last week, has cast doubt on conclusions that human activities were contributing to global warming and plans to pull out of the Paris climate agreement, which aims to combat climate change Mainstream scientists say the burning of fossil fuels is causing more floods, droughts, heat waves and rising sea levels. Despite the growing evidence, President Trump has cast doubt on conclusions that human activities were contributing to global warming and plans to pull out of the Paris climate agreement. A total of 195 countries adopted the agreement in 2015 which seeks to end the fossil fuel era this century by shifting to cleaner energies such as wind and solar power. Since entering the White House, the President has opened up new areas for offshore oil drilling. Although following worldwide backlash, he has recently announced that America could 'conceivably' return to the agreement if a 'better deal' was made. THE PARIS AGREEMENT: A GLOBAL ACCORD TO LIMIT TEMPERATURE RISES THROUGH CARBON EMISSION REDUCTION TARGETS The Paris Agreement, which was first signed in 2015, is an international agreement to control and limit climate change. It hopes to hold the increase in the global average temperature to below 2C (3.6F) 'and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5C (2.7F)'. It seems the more ambitious goal of restricting global warming to 1.5C (2.7F) may be more important than ever, according to previous research which claims 25 per cent of the world could see a significant increase in drier conditions. In June 2017, President Trump announced his intention for the US, the second largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world, to withdraw from the agreement. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change has four main goals with regards to reducing emissions: 1) A long-term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2C above pre-industrial levels 2) To aim to limit the increase to 1.5C, since this would significantly reduce risks and the impacts of climate change 3) Goverments agreed on the need for global emissions to peak as soon as possible, recognising that this will take longer for developing countries 4) To undertake rapid reductions thereafter in accordance with the best available science Source: European Commission Advertisement Sixty two per cent of Americans polled in 2018 believed that climate change has a human cause, up from 47 per cent in 2013, according to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Separately in 2013, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that it is 'extremely likely', or at least 95 per cent probable, that human activities have been the main cause of climate change since the 1950s. Peter Stott of the British Met Office, who was among the scientists drawing that conclusion and was not involved in Monday's study, said he would favour raising the probability one notch to 'virtually certain', or 99-100 per cent. The last four years have been the hottest since records began in the 19th century, according to Reuters data. The IPCC will next publish a formal assessment of the probabilities in 2021. Professor Nathan Bindoff, a climate scientist at the University of Tasmania said he would be reluctant to raise it to 99-100 per cent, but there is no doubt that there is more evidence of change in the global signals over a wider suite of ocean indices and atmospheric indices. The 'gold standard' was applied in 2012 to confirm the discovery of the Higgs boson subatomic particle, a basic building block of the universe. Mainstream scientists say the burning of fossil fuels is causing more floods, droughts, heat waves and rising sea levels (stock image) Key parts of the online infrastructure face large-scale attacks that threaten the global system of web traffic, the internet's address keeper has warned. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) made the announcement after an emergency meeting. It said there was '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,' said ICANN chief technology officer David Conrad. The internet's global address keeper is warning of large-scale attacks threatening key parts of the online infrastructure '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. 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 the 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 defences. 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.' So-called DNSpionage attacks have the potential to allow hackers to impersonate key websites and disrupt global internet traffic 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.' Born in 1890 in what was then French Indochina, Ho Chi Minh spent parts of his early life in France, the Soviet Union and China. After working with Chinese Communists in the 1930s he became leader of the nationalist Viet Minh movement in 1941. The Viet Minh fought for Vietnam's independence from Japanese occupying forces during World War II and from Vietnam's colonial ruler, France. Ho declared himself Vietnam's leader after Japan's defeat in 1945. But it was not until 1954 - when Ho's Communist forces defeated the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu - that France finally withdrew. Vietnam was split in two, with Ho's Communists taking charge of the North, allied to China and the Soviet Union, while the South remained an anti-Communist bastion supported by the United States. Ho Chi Minh, right, pictured with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1965, was the founder of Communist Vietnam Elections were planned to reunify the country by 1956 but these never took place. As leader of the North, Ho was determined to undermine the South and backed the Viet Cong guerrilla forces who were staging a Communist insurgency there. His slogan - 'nothing is as dear to the heart of the Vietnamese as independence and liberation' - became an inspiration to his supporters. He backed the invasion of Laos in the 1950s which led to the birth of the Ho Chi Minh Trail - a supply line which allowed Ho to equip Communists in the South and which would frustrate U.S. forces during the Vietnam War. By the 1960s U.S. troops were arriving in Vietnam to bolster the South. As the conflict escalated Ho sent a defiant message to Washington, saying: 'We will never agree to negotiate under the threat of bombing.' He remained President of North Vietnam until his death in 1969. Saigon - the former capital of the South - was renamed Ho Chi Minh City to celebrate him after its fall in 1975. In addition his body was embalmed and put on public display in a mausoleum in Hanoi, where visitors can travel to see the preserved corpse. Advertisement David Lammy today ramped up his war of words with Stacey Dooley over her Comic Relief trip to Africa and accused her of using Instagram to make herself look like a 'heroine' trying to save 'victim' black children. The 31-year-old investigative reporter and Strictly star was involved in a Twitter spat with Mr Lammy over her charity documentary in Uganda and social media portraits of her hugging children being helped by the BBC-backed charity. Miss Dooley hit back at Mr Lammy last night and said: 'If the issue is that I'm white... you could always go' - while Comic Relief revealed the politician had ignored their offer of a trip to Africa to support the charity. The Labour MP for Tottenham said today that Stacey's comments showed she had failed 'to educate herself', adding on BBC News' Victoria Derbyshire show: 'Her Instagram conveys the age-old trope that is her as the heroine and the black child as the victim and we have to stop it'. He added: 'The image is a perpetual image of people who are impoverished, who need white celebrities. It keeps the continent of Africa poor. It keeps people in their place'. When asked if the row is because she is white, he added: 'That suggests that she [Stacey] doesn't understand the issues. That's part of the problem. Despite the fact she has power and agency she's not sought to educate herself about the issues'. He was also later confronted on ITV's This Morning about snubbing Comic Relief's Africa invitation and said: 'I don't accept that. Comic Relief wanted me to be part of their PR machine and I'm not prepared to do that. What I said to Comic Relief is "let's wait and see what this year's Comic Relief is like".' Labour MP David Lammy criticised Stacey Dooley for appearing in a Comic Relief documentary in Uganda which promotes 'tired and unhelpful stereotypes' and for encouraging a 'white saviour' complex - sparking a war of words between the pair The Labour MP for Tottenham (pictured from behind) said today that her comments showed she had 'failed to educate herself', adding on BBC News' Victoria Derbyshire show: 'Her Instagram conveys the age old trope that is her as the heroine and the black child as the victim and we have to stop it' Miss Dooley arrived in Uganda 5 days ago, posting pictures of her trip including holding this child. Mr Lammy criticised the 'white saviour' complex promoted by celebrities such as Miss Dooley Dooley, 31, is currently filming with Comic Relief about neonatal clinics and malaria in Uganda Mr Lammy did acknowledge Miss Dooley's 'good motives' but bemoaned the British celebrity trope of travelling to poorer parts of Africa to film Comic Relief packages Mr Lammy said the BBC and Comic Relief were failing to properly educate the British public about life in Africa and sticking to a 'tired' format of jetting in mainly white celebs He also said that Comic Relief, which has raised more than 1billion for poor communities in Britain and abroad in the past 30 years, is 'tired and outdated' and needs to 'change the record and grow up'. Comic Relief thank Stacey Dooley for going to Uganda - and say offer of an African trip to David Lammy is 'still open' Comic Relief has revealed it offered to collaborate with Labour MP David Lammy on a film in Africa but the politician snubbed it - as the charity thanked Stacey Dooley for her work. Responding on Thursday, a spokesperson for Comic Relief made no apologies, thanking Dooley for helping people 'working with or supported by Comic Relief projects tell their own stories in their own words'. It said: 'We are really grateful that Stacey Dooley, an award-winning and internationally acclaimed documentary maker, agreed to go to Uganda to discover more about projects the British people have funded there and make no apologies for this. 'She has filmed and reported on challenging issues all over the world, helping to put a much-needed spotlight on issues that affect people's lives daily. 'In her film, people working with or supported by Comic Relief projects tell their own stories in their own words. 'We have previously asked David Lammy if he would like to work with us to make a film in Africa and he has not responded. The offer is still open.' Advertisement Its founders including Lenny Henry and Richard Curtis are yet to speak out but a spokesman made no apologies for Miss Dooley's work in Uganda. Mr Lammy denied that he wanted Comic Relief scrapped but said it should move away from sending white celebrities to African villages as colonial-type saviours. He said: 'The BBC, which has a responsibility to educate, which has a responsibility for multi-culturalism and equality, is failing if it allows Comic Relief, and Richard Curtis, effectively, just to sit back, with the same old white privilege, and the same old comedians raking in money for what purpose? 'I saw for what purpose because Comic Relief doesn't need to exist'. The war of words between the London MP, the charity and Miss Dooley has now rumbled on for 48 hours. Strictly star, Miss Dooley is in Africa filming for the charity and posted pictures on Instagram of local women dancing and of children hugging her. However, the Tottenham MP accused Miss Dooley of showing a 'distorted image of Africa' and perpetuating a 'colonial era' mentality that suggests white people are the solution to poverty in deprived parts of the world. Mr Lammy, 46, acknowledged Miss Dooley's 'good motives' but bemoaned the British celebrity trope of travelling to Africa to film charity appeals. Miss Dooley, whose documentary focuses on Malaria and neonatal clinics, responded to the MPs twitter remarks and highlighted the 1billion raised by Comic Relief since it was founded in 1985 by the comedian Lenny Henry. Writing on social media, Mr Lammy said: 'The world doesn't need anymore white saviours. As I've said before, this just perpetuates tired and unhelpful stereotypes.' The MP added: 'Let's promote voices from across the continent of Africa and have a serious debate.' Addressing Miss Dooley directly, he said: 'This isn't personal and I don't question your good motives. My problem with British celebrities being flown out by Comic Relief to make these films is that it sends a distorted image of Africa which perpetuates an old idea from the colonial era.' Miss Dooley replied: 'Is the issue with me being white? (Genuine question) ...because if that's the case, you could always go over there and try raise awareness [sic]? 'I saw projects that were saving lives with the money. Kids lives.' Mr Lammy added that it's 'complacent to suggest that colonial attitudes are dead', and pointed to the Oxfam scandal, where white aid workers volunteering in Haiti sexually exploited women living in desperate poverty. The debate comes against a broader backdrop of criticism against the Comic Relief for promoting 'poverty porn', and in 2018 charity bosses said they would stop using celebrities such as Ed Sheeran and Eddie Redmayne in future appeals. The activist have bombarded her Instagram posts with comments asking her to meet up with the group before she leaves the country Liz Warner, CEO of Comic Relief, said the organisation had taken its 'first steps' towards change after Mr Lammy slammed the charity for portraying Africa as a continent of poverty-stricken victims and stereotypes. Aid watchdog SAIH also criticised a video of pop star Sheeran meeting a street boy in Liberia and offering to pay for his housing. Ms Warner said Comic Relief had replaced celebrity storytellers with Africans, following a record-breaking 24-hour telethon that raised 55.4million in 2016. Yesterday activists for the 'No White Saviours' group pleaded with the journalist to meet them, claiming that they could 'educate her' on 'colonial era' stereoptypes. The group posted messages on her Instagram saying: 'When you come to our country and decide to perpetuate a certain narrative we really want to help you understand why this is harmful.' The group post on their website and social media about white saviourism - linking to articles about white mothers adopting African children, and criticising charity workers who have a white savior complex. Miss Dooley started her career as a documentary maker in 2009 with her series Stacey Dooley investigates, looking at subjects such as sex trafficking in Cambodia and homelessness. She went on to appear in last years Strictly Come Dancing, where she won the show with dance partner Kevin Clifton. She also released her paperback version of her book Stacey's On The Front Line this month, which takes a look at some of the people she's met during her time as a documentary-maker. Celebrities who have played their part in Comic Relief fundraising with trips to Africa - including Ed Sheeran's film branded 'poverty porn' by aid watchdog By Milly Vincent for MailOnline Ed Sheeran Ed Sheeran visiting the Street Child Liberia project which uses Comic Relief money to help give vulnerable children a safe place to stay, reuniting them with their relatives In 2017 Ed Sheeran's comic relief trip to Monrovia, Liberia, was met with controversy after he offered to pay for five homeless orphans he had met to stay in a hotel for the night. Reduced to tears after hearing the young boys stories of sleeping rough and being beaten and raped by older men Ed turned to the camera and said: 'Once we're done here we're going to pack up the camera and these guys are gonna to be sleeping in a canoe with a lot of dangerous people about. 'Really does not feel right leaving at all. I mean, the only thing you can do is help them, which we should. ' My natural instinct is to just put them in a car and just take them and just put them in a hotel until we can get them sorted.' As the star looked around at the camera crew, he asked: 'Can we do that? 'Can I pay to put them in a house until we get them in a school? 'It doesn't matter how much it costs can we just get him and his five mates in a house with an older person to look after them? 'I don't think we can go until that's sorted.' Ed was accused of 'poverty porn' by aid watchdog Radi-Aid awards who awarded the film of the trip for 'most offensive' campaigns of 2017. MailOnline tracked down orphan JD, whose plight had particularly affected Ed, and found that the boy had been living safely in a house with a woman he calls 'ma' and his four friends since the millionaire musician's intervention. JD, who claimed he was 14 but appeared younger, said: 'If I had not met Ed, I would still be on the streets and sleeping in canoes on the beach. I wouldn't have anyone to care for me.' Sir Lenny Henry Actor and comedian Sir Lenny Henry, honorary life president of comic relief Actor, comedian and TV presenter Lenny Henry, who co-founded Comic Relief in 1985, has made frequent visits to Africa since the first Red Nose Day in 1988. In one particularly tough trip filmed for Comic relief in 2011 called 'Rich, Famous and in the Slums' Lenny and three other famous faces visited Kiberia, Kenya, where they were given 2 to buy necessities and lived along side the people they were helping in the slums. Lenny broke down weeping as he was reunited with a family of five orphaned brothers and sisters who he had met on his trip to Kiberia in 2010 and whose lives had improved immeasurably by Lenny's actions. Having been so moved by the orphan's poor living situation, along side a dirty drain, Lenny purchased a house for orphans to 'take the strain' off the eldest brother who was providing for his siblings. Writing in the Mirror after his 2011 Kiberia trip: 'The filth, the desperation, the suffering was beyond what I had expected. However, one thing had remained the same the belief that if we can help, even in a small way, what reason could we find for not doing it?' In 2017 Lenny resigned as a Comic Relief trustee after 27 years but has since been made an honorary life president of comic relief. Victoria Beckham Victoria Beckham, 44, posing in outfit worth 490, the t-shirt alone cost 90 from her own range In March 2018 Victoria made a controversial trip to the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, for Sports Relief along with her 9-person entourage. The 44-year-old fashion designer met school girls and gushed over a new born baby, named David, as he received life saving injections funded by USA Red Nose Day donations. Victoria faced a media backlash while on the trip for wearing an outfit which cost 490 around the Nairobi slums. The same week Liz Warner, chief executive of Comic Relief, which runs Sport Relief and Red Nose Day, announced that celebrities would take a back seat for on-location appeals following complaints about 'poverty tourism'. In a press release about the trip Victoria said: 'I'm so proud to have been supporting the amazing work of Sport Relief for over a decade. 'I first went on a field trip to Peru in 2004 for the 'A mile in their shoes' documentary. 14 years later, here I am in Kenya, visiting incredible community projects that are protecting, educating and empowering women of all ages.' Victoria sports a red nose while visiting a school in Nairobi, kenya, along with film crew Reggie Yates Reggie Yates, 35-year-old TV presenter In 2017 Reggie took part in the African convoy through Africa delivering bikes to workers. In Kenya he spoke to a women named Olivia who was living a hand to mouth existence and struggling to afford food for her children. Her children washed behind the house in a puddle of water mixed with sewage. After Reggie's visit, two of Olivia's daughters (Faith and Felister) were enrolled into education, receiving counselling, life skills training and remedial education. The Comic Relief-funded project support Olivia to join a savings group, so that she can start a small business, which could give her children a more secure future. Reggie also accompanied Lennie Henry to Kiberia, Kenya, in 2011, living among open sewers for a week. Writing in The Guardian about the experience he said: 'Lenny Henry, Angela Rippon, Samantha Womack and I spent a week in Nairobi. 'I had some drinking water and the occasional sweet or chocolate bar, but I was living among open sewers, sleeping in shacks. I pretty much lost all appetite, for days on end.' One Direction In 2013 the One Direction boys Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik visited Accra, Ghana. The men were so affected by the children and young babies they met, most fighting for their lives against common diseases like diarrhoea and pneumonia at the children's hospital in Accra, that they broke down while filming, pleading with viewers to give generously. Harry Styles cried after meeting a three-year-old boy suffering from malaria and anaemia. Harry Styles and Liam Payne talking to children in Accra, Ghana Zayn Malik also broke down in tears, admitting he was struggling to come to terms with the magnitude of seeing children fighting for their lives on a daily basis. He said: 'It's so hard. I've never seen anything, never experienced anything like this in my life. The babies aren't even a year old.' Begging viewers to donate to this year's Red Nose Day Appeal, he added: 'We all waste money but the most important thing we can all do is give 5 to protect children from these illnesses.' Samantha Womack Samantha Womack, who played Ronnie Mitchell in EastEnders During the 2011 'Rich, Famous and in the Slums' visit to Kiberia, Kenya, Samantha Womack, who played Ronnie Mitchell in EastEnders, went to live in the house of a woman who had been forced to resort to prostitution. The woman had had no choice but to send her children away to their grandmother while she earnt money and her family weren't aware she was a prostitute. The actress also spent time at a clinic and was reduced to tears while comforting a woman who had given birth to a stillborn baby. Samantha told Whatsontv: 'I wasn't prepared for the impact Kibera would have on me, it's a tragically beautiful place. I've never felt part of a community like that before, I feel privileged that I got to meet the people I met.' If the $10,000 deduction cap had been in place in 2017, 10.9million taxpayers wouldn't have been able to deduct $323billion in state and local tax payments (stock) Approximately 11 million taxpayers could lose out under Donald Trump's new tax law, according to a report released on Tuesday by a Treasury Department watchdog. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) predicts that if the new $10,000 deduction cap on state and local tax (SALT) had been in place in 2017, 10.9million taxpayers would not have been able to deduct roughly $323billion in state and local tax payments. TIGTA examined 2017 tax filings that had itemized deductions that exceeded the standard deduction amount under the new tax law, the Hill reports. It also would allow for the finding of the number of returns that claimed more than $10,000 in SALT deductions. Taxpayers who claimed more than $10,000 in SALT deductions in previous filings could still see a reduction under Trump's tax law. But some will find their limit on SALT deductions to more than offset the 2017 tax law's lower tax rates and larger child tax credit. Others had their SAT deduction limited by the alternative minimum tax but the new tax law allows them not to now. Still, some taxpayers will see an increase in their taxes because of the SALT deduction cap. Taxpayers who claimed more than $10,000 in SALT deductions in previous filings could still see a reduction under President Donald Trump's tax law The SALT deduction cap has been the most controversial aspect of Trump's tax law, with politicians on box sides arguing that the cap hurts residents in mostly Democratic-leaning states such as California and New York, where state income and property taxes are higher. Their have been increased calls for the full SALT deduction restoration, with many blue-state politicians claiming that the cap is impacting refunds. While Trump has expressed openness to revisiting discussions on the cap, Republicans have all but shunned the idea in favor of their high earners. A mother's appeal against her conviction for murdering her husband after decades of domestic abuse may have been partly inspired by a storyline in The Archers, a court heard yesterday. Sally Challen, 65, claims she was provoked by long-term coercive and controlling behaviour into bludgeoning husband Richard to death with a hammer at their 1million Surrey home. The Police Federation worker, whose real name is Georgina, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the 2010 murder. This was reduced to 18 years on appeal. Sally Challen, left, was jailed for 22 years after she was convicted of the murder of her husband Richard, right, although she claims his 'coercive and controlling behaviour' was responsible for the crime. She already successfully had her jail term reduced to 18 years on appeal The Archers characters who inspired her appeal: Louiza Patikas (Helen Archer) and Timothy Watson (Rob) at an awards ceremony in Leeds on October 19 Campaigners, including her son David, pictured yesterday, outside the High Court in London, want appeal judges to overturn the conviction claiming she was provoked Her husband, pictured, subjected his wife to a 'pressure cooker' of abuse, according to his children Her conviction in 2011 came four years before coercive and controlling behaviour in intimate relationships was recognised as a criminal offence. Mrs Challens lawyers argue that if more had been known about the pattern of behaviour at her trial typified by intimidation, isolation and gaslighting, when a partner is made to feel they are going mad she would have been convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter. They hope her murder conviction will be overturned because of her husbands behaviour, allowing long-term mental and emotional abuse to be treated similarly to physical abuse in relationships. Mrs Challen has claimed that her husband repeatedly embarked on affairs and belittled and bullied her. Around 50 supporters waving Free Sally Challen placards attended the Court of Appeal in London yesterday. A ruling is expected today. Her lawyers say the abuse she endured led to mental health issues that significantly clouded her judgment before the killing. Challen, pictured with one of her sons as a child, should have been afforded more legal protection at her original trial, according toher family David, pictured left outside court, also appeared on Good Morning Britain yesterday, right, and said society had 'let his mother down' as a victim of domestic abuse David, pictured left, joined protesters from Justice for Women outside the Court of Appeal today where judges will decide whether Challen should have been convicted of manslaughter, which could lead to her freedom Her trial previously heard Challen killed her husband shortly after he made her agree a postnuptial agreement that stripped her of financial assets and banned her from smoking. The couple are pictured together here The prosecution argued at trial that Mrs Challen was a jealous, obsessive partner who suspected her husband of infidelity. They met when she was 15 and he 22, and were married for 31 years. Gaslighting was highlighted in 2016 in the Radio 4 soap opera The Archers, in which Helen Archer stabbed husband Rob after he repeatedly used tactics to make her doubt her own sense of reality. Questioning consultant psychiatrist Dr Paul Gilluley yesterday, Mrs Challens barrister Clare Wade QC read a psychiatric assessment of her while she was in custody. It said: I wonder if she has been listening to this programme on Radio 4 about the woman who has been brainwashed by her husband and ends up killing him. Mrs Wade said: The significance of The Archers story is that it was about coercive control. What is coercive control and when did it become a new law? In 2015 it became an offence under UK law to subject someone to 'coercive control'. The offence is defined as when someone with a personal connection makes one feel controlled, dependent, isolated or scared and causes a 'serious effect'. Examples of such behaviour include isolating a person from friends and family, monitoring a person's movements, controlling their money, continuous verbal abuse, threats of violence and damaging property. A serious effect is defined as having substantially impacted a person's daily life, changing the way they live or causing them to feel threatened by violence. The offence came into force in December 2015. Although a person who committed coercive control before then cannot be charged with it, it can be used to show bad character and support a general case of abuse. Advertisement Mr Challen, left, said the appeal was an opportunity for the court to recognise the 'lifetime of abuse' his mother suffered and how she was 'driven to' commit her actions Dr Gilluley replied: It was also about a woman who attempts to kill her husband. A written statement outlining Mrs Challens case said that at the time of her trial there was insufficient understanding among criminal justice practitioners and psychiatrists of coercive control as a form of domestic abuse. How she 'just snapped' Moments after serving her husband of 31 years bacon and eggs, Sally Challen took a hammer out of her handbag and hit him over the head 20 times. To make sure Richard Challen, 61, wasnt breathing, she stuffed a tea towel into his mouth and wrapped his body in old curtains. Challen, 65, then cleaned up and wrote a note to leave by the body, reading: I love you, Sally. She said after the 2010 killing her husband had lied about suspected affairs and she just snapped. She initially planned to kill herself too. She was convicted of murder at Guildford Crown Court the following year and sentenced to 22 years in prison, reduced to 18 on appeal. Last March she won leave to appeal against her conviction. Her lawyers say that because coercive and controlling behaviour is now a crime and she was provoked by decades of abuse, her crime should be downgraded to manslaughter. Advertisement Mrs Wade said: The harm caused to the appellant as a result of coercive control was not sufficiently appreciated The ultimate loss of control at the point of the final trigger should be viewed within the context of the longevity of the provocation, which was in excess of 30 years. Mrs Challen listened via videolink from Bronzefield prison as the court heard from an expert in the theory of coercive control. Evan Stark, a retired forensic social worker and visiting professor at De Montfort University in Leicester, said it was now recognised as the most common form of domestic abuse. It is designed to subjugate and dominate, not merely to hurt, he added. Asked what the ultimate risks are in a relationship marred by coercive control, he said: The ultimate risk is homicide. Prosecutors argue that Mrs Challens mental state was sound in the weeks leading up to the murder, citing the fact that she was having weekly lunches with her cousin, regular dinners with her husband and attending work. Supporters from domestic violence charities were among those outside the hearing at Londons Royal Courts of Justice. Mrs Challen is also being backed by her two sons, David, 31, and James, 35. David said it was a watershed moment not only for my mother but for thousands of other women like her who have been the victims of coercive control. How Sally Challen's case has come to a landmark hearing August 2010: Sally Challen bludgeons husband Richard, 61, to death with a hammer. The next day she drives to Beachy Head and threatens to kill herself only to be talked out of it by a chaplain. June 2011: Challen is convicted of murder and is jailed for 22 years a month later. November 2011: Challen's sentence is reduced to 18 years on appeal. December 2015: Coercive control is established in UK law, making it an offence to make someone feel controlled, dependent, isolated or scared. It can also be used as legal defense in domestic abuse cases. March 2018: Lawyers for Challen win the right to appeal her conviction after her sons David and James campaign with Justice for Women that she was 'driven to her actions' by coercive control. February 2019: Challen's appeal begins at the Court of Appeal in London. Advertisement Pictured: Challen and her husband on their wedding day. The couple's sons said their mother was subjected to years of controlling behaviour What is coercive control and when did it become a new law? In 2015 it became an offence under UK law to subject someone to 'coercive control'. The offence is defined as when someone with a personal connection makes one feel controlled, dependent, isolated or scared and causes a 'serious effect'. Examples of such behaviour include isolating a person from friends and family, monitoring a person's movements, controlling their money, continuous verbal abuse, threats of violence and damaging property. A serious effect is defined as having substantially impacted a person's daily life, changing the way they live or causing them to feel threatened by violence. The offence came into force in December 2015. Although a person who committed coercive control before then cannot be charged with it, it can be used to show bad character and support a general case of abuse. Advertisement The Brexit debate has been marred by ambitious politicians trying to further their own careers, a church leader has warned. The Bishop of Oxford the Rt Rev Steven Croft said the Brexit process has been blighted from the start by individual's 'untrammelled ambition, which is apparent to all'. He added that Britain's withdraw from the EU had been hijacked by 'those hoping to gain or retain high office' and had 'undermined trust in our politics'. The Bishop also argued historians studying the period in future would focus on the 'indecision and paralysis' seen in the wake of the 2016 referendum. In what is likely to be seen as a thinly veiled attack on politicians such as former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, Rev Steven Croft was scathing of the 'narrow calculation' of those seeking to use the situation for their own personal self-interest. But challenged by prominent Tory Brexiteer Lord Lilley to 'name names', the Anglican cleric refused to do so and insisted he did not 'single out a particular party or a section of a particular party'. Bishop of Oxford the Rt Rev Steven Croft (left) questioned politicians' motives during the Brexit process at a debate in the House of Lords today. Lord Peter Lilley (right) called on the bishop to 'name names' Tory Brexiteer Lord Peter Lilley challenged Rev Croft to name which MPs he was referring to after the cleric said some politicians were using their 'untrammelled ambition' over Brexit to get ahead in their careers The bishop was speaking during a further debate in the House of Lords on the UK's planned break with Brussels, as MPs in the Commons prepared to hold the latest votes on the Government's negotiating strategy for Brexit. He added: 'This Brexit debate has been marred from the beginning it seems by the narrow calculation of those hoping to gain or retain high office. 'From the perspective of the country, I think nothing has undermined trust in our politics more than this untrammelled ambition, which is apparent to all.' Intervening, Conservative former Cabinet minister Lord Lilley said: 'Who is he accusing of this untrammelled ambition, which is apparent to all? Name names.' However, in response the bishop said: 'I would prefer not to name names. Even though it is apparent to all, I would prefer not to name names. 'I don't single out a particular party or a section of a particular party. 'One of the dangers for our politics at the present time is that personal ambition is being put before country and I think we need to draw that period to an end with great urgency lest our politics and our confidence in democracy is damaged for a very long time to come.' Brexit minister Lord Callanan (right) said the Prime Minister did not wish to delay Brexit by extending Article 50. He is pictured with the Maltese Minister for European Affairs and Equality, Helena Dalli, during a meeting in Brussels last week He added: 'I think, conversely, nothing will restore trust in our politics more than putting the interests of the nation ahead of personal ambition.' Opening the debate, Brexit minister Lord Callanan said the Prime Minister did not wish to delay Brexit by extending Article 50 as 'it would simply defer the moment of decision and put off difficult choices'. However, if MPs did back an extension 'it should be time-limited and as short as possible', he said. Lord Callanan added: 'The Government's primary aim is to ensure that the UK leaves the EU on March 29 with a negotiated deal that will honour the result of the referendum. However, as a responsible Government, we continue to plan for all eventualities.' He also told peers he did not take 'an awful lot of notice' of the demonstrations outside Parliament. Lord Callanan said: 'I often wonder why they think that it will make a difference if they shout loudly 'Stop Brexit' every five minutes - that somehow we are all going to have a flash of inspiration and suddenly change our minds. 'The wider point, however, is that the votes of 17.4 million people should be respected. It was the largest democratic vote in the history of this country.' The House of Lords where the Bishop of Oxford said the Brexit debate has been 'marred from the beginning by the narrow calculation of those hoping to gain or retain high office' (file photo) There was a lighthearted moment when the minister told peers that he 'looked forward with interest' to hearing their views, given the many debates already held on Brexit where he has faced sustained criticism at the despatch box. Referring to his speech, Lord Callanan added: 'I do not know who writes this, but that is good.' Opposition spokesman Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town said the minister should stop being 'the boy who stood on the burning deck' and face reality. She said: 'What we are witnessing, to the mystification of observers here and abroad, is a wholly divided Government and a Prime Minister who has let down Brexit voters by failing to provide the promised 'smooth and orderly' departure to get the very best out of leaving. 'A Prime Minister who has unnerved the very businesses which have traditionally looked to her party to understand and promote their interests, who has divided her party and Parliament and who, unforgivably, has failed to unite the country after a divisive referendum.' Lady Hayter urged Theresa May to change course and 'find a consensual way forward to unite the Commons and the country'. For the Liberal Democrats, Lord Newby said: 'Kicking the can down the road remains the Prime Minister's defining attribute, but this is now no longer a credible strategy.' An elderly African elephant died last week at Zoo Miami after a confrontation for dominance with another elephant. Zoo Miami posted on Facebook on Monday that the 51-year-old female, Cita, passed away on Friday evening. Cita was said to have been suffering from a variety of age-related issues that contributed to her inability to get back on her feet after being knocked down by the other elephant, Peggy, and eventually led to her death from a suspected thrown blood clot. Clash of giants: Cita, a 51-year-old African elephant (left), died at Zoo Miami on Friday after being knocked down by another female, Peggy (right) Officials believe a thrown blood clot contributed to Cita's death; she also suffered from arthritis and muscle wasting Both Cita and Peggy were part of the zoo's African elephant exhibit and were affectionately called 'the golden girls' because of their advanced age. Experts say elephants are social animals with strict hierarchies. Confrontations to reinforce an individual's status are not uncommon. 'Unfortunately, because of Citas advanced age, Peggys effort to reinforce her dominance resulted in Cita being knocked down,' the statement read. The Zoo Miami team made several attempts to help Cita while providing her with medications, but she was unable to get up. According to zoo officials, Cita underwent an extensive necropsy that included a variety of tests to help determine the cause death. Though the results of some of those tests will not be known for several weeks, there are indications that a blood clot may have contributed to her death on Friday. Cita and Peggy were among four females in the African elephant exhibit, affectionately dubbed 'the golden girls' because of the advanced age Zoo Miami welcome Cita and another elephant in April 2016 The elderly animal also had advanced arthritis and muscle wasting. Cita and another female, Lisa, arrived at Zoo Miami in April 2016 from the Virginia Zoo, joining resident elephants Peggy and Mabel. All four elephants were older than 40. Lisa died a year later from a rare bowel condition. 'This is a very difficult time for the Zoo Miami family, as well as the staff and volunteers at the Virginia Zoo where Cita had lived for decades,' the Facebook post stated. 'This is especially difficult for the elephant keepers who have a very special bond with these magnificent and charismatic animals that they so passionately dedicate themselves to caring for.' A Vermont woman claims to have been banned from Tinder because she used hunting photos in her display profile. Nichole Magoon, 32, of South Burlington, told WBRC that when she was on vacation in San Francisco in January, she opened up the popular dating app and discovered she was not able to swipe right or left to pick or reject possible dates. She claimed that 'in a few hours, I was banned from the platform!' Vermonter Nichole Magoon, 32, believes that her Tinder account was banned while she was in San Francisco, where people reported her profile over her hunting profile photos Tinder told Magoon that she had 'violated the terms of service and their community guidelines' When she questioned the ban, Tinder apparently told her that she had 'violated the terms of service and their community guidelines.' Magoon believes that the two hunting photos she uses in her profile had offended Tinder users in the San Francisco Bay area. This, despite having 'cropped it so there were no weapons, or any kind of blood showing.' She also noted that she and her family hunt for food and are not trophy hunters. 'We respect the animal,' she said. The photos on her profile show Magoon crouching behind dead deer. She can be seen holding on deer by its antlers. The other deer appears to have a red, bloody spot its chest. Magoon believes that there is a double standard on dating apps as there are many men who post similar hunting photos but they are not banned from the apps Magoon said that she posted this hunting photo because hunting is a hobby of hers She said her family hunt for food and that she was careful to crop out guns and blood on Tinder Magoon told My Champlain Valley that she posted the hunting pictures on her profile because it's 'something I do as a hobby.' Magoon said that one of the San Francisco-based people who saw the photos on her profile actually emailed her employer, attaching screenshots of the profile and 'saying some not nice things.' A Tinder spokesperson told WBRC in a statement that Magoons account 'had been reported multiple times,' but that the ban was reversed and she is now free to use the dating app. Magoon said that she has not decided whether she wants to keep using Tinder, though. Magoon is claiming that there is a 'double standard that exists' on Tinder because she was banned for her hunting photos, while there are many men on the app who have posted similar images but they haven't been reported for violating Tinder's terms of service or community guidelines. 'Its time to address these double standards,' she told Yahoo Lifestyle. 'If I were a man, this wouldnt be an issue. It also speaks to discrimination women face in hunting, which is a male-dominated sport.' The Florida Bar will investigate GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz's claim that ex-Trump fixer Michael Cohen cheated on his wife with multiple women. Gaetz is a licensed attorney in his home state. Other attorneys and fellow lawmakers say the claim, made on the eve of Cohen's public testimony to Congress, violated professional ethics. One Democrat said Wednesday that Gaetz's conduct should be reviewed by the House Ethics Committee and recommended a full-blown criminal investigation. A spokesperson for the Ethics panel declined to comment, however The Florida Bar confirmed in a statement DailyMail.com that it would be conducting a review. 'The Florida Bar is aware of the comments made in a tweet yesterday by Rep. Matt Gaetz, who is a Florida Bar member, and I can confirm we have opened an investigation,' a spokesperson said. The Florida Bar will investigate GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz's claim that ex- Trump fixer Michael Cohen cheated on his wife with multiple women Del. Stacey Plaskett of the Virgin Islands said Wednesday that Gaetz may have committed a crime as she questioned Cohen during a House Oversight hearing Gaetz apologized late Tuesday for making a charged allegation against Cohen that he cheated on wife. He deleted a tweet in which he made the original reference. It wasn't good enough for The Florida Bar and at least one of his colleagues, Del. Stacey Plaskett of the Virgin Islands. Plaskett suggested in questioning during a House Oversight Committee hearing, at which Cohen was the star witness, that Congress do more to punish her colleague than a slap on the wrist. 'I want to apologize for the inappropriate comments and tweets that have been made by other members of this body and as a former prosecutor and as former counsel on House Ethics,' she said. She told the former attorney, who was disbarred yesterday for lies he says he told Congress, that Gaetz may have committed a crime when he claimed Cohen was having an affair, without evidence. 'I think that at the very least there should be a referral to the Ethics committee of witness intimidation or tapering, under U.S.C. 1512 of my colleague Matt Gaetz,' she said, 'and it may be possibly him being referred for a criminal prosecution. So, I want to put that on the record.' The legal statute she referred to says that a person who 'knowingly uses intimidation, threatens, or corruptly persuades another person, or attempts to do so, or engages in misleading conduct toward another person with the intent' to 'influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of any person in an official proceeding' can be fined and sent to jail for up to 20 years. Harassing someone with the intent of preventing their testimony in an official proceeding can land the accused in jail for three years. The burden of proof in the statute lies with the defendant. A person accused under the statute must prove 'that the conduct consisted solely of lawful conduct and that the defendants sole intention was to encourage, induce, or cause the other person to testify truthfully.' Additionally, Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly, who also sits on the Oversight Committee, told reporters Wednesday that the House should refer Gaetz's threat to Cohen to the Justice Department for criminal investigation. 'I think what he did was, on its face, an attempt at witness tampering. I've never know any member of Congress, in the history of Congress, to attempt to do that. And I believe that should be referred to the Justice Department,' Connolly said. 'If lying to Congress is crime, what is trying to intimidate a witness from testifying,' he added. Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, arrives to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, on Capitol Hill on Wednesday Gaetz claimed in the now-deleted tweet that Cohen had multiple 'girlfriends' his wife should be aware of as he prepares to spend time behind bars. The tweet was viewed as potential witness tampering, as the Florida lawmaker is an ally of the president's. The Republican congressman is not on the committee that questioned Cohen, but he attended the hearing and was seen conferring with his colleagues inside the room. He says that he did not intend to keep Cohen from testifying publicly for the first time about the crimes the former attorney claims Donald Trump directed him to commit and did not send the tweet with the knowledge of the president. Gaetz apologized publicly after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reprimanded him on Twitter for the salacious charge. He told her in a reply: 'Speaker, I want to get the truth too. While it is important 2 create context around the testimony of liars like Michael Cohen, it was NOT my intent to threaten, as some believe I did. Im deleting the tweet & I should have chosen words that better showed my intent. Im sorry.' GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz deleted a tweet accusing the ex-Trump fixer of philandering and apologized publicly for making the charged allegation His apology came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reprimanded him on Twitter for the salacious charge Gaetz is not on the committee that will question Cohen. Still, his tweet was viewed as potential witness tampering, as the Florida lawmaker is an ally of the president's The Republican congressman was not initially contrite. He defended his conduct to reporters outside his congressional office in Washington. He apologized late Tuesday night The Republican congressman was not initially contrite. He defended his conduct to reporters outside his congressional office in Washington'I don't threaten anybody. Michael Cohen threatens people,' he charged. He said Cohen has a 'PhD in intimidation' and should be held accountable for his 'stream of lies.' 'We already know that Michael Cohen lies to Congress. We already know that Michael Cohen lies to law enforcement. Now we're gonna find out if Michael Cohen lies to his own family,' he said. He told a fellow representative, California's Ro Khanna, who sent a tweet calling out his conduct that he was 'absolutely' right to challenge Cohen. 'We absolutely should encourage all witnesses to testify. I want Michael Cohen to testify so we can show his lies. We should be able to paint an accurate picture of witnesses,' he said. But once Pelosi issued a statement cautioning all lawmakers about witness tampering, Gaetz backed off. 'I encourage all Members to be mindful that comments made on social media or in the press can adversely affect the ability of House Committees to obtain the truthful and complete information necessary to fulfill their duties,' she said. He told a fellow representative, California's Ro Khanna, who sent a tweet calling out his conduct that he was 'absolutely' right to challenge Cohen Gaetz had taken a page from Trump's book on Tuesday when he accused the president's former attorney without evidence, of having multiple affairs on the eve of Cohen's blockbuster public testimony, in which he is expected to call his former boss a liar, a criminal and a racist. The congressman said in a tweet that Cohen's wife, Lauren, and her father should have a 'chat' with the disgraced attorney, suggesting in a tweet that he was hiding more than one illicit relationship from his family. 'Hey @MichaelCohen212 - Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if shell remain faithful when youre in prison. Shes about to learn a lot...' he tweeted. Just over an house later a Democratic member of the committee, New Jersey congressman Bill Pascrell, demanded that Gaetz be investigated for attempting to intimidate a witness. Trump has said publicly that journalists should look into Cohen's father-in-law, Fima Shusterman and hinted that he is in some way involved in fraud. The Republican congressman took a page from Donald Trump's book and accused the president's former fixer, without evidence, of having multiple affairs Family: Michael Cohen and his wife Lauren (right) share two children, Samantha (left) and Jake (second from left) The president, who is currently in Vietnam, has claimed that Cohen is lying about him Cohen's testimony on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to the Senate Intelligence Committee was classified. House Oversight and Reform legislators grilled him Wednesday, and he'll back on Capitol Hill for classified testimony on Thursday. Gaetz insisted Tuesday that he was not attempting to intimidate Cohen as he spoke to reporters and gave a phone interview to the Daily Beast after his tweet . He said said he was merely 'challenging the veracity and character of a witness' before Cohen's public testimony. 'We do it everyday. We typically do it during people's testimony,' he said. 'This is what it looks like to compete in the marketplace of ideas.' The editor-in-chief of Mother Jones brought up a DUI charge that Gaetz was arrested for in 2014 Gaetz insisted that he was not directed to issue the tweet by the Trump or anyone inside the administration. He did not tell the Daily Beast how he knew about Cohen's alleged philandering, either. Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill later in the evening, Gaetz said his tweet 'speaks for itself' and reporters should 'tune in' to the Wednesday hearing to find out what he knows. He confirmed that he had not spoken to the president about the allegation. 'I think the Presidents a little busy saving us from nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula to be worried about my Twitter feed,' he contended. He told the Daily Beast he believes that Cohen's marriage is fair game, because it speaks to the 'veracity' of the congressman's testimony. One of Cohen's admitted crimes is deceit. Cohen apologized to senators on Tuesday for lying in previous testimony as he started three days of testimony on Capitol Hill, where the topics will include racist remarks he's heard from the president and allegations of criminal activity on the part of Trump. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein told DailyMail.com that Cohen - who pleaded guilty to lying to Congress - appeared credible to lawmakers and apologized to them. 'He appeared credible to me today, and he apologized, he said he was going away, you know, he understands, and I think he made efforts to be absolutely truthful,' she said. Video attack: Republican released this YouTube advert mocking Cohen before he heads to federal prison Same time: Donald Trump arrived in Hanoi for a summit with Kim Jong Un exactly as the former fixer he has branded a liar arrived on Capitol Hill Cohen's credibility has been questioned given his admission he lied to lawmakers when he appeared before the House and Senate intelligence committees in 2017. Feinstein declined to offer specific details on what Cohen, who was known as Trump's fixer, discussed with committee members. 'The part I was in, which is about two hours, umm, he answered questions, he was really it's classified, so I can't tell you much. I think that most of us know that this is very complicated picture,' she said. A grieving father wants his estranged wife and adult daughter jailed for life after they were accused of killing his son and four other family members in a Pennsylvania apartment murder spree. Shana Decree, 45, and her daughter Dominique Decree, 19, have been charged with killing five of their close relatives, including three children, at their apartment outside Philadelphia on Monday night. Police found them with the bodies of the five relatives they had allegedly killed after child welfare authorities arrived for a surprise visit to their trashed apartment. Shana Decree, 45, and her daughter Dominique Decree, 19, have been charged with killing five of their close relatives, including three children, at their apartment outside Philadelphia on Monday night The victims were Shana's children, Naa'Irah Smith, 25, and Damon Decree Jr., 13; Shana Decree's sister Jamilla Campbell; and Campbell's 9-year-old twin daughters, Imani and Erika Allen. Decree's estranged husband Damon Decree Sr., who is the father of alleged murderer Dominique and victim Damon Jr., told ABC11 he had been calling child protective services and police for a month. 'I don't want them in no insane asylum. I want to see them in jail for the rest of their life,' he said. The grieving father said Decree and his daughter had supposedly been involved in an online cult in recent weeks and had been talking about 'demons being all around them'. He said every time protective services were called to check on the children, 'the kids were safe and it's nothing we could do'. Police found the mother-daughter duo (above) in an apartment with the bodies of the five relatives they had allegedly killed after child welfare authorities arrived for a surprise visit to their trashed apartment Police say they found Shana and Dominique Decree 'disoriented' inside the apartment (above), where furniture had been turned over, drywall was cracked and glass lay around Authorities discovered the scene after a Bucks County child welfare officer arrived Monday evening for an unannounced visit and was let into the building by someone who works there. Police responded at 4pm and found all five bodies in a bedroom. They found Shana and Dominique Decree 'disoriented' inside the apartment, which was in 'disarray,' according to Police Chief George McClay, with broken drywall and broken glass, overturned furniture, and other clutter. Damon, Shana's teenage son, was found lying face up on the bed with his right foot jammed through the wall into the adjacent bedroom. Authorities initially said they found four bodies, but they discovered a fifth underneath another that was next to a bed. The mother and daughter were taken to a hospital and at first said they did not know what had happened. They pleaded ignorance and claimed that her sister Jamilla's boyfriend and two other men came into their apartment and killed everyone, only leaving her and Dominique alive. Investigators went back to Dominique and told her that her mother has named a potential suspect. The 19-year-old then also pointed a finger of blame and her aunt's boyfriend and two other men. Dominique, however, later changed her story, telling police that her mother killed one of her sister's twins, her own son, and daughter, Naa'irah Smith; that her aunt Jamilla choked her other twin daughter, and that Dominique herself choked Jamilla to death. Shana Decree then told police that 'everyone at the apartment... wanted to die' and talked about suicide, according to court documents. Shana's 13-year-old son, Damon, was among the dead inside the family's apartment (pictured) Victims: Shana Decree's sister Jamilla Campbell (left) was one of the family members killed in Pennsylvania, along with Decree's daughter, 25-year-old Naa'Irah Smith (right) Shana Decree was arraigned early Tuesday, while Dominique Decree was arraigned in the afternoon. It isn't clear whether either woman has a lawyer to speak for her. Court papers show they have not requested a public defender, and no attorney information is listed. Authorities who had been looking for Campbell's 17-year-old son Joshua found him not far away in Willingboro, New Jersey, where he was staying with friends, Police Chief George McClay said. Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub stressed the teen is not a suspect, saying authorities just wanted to make sure he was safe. The apartments are in Morrisville, which sits on the Delaware River northeast of Philadelphia and across from Trenton, New Jersey. The three-story, red-brick apartment complex is on a busy road lined with auto repair shops, a safe-and-lock shop and a bail bonds agency nearby. Thai Hall, 24, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, said she attended Morrisville High School with Smith and spoke with her about three months ago. Hall, whose mother lives in a neighboring apartment, said Smith was attending cosmetology school. She remembered Smith warmly. 'She was a happy person, happy person and cared for people,' Hall said. On Tuesday evening at the London Palladium, I was surprised and flattered that so many people turned out to hear me talk about Brexit. I fear I will never be as popular on its famous revolving stage as the great Sir Bruce Forsyth once was. But if only we can sort out one detail from the EU Withdrawal Agreement and ensure Brexit, then I could retire to sell ice creams at the theatre just as I did during the interval. And given that I took more than 480, it may, in fact, be my real vocation. It was a joy to meet so many people and hear what they had to say about the issue that has dominated political life for the best part of two and a half years. I got the strong sense from everyone I spoke to that they wanted Brexit delivered as soon as possible. Jacob Rees-Mogg spoke at a Spectator event last night at the London Palladium. The leader of the European Research Group writes that the Northern Ireland backstop in its current form would last indefinitely and needs to be changed The Northern Ireland backstop has always been the biggest sticking point in the negotiations and for a very good reason. I am as determined as anyone that the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland should remain as peaceful and problem-free as it is today. However, in its current form, the backstop which would allow for an open border between the two countries, leaving Northern Ireland subject to certain rules of the EU's single market would last indefinitely. The whole point of leaving the EU is to take back control, not to leave the EU with the potential for lasting effective power over trade and regulations in Northern Ireland, or any other part of the UK. If this issue can be resolved, then I would be content to support the Prime Minister's Withdrawal Agreement. Geoffrey Cox, the much-respected Attorney General, is in Brussels trying to persuade the EU to agree to a legally binding date to the backstop. Geoffrey Cox, the Attorney General, is trying to secure concessions on the backstop It would be wrong to jump the gun, but if he can achieve this it would mark a fundamental change to the agreement and allow Brexiteers such as me to accept it. Once we can secure a limit to the backstop, all the other imperfections in Mrs May's deal, such as continued meddling by the European Court of Justice and our continuing to pay huge sums into EU coffers, become much less problematic. The key difference is that these are all time-limited, whereas the backstop, as currently outlined, is potentially everlasting. Once a final date is put on it, our objections to the deal, like the effects of its provisions, fade away. I really do not mind what form of words the Attorney General and the EU agree on regarding the backstop as long as it expires before the next election and has the same legal status as the deal. And I do not agree with those who say the Withdrawal Agreement has to be reopened to solve the backstop problem. It is itself an appendix to the treaty, so I would be happy with a further appendix, as this would have equal legal force. In my view, that would satisfy most of us who are worried, and it may also help those who say the Withdrawal Agreement cannot be reopened to save face. I take a practical and not a theological attitude towards these matters. Those who have suggested that I and my Conservative colleagues in the European Research Group have gone out of our way to make things difficult for the Prime Minister could not be more wrong. Our aim has consistently been to follow the commitments made in the 2017 Tory election manifesto and implicit in the 2016 referendum result. Prime Minister Theresa May (pictured leaving Parliament this afternoon) is still determined to keep to the March 29 departure date That some Cabinet ministers have undermined collective responsibility and tried to thwart Mrs May is hardly our fault. The Prime Minister says it is still her fervent hope that the UK leaves the EU on March 29. I share her sentiments. If and I stress if she can secure the necessary assurances on the backstop I have outlined, I would be delighted to support her deal and help avoid any delay to Brexit. It is not my job to tell other Conservative MPs what to do, but I am sure many other passionate advocates of Brexit would take the same pragmatic and patriotic view. At long last, we would have delivered our promise to the 17.4 million who voted to leave the EU in June 2016. And, as soon as that happens, we Conservatives can put our differences behind us, reunite and focus on winning the next election and keeping Jeremy Corbyn out of Number 10. Jeffrey Holland, 30, was sentenced to 190 years in prison on Tuesday in New Jersey A man convicted of murdering two ex-girlfriends and the new boyfriend of one of them has been sentenced to 190 years in prison. Jeffrey Holland, 30, was convicted in December of the murders and other counts including burglary, theft, desecration of human remains and other counts. He was sentenced Tuesday. Prosecutors say that Holland choked and drowned his girlfriend, 21-year-old Tiniquah Rouse, in January 2016, before leaving her 'desecrated' body in the bathroom. He then put her five-month-old baby boy in the apartment closet, covered him with clothes, and left the apartment. The baby was discovered unharmed. The following day, Holland went to his ex-girlfriend 23-year-old Ashley Jones' apartment where he kicked in the apartment door and fatally shot Jones and her new boyfriend Jarrell Marshall, 28. Holland choked and drowned his girlfriend, 21-year-old Tiniquah Rouse (left and right), in January 2016, before leaving her 'desecrated' body in the bathroom Killer Holland (right) is seen with one of the victims, Ashley Jones. Jones was shot alongside new boyfriend in front of three young children, two of them hers with Holland According to the prosecution, three children ages one, three, and four were present during the shooting. Two of those children, the oldest and the youngest, were the killer's own with Jones. The third child, a three-year-old, was the Marshall's daughter from another relationship. Jones and Marshall had recently started dating. During sentencing, Essex County Judge Ronald D. Wigler said that Holland's crimes 'were the most depraved, heinous and cruel' that the he had presided over during his tenure on the bench. Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab, who tried the case, said in a statement: 'The sheer depravity and violence that occurred in this case is incomprehensible. This defendant brutally killed three innocent people and in the case of Rouse desecrated her body. 'His crimes are even more cruel because they were carried out in the presence of very young children, including two of his own children,' Edwab said. Jones (left) was with her new boyfriend Jarrell Marshall (right) when Holland kicked in the apartment door and shot them both dead It is unclear exactly how Rouse's body was desecrated. Prosecutors said at trial that Holland took pictures of the body and began searching the internet for evidence needed for a murder conviction after killing her. Holland testified that Rouse's death was an accident, and he denied having anything to do with the other slayings. A jury did not believe him. Holland was found guilty on all 18 counts, including three counts of murder, desecration of human remains, hindering, felony murder, burglary, theft, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, multiple counts of endangering the welfare of a child and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. Judge Wigler sentenced Holland to 60 years for each murder and another 10 for being a convicted felon with a weapon. Holland will have to serve 158 years before he is eligible for parole. President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban compelled the U.S. to deny more than 37,000 travel visa applications in 2018, according to new State Department data released on Tuesday. Overall there were at least a thousand more visa rejections last year than there were in 2017. The latest data shows 15,384 applicants seeking permanent residence within the U.S. were denied related immigrant visas, according to the Huffington Post. Another 21,645 applicants seeking non-immigrant visas typically granted for business or tourism, had their applications rejected as well. The third iteration of Trump's travel ban took full effect in December of 2017 after two previous versions were declared unconstitutional by federal courts. President Donald Trump signed his initial travel ban executive order in January of 2017 The latest version placed varying levels of restrictions on foreign nationals from eight countries, including the Muslim majority nations of Chad, Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen in addition to North Korea and Venezuela. Trump promised to curtail the number of immigrants and refugees from Muslim majority regions marred by radical Islamic terrorism and war during his 2016 presidential campaign. 'Since December 8, 2017, the Department has fully implemented Presidential Proclamation 9645, consistent with the December 4, 2017 Supreme Court order,' a State Department spokesperson told CNN on Tuesday. The over night implementation of Trump's travel ban in January of 2017 resulted in bureaucratic chaos and mass protests at airports across the U.S. Protests erupted at airports across the U.S. when Trump's initial travel ban took effect on January 27, 2017 Visas granted to applicants from the Muslim majority nations of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen dropped by 80 percent between 2016 to 2018. The ban was challenged and rejected multiple times in the lower court before the final decision was upheld. The State Department's new data set does not include a breakdown of denied applications by country. But previous figures show the number of visas issued to people from five of the Muslim-majority countries listed in the ban Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen dropped by 80 percent between 2016 to 2018. A 'booby trapped' body that exploded during its own funeral killed 17 mourners after jihadists planted the corpse with explosives. The man had gone to find grass for his cattle in a forest near his home in Diankabou, central Mali, on Tuesday and never returned. His corpse was later found by authorities in bushes dressed in military fatigues but when his family gathered for a funeral the body exploded. Malian troops stand guard prior to the visit of the French Prime Minister at the Operation Barkane military French base in Gao, Mali Among the 17 people killed were the man's parents as 15 others were wounded by the force of the blast. Half of those killed are thought to have been mourning the death. 'They dug the grave. It was at the moment of sliding the body in that it exploded,' Oumar Guindo, a Gondogourou resident, told Malian newspaper the North South Journal. A local official told AFP the blast, in Diankabou, a small town about 150 kilometres (90 miles) east of the city of Mopti, was caused by a 'booby-trapped corpse'. They said it was 'an explosive device which was planted on the body of a man who had been shot dead. 'The gunmen who killed him had planted explosives on his body and around it. 'This is a method that jihadists use to cause maximum deaths.' Mali has been struggling to return to stability after Al-Qaeda-linked extremists took control of the north in early 2012, prompting a military intervention by France The attack was the first incident of its kind in Mali. On February 14, jihadists in neighbouring Burkina Faso used an identical method, rigging a corpse dressed in military fatigues with explosives. The blast killed two police officers and an army doctor. Mali has been struggling to return to stability after Al-Qaeda-linked extremists took control of the north in early 2012, prompting a military intervention by France. Although they were routed in the French operation in 2013, large stretches of the landlocked African state remain out of government control. Most of the violence is centred in Mali's central and southern regions but it has also spread across its borders, affecting neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger. The country has also been blighted by inter-communal violence between farmers and herders which last year killed more than 500 civilians, UN figures show. Brittany Zamora, 27, is in jail on a $250,000 bond for allegedly sleeping with the 13-year-old boy on four different occasions A teacher accused of having sex with a 13-year-old boy slept with him in a classroom in front of another student, according to police. Brittany Zamora , 27, is accused of having sex with the unidentified minor multiple times both in her car and in her classroom. According to The Arizona Republic, they once had sex when another student was in the room. Their affair began after she told students to contact her using an app called Class Craft because, according to records, she was bored in class one day. Her messages with the boy in question soon turned romantic and the pair started having sex, according to prosecutors. They allege that the pair once even touched each other sexually while other students in the class watched a video. As more details of their sordid affair become public, so too do the text messages they exchanged. In one x-rated back-and-forth, Zamora told the boy she wanted to have sex with him 'every day with no time limit'. 'Wyd?' she started one conversation with him, using the slang-abbreviation for 'what are you doing?' He replied: 'Thinking about your sexy self' and added two pink heart emojis. These are some of the text messages exchanged between the teenage boy and the teacher The teenage boy sent her love notes on bright post-its including one which read 'U R SEXY!' which he passed her in class Some of the notes included 'hello!' and 'U R Sexy'. The teenager took them to the teacher during class hours The schoolboy sent these notes too which included hearts and some of their initials. He also sent letters 'Aww baby (love heart eyes emoji) I wish you were with me,' she responded. The boy replied: 'I want u bby. (sic).. when can we f**k again?', this time adding two red heart emojis to his message. Zamora hit back: 'I want you too baby so bad! Whenever we can you know I'm down,' with a red heart emoji. She went on: 'Like you for real get sexier to me every day lol.' 'I want to f**k you so bad baby those times weren't enough,' the boy replied to her. She responded: 'Me neither baby! I want you every day with no time limit.' Zamora is married. According to police, she had sex with the 13-year-old boy twice in her car outside his grandparents' house while her husband, Daniel, was fishing In another message, she told him she would quit her job in order for them to be together. On two occasions, she drove to his grandparents' home to have sex with him in her car while her husband was fishing. She and the boy performed oral sex on each other before her husband phoned to tell her he would be home soon, according to the records. Zamora is shown after being booked into jail in March when she told police she was worried she would be picked on because she is 'little' They exchanged explicit photographs including images of Zamora in lingerie and naked and the boy gave her love notes on brightly colored post-its which contained messages including 'you are sexy', according to police. Their affair was discovered by his parents who had an app on his phone which monitored explicit messages. Zamora was arrested in March and is in jail awaiting trial. She told police when she was arrested that she was nervous she would not survive behind bars. 'I'm little. They're gonna tear me apart.' She then asked 'Can I have an attorney?' when the interviewer declared: 'I'm going to give you an opportunity to explain what happened.' Zamora opened up to cops about her fear after they appeared friendly when she was taken into custody. Before being helped into a police car by an officer who warned her the step was large, she asked cops to help her move her hair in front of her face to avoid the glare of waiting media. 'You'll be fine, OK?' one woman tells her. 'We have to go in the door by them, OK?' Zamora even appears to be smiling at one point. The boys parents were devastated by the affair. All smiles: This is the moment the Arizona six-grade teacher Brittany Zamora, 28, accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy at her school, was arrested last March Body cam footage reveals she complained: 'I'm little. They're gonna tear me apart' Zamora later appeared with her blonde locked flowing as she tried to avoid photographers 'His childhood is already gone,' the boy's father says in an interview with law enforcement 'He's 13.' The child's stepmother quietly cried as she told police how they confronted him. '"So we just need you to tell us the truth,"...we showed him the conversation and we said, "Who is this? Who are you talking to?" And he said, "My teacher." 'So then my husbandwe are very blunt with our kids. We are open and we have had conversations with him growing up and all that. And so my husband just told him, "'Have you done anything with your teacher? Did you have sex with your teacher?" 'And he said "yes."' The boy's parents noticed he was acting strange, leading them to discover the text messages on his phone thanks to an app called Sentry Parental Control, which monitors messaging apps for 'suspicious content or behavior'. Footage just released also shows Zamora's husband remained supportive of his wife despite the accusations. 'Not gonna discuss it with you,' her husband tells police at one point. 'Brittany is an adult. She's the best, the best person I've ever known,' he said. It is not clear if they are still together or not. The boy's parents previously claimed Zamora's husband Daniel called them and begged them not to report his wife to police after they saw her sexual texts, saying she had made a mistake. The parents told police that Zamora's husband 'harassed' the father over the phone, begging him not to go to the authorities and insisting that his wife had 'made a big mistake, but that she loved the kids,' according to the documents. Daniel Zamora also allegedly suggested that he and the boy's dad 'meet up' and 'settle this,' but the parent turned down his offer and hung up on him. Zamora and her husband, who she has known she was 16, married in 2015. They do not have any children. Law enforcement reports show Zamora made excuses for the actions of which she's accused in a recorded phone call with the victim's parents. 'I ask myself the same question,' Zamora replied according to police records. 'I just got really close after I think everything went down and we're like, "How could that happen?" We just got close.' Zamora's husband defended her to detectives, saying: 'Brittany is an adult. She's the best, the best person I've ever known' The teacher married Daniel Zamora, who she knew since she was 16, in 2015 (wedding photo) The plaintiffs' court filing accuses officials at Liberty Elementary School District of failing to report the alleged abuse to the police in a timely fashion The first-year teacher was charged with 10 counts of sexual conduct with a minor, two counts of molestation, two counts of furnishing sexually explicit material to a minor and one count public sexual indecency. She pleaded not guilty. It was previously reported that on February 8, three students at the school complained to administrators about Zamora favoring the 13-year-old. Some of the students went so far as to say that she was 'dating' or 'in a relationship' with the teen. Zamora, pictured in Facebook photos, has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her and is set to go to trial in November 'Everyone talks about them having an inappropriate relationship outside of class and at recess,' one of the students said, according to notes taken by Principal Tom Dickey in an interview. 'I've heard other kids in my class say that they think they are dating,' another note reads. The school district interim superintendent, Richard Rundhaug, told the Republic that they investigated the allegations at the time, but found no evidence of a romantic relationship. 'We did investigate. We determined there were some elements of favoritism, and we gave the teacher some very specific direction on not allowing that favoritism to continue, and then we monitored to make sure those directions were followed,' Rundhaug said. 'Whenever we became aware of information, our response was pretty quick,' he added. A second student later came forward to police saying he had witnessed Zamora having sex with the 13-year-old and admitted to receiving naked photos from the woman as well. Court papers filed on behalf of the victim's family in August allege that the school district could have put an end to the alleged molestation, given that most of the sexual encounters between Zamora and her student took place after the principal first heard about their alleged relationship from other students. 'It was preventable,' plaintiffs' attorney Michael Medina said. 'We want to hold the school district accountable so this never happens again in the future.' Michael Mullen was employed to care for elderly residents at an Adelaide nursing home but instead bashed one, leaving her injured and crying out in pain. The 55-year-old was found guilty of the aggravated assault of Elizabeth Hannaford, 72, in November 2015 on Wednesday. The attack took place while Mullen was working a night shift at Southern Cross Care's Lourdes Valley nursing home at Myrtle Bank. The court heard Mullen became angry after Ms Hannaford repeatedly pulled the cords to sensor mats around her bed. Michael Mullen (pictured) was employed to care for elderly residents at an Adelaide nursing home but instead bashed one, leaving her injured and crying out in pain Mullen was found guilty of the aggravated assault of Elizabeth Hannaford, 72 (pictured), in November 2015 on Wednesday Her roommate, Meg Rogers, said Mullen came into their room and said words to the effect of 'there'll be consequences if you continue this behaviour' and 'you are doing my bloody head in'. Ms Rogers, in a statement before her death, said she heard Mullen's punches and Ms Hannaford saying 'no' in a 'pained and wounded' voice. In a police interview, Mullen denied the assault and suggested Ms Hannaford may have rolled over and hit herself on a cabinet beside the bed. However, magistrate Paul Foley found Mullen had punched her in the face 'more than once', leaving her with extensive bruising. He said Mullen was in a position of trust in his role as a carer and knew of Ms Hannaford's condition. 'He was aware that (Ms Hannaford) was in a position of particular vulnerability because of both physical and mental disability,' he said on Wednesday. Ms Hannaford died several months after the attack, but her family are calling for measures to be put in place to ensure other residents are not harmed. Outside Adelaide Magistrates Court, her daughter, Joanna Warde, said her mother had suffered because of Mullen's actions. 'She was such a lovely, caring person and she did not deserve what he did to her,' she told reporters. 'I just hope this never, ever, ever happens to another person again. 'It's been quite traumatic and a really terrible way to lose your mum.' Ms Hannaford's ex-husband and carer, David Binns, called for better screening processes for aged care workers. 'I think that the aged care management need to be more careful about the selecting of carers, perhaps carers need to be trained more about dementia,' he said. Mullen was remanded on continuing bail to face court again in April. A young mother is demanding that staff at a childcare centre apologise to her after her baby son suffered nasty head injuries. Darlene Cox noticed her one-year-old son Xavier had a big graze on his forehead when she picked him and his four-year-old sister up from a childcare centre in Perth on Monday. Ms Cox claims she was originally told her son had been injured as a result of falling over, but then a carer said she had been holding two children when she dropped him. Scroll down for video Darlene Cox noticed her one-year-old son Xavier (pictured) had a big graze on his forehead when she picked him up from a childcare centre Ms Cox claims she was originally told that Xavier had been injured as a result of falling over, but then a carer said she had been holding two children when she dropped him 'I hadn't had a phone call or anything... I said what's happened to my baby?' Ms Cox told Nine News. '[I was] extremely shocked. I said he looked like he'd fallen from a motorbike and scraped his face along the road.' Ms Cox said after she spoke to her daughter the full story of what happened to Xavier became clear. 'The lady said ''I'm really sorry, I was nursing [him] on a chair... some other girls called me and I've lost concentration and I've accidentally dropped him'',' Ms Cox said. Ms Cox claims she was never notified of her son's injuries and only found out about them when she came to pick him up. 'My point is she's qualified to work with babies... you just don't drop a baby when someone calls your name,' she said. Xavier was taken to hospital where he was monitored for a day before he returned home Xavier was taken to hospital where he was monitored for a day before he returned home. Ms Cox posted photos to Facebook showing her son's severely grazed face. 'I'm so heartbroken for my baby honestly there is just no justifying this. I'm so so upset,' she wrote alongside the photos. 'I have sat for hours thinking how this reason is even possible as honestly who drops a baby just because someone called their name, it don't (sic) make sense.' She has demanded that the childcare centre apologise to her for allowing her son to be injured. A Department of Communities spokesperson said they have been notified of the incident and are investigating. Daily Mail Australia has contacted the childcare centre for comment. The Pentagon has spent nearly $8 million to treat more than 1,500 transgender troops since 2016 when former President Barack Obama's administration changed the policy to allow them to serve openly. The data from the Defense Department was given to the House Armed Services Committee ahead of a hearing on Wednesday in which transgender service members are scheduled to testify before members of Congress for the first time. Among those set to testify before lawmakers will be pentagon officials, five active-duty transgender service members and Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, a Navy Reserve commander who helped push to remove the military's last barrier to service under Obama, who lifted the ban in 2016. President Donald Trump's administration is pushing to reinstate the ban on transgender personnel, citing 'tremendous medical costs' as a reason for the ban. Of the $8 million the military has spent on transgender care over the last three years, about $5.8 million has been spent on psychotherapy and about $2 million has been spent on surgeries mostly for breast reductions and hysterectomies. There were about 23,000 psychotherapy visits and about 160 surgeries. The ban remains blocked by litigation, as the military's health care budget tops $50 billion. The Pentagon has spent nearly $8 million to treat more than 1,500 transgender troops since 2016 when former President Barack Obama's administration changed the policy to allow them to serve openly. Many transgender soldiers are highly decorated, like US Army Maj. Ian Brown (right), pictured on February 5 with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Brown is a two-time Bronze Star recipient who transitioned from female to male while advising the Army's deputy chief of staff in operations and planning The hearing on Wednesday will be held by a subcommittee chaired by Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier who introduced bipartisan legislation in February that would prohibit the Department of Defense from denying the enlistment or continued service of transgender people if Trump's ban takes effect. Similar legislation was introduced in the Senate. It's unclear whether the legislation would be voted on as a stand-alone bill or be folded into the defense bill, which could be harder for Trump to veto. Vice Adm. Raquel Bono, the director of the Defense Health Agency, and James Stewart, acting under-secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, are among the Pentagon officials expected to testify. They are expected to be questioned about whether there is evidence that supports excluding transgender personnel. The American Medical Association has stated there is none. In the nearly three years since the U.S. military welcomed transgender people into the armed forces, they have largely served without incident. Some, US Army Maj. Ian Brown, 38, have earned prestigious medals or received other forms of recognition. Army Lieutenant Gen. Tom Spoehr, who retired in 2016 when transgender troops started serving openly, witnessed no problems. But he agrees with Trump's policy because of suicide rates among people with gender dysphoria. 'The military has to work with the preponderance that the data and evidence say people with gender dysphoria are at much greater risk of harming themselves and not being at their best,' said Spoehr, director of The Heritage Foundation's Center for National Defense. From left, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Blake Dremann, together with other transgender military members, Army Capt. Alivia Stehlik, Army Capt. Jennifer Peace, Army Staff Sgt. Patricia King and Navy Petty Officer Third Class Akira Wyatt, testify about their military service before a House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Wednesday In a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, Pentagon officials are expected to be questioned about whether there is evidence that supports excluding transgender personnel. The American Medical Association has stated there is none. In this July 27, 2017 photo, Master Sgt. Erika Stoltz, poses for a photo at her home in Sun Prairie, Wis. Stoltz, 56, served four combat deployments and earned two Bronze Stars. After returning from Afghanistan, she transitioned from male to female while working full-time for the Army Brown disagrees that transgender troops have more problems than the general military population. 'At the end of the day, as a trans soldier, I'm going to do my job to the best of my ability, and that's to fight for everyone's freedoms,' said the two-time Bronze Star recipient who transitioned from female to male while advising the Army's deputy chief of staff in operations and planning. 'That's not going to change.' During Master Sgt. Erika Stoltz's first post-transition deployment, she received a humanitarian award for her hurricane relief work in the Caribbean. 'There have been people who have blatantly run into the face of certain death to save another soldier,' said the combat veteran with two Bronze Stars. 'They're not worried about what gender they are, they're just trying to save their buddy.' Lindsey Muller, who will not be testifying, served in the Army as a man for nearly a decade before telling her commanders in 2014 that she identified as a woman and would resign because military policy barred transgender personnel. Her superiors, citing her outstanding performance, persuaded the decorated attack helicopter pilot to stay. After Obama changed the policy, she started dressing in uniform as a woman. Lindsey Muller (pictured) diligently followed the Pentagon guidelines to transition and the 19-year Iraq combat veteran went on to be recommended for a promotion, with her commander calling her the best battalion officer in the brigade Muller diligently followed the Pentagon guidelines to transition and the 19-year Iraq combat veteran went on to be recommended for a promotion, with her commander calling her the best battalion officer in the brigade, as the surgery to complete her gender transition was scheduled. She was grounded after going on hormone replacement therapy, though non-transgender people on hormone replacement therapy routinely receive waivers to keep flying. Since then, Muller has been an aviation safety officer in South Korea, overseeing 1,100 troops near the demilitarized zone. But the operation was postponed in 2017 when Trump announced on Twitter that he was reinstituting the ban and that the Pentagon 'cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.' Muller has since had the surgery and continues to serve. With the ban now blocked by four separate lawsuits, including one in which Muller is the plaintiff, transgender troops were set to testify for the first time before Congress on Wednesday. With the ban now blocked by four separate lawsuits, including one in which Muller is the plaintiff, transgender troops were set to testify for the first time before Congress on Wednesday. Army Capt. Alivia Stehlik, second from left, together with other transgender military members, from left, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Blake Dremann, Army Capt. Jennifer Peace, Army SSgt. Patricia King, and Navy Petty Officer Third Class Akira Wyatt, testify about their service before a House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Wednesday Military chiefs testified before Congress last year that they found no problems with transgender troops on morale. Army Staff Sgt. Patricia King, second from right, together with other transgender military members, from left, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Blake Dremann, Army Capt. Alivia Stehlik, Army Capt. Jennifer Peace and Navy Petty Officer Third Class Akira Wyatt, testify about their military service before a House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Wednesday Muller and many in her same position say they stand as proof against President Donald Trump's argument that their presence is a burden. 'Once you meet transgender people who have served in the different branches ... it's really hard to dismiss the fact that you will find Purple Heart recipients, Bronze Star winners, attack aviators, Navy SEALs,' Muller said. 'We've been here, and we will continue to be here regardless. In what capacity is up to the administration.' While the Supreme Court in January lifted national injunctions by two courts, two others remain in place. Military chiefs testified before Congress last year that they found no problems with transgender troops on morale. An estimated 14,700 troops on active duty and in the Reserves identify as transgender but not all seek treatment.From left, Navy Lt. Commander Blake Dremann, Army Capt. Alivia Stehlik, Army Capt. Jennifer Peace, Army Staff Sgt. Patricia King, Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Akira Wyatt, and Dr. Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, chair-elect of the American Medical Association Board of Trustees at the Military Personnel Subcommittee hearing on 'Transgender Service Policy' on Capital Hill on Wednesday in Washington, DC Military chiefs testified before Congress last year that they found no problems with transgender troops on morale. An estimated 14,700 troops on active duty and in the Reserves identify as transgender but not all seek treatment. The Defense Department treated 1,525 service members between July 1, 2016 and February 1, 2019, who were diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a condition of extreme distress from not identifying with one's biological gender. Currently about 1,071 are serving, including 20 senior officers. The Trump administration's expected policy would allow transgender people to serve if they remain in their biological sex. It would grandfather in current service members, though the government has also said it retains the right to eliminate that protection. Transgender troops say the ban mirrors the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy that prohibited gay men and women from serving openly in the armed forces before Congress repealed it in 2010. The family of a beloved TV meteorologist from Michigan are breaking their silence for their first time since she killed herself in December, saying they are convinced that complications from a corrective eye surgery she had undergone two months earlier drove her to suicide. Jessica Starr, 35, a married mother-of-two who worked for WJBK Fox 2 since 2011, took her own life on December 12, less than nine weeks after she had gone in for a laser eye surgery known as SMILE to correct her nearsightedness. The Oakland County Medical Examiners Office said hanged herself. In an interview with Good Morning America that aired Wednesday, Jessicas widowed husband, Dan Rose, and her mother, Carol Starr, revealed that the usually bubbly and gregarious wife and mother became depressed in the aftermath of the surgery and struggled with multiple side effects. Scroll down for video Breaking their silence: Carol Starr, Jessica Starr's mother, and her widowed husband, Dan Rose, appeared on Good Morning America Wednesday to talk about her post-eye surgery suicide Starr, 35, a TV meteorologist in Michigan, took her own life in December, just eight weeks after undergoing a corrective laser eye surgery known as SMILE SMILE, which is an acronym that stands for 'small incision lenticule extraction,' involves the surgeon using a femtosecond laser to create a small piece of tissue within the cornea then, using the same laser, they make an arc-shaped incision on the cornea's surface to extract the tissue through and discard it. It changes the shape of the cornea and corrects nearsightedness. Ordinarily, patients' incision heals within a few days, without stitches, and their vision is quickly improved. The procedure was approved by the FDA in 2016 and is carried out by doctors across the country. It has been performed around 1.5million times worldwide. Jessica had the surgery in October and took four weeks off then returned to work for one day in November, but it was too much of a struggle for her and she was back at home the next day. In a video uploaded to her Facebook page on November 13, the day she went back to work, she was downcast as she asked viewers for their prayers and well wishes. 'I am struggling a little bit so I need all the prayers and well wishes. This is a hard go. Her family say Jessica struggled with complications associated with the procedure, including extremely dry eyes and starbursts, which they believe led to her depression Starr is survived by her parents, husband and their two young children, a son and daughter (all pictured together) 'If you have any tips I'd appreciate it, I'm trying to stay strong and get through this recovery. Rose said his wife knew something was not right with her eyes within days of the operation. She started to complain of incredibly dry eyes, he told GMA. She had almost no night vision. She had starbursts that she was seeing during the day and at night. In the weeks before her suicide, Starr made several videos (left and right) documenting her struggles, saying at one point that she was mad at herself for having the surgery done Both Rose and his mother-in-law agree that prior to the surgery, Jessica exhibited no signs of any physical or mental illness The woman documented her struggles in video diary entries. In one recording, a dejected Jessica talks about feeling mad at herself for deciding to go through with the SMILE procedure. I don't know why [I did it], she tells the camera. I was fine in contacts. Glasses weren't that big of a deal. It was fine. Her mother, Carol, told Good Morning America that in the weeks after the surgery, Jessica shed 25lbs. When she asked her daughter if she was well, she said, 'I'm not eating and I'm not sleeping, Mom. This is worrying me. I don't think it's gonna get better.' According to her family, the Detroit-based meteorologist reached out to various eye doctors and even sought help with a therapist, but her emotional state continued deteriorating. I was going to dinner by myself with the kids, her husband recounted. I was taking the kids to the movies by myself, in the sense of she started to withdraw from life. Rose said his once-bubbly wife had started to 'withdraw from life,' leaving him to take spend time with their kids on his own Both Rose and his mother-in-law agree that prior to the surgery, Jessica exhibited no signs of any physical or mental illness, and they point a finger of blame at the eye procedure. There was nothing else that we can attribute it to, said Rose. The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery told ABC News in a statement that 'clinical data on SMILE shows sight compromising complications are extremely rare, at less than one percent.' A three-year-old child's head was split open after the little girl was violently thrown against a cabinet by her teacher, leaving her sprawled on the classroom floor. The horrific incident took place in the classroom at Brighter Day Care and Preschool in north St. Louis County, Missouri on Friday February 1, in front of other young preschoolers. An ambulance was called and the teacher sent the a note to her parents saying 'she fell' as an explanation for the incident. But surveillance camera footage from the classroom shows the teacher aggressively grab the girl by the arm seemingly without reason as she was standing alone by a chair, drag her, and throw her to the floor. A three-year-old's head was split open after her teacher at Brighter Day Care and Preschool in north St. Louis County, Missouri threw her into a cabinet seemingly without reason on Friday February 1 The teacher sent her home with a note saying 'she fall' but surveillance video footage from her classroom shows the moment the teacher flung the little girl the ground and she hit a cabinet in the process The child was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and required seven stitches. Heartbreaking images show how deep the cut was in the child's forehead. It's not clear what the little girl's current condition is. Now her family, who request to remain anonymous, have hired an attorney to represent them. It's not clear if a lawsuit has officially been filed. 'In no world did this family have any idea that what was called a fall was actually an assault until they came to see that video,' attorney Jennifer Hansen said to Fox2. 'One of the more egregious aspects of this case is that the daycare director told the family that she did not watch the surveillance tape until the family was with her,' she added. Hansen says five days after the incident a relative of the young child recorded video off of a surveillance monitor with her phone that showed how the young girl was really hurt. The little girl pictured above before she was grabbed by her teacher at the school on Friday February 1 The teacher grabbed the child by the arm, dragged her across the room, and threw her down This is the moment a teacher grabs the child and viciously throws her into a cabinet In the video the relative is heard yelping with shock when she realizes the girl was intentionally hurt and her head injury wasn't accidental. 'The daycare could've reviewed that footage at any time. They didn't and they allowed the daycare worker who assaulted this little girl, to continue to work at the facility for five additional days,' lawyer Hansen said. The teacher involved in the assault was fired immediately after the director saw the video. Police are also investigating as are state child care inspectors. Inspectors had reported past cases of children getting hurt at that school location. Now police and state child care inspectors are investigating the incident. Inspectors reveal that two prior complaints had been filed at the daycare preschool center in the past In one incident from May 2018, inspectors said 'staff did not have a preventative plan in place' when '(one child was) repeatedly hitting and choking another child.' Back in March 2016, inspectors reported that a 'child fell out of the chair and sustained a left femoral fracture'. Following the child's injury the attorney for Daycare director Sharon Williams told KTVI: 'All teachers and staff are properly trained and extremely qualified. Providing a quality education in a safe environment is of the utmost importance to our teachers and staff. It has always been our policy to notify the proper authorities and to fully comply with any investigation. We have and will continue to follow said policy.' Advertisement The government is demolishing eight prototypes of Donald Trump's prized border wall that instantly became powerful symbols of his presidency when they were built nine months after he took office. As Michael Cohen testified against him in DC and Trump met with Kim Jong Un in Vietnam, workers set about demolishing the famed prototypes on Wednesday near the border in San Diego. U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the prototypes have served their purpose, and the land is needed to erect a new 14-mile stretch of 30-foot-tall steel bollard secondary fencing. The new barrier will create an enforcement zone between the new secondary fencing and the primary fencing to the south. Work crews begin to demolish Trump's border wall prototypes in San Diego on Wednesday The government is demolishing eight prototypes of Donald Trump's prized border wall that instantly became powerful symbols of his presidency when they were built nine months after he took office 'Given the high-density population in the San Diego-Tijuana area, the updated border infrastructure is critically needed,' CBP said in a statement. The Trump administration says elements of the eight prototypes have been melded into current border fence designs and they have served their purpose. The four concrete and four steel panels, spaced closely together steps from an existing barrier separating San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, were one of Trump's top priorities, and he visited the location a year ago to see the installations firsthand. For Trump's allies, the towering models were a show of his commitment to border security and fulfilling a core campaign promise. For detractors, they were monuments to wasted taxpayer dollars and a misguided display of aggression toward Mexico and immigrants seeking a new home in the United States. Less than two hours after crews began Wednesday, seven of the barriers were destroyed. A large hydraulic jackhammer attached to an excavator pounded the walls repeatedly as slabs fell into small clouds of dust. A panel made of steel poles was also dismantled. An owl flies out from a tube along the top of a border wall prototype as crews knock the structure down during demolition A border wall prototype falls during demolition at the border between Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego on Wednesday Public access to the prototypes was blocked from the San Diego side, turning an impoverished Tijuana neighborhood into a popular spot for journalists, demonstrators and curious observers. Artists displayed light shows on the walls with messages such as 'Refugees Welcome Here' next to an image of the Statue of Liberty. People climbed piles of trash against a short border fence that has since been replaced to get a clear view from Mexico. Some asylum-seekers hoisted their children over the fence in front of construction crews to turn themselves in to agents. Their removal makes way for a second layer of barrier with steel bollards, similar to slats, topped by a metal plate rising 30 feet from the ground, the same design being used elsewhere on the border. CBP says the prototypes must be demolished to make way for a new 14-mile stretch of steel bollard fencing on the border A worker passes a partially-demolished border wall prototype during demolition at the border on Wednesday The new barrier vaguely resembles some of the steel prototypes but looks nothing like the solid concrete panels, which were widely panned because border agents can't see what's happening on the other side. The nearly $3 billion that Congress has provided for barriers during the first half of Trump's term requires that money be spent on designs that were in place before May 2017, effectively prohibiting the prototypes from being used and denying Trump bragging rights to say he built his wall. It's unclear if the restriction would apply to the billions of dollars that Trump wants to spend by declaring a national emergency on the nation's southern border. The prototypes are coming down during the same week that the House voted to block Trump's emergency declaration. The eight prototypes, which cost $300,000 to $500,000 each to build, vary by slopes, thickness and curves. Bidding guidelines called from them to withstand at least an hour of punishment from a sledgehammer, pickaxe, torch, chisel or battery-operated tools and to prevent use of climbing aids such as grappling hooks. The guidelines also required they be 'aesthetically pleasing' from the U.S. side. One has two shades of blue with white trim. The others are gray, tan or brown - in sync with the desert. The Department of Homeland Security redirected $20 million from its budget in February 2017, a month after Trump took office, to pay for the prototypes and smaller mock-ups built farther from the border that have already been dismantled. Trump talks with reporters in March 2018 as he reviews the border wall prototypes in San Diego soon after their construction The open bidding generated a wide range of ideas, some of them whimsical or far-fetched. One bidder wanted a wall large enough for a deck that would offer tourists scenic views of the desert. Bidders met fierce criticism from wall opponents. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico said any Mexican companies who expressed interest were betraying their country. The government rigorously tested the designs and, according to a summary from the Government Accountability Office, found that the concrete walls posed 'extensive' construction challenges and the others posed 'substantial' or 'moderate' challenges. Six of the eight would require extensive changes to accommodate drainage. Border Patrol spokesman Ross Wilkin said testing also exposed several design flaws. A steel model with vertical U-shaped indentations could be jammed with small pieces of wood that could be climbed like a ladder. Prototypes with any exposed fasteners - like screws or bolts - could be broken with the right tools. Wilkin noted that authorities never claimed the prototypes would be impenetrable and that they simply wanted to know how much time it took to crack each one. Trump holds a poster with photographs of the U.S. - Mexico border area as he reviews border wall prototypes last year The appeal to private industry for ideas was a new approach to building barriers and provided many lessons to guide construction, he said. That includes learning that certain materials were unsuitable for quick repairs and that combining different surfaces, like bollards topped by plates, were more effective. The new barrier replaces a steel-mesh fence that runs more than 12 miles from the Pacific Ocean, which worked like a fortress when it was built a decade ago but is now regularly breached with powerful battery-operated saws recently made available in home improvement stores. It will then extend another mile or so over the prototype site. SLSCO Ltd. of Galveston, Texas, won the $101 million contract in December and started work last week. Work on replacing the first-layer barrier, also with steel bollards and metal plates up to 30 feet high, runs the same length as the second layer and is nearly finished. The previous first-layer barrier was a short fence. The prototypes and new construction continue a long presence of border activity in the adjoining Tijuana neighborhood, initially occupied by squatters who later bought the land. Guillermina Fernandez, who sells plants out of her home and at a public market, said smugglers once brought large groups of migrants and dug small holes under the old fence. About 15 years ago, Fernandez, 54, briefly turned her patio into a dining area for migrants. Campfires kept people warm while waiting for an opening to dart past Border Patrol agents. 'It looked like a party here,' she said. Illegal crossings in San Diego have fallen dramatically since barriers were installed in the 1990s and mid-2000s, but some migrants go around them and others go over them. Residents complain that outsiders illegally dump trash on their dirt roads that lack street lights. They say the new wall has produced one benefit: The bollards allow the Border Patrol's bright lights to seep in and provide some visibility at night. Nashville District Attorney General Glenn Funk (pictured) apologized for posing with a Confederate flag in his 1982 college yearbook Nashville's top prosecutor has apologized for posing with a Confederate flag in a fraternity group photo in his 1982 college yearbook. Nashville District Attorney General Glenn Funk said he was 'wrong to participate in divisive and hurtful behavior" with his Kappa Alpha fraternity in the Wake Forest University photo. He apologized in his statement 'for the hurt caused then and now.' A picture in the 1982 edition of The Howler, Wake Forest University's yearbook, shows Funk standing on a staircase next to an oversized Confederate flag with Kappa Alpha fraternity members. The Nashville Scene reported that Funk, a Democrat, brought the photo and his statement of apology to the publication on Tuesday night. He said he felt compelled to make the disclosure after Republican Governor Bill Lee expressed regret for wearing a Confederate uniform for "Old South" parties with Kappa Alpha at Auburn University, as shown in a 1980 yearbook photo. 'In 1982 my picture appeared in a group photo in the yearbook with the Confederate flag prominently displayed. 'I was wrong to participate in divisive and hurtful behavior. I apologize for the hurt caused then and now,' Funk said in a statement. A 1982 photo printed in the Wake Forest University yearbook . It shows Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk (circled) posing in front of an over-sized confederate battle flag with fellow members of the Kappa Alpha fraternity Funk came into office in 2014 with a broad base of support from minority voters. An outsider candidate, he garnered support early on from endorsements from prominent black leaders, Tennessean.com reported. The fraternity held annual 'Old South' parties when it was customary for members to dress in Confederate uniforms at several schools, including Vanderbilt University and Memphis State University. Kappa Alpha Alpha national rules posted online last year stated that chapters have been prohibited from displaying Confederate battle flags at fraternity functions since at least 2001. In 2010, the organization prohibited members from wearing Confederate uniforms at events, Tennessean reported. The Nashville Scene, which first carried the photo, reported that Funk brought the image and his statement of apology to their publication Glenn Funk attended Wake Forest University (pictured) and came into office in 2014 'Chapters shall not sponsor functions with the name Old South or functions with any similar name. 'All functions and activities must be conducted with restraint and dignity and without trappings and symbols that might be misinterpreted and objectionable to the general public.' It comes days after Tennessee Gov Bill Lee issued an apology after a 1980 yearbook photo has surfaced showing him wearing a Confederate uniform at a fraternity party honoring pre-Civil War South. The 59-year-old Lee, a Republican, was 17 years old when he joined the Kappa Alpha fraternity at Auburn University, which every spring held an 'Old South' party where he and other members dressed up as Confederate soldiers. In the 1980 black-and-white Lee yearbook photo, Lee is wearing a Confederate soldier uniform and is standing with a woman in a flouncy antebellum dress and matching hat. Last month Virginia Governor Ralph S Northam caused outrage after a racist yearbook photo and an admission of wearing blackface emerged and jeopardized his governorship. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee donned Confederate uniform (left) while taking part in an 'Old South' party as a student at Auburn University in Alabama. The 59-year-old Republican said he 'never intentionally acted in an insensitive way' Lee said last week that he regretted in retrospect his decision to wear a Confederate uniform at a 1980 fraternity party, as seen in his yearbook photo (far right) Leaders throughout Virginia's political structure called on Governor 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. The scandal involving Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring, both Democrats who once wore blackface, has brought renewed scrutiny to the past behavior of elected officials around the country when it comes to race. Last month Virginia Governor Ralph S Northam caused outrage after a racist yearbook photo and an admission of wearing blackface emerged and jeopardized his governorship A photo on Northam's yearbook page depicts a man in blackface and another in a KKK robe; Northam originally apologized but then said the photo was not him On Tuesday a white Maryland lawmaker accused of referring to a county as a 'n***** district' has apologized to leaders of the state's Legislative Black Caucus. Delegate Mary Ann Lisanti allegedly used the racial slur to describe Prince George's County while talking to a white colleague who campaigned in the district at an after-hours gathering at an Annapolis cigar bar. The population of Prince George's County is 62 percent African American, according to the US Census Bureau. Members of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland confronted the Democrat from Harford County over the allegations on Monday night, according to The Washington Post. Artist David Hockney had to be rescued by five firefighters from a broken lift after getting trapped at an event for one of his new exhibitions. The painter was stuck in an elevator in the Conservatorium Hotel in Amsterdam for almost half an hour after he had given a press conference earlier today. Firefighters rushed to the scene to liberate Hockney, who is exhibiting in the Van Gogh Museum in the city. After the world-renowned English painter and photographer, known for his striking pop art prints, was freed from the tiny elevator he posed for pictures with the emergency services. What a Hock up: David Hockney poses with his rescuers after getting stuck in a faulty elevator for half an hour after speaking at a press conference A Bigger Splash: With a cigarette in his hand, Hockney thanks a firefighter for extracting him from a broken lift at the Conservatorium Hotel in Amsterdam The 81-year-old could be seen sitting in a chair holding his walking stick, smiling and shaking hands with firefighters. Wearing a bright green cardigan a tweed cap and his trademark yellow-rimmed glasses, the printmaker also had a cigarette in his hand to calm his nerves after the ordeal. Two firefighters gave a thumbs up to the camera as they celebrated Hockney's freedom. Hockney, whose most famous work includes Portrait of and Artist and A Bigger Splash, was stuck with eight others in the faulty elevator. Regarded as one of the world's greatest living artists, he had just spoken for over an hour about his love of the tormented Dutch master Van Gogh. Painter David Hockney gave a press conference in Amsterdam, but got trapped in a hotel lift moments later Examples of Hockney's work in the 'Hockney - Van Gogh: The Joy of Nature' exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam As a contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, Hockney is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century. The new exhibition at Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum highlights the influences of Hockney on the later landscape works of Hockney. The exhibition at Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum, called 'Hockney - Van Gogh: The Joy of Nature' opens on Friday and runs through to May 26. The new exhibition will highlight Vincent van Gogh's influence on British artist David Hockney's work. Pictured are visitors looks at paintings during the preview today Regarded as one of the world's greatest living artists, David Hockney had just spoken for over an hour about his love of the tormented Dutch master Van Gogh before his lift ordeal It features both artists' landscapes, juxtaposing paintings and drawings by the 19th century Dutchman with Hockney works ranging from small charcoal sketches and water colours to giant, wall-filling paintings, videos and iPad drawings. 'I've always found the world quite beautiful, looking at it, Just looking,' Hockney said in the exhibition's catalogue. 'And that's an important thing I share with Vincent van Gogh: We both really, really enjoy looking at the world.' Curator Edwin Becker earlier compared Hockney's return from Los Angeles to the northern English county of Yorkshire to Van Gogh's move from Paris to southern France, saying their relocations helped both artists reconnect with nature. Van Gogh found beauty in the landscapes of France - from freshly harvested fields to trees ablaze with blossom - even if the darkness of some paintings also betray the mental anguish he could not escape. Hockney, after a long and productive period living and working in LA, returned to his roots and started closely studying the landscapes around him. Private Geoff Gray, pictured, suffered two gunshot wounds to the head while on guard duty at Deepcut barracks on September 17, 2001 A senior Army officer has denied being an apologist for a regime of 'violence, threats and intimidation' at Deepcut barracks and pushing for a verdict of suicide in the inquest into the death of a young soldier. Brigadier Christopher Coles also dismissed allegations the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had withheld key information from the inquest of 17-year-old Private Geoff Gray. The family of Pte Gray, who suffered two gunshot wounds to his head on September 17 2001, believe another recruit or recruits may have shot the teenager from Hackney, east London, while he was on guard duty at the Surrey base. John Cooper QC, for the Gray family, told Woking Coroner's Court: 'We suggest Brigadier Coles is an apologist for what happened at Deepcut and his evidence is to assist the MoD to evade any questions concerning violence, threats or intimidation.' He told Brig Coles, who is the head of the Army services personnel group: 'I'm suggesting that your statement is designed to carry on and propagate the suicide scenario. 'You have been assuming suicide and continue to assume suicide when there's a wealth of material indicating that Deepcut was a very violent regime at the time Geoff died.' Brig Coles replied: 'I'm not pushing for any verdict in particular, it's not my business.' He also dismissed an anonymous letter sent to Mr Cooper purportedly written by an MoD insider alleging key information about Deepcut has been suppressed from the inquest. Brig Coles said: 'It didn't say anything that I felt made it seem what I had submitted to the court was inaccurate or dishonourable. 'If I was concerned that my statement was inaccurate ... I would be deeply dissatisfied but I stand by what I said in my statement. 'I've not sought to suppress anything. There's nothing being suppressed.' Brigadier Christopher Coles, pictured, insisted he has not tried to suppress anything from the inquest Pte Gray's parents Geoff and Diane, pictured outside his inquest in Woking, Surrey said their son had signed up to serve his country The letter, asserted by Mr Cooper to be written by an informed insider or group of insiders, states: 'It has been made clear that other source documents detailing the situation in 2001-03 are not to be part of the new evidence regarding the Gray statement for the upcoming inquest and that the statement structure as set out for Benton is to be maintained.' The reference regards Private Sean Benton, 20, who died at Deepcut in 1995. His death was caused by 'self-inflicted' gunshot wounds to the chest, coroner Peter Rook QC ruled last year. He was the first of four recruits to die from gunshot wounds at the Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut, between 1995 and 2002 amid claims of bullying and abuse. Cheryl James, 18, and James Collinson, 17, also died at the base. Surrey Police said officers launched a new criminal investigation into allegations including assault and misconduct in public office at the barracks after the conclusion of Pte Benton's inquest last year. The note also claims: 'The view of those now stepping away from working to draft the Army statement is that the chain of command is deeply embarrassed that it was regularly informed of the stresses and strains at Deepcut and deliberately chose to ignore the information. 'This contemporaneous information is now to be suppressed for the Gray Inquest hence the unease of those in the drafting team.' Pte Gray was the one of four recruits to die from gunshot wounds at the Deepcut barracks base between 1995 and 2002 Regarding its provenance, Brig Coles said: 'It looked to me possible it had been written by possibly a soldier ... from somebody who had a slightly more limited educational background who had come from the Army.' Mr Cooper questioned what made him think it was written by 'someone with a limited educational background?' Brig Coles replied he thought there had been spelling and grammatical errors, but after being given around two minutes to read the document, he broke the silence to tell the court: 'I'm looking for errors I spotted previously but they're not hopping out.' The letter is not evidence in the inquest but was disclosed to the media by coroner Peter Rook QC after it was referred to in open court. In 2002, a coroner recorded an open verdict in the first inquest into the death of Pte Gray, originally from County Durham. The new inquest is happening because Attorney General Jeremy Wright QC said he was satisfied fresh evidence had come to light. The inquest, which does not have a jury, is expected to hear from 91 witnesses and is listed to last until early May. UBS executive Shele Danishefsky (pictured) was in the midst of divorcing her much younger husband Rod Covlin when she was killed on New Year's Eve in 2009 Whilst gory autopsy photos were being shown in Manhattan Supreme Court, a juror in the murder trial of backgammon pro Rod Covlin on Wednesday passed out and had to be tended to by the medical examiner witness and by a fellow juror who is a nurse. Former New York City senior medical examiner Dr. Jonathan Hayes had been explaining the injuries on financier Shele Danishefksys neck using a series of autopsy photos including one in which the skin was peeled back from her neck to show the injuries underneath when Juror No. 8 slumped in his chair and a fellow juror shouted, He needs medical attention. Juror No. 1, the nurse, climbed into the second row to aid her fellow panelist and Judge Ruth Pickholz suggested that perhaps Dr. Hayes should take a look at the stricken juror. It was unclear what the source of Juror No. 8s physical distress was, but the photos that had been on the screen moments before were particularly gruesome, given that the autopsy occurred two months after she was buried and eventually exhumed. Among the photos were the interior musculature of Sheles neck, showing bruising and hemorrhaging, as well as the Sheles neck after exhumation. Earlier, a photo of Sheles eye from an examination the day after she died was shown, depicting burst blood vessels in her eye. A photo of Sheles fractured hyoid bone was on the screen when Juror No. 8 took ill. Burst blood vessels in the eye, called petechiae, and a fracture to the hyoid bone a U-shaped bone that supports the tongue are hallmarks of strangulation. Former New York City senior medical examiner Dr. Jonathan Hayes (above) had been discussing Shele's autopsy when he stopped to help male juror No. 8 who had passed out Prosecutors at Manhattan Supreme Court claim Covlin, pictured on Wednesday, murdered Shele to get hold of her $5.4 million fortune Covlin is charged with strangling his wife in her Upper West Side apartment on Dec. 31, 2009 and staging the scene to make it look like she had slipped in the tub and drowned in a freak accident. Her Orthodox Jewish family initially waived an autopsy on Dec. 31, but Hayes said as soon as he saw her body in the morgue the next day, I turned to my colleague and said, She needs an autopsy. He said he spoke to Sheles father, who relented and agreed to a post mortem. He said he made an external examination and took photographs, but just as I was about to make my first incision he got a call saying Sheles father had changed his mind and didnt want an autopsy. Hayes testified he spoke three times with the Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Charles Hirsch, and asked that Hirsch overrule the familys religious objection to an autopsy, telling his boss, I think she might have been killed. He said during the third call Hirsch responded that there wasnt enough to override the familys wishes. He became angry and at that point, I caved, Hayes said, adding later, He had the power and I didnt. I was really surprised I put my tools away and released the body. Two moths later, after suspicions mounted against Covlin, who was involved in a highly contentious divorce from Shele, a judge ordered the exhumation and Hayes performed the autopsy and issued a death certificate identifying the cause of death as homicide. Jurors also viewed a jailhouse surveillance video showing Covlin in conversation with a fellow prisoner. Covlin is seen flexing an arm in a manner, according to Hayes, consistent with a chokehold, which the doctor determined to be Sheles cause of death. The folding of his [Covlins] arm and the elbow is exactly how a chokehold is done this is how a chokehold is applied, Hayes said. Judge Pickholz instructed the jury to draw no conclusion from the video, which had no sound, that Covlin was demonstrating how Shele had died. Sheles death came days after she asked a lawyer for advice on removing Covlin from her will; he was the sole beneficiary of her estate, which would receive a $1.6 million from a life insurance policy upon her death. He was indicted in November 2015 and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted. A support animal named Caesar the No Drama Llama defied his name and caused a scene on a train in Portland. The llama was seen riding the MAX light-rail train over the weekend, leaving perplexed fellow passengers with a mountain of questions. Caesar the No Drama Llama's Instagram page revealed that he had been on his way to Wizard Con at the Oregon Convention Center, accompanied by his handler Larry McCool, social media manager and multiple personal assistants. A support animal named Caesar the No Drama Llama defied his name by causing a scene on a light-rail train to Portland over the weekend, leaving fellow passengers with lots of questions Photographs of Caesar's journey went viral on social media, catching the eye of the TriMet transit agency. Spokesman Tim Becker told The Oregonian that even if the llama had paid a valid fare, he should not have been on the train. 'While we appreciate that Caesar is promoted as "The No Drama Llama", and that he apparently was well-behaved during his ride, TriMet policy only allows service animals on TriMet vehicles,' Becker said. The TriMet Code defines 'service animal' as any guide dog, signal dog or other animal individually trained to perform tasks for an individual with a disability. Non-service animals or 'companion animals' are only allowed on board in a closed carrier. Photographs of Caesar's journey went viral on social media, catching the eye of the TriMet transit agency, which said the llama should not have been on the train Caesar had been on his way to Wizard Con at the Oregon Convention Center, accompanied by his handler Larry McCool (above), a social media manager and multiple personal assistants According to his website, Caesar can be hired as a 'fun and unique guest star at' charity, business or personal events. His owners say he acts like 'a sheep dog with a giraffe neck' Though he doesn't appear to be a 'service animal', his owners, Larry and Lee McCool, say he's basically 'a sheep dog with a giraffe neck'. The four-year-old llama lives along with 20 other llamas at Mystic Llama Farms in Jefferson, Oregon. According to his website, Caesar can be hired for charity, business or personal events where hosts are 'looking for a fun and unique guest star'. Like a dog, Caesar has been house trained, which means he gets to visit 'local malls, retirement homes, schools and various other planned events'. 'He's genuinely happiest whilst making new friends and bringing smiles to faces everywhere,' the site says. Caesar posed for numerous photos with fans after arriving in Portland for the convention. Unfortunately, he'll have to find alternate transportation next time around. Caesar posed for photos with fans after arriving in Portland for the Wizard Con event Leslie McCrae Dowless, the North Carolina Republican political operative at the center of an absentee ballot fraud scheme that led the state to order a re-run of a congressional election, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with obstruction of justice The North Carolina Republican political operative at the center of an absentee ballot fraud scheme that led the state to order a re-run of a congressional election has been arrested and charged with obstruction of justice. Leslie McCrae Dowless, 63, was charged with three felony counts of obstruction of justice, two counts of conspiring to commit obstruction of justice and two counts of possession of absentee ballots, the Wake County District Attorney's office said in a statement. He was released from a Raleigh jail on $30,000 bail. Dowless has been accused of directing campaign workers to collect and mail in other people's absentee ballots during the 2018 Republican congressional primary and the 2016 general election. An indictment filed Wednesday claims that the operative's actions 'served to undermine the integrity of the absentee ballot process and the publics confidence in the outcome of the electoral process'. 'This offense was done with deceit and intent to defraud and against the peace and dignity of the state,' the indictment reads. Allegations that operatives working for Dowless illegally collected, and sometimes filled in, absentee ballots on behalf of Republican Mark Harris' campaign emerged shortly after the November 6 election. Those allegations caused the state to hold off certifying Harris' apparent narrow victory over Democrat Dan McCready. Scroll down for video Allegations that operatives working for Dowless illegally collected, and sometimes filled in, absentee ballots on behalf of Republican Mark Harris (above) emerged shortly after the November 6 election. Those allegations caused the state to hold off certifying Harris' apparent narrow victory over Democrat Dan McCready An indictment filed Wednesday says Dowless' actions 'served to undermine the integrity of the absentee ballot process and the publics confidence in the outcome of the electoral process' Wednesday's indictment outlines how Dowless' operation worked, alleging that 'ballots were collected from voters and taken into possession unlawfully; and witness certifications were signed indicating the signor had witnessed the voter vote the absentee ballot when he or she had not'. Additionally, the indictment says 'ballots were mailed in such a manner to conceal the fact that the voter had not personally mailed it himself'. Three of the charges against Dowless are from the 2018 election and four are from the 2016 election. During four days of hearings last week, the state Board of Election heard evidence of what election officials described as a well-funded and well-organized campaign to tip the election for the state's 9th District in the US House of Representatives, which stretches southeast from Charlotte. The hearings ended with the board ordering a new election, with an official calling the first one an 'absolute mess'. The months-long scandal became an embarrassment to President Donald Trump's Republican Party, which has accused Democrats without proof of encouraging voter fraud in races such as the 2016 presidential election. Dowless has previously denied wrongdoing. His attorney, Cynthia Singletary, was not available to comment on Wednesday. Harris, who had appeared to win by 905 votes out of 282,717 ballots cast, said he would not make a second run for the seat, citing health concerns. The Republican candidate is seen above during a public evidentiary hearing last week, during which he requested a new election Harris' opponent Dan McCready (above on February 11) is planning to run in the new election, which will be scheduled following a meeting of state officials next week Four other people who worked for Dowless have each been charged with one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and one count of possessing absentee ballots. 'These indictments should serve as a stern warning to anyone trying to defraud elections in North Carolina,' Kim Strach, executive director of the state election board, said in a statement on Wednesday. State officials will meet on Monday to set a date for a new election, she added. Harris, who had appeared to win by 905 votes out of 282,717 ballots cast, said he would not make a second run for the seat, citing health concerns. McCready is planning to run again. Harris and his campaign officials have said they did not pay Dowless to do anything illegal. But Harris' son, a US Attorney, testified that he had warned his father of potential illegal activity by Dowless, causing elections officials to question whether Harris turned a blind eye to Dowless' scheme. Following his son's testimony, Harris himself conceded that a new election was needed. Dowless is due to appear in court on March 25. Timothy Dowd, 65, from Harrogate, pictured outside Leeds Crown Court yesterday A former Coronation Street director accused of grooming a police officer posing as a 13-year-old girl assumed he was speaking to an older woman as part of an erotic fantasy online, a court heard. Timothy Dowd, 66, claimed it was common for users on Lycos Chat to play out 'the younger girl and older man role play' which is what he suspected when contacting Chantelle13Cymru on January 12 last year. The father-of-two, of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, asked for the undercover police officer's mobile number before sending a series of explicit messages encouraging her to send him photos of her breasts and have phone sex, Leeds Crown Court heard. He had previously engaged in other fantasies in the chatroom such as being whipped, kidnapped, spanked and slavery. The court heard that Dowd immediately asked the officer, posing as a teenager living in a Welsh care home, to clarify her age before remarking that her being 13 was 'not a problem'. Dowd claims he never believed 'for a second' that he was speaking to an underage girl and asked if she was 13-years-old on several occasions as part of a test. But he did accept a user in the chatroom site could be telling the truth if they said they were 13-years-old when asked by a judge. Giving evidence during the second day of his trial, he said: 'I believed I had been talking to an adult. I was not sure if it was a man or a woman. I just didn't believe the story she was telling. 'I thought it was an over the top attempt at youth speak. This person was trying too hard to appear to be younger than they actually were. 'I'm telling you the absolute truth. I was confident I was talking to an adult.' During cross-examination, he added: 'I didn't know if she had a fantasy of being abused. People had some very strange fantasies. 'I don't have a personal fantasy, my enjoyment was to allow other women to become aroused by me discussing their fantasy with them.' Dowd told the jury he was employed by ITV until he lost his job last year, as a result of his arrest on January 19. He has since split with his wife Lesley and has two daughters aged 35 and 25 and is a grandfather. The former Coronation Street director accused of grooming a police officer posing as a 13-year-old girl assumed he was speaking to an older woman as part of an erotic fantasy online, the court heard He said prior to his sacking he had directed more than 200 episodes of Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Heartbeat and The Royal, bringing him into contact with hundreds of child actors and actresses. Dowd said he received 'not one complaint' throughout his TV career. Asked why he had first started using the site nearly five years ago, he said: 'I wanted to go on there to find adult women who were interested in sharing some erotic conversation with me.' Holding back tears, he added: 'There were moments in my marriage where I felt quite lonely. I felt unloved, and I wanted to go on to this site to find women to talk to in order to fill that kind of void.' When asked what he had thought when he saw '13' in the undercover officer's username, Dowd said: 'I believed that this was an adult who wanted to pretend to be 13. 'I was not really concerned what it was about, what I was concerned about was whether they had a sexual fantasy that I could engage with, regardless of whether I was interested in it or not.' Dowd added that when the user declined to send him pictures, this served as 'confirmation' that he was talking with an adult, saying he would have left the chat immediately if he had been sent an image of a child. The intimate conversations are said to have continued until January 15, at which point Dowd started to suspect, according to prosecutors, that he was the subject of an undercover sting. The court heard how he once again asked the 'girl' about her age, before demanding she send a picture of herself in order to clarify her identity. Prosecutor Rupert Doswell Doswell said that, on January 19, officers attended a property in East Keswick, Leeds, where Dowd's phone was seized and he was arrested. Dowd denies three counts of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, and a count of attempting to engage in sexual conversations with a child for the purpose of sexual gratification. The trial continues. Rolling Stone Magazine has unveiled this month's cover stars who are shaking up Capitol Hill starring Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Congress freshmen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Jahana Hayes. The women flash smiles on the magazine's Women Shaping the Future issue that will hit stands in March. In the features they are asked their opinions on President Donald Trump, the possibility of impeachment and how they are changing the way Congress works. While the cover may strike as harmonious, there have been bumps between the women and in their interviews they clash over the controversial Green New Deal congressional resolution. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Congress freshmen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Jahana Hayes flash smiles on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine's March 'Women Shaping the Future' issue The magazine featured the liberal foursome for the 'Women Shaping the Future' issue On February 7 when Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. for New York's 14th congressional district, revealed her Green New Deal Congressional resolution with Sen. Ed Markey, Pelosi swatted the plan away and dismissed it as a 'suggestion' rather than a bill. 'It will be one of several or maybe many suggestions that we receive. The green dream or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but theyre for it right?' Pelosi said at the time. In the story Pelosi, who Rolling Stone hails is at the 'height of her power', continues to question the Green New Deal saying it goes 'beyond what our charge is'. 'Now, in terms of the Green New Deal, that goes beyond what our charge is. Our charge is about saving the planet. They have in there things like single-payer and . . . what is it? Guaranteed income?' she says criticizing the plan. On the cover, in contrast, Ocasio-Cortez has affectionate arm placed on Pelosi's arm. In their pieces AOC rallied for her Green New Deal, which Pelosi dismissed as 'beyond our charge' In Ocasio-Cortez's interview with the magazine, the Democratic-socialist Congress freshman praised Pelosi as being the most progressive choice for speaker. She defended her Green New Deal in her piece saying: 'What we have to do is redefine what the climate movement is about, and we have to re-define it in the scope of environmental justice. 'We really want to lay some stakes in the ground that say, "If your legislation is not dealing with jobs, if its not dealing with infrastructure, if its not dealing with bringing justice to frontline communities, then its not a Green New Deal." And we have a majority in the House, so why not swing for the fences?' On Trump, the Bronx native said she'd vote for his impeachment - 'no question. I don't even know why it's controversial'. 'Yeah, everyone wants it,' she added. Pelosi, though infamous for butting heads with the president, isn't all for an impeachment. 'It's a very disruptive process to put the country through, and it's an opportunity cost in terms of time and resources. You don't want to go down that path unless it is unavoidable,' Pelosi said. Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, a refugee and the first Somali-American in Congress, said the last two years under the Trump administration have been 'the biggest adjustment of my life'. Rep. Jahanah Hayes of Connecticut and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota also said they feel wary under the Trump administration. Hayes urged the public: 'Do not let this psycho steal your joy' Omar shared the Rolling Stone cover on Twitter saying: 'Our openness to refugees, immigrants and people of all faiths is what truly makes America great. No ban will change that' 'I just want to hide. But I cant because I represent people who feel as much pain - if not more =- because they dont have the voice that I have,' she told the magazine. She believes Trump's impeachment is 'inevitable'. 'It also is a terrifying notion. Pence is an ideologue, and the ideology he holds is more terrifying to me and my constituents. And we have not had a full impeachment that removes the president from office. Nations struggle any time [they] overthrow a dictator, and Trump really has the markings of a dictator,' she said. Hayes, the first African-American woman to represent Connecticut in Congress, echoed her peers' thoughts on the president saying she believes President Trump should be ousted from the White House, just not today. 'Today, I would not, because we have a process. We can be as angry as we want, but we operate in facts. I tell people, "Be careful. Dont let a genie out of the bottle. He will not always be president". If you can remove the name and say, "I would have done the exact same thing if it were Bush, Clinton, Obama, Carter," then thats fine,' she said. 'But dont change policy for people, because the people will leave, and the policy will stay,' Hayes added. Speaking on Trump she addressed the public and said: 'Do not let this psycho steal your joy.' 'We are at an intersection in history, and 20 years from now, its going to be the millennials and the students and the women and the single moms and the outliers who came in and restored faith in government. Its happening,' she said. Social media users flocked to Twitter to praise the cover that highlighted the women making strides in Congress. However, others were quick to criticize the outlet's political movie writing 'Why is Pelosi on the cover?' and 'Poor Rolling Stone has no rock stars to put on their covers anymore'. Ex-Trump attorney Michael Cohen blasted his former employer and mentor in testimony Wednesday for an alleged June 2016 conversation with Republican dirty-trickster Roger Stone about the forthcoming release of Democratic emails. Cohen claims Stone told then-presidential candidate Donald Trump that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange had told him a 'massive dump' of emails harmful to Hillary Clinton would be released in just a few days. 'I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience,' he said in a lengthy opening statement. 'He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails.' He testified later that he believed Trump is capable of colluding with a foreign government, although he has no knowledge of such crimes. He said Trump is a man who will do whatever is 'necessary' to get what he wants. Ex-Trump attorney Michael Cohen blasted his former employer and mentor in testimony Wednesday for an alleged June 2016 conversation with Republican dirty-trickster Roger Stone (left) about the forthcoming release of Democratic emails from Julian Assange (right) and Wikileaks Cohen is testifying publicly before a House Committee. The last time he spoke to Congress, he told lies, he now admits. It's a federal crime, and he's going to jail for it Cohen claimed that the call took place on July 18 or July 19. He says that Trump put Stone on speakerphone, as he often does with calls, for the 'short conversation' in which Stone revealed that he just 'got off the phone with Assange and in a couple of days, there's going to be a massive dump of emails that's going to hurt the Clinton campaign.' The president's former attorney said that based on what he heard, Trump was not aware of the substance of the emails, only that they were coming. He claimed that no one else was around for the conversation. But Rhona Graff, the president's former assistant, took the call, hollering to him, 'Roger's on line one!' Cohen said that Trump did not ask where the emails came from, nor did he suggest at any time that they should call the FBI. Later that month, Trump publicly called on Russia to release Clinton's hacked emails, if they had them. 'Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,' Trump said on July 27. Stone has claimed he knew nothing about the torrent of emails that would eventually trickle out a month at a time, all hacked from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. President Trump, for his part, regularly praised Wikileaks on the campaign trail after the release of Clinton Campaign Chairman John Podesta's hacked emails. He's seen here on Tuesday in Vietnam, where he's traveling abroad He has insisted repeatedly that he had no direct contact with WikiLeaks. President Trump, for his part, says the conversation never took place, either. The president told the New York Times in a January interview that he never spoke to Stone about Wikileaks. 'No, I didnt. I never did,' the president said. U.S. intelligence agencies believe Russian agents stole the materials and used WikiLeaks as a conduit to make them public. Trump regularly praised Wikileaks on the campaign trail as the organization released Podesta's hacked emails. 'I love WikiLeaks!' he said in October of 2016 at a rally. At another rally, he mused, 'This WikiLeaks stuff is unbelievable ... you gotta read it.' Days before the election on Oct. 31 he called the information 'a treasure trove,' and, as the damning emails kept dropping, he said four days before his election, 'Boy, I love reading those WikiLeaks.' Federal prosecutors have charged Stone, Trump's longtime informal adviser whose political monkey-wrenching dates back to the Nixon era, with witness tampering and lying to Congress. 'Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange,' Cohen recounted in his prepared testimony, 'and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign.' Cohen claimed, 'Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of wouldnt that be great." ' In a statement to reporters, Stone said Wednesday: 'Mr. Cohen's statement is not true.' Stone is under a gag order in his own federal trial for obstruction of an official proceeding, false statements and witness tampering Cohen will report to prison in May to serve a three-year sentence for crimes he has admitted to, including lying previously to House investigators. He says he's telling the truth now because he realizes that he was wrong to commit crimes on behalf of the president. Cohen claims that Trump was aware of the Wikileaks email release and cheered it on behind the scenes, as he later did publicly. Under questioning from Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the head of the Democratic National Committee who was forced to step down in 2016 over another email hack, Cohen said he has no knowledge of collusion between Trump and the Russians. To his knowledge, he said, the president's family was not aware of the conversation that Trump had with Stone about the hacked emails, either. Stone was acting as a 'free agent' at the time and was not operating at Trump's direction. 'He frequently reached out to Mr. Trump, and Mr. Trump was happy to take his calls. It was, free service,' Cohen testified. Under questioning from Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the head of the Democratic National Committee who was forced to step down in 2016 over another email hack, Cohen said he has no knowledge of collusion between Trump and the Russians Wasserman Schultz noted that Stone claims he had no direct contact Assange -- his account of how he became aware of the email hack and release scheme does not line up with the ex-fixer's claims. 'I don't know, but I suspect that the special counsel's office and other government agencies have the information that you're seeking,' he said. The release of Podesta's emails came right as an old, Access Hollywood hot mic tape nearly crated Trump's candidacy. Wasserman Schultz suggested that Trump had a hand in arranging the email release to coincide with his own, embarrassing situation. 'I am unaware of that. I actually was not even in the country at the time of the Billy Bush tape, I was in London, visiting my daughter,' Cohen told her. Pressing him, Wasserman Schultz said that knowing President Trump has a 'winning at all cost mentality' and is capable of orchestrating such a slight of hand. 'It calls on so much speculation ma'am it would be unfair for me,' Cohen told her. He finally said, however: 'Mr. Trump is all about winning. He will do what is necessary.' She pushed him to say that Trump would be willing to take steps to 'win the presidency at all costs,' to which he testified, 'yes,' he would. He could not say whether he did in fact collude with Russia to swing the election his way, saying, 'I wouldn't use the word colluding, was there something odd about he back and forth raise with President Putin, yes, but I'm not really sure I can answer that question in terms of collusion.' He noted that he was 'not part of the campaign' and wouldn't have been privy to conversations Trump had with other employees and operatives. Still, he said, 'There are just so many dots that all seem to lead to the same direction.' Britain has struck its first deal through the World Trade Organisation for a post-Brexit world. Under a new deal struck today Britain is still part of the market for lucrative government contracts with dozens of trading partners. It paves the way for Britain to retain its place among 47 WTO countries that are involved in the Government Procurement Agreement, including the European Union's 27 remaining members. The arrangement ensures continuity of cross-border bidding for significant government contracts, though military contracts are generally excluded. A Geneva-based trade official said the agreement was a relatively straightforward step but also important for ensuring access to a combined market valued at over 1.7 trillion US dollars. Britain still faces unresolved issues when it comes to access for its goods and services markets after its withdrawal from the EU scheduled for March 29. The announcement comes two days after Trade Secretary Liam Fox (pictured at Cabinet on Tuesday) sought to downplay concerns over cheap imports post-Brexit The announcement comes two days after Trade Secretary Liam Fox sought to downplay concerns over cheap imports post-Brexit as he revealed Britain will maintain 43 EU measures designed to protect industry from unfair trading. The International Trade Secretary said a wide range of goods will be covered by the trade remedies, including ironing boards and aluminium foil, to assist industries such as steel and ceramics. He added that 66 of the 109 measures will not be maintained, noting food and construction will be areas to see lower prices for UK consumers. This will include the removal of a 34% tariff on imports of solar glass from China, which is used to produce solar panels, and a 10% reduction on imported sweetcorn from Thailand, Dr Fox told MPs. Shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner warned that Dr Fox was pursuing an approach which will open UK markets to cheaper imports and increase the volume of imports at 'less than fair market cost'. Labour frontbencher Mr Gardiner said: 'We're just five weeks away from leaving the EU and possibly operating our own trade remedies and yet the Trade Bill, which establishes the Trade Remedies Authority, is still stuck in the Lords due to the Government's refusal to set out a transparent and democratic approach to trade agreements.' Shadow trade secretary Barry Gardiner (file) has accused Dr Fox of failing to get Britain ready for Brexit by delivering promised rolled-over trade deals Mr Gardiner claimed Dr Fox had 'fast-tracked the UK into the sort of less regulated economy he has always favoured', adding: 'Rather than presuming to maintain trade remedies and maintain the status quo, so eager is the Secretary of State to begin cutting tariffs, opening up UK markets to cheaper imports, the Government has decided to presume all such measures will be terminated unless a case is made to maintain them. 'Such measures will undoubtedly increase the volume of imports on UK markets at less than fair market cost.' Dr Fox replied: 'Yes of course I want a less regulated economy, but it's against the rules of the WTO (World Trade Organisation) to actually impose regulations and trade remedies where there is no UK production or we don't meet the threshold. 'When it comes to cheaper prices, he talks as though cheaper prices are somehow a bad thing - I would love to see the disposable income of people across all income ranges in this country improve, and if we can do that by removing tariffs - which are effectively taxes - via procedures such as this then we should be willing to do so.' A New York couple in their 60s have been arrested after authorities in Florida say they attacked and injured two deputies following a fight over carry-on luggage at an airport. Nick Bogomolsky, 61, and Ida Shafir, 67, of Brooklyn, were taken into custody on Tuesday morning at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport on charges of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest and trespassing. The Broward County Sheriffs Office says deputies responded to a disturbance on a 7.25am Delta Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale to John F Kennedy International Airport in New York, where a couple was arguing about their luggage with staff. Nick Bogomolsky, 61 (left), and Ida Shafir, 67 (right), have been charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest and trespassing stemming from a brawl at a Florida airport Courtesy of WPLG According to an arrest report cited by ABC News, the pair became angry because airline employees instructed them to check their carry-on luggage free of charge, because the overhead bins on board the plane were already full. Shafir is accused of biting a sheriff's deputy on the arm and drawing blood during a scuffle Tuesday Shafir allegedly refused to check in her bag, after which the verbal dispute escalated to a point where staff escorted the travelers away from the gate and told them to leave. When Shafir and Bogomolsky refused, airline employees summoned sheriff's deputies. The report states that Shafir dared the deputies to arrest her, and when one of them attempted to put her in handcuffs, the 67-year-old woman allegedly put up a fight and bit him on the arm, drawing blood. Bogomolsky then allegedly pushed passed a second deputy and tried to pull the gun out of the first deputy's holster. A scuffle ensued with the second deputy and both he and Bogomolsky fell to the floor, leaving the officer with injuries to his knee and thumb. o grab his gun. during the struggle, the officer suffered injuries to his thumb. Both deputies were later taken to a hospital to be treated for their injuries. Multiple deputies who arrived on the scene as backup were eventually able to restrain Shafir and her companion. The Brooklyn pair (left) reportedly refused to check in their carry-on luggage as they waiting to board a flight from Fort Lauderdale to New York. Bogomolsky allegedly tried to grab a depouty's gun Bogomolsky was charged with robbery, resisting arrest with violence, trespassing and obstructing police, reported Sun-Sentinel. Shafit was charged with battery on an officer, resisting arrest with violence and trespassing. The duo made tier initial court appearance on Wednesday, when Bogomolsky's bond was set at $16,000 and Shafir's at $6,000. Two brothers killed in the Birmingham pub bombings were celebrating the news that one of them was to become a father when they were killed, an inquest heard. Hearings into the deaths of 21 people in the 1974 bombings got under way this week after a 45-year wait for the bereaved families. Twin blasts, detonating in 'massive explosions' minutes apart inside the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town, brought 'devastation' on the night of November 21. Among those killed were Eugene and Desmond Reilly, 23 and 20, who were in the Tavern in the Town. Continuing a second day of pen portraits, their older brother Sean Reilly said he was 26 when the bombings happened, and their younger sister Mary was 17. Desmond Reilly, 20, left, and his brother Eugene, 23, were celebrating the news Desmond's wife Elaine was pregnant when the bomb at the Tavern in the Town took their lives He recounted a story Mary told of having seen Desmond in Alum Rock Rock Road on the afternoon of November 21, looking for Eugene to celebrate. 'Mary said Desmond was in great spirits, he was delighted that his wife Elaine was pregnant. They had much to look forward to. 'Desmond just invited her to join them for a drink, but she had just finished work and said that her mother was expecting them home for dinner.' Mr Reilly added: 'The bombers took away our brothers' futures and part of our future too. 'Eugene never had the opportunity to get married and have children and Desmond never got the opportunity to meet his son. 'Part of us died with them on the day they died.' Julie Hambleton, whose sister Maxine was 18 when she was killed in the Birmingham Bombing, hopes the inquest which began this week will provide some answers after 45 years Jane Davis was just 17 when she was killed in the Birmingham bombings. She had aspirations to become a nuclear physicist Jane Davis, 17, had aspirations to become a nuclear physicist, her brother Brian said. He also lost his brother John a few years after the bombings, in an industrial accident in Saudi Arabia. Jane's mother had a brain tumour so she 'took on the washing, cooking and cleaning' and took the weekly wash to the launderette each Saturday, Mr Davis said. 'She was a good friend to everyone,' he added. 'When she died, it was like a light went out.' She and fellow casualty Maxine Hambleton had only just returned from grape picking in the Champagne regional vineyards of France when they died, and had been due to share photos of their trip that night. Mr Davis said: 'We will not be able to hear Jane's voice, but we do still have her words in the postcards.' One read: 'My back is bloody killing me. It is still raining in sunny France and there is no chance of a sun tan. See you all Wednesday - Love Jane, kiss, kiss, kiss.' This picture shows the Mulberry Bush pub reduced to rubble following the bombing Anne Hayes, from Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, was 19 when she was killed, alongside friend Marilyn Nash, at the Tavern in the Town. She had left school to become an apprentice hairdresser, before starting work as a shop assistant at Miss Selfridge in Lewis's department store. Thomas Chaytor, known as Tom, had been adopted as a child, and was a divorcee with two young children. He met his girlfriend Susan Hands in 1971 when they were working at what was then Rackham's department store in the city centre. She said: 'Tom had got a part-time job at the Tavern in the Town, only two or three weeks prior to this, to boost his income. 'Clearly, after the events in 1974, as a 23-year-old, I had to rebuild my life. I have no idea how things would have turned out had the bombings not occurred.' On Tuesday, the jurors heard that another victim, Charles Gray, 44, was born in Scotland to a large family. He completed National Service and moved to Birmingham, working at a toffee factory and Longbridge works, where he 'never missed a day's work'. A single man who lodged with a married couple, he was 'well-dressed', and had 'an easy charm and a slight air of mystery'. He had never been in the Mulberry Bush before the night of the bombing. Pamela Palmer (left) had gone for a drink with her boyfriend. Her sister Pauline eulogised her today as 'a lovely sister'. Wages clerk Maureen Roberts was 20 years old when she was killed Pamela Palmer came from an 'ordinary family', her older sister Pauline Curzon said, and worked in an office. That night she had gone for a drink with her boyfriend, 'but my father called us at 11pm, concerned she had not returned'. She added: 'My father, brother and husband went into town to look for her. They returned at 6am the next morning with the news. 'She was a lovely sister, helped me in numerous ways, and her companionship is a memory I treasure.' Ms Nash was a supervisor at Miss Selfridge and was 22 when she was killed alongside Miss Hayes in the Tavern, in New Street. Maureen Roberts, an only child, was a 20-year-old wages clerk when she was killed. Her boyfriend, Fred Bromley, had intended to ask her to marry him on the date of her parents' wedding anniversary, just after the bombings. She was described as 'happy-go-lucky' and had 'striking auburn hair the colour of gold when the sun shone on it'. Her parents had been saving money for her 21st birthday when she died. A California father says he hopes his 13 children will forgive him and visit him in prison after he pleaded guilty to torture and other abuse in a case dubbed a 'house of horrors'. David Turpin, 57, and his wife Louise, 50, pleaded guilty on Friday in Riverside County Superior Court to 14 counts that included abusing minor and adult children and imprisoning them in their house. The couple were arrested in January 2018 after their 17-year-old daughter escaped from the home, in the Californian city of Perris, and called 911. The children, who ranged in age from 2 to 29 at the time, were severely underweight, had stunted growth and hadn't bathed for months. They described being beaten, starved and put in cages. David Turpin, 57, and his wife Louise, 50, pleaded guilty on Friday in California to 14 counts that included abusing minor and adult children and imprisoning them in their house Louise's sister Elizabeth Flores told RadarOnline that she visited the couple in prison and David said he hoped their children could forgive him. 'He kept hoping the kids would come visit him in jail,' Flores said of David's conversation. 'He was telling me that no matter what happened with him, he hoped that he still had a relationship with his kids. That's what he kept worrying about.' It comes after the couple pleaded guilty on Friday and had their sentencing scheduled for April 19. David 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 to 25 years-to-life in prison. Hestrin said the guilty pleas were important to protect the children from having to testify. 'The defendants ruined lives so I think it's just and fair that the sentence be equivalent to first-degree murder,' Hestrin said. The Turpins had led a mostly solitary, but seemingly unremarkable life until the teenager jumped from a window and called for help in 2018. David had worked as an engineer for both Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, while his wife Louise was listed as a housewife in a 2011 bankruptcy filing. The children, who ranged in age from 2 to 29 at the time, were severely underweight, had stunted growth and hadn't bathed for months. They described being beaten, starved and put in cages The family led a nocturnal existence, which kept them largely out of sight from neighbors in a middle-class subdivision. The couple were arrested in January 2018 after their 17-year-old daughter escaped from the home and called 911 The family led a nocturnal existence, which kept them largely out of sight from neighbors in a middle-class subdivision. In a recording of the 911 call, the girl who escaped said two younger sisters and a brother were chained to beds and she couldn't take it. '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.' Police who responded discovered a house of horrors. Two girls had been hastily released from their chains but a 22-year-old son remained shackled. The brother told police he and his siblings had been suspected of stealing food and being disrespectful. The intervention marked a new start for the children who lived in such isolation that the teen who called for help didn't know her address. Although the parents filed reports with the state that they home-schooled their children, the oldest child only completed the third grade. Some children suffered from severe malnutrition, stunted growth and muscle wasting, including an 11-year-old girl who had arms the size of an infant. Children were deprived of food and things other kids take for granted, such as toys and games, and allowed to do little except write in journals, authorities said. The kids were rarely allowed outside but went out on Halloween and traveled as a family to Disneyland and Las Vegas. They spent most of their time locked in their rooms except for limited meals or using the bathroom. Louise Turpin (left) watches as her husband, David, (right) looks at documents during a hearing last week in California The Turpins had led a mostly solitary, but seemingly unremarkable life until the teenager jumped from a window and called for help in 2018 All the children were hospitalized immediately after they were discovered and have not spoken publicly. Riverside County authorities then obtained temporary conservatorship over the adults. The social services agency tasked with overseeing the younger children declined to comment on their cases. The adult children are all living together, attending school and getting healthy while leading lives similar to their peers, said Jack Osborn, an attorney who represents the seven adult children. He said they value their privacy. '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 guilty pleas could help with the challenges the children face, especially since many abuse survivors struggle with feelings of self-doubt, said Jessica Borelli, a clinical psychologist and professor at University of California, Irvine. 'It is a pretty clear affirmation of how they were mistreated,' Borelli 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 guilty pleas were important to spare the children from testifying, though they will be allowed to speak at the sentencing if they choose, said Hestrin, who was impressed with their resiliency. 'I was very taken by their optimism, by their hope for the 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.' Jeremy Corbyn has escaped censure from the Commons Standards watchdog over a controversial Tunisia trip which saw him pictured holding a wreath near the graves of terror leaders - by coming in just 4 under budget. Tory MPs referred the Labour leader to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards for not declaring the 2014 trip where he was photographed close to the burial place of men linked to the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre. But the Commissioner declined to take action after Mr Corbyn estimated the flights and accommodation, paid for by the Tunisian government, had cost 656. Parliamentary rules state that MPs only have to declare trips that cost more than 660. Jeremy Corbyn has escaped censure from the Commons Standards watchdog over a controversial Tunisia trip which saw him pictured holding a wreath near the graves of terror leaders - by coming in just 4 under budget. He is pictured during the trip at the Cemetery of the Martyrs of Palestine, Tunis Mr Corbyn did issue an 'unreserved apology' after breaching expenses rules over a separate trip to New York in the same year. His visit to the US, paid for by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, should have been registered with Commons officials immediately was only done so four years late. In a report published yesterday, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards said: 'The member acknowledged his breach of the rules and apologised unreservedly for it.' In a letter to the commissioner, Mr Corbyn said: 'There is one visit that should have been registered, but my office and I omitted to register, for which I take full responsibility - my April 2014 trip to the UN in New York to attend the Non proliferation of Nuclear weapons preparatory committee, funded by the campaign for nuclear disarmament. 'The failure to register this visit was a complete oversight for which I apologise unreservedly. Mr Corbyn did issue an 'unreserved apology' after breaching expenses rules over a separate trip to New York in 2014 that was not declared until November 2018 'I can only imagine that we overlooked registration in this instance due to an incorrect assumption that the trip would be below threshold. 'Most of my overseas trips and visits have been inexpensive and under the threshold for declaration.' The Tunisia trip sparked furious controversy after The Daily Mail published a photograph showing him holding a wreath just feet away from the graves of terror leaders linked to the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre. Mr Corbyn said he was 'present' but not 'actually involved' in a wreath laying on the terrorist's grave and instead laid a wreath elsewhere in the same graveyard. Surveillance cameras equipped with facial-recognition technology are being deployed by Russian law enforcement agencies to track down evasive debtors in Moscow. The city's chief bailiff Sergei Zamorodskikh said on Wednesday that a vast network of CCTV cameras was being used to 'trace the debtors movements' with a high success rate. Around 1,500 photographs of the offenders have been uploaded into the system so far, Zamorodskikh said. A situation room of the Traffic Management Centre in Moscow. The city has an expansive network of 174,000 high resolution CCTV cameras which it plans to expand in 2019 According to RBC news website, the network helped to recover 1 billion (90 billion rubles) in debts from 1,600 people last year. Moscow's facial-recognition system is one of the largest in the world, comprising some 174,000 cameras - many of them fitted with high-res, swivel and zoom functions. And they all connect back to a centralized database of footage, which is accessible to 6,000 police officers. 'Considering the results were not bad, we think [the use of facial recognition] will continue in 2019,' Zamorodskikh told state-run TASS news agency. CTV cameras are seen on a building in Moscow, where they helped to recover around 1 billion in owed money in 2018 Moscow's administration has spent billions in recent years in an attempt to transform the city of 12 million people into a tech-hub to rival those in continental Europe and America. In January, mayor Sergei Sobyanin said over 7,000 new cameras with facial recognition were added last year and announced plans to further extend the network from the subway to city streets in 2019. CCTV footage is used in about 70 per cent of criminal investigations, according to the mayor's official website. 'A facial recognition system to detect criminals has already been implemented in the metro, and this year it will be installed on street cameras,' Sobyanin wrote on social media. 'And this will be great. Criminals will stay away from Moscow; there will be no place for them to hide here.' This is the terrifying moment a three-year-old boy is being hit by a huge block of ice falling from the rooftop of an apartment block. The three-year-old boy, who has not been named, is now fighting for his life after being rushed into the intensive care unit in the city of Ryazan in western Russias Ryazan Oblast region. The tragedy occurred in broad daylight when the boy was playing in the snow in front of his mother in Seminarskaya street. An unnamed three-year-old boy has been left fighting for his life after an slab of ice fell on him, knocking him unconscious and leaving him concussed and injured The incident was filmed on a CCTV camera and shared by the Russian Investigative Committee (Russian police) on its Twitter account. The clip shows the boy playing in a pile of snow near an apartment block in front of his mother dressed in a blue winter jacket. An avalanche made of snow and ice falls on the boy hitting him and pushing him down the snow drift. After being thrown in the air by the impact, the boy lands near the feet of his shocked mother along with the huge block of ice that reportedly hit him. Reports say the boy lost conscious right after being hit by the ice slab. Next footage shows the terrified mother trying to help the boy to get on his feet, but he is not responding. The boy was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with a brain concussion and head injury. He is now in the intensive care unit in critical condition. The Russian Investigative Committee is investigating the case. A terrified girl hacked off her hair after being caught up in the sick Momo challenge online, a hair salon owner has claimed. The five-year-old was allegedly following instructions from the creepy character which originates from an art gallery in Japan. There are fears the character has now started to appear in YouTube videos and has reportedly popped up in children's programmes and apps. The youngster's mother was reportedly left traumatised following the event and was forced to take her little one to the hair dressers to salvage the rest of her hair. The youngster had hacked off her shoulder length hair (left) after listening to Momo and the hairdressers had to give her a pixi cut Momo is a game which has been created based on the creepy character (left) which was originally displayed at Tokyo's horror Vanilla Gallery under the name 'Mother Bird' A hair salon where the young girl had her hair cut posted images of what the child had done to her hair and urged parents and carers to be more vigilant online. The post, from Toddler Trims in Gloucestershire said: 'So I've just had a beautiful little girl in affected by this sick MOMO challenge!! If you are unaware this sick human/mutant is hacking into peppa pig, fortnight, minecraft etc.. 'Any & most children's YouTube videos, telling them to cut there hair off, hold Knives up to there throat, set themselves on fire & that it will suck all the blood from there body ... this little girl is off to the doctors after her new haircut. 'She is five years old & still keeps talking about momo, her mother is absolutely devastated!!' The Momo game on WhatsApp tells children that if they don't do what she says then she will curse them (stock image) The salon managed to give the girl a cute pixie haircut but said that the youngster wouldn't promise to not listen to Momo again. 'I couldn't help but feel this monster has brainwashed her.' It adds: 'Her mother is pretty traumatised & turning the internet off for now. She has asked me to make everyone aware of this sick sick challenge & what it is doing to our babys!!! 'Please search #momochallenge on fb/google & keep your babies off the net... this could've been a lot worse!' Guidelines have now been issued by the National Online Safety Group in order to inform parents of what they need to know about Momo The post has been shared nearly 60,000 times and has received 17,000 comments on Facebook with many people fearing the impact such videos are having on children. Reports from last year suggested that individuals had been using the character to connect with children via WhatsApp, to then send them instructions for the children to harm themselves. The character would then threaten the children if they did not carry out the act. Fears were intensified this week as it was reported that the character had appeared on children's programmes on YouTube Kids. Schools across the UK have written to parents to tell them that Momo is popping up in seemingly innocent Peppa Pig episodes, as well as Fortnite, Minecraft and videos showing kids opening Kinder Eggs and other treats. No clips of this happening have yet been identified but schools have now responded to guidelines issued by the National Online Safety Group which recently issued guidance on Momo. Haslingden Primary School issued the above statement after children had reportedly been told to turn the gas on and to take tablets Newbridge Junior School urged parents to be vigilant and to monitor what they are watching Haslingden Primary School, Rossendale, near Blackburn said in statement: 'We have become increasingly aware of highly inappropriate videos circulating online and are being viewed by children across the school. Depression among teens soars by 50% in a decade Teenagers today drink less and take fewer drugs than their elders of a decade before, a study found yesterday. But instead Generation Sensible are more likely to suffer from depression, obesity or engage in self-harm. Researchers from University College London and Liverpool University compared 5,600 children born in the Bristol area in 1991 and 1992, tracked in the Bristol Children of the Nineties survey, and 11,000 children born across the country in 2000 and 2001, followed in the Millennium Cohort Study. Data showed that 52 per cent of the first group had tried alcohol by the time they were 14, but just 44 per cent of the second group. But 9 per cent of those born in the 1990s suffered depression by 14, against 15 per cent for those born at the millennium. Rates of self-harm went up from 12 to 14 per cent between the two groups, with girls more likely than boys to be depressed or harm themselves. Four per cent of the older group were obese, against 7 per cent of the younger group. Dr Praveetha Patalay, of UCL, said trends of obesity and negative body image might explain rising mental health difficulties experienced by young people. Advertisement 'These video clips are appearing on many social media sites and YouTube (including Kids YouTube). 'One of the videos starts innocently, like the start of a Peppa Pig episode for example, but quickly turn into an altered version with violence and offensive language. 'Another video clip is going by the name of 'MoMo' which shows a warped white mask which is promoting children to do dangerous tasks without telling their parents. 'As you can imagine, this is highly distressing for the children to view. We encourage you to be vigilant when your child is using any device or watching any clips.' Other warnings were issued by Newbridge Junior School in Portsmouth and Offley Endowed Primary school, near Luton, Bedfordshire, which said this morning: 'We are aware of Momo challenges that are appearing as pop ups on Youtube kids, Fortnite & Peppa Pig etc & will be talking to the children about it in Assembly. 'Please be vigilant with your child using IT. We are asking children to tell a grown up & not click on Momo images.' Northolt Community Special School in Hull, East Yorkshire said: 'We are aware that some nasty challenges (Momo challenge) are hacking into children's programmes. 'Challenges appear midway through Kids YouTube, Fortnight, Peppa pig to avoid detection by adults. 'Please be vigilant with your child using IT, images are very disturbing.' Craig Wardle, headteacher of Cleve House school in Bristol, sent a letter to parents warning them about the online craze. Videos of computer game Forntite, hugely popular among children, are also being targeted by the Momo challenge It said: 'Light-hearted and fun at the outset, this game experience quickly darkens, absorbing players who are encouraged to perform acts of violence and self-harm through a series of progressively risky tasks. It is rapidly spreading across the world. 'The challenges issued in this game present a serious risk to the safety, welfare and well being of young people in our school and in the UK.' Mr Wardle, 51, said each class has been spoken to by teachers about how to stay safe online. He added: 'It is something that came out of the blue. The first time we came across it was when a concerned parents got in touch. The letter recieved by parents of pupils at Cleve House School in Bristol warning about the online suicide game Momo 'It was on the radar of some key stage two children so it's fortunate a parent raised it to us. 'We have discussed it with each class. We talked to them about what to be cautious about online. Things don't always turn out to be what they appear as. 'It is a danger and it would be irresponsible for us to disregard it. There are enough dangers out there as it is and we have got to be aware of any new ones that come along.' For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, or see samaritans.org for details. Donald Trump's long time former personal attorney Michael Cohen on Wednesday charged the president with being a 'racist' and claimed Trump told him 'that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid.' Cohen made his startling claim in his opening statement before the House Oversight and Reform Committee - his first public hearing before lawmakers since he pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in December. 'Mr. Trump is a racist. The country has seen Mr. Trump court white supremacists and bigots. You have heard him call foreign countries s***holes. 'He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black wasn't that wasn't a s***hole. This was when Barack Obama was president of the United States. While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. And yet I continued to work for him,' Cohen said. Michael Cohen charged the president with being a 'racist' and claimed Trump told him 'that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid' Here to contradict: Lynne Patton (standing) was invited by Mark Meadows who told Michael Cohen that she did not believe Trump was a racist. She is a former event planner who worked for Eric Trump's foundation and is now in charge of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's operations in New York and New Jersey President Donald Trump has long denied he is a racist; he's seen here with first lady Melania Trump at a National African American History Month reception in the White House During the questioning by lawmakers, GOP Rep. Mark Meadows, a staunch Trump ally on Capitol Hill, noted he invited Lynne Patton, an administrator in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to the hearing. Meadows asked Cohen what proof he has that Trump is a racist. Cohen admitted he does not have tapes of the president making any such remarks but pointed to the lack of African American top staff at Trump's private company. 'Ask Ms. Patton how many people who are black are executives at the Trump Organization. The answer is zero,' Cohen said. Patton is the former vice president of the Eric Trump Foundation and, as an event planner, did much work for the Trump family. Cohen said he is 'responsible for Ms. Patton joining the Trump Organization.' Patton, an African American, spoke at the July 2016 Republican National Convention. During her speech, she said 'Donald Trump knows that black lives matter.' She added: 'There's not one person in this room who can't deny that historically black lives have mattered less. My life mattered less and there are people out there who still believe this to be true. But tonight, as a minority myself, I personally pledge to you that Donald Trump knows that your life matters.' Patton was also one of the president's defenders when Omarosa Manigault Newman charged, in her memoir, that Trump was a racist. 'Like countless other minorities and women, the President has given me the opportunity of a lifetime to rise up through the ranks of The Trump Organization and now proudly serve this country,' Patton said in a statement at the time. Cohen, in his opening statement, made several references to past public instances when the president has dealt with questions of his handling of race relations in his bombshell public testimony that included allegations the president knew Wikileaks was going to dump hacked emails before it happened. He called Trump a 'con man.' In his charges Trump is a racist, he referenced the president's comments on the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville and a report from last year that the president referred to some African nations as s***hole countries. Cohen also noted Trump questioned the abilities of black leaders at a time when the first African American president was in the White House. Trump rose to political prominence in part by questioning the validity of President Barack Obama's birth certificate and falsely arguing Obama was not born in America. Trump's response to the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville - where one person was killed and more than 30 injured when counter protesters clashed with the white supremacists marching in support of Confederate monuments - infuriated some when the president noted there 'very fine people' on both sides of the issue. He also said both sides deserved blamed. 'I think there is blame on both sides,' Trump said at the time. 'You had a group on one side that was bad. You had a group on the other side that was also very violent. Nobody wants to say that. I'll say it right now.' In January 2018, it was reported President Trump referred to Haiti and African nations as 's***hole countries' during a meeting with a bipartisan group of senators at the White House. The remarks from the president came during a meeting with lawmakers on immigration policy. When the discussion turned to African nations, it was reported Trump asked why he would want 'all these people from s***hole countries' and said the United States should admit more people from places like Norway. Trump tweeted after the incident was reported: 'The language used by me at the ... meeting was tough, but this was not the language used.' The president has repeatedly defended himself against the allegation he's racist and has expressed frustration he does get more support from African American voters. The president received 8 percent of the African American vote in the 2016 election. 'No, No. I am not a racist,' he said in January 2018 after his comments about calling African nations s***hole countries was revealed. 'I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you,' he told reporters at the time. President Trump has complained about his lack of support from African Americans Lynne Patton has worked for the Trump family and she is seen here speaking at the Republican National Convention The president also told CBS News earlier this month he likes African Americans. 'I think they like me a lot and I like them a lot,' he said. CBS' Margaret Brennan also asked the president about a CBS News poll that showed 63 percent of Americans said they disapproved of his handling of race issues. Trump pointed to strong job numbers for minorities in his defense. 'Our employment numbers are phenomenal, the best in over 50 years. So I think I've been given a lot of credit for that. And in terms of race, a lot of people are saying well this is something very special what's happening,' he noted. A CBS News poll out in January showed 57 percent said race relations in the U.S. are generally bad with 73 percent of blacks saying they were 'generally bad,' along with 54 percent of whites. The president frequently touts low black unemployment during his presidency as he did last week at a White House event honoring Black History Month. In January, African American unemployment rose slightly to 6.8 percent. The president, in his remarks, praised the contribution of black leaders. 'From the earliest days of this nation, African American leaders, pioneers and visionaries have uplifted and inspired our country,' he said. A father-to-be in New York is locked in a row with the city's housing bosses over a strange foam emerging from his toilet and flooding his bathroom. Troy Banks, who lives in the Bronx, said he believed a nearby resident was washing clothes and inadvertently sending the foam through his pipes. He claimed he had made several requests for New York's Housing Authority to carry out the plumbing repairs but had lost the ticket numbers. Housing officials denied that they had received a complaint but promised to visit the apartment, PIX11 reported. Troy Banks, who lives in the Bronx, is locked in a row with the city's housing bosses over a strange and 'nasty as hell' foam emerging from his toilet 'Somebody is washing clothes and the water is coming out of my toilet and its nasty as hell,' he said. 'This foam is coming out of the toilet and they need to come and do something about it.' Footage he took in his bathroom appears to show the toilet basin covered in a white substance. Troy Banks, pictured, claimed he had made several requests for New York's Housing Authority to carry out the plumbing repairs but had lost the ticket numbers The foam had been appearing in the Mitchel Houses apartment for six months, he said. The plumbing problem is adding to Banks's worries just months before he becomes a father with his first child due later this year. The New York City Housing Authority reportedly said it had not received a report of flooding problems from him. NYCHA says it offers an app for residents to create work tickets, with a similar function on its website. A man's audacious attempt to smuggle hundreds of iPhones into China has been foiled after officers discovered the man was pretending to be disabled and concealing the phones in his wheelchair. The man in his 50s was stopped by customs officials while trying to enter the southern city of Shenzhen in Guangdong from Hong Kong on February 16. Authorities uncovered a total of 415 Apple handsets worth two million yuan (224,000), according to Chinese reports. The man in his 50s was stopped by customs officials while trying to enter the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong from Hong Kong on February 16. He was trying to smuggle 415 iPhones Officials uncovered 60 iPhones under the seat of the electric wheelchair that the man was on Officers at the Futian Checkpoint became suspicious after noticing the wheelchair-bound man looking 'nervous' and 'actively avoided eye contact', according to Beijing News. They uncovered 60 iPhones under the seat of the electric wheelchair and a further 317 of them in the battery case. The man also carried 12 of the devices in his backpack while strapping 26 of them to his torso. Officers at the Futian Checkpoint became suspicious after noticing the wheelchair-bound man looking 'nervous' and 'actively avoided eye contact', according to Beijing News Another 317 iPhones were uncovered by officials in the battery case of the wheelchair The gadgets included Apple's latest flagship devices, the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, as well as older models such as the iPhone 8, the report said. It is cheaper to buy iPhones in tax-free Hong Kong than China, making it a profitable business for smugglers. Officers of the Huanggang Port customs, which is affiliated with Shenzhen customs, said the haul was the largest they had in the past three years. Officers of the Huanggang Port customs, which is affiliated with Shenzhen customs, said the haul was the largest they had in the past three years The man is seen being questioned by customs officials after they uncovered the phones The suspect has been handed over to local authorities for investigation, the report added. In 2017, a woman also tried to smuggle 102 iPhones into Shenzhen by strapping the devices to her body and hiding them under layers of clothes. Customs officers stopped her after noticing her upper body seemed to be out of proportion to her arms and legs and that she was wearing more clothes than appropriate in hot weather. Swedish furniture giant IKEA found itself at the centre of a class-action lawsuit in Israel after omitting women in an advertising booklet. The multi-million dollar suit, filed in the Jerusalem District Court, claims IKEA practiced gender discrimination. It was filed by Hannah Katsman, a modern Orthodox woman along with the Israel Religious Action Center, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz. At the centre of their claim is a controversial booklet published by IKEA that included photos of couches, lamps, men with long side locks, and smiling boys - but nary a woman in sight. 'The total exclusion of women and girls from the catalogue sends a serious and difficult message that women have no value and there is something wrong with their presence, even in the family-home space depicted in the catalogue,' the suit read. 'The total exclusion of women and girls from the catalogue sends a serious and difficult message that women have no value,' the lawsuit read The furniture giant included photos of couches, lamps, men with long side locks, and smiling boys - but nary a woman in sight. It is the target of a class-action suit for gender discrimination If the suit is successful, IKEA will be required to pay compensation to nearly 10,000 ultra-Orthodox women estimated to have been harmed by its actions. Minimum damages add up to 1,500 shekels (310) for each woman represented in the suit, Haaretz reported. The catalogue was aimed at ultra-Orthodox Jews, also known as Haredi, some of whom follow a policy of gender segregation. It is common for advertisements in the community to remove images of women and girls. The recent suit against IKEA comes at the heels of another high-profile case involving Israeli Orthodox women. In 2018, plaintiffs in another class-action suit won damages against an ultra-Orthodox radio station that refused to put women on the air. 'The conventional wisdom is that ultra-Orthodox women are fine with being excluded,' the director of the Israel Religious Action Center, Orly Erez Likhovsky, told Haaretz. 'What we have learned from these cases is that that is a complete myth.' IKEA's headquarters in Sweden responded with an apology, saying it had not been aware of the special catalogue. The store operates four locations in Israel, with a fifth slated to open in Jerusalem. "We realise that people are upset about this and that the publication does not live up to what IKEA stands for," said a spokesperson. Donald Trump Jr. was downcast on Wednesday as he ventured to Trump Tower in Manhattan in a fleece before launching an hours-long trolling, Twitter commentary of Michael Cohen's congressional testimony. Clutching an energy drink and sporting a full beard, Donald Jr. was stony-faced as he entered Trump Tower with a security team. He was dressed in a khaki fleece and beige slacks with a blue checked button-down shirt hidden beneath his outwear. At the same time in Washington DC, Michael Cohen, his father's turn-coat former lawyer, was testifying that he had the 'worst judgement in the world', something he claimed he'd heard the president say about his own son. Donald Trump Jr. is shown arriving at Trump Tower on Wednesday during Michael Cohen's hearing clutching an energy drink The president's son resumed his tweeting once he was inside the building on Fifth Avenue Trump Jr. tweeted throughout the hearing on Wednesday morning All out assault: Eric Trump also tweeted against Cohen on Wednesday morning Cohen told Congress that he was there when Donald Jr. arranged a meeting at Trump Tower with Russian operatives and said he remarked upon it as strange because it was one of the few times he had see him go behind his father's desk. 'Sometime in the summer of 2017, I read all over the media that there had been a meeting in Trump Tower in June 2016 involving Don Jr. and others from the campaign with Russians, including a representative of the Russian government, and a email setting up the meeting with the subject line "Dirt on Hillary Clinton." 'Something clicked in my mind. 'I remember being in the room with Mr. Trump, probably in early June 2016, when something peculiar happened. 'Don Jr. came into the room and walked behind his father's desk - which in itself was unusual. 'People didn't just walk behind Mr. Trump's desk to talk to him. 'I recall Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: "The meeting is all set." I remember Mr. Trump saying, "OK, good... let me know. 'What struck me as I looked back and thought about that exchange between Don Jr. and his father was, first, that Mr. Trump had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgement of anyone in the world. 'And also, that Don Jr. would never set up any meeting of any significance alone - and certainly not without checking with his father.' Donald Jr. has repeatedly slammed Cohen as a 'rat'. Donald Jr. continued to Trump the former lawyer throughout the morning and afternoon On Wednesday morning, before the testimony began, he and his brother Eric called the hearing and the fact it was winning so much attention from the media a 'national disgrace'. Donald Jr. carried on his social media assault for hours, tweeting and retweeting condemning remarks about Cohen's character and ridiculing his mistakes. Eric Trump, the less pugnacious of the two, was less consistent but also tweeted his disdain several times. 'Michael was lobbying EVERYONE to be Chief of Staff. It was the biggest joke in the campaign and around the office. Did he just perjure himself again?' was among his put-downs. Earlier in the day, he tweeted: 'It is a national disgrace that on the eve of historic peace talks between the USA & North Korea, the Democrats in the House orchestrate this clownshow. 'The accomplishments of are nothing short of incredible especially in the face of such hate & adversity.' Michael Cohen testified in front of Congress on Wednesday about his work on behalf of Trump and his handling of payments hush money he gave women who claim to have had affairs with the president Donald Trump Jr. was carrying a Rockstar energy drink as he made his way into the building Donald Jr. was accompanied by a security team. He is shown walking a past an on-site security guard The 41-year-old arrived at the offices in a chauffeur-driven SUV Donald Trump tweeted this on Tuesday on the eve of Cohen's testimony. The president is in Vietnam meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un The president was quiet throughout the hearing but tweeted on Wednesday night that Cohen could not be trusted. 'Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately). He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crookeds lawyer!' He is in Vietnam meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. His sons are dismayed that the meeting, their second in a year, is getting less attention than the Cohen testimony. Cohen is to report to prison in May to begin a three year sentence for tax fraud and lying to the authorities. An infamous Trump activist and far-right online troll has been banned from Twitter after threatening to interfere in the 2020 presidential election. The decision was made after Jacob Wohl bragged about how he was going to peddle his right-wing conspiracy theories during an interview with USA Today. Wohl came under fire last October when he launched a smear campaign alleging Special Counsel Robert Mueller had sexually assaulted a woman. The 21-year-old from Coronoa, California, revealed he planned to create 'deceptive Facebook and Twitter accounts and use those to steer the left-wing votes in the primaries to what we feel are weaker candidates compared with Trump'. Jacob Wohl bragged about how he was going to peddle his right-wing conspiracy theories and meddle with the 2020 elections Wohl's vicious claims against Mueller came ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. His 'account was suspended for multiple violations of the Twitter rules, specifically creating and operating fake accounts,' Twitter told NBC News. The online troll operated @Women_4_Schultz, where he pretended to be a supporter of former Starbucks CEO and presidential hopeful Howard Schultz. One of the most popular tweets from the now deactivated account was about Democrat candidate Kamala Harris. It said: 'Kamala Harris does not represent American Women. Unlike Howard Schultz (who is 100% self-made) she traded sexual favors for public office.' The sexist tweet - which received hundreds of retweets and likes - was entirely made up. He also operated two other banned Twitter accounts - @jacobwohltreason and another where he posed as a diversity director from Minnesota. Wohl came under fire last October when he launched a smear campaign against Special Counsel Robert Mueller, claiming he'd raped a woman Bizarrely, he used those tweets to insult himself on his main account. When asked about his trolling, Wohl told NBC News that he believed 'it is not illegal, unethical, or untoward for Americans to steer an American election.' Jacob Wohl first rose to prominence at 18 as a self-described Wohl of Wall Street and claimed to be the youngest hedge-fund manager in the world. WESTLAKE, Ohio - Four Westlake High School students are among those who earned ribbons in the Cleveland Clinic eXpressions Art Program this year. Junior Lexie Floyd, seniors Lili Busic and Henyah Dardir and sophomore Macy Sinreich are among the honorees in the interdisciplinary program that uses the arts to engage high school students in the world of scientific research. Through project-based, peer-to-peer learning, students produce creative interpretations of research conducted by Cleveland Clinic science interns. Lexie and Lili earned Blue Ribbons, Macy a Red Ribbon and Henyah a White Ribbon. They competed against about 1,700 art, language and math projects from 61 schools. Blue Ribbon winners received a $100 gift card; Red Ribbon winners received $75; and White Ribbon winners received $50. Each teacher of an award-winning student also received a $100 educational grant. Art teacher Kelly Atkinson supported the WHS art students. The award-winning students will have their work featured online and in an annual publication, as well as in an eXpressions eXhibition. More information can be found at civiceducation.clevelandclinic.org/School-Based-Programs/Our-Programs/eXpressions.aspx. 'Arti Gras': Tickets are going fast for the BAYarts Arti Gras Mardi Gras event, Arti Gras, 7-10 p.m. March 2 in the Hearth Room of the Playhouse, 28795 Lake Road, Bay Village, on the BAYarts campus. The menu by Sweet Melissa will have a New Orleans flair. Zydeco Kings with Second Line Parade will provide music. Tickets are $55 and include food, one drink ticket and a mask. For more information or tickets, visit bayarts.net. Science Olympians: Congratulations to the Rocky River Middle School and High School students who made a strong showing in the recent Rocky River Science Olympiad Award Winners are Bella Mediate and Sasha Ruffus, second in Write-It, Do-It; Kieran Boetger and Will Beach, fourth in Memeology; Cora Mathewson and Morgan Way, seventh in Water Quality; Sadie Newton and Laith Wattar, seventh in Boomilever and Katrina Raynes and Maddy Smyth, seventh in Disease Detectives. Honorees in Division B (Rocky River Middle School) are Greg Ganor and Ethan Sollars, ninth in Mystery Architecture; Luke Morrison and Alice Situ, 12th in Fossils; Alia Escobedo and Cora Mathewson, 12th in Herpetology; Danny Achour and Bri Raynes, 13th in Battery Buggy; Rasmy Shahin, Wyatt Chung and Evan Mathewson, 13th in Boomilever; Adam Beach, Luke Morrison and Hans Morsher, 14th in Roller Coaster; Max Stahl and Ana Vladescu, 16th in Fossils; Will Beach and Vincent Valente, 17th in Game-On; Mel Harmath and Sophia Vasiloff, 18th in Potions and Poisons; Alice Situ and Maria Tracy, 18th in Disease Detectives; Greg Ganor and Grace Hubbard, 20th in Density Lab; and Alia Escobedo and Grace Hubbard, 20th in Potions & Poisons. Honorees in Division C (Rocky River High School) are Laith Wattar and Leanne Wattar, 12th in Mission Possible; Laith Wattar, 15th in Circuit Lab; Ella Gibson and Grace Wang, 16th in Water Quality; Leanne Wattar and Marin Way, 19th in Designer Genes; Bella Mediate, Paul Mediate, Sasha Ruffus, 20th in Experimental Design; Maddy Smyth and Leanne Wattar, 20th in Anatomy and Physiology; and Gabe Harmath and Natalie Yan, 17th in Mystery Architecture. Despite high wind warnings on Feb. 24, a few people walk along Huntington Beach in Bay Village and check out Lake Erie. Wicked weather: Bay Village got a good hit from Mother Nature on Feb. 24 when fierce winds tore through the area with an advancing cold front. The strong gusts whipped up waves on Lake Erie, knocked down trees, caused power outages and other damage throughout the region. Recycling containers were tossed onto the walking path at Cahoon Memorial Park in Bay Village by strong winds on Feb. 24. Lenten Breakfast Series: Several area Kiwanis clubs once again will be joining forces to host the annual Lenten Breakfast Series. Programs begin at 7 a.m. and end at 8 every Wednesday in Lent, beginning March 6 at Rocky River Civic Center, 21016 Hilliard Blvd., Rocky River. Cost is $7.50 or a $2 coffee donation for those not eating breakfast. Hosting the first event will be Bay Village Kiwanis, with the Rev. Alexander Martin of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Bay Village as guest speaker. Fairview Park/Rocky River Kiwanis will host the March 13 program with Deacon Tom Long from St. Christopher Parish in Rocky River as guest speaker. The March 20 program, hosted by North Olmsted Kiwanis, will feature Ursuline Sister Donna Marie Budesca as speaker. West Park/West Cleveland Kiwanis will host on March 27, with the Rev. Lloyd Gross, retired, as guest speaker. On April 3, the Rev. Donald Schneider, pastor of St. Ladislas Parish in Westlake, will speak. Host club will be Westlake Kiwanis. Olmsted Falls Kiwanis will host the April 10 program, with the Rev. Charles Eduardo, pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church and chaplain for the Rocky River Police Department, as the featured speaker. Hosting the final session on April 17 will be the Kiwanis Club of Lakewood, with the Rev. Alan Jenkins, pastor emeritus of Columbia Road Baptist Church, as the speaker. Rotary fundraiser: Lakewood Rocky River Sunrise Rotary Club will have its annual Sunrise at Sunset fundraiser 6-9 p.m. April 12 at Umerley Hall at the Rocky River Civic Center complex, 21016 Hilliard Blvd., Rocky River. The event will include a catered dinner, silent and live auctions. Proceeds will help fund scholarships for high school students to attend the American Youth Foundation Leadership Camp, to help support the Rocky River Assistance Program Food Bank, Thanksgiving and Christmas food delivery in Lakewood, financial support of foreign exchange students and to send clothing and school supplies to Children of the Dump in Nicaragua. The club's goal is to raise $20,000 to fund its community and international service projects. Sponsorships are available for $500 to $125 or purchase a table for eight for $240. Donations also are being sought for auction items or certificates for a service. For more information, contact Jim Rowe at jarowe1378@gmail.com. Tickets can be picked up at the event. Those who donate an auction item or service certificate will be contacted by a club member to arrange for a pick-up time. At the library: Here's a look at some of the things on the calendar at Westlake Porter Public Library, 27333 Center Ridge Road, Westlake, during the coming week. Visit westlakelibrary.org. Youngsters ages 4-6 are invited to "Go Green" at Fun Science Friday, 4-4:45 p.m..org for a complete rundown of programs and events. March 1. Registration requested. All are invited to a Mardi Gras craft day 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 2. No registration needed. Space is limited for weekly sessions learning about science, technology, engineering, arts and math using STEAM kits set up in stations around the PC lab. The program, for grades 4-5, are 4-5 p.m. March 4, 11, 18 and 25. Registration begins a week before each session. Registration is under way for "Battle for the Ballot: Cleveland's Suffragette Movement," 7-8:45 p.m. March 4. Learn a foreign language by using free library resources. An instructional session is set for 10-11 a.m. March 5. Registration is requested. Connecting for Kids will have a coffee and chat at 6:30 p.m. March 5. The interactive support group is for families of children ages 0-12 years. Free, supervised children's activities are available, but adults and children must register separately. The topic will be food allergies, including support and resources. Information, please: Readers are invited to share information about themselves, their families and friends, organizations, church events, etc. from Bay Village, Rocky River and Westlake for the West Shore Chatter column, which I write on a freelance basis. Awards, honors, milestone birthdays or anniversaries and other items are welcome. Submit information at least 10 days before the requested publication date to Stephen McGee, 31, was returning from a holiday with his family when he started to cause shout and disturb other passengers A drunken father who shoved an air steward, threatened passengers and told his wife he would 'knock the s***' out her has been jailed for 13 months. Stephen McGee, 31, was flying from Gran Canaria to Newcastle when he started to shout at passengers on board the plane after his flight was delayed an hour. Claire Anderson, prosecuting, told the court how a passenger heard McGee say 'I'm getting p***** off, this is taking too long', before telling his wife 'don't you undermine me in front of other adults or I'll knock the f****** s*** out of you'. A passenger alongside him in security reported his aggressive behaviour to Las Palmas airport authorities before the flight, Newcastle Crown Court heard. McGee demanded booze from the cabin crew six times during the hour delay to take-off but was refused. After take-off on January 10, he was sold three cans of Stella Artois and a small bottle of rose. Anderson said McGee began shouting at another man on the flight after he asked him to be quiet so they could hear the pilot's announcement. McGee then snapped back and shouted 'no one tells my family to shut up. Wait until you get off this f****** plane', Anderson said. Video footage shot on the plan shows Stephen McGee arguing with passengers A female cabin crew member tried to diffuse the sitaution by standing in the middle of McGee and the passenger - but he kept pushing her to try and get to the male passenger. Ms Anderson said: 'He kept pushing against her to get to the male. 'She has to go to the rear galley on the airplane to calm down.' Ms Anderson told the court how McGee walked up the plane to cabin crew and told them: 'If you think this is intimidating and aggressive just wait until I f****** am!' When he was told they would have to divert to another airport if he did not calm down, McGee responded by saying 'f****** divert'. Ms Anderson told the court how McGee walked back up to his seat and said to the male passenger: 'Just wait until you get off!' One crew member, who was shouted at by McGee, described him as 'grinding his teeth and looking so angry he was going to explode'. McGee bragged to cabin crew staff after the plane landed, telling them 'Haha, you were supposed to be going to Portugal to get me arrested but I'm home'. But police officers were brought onto the plane to arrest McGee, who tried to resist arrest when he realised his partner was following him down the aisle. A female staff member, who had worked as cabin crew for 10 years, said it was the 'worst incident she has ever experienced stating the male was a danger to passengers and crew as his behaviour was unpredictable'. One cabin crew member said it was the 'worst incident she has ever experienced stating the male was a danger to passengers and crew as his behaviour was unpredictable' Ms Anderson added: 'She describes it as a very frightening experience.' Another member of cabin crew said he was 'very traumatised by what had happened, never experiencing anything like that in five years of doing her job.' McGee, of Prudhoe, Northumberland, admitted being drunk on an aircraft, behaving threatening, abusive or insulting manner towards cabin crew and obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty. Mark Styles, defending, told the court: 'Clearly he's a man with a drink problem, he's the first to acknowledge that. 'He's self employed, he works as a carpet cleaner, he has a small business. He makes a modest income. He's been trying to make ends meet. 'He has a four-year-old son who's been diagnosed with ADHD. That's added to his stress. 'It was the first holiday they had had for over a year and clearly things went badly wrong. 'He's only himself to blame and he's the first to acknowledge that. To his credit he's had did have the good sense to plead guilty. He's really ashamed that he's let himself down, he's let his family down.' The judge, Ben Nolan QC told McGee that the member of the air crew were 'very badly shaken by what they experienced'. Recorder Nolan QC said: 'They both said this was the worst type of air craft disorder in many years of crew service. 'You were extremely obstructive to the officers who were doing no more than trying to take you from the air craft, all of which would have caused extreme anxiety to all of the passengers on the air craft.' Defense firm Lockheed Martin has vowed to bring the cost of flying the F-35 stealth jet below the current $35,000 an hour but warned it could take years. The U.S. Air Force, the largest customer for the fifth-generation fighter jet, has launched a push to drive down the cost of flying and servicing the planes to the same levels as other fighters without stealth capabilities. The defense firm's vice president Greg Ulmer said they would try to force the cost down to $25,000 by 2025 but warned that further savings would take 15 to 20 years. Initiatives involved in lowering the cost include reducing the number of mechanics needed to support each plane, he said. Defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin has vowed to bring the cost of flying the F-35 stealth fighter (pictured) below the current $35,000 an hour but warned it could take years 'Today it is different customer by customer but I think $35,000 per flying hour is a good number,' he said in an interview at the Australian International Airshow. 'If we project that out based on the initiatives we have in place, we believe as we move out to the 2035-2040 timeframe we can get that cost down to under what a fourth gen is today,' in the range of $20,000-25,000 per flight hour. The military wants to bring the cost per flight hour of the F-35 below fourth-generation fighter jets such as the F-16. Lockheed is also looking to refine diagnostic systems to reduce false alarms as well as to ensure there are proper spare parts available for maintenance and repairs. Another vice president, Amy Gowder, said the United States had been late to install enough capacity for F-35 repairs due to delays in funding approvals. 'The U.S. has been very slow to fund that in the depots specifically like Hill Air Force Base,' she said. 'They should have started those projects a few years ago.' That was becoming increasingly problematic as more planes were added to the fleet, Gowder said. The military wants to bring the cost per flight hour of the F-35 below fourth-generation fighter jets such as the F-16 (pictured) 'When you have 180 aircraft it is probably okay. Now we have 300. It is the scale of the volume increases which is why there is a concern,' she said. 'That is putting more pressure on the supply chain in the near term.' The U.S. Air Force did not respond immediately to a request for comment outside usual business hours. Operating costs were a big issue when military officials from the United States, Israel and F-35 user nations in Europe - Britain, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Turkey, the Netherlands - met in Germany in September last year. Experts say the U.S. Air Force could cut back its planned purchases of the aircraft unless it can lower the flying costs. A male student has settled a case with a university who suspended him after a woman claimed he sexually assaulted her. The male college student was incapacitated after a night of drinking at a party when a female student engaged him in sexual activity in September 2014. The case involves a Miami University of Ohio student who is named as John Doe in court documents. After drinking on September 14, 2014, the man went back to his dorm room with his roommate called 'Nik' and a female student, known as Jane Doe. The male college student was incapacitated after a night of drinking at a party when a female student engaged him in sexual activity in September 2014. The incident took place on the campus at Miami University of Ohio (pictured) According to a lawsuit obtained by The Daily Wire, 'Nik' told Jane to 'pick a bed' and sleep. She told school investigators that she had sobered up by the time she got to her friends' room. She claimed she had no issues kissing John because the two had done so before. 'Jane' said when she got into the man's bed, he started kissing her which she claimed was 'what I expected and fine.' She said that John had asked to digitally penetrate her and she said 'fine.' John had asked to perform oral sex on her and she had said 'no' and then pushed him away. He then 'rolled over and went to sleep.' It is understood that Janes 'discussion' about the incident with her friends was turned into a sexual-assault report by a resident adviser, College Fix reported. John claimed he did not remember anything after he went to bed and he barely had any memory of leaving a bar and walking to his dorm, according to his lawsuit. It further states that after leaving a bar with Nik, John 'became disoriented, his speech was slurred, and he was exhibiting a loss of equilibrium.' The university knew that Jane initiated sexual contact and that John, by the institution's own policies, had been too drunk to consent. However he was still suspended by the university. John claimed that he and his accuser were treated differently during the hearing process. An appeal judge said that Johns allegations of 'external pressure' on the university to judge male students guilty by the Department of Education and did in fact support 'a reasonable inference of gender discrimination' An appeal judge criticized the school for its treatment of him in a case which asserting gender bias in disciplinary proceedings He was given just two days to submit evidence of his innocence. However Jane was allowed to submit a written statement even though she failed to turn it in before a deadline. An official in Miami investigated, prosecuted and judged John Doe's case on his own. He stated in his lawsuit that this individual had 'dominated John Does hearing with questions and comments designed to deflate John Does credibility while inflating Jane Does credibility.' According to College Fix, the totality of the finding against John was that: 'Both of you agreed to go to your resident hall room, where you engaged in consensual kissing and some consensual contact. 'However at some point, [Jane] indicated she did not want to have oral sex and asked you to stop but the act continued.' John had sued the university after he was suspended. A judge later criticized the school for its treatment of him in a case which asserting gender bias in disciplinary proceedings. An appeal judge said that Johns allegations of 'external pressure' on the university to judge male students guilty by the Department of Education and did in fact support 'a reasonable inference of gender discrimination.' The judge had faulted the university for ignoring 'internally inconsistent' claims in Janes muddled statement when it found John responsible for one non-consensual act but not another, College Fix reported. The two parties later agreed to drop the lawsuit and settle out of court on February 2019. JAMES COMEY Clinton is furious that Comey, then the FBI director, publicly revealed the re-opening of the secret email server investigation just before election day - and has said so time after time after time. THE FBI Comey's entire organization does not escape her wrath. 'The FBI wasn't the Federal Bureau of Ifs or Innuendoes. Its job was to find out the facts,' she writes in What Happened. VLADIMIR PUTIN 'There's no doubt in my mind that Putin wanted me to lose and wanted Trump to win,' she told USA Today in September last year while promoting What Happened. It was hardly a new theme. As early as December the New York Times obtained audio in which she told her donors: 'Putin publicly blamed me for the outpouring of outrage by his own people, and that is the direct line between what he said back then and what he did in this election.' THE RUSSIANS Putin's entire apparatus gets a name-check. In May she told the Codecon convention how '1,000 Russian agents' had filled Facebook with 'fake news'. She told NPR 'my path toward November was being disrupted with Russians'. WIKILEAKS The 'transparency website' is consistently ranked along with Comey by Clinton at the top of her blame list. She told NPR : 'Unfortunately the Comey letter, aided to great measure by the Russian WikiLeaks, raised all those doubts again.' And she writes of its founder Julian Assange in What Happened: 'In my view, Assange is a hypocrite who deserves to be held accountable for his actions.' LOW INFORMATION VOTERS 'You put yourself in the position of a low information voter, and all of a sudden your Facebook feed, your Twitter account is saying, "Oh my gosh, Hillary Clinton is running a child trafficking operation in Washington with John Podesta.",' she told the Codecon convention in May. 'Well you don't believe it but this has been such an unbelievable election, you kind of go, 'Oh maybe I better look into that.'' THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE 'We have an electoral college problem. It's an anachronism,' she told Vox. ANTI-AMERICAN FORCES 'I think it's important that we learn the real lessons from this last campaign because the forces that we are up against are not just interested in influencing our elections and our politics, they're going after our economy and they're going after our unity as a nation,' she told Codecon in May. 'What is hard for people to really accept - although now after the election there's greater understanding - is that there are forces in our country - put the Russians to one side - who have been fighting rear guard actions for as long as I've been alive because my life coincided with the Civil Rights movement, with the women's rights movement, with anti-war protesting, with the impeachment. EVERYONE WHO ASSUMED SHE WOULD WIN 'I was the victim of a very broad assumption that I was going to win,' she told the Codecon convention. BAD POLLING NUMBERS Clinton says polls in key states did not serve her. 'I think polling is going to have to undergo some revisions in how they actually measure people,' she told the Codecon convention. 'How they reach people. The best assessments as of right now are that the polling was not that inaccurate, but it was predominantly national polling and I won nationally.' BARACK OBAMA Clinton has two beefs with Obama: one of them being that he won two terms. Clinton says that succeeding an incumbent is almost impossible for a Democrat. 'No non-incumbent Democrat had run successfully to succeed another two-termer since Vice President Martin Van Buren won in 1836,' she writes in What Happened. But she also says his response to the Russian campaign of interference wasn't enough. 'I do wonder sometimes about what would have happened if President Obama had made a televised address to the nation in the fall of 2016 warning that our democracy was under attack,' she writes in What Happened. WHITE WOMEN 'I believe absent Comey, I might've picked up 1 or 2 points among white women,' she told Vox in September. 'White woman... are really quite politically dependent on their view of their own security and their own position in society what works and doesn't work for them.' 'What happened in my election is I was on the way to winning white women until former director of the FBI Jim Comey dropped that very ill-advised letter on Oct. the 28th and my numbers just went down,' she said in a March 2018 speech in India. 'All of a sudden white women who were going to vote for me, and frankly standing up to the men in their lives and the men in their work places were being told, "She's going to jail, you don't want to vote for her. It's going to be terrible you can't vote for that." It stopped my momentum and it decreased my vote enough. Because I was ahead and I was winning and I thought I had fought my way back. ' THE NEW YORK TIMES The newspaper was blamed as early as May at the Codecon conference in Rancho Palos Verde, California. She singled out its managing editor Dean Baquet - the paper's most senior editor - and said of coverage of her email issue under his direction: 'They covered it like it was Pearl Harbor.' JOE BIDEN Biden could have run against her and didn't. But Clinton writes: 'Joe Biden said the Democratic Party in 2016 'did not talk about what it always stood forand that was how to maintain a burgeoning middle class.' 'I find this fairly remarkable, considering that Joe himself campaigned for me all over the Midwest and talked plenty about the middle class.' BERNIE SANDERS 'His attacks caused lasting damage, making it harder to unify progressives in the general election and paving the way for Trump's 'Crooked Hillary' campaign,' she writes in What Happened. 'I don't know if that bothered Bernie or not.' BERNIE BROS 'Some of his supporters, the so-called Bernie Bros, took to harassing my supporters online. It got ugly and more than a little sexist,' she writes in What Happened. PEOPLE WANTING CHANGE 'I thought, at end of day, people would say, look, we do want change, and we want the right kind of change, and we want change that is realistic and is going to make difference in my life and my family's life and my paycheck,' she told Vox. 'That's what I was offering. And I didn't in any way want to feed into this, not just radical political argument that was being made on other side, but very negative cultural argument about who we are as Americans.' MISOGYNISTS Asked by CNN's Christine Amanpour at the Women for Women International event in new York in May if misogyny was to blame she said: 'Yes, I do think it played a role.' TELEVISION EXECUTIVES 'When you have a presidential campaign and the total number of minutes on TV news, which is still how most people get their information, covering all of our policies, climate change, anything else was 32 minutes, I don't blame voters,' she told The View. 'They don't get a broad base of information to make decision on. The more outrageous you are, the more inflammatory you are, the higher the ratings are.' NETFLIX Hillary does not do Netflix and chill - or if she does, she doesn't find it very relaxing. 'Eight of the top 10 political documentaries on Netflix were screeds against President Obama and me,' she claimed at the Codecon convention. FACEBOOK 'If you look at Facebook the vast majority of the news items posted were fake. They were connected to as we now know the 1,000 Russian agents who were involved in delivering those messages,' she told Codecon. TWITTER Usually mentioned in the same breath as Facebook, the micro-blogging site is seen by Clinton as one of the reasons for her loss. She told the Codecon convention in may that Trump had a method in his tweets. 'They want to influence your reality. That to me is what we're up against, and we can't let that go unanswered,' she said. CONTENT FARMS IN MACEDONIA 'Through content farms, through an enormous investment in falsehoods, fake news, call it what you will - lies, that's a good word too - the other side was using content that was flat out false,' she told the Codecon convention in May. 'They were conveying this weaponized information and the content of it, and they were running, y'know there's all these stories, about y'know, and you know I've seen them now, and you sit there and it looks like you know sort of low level CNN operation, or a fake newspaper.' CAMPAIGN FINANCE 'You had Citizens United come to its full fruition.' she told Codecon in May. 'So unaccountable money flowing in against me, against other Democrats, in a way that we hadn't seen and then attached to this weaponized information war. THE MEDIA 'American journalists who eagerly and uncritically repeated whatever WikiLeaks dished out during the campaign could learn from the responsible way the French press handled the hack of Macron,' she writes in What Happened. Now-president Macron had a massive tranche of his emails hacked and released shortly before the French voted. Many outlets did not report on their contents. STEVE BANNON AND BREITBART 'Provided the untrue stories,' she told the Codecon convention in May. THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY 'I set up my campaign and we have our own data operation. I get the nomination. So I'm now the nominee of the Democratic Party. I inherit nothing from the Democratic Party,' Clinton said told the Codecon convention in May. 'I mean, it was bankrupt. It was on the verge of insolvency. Its data was mediocre to poor, nonexistent, wrong. I had to inject money into it.' THE REPUBLICAN PARTY The Republicans were far better prepared for a campaign than the Democrats she claimed, when it came to money and data, telling the Codecon convention: 'So Trump becomes the nominee and he is basically handed this tried and true, effective foundation.' CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA The data-targeting firm ultimately owned by Robert Mercer, the billionaire Breitbart backer, and his family, is said to have targeted voters to drive them away from Clinton. 'They ultimately added something and I think again we'd better understand that. The Mercers did not invest all that money for their own amusement,' she told the Codecon convention. WOMEN PROTESTERS The massive demonstrations in Washington and other cities in the wake of the election were organized as an immediate response to Clinton's shock defeat. But that did not stop Clinton from writing in What Happened: 'I couldn't help but ask where those feelings of solidarity, outrage and passion had been during the election.' MATT LAUER The NBC Today show anchor quizzed both candidates at a 'commander-in-chief forum' on board Intrepid in New York. But Clinton - who went first in the back-to-back interviews, complained about Lauer focusing on her secret server and whether it raised questions over her trustworthiness. 'Lauer had turned what should have been a serious discussion into a pointless ambush. What a waste of time,' she writes in What Happened. She later delighted in his firing for sexual misconduct, saying in December: 'Every day I believe more in karma.' WHITE VOTERS 'White voters have been fleeing the Democratic party ever since Lyndon Johnson predicted they would,' she told Vox. DEMOCRATIC DOCUMENTARY MAKERS 'We're not making the documentaries that we're going to get onto Netflix,' she told Codecon. She was asked by the interviewer: 'This is because Hollywood isn't liberal enough?' 'No, it's because Democrats aren't putting their money there,' she replied. BENGHAZI INVESTIGATORS The attacks on the U.S. diplomatic compound in the Libyan city of Benghazi on September 11, 2012, happened when Clinton was Secretary of State. It claimed four American lives, and was the focus of intense investigation by Congress. Clinton told the Today show: 'Take the Benghazi tragedy - you know, I have one of the top Republicans, Kevin McCarthy, admitting we're going to take that tragedy - because, you know, we've lost people, unfortunately, going back to the Reagan administration, if you talk about recent times, in diplomatic attacks. 'But boy, it was turned into a political football. And it was aimed at undermining my credibility, my record, my accomplishments.' VOTER SUPPRESSION Suppressing her voters was named by Clinton as one of the major factors in her defeat in her interview on the Today show when she rattled off her laundry list. 'What was at work here?' she said. 'In addition to the mistakes that I made, which I recount in the book, what about endemic sexism and misogyny, not just in politics but in our society, what about the unprecedented action of the FBI director, what about the interference of an adversary nation, what about voter suppression?' It was a return to a theme - she suggested it was a problem in Wisconsin in an interview in May with New York magazine. 'I would have won had I not been subjected to the unprecedented attacks by Comey and the Russians, aided and abetted by the suppression of the vote, particularly in Wisconsin,' she said. 'Republicans learned that if you suppress votes you win.' MITCH McCONNELL The Senate majority leader is accused of stopping the Obama administration from revealing what Clinton says the Russians were up to, helping tip the balance against her because he did not want a third successive Democratic term in the White House. 'Mitch McConnell, in what I think of as a not only unpatriotic but despicable act of partisan politics, made it clear that if the Obama Administration spoke publicly about what they knew [on Russia], he would accuse them of partisan politics, of trying to tip the balance toward me,' she told the New Yorker. THE SUPREME COURT Clinton claims the Supreme Court watered down the Voting Rights Act at the Codecon convention. 'You had effective suppression of votes,' she said. 'I was in the senate when we voted 98-0 under a Republican president, George W Bush, to extend the Voting Rights Act and the Supreme Court says 'oh we don't need it any more' , throws it out, and Republican governors and legislatures began doing everything they could to suppress the votes.' Clinton appears to be referring to Second 4(b) of the Act being ruled unconstitutional by the court in 2013, because it relied on out of date data which meant it was not in line with the 15th Amendment. FATHERS, HUSBANDS, BOYFRIENDS, AND MALE BOSSES Clinton says that James Comey's actions in re-opening the FBI investigation allowed men to influence their wives or girlfriends. 'Women will have no empathy for you because they will be under tremendous pressure - and I'm talking principally about white women - they will be under tremendous pressure from fathers, and husbands, and boyfriends and male employers, not to vote for 'the girl',' she told NPR. THE INVISIBLE STATE Named by her confidante Lanny Davis as the reason she lost at a reading of his book while Hillary nodded along in approval. PIZZAGATE The claim that members of the Democratic party and particularly the Clinton campaign were running a pedophile child trafficking ring out of the basement of a Washington D.C. pizza restaurant first surfaced before the 2016 election. She told an address to a women-only club in New York in April 2018: 'It spread like wildfire. You look and that and think, that's ridiculous. But you have no idea how many people will believe things that are presented as news.' 'MANY FUNNY THINGS' Clinton said in September 2019 that 'many funny things' including Russian interference helped Trump win. This is the cathedral back room where Cardinal George Pell molested two 13-year-old choirboys in his ceremonial robes. Pell, 77, who maintains his innocence, had minutes earlier said Mass at St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne, where he was archbishop, in December 1996 and retired to the sacristy. There he caught the two teenagers who had snuck inside undetected and were swigging sacramental wine. This is the sacristy of St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne, as it looks today and shown to the jury, where Cardinal George Pell molested two 13-year-old choirboys in his ceremonial robes On the other side of the room is a kitchen sink and cabinets next to the altar wine cabinet, a small room with a white door These are the corridors leading to the sacristy where Cardinal Pell, who was third in command of the Catholic Church, molested the boys in 1996 This picture of the Cathedral where Pell molested the boys was taken by police and shown to the jury in the trial St Patrick's Cathedral: Pell was Archbishop in December 1996 when he molested two boys, one of whom has since died in accidental circumstances The priest scolded the boys, telling them 'you're in trouble', before taking advantage of the situation with no one around. He exposed his penis from beneath his ornate ceremonial robes, and molested the pair including forcing one to perform oral sex on him. Twenty two years later, the jury that sent the disgraced cleric to jail for his heinous crimes was shown photos of the sacristy - the scene of the crime as it looks today. The room is dominated by gleaming wood, appearing bright orange in the photos, from the bland grey floor to the white ceiling. Two-dozen photos of Pell's archbishop predecessors, and successors, lined the walls above massive cabinets and drawers to store church files. Pell, 77, had minutes earlier said Mass at St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne, where he was archbishop, as he did in this photo from 2001, and retired to the sacristy. The Vatican's number three argued the cathedral's processes were so seamless that two boys simply could not have 'nicked off' unseen A computer sits on a desk of the same wood while white priestly robes hang on a portable rack. On the other side of the room is a kitchen sink and cabinets next to the altar wine cabinet, a small room with a white door. Jurors also saw photos of other parts of St Patrick's as prosecution and defence tried to prove or disprove the chain of events that took place in that sacred building. They included the awe-inspiring nave of the cathedral with its massive organ where Pell would have said Mass minutes before committing egregious sins. Other photos showed hallways lined with black and white floor tiles where the two choirboys stole away for some mischief, not knowing what awaited them. One of the boys said he was sexually assaulted again by Pell a month or so after he was raped, recalling that he was pushed against a cathedral wall. 'He shoved me against the wall violently and squeezed my genitals,' the court heard. Pell leads Mass in 2001 for the last time before his appointment as Archbishop of Sydney The layout of the cathedral depicted in the photos was a key part of Pell's defence, arguing he couldn't possibly have done it, and would be crazy to anyway. The Vatican's number three argued the cathedral's processes were so seamless that two boys simply could not have 'nicked off' unseen. Pell argued 10 'independently impossible' events involving 40 people would have to have happened in a 10-minute window for the prosecution to make its case. The timing was also impossible because he always spoke to parishioners on the steps of the Cathedral after saying mass. He was escorted to the sacristy by at least one other sacristan and couldn't have gotten back there, and been alone, in the time frame the victims claimed. Furthermore, during this whole process he would never be left alone while robed, with his lawyers likening him to The Queen. 'I recall the first two occasions he said mass and I can say I was with him the whole time he was robed on those days,' his master of ceremonies Monsignor Charles Portelli told the court. THE CASE FOR AND AGAINST CARDINAL GEORGE PELL PROSECUTION - KEY ARGUMENTS Director of Public Prosecutions Kerri Judd QC, senior crown prosecutor Mark Gibson SC and crown prosecutor Angela Ellis told the court: * There were opportunities for Cardinal George Pell, newly-installed as Archbishop of Melbourne, to sexually abuse two choirboys in the late 1990s. Evidence that the boys slipped away unnoticed from the post-mass procession because of 'mischief' and were 'caught' by Pell while drinking wine in the priest's sacristy, withstood defence arguments. * Pell used the priest's sacristy to vest and disrobe during Sunday mass because of restorations which rendered the Archbishop's sacristy unusable. There were times Pell was left alone while still robed. It was still possible for Pell to expose his penis to the boys while robed because of slits in the alb, an under-tunic, which were designed to access pockets. * Neither victim reported the abuse at the time but that does not mean it didn't happen. Mr Gibson quoted the surviving complainant who said it 'took a courage much later in life' to even consider speaking out. He feared jeopardising his scholarship to the prestigious St Kevin's College, making things difficult for his parents and struggled to understand what had happened and if it was 'normal'. DEFENCE - KEY ARGUMENTS Barristers Robert Richter QC and Ruth Shann told the court: * The prosecution timeline relied on 10 'independently impossible' events involving 40 or more people occurring within the same 10-minute window in order for the events to have happened and gone unnoticed. That includes: the two 13-year-old boys slipping away from the middle of the post-mass procession without being seen; Pell being alone and robed in the sacristy and not on the cathedral steps; and priest's sacristy as was their practice after mass. * It would have been 'inhumanly possible' for Pell to expose his penis to the boys while wearing the Archbishop's robes. The ensemble was made up of the alb, an ankle-length white under-tunic which included two slits to allow access to pockets, locked into place around the waist with a knotted rope cincture. A decorative chasuble was worn over top and, on special occasions a dalmatic as well. Pell required help robing and disrobing and Pell's master-of-ceremonies recalled only twice in five years not assisting. * The surviving complainant's memories aren't of real events, but are a far-fetched fantasy that he, now aged in his 30s, may have come to believe as the truth. Mr Richter pointed to the fact neither victim came forward immediately, that the complainant who has since died denied being abused when asked directly by his parents, and that after the first incident involving both boys the surviving complainant did not warn his friend when he was later abused again. Advertisement Pell claimed there would be too many people around for him to molest the boys as other participants would be there disrobing and then cleaning up. The ceremony was also too carefully orchestrated for two choirboys to sneak out at any point and make it to the sacristy unnoticed. Even if they did, he argued they would have been seen when they arrived late to choir rehearsal straight after mass. No witnesses testified that they saw the boys leaving or returning unexpectedly. 'Only a madman would attempt to rape boys in the priest's sacristy immediately after Sunday solemn mass,' Pell's lawyer told the jury. Pell arrives at the County Court in Melbourne, taking his last steps as a free man before he was remanded in custody ahead of his sentencing on March 13 He was taken in this white truck to Melbourne Assessment Prison where he will spend at least the next two weeks If all this somehow happened, it would have been 'inhumanly possible' for Pell to expose his penis to the boys while wearing the Archbishop's robes, he argued. But a jury was unconvinced and convicted him of one count of sexually penetrating a child and four counts of committing an act of indecency. Pell was on Wednesday finally sent to jail, two months after his conviction, as he was given a reprieve while he had a double knee replacement. He faced court to argue has case for a shorter prison term, and at the end of proceedings around 3.20pm, he was removed from the courtroom to a cell. He got up, bowed to Chief Judge Peter Kidd before walking through the courtroom door with prison guards as everyone in the gallery turned their heads to watch his exit in eerie silence. Pell had remained staunch throughout the pre-sentence hearing, glaring at anyone who stared at him in the dock. Once living the high life in a $30 million home in Rome, Pell has now spent his first night in jail ahead of sentencing on March 13. He has always maintained his innocence and has lodged an appeal against his convictions. Francis Quaid is pictured arriving at Westminster Magistrates Court today A teenager was caught filming a woman on his phone under a toilet cubicle in McDonald's, a court has heard. Francis Quaid, 19, sneaked into the female toilets at 5.30am and hid until his victim arrived at the restaurant in Oxford Street, central London. He then began to film a woman for at least 30 seconds after she entered the next door lavatory, Westminster Magistrates heard. The woman shouted for help after seeing his phone camera positioned underneath the partition wall and Quaid subsequent fled as security guards approached. When he was arrested, police found an upskirt picture he had taken of another woman on a escalator. Prosecutor Charles Shelton said: 'On 8 December, he was in McDonald's at around 5:30 in the morning. 'He went into the female toilets, into a cubicle, and there was a video later recovered on his phone. 'It showed the lower part of his face, before moving down to show his trousers. 'He kept lowering his cameras to show the next door cubicle and film the complainant during a private act. 'She became aware of the intrusion and complained to security staff. 'He tried to get away to the nearby underground station but was detained by the security staff and later arrested by the Transport Police.' 'He told police on his arrest that he had a few lines of cocaine and was drugged up. He admitted in his own words that "he f****d up".' Bridgette York, defending, said: 'He is only 19 years old. He did not seek to give any excuses for what he has done. He has taken full responsibility for his actions. 'This behaviour has been caught early and there is the potential for him with counselling to stop this behaviour. 'He accepts the material was on his phone. He accepts that he had a conversation with the person involved and regrets the distress I would have caused her. 'He realises this was not acceptable, is now sober and wants to provide compensation.' The court heard how the 19-year-old has since sought out professional help for his drink and drug taking. 'He supports himself and lives on his own with his family back in Thailand,' Ms York said. 'He feels he has let his family down.' The judge sentenced Quaid to 200 hours community service and ordered the teenager to pay 250 in compensation, 85 in surcharge and 85 in witness fees. What is the law around 'upskirting'? Taking pictures up a woman's skirt is set to become a criminal offence in the spring - with perverts found guilty of the crime facing up to two years in prison. Upskirting sees perpetrators taking photographs or videos of a victim's groin area from under their clothing, without that person's knowledge. A new law which bans 'upskirting' passed its final legal hurdle in January when it received its third reading in the Upper Chamber of the House of Lords. The upskirting bill will now become part of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and cover England and Wales. It is already a crime in Scotland. Advertisement 'The woman was entitled to believe that want went on in that toilet would be private,' the judge said. 'You eventually came out of the toilet. She managed to get hold of the phone after noticing her body on the screen, recorded on your phone.' Judge Snow also issued a sexual harm prevention order that Quaid only enter public toilets designated for men, excluding unisex facilities for five years. This order also bans Quaid is from carrying a device capable of taking and storing photos unless he notifies police of the serial number within 24 hours of purchase. Judge Snow said: 'I am satisfied that it is necessary to make a sexual harm prevention order to protect the public from sexual harm from you. 'There was an image found on your phone of a woman, shot up her skirt on an escalator. 'I'm not going to sentence you on it but I am going to take it into account for a sexual harm prevention order for five years.' Quaid, of Islington, admitted voyeurism. A New York police officer risked his life to save a dog that had fallen through ice on a frozen canal in the early hours of the morning. Police in the town of Ogden, New York, shared on Twitter the bodycam footage of the tense moment when Sgt. Travis Gray responded to a report that the pet had fallen into the Erie Canal at about 2am on February 25. The minute-and-a-half-long clip starts with Gray gingerly walking across the ice, appearing to use his baton to either test the ice's stability or prevent himself from slipping as he goes. Police Sgt. Travis Gray responded to a call that a dog had fallen through the ice on the Erie Canal during sub-zero weather at about 2am Monday Gray's risky rescue was captured by his bodycam and tweeted out by Ogden police Eventually he reaches the spot where the ice meets the water and shines his flashlight on the fallen dog, which is neck deep in the frigid water and pawing at the ice's edge. Howling wind and the dog's moans and whines can be heard in the background as Gray reassures the dog by saying, 'Hold on buddy, I know.' Gray then gets down on his hands and knees to crawl to the edge of the ice. 'Come on, come on, let's go,' Gray says as he reaches over and pulls the dog out of the ice with one hand and then drags it across the ice to safety. As the dog shakes the water off, Gray tells the dispatcher that the fire department call can be canceled because he's got the dog. 'You're a big boy come on, let's walk,' Gray then tells the dog. 'We've got to get out of the wind.' Ogden police tweeted, 'At great risk to himself, Sgt Gray rescued the dog. The dog was exhausted and hypothermic but did recover.' Gray (in 2017) had originally called the fire department to retrieve the dog, but realized that the dog wouldn't survive much longer, so he crawled across the ice to rescue the dog himself Police told WHEC that the dog was then taken to a local animal shelter and then reunited with its owner. Ogden Police Chief Chris Mears said that Gray had originally requested the fire department come to retrieve the dog from the icy water, but after witnessing how hard the dog was struggling and recognizing that it wouldn't survive much longer, Gray decided to rescue the dog himself. Ogden Animal Control Officer John Eeckhout told KCRG that the dog had escaped from his yard after the high winds knocked over a gate. A neighbor who lives near the canal heard the dog's cries and called 911. According to AccuWeather, the temperature in Ogden on February 25 ranged from -1 to -6 degrees Fahrenheit. Cops are looking for a person who assaulted an 18-year-old man at a grocery store in suburban New Jersey. The senior citizen was in a Shop Rite store on Elizabeth Avenue and Franklin Township when the attack happened. He sustained minor injuries but refused medical attention following the incident, according to Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson. Popular and divisive: Trump supporters have been assaulted for wearing the iconic red 'Make America Great Again' hat as worn by the President (Stock photo) Police have not released any information about the alleged attacker but have asked anyone with information to contact them. The assault is the latest in a string of assaults on people wearing MAGA hats in the US, according to police. A woman is facing deportation after being arrested earlier this month for allegedly assaulting a man wearing a 'Make America Great Again' hat . Rosiane Santos, from Brazil, was detained by federal officers after a video appearing to show her grabbing a man's red cap and throwing it on the floor at a Mexican restaurant in Massachusetts surfaced on February 15. The assault on the 81-year-old took place at this Shop Rite store in Franklin Township, NJ. Police are looking for the alleged attacker ICE officers told ABC News that Santos is in the country illegally, and was being processed for deportation. 'She has since been released from ICE custody after being entered into removal proceedings in federal immigration courts and provided a notice to appear at a future date before an immigration judge,' said an ICE spokesperson. In Georgia a vape store employee was sacked for 'acting improperly towards a customer'. Xhale City store announced on Facebook that an employee was 'immediately terminated' after a verbal altercation with a man wearing a Trump T-shirt and 'Make America Great Again' hat. A video posted is believed to show the shop attendant greeting the customer before telling him to 'F*** off, dude'. President Donald Trump is currently in Vietnam at a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. A British climber and his Italian counterpart have gone missing while trying to find a new route up Pakistan's infamous 'killer mountain' amid bad weather. Tom Ballard, 30, the son of mountaineer Alison Hargreaves who died on K2 in 1995, and 42-year-old Daniele Nardi last made contact with their loved ones on Sunday. At the time they were around 20,000ft up Nanga Parbat mountain and nothing has been heard from them since. Pakistani mountaineer Ali Sadpara, who previously conquered the same peak in winter, said he is prepared to mount a search operation, but is being delayed amid tensions with India. Tom Ballard, 30 (left), and 42-year-old Daniele Nardi (right) have been missing for the last three days while attempting to climb Pakistan's 'killer mountain' (pictured during the climb) Ballard's mother was famous climber Alison Hargreaves (pictured with him as a child) who died while descending the world's second-highest mountain K2 in 1995 Airspace around the mountain was temporarily closed on Wednesday amid tit-for-tat attacks between the Pakistani and Indian air forces. Ballard and Nardi last made contact with loved ones on Sunday and nothing has been heard from them since Nardi last made contact with his wife on Sunday to report that he and Ballard were holed up along Mummery Rib on the Diamir side of the mountain, Planet Mountain reports But they have not made contact with their ground team in three days, and concern for their welfare is mounting as bad weather closes in. Ballard is well-known in mountaineering circles, not least because his mother was the first woman to solo-climb Everest without oxygen in 1995. The feat was part of her attempt to climb the world's three highest mountains unaided in the same year, but in August she was killed descending from the summit of K2, the world's second-highest peak. Hargreaves was blown off a ridge by 260mph winds amid an unexpected hurricane and her body has never been found. Ballard was aged six at the time. Despite this, he followed in his mother's footsteps and become the first person to climb the great north faces of the Alps solo in winter and in the same season. Hargreaves had previously climbed all the faces in a single season, though not all of them in winter. Ballard (pictured during the climb) is not an experienced altitude climber, but made a name for himself by becoming the first person to climb the great north faces of the Alps in a single season and in winter Nardi is a more experienced altitude climber having made several attempts to climb Nanga Parbat during winter, each of them unsuccessful However, Ballard has limited experience of altitude climbing, raising fears over his disappearance. By contrast, Nardi is an experienced altitude climber and has attempted to climb Nanga Parbat during winter on several occasions, none of them successful. Nanga Parbat became known as the 'killer mountain' after a series of attempts to climb it during the 1930s ended in the deaths of dozens of climbers. The most infamous accident came in 1937 when seven Germans and nine Sherpas were killed by an avalanche. Three years earlier a separate expedition claimed the lives of four German climbers and six Sherpas, who died of a combination of altitude sickness, exposure to a severe storm, and sheer exhaustion. Sherpa Ang Tsering made it out alive after battling through the blizzard for seven days, and said that 'for sheer protracted agony, [this] has no parallel in climbing.' Pakistani climbers have agreed to mount a search operation for Ballard and Nardi but have been delayed after airspace around the mountain was shut due to clashes with India (pictured, an Indian air force jet shot down over Kashmir) Nanga Parbat is one of 14 mountain in the world to measure more than 8,000m (26,000ft in height), known as the eight-thousanders. It is the world's ninth highest peak and the second-highest in the Himalayas after Everest, and is notoriously difficult to climb. Attempts to summit the mountain began in 1895 when an expedition led by Albert F Mummery tried to climb it along the difficult Diamir face. The ridge that Ballard and Nardi were climbing when they disappeared is named after the English mountaineer, who died during his attempt. Tory opposition to Theresa Mays Brexit deal softened last night as fears of a lengthy delay to the UKs departure grew. Eurosceptic MPs, who joined forces with Labour last month to inflict a record defeat on the Prime Ministers deal, rolled back on their demands for concessions. Writing in the Mail, Jacob Rees-Mogg says that if Mrs May can secure necessary assurances on the controversial backstop to prevent a hard border in Ireland in the event of No Deal, I would be delighted to support her deal and help avoid any delay to Brexit. Mr Rees-Mogg, chairman of the European Research Group of Leave MPs, insists he will take a practical and not a theological attitude towards next months crunch vote on the deal, adding: It is not my job to tell other Conservative MPs what to do, but I am sure many other passionate advocates of Brexit would take the same pragmatic and patriotic view. Mrs May reluctantly let MPs seek a limited extension of Article 50 of just a few months if her deal was rejected again next month. Tory opposition to Theresa Mays (pictured being driven away from Parliament yesterday) Brexit deal softened last night as fears of a lengthy delay to the UKs departure grew The Prime Minister faced down a Cabinet row and hostile questions from Brexiteers ahead of the new round of votes in the Commons (pictured) Labour will continue to push for an early election so it can deliver its own Brexit, Mr Corbyn said. Pictured: Mr Corbyn leaving the Commons yesterday But privately, ministers admit that MPs would be able to amend the relevant legislation to allow for a much longer delay. David Lidington, Mrs Mays deputy, also told MPs they would be able to seek a long delay if EU leaders rejected calls for a short one. The threat of a delay, which Mr Rees-Mogg warned was part of a plot to stop Brexit, appeared to focus Eurosceptic MPs on the need to strike a deal. Other MPs who voted against the deal last month also indicated they could now back Mrs May in the vote on March 12, particularly if Attorney General Geoffrey Cox secures legally binding changes to the backstop. Asked whether Mrs Mays deal could get through, Chancellor Philip Hammond said: Thats what were focusing on I think theres every chance. Environment Secretary Michael Gove leaving the Houses of Parliament in Westminster yesterday Boris Johnson, leaving the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London and rides his bike Theresa May (pictured yesterday at PMQs) has survived the latest showdown in the Commons despite Remain MPs claiming she has taken no deal off the table Labour MP Yvette Cooper - who has led efforts to block no deal - grilled Mrs May's deputy on the promise ahead of yesterday's votes However, Eurosceptic MPs put down a marker last night against the idea of a delay. Some 88 Tory MPs abstained in a Commons vote formalising Mrs Mays offer of a Brexit delay, including Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab and Mr Rees-Mogg. Which MPs voted against May? Twenty Conservative MPs voted against Theresa May's new timetable for the Brexit endgame last night. They are hardline Brexiteers and are likely to vote against whatever deal Mrs May brings back on March 12. They were: Lucy Allan (Conservative - Telford) John Baron (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay) Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East) William Cash (Conservative - Stone) Rehman Chishti (Conservative - Gillingham and Rainham) David T. C. Davies (Conservative - Monmouth) Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley) Richard Drax (Conservative - South Dorset) Philip Hollobone (Conservative - Kettering) Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford) Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton) Nigel Mills (Conservative - Amber Valley) Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot) Tom Pursglove (Conservative - Corby) Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley) Bob Stewart (Conservative - Beckenham) Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West) Robert Syms (Conservative - Poole) Michael Tomlinson (Conservative - Mid Dorset and North Poole) Martin Vickers (Conservative - Cleethorpes) Advertisement Another 20 hardliners, led by former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey, went further by voting against the plan, defying a three-line whip. The moves came as: Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer said Labours policy would formally switch to backing a second referendum with an option to remain in the EU, after its alternative plan was rejected by MPs last night. Mrs May faced a Tory backlash after ministerial aide Alberto Costa was forced to resign for tabling an amendment to protect the rights of EU citizens, which the Government later accepted. The Spectator magazine revealed Mrs May had hit back at criticism that she was too bound by her civil servants, telling MPs at a private meeting: I dont just do what [Brexit negotiator] Olly Robbins tells me. A National Audit Office report on Brexit preparations at the border revealed alarming shortcomings. Disgraced former Labour MP Fiona Onasanya failed to show up last night for the first Commons vote since her release from jail over her conviction for lying about a speeding offence. The prospect of a delay sparked angry recriminations against Remain ministers who forced Mrs Mays hand by threatening to resign to back a move by Labours Yvette Cooper and Tory Sir Oliver Letwin that would allow Parliament to control Brexit. Miss Cooper did not force her plan to a vote last night in the wake of assurances from Mrs May that MPs would get the chance to block a No Deal Brexit on March 29. But Sir Oliver warned that Parliament would force the Government to pursue a softer Brexit if there was a delay. Former Tory Cabinet minister Dame Caroline Spelman and Labours Jack Dromey, who have spearheaded attempts to rule out No Deal, also hinted they would seek a softer deal. She claimed victory when David Lidington said the Government would be bound by a vote against no deal on March 13 The prospect of delay prompted growing alarm among Tory MPs who rejected Mrs Mays deal last month. Nadine Dorries said: The consequences of not passing the deal on March 12 are too great. We could end up extending Article 50 and Brexit not happening. Sir Edward Leigh said: If you want to avoid a damaging No Deal or no Brexit, vote for the deal. Ex-minister Sir Mike Penning said dozens of Tory MPs would back Mrs May if she secured enough movement on the backstop to satisfy the DUP. Robert Halfon, another former minister, said: I didnt vote for the deal because I was worried about being tied into a spaghetti of EU bureaucracy without a say. However, I will vote for the deal on March 12. MPs voted from 7pm last night on a series of amendments designed to block no deal This is the ridiculous moment that two men have to abandon their pedalo seconds before it goes over a waterfall and lands upside down in a river. The footage, filmed on the Donghe River in Hunan Province, China, shows the pair frantically trying to stop the vessel drifting off the artificial dam and down a steep waterfall. Stepping in to the shallow water ahead of the pedalo, they do their best to stop it but then have to give up as the precipice nears. Not so ship shape! Two men frantically try to stop their pedalo drifting down a waterfall on the Donghe River, in Hunan Province, China. Their unsuccessful attempt leaves them helplessly stranded at the edge of an artificial dam as their craft drifts into the rapids and capsizes The pedalo then drifts over the edge and capsizes as it hits the rapids below. The stranded men then stand at the edge of the artificial dam and wait to be rescued, with the water fortunately shallower. Rescuers from the Jishou fire service then send a boat their aid, as they shout instructions from a loud speaker. An aerial view shows the moment that the pedalo goes over the edge of the artificial dam and in to the rapids below on the Donghe River Having been given life jackets, the men are shown gripping on to a safety wire as they get pulled to safety. One of the men is carrying a brown shopping bag as he is greeted by a huddle of onlookers on the river bank. At the time of writing, it is unclear whether the craft was retrieved from the rapids, but the two friends, who didn't suffer any injuries, are not expected to be charged over the accident. Three brothers who used family bank accounts to funnel drug money to pay for luxury cars and their mortgages have been ordered to pay back 1.3 million. Sakander Riaz, Asif and Saqib Riaz were all jailed in 2016, but a judge at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday 25 February ordered the fraudsters to pay their debts or face more prison time. Sakander was jailed for 13 and a half years for his part in the major importation of heroin to the UK from Pakistan. This is while Asif and Saqib were also jailed for five and four years, respectively, for passing crime profits through their bank accounts. Sakander Riaz (pictured above) was one of seven men involved in the heroin smuggling scam that saw drugs concealed in packages shipped in from Pakistan The money found by officers who were carrying out a search at the family home in Birmingham The trio were able to make significant renovations to the family home. Officers searching the property from the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) discovered photos on Saqib's mobile phone which showed an overseas villa under construction. West Midlands Police said 80,000 in cash had been found during a search at the family home. The brothers have been ordered to repay 400,000 in the next three months or Sakander, Asif and Saqib, all from Birmingham, will spend an extra 36, 18 and four months, respectively, in prison. Saqib Riaz (left) and Asif Riaz (right) were also jailed for five and four years, respectively, for passing crime profits through their bank accounts Sakander Riaz was one of seven men involved in the heroin smuggling scam that saw drugs concealed in packages shipped in from Pakistan, including consignments of childrens clothing. The drugs were destined for the streets of Birmingham and in 2016 the group were jailed for a combined total of almost 70 years. The force added that the rest of the debt will hang over them for life and police can seize any cash or assets they accrue in the future. Money was also found stashed in a car and is now set to be used to help pay for crime prevention in the local area ROCU Detective Chief Inspector Ronan Tyrer said: 'Around 500,000 was paid into the family bank accounts despite them having not declared income. 'They were making high-end purchases, extending their home and making major improvements - and all funded through drug money and others' suffering. 'It's important that police go after offenders even after they have been convicted in order to recoup any ill-gotten gains and illustrate our determination that crime doesn't pay. Mr Tyrer added: 'The money recovered through POCA (the Proceeds of Crime Act) is used to pay for crime prevention and crime-fighting schemes, plus local community projects.' A barbecue restaurant has scrapped a new sandwich that poked fun at Robert Kraft's prostitution allegations after the stunt drew criticism on social media. New York chain Dinosaur Bar-B-Que advertised a pulled-pork and jerked-chicken sandwich called the 'Robert Kraft' and promised to give proceeds to needy kids. The Dinosaur diner advertised its new sandwich in now deleted Facebook and Twitter posts, in which it said money would be donated to McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center - a child care agency in Syracuse. New York chain Dinosaur Bar-B-Que advertised a pulled-pork and jerked-chicken sandwich called the 'Robert Kraft' - poking fun at the billionaire's prostitution allegations 'This week only stop into the Syracuse Dinosaur to get a 'Robert Kraft' aka the Jerked and Pulled Chicken Sandwich,' the restaurant wrote. New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft, 77, is facing up to a year in prison after being accused of paying two women for a threesome at the massage parlor 'Orchids of Asia Day Spa' in Jupiter, Florida. The spa was one of 10 that were shut down in the state after a seven-month investigation found women in 'sexual servitude,' according to arrest records. The New England Patriots owner, 77, is facing up to a year in prison after being accused of paying two women for a threesome at a massage parlor in Jupiter, Florida Dinosaur's posts were deleted on Monday after McMahon/Ryan also criticized the restaurant. 'We do not support @Dinosaur_BBQ of their post regarding Mr Kraft and their reference to Human Trafficking,' the organization wrote. 'When we saw the post we did try to reach out to them with no luck. We can not accept donations that contradict our mission.' Dozens of European and Latin American diplomats abruptly walked out of the U.N.'s top human rights body on Wednesday to protest an address by Venezuela's foreign minister. Jorge Arreaza used his speech to float the idea of talks between President Nicolas Maduro and U.S. President Donald Trump - even as he blasted alleged U.S. 'aggression' against his country. He told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva that the two leaders could seek 'common ground' over Venezuela's escalating crisis. Venezuela Minister of Foreign Affairs Jorge Arreaza addresses the 40th session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland on February 27, after European and Latin American diplomats walked out in protest 'We're calling for dialogue, dialogue with the United States - why not between Presidents Maduro and Trump?' Arreaza said. 'Why shouldn't they meet so that they could try to find common ground and explain their differences?' He also called for 'dialogue between Venezuelan citizens.' More than 50 other countries have recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as the South American country's interim president, including Canada, the UK and Venezuela's neighbours Colombia and Brazil. Jorge Arreaza suggested that President Trump (pictured) meet with President Nicolas Maduro (right) to try and 'find common ground and explain their differences' Many of their low-level diplomats stormed out of the room just as Arreaza arrived to speak to the 47-member council. Arreaza also said in his address that the U.S. was trying to overthrow the Maduro government and that Venezuela had lost $30 billion in assets 'confiscated' since Nov. 2017, including from the state oil company Citgo. He then renewed an invitation to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, to visit Venezuela to evaluate the impact of what he described as a US-led 'blockade'. The United States is among the countries that have recognized Guaido, but no U.S. diplomats were present for the walkout on Wednesday: The Trump administration quit the council last summer over its alleged anti-Israel bias. Earlier at the Geneva forum, an aide to Colombian President Ivan Duque called for action to end Venezuela's humanitarian crisis and bring about a political transition leading to free elections. Advertisement Former longtime Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen revealed on Wednesday that he hunted for a rumored tape of the president hitting Melania Trump footage that he believes does not exist as he described 'catch-and-kill' publishing schemes to silence allegations against Trump, including one that the president had a love child and another rumored to involve spousal abuse. Cohen spoke on a drama-filled day on Capitol Hill, calling the president a racist, a liar and a cheat. Trump, he said, knew about WikiLeaks' plan to publish hacked Clinton emails and would work with 'anyone' to win. Cohen presented what he said was evidence that Trump knew about payments to Stormy Daniels, and continued to write checks to reimburse his attorney for them after he became president. Republicans attacked Cohen as a serial fabulist who already stands convicted of lying to Congress, making his testimony worthless. One member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee referred him for further investigation during Wednesday's hearing, claiming he lied on a financial disclosure form about his contracts with foreign companies. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the panel's most junior members, landed a blow on Trump from 12 time zones away by broadcasting a logical reason for the committee to subpoena the president's long-sought tax returns. Cohen told her that Trump had previously inflated the value of some properties for insurance purposes, and undervalued others when it was time to calculate tax bills. He had already provided the committee with portions of some financial records from the Trump Organization. 'Do you think we need to review his financial statements and his tax returns in order to compare them?' Ocasio-Cortez asked. 'Yes,' Cohen replied. 'And you'd find it at the Trump Org.' He said Trump had an interest in lowering his local real estate tax bills. 'What you do,' he said, 'is you deflate the value of the asset and then you put in a request to the tax department for a deduction.' Committee members also questioned Cohen about payoff schemes involving American Media Inc. the parent company of the National Enquirer hatched to protect the president. One involved the rumor about Trump physically hitting the future first lady. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEOS Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, told a congressional panel on Wednesday about the moment Trump gave him the order to funnel $130,000 to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about an alleged sexual affair Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a socialist Democrat, grilled Cohen about Trump's alleged habit of manipulating the value of his property to save on his tax bills and inflate insurance payoffs Cohen revealed that the Trump Organization mounted a search for a rumored tape of the president hitting first lady Melania Trump in an elevator, until company leaders concluded it never existed Cohen told the House Oversight and Reform Committee that as a lawyer for Daniels (right) threatened to go public with her claims of a sexual affair more than a decade earlier, Trump (left, in Vietnam on Wednesday) ordered him to find a way to funnel the payment to her via that attorney Cohen offered details of catch-and-kill payoff schemes involving David Pecker (right), the chairman of American Media Inc., publisher of the National Enquirer, to protect Trump Cohen says he and Trump Organization lawyer Alan Weisselberg (pictured) plotted how to pay Daniels without their own fingerprints ending up on the money; they discussed the possibility of using a someone's purchase of a membership in one of Trump's golf courses as a cutout to move the funds Republicans including North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows used the hearing to attack the attorney-turned-felon as a liar When Ocasio-Cortez took her turn at the mic on Wednesday, she drew out a rationale for subpoenaing the president's tax returns 'The story goes that he struck Melania while in that elevator, because there's a camera inside,' Cohen said under questioning, before declaring about the supposed hidden cameras: 'I'm not so sure actually, I'm certain it's not true.' And 'I don't believe Mr. Trump ever struck Mrs. Trump, ever,' he said, and the man he served for a decade would not 'ever do something like that.' Cohen said he had heard rumors of the tape's existence and that people from American Media Inc. had tried to 'catch and kill' it, buying the exclusive rights to the story and never publishing it. 'I know several people who went to go try to purchase it for catch and kill purpose,' Cohen told the committee. MICHAEL COHEN'S MOST DAMNING QUOTES ABOUT TRUMP IN HIS OPENING STATEMENT I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat. He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails. Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. That's not how he operates. In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In this way, he was telling me to lie. Mr Trump made clear to me, through his personal statement to me that we both knew were false and through his lies to the country, that he wanted me to lie. Yet, last fall I pled guilty in federal courts to felonies for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in coordination with Individual #1. For the record: Individual #1 is President Donald J. Trump. Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great. He has no desire or intention to lead this nation - only to market himself and to build his wealth and power. A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr. Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time. The answer is yes. Trump is a racist. The country has seen Mr. Trump court white supremacists and bigots. You have heard him call poorer country 'shitholes.' In private he is even worse. He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasnt a 'shithole.' This was when Barack Obama was President. Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes. He asked me to pay off an adult film star with whom he had an affair, and to lie to his wife about it, which I did. Lying to the First Lady is one of my biggest regrets. Advertisement He also recalled that David Pecker, the chairman of AMI, paid $15,000 to kill a story that Trump had a love child with an employee. 'There was the story about Mr. Trump having a love child with an employee with an employee and actually the husband of that employee works for the company as well, and there was an elevator operator who claims he overheard the conversation taking place between one of Mr. Trump's other executives and somebody and he ended up paying like $15,000 in order to buy that story to find out whether it was true or not,' he said. 'And that's just one example of things that David had done,' Cohen said. He noted to the 'best of my knowledge' Trump hasn't fathered any children through extramarital affairs. In April 2018, it was reported that Dino Sajudin, the former doorman for Trump Tower, had a signed deal with AMI for his story of how Trump had a child with an ex-housekeeper. Pecker has received immunity from federal prosecutors for providing details of the catch-and-kill payments. Cohen said the knowledge Pecker had of Trump is one of the reasons he and the president discussed their concern about a new job offer for Pecker in a tape of the two men talking. 'It was the reason why in the recording when David was looking to become the CEO of "Time" magazine, we were concerned of the treasure trove of documents that someone could open up the drawer and we would have to buy the life rights and so on,' he told lawmakers. Cohen also told the congressional panel about the moment President Trump gave him the order to funnel $130,000 to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels as her attorney threatened that she would go public about her claims of a past sexual affair. Furious Republicans crossed swords with Cohen and called him a liar on his way to prison who has neither credibility nor remorse, blasting him one after another in furious tones and eye-daggers. Cohen stood his ground and recounted a day in Trump Tower when the future president made the decision to make the payoff. 'He had told me he had spoken to a couple of friends,' Cohen recalled of a meeting in then-candidate Trump's Trump Tower office. 'It's $130,000, it's not a lot of money and we should just do it. So go ahead and do it",' he said Trump told him. Cohen said he and Trump Organization attorney Allen Weisselberg, were in Trump's office, and he 'directed us to go back to Weisselberg's office and figure this all out.' The result, a 'hush money' payment to Daniels with funds originating from a home equity line of credit Cohen obtained at Trump's direction, he claimed in a House Oversight and Reform committee hearing was part of the money Trump repaid in a series of $35,000 checks to him that continued during his first year in office. Originally, he said, he had asked Weisselberg 'to use his money' to pay Daniels. '[I] didn't want to use mine. And he said he couldn't. And we then decided [to discuss] how else we can do it.' They two men discussed ways of laundering the payment through Trump's golf business, he said. 'He asked me whether or not I knew anybody who wants to have a party at one of his clubs that could pay me instead,' Cohen claimed. 'Or somebody who may have wanted to become a member of one of the golf clubs. And I also don't have anybody that was interested in that.' 'And it got to the point where it was down to the wire. It was either, somebody wire the funds and purchase the life rights to the story from Ms. Clifford, or it was going to end up being sold to television, and that would have embarrassed the president and it would have interfered with the election.' Daniels praised Cohen in a statement to reporters. 'Michael, Im proud of you for finally beginning to tell the truth about what you did, and trying to repair some of the harm you have caused. I can hear the pain and regret you feel for betraying your family and your country. My heart goes out to you and your family,' she said. 'Do you believe now that when you and the president called me a liar, when you were his attorney and you insulted me, threatened to bankrupt me and worse, that you put me and my family in danger? I remember the fear you feel. I still feel it. 'Thank you for having the courage, at long last, to begin to tell the truth. I hope that some day soon your family and mine can both leave this nightmare behind.' Hour after hour, Cohen unloaded on his former boss, bringing a pair of $35,000 checks he cashed as partial reimbursement of the 'hush money' he paid to Daniels, whose given name is Stephanie Clifford, and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. The Stormy Daniels payoff happened in the weeks following the explosive leak of audio recorded during a taping of 'Access Hollywood,' in which Trump made comments about the ease with which famous men can sexually assault women. President Trump was in Vietnam on Wednesday, conducting a nuclear summit with North Korean dictator Jim Jong Un an event that has slipped to also-ran status in the news The Cohen saga has become political entertainment for Democrats and a source of increasingly dire frustration for Republicans as partisan conflict threatens to consume the White House Cohen said his boss was worried that a second sex scandal in the weeks before the 2016 election would doom his candidacy. 'I was concerned about it,' he said, 'But more importantly, Mr. Trump was concerned about it.' Cohen had claimed an hour earlier that Trump never wanted to be president and saw his campaign as an 'infomercial' for his commercial business. He said in his opening statement that he had lied to first lady Melania Trump about the Stormy Daniels affair, and regrets it now. 'He asked me to pay off an adult film star with whom he had an affair and to lie to his wife about it, which I did,' he said of Trump. 'Lying to the first lady is one of my biggest regrets. She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly and she did not deserve that.' COHEN 'ASHAMED' TO HAVE SERVED TRUMP In a hotly anticipated hearing tainted by Cohen's own admission he has lied to Congress in the past, he branded the president an unpatriotic grifter whom he regretted ever working for. 'I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat,' Cohen said. Like other witnesses in Capitol Hill hearings, Cohen swore an oath to tell the truth. But Cohen has already pleaded guilty to lying to Congress during testimony in 2018. DailyMail.com was unable to find another case where a congressional committee devoted a hearing to testimony from someone in that circumstance. Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, testified before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Wednesday, speaking for the first time in a public forum about his experiences related to his criminal conduct and the president's alleged role Cohen faced immediate questions about his credibility since he is a convicted felon who pleaded guilty to lying to Congress already Cohen has provided members of Congress with two checks, one signed by the president and the other by his son Donald Jr, which he says was reimbursement for payments meant to keep Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal quiet; President Trump's check was written after he had been president for more than a half-year The Donald Trump Jr.-signed check was dated in March 2017, and was drawn on a family Trust; A Trump Organization official told DailyMail.com on Wednesday that Trump Jr. was unaware when he signed it that it was part of a repayment plan for Cohen's hush-money outlay Cohen said he has no means of financial support, but conceded that publishers and producers have approached him for the rights to his life story. He declined to commit to not pursuing TV contracts or book deals, and said 'No' when a Republican panel member asked if he would give any proceeds to charity. Michael Cohen is a felon, a disbarred lawyer, and a convicted perjurer, who lied to both Congress and the Special Counsel in a "deliberate and premeditated" fashion according to the Special Counsel's Office. Now he offers what he says is evidence, but the only support for that is his own testimony, which has proven before to be worthless. As noted by the Southern District of New York, Cohen's wide array of crimes were "marked by a pattern of deception that permeated his professional life" and his "instinct to blame others is strong." Prosecutors said his actions were to ensure that he would "profit personally, build his own power, and enhance his level of influence." This is the same Michael Cohen who has admitted that he lied to Congress previously. Why did they even bother to swear him in this time? Kayleigh McEnany, Trump 2020 campaign national press secretary Cohen also acknowledged Wednesday that since he's still cooperating with federal prosecutors on cases unrelated to his own, he hopes to serve less time in federal prison than the three years he faces in May. He claimed that he doesn't expect his congressional testimony to have an impact. And he claimed that in 2011 he personally launched the momentum for Trump's rise to power, with a website called Should Trump Run. 'That was me,' Cohen said. REPUBLICANS: COHEN WANTED WHITE HOUSE JOB Committee ranking Republican Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, called Cohen a resentful man who is lashing out at Trump because he was left off the White House team when Trump took office. 'You wanted to work at the White House but you didn't get brought to the dance,' Jordan said. 'I was offered jobs,' Cohen countered, saying that Trump wanted him to take a position 'working with Don McGahn in the White House counsel's office.' He didn't take the position, he claimed, that 'there would be no attorney-client privilege' protecting the president with regard to matters that predated the 2017 inauguration. Eric Trump, the president's son, tweeted that Cohen was bitter: 'Michael was lobbying EVERYONE to be Chief of Staff. It was the biggest joke in the campaign and around the office. Did he just perjure himself again?' On CNN, host Jake Tapper said Cohen was lying. 'The issue there is that one sentence: "I did not want to go to the White House." All of our reporting suggests that's not true,' Tapper said. Rudy Giuliani, Trumps personal lawyer, has claimed in interviews that Trump paid Cohen a monthly retainer of $35,000 for legal services, as reimbursement for the campaign-year payoffs to the women, who have said they bedded Trump more than a decade ago. Trump has denied ever being sexually involved with either Daniels, a pornographic actress, or McDougal, a former Playboy mode. President Trump was in Hanoi, Vietnam on Wednesday, brushing off the Cohen media circus and focusing on a long-awaited second summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un (right) The president tweeted a trans-pacific slap at Cohen, torching his credibility as a disbarred former lawyer who lied to Congress and will report to prison in May Pedestrians walk past a news banner in the Times Square neighborhood of New York as it references Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, as he testified before Congress One check provided to the committee was signed by Trump himself in August 2017, more than six months into his administration, and issued from what Cohen says is the president's personal account. The other is from the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust and signed by both Donald Trump Jr. and Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg. A Trump Organization official told DailyMail.com on Wednesday that Donald Trump Jr. was unaware when he signed the check that it was part of a repayment plan for Cohen's hush-money outlay. Cohen said Wednesday that the money 'was declared to be a retainer for services' although 'there is no retainer agreement.' Hours later Cohen refused to answer a question about whether the series of reimbursement checks he received were linked to any criminal investigations. He also refused to utter Giuliani's name on Wednesday, calling him only Trump's TV lawyer.' REPUBLICANS TRY TO DELAY Wednesday's hearing opened with Republican Rep. Mark Meadows attempting to delay it for a day, saying Cohen had broken the committee's rules by not giving members 24 hours to review his testimony before delivering it in person. Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings shot him down, with Democrats overruling the motion. Cohen claimed he heard Roger Stone tell then-candidate Trump about illicit campaign contacts with WikiLeaks and allege Donald trump Jr. secretly told his father ahead of time about an infamous 2016 Trump Tower meeting attended by a Kremlin-tied Russian lawyer. He said the president never intended to win the White House but saw the campaign as an 'infomercial' to boost his own commercial brand. And he told lawmakers that Trump said black Americans were too stupid to vote for him. In one light moment, Jordan asked Cohen about the 'sex symbol' status he tried to engineer by paying an Internet tech firm to create a 'Women for Cohen' Twitter account. 'It was for fun,' Cohen said with a rare smile. 'FAKE BIDDER' BOUGHT TRUMP PORTRAIT AT HIS REQUEST Cohen claimed Wednesday that Trump ordered him to arrange for a 'straw bidder' to purchase a portrait of himself six years ago and made his now-disbanded charitable foundation pay for it. The Donald J. Trump Foundation was dissolved in December as one consequence of a legal probe that alleges 'persistently illegal conduct' related to money it distributed. Cohen wants to get out from under the shame of a three-year prison term for lying to Congress, and used a return trip to Capitol Hill to bare his soul about everything Trump Cohen alleges charitable funds paid for the portrait of Trump, and that it later hung in one of the president's country clubs. 'The portrait was purchased by the fake bidder for $60,000. Mr. Trump directed the Trump Foundation, which is supposed to be a charitable organization, to repay the fake bidder, despite keeping the art for himself,' Cohen charged. The incident Cohen describes matches reports about a portrait of Trump sold at a 2013 art auction. Tax law prohibits charitable leaders from using a nonprofit's assets to enrich themselves. SKEPTICS HIT CONVICTED LIAR Cummings, a Maryland Democrat, said Cohen's credibility 'is a legitimate question.' Cummings is a former prosecutor. 'As he has admitted, he has repeatedly lied in the past,' Cummings said. But he insisted that following two years of denials from Trump, 'the American people have a right to hear the other side. They should watch Mr. Cohen's testimony and make their own judgments.' For committee Republicans, too, skepticism was the order of the day. Ranking Republican Jim Jordan called Cohen 'a guy who can't be trusted.' 'It's the first time a convicted perjurer has been brought back to be a star witness in a hearing,' he said during his opening statement, calling the star witness 'a guy who is going to prison in two months for? Lying to Congress.' Jordan also claimed former Bill Clinton lawyer Lanny Davis, who represents Cohen, organized the hearing. Davis sat behind Cohen in the first row. 'This is the Michael Cohen hearing presented by Lanny Davis. That's right: Lanny Davis choreographed the entire thing. The Clintons' best friend!' he marveled. 'He told our committee staff that this was his idea. ... He had to persuade the chairman to actually have it,' Jordan said. 'We have some serious questions about Michael Cohen,' Kentucky Rep. James Comer said Wednesday morning on CNN. 'The fact that he's the sole witness; and the fact that he's already lied once to Congress; he's a convicted felon who was just disbarred this week from the New York Bar,' he said. 'I mean, the credibility factor with Michael Cohen is probably the lowest we've ever seen for a major witness in congressional testimony history.' Carl Bernstein, the famed Watergate-era journalist, resisted comparing Cohen to John Dean, President Richard Nixon's White House counsel who became a whistle-blower in 1973. Ready for his close-up: Michael Cohen, a former Trump Organization executive and attorney for President Donald Trump, arrived Wednesday to testify in a House hearing to discuss the president's involvement in a hush-money scheme to quiet his alleged mistresses as he ran for the White House in 2016 'This guy was a flunkie. He was a runner. He was a fixer,' Bernstein said of Cohen. 'Trump always held him in relative contempt.' But in 20 pages of prepared testimony released Tuesday night, Cohen claimed to have inside information that suggested a much more exalted perch in Trumpworld. Trump 2020 campaign press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement while Wednesday's hearing was in a mid-afternoon recess that 'Michael Cohen is a felon, a disbarred lawyer, and a convicted perjurer, who lied to both Congress and the Special Counsel in a "deliberate and premeditated" fashion according to the Special Counsel's Office. Now he offers what he says is evidence, but the only support for that is his own testimony, which has proven before to be worthless.' 'As noted by the Southern District of New York,' she continued, Cohen's wide array of crimes were "marked by a pattern of deception that permeated his professional life" and his "instinct to blame others is strong." Prosecutors said his actions were to ensure that he would "profit personally, build his own power, and enhance his level of influence." 'This is the same Michael Cohen who has admitted that he lied to Congress previously. Why did they even bother to swear him in this time?' SCHUMER SEES CONSPIRACY The hearing that aired all day while Trump and his top aides were in Vietnam allowed for Cohen's newest claims to go unchecked by the White House and the president. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer suggested in a Wednesday floor speech that the timing of Trump's overseas trip may be more than coincidental. 'I hate to say it, but it would be absolutely incredible and even pathetic if President Trump were giving in to North Korea for the sake of a photo-op to knock Michael Cohen's hearing from the front page,' Schumer proclaimed. 'But if the past behavior of the president is any guide, something like that is, unfortunately, totally conceivable.' Trump announced the dates of his summit with Kim in his Feb. 5 State of the Union Speech. It was not until Feb. 20, more than two weeks later, that the House Oversight Committee announced Cohen would testify while the president was abroad. Cohen had initially agreed to answer lawmakers' questions on Feb. 7, but he postponed the appearance. Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia told DailyMail.com during a hearing recess that he found Cohen 'more credible and sincere than one might have thought in advance.' 'I also think Republicans are helping him,' he said. 'They're so over the top they're making him look sympathetic.' Connolly said he would recommend bringing Trump's personal attorney Jay Sekulow and Trump Organization lawyer Allen Weisselberg to a future committee hearing. But the president's family members, he added, would be 'dangerous, only because it gets real personal real fast and it risks backfiring.' TRUMP THE 'RACIST' Cohen branded the president a 'racist' on Wednesday. 'Mr. Trump is a racist. The country has seen Mr. Trump court white supremacists and big got bigots. You have heard him call foreign countries s***holes. He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black wasn't that wasn't a s***hole. This was when Barack Obama was president of the United States,' Cohen said. 'While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. And yet I continued to work for him.' Eric Trump, the president's second son, scoffed at Cohen's contention that he wasn't biting back out of scorn for not being chosen for a top White House role The House Oversight Committee hearing room included display boards brought by Republicans seeking to impeach the former Trump fixer's credibility While the Cohen circus was getting underway in Washington, President Trump was leaving a summit meeting with Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam Cohen also noted the president's comments about a 2017 far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia attended by white supremacists. Trump has repeatedly defended himself against allegations of racism and has expressed frustration that he does not get more support from African-American voters. 'No, No. I am not a racist,' he said in January 2018 after his comments about calling African nations s***hole countries was revealed. THE ROGER STONE SAGA He blasted his former employer and mentor for an alleged June 2016 conversation with Republican dirty-trickster Roger Stone. Cohen claims Stone told him that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange had told him a 'massive dump' of emails harmful to Hillary Clinton would be released in just a few days. Stone has claimed he knew nothing about the torrent of emails that would eventually trickle out a month at a time, all hacked from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. He also insists he has had no contact with WikiLeaks. But U.S. intelligence agencies believe Russian agents stole the materials and used WikiLeaks as a conduit to make them public. Stone, Federal prosecutors have charged Stone, Trump's longtime informal adviser whose political monkeywrenching dates back to the Nixon era, with witness tampering and lying to Congress. Donald Trump Jr., pictured Wednesday morning in New York, did not know a $35,000 check he signed to Michael Cohen was intended as part of the Stormy Daniels hush-money reimbursement, according to a Trump Organization official 'Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange,' Cohen recounts in his prepared testimony, 'and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign.' In a statement to reporters, Stone said Wednesday: 'Mr. Cohen's statement is not true.' Stone is under a gag order in his own federal trial for obstruction of an official proceeding, false statements and witness tampering Cohen will report to prison in May to serve a three-year sentence for crimes he has admitted to, including lying previously to House investigators. As a stunning series of revelations stole much of the media spotlight away from Trump's summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, the president shook his head when a reporter asked him to comment on the controversy. Instead, the president fired back on Twitter from Hanoi, Vietnam. 'Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately). He had other clients also,' Trump tweeted. 'He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crookeds lawyer!' Trump called Hillary Clinton 'Crooked Hillary' during their 2016 campaign clashes. Lanny Davis, who represented Bill Clinton during the 1990s Monica Lewinsky scandal, is now one of Cohen's attorneys. Cohen had two other clients: fellow Republican National Committee deputy finance chairman Elliott Broidy and Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity. Broidy is reportedly under federal investigation for his alleged role in schemes to sell his influence in Trumpworld, including deals with Chinese and Malaysian companies. Cohen spoke to the Senate Intelligence Committee for nine hours on Tuesday Aide: Michael Cohen was accompanied by Lanny Davis, the long-term Clinton advisor who is acting as his personal attorney Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein told DailyMail.com that Cohen who pleaded guilty to lying to Congress appeared credible to lawmakers and apologized on Tuesday He engaged in his own hush-money scheme, paying $1.6 million to former Playboy Playmate Shera Bechard to cover up a sexual affair. TRUMP 'INFLATED' NET WORTH TO GET LOANS Cohen testified that Trump routinely 'inflated' valuations of his property empire and furnished documents furnished to a lender in order to secure funds for Trump to buy the Buffalo Bills NFL franchise. He handed over internal Trump Organization financial statements from 2011 through 2013, including documents he said were used to try to obtain a loan for that purchase. The valuations show a sudden jump in Trump's self-proclaimed net worth, from $4.6 billion in 2012 to $8.7 billion a year later, when he was angling to buy the team. 'These documents and others were provided to Deutsche Bank on one occasion where I was with them in our attempt to obtain money so that we can put a bid on the Buffalo Bills,' Cohen said. 'I believe these numbers are inflated.' Willfully lying to a lender to secure a loan can be a crime. Cohen himself was sentenced to prison, in part, for falsifying the purpose of the home equity line of credit he used for the Stormy Daniels payoff. He said Wednesday that the documents were those Trump 'gave to such institutions as Deutsche Bank,' indicating other lenders may be involved. The March 31, 2013 statement includes a $4 billion valuation for 'brand value' a figure that wasn't included the prior year. THE ABANDONED 'TRUMP TOWER MOSCOW' PROJECT Cohen described briefing Trump on his work to develop a Moscow skyscraper project during the 2016 election, and revealed that he discussed it with Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump. His guilty plea for lying to Congress related stemmed from his claim under oath that the project was a dead issue by the time Trump won his first 2016 primary contest in New Hampshire. That turned out to be false, and Cohen claimed he misled Congress out of loyalty to his boss. 'I am not protecting Mr. Trump anymore,' he said Wednesday. Cohen said he briefed Trump's children on the project during 'the regular course of business' on about 10 occasions. 'Our goal was to get this project. We were interested in building what would have been the largest building in all of Europe,' he said of his briefings with then-candidate Trump. Cohen made clear that Trump never directly ordered him to lie about it, but claimed the president indirectly indicated his wishes. Cohen also played a role in hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels (left) and former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal (right) 'In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me, "There's no business in Russia," and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie,' Cohen said. He also claimed that Trump asked for updates on the Russia project 'at least a half-dozen times between the Iowa Caucus in January 2016 and the end of June.' COHEN: TRUMP NEVER WANTED TO WIN Cohen's 20-page statement, dripping with contempt for his former employer, describes Trump as 'is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great. He had no desire or intention to lead this nation only to market himself and to build his wealth and power.' Cohen claims the president often said his White House campaign 'was going to be the 'greatest infomercial in political history.' 'He never expected to win the primary. He never expected to win the general election. The campaign for him was always a marketing opportunity,' according to the disgraced former attorney who lost his license to practice law on Tuesday. 'I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat. He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails,' Cohen said. THE TRUMP TOWER MEETING Cohen also describes being present and hearing cryptic comments by Donald Trump Jr. to his father in early June of 2016 that Cohen believes referenced a Trump Tower meeting with Russians 'I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: 'The meeting is all set.' I remember Mr. Trump saying, 'Ok good let me know,' according to Cohen. June is when Don Jr., former campaign chair Paul Manafort, and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner met with a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer who had promised dirt on Hillary Clinton. It's over: How Michael Cohen was formally barred from being an attorney in New York 32 months later, it's impossible to verify if Don Jr. was discussing another matter. The president's eldest son mocked Cohen Wednesday on Twitter, responding to a conservative who noted that Congressional Democrats had invited a high-profile witness to testify after he pleaded guilty to lying to Congress. 'This time its different,' he tweeted, adding an emoji depicting an eye-roll. White House Press Secretary Sarah sanders said in a statement that '[d]isgraced felon Michael Cohen is going to prison for lying to Congress and making other false statements. Sadly, he will go before Congress this week and we can expect more of the same. Its laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies.' 'Only Democrats could hate someone so much that they would try to disrupt nuclear peace talks with testimony from a convicted felon,' he added. Cohen didn't spare himself from criticism on the eve of losing his freedom. 'I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience,' Cohen said. 'He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails,' Cohen said, connecting Trump to the hack that U.S. intelligence and prosecutors say was directed by and carried out by Russian military intelligence. Cohen spent Tuesday before a Senate panel, testifying behind closed doors. He will submit to another private grilling before a Senate committee on Thursday. An alleged ISIS militant hit a judge over the head with his own gavel while standing trial accused of participating in three terror attacks. Adel Ghandri, 33, was appearing in a military court in Tunis on Tuesday alongside several other suspects when the attack happened. The terror suspect managed to take hold of the judge's gavel before striking him in the head with it, a justice spokesman said. It is not clear if the judge was injured. Adel Ghandri, 33, a suspected ISIS fighter on trial accused of involvement in the Sousse beach massacre (file image) hit a judge with his own gavel as he appeared in court Tuesday Ghandri is accused of being involved in the 2015 attack on Sousse beach which killed 39 people, 30 of them British. Before the attack, Seifeddine Rezgui was dropped near the beach by a van and then mingled with tourists while holding an AK47 disguised under a beach umbrella. He then pulled out the weapon and opened fire on the beach, then made his way inside the nearby Hotel Rui Imperial Marhaba where he continued shooting and threw grenades. A short time later he was filmed fleeing along the beach before being shot dead by armed police. Ghandri is also suspected of being involved in a terror attack earlier the same year on the Bardo National Museum in Tunis, which killed 22 people. Nineteen of the victim were foreign tourists including one Briton, Sally Adey, a 57-year-old retired solicitor. Ghandri is also suspected of involvement in the Bardo National Museum attack in 2015 which killed 22 people, including 19 tourists (pictured), and the 2016 attack at Ben Guerdane In addition, authorities believe Ghandri was directly involved in a terror attack on a military station at Ben Guerdane, on the border with Libya, the following year. More than 40 ISIS militants attacked the town in an attempt to establish and Islamist caliphate in Tunisia, but were driven back by the armed forces. The Tunisian government put the final death toll at 45 militants, 12 members of the armed forces and seven civilians. Tunisia is often touted as the Arab Spring's only success story after dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali was deposed in favour of a democratic government. However, the country has been forced to content with attacks by Islamist insurgents and has become the largest exporter of terrorists per head of population. The UN estimates that some 5,500 Tunisians left the country to join Isis and al-Qaeda in Syria, Iraq and Libya, compared to 900 from the UK. Hundreds of Britons are stranded in South East Asia today after the Kashmir crisis forced airlines to cancel flights to the region. Passengers were facing travel chaos as airlines including Thai Airways and Emirates cancelled flights to Pakistan, which has closed its airspace amid growing tensions with its arch rival and neighbour India. It comes after Islamabad today claimed to have downed two Indian jets in its airspace before seemingly parading a captured Indian pilot - blindfolded and bloodied - for the camera. India also said it had downed a Pakistani jet - a day after claiming to have launched strikes on a militant training base in its neighbours territory. As tensions between the nuclear powers escalated further today, pictures have emerged showing hundreds of passengers stranded at Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport following airline cancellations. Hundreds of British tourists have been left stranded in Bangkok, Thailand, at Suvarnabhumi Airport after Thai Airways were forced to cancel all European flights because of the Indian plane shootings by Pakistan Some passengers have had to get creative with how to stay comfortable while they wait for hours for updates on flight information Thai Airways was forced to cancel all of its scheduled flights to Europe, including one that had already taken off that had to turn back. The 13-hour route goes straight across India and passes through Pakistan - risking being affected during the current tension. Several other airlines, including Emirates and Qatar Airways, suspended flights to Pakistan today too after the South Asian nation closed its air space following heightened tensions with neighbouring India. Etihad, flydubai, Gulf Air, SriLankan Airlines and Air Canada also suspended services to the country and flight tracking portals showed Singapore Airlines, British Airways and others were forced to reroute flights - leaving travellers in chaos. One flight had already taken off but was forced to turn back to the Bangkok airport once Thai Airways made the decision to cancel its flights One British tourist, Nicolle Paisley, who was on the flight which had to turn back said: 'We've been back for hours now, no food or water. No information on our rescheduled flight. Not good enough at all' The next scheduled flight to London was due to leave Bangkok just after midnight tonight at 12.15am but officials said it would be rescheduled. Flights to Frankfurt, Paris, Oslo, Milan, Zurich and Copenhagen were also cancelled. Frustrated backpacker Nicolle Paisley, who was on the flight which turned back earlier today, said she was stuck in limbo between arrivals and immigration. Thai Airways president, Sumeth Damrongchaitham, said an urgent meeting had been called to reschedule flights to Europe, which normally pass through airspace affected by the chaos between India and Pakistan She said: 'We've been back for hours now, no food or water. No information on our rescheduled flight. Not good enough at all. 'The staff aren't doing much to help. I'm already at the airport. They've told us to stay in line. 'They can't help as they don't have the answers either. We just want to know when our flight is.' Pakistan claim they carried out air strikes and shot down two Indian military jets today, the day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a war in 1971, prompting leading powers to urge both of the nuclear-armed countries to show restraint. Thai Airways president said: 'The conflict situation between Pakistan and India has affected Thai Airways flights. Flights also had to turn back to Bangkok, including the London and Frankfurt flights' The next scheduled flight to London was due to leave just after midnight tonight but officials said it would be rescheduled. Flights to Frankfurt, Paris, Oslo, Milan, Zurich and Copenhagen have also been cancelled Thai Airways had to cancel all of their European flights because the flight path crosses through the chaos between India and Pakistan. Thai Airways president Sumeth Damrongchaitham said an urgent meeting had been called to reschedule flights to Europe Chris McAloran said he was waiting for updates from the Thai Airways. He added: 'My wife is also waiting at the same flight to get home for her father's funeral.' Thai Airways president, Sumeth Damrongchaitham, said an urgent meeting had been called to reschedule flights to Europe, which normally pass through airspace affected by the chaos between India and Pakistan. He said: 'The conflict situation between Pakistan and India has affected Thai Airways flights. Flights also had to turn back to Bangkok, including the London and Frankfurt flights. Tensions between India and Pakistan have forced many airlines to cancel flights which fly over the chaotic zone following an Indian plane shooting by Pakistan earlier today Stranded: Hundreds of tourists have been left stranded in Bangkok after the major flight disruptions. Pakistan carried out air strikes and shot down two Indian military jets today, the day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a war in 1971, prompting leading powers to urge both of the nuclear-armed countries to show restraint 'By closing the airspace, every flight from Thailand to Europe has been affected. For flights that are going to depart this evening will call an urgent meeting to consider the impact of such events.' Mark Martin, founder and chief executive at Martin Consulting India, said about 800 flights a day use the India-Pakistan air corridor, making it 'very critical'. He said: 'You can't overfly China, so you have to overfly Pakistan and India and go to Southeast Asia and Australia. 'Most of the traffic destined for Bangkok and Singapore will have to fly over Iran and then possibly take a detour.' International airlines that normally transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace have been forced to reroute, including flights by Singapore Airlines, Finnair, British Airways, Aeroflot, and Air India, according to online portal flightradar24.com which tracks the movement of planes globally. Thai Airways has 13 routes to Europe: Denmark, Norway, Belgium, France, Russia, Germany Frankfurt, Germany Munich, Switzerland, Sweden, United Kingdom, Italy Rome, Italy Milan and Austria. Thai Aiways has 13 routes to Europe that include the United Kingdom, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Russia, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Austria The president of Thai Airways said: 'By closing the airspace, every flight from Thailand to Europe has been affected. For flights that are going to depart this evening will call an urgent meeting to consider the impact of such events' One stranded Brit has been waiting for her flight so she can return home for her father's funeral. Her husband, Chris McAloran said: 'My wife is also waiting at the same flight to get home for her father's funeral' Qatar Airways said in a statement it has temporarily suspended flights to eight cities in India and Pakistan 'due to the ongoing situation on the India-Pakistan border' and that its flights routed over the India-Pakistan air space may be delayed due to rerouting in the area. Bahrain's Gulf Air said it had suspended all fights to and from Pakistan due to closure of airspace while low-cost carrier flydubai said it is reviewing its schedule. Emirates and Etihad also said they had suspended some flights to Pakistan. All flights from Kabul to India have been cancelled until further notice while India's state-run carrier Air India has cancelled its flights until the first week of March, an airline official in Kabul said. Air Canada said it has temporarily suspended service to India because of Pakistan's airspace closure. Singapore Airlines' Europe-bound flights would need to make refuelling stops, the airline said in a statement. British Airways said it is monitoring the situation closely. Earlier today Pakistan said it downed two Indian jets in its airspace and captured two pilots, later amended to one, whom they then seemingly paraded - blindfolded and bloodied - for the camera. India confirmed the loss of one of its planes and said it had shot down a Pakistani fighter jet, in a conflict played out over the skies of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. Tension has been elevated since a suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police on February 14, but the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base. The main subject of Netflix's 'Making a Murderer' documentary has just won another victory in his efforts to get a new trial over the 2005 death of Teresa Halbach. Steven Avery's attorney has been granted the ability to supplement his post-conviction appeal with new evidence by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, and that evidence will now be brought before a trial court to consider granting of a new trial. Kathleen Zellner tweeted on Monday: 'Avery Update: We Won!!!!!! Back to the circuit court. #TruthWins' Zellner can now present evidence that the state mishandled earlier evidence, which could have raised significant doubt in prosecution case that landed Avery behind bars. Zellner told DailyMail.com: 'What is so unusual about the Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision is that this is only the third case ever in Wisconsin where the court has allowed a defendant to supplement new evidence into a pending appeal.' Steven Avery's (left) attorney Kathleen Zellner (right) has won a motion to present new evidence that the state allegedly mishandled earlier evidence in the murder case of Teresa Halbach. Zellner alleges that state law was violated when investigators mishandled evidence, specifically bones that Zellner thinks may have belonged to Halbach, and she seeks to present evidence of that mishandling now Zellner said: 'The appellate court after reviewing our motion to add the new evidence about the bones being improperly given to the Halbach family in violation of State and federal law has allowed us to add that claim and evidence into our appeal. A second part of the ruling is that the appellate court sent the case back to the lower court to conduct proceedings to determine if the evidence is sufficient to grant Avery a new trial. Zellner told DailyMail.com that if the lower court denies a new trial, she will take the case back to the appellate court and they will rule on the bone evidence and other alleged constitutional violations in the case. 'We are convinced [that] will result in Mr. Avery getting a new trial and being acquitted,' Zellner said. A second part of the ruling is that the appellate court sent the case back to the lower court to conduct proceedings to determine if the evidence is sufficient to grant Avery a new trial related to the murder of Teresa Halbach (pictured) With the new evidence, Zellner alleges that state and federal law was violated when investigators mishandled evidence, specifically bones that Zellner thinks may have belonged to Halbach. Zellner had sought to have bones that were found in a Manitowoc County gravel pit that is not located on Avery's property tested to see whether they are the final remains of Halbach. A report from 2011 has indicated that bone fragments were returned to the Halbach family without first notifying Avery's representative, Zellner said. Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, are currently serving life sentences in prison for Halbach's murder, largely based on a theory that her remains were burned on Avery's property. Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey (pictured), are now serving life sentences in prison for Halbach's murder, largely based on a theory that her remains were burned on Avery's property. Kathleen Zellner tweeted on Monday: 'Avery Update: We Won!!!!!! Back to the circuit court. #TruthWins' Zellner now hopes to win that hearing and be permitted to present evidence that the state mishandled earlier evidence, which could have raised significant doubt in the theory of the case that landed Avery behind bars Avery's current legal team learned of the bones being returned to the Halbach family after filing a motion seeking DNA testing of the remains on December 17. Avery is pictured being escorted out of a Manitowoc County Courtroom after his arraignment on January 17, 2006, in Manitowoc, Wisconsin If those bones could have been tested to determine if they belonged to Halbach, Zellner could have argued that the theory which the prosecution presented that led to the convictions was not possible. But now the bones have left state custody, so there is no way to ensure they have not been tampered with in a way that would compromise any testing. 'The state, without notifying Mr. Avery and his attorneys during the pendency of Mr. Avery's direct appeal, caused material and potentially exculpatory evidence to be transmitted to the Halbach family for its potential destruction by cremation or burial,' Zellner and attorney Steven Richards wrote in the motion. Avery's current legal team learned of the bones being returned to the Halbach family after filing a motion seeking DNA testing of the remains on December 17. 'We are delighted the appellate court granted the motion to remand to the circuit court to supplement the record with our new evidence that the State has destroyed material evidence by giving the bones back to the Halbach family,' Zellner told Fox 11 in a statement. 'We believe Mr. Avery will be granted a new trial for this serious violation of both Wisconsin and federal law.' Later on Monday, Zellner tweeted: 'We are going to have an extraordinary number of constitutional violations when we are done. The COA [Court of Appeals] is letting us create an avalanche of evidence in this record. Higher courts rule. #TruthWins' Later on Monday, Zellner tweeted: 'We are going to have an extraordinary number of constitutional violations when we are done. The COA [Court of Appeals] is letting us create an avalanche of evidence in this record. Higher courts rule. #TruthWins' Zellner has said she believes Avery is innocent and will not stop fighting for her client until he is free. 'My experience with my clients has been that someone whos innocent just never stops trying to clear themselves,' Zellner said. 'Ive always said if Steven Avery were offered a deal tomorrow, that if he would admit to the murder he could serve one more year and be free, but convicted of the murder, he would never do that. He would rather die in prison. 'He believes very strongly that if the evidence, the correct evidence is presented, that the system will eventually work.' A trial court date has not yet been set. A California ISIS supporter who spent two years plotting to kill 10,000 people with bombs, arson and poison was jailed for 15 years Tuesday. Amer Alhaggagi, 23, of Oakland, California, pleaded guilty in July to attempting to give material aid to a terrorist organization after he was filmed bragging about the terror plot to an undercover FBI agent. The Berkeley High School graduate was arrested and convicted for creating Twitter, Facebook and Gmail accounts for people he thought were Islamic State supporters that he'd met in online chat rooms in 2016. In truth, those ISIS supporters were dummy accounts set up by covert federal operatives. Scroll down to watch the video Amer Alhaggagi, 23, of Oakland, California, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Tuesday after pleading guilty in July to attempting to give material aid to a terrorist organization In hopes of a much lighter sentence, the unemployed 23-year-old and his defense attorneys tried to argue he was just an internet troll who wasn't serious when he told an undercover agent he wanted to 'redefine terror' in the Bay area by bombing gay nightclubs, starting a wildfire in Berkeley Hills, distributing poison-laced cocaine, and attacking dorms at UC Berkeley, the Associated Press reported. Former CIA operative Marc Sageman, who studies terror networks and previously evaluated Alhaggagi, testified in his defense on Monday, arguing he does not have the attributes of an Islamic extremist, describing the young man as a 'fabulist' who had no real intention of carrying out the attacks he described. In its sentencing memorandum, the defense team argued prosecutors had created an 'elaborate theory' to explain why Alhaggagi never took any steps to carry out his terror threats. 'The government posits that Mr. Alhaggagi, an untrained [23-year-old] with the mentality of a teenager, is a criminal mastermind whose refusal to act is even that he is a terrorist.' Federal operatives said Alhaggagi told them he wanted to bomb gay nightclubs, start a wildfire in Berkeley Hills, and distribute poison-laced cocaine in the San Francisco Bay area But U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer didn't buy the portrayal of Alhaggagi as a harmless prankster. 'Words matter,' the judge said Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. Alhaggagi first caught the FBI's attention on July 19, 2016 when a federal source lurking in an encrypted online chat room witnessed him discussing obtaining weapons and joining the Islamic State. The undercover agent was posing as a former al-Qaida operative in Afghanistan. He and Alhaggagi spent a week conversing online as the 23-year-old elaborated on his 'mad crazy plans' to terrorize the Bay Area, according to a sentencing memorandum from the prosecution obtained by KQED. On July 29, Alhaggagi met up with the undercover operative in his car where the 23-year-old was caught on video saying he wanted to kill 10,000 people in the Bay area. 'I've always wanted to do something here,' he told the agent during the video. 'I want to make it to the point where every American here, like, thinks twice or three times before he leaves his home. 'That's the goal... All the burning, the explosives, the poison, all of that adds up to some conclusion, you know?' Alhaggagi apologized for his remarks before his sentencing on Tuesday after being forced to listen to recordings of his violent anti-American rheotoric and seeing displays of the text messages he sent threatening to kill his neighbors. 'I find it hard to look and listen to all the horrible things I said to the undercover agent,' he said. 'I made myself look like a crazy person.' The judge was unmoved by Alhaggagi's latest remarks. 'The most disturbing thing in Alhaggagi is the lack of empathy for others,' he said. 'That is chilling.' Advertisement Twin baby polar bears gave toothy grins to photographers as they made their first appearance at a Dutch zoo. One cub got a licking - of the nicest kind - from its doting mother while its little sibling watched on enviously at the zoo in in Neunen, Holland. Zookeepers celebrated the young cubs' first public appearance, which coincides with National Polar Bear Day. 'Special news,' the Dierenrijk Zoo tweeted, 'we had to wait for a while, but today the young polar bears went out with mama for the first time...Sweet isn't it?' The bears are out of the den - but they will stay close to mum for a while longer. Mother polar bears typically nurse for as long as 30 months. In the wild, the mother polar bear leads her cubs to sea ice once they are ready to eat solid food. On a sunny February day, the mother bear groomed her two cubs, which have now come out of their den after three months in her care. Mother polar bears nurse their cubs for as long as 30 months Mother Frimas's twin polar bears were allowed to leave their den at the Dierenrijk zoo in Nuenen, the Netherlands for the first time on February 27, 2019. By the time the cubs leave the den at 2 to 3 months of age, they weigh 4 to 6 pounds A close-up photo show the twins giving the camera toothy grins and baring their little pink tongues Mother polar bears typically nurse for as long as 30 months. Young cubs cannot fend for themselves yet A black Oklahoma student is facing a possible criminal charge after he was filmed confronting a white classmate who was wearing a MAGA hat and Trump 2020 flag as a cape. The incident occurred in the hallway of Edmond Santa Fe High School, north of Oklahoma City, on Monday. Cellphone footage of the incident has since gone viral on social media. The video shows 18-year-old Kenneth Dewayne Jones confronting an underage student who was wearing a red MAGA hat and had a Trump 2020 flag draped around his shoulders. The incident occurred in the hallways at Edmond Santa Fe High School, north of Oklahoma City, on Monday when the student in the yellow vest confronted a classmate wearing a MAGA hat and Trump 2020 banner around his shoulders 'Take it off or I'll rip it off do you want me to rip it off?' Jones, who was wearing a yellow vest, could be heard saying as he blocked the other student from walking by. He then grabbed hold of the Trump flag before knocking the MAGA hat off the other student's head. The video shows the 18-year-old ripping the flag out of the student's hand and throwing it to the ground as another teenager tried to intervene. Jones was issued with an assault and battery summons by a school resource officer. He has not been charged. Police said the family of the boy wearing the MAGA hat has several days to meet with authorities if they wish to pursue the assault complaint. The 18-year-old student was filmed grabbing hold of the Trump flag before knocking the MAGA hat off the other student's head The video then shows the 18-year-old ripping the flag out of the student's hand and throwing it to the ground The 18-year-old told KOCO 5 that he plans to apologize to the student, while the family of the victim say they plan to purse the charges. A school spokesperson said the incident occurred when students were allowed to wear headgear to class as part of a fundraising effort. 'Given that hats were allowed at school yesterday as part of the week-long fundraising events, there was no specific dress code violation,' the spokesperson said. 'The student's choice to grab a classmate's property and knock his hat off did, however, violate the school's discipline policy. In response, Edmond Santa Fe High School administrators, working simultaneously with Edmond Police, addressed the incident with swift and immediate disciplinary action. 'The school district honors students' First Amendment rights, but must at the same time be vigilant in teaching and supporting students as they learn how best to respectfully express their opinions.' An 11-year-old girl who was 'raped' by her grandmother's boyfriend has given birth to a baby boy. She gave birth on Wednesday morning via C-section at Eva Peron Hospital in the northwest province of Tucuman. Cecilia Ousset, a gynecologist who was at the birth, told Argentine news outlet Cronica that the girl told doctors she wanted to listen to Christian music and then started playing with her dolls. 'My legs got weak, It was like seeing my youngest daughter,' Ousset said. 'The little one didn't understand everything that was going on.' 'A C-section was done on Lucia (the girl's fictitious name),' read a Facebook message posted by Ni Una Menos Tucuman, a human rights group. 'For two months she was exposed to torture, they forced her to give birth.' An 11-year-old girl who was in her 23rd week of pregnancy gave birth to a boy Wednesday at Eva Peron Hospital in the northwest Argentine province of Tucuman The Health Ministry had ruled on Tuesday that it would proceed with an emergency abortion before the provincial government said it would try and block it. The girl went into labor the next day. The newborn was placed in an incubator but doctors were not sure if he would survive given that he was born at just 23 weeks and weighed only 1.3lbs, according to Argentine news outlet Pagina 12. Doctors had detected the girl's pregnancy during a January 23 clinic visit after she complained of stomach pains. The girl then told how she had been sexually abused by Eliseo Victor Amaya, 65, who has since been arrested and is in police custody. Amaya allegedly threatened to kill the girl if she told anybody about they abuse. The girl remains in hospital. She recently said in a recorded court statement: 'I want you to take what this old man put inside me.' Her mother, Soledad Bazan, 36, told an Argentine court she wanted her daughter to be granted an abortion. Abortion is illegal in Argentina and can only be applied in rare circumstances after a court appeal if there is danger to the life or health of the mother or if the pregnancy is the result rape. Human rights groups that offered the child and her family support claimed pro-life groups were showing up at the hospital doors to protest any abortion attempt. About 1,300 girls under the age of 14 give birth each year in Argentina. This is the moment a group of armed men filmed their swat-like attack against a rival cartel which left five men dead. The alleged members of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel drove up to an auto body shop in Guanajuato, Mexico, and delivered a deadly assault against the presumed associates of the New Jalisco Generation Cartel in a battle over turf control of the illegal oil tapping business or huachicoleo. The attack reportedly occurred February 5, according to Mexican news outlet Vanguardia. The footage was originally posted on social media. A member of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel carries out a hit against the rival New Jalisco Generation Cartel on February 5 in Guanajuato, Mexico. The attacked left five men dead in a battle for the control of turf in the illegal oil tapping business A presumed member of the New Jalisco Generation Cartel was among the five men killed One of the killers, apparently carrying a Go-Pro camera attached to his body, records the moment two pickup trucks make a sudden stop on a dirt street and unleash the savage strike on the unsuspecting men. The clip starts with a man, perhaps the leader of the gang, hopping out of a vehicle and ordering his cohorts to rush the building. A man wearing a yellow t-shirt then uses his military assault rifle to blast two shots at a wounded male victim who was laying on the ground. Another member of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel surveys the area and tells one of the other gunmen that theres a man on the run. In the back, a male voice shouts, El Marro, El Marro, an apparent reference to Jose Antonio Yepez Ortiz, leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel. The presumed ringleader then orders one of the cartel members to break down a wall. The man goes into the pickup truck and places it in reverse before barreling over the structure. The member of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel had a camera mounted to his body and recorded the savage assault which was later shared on social media A team of hitmen with the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel delivered a deadly assault on rival members of the New Jalisco Generation Cartel Jose Antonio Yepez Ortiz (pictured) leads the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel Much to their dismay, it appears that the person they are looking for escaped. Both groups have been at odds since December 2017 when Yepez Ortiz declared war on New Jalisco Generation Cartel, led by Nemesio 'El Mencho' Oseguera Cervantes, a former ally of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman. El Mencho is the most-wanted man in Mexico and one of the most-sought after by the United States Department of Justice, who is offering a $10 million bounty after agency originally offered $5 million. GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz has deleted a tweet accusing ex-Trump fixer Michael Cohen of philandering and apologized publicly for making the charged allegation. Gaetz claimed in the now deleted tweet, without evidence, that Cohen had multiple 'girlfriends' his wife should be aware of as he prepares to spend time behind bars. Cohen will testify publicly this morning for the first time about the crimes he claims Donald Trump directed him to commit and misconduct he says he witnessed within the president's business, and possibly his campaign. Gaetz is not on the committee that will question Cohen. Still, his tweet was viewed as potential witness tampering, as the Florida lawmaker is an ally of the president's. His apology came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reprimanded him on Twitter for the salacious charge. He told her in a reply: 'Speaker, I want to get the truth too. While it is important 2 create context around the testimony of liars like Michael Cohen, it was NOT my intent to threaten, as some believe I did. Im deleting the tweet & I should have chosen words that better showed my intent. Im sorry.' Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, arrives to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, on Capitol Hill on Wednesday GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz deleted a tweet accusing the ex-Trump fixer of philandering and apologized publicly for making the charged allegation His apology came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reprimanded him on Twitter for the salacious charge Gaetz is not on the committee that will question Cohen. Still, his tweet was viewed as potential witness tampering, as the Florida lawmaker is an ally of the president's The Republican congressman was not initially contrite. He defended his conduct to reporters outside his congressional office in Washington. He apologized late Tuesday night The Republican congressman was not initially contrite. He defended his conduct to reporters outside his congressional office in Washington, saying that he was 'witness testing not witness tampering' with his accusation. 'I don't threaten anybody. Michael Cohen threatens people,' he charged. He said Cohen has a 'PhD in intimidation' and should be held accountable for his 'stream of lies.' 'We already know that Michael Cohen lies to Congress. We already know that Michael Cohen lies to law enforcement. Now we're gonna find out if Michael Cohen lies to his own family,' he said. He told a fellow representative, California's Ro Khanna, who sent a tweet calling out his conduct that he was 'absolutely' right to challenge Cohen. 'We absolutely should encourage all witnesses to testify. I want Michael Cohen to testify so we can show his lies. We should be able to paint an accurate picture of witnesses,' he said. But once Pelosi issued a statement cautioning all lawmakers about witness tampering, Gaetz backed off. 'I encourage all Members to be mindful that comments made on social media or in the press can adversely affect the ability of House Committees to obtain the truthful and complete information necessary to fulfill their duties,' she said. He told a fellow representative, California's Ro Khanna, who sent a tweet calling out his conduct that he was 'absolutely' right to challenge Cohen Gaetz had taken a page from Trump's book on Tuesday when he accused the president's former attorney without evidence, of having multiple affairs on the eve of Cohen's blockbuster public testimony, in which he is expected to call his former boss a liar, a criminal and a racist. The congressman said in a tweet that Cohen's wife, Lauren, and her father should have a 'chat' with the disgraced attorney, suggesting in a tweet that he was hiding more than one illicit relationship from his family. 'Hey @MichaelCohen212 - Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if shell remain faithful when youre in prison. Shes about to learn a lot...' he tweeted. Just over an house later a Democratic member of the committee, New Jersey congressman Bill Pascrell, demanded that Gaetz be investigated for attempting to intimidate a witness. Trump has said publicly that journalists should look into Cohen's father-in-law, Fima Shusterman and hinted that he is in some way involved in fraud. The Republican congressman took a page from Donald Trump's book and accused the president's former fixer, without evidence, of having multiple affairs Family: Michael Cohen and his wife Lauren (right) share two children, Samantha (left) and Jake (second from left) The president, who is currently in Vietnam, has claimed that Cohen is lying about him Cohen's testimony on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to the Senate Intelligence Committee was classified. He'll be grilled publicly on Wednesday by lawmakers who sit on House Oversight. When he left the Senate committee he did not address the cheating claims but said: 'At this point in time I really appreciate the opportunity that was given to me to clear the record, to tell the truth and I look forward to tomorrow to be able in my voice to tell the American people my story and I'm going to let the American people decide exactly who is telling the truth.' In an phone interview with the Daily Beast after his tweet, Gaetz, who is not on Oversight, insisted he's not attempting to intimidate Cohen. He said said he was merely 'challenging the veracity and character of a witness' before Cohen's public testimony. 'We do it everyday. We typically do it during people's testimony,' he said. 'This is what it looks like to compete in the marketplace of ideas.' The editor-in-chief of Mother Jones brought up a DUI charge that Gaetz was arrested for in 2014 Gaetz insisted that he was not directed to issue the tweet by the Trump or anyone inside the administration. He did not tell the Daily Beast how he knew about Cohen's alleged philandering, either. Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill later in the evening, Gaetz said his tweet 'speaks for itself' and reporters should 'tune in' to the Wednesday hearing to find out what he knows. He confirmed that he had not spoken to the president about the allegation. 'I think the Presidents a little busy saving us from nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula to be worried about my Twitter feed,' he contended. He told the Daily Beast he believes that Cohen's marriage is fair game, because it speaks to the 'veracity' of the congressman's testimony. One of Cohen's admitted crimes is deceit. Cohen apologized to senators on Tuesday for lying in previous testimony as he started three days of testimony on Capitol Hill, where the topics will include racist remarks he's heard from the president and allegations of criminal activity on the part of Trump. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein told DailyMail.com that Cohen - who pleaded guilty to lying to Congress - appeared credible to lawmakers and apologized to them. 'He appeared credible to me today, and he apologized, he said he was going away, you know, he understands, and I think he made efforts to be absolutely truthful,' she said. Video attack: Republican released this YouTube advert mocking Cohen before he heads to federal prison Mockery: This is a still image from the GOP video which the party hopes will help discredit the long-time Trump fixer Exit: Michael Cohenleft Capitol Hill Tuesday after the first of three days of blockbuster hearings saying that he had told the truth and would do so Wednesday Aide: Michael Cohen was accompanied by Lanny Davis (left), the long-term Clinton advisor who is acting as his personal attorney Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein told DailyMail.com that Cohen - who pleaded guilty to lying to Congress - appeared credible to lawmakers and apologized Same time: Donald Trump arrived in Hanoi for a summit with Kim Jong Un exactly as the former fixer he has branded a liar arrived on Capitol Hill Cohen's credibility has been questioned given his admission he lied to lawmakers when he appeared before the House and Senate intelligence committees in 2017. Feinstein declined to offer specific details on what Cohen, who was known as Trump's fixer, discussed with committee members. 'The part I was in, which is about two hours, umm, he answered questions, he was really it's classified, so I can't tell you much. I think that most of us know that this is very complicated picture,' she said. Cohen's appearance on Tuesday was behind closed doors so lawmakers could grill him on a variety of matters, including Trump's business dealings with Russia. Additionally, Cohen will offer senators a document that he claims shows the president engaged in criminal conduct around the hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, it was revealed Tuesday. The document will refute a claim by Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani that Cohen used a $35,000 monthly retainer from the president as reimbursement for paying off Daniels, a source close to Cohen told Politico. Giuliani has said Cohen used a monthly retainer made for legal services in reimbursement as repayment for the $130,000 given to Daniels in exchange for her silence. The documents will show who signed the checks to Cohen, the Daily Beast reported. As he gave evidence Cohen also learned that he was disbarred in New York because of his felony conviction in a ruling which prevents him practicing law. He had not attempted to fight the move. It's over: How Michael Cohen was formally barred from being an attorney in New York Cohen pleaded guilty to violating campaign-finance laws by facilitating payments to Daniels. Cohen will also discuss the BuzzFeed report that Trump ordered him to lie to Congress about the Trump Tower Moscow deal. The article earned a rare - if carefully worded - denial from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office. 'He'll explain exactly why he lied and how he came to lie,' said the source told Politico. Republican Sen. Susan Collins told reporters Cohen was receiving an 'extensive grilling' from the intelligence panel. But the White House voiced anger at the ex-fixer's high-profile session. 'It's laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies,' Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. Cohen's closed-door testimony was a prelude to his public appearance on Wednesday before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, to be followed by a second private session on Thursday before the House Intelligence Committee. Wednesday's public hearing will overshadow the others merely by the presence of TV cameras, to which both Cohen and the lawmakers will be playing to as they engage in a verbal parley on a variety of issues, including the building of Trump Tower Moscow, the payoffs to women during the 2016 campaign, Trump's business dealings, and donations to the president's inaugural committee. Lawmakers are also girding to ask him questions about a planned Moscow tower project that he pursued well into the 2016 presidential campaign. He plans to tell lawmakers Trump asked him about it 'several times.' He further plans to talk about Trump's 'lies, racism and cheating as a private businessman,' according to a leaked copy of his prepared remarks. Trump and his legal team have repeatedly branded Cohen as a liar, and say he cooperated with prosecutors and furnished false information to get a reduced jail sentence. But one topic not the public agenda: Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and any possible collusion between Trump's team and Moscow. Oversight panel chairman Elijah Cummings coordinated with his counterpart on the House Intel panel, Adam Schiff, and the two agreed the Russia conversation will happen discussed behind closed doors at the intelligence session while Trump's business dealings will be the focus of the public hearing, according to a memo released Sunday by the Oversight panel. Lawmakers can dismiss the chairman's guidance and ask whatever they chose, but Cohen's attorney, Lanny Davis, also said his client cannot talk about the Russia probe in public. Republicans will be just as hard on Cohen as Democrats, particularly those closed tied to the president. Republican Reps. Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows, two of Trump's staunches allies on Capitol Hill, sent a letter to Cohen's attorneys last week saying they intend to press the president's former personal lawyer on his questionable business dealings, his lies to Congress, his work for foreign entities, and even 'the fake Women for Cohen social media initiative he commissioned.' One person who won't be in town for the show is President Trump, who jetted off to Vietnam on Monday for his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. But he will have the ability to tweet even with the 12 hour time difference and struck back at Cohen on Tuesday morning Eastern Daylight Time. Last week, Cohen got a two-month reprieve from his deadline to report for his three years in jail, with a judge giving him until May 6. One of the reasons cited was his upcoming congressional testimony. Cohen received a three-year sentence in December for bank and tax fraud, lying to Congress and violating campaign finance laws. Even though Cohen can't talk about in public what he told Robert Mueller in the 70 hours he spent talking to that team for the special counsel's Russia investigation, he will speak publicly about his relationship with the president. Cohen attorney Lanny Davis said last Tuesday his client 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. Cohen has been cooperating with the special counsel's probe of Russia's role in the 2016 election. 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) A woman who was jailed for pulling the plug on her fiance's kayak and letting him drown has posed for a bizarre photoshoot lying under water in a bathtub after being released on parole. Angelika Graswald, 39, was convicted and jailed for two-and-a-half years for killing Vincent Viafore on April 19, 2015 after she was found to have unplugged the drain plug in his kayak in New York's Hudson River. Graswald, who has now been released from prison on parole, has spoken out saying she has no regrets about what happened to her fiance and says she has since found God. The Latvian immigrant, dubbed the 'kayak killer', posed for a photoshoot and interview with Elle Magazine following her release. One of the photos shows her staring at the camera with her face just below the surface of the water in a bathtub. 'I don't think back. I look forward.... I don't regret what happened. I don't think "What if" anymore,' the Latvian immigrant said in the interview, which was published on Tuesday. 'That's the beauty of being a Christian. You know you have a bright future.' Angelika Graswald, 39, recently posed for a photoshoot with Elle Magazine after being released on parole for pulling the plug on her fiance's kayak and letting him drown in New York's Hudson River Graswald, 39, is out on parole in Orange County, New York after serving 31 months behind bars in the 2015 death of her fiance Vincent Viafore (pictured together) In July 2017 she pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide after she was accused of intentionally unplugging the drain plug of his kayak, leading him to drown on April 19, 2015 Despite taking a plea deal and claiming she was tired of his 'sex demands', Graswald insists that she is innocent. Speaking on that night where it all went wrong, Graswald said she won't relive Viafore's final moments. 'Bottom line, I'm the only living person who's still here, and I'm the only one who knows. So it's just between me and God. We'll just leave it at that. I don't care what anybody else thinks,' she said. 'I was naive enough to think that I could help him. I was wrong on that one, too. I've been in these situations on the Hudson before, where it was dangerous, and I always got out of it, so I felt like that night I could, too. You know how you get careless? I was careless. So was he. We both were. It cost him. It cost him his life.' The outdoor and adventurous couple were wrapping up a day of kayaking and sightseeing at Batterman's castle in Dutchess County, New York when suddenly Viafore's kayak started to sink in the choppy waters as evening fell. Witnesses said she pulled Viafore's paddle away from him to assure he couldn't stay afloat. Graswald insists that never happened and that she picked up the paddle when it drifted towards her. She was interrogated by police and revealed she was sick of their sex life where he pushed her to engage in threesomes and dominant-submissive role-playing. Graswald maintained she didn't kill him but shocked investigators when she said: 'I wanted him dead and now he's gone. And I'm okay with that.' 'Vince had mentioned that he would die for me if need be, and I feel like he did so I could live. He saved me in a way,' she said to the magazine She reveals she's now a Christian and doesn't regret the 2015 kayaking incident that took her fiance's life, saying: 'I don't think back. I look forward.... I don't regret what happened. I don't think 'What if' anymore' 'I grew up around police, and I've trusted them, so that was my fault. I was naive. Very naive,' she said reflecting on that interrogation. 'I was just being honest. They said it was therapy.' Police were suspicious that a motive in his death could have been to get her hands on some of his life insurance money that had a combined value of $550,000. Following her release she ended up winning an undisclosed portion of his life insurance payout. Despite Viafore's death, Graswald insists the two had a loving relationship and that even in his death he 'saved' her. 'Vince loved me. I loved him. He had mentioned that he would die for me if need be, and I feel like he did so I could live. He saved me in a way,' she said. Graswald pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide in his death and was sentenced to up to four years in prison. But she was released less than two months after the sentence because her two-and-a-half years spent in jail during the ongoing court case counted towards her sentence. She spent 31 months in Orange County Jail then one month in Bedford Hills Correctional Facility before being released on parole. Graswald is now living in a small cabin in Orange County where she works for a room and board at a small camp connected to her church. She said she is back kayaking again and still loves taking photos. Graswald said she is a born again Christian and was baptized in September. The 39-year-old, she says her family is desperate for her to return to Latvia so she'll head to D.C. to sort out her immigration papers after her parole is finished Graswald pictured above at Batterman's Castle where the two had visited earlier in the day before the kayaking incident took place. Following her release, Graswald still maintains her innocence in Viafore's death She was criticized by the public and police for seeming uncaring after her fiance's death when she posted a picture of herself cartwheeling after the kayak incident. Months after Viafore's death, Graswald was evaluated by a forensic psychologist who said she showed signs of 'paranoid ideation' and 'hypomaniac trends' and her profile suggested 'elated moods and euphoria' despite the killing. 'She is manic, inflated, and grandiose. She is impulsive and lacking in judgement,' the report said, providing an explanation to her calm and bizarre behavior following her fiance's death. She said she appeared to be dismissive of Viafore's death because of her upbringing. 'Russian woman are not meant to be seen crying or as weak or broken,' she told Elle in her recent interview. 'I'm more vulnerable now, and I'm okay with it. Before, I wasn't... I didn't want to show my weak parts at all. Now I'm like, So what? That's who I am,' adding that her new Christian faith has helped her show emotion more. She said Christianity helped her cope with Viafore's death. 'I just read the Bible, and it teaches you not to dwell on the past,' she said. 'I don't have any more fear. Period. God didn't give us a spirit of fear. Right out of the Bible.' When asked by the interviewer, 'You're good with God?' she replied, 'No, he's good with me.' She said her family is desperate for her to return to Latvia. Graswald plans to head to Washington D.C. to sort out her immigration papers once her parole time is over. Graswald said she wants to visit the place where the drowning occurred before she leaves. Heartless burglars beat an elderly couple's poodle so badly during a break-in that the beloved pet had to be put down. George and Peggy Lawson told KTLA that their Yorba Linda, California, home was broken into on the afternoon of February 20. While ransacking their home and stealing emergency cash, gun and personal papers, the couple said the burglars brutally beat their 12-year-old white poodle, Fefe. Scroll down for video George and Peggy Lawson said burglars stole their gun, emergency cash stash and personal papers, but, more devastatingly, beat their poodle so badly it had to be put down The 12-year-old poodle, Fefe, weighed just nine pounds and was a trained hospital therapy dog The couple returned home after their alarm company alerted them to the break in and found Fefe 'bleeding from the mouth,' retired nurse Peggy, 77, told KTLA. George, a 91-year-old WWII veteran said the veterinarian told them the nine-pound poodle had been pistol whipped and was suffering from internal injuries, in addition to being blinded after she was struck in the head. The beloved pet's injuries were so severe that the vet wasn't able to give them any hopeful prognosis about Fefe's potential recovery. 'They said they could transfer her to trauma with no guarantee,' Peggy recalled, adding that 'They said one thing was for sure, that she would never be the dog we had that morning.' The vet said Fefe had been pistol-whipped, blinded and suffered from internal injuries When told that the dog would not be the same even if she did recover from her injuries, the couple made the hard decision to end her suffering and put her down George is a 92-year-old WWII veteran and Peggy is a 77-year-old retired nurse Peggy said Fefe was beaten because she was barking while trying to protect their home and George said that he was traumatized by the incident Her immediate response was 'I would not let her suffer one more minute,' leading to Fefe a trained hospital therapy dog being euthanized. George told NBC Los Angeles that he was 'traumatized' and couldn't 'believe that a person, a human being, would treat a dog like they did and put her in so much pain that we had to put her down.' Peggy, meanwhile, called the burglars 'the lowest of the scum on earth' for killing their dog. 'Why? Why couldnt you have killed me and not my dog?' Peggy told KTLA, adding that the dog was only barking to protect her property and that, at only nine pounds, 'She couldnt have barked very loud.' The couple said that a neighbor was also burglarized, leading them to believe a group of burglars were responsible for the break-ins. Police are said to be investigating both robberies, but do not have any suspect descriptions. School students will soon be taught 'Aboriginal English' under new state regulation slammed as 'absolutely ridiculous' by Indigenous leaders. The controversial curriculum change will see students who are learning foreign languages be taught phrases such as 'sista, brutha, bro and cuz'. The newly-created syllabus, which is being implemented by the NSW Education Standards Authority, aims for Indigenous culture to be included in every subject. Scroll down for video (File picture) School students will soon be taught 'Aboriginal English' under a new state law The curriculum has been reviewed for the first time in 30 years and will see changes for students from Kindergarten to Year 10. Children learning languages such as Chinese, Spanish and French will need to be able to compare speech sounds, slang and 'loan words' from from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. Loan words are words that are adopted from another language with little or no modification. However the idea has been slammed by indigenous leaders who claim some of the words the state say are official Aboriginal terms are patronising. Councillor for Alice Springs Jacinta Price has dubbed the idea as 'absolutely ridiculous'. She added it 'didn't make sense' to link foreign languages which have 'no association' to the indigenous culture. 'It's an absolutely ridiculous idea, and it's almost an insult to indigenous culture to shoehorn it into the curriculum in this superficial way,' Ms Price told The Daily Telegraph. (File picture) The controversial curriculum change, which is being implemented by the NSW Education Standards Authority,has been labelled as 'insulting' Indigenous leaders 'Indigenous culture is very complex, and it is hard enough to learn about it in English, let alone in a foreign language,' she concluded. Dr Kevin Donnelly, a senior research fellow at the Australian Catholic University, dubbed the idea as 'tokenistic'. 'It gives a very superficial and fragmented view of Aboriginal culture and history,' Mr Donnelly said. The new lessons have already been taught to Year 7 and 8 students this year. Nineteen horses have died at a famed California racetrack in just two months, forcing officials to temporarily shut down and test the track surface to find out what is causing horses to break their legs. Citing record cold temperatures and a deluge of rain this season, the Santa Anita track on the outskirts of Los Angeles shut down on Monday and Tuesday as experts assessed the surface. On Wednesday morning, a track spokesman told DailyMail.com that the main track would remain closed for training for the day, but that live racing was still scheduled to resume on Thursday. The shutdown was spurred by an extraordinary 16-hour period in which three horses died on the track, including Battle of Midway, a Breeder's Cup winner who was pulled from the breeding stable to race once again. Battle of Midway is seen after winning the Las Vegas Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in 2017. The top-flight horse broke down on Saturday during a workout at Santa Anita Officials at Santa Anita racetrack (above last year) are concerned about the rising death toll and ordered the track be shut down for testing on Monday and Tuesday On Friday, Hot American broke down leaving the backstretch in a 1 1/8-mile turf race, according to the Los Angeles Times. Then Battle of Midway suffered a fracture during a timed workout on Saturday. Not long after, Just Forget It, an unraced four-year-old gelding, suffered a training breakdown. The incidents occurred at different places on the track. All three horses were euthanized. Early on Monday, Charmer John, a three-year-old gelding, was the latest fatality, suffering a catastrophic injury to his left front fetlock as he entered the stretch during training, and was euthanized. The death brought the toll to 19 horse fatalities since December 26, the start of the winter meet - more than double the seven horses that had died at Santa Anita by the same point last year. Six of the fatalities have occurred during dirt racing, five during turf racing, and eight during training. In response, Santa Anita shut down at 9am on Monday and all day Tuesday to 'fully evaluate sub-surface conditions such as moisture content and soil consistency,' the racetrack said in a statement. The racetrack said that it has received an abnormal 11.5 inches of rain in February alone, and the shutdown will allow staff to 'peel back' the track to examine the subsurface. A race on February 10 at Santa Anita Park shows the sloppy track conditions this season. The region has seen 11.5 inches of rain and record cold during the winter meet 'Track Superintendent Andy LaRocco, in addition to performing all regularly scheduled maintenance on the dirt oval, will examine the entire track surface and if any issues are found, he will address those areas,' the statement said. The track also called in specialist Mick Peterson, PhD, who serves as Director of the University of Kentucky's Agricultural Equine Programs, and who evaluates soil samples from Santa Anita on a monthly basis. Peterson was set to arrive on Wednesday to review Santa Anita's sub-surface and surface data, Santa Anita spokesman Mike Willman told DailyMail.com. 'He needs to get out there and do some testing all the way around,' Willman told DailyMail.com. If the track is found to be in prime condition, live racing will proceed on Thursday. Battle of Midway is seen on February 2 winning the Grade 2 $200,000 San Pasqual Stakes. Poor track conditions are one suspect in the spate of horse fatalities Break downs, the euphemistic term for a horse breaking its leg, are a fact of thoroughbred racing. By some estimates, a horse breaks down roughly once in every 500 starts in North America. Experts say track surface can be a factor, but also point to drugging as a common factor in break downs, saying that medication allows a horse to race through pain that would otherwise signal it to slow or stop. PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement that the animal rights group was planning a protest at Santa Anita but canceled it after meeting with track representatives who 'pledged to take definitive steps, including extending the review of medication records to horses who are in training and not just before races.' The Vatican has announced it will investigate Cardinal George Pell following his conviction for child sex abuse. Pell, 77, who was in December convicted of molesting two choirboys in 1996, spent his first night in prison on Wednesday. The Vatican confirmed Pell, who was third in command of the Catholic Church and once considered a pope in waiting, was under investigation by the the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. The move means that Pell, who maintains his innocence and plans to appeal the verdict, could be dismissed from the priesthood if the Vatican's doctrinal department also finds him guilty. Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said the office has the power to remove Pell from the priesthood if found guilty by the doctrinal department. The Vatican has announced it will investigate Cardinal George Pell following his conviction as a child sex offender 'After the guilty verdict in the first instance concerning Cardinal Pell, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will now handle the case following the procedure and within the time established by canonical norm,' Mr Gisotti said. He did not elaborate on the time schedule or procedure of the investigation. The investigation could lead to a full trial or an abbreviated 'administrative process', a Vatican source said. Mr Gisotti also confirmed the 77-year-old would no longer oversee the Vatican's finances as the head of the Secretariat for the Economy. Pell was a removed as a member of Pope Francis' informal Cabinet in October. The Vatican's investigation was expected as the Catholic Church must conduct their own investigation when there is a credible allegation of sex abuse. Pell, who was jailed on Wednesday and withdrew a bail application, has maintained his innocence and will appeal the conviction. He is due to be sentenced on March 13. An Australian has been sentenced to nearly six years jail in Denpasar District Court in Bali after he was busted with 11.6 grams of cocaine. Sunshine Coast man Brendon Johnsson, 43, was charged and arrested along with his Indonesian girlfriend Remi Purwanto, 43, with drug dealing in Bali, where he lived at the time, on August 4. Johnsson and Purwanto were charged under Indonesian drug laws, which carry the death sentence for dealing more than five grams as the maximum penalty. An alternative charge of drug possession carries five to 20 years in jail. Sunshine Coast man Brendon Johnsson, 43, has been sentenced to nearly six years jail in Denpasar District Court in Bali after he was busted with 11.6 grams of cocaine Gold Coast man Brendon Luke Johnsson, (left) and Indonesian Remi Purwanto, 43, (right) have been arrested in Bali on narcotics charges and could face the death penalty His girlfriend Purwanto was also given the same sentence. Thirteen plastic packets of cocaine, weighing 11.6 grams were uncovered by police in the pair's Kuta home. The 43-year-old had bought the drugs valued at $3,636 or 39 million Rupiah (RP) at the time. Police raided a boarding house where a woman, Bena, was found with a packet of cocaine in her pocket, along with two packets in a sanitary pad package and one packet in a pillow. Bena confessed she bought the drugs from Purwanto which led the police to raid Purwanto's boarding house in Kuta beach. When handing down the court's verdict, presiding Judge I Ketut Kimiarsa said: 'The defendents Remi Purwanto and Brendon Luke Johnsson have been proven guilty of possessing drugs. 'Sentence the defendants to give five years and four months imprisonment, and RP 800 million fine or an additional two months imprisonment if they fail to pay it.' Johnsson's lawyer Edward Pangkahila told the court his client had accepted the sentence and would not appeal, News Corp Australia Network reported. He was supported at court by his stepfather Ashley Robinson and lawyer John McLeod of Tora Solutions, who is best known for his role in assisting Schapelle Corby's release from jail after she was deported from Bali. The 43-year-old had bought the drugs valued at $3,636 or 39 million Rupiah (RP) at the time Johnsson and Purwanto were pictured in orange suits and balaclavas in August after Indonesian authorities arrested them for allegedly possessing cocaine valued at $3,636 Johnsson has freed himself from drug addiction and is now looking to teach a concrete rendering course in Kerobokan prison to teach local prisoners the skill. He thanked his supporters as he walked from court last night following the sentencing. 'First of all, I would like to thank my family, John McLeod and my lawyers for everything,' he said. Mr Robinson has urged other Australians to take note of the consequences of Johnsson's actions, which have no led him to serve time in jail. 'I hope it is a lesson to other people I hope people have a long hard look at what has happened to Brenden,' he said. While Mr Robinson said it was heartbreaking to see loved ones go to jail, he said Johnsson's imprisonment had a 'silver lining' because he is now drug free for the first time in more than 27 years, since he was 16. 'May my pain also be a good lesson and a loud and clear warning to others with addictions,' Mr Johnsson said. The California woman who was killed by falling ice at Yosemite National Park this week has been pictured, as authorities reveal she ignored signs warning that the trail was closed. Xuan Wang, 56, of Cupertino, was killed by falling rocks and ice as she hiked with a friend on the closed Mist Trail on Sunday afternoon, according to the National Park Service. The pair ignored the 'clearly marked' trail closure signs on the steep and hazardously icy three-mile path that led to her death, the second in the past two months on that trail. 'She loved the outdoors and passed away doing what she loved,' Wang's son Dylan Qian said in a statement to ABC. Xuan Wang, 56, was killed by falling ice and rocks on Sunday at 12.30pm as she hiked with a friend along the Mist Trail at Yosemite National Park. Park officials say she ignored signs that said the trail was closed 'She loved the outdoors and passed away doing what she loved,' Wang's son Dylan Qian said Wang, who worked as a LinkedIn engineer, was killed around 12.40pm on Sunday as she and a friend were hiking along the steep Mist Trail walking towards Vernal fall, according to the National Park Service. 'The trail closure is clearly marked and there is a gate on the trail reminding visitors of the closure. Wang ignored the signs, went around the gate and the incident happened on the trail leading to Vernal Fall,' park officials said. The path had been closed to the public since January 5, after Los Angeles man Joshua Conner, 32, died on Christmas Day by slipping and falling down a granite slope on the trail and plunging into the Merced River below. She's the second hiker to die along the Mist Trail in the past two months. Park officials say the Mist Trail was closed after another hiker died there on Christmas Day She was a LinkedIn engineer according to her son, an avid hiker who loved the outdoors and 'died doing what she loved' Wang hailed from Cupertino, California, was hiking on the Mist Trail in Yosemite National Park (file image) when she was killed by falling ice and rock on Sunday afternoon, park officials said Officials added that the Mist trail is typically closed in the winter due to the hazardous icy conditions. 'Xuan was a beloved daughter, wife, colleague, aunt, friend, and mom. She's had a positive impact on everyone she has touched, and her love will be felt long after she is gone,' Qian said in a statement. LinkedIn employees lamented her death saying she was a 'valued' employee at the company and would be missed. Now Qian and his family are investigating the circumstances of his mother's death. 'She has always been a very careful and thorough person and it is extremely out of character for her to actively cross onto a closed area,' Qian said. A 47-year-old man has been accused of drugging, torturing and murdering a man found stuffed inside a suitcase dumped in the San Francisco Bay earlier this month. Gerald Rowe was arrested on Friday in connection with the murder of 23-year-old George Randall Saldivar. Grisly details of the slaying were laid out in a motion filed in San Francisco Superior Court by the district attorney's office on Monday. Prosecutors claim to have a video found at Rowe's home that shows him and a co-conspirator hanging a rope around Salvidar's neck, injecting him with fentanyl and then abusing him after he passed out. Rowe is now facing 10 charges including murder, torture, kidnapping, conspiracy, battery with serious bodily injury, false imprisonment, possession of a firearm by a felon and three counts of drug possession. It is unclear whether the second person seen in the video has been identified by authorities. Gerald Rowe, 47, was arrested Friday for the murder of 23-year-old George Randall Saldivar, whose body was found floating in the San Francisco Bay off Pier 39 (file photo above) on February 18. Prosecutors claim to have video of Rowe and a co-conspirator hanging Saldivar with a rope, injecting him with fentanyl and abusing him at the defendant's home Saldivar's body was discovered inside the suitcase floating in the Bay near Pier 39 on February 18. A medical examiner determined that he had been murdered and contacted police. An investigation led authorities to an apartment registered to Rowe on the 1272 block of Market Street, where the video was recovered, Assistant District Attorney Michael Swart wrote in the motion obtained by The San Francisco Chronicle. The footage recorded between February 3 and 5 allegedly shows Rowe and another person, whose gender has not been indicated, engaging in 'consensual sexual activity' before Salvidar arrives at the front door of the home. Prosecutors say Salvidar can be seen entering the home and sitting in a chair as one of the suspects ties his hands behind his back. Assistant District Attorney Michael Swart wrote: 'The unnamed co-conspirator and defendant Rowe make a noose and put the noose over the victim's neck. 'The rope is then elevated over an unknown object in the room by defendant Rowe and the unnamed co-conspirator.' Both of the suspects then tug on the rope, place a bag over Salvidar's head and inject him with what is believed to be fentanyl, an opioid 50-100 times more potent than heroin. After Salvidar collapses, the suspects put him on a bed and begin slapping him. The map above shows where Salvidar's body was found in the water off of Pier 39 on February 18 compared with the 1272 block of Market Street where the murder allegedly took place between February 3 and 5 in an apartment registered to Rowe The unidentified co-conspirator then pulls a suitcase out of a closet and they put the victim inside before sealing it in plastic. 'Defendant Rowe then eats junk food and plays his guitar over the suitcase,' Swart wrote. The suspects push the suitcase to the corner of the room where it sits for an entire day as they 'go about their business', according to the motion. Then at 2.30am on February 5, the pair could allegedly be seen rolling the suitcase out of the room and onto Market Street. Investigators have not yet identified a motive in Salvidar's killing. Rowe is scheduled to appear at an arraignment on Thursday. The SF Chronicle reported that there were several social media profiles for Salvidar which indicated that he'd graduated from Mission High School in San Francisco. A homeowner's association (HOA) trying to fine a woman over a 'penis shape' made in the snow by her car have backed down after she fought back. The woman, from Tennessee, had received a letter from her local association saying she had been fined $100 over a problem 'involving my car and snow'. After a series of emails questioning the fine the woman, known as Kathryn, was sent a picture of a 'penis shaped' gap in the snow in a parking space outside her home. A hard frost: The Tennessee woman said her neighbourhood had had 'a pitiful little snow' to leave the vague phallic shape in her parking space 'A few weeks ago we got a pitiful little snow that was barely really a frost. Just enough to cause a little trouble of the roads but nothing severe. So my husband and I go out, get in our cars, and leave for the work day,' said Kathryn on Reddit. 'A while later, we get an email from the HOA saying we are being fined for something. 'They aren't very specific at first, but they are saying it's about the snow and our cars. We are very confused. There is not enough snow to shovel, as you will soon see. Tennessee only occasionally suffers from winter storms which tend to hit areas around the Great Smoky Mountains in the east of the US state (Stock photo of Maryville, Tenn.) 'Finally after a few back and forth emails, they simply send us a picture 'describing the problem.' One of Kathryn's neighbours had reportedly sent the photo in to the association 'out of concern for our younger residents'. After seeing the alleged problem, Kathryn almost 'died laughing' at the far from obscene shape. 'The imprint our car left in this pitiful ass snow was the shape of a dick, and somehow that's our fault,' said Kathryn. 'This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of being fined for, and we flat out told them we weren't paying.' Kathryn emailed them association back, saying they refused to pay on the basis there were no bylaws making sexual snow-shapes an offence. 'Eventually, they realized we were serious about not paying, and since there were no by-laws on the books about something like this, they dropped it.' The HOA replied to Kathryn to apologise and dropped the fine. 'We understand. We will not be pursuing this further, in good faith pursuant to the wording of the by-laws,' read the email from the HOA. Donald Trump made a frosty start to his meeting with Kim Jong-Un before the two leaders resumed the 'grins of friendship' they showed at their first summit, a body language expert has said. Judi James said Trump and Kim had made a 'rather more formal start' as they greeted each other in Vietnam eight months after their first historic meeting in Singapore. But she said the U.S. President had shown a 'quasi-parental pose of concern and warmth' as he tilted his head and made eye contact with the North Korean dictator. Trump's 'power pats' on Kim's back were meant to show 'emphatic friendship in a superior style' while Kim looked 'keen to imply mutual approval' by patting back, she said. Friends: U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un smile as they greet each other in Hanoi today, at the start of their second summit Speaking to MailOnline, she said: 'Their first meeting turned into such a love-fest, with Trump investing heavily in signs of genuine bonding bordering on friendship that the rather more formal start to this meeting between the two leaders suggested some frost might have settled with time. 'Trump walked towards Kim with his right hand extended and the palm turned slightly upward in a gesture of welcome that resembled a waiter serving drinks. 'Trump's arm was bent in the shake while Kim's was outstretched with the right hand leaning down, as though trying to keep some distance at first. 'The men employed eye contact, with Trump tilting his head to adopt a quasi-parental pose of concern and warmth. 'The clasp was tight, with Kim's thumb appearing to clamp the hands together. 'Trump performed five power pats on Kim's back in total, suggesting emphatic friendship but in a slightly superior style. 'After the fourth pat Kim patted Trump back, looking keen to mirror to imply mutual approval. Formal start: Body language expert Judi James told MailOnline that Kim had stretched his arm out 'as though trying to keep some distance at first' when the two leaders met today Kim's thump clamp: A close-up shot shows how the North Korean strongman appeared to secure the two leaders' hands together All smiles: The two leaders look cheerful as they make their opening remarks at the Vietnam summit, which comes eight months after their first historic meeting in Singapore 'There was some, but not excessive, smiling between the two men but as they turned to the front again both adopted a military-looking pose with Trump in particular performing a mouth clamp to suggest a serious, alpha stance.' When the two leaders sat together their handshake was 'much more dramatic', she said. She went on: 'Trump sat in his signature splay with his forward steepled hand gesture looking alpha and borderline bored. 'Kim was in full splay mode, sitting rather more confidently and openly with his legs splayed and his hands on his knees. 'Trump sat nodding slightly at nothing in particular but once they caught one another's eye the very grim facial expressions dropped and we saw more of the grins of friendship that appeared during their first meet. 'Trump threw his hand forward to shake in a powerful, lightning gesture and Kim's grin widened as he extended his right arm. Eye contact: Judi James said the U.S. President had shown a 'quasi-parental pose of concern and warmth' as he tilted his head and made eye contact with the North Korean dictator Last time: Trump gives Kim the thumbs-up during their first summit in Singapore last year 'Overall there appeared to be a performed gravitas with both men adopting a rather determined expression bordering on the grim-faced from Trump at times but beneath the serious veneer there were signs that both were happy to re-establish the signals of friendship they had built up the first time around.' In his opening remarks Trump again dangled the promise of prosperity for North Korea if Pyongyang gives up its nuclear ambitions. 'I think that your country has tremendous economic potential. Unbelievable. Unlimited,' he said. The Singapore summit had followed sustained and personal insults between the pair over Pyongyang's nuclear program. With tests halted since the thaw in relations, Trump hopes for more progress on denuclearisation from Kim. Reflecting on Singapore, Trump said: 'I thought the first summit was a great success and I think this one, hopefully, will be equal or greater than the first.' Speaking through an interpreter, Kim said he is 'confident of achieving the great results that everyone will welcome'. A lifeboat crew today rescued a boat carrying nine illegal immigrants across the English Channel as the migrant crossing crisis continues. The lifeboat was launched off the coast of Dover this afternoon after the Border Force cutter went out because the migrants are said to not want to be picked up. One of the migrants was photographed in a blanket hobbling onto British soil, while others could be seen being taken to shore in a small Border Force dinghy. It is the fourth day in a row that migrants have arrived by boat off the coast and takes the total number who have attempted to cross the Channel since Sunday to 44. One of the migrants hobbles into Britian on crutches after being rescued off Dover today A migrant is brought in by Border Force officials after being picked up off Dover this afternoon Yesterday, 13 migrants from Iran and Iraq - including a baby and two children - were the latest to be found trying to cross. They were brought ashore around 5am. One day earlier, a group of 15 Iranian men were found on two small boats off the Kent coast on Monday. Four of them were arrested on suspicion of people smuggling. On Sunday a family of seven, including a mother, father and five children, was found near Kingsdown and given to immigration officials after an empty dinghy was seen. Retired coastguard Andy Roberts said today: 'It's absolutely perfect weather for them at the moment. It's so nice. It's not windy and it's totally clear. Migrants arrive from the English Channel on a Border Force dinghy in Kent today Today is the fourth day in a row that migrants have arrived by boat off the English coast 'The sea is like a duck pond. This is going to carry on and on. There will be lots more to come. The weather is so great for them. It's a perfect time for them. 'They'll know it's lovely and clear so the risk is nowhere near as big as before when they were arriving in the winter.' A Home Office spokesman said: 'Border Force is currently dealing with an ongoing small boat incident in the Channel.' Yesterday, Kent Police told MPs that migrants crossing the Channel are so confident they won't be sent back to Europe they are dialling 999 to get police to rescue them. The weather is said to be 'absolutely perfect' for migrants to cross, a retired coastguard said An RNLI Lifeboat and Border Force cutter today rescued the boat of migrants off Dover in Kent The force's chief constable Alan Pughsley said: 'They want to be found and helped. On some occasions, they are phoning 999 and asking for our help.' Steve Rodhouse, director-general at the National Crime Agency, confirmed that the 'business model' for smugglers had changed. He said: 'People are happy to be, and are seeking, being caught and engaging with UK authorities because, rightly or wrongly, they don't fear being returned.' Home Secretary Sajid Javid last month sparked debate by questioning if those crossing were genuine asylum seekers. The operation off Dover today comes hours after further migrants were brought ashore The lifeboat was launched after the Border Force cutter went out (pictured today) because the migrants are said to not want to be picked up In December, he declared a 'major incident', ordering two Border Force boats to be redeployed to the Channel after a rise in crossings at Christmas. In 2018, more than 500 migrants tried to travel to the UK on small vessels, with four in five of them attempting the journey in the final three months of the year. Around 250 people attempted the crossing in December alone. That figure dropped to around 90 in January. But Mr Rodhouse said the current fine weather had led to an increase in crossings, adding migrants were paying about 5,000 each to do so. Iranians are bought ashore at Dover Marina on Monday as the Channel migrant crisis continues Migrants are bought ashore at Dover Marina following the crossing of the Channel on Monday The Home Office said: 'Those found to have no right to be in the UK should be in no doubt of our determination to remove them. 'Since January, over ten people who entered the UK illegally on small boats have been returned to Europe.' Yesterday the 13 migrants found in the Channel were brought back to Dover and were transferred to immigration officials for interview. Border Force was alerted by French authorities to the attempted migrant crossing at around 3am. They were given medical checks and 'found to be well'. A trainee teacher who died after an 'impulsive' overdose 'just wanted to sleep like a normal person,' an inquest heard. Claire Mayambala, 22, a teaching assistant from Mitcham, south London, died after an overdose of anti-anxiety medication given to her just one week before her death. Westminster Coroner's Court heard Ms Mayambala sent a WhatsApp message to her half-sister Florence at 1.39am on 6 August 2018 to say she loved her. She sent another twenty minutes later admitting to taking a large excess of the tablets, the packaging of which was later found on her bedside table by police. The coroner ruled Claire Mayambala, 22, died of tragic unintended consequences of the overdose and the evidence did not support the conclusion she had purposefully ended her life Florence Mayambala said: 'She said she had taken pills and was really scared. 'She said she just wanted to sleep like a normal person. I am not convinced she wanted to die, it was a cry for help.' The inquest heard her sister did not call an ambulance at that point because during a previous overdose paramedics had taken 40 minutes to arrive. Senior Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox said: 'Florence explained in her statement that she had jumped into an uber at once as it would be quicker to do it that way. 'The ambulance was called once it became apparent how unwell Claire was.' An ambulance was called at 2.38 am and members of the London Ambulance Service arrived at Ms Mayambala's home five minutes later. But Dr Wilcox concluded the half hour delay in calling the ambulance did not contribute to the death. She said: 'There would have been a delay in calling the ambulance of about half an hour. This court will never know if this would have saved her life. 'However, given the truly horrific condition she was in, the delay in thirty minutes probably would not have made much of a difference.' The inquest, attended by members of Ms Mayambala's family, heard a statement from her GP Dr Syed Ahmed. Dr Ahmed said the 22-year-old had been diagnosed with both generalised anxiety disorder and cyclothymia, a condition similar to bipolar disorder. Trainee teacher Miss Mayambala had her 'whole life ahead of her', Dr Fiona Wilcox said She was first prescribed anti-depressants in April 2013. In January 2018 her prescription was changed to anti-anxiety medication which also reduces the heartrate. Ms Mayambala was given a prescription for nearly a hundred tablets on 30 July, one week before her death. Dr Wilcox said: 'Claire had a long history of anxiety and had been under the care of her GP from 2013. She was seen regularly by her GP. She was not found to be a risk to herself or others.' A toxicology report read to the court found that Ms Mayambala had nearly double the fatal dose of medication in her blood by the time she died. Dr Wilcox later praised the medical staff at St George's Hospital and said: 'I feel they did everything humanly possible to save her life. 'At 4.39, just over two hours after she collapsed and only about three hours after she took the medication, she was declared life extinct.' Miss Mayambala, who had a long history of severe anxiety which can make sleep almost impossible, said she had taken the pills because she 'just wanted to sleep like a normal person' She concluded: 'A conclusion of suicide would not give justice to the evidence. 'Claire died as a result of an impulsive overdose of a prescribed medication while suffering from anxiety.' She added: 'I have no doubt in the early hours in the morning Claire was anxious and distressed. 'She indicated to her sister she just wanted her anxiety to stop and sleep like everyone else. If she had an intention to take her own life she would not have contacted her sister. 'This is a truly sad death of a young woman, just 22 years old, with her whole life ahead of her, with a long history of anxiety. 'It is such a pity that she took something so toxic. If she had chosen to take something else as part of her impulsive action she may have survived.' Completing his narrative verdict the coronor ruled the cause of Miss Mayambala's death was arterial left ventricular collapse as a result of propranolol poisoning. Advertisement A truck driver who caused a deadly commuter train crash by skirting a lowered railroad gate on New York's Long Island was allegedly fleeing the scene of a collision that took place seconds earlier. The driver and two passengers in the truck were killed when two Long Island Rail Road trains collided with the vehicle, causing it to go up in flames on the tracks in Westbury on Tuesday evening. The victims have not been named. A witness claimed that the vehicle had been involved in a minor two-car crash just 'seconds' before it went around the crossing gate, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder revealed at a press conference Wednesday. The truck was obliterated when it was hit by an eastbound train that was just pulling out of the Westbury station and pushed into the path of a faster-moving westbound train. Eight train passengers were injured, three of them seriously, according to authorities. Gov Andrew Cuomo has called for a 'full investigation into the collision', which forced the evacuation of nearly 1,000 passengers and crew members on the two trains and limited service on Wednesday as railroad employees worked to remove the damaged train cars and repair the tracks. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO A witness claimed that the vehicle had been involved in a minor two-car crash just 'seconds' before it went around the gate A truck driver who caused a deadly commuter train crash on Tuesday night by skirting a lowered railroad gate on New York's Long Island was allegedly fleeing the scene of a collision that took place seconds earlier. Emergency personnel are seen surveying the damage following the crash in Westbury on Wednesday The driver and two passengers were killed when two Long Island Rail Road trains collided with the truck on Tuesday night in Westbury, New York. Debris is seen inside one of the trains that derailed and plowed into a platform The truck was obliterated when it was hit by an eastbound train that was just pulling out of the Westbury station and pushed into the path of a faster-moving westbound train. The mangled remains of the vehicle are seen on the tracks above Gov Andrew Cuomo has called for a 'full investigation into the collision', which forced the evacuation of nearly 1,000 passengers and crew members on the two trains The crash was the fifth incident at the same crossing in 40 years and the second involving a train hitting a vehicle, according to federal safety data. In the others, a person walking or standing on the tracks was hit by a train. County Executive Laura Curran, who joined Ryder and other officials at Wednesday's news conference, said the crash shows how foolish it is to drive around the gate. 'I cannot repeat this enough,' Curran said. 'Please do not try to beat the train. Nothing is so important.' The westbound train derailed after hitting the car and crashed into the concrete platform, sending chunks of concrete and rebar into the front car of the train. 'It was completely destroyed, the front cab,' Ryder said. Ryder said the engineer and a passenger in the front car survived by running backward through the car before it hit the platform. He said emergency workers rescued the two from the mangled train car. Dr Anthony Boutin, head of the emergency department at Nassau University Medical Center, said three people were hospitalized with serious injuries and are expected to completely recover. The other crash victims were treated for minor injuries. Speaking at a Wednesday press conference, County Executive Laura Curran said the crash shows how foolish it is to drive around the gate. 'I cannot repeat this enough,' Curran said. 'Please do not try to beat the train. Nothing is so important' Eight train passengers were injured, three of them seriously, officials say. Emergency crews are pictured at the scene Witnesses described fearing for their lives when the collision occurred at around 7.30pm Tuesday night. April Frazier, who was riding in the Manhattan-bound train, told News12: 'I was sitting on the left side and all of a sudden the train really started rocking hard. 'Flames flared up on my side. I heard the conductor yell 'Brake, brake!' That's when I saw the flames. That's when it got real.' Frazier added: 'I'm still shaken up. You don't know. You think you might die. I'm thinking to myself: "It might be my last day."' Another passenger, Kiara Jackson, was traveling to Queens with her two young daughters when she heard the sound of metal dragging across the concrete platform. 'There was a screech and then there was a thud. I knew that something was wrong,' she said. 'We were in a panic.' Jackson said that passengers were instructed to 'just keep walking west' after the collision as smoke poured into the train. Yuri Cruz, 32, a dispatcher for a taxi service located just across the street from the train station where the accident took place, also described what she saw. 'I was sitting down and I heard a big explosion,' she said. 'It was big like an earthquake.' She then looked out the window of her office toward the train tracks. 'I heard people screaming,' Cruz said. 'A few minutes later, I heard all the cops and ambulances coming. It was crazy.' Nassau Police said the train was traveling at 'full speed' when it collided with the truck on the track in Westbury Witnesses described fearing for their lives when the collision occurred at around 7.30pm Tuesday night The grade crossing is one of several scheduled to be eliminated as part of an LIRR modernization project. The railroad's 'A Modern LI' website says that crossing 'poses a safety risk to drivers, pedestrians and LIRR customers' and will be replaced with an underpass. After a spike in deaths at railroad crossings in 2017, the US Department of Transportation launched a public awareness campaign with the slogan 'Stop! Trains Can't.' The Federal Railroad Administration developed a crossing-finder app and persuaded technology companies to add grade-crossing warnings to GPS devices and mapping applications. In 2017, there were 2,115 grade-crossing crashes in the US, resulting in 271 deaths. That was the highest yearly grade-crossing death toll in a decade; 2008 had 290. Full-year figures aren't available for 2018. Chris O'Neil, chief spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, said that the circumstances of Tuesday's crash, though tragic, don't point to any safety issues that require further investigation or new recommendations by the agency. Rail workers are seen assessing the damage to a concrete platform that was struck by one of the trains on Wednesday The children of Australia's most notorious Islamic State terrorist are still alive and remain in the last sliver of ISIS territory, according to the nation's first jihadi bride. Zehra Duman last week told American humanitarian workers outside the Syrian town of Baghuz that three of Khaled Sharrouf's five children are alive and well. Ms Duman, now 25, fled her hometown of Melbourne for Syria in 2014 and married an Australian ISIS fighter, quickly making a name for herself by recruiting women to the caliphate. She said the children remained in Islamic State-held Baghuz, from where she had just fled, but was unable to confirm whether they would leave. But she provided the children's Australian grandmother Karen Nettleton a video message ensuring her of their safety, ABC reported. 'They're fine and they're alive I don't know if they're going to leave or not, I haven't kept in contact with them so I don't know,' she said. Sharrouf (pictured with three of his children) gained worldwide notoriety when he published a photo of then nine-year-old Abdullah holding the severed head of a victim of ISIS Ms Nettleton previously attempted to have the children returned to Australia after their mother, her daughter, smuggled them into ISIS held territory by way of Turkey. In the video footage taken in a refugee camp, Duman claimed to have been best friends with the late Tara Nettleton, Sharrouf's wife and the mother of his five children. Tara Nettleton died of health complications - believed to have been appendicitis - in 2015, while Sharrouf and his two eldest sons, Abdullah, 12, and Zarqawi, 11, are thought to have died in an air strike in 2017. Sharrouf gained worldwide notoriety when he published a photo of then nine-year-old Abdullah holding the severed head of a victim of ISIS. Australian woman Zehra Duman (centre) was pictured with aid workers from the Free Burma Rangers after her interview Sharrouf and his two eldest sons, Abdullah, 12, and Zarqawi, 11, are believed to have died in an air strike in 2017 The three remaining children, Zaynab, 17; Hoda, 16; and Hamzah, 9, were left stranded in Syria without their parents. Ms Duman said she was unaware of who was caring for the children, but confirmed Zaynab was married 'a long time ago'. In 2016, the then 14-year-old is said to have married her father's friend, former Sydney-based boxer Mohamed Elomar and gave birth to a daughter shortly after. Elomar is believed to have died in an air strike later that year. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has repeatedly expressed his interest in keeping as many ISIS fighters and jihadi brides off Australian soil as possible. Sharrouf and his two eldest sons, Abdullah, 12, (bottom right) and Zarqawi, 11, (bottom left) allegedly died in an air strike in 2017 while the three remaining children, Zaynab, 17 (top left); Hoda, 16 (top right); and Hamzah, 9 (centre), were left stranded in Syria without their parents Sharrouf was the first Australian foreign fighter to be stripped of his Australian citizenship under new counter-terrorism laws. The law states a person's citizenship can be stripped as long as they are a duel-citizen and would not be left stateless. Duman is a duel citizen of Turkey, but it is not yet clear if her Australian citizenship will be revoked. A spokesman for Mr Dutton's office confirmed the Australian government may struggle to identify Australian's currently in Syria. 'Australian officials cannot facilitate the safe passage of people out of the conflict zones,' the spokesman said. Jihadi brides from other western countries have also been found hiding in camps, including the UK's Shamima Begum (pictured) 'Anyone fighting with or providing support or associating with ISIS or other terrorist groups has committed a serious crime and will face the consequences should they return to Australia. Duman became somewhat of a face for the organisation after she arrived in Syria, helping to indoctrinate women into the folds and becoming a vocal supporter of the group's violent rhetoric. She married fellow Australian Mahmoud Abdullatif shortly after arriving in Raqqa but he died only five weeks later. She commended her late husband for attaining martyrdom. As of last week, Islamic State only controlled a tiny piece of land in the town of Baghuz near the Iraq border. The stronghold was no more than two kilometres wide and some 20,000 civilians have fled to refugee camps in Syria and Iraq in recent weeks. Jihadi brides from other western countries have also been found hiding in camps, including the UK's Shamima Begum and the United States Hoda Muthana, who at one point is believed to have lived with the Sharrouf family. This is the moment a firefighter gives the kiss of life to a small dog on the pavement after recovering the body from a burning home. The attempt, which was ultimately in vain, took place in Istanbul, Turkey, after a fire broke out in a first-floor flat. According to reports, the blaze started in one of the bedrooms and firefighters were called to the four-storey building to put out the flames. An unidentified firefighter desperately tries to give CPR to a dog found collapsed inside a flat in Istanbul, Turkey Inside the burning flat, one kind-hearted fireman found a dog collapsed on the floor that had been affected by the smoke, and immediately rushed it outside into the fresh air. He then tried to save its life by administering CPR and the kiss of life although ultimately without success. Although reports are unclear, it is believed that the dog was alone in the flat at the time of the fire. In the video footage, the firefighter is seen compressing the small dog's chest as it lies on the pavement with its eyes closed. He then performs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the pooch, but it remains unresponsive to the firefighter's efforts. Social media users praised the man for trying so hard to save the little dog's life. Caner Erin said: 'Well done! You sure know how to be a decent human being.' Zeynep Sayin added: 'Great stuff my brother!' 'Handan Tokat' wrote: 'You are a beautiful man who takes action instead of doing nothing'. A Labour MP has said a social services chief told her that her father 'asked for it' after she found he'd been left in a bloodied mess at a care home. Dr Rosena Allin-Khan's dementia-hit father suffered 'brutal' unexplained injuries at Ensham House in Wandsworth, where he was knocked out and left bruised. But she says it was three days before she was informed and recalled receiving a 'hushed' phone call from a carer advising her family to check on the former university lecturer, who is unable to speak. The Tooting MP (pictured, left, on the evening of the last General Election and, right, with predecessor Sadiq Khan, now Mayor of London) says she only received a veiled warning that she should check on her father and found him bloodied and battered The Tooting MP told the Commons that Wandsworth Council's director of adult social services, Liz Bruce, told her that the dementia sufferer had sustained the injuries because he 'had asked for it'. 'Nothing prepares you for arriving to find your loved one with black eyes, bruises, cuts and blood on their face,' she said as she spoke in an adjournment debate that she organised into the safeguarding of vulnerable care home residents. 'And I can tell you that nothing prepares you for discovering that these injuries in fact happened three days previously and nobody called you, no-one alerted you, nobody called an ambulance despite the fact that somebody had a head injury, was on blood thinners and is elderly, and not a single person - not one - having any answers as to how this may have happened or any proof at all as to how this occurred.' Dr Allin-Khan (pictured in the Commons today) told of her horror at finding her father bloodied and bruised Dr Allin-Khan explained that her family complained to Wandsworth Council, which contracts out the care at the south London facility, which has self-contained flats and access to care on site. 'From the very first meeting with the safeguarding team at Wandsworth Council, my brother and I felt as though we were put on trial,' she said. Dr Allin-Khan made the shocking allegations in Parliament today 'A new manager from Ensham House was present, but he had no idea about what had happened to my father, and despite having been sent the horrific photos of my father's brutal injuries the safeguarding team had not even looked at them. 'London Care had no answers as to why we were not called, and again had no answers as to how it could have happened. 'It was not until the wonderful police officer arrived, at my request, viewed the photos and showed visible alarm at the injury patterns that the Wandsworth Council staff actually took notice.' Dr Allin-Khan went on to detail further concerns about the treatment of her father and also told MPs that she was speaking out for every member of society, with a need to protect the vulnerable and elderly. Health Minister Caroline Dinenage thanked Dr Allin-Khan for her 'brave' speech, adding: 'I must reassure her that what she has raised is something I take very seriously. Dr Allin-Khan (pictured with her party's leader, Jeremy Corbyn) says that a council care boss said her father had 'asked for it' 'My officials have informed me that her raising her concerns so effectively and our inquiries from our office as well have prompted Wandsworth Council to hold another meeting today to discuss her case and review the evidence. 'As a result, there will be an outcomes meeting. It will be held for all parties to consider recommendations going forward and (Dr Allin-Khan) will be able to attend. 'We look forward to hearing the outcome, and we will all be keeping a close eye on what transpires.' A Wandsworth council spokesman told the Guardian that the authority has spoken with the MP but added it has 'not been able to validate her specific complaint about her fathers care'. A council spokesman added that Liz Bruce is 'one of the most experienced directors of adult social services in the country and has been a director for more than ten years'. The spokesman claimed that Ms Bruce has 'deep empathy' for Dr Allin-Khan and her family. The Metropolitan police investigated the injuries sustained by the elderly residenty but said it was not possible to confirm if he had been assaulted. Prison guards in California have been accused of orchestrating 'gladiator fights' between inmates by knowingly releasing rival prisoners into the yard at the same time. Relatives of inmates at California State Prison in Corcoran have been protesting for weeks outside the facility, against what they say is inhumane practice by guards who 'like to see bloodshed'. The prisoners say the problem is related to the Norteno-based Fresno Bulldogs gang, which refuses to make uphold a truce with rivals, USA Today reported. Inmates at California State Prison in Corcoran say they feel increasingly unsafe as guards have been accused of orchestrating fights between rival gang members One inmate told the website anonymously that the Bulldogs were not keeping their side of the peace treaty and last year started attacking people in the yard, leading staff to separate its members from other prisoners. Those protesting outside the facility confirmed that several inmates from rival gangs had attacked in each other in Corcoran. As a consequence, roughly 350 inmates have been placed on a 'modified program' which includes restrictions to visitation and yard time privileges. But the inmates' rights organization Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC) alleges that since the modified program began prison guards have been simultaneously releasing groups of inmates they know are in conflict. Around 350 prisoners at the facility are on 'modified program' of restricted visitation and yard time (file image) The guards anticipate that the men will likely brawl and later use the 'gladiator fights' as justification for continuing the modified program, according the IWOC. The organization also alleges that some of these orchestrated fights were filmed on a cell phone and the footage was uploaded online. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has denied that correctional officers are purposely setting up the brawls. The agency said its priority is to create a safe environment at the prison for all. 'CDCR is charged with providing a safe and secure environment for everyone who lives, works and visits its institutions,' Terry Thornton, spokesperson for CDCR, told USA Today. The Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC) alleges that since the modified program began prison guards have been simultaneously releasing into the yard groups of inmates they know are in conflict. When an inevitable brawl happens, the IWOC alleges that the guards use them to justify continuing their program of restricted visitation and yard time rights for inmates 'Furthermore, the rehabilitation of individuals entrusted in the department's care is also a priority. CSP-Corcoran officials are doing all they can to return Facility 3C to normal program. 'No one knows when the roughly 350 inmates on Facility 3C will be returned to normal program but we hope it is soon,' he added. But inmates are complaining that life inside the prison is increasingly unsafe, and their families and friends are worried. Angeleigh Garcia, whose fiance is incarcerated and on the modified program at California State Prison in Corcoran, told USA Today: Some inmates at the California State Prison in Corcoran (pictured) haven't seen loved ones in months and their relatives have been protesting outside for three weeks 'He's never wanted me to worry. He never shows how bad it really is, but now it's getting to the point where he can't take it. He said he's lost a lot of weight.' Rubi Garcia's husband is also on the modified program and she hasn't seen him since September. '(Guards) like to see bloodshed,' she told USA Today. 'This affects families. We can't function.' A shooting range is using an image of ISIS bride Shamima Begum as a target after receiving a 'record number' of requests from customers. The Ultimate Airsoft Range in Wallasey, Merseyside, has defended using a picture of the teenager's face for shooting practice after facing a fierce backlash. Owners of the attraction, which is used by children as young as six, said the move was in response to her 'lack of remorse and empathy' in television interviews. Images taken inside the range by a visitor show a picture of Begum's face torn apart with at least 100 holes. Begum, 19, from Bethnal Green, east London, left the UK for Syria in 2015 with her school friends Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase to join ISIS. The pellet ridden target of Shamima Begum in an image taken by a customer who visited the range Begum (pictured with her baby in a Syrian camp for captured ISIS wives) left the UK for Syria in 2015 with her Bethnal Green schoolmates Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase to join the terror group Her appeal to be brought home with her newborn baby has caused outrage across Britain, and sparked a political row after she was stripped of her citizenship. Michael Jones, from Liscard, owns Ultimate Airsoft Range in the secret World War Two tunnels of New Brighton, Wirral, with his partner Emma Saul. The firm had posted a tweet, which has now been removed, with a video showing the targets being printed off, alongside the hashtags 'Isisbride' 'traitors' 'made your choice' and 'no remorse'. The BBC's Victoria Derbyshire Show today revealed that images of the 19-year-old were being used at the range. A tweet posted by the shooting range featured a video showing the target with Shamima Begum's face being printed from a machine On their social media page, the company say they are 'The UK's No 1 airsoft shooting range' (pictured) located in 'New Brighton's WW2 secret tunnels' Michael Jones, from Liscard, owns Ultimate Airsoft Range (pictured) in the secret World War Two tunnels of New Brighton, Wirral, with his partner Emma Saul The programme also told how customers can choose to shoot at other high profile figures, including Osama Bin Laden, Donald Trump, Margaret Thatcher and even pop star Justin Bieber. Labour MP Angela Eagle, for Wallasey, condemned the move, saying: 'I am not in favour of using real people as targets, whether it it Trump or anyone else. 'It sends the wrong message, especially for six year olds who might be playing.' It was met with a furious reaction online, with tweets branding the targets 'abhorrent' and 'furthering of hate.' One said: 'This is dreadful, I do no want her back in the country but I would not condone anything like this. 'Quite honestly I think that if she came back she would not be safe here anyway.' Customers can choose to shoot at other high profile figures, including Osama Bin Laden, Donald Trump, Margaret Thatcher and even pop star Justin Bieber Another wrote: Disgraceful. How is this not a furthering of hate?' And another user added: 'This is abhorrent. How would they feel if that picture was a member of their family?' But others defended the move. One user tweeted: 'Childish and distasteful but in a free society I guess they can shoot at whatever targets they please. 'I can't see how it's any different from the picture of Thatcher I had on my dartboard as a kid.' In a statement, Ultimate Airsoft Range said: 'The targets provide some fantastic reactions and conversations and allow people to have some light-hearted fun and bring out the inner child in us all. 'The targets don't always reflect personal opinions and we don't want to condone terrorism. ISIS bride Shamima Begum pictured with her baby as she was interviewed by the media at a camp in Syria 'But after watching the interview with Ms Begum being interviewed, there was a lack of empathy that she had shown and we decided to listen to our customers and use them as targets' On their social media page, the company say they are 'The UK's No 1 airsoft shooting range' located in 'New Brighton's WW2 secret tunnels'. They said: 'Ages 6+ can participate with an accompanying adult.' Airsoft guns used to shoot the target are replica weapons used in airsoft sports. 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 They are a special type of very low-power air guns designed to shoot non-metallic spherical projectiles - often referred to as 'BB' pellets. Begum wants to return to the UK for the sake of her newborn third child, but has been stripped of her British citizenship. Home Secretary Sajid Javid made the move on advice that she qualified for Bangladeshi citizenship through her mother, although authorities there have said they will not let her enter the country. Begum's father, Ahmed Ali, said his 19-year-old daughter should face justice in Britain despite previously appearing to back the removal of her citizenship. The teenager, who married Dutch IS fighter Yago Riedijk, had two older children who both died. Mr Ali told ITV News: 'I don't think he's (Sajid Javid) done the right thing because she is a British citizen, and if it turns out she has committed any crimes, then she should face justice in the UK. 'She belongs to this country, she belongs to England. My daughter was a little child, she made a mistake, she didn't properly understand.' 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 added: '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.' Gangsters who ran a 30million drugs ring from the city nicknamed 'Coke-on-Trent' have been jailed for a total of 100 years. The 12 criminals smuggled cutting agent benzocaine from China hidden in parcels labelled 'decorating materials' to produce nearly of ton of drugs. The brazen gang also collected the packages from post offices under the name 'Charlie' or 'Charles', which is street slang for cocaine. Between 250kg and 300kg of benzocaine was imported in late 2015 and, in April to May the following year, another 125kg was smuggled into the UK. The cutting agent would create 850kg of medium-strength cocaine when cut with high-purity drugs. Top row (left to right): Andrew Fradley, Karen Broad, Brian Bowden, Gareth Marsh, Zac Marsh; second row (L-R): Nicholas Elliot, Ross Slater, Jenny Legge, James Foster, Andrew Lawton Police smashed the drug ring and discovered the benzocaine was being distributed to criminal gangs throughout the UK. Benzocaine costs around 100 to 300 per kilo compared to 35,000 - 50,000 per kilo for cocaine. The agent has a similar appearance and acts in a similar way to cocaine, so it is often used to bulk out the drugs. The gang were jailed for a total of 100 years and eight months after they were found guilty of drug offences following a trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. Judge Dean Kershaw told two members of the gang, Karen Broad, 54, and Andrew Fradley, from Stoke-on-Trent: 'You had substantial links to others and substantial expectation of gain. 'You used ballast materials as a cover. I'm satisfied you were jointly involved in the ordering of benzocaine.' The 12 criminals smuggled cutting agent benzocaine from China hidden in parcels (some of which are shown here) labelled 'decorating materials' to produce nearly of ton of drugs Jurors heard another member of the gang, Nicholas Elliott, 43, had the name 'Gaz - Coke-on-Trent' on his mobile phone - which was for drug dealer Gareth Marsh, 36. Staffordshire Police's Major and Organised Crime department launched an investigation on November 12, 2015, when 26.9kg of benzocaine was intercepted in a package with a Stoke-on-Trent address by customs at Coventry Airport. Drug gang sentences Gary Davis (shown) Andrew Fradley, 50, of Stoke-on-Trent: 17-and-a-half years Karen Broad, 54, of Bignall End, Stoke-on-Trent: 15 years Brian Bowden, 40, of Droylsden, Manchester: 14 years eight months Gareth Marsh, 30, of Sandford Hill, Stoke-on-Trent: 14 years four months Gary Davies, 36, of Ancoats, Manchester: Eight years Zac Marsh, 21, of Sandford Hill, Stoke-on-Trent: 6 years four months Nicholas Elliott, 43, of Petersfield, Hampshire: Five-and-a-half years Andrew Lawton, 30, of Knutton, Newcastle-under-Lyme: 7 years 4 months Kurt Jackson, 27, of Bradwell, Newcastle-under-Lyme: 6 years James Foster, 29, of Newcastle-under-Lyme: 6 years Ross Slater, 26, of Newcastle-under-Lyme: 16 months suspended for 12 months Jenny Legge, 26, of Newcastle-under-Lyme: 24 months suspended for 18 months Advertisement Detectives set up surveillance teams and tracked the parcels which were being flown into the UK from China. On May 17, 2016 a seizure of 30.76kg of benzocaine addressed to Fradley and Broad's home address in Stoke-on-Trent was made at Manchester Airport. Documents seized at their home identified further benzocaine shipments in 2015 and 2016. Manchester-based criminal Brian Bowden, 40, led the cocaine supply side of the operation. On June 1, 2016 Bowden and associate Gareth Marsh, 30, were arrested in Manchester and half-a-kilo of high-purity cocaine seized. Earlier that day Bowden and Marsh met in a Little Chef car park and a brick-like package believed to be cash was handed to Bowden. Large quantities of benzocaine, a hydraulic press (used to re-block cocaine) and drug paraphernalia was also found in an industrial container in Stoke-on-Trent. Following the trial, Detective Inspector Lesley Fowler, said: 'This has been a complex and far-reaching investigation so we're delighted the hard work and dedication of officers and CPS has resulted in these sentences. 'Benzocaine is relatively inexpensive, but when used to dilute cocaine it is an integral part of a multi-million pound supply chain. 'This was a sophisticated and highly-organised operation supplying drugs nationwide.' Alex Warren, senior crown prosecutor with the CPS, said: 'This was a particularly challenging case to investigate and prosecute with multiple suspects performing different roles over a significant period of time, and going to some lengths to disguise their conduct. 'The sentences given reflect the gravity of the offending and level of sophistication. Advertisement President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un shook hands and exchanged smiles as they joined for a dinner meeting at a historic Hanoi hotel and Trump proclaimed their relationship a 'good one.' 'Our relationship is a very special relationship,' Trump said, in one of several comments proclaiming a personal bond. The two men met in the Vietnamese capital in front of a bank of six flags from each nation, for the first meeting for the pair since their historic summit in Singapore in June. 'It's an honor to be with Chairman Kim. It's an honor to be together,' said Trump, who repeatedly praised his counterpart. The admiration may be mutual. In one remark, Kim praised Trump's 'courageous decision' to open dialogue, according to how his translator recounted it. In introductory remarks, Trump did much of the talking and one again dangled the promise of prosperity for North Korea, and addressed critics who noted their initial joint statement was vague and hard to measure. Scroll down for video President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un shake hands at the top of their meeting in Hanoi 'It's great to be with you. We had a very successful first summit,' Trump said. 'I felt it was very successful. Some people would like to see it go quicker. I'm satisfied, you're satisfied. We want to be happy with what we're doing.' 'I thought the first summit was a great success, I think this one hopefully will be equal or greater than the first,' the president added. As he has repeatedly, Trump pointed to personal chemistry with the reclusive leader of the family-led one-party dictatorship although his secretary of state says North Korea is still a nuclear threat, having tested a hydrogen bomb and months ago conducted a skein of missile tests. 'We made a lot of progress and I think the biggest progress was our relationship is really a good one,' Trump said. The two leaders smiled as they were seated before dinner People walk past a TV broadcasting a news report on a meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, in Seoul, South Korea, February 27, 2019 Trump repeatedly hailed the personal relationship between the two men US President Donald Trump (L) gestures as he speaks with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un during a meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi on February 27, 2019 Trump's sit-down came hours after Michael Cohen's testimony was released Trump complemented a New York Times photographer in one of many asides to Kim In a spat with the White House, two reporters who had earlier asked Trump questions were not permitted to witness the start of dinner Dangling economic enticements that he hopes will persuade Kim to give up nuclear weapons his nation has been developing for years, Trump said: 'I think that your country has tremendous economic potential. Unbelievable. Unlimited,' Trump said, seated across from Kim. Both men smiled before cameras as they exchanged a handshake. A reporter asked Trump about former lawyer Michael Cohen's bombshell testimony in Congress that calls Trump a 'conman.' Trump shook his head and didn't respond. That may not have gone over well with the White House staff. At a subsequent photo-op, two wire service reporters were excluded, including the one who had asked about Cohen, whose bombshell testimony touched on Stormy Daniels, a Trump Moscow tower project, and Wikileaks. According to a statement issued by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders: 'Due to the sensitive nature of the meetings we have limited the pool for the dinner to a smaller group, but ensured that representation of photographers, tv, radio and print Poolers are all in the room. We are continuing to negotiate aspects of this historic summit and will always work to make sure the U.S. media has as much access as possible.' For that event, the two men were seated at a round table with a floral centerpiece. Their meal had not yet been served. Once again, Trump talked up their bond. 'Our relationship is a very special relationship,' the president said. After Kim spoke in Korean, a translator said: 'They have exchanged very interesting dialogue with each other.' That prompted a joke from Trump. 'If you could have heard that dialogue. What you would pay for that dialogue ... It was good.' Then Trump stepped in again. 'Were going to have a very busy day tomorrow and well probably have a pretty quick dinner.' 'And a lot of things are going to be solved I hope. Itll lead to really a wonderful situation long term. And our relationship is a very special relationship,' the president said. Earlier Trump said: 'It's great to be with you. We had a very successful first summit. I felt it was very successful. Some people would like to see it go quicker. I'm satisfied, you're satisfied. We want to be happy with what we're doing.' Complimenting their host country, Trump said: 'It's an honor to be with Chairman Kim. It's an honor to be together in really a country, Vietnam, where they've really rolled red carpet. And they're very proud to have us.' Minutes earlier, as they first met, the two men engaged in brief remarks, then looked ahead toward press photographers with serious expressions on their faces. Eventually they smiled. Trump and Kim were to dine along with top aides. Trump said the meal would be a 'pretty quick dinner' 'Thank you very much,' Trump told reporters. That was to be succeeded by brief remarks by the two men. A specially created logo featured two shaking hands. The two men joined at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi in the Vietnamese capital. Before the two men gathered, Trump used Twitter to take on 'false reporting' about his plans. 'All false reporting (guessing) on my intentions with respect to North Korea. Kim Jong Un and I will try very hard to work something out on Denuclearization & then making North Korea an Economic Powerhouse. I believe that China, Russia, Japan & South Korea will be very helpful!' the president wrote. Trump began his Hanoi summit with Kim Jong Un by predicting progress at his upcoming meal with his counterpart and calling the North Korean dictator 'my friend.' 'Hopefully great things will happen later on,' Trump said in brief remarks Wednesday as he met with the president of Vietnam and a delegation. Trump also lavished praise upon Vietnam for its 'thriving' economy, while touting economic growth in the U.S. as well holding out the local economy as a model for North Korea to pursue. He announced a deal to have Vietnamese airlines purchase U.S.-made planes even as it continues to ship billions worth of sneakers and shrimp to U.S. ports. Other agreements would bring the total value of the agreements to $21 billion, according to an administration offical. Trump also called the relationship between the U.S. and Vietnam an 'example' of what can become of North Korea if it gives up its nuclear weapons. Trump also posed in front of a statue of the nation's revolutionary founder Kim Jong Un. 'You really are an example as to what can happen with good thinking,' Trump said as he sat down with President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam. He touted Vietnam as an economic model that North Korea could pursue Trump, who landed Tuesday, has already met with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong for the signing of several commercial trade deals between their two airline industries The motorcade carrying U.S. President Donald Trump drive past Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam on Wednesday President Donald Trump meets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the Office of Government Hall in Hanoi on Wednesday Trump talked up the economic model where the communist government has maintained one-party political control but opened up economically and established vigorous trade relations with the U.S. 'Unemployment and all of the numbers that you would look at are at historically positive numbers. So I just see what you've done and I'm very proud of what you've done,' Trump said. He also touted agreements negotiated in advance of the summit for Vietnam to purchase U.S.-made products, and touted a deal with airplane manufacturer Boeing. He also claimed it would help reduce the U.S. $37 billion trade deficit with Vietnam. 'And I know today, whether it's Boeing and a couple of others we're going to be signing some very big trade deals where you're buying a lot of different products from the United States which we greatly appreciate. We're reducing the deficit very substantially, as are many countries,' Trump said. According to a senior administration official, deals totaling $21 billion included VietJet buying 100 Boeing 737-Max jets and 215 GE/CFM joint venture engines. Bamboo airways will buy 10 Boeing 787 planes, and Vietnam airlines will buy $100 million in services and technology from Sabre Corporation. Soon after Trump inked the deals, longtime lawyer Michael Cohen's prepared testimony was released. It contained potentially damaging claims including that Cohen overheard a campaign phone conversation where Roger Stone told candidate Trump that Julian Assange told him in advance about dumping anti- Hillary Clinton emails. Cohen also says Trump repeatedly inquired about the status of a Moscow tower project in 2016, and even directed him to threaten schools so they would not release his academic information. Cohen also says Trump told him to fend off reporters and avoid answering questions about the medical deferment that helped keep him from serving in Vietnam. Trump and Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong stand before a signing ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing signed agreements with VietJet for 100 737 MAX planes and with Bamboo Airways for 10 787 Dreamliners as the two leaders looked on Wednesday Trump called the relationship between the U.S. and Vietnam an 'example' of what can become of North Korea if it gives up its nuclear weapons Trump thanked Vietnam for hosting the summit and for agreeing to the new trade deals with American companies 'We're going to be signing some very big trade deals where you're buying a lot of different products from the United States which we greatly appreciate,' Trump told Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong U.S. President Donald Trump met with his Vietnamese counterpart President Nguyen Phu Trong hours before he is set to sit down with North Korea's Kim Jong Un Trump and President Nguyen Phu Trong have already presided over a signing ceremony of several commercial trade deals between their two airline industries. U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing signed agreements with VietJet for 100 737 MAX planes and with Bamboo Airways for 10 787 Dreamliners as the two leaders looked on Wednesday. And U.S.-based aviation technology company Sabre also inked a deal with Vietnam Airlines. Later, Trump smiled and held a Vietnamese flag as he met with the country's prime minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and inked a series of agreements. Bad timing: 'Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great,' Michael Cohen will testify, in language that was released during Trump's first day in Hanoi Trump previously complained about the trade imbalance during his visit here in 2016, when it was $32 billion. ''We have to get rid of the trading imbalance, we can't have a trade imbalance,' the president said then as he was promoting his 'America First' push on trade. Kim visited a factory in Hanoi on Tuesday, getting a first hand look at some of the economic progress being made, in a nation that has regularly surpassed 6 per cent growth and achieved per-capita income several fold greater than in North Korea. Trump review the guard of honor during a meeting with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong ahead of the US-North Korea summit in Hanoi President Donald Trump waves a Vietnam flag as he meets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, waving an American flag A statement from Hanoi Mayor Nguyen Duc Chung called for residents to 'maintain and sustain Hanoians' code of behavior' as Trump pays a visit to the city President Donald Trump began his Hanoi summit with Kim Jong Un with another optimistic tweet, calling the North Korean dictator 'my friend' DOWN TO BUSINESS: Trump touted a deal for Vietnam to purchase planes. The U.S. trade deficit with the nation has grown by $5 billion since Trump visited two years ago Who was Vietnam's revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh? Born in 1890 in what was then French Indochina, Ho Chi Minh spent parts of his early life in France, the Soviet Union and China. After working with Chinese Communists in the 1930s he became leader of the nationalist Viet Minh movement in 1941. The Viet Minh fought for Vietnam's independence from Japanese occupying forces during World War II and from Vietnam's colonial ruler, France. Ho declared himself Vietnam's leader after Japan's defeat in 1945. But it was not until 1954 - when Ho's Communist forces defeated the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu - that France finally withdrew. Vietnam was split in two, with Ho's Communists taking charge of the North, allied to China and the Soviet Union, while the South remained an anti-Communist bastion supported by the United States. Ho Chi Minh, right, pictured with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1965, was the founder of Communist Vietnam Elections were planned to reunify the country by 1956 but these never took place. As leader of the North, Ho was determined to undermine the South and backed the Viet Cong guerrilla forces who were staging a Communist insurgency there. His slogan - 'nothing is as dear to the heart of the Vietnamese as independence and liberation' - became an inspiration to his supporters. He backed the invasion of Laos in the 1950s which led to the birth of the Ho Chi Minh Trail - a supply line which allowed Ho to equip Communists in the South and which would frustrate U.S. forces during the Vietnam War. By the 1960s U.S. troops were arriving in Vietnam to bolster the South. As the conflict escalated Ho sent a defiant message to Washington, saying: 'We will never agree to negotiate under the threat of bombing.' He remained President of North Vietnam until his death in 1969. Saigon - the former capital of the South - was renamed Ho Chi Minh City to celebrate him after its fall in 1975. In addition his body was embalmed and put on public display in a mausoleum in Hanoi, where visitors can travel to see the preserved corpse. Advertisement 'Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize,' Trump wrote, once again introducing a carrot of sorts on the day he is set to dine with Kim along with two top aides to each leader. 'The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un,' Trump added. 'We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting!' Trump also took a shot at his critics, including skeptics who fear he will make major concessions to the North Koreans like declaring a formal end to the Korean War or even discussing eventual U.S. troop withdrawals without getting concrete steps in return. 'The Democrats should stop talking about what I should do with North Korea and ask themselves instead why they didn't do 'it' during eight years of the Obama Administration?' Trump wrote in a follow-up tweet. Trump fired off the tweets after landing in Hanoi Tuesday evening after a flight halfway around the world. Per capita income in Vietnam is nearly double that in North Korea, $2,400 compared to $1,300, achieving 7 per cent growth and with robust foreign investment and growing trade with the U.S. South Korea is much farther along the development path, with per capita income of $26,000. The president is relying on his brand of personal diplomacy to try to score a breakthrough here with Kim, after failing to see progress on denuclearization after a vague letter reached after the Singapore summit. He has previously said they fell 'in love' at their Singapore summit, and has repeatedly stressed that the hermetic regime could become wildly successful if it modernizes and relinquishes its nuclear weapons. His bid to establish camaraderie with Kim comes despite dark signals that continue to emerge out of the closed society he governs. Kim forced his uncle to watch colleagues get blown apart with anti-aircraft guns before his own death, according to a defector. Kang Cheol-Hwan said he was told by eye witnesses that two men who worked with Kim's uncle, Jang Song-thaek, were killed by firing squad. The two men were brought in front of a barrage of eight anti-aircraft guns and had lumps of iron stuffed into their mouths. Trump landed in Hanoi Tuesday evening local time for his second summit meeting with Kim Jong in a bid to try to persuade the leader of the hermetic regime to relinquish nuclear weapons. The mayor of the city urged residents to be on their best behavior during the summit between North Korean and U.S. leaders so they can show the world the 'civilized, elegant, friendly and hospitable people' of the nation's capital. The statement from Hanoi Mayor Nguyen Duc Chung, posted on the city's website Tuesday, called for residents to 'maintain and sustain Hanoians' code of behavior'. A Red Boat Fish Sauce employee looks inside a container at the company's factory in Phu Quoc, Vietnam, on Friday, Nov. 2, 2018. Gourmands are making pilgrimages to Red Boat's riverside operations on Phu Quoc Island off the southwest coast of Vietnam, right on the border with Cambodia. Vietnam has developed robust trade relations with the U.S. Vietnam's growth rate has regularly surpassed 6 per cent A crane stands at a construction site of the Vinhomes Metropolis Lieu Giai building, developed by Vingroup JSC, in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2018. The nation of 96 million people has embraced free-market reforms over the past few decades, leading to surging growth under an authoritarian one-party Communist government that offers the same political stability as China LETS BUILD A BRIDGE: A Container ship at Saigon river in Vietnam. The U.S. is Vietnam's top export market Vietnam police personnel guard the compound of the National Convention Center in Hanoi, the venue of the World Economic Forum on ASEAN on September 11, 2018 Trump is to hold a 'social dinner' with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday Trump referenced 'my friend' KimJong Un and cited North Korea's economic potential The president also attacked his predecessor for failing to solve the North Korea problem, which has bedeviled U.S. policymakers for decades HOW TRUMP DODGED VIETNAM DRAFT WITH THE DIAGNOSIS OF BONE SPURS Trump avoided visiting Vietnam in 1968 when a doctor declared that he had a bone spur in his heel so he couldn't be drafted into the U.S. Army. He earned five deferments from the draft including one medical exemption in 1968 on the basis of a bone spur in his heel. The daughters of the doctor who allegedly carried out the inspection have claimed the medical finding was a favor. Dr. Elysa Braunstein, 56, and Sharon Kessel, 53, told the New York Times, that their father Dr. Larry Braunstein diagnosed Donald Trump in 1968. Dr. Larry Braunstein died in 2007, and the Times was unable find any documentary evidence to back up the daughters' claims, which surfaced when the newspaper contacted the family based on an anonymous tip. The daughters are both Democrats and say they do not like Donald Trump. 'I know it was a favor,' Elysa Braunstein told the Times, adding that her father had implied that Trump did not have the foot ailment that disqualified him from military service. 'But did he examine him? I don't know,' she said. Trump was briefly considered available for the Vietnam War draft in 1966 and 1968 (class '1-A') but spent most of his time on the Selective Service rolls in a student deferment ('2-S') or available only in a 'national emergency' ('1-Y') before ultimately being disqualified ('4-F') Multiple doctors would have been involved in Donald Trump's classification as 1-Y, the now-defunct category for medical deferment that was later merged into 4-F. Local draft boards relied upon physical exams overseen by military doctors, although men could bring in documentation from private doctors noting any medical concerns. Often, a civilian specialist working with the exam station might be asked to review a case and make a recommendation. The local draft board would then finalize a man's classification. Speaking to reporters in Iowa during the presidential primary season in 2015, he said he couldn't remember which foot was afflicted. The cavalier brushoff has long stuck in the craw of Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, who was captured in Vietnam after crashing the plane he was piloting, and tortured for years by the North Vietnamese. 'One aspect of the conflict, by the way, that I will never ever countenance is that we drafted the lowest income level of America,' McCain said last month. 'And the highest income level found a doctor that would say that they had a bone spur. That is wrong.' Advertisement SPURRED TO ACTION: President Trump walks by a Vietnamese soldier as he arrives for summit talks with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un Formal welcome: Vietnamese soldiers in dress uniform were lined up to welcome Trump to Hanoi after Air Force One taxied On Wednesday evening, President Trump is set to hold his first meetings with Kim since their June summit in Singapore. They are scheduled to have a brief one-on-one greeting, followed by a 'social dinner,' where Trump will be joined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney. Kim is expected to be accompanied by Kim Yung Chol, the general and senior leader who delivered a letter to Trump from Kim, as well as by another associate. Trump also meets with Vietnamese leaders earlier on Wednesday. Kim meanwhile, has extended his trip through Saturday, according to state-run North Korean media. He will tack on a 'official goodwill visit' in the country after the summit. A top aide known as Kim's butler scouted out locations about a week ago, including the picturesque Halong Bay where Kim's grandfather Kim Il-sung visited in 1964. Trump is expected to depart Thursday night. Jeremy Corbyn ally Chris Williamson has been suspended by the Labour Party after it bowed to heavy pressure from its own MPs to take action in a row over anti-Semitism. Mr Williamson, 62, was forced to issue a grovelling apology today after footage showed him saying that the party had been 'too apologetic' over anti-Jewish abuse claims. Furious Labour MPs led by deputy leader Tom Watson had demanded he lose the whip after the party announced an investigation into his behaviour. But despite the internal probe having the power to ultimately kick him out of the party, a spokesman for Jeremy Corbyn initially said he would not be suspended while it was carried out. After this prompted a wave of criticism, a Labour Party spokesman this afternoon said: 'Chris Williamson is suspended from the Party, and therefore the whip, pending investigation.' Mr Williamson told Sky News: Its a process that the party is going to go through and Ill be working to clear my name. I just need to see what is being said and then Ill take it from there. Tom Watson confirms he had reported Mr Williamson and demanded he have the party whip removed Ed Miliband, who was Labour's first Jewish leader, hit out at Mr Williamson and demanded he face action from the party Backbench critics of Mr Williamson welcomed the decision, with Ilford North MP Wes Streeting saying: 'We got there eventually and I hope that this sends a message to other people in the Labour Party that dismissing or delegitimising concerns about antisemitism isn't acceptable.' Nottingham South's Lilian Greenwood added: 'Glad that our Party leadership has finally done the right thing but I won't be singing along to Kool & the Gang tonight. 'The damage done to our Party's reputation & our relationship with the Jewish community is shameful.' The Board of Deputies of British Jews said Mr Williamson's suspension was 'the right decision, if long overdue' and praised MPs including Mr Watson for putting pressure on the party leadership. Labour MPs who had criticised the earlier decision not to suspend Mr Williamson welcomed the party's later change of heart But there were also fears raised that the time it had taken for the party to act had damaged the party's reputation, including among Jews The decision to initially not suspend Mr Williamson had been attacked by backbenchers, with Hull North's Diana Johnson pointing out that who said 'in the past Labour MPs have been suspended for much less'. Mr Watson earlier said Mr Williamson's apology had been 'long-winded' and that he would have already lost the party whip 'if it was in my gift'. Mr Williamson said at a Momentum event in Sheffield that Labour 'backed off too much', following the resignation of nine MPs last week, some of whom cited growing anti-Semitism within the party. He even admitted he toasted the resignation of fellow MP Joan Ryan - who slammed the party for failing to tackle 'anti-Jewish racism' - with a rendition of the 80s hit 'Celebration' by Kool and the Gang. Chris Williamson made a grovelling online apology on Wednesday after Labour MPs lined up to attack his comments In a statement Mr Williamson today said he had been a life-long campaign against racism, saying: 'I deeply regret, and apologise for, my recent choice of words when speaking about how the Labour Party has responded to the ongoing fight against anti-Semitism inside of our party. 'I was trying to stress how much the party has done to tackle anti-Semitism. 'Our movement can never be 'too apologetic' about racism within our ranks.' Mr Corbyn's spokesman welcomed the apology, which the party had already demanded he make for 'deeply offensive and inappropriate' comments. But the apology did not seem to placate unhappy Labour MPs. Hull MP Diana Johnson was one of those distinctly unimpressed with the Labour leadership's response to the latest controversy involving Mr Williamson Mr Watson, who has been increasingly vocal in recent days about anti-Semitism, tweeted: 'It is not good enough. If it was in my gift I would have removed the whip from him already.' And shadow defence secretary Nia Griffiths led a host of other Labour MPs who have have demanded Mr Williamson's suspension or removal of the party whip. Former party leader Ed Miliband, a secular Jew, condemned Mr Williamson's actions and accused him of bringing the party into 'disrepute', suggesting 'disciplinary action' be taken. Earlier Theresa May had waded into the row at Prime Minister's Questions, adding her voice to calls for his suspension. Minutes after he posted the apology Mrs May told the Commons: 'You can never be too apologetic about anti-Semitism, but I think ... what we've heard sums up Labour under their leader. 'They lose (Luciana Berger) and they keep (Mr Williamson). It tells you all you need to know about the Labour leadership: present but not involved.' Mr Williamson's remarks heap more pressure on Jeremy Corbyn, pictured leaving his home on Wednesday, to take action to address the anti-Semitism crisis that is overshadowing the party Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, branded the apology 'half-hearted' and suggested it looked as if it was 'written by someone else'. 'Today we have submitted a formal complaint to the Labour Party,' she said. 'Jeremy Corbyn must remove the whip at once if he wants to retain the faintest image of himself as an anti-racist. 'Anything less removes any semblance of leadership and reveals only the most naked moral cowardice.' But not everyone was criticising Mr Williamson, with a hashtag #istandwithchriswilliamson attracting support for him. George Galloway, the former Labour MP, warned Mr Corbyn that he was allowing his 'entire history and reputation' to be 'destroyed', adding: 'If you allow those who want your throat to take @DerbyChrisW (Chris Williamson) by his it really will be the end and that would be a tragedy.' The release of the video came little more than a week after nine MPs quite Labour, with eight linking up with Tory rebels in the Independent Group. They included several Jewish Labour politicians including Luciana Berger, who blasted Jeremy Corbyn's response to the avalanche of anti-Semitism they had faced from party members. Ian Austin, whose adoptive father was Jewish, also quit saying he was 'ashamed' of what Labour had become under Jeremy Corbyn. Labour MPs have demanded that Mr Williamson face serious repercussions in the wake of comments about Labour being 'too apologetic' about anti-Semitism claims Shadow defence minister Nia Griffiths joined her backbench colleagues in demanding that Williamson's comments not go unpunished The video has reignited the anti-Semitism row that has engulfed the party in recent years under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership Labour MP Chris Williamson addresses the Momentum meeting Sheffield, where he tells members that the party has been 'too apologetic' over accusations of anti-Semitism Labour MP Chris Williamson (pictured left with his close ally Jeremy Corbyn during the 2017 election campaign) said at a Momentum event in Sheffield tonight that the party 'backed off too much', following the resignation of eight MPs last week In a move that will do nothing to dispel the feeling that Corbyn's Labour has so far failed to take the claims seriously, Mr Williamson joked that Ms Ryan would likely have heard his singing as her parliamentary office is near to his In the footage recorded by Yorkshire Post reporter Liz Bates, Mr Williamson is heard telling the meeting: 'The party that has done more to stand up to racism is now being demonised as a racist, bigoted party. 'I have got to say I think our party's response has been partly responsible for that because in my opinion we have backed off too much, we have given too much ground, we have been too apologetic.' In a move that will do nothing to dispel the feeling that Corbyn's Labour has so far failed to take the claims seriously, Mr Williamson joked that Ms Ryan would likely have heard his singing as her parliamentary office is near to his. Ms Ryan quit Labour last week following the earlier resignations of seven of her colleagues, to form a new Independent Group of MPs. Speaking at the time she blamed a 'culture of anti-Semitism' within Labour for her departure. Mr Williamson's comments come as the leader of Momentum admitted that Labour had 'under-estimated' anti-Semitism in its ranks and has a 'much larger' number of racist members than previously thought. Jon Lansman, who founded the hard-left campaign group out of Jeremy Corbyn's first leadership campaign, said Labour had to be more proactive to find anti-Semites. Labour deputy leader Tom Watson described Mr Williamson as being 'deliberately inflammatory', in a tweet following the emergence of the footage But he rejected claims from Labour deputy leader Tom Watson that Mr Corbyn should take personal charge of the fight to root out abuse. Mr Watson yesterday sent a dossier of 50 new complaints about anti-Semitism to Mr Corbyn. Labour's deputy leader has become the focus of resistance to Mr Corbyn after eight MPs quit the party over anti-Semitism to set up the new Independent Group. Former Labour MP Joan Ryan, Enfield North Mr Watson has moved to create a new group inside Labour to promote the 'social democrat' tradition represented by many MPs who do not endorse Mr Corbyn's far left-wing agenda. Meanwhile, Labour has declined to comment on reports that Mr Corbyn is to meet former justice secretary Lord Falconer of Thoroton to discuss how the party can tackle the issue of anti-Semitism. Mr Corbyn was said to be considering asking the peer, a former flatmate of Tony Blair, to be the party's anti-Semitism surveillance commissioner, with full oversight of how it handles complaints and decision-making processes. Mr Lansman - who is himself Jewish - told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he was 'extremely upset' by Ms Berger's departure, adding: 'I think any Jewish member of the party leaving the party because of anti-Semitism is a source of tremendous regret and sadness and some shame.' He rejected Ms Berger's claim that the party is 'institutionally anti-Semitic'. But he said: 'I do think we have a major problem and it always seems to me that we under-estimate the scale of it. I think it is a widespread problem. 'I think it is now obvious that we have a much larger number of people with hardcore anti-Semitic opinions which unfortunately is polluting the atmosphere in a lot of constituency parties and in particular online. We have to deal with these people.' A retired New York police officer who helped deliver a baby while on overnight duty in 1994 has launched an online campaign to find her. Angel Maysonet has appealed to the public for help in tracking down the baby, now a 24 or 25-year-old woman, saying he wants to make sure she's doing OK. The only clues are an old photograph of Maysonet with the newborn and an address in Marmion Avenue, Bronx where he and his partner James Bennett helped bring her into the world on a hot summer night in the mid-90s. NYPD detective Angel Maysonet, right, with the baby he had just helped deliver in 1994 That night, which the former detective says was one of the highlights of his career, Maysonet and Bennett responded to a 911 call at around 4am for a woman in labor. Maysonet and Bennett, who were both in their 20s, climbed six flights of stairs to the apartment and tried to reassure the pregnant woman before emergency medical services arrived. Angel Maysonet describes the birth as one of the highlights of his career But there was no time to waste. 'She was not crowning the way she should,' Maysonet told the NY Post. 'So, I got in there, turned the baby and pulled the baby out.' He helped to safely deliver the little girl in front of her mother's sister and three or four of her older siblings. The baby's aunt fetched two clothing pins to clamp the umbilical cord. 'She was wrapped up in this blanket to keep her warm, and she looked like a little burrito,' he told the Post. NYPD shared a photo of the heartwarming moment, taken by Bennett, asking for the public's help in reconnecting the pair. The now-retired officer has sought the public's help in tracking down the girl, now 24 or 25, and wants to check in to see how she is doing NYPD shared the photograph, taken on a disposable camera by Maysonet's partner James Bennett, along with this message appealing to the public for help reuniting the two 'Help us reunite them!,' the department wrote on Monday. 'In 1994, Detective Maysonet delivered a beautiful baby girl on Marmion Ave in the Bronx. 'Helping ensure she was safely delivered has always been one of the highlights of this retired detective's career. 25 years later, he's still wondering how she's doing.' A young couple shared a clip of their rescue dog seeing grass for the first time - and the results are adorable. Chloe Henley and Alex Jewkes, 23 and 27, said they fell in love with mongrel street puppy Peso while on holiday in El Nido in the Philippines in January, after they saw him tied to a lamp post and crying out. 'He was so hesitant to begin with,' said Jewkes, 'he'd only been on rubble before so I'm not quite sure what he thought of grass.' The couple from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, took the puppy in and spent months nursing him back to health - and now are determined to raise 3,500 to bring him to the UK to join them. Peso rolled happily in the grass after a much-needed bath and food. The couple have named him Peso, after the 21 Pesos they paid for when they bought some pork for him 'When we first saw Peso, he tried to run away from us,' said Jewkes, 'he was so scared' Henley and Jewkes, who were visiting the country earlier this year, very nearly missed spotting the dog, but heard his cries as they were about to leave their hostel. They said he was afraid and neglected. 'When we first saw Peso, he tried to run away from us,' said Jewkes. 'He was so scared, but I picked him up and gave him a big cuddle and he suddenly calmed down.' The couple then asked the owner if they could have the dog. He laughed, they said, and told them they could have Peso for free. The couple asked Peso's previous owner if they could have the dog. He laughed in response Chloe Henley and Alex Jewkes, 23 and 27, said they fell in love with mongrel street puppy Peso after they saw him tied to a lamp post and crying out - they took him in and gave him a bath. They then went to the local market to buy the hungry dog some food 'We gave him some food, water and a quick bath but he was in a terrible state, he had awful fleas and looked horrendous,' Henley said of the small mongrel dog. She and her boyfriend took the pup to a veterinarian, who found that Peso was half the weight he should have been Blood tests also found that the dog's red blood cell count was very low They then took the pup to a veterinarian, who found that Peso was half the weight he should have been as well as severely malnourished and dehydrated. Blood tests also found that his red blood cell count was very low. 'He was tied to a post and was surrounded by glass, rubble and old cans,' said Henley. 'We gave him some food, water and a quick bath but he was in a terrible state, he had awful fleas and looked horrendous.' 'He was exhausted, he walked 10 steps and then collapsed,' she said. They decided to call him Peso, after the 21 Pesos they paid for when they bought some pork for him. The couple, who are currently still in the Philippines, are now planning to bring Peso back the UK and are raising money on GoFundMe to cover the travel costs. The small puppy gradually warmed to the British couple who took him in The couple are currently still in the Philippines. They are in the process of raising money on a GoFundMe page in the hope they can bring Peso back to the UK with them In order to travel abroad, the pooch will need to have a rabies vaccine and wait 30 days The puppy named Peso has come a long way from the rubbish-strewn yard where he was found But in order to travel abroad, the pooch has to have a rabies vaccine and wait 30 days while the results are checked. When the couples' visas expire at the end of February they will have to return to the UK with Peso's blood test results and bring these back to an approved British lab. They will then have to travel back to the Philippines on a different visa to pick up the dog, if the tests reveal no sign of disease. 'We can't wait to make Peso part of our lives,' said Henley. You can donate to their GoFundMe page here 'We can't wait to make Peso part of our lives,' said Henley. The couple hope he'll join them in the UK, and become a permanent feature in their home A treat in his mouth, Peso has received veterinary care and is flea-free Shocking high tech tactics used by gangs to steal cars in the UK have been revealed in this video showing the theft of a 25,000 BMW in less than 60 seconds. Footage filmed by CCTV in Edgware highlighted the use of the so-called 'relay technique' which is hitting expensive car owners across London. Thieves can be seen using a transmitter to pick up a signal from a car's key fob, which is often inside a home using an aerial. Once connected they can open the car doors, start the engine, and be gone in sixty seconds. The BMW 5 Series was one of scores of cars stolen while owners sleep just metres away Owner, Samir Shah, 50, told the Evening Standard car manufacturers should be taking action. He said: 'They used a scanning machine and it looks like it picked up the signal from the spare key. I was fast asleep and these guys were quiet because there is sound on the video but you don't hear a thing other than the engine. I found out when I woke in the morning For all I know the car could already be out of the country. It's gut-wrenching.' He added: 'Car manufacturers are aware of the problem but what action are they taking?' The footage shows how one man drives away after another walks from the property. The theft was one of at least four in the area in three days. The tactic involves picking up signal with an aerial from the key inside the house Official figures show the number of cars reported stolen to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in 2017 rose to 43,308 up almost 9,000 since 2016. Yet crime surveys from the Office for National Statistics suggest the true figure is even higher, with 89,000 vehicles stolen in England and Wales last year. In certain areas, such as the West Midlands, car theft has soared by 80 per cent. Insurers paid out a record 271 million in theft claims in the first nine months of this year, says the Association for British Insurers, with keyless theft the 'main driver'. So-called 'relay' theft occurs when two thieves work together to break into keyless cars. They use equipment to capture electromagnetic signals emitted by keyfobs. One thief stands by the car with a transmitter, while the other stands by the house with another, which picks up the signal from the electronic key, usually kept near the front door on a table or hook. Other cars have been stolen using the keyless car 'relay' method across the UK Footage of a BMW 5 Series being stolen from a driveway in Edgware, London Thieves stole the car in less than one minute on February 16 In London, the figure rose from 1,795 in October 2013 to 3,144 in October last year. A Met spokesman said the theft of the BMW was being investigated. No arrests have been made. Richard Billyeald, vehicle security expert at Thatcham Research, said: 'Keyless entry systems on cars offer convenience to drivers, but can in some situations be exploited by criminals. 'Concerned drivers should contact their dealer for information and guidance, and follow our simple security steps. 'We are working closely with the police and vehicle manufacturers to address this vulnerability, continuing our approach that has driven vehicle crime down 80 per cent from its peak in 1992.' A man on the run from authorities did the work for police after managing to get himself stuck on a fence by his underwear. Police were called to a suburban Adelaide street just before 3am on Wednesday after a witness reported someone smashing windows at a house under construction. The witness yelled out, which caused the suspect to run away, however, he didn't get very far. A man on the run from authorities did the hard work for police after managing to get himself stuck on a fence by his underwear (stock image) Officers searched the area and spotted a suspect nearby, who ran off when the patrol approached. They lost sight of him, but he was soon found him dangling upside down from a six-foot fence by his underwear. It appears the man had become caught while trying to jump the fence. The 23-year-old from Seaton in Adelaide's south was arrested and charged with unlawfully on premises, breach of bail, and carry offensive weapon after a knife was found in his pocket. Investigations into the property damage are continuing. He was bailed to appear in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court at a later date. Anyone who sees or hears any suspicious activity on building sites, vacant premises, businesses or schools is encouraged to call the police assistance line on 131 444. A Good Samaritan who bought a freezing Girl Scout troop's entire $540 supply of cookies has been arrested on drug dealing charges just days after a photo of him posing with two of the young girls went viral. Detric Lee McGowan, 46, was arrested in South Carolina on Tuesday by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency on multiple charges including conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine. His arrest came after he appeared in a photo with two young Girl Scouts on Friday that has garnered thousands of views and shares online. McGowan was widely praised for buying 121 boxes of cookies so the girls could get out of the freezing cold. The original Facebook post praising McGowan was deleted on Tuesday following news of his arrest. Detric Lee McGowan, 46, was arrested in South Carolina on Tuesday on drug charges just days after his photo went viral for buying a freezing Girl Scout troop's entire $540 supply of cookies An indictment said McGowan, also known as 'Fat,' was one of several suspects in an ongoing drug investigation. McGowan and 10 other people are accused of conspiring to import drugs from Mexico in late 2018. He is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to import controlled substances, conspiracy to commit bulk cash smuggling, interstate travel and transportation in aid of drug trafficking business, possession with intent to distribute and distribution of heroin, maintaining a drug-involved premise, conspiracy to structure transactions to evade reporting requirement, and three counts of unlawful use of a communication facility. The U.S. Attorney's Office said authorities are still searching for one of the suspects. McGowan is being held at a Spartanburg County detention center. The vice president of recruitment and marketing for Girl Scouts of South Carolina-Mountains to Midlands, Karen Kelly, said the organization will cooperate with authorities. Kayla Dillard, one of the scout troop's leaders, had earlier paid tribute to McGowan in a Facebook post, saying he was an 'amazing soul'. The Facebook post was deleted following news of McGowan's arrest She said the organization had no reason to believe McGowan was 'anything other than one of our valuable customers' when he purchased the cookies outside a supermarket in Greenville last Friday. 'Nobody was hurt. Nobody was threatened. We had no reason to believe that this man was anything other than one of our valuable customers that is helping Girl Scouts power awesome experiences through the Girl Scout Cookie Program,' she said. 'This is now in the hands of law enforcement and of course we will cooperate with authorities.' At the time, he had been hailed as a kind-hearted man for buying the troop's entire cookie supply. The girls had been offering the snacks in near-freezing 34F conditions when he came to their rescue. Kayla Dillard, one of the leaders of Troop 1574, had praised him in a Facebook post, calling him an 'amazing soul'. 'This man purchased seven packs of cookies. Gave the girls $40, told them to keep the change,' he said. 'Then he came back to the table and said 'pack up all of your cookies. I'm taking them all so y'all can get out of this cold. '$540 he spent on cookies. What an amazing soul!' Shocking footage has emerged of a vicious WWE style brawl between a McDonald's security guard and a male customer. In the astonishing clip, the McDonald's employee relentlessly beats the customer with a dustpan and brush and slams him across the head with the cleaning utensil as onlookers cheer them on. It is believed that the incident took place last week in the McDonald's restaurant in crime-hit Dale End, Birmingham, UK. Last Wednesday, police officers were called to the McDonald's after reports of a fight which left with a woman with a facial injury. However West Midlands Police were unable to connect the video to this incident. The Dale End branch has a reputation as one of the roughest McDonald's in Birmingham - with an average of 48 crimes being reported to police every month and a massive 576 incident recorded between May 2017 and April 2018. The McDonald's restaurant has been so beset with violence that yesterday Dale End customers were being screened through a temporary knife arch. A McDonald's security guard hits a punter with a dust pan and brush, as the punter swings punches at the guard outside McDonald's in Dale End, Birmingham The mobile-phone footage begins by showing a dustpan-and-brush wielding security guard and a male customer fighting outside the entrance of the McDonald's. Screaming bystanders can be heard cheering the pair on as they brawl. The security guard then hurls the dustpan through the air and violently slams the patron across the head with the cleaning utensil in a move similar to the infamous WWE chair shot which sees opponents hit each other around the face with furniture. The McDonald's employee then repeatedly hits the customer across his head and chest with the dustpan and brush - as the man cowers in pain. Man seen holding dust pan and brush in bizarre fight stance outside McDonald's However the customer soon retaliates and he starts punching and wrestling the security guard. Eventually the McDonald's employee manages to hold the customer back and pushes him towards the restaurant window. The customer continues trying to throw blows at the security guard before the footage cuts to an end. It is unknown who filmed the footage but he can be heard commenting 'They're having a straightener!'. The clip surfaced on social media this weekend and individuals were alarmed by the casual violence outside the popular fast food restaurant. @chillxkartel expressed his shock at the fight: 'F*cking WWE out in these streets' @ukdrillupdates wrote 'I swear its always mcdonalds where madtings happen' Meanwhile @_jason_lane commented 'Mac Donald's dale end Brum needs closing down ffs lol when I finish work at night I avoid walking past like [sic]' The Dale End McDonald's made headlines in October last year when three people were stabbed outside the restaurant. Police outside McDonald's in Dale End, Birmingham last Wednesday. Dale End is a troublesome area of Birmingham city centre. Police erected a temporary knife arch (metal detector) in the restaurant after a stabbing further up the street An 'upskirter' was caught red-handed after he put his camera phone in a shopping basket and tried to secretly film an off-duty police officer in Tesco. Donald Cooper, 67, followed the female detective round the aisles of the store and attempted to record a video up her skirt as she was shopping with her daughter. When the woman realised she was being followed and spotted the camera in his basket, she detained him and he was arrested. Police then found further clips on two mobile phones belonging to him. Cooper, of Thornbury in South Gloucestershire, appeared at Bristol Magistrates Court on Tuesday. Donald Cooper (pictured as he left Bristol Magistrates Court) followed the female detective round the aisles of Tesco and attempted to record a video up her skirt He indicated guilty pleas to eight charges of outraging public decency between May 2016 and July 2017, as well as 100 offences to be taken into consideration. Cooper told police: 'I admit to doing it. It's my fault, I'm a lonely man, my wife has been away so long.' Lucy Coleman, prosecuting, told magistrates Cooper faced eight charges of 'upskirting', filming women under their skirts in public without their knowledge. She said: 'He was caught in the act by a victim. She was a police officer and she was concerned about him following her. 'His basket was on the floor and his phone was in there with the camera facing upwards. She confronted him, she was there with her daughter.' Police analysed two mobile phones belonging to him and found further clips, the court heard. Miss Coleman added: 'This is persistent, repeated behaviour over 12 months, a complete invasion of the privacy of the people he has filmed. 'It is humiliating, it is done in a public place and a child was present.' What is the law around 'upskirting'? Taking pictures up a woman's skirt is set to become a criminal offence in the spring - with perverts found guilty of the crime facing up to two years in prison. Upskirting sees perpetrators taking photographs or videos of a victim's groin area from under their clothing, without that person's knowledge. A new law which bans 'upskirting' passed its final legal hurdle in January when it received its third reading in the Upper Chamber of the House of Lords. The upskirting bill will now become part of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and cover England and Wales. It is already a crime in Scotland. Advertisement She said the matter should be sent to the crown court for sentence. It carries a maximum custodial term of two years. Tony Miles, defending, said: 'This will be a guilty plea. The question is, to what do we plead guilty? 'There are 100 TICs [taken into considerations] which I need to consider very carefully. 'This is a guilty plea but there is a great deal of background. I am considering a medical report, which will take time to obtain.' Cooper was released on unconditional bail, to be seen before Bristol Crown Court for sentencing on March 27. He declined to comment as he left the court. After the hearing the policewoman who reported him told Bristol Live: 'I detained him and called the police because I had my daughter with me. 'It was a difficult situation for me to manage. My concern was for my children.' Upskirting involves perpetrators using cameras to take images or video up victims' clothing without their consent, to see their underwear or genitals. In January 2019, the House of Lords approved a ban on upskirting - the taking of a non-consensual photo of another person's genitals. Under the new legislation - which received Royal assent in the House of Lords this month - police will be able to arrest people on suspicion of upskirting from April, and perpetrators could be jailed for up to two years. A woman who killed her husband with a hammer after decades of rape and abuse wiped away tears from behind bars today, as she launched a 'landmark' appeal to her murder conviction. Sally Challen, whose real name is Georgina, bludgeoned her husband Richard, 61, to death at the couple's 1million Surrey home in 2010 by hitting him 20 times with the weapon as he ate breakfast. She was jailed for 22 years in 2011, which was later reduced to 18 on appeal. But Challen, who turns 65 today, is now fighting for freedom with the support of her two sons David, 31, and James, 35 - by using a new law which was introduced four years after she was convicted. Her lawyers argue she was driven to kill her husband after enduring 40 years of psychological and physical abuse, including rape, at his hands after they first met when she was 15 and he was 22. Experts told a hearing at the Court of Appeal in London today that a new law on 'coercive control' would mean she would only be guilty of manslaughter today. The offence applies to behaviour that threatens, isolates or makes a person dependent through actions such as constant insults, destruction of property and cutting them off from friends and family. Domestic violence expert Professor Evan Stark even told the court coercive control can leave a person 'trapped' and feeling like a 'prisoner of war', although he admitted he had not been involved in Challen's case. But another expert who did work with Challen said he did not believe she was suffering from any mental disorder at the time of the offence. Sally Challen, pictured in a court sketch, wiped away tears as she appeared via videolink from prison at the Court of Appeal today in a landmark challenge against her murder conviction Challen, right, 65, was jailed for 22 years for murdering her husband Richard, left, 61, with a hammer in August 2010 but her sons David, 31, and James, 35, claim she was the victim of decades of abuse including rape and psychological torment by their father Pictured: Challen and her husband on their wedding day. The couple's sons said their mother was subjected to years of controlling behaviour A huge crowd gathered outside the court in London today, pictured, to demand Challen be freed by the judges This morning Challen's son David joined domestic violence protesters outside court, saying his mother had been 'let down by society'. He said she should have been afforded more protection as a victim of abuse, claiming living 40 years in a 'pressure cooker' drove her to kill. He joined by protesters from Justice for Women outside the Court of Appeal this morning where she could be freed if judges decided she should have been convicted of manslaughter. Last March she was granted the right to challenge the conviction, leading to today's hearing. The campaigners say new psychiatric evidence shows 'coercive control' was responsible for her actions following the decades of abuse. Coercive control became a legal defence in 2015 but was therefore not available to Challen at her trial in June 2011. On the day of his death, Mr Challen, 61, had told his wife she should not interrupt him when he was talking, not talk to strangers and quit smoking as part of an agreement drawn up to salvage their marriage. But she battered him to death with a hammer after suspecting he was having an affair with a woman he met on the dating website Dinner Dates, jurors had heard. After killing her husband she wrapped up his body in a carpet and then drove it to Beachy Head the next day, where she was talked out of killing herself. She denied murder on grounds of diminished responsibility but was handed a life sentence. Dr Paul Gilluley, a forensic psychiatrist who assessed Mrs Challen twice on behalf of the prosecution in 2011, told the court he still does not believe she was suffering a mental disorder when she killed her husband. 'Driven to kill': The brutal killing that shocked suburbia Richard Challen, 61, was sitting down to eat breakfast when his wife Sally bludgeoned him in the head 20 times with a hammer at their 1million Surrey home. The mother of two then stuffed a cloth in his mouth to stop him breathing, wrapped his body in an old curtain and left a note saying 'I love you, Sally'. It brought to an end a tumultuous marriage during which their sons claimed their father subjected her to decades of abuse, including rape. The couple met when she was just 15 and he was 22, and soon married. But Challen accused her husband of cheating and even once caught him in a brothel, despite his claims she was 'mad'. Although she left him several times, shortly before his death she asked him to take her back. He agreed on condition she signed a humiliating postnuptial agreement with clauses that stripped her of financial assets, banned her from smoking and prevented her from 'interrupting him'. Her sons claim it was such controlling behaviour that drove their mother to kill him. But at her trial prosecutors claimed she acted out of jealousy after learning he was seeing a woman from an online dating site. Although she denied murder claiming diminished responsibility, she was found guilty in June 2011 and was jailed for life a month later. Advertisement And drama unfolded briefly as Dr Gilluley treated a woman who collapsed in the public gallery, causing Challen to become upset and a short adjournment in the hearing. On the case, Dr Gilluley said: 'At the relevant time it is my opinion that she was not suffering any mental disorder at the time of the offence. 'This was based on her own account and from others about how she was doing in her day to day functioning.' He told the court that personality disorders are usually first seen in late teens and early adulthood. He said that a personality disorder would not be diagnosable from a single relationship. The doctor said: 'If it was pervasive it would pervade a number of other relationships as well. 'I don't find symptoms of mania that unusual when someone has been incarcerated in late life and suddenly are put in a situation where they have communal living and restrictions put upon them.' The doctor told the court that Challen then had short manic episodes in prison. He said: 'Mrs Challen's manic episodes were very brief. 'Four weeks in the first episode and two weeks in the second episode. 'My impression of the episodes themselves is that they were not severe. 'Usually if they are severe there would be a a referral made for an assessment to be made by an outside hospital.' Clare Wade, QC, representing Sally Challen asked Dr Gilluley about coercive control. He said: 'It is a behavioural strategy and not a mental disorder. I don't want to stray from my area of expertise. 'Abuse of any sort will ultimately affect people mentally. Did I feel there any mental disorder at the time of the offence? I have stated no. 'Looking at PTSD, which I did at the time, I could not find any diagnostic evidence of it at the time. The court heard that Dr Gilluley was not aware of coercive control in 2011. But he explained he was aware of the kind of domestic abuse that coercive control as a concept describes. He said: 'I was certainly aware of how abuse can happen in a relationship and does not require to just be physical abuse but also mental abuse.' In a psychiatric report dealing with one of Mrs Challen's manic episodes the author also made a reference to the Archers storyline in which Helen Archer stabs her controlling husband Tom, although this happened six years after Challen killed her husband. Mr Challen, left, said the appeal was an opportunity for the court to recognise the 'lifetime of abuse' his mother suffered and how she was 'driven to' commit her actions Her trial previously heard Challen killed her husband shortly after he made her agree a postnuptial agreement that stripped her of financial assets and banned her from smoking. The couple are pictured together here David, pictured left, joined protesters from Justice for Women outside the Court of Appeal today where judges will decide whether Challen should have been convicted of manslaughter, which could lead to her freedom David, pictured left outside court, also appeared on Good Morning Britain today, right, and said society had 'let his mother down' as a victim of domestic abuse Ms Wade read part of the report which said: 'I wonder if she has been listening to this programme on Radio 4 about the woman who has been brainwashed by her husband and ends up attempting to kill him.' In the long running radio show Helen Archer goes on trial but is finally cleared of attempted murder and wounding with intent after the jury concluded her actions were justified after suffering years of coercion at the hands of her husband. Turning to Dr Gilluley the barrister clarified: 'The significance of The Archers story is that it was about coercive control.' The doctor agreed: 'It was also about a woman who attempted to kill her husband.' Prof Stark, a retired forensic social worker and an expert in domestic violence, gave expert evidence to the court on the topic of coercive control. Drama in court room as member of the public collapses The hearing of Sally Challen took a dramatic turn today after a woman in the public gallery collapsed while evidence was being given. Forensic psychiatrist Dr Paul Gilluley was talking about his theories on Challen's mental state when a man shouted asking if there was a doctor in the building. The case was briefly adjourned and the doctor rushed from the witness box to tend to the unconscious woman. As court staff arrived he ran back to his podium saying 'I better get back for the evidence.' A fifteen minute adjournment ensued. It is understood the woman was not seriously ill but Challen, who was appearing via videolink, did become visibly upset by the drama. Advertisement Prof Stark said he has never met Mrs Challen and was only permitted to give expert evidence about coercive control. He said: 'We believe that coercive control is a model of abuse which we believe more accurately depicts the actual experience that women and children have.' He defined coercive control for the court. He said: 'It achieves compliance by making victims afraid. Depriving them of rights, resources, and liberties without which they can't defend themselves. 'It induces a hostage like condition of entrapment, in some ways similar to that induced in a prisoner of war.' He told the court that one of the signs of coercive control is isolation. He said: 'Cutting her off from friends, family, coworkers, associates. 'Isolation so that the only sense of reality is from the person abusing you.' The court heard that another feature of coercive control is gaslighting - persistent manipulation during a relationship. Prof Stark said: 'It is used to refer to the idea that partners in coercive control play little tricks to make the person they are living with go crazy. 'It is a terrible experience, it drives people insane.' He told the court that another element of coercive control is financial control. He said: 'Placing limits on funds and withdrawal, as well as using money as a mean to manipulate.' Prof Stark said the effects of domestic abuse were psychological as well as physical. He said: 'Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury in which women seek medical help in the US. 'What we then realised is that even though injury was significant, it was not far and away the most significant health problem. David said his father, right, started mentally abusing his mother shortly after they met more than 40 years ago when she was 15 and he was 22 'We found that the women who were abused were many times more likely to be depressed and to attempt suicide. 'It turned out to be the leading context in which women attempted suicide.' Dr Tim Exworthy, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, told the High Court he gave evidence about about the state of the marriage during her trial in 2011. He told the court that he had met Mrs Challen on three occasions and said: 'I had access to her GP records from 1970 to July 2010. 'I picked up that the relationship had been generally good, but she related an episode dated from 1987. She was concerned about her husband's infidelity. 'She said she challenged her husband as to where he had been and he simply replied he was' not prepared to discuss it'. Referring to the physical side of their relationship, Dr Exworthy said: 'She told me that their sex life was fine. 'She said that he decided when sexual activity took place and that it was always on his terms and that it was satisfactory, but only sometimes. 'She said she would do anything to make him happy and to avoid arguments. She said he was not an attentive father and had opted out.' Dr Exworthy told the court that from their meetings he concluded Mrs Challen suffered from depressive disorder. But he said he was not aware of the concept of coercive control in 2011. The psychiatrist said he was not aware of Ms Challen suffering any manic episodes when he wrote his initial report stating that he believed her to suffer from a depressive disorder. He said: 'When I saw Mrs Challen before the trial the only episode she referred to was of a depressive nature. What is coercive control and when did it become a new law? In 2015 it became an offence under UK law to subject someone to 'coercive control'. The offence is defined as when someone with a personal connection makes one feel controlled, dependent, isolated or scared and causes a 'serious effect'. Examples of such behaviour include isolating a person from friends and family, monitoring a person's movements, controlling their money, continuous verbal abuse, threats of violence and damaging property. A serious effect is defined as having substantially impacted a person's daily life, changing the way they live or causing them to feel threatened by violence. The offence came into force in December 2015. Although a person who committed coercive control before then cannot be charged with it, it can be used to show bad character and support a general case of abuse. Advertisement 'However, afterwards I read in her prison records of two accounts similar to that of manic episodes.' He told the court that a reason why he had not noticed a personality disorder at the time was because some personality disorders are not as 'overt' as others. He said: 'I think that there are a number of personality disorders that are not as overt as other types of personality disorders. 'I think the concept of coercive control helps to understand how that can develop.' The court was told Dr Exworthy had conceded at the 2011 trial that any mental disorder Ms Challen may have had must have been mild as she was highly functional at the time of the killing - the earliest recorded hypomanic episode that she had suffered was in 2014. But he believed that the concept of coercive control would have been useful at the time. Dr Exworthy added: 'The link between personality disorder and coercive control, I think that there would be a link, an interplay, between the two.' Meanwhile David appeared on Good Morning Britain today and said society had let his mother down as a victim of domestic abuse and that she should have had the defence of coercive control. He said: 'As a society we let her down. We let victims of domestic violence down as well. 'She should have been afforded protections. If we all had that language she wouldn't be in this position. We lost a father as well people forget that. We all acknowledge, could we have done more? 'Without the language you feel helpless I felt helpless for eight years. We haven't had the language to give examples. 'Our mother deserve the right to freedom she never had that right it was stolen from her. As sons we deserve rights to the recognition of the acts that led to our father's death. We have to recognise that.' At her trial the prosecution said Challen, pictured left on her wedding day and right with her husband, was driven by jealousy over possible infidelity Speaking to Sky News, David added he became aware of his father's abuse as he reached his teens. He said: 'I could see his mind was elsewhere. There was something inherently bad I felt about him even at a young age. It was such a strange feeling to have, like morally in my gut I felt that he was corrupt in some sort of way.' He added his father would 'gaslight' his mother and tell her she was 'mad' when she accused him of infidelity, even when she caught him at a brothel. David said it was also impossible to argue with his father and he was 'like Teflon' because no one could make anything 'stick' against him. Challen tried to leave him many times and even started divorce proceedings on several occasions but eventually asked him to take her back, after which he forced her to sign a 'humiliating' postnuptial agreement stripping her of financial assets and banning her from smoking. How Sally Challen's case has come to a landmark hearing August 2010: Sally Challen bludgeons husband Richard, 61, to death with a hammer. The next day she drives to Beachy Head and threatens to kill herself only to be talked out of it by a chaplain. June 2011: Challen is convicted of murder and is jailed for 22 years a month later. November 2011: Challen's sentence is reduced to 18 years on appeal. December 2015: Coercive control is established in UK law, making it an offence to make someone feel controlled, dependent, isolated or scared. It can also be used as legal defense in domestic abuse cases. March 2018: Lawyers for Challen win the right to appeal her conviction after her sons David and James campaign with Justice for Women that she was 'driven to her actions' by coercive control. February 2019: Challen's appeal begins at the Court of Appeal in London. Advertisement David added: She [Challen] is serving time for a crime. She will serve time for that crime. But that crime needs to be judged properly. She's not vengeful, she's not jealous, she was psychologically manipulated and that is what coercive control is.' Speaking before the hearing, David added: 'I've exhausted myself and my energy for what I can do as a son for my parents to get across the true understanding of what has happened. 'This affects not just our mother but thousands of victims who don't have a voice, both men and women. 'Me and my brother have spoken out, not just for our parents but for other victims too. 'We have had a lifetime of living with this and eight years trying to find the words.' Meanwhile in a joint statement ahead of the appeal, the brothers said: 'Our mother's appeal is a landmark case, the first of its kind to use coercive control as a part of a defence to murder. 'This appeal crucially provides an opportunity to recognise the lifelong abuse Sally suffered and, in the hope of understanding the cause of her actions, provides an understanding of how she was driven to take the life of our father, Richard.' At her 2011 trial at Guildford Crown Court, Challen, of Claygate, Surrey, admitted killing the former car dealer but denied murder, claiming diminished responsibility. The prosecution case was that it was the action of a jealous woman who suspected infidelity. Her lawyers will argue that, had it been available at the time, she would not have been found guilty of murder and will ask the court to overturn her conviction and substitute a manslaughter conviction in its place. Challen's solicitor Harriet Wistrich, who helped victims of rapist John Worboys successfully fight against his release by the Parole Board after just eight years in jail, said: 'Domestic violence is often visualised in the form of a woman with a black eye or broken arm. 'The concept of coercive and controlling behaviour provides a much more comprehensive picture of the combined methods of coercion and control that can lead a victim to become so subject to the bullying of another that her liberty is effectively removed. 'We are not arguing in this case that coercive control would provide a complete defence to murder, but the circumstances of a lifelong marriage amount to a form of provocation, which should reduce a murder conviction to manslaughter.' Challen, pictured with one of her sons as a child, should have been afforded more legal protection at her original trial, according toher family Her husband, pictured, subjected his wife to a 'pressure cooker' of abuse, according to his children Mr Challen, pictured, has also spoken of how he is 'exhausted' by the years of campaigning The appeal will be heard by Lady Justice Hallett, Mr Justice Sweeney and Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb and is expected to last two days. Speaking on Good Morning Britain last year, David said the history of abuse started when his mother met her husband when she was just 15. He said: 'It's important to state that my mother met my father when she was 15 and he was 22. 'Her father died when she was five and her brothers were at university at the time. So the male influence in her life was initially from my father. And parameters were set early on with an infidelity. '(He said) 'Don't make me choose between her or you Sally - my mum - because I would choose her'. So young sweetheart love - the parameters were set. 'I think 16 to 56 you've got a pressure cooker going of a world that's built around him and she only knows one relationship. And she can't diagnose it and I think a lot of people in the country are in a similar situation. 'She would try to keep track of phone records, print them out and present them to him. He would say 'you're making it up - you're going crazy'. She caught him in a brothel once, red handed, and it confirmed her beliefs. 'She said to me and my brother once, separately 'I thought I was losing touch of reality. I can see the facts right in front of me'. The 31-year-old last year told Good Morning Britain his father's abuse of his mother started shortly after she met him when she was just 15 Challen killed her husband at their 1million home in Surrey, pictured, in August 2010 'It wasn't until five years that we saw something like that happening and you could see that he was playing her. She managed to step away eventually. 'But he dangled out a post-nuptial agreement at the end which gave up all the rights to him and she knew her world all revolved around him so she was trapped. 'It was a shock, of course. I don't take away there is always going to be a love there (with my father). But the last thing I said to him was a torrent of abuse and how his words were verbally and mentally destroying my mother. 'Obviously it's been difficult. It's an alien thing to look at. She has coped as well as can be. 'The cornerstone was everything you believed with your mother you realised there and then that she missed a step in life and I think a lot of people miss that step in life when you just don't know.' Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, 39, was shot dead in front of his family by Unionist paramilitaries The family of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane has lost a Supreme Court challenge over the decision not to hold a public inquiry into his killing, but won a declaration that an effective investigation into his death has not been carried out. Mr Finucane was shot dead in front of his family in February 1989 by loyalists in an attack found to have involved collusion with the state. The 39-year-old was shot 14 times while enjoying Sunday lunch at home with his family. Speaking outside the court after the ruling, his widow Geraldine Finucane said: 'This is a historic moment. I stand before you today outside the United Kingdom Supreme Court with one simple message: we won.' She added: 'The British Government now knows that it cannot conceal the truth any longer. They have now been told this by the highest court in the land. 'It is time for the murder of Pat Finucane to be properly and publicly investigated in a public inquiry. Nothing less will suffice.' She previously said the Government unlawfully 'reneged' on a promise to hold a public inquiry into the killing - one of the most notorious of the Troubles - when former prime minister David Cameron instead ordered an independent review. An investigation by former UN war crimes prosecutor Sir Desmond de Silva QC found 'shocking' levels of state collusion involving the army, police and MI5, but ruled out an 'overarching state conspiracy'. This morning, just over 30 years on from her husband's murder, the Supreme Court in London ruled that Mrs Finucane had been given 'an unequivocal undertaking to hold a public inquiry into Mr Finucane's death'. But, the court ruled, the 'change of heart on the part of the government' was made in good faith. Geraldine and John Finucane, the widow and son of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, arrive at the Supreme Court in central London Giving the judgment of the court, Lord Kerr found that the decision not to hold a public inquiry into the murder was a matter for the Government's 'political judgment'. He also dismissed Mrs Finucane's contention that the decision was predetermined, stating: 'There is simply no sustainable evidence that the process by which the decision was taken was a sham or that the outcome was predetermined.' But the court also ruled that the de Silva review was not compliant with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which required the investigation to be provided with 'the means where, if they can be, suspects are identified and, if possible, brought to account'. Lord Kerr declared that there has not been an effective investigation into Mr Finucane's murder, but added: 'It does not follow that a public inquiry of the type which (Mrs Finucane) seeks must be ordered. 'It is for the state to decide... what form of investigation, if indeed any is now feasible, is required in order to meet that requirement.' John Finucane speaking at St Mary's University College Belfast earlier this month at an event to mark the 30th Anniversary of the death of his father. The family has been fighting to expose the full facts of the case for three decades At a hearing in June, Barry Macdonald QC said Mr Finucane was a victim of 'a policy of systemic extra-judicial execution that was as cynical and sinister as can be imagined'. He told the Supreme Court that 'loyalist terrorist organisations were infiltrated, resourced and manipulated in order to murder individuals identified by the army and the police as suitable for assassination'. Mr Macdonald said this policy was 'widened' to include lawyers such as Mr Finucane, who represented a number of high-profile republicans. He concluded: 'The police, the army and the security service, MI5, are all implicated in a policy that entailed identifying lawyers with their clients and legitimising them as targets for assassination.' He added: 'In other words, state-sponsored terrorism.' Left to right, Piaras, Michael, Katherine, Geraldine and John Finucane outside the Supreme Court in London in June (Kirsty OConnor/PA) Former prime minister David Cameron decided not to hold a public inquiry into the murder, but instead ordered an investigation by former UN war crimes prosecutor Sir Desmond de Silva QC. Sir Desmond found 'shocking' levels of state collusion involving the Army, police and MI5 but ruled out an 'overarching state conspiracy', prompting Mrs Finucane to describe it as a 'whitewash'. In February 2017, Mrs Finucane lost at the Court of Appeal in Belfast when three judges dismissed her case that Mr Cameron's decision to reject a public inquiry was unlawful. Geraldine Finucane described a previous report into her husband's murder as a 'whitewash' (L-R) John Finucane, lawyer Peter Madden, Geraldine Finucane, Michael Finucane and Dermot Finucane outside Government Buildings in Dublin, following a meeting with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar earlier this month Sir James Eadie QC, representing the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, told the Supreme Court that the lower courts which considered the case had correctly concluded that the decision-making process relating to the public inquiry was a 'thorough, genuine and lawful' one. At an event in Belfast to mark the 30th anniversary of Mr Finucane's murder earlier this month, his son John said his father had been killed to silence other human rights lawyers. He said: 'It was a deliberate decision to kill him, to silence other lawyers and prevent them from doing that type of work. 'What we see now is a generation coming through with lawyers, people wanting their human rights. 'I think that is very much a legacy of Pat Finucane and what he stands for and represents. 'That gives me enormous pride. While they did silence him, they could not have made a bigger mess of it if they tried. 'The name reverberates around the world and an enormous amount of credit for that is due to my mother.' A warehouse worker who was set to marry his online lover has been left heartbroken after learning he had been scammed out of 15,000 by an African fraudster. Dave Hazel fell in love with a woman called 'Linda Smith' on a dating site in 2012, and over a year the pair developed their relationship through exchanging messages. The 59-year-old had never met Linda in person, but had spoken to her on the phone and was convinced that his lover was all set to move from Canada to the UK in order to be with him. However, her requests for financial aid became frequent and extreme and Dave, from Norfolk, found himself caught in a web of lies when he discovered that his 'Canadian' lover was actually from Ghana. Dave Hazel (left) had fallen in love with a woman he met on a dating site called 'Linda Smith' (right) who he says conned him out of 15,000 Dave Hazel and Linda Smith developed their relationship by exchanging messages (pictured above) as well as speaking on the phone Dave, who used dating sites such as Match.com and Uniform Dating, forked out a massive 15,000 in total before confronting Linda about some flights he had paid for which he discovered had been from Ghana, not from Canada. After confronting her and subsequently emptying all of his savings, she cut contact from him and has now disappeared from the internet. Dave, who is still single, had plans to start a family with Linda and is now speaking out for the first time about being scammed online. He said: 'After losing almost 15,000 I was heartbroken - I had been ready to start a family with Linda. After speaking to Linda for a year Dave (pictured above) fell in love with Linda, who he believed lived in Canada 'I had been speaking to her online for 12 months but despite not meeting her or using Skype, we had spoken on the phone. 'I met her on a dating site and she looked like someone I'd met in London and she said she remembered meeting me.' Dave said the pair began building up a relationship, having conversations daily, with her introducing herself as Linda Smith. 'I even rang her and she spoke with an accent that sounded more English than Canadian. Dave had never met Linda in person but had her picture (right) and was exchanging emails with her (left and centre) before finding out she was actually based in Ghana Linda would send Dave emails professing her love for him and stating that he was her 'day and her night' 'Before I knew it, I was falling for her - my heart had melted and she was lovely. She wanted to live with me and I thought I was in love.' He made arrangements to meet Linda, but her entering the UK wasn't as easy as he'd expected. The bachelor said: 'The first thing she asked me for was a VISA costing 500. I was ready to have a full relationship, and I was happy to help her. 'She asked me to send it through Moneygram - which works almost like PayPal and two weeks after that it was another 500 for a medical check. After sending money Dave (right) received a notification from Ghana immigration services (left) stating that 'Linda' had been detained at the airport and was carrying a lot of money 'She said she would marry me and have children - she was promising everything I'd always wanted.' Yet Dave's dream was about to be destroyed as the money requests kept coming in, eventually reaching more than 15,000. The unsuspecting paid for what he believed were plane tickets, visa complications and more - fully believing that Linda Smith was on her way to finally meet him. His suspicions were finally aroused when she asked for flight tickets from Ghana. Dave said: 'I thought she was coming from Canada but when I asked for proof of the tickets they said she was coming from Ghana. 'I asked her to explain - and she said she'd just been visiting. After the phone call Dave investigated the matter and discovered he had been a victim of a scam 'But then I got a phone call from immigration in Ghana after she'd been detained for having a large amount of money on her person. 'They told me the person I was waiting for wasn't coming and was being arrested.' Dave decided it was time to investigate properly, a staggering two years after he'd first spoken to Linda. Upon visiting his local bank, it was quickly discovered that all the paperwork, which showed email correspondence between Dave and 'Linda' and evidence of where Dave had sent his money to, proved Dave had been victim of a scam. Staff also told him there was no way he could get his money back, as he had voluntarily sent it and it couldn't be traced. Dave added: 'It was the darkest period of my life - I asked them if they were joking, I couldn't have been conned. 'I didn't trust anyone and couldn't speak to anyone for months. 'Without Victim Support - a service which offers initial support and information to victims of crimes like mine, and assessed your needs going forward - I wouldn't be here. 'I've learnt you should always ask for advice, and if you're sending money without seeing them, stop. 'Don't be ashamed - you're not the only one - these cons left me heartbroken and it's taken me years to fix things.' British voters will support a Brexit delay beyond March 29 but only if it is short, a new poll suggests. Almost half of voters (47 per cent) back a delay overall if it is a minor one designed to continue talks with Brussels or allow EU countries to ratify a that passes through Parliament. In contrast just 26 per cent of people want Britain to quit the EU as originally planned in 30 days time, the Politico survey found. But support for a delay falls away the longer the period of postponement lasts. Almost half of voters back a delay to Brexit. But they do not seem to want a long delay, with support dropping off dramatically as the suggested length of the postponement increases Some 47 per cent of voters would back a one-month extension, against 32 per cent who would not. But that divide falls to 42-40 per cent in favour of a three-month extension. And support for a delay falls further, with 33 per cent backing a six0-moth hiatus and just 23 per cent support a delay of two years - the timescale suggested by senior EU figures. However, in a further headache for Theresa May the backing for an extension is far lower among Conservative voters than the overall population. More than half (51 per cent) were opposed to an extension, with 33 per cent in favour of a delay. Theresa May announced on Tuesday that MPs would get to vote on delaying rexit beyond March 29 if they rejected her Brexit deal in a March 12 vote MPs will also get to vote on whether to allow a no-deal Brexit in a high-drama week of politics that will take place with less than three weeks to go until Brexit is currently due to take place on March 29 But almost two thirds of Tory voters want Mrs May to plough on with Brexit regardless of whether she has a deal in place or not, according to the new poll by the Politico website Just 20 per cent would back an extension to Article 50 in order to hold a general election or a second brexit referendum, with almost three quarters (74 per cent) of Tories opposed if that was the justification. Little more than a quarter of Tories (27 per cent) thought it was ok to extend Article 50 to avoid a no-deal Brexit, with 63 per cent happy to plough ahead and leave without a deal on March 29. The survey for Politico by pollsters Hanbury surveyed 2,006 people. A Virgin Australia flight manager has confessed some of the best and worst moments from her career as a cabin crew member. Christina Carter revealed her most memorable on-flight experiences to mark the ten year anniversary of Virgin's Sydney to Los Angeles route, which has brought her face-to-face with some of Hollywood's biggest celebrities. Among some of the more scandalous sky-high scenes she's witnessed, Ms Carter said she's seen passengers hooking up, breaking up and even proposing mid-air. Sadly, Ms Carter said she has also helped sick passengers make their last trip home to visit their loved ones. 'As crew we see people at their best, and the worst at times,' Ms Carter told news.com.au. Among some of the more scandalous sky-high scenes she's witnessed, Ms Carter (pictured) said she's seen passengers hooking up, breaking up and even proposing mid-air. Despite the ups and downs, she said one of the aspects of her job she most enjoys is that 'no day is ever the same'. Ms Carter has worked in all areas of the Virgin Australia planes, which are owned by billionaire businessman Richard Branson, from economy and economy X to business class. While she says she's been 'lucky to meet' a whole host of famous faces, including Mel B, Billy Zane and Liam Hemsworth to name a few, a certain pair of pop stars were a particular joy to meet. Ms Carter (pictured center) has worked in all areas of the Virgin Australia planes, which are owned by billionaire businessman Richard Branson, from economy and economy X to business class Christina Carter (pictured right) has revealed of some of her on-flight experiences to mark the tenth anniversary of the Sydney to Los Angeles flight path 'I have to add that the Madden Brothers were two of the loveliest guests I have ever flown,' she said. She also said that Aussie actor Matthew Le Nevez, who starred in Offspring, made the time to chat to all the crew members and was 'absolutely lovely'. Another highlight of her job is introducing visitors to Australia, as well as welcoming Aussies back to their home country. She said the crew often give holidaymakers tips on what to do on their trip, and often share to-do lists with passengers. Throughout her decade-long career Ms Carter has witnessed lots of changes to the airline. From the rebrand in 2012, which saw V Australia transition to Virgin Australia and the introduction of Wi-Fi to the Boeing 777 fleet. She noted that one of the biggest changes for the cabin crew was when the uniform was updated to smarter attire. Ms Carter said the he Madden Brothers (pictured) were two of the loveliest guests she had ever flown Ms Carter said she's been 'lucky to meet' a whole host of famous faces, including Liam Hemsworth (pictured) Ms Carter also said that Aussie actor Matthew Le Nevez (pictured) who starred in Offspring, made the time to chat to all the crew members and was 'absolutely lovely' Virgin Australia launched in Australia in 2000 as Virgin Blue. In February 2009, V Australia began operating flights from Sydney to Los Angeles. Ms Carter said she was daunted by her first flight from Australia to America in 2009, as she'd never worked an 'ultra-long haul' flight before. Despite the average shift being around 17 hours, said said the crew rest area made it more manageable. '[We] have a crew rest area on the plane where we can change and relax for our breaks so that we are feeling great for landing,' Ms Carter said. A deformed dog who was born the size of a mouse with a hare lip and a cleft palate has defied the odds and will celebrate her 14th birthday this year. Buttons, a Lhasa Apso, weighed just under 3oz at birth - about the same as a packet of marshmallows, and her mouth deformity meant she struggled to feed. Buttons was the runt of the litter, and was not expected to survive. A deformed dog which was born the size of a mouse with a hare lip and a cleft palate will celebrate her 14th birthday this year. The picture shows her shortly after her birth Brave Buttons, a Lhasa Apso, weighed just under 3oz at birth - about the same as a packet of marshmallows and her mouth deformities meant she struggled to feed She had to be fed every few hours with an eye dropper, containing a special kind of formula for nursing puppies. She is pictured shortly after being born She had to be fed every few hours with an eye dropper, containing a special kind of formula for nursing puppies. She was also in danger of being squashed by her three big sisters and had to be kept safe in a miniature ornamental dog basket just four inches long. When she was born, her owner Vivien Macintosh initially thought she was part of the afterbirth fluid from her mother, Peebles. A special heat mat, meant for athletes, was used to help nurse Buttons to full health Vivien, 58, said: 'Buttons was born with a hare lip and a cleft palate. 'She's never had an operation for it, we didn't want to put her through that. 'She was one of my mum's litter, and she was fed every three hours with a dripper to keep her going. 'She was a quarter of the size of the other puppies, but we gave her a chance. 'She's been a wee fighter all her life.' And despite the obstacles she faced, Buttons still has a ravenous appetite, and 'shouts' at her owners, demanding to be fed. Vivien's mother Sheena Keill, 79, initially cared for Buttons as a pup. But her daughter took the tiny pooch in after fears Buttons could be squashed by Sheena's Golden Retrievers. When she was born, her owner Vivien Macintosh initially thought she was part of the afterbirth fluid from her mother, Peebles. Vivien is pictured with Buttons Buttons (pictured with her sister Bubbles) was born with a hare lip and a cleft palate, which affected her ability to feed The brave dog defied the odds and will celebrate her 14th birthday this year They even used a special heat mat, meant for athletes, to help nurse the pup to full health. Sheena said: 'We didn't know what it was - we thought it was an afterbirth. 'She was only about three inches and she fitted in this tiny ornamental basket. 'But she grew to a normal size - she's a miracle.' Sheena now cares for Buttons' mum, Peebles, now aged 15, who was recently diagnosed with a tumour. Vivien said that despite Buttons' initial health problems, the pooch lives a happy life in Gourock, Inverclyde. The mother-of-one said: 'This breed can live to 16 or 17 years old, but my husband says Buttons will live until she's 25. 'You can see her getting slower now, and she's going blind. 'They are just great dogs, they are 'people' dogs. 'We didn't know if she was going to grow to full size. 'They are called 'lion dogs' because they don't back down - they're Tibetan. 'Buttons shouts for her foods every day, so she's adapted - she gets hard food. 'She doesn't choke on it, and she gets nourishment. 'I've never met any dog of this breed with a bad temperament.' Congress has voted to expand national parks, create 1.3million acres of wilderness and establish five new national monuments in a landmark public lands bill. Hailed as a 'massive win' for conservation and 'something for the American people to be excited about', the new law will also restart federal funding for outdoor recreation projects after the program expired last year. The measure, which will expand the Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks in California, is the largest public lands bill to be approved by Congress in more than a decade. The Natural Resources Management Act passed the House by a vote of 363 to 62 on Tuesday, sending it to the White House where Donald Trump is expected to sign it. Congress has voted to expand national parks including Joshua Tree National Park in California (pictured) as part of a sweeping public lands bill The bill combines more than 100 separate bills that designate more than 350 miles of river as wild and scenic and create nearly 700,000 acres of new recreation and conservation areas. It also withdraws 370,000 acres in Montana and Washington state from mineral development. The bill would permanently reauthorize the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, which supports conservation and outdoor recreation projects across the country. The program, which has supported more than 42,000 state and local projects throughout the U.S. since its creation in 1964. expired last fall after Congress could not agree on language to extend it. The new monuments include the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument in Mississippi, honoring a slain civil rights activist and his wife. The others are Mill Springs and Camp Nelson national monuments in Kentucky; the former Saint Francis Dam site in Southern California; and the Jurassic National Monument in Utah. Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva, of Arizona, D-Ariz., said the bill represents Congress at its best and 'truly gives the American people something to be excited about.' Grijalva, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, called the bill as 'a massive win' for conservation across the United States. 'Everyone from inner cities to suburbs to rural communities wins when we work together to preserve the outdoors,' he said. The measure, which will expand the Death Valley National Park in California (pictured), is the largest public lands bill to be approved by Congress in more than a decade The bill, which passed by 92 votes to eight in the Senate, is actually predicted to save the taxpayer $9million, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah, the committee's top Republican, also hailed the bill and said it will expand access to public lands, offering 'wins for America's sportsmen, hunters and fishermen.' The bill establishes national monuments 'the right way,' through congressional action rather than executive order, Bishop said, and 'communicates a profound respect for local decision-making.' It was derailed last year after Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, objected, saying he wanted to exempt his state from a law that allows the president to designate federal lands as a national monument protected from development. Lee's objection during a heated Senate debate in December forced lawmakers to start over in the new Congress, culminating in Tuesday's House vote. 'Public lands bring Americans together, and that's why Republicans and Democrats in the House voted overwhelmingly today for a bill that ensures the Land and Water Conservation Fund will be around for our kids and grandkids,' said Diane Regas, president and CEO of the nonprofit Trust for Public Land. 'Today's historic vote, following a 92-8 vote in the Senate, means that more people can have access to hiking trails, city parks and wild landscapes.' Advertisement At least 25 people are dead and 47 more have been injured after a train crashed and burst into flames while coming into a station in Egypt. The train was travelling from Alexandria, Egypt's second-largest city, into the capital Cairo on Wednesday morning when it hit a concrete buffer at the end of the track and exploded. Ramses station, Egypt's busiest, was completely closed following the blaze as investigators were sent to the scene to establish how the crash occurred. At least 25 people are dead and more than 40 wounded after a train coming into Ramses station in Cairo, Egypt, crashed into a concrete barrier and exploded The crash caused the train's fuel tank to burst which in turn sparked a huge blaze that engulfed a platform at the station, which is the busiest in Egypt Egyptian authorities say they don't know what caused the train to run into the barrier, but investigators have been sent to the scene to establish what happened The train had been arriving from Alexandria, Egypt's second-busiest city, on Wednesday morning when the crash happened Pictures of the train show it has come off the rails after hitting a buffer at the end of the tracks with heavy fire damage to the surrounding buildings Fire crews clamber over the wreckage of the train after extinguishing the blaze at the main train station in Cairo, Egypt The contents of a burned-out suitcase are strewn across the platform of Ramses station after it was gutted by fire A charred piece of clothing sits among the burned-out rubble of Ramses station as fire crews pick through the devastation The platform opposite where the train was arriving sustained heavy damage in the blaze, with this shop completely torched Inspectors walk around and area adjacent to where the train crashed which was heavily damaged in the fire A view of the side of the train shows that it has been completely gutted by flames as fire crews work nearby Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly (standing at the front of the platform, in glasses, looking towards the camera), Social Solidarity Minister Ghada Wali (over his left shoulder, also in glasses) and minster of transportation Hesham Arafat (to her left) inspect the scene. Shortly after this image was taken, Mr Arafat resigned Mohammed Said, the head of the Cairo Railroad hospital, said the death toll is expected to increase. Mohammed Said, the head of the Cairo Railway hospital, said there are concerns the death toll could rise further following the blaze. The state railway agency briefly halted all train traffic and ordered the evacuation of the station. Egypt's transport minister later resigned following the crash and resulting fire. In a statement released by the Cabinet office, Hisham Arafat's resignation was announced. Describing the scene of the crash, witness Mina Ghaly told Reuters: 'I was standing on the platform and I saw the train speed into the barrier. 'Everyone started running but a lot of people died after the locomotive exploded. 'I saw at least nine corpses lying on the ground, charred.' Firefighters extinguish flames and cool off a train engine after a fire broke out on tracks at the main train station in Cairo Officials inspect a burnt-out train engine on tracks after a fire broke out at the main train station in Cairo Onlookers gather at the scene of a fiery train crash at the Egyptian capital Cairo's main railway station A member of security forces and a rescue worker carry away charred packing material after a crash at Cairo's main station A man looks out from a window towards a burnt-out train on tracks after a fire broke out at the main train station in Cairo The windows of a book shop have been shattered by the force of the explosion at Ramses station while several volumes inside have been charred by the flames The view from inside a book shop which was partially torched after a train crashed and exploded in Egypt Emergency workers patrol up and down the platform and Ramses station as the cleanup operation gets underway Pictures from the scene showed charred bodies along the train tracks and people fleeing for their lives as the fire took hold Flames cover the train tracks and one of the platforms at Ramses station in Cairo as people flee for their lives down the track Members of the security forces and onlookers gather at the scene of a fiery train crash at the Egyptian capital Cairo's main railway station Members of the security forces and onlookers gather at the scene of the crash Footage also showed fire engulfing the train and a nearby platform and people rushing to help the casualties. Ambulances and rescue teams were dispatched to the site, medical sources said. 'Any person found to be negligent will be held accountable and it will be severe,' Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli said as he arrived at the site. Egyptians have long complained that the government has failed to deal with chronic transport problems in the country, where roads are as poorly maintained as railway lines. The official statistics agency says there were 1,793 train accidents in 2017. In March last year, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said the government lacks about 250 billion Egyptian pounds, or 14.1 billion US dollars, to overhaul the run-down railway system. Mr el-Sissi spoke a day after a passenger train collided with a cargo train, killing at least 12 people, including a child. And in August 2017, two passenger trains collided just outside the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, killing 43 people. In 2016, at least 51 people were killed when two commuter trains collided near Cairo. Firefighters stand near damaged train wagons after a fire broke out at the main train station in Cairo Firefighters work at the scene of a train crash inside Ramsis train station in Cairo, Egypt Part of the station's main building collapsed after being consumed by flames, according to local media which described panicked scenes as people fled Emergency vehicles surround Ramses station in central Cairo as crowds gather on Wednesday Ramses station is the busiest in Egypt's capital, and has been completely closed after the fire Egyptian rail authorities have cancelled all travel into and out of the station until further notice Dozens of emergency vehicles including ambulances and fire trucks rushed to the scene as smoke poured from the station Alison Yorston (pictured outside Manchester Magistrates' Court) kicked a constable in the groin and vowed to 'board that f***ing plane' A schools admission officer kicked a constable in the groin during a violent rage in a departures lounge after being told she was too drunk to fly for her dream 50th birthday break. Grandmother Alison Yorston got intoxicated on Prosecco while waiting to board an Emirates flight to Dubai for what she called 'the holiday of a lifetime' with her daughter. Cabin crew refused to let her on the aircraft after she stumbled toward Gate 12 at Manchester Airport in high heels and was the last passenger to arrive. Later as the company director's wife was waiting for her baggage to be taken off the holiday jet, police had to be called when she began pushing and prodding ground crew, screaming: 'They've ruined my holiday - I'm going to board that f****** plane'. Yorston, 50, flailed her arms around wildly and warned intervening officers that her brother in law was a police sergeant before kicking a constable in the groin. During a struggle, she fell to the concrete floor in a drunken stupor, breaking her right arm to break in three places. Police body cam audio footage taped Yorston as she ranted: 'This was a special present for me. Why you f****** breaking my arm? Don't f****** touch me. 'Why are you breaking my arm? I will f****** see him. What's your number? It was not an accident, oh my God, there was no accident. The police officers broke my arm. I'm asking for your number because you broke my f****** arm.' The admissions officer (pictured) has been placed on tag and is under curfew following her violent, foul-mouthed rage at Manchester Airport where staff refused to let her board a plane Yorston, from Sale, appeared in the dock at Manchester Magistrates' Court yesterday with her arm in a sling and wept as she was ordered to wear an electronic tag after admitting common assault and a public order offence. She was convicted of a third charge of assaulting a policeman following a trial. She was sentenced to a six-month community order, must wear the tag under the terms of a 7pm-7am curfew and was also ordered to pay 735 court costs. It is thought she is about to lose her employment at a local high school. The 8.30pm incident took place on June 1 last year after Yorston was about to go on the dream holiday to Dubai with her daughter and grandson after the trip was gifted to her as a 50th birthday present from family and friends. Prosecutor Richard Stone said: 'She had some drink before she went to the airport and whilst in the departures lounge she and her daughter shared a bottle of Prosecco. When it came to boarding the plane, staff refused to allow her to board. 'She was one of the last passengers and staff found her behaviour to be aggressive and asked for her bag to be taken off the aircraft. A number of the members of staff noticed that when she arrived she stumbled about and the crew directed her to the baggage reclaim area. Her family stayed on the plane. 'Once Mrs Yorston was removed from the flight, she became aggressive and started to kick at the ground staff and said it was her 50th birthday and she said the airline staff had ruined her holiday. She spent a few minutes remonstrating and called the staff: "f****** d****". 'As the ground staff tried to move her, she began prodding, poking and pushing at them. She was telling them: "I'm going to board that f****** plane." 'When the police got to the area and approached her, she started redirecting the abuse to them. She was trying to make a phone call when one police constable approached her, took hold of her right wrist in an attempt to calm her down, but she lashed out. Yorston (pictured outside Manchester Magistrates' Court) downed Prosecco before being refused entry to the aircraft 'She kicked out towards the PC kicking him in the groin area and as a result she was taken to the floor. During being taken to the floor, the officer still had hold of her arm when the arm was broken in three places quite severely. The medical crew were called to assist her. 'During her interview, Mrs Yorston stated she had shared a bottle of Prosecco before going to the gate, she said she was 5 on a scale of one to 10 of how drunk she was. She said she was wobbling due to the shoes she was wearing. 'She has admitted to swearing and being abusive and being concerned with prodding and pushing staff. She said it was the police who were attacking her. 'She said she was on the phone to her daughter when the police stopped her. She said it was not her intention to hit the officer, she was just kicking out. She may not have known the intention but the act was reckless in doing so.' Giving evidence, PC Martin Sharrocks said: 'There were three to four members of staff and a female who was staggering around and waving her arms and shouting abuse. She was using quite a few F words. 'She was shouting something along the lines of "it's the f****** police" or words to that effect. She then sat down on the seats and sat on her phone. I became aware she had been offloaded and one of the airline staff said "other than slap me a few times" so I believed he had been assaulted. 'I approached Miss Yorston but she was irate, swearing and screaming 'f*** off', then she started using her phone and dialling trying to make a phone call. She was drunk and there was a very strong smell of alcohol that I could smell a metre away. I approached her initially as we needed to calm her down and I wasn't intending to arrest her. 'I then took hold of her arm and took her phone off her to calm her down for her own safety and everybody else. But she was waving her arms around and threatening and shouting abuse at other people around. 'She was telling me to "f*** off" and she said something about informing her brother in law as he was a Police Sergeant and she said he was going to "f*** me over". The grandmother (pictured) was caught screaming and swearing at police officers during the incident 'I had hold of her right arm and I was sat in front of her. I was trying to explain that she wasn't getting into that flight and that I didn't want to arrest her and I kept telling her to calm down. 'At this stage, I don't know how it happened but she managed to go towards me and either pushed or kicked me away and in doing so, I was impacted on my inner thigh into my testicles. She was then going to be arrested, I didn't have any other option. I then shouted 'on the floor'. 'I don't know whether she lunged forward or slumped forward but she went to the floor. At the time it seemed she wasn't aware of her arm breaking and she continued to abuse us and told us to get off her. 'But at this stage I knew the arm was damaged and we needed medical assistance. We tried to keep her still as she was kicking out so we put her in leg restraints. 'We told her that her arm was broken and she started shouting "you've broke my f****** arm". I did try to speak to her as I approached her. I didn't go in guns blazing. I had been told she had been slapping the staff.' PC Amy Barratt, a Counter Terrorism Officer at Manchester Airport added: 'She was shouting and swearing and waving her arms excitedly at staff. 'She was saying something along the lines of "you f****** d**** have ruined my holiday" and then she mentioned it was something to do with her 50th birthday. She was waving her arms and making contact with staff. There were a few scratches. 'I saw PC Sharrocks and he was about to inform her she was about to be arrested when she started flailing her arms around and swearing. 'She was angry and aggressive and her arms were going everywhere. Pc Sharrocks was trying to reason with her. She was not happy. 'She had high heels on and kicked out at him making contact. He said to her "that really hurt". She was constantly swearing and telling us to get off and saying how she had done nothing wrong. 'Then her whole body lunged forward and we fell to the floor. I heard a loud snap, it sounded like a pair of glasses breaking.' Yorston said: 'I was due to fly to Dubai for my 50th birthday with my daughter and my grandson. I had a wine and soda whilst getting ready and I shared a bottle of Prosecco with my daughter but I didn't consider myself to be drunk. 'My reason for stumbling was because I was wearing high heeled shoes and I was unsteady whilst walking. I admit I was abusive towards staff and I prodded them but I was very upset and emotional as I couldn't go on the holiday of a lifetime, it was a gift and contributions from family and friends. I felt let down and disappointed. 'Now I feel ashamed, it's not in my character to be like that and I have apologised for my behaviour. The officer approached me and grabbed me by the arm and then grabbed my wrist but he didn't explain why he was doing this to me, he was aggressive and forceful. 'I was just waving my arms about saying: 'what's going on, why am I in this position?' I didn't kick out and I didn't lunge. After that there was a bit of commotion and I heard a crack and I was on the floor. I was taken to hospital and told my elbow was snapped in three places. 'I was annoyed, emotional, upset and in excruciating pain. I had to have two surgeries.' She added: 'I told my family to go, I didn't want them to stay with me. The staff didn't want me to get on the plane because I couldn't walk in my heels. I wasn't going on holiday and that was a normal reaction. I wasn't drunk, I was angry and upset. I was annoyed when the police turned up. I didn't want anything to do with them. 'There probably was a red mist and I probably wasn't listening. I don't agree that my own actions let to my misfortune, there was somebody else to blame for my injury.' Her lawyer Paul Shepherd said: 'She is currently off work sick, she hasn't been able to work and her employment is coming to an end. She has no alcohol or drug issues. This was totally out of character for her.' A pet owner in east China has been heavily criticised after she took her cat for plastic surgery because she didn't like the shape of its eyes. The woman in Nanjing, Jiangsu province took the moggy to the vet for a 10,000 yuan (1,100) double-eyelid operation, or Asian blepharoplasty, where a crease is added to the animal's eyelids, according to Chinese reports. Many people in China, who are born with monolids, believe that having double-eyelids would make their eyes appear larger and more attractive. Vets made a cut on each of the cat's eyelid with a scalpel after the owner deemed its eyes 'ugly', according to Jiangsu Television in a report on Wednesday. The woman in Nanjing, Jiangsu province took the moggy to the vet for a 10,000 yuan (1,100) double-eyelid operation, where a crease is added to the animal's eyelids Images released by the station show the area around the moggy's eyes red and swollen, with a line of stitches visible under each eye. Net users called the incident a case of animal abuse Images released by the station show the area around the moggy's eyes red and swollen, with a line of stitches visible under each eye. An employee at the Rupeng Pet Hospital in Nanjing told reporters that it provides double-eyelid surgery for cats and dogs, adding that the operation has been common among dog owners who want their pets to participate in shows. But he noted that there may be a health risk during anaesthesia as it would create a lot of discomfort for the cat, it being a resilient animal. An unnamed veterinarian at a different hospital called double-eyelid surgeries on pets a 'frivolous procedure'. 'We would never agree to put cats and dogs under the knife unless they are sick and needed the procedure for health reasons,' the female doctor told Jiangsu Television. The incident saw the pet owner heavily criticised on Chinese social media, with furious net users slamming the woman's intentions. An employee at the Rupeng Pet Hospital in Nanjing told reporters that it provides double-eyelid surgery for cats and dogs, adding that the operation has been common among dog owners who want their pets to participate in shows An unnamed veterinarian at a different hospital called double-eyelid surgeries on pets a 'frivolous procedure' while many net users slammed the pet owner's intentions 'The procedure, if just to make it look prettier, is completely unnecessary and causes the animal pain,' one net user commented on Chinese microblogging site Weibo. 'It doesn't even look like the same cat anymore. This is plain torture,' one comment read. 'I would go as far to say this is animal abuse - complete disregard of the poor cat's feelings,' another user added. Eyelid surgery on humans first became popular in South Korea and Japan, and was the third most popular cosmetic surgery worldwide in 2015, after breast augmentation and liposuction. Although plastic surgery for pets are gaining popularity, experts emphasised that such procedures are for function and not necessarily for cosmetics. Many animals suffering from infection, inability to breath and eye problems may benefit from plastic surgery, according to a previous report on the TODAY show. The most common procedures include tummy tucks to prevent bacterial infections, eyelid lifts to avoid scratched corneas, and laser nostril procedures to help dogs with wrinkled noses breathe easier. According to animal insurance company Petplan, owners in the United States spent over US$62 million (47 million) in plastic surgery for their pets in 2011. In February 2017, a family from Russia was criticised after they took their dog for plastic surgery to alter its ears to make it look more like the dog from The Mask The family used weights and glue to try and keep the ears of the Jack Russel down, but when that failed they opted for plastic surgery instead, against doctors' advice In February 2017, a family from Russia was criticised after they took their dog for plastic surgery to alter its ears to make it look more like the dog from The Mask, against surgeons' advice. Wendy Higgins, director of international media at Humane Society International, told MailOnline that any kind of surgery where an animal is anaesthetised carries a health risk. 'Subjecting a cat to that risk as well as all the associated discomfort and fear, in the name of non-essential surgery for human vanity is certainly irresponsible and not in the best welfare interests of the cat,' Higgins said. 'All animals are beautiful, in whatever shape or size they come in, and their visual imperfections only give them more character. Surgically altering our pets for purely cosmetic reasons is not kind or wise,' she said. 'Unless there is some health need for the animal, as there can be for example with some breeds, we should love them just the way they are,' she added. Keith Guo, spokesperson for PETA, told MailOnline that owners perhaps should reconsider their choice of getting a pet in the first place if they feel that they need to alter their animals' appearance. 'Any kind of unnecessary surgery that puts our pets under the knife poses a risk from wounds and infection. If you are looking for something "pretty" to show your friends, buy a necklace,' Guo said. A new generation of mafia clans in Italy has been terrorising famous pizzerias in Naples with shoot-outs and bombs. One of the best-known pizzeria in Naples, Di Matteo, was shot at four times on Sunday. This follows a bomb attack six weeks earlier on another renowned pizzeria nearby, Sorbillo, and earlier in January another restaurant, Terra Mia, also came under fire. Officials say the notorious Camorra mafia, which dates back to the 17th century, has reemerged amid fears they are trying to claim a portion of the money spent by millions of tourists in the city. Di Matteo pizzeria (on the right) was shot at four times on Sunday amid claims mafia members want to get in on the increase in tourism money in Naples Head of the borough council, Giampiero Perrella, told The Times: 'The historic centre of Naples is in the hands of criminal bands - the Camorra mafia is once again challenging the state'. It's common practise for mafia gangs to attack a business if the owners haven't paid up when asked for 'protection money'. However, the owners of two of the restaurants, Gino Sorbillo and Salvatore Di Matteo, claim they have not been asked for such payment. Sorbillo pizzeria also came under attack from the Camorra mafia when a bomb was set off Another well-loved Neapolitan restaurant, Terra Mia, was also shot at in January The amount of tourism in Naples has sky-rocketed by 91 per cent since 2010, partly down to the success of budget airlines which make travelling there so affordable. And while street crime may be down on the whole thanks to an increase in tourism jobs, locals say young clans come out at night to try and intimidate businesses into giving them money. Some residents have reported that teenage members race down residential streets firing pistols into the air. Mr Di Matteo, owner of Di Matteo's pizzeria, told The Times: 'Whoever touches the Di Matteo pizzeria touches a piece of Naples history'. A member of staff at Specsavers has been suspended over claims they accused a former soldier of 'invading countries around the world and killing innocent people'. Steve Leale, 54, revealed he was a veteran when he went for an eye check up at the High Street chain on February 15 as he hoped it would get him a faster hospital appointment. But he claimed he was left 'gobsmacked' and 'totally disgusted' when a staff member at the Woodbridge store in Suffolk made a slur about his 32 years of service in the Army. Mr Leale said he had revealed his military service under the UK's Armed Forces Covenant which gives veterans priority access to NHS care for conditions associated with their military service. Steve Leale, 54, who served in the Army for 32 years, has claimed that staff at a Specsavers store in Woodbridge, Suffolk refused to give him a priority appointment for being a veteran, questioning why he should get it after 'invading countries around the world and killing innocent people' Mr Leale (second from left) said he had revealed his military service under the UK's Armed Forces Covenant which gives veterans priority access to NHS care for conditions associated with their military service Recalling his experiences at the store, Mr Leale, who finished his service in 2015 as a Warrant Officer Class 2, slammed staff behaviour as 'totally unacceptable'. He said: 'As I went through my appointment, I was having general chit chat with the optician. She explained to me that she came to the UK many years ago to gain her qualification. 'I then told her I had been to her country on several occasions and thought it was a beautiful place. 'After my appointment had finished she informed me that I needed to be referred to the hospital as my sight had deteriorated so badly over the three years since my last visit. Recalling his experiences at the store, Mr Leale (right), who finished his service in 2015 as a Warrant Officer Class 2, slammed staff behaviour as 'totally unacceptable' 'I then asked her if she could kindly annotate the paperwork to state I was a veteran. 'She looked at me and laughed. But I said I was serious as its part of the forces charter'. Mr Leale alleged that the member of staff then questioned why he should get priority treatment after 'invading countries around the world and killing innocent people'. He continued: 'I did not reply but merely walked over to my wife who paid for her items and then we left. Once we were in the car on our way home, I explained to my wife what had happened, and she immediately said let's go back and get a refund. The veteran then decided to fill out an online complaint, something for which his wife now has 'hear of reprisals for' and is 'scared to go out alone'. He said: 'It is unfortunate that we live in a society that is manipulated by inaccurate information which allows those to judge others without considering all the facts in why we make the decisions that we do. 'I am very proud to have served my country for over 32 years. I did my duty on behalf of all British citizens no matter what ethnicity, background or belief. 'But to my horror there are those that that still fail to understand the principles of why we have the freedoms we enjoy today and the sacrifice of those that allowed us to continue our life the way we do. 'I know it will be hard for the individual to apologise, but I do forgive her. 'Service personnel are not the enemy and the moral of this chapter is, we do our duty to allow us to live together as a nation and not expect to be verbally insulted as I was'. An employee at the Woodbridge store in Suffolk (pictured) has been suspended while an inquiry is carried out Mr Leale, who lives near Woodbridge, said he was left 'totally disgusted' by the comments although at the time he did not know what to say. He added in a Facebook comment: 'I was so gobsmacked by her comment that I did not retaliate but have since filed a complaint with their company. 'Having paid for new glasses for both me and Mo I will now be going in to request a full refund and go elsewhere. Totally disgusted with the attitude and will no longer use their service.' The veteran wrote on social media: 'Totally disgusted with the attitude and will no longer use their service. 'This is not the end of this so watch this space.' Mr Leale took to Facebook soon after the incident to share his experiences. He labelled the behaviour at the store 'totally disgusting' Specsavers has since launched an investigation into what happened and suspended an employee while the inquiry is carried out. Veterans receive priority access to care for both physical injuries from the line of duty, and mental health support for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Mr Leale filed an official complaint to the store on February 18 and was contacted by the branch to say the matter will be handled by their head office. The veteran's Facebook post has received more than 150 comments from social media users who have expressed their support for veterans and disgust at the comments. Fellow veteran and Military Cross recipient Trevor Coult showed support for his comrade on Twitter following the incident. Trevor Coult MC, 43, who is a campaigner for veterans, took to Twitter to express his disgust following the accusations allegedly made to Mr Leale in Specsavers. Mr Leale (pictured) filed an official complaint to the store on February 18 and was contacted by the branch to say the matter will be handled by their head office Mr Coult, from Woodbridge, Suffolk, said the store's handling of the accusations, who he claimed were made by a female working at the branch, has been 'atrocious'. The war veteran, who served in the armed forces for 20 years before being injured in combat and discharged in 2015, said: 'We now live in a society that is OK to treat people terribly. 'We spend a lot of time attacking the good side of people. 'Steve's complaint should have been dealt with the same day - if someone had robbed Specsavers they would have dealt with it immediately. 'Nothing was done with his complaint for days and days and it wasn't until I tweeted about it that Specsavers replied. 'His complaint was sent to head office and they didn't think it was serious enough. 'It has been atrocious - it is terrible.' The war veteran survived Iraq and three tours of Afghanistan and was awarded the Military Cross for his bravery. Mr Coult added: 'We now live in a society where some shops are banning people from wearing poppies and now Specsavers are making these accusations. 'We have a habit of attacking the good and letting the bad go.' A Specsavers spokesman said: 'An employee has been suspended pending a disciplinary investigation into comments made to a customer at the Woodbridge store. 'The alleged comments do not represent the views of Specsavers, who are active supporters of Blind Veterans UK, a charity which cares for former military personnel with sight problems.' George Pell's lawyer labelled the convicted paedophile's sex crimes as 'plain' and 'vanilla' while pleading judge for leniency. Criminal lawyer Robert Richter has defended some of Australia's most high-profile criminals, including bikies and billionaires. During the court proceedings, Mr Richter argued against the severity of Pell's crimes and suggesting the Vatican's third most senior catholic shouldn't face significant punishment. He said the sex crimes against the two boys in question 'lasted less than six minutes'. Criminal lawyer Robert Richter has defended some of Australia's most high-profile criminals, including bikies and billionaires In further submissions, Mr Richter said Pell's offending was spur of the moment. 'This is no more than a plain vanilla sexual penetration case where a child is not volunteering or actively participating,' he said. But Chief Judge Peter Kidd hit back, labelling Pell's crimes callous and brazen. 'He engaged in some shocking conduct toward two boys,' the judge said. 'At the moment, I see this as callous, brazen offending. Blatant.' Judge Kidd put Mr Richter 'on notice' for his suggestion that Pell's crimes were 'on the low end of offending'. Disgraced cardinal George Pell's (pictured) lawyer labelled the convicted paedophile's sex crimes as 'plain' and 'vanilla' while arguing against a jail sentence Mr Richter said he was in a difficult position as Pell's lawyer, as his client maintained his innocence. 'The Cardinal's position is that he is innocent. I'm not in a position to say why he did something he says he didn't do,' he said. Mr Richter submitted a binder full of documents to the court, including 10 positive character references. 'These people love him; none of them believe he is capable of these offences,' Mr Richter said. Mr Richter said the sex crimes against the two boys in question 'lasted less than six minutes' in his attempt to lessen the extent of the crime One of the testimonials is from Mr Howard, who became prime minister in 1996, the same year Pell committed his crimes. Mr Richter said Pell had a great sense of humour and was a man of the 'highest character'. 'He relates to everyone from a prime minister to street beggars,' Mr Richter said of his client. 'He is a person of the highest character, putting aside the convictions that were recorded.' Another one of the references came from Greg Craven, the vice-chancellor of Australian Catholic University. A thief who stole his mother-in-law's 95,000 life savings and then claimed another 20,000 from her life insurance policy after her death has been jailed for more than two years. Mary Garvey was hailed as a hero after stopping the bombing of an Allied train in mainland Europe during the Second World War in which she served with the British Army Catering Corps. But she died in poverty after being betrayed by her daughter Margaret and her husband Ian Downs, 66, who were in charge of her finances after she developed dementia. She died while living in sheltered accommodation in Benton, Newcastle, in 2013 aged 94. The theft came to light after other family members eventually confronted Downs over their expected inheritance from Mrs Garvey, eventually reporting him to police. Ian Downs, left, 66, and wife Margaret took advantage of his dementia sufferer mother-in-law and stole more than 100,000 in her life savings and life insurance policy. He was jailed for two-and-a-half years today He was jailed for two-and-a-half years while charges against her daughter were allowed to lie on file. Jailing Downs, Judge Sarah Mallett said: 'I must think about protecting vulnerable elderly people from exploitation by family members who have easy access to their money and handle finances on their behalf.' She said she accepted that Downs was remorseful and had paid 32,000 back to sister-in-law Gwenda and Mrs Garvey's granddaughter Angela Gilby. Fiona Lamb, representing Downs, added that redundancy in 2001 had left him in financial difficulty. She said there was no evidence of extravagant spending of the stolen money. Ms Lamb added: 'He owns a 1996 Mercedes worth 50. This money was to put food in their mouths and a roof over their heads.' Downs, of East Boldon, South Tyneside, previously admitted two counts of theft at Newcastrle Crown Court. Mrs Garvey served in the British Army Catering Corps during the Second World War where she met soldier husband Anthony. Mrs Garvey, 94, pictured, was hailed as a hero during World War Two after stopping a bomb from exploding on an Allied train in mainland Europe During her time in the military, she travelled across Europe and was credited with preventing the explosion of a bomb on an allied train. Mrs Garvey was widowed when Anthony died aged just 59 in 1977 before she became reliant on her family for support when she developed dementia. The deceit came to light months after Mrs Garvey died when Downs' sister-in-law, Gwenda, and Mrs Garvey's granddaughter Angela asked about their inheritance. Downs told them he would look into it but months went by and he was confronted over the accounts. When he failed to present the documents, relatives contacted Northumbria Police and their fraud was uncovered. Mrs Garvey's granddaughter, Angela, said her war-hero grandmother 'deserved a life of luxury', but she was instead left without a penny to her name. She said: 'This case was never about the money to us. 'It was about the fact a woman who had dedicated her life to her country was left to die in poverty. Mrs Garvey, pictured with her husband Anthony, struggled with dementia in her later years and put her son-in-law in charge of her finances only to be betrayed 'My grandmother deserved a life of luxury after everything she did and should have had anything she wanted but instead a person she trusted ended up stealing all her money. 'She was vulnerable, lonely and suffering from dementia but my uncle took advantage of that for his own financial gain. 'He has torn our family apart and I will never be able to forgive him for the way he treated my grandmother. I am glad that he will now be held accountable for his actions.' Detective Constable Frank Cox described the case as an 'appalling breach of trust' and said Downs deserved to be put before the courts. He said: 'Mary Garvey was a frail and vulnerable woman whose life was very much in the hands of Ian Downs. 'The defendant has taken advantage of his position of trust for the best part of a decade during which time he lived off the money he stole from Mary.' Tony Abbott says he phoned George Pell moments after his 'devastating' guilty verdict was made public, while John Howard has since provided a glowing character reference for the Cardinal. The two former Prime Ministers' extraordinary backing of the convicted child sex offender comes ahead of his sentencing next month. Mr Abbott told 2GB's Ben Fordham on Wednesday afternoon he spoke to Pell on Tuesday - a day before the 77-year-old prepared for his first night behind bars. 'It was a call that I put into him. I called him,' Mr Abbott said. John Howard (right), backed Pell (left) in a glowing character reference handed to court Mr Abbott didn't shed details of his controversial phone call, despite Mr Fordham's grilling. 'No, I'm not going to,' he said. The Liberal party member said the verdict was a 'devastating result' and referred to Pell's upcoming appeal. 'He's been found guilty by a court of a horrible crime, an absolutely horrible crime. It is going on appeal and let's see what the appeal court ultimately decides,' Mr Abbott said. 'But I absolutely accept that this is a shocking result, a devastating result. But it is subject to appeal.' Mr Fordham asked who would be devastated by the result and Mr Abbott made a frank admission about his relationship with Pell and the Catholic Church. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott (pictured) has admitted to phoning convicted paedophile George Pell moments after his 'devastating' guilty verdict was made public 'Certainly for the friends of Cardinal Pell and as you say, I am one,' Mr Abbott said. 'Devastating for all who believe in the Catholic Church, and I'm also one of those.' Mr Abbott said it was a 'grim time' but claimed he believes in the criminal justice system - who found Pell guilty three months ago. Fordham questioned the former Prime Minster deeper by relaying the gruesome details of the court case where a jury unanimously found Pell guilty of sexually abusing two 13-year-old boys in 1996. Court orders against the former Vatican treasurer and Australia's highest ranking catholic (pictured) were lifted on Tuesday and the details of Pell's sexual misconduct were revealed He asked Mr Abbott, who had previously called Pell a 'fine man', whether he still held the same view. 'Well it certainly doesn't sound consistent with the man I have known,' Mr Abbott said. Mr Abbott said he would come to a 'settled conclusion' about Pell after an appeal and said he had to 'accept' the current verdict. On Wednesday, Robert Richter QC submitted a binder of documents to the court in Pell's defence, including 10 positive character references. Mr Howard (right) became prime minister in 1996, the same year Pell committed his crimes One of the testimonials was from Mr Howard, who became prime minister in 1996, the same year Pell committed his crimes. Mr Howard, the second-longest serving Prime Minister of Australia, said he had known Pell for about 30 years. 'Cardinal Pell is a person of both high intelligence and exemplary character,' the letter said. 'Strength and sincerity have always been features of his personality.' Mr Abbott said he would come to a 'settled conclusion' about Pell (pictured) after an appeal and said he had to 'accept' the current verdict Mr Howard wrote that Pell held himself to his value and beliefs and displayed courage. 'It is my view that he has dedicated his life to his nation and his church,' Mr Howard wrote. Pell, who was third in command of the Catholic Church and once considered a pope in waiting, was in December convicted of molesting two choirboys in 1996. He is appealing his conviction but said on Wednesday he would not apply for bail until after he is sentenced on March 13. The convicted child sex offender will spend his first night in prison on Wednesday. The first wife and two young sons of a late IT tycoon have won a 2million share of his fortune to help them buy a 'massive, amazing house' he promised them. Louisa Simonetta, 42, was given the payout after a lengthy legal battle with her ex-husband's second wife over his 5.2million estate. Matt Tomon died suddenly at the age of 38 three years ago, but had failed to make a will for how to share his wealth. Mr Tomon's fortune went to second wife Ruby Geetha Lovell-Tomon, 47, after his death, prompting Ms Simonetta to launch a challenge in the High Court. She argued she wanted the cash to pay for a house in her native Australia for the family, and also fund the private education of their young sons, in accordance with Mr Tomon's wishes. Mr Tomon, originally from the US, founded IT firm Green Fields Technology with Ms Simonetta in 2005, but left her in 2012 and divorced her a year later before marrying his second wife within a matter of weeks. Shortly before his death, he sold the firm for 5.2million and deposited the funds into his new wife's account. Louisa Simonetta, 42, pictured, has won a 2million payout at the High Court after battling her ex-husband's second wife for a share of his 5.2million fortune following his sudden death in 2016 Mrs Lovell-Tomon claimed the money was an 'outright gift' left to her and that her husband's US nationality and plans to move back home or to the Bahamas meant he did not have to make 'reasonable provision' for his ex-wife. Presiding, Mr Justice Williams found in favour of Ms Simonetta and said Mr Tomon had clearly promised a home for her and his sons. He said: 'The net effect of that in terms of the children's lives is, I am told, that it will allow Louisa to buy a house in Australia for them to live in. 'Whether it is the 'massive, amazing house' that Matt promised them, who knows? 'Perhaps the difference in property prices between Australia and London and the sums they get will enable them to get that massive, amazing house that their dad wanted them to live in. 'I am also told that the sums will enable the boys to be privately educated, which apparently was something that Matt also wanted. 'These sums, I am told, will also enable Louisa to retrain as a teacher and to assist in maintaining them through their minority.' Speaking outsider her south west London home this morning Mrs Lovell-Tomon said she 'won't be speaking about the results' and was grieving for her husband. She said: 'I just lost my husband recently, it is a terrible time for me and my children. Mr Tomon's second wife Ruby, pictured, had claimed his former spouse was not entitled to any of the money and said it was a 'gift' to her 'It's devasting and while we are getting over his loss, people seem to think it is entertainment and I'm really not happy about it.' When asked how she felt about the court result, she said: 'I have nothing to say about court, I won't be saying any more about it.' Meanwhile neighbours near Ms Simonetta's former home in Wandsworth said she had moved back to Australia in 2016. Eleanor and Philip Thain said: 'Louisa hasn't lived here for years, of course she was married but that didn't work and her husband married somebody else. 'It was an unexpected death - he was in a pub in Battersea I think and he just dropped down dead but I can't be sure as I didn't hear it first hand.' The court heard that Mr Tomon and Ms Simonetta were once work colleagues, but began a relationship around 2003 and started the company, Green Fields Technology Limited, in 2005. They were married in 2007 and had their first child in 2008, after which Mrs Simonetta stayed at home in Putney to bring up the family. Mr Justice Williams added: 'The evidence suggests that Louisa, Matt and the children lived fairly frugally, so that the money the company was making could be retained in it in order to build it up.' But in March 2012, when the children were four and two, Mr Tomon told her he had met someone else and wanted a divorce. The former couple, pictured on their wedding day in 2007, split up in 2012 with Mr Tomon remarrying in 2013 before leaving his fortune to second wife Ruby Geetha Lovell-Tomon The divorce was finalised in July 2013 and Mr Tomon and Mrs Lovell-Tomon wed the following month. They lived together in Putney. 'After the divorce, Matt continued to support the family and remained on good terms with Louisa and with the children. 'It appears as if the company continued to grow because Matt was in communication with Louisa, promising to buy them a 'massive, amazing house' and to pay for the children to be privately educated, and to maintain both the children and Louisa while she retrained as a teacher.' However, Mr Tomon had not bought that house by the time of his death, with his widow Mrs Lovell-Tomon left in possession of most of his estate. Facing Mrs Simonetta's claim to a share of the fortune, Mrs Lovell-Tomon said that the 5.2m proceeds of sale of the company were an 'outright gift' to her. The court heard Ms Simonetta would use the money to buy a house in Australia and also pay for her two sons to be privately educated there She also claimed that, despite living in London for 15 years, her husband was not 'domiciled' in the UK, since he was American and they planned to relocate to the Bahamas or the US. That would defeat a claim by his first wife to 'reasonable provision' from his estate. But the judge said the warring parties had negotiated and agreed to a settlement of the claim, which will see Mr Tomon's first family receive almost 2m in cash and property. The sums to be received were a 'reasonable and sensible compromise' of the case, Mr Justice Williams said. He continued: 'Were this action to continue, it has sadly all the hallmarks of a case that would be contested up hill and down dale; something which no doubt would have caused Matt considerable sadness. 'Such is one of the consequences of failing to make provision in the form of a will or otherwise for your family. 'But of course, for Louisa and the boys, the reality would be months extending into years no doubt, of litigation. 'Looking from the children's positions, both taking into account the financial value of the settlement, but also the incalculable non-financial benefits to them of having their mother able to focus exclusively on their welfare, the combination of those two satisfies me that this compromise is indeed a compromise for that benefit.' The settlement will see the boys receive 950,000 between them from their father's estate, with their mother awarded cash and property worth almost 1 million. The judge said no application had been made for anonymity of the children. China has drafted new rules to supervise biotechnology research, with fines and bans against rogue scientists after a Chinese researcher caused a global outcry by creating gene-edited babies. The announcement comes as He Jiankui's controversial experiment continues to transfix the scientific community, with researchers saying the procedure had the potential of enhancing the learning capabilities and memory of the babies. He announced in November that the world's first gene-edited babies - twin girls - were born that same month after he altered their DNA to prevent them from contracting HIV by deleting a certain gene under a technique known as CRISPR. Scientist He Jiankui has been placed under police investigation and the government ordered a halt to his research work. China has drafted new rules to supervise biotechnology research The claim shocked scientists worldwide, raising questions about bioethics and putting a spotlight on China's lax oversight of scientific research. Gene-editing for reproductive purposes is illegal in most countries. China's health ministry issued regulations in 2003 prohibiting gene-editing of human embryos, though the procedure is allowed for 'non-reproductive purposes'. The new rules unveiled by Beijing on Tuesday propose to classify technology used for extracting genetic materials, gene editing, gene transfer and stem cell research as 'high risk'. Health authorities under the central government would manage such research. The State Council, China's cabinet, would be responsible for 'the supervision and administration of clinical research and applications throughout the country,' according to the rules. The new draft proposes fines of between 50,000 and 100,000 yuan (US$7,500 and US$15,000) for scientists or institutions that carry out research without proper authorisation, and the government can stop the work. The announcement comes as He Jiankui's controversial experiment continues to transfix the scientific community, with researchers saying the procedure had the potential of enhancing the learning capabilities and memory of the babies This graphic reveals how, theoretically, an embryo could be 'edited' using the powerful tool Crispr-Cas9 to defend humans against HIV infection Scientists can also be fined 10 to 20 times the amount of 'illegal income' earned from unauthorised research and be banned from their field of work for six months to one year. 'If the circumstances are serious, their medical practice licence shall be revoked and the individual shall not engage in clinical research for life,' the rules say. He Jiankui has been placed under police investigation, the government ordered a halt to his research work and he was fired by his Chinese university. His experiment involved deleting a gene called CCR5, a process that could also enhance memory and the brain's ability to make new connections - linking it to academic success, according to a study published last week in the journal Cell. 'Certain aspects of cognitive function, including long term memory, could have been enhanced by the CCR5 mutation in the twin girls,' said Alcino Silva, a neurobiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His team first discovered how the CCR5 gene affected learning and memory in mice in 2016. An embryo receives a small dose of Cas9 protein and PCSK9 sgRNA in a sperm injection microscope in a laboratory in Shenzhen in southern China's Guangdong province The study by Silva and others showed people who naturally lack the CCR5 gene recover more quickly from strokes. People missing at least one copy of the gene also seem to have better learning abilities, it said, suggesting a possible role in everyday intelligence. 'It is very possible that other aspects of cognitive function (of the twins) may have also been disrupted. We simply do not know enough at this time to be altering the genome of healthy babies,' Silva told AFP. 'There was no reason to put these two babies through an untested and potentially very dangerous, life-altering procedure,' Silva said. Eight volunteer couples - HIV-positive fathers and HIV-negative mothers - signed up for He's trial. A second woman became pregnant in the experiment but it is unknown if she has given birth yet. Miou Zhou, a professor at the Western University of Health Sciences in California, told AFP he was 'shocked' by the controversial experiment, which could inflame speculation about the creation of super-intelligent humans using gene-editing technology. He Jiankui guides a laboratory staff member at the Direct Genomics lab on August 4, 2016 in Shenzhen. The scientist sparked global criticism in November last year when he announced that he had successfully used gene-editing technology to alter the embryonic genes of twin girls born that month 'Because I have been studying CCR5 on cognitive function in mice for a long time, I remember my first reaction was why (did) he choose CCR5 to make the first genetically edited babies?' Zhou said. During a human genome summit in Hong Kong last year, He Jiankui acknowledged he knew about the potential brain effects of tinkering with the CCR5 gene from Silva's and Zhou's previous research dating back to 2016. 'I saw... (Silva's) paper, it needs more independent verification,' he replied when asked about it during a Q&A session. 'I am against using genome editing for enhancement.' Investigators told Xinhua that He was 'pursuing personal fame' and used 'self-raised funds' for the experiment. But a November submission by He's team to the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry has identified the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Free Exploration Project - a publicly-funded programme overseen by the local government - as bankrolling the experiment. The programme, however, denies funding He's project. A statement on its official WeChat social media account said it 'never sponsored' He's experiments and that the information provided to the clinical trial registry 'was not true'. A gang of women believed to be behind dozens of thefts across Georgia and Florida have been arrested 600 miles away. Three women, nicknamed the 'Felony Lane Gang' were pulled over in a rental car after driving at 'excessive speed' down an interstate road outside of Indianapolis. Amber Dunlap, 27, Tiphanie Sager, 26, and Toni Huizar, 23, were found to have a 'substantial amount of credit cards, check books, social security cards and identification cards' belonging to other people in the trunk of their Nissan car. (From left) Amber Dunlap, Toni Huizar and Tiphanie Sager have been arrested in connection wit multiple thefts from cars across Georgia and Florida The trio have warrants for their arrest over crimes committed in several Georgia counties in the last month. Car break-ins have been reported in parks and at gyms, across Newton County, Gwinnett County, Clarke County and possibly Florida, a Covington Police Department spokesperson said. The group had typically used rental cars to commit the offences, Indian state police were told. The trio taunted police in a social media post that read 'Do ya job (expletive)'. Cops arrested the women on Sunday following a short chase on an interstate highway Officers said that earlier in February the three women allegedly posted messages on Instagram that read 'Do ya job [expletive]'. 'They might be taunting us with what they're posting on social media,' Covington Officer Justin Stott told FOX5. 'With all the active warrants we've got on them through all these different jurisdictions, it's just a matter of time before we get them.' Cops arrested the three women on Sunday in Indiana after a short chase. A 'substantial amount of credit cards, check books, social security cards and identification cards' were seized from the car which are believed to have come form thefts in Indiana, Georgia and Florida Cops said that the women regularly used rental vehicles, like the Nissan car pictured, to carry out thefts and hold stolen items A officer tried to pull over their speeding vehicle on the Interstate-70 at around 6pm but the driver tried to get away; they eventually being pulled over in the town of Greenfield. 'During an inventory of the Nissan, (police found) property belonging to people not in the vehicle and was later determined to be stolen property,' state police said. 'The occupants of the vehicle each had several felony warrants from Covington Georgia related to a string of thefts in that area.' Authorities said that prosecutors in Indiana are reviewing charges related to the chase on Sunday. Officials believe that following local charges the women will be taken back to Georgia, where they will face a series of criminal allegations. All three last lived at addresses in Florida, according to a press release. President Donald Trump resumed his attack on Sen. Richard Blumenthal from Hanoi over military service after his longtime former lawyer Michael Cohen attacked Trump's own medical deferment for bone spurs. The sparring over Vietnam service came on Trump's first full day in Vietnam, where he began a packed schedule by posing with the country's president in front of a bust of revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh. Even as Trump was meeting with his counterparts and hailing the nation's economic transformation, Cohen weighed in from stateside with blistering House testimony, claiming Trump directed him to dodge specific questions from reporters about his medical deferment. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam. He touted Vietnam as an economic model that North Korea could pursue Trump avoided military service by getting academic deferments after graduating from a New York military academy then getting a diagnosis of bone spurs. Trump didn't mention Cohen, but lashed out at Blumenthal, who he torched last month after Blumenthal introduced legislation to force a release of the the Mueller report. 'I have now spent more time in Vietnam than Da Nang Dick Blumenthal, the third rate Senator from Connecticut (how is Connecticut doing?),' Trump tweeted Wednesday afternoon from Hanoi. 'His war stories of his heroism in Vietnam were a total fraud - he was never even there. We talked about it today with Vietnamese leaders!' Trump wrote. The Senator reportedly said he 'served during the Vietnam era when speaking at a Vietnam War memorial in 2008. 'Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great,' Michael Cohen will testify. He says Trump directed him to avoid reporter's questions about his military deferments President Donald Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal (pictured) The president resumed his attacks on Sen. Richard Blumenthal U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to students waving Vietnam and U.S. flags as they greet him during his meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (unseen) at the Office of Government Hall in Hanoi, Vietnam, February 27, 2019 However he was never deployed to Vietnam, having served in the US Marine Corps Reserve, and later confessed that he had misspoken about my service, and I regret that and I take full responsibility. Trump himself got five deferments and did not serve in Vietnam. He graduated from college in 1968, the year of the Tet Offensive, as the war was raging. The swipe came after Cohen took aim at Trump's avoidance of military service and made the point as the president was meeting with the president and prime minister of Vietnam at summit meetings. Cohen's language was included in testimony prepared for the House Oversight Committee. He also called Trump a 'conman.' President Donald Trump waves a Vietnam flag as he meets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, waving an American flag 'During the campaign, Mr. Trump said he did not consider Vietnam Veteran, and Prisoner of War, Senator John McCain to be 'a hero' because he likes people who weren't captured,' Cohen was to testify. 'At the same time, Mr. Trump tasked me to handle the negative press surrounding his medical deferment from the Vietnam draft. Mr. Trump claimed it was because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery,' according to his former fixer, who Trump now brands a liar. 'He told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment. He finished the conversation with the following comment. 'You think I'm stupid, I wasn't going to Vietnam.' Cohen was to include the letter as an exhibit to be shared with the committee. Alesha MacPhail's mother has shared a heartbreaking, previously unseen picture of her posing with her six-year-old daughter following the conviction of her killer. Aaron Campbell, 16, was found guilty of abducting, raping and murdering the young girl on the Isle of Bute in July last year. Georgina Lochrane, from Coatbridge, wrote on Facebook that her 'bubbly little princess' can be finally be at peace after Campbell was convicted on Thursday at Glasgow High Court. Georgina Lochrane (pictured, right, with her daughter) wrote that her 'bubbly princess' is loved 'unconditionally' and said she can finally be at peace The 24-year-old said: 'We had the hardest two weeks of our lives, being dragged through a trial, having to listen to what was said. But you stayed in mummys heart and we did it, my lassie. 'That boy will never hurt anyone ever again or have the chance to inflict what he did to you on any other child. Youre mummys strong, beautiful, bubbly little princess. 'I made you a promise that I wont give up until you see justice done and I hope we did it right, angel. 'You are unconditionally loved and missed Alesha and now you can be at peace my girl.' Alesha (pictured, left) was snatched from her bed, raped and murdered on the Isle of Bute by Campbell (right) on July 2 last year and her mother has written a heartbreaking tribute after her killer's conviction Alesha's body was found in woods after Campbell snatched her from her bed on July 2 while she was staying with her father, 26-year-old Rab MacPhail. She was suffocated by the teenager, who had bought cannabis from Rab and his girlfriend Toni McLachlan, 18, who the killer tried to frame for the murder. The rapist had remained anonymous throughout his trial due to his age, but on Friday Lord Matthews unmasked Campbell after an application by the Daily Record. Lord Matthews 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.' The teenager is due to be sentenced next month and faces a life term for his horrific crimes. Teachers and parents at Alesha's former school, Chapelside Primary in Airdrie, have raised 22,000 to build a playhouse in her memory. Headteacher Wendy Davies said Alesha - who dreamed of becoming a YouTube star - will never be forgotten and the campaign also received support from comedian Jason Manford. The funnyman shared the appeal to build the playhouse, writing: 'The whole community has obviously been rocked by the murder of such an innocent, friendly, loving girl and giving the children somewhere they can remember the good times would mean the world to those children and give them some positivity in times of such heartbreak.' Michael Cohen revealed the letter he sent to one of Donald Trump's former colleges as part of his scheme to 'threaten' the to keep the then-candidate's grades secret as part of bombshell Congressional testimony Wednesday. In the letter he sent to the president of Fordham University in the Bronx, New York, Cohen tells him to seal Trump's records and that if they were to be released, he would sue and press for charges. He added: 'P.S. Mr. Trump truly enjoyed his two years at Fordham and has great respect for the University.' Cohen, Trump's longtime lawyer and fixer, included the information in testimony that touched on Russia, WikiLeaks, and payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. Cohen made a point of including the documents to accompany testimony, where he said Trump was a 'conman' and a 'racist' and noted that Trump had demanded that President Obama release his own grades after stoking a conspiracy theory that Obama wasn't born in the U.S. Trump attended Fordham for two years before transferring to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. None of his grades for any of his education have ever been published. Cohen told the House Oversight Committee he was furnishing 'copies of letters I wrote at Mr. Trump's direction that threatened his high school, colleges, and the College Board not to release his grades or SAT scores.' Cohen made a point of including the documents to accompany testimony, where he said Trump was a 'conman' and a 'racist' and noted that Trump had demanded that President Obama release his own grades after stoking a conspiracy theory that Obama wasn't born in the U.S. Double standard: Cohen entered an interview which Trump conducted with the Associated Press in 2011 demanding that Obama release his grades as a pointed contrast to what Trump ordered him to do Cohen says he threatened schools with legal action at Trump's direction if they released his student records TRUMP'S EDUCATION 1951-59 Kew-Forest School, Forest Hills, Queens. Kindergarten - seventh grade. Grades: Unknown 1959-64 New York Military Academy, Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York. Eight grade-senior year. Grades: Unknown. Fellow students say he was a cadet captain, NPR reported 1964-66 Fordham University, Bronx, N.Y. Left by transfer after sophomore year Grades: Unknown. 1966-1968 Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Graduated with a BSc in Economics. Grades: Unknown. The Daily Pennsylvanian reported there was no sign of his name on the 1968 Dean's List or indication he graduated with any honors in the Commencement Program Advertisement KimThe letter and the wider claim of a scheme to 'threaten' those who held his high school and college grades was revealed in Cohen's testimony, which also contained bombshell revelations about WikiLeaks and a planned Trump tower project in Moscow. Cohen wrote: 'When I say conman, I'm talking about a man who declares himself brilliant but directed me to threaten his high school, his colleges, and the College Board to never release his grades or SAT scores.' 'As I mentioned, I'm giving the Committee today copies of a letter I sent at Mr. Trump's direction threatening these schools with civil and criminal actions if Mr. Trump's grades or SAT scores were ever disclosed without his permission,' the recently-disbarred lawyer continued. 'The irony wasn't lost on me at the time that Mr. Trump in 2011 had strongly criticized President Obama for not releasing his grades. As you can see in Exhibit 7, Mr. Trump declared 'Let him show his records' after calling President Obama 'a terrible student.' Trump during the campaign called himself a 'very smart guy' and even touted 'like, super genius stuff.' But according to Cohen, the candidate was determined not to allow the release of his grades. Trump frequently touted his attendance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania often saying he attended the 'Wharton School of Finance,' where he took classes. According to the Boston Globe, which interviewed former classmates, Trump 'rarely shined in class.' Trump transferred to the school after spending two years at Fordham University, having obtained military deferments from Vietnam. Trump attended military high school at the New York Military Academy. Cohen did not include any other letters which would have been to both institutions. Fordham, a private Catholic university, confirmed to NPR that it had received the letter. 'Fordham received a follow-up letter from one of Mr. Trump's attorneys summarizing the call and reminding us that they would take action against the University if we did, in fact, release Mr. Trump's records,' a spokesman told the broadcaster. Cohen also took aim at Trump's avoidance of military service and made the point as the president was meeting with the president and prime minister of Vietnam at summit meetings. 'During the campaign, Mr. Trump said he did not consider Vietnam Veteran, and Prisoner of War, Senator John McCain to be 'a hero' because he likes people who weren't captured,' Cohen was to testify. 'At the same time, Mr. Trump tasked me to handle the negative press surrounding his medical deferment from the Vietnam draft. Mr. Trump claimed it was because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery,' according to his former fixer, who Trump now brands a liar. 'He told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment. He finished the conversation with the following comment. 'You think I'm stupid, I wasn't going to Vietnam.' Cohen was to include the letter as an exhibit to be shared with the committee. The DUP's Nigel Dodds blasted Remainer minsters who forced Theresa May to accept Brexit could be delayed for 'undermining' her negotiating position today. Mr Dodds, who leads 10 MPs propping Mrs May up in No 10, said the actions of Amber Rudd, David Gauke and Greg Clark would make concessions harder to get. He seized on a question at PMQs today to lash the ministers after Mrs May admitted yesterday MPs would be able to both delay Brexit and stop no deal if they rejected the Brexit divorce she has negotiated with Brussels. He said it meant 'the prospects of the PM being able to achieve the necessary changes have been undermined and her negotiating position weakened' by opening the door to delay. Mr Dodds demanded she still come back with 'legally binding changes' to the backstop part of the deal. The intervention came after Jacob Rees-Mogg dramatically jettisoned his demand for the Irish backstop to be scrapped completely. The leader of the Tory hard Brexit-supporting European Research Group [ERG] hinted he could back the PM's deal if it is tweaked rather than re-written. Mrs May (pictured today at PMQs) has urged Parliament to 'do its duty' and vote through her Brexit deal but could have been 'sucked in' to a remain plot, critics claim Mrs May faced a bruising PMQs this afternoon as she prepares a new round of votes on Brexit tonight Nigel Dodds, who leads 10 MPs propping Mrs May up in No 10, said the actions of Amber Rudd, David Gauke and Greg Clark would make concessions on the backstop harder to get Macron: Change red lines if you want to delay Brexit By Jason Groves Political Editor for The Daily Mail Emmanuel Macron warned that he would block any request to delay Brexit unless Britain changed its negotiating positon. The French president insisted that if Theresa May failed to get her deal past MPs and asked for a delay then the UK must make a new choice about the kind of Brexit it wanted. This could mean Mrs May being forced to compromise in areas she has said are red lines, such as gaining an independent trade policy. Spanish premier Pedro Sanchez also said he would not grant an extension if Mrs May failed to set out how she could win a Commons majority. It suggests they may try to force the Prime Minister to accept a permanent customs union, like the one being called for by Labour, in exchange for extending Brexit. Mr Macron said: We would support an extension only if it was justified by a new choice of the British. We would in no way accept an extension without a clear objective. All EU leaders must agree if Brexit is to extend beyond March 29. Both sides are negotiating over the Irish backstop to prevent a hard border in Ireland in the event of No Deal. Mrs Mays spokesman said: The Prime Minister is trying to... secure further assurance in relation to the backstop not being indefinite. Advertisement Mr Rees-Mogg, who had demanded the EU re-opened the Withdrawal Agreement and axed the backstop, now says he would back Mrs May if there was a time limit on the backstop in a document of 'equal legal standing'. In a major softening of the ERG's stance he said: 'If it were to be an appendix that would be satisfactory. But it has to be of equal legal standing'. The PM is trying to get concessions from the EU to convince MPs to vote through her deal - six weeks after it was rejected by 230 votes - the largest defeat for a sitting government in British history. Mr Rees-Mogg's intervention came after a former Cabinet minister linked to the ERG suggested the price for passing the deal could be Mrs May's departure. A promise to go and let a Brexiteer take over the trade deal phase of negotiations could be enough even if the concessions brought home from Brussels over the next fortnight fall short. The ex-minister told BuzzFeed: 'I can envisage a situation in which they get something on the backstop but it falls short of what we asked for. 'That puts us in a tricky spot. 'The absolutely key thing is how the DUP react to what Geoffrey Cox comes back with. If they say it's enough we can fall in line. 'It could be that the best case scenario is that a deal passes and the PM agrees to go immediately afterwards. 'The most important thing is that she doesn't lead the next stage of the negotiations.' An ERG MP said 'dozens' of rebels would vote for a deal if May agreed to step down before new European Commission appointments are made in the autumn, after which UK/EU trade talks will start in earnest. Jacob Rees-Mogg has today dramatically jettisoned his demand for the Irish backstop to be scrapped completely It comes as 50 Labour MPs are threatening to derail Jeremy Corbyn's plan to back a second referendum They have been accused of 'sabotaging' final talks with the EU and were accused of 'kamikaze' tactics by Liz Truss, chief secretary to the Treasury. What are MPs voting on tonight? MPs are staging a new round of non-binding votes on Brexit tonight - the third set since the deal was defeated on January 15. Theresa May has tabled a motion seeking confirmation of her continued effort to renegotiate the backstop. There are 12 amendment by MPs on a raft of proposals. Speaker John Bercow has selected five for votes from 7pm. The main amendments are: Amendment A, Jeremy Corbyn: Sets out Labour's five demands for a Brexit based on a permanent customs union with the EU. It will be defeated. Amendment K, Ian Blackford: Says no deal Brexit is unacceptable. It will be defeated. Amendment C, Caroline Spelman: Says if there is no deal by March 18, MPs should be allowed to change the law to force the PM to delay Brexit. A vote would be close but the Government would probably win. Amendment B, Alberto Costa: Sets out new guarantees the Government should meet on EU citizens living in the UK. Ministers have signalled they will accept the plan, so it will pass if voted on. Amendment F, Yvette Cooper: Sets out in a Commons motion the timetable of votes on the deal, no deal and Brexit delay promised by Mrs May later. It will probably pass if pushed to a vote as it matches the PM's announcement. Advertisement Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said their threats meant Brussels could give fewer concessions and reportedly told the meeting: 'Some of his colleagues' behaviour had been very poor'. Senior EU officials and President Macron of France are said to back a delay of up to two years if Mrs May loses her vote - and Chancellor Philip Hammond has agreed in these circumstances a 'relatively' lengthy delay would be sensible. Today the Prime Minister urges Parliament to 'do its duty' and vote through her Brexit deal to end Britain's political paralysis. Writing in the Daily Mail, she says she is close to winning concessions from the EU that could persuade Eurosceptic MPs to back her. In an upbeat assessment of her talks with Brussels and European leaders, she said: 'I have found a real determination to find a way through which allows the UK to leave with a deal. That engagement has already begun to bear fruit. 'Parliament should do its duty so our country can move forward.' The Prime Minister's decision to sanction a possible Brexit delay prompted a furious row in Cabinet yesterday, with Amber Rudd, David Gauke, Greg Clark and Claire Perry facing a backlash for forcing the PM's hand on a postponement by publicly threatening to resign. In a counterblast today, former Brexit secretary David Davis accuses Mrs May of 'capitulating to blackmail' and warns that opening the door to a delay sends the wrong message to Brussels. Also writing in the Mail, Mr Davis is scathing about 'mutineer ministers encircling the Prime Minister'. He writes: 'The Prime Minister should ignore those ministers currently having a panic attack about the prospects of No Deal. Their fears are exaggerated. While No Deal might might be economically difficult, no Brexit would be a democratic disaster.' Mrs May announced she will now allow a vote to delay Brexit beyond March 29 if she cannot get her deal through the Commons after ministers including Amber Rudd (today in the Commons), David Gauke and Claire Perry threatened to quit President of Commission Jean-Claude Juncker at a meeting of the College of Commissioners at the EU headquarters in Brussels. The PM is trying to get concessions from the EU to convince MPs to vote through her deal As a cross-party group led by Labour's Yvette Cooper and Tory Sir Oliver Letwin dropped plans to force a vote on letting Parliament seize control of Brexit: The key votes Analysis by Jack Doyle, Associate Editor for the Daily Mail MARCH 12: The vote on the PM's deal By this date Mrs May must return to the Commons with her deal and put it before MPs. After multiple delays, this really will be D-Day. She lost the first vote by 230 votes in January. She now has two clear weeks to secure whatever concessions she can eke out of Brussels on the Northern Ireland backstop and put an amended deal back before the Commons. To secure victory, she will need to win over the Northern Irish DUP, and at least some of the hardline Eurosceptics on the Tory Right. If and it's a big if she succeeds, Britain could leave the EU with only a short delay after March 29 to pass essential Brexit legislation. MARCH 13: The 'No Deal' Vote If the Prime Minister cannot get her deal through on or before March 12 then the following day she will table a motion asking MPs if they support leaving without a deal. The Commons is likely to reject No Deal overwhelmingly as it has already indicated its opposition to this form of Brexit. Mrs May refused several times yesterday to say if she would vote against a No Deal Brexit or if the Government would 'whip' the vote, thereby instructing its MPs how to vote. She insisted: 'The absolute focus should be on working to get a deal and leaving on 29 March.' MARCH 14: The 'Delay Brexit' Vote If the Commons rejects leaving without a deal, the Government will table a motion the following day asking if MPs want to ask the EU for an extension to Article 50 beyond March 29. This is likely to pass. Again, No 10 would not say yesterday if the vote would be subject to a 'whip'. What happens afterwards remains unclear. MPs will, in all likelihood, force her to ask the EU for a delay. This would fray Tory unity, embolden the supporters of a second referendum and put a huge question mark over Brexit happening in any form. Any Article 50 extension would need to approved by other EU leaders. A three-month extension, dragging out the process until the end of June, has been suggested. There remains the awkward issue of European elections in May but the new European Parliament is not scheduled to sit until July. Thus the outgoing parliament, including its British members, may still need to ratify a Brexit deal. Advertisement The pound surged to a 21-month high against the euro as traders predicted that Mrs May's move had made No Deal less likely; Ministers were forced to publish a secret Cabinet paper warning No Deal would lead to shortages of fruit and vegetables in supermarkets; DUP leader Arlene Foster, who held talks with the Prime Minister yesterday, warned against a delay; Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom turned on Cabinet Remainers for going public with their threats to quit; Jeremy Corbyn faced a backlash over his decision to back a second referendum, despite claiming to respect the result of the first; Attorney General Geoffrey Cox held talks with EU officials on ways to ensure the controversial Irish backstop 'cannot endure indefinitely'. Mrs May's decision to open the door to a Brexit delay appeared to have averted the threat of an immediate rebellion last night. At least 15 ministers had threatened to resign to vote for the proposal put forward by Miss Cooper, which would have allowed Parliament to force Mrs May to seek an extension of Article 50 if the PM had not achieved a deal by the middle of next month. Instead, Mrs May set out a new timetable which would achieve a similar effect. She confirmed that MPs would get a second 'meaningful vote' on her Brexit deal by March 12. The first last month led to a record government defeat. If the deal fails to pass again MPs would vote the next day on whether to back No Deal. If No Deal is formally rejected MPs would have the chance to vote on extending Article 50 the following day. Mrs May said any delay should be as short as possible. But Jacob Rees-Mogg, a leading Tory Brexiteer, said a short delay would mean 'the cliff edge is simply moved back'. He added: 'This effort to play call-my-bluff is not going to change people's minds to back her deal.' Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the CBI, said: 'Moves to avert No Deal in March are essential. To avoid a hammer blow to firms and livelihoods, delay cannot simply be an extension of stalemate. Compromise is the only way.' MPs will still have the opportunity to vote on a series of amendments tonight, with the Government under pressure to accept a call to guarantee the rights of three million EU citizens even in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Miss Cooper last night said she would not force a vote on her plan, which the Prime Minister said would have 'would have far-reaching implications for the way in which the United Kingdom is governed'. But she has tabled an amendment that formally sets out the pledges made by Mrs May yesterday. PM: Plan is 'simples' just like meerkat ad The Prime Minister quoted the Compare The Market slogan to her bemused colleagues Theresa May raised eyebrows yesterday after saying the options for Brexit were 'simples', in reference to the meerkat stars of a TV advert. The Prime Minister quoted the Compare The Market slogan to her bemused colleagues. SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford had claimed she was 'running down the clock' by offering only her deal or no deal. Mrs May retorted: 'If he wants to end the uncertainty... then he should vote for a deal. Simples.' Labour MP Liz McInnes tweeted: 'Theresa Meerkat is now in charge.' Advertisement Yes, we will leave EU with a deal - if MPs hold their nerve By Theresa May 'Despite the political controversy of the past few weeks at Westminster, I believe the United Kingdom remains firmly on course to leave the European Union with a deal if MPs hold their nerve' Despite the political controversy of the past few weeks at Westminster, I believe the United Kingdom remains firmly on course to leave the European Union with a deal if MPs hold their nerve. On January 29, the House of Commons expressed its support for that outcome, provided there were legal changes to the Northern Ireland backstop to prevent it operating indefinitely. When the Government set out to secure those changes, I did not know what the response in Europe would be. But in the discussions I have had with the leadership of the European Union and the leaders of every EU member state, I have found a real determination to find a way through which allows the UK to leave with a deal. That engagement has already begun to bear fruit. The UK and EU are working towards a joint work-stream to develop alternative arrangements to ensure the absence of a hard border in Northern Ireland, in parallel with our negotiations on the future relationship. We are doing our own ministerial-led work supported by civil service resources and with 20 million of government funding to help develop, test and pilot proposals which can form part of these alternative arrangements. We are also continuing to hold detailed discussions on the legal changes that are required to guarantee that the Northern Ireland backstop cannot endure indefinitely. But securing the necessary changes to the backstop is not the only thing the Government is doing to build support for the deal across the House of Commons. We are developing detailed plans to give Parliament a clearer and stronger role in the next phase of the negotiations, in which the UK and the EU will agree the detail of our future relationship. We are discussing with the EU what additions or changes can now be made to the political declaration outlining that future relationship that will increase people's confidence in the ambition of both sides to agree to it as soon as possible. And to protect workers' rights, a concern for many MPs as we leave the EU, we will give Parliament a vote on whether it wishes to follow suit whenever the EU changes its standards. The UK leads the way on workers' rights, environmental protections and health and safety as we leave the EU, we will continue to enhance them. I firmly believe that a deal is within our grasp. Yesterday I committed in Parliament to give MPs a second meaningful vote on the withdrawal agreement by March 12 at the latest. I am confident that we can win that vote. But because many MPs are worried that if we lose that vote Parliament would not have time to make its voice heard on the next steps, I gave two other assurances. If the Government has not won a meaningful vote by March 12, we will ask MPs if they support leaving the EU on March 29 without a Withdrawal Agreement. If the House rejects leaving on March 29 without a deal, the Government will bring forward a motion on whether Parliament wants to seek a short limited extension to Article 50. And if the House votes for an extension, we will seek to agree one with the EU and bring forward the necessary legislation. But I do not want to see Article 50 extended. Our absolute focus should be on working to get a deal and leaving on March 29. Doing so would give businesses and citizens the certainty they deserve. By committing Labour to holding a second referendum, despite promising to implement Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn has shown once again that he cannot be trusted to keep his promises. His cynical political games would take us back to square one. Instead, Parliament should do its duty so that our country can move forward. We want to leave the EU with a deal that gives us the best of both worlds: a close relationship with our nearest neighbours and the chance to make the most of our talents and resources by building new relationships with growing economies around the world. How could a second referendum happen? As Labour makes a huge step to backing a vote this is how a referendum is called Despite a growing clamour holding a new vote is a complicated and lengthy process, requiring new laws, agreement on a question - and a delay to Brexit day on March 29. Theresa May has insisted repeatedly that a new referendum would betray Leave voters in 2016 and will not happen on her watch. But Parliament could force the PM into the decision - prompting Nigel Farage to tell Leave campaigners to prepare for another vote. Why do people say there needs to be a second referendum? Theresa May's Brexit deal has no majority in Parliament - and it is not clear any other deal has a majority either, even if one could be negotiated. Passing the question back to voters is seen by some as a way to end the impasse and give a clear instruction to politicians on what to do. Some campaigners also say the 2016 referendum was not an informed choice because too many of the implications of Leave were unknown. What do critics think? Many people - led by the Prime Minister herself - say a new vote on Brexit would betray the people who voted Leave in 2016. They insist there was a clear order from the public to Leave the EU and politicians must follow it, working out the details for themselves. Unionists also complain that accepting a new referendum on Brexit would pave the way for another referendum on Scottish independence, threatening the future of the UK. Some politicians also feel it would simply reopen the wounds from the 2016 battle without really deciding anything more clearly. What needs to happen for a referendum to happen? Parliament would need to pass a new law for a referendum to be held. This process alone would take weeks and would likely be very controversial. Before that can even happen, for political reasons there would probably have to be some kind of moment creating a 'mandate' for a new referendum as it is something neither of the main parties promised at the last election. This might be a simple vote of MPs after Mrs May's deal has been rejected. The Government could call such a vote at any time. Labour also has some opportunities to call a vote - though winning such a vote would have less power. It could even be a whole general election where one or more sides puts a new referendum in their manifesto. What would the question and be who decides? Nobody knows for sure - and this is probably the hardest question of all. Some say it should be a simple repeat of last time, with Leave or Remain on the ballot paper. Others say it should be Remain versus Mrs May's Brexit deal. Others advocate a two stage referendum - between Remain and Leave, followed by Mrs May's deal versus No Deal if Leave wins. Still others say there could be multiple questions on the ballot paper, possible using a ranking system known as alternative vote. The Electoral Commission would make a recommendation and MPs would make the final decision on what the question would be. Would exit have to be delayed from March 29? Yes. On the shortest timescale imaginable, a referendum would take almost six months from the point the decision was taken - something which has not happened yet. Exit day is less than four months away. How long does it take to call and fight a referendum? There is no fixed schedule but former Cabinet minister Justine Greening last month set out a 22 week timetable - just under six months start to finish This assumes about 11 weeks to pass the necessary laws and another 11 weeks for the campaign - both a preliminary period to set up formal campaigns on each side and then a main short campaign. This would in theory allow a referendum by mid June 2019 - a full three years after the last one. Lots of factors could cause delays and short of sweeping political agreement on the rules of a campaign almost no way to speed up the process. Would the result be any more decisive? Probably not. Unlike last time, the referendum law could make the result legally binding and the question could be more specific than last time. But polls suggest the country remains just as divided as in 2016 - suggesting the result could be just as close as the 52% to 48% Leave win next time. Advertisement 'Leave voters won't have it': FIFTY Labour MPs threaten to derail Corbyn backing a second referendum after warning move would be 'catastrophic' for the party in its heartlands Fifty Labour MPs are threatening to derail Jeremy Corbyn's plan to back a second referendum. The Labour leader has shifted to support a second referendum and Labour said no deal would not be on the ballot paper. But the surprise move sparked a furious confrontation at his shadow cabinet meeting yesterday. Labour chairman Ian Lavery was described as 'very angry' and said the shift in policy was 'political suicide', as reported by The Sun. MP John Mann warned Labour would face a furious backlash in the Midlands and the North where the party's supporters backed Brexit in their millions. He blasted Labour would meet the same fate as Nick Clegg's Lib Dems after their u-turn on tuition fees - an electoral wipe out in 2015. Mr Mann and two other northern MPs estimate between 45-50 MPs would defy Mr Corbyn and not back a second referendum. Jeremy Corbyn (pictured in the Commons today) was warned the 'voters won't have it today' after he shifted to support a second referendum and Labour said no deal would not be on the ballot paper Labour MP John Mann (file image), who represents Bassetlaw, warned that backing a referendum would be a 'catastrophe' Mr Corbyn's dramatic leap toward a new public vote last night has escalated the civil war inside his party. Labour says the question should be a 'credible' Leave and Remain option - but Labour is deeply opposed to Mrs May's deal and has ruled out ever supporting no deal. Labour is thought likely to table a Commons amendment which would mean a referendum on whatever deal finally gets through Parliament. Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry insisted the other choice on the ballot paper would be Remain meaning the vote could overturn the result of the 2016 referendum. Outlining the plan today, shadow Brexit secretary Sir Kei Starmer told Sky News: 'The basic choice needs to be between a credible Leave option and Remain. 'So that means if the prime minister gets a deal through, that should be subject to the lock of a public vote.' But that position is seemingly not shared by aides close to Mr Corbyn, who suggested there could be three options and Mrs May's deal would not be one of them. Remainer Labour MPs were delighted at the developments, with one boasting: 'There's no turning back for Jeremy now.' But the move was described as a 'betrayal' of Labour's 2017 election manifesto promise to respect the referendum result, with Leave campaigners calling it 'cowardly'. Mr Corbyn was also accused of cynically announcing the move in a desperate effort to stem the tide of defections to the newly-formed Independent Group, which supports a second referendum. And some in Labour fear that the decision could be disastrous in Leave-dominated constituencies in the North. Labour defections to the Independent Group, pictured having dinner together at Nando's last night, have increased pressure on Mr Corbyn Mr Mann, who represents Bassetlaw, told BBC Radio 4's Today: 'Voters won't have it. 'The last person to renege on their manifesto was Nick Clegg, it didn't end very well for him on tuition fees. 'Our manifesto was unambiguous, we would accept the result of the referendum. 'A second referendum doesn't do that and the voters - in very, very large numbers - will not accept that.' Labour uncertainty and u-turns over Brexit Labour's Brexit stance has undergone so many changes it can be difficult to keep track. Even during the referendum in 2016 Jeremy Corbyn was accused of half-hearted campaigning and hedging his bets - admitting he was only '7 out of 10' in favour of Remain. Since then the leadership has been trying to maintain 'constructive ambiguity' so it can keep hold of heartland voters who often back Brexit - without alienating the party's largely Remainer members and MPs. The 2017 Labour manifesto promised that Labour accepted the result of the referendum and obtain a deal that 'works for every community in Britain' It also said it would have 'fresh negotiating priorities that have a strong emphasis on retaining the benefits of the Single Market and the Customs Union.' But shortly after the election on June 11, 2017, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell told ITV: 'Let's be clear: we are respecting the decision of the referendum. We are democrats. I think people will interpret membership of the single market as not respecting that referendum.' This was swiftly followed by Brexit spokesman Sir Keir Starmer a week later in June of that year who said Labour wanted to 'retain the benefits of the single market and the customs union. Formal membership, full membership is only available to EU member states.' In late June three shadow ministers were sacked by Mr Corbyn and a fourth resigned after they and 45 other Labour MPs defied the party and backed a Queen's Speech amendment calling for Britain to remain in the single market and customs union. However, the following September Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson said single market membership was possible 'if the European Union wanted to talk about reform of freedom of movement rules'. Jeremy Corbyn has also faced similar divisions in his own party as Theresa May has in hers Numerous backbenchers have said they want to see a second referendum on a Brexit deal. By conference 2018 internal debate over a second referendum prompted more than 150 different motions on the issue. Labour delegates approved a motion that would keep all options - including a new referendum - if a Brexit deadlock occurred. Senior Labour figures have even been split on what any second referendum should mean - with some, such as Len McCluskey and John McDonnell insisting remaining in the EU cannot be on the ballot - but Sir Keir Starmer has said the motion means it could be. Mr Corbyn will hope the dramatic shift will stop any more MPs quitting to join the new pro-Remain Independent Group of MPs. Advertisement The move would be 'catastrophic to Labour in the Midlands and the north', Mr Mann said. At the Parliamentary Party meeting last night, Mr Mann told Mr Corbyn: 'In the Midlands and North of England this decision today will stop you from being prime minister.' Colleague Caroline Flint said there will 'never be' unity in the party if a second referendum goes ahead, and Lucy Powell warned that 25 Labour MPs will vote against another referendum. John Longworth, chairman of Leave Means Leave, lambasted 'a cowardly decision from a man who should never be trusted with the premiership of this country.' Labour MP Stephen Kinnock said: 'I have deep reservations about having a referendum. 'I think it is going to be deeply divisive. I think it would have a corrosive impact on the role and sovereignty of Parliament.' Mr Corbyn is known to be lukewarm to the idea of a second vote, but has been under immense pressure from Remainers MPs and activists. One MP said that when the leader read out the statement: 'It was a bit like watching a hostage read out a ransom note.' It is believed Labour will call for a Commons vote on a second referendum on March 12, two weeks before the planned date of Brexit. Ms Thornberry said last night: 'We will have a referendum on whatever deal there is and Remain. There will be no Tory Brexit without there being a public vote. 'I think it's in Britain's interest for us to remain in the EU if there is a vote then I will be backing remain. So will Jeremy Corbyn.' However, a senior Labour source then said that although Remain would be on the ballot paper, Mrs May's deal would not. He would not say what the other option would be and even suggested there could be three options. No Deal would not be an option, however. At the PLP meeting, Mr Corbyn told MPs that Labour will also back an attempt to block no-deal Brexit, saying he will do everything in his power to prevent Britain leaving the EU without a deal, and will back the Cooper-Letwin amendment to take the option off the table. And he said Labour is 'committed to also putting forward or supporting an amendment in favour of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit'. He said Labour will seek to enshrine the party's five Brexit demands in law by tabling an amendment to the Government's Brexit motion which is due to be debated on Wednesday. The demands include a permanent and comprehensive customs union with the EU and close alignment with the single market, as well as a dynamic alignment on rights and protections and commitments on participation in EU agencies and funding programmes. If the plan is rejected, Labour will then support a second referendum. Mr Corbyn said: 'One way or another, we will do everything in our power to prevent No Deal and oppose a damaging Tory Brexit based on Theresa May's overwhelmingly rejected deal. 'That's why, in line with our conference policy, we are committed to also putting forward or supporting an amendment in favour of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country.' Remainers were delighted. Labour MP Peter Kyle, who supports a second vote, said: 'There's no turning back for Jeremy now.' Colleague David Lammy said: 'Jeremy Corbyn is today taking the first step to reunite our party by showing he is listening to our voters and members.' Around 60 per cent of Labour voters supported Remain in 2016 and members are strongly in favour of staying in the EU. Tory party chairman Brandon Lewis said: 'Corbyn's Labour have ripped up their promise to respect the referendum result and are now pursuing a divisive second referendum that would take us back to square one. Jeremy Corbyn is using Brexit to play his own political games.' Former Brexit secretary DAVID DAVIS: The utter folly of defeatist Mrs May taking No Deal off the table Were there ever a need for confident and decisive government, it is now. The Prime Minister appears to be encircled. Mutinous ministers write articles for the Daily Mail in which they threaten to quit, the Labour Party opportunistically rallies for a second referendum, breaking its promises to the electorate, and parliamentary plotters aim to break centuries of convention and good practice to seize control of the executive away from our Government. I would not blame the Prime Minister if she felt isolated. Who could blame her for looking for a way out? The right playbook however is Churchill's. Keep buggering on. This is not the time to capitulate, to fold and to be defeatist. Now is the time to stand firm and hold our nerve. Mrs May's announcement yesterday in which she conceded two Commons votes on Brexit in mid March is the wrong move. It sends the wrong message to the EU. Opening up the possibility of ruling out No Deal, or extending Article 50, may harm our negotiating position. 'I would not blame the Prime Minister if she felt isolated. Who could blame her for looking for a way out? The right playbook however is Churchill's. Keep buggering on,' writes David Davis. Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street to address Parliament on Tuesday As we enter the end game in negotiations with the EU, it would be folly of the highest magnitude to take No Deal off the table now because it takes away our leverage in negotiations and is against our national interest. Let's be honest. Many of those who want to take No Deal off the table are not seeking to ensure the UK obtains the optimum Brexit deal. Their real agenda is to block Brexit or secure one which is little more than a Brexit in name only. Various Commons amendments drawn up by Labour's Yvette Cooper in discussion with some Conservative Remainers, which would veto a No-Deal outcome, were wrecking amendments that would leave a poisonous constitutional legacy and break the solemn commitments made in the Conservatives' 2017 election manifesto. Jeremy Corbyn's support only reinforces my view of this. It is time instead to focus on what actually unites our Government, our party and our country. Record numbers of Britons who voted for Brexit want it delivered on time. Above all we all want an orderly exit from the European Union. The Haltemprice and Howden writes: 'Mrs May's announcement yesterday in which she conceded two Commons votes on Brexit in mid March is the wrong move. It sends the wrong message to the EU. Opening up the possibility of ruling out No Deal, or extending Article 50, may harm our negotiating position.' Mr Davis is pictured at the launch of a proposed UK-EU free trade agreement in London on February 6 The public has always been ahead of and more relaxed on No Deal than politicians. They are right to be. An anonymous civil servant recently said there are 'hundreds of No-Deal plans across all government departments just waiting for the green light from ministers to be made public'. I know this to be true. Most of it I initiated in my first days as Brexit Secretary. It will be a sad day indeed if British politicians show such contempt for the public, and I fear the electoral consequences for my own party. For MPs now to try to blackmail the Government into surrendering its negotiating position, rip up constitutional conventions and seize control of the executive in order to obstruct Brexit, is an abuse of the parliamentary process and an affront to democracy. If MPs use the enormous powers they enjoy to thwart the expressed will of the people, that is a constitutional travesty. Such a blatant dismissal of the wishes of the public is contempt for democracy and for millions of Britons. Conservatism is based on pragmatism and realism. Which is precisely why we should now hold our nerve and see these negotiations through. The passing of the Commons amendment by Conservative MP Sir Graham Brady last month with its legally binding changes to the Northern Ireland backstop showed the way forward for the Prime Minister. It showed that there is a majority in Parliament for an improved EU withdrawal agreement and orderly Brexit. What on earth will be the consequences for our party if we don't do this? Only this weekend the Conservatives' national convention voted overwhelmingly in favour of leaving No Deal on the table and no delay to Brexit. It said scuppering the UK's departure from the EU would 'damage democracy and our party for a generation'. We must unify the party around the Brexit the British people clearly voted for and offer them the optimistic future they deserve. It is also in our national interest. The Prime Minister should ignore those ministers currently having a panic attack about the prospects of No Deal. Their fears are certainly exaggerated. More critically, while No Deal might might be economically difficult, No Brexit would be a democratic disaster. Ignore the saboteurs, the wreckers, and the blackmailers. Don't concede ground. Free our minds of doubt and danger. We can achieve it. Hold our nerve and deliver what we promised. A man who was shot in the nipple two weeks ago has now been attacked by a gang of axe-wielding men who smashed their way into his home. Richard Polanski, 26, and two others were forced to hide in a bathroom when four armed men stormed a home in Elizabeth Grove, the northern suburbs of Adelaide, on Wednesday morning. The attackers threatened Mr Polanski before fleeing the scene. Emergency services were called to the home on Deptford Street at about 5.20am and the victim, who sustained minor injuries, was taken to hospital. Richard Polanski was attacked by a gang of men who broke into his home with axes on Wednesday - two weeks after he survived a gunshot wound (pictured) Mr Polanski, who survived a gunshot wound on February 16, did not seem too fazed by the second terrifying experience, The Advertiser reported. 'I'm all right, it's nothing out the normal,' the 26-year-old said. 'I don't care, they'd have to shoot me in the head.' Mr Polanski, who suffered a deep forehead cut on Wednesday, was quick to admit he was lucky to be alive after his first attack but claimed those responsible should be wary because he'll be better prepared next time. A woman who barricaded herself in the bathroom during the attack said the gang smashed the door with axes. 'We'd all be dead if we didn't hide in the bathroom,' she said. Emergency services were called to the home on Deptford Street (pictured) at about 5.20am and the victim, who sustained minor injuries, was taken to hospital Police suspect the incident was not a random attack. Last week, a car in front of the property was burned down and Mr Polanski suspects the perpetrators are linked. Following the first attack, Mr Polanski called himself 'Hercules' while speaking to media in a hospital gown the day after he was shot at. 'I'm God, you can't kill me,' he said to 9News. The alleged shooter and his female partner confronted Mr Polanski in suburban Adelaide at midnight. Polanski charged at the pair while being shot at and they all fell on top of each other. Mr Polanski, who survived a gunshot wound on February 16 (pictured), did not seem too fazed by the second near-death experience The alleged gunman's partner and Polanski were both shot while they were piled on the ground. The couple escaped on a scooter before dumping it and running, according to witnesses. Polanski was taken to Royal Adelaide Hospital in a serious condition. A metal pole was drawn in a nearby stand-off just before the shooting. Police charged the alleged shooter with acts likely to cause harm and discharging a firearm in a public place. Police are urging anyone with information on Wednesday's incident to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. A driver who slammed a semi-trailer into a pub in a horrific crash that left eight people injured claims he thought he was being chased by a Yowie and black panthers. Rodney Johnson pleaded guilty to leading police on a high speed chase through Singleton in the New South Wales Hunter Valley region in 2017. The 31-year-old stole a semi-trailer from a service station at Murrurundi - more than 100 kilometres away - about 7.30am on October 11 while its driver was paying for fuel. Scroll down for video Rodney Johnson led police on a high speed chase through Singleton in the New South Wales Hunter Valley region in 2017 This vehicle was among five smashed by an out-of-control semi-trailer at Singleton last year Retired maintenance engineer Kerry Small was hit by this runaway semi-trailer at Singleton Kerry Small remembers nothing of the runaway truck's impact as it ploughed into his stationary vehicle, but spent five months in hospital rehabilitating after the ordeal. 'I hope he rots in prison,' Mr Small said as he left the Newcastle Courthouse. During sentencing, the court heard Johnson had stopped taking his schizophrenia medication in the weeks prior and believed people were after him. He was in a 'severe state of paranoia' at the time of the incident and believed a Yowie and black panthers were following him during the chase. Singleton stolen truck crash victims Robert Jones (left) and Kelly Tito (right) leave Newcastle Court after the sentencing of Rodney Johnson was adjourned Singleton stolen truck crash victim Martha Anderson (centre) leaves Newcastle Court after the sentencing of Rodney Johnson was adjourned During sentencing, the court heard Johnson had stopped taking his schizophrenia medication in the weeks prior and believed people were after him Johnson showed no emotion during sentencing, in which four victims read out emotional victim impact statements. His mother reportedly sobbed throughout. The sentencing has been adjourned until Friday after the extensive statements were read. Johnson's sister Stephani previously claimed her brother was 'not a monster' but suffered from a mental illness and was working himself into the ground to provide for his children. 'Rod is not a monster,' Ms Johnson wrote. 'He's a kind, caring, hard-working man who unfortunately has been taken over by this devil mental illness!' Kerry Small was in this red Holden Cruze when he was hit by a runaway truck at Singleton Emergency Services workers examine Kerry Small's crushed red Holden Cruze at Singleton A semi-trailer slammed into five cars and several buildings after a lengthy police pursuit 'When Rod wakes up out of his "bad dream" the hate and anger he is going to have on himself for the chaos and hurt he has caused is going to be far worse than the negative and nasty comments about him all over [Facebook].' Witnesses described the carnage after the accident as resembling that of a 'war zone' with billowing smoke and car wrecks in every direction. Mr Small suffered the most extensive injuries out of all the victims including broken legs and bleeding on the brain. 'I got two broken legs to start off with,' Mr Small said. 'And five - no, seven, eight - broken ribs. 'I got a punctured lung, a brain bleed where I cut my head open. I got a broken neck, two breaks in my spine. Police pursued this stolen semi-trailer before it crashed and burst into flames Retiree Kerry Small suffered two broken legs and other fractures when hit by a semi-trailer Firefighters work on cleaning up after a horrific truck crash in Singleton in October last year 'I got a broken shoulder and the internal injuries. Police initiated a pursuit and deployed road spikes as the truck approached Singleton at speeds estimated at 100km/h. The semi-trailer continued for a few kilometres after hitting the spikes, crossed a bridge then crashed and burst into flames on George Street about 8.45am. 'I couldn't say anything about the bloke,' Mr Small said. 'I hope he gets as much time in jail as what I did in hospital or better.' Retiree Tony Deakin, who survived the crash with his wife Jenny, described the aftermath of the incident as like a 'war zone'. Witness Debbie Anderson described her terror as she sat in traffic and saw the truck hurtling towards her at high speed. 'It was like something that you'd see on the movies,' Ms Anderson said. One witness described the scene after the Singleton truck crash as resembling a war zone A California professor has been reprimanded after saying that police officers 'need to be killed' in a 2016 interview. University of California, Davis literature professor and author, Joshua Clover, was exposed by comparative literature student Nick Irvin in an opinion piece published in The California Aggie. The expose comes more than a month after Davis police officer, Natalie Corona, was shot and killed while on duty. 'I first heard about a UC Davis professor who thinks cops should be killed late in Fall Quarter. There were murmurings in the newsroom about his in-class discussions, and rumors of how the professor had given an interview that advocated for violence against law enforcement,' Irvin wrote. University of California, Davis literature professor and author, Joshua Clover (pictured), has been reprimanded after saying that police officers 'need to be killed' in a 2016 interview. Clover, was exposed by comparative literature student Nick Irvin in an opinion piece published in The California Aggie. Irvin said he did some digging and found tweets from Clover's Twitter (pictured) Another tweeted from 2014 read: 'I mean, its easier to shoot cops when their backs are turned, no?' Courtesy of KTXL He said it was Corona's death that prompted him to dig further to see whether or not the murmurings were true. Irvin said he browsed Twitter and found old tweets from Clover. 'I am thankful that every living cop will one day be dead, some by their own hand, some by others, too many of old age #letsnotmakemore,' Clover reportedly tweeted on November 27, 2014. Another tweeted from 2014 read: 'I mean, its easier to shoot cops when their backs are turned, no?' In an interview published in 2016, when asked what's wrong with society today, Clover said: 'People think that cops need to be reformed. They need to be killed.' Irvin said he wanted to make the public aware of 'what this university is allowing'. Irvin said it was the death of Davis officer Natalie Corona (left and right) that prompted him to look into rumors that Clover believed police officers should be killed The university (pictured) released a statement that said they 'find it unconscionable that anyone would condone much less appear to advocate murder'. The university did not specify what action, if any, they were taking against Clover The university released a statement to Fox 40, that said they 'find it unconscionable that anyone would condone much less appear to advocate murder'. 'We support law enforcement, and the UC Davis Police Department and Chief Joe Farrow have been and remain critical partners to our community,' the statement continued. Clover responded to the outrage, in a statement to the station: 'On the day that police have as much to fear from literature professors as black kids do from police, I will definitely have a statement. Until then I have nothing further to add.' The university did not specify what action, if any, they were taking against Clover. Former longtime Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen will unload on his former boss in congressional testimony on Wednesday, bringing a pair of $35,000 checks he cashed as partial reimbursement of 'hush money' he paid to alleged Trump paramours Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. In a hotly anticipated hearing tainted by Cohen's own admission he has lied to Congress in the past, he will brand the president a 'racist,' a 'conman' and a 'cheat,' claim he heard Roger Stone tell then-candidate Trump about illicit campaign contacts with WikiLeaks and allege Donald trump Jr. secretly told his father ahead of time about an infamous 2016 Trump Tower meeting attended by a Kremlin-tied Russian lawyer. Rudy Giuliani, Trumps personal lawyer, has claimed in interviews that Trump paid Cohen a monthly retainer of $35,000 for legal services, as reimbursement for the campaign-year payoffs to the women, who have said they bedded Trump more than a decade ago. Trump has denied ever being sexually involved with either Daniels, a pornographic actress, or McDougal, a former Playboy mode. One check provided to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was signed by Trump himself in August 2017, more than six months into his administration, and issued from what Cohen says is the president's personal account. The other is from the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust and signed by both Donald Trump Jr. and Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg. SCROLL DOWN TO READ COHEN'S COMPLETE TESTIMONY Ready for his closeup: Michael Cohen, a former Trump Organization executive and attorney for President Donald Trump, arrived Wednesday to testify in a House hearing in which he will discuss the president's involvement in a hush-money scheme to quiet his alleged mistresses as he ran for the White House in 2016 All smiles: Cohen wants to get out from under the shame of a three-year prison term for lying to Congress, and will use a return trip to Capitol Hill to bare his soul about everything Trump Cohen has provided members of Congress with two checks, one signed by the president and the other by his son Donald Jr, which he says was reimbursement for payments meant to keep Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal quiet; President Trump's check was written after he had been president for more than a half-year The Donald Trump Jr.-signed check was dated in March 2017, and was drawn on a family Trust President Trump was in Hanoi, Vietnam on Wednesday, brushing off the Cohen media circus and focusing on a long-awaited second summit with north korean dictator Kim Jong Un (right) The president tweeted a trans-pacific slap at Cohen, torching his credibility as a disbarred former lawyer who lied to Congress and will report to prison in May In 20 pages of prepared testimony released Tuesday night, Cohen blasts his former employer and mentor for an alleged June 2016 conversation with Republican dirty-trickster Roger Stone. Cohen claims Stone told him that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange had told him a 'massive dump' of emails harmful to Hillary Clinton would be released in just a few days. Stone has claimed he knew nothing about the torrent of emails that would eventually trickle out a month at a time, all hacked from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. He also insists he has had no contact with WikiLeaks. But U.S. intelligence agencies believe Russian agents stole the materials and used WikiLeaks as a conduit to make them public. Stone, Federal prosecutors have charged Stone, Trump's longtime informal adviser whospolitical monkeywrenching dates back to the Nixon era, with witness tampering and lying to Congress. 'Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange,' Cohen recounts in his prepared testimony, 'and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign.' Cohen will report to prison in May to serve a three-year sentence for crimes he has admitted to, including lying previously to House investigators. As a stunning series of revelations stole much of the media spotlight away from Trump's summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, the president fired back. 'Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately). He had other clients also,' Trump tweeted from Hanoi, Vietnam. 'He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crookeds lawyer!' Trump called Hillary Clinton 'Crooked Hillary' during their 2016 campaign clashes. Lanny Davis, who represented Bill Clinton during the 1990s Monica Lewinsky scandal, is now one of Cohen's attorneys. Cohen had two other clients: fellow Republican National Committee deputy finance chairman Elliott Broidy and Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity. Broidy is reportedly under federal investigation for his alleged role in schemes to sell his influence in Trumpworld, including deals with Chinese and Malaysian companies. He engaged in his own hush-money scheme, paying $1.6 million to former Playboy Playmate Shera Bechard to cover up a sexual affair. Cohen's 20-page statement, dripping with contempt for his former employer, describes Trump as 'is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great. He had no desire or intention to lead this nation only to market himself and to build his wealth and power.' Cohen claims the president often said his White House campaign 'was going to be the 'greatest infomercial in political history.' 'He never expected to win the primary. He never expected to win the general election. The campaign for him was always a marketing opportunity,' according to the disgraced former attorney who lost his license to practice law on Tuesday. 'I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat. He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails,' Cohen says. Cohen also describes being present and hearing cryptic comments by Donald Trump Jr. to his father in early June of 2016 that Cohen believes referenced a Trump Tower meeting with Russians 'I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: 'The meeting is all set.' I remember Mr. Trump saying, 'Ok good let me know,' according to Cohen. June is when Don Jr., former campaign chair Paul Manafort, and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner met with a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer who had promised dirt on Hillary Clinton. 32 months later, it's impossible to verify if Don Jr. was discussing another matter. The president's eldest son mocked Cohen Wednesday on Twitter, responding to a conservative who noted that Congressional Democrats had invited a high-profile witness to testify after he pleaded guilty to lying to Congress. 'This time its different,' he tweeted, adding an emoji depicting an eye-roll. 'Only Democrats could hate someone so much that they would try to disrupt nuclear peace talks with testimony from a convicted felon,' he added. Cohen didn't spare himself from criticism on the eve of losing his freedom. 'I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience,' Cohen will say. 'He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails,' Cohen said, connecting Trump to the hack that U.S. intelligence and prosecutors say was directed by and carried out by Russian military intelligence. Michael Cohen leaves the Senate Intelligence Committee after spending nine hours behind closed doors with lawmakers Trump has denied any advance knowledge of the hack and has said repeatedly there was 'no collusion.' He has accused Cohen of 'lying' to get a lighter sentence from prosecutors. On the Moscow tower deal, which Cohen admitted he lied about during his initial testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, Cohen says Trump 'directed' the negotiations and lied about it during the campaign, when he was repeatedly asked if he had any business with Russia. 'To be clear: Mr. Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it. He lied about it because he never expected to win the election. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project,' said Cohen. Cohen also identified Trump as the 'Individual 1' in his plea agreement the term prosecutors use for the person who directed him to pay off the porn star who claims she had an affair with Trump. 'Yet, last fall I pled guilty in federal court to felonies for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in coordination with Individual #1. For the record: Individual #1 is President Donald J. Trump,' Cohen will say. Cohen earlier said he is looking forward to Wednesday's public hearing where the American people will get to hear his story and have the opportunity to decide 'exactly who is telling the truth.' Cohen briefly addressed the media after he spent nine hours behind closed doors Tuesday answering questions from senators. 'First of all I want to thank all of you for sticking around and waiting for me. At this point in time I really appreciate the opportunity that was given to me to clear the record, to tell the truth and I look forward to tomorrow to be able in my voice to tell the American people my story and I'm going to let the American people decide exactly who is telling the truth,' he said. Cohen will speak in public Wednesday for the first time since he pleaded guilty to lying to Congress when he is grilled by the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Tuesday's private session with senators on intelligence panel kicked off the first of his three days of testimony on Capitol Hill, where the topics will include racist remarks he's heard from the president and allegations of criminal activity on the part of Trump. He did not answer any questions after his 30 second statement. 'It's been a long day,' said his attorney Lanny Davis. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein told DailyMail.com that Cohen - who pleaded guilty to lying to Congress - appeared credible to lawmakers and apologized to them in Tuesday's closed session. 'He appeared credible to me today, and he apologized, he said he was going away, you know, he understands, and I think he made efforts to be absolutely truthful,' she said. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein told DailyMail.com that Cohen - who pled guilty to lying to Congress - appeared credible to lawmakers and apologized Aide: Michael Cohen was accompanied by Lanny Davis, the long-term Clinton advisor who is acting as his personal attorney Arrival: Michael Cohen arrived on on Capitol Hill at precisely the same time as Donald Trump, his former boss was touching down in Vietnam Same time: Donald Trump arrived in Hanoi for a summit with Kim Jong Un exactly as the former fixer he has branded a liar arrived on Capitol Hill Cohen's credibility has been questioned given his admission he lied to lawmakers when he appeared before the House and Senate intelligence committees in 2017. Feinstein declined to offer specific details on what Cohen, who was known as Trump's fixer, discussed with committee members. 'The part I was in, which is about two hours, umm, he answered questions, he was really it's classified, so I can't tell you much. I think that most of us know that this is very complicated picture,' she said. Cohen's appearance on Tuesday was behind closed doors so lawmakers could grill him on a variety of matters, including Trump's business dealings with Russia. As he gave evidence Cohen also learned that he was disbarred in New York because of his felony conviction in a ruling which prevents him practicing law. He had not attempted to fight the move. It's over: How Michael Cohen was formally barred from being an attorney in New York Cohen pleaded guilty to violating campaign-finance laws by facilitating payments to Daniels. Cohen will also discuss the BuzzFeed report that Trump ordered him to lie to Congress about the Trump Tower Moscow deal. The article earned a rare - if carefully worded - denial from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office. 'He'll explain exactly why he lied and how he came to lie,' said the source told Politico. Republican Sen. Susan Collins told reporters Cohen was receiving an 'extensive grilling' from the intelligence panel. But the White House voiced anger at the ex-fixer's high-profile session. 'It's laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies,' Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. Cohen arrived on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning to the flash of cameras lights and shouted questions but he didn't say a word as he walked into the Senate hearing room with Lanny Davis, the former Bill Clinton advisor who is acting as his attorney, and begins the first of three days of hearings. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden told reporters outside the hearing room he's interested in following the money when it comes to Cohen's work on Trump Tower Moscow. But one issue he wouldn't touch was whether Cohen who plead guilty to lying to Congress can be trusted to tell the truth in this appearance. 'I'll leave it at that,' Wyden said when asked that question. Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich, as he entered the hearing room, said he was looking for 'the truth.' Wednesday's public hearing will overshadow the others merely by the presence of TV cameras, to which both Cohen and the lawmakers will be playing to as they engage in a verbal parley on a variety of issues, including the building of Trump Tower Moscow, the payoffs to women during the 2016 campaign, Trump's business dealings, and donations to the president's inaugural committee. Trump and his legal team have repeatedly branded Cohen as a liar, and say he cooperated with prosecutors and furnished false information to get a reduced jail sentence. But one topic not the public agenda: Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and any possible collusion between Trump's team and Moscow. Oversight panel chairman Elijah Cummings coordinated with his counterpart on the House Intel panel, Adam Schiff, and the two agreed the Russia conversation will happen discussed behind closed doors at the intelligence session while Trump's business dealings will be the focus of the public hearing, according to a memo released Sunday by the Oversight panel. Lawmakers can dismiss the chairman's guidance and ask whatever they chose, but Cohen's attorney, Lanny Davis, also said his client cannot talk about the Russia probe in public. However, Republicans are already preparing to cast doubts on Cohen's credibility - one of Trump's legal team's major arguments against the president's former personal attorney. 'I don't know that we believe him this time,' Blunt noted. Republicans will be just as hard on Cohen as Democrats, particularly those closed tied to the president. Republican Reps. Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows, two of Trump's staunches allies on Capitol Hill, sent a letter to Cohen's attorneys last week saying they intend to press the president's former personal lawyer on his questionable business dealings, his lies to Congress, his work for foreign entities, and even 'the fake Women for Cohen social media initiative he commissioned.' One person who won't be in town for the show is President Trump, who jetted off to Vietnam on Monday for his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. But he will have the ability to tweet even with the 12 hour time difference. This week marks Cohen's first time before lawmakers since he pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the timing of talks concerning the building of a Trump Tower Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign. Lawmakers have indicated that will be a major topic of interest. 'Well, a great deal starting with why the false statements before our committee when he first appeared. Did they go beyond what he told us about Moscow Trump Tower into other areas as well?,' House Intelligence panel chair Rep. Adam Schiff said on ABC's 'This Week' on Sunday. Democratic Rep. Jim Himes, who also sits on the Intelligence panel, said he wants to know the same. 'Well, you know, Michael Cohen is going to jail for lying to my committee. So obviously, step one is to re-ask him the questions that he felt he needed to lie to us about, when he testified in the last Congress. So we're going to want to get to the truth, allow him to correct the record. And then, of course, the question is, okay, now that we know the truth, what are the follow-ups? It's going to be an interesting week in that regard,' he said Sunday on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' Democratic Reps. Elijah Cummings (left) and Adam Schiff (right) will chair Wednesday's and Thursday's House hearings respectively Last week, Cohen got a two-month reprieve from his deadline to report for his three years in jail, with a judge giving him until May 6. One of the reasons cited was his upcoming congressional testimony. Cohen received a three-year sentence in December for bank and tax fraud, lying to Congress and violating campaign finance laws. 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. Cohen has been cooperating with the special counsel's probe of Russia's role in the 2016 election. 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 A surgeon who held a knife to the throat of a taxi driver in a road-rage incident has received a jail sentence, but will be allowed to spend it in home detention. Orthopaedic surgeon Karthik Thangaraj, who appeared in court in handcuffs, was described by his lawyer Peter Maley as someone with a strong work ethic and 'caring bedside manner'. He has been in custody for almost four weeks and was sentenced in Darwin Local Court on Tuesday to six months jail. Orthopaedic surgeon Karthik Thangaraj, who appeared in court in handcuffs, was described by his lawyer Peter Maley as someone with a strong work ethic and 'caring bedside manner' But it was suspended, with the surgeon ordered to spend two months in home detention. Thangaraj was driving into the Casuarina Club bottle shop car park on June 22 last year as taxi driver Gurinder Singh was exiting in his taxi van and there was not enough room for both cars. A stand-off ensued with neither giving away. 'You pulled out a steel folding knife, walked up to the driver's side of the taxi, shouting and arguing, held the taxi driver's arm and held the knife against his throat,' Judge Elisabeth Armitage said in sentencing. 'This was a very serious incident of aggravated assault in that it involved a weapon and an attack on a taxi driver, which is a vulnerable position in the community.' Mr Singh was pinned to his car seat and said he could feel the blade against his skin. A nearby bottle shop worker intervened, confronting Thangaraj who took the knife away from Mr Singh's neck and drove off. Police quickly caught up with Thangaraj and spoke to him, but he initially denied any involvement and in a full interview later made only some admissions, Judge Armitage said. The drivers refused to give way to each other at the sole entrance and exit of the Casuarina bottle shop car park. Thanaraj then pulled a knife on Mr Singh before a worker took it off him Mr Maley said colleagues and friends had provided strong references for Thangaraj, describing his conduct as 'outrageously out of character'. He pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a weapon. However, he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, said his lawyer, who provided documents that Thangaraj's surgeon wife had helped collate about his mental health issues and 'stressors' in his life at the time. It was also revealed in court on Tuesday that Thangaraj is facing a separate criminal charge of obtaining benefit by deception. He previously faced court in 2014, when he was convicted for high-range drink driving after blowing 0.215 - more than four times the limit - at 11am after a big night out drinking sake, the Japanese rice wine. After nearly two decades of lies about killing his wife and burying her body, Edmund Riggs has finally told her family where the rest of her remains may be buried. After Riggs was found guilty of the manslaughter of his wife Patricia Riggs at Redcliffe on February 13, he told authorities where to look, a sentencing review in the Brisbane Supreme Court was told on Wednesday. Crown prosecutor Todd Fuller QC told AAP the information had been passed on to police. Edmund Ian Riggs was found guilty of the manslaughter of his wife of 17 years Patricia Anne Riggs (pictured) in September 2001 at their home Edmund Ian Riggs (pictured) who admitted causing his wife's death during an argument 18 years ago, burying her and later digging her up and burying her again was acquitted of her murder Police have been unable to confirm if a search has been conducted or Patricia's remains located. Riggs' admission comes after Patricia's brother Mark Knowles begged him to let the family give her a proper burial. 'He's got one thing he can do for the family now,' Mr Knowles said after the verdict. 'Give us the rest of her remains so we can bury her with dignity. 'Where is she? Only he knows the answers. If he's got any ounce of dignity, he'll let us know.' The jury accepted Riggs's testimony that Patricia died after he pushed her in reaction to her spitting on him on September 30, 2001. She fell back and hit her head on the bed, sparking his panicked cover-up efforts including burying her in a shallow grave on the outskirts of Caboolture in the dead of the night. Riggs' admission comes after Patricia's brother Mark Knowles (pictured) begged him to let the family give her a proper burial The next day when her children asked for her, he claimed he didn't know where she was, later telling friends and family she had run off. Years later, Riggs dug up her remains and reburied her at the family home, where her partial skeletal remains were found in 2016 by a new owner. Riggs remains in custody and will be sentenced at a later date. Talking to Channel Nine's A Current Affair on Tuesday Ms Riggs' father Jon Knowles expressed his grief after the court cleared the 60-year-old of his daughter's murder. After Riggs was found guilty of manslaughter, Mr Knowles said he will never forgive him for taking away his daughter, branding him 'a callous bloody coward'. 'I don't have a hatred for him, I just don't think he should be breathing, that's all,' Mr Knowles said. 'It's innocent until proven guilty, there's two parties involved in it, one party is dead so you've only got one story.' Mr Knowles said he was suspicious from his son-in-law's behaviour from the beginning, when he failed to look for his missing wife. 'You'd look for a dog if it was missing wouldn't you so why wouldn't you look for your wife?' he said. A Pennsylvania mother and her teenage daughter accused of murdering five members of their own family, including three children between the ages of nine and 13, reportedly thought the world was coming to an end. Shana Decree, 45, and Dominique Decree, 19, were charged with five counts of homicide and one count each of conspiracy after police found them in an apartment with the bodies of five relatives they had allegedly killed on Monday. At least two of the victims were reportedly choked to death. Shana told police that 'everyone at the apartment wanted to die' and talked about suicide, including the children, according to court documents. Her daughter claimed that one of the victims, her aunt Jamilla Campbell, 42, killed one of her own twin daughters, aged nine, before she herself was slain. But a family friend told The New York Post another relative, Tyquilla Campbell, had visited both the mom and daughter after becoming concerned by their behavior. Latasha Harris said: 'Tyquilla went there, more concerned for the kids, and they were basically like, "Get out of here, you're a demon. You're not wanted here, you're going to die". They said something about [how] the world is supposed to be coming to an end in February of 2019.' Harris' daughter is the half-sister of the killing's two youngest victims. She added: 'I think the whole family was brainwashed by the mother, Shana. I'm thinking [Shana and Dominique] were waiting to die, also. They were all supposed to go, but it just didn't go according to plan.' Late Tuesday the Bucks County District Attorney's Office photo released these booking photos of Shana Decree, left, and Dominique, right, showing marks on Dominique's neck The mother and daughter (pictured together) are said to have thought the world was ending Crime scene tape is seen Tuesday at the Robert Morris Apartments in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, where police found the five dead bodies Monday Among the deceased are two other children of Shana Decree - Naa'Irah Smith, 25, and Damon Decree Jr, 13. Also killed were Jamilla Campbell's twin daughters, Imani and Erika Allen, aged nine. Police did not say how all five victims died. The bodies were found on Monday inside the unit at the Robert Morris Apartments in the Philadelphia suburb of Morrisville after Bucks County child welfare officials showed up unannounced and got no response when they knocked on the door. A maintenance worker opened the door and found Shana and her daughter Dominique in a 'disoriented' state, according to court documents. Matt Scott, Dominique's ex-boyfriend, told DailyMail.com on Tuesday: 'It's f***ing sick how she could do that, and it doesn't make any sense. Her and her mother were amazing people.' He did say, however, that he has not spoken to Dominique since they split up in 2017 after about two and a half years of dating. 'Her family were very close,' Scott said. 'I don't see how this could have happened, especially with the mother: she was very religious. 'Every family has their struggles but they always stood together as a team, from what I could tell. I was in shock, I was like, 'This isn't f***ing real. They were so f***ing close.' 'I would have never expected this, or even thought of it. They were all so f***ing nice. Everyone is shocked about this; no one would have expected this, and the kids were so f***ing sweet. I'm just horrified, it's scary shocking.' Victims: Shana Decree's sister Jamilla Campbell (left) was one of the family members killed in Pennsylvania, along with Decree's daughter, 25-year-old Naa'Irah Smith (right) Shana's 13-year-old son, Damon, was among the dead inside the family's apartment (pictured) Victim Naa'Irah, pictured with her mom Shana, who has now been charged with her murder Dominique (left) has been charged over the death of her aunt Jamilla (right) An investigator steps out from the Robert Morris Apartments in Morrisville Police responded at 4pm and found all five bodies in a bedroom. The apartment was in 'disarray,' according to Police Chief George McClay, with broken drywall and broken glass, overturned furniture, and other clutter. Damon, Shana's teenage son, was found lying face up on the bed with his right foot jammed through the wall into the adjacent bedroom. Shana was arraigned early Tuesday morning, while her daughter made her initial court appearance later in the afternoon. Neighbors had grown concerned for the family when nobody saw them outside the house for several days, NBC reported earlier. One friend of the victims said she had tried knocking on the door multiple times on Friday but received no answer. She said: 'I saw the landlord and said, what's going on? And she said, 'we are doing a welfare check because trash is piled up out there for awhile to see if they are alright'. Nobody answered the door so the maintenance guys went in.' Shana Decree, 45 (left), and her 19-year-old daughter, Dominique Decree (right), have been charged with killing five of their relatives, among them three children Investigators carry out items from the crime scene during an ongoing homicide investigation Both suspected killers received medical treatment at a hospital before they were taken into custody yesterday. They agreed to speak to the police without a lawyer present. Dominique, who had injuries to her neck, initially denied knowing what had happened inside her family's apartment. She asked if her relatives were alive and talked about her desire to die, according to the documents. Her mother Shana is also said to have pleaded ignorance and claimed that her sister Jamilla's boyfriend and two other men came into their apartment and killed everyone, only leaving her and Dominique alive. Investigators went back to Dominique and told her that her mother has named a potential suspect. The 19-year-old then also pointed a finger of blame and her aunt's boyfriend and two other men. Dominique, however, later changed her story, telling police that her mother killed one of her sister's twins, her own son, and daughter, Naa'irah Smith; that her aunt Jamilla choked her other twin daughter, and that Dominique herself choked Jamilla to death. Thai Hall, 24, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, said she attended Morrisville High School with Smith and spoke with her about three months ago. Hall, whose mother lives in a neighboring apartment, said Smith was attending cosmetology school. She remembered Smith warmly. 'She was a happy person, happy person and cared for people,' Hall said. Shana (left) told police that 'everyone at the apartment ... wanted to die' and talked about suicide. Dominique, right, initially said she did not know what happened Shana allegedly killed her son Damon (pictured together, left) and her daughter Naa'irah, right Bucks County's District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said at a press conference: 'This is a terrible tragedy. 'I just spoke with the family of all five of the deceased and we're all heartbroken. I wish I had better news to report. 'The people who committed these atrocious acts are now in custody and will be made to pay for their crimes.' Detectives are still investigating how the victims died and it was 'premature' to suggest a motive, he said. Authorities who had been looking for Campbell's 17-year-old son Joshua found him in Willingboro, New Jersey, where he was staying with friends, McClay said. Weintraub earlier stressed the teen is not a suspect, saying authorities just want to 'ensure his safety.' A man released from one of Western Australia's highest security jails was found dead one day after he walked free. The man was granted parole and released from Casuarina prison, in Perth, on February 4. His body was discovered at his home just 24 hours later. He'd served time for offences including burglary, reckless driving and drug possession. The man was granted parole and released from Casuarina prison (pictured), in Perth, on February 4. His body was discovered at his residence 24 hours later 'This death is now being investigated by the WA Police and may be the subject of further inquiry,' a spokesperson from the Department of Justice told WA Today. 'His death is being treated as non-suspicious and a report will be prepared for the coroner,' the spokesperson said. The Coroner will need to determine if his death is considered to have taken place while in custody. Investigations into the deaths of five other Casuarina prisoners, who died in 2014 and 2015, will also be included in the 10-day hearing, beginning on March 25. The wife of Queensland's Police Commissioner has had her fine was failing to stop at a stop sign withdrawn. Carol Stewart, a former police officer, was issued an infringement notice in the Sandgate area in Brisbane's north. Ms Stewart, who is married to Commissioner Ian Stewart, appealed her fine and had the ticket withdrawn. Former police officer, Carol Stewart, had her fine for failing to stop at a stop sign in Brisbane's north revoked after she wrote to the Officer in Charge The Queensland Police Service said that Ms Stewart writing to the Officer in Charge and challenging the ticket is well within her rights as an Australian. 'She exercised her legal right and wrote a letter to the Officer in Charge, in the area where the alleged offence occurred, seeking for the ticket to be withdrawn,' the QPS told the ABC. 'It is open to all members of the public who have been issued an infringement notice.' The senior constable who issued the fine to Ms Stewart has reportedly gone on leave. Ms Stewart is also married to Queensland's Police Commissioner who recently announced his retirement Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said that she had no idea that Ms Stewart's fine was waived until after the Police Commissioner announced his retirement. 'If there is any evidence that any wrongdoing whatsoever has been done, these matters can be investigated,' Premier Palaszczuk told the Courier Mail. 'I don't know the details of this. Nor should I.' Queensland Police declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia. Recent floods have left parts of Queensland devastated but a new advertising campaign starring a top model hopes to bring tourists back to the region. The Tourism North Queensland campaign features Samantha Harris in locations such as Vlassof Cay, Mossman Gorge, the Atherton Tablelands, Fitzroy and Dunk Islands. Ms Harris said she was happy to be a part of 'Feel Grounded', which focuses on removing people from stress and helping them get back to nature. Samantha Harris on Palm Cove in Cairns for the Queensland 'Feel Grounded' campaign Harris also travelled to Davies Creek in Atherton Tablelands as apart of her tour of Northern Queensland 'It was incredible to be invited to Tropical North Queensland to explore the destination we were literally chasing waterfalls,' Harris said. 'I totally connected with the feel grounded concept it's exactly what you feel from the minute you touch down in Tropical North Queensland that feeling of letting all your stress and worry go. 'If youre feeling stressed or need to get back to nature, put Tropical North Queensland on the list for a long weekend away I promise you will come back re-energised and re-inspired.' According to the Tourism North Queensland over 4.9million Australians are affected by stress, with a lack of sleep and work pressure largely to blame. Vlasoff Sand Cay in Cairns is one of several famous beaches the region is known for, attracting thousands of tourist from around the world every year Tropical region of Queensland is famous for its humid and summer like weather, Harris is pictured here at Thala Beach in Port Douglas Samantha Harris, 28, is one Australia's most famous models and one of few Aboriginal models to gain international attention, pictured here at Heart Of Cape Tribulation in the Daintree Rainforest Chief Executive Officer of the campaign Pip Close said the campaign was all about demonstrating to travellers that Tropical North Queensland will benefit them. 'With wellness a priority for many Australians in 2019, Tropical North Queensland is the place where they can feel grounded with incredible locations for hiking, biking, swimming, diving and yoga. 'Tropical North Queensland is all about taking time out with incredible experiences set against nature,' said Close. The campaign will be seen through print advertising as well as TV ads in 2019. Killer: Ibrahim Maheta faces life in jail A printing worker stabbed his younger brother to death in a fit of rage after becoming convinced the sibling had slept with his wife. Silver-toothed Ibrahim Mahetar, 35, is facing life in jail after being convicted yesterday of murdering 31-year-old Naseer Mahetar in Batley, West Yorkshire, last August. The jury heard Mehetar, of Dewsbury Moor, 'lured' Naseer to their parents' home after relations between the pair deteriorated. The prosecution told how Mahetar called his brother a 'wife sh**ger' as he plunged a sharp implement into his chest three times, fatally wounding him in the heart. Naseer Mahetar's wife and two-year-old child were present during the attack and the wife was injured as she tried to protect the victim. Mahetar admitted stabbing his brother but claimed it was in self-defence. The jury yesterday convicted him of murder by a majority of 10-to-one. Earlier in the trial, prosecutor Nicholas Campbell QC told the jury: 'Rumours circulated that Naseer was also having an affair with Ibrahims wife. Whatever the truth about that, by the middle of July the difficulties had erupted into violence.' Ibrahim accused Naseer of sleeping with his wife after 'luring' him to their parents' house Mr Campbell said that six weeks prior to the alleged murder, the brothers were out in Leeds and the defendant 'started acting up' before following his brother home and assaulting him. He added: 'Injury was caused but nothing serious.' Speaking about the night of the alleged murder, Mr Campbell said: 'The prosecution say that the defendant Ibrahim lured his younger brother Naseer, together with Naseer's wife, to the family home and there, having recorded him, he stabbed him three times.' The prosecution say further that when Naseer's wife tried to protect her husband during the attack the defendant struck her on the wrist, causing a 'nasty' bruise. Victim: Naseer was stabbed three times He said that the defendant then ran away, 'leaving his brother lying on the ground with only minutes to live'. In a statement read out to the court, Naseer Mahetar's wife Asma Daji said: 'All I could see when I closed my eyes was Naseer lying on the floor after he had been attacked. That image has not faded and remains with me, particularly at night.' Speaking about her two-year-old daughter who also witnessed the murder, she said: 'I worry what, if any, long-term effects this may have on her. 'She still will not sleep alone and insists on sleeping with her grandparents. Her appetite is still poor whereas before the incident she ate well and slept in her own bed.' Mrs Daji said she met her husband when she was 17 and married him two years later, adding: 'When you are young, you always think that you have time. You think you have the rest of your lives together. We talked about the future and had so many plans but now all those plans are shattered. He was my everything and all I knew.' In another statement read out to the court, the couple's 10-year-old daughter said: 'I miss my daddy's hugs. Even though everyone else hugs me, it's never the same. I wish he could come back... 'If I saw him one more time I would tell him how much I love him and not to leave me as without him I am always sad and angry. I miss him so much it hurts.' Judge Rodney Jameson QC said the defendant is facing a sentence of life imprisonment. The murder weapon was never recovered and the prosecution had to rely on the defendant's description of it. He described it as a tool 'like a spark plug cleaner'. The prosecution believed he foundit at the scene rather than bringing it with him. Richard Wright QC, mitigating, said the defendant's actions were 'undoubtedly brought about by his perception of the relationship between his wife and his brother' and 'driven by paranoia'. He added: 'It does not justify for a moment the violence that was used but it does explain what happened that night from his perspective.' The judge previously said that whether the defendant believed that his brother had sex with his wife is 'highly relevant' but whether or not he actually had 'may be less relevant'. The defendant, who has two previous convictions, will be sentenced tomorrow morning. A prominent Los Angeles Democrat donor has been hit with a wrongful death lawsuit after two men died in his apartment in the last 18 months. LaTisha Nixon filed legal papers in a Los Angeles court Tuesday, alleging West Hollywood political donor Ed Buck, 65, is responsible for the death of her son, Gemmel Moore. Buck has made more than $500,000 in political donations to both local politicians and national campaigns including Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential bid. Moore died of a crystal meth overdose in the donor's apartment in July 2017. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department opened a homicide investigation, but a year later the District Attorney, Jackie Lacey, declined to file charges against Buck, citing insufficient evidence. A second man, 55-year-old Timothy Dean, was also found dead of a drug overdose at Buck's apartment last month, prompting an outcry from local activists for the wealthy Democrat's arrest. Nixon's suit names Lacey and Assistant Head Deputy District Attorney Craig Hum as co-defendants, accusing them of wrongfully failing to investigate and prosecute Buck for murder. The coroner ruled the death an accidental overdose and Buck has always maintained his innocence and denied any wrongdoing. LaTisha Nixon, center, the mother of Gemmel Moore, who was found dead from an overdose at Ed Buck's apartment 18 months ago, attends a vigil for her son last month Gemmel Moore (left) and Timothy Dean (right) were both found dead at Ed Buck's apartment in similar circumstances at different times Ed Buck has made more than $500,000 in political donations to both local politicians and national campaigns including Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential bid The lawsuit is seeking damages against Ed Buck for 'wrongful death, sexual battery, drug dealer liability, premises liability, negligence per se, intentional infliction of emotional distress and hate violence'. In her legal complaint, Nixon cites evidence from several men who told police that they were 'forcibly injected with crystal methamphetamine by Mr. Buck'. Buck's attorney, Seymour Amster, has previously denied any wrongdoing by his client, said Buck did not inject anyone, and called the allegations against Buck 'spurious'. The lawsuit claims that Buck bought Moore a plane ticket from Houston to visit him at his apartment in July 2017, and that just hours after he landed, Moore was dead. Police found the apartment 'littered with multiple syringes with brown residue, a scale, several lighters and torches, a straw with white residue, glass pipes with white residue and burn marks, plastic bags with white powdery residue and a clear plastic bag containing a crystal-like substance,' the legal papers say. The documents claim Buck had 'previously solicited sex' from Moore 'would insist upon injecting Mr. Moore with crystal methamphetamine' then forcing him to watch hardcore gay pornography. Buck also 'required Mr. Moore to masturbate and engage in other autoerotic sex acts for Mr. Buck's sexual gratification and pleasure,' according to the lawsuit. 'Until now, Ed Buck has avoided prosecution by the very same elected officials and law enforcement agents whose pockets he's been lining with hundreds of thousands of dollars in election campaign and legal defense fund contributions since 2007,' said Hussain Turk, one of Nixon's attorneys. 'Their refusal to criminally prosecute Ed Buck because he is white is an unjust and unequal application of the law. 'If the dead body of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed white man was found in the home of an older Black man, he'd be lucky to even make it to the police station alive,' Turk added. 'But on DA Lacey's and DDA Hum's watch, Ed Buck hasn't even been formally questioned for his involvement in the deaths of not one, but two Black men.' Part of the evidence backing up the bereaved mother's lawsuit is Moore's journal, where he claims Buck injected him with crystal meth. In one entry, Moore wrote: 'I honestly don't know what to do. I've become addicted to drugs and the worst one at that. Ed Buck is the one to thank. He gave me my first injection of crystal meth it was very painful, but after all the troubles, I became addicted to the pain and fetish/fantasy. 'My life is at an alltime high right now & I mean that from all ways. I ended up back at Buck house again and got munipulated into slamming again. I even went to the point where I was forced to doing 4 within a 2day period. This man is crazy and its sad. Will I ever get help?' 'Slamming' is a slang term for gay men injecting drugs such as mephedrone, GHB, or crystal meth. In Moore's final entry on December 3 2016, he wrote: 'If it didn't hurt so bad, I'd kill myself, but I'll let Ed Buck do it for now.' LaTisha Nixon, pictured with her son Moore. Her lawsuit is seeking damages against Ed Buck Jermaine Gagnon, 28, (pictured) told DailyMailTV he narrowly escaped death when Democratic donor Edward Buck injected him with crystal meth at his sex-toy filled apartment Buck has always maintained his innocence and denied any wrongdoing DailyMail.com has exclusively revealed accounts from two other men who claim Buck paid them to come to his apartment, strip and wear special underpants as well as other bizarre 'fetish' requests, and be injected by the wealthy donor with syringes of meth. One man, Jermaine Gagnon, 28, said that during one such session in September last year, Buck gave him Gatorade secretly spiked with an unknown drug and then injected him with crystal meth as he lay incapacitated. 'My body was numb, I could barely move. All I felt was warm all over my body. It was a matter of seconds. My speech started slurring, I was in and out,' Gagnon told DailyMail.com. 'I saw him preparing the drugs at the table. He said 'you've got to watch'. I couldn't really stand up. I lay on the bed in the middle of the floor and was just laid out. 'He came over, he was like 'I don't think you're high enough for me, I want you to do another point.' That's when he pointed me. Immediately it felt like death took over my body. I don't know what it was. I felt like everything was going to end right there. 'I really thought I was the next person that was gonna be dead at Ed Buck's house.' Gagnon said Buck paid twice to fly him to LA for a drug-fuelled session, pushing more drugs on the young black man each time. Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey, pictured, is named as a co-defendant, with Nixon's suit accusing her of wrongfully failing to investigate and prosecute Buck for murder Timothy Dean, 55, died of a suspected drug overdose at the Democratic donor's home. Dean was a sales rep at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills Another man wrote his family a detailed account of the many 'chemsex' sessions he had with Buck. The man has since died from an unrelated illness. Buck called the black 30-year-old, who DailyMail.com is identifying only as 'Blake' at the request of his family, his 'crack baby', 'my n****r buddy', 'my straight n****r buddy', 'and 'black boy', according to Blake's account. Blake claimed the Hillary donor paid to watch him defecate, strip-searched him before he left the apartment, and once even choked Blake when he refused to leave. The former porn star told told his family Buck would trawl LA's Skid Row for young black men, and had an area he called 'the gates of hell' near the doorway to his apartment where he would photograph the men he paid for sex. 'Our hope is that this lawsuit will bring some modicum of justice for Gemmel and all of Ed Buck's victims,' said Nana Gymafi, human rights and criminal defense attorney and co-counsel for Nixon. 'If Ed Buck had any decency at all, he would have already come forward and apologized and offered to compensate Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean's families for the terrible harm and trauma he has caused through his actions. But, Buck is not a decent human being, and so we are forced to bring this lawsuit to get some accountability and justice.' Advertisement The shattered ex-girlfriend of Asias strongest man who was killed during a violent struggle with a Sydney homeowner - has broken down in tears outside his funeral. Bradley Soper, 35, died in the early hours of Sunday, February 17, during a struggle with Johann Schwartz, who had confronted the bodybuilder after hearing him break into his family home in Harrington Park. Kaisha Gambell - whose break up with the bodybuilder Soper's family blames for the bizarre home invasion - was among the hundreds of mourners to pack the Dubbo City Crematorium, in central-western New South Wales, for his funeral service on Wednesday morning. Ms Gambell was comforted by Soper's family and friends as she left the crematorium. Kaisha Gambell (pictured), the ex-girlfriend of bodybuilder Bradley Soper, is comforted by a friend outside his funeral service on Wednesday. Soper, 34, died after becoming involved in a struggle with a man whose home he had broken into this month Soper and Ms Gambell (pictured) had split in the months before he invaded the home in Harrington Park, western Sydney. His father Raymond last week told Daily Mail Australia that his son had suffered a 'breakdown' after his serious relationship ended Soper (left) won the title of Asia's Strongest Man in 2017, with Ms Gambell (right) by his side for support throughout the event Inside the service, the personal trainer and amateur weightlifter was remembered as a 'good and kind' person with loved ones insisting the recent home invasion was completely 'out of character'. Soper's devastated father Raymond last week told Daily Mail Australia he believed the break-up with Ms Gambell had caused his son to suffer a breakdown. He believed this directly led him to break into the Schwartz family home in a 'zombie-like' state. 'Bradley hadn't taken it well at all, he still had a broken heart,' Mr Soper said. 'They had been going out for well over 12 months, I'd say. We met her and she was a very nice girl.' Friends remembered Soper as a 'kind and generous' person, who had helped many people change their lives since starting his own personal training business. His father said last week he was at a loss to explain why the man he knew would break into a home and ransack it. 'All I can say is it was all out of character for Bradley. We feel that he's had some sort of a breakdown or something,' Mr Soper said. Raymond Soper last week told Daily Mail Australia the break-up with Ms Gambell (right) had caused his son (left) to suffer a 'breakdown'. 'Bradley hadn't taken it well at all, he still had a broken heart,' Mr Soper said The casket for strongman Soper was adorned with a photo of the personal trainer, a t-shirt with his personal training business logo and his favourite pair of runners Soper's funeral booklet included photos of him with his family and after winning the title of Asia's Strongest Man in 2017 Mr Soper's brother leaves the funeral service at the Dubbo City Crematorium, in central western New South Wales Inside the service the personal trainer and amateur weightlifter was remembered by loved ones as a 'good and kind' person A group of Soper's mates embrace outside the funeral service for the popular bodybuilder, who moved to Sydney after growing up in country NSW 'There's no way he would go into anyone's place intentionally, there's just no way.' An obituary published by Mr Soper in a local newspaper described his son as being 'greatly loved and adored', and a 'great mate and mentor to many'. In lieu of flowers, mourners at the ceremony were asked to make donations to CanTeen Australia - a charity for young people with cancer. As Soper was farewelled by family and friends, police continued to try to piece together exactly what occurred in the moments before his death. Detectives believe that after hearing his dogs bark loudly when Soper jumped his back fence, Mr Schwartz walked down stairs to confront the intruder. A struggle ensued, during which the businessman placed the bodybuilder in a chokehold - a move that eventually killed him. Soper regularly competed in strongman events around the world, where crowds gather to watch athletes go through a series of events including pulling stationary cars (pictured) Soper (centre) had his greatest success on the strongman stage when he won the title of Asia's Strongest Man back in 2017 Soper died after a struggle with Johann Schwartz (left) who confronted the bodybuilder after hearing him break into his home at Harrington Park, in western Sydney, about 7.30am. Mr Schwartz's wife and daughter (pictured) were just metres away The bodybuilder - who lived in a nearby street - reportedly wandered the local area for more than an hour in an agitated state before jumping over the backyard fence and breaking into the Schwartz family's home (pictured) Police (pictured at the Schwartz family's home the day after the incident) are not expected to charge Mr Schwartz over the scuffle with Soper, but their investigations are ongoing In the hours before he entered the Schwartz family home at 7.30am, Soper - who lived just a few streets over - had been seen by locals walking barefoot along through the new estate and yelling loudly. Just before 7.30am the fitness guru was seen knocking on a neighbours door, before running away and attempting to get an answer at another home some minutes later. Continuing to walk through the street in an agitated state, Soper then jumped the fence of several homes when he eventually made it into the Schwartz backyard. It is then that he entered the home where he would eventually die of a medical episode. Police are not expected to charge Mr Schwartz over the scuffle with Soper, but their investigations are ongoing. Toxicology and post-mortem examinations carried out last week were inconclusive, with further tests to be carried out. Two men have been arrested over the shooting of a former detective, Irishmen Mark Dixon, 30, and Jack Harvey, 26, were arrested in Broken Head, northern New South Wales, on Wednesday afternoon. They were wanted over the shooting of 53-year-old former NSW Police detective Sid Morgan, who was gunned down at Point Cook in Melbourne's west on February 21 after an argument in the street. The Sydney man, who became a real estate agent after he was acquitted of shooting dead a paedophile, remains in hospital with life-threatening injuries. Scroll down for video Irishmen Mark Dixon (left), 30, and Jack Harvey (right), 26, were arrested in Broken Head, northern New South Wales, on Wednesday afternoon They were wanted over the shooting in the head of a 53-year-old Sid Morgan at Point Cook on February 21 after an argument in the street Police had earlier raided a motel in Byron Bay but came up empty handed when they found the room was vacant. The victim, Mr Morgan, who previously went by the name Said, was a detective in the NSW police force in the 1990s. In 1995 he shot Mansour Suha, his brother-in-law, after hearing accusations he was molesting three young girls, two of which were his relatives. He emptied his service revolver in the shooting which was described in court as a 'Clint Eastwood notion of justice,' according to The Age. The police scene after the shooting in Point Cook, Melbourne Detectives released an image of a ute they believe is connected to the attack He was cleared of wrongdoing by a Crown jury in August 1997 who found that he had not acted out revenge but rather fear for the safety of children in the future. NSW Police refused to reinstate him and he started a career as a Sydney real estate agent. He told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2005 that he had 'worked hard and built a new life for himself.' His real estate agency recently ran into financial trouble and he was declared bankrupt in 2014, according to The Daily Telegraph. He remains in hospital in a serious condition. Police working the crime scene the day after the shooting occured on February 21 An inquest will be held into the death of toddler Mason Lee who died after a blow from his mother's partner in Caboolture, north of Brisbane. Anne Maree Lee was last week sentenced to nine years' jail for his manslaughter and her partner, William Andrew O'Sullivan, is serving a nine-year sentence over the boy's excruciating death in June 2016. Deputy State Coroner John Lock said on Wednesday it was in the public interest to hold an inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death. An inquest will be held into the death of toddler Mason Lee (pictured) who died after a blow from his mother's partner in Caboolture, north of Brisbane Anne Maree Lee (left) was last week sentenced to nine years' jail for his manslaughter and her partner, William Andrew O'Sullivan (right), is serving a nine-year sentence over the boy's excruciating death in June 2016 The 22-month-old toddler died five days after being hit by O'Sullivan so hard it ruptured the toddler's small intestine. Mason spent the last of those days in agony - vomiting, feverish and dehydrated. An autopsy identified widespread bruising to Mason's forehead, chest and abdomen, a broken tailbone, and traces of methamphetamine in his blood. O'Sullivan - who had long battled addiction to drugs, particularly ice - tried to cover up his involvement in Mason's death by blaming paramedics for responding slowly when they had taken just six minutes to arrive after being called by a friend. Prosecutors argued Mason's injuries were 'survivable' with medical treatment and blamed his mum for failing to arrange it for her son. Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath is seeking advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions to see if her sentence can be appealed. She has already lodged an appeal against O'Sullivan's sentence. The inquest will be held later this year. Advertisement President Donald Trump began his Hanoi summit with Kim Jong Un by predicting progress at his upcoming meal with his counterpart and calling the North Korean dictator 'my friend.' 'Hopefully great things will happen later on,' Trump said in brief remarks Wednesday as he met with the president of Vietnam and a delegation. Trump also lavished praise upon Vietnam for its 'thriving' economy, while touting economic growth in the U.S. as well holding out the local economy as a model for North Korea to pursue. He announced a deal to have Vietnamese airlines purchase U.S.-made planes even as it continues to ship billions worth of sneakers and shrimp to U.S. ports. Other agreements would bring the total value of the agreements to $21 billion, according to an administration offical. Trump also called the relationship between the U.S. and Vietnam an 'example' of what can become of North Korea if it gives up its nuclear weapons. Trump also posed in front of a statue of the nation's revolutionary founder Kim Jong Un. 'You really are an example as to what can happen with good thinking,' Trump said as he sat down with President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam. He touted Vietnam as an economic model that North Korea could pursue Trump, who landed Tuesday, has already met with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong for the signing of several commercial trade deals between their two airline industries The motorcade carrying U.S. President Donald Trump drive past Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam on Wednesday President Donald Trump meets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the Office of Government Hall in Hanoi on Wednesday Trump talked up the economic model where the communist government has maintained one-party political control but opened up economically and established vigorous trade relations with the U.S. 'Unemployment and all of the numbers that you would look at are at historically positive numbers. So I just see what you've done and I'm very proud of what you've done,' Trump said. He also touted agreements negotiated in advance of the summit for Vietnam to purchase U.S.-made products, and touted a deal with airplane manufacturer Boeing. He also claimed it would help reduce the U.S. $37 billion trade deficit with Vietnam. 'And I know today, whether it's Boeing and a couple of others we're going to be signing some very big trade deals where you're buying a lot of different products from the United States which we greatly appreciate. We're reducing the deficit very substantially, as are many countries,' Trump said. According to a senior administration official, deals totaling $21 billion included VietJet buying 100 Boeing 737-Max jets and 215 GE/CFM joint venture engines. Bamboo airways will buy 10 Boeing 787 planes, and Vietnam airlines will buy $100 million in services and technology from Sabre Corporation. Soon after Trump inked the deals, longtime lawyer Michael Cohen's prepared testimony was released. It contained potentially damaging claims including that Cohen overheard a campaign phone conversation where Roger Stone told candidate Trump that Julian Assange told him in advance about dumping anti- Hillary Clinton emails. Cohen also says Trump repeatedly inquired about the status of a Moscow tower project in 2016, and even directed him to threaten schools so they would not release his academic information. Cohen also says Trump told him to fend off reporters and avoid answering questions about the medical deferment that helped keep him from serving in Vietnam. Trump and Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong stand before a signing ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing signed agreements with VietJet for 100 737 MAX planes and with Bamboo Airways for 10 787 Dreamliners as the two leaders looked on Wednesday Trump called the relationship between the U.S. and Vietnam an 'example' of what can become of North Korea if it gives up its nuclear weapons Trump thanked Vietnam for hosting the summit and for agreeing to the new trade deals with American companies 'We're going to be signing some very big trade deals where you're buying a lot of different products from the United States which we greatly appreciate,' Trump told Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong U.S. President Donald Trump met with his Vietnamese counterpart President Nguyen Phu Trong hours before he is set to sit down with North Korea's Kim Jong Un Trump and President Nguyen Phu Trong have already presided over a signing ceremony of several commercial trade deals between their two airline industries. U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing signed agreements with VietJet for 100 737 MAX planes and with Bamboo Airways for 10 787 Dreamliners as the two leaders looked on Wednesday. And U.S.-based aviation technology company Sabre also inked a deal with Vietnam Airlines. Later, Trump smiled and held a Vietnamese flag as he met with the country's prime minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and inked a series of agreements. Bad timing: 'Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great,' Michael Cohen will testify, in language that was released during Trump's first day in Hanoi Trump previously complained about the trade imbalance during his visit here in 2016, when it was $32 billion. ''We have to get rid of the trading imbalance, we can't have a trade imbalance,' the president said then as he was promoting his 'America First' push on trade. Kim visited a factory in Hanoi on Tuesday, getting a first hand look at some of the economic progress being made, in a nation that has regularly surpassed 6 per cent growth and achieved per-capita income several fold greater than in North Korea. Trump review the guard of honor during a meeting with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong ahead of the US-North Korea summit in Hanoi President Donald Trump waves a Vietnam flag as he meets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, waving an American flag A statement from Hanoi Mayor Nguyen Duc Chung called for residents to 'maintain and sustain Hanoians' code of behavior' as Trump pays a visit to the city President Donald Trump began his Hanoi summit with Kim Jong Un with another optimistic tweet, calling the North Korean dictator 'my friend' DOWN TO BUSINESS: Trump touted a deal for Vietnam to purchase planes. The U.S. trade deficit with the nation has grown by $5 billion since Trump visited two years ago Who was Vietnam's revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh? Born in 1890 in what was then French Indochina, Ho Chi Minh spent parts of his early life in France, the Soviet Union and China. After working with Chinese Communists in the 1930s he became leader of the nationalist Viet Minh movement in 1941. The Viet Minh fought for Vietnam's independence from Japanese occupying forces during World War II and from Vietnam's colonial ruler, France. Ho declared himself Vietnam's leader after Japan's defeat in 1945. But it was not until 1954 - when Ho's Communist forces defeated the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu - that France finally withdrew. Vietnam was split in two, with Ho's Communists taking charge of the North, allied to China and the Soviet Union, while the South remained an anti-Communist bastion supported by the United States. Ho Chi Minh, right, pictured with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1965, was the founder of Communist Vietnam Elections were planned to reunify the country by 1956 but these never took place. As leader of the North, Ho was determined to undermine the South and backed the Viet Cong guerrilla forces who were staging a Communist insurgency there. His slogan - 'nothing is as dear to the heart of the Vietnamese as independence and liberation' - became an inspiration to his supporters. He backed the invasion of Laos in the 1950s which led to the birth of the Ho Chi Minh Trail - a supply line which allowed Ho to equip Communists in the South and which would frustrate U.S. forces during the Vietnam War. By the 1960s U.S. troops were arriving in Vietnam to bolster the South. As the conflict escalated Ho sent a defiant message to Washington, saying: 'We will never agree to negotiate under the threat of bombing.' He remained President of North Vietnam until his death in 1969. Saigon - the former capital of the South - was renamed Ho Chi Minh City to celebrate him after its fall in 1975. In addition his body was embalmed and put on public display in a mausoleum in Hanoi, where visitors can travel to see the preserved corpse. Advertisement 'Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize,' Trump wrote, once again introducing a carrot of sorts on the day he is set to dine with Kim along with two top aides to each leader. 'The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un,' Trump added. 'We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting!' Trump also took a shot at his critics, including skeptics who fear he will make major concessions to the North Koreans like declaring a formal end to the Korean War or even discussing eventual U.S. troop withdrawals without getting concrete steps in return. 'The Democrats should stop talking about what I should do with North Korea and ask themselves instead why they didn't do 'it' during eight years of the Obama Administration?' Trump wrote in a follow-up tweet. Trump fired off the tweets after landing in Hanoi Tuesday evening after a flight halfway around the world. Per capita income in Vietnam is nearly double that in North Korea, $2,400 compared to $1,300, achieving 7 per cent growth and with robust foreign investment and growing trade with the U.S. South Korea is much farther along the development path, with per capita income of $26,000. The president is relying on his brand of personal diplomacy to try to score a breakthrough here with Kim, after failing to see progress on denuclearization after a vague letter reached after the Singapore summit. He has previously said they fell 'in love' at their Singapore summit, and has repeatedly stressed that the hermetic regime could become wildly successful if it modernizes and relinquishes its nuclear weapons. His bid to establish camaraderie with Kim comes despite dark signals that continue to emerge out of the closed society he governs. Kim forced his uncle to watch colleagues get blown apart with anti-aircraft guns before his own death, according to a defector. Kang Cheol-Hwan said he was told by eye witnesses that two men who worked with Kim's uncle, Jang Song-thaek, were killed by firing squad. The two men were brought in front of a barrage of eight anti-aircraft guns and had lumps of iron stuffed into their mouths. Trump landed in Hanoi Tuesday evening local time for his second summit meeting with Kim Jong in a bid to try to persuade the leader of the hermetic regime to relinquish nuclear weapons. The mayor of the city urged residents to be on their best behavior during the summit between North Korean and U.S. leaders so they can show the world the 'civilized, elegant, friendly and hospitable people' of the nation's capital. The statement from Hanoi Mayor Nguyen Duc Chung, posted on the city's website Tuesday, called for residents to 'maintain and sustain Hanoians' code of behavior'. A Red Boat Fish Sauce employee looks inside a container at the company's factory in Phu Quoc, Vietnam, on Friday, Nov. 2, 2018. Gourmands are making pilgrimages to Red Boat's riverside operations on Phu Quoc Island off the southwest coast of Vietnam, right on the border with Cambodia. Vietnam has developed robust trade relations with the U.S. Vietnam's growth rate has regularly surpassed 6 per cent A crane stands at a construction site of the Vinhomes Metropolis Lieu Giai building, developed by Vingroup JSC, in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2018. The nation of 96 million people has embraced free-market reforms over the past few decades, leading to surging growth under an authoritarian one-party Communist government that offers the same political stability as China LETS BUILD A BRIDGE: A Container ship at Saigon river in Vietnam. The U.S. is Vietnam's top export market Vietnam police personnel guard the compound of the National Convention Center in Hanoi, the venue of the World Economic Forum on ASEAN on September 11, 2018 Trump is to hold a 'social dinner' with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday Trump referenced 'my friend' KimJong Un and cited North Korea's economic potential The president also attacked his predecessor for failing to solve the North Korea problem, which has bedeviled U.S. policymakers for decades HOW TRUMP DODGED VIETNAM DRAFT WITH THE DIAGNOSIS OF BONE SPURS Trump avoided visiting Vietnam in 1968 when a doctor declared that he had a bone spur in his heel so he couldn't be drafted into the U.S. Army. He earned five deferments from the draft including one medical exemption in 1968 on the basis of a bone spur in his heel. The daughters of the doctor who allegedly carried out the inspection have claimed the medical finding was a favor. Dr. Elysa Braunstein, 56, and Sharon Kessel, 53, told the New York Times, that their father Dr. Larry Braunstein diagnosed Donald Trump in 1968. Dr. Larry Braunstein died in 2007, and the Times was unable find any documentary evidence to back up the daughters' claims, which surfaced when the newspaper contacted the family based on an anonymous tip. The daughters are both Democrats and say they do not like Donald Trump. 'I know it was a favor,' Elysa Braunstein told the Times, adding that her father had implied that Trump did not have the foot ailment that disqualified him from military service. 'But did he examine him? I don't know,' she said. Trump was briefly considered available for the Vietnam War draft in 1966 and 1968 (class '1-A') but spent most of his time on the Selective Service rolls in a student deferment ('2-S') or available only in a 'national emergency' ('1-Y') before ultimately being disqualified ('4-F') Multiple doctors would have been involved in Donald Trump's classification as 1-Y, the now-defunct category for medical deferment that was later merged into 4-F. Local draft boards relied upon physical exams overseen by military doctors, although men could bring in documentation from private doctors noting any medical concerns. Often, a civilian specialist working with the exam station might be asked to review a case and make a recommendation. The local draft board would then finalize a man's classification. Speaking to reporters in Iowa during the presidential primary season in 2015, he said he couldn't remember which foot was afflicted. The cavalier brushoff has long stuck in the craw of Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, who was captured in Vietnam after crashing the plane he was piloting, and tortured for years by the North Vietnamese. 'One aspect of the conflict, by the way, that I will never ever countenance is that we drafted the lowest income level of America,' McCain said last month. 'And the highest income level found a doctor that would say that they had a bone spur. That is wrong.' Advertisement SPURRED TO ACTION: President Trump walks by a Vietnamese soldier as he arrives for summit talks with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un Formal welcome: Vietnamese soldiers in dress uniform were lined up to welcome Trump to Hanoi after Air Force One taxied On Wednesday evening, President Trump is set to hold his first meetings with Kim since their June summit in Singapore. They are scheduled to have a brief one-on-one greeting, followed by a 'social dinner,' where Trump will be joined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney. Kim is expected to be accompanied by Kim Yung Chol, the general and senior leader who delivered a letter to Trump from Kim, as well as by another associate. Trump also meets with Vietnamese leaders earlier on Wednesday. Kim meanwhile, has extended his trip through Saturday, according to state-run North Korean media. He will tack on a 'official goodwill visit' in the country after the summit. A top aide known as Kim's butler scouted out locations about a week ago, including the picturesque Halong Bay where Kim's grandfather Kim Il-sung visited in 1964. Trump is expected to depart Thursday night. Three people were killed when two commuter trains struck their truck which was on the tracks in Long Island. Nassau County police say it happened near the School Street crossing in Westbury just before 7.30pm on Tuesday. Patrick Ryder, the commissioner of Nassau Police, says the truck likely tried to beat the train at the crossing, which had its guards lowered, News 12 TV reported. Ryder said that the collision with the truck caused the train, which was traveling at 'full speed,' to slam into the platform and derail. The mangled remains of the vehicle which was struck by the commuter train in Westbury, Long Island is seen above on Tuesday The crash caused the train to derail and catch fire, Nassau County traffic officials said on Tuesday Firefighters work the scene of a collision involving a Manhattan-bound commuter train and a vehicle in Westbury, Long Island on Tuesday Aerial image shows the derailed train after the collision with the truck 'The train then leaves the track and takes out the platform and then hits the north side of the platform and takes off about 30 yards of concrete, which goes through the train,' Ryder said. The concrete struck the first car of the train, where the conductor was sitting, according to Ryder. The conductor was then 'chased' by the concrete, which forced him to run back into the train to avoid it. The train also caught fire after the derailment, according to 1010 WINS radio. After the initial collision with the westbound train, another train coming from the opposite direction also hit the vehicle, according to Newsday. Police say several train passengers suffered minor injuries. Nassau County traffic officials said one of the victims was found in the truck, another victim was found under the train, and the location of the third victim was not immediately known. Police said several passengers suffered minor injuries as a result of the collision Fire trucks and other emergency vehicles responded to the scene in Westbury, Long Island Service has been suspended in both directions on the Ronkonkoma and Huntington/Port Jefferson branches The Long Island Rail Road says it involved the 6:36pm train from Ronkonkoma due at Penn Station at 7:56pm. Service has been suspended in both directions on the Ronkonkoma and Huntington/Port Jefferson branches. Video shows the upright train slightly off the tracks, its front damaged. Numerous police and emergency personnel were at the scene. 'I was sitting on the left side and all of a sudden the train really started rocking hard,' said April Frazier, 31, who was riding the Manhattan-bound train. 'Flames flared up on my side. I heard the conductor yell "Brake, brake!" 'Thats when I saw the flames.' Frazier said she feared for her life. 'Thats when it got real,' she said. 'Im still shaken up. You dont know. You think you might die. 'Im thinking to myself "It might be my last day".' Frazier said there was silence for a few minutes. Then the conductor began walking through the car on his cell phone. Moments later, police and firefighters were on the scene. They instructed the passengers to remain in place. 'I was sitting on the left side and all of a sudden the train really started rocking hard,' said April Frazier, 31, who was riding the Manhattan-bound train. 'Flames flared up on my side. I heard the conductor yell "Brake, brake!"' Nassau Police said the train was traveling at 'full speed' when it collided with the truck on the track in Westbury Emergency workers approached the train and put up a ladder in order to evacuate passengers, including a mother and her two small children, both of whom were crying Emergency workers approached the train and put up a ladder in order to evacuate passengers, including a mother and her two small children, both of whom were crying. Another passenger, Kiara Jackson, said she remembers hearing the sound of metal dragging across the concrete platform. 'I knew that something was wrong,' she said. 'We were in a panic.' Jackson was on the westbound train and planned to disembark at the Jamaica, Queens stop. She was traveling with her two young daughters. 'There was a screech and then there was a thud,' she said. 'They told us to walk westerly and there were two small fires. 'Smoke was kind of coming in so they told us to just keep walking.' Yuri Cruz, 32, a dispatcher for a taxi service located just across the street from the train station where the accident took place, describes what she saw. 'I was sitting down and I heard a big explosion,' she said. 'It was big like an earthquake.' She then looked out the window of her office toward the train tracks. 'I heard people screaming,' she said. 'A few minutes later, I heard all the cops and ambulances coming. It was crazy.' The LIRR is run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a government agency that is mostly controlled by the State of New York. Governor Andrew Cuomo released a statement on Tuesday calling for an investigation. 'Initial reports indicate that three occupants of the vehicle were killed and seven people on the trains have been transported to local hospitals with non-fatal injuries,' Cuomo said in a statement. 'Main Line service in both directions has been suspended while officials assess the damage. 'As we continue to gather information surrounding the incident, my heart goes out to the victims and their loved ones. 'In the wake of this tragedy, I am calling for a full investigation into the collision, including with the complete cooperation of the MTA, State Police, local law enforcement and the NTSB.' The crash took place hours after a westbound LIRR train struck and killed a man on the tracks between the Baldwin and Freeport stations in Nassau County. A man who made car noises as he raped a backpacker he lured to Melbourne using a fake job ad on Gumtree has been jailed for at least seven years. A County Court jury found Alimadad Mokhtari guilty in December of four counts of rape and one each of sexual assault and false imprisonment. 'This was predatory, violent and depraved behaviour,' Judge Scott Johns said on Wednesday. A County Court jury found Alimadad Mokhtari guilty in December of four counts of rape and one each of sexual assault and false imprisonment Court heard how Mokhtari raped a backpacker he lured to Melbourne hotel using a fake job ad on Gumtree has been jailed for at least seven years Mokhtari repeatedly raped the woman over six hours at a Keysborough motel room and threatened to beat her if she screamed, the judge said. Prior to the horrific attack, Mokhtari smoked methylamphetamine and during the assaults became paranoid and spoke to the victim of an animal outside the window. He also made 'car noises', the judge said. 'The victim was alone and isolated. You created a situation and manipulated it in a way to force yourself upon her when your sexual advances were rebuffed,' he said. 'You knew she was your prisoner, you threatened her, she pleaded with you not to rape her.' At one point the woman begged for Mokhtari to kill her, Judge Johns said. 'In the bathroom she stated, 'You are raping me, if you are going to kill me, kill me now because I cannot stand this,' he said. 'At no point did you respond to her pleas,' the judge added. The 42-year-old was jailed for 11 years, with a non-parole period of seven years, and will be listed as a registered sex offender for 15 years. Four men have been arrested and 1.3 tonnes of ephedrine has been seized after a joint investigation into a multi million dollar drug syndicate. The drug bust came after Australia and Chinese authorities worked together, with Australian Federal Police arresting two Melbourne men, aged 53 and 55, and two 26-year-old Chinese men in Melbourne on Tuesday. The investigation started when the AFP received a tip off from Chinese authorities about a suspected drug syndicate importing into Melbourne. Four men have been arrested and 1.3 tonnes of ephedrine has been seized after a joint investigation into a multi million dollar drug syndicate The substance had the potential to make 922 kilograms of methamphetamine, or ice, with an estimated street value of $691.5 million (pictured) In mid-February, Australian Border Force officers intercepted a container coming in from China labelled as 'ceramic tiles and glue'. Officers inspected the suspicious shipment and found 260 bags of powder hidden inside 65 boxes. Test results came back positive for ephedrine, with a total weight of 1,300 kilograms. The substance had the potential to make 922 kilograms of methamphetamine, or ice, with an estimated street value of $691.5 million. The drugs were seized by the AFP, but the boxes were still delivered to a house in Box Hill North, where the two Chinese men were arrested. Meanwhile, the 55-year-old Australian man was arrested as he tried to board a flight to China at Melbourne International Airport on Tuesday. Police then swooped on the 53-year-old Australian man, who was arrested at a shopping centre near to where his home. Two Australian and two Chinese men face up to 25 years behind bars for importing commercial quantities of border controlled precursors All four men are scheduled to appear before Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday. The two Melbourne men have been charged with importing commercial quantities of border controlled precursors and face up to 25 years behind bars. The two Chinese men have been charged with attempt to import commercial quantities of border controlled precursors, and also face the maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. AFP Assistant Commissioner Organised Crime Bruce Hill said the arrests mark another milestone in the cooperation between Australian and Chinese law enforcement. Parents have blasted the Catholic Church over newsletters it sent to schools regarding George Pell's conviction for child sexual abuse. A letter from Sydney Catholic Schools said the verdict would bring 'a range of emotions' as the legal process 'ran its course' and offered support to students. 'Our concern and prayers are with victims and their families,' the letter read. 'Please be assured that our school system works tirelessly to ensure the safety of every child in our schools, and will continue to do so as together we share responsibility for the well-being of your children.' Newsletters will be circulated throughout schools as outraged parents question the Catholic education system in the wake of the conviction of disgraced Cardinal George Pell Sydney Catholic Schools sent out an excerpt to be included in school newsletters, offering support to its students and parents The letter also linked to a statement from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, which said it was 'shocked' by the verdict. The statement reminds parents that Cardinal Pell's case is up for appeal and the bishops' hope is that 'justice will be served'. Not until the third paragraph does the statement make any reference to the victims, two choirboys who Pell was convicted of molesting in 1996. Parents of children who attend Catholic schools in Sydney told Daily Mail Australia at their disgust at the church's lacklustre response. 'This is a disgrace. There is no sense of empathy or compassion. The victims are only mentioned in the final paragraph,' one parent said. 'All the parents are talking about it and questioning why we even have our children educated in the Catholic system. 'And who do they want justice for the victims or Pell? It's pathetic.' The statement from Archbishop Mark Coleridge included in the newsletters that are circulated throughout Catholic schools has outraged parents who say it didn't go far enough Parents have blasted the Catholic Church over newsletters it sent to schools regarding George Pell's conviction for child sexual abuse The parent said many previously faithful followers of the Catholic faith felt discouraged. 'The government should finally step in and strip this institution of its funding and hold it to the same legal standards as the public education system,' the parent said. 'They wonder why the church is empty on a Sunday. 'Don't be surprised if the schools start to empty out too as these notes prove that they just don't get it and they care more about their institution than the most vulnerable members of it.' Sydney Catholic Schools said its executive direct was not available to comment, but a spokesperson played down the reaction. 'To my knowledge we haven't received any backlash... It's a bit early to call the mood of the schools,' they said. Pell is appealing his conviction and was due to face a Court of Appeal bail hearing at 2.30pm today - but his lawyers withdrew the bail application The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said its statement was posted on its website and sent to media outlets but not to schools. More than 750,000 students are enrolled in Catholic schools across Australia, making up 19.9 per cent of the total. The 77-year-old priest, who was third in command of the Catholic Church and once considered a pope in waiting, was in December convicted of molesting two 13-year-boys. Pell is appealing his conviction and was due to face a Court of Appeal bail hearing at 2.30pm today - but his lawyers withdrew the bail application. It has suddenly become the most embarrassing painting in the Vatican. But the portrait of Cardinal Pell unveiled in the Vatican just two and a half years ago now threatens to engulf one of the oldest and grandest Catholic orders in controversy. For I can disclose that the portrait of 77-year-old Pell, who has just been convicted of historic sex offences, was commissioned following a fundraising event in London held by the Knights of Malta, the Roman Catholic order founded more than 1,000 years ago to care for the poor and the sick. The orders senior officers have included some of the most eminent figures in society, including Field Marshal Lord Guthrie and the late Hugh van Cutsem, one of the Prince of Waless close friends. The portrait by Andrew Gow of Cardinal Pell, 77, unveiled in the Vatican two and a half years ago, was commissioned following a fundraising event in London held by the Knights of Malta, the Roman Catholic order founded more than 1,000 years ago Prince Rupert zu Loewenstein, who for decades managed the finances of The Rolling Stones, was the Orders Chancellor. Andrew Gow, who painted Pell, explains that the identity of the person, or persons, who commissioned the portrait is a confidential matter. But he confirms that the commission arose following a Knights of Malta annual London fundraiser. I partly donated an unrelated portrait, Gow tells me, and the people who bought the portrait then asked me to do something much more elaborate. I was in Italy painting with some other clients at the time, so I wasnt at the fundraiser, adds Gow, who has painted several royals and aristocrats. The portrait was completed while Pell, a former adviser to Pope Francis, was installed in large and grand offices, two corridors from the Sistine Chapel, and was unveiled there in 2016 to commemorate his inauguration as one of the Vaticans most senior figures, Prefect of Secretariat for the Economy. Gow, who has been absolutely shocked to learn of Pells past, explains that his portrait indelibly connects its subject to the Knights of Malta. Hes a Bailiff Grand Cross of the Knights of Malta, thats the decoration around his neck. Yeti? No, it's just a Getty girl Ivy Getty, 24, braving the wintry weather in Idaho As a scion of the wealthy Getty dynasty, she can afford to cover up in the snow. Ivy Getty, 24, braved the wintry conditions of Idaho this week in nothing more than a pink swimsuit, matching faux fur jacket and black faux fur boots. I literally only have one pose and its this one, she jokes from her snowy environs. Artist Ivys family has been beset wth tragedy. The brutal kidnapping and mutilation of her grandfather, John Paul Getty III, was turned into a recent BBC drama, Trust, starring Donald Sutherland as her great-great-grandfather J. Paul Getty. Cara shows her softer side with actress Jennifer Britain's highest-earning model Cara Delevingne might be known for her love of grunge but she showed off her more elegant side yesterday at Paris Fashion Week. Cara Delevingne (right) and Jennifer Lawrence at the Christian Dior show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear on Tuesday The 26-year-old was seated front row at the Dior show wearing a plunging pink pleated halterneck dress by the French design house. Cara, who is dating U.S. actress Ashley Benson, was joined by Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence, 28, who opted for a grey tweed skater dress and black belt. Charles to auction 9,000-a-bottle single malt whisky Prince Charles is fond of a wee dram and the final 20 bottles of his own whisky will be auctioned off to raise money for a community near Balmoral in Scotland. The Royal Lochnagar 30-year-old single malt is from his 1988 cask, which was produced at the distillery in Crathie. Robert Lovie, of the Princes Foundation, says: We are overwhelmed by the interest in His Royal Highnesss cask of Royal Lochnagar Scotch Whisky and would like to give every chance for people to own a bottle. A recent auction of bottle number one of the Princes single malt raised 9,100, and the foundation is releasing the remaining bottles, each with a starting price of 1,450. Cheers! Why Rosie is Donatella's Oscar winner Rosie Huntington-Whiteley turned heads in a bespoke silver Atelier Versace gown featuring a thigh-high slit at Vanity Fairs Oscar party. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party 2019 on Monday. It was held at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Los Angeles So delighted was designer Donatella Versace that she sent her style ambassador a huge bouquet of flowers and a thank-you note . Devonian beauty Rosie, 31, who is engaged to actor Jason Statham, posted a picture of the white roses and lilies and the message sent from the 63-year-old. You blew me away yet again! You are perfection in Versace, gushed Donatella. George Clooneys ex Lisa Snowdon, who is engaged to Yorkshire-born entrepreneur George Smart, is struggling to stay slim ahead of her nuptials this year. I love food, all food, but chocolates are my weakness, the former model tells me at the Restaurant Association Gala Dinner at the Savoy. The trouble is I cant just eat one, I have to consume the whole box. I like smart restaurants but dont mind admitting I have even been known to have a McDonalds. Author Tom Bower is not worried about legal action following the publication of his excoriating biography of the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn doesnt read books and therefore I have this wonderful feeling that perhaps there wont be a complaint, Bower tells me at the launch of Dangerous Hero at Daunt Books in Marylebone. The one target, after all these years, who wont sue me. Loud-mouthed petrolhead Jeremy Clarkson isnt afraid of alienating fellow pub-goers. Anyone whos good at darts MUST be a bore, the avowed rose wine enthusiast espouses on social media. Because who chooses to go to the pub to do maths? Why not just chat and laugh and drink? Radio 4s Fi Glover has a new job suggestion for John Humphrys when he steps down from the Today programme. I have an idea Id like to run past him, combining our new tech with the very best of his talent. Its Gogglebox for the radio a whole station devoted to listening to him shouting back at the radio from the comfort of his own home. Isnt that genius? All of the fun of John on the radio, without John actually having to go and be on the radio. Kate Beckinsale suffers for her art. The actress reveals she was hospitalised after collapsing on set in Africa while filming. It was incredibly hot so hot that I ended up getting taken to the hospital one day for passing out. I just keeled over into this very nice, huge actor, which was lucky, explains Kate. Friend for life! At least it wasnt all bad. Kate, who has a 20-year-old daughter, Lily, with actor Michael Sheen, enjoyed going on safari when the cameras stopped rolling on her new Amazon series, The Widow. I brushed a lion with a hairbrush at one point; he was chilling. Sounds like she got off lightly! The Government has handed a contract to deliver NHS supplies from Belgium to Britain in the event of a no-deal Brexit to the company behind last year's botched KFC supply scandal. The fast food giant was forced to close hundreds of stores after it switched suppliers from Bidvest to DHL. The shortages forced hundreds of the chicken restaurants to close leading to angry customers calling the police to demand action. KFC was forced to close hundreds of its stores last year after it changed its delivery firm from Bidvest to DHL. Angry customers called police because they were not able to get their daily portion of fried chicken during the crisis The government has handed a lucrative contract to DHL who were stripped of the KFC contract days after the scandal broke out According to The Mirror, the government has handed DHL a contract to fast track vital medical supplies across the Channel in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The government has a central hub ready in Belgium to store vital supplies before they are transported. It is believed cancer drugs and radio isotopes will be among the critical items stored in the site. Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said: 'Has the Government not learnt anything from its blundering decision to hand a ferry contract to a company with no ferries? 'The idea that vital medical supplies will be handled by a company incapable of delivering chicken to KFC is truly frightening. 'Ministers must urgently explain why theyre gambling with peoples lives by striking bargain bucket supply deals. Instead of risking shortages of critical medicines, the Government must rule out a disastrous no deal Brexit and accept the need to extend Article 50.' The Department of Health insisted the comparison between the delivery of breaded chicken products and drugs is misleading. The department said DHL had been providing services for the NHS since 2006. The verdict came on the fourth day of proceedings against Adams who served as private secretary to both John Major and Tony Blair during the 1990s A former aide to two Prime Ministers who raped young women while they slept and offered a barmaid 400 to have sex with him has been jailed - his second conviction in a month. Mark Adams, 56, sexually assaulted a 19-year-old student in Regent Road, Edinburgh, on a mattress in the back of his camper van when she drunkenly walked home from a night out at the Edinburgh Fringe in the early hours of August 10, 2017. Two years earlier Adams raped a 24-year-old woman on a sofa bed in his former London home the morning after the 2015 general election - he was found guilty last month. She had no space to sleep after losing her job and suffering a relationship breakdown. Adams invited her to watch TV with him on his downstairs sofa bed but when she fell asleep he raped her. And last October he was convicted at Swansea Crown Court of sexually assaulting a barmaid in Tenby, Wales. The Welsh court was told that Adams was on holiday with his elderly mother when he asked a barmaid for a selfie. As he took the photo he put his hand on her bottom and offered her 300 to spend the night with him, saying: 'That's a lot of money to you isn't it?' The barmaid told Adams that she had a boyfriend and he increased his offer to 400. In the same month as his conviction for rape in 2015 Edinburgh High Court heard how Adams abused a teenager on the floor of his camper van. His victim had told a jury how the former civil servant had preyed on her as she returned home from a night out at the Edinburgh Fringe. She told the court of how she had fallen asleep only to wake up and find the divorced father of four having sex with her. Adams, of Fareham, Hampshire, claimed he had consensual sex with the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons. But after spending two hours in deliberations, jurors returned a guilty verdict to one charge of rape. After hearing how Adams had been convicted on the same charge at Woolwich Crown Court in January 2019, judge Lord Armstrong deferred sentence to obtain reports on his character. He also remanded the businessman in custody. Lord Armstrong was also told Adams had been convicted of sexual assault in a Welsh court last year. The judge told Adams: 'You must know by now that rape is a grave crime against which all women should be protected. 'It is inevitable that a sentence of imprisonment will follow but before I can pass sentence on you I must be fully informed about your circumstances. 'I will call for a criminal justice social work report.' The verdict came on the fourth day of proceedings against Adams who served as private secretary to both John Major and Tony Blair during the 1990s. He was made an OBE in 1997 and is a graduate of Cambridge University. After leaving the Civil Service, Adams set up a public affairs agency called Foresight Consulting in 2001. His company acted for clients including the Police Federation. In recent years Adams acted as a lobbyist and held high profile roles including chairman of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry and of the Professional Lobbying Company. He also advised the Apprentice winner Michelle Dewberry as she attempted to become an MP. Adams was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for two years. In the latest case, the court heard harrowing testimony from the girl, who lives in the east end of Edinburgh. She told jurors of how she had spent the evening of August 9 enjoying a Fringe show with a male friend. She said she decided to walk home after leaving a nightclub in Edinburgh at around 5.15am feeling quite drunk. The woman said she stopped in Regent Road to get some rest. The court heard that Adams then approached her and helped her into his camper van. She added: 'He bent down and picked me up and took me towards his vehicle. I was quite drunk. I was struggling to get into the van. He got in behind me. There was a mattress there and I almost immediately fell asleep.' She said that she woke up shortly afterward to discover Mr Adams sucking on her right nipple - she said her jeans and underwear were lying around her ankles. Adams then raped her. She added: 'I was just shocked and really traumatised.' The court heard that Adams then drove her a short distance. She then got out of the van and ran away. Taxi driver James Campbell, 50, saw the girl running. He said the teenager was very upset, was crying and looked as if she needed help. He drove towards her and asked what had happened. Mr Campbell told prosecution lawyer Dorothy Bain QC: 'I have never seen anybody run as fast as that. She was distraught. She was totally broken. 'It was a horrible thing to see - I can't see anything more than that. 'She told me 'he was inside me'. It was at that point I said 'I think you should phone the police'. 'Her hair was very dishevelled. I've got a daughter the same age as that. I know how much time they spend doing their hair and make up to look glamourous. 'But she looked as though she had been dragged through a hedge backwards.' The court heard that police managed to establish Adams was the man who raped the girl. He had been in Edinburgh enjoying the Fringe festival. Giving evidence, Adams claimed that he had 'consensual' sex with the girl who 'instigated the encounter.' He said they had sex just a few moments after meeting each other. He said she suggested that they should have 'some fun' with each other. He added: 'I found myself in a surprising situation. There was some kind of sexual interaction. I felt her hand taking mine and I was taking hers. 'We started kissing as we were sitting on the edge of the bed. I would very much describe it as she was kissing me - she initiated the kissing and I was responding. 'She was making noises which I took to be noises of appreciation. It was a fairly quick encounter.' However, jurors rejected Adams claims. Defence lawyer Gary Allan QC urged Lord Armstrong to obtain reports. Lord Armstrong agreed. Following the verdict, Lord Armstrong thanked jurors for their service. Adams will be sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on March 26 2019. A Queensland farmer created a vegan style ham that's made purely from watermelon, and he says the end result was 'different yet not horrible'. Farmer Terry O'Leary took to Twitter after a former employee turned chef visited him at his watermelon farm, 293 kilometres west of Brisbane, and urged him to try the 'vegan ham'. 'She really wanted to try a smoked watermelon "ham" the vegans went crazy for in North America last Christmas,' Mr O'Leary wrote. 'I'm both horrified and intrigued.' Farmer Terry O'Leary took to Twitter after a Canadian chef visited him at his Chinchilla home, and urged him to try the 'vegan ham' The watermelon farmer told how he soaked a skinned, circular cut-out of the fruit for a few days in a water, cumin, salt and coriander mix. Mr O'Leary said at that point, the watermelon looked like 'bad corned beef'. 'Then we smoked it on a normal Weber kettle for 5hrs,' the farmer said. After this, the smoked watermelon was put into a skillet of olive oil and rosemary to give the outside a glaze and baked for 30 minutes. Mr O'Leary was surprised to find the watermelon had kept its shape and structure. 'It was something very different yet not horrible. It's texture was like smoked salmon,' he wrote. While he was initially hesitant about the idea, Mr O'Leary is now encouraging others to try the barbecue alternative. A Queensland farmer created a vegan style ham that's made purely from watermelon, and he says the end result was 'different yet not horrible' The watermelon farmer soaked a skinned, circular cut-out of the fruit for a few days in a water, cumin, salt and coriander mix 'We've always been big fans of grilling watermelon on the charcoal barbecue and that always had good flavour,' he told ABC. 'Watermelon is a versatile fruit. As good as they are straight up, there is also a lot you can do with them in salads and preparing watermelon.' While the texture comes close to that of smoked salmon, Mr O'Leary said the taste was like nothing he'd ever tried. Many people were shocked by his Twitter revelation, with some wanting to try it out for themselves. 'I dont eat watermelon but that entire process is AMAZING,' one woman wrote. 'Wow thats weird man!' another user said. 'This is just bat s**t crazy enough for me to get on board!!!' another Twitter user replied. More than 60 people are feared buried by the collapse of an illegal gold mine in Indonesia. One person had been found dead and 13 people rescued by 5am on Wednesday after the collapse the previous evening at the site in Bolaang Mongondow area of North Sulawesi, the country's disaster agency said in a statement. 'When dozens of people were mining for gold at the location, suddenly beams and supporting boards they used broke due to unstable land and numerous mining shafts,' disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said. Indonesia's disaster agency said on Wednesday rescuers were searching for survivors after more than 60 people were feared buried by the collapse of an illegal gold mine One body had been pulled from the rubble while 13 people have been rescued suffering a range of injuries, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The mine collapsed about 9pm local time on Tuesday. Mr Nugroho said as many as 60 people remained buried under the landslide. 'It is estimated that there are still dozens of victims trapped in the rubble of mine excavation holes,' he said. Rescue agency Basarnas, the Indonesian army, police and other miners are helping with the attempt to save those trapped. Mr Sutopo said rescue teams worked through the night as authorities believe those trapped are 'amam', an Indonesian word meaning 'safe' but can also be interpreted as 'alive'. One body had been pulled from the rubble while 13 people have been rescued suffering a range of injuries Illegal gold mining is common in Indonesia and poorly constructed mines often collapse. The Indonesian government has banned small-scale gold mining but regional authorities often turn a blind eye to the practice in remote areas. The mines are prone to accidents as they have little regulation. Almost half of online gamblers regularly bet using their smartphone double the number four years ago, a study has revealed. And the boom in mobile gambling has helped bookmakers gain an extra 1.6million customers aged under 35, the survey of 4,000 people suggested. The proportion of online players using mobile phones 44 per cent is twice as many as four years ago, and younger customers are most likely to use their phone to gamble on the go. This rises to 55 per cent when smartphone use is taken in conjunction with tablet betting. Campaigners claimed the figures show that regulation failed to keep up with consumer habits, leaving young people at risk of developing gambling addictions. The mobile phone boom has attracted an extra 1.6million gamblers under the age of 35 and the proportion of online players using mobile phones is double the level four years ago (stock) They pointed to research showing gambling apps may be as addictive as 'crack cocaine' Fixed Odd Betting Terminals (FOBTs) which are now heavily regulated. The Government reduced the maximum stake on FOBTs from 100 to 2 after a campaign by the Daily Mail and MPs, but no such action has been taken online. Matt Zarb-Cousin, of the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, said regulations needed to reflect 'how people gamble today', and that there must be the same restrictions online as off. Lord Chadlington, Conservative peer and former Chair of Action on Addiction, echoed this and said the 2005 Gambling Act must become 'aligned with digital developments'. The proportion of gamblers going online 18 per cent has remained stable since 2015, but figures highlight the migration from computers to mobile phones. The change mostly affects the young, with around two thirds of 18 to 34-year-olds saying they used a smartphone to bet, compared to one in ten over-65s. The report also showed that laptop use for gambling had declined. Lord Chadlington, Conservative peer and former Chair of Action on Addiction said the 2005 Gambling Act must become 'aligned with digital developments' And the report shows how gambling companies take advantage of social media to keep younger customers betting, with well over half of 18 to 34 year-olds who bet following bookmakers on Facebook or Twitter.and YouTube. Professor Richard Tunney, head of psychology at Aston University, said young people are most at risk of becoming gambling addicts as they are on their mobiles most often. He added: 'For people psychologically disposed to addictive behaviours, this means an outlet for that is now just a tap away.' Yesterday's report, entitled 'Gambling participation in 2018: behaviour, awareness and attitudes', said younger people were more likely to gamble while on the go. There are 420,000 gambling addicts in the UK, with as many as two million at risk of becoming problem gamblers. And an estimated two people take their own lives every working day in due to gambling addiction. Last week, this newspaper reported that market leader Bet365 was giving thousands of pounds back to its big losers to keep them betting. D-Day heroes praised Mail readers yesterday for their wonderful efforts in raising 200,000 towards a memorial for their fallen comrades. The Royal Navy veterans spoke as they received the Legion dHonneur the highest French order of military merit for their bravery during the Normandy invasion 75 years ago. John Nicholls, 93, who served on HMS Argonaut, destroyed German gun batteries and drove landing craft delivering troops and supplies. Royal Navy veteran John George Nicholls (centre) is welcomed onboard HMS Belfast in London, where he received an award for helping to liberate Normandy in 1944 during the Legion d'Honneur ceremony Speaking of the plans for a new memorial in Normandy, he said: If you took part in it, you know how much it needs to be remembered. The troops who didnt come home need to be acknowledged. Its wonderful to hear people are donating money towards something like that. Looking down at his medal, he said: Its beautiful. Ill wear it with pride. His son Andrew, 54, who accompanied him to the medal ceremony on board the HMS Belfast on the Thames, added: The memorial is something that is long overdue. Sculptor David Williams-Ellis (pictured) with the first of the three 440-kilo , 9 foot figures which will be the centrepiece of the new Normandy Memorial in Ver Sur Mer. The Normandy Memorial Trust has received more than 3,000 online and postal donations since the Mail revealed plans for a monument in northern France to honour the 22,442 British service personnel who fell on D-Day in June 1944 and in the subsequent Battle of Normandy. Mr Nicholls was one of four men, all in their 90s, presented with the Legion dHonneur by Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and the French ambassador Jean-Pierre Jouyet. Mr Williamson also commended Daily Mail readers for their generous contribution towards the memorial. He said: I want to see everyone making a supreme effort. This amazing memorial commemorates the enormous sacrifice and the enormous courage of so many service personnel. Its really important we all come together to make this happen. A 50-acre site for the memorial has already been acquired at Ver-sur-Mer, overlooking Gold Beach. The Normandy Memorial Trust is seeking to raise 9million to complete the project, which will feature sculptures by David Williams-Ellis. Archaeologists have discovered for the first time Roman graffiti made centuries ago by soldiers quarrying stone to repair Hadrian's Wall. Carvings at the remains of a quarry at Gelt Woods in Cumbria include a caricature of the commanding officer in charge as well as a phallus which would have been a general good luck symbol to the Romans who created it. The drawings also include an inscription dating to 207AD, a period when Hadrian's Wall had a major repair and renewal programme. Carvings (pictured) at the remains of a quarry at Gelt Woods in Cumbria include a caricature of the commanding officer in charge The drawings also include an inscription dating to 207AD, a period when Hadrian's Wall had a major repair and renewal programme Experts from Newcastle University are recording the inscriptions before the soft sandstone in which they were made is eroded. Archaeologists will descend 30ft (9m) down the quarry face to record the 'written rock of Gelt' in a project funded by government agency Historic England. The graffiti was uncovered when vegetation off the rock was cleared to record inscriptions, with new writing and lettering - which was thought to have been lost to erosion - also found during the first day of surveying of the site. Experts from Newcastle University are recording the inscriptions before the soft sandstone in which they were made is eroded Archaeologists will descend 30ft (9m) down the quarry face to record the 'written rock of Gelt' in a project funded by government agency Historic England The markings were first discovered in the 18th century but have suffered in recent years from the gradual erosion of the sandstone into which they were cut, prompting the decision to record them. WHAT IS HADRIAN'S WALL? For around three centuries, Hadrians Wall was a vibrant, multi-cultured frontier sprawling 80 Roman miles (73 miles / 117 km) coast-to-coast. Permanent conquest of Britain began in AD 43. By about AD 100 the northernmost army units in Britain lay along the TyneSolway isthmus. The forts here were linked by a road, now known as the Stanegate, between Corbridge and Carlisle. Hadrian came to Britain in AD 122 and, according to a biography written 200 years later, put many things to right and was the first to build a wall 80 miles long from sea to sea to separate the barbarians from the Romans. Hadrians Wall became the north-west frontier of the Roman empire and crossed northern Britain from Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west. Built by a force of 15,000 men in under six years, it's comprised of Milecastles, barracks, ramparts and forts. Hadrians Wall resisted all comers in its day and defended an empire that stretched from Britain in the west to Jordan in the east. Although mainly built by legionaries, the Wall was manned by auxiliaries. They were organised into regiments nominally either 500 or 1,000 strong and either infantry or cavalry or both. The 500-strong mixed infantry and cavalry unit was the workhorse of the frontier. Each fort on the Wall appears to have been built to hold a single auxiliary unit. Hadrians Wall was made a World Heritage Site in 1987. Advertisement The site is one of a handful of Roman quarries in England to feature these kind of carvings which hopefully hold important information of names, and in some cases their rank and military unit, of men who worked their. One carving which refers to the consulate of Aper and Maximus can be dated to 207AD and offers proof of rebuilding and repair work to the Roman frontier in the early 3rd century. The collapse of a path up to the site in the 1980s put a halt to the public being able to view the inscriptions. As such the project will make a 3D record of the graffiti for people to be able to see them. In order to record the carvings, the archaeologists from Newcastle University are working with rock climbing specialists to gain access to the graffiti on a system of ropes and pulleys. They are using an imaging technique known as 'structure from motion photogrammetry' to produce a 3D record of the writings. These will be for the public to help them better understand the condition the markings are in. Mike Collins, inspector of ancient monuments for Hadrian's Wall at Historic England, said: 'These inscriptions at Gelt Forest are probably the most important on the Hadrian's Wall frontier. 'They provide insight into the organisation of the vast construction project that Hadrian's Wall was, as well as some very human and personal touches, such as the caricature of their commanding officer inscribed by one group of soldiers.' Ian Haynes, professor of archaeology at Newcastle University, said: 'These inscriptions are very vulnerable to further gradual decay. 'This is a great opportunity to record them as they are in 2019, using the best modern technology to safeguard the ability to study them into the future.' Built by a force of 15,000 men in under six years, Hadrians Wall (pictured) was made a World Heritage Site in 1987 Hadrians Wall resisted all comers in its day and defended an empire that stretched from Britain in the west to Jordan in the east Joe Biden's rock star rider included an angel hair pomodoro dinner, an orange Gatorade, a fully stocked refrigerator and three private dressing rooms, according to reports. And the former vice president picked up a $150,000 paycheck for his appearance in Florida last month, a document obtained by MapLight shows. Biden, who used the talk to further fuel speculation he will run for president in 2020, was reportedly given the all-star treatment for his talk at Broward Center. A detailed contract shows how the Democrat wanted angel hair pomodoro, caprese salad and raspberry sorbet with biscotti for dinner. It also states that Biden must have bottled water, Coke Zero, regular Coke, orange Gatorade and black coffee with mixed nuts and a fruit plate as snacks. And it lists that the potential Democratic presidential contender wanted full-length mirrors and washrooms with fresh towels. Biden's dressing room was labeled 'VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN', while he needed another two private rooms, also with floor length mirrors, for his staff, the document tweeted by political reporter Andrew Perez also states. The Democrat wanted full-length mirrors and washrooms with fresh towels, a contract shows Joe Biden's rock star rider included an angel hair pomodoro dinner, a fully a stocked refrigerator and fresh towels the document obtained by MapLight shows The former vice president is said to have picked up a $150,000 paycheck for his appearance Tickets for the event, which included a VIP 'meet & greet' started at $50 and went up to $300. 'An Evening with Vice President Joe Biden' promised a 'moderated discussion' which would 'go beyond the 24-hour news cycle and cover a wide range of topics and include a Q&A with the audience'. But any questions from president and CEO of the Broward Center Kelley Shanley had to be submitted two weeks in advance and audience questions were moderated, the contract shows. Sandy Stoller of Boynton Beach, Florida, who went to the event told The Sun-Sentinel she was 'very surprised' by his fee. Diana Martens, of Coral Springs, added: 'All these former politicians are certainly monetizing their experience.' Biden, right, speaks with Kelley Shanley, left, President & CEO of Broward Center for the Performing Arts, at The Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale on January 28, 2019 Biden told the crowd in Florida he's 'closer' to making a decision about his future plans. 'The answer is that I'm running the traps on this. I don't want to make this a fool's errand,' he said to the cheering fans. 'I'm a lot closer than I was before Christmas, and we'll make the decision soon.' DailyMail.com has contacted a representative for Joe Biden. An Instagram model charged with a series of burglaries has arrived at court after skipping her first appearance. Monique Marina Agostino, 23, failed to turn up to Manly Local Court on February 20 and a warrant was issued for her arrest. Agostino was photographed arriving to the Manly Local Court on Wednesday, dressed in a pink dress, black blazer with a Chanel handbag swinging from her shoulder. She was seen chatting on her phone and avoided media as she entered the court house. Instagram model Monique Marina Agostino, 23, charged with a series of burglaries, has arrived at court after skipping her first court date last week The single mother allegedly went on a burglary spree last November, targeting several cafes and convenience stores across Sydney's northern beaches Despite skipping court Agostino's bail conditions remained unchanged. The single mother allegedly went on a crime spree last November, stealing from several cafes and shop across Sydney's northern beaches in an hour. Agostino took several items from businesses and properties during her early morning raid on November 6, documents tendered to the court alleged. Agostino allegedly first broke into the Pound of Pizza restaurant in Tramore Pl Killarney Heights at 1.52am and stole a mobile phone. The former property manager was seen dropping off her young son at daycare last week despite having missed her court date Police allege Agostino (pictured) went on a burglary spree last November, targeting several businesses in Killarney Heights, Forestville and St Ives Minutes later, it's alleged the former Killarney Heights High School student broke into the nearby House of Fruit convenience store at 1.54am. Agostino just two minutes later allegedly tried to break into Le Parisen Cafe. Within an hour, she allegedly targeted Stanley St Cafe in St Ives, where police claimed she stole $300 cash and a Westpac credit card. Officers alleged she later used the credit card to buy food worth $11.55 at McDonald's Brookvale. On November 24, police allege Agostino broke into Forestville Bakery and stole $1000 in the presence of another person. When Agostino (pictured) failed to appear before the court last Wednesday, Magistrate Christopher Longley ordered that an arrest warrant be issued Agostino (pictrued left and right) allegedly targeted several businesses and properties in Sydney's northern beaches during an early morning burglary spree Agostino is charged with two counts of breaking and entering to steal property valued at less than $60,000. She is also charged with breaking and entering with intent to steal, one count of aggravated breaking and entering in company to steal less than $60,000, and one count of dishonestly obtaining property by deception. According to bail documents tendered to the court, the prosecution are planning to include CCTV footage as part of its case. Agostino had initially been granted conditional bail but didn't enter a plea. Her former barrister, Bronwyn Pullinger, who appeared in court on behalf of Agostino on January 23, has since withdrawn from the case. A furious businessman who charged after a cyclist after he brushed against him on a footpath won't face charges. A camera on James Stevenson's bike captured footage of the pedestrian chasing him along Hutton Lane, in Brisbane, before he allegedly punched him, causing him to fall and break his ankle. Mr Stevenson reported the incident to Queensland Police last year, but this week they advised the cyclist they won't be charging anyone, ABC News reported. A camera on James Stevenson's bike captured footage of the pedestrian (pictured) chasing him along Hutton Lane, in Brisbane, before allegedly punched him, causing him to fall and break his ankle 'They (Police) said the video evidence was not conclusive that he assaulted me,' Mr Stevenson said. The cyclist, who has since recovered from his injury, said he's surprised at the outcome and hopes police reconsider their decision. Bicycle Queensland Chief Executive Officer Anne Savage told the publication she was disappointed no charges were laid against the pedestrian. Ms Savage said the matter should be considered by a court. She intends to write a letter to the police minister to explain the seriousness of the incident. 'We cannot remain silent on these types of incidents,' Ms Savage said. Queensland Police Service said in a statement that it came to the decision after interviewing both parties and reviewing the relevant footage, ABC News reported. The authority said in this instance there wasn't enough evidence to take the matter further and commence proceedings in a criminal jurisdiction. Ms Savage said Australia's attitude towards sharing the roads with cyclist needs to change, and police need to take matters more seriously. She said Australia has one of the most aggressive road cultures in the world. Mr Stevenson said he has endured pain in his ankle every day following the incident and the experience itself has meant he doesn't ride as much as he used to. Footage from Mr Stevenson's bike-mounted camera caught the moment the furious man (pictured) chased after him 'I'm trying to get over it, push through, but it hasn't been a nice experience,' he said. While bike cameras provide peace of mind for cyclists, Cycliq Marketing Manager Ben Hammond told the publication it doesn't always prompt a reaction from police. Footage from Mr Stevenson's bike-mounted camera shows the moment the furious businessman chased after him. 'I didn't give it much thought and just carried on. Next thing I know is I feel a punch from behind,' Mr Stevenson said. In the video, the businessman is heard hurling abuse at the shocked rider. 'F***ing get off your bike' and 'do you want to have a f***ing go?' For his part, Mr Stevenson hit back with his own barbs. 'You're a big man walking away.' Cycliq Marketing Manager Ben Hammond said bike footage doesn't always prompt a reaction from police (stock) While it is not illegal for cyclists to use the footpath in Queensland, they must give way and priority to pedestrians. Mr Stevenson defended himself and said he was using the footpath because he was riding up a one-way street in the opposite direction. He told the ABC he had tried to do his civic duty and ride as far left as possible. He pointed out there was a two-metre space on the other side of the pedestrian, ample room for him to step aside and share the path. A Rebels bikie gang member and mixed martial arts fighter who goes by the nickname 'Pitbull' has been shot in the groin just days before he was due to appear in court. Gokhan Turkyilmaz, 33, was shot at a house in Upper Coomera on the Gold Coast on Tuesday night, the Courier-Mail reported. Turkyilmaz was on bail after being charged for trafficking the drug ice in a major police bust in 2017. Gokhan Turkyilmaz (pictured), 33, was shot at a house in Upper Coomera on the Gold Coast on Tuesday night Turkyilmaz (pictured) was on bail after being charged for trafficking the drug ice in a major police bust in 2017 A group of men who were at the house where Turkyilmaz was shot fled when police arrived. Turkyilmaz was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. He was one of 12 people arrested in raids across Queensland and Sydney in 2017. As well as being a MMA fighter and tattoo shop owner, police allege Turkyilmaz was the enforcer in an ice trafficking ring. He was expected to appear in the Cairns Supreme Court on Thursday. Police have appealed for anyone with more information on the shooting to come forward and provide details. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex enjoyed a successful three-day tour of Morocco following pregnant Meghan's luxury baby shower in New York. And Prince Harry, 34, couldn't help but show his cheeky side during day two of their official visit as he jokingly pretended he was unaware that his wife - who is due at the end of April - is expecting. Speaking with staff at the Moroccan NGO Education For All (EFA) boarding house in Asni, which provides education for girls aged 12 to 18 from rural communities, one teacher congratulated Meghan, 37, on her pregnancy. Sitting next to one another, the Duchess' bump visible through her open 395.34 Alice and Olivia tailored long navy blazer, the Duke turned to his wife and pulled a face of mock shock. 'Surprise!' said the Duchess. 'She's pregnant!?' joked the Duke, before asking: Is it mine?!, with a grin on his face. Scroll down for video Prince Harry (pictured), 34, couldn't help but show his cheeky side during day two of their official visit to Morocco as he jokingly pretended he was unaware that his wife Meghan - who is due at the end of April - is expecting Education for All started off with just eight girls in one house 10 years ago, and now houses 194 girls from surrounding rural communities in term time. During the visit the duchess took part in a henna ceremony - an ancient custom that is thought to have its roots in North Africa - and had a design painted on her hand to celebrate her pregnancy. The traditional henna flower was applied by 17-year-old Samira, who has lived at EFA for six years. Speaking with staff at the Moroccan NGO Education For All (EFA) boarding house in Asni, which provides education for girls aged 12 to 18 from rural communities, one teacher (pictured) congratulated Meghan, 37, on her pregnancy Sitting next to one another, the Duchess' bump visible through her open 395.34 Alice and Olivia tailored long navy blazer, the Duke turned to his wife and pulled a face of mock shock The Duke and Duchess of Sussex enjoyed a successful three-day tour of Morocco (pictured at the school) The couple arrived to Casablanca airport Saturday, where they were welcomed by the British Ambassador to Morocco and his wife before they inspected a Guard of Honour. The duke and duchess were two hours late for their welcoming ceremony following the knock-on effects of an earlier delay to their scheduled plane which flew from the UK. In darkness Harry inspected a sabre carrying guard of honour from the Auxiliary Forces, dressed in their pristine white uniforms and formed in two rows. The heavily pregnant duchess walked behind her husband as he looked over the troops who had been patiently waiting for over an hour. And despite spending a busy few days in New York for her luxury baby shower, which featured a string of A-list celebrities, Meghan looked relaxed and wore a striking red Valentino dress. The Duchess of Sussex was seen running over to meet little Rania, five, and Rayhanna, two, as she took a tour of the town of Asni with Prince Harry, 34 Meghan looked elegant in an understated ensemble for her second day in Morocco, dressing down for her tour through the town, before changing into a white tunic and heels Monday, the third and final day of their tour, saw the couple meet children with special needs, before visiting a cooking demonstration, a traditional Moroccan arts and crafts display and attending a horse grooming session at an equestrian facility. It is thought that Meghan is around 30 weeks pregnant, with most airlines allowing women to fly until the 37 week mark. A Kensington Palace spokeswoman said: 'Their royal highnesses are very much looking forward to the visit and are grateful to their hosts and the British Embassy for arranging such an interesting programme. 'They are particularly pleased that they will have the opportunity to meet so many young Moroccans over the next few days.' Glowing Meghan kept her makeup to a minimum, and also added a and a 67 'blanked scarf' from Wilfred Celebration! Harry and Meghan during this morning's henna ceremony as they visited the Education For All boarding house for girls aged 12 to 18 in Asni on day one of the tour The couple began their visit to the capital Rabat by walking along a red carpet that led to Casablanca Airport's royal suite. As they entered the building they were offered milk and dates a traditional welcome in Morocco. Pregnant Meghan appeared to pass but Harry could be seen nibbling on a date. A large motorcade of black limousines was waiting to take Meghan and Harry and their entourage of nine to meet Morocco's Crown Prince Moulay Hassan. They were guests of Morocco's King Mohammed VI at a royal residence. During the visit the duchess took part in a henna ceremony - an ancient custom that is thought to have its roots in North Africa - and had a design painted on her left hand to celebrate her pregnancy Australia's peak body representing lawyers has called for a review of court suppression orders after media were gagged from reporting George Pell's trial. The Law Council of Australia fears the orders aren't keeping up with the digital age and says inconsistency in how they are applied across the nation is sparking confusion. Its appeal for a review comes after a suppression order was lifted on the trial of Australia's highest-ranking Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, revealing a jury's finding that he raped one choirboy and molested another. The jurors returned a unanimous verdict in December as part of a retrial following a hung jury in September. Australia's peak body representing lawyers has called for a review of court suppression orders after media were gagged from reporting George Pell's trial An appeal for a review into court suppression orders comes after a gag order was lifted on the trial of Australia's highest-ranking Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, revealing a jury's finding that he raped one choirboy and molested another A suppression order prevented media reporting details of the trial until the gag was lifted on Tuesday, however the information was able to be found on social media. Law Council president Arthur Moses says legislation on suppression orders must acknowledge the 'fundamental truth' that it is virtually impossible to quarantine juries from the internet. He wants the government's Australian Law Reform Commission to investigate whether existing laws bear this in mind. 'Orders that are made by courts that don't take that (spread of social media) into account, in effect, place persons at risk of breaching orders,' he told ABC's Radio National on Wednesday. He noted courts grant suppression orders to prevent prejudice in a trial. But that could also be achieved through a judge directing a jury to 'put out of their mind' an individual's previous offences when deciding if they are guilty of a different charge, he said. The Law Council wants the ALRC to establish a standard set of suppression order laws that can be used across the nation. At the moment, more than 200 pieces of legislation deal with the orders. 'There's no point having different laws in different states concerning this issue, it creates confusion for the public and journalists,' Mr Moses said. A pair of legal academics have called for the Melbourne court to publish its reasons for the suppression order on the Pell case, saying there was a widespread misunderstanding of why it was made. 'A misconception is that the suppression orders were sought to protect Pell's reputation, or that of the Catholic Church,' University of Western Australia senior lecturer Michael Douglas and the University of Melbourne law school's Jason Bosland write in The Conversation. 'The court's written reasons for suppression in the Pell trials - if they exist - should be easily available to the public to aid their understanding of this case.' A man was discovered hanging upside-down from his underwear on a six-foot high fence early on Wednesday morning. The alleged burglar, 23, from Seaton, in Adelaide, was arrested by police after reports of someone smashing windows at a house under construction in Findon. Police were called to Trimmer Parade just before 3am after a witness yelled at the suspect and he ran away. A 23-year-old man was arrested by police after reports of someone smashing windows at a home (stock photo) The man, who was carrying a knife in his pocket, was than spotted nearby by police, but ran away when they approached him. They soon found him 'dangling upside down from a six-foot fence by his underwear, after he became caught while trying to jump the fence,' Senior Constable Matt Brown told ABC Radio Adelaide. They arrested and charged the 23-year-old with breach of bail, carrying an offensive weapon and being unlawfully on premises. Police will continue to investigate the damages which made to the property. They've been a signature gem for Australian jewellers for decades, but now opals are taking centre stage overseas. Capricorn Gems, a central Queensland jewellery brand, took advantage of the growing consumer interest in the precious stone at London Fashion Week 2019, held from February 15 to February 19. Ian Bone, part of the company's three man team, packed up a collection of boulder opals, sapphires and zircon, and jetted off to display the series of gems at several events held through-out the annual gathering of the fashion industry's elite. Capricorn Gems, a central Queensland jewellery brand, took advantage of the growing consumer interest in the precious stone at London Fashion Week 2019, held from February 15 to February 19 (pictured) The gems are turning the heads of British media agencies, such as online UK-based magazine The Jewellery Editor. Editor-in-chief Maria Doulton says opals are in high-demand. 'There is a big interest in opals and, in fact, it is one of the strongest trends over the past five years,' she said. Ms Doulton credits Capricorn Gems' dedication to ethical sourcing as one of the draw cards for international consumer interest. Mr Bone even offered the who's-who of the fashion world a masterclass on the story behind the cultivation of the gems. 'We want to get the gems out to the world and we believe this is the first time any jewellery brand from central Queensland has displayed gems in London,' Mr Bone told the ABC. Ian Bone, (pictured) part of the company's three man team, put together a collection of boulder opals, sapphires and zircon, and jetted off to London's Fashion Week Despite Australian gems taking the world by storm, recognition on home soil can sometimes be overshadowed. 'Gem cultivation is sort of an industry that flies under the radar most of the time because a lot of time is spent talking about the coal industry,' Mr Bone said. Australia has been the world's biggest exporter of opals since the 1930s. Millionaire investors are struggling to buy property with the banks imposing tighter lending rules as Australian real estate values plunge. The banking regulator's crackdown on interest-only loans has dramatically pushed up monthly repayment levels, by as much as 40 per cent. Digital Finance Analytics founder Martin North said millionaire property investors with a vast real estate portfolio were being hit particularly hard, as rental yield also weakened. Millionaire investors are struggling to buy property with the banks imposing tighter lending rules as Australian real estates values plunge (Sydney's Piper Point pictured) 'It isn't just the mum and dad property investors with a single property that's exposed,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday. 'We've now got a situation where there are a lot of people with multiple investment properties who are now cross-leveraged with capital growth now going backwards.' Sydney's median house price has plunged by a record 13.7 per cent peaking in July 2017, CoreLogic real estate data showed. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's crackdown on investor loans during the past 18 months has also hit the Melbourne market with values there down 10.6 per cent in the year to January. Digital Finance Analytics founder Martin North said millionaire property investors (stock image) with vast real estate were being hit particularly hard, as rental yield also weakened Property investors had, for decades, relied on negative gearing tax breaks to offset losses from renting out properties. 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 The banks, however, are no longer assuming capital growth will keep increasing, at least in the next few years, and are more reluctant to lend. This has led to investors being forced to pay both principal and interest, which has forced up monthly repayments by close to 40 per cent as also rental yields have weakened. 'We had a generation of property investors who thought this was a one-way street,' Mr North said. 'We had astronomically high ... interest-only loans to investors and this was always a recipe for a disaster. 'We just allowed this Ponzi scheme to continue.' Before the banking regulator crackdown in 2017, a staggering 43 per cent of loans went to investors. House prices in Sydney (pictured) and Melbourne are expected to keep plunging in 2019 and 2020 One-third of loans are still going to investors. CoreLogic head of research, Tim Lawless, said property prices will keep diving in 2019 and 2020. 'It's a bit of a perfect storm in many ways,' he told the ABC. 'Rental yields are beginning to weaken or fall while we're also seeing unprecedented levels of supply coming onto the market, which could lead to further falls if demand softens.' As the public pressure mounts on Joe Biden to make a White House bid, he declared that his family, including his grandchildren, want him to run for president. 'There's a consensus. The most important people in my life want me to run,' Biden said to an excited crowd at the University of Delaware where he spoke to celebrate the naming of a campus building after him. However, the 76-year-old former Vice President is yet to officially declare a 2020 presidential bid. He previously told the New York Times that if he does run, he'll announce it in March. He said he must now decide 'whether or not I am comfortable taking the family through a very, very, very difficult campaign'. Joe Biden said Tuesday that his family backs a potential presidential bid and he's close to deciding if he'll run for office. He made the announcement at the University of Delaware where he celebrated the naming of the UD Biden School of Public Policy and Administration after him Biden says he must now decide 'whether or not I am comfortable taking the family through a very, very, very difficult campaign', but they have his back. Pictured above with his sons Hunter and Beau and his wife Jill Biden Biden said he has the support of his grandchildren. Pictured (left to right) with granddaughter Finnegan Biden, wife Jill Biden, and granddaughter Naomi Biden 'The General Election, running against President Trump, I don't think he's likely to stop at anything,' he told the crowd of 700. 'I don't want this to be a fool's errand,' he added, noting that his personal decision not to align his candidacy with a super PAC could create financial challenges. In his speech he conceded that he may not be popular enough to win over the Democratic Party of 2020 and is unsure if his 'alleged appeal' is real. Yet roughly 10 months before the first primary votes are cast, Biden sent an unmistakable message to prospective rivals and voters alike that the already-crowded Democratic field is far from set. If he did run, he'd be the front-runner in the Democratic race for the presidency. President Donald Trump reportedly said he was his biggest potential threat in the 2020 race, along with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. 'I don't want this to be a fool's errand,' Biden said speaking at the University of Delaware on Tuesday (above) Biden's allies are currently reaching out to campaign operatives in early-voting states including New Hampshire and South Carolina to see if they'll back him. He's yet to officially announce a presidential bid, pictured above with wife Jill Biden At the moment Biden's allies are reaching out to campaign operatives in early-voting states including New Hampshire and South Carolina to gauge their willingness to join Biden's team. On Tuesday, operatives in both states said chatter continues, though no formal job offers had been extended, according to AP. South Carolina Democrat James Smith, the party's nominee for governor in 2018, said Tuesday that he's compiled a list of possible hires for the former vice president. 'I believe he's getting ready to say the word,' said Smith, who was endorsed by and campaigned with Biden last year. Biden is the best-known option for primary voters and perhaps the best-respected by elected officials and donors, who in many cases have a decades-long relationship with the longtime Democratic leader. Biden's potential rivals had little to say publicly about his latest comments on potentially joining the field. Biden could set the other liberal contenders scrambling. He could erode Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' popularity with working-class voters in the Midwest, California Sen. Kamala Harris' standing with African-American voters in South Carolina, and New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg's claim to the political center. 'Uncle Joe is absolutely beloved within the Democratic Party and for good reason,' said Zac Petkanas, an aide to former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. 'However, this isn't a popularity contest. Not only is he going to have to prove he's got fresh, bold ideas, but that he's tough enough to stand up to Trump.' If he did win, he'd be the oldest U.S. president ever elected. It is unclear, however, if Biden's profile, politics and policies are in line with today's liberal base, a relatively small slice of the electorate that holds outsized sway in presidential primary elections. Biden would stand out as an old white man just months after Democratic voters sent the most diverse class to Congress in history. He would also be viewed as an establishment-minded moderate unwilling to embrace ideas like free universal health care, free college and the so-called Green New Deal. Biden previously said to the New York Times that if he were to run, he'd announce it in March If he did run, he'd be the front-runner in the Democratic race for the presidency. President Donald Trump reportedly said he was his biggest potential threat in the 2020 race. Biden pictured above with President Barack Obama in 2011 'He is the biggest, best-known candidate in the race,' said veteran Democratic strategist Gary Pearce. 'Personally, I have mixed feelings. For all the respect I have for him, I don't know if he's the right thing for the Democratic Party right now.' Biden has spent more than four decades in Washington, mostly as a Delaware senator, and has long played up his upbringing in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Biden also has far more international experience than his would-be Democratic opponents - and the president. At a global security conference in Germany this month, he told an international audience that an American leader 'stands up to the aggression of dictators.' Yet he has struggled to develop a strong base of political support in two previous presidential runs. Veteran Iowa Democratic strategist Brenda Kole noted that Biden has never run as a former vice president - particularly one so closely associated with popular former President Barack Obama. 'Ultimately, if he can make the case that he is the best candidate to beat Donald Trump, and I haven't heard a convincing case yet from the vast field of candidates so far, he could break through,' Kole said. According to early polls, in Iowa, Biden is the most recognized and preferred candidiate. Yet activists report a hunger for new faces, as evidenced by big crowds at recent events for Harris and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Midwesterners such as Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown are also making a play for Iowa voters, though Brown has yet to announce whether he's running. '(Biden's) got the experience, but I don't want him to run,' said Julie Neff, a Democrat from suburban Des Moines, who attended a recent event for Klobuchar. 'I'd vote for him if he were the nominee, but we need someone new. There's a whole new generation of future leaders out there.' Terrifying footage has emerged of a man shooting wildly at police after a chase where he tried to run over an officer laying down road spikes. Four bullets struck a police car after the man, 33, got out of his vehicle carrying a shotgun opened fire with a shotgun in a leafy street in Christchurch, New Zealand. The gunman was wanted by police in relation to another shooting incident just days earlier where shots were fired at two police cars from a moving vehicle. The terrifying footage shows the gunman getting out of his car and shooting at police coming down the street The video shows the fugitive getting out of his car and shooting behind him as police cars blaring their sirens speed down the street. Gun fire continues to echo throughout the neighbourhood as police officers begin firing back and a gun fight ensues. The gunman runs further into the neighbourhood, constantly turning back to aim his shotgun at police. Another video was filmed by local resident Mathew Roberts, who captured the moment when police surrounded the gunman and arrested him. Roberts was watching television in his apartment when he heard police sirens growing louder in his street followed by gunshots. 'It seemed to me there were gunshots going back and forth between police and the person the police were after,' he told the NZ Herald. 'From what I saw there was a lot - eight or nine shots fired.' Police began pursuing the gunman after his car was identified to be the same vehicle used in a prior shooting where police cars where shot at from a vehicle. The man was wanted by police for a shooting a few days earlier where a car pulled up to police vehicles and opened fire Police officers told the gunman who was driving the car to stop but instead he fled from police. During the pursuit, the driver attempted to deliberately steer his car towards an officer laying down road spikes. The officer managed to avoid the car and the driver ran over the road spikes and his car came to a stop. The gunman quickly got out of his car and immediately began shooting at the police officers pursuing him with four bullets hitting a police car. Officers shot the man in the lower body and as he collapsed to the ground, police surrounded him and he was arrested. The man remains in hospital under police guard. His condition is serious but stable, and he is likely to face a number of serious charges. Michael Blakeman, 35, of Michigan, who was allegedly high on drugs, has been charged in the fatal crash that killed his 32-year-old Russian wife, Angelina Melnikova-Blakeman. A Michigan man, who was allegedly high on drugs, has been charged in the crash that killed his new Russian wife. Michael Blakeman, 35, was high and traveling at a high rate of speed when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into utility poles last Friday around 5.30pm, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. His wife, 32-year-old Angelina Melnikova-Blakeman, was in the passenger's side of the vehicle at the time. She was rushed to a local hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries. Blakeman was also injured in the crash and rushed to a separate hospital. His mugshot showed a large bandage across his forehead and over his eye. The photo also showed bruising and cuts on his face. Authorities said Detroit police were called to the scene on Wyoming Avenue near Plymouth Road. Blakeman and his wife (pictured) had only been married for a month before the horrific crash. He was charged with second degree murder, operating while intoxicated causing death and reckless driving causing death Blakeman's bond was set at $1million. He was arraigned Monday morning and is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on March 15 Police said Michael Blakeman also rear-ended another car after hitting the utility poles. Blakeman and his wife had only been married for a month before the horrific crash. He was charged with second degree murder, operating while intoxicated causing death and reckless driving causing death. His bond was set at $1million. He was arraigned Monday morning and is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on March 15. The Australian Border Force (ABF) limited the number of asylum seeker patrols to save money on fuel, it has been revealed. In December, the ABF was looking at ways to reduce costs and planned 'operational limitations' including an end to ships 'patrolling to achieve this active fuel saving'. At the time Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton refused these claims, reported by The Sydney Morning Herald after an email was leaked. Mr Dutton told the publication there would not be any reduced presence of patrols in the water. While Australian Border Force commissioner Michael Outram told Sentate that the media reports were not accurate. The Australian Border Force has been found to have limited its patrols for asylum seeker boats to save money on fuel it has been revealed It was reported in December that the ABF was in the midst of a budget blowout and was looking at ways to reduce costs, including cutting back on routine patrols 'That was a proposal that was not implemented we didnt make a change,' Mr Outram said when being questioned by Labor senator Kimberley Kitching. However Mr Outram later corrected his original comments and said that between December 3 and December 11 of last year the ABF did indeed employ a 'more risk-based approach' where patrol activities were 'cued through intelligence, radar sighting or visual sighting'. Instead of conducting routine patrols boats were left to wait for any suspicious activity on their radars or through tip offs from other vessels in order to preserve fuel. The timing of the risk-based approach only lasted until The Sydney Morning Herald reported on the budget blowout in December 11 of 2018. Labor's immigration and border protection spokesman Shayne Neumann told the publication he believes the admission from the ABF was a sign that government was willing to put Australia's border at risk to save money. 'If the Morrison government hadn't been caught out, how far would have Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton been willing to go?' he said. These claims were originally shot down by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton at the time and were backed by similar claims from Australian Border Force commissioner Michael Outram Mr Outram later recanted his original comments and said that between December 3 and December 11 of last year the ABF did indeed employ a 'more risk-based approach' where patrol activities were 'cued through intelligence, radar sighting or visual sighting' Frustrated Sydney commuters are being forced to wait in long lines to board the city's buses as delays in finishing the city's controversial light rail project cause severe traffic congestion. A video taken on Wednesday morning shows a 500-metre line of passengers snaking from Eddy Avenue bus stops outside Central Station to the other side of Belmore Park. This is an everyday reality for UNSW students who are forced to take buses to the university on roads clogged due to light rail construction. Hundreds of Sydney commuters are forced to wait in bus lines stretching out of sight as the city's delayed light rail project continues to wreak havoc on traffic Commuters have taken to social media to criticise daily overcrowding, lateness and lack of services Students complain that buses are overcrowded, late and slow, making them miss classes. The daily bus line was described as 'disgusting', 'absolute carnage' and an 'absolute farce' by angry Twitter users. One student said it took him over an hour to make the trip that should take 18 minutes according to Transport NSW's trip planner. 'There is no excuse to still be getting this wrong... it's ridiculous that 100+ students will miss class thanks to you,' he said in a tweet at the government agency. 'We take complaints such as this into account when making route adjustments,' replied Transport NSW's Buses East account. 'Write me a letter I can give my tutor to explain because she wouldn't buy "there weren't enough buses" and marked me absent,' the commuter replied. A back-and-forth between a frustrated commuter and Transport NSW's Buses East account A picture on Twitter shows the line stretching back from Central Station through Belmore Park to the other side on Hay Street The chaos continues on the ride home with commuters waiting in equally long lines to travel back to Central Station. 'I'll ride my bike next week!' wrote Professor Timothy Schmidt in the caption of a picture of the evening bus queue. 'I want to take public transport but I can't rely on services to get to class on time or home for school pickup,' another commuter said. Buses from Central to UNSW go down Anzac Parade where light rail construction often restricts traffic to two lanes. A Professor jokingly said that he will ride his bike next week but for many commuters it's no laughing matter. Another commuter said he 'can't rely on services' to travel to and from UNSW 'Queues for bus services between Central Station and UNSW have been an issue long before construction began,' a Transport NSW spokeswoman said. 'We are monitoring the lines and they move quickly, 'We are building the CBD and South East Light Rail to improve capacity.' The Sydney CBD and South East light rail project has been delayed by a year from 2019 to 2020. Construction began in October 2015 and has been marred by budget blowouts and videos of workers appearing to do nothing. Latest estimates put the cost of the project at more than $2.1 billion - more than $1 billion over the initial budget. Advertisement A top-secret combat drone capable of carrying bombs has been unveiled after years of construction. It has been called the Boeing Airpower Teaming System and nicknamed 'Project Wingman' by its creators. The unmanned craft is 38 feet long (11.6 meters), has a 2,000 nautical mile (3,704 kilometre) range and will be launched in 2020. The drone will be sold by Boeing to air forces around the world and a prototypical model was unveiled today in Australia. Its developers claim it will be capable of 'independent thinking' thanks to in-built artificial intelligence or working alongside conventional piloted jets on high-risk missions. A top-secret combat drone (pictured) capable of carrying bombs has been revealed by the nation's air force. Boeing hopes to sell the planes to customers around the world. It will use artificial intelligence to be capable of 'independent thinking' The unmanned craft is 38 feet long (11.6 meters) and has a 2,000 nautical mile (3,704 kilometre) range. The drone will be sold by Boeing to air forces around the world and a prototypical model was unveiled today in Australia The precise amount of investment manufacturers Boeing has pumped into the endeavour remains unknown, but is believed to be the largest investment in UAVs outside the US 'Our newest addition to Boeing's portfolio will truly be a force multiplier as it protects and projects air power,' Kristin Robertson, vice president and general manager of Boeing Autonomous Systems, said in the statement. The model was revealed by Australian Defence Minister Christopher Pyne at the Avalon aerospace trade show outside Melbourne. Videos from Boeing show the drone flying alongside a F/A-18 fighter jet as well as an E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft. Air Marshal Leo Davies, chief of the RAAF, told the Australian Strategic Policy Institute: 'We can program it to learn, but it learns linearly, it is not emotional and it is in many respects, in an air combat sense, quite inflexible. 'When we look at a pilot's ability to assess the situation, that brings with it an amount of emotion and creativity that allows us to be agile. 'We need the flexibility and agility of the human meshed with the speed of a machine. When we put those together, we've got a quite amazing outcome.' The precise amount of investment the US firm has pumped into the endeavour remains unknown but is believed to be the largest investment in UAVs outside the US. The Australian government is investing A$40 million ($28.75 million) in the prototype program due to its 'enormous capability for exports,' Mr Pyne told reporters at the Australian International Airshow. Four to six of the new aircraft can fly alongside a F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, said Shane Arnott, director of Boeing research and prototype arm Phantom Works International. 'To bring that extra component and the advantage of unmanned capability, you can accept a higher level of risk,' he said. 'It is better for one of these to take a hit than for a manned platform.' Videos from Boeing show the drone flying alongside a F/A-18 fighter jet as well as an E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft Defence Minister Christopher Pyne (pictured) revealed the Boeing Airpower Teaming System unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at the Avalon aerospace trade show outside Melbourne Further details of the 'Loyal Wingman' project remain scant but it's understood the primary purpose of the drone is to conduct electronic warfare and reconnaissance missions in 'risky' terrain. The UAV is said to be capable of flying up to several thousand kilometres, and can also carrying sensors or electronic warfare equipment on its underside. The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies in the United States said last year that the US Air Force should explore pairing crewed and uncrewed aircraft to expand its fleet and complement a limited number of 'exquisite, expensive, but highly potent fifth-generation aircraft' like the F-35. 'Human performance factors are a major driver behind current aerial combat practices,' the policy paper said. 'Humans can only pull a certain number of Gs, fly for a certain number of hours, or process a certain amount of information at a given time.' The unmanned craft, which is roughly the size of a traditional jet fighter, was developed in Brisbane by aerospace giant Boeing in collaboration with RAAF and the Defence Department While the drones aren't expected to be deployed until mid-2020, when they are, they could be used alongside existing RAAF aircraft such as the P-8A Poseidon (pictured) An industry source also revealed the drone could also potentially be used to carry bombs one day. The drones could be used alongside existing RAAF aircraft such as the P-8A Poseidon. The prototype is the first combat craft of its kind to be designed and developed in Australia in more than half a century. Kristin Robertson, vice president and general manager of Boeing Autonomous Systems, said: 'It is operationally very flexible, modular, multi-mission. 'It is a very disruptive price point. Fighter-like capability at a fraction of the cost.' She declined to specify whether it could reach supersonic speeds, common for modern fighter aircraft. The unveiling comes after it was revealed last year the Government had chosen the American-produced MQ-9 Reaper as its first remotely operated aircraft system. Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull also announced the government planned on spending $1.4billion on the first of six remote controlled spy planes. While the cost of the Boeing 'Loyal Wingman' remains unclear, the publication said the drone is believed to be the company's largest investment outside of the US. If the drones are a success, the Australian-designed aircraft could be exported to other nations one day. A former Russian state security officer and a cyber-security expert were both sentenced to long jail terms for treason Tuesday in a murky case that has attracted speculation it could be linked to the 2016 US election. Sergei Mikhailov was sentenced to 22 years in a maximum security prison and Ruslan Stoyanov to 14 years in a similar facility after several months of evidence and arguments in a trial held behind closed doors. The two were arrested in December 2016 shortly after the United States accused Russia of trying to influence its presidential election through computer hacking, an accusation Moscow denies. The timing led some people to suggest the actions were linked to the possible mole who tipped off U.S. intelligence agencies about alleged Russian interference. The former chief of the cybercrime department at Russia's main domestic security agency Sergei Mikhailov, left, and the former employee of Kaspersky Lab cybersecurity firm Ruslan Stoyanov pictured in court Tuesday Sergei Mikhailov, left, and Ruslan Stoyanov, right, were both found guilty of committing state treason in the interests of the United States. The case was classified as secret and the trial held behind closed doors Researchers in the cyber security field in both countries believe Moscow intended the arrests as a signal, in response to the U.S. hacking accusations, that it would now take action against forms of cooperation that it previously tolerated. Mikhailov used to work at the security center of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), while Stoyanov was the head of the computer incidents investigation team at Russian cyber-security firm Kaspersky Lab. The DailyMail.com exclusively reported in April 2017 how Mikhailov faced the treason changes evidently linked to leaks giving US investigators the knowledge that Vladimir Putin's intelligence services hacked and meddled in the American presidential election. Mikhailov was arrested in December during a meeting of senior officers at the agency's Lubyanka HQ in December 2016. A bag was placed over his head and he was frogmarched from the room in handcuffs. On Tuesday the two men listened to the verdicts and sentences from a glass cage inside the courtroom, flanked by masked men. The basis for the charges remains murky given the top-secret nature of the criminal proceedings. Russian media reported the case centered on accusations that Mikhailov contacted Stoyanov to pass information from an FSB probe of Russian businessmen Pavel Vrublevsky to an analyst with alleged ties to the FBI. And Andrei Soldatov, an expert on the Russian security services said Tuesday he still thinks the criminal case against the two men was a response to U.S. officials investigating election-related hacking. He said: 'Their arrest was a direct follow-up to the outcry in the U.S. over the Russian meddling. Mikhailov was the top FSB officer in charge of maintaining contacts with Western security agencies in the cyber-sphere, something that went out of fashion after the last scandal.' Ruslan Stoyanov, left, the former employee of Kaspersky Lab cybersecurity firm was sentenced to 14 years in jail. The former chief of the cybercrime department at Russia's main domestic security agency Sergei Mikhailov was sentenced to 22 years Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, pictured with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, left. A Moscow military court on Tuesday sentenced Mikhailov to 22 years in a maximum security prison and Stoyanov to 14 years in a similar facility Inga Lebedeva, the defense lawyer, said secrecy rules prevented her from providing details about the trial. But she said after the verdicts were given that allegations involving potential meddling in the U.S. elections did not come up. She alleged the charges were trumped up to appease Vrublevsky, the Russian businessman whose information Mikhailov was accused of passing. But human rights lawyer and a defense attorney in the case, Ivan Pavlov told ABC in 2017: 'It's very like they just wanted to isolate people. Because they know too much. For example, that which they would like to hide.' TV channel REN said in 2017 high level cyber asset Mikhailov was originally recruited by the Americans during a vacation in a Mediterranean country. Other sources said a probe into Mikhailov started after sensational evidence came to light that he has long used a fake identity, even raising the specter that he could have been planted on Moscow. His resume showed that was born in ex-Soviet republic Belarus, and came to Russia in the mid-1990s, taking citizenship before rising through the ranks of the FSB, a counter-intelligence agency once headed by Putin. But newspaper Novaya Gazeta said an investigation carried out by respected veterans of the SVR foreign intelligence service, the FSB, and the Interior Ministry 'failed to find any evidence that Mikhailov was born and raised in Belarus'. There were suspicions that from 2010 he had been handing data to the Americans. And a report by Life.ru - which has close links to the FSB - said that a sum totaling $12 million was seized from his Moscow apartment and country house. In December 2016 then-President Barack Obama expelled 35 Russians identified as intelligence operatives in retaliation for what the White House called 'very disturbing Russian threats to U.S. national security' in connection with hacking during the U.S. election campaign. A media attack on Mikhailov by Tsargrad TV, controlled by a Putin friend, reported that Mikhailov passed to US agents the information that allowed Washington to issue the intelligence report blaming Moscow for election-related hacking. It all helped the Americans pinpoint Russian hacking in the presidential election won by Donald Trump, it is believed. Stoyanov was the head of the computer incidents investigation team at Russian cyber-security firm Kaspersky Lab, pictured Mikhailov used to work at the security center of Russia's Federal Security Service, pictured Both men were convicted of passing secret information to foreign intelligence services, the agencies said. Ivan Pavlov, a lawyer involved in the case, has previously told Reuters that the men were accused of cooperating with U.S. intelligence services. The FSB has declined to comment, while Kaspersky has said the charges related to a period before Stoyanov joined the company in 2012. Pavlov has previously told Russian media that Mikhailov had originally confessed to treason, but had then retracted that confession. It's unclear, because of the secret nature of the proceedings, how Stoyanov pleaded. A businessman and a source connected with their investigation told Reuters in 2017 that the treason charges related to allegations first made by a Russian businessman in 2010. Those allegations suggested the men had passed secrets to U.S. firms, which had in turn shared them with U.S. intelligence agencies. Songs by pop stars Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande and Bruno Mars have been banned from being played during the daytime by a province in the world's biggest Islamic nation. Indonesia's most populous province has set restrictions on when certain English-language songs can be aired on television and radio for being 'pornographic'. The West Java provincial broadcast commission identified 85 songs labelled 'adult' that can only be aired between 10pm and 3am. These include Ed Sheeran's 'Shape of You', Bruno Mars' 'That's What I Like' and Ariana Grande's 'Love Me Harder', which have been deemed to have too 'vulgar' and 'negative' lyrics. The world's biggest Muslim-majority country has seen a rise in restrictions on content or behaviour deemed pornographic, sometimes through local bylaws based on sharia in the officially secular country. 'Don't': Ed Sheeran's 'Shape of You', along with Bruno Mars' 'That's What I Like' and Ariana Grande's 'Love Me Harder' have been restricted by West Jana in Indonesia 'Problem': Ariana Grande performing at Wango Tango at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles last August Neneng Athiatul Faiziyah, a member of the commission, said on Tuesday: 'Broadcast programmes are prohibited from containing songs and/or video clips that display or contain obscenities, sex...and drugs.' She said the action followed complaints from the public and there were similar objections over thousands of songs. Faiziyah said the broadcast commission was also drawing up a list of Indonesian language songs considered 'adult'. West Java is home to 48 million people and is known for being among the most conservative provinces in Indonesia. At the national level, Indonesia already has strict anti-pornography laws that critics say can be misused to threaten tolerance or creative expression in the Southeast Asian country. Indonesia's parliament last month dropped a draft music bill after protests by artists and rights activists who were concerned that it could restrict freedom of expression. The bill included articles that aimed to prevent the creation of music deemed to bring in negative influences from foreign cultures or that could incite the public to acts of violence or to break the law, the Jakarta Post newspaper said. 'That's What I Like': Bruno Mars BottleRock Music Festival at Napa Valley Expo in Napa, California, in May 2018 Earlier this month the Indonesian government claimed Instagram removed an account that posted a comic strip depicting gay Muslims after it sparked outrage online. The Ministry of Communications said the account under the username Alpatuni was 'pornographic', which violated the law on information and electronic transactions. The comics depicted gay characters facing discrimination and abuse, which has become increasingly common in Indonesia since late 2015 when conservative politicians and religious leaders began a campaign of portraying lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people as a threat to the nation. But Instagram denied it took the account down and claimed the social media giant did not know why the page was no longer active. Last October an Indonesian man was arrested for running a Facebook page that catered to the gay community. Also last year, Google pulled Blued, one of the world's largest gay dating apps, from the Indonesian version of its online store in response to government demands. Secular Indonesian President Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, is not seen as Muslim enough by Islamic hardliners The government Indonesian frequently threatens to block Western social media and internet companies for content deemed illegal but has never taken such measures, possibly fearful of a public backlash due to the huge popularity of the services with Indonesians. In 2017, it briefly and partially blocked the Telegram messaging app because of its failure to remove groups linked to violent jihad. In December it was revealed religious exorcisms were being carried out in an Indonesian town in a drive to 'cleanse' LGBT people of what clerics call 'their sickness'. Many Indonesians believe mental health problems caused by demonic spirits called 'dijinn' are to blame for homosexuality and transgenderism, and that some sort of exorcism or ruqyah is needed to 'cure them'. Two weeks ago in the Indonesian state of Aceh an 18-year-old couple were publicly flogged for cuddling, with others in the Sharia law state have been caned for holding hands or for being gay. In September last year the state banned men and women from having dinner together unless they are married or related. An Indonesian woman who worked at a school and exposed her boss's affair with a colleague was jailed for six months in November 2018. In 2015 the secular Indonesian President Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, announced a lifting of longstanding restrictions on access of accredited foreign journalists to the provinces of Papua and West Papua. But some government agencies and security forces in the region that opposed the change have not complied with the new directives. An appointee of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called out his former boss Tuesday at his re-sentencing for his role in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing scandal, blaming his missteps partly on a misguided loyalty to the two-term Republican. In a wavering voice Tuesday before he was sentenced to 18 months in prison, Bill Baroni apologized for his actions and said he allowed his desire to be on Christie's 'team' to cloud his judgment. 'I wanted to be on the team, I wanted to please him, but I chose to get sucked into his cult and culture,' he said. 'So by the time of this idea, to use the lanes of the George Washington Bridge to help his campaign, I no longer had that line of right and wrong to say no or to stop it. So I didn't.' Bill Baroni (left), who was sentenced in federal court in Newark on Tuesday to 18 months in prison, said his desire to please his former boss, ex-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (right), led him to break the law Christie wasn't charged, but the massive gridlock over four days and part of a fifth in September 2013 mushroomed into a scandal dubbed 'Bridgegate' that dragged down his presidential aspirations. Christie later conceded it played a role in then-Republican nominee Donald Trump's decision not to name him as his running mate. Baroni was a Christie-appointed executive of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge. He was convicted in 2016 and sentenced in 2017 to 24 months in prison, but a federal appeals court threw out civil rights counts against Baroni and co-defendant Bridget Kelly, the Republican governor's former deputy chief of staff, last fall and ordered the re-sentencing. David Wildstein, a former high school classmate of Christie's who reported to Baroni at the Port Authority, admitted orchestrating the plot to create traffic jams to retaliate against a mayor who wouldn't endorse Christie. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation. In September 2013, top aides to Christie orchestrated a plan to close a lane on the George Washington Bridge in order to cause traffic jams that would affect Fort Lee, New Jersey - a town whose mayor refused to endorse Christie in a gubernatorial election Kelly, the author of the infamous 'time for traffic problems in Fort Lee' email a month before the traffic jams, received an initial 18-month sentence and is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court. Baroni had sought a new sentence of six months' incarceration plus additional home confinement and community service. The government had asked for a prison term of at least 18 months. In comments to the judge Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Cortes argued that Baroni's contrition didn't alter the fact that he 'harmed many people' and lied repeatedly about what he had done. Baroni's comments echoed U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton's comments from his and Kelly's sentencing in 2017 when she pointed a finger at the poisonous political climate in Trenton that was the byproduct of 'a culture and an environment that lost its way.' On Tuesday, Wigenton said the appeals court's dismissal of the civil rights counts 'didn't change a whole lot for me' in assessing Baroni's crimes. There was 'a continuous misrepresentation of what occurred, and it continued right into the trial,' she said. A former federal prosecutor and a county board leader will face each other in a runoff to become Chicago's first black female mayor after leading a large field Tuesday that included a member of the Daley family that has dominated the city's politics for much of the last six decades. Political outsider Lori Lightfoot, who was a federal prosecutor in northern Illinois, and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle were the top two vote-getters among 14 candidates, but neither received more than the 50 percent needed to avoid an April 2 runoff. The winner will succeed Mayor Rahm Emanuel to lead the nation's third-largest city. Emanuel did not seek re-election. Among those they defeated was William Daley, who has never held major elected office but featured the most famous surname in the race. His father, Richard J. Daley, and brother, Richard M. Daley, held the city's top job for nearly 43 years of a 55-year span before Emanuel took the oath in 2011. Daley is a former U.S. Commerce secretary who, like Emanuel, served as White House chief of staff to President Barack Obama. Scroll down for videos Lori Lightfoot, a federal prosecutor in northern Illinois, and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle were the top two vote-getters among 14 candidates Emanuel 's decision not to seek a third term drew some of the biggest names in state and municipal government as would-be successors, along with some political newcomers with strong support, in a transitional election for a lakefront metropolis still struggling to shed its reputation for corruption, police brutality and street violence. 'What do you think of us now?' Lightfoot said Tuesday night to a crowd of her supporters. 'This is what change looks like.' Among those they defeated was William Daley, who has never held major elected office but featured the most famous surname in the race. His father, Richard J. Daley, and brother, Richard M. Daley, held the city's top job for nearly 43 years of a 55-year span Lightfoot, the first openly gay woman to run for Chicago mayor, has been critical of efforts to reform the Chicago Police Department in the wake of the 2014 fatal shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald by a white police officer. Preckwinkle, who leads the county's Democratic Party, also made a campaign issue out of McDonald's shooting. 'We may not be at the finish line. But, we should acknowledge that history is being made,' Preckwinkle, who previously served 19 years on the City Council and was a Chicago Public Schools teacher, told her supporters. 'It's not enough to stand at a podium and talk about what you want to see happen,' she added, taking an apparent shot at Lightfoot. 'You have to come to this job with the capacity and the capability to make your vision a reality.' Turnout was low Tuesday. Jim Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election, said by late afternoon turnout was around 27 percent of registered voters. The record low for a February mayoral election was 33.8 percent in 2007, when Emanuel was first elected. 'It appears that some voters either just disengaged or are not willing to make a decision until they know who's in the runoff, assuming there is a runoff,' Allen said. Businessman Willie Wilson, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza and activist Amara Enyia, who received financial support from Kanye West and Chance the Rapper, rounded out the top vote-getters. Businessman Willie Wilson, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza (pictured) and activist Amara Enyia, who received financial support from Kanye West and Chance the Rapper, rounded out the top vote-getters Although a nonpartisan election, the candidates were all attached in varying degrees to the Democratic Party. The Republican Party has virtually disappeared from the city. 'A problem is the absence of the Republican Party offering a different choice and different ideas,' said DePaul University political scientist Larry Bennett. 'Those running are all Democrats, offering odd claims of doing something different.' The variety of candidates reflected the many issues facing Chicago's next mayor: poor neighborhoods in need of investment, overwhelming pension debt, low-performing public schools and a crime rate that is often pointed to as among the nation's worst. 'We may not be at the finish line. But, we should acknowledge that history is being made,' Preckwinkle, who previously served 19 years on the City Council and was a Chicago Public Schools teacher, told her supporters Lightfoot, the first openly gay woman to run for Chicago mayor, has been critical of efforts to reform the Chicago Police Department in the wake of the 2014 fatal shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald by a white police officer However, an issue that took center stage in the contest is the need to change how business is conducted at City Hall. For some that means an end to pay-to-play, paying off influential politicians in order to do business in the city. Since 1972, more than two dozen city aldermen have been convicted of crimes related to official duties. Last month, Edward Burke, a 50-year veteran and former chairman of the City Council's Finance Committee, was indicted after authorities said a wiretap on his cellphone captured him pressuring executives of a fast-food chain to hire his law firm in exchange for help with permits. Preckwinkle, Mendoza, attorney Gery Chico and Daley all sought to distance their ties to Burke, who had a comfortable lead in his race for re-election on Tuesday. Reforming the city's police department is a job the winning candidate can't dodge. A consent decree approved last month by U.S. District Judge Robert Dow Jr. is aimed at tightening supervision, improving training and fixing the department's disciplinary system. Daley is a former U.S. Commerce secretary who, like Emanuel, served as White House chief of staff to President Barack Obama The decree is the most important consequence of the 2014 fatal shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald by former officer Jason Van Dyke. A video of the shooting sparked demonstrations and resulted in Van Dyke's murder conviction . Illinois' attorney general sued the city to force the court's involvement after years of inaction by the City Council, which dealt with systemic police misconduct in recent years by approving millions of dollars in lawsuit settlements. Emanuel's popularity plummeted after release of the McDonald shooting video and he eventually decided not to seek re-election to a third term, leading to the scramble to succeed him. Voters also chose among candidates for the 50-member City Council. The city has a tradition of having a dominating mayor and a City Council that isn't aggressive in serving as a separate branch of government, according to Bennett, the political scientist. That has meant the performance of various city departments hasn't received adequate scrutiny. Officer Joseph Banks Jr, 25, died Friday at a motel in Halethorpe, Maryland Authorities say an off-duty Baltimore police officer who followed in his father's footsteps and chose law enforcement as a career suffered a fatal heroin overdose at a motel. Officer Joseph Banks Jr died Friday at a motel in Halethorpe. The 25-year-old had been assigned to the juvenile booking unit, The Baltimore Sun reported. A Baltimore County police report says Banks had been using drugs with his girlfriend throughout much of the day on Thursday and overdosed. Banks' girlfriend, 24, told investigators that after he had used up the last of the heroin at around 11pm, he sounded as if he was struggling to breathe. She tried to administer Narcan to counteract the overdose and called 911 shortly after 3am on Friday. However, paramedics were unable to revive Banks. Investigators said Banks and his girlfriend were using heroin and drinking alcohol throughout much of the day Thursday. They were in a room at Tim's Motel (seen in the above stock image) Banks was described as a 'great kid' and a 'great guy' by a neighbor who lived near his family Banks 'followed his father's footsteps' by becoming a police officer in Baltimore, according to friends Baltimore City Councilman Brandon Scott knew Banks. He called the officer's death another tragic example of the reach of addiction. 'They were a very close-knit family, you know,' a neighbor of the family, David Johns, told WJZ-TV. 'I feel devastated. I know they feel devastated...I knew Joe, I knew little Joe. 'He was a great kid, he was a great guy.' SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 To my first gay wedding, between Simon Cowells right-hand man Nigel Hall (Global Head of Syco TV) and his hospital-manager boyfriend, Philip Bates. The dress code for the star-studded celebration at Claridges was glitz and glamour. What should I wear? asked my wife, Celia. Whatever you like, I said. You dont have to worry about upstaging the bride. As proof of this, we arrived at the champagne reception to find Cheryl Cole dressed like an exotic ostrich in a nude outfit exploding with feathers and sequins. Speaking to Carol Vorderman and her daughter Katie the topic of conversation turned to education Carol Vorderman, equally understated in a transparent black and green mesh, was with her daughter Katie and the topic of conversation turned to education. Where did you go to university? Carol asked Celia. Cambridge. Oh, so did we! she replied. In fact, Katie is now a research scientist there. All eyes turned to me. Harlow College, NCTJ Diploma in Journalism, I replied, defiantly. The three of them burst out laughing. Whats it like to be the most stupid person in the group? scoffed Carol. Simon was supposed to be best man but pulled out three days ago citing scheduling reasons. From my lengthy experience of him bailing on such events, this usually means he forgot he was due to be lying in a Malibu hammock. His girlfriend, Lauren, was there though. Lets send Simon a photo to wind him up, I suggested. Great idea! she laughed. We posed for a suitably intimate snap that she pinged to LA with the inflammatory caption: Im in safe hands Dinner was in the fabulously decorated ballroom, accompanied by a joyously raucous swing band. I was seated next to Judy Finnigan and Richard Madeley, who regularly stands in for me on Good Morning Britain and recently made headlines by terminating Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson live on air for not answering a question. Oddly, by the time the starters arrived, they still hadnt showed. Amanda Holden swung by. Oh dear, she cackled when she saw the empty chairs, did they hear about the seating plan in advance? Half an hour later, staff removed Richard and Judys name cards. Id officially been terminated. Dont worry, Billy No Mates, Ill come and sit with you, said Amanda, thoughtfully. The speeches, like the lavish meal, were superb. Apprentice star Karren Brady paid tribute to groom No 1: Phil brings calmness to the madness that is Nigels life, she said. He doesnt bat an eyelid when Simon calls from the Waldorf Astoria in New York at 3am UK time, and says: Hi Phil, is Nigel there? and when Nigel comes on the phone, asks him: Nigel, can you ring reception and ask them where my iPad is? Nigel and Phil were both married before, to women. All their children, and Phils ex-wife of 25 years, were in the room. This union has nothing to do with you being men, said Karren, but is simply because you both love each other; theres only one happiness in life, to love and be loved. Substitute best man Bradley Walsh brought the house down. Its been a great honour to step in today, he said, though to be honest I had f*** all else to do. He eyed the crowd. This was supposed to be a family-only event but of course a load of showbiz pals have turned up in abundance. Mind you, theres so much Botox and plastic surgery in the room you all look related anyway. Glad they turned the heat down, Id be doing this speech in a puddle. Honestly, theres enough bleach on teeth in here, if you all flash your smiles on the wedding video, youll give someone an epileptic fit. Bradley spoke about groom No 2. Nigel and I first met when we were paired together in a game of naked celebrity Twister against Christopher Biggins and Lionel Blair. We won on a technicality when Lionel tripped on his own testicle and fell and broke his hair. Amanda laughed so hard at this Id thought shed break her own hair. Nigel, continued Bradley, told me about the day he went on bended knee to ask the all-important question: Simon, can I have the day off to get married? When Nigel spoke, he told a joke that revealed an uncomfortable truth about working for Simon nothing can ever be more important than pleasing The Boss. I once came home and said to Phil: Ive had the s****iest day today and nothing I could do could make Simon happy. Every idea he hated. Phil said: Ive had a terrible day too. I had a lady die on the operating table. I paused, then said: Did I tell you how s*** my days been? Nigel spoke movingly about his long, difficult journey to come out as a gay man, then he ordered the band to strike up Dionne Warwicks I Say A Little Prayer and sang it himself to his new husband, a brave thing to do for a guy who makes the worlds biggest TV talent shows. As he finished, Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli raced out to shout: A bit pitchy, BUT IT WORKED! Lets dance! cried Nigel, so everyone danced. By midnight, Amanda and Celia were smooching together in a suspiciously friendly manner. This may not be the last gay wedding we attend, sighed Amandas husband Chris. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 Did you terminate me? I emailed Richard Madeley. No! he replied, explaining they had RSVPd to say they couldnt make it but it must have slipped through the cracks. He added: I cannot envisage circs under which you would suffer to be terminated Piers, by anyone even the Grim Reaper. The Cry Sunday, BBC1 Rating: The Big Audition Friday, ITV Rating: The Cry stars Jenna Coleman as Joanna, a struggling, sleep-deprived, first-time mother whose baby, Noah, had gone missing by the end of episode one. Maybe Im just thriller-ed out at present first sign of being thriller-ed out: oh no, not another missing-baby drama and it did seem familiar generally. It opened at the end, with Joanna being tried in court, and then spooled back so well see how we got here, quite like Apple Tree Yard, and it tapped into all the anxieties of new motherhood (The Replacement), and also theres the child that was here a minute ago but now isnt (all missing-child thrillers including, most recently, Save Me and The Missing). Does anyone ever manage to hang on to their babies any more? Youd think not, although I did once forget my baby outside a shop and when I returned some time later (ahem) he was, thankfully, still there. But easy pickings, youd have thought. The Cry stars Jenna Coleman as Joanna, a struggling, sleep-deprived, first-time mother whose baby, Noah, had gone missing by the end of episode one Adapted from the novel by Helen FitzGerald, this starts with the court, then hops about in time all over the place so it was phenomenally busy, yet it also felt fearfully slow. OK, we know its a missing-baby drama, so can the baby go missing now please? Spooling back, were told how Joanna first met Noahs father, Alistair (Ewen Leslie); how it began as an affair, how he invited her back to his place and how she only realised he was married when his wife and daughter walked in on them about to have sex. Joanna, he didnt tell you he was married? Joanna, he brought you to the marital home? I was against Alistair from this point on and could not, frankly, comprehend why Joanna didnt feel similarly. When Alistair discovered his wife had taken their daughter back to her native Australia, he sobbed, while Joanna didnt say, What did you expect?, but instead comforted him. True, she could just be in thrall to this older man who has a sexy job (political spin doctor), but one did have to wonder if she had her wits about her all the same. (He didnt tell you he was married! He took you to the marital home!) But she was not deterred, and now Alistair and Joanna have Noah, who is three months old, and she is going out of her mind with all the crying and the sleeplessness and the fear she isnt doing it right and there were some terrific moments that seemed absolutely truthful: the isolation, the patronisation from other mothers, having lunch with the child-free friend who cant understand what it has taken just to get out of the house and turn up. Then Alistair decides he wants to fight for custody of Chloe, so its a 30-hour plane ride, which is hell, basically. Noah screams. Other passengers complain. Alistair wears earplugs and an eye mask and sleeps on until the final moments when Noah has finally crashed out and he takes over, so now hes the hero of the hour. Havent we all been there? I know I have. I could relate to that. But Alistair and Joanna? Not so much. They arrive in Australia, stop for groceries, return to their car and thats it, Noah has gone. Coleman is terrific, in fact, reacting with just enough ambivalence so that we have to ask if she has had something to do with his disappearance. On the plane, what was that unmarked bottle she was drinking from? That said, other suspects are lining up quite nicely. Was it Alistairs ex-wife, Alexandra (Asher Keddie), who was seen to have a spade in her boot? Personally, Im worried by the fact that we didnt hear a peep from Noah after theyd landed. Could he have been already dead by then? And why is the trial in Scotland and not Australia? As the media circus ensues, its the mechanics Im interested in, not the characters. I sense it might be one of those series Ill let go, and then when its over, quiz someone who has watched so I can discover the ending. Its cheating, I know, but I get paid the same, and will save several hours. Result. Next, I searched the schedules for a show that would be cheerful and painless certainly, Strictly will be less painful now Susannah Constantine has been ejected, God love her and struck upon The Big Audition. The deal: real people audition for real jobs which they may then be awarded. The jobs, this time out, included presenting for a shopping channel, playing Henry VIII at Hampton Court (really) and also the magazine, Dogs Today, was looking for a dog as a brand ambassador (it should have gone to little one-eyed Daisy May! She was robbed!). There is nothing cruel at play here. Its so good-hearted that even those who walked away empty-handed appeared to have enjoyed a lovely, jolly day out. Also, the bobsleigher? The one who cried when he learned the shopping channel wished to employ him? I felt a tear in my eye, too. Whereas The Cry? Not moved. At all. Employees at an Arizona crematorium were exposed to high levels of radiation after incinerating the body of a man who had undergone potent treatment for pancreatic cancer just before his death, a new case report reveals. In a grim revelation, the researchers discovered that burning cancer patients' bodies may actually pose danger to crematorium workers. Radioactive medications are clearly and meticulously labeled with yellow hazard signs and instructions for how to use them in treatment and dispose of them properly. But a body doesn't come with such instructions, information about the deceased patient doesn't always travel as it should, and there are no federal regulations to ensure crematorium workers aren't exposed to invisible poisons. After a man treated with radiotherapy for cancer died and was cremated, scientists found traces of radiation in the crematorium and the operator's urine, a case study reveals Over 50 percent of deceased bodies in the US are now cremated. Cremation is considered one of the cleanest ways to dispose of remains, resulting in sterile ashes. But if something toxic is in a body, it may be heated and released into the crematorium. Such is the case with radioactive drugs. About 30 percent of cancer survivors - or 3.05 million people - have been treated with radiation therapy, and that doesn't include those who have died. As of 2015, about 590,000 people died of cancer in the US. If about that many people die of the disease this year, 30 percent of them got radiation and half of those were cremated, that comes out to 88,500 people. That's 88,500 whose remains could have been radioactive when they were incinerated. And one of them was a 69-year-old Arizona man. Before his death, the patient had suffered from a form of pancreatic cancer. An intensive form of radiation treatment, lutetium Lu 177 was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year, specifically to treat the form of cancer the patient in the case study had. It's labelled with instructions to wear gloves and radiation shielding when handling and administering it to patients through an IV. But it doesn't mention anything about safe handling of people who have been treated with the drug, much less their bodies. The patient was being treated with Lu 177 at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona. A day after his last treatment, the man's blood pressure dropped dangerously low and he was admitted to a different Arizona hospital. But the man didn't recover. He succumbed to his cancer two days later. After another two days, the man's body was cremated. However, the Arizona Mayo Clinic, where the man had received his last lutetium 177 treatment, didn't find out that their patient had died - let alone been cremated - until three-and-a-half weeks later. Once they realized what had happened, the radiation safety office, Dr Kevin Nelson and study author Dr Nathan Yu grew concerned. In patient bodies, at normal temperatures, radiotherapy targets whatever specific types of cancer cells the drug is meant to treat. But isotopes - the radioactive forms of elements - can change and become more ore less dangerous when their environments change. 'Some [isotopes] may become volatalized at a lower temperatures so a different radioactive material might be present while a body is being cremated,' Dr Yu explains. In other words, they may emit higher levels of radiation. The Mayo Clinic sent in a team to sweep the crematorium, including the oven itself, the filter of the vacuum used in the room and the bone crushing machine, with a Geiger counter. The equipment tested at anywhere between 5,000 to 25,000 Geiger counts per minute. That's between the 3,600 counts that an average US citizen receives in a year and the 50,000 that are the maximum annual radiation exposure that the US government permits a worker to be exposed to at their job in a single year. Even nearly four weeks later, the surface of the crematorium equipment was still significantly radioactive. But, the researchers say that it amounts to only trace exposures for people. That might explain why the crematorium operator's urine was negative for lutetium 177, fortunately. There was, however, some active technetium Tc 99m, another isotope used in radiological diagnostic tests. At first, the research team assumed that the operator had at some point undergone some kind if diagnostic test himself. But in the end, he hadn't, and his exposure to this second radioactive isotope had probably come from another body he handled at the crematorium, too - not the same one. Technetium, Dr Yu explained, has a very short half-life, lasting just six hours, so they surmised that the crematorium employee had most likely incinerated a different body that the compound had been used in within the past two to three days. Both Dr Yu and Dr Nelson explain that there are no recommendations or requirements for patients for doctors to pass along to patients about the safety of radiotherapies after their own deaths. And there is certainly no one passing the info along to crematoriums. But that's what Dr Nelson wants to change. 'As a start, it'd important for manufacturers to provide post-mortem considerations and instructions,' he says. He also argues that there need to be better procedures for passing information about a deceased patient's relevant history from doctor to doctor and on to a crematorium if a patient doesn't survive. 'Radiation risk is additive , so we want to try to keep exposures from happening frequently,' Dr Nelson said. Patients are being harmed because drug shortages are forcing doctors to change their prescriptions, a survey has revealed. One in seven GPs say their patients have experienced negative side effects after they had to switch to second-choice drugs. Shortages of medicines have this year been described as 'worse than ever' and there are concerns Brexit is contributing by causing patients and companies to stockpile. More than a third of doctors say they 'fairly often' have to switch to less desirable drugs because of availability, while 16 per cent say they have to do it 'very often'. A survey of nearly 600 GPs has revealed a vast majority have found their first-choice medications are becoming unavailable increasingly often (stock image) In a survey of 586 GPs by the news website GP Online, nine out of 10 of them said they noticed their go-to medicines were becoming unavailable more often. Figures last month revealed the Government was in December paying over the odds for 80 drugs because they were hard to get hold of this has dropped to 61 so far for February. Shortages do affect patient management tremendously as second line medications are not always ideal and in rare cases not as effective,' said one anonymous GP in the survey. Another said anti-inflammatory painkillers, such as ibuprofen, high-strenght aspirin and naproxen, pose a particular problem. They wrote: 'It is a particular nuisance for the anti-inflammatories. Patients are having to take stronger or unequal doses which is causing harm.' And one said it was 'terrifying' to think about what might happen 'if Brexit goes ahead'. There have been concerns patients will try to stash medicines out of fear they won't be able to get prescriptions filled if Britain leaves the EU next month. HOSPITALS MAY HAVE TO PAY HIGHER FREIGHT COSTS AFTER BREXIT NHS hospitals could be landed with the bill for transporting vital cancer treatments into the UK from Europe after Brexit, the Royal College of Radiologists has suggested. The organisation fears a possible increase in the cost of air travel, triggered by the breakdown of international customs arrangements, could be passed onto hospitals. In particular, it is concerned about radioactive isotopes which are vital for diagnostics and treating cancers with radiotherapy, the Health Service Journal reports. The products decay too quickly to be stockpiled, the experts warned, and must be delivered to hospitals early in the morning. If this couldn't be carried on as normal, the hospitals would have to restrict how much they can use or pay over the odds to access the materials, they speculated. The college said: 'NHS England had not conducted specific prioritisation and product substitution planning to help providers who may be unable to access particular radioisotopes.' Advertisement International supply lines may also be disrupted if there are no agreements put in place before Brexit even the Dutch government has admitted it is trying to secure access to 'vital' medicines out of fear European supplies will dry up. And the country's health minister, Bruno Bruins, said he wouldn't reveal which medicines they were concerned about in case other countries tried to take them. There has been disagreement over whether Brexit is the real cause, and the Government denies the link. In January, chair of the English Pharmacy Board at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Sandra Gidley, said: 'This has been a problem for some time. 'There was a group set up by the Department of Health in 2010 to look at these shortages. But it is fair to say that recently the shortages have been worse than ever.' Gareth Jones, from the National Pharmacy Association, told the BBC at the time: 'Uncertainty over Brexit appears to be a significant factor.' And Martin Sawer, executive director of the Healthcare Distribution Association, said people might be stockpiling medicines. 'Some businesses could be speculating on Brexit,' he added. 'That's the nature of the market.' The Government has this month passed rules on 'serious shortage protocols', which will allow pharmacists to give a patient drugs different to what is on their prescription if supplies run out. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told GP Online: 'There is no hard evidence to date to suggest current medicine supply issues are increasing as a result of EU exit. 'Our number one priority is to ensure the continued supply of medicines and we are working closely with industry and partners in the health system to help prevent disruption, including increasing UK buffer stocks. 'We are confident that, if everyone does what they need to do, the supply of medicines should be uninterrupted in the event of a no deal. 'We have well-established processes to manage and mitigate the small number of supply problems that may arise at any one time due to manufacturing or distribution issues and this has always been the case every day over 2m prescription items are successfully dispensed in England.' With its sprawling beaches and laid-back lifestyle, it's no wonder Hawaiians are considered to be the happiest and healthiest. Hawaii has been named the US state with the best well-being, according to Gallup's annual National Health and Well-Being Index. The Aloha State was followed by states that fell in the western US: Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Utah. Meanwhile, high rates of obesity, smoking and depression led to West Virginia being named the unhappiest state. Rounding out the bottom five were all states that fell in the southern US: Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. Hawaii was ranked as the happiest state in America in an annual Gallup report while West Virginia was ranked first as the country's unhappiest state THE HAPPIEST STATES... 1. Hawaii 2. Wyoming 3. Alaska 4. Montana 5. Utah 6. Colorado 7. Vermont 8. Delaware 9. South Dakota 10. North Dakota Advertisement ..AND THE UNHAPPIEST STATES 1. West Virginia 2. Arkansas 3. Kentucky 4. Mississippi 5. Tennessee 6. Oklahoma 7. Alabama 8. Louisiana 9. Illinois 10. Indiana Advertisement To reach its findings, Gallup conducted surveys across the US and asked adults how they felt about their careers, social life, finances, communities and physical health. After assessing each state's provisions, the researchers provided grades out of 100. Hawaii earned a 64.6 out of 100 while West Virginia scored just 57.0 out of 100. The results were hardly a surprise seeing as Hawaii took the top spot for the seventh time since Gallup began its poll in 2008. In fact, across all the metrics that were measured, Hawaii was the only state to be in the top five for each one. Dan Witters, research director of the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index, told TODAY that Hawaii didn't just take the crown because of its tropical landscape. 'So, while at first blush it seems intuitive - "Of course, it's Hawaii" - the way that we measure well-being doesn't necessarily give Hawaii a leg up on the other states just as a function of where it's located and the year-round outdoor weather,' he said. 'It comes down to who lives there and what kind of culture do you have.' Good physical well-being seems obvious in Hawaii. The state has the third lowest adult obesity rate in the nation and has a lower smoking rate than the national average. In fact, Hawaii has some of the strictest smoking laws in the country and was the first state to raise the minimum smoking age to 21 in 2016. A recent bill introduced earlier this month would make it the first state to ban cigarette sales. However, Witters said Hawaii also benefits from a strong social well-being, including enjoying time with loved ones, being happy with career and being able to live within financial means. Meanwhile, West Virginia claimed the bottom spot for the tenth year in a row and has been in the bottom five every year since Gallup began conducting its poll Witters said this is the high rates of depression, smoking and obesity are 'the same story that we've seen in the past'. When it comes to depression, past reports have found that the Mountain State's suicide and depression rates are among the highest in the country, with low rates of health insurance and access to mental health professionals. Last year, the State of Obesity report found that West Virginia led the nation in obesity rates at 38.1 percent. In addition to having the highest obesity prevalence, West Virginia also led the nation in the percentage of adults with diabetes at 15.2, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 'Your eyeballs just about fall out of their sockets when you look at the diabetes number,' Witters told TODAY. 'Their exercise, produce consumption and eating habits are all near the bottom of the nationThey have a lot of work to do from a well-being perspective.' He also noted that it's the state where residents complain of high amounts of physical pain. This is likely why, in 2016, West Virginia had the highest rate of opioid-related overdose deaths in US - around 43.4 deaths per 100,000, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. A 69-year-old man became confused, forgetful and acted 'strangely' after eating too much fish on an Alaskan cruise. The man - who has not been named - was taken to the Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center by his wife after they returned from their two-week holiday. Doctors initially thought his 'altered mental status' was due to a stroke or too much alcohol, however, tests came back clear. The office-worker's wife then mentioned he had eaten fish at almost every meal of their holiday, including high-mercury halibut, lingcod and salmon shark. He was diagnosed with 'organic mercury toxicity due to consumption of excessive fish' after a test revealed he had 35ng/mL of the metal in his blood - with normal levels being less than 10ng/mL. After four days in hospital, the man's symptoms disappeared, with his mercury level being a healthy 9.2ng/mL a month later. A 69-year-old man became confused after eating too much fish on an Alaskan cruise (stock) The incident was written in a BMJ Case Report by Dr Rupam Ruchi, from the department of medicine and nephrology, who treated the patient. The man - who is obese, and suffers from both diabetes and high blood pressure - had never eaten so much fish in such a short space of time before. His desk job also means he is not exposed to environmental mercury, unlike those who work in wood preservation or outdoor painting. Due to no effective treatment being available, the man was monitored in hospital and told not to eat anymore high-mercury fish. WHAT IS MERCURY POISONING? Mercury naturally builds up in fish, shellfish and animals that eat fish. Higher levels are found in fish at the top of the food chain, including marlin, shark and swordfish. Other sources can be dental fillings. Too much mercury exposure can damage the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and immune system. If the metal is in the bloodstream of unborn babies or young children, it man harm their nervous system, making them less able to think and learn. Symptoms of mercury posioning can include: Poor peripheral vision Pins and needles Lack of co-ordination Poor speech, hearing or balance Muscle weakness A healthy person's mercury level should be less than 10ng/mL. A single serving of halibut, lingcod or salmon shark can exceed that, according to the Alaskan Government. Source: MedicineNet Advertisement To prevent mercury poisoning, the Alaskan Government gives points per portion of different fishes and does not recommend exceeding 12 points a week. For example, a single 6oz (170g) serving of halibut, lingcod or salmon shark has between 18 and 30 points. The authors said: 'The concentration of mercury is very low in most food (<0.02 mg/kg). 'However, certain types of marine fish (such as tuna, swordfish and shark) and certain fish taken from polluted fresh waters (such as walleye, bass and pike) may contain high concentrations of mercury.' The Natural Resources Defence Council states that fish with a mercury level of 0.3to-0.49mg/kg can be safely eaten three times a month. But fish with more than 0.5mg/kg of mercury should be avoided. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends a maximum daily exposure of 0.1mcg/kg, which typically results in a blood-mercury concentration of less than 6mcg/L. Too much mercury usually causes gastro and respiratory symptoms initially, followed by 'pins and needles' around the mouth, low energy, deafness and poor balance. Foetuses are particularly vulnerable, with the NHS advising pregnant women not to eat any shark, marlin or swordfish. An NHS-backed medical app has been branded a 'public health danger' after failing to suggest a 66-year-old woman's breast lump could be cancer. After watching a video of the interaction, Twitter users flocked to criticise Bablyon Health's 'flawed' symptom-checking system. Someone claiming to be an NHS consultant told the artificial intelligence a painless breast lump a hallmark of cancer was their only symptom. Despite the made-up patient being over 66 years old, so being 10 years older than when the average menopause ends, the 'utterly absurd' bot still asked whether she was pregnant or breastfeeding. And, after asking numerous questions, the app's best guess was that the patient had osteoporosis, a condition which weakens people's bones as they get older. Babylon Health, which runs the app, told MailOnline it chooses to not suggest breast cancer and instead says 'something potentially serious', which was the third possible cause. Twitter user Dr Murphy, who claims to be an NHS consultant, tested Babylon Health's symptom-checker by pretending to be a 66-year-old woman with a breast lump, and was outraged when the NHS-backed app did not list cancer as a potential cause Babylon claimed the most likely cause of the made-up woman's lump was osteoporosis, a condition which causes the bones to weaken as people get old Twitter user @DrMurphy11's video has been watched more than 13,000 times and commented on by senior doctors expressing their disbelief. The NHS website says in bold at the top of a page on breast lumps: 'If you feel a lump in your breast, you should always get it checked by a GP.' After telling the app their hypothetical patient had a breast lump, Dr Murphy said they were a smoker, but had no pain, discharge, change in the appearance of the breast, swelling in the neck or recent breast injuries. And it ruled out a family history of cancer in the breast or thyroid. At the end, the app said osteoporosis was 'moderately likely', and listed it as the top potential cause of the patient's symptoms. Other 'less likely' causes were an underactive thyroid, a breast abscess, fibrocystic disease, myxedema coma, duct ectasia, and hypercorticolism. One option was named simply 'something potentially serious' although this was only one out of four on the likelihood scale. Breast surgeon at Imperial College Healthcare in London, Paul Thiruchelvam, tweeted: 'WTF. This needs to be shut down, it's a public health danger. My 4 year old daughter knows more about breast masses than this app #artificialincompetence'. A cardiologist for Frimley Health Foundation Trust in Surrey, Navin Chandra, added: 'This is so bad it's almost funny... until you realise it's bloody dangerous...' A public health nurse, Julia Smith, tweeted: 'Multiple questions are a waste of time. Only outcome this need[s] to be given would be you need further assessments. 'Book a GP appointment after giving the information of breast lump, not pregnant, not breastfeeding.' Twitter user Thomas Sutton added: 'That a system this dangerous can not only be allowed on the market, but actively promoted by the NHS, is an absolute travesty.' Paul Thiruchelvam, a breast surgeon at Imperial College Healthcare in London, called Babylon's checker 'a public health danger' and said it 'needs to be shut down' Navin Chandra, a cardiologist for Frimley Health Foundation Trust in Surrey, called the oversight 'b****y dangerous' Julia Smith, a public health nurse, said the app didn't need to ask any more questions after being told about a breast lump because they should all be checked by a doctor Twitter user Thomas Sutton said the app being actively promoted by the NHS is 'an absolute travesty' and the mistrust it could cause may damage the reputation of artificial intelligence The outrage comes after Dr Murphy criticised the app in July last year for diagnosing a nosebleed as potential erectile dysfunction. Babylon Health runs the NHS's GP at Hand service through its app a service for patients in London to phone or video-call GPs instead of going to a surgery. The company is paid for each NHS patient it treats in the same way as GP practices get money for people on their books. The controversial service which critics warn will destabilise traditional practices as they lose money from patients who deregister to join Babylon is expected to expand to Birmingham and further across England later this year. The NHS website says women who feel a lump in their breast should 'always' get it checked by a doctor because it could be a sign of a serious illness It has been praised by Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock, who last year claimed he has 'become known for using the app'. But the Labour Party has accused him of breaking ethics rules by publicly and privately endorsing an app which also makes money from private paying patients. Dr Murphy tweeted alongside his video: 'The resulting list of "possible causes" is the product of a poorly developed, inadequately tested, unvalidated, flawed decision tree.' In comments, people revealed they had tried to diagnose the same symptoms in other similar apps namely Ada Health and Isabel Healthcare and both had suggested breast cancer as a possible cause. A spokesperson for Babylon Health told MailOnline the company does not suggest people might have cancer. They said: 'Not all lumps in the breast are breast cancer most of the time lumps are non-cancerous. 'In this particular scenario, the lump might be cancerous, and smoking is a risk factor, but there are no other symptoms to suggest this apart from the lump. 'In order to represent what would happen in face to face clinical practice, where a doctor would highlight that there might be something more serious (such as cancer), we recently made some design changes to our app. 'We now say "something potentially serious", rather than cancer, based on user feedback which showed people were more motivated to actually go and see a doctor with this approach. 'In this scenario, the Babylon app behaves in the same way as a GP, in that it spots risk factors for osteoporosis, and suggests this as an outcome, as well as highlighting that the breast lump may be "something potentially serious".' The company added that it appreciates feedback from users but accused Dr Murphy who has criticised the app on multiple occasions of 'trolling'. 'We appreciate feedback from all our users,' the spokesperson said. 'Including those such as Dr Murphy who run hundreds of tests on Babylons AI output. 'While the vast majority of tests prove correct, they only report sensationally on the few outlier problems they find. 'Clearly these individuals spends many hours testing Babylon's system, trying to identify any possible area for complaint. 'Unfortunately, this specific individual has repeatedly chosen to rebuff Babylon's attempts to constructively engage. 'They remain anonymous, though claim to be a doctor (such behaviour is against General Medical Councils code of conduct and would lead to punitive action) and repeatedly troll Babylon on Twitter.' A mother with HIV has revealed her partner and their child are free from the infection. Sasha Goodman, 30, from Milton Keynes, contracted HIV from her mother in the womb and was diagnosed at five years old. Tormented by bullies throughout her childhood, she didn't take her medication properly as it served as a constant reminder of her illness. But at 20 years old, she realised the severity of her illness when her mother, who also was unmedicated due to stigma, died of AIDS at the age of 42. After meeting partner Jay Hart, 32, seven years ago, Ms Goodman was surprised when he wasn't fazed by her HIV diagnosis. Ms Goodman was then encouraged to start adhering to her regimen of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) pills, which keep the level of HIV in the body undetectable, meaning patients can have unprotected sex without fear of passing it on. Ms Goodman, who already had one child before meeting her current partner, has since had a child with Mr Hart. Sasha Goodman, 30, and Jay Hart, 32, have had a child together despite Ms Goodman having HIV. Ms Goodman, who already had one child before meeting Mr Hart, is speaking out about the disease to break down the stigma Ms Goodman from Milton Keynes, contracted HIV from her mother in womb and was diagnosed at five years old HIV is spread by certain body fluids, including blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk. The National Aids Trust states 97 per cent of people living with HIV who are on treatment are virally suppressed, and the Terrence Higgins Trust claim there is enough robust evidence to say, with confidence, that people on effective HIV treatment cant pass on the virus. The use of HIV medicines and other strategies have helped to lower the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV to one per cent or less in the US and Europe. Ms Goodman said: 'I never thought I would ever be a mum, I was petrified to have a boyfriend as I didn't want to infect anyone. 'When I met Jay seven years ago in the pub, I did already have my eldest son who I knew didn't have HIV. 'I fell completely head over heels in love with Jay but I was scared he might reject me once he found out. 'He handled it so well, and we used a condom to ensure he was safe whilst he helped me accept that I had HIV. 'None of my family have HIV despite me and Jay having unprotected sex to start a family, this is something that fascinates some people as they seem to think it's highly contagious.' Ms Goodman said people are often in disbelief when she tells them she was born with the disease, and didn't contract it through unprotected sex - a stigma she would like to break. She was diagnosed with HIV after she struggled to overcome chicken pox aged five. Doctors then discovered mother Sharon Goodman, 42, had caught the disease from unprotected sex. Ms Goodman said: 'My mum was diagnosed after I was as doctors knew I must've caught it before being born due to my young age. 'It's thought she caught the disease through not being unprotected during sex at some point in her life.' Ms Goodman was raised by her grandparents, Jean and Bill Goodman, who have since died. Ms Goodman, who is now a HIV activist, didn't take her medication properly throughout her childhood and teenage years as it served as a reminder of her illness At 20 years old, Ms Goodman realised the severity of her illness when her mother, who also was unmedicated due to stigma, died of AIDS at the age of 42 CAN YOU HAVE UNPROTECTED SEX WHEN YOU HAVE HIV? During unprotected sex, HIV in the bodily fluids of an infected person (blood, semen, vaginal fluid, pre-semen or anal mucus) can pass into the body of their sexual partner. This can happen through the mucous membranes of the penis, vagina, rectum and sometimes the mouth and throat. If someone is living with HIV, they are more likely to pass it on to others in the first few months after infection as there are high levels of the virus in their bodily fluids at this point. If someone with HIV is taking medication and has an undetectable viral load, they cannot pass on the virus. It can take up to six months on treatment to become undetectable. Someone with HIV can pass on the virus if they have a detectable viral load. There is a very small chance of getting HIV from unprotected oral sex, but only if the person giving oral sex has mouth ulcers, sores or bleeding gums, or if the person receiving oral sex has been recently infected. Having multiple sexual partners and/or STIs also increases the risk of HIV infection via unprotected sex. Condoms are the most effective way of preventing HIV (and STI) infection via vaginal and anal sex as well as oral sex performed on men. They should be put on before any sexual contact. Source: AVERT and Terrence Higgins Trust Advertisement She spent two years, from the age of six to eight, bed bound due to the horrific side effects of HIV. Ms Goodman said: 'I had to learn how to walk again along with being tube fed. I missed out on everything. 'I remember putting up a fight when my grandparents would try and give me the medication as I was just a kid who never understood the disease was life-threatening.' Ms Goodman was required to take 16 pills twice a day, but she didn't take them even though this meant if she got a cold or chest infection, she would be fair a lot worse than average person. She continued in this way throughout her teenage years when she dealt with judgement from her peers. She said: 'When I was a teenager, I told one friend I had HIV, who then told my whole school, so I had no choice but to leave without taking my exams. 'During my teens I was always emotional and feared I was going to die from the infection. 'I didn't take my medication as it was just a constant reminder I had HIV.' When in a relationship, Ms Goodman had a child at the age of 18 which was unplanned. She was on top of her medication as she didnt want to risk passing it on to her unborn child. Then, at the age of 23, Ms Goodman met Mr Hart who encouraged her to take her medication properly. HIV is known to attack the immune system and those who contract the disease are more likely to be severely affected by common illnesses such as the flu. Just 4,363 people across the UK were told they had the killer virus last year a 17 per cent drop in the space of a year. Ms Goodman said: 'HIV is treated with antiretroviral medications, which work by stopping the virus replicating in the body. This allows the immune system to repair itself and prevent further damage. 'Due to being on the medication the amount of HIV in my blood count was low which meant that although there was a risk Jay would get HIV from me when we tried for a child, it was very small. 'I now had two children who are 12 and five, and we couldn't be happier.' Ms Goodman added: 'The best thing I ever did was get support and I am now lucky to help other people who are suffering in silence whilst refusing to take their medication. 'It is a form of slow suicide because they are so scared of other people finding out, but actually HIV is very manageable, there is no reason for anyone with it to not lead a normal life.' A six-month-old boy with a devastating genetic condition has been given just three months to live unless the NHS funds a 'miracle drug' that could save his life. Haris Khan suffers from the genetic condition type 1 Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), which makes muscles weak, leaving sufferers unable to move, swallow or even breathe. Since being diagnosed on Valentine's Day, Haris wears an oxygen mask and has not left the intensive care unit at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. The drug Spinraza was available for dozens of SMA sufferers under a small scheme paid for by the drug manufacturer until last November. Watchdog National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) does not recommend NHS England pays for the drug. The body claimed its cost of 450,000 per patient per year is 'too high for it to be considered a cost-effective use of resources'. Haris Khan suffers from the genetic condition type 1 Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), which makes muscles weak, leaving sufferers unable to move, swallow or even breathe. He is pictured left wearing a breathing mask in intensive care at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and right with his stepbrother Marijus who will 'do anything to save his baby brother' Spinraza (pictured) targets the faulty SMA gene and essentially fixes it. This enables the body to read DNA differently and produce more of the proteins needed to build healthy nerve cells Speaking at his son's bedside, Haris' father Shakeel Khan, 31, tearfully said: 'This is England, it's not a third world country. 'My family are from Pakistan. I'm born here, my dad had cancer removed the day Haris was rushed to hospital but we can't help a little kid who's six months old with a genetic illness? 'Only a 100 babies a year maximum need that treatment. We, as a country, are losing a 100 babies because we don't think it's justified to save them.' SMA affects around one in every 10,000 babies worldwide, according to SMA Support UK. The first British girl to receive Spinraza - Annabelle Rose Thomas - was then able to come off breathing support, swallow food and has even ridden a horse. The pharma company Biogen makes the drug, charging almost 600,000 (around $797,900) per person per year in the US. Biogen is offering Spinraza - which is still available in Scotland - at the lower price of 450,000 ($598,460) for the first year in the rest of the UK. It also offered an undisclosed discount to the NHS, but it was still not enough. The two are still locked in talks. All seemed well when Haris was born last August, with staff at Wythenshawe Hospital describing him as a 'happy, smiley, friendly' baby. But when a health visitor came for an eight-week check-up last Ocotber, she noticed Haris could not move his head properly. 'He had no head control at all, it's known as floppy baby syndrome,' Mr Khan said. 'Everything was floppy - arms, hands and legs.' WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT SPINAL MUSCULAR ATROPHY, THE NUMBER ONE GENETIC CAUSE OF DEATHS FOR INFANTS Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is a disease that weakens a patient's strength by affecting the motor nerve cells in the spinal cord. Those affected never gain the ability to walk, eat or breathe. SMA is the number one genetic cause of death for infants. It is genetic and passed from parent to child. There are four primary types of SMAI, II, III and IV, which are based on age of onset and the physical milestones achieved. Type I Onset is shortly after birth Weakness Difficulty breathing, sucking and swallowing Never reach the developmental milestone of being able to sit on their own Children with type 1 SMA can survive for a number of years Advertisement The health visitor requested an 'urgent' appointment, however, Haris was not seen until December 27. He was then diagnosed with hypotonia - decreased muscle tone - and recommended physio once a week. The family believed he was progressing, until, at the end of January, Haris suddenly became very ill with a cough and a cold. After several visits to their GP, his parents rang 999. Haris was rushed to Wythenshawe Hospital, where his condition rapidly deteriorated and his respiratory system collapsed. He was intubated, with the family going back and forth between Alder Hey in Liverpool and Manchester due to a lack of beds. After a week at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, they thought Haris was improving. He was even due to have his intubation tubes removed. But following further tests, the family were given the devastating diagnosis. 'They said "we need to get you to [a] meeting [room]",' Mr Khan said. 'I walk into [the] room and something tells me something's not right. 'There's a family liaison, three neurologists, two consultants, a bed nurse and wing nurse. 'The week before the result, I'd been talking to the nurses saying "I can accept any result, because I already thought I'd lost Haris". 'They start saying your son has spinal muscular atrophy. I thought "that makes sense because he can't hold up his head". 'Then they said "I'm sorry, there's absolutely no treatment and your son has three months to live". As if the situation could not get any worse, the family were then told treatment is available in Scotland but not England. 'We would relocate in a heartbeat if it meant we could save Haris,' Mr Khan said. 'We said to [Haris's stepbrother] Marijus, we might move and he said he would go anywhere in the world if he can save his one little, baby brother.' But the family have been told NHS Scotland will not accept patients who have simply relocated and the treatment is only available for genuine residents. Doctors warn Haris has just months to live and will definitely not see his first birthday without treatment Haris' mother Renata (pictured left together) thought everything was fine until a health visitor noticed he was not moving his head properly at a few months old. His father Shakeel (pictured left with Haris and Marijus) claims he 'cannot give up on his son' who is 'fighting hard' to live On March 6, Haris' family will be staging a peaceful demonstration outside the headquarters of NICE in Manchester ahead of a crucial meeting. NICE is expected to announce a decision on whether to start funding Spinraza on the NHS in England. 'Babies like Haris are being used as a bartering tool,' his father said. 'March 6 in Manchester is going to be such a big day for SMA-suffering families, because if this drug is not approved, God only knows what we're going to do for Haris.' Mr Khan and his wife Renata, 26, are not working while they focus on helping Haris get the treatment he needs. 'Who needs money without a family?,' he said. 'Any money in the world is nothing if you don't have a family to enjoy. 'The best I can do is to save my son or keep [him] with us for as long as possible. Despite all they have endured, Haris' parents are determined to stay positive. 'SMA has changed a lot in the last 15 years,' Mr Khan said. 'I'm speaking to people who've been treating their children for the last three or four years and got them to five-years-old with love and dedication. 'These people give me strength and inspiration that my Haris can do that as well. 'The world miracle is in our vocabulary for a reason - yes it's very rarely used, but it does exist. This is what we're clinging on to. 'From what I can see from Haris, he is fighting. He is fighting hard. 'When I see him eating, and hugging and smiling. I think "I can't give up on you", otherwise I'm not a responsible parent.' But despite Mr Khan's optimism, Haris' specialist neurologist, who diagnosed him, is 'adamant' the youngster will not make his first birthday. Due to the parents being carriers of the gene for SMA, there is a strong chance any other children they have could also have the condition. Pictured as a newborn, Haris' father noticed he had no 'no head control at all' and 'floppy' limbs Staff at Wythenshawe Hospital describe Haris as a 'happy, smiley, friendly' baby They have therefore decided not to have anymore. Whatever the outcome on March 6, Haris' parents do not want other families to go through the same ordeal. 'We might only have my Haris for a few months, so I've got to create a legacy for him,' Mr Khan said. 'The NHS don't screen for SMA at birth. 'Had they screened him in August when he was born, the treatment was available until November on the Early Access Programme. 'Eighty infants are on that - Haris would have been 81. That's one thing we're calling for.' Haris is the youngest child with SMA to feature on a leaflet being handed out to all MPs this week by the charity Muscular Dystrophy UK. 'Every SMA parent is waking up thinking 'is this our son's last day?,' Mr Khan said. 'Until a few weeks ago I thought SMA was a type of baby milk - now I understand what it is. 'Haris hasn't got a voice, that's why we have to speak up for him. The community is helping us, don't get me wrong - but the people that we need the help from is the NHS.' A spokesperson for NHS England added: 'We understand how difficult and frustrating it is for families waiting for decisions to be taken on the funding of new treatments. 'Which is why the company must price this drug responsibly and at a level which is both cost effective and affordable to the NHS. 'It is disappointing that Biogen chose to close the Early Access Programme for new patients with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1 before the NICE assessment process had been completed.' Haris' family are fundraising to pay for treatment abroad. Donate here. Haris father and step-brother are pictured as part of a campaign to get him the treatment A mother-of-two claims the agony of a vaginal mesh led her to binge drink up to 15 bottles of wine a week. Emma Hawksworth, 36, of Southport, Merseyside, opted to have the mesh after the traumatic birth of her daughter Sophie, now nine, resulted in her suffering internal prolapses. But just weeks after it was implanted, Mrs Hawksworth claims she began suffering from pain, headaches, fatigue and bowel issues. And 18 months later, she battled both shingles and two breast abscesses, as well as an allergy to milk, beef and wheat - all of which she blames on her vaginal mesh. With painkillers having no effect, Mrs Hawksworth 'was left with no choice' but to self-medicate with multiple bottles of wine a night, setting the self-employed cleaner back 300 a month. Five years since the operation, Mrs Hawksworth is desperate to have the synthetic mesh removed. After her husband Matt, 38, threatened to leave unless she cut back on alcohol, Mrs Hawksworth claims she 'barely drinks now'. Emma Hawksworth (pictured) would get through up to 15 bottles of wine a week to self-medicate the agony of her vaginal mesh, which was fitted to help her internal prolapses Mrs Hawksworth (pictured left before the surgery) claims she began suffering from pain, headaches, fatigue and bowel issues just weeks after the mesh was fitted. Her husband Matt (pictured right together) has given her an ultimatum to curb her drinking habit Speaking of her drinking problem, Mrs Hawksworth said: 'I was left with no choice but to drink up to three bottles of wine per night to cope with the pain and stress. 'It all started around 18 months after the mesh was inserted and I was sick of being fobbed off by different consultants.' Different doctors dismissed her symptoms as everything from IBS and depression to carpel tunnel and nerve damage. 'I was just being constantly bounced around and it all got on top of me - having a drink would help me sleep at night because it would forget about the pain,' Mrs Hawksworth said. Although her husband has been supportive throughout the ordeal, even he decided enough was enough. '[He] gave me an ultimatum to sort things because it was becoming a strain on our marriage,' Mrs Hawksworth said. Mrs Hawksworth had a traumatic delivery with her first child Sophie, now nine. After surgery to temporary fix her 'internal damage', she knew she would need an additional procedure later. When the couple (pictured) decided not to have any more children, she opted for the mesh Mrs Hawksworth required corrective surgery following the birth of Sophie, who was stuck in the birth canal for two hours. This caused a lot of internal damage and 'stretching', with doctors performing 'basic repair' immediately after the birth. But they warned this was just a temporary solution and she would need more surgery later on. 'I needed cystocele front wall repair - where they remove part of my vaginal wall to strengthen it - following the birth of my first child,' Mrs Hawksworth said. 'They said they would 'sling up' my bladder as well as the procedure to treat urinary incontinence. 'This procedure was quite complicated as it involved using my internal muscles and tissue to be used as the sling.' Mr and Mrs Hawksworth went on to have a second child - Sam, now six - before deciding not to have anymore. 'After having Sam I told my consultant that we were happy that we had completed our family and could I have some information about this repair that I needed,' she said. 'I then went through several internal examinations and tests to determine what needed to be done, which in this case was using pelvic mesh.' Mrs Hawksworth claims medics would not fit the mesh until she had finished having children in case it failed. 'If I had another baby, the weight of the pregnancy and the force of labour would put too much strain on the stitching of the vaginal wall, and could cause it to prolapse again,' she said. Mrs Hawksworth described the surgeon as a 'right bully', who pressured her into having her mesh fitted. With painkillers having no effect, Mrs Hawksworth (left) claims she had 'no choice' but to drink to ease her discomfort and stress. Pictured right after running race for life before the surgery, the cleaner now struggles to make it to her medical appointments due to her agony Mrs Hawksworth claims the constant agony of her mesh implant forced her to quit her job as a letting agent. 'My work and home life are massively affected by everything that has happened to me,' she said. 'I've had shingles twice in the last 18 months, I've also had two breast abscesses - one which had to be removed surgically along with all my milk ducts. 'And I now have food allergies to milk, beef and wheat, which have resulted in two A&E admissions. 'In short, I feel rubbish all the time - I also put on three and a half stone (49lbs) after the operation and am really struggling to shift it, I've managed two stone (28lbs) so far but that's taken me three years.' Following many trips to different consultants, doctors have finally admitted her mesh may be partly to blame. After waiting eight months just to get a referral, Mrs Hawksworth worries it may be years before the implant is removed. While she waits, Mrs Hawksworth has joined a campaign led by the hundreds of women in the UK who have struggled with health issues following mesh surgery and are campaigning to Parliament to 'sling the mesh'. 'I know I'm not the only woman who's going through this pain,' she said. 'I joined a group of Facebook and all the women have the same symptoms as me, making it obvious the mesh is the cause. 'I've looked into going private but the prices are unreal and the best recommended private surgeon is based in London - I struggle with the trip from Southport to Manchester for my appointments, never mind down to London.' Ministers pledge to end trans-discrimination in NHS screening programmes to stop women who identify as men missing life-saving checks Women who identify as men are not invited for cervical or breast screening Yet men who identify as women get invites to both - despite not having a cervix Public Health Minister Steve Brine told MPs he wanted to address the matter Ministers have vowed to end 'trans-discrimination' in NHS screening programmes which has left women who identify as men missing out on potentially life-saving checks. At the moment, women who identify as men are not invited for routine cervical or breast screening. Yet men who identify as women are asked to attend both programmes, despite not having a cervix. At the moment, women who identify as men are not invited for routine NHS cervical or breast screening. Yet men who identify as women are asked to attend both programmes, despite not having a cervix Public Health Minister Steve Brine told MPs he wanted to address the matter so that trans patients born as women are not excluded from screening. He said: 'Obviously its tiny numbers but they shouldnt be discriminated against - and I am damn well determined they wont be.' Public Health England guidance currently means that trans people who register with their GP as their birth sex are invited to screenings appropriate to that gender. However, if they register as they gender they identify as, they will not be. WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR BREAST CANCER SCREENING AND HOW DOES IT WORK? What is breast cancer screening? Screening is a procedure which allows doctors to catch breast cancer while it is still in its infancy and therefore easier to treat. It involves an X-ray test - known as a mammogram - to check for signs of cancer which are too small to see or feel. The results of the mammogram will be sent to the women and her GP within two weeks. Around 5 per cent will be called back for further tests. Who is eligible? Any woman concerned that they might have breast cancer can see their GP and be referred for a screening. But in recognition that the risk of getting breast cancer increases with age, all women aged between 50 and 70 who are registered with a GP should automatically be invited for screening every three years. Women are first invited for screening between their 50th and 53rd birthday, although in some areas they are invited from age 47 as part of a trial. How are they invited? The screening process is overseen by Public Health England, which uses an IT system to send out invitations. Advertisement It means a trans man, born female but registered as male, will not be invited for either routine cervical or breast screening, putting them at greater risk of the disease being missed. Speaking at the Health Select Committee, Mr Brine suggested the system, whereby screening invitations were automatically sent by computer and based on the patients' registered age and sex, needed to change. The pledge comes after Cancer Research UK cut the word 'women' from a smear test campaign to avoid excluding transgender men. The charity had been urging women aged between 25 and 64 to get screened but last year vowed to target 'everyone with a cervix' instead to be more inclusive. In 2017, the British Medical Association suggested pregnant women should not be called 'expectant mothers' amid fears it could upset transgender people. Cervical cancer affects 3,200 women a year in Britain, and kills around 900. Women aged 25 to 49 are invited for screening every three years, while those aged 50 to 64 are asked to attend every five years. Breast screening is currently offered to women aged 50 to their 71st birthday in England. If the regular tests spot pre-cancerous cells, these can be treated before they develop into tumours that can spread throughout the body. The NHS says that women, as well as trans men who have not had a total hysterectomy, should go for routine screening. Growing miniature versions of tumours and human organs could pave the way to better cancer treatments, researchers say. By taking cells from a diseased patient and creating a replica of their flesh in a lab, scientists could test which cancer drugs are most likely to work for them. The procedure can be done in less than two weeks and test hundreds of drugs without giving any to the patient until doctors have decided which could work best. This could mean individuals get more specific and tailored treatment instead of drugs which doctors only hope will work. Ovarian cancer cells (pictured) were regrown in a lab using a sample taken from a patient, and robots could test hundreds of cancer drugs on them in a matter of days in order to find the medication which would be most effective for that specific cancer Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) tested the process on patients with high-grade carcinomas and ovarian cancers. By taking a biopsy from the patients and growing new, but identical, versions of the patients' organs or tumours they could test how well drugs work without actually giving them to the patient. This could be used to screen hundreds of drugs and drug combinations within two weeks to allow medics to find the medication they think will work best. 'We always focus on how we need new and better drugs to treat cancer,' said Dr Alice Soragni, study co-author. 'While thats true, we also have many drugs currently available for most of them, we just havent been able to figure out who is going to respond to which ones.' It takes around three to five days for the organoid the regrown tissue to become established and ready for testing, the researchers said. Robots can then screen multiple drugs at a time instead of checking whether they work one-by-one. The method could be particularly effective for people with rare cancers, experts say, for whom doctors may not know which are the best drugs to use because there are fewer opportunities to test them. As well as improving therapy for existing cancer patients and those for whom other drugs have failed, recreating people's tumours could identify patients who would be useful in trials for new drugs. 'We obtain cancer cells directly from surgery and that same day we can seed them to generate tumor organoids,' Dr Soragni said. 'We created a miniaturized system that allows the setup of hundreds of wells for testing with minimal manipulation. 'This could become a powerful tool to help guide therapies for people who really have no known treatment options left.' The research was published in the journal Communications Biology. Growing organoids has been used by researchers in other areas of medicine, such as recreating intestinal tissue to develop treatments for gut disorders, and growing placentas in a bid to reduce miscarriages and premature births. Children would make us happier - if supporting them wasn't such an expensive endeavor, a new study suggests. In the US, 40 percent of people report struggling to afford basic life necessities like housing and food. The alarm has been sounded in the US over declining fertility rates, but at long last, women are actually starting to have more children again - they're just waiting until later in life. And new research on European families conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests that that shift could change the way those children effect their parents' happiness. The study, undertaken by Dartmouth College and the Paris School of Economics, found that children have a neutral or negative impact on their parents well-being, primarily as a function of the constant financial burden they impose. But when families have kids later in life and are more financially stable, their kids do in fact make them happier - with some notable exceptions, the study found. Children do make parents more happy - but only if you take the expenses, stress and penny-pinching out of the equation, a new study found The strange relationship between parental happiness and children has remained a continual fascination for sociologists, social psychologists and economists alike. The American Dream comes with a prescription for 2.5 children and a white picket fence, yet research on how having a family makes us feel is hardly as clean cut as the grass behind that fence. So why do we keep having them, or, why do they keep making us miserable, the new National Bureau for Economic Research report asks. To do so, the researchers looked at 10 years-worth of survey data collected on over a million Europeans. The simplest explanation or a complicated series of answers to their basic questions is that the effect of children on their parents' happiness depends on who the parents a re and what kind of kids they have. For example, children who were described as 'well-behaved' tended to make their parents happier - as did children under two (but things take a darker turn from the terrible twos onward). But if parents were single, divorced separated or widowed, having children did nothing to make them happier. Stepchildren make parents the most miserable, according to the new research, as do teenagers. But no factor made as much difference in how happy children made their parents as money. 'Children are expensive, and controlling for,' or eliminating 'financial difficulties turns almost all of our estimated child coefficients positive,' wrote the study authors. They're not wrong. In the US, raising one child from birth to age 17 costs a middle class couple with two kids a cool $233,610, the US Department of Agriculture estimates. To raise a child to 18 in the UK costs parents about 150,753, according to recent research there. That's about $33,000 cheaper than the US cost, but still no steal. Although people over 45 and people under 45 were, overall, happiest when they were married but without children, when money was controlled for, children actually made little difference in their parents' happiness. But in reality, money can't simply be mathematically removed from the happiness equation, and, in prior research, we have seen that older, more financially stable parents are happier, and happier with their kids. And this might just bode well for the growing number of women waiting longer to start families and have more children. 'Controlling for financial difficulties we then find that children now increase happiness,' the authors wrote. 'Why else would you have them? This appears to solve the puzzle in the literature. It seems crucial to control for the households financial circumstances, and once we do so the sign on the child-present variable switches sign.' A six-year-old girl is beating the odds against an incurable brain tumor one year after being told she had nine months to live. Layla Evetts, of Burleson, Texas, was diagnosed with a tumor known as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) in February 2018. Her parents, Corey Evetts and Amanda Perry, were told that because of the tumor's location, it was inoperable and that she wouldn't live to see her next birthday. Not satisfied with this grim diagnosis, her parents did some research until they found a clinical trial at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Doctors would try a combination of radiation and an oral chemotherapy drug to shrink Layla's tumor. One year later, the tumor has shrunk by nearly half and has stopped growing - and the medical team have told Layla's parents that, as long as she's stable, she can be considered nearly cured. Experts in the field say the results are promising, but that there is no road map to know whether or not his treatment will work in future DIPG patients. Layla Evetts, six, of Burelson, Texas, was having abnormality in her right eye so her parents took her to an ophthalmologist. But an MRI in February 2018 (pictured) showed she had an inoperable tumor on her brainstem known as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) DIPG is a very rare and highly aggressive form of cancer with tumors in the brain. Over time, the tumor affects heartbeat, breathing, swallowing, eyesight and balance. Doctors told Layla's parents that there was no cure. Pictured, left and right: Layla Layla's parents enrolled her in a clinical trial at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston that would include radiation coupled with Vorinostat, an oral chemotherapy drug. Pictured: Layla's tumor in February 2018 (left) and February 2019 (right) The trial that Layla was able to enter is among the first in the world - alongside ventures at Johns Hopkins in Maryland, a group of centers in the UK and one in Australia. Prior to that, families have had no other option but to flock to a clinic in Mexico for a $300,000 'experimental treatment' with no proven or published results, which has been slammed by experts in the field for preying on parents' fears. But, to Layla's family's relief, as soon as she was diagnosed they discovered doctors just a four hours' drive away were among the few attempting to tackle this notoriously elusive tumor. Layla's diagnosis started with problems in her right eye. Her father, Corey, took her to see an ophthalmologist. 'It was a bit lazy, sometimes she would look cross-eyed, it just wasn't functioning the way it should,' he told DailyMail.com. The eye doctor assumed the little girl just had a bruised nerve, but ordered a follow-up MRI at the local children's hospital just in case. Instead, Corey and Amanda learned their daughter had an inoperable tumor on her brainstem. HOW TO SPOT A DIPG TUMOR DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gliom) is a malignant brain tumor that grows quickly and is likely to spread. DIPGs are glial tumors, meaning they arise from the brain's glial tissue - tissue made up of cells that help support and protect the brain's neurons They are found in a lower part of the brain stem called the pons. The pons is responsible for a number of critical bodily functions, such as breathing, sleeping and blood pressure. DIPGs account for 10 percent of all childhood central nervous system tumors. Between 200 and 300 children in the US are diagnosed each year, usually between the ages of five and nine. The symptoms of DIPG usually develop very rapidly prior to diagnosis, reflecting the fast growth of these tumors. The most common symptoms include: Problems with balance and walking Problems with the eyes (including double vision, drooping eyelids, uncontrolled eye movements, blurred vision) Problems with chewing and swallowing Nausea and vomiting Morning headaches or a headache that gets better after the child vomits Facial weakness or drooping (usually one side) Surgery to remove the tumor isn't always an option due to the dangers of operating on critical areas of the brain. Radiotherapy tends to be the standard form of treatment. The prognosis for DIPGs remains very poor, although a small percentage of patients survive this disease. Only 10 percent of children with DIPG survive for two years following their diagnosis, and less than one percent survive for five years. Advertisement 'They recommended hospice, said she would have six to nine months [to live], said there were clinical trials but didn't recommend any kind of treatment,' Corey said. 'They pretty much issued her a death sentence. It was a pretty low time. It was devastating and nothing in my life could have prepared me for it.' The tumor is a very rare and highly aggressive form of cancer typically found in children between ages five and nine. Only between 200 and 300 children in the US are diagnosed each year. This type of tumor is located at the base of the brain and the top of the spine, but it is unknown what causes them. The tumors put pressure on the area of the brain called the pons, which are responsible for a number of critical bodily functions, such as breathing, sleeping and blood pressure. Over time, the tumor affects heartbeat, breathing, swallowing, eyesight and balance. Some of the first symptoms of the tumor are problems with eye movement, facial weakness, difficulty walking, strange limb movements and problems with balance. Most people with this type of cancer only live for nine months following the first diagnosis, and some don't even make it long enough to receive radiation treatment. Dr Alan Cohen, director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland who is spearheading the clinical trial there, explained to DailyMail.com that because of the tumor's location, it's incredibly difficult to surgically remove. 'The tumor is wrapped around fibers that go through the pons so we can't take it out, we can't resect it surgically,' he said. As for this clinical trial, Dr Cohen - who was not involved - said the results are positive, but isn't sure if they will be long-lasting. 'It's a great story down in Texas. It's great news and it's actually a response because they've seen a shrinkage on the MR imaging,' he said. 'The hope is just that it's something durable.' Those words are more glowing than anything he has to say about Clinica 0-19 in Monterrey, Mexico, which has claimed to cure scores of DIPG patients. The highly controversial treatment, with no evidence of success, involves an untested mix of 11 chemotherapy drugs, injected into an artery in the brainstem that costs $300,000, reported Science Based Medicine. But doctors who run the clinic have not performed any clinical trials, peer-reviewed studies or published survival and recurrence statistics. They've also been the subject of huge global criticism. Doctors in Australia have offered to fly to Mexico to assist them in performing clinical trials, but have been refused entry. Thankfully for Layla, her family had a friend on the board of directors at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston who helped get an appointment for her. They went through the list of options before enrolling her in one in March. The trial included radiation coupled with Vorinostat, an oral chemotherapy drug that's been used to treat lymphoma and lung cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, scientists believe Vorinostat may stop tumor growth by blocking the enzymes needed for said growth while radiation kills tumor cells. 'She was extremely resilient,' Corey said. 'No nausea and very little hair loss.' Layla completed her last round of chemotherapy last week and the trial has appeared to be successful. An MRI in June showed the tumor had been shrunk by half from about 3.8 centimeters to about 1.6 centimeters. Since then, it has not grown. Layla (left and right) completed her last round of chemotherapy last week and the trial has appeared to be successful. An MRI in June showed the tumor had been shrunk by half from about 3.8 centimeters to about 1.6 centimeters. Since then, it has not grown. Her parents say Layla (pictured, left) no longer has double vision or poor balance. She will undergo a final MRI and the visit MD Anderson every three months for checkups Corey said that his daughter no longer has double vision, her balance has returned and she's back to being a normal six-year-old. 'They told it's a rare case but it's reassuring as parents that we made the right call,' he said. 'In this battle, stability is winning. The human side of me wants it to be completely gone, but I'll take this.' Layla will undergo a final MRI and the visit MD Anderson every three months for checkups. A family friend has set up a GoFundMe page to help the family cover out-of-pocket expenses such as co-pays and deductibles. So far, more than $5,800 has been raised out of a $50,000. The number of children and young people vaping has more than doubled in four years, according to a report. Overall use of e-cigarettes among young people remains low, but the habit is on the rise, figures show. Children as young as 11 have been drawn in by the habit, as awareness of e-cigarettes, experimentation and use among older youngsters have all increased. The gadgets, which help 22,000 people quit smoking each year, have divided health experts over their safety. There are fears young people are drawn to the habit because it is 'cool' or the flavours taste nice, perhaps being unaware the products contain nicotine. Experts have said there is a risk the popularity of vaping will reverse the progress made in slashing the number of cigarette smokers. Overall use of e-cigarettes among young people remains low, but the number of children and young people who are vaping has more than doubled in four years (stock) The report, commissioned by Public Health England (PHE), looked at surveys on e-cigarette use among young people. The most recent was the Action on Smoking and Health YouGov survey of more than 2,000 children aged 11-to-18 last year. Some 3.4 per cent of those polled reported using e-cigarettes - more than double the 1.6 per cent in 2014. The survey suggested that 11.7 per cent of 11 to 18-year-olds tried e-cigarettes once or twice in 2018 - almost double the 6.5 per cent in 2014. And the proportion who said they had never tried e-cigarettes fell from 91.5 per cent in 2014 to 83.4 per cent in 2018. The researchers - from Kings College London - said: 'Experimentation and use of e-cigarettes has been increasing steadily over time.' Smokers are far more likely to try vaping than non-smokers, suggesting there is a link between the two, they added. The number of people trying vaping before trying a cigarette rose from 8 per cent in 2014 to 21 per cent in 2018, fueling concern youngsters are becoming addicted to nicotine through e-cigarettes. VAPING DAMAGES THE LUNGS LIKE CIGARETTES, STUDY FINDS Popular heated tobacco devices may cause the same damage to lung cells as traditional cigarettes, researchers from the University of Technology Sydney said. Meanwhile, e-cigarettes or vaping, as it's commonly known are also toxic to the cells which protect the lungs, so may not be a safe alternative either. Both electronic devices are now thought to cause the airway damage seen in people with the lung diseases emphysema, bronchitis and cancer. Australian researchers did lab tests on the effects of the devices and cigarettes on epithelial cells and smooth muscle cells taken from the human airways. In healthy lungs, epithelial cells act as the first line of defence to any foreign particles entering the airway while smooth muscle cells maintain its structure. The study found the devices harm the lung cells which protect the airways, in a similar way to cigarette smoke, causing scarring and reshaping of the airway seen in lung patients. The study found the electronic devices caused this damage, including changes to cell structure and function, as well as a cry for help inflammatory response. That inflammatory response was as strong for the heated tobacco device as when the lung cells were exposed to smoke from Marlboro Red cigarettes. Advertisement Curiosity led almost two-thirds of young people who had vaped (57.2 per cent), while 16.1 per cent said they liked the flavours. Professor John Newton, health improvement director at PHE, said the UK was 'not seeing a surge in e-cigarette use among young people in Britain'. E-cigarettes remain at the heart of PHEs stop-smoking strategy, with TV adverts, health campaigns and researchers championing the technology. Professor Newton said: 'While more young people are experimenting with e-cigarettes, the crucial point is that regular use remains low and is very low indeed among those who have never smoked. 'We will keep a close watch on young people's vaping and smoking habits to ensure we stay on track to achieve our ambition of a smoke-free generation.' Professor Martin McKee, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, claimed there was a growing international consensus that the devices should be regarded with caution rather than promoted by public health officials. We have seen what is happening in the USA, with an explosive growth in e-cigarette use among young people,' he said. So for PHE to be pushing them out to the general public and making them as easily available as possible does not seem like a good idea. It is further evidence that England is out of line with the rest of the world. The vaping industry has been urged by health regulators in the US to address the problem of surging teenage e-cigarette use or risk having their flavoured products - such as bubblegum, cola and fruit flavours - pulled off the market. Young people may see vaping as a 'safe' option as they were developed to help smokers quit and, although they contain nicotine, are reportedly free of the other toxins that harm smokers' lungs. But critics have said the long-term effects are not clear, and health bodies, such as NICE, claim the evidence is so far too weak to recommend them over counselling or nicotine patches. Vaping among adults in Britain has remained stable since 2015, with up to 6.2 per cent of adults estimated to do so, according to PHE. The report said while England 'continues to take small progressive steps towards ensuring vaping remains an accessible and appealing alternative to smoking', more can be done. As anyone who has had a baby will know, staying chic while pregnant can be a challenge. Accommodating a growing bump isn't easy but it's something the Duchess of Sussex has achieved with style to spare. From official Royal visits where practicality is key to the glamour of black tie events, Meghan has made it look like a breeze. And while she's still got a few weeks to go until she welcomes the newest addition to the Royal family (by the way we are beyond excited) we've rounded up her ten best maternity looks so far, with the help of Femail's Fashion Finder Editor and resident Meghan style expert, Caroline Parr. Check out her favourite Meghan looks and see if you agree. 1. Givenchy pleated black dress with cape coat It was Givenchy again for the Duchess of Sussex in this dress and cape coat "You dont have to be a Meghan mega fan to know how much she loves Givenchy, and this all-black ensemble proves why. Between the bump-flattering pleats, the layered cap sleeve detailing on the coat and the pose-friendly pockets, this is one of our favourite looks of the lot. Love the top knot too!" 2. Roland Mouret gown Meghan even managed to make red carpet dressing look easy in this sparkly gown "And now for her next trick: high-octane glamour. Meghan made jaws drop when she arrived at the Royal Albert Hall for the premiere of Cirque du Soleils Totem in this navy sequin embellished number by Roland Mouret. Who says maternity style has to be one tent dress after another?" 3. Oscar de la Renta printed dress Meghan chose a whimsical dress by Oscar de la Renta for a day of visits in Bristol "I fell head over heels in love with the woodland-inspired print on this Oscar de la Renta dress as soon as the Duchess of Sussex arrived for a day of engagements in snowy Bristol earlier this month. The olive green boots were the perfect way to keep the cold at bay too." 4. Givenchy one-shoulder dress Calling on Givenchy once more Meghan was elegant in a one shoulder gown "Deciding what to wear for an event where youll be surrounded by models and designers might be tricky for some, but not when youve got Givenchys Clare Waight Keller on speed dial. For a surprise appearance at the British Fashion Awards, Meghan went for a flawless black one-shoulder gown. Effortlessly elegant, shes got this whole duchess thing sussed already." 5. Givenchy shirt and maxi skirt A crisp white shirt is classic Meghan, but this time she showed us how to take the wardrobe staple from business formal to black tie "A crisp white shirt is classic Meghan, but this time she showed us how to take the wardrobe staple from business formal to black tie. Attending the Endeavour Fund Awards, her Givenchy shirt and black maxi skirt looked very sophisticated. The thigh high split perfectly showed off those dreamy Aquazzura mules too!" 6. High street maternity dress This chic cream style was another bargain buy from the trusty high street "A cosy knitted dress is a great choice when styling up a baby bump, as demonstrated by the Duchess of Sussex back in January. This chic cream style was another bargain buy from the trusty high street, showing you dont have to spend a lot to look good when youre expecting." 7. All-white Amanda Wakeley and Calvin Klein An all-white look is difficult to pull off at the best of times so full respect to Meghan for her style savvy here "Meghan went all-white for her night at the Natural History museum in February, and didnt she just look glowing? The high neck Calvin Klein number is sleek, whilst the Amanda Wakeley coat keeps things cosy. Enjoy wearing pristine white clothes while you still can before baby Sussex arrives!" 8. Vintage coat Shopping vintage is not only ever so chic but good for the environment too. Well done Meg! "The former Suits star certainly doesnt seem to be doing things by halves when it comes to her baby shower, and this vintage Courreges coat has got old Hollywood glamour written all over it, whilst also being roomy enough for the star of the show, her baby bump. Add in some skinny jeans and nude heels and its spot on for opening presents and swapping baby tips with her A-list friends." 9. The Reformation summer dress A lightweight linen dress by The Reformation was the perfect choice for a sunny day on Fraser Island, Australia "Remember The Reformation dress Meghan wore whilst on tour in Australia way back when we had only just heard the good news? The daring side split, the stripes, the spaghetti straps we knew then that Meghan was going to completely redefine Royal maternity style as we know it." *Meghan Markle is in no way associated with Matalan Sparkly, fun and unashamedly eye-catching, sequins have long been a go-to for glamour. And over the past few weeks, the awards season red carpets have offered up a riot of them, with stars draped in shimmering gowns of every shade. At the Oscars on Sunday, Emma Stone, Jennifer Lopez and Kate Bosworth dazzled in head-to-toe sequins, while last weeks Brit Awards saw Kelly Brook in a ruby red gown. Its a look adored by such designers as Gucci, Marc Jacobs and Prada, who all showcased sequins in their 2018 catwalk shows and the trend has trickled down to the High Street where sequins are mass-produced to meet demand. Fashion-search platform Lyst says searches for sequins have increased by 42 per cent in the past six months. Kathryn Knight spoke to experts about the damage sequins can cause to the environment, the plastic decorations have been seen on stars including Kate Bosworth (pictured) And its not just the grown-ups: any parent of a child under ten will be familiar with the craze for flippy sequins (two-sided sequins which reveal a different picture according to which direction they are brushed). Whatever your age, the glittery sparkle of a sequinned outfit is hard to resist. But there is mounting evidence that all this razzle-dazzle comes at a price and may have devastating environmental repercussions. Sequins are a short-term hit with long-term consequences, none of them good, says Dr Trisia Farrelly, environmental anthropologist at Massey University in New Zealand. They may appear inert and innocent and are certainly aesthetically pleasing, but there are problems associated with sequins all along their life cycle. Thats because more often than not, they are made from plastic so their production involves the use of dangerous chemicals, they have a lifespan of thousands of years and will never biodegrade. In fact, sequins have a lot in common with the toxic plastic microbeads that were, last year, banned for use in cosmetics and personal care products in the UK after a campaign by the Mail. Microbeads are defined as any plastic fragment less than 5mm long. While sequins vary in size, with some much larger than 5mm, they share many of the troubling characteristics of this plastic menace. Conventional plastic sequins can persist in the environment for thousands of years, says Dr Linda Campbell, a professor at Canadas St Marys University and director of its School of Environment. The devastating impact of microplastics in our oceans has been well-documented in 2016, marine biologist Dr Richard Thompson led a research project which found the presence of microplastic in a third of UK-caught fish. While there is no specific study of the impact of sequins, Sue Kinsey of the Marine Conservation Society says we ought to be worried. Sue Kinsey of the Marine Conservation Society revealed there's a potential for sequins to go out to sea and be eaten by a wide range of creatures if they go down the drain (pictured: Jennifer Lopez wearing head-to-toe sequins at Vanity Fair's Oscar Party) If sequins go in the washing machine, they can easily fall off and go down the drain. If theyre not captured by the sewage works and go out to sea, theres a good potential for them to be eaten by a wide range of creatures up and down the food chain. Its like glitter, which is also problematic its contributing to the problem even if we cant pinpoint exactly how much at the moment. If you wash sequinned garments in your machine, she advises, put them in a cloth bag which can capture any that might fall off. Dr Trisia Farrelly warns of other problems with sequins. The production process itself, she says, has wide-ranging environmental, social and health impacts. For example, production of the PVC and PET plastics from which most sequins are made releases dangerous pollutants. PVC plastic is made with toxic additives called phthalates, which gives sequins their flexible and durable qualities, says Dr Farrelly. These additives are hormone-mimicking chemicals that disrupt the endocrine systems of the bodies of animals and humans. Theres been a lot of work linking these chemicals to a wide range of diseases. Then theres the wastage that occurs when sequins are made their circular shape means lots of plastic is discarded. Designer Rachel Clowes says the reality is clothes decorated in plastics are often worn for about ten or 15 hours, the plastic then last for 2,000 years (pictured: Lady Gaga wearing silver sequins as the Grammy awards) Most sequins are punched out of a plastic sheet, which means a significant amount of material is lost, Dr Farrelly says. Safe disposal of these plastics is not possible. Plastics literally never go away they just end up in a more hazardous and smaller form somewhere else. And what makes sequins particularly problematic is that all this goes to make clothes that realistically are often worn on only a handful of occasions. Designer Rachel Clowes says sequinned garments are an example of a phenomenon she calls waste within the wardrobe. These are items that people are willing to spend money on, but dont wear very often, she says. The reality is that were often talking about ten or 15 hours of use for an item decorated with plastics that last for 2,000 years. Sequins havent always been made from plastic. Ancient metal sequins have been found on archaeological sites from Pakistan to Egypt. The earliest versions were gold nuggets hammered into thin circles, or coins sewn onto clothes for safekeeping the word sequin comes from the Arabic word sikka, meaning coin. Part status symbol, part adornment, they were a privilege of the wealthy. Only in the Twenties, when European designers began to experiment with making them from gelatine coated with shiny metal, did they become more accessible. By the Thirties, the Eastman Kodak company was producing sequins from the acetate used in its photographic film, while 20 years later, the invention of Mylar a thin polyester film led to the machine-washable sequin. Sue Kinsey urges customers to make the right choices when they shop, as we can stem the tide (pictured: Emma Stone wearing a sequin embellished dress at the 91st Academy Awards) Lighter and cheaper, it was the ancestor of todays mass-produced version. Now, designer Rachel hopes to find a material to make sustainable sequins. She set up The Sustainable Sequin Company in a bid to produce a biodegradable alternative. After months of research, she has developed a bio-plastic sequin a type of biodegradable plastic that looks just like a normal one, but dissolves. It means you can go out in your dress, then hand wash it and gradually the sequins dissolve and you are left with an everyday dress, she says. Rachel is working with researchers at Bangor University to find a commercially viable, biodegradable sequin that could be rolled out to the mass market. In the meantime, shes turned her attention to re-using old sequins. If you use recycled ones, youre reducing emissions and landfill, she says. I have had enquiries from major retailers, which is a sign we are waking up to the fact that plastic comes in lots of different forms but is always harmful. Its a sentiment echoed by Purva Chawla, founder of The Materials Consultancy, which promotes sustainability in fashion. Two major High Street retailers have contacted us, interested in looking at more sustainable materials, she says. Obviously cost is a major factor conventional sequins are mass produced which makes them far cheaper but its an encouraging sign that people want to do things differently. The Marine Conservation Societys Sue Kinsey is cautiously hopeful of a sea change when it comes to fast fashion. Its about making the right choices when you shop, she says. We cant stop what happened in the past, but we can stem the tide. Every week, we send a couple out on a blind date. This time, Jiten Patel, 38, had dinner at the Wild Food Cafe in Islington, North London, with Germaine Smith, 37. Jiten works in market research and lives in Islington. Library assistant Germaine lives in nearby Kentish Town. GERMAINE, 37, SAYS: Germaine Smith, 37, (pictured) is a library assistant from Kentish Town I was nervous about meeting Jiten, as my last date was a couple of years ago. I arrived a few minutes early and was expecting him to be late he had changed the date and venue a couple of times but he was on time, which was a nice surprise. I have to admit, I was a bit naughty and had tried to find him online before the date. I knew his first name and where he was from, and found him easily. In retrospect, I regret doing it. I think he was annoyed when I told him and I can understand that. But, from what I saw online, I knew we would have a laugh. Hes into podcasts and social media and is a comedian in his spare time. As soon as we met, we hugged each other hello. Were both chatty people and immediately got on. Hes a nice-looking guy and so much fun. Hes into comedy and is a bit of a joker, which I liked. The thing is, we are so similar were both Leos, were both quite fiery and strong-willed and we had so much in common. That might work for some people, but I always think that opposites attract. Ive been mostly single for around five years and feel a bit out of practice. I did some online dating, but I didnt like it. That said, my sister met her partner on the dating app Tinder, so I know that it can work. The blind date was brilliant. At first, I had been annoyed, as Jiten had changed my original restaurant choice, but Im glad he did, because it was a new venue for me and I enjoyed it, although it was vegan and Im not. The staff were nice and the food was excellent. Near the end of the date, Jiten asked for my phone number, but I prefer social media, so I suggested we become Facebook friends first. Ive sent him a friend request, but he hasnt accepted it yet, although weve messaged a couple of times. He seemed annoyed that Id looked him up online I run a group for female artists on Facebook, so I was impressed that he had set up his own group called Homeless Not Hopeless. He came across as kind and he appears to help other people. As well as my job at the library, Im an artist and enjoy going to shows and reading feminist art criticism. But I love catching up with friends and having girls nights out in London, too. Im a big fan of Nineties Britpop, and Jiten and I had some good chats about music. I enjoyed the whole experience, but I regret telling him I had looked him up beforehand, as Im sure he felt at a disadvantage. I think I was so curious as Id never been on a blind date. Top dating tips We often look for a partner with similar interests but opposites can attract, says Dating Doctor ALANA KIRK . . . Try a new activity or venue for a date to keep things interesting Have an open mind about who could be your type Even if you have lots in common doesnt mean therell be a spark Advertisement That aside, this process has given me confidence. Although there was no romance, it was a reminder that I can get on well with people and dont have to take dating too seriously. I feel that if you have confidence in life in general, that will lead to more confidence in romance, too. So now, Im going to be a bit more proactive. LIKED? His attitude and kindness. REGRETS? None. COFFEE OR CAB? Coffee. VERDICT: 7/10 JITEN, 38, SAYS: Jiten Patel, 38, (pictured) from Islington works in market research I work in market research but, in my spare time, I write poetry and perform comedy. Ive also acted for online podcasts and videos. The little I knew about Germaine was positive, as she is arty, too. My friends say Im a charming, good-hearted soul, and Im pretty laidback. I love hanging out in nature, camping, sober festivals and vegan cooking. Ive been single for a while, as I prefer to meet people naturally, face-to-face, not online. I would like to meet someone spiritual who is funny enough to make me laugh, not just laugh at my jokes. Someone light-hearted, playful, ambitious, caring, sweet, thoughtful and who understands meditation, as its an important part of my life. I was nervous for the date, wondering who I was going to meet, but, as soon as I got there, I relaxed. Germaine was wearing massive glasses and had a unique, funky look, which I appreciated, but I also knew she wasnt my type. Still, shes a cool person and we got on well from the moment we met. We both admitted to being nervous and had a light-hearted conversation about music and our work. It wasnt awkward, though there were a couple of moments when we were talking about our dating past and being single when she seemed a little sad. But then she told me she had searched for me on Facebook and Instagram beforehand and had checked me out. I thought that was a bit of an invasion of privacy, as it was meant to be a blind date, but I decided to joke about it. I wasnt going to make a fuss. Shes easy-going and seemed impressed by my work with the homeless. Later, when I asked her what her one takeaway from the date would be, she said that she felt inspired to go for life a bit more, which was a nice thought. Sadly, though, there wasnt a spark. Ive had a few long and medium-term relationships, as well as a few girlfriends who werent serious. I can be shy, so I dont tend to ask women out. I liked her unique style but we had no spark I thought the blind date was a positive experience and I would do it again. Like all of us, I think Germaine has been hurt in the past, but now wants a relationship, whereas thats not such a drive for me. But the fact that there was no chemistry was a good thing. I felt I could be myself. I havent yet accepted her Facebook request, though, because I dont like adding people I dont know that well to my account. In fact, Im trying to delete people from my page, so have made a decision not to accept new connections. I did offer her my phone number, which I think is better as we could message each other privately, but she didnt want that. I think Germaine is lovely, but just not for me. LIKED? She is funny and creative. REGRETS? None. COFFEE OR CAB? Coffee. VERDICT: 8/10 A stunning pendant owned by the first female MP to take her seat in the House of Commons has gone on sale for 20,000. Viscountess Nancy Astor, who was elected in 1919, owned the Edwardian aquamarine and diamond jewel. The striking piece was bought in 1910 when American-born Nancy and her husband Waldorf were living at their country pile Cliveden, Buckinghamshire. Constance Markievicz was the first female MP elected to the House of Commons, in the general election of 1918, just three weeks after some women were given the right to vote. However, as a member of Sinn Fein, Ms Markievicz didn't take her seat and it wasn't until Viscountess Astor was elected in the Plymouth Sutton by-election a year later that there was a woman MPs in the commons. Nancy Astor, was the first female MP to take take her seat in the House of Commons. She was elected to the Plymouth Sutton seat in 1919 in a by-election, after her husband, the sitting MP, was elevated to the House of Lords Viscountess Astor, who took over the seat the sitting MP, her husband, was elevated to peerage, is famous for her sharp exchanges with Winston Churchill. In one reported exchange, she said to Churchill: 'If you were my husband, I'd poison your tea,' to which Churchill famously replied: 'Madam, if you were my wife, I'd drink it.' Nancy died in 1964 and the brooch has remained in the family since then. The unique gem has now been consigned for sale by Nancy's great-granddaughter with Dreweatts auction house in Newbury, Berkshire. The Belle Epoque jewel is four inches in length with a mounting in platinum fronted gold. The vendor has had it since 1977 but has never worn it, keeping it preserved in tissue paper in a little cigarette box. The striking piece was bought in 1910, ten years before she became an MP, when American-born Nancy and her husband Waldorf were living at their country pile Cliveden James Nicholson, deputy chairman of Dreweatts, said: 'This brooch is the epitome of the finest Edwardian Belle Epoque jewellery, fashionable throughout Europe and America in the early 20th century's "Age of Elegance" just before the outbreak of the First World War. 'Modern aquamarines tend to have a stronger more sky blue colouring, which has been produced by heat treating the stones when cut. 'Whereas the aquamarines in this jewel retain their original slightly greenish/blue colour, suggesting they have not been treated and that they were cut straight from the crystals when mined in the early 20th century. The unique gem has now been consigned for sale by Nancy's great-granddaughter, and been it preserved in tissue paper in a little cigarette box since 1977 The Belle Epoque jewel is four inches in length with a mounting in platinum fronted gold 'This is one of the most delicious jewels I have had the pleasure of selling: my favourite period of jewellery design is the Belle Epoque and the aquamarine is my own favourite from the entire gemstone world.' Nancy was born in the US in 1879 and moved to Britain aged 26. She married Waldorf Astor in 1906, and they set up home at a Buckinghamshire estate on the River Thames. On December 1, 1919, she was elected MP for Plymouth, a seat she held until 1945. The sale takes place on March 13. A single mother-of-three is proudly showing off her new look after spending a whopping $30,000 on plastic surgery to look like Meghan Markle. Xochytl 'Xochi' Greer, a 36-year-old lawyer from Houston, Texas, documented her transformation on ABC News' Nightline as she underwent liposuction, fat grafting, and rhinoplasty in the hopes of resembling the Duchess of Sussex and ultimately bettering her life. 'I think shes a beautiful woman, and, as Im changing the features that I have, yes, I want those features to more resemble Meghan,' she said before she went under the knife. Scroll down for video Transformation: Xochytl 'Xochi' Greer, a 36-year-old lawyer from Houston, Texas, underwent liposuction, fat grafting, and rhinoplasty to look like Meghan Markle Goal: Before going under the knife, Greer held up a picture of Markle, explaining she was trying to get as close as possible to looking like the royal Greer loves watching Markle play corporate lawyer Rachel Zane in old episodes of the legal drama Suits, and she said she is often told that she resembles the actress turned royal. Idol: The single mother-of-three explained that she wanted to resemble the Duchess of Sussex because she is a 'beautiful woman' 'I take that as a huge amazing compliment because shes a gorgeous woman,' she said. 'That has kind of helped inspire me and triggered how I knew what I wanted to do.' Greer sought out the help of Dr. Franklin Rose, a well-known plastic surgeon in Houston who has made headlines for taking on similar transformations. Last year, Dr. Rose performed surgery on Jenny Stuart and Sarah Schmidt to make them look more like Ivanka Trump. Greer hoped that the head-to-toe makeover would turn her life around after feeling plagued with insecurity. 'My body has changed since having another child. My self-esteem was just lower because the way things went with the father of my child,' she explained. 'I am hoping that this will give me something that I need to get back out there.' The mom admitted that she had a 'very hard time talking to men in a non-friendship manner,' and she believed going under the knife would be a boost to her confidence. Motherhood: Greer said her body changed for the worse after having her third child Throwback: Greer is pictured before she got pregnant with her youngest child, Isla Changes: The mom admitted that she didn't like her postpartum body following her third pregnancy 'The plastic surgery just helps to give me more self-confidence on my outward appearance while I am fixing my inward appearance, you know, privately through therapy and things,' she said. The day before her surgery, Greer stripped down to her bra and underwear so Dr. Rose could examine her, and the consultation was documented by Nightline. 'Were going to soften the nose. Its a pretty nose, really. Well get it a little bit more like Meghan Markle,' the doctor told his patient. 'Were going to make two baby incisions so you get rid of all this baby fat.' While sitting down with the news program, Dr. Rose was asked if he does any form of psycho-analysis or evaluation on patients who say they want to completely change their appearance. 'I have examined maybe 30,000 patients over this surgical career of mine, so you can tell very quickly who is a stable a patient or patients who have unreasonable expectations,' he said. Expert: Greer sought out the help of Dr. Franklin Rose, a well-known plastic surgeon in Houston who has made headlines for taking on similar transformations Nip and tuck: The lawyer said she wanted her features to look more like Markle's The plastic surgeon also noted the duchess has become 'one of the new "it" girls.' Greer paid $30,000 minus an undisclosed discount from Dr. Rose for appearing on TV to have liposuction, fat grafting to her buttocks and cheeks, and rhinoplasty. Right before she went into surgery, she held up her cellphone to the camera to show a photo of Markle, saying: 'This is the end game, right? This is what we're trying to get as close to as possible.' Greer was in surgery for seven hours, and after she came to, she eagerly looked at her bandaged face on her cellphone. 'I can already see some changes,' she said. 'I am really, really excited to see these results once the swelling goes down.' The works: Greer paid $30,000 minus an undisclosed discount from Dr. Rose for appearing on TV to have liposuction, fat grafting to her buttocks and cheeks, and rhinoplasty Before and after: 'There are certain features that resemble Meghan now,' Greer said of her post-surgery appearance All smiles: After months of recovery, Greer debuted her new look at a British tea-themed party thrown by her plastic surgeon She showed off her new profile with a Meghan inspired-nose Renata Williams, a 33-year-old real estate agent from Houston, also underwent her own Meghan Markle-inspired transformation that was documented on the show. Although she and Greer did not know each other before they debuted their new looks, they both chose Dr. Rose to do their surgeries. 'I have an infatuation a little bit with Meghan Markle. I want to look like her, Williams told Nightline. 'I want to have the body that Ive always wanted. Ten years later, after kids and having three C-sections, youre just not comfortable anymore.' She and her second husband, Anthony, have a blended home with three children each, and like Greer, she has also been told that she bears a resemblance to the Duchess of Sussex. 'She's graceful. I mean, she's intelligent, the way she gives back to the community, Williams said of Markle. 'I know that I'm not going to look just like her. But at the same time, she has a lot of features that I admire. And I would like them on me.' Then and wow: Renata Williams, a 33-year-old real estate agent from Houston, also underwent her own Meghan Markle-inspired transformation Similar stories: Williams said she had a bit of an 'infatuation' with Markle and wanted to look more like her The mom said she would like the royal's same jaw and cheekbones in particular; she is also a fan of Markle's style and had an 'aspirational' closet of form-fitting dresses that she hoped she would be able to wear with confidence after her surgeries. Her husband told Nightline that he thought she was beautiful, saying that looking more like Markle would be a 'linear move' for his wife because 'they're both pretty.' Williams' 12-year-old daughter Raylin also thought she was beautiful the way she was but was ultimately supportive of her decision to change. 'I see beauty, perfection. I see an awesome lady,' the tween said. 'I wish I could look like her all the time, especially at school when people say, "Your mom is really pretty."' Dr. Rose stressed that Williams would not look identical to Markle, noting that there is a 'misconception in plastic surgery' that you can take someone's face and make it identical to somebody else's face. Star surgeon: Williams' also sought out Dr. Rose to help with her physical transformation Being realistic: The doctor explained Williams would resemble Markle after surgery, but she wouldn't look just like her 'What were just going to try to do is just kind of refine things a little bit, to make her look more like Meghan Markle,' he said. Williams had even more procedures than Greer and was in the operating room for 11 hours. The cost of her liposuction, fat grafting to her buttocks, breast lift with implants, a tummy tuck, and rhinoplasty was $42,000, but she also received an undisclosed discount from Dr. Rose for appearing on television. After months of recovering, Dr. Rose threw Williams and Greer a British tea-themed reveal party complete with cardboard cutouts of Markle to debut their transformations. Both women are thrilled with their new looks, and while they don't look identical to the duchess, they are happy with the similarities they now share. 'My daughter, when I got home and the first time I got dressed up, she said, "Mom, you look just like her." And in the back of my head, I was like, "No, I don't but okay!" I'm so happy! The ones who thought I was crazy are the ones who's like, "Congratulations!"' Williams said. Love: Williams' 12-year-old daughter Raylin thought she was beautiful the way she was but was ultimately supportive of her decision to change Aftermath: The cost of her liposuction, fat grafting to her buttocks, breast lift with implants, a tummy tuck, and rhinoplasty was $42,000, but she also received an undisclosed discount New friends? Greer and Williams met for the first time when they debuted their new looks together at Dr. Rose's party The mom went on to say that her transformation was all about being proud of who she is, explaining that the happiness she feels now made her realize how 'down' she was before her surgeries. 'I didn't realize how down I was until I realized how happy I am and excited, and I get out of bed happy.' Greer, meanwhile, said she is 'very, very happy with the results' post-surgery. 'I didn't go into this with an unrealistic expectation [that] people were going to go, "Oh my gosh, is that Meghan Markle?" There are certain features that resemble Meghan now,' she said. 'But I look in the mirror and I still see me, just a better version of me.' Lookalikes: Both women proudly stood next to cardboard cutouts of their idol as they showed off their transformations Her before and after profile with the plastic surgery, which included a softening of her nose She too showed off her tweaked profile In another interview, Greer revealed that her 23-month-old daughter Isla now yells, 'Mommy, mommy,' whenever she sees pictures of Markle. 'I had very big self-confidence issues, but now I feel I can put on a nice dress and dont need to wear much make-up because I feel great,' she said of her transformation. 'I still wear the same sized clothing but they fit perfectly now, I dont have big long rolls hanging out of my pants anymore. 'I dont think I look identical to Meghan Markle, but I do see our similarities a lot more now, my nose definitely resembles hers more closely,' she added. 'I also had fillers in my jawline to have a stronger jaw like she does, so I do feel I more strongly resemble her now.' Meghan Markle's baby shower in New York City wasn't just one of the hottest invites so far this year it was also a very special reunion for all her guests, who haven't ALL been together since her wedding to Prince Harry last year. Daniel Martin, Meghan's longtime friend and makeup artist, dished on the February 20 festivities in a new interview with People. 'It was exactly what she needed, and it was a reunion for all of us, too, who hadnt seen each other since the wedding,' he said. He was there! Meghan Markle's friend and makeup artist Daniel Martin (pictured) has opened up about the duchess' baby shower Good times! Daniel said many of those in attendance hadn't seen each other since Meghan and Prince Harry's wedding Gang's back together! Daniel, who did Meghan's makeup for her wedding, described the shower as a 'family reunion' Many of Meghan's closest friends who attended her wedding were there, including Serena Williams, Jessica Mulroney, Misha Nonoo, Abigail Spencer, and Amal Clooney. Though photographers were stationed outside The Mark Hotel and also caught Meghan and company at The Polo Bar the night before what went on inside has been mostly kept hush-hush. 'Snow was falling outside, and it was so cozy we all sat on couches or on the floor and told stories and caught up,' Daniel revealed. 'It was like going to a family reunion.' Another guest who spoke to People anonymously added: 'It was all baby talk. She was getting tons of advice.' Goodies! Daniel recently shared a picture of the cookies from Meghan's star-studded baby shower in New York, and said he had 'such an incredible day celebrating' Scoop: Previously, Gayle King revealed that guests made floral arrangements that were donated to charity Many of Meghan's closest friends who attended her wedding were there, including Serena Williams, Jessica Mulroney, Misha Nonoo, Abigail Spencer, and Amal Clooney 'Snow was falling outside, and it was so cozy we all sat on couches or on the floor and told stories and caught up,' Daniel revealed Daniel also shared a photo from Meghan's shower, showing the cute rattle, bib, and stork-shaped cookies put out for attendees. On a roll: Daniel (pictured in Hollywood earlier this month) has been taking to press quite a bit lately Previously, fellow guest Gayle King had shared some details from the party on CBS This Morning. She said Meghan didn't open any of her gifts at the party which were carted back home in a private jet paid for by Amal and instead waited to go through them with her husband. 'She wants to do that when Harry and her are back together, so I really dont know what everybody got her. I think I got her something very nice,' she said. She revealed that guests also made floral arrangements that were to be donated to several charities. 'I thought it was a very sweet thing, it just speaks to who she is. She's very kind, shes very generous and a really, really sweet person. 'A good time was had by all, thats what I'll say it was a very, very small private affair and just a very special time for her,' she said. Meanwhile, Daniel who was on hand to do Meghan's make-up for her nuptials has dished on the mom-to-be quite a lot lately.' Catch up: The shower was a nice reunion for wedding guests like Serena (pictured) Meghan has seen some of her friends since then, but this is the first occasion the whole group could be together Speaking to Harper's Bazaar this month, he revealed that he was too busy to travel to London before the wedding to plan out Meghan's makeup for the big day, so they had to coordinate via text. 'I was in New York and she was in London and there was no time because of my crazy schedule to be able to go there,' he said. 'I knew exactly what she wanted and the day of the wedding was just us getting together and doing her make-up like usual. 'I knew she just wanted to be radiant, glowy, and polished with nothing too done. There was so much structure in the dress that I believe if she had any more make-up on, you wouldn't even look at the dress, and that wasn't the intention.' Martin, who works as an ambassador for Dior and has known Meghan for more than a decade, said he opted for a natural look because of different lighting situations throughout the day. Busy! Daniel revealed that he was too busy to travel to London before the wedding to plan out Meghan's makeup for the big day, so they had to coordinate via text Indoors and outdoors: He said he opted for a natural look because of different lighting situations throughout the day Daniel said that he gave Meghan a darker look for her second dress, to match the evening theme (the bride and groom are pictured leaving Windsor Castle to head to Frogmore House) He said that the makeup would look 'completely different' in the car ride, in the chapel, and in the carriage ride after, and her cosmetics look needed to work in each place. 'If I started heavier and she got into the church, her make-up would've looked a lot darker than when you see her in natural light. It was also noon, when the light is at it's highest,' he said. He only switched it up for her for the party later on, explaining: 'It was the evening and I did more definition on the eyes, making them darker and smokier.' In an interview with Fashionista last month, Daniel also attributed his busy schedule during that time to having three different weddings to attend. 'I already had three other friends get married that same year to be honest, to me, this was just another wedding. The weekend after her wedding, my best friend got married in Tuscany. So it was just a series of weddings to me at that point. 'But it was exciting to have been asked, because I wasn't expecting it, and to also be asked to attend was a whole other thing. It's a blur. 'It definitely brought my visibility up and it's been really weird, but at the end of the day, we're still great friends. Her profile's on a much more global level, but it's weird to say it's still kind of the same.' On March 17, people around the world will be honoring Saint Patrick's Day. While the cultural and religious celebration is one of the biggest holiday's in Ireland, the festivities extend far beyond. From Dublin to New York City, men and women show their Irish spirit at parties and parades. Today, renowned Whiskey brand, Tullamore D.E.W., launches 'O'Everyone' a unisex custom T-shirt that revelers can make to be Irish for the day! Holiday for all: On March 17, people around the world will be honoring Saint Patrick's Day. Today, renowned Whiskey brand, Tullamore D.E.W. , launches 'O'Everyone' a unisex custom T-shirt that revelers can make to be Irish for the day! Party-goers can visit OEveryone.com to (Oinsert-your-last-name or nickname) and become Irish for their annual St. Paddys Day celebrations. This fun and creative launch opens up the spirited holiday to all, ensuring anybody and everybody can be a part of the festivities, in uniform for just $20. Just think, OConnors and OConnells will raise their glasses with ORomanos, O'Demetrious, and many more across the country. Custom: Party-goers can visit OEveryone.com to (Oinsert-your-last-name or nickname) and become Irish for their annual St. Paddys Day celebrations From Dublin to New York City, men and women show their support in fun green costumes to attend parades and parties We got spirit: While the cultural and religious celebration is one of the biggest holiday's in Ireland, the festivities extend far beyond Hoping to encourage people to support their local pubs and show their Irish pride (regardless of background), the triple blended Irish whiskey brand, along with partner IrishCentral, has transformed non-Irish bars and restaurants into Irish-fusion pop-ups in NYC, Chicago, LA and Boston, from March 15-17, 2019. Forget shamrocks and green beer, people can experience St. Patty's Day with custom Irish-fusion food and drinks menus, selected by IrishCentral. 'As the leading Irish digital media company in the U.S., we are proud to share our culture and partner with these versatile bars and restaurants, all representing new and unexpected St. Patricks Day destinations for our readers to reinterpret our countrys traditions,' said Michelle Hanley, Manager of Brand Partnerships at IrishCentral. Melting pot: Hoping to encourage people to support their local pubs and show their Irish pride (regardless of background), the triple blended Irish whiskey brand, along with partner IrishCentral , has transformed non-Irish bars and restaurants into Irish-fusion pop-ups across the country 'America is quickly becoming a melting pot of ex-pats from all over the world, and we feel that OEveryone reflects the fact that today youre you, but on St. Patricks Day you can be an adopted member of the Irish community.' 'If ye dont have an O in your last name, were here to give ye one and say anybody can be Irish on St. Paddys Day,' said Tim Herlihy, National Ambassador for Tullamore D.E.W. Irish Whiskey. 'Were proud to be working with this killer group of talent from all backgrounds in the food and cocktail world, and were excited to celebrate with everyone on our favorite holiday of the year.' May the luck of the Irish be with you in your new tee! Princess Eugenie has paid a visit to Nottingham hospital where she met spinal surgery patients and bonded with an adorable little boy who has been through the same operation she had for scoliosis as a child. The royal, 28, met children and spinal experts at Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) in Nottingham, and seemed very taken by, Jayson Walker, who was dressed in a surgeon's outfit. Jayson was featured in the TV programme Hospital last year, which followed his surgery to correct scoliosis in his spine - the same surgery Eugenie had when she was 12. Kerry Walker, Jayson's mum, told the West Bridgford Wire: 'It has been lovely meeting Princess Eugenie today; it is great to hear her story and is very inspirational for the children on the ward to meet her as she has had similar experiences as a child. The princess (right) seemed very taken by one little boy, Jayson Walker (left) who was dressed in a surgeons outfit - sharing footage of her talking to him and looking at pictures The Princess also shared this picture on her Instagram stories of one of the countries leading spinal surgeons Mike Grevitt with Jayson 'You just dont think it happens to other people other than your own flesh and blood. She is such a normal, down to earth person and it was good of her to visit Nottingham today. Eugenie also shared a picture of Jayson with Mike Grevitt, one of the countries leading spinal surgeons, who performed Jayson's operation. Mike also appeared on the BBC 2 documentary Hospital last year and has been a consultant at the hospital for over 20 years. The Queen's Medical Centre, which is part of the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH), specialises in spinal surgeries. Eugenie went on to share other pictures of her day, showing a group picture of her with other staff at the hospital When Eugenie married last October she purposely chose a dress which showed off her scoliosis surgery scar. She told the Telegraph at the time: 'After one or two initial meetings where I said I wanted to show my back and scar, we had a fitting and in their first attempt at the shape and design of the dress, they got me and the vision in one.' She continued: 'From there, we realised that the back of the dress was the centre point and a veil would take away from the scar and the beautiful design they had created.' Eugenie went on to share other pictures of her day, showing a group picture of her with other staff on the children's ward. When Eugenie married last October she purposely chose a dress which showed off her scoliosis scar What is scoliosis? Scoliosis is the abnormal curvature of the spine in an S-shape. Signs include a visible curve in the spine, one shoulder or hip being more prominent than the other, clothes not hanging properly and back pain. Pain usually only affects adults with the condition. In most cases, the cause of the scoliosis is not known but it can be caused by cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy. In the UK, scoliosis affects three to four children could of every 1,000. It is also thought that as many as 70 per cent of over 65s have some degree of scoliosis. It is more common in women than in men. Most children with the condition do not require treatment as it is mild and corrects itself as the child grows. However, in severe cases the child may need to wear a back brace until they stop growing. Occasionally, a child needs surgery to straighten their spine. In adults, it is usually too late to treat the condition with a back brace or surgery so treatment revolves around reducing pain. Source: NHS Choices Advertisement Before her visit to the hospital, Eugenie met the team at Rights Lab - a platform which hopes to end slavery by 2030. The royal co-founded The Anti-Slavery Collective with her good friend, Julia de Boinville Another photo showed her listening intently while a professor spoke to her. The caption explained that she was 'talking to professor Kevin Bales about his work as a professor of modern slavery'. She then shared a picture with staff from The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority - which is a UK Government agency that works in partnership to protect vulnerable and exploited workers. Before her visit to the hospital she shared pictures showed her meeting the team at Rights lab - a platform which hopes to end slavery by 2030 Eugenie met with a platform which hopes to end slavery by 2030 and spoke to one of its key professors An adopted woman has revealed how she was told she had survived the abortion that had killed her twin brother when she met her birth mother for the first time. Mother-of-three Claire Culwell from Austin, Texas, was born to teenager mother Tonya Glasby, who was just 13 when she fell pregnant. Glasby, now 47, assumed she was pregnant with just one child but doctors found that she had been expecting twins after she continued to feel movement a month after the termination. Culwell survived the abortion attempt, although she weighed just 3lbs and was born two months' prematurely with dislocated hips and club feet. The 30-year-old, who has two adopted children and one biological child, says she was left staggered when she heard Glasby's dramatic confession - when they reunited for the first time. Claire Culwell, a mother-of-three from Austin, Texas, has shared her remarkable story of how she learned from her birth mother, Tonya Glasby, that she had lived despite an attempt to abort her life 'This is what it looks like to survive an abortion' Culwell has shared this photo to her Instagram showing her shortly after her birth. While her twin brother died following the abortion attempt, she survived and was born two months' early with dislocated hips and club feet After being adopted at two months' old by her parents Barbara and Warren Culwell, Culwell began to thrive - although the damage done to her body in the womb ensured health problems throughout her early childhood. Her parents had adopted her believing that she'd simply been born early to a teenager mother, with no hint of the real story offered to them. She told Fabulous Magazine: 'I weighed just 3lbs at birth, having been born two months early and my hips on both sides were dislocated. My feet were both turned in. I was on life support for months.' After growing up in a happy home, she was always given a positive story about her birth mother, being told frequently by her adoptive parents that she was a always 'wanted' baby. At 20, Culwell decided that she wanted to meet her birth mother and, after several months tracking her down via an adoption agency, the family decided together that they should have a face-to-face reunion - unaware of the dramatic confession about to be made. Claire Culwell, pictured with her biological daughter, Sadie-June, six, first met her biological mother Tonya, now 47, at the age of 21 after tracking her down via an adoption agency Ahead of her first meeting with her birth mother, Culwell had written a card, saying that she was grateful to her mother for giving birth to her - the note prompted a confession about the abortion In March 2009, Culwell, by now 21, met her mother for the first time at the house of a friend in Texas. The highly emotional meeting went well, with Culwell sharing photos of her childhood and thanking her for giving birth to her. She'd written a card to her birth mother in advance, saying: 'Thank you for choosing life for me its the greatest gift Ive ever received.' Forgiveness: Culwell says she understands why her birth mother acted in the way she did, saying: 'She was only 13' and forgave her as soon as she heard the story After Glasby read the card, she broke down and began to confess the real story of Culwell's birth, revealing that she was just 13 when she fell pregnant and that, after telling her family, they had decided she must have a termination. She told the Culwell family that she had been unaware she'd been expecting twins and when the abortion took place at five months, she assumed she was no longer pregnant. In fact, Culwell's twin brother had died but Culwell had continued to live on in the womb. When the teenager realised she was still carrying a baby, she was six months' pregnant and travelled to a different state to try and have a second abortion - but doctors deemed it too risky and the pregnancy continued to the seventh month, when Culwell was born and placed straight on life support. Of the shock confession, Culwell said she 'felt like I was in a movie'...but didn't hesitate to reassure her birth mother that she had forgiven her already. The mother and daughter are now still in touch. Glasby said meeting her daughter had been 'amazing', and that 'forgiveness is a wonderful thing.' Culwell says the experience has given her 'purpose' and she now has two adopted children of her own, Elijah, 10, Lita, nine and a biological daughter, Sadie-June, six. Queen Letizia of Spain stunned in a snakeskin print dress as she joined her husband King Felipe VI to welcome the president of Peru and his wife to Madrid today. The mother-of-two, 46, wore the below-the-knee number to greet Martin Vizcarra and his spouse Maribel Diaz at the royal palace in the Spanish capital. The ever-stylish Queen paired the black and grey garment with a cream waterfall coat and elegant red velvet stilettos. The President of Peru and his wife are on a three-day tour of the country, and are set to inaugurate the contemporary art fair ARCOmadrid tomorrow, of which Peru is a guest country. Queen Letizia of Spain (far right) stunned in a snakeskin print dress as she joined her husband King Felipe (second right) to welcome President Martin Vizcarra of Peru (second left) and his wife Maribel Diaz (far left) The mother-of-two, 46, wore a stylish waterfall coat and kept her makeup to a minimum, wearing a deep bronzer that showed off her glowing skin Queen Letizia of Spain and King Felipe, linked arms as they arrived at the welcoming event today, in the Spanish sunshine The Spanish royal and her husband, who married in 2004, were all smiles as they strolled along arm-in-arm ahead of the meeting. For the occasion Letizia showed off her glowing skin with a deep bronzer and tan eyeshadow alongside a neutral lip colour. King Felipe wore a suave double-breasted suit paired with a red and white striped tie. As the special guests were welcomed for their three day visit the group also witnessed a parade by the royal guard, after which the President of Peru inspected the battalion. Martin (second left) and Maribel (far left) are on a three-day tour of the country and are set to inaugurate the contemporary art fair ARCOmadrid tomorrow, of which Peru is a guest country For the occasion, King Felipe (left) wore a suave double-breasted suit paired with a red and white striped tie The royal couple will also host a reception at the royal palace in honour of their guests later on this evening The royal couple will also host a reception at the royal palace in honour of their guests later on this evening. The visit comes after the British Ambassador to Morocco praised the Duchess of Sussex for avoiding the usual 'pomp and pageantry' of royal tours - days after Letizia and King Felipe visited the country. Diplomat Thomas Reilly told Harper's Bazaar: 'This was a very different kind of trippersonal, informal and away from the pomp and pageantry of traditional visits. Earlier today the group witnessed a parade by the royal guard, after which the President of Peru inspected the battalion 'Moroccans loved the way [Meghan and Harry] were so spontaneous and cared so deeply.' The British royals packed in nine separate engagements over three days, taking in a helicopter ride to the Atlas Mountains, a visit to an equine centre in Rabat, as well as an audience with King Mohammed VI of Morocco. While King Felipe and Queen Letizia met with schoolchildren during their visit like Harry and Meghan, there was not the same easy-going atmosphere captured on camera. A wedding venue has been accused of sexism for offering 'Groom Academy' courses, teaching husbands-to-be everyday domestic chores. Rosslea Hall Hotel, in Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute, relaunched their package earlier this month, due to popular demand, three years after it first debuted. Hopeless men will be transformed into perfect homemakers in advance of the big day, learning how to use a washing machine and dryer, and how to treat their other halves to breakfast in bed. But the tongue-in-cheek programme hasn't gone down well with everyone - with some locals accusing the Scottish hotel of sexism. After sharing details of the package on Facebook, Christopher McAuley said: 'Breakfast in bed? Cocktails? Are these women looking for a husband or a servant? Really sexist people.' Rosslea Hall Hotel, in Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute, has been accused of sexism after relaunching their 'Groom Academy' which teaches men how to complete basic domestic tasks. Pictured: Gemma and Bobby Gray The Scottish hotel, pictured, first launched the programme three years ago after it was rolled out by Redefine BDL Hotels across the UK Laura Kennedy wrote: '[My partner]'s better than me in the house sometimes, especially at making tea and ironing.' Another individual commented: 'It is unquestionably sexist. Personally I'd be happy to see it as "just a bit of fun" if that opinion was a two-way street. 'The reality is that if they offered "assembling flatpack furniture for women" it wouldn't be considered a bit of fun, so I am forced to be unhappy.' The concept was first launched at the Worcester Whitehouse back in 2015, before being expanded to other hotels in the Redefine BDL Hotels portfolio across the country including Rosslea Hall. It has proven incredibly popular, according to the hotel chain, who claims that wives have told them their husbands didn't know how to work basic household appliances, including irons and washing machines, before the course. The hotel shared details of the programme on Facebook, explaining that the course would teach men how to iron and treat you with breakfast in bed The course has proven incredibly popular, with some wives saying their husbands don't know how to work basic household appliances including washing machines and dryers Although the package is aimed at men, deputy manager Lynn Graham has said they wouldn't rule out Bride Academies in the future. She told the Daily Record: 'We received a few comments on Facebook saying it was sexist but it's quirky and just a bit of fun. 'We've had lots of interest for it already. One person asked us if we would do one for brides-to-be and I replied saying that we would be open to that. 'I'm sure there are a few couples out there who would benefit from that too.' The Helensburgh hotel first shared news of the relaunch on Facebook, saying: 'Calling all you lovely brides to be .......... Is the man of your dreams domesticated? 'If not! Bring him along to Rosslea Hall Hotels Groom Academy for a night before you say I do and we will do this for you. 'We will show him how to iron, treat you to breakfast in bed, we will show him how to wow you with cocktail mixing, how to use a washing machine and tumble dryer and any other domestic chores he may be lacking experience in. 'Seriously girls, get that man whipped into shape and cut mother's apron strings for good!' French fashion label Jacquemus has debuted a bag at Paris Fashion Week that is so small it can barely fit your keys inside. The brand, which is already well known for its micro handbags which cost between 260 ($345) and 600 ($795), sent models down the runway with the minuscule accessories hanging from a single finger. Jacquemus, founded by Simon Porte Jacquemus in 2010, launched the miniature bags in white, pink, orange and red, with an equally small 'J' emblazoned in the corner. It is not yet known what the miniature bags will retail for as the collection will not launch until next season. French fashion label Jacquemus debuted this microbag during Paris Fashion Week yesterday The brand sent models down the runway with the minuscule accessories hanging from a single finger The fashion line even sent out tiny invites to its Fall/Winter 2019/20 show inside lilac versions of the bag, and hinted there would be more to come. The impractical styles debuted yesterday in a warehouse on the outskirts of the French capital, which Jacquemus had transformed into a village square. But it's not unusual for the designer to launch small accessories - in his Spring/Summer collection this year he included a smaller version of his vanity bags, which are currently on sale. The tiny vanity case style bags, which hang on a gold chain and currently retail for 180 ($240) are only big enough for a lipstick and maybe a pack of chewing gum. The fashion line even sent out invites (pictured) to their Fall/Winter 2019/20 show inside lilac versions of the bag, and hinted there would be more to come The tiny vanity case style bags, which hang on a gold chain and currently retail for 180 ($240) are only big enough for a lipstick and maybe a pack of chewing gum Jacquemus seems to enjoy bucking conventional sizes for his clothing items, taking Instagram by storm last summer with a gigantic straw hat. The headgear, which featured a two-foot wide brim, was seen on everyone from Rihanna to Emily Ratajkowski. The buzz around Jacquemus' huge hat began to build in early summer, and kicked into high gear when the Danish actress and model Emma Leth chose to wear the dramatic accessory to walk down the aisle. Jacquemus, founded by Simon Porte Jacquemus (pictured at the show) in 2010, launched the miniature bags in white, pink, orange and red, with an equally small 'J' emblazoned in the corner The impractical design comes in white, pink, red and orange. The price is not yet known, but mini handbags currently sold by the brand retail for between 260 and 600 Hoping to build on his new-found cult status, Jacquemus then sent models down the runway holding enormous beach bags at Paris Fashion Week in September. And since he sent his beach bags big enough to fit an entire family in down the runway, Vogue has already declared them 'the latest must have for the jet-set'. The Fringed raffia maxi bag, called Le Grand Bacci currently retail on their website for 731 ($972). Jacquemus has become the toast of the industry aged just 29, thanks to his ability to turn an offbeat accessory into an insider must-have - from sculptural heels to that viral hat. Hoping to build on his new-found cult status, Jacquemus then sent models down the runway holding enormous beach bags at Paris Fashion Week in September Jacquemus went viral last year for this straw hat featuring a two-foot wide brim, as seen on blogger Jessica Mercedes Kirschner (pictured), Emily Ratajkowski, Rihanna and Jessica Chastain But Jacquemus is not the first designer brand to go tiny on its accessories, with Louis Vuitton releasing a miniature lipstick case, designed to be worn round your neck, this month too. The luxury French label released the miniature accessory described as an 'elegant lipstick case', in Australia. While the bag, which is 885, has already sold out in the UK already. The pint-sized leather case, branded with the label's iconic monogram, has already been declared 'the new It-bag' by fashion bible Vogue. A 350lb (25st) woman who was bullied so badly for her size growing up that she had to be home-schooled has made her huge appetite her meal ticket by charging fans to watch her eat on webcam. Kenna Blake, 22, from Boston, Massachusetts, said she was the butt of other children's jokes growing up, with fellow pupils even making mocking videos about her weight. But now she's having the last laugh with so-called fat admirers paying her up to $10 (7.53) a minute, on a Tumblr feederism site, to watch her eat junk food, while she's in her underwear or naked. Kenna found a post on feederism - a fetish eroticising eating and weight gain - while scrolling microblogging site Tumblr two years ago, and decided to start posting her own videos. 'I'm making a success of myself by getting paid to eat pizza, which I'm pretty sure is most people's dream job,' she said. Kenna is paid from $1 (76p) a minute by viewers for a standard video of her eating anything from watermelon to tacos, and a minimum of $50 (38.23) to see videos of her scoffing food in the nude. Kenna Blake, 22, from Boston, Massachusetts who weighs 350lbs (25st) and was bullied for being overweight at school now gets paid to eat on webcam Kenna Blake (pictured) said she was the butt of other children's jokes growing up, but now she has learned to embrace her 350lbs (25st) frame Brunette Kenna, who wears a size 34- 36 (UK 30-32) on top and a 38 - 40 (UK 34-36) on the bottom, remembers her self-esteem taking a savage battering from teenage bullies. She said: 'My whole life, I have dealt with a backlash over my weight. At school, things got so bad that I dropped out after my freshman year, when I was 14, to be home-schooled. 'My confidence was in tatters, but feederism has rebuilt it. I'm so happy to have found a community where being big is accepted. 'I was told by my bullies I'd never amount to anything, yet here I am, with people paying to watch me eat.' Fat admirers now pay up to $10 (7.53) a minute, on a Tumblr feederism site (fetish eroticising eating and weight gain) to watch Kenna eat junk food, while she's in her underwear Kenna remembers her self-esteem taking a savage battering from teenage bullies, but now people pay to watch her eat on a web cam Kenna, who tried unsuccessfully to slim after her size was mocked, first saw the Tumblr post after working for a spell as a personal care assistant, when she finished school. 'I'd never heard of feederism before, but I soon realised there is an entire community out there. 'Setting up my own page was just like starting a blog. I followed lots of other people, got some great tips and did my research.' Kenna was bullied so badly that she had to be home-schooled, but now she's having the last laugh by making a living by eating for fat admirers Since then, Kenna has steadily built up a fanbase of mainly men, but also some female FAs a term in the feederism community meaning 'fat admirers.' When she first started out, she tried to gain even more weight, but found it as stressful as her previous attempts to slim. So, she vowed to stop trying to control her size - instead staying fat and happy. Kenna: 'I'm making a success of myself by getting paid to eat pizza, which I'm pretty sure is most people's dream job' Kenna charges her viewers according to a sliding scale: $1 (0.76) per minute for standard videos; $5 (3.82) per minute minimum for clothed custom content, or $10 (7.65) per minute for nude custom videos, with a $50 (38.23) minimum spend. She has declined to reveal how much she makes from her videos in total. She said: 'I post around one standard video a week, as they take a while to edit properly. I try to make them at least four minutes long, but do post some shorter ones, which are cheaper. 'They are for those who do want to support me, but perhaps don't have much money.' Kenna makes a range of videos for her fans, ranging from short clips that can be purchased for a few dollars, to longer custom-requests where she's naked, which cost a minimum of $50 For her custom videos, Kenna, who also uploads footage of herself jiggling her belly, and raunchier role play content, takes requests from her fans on what to eat. 'I stick to stuff I like myself. For example, I love tacos so do Taco Tuesdays every week,' she said. 'But I am asked to eat anything and everything. Some men like to watch me eat really messy food, others like really greasy food like Chinese takeaway or pizzas. 'I even get asked to do things like eat a whole watermelon.' As well as her feederism photos and videos, Kenna posts regular updates about her day-to-day life, so she can build a rapport with her fans. She added: 'I do what I call "Fat Chats", where people can watch me talk about what it's like to be my size, and how society isn't always accepting. For her custom videos, Kenna, who also uploads footage of herself jiggling her belly, and raunchier role play content, takes requests from her fans on what to eat Kenna gets requests from her fat admirers and has even been asked to eat a whole watermelon 'I also post regular things about my life to try and connect with people. 'I don't want to be all business, especially as I get a lot of other plus-sized women looking at my page so I'd love to help inspire them with positivity to feel better about themselves.' Despite her positive outlook, Kenna has not escaped her bullies altogether, as she still finds herself being targeted by cruel online trolls. She continued: 'Particularly on Instagram, people can be nasty. I get a lot of people tagging their friends in my photos, so they can laugh at me. 'I have grown a pretty thick skin over he years, though, so I usually just ignore and block them. As well as her feederism photos and videos, Kenna posts regular updates about her day to day life, so she can build a rapport with her fans Despite her positive outlook, Kenna has not escaped her bullies altogether, as she still finds herself being targeted by cruel online trolls 'I understand from my school days that kids can be nasty, but you hope they'll one day grow up and realise nobody deserves to be mistreated for looking different.' Her confidence at an all-time high, Kenna has vowed to continue working in the fetish market - expanding her fanbase. Now, she hopes by speaking out she will encourage others with fuller figures to embrace the way they look. But she is keen to stress that the feederism community is for adults only and not somewhere younger people should be looking to for validation. Her confidence at an all-time high, Kenna has vowed to continue working in the fetish market - expanding her fanbase She said: 'While anyone can practice self-love at any age, I really want to point out that feederism is still a fetish, so it's for adults only and not something under 18s should be getting into. 'Still, I want to urge others out there struggling with their self-esteem to look in the mirror every day and point out one thing about themselves they like. 'Everybody is beautiful in their own way, and anybody who is mean and spiteful is just unhappy themselves, so don't take what they say to heart. 'It takes time, friends, and a good support system, but you can get there and learn to love yourself.' An adorable one-year-old girl has made history by being named the first Gerber baby of Hmong descent after winning over the judges with her 'angelic' face. Kairi Yang, a 15-month-old from Hickory, North Carolina, was named the winner of the 2019 Gerber Baby Photo Contest, beating out 544,000 contestants who were vying to be the brand's new spokesbaby. 'As soon as we saw her photo, we fell in love with Kairis expressive eyes and angelic face, looking toward the future and being excited for all that it holds,' the companys President and CEO, Bill Partyka, said in the press release. Too cute: Kairi Yang, a 15-month-old from Hickory, North Carolina, was named the winner of the 2019 Gerber Baby Photo Contest on Tuesday Family: Kairi, pictured with her parents Ying Vue and Peter Yang, made history as the first Gerber baby of Hmong descent Hard to resist: Gerber's President and CEO, Bill Partyka, said the judges 'fell in love with Kairi's expressive eyes and angelic face' Gerber announced the news on its Instagram page on Tuesday, sharing a close-up photo of Kairi peering off into the distance with her inquisitive dark brown eyes. 'Hello to Kairi, our brand new 2019 Gerber Spokesbaby!' the company wrote. 'Congratulations Kairi, were so excited youre joining our Gerber family [heart emoji] please help us send her lots of love!' At the time of the announcement, little Kairi was celebrating the win with her parents Ying Vue and Peter Yang on the fourth hour of the Today show. Meeting Hoda Kotb! The tot celebrated her win with her parents on the Today show Tuesday Competition: The little girl beat out 544,000 contestants to be the brand's new spokesbaby Famous face: As the winner of the photo search, Kairi's family has received $50,000, and she will be featured on Gerber's social media channels throughout 2019 Kairi looked absolutely darling in a white tulle dress as her mom carried her on stage to meet Today show hosts Hoda Kotb, Jenna Bush Hager, and Kathie Lee Gifford. Not only does the tot have a new modeling gig, but she has also made history as the first Gerber baby of Hmong descent. The Hmong are an ethnic group in East and Southeast Asia that have their own language and are primarily located in southern China, Vietnam, and Laos. Ying and Peter live with their parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, and the mom told Today that they believe Hmong culture is all about the close bonds they have with their relatives in both life and the afterlife. Winning smile: Lucas Warren became the first Gerber baby with Down syndrome in 2018 In good company: Riley Shines was chosen as the 2017 Gerber Spokesbaby Striking a pose: Mercy Townsend, left, was named the winner in 2010, while Isla Welch, right, was the spokesbaby in 2016 'Being surrounded by all her family has been a very positive influence on Kairis life, especially when it comes to preserving our culture and tradition,' the mom said. 'Kairi will grow up knowing how to read and write in Hmong, so that she can speak with her grandparents.' Right now, the toddler's favorite pastimes include listening to nursery rhymes, building blanket forts, and playing with her dad. 'Kairis positive energy and smile lights up our life,' Ying said of her only child. 'She has a one-of-a-kind personality.' Cute: Grace Pfautz was named the winner of the competition in 2014 Double trouble: Twin boys Levi and Paxton Strickland were named the Gerber babies in 2013 All smiles: Mary Jane Montoya, left, won the prize in 2012, a year after Tate Rosendahl, right, in 2011 The mom admitted they initially debated whether or not to submit their little girl's photo to enter the contest, but they ultimately decided she was a 'winner' in their eyes no matter what the outcome. As the winner of the photo search, Kairi's family has received $50,000, and she will be featured on Gerber's social media channels throughout 2019. Last year's winner, Lucas Warren, also made history as the first Gerber baby with Down syndrome. Gerber's first national photo contest took place in 1928, with Ann Turner Cook being named the winner after her family submitted a charcoal drawing of her. Ann, who is now 92, was the face of the brand until 2010. Gerber then launched its annual Photo Baby Search to celebrate even more babies and toddlers. Australian radio broadcaster and journalist, Jill Emberson, has revealed the little-known signs of ovarian cancer women should be aware of as she fights the deadly disease for the second time. The 59-year-old, from Newcastle, New South Wales, recently relapsed and is in her third round of chemotherapy; she was told by doctors that she has just a 50 per cent chance of being alive in five years time. 'It was constipation and lower back pain,' the ABC Newcastle broadcaster told FEMAIL of her first symptoms. 'I had a bit of pain in my groin - a very sharp pain in my groin that made me call the doctor.' 'Constipation and a sharp pain in my groin': Jill Emberson (pictured), 59, revealed the little-known symptoms of ovarian cancer which has a 46 per cent survival rate With no early detection test, Jill said it's quite common for women to disregard the symptoms. 'They're very typical symptoms for women, especially as women approach menopause,' she explained. 'That is one of the reasons women delay going to the doctor. I certainly delayed going until I had that sharp pain once, then twice, and on the second time I knew I had to do something about it.' What is ovarian cancer? * Ovarian cancer is a general term used to describe a cancerous (malignant) tumour starting in one or both ovaries * The ovaries are made up of three main kinds of cells epithelial cells, stromal cells and germ cells. Each of these cells can develop into a different type of tumour * The average age of women when they are diagnosed with ovarian cancer is age 64. It is mainly diagnosed in women over the age of 50; however, there are cases diagnosed in younger women * Ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer in Australia. About 1580 Australian women are diagnosed each year Source: Ovarian Cancer Australia Advertisement Having been referred to a gynaecological surgeon to determine whether she had ovarian cancer, Jill described the consultation as an 'out of body experience'. In order to determine whether one has ovarian cancer, an examination from the pubic bone to the chest needs to take place. 'While I was having that consultation and giving my approval to be opened up, I actually felt as if the doctor was talking to somebody else,' Jill said. 'That was a total out of body experience. I felt heat rising from my toes up to my head.' Jill said she still hasn't come to a place of acceptance, describing her current state as 'functional denial'. Warning signs: Jill said she knew something was wrong when she experienced specific symptoms: 'I had a bit of pain in my groin, a very sharp pain in my groin that made me call the doctor' (pictured on air at her ABC Newcastle studio) 'Halfway!' Jill shared a snap of herself going through chemotherapy in April, 2018 'I have a form of what they call functional denial where I know the cancer is there, but I can kind of put it to the back of my mind so I can function day to day,' she explained. 'That's kind of how I cope as it's just too terrifying to face every day, and you wouldn't get out of bed. You'd stay in bed and cry all day and I can't live like that.' As she undergoes chemotherapy, Jill is working part-time and also as a public speaker raising awareness for the disease. Part of the reason she became a public speaker was due to the dismal 46 per cent survival rate. 'They're very typical symptoms for women': With no early detection test, Jill said it's quite common for women to disregard the symptoms. Jill is pictured with husband Ken on their wedding day 'It really makes me mad to think that the research might leave the survival rate of this cancer stuck in the 40s for the next generation of women,' Jill said. 'Breast cancer has a survival rate of 91 per cent.' Jill believes the energy has gone into breast cancer, and ovarian cancer has been forgotten. 'I think all of the energy gone into breast cancer is great, but we need to see the same energy and broad community support thrown behind ovarian cancer,' she said. Jill encourages those who have survived breast cancer to lend their voice. 'They've got four times as much research and money going into their direction,' she said. 'We can't possibly build the same army of advocates as breast cancer has done, because we're only a small number.' What to look for: Symptoms include unexplained fatigue and needing to urinate often or frequently 'It's very hard to form a big national mobile organisation with just a few women,' she continued. 'We need other women to get on board, those who have been touched with breast cancer, and those that are just concerned about women and the health of women.' Jill concluded by encouraging women to not overlook the symptoms as there is no early detection test. 'The earlier you get them and recognise them, the longer your chances are of staying alive, but the reality is, once you've got the symptoms, you've got the cancer,' she said. What are the contributing factors? Risks include obesity, increasing age and tobacco smoking 'It just depends how far advanced it is. Most of us are detected at the advanced stage.' A nationwide study has revealed ovarian cancer to be the deadliest form of women's cancer. Conducted by Wallis Market and Social Research, the findings show that approximately 1,600 women are diagnosed each year, and 1,000 succumb to the disease. The survival rate, which currently sits at 46 per cent, is in stark contrast to breast cancer at 91 per cent. With February 27 being Teal Ribbon Day as part of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, Australians can offer their support by purchasing a $3 ribbon from Terry White Chemmart pharmacies, Black Pepper stores, and online at www.ovariancancer.net.au An emergency room doctor with impossibly dewy, glowing skin has revealed the very extensive skincare regime he follows to keep his complexion youthful. Dr Brendan Khong, who is originally from Singapore, said he's always been interested in dermatology and refuses to 'buy into trends' when it comes to skincare. 'Just because a certain ingredient is the 'it' ingredient of the moment doesn't necessarily mean it is going to be beneficial for your skin,' the Bristol-based medical professional told Into The Gloss. Scroll down for video An emergency room doctor with impossibly dewy, glowing skin has revealed the very extensive skincare regime he follows to keep his complexion youthful Dr Khong said his main trick when it comes to skincare is 'consistency'. Although he has his 'lazy' days, he always manages to double cleanse and apply some retinol - even after long shifts at work. In the mornings he cleanses with Tatcha's The Deep Cleanse, Dr Sam's Flawless Cleanser, or IDS Delicate Cleanser, and then uses Biologique Recherche P50, an AUD$126 exfoliator, all over. He said he is a 'big fan' of P50 and covers his scalp, face and body with it twice a day. Dr Brendan Khong , who is originally from Singapore, said he's always been interested in dermatology and refuses to 'buy into trends' when it comes to skincare Dr Khong has incorporated The Deep Cleanse from Tatcha and the Biologique Recherche P50 into his routine He also uses Biologique's Masque Vivant which is a skin treatment to help elasticity, and VIP O2, which is an 'antipollution' treatment. On top of this he applies Visolastine, a hydrating mask, and Biomagic, which is an energising face mask. Dr Khong said he has noticed the mask from Biologique has helped to create his flawless complexion and makes his skin glow. He aims to apply a face mask every second day depending on how his skin feels and he recently bought Cryo Sticks to give himself an at home cryo facial. What products does Dr Khong use? - Tatcha's The Deep Cleanse or Dr Sam's Flawless Cleanser or IDS Delicate Cleanser - Biologique Recherche P50 - Biologique's Masque Vivant - Biologique's VIPO2 - Biologique's Biomagic - Cryo Sticks - Biologique Complexe Iribiol - Biologique Placenta - Biologique Elastine Pure - Biologique Collagen Natif - IDS C-Plus or Skinceuticals Serum 10 - Biologique Eye Cream - Creme aux Acides de Fruits or Dermopurifante - Tatcha Dewy Skin Mist or Fluide VIP O2 - IDS sunscreen 50+ - Omorovicza's Queen of Hungary Mist - Caudalie Beauty Elixir - Shu Uemura Ultime8 Cleansing Oil - Biologique's Mc110 - Neostrata's Skin Active Retinol or IDS A-plus - Sheet masks - Tatcha's The Silk Canvas Advertisement He aims to apply a face mask every second day depending on how his skin feels and he recently bought Cryo Sticks to give himself an at home cryo facial He uses a variety of different Biologique serums, such as Complexe Iribiol, Placenta, Elastine Pure, and Collagen Natif and then he uses IDS C-Plus or Skinceuticals Serum 10. The doctor follows that up with Biologique Eye Cream and either the exfoliant Creme aux Acides de Fruits or Dermopurifante, which is a moisturiser. Next he will use either the Tatcha Dewy Skin Mist or Fluide VIP O2 to seal everything in before applying three layers of his SPF 50+ IDS sunscreen to ensure full SPF protection. Dr Khong said he has noticed the mask from Biologique has helped create his flawless complexion and make his skin glow He uses a variety of different Biologique serums, such as Complexe Iribiol 'I've always been taught to stay out of the sun - I've worn sunscreen faithfully ever since I was 13! If you see me in the summer, I drive around with a visor which never fails to gather odd looks, and also wear a jacket with sleeves backwards,' he said. 'My look is always dewy and shiny. I hate matte skin - I find it very ageing. My friend Jordan once said I had "dolphin skin", which is fairly accurate. I want skin so glowy, you can see your future in it.' Due to the dehydrating nature of hospitals Dr Khong will freshen up with Omorovicza's Queen of Hungary Mist and Caudalie Beauty Elixir. In the evening he will double cleanse with a product he has been using for 10 years, the Shu Uemura Ultime8 Cleansing Oil. 'I've always been taught to stay out of the sunI've worn sunscreen faithfully ever since I was 13! If you see me in the summer, I drive around with a visor which never fails to gather odd looks, and also wear a jacket with sleeves backwards,' he said He uses Biologique's MC110 once to twice a week - a lotion that brightens the skin - and said he always sees a difference in his face after he's finished using it. Dr Khong also applies Neostrata's Skin Active Retinol or IDS A-plus, an age-preventative treatment and beauty gadgets such as ZIIP machine and the Foreo. The busy doctor said that he believes skin reflects your overall health, which is why he takes supplements like Crystal Tomato, which is high in lycopene and a good source of antioxidants. Dr Khong aims to get a deep cleansing facial every three to four weeks to assist in removing any impurities and product build-up and occasionally has radiofrequency and skin needling done as well. Advertisement A devastated mother has made a heartbreaking tribute to her son on the one year anniversary of his death after he tragically died from choking on a toy bouncy ball at the age of three. Anna Davis, from Tasmania, frantically tried to resuscitate her toddler boy Alby Fox for 16 'excruciating' minutes until paramedics arrived at their home - but he died in her arms just a week before his fourth birthday. On Tuesday, the grieving family got together to throw sunflowers into the ocean in honour of little Alby. Taking to Instagram under The Small Folk, the mother-of-four shared a poignant post, along with candid photographs of her children gathering around in memory of their much-loved brother. Anna Davis, from Tasmania, frantically tried to resuscitate her toddler boy Alby Fox for 16 'excruciating' minutes until paramedics arrived at their home - but he died in her arms just a week before his fourth birthday (pictured together) Mother Anna Davis has paid a heartbreaking tribute to her late toddler who tragically died after choking on a bouncy ball 'One year ago, our day began just like any other, but ended with our world completely crumbling around us,' Ms Davis said. 'The vivid rawness of those final moments and the brutality of living each second with this pining inside our hearts, makes it seem unfathomable that we have reached this milestone already... weren't you with us mere moments ago?! 'Tonight, my mind is a turbulent mess, and I want to scream and cry out and demand that the world stops turning - how can these minutes and hours and days continue to go on without you? Do they not know what we have lost?! 'Our precious Alby, it was far too easy to love you, making this journey without you by our side, the hardest, most grief-stricken life imaginable. But still, we rise. 'And we pledge to honour you and your memory and your legacy and your spirit, forevermore, until we are lucky enough to hold you in our arms once again. I love you.' On Tuesday, the grieving family got together to throw sunflowers into the ocean in honour of little Alby The young family paid tribute to little Alby - as they watched the sunflowers float away in the ocean in memory of him Her latest tribute comes just months after she posted a moving message to thank Alby, her second eldest child, for the time they had together as a family of five. Ms Davis was pregnant with her son Arnhem Oak at the time, and gave birth to him four months after burying Alby. 'Part of me doesn't want to let this year go. I want to capture it and bottle it and clutch it to my chest with all of my motherhood might,' she wrote on the eve of the New Year. 'This was the year I could still call your name and you would come running. The year I could dress you in the morning and bathe you in the evening. The year I could say we had four children without my heart weeping as puzzled strangers glance down at only three.' But Ms Davis went on to say that it was also a year she wanted to 'erase from my very existence'. 'As the memories that creep into my mind without a fragment of warning, from that day of February 26th, haunt me to my core and halt me in my tracks,' she continued. Her latest tribute comes just months after she posted a moving message to thank Alby, her second eldest child, for the time they had together as a family of five Ms Davis was pregnant with her son Arnhem Oak (pictured) at the time, and gave birth to him four months after burying Alby 'It is the most lonesome, frightful place to wander and I can only skirt around the edges of the darkness for fear of falling head first in and never emerging from its depths. 'The absorption of a life without you means a harrowing acceptance of both joy and sorrow coursing through my veins, every minute of every day. 'I am the lucky one who knew you, who still loves you and whose life will forever be divided into a before and after because of you.' She finished with the poignant but simple phrase: '2018; the loss of our saint and the arrival of our saviour'. She frantically tried to resuscitate Alby (pictured) moments before he choked to death on a bouncy ball gifted to him as an early fourth birthday present On that day no mother ever wants to experience, Ms Davis watched from just three feet away as her toddler choked to death on a bouncy ball gifted to him as an early fourth birthday present. She attempted to pull out the ball - which was only slightly larger than a 50 cent piece - and performed CPR for 16 minutes during an 'excruciating' wait for paramedics. The Tasmanian owner of toy shop The Small Folk was pregnant with Alby's brother Arnhem, now five months old, at the time of the heartbreaking ordeal. At the time of Alby's death,the devastated mother took to social media to clarify some of the heartbreaking details and explain how 'incorrect assumptions' about the tragedy were hurting the grieving family further A picture of the same type of ball was supplied by Ms Davis to Daily Mail Australia, revealing how it fits inside the palm of her hand After Alby's death, the devastated mother took to social media to clarify some of the heartbreaking details and explain how 'incorrect assumptions' about the tragedy were hurting the family further. 'The heartache we are already experiencing is indescribable,' she wrote. 'To very briefly clarify some of the most widely spread misconceptions - yes, I tried to save our beautiful boy (including, but not only, undertaking CPR for 16 excruciating minutes until paramedics arrived). 'I was three feet away from Alby when the incident occurred and was by his side within seconds.' She explained how the ball - which features the smiling face of a character from animated children's program PJ Masks - was larger than the 50 cent piece recommendation for young children's toys. Ms Davis also said her son exceeded the ball's choking hazard warning by almost an entire year. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia last year, Ms Davis said the family were very grateful for the 'love and gratitude' they had received 'as we fathom the loss of our golden boy' A picture of the same type of ball was supplied by Ms Davis to Daily Mail Australia shortly after her son's tragic death, revealing how it fits inside the palm of her hand. The ball came in a six pack of assorted colours, which can be found at department store Big W and various party supply stores for less than AUD$15. The front of the packet features a choking hazard and warns the toy is a 'small ball not suited for children under three years'. Alby died just 40 minutes after telling his mother 'I can't wait to go to bed'. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia at the time, Ms Davis said the family were very grateful for the 'love and gratitude' they had received 'as we fathom the loss of our golden boy'. Mischa Barton rose to fame in the early-2000s on The O.C., a splashy teen drama about Southern California rich kids that inspired a whole genre of reality show rip-offs. And now the 33-year-old actress is set to star in one of the very reality shows that The O.C. made possible when she returns to television screens in MTV's reboot of The Hills. Speaking to Interview magazine, Mischa talked about how she was first approached to join the original cast which includes Spencer Pratt, Heidi Pratt, Brody Jenner, and Whitney Port among others for The Hills: New Beginnings. Newest addition: Mischa Barton, 33, announced last October that she would be joining MTV's reality show The Hills: New Beginnings with returning cast members Throwback: It was an interesting choice for Mischa to join The Hills, since her popular teen drama The O.C. (pictured) inspired the reality show 'I swear to God, I got thrown into this last minute,' she told the publication. 'I was approached from every angle, by everyone I know. I ignored it at first, and then I got on a couple of calls with the producers and MTV. Then before I knew it, I was in serious talks with them.' Mischa admitted joining the cast for the reboot of the reality show almost a decade after it was cancelled was an interesting choice, considering that her scripted series was often confused with Laguna Beach. 'Throughout my career, people have totally confused Laguna Beach and The O.C.,' she said. 'I think in peoples minds, it all kind of got blurred over time. When I was doing my own show, I saw a couple episodes of Laguna Beach here and there. Everybody would ask, "Have you heard about this reality version of The O.C.?"' The O.C. actually did serve as an inspiration for the creation of Laguna Beach which later spawned the spin-off The Hills when Lauren Conrad moved to Los Angeles. Flashback: The Hills (pictured) was a spin-off of Laguna Beach, which was billed as the reality show version of The O.C. Revealed: Speaking to Interview magazine, the actress admitted that she joined the cast 'last minute' after getting hounded by MTV executives (pictured in 2017) Though Mischa comes from an acting background as opposed to a reality show one, the star insisted she sees a skill in what her co-stars do. 'Being on the show now, I very much feel like what they do is a craft for them, and I give them props for that,' Mischa said. 'Ive found that what works best is to really embrace the process for what it is, which is just being yourself. If youre not being yourself, it shows immediately. The camera doesnt lie.' The reboot of the hit reality show was announced in August 2018 after some of the old cast had a reunion during the MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Cast members Heidi Pratt, Spencer Pratt, Stephanie Pratt, Audrina Partridge, Jason Wahler, Justin Bobby and Frankie Delgado reunited on the red carpet to confirm the news. Exciting times: The announcement about The Hills reboot was made official in August after the original cast appeared at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City (pictured) We're back! Returning cast members include Spencer and Heidi Pratt, pictured with their son Change: Audrina Partridge (left) will also return along with Whitney Port (right). Whitney revealed how viewers would see a change in the show compared to the original The Hills Bring on the drama: Other returning cast members include Justin Bobby (left), Jason Wahler (right), Frankie Delgado and Stephanie Pratt But the announcement also came with the news that the reality show's most prominent cast member, Lauren Conrad, would not be returning for the reboot. In October, following the VMA's, Mischa shared an Instagram video of herself with The Hills theme song, Unwritten, playing in the background letting her followers know she would be the newest cast member. 'Welcome to the hills, b****,' Mischa said jokingly in the video. She then added the caption: 'The secrets out... Im joining the cast of The Hills. When MTV approached me with the chance to be a part of the reality show that was inspired by The OC, it felt like the perfect opportunity for an irresistibly inviting new chapter.' The reality show is set to air later this year, and cast members said viewers will see a difference in the show compared to the original. One promised change is that there will not be the same forced, scripted drama as before. 'The audience is OK with just watching people gossip at lunch,' Whitney Port told Interview magazine. 'They want to see peoples personalities as opposed to being entertained all the time.' Bosnian-Australian model Andreja Pejic has made history. Underwear giant Bonds named the 27-year-old woman as one of the faces in its newest campaign making her the first transgender model to front a Bonds lingerie campaign. Andreja, who began transitioning into a woman when she was 22, features in images for the Intimately Bonds collection, alongside Maia Cotton, Shanaya Peters and Madeleine Hunt. 'I am 'Bonds girl', it's insane - it's not that I grew up thinking I could ever be one,' Andreja told news.com.au from New York. 'I'm a Bonds girl... I grew up thinking I could never be one': Transgender model Andreja Pejic, 27, makes history as she becomes the newest face of the underwear giant's lingerie campaign Andreja said it's great to see Bonds and other labels reassessing how they market and advertise their products. 'They're beginning to look underneath the package,' she told news.com.au. 'The industry has shifted massively. When I started [modelling] about six years ago it was completely different.' Andreja also commended the fashion industry as a whole for becoming more inclusive. Milestone: 'I am 'Bonds girl', it's insane - it's not that I grew up thinking I could ever be one,' Andreja told news.com.au from New York on Tuesday Design: The collection, which will be available in-store and online from March 6, features bodysuits and two-piece sets in bold colours and feminine prints Andreja's journey to becoming a transgender model 2000: Arrived in Australia from war-torn Serbia when she was just eight 2008: Scouted by a modelling agent when working at a local McDonald's 2013: Came out as a transgender woman 2018: Signed to Ford Models New York 2019: Named as one of the faces of Bonds' lingerie campaign Advertisement 'Australia likes a more commercial beachy girl and I was just never going to fit into that commercial context, so I think this shows times have changed for a company like this to hire me and give me this opportunity,' she said. Andreja features in Bonds' Intimately campaign, alongside Victoria's Secret model Maia Cotton, Shanaya Peters and Madeleine Hunt. The collection, which will be available in-store and online from March 6, features bodysuits and two-piece sets in bold colours with feminine prints. Andreja's life has been far from ordinary, having arrived in Australia from war-torn Serbia in 2000, when she was just eight years old. She had fled with her mother and older brother Igor Pejic to Melbourne, after having been accepted for immigration into Australia as political refugees. 'They're beginning to look underneath the package': Andreja said it's great to see Bonds and other labels reassessing how they market and advertise their products But despite settling down in the lucky country, Andreja told Stellar magazine on Sunday that she felt like an outsider for some time. 'It was hard to fit in; you felt like an outsider,' she told the publication. Andreja said she worked hard to learn English 'as quickly as possible' because children made fun of her, but as an immigrant child, 'you are different'. Life turned around for the beauty when at the age of 16, Andreja was scouted by a modelling agent when working at a local McDonald's. Familiar faces: Andreja features in Bonds' Intimately campaign, alongside Victoria's Secret model Maia Cotton [pictured], Shanaya Peters and Madeleine Hunt Journey: Andreja was scouted by a modelling agent when working at a local McDonald's at age 16 She became the first androgynous supermodel before coming out as a transgender woman in 2013. Andreja's career has gone from strength to strength, and in 2018, she signed to Ford Models New York, joining an elite roster of models including Brooke Shields, Naomi Campbell and Elle Macpherson. In a previous interview with Forbes, Andreja spoke about the importance of paving the way for transgender awareness in the fashion industry. 'On a personal level, three years ago [2014], I was dropped by a modelling agency after I came out publicly as transgender,' she told the magazine. 'It feels good to go from not even knowing if I would have a future in the modelling business to joining forces with one of the biggest names [Ford Models New York] in the industry,' she added. The Duchess of Sussex's makeup artist has told how he arranged Meghan's wedding day via over text message as the pair were too busy to do a trial run. Daniel Martin told Harper's Bazaar he was too busy to travel to London beforehand so they had no opportunity to practice the look beforehand - despite some 17 million people tuning in to watch the big day. 'I was in New York and she was in London and there was no time because of my crazy schedule to be able to go there,' said Martin, who joined Meghan in New York last week for her lavish baby shower. 'I knew exactly what she wanted and the day of the wedding was just us getting together and doing her make-up like usual.' Scroll down for video The Duchess of Sussex's makeup artist has revealed that her iconic wedding day make-up was decided over text message (Meghan is pictured on her wedding day in May 2018 in Windsor) Daniel Martin (pictured in Hollywood earlier this month) said he wasn't able to get to London before the wedding so had no in person trial run, despite millions tuning in He added: 'I knew she just wanted to be radiant, glowy, and polished with nothing too done. There was so much structure in the dress that I believe if she had any more make-up on, you wouldn't even look at the dress, and that wasn't the intention.' Martin, who works as an ambassador for Dior and has known Meghan for more than a decade, added that he opted for a natural look for the Duchess because of different lighting situations throughout the day. He noted that the makeup would look 'completely different' as the bride rode in the car to the chapel with mother Doria, stood at the altar, and took a carriage ride in the bright sunshine with her new husband. The beauty guru added: 'If I started heavier and she got into the church, her make-up would've looked a lot darker than when you see her in natural light. It was also noon, when the light is at it's highest.' For her evening reception look, a Stella McCartney dress, Daniel opted for a darker make-up look 'because it was the evening and I did more definition on the eyes, making them darker and smokier.' Daniel Martin, pictured, also shared his favourite skin care and make-up tips in the interview with Harper's Bazaar, revealing he is a big fan of Dior, for whom he works as an ambassador Daniel recently shared a picture of the cookies from Meghan's star-studded baby shower in New York, and said he had 'such an incredible day celebrating' Evidently still close to the Duchess, Daniel last week shared a picture of the personalised iced cookies from her baby shower in New York. With the image, he wrote, 'Such an incredible day celebrating,' and added the hashtag '#babylove' with three emojis, showing confetti, a teddy bear and red balloon. Meghan , 37, made a whirlwind trip across the pond to the Empire State in total luxury to celebrate the upcoming birth of her child with Prince Harry with her American friends. The photo Martin posted on Instagram showed cookies shaped and decorated like signature baby shower decor. One delectable-looking snack was garnished to resemble a stork with a small blanket in its beak that looked to be holding a newborn baby, and a second was decorated like a rattle with a bow tied around its handle. Martin noted that Meghan's makeup would look 'completely different' as the bride rode in the car to the chapel with mother Doria (pictured), stood at the altar, and took a carriage ride in the bright sunshine with her new husband in Windsor on May 19 2018 Daniel said that he gave Meghan a darker look for her second dress, to match the evening theme (the bride and groom are pictured leaving Windsor Castle to head to Frogmore House) A third cookie looked like a tiny baby bib, with the word 'baby' written across it in script, so as not to leave a single person a guessing as to what it might be. Markle ended her extravagant $500,000 (377,300) five-night trip to New York City in the most high-flying of ways - by boarding a luxury private jet bound for the United Kingdom, just hours after she was thrown the lavish shower by her closest friends in a $75,000 (-a-night penthouse. The seven-months-pregnant duchess was pictured boarding the private plane on Wednesday evening, less than an hour after she was seen leaving her swanky Upper East Side hotel. The Mark Hotel served as the venue for her star-studded baby shower, which was thrown for her especially by Amal Clooney and Serena Williams. Fashion trends are like the weather they come and go. The speed of change is necessary to keep high-street exciting, and the consumer shopping. Just like fashion, the $5.75 trillion food industry is influenced by a wide range of factors, from personal beliefs and pop culture to health fads. Wondering what to expect from the future of food and drink? FEMAIL rounds up edibles that are currently trending. A SUPERFISH: What a catch: Meet Cod's sexy cousin Alaska Pollock. The mild-flavored lean white fish with a delicate and flaky texture, is not only delicious, but good for you Meet Cod's sexy cousin Alaska Pollock. The mild-flavored lean white fish with a delicate and flaky texture, is not only delicious, but good for you! Not to be confused with Pollock found on the Atlantic coast, it is wild-caught in the icy northern Pacific Ocean and a totally different species. Packed with heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids (good for fighting a wide range of medical conditions, including high cholesterol, diabetes, Alzheimers, and eczema (just to name a few), it is a high protein, low fat fish. A league of it's own: Not to be confused with Pollock found on the Atlantic coast, it is wild-caught in the icy northern Pacific Ocean and a totally different species The perfect fish: Chefs seek out Wild Alaska Pollock for its abundance and sustainability, in addition to its mild taste, tender yet firm texture and cooking versatility From origin to plate, Wild Alaska Pollock is the most abundant and sustainable species on the planet. It's sourced in ways that have less impact on the environment, with strict regulations set for annual catch limits and seasons for Pollock fisheries. It wasn't even commercially fished and sold to consumers until recently. Chefs seek out Wild Alaska Pollock for this, in addition to its mild taste, tender yet firm texture and cooking versatility. Trident Seafoods has been catching Alaska Pollock for 40 years while protecting the oceans in the process. Thanks to the family-owned and-operated business, Wild Caught Alaskan Pollock fish fillets and skillet cuts can now be found in your grocer's freezer. Where to get it: Trident Seafoods has been catching Alaska Pollock for 40 years while protecting the oceans in the process. Thanks to the family-owned and-operated business, Wild Caught Alaskan Pollock fish fillets and skillet cuts can now be found in your grocer's freezer PHOTO FRIENDLY FOODS: Over the rainbow: Let's face it, in today's digital age, food needs to not only taste good, but look good Creative details: Who can resist taking a picture of their adorable Hello Kitty macaroon from Bibble and Sip or of their latte art from Store Fifteen Let's face it, in today's digital age, food needs to not only taste good, but look good. Establishments like Stuffed Ice Cream in New York, Meatzilla in Los Angeles and Store Fifteen in Mornington Australia are serving up some serious photogenic eats. With highly-trafficked Instagram accounts like @foods_beforedudes, @bestfood_aroundtheworld and @food_ilysm devoted to posting #foodporn pics, it's no surprise that we've seen a rise of photo-friendly food options on menus. Who can resist taking a picture of their adorable Hello Kitty macaroon from New York's Bibble and Sip before devouring it? Sure, you can start your day with an ordinary cup of coffee, but it won't get nearly the amount of 'likes' on the gram as a latte topped with beautiful foam hearts. Did someone say burger with fries topped by a pizza bun? Meatzilla: Did someone say burger with fries topped by a pizza bun CBD BASED BEVERAGE: CBD is everywhere lately in skincare, cookies, coffee and even pet products. Toronto and New York based brand, Sweet Reason Beverage Co., launched their trio of hemp cannabidiol (CBD) infused sparkling waters in December 2018. Each 12 oz. bottle of Sweet Reason contains 7mg of pure hemp CBD with no sugar, sweeteners, carbs, sodium or artificial ingredients and only five calories. Focused on health, taste and quality, the brand uses CBD isolate (100% pure CBD) for the best product possible, with well-being benefits including calming the mind, reducing random stress and easing discomfort. 'Sweet Reason is exactly the beverage I want to drink everyday,' said Hilary McCain, Founder and CEO. 'Its delicious, refreshing and comes in a beautiful glass bottle. We are so happy that consumers love the product as much as we do.' Withe three tasty flavors available, including Grapefruit, Cucumber + Mint, Strawberry + Lavender, it's no surprise that the soothing beverage has garnered a cult following. Sweet Reason is available online with free shipping across the United States and in over 150 retail stores, retailing for $6.99 per bottle. Chris Williamson is a very good, very effective Labour MP. Hes a very strong anti-racist campaigner. He is not anti-Semitic in any way. These gushing words of praise were uttered by none other than Jeremy Corbyn during a visit to Williamsons Derby North constituency just three weeks ago. At the time it certainly raised eyebrows among some Labour colleagues. Just one month earlier Williamson had attracted ire from Islington Council, Corbyns local authority, after he shared a petition calling on it to overturn a ban on jazz musician Giltad Atzmon performing in the borough. Atzmon is a brazen anti-Semite. Not only did he blame the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, in which 71 people died, on Jerusalemites, but he has also called for Holocaust denial laws to be reconsidered. Scroll for video Chris Williamson is a very good, very effective Labour MP. Hes a very strong anti-racist campaigner. He is not anti-Semitic in any way. These gushing words of praise were uttered by none other than Jeremy Corbyn during a visit to Williamsons Derby North constituency just three weeks ago Following the ban, Williamson jumped to his defence. When the Labour Party was challenged about this, a spokesman branded Atzmon a vile anti-Semite and Williamson was forced to apologise. Corbyns failure to recall this incident deeply troubled mainstream Labour MPs, many of whom found it inconceivable that their leader was unaware of Williamsons support for an anti-Jewish bigot. But then Williamson, long one of Corbyns most vocal cheerleaders, has form for deliberately causing offence to the Jewish community. And his suspension from the Labour Party yesterday following his claim that it had been too apologetic over accusations of anti-Semitism triggered little surprise among his colleagues. Just this week, he had tried to arrange a screening in Parliament of Witch Hunt, a film defending activist Jackie Walker who herself is suspended from the party after she alleged Jews financed the slave trade. The truth is that, wherever theres an anti-Semitism scandal in the Labour Party, a whiff of Williamson is never far behind. When it was revealed last year that Corbyn had visited a Tunisian cemetery in 2014 to attend a ceremony honouring Palestinian terrorists linked to the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, it was Williamson who was his most resolute defender. No sooner had the Mail printed a photo of Corbyn holding a wreath, than Williamson accused the media of smearing his comrade. It was Williamson who then allegedly encouraged Corbyn to complain to the Press regulator Ipso. It was seen at the time as a diversion strategy and indeed it was quietly dropped by Corbyn two months later. Williamson didnt get the memo. Apart from his brief time on the front bench, he has never held a formal role in the party hierarchy. However, as Corbyns most reliable backbencher and confidante, he wields enormous influence and is a trusted member of his informal inner circle. So furious was he that Corbyn was still being criticised over the cemetery allegations, he went on BBC2s Newsnight to defend him in a car crash interview in which he was asked nine times whether his leader had laid the wreath at the grave of the terrorists. He obfuscated, he huffed, he puffed. But Williamson couldnt provide an answer. The debacle hasnt stopped Williamson, 62, from taking it upon himself to defend activists with a habit for making problematic statements about Jewish people. Last year, he spoke up for former party member Scott Nelson, who was expelled after tweeting about workers abroad being exploited by Jewish companies with Jewish blood. Williamson had attracted ire from Islington Council, Corbyns local authority, after he shared a petition calling on it to overturn a ban on jazz musician Giltad Atzmon performing in the borough. Atzmon is a brazen anti-Semite. Not only did he blame the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, in which 71 people died, on Jerusalemites, but he has also called for Holocaust denial laws to be reconsidered Williamson immediately pronounced that it was a smear. When presented with the evidence of Nelsons words, he urged critics to give him a chance. When Jewish MP Ruth Smeeth was reduced to tears after Labour activist Marc Wadsworth subjected her to vile abuse at the launch of the partys anti-Semitism review in 2016, many party colleagues marched in solidarity with her back to Parliament. Not so Chris Williamson, who defended Wadsworth, who is black, claiming his critics were white privileged. Williamsons skewed moral principles dont just manifest themselves in his blinkered approach to Labours Jewish problem. Following the Salisbury Novichok poisoning last year, he echoed the line put out by the Kremlin and its British propaganda channel Russia Today that the tragedy had been conjured up by the Government. Hes also an unabashed champion of the discredited Nicolas Maduros dictatorship in Venezuela. Williamson can certainly boast authentic Labour credentials. A vegan for some 40 years, he worked as a bricklayer, a social worker, and a welfare rights officer. A father of two, his wife of seven years Lonny died in 2004 while awaiting a lung transplant. He was a councillor and twice served as leader of Derby Council before he became an MP in 2010. He lost to the Tories in 2015 but was re-elected in 2017 and became spokesman for the fire service under Corbyn. But he resigned though many would argue he was sacked for suggesting council tax bills for the highest value homes in England should be doubled. His enthusiasm for Corbyn was undimmed by his fall from grace. He told the BBC: Jeremy Corbyn is a very close friend of mine, a good comrade ... the best leader this party has ever had and I include in that Clem Attlee. Last summer, he organised a tour of constituencies whose MPs who are not ardent supporters of Corbyn. By doing so, many of his more moderate colleagues thought he was inciting the deselection of moderate MPs. When Joan Ryan became the eighth Labour MP to quit the party last week, Williamson spared no time in marching over to her office. Standing outside her door, he belted out Celebration by Kool and the Gang. For many Labour MPs, it was simply further confirmation that Williamson is a stain on their party. Now that he has been suspended, some pray it will be the end of him. But most are not as optimistic, and are merely counting the days until Corbyns most vile attack dog is let off the hook yet again. When I was born in Egypt at the end of World War II, the daughter of a German-Jewish father and Austrian-Jewish mother, Jews were still being exterminated in Hitlers gas chambers. I grew up thinking that we would never forget them. Yet over 70 years later, the Labour Party is not only infected by the cancer of anti-Semitism but is signally failing to address it. Yesterday, my colleague Chris Williamson, the MP for Derby North, issued a half-hearted apology after footage emerged in which he suggests that the Labour Party has been too apologetic over accusations of anti-Semitism. Williamsons own apology was an exercise in duplicitous fudging: There have been very few cases of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, was a sentence he slipped into his statement, no doubt in an attempt to save face. The Labour Party is not only infected by the cancer of anti-Semitism but is signally failing to address it, Margaret Hodge (pictured) writes Chris Williamson (pictured), the MP for Derby North, issued a half-hearted apology after footage emerged in which he suggests that the Labour Party has been too apologetic over accusations of anti-Semitism. He hoped his words would help him avoid disciplinary action. But they have failed to do so He clearly hoped his words would help him avoid disciplinary action. But they have failed to do so. I wrote to the Chief Whip and to Jeremy Corbyn to insist that an immediate suspension takes place, which has now thankfully happened. A zero-tolerance approach to anti-Semitism means there can be no space for Chris Williamsons hateful rhetoric. This man has a history of supporting anti-Semitic activists and denying anti-Semitism. Tough action is the only way to stop him. The battle to destroy the cancer of anti-Semitism in British society has always been important to me, and I congratulate the Mail for campaigning vigorously against it. I owe it not least to my maternal grandmother, who was shot dead by the Nazis at the gates of a Lithuanian concentration camp. In a poignant last letter to her son, my uncle, she twice used the phrase please do not forget me completely. On my fathers side of the family, I had an uncle who was killed in Auschwitz. Fourteen years ago, I managed to bring myself to visit that awful reminder of the atrocities of the Holocaust and, in a pile of suitcases housed within a display case, I saw one bearing his initials, RH. I have no idea whether it belonged to him, Richard Haas so very many people were killed there. But I will never forget my feeling of complete helplessness during that utterly chilling moment. Nor will I forget the reason that, after the end of the war, my family eventually left Egypt: a stone was thrown through a window at my fathers small factory in what was clearly an act of anti-Semitism. He was determined to get us out before there is a second Holocaust and Britain was the first country to accept us. Like him, I will be eternally grateful to the UK, which acts as a beacon of tolerance across the world. But I have never quite lost that feeling of being an outsider. That was partly the reason why I joined Labour 56 years ago; the party which fought racism, that stood for equality and which promoted international solidarity. Of course, there has always been anti-Semitism on the hard Left, just as there is on the extreme Right. But in those days, it was on the fringes. Now, thanks to Corbyns supporters apparent inability to distinguish between being Jewish and being an ardent supporter of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it is in the mainstream. Ms Hodge, Labour MP for Barking, writes: The battle to destroy the cancer of anti-Semitism in British society has always been important to me, and I congratulate the Mail for campaigning vigorously against it I, for example, have always believed in the importance of having a nation state for the Jewish people. But that hasnt stopped me being a persistent critic of successive Israeli governments, over their treatment of Palestinians. In the Labour Party I joined, Chris Williamsons anti-Semitic vitriol would have been eradicated immediately. But, so far, Jeremy has turned a blind eye to it. Williamson is one of Jeremys closest political allies and one of the most vocal supporters of his leadership. In the past, Williamson has described the insistence that Labour has a problem with anti-Jewish racism as a dirty lowdown trick which was being used for political ends. His latest comments which earned him his suspension came just hours after he booked a House of Commons room to screen a film sympathetic to Jackie Walker, an activist suspended from the party after she said that Jews had controlled the slave trade. When I confronted Jeremy about anti-Semitism in the corridors of the Houses of Parliament and told him to his face what I and many others were feeling that he is making it very difficult for Jewish people to stay in the Labour Party it was me who faced disciplinary action. Fortunately, that was quickly dismissed, even though Labours lawyers including Lord Charlie Falconer, former Lord Chancellor under Tony Blair did their utmost to intimidate me and force me to apologise. I will never be silenced on this issue. Last week, three of my closest colleagues Joan Ryan, Ann Coffey and Luciana Berger chose to leave the Party and, although that is a decision which I mourn and respect, I have no intention of following them. I have always believed that the best way to bring about change within an institution is from within and thats why I am calling on Jeremy to show, once and for all, that anti-Semitism will no longer be tolerated in the party I love. He needs to realise that we are at a turning point. The protracted delay in deciding to suspend Chris Williamson will demonstrate yet again that Jeremy simply doesnt understand the importance of combating anti-Semitism. A zero-tolerance approach to anti-Semitism is the first essential step in ensuring that we erase this stain. Only then can Labour become the defender of those who have been subjected to inhumane treatment for no other reason than their race, their ethnicity and religion rather than the party that leaves me, as a Jew, despairing more than ever before. This is the age of diversity, or so we are always being told. An age where colour, size, gender, sexual orientation no longer matter, where notions of oppression and exploitation are swept away by global movements such as #MeToo. Everywhere you look, in print, across social media, on prime-time TV, individuals who buck the stereotypes are proudly proclaiming their right to be relevant. Diversity is the new black. Last week British model Edie Campbell, 28, (5ft 10in, 24-and-a-half inch waist) was told she was too big to open a show at Milan fashion week. Campbell (pictured) at the Philosophy Di Lorenzo Serafini show at Milan Fashion Week, last week Campbell didnt name and shame the brand that rejected her - but it could be any of the big labels With one notable exception: high fashion. When it comes to clothes and especially couture the catwalks are still hopelessly hung up on an impossible notion of what constitutes beauty. And it is literally the narrowest definition. Despite countless denunciations, promises and corporate hand-wringing, designers are still selecting and promoting extreme thin-ness as a benchmark of style. Only last week British model Edie Campbell, 28, (5ft 10in, 24-and-a-half inch waist) was told she was too big to open a show at Milan fashion week. And by too big I dont mean too famous, she joked to her Instagram followers, posting a picture of herself tucking into a croissant. I mean too fat. Campbell didnt name and shame the brand that rejected her but it could be any of the big labels. They all indulge in the use of perilously skinny models, seemingly unable to kick their addiction, returning endlessly to the same aesthetic of gaunt cheekbones and rickety knees, like an alcoholic to the bottle. The latest to fall off the wagon is Yves Saint Laurent. Owned by parent company Kering which also encompasses Gucci, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and Bottega Veneta YSL pledged in 2017 to restrict use of super-thin models. In the words of Kerings billionaire chairman Francois-Henri Pinault, they wanted to inspire the entire industry to follow suit. If the latest pictures from Paris Fashion Week (pictured) are anything to go by, theyve a funny way of showing it In the words of Kerings billionaire chairman Francois-Henri Pinault, they wanted to inspire the entire industry to follow suit. If the latest pictures from Paris Fashion Week are anything to go by, theyve a funny way of showing it. Not since the Nineties so-called heroin chic have I seen such a disturbing collection of knobbly knees, emaciated calf muscles, jutting collarbones and sunken eyes. Whats worse is that the clothes are styled to make the girls look even skinnier. Oversized jackets with disproportionate shoulders that emphasise the girls twig-like legs; huge bows over scrawny chests; voluminous shorts and baggy leather boots topping and tailing reed-thin thighs. On a real person, these shapes would look clown-like. The entire collection seems to revel in the impossibility of anyone with the barest hint of a bosom or a bottom being able to wear a single one of these creations without looking like an undercooked sausage trapped in a jam-jar. We all know fashion at this level is a chance for designers to express their more daring side, to create a fashion fantasy, if you like. But what we see here is no dream; its the stuff of nightmares. Its not only that it plays into the idea of ultra thin-ness as a benchmark for beauty, with all the potential for harm eating disorders, low self-esteem that entails. Clothes are styled to make the girls look even skinnier. Oversized jackets with disproportionate shoulders that emphasise the girls twig-like legs, writes Sarah Vine Its also that it shows a lack of respect for the female form in all its shapes and sizes. It reduces women to a single, narrow stereotype one few of us would be able to achieve, even if we wanted to. Thus fashion, which ought to be a source of inspiration, if not fun, becomes instead a source of misery, just another stick with which women and particularly young girls, who care more about these sorts of things than grumpy middle-aged journalists must beat themselves. The irony is that as well as doing us no favours, this kind of look does fashion no favours either. Because it plays into the prevailing narrative that all fashion houses are run by misogynists who despise ordinary women and design for their own narrow definition of what they find alluring. We are dealing with a deeply ingrained culture in an industry that, for all the fine words and gestures, is as rampantly sexist as Harvey Weinstein, and just as unrepentant. It suits fashion to keep things as they are not least because designing for rail-thin waifs is easier (and cheaper) than catering for curves, which requires expertise, training and talent. Why bother with that when you can bully women into hating themselves then flog them the solution? Theresa Mays statement in the Commons yesterday has been described as a surrender or a U-turn or a humiliation. The woman who has repeatedly declared that Britain will leave the EU on March 29 was forced to concede that we may, after all, extricate ourselves three months later. Some will question whether we will ever get out. I certainly do. So it is very tempting to mark this down as one more mistake by the Prime Minister to add to the many errors of which she has undoubtedly been guilty during the whole lamentable Brexit process. Theresa May made a statement to the House of Commons yesterday amid pressure from some of her own ministers to delay Brexit Rampant But then we must ask: what else could she have done if she wants, as she obviously does, to keep the Government in one piece? She was put in an impossible situation by insurgent Remainer ministers who threatened to resign unless she took No Deal off the table and postponed the departure date. In this I believe the impatient rebel ministers were much mistaken. Of course they are right to be frightened of No Deal, even though one may wonder whether rampant scare stories are not being grossly overdone. But neither Mrs May nor Parliament was ever going to allow No Deal. It was a necessary fiction its sole purpose to nudge the EU into making last-minute concessions over the so-called Backstop. A good comparison is Britains independent nuclear deterrent. Our enemies can be almost certain that no British PM would ever dare use it; but not entirely so. All that is needed for it to be effective is one per cent of doubt. The rebellious ministers Amber Rudd, Greg Clark, David Gauke and those further down the food chain have destroyed the tiny sliver of doubt that might have been sufficient to persuade Brussels that Britain might, just might, leave without a deal, which is an outcome the EU certainly doesnt want. Now a vote is scheduled for March 13 which will establish what we all knew but should not be declared in absolute terms namely that there is a strong majority in the Commons against No Deal. Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd (middle), Justice Secretary David Gauke (left) and Business minister Claire Perry (right) would like Theresa May to rule out No Deal And once that position has been needlessly clarified to the satisfaction of Jean-Claude Juncker, Donald Tusk and the rest, another vote would follow which would, if passed, as seems probable, keep us in the EU for three more months. And what exactly will be achieved by that? What miraculous solutions to intractable problems are likely to emerge? None, of course. Its true that Mrs May yesterday did not rule out No Deal at the end of an extension period, but Brussels now knows the Government does not have the heart for it. It seems very likely that during these three months the will to leave the EU would wither still further, while the arguments in favour of a Peoples Vote would strengthen, supported with ever increasing enthusiasm by the Labour Front Bench, now that it has cynically embraced the cause. How they must be smirking in Brussels! Such leverage as we had has been destroyed by Remainer ministers who insisted on making clear what should have been left in doubt. Meanwhile, we may find ourselves in a kind of limbo, which I suspect would act as a bridge to our staying in the EU. These rebellious Remainer ministers have proved themselves far more deadly in ambushing and suborning the Prime Minister than their noisy Brexiteer counterparts. Boris Johnson, David Davis and Dominic Raab flounced out of the Cabinet and withdrew grandiloquently from the field of battle. Beady-eyed Remainers stayed and fought and have succeeded in bending Mrs May to their will. Except that there is still one last chance for us to leave the EU and honour the democratic vote of 17.4 million people which took place on how long ago it seems! June 23, 2016. Knowledgeable pundits are already prophesying that when Mrs Mays dog-eared deal returns to the Commons on March 12, it will again be resoundingly defeated. Possibly a few bells and whistles will be added to it as a result of the exertions of Geoffrey Cox, the orotund attorney-general, and Steve Barclay, the Brexit Secretary, during their continuing talks with EU panjandrums in Brussels. But whether a cast-iron, legally impregnable codicil will be agreed that demonstrates to all concerned that we cant be kept in a Backstop arrangement and the Customs Union against our will well, that may be doubted. As I have said, now that the threat of No Deal is about to be formally removed from the table, such willingness as Brussels may have had to be accommodating could vanish. Purist So when the vote takes place in less than two weeks time, it may be that what is on offer doesnt appear much more enticing to purist Brexiteers than it did when the Government experienced the greatest defeat ever in parliamentary history in the middle of January. The initial reaction of the Brexiteers to Mrs Mays volte-face has hardly been encouraging. Jacob Rees-Mogg (who perhaps fittingly was performing in front of a rapturous audience last night at the London Palladium) has muttered of a plot to stop Brexit. Meanwhile, in todays Mail, former Brexit secretary David Davis uses uncharacteristically strong language to accuse the PM of capitulating to blackmail by Tory Remainers. Jacob Rees-Mogg is the leader of the hardline European Research Group of Brexiteers in Parliament And yet despite these inauspicious signs, I hope and I pray that the Brexiteers, some of whom I admire, will swallow their reservations in the name of pragmatism. The March 12 vote will almost certainly be their last opportunity to achieve Brexit in any shape or form. Of course Mrs Mays deal is badly flawed. Without any doubt it offers less than the clean break for which many of us yearned following the referendum result. Betrayed On the other hand, it would unequivocally take us out of the EU, and give us control over our fishing, our farming, our borders and our trade policy. Ultimately, we would escape the long hand of the European Court. If you had told any of these disgruntled Brexiteers five or ten years ago that such an outcome might be achievable, they would have grabbed it incredulously with both hands. The day after Britons voted to get out of the EU, I suggested to a friend who is a prominent Brexiteer that the political class would never let us leave. He agreed and added that democracy would be betrayed if the vote wasnt honoured, though at least the whole episode would deliver a shock to those who rule over us. Im not sure how shocked they would be to get their way. Theyre used to it, after all. But its now clear that those intimations of a stitch-up were well-founded. And now it really is five minutes to midnight. Battered, brave and, lets be honest, flawed like her deal Mrs May is still trying to honour the wishes of those who voted for Brexit because she believes in the democratic ideal. The Brexiteers can call it a sell-out, if they like. They can complain as much as they want. This is the only chance we will have to leave the EU. There wont be another. Were there ever a need for confident and decisive government, it is now. The Prime Minister appears to be encircled. Mutinous ministers write articles for the Daily Mail in which they threaten to quit, the Labour Party opportunistically rallies for a second referendum, breaking its promises to the electorate, and parliamentary plotters aim to break centuries of convention and good practice to seize control of the executive away from our Government. I would not blame the Prime Minister if she felt isolated. Who could blame her for looking for a way out? The right playbook however is Churchills. Keep buggering on. This is not the time to capitulate, to fold and to be defeatist. Now is the time to stand firm and hold our nerve. Mrs Mays announcement yesterday in which she conceded two Commons votes on Brexit in mid March is the wrong move. It sends the wrong message to the EU. Opening up the possibility of ruling out No Deal, or extending Article 50, may harm our negotiating position. 'I would not blame the Prime Minister if she felt isolated. Who could blame her for looking for a way out? The right playbook however is Churchills. Keep buggering on,' writes David Davis. Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street to address Parliament on Tuesday As we enter the end game in negotiations with the EU, it would be folly of the highest magnitude to take No Deal off the table now because it takes away our leverage in negotiations and is against our national interest. Lets be honest. Many of those who want to take No Deal off the table are not seeking to ensure the UK obtains the optimum Brexit deal. Their real agenda is to block Brexit or secure one which is little more than a Brexit in name only. Various Commons amendments drawn up by Labours Yvette Cooper in discussion with some Conservative Remainers, which would veto a No-Deal outcome, were wrecking amendments that would leave a poisonous constitutional legacy and break the solemn commitments made in the Conservatives 2017 election manifesto. Jeremy Corbyns support only reinforces my view of this. It is time instead to focus on what actually unites our Government, our party and our country. Record numbers of Britons who voted for Brexit want it delivered on time. Above all we all want an orderly exit from the European Union. The Haltemprice and Howden writes: 'Mrs Mays announcement yesterday in which she conceded two Commons votes on Brexit in mid March is the wrong move. It sends the wrong message to the EU. Opening up the possibility of ruling out No Deal, or extending Article 50, may harm our negotiating position.' Mr Davis is pictured at the launch of a proposed UK-EU free trade agreement in London on February 6 The public has always been ahead of and more relaxed on No Deal than politicians. They are right to be. An anonymous civil servant recently said there are hundreds of No-Deal plans across all government departments just waiting for the green light from ministers to be made public. I know this to be true. Most of it I initiated in my first days as Brexit Secretary. It will be a sad day indeed if British politicians show such contempt for the public, and I fear the electoral consequences for my own party. For MPs now to try to blackmail the Government into surrendering its negotiating position, rip up constitutional conventions and seize control of the executive in order to obstruct Brexit, is an abuse of the parliamentary process and an affront to democracy. If MPs use the enormous powers they enjoy to thwart the expressed will of the people, that is a constitutional travesty. Such a blatant dismissal of the wishes of the public is contempt for democracy and for millions of Britons. Conservatism is based on pragmatism and realism. Which is precisely why we should now hold our nerve and see these negotiations through. The passing of the Commons amendment by Conservative MP Sir Graham Brady last month with its legally binding changes to the Northern Ireland backstop showed the way forward for the Prime Minister. It showed that there is a majority in Parliament for an improved EU withdrawal agreement and orderly Brexit. What on earth will be the consequences for our party if we dont do this? Only this weekend the Conservatives national convention voted overwhelmingly in favour of leaving No Deal on the table and no delay to Brexit. It said scuppering the UKs departure from the EU would damage democracy and our party for a generation. We must unify the party around the Brexit the British people clearly voted for and offer them the optimistic future they deserve. It is also in our national interest. The Prime Minister should ignore those ministers currently having a panic attack about the prospects of No Deal. Their fears are certainly exaggerated. More critically, while No Deal might might be economically difficult, No Brexit would be a democratic disaster. Ignore the saboteurs, the wreckers, and the blackmailers. Dont concede ground. Free our minds of doubt and danger. We can achieve it. Hold our nerve and deliver what we promised. On TV the other day there was a showing of Tom Cruises Edge Of Tomorrow, a pacey sci-fi thriller in which our hero must save the world from aliens. He is forced to relive the same day over and over again, the day restarting every time he dies. Eventually, on his umpteen-millionth attempt, Cruise emerges victorious. He and Emily Blunt have a passionate clinch. Job done. Fade out. The end. Roll credits. Over the past three months, a similar plotline has played out in the House of Commons on almost a weekly basis. Except, as yet, its not job done. No fade out. No end. No roll credits. Prime Minister Theresa May poses with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker during a summit between Arab league and European Union member states (file photo) What we have seen is Theresa May returning endlessly with minute changes to her Brexit plan, looking for just a hint of approval from MPs. Then splat! Back to square one we go again. The trouble is, however many times she tries, she seems to get no closer to reaching her goal. Yesterdays announcement of a Commons vote, which could lead to Brexit being delayed until June, undoubtedly buys her time. But times not what she needs. She needs a deal. We could be in for another three months of this hoo-ha. Sadly, the pattern of these PM statements is eerily predictable. She insists she remains committed to securing the best deal possible. She says shes making progress with her EU counterparts. Everyone is genuinely worried that time is running out to get a Brexit deal approved etc etc. In Tom Cruises Edge Of Tomorrow Cruise emerges victorious. He and Emily Blunt have a passionate clinch. Job done. Fade out. The end. Roll credits. Over the past three months, a similar plotline has played out in the House of Commons on almost a weekly basis. Except, as yet, its not job done. No fade out. No end. No roll credits. The Tories Peter Bone (Wellingborough) captured the mood perfectly when he sarcastically pointed out that the PM has said 108 times we will leave the EU on March 29. And there was a vaudevillian moment when Mrs May was mocked for uttering the Simples meerkat catchphrase from the TV comparison site advert after she called on the SNPs Westminster leader to vote for her deal. Jeremy Corbyn, fresh from thrashing out his own awkward deal with his party by opening the door for a second referendum, was a gale of overblown jibes. Incompetent, shambolic and grotesquely reckless were among those he lobbed in for good measure. Then he sat down and fiddled with his mobile phone for the rest of the session. At one point, his redoubtable education spokesman Angela Rayner (Ashton-under-Lyne) perched next to him, making an urgent lunge for a piece of Parliamentary writing paper from the table in front. Did she need to scribble a billet-doux to her Dear Leader? Alas, no. She was (ugh!) looking for somewhere to put her chewed bubblegum. Elsewhere, all was tediously predictable. Jess Phillips (Lab, Birmingham Yardley) hissing and barracking the PM with shrieks of Spineless! Hilary Benn (Lab, Leeds Central) twisting and contorting like a constipated dowager. Out front, 87-year-old Dennis Skinner (Lab, Bolsover) dozing, a model of detachment and disinterest. The only novelty was a surprisingly short new mop for Boris Johnson (Con, Uxbridge and South Ruislip). At the other end of the Tories EU spectrum, Ken Clarke (Rushcliffe) made the reasonable point that by delaying matters for three months, Parliament would continue in the present pantomime. Oh yes, and there was another group who will be desperate for a mention. The newbies from The Independent Group were out in force. Salty Anna Soubry (Ind, Broxtowe) enjoyed the new geography of the Commons seating plan and noted: Some of us who were sitting over there are now sitting over here. Do you want her back? roared a mischievous Labour heckler. Response: Noooo! La Soubrys turncoat colleague Heidi Allen (Ind, South Cambridgeshire), an excitable tomcat last week, now sat glum and cross-armed throughout. Having second thoughts, perhaps? Sunbury, PA (17801) Today Mixed clouds and sun this morning. Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 94F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms mainly during the evening. Low 69F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Ashland, KY (41101) Today Mostly cloudy skies this morning followed by thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 86F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. New York state Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston, is interviewed at the Daily Freeman office in Kingston, N.Y., on Feb. 6, 2019. The following items are based on information provided by officials in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. GOSHEN, N.Y. Legoland's request for up to $1 million per year from Orange County to market the theme park being built in Goshen won't be tak The international community, including Moscow, is concerned over the tensions in relations between India and Pakistan. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has expressed hope for the de-escalation of the situation in relations between India and Pakistan, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released after a meeting between the Russian top diplomat and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj in Chinas Wuzhen on the sidelines of the Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Russia, India and China. "The Russian side expressed hope for the de-escalation of the situation between India and Pakistan," the ministry stressed. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is keeping an eye on the situation. "We are highly concerned about recent developments and are keeping an eye on the situation. We call on the parties to exercise restraint," TASS cited Peskov as saying. Tensions along the Line of Control, which separates the two countries' armed forces in Kashmir, flared on February 14, when an attack on an Indian paramilitary convoy in Jammu and Kashmir killed 45. The Jaish-e-Mohammed group, which aims at separating Kashmir from India and bringing it under Pakistans control, claimed responsibility for the attack. New Delhi accused Islamabad of supporting terrorists who allegedly carry out raids into Indias territory from Pakistan-based camps. In addition, India claimed to have evidence proving that the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies could be behind the attack. Pakistan rejected these accusations. On February 26, India carried out an air strike on this groups camp in the part of Kashmir that is controlled by Pakistan. Today, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) responded with strikes on military facilities in Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi and Islamabad also stated that they downed each others planes during the air fight. Major General Asif Ghafoor, a spokesman for the Pakistan armed forces, said this morning that Pakistan armed forces shotdown two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. According to him, one Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area. Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar acknowledged the loss of a jet and its pilot. He also said that an Indian plane had shot down a Pakistani fighter jet and Indian ground forces observed it falling on the Pakistani side of the LoC. KINGSTON, N.Y. Ulster County voters might have a choice after all when they go to the polls in late April to elect an interim county executive. 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. A new bill intended to impose additional sanctions with respect to Russia was published on the U.S. Congress website. The Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act (DASKAA) of 2019 was introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham, Cory Gardner, as well as Bob Menendez, Ben Cardin and Jeanne Shaheen on February 13. The reintroduced version of DASKA has some new provisions, Interfax reported. The authors of the bill proposed to prohibit U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with Russian sovereign debt issued after the date that is 90 days after such date of enactment (by the Central Bank, the National Wealth Fund, or the Federal Treasury of the Russian Federation) with a maturity of more than 14 days. According to the bill, the sanctions should be imposed with respect to any Russian financial institution that the President determines has provided "support for interference by the Government of the Russian Federation in the democratic process or elections of any country other than the Russian Federation." The senators propose to impose sanctions on investment in Russian LNG projects outside of Russia, having a fair market value of $1,000,000 or more; or having an aggregate fair market value of $5,000,000 or more during a 12-month period. According to the bill, the sanctions should be imposed on "political figures, oligarchs, and family members and other persons that facilitate illicit and corrupt activities, directly or indirectly, on behalf of Vladimir Putin." In addition, sanctions on Russias shipbuilding sector were proposed. The senior research fellow at the European Research Centre of the International Relations Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Olenchenko, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, noted in the first place that this is a draft bill, which will be adjusted. "They put forward the maximum, because they understand that in order to achieve what they want, they will have to corrected some points," the expert said. In his opinion, "many observers and experts agree that, probably, one of the draft law's goals is to influence the development of Russia's LNG industry" He also drew attention to the fact that there is an attempt to continue interference in Ukrainian affairs. "They always try to present us as a party in Ukraine's turmoil and devastation. I think that the point on Ukraine is aimed at supporting Poroshenkos candidacy in the upcoming elections," the expert believes. Speaking about the possible consequences of these sanctions, he stressed that they should not be both underestimated and overestimated. "First, we already have some experience with sanctions. Second, in our actions we take into account what they can do. But the sanctions cannot be underestimated because they really bind us in many things. This factor should be further studied," the senior research fellow at the European Research Centre of the International Relations Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences concluded. The head of the department of stock markets and financial engineering of the Faculty of Finance and the Banking Business of RANEPA, former deputy chairman of the Central Bank of Russia Konstantin Korischenko, in turn, said that this is just a draft bill yet. "The last draft bill was not adopted, and this one also has every chance of not being adopted. And the added provisions, in principle are the same, except for the LNG restriction," the expert noted. Mary Lou Harrison, age 96, made her journey home to meet the Lord on June 27, 2021 surrounded by her family. Mary Lou was born and raised in Carters, Georgia. After marriage, she was a lifelong resident of Murray County. Mary Lou enjoyed cooking and planting gardens. She prepared and canned BETH ANN MILLER bamiller@ourtownjohnstown.com Four Cambria County business leaders are being recognized in April for the significant contributions they have made, both personally and professionally, to the local community. Scott Becker, Robert J. Eyer, the late Jeanne W. McKelvey and Carl Sax were named as 2019 Greater Johnstown/Cambria County Business Hall of Fame laureates during a press conference Feb. 26 at the Cambria Regional Chamber office in downtown Johnstown. Jackie Kulback, chief financial officer and controller for Gautier Steel, Ltd. and 2019 chairwoman of the Business Hall of Fame awards, announced the honorees. Eyer, Sax and William G. McKelvey, husband of Jeanne McKelvey, were present for the announcement. Kulback said the Business Hall of Fame is a great evening in which to honor local business professionals who are no longer active in their former businesses or are at least 65 years of age for their own contributions, as well as their willingness to mentor the areas next group of business leaders. These men and women have been in the community, contributing and engaging and inspiring people, she said. Its a great event to honor people who have committed a large portion of their life to making their businesses, and more importantly, their community, better. The significant contributions that theyve made really do need to be honored. The 28th annual Greater Johnstown/Cambria County Business Hall of Fame awards dinner takes place April 12 at the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center along Napoleon Street. The evening starts with a reception at 6:15 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. The event is co-sponsored by the chamber and Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania. Reservations are due by March 22. For ticket information call the chamber at 814-536-5107 or Junior Achievement at 814-266-2125. Becker is the former president and CEO of Conemaugh Health System. In that role, he helped lead the countys largest employer through its acquisition by Duke LifePoint Healthcare in 2014. Before joining Conemaugh in 2005, he served in a number of leadership positions in the Pittsburgh area, including Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the Butler Regional Health System and Monongahela Valley Hospital. He is currently a national consultant and speaker on health care strategic planning and quality. His community involvement locally has included Vision 2025, United Way of the Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania Special Olympics Winter Games, Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Advisory Board, 1889 Foundation and the Steeples Project. Eyer is a shareholder emeritus at Wessel & Co., an accounting firm with offices in Johnstown, Ebensburg and Bedford. He is a native of Ashville who served with the military in Vietnam, then began a career in accounting with a national firm in Ohio. He returned to Cambria County to work as an accountant at Wessel & Co., then became head of the firm in 1982 after the death of the original owner Charles Wessel. Wessel & Co. employs approximately 50 people and is the largest accounting firm between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg. He has served on numerous local boards and organizations, and has also contributed his time to efforts that recognize and support area veterans. Eyer said he was honored to be included among the host of business people who have made a difference in this community. As I look back through the history (of) 25 years of people being inducted, Im just humbly honored to be included along with their names, he said. Its a nice tribute. The people that are included in the list are people that have made a contribution to this community and the quality of life of our area. For me, when I moved back here, I simply had to follow in the footsteps of a well-worn path of other leaders. I believe you dont have to be the ultimate leader to get things done; a good leader is also a good follower. So thats the role I play. McKelvey, who died in June of 2015, was the owner, director, vice president and legal counsel for McKelvey Oil Co. and an owner and director for MountainTop Technologies. She earned degrees in medical technology, biochemistry and law from the University of Pittsburgh, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Dickinson School of Law. In her professional career, she worked at Conemaugh Valley Memorial Hospital, the Red Crosss Johnstown Regional Blood Center, the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and St. Francis University. Her community service included extensive involvement with the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center and the Windber Research Institute, 1st Summit Bank, Hiram G. Andrews Center, the Pitt-Johnstown Foundation for Campus Ministry and the universitys alumni association. McKelvey was also an accomplished musician, a private mission-qualified instrument rated pilot and the first woman to be appointed as national controller of the Civil Air Patrol. Her husband, William G. McKelvey, plans to attend the dinner and accept the award on his wifes behalf. Sax has lived and worked in Johnstown all of his life. He started working at the age of 13, first at a haberdashery (mens clothing store) and then at a drugstore, both in the Morrellville section of the city. He graduated from Johnstown High School and earned a degree in engineering from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. He worked in various engineering positions at U.S. Steel from 1958 to 1988, then was executive vice president and general manager at Penn Machine in Ferndale from 1988 to 1997. He then moved to Kuchera Defense Systems, where he was executive vice president and general manager until 2010. Kuchera was acquired by API Technologies that same year, and at that time Sax became the companys president and CEO. He now works as a consultant, specializing in business development and manufacturing processes. Sax has been involved in many community organizations over the years, including Junior Achievement, where he started the first Junior Achievement company sponsored by U.S. Steel (from 1969 to 1972) and was a past chairman for the organizations fundraising campaign. Other organizations he has been involved with include the former Mercy Hospital, Penns Woods Council Boy Scouts of America, JARI Defense Business Council, University of Pittsburgh Advisory Board, Concurrent Technologies Corp., Ameriserv Financial and the former Johnstown Savings Bank. He said being chosen to the Business Hall of Fame was an honor, both for himself and his family. For a little kid from Morrellville, the last of 11 children, to make the Hall of Fame, I am truly, truly humbled, Sax said. Its a true honor; an honor not only for me but for my wife and my family all my kids, my mom and my dad, so its a biggie. He has enjoyed his work during the last 70 years, especially for the friendships hes made and the contributions of his fellow employees. In addition to (friendships made), Im happy for the fact that we created jobs, he said. In 2005, our company (Kuchera Defense), our employees were nominated out of 27 million small businesses (and) we were No. 1 in the nation. The remarkable part about that, and what Im most proud of (is) 57 percent of the people, the employees, that built all that were disabled, and 37 percent of our entire staff are disabled. Thats a remarkable feat. When they said, It couldnt be done, its never been done before, well, it can. It takes a long time, thats what I wasnt prepared for how long it took to train the people, but once they got it, it was amazing. So to me, it was a personal satisfaction that a little kid from Morrellville could get through all that and still contribute and pay it forward. Thats what Id like to do, pay it forward, as long as I can. KAYLA PONGRAC Our Town Correspondent A self-made multimillionaire and Johnstown resident decided to use his fortune to change the lives of people residing in his community. He did just that throughout his life, and hes still doing that over a decade after his death. The late Abe Beerman, born in April 1916, founded and operated Beerman Auto Supply for 40 years. An active community member, he was involved with Johnstown Area Heritage Association, aka JAHA. He was also president of Free Loan Society and one of the founding board members of Community Foundation of the Alleghenies. A member of Beth Sholom Congregation, Beerman was vice president of United Jewish Federation of Johnstown. He was inducted into the Greater Johnstown/Cambria County Business Hall of Fame in 2006. A great amount of the wealth that Abe and his wife, Janet, were able to accumulate in their lifetime by working hard was given to charity, said Katrina Perkosky, development associate at the foundation. Since Beerman believed in the foundations mission of promoting local philanthropy, he established three separate funds with them: Blanche Beerman Holocaust Museum Fund; The Abe and Janet Beerman Fund; and The Janet Beerman Free Dental Clinic Fund. The first was created to give local students a transformative experience by sending them on an all-expenses paid trip to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The second was created to support events and programming at Beth Sholom Congregation, located in Westmont. and the third was created to support Salvation Armys Free Dental Clinic for those who cannot afford dental care. The first trips by students in local school districts to United States Holocaust Memorial Museum took place in 2005. Fourteen years later, these annual trips are still taking place, and approximately 25 schools from Bedford, Cambria, Somerset and Indiana counties participate. Last years expenses incurred for these trips was approximately $85,000. Perkosky estimates that more than 16,000 middle and high school students have traveled to Washington to learn about what happened to 6 million Jews and other inferior people murdered by the Nazis during World War II. The Holocaust Museum is intense and its powerful, Perkosky said. For many students, the trip is literally life-changing. Abe and Janet Beerman wanted young people in our community to learn about the Holocaust, so this is an example of what the (foundation) does best. We are meeting our donors intentions. Additional special projects have come out of the Blanche Beerman Holocaust Museum Fund since its inception. A grant, for example, is bestowed annually to Bishop McCort students who journey to Germany during the summertime in order to learn about the Holocaust first-hand. This March, Blanche Beerman Holocaust Museum Fund has made it possible for a traveling exhibit from United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to be installed on the second floor of JAHAs Heritage Discovery Center, located at 601 Sixth Ave. in the citys Cambria City neighborhood. Richard Burkert, president and CEO at JAHA, has worked at the nonprofit for 39 years. He said this is the first time JAHA has hosted a traveling exhibition of this magnitude. Its an impressively large exhibit that is really well-done, Burkert said. The exhibition, titled Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race, will open to the public March 1 and remain on display through April 27. Blanche Beerman Holocaust Museum Fund paid for the travel expenses related to getting the exhibition to Johnstown, as well as for all installation expenses. In addition, Blanche Beerman Holocaust Museum Fund has allowed JAHAs regular admission fees to be waived every Saturday throughout March and April in order to encourage as many people as possible to see the exhibition. Abe and his wife really wanted everyone to have access to this kind of education, Perkosky said. We wanted to honor their legacy and their intentions by making this exhibit available to the public for free on Saturdays, so were really hoping people take advantage of that opportunity. The exhibition is also being made possible with generous support from The David Berg Foundation, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, The Lester Robbins and Sheila Johnson Robbins Traveling and Temporary Exhibitions Fund and The Dorot Foundation. Beth Sholom Congregation and David A. Glosser Foundation have also provided support. Program partners include the Cambria County Library System and the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. We have the space and we have the staff and all the related programming, Burkert said, but this exhibition would not have been possible without a lot of partners. This has been a true community effort. Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race examines how Nazi leadership worked in collaboration with individuals, including medical professionals, to help legitimize the horrors of the Holocaust. The exhibit does a very good job in showing the chronological progression of eugenics as a facet of the Nazi regime, tracing its origins as a mainstream medical movement at the turn of the century, its adoption by the Nazi Party to reflect their ideas of racial superiority and eliminating genetic inferiors, and its practice, as a research and discipline, in the medical sterilization and killings of despised groups that culminated in the Holocaust, said Andrew Lang, JAHAs curator. The exhibit also highlights the active role the medical community played in these efforts, in which they, too, saw eugenics and the work behind it as key to achieving German dominance, an idea which came to supersede their medical ethics. Lang explained eugenics as practiced by the Nazis. (The Nazis) took the then-mainstream perspective of eugenics (which sought, through selective reproduction, to promulgate positive genetic traits while removing negative genetic traits through sterilization), and linked it to its virulent ideology of anti-Semitism and nation-building, he said. Convinced that the path to regaining German supremacy after World War I was the creation of a German master race, the Nazis supported measures designed to increase positive German births (including rewards to German mothers who bore large families and public health campaigns designed to promote healthy German offspring), and put into practice measures to remove those with negative genetic traits (including sterilization, forced separation and laws to prevent unions between different groups). Moreover, while Europes Jewish population were the most significant victims of these practices, many others, including those with mental and physical disabilities, ethnic Poles and Slavs, intellectuals, homosexuals, Gypsies and countless others were also targeted. Burkert noted that the idea of building a better race wasnt uncommon. Germany was a very cultured, educated country, and they derived some of their racial theories from literature that originated in the United States, he said. Now, the medical experimentation that took place tells a story about the Holocaust that I dont think a lot of people are aware of. The Nazis had a strategy that involved trying to purify their own race, and they enlisted some of the most cultured, educated people in the world to help them use science to dehumanize whole classes of people. Its really terrifying, and it really makes you think. Pair this exhibit with JAHAs core permanent exhibition, America: Through Immigrant Eyes, and Burkert said that visitors who walk through the doors at Heritage Discovery Center are bound to have an eye-opening experience. What Ive been musing about is that our organization is responsible for telling a lot of difficult stories, Burkert said. Our permanent exhibit is as much a source of pride as it is a reminder of exclusion. The immigrants to this area in the late 19th- and early 20th century were fleeing religious persecution, and many of those who immigrated would have died in the Holocaust had they not been able to leave. The stories about Johnstowns floods are also not easy. But all of these challenging topics are the ones that people need to know about. Everybody can benefit from viewing this exhibition. Teachers or administrators who have not coordinated a trip to the Holocaust Museum for the 2018-19 school year may instead elect to have their students bussed to the Heritage Discovery Center in order to view Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race. Money from Blanche Beerman Holocaust Museum Fund will cover all costs. For more information about arranging a trip, teachers or administrators are to contact Perkosky by calling her at 814-208-8411 or emailing her at kperkosky@cfalleghenies.org. Beerman passed away at the age of 91 in December 2007. For two years, Beerman was able to see the impact that the trips to the Holocaust Museum were having on local students. In exchange for the all-expenses paid trip, he asked that students fulfill one request: submit projects that allowed them to reflect on what they learned at the museum. Throughout the years, students have submitted posters, poems, essays, videos and more. Beth Sholom Congregation has archived all of the projects, and continues to do so. Mike Kane, foundation president and executive director, knew Beerman personally. He said if Beerman were alive today, hed be thrilled to know that Blanche Beerman Holocaust Museum Fund helped to bring Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race to Johnstown. Abe and I had a lot of discussions over a couple years regarding setting up the fund at the (foundation) that is supporting this exhibit, Kane said. He wanted people to know that the Holocaust in all its evil manifestations really happened. He especially wanted young people in our community to be certain, to have the most direct realization possible, of all this so that they could be a kind of witness in the face of those who might try to downplay history or even to it claim it never happened. Abe would be pleased with exhibit, of course, but he would be especially pleased that we have been able to put into place plans to get as many people as possible to it. Staff reports The Daily American Seriously, this is so obvious it can be frustrating when it seems necessary to point it out: If you are a politician or hold a position of public trust, you shouldnt accept gifts or freebies pretty much of any sort from people with whom your job involves doing business. Luzerne County Election Director Marisa Crispell got caught up in an ethical kerfuffle when we learned she had participated in two 2017 Election Systems & Software-funded advisory board trips to Las Vegas and Omaha, Nebraska. The company landed a $325,000 contact to provide electronic poll books for Luzerne County. Crispells defense has sounded reasonable: She says her participation was cleared by county assistant solicitor Michael Butera and Administrative Services Division Head David Parsnik, and that she removed herself from the advisory position before the county sought proposals for said poll books. But sensible people and cynics alike (not that they are mutually exclusive) rightly ask why she took the freebies in the first place? As Jennifer Learn Andes reported in Saturdays paper, Crispells quandary prompted state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale to launch an investigation into election officials of all 67 Pennsylvania counties. His findings, unveiled Friday, do not hearten hope that common sense always prevails. DePasquale said elected officials in 18 counties (including Luzerne, of course) reported accepting gifts, meals or trips from companies competing to sell voting equipment. Those problematic perks included paid travel to destinations, tickets to a wine festival, dinners at high-end restaurants, open bar at a conference, and tickets to an amusement park, among others. DePasquale asked rightly and perhaps a bit sarcastically what insight regarding voting machines could be gleaned from an amusement park ride or distillery tour. Perhaps a keen observation about how people prefer to vote when rating roller coasters or choosing chardonnay? The auditor general was correct in calling for the state to toughen relevant laws on accepting and reporting gifts. While he found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing indeed, he conceded odds were low anyone would agree to illegal behavior for, say, a bagel he archly observed the real crime is that such gifts can legally be accepted in the first place. Hes right. Barring acceptance of any gift can surely lead to its own problems of overzealous enforcement the bagel analogy, for example. Yet a complete ban (as Gov. Tom Wolf declared for employees in his administration) is the best recourse in preventing influence peddling, including cases where the influence may be as legal as it is unrecognized. Barring gift acceptance and by extension influence buying in the realm of our electoral process is even more critical. Fair and open elections are the lynch pin of our democracy. People need to trust election results for the system to work. The state and Luzerne County need to make every effort to avoid even a hint of impropriety in vote gathering and tallying. Its just too important. The Times Leader DAVE HURST The Daily American The setting was Seven Springs Grand Ballroom. About 70 or 80 people were present, sitting at round tables that were draped with black, floor-length linen, accented with white-linen napkins. Our luncheon menu featured some rather exotic comfort foods such as pulled-pork grilled cheese, short-rib macaroni and cheese, brisket sandwiches and an impossible burger for vegetarians, all served buffet style. Rather than paying for this fine time, we were being paid to be there at least in a manner of speaking given that most of us would be leaving with a check. We were participating in the annual Somerset County Tourism Grant Program Award Ceremony. This tourism grant program (sans the luncheon) has been taking place in Somerset County since the early 2000s under the administration of the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau. Companion programs exist in Fayette and Westmoreland counties, which also use Laurel Highlands as their local tourism-promotion agency. As tax-and-spend programs go, this one is hard to dislike if you live locally. Travelers and visitors pay an extra five percent on their lodging bill, which goes to the resident county. Then local tourism groups get some of that revenue in the form of grants, which they use to market their attractions. More marketing draws more visitors, some of whom will stay overnight. More overnight stays generate more lodging-tax revenue for the home county and for the tourism attractions. While convention and visitors bureaus across Pennsylvania receive lodging-tax revenue, the Laurel Highlands are unique in the state with these grant programs. Theyve certainly had impact: Since 2003, $4.8 million in grants have been given to Somerset County attractions, and $5.4 million have gone to those in Westmoreland County. While these award ceremonies are always happy occasions, this years were especially celebratory. Thats because all of the numbers were up. During 2018, hotel occupancy increased by 3.2 percent in Somerset County and 7.8 percent in Westmoreland. Hotel revenue jumped by 7.8 percent in Somerset and 8.2 percent in Westmoreland. So it follows that grant totals awarded in both counties for 2019 also increased. Somerset awarded 36 grants totaling $369,497, while Westmoreland handed out 38 grants amounting to $472,542 which was the largest total in the history of the program, according to Laurel Highlands Executive Director, Ann Nemanic. This is all far-removed from the days before 2002, when these counties adopted what was then a 3 percent lodging or occupancy tax (which since has increased to 5 percent). Before then county-designated tourism-promotion agencies scraped along on skimpy funding doled out by the state and respective county, along with revenue from membership products such as visitors guides. Now, thanks to lodging tax proceeds, visitors bureaus can afford larger staffs that produce events, distribute materials, organize cooperative- and group-marketing programs and offer a variety of member services. To varying degrees, some visitors bureaus also distribute grants. But apparently no one else does it on the scale of the Laurel Highlands. With grant programs in three counties, its staff of 10 administers three sets of applications, grants and grant reports and all of the paperwork necessary to provide an audit trail for the more than $1 million-worth of grants provided annually. As the coordinator for a marketing cooperative involving four heritage festivals two in Somerset and two in Westmoreland counties Ive participated in both counties tourism grant programs since 2006. Thanks to these grants, weve been able to develop a common marketing brand and website, and have done annual television-advertising and billboard campaigns that none of my festivals would have been able to afford on their own. The circle works, said Westmoreland County Commissioner Charles Anderson, during the Westmoreland County award ceremony. No one does it better collectively than the partners of the Laurel Highlands, said Eric Mauck, CEO of Seven Springs Mountain Resort, during the Somerset County award ceremony. Who am I to argue? Eric sprung for lunch. (To respond to this column or read other columns by Dave Hurst visit www.hurstmediaworks.com.) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is following the situation in the subcontinent where the Indian Air Force struck a terrorist base inside Pakistan territory and is calling for "maximum restraint" by both countries, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, India Today reported.. Guterres, on his way back to New York from Geneva and Dujarric told reporters, "I spoke to the Secretary-General not long ago, before he boarded his plane. He is obviously following the situation very closely and reiterates his urgent appeal to both the government of India and the government of Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure that the situation does not further deteriorate". Asked about reports that there were 350 casualties, Dujarric said, "We don't have any information on possible casualties. We have seen different press reports." Birthday wishes Call 281-422-8302 or email david.bloom@baytownsun.com to wish someone a happy birthday. We will print your birthday wish on Page 2 of The Sun. Happy Birthday Wishes Staff reports The Daily American Lt. Gov. John Fettermans statewide listening tour on the possibility of legalizing recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania is coming to Somerset County next week. Fetterman will hold a session from 6 to 7:30 p.m. March 7 in the North Star High School auditorium, 400 Ohio St., Boswell. All state representatives, state senators and commissioners have been invited to attend, according to Fettermans office. Tour stops are open to the public. Those who are not able to attend or who are interested in remotely leaving a comment about legalizing recreational marijuana may submit comments via an online submission form available on the governors website at www.governor.pa.gov and the lieutenant governors official Facebook page. In January Fetterman said that he would visit all 67 counties in Pennsylvania in an effort to gather input on legalizing recreational marijuana. Starting in mid-February, I will be traveling to all 67 counties to listen to everyones thoughts whether they agree with this initiative or have recommendations, Fetterman said in a release in January. We want to make sure all Pennsylvanians have a say. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, has said that it is time for Pennsylvania to take a serious and honest look at legalizing recreational marijuana. Medical marijuana has been legal in Pennsylvania since 2016, and Wolf stressed that any proposal for legalizing recreational marijuana would need to be implemented after the medical marijuana program is fully implemented. Johns efforts will help ensure we are looking at this issue from all perspectives and from every corner of Pennsylvania, Wolf said. We both want to make sure the voices of all Pennsylvanians are heard. LOVINA EICHER The Daily American Its 4:30 a.m. and son Benjamin, 19, just left for work. My husband Joe left over an hour ago to travel to his job. Joe has been working at the RV factory for over 14 years now. He has a 45-minute drive to and from the factory. With the road conditions this winter we cant be thankful enough when they get there and back safely every day. Son-in-law Mose and Joe ride with a man who also works there and doesnt live too far from us. Next week there isnt any work at the RV factory so Joe has a week off again. It sure makes a few more worries to not have that paycheck. I often think of the words why worry if you can pray? God always provides some way or another. Do we thank him enough for our many blessings? Joe and son Joseph, 16, have plans to build a few extra horse stalls in our barn as we are in need of more. We can get lumber really reasonable from a man in our church district who has a sawmill. This morning we leave at 6 a.m. for Ann Arbor. Daughter Loretta, 18, has an appointment there. Also son Kevin, 13, has an appointment at the childrens hospital. He hopes to get his cast removed and get an air cast. He will be so happy to be out of the wheelchair. Its been a long six weeks for him. We really appreciated all the cards and gifts given to him. This week the Amish School in our church district sent little gifts from their 19 students. How thoughtful! The small gifts were wrapped with calendar pages which looked really nice. I am hoping the highways are cleared off for todays travels. Son Joseph will go with us to help with Kevins wheelchair. Last week the doctor only took out half of my staples so I had the rest removed this week. No lifting yet so I need to be careful when my sweet little granddaughters come up and reach for me. They can not understand why grandma doesnt carry them. I am trying to be careful as I have a blood clot in my leg. Last report from the doctor is that it is shrinking so I just need to be patient. My sister Liz also had surgery and ended up in the hospital again with influenza and pneumonia. She was dismissed yesterday. We live two hours apart so its not so easy to visit. She isnt allowed to be around anyone with coughs or colds for a while. We wish her a speedy recovery! We also received word that my Uncle Elmer, 79, and Aunt Emma, 78, arent doing well. Emma is my mothers sister. Elmer has stage-4 cancer and I didnt hear what was wrong with Emma but it sounds like they both had hospital stays. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. We had more snow and ice this week. I sure am ready for spring! The temperature is 36 degrees this morning so at least it is warmer than it was. Neighbor Susan, her daughter Melinda and her two little ones came for a visit one afternoon. My daughters were happy to see Susan brought our supper along. It gave them a break from cooking. Last night they made a taco supper which is a pretty easy meal but always delicious! We had tortilla chips or soft tortilla shells along with taco seasoned hamburger, lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, cheese, salsa and ranch dressing. Until next week God bless! Cut-Out Cream Cookies 2 cups granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 cup oleo 1 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon lemon extract 5 cups flour Mix together all ingredients except flour. Fold in flour; dough will be soft. Chill for a few hours. Roll shapes and sprinkle with sugar or frost. Bake at 325 F for 10 to 12 minutes. (Lovinas Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife and mother of eight. Her newest cookbook, The Essential Amish Cookbook, is available from the publisher, Herald Press, 800-245-7894. Readers can write to Eicher at P.O. Box 1689, South Holland, IL 60473 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply); or email LovinasAmishKitchen@MennoMedia.org and your message will be passed on to her to read. She does not personally respond to emails.) Staff reports The Daily American VFW Auxiliary State President Charlotte Swogger Lopes will be visiting all auxiliaries in District 23. She will visit various veterans facilities in North Union Township on Saturday. The official meeting will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday at VFW Post 8543 in North Union Township. All VFW auxiliaries are invited to attend. For more information call Mary Layton, District 23 president, at 814-521-6779. Swopper Lopes joined the Fort Ligonier VFW Post 734 in 1997. She joined under her father, Michael S. Novaselec who served in the U.S. Army, and fought in the Korean War. In the past 21 years, she has served the Veterans of Foreign Auxiliary in various positions. She has held positions at the auxiliary, district and state levels. She was auxiliary president for two years, Mrs. Claus for 17 years and the Poppy chairman for 18 years. At the district level, she has served two years as district president and was the chairwoman for various district programs. At the state level, she served as department chairwoman for veterans and family support. During that time she received the Outstanding Chairman of the Year award at the national level, as well as received a National Plate. She was also a cancer chairwoman on the department level. Swogger Lopes has served seven years as deputy at Oakland VAVS in Pittsburgh. As her profession, she worked for 40 years as a geriatric nurse in nursing homes and then in private homes. She has been married to Franklin Lopes, PSC, for five years. Within their joint families, they have three sons, two daughters and seven grandchildren. She is a member of the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 267, the Military Order of the Cootie Auxiliary Pickem 76, Red Hats of Ligonier, assistant treasurer for Sharing and Caring Inc. and a member of the Sunshine team for Relay For Life. Swogger Lopes is honored to assume the leadership role of president of the Pennsylvania Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary. She is aware that there may be many challenges but looks forward to the achievements that will be made together as a team. Staff reports The Daily American The Shanksville-Stonycreek School District Viking Band turkey dinner will be held 4 to 6:30 p.m. March 16, at the Shanksville-Stonycreek High School cafetorium. Tickets will be available at the school, 814-267-4649, or at the door. Take out will be available. Olivia Weaver Berlin Generally people take a gap year, a year off from furthering their education between high school and college, to find out what they want to do with their future. If I were to take a gap year, I would use that year to build experiences which would help me in obtaining a career after college. I already know what career field I want to become involved in, so my gap year would be different from most other students who choose to take a year off to explore their career options. I probably would find internships and volunteer to gain experiences that would help me take my college education more seriously because Id know what my career would be when I graduated from college, and Id want to work harder to attain the goals of my future. If I were to take a gap year before college, I would spend that year working on improving my flaws and discovering who I am. Students often get caught up in everything going on and are rushed through their teen years without having the chance to reflect or improve on themselves. Many students choose their college and major without giving it much thought or realizing they are making a decision that will heavily impact their future. Spending a year discovering who I am and what I want in my future, as well as taking steps to improve on myself would be a beneficial way to spend my gap year. If I were to take a gap year before heading off to college, I would do many things that would prepare me further for the future. Like working to gather up money for various essentials that I might need. Also, I would continue to volunteer to get experience with different things. I would think about my future career options before jumping right into schooling. I feel if I were to take a gap year, many new opportunities will be introduced to me new cultures and lifestyles, and I will understand more of what I want for my future. Expanding my horizon would show me how to see things differently and explore other career paths. I would also learn a new language and decipher their culture. Learning new things will overall help me during college. Thats what I would do if I ever took a gap year before going to college. Many students in todays society believe that college is the right path for them after high school. While this can be true for some, not all students fit into the college mold. Some high school seniors feel that they need to take a gap year after graduating high school. This should be a widely accepted action rather than having a negative stigma attached to it, as it can in todays world. Some recent high school graduates find it necessary to take a gap year after graduation in order to organize their lives after their hectic high school years. Many students cannot find time during their chaotic senior year to plan their future and would rather take a gap year, or even gap semester, to figure out where they want to go and what they want to do. Some students do not even know what they want for their future and need that time after school to figure it out. During this time, they can explore job options that they think they are interested in, which could help lead them in a direction that they could see their lives going in for their future. Overall, a gap year can be beneficial to students who do not yet have a life plan that they feel is right for them. Students who take this route should not be viewed as subpar to the students who go straight into college, and their actions should be supported by those around them. If I were to take a gap year before going to college, I would like to do a number of things, all of which have to do with traveling. I would want to visit as many countries and cities as possible. In those cities, Id want to do many things that would help me expand my horizons, build my resume and cross items off my bucket list. There are a multitude of activities on that list, including, but not limited to, studying abroad for the summer semester, finding short internships in Europe, learning a new language in France, going on volunteer trips in Africa, and touring Australia and Japan. In between trips, I would want to work to save money for college. I want to travel as much as possible to soak in every experience I can, and to try to not worry about money as I travel. My money will return, but my time will not. After high school, many students make the decision to take a gap year before attending college. This gives the student the opportunity to explore themselves as well as travel or save up money to be able to go to school the following year. If I were to decide to take a gap year before attending college, I would go back to the Dominican Republic to continue doing missions work there just as I did shortly over the summer. The opportunity to fly to the Dominican Republic to work with children was presented to me by my church. A group of us traveled to the Dominican Republic for a week to work closely with an organization called Freedom International Ministries. They have built a school in the Dominican Republic where they cater to the children closely and strive to teach them about Christianity and fundamentals. If I were to take a leap year, I would most likely go back and work with Freedom once again as a year-long intern. The opportunity to teach the children English is one that not many people have been given and I would consider myself lucky to be able to go back there for a full year to develop relationships with these children and do great work just as the Freedom staff does every day. Going straight from high school to college is a big transition for most students, and the hardest part about it is probably the lack of time to adjust. Some students decide to defer from the mainstream traffic and take a year break in between high school and college, this is called a gap year. I have often thought of this in the hustle and bustle of applying to schools and scholarships; however, the only part holding me back is the fear that Ill enjoy not writing countless papers, studying all night and sitting in classrooms filled with people and never want to go back to school to fulfill my long term plans. But in a perfect world, if I were to take a gap year, Id hope to fill it with all the events I didnt have time to fit in my schedule during high school. First on my list would be to go on mission trips, big or small. Ive always enjoyed doing small ones with my church, but Ive never had the opportunity or time to embark on one of a larger scale. Next on my list would be learn how to cook, for no other reason than having nothing much to do, Ill probably be spending a lot of time at home, which gives my mother the perfect opportunity to teach me some family classics. I am far from a chef, as I am still trying to master mac n cheese. (I really cant tell if Im getting better or worse.) So this means I have a lot to learn and time to do it. Last on my list would be to get extra money for when I plan to go to college by working more hours or finding a better job. Overall, I think taking a gap year would be great, but unfortunately my schedule wont allow it, so for now Ill have to slip in all my goals along the way. Ukraine will not participate in the Eurovision 2019 international song contest, the press service of the National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine informed on Wednesday, TASS reports. "The National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine withdraws from the Eurovision 2019 international song contest," the message informs. According to the companys board member Alexandra Koltsova, "due to excessive politicization of the national selection" the broadcasters decided to withdraw from the Eurovision 2019 song contest. Weather Alert ...The Flood Advisory is extended for the following rivers in Illinois... Kankakee River near Wilmington affecting Will, Kankakee and Grundy Counties. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... These forecasts are based on observed precipitation as well as forecast precipitation 24 hours into the future. Changes to the rainfall forecast, or any additional rainfall after 24 hours, may cause changes to these river forecasts. A Flood Advisory means water levels near flood stage are imminent or may already be occurring. Water may overtop low stream banks in some areas. Persons in the advisory area should use caution and avoid flood waters. Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Additional information is available at www.weather.gov/Chicago and water.weather.gov && ...The Flood Advisory is now in effect until late Thursday evening... The Flood Advisory continues for the Kankakee River near Wilmington. * Until Thursday evening. * At 8:45 PM CDT Tuesday the stage was 5.6 feet. * Action stage is 5.0 feet. * Flood stage is 6.5 feet. * Forecast...The river is expected to fall below 5.0 feet by Thursday evening. * Impact...At 5.0 feet, Minor lowland flooding begins in areas immediately adjacent to the river. && STORY LINK Pound Sterling New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) Exchange Rate Rises as Trump-Kim Summit Begins Pound New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) Exchange Rate Rallies Ahead of Trump-Kim Summit Highest NZ January Trade Deficit on Record Brexit Optimism Buoys GBP GBP/NZD Outlook: Will Sterling Slide on Low Consumer Confidence? Like this piece? Please share with your friends and colleagues: The Pound New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) exchange rate has risen by close to 1%, still buoyed from Brexit optimism, with the pairing currently trading at an inter-bank rate of NZ$1.9409.The Pound extended its gains as investors calculated that a no-deal Brexit was less likely, and the UKs departure from the European Union would be delayed.Brexit optimism remains, and when commenting on her discussions in Brussels, Prime Minister Theresa May said:I have found a real determination to find a way through which allows the UK to leave with a deal. That engagement has already begun to bear fruit.Parliament should do its duty so our country can move forward.Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un met to start their high-profile summit in Hanoi, Vietnam.During their 20-minute chat before sitting down for dinner, Kim Jong-un said he and President Trump shared a lot of interesting stories.Despite this, the risk-sensitive New Zealand Dollar continued to slide against Sterling.The start of Wednesdays session showed that New Zealand had recorded its highest January deficit on record at -NZ$914M.Following this, the pairing slipped slightly before rallying once again.Data showed that imports rose twice as fast as exports, causing the trade deficit to surpass its previous January record of NZ$894M from January 2006.Imports rose by 7.7% compared to exports which rose by 3%, and commenting on the data, International Statistics Manager at Stats NZ, Tehseen Islam, said:Both imports and exports were up compared with January 2018. However, this months large trade deficit reflects that imports are rising much faster than exports.It was reported Januarys largest fall in exports came from meat and edible offal, which slipped by $66M, and exports of lamb to the EU slid to its lowest value since 2006.Sterling rallied against the New Zealand Dollar during the session yesterday as Prime Minister Theresa May sparked optimism.The PM promised MPs they would be able to vote to extend Article 50, ruling out a no-deal if her withdrawal agreement gets voted down on 12 March.This saw the Pound rally against most major currency pairings including the New Zealand Dollar.Sterling remained strengthened despite Mays reiteration that she did not want to see Article 50 extended.The Prime Minister said:Let me be clear, I do not want to see Article 50 extended.Our absolute focus should be on working to get a deal and leaving on 29 March.[] And the House should be clear that a short extension not beyond the end of June would almost certainly have to be a one-off.The Pound New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) exchange rate could fluctuate during the session tomorrow following the release of the ANZ Activity Outlook and Business Climate figures.If New Zealands activity outlook continues to increase, it could buoy the Kiwi.However, this could be offset by a further slip in business confidence.The GBP/NZD exchange rate could fall tomorrow following the release of Februarys Gfk Consumer Confidence survey for the UK.If confidence slips as forecast from -14 to -15 it could dampen Pound sentiment.It is also likely that US China trade tensions and Brexit will cause movement in the pairing.If there are further signs that the US and China are closer to reaching a deal risk appetite is likely to increase, which could see the Kiwi rise. International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way, ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements. TAGS: Pound New Zealand Dollar Forecasts In this May 2016 photo, Wallace State Diagnostic Medical Sonography students Jennifer Merrill and Macy Williams play the role of family in a simulation involving a pediatric patient whose injuries are too severe for survival and have decided to donate the childs organs, as nursing student Randi Harrison stands by to help and give comfort. Open banking allows third-party developers to build applications and services that plug into the technology backbone of a traditional financial institution. Using open-source technology and APIs, third-parties can build new financial tools leveraging private customer data that was previously inaccessible. This is why in theory, at least open banking promises to accelerate innovation, thereby giving consumers more options and greater convenience. In the U.K., open banking has been law. In August 2016, regulators there issued a ruling requiring the nine biggest banks HSBC, Barclays, RBS, Santander, Bank of Ireland, Allied Irish Bank, Danske Bank, Lloyds and Nationwide to allow licensed startups direct access to their data, including account transactions. Europe followed in January 2018 with the PSD2 rules requiring European banks to share customer transaction data with third parties that request it (with customer consent). In the U.S. and elsewhere, open banking freaks out most executives working in the financial industry. The prospect of opening up all the information they have about their customers is a scary proposition. But like it or not, open banking is a reality, and its here to stay. The Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants recently sponsored a showing of Undocumented, a film about people who fled horrible lives in Central America and entered this country through Mexico without proper documentation. The film was shown free to all at the Fairfield Theater Co. So, thank you, FTC. One impression the film forces is how horrible must these peoples lives have been to induce them to make a thousand-mile journey, many with preschool age children in tow, and carrying whatever possessions they deemed valuable enough to toss in the same sort of plastic bag we use to throw out our trash. Undocumented is about five years old, and at one level a bit dated. Yet while names have changed, the issue hasnt. As a work of art, the film was unbalanced, favoring the more colorful and vocal anti-immigrant groups over the stark scenes of the lives of immigrants, lives they may see as better in this country than in their own, but lives most of us would deem miserable. But as storytelling, it leaned on the raw emotion of anti-immigrant groups and individuals, from the Minutemen, an armed militia staunchly opposed to immigration, to ad-hoc protesters gathering to shout at cars driving by high-traffic locations. The filmmaker interviewed a handful of these protesters, enough to provide a view of what we now call the low-information voter. On the other side, it showed the joyless existence of those seeking better lives, willing to work at jobs, many menial, some skilled, from tearing apart homes in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina when no other tradesmen were available to laying bricks and doing comparable skilled tasks at wages below those the hiring contractor would offer an American. So is it the the immigrant or the contractor who is taking our jobs? The film also identified one issue that gets little public exposure. At the macro-level, many, perhaps most, Americans believe we need immigration legislation that would reduce entry by the undocumented. But the movies opening depicts how the social fabric of smaller communities changes following an influx of people unlike them. I left the showing feeling I had been watching Fox News lots of heat and little light and wishing for a more balanced presentation about the burdens and benefits of undocumented immigration. Roy Fuchs Trumbull Ankara is concerned over the prevailing tension between India and Pakistan, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said. "We want to call for common sense and calm between the parties. Steps that will escalate the tension should be avoided," Anadolu Agency cited Cavusoglu as saying. He also said the main issue between the countries was the Kashmir issue and this issue must be solved "as soon as possible" within the framework of the international law. "Turkey is always willing to contribute to easing tension and to resolving these issues, including Kashmir," the Turkish diplomat stressed, adding that Ankara is open to dialogue and wants to discuss this issue with India. The Turkish foreign minister said he had a phone contact with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi, but not with any Indian official yet. Cavusoglu's remarks came after Pakistan and India claims that they have shot down each others fighter jets. Former congressman William Broomfield of Michigan, who as the longtime ranking Republican of the House Foreign Affairs Committee was a prominent GOP voice on foreign policy during his 36 years in Congress, died Feb. 20 in Kensington, Maryland, where he resided. He was 96. The Associated Press reported his death, citing a statement from his family. The cause was not reported. Broomfield was elected in 1956 to the House of Representatives and stepped down in 1993 after 18 terms, a tenure that made him, by the time of his retirement, one of the two most senior House Republicans. (The other was then-Minority Leader Robert Michel of Illinois, who also was elected in 1956.) Broomfield represented Oakland County, containing some of the most prosperous suburbs of Detroit, and served for his entire time in Congress in the minority. He exercised his greatest influence as ranking Republican for 18 years on the Foreign Affairs Committee, which he joined in 1961. The Almanac of American Politics called him the "chief House spokesman for the Reagan and Bush Administrations on one issue after another: aid to the Nicaraguan contras and arms control, El Salvador and Eastern Europe, Grenada and the Gulf War." A notable exception was his vote in 1986 to impose sanctions on the apartheid regime of South Africa, a measure that President Ronald Reagan vetoed. Congress ultimately overrode the veto. Broomfield participated in hearings investigating the Iran-contra affair, in which U.S. officials during the Reagan administration secretly sold arms to Iran and diverted proceeds to the Nicaraguan contras fighting their country's socialist government. The final congressional report on the matter, in 1987, found that "fundamental processes of governance were disregarded and the rule of law was subverted," and that Reagan carried "the ultimate responsibility" for malfeasance by his staff. Broomfield was among the Republican signatories of a dissenting report, which called the majority's finding "hysterical." "President Reagan and his staff made mistakes in the Iran-contra affair," the report declared. "The bottom line, however, is that the mistakes . . . were just that, mistakes in judgment, and nothing more. There was no constitutional crisis, no systematic disrespect for the 'rule of law,' no grand conspiracy, and no administration-wide dishonesty or coverup." The Almanac described Broomfield as a "professional politician" and "generally a solid party loyalist, who tries never to embarrass his party or the administration." "He is not a man who seeks the spotlight or looks particularly comfortable in it," his profile read, "but he performs capably and sometimes with passion." Broomfield was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, on April 28, 1922. His father was a dentist. The younger Broomfield served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II and worked in real estate and property management before winning election to the Michigan House of Representatives in 1948. He served as speaker pro tempore before moving to the Michigan Senate in 1954. In Congress, Broomfield was most proud of his vote in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, his family told the Detroit News after his death. His wife of 62 years, Jane Broomfield, died in 2013. According to the Detroit News, survivors include two daughters, Nancy Broomfield Aiken and Barbara Shaffer; and four grandchildren. White suit. White hat. Cigar between his teeth. Stony Rushing, a county commissioner in Union County, North Carolina, is the spitting image of J.D. Hogg, the despotic but also bumbling county commissioner in the hit television series "The Dukes of Hazzard." J.D. as in Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America. Most elected officials would spurn the comparison to Boss Hogg, especially those eyeing a seat in Congress. But not this local politician and gun range owner, who dressed as the grifter for Halloween last year, on the eve of the November election that would solidify his local following and set him up to seek higher office. The 47-year-old Republican has been tipped to take over for Mark Harris, the Republican nominee in a North Carolina congressional contest roiled by revelations that his campaign had financed a scheme to tamper with absentee ballots. Citing health problems, the evangelical pastor from Charlotte said Tuesday he would not run in an upcoming do-over election, endorsing Rushing and calling the county commissioner an ally on "so many of the issues that concern us, including the issue of life, our national security, and religious freedom." Rushing, who is a distant relative of Jerry Rushing, the moonshiner whose exploits helped inspire the action-comedy series, is unlike most elected officials. He embraces the comparison to the unscrupulous television character, portrayed by the actor Sorrell Booke. He has even campaigned on it, plastering his Facebook page with photographs of himself in the classic Hogg get-up, gun in one hand, cigar in the other. "Supporting the 2nd Amendment like a BOSS," he promised to voters during his reelection campaign last fall. His differences start with his name. "My name is Stony Rushing - that's my real name," he said in an interview on Tuesday with The Washington Post. "My father's name is Rocky, and my mother is Connie. They were teenagers when I was born. My mother saw Stoney on 'The Flintstones' and named me Stony." His parents split up when he was young, and he was raised by his father in Monroe, North Carolina, about 30 minutes southeast of Charlotte on Interstate 74. After college at North Carolina State University, where he studied animal agriculture, he went to work for Carroll's Foods, a major pork producer, in nearby Scotland County. Rushing was already interested in politics, but the county leaned Democratic, as it does to this day. When he returned to Monroe, the county seat of deep-red Union County, he found his people. He became president of the local Republican men's club, he said, and soon decided to make a bid for the county commission. He was first elected in 2002, serving until 2006, and then was elected to another four-year term in 2014. Rushing was the commission's top vote-getter in his reelection campaign last fall, when he earned 20,000 more votes than Democrat Dan McCready, who trailed Harris by 905 votes in an outcome that state officials refused to certify. That edge, he said, bodes well for his race against the Marine Corps veteran and first-time candidate. "I've got an extremely good chance," Rushing said. Other Republicans have said they are considering running for the seat, and state law requires a primary in addition to a fresh general election, the timing of which remains uncertain. Meanwhile, as he seeks to take the Republican mantle in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District, he maintains that the ballot scandal - which a prosecutor said could result in criminal charges - has been "blown out of proportion." While Harris called for a new election last week, saying public confidence was on the line, Rushing remained adamant that Democrats were to blame. "Dan McCready and his Establishment Friends Just Threw ALL of Our Ballots in the Trash!" he protested on Facebook, sharing an image with an American flag. "What are We going to do about IT?" On Facebook, he has demonized voters who alleged unlawful conduct by the Harris operative, spread conspiracy theories about the political motivations of a former local elections chief and argued that the real voter fraud was unfolding up north in Brooklyn. In December, he called for an FBI investigation into the North Carolina State Board of Elections, which refused to validate the election results. Rushing claimed that absentee ballots had been improperly handled by both parties, even though there is no evidence that McCready benefited from illegal conduct. He echoed Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the majority leader, who used the episode to call on Tuesday for a crackdown on voter fraud, which the Brennan Center for Justice calls "vanishingly rare." "The whole program needs to be tightened up," Rushing said. His stance is early evidence that he would be a loyal foot soldier for the Republican cause in Congress. He pledged to support President Donald Trump's agenda and predicted that he would align with the hard-line conservative Freedom Caucus. The cause that is dearest to his heart is guns. In 2008, Rushing and his wife opened a 50-acre shooting range called Take Aim Training Range across the border in South Carolina. A "lifelong interest" in firearms, he said, inspired him to teach target practice and firearm safety, first with the Boy Scouts of America as a district chairman for the organization. A biography on his web page enumerates his firearm-related decorations. He is a training counselor for the National Rifle Association, an NRA-certified pistol instructor, an NRA-certified rifle instructor, an NRA-certified "Refuse To Be a Victim" instructor, a South Carolina concealed weapons permit instructor and a North Carolina hunter education instructor, among other titles. For two years, he was one of the NRA's top 10 recruiters, he advertises. A zealous advocate for gun rights, the father of two is also staunchly opposed to abortion. He accused Democrats who blocked an effort to punish doctors who don't seek to save infants born alive during abortions of favoring "infanticide." His uncompromising position, he said, comes from his appreciation that his mother, who was 16 when he was born, went through with the delivery even though she almost died in childbirth. Rushing is nothing if not a willing combatant in the culture wars. In 2015, following the massacre in Charleston, South Carolina, of nine black churchgoers by a white man who exalted Confederate symbols, and as efforts spread to bring down the battle flag across the South, local officials removed a set of small set of Confederate flags from outside a courthouse in Monroe. They met resistance from Rushing, who was the county commission's vice-chair at the time. He put forward a resolution, which ultimately passed 3-2, that designated the courthouse as a museum, allowing Confederate emblems to be displayed under certain conditions. "I don't have a problem with the flag or our history," he said at the time, according to the Charlotte Observer. Now, Rushing explains the controversy a different way. He said the memorabilia on courthouse grounds, which he aimed to protect, was mostly from the World War II era. Asked about the Confederate flag, he said, "The government shouldn't fly it." That view puts some distance between Rushing and his alter ego's namesake, who led the cause of the Confederacy. ISTANBUL - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani formally rejected the resignation of his foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, and the two appeared together Wednesday to greet the Armenian prime minister in Tehran. In a letter published by state media, Rouhani said that accepting Zarif's resignation would be "against national interests." He called Zarif an "honest, brave and pious person" and praised his efforts to "resist intense pressure from the United States." The rejection ended, at least temporarily, a high-stakes political drama that consumed the Iranian capital this week. "I appreciate the support of the people of Iran . . . especially in the past 30 hours," Zarif, 59, wrote Wednesday in an Instagram post. "As a modest servant, I have never had any concern but elevating the foreign policy and status of the Foreign Ministry." Zarif, who in recent years has become the global face of Iran's push to engage with the West, submitted his resignation late Monday in a shock decision he said was made to "defend the integrity" of the Foreign Ministry. Media reports said he was furious at his exclusion from a high-level meeting with Syria's president that day. The meeting, on Feb. 25, was also attended by Rouhani, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a senior Revolutionary Guard commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who heads the Guard's elite Quds Force. Iran and Syria are close allies. Zarif, the pro-reform Entekhab newspaper reported, said in a message that he had "no credibility in the world as a foreign minister" after images of the meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were published. The incident highlighted tensions between Zarif and his allies in the government and more hard-line elements within Iran's broader power structure. The two sides have sparred over the merits of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and engagement with the West more broadly. Zarif, who was educated in the United States, was a key architect of the atomic agreement that curbed Iran's nuclear energy program in exchange for widespread sanctions relief. The Trump administration withdrew from the pact last year and reimposed a near-total embargo on Iran's economy. A Romanian anti-graft crusader won support from a key panel of European Union lawmakers to become the bloc's first chief prosecutor, highlighting EU concerns about the erosion of democracy in the country. Laura Codruta Kovesi, who was fired by Romania's ruling Socialist Democrats after she put dozens of corrupt politicians behind bars, gained the backing of the European Parliament's committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs for the EU appointment. The committee voted on Wednesday in Brussels for Kovesi over two rival candidates: Jean-Francois Bohnert of France and Andres Ritter of Germany. The recommendation sets up a clash with EU governments because they've endorsed Bohnert for the job, which will involve investigating and prosecuting crimes such as fraud against the EU's 140 billion-euro ($160 billion) annual budget. "It's going to be a very challenging discussion," Claude Moraes, chair of the EU Parliament committee, said in an interview after the verdict. Kovesi received 26 votes compared with 22 for second-place Bohnert, who nonetheless last week received almost twice as much backing from EU member countries as she did. The support for Kovesi in the EU Parliament shows how concerns about disregard for the rule of law in member countries, especially in former communist eastern Europe, have risen to the top of the European political agenda. Romania has followed Hungary and Poland in pursuing judicial overhauls that have caused alarm across Europe. The 28-nation Parliament also has urged that more top European jobs be filled by women, adding to Kovesi's ability to be a useful political weapon as the assembly gears up for elections in late May. The Romanian government opposes her bid. Romania's main opposition Liberal Party hailed the verdict on Wednesday in Brussels and urged the administration in Bucharest to rally behind Kovesi. "Today's vote is a victory, but it needs all the officials and politicians in Romania to work together, at least at the eleventh hour, to ensure she gets the post," Liberal party chief Ludovic Orban told reporters in televised remarks in the Romanian capital. Kovesi presented herself as hard-nosed, independent and principled when promoting her candidacy to EU Parliament members this week. "I am used to dealing with public pressure and working under stressful situations," she said on Tuesday at a hearing in the assembly. "I believe that a prosecutor must aim for the truth, must be a servant of the rule of law and must have a strong moral compass." A final decision on the appointment of European chief prosecutor requires an agreement between EU governments on the one hand and the 751-seat Parliament on the other. The president of the assembly and the leaders of its political groups are scheduled to discuss the matter on March 7. Feeding into the process -- and offering further momentum for Kovesi -- is an endorsement of her on Tuesday evening by the EU Parliament's budgetary-control committee. Still, Moraes signaled the lingering obstacles ahead for her by saying EU governments have traditionally been reluctant to compromise over their decisions in the area of justice. "National sovereignty has always been very protected," he said. "This is a really sensitive and important position." U.S. President Donald Trump hopes that Russia, China, Japan and South Korea will contribute to the process of North Koreas denuclearization and its further active economic development. "I believe that China, Russia, Japan & South Korea will be very helpful!" Trump wrote on his Twitter page in the run-up to the summit with North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un, that will be held in Hanoi on February 27-28. The U.S. House of Representatives voted Tuesday to block President Donald Trump's emergency move to fund a border wall. Approval by the Democratic-controlled chamber now sends the measure to the Republican-held Senate, where it would take only a handful of GOP defections to pass. The move seeks to halt Trump's executive order declaring an emergency to use other funding to pay for his wall. The emergency could siphon billions of dollars from the military to fund his proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump is likely to prevail in the end since he could use his first-ever veto to kill the measure if it passes Congress. WASHINGTON - White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Wednesday sharply criticized House Republicans for failing to deliver sufficient border wall funding to President Donald Trump when they controlled the chamber and cited that as a justification for his emergency declaration. "There's no question the Republican House failed, and they failed us in securing the border, but they also failed to make good on the promise to him that we would get that money for the wall," Conway said. "They completely lied about that." Her comments, on Fox News's "Fox & Friends" came a day after the House, now led by Democrats, passed a resolution to overturn Trump's declaration of a national emergency on the southern border. The measure, which passed 245 to 182, aims to thwart Trump's use of the declaration to direct billions of dollars more in funding to border barriers than Congress has authorized. Democrats argued Tuesday that the move guts the Constitution. During her television appearance, Conway was dismissive when asked about the 13 Republicans who joined Democrats in the chamber in seeking to nullify Trump's order. She pointed out there were not enough votes to overcome a threatened veto. "Fine, but it's still veto-proof," she said. Asked what motivated the GOP defectors, Conway said, "I think there a number of them who are concerned about the precedent, but they should not lose sight of the fact as to why the president did this." Conway then cited two factors behind Trump's declaration: The first was his "solemn duty" to secure the border. The second was that "the president waited for Congress to do its job." "It's failed to do its job since he's been president on securing the border, and it's failed to do its job for decades, and so he waited for them," she said. Conway made clear her criticism included the first two years of Trump's term, when Republicans controlled both the House and Senate. Conway's comments echoed those of Trump in an interview last month in which he accused former House speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., of reneging on a deal to provide wall funding. Speaking to the Daily Caller, Trump said he reluctantly agreed to sign an omnibus spending bill in March 2018 to avert a government shutdown after Ryan promised him Republicans would secure border-wall funding for him later in the year. Tuesday's House vote was the first time since passage of the National Emergencies Act of 1976 that Congress has invoked provisions allowing for a resolution of disapproval to nullify a presidential emergency declaration. The measure next moves to the Republican-led Senate, where prospects for passage are less certain. Trump issued the emergency declaration Feb. 15, as part of a deal to keep the government open after a 35-day partial shutdown over Christmas and much of January. The president agreed to sign a spending bill that keeps the government funded through Sept. 30 and provides $1.375 billion for 55 miles of fencing along the border in Texas, but he said he needed billions more. The administration plans to redirect an additional $6.7 billion from several sources, including $3.6 billion from military construction projects that can be accessed via the emergency declaration. - - - The Washington Post's Erica Werner contributed to this report. WASHINGTON - For six years, Rep. Mike Thompson's job as House Democrats' point man on combating gun violence amounted to stretches of obscurity punctuated by tragedy. As leader of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, he convened countless meetings of lawmakers, experts, advocates and victims, trying to build support for some kind - any kind - of gun control legislation. And when a mass shooting occurred, he stepped forward alongside Democratic leaders to explain the need for the kind of action the House Republican majority had no interest in taking. Thompson, of California, recalled a meeting with then-Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, shortly after the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the tragedy that spurred the task force's creation. "He was very candid," Thompson said of Boehner. "He said, 'There's not an appetite on my side of the aisle to deal with this - it's not a front-burner issue.' So we just kept plugging away, plugging away. And you saw what happened in the midterms." Democrats' sweeping 40-seat pickup in the November elections has paved the way for the first House votes on substantial firearms legislation in more than a decade this week. On Wednesday, lawmakers passed a bill that would broaden federal background checks for firearms purchasers, and on Thursday, they are likely to back legislation that would expand the amount of time federal authorities have to complete those checks. But despite a sea change in gun politics - one that helped deliver the House majority to Democrats and has increased the task force's ranks to 172, nearly three-quarters of the caucus - top leaders are determined to move cautiously. They have not announced firm plans for further gun votes, and prominent voices on the issue are hardly talking about action on aggressive measures such as an assault weapons ban that have long been liberal lodestars. Their caution - which extends from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California to Thompson to outspoken freshmen such as Reps. Lucy McBath of Georgia and Jason Crow of Colorada - stands in sharp contrast to other pockets of the Democratic caucus. On health care and climate change, for instance, liberals have been emboldened to push the envelope of what is possible, offering far-reaching proposals like the Green New Deal and Medicare-for-all. On gun control, leading Democrats are instead talking about incremental steps - measures like "red flag" laws allowing courts to temporarily seize weapons from dangerous individuals, or a closure of the "boyfriend loophole," which allows some domestic abusers to own guns. Even so, the bills are unlikely to receive consideration in the Senate, where Republicans have a 53-seat majority and legislation typically needs 60 votes to pass. "Speaker Pelosi and the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force are moving strategically, and they are moving thoughtfully," said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control advocacy group founded by former New York mayor Michael A. Bloomberg that works closely with Democratic lawmakers. "I think it's going to be step-by-step, and I think that what you're going to see is the leadership look at the data - look at what's most important from a policy perspective and gauge what the public wants most." The rationale for that pragmatic approach is partly rooted in history, where Democrats endured drubbing after drubbing in rural districts and states where the National Rifle Association and other pro-gun organizations mobilized voters against their candidates. Many rural and suburban Democrats remained in a defensive crouch, which helped explain why, during their last House majority from 2007 till 2011, party leaders never brought a gun bill to the floor - even when the party held the presidency and a Senate supermajority, as well. "It was the most productive Congress in the history of the republic, and what did they do on guns? Absolutely nothing," said Peter Ambler, a former Democratic congressional aide who is now executive director of Giffords, another gun control advocacy group. "Not only did they do nothing, it wasn't even on the table . . . I don't even remember a single discussion about even whether we ought to bring guns for a vote." The politics began to shift in 2010, when the Republican midterm wave drastically thinned the ranks of moderate "blue dog" Democrats. A further shift came after the 2012 Sandy Hook tragedy, in which a gunman killed 20 children and six adults and spurred a number of reliably pro-gun Democrats to split with the NRA for the first time. That included Thompson, a Vietnam infantry vet who represents the rural heart of California wine country and frequently talks about his own history as a gun owner. Hanging on the wall inside his Capitol Hill office is a framed Sonoma Magazine spread of Thompson holding a 20-gauge Browning shotgun - the very image of "responsible gun ownership" Democrats have long sought to embrace. But as the politics have continued to evolve, the face of gun control has changed, too. A continuing string of mass shootings have elevated the issue among suburban voters, and some breakout Democratic stars of the 2018 House campaign ran firmly and unapologetically on new gun laws without nodding to the sanctity of the Second Amendment. McBath, in particular, has emerged as a leading voice on the issue barely two months into her term. A flight attendant who turned full-time to advocacy after her son Jordan Davis, 17, was fatally shot in 2012, McBath has been named a vice chair of the task force and won a seat on the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over gun legislation. But McBath, too, said she is eager to move carefully, looking for bipartisan areas of compromise while building a big-tent coalition. "The face of what gun violence prevention looks like is changing," she said. "We need survivors like me; we need other survivors. That element is crucial, it's key, because we've lived it and we're not just statistics and just numbers. But we need the force and the help of gun owners and people that are NRA members and people that are just common everyday people." McBath is among the 190 Democratic co-sponsors of a recently introduced bill to ban assault weapons, but that is a piece of legislation neither McBath, Thompson nor leading advocates discuss when they contemplate their next steps. For one thing, convincing another 28 Democrats to support that legislation, giving it the margin it needs to pass, remains a tall order - especially as long as Senate passage and a presidential signature remain pipe dreams. While the ranks of rural Democrats have dwindled, there are still enough to make a difference. Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., said he planned to vote Wednesday for the expanded background checks but remained undecided on extending the review period on "red flag" laws. And he said he was firmly opposed to a ban on assault weapons or high-capacity magazines. "I'm not big on going a whole lot further than what we're talking about here right now," Schrader said. "You know, the Second Amendment's pretty crystal clear. I want to make sure the right people have weapons to defend themselves and enjoy themselves, and that people who shouldn't have them don't have them. And that's where these bills are." Democrats on the presidential campaign trail are being less cautious. Every senator who has announced or is contemplating a 2020 campaign has co-sponsored a bill sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to ban assault weapons. One House member entertaining a bid, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., has floated not only a ban, but a mandatory buyback of existing assault weapons - endorsing the kind of government confiscation gun-rights supporters have long warned voters about. That represents a wholesale shift from past Democratic campaigns that tread carefully on the issue, in part because they were wary of alienating rural Iowa and New Hampshire voters. "You aren't going to see Democrats running ads with hunting rifles in their arms or telling stories about how they go up shooting with their parents - I don't think those are going to be part of the ads for 2020," Feinblatt said. Thompson said that if gun control advocates actually want to make progress, it remained imperative to pursue measures that can attract Republicans and pro-gun Democrats like Schrader. And that, he said, is where his infantry-veteran, shotgun-toting bona fides matter. "Nothing is going to happen unless it's bipartisan," he said. "So if somebody else is doing this, and they don't know about guns, and they don't know about the gun culture, and they don't have friends on the other side of the aisle who know about and care about guns, I don't think it goes very far." WASHINGTON It was a cold winter day, but construction workers were undeterred, bustling about Shepaug Valley High School in Washington in the initial stages of building a 52,000-square-foot Agriscience STEM center. In the works for several years, the center is now coming to fruition. School and town leaders along with residents of the three towns that make up Region 12 Washington, Bridgewater and Roxbury view it as a brave new venture into the future for the regions students, and also those that be welcomed from towns outside the region. The Agriscience STEM center will include classrooms, laboratory space (food science, plant science, veterinary science, small animal and computer labs), storage areas, outbuildings, animal growing rooms, offices, meeting rooms, and indoor riding/demonstration areas. Region 12 Superintendent Megan Bennett said the facility will serve 139 students from the region. Of the 52 students enrolled in the inaugural class in the new Agriscience program, 31 are from out of the district. There were so many applicants (75) for what had been 35 freshman seats that the seats were expanded to 45. There are several students who will become part of the program as sophomores. O&G Industries Building Group is the construction Manager for the project, and Kaestle Boos Associates is the project architect. The project is due for completion in the winter of 2019-20. The total area of the AgSTEM project is 52,525 net square feet, including both new construction and renovation of an existing structure. Region 12 officials had originally hoped to hold the program to the 50,298 net square feet reflected in a July 12, 2017 Schematic Design Review Checklist. However, consultants subsequent work in applying the latest CDOE frameworks and required safety margins for students to the design required a small increase in square footage, which is still significantly (13,955 net square feet) less than the 66,480 net square feet reflected on a 2017 priority list, and 3,780 net square feet less than the 56,305 net square feet reflected on a set of plans provided to state Department of Administrative Services in December of 2016. The project was put on hold for a number of months by the state, which has been hamstrung by budget problems. However, after a resubmission of project plans to right size the undertaking and lessen its overall scale it was green lighted. Also part of the impetus for the center was a desire to accommodate students that could not gain acceptance into nearby Region 14s (Nonnewaug) Agriscience program because of a limit on the total number of students in that program. Officials felt there was a defined need for a new Agriscience center in the area. Townspeople had approved the project earlier, by a 3-to-1 margin, said Bennett. Also part of the $35 million project is a science lab renovation project, consisting of demolition and asbestos abatement on the affected areas inside the building, The Agriscience center will also help solve an issue with declining enrollment at Region 12 schools. In education specifications submitted by region officials it was noted that the student population in grades 9 through 12 in 2005-06 was 413. Prior to the final approval of the new Agriscience center, the projected enrollment for the same grade levels was 204 for the 2019-20 school year. And that projected figure dropped further to 162 for the 2025-26 school year. The 139 students anticipated to be part of the new Agriscience program will almost double the projected enrollment figures for Shepaug High School within four years. The project will be a state-of-the-art facility that allows students the benefits of tried and true methods of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and other facets of traditional farming, such as a greenhouse for growing plants and horse stables, but also incorporates the latest in science-based advances in those and allied fields. There is so much new in the field that the students will have access to, said Kimberly Gallo, principal of Shepaug Valley High School. They will be able to do things such as grow hydroponic plants and use a drone to analyze soil conditions in a field. We are opening up new avenues to modern education and careers, more so than we have ever able to do in the past. Bio-science today encompasses many intriguing elements to attract and challenge students. According to Gallo, there may be some cross-curriculum between existing high school programs and those in the Agriscience program, allowing non-Agriscience students the possibility of taking a course in that field as an elective. This will further enhance their high school educational experience and potentially open new pathways to expanded education and career choices. This is the first project that O&G has collaborated with Region 12 on, said Tim Chan, O&G project manager. The schedule is ambitious. Its 14 months of construction with the majority of work completed within a 12-month window. Nothing about the project is overly complex, but we do have a standalone greenhouse and stable building that will require specialty contractors during construction. The biggest constraint is the schedule and the amount of site work that needs to be completed during the winter months. Chan said the company has asbestos and PCB abatement within the project scope. Some of the abatement was completed during Phase One last summer and some will be completed this summer. We complete that type of work when school is not in session for the safety of the students and faculty. We also removed some old underground storage tanks, but there are no major issues associated with the tank removal. At the peak of construction this summer O&G we will have around 80 to 100 workers on site. We have about 20 workers on site right now as a comparison, Chan explained. The new building will meet the Connecticut High Performance Schools standards, which is roughly the equivalent of a LEED Silver status. However, the project is not pursuing any LEED accreditation. For more information visit www.region-12.org/ or www.ogind.com/. BRIDGEPORT A New York Uber driver was arrested Wednesday and accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl here. This is crazy, Jermal Lincoln exclaimed as he stood before Superior Court Judge William Holden. Then, turning to where a friend sat in the back of the courtroom, Lincoln yelled, Hey Jerry, call my mother. Lincoln, 28, of the Bronx, was charged with first-degree sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to children. The allegations here are disgusting, Senior Assistant States Attorney Tatiana Messina told the judge, urging him to set a high bail. Holden agreed and ordered Lincoln held in lieu of $250,000 bond. There was no indication in court documents or proceedings that the current charges against Lincoln have any connection to his work for Uber. The prosecutor said Lincoln had previously been charged with a sexual assault in New York but had pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. Police said they received a call on Christmas Day from a local woman complaining that she had just found out during the family gathering that Lincoln had sexually assaulted her daughter. Lincoln, who had been staying with the local family during the holidays, agreed to watch the girl while her mother was at work, police said. Police said that at some point, Lincoln handed the girl his cellphone and had her watch pornography on it. They said he then grabbed the girl by the arm and dragged her to the living room couch, where he repeatedly sexually assaulted her. Police said Lincoln warned the girl that he would kill her mother if she said anything about what he had done to her. However, police said, the girl confided to an aunt who told the mother what had happened, but not before having the girl write everything down. Editors note: This article has been changed to clarify that court documents and proceedings have not alleged a connection between the charges against Jermal Lincoln and his work as an Uber driver. DANBURY A new nonprofit named for the late Gabrielle White has spread educational support and supplies to children on three continents in just one year. Gabrielles Wings raised more than $450,000 since it launched last February to honor the legacy of Gabrielle, the granddaughter of Danbury philanthropist Noel Hord, whose death in 2017 shocked communities across Connecticut and New York. The group has since built new playgrounds, libraries and computer labs in Gabrielles name everywhere from her hometown of New Rochelle, N.Y., to a South American village in Belize to another community near Capetown, South Africa. The idea is really to enable children, especially children in under-served communities, with the ability to soar, said Michelle Hord, Noels daughter and Gabrielles mother. Gabrielle loved butterflies, and we think about an angels wings, but also the butterfly effect: That one small thing can change anything. Gabrielles Wings partners with The Hord Foundation, which will hold its annual fundraising gala on Saturday night at the Amber Room Colonnade, to complement the foundations mission to provide college scholarships to African-American students with help both locally and internationally for younger needy children. Together, they provide a lifelong support system to children and young people of color to help mentor them about the opportunities education makes available and provide financial support they might not otherwise receive. My dream goal would be that there could be children who benefited from the work of Gabrielles Wings who could even go on to be Hord Scholars, Michelle Hord said this week. In New Rochelle, the group completed a new accessible playground in November and renovated a corner of the community library dedicated to inclusive literature, both of which now bear Gabrielles name. Through Michelle Hords mission work, she also connected with a church in Capetown in the middle of a digital desert where students do not have access to computers or technology within 30 miles, she said. Gabrielles Wings was able to partner with the church and township there to construct a new computer lab to give more than 100 children unprecedented access to educational resources. In Belize, the group helped a school struggling to fill its library with hundreds of books featuring people of color to help inspire more than 200 students, she said. All of those efforts help other children see Gabrielle who was an avid 7-year-old reader, cook and student as an inspiration for their own education, Michelle Hord said. The bonus track that I discovered will guide some of our choices: Its obviously powerful to give back, but its also powerful for children to see someone who looks like them able to give back, she said. Michelle Hord and two Hord Scholar alumnae will speak at the gala about the two organizations work. The Hord Foundation has awarded more than $5 million in scholarships to more than 2,000 black students from the Danbury area over the past 26 years. Last year, the group awarded about 75 scholarships worth about $200,000 to students. Hord Scholars have gone on to study at Ivy League universities and work around the world, but the scholarships also have helped students attend community college and technical schools to start jobs here in Danbury, Noel Hord said. The gala has always been about sharing and exposing the investment that our supporters make and for them to be able to see firsthand how their investment is not only paying off for the individual students receiving it but how they are paying it forward in their professional careers, their personal agenda, Noel Hord said. Its like a stream can become a river, and a river a lake, and so on. If you go Tickets are still available for The Hord Foundation annual gala at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Amber Room Colonnade. The fundraising dinner will include a silent auction and dress is black-tie optional. Tickets cost $150 and can be purchased online at www.hordfoundation.org. See More Collapse zach.murdock@hearstmediact.com Correction: The nonprofit Gabrielles Wings is named for Gabrielle White. An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated her last name. WASHINGTON The coalition of Connecticut lawmakers and gun-safety advocates may never have dreamed they would see the day when the House of Representatives approves legislation to tighten up gun-buyer background checks and close loopholes. But that day has arrived. On Wednesday, the Democratic-controlled House is poised to pass the Bipartisan Background Check Act of 2019. The bill is comparable to post-Newtown legislation that the Senate, then under Democratic rule, narrowly rejected in 2013. And on Thursday, the House is likely to push through the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2019, which would end the so-called Charleston loophole that mass shooter Dylann Roof exploited to buy the gun he used to kill nine black parishioners at a Charleston, S.C., church in 2015. Passage of the twin bills represents a sharp contrast to the House under Republican control, when then-House Speaker Paul Ryan refused to bring any gun legislation to the floor. A 25-hour sit-in by Democrats including Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, and then-Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District. did not convince Ryan to change course. The new measures may not see the light of day in the GOP-controlled Senate. The Trump administration has threatened vetoes even though President Donald Trump once urged lawmakers to be very, very powerful on background checks; dont be shy. But advocates and lawmakers arent letting details spoil the historic turnaround the votes represent. We knew this day would come when the American people would demand action on gun-violence prevention, said Po Murray, co-founder of Newtown Action Alliance formed in the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting where a gunman killed 20 children and six educators. The majority of Americans will no longer tolerate gun violence and will vote on this issue. Thats what happened in 2018. Although resentment of Trump fueled Democratic election success in 2018, guns played a role in the outcome in races in several states. Chief among them was the victory of Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., in a district once represented by GOP mastermind Newt Gingrich. McBath lost her teenage son, who was black, when a white man complained about loud music emanating from a car that the son, Jordan Davis, was sitting in. He drew a gun and opened fire. The background-check bill requires checks for all gun transactions, even at gun shows where they are exempt under current law. The bill contains fewer exceptions than the 2013 measure that fell six votes short of overcoming a Senate filibuster. But it does exempt transactions between family members and temporary loans of guns on an emergency basis to prevent death or injury. The Enhanced Background check bill is aimed at lengthening the time allowed for a background check to be completed. Under current law, a buyer may take possession of a gun if a check is not finished within 72 hours. Roof, the South Carolina shooter, obtained a gun after the FBI encountered delays in determining whether he met legal criteria for buying or owning a gun. It was only after he walked out with the handgun that the FBI determined that Roof had admitted to drug possession after police arrested him a disqualification for gun ownership under federal law. The bill to be voted on in the House on Thursday would allow 10 days for completion of the background check, in place of three. After 10 days, a prospective owner would have to file a petition for expedited review. The petition would give the FBI an additional 10 days to complete the check. This is basic low-hanging fruit were talking about, said Jeremy Stein, executive director of CT Against Gun Violence. Obviously we want these bills to pass in the House, but Im not going to hold my breath. The National Rifle Association and local gun-rights advocates say the new laws would do little more than infringe on the Second Amendment rights of lawful gun owners. There are laws already on the books that prohibit sales to individuals who are prohibited from possessing firearms, said Scott Wilson, president of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League. Yet some individuals continue to break our existing laws. It is obvious that more laws are not going to stop a determined criminal from stealing or purchasing firearms in illegal fashion. Members of the states Democratic congressional delegation have said they believe the 2018 election results weakened the NRA and its allies. But the gun-rights side still holds sway in many red states and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is unlikely to change his posture of opposing new gun laws. Weve got our work cut out for us to make inaction as uncomfortable as possible for Sen. McConnell, but more so for the Republican senators who are up for election in 2020 and 2022, said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who along with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., has been a leader of Senate Democrats on the gun issue. Were going to need to train all of the focus of the massive anti-gun violence movement on 10 or 15 senators and make their life pretty miserable if they dont put pressure on McConnell to bring this up for a vote. dan@hearstdc.com HARTFORD Tiheba Bain has dual bachelors degrees in Psychology and Women in Criminal Justice. But the 49-year-old Bridgeport resident was turned down for a job with a second chance agency working with those who were previously incarcerated because of her own criminal conviction. I was recruited for the job, it sounded like the perfect opportunity in my field of criminal justice reform, she said. They called me back several times for interviews. But when they found out the violent nature of the crime, they dropped me. Bain and dozens of other supporters of the bill testified Tuesday before the Labor and Public Employees Committee in the hopes of getting their life back on track by having fair access to housing and employment. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Robyn Porter, D-New Haven, would amend statutes by prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, public education, insurance, credit transactions, and government programs and services based on a persons criminal history. If the bill becomes law, any person who feels discriminated against in housing or employment could seek redress through the states Commission on Equal Rights and Opportunities. Right now its legal to tell a person that they arent getting the job because of their criminal record, said David McGuire, the executive director of the Connecticut American Civil Liberties Union. The bill would elevate a persons criminal history to the same level as a protected class, he said. This is really a bill about recognizing peoples humanity and public safety because when people work, they are less likely to reoffend, he added. Bain spent 10 years in federal prison in Danbury for a kidnapping that occurred 16 years ago. Since her release in 2011, shes pursued an education, first acquiring an associates degree and then dual bachelors degrees. But she, like many other individuals who were incarcerated, is finding it difficult to find meaningful employment even though shes worked hard to get her life back on track. If this law passed, we wouldnt face as many barriers, she said as she waited to testify in the lobby of the Legislative Office Building with a crowd of about 40. Wed be known for who we are now, not what happened in the past. The hearing room was standing-room only with dozens of members of the ACLUs Smart Justice campaign wearing bright blue People Not Prison T-shirts. Anderson Curtis, who recently moved from New Haven to East Hartford, has felt the sting of discrimination after serving nearly 20 years off and on for a variety of convictions, mostly due to his addiction. He has been out for 12 years and has an Associates degree in Addiction Counseling. The stigma creates a perpetual punishment, Curtis said. Even though weve served our time, its like were still doing time but in a community-based prison. As a supporter of the bill, Steven Hernandez, who heads the legislatures Commission on Women, Children and Seniors and the Commission on Equity and Opportunity, pointed out that the bill could include provisions so that people who were incarcerated for sex offenses against children will not be able to claim discrimination if they are bypassed for a job working with children. The same would hold true for those with financial crimes in their background who seek to work in a bank, he said. If they have served their time and there arent other circumstances that would lead someone to believe they would recidivate, the principle of non-discrimination should apply, Hernandez said. But without carefully delineated protections for landlords and employers, the bill has a long way to go before it would pass muster before the entire General Assembly, some committee members said. We already have that protection, Sen. Craig Miner, R-Litchfield, said. You are not allowed to ask that (if someone has a criminal history) unless you offer them a job. Miner said he respected that formerly incarcerated individuals need some pathway to housing and employment. If I own a two-family house and Im not allowed to ask the person with a serious offense with a gun and theres family with young children living upstairs and something happens. There would have to be immunity for landlords who rent in good faith. People who committed a crime at 18 and now are 50 will deal with their conviction for the rest of their life, Rep. Richard Smith, R-New Fairfield, said. They do need help in getting back in society, whether its housing or employment, he said. Im one of those people who thinks we cant erase the past. The past is the past. But I dont know how we can legislate against discrimination. Smith suggested tax incentives for landlords who rent to those who were previously incarcerated and some type of incentives for employers as well. I would love to be able to help those folks who wanted to get back into the workforce, he said. Porter told the story of a young man she recently met who is educated and working, but living in a homeless shelter because of his criminal record. I know people who are living this every day, Porter said. Her concern is that there are huge disparities and disenfranchisement, particularly for people of color, she said. She agreed that there should be some protections for landlords and others, but Porter said the bill also cut down on recidivism by allowing people to be productive again. Everyone should have a chance, she said. BRIDGEPORT A convicted drug dealer who once killed a dog in front of 12-year-old boy for sport, was arrested Wednesday in connection with last years fatal shooting at a North End motel. Donnell Williams, 28, of Beechmont Avenue, surrendered to police after learning there was a warrant for his arrest. He was charged with murder, felony murder, and attempted first-degree robbery. Superior Court Judge William Holden later ordered Williams held in lieu of $1.35 million bond. Williams had only been out of prison a short time after being convicted of drug, gun and animal cruelty charges when, police said, he and 25-year-old Glenn Pettway gunned down 48-year-old Alfanso Anderson in a room at the Sunny Side Inn on Lake Street. Police said Pettway and Williams had gone to the motel to kill a man named Leo who had stiffed a prostitute and her pimp out of their money, but had gotten the wrong room number and killed Anderson by mistake. Pettway is awaiting trial in the case on murder charges. On Sept. 12, 2011, a 12-year-old boy was playing with his neighbors dog, Buddy, in the neighbors yard on Harbor Avenue when Williams walked over and shot the dog in the head. Williams then calmly walked down the street with the gun in his hand, police reports said. Police said the boy was traumatized by the incident. For some time, he had been begging the dogs owner to let him play with Buddy. She finally agreed moments before the dog was killed in front of the boy. The shooting sparked outrage in the Black Rock neighborhood, and residents demanded justice for the friendly black-and-white canine. NATOs growing military potential is ruining the current security system in the world, forcing Moscow to take retaliatory measures, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said. "The scale and intensity of drills has more than doubled, and Ukraine and Georgia, which are not part of NATO, have become more actively involved there. Such steps are violating the current security system in the world," the minister stressed. According to him, NATO is continuing developing its forward basing system in the Baltic states, Eastern and Southern Europe. "More than 200 crews from 13 member-states of the alliance have been trained to perform flights over the Baltic states and the Baltic Sea," TASS cited him as saying. "Against this background, we are forced to provide an adequate response, carrying out strategic containment events with the plans of stepping up combat capabilities of military formations and units," the Russian defence minister said. BRIDGEPORT The driver of a Department of Public Facilities truck that rammed into a Seaview Avenue business in early January is facing an internal investigation and possible disciplinary hearing. Steven Lucak, according to the police report, temporarily blacked out while driving a roll-off truck on Seaview Avenue at about 8:15 a.m. on Jan. 5. When Lucak regained consciousness, his vehicle was partially embedded in the corner of 740 Seaview Ave. home of Spec Plating Inc., which provides metal finishing for Sikorsky Aircraft and other clients. Emergency responders pulled Lucak from his crushed cab and transported him to Bridgeport Hospital. A city spokesman confirmed the accident in January, but never indicated it involved a municipal worker and truck. Lucak has not returned to work. Lucak, police said, did not smell of alcohol and showed no signs of impairment. However, the police report noted, he takes medication because he suffers from seizures. Sources said the incident is under investigation and Lucak could face a disciplinary hearing involving whether he should have been behind the wheel of a piece of heavy equipment. The badly damaged roll-off truck, used to haul dumpsters, is valued at around $190,000. And the owner of Spec Plating Inc. said his insurer will file a claim with Bridgeport. Its bad, Geoffrey Scott, Spec Platings president, said Wednesday of the damage to his building and some of the equipment inside. Its going to be hundreds of thousands (of dollars). Scott said the truck plowed right through the building. Right through it. ... For about three and a half days, we couldnt do anything and finally patched some stuff temporarily together to get us going again. Scott said no employees were in the building at the time of the crash. (Its) a good thing he didnt hit another area that has hazardous chemicals, Scott said. Lucak, who could not be reached for comment, has been linked to the ongoing scandal involving the illicit sale of municipal scrap metal. His name appears a few times on documents Hearst Connecticut Media obtained in November detailing over $35,500 of scrap-for-cash transactions between municipal workers and Bridgeport-based P.C. Metals. The documents printouts from P.C. Metals computerized record keeping system contain information like the names of the drivers bringing the scrap metal, the style of truck often roll-offs, the weight of the metal, and what they received in cash. The FBI is investigating the scrap sales as part of an ongoing criminal probe, and Mayor Joe Ganim has terminated or punished some of those involved. P.C. Metals is at 270 Central Ave., a short distance from Spec Plating. But sources said Lucak, before the crash, was en route down Seaview Avenue to pick up confiscated furniture the city had stored from property evictions to dispose of at the transfer station. Lucak is a member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. A union spokesman declined to comment. Whatever Lucaks employment future, Scott said the driver was fortunate to walk away from the crash. He was lucky, Scott said. I saw the truck. Its totaled. After Florida ISP Network Tallahassee was hit with a ransomware attack, the broadband provider reportedly paid a $6,000 ransom. Details of the attack such the type of ransomware and how many customers were affected were not revealed. We know only that the infection was discovered on Saturday. The Tallahassee Democrat quoted a former cop as saying he could no longer send email on Monday, but he could still receive it. As of Wednesday morning, the afflicted ISPs site is still down, but the company left the following voicemail for customers who called in on Monday: We have been in contact with the hackers and paid the ransom and have been advised it will be tomorrow, Tuesday, before we get the compiled encrypter tools. If the hackers deliver, it will probably be Wednesday before we are partially back up and running. Network Tallahassees message added, We apologize for the inability to contact folks, but nearly all systems are down and those that arent down are largely crippled. To say were sorry is inadequate. We are doing our best. The ISP later said no customer data had been compromised, as the threat is localized to a few crippled servers, including the server for the phone system. The first server was reportedly nearly restored, and the ISP said, With any good fortune, we will be back online within the next 24-36 hours. More ransomware news Ransomware attack hits Australian cardiology group and likely Toyota manufacturer The Melbourne Heart Group, out of Australias Cabrini Hospital Malvern, has recovered from a recent ransomware attack. Fifteen thousand cardiology patients records were allegedly encrypted. Also, according to The Age, an undisclosed ransom was paid yet not all of the files could be decrypted. An unnamed source suggested the ransomware payload was Hermes 2.1. Although the ransomware attack occurred in late January called a cybersecurity incident by the Melbourne Heart Group the cardiology unit didnt post an all clear signal until Feb. 25. Toyota Australia was also recently a victim of an attempted cyber attack. BankInfoSecurity suggested this, too, may have been a ransomware attack. New ransomware targeting Linux servers comes with ransom demand of over $75,000 Bleeping Computer reported that a new ransomware that targets Linux servers and possibly Windows boxes comes with a $75,000 ransom demand. When this B0r0nt0K ransomware was reported to a Bleeping Computer forum, the user said his clients website running on an Ubuntu 16.04 server had been encrypted and the ransom demand was 20 bitcoins; at the time of publishing, 20 BTC was the equivalent of over $76,000. Ransomware attacks decline as cryptojacking and fileless malware attacks increase You wouldn't think it, based on the above ransomware attacks, but the newly released 2019 IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index says both the reliance on malware and ransomware attacks are on the decline. Criminal cyberthug groups are instead shifting to cryptojacking attacks. The amount of cryptjacking attacks were almost twice as many as those of ransomware attacks in 2018. If we look at the drop in the use of malware, the shift away from ransomware, and the rise of targeted campaigns, all these trends tell us that return-on-investment is a real motivating factor for cybercriminals, said Wendi Whitmore, Global Lead of the IBM X-Force Incident Response and Intelligence Services. We see that efforts to disrupt adversaries and make systems harder to infiltrate are working. While 11.7 billion records were leaked or stolen over the last three years, leveraging stolen Personally Identifiable Information (PII) for profit requires more knowledge and resources, motivating attackers to explore new illicit profit models to increase their return on investment. One of the hottest commodities is computing power tied to the emergence of cryptocurrencies. This has led to corporate networks and consumer devices being secretly highjacked to mine for these digital currencies. Trend Micro agreed that ransomware attacks are on the decline, stating, Overall ransomware-related threats decreased by 91 percent from 2017 to 2018. According to Trend Micro Researchs newly released report (pdf), cryptojacking detections peaked at more than 1.3 million in 2018 a 237 percent increase, fileless threats were up a whopping 819% from 2017, and cyberthugs turned from zero-days attacks to abusing flaws that were recently patched. Scare headlines about the looming cybersecurity skills shortage are a regular feature in the trade press, and occasionally even make it into mainstream publications. If one thing is clear, it's that companies outbidding each other for a tiny talent pool of security engineers with five to ten years experience is not a winning formula to increase the cybersecurity labor force. So what is? Training or hiring junior security staff. A growing number of free and cheap training resources online make it easier to skill up thousands of workers in-house and help job seekers prove their worth at a relatively low cost. The following list is by no means comprehensive. Got a favorite resource you love? Drop us a line and we may add it here. Cybrary Cybrary Cybrary enrollment comes with a free facial tattoo! An emerging player in scalable remote virtual learning is Cybrary, which offers a freemium service with classes to help employees and job seekers earn their CompTIA A+, CompTIA Security+, CCNA, CISSP and a variety of other entry-level security certifications. Job seekers looking to break into infosec could do a lot worse than spending a few weeks working their way through many of the free courses available on Cybrary. Some of the paid courses may be valuable as well. The platform also offers enterprise subscriptions to industry and government on an affordable per-seat basis, making it cost effective to skill up thousands of employees into junior cybersecurity roles. Hack the Box Hack the Box Want to hack Hack the Box? Hack your way in first! More ambitious job seekers looking to take the Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) certification should consider the wealth of free lab virtual machines (VMs) that Hack the Box offers. Why spend tons of money on OffSec lab access if you can get some of that experience elsewhere for free or at least, a lot more cheaply? MSC Cruises has taken delivery of the MSC Bellissima from Chantiers de lAtlantique. With three Meraviglia-generation ships under simultaneous construction at the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, the two parties marked a double celebration today, with MSC Virtuosas Coin Ceremony. The MSC Bellissimas Delivery Ceremony took place in the presence of Gianluigi Aponte, MSC Groups Founder and Executive Chairman. Also present were Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman, MSC Cruises, Laurent Castaing, General Manager, Chantiers de lAtlantique, as well as other regional and local authorities and dignitaries. Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Cruises Executive Chairman, said: Todays delivery marks another chapter in the story of our partnership with Chantiers de lAtlantique. Together we have already brought to life 14 highly-innovative cruise ships, paving the way for our Companys initial growth. Many more will be built together over the coming years to further deepen the reach of our fleet. Furthermore, MSC Bellissimas elegance and beauty, as well as focus on the best and latest maritime and environmental technology at sea, bear testament to our restless pursuit for innovation. Laurent Castaing, Chantiers de lAtlantiques General Manager, said: This new outstanding ship is another evidence of the quality of the long-term partnership we have established between MSC Cruises and Chantiers de lAtlantique during these last twenty years. We bring each time all our expertise and innovation capability to deserve the confidence of our customers: this is a real success story for our two companies. The ship is the first MSC ship to feature ZOE, the worlds first virtual personal cruise assistant, which has been added to MSC for Me. With todays delivery, MSC Bellissima has become the fourth ship to join MSC Cruises fleet in less than two years. This evening MSC Bellissima will set sail towards Southampton, UK, where her Naming Ceremony is due to be held on March 2, with her maiden voyage leaving on March 4. That will take her to Genoa, Italy, where she will spend her inaugural season, offering Western Mediterranean cruises. In November 2019, she will reposition to the Gulf, providing weekly sailings out of Dubai. In spring 2020 she will be deployed to Asia. Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Moscow today. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the two leaders would, in particular, discuss the Syrian conflict resolution. "The sides plan to discuss urgent issues of bilateral cooperation, primarily in the trade, economic and humanitarian spheres, as well as exchange views on the current situation in the Middle East, including problems of Palestinian-Israeli settlement and the situation in Syria," the Kremlin said. Earlier in February, Netanyahu said that he also intended to discuss Iran's military presence in Syria with the Russian president, as well as the issue of strengthening of the coordination mechanism in order to prevent friction between the Israeli and the Russian military, Sputnik recalls. A United Kingdom street preacher was called a racist and told to go away before police arrested him for breaching the peace. According to WND, an un-named street preacher was standing outside of the Southgate Station London N14, when two police officers asked him what he was doing and then ordered him to leave. A video of the incident posted to Twitter by EyeOnAntisemitism shows one officer approach the man and ask, What are you doing here? A Christian preacher this afternoon was arrested at Southgate station London N14 for preaching about Jesus . @CConcern the police told him its because public had said he was being islamophobic . We have the full video and wondered when preaching was now illegal ? @Campaign4T pic.twitter.com/ZxC1DhlZCf EyeOnAntisemitism (@AntisemitismEye) February 23, 2019 As the street preacher hugged his bible, he told the officer he was preaching. The officer responded saying, Youre preaching Im gonna require you to go away. When the man refused to stop sharing the word of God, the officer told him, Okay, then I will arrest you. The Christian preacher told the officer that he could not leave because he needed to share the truth of salvation with the people. The officer responded saying, "I appreciate that, but nobody wants to listen to that. They want you to go away, Fox News reports. As a second officer arrived on the scene, the pair arrested the street pastor and stripped his Bible from his hand. As the preacher peacefully ask the second officer not to take his Bible, the officer commented, You should have thought about that before you decided to be racist. According to WND, Police approached the man after someone complained that he was being Islamophobic. The Barnabas Fund reports that before police arrived, the preacher was verbally assaulted by a man who appeared to be Muslim, and it is likely that this confrontation triggered a complaint. According to Christian Today, the man was later released. Photo courtesy: King S. Church International/Unsplash 60% Website thermoemporiki.gr uses latest and advanced technologies. It supports HTTPS. The main html page has a size of 81 bytes (0.08 kb uncompressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-02-27, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. Pakistan says its air force shot down two Indian fighter jets over the disputed border region of Kashmir, in a significant escalation of the crisis between the two nuclear-armed powers. India confirmed the loss of one plane and said it shot down a Pakistani jet as it responded to the incident. The confrontation came a day after India said it launched airstrikes in Pakistan territory in the first such incursion by Indian Air Force planes since the India-Pakistan war of 1971. Pakistan's chief military spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, claimed two Indian jets were downed in Wednesday's operation. One fell inside Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, while another went down in the Indian-controlled region of Kashmir, he said on Twitter. Ghafoor initially claimed two Indian pilots were arrested and said one was being treated for injuries in a military hospital. But on Twitter later Wednesday, he said only one was in military custody. 100% Website sata.pt uses latest and advanced technologies. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 5267 bytes (5.14 kb uncompressed) and 1647 bytes (1.61 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-01-12, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. 100% Website kurjerzy.pl uses latest and advanced technologies. It supports HTTPS. The main html page has a size of 30397 bytes (29.68 kb uncompressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-04-11, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. 63% Website gloud.cn uses latest and advanced technologies. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 909 bytes (0.89 kb uncompressed) and 748 bytes (0.73 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2019-09-30, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. 100% Website djamol.com uses latest and advanced technologies like: Boostrap. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 73051 bytes (71.34 kb uncompressed) and 8140 bytes (7.95 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-03-09, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin began their meeting Wednesday afternoon in Moscow, where the Israeli premier is holding a brief state visit, Haaretz reports. Netanyahu told Putin that "ties between us have prevent friction between our armies and contributed to security in the region." He also recounted that the two have had 11 meetings since September 2015. Putin responded by telling the Israeli premier that he is welcome in Russia, and accepted an invitation to hold a visit in Israel. Later that day, Putin also accepted an invitation from Netanyahu to participate in the opening ceremony for a new monument in Jerusalem commemorating victims and survivors of the World War II Siege of Leningrad. Its hardly a reassuring amount of time, but UK contractors dont even have the full four weeks until Britain is due to leave the EU if they want to work in Switzerland post-Brexit, and nor do their clients or agencies, writes Nick Broughton, on behalf of overseas contracting and payroll specialists Sigma Management Services SA. Thats because on February 13th, the Swiss government announced plans to establish a separate permit quota system for UK nationals if there is a no-deal Brexit. With little evidence of an agreement in sight, its an announcement weve poured over carefully as it affects UK nationals who wish to work in Switzerland from next month and beyond. The new quota system -- what it is, and when Crucially, once Britain exits the EU on March 29th, the current EU Free Movement of Persons Agreement (FMOPA) between Switzerland and Britain will cease to exist. And from March 30th, Britain will be treated as a non-EU country. In anticipation of a no-deal Brexit, the Swiss government say they will introduce a new quota system for UK nationals to work in Switzerland. Note however, UK nationals currently working in Switzerland via a B Permit are unaffected. Of interest to others who want to work in the country, the Swiss government say some 3,500 visas will be released exclusively for UK nationals. This release will include 2,100 residence permits (otherwise known as B permits) and 1,400 short stay permits (L permits). The quota system will run from March 30th until December 31st this year. It is unknown at this stage how the visa quota system will work in 2020. Act now As a result of the system being incoming for 2019, we are advising any company that wishes to have UK workers in Switzerland before Brexit D-day to act very fast. In fact, in order to avoid any delay post-Brexit, we recommend that workers must have their permit organised before the beginning of next month -- March 2019. To reiterate, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the Swiss government say permit quotas will apply, meaning any UK national looking to live and work in Switzerland may not be guaranteed a permit. At this stage, it is unknown as to how the permits will be distributed, and whether the application will be based on skillset, job title, level of experience, prior working history in Switzerland and other factors. In addition, any company that wishes to place a worker may have difficultly towards the end of this year due to decreased permit availability. For now, if a contractor recruitment agency is looking to place a worker in Switzerland for an assignment this year, its important for such an agency to finalise the placement during March 2019, and to ensure they inform their clients of the potential issues. Final thoughts If youre a UK national wanting to contract in Switzerland, or an agency or end-user looking to temporarily deploy UK nationals in Switzerland, the onus on you to act now, and with extreme speed will drive home the increasing prospect of a no-deal Brexit. Giles Watling is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Clacton. In certain cases, it is still legal to consume dog and cat meat in the UK and I think that needs to change. It is quite right to argue that there are many important issues for us to focus on in Parliament at the moment, but not only can we multi-task, we can introduce a proper and comprehensive ban on this meat quickly. I also believe that such a ban will help to protect these animals, not only here in the UK, but around the world. In 2018, there were 20 million dogs and cats in Britain, and these wonderful companions have such a positive impact on our lives. I grew up with animals of all sorts and am the proud owner of three fairly noisy but lovely dogs: Minnie, Humphrey, and Herbie. That personal experience ensures that animal welfare is always high on my agenda, and I am delighted that ministers have recently introduced a raft of new measures to better protect animals, including the ban on third-party puppy and kitten sales. Yet, despite our positive record, which has rightly led to international renown, thirty million dogs and four million cats are still slaughtered every year for their meat around the world indeed, 15,000 dogs and cats are killed during the ten-day Yulin Festival in China alone. These animals are often stolen and housed in small, filthy cages with little food or water, as there is a strong (and erroneous) belief that their meat is tastier and contains better properties if they live through high levels of stress whilst being killed. This results in horrendous suffering, with animals often boiled, skinned, or blow torched alive. No animal should ever suffer such pain and trauma, and I thank the World Dog Alliance for their efforts to raise awareness of this troubling issue. To date, these terrible practices have, thankfully, not been reported in this country. However, current UK legislation only bans the trade in dog and cat meat for human consumption, the use of dog meat in food businesses, and the slaughter of dogs in abattoirs. So a legal loophole exists and means that the private slaughtering of dogs and cats for private human consumption is still legal. To prevent any future exploitation, that loophole needs to be closed and, encouragingly, a cross-party group of colleagues agree with me and are supporting my amendment to the Agriculture Bill, which will properly prohibit the human consumption of dog and cat meat in the UK. Bill Wiggin, my fellow MP for North Herefordshire, has also introduced the Dog Meat (Consumption) (Offences) Bill to highlight how the UK Government could stand up for animal welfare by bringing in a ban I recommend that you take the time to watch his brilliant speech when doing so. In addition, we have now debated this matter in Westminster Hall, where the Government committed itself to exploring what more can be done to address this matter. In closing this loophole, we will catch up with legislation in the US, where the killing and possession of dogs and cats for human consumption recently became illegal. This was an important development and provided a real boost to the international prohibition campaign. It is important to recognise that this is not a widespread problem in the US either, but Congress believed it was right to pass the ban regardless, to demonstrate their support for global efforts to eradicate this cruel practice. In his speech proposing the ban, Representative Jeff Denham summed it up best when he said: Adopting this policy signals the United States will not tolerate this disturbing practice in our country. It demonstrates our unity with other nations that have banned dog meat and bolsters existing international efforts to crack down on the practice. Beyond America, the consumption of dog and cat meat is already illegal in several other countries and regions, including: Germany, Austria, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Australia. It is now time for the UK to join that group. Yes, some may call this unnecessary or virtue signalling, as it is not a problem in the UK to which I simply say: not yet! We can be ahead of the curve on this, and get legislation in place now to head off any possible incidents further down the road. The legal loophole can also be closed at no financial or physical expense to us. But most importantly, as with the US ban, this would send a powerful international signal of our moral opposition to this horrific practice and will encourage other nations, where this is a problem, to introduce similar measures. In fact, the Chinese have said that until we make it illegal, why should they? We have already led the world in opposing other deplorable practices, such as ivory poaching, modern slavery, bull fighting, and whaling. We now have the opportunity to do so again by properly outlawing the consumption of dog and cat meat. As a nation of pet lovers, this is the right thing for us to do these are our companions, not food. Dominic Walsh: The EU and the backstop. This rules-based organisation has shown flexibility before. As it can and should now. Dominic Walsh is a policy analyst for Open Europe. During the last few days, followers of the Brexit saga have largely focused on momentous developments in Westminster. Labours belated and qualified support for a second referendum has hogged the headlines, while the Prime Ministers decision to offer the Commons votes on No Deal and Article 50 extension on March 13 and 14 feels like a game-changer. Meanwhile, the Independent Group have had a good inaugural week, with one YouGov poll placing them on an eye-catching 18 per cent. However, the EU side of the story still matters. Before the second meaningful vote on 12 March, the UK and EU will need to agree on legal guarantees which the Prime Minister and Attorney General are seeking on the backstop. There was no deal in the desert at the weekend, and little sign of an imminent breakthrough. But after this weeks votes are over, attention will once more focus on what the EU can give the Prime Minister on the backstop. The EUs inflexibility in part a product of the need to maintain internal unity has become notorious in the Brexit negotiations. Just a few weeks ago, Martin Selmyar said that on the EU side, nobody is considering extra legal assurances on the backstop. Yet history shows that the EU can be far more flexible than many give it credit, when flexibility is needed to salvage the ratification of an important treaty. In a new briefing, Open Europe explores four examples when the EU, confronted with domestic obstacles to ratification, has revisited deals it had already signed off. These occurred in 1992, after Danish voters blocked the ratification the Maastricht Treaty; in 2008, when Irish voters opposed the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty; in April 2016, when Dutch voters rejected the EU-Ukraine association agreement; and in October 2016, when Wallonian MPs voted against ratifying the EU-Canada deal. On each occasion, the EU did not want to reopen the treaty itself, yet needed to remove barriers to domestic ratification. And on each occasion, they came up with a creative compromise which clarified and interpreted the treaty without fundamentally altering it often by closing off undesirable interpretations or possible outcomes which the treaty alone left open. Whether it is called a protocol, a codicil or a joint interpretative instrument, the key take-home is that each of these solutions made a material political difference and had genuine legal force. It is often argued that while the EU is prepared to make concessions for existing member states, it will not or should not make such a concession for the UK. But this is a political argument, not a substantive point. It is not simply a question of doing the UK a favour when the impact of a No Deal departure affects EU member states too and Ireland most of all. And arguably, the stakes for the EU are higher now than they were over Lisbon, CETA, or Maastricht; on those occasions, No Deal meant a continuation of the status quo. It is true that three of these examples involved ratification via referendum, while the UK is seeking to ratify the Withdrawal Agreement via Parliament. But that is neither here nor there. Whether it was voters or MPs, in each case genuine concerns about the treaty in question were expressed in a democratically legitimate way. And in each case, these concerns were addressed by the EU without reopening the offending treaty. Something similar is needed now. At this stage in the negotiations, it is both unnecessary and unrealistic for Brexiteers to fetishise reopening the Withdrawal Agreement. After all, the problem with the backstop is one of interpretation as much as substance in particular the concern that it could end up being a trap from which the UK could not escape. This fear can be addressed via a protocol, which would be legally binding, ratified by the Commons and the European Parliament as a mini-treaty, and annexed to the Withdrawal Agreement. The main objective should be to give the existing aspiration that the backstop does not aim to be permanent some legal teeth, by emphasising that under EU law, Article 50 cannot be the basis of a permanent future relationship. As well as allowing the Attorney General to modify his legal advice, this could give the UK a valuable tool in the next phase of the negotiations if Brexiteer fears of a trap were ever realised. Ultimately, the EU may say the deal is locked down. But these historical examples show that it isnt over until its over. The EU has shown flexibility before; it needs to do so again now. Lord Ashcroft: Theres not going to be a single Democrat that can go toe-to-toe with the President. My interview with Kayleigh McEnany. If you enjoyed the last presidential election, youll be delighted by the thought that were only 20 months away from the next one. Characteristically enough, Donald Trump declared his intention to seek a second term earlier than any previous incumbent, and his campaign is already in what Americans like to call the staffing up process. One of the earliest senior appointments is Kayleigh McEnany, the former CNN commentator named earlier this month as the campaigns national press secretary. I met her last week at the Trump campaign headquarters in Northern Virginia for a discussion you can hear in full in the latest Ashcroft in America podcast. If candidate Trumps slogan in 2016 was Make America Great Again, I asked, how far is he going to claim to have achieved that by 2020? Moving forward, its keep America great. Last time round he was on pace to win from the very beginning because the conservative base found their hero. They found someone that they found to be authentic, that spoke from the heart, that wasnt scripted, that wasnt a mannequin politician. Since his election, she says, the results speak for themselves. The base is one thing, but my research regularly finds around one third of Trump voters saying they were voting mainly to stop Hillary Clinton. If the Democrats can find a more appealing candidate this time which ought not to be hard, given her approval ratings at the time doesnt that mean hes in trouble? If they were sceptical at first, she believes, they have been won over: They recognise that this president has brought jobs back, that hes brought security to manufacturing, that hes fought for the American people, hes fought for the blue-collar worker, and they see those results on the ground. McEnany puts the economy, rising wages, and falling unemployment at the head of a long list of the Presidents achievements. But does that leave him vulnerable if the economic cycle takes a turn for the worse? I dont foresee the economy changing at all. The fundamentals of the economy are strong. Moreover, business owners know that they have a free-market capitalist in the White House, a President who will deregulate and allow uninhibited growth. At this stage in the process, most of the interest is on who the Democrats are going to nominate as Trumps opponent. What kind of person does she think the party is in the mood to choose? A socialist. Its pretty clear. You look at the fact that just eight years ago, what the Democratic contenders were saying then versus now and its striking. Youll recall President Obama would say over and over, if you like your health care you can keep it. There is a recognition that there is a place for private insurance. Now youre hard pressed to find a single candidate who says that the order of the day is government-run health care The left is ruling the day, the extreme left and socialism is the order of the day. As for what kind of Democratic opponent would give the Trump campaign the toughest job: I dont think a single one would When youre standing up to results like that theres not going to be a single Democrat that can go toe to toe with the President. Its much like back in the Reagan era where Reagan asked voters, are you better off today than you were four years ago. And when that question is asked of voters, the answer is yes. While there is the prospect of a high-profile independent candidate in the 2020 race, McEnany argues that this would cause Trump less trouble than his other opponents. I dont think it will be a centrist ticket, I think it will be a liberal one. Youve seen [former Starbucks boss] Howard Shultz come out and say, I cant stand with this socialist Democratic party. Hes still a liberal, make no doubt about it, but should they nominate a far-left socialist theyre gonna have a real problem on their hands. So if youre not worried about sceptical voters or your potential opponent, what is the biggest challenge facing the Trump re-election campaign? Breaking through the filter of the mainstream media. A study by Harvard University had found historic negative coverage during Trumps first hundred days in office theres so much unfairness, so much false reporting and the Presidents not given a fair shake. The campaigns job is making sure the American people have unfiltered access to what the President wants to share with them. The campaigns own polling during the State of the Union speech confirmed this. We saw a double-digit rise in approval among swing voters who just directly watched the President. Theres a lower number for those who watched the media reporting of what the President said. Thats proof to us that our strategy moving forward, the President unfiltered wins the day, at rallies and speeches talking directly to the American people. You can hear Lord Ashcrofts full interview with Kayleigh McEnany in the latest Ashcroft in America podcast. Cabinet at war as May offers Brexit delay find a way of avoiding no-deal if her Brexit plan were defeated. They were rebuked by the prime minister for breaking cabinet collective responsibility and Gavin Williamson, the defence secretary, said that the EU was now less likely to give concessions. The Times Remainers lashed for kamikaze tactics Daily Mail Tears of rage: inside the remarkable meeting Daily Telegraph Prime Minister caught between rival factions The Times Mays plea to MPs: back her deal Daily Mail Senior cabinet ministers were accused by their colleagues of sabotaging talks with the EU last night after they forced Theresa Mayto give MPs the chance to delay Brexit. The prime minister bowed to a cabinet rebellion and will allow MPs a vote to stop Britain leaving without a deal on March 29 if her agreement falls in the Commons again. They can then vote to ask the EU to extend negotiations for a short, limited period. The concession provoked acrimony in cabinet. Amber Rudd, the work and pensions secretary, David Gauke, the justice secretary, and Greg Clark, the business secretary, were accused of kamikaze behaviour by Liz Truss, chief secretary to the Treasury. The Remain-supporting trio threatened to resign unless Mrs May promised to Europe: Brussels to offer May a backstop out The Sun EU says Britain risks midsummer no deal The Guardian Delay could force UK into European elections The Times EU agrees tough post-Brexit financial services rules FT >Today: ToryDiary: The key is the DUP. A letter to the Prime Minister from her Chief of Staff. >Yesterday: ToryDiary: Commons sketch: May threatens to drive everyone over a cliff, then offers a concession and DExEU warns on cue that Britain is ill-prepared for no deal British businesses and households are not ready for a no-deal Brexit, the UK government said on Tuesday, as officials warned that they could not mitigate the damaging consequences of crashing out of the EU next month. With the deadline for leaving the bloc just over four weeks away, an official summary of Britains preparedness for no-deal concluded that there is not enough time left for the government to avoid disruption. Any difficulties would be amplified by a general complacency that Britain will not leave the EU without a deal, the report said. The document will increase pressure on MPs to vote against a no-deal Brexit if the prime ministers deal is rejected in the House of Commons on March 12, and will add to the view in parliament and financial markets that the chances of a no-deal Brexit are receding. FT Public has ignored no-deal ad campaign, officials admit Daily Telegraph Critical no-deal plans running late The Times Departure could be postponed by two years, May warned Daily Telegraph Business warns that delay causes problems FT Piecemeal delays bad for car plants The Guardian Analysis: May backs down to buy herself time Robert Shrimsley, FT Time has run out to ratify the deal, so what are Mays options? Matt Bevington, Times Red Box The next set of votes Henry Mance and Jim Pickard, FT >Yesterday: Rees-Mogg softens opposition to the Withdrawal Agreement Brexiteers warn that three-month delay wont resolve deadlock The Sun ERG leader warns of surge in right-wing extremism Daily Telegraph Furious Brexiteers demand May gets rid of plotters Daily Express Jacob Rees-Mogg, the head of the leading Eurosceptic faction of Conservative MPs, has softened his opposition to Theresa Mays Brexit deal, amid rising hopes in Downing Street that the prime minister might win approval for a revised agreement next month. Mr Rees-Mogg, told the Financial Times that he was no longer insisting that the contentious Irish backstop be scrapped as a condition for his support for Mrs Mays deal and was prepared to consider other legal fixes to ensure it did not become permanent. I think people are rather struck by her doggedness and dont want to stand up and take a potshot at her, he said of the prime minister he sought to unseat as leader of the Conservative party last year. Mr Rees-Mogg and his pro-Brexit European Research Group of MPs will play a vital role when Mrs May returns to the Commons for a decisive vote on a revised deal with the EU as she has promised to do by no later than March 12. FT Comment: The ERG must know Mays deal is our last chance to leave Stephen Glover, Daily Mail Politicians should be more polite, like Rees-Mogg Charlotte Gill, Times Red Box Editorial: Backbenchers must not sleepwalk into no-Brexit destruction The Sun >Today: ToryDiary: The motion backing Leave that every Conservative Association should pass during this AGM season >Yesterday: and Corbyns second referendum pledge angers his allies Allies of Jeremy Corbyn turned on the Labour leader yesterday over his decision to back a second referendum. He was criticised in a shadow cabinet meeting the morning after his surprise announcement that he would support another vote if he could not get the deal he wants through the Commons. The decision is supported by Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, and John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor. However, it came as much more of a surprise to other frontbenchers. Richard Burgon, the shadow justice secretary, Rebecca Long Bailey, the shadow business secretary, and Andrew Gwynne, the shadow communities secretary, are thought to have raised concerns about the new position, along with Ian Lavery, the party chairman. All four represent seats that voted to leave in the 2016 referendum. The Times Fifty MPs set to defy leader over new policy The Sun Backlash anticipated The Guardian Labour MPs warned party could face catastrophic damage Daily Telegraph Civil war erupts over shift in position The Sun Competing divisions in Labours Brexit debate The Guardian Scottish Labour leader pressed to clarify referendum stance The Scotsman More: Independent Group table second referendum amendment Daily Express Jailed MP could wear tag to vote on Brexit The Times Comment: Corbyn is committed to a vote he must pray will never happen Alison Pearson, Daily Telegraph Labour will win more votes than it loses for this Peter Kellner, The Guardian Raphael Hogarth: Brexiteers should back a codicil to solve the backstop We shall leave with a deal which avoids an indefinite backstop if MPs hold their nerve Theresa May, Daily Mail Extending Article 50 is just a route to overturning the referendum Priti Patel and Grant Shapps, Daily Telegraph The utter folly of taking no-deal off the table David Davis, Daily Mail In short, a maximalist interpretation would say that nothing can change on the island of Ireland as a result of Brexit. A narrower interpretation would not. It would still say that there can be no new physical infrastructure on the frontier between Northern Ireland and the Republic. But it would contemplate new costs and burdens for traders and governments on both sides of the border If the UK and the EU shared that narrow interpretation then, some years from now, when new computer systems were up and running and new officials in post, it would be much easier for the UK to leave the customs union and step further outside the single market (though not, probably, all the way). And if, in 2022, the parties could not agree on what a new deal had to achieve in order to replace the backstop and they ended up in a dispute before an arbitration panel or the European Court of Justice over the matter, then any declaration setting out that shared interpretation would be the judges first port of call. Times Red Box More: May has the hardliners in her sights Matthew Parris, The Times Delay could mean Britain never breaks free from the EU Philip Johnston, Daily Telegraph A brave Brexiteer would back a second vote Daniel Finkelstein, The Times May finally admits that there is no clean Brexit Rafael Behr, The Guardian Another referendum is now essential Martin Wolf, FT We ought to be ashamed of the MPs trying to block Brexit Quentin Letts, Daily Mail >Today: Dominic Walsh in Comment: The EU and the backstop. This rules-based organisation has shown flexibility before. As it can and should now. MPs blame Grayling for more rail chaos Passengers should expect more chaos on the railways this year because the government has failed to get a grip on problems with the network, MPs say. A cross-party committee says that the 2018 year from hell could be repeated thanks to timetable changes and increases in engineering work. Ministers have repeatedly promised to ensure that the publicly owned Network Rail and private rail companies collaborate more closely to minimise disruption but a report published today by the public accounts committee says that the Department for Transport still has a way to go to improve its strategic management of the railways. The report says that passengers and taxpayers risk continuing to pay the price for the departments failures because changes have not been made. The Times Labour response to Hezbollah ban provokes fresh antisemitism row members of Hezbollah as friends. Four years ago he said that there could be no Israeli-Palestinian peace process without talks involving Israel, Hezbollah and Hamas. The Times Opposition claim Javid is just trying to boost leadership hopes Daily Telegraph Williamson says party has been too apologetic The Sun MP criticised after arranging screening for witch hunt film in Parliament Daily Telegraph The Labour leadership was accused of inflaming the row over antisemitism in the party yesterday by criticising a decision to declare Hezbollahs political wing a terrorist organisation. Labour suggested that the declaration was motivated by the leadership ambitions of Sajid Javid, the home secretary, and called for new evidence of why the group should be outlawed. Britain had previously drawn a distinction between the military and political branches of the Lebanese Shia group and outlawed only the former, but Downing Street said that the links between them meant separating the two was untenable. Hezbollah was founded in the 1980s with financial backing from Iran. It has 12 MPs in the Lebanese parliament and two cabinet ministers. Jeremy Corbyn has previously been criticised for referring to Comment: The Government must not stop at Hezbollah Con Coughlin, Daily Telegraph Corbyn apologises unreservedly for breaking rules on trip Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has apologised unreservedly for breaching Commons rules by not declaring an overseas trip to America with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Mr Corbyn admitted that he had not declared a trip to New York City in April 2014 to attend a nuclear non-proliferation conference for CND. But he was cleared by Kathryn Stone, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, of breaking Commons rules by not declaring another 16 trips including one when he was present at a wreath laying ceremony in a Tunis cemetery between 2011 and 2014. The Tunis trip was cleared by Ms Stone because Mr Corbyn said it would have cost 656 just 4 below the 660 threshold at which overseas visits had to be declared at the time although he admitted that it had not been possible to find the actual cost of the visit. Daily Telegraph News in Brief: The appearance of Galaxy Fold and Huaweis Mate X has generated a lot of excitement around folding smartphones, but what if I were to tell you that Apple is quietly working on them too? How advanced are its plans? Apple has been developing technologies that could be deployed inside a folding iPhone since at least 2014, when the first patents for such a device appeared in Europe. More Apple patents appeared in 2016 and 2017. With a nod to the need to innovated display tech, a report that claimed LG was actively working with Apple and four other major tech firms (including Google and Microsoft) on the development of folding smartphones appeared in December 2016. This claimed the first such devices would reach market in 2017, which didnt happen. Of course, theres a big difference between a patent application and a shipping product, but it is interesting how Apples patents seem to depict a flip phone with a hinged middle a sort of iPhone-meets-RAZR-meets-Star Trek Communicator combo. Some patent descriptions described devices with not visible screen when closed, others leave half the display visible. I didnt think about these patents too much when they first appeared, and didnt buy the speculation at that time that Apple would ship foldable smartphones in 2017 -- this seemed way too early and the technology challenge way too great for that schedule to be realistic. After all, these things need to be thin and robust and Apple didnt even lose the headphone jack until 2016. Thats even accepting the challenge of ensuring performance, battery life and durability can be maintained. Display tech challenges Folding smartphones also required innovation in display technology development. Thats an innovation challenge manufacturers including LG, Samsung and Huawei, are clearly chasing to meet. A video that purported to show Xiaomis leaked three-panel folding smartphone generated huge interest in early 2019 fully extended to iPad-like size, this device folded into a smartphone-sized device you could pop inside your pocket. With a range of display manufacturers now capable of developing folding displays, Apples R&D teams will now be watching to see how well these things perform in the real world: Are they tough enough to live in your pocket? How easily do they break? How do people tend to make use of them once they have gotten over the initial appeal? Its all about the software How these things are used will be the big sticking point. Any developer needs to be able to create apps that seamlessly migrate between all the different available sizes in which you can use a folding device. Apps need to be able to shift between phone mode into tablet mode seamlessly, with no discernible lag and no sense that the move is an adjunct to the core design. Making that process smooth is the difference between gimmick and responsive design. To achieve that kind of responsiveness means developers must already be creating software that runs in the same or very similar fashion on multiple device families you can release an app for a smartphone and know it will run in a more or less identical fashion on a tablet. Apple already ships iOS apps in such a fashion, though the UI may differ slightly between iPhone and iPad mode. Apples Project Marzipan could be seen as more of the same, but this isnt really going to become a thing until new operating systems ship later this year. In the next 12-months well see Mac, iPhone and iPad apps become a more universal binary. This will make apps more responsive and more consistent across different displays. If Apple is plotting a path to a foldable iPhone, that kind of display agnosticism may prove a necessary step toward flexible apps for flexible displays. Perhaps Apple is paying more attention to folding smartphones than we thought. Or perhaps it thinks these devices are gimmicks that lack a real mission. Let the market decide. Please follow me on Twitter, or join me in the AppleHolics bar & grill and Apple Discussions groups on MeWe. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held a meeting with Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili in Baku, the Azerbaijani presidential press service reported. At first, the presidents have held a one-on-one meeting, after which they were joined by their delegations for a meeting in an expanded format. Ilham Aliyev and Salome Zurabishvili made speeches at the meeting. Danville, IL (61832) Today Thunderstorms - some locally heavy downpours are possible, especially during the afternoon hours. High 78F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms this evening giving way to periods of light rain late. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Columbia, MO (65201) Today Thunderstorms likely, especially this morning. High 79F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Thunderstorms. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. 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. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer testified in front of the House Ways and Means committee on Wednesday. His testimony comes as China and the U.S. try to strike a deal to avoid a full-blown trade war. The two countries have slapped tariffs on billions of dollars worth of each other's goods since last year. Tensions between China and the U.S. have eased recently. President Donald Trump agreed this week to push back indefinitely a key early March deadline, citing "significant progress between the two countries. Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has met with President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili, who is on an official visit in Azerbaijan, Trend reported. First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva said that she is happy to see Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili in Azerbaijan, and expressed confidence that this visit will contribute to the further expansion of relations between the two friendly countries. Saying she is happy to visit Azerbaijan, President Salome Zurabishvili stressed the importance of meetings held in Baku in terms of developing the bilateral ties. They also exchanged views on cooperation prospects between the two countries in a variety of areas. And this time, Cohen, who is heading to prison for lying to Congress, will assure lawmakers that he's telling the truth. Michael Cohen is set to deliver a slew of scathing accusations against his former boss, President Donald Trump , in public testimony before Congress on Wednesday. [The stream is slated to start at 10 a.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.] Cohen, 52, who served by Trump's side as a Trump Organization executive and personal attorney for more than a decade, will call the president a "racist," a "cheat" and a "con man," according to a copy of his prepared remarks obtained by NBC News. He will provide what he says are checks showing that Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. personally reimbursed him for the $130,000 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 presidential election to keep her from speaking publicly about an alleged affair. Those checks came after Trump became president, Cohen will say. And he will allege that Trump knew in advance that whistle-blowing organization WikiLeaks was planning to release hacked Democrats' emails in the late stages of the 2016 election that would be damaging to Trump's rival, Hillary Clinton. Cohen has already pleaded guilty to multiple charges lodged by federal prosecutors in New York and special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russian election meddling and possible Trump-campaign collusion. His crimes included tax evasion and lying to Congress, as well as violating campaign finance law through his payment to Daniels. He is scheduled to begin a three-year prison term in May. Nothing Cohen says before the House Oversight Committee can help him reduce that sentence. Trump, who is in Vietnam meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in pursuit of progress on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, attacked Cohen's credibility in a tweet early Wednesday. Trump TWEET Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately). He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crooked's lawyer! It is incorrect to claim Cohen's testimony to Congress would reduce his prison sentence because based on the committee's parameters, nothing Cohen is expected to say to Congress will reduce the sentence. Republicans on the Oversight Committee also will likely hammer Cohen's credibility, highlighting the fact that he has already admitted to misleading Congress in prior testimony. Vietnamese carriers VietJet and Bamboo Airways on Wednesday signed deals with Boeing to buy 110 planes worth more than $15 billion as the fast-growing companies look to expand their operations in Asia and beyond. On the sidelines of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, VietJet signed a firm order to purchase 100 737 MAX planes worth $12.7 billion. The deal was made provisionally in July last year. Bamboo signed a firm deal with Boeing to purchase 10 wide-bodied 787 planes worth $2.9 billion. Bamboo, owned by property and leisure company FLC Group is also in talks to buy 25 narrow-bodied Boeing 737 planes, chairman Trinh Van Quyet told Reuters. Bamboo, which made its first flights in January, had placed a provisional order last year for 20 Boeing 787 widebody jets worth $5.6 billion at list prices, and Wednesday's deal is not part of that. "The purchases are part of our strategy to expand our operations on the international market, including flying to the United States and Europe," Quyet said. He said Bamboo plans to launch its first non-stop flights to the United States late this year or early next year. Earlier this month, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration declared Vietnam complied with international aviation standards, allowing Vietnamese carriers to fly to the United States for the first time and codeshare with U.S. airlines. VietJet also finalized a $5.3 billion long-term engine support agreement with General Electric for the LEAP-1B engines in its fleet. Trump and Kim meet in Hanoi on Wednesday for their second summit, with Trump holding out Vietnam as a model of economic success that isolated North Korea could follow. WATCH: Why Airbus and Boeing dominate 99% of the large plane market An oil tanker sits beside transfer pipes at a terminal as it prepares to unload its cargo of fuel on July 4, 2018 in Zhoushan, China. VCG | Getty Images The ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute stopped a surge in American oil exports to the Middle Kingdom, but as Washington and Beijing inch toward a deal, a trickle of U.S. crude appears to be making its way to Chinese shores. The development comes as U.S. and Chinese negotiators recently wrapped up talks that prevented tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in goods from rising sharply on March 1. The dispute has disrupted once robust trade in energy products such as crude oil and liquefied natural gas between the world's two biggest economies. China emerged as a major buyer of U.S. crude after President Barack Obama and Congress lifted the 40-year ban on exporting crude oil in 2015. During some months last year, China surpassed Canada as the top importer of American oil. Beijing has declined to slap an import tax on U.S. crude in retaliation against the Trump administration's tariffs on Chinese goods. But Chinese buyers nevertheless stopped purchasing American supplies last year as the trade dispute with Washington escalated. After the long pause in trade, China recently offloaded its first shipment of U.S. crude oil this year, although in a roundabout way. About 468,000 barrels of U.S.-origin crude oil was pulled from storage at Yeosu, South Korea, and shipped to China, according to tanker-tracking firm ClipperData. Hongrun Petrochemical, an independent refiner, received the shipment of Eagle Ford crude at Qingdao Port on Sunday, according to S&P Global Platts, which reported the transfer overnight. There are also signs that China may soon receive direct shipments of crude oil from the United States. According to ClipperData, a ship called the Hong Kong Spirit recently loaded almost 2 million barrels at Moda Midstream's Ingleside terminal near Corpus Christi, Texas, and in the U.S. Gulf. The VLCC or very large crude carrier is currently declaring for Yantai, China. "This destination may, however, change en route, but for now signals optimism on the trade war front. By the time the VLCC makes it to China in April, trade war concerns may have dissipated," said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at ClipperData. President Donald Trump will participate a "joint agreement signing ceremony" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the White House announced Wednesday. The ceremony will take place on Thursday, the second day of Trump's summit with Kim in Hanoi, Vietnam. The White House did not provide details on the contents of the joint agreement. On the agenda at the Vietnam summit are negotiation talks regarding North Korea's nuclear weapons arsenal, which Trump has promised to denuclearize during his presidency. The summit marks the second meeting of the two leaders following last June's talks in Singapore, which was the first meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean head of state. "Kim Jong Un and I will try very hard to work something out on Denuclearization & then making North Korea an Economic Powerhouse," Trump tweeted on Wednesday. tweet At last year's summit, Trump and Kim signed a joint agreement that promised to "establish new U.S.-DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity." The agreement included a promise from North Korea to "work toward complete denuclearization," but did not provide any specific steps. Trump has argued that his negotiation skills from his time in the private sector make him uniquely qualified to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. He has repeatedly derided the Obama administration for failing to reach a denuclearization agreement with the country. "So funny to watch people who have failed for years, they got NOTHING, telling me how to negotiate with North Korea," he tweeted before the summit. "But thanks anyway!" U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Wednesday Twitter post there's "AWESOME" economic potential for North Korea if the hermit nation's leader Kim Jong Un agrees to give up on his nuclear weapons. Trump's tweet also pointed to Vietnam as an example that North Korea could follow. "Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting!" the president said. Trump, at a meeting with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong, repeated that Vietnam is an example for North Korea. The American president said he and Kim "felt very good about having this very important summit in Vietnam" because the Southeast Asian country is "an example as to what can happen with good thinking." Trump on Twitter: Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting! If North Korea follows in Vietnam's footsteps, the rogue nation's gradual opening up could bring in investment opportunities worth up to $9 billion per year, Morgan Stanley estimated. "North Korea's 18 million working age population would join Asia's production supply chain at an hourly wage cost lower than Vietnam's," the bank said in a research note. "A liberalised North Korea would provide the missing link in improving the trade connectivity of the Korean peninsula to Europe if inter-Korea rail connects to Russia and China." Vietnam's economy has thrived at a time when global activity slowed down. The Southeast Asian frontier market reported growth of 7.1 percent last year its strongest pace in a decade and also among the fastest in the world. The country was also frequently cited for its potential to be a beneficiary of the U.S.-China trade war. But Vietnam has relied mostly on labor-intensive manufacturing to power its growth over the last three decades, helped by a young workforce and low wages. Productivity growth and technological adoption have not kept up, and some economists have raised concerns about the country's economic future once those advantages fade. Trump and Kim are scheduled to meet in the Vietnamese capital city of Hanoi this week, less than a year after the two leaders met in Singapore. Last June's summit was the first in-person meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean head of state. The two leaders are expected to discuss denuclearizing the Korean peninsular, although the two sides appear far apart on the idea of North Korea getting rid of its nuclear weapons. That has long been a U.S. precondition for economic sanctions to be lifted, but analysts say Kim is unlikely to relinquish North Korea's hard-won status as a nuclear power. Here's more of what you need to know about this week's summit. Reuters contributed to this report. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are set to face each other this week for their second summit in less than a year. But first, Trump attended a raft of events with officials from Vietnam, which is playing host to the U.S.-North Korean talks for two days. The American president kicked off his Wednesday schedule with a visit to the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, where he met with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong for a photo op and bilateral talks. During that meeting, Trump praised Vietnam's "thriving" economy, and said the country is "an example as to what can happen with good thinking." Eamon Javers tweet Those compliments were set against the backdrop of Trump saying in a morning Twitter post that North Korea's economy could do as well as Vietnam's if Kim agreed to give up his nation's nuclear weapons. After his time with the Vietnamese president, Trump headed to meetings with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. U.S. President Donald Trump talks with reporters before a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the Office of Government Hall, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, in Hanoi. Evan Vucci | AP Photo The North Korean portion of Trump's public schedule will begin later on Wednesday when he meets with Kim for a one-on-one conversation. After that, he'll have what the White House described as "a social dinner" with the dictator. "I look forward to the meeting tonight with Chairman Kim," Trump said during a bilateral discussion with Vietnam's prime minister. "Hopefully it's going to be successful we'll see what happens. But he wants to do something great also, and I think that he wants to do something that would be on a par (with Vietnam)." "He can do it in a very, very rapid time make North Korea into a great economic power," the U.S. president added, continuing his campaign to convince Kim that this week's summit is the young leader's best chance to kick-start an economic boom in his country. Most news from the talks is likely to come on Thursday. The two sides are expected to hold meetings throughout the better part of that day, and some form of statement or signing is likely at the summit's conclusion. Nuclear weapons That was how Trump and Kim closed their summit in Singapore last June. The leaders held a signing ceremony for a declaration that said both sides would commit to establishing better relations and that North Korea "commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." Last year's meeting marked the first in-person meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean head of state. So far, North Korea seems only willing to take measures that limit its nuclear and missile capabilities it has no indications that it wants to roll back or undercut its existing nuclear arsenal or missile arsenal. Tong Zhao fellow, Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy 'No rush,' says Trump Trump has appeared to downplay the goals for this week's summit. Whereas last year he claimed the North Korean regime would begin removing its nuclear capabilities "very, very quickly," he said last week that he was in no hurry. "Well, I'd just like to see, ultimately, denuclearization of North Korea. I think we will see that ultimately. I have no pressing time schedule," he said from the Oval Office last Tuesday. "And I think a lot of people would like to see it go very quickly from the other side." Shirts on display in Hanoi, Vietnam, ahead of the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Chery Kang | CNBC "But I'm in no rush. There's no testing," Trump added. "As long as there's not testing, I'm in no rush. If there's testing, that's another deal." Still, after his meetings with the Vietnamese officials and before his dinner with Kim, Trump said in a Twitter post that he remained committed to pursuing denuclearization. Donald J. Trump tweet: All false reporting (guessing) on my intentions with respect to North Korea. Kim Jong Un and I will try very hard to work something out on Denuclearization & then making North Korea an Economic Powerhouse. I believe that China, Russia, Japan & South Korea will be very helpful! What does North Korea want? As for North Korea's goals, analysts said the country is probably willing to remove some capabilities it no longer needs and may agree not to increase the size of its arsenal. But Kim won't give up his nuclear weapons, they said. Victor Cha, Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, predicted during a discussion in Washington last week that Kim's approach will be to "actually not really giving up anything." At the same time, he'll have "clear demands for the United States to give up things very much in the present" possibly including military exercises, troop deployments and sanctions. North Korea currently faces United Nations sanctions and separate sanctions from the United States. The UN blocks some imports and exports and has frozen the assets of individuals connected with Pyongyang's nuclear program. The United States restricts the North Korean economy further and targets more individuals. CNBC's Huileng Tan contributed to this report. WATCH: Trump needs something big from North Korea meeting, analyst says China supports the reunification of North and South Korea, but Beijing is deeply worried about Seoul's security alliance with the U.S., according to one analyst. Although North and South Korea are still far away from any sort of reunification, both nations have said that remains an ultimate goal. Such a move is hardly on the table for this week's summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. Still, any draw down in tensions would be a step toward reunification. China's opinion on North Korea's affairs is important because Beijing is the primary economic and political benefactor of Pyongyang. "The Chinese have always argued that they actually support the reunification of the Korean Peninsula because when they look at their own case (of) the Taiwan Straits and the reunification that China is trying to achieve, to obstruct the reunification of the Korean Peninsula is almost morally unacceptable and is morally wrong for China to take that position," Yun Sun, director of the China program at Washington think tank the Stimson Center, said Wednesday. "What the Chinese have always conveyed to the Americans and to the South Koreans is that 'we don't have problems with the reunification, but we have concerns about the future of the U.S.-South Korea alliance,'" Sun added. Should some form of inter-Korean reunion eventually happen, the big concerns for China would be: "Does the alliance still exist? Will the U.S. have troops basically going north to the Chinese border?" Sun told CNBC. Beijing will want answers from the U.S. and South Korea on that front, she added. U.S. troops have been stationed in South Korea since the 1950s. There were more than 26,000 American military personnel in the country at the end of 2018, according to data from the U.S. Defense Department. "Without an acceptable arrangement or a grand bargain, if you will, on that front, I don't think China will be particularly supportive of reunification," Sun said. US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One prior to departure from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, February 25, 2019, as he travels to Hanoi, Vietnam for a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. President Donald Trump, in Vietnam, unleashed another Twitter tirade against Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Wednesday, ridiculing the Connecticut Democrat for his military record during the Vietnam War. "I have now spent more time in Vietnam than Da Nang Dick Blumenthal, the third rate Senator from Connecticut (how is Connecticut is doing?). His war stories of his heroism in Vietnam were a total fraud he was never even there," tweeted Trump, who received five draft deferments between 1964 and 1972. "We talked about it today with Vietnamese leaders!" Tweet 1 The president arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam late Tuesday, ahead of a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday. Shortly before the second U.S.-North Korea summit in less than a year, Trump met with the Vietnamese prime minister and other officials. He has described the Southeast Asian country as "thriving like few places on Earth." "We generally decline to waste time engaging with Trump's brazen lies about Senator Blumenthal. Nothing new here," Maria McElwain, a spokesperson for Blumenthal, said when contacted by CNBC on Wednesday. "But the American people should be concerned about the President of the United States squandering time and energy during sensitive negotiations with a serious nuclear threat peddling falsehoods about a political critic." Businesses selling food and beverages infused with CBD have a message for the Food and Drug Administration: Regulate us, please. Congress' legalization of hemp products, including most CBD, in December is forcing the FDA to consider writing new rules and casting a cloud of uncertainty over the emerging industry. The absence of clear regulations has cities and states, even ones that have legalized forms of marijuana, pulling products off shelves and levying fines against establishments that sell CBD-infused food and beverages. CBD, short for cannabidiol, is a non-psychoactive compound found in the cannabis plant that promises to relax the body without altering the mind. While the federal government legalized CBD that's derived from hemp, a close cousin of marijuana, the FDA's rules still prohibit companies and restaurants from adding it to food or drinks. In anticipation of new federal rules, New York City, Ohio and Maine have asked restaurants to stop selling CBD food and drinks in recent weeks, saying the FDA doesn't recognize the products as safe. The legal uncertainty is frustrating startups trying to cash in on the surging popularity of CBD and is likely keeping large food and beverage companies on the sidelines, industry executives say. "The boogeyman used to be the DEA, and now it's suddenly become the FDA," said Eric Cahan, owner of Mamacha, a matcha cafe in New York that served drinks infused with CBD until the New York City health department started cracking down. The Drug Enforcement Administration could go after companies selling CBD before it was legalized. Companies may receive some clarity Wednesday when FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb heads to Capitol Hill at 3 p.m. to testify before the House budget-writing committee. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, said she plans to press him on the issue. Although using CBD in food was clearly prohibited under FDA rules, the industry expected the agency to change its stance once President Donald Trump signed the farm bill into law in December, legalizing CBD derived from hemp. While FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the agency would establish new rules to legalize CBD products for consumer use, he also condemned some products that tout unproven health benefits and vowed to use existing rules to ban their sale. "We'll take enforcement action needed to protect public health against companies illegally selling cannabis and cannabis-derived products that can put consumers at risk and are being marketed in violation of the FDA's authorities," Gottlieb said at the time. Benjamin Witte said he anticipated the regulatory scrutiny following the passage of the farm bill. He launched a seltzer drink called Recess that touts a full-spectrum hemp extract, not CBD. Hemp extract can include multiple cannabinoids, or cannabis compounds. CBD is just one of at least 100 cannabinoids found in the hemp plant. To Witte, what's going on right now with CBD is "no different" than in the early days of Uber. He said he welcomes regulation and there's a "serious lack of nuance in the conversation" right now. "I want this to be something that's very controlled," Witte said, adding that he hopes hemp extract will become a certified permissible food ingredient no different than whey protein or caffeine. "Arguably some of the biggest risks to Recess are bad actors that don't take this seriously." Nic Balzer, founder and CEO of Queen City Hemp, said the lack of clear federal rules is causing "temporary confusion" at the state level. In his home state of Ohio, regulators are removing CBD food and beverage products from shelves. Balzer said his CBD seltzers are being pulled from stores in Ohio. "I see it as temporary," he said. "I don't see how the FDA could withhold updating their stance anymore given the pressure from Congress." Ideally, Balzer would like to see the FDA formally designate hemp extract, which includes CBD, as "generally recognized as safe," or GRAS. That would treat CBD and other hemp-derived compounds like other commonly used ingredients, such as vanilla flavoring or salt, so long as they meet the same safety standards. Congress is also pressing the FDA for answers. Twelve lawmakers penned a letter to Gottlieb earlier this month asking a litany of questions, including when he plans to hold public meetings on CBD and whether the agency was advising local governments that are pulling the products. Thai tycoon, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, leader of the Future Forward Party, arrives at the Office of the Attorney General in Bangkok on February 27, 2019. Thai prosecutors said on Wednesday they would decide after a March 24 election whether to pursue criminal charges against the leader of a new political party who criticized the military junta in a speech on Facebook last year. The deferment of their decision came on the same day that Thailand's Constitutional Court is to consider disqualifying another opposition party from the election, the first since a 2014 military coup. The legal moves have raised fresh questions over the fairness of Thailand's electoral process. Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, a 40-year-old auto parts billionaire and political novice, and two colleagues could be jailed for up to five years under the Computer Crime Act for "uploading false information" in a speech posted on Facebook in June. His Future Forward Party has denied the charges against the three and said points made in the speech were public information. Thanathorn, who has promised to end what he describes as dictatorship and to weaken Thailand's military, said earlier on Wednesday the prosecution was politically motivated. "We believe in our innocence. We believe in the rights of the people to criticize those in power, the fundamental rights of democracy," he told reporters before meeting prosecutors. "As Future Forward gains more attention every day, there are attempts to undermine us," he said. Wichian Thanompichai, Director-General of the Office of Criminal Litigation, told reporters that prosecutors needed time to consider the case because of the level of public interest. "We won't be able to decide before the election, most likely March 26," Wichian said. Thanathorn has gained popularity, especially among young people, with his social media savvy and calls to end military meddling in politics. He was greeted by crowds of supporters, some of whom handed him flowers, as he arrived at the attorney general's office. "We stand by you. We love you. Please take care of yourself," one supporter told Thanathorn. The Constitutional Court is set to decide later on Wednesday whether another anti-junta party, the Thai Raksa Chart Party, can contest the election. The party faces accusations of violating an electoral law against using the monarchy in election campaigning. The party nominated King Maha Vajiralongkorn's sister, Princess Ubolratana, as its prime ministerial candidate earlier this month, a move the king said was inappropriate and unconstitutional. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said there was no turning back from the deal with Russia. He expressed hope that the United States approach towards Turkeys purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defence system would change "Relevant institutions are conducting necessary talks right now. They will continue to do so. They will also speak to Congress." the Turkish president told Turkish broadcaster NTV. "I hope that this wrong approach (of the U.S.) will change," Reuters cited Erdogan as saying. U.S. and NATO officials have told Ankara that the Russian system cannot be integrated into the NATO air and missile defense system and that purchasing the S-400 system would jeopardize Turkeys purchase of Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets and possibly result in U.S. sanctions. Elon Musk's renewed feud with the Securities and Exchange Commission after another errant tweet raises concern over the Tesla board's ability to control the electric car maker's strong-willed and unpredictable CEO. "His board has to act," said Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. "They seem to be incapable of acting, which is very disappointing." The board's independence and ability to restrain Musk have been frequently called into question. Several board members have close ties to Musk either through family or business. Board members include his brother Kimbal Musk, a restaurateur and Tesla investor, and Antonio Gracias, a long-time investor who also sits on the boards of Musk's companies Solar City and SpaceX. Tesla declined to comment for this article. The SEC accused Musk on Monday of violating his Sept. 29 agreement with the agency, which settled securities fraud charges for allegedly misleading investors with a series of inaccurate tweets last summer saying he had secured the funds necessary to take Tesla private at $420 a share. Musk agreed to pay fine of $20 million, step down as chairman for three years and refrain from tweeting material information about the company's operations and finances without company review and approval. Tesla also had to pay $20 million. Tweets on Feb. 19 have Musk in the SEC's crosshair again and pushing for contempt charges. He has until March 11 to explain to a federal judge in New York why he shouldn't be held in contempt after tweeting production numbers for 2019 that were inaccurate and that Musk corrected later that day. The SEC said Musk sent the tweets without submitting them for review or getting company approval. Under the deal, Tesla was also required to add two independent directors to the board. Software mogul Larry Ellison, chairman and chief technology officer of Oracle, and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, global chief human resources officer of pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance, joined the board in December. It also promoted Australia telecom executive Robyn Denholm, who joined Tesla's board in 2014, to replace Musk as chair in early November. But it is unclear how much power she actually has over Musk, Kelley Blue Book editor Matt DeLorenzo said Tuesday on CNBC's "Power Lunch." "There was this agreement to bring in Robyn Denholm as the chairman, and the real question here is: Is that window dressing? I mean the question is, "Who is sort of Elon's boss and how is this issue going to be addressed?'" DeLorenzo said. After the SEC's filed its most recent complaint, Musk took to twitter again to criticize the agency, saying "Something is broken with SEC oversight." Even with the new additions, Musk seems to control the board, including who is appointed and removed, Elson said. Any attempt to rein him in results potentially in their replacement. "And they value, I guess, being on the board more than acting as normal board members would in such a situation," Elson said. "In most companies, they would be gone." In its complaint, the SEC cited an interview Musk gave with CBS' "60 Minutes" in December when he said the company doesn't need to review his tweets. Asked how the company would know if he is planning to send a potentially stock-moving tweet without being able to read it, Musk told the news show, "Well, I guess we might make mistakes. Who knows?" Turnover in Tesla's executive ranks have also raised red flags, especially the sudden departure of former General Counsel Dane Butswinkas, who left after just two months on the job. Tesla has lost more than 40 executives since 2016. "That should be a signal of something," Elson said. Former SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt told CNBC that Musk should be held in contempt for his comments. Although Pitt said he does not know why Butswinkas left, he thinks many recently departed executives may feel Musk doesn't listen to them. "For somebody who's a high-powered, very capable lawyer as he was and is, that has to be incredibly frustrating," Pitt said Tuesday on "Squawk Box." "I think the same problem exists in a lot of areas, and unless the board steps up its oversight, we will continue to see this huge amount of turnover." GP: Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., speaks during an event at the site of the company's manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China, on Monday, Jan. 7, 2019. On Friday, close to $1 billion in debt comes due for Tesla, an obligation that will wipe out about a quarter of the company's cash. According to regulatory filings, Tesla has $920 million in convertible senior notes set to expire on March 1, at a conversion price of $359.87 per share. Tesla's stock hasn't traded above $359 for weeks, and closed Tuesday at $297.86. If the shares were valued at the conversion price, the bonds could convert into Tesla stock, and Tesla wouldn't need to pay the debt in cash. But in the absence of a major share rally this week, the electric vehicle maker will have to make the payment in cash. In its 2018 annual report, Tesla said it had $3.69 billion in unrestricted cash and equivalents to end the year. Former hedge fund manager Darius Brawn said the debt payment could put Tesla in a cash crunch, unless the company sees exceptional Model 3 sales next month. "If March doesn't go gangbusters for Tesla they are in real trouble, especially without raising," said Brawn, who worked as a portfolio manager for Citadel, SAC and Sharpe Point. Brawn added that he doesn't think the company can raise while CEO Elon Musk clashes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. On Monday, the SEC asked a federal court to hold Musk in contempt for violating an agreement the parties struck last year over Musk's Twitter use. A Tesla spokesperson pointed to comments from the fourth-quarter shareholder letter, when the company said it has "sufficient cash on hand to comfortably settle in cash our convertible bond that will mature in March 2019." Tesla also said that its cash position improved by $1.45 billion in the second half of 2018, and that it expects positive net income and positive free cash flow "in every quarter beyond Q1 2019." Porn star Stormy Daniels on Tuesday said she was "proud" of President Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, thanking him for his courage in "finally beginning to tell the truth about what you did." Daniels' statement came as Cohen testified to a congressional committee about hush money paid to her and Playboy model Karen McDougal to keep quiet about alleged affairs with Trump, among other issues. "In his testimony today, Michael Cohen described serious crimes and we should stay focused on those. But I do want to make a brief statement to Mr. Cohen directly," Daniels said. "Michael, I'm proud of you for finally beginning to tell the truth about what you did, and trying to repair some of the harm you have caused. I can hear the pain and regret you feel for betraying your family and your country. My heart goes out to you and your family." Daniels also said: "You spoke about how the president and his attorney put you and your family in danger by calling you a liar and a rat and disparaging you in public." "I understand your fear, Michael. I have a family too. Do you believe now that when you and the president called me a liar, when you were his attorney and you insulted me, threatened to bankrupt me and worse, that you put me and my family in danger? I remember the fear you feel. I still feel it," Daniels said. "Thank you for having the courage, at long last, to begin to tell the truth. I hope that someday soon your family and mine can both leave this nightmare behind." Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Lowe's The home improvement retailer beat estimates by a penny a share, with quarterly profit of 80 cents per share. Revenue was slightly below forecasts, and a 1.7 percent comparable-store sales increase was below the Refinitiv forecast of a 2.1 percent rise. Best Buy The electronics retailer reported adjusted quarterly profit of $2.72 per share, 15 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also beat forecasts. Comparable-store sales were up 3 percent, better than the 2 percent Refinitiv estimate. Best Buy also gave an upbeat full-year earnings forecast, and announced a dividend increase to 50 cent per share from 45 cents. Campbell Soup Campbell beat estimates by 7 cents a share, with adjusted quarterly profit of 77 cents per share. Revenue topped forecasts, as well. Campbell reported flat organic sales, however, and saw profit margins fall. Office Depot The office products retailer earned an adjusted 9 cents per share for its latest quarter, 1 cent a share above estimates. Both revenue and comparable-store sales were below analysts' forecasts, however. Dean Foods The nation's largest milk producer reported a quarterly loss of 50 cents per share, nearly twice the 26 cents a share loss that analysts were anticipating. Revenue exceeded forecasts, but Dean said it experienced a significant increase in input costs. Dean also said it is exploring strategic alternatives including possible asset sales, and announced the suspension of its quarterly dividend. Weight Watchers Weight Watchers missed estimates by 14 cents, with adjusted quarterly profit of 46 cents per share. The weight loss company's revenue also missed forecasts and the company issued weaker-than-expected 2019 revenue guidance. Weight Watchers said it was disappointed with its 2019 start. Papa John's Papa John's fell 2 cents a share short of estimates, with adjusted quarterly profit of 15 cents per share. The pizza chain's revenue was also short of analysts' forecasts. North American comparable-store sales fell 8.1 percent during the quarter, and 7.3 percent for the full year The company's 2019 comparable-store sales forecast is stronger than analysts had been expecting. Mylan Mylan reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.30 per share, falling 6 cents a share shy of consensus forecasts. The generic drugmaker's revenue was in line with Street projections. Mylan also issued weaker-than-expected 2019 earnings guidance as it spends more on research, development, and marketing. Deutsche Bank - U.S. private-equity firm Cerberus would be open to a merger between Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, according to a Reuters report. Cerberus is a major shareholder in both German banks. Facebook Facebook will launch a "clear history" feature later this year, allowing users to erase data related to their interactions with various apps and websites. Home Depot Home Depot was downgraded to "market perform" from "outperform" at Telsey, which said it came away from the home improvement retailer's earnings call with concerns that the guidance of a 5 percent comparable sales increase could prove to be too optimistic. Rio Tinto Rio Tinto reported better-than-expected profit for its latest quarter, as well as its highest earnings since 2014. The mining company also announced a regular and special dividend, as well as giving an upbeat outlook for its iron ore business. Liberty Global Liberty is in advanced discussions to sell its Swiss internet and digital TV unit to Zurich-based Sunrise Communications for $6.3 billion, according to a Reuters report. Wynn Resorts Wynn was fined $20 million in connection with a probe by Nevada regulators into sexual misconduct allegations against former CEO Steve Wynn. It was the largest fine ever assessed by the state's gambling regulators. AT&T The Justice Department said it would not appeal Tuesday's court ruling rejecting its challenge to the approval of AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner. Blackstone Group The private-equity firm and drugmaker Novartis have formed a joint venture to develop drugs that treat blood clots. Gap Gap announced a new $1 billion stock buyback program. The apparel retailer also announced it would maintain its annual dividend at the current 97 cents per share for fiscal 2019. GW Pharmaceuticals GW reported better-thanexpected earnings for its latest quarter, although the drugmaker's revenue was short of Street forecasts. GW Pharma said it is seeing strong demand for its new Epidiolex epilepsy drug. Palo Alto Networks Palo Alto beat estimates on both the top and bottom lines, with the cybersecurity company seeing a 33 percent jump in its products business and a 29 percent increase in services revenue. It also gave an upbeat revenue forecast. Southwest Airlines is finally on its way to Hawaii. The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday approved the low-cost carrier to fly to the islands from the West Coast, Southwest said. The airline, which will service Hawaii from several cities in California, will announce when it will start selling tickets to the popular vacation destination in the coming days, it said in a statement. The low-cost airline has been eagerly waiting for regulators to clear it to fly to the islands, which are a big part of its growth plan this year. The approval comes as Southwest is locked in a bitter dispute with its mechanics' union after a surge in out-of-service planes due to mechanical issues that have grounded dozens of jets. The airline and its mechanics have been negotiating a contract for more than six years and the some 2,400 in-house mechanics seek bigger pay raises that what the company has proposed. Southwest revealed its plan to start flying to Hawaii in October 2017, with an eye on selling tickets by 2018, but the partial government shutdown delayed those plans. The airline needed the FAA to sign off on its plans to fly Boeing 737-800 jets over water for long distances. Safety inspectors had been flying with Southwest to Honolulu from Oakland, Calif. in recent weeks and met with airline executives to review Southwest's navigation, maintenance and other procedures. The airline's decision to offer service to the Aloha State could make Hawaiian vacations cheaper. In markets where the airline has nonstop service, average one-way fares are $45 lower than in cities without those routes in what's been dubbed the "Southwest Effect," a University of Virginia study found. Southwest plans to fly to the islands from four California cities: Oakland, San Diego, San Jose and Sacramento and fly to Honolulu, Kahului on Maui, Kona, and Lihue on Kauai. The airline also intends to offer service between the islands. Southwest plans to grow its flying 5 percent this year, and half of that will come from Hawaii, the airline said last month. That growth comes at the expense of expanding to some international destinations. "Were it not for Hawaii, we would absolutely be adding some more international routes and augmenting some of our flying," Southwest CEO Gary Kelly told analysts on an earnings call in January. "So it's simply a matter of prioritization, and Hawaii, I think, deserves that kind of prioritization. It's that big of an opportunity." Southwest shares were little changed postmarket trading. Shares of Hawaiian Holdings, parent of competitor Hawaiian Airlines, were also flat. President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen tore into Rep. Jim Jordan, the House Oversight Committee's Republican leader, during dramatic testimony Wednesday on Capitol Hill telling him at one point, "Shame on you." Cohen snapped at Jordan, of Ohio, after the ranking Republican claimed that Cohen was disputing a federal court's findings in his criminal case, and that he was remorseless for the crimes to which he has pleaded guilty. "His remorse is nonexistent," Jordan said. "He just debated a member of Congress, saying, 'I really didn't do anything wrong with the false bank things that I'm guilty of and going to prison for.'" "Mr. Jordan, that's not what I said," Cohen responded. "And you know that that's not what I said." "I pled guilty and I take responsibility for my actions," Cohen continued. "Shame on you, Mr. Jordan. That's not what I said." Cohen struck plea agreements last year with federal prosecutors in New York and with special counsel Robert Mueller's team as part of the ongoing probe of Russian meddling and possible Trump campaign collusion during the 2016 election. He pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, tax evasion and lying to Congress, and is scheduled to begin a three-year prison term in May. Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov held a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi as part of his working visit to Geneva, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported. At the meeting, the sides discussed bilateral cooperation and expressed their satisfaction over the current level of political relations. They also exchanged views on cooperation issues within the international organizations, in particular the UN, Trend reported. U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) speaks during a rally hosted by FreedomWorks September 26, 2018 at the West Lawn of the Capitol in Washington, DC. He told reporters "we'll see" if the committee's chairman, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., would allow him to ask questions. Gaetz for some time sat in the hearing room as Cohen testified. Gaetz himself showed up for Cohen's testimony at the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee despite not being a member of that committee. The Florida Bar's probe came to light as a Democratic congressional colleague of Gaetz's suggested that he be referred for his tweet for possible discipline by the House Ethics Committee for "witness intimidation and tampering," and that he might face criminal prosecution for the tweet. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida is under investigation by his state's lawyer oversight group for a potentially threatening tweet that the Republican congressman directed at President Donald Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen in advance of his testimony before a House committee Wednesday. Gaetz on Tuesday tweeted directly at Cohen, using Cohen's Twitter handle, a message that said: "Hey @MichaelCohen212 - Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends?" "Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she'll remain faithful when you're in prison. She's about to learn a lot..." Gaetz wrote. Gaetz's tweet was almost instantly criticized as possible witness tampering of Cohen, whose lawyer weeks ago accused Trump and the president's current attorney, Rudy Giuliani, of trying to intimidate Cohen into not testifying before Congress. Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, said, "We will not respond to Mr. Gaetz's despicable lies and personal smears, except to say we trust that his colleagues in the House, both Republicans and Democrats, will repudiate his words and his conduct." Gaetz, a close ally of Trump, initially defended his tweet, saying "This isn't witness tampering. This is witness testing." But he deleted it and apologized online hours later after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., issued a statement encouraging all members of Congress to avoid making statements that could harm committees' ability "to obtain the truthful and complete information necessary to fulfill their duties." It "was NOT my intent to threaten, as some believe I did," Gaetz said in a tweet. "I'm deleting the tweet & I should have chosen words that better showed my intent. I'm sorry." The Daily Beast first reported that Gaetz was under investigation by The Florida Bar for the deleted tweet in response to a complaint by a member of the general public. "The Florida Bar is aware of the comments made in a tweet yesterday by Rep. Matt Gaetz, who is a Florida Bar member, and I can confirm we have opened an investigation," the group said in a statement to CNBC. "Any time the words or actions of a Florida lawyer result in complaints, The Florida Bar will fully investigate those complaints through its established grievance process to determine if Bar rules have been violated," the group said. "If rules have been violated, The Florida Bar will vigorously pursue appropriate discipline by the Florida Supreme Court." Florida Bar rules of conduct say that attorneys "should use the law's procedures only for legitimate purposes and not to harass or intimidate others." During Cohen's testimony on Wednesday, Rep. Stacey Plaskett, D-Virgin Islands, told Cohen, " I want to apologize for the inappropriate comments and tweets that have been made by other members of this body." "And as a former prosecutor, and as former counsel on House ethics, I think that at the very least there should be a referral to the Ethics Committee of witness intimidation and tampering under [U.S. Criminal Code section] 1512 of my colleague Matt Gaetz, and it may be, possibly, him being referred for criminal prosecution." Gaetz's spokeswoman, in a response to a request for comment, said, "It seems that the Florida Bar, by its rules, is required to investigate even the most frivolous of complaints." A pedestrian passes the closed entrance to the headquarters of Norges Bank, also known as the central bank, in Oslo, Norway, on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2014. The world's biggest sovereign wealth fund went on a stock buying spree during the market turmoil at the end of 2018. Norges Bank, which manages Norway's $1 trillion oil-funded wealth pot, said it bought 185 billion crowns ($21.7 billion) worth of equities, with the bulk of purchases coming in November and December. The U.S. stock market had its worst December since the Great Depression as investors feared trade tensions with China and rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Despite the Norges Bank purchases, the fund's overall market value dipped over the course of 2018 by 6.1 percent, marking a steep reverse from the 13.7 percent growth witnessed in 2017. "This is the first time that the fund has had a considerable decline in value," CEO Yngve Slyngstad told a news conference on Wednesday. "The only other time was a slight decline in 2002." The bank said the fund's market value was $967 million at 31 December 2018. On the same day, 66.3 percent was invested in equities, 3 percent in unlisted real estate and 30.7 percent in fixed income. In 2017, Norges Bank said it intended to raise its equity allocation over time to 70 percent. During 2018, equity investments for the fund returned a loss of 9.5 percent, while unlisted real estate investments gained 7.5 percent, and fixed-income investments returned 0.6 percent. At the end of 2018, the fund's biggest equity holdings were in Microsoft ($7.5 billion), Apple ($7.3 billion), Alphabet ($6.7 billion), Amazon ($6.4 billion), Nestle ($6.3 billion) and Royal Dutch Shell ($6 billion). After a strong start to 2019 for stocks, the Norges Bank website said the fund is currently valued at $1.03 trillion. There's a possibility that U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un might declare an end to the Korean War at this week's summit but experts warn that the move could have "real political consequences" for the U.S., and South Korea will still have to keep the North in check. Ending the war does not negate the fact that North Korea "remains as dangerous a threat today as it was on the first day of the Trump administration," said Abraham Denmark, director of the Asia program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. South Korea's presidential office said on Monday that the U.S. and North Korea could agree to declare the end of the Korean War when Trump and Kim meet this week for their second face-to face meeting in Vietnam. Seoul and Pyongyang are technically still at war today. The Korean War began in 1950 when the North invaded the South. It ended in 1953 with an armistice not a peace treaty, which means the war has not ended even if fighting has ceased. Since then, the U.S. has maintained a robust military presence in the South, in the form of tens of thousands of troops. The resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is dependent on a constant dialogue between Azerbaijani and Armenian officials, said Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Trend reports citing Iranian media. Ayatollah Khamenei also reiterated Irans long-held position that the Islamic Republic is ready to help resolve the conflict between Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Fighters with the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) raise their riffles to celebrate news of a successful operation by their colleagues against the Nigerian army in the Niger Delta on September 17, 2008. PIUS UTOMI EKPEI | AFP | Getty Images Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has won a second term in office after a contentious Nigerian election this weekend, but the opposition are refusing to accept the outcome and a period of uncertainty and unrest could follow. That could impact the OPEC member's oil production, according to RBC Capital Markets' Global Head of Commodity Strategy Helima Croft. "With the opposition alleging fraud and refusing to the accept the outcome, the risk of further unrest remains high in the weeks ahead, especially in the restive oil region, which was the scene of some of the worst Election Day unrest," Croft said in a note Wednesday co-authored with RBC analysts Christopher Louney, Michael Tran and strategist Megan Schippmann. "If this election does bring a return to militancy in Nigeria's oil region and major infrastructure attacks, it would be a very material event for the oil market, with two OPEC countries (Venezuela and Iran) under U.S. sanctions and Saudi Arabia continuing to cut production," they noted. "Given the premium that the American president places on low oil prices, he will need to hope that Nigeria does not revert to past practice." Nigeria's election last weekend did not run smoothly and was marred by delays, logistical problems, outbreaks of violence and deaths, and allegations of vote rigging. Buhari, who leads the All Progressives Congress (APC), won the election with almost 15.2 million votes (or 57 percent), the country's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Tuesday evening. Buhari's nearest rival, Atiku Abubakar, who heads the People's Democratic Party (PDP), received around 11.2 million votes, or 42 percent. Supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) celebrate with party flags in Abuja, Nigeria, after candidate President Mohammadu Buhari was re-elected on February 26, 2019. KOLA SULAIMON | AFP | Getty Images INEC, which made the decision to postpone the election for a week due to operation and logistical challenges, said that it had been made aware of irregularities prior to the election although it has itself been the target of accusations from both the main parties, accusing it of trying to influence the result in favor of the other. Tweet: Niger Delta unrest Nigeria is a significant oil and gas producer the largest in Africa and has the highest output among OPEC's African members, producing almost 1.8 million barrels a day (mb/d) in January, according to the latest data from OPEC. Nigeria is seen as one of the "fragile five" members of OPEC, however (along with Iran, Iraq, Libya and Venezuela) because its oil-rich Niger Delta region in the south of the country has been plagued with long-running unrest and disruption to, and sabotage of, its oil production from militant groups. There are a handful of militant groups operating in the region, including the Niger Delta Avengers, Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force and the "Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta," or MEND. They say that their region's oil wealth and environment is being exploited by foreign oil companies and the Nigerian government. Fighters with the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) prepare for an operation against the Nigerian army in Niger Delta on September 17, 2008. PIUS UTOMI EKPEI | AFP | Getty Images What's more, the Niger Delta region is a stronghold for the opposition PDP and violence in the region ahead of the election was pronounced with several deaths, including that of one of the electoral commission's staff who was reportedly shot on election day. Any disruption to its oil sector could have an impact on wider oil markets and price volatility, especially with output lower from Venezuela and Iran. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized OPEC and its allies for oil price rises. Benchmark Brent crude futures were trading at $65.58 per barrel Wednesday while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures stood at $55.92. High risk of 'further bloodshed' Visitors pass in front of Huawei's display at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. A top U.S. government official made the case against Huawei at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the telecom industry's biggest trade show where the Chinese firm has a massive presence. Robert Strayer, ambassador for cyber and international communications at the U.S. State Department, told reporters Huawei's 5G infrastructure puts the U.S. and its allies at risk of Chinese spying, calling the company "duplicitous and deceitful." "The United States is asking other governments and the private sector to consider the threat posed by Huawei and other Chinese information technology companies," Strayer said Tuesday. U.S. officials fear the Chinese government could force Huawei to share information on citizens gathered through its telecoms equipment on new super-fast 5G networks. Strayer said Chinese law requires firms to "support and assist Beijing's vast security apparatus, without any democratic checks and balance on access to, or use of data." President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen said in congressional testimony Wednesday that he had declined the chance to work in the White House, even though Trump wanted him to. Cohen made the claim in a sharp exchange with the House Oversight Committee's ranking member, Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who accused him of "trashing" his former boss because "he didn't get brought to the dance" after the 2016 presidential election. "I see a guy who worked for 10 years and trashing the guy he worked for for 10 years, didn't get a job in the White House," Jordan said. "And now you're behaving just like everyone else who got fired or didn't get the job they wanted." Cohen has pleaded guilty to multiple charges lodged by federal prosecutors in New York and special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russian election meddling and possible Trump-campaign collusion. He is scheduled to head to prison in May to serve a three-year term. Jordan's accusation came after Cohen, once a proud loyalist of Trump's during the campaign, excoriated him as a "racist," a "cheat" and a "con man" in his opening remarks. Cohen pushed back on Jordan's characterization. Representative Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio and ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, speaks during a hearing with Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer to U.S. President Donald Trump, not pictured, in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen told a congressional committee on Wednesday that Trump had the potential to cooperate with a foreign power to win the White House. "Mr. Trump is all about winning," Cohen testified at the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. "He will do what is necessary," Cohen said, in response to a question from Rep. Deborah Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., who about Trump's potential to cooperate with a foreign government to win the presidency. Cohen's testimony comes about two months before he is due to surrender to a federal prison to begin a three-year sentence for multiple crimes, including lying to Congress about details of an aborted plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, Russia. Among other things, Cohen admitted lying about when that deal died; he had told Congress that it was dropped in early 2016, when in fact it continued well into 2016, even as Trump had locked up the Republican nomination for presidency. The 52-year-old disbarred lawyer since last year has met multiple times with special counsel Robert Mueller's team, which is investigating whether Trump or members of his presidential campaign colluded with Russian agents to influence the outcome of the 2016 election that sent Trump to the White House. Cohen earlier Wednesday testified that Trump had advance knowledge, from admitted Republican dirty trickster Roger Stone, that the document-release group WikiLeaks in 2016 would be revealing documents stolen from the Democratic party by Russian agents. President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen is poised to deliver an explosive testimony before Congress on Wednesday. Trump's former fixer, who once said he would take a bullet for the president, is set to say he is ashamed of his "misplaced loyalty" to Trump. In his testimony to the House Oversight Committee, he is also expected to include a series of bombshell allegations about the presidential campaign. Here is the draft copy of Cohen's opening remarks: Chairman Cummings, Ranking Member Jordan, and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today. I have asked this Committee to ensure that my family be protected from Presidential threats, and that the Committee be sensitive to the questions pertaining to ongoing investigations. Thank you for your help and for your understanding. I am here under oath to correct the record, to answer the Committee's questions truthfully, and to offer the American people what I know about President Trump. I recognize that some of you may doubt and attack me on my credibility. It is for this reason that I have incorporated into this opening statement documents that are irrefutable, and demonstrate that the information you will hear is accurate and truthful. Never in a million years did I imagine, when I accepted a job in 2007 to work for Donald Trump, that he would one day run for President, launch a campaign on a platform of hate and intolerance, and actually win. I regret the day I said "yes" to Mr. Trump. I regret all the help and support I gave him along the way. I am ashamed of my own failings, and I publicly accepted responsibility for them by pleading guilty in the Southern District of New York. I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat. He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails. I will explain each in a few moments. I am providing the Committee today with several documents. These include: A copy of a check Mr. Trump wrote from his personal bank account after he became president - to reimburse me for the hush money payments I made to cover up his affair with an adult film star and prevent damage to his campaign; Copies of financial statements for 2011 2013 that he gave to such institutions as Deutsche Bank; A copy of an article with Mr. Trump's handwriting on it that reported on the auction of a portrait of himself he arranged for the bidder ahead of time and then reimbursed the bidder from the account of his non-profit charitable foundation, with the picture now hanging in one of his country clubs; and Copies of letters I wrote at Mr. Trump's direction that threatened his high school, colleges, and the College Board not to release his grades or SAT scores. I hope my appearance here today, my guilty plea, and my work with law enforcement agencies are steps along a path of redemption that will restore faith in me and help this country understand our president better. *** Before going further, I want to apologize to each of you and to Congress as a whole. The last time I appeared before Congress, I came to protect Mr. Trump. Today, I'm here to tell the truth about Mr. Trump. I lied to Congress about when Mr. Trump stopped negotiating the Moscow Tower project in Russia. I stated that we stopped negotiating in January 2016. That was false our negotiations continued for months later during the campaign. Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. That's not how he operates. In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me there's no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie. There were at least a half-dozen times between the Iowa Caucus in January 2016 and the end of June when he would ask me "How's it going in Russia?" referring to the Moscow Tower project. You need to know that Mr. Trump's personal lawyers reviewed and edited my statement to Congress about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations before I gave it. To be clear: Mr. Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it. He lied about it because he never expected to win the election. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project. And so I lied about it, too because Mr. Trump had made clear to me, through his personal statements to me that we both knew were false and through his lies to the country, that he wanted me to lie. And he made it clear to me because his personal attorneys reviewed my statement before I gave it to Congress. **** Over the past two years, I have been smeared as "a rat" by the President of the United States. The truth is much different, and let me take a brief moment to introduce myself. My name is Michael Dean Cohen. I am a blessed husband of 24 years and a father to an incredible daughter and son. When I married my wife, I promised her that I would love her, cherish her, and protect her. As my father said countless times throughout my childhood, "you my wife, and you my children, are the air that I breathe." To my Laura, my Sami, and my Jake, there is nothing I wouldn't do to protect you. I have always tried to live a life of loyalty, friendship, generosity, and compassion qualities my parents ingrained in my siblings and me since childhood. My father survived the Holocaust thanks to the compassion and selfless acts of others. He was helped by many who put themselves in harm's way to do what they knew was right. That is why my first instinct has always been to help those in need. Mom and DadI am sorry that I let you down. As many people that know me best would say, I am the person they would call at 3AM if they needed help. I proudly remember being the emergency contact for many of my children's friends when they were growing up because their parents knew that I would drop everything and care for them as if they were my own. Yet, last fall I pled guilty in federal court to felonies for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in coordination with Individual #1. For the record: Individual #1 is President Donald J. Trump. It is painful to admit that I was motivated by ambition at times. It is even more painful to admit that many times I ignored my conscience and acted loyal to a man when I should not have. Sitting here today, it seems unbelievable that I was so mesmerized by Donald Trump that I was willing to do things for him that I knew were absolutely wrong. For that reason, I have come here to apologize to my family, to the government, and to the American people. *** Accordingly, let me now tell you about Mr. Trump. I got to know him very well, working very closely with him for more than 10 years, as his Executive Vice President and Special Counsel and then personal attorney when he became President. When I first met Mr. Trump, he was a successful entrepreneur, a real estate giant, and an icon. Being around Mr. Trump was intoxicating. When you were in his presence, you felt like you were involved in something greater than yourself -- that you were somehow changing the world. I wound up touting the Trump narrative for over a decade. That was my job. Always stay on message. Always defend. It monopolized my life. At first, I worked mostly on real estate developments and other business transactions. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Trump brought me into his personal life and private dealings. Over time, I saw his true character revealed. Mr. Trump is an enigma. He is complicated, as am I. He has both good and bad, as do we all. But the bad far outweighs the good, and since taking office, he has become the worst version of himself. He is capable of behaving kindly, but he is not kind. He is capable of committing acts of generosity, but he is not generous. He is capable of being loyal, but he is fundamentally disloyal. Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great. He had no desire or intention to lead this nation only to market himself and to build his wealth and power. Mr. Trump would often say, this campaign was going to be the "greatest infomercial in political history." He never expected to win the primary. He never expected to win the general election. The campaign for him was always a marketing opportunity. I knew early on in my work for Mr. Trump that he would direct me to lie to further his business interests. I am ashamed to say, that when it was for a real estate mogul in the private sector, I considered it trivial. As the President, I consider it significant and dangerous. But in the mix, lying for Mr. Trump was normalized, and no one around him questioned it. In fairness, no one around him today questions it, either. A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr. Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time. The answer is yes. As I earlier stated, Mr. Trump knew from Roger Stone in advance about the WikiLeaks drop of emails. In July 2016, days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trump's office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign. Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of "wouldn't that be great." Mr. Trump is a racist. The country has seen Mr. Trump court white supremacists and bigots. You have heard him call poorer countries "shitholes." In private, he is even worse. He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasn't a "shithole." This was when Barack Obama was President of the United States. While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. And yet I continued to work for him. Mr. Trump is a cheat. As previously stated, I'm giving the Committee today three years of President Trump's financial statements, from 2011-2013, which he gave to Deutsche Bank to inquire about a loan to buy the Buffalo Bills and to Forbes. These are Exhibits 1a, 1b, and 1c to my testimony. It was my experience that Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes. I am sharing with you two newspaper articles, side by side, that are examples of Mr. Trump inflating and deflating his assets, as I said, to suit his financial interests. These are Exhibit 2 to my testimony. As I noted, I'm giving the Committee today an article he wrote on, and sent me, that reported on an auction of a portrait of Mr. Trump. This is Exhibit 3A to my testimony. Mr. Trump directed me to find a straw bidder to purchase a portrait of him that was being auctioned at an Art Hamptons Event. The objective was to ensure that his portrait, which was going to be auctioned last, would go for the highest price of any portrait that afternoon. The portrait was purchased by the fake bidder for $60,000. Mr. Trump directed the Trump Foundation, which is supposed to be a charitable organization, to repay the fake bidder, despite keeping the art for himself. Please see Exhibit 3B to my testimony. And it should come as no surprise that one of my more common responsibilities was that Mr. Trump directed me to call business owners, many of whom were small businesses, that were owed money for their services and told them no payment or a reduced payment would be coming. When I advised Mr. Trump of my success, he actually reveled in it. And yet, I continued to work for him. Mr. Trump is a conman. He asked me to pay off an adult film star with whom he had an affair, and to lie to his wife about it, which I did. Lying to the First Lady is one of my biggest regrets. She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly and she did not deserve that. I am giving the Committee today a copy of the $130,000 wire transfer from me to Ms. Clifford's attorney during the closing days of the presidential campaign that was demanded by Ms. Clifford to maintain her silence about her affair with Mr. Trump. This is Exhibit 4 to my testimony. Mr. Trump directed me to use my own personal funds from a Home Equity Line of Credit to avoid any money being traced back to him that could negatively impact his campaign. I did that, too without bothering to consider whether that was improper, much less whether it was the right thing to do or how it would impact me, my family, or the public. I am going to jail in part because of my decision to help Mr. Trump hide that payment from the American people before they voted a few days later. As Exhibit 5 to my testimony shows, I am providing a copy of a $35,000 check that President Trump personally signed from his personal bank account on August 1, 2017 when he was President of the United States pursuant to the cover-up, which was the basis of my guilty plea, to reimburse me the word used by Mr. Trump's TV lawyer -- for the illegal hush money I paid on his behalf. This $35,000 check was one of 11 check installments that was paid throughout the year while he was President. The President of the United States thus wrote a personal check for the payment of hush money as part of a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws. You can find the details of that scheme, directed by Mr. Trump, in the pleadings in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. So picture this scene in February 2017, one month into his presidency, I'm visiting President Trump in the Oval Office for the first time. It's truly awe-inspiring, he's showing me around and pointing to different paintings, and he says to me something to the effect ofDon't worry, Michael, your January and February reimbursement checks are coming. They were FedExed from New York and it takes a while for that to get through the White House system. As he promised, I received the first check for the reimbursement of $70,000 not long thereafter. When I say conman, I'm talking about a man who declares himself brilliant but directed me to threaten his high school, his colleges, and the College Board to never release his grades or SAT scores. As I mentioned, I'm giving the Committee today copies of a letter I sent at Mr. Trump's direction threatening these schools with civil and criminal actions if Mr. Trump's grades or SAT scores were ever disclosed without his permission. These are Exhibit 6. The irony wasn't lost on me at the time that Mr. Trump in 2011 had strongly criticized President Obama for not releasing his grades. As you can see in Exhibit 7, Mr. Trump declared "Let him show his records" after calling President Obama "a terrible student." The sad fact is that I never heard Mr. Trump say anything in private that led me to believe he loved our nation or wanted to make it better. In fact, he did the opposite. When telling me in 2008 that he was cutting employees' salaries in half including mine he showed me what he claimed was a $10 million IRS tax refund, and he said that he could not believe how stupid the government was for giving "someone like him" that much money back. During the campaign, Mr. Trump said he did not consider Vietnam Veteran, and Prisoner of War, Senator John McCain to be "a hero" because he likes people who weren't captured. At the same time, Mr. Trump tasked me to handle the negative press surrounding his medical deferment from the Vietnam draft. Mr. Trump claimed it was because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery. He told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment. He finished the conversation with the following comment. "You think I'm stupid, I wasn't going to Vietnam." I find it ironic, President Trump, that you are in Vietnam right now. And yet, I continued to work for him. *** Questions have been raised about whether I know of direct evidence that Mr. Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia. I do not. I want to be clear. But, I have my suspicions. Sometime in the summer of 2017, I read all over the media that there had been a meeting in Trump Tower in June 2016 involving Don Jr. and others from the campaign with Russians, including a representative of the Russian government, and an email setting up the meeting with the subject line, "Dirt on Hillary Clinton." Something clicked in my mind. I remember being in the room with Mr. Trump, probably in early June 2016, when something peculiar happened. Don Jr. came into the room and walked behind his father's desk which in itself was unusual. People didn't just walk behind Mr. Trump's desk to talk to him. I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: "The meeting is all set." I remember Mr. Trump saying, "Ok goodlet me know." What struck me as I looked back and thought about that exchange between Don Jr. and his father was, first, that Mr. Trump had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the world. And also, that Don Jr. would never set up any meeting of any significance alone and certainly not without checking with his father. I also knew that nothing went on in Trump world, especially the campaign, without Mr. Trump's knowledge and approval. So, I concluded that Don Jr. was referring to that June 2016 Trump Tower meeting about dirt on Hillary with the Russian representative when he walked behind his dad's desk that day -- and that Mr. Trump knew that was the meeting Don Jr. was talking about when he said, "That's goodlet me know." *** Over the past year or so, I have done some real soul searching. I see now that my ambition and the intoxication of Trump power had much to do with the bad decisions I made. To you, Chairman Cummings, Ranking Member Jordan, the other members of this Committee, and the other members of the House and Senate, I am sorry for my lies and for lying to Congress. To our nation, I am sorry for actively working to hide from you the truth about Mr. Trump when you needed it most. For those who question my motives for being here today, I understand. I have lied, but I am not a liar. I have done bad things, but I am not a bad man. I have fixed things, but I am no longer your "fixer," Mr. Trump. I am going to prison and have shattered the safety and security that I tried so hard to provide for my family. My testimony certainly does not diminish the pain I caused my family and friends nothing can do that. And I have never asked for, nor would I accept, a pardon from President Trump. And, by coming today, I have caused my family to be the target of personal, scurrilous attacks by the President and his lawyer trying to intimidate me from appearing before this panel. Mr. Trump called me a "rat" for choosing to tell the truth much like a mobster would do when one of his men decides to cooperate with the government. As Exhibit 8 shows, I have provided the Committee with copies of Tweets that Mr. Trump posted, attacking me and my family only someone burying his head in the sand would not recognize them for what they are: encouragement to someone to do harm to me and my family. I never imagined that he would engage in vicious, false attacks on my family and unleash his TV-lawyer to do the same. I hope this committee and all members of Congress on both sides of the aisle will make it clear: As a nation, we should not tolerate attempts to intimidate witnesses before congress and attacks on family are out of bounds and not acceptable. I wish to especially thank Speaker Pelosi for her statements in Exhibit 9 to protect this institution and me, and the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Adam Schiff and Chairman Cummings for likewise defending this institution and my family against the attacks by Mr. Trump, and also the many Republicans who have admonished the President as well. I am not a perfect man. I have done things I am not proud of, and I will live with the consequences of my actions for the rest of my life. But today, I get to decide the example I set for my children and how I attempt to change how history will remember me. I may not be able to change the past, but I can do right by the American people here today. Thank you for your attention. I am happy to answer the Committee's questions. "What did he or his agent communicate to you?" asked Krishnamoorthi. During an exchange with Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, Cohen said the last time he spoke to the president or to someone representing the president was "within two months" of the April 2018 FBI raid on Cohen's home, office and hotel suite. Michael Cohen testified Wednesday that he was aware that previously undisclosed wrongdoing related to President Donald Trump is under investigation by federal prosecutors in Manhattan. "Unfortunately, this topic is actually something that's being investigated right now by the Southern District of New York and I've been asked by them not to discuss and not to talk about these issues," Cohen replied, referring to the U.S. attorney's office that is probing the matter. "Is there any other wrongdoing or illegal act that you are aware of regarding Donald Trump that we haven't yet discussed today?" Krishnamoorthi followed up. "Yes," Cohen responded. "And again, those are part of the investigation that's currently being looked at by the Southern District of New York." The exchange was one of several Cohen had with members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee during his explosive testimony Wednesday, in which he appeared to hint at previously unreported acts by the president that could be illegal. At another point in the hearing, Cohen described how he and Trump used math tricks to inflate the value of Trump's assets on paperwork they submitted to Deutsche Bank as part of an effort to obtain a loan for Trump. Related: Here is an interactive map of Michael Cohen's links in Trump's world President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen on Wednesday said he fears that Trump will not peacefully relinquish the White House if he loses his reelection bid next year. Cohen, 52, also castigated Trump at the finale of his congressional hearing for his ''childish'' actions that he says denigrate the office of the president. "I fear that if he loses the election in 2020, that there will never be a peaceful transition of power. And this is why I agreed to appear before you today," Cohen said of Trump. The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on Cohen's remarks. Cohen's closing speech came after more than seven hours in public testimony before the House Oversight Committee, where he launched a fusillade of accusations against his former boss' character and actions. Read Cohen's full closing statement below: A shopper carries her purchases along the Magnificent Mile shopping district in Chicago, Illinois. L Brands, owner of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, on Wednesday reported mixed results in the holiday quarter that sent shares of the company down more than 5 percent. Same-store sales at its Victoria's Secret brand have struggled to keep up with changing tastes and new competition, and fell 3 percent. The brand, which was once known for its sexy bras, has lost out as women have switched to more comfortable bra styles and brands that seem more inclusive from the likes of American Eagle's Aerie, Third Love, Lively and Adore Me. The $7.2 billion bra category is also seeing new competition from Target, which this spring plans to launch three new lines of lingerie and sleepwear. Millennials, which comprise more than a third of the women's intimate apparel market, spent a third of its bra dollars in 2018 on sports bras, according to retail trade group the NPD Group. Bath & Body Works, meantime, continues to perform strongly. he fragrance and personal care shop grew same-store sales by 12 percent. Dragged down by the weakness at Victoria's Secret, L Brands same-store sales fell 3 percent in the latest period. Here's what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv: Earnings per share: $2.14, adjusted, vs. $2.07 expected Revenue: $4.85 billion vs. $4.88 billion expected L Brands reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $540 million, or $1.94 per share, down from $664 million, or $2.33 per share a year earlier. Excluding items, L Brands earned $2.14 per share, beating the the $2.07 per share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. Net sales rose to $4.85 billion, missing expectations of $4.88 billion. L Brands said it expects earnings for 2019 will fall between $2.20 and $2.60 a share. That includes break-even earnings per share result in its first quarter. Former VP Joe Biden. Bastiaan Slabbers | NurPhoto | Getty Images Former Vice President Joe Biden has been receiving regular briefings from executives at digital and social media companies in order to learn strategies for appealing to young voters if he were to run for president again. Biden has gotten advice from an executive at Twitter, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter who would not disclose the executive's name. "We work with elected officials, candidates and former politicians regularly when it comes to them getting the most out of Twitter," a spokesman for the company told CNBC. This person would not directly comment on Biden. Critics of a potential Biden run have suggested that Democratic voters and the electorate in general may prefer a fresh face to take on President Donald Trump, who is 72, in 2020. Biden is 76 and has been a staple of the national political scene since the early 1970s. If he were to run, Biden would have to cultivate a digital operation to keep pace with rivals who have had a head start in developing a vast reach on social media. People familiar with the matter also said that Biden's team is prepared to hire at least 20 social media experts who would advise him if he were to jump into the 2020 race. The former vice president has also talked with Athan Stephanopoulos, president of NowThis News, an online outlet that specializes in creating and distributing viral short-form videos and helped raise the national profile of potential 2020 Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke. In an interview Wednesday, Stephanopoulos confirmed that he had been in touch with Biden, his team and a variety of 2020 candidates about how his company can help present their policies while connecting with young voters. "We are trying to reinforce that news outlets like NowThis are an important place to spend time and reach these audiences," he told CNBC, describing key issues for young voters such as immigration and criminal justice reform, as well as climate change. "Candidates will have to take a stand on these issues as it relates to talking to this whole new generation of voters." Stephanopoulos said NowThis reaches 70 percent of Americans in their 20s on a monthly basis, a data point that has caught the attention of Democratic 2020 campaigns. Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign, for instance, hired a NowThis employee to become a senior media producer. People close to Biden said the former vice president has appeared to absorb extensive knowledge about online messaging through these meetings. Biden touched on the subject Tuesday at a University of Delaware event. The veteran politician reflected on how the social media landscape had changed since President Barack Obama's re-election campaign in 2012. Biden also acknowledged he's getting counsel from some of the industry's top executives as he tries to comprehend the evolution of social media and its impact on campaigns. "From the last time Barack and I ran the whole issue of social media and the use of social media has fundamentally changed," he said. "And so we've been getting briefings from the most advanced people in the country who run these major platforms." Biden said he was in the "final stages" of deciding whether he will run in 2020 and said his family will support him if he chooses to enter the arena. Biden, a former longtime U.S. senator from Delaware, has also heard from a variety of top Democratic donors about a third potential run for president, CNBC first reported. A spokesman for Biden declined to comment. The impact of Beto O'Rourke Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif Photo by Emmanuele Contini | NurPhoto | Getty Images Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has rejected the shock resignation of his vocal Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, who led negotiations for the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. Initially withholding reasons for the resignation in a cryptic Instagram post Monday night, Zarif later attributed his decision to political infighting and being sidelined in foreign policy decisions. On Wednesday morning, Rouhani officially rejected the resignation, writing in a letter: "I think your resignation is against the country's interests and I do not accept it." If Zarif stays in his position, it will likely serve to bolster support for him and the Rouhani administration, some analysts say, blunting initial arguments that the resignation meant a win for Iran's hard-line factions. The clamorous opposition to his resignation from various parties this week demonstrated the level of support that still remains for his policies, says Sanam Vakil, a senior fellow at think tank Chatham House and associate professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. "If indeed Zarif remains in the job, this resignation move definitely solidified both his public and political support, so he will be returning more empowered," she told CNBC on Wednesday. While he was criticized by Iran's more conservative elements for his perceived outreach to the West and for what they say was a dismantling of the country's nuclear program, the U.S.-educated foreign minister has the backing of numerous lawmakers. Iranian media reported that a majority of parliament members penned a letter to Rouhani on Tuesday asking him to reject the resignation. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (2nd L) gestures next to High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini (L), Iranian ambassador to IAEA Ali Akbar Salehi (2nd R) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) as they pose for a family photo in Vienna, Austria 14 July, 2015. Leonhard Foeger | Reuters "The longer this drama plays out, the more likely Zarif is to be buoyed by an outpouring of foreign and domestic support, making his resignation read more like a gamble and an attempt to consolidate his leadership rather than to terminate his service with the Islamic Republic," said Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Often seen smiling in photos alongside EU leaders, many Western officials see Zarif as a moderately-inclined policymaker they can work with. But critics note that both Zarif and Rouhani defend policies that have made Tehran a pariah to much of the West, particularly its ballistic missile testing and support for Syrian President Bashar Assad. And while still described by many as relative moderates, they are not the ones with the actual power, notes Ben Taleblu. Most foreign policy and security decision-making lies in the hands of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, which are far more conservative. "Zarif and Rouhani have always been window-dressing for the Islamic Republic," Ben Taleblu said. "But such figures have a limited degree of utility for the Islamic Republic, which has used their pretense of moderation to deflect foreign pressure." 'No credibility in the world' Zarif's resignation followed a meeting between Iran's leadership and Assad, from which the foreign ministry was excluded. Zarif protested that exclusion, telling local media that it left him with "no credibility in the world as Iran's foreign minister." He also said that "The deadly poison for foreign policy is for foreign policy to become an issue of party and factional fighting," claiming that his aim was to see the role of the foreign ministry in national decision-making properly restored. Rouhani on Wednesday wrote in his letter to Zarif, "It is the belief of myself and the Supreme Leader that you are a trusted, brave and devout individual standing on the frontline against America's multilateral pressures." In an Instagram post shortly thereafter, Zarif wrote that he "had no other concern but the glory of foreign policy and the credibility of the foreign ministry." Resignation demands for Rouhani and 'factional infighting' Now celebrating its 40th anniversary since the Islamic Revolution, Iran is under crippling economic pressure. Demands for a presidential resignation and Zarif's attempted departure have brought fresh drama to Iran's leadership, already dealing with regional tensions and mounting discontent at home. Iranians angry with skyrocketing inflation and a contracting economy beset by sanctions and corruption have called for Rouhani's resignation; in the last week, nine members of Iran's parliament presented a measure to disqualify him as president. While Rouhani's removal would require support from two-thirds of parliament's 290 members, the calls reflect an increasingly frustrated population and ever-greater pressure on the president, whose support for the 2015 nuclear deal and attempts at improved relations with Western powers have not brought about the economic benefits initially promised. Sanctions and a spiraling economy The 10th Mstislav Rostropovich International Festival will be held in Moscow from March 27 to April 3, 2019. The International Music Festival, dedicated to great Baku native Mstislav Rostropovich, has been held in the Azerbaijani capital since 2007. The artistic director of the festival, president of the Mstislav Rostropovich Foundation for Cultural and Humanitarian Programs Olga Rostropovich told Vestnik Kavkaza: "Baku is my fathers favorite city. He was born there and spent three years of a wonderful, happy life there, because my grandfather and grandmother were sent to the Baku Conservatory to teach music. My father loved this city very much, I love it very much either. In 2007, after my fathers gone, we were asked to organize a festival. It was the first festival in Baku. Then it changed. Instead of December, it was held in May, then it was held every two years, now it takes place every two years. Let's see what happens next. There are many friends, hospitable people in Baku. For me it is always a great pleasure to be there." As for the Moscow festival established by the Moscow government and the Mstislav Rostropovich Foundation for Cultural and Humanitarian Programs in 2010, Olga Rostropovich said that the opening date of the festival remains unchanged - March 27, the maestros birthday: "This time the festival will be take place mostly in the Great Hall of the Conservatory. The pre-final concert will take place at the new Zaryadye Concert Hall, and the final one will take place at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall." On March 27,the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Yuri Temirkanov will perform at the Great Hall of the Conservatory. Shostakovich under the control of Yuri Temirkanov. The evening's program includes the Overture to Euryanthe by Carl Maria von Weber, the Symphony No. 9 'From the New World' by Antonin Dvorak and the Cello Concerto by Robert Schumann, the soloist - winner of the International Mstislav Rostropovich Cello Competition in Paris in 1997, the cellist - virtuoso Enrico Dindo (Italy). On March 29, Alborada del gracioso by Maurice Ravel, the Firebird suite by Igor Stravinsky, as well as the orchestral version of El amor brujo by Manuel de Falla will be performed by the Teatro Real symphony orchestra - one of the largest opera symphony orchestras. It will be conducted by Gustavo Gimeno, one of the most popular conductors of the younger generation. Violin Concerto No. 1 by Karol Szymanowski, will be performed by young violinist Leticia Moreno (Spain), who has repeatedly performed with leading orchestras in Europe. Leticia Moreno plays the Nicolo Gagliano violin of 1762. On March 30 and 31, the Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia, conducted by Antonio Pappano, will perform the Egmont Overture and Symphony No. 5 by Ludwig van Beethoven on the first night. The young Swiss pianist, winner of many international competitions Francesco Piemontesi will perform Piano Concerto No. 3. On March 31, Symphony No. 9 by Gustav Mahler will be performed. On April 1, the Yokohama Sinfonietta Orchestra under the direction of Kazuki Yamada will perform Symphony No. 39 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the Classical Symphony by Sergey Prokofievat the new Zaryadye Concert Hall, which has already performed with great success at the Festival. Nobuyuki Tsujii, a Japanese pianist and composer blind from birth, who was awarded gold medal at the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Texas, will perform Piano Concerto No. 2 by Beethoven. On April 3, on the final day of the festival, the Yokohama Sinfonietta Orchestra's second program will be performed for the Moscow audience: Symphony No. 3 (Scottish) by Felix Mendelssohn and Violin Concerto by Beethoven. The soloist is Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang, one of the leading performers of her generation. She performs on a Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume violin, provided by the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation. Pakistani supporters of Sunni Tehreek (ST) hold national flags as they gather during an anti-Indian protest in Karachi on Febraury 27, 2019. Asif Hassan | AFP | Getty Images Long-standing tensions between nuclear powers India and Pakistan escalated this week after each country said it carried out airstrikes against the other, prompting concerns over the potential outbreak of a war in South Asia. It puts Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a delicate position: He likely wants to respond in a way that makes it appear as if India has the upper hand in this week's altercations to boost his and his party's standing ahead of elections while at the same time preventing the outbreak of another war, which could destabilize the region. "Modi will seek to capitalize on his strongman image and national security credentials to boost the (Bharatiya Janata Party) ahead of upcoming elections," political consultancy Eurasia Group said in a Wednesday note. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged both countries on Tuesday to "exercise restraint" and avoid an "escalation." France, Australia, China, which is a close ally of Islamabad and a major investor in the country, and the European Union also called for restraint. While the countries have had a contentious relationship since 1947, this week's escalation reached heights not seen in recent years. What happened? On Tuesday, India said its air force conducted strikes against a militant camp in Pakistani territory. That attack killed a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammed, according to New Delhi. India's response came after the group recently claimed responsibility for an attack in India-controlled Kashmir that killed more than 40 security officers. The suicide car bombing prompted a barrage of international criticism toward Pakistan for failing to crack down on terror groups operating on its soil. For its part, Islamabad denied there were any casualties from India's Tuesday strike. On Wednesday, Pakistan said its air force carried out strikes along the so-called Line of Control to demonstrate its "right, will and capability for self defence." The Line of Control is the de facto border between the Indian and Pakistani parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Then, according to a spokesman for the Pakistan armed forces, Indian planes entered Pakistani airspace and two jets were shot down. One of the aircraft fell on India's side of Kashmir, while the second came down in Pakistani-held territory, and its pilot was captured, the spokesman said. An Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman acknowledged that one pilot was missing and a combat jet had been lost. That spokesman also claimed a Pakistani jet had been shot down in the altercation. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday called for talks with India and said he hoped "better sense" would prevail to reduce the tension between the nuclear-armed neighbors. Why does it matter? Kashmir has always been a sensitive topic for both countries, which have fought two wars over the mountainous region. In 2014, forces from Pakistan and India exchanged fire in border clashes. Tuesday's attack was the first time India has used airstrikes inside Pakistan since 1971. Moreover, the area it struck Balakot was well outside Pakistani Kashmir and beyond the Line of Control. Students associated with religious political party Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami hold images of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a protest in Lahore on Feb. 27, 2019. Arif Ali | AFP | Getty Images Since the terrorist attack earlier this month, Modi has been under pressure from his base to respond with force ahead of a parliamentary election due to take place by May. "That India entered Pakistan's airspace is a clear indication that it is willing to do whatever it takes to keep India safe, which, I suspect, caught Pakistan off-guard," Akhil Bery, analyst for South Asia at Eurasia Group, told CNBC on Tuesday. Dhruva Jaishankar, a fellow in foreign policy studies at Brookings India, said India has faced a series of terrorist attacks since the 1990s from groups and individuals based in Pakistan. The challenge for both sides has always been about how to respond to provocations from its neighbor, especially after each country became a nuclear power. Jaishankar told CNBC that both countries have tested the limitations of how far they can escalate the conflict before reaching a "nuclear threshold." To be clear, escalating tensions to the point of nuclear conflict would be catastrophic for both India and Pakistan and would destabilize the entire region an option unlikely to be taken by either New Delhi or Islamabad. For his part, Khan's sway with the country's influential military is limited. The way he handles this week's situation will be a big test of his leadership, according to Moeed Yusuf, associate vice president for the Asia Center at the United States Institute of Peace. "You have a new leader in Pakistan who (has to) show that he is strong and willing to stand up to India," Yusuf told CNBC. "He must also follow the army's lead and so if the army decides to escalate, he won't be able to say much to them right now." For Modi, meanwhile, it would be "political suicide" if he walked back on the conflict at this stage when it may appear to outside observers that India and Pakistan had evenly matched each other's force, Yusuf said. Experts have said it is highly unlikely that a war would break out between the two nations even if the situation escalates in the coming days. Pakistani soldiers stand next to what Pakistan says is the wreckage of an Indian fighter jet shot down in Pakistan controled Kashmir at Somani area in Bhimbar district near the Line of Control on February 27, 2019. STR | AFP | Getty Images As the world's largest democracy gears up for a national election, India is facing a dramatic rise in tensions with its neighbor Pakistan and America should be concerned. In response to India's airstrike on Tuesday, Pakistan shot down two Indian military jets and captured an Indian pilot. India's Foreign Ministry later said that India had shot down a Pakistani fighter jet, setting the stage for a potentially larger stand-off between the two nuclear-armed south Asian nations sparring over the disputed Kashmir region and suspected terror networks operating in Pakistan. "We have not seen a path of de-escalation but rather actions that have the potential to escalate into further conflict," said Manpreet Singh Anand, former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of State for South Asia. Anand spoke to CNBC before Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said the pilot would be released Friday "as a gesture of peace." tweet Foreign policy experts say the brewing dispute between the two nations is not an isolated event and could have ripple effects that impact U.S. policy. "America foreign policy leaders are very much focused on what's happening in Vietnam and we don't know if there is enough attention being put on the India-Pakistan issue which in my view presents a real risk of a crisis right now," said Anand, now a senior advisor at the Albright Stonebridge Group. President Donald Trump's meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam abruptly ended Thursday with no agreement on North Korean denuclearization. At the summit meeting, Trump did say he expected "reasonably decent news" from Pakistan and India. "They've been going at it, and we've been involved in trying to have them stop," he said. A gun store sales associate looks on as a customer tries out a semi-automatic pistol in Las Vegas, Nevada. The House passed a bipartisan bill to boost gun background checks on Wednesday, starting the most significant push Congress has taken to increase firearms regulations in years. The legislation, the most significant gun control plan Congress has passed in more than two decades, cleared the Democratic-held House in a 240-190 vote. Eight Republicans supported the measure, while two Democrats opposed it. Still, the bill likely will not get through the GOP-controlled Senate and past President Donald Trump's veto. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledged to take steps to address gun safety after Democrats gained control of the chamber in January for the first time in eight years. The bill approved Wednesday would require background checks for all firearms sales, including transactions on the internet and at gun shows. Another measure the House plans to pass this week would extend the background check review period to 10 days from three days. In a tweeted statement after the vote, Pelosi's political team said Democrats "put an end to the Republican obstruction and inaction on gun violence." Despite some GOP support for the proposals, many Republicans have decried the Democratic push to strengthen gun control laws. Trump has pledged to veto both plans. The White House argues the bills would put an unnecessary burden on gun owners. Public opinion has moved in favor of tighter gun laws in recent years after a string of high-profile mass shootings, such as the killing of 17 students and staff members at a Florida high school just over a year ago. When they took the majority, Democrats wanted to push for gun control measures with broad public support. In March 2018, 92 percent of Americans said they favor background checks for all gun sales, according to a Gallup survey. Following the shooting last year in Parkland, Florida, Trump told survivors of the massacre and family members of victims that he would be "very strong on background checks." Democrats accused him of hypocrisy after he promised to block the legislation that passed Wednesday. Democrats gained confidence in the issue last year after several candidates won swing House districts while making gun control a priority. Most notably, Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., won a race on the outskirts of Atlanta with gun control as her signature issue. Her 17-year-old son was shot and killed in 2012. The Associated Press contributed to this report Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Gary Cohn, Director of the National Economic Council, during a retreat with Republican lawmakers and members of his Cabinet at Camp David in Thurmont, Maryland, January 6, 2018. The former NEC director hasn't finished writing the memoir and those familiar with the process say a book deal with a publisher has yet to be made. Cohn has been telling friends that he's planning for the final version of the book to be wide ranging and to reflect his experiences from being a senior executive at one of the most influential banks in the world through his tenure as a senior economic advisor to Trump, according to sources familiar with the discussions. Former National Economic Council director Gary Cohn is in the early stages of writing a memoir that will highlight large portions of his career including his tenure as president of Goldman Sachs and his time as a member of President Donald Trump's administration, CNBC has learned. Politico's Playbook reported on Tuesday that Bob Barnett, an attorney at legal powerhouse Williams and Connolly, has been shopping around Cohn's book idea to publishers in New York. Cohn did not return repeated requests for comment. A spokeswoman for Cohn declined to comment. Barnett declined to comment when reached. Cohn in the past has admitted he was in the process of writing about his experiences in the Trump administration after he left the White House in 2018. "I'm writing about my time in Washington already," Cohn told Bloomberg in August. "Look, I rewrote tax reform, which hadn't been done in 31 years. I've been talking into my tape recorder lots and lots and lots and lots of hours. I'm afraid when I listen to it it might be the same thing 35 times. But I'm going to give someone literally thousands of hours of tape." Cohn joined the Trump administration after serving as president of Goldman for over a decade. His signature policy achievement while in the White House was as one of the architects of Trump's tax reform plan, which saw the corporate tax rate drop from 35 percent to 21 percent and made cut backs to the individual tax rate as well. The former White House advisor's life has been depicted in books in the past. During his time at Goldman, Cohn was featured in Malcolm Gladwell's "David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants," which painted the bank executive as an example of a successful underdog story. Gladwell focused on Cohn's early childhood as he battled with dyslexia and struggled in school but found a way to move up the ranks at Goldman to eventually become president. Cohn has come under fire since he left the White House from Trump himself after Bob Woodward described Cohn's interactions with the president in his New York Time's best seller, "Fear: Trump in the White House." Woodward claimed Cohn once called Trump "a professional liar" and that the economic advisor along with White House aide Rob Porter, would steal papers off of the president's desk in an attempt to stop the commander in chief from ending free trade agreements. "Gary Cohn, I could tell stories about him like you wouldn't believe," Trump said in an interview at the time. Cohn and Porter later denied the book's claims. If Cohn were to sign with a book publisher, it would be the latest move by the former Goldman executive to cash in on his life experiences since exiting the White House. CNBC first reported he's been charging at least $200,000 for speaking engagements while accepting gigs at the National Multifamily Housing Council, a Miami conference for Context Capital Partners, and a corporate event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He's also joined the boards of blockchain start-up Spring Labs and Machine Zone, a global market leader in mobile gaming. WATCH: October 2018 CNBC interview with former NEC director Gary Cohn The pace with which we are moving toward the internet of things is "very rapid" but we "can't have the internet of everyone without the inclusion of everyone," according to the vice chairman of payments giant Mastercard. "You have to start focusing on how does the human get involved, and that's going to be through having a digital identity," Ann Cairns told CNBC's Karen Tso on Monday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. "And we think the safe and sensible way to develop that is to be able to grab data from lots of different sources and recombine it to create your digital identity so that you can operate anywhere that you are on the planet," she added. The European Union describes the internet of things as merging "physical and virtual worlds, creating smart environments." Think of devices that are connected to the internet and able to "talk" to one another. One example would be a thermostat in your home that you control with your smartphone from your office. With our lives becoming increasingly digitized, the amount of personal data we are sharing online think medical records, banking details and shopping orders has raised concerns about privacy. Last year, the European Union (EU) sought to introduce tougher rules on people's information through its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This new legislation introduced "one set of data protection rules for all companies operating in the EU, wherever they are based." "The way that I've described digital identity the data need not move from, for example, the people holding your passport data today, they already have that," Cairns added. "The bank, that already has your bank details, that needn't move, because what you can do is you can 'tokenize' the data so that only the token moves to combine and create that identity for you." Such a system would, Cairns said, address the latest thinking about privacy, which she described as "really important." Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. Progressive Democrats of America holds a news conference to announce the launch of a Medicare for All Caucus at the Capitol on Thursday, July 19, 2018. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has not endorsed the health-care plan. Numerous Democrats who helped their party flip the House last year by winning ideologically split, GOP-held districts have also distanced themselves from the proposal. A Pelosi spokesman did not immediately respond to a request to comment on whether Pelosi will back the legislation or bring it to a vote. The "Medicare-for-all" proposal, introduced by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., will face backlash from critics who have warned about its potentially enormous cost and Republicans who aim to cast Democrats as radicals drifting toward socialism. House Democrats introduced a plan Wednesday to insure all Americans through Medicare, as the push for a sweeping shift to universal health coverage gains more traction ahead of pivotal elections next year. Still, the measure marks a victory for activists and the party's left wing, who have pushed for more drastic action to expand coverage and reduce costs. Jayapal says the "Medicare-for-all" bill has more than 100 co-sponsors. "Is this a bold and ambitious plan? Damn straight it is. Because it has to be," the representative said in introducing the bill. She called health care a "human right," adding that "whether you're rich or poor you should have the same quality of guaranteed health care." Democrats won House control last year in large part by attacking Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and its protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions. Since the party took control in January, the debate has shifted to how best to expand insurance coverage and cut coverage and drug costs for consumers. Several Democratic contenders for the 2020 presidential nomination have embraced "Medicare-for-all." Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., helped to put "Medicare-for-all" into the political mainstream during his 2016 bid. He introduced a similar bill to Jayapal's in 2017, and four other declared 2020 presidential candidates Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Sen. Kamala Harris of California and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts co-sponsored it. Others have called for more incremental steps, such as an optional Medicare or Medicaid buy-in, as some Democrats worry appearing too radical will hurt their chances in presidential and congressional elections. On Wednesday, Jayapal responded to those who would argue the proposal costs too much. "Just remember that the only ones who can't afford to let this bill pass are these pharma and insurance companies who can't afford to lose massive profits if we pass this bill," she said. In January, 56 percent of Americans favored a "Medicare-for-all" system, versus 42 percent who opposed it, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll. However, support for such a plan falls when Americans are told it could require most Americans to pay more in taxes or eliminate private insurance companies. Jayapal highlighted support from various labor unions and public interest groups on Wednesday. She also disputed the notion that House members from ideologically balanced districts would not support the plan. One congressman who won a swing district last year Rep. Josh Harder of California appeared with Jayapal to back her plan Wednesday. Republicans quickly attacked the proposal. Even if the Democratic-held House votes on and passes the legislation, the GOP-controlled Senate is unlikely to approve it. The National Republican Congressional Committee the House GOP's campaign arm called the health plan House Democrats' "latest socialist idea" on Wednesday. Reuters contributed to this report. WATCH: Why medical bills in the U.S. are so expensive President Donald Trump's financial statements are here and they likely only tell part of the story of his wealth. Michael Cohen, the president's former personal attorney, testified before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, and provided the committee with a number of documents, among which he said were copies of Trump's financial statements for 2011, 2012 and 2013. They include details about the president's net worth at the time the sum of his total assets minus his liabilities. The statements are available for download here: 2011, 2012 and 2013. Notable items on Trump's balance sheets include a "brand value" of $4 billion in 2013 the highest valued asset in that year's statement which bumped his total assets to $9.1 billion that year and raised his total net worth to $8.6 billion. The line item for Trump's "brand value" is absent from his 2011 and 2012 statements. In both of those years, the total value of his assets was about $5 billion. His net worth was shown as $4.26 billion in 2011, and $4.6 billion in 2012, according to the financial statements. "My net worth fluctuates, and it goes up and down with markets and with attitudes and with feelings, even my own feelings," Trump had said in a 2007 deposition. Steven Groves, a spokesman for the White House, had no comment. Read Michael Cohen's opening statement to the House Oversight Committee here While net worth statements provide some insight into a person's assets and outstanding debt, they don't provide the whole picture. A British government ministry focused on the U.K.'s departure from the European Union has reiterated a warning that the country's economy could weaken as much as 9 percent over a 15-year period, unless a binding withdrawal settlement between the two sides is agreed that provides trading continuity. The Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU) on Tuesday afternoon issued the status update on government preparations for such a scenario, including the implications for specific sectors as outlined in several case studies. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Theresa May had for the first time in months promised lawmakers an opportunity to explicitly rule out a no-deal scenario in a parliamentary vote by March 13, though senior members of her government continue to insist that it remains a possibility. The embattled leader has faced a rising chorus of voices within both political and business spheres to prevent any sudden severing of Britain's myriad security and economic ties with the world's largest trading bloc. The consequences of such a rupture, as summarized by DExEU civil servants in Tuesday's report, include an economy that over a 15-year time horizon could be between 6.3 percent and 9 percent smaller than would be the case if current trading conditions were maintained. The costs of customs compliance would be particularly onerous for British businesses, the report suggests, with the administrative burden for firms that are unused to such interactions estimated at 13 billion ($17.3 billion) a year. Democrats and Republicans in Congress have a message for American credit bureaus: The current system for determining credit scores isn't working. Credit scores are used for more than just basic loan, credit card and mortgage applications. Many landlords and apartment complexes rely heavily on them. Insurance products like renters insurance and auto policies may also require a credit check, depending on the provider. Even some employers may seek a credit report before hiring a candidate. "There are so many meaningful things that rely on a credit score as a basis for things like terms and even the decision someone is making about you," John Ulzheimer, an expert on credit scores and credit scoring, tells CNBC Make It. Though they're widely relied on, the credit reports of about 1 in 5 people have an error of some kind, according to a study by the Federal Trade Commission. And members of the House Financial Services Committee aren't having it anymore. Members from both political parties grilled the CEOs of the three major U.S. credit bureaus Equifax, Experian and TransUnion on Tuesday, calling for accountability and change. Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., called the hearing to discuss the current state of the bureaus after the massive 2017 Equifax data breach and to discuss proposed bills that aim to reform the current credit reporting system. 'The credit reporting system is in major need of repair' "The system is broken," ranking member Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., said Tuesday. "While the credit scoring system provides us with a foundation that allows millions of Americans to access credit quickly and efficiently, the credit reporting system is in need of major repair." Democrats, including Waters and committee member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., noted that part of the problem is that, to credit reporting bureaus, consumers aren't customers they are the goods. "This commodification of consumers and their personal data is the core reason why our nation's consumer credit reporting system is broken," Waters says. Waters and McHenry have both proposed bills in the past to improve the credit bureaus, but Waters said Tuesday that she would be " introducing legislation ... to see what we can do to protect our consumers more and strengthen the entire system." Representatives for the industry have concerns about the proposals. As Francis Creighton, president and CEO of the Consumer Data Industry Association told Politico, "In effect, consumers will be able to take things off their report that are negatively impacting them," he said. "And we think that's really problematic." Equifax data breach highlighted problems The 2017 Equifax data breach put some of the credit bureaus' shortcomings front and center. The company announced in early September 2017 that consumers' personal information, including Social Security numbers, passport information and partial driver's license data, had been exposed. Equifax actually discovered the hack at the end of July, though it didn't publicize the news until over a month afterward. A few days after its initial announcement, the credit bureau revealed that the hackers took advantage of a security gap that it had known about since that March but had failed to fix. All said, the data breach affected more than 145 million Americans. That's roughly 2 out of every 5 Americans who found that some of their most sensitive information had been put at risk. "The reality today is that, if you have a credit file, your information is probably on the dark web," McHenry said during Tuesday's hearing. Complaints and lawsuits against the credit bureaus An investigation published earlier this month by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution found consumers filed 175,000 complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau related to credit reports between 2015 and 2017. About 65 percent of the complaints filed in 2017 pertained to inaccurate information on credit reports across all three of the bureaus. The investigation revealed that more than 4,000 lawsuits have been filed in federal court against Equifax, Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., pointed out during Tuesday's hearing. She asked Equifax CEO Mark Begor if he would provide his Social Security number, his birthday and address out loud to the committee. "I would be a bit uncomfortable doing that," Begor told Porter, because of concerns about identity theft. "It's sensitive information that I like to protect and I think consumers should protect theirs." "If you agree that exposing this kind information information like you have in your credit reports creates harm and therefore you're unwilling to share it, why are your lawyers arguing in federal court that that there was no injury and no harm created by your data breach?" Porter asked. The reality today is that if you have a credit file, your information is probably on the dark web. Patrick McHenry a North Carolina Republican Porter argued that Equifax lawyers, in defending the company in a number of lawsuits filed by affected consumers, claimed those consumers had not suffered any harm as of yet. When Begor said he wasn't a lawyer and could not speak to the company's legal defense strategies, Porter dismissed his answer, "You do employ those lawyers and they do operate at your direction, at your counsel, and they're making these arguments in court, on the record." Equifax says it has taken steps to address cybersecurity as well as consumer complaints. It appointed four new members to its board of directors and added to its senior leadership within its security, data governance, IT and risk management teams, according to Begor's testimony Tuesday. Additionally, Equifax hired 1,000 full-time IT and security employees and plans to spend $1 billion on technology and security through 2020 to improve its systems. Changes to credit reports are coming In addition to any bills that Waters or McHenry are planning to put forward, there are already changes to consumer credit reporting on the way. Experian and FICO are both working on products that will roll out this year and will incorporate additional information in your credit report, such as your phone and utility payment history. The programs, called Experian Boost and UltraFICO, allow consumers to opt in to share their payment history, as well as the overall health of their bank accounts and if their spending and income ratios are positive. "The consumer is in control," Nick Thomas, co-founder and president of Finicity, one of the companies powering the data collection behind these new products. Early indicators show that, with Experian Boost, consumers saw their credit score increase, Thomas says. In one case, a pilot participant boosted their score by 74 points. Raising your credit score can have a real impact. For example, research shows boosting you score by roughly 100 points, from good to excellent, can save you over $10,000 in interest on a mortgage. This commodification of consumers and their personal data is the core reason why our nation's consumer credit reporting system is broken. Maxine Waters Democrat of California Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, speaks to a group of Amazon employees that are veterans during an Amazon Veterans Day celebration on Monday, November 12, 2018. Amazon is cutting back on its expansion plans in its hometown of Seattle, GeekWire reported Wednesday, two weeks after the company abandoned plans to build part of its second headquarters in New York's Long Island City. Seattle-based GeekWire obtained a marketing flier that said Amazon is seeking tenants for all 30 floors of office space it has leased in what will be city's second-highest skyscraper. All of the space will be leased to other companies, GeekWire reported, citing the flier and conversations with commercial real estate agents. The scale-back could signal more conservative expansion efforts for the online retailer, which laid off hundreds of area employees last year according to the Seattle Times. Seattle residents and officials have questioned Amazon's future in the city after the company persuaded local lawmakers to repeal a corporate tax by threatening to pull out of the Rainier Square location. Amazon's hard line on Seattle tax policy echos its recent fight with local officials in New York. City Council members repeatedly pushed back on the nearly $3 billion in tax incentives the city and state had offered Amazon to move there. The company also faced scrutiny from trade union officials who hoped to get Amazon to cooperate with them. Amazon has reportedly been eyeing space in nearby Bellevue, Washington, where the company is leasing over 1 million square feet of space. In the meantime, a Seattle real estate broker told GeekWire companies like Apple, Dropbox and Oracle were considering Amazon's Rainier Square space. An Amazon spokesperson noted that the company still has big plans in Seattle. "We are currently building two million square feet of office space in our South Lake Union campus in Seattle. We are always evaluating our space requirements and intend to sublease Rainier Square based on current plans. We have more than 9,000 open roles in Seattle and will continue to evaluate future growth." Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. Watch: How Amazon's situation in New York compares to Uber's South Koreans in their 20s and 30s are skeptical about unification and its benefits, despite the symbolic summits between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a student activist said Tuesday. United Press International reports in its articlr Young South Koreans remain wary of 'dangerous' North that Lee Seo-ra, a student representative with the center-right Bareun Mirae Party, a minor political opposition in parliament, said members of her generation do not feel connected to their North Korean counterparts. "Among [South Korean] youth, perception is strong the North is a different country that is right next to us, but is also dangerous," Lee said at the Global Peace Youth Forum at Hotel President in Seoul. Perceptions of danger come from the international and local media. "When I conducted an image search for North Korea [on South Korean Internet] the first image was that of a missile overlapping with a [Photoshopped] North Korean flag," Lee said, pointing out reasons why young South Koreans distance themselves from North Korea. The student activist also said South Koreans of her generation are more hesitant to say they and North Koreans are "the same people," unlike older South Koreans who believe unification is obvious and necessary. A recent survey of youth in South Korea illustrates the cautious approach young people take toward the North. According to data collected by the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, 52 percent of Koreans in their 20s and 30s said unification is necessary, but their numbers are roughly equal to the number of respondents who either said unification is not necessary, or that they are strongly opposed to unification. Those numbers, collected in December 2018, may indicate young South Koreans, while supportive of the government's pro-engagement policies, are still not convinced of the benefits of unifying with the impoverished North. Domestic economic concerns may also be a higher priority, which is why successive South Korean administrations have promoted unification policies with promises of windfall gains. Public opinion matters The hesitation of young South Koreans that prevents them from immediately embracing the North should be a concern, said a defector who resettled in the South in the early 2000s. Joo Seung-hyeon, 38, now a visiting professor at School of Northeast Asian Studies at Incheon National University, said South Koreans should think more about their "current divided state" before addressing the issue of unification. Popular sentiment and grass roots-level action are important and decisive factors in overcoming national division, Joo said. "If public sentiment does not follow [government policy], the process of overcoming division will slow down," he added. The defector added he knows what it's like to overcome obstacles; nearly 20 years ago, he escaped the North and managed to reach the South through the demilitarized zone -- a dangerous route filled with explosive landmines. But Joo also realized through his firsthand experience of walking across the border how close the two Koreas are to each other; the entire trip took about 25 minutes by foot. The analyst, who was working in North Korean psychological operations at the border for six years before he defected, said Kim Jong Un is also on a transformative journey as he prepares to meet again with U.S. President Donald Trump in Vietnam on Wednesday. "After the second summit, the Korean Peninsula will be walking an unprecedented path in history," regardless of the outcome, Joo said. He also said more needs to be done to involve the 10,000 defectors, who are in their 20s and 30s, in unification dialogue. There are about 32,000 North Korean defectors in the South. Their number has risen since 2017 and after Kim's summits with various world leaders. Alphabet's DeepMind, an artificial intelligence (AI) firm, has used machine learning to boost the productivity of wind energy. In a blogpost Tuesday, DeepMind's Carl Elkin and Sims Witherspoon, together with Google's Will Fadrhonc, described how in 2018 DeepMind and Google had started to apply "machine learning algorithms to 700 megawatts of wind power capacity in the central United States." The post explained how a neural network was trained on weather forecasts and historical turbine data. The DeepMind system was configured in order to "predict wind power output 36 hours ahead of actual generation." This essentially means that the technology deployed by DeepMind can predict how much energy wind turbines and farms can produce. The model could then make recommendations on "how to make optimal hourly delivery commitments to the power grid a full day in advance." DeepMind described this as important, noting that sources of energy that can "deliver a set amount of electricity at a set time" were often more valuable to the grid. In the renewable energy sector, tools such as this could become crucial, given that sources like the sun and wind do not promise a constant stream of power. Using machine learning at the wind farms had generated positive results, DeepMind said, adding that it had "boosted the value of our wind energy by roughly 20 percent, compared to the baseline scenario of no time-based commitments to the grid." Based in London, DeepMind was acquired by Google in 2014. Today, it's part of Alphabet, which is the parent company of Google. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. Despite his legendary stock-picking abilities, Warren Buffett remains a staunch supporter of index funds. He favors them over most other investing options. The Oracle of Omaha even said he's instructed the trustee in charge of his estate to invest 90 percent of his money into the S&P 500 for his wife after he dies, Buffett told CNBC's Becky Quick in an exclusive interview on "Squawk Box" on Monday. "There's been no better bet than America," he says. Here's why Buffett's favorite investment can be a smart choice for almost anyone, especially those who are new to the market. What index funds are Index funds are a form of passive investing. They hold every stock in an index such as the S&P 500, which includes big-name companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Google, and they offer low turnover rates, so fees and taxes tend to be low as well. You can think of an index fund as a basket of stocks with hundreds or thousands of different ones inside, explains Nick Holeman, a certified financial planner at Betterment. "It's the cheapest and easiest way to diversify your money that you're investing," Holeman says. The rate of return for each index fund is determined by the performance of the companies that are in it, which can balance each other out. Say you buy an index that contains only two companies, and one goes up by 3 percent but the other goes down by 2 percent. In that case, you're still up by 1 percent overall. Why they can be a great bet Architecture Student Has Designs for Fashion February 27, 2019 Zain Islam-Hashmi has created his niche as an architect of fashion, who creates clothing and wardrobe ensembles with materials like resin, cement and plexiglass. Islam-Hashmi, head designer for Carnegie Mellon University's annual Lunar Gala fashion show, graduates this spring with a bachelor's degree in architecture and minors in intelligent environments and digital fabrication. He has taken advantage of opportunities at CMU and around the world and has shaped them into something unique. "I really liked the fact that CMU was so interdisciplinary ... and there were possibilities to do things that weren't offered yet. When I compared it to other universities, I felt like there were more options at CMU," he said. For the third year, Islam-Hashmi will present a fashion line at the Lunar Gala that relies heavily on materials more commonly found in architecture and the construction industry. His teammates on the line, known as Alluminare, are Mariana Alberola Rezza, and Stephanie Smid, both second year master's students in the School of Architecture. Islam-Hashmi said that for architecture and fashion are not mutually exclusive. "We have an understanding of people in architecture. Fashion is a way to deepen that interaction." Islam-Hashmi "We have an understanding of people in architecture. Fashion is a way to deepen that interaction," said Islam-Hashmi, a past chapter president of the American Institute of Architecture Students. "There's a lot of techniques and material in architecture that could have a lot of relation and applicability in fashion. Merging the two helps bridge the two worlds, where each learns from the other." Last spring some of his fashion designs used dirt, concrete, sand and paper, and he was recognized as a winner at Pittsburgh's Ecolution: Forces of Nature fashion show, which challenged designers to incorporate recycled and reused materials. Immediately after returning from Europe, where she visited France and Germany, President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili went to Baku to meet with President Ilham Aliyev and other authorities of the neighboring state. Georgian experts consider it natural that head of Georgia, who, according to reliable data, had invitations from other neighboring and regional states, chose Azerbaijan. Expert on the Caucasus Mamuka Areshidze said in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza that Salome Zurabishvili held high positions in the French Foreign Ministry in recent past and for many years was a key employee of the France's NATO office. But most importantly, she has a lot of contacts with French and other European elites. And not only in diplomatic circles, Areshidze said. According to him, considering the role that France played in the success of Zurabishvilis presidential campaign and attention paid to her by current President of France, Emmanuel Macron, as well as former President Nicolas Sarkozy, who attended her inauguration, its not surprising that President Zurabishvili, despite symbolism of her powers in the parliamentary republic, is viewed as an interesting partner by Georgia's neighbors." In a sense, Zurabishvili is a part of French politics, he continued. She has ambitions to promote development of regional projects, initiated by Baku. Mamuka Areshidze recalled that in a recent statement, Zurabishvili supported the Peaceful Caucasus concept, which is based on respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. It's known that Salome Zurabishvili never visits countries without a reason. The fact that Baku was chosen shows that she believes Azerbaijan's participation is crucial for realistic and necessary implementation of the "Peaceful Caucasus" concept. Now Georgian media are actively quoting Zurabishvilis statements made in Baku, especially focusing on her mentioning new prospects of the region and her words about fraternal relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia. Clinton, IA (52732) Today Cloudy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 83F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. The European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee has called for the suspension of Turkey's accession talks to the European Union. One wonders why it is the Foreign Affairs Committee making decisions about a candidate country. Daily Sabah reports in its article Requiem for the Turkey-EU story? that Turkey does not consider the EU a foreign policy issue, but an internal affair and expects the same from the EU. The EU perhaps thinks the accession process is a domestic issue for candidate countries, but these countries' situations and their efforts to meet the European criteria are only a foreign affair to them. The candidate countries are expected to adopt the EU's rules and regulations without questioning them, but it appears one must not expect the EU to do anything to facilitate the process. We know the parliamentary committee's decision is not binding, and fortunately it was not unanimous. No matter what, we have to admit that those who recommended the suspension of the negotiation process represent a noticeable segment of the European public. To be honest, very few chapters remain for the EU and Turkey to negotiate anyway. A number of chapters are currently being blocked by some EU countries, many of which use the Cyprus issue or some other problems as a pretext to refuse Turkey's accession. As for other chapters, it is necessary to negotiate them only if Turkey will one day actually join the EU. Turkey naturally does not want to adopt the EU's economic regulations without having a clear road for accession. That is the real problem. The EU is unable to offer Turkey an accession perspective. This lack of vision is not new; however, it has deepened. A number of EU countries think Turkey will be nothing but a burden for the EU, and ask it to behave like an EU member without officially being a member. They have invented ambiguous concepts such as privileged partnership or special membership, but they never answered why Turkey should accept these half-measures and agree to turn into a buffer zone between Europe and the East. The EU has dithered about Turkey for a very long time. When Turkey noticed that membership was not certain even if it adopts all the criteria, the country's political and economic reforms slowed down. Then came the coup attempt, and the country entered a climate making it practically impossible to make reforms related to the EU. The EU even missed the chance to condemn the coup properly and to reiterate that no country under a military regime can become member. To refuse Turkey by saying that it does not belong in Europe is only preventing Turkey from adopting European values, such as the rule of law, democracy and pluralism, as its own. The EU first pushes Turkey out, and then blames it for drifting away. Not only the Eastern European countries, but countries like Greece, Spain and Portugal in the 1980s also benefited from the European anchor to consolidate their democracies. The EU could do the same for Turkey. Many EU countries have improved their democracies thanks to the advantages arising from being a member state. Turkey expected the same. In today's Europe, the extreme right is becoming stronger with every passing day, and they naturally don't have a positive approach toward candidate countries or peoples they consider as "other." The problem is, those who do not want Turkey today will also refuse others in the near future. Under these circumstances, one would expect the European Parliament to play a positive role, mending the gap between people. It is time to bring people together around common values. The European Parliament should reinforce peoples' mutual sympathies, not animosities. Beachwood, OH (44122) Today Mostly cloudy early. Isolated thunderstorms may develop this afternoon. High near 80F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Thunderstorms this evening will give way to steady rain overnight. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. To hyphenate or not to hyphenate? One of the more enduring debates among scholars of anti-Semitism is whether to include the hyphen in the word. A growing number of commentators are choosing to spell it without the hyphen (antisemitism) for two main reasons. First, they say, anti-Semitism with the hyphen is not our word. Its a word the anti-Semites themselves came up with in the late 19th century to give their hatred of Jews a scientific gloss, and thereby distinguish it from the Christian tradition of anti-Judaism. Second, anti-Semites are not people who are opposed to Semitism, a nonexistent word and nor are they opposed to a race of Semites b ecause there isnt such a race in the first place, just a language group. If you include the hyphen, the argument goes, then you are boosting anti-Semitisms self-image as a revelatory, liberating and compelling explanation of why the world is such a rotten place. Leave the hyphen out and you see antisemitism for what it really is: a malicious conspiracy theory about Jews that carries genocidal intentions toward them. The reason I mention this debate is because, to my mind, similar considerations apply these days to anti-Zionism. It may be the case that the hyphen in that word is playing a similarly obfuscatory role in our understanding of how dangerous this phenomenon really is. For most Jews, Zionism is understood appreciatively as the movement that built the Jewish state in the land of Israel. In the first half of the 20th century, the goal of building a sovereign Jewish state was opposed by a variety of Jews for a variety of reasons; some of these objections were religious, some were socialist, some were liberal-assimilationist. The point is that these Jewish objections were anti-Zionist in the strict sense of the term: Those who advanced them disagreed with the aims of the World Zionist Organization. These days, however, being an anti-Zionist is a radically different proposition. To begin with, the Jewish state the Zionist movement strived for has been in existence for more than 70 years. The anti-Zionist, then, is no longer opposing a political tendency within the Jewish community, but a constituted nation that is also an international legal reality. Can opposition to the existence of the Jewish state be described as anti-Zionist, as if such a position was merely the outgrowth of the older political tradition? Lets say that you believe that out of nearly 200 states in the international system, only Israel should be eliminated from that framework. You are asked why. Because Israel is built on land stolen from the indigenous Palestinians, you answer straight away. But why, you are asked, is the dissolution of a sovereign state a goal that history shows can only be achieved through violence and war a just solution nearly a century later? Because Zionism is a colonial movement that has created an apartheid state, privileging the Jews on the backs of the Palestinians, you answer. Therefore, Zionism is responsible for the conflict, and the problem cant be part of the solution. You are then asked what will happen to the Jews if the state created by the Zionists is dismantled. You answer that they will have a choice: to remain in a unified Palestine as loyal citizens or to join their relatives living in America or Europe. But in truth, this is not an aspect of the conflict you spend a lot of time thinking about because its the Palestinians who are living under occupation, not the Jews. Indeed, you reflect, the very fact that these abstract, moralizing what if? questions get asked shows the power that the Zionist discourse has over our media and on public opinion: The Palestinians are being persecuted and dispossessed, and here we are, still talking about the rights of the Jews. Rather than anti-Zionism opposing the Zionist movements state-building enterprise on the grounds that it doesnt serve Jewish interests I suggest what we are dealing with here is antizionism. Much like its parent antisemitism, it is a grand conspiracy theory with pretensions to be revelatory, liberating and compelling explanation for why the world is in a rotten state. Antizionism does not oppose Zionism as the national movement of the Jewish people. What if caricatures as Zionism is in fact a deadly, unaccountable, globally influential power that has trampled on the national rights of the Palestinian people in the course of establishing itself as a key component of an unjust, racist international system. Hence, if Jews outside Israel wish to identify with the Jewish supremacist monster, then they will reap what they sow. The French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre argued that anti-Semitism is not an opinion, in the sense that one has opinions about trade policy or healthcare, but a passion: an all-consuming, all-explaining hatred of the Jewish presence in society. I would suggest that what we still call anti-Zionism, which might better be described as antizionism, can be classified in the same way and is focused on exactly the same target: The Jews. It was in France last week President Emmanuel Macron announced he had officially reached the same conclusion. Speaking to the annual dinner of French Jewish communal body Crif, which represents a community that is less than 1 percent of the total French population, but the object of more than 50 percent of the hate crimes committed in that country, Macron said plainly he would call out anti-Zionism for what it is: a modern form of anti-Semitism. Macron was speaking with memories still fresh of the anti-Semitic outrages of recent weeks, among them the barracking of the French Jewish intellectual Alain Finkielkraut as a Zionist sh*t by a group of protestors associated with the populist yellow-vests movement. As far as Macron is concerned, that is not so much salty political critique as it is hate speech. Whether the French judiciary and law-enforcement bodies will share the presidents understanding, as he hopes they will, remains to be seen. Because as long as anti-Zionism is perceived as merely an opinion, rather than, in Sartres word, a passion, the mask will not fall. Ben Cohen, senior editor of TheTower.org & The Tower Magazine, writes a weekly column for JNS.org on Jewish affairs and Middle Eastern politics from New York. COLUMBUS, Ohio Green Party presidential candidate Dario Hunter of Youngstown stated Wednesday that he has been fired from his job as a rabbi -- either, as he claims, because of comments he made criticizing Israel, or because of fears his presidential campaign would distract from his rabbinical duties, as a temple leader has said. In a news release, Hunter said that board members of Congregation Ohev Tzedek-Shaarei Torah in Boardman notified him of his job termination in writing on Wednesday morning. Hunter asserted the reason was because of his statements in a Feb. 19 cleveland.com story that the United States should stop providing any aid to Israel because of that countrys horribly atrocious treatment of Palestinians. I do not believe the United States should be providing any form of aid to Israel or any human-rights abusers, Hunter said at the time. After the story was published, Hunter stated that the temples executive committee informed him that such statements were incompatible with being a rabbi. Hunter said he replied that he stood by what he said. On the way out of the synagogue after giving my last d'var Torah (sermon), a congregant stopped me and told me that he was sorry to see me go but that I should be able to understand that the synagogue wanted a rabbi that reflected its values -- specifically, the value of funding Israel, Hunter stated. Neither Hunter nor Congregation Ohev Tzedek immediately returned phone calls seeking comment Wednesday. However, in an interview last week, temple co-president Neil Yutkin told cleveland.com that Hunter wasnt being scrutinized because of his Israel comments, but because of concerns that his presidential campaign would take up too much of his time to perform his job as a rabbi. It wasnt based on the article that was written, Yutkin said. It was based on the fact that he has a full-time job, and he has [been] running full-time and that he will be traveling a great deal for the campaign. That doesnt leave much time for the temple. In his release, Hunter disputed that he was fired because of his presidential campaign. No one can (nor should) find this explanation credible, he wrote. Hunter has also been serving as coordinator for Jewish life and intersectional programming at the College of Wooster. A college spokesman confirmed that Hunter still held that position on Wednesday. Hunter also serves on the Youngstown Board of Education, making him the only Green Party member to currently hold elected office in Ohio. The son of an Iranian Muslim father and a black Christian mother, Hunter is considered the first Muslim-born person to be ordained as a rabbi. After graduating from Princeton University, he earned a law degree in Canada, then worked as an environmental lawyer in Israel before settling on the south side of Youngstown. In his interview with cleveland.com earlier this month, Hunter said hes running for president because he wants to ensure that the voices of the marginalized and disenfranchised are heard in the 2020 presidential race. I have that background that speaks to all of the issues of fundamental fairness and justice that the Green Party espouses an openly gay black Jewish man whos the son of an immigrant, Hunter said. WASHINGTON, D. C. - Ohio congressman Jim Jordan on Wednesday attacked Donald Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen as a liar, patsy and shill for Clinton loyalists and described his testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as an effort by Democrats to remove Trump from office. Jordan - a Trump defender who is the committees top Republican - berated Democrats for inviting a witness who will go to prison for lying to Congress, and claimed the hearing was choreographed by longtime Clinton attorney Lanny Davis, who now represents Cohen. This could be the first time someone convicted of lying to Congress has appeared again so quickly in front of Congress, said Jordan, of Champaign County. Certainly, its the first time that a convicted perjurer has been brought back to be a star witness in a hearing. He said Cohens criminal acts were prompted by a desire for ever greater wealth and influence,' and part of an effort to try to remove the president from office. He said Davis persuaded the committees chairman - Marylands Elijah Cummings - to give a convicted felon a forum to tell stories and lie about the President of the United States so they can all start their impeachment process. When we legitimize dishonesty, we delegitimize this institution," Jordan said. Cohen followed Jordans remarks by delivering damning testimony that described Trump as a racist, conman and cheat. He said his illegal behavior for Trump - which included paying off porn star Stormy Daniels so she wouldnt publicly discuss an affair with Trump - were motivated by weakness and misplaced loyalty. In a half-hour presentation, Cohen said Trump knew about the WikiLeaks emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee before they were released from the public because Roger Stone had told him about it. He said Trump regularly made racist remarks, saying that countries run by black people were shitholes and that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. He said Trump regularly inflated his assets when he wanted to appear on lists of the nations wealthiest people, and deflated them to reduce his tax bills. Cohen also said Trump, who criticized President Obama for not revealing his college grades, threatened schools he attended and the College Board with lawsuits if they ever revealed his grades or SAT scores without his permission. He said Trumps business organization was negotiating a large real estate project in Russia during his campaign, and Trump lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars and didnt expect to win the presidency. Trump regarded his presidential campaign as a marketing opportunity and the greatest infomercial in political history, said Cohen. Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not make his country great," said Cohen. He ran to market himself and build his wealth and power. Jordan attacked Cohen for filing false tax returns on his own behalf, failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes over a period of years, and said he turned on Trump because he was disappointed because he didnt get a job in the White House after ten years of working for Trump. Now youre behaving just like everyone else who got fired or didnt get the job they wanted, said Jordan. Cohen said he didnt want a job in the White House, and wanted to continue serving as Trumps personal attorney when he was elected President. I received exactly what I wanted," said Cohen. I asked Mr. Trump for that job and he gave it to me. Another Ohio Republican on the committee, Rep. Bob Gibbs of Holmes County, berated Cohen for calling Trump a racist and liar while Trump was out of the country negotiating with North Korea. Real repentance would be to go serve your time and dont come back here and make allegations, said Gibbs, asking why Cohen spent ten years working for a person who he seemed to find so horrible. Looks like youre trying to save face. Cohen told Gibbs he was asked to testify before the committee and didnt think subjecting himself to congressional grilling in front of the world was an effort to save face. I take no pleasure in saying anything negative about Mr. Trump, said Cohen. COLUMBUS, Ohio Ohios top elections official is backing a bill meant to toughen the states cyber defenses in time for the 2020 campaign. Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, testified Tuesday in Columbus in favor of Senate Bill 52, which would create a civilian reserve force to help prevent and fight back against cyber attacks. The bill also requires the secretary of states office to hire an information security chief and makes the secretary of state a member of a state committee that helps develop Ohios cyber-security plans. It also requires local boards of elections to conduct post-elections audits by hand-counting ballots or reviewing paper trails of electronic voting machines. The Ohio Cyber Reserve wouldnt be paid unless they are summoned for active duty. The current bill sets aside $100,000 to fund the reserve in 2019, and another $550,000 for 2020. Testifying before the Ohio Senates government oversight committee, LaRose said he recently attended a classified briefing with federal homeland security and intelligence officials in Washington D.C. about possible threats to the 2020 election. We are on the front lines of that battle, and we have to do everything to ensure that Ohio is a leader in the nation in securing our cyber infrastructure, including our elections infrastructure, LaRose said. Senate Bill 52 is sponsored by Sen. Theresa Gavarone, a Bowling Green Republican appointed to the state senate earlier this month. Ohio Adjutant General John Harris, who leads the Ohio National Guard for Gov. Mike DeWine, also testified on Tuesday in support of the cybersecurity bill. He referenced the January hacking of the Akron city governments servers as an example of the threat governments face. WASHINGTON, D. C. - In an unprecedented rebuke of a chief executive, the U.S. House of Representatives voted largely along party lines Tuesday to override President Donald Trumps declaration of a national emergency along the nations southern border. All Democrats in the House of Representatives joined with thirteen Republicans to pass the measure by a 245 to 182 margin - far short of the number that would be required to override a likely presidential veto. None of Ohios Republicans supported the effort. Democrats said they did not believe there was an emergency at the border, and said Trumps emergency declaration to get around Congress funding decisions created constitutional issues. Is your oath of office to Donald Trump, or is your oath of office to the Constitution of the United States? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked on the House of Representatives floor. Republicans said Trumps decision to declare an emergency at the border is justified to keep drug smugglers, human traffickers and other and criminals out of the country. What will it take for Democrats to acknowledge that there is a national emergency at our border? How many caravans will it take? Six? Seven? The caravan that never ends? Democrats need to stop focusing on stopping the President. Start helping the country. #DoWhatWeSaid Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 26, 2019 Holmes County GOP Rep. Bob Gibbs called the resolution just another example of Democrats willingness to oppose any and all parts of President Trumps and Republicans agenda. The situation on our southern border is a legitimate crisis with national security and humanitarian implications. The resolution passed by Democrats tonight is simply political theater, said Gibbs. "I look forward to continuing to work with President Trump to stop drugs and criminals from flowing across our southern border Dayton-area Republican Rep. Mike Turner, who had expressed concern about Trump taking money away from Ohio military priorities to fund the border wall, told CNN Pelosi needs to negotiate appropriate border security funding with Trump. Im very concerned about this precedent, however we do need to take action, Turner said. "No, I will not be supporting Nancy Pelosi's measure tomorrow" reversing Trump's emergency order Republican Rep. Mike Turner says President Trump's national emergency declaration was setting "dangerous precedent," but won't side with Pelosi. https://t.co/VJNIpDwV1M pic.twitter.com/MB0XS1jWs7 OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) February 26, 2019 The measure now goes to the U.S. Senate, which which is required to take it up. If all Senate Democrats support it, just four Republican votes would be needed for passage on a simple majority vote. So far, three Republicans - Alaskas Lisa Murkowski, Maines Susan Collins and North Carolinas Thom Tillis - said they will vote for it. In a Washington Post opinion piece, Tillis said he backs Trumps approach to border security but feels he must curb executive overreach." Those on the left and the right who are making Trumps emergency declaration a simple political litmus test of whether one supports or opposes the president and his policies are missing the mark, Tillis wrote. This is about the separation of powers and whether Congress will support or oppose a new precedent of executive power that will have major consequences. Ohio GOP Sen. Rob Portman told reporters on Tuesday that he hasnt yet decided how hell vote and is awaiting more information from the Trump administration before staking out a position. Portman said he met Tuesday with Vice President Mike Pence and officials from the Justice Department to discuss the administrations approach, and that he still was awaiting answers to some of his questions. He said he supports Trumps approach to border security but is uncomfortable at this point saying that Im going to vote yes, until I know more about how theyre going to do it to be sure it doesnt set a precedent for the future that would be troubling. I need to know precisely what theyre talking about," Portman said. "Where the moneys going to come from? There are some places ... that do not require a national emergency at all for future funds, including [Department of Defense] funds. And then on the national emergency, I need to know precisely where theyre talking about it coming from and whether it sets a precedent that is troubling. And theyre going to provide that information, they indicated today. Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown said hell back Pelosis resolution when it comes up in the Senate. The Presidents decision to take funding away from our military to support his vanity project is reckless and irresponsible," said a statement from Brown. "The President continues to hurt the people who make this country work by wasting time and standing in the way of important work like protecting pensions for millions of workers and retirees, bringing down the cost of prescription drugs, or rewriting the tax code to put people first. Instead of building a wall, we should be passing a bill to provide back pay for the contract workers the President hurt with his shutdown. All Ohios Democratic House members were cosponsors of the resolution, with Niles-area Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan declaring that Trumps declaration of a national emergency for an ineffective, expensive wall subverts that power of Congress and undermines our constitution. There is no national emergency, Ryan continued. The President cannot be allowed to continue this political charade. Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur said Trumps decision to raid $3.5 billion in Defense Department construction money would put more than $90 million in Ohio projects at risk. Ohio military projects that Trump could gut include Wright-Patterson Air Force Bases ADAL Intelligence Production Complex (NASIC) ($61,000,000), Camp Ravennas Automated Multipurpose Machine Gun Range ($7,400,000), Youngstown Air Reserve Stations main gate relocation ($8,800,000), and upgrades to the Mansfield Lahm Airport fire station ($13,000,000), said Kaptur. Throughout his campaign for the Presidency, and during his time in office, President Trump has promised time and again that Mexico would pay for the wall, said Kaptur. Before he rushes to fulfill an ill-advised campaign promise few think will even work, the President should answer the question of just how it is we went from Mexico paying for his monument to depriving our military of its operational priorities to fund it. TOLEDO, Ohio Toledoans voted Tuesday to protect Lake Erie with its own Bill of Rights, to empower city residents to file lawsuits on behalf of the Great Lake. But is the new law constitutional when Lake Erie is overseen by four states and two countries? A Wood County farmer named Mark Drewes filed suit over the city charter amendment, which passed with 61 percent of 15,000 Toledo voters. The Charter Amendment is an unconstitutional and unlawful assault on the fundamental rights of family farms in the Lake Erie Watershed like the Drewes fifth generation family farm, Mark Drewes attorney, Thomas Fusonie, said in a statement. The lawsuit seeks to protect the Drewes family farm from this unconstitutional assault. The suit argues the bill of rights violates federal constitutional rights, including equal protection and freedom of speech, and is unenforceable for its vagueness. The suit argues for an injunction to prevent enforcing the law. In an interview with cleveland.com, Case Western Reserve University law professor Jonathan Adler said the law oversteps its jurisdiction. If Lake Erie was within Toledo limits, a bill of rights would likely hold. The people of one city dont get to declare how a given resource could be used or protected when that resource is shared with lots of other jurisdictions, he said. Other questions with the law include Toledos home rule authority, federal preemption and the vagueness of the law. Merely saying were protecting the lake doesnt tell us what the policies should be and what sorts of measures should be taken, Adler said. The Lake Erie Bill of Rights is the first rights-based law in the United States that specifically acknowledges the rights of a distinct ecosystem, according to the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, which helped craft the language. The law follows the Rights of Nature movement that inspired New Zealands 2014 granting legal personhood to the Te Urewera forest and Indias courts ruling in 2017 that the Ganges and Yamuna rivers have rights to thrive. The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund also pushed for city laws against natural gas drilling, later overturned by the Ohio Supreme Court. Heres what the Bill of Rights says: It establishes irrevocable rights for the Lake Erie Ecosystem to exist, flourish and naturally evolve, a right to a healthy environment for the residents of Toledo, and which elevates the rights of the community and its natural environment over powers claimed by certain corporations. Toledoans have been pushing toward the ideas since 2014, when the could not use its water supply for three days because of a harmful algal bloom. People couldnt use city water to brush their teeth or take a shower or drink. We take on that role of being stewards and guardians of this watershed, Markie Miller, an organizer for Toledoans for Safe Water, told cleveland.com in January. Weve got plenty of examples of times when the lake and watershed are used as property. Its like this big free regional toilet, and we want to change that. Markle said she hoped other cities around Lake Erie would adopt similar bills. Adler said he understands the frustration of conventional approaches to environmental protection. Im just skeptical this is a viable alternative. Want more Lake Erie news? Follow RocktheLake on Facebook. UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Steven Herbert, previously associate vice provost for academic affairs at Xavier University, now leads John Carroll Universitys academic programs. Herbert, who holds a bachelors from Xavier and a doctorate from Ohio State University, joined the faculty at Xavier in 1995, moving into the associate vice provost role seven years ago. He will teach at JCU as a tenured professor in the schools physics department. JCU President Michael Johnson is still in his first year, and officials are working on renewing the schools Strategic Plan for 2020-2025. The school also recently received a $20 million unrestricted gift from an anonymous graduate. Last year, the university used $10 million dollars to expand its school of business into a college, adding new programs and expanding the faculty. Herbert will oversee areas including curriculum, faculty development, student learning and research. He also has experience working on strategic planning: he was involved in Xaviers strategic enrollment plan and past and current academic plans. Herberts begins the new role in June 2019. Read more about Herbert in a university Q&A here. ST. LOUIS The United Methodist Church, Americas second-largest Protestant denomination, faces a likely surge in defections and acts of defiance after delegates at a crucial conference voted Tuesday to strengthen the faiths divisive bans on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT clergy. Emotions were high throughout the third and final day of the UMCs meeting. Some supporters of greater LGBT inclusion were in tears, while others vented their anger when, midway through the session, delegates defeated a proposal that would have let regional and local church bodies decide for themselves on gay-friendly policies. Devastation, was how former Methodist pastor Rebecca Wilson of Detroit described her feelings. As someone who left because Im gay, Im waiting for the church I love to stop bringing more hate. After several more hours of debate, the conservatives proposal, called the Traditional Plan, was approved by a vote of 438-384. Opponents unsuccessfully sought to weaken the plan with hostile amendments or to prolong the debate past a mandatory adjournment time set to accommodate a monster truck rally in the arena. One delegate even requested an investigation into the possibility that vote buying was taking place at the conference. The Traditional Plans success was because of an alliance of conservatives from the U.S. and overseas. About 43 percent of the delegates were from abroad, mostly from Africa, and overwhelmingly supported the LGBT bans. If the bans were eased, the church in Africa would cease to exist, said the Rev. Jerry Kulah of Liberia. We cant do anything but to support the Traditional Plan it is the biblical plan. Council of Bishops President Kenneth H. Carter, speaking at a news conference after the session, said the meeting was necessary because if the impasse we found ourselves in over questions of human sexuality. I would just simply say that we have work to do. We did not accomplish that in these three days, Carter said. Carter said he is concerned the plan will cause progressive churches to leave the denomination. He said church leaders will be doing a lot of outreach to those churches. Persons will feel harmed, Carter said. The deep split within the church was evident in several fiery speeches opposing the Traditional Plan. If we bring this virus into our church, it will bring illness to us all, said the Rev. Thomas Berlin of Herndon, Virginia. He predicted many Methodist churchgoers and some regional bodies would leave the church, while others would stay and fight, performing same-sex weddings even if it meant punishment. Many supporters of the more liberal plan stood in support as Berlin spoke. Some wore rainbow-motif garments or sat behind rainbow banners. After the vote, a small group of protesters carried a cross to the stage at the conference and sat around it. Another group of about 200 people staged a peaceful sitdown protest while about two dozen police officers watched. The Rev. Allen Ewing-Merrill, a pastor from Portland, Maine, pledged defiance of the Traditional Plan, tweeting: I will not participate in your bigotry, sin & violence. An association of Methodist theological schools warned that if the Traditional Plan passes, the church will lose an entire generation of leaders in America. Formed in a merger in 1968, the United Methodist Church claims about 12.6 million members worldwide, including nearly 7 million in the United States. While other mainline Protestant denominations, such as the Episcopal and Presbyterian (U.S.A.) churches, have embraced gay-friendly practices, the Methodist church still bans them, though acts of defiance by pro-LGBT clergy have multiplied. Many have performed same-sex weddings; others have come out as gay or lesbian from the pulpit of their churches. Enforcement of the bans has been inconsistent; the Traditional Plan aspires to beef up discipline against those engaged in defiance. The Rev. Tim Bagwell, 64, pastor at a UMC church in Macon, Georgia, had opposed the Traditional Plan and called the outcome deeply painful. But he said his church will stay with UMC until at least 2020, when the next major conference is scheduled. Hes hopeful new delegates will be elected and change course to a more inclusive church. I am deeply sad, he said. The Methodist church has always been mainstream, reaching out to people. This sends a different tone ... one of exclusion, not inclusion. The Rev. Scott Hagan, 45, a pastor from Bonaire, Georgia, supported the Traditional Plan, saying the liberals alternative would have sent a mixed message. To have each church possibly in the same town offering a different perspective and practice would surely be confusing to the public that comes to the church looking for guidance, Hagan said. DARIEN, Georgia A state trooper shot and killed a woman Tuesday after officials say she struck the trooper with her car during a traffic stop. Sasha Ann Pishko, 22, of Clermont, Fla., was pronounced dead at the scene on Interstate 95 south after the unidentified trooper fire multiple times at her car, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports. WSAV Channel 3 reports the shooting occurred at about 9:20 a.m. when the trooper stopped Pishkos vehicle. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says Pishko drove off during the stop and struck the trooper, who suffered minor injuries. The trooper managed to fire multiple shots at Pishkos car. She drove a short distance and then crashed. WSAV reports Pishko had been arrested several times since 2017, most recently on drug-related charges, and was released from jail on Feb. 9. To comment on this story, visit Tuesdays crime and courts comments page. By Auqib Javeed, TwoCircles.net Samba:- Even though the Indian government is trying to push the narrative that there were no attacks on Kashmiris after Pulwama attacks, the reality is much different. On February 25, tribals from the Gujjar minority community were thrashed by a group of right-wing activists in Samba district in Jammu. According to reports, two local tribals: Mushtaq Ahmad Chowdary and Mohammad Ashraf Chowdary were on the way to their destination when an RSS mob caught hold of them in Vijaypur area of Samba and forced them to chant nationalist slogans. Support TwoCircles A video of the two being thrashed and being forced to chant slogans in favour of Bharat Mata and against Pakistan went viral on social media with netizens demanding authorities to take strict action against the culprits. Anger is brewing among the local Muslim community of the area against the hooliganism of the right-wing activists with locals calling for a peaceful protest against the harassment after Friday prayers this week. Talking to TwoCircles.net, Nazakat Khatana, a Gujjar activist from the region said the duo were waiting to board a bus to reach their destination when the incident happened. He said the RSS workers were celebrating the airstrikes by Indian Air forces against Pakistan when they caught hold of the duo and thrashed them. We raised the issue with the concerned Police station; you cant force anyone to chat Bharat Mata ki Jai. Although we have been assured that strict action will be taken against the culprits but we have decided to hold a peaceful protest march after Friday prayers this week, Khatana says. He said ever since the Pulwama attack the Muslims in the area are being provoked deliberately by the Hindu-right wing parties. When TwoCircles.net raised the issue with Dr Koshal Sharma, Senior Superintendent of Police, Samba said the police have taken cognizance of the video and have started an investigation. We are verifying the videostrict action will be taken against the culprits after the investigation, he added. CLEVELAND, Ohio Tracing ones ancestry through DNA testing has become popular, but some folks still enjoy combing through public records and exploring genealogy websites to discover their lineage. Or, they do both. Thats the idea behind the free African-American Family History Symposium taking place on Saturday, March 9. Genealogy experts from across the country are gathering for the symposium, which is 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 25000 Westwood Road, Westlake. Last years event attracted 400 participants. For the second year in a row, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints partnered with the African American Genealogical Society, Cleveland, Ohio and the Oberlin African American Genealogy and History Group for this event, said Sandra Hruza, a spokesperson for the local church. Their expertise and knowledge have been valuable in bringing top-notch presenters from both outside of Cleveland and from within the community. This years keynote speaker is LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson. Retired after 35 years as a prominent tax attorney and partner at Ernst & Young, she became a certified genealogist and certified genealogical lecturer, focusing on African-American families with roots in the south, according to a release. In 2017, the Sons & Daughters of the U.S. Middle Passage lineage society presented her with the Phillis Wheatley Literary Award. Other expert speakers include professional genealogists Hollis Gentry, Deborah Abbott and Tim Pinnick, all of whom have extensive and nationally-recognized expertise in African-American research. Family Tree Magazine columnist and Ohio Genealogy News Editor Sunny Morton will also be presenting. Other speakers include Cuyahoga County Archivist Judy G. Cetina, Lt. Col. Eric E. Johnson, Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, and Sandra Milton, who is a genealogist and reference librarian at Geauga West Public Library. About 400 people attended the 2018 African American Family History Symposium.Photo courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints Presentations will include beginning genealogy; using popular websites for genealogy; writing your own life story; and common genealogical sources such as censuses and vital records. More specialized topics include using DNA to confirm oral history; mining records to research African American families; finding your ancestors through funeral records; U.S. Colored Troops; military records from 1775 to Vietnam; finding and using school records to trace ancestors; using FamilySearch.org to find hidden gems, and the Cuyahoga County archives. Along with free admission, lunch also is free. However, registration is required. Go to tinyurl.com/aafhs2019. Or, call 216-386-1833. Registration closes March 4. A generous contribution from Benesch Friedlander, LLP made the event possible. In 1894, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints founded the Genealogical Society of Utah to gather records that would help people trace their ancestry. Today, the library has records of more than 2 billion names in the data basis: 2.4 million rolls of microfilm, and 278,000 books. With the help of more than 4,500 history centers in 88 countries, the churchs Family History Library is constantly expanding, Hruza said. The Church is the sponsoring organization of Family Search, the largest genealogical organization in the world. Family Search is a non-profit family history organization dedicated to connection families across generations, she added. In December of 2016, Family Search International had given a newly indexed database of the historic Freedmen's Bureau Records to the Smithsonian National African American Museum of History and Culture in Washington, D.C. The data base contains genealogical information about freed African-Americans after the Civil War. The Church has spent millions of dollars plus hundreds of volunteers hours, comprising of church volunteers, Afro-American Genealogical Societies who partnered with local Mormon congregations, black churches and others in more than 100 indexing events to make this happen, said Hruza. CLEVELAND, Ohio A Cuyahoga County Jail inmate who is recovering but remains in intensive care after a suspected overdose was found unconscious in his jail cell with blood and vomit around his mouth, according to county jail records. Alexander Foster, 30, is still recovering at MetroHealth from the Saturday morning suspected overdose, his mother, Ida Foster said. He was on life support until about 7 p.m. Tuesday, when his condition had improved enough for doctors to take him off a ventilator, she said. Foster is breathing on his own, but doctors are still monitoring his heart, which suffered damaged during the incident, his mother said. He also is suffering from pneumonia. Ida Foster said her sons condition has improved since he was found unconscious Saturday in his cell after being arrested during a drug raid in downtown Clevelands Warehouse District. Alexander Foster called his mother three hours into his six-hour stay at the jail and said he had been vomiting and passing out. The incident comes about a month after another inmate survived a drug overdose in the jail, and jail officials found drugs inside that inmates cell. It also comes at a time when the jail is under intense scrutiny over conditions at the jail following the death of eight inmates, including three by drug overdoses. Three recent lawsuits have been filed against the county over conditions at the jail. Cuyahoga County officials have said theyve made several improvements to the jail since a Nov. 21 U.S. Marshals report that described inhumane conditions, including withholding food, water and medical care from inmates. A recent Ohio Department of Corrections report on the jail found some of the same issues that marshals reported, including that some inmates dont get medical screenings within the 14 days required by law. Cuyahoga County spokeswoman Mary Louise Madigan said Alexander Foster was given an initial intake screening by corrections officers before being placed in his cell. She was unsure if he received a medical screening. Questions also remain about exactly when Foster ingested the heroin that was pumped from his stomach at the hospital. Foster was booked into the jail just after midnight Saturday, Madigan said. The documents released by the county Wednesday say that a corrections officer waking up inmates for breakfast around 6 a.m. noted Foster didnt respond to the officer, who tried three times to wake up Foster. The officer checked Foster and found him unconscious on his bed, but breathing and with a pulse. Other officers noted blood, saliva and vomit around Fosters mouth. One corrections officer wrote that Fosters condition appeared similar to someone who had suffered a seizure. The officer gave Foster a sternum rub and ammonia in an attempt to wake him up, according to the records. Officers and medical staff gave Foster three doses of Narcan, the opiate overdose antidote, causing Foster to briefly regain consciousness, the records say. He was taken to the jails medical unit, where an officer gave him oxygen and noted that Foster had blood and saliva coming out of his mouth, the records say. Foster was taken to the hospital about 6:45 a.m., the records say. LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- After more than 30 years of prohibiting the sale, possession and use of stun guns in Lakewood, City Council members recently learned its city ordinance was moot. "Most Ohio municipal criminal codes were written to outlaw the sale, use and possession of stun guns," Lakewood Law Director Kevin M. Butler said. "In Caetano v. Massachusetts, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Massachusetts' ban on the possession of stun guns violated the Second Amendment right to bear arms. "Because the Second Amendment applies to both state and local laws, Lakewood is obligated to follow this Supreme Court precedent and repeal our existing ban." City Council President Sam O'Leary said a recent string of carjackings in Lakewood using stun guns added to his disappointment of the matter. "To see these weapons used in our community and find out that we're not able to restrict their use is, or at least restrict their possession, is troubling," O'Leary said. "I think that it reflects a disconnect between the Court's interpretation of the law and the public safety realities of living in a densely-populated urban community. "Lakewood is overwhelming a very safe place, but any change in the law that allows for the proliferation of dangers weapons in our community is of significant concern." Lakewood City Council members have asked Butler to revisit stun gun ownership with the hopes of keeping them out of the hands of minors and criminals "At the request of City Council members considering this legislation, I'm reviewing whether any lawful ordinances with respect to stun guns may replace this law, but I've not made any determinations in that regard," Butler said. "Both federal and state law will influence my review." New Highland Heights Mayor Chuck Brunello, Jr. HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Chuck Brunello, Jr. served his first meeting as mayor, and City Council elected nine-year Councilwoman Lisa Marie Stickan as its new president at its first meeting after the Feb. 19 resignation of former mayor Scott Coleman. Allegations that Coleman embezzled money from the campaign fund of U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, for whom he once served as treasurer, led to Coleman's resignation and former council president Brunello becoming mayor. Ed Hargate, council's longest-serving member, nominated Stickan for president, and Cathy Murphy, who served in the position before Brunello, seconded the nomination. Stickan will serve as president through the end of the year. Council votes on electing a new president each January. As expected, in a Committee-of-the-Whole meeting that preceded Tuesday's regular council meeting, council discussed having a forensic audit conducted to ensure that Coleman engaged in no wrongdoing with city funds during his 14-year tenure as mayor. A forensic audit is an examination of financial information for potential use as evidence in court. "We're not saying there has been any impropriety," Stickan said. "We're just trying to make sure we do our due diligence as City Council." Finance Director Joseph Filippo recommended two accounting firms to council to carry out the forensic audit. Stickan said council will likely decide on which firm it would choose March 5 when a Committee-of-the-Whole meeting could be scheduled to discuss the matter. New Council President Lisa Marie Stickan Filippo told council that, as mayor, Coleman had no city credit card, gas card, city vehicle or cell phone. "There are only three reimbursements (Coleman sought) for a trip to Washington, D.C. three years ago," Filippo said. "And, he didn't sign checks (on behalf of the city)." Murphy said that the forensic audit should date back at least five years, and further back if any evidence is found within that time period. Filippo said that the city has just received a "clean" state audit, featuring no irregularities. Council also discussed in Tuesday's committee meeting the process to add a new council member to take Brunello's place. Stickan asked that any resident who has lived in the city at least one year and is interested in becoming a council member, should submit a resume and cover letter to Clerk of Council Regina Cahill. Interested residents can live anywhere within the city, as Brunello served as a councilman at-large. The person council selects would need to run for election in November of this year in order to serve out the remainder of Brunello's council term, through Dec. 31, 2021. Cahill's email address is rcahill@highlandheights.com. Hard copies of resumes and cover letters may also be dropped off to Cahill at city hall. Cahill said she has already received four resumes. The deadline to make submissions is noon March 8. Under the city charter, council will have 30 days from Coelman's resignation, or until March 22, to select its newest council member. Brunello, who took the oath of office on Feb. 20, read a statement assuring residents that operations at city hall will run smoothly. "A little over one week ago," Brunello stated, "our community of Highland Heights was thrust into the headlines, and not in a good way. It is not a place we are accustomed to being, and a place our residents don't want us to stay. "I have heard from numerous residents who have voiced concerns; concerns over whether city funds have been handled properly, and concerns over our city's leadership. "On the financial front, while I have every confidence our internal controls are strong enough to prevent any elected official's misuse of city funds, council and I have discussed and will take steps to assure the city has suffered no exposure. "On the leadership side, it is nice to know our city's charter's provisions work well to provide for continuity in the mayor's office. "I have every confidence our residents will continue to receive exceptional service from our dedicated employees." Brunello, who has taken out petitions to run for mayor in the fall to win a full, four-year seat, continued, stating, "In my communication with council, I have indicated my hope that our focus on what is best for Highland Heights will bring out the best leadership in each of us, and will assure our service is defined by a collective commitment to our community, and not by recent revelations. "That task starts with me, and I promise I will do all I can to assist in directing attention away from the headlines and back to all that is positive about our great city." Brunello said he intends to send a letter to all residences and businesses to inform people of the change in government, and to state that the city is fiscally strong. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Remember the slew of Tim Hortons coffee and donut shops that were supposed to open in Northeast Ohio? Three Tim Hortons restaurants are planned to open before the end of summer in Youngstown and Akron, but theres no timeline on when the Canadian chain will arrive in Cleveland, representatives say. In 2017, the president of TH Cleveland told the Plain Dealer the Beachwood-based franchisee planned to open 105 Tim Hortons locations in Northeast Ohio, with eight opening in 2018. That didnt happen. The first Northeast Ohio location, in Youngstown, is set to open March 21. Were working on it, Mandy Davis, TH Clevelands marketing director, said in an interview with cleveland.com Monday. Two more locations in the Youngstown area are expected to open in the spring or early summer, in Girard and Austintown. Akron will also get a location in that timeframe. Youngstown real estate deals moved more quickly than in the Cleveland area, Davis said. The franchisee is piloting afirst of its kind" concept, which will make signage and design cleaner. The new concept requires building from the ground up, instead of simply renovating an older building, which also contributed to the delay. TH Cleveland operates five Tims stores in the Columbus area. The company hasnt finalized any deals in the Cleveland area yet. Everyones chomping at the bit, Davis said. CLEVELAND, Ohio Irwin Shires can thank his father's resourcefulness for nudging him into the brewery-travel business. The Medina man's father is from England. Irwin remembers his dad returning from trips abroad, unpacking, and pulling socks stuffed with cans of beer. "I grew up with standard Bud, Coors, Miller - the axis of evil," joked Shires, 52. "I watched my dad come back from England. He'd smuggle beers in cans in his socks. Those nylon tube socks you pulled up to your knees? He could pack four to six cans in a suitcase without anyone batting an eye. "That was funny. I was a kid at the time; I found it amusing. I started to learn and realized what he was on to." That moment planted a seed for Shires, who started Craft Beer Journeys, a travel company aimed at organizing trips to brewery destinations abroad. He is in the planning stages and aims to host his first trip next year, to Belgium. A few years ago, he and his father trekked to pubs across the United Kingdom. The bucket-list trip turned out to be a lot of fun for Shires, who has been in the trucking industry for 29 years. It also sparked the idea for a travel business. "I wanted to do something more fun," he said. "I said, 'There has to be a market for this. No one else is doing it.' " His father replied: "What dont you do it?" He was encouraged by travel-oriented entrepreneurs who told him, 'Listen to you talk about good beer, man, you're really good at this.' Visiting breweries is a casual hobby for many craft-beer loving fans. Two companies in Cleveland - Cleveland Brew Bus and City Brew Tours - ferry folks between breweries, covering educational and historical points. Dozens of breweries are tied into beer-trail programs in Northeast Ohio. But Shires is thinking bigger picture: Europe. "Being an expert on beer is being an expert on where beer is located," he said. "One person's poison is another's pure gold." The organizational aspect of traveling appeals to Shires, who was born in Parma, raised in Strongsville, and lives in Medina. "Planning vacations to me is not a chore; it's enjoyable," he said. "The travel industry has evolved tremendously. In the internet age, the brick and mortar travel agency has gone by the wayside." That's not entirely true. The traditional travel agency took a hit as internet searches opened options for people to take care of their own itineraries. But some say millennials are looking to agencies to save them time. Shires is in the process of obtaining required certifications and looks to kick off a crowd-funding campaign for marketing money. He sees his business as a natural extension of other beverage-centric trips, like Whiskey tours, Bourbon trails and winery treks. And the residual result of the increased number of U.S. breweries simply spurs more interest in beer, he said. "The beer industry has mushroomed," he said. "Once this is established I can see it exploding in the next 10 years." His trips can originate from almost anywhere in the United States and will focus mostly on western Europe. Many will be about six to nine days, enough time to visit but not short enough to feel rushed, he said. Tours will focus on 16 to 24 people, but Shires is open to varying sizes and tailoring destinations to visit based on travelers' preferences. Potential destinations include the Bruges Beer Festival in Belgium, Munich Oktoberfest and English pubs. He is even considering a cruise on the Rhine. Chat with Shires, and it's clear he loves traveling as much as beer. "Its a wonderful place," he said about Europe. It's wonderful to have conversations with people over there. I like the idea of being able to talk to people over there because their perspective is different. I've had great conversations in English pubs and Belgian bars. "These conversations are life enhancing." His goal is for the trips to foster communication and learning, not beer swilling per se. "It's not just 'Hey, I get to spend a week drinking beer in Belgium,' " he said. "Honestly, I dont want it to be a group of guys trying to celebrate their 20th reunion by having a kegger. We want to focus on the experience, the locations. "You want to know how it's made, go to a hop farm to see the hops growing, and it becomes an atmospheric experience. I look at these trips as real learning experiences. The best way to learn is to think you're not learning." He said the short-term goal would encourage people to return from Europe and expand their palates to other styles at local breweries. Long-term benefits would be for Europeans to visit American breweries. Theres a market out there for it, he said, and I plan on tapping into it. Cleveland, Ohio Bigmouth Donuts is on the move. The popular local bakery is opening a second location in Rocky River on Saturday, March 2, at 19265 Detroit Road. They have also re-opened their Hingetown location at 1418 W.29th Street after a hiatus while they moved their bakery operations to Rocky River. Their original location at the Hub on East 55th closed last summer. We had a great run at the Hub, but that kitchen was for Goldhorn, says owner Kelly Brewer. Partner Courtney Bonning is no longer involved with Bigmouth. When we had the opportunity to move into a space like the one in Rocky River with an existing kitchen, we took it. Brewer says the Hingetown location has been expanded to add more seating to eat-in. They are also expanding their menu with more vegan and gluten-free options. The menu at Rocky River will be the same as at Hingetown. Both menus will retain favorites like the lemon lavender, Ohio Buckeye and blueberry cake donuts. New flavors include chocolate macadamia roasted coconut and blood orange strawberry. The new location will open at 10 a.m. Saturday. Parking is available behind the building. Both locations are open 7 days a week, with Hingetown opening at 6:30 am during the week and 8 a.m. on weekends. Rocky River will open at 6 a.m. during the week and 8 a.m. on weekends. Both have soft closing times of 2 p.m .during the week and 5 p.m. on weekends with extended hours coming in spring and summer. PARMA, Ohio -- A Richmond Heights man is accused of robbing a 16-year-old boy of his cellphone at gunpoint in Parma, police say. Thomas Armani Harris-Mosby, 19, is charged with aggravated robbery in the Friday incident on North Linden Lane near Martin Drive, according to a police report. Harris-Mosby is being held on a $100,000 bond, court records show. Records do not say when he will appear next in Parma Municipal Court. The 16-year-old boy reported a man robbed him outside his home. The robber then ran to a waiting car, which an accomplice drove away, the police report says. The boy ran into the home and told his family he was robbed. He and family members drove after the robbers car as they called police. The boys brother gave police the license plate number of the white Kia Optima the robber was traveling in, police reports say. Both Parma and Parma Heights police were notified as the Kia headed into Parma Heights, Parma police Sgt. Dan Ciryak said. The Kias driver dropped Harris-Mosby off near Big Creek Parkway, then drove away, Ciryak said. Police have not yet found the driver. Officers searched the area and found Harris-Mosby, who was taken into custody. Neighbors aided police by alerting officers to a man running through their yards, Ciryak said. If youd like to comment on this story, visit Wednesdays crime and courts comments section. BRUNSWICK, Ohio -- Two people have been charged in connection with a carjacking that happened at a Brunswick park, police said. Deon Brown, 22, of East Cleveland is charged with robbery and Antonia Plumlee, 18, of Hinkley is charged with complicity to commit robbery in the Thursday incident at North Park, Brunswick police said in a Facebook post. Both were scheduled to appear Wednesday in Medina Municipal Court, records say. A 20-year-old man suffered minor injuries in the carjacking, which happened about 5:45 p.m. Thursday at the park on Grafton Road, near Hudak Drive, police said. Police did not release any other information about the carjacking. Cleveland police recovered the car Saturday. Brunswick police identified Brown and Plumlee as suspects and arrested them at an East Cleveland home, police said. They are being held in the Medina County Jail, police said. If youd like to comment on this story, visit Wednesdays crime and courts comments section. CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- As hoped, the city has received a $12,000 state grant to get the "Monroe-Stadium Square District," including the Taylor-Tudor buildings, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It would be the city's 13th historic neighborhood district, and if all goes as planned, that could happen by the end of the year, City Council learned last week. At the same time, council could vote final approval Monday on legislation giving the local Landmarks Commission "Certified Local Government" status, allowing the city to: -- apply for grants to conduct historic surveys -- nominate properties to the National Register of Historic Places -- further historic preservation education in the community -- redevelop designated historic properties The Certified Local Government status could also safeguard properties as they go through the landmark designation process and protect them from inappropriate alterations and demolition. Potential historic districts would still need consent from more than half of the property owners' approval. Responding to questions from Councilman Jason Stein about the impact on property owners, City Planner Kara Hamley O'Donnell said the Landmarks Commission was formed in 1973 to protect the city's heritage, stabilize or improve property values and foster civic pride. "In my more than 20 years staffing the Landmark Commission, no exterior change has ever been denied," O'Donnell said in a Feb. 22 memo. "The commission regularly works with applicants to improve their projects so they may obtain approval." Speaking in support of the proposed landmark amendment at the Feb. 19 meeting, Future Heights Executive Director Deanna Bremer Fisher noted that "we have lost a couple of buildings that likely should have been preserved because we didn't have such an ordinance." Fisher pointed out that the legislation supports the 2017 Master Plan by "employing historic preservation as a strategy to enhance our neighborhoods." Aside from the city's 12 historic districts, O'Donnell said the commission has already designated 53 local landmarks and last year approved changes to 11 of them. Most importantly, Fisher believes the proposed legislation "sends a strong message to the development community that Cleveland Heights values and protects its historic resources. We need to be unambiguous about that." As would be the case with the proposed Stadium Square District and the Taylor-Tudor buildings -- one of which has already been turned over to the city, with least one more facing foreclosure -- designated properties can qualify for state and federal historic tax credits. "(Financing) can make or break a new development project," Fisher said. As a member of the Landmark Commission and on staff at the Cleveland Restoration Society, Margaret Lann told council that last year, Shaker Heights obtained a $14,000 grant to remediate point-of-sale violations on a two-family home there. "Bricks-and-mortar grants are very hard to come by, and this is an accessible pool of money to Certified Local Governments that's available every year," Lann said. The city could choose to use a third-party administrator like Future Heights, which already runs the local community development corporation, or administer the grants in-house. Shaker is also applying for a grant to do window restoration at its City Hall, Lann added. As for the $12,000 Ohio Historic Preservation Pipeline Initiative Grant from the state Development Services Agency, O'Donnell led state officials on a tour of the proposed Stadium Square District on Feb. 8. "Ohio Historic Preservation Office staff and consultants agreed that the neighborhood was eligible and its designation should move forward," City Manager Tanisha Briley said, adding that the grant should cover all of the associated costs. Briley noted that local redevelopment efforts could run parallel to the district's listing on the National Register, possibly by the end of the year. The proposed listing also includes Superior Park Drive, and roughly five buildings north of Cain Park. The district name refers to a stadium proposed in the 1920s that was never built. In an email to Councilman Mike Ungar, who chairs the Planning and Development Committee, resident Mazie Adams also supported the Certified Local Government status for the city. "The 'CLG' will help us to maintain vibrant neighborhoods by enhancing historic and aesthetic qualities that are essential to the fabric of our community," Adams stated. Councilwoman Mary Dunbar feels that older residences and other structures were "built to last" with a lot of materials that are not found much anymore, making preservation of what remains that much more important. CLEVELAND, Ohio Contrary to comments made Tuesday by Clevelands airport chief, federal authorities told cleveland.com Wednesday that they have not completed their review of a Feb. 3 security breach at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. A Transportation Security Administration spokesman said the agency on Wednesday sought more information from the city about an SUV crashing through a fence and onto the airfield. The specific details of Wednesdays correspondence are labeled as security-sensitive information and not subject to public disclosure, spokesman Mark Howell said. On Tuesday, airport chief Robert Kennedy told City Council members that TSA and FBI agents were still making inquiries, but only regarding the SUVs driver, who faces charges that include drunken driving and criminal trespassing. Questioned about the incident at a council budget hearing, Kennedy said TSA had found no fault with the way the airport had dealt with the case. TSA contacted cleveland.com on Wednesday after having read about Kennedys remarks. TSA found no concerns with the way that the airport reported the Feb. 3 incident to TSA, Howell said. But TSAs review of the breach in terms of the airports overall security plan is ongoing. Howell said the agencys latest request asks the city for information about the airports perimeter fence, which the SUV breached in two places. The incident began at 2:52 a.m. Feb. 3, when a yellow SUV crashed apparently undetected through a gate on the west side of the airport grounds. Kennedy said the airport reviewed security video to determine when the event began, and that the SUV had driven on the airfield for 2 minutes and 47 seconds and crashed through another section of fence. The SUV was found in a snowbank in front of the I-X Center. Cleveland police responded to the scene of the SUV at 3:45 a.m., 53 minutes after the initial breach of the perimeter fence. Kennedy said Tuesday that the incident happened during off hours when no flights were arriving or departing. And while he declined to give specifics about airport security, he told council that security levels vary according to the time of day and the level of traffic on the airfield. Airports are not fortresses, he added. Howell said that monitoring the video of the airfield would be handled by the airport or perhaps Cleveland police. The security cameras belong to the airport, not TSA. Dan Williams, a spokesman for Mayor Frank Jackson, said Wednesday the city likely will not discuss staffing levels for monitoring that video because it is part of the airports security plan. The city-owned airports prompt reporting of the Feb. 3 incident contrasts with the delayed report of a security breach last October a response that rankled TSA. Cleveland has refused to make public details of its investigation into that October breach, which involved two of Jacksons top administrators. Sources told cleveland.com that the Oct. 25 breach involved then-Assistant Airport Director Fred Szabo helping the mayors chief of operations, Darnell Brown, bypass TSA screening as Brown was preparing to board a plane. And the security agency said in December that the city waited 20 hours to notify the federal government about the incident so long that the delay made immediate corrective action impossible. Szabo and Brown were both suspended. Szabo ultimately was reassigned away from the airport. Both men could face fines from TSA, as could the airport. TSA has completed its review of the incident, but the security agencys findings have not been made public. Cleveland.com has asked for the report from both the city and TSA via public records requests. AKRON, Ohio An anonymous donor has given the Akron Zoo $1.5 million, the largest gift in the zoos history. The donation goes toward the Akron Zoos ROAR campaign, which supports the zoos current expansion including new wildlife areas such as the Pride of Africa and Wild Asia, the zoo announced Wednesday. Including this contribution, the ROAR campaign has raised $4.8 million, or 80 percent, of its $6 million goal, which makes it the zoos most ambitious fundraising campaign ever. Donations have come from individuals, Akron Zoo employees, corporate partners and private foundations. We are incredibly grateful for the support of this individual, Akron Zoo President and CEO Doug Piekarz said in a statement. The impact of this gift is a true testament to their love of our zoo and this community. Pride of Africa is scheduled to open June 1, 2019, and will feature a new habitat for a pride of lions, a grassland habitat featuring Spekes gazelle and white storks, a Maasai boma enclosure for goats and an expanded train ride, the zoo said. The Pride of Africa wildlife area at the Akron Zoo is scheduled to open June 1, 2019. The Pride of Africa wildlife area at the Akron Zoo is scheduled to open June 1, 2019. Wild Asia is expected to open in summer 2020. The new area will include a spacious habitat for Sumatran tigers, a habitat for a pair of red pandas and will introduce white-cheeked gibbons to the zoo. Cleburne, TX (76033) Today Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 90F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. Low 73F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Claremore, OK (74018) Today Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 84F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. Passenger airlines in the U.S. have recorded a remarkable period of safety over the past 10 years. Not so the nations cargo planes. Five domestically registered aircraft have crashed since 2009 killing 16 people including Saturdays violent plunge into a bay near Houston of a plane carrying Amazon.com Inc. packages. While no cause has been identified for that crash, which killed all three people aboard, it has revived concerns that safety standards for such things as mandatory sleep breaks for pilots or fire safety regulations are more lax on the cargo airlines than their passenger counterparts. The Federal Aviation Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to monitor safety issues, had been taking a focused look at cargo operations before the accident, the agency said in a statement on Monday night. The FAA also said it was looking at any additional measure that may be warranted. John Cox, president of consulting company Safety Operating Systems and a former airline pilot, said there have been a higher number of cargo accidents than passenger accidents almost as far back as I can remember. And, he said, That still continues today. Theres been just a single death on U.S.-registered passenger airlines since Feb. 12, 2009. We do have some safety concerns that remain, said Captain Robert Travis, president of the Independent Pilots Association, which represents about 3,000 United Parcel Service Inc. pilots. Equalizing Regulations The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents flight crews at FedEx Corp., has called for equalizing the safety and security regulations for passenger and cargo flights. Lesser requirements are placed on all-cargo operations in several crucial areas, which results in unnecessary safety risk, the union said in a position paper posted on its website. Little is known about what caused the Atlas Air wide body Boeing Co. 767-300, operating on behalf of Amazon, to suddenly dive from about 5,800 feet (1,768 meters) into a bay as it approached Houston. A video captured from a nearby jail showed the plane didnt turn or try to pull out of the plunge in its final seconds, according to National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt. Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. fell 5.76 percent Monday to $55.51. The company said in a statement that it was deeply saddened by the crash and was assisting the victims families. The accident drew attention to the safety records of passenger compared to cargo airlines. Cox said safety in the cargo arena has improved along with passenger airlines and that he wouldnt characterize the industry as unsafe. However, cargo operations sometimes occur in more hazardous conditions, such as during the middle of the night or at airports that arent as well equipped, he said. In some areas, the regulations arent as rigorous for cargo flights, he said. Cargo carriers follow older regulations that require pilots get at least eight hours of rest each day. The newer rules for passenger airlines, which went into effect in 2014, call for at least 10 hours off between shifts to ensure crew members can reach a hotel room and still get close to eight hours of sleep. The new rules also added requirements designed to reduce fatigue, including cutting the amount of hours crews can work per day if they fly late at night. The cargo industry has a good safety record and any differences in how its regulated are the result of its unique operating requirements, said George Novak, president of the National Air Carrier Association, a trade group representing freight haulers, including Atlas. If the FAA felt there was a serious safety lapse or a gap, action would have been taken some time ago, Novak said. The association has been participating the FAAs review of cargo safety, he said. The difference in the safety record of passenger and cargo carriers is even more stark when comparing the number of flights they make: In 2017, the most recent year for which complete data is available, passenger flights totaled 9 million compared to 603,000 for cargo, almost 15 times higher, according to U.S. Transportation Department data. Read More: How One Crash 10 Years Ago Helped Keep 90 Million Flights Safe The NTSB objected to cargo carriers being excluded from the 2014 rules designed to give airline pilots more rest, particularly when they fly late at night. The NTSB disagrees with this exclusion, as many of the fatigue-related accidents that we have investigated over the years involved cargo operators, the safety board wrote to the FAA in a 2013 letter. One factor that has led to accidents is the higher likelihood of hazardous or flammable material being carried on cargo flights, according to accident reports. Dubai Crash A UPS Boeing 747 crashed in Dubai on Sept. 3, 2010, after a fire erupted on the plane and pilots couldnt reach the airport. The plane was carrying more than 81,000 lithium-based batteries, which can burn at high temperatures or explode, according to a report by the General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates. While guidelines adopted by the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization and followed by airlines prohibit bulk shipments of such batteries on passenger flights, there are no such restrictions on cargo airlines. Both UPS and FedEx have taken numerous steps to ensure manufacturers package batteries properly and are exploring better equipment to contain fires. Although the companies have been very proactive, theres always the opportunity for some undeclared hazmat to get through and thats a concern, Travis said. One accident illustrating the hazards of carrying cargo occurred April 29, 2013, at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. A National Air Cargo Inc. 747 under contract to the U.S. military crashed shortly after takeoff when heavy vehicles in the cargo hold broke loose and slid backward, damaging flight controls. All seven people aboard died. The NTSB identified issues with the airlines procedures for restraining large loads and said the FAA didnt adequately oversee safety at the carrier. Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Two more patients of Dr. Keith Ablow have filed lawsuits against the renowned Massachusetts psychiatrist alleging he pressured them into sexual relationships. The Boston Globe reports that the medical malpractice lawsuits filed last Thursday allege Ablow lured the women he was treating for depression into degrading situations. Ablow was sued last year by a patient who alleged he made comments about her appearance, encouraged sexual conversations during treatment sessions and rewarded her with free sessions. Ablow in a tweet said he categorically, completely denies the allegations in the lawsuits. His lawyer says Ablow denies any and all allegations of improper behavior or substandard care in their entirety. Ablow is an author and has appeared on several television shows, including as a contributor to the Fox News network until 2017. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. During the televised testimony of Michael Cohen, former fixer to Donald Trump, before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, I saw his eyebrows and thought of the noxious browntail moth caterpillar, as two of them appeared to be wriggling up and down his forehead. Sitting here today, it seems unbelievable that I was so mesmerized by Donald Trump that I was willing to do things for him that I knew were absolutely wrong, he said. Cohen, who is 52, has metallic gray hair. He wore a navy suit; his shirt was white and crisp; his tie was cleaning-fluid blue. He looked at once contrite and resentful. Over the past year or so, I have done some real soul searching, he went on. I see now that my ambition and the intoxication of Trump power had much to do with the bad decisions I made. Browntail caterpillars have tiny hairs, called setae, that are toxic; in the chamber, there was evidently poison in the airthe same kind that journalists have inhaled through Trumps celebrity, candidacy, and election. Lying for Mr. Trump was normalized, and no one around him questioned it, Cohen said. In fairness, no one around him today questions it, either. He offered evidence, including newspaper articles. See Exhibit 2: a pair of stories, one from The Guardian, another from Forbes, that Cohen describes as examples of Mr. Trump inflating and deflating his assets. Exhibit 3A: an item in the Daily News, next to photos of Vanessa Hudgens and Olivia Munn, about the sale of a portrait of Trump at an ArtHamptons auction. The portrait was purchased by the fake bidder for $60,000, Cohen said. (Trump held on to the painting.) Exhibit 7: an article by NBC New York, quoting (via the Associated Press) Trump on Barack Obama: I heard he was a terrible student, terrible. ICYMI: BuzzFeed reporter discusses controversial Cohen scoop Cohen described how he got caught up in Trumps distortion of reality, and his role in it perpetuating it. Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress, he explained. Thats not how he operates. In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie. This statement, a journalist named Michael Weiss has pointed out, explains why Special Counsel Robert Mueller batted against the recent BuzzFeed story that reported on Trump instructing Cohen to liewere in a land of pedantic harping on semantics. In sum, Cohen said, I have lied, but I am not a liar. I have done bad things, but I am not a bad man. The premise is that Cohen, a loving husband and father, was washed out on Trumps poison. He is not a rat, as Trump called himsee Exhibit 8but a victim of some mystical, venomous, larval force. (Does it emanate from Trumps hair? That would explain so much.) Thats not a satisfying defense. And yet, one looks at the array of news stories. And then, reflect on other examples from the past few years of Trump coverage. The press, too, has been high on something toxic. The evidence is in Cohens exhibits and, of course, sitting in Hanoireportedly tuned in to his TV. Sign up for CJR 's daily email The idea that Cohen wishes Congress (and everyone) to accept, after all his hubris, is that, unlike Trump (He is capable of behaving kindly, but he is not kind), he, Trumps right-hand, is a good man, capable of goodness, and now making good. What can be said of us, the journalists who have been unspooling their narratives? We are capable of getting our story right, but we cant deny we didnt. We are capable of puncturing Trumps false statements about his finances, but we flubbed. We are capable of finding out what happened at an art event in the Hamptons, yet that story went unchallenged. We are capable of providing bullshit-free coverage of an election, but we didnt. And were still under Trumps influencewhen he gives a preposterous press conference on the need for a wall along the Mexican border, all the networks show it live. Cohens defense, pathetic as it sounds, seems a lot like ours. Mr. Trump is an enigma, he said. He is complicated, as am I. He has both good and bad, as do we all. The charges against him are different, to be sure, and significantly so. But to the extent that the press legitimized and fostered Trump, the reckoning is not over. The toxicity of Trump in the media will not, by the changing of seasons, be washed underground. Send in the fumigators. ICYMI: If it were a relationship, wed call it gaslighting, but its a profession, so we call it PR. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Betsy Morais is managing editor of CJR. India has withdrawn the order to shut down nine airports in northern India and operations have already begun in some of these airports, reports said. Flight operations have already resumed from some airports, including Jammu, said an NDTV report. The order for shut down was issued following an escalation of hostilities with Pakistan. Sources had said the entire airspace north of Delhi had to be vacated. The list of airports included Amritsar, Jammu, Srinagar and Leh, Kullu-Manali, Kangra, Shimla, Pathankot and Pithoragarh. Meanwhile, Pakistani has also partially opened its airspace, starting with Karachi's Jinnah International Airport of Karachi, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced. "North East & North Western airspace remains closed until further notice," added CAA via a tweet. After Amazon dropped its plans to build a new headquarters in New York City, Gov. Andrew Cuomo criticized the loss of an estimated 25,000 jobs and $27 billion in tax revenue, calling it the greatest tragedy that I have seen since I have been in government. Not everyone agrees, but the abrupt pull-out after New York initially won Amazons HQ2 contest has raised questions about whether the Cuomo administration is taking the right approach in its efforts to create jobs and spur economic development. Earlier this week, we asked our readers what they thought. As of Tuesday evening, roughly three out of four voters said that New Yorks economic strategy is not working. Asked what the state should do differently, the most common response was to improve the tax and regulatory climate. We also reached out to the experts to see what they have to say. In our latest Ask the Experts feature, we reached out to Donnie Charleston, diirector of state and local fiscal engagement at the Urban Institute; David Friedfel, director of state studies at the Citizens Budget Commission; Bruce Gyory, a senior advisor at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and a Democratic political consultant; Jim Heaney, the founder, editor and executive director of Investigative Post; and E.J. McMahon, research director at the Empire Center for Public Policy. Does New York need to overhaul its economic development strategy? Jim Heaney: Absolutely. The state is investing billions in tax breaks and other subsidies and getting little in return, especially in upstate. We did a story two years ago that found that if upstate was a stand-alone state, job growth during Cuomo's first six years in office would have ranked fourth worst in the nation, below that of Mississippi. David Friedfel: Yes. The state and local governments allocate almost $10 billion annually to economic development with scant evidence that taxpayers are getting a good return on their investments. Economic development will be best served by a combination of strategic human and capital infrastructure investments that provide the foundation for growth and targeted performance-based incentives that are holistically planned, transparently presented with standardized metrics, and regularly evaluated. E.J. McMahon: Yes. It needs to focus on producing a much more attractive tax and regulatory climate in general, which would also help promote organic growth, employment and wealth-creation among established businesses of all types and sizes. Donnie Charleston: New York is often singled out for having higher than average incentive package offerings as compared to other states. However, its also cited by many to have higher costs of doing business (like regulatory barriers) that arent easily quantified in dollar amounts. So, the simplistic conclusion that the state overpays in company recruitment ignores a host of factors that may reveal that it isnt as far out of line as many allege. But, the reality is we dont have enough information to know that for certainty. The question isnt whether New York needs to overhaul its economic development strategy, but do leaders in New York know enough about the effectiveness of its strategies as compared to other states. In a 2017 report, Pew Research categorized New York as trailing other states in its tax incentive evaluation system and protocols. As of 2017, the state had not adopted a plan for regular evaluation of the entire range of its tax incentives. Given that reality, the state should implement a rigorous evaluation system before making any decisions on what changes need to be made. Bruce Gyory: When it comes to something as fluid as economic development, state government would always be wise to continually adjust its tactics to what works, whether that adjustment is called fine tuning or an overhaul. In my mind, this is not polemical but pragmatic. Find what works and try to build it out to scale and be ready to make ongoing adjustments. Try to stay one step ahead of what other states are doing and work closely with your localities and local community groups. Moreover, given the states diversity in terms of regional strengths and challenges, the idea of having regional strategies in place seems to make perfect sense because that gives a region a leg up on readiness when opportunities arise. What is working? What is not working? E.J. McMahon: If by working, you mean demonstrably delivering a net-plus payback on public money spent or promised much less even calculating true opportunity costs the headline programs arent really working at all. Company-specific subsidies should be prohibited. And cost-benefit analysis needs to be overhauled, ending the ridiculous zero alternative baselines (i.e. absolutely nothing would have happened in the absence of this project) and the exaggerated cost-benefit ratios (as seen, for example, in every promotional analysis of the film production credit). Bruce Gyory: There have been long-term successes coming out of biomedical research anchored in the academic health centers from Buffalo on through to Stony Brook in Suffolk. Rochester has also had long-term success in generating growth around laser energetics and optics to compensate for the loss of the large companies. Albanys nanotechnology has spawned real success and Mayor Bloombergs Cornell initiative on Roosevelt Island has created a cluster around high tech engineering. I am not an expert on economic development, but the experts all advocate the clustering phenomena as a model for what works. Namely, when a high-technology field develops a cluster connecting academia to start-up companies and then draws venture capital together with investments form more established companies, that forms a cluster which promotes organic growth which in turn becomes self-sustaining. Job creation is not like pushing a button on an old-fashioned soda machine, instead it requires the nurturing of this cluster effect. Building that cluster effect up to scale within as many regions of the state as you can would seem to be a goal that is at once fair and pragmatic. And in terms of upstate New York, the largest employers have become universities like the University of Rochester and academic health centers like SUNY Upstate in Syracuse. So spreading out from strength buttresses the clustering approach. Donnie Charleston: New York like other states is being caught up in a sea change of community awareness and mobilization capacity. And the Amazon situation demonstrates how on the ground politics can change with the speed of a screen refresh, and much faster than the traditional 24-hour news cycle. The speed of today's digital grassroots mobilizing often outstrips the traditional analog government responses characterized by scripted public engagement forums, op-eds and focus groups. Opposition to incentive deals increasingly boils down to the public's estimate of the costs relative to the communitys gain. And, in today's hyper-informed world, that cost-benefit analysis has expanded beyond simple job counts and economic ripple effects. Citizens want to know about environmental impacts, social justice implications and gentrification impacts, just to name a few. Leaders would do well to anticipate these concerns and ensure that they are inclusive in their engagement with a wider group of stakeholders while putting together their packages. Moreover, establishing a set of community-informed criteria that all incentive packages must adhere to may be something that leaders should consider. Jim Heaney: Much of the state's economic development programming is not working. A particular weakness is New York's fixation on mega-deals such as Amazon and SolarCity. Another problem: Cuomo is more interested in funding initiatives that generate positive press coverage than actually creating jobs. There's not a whole lot of follow through after the press conference. There's also the problem of corruption, which remains an issue. David Friedfel: The Regional Economic Development Councils are a good framework, but the allocations do not always align with regional strategies. The lack of variability in regional allocations calls into question the validity of the evaluation process. Could it really be that in aggregate all 10 regions of the state submitted equally compelling applications, and that is why almost every region has gotten the same amount of funding over the last eight years? Instead, the REDC process should focus continued investments in targeted industries in population centers. This will result in regional disparities in allocations, but will improve the likelihood of success. The state should not attempt to revive regions by building facilities for specific companies. The Tesla solar roof factory is behind schedule, the Central New York film hub was a failure and has been transferred to Onondaga County, and after Soraa walked away from their $90 million taxpayer-built factory, the state chose to invest another $15 million so another company would utilize the plant. The film tax credit should also be ended the state allocates $420 million to subsidize this highly profitable industry. Many other states have ended or curtailed their film tax credits; New York should the same. What should the state do differently to attract companies like Amazon? Donnie Charleston: There is a growing level of discontent in every state with the role incentives are playing in economic development. The evidence shows that incentives are not the top deciding factor for companies in making location decisions. And, that factors like talent base, business climate and ecosystem, and infrastructure are immensely more important. Given that reality, all states would do well to structure their economic development systems and programs around those realities. Under that scenario, incentives would become a smaller piece of an overall economic development package. New York has a lot of assets and it will likely continue to be a preferred destination for corporations. And, by shoring up the evaluation of its economic development system, focusing on a more inclusive process of recruitment, and concentrating on proven decision factors for corporations (e.g. infrastructure and talent), it can ensure that it will continue to be a global destination for companies. E.J. McMahon: To promote development of a given prime area or site, get the zoning right ahead of time the pre-approval approach and encourage private developers to acquire and do the packaging. Show a capability to deliver beneficial public infrastructure at least somewhere in the neighborhood of on time and near budget. Be willing to entertain public-private higher ed partnerships consistent with institutional mission and broad public priorities. Dont go overboard with per-job employment incentives. Reduce taxes and have a light regulatory hand in general. In short, be more like Virginia. David Friedfel: The state should focus on basic infrastructure, a good workforce and as of right, performance-based incentives, which are regularly evaluated for effectiveness and necessity. One thing that frequently gets lost in this conversation is the opportunity costs of allocating almost $10 billion per year towards economic development. By eliminating or reducing ineffective programs, additional resources could be dedicated towards broad-based tax cuts or infrastructure improvements, both of which would encourage private investment in New York and benefit all New Yorkers. Bruce Gyory: The real lesson of the unfortunate end to the Amazon project is a multi-prong approach is probably required to attract companies large and small to grow and relocate in New York state. First, for a big project, pick carefully the location in terms of receptivity. Had Amazon picked Long Island rather than Queens I think we would be having a different discussion as I think Long Island would have welcomed Amazon on a bipartisan basis. Second, the proponents have to really engage the community. They should not presume that the hard questions will fade away. Citizens and community groups must be heard even where their initial tone is hostile. We are a First Amendment-based society. Third, the proponents of a project must have hard fact-based answers so that misconceptions dont dig into the public s consciousness. The proponents of a project must bring a campaign war room in place that is long on facts and short on spin to successfully build support for the project and wear down opposition. Jim Heaney: The state should stop throwing money at the Amazons of the world. The state's economic recovery, at least upstate, requires improving our business climate and making our communities more attractive places to live. By sharing Cisco's own IT experience, Cisco on Cisco can help customers and partners use technology to achieve business outcomes. Get an inside look at the inner workings of Cisco IT. Learn how we help organizations transform through technology. If you wait until an exit interview to find out why a valuable employee has decided to move on, you've missed a golden opportunity not just to keep a productive member of your team but to identify and fix issues within your organization before you lose others. Instead, touching base with employees about what motivates them while theyre still on staff is part of a key strategy in gaining an edge in todays tight talent market: employee retention. Why employee retention is important Employee retention is a critical issue as companies compete for talent in a tight economy. The costs of employee turnover are increasingly high as much as 2.5 times an employee's salary depending on the role. And there are other soft costs: lowered productivity, decreased engagement, training costs and cultural impact. The payoff for organizations that focus on employee retention is well worth the time and investment, according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Increased performance, better productivity, higher employee morale and improved quality of work, not to mention a reduction in turnover, are all organizational benefits. The bottom line is that by focusing on employee retention, organizations will retain talented and motivated employees who truly want to be a part of the company and who are focused on contributing to the organization's overall success, according to SHRM. Employee retention rates LinkedIn data from 2017 shows a worldwide turnover rate of 10.9 percent; the tech sector showed the most volatility with 13.2 percent turnover rate, based on LinkedIn member data. Certain areas within the tech sector showed even higher turnover rates, which could indicate an increased demand for these skills, according to LinkedIn. The computer games (15.5 percent), Internet (14.9 percent), and computer software industries (13.3 percent) drove tech turnover the most but those rates pale in comparison to the churn you see within particular occupations, according to Michael Booz, writing for the LinkedIn Talent Blog. User experience designers had extremely high turnover at 23.3 percent (theyre also extremely in-demand), with both data analysts and embedded software engineers at 21.7 percent. In fact, embedded software engineers receive the most InMails per person of any occupation in North America, Booz says. Employee retention strategies How can you increase retention rates? You should start at the very beginning of the recruitment process. 1. Recognize retention starts with recruiting "Retention starts right from the beginning, from the application process to screening applicants to choosing who to interview," says Dan Pickett, CEO of Nfrastructure, an infrastructure, managed services and network services firm. "It starts with identifying what aspects of culture and strategy you want to emphasize, and then seeking those out in your candidates." Nfrastructure currently employs about 300 people, with a retention rate of greater than 97 percent almost unheard of in the IT industry; or any industry, for that matter. It's a statistic Pickett's proud of, and one each member of the company works hard to maintain, he says. "It's an increasing returns model; the longer someone's with your company, the more productive they become over time," he says. "You have to look at this as a long game, and take steps to ensure you're doing it right by making sure each employee is completely engaged with and part of the company's ongoing success." 2. Identify candidates wholl stay the course How can you choose candidates that are more likely to stay? There are some key indicators right on their resume, says Pickett. First, he says, look for candidates with longevity at their previous jobs. "You're looking beyond what's written on the resume. Have they worked at a company for many years through ups and downs? That speaks to loyalty, perseverance, engagement," he says. "You should also look for someone who plays team sports, who has committed to volunteer or other activities outside of work that can help tell you that they are invested in a cause, a team, a sport, yes, but also that they have the mindset to stick with something they really care about." Job-hoppers are something of a gamble, he says. While they might just be looking for the right place to land, Pickett says a candidate "who's had, say, ten jobs in twelve years is going to be really difficult to retain for any company." 3. Provide ongoing education and clear paths to advancement Promoting from within not only provides a clear path to greater compensation and responsibility, it also helps employees feel that they're valued and a crucial part of the company's success. Of course, promotions go hand-in-hand with employee development and education, and this should be another tool in your retention arsenal, says Pickett. Whether by corporate training to help foster the acquisition of new skills, new technologies or new processes or through tuition reimbursement from outside courses, furthering your employees' education can help them feel valued and invested in the company, he says. According to new research from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), high-skills training (80 percent) and professional development programs to hone soft skills (74 percent) are perceived among the top benefits for retaining employees services over the next five years. "Learning cannot just be an afterthought it must be a core focus of any strong organization," says Kevin Griffin, an IT advisor at Falco Enterprises and former CIO of GE Capital. "When learning is part of your culture, it doesnt stand out as something outside the norm. For example, a learning-focused organization doesnt just hold periodic learning events or workshops separate from the day-to-day work. Instead, learning is integrated in every project or task, and employees are encouraged to dive in and learn by doing, asking questions when they hit roadblocks. " A focus on education is also key to higher retention rates, says Griffin. A commitment to training is seen by employees as an investment in their worth and a powerful incentive to stay at the company, he says. "Investing in your employees education can help retain talent and intellectual property at a time when there's stiff competition for both," says Griffin. "The need for new skill sets and evolving roles are in demand at rapidly growing rate, so putting someone on a career path that doesnt have any room to develop is not only a career-limiting move for the employee, but a business-limiting move for the company." 4. Offer the right benefits Benefits and perks play a large role in keeping employees happy, engaged and healthy. But benefits can go far beyond healthcare coverage and paid sick leave. You also should consider offering stock options or other financial awards for employees who exceed performance goals or who stay with you for a predetermined time period, says Pickett. Nearly nine in 10 companies (88 percent) view incentive compensation and bonuses as key to retaining employees in the next five years, according to the CTA. Flexible work schedules, the opportunity to work remotely and generous paid leave policies also go a long way toward helping employees feel they are valued well beyond what they contribute at the workplace, says Change.org 's global head of Human Resources David Hanrahan. Hanrahan's company, an online social change platform, recently announced it will offer up to eighteen weeks of paid parental leave for all employees, and adds that Change.org is encouraging other firms to do the same. Hanrahan argues that, if employees are not offered leave, or are forced to return to work because they cannot afford unpaid leave, "is the employee fully engaged at work or are they distracted and resentful?" That distraction and resentment can build, and can often drive an otherwise satisfied employee to consider other options. Here, the CTAs findings resonate, as flexible working arrangements ranked fourth among the top benefits for retaining talent, behind health insurance, bonuses, and paid time off. 5. Be transparent and open Creating open communication between employees and management can help foster a sense of community and a shared purpose, says Pickett. Regular meetings in which employees can offer ideas and ask questions as well as open-door policies that encourage employees to speak frankly with their managers help employees feel they are valued and that their input will be heard, he says. "I also open up my own personal network of former colleagues, friends, networking contacts to any other employee that wants to network and talk to someone at other companies and in other industries," Pickett says. "I set them up to talk with each other, and then I leave them alone. Without me there, I feel I can convey a sense of trust so employees and fellow leadership can learn and grow from others outside my company." 6. Leverage technology Another approach is to use an employee polling tool like David Niu's TINYpulse, which sends out a single question to a company's workforce at pre-set intervals and then tallies results anonymously. "Everyone knows that the business changes more than once a year, and so do people," Niu says. "Our tool lets businesses send one highly targeted question at pre-set intervals maybe monthly, or even weekly so that HR can identify issues early on and rectify them." For example, he says, some companies using the tool have asked, What is one process that, if eliminated, could make you more productive? It's then up to company leadership to act on that feedback or explain why that action might not be possible, Niu says. "You have to be open and transparent and be able to say what you can and can't commit to, he says. But just the fact that the employees are being heard, that they are being listened to is important and can improve retention, even if there's no way the company can address their challenges at the moment." 7. Put data (and AI) to work Organizations have incredible amounts of employee data available why not use it to identify whos most likely to leave, why, and then take steps to prevent that, says Dave Weisbeck, CSO at workforce analytics software firm Visier. While on the surface, an employees departure may seem obvious or to fit a pattern, but using AI and advanced analytics can help pinpoint underlying factors that contribute to attrition, ones that might not be as obvious as you thought. I recently stumbled upon this Glassdoor survey that calls out January as the month when more employees are likely to leave, says Weisbeck. But contrary to that survey finding, a lot of the data from our own clients shows thats not necessarily true. We looked across all of our data about a million employees and what weve found is a very clear pattern on a quarterly basis, and Q3 is the biggest quarter for resignations. Why is that? From the data, Weisbeck says Visiers team extrapolated that the timing of these resignations isnt necessarily defined by the calendar, but around internal processes and structures like bonus payments. People are thinking of this like, Okay, I received my bonus and now I can leave, not Oh, its a New Year, time for a new job, Weisbeck says. Since many organizations time their bonuses to hit around Christmas and the end-of-year holiday season, it makes sense to see the January exodus. The pay and bonuses or lack thereof arent the reason theyre leaving; often times they have decided to leave months before but have hung on until they receive this money. Looking more closely at the data can help uncover patterns like this, potentially contradicting conventional wisdom, he says. AI and machine learning can help identify and address these issues before they lead to attrition and turnover. Commute time, for example, isnt as big a factor in peoples engagement, happiness and their chances of leaving a job as distance to family, Weisbeck says. If your commute is an hour and a half each way and you have a family at home, youre not necessarily dissatisfied with the commute; its the time youre not spending with your family. So, organizations could add more flex time. Remote work opportunities. Anything that could help address that pain point. A more extreme example he offers is an employee who grew up in North Carolina and whose family still lives there, but who now lives and works in Portland, Oregon. In that situation, commute time isnt even in the equation; its a bigger disconnect. Between travel time for holidays and vacation and trip expenses, the time zone issues people in those situations are more likely to leave, Weisbeck says. Weve seen client companies address these issues by relaxing their vacation and travel policies; helping employees purchase airline tickets and so forth. 8. Be prepared for turnover Of course, sometimes turnover is inevitable, says Nfrastructure's Pickett. Organizations must be prepared to lose star talent, especially if they have the opportunity to move into their dream job, he says. "It's difficult when we lose someone who's a rock star," he says, "But that's one of the things you have to be prepared for. Especially in the IT industry, it's so competitive but it's also healthy. You don't want someone who doesn't want to be there anymore," he says. Here, succession planning can be key especially for high level or hard-to-hire positions. "Another important thing to remember about retention if you're doing it right, your customers will see it, too, and they'll benefit. That enthusiasm, that excitement, that investment, comes through in every interaction, and customers will want to do more business with companies like that, Pickett says. Florida, FL (34429) Today Partly to mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. High 87F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, then cloudy skies after midnight. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Vietnam Airlines has announced that it is expanding its partnership with and Sabre Corporation, a leading technology provider to the global travel industry. Representatives from the two companies were joined by US President Donald Trump, and president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong, at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU describes Vietnam Airlines intention to significantly expand its existing strategic relationship with Sabre, with a potential value of over $300 million. The scope of the signed partnership includes innovative technology from the Sabre AirVision and AirCenter portfolio, that will complement SabreSonic, Vietnam Airlines existing Passenger Service System (PSS), which was recently renewed. Together, Sabres solutions will help contribute to the carriers profitability and digital abilities once implemented, supporting their objective to become a digital airline by 2020. Leveraging Sabres leading Commercial Platform, the MOU contemplates that Sabres innovative Sabre In-Flight solution would be the first to be adopted by the airline following todays announcement. The solution, which has driven cost savings of up to 10 per cent of the total catering budget, would also enhance the airlines operational efficiency. Additionally, the MOU contemplates a new, long-term domestic content distribution agreement for Vietnam Airlines through the Sabre Global Distribution System (GDS). A growing domestic subsidiary of the Vietnam Airlines group would also onboard the SabreSonic PSS under the MOU in an effort to enhance the synergy within the Group. The deal contemplated by the MOU, which is expected in the coming months, would provide a single integrated passenger technology platform across both airlines. Vietnam Airlines is pleased to build on the existing agreement with Sabre our trusted, long-term technology provider, to include advanced solutions that will propel our business into the future. Our digital transformation program is essential to our continued success and onboarding these solutions from Sabre directly supports our efforts to achieve the Skytrax five-star status, said Duong Tri Thanh, president and CEO, Vietnam Airlines. - TradeArabia News Service AUSTIN Support is building in the Texas House to outlaw abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which could spark a fierce battle in the Legislature about whether to pass legislation that will immediately face a court challenge. Fifty-seven state representatives have signed onto House Bill 1500, a proposal by Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, which would ban most abortions in Texas. A fetal heartbeat can be detected around six weeks into a pregnancy, which is before many women know they are pregnant. Less than two weeks ago, 44 lawmakers to registered to support the so-called heartbeat bill. House Speaker Dennis Bonnen has yet to assign the bill to a committee, although similar bills are up for debate in other states or have been challenged in the courts for creating an unconstitutional burden for women seeking an abortion in an effort to overturn the Roe v. Wade. Its unclear how many Texans the bill would affect if passed into law. Texas health statistics provided by the state show about 80 percent of abortions happen in the first trimester, although data posted online by the Department of State Health Services provides little detail about when women undergo abortions prior to 6 weeks gestation. For Subscribers: Texas gave anti-abortion group millions for women's health, despite warnings Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that 24 percent of nearly 600 women they surveyed at abortion clinics throughout the state had been pregnant for five weeks or less at the time of their visit last fall, although researchers warned that not all of the women underwent abortions that day and the sample size was small and not meant to be representative of all abortions in the state. Abortions are legal in Texas after up to 20 weeks of pregnancy. In the event the life of the mother is at stake or the fetus has a severe abnormality, abortions are permitted after 20 weeks of gestation, although another lawmaker proposed a bill Monday making it illegal to terminate a pregnancy because of a fetal abnormality. There are more than a dozen bills pending that seek to chip away at access to abortion in Texas. WASHINGTON Texas U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, one of the top Republicans in the Senate, said Wednesday that he will vote against a House-passed resolution seeking to block President Donald Trump's national emergency order for wall funding. In his most definitive statement to date, Cornyn also predicted that with a handful of GOP defections there could be 51 votes for the resolution in the Senate, enough to pass the measure and force a presidential veto. "I think that's how this story ends," Cornyn said in a conference call with Texas reporters. But Cornyn added that ultimately, the legality of Trump's emergency declaration diverting military construction funds for a border wall will be decided in the federal courts, where 16 states have filed suit challenging the move. Cornyn expressed his own misgivings about the emergency declaration. "This is obviously no one's first choice," he said. For subscribers: Texas lawmakers in spotlight as House rebukes Trump on border emergency Democrats have argued that Trump is usurping the Constitutional powers of Congress to decide where money is spent. The Democratic-led House, joined by 13 Republicans, including San Antonio Republican Will Hurd, voted Tuesday to nullify Trump's move. But Cornyn, a former Texas Supreme Court Justice and Attorney General, said he believes Trump is using powers granted to him by Congress in a law that he says allows the administration to reprogram military construction funds. "It's not a Constitutional question," he said. "It's going to be a question for the courts of statutory interpretation." The House-passed measure next goes to the Senate, where it requires only a simple majority to pass. At least three GOP senators have signaled they will vote for the resolution, including conservative North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis. Among those who have given no clear indication is Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who brands himself a Constitutional conservative. A Cruz spokeswoman said Wednesday that he is still "reviewing the justification." With Republicans holding a 53-seat majority in the Senate, Cruz's vote could be decisive. Both Cruz and Cornyn denounced then-President Barack Obama's use of executive power in 2014 to protect "Dreamers" and other classes of illegal immigrants from deportation, a fact that was brought up in a national television ad this week supporting the effort to "terminate" Trump's emergency declaration. Like other Republicans, Cruz and Cornyn have said they support the president's efforts to beef up security in a border region they consider to be in "crisis" amid drug and sex trafficking and large numbers of immigrants arriving seeking asylum. "It's time to fix the problem, secure the border, and stop the next narcotraffickers" Cruz tweeted Monday to promote legislation that would fund a border wall using drug forfeiture money and other assets taken from convicted drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. But some who support Trump's emergency declaration for have expressed some uneasiness about the process, which Democrats see as an end-run around Congress, which denied Trump some $6 billion he wanted for wall construction. "While we must be wary of executive action taken to bypass Congress, and be wary of reprogramming appropriated funds, it is clear to me that in this situation the President has the right to enforce our laws," said Houston GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw. "If Congress had done its job weeks ago, this wouldn't be necessary." Cornyn said that despite his opposition to the resolution, he regrets that the impasse over wall funding and what many Republicans call a border crisis has come to this point. "Is this the best way for Congress and the White House to deal with situations like this?" he said. "I would say no." ST. LOUIS The United Methodist Church, America's second-largest Protestant denomination, faces a likely surge in defections and acts of defiance after delegates at a crucial conference voted Tuesday to strengthen the faith's bans on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT clergy. Emotions were high throughout the third and final day of the UMC's meeting. Some supporters of greater LGBT inclusion were in tears, while others vented their anger when, midway through the session, delegates defeated a proposal that would have let regional and local church bodies decide for themselves on gay-friendly policies. Devastation, was how former Methodist pastor Rebecca Wilson of Detroit described her feelings. As someone who left because I'm gay, I'm waiting for the church I love to stop bringing more hate. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Can the United Methodist Church stay united? LGBT issues may lead to a split. After several more hours of debate, the conservatives' proposal, called the Traditional Plan, was approved by a vote of 438-384. The Traditional Plan's success was due to an alliance of conservatives from the U.S. and overseas. About 43 percent of the delegates are from abroad, mostly from Africa, and overwhelmingly support the LGBT bans. If the bans were eased, the church in Africa would cease to exist, said the Rev. Jerry Kulah of Liberia. We can't do anything but to support the Traditional Plan it is the biblical plan. The deep split within the church was evident in several fiery speeches opposing the Traditional Plan. If we bring this virus into our church, it will bring illness to us all, said the Rev. Thomas Berlin of Herndon, Va. He predicted many Methodist churchgoers and some regional bodies would leave the church, while others would stay and fight, performing same-sex weddings even if it meant punishment. Many supporters of the more liberal plan stood in support as Berlin spoke. Some wore rainbow-motif garments or sat behind rainbow banners. Unlike most other bishops, Scott Jones, whose area includes Houston and East Texas, had remained neutral through the proceedings. My job now is to hold the church together as much as possible, he said right after the final vote. Im strongly urging people to breathe deep and focus on our highest priorities now. We need to slow down some decisions that might be made. But it seems almost certain that at least some Houston churches will leave the UMC. It will destroy the United Methodist Church, said Diane McGehee, pastor of Houstons Bering UMC. Weve been taken over by a minority group that has harmed and continues to harm the LGBTQ community. But Im sure there will be a new Wesleyan entity. Even if we have to burn this thing down and break it apart, well build something new, she said. The Rev. Allen Ewing-Merrill, a pastor from Portland, Maine, pledged defiance of the Traditional Plan, tweeting: I will not participate in your bigotry, sin & violence. An association of Methodist theological schools warned that if the Traditional Plan passed, the church will lose an entire generation of leaders in America. Formed in a merger in 1968, the United Methodist Church claims about 12.6 million members worldwide, including nearly 7 million in the United States. While other mainline Protestant denominations, such as the Episcopal and Presbyterian (U.S.A.) churches, have embraced gay-friendly practices, the Methodist church still bans them, though acts of defiance by pro-LGBT clergy have multiplied. Chronicle reporter Lisa Gray contributed to this report. One of the driving forces behind the success of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the massive spread of greasy, delicious food. For years, some of the city's best food vendors have provided consumers with unique takes on many of the most popular carnival treats. At this year's show, you can find some of the classic carnival items on the event's grounds, including corn dogs, funnel cakes and cotton candy. Greg Morago of HoustonChronicle.com provides a breakdown for some of the new foods on the 2019 menus. It's also likely that many of the highest-calorie items will cause you to loosen up those belt buckles. These are some of the most popular food items at the Houston Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and how many calories each item contains. The calorie information was collected from several sites, including myfitnesspal.com, calorieking.com, myfooddiary.com, and mynetdiary.com. Here is a map of the rodeo grounds to guide you to some of these tasty treats. RELATED: HoustonChronicle.com reveals what vegan food options are available at this year's Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Peter Dawson is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | Peter.Dawson@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. The widow of a Houston fire captain is suing Motorola over allegations that faulty radios were to blame for the massive brain injury her husband suffered during the deadly 2013 Southwest Inn blaze. William Iron Bill Dowling was among more than a dozen firefighters injured in Houston Fire Departments deadliest tragedy when the hotel roof collapsed 12 minutes into the five-alarm call. Four more, Robert Bebee, Robert Garner, Matthew Renaud, and Anne Sullivan, were killed instantly. Dowling died in March 2017 because of complications he suffered in the fire. The lack of oxygen in the burning building caused the catastrophic brain damage that left him with the mental capacity of a 5-6-year-old child, according to the lawsuit filed last week in Harris County District Court. The case has since been transferred to federal court. EARLIER ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Houston firefighters blast Mayor Turner over survivor payments to families of Southwest Inn victims Dowlings wife, Jacki Dowling, believes the radio equipment used by the firefighters delayed rescuers from reaching him in time to prevent a substantial loss of oxygen. Falling debris crushed Dowlings legs and left him trapped for about 45 minutes. He spent six months in the hospital after having both legs partially amputated. The family of Dowling was not among the relatives of fallen firefighters who in 2016 first sued the telecommunications company. The plaintiffs were relatives of Bebee, Garner and Sullivan. Injured firefighter Robert Yarborough later joined the lawsuit. The case was settled last year for an undisclosed amount. She spent four years of her life taking care of her very sick husband, the love of her life. That was her focus, Professional Fire Fighters Association President Marty Lancton said on behalf of Jacki Dowling. The suit is seeking more than $45 million in damages in the aftermath of the fatal injuries. A physician to Dowling said in September 2018 the injuries left him mentally incompetent. After the fire, he was clearly unable to make decisions for himself, care for himself without the significant help of others, wrote Dowlings physician, Dr. Peter Bigler. Dowling was unable to meaningfully communicate by voice with others, Bigler said. Communication with him was principally through physical gestures and non-verbal motions. Captain Dowling survived to live a horrible and excruciatingly painful four more years as a child trapped in a completely broken body, the suit alleges. The digital radios are believed to have blocked hundreds of transmissions during the fire and caused a nearly half hour delay in rescuing Dowling. The city of Houston bought the radio equipment for $138 million and implemented it a month before the fire. A state report found that the new equipment made communications difficult if not impossible. Motorolas radios robbed Captain Dowling of not only seconds, but more than enough minutes of needed time to prevent his brain injury, the suit reads. Expert witness reports from the original case about the scrutinized radio equipment were included with the latest filing. In a separate statement Tuesday night, Lancton said the radios are still an issue. Like firefighters around the nation, we have had serious concerns about these radios. Beginning in 2013, before the catastrophic Southwest Inn Fire, we advised the city of systemic radio failures, Lancton said. This digital radio system has never been very reliable. Problems with our radios, which are critical life-saving equipment, continue to this day. Attorneys for Motorola, who did not respond to a request for comment, have denied the companys role in the injuries alleged by Dowlings widow and that they may have been the result of unavoidable circumstances that could not have been prevented by any person, including Motorola. A Houston woman is behind bars after allegedly offering an undercover officer unlicensed Botox injections, police said. Gabriella Gonzalez, 47, was the target of a proactive investigation by undercover Houston Police Department detectives targeting unlicensed medical practices in Houston, according to Houston Police Department spokesperson Jodi Silva. Gonzalez allegedly offered to inject Botox into an undercover officer for a payment, according to court documents and Silva. SIMILAR CASE: Klein-area nurse accused of injecting fillers without a license She's facing a felony charge of practicing medicine without a license. Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message Commercial flight operations of all airports in Pakistan and some northern Indian airports were temporarily suspended amid escalating tensions between the two countries, reports said. Pakistani airspace has officially been closed for commercial flights, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced on Wednesday. The aviation authority made the announcement on Twitter after the director general of Inter-Services Public Relations, the military's media arm, acknowledged the closure of Pakistan's airspace due to the prevailing security situation, said a Dawn newspaper report. Affected airports include Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad. A total of nine airports in India have stopped all flight operations after the IAF carried out strikes on terror bases in Pakistan, said a report in The Indian Express. Flight operations have been suspended at Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Pathankot, Amritsar, Shimla, Kangra, Kullu Manali and Pithoragarh in India Airports at Chandigarh, Pathankot, Halwara and Bathinda have been put on high alert, it said. Meanwhile, Bahrain-based Gulf Air has confirmed that all flights to/from Pakistan are suspended with immediate effect due to the closure of Pakistani airspace. All passengers flying to/from Pakistan are advised to contact Gulf Airs Worldwide Contact Centre on 00973 17373737 before proceeding to the airport. On February 27, flights to/from Lahore, Multan and Islamabad are cancelled and all passengers will be transferred to the next available flights when the airspace is open again. The airline will reassess the situation at 3 pm Bahrain time (12 pm GMT) and will update passengers regarding flights operating on February 28, the airline said in a statement. - TradeArabia News Service Harris County Sheriff's Office A 27-year-old Houston man is accused of severely beating his 2-week-old son, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Investigators said the young boy was rushed to Texas Children's Hospital in Katy on Monday after his father, Luis Angel Pacheco, called 911. He told detectives that he accidentally dropped the boy on a concrete floor earlier that day at their home in the 16600 block of Gaeldom Drive. Two Meyerland homeowners whose grant-funded home elevations have been delayed by a financially troubled company will move closer to receiving their promised flood protection Wednesday if Houston City Council approves an agreement with a new firm. The delay stems from the financial woes of Titan Lifetime Foundations, one of six home elevation companies vetted and approved by the city to receive Federal Emergency Management Agency grant money after the 2015 Memorial Day flood. Six homeowners selected Titan to elevate their homes after city council approved $14.8 million in FEMA grants for 42 flood-prone homes. Those who chose Titan, though, found the firm was unable to finish, or in some cases even begin, the elevation process. BATTLE OF THE MIDCENTURY: Houston's midcentury homeowners make tough choices to preserve or build new after years of flooding Further complicating matters was the August 2018 death of Titans owner, which came soon after the city served Titan with a notice of default giving the firm 30 days to finish the elevation work before losing the contract. Ultimately, the city removed Titan from the grant program, prompting two homeowners on the 4400 block of Breakwood Drive to choose another city-vetted company, Arkitektura Development. The two new contracts, worth a combined $634,000, require council approval and will be considered Wednesday. FEMAs grant, provided through its flood mitigation assistance program, will cover all but $877 in administrative costs funded by the city. Meanwhile, owners of the four other Titan homes all located in the Meyerland area are continuing to iron out the details of new contracts, which must be finalized before going to council for approval. The citys legal department and a bond company are making final edits on a contract for two properties that already were under construction before the city severed ties with Titan, said Public Works Department spokesperson Erin Jones. On another property, the homeowner still is deciding between firms. The owner of the fourth home received a draft of a contract in November and still is working out details, such as the timeline of the elevation work. Meanwhile, the city has amended its grant process so homeowners no longer will pay contractors directly, Jones said. Some homeowners paid Titan up front and face the possibility of losing those funds. On Wednesday, city council also is scheduled to vote on two other FEMA-funded Meyerland home elevation contracts. One is among the 40 homes approved for flood mitigation assistance grants in 2016; the other is partially funded by FEMAs Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, the aid process triggered by federally declared disasters. Through the latter program, FEMA is covering 75 percent of the projects $290,000 cost. The homeowner is set to pay $70,000 if council approves the contract. jasper.scherer@chron.com A cadaver dog has found parts of a third set of human remains Tuesday while investigating the Boeing 767 cargo plane wreckage in Trinity Bay, according to authorities. The identity of the remains, and whether they belong to a member of the doomed three-man crew is pending a DNA confirmation, Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne said. Atlas Air flight 3591 plunged into the shallow waters Saturday while traveling from Miami to Houston, casting a three-mile-long debris field. The remains found by the cadaver dog around 2 p.m. were not intact due to the tremendous impact of the crash, the sheriff suggested. Were still looking for more human remains. We wont stop until that third body is found, Hawthorne said during a press conference. OVERWORKED PILOTS? Pilot says Amazon Air's contract airlines 'a ticking time bomb' The three killed in the crash have been identified as Capt. Sean Archuleta, of Houston, Capt. Ricky Blakely, of Indiana, and First Officer Conrad Jules Aska, of Antigua, all of whom were flying the twin-engine jet airliner under an Amazon Prime Air Fleet contract. The National Transportation Safety Board, an independent federal agency that investigates civil aviation accidents, is handling the crash probe. The aircraft was built in 1992 and was converted to a cargo plane in recent years, FAA records show. A drudging contractor was set to begin combing the waters surface and later the quicksand-like mud for crash debris, according to authorities. The mud could also be impacting the discovery of the planes black box, FBI Assistant Special Agent Ed Michel said. The mud could play a part in the interference with the signal and acquisition of the signal itself, Michel said. nicole.hensley@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. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said Tuesday he is close to achieving his goal of ending the outsourcing of jail inmates, though he convinced Commissioners Court to renew a contract with the Fort Bend County Jail as a precaution. The courts Democrats said they feared the pact, which could cost as much as $878,000 the cost of housing 43 inmates at the Fort Bend County Jail for one year would provide the sheriff the wrong solution to solve overcrowding at the Harris County Jail. My concern is we not rely on this as a crutch, County Judge Lina Hidalgo said. Gonzalez, a fellow Democrat, said he hopes to end outsourcing completely by March 11, the day 550 beds come online at the new Houston-Harris County joint processing center, and never resume the practice. He cautioned, however, that the county needs a contingency plan should another hurricane strike the region or new problems arise at the Harris County Jail. Gonzalez had ended outsourcing within six months of taking office in 2017, but Hurricane Harvey that August halted court proceedings for weeks, causing an inmate spike which the sheriff said forced him to outsource hundreds of inmates to Louisiana. The chronically overcrowded county lockup failed a state inspection last November for the fifth time in two years. One of my top priorities was to eliminate costly inmate outsourcing, Gonzalez said. Today, I am encouraged to see that we have reduced the number of outsourced inmates to just a few dozen, and all of them are in Texas facilities. Harris County returned all inmates from Louisiana late last year and as of Tuesday had 78 outsourced: 52 in Fort Bend County and the rest in other nearby counties. A sheriffs office spokesman said the average number of Harris County inmates on a given day has dropped by almost 400 since last year. Chief Darryl Coleman told the court that largely is largely due to new bail rules implemented by Harris County criminal court judges. Under the new rules, which went into effect in January, 85 percent of misdemeanor defendants automatically qualify for release on no-cash bail without ever being booked into the county jail. Court members praised Gonzalez for ending outsourcing to Louisiana and asked the sheriff to inform them after March should he need to resume sending inmates beyond the county line. Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis said he believes Gonzalez is committed to keeping the Harris County Jail below capacity, though he agreed the county needs a Plan B for inmates in case of emergency. After clarifying the county would only pay for inmates when they are outsourced, court members voted 4-1 to approve the contract. Precinct 3 Republican Steve Radack, the lone opponent, had expressed frustration Fort Bend would ask to be compensated $55 per inmate per day when it has yet to reimburse Harris County for millions of dollars in expenses related to the use of its hospital district. Devising schemes to get Fort Bend and other adjacent counties to settle their tabs with Harris County has been a pet project for Radack, who often mentions it when a Fort Bend-related issue comes up for discussion at court meetings. Why the hell are we paying them? Radack said Tuesday. These counties see Harris County as having deep pockets. County Budget Officer Bill Jackson agreed to consult with the county attorney and auditor to see what can be done. Members of the civil rights group Texas Organizing Project, which successfully lobbied the Democratic court members earlier this month to oppose hiring 102 additional prosecutors, urged the court to reject the Fort Bend outsourcing contract. Zach Despart covers Harris County for the Chronicle. You can follow him on twitter or email him at zach.despart@chron.com . A suspected getaway driver has been arrested in a rooftop shooting that killed two brothers in east Houston last week, police said. Rene Moreno, 20, faces capital murder charges alongside 18-year-old Marlon Brandon Valdez, who was booked in jail on Saturday. Police said that the two men are responsible for the deaths of Josue Aguilar, 18, and Maximo Aguilar, 20. They were shot from a rooftop in what Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo called an ambush. COLD CASE: La Porte man arrested in 1983 murder of Conroe woman The brothers arrived on Feb. 21 at the 12700 block of Eastbrook Drive, where theyd agreed to meet to settle a feud with a fistfight. Valdez opened fire with a high-powered semi-automatic rifle from the roof of a flooded-out home, police said. The Aguilar brothers were in a car full of people. Jose was killed at the scene, and Maximo died at a hospital. A 23-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman were wounded and hospitalized in stable condition. At least two people were believed to have fled the scene, heading southbound on Maxey in a black Chevrolet. Police identified Valdez as the shooter, and he was arrested at a home in the 600 block of Maxey Road on Saturday. Moreno has since been identified as the getaway driver and was arrested today, police said. 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. Google Maps A teacher at Houston ISD's Northline Elementary School has been removed from the classroom amid an investigation into allegations of "inappropriate behavior." In a letter sent Wednesday to Northline parents, the school's principal said the teacher has been re-assigned to a "non-teaching role pending the outcome of a thorough investigation." The letter did not specify the nature of allegations or the individual accused of misconduct. HISD officials said the teacher is not working on Northline's campus during the re-assignment. Abu Dhabi welcomed 10.27 million international visitors in 2018, with the emirate also posting figures showing incredible growth over the last three years, powered by the addition of a host of world-class events and enhancements to all of its specialised tourism sectors, massive improvements to its infrastructure and significant development of its cultural assets. The UAE capital, which has witnessed an increase in hotel guests to the emirate of 13.62 per cent since the beginning of 2016, has worked hard to reinforce its position as a destination with remarkable global appeal and as a place destined to become a key cultural city of the future. Abu Dhabi has seen huge advances across all areas of tourism sectors, including the cultural, business, family-focused and medical sectors, with the cruise sector providing more than 350,000 visitors to the emirate in 2018. The emirates world-class cultural assets also attracted more than 2,672,732 people to the emirate; further booting visitation metrics. The UAE capital has also witnessed the addition of a number of world-class cultural institutions, such as the spectacular Louvre Abu Dhabi and the reopening of the iconic Qasr Al Hosn site, as well as the launch of several high profile events and initiatives which have added to its global reputation. Figures released by the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) have shown more than 10 million visitors came to experience the UAE capital last year, made up of both day-trippers and overnight guests, with these hotel guests increasing by 3.94 per cent compared to 2017 at one of the emirates 168 hotels or hotel apartments. In the last three years, Abu Dhabi has posted record numbers of hotel guests every year, regularly exceeding DCT Abu Dhabis annual targets. The key markets of India, the US and China have all posted double-digit growth for hotel guests in 2018, underpinning the impressive surge in visitor numbers to the emirate. India and China remain the two top markets for overseas visitors, with the UK - the top European source market rounding out the top three markets for overseas visitors. We are incredibly pleased to see these positive metrics, as year on year we have exceeded the already ambitious targets set for Abu Dhabis growth, said Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman at DCT Abu Dhabi. The Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi has made extraordinary strides since its very inception, and a snapshot of the last three years gives an even clearer indication of the strength of the emirates growth and standing on the global stage," he said. Several sectors have significantly contributed to Abu Dhabis growing appeal to international travellers, with cultural tourism perhaps the most prominent; a highlight of which was the addition of Louvre Abu Dhabi to the emirates portfolio, garnering global attention upon its launch in 2017. The first component of the ambitious Saadiyat Cultural District, the first universal museum in the region attracted more than 1 million visitors in its first year and put Abu Dhabi on the worlds cultural map. The reopening of the Al Hosn site was also a significant event for cultural tourism in Abu Dhabi, with the oldest building in the emirate, now a museum showcasing Abu Dhabis history and Emirati culture, reopening to great acclaim in late 2018. Abu Dhabi is now established as a vibrant and dynamic hub for global business and the emirate has witnessed a sizeable growth in business events over the last five years. DCT Abu Dhabis Convention Bureau has achieved notable success in this time period, successfully bidding for globally recognised events such as the Special Olympics, which will be held in Abu Dhabi this year, as well as beating off competitive bids from both Rio de Janeiro and St Petersburg to host the 2019 World Energy Congress (WEC), one of the worlds most important energy forums. The cruise sector has also seen vast leaps forward in the last three years, with the new Abu Dhabi cruise terminal opening a first of its kind in the region, offering state-of-the-art port facilities and features, such as airline check-in, not offered anywhere else in the region as well as the Sir Bani Yas Beach development. Both have increased Abu Dhabis appeal as an attractive port of call and homeport destination which has translated into an increase of 27.82 per cent in cruise passengers to Abu Dhabi. A total of 279,704 cruise passengers visited Abu Dhabi in 2016, compared with 354,015 in 2018. Also, during this time from 2016-18, some 963,257 cruise ship passengers disembarked at Abu Dhabi. The healthcare sector value proposition has also been a focus for the emirate, as medical tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of global tourism. In 2018, DCT Abu Dhabi partnered with the Department of Health to launch medical tourism initiatives to benefit the growth of the sector in the UAE capital, working to stimulate interest in the emirates cutting edge medical infrastructure, facilities and treatments and world-renowned doctors. These successes are only a fraction of what DCT Abu Dhabi has implemented in the last few years, and it is important to note that our ambition does not stop there. We will continue to push for growth, and are working toward the introduction of further landmark initiatives and attractions in the coming years that will cement Abu Dhabis position as one of the fastest growing destinations in the region in the last three years, said Al Mubarak. - TradeArabia News Service Emirates Airlines was ranked the second most intimate brand in the UAE, a new report revealed. According to MBLMs Brand Intimacy 2019 Report, the largest study of brands based on emotions, Apple ranked number 1 in the UAE. The Emirates brand made the Top 10 list for the first time in 2018 at #6. To date, it is still the only brand originating in the region to make the Top 10 in the UAE-based study. Brand Intimacy is defined as a new paradigm that leverages and strengthens the emotional bonds between a person and a brand. We are excited to see Emirates Airlines performing at this higher level to reach second position this year, said William Shintani, managing partner at MBLM. The Emirates brand is performing extremely well as it continues to exceed expectations, delivering superior service and quality among its key demographics. Their strongest archetype (A pattern or marker which is consistently present, in part or in whole, among intimate brands that identify the character and nature of ultimate brand relationships) is fulfilment, which is directly related to the delivery of superior quality of services. It also outperforms its competitors in the travel industry in every archetype. Additionally, Apple held the #1 spot for another year, with 32 per cent of users reporting they cannot live without the brand. The automotive industry reported the highest scores overall as the most intimate industry in the UAE with five of the Top 10 brands (Ford, Mercedes, Audi, Lexus and BMW, in this order). YouTube made it to the Top 10 for the first time, improving its rank from #20 in 2018 to #10 in 2019, a growth trend that MBLM predicts will continue in the future. Nescafe, meanwhile jumped 26 places to land on the Top 10 listfrom #33 in 2018 to #7 in 2019. The Brand Intimacy 2019 Report contains the most comprehensive rankings of brands based on emotion, analysing responses from 6,200 consumers in 56,000 brand evaluations across 15 industries in the US, Mexico and UAE. The report per industry will be revealed over the course of 2019 by MBLM. - TradeArabia News Service A victim of a car theft was able to identify a suspicious vehicle in the area and helped lead Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office deputies to the arrest of a trio of suspects. According to the Sheriffs Office, at 1:15 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office deputies were dispatched to the 1300 block of Pecan Lane in the Katy area to investigate a burglary of vehicle. The victim had left their vehicle unlocked and unattended for about 15 minutes and discovered property missing upon their return, the Sheriffs Office reported. Before becoming aware of the missing property, the victim reported seeing a red Ford Mustang driving in the area. About an hour and a half later, the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office was notified a red Mustang was seen in the parking lot of the Whataburger in the 1100 block of Main Street in Katy. Deputies found a red Mustang in the parking lot and, after an investigation, were able to recover the victims property out of the Mustang and return it to the owner. The three suspects allegedly confessed to their involvement in the offense. Keano Jimmy Travis, 18, of Katy; Connor Simpson Bartling, 17, of Katy; and Leon Nogueira, 17, of Fulshear were all charged with burglary of vehicle. The suspects were taken into custody and assigned bonds totaling $2,750 each. Terrific job done by our detectives and patrol, said Sheriff Troy Nehls. Now of course we want to continue to remind folks to be vigilant by locking your doors and not leaving valuables inside your vehicle. Burglary of a vehicle is a Class A misdemeanor in Texas. A conviction on a Class A misdemeanor offense can carry a punishment of up to a year in a county jail and a fine of up to $4,000. rkent@hcnonline.com Sabre Corporation, a leading technology provider to the global travel industry, has appointed Abdul-Razzaq Iyer to lead its Sabre Travel Network Middle East business. Iyer's appointment as the Vice President, STNME, will help drive business growth for both Sabre and its customers in the regions, Sabre said. Since joining Sabre in 2008, Iyer has held various positions in business consulting and sales. Most recently, he has worked as a senior director in the Strategic Business Development team in Sabres Singapore office. Leading a substantial sales organisation, he helped achieve significant growth for Sabre in APAC, working across many diverse markets. In his new role, Iyer will be responsible for increasing Sabres footprint in the Middle East, including high-growth markets such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. He will help drive growth for Sabre and its customers in the Middle Easts dynamic and diverse regions and provide unrivalled expertise to Sabres travel agency customers. Abdul-Razzaq has unique experience and success working in our APAC region, which draws many parallels to the Middle East, said Roshan Mendis, chief commercial officer, Sabre Travel Network. He has achieved sustainable growth within a complex region that is made up of many very diverse markets. His global expertise and intricate understanding of the agency community will be an asset to Sabres customers in the Middle East, and will open doors for travel companies in the region. Prior to Sabre, Iyer held positions at BNP and Ernst & Young. His experience spans various regions, having previously worked in the Middle East, Far East and Europe, as well as leading several large-scale global projects. Iyer has a BA in Business Education from Trinity University in Texas, and also studied at Beijing University in China. - TradeArabia News Service An Aldine ISD police officer allegedly ran a red light and crashed into a pickup truck in north Houston on Monday afternoon, a witness said. The officer has since been placed on administrative leave as authorities investigate. The crash happened around 6:30 p.m. in the intersection of Aldine Bender and John F. Kennedy Boulevard. In dashcam video obtained by Chron.com, Jacob Perkins, driving a 2007 Toyota Tundra, appeared to have a green light heading south on JFK when two marked Aldine ISD police cars cruised through the intersection. In video of the crash, neither police cruisers appeared to have their lights or sirens on when they drove through the intersection. Another vehicle next to Perkins' truck started to go as the southbound light turned green, but stopped after seeing the officers. "I saw the green light," Perkins said. "As I approached, I saw the first cop pass, so I slowed down. Then I kept going through the intersection. The truck that was to my left hid the (second) cop car from my view until I got into the intersection. That's when I just smacked him." CAUGHT ON VIDEO: Houston woman accused of stealing packages in custody The crash spun the second police car into a stopped vehicle facing east on Aldine Bender. "Once I got out of the truck, my immediate reaction was to throw my hands up to the cop and say, 'why the f*** did you run a red light?'" Perkins said. "We went and checked the police officer and everyone else to make sure that everyone was OK. As I approached (the officer), I said 'this is why you don't run red lights.' (The officer) didn't say anything. The investigating officer showed up and started doing everything. He told me personally that the cop car (driver) admitted fault." Officials with Aldine ISD said they have yet to issue citations, if any, to any drivers in the crash. No one was injured, and their investigation is ongoing. While the crash happened within Houston city limits, the Houston Police Department confirmed their crash detectives did not investigate the crash. Harris County Sheriff's Office also confirmed they're not investigating. As for Perkins, his truck is in pretty bad shape, he said. He's filed a claim with his insurance but doesn't know what will happen next. "The front end is pretty much destroyed," Perkins said, adding that his Tundra might be totaled. "It sucks, because now I'm out a vehicle because a cop ran a red light. It's a crappy situation. At least no one's hurt." Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message A Houston man arrested on weapons charges over the weekend previously has been affiliated with white supremacist groups, according to civil rights organizations and records in U.S. District Court in North Carolina. Joffre James Cross III, 33, was arrested Saturday on two counts of a felon in possession of a weapon and unlawful possession of body armor by a felon. During his probable cause hearing, prosecutors said a federal search warrant at his home revealed 11 Kevlar ballistic helmets and three sets of ceramic plate carriers. Prosecutors also alleged that he illegally possessed a firearm at multiple gun ranges in the Houston area. Law enforcement obtained a video in October 2018 of Cross using a rifle at one range, prosecutors said. At another range, Athena Gun Club, Cross filled out a liability form saying he's not a convicted felon, prosecutors said. RELATED: Hate groups on the rise in US and Texas, civil rights center finds Cross was identified as one of two Army paratroopers at Fort Bragg in North Carolina who were accused of selling drugs and body armor to undercover FBI agent in 2007, according to court records. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison in that case, records show. After his release, he was on probation until October 2017, prosecutors said. Additional records in that case referred to evidence that Cross and the other paratrooper "have some affiliation, interest, and/or association with white supremacist groups." "This evidence is in the form of statements [Cross] made on the internet, and documents and items seized from his residence," according to a motion filed in the case, which did not provide any additional details. Court records show Cross has not yet retained or been appointed an attorney for his new charges. Chron.com made multiple attempts to reach Cross about the allegations but was unsuccessful. After his arrest, the Southern Poverty Law Center published a story about Cross' alleged ties to white supremacist groups. The story identified him as a member of the white supremacist group Patriot Front, which the SPLC describes as a Neo-Nazi organization. It also said he has ties to Aryan Renaissance Society, another white supremacist group. Cross previously listed various Nazi officers as his heroes on his Myspace page, according to the story. He also posted antisemitic slurs and photos of Nazi paraphernalia on the Russian social media site VK, the story says. Additionally, in 2016, the Anti-Defamation League said Cross "appeared to be providing security for [white nationalist Richard Spencer]" during a speaking event at Texas A&M University. Cross has been living in the Houston area for most of his life, according to the public defender at his probable cause hearing. He posted his $5,000 bail for each weapons charge, and his next hearing is scheduled for March 29 in Harris County's 230th District Court. 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. On Thursday, SpaceX (founded by Elon Musk) launched the Falcon 9 into space. Making this mission especially significant, the rocket was carrying humanity's entire backup plan, according to business magazine, Fast Company. What does that include? Called "The Lunar Library," the plan features a 30-million-page collection of humanity's greatest cultural offerings, all encoded on a specially designed disc that was sent to the moon to keep it safe, Fast Company reports. RELATED: Elon Musk says he is building 'Starship' in Texas Stored on the disc, made to last a billion years, is a diverse archive of human history and civilization that covers subjects from cultures to nations to languages to genres to time periods, including the contents of Wikipedia, a compilation of human languages, the Rosetta Project, and books selected by Project Gutenberg, a digital library, according to Fast Company. Genome maps, along with 60,000 analog images of pages of books, photographs, illustrations, documents, and some of the world's greatest art, music, literature, and scientific knowledge, are also on the disc. It is composed of 25 nickel discs, each only 40 microns thick, Fast Company reports. Once the disc is on the moon, it will be stored aboard Beresheet, an Israeli spacecraft that was also carried to space by the Falcon 9, CNET reports. The Lunar Library was created by the Arch Mission Foundation (AMF), a non-profit organization that maintains a billion-year backup of planet Earth. This is the third installment in The Arch Mission Foundation's "Billion Year Archive" initiative, Fast Company reports. The initiative's goal is to deliver backups to numerous locations both on Earth and in the Solar System. "We can definitely preserve our unique cultural heritage and biological record in a way that will survive for millions to billions of years," co-founder and chairman of the Arch Mission Foundation Nova Spivack said in a statement, according to Fast Company. "Through massive replication around the solar system, we will be able to guarantee that the Arch Libraries will never be lost even millions to billions of years in the future," he said. 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 A man was killed Wednesday morning when trying to cross a feeder road in the Jersey Village area, authorities said. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said a driver was turning from the Sam Houston Parkway underpass onto Philippine Street about 7:30 a.m. when they struck a man attempting to cross the feeder road. An early morning burglary resulted in the arrest of two suspects, but Rosenberg Police Department officials are on the lookout for a third. According to a news release, "Rosenberg Police Officers captured two burglary suspects and are seeking information on a third. Early Tuesday morning, Feb. 26, 2019, officers were dispatched to 5192 Avenue H, a T-Mobile cellular retail location." Arriving officers reportedly saw three suspects running from the building "where apparent signs of forced entry were observed to several area businesses." The officers captured two suspects, later identified as Daren Kendrick Barcus and Marquis Rashad Jones, both of Houston. They will be charged with multiple counts of burglary. "These suspects came prepared with specific tools to commit crimes in our city which leads us to believe this is not a first-time event for them," Police Chief Jonathan White said in a news release. "Our response time on this call was pretty good, about two minutes. That may be something to consider if you are thinking about coming to our city to commit crimes. You may want to try your luck elsewhere." Jones, 27, is currently out on bond in Harris County, where he has an extensive criminal history dating back to 2009. In Harris County, he is facing two felony charges of burglary of a building and criminal mischief. Barcus, 22, has a criminal history dating back to 2013 in Harris County. He is currently wanted for felony evading. The Rosenberg Police Department is seeking any information on the third at-large suspect. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Fort Bend County Crime Stoppers at 281-342-TIPS (8477). Tips can also submited online at www.fortbend.crimestoppersweb.com. Tips which lead to an arrest may result in a cash reward. Information, which leads to the apprehension and filing of charges on the suspect(s) involved, could result in a reward up to $5,000. All calls to Crime Stoppers are anonymous. rkent@hcnonline.com Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has launched an ambitious project to install photovoltaic (PV) solar panels in a tenth of the homes of UAE nationals in Dubai and connect them to its grid as part of achieving the objectives laid down by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in the 50-year charter. The government is exploring various sustainable solutions to meet growing demand in the energy sector, a crucial pillar in Dubais development plans, through the latest technologies, said a statement from Dewa. The utility is developing reliable renewable energy sources as part of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, it added. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, said that the Eight Principles of Governance and the 50-Year Charter, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, represent a roadmap for the governments work in the coming phase of development. "Dubai Government has started implementing the charter, which will raise the emirates profile globally and contribute to further enhancing the quality of life of its residents," he noted. Sheikh Hamdan said the 50-Year Charter guides the development of strategic plans and new projects of all government entities. He expressed confidence that the government will meet His Highnesss expectations and achieve the Charters objectives. Dewa is the first government department to implement the 50-Year Charter, which outlines plans to shape the future of Dubai and enhance the happiness and prosperity of its citizens. "As soon as His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid launched the 50-Year Charter, we pledged to abide by it. This has nine articles that incorporate his vision for the future of Dubai and the life he wishes for everyone living in this community. This will raise Dubai's position as a role model for ensuring the happiness and comfort of its citizens," noted Sheikh Hamdan. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the managing director and CEO of Dewa said: "We have developed a plan to implement the directives of His Highness in article number 7, which is related to energy-self-sufficiency in 10 percent of citizens homes." "The project will be completed before the end of 2019, and Dewa will bear all the costs of the project," he stated. Al Tayer said the Etihad Energy Services Company (Etihad Esco) will oversee the implementation of the project, which also includes the installation of energy-saving lights and water-savers to rationalise the use of electricity and water. The tender was announced on January 17. Dewa received 13 bids from companies listed under the Shams Dubai initiative. After opening and evaluating the bids, letters of assignment were sent to six companies, which starts the process of implementing the project in accordance with the criteria set by Dewa.-TradeArabia News Service Montgomery County Sheriff's Office deputies on Wednesday arrested a 75-year-old man in the 1983 murder of a 28-year-old Conroe woman. Noel Leon King Jr., now a La Porte resident, is accused of murdering his fiancee, Teresa Brignoni, and as of Wednesday evening was being held on a $300,000 bond in the Montgomery County Jail, according to jail records. Authorities say the mother of three died by asphyxia through suffocation after she was placed in the trunk of her car. The case was reopened in April 2017, according to court documents. 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. In a July 10 interview with investigators, King admitted Brignoni fractured her skull during an argument between the two the night she went missing Feb. 21, 1983. King said he thought she fell and hit her head on the headboard, leading him to panic and put her body in her car where she was later found dead in Conroe, according to charging documents. A longtime friend and one-time business partner of King's, Frank Pinte, provided him with an alibi at the time. On Jan. 15, investigators interviewed Pinte's now 90-year-old aunt who told them that around the time of Brignoni's death and before her nephew moved to Arkansas, he told her he gave a friend an alibi for what he found out was a murder. Pinte died in 2013, according to court records. Brignoni's remains were recovered March 2, 1983. An autopsy at the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office concluded Brignoni suffered a blow to the left rear of her skull and died of suffocation after being placed in the trunk of her car, according to documents. On Feb. 23, 1983 King reported Brignoni missing, saying he had not seen her in 24 hours after she told him she was taking her 4-year-old daughter to visit her mother in La Porte. He said he told her he was going to check into a hospital to receive treatment for his alcoholism, documents show. At the time, King told an investigator Brignoni threatened to leave him because of his drinking. He said the last night he saw her he phoned her from a southeast Houston bar and that she appeared "aggravated" because he was drinking the day before he was going to be hospitalized, according to records filed. In the days following Brignoni's death, investigators learned Pinte accompanied King at the bar where a waitress said she had seen both men. A nurse at a northwest Houston hospital also said she saw the men when they said they went looking for a girlfriend of Pinte's, according to court records. The investigation found Brignoni told her mother she and King had postponed wedding plans five times because of his drinking and "violent behavior" and that she feared him. Brignoni's daughter told detectives she had seen King push her mother and hit her with his hand, court documents show. Additionally, a therapist told investigators Brignoni told her an inebriated King had hit and injured her. A psychologist of Brignoni's said she described King as "controlling" and "domineering" and was pressing her to marry him, documents state. After the case was reopened, investigators in April 2018 spoke to another, older daughter of Brignoni. Now in her 40s, this daughter remembered seeing King slap, punch and kick Brignoni in the stomach and drag her on the floor. Despite this daughter finding King "charming," she remembered he would grow "angry" if he "did not get his way" and that "alchohol would make it worse," court records state. jose.gonzalez@chron.com twitter.com/jrgzztx Houston's most glamorous TV news anchor, Dominique Sachse, has been a fixture at KPRC Channel 2 for more than 25 years. You likely already know that Sachse co-anchors the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts at Channel 2, where she started as a morning traffic reporter. Mixed feelings and demands for a refund have developed after unforeseen circumstances prompted organizers of the H-Town Fest to move the event from this Sunday to the summer, per an announcement made on Facebook last Saturday. The organizers reiterated the message in a press release, along with an apology, refund details and statement that there is no change to the lineup. The organizers said that all tickets bought will still be valid on the yet-announced new date in a statement on Wednesday at 1 p.m. The money will be returned using the same outlet that was used to buy the tickets Groupon, Ticketon and the events main website, the organizers said. People were attracted to a lineup that featured popular rappers Tyga, Bun B, Anuel AA and Rick Ross. While Tyga and Rick Ross, two of H-Town Fests headliners, each gave a shout-out to the event on social media, Rick Ross has removed the post from his Instagram page. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: H-Town Fest debuts with Rick Ross and Latin trap star Anuel AA Originally, the event, billed as "the first international hip-hop and urban music festival in H-Town, was scheduled for March 3 at the Humble Civic Center & Arena Complex. This is still listed on the flyer on H-Town Fests official site viewable once an email to receive updates has been entered and the events Groupon page. San Antonio resident Vanessa Rodriguez, who spent $84 on tickets and was looking forward to seeing Anuel AA, one of the events acts, said that the press release should have been sent on the day of or the day after the announcement and not almost a week later. I havent reached out to the email they said to contact, she said Tuesday, referring to the email address htownfest@gmail.com that the organizers had provided. The only thing I noticed was that people (were) asking for (their) money back, but (there was) no response. Rodriguez also shared that she had cancelled her hotel booking and will have to request a different day off from her job for the new date. HOUSTON RODEO FOOD: Corn dogs, cotton candy, and calories galore Margarita Diaz of the Willowbrook area, who bought four tickets, each at $42, said Tuesday that she was looking forward to H-Town Fest since Anuel AA would perform there. He came (to Houston) a few months ago and I was unable to attend, she said. Diaz said that she received a refund at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. They emailed me back today and sent the money back to PayPal, she said. But Im still waiting to get the money onto my account. Other comments made on the Facebook post since Saturday expressed a range of emotions including sadness and anger. nguyen.le@chron.com Chronicle Archive Now 87, Jean-Luc Godard looks at the world the way Alfred Hitchcock photographed James Stewarts panic attack at the top of the fateful bell tower in Vertigo. Godards recent essay films pull back while pushing in, creating a vertiginous effect. Does he see too little or too much? In our present moment, filmed and framed and packaged a thousand different ways, can any of us say for certain? Thats the sort of rhetorical guesswork this filmmaker provokes. Narrated by Godard in an insinuating low growl clouded by cigar smoke and skepticism, The Image Book is his latest audio-visual collage. Playing at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston Thursday, Saturday and March 9, it layers bleached-out, manipulated imagery of a century of cinema, fragmenting bits of Duck Soup and dicing up the atomic finale of Kiss Me Deadly. Its Godard, the New Wave rebel, waving an ideological white flag, rebuking geopolitics as the provenance of morons, writing off the revolutionary spirit as spent and gone. At the Boots and Bandanas fundraiser in Dayton Saturday night, Kimberly Stephens and her husband Eric took in the sights and sounds of a Texas-size fundraiser. From the dancing, to the auction, to the western attire, Stephens found herself in the middle of a community she saw as caring and invested. The newly selected executive director of the Liberty/Chambers County court-appointed special advocate said she believed her arrival was ordered by steps from God that led her to the doorstep of the office at 2015 Scout Street. Nine months ago, a year ago, things that were happening while I was at (Child Protective Services) absolutely lined up every step to wind up where I am today, she said. Her journey as an educator and pastors wife brought her to Texas from Florida and Tennessee. Her husband accepted a position as associate pastor at Conroe First Assembly of God where they both minister in the church. Stephens previously had been a school teacher for 15 years in public ed and administration in Tennessee, Florida, and Maryland. When we moved to Texas about a year-and-a-half ago, I made the transition into social services, she said. In Florida, the CPS system is structured differently educational neglect falls under the CPS umbrella, and its handled bilaterally between the school system and CPS. She began working as a school-based liaison, which is basically the same as CASA volunteers. When I made the transition, I made a prayerful choice that Id like to know more about the system as a whole. I felt like there were some changes that needed to be made, she said. But before she could make any suggestions for change, Stephens felt like she needed to be right in the middle of it all to gain knowledge. I accepted a position with CPS here in Liberty and Chambers County, she said. She fell in love with the community and after working with CPS, the door to move into CASA and work for them opened. It was a partnership on the other side of the table. I was absolutely thrilled because I have a heart for this community, she said. Stephens met her husband while attending Lee University, a private Church of God Christian university in Cleveland, Tennessee. She earned her masters degree at Lincoln Memorial University, a private liberal arts college in Harrogate, Tennessee and later a doctorate at the Valdosta campus of the University of Georgia. We were pastoring in Florida at the time and I would drive back and forth across the state line to finish both of those degrees (masters and doctorate), she said. Education has always been her passion. Stephens said she loves working with students and families. I felt compelled to work with families, she said, and her dissertation work took her deeper into the family unit and the ways minorities and immigrants interact with the education system. All of those articulate well by folding into education and then the child welfare system. Its a smooth one since they complement each other and ultimately lead to one another, she said. She said she has been privileged to work with educators who have a heart for kids. Ive never encountered an attitude with a teacher who wasnt willing to go above and beyond to meet the needs of a family, she said. As a caseworker, I took particular interest in partnering with teachers. They are mandated reporters and I do believe they do to the best of their ability to fulfill their requirement for reporting, she said. I also feel like you get the best information when you have a partnership. Plus, they offer a perspective that we dont have because theyre with them eight hours per day. Stephens praised the work done by former executive director Debbie Dugger. She did a phenomenal job laying groundwork. I respect the path that has been laid. I get to stand on the foundation that was laid before me and that allows me to go to the next level of the organization, Stephens said. She was also highly complimentary of the staff who she says brings a wealth of experience and diverse backgrounds and knowledge to the table. We come together as a team and the creativity and passion is explosive and contagious, she said. I left our meeting last week buzzing with excitement because of the passion they bring in each day to this work, she said of her staff. While they are publicly funded by grant money through private foundations and federal money that is funneled through Texas CASA, the success of the banquet and live auction are key to their being able to meet the needs of their clients. We also receive funds from the Victims of Crime Act and Crime Victims Compensation for working with children who have experienced bad stuff, she said. As one of the largest volunteer organizations in the nation, CASA has a volunteer workforce that basically gets paired with children that are involved in the child welfare system. Theyre appointed by the judge to work with the family and child. They are the eyes and ears of the judge. They go into the home or placement and into the schools and make sure that the childs needs are being met while theyre involved with the child welfare system, she said. Stephens said a volunteer can be a stabilizing force if the child is involved in a lot of placements. Being involved in church ministry, Stephens said CASA is a program that is close to her heart. And I also believe close to Gods heart, she added. Funds raised at the annual banquet will be totaled and announced in the coming days, but Stephens pointed out that tax deductible donations can be made at anytime of the year through Facebook or their website or dropping by the office with a check. Were thankful for all of the support from our community, she said. dtaylor@hcnonline.com Harris County Engineering Department and Harris County Flood Control District have several flood mitigation efforts in the preliminary engineering stage for the Ravensway, Westgate and Ravensway South areas, including infrastructure improvements and additional drainage out of the neighborhood. Community members connected with county officials at the Cypress Exhibit Center on Feb. 26 to trade information about flood mitigation efforts during the latest community engagement meeting. HCFCD and HCED officials presented their plan for the area, such as driveway culverts in Westgate, at the beginning of the event. Brennan Cook, project manager for HCED, said the projects are still early in the development process. We wanted to get you guys input to make sure were on the right track and we understand whats actually happening in the subdivision because you guys know what happens during rain evens better than we do, he said. The county is also planning flood mitigation projects for the White Oak Bayou and Cypress Creek watersheds, Robert Lazaro, HCFCD communications manager, said. He said more than 500 people visited HCFCD last summer and submitted more than 300 comments during the bond study program. As a result, 13 major projects came out of the flood bond, totaling over $554 million infrastructure investments in this watershed, he said. We also have major maintenance going on throughout the tributaries of White Oak [Bayou] Were updating a 2003 regional drainage plan for Cypress Creek and doing right of way acquisition buyouts. Several engineers with HCED presented details on the Westgate, Ravensway and Ravensway South projects. Greg Frank, engineer with HCED, said the projects will require studying of past flood data, compiled by the county and FEMA, in the areas to find outdated drainage structures. What we know is these three subdivisions were built back in the 60s, 70s and 80s, so they were designed well before the current criteria that we use inside those subdivisions today, he said. Those provide some unique challenges on the drainage side, simply because they are not built to the same standard. Rich Gallegos, engineer with HCED, said the South Ravensway project is easier for the county since the infrastructure is competent, although it needs improvements. The Ravensway project aims to move water out of the neighborhood during large storms by adding storm drainage and road reconstruction to redirect the flow of the water. The improvements entail building a second storm sewer parallel to whats out there right now, he said. We do that because we know were going to have a lot of utilities, a lot of existing things that were going to have to deal with. Some community members said the information presented at the meeting was vague, or did not answer their questions. Several attendees spoke with engineers, who explained plans for each subdivision. At a previous meeting Jonathan Holley, regulatory compliance department manager for HCFCD, said the meetings are important for gaining insight that can only be received from residents. They live in the area so they know a lot about the different types of wildlife, the different types of sensitivities and some of the other things in the community and they can educate us on those because we're not out there living there everyday like they are, he said. There's good suggestions that we have really considered because the community has some good ideas that we definitely want to hear and incorporate them where we can. The next meeting being held by HCFCD in this series of engagement meetings in the northwest Houston area will be March 4 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Dueitt Middle School, 1 Eagle Crossing, Spring. chevall.pryce@chron.com Scott Olson, Staff / Getty Images The president of a Miami-based company and its former sales representative were arrested Monday for their alleged roles to unlawfully obtain business advantages through bribery and kickbacks from Venezuela's state-owned and state-controlled energy company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA). Rafael Enrique Pinto Franceschi, 40, of Miami, and Franz Herman Muller Huber, 68, of Weston, FL, were arrested in Miami after a five-count indictment from Houston was unsealed Tuesday. The pair are each charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to launder money. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Houston liquefied natural gas company Tellurian closed 2018 with a nearly $126 million loss as the company inches toward making a final investment decision on its proposed Driftwood LNG export terminal in Louisiana. Tellurian reported on Wednesday that the company posted a $125.7 million loss on $10.8 million of revenue in 2018. The figures mark an improvement over a $231.5 million loss on $5.4 million of revenue during 2017. Oil prices jumped by the most in almost a month after a plunge in U.S. stockpiles showed OPEC and its allies tightening global supplies despite President Donald Trump's protests. Futures in New York rose 2.6 percent Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration said oil imports to the U.S. hit a two-decade low, with shipments from Saudi Arabia the lowest in weekly data since 2010. Overall, domestic oil inventories slid by 8.65 million barrels last week, twice the decline foreseen in a bullish industry report a day earlier. Prices have rallied about 25 percent this year as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia orchestrated production cuts and Venezuela's political crisis restricted supplies further. The Saudis on Wednesday signaled that they'll continue the strategy, two days after Trump posted a tweet urging the group to step off the accelerator. BALANCING ACT: Shale companies struggle to balance production, dividends and debt The U.S. inventory data offered "one of the most bullish weekly reports that we've seen in some time," said Brian Kessens, who helps manage $16 billion in energy assets at Tortoise in Leawood, Kansas. "We thought the Trump tweet would put some pressure on OPEC+ to keep supply higher but it seems like it's falling on deaf ears." West Texas Intermediate for April delivery recorded its biggest gain on the New York Mercantile Exchange since Feb. 1, closing $1.44 higher at $56.94 a barrel. Brent for April settlement rose $1.18 cents to $66.39 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark crude was at a $9.45 premium over WTI. TARIFFS: Texas steel firms lose customers while tariffs drag on The U.S. imported 5.92 million barrels of crude last week, the lowest level since 1996, the EIA said. The decline in foreign shipments and increase in demand for refined products overshadowed American shale oil production that hit yet another weekly record. Bad weather in the Gulf of Mexico may have helped temporarily depress imports, and the report included an unusual decline in Canadian exports to the U.S. Still, the overall drop in supplies encouraged traders, especially given that refinery maintenance usually reduces demand for crude this time of year. "No matter how you cut it, a draw of 8 million during turnaround season is a gigantic number," said Bob Yawger, director of futures at Mizuho Securities USA. Russia will achieve its reduction target of 228,000 barrels a day from October levels by the end of March or start of April, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview Tuesday. His comments came after data from the Energy Ministry's CDU-TEK unit seen by Bloomberg showed smaller reductions than Novak had pledged. --With assistance from Tsuyoshi Inajima, Saket Sundria, Grant Smith and Javier Blas. 2019 Bloomberg L.P. UAE-based specialized numismatics company Numisbing has unveiled the first-ever Euro Souvenir Indian notes celebrating the 150th year of Mahatma Gandhis birth anniversary. The limited-edition Zero Euro 12notes are being issued with just ,5000 notes of each design. The first two notes of the series are launching now and the rest sequentially until Oct 2, 2019. The notes designed by Dubai-based Indian artist, Akbar Saheb, the sole illustrator of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis book, Mann Ki Baat, are based on interesting and famous incidents from Gandhis personal and political life, paying rich tribute to the legendary figure, who remains a beacon for many across the world. Ramkumar, founder of Numisbing and president of International Bank Note Society, Dubai Chapter said: Besides the fact that these commemorative notes have a huge shelf value, the bigger reason for the initiative was to bring Mahatma Gandhi back to life using incidents that are more than just history lessons. Only once before a similar initiative has been taken when the Indian government issued commemorative notes with the image of Gandhi in 1969 to celebrate his 100th birth anniversary. These notes were for public use as well. Ramkumar, a collector himself, also has his name recorded in the Limca Book of Records as the person having the unique collection of commemorative banknotes 45 issued for Mahatma Gandhis centenary in 1969. He has all denominations and all prefixes 18 Rs 1 notes, five Rs 2 notes, seven Rs 5 notes, 13 Rs 10 notes and two Rs 100 notes. He added: Initially, we thought we would do just one commemorative note but then realised that Gandhis life is full of inspirations and confining all of them to one would not be possible, or fair to the great man. So we decided to stagger it into a series of 12. We are inaugurating the series by releasing two notes first, which will talk about two very important events in Mahatma Gandhis life. The Zero Euro note is a souvenir banknote with authorized by the European Central Bank and are printed in the same security printers which are used to print the Euro banknotes. These notes carry all the security features of Euro banknote, except that they are all marked as 0, and are tested to ensure they cannot enter circulation as legitimate financial currency, commented Steve, co-founder of Numisbing and secretary of International Bank Note Society, Dubai Chapter. The first note discusses the three vows that young Mohandas Gandhi gave to his mother Puttlibai before he left for England for further studies in law. When Gandhi wished to continue his law studies in London, his mother was reluctant to send him since she felt that he may fall into bad habits. A saint then suggested that Puttlibai should take three vows from Gandhi: One that he would not drink alcohol; two, that he would abstain from non-vegetarian food; and the third, that he will look upon other women as mothers or sisters. The second note is based on the famous incident when Gandhi was thrown off a train at the Pietermaritzburg Railway Station, South Africa in 1893, when he refused to move from a whites-only compartment. Despite being afraid, he stood his ground, and history says that this was the moment that Gandhi began his non-violence movement that eventually proved to be a critical factor in gaining independence for India from the British. A celebrated artist, Akbar Saheb has also painted a series of 12 paintings themed on Indian PM Narendra Modi and his achievements, which were also exhibited in Baroda, India, in early 2015. Numisbing Group is a Dubai-based arts and numismatics (collection of Coins and Currencies), company established by a group of professionals in this field. Their advisory board consist of experts with more than 320 years of combined knowledge and experience, which helps them build a high quality of collections for investors.- TradeArabia News Service The new poke place in Summerwood, at 14309 E Sam Houston Pkwy North, Ste. 700, held its soft opening on Jan. 20 and is seeing positive reviews on Facebook and Yelp. This will be the 15th LemonShark Poke location in the U.S. According to the restaurants official page, the restaurants name is inspired by the eponymous fish that will only dine on the best fish it can find. The menu includes traditional Hawaiian poke options with a choice of meat options. Guests can build their own bowl beginning with a base before adding one of several meat options, such as shrimp, tofu, salmon or octupus. It is the first Greater Houston area location for the California-based eatery. The store is scheduled to have its grand opening on April 19, or Good Friday. Call 281-741-2557 or visit www.lemonsharkpoke.com for more information. Freddys finally debuts in Kingwood After a delay due to permitting problems, the Freddys Frozen Custard & Steakburgers in Kingwood at 4519 Kingwood Drive near the H-E-B opened on Wednesday, Feb. 20. Our food is cooked only after a guest has placed their order, said franchise owner Padden Nelson in a press release. Its this, coupled with our genuine hospitality, that creates an enjoyable dining experience for guests of all ages. Nelson also said that on Thursday, Feb. 28, the business will introduce items such as Fish Sandwich, Fish & Chips Basket and the Mint n Oreo Concrete custard. The restaurant has indoor and patio seating areas along with a drive-thru lane. Its hours of operation are 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays and 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Call 346-242-9674 or visit freddysusa.com/store/kingwood/ for additional information. HomeTown Lenders Kingwoods grand reopening At 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, the mortgage specialist firm HomeTown Lenders Kelso Group will celebrate the grand reopening of its Kingwood office at 4403 Town Center Place with a masquerade cocktail party. According to the events Facebook page, there will be karaoke, food and opportunities to network with community leaders and professionals. The firms official website is www.htownlenders.com. The Kingwood branchs phone number is 786-835-3009. nguyen.le@chron.com The storms of February have restored Washington's winter snow pack to near normal, deposited far above-normal snows to dry places in eastern Oregon and Idaho, and made California's Sierra Nevada range live up to its name. Western Washington has been clear and cool the last couple days, while a proverbial atmospheric river has hit Oregon and northern California. The dry Southwest has witnessed rare white stuff, with Flagstaff, Arizona (elev. 6,900 feet) buried in more than 30 inches. Usually, weather stories out of California feature drought, fire, flood, and Santa Ana winds. This winter is different. "The Sierra Nevada is really living up to its name 'snowy mountain range' this year: With snow reports coming in feet and snow storms still moving in, it's now home to the snowiest ski resort in the U.S.," NASA reported in a tweet this week. RELATED: It's been a cold month for Seattle -- and it's not warming up anytime soon The snow water content in the Sierras, just 21 percent a year ago, is at 146 percent of normal. Mammoth Lakes has received 11 feet of snow so far in February. The Northwest snow pack is most impressive in places where it is usually unimpressive, notably eastern Oregon. The pack in such basins as the Owyhee, Grande Ronde and Umatilla Rivers is running at 120-150 percent of normal. Northern Nevada is running far above normal. "Every basin is over 100 percent over here ... That's really nice to see," Jason Spriet of the Oregon Water Resources Dept., told Oregon Public Radio. In recent years, as the snow pack declined, Inland West rivers often lacked adequate flow for kayakers and rafters. The Owyhee River zigzags between Idaho and Oregon. At full runoff, it offers Class 5 rapids for kayakers upstream, and a glorious raft trip through 1,500-foot deep canyons downstream. Unlike several recent seasons, the snow pack is about 130 percent of normal. The Owyee can be run this spring. The snows of February have piled up in places that needed it. The Willamette River basin in Oregon climbed from 54 percent of normal up to 86 percent. "The snow pack now in the Northwest is virtually all near normal: A month ago, Oregon was way below normal, but now they're close to normal," UW atmospheric sciences expert Cliff Mass said Friday on his KNKX radio show. RELATED: Time-lapse video shows Seattle waterfront hammered with snow In Washington, measurements at Stevens Pass and Cayuse Pass are running at 88 percent of normal. The middle fork-Nooksack River in Whatcom County is at 118 percent of normal. The snow density at Lyman Lake, 5,500-feet high in the Glacier Peak Wilderness, is at 98 percent of snow water average for the 30 years, 1981-2010 median. The nearby Lyman Glacier has shown notable retreat over the same period. Bunchgrass Meadow, at 5,000 feet in far northeast Washington, is at 87 percent of normal. Why should we care? Because it's in the drainage of the Pend Oreille River, where Boundary Dam is Seattle City Light's largest power generator. At Beaver Pass, headwaters of two vigorous streams that flow into the Skagit River, the pack is at 86 percent of normal. All told, the storms of 2019 have given the entire West a leg up on what have been increasingly frequent drought conditions, witness a Sierra Nevada snow pack already higher than the usual maximum reached on April 1. The snow pack, and pace of spring snow melt, sustains life in the West and the Northwest. It supports agriculture that "makes the desert bloom", sustains salmon habitat, generates hydroelectric power, and enables outdoor reservation. "The condition of the Sierra Nevada snow pack has consequences that go well beyond ski season," noted NASA. Spring and summer snow melt from the Sierra Nevada plays a crucial role in recharging California's reservoirs." And Oregon's. And Washington's. And far off reservoirs on the upper Columbia River. From the Neolithic to the new the expansive vision of Florence and Herbert Irving Jonathan Rendell, the Deputy Chairman and Head of Sales Curation at Christies, pays tribute to the Brooklyn-born philanthropists who put their heart and soul into art Florence and Herbert Irving had two major philanthropic interests, says Jonathan Rendell, Deputy Chairman and Head of Sales Curation at Christies. The first was for cancer research, and the second was for Asian art. According to Rendell, the former received over $1 billion in funding through the New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, while the latter culminated in the Florence and Herbert Irving Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The couple gave the museum over $100 million and more than 1,300 objects. It really is very special, Rendell continues. The Irvings travelled extensively and were interested in everything, from the Neolithic to the new. Certainly their curiosity for pan-Asian art was prodigious, with the artefacts they acquired ranging from Neolithic and 18th century jades, to rare gilt bronzes from the Dali Kingdom, to ink paintings by Modern Chinese artists such as Fu Baoshi and Lin Fengmian. It is a bit of the best of everything, says Rendell. The story of how this modest couple from Brooklyn became one of New Yorks biggest art donors began in the 1940s, when Herberts academic career was cut short by the war. On his return from Europe, he set up a tinned food-distribution company, which eventually became the billion-dollar Sysco Corporation. Florence and Herbert Irving photographed with pieces from their collection It was then, at Florences insistence, that they started buying Asian art, Rendell explains. When they were poor and first married they used to spend all their time in the Brooklyn Museum of art, where they discovered the Asian galleries. A trip to Japan led them to the indomitable art dealer Alice Boney, who had advised President Hoover on his porcelain collection. The first thing they ever bought from her was an ancient Chinese stone pillow, says Rendell. It looks absolutely beautiful but was in fact made for burial rituals. They put their heart and soul into their collection, and the results are exceptional Christies Deputy Chairman Jonathan Rendell The Irvings met the Metropolitan Museum of Art Director Philippe de Montebello and the Curator of Asian Art, James Watt, eventually donating much of their art to the museum. That became their public collection, says Rendell. What we have for sale at Christies is their private collection the objects they actually lived with in their apartment overlooking the Met. Sign up today Christie's Online Magazine delivers our best features, videos, and auction news to your inbox every week Subscribe Rendells favourite object from part one of the collection was a large imperial pale greenish-white jade deep washer (below left), which is inscribed with a poem by the Emperor Qianlong. Chinese Emperors often looked back over history and had things reproduced in honour of the past, so although the dish looks like an archaic jade, it was in fact made in the 18th century, he explains. It sold on 20 March 2019 for $2,895,000 nearly triple its estimate. Rendell is inspired by the layers of meaning in another rare Qianlong period jade carving (below right). It is a large and impressive white jade carving of an elephant attended by boys and carrying a vase of Rohdea japonica on its back. This unusual combination symbolises the wish for peace and a prosperous new year. United Methodist Church gay marriage decision reveals deep fractures The United Methodist Church has voted in favour of maintaining the status quo on same-sex marriage and gay clergy, endorsing the 'Traditional Plan' at its General Conference. It had earlier rejected the One Church Plan that would have opened the way for individual churches to decide how they would handle the issue. The decision followed fraught debates which exposed a division between the largely liberal US section of the Church and conservative African delegates. Discussion centred on proposed revisions to the Church's Book of Discipline following the 2018 report of a commission appointed by the the Council of Bishops. The Council said at the time that it had heard criticisms that the Book of Discipline 'contains language which is contradictory, unnecessarily hurtful, and inadequate for the variety of local, regional and global contexts'. While the bishops had recommended endorsing the One Church Plan, the Conference's decisive endorsement of the rival Traditional Plan by 438 votes to 384 has left liberal members of the Church wondering what their future within it will be. An increasing number of US Methodist clergy have come out as gay, with a lesbian pastor, Karen Oliveto, elected as a bishop. She still holds that position despite the denomination ruling that her marriage to a woman violated church doctrine. According to NPR, speaking before the vote yesterday one delegate, Rev Tom Berlin, said that if the Conference rejected the One Church Plan, 'You will be putting a virus into the American church that will make it very sick, and it will be sick quickly.' He said: 'Many pastors are going to lead their church away from the connection. Some conferences will leave, I believe. 'Other people will stay and fight. And they will do weddings; they will break the Book of Discipline; there will be trials; it will be in the news.' However, another delegate, Cara Nicklas, regretted the tone of the debate, saying: 'By those advocating for the One Church Plan, I was either told explicitly that I am mean-spirited and unloving for holding to the church's doctrine on same-sex relationships, or the general tenor of the communications implied that I am unloving if I don't agree to change the church's Discipline. I don't love all, I am told. 'When that is the message when gay persons become convinced I don't love them because I don't condone their behavior, it hurts my relationships with them.' Around 43 per cent of delegates were from abroad, mainly from Africa, and mainly supported the existing bans. Rev Jerry Kulah, from Liberia, said that if the One Church Plan were to pass 'the church in Africa would cease to exist'. 'We can't do anything but to support the Traditional Plan it is the biblical plan,' he said. Council of Bishops president Kenneth Carter said after the meeting that the Traditional Plan might cause progressive churches to leave the denomination. 'Persons will feel harmed,' he said. Rev Allen Ewing-Merrill, a pastor from Portland, Maine, pledge to defy the Traditional Plantweeted: 'I will not participate in your bigotry, sin & violence.' However, while many clergy are progressive, congregations are far less so. According to a poll, 44 per cent of respondents described their beliefs as traditional or conservative, 28 per cent moderate or centrist and only 20 per cent as progressive or liberal. Leeds church delegation builds bridges with German Christians against Brexit backdrop Renewed efforts to build links between Anglicans in Leeds and the German city of Hanover are a sign of hope against the uncertainty of Brexit, the Bishop of Ripon Dr Helen-Ann Hartley has said. While the UK may be leaving the European Union next month, Leeds Diocese is looking to build upon the long-standing friendship established between the two cities by the Bishop of Leeds Nick Baines and the Bishop of Hanover Ralf Meister, who is an honorary canon of Ripon Cathedral. A delegation from Leeds Diocese has just returned from a visit to Hanover to find ways to strengthen ties post-Brexit. Bishop Hartley was joined on the four-day bridge-building visit by the Rev Dr Hayley Matthews, Diocesan Director of Lay Training, and the Rev Derek Jones, curate in Little Horton, Bradford. They were able to get better acquainted with the context of the Church there and discuss possible areas of collaboration with lay and clergy representatives. They also spent time at local churches, including one that was hosting a Messy Church service for families and another with a high proportion of Iranian Christians in the congregation. 'The welcome and hospitality were overwhelming; there was much laughter and joy, and deep listening as we recognised what we had in common, and where there were opportunities to learn,' said Bishop Hartley. 'In these uncertain times of Brexit, this link represents a vital statement of hope in our partnership which we pray will bear much fruit.' Rev Jones added, 'It's a really exciting opportunity to see how we are growing together and learning from each other's differences, because we are close to one another and can see each other's contexts through different lenses.' Government accused of trampling on rights of parents over sex education New guidance on relationships and sex education has led to fears that the Government is undermining the rights of parents. Education secretary Damian Hinds announced the guidance this week on new compulsory RSE lessons coming into effect across England's schools in September 2020. Controversially, the new guidance sets limits on the extent to which parents can withdraw their children from the the lessons, which will cover topics like transgenderism, homosexuality and relationships. Headteachers can approve parents' opt out requests until children reach the age of 15 but may decline to do so in 'exceptional circumstances'. After this time, the children can decide for themselves if they would like to opt in to the sex education lessons. Parents of primary school children will have no opt out right for the relationships education classes, which will teach about the diversity of relationships and family set-ups in modern Britain. The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children said the Government was trampling on the rights of parents. Antonia Tully, who heads up SPUC's Safe at School campaign said: 'Parents are increasingly concerned as the Government seems determined to trample over their rights to bring up their children in line with their own values.' The Safe at School campaign has sent thousands of postcards to the Secretary of State demanding a U-turn on the plans, which will end the decades-long right to opt-out. 'We will be analysing the new draft guidance carefully and alerting supporters as to the next steps,' Mrs Tully added. Abraham Kuyper would argue that this is why we need sphere sovereignty - it stops governments doing what families should be doing and vice versa. The state has a role, but not to undermine parents - https://t.co/6OAs4EOjud Peter Lynas (@peterlynas) February 26, 2019 Mr Hinds was challenged on the guidance during a debate held in the House of Commons this week in response to over 100,000 people signing a petition demanding that the right to opt out be retained. Sir Edward Leigh said: 'All previous Conservative Governments have given an untrammelled right to parents to remove their children from sex education. 'But here in certain circumstances that right has been transferred to the headteacher. A fundamental shift of power to the state.' Shabana Mahmood, the Labour MP for Birmingham, Ladywood, said some schools were flouting the legal requirement to consult with parents on the content of RSE lessons. 'Everybody feels it is okay to ride roughshod over orthodox communities and push them to one side,' she said. Parents of children attending Parkfield Community School in Birmingham have been particularly vocal in their opposition to lessons teaching children about gender and homosexuality. Over 300 Muslim and Christian parents have protested at the school gates in recent weeks to challenge the lessons. Calvin Samuel resigns from London School of Theology The principal of London School of Theology (LST), Rev Dr Calvin Samuel, has resigned from his position following an internal investigation into his conduct. Samuel, a Barbados-born Methodist minister, came to LST from the University of Durham where he was academic dean of St John's College and director of the Wesley Study Centre. A statement from the college said: 'London School of Theology announces that on Sunday 24th February, Reverend Dr Calvin T Samuel provided his resignation from the position of Principal. Following an initial internal investigation by the Board of Trustees into the veracity of allegations raised against Reverend Dr Calvin T Samuel by an external party, we have accepted his decision to resign.' LST has appointed Prof Graham Twelftree as acting principal. Twelftree, currently academic dean and with wide pastoral and academic experience, told Christian Today he accepted the position with the full support of the board of trustees and the executive team, and expected to serve in the role for the next few months. He said: 'These are challenge days, and we need each of us to get through them in our own way pulling together, leaning into God and seeking his guidance. This place is dearly loved by God and needs our every effort in the days ahead.' Global technology advancements and the increased retirement age and years of service, call for an urgent need in the region to establish investment funds in the region to manage retirement and end-of-service benefits, a top official said. Such funds will provide a saving opportunity to all the employees in the UAE and the region labour markets, Dr Abdulrahman Abdul Mannan Al Awar, director general of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) was quoted as saying by Emirates news agency Wam. As it will lift investment in our domestic economies, while considering market stability and the low risks associated with such investment opportunities in the UAE, he said, while addressing the Workers Incentives and End of Service Benefits (WIEOSB) conference which was held in Dubai yesterday under the patronage of FAHR. He added that these funds will help employees plan properly by taking advantage of end of service benefits, enabling them to make use of their financial resources, and creating jobs for new generations. FAHR director-general explained that creating saving schemes and funds in all sectors is an important strategic step and a new experience of its kind across the region. There are successful global practices in this field, as well as in the UAE with the leading organisations such as Emirates airlines. "Such projects will have a significant impact on the socio-economic levels, according to latest actuarial studies, recently done in the UAE," he added. He praised the first conference of its kind in the UAE that opens the discussion and dialogue about a major issue that concerns millions of employees of the UAE and the region both in governments and private sector. He also pointed out that the dialogues that took place at the conference came in line with the UAEs leadership directions that focus on creating jobs for future generations, protecting a healthy employee-employer relationship in the UAE and ensuring that their benefits are protected. Organised by Mondial LLC, a leading financial advisory firm in UAE on the subject of "severance pay" strategies, the one-day conference addressed problems currently experienced with the End of Service Benefits. British Government says it won't intervene in Northern Ireland abortion laws Abortion laws in Northern Ireland must be decided on by the country's own lawmakers, a spokesman for the British Government has said. A protest yesterday called upon Westminster to intervene to relax abortion laws in Northern Ireland, where the procedure is prohibited in nearly all circumstances. Pro-choice campaigners marched on Westminster with suitcases representing the estimated 28 women a week who travel to the rest of the UK for an abortion. They were challenged by a separate pro-life protest calling on Northern Ireland to maintain the status quo. Calls for the law to be changed in Northern Ireland have grown after a referendum in the Republic of Ireland led to its ban on abortion being overturned last year. But a spokesman for the Government yesterday told a UN committee on discrimination against women that it was up to the assemblies of devolved nations to decide how they comply with international human rights obligations, The Times reports. 'The most critical thing to do is to restore the Northern Ireland executive so that they can make the decisions that affect the people in Northern Ireland,' he said. The comments are likely to go down well with pro-life groups which have raised concerns that the UK might interfere with abortion laws in Northern Ireland while its assembly remains suspended. Following the defeat last year of Diana Johnson's Ten Minute Rule Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in Northern Ireland, Prime Minister Theresa May said the issue was 'rightly a devolved matter which locally accountable politicians in Northern Ireland should have the opportunity to debate and consider'. According to research, two thirds of women in Northern Ireland believe that legislative decisions on abortion should be made by its own assembly. Both Lives Matter, which organised the counter protest in Westminster on Tuesday, said the decision should remain with Northern Ireland. The campaign group's co-founder Dawn McAvoy said: 'We urge the British Government to respect the people of Northern Ireland and our elected representatives. 'If what is proposed by abortion pressure group was to actually happen, it would have dramatic consequences for Northern Ireland. 'Polling shows the majority voice of the Northern Irish people support decisions on abortion law happening in Northern Ireland, not Westminster. 'This is a reminder to the government in Westminster that abortion remains a devolved issue in Northern Ireland and laws and policy should be decided by a devolved government.' Fiona Bruce MP supported the protest, saying: 'Abortion pressure groups are trying to undermine devolution and impose change to abortion law from Northern Ireland. This is bad for devolution everywhere and contrary to Government policy. 'These extreme proposals are out of touch with the will of the Northern Irish people, and in particular women. It is clear that a strong majority of Northern Irish women reject interference from Westminster and believe that this is a decision for Northern Ireland. 'I urge the Government to listen to the majority of women in Northern Ireland and reject any pressure to impose abortion on Northern Ireland.' Mob attacks 200 Christian families in Pakistan after 4 women falsely accused of blasphemy Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment An angry Muslim mob in Pakistan displaced about 200 Christian families from their homes after four Christian women were falsely accused of blasphemy last week. The Christian persecution watchdog group International Christian Concern reported the events that took place last week in the Farooq-e-Azam neighborhood of Pakistans fifth-most populated city of Karachi. The organization reports that a Muslim woman named Samina Riaz accused four Christian women who ranged in age from 14 to 30 of desecrating the Quran last Tuesday, according to an eyewitness. The accusation was made after Riaz and her husband were asked by their Christian landlord, Amjad Dildar, in January to vacate a home they were renting because the Muslim couple was causing trouble among the Christian families in the community. Last Tuesday, Riaz accused three of Dildars daughters and another Christian woman of damaging a copy of the Quran, Islams holy book. Those accused of blasphemy are 22-year-old Sunaina Amjad, 18-year-old Sophia Amjad, 14-year-old Soneha Amjad, and 30-year-old Sophia Qamar. She claimed they stole a copy of the Quran and ruined it by submerging it into a basin of dirty water, local witness Aslam Masih told ICC. News of the accusation spread quickly, which reportedly inspired a mob of enraged Muslim locals to gather in the neighborhood. According to the witness, the mob attacked several Christian properties in the area and a local church. Dildars home was among those that were damaged by stones. The armed group also killed pets and livestock. In all, about 200 Christian families fled the neighborhood in search of safety in other areas of the city. Masih told ICC that after a police investigation, it was learned that Riaz had borrowed the copy of the Quran from a nearby shopkeeper and herself submerged the book underwater in the restroom of her home. Riaz and her husband were later arrested. Riaz allegedly admitted that she orchestrated the whole thing. ICCs thoughts and prayers go out to the four Christian women who were falsely accused and the Christian community of Farooq-e-Azam, ICC regional manager William Stark said in a statement. The accusation made by Riaz highlights how Pakistans widely criticized blasphemy laws are often abused by majority Muslims as a way to settle personal scores with religious minorities. Human rights activists have long called for the blasphemy laws to be abolished. In fact, the U.S. State Department released a statement last summer condemning blasphemy laws in countries like Pakistan. Those convicted under Pakistans blasphemy laws can be subject to the death penalty or life in prison. Although no person accused of blasphemy has yet been executed by Pakistans judicial system, Christians in the past have been brutally killed as a result of societal violence stirred by blasphemy accusations against them. Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of five, was accused of blasphemy in 2009 after an argument with Muslims farm laborers she work with. She was convicted and spent years on death row before she was finally acquitted last year by the nations Supreme Court. Her acquittal was upheld earlier this month. The Catholic human rights group Aid to the Church in Need warned earlier this month that despite Bibi's acquittal, there are many other Christians who've been falsely accused of blasphemy. One is a young Christian man named Sawan Masih who was sentenced to death for blasphemy in 2014. After five years, Masih is still awaiting appeal proceedings. The abuse of Pakistans notorious blasphemy laws must be curbed, Stark said in his statement. Too often these laws have been a tool in the hands of extremists seeking to stir up religiously motivated violence against minority communities. Without real reform, religious minorities, including Christians, will face more false blasphemy accusations and the extreme violence that often accompanies these accusations. ICC reports that over the past 30 years, 1,500 individuals have been accused of committing blasphemy in Pakistan. ICC notes that religious minorities comprise the majority of those accused of violating the blasphemy laws even thought about 97 percent of Pakistan is Muslim. Pakistan ranks as the fifth worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USAs 2019 World Watch List. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment (JNS) Sen. Bernie Sanderss decision to enter the 2020 Democratic presidential race set off some alarm bells for the pro-Israel community. The Vermont Socialist is probably the most critical towards Israel of all the possible major contenders for the nomination. Indeed, the only issue on which he had a substantive difference of opinion with Hillary Clinton during his insurgent challenge to the eventual nominee was on Israel. During their Brooklyn debate, Sanders articulated a stand on the Jewish states efforts to defend itself against Hamas terrorists that went beyond the hostility and desire for more daylight between the United States and Israel of the Obama administration. In the years since 2016, Sanders has continued to fire away at Israel. He bashed its defense of the border with Gaza as excessive and authored a Senate letter demanding that the Israeli and Egyptian blockade of the terrorist enclave be lifted. Ending that blockade would allow more goods into the Hamas-run independent state in all but name, but would also facilitate Irans efforts to re-arm the terrorist arm and allow it to make the strip even more of a fortress than it already has become. He also hired Faiz Shakir as his campaign manager. Shakir has the honor of being the first Muslim to run a major presidential campaign, but as the former political director of the American Civil Liberties Union, he also helped direct a campaign defending BDS activists. It isnt without reason that Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)the pro-BDS members of Congress and now notorious tweeters of anti-Semitic tropesspeak of Sanders as their Uncle Bernie. The Democratic Party has moved in Sanderss direction on many issues since his first presidential run. So the idea that he will, win or lose, have a major impact on the race causes some supporters of Israel to worry. But while the pro-Israel community shouldnt be complacent about the way the campaign will affect U.S.-Israel relations, neither is there reason to panic. And thats not only because the odds of the 77-year-old Sanders prevailing over a field filled with younger, well-funded candidates are fairly long. Though Sanders and other progressives in the race disagree with the policies on Jerusalem, the peace process and Iran that have endeared U.S. President Donald Trump to Israelis, the idea that the Jewish state is going to be a major source of contention in the primaries seems far-fetched. As much as the Democrats are divided about Israelwhile the Republicans have adopted a lockstep attitude of supportdont look for the Middle East to come up very often in the campaign. And as far as friends of Israel are concerned, thats a good thing. While there are differences among the candidates with respect to Israel, the battle for the nomination will center on economic issues and whether the party will commit to the aspirational goals of the left about a vast expansion of entitlements and a Green New Deal, not the Middle East. Some running for the Democratic nomination, like Amy Klobuchar, Michael Bloomberg and possibly Joe Biden, are attempting to appeal to moderate voters. Others, like Elizabeth Warren, Sanders and perhaps Beto ORourke, are competing in the left-wing lane. Still others, like Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand, seem to want to have it both ways. But there is no clear anti-Israel lane for Democrats to pursue. Thats due in part to the fact that most of the more serious contenders and prospective candidates fit loosely into the pro-Israel mainstream in this country, even if they are not supportive of Trumps moves. Its a point that has understandably been lost in the furor over the rise of the intersectional left, and figures like Omar and Tlaib. But most Democratic officeholders are by no means comfortable with the sort of anti-Israel and outright anti-Semitic backing of BDS that those two have championed. Its true that such is the power of the new left among Democrats, seeing how Omar and Tlaib are being tolerated by their party leaders while the GOP is trying to clean its house of extreme right-wingers like Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa). But Omar and Tlaib are still the lone supporters of BDS in Congress and were subjected to universal condemnation by their party leadership for their anti-Semitism, even if their critics were satisfied with insincere and disingenuous apologies. Even Sanders, in spite of his attacks on Israeli policy, opposes BDS and recognizes that the goal of Hamas is to destroy Israel and kill Jews, not a two-state solution. And barring an unlikely win by Sanders, its more probable than not that the eventual nominee is going to be somebody who is more comfortable with AIPAC than Omar and Tlaibs backers of BDS. Either way, the general election campaign will set up a contest in which Trump will try to leverage his pro-Israel policies in the Jewish community, as well as among a more receptive evangelical Christian audience. That concerns many Jewish Democrats because they worry that Trumps closeness with Israel and his popularity in the Jewish state will alienate Americans who despise the president. The November election next year will also be a referendum on Trumps personality, not where the U.S. embassy in Israel is located or even whether sanctions should be reimposed on Iran. While partisans on both sides will (as they have done in every presidential election in living memory) seek support from pro-Israel voters, it will be a sidebar at best in what will be a titanic struggle over the legitimacy of the Trump presidency. While some Jews will vote for Trump because of his stance on Israel, feweven among progressiveswill have their votes significantly influenced by Middle East issues. The election of a progressive Democrat or even one of the moderates will probably mean a shift back towards Clinton- or Obama-administration policies towards Israel. But that shouldnt be confused with the end of the alliance. Whatever else is up for grabs in 2020, the U.S.-Israel relationship isnt likely to be at stake. Originally published at JNS. Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNS Jewish News Syndicate. Follow him on Twitter: @jonathans_tobin. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment One of the evils of society that Christians should and do fight against is the evil of racism. Racism is a great evil in that it destroys the unity of humanity, and divides people. It destroys the image of God in others, by causing people to hate and distrust one another because of the color of their skin. Racism is the idea that one race is superior or inferior to another, which is of course completely false. In the word of God we see that really the only distinction God viewed in humanity was the distinction between Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews). But even then, once the new covenant came, and Jesus Christ won the victory for us on the cross, we see a foundational scripture that declares a total unity in the body of Christ. It's found in Galatians 3:28 which states,"You are all one in Christ." There are no more prior distinctions, like male or female, slave or free, or Jew or gentile. The body of Christ is a unity. It's one body. Recently in society, particularly in the west, the label of "white privilege" has begun to spread throughout some sectors of society, usually in larger cities. Is this a label and ideology that the Christian church should adopt in fighting racism? Why or why not? The idea of white privilege is to show that people of color, are systemically oppressed, or disadvantaged in western society. The idea is that Anglo-Saxon peoples are born with privilege in society, people whose heritage is from Europe, such as Poland, France, Great Britain, Sweden, Holland, Germany, Russia, and so on. The American ideal is that all people should be treated equally. That is the hope that was enshrined in the declaration of independence, and it was implemented to varying degrees, imperfectly, until the modern time. Of course people aren't always treated equally. One example is of course slavery in the past, and after that Jim Crow laws, that kept races separate. Sixty years after the abolition of such laws, we continue to see the debate rage in American society about mistreatment of people of color. Is it true that people of color are treated fundamentally different in western society? Some say yes, and some say no. Many would point to police brutality toward African-American young men. Others point out that when looking at statistics nationwide, more white people are killed by police than black each year per capita. Others say that racism went underground after Jim Crow and continues to be a constant struggle in society. Still others say that the election of President Barack Obama was a signal that society had moved into a new era of racial peace and equity. Overall, there are arguments on both sides that have decent support. Is there inequity? Probably in some aspects of society, and probably not in others. But let's set aside the question of if it's actually true. Because the more pertinent question for us is, does saying "white privilege" and telling people to "check their privilege" help anyone? To me the answer to that question has to be no. When someone indicates "white privilege" one of two things will happen. Either a person of color will believe that society is fundamentally racist, and that white people are fundamentally oppressing them. This contributes to a mindset of victim-hood. And when someone views themselves as a victim, very little good can come from that. A victim mentality often leads to a self-defeating mindset that one is can't hope to escape the evils of racism and inequity in society, and thus they shouldn't try. Instead they can quickly become self-defeated, and pessimistic, and even hostile toward society. The other situation is that well-meaning white people become guilt-ridden, and disturbed, and in the worst case, they can become hostile, and begin to believe that people of color hate them, and are racist toward them. This is not a good thing my friends. When the label of white privilege comes up, fundamentally, it divides people. It causes people of color to view the world as fundamentally racist and hostile, and it can cause white people to take on self-defeating guilt, and even hostility. The label of white privilege does not sow peace, or unity. Instead it sows division, and divides people against each other. It divides whites against blacks, it divides blacks against whites, it divides Asians against whites, whites against Latinos, and on and on the list goes. It sows guilt, hostility, hatred, racism, and division. Instead of pushing the concept of 'white privilege' we as the church should proclaim the concept of 'unity in Christ.' We should insist on total unity and equity between all believers in Christ. We should call our people to reach out to people who are in need. But we should fundamentally work for unity, whites, blacks, Asians, Latinos, and all peoples uniting as a single unity, a single body of Christ. We are one. We are one people, undivided. I don't even like using these labels of white and black and Latino and so on. It just subconsciously promotes more disunity and division. We are one people. And we must treat each other with love, truth, equality, and liberty. The best way to do that is to promote unity in love, not the resentment, hate, and divisiveness of concepts like "white privilege." In a time of mounting seemingly endless disharmony, disunity, and polarization, we must work twice as hard as Christians to promote love, compassion, forgiveness, equality, and unity in these times. Remember, we are one body, the body of Christ, and though we are diverse elements of this body, we are fundamentally a united body of Christ. Justin Steckbauer is the founder of Lifestyleofpeace.com. He is a graduate magna cum laude from Liberty University, currently holding an associates degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and a bachelors degree in the study of Religion. He is currently a graduate student at Olivet Nazarene University working on a masters degree in the study of Ministry. He is a cadet in training at the Salvation Army College for Officer's training (CFOT) as well. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Ive talked a lot about abortion in the last month, since the New York legislature cheered its extreme late-term abortion bill. Part of that story was how badly the legislation reflected on Christians. Just days after touting his Roman Catholic faith in a speech, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Reproductive Health Act into law, making it legal to kill unborn babies in his state all the way up to birth. Im not Catholic, but Ive long admired the Catholic Churchs moral clarity and courageous stand on behalf of unborn children. When many evangelical and Protestant churches were AWOL on abortion, Catholic theologians stood strong, denouncing it as the evil it is. Pope Paul VI went even further in his famous encyclical, Humanae Vitae, condemning the culture of death and identifying the wrong ideas about sex and the human body at its root. In view of this history, the failure of top Catholic clergy to clearly confront and to, yes I will say it, excommunicate prominent members of their flocks like Cuomo when they openly defy church teaching on the sanctity of life is disappointing. Thankfully, not all Catholic shepherds have been silent in recent weeks. Some, like Spokanes Bishop Thomas Daly, spoke out boldly. In a public letter released recently, Bishop Daly urged that politicians in his diocese who obstinately persevere in their public support for abortion should not receive Communion without first being reconciled to Christ and the Church. He continued, Efforts to expand access to abortion, allowing murder of children up to the moment of birth, is evil, and For a Catholic political leader to do so is scandalous. Amen! I wish we would see more of this kind of moral clarity and courage, and not just from Catholics. In many ways, most Christian denominations, and many evangelical non-denominational churches, show worrying signs that even official doctrinal stances against abortion arent accepted by average members. According to a survey last year by Pew Research, a staggering 48 percent of self-identified Catholics believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Protestants arent doing any better. Im not even talking about liberal mainline denominations, many of which already caved on Christian essentials and which have been mostly abandoned by Bible-believing evangelicals. Conservative churches must confront the problem in their midst as well. Pew reports that an unbelievable 30 percent of self-identified Southern Baptists think abortion should be legal in all or most cases. For the conservative Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, its 46 percent. And Pew reports that a majority54 percentof those who belong to the Presbyterian Church in America say they support legal abortion. Now, as Joe Carter points out at The Gospel Coalition, these numbers really are tough to believe. Were talking here about theologically conservative denominations. Despite Pews excellent reputation, Carter suspects pollsters may have accidentally mixed in respondents from liberal, mainline churches. But, even if the numbers are as much as 15 points off, they still represent a catastrophic failure of discipleship in our churches. For a third to half of Christians in officially pro-life denominations to support legal child-killing means that there is a massive disconnect between pulpit and pew. Churches, Roman Catholic and Protestant and evangelical, ought to confront, withhold communion, and, if necessary, excommunicate members who support abortion, even those in the governors mansions, state legislatures, and the United States Congress. The New Testament instruction on dealing with grave and unrepentant sin includes phrases like purge the evil person from among you, and even hand them over to Satan. But ultimately, we must deal with the failure of our churches to effectively teach a Christian view of the sanctity of life in the first place. Otherwise, public denunciations will be nothing but a band-aidcertainly not enough to stem the flow of innocent blood flowing in this country. Resources American religious groups vary widely in their views of abortion, David Masci | Pew Research Center | January 22, 2018 Why Do So Many Evangelicals Support Abortion? Joe Carter | The Gospel Coalition | January 23, 2018 Spokanes Plain-Spoken Shepherd Makes Waves, Joan Frawley Desmond | National Catholic Register | February 12, 2019 Originally posted at Breakpoint. New poll finds drastic increase in Democrats identifying as 'pro-life' in just 1 month Equal share of Americans identify as 'pro-life' as those who are 'pro-choice' Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The percentage of Americans who call themselves pro-life is now the same as those who consider themselves pro-choice as a new poll has found that the number of Democrats who call themselves pro-life has drastically increased in the last month. The new poll conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion on behalf of the Catholic fraternal organization Knights of Columbus interviewed 1,008 adults across the U.S. over the phone between Feb. 12 and Feb. 17, with a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points. The survey marked the first time since 2009 that Marist has found an equal number of respondents saying theyre pro-life (47 percent) as are those who say theyre pro-choice. In January, a previous Marist survey found that Americans were more likely to identify as pro-choice than they are to identify as pro-life by a 55 percent to 38 percent margin. While that same poll from January found that only 20 percent of Democrats proclaimed themselves to be pro-life, 34 percent of Democrats identified as pro-life in the February polling. Meanwhile, the number of Democrats identifying as pro-choice dropped from 75 percent in January to 61 percent in February. As a result, the gap between pro-life and pro-choice Democrats was cut in half from 55 percent to 27 percent. The shift in this poll was across the board but most pronounced among two groups: adults under 45 years of age and Democrats, Marist poll director Barbara Carvalho told The Christian Post. Given that younger Americans are more likely to identify as Democrat than older adults, this makes sense. The public debate on abortion in the past month has focused on late-term abortion, a policy that many Americans have serious concerns about. The new poll found an increase in younger Americans (under 45) claiming to be pro-life. Forty-seven percent of them are using the pro-life label to describe themselves while 48 percent saying theyre pro-choice. In January, only 28 percent of younger Americans identified as pro-life while 65 percent identified as pro-choice. The Democrats have a dilemma as they head into the primary season for 2020, Carvalho contends. On the one hand, they will need to appeal to the activists in the party in order to be successful in the primaries. Yet on the other hand, by so doing, they will be moving farther away from an acceptable position on abortion for most Americans. What is especially interesting in these survey results is that it is younger voters, millennials and others under 45, who were more likely to describe themselves as pro-life after the late-term abortion debate. This is exactly the group of voters Democrats hope to energize to be successful after the primary season. Carvalho explained that the polls results display the fact that the discussion in the past month about late-term abortion did not go unnoticed by the public. Many have spoken out about a bill passed in the state of New York that would allow a child to be aborted up until the point of birth. Additionally, a Virginia abortion bill has stirred outrage because it would allow abortion up to 40 weeks of pregnancy. During his State of the Union address this month, President Donald Trump criticized the New York bill, called for Congress to pass a late-term abortion ban and also slammed Virginia governor Ralph Northam for comments that Republicans say promoted infanticide. The February Marist polling finds that 71 percent of respondents believe that abortion should generally be illegal during the third trimester of pregnancy, including 60 percent of Democrats, 72 percent independents and 85 percent of Republicans. Current proposals that promote late-term abortion have redefined the debate and these results show this is not where the consensus of American opinion is on the issue, Carvalho stressed. Marist has partnered with the Knights of Columbus to track questions about Americans beliefs on the abortion issue since 2008. The results from this poll, and others have consistently shown a consensus for restrictions that allow abortion to at most the first three months except to save the life of the mother, Carvalho explained. Last months Marist poll also found that most Americans want the Supreme Courts landmark abortion ruling Roe v. Wade overturned in a way that allows certain abortion restrictions. United Methodist Church upholds position against homosexuality, same-sex marriage Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The United Methodist Church will maintain its official position that homosexuality is contrary to Christian teaching, in a decision following days of contentious debate over the issue. For the past several years, the UMC has been embroiled in an emotional debate over whether to change its stance, as outlined in its Book of Discipline, labeling homosexuality incompatible with Christian teaching. Delegates at the UMC special session of General Conference, representing all of the global denomination, voted Tuesday to reject a measure called the One Church Plan, which would have allowed regional bodies of the denomination to determine their position on homosexuality. Instead, delegates approved the Traditional Plan in a vote of 438-384. The Plan maintains the denomination's stance against homosexuality, gay marriage, and the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals while promising to better enforce those rules. Mark Tooley, president of the theologically conservative Institute on Religion & Democracy in Washington, D.C., celebrated the vote result against the One Church Plan on Twitter. African, Filipino, Euro delegates crucial. They saved growing global church from plight of imploding USA Mainline Protestants. Thank you! tweeted Tooley. At the 2016 General Conference, delegates passed a recommendation creating a "Commission on a Way Forward," which was meant to analyze the denomination's position on LGBT issues. Made up of a theologically diverse group of UMC leaders, the commission sought to create suggested proposals aimed at ending the divisive debate and possibly avoid a schism. In April 2017, the UMC Council of Bishops announced that there was going to be a special session of General Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, on Feb. 2326. "The purpose of this special session of the General Conference shall be limited to receiving and acting upon a report from the Council of Bishops based on the recommendations of the Commission on a Way Forward," explained the Bishops in an official letter. The two major plans that the commission recommended that were among those considered by the UMC delegates were the One Church Plan and the Traditional Plan. The One Church Plan would allow regional bodies and congregations to determine their own stance on homosexuality. This plan was supported by a majority of the Council of Bishops. The Traditional Plan would maintain the UMCs position against homosexuality, while offering stricter enforcement and possibly a gracious exit for pro-LGBT congregations. During the special session, while the delegates voted Monday to advance the Traditional Plan to a plenary vote, the One Church Plan and a pro-LGBT Simple Plan were both voted down. The One Church Plan was still submitted in a minority report. On Tuesday, delegates voted to reject substituting the minority report in a vote of 374 in favor to 449 against, effectively killing the One Church Plan. Many delegates offered their opinions on the floor as to which plan they preferred. Ble Leon Nathan Ake of Cote DIvoire argued in favor of the Traditional Plan. The Bible tells us that we need to stay faithful to the Word, he said through an interpreter. Its Gods plan, its the will of God, it is the biblical way. J.J. Warren of the Upper New York Conference, an openly homosexual delegate, passionately spoke against the Traditional Plan. Jesus told the little children to come when the disciples tried to shoo them away, said Warren on the floor Tuesday. Dont shoo us away. Let us come. Adam Hamilton, lead pastor of the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, which is the largest United Methodist congregation in the United States, spoke against the Traditional Plan, calling it regressive and alienating to centrists and progressives. Youve inspired an awful lot of people who are not really engaged in the struggle before, said Hamilton to Traditional Plan supporters, garnering applause and cheers. Youve inspired them to action. Theyre mad, theyre upset, theyre hurt. Even after the One Church Plan was voted down, hours were spent debating various amendments to the Traditional Plan proposal. From there, several "points of order" were entertained, many brought by individuals who expressed opposition to the Traditional Plan. United Methodist African Bishops Reaffirm Church's Stance Against Gay Marriage, Oppose Schism Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The United Methodist Church's African bishops have recently reaffirmed their support for the traditional definition of marriage, as well as opposition over possible schism within the denomination. The UMC Africa College of Bishops released a statement Monday stemming from their official meeting held Sept. 3-7 in Freetown, Sierra Leone. According to their statement, the bishops held extensive discussions regarding the denomination's debate over homosexuality, which many believe may lead to the UMC splitting. "... we reaffirm our position as traditionalists and view marriage as union between Man and Woman as clearly defined in scripture and affirmed in our COB 2016 statement in Lake Junaluska, and at the Africa extended cabinet (Ghana, February 2018), and at the May 2018 COB in Chicago, Illinois," stated the bishops. "... we remain faithfully committed to our consecration vows as Bishops of the church to 'maintain the unity of the church.'" Next February, the UMC will hold a special session of General Conference to resolve the debate over whether to change the church body's official stance against homosexual acts and same-sex marriage. The African bishops also stated that they reject any proposed plan at the special session that would lead to the mainline denomination splitting over theological differences. "We do not support any legislation that calls for the dissolution of The United Methodist Church. We uphold our values as a connectional and worldwide church committed to 'Making disciples of Jesus Christ, for the transformation of the world,'" continued the statement. "We further resolve that even if there is a split in the denomination, the Church in Africa will continue to exist as The United Methodist Church in Africa." During the UMC's years-long debate over homosexuality, African delegates at General Conference have been a key factor in maintaining the denomination's stance that homosexual acts are sinful. For next year's special session, three major plans are being considered for the future of the UMC: the One Church Plan, the Traditional Plan, and the Connectional Conference Plan. Backed by most of the UMC Council of Bishops, the One Church Plan would remove language labeling homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teaching," and allow churches in the United States to permit same-sex weddings and gay ordination while letting clergy and some overseas conferences retain official opposition. The Traditionalist Plan would maintain the UMC's current stance on LGBT issues while the Connectional-Conference Plan would allow regional conferences to determine what stance they will take. UN subjects persecuted Christian refugees in Thailand to unfair burden, expert tells Congress Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Thousands of Pakistani Christian asylum-seekers in Thailand are subjected to an unfair burden of proof by the United Nations, which has led to many denials for believers fleeing persecution, a human rights lawyer told members of Congress Tuesday. Ann Buwalda, the director of the international advocacy group Jubilee Campaign USA and founder of Just Law International, testified before members of House Foreign Affairs subcommittee about the crisis of religious and ethnic minority asylum seekers in Thailand. As Pakistan ranks as the fifth-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, thousands of Pakistani Christians migrate to countries like Malaysia and Thailand in search of refuge from societal violence associated with their faith in Christ in the 97-percent Muslim Pakistan. According to Buwalda, Jubilee Campaign estimates that there are as many as 3,000 to 4,000 Pakistani Christian refugees in Thailand with cases pending before the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Many of those refugees are in the city of Bangkok. Some of them are approved and awaiting resettlement, she explained. But some cases are closed and affording them with no place to go. Buwalda entered into the testimony the case of Michael DSouza, a Pakistani Christian who was denied refugee status by the UNHCR in Bangkok and was forced to stay in Bangkoks notorious Immigration and Detention Center (IDC). The conditions at the center, Buwalda and other rights activists say, are deplorable. [A]fter one year of suffering through that and no hope, he returned to Pakistan. Michael DSouza was brutalized by the very people he feared would persecute him, Buwalda said. His case should not have been denied and he remains stranded in Karachi, Pakistan. Conditions in the IDC are so rough that some have died inside of the center. Many are brought there after being arrested in immigration raids. In May 2017, one Christian man accused of blasphemy in Pakistan died in the center after authorities neglected to provide him with treatment to a curable health condition. As for DSouza, Buwalda says that his case demonstrates the fact refugees fleeing religious persecution should be provided with opportunities to have their cases with more reasonableness. We have found that with many of the cases within UNHCR in Bangkok, there are denials because there is an unreasonable standard and burden of proof placed upon them, she explained. We have many cases, as do colleagues of ours, that assist with the refugee processing. It clearly appears to us that UNHCR in Bangkok has placed a higher burden of proof on Pakistani Christian asylum seekers. Buwalda and her colleagues have tried to raise awareness about the struggles facing Christian asylum seekers in Thailand. We have approached the UNHCR. They are sympathetic. But the conditions in terms of the interviews have not changed, Buwalda said. We would like to see that change take place. Pakistani Christians are not the only ones seeking asylum in Thailand as there is also a group of about 500 Montagnards from Vietnam also being detained in Bangkok. [T]hey're in the horrible situation at the IDC detention center where there are actually mothers separated from their children and not allowed to even give them breastfeeding, she detailed. Ranking member of the subcommittee Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J. voiced his concern with the fact that only 10 to 30 percent of the Pakistani Christians in Thailand are being granted refugee status by the UNHCR. Smith, who authored the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2016, wondered how Congress could hold UNHCR accountable. I've sent letters to them. I've talked to officials. We've talked to the UNHCR and we seem to get nowhere, Smith explained. Buwalda responded that one of the reasons why the denial rates are so high is because UNHCR has an unbalanced burden of proof placed on the Pakistani Christians because of a level of skepticism. We have we had a UNHCR official describe the basic skepticism of Pakistani Christians asylum seekers there that demonstrated that there is probably system-wide [issues] within Bangkok [of] not effectively handling these cases, Buwalda contended. She noted that there was an effort in 2016 and 2017 within the UNHCR in Bangkok to bring backlogs down. What they did was rush cases through. The fastest way for doing that is to deny them and that also came with average credibility claims, Buwalda recalled. With an average credibility claim, you have almost no chance on any appeal and you're left hopeless. The anecdotal evidence we have and the information we have is significant in terms of the numbers. Buwalda stated that UNHCRs own reports demonstrate that Pakistani Christians do in fact suffer persecution. One of the examples I gave in my testimony I submitted is Talib Masih, she told the Congress members. Masih was listed in [UNHCRs] own report prior to them denying his case for asylum in Bangkok and we worked very hard, his case has been reversed. But now he has no place to go. He's not been referred to any country at this stage, one year later, for resettlement. So, we're remaining concerned about him and others that should be resettled. Tim Keller: Don't confuse blue state or red state individualism with Christianity Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Pastor Tim Keller has warned against mistaking blue state or red state individualism for true Christianity in a post-Christian culture that it has co-opted biblical ideas and taken them to an extreme. In a recent video posted on the Gospel Coalition website, Keller, senior pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church, said that in today's post-Christian Western society, it's very difficult for Christians to engage culture without becoming colonized by it. The reason for that is, a post-Christian culture is quite different than a non-Christian or pre-Christian culture, he explained, adding that the "post-Christian culture has co-opted a lot of Christian ideas" and "taken them to the extreme. Keller argued that biblical principles like the importance of doing right and justice, for example have been turned into extreme individualism by Western culture. Unfortunately, he said, its easy for Christians to get co-opted by that individualism. Liberal individualism, Keller asserted, says, I need to do justice for the poor and I need to do racial justice, but nobody should tell me what to do sexually. On the other hand, conservative individualism says, I believe in traditional values, but I can do anything I want with my money and please dont talk to me about race because I didnt own any slaves and I dont think thats a problem. Its extraordinarily easy for Christians to think that they are being Christian, but they are actually getting co-opted by either what I would call blue state or red state individualism, Keller continued. Thats just not as likely to happen if youre a Christian who grew up in India. Youre not likely to just sort of fall into Hinduism. Youre not as likely, if youre a Christian growing up in Japan, to just fall into Buddhism, but you are very likely to fall into one of these forms of liberal or conservative individualism thinking its Christianity. Because of this, its important to understand how the Biblical worldview differs from all different worldviews, Keller contended, adding: Worldview education or apologetics is actually necessary even to disciple people nowadays. The pastor acknowledged that its not easy to engage culture and seek to convert people, but Christians have to do it because the Bible commands Christians to do so. Even in Western culture, where there are those dangers, we have to do that, he concluded. Keller, who recently released his latest book Prodigal Prophet: Jonah and the Mystery of Gods Mercy, frequently argues that while believers can be active in politics, they should not identify the Church with a political party as the only Christian one. Previously, he shared how the book of Jonah highlights the importance of finding ones identity in Christ not in any one political party. Im a Christian first, Im an American second, he said. Im a Christian first, and Im white second. If thats not true, then you need to read the book of Jonah because thats part of what its trying to say. Every time Jonah is near the pagans, the pagans look better than Jonah does. Jonah is sneering at these people, but actually, theres a lot of admirable things about these people. Jonah was putting his national interest over the spiritual good of the people of Ninevah. God cares about all races and all people, and in the end, His church will consist of people from every tribe, people and nation. We cant lift up one nation over other nations. While certain nations behave better than other nations, Keller conceded, commitment to Christ relativizes that fact and Christians should feel somewhat uncomfortable in either political party. Christians need to recognize the danger of what they call xenophobia, he said. Im afraid of Christians getting too radicalized on either side. Stillbirth not 'an in-custody death,' says Trump's border patrol Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Stillbirths that take place at facilities of the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement are not classified as deaths by the agency, according to a recent official statement. On Feb. 22, a pregnant woman from Honduras went into premature labor while being processed for release, tragically delivering a stillborn baby, according to a joint statement released by ICE and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Monday. She went into premature labor, at 27 weeks pregnant, and delivered an unresponsive male infant. [ICE Health Service Corps] initiated CPR and EMS transported them both to the Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, Texas, where the infant was later pronounced dead, noted the statement. The border security agencies then proceeded to explain that a stillbirth is not considered an in-custody death due to investigative and reporting purposes. ICE and CBP officials are proactively disclosing the details of this tragic event to be transparent with Congress, the media and the public, continued the agencies. Not recognizing stillborn babies of migrants as individual humans appears to be at odds with other administration policies. President Donald Trump has pursued multiple pro-life agenda items, including the reversal of an Obama era ban on states defunding Planned Parenthood, appointing judges who identify as pro-life, and allowing broader exemptions for groups opposed to providing coverage for abortions. At the annual March for Life rally held in January, Vice President Mike Pence told those gathered at National Mall that Trump was the most pro-life president in American history. ICE and CBPs joint statement comes as the United States Senate failed to pass the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which if enacted would have required health care providers to give the same protection to babies who survive an attempted abortion as they would to babies not marked for abortion. Introduced by Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, the final vote was 53 in favor and 44 opposed. All but three of the Senate Democrats voted against it. The bill needed at least 60 votes to pass. Trump took to Twitter to express his dismay at the result, stating that he believed the result showed that the Democrat position on abortion is now so extreme that they dont mind executing babies AFTER birth. This will be remembered as one of the most shocking votes in the history of Congress. If there is one thing we should all agree on, its protecting the lives of innocent babies, tweeted Trump. Inmate freed thanks to Trump's prison reform dedicates life to helping others Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment One of the first prison inmates to be released under a criminal justice reform law signed by President Donald Trump has dedicated the rest of his free life to helping those in need a calling he said God has placed on his heart. In 1995, Matthew Charles was sentenced to 35 years in prison for selling crack cocaine and for several gun violations in Clarksville, Tennessee. After hearing the Gospel in prison, Charles became a Christian, devoting his time to reading the Bible and helping other inmates. Over the next 21 years, he became a law clerk, led prison Bible studies, and managed to keep himself from a single disciplinary infraction. During this time, he became genuinely repentant of his life before encountering the Grace of Christ, not offering empty excuses about his past, but taking ownership, as a pastor would later describe him. In 2016, Charles was unexpectedly released from prison: "God moves miraculously. It was in 2016 when US Judge Kevin Sharp granted my reduction of sentence," he told CBN. Finally free, Charles created a full life for himself. He ate at his favorite restaurants, became actively involved in a local church, and started volunteering at a food pantry. But two years later, he found himself once again in prison after a court reversed the previous judge's ruling that his sentence was "unfair." Still, Charles was determined to keep the bitterness at bay: "I count that as a blessing of God, even being released for that two-year period," he said. His case soon gained national attention, with celebrities and advocacy groups backing his cause. But in the end, it was the First Step Act that granted Charles his freedom. Signed into law by President Trump December 21, 2018, the bill includes a provision to apply the Fair Sentencing Act retroactively, allowing for courts to shorten unduly harsh prison terms. On January 3, 2019, Charles left prison and immediately traveled to Washington D.C. to thank some of those responsible for his release, including the First Step Act's sponsor Rep. Doug Collins, R-GA. "When I saw the story, as I am right now, I cry. Because this is what makes this job, after everything else, this makes it good," Collins told Charles. He was also invited to the State of the Union Address, where the president said the former inmate "represents the very best of America." "Thank you, Matthew. Welcome home, President Trump said. Now home in Nashville, Charles continues to volunteer at the food pantry. He told Fox News that God placed it in his heart "to help the poor, the homeless, and single-parent families" when he first accepted Jesus, and that's what he plans to do for the rest of his life. "I'm just taking it day by day, waiting to see what doors of opportunities avail themselves for me. God placed it in my heart to help people and I want to continue to do that," he later told CBN. The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, with more than 2.1 million people locked up in prisons and jails across the country The First Step Act, which received bipartisan support, enables evidence-based rehabilitation programs like Prison Fellowship to be utilized in federal prisons nationwide; increases judicial discretion in certain federal drug offense cases; and allows incarcerated individuals to qualify for early release, among a number of other things. James Ackerman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Prison Fellowship, praised Trump for signing the criminal justice reform bill. With the stroke of his pen, President Donald Trump took a bold step in making America safer by signing into law federal criminal justice reformthe FIRST STEP Act, he said. This legislation will increase the access of faith-based and nonprofit organizations, like Prison Fellowship, to provide desperately needed programming in the federal prison system and help reduce recidivism. From our work in many states across the country, we can say without hesitation that these programs restore livesputting people on a new path and eventually reduce crime. In wake of church sex abuse, California bill seeks to force clergy to break seal of confession Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment In the wake of multiple clergy sexual abuse scandals, a California lawmaker is seeking to pass legislation in that state that could force Catholic priests and other clergy to violate the seal of confession to report child sex abuse. Democrat state Sen. Jerry Hill, introduced Senate Bill 360 last Wednesday that would remove an exemption in Californias mandated reporter law that allows all members of the clergy to withhold knowledge of suspected child abuse from law enforcement if that information is obtained during a penitential communication, such as Catholic confession. This bill would delete that exception for a pentitential communication, thereby requiring clergy to make a mandated report even if they acquired the knowledge or reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect during a penitential communication, the bill said. In a statement cited by The Sacramento Bee, Hill said: Individuals who harm children or are suspected of harming children must be reported so a timely investigation by law enforcement can occur. The bill comes in the wake of a recent reckoning on child sexual abuse among both Catholic and evangelical clergy. Just over a week ago, in response to media reports about hundreds of alleged sexual abuse cases involving Southern Baptist Convention leaders and volunteers, SBC President J.D. Greear, suggested the possibility of expelling churches and creating a registry of offenders. Reacting to the proposed legislation targeting penitential communication, clergy like former Catholic, Rev. Jaime Romo of the Child-Friendly Faith Project believes it is a step in the right direction. For too long, religious authorities have been protected from reporting these cases, leaving children vulnerable and unsafe, Romo told the Bee. Father John Landry of Massachusetts argued in the National Catholic Register however that a priest must protect the seal of confession like the virginity of young Christians even if hes threatened with imprisonment, torture or death. I often ask Catholics with whom I speak about the Sacrament of Penance: Do you realize that every priest is ready to die for you, to protect what you say through him to God? Most, young and old, have never really thought about it. Many priests have in fact died in protecting the seal of Confession, Landry wrote. The most famous example is Saint John Nepomuk, confessor to Queen Johanna, wife of Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia, in the late 14th Century. The paranoid king thought his wife was unfaithful to him and demanded that Father John tell him what his wife confessed. He refused. The King escalated the threats of torture. None worked. Finally he ordered that Father John be bound, thrown off the Charles Bridge in Prague, and drowned, he wrote. According to the Bee, doctors, police, therapists and social workers are among the 47 kinds of professionals who are required by state law to notify law enforcement about suspected abuse with no exceptions. Landry argued however that violating the seal of confession is a serious attack on religious freedom and it is happening in countries across the world, like Australia and India. The Churchs absolute opposition and resistance to this egregious violation of religious freedom is being used by those who oppose the Church as proof that the Church is really more concerned about its rituals than about abused children, that she cares more about protecting abusers than victims, Landry wrote. The logic is akin to castigating defense attorneys for not betraying their clients and working with prosecutors or to doctors of not being opposed to crime if they operate on rather than execute criminals. Its against the calling of attorneys and physicians to do that, in the same way that it is totally against the vocation of priests to betray penitents which is one of the reasons why the penalty under Church law for a priests doing so is automatic excommunication, he argued. Activists will target churches who counsel LGBT people, therapist warns Gods Voice conference Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A psychotherapist has warned a Christian conference opposed to queer ideology that if LGBT activists successfully ban secular counseling for people with unwanted same-sex attraction, they will next go after religious counselors. A conference known as Gods Voice: A Biblical Response to the Queering of the Church was held Feb. 22-23 at Fairview Baptist Church of Edmond, Oklahoma. David Pickup, a licensed therapist who is a board member at the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) and a practitioner of sexual orientation change efforts therapy, spoke at the Gods Voice conference last weekend. During his remarks, Pickup warned his audience that for the state legislators trying to ban SOCE therapy, the next step is to come after you. Its going to happen in your universities, its going to happen in your schools, in your elementary schools if you dont conform to the new sex education curriculum, said Pickup. They try to get at psychotherapists first, and then theyre coming after church counselors and the church. Theyre smart, folks. They know whats coming and they know what theyre doing. Pickup has actively testified and lobbied against many proposed state-level bans on SOCE therapy, and is credited with helping to defeat most of them. Pickup called on the conference attendees to be as smart as foxes but gentle as doves when it comes to state-level efforts to ban SOCE therapy. Pickup then spoke about how SOCE therapy actually works contrary to popular perceptions, declaring that the Mark Yarhouses and the Russell Moores and the Al Mohlers do not know what goes on in my office. What goes on in my office is love, compassion, explained Pickup. There is no such thing as compassion without truth. Pickup noted that the vast majority of his patients are male, though he had some females as well. He grouped his patients into two categories: either overtly abused or bullied in a dysfunctional family background, or covertly neglected in a stable family background. I get to sit there, literally sit there, and because of these emotional healing experiences, watch my clients change their erotic feelings in the moment while theyre having therapy. I see it, continued Pickup. Janet Mefferd, a widely-syndicated Christian radio host, introduced Pickup to the conference, referring to him as a remarkable man who has done some phenomenal overturning of the tables when the situation has called for it. He is really fighting, stated Mefferd, who stressed that the conference needs to be concerned about therapy bans because she believed that once states ban secular therapy options, theyre coming for your biblical counselors. We need to be concerned about this issue if for no other reason that we have to stand together on the issue of freedom and self-autonomy, because thats the right thing to do. In addition to Pickup, other speakers at Gods Voice included Peter LaBarbera, founder and president of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality; Stephen Black, executive director with First Stone Ministries; the Rev. Al Baker of the Presbyterian Church in America; and Southern Baptist evangelist the Rev. Thomas Littleton. Littleton echoed Pickups comments, warning those gathered that very soon, your testimony of conversion could be literally hate speech. If youve left this lifestyle, your testimony of conversion, to read Romans 1 or an assortment of scriptures that speak to the subject of homosexuality could be hate speech in our churches from our pulpits, Littleton said. And we have friends in Europe where this is already the case. You could be inciting, potentially inciting a hate crime by reading Romans 1. Littleton commended Fairview Baptist for hosting the conference and declared thank God for pastors that have a backbone. If your pastor is not able to find his backbone on this, you need to get in there and help him. You need to pray for him. You need to stand firm and help him understand what is at stake, he added. Also known as reparative therapy or conversion therapy, SOCE therapy seeks to help a person deal with, or even remove, unwanted same-sex attraction. In recent years, several states and the District of Columbia have passed laws banning the therapy for minors. Many other states have considered similar legislation only to ultimately vote it down. California, which was the first state to ban therapy for minors, last year seriously considered expanding the ban through Assembly Bill 2943. However, Evan Low, the Democrat assemblyman who introduced the bill, withdrew the bill last August for reasons including the expressed concern of many that the bill threatened religious freedom. The best policy is not made in a vacuum and in order to advance the strongest piece of legislation, the bill requires additional time to allow for an inclusive process not hampered by legislative deadlines, stated Low at the time. Texas prophet followers call Jesus in the flesh shown in sex tape with multiple women Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Self-styled Texas prophet and internet preacher Joshua Holmes, who went viral in recent months for his ministry theatrics that led many of his female followers to start calling him Jesus in the flesh," has been captured in leaked video recordings indulging in explicit sexual activity with two women who are not his wife. Media personality Larry Reid, first reported on his show last Wednesday that he was sent the explicit recordings. The recordings have also been shared on Twitter and YouTube and with The Christian Post. This is a sex tape. This is a sexual escapade captured on the phone, Reid told his audience about the recordings. Holmes, a flamboyant young minister, whom many critics have dismissed as a dangerous departure from orthodox Christianity, has been defended by his followers as Jesus in the flesh as he professes healings and "money miracles." The Christian Post previously reported on a 1-minute video promotion for his ministry showing women and men swooning with a wave of his jacket or what appeared to be a mere breath from his mouth. For all you haters if you don't know Prophet Joshua Holmes you ain't got the Holy Spirit. That's all I gotta say," a young woman noted in a viral video on Facebook dismissing critics of the preacher. "He is changing lives every day. He is Jesus in the flesh. He is very tangible. He's got the power of God on him." Holmes was also featured on the Word Network's "Greg Davis Live" show last fall and declared that the Lord had been leading him to focus on "wealth in the body of Christ." Last month he was a featured guest of Bishop George G. Bloomer on the network where he delivered a vague prophesy about what 2019 would look like. Former members of Holmes flock like Yasir Wright however, have stated on social media that the preacher is a fraud and accused him, prior to the release of these videos, of sleeping with several women in his church even though he is a married father. Holmes did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CP on the explicit videos on Monday. David Sheffield, the Word Networks general manager was also not immediately available to discuss the propriety of Holmes' continued appearance on shows on the network that caters to a predominantly black Christian audience. Despite his apparent infidelity, Holmes doled out teachings in a recent video he posted on Periscope he says will keep his followers out of poverty and help them never commit another sin. Im talking about entertaining God, the prophet and the angels. If you understand these three realms, youll never be broke, youll never have another sin that you commit in your life. Youll never commit another sin if you learn this, he said. Over 95 percent of what Jesus would tell you to do is not for you ... everything that the Holy Spirit is speaking to you is for someone else. He not talking to you about you and when you get into you thats why you invite the demon of depression. Thats why you invite the demon of self-centeredness. Thats why you become wicked. Thats why you become evil. Whenever you start speaking or you start focusing on you. Thats when you fall into error. Thats when you fall into deception because it becomes about you and God dont want it in that vein, he said. Information on Holmes and where he came from remains vague and limited even on his now defunct ministry website, where he peddled a book about prophetic mysteries for more than $100 per copy. He previously shared a tale of how he moved into a mansion 48 hours after sowing thousands of dollars into the ministry of televangelist Mike Murdock. "I have a miracle ministry and a lot of people have been getting healed but I've been seeing that a lot of women and men are ignorant of the wealth anointing in Deuteronomy Chapter 8 verse 18. Earlier this year I was challenged by God to sow a major seed. I had a place where I was living inside of. I now live in a mansion off this major seed that I sowed. In 48 hours I moved into the mansion," Holmes told Davis. Southern Baptist group clears 6 churches of violating sex abuse standards Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Just days after the president of the Southern Baptist Convention called for an evaluation of 10 churches that were highlighted in a recent investigation on sex abuse, six of those churches were cleared of acting indifferently toward abuse. While condemning the abominable horror of child sexual abuse, the SBC Executive Committee bylaws workgroup stated in a report released Saturday that in virtually all reported cases, the abuse and cover-up of abuse were criminal acts undertaken by a few individuals within a church. The church body rarely knew about these actions and even more rarely took any action to endorse or affirm the wrongful acts or the actors themselves. Among the six churches that the workgroup found no evidence of showing disregard for sexual abuse is Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, one of the largest churches in the country. It appears that the church has had, and continues to have, significant, detailed procedures and policies in place to prevent abuse and properly respond to charges of abuse. We believe no further inquiry is warranted based on that information, the report said of the Houston megachurch. In response to the report, The Warburg Watch led by two women who reveal disturbing trends within Christendom" believes that ultimately, no reforms will be made within the SBC in regard to sex abuse. The new and improved SBC is still the same old SBC. Theyll just get some SBC sanctioned child protection rules in place. And then they will figure out how to exonerate any church which screws up, it said. Last week, SBC President J. D. Greear proposed an amendment to the church bodys constitution that would allow for disfellowshipping or cutting ties with churches that do not give assurances that they have taken the necessary steps to to correct their policies and procedures with regards to abuse and survivors. Churches that show clear indifference to sexual abuse by employing a convicted sex offender, allowing a convicted sex offender to work as a volunteer with minors, continuing to employ a person who unlawfully covered up sex abuse, or willfully choosing not to report child abuse to authorities would warrant disfellowshipping. Greear specifically asked the bylaws workgroup to look further into the 10 churches named in a Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News investigation to determine if they should continue as an SBC church. That investigation had revealed at least 700 victims of sex abuse over the past two decades at the hands of hundreds of SBC leaders and volunteers. The amendment on cooperating churches is one of 10 reforms Greear proposed to make churches safer. SBC leaders have stressed that its church body is not like other denominations where its run from the top down. Rather, its more than 47,000 churches are all autonomous cooperating churches. Thus, implementing reforms in the body prove to be more difficult. The bylaws workgroup emphasized in its Saturday report that no individual possesses the authority to declare a church to be under a Convention inquiry of any kind. The workgroup also said it believes the SBC should not disrupt the ministries of its churches by launching an inquiry until it has received credible information that the church has knowingly acted wrongfully in one of the four ways (mentioned above) described in the proposed amendment. It is also our opinion that the Executive Committee did not intend for every allegation that a church has demonstrated indifference to establish guilt which would then have to be disproved in effect, a presumption of guilt which the Executive Committee should view as untenable and unscriptural, the workgroup added. After reviewing information that Greear provided about each of the 10 churches, the workgroup determined that only three needed further inquiry. Those three include Bolivar Baptist Church in Sanger, Texas; Cathedral of Faith in Houston, Texas; and Sovereign Grace Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Information provided by the president states that a registered sex offender leads the church. We believe further inquiry is warranted, the workgroup said of Cathedral of Faith. The workgroup said it will send letters of inquiry to the three churches. Along with Second Baptist Church, other churches requiring no further inquiry include: Arapaho Baptist Church in Garland, Texas; Brentwood Baptist Church in Houston; Eastside Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia; Trinity Baptist Church in Ashburn, Georgia; and First Baptist Church in Bedford, Texas. Turner Street Baptist Church in Springdale, Arkansas, was determined to not be a Southern Baptist church. Regarding First Baptist in Bedford, though the church had allowed Charles Adcock who had been charged in 2015 in Alabama with 29 counts of rape and sodomy against a teen girl he met at a church to volunteer as a music minister despite being aware of his arrest, the SBC workgroup determined that the church already took corrective action. Not only did Adcock stop serving at the church but those who allowed Adcock to volunteer were also removed from their positions. Christian radio personality 'Uncle Charlie' dies: 'Knowing Jesus is the most important thing' Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Charlie VanderMeer, beloved Christian radio personality known as Uncle Charlie to young listeners around the world, has died at 84. VanderMeer, who hosted the Childrens Bible Hour radio ministry for decades, died Friday afternoon, Feb. 22, at his West Michigan home, surrounded by family and friends, according to Keys for Kids Ministries. It is with deep sadness, but great hopefulness, that Keys for Kids Ministries (formerly Childrens Bible Hour) announces the passing of Charlie VanderMeer (a.k.a. Uncle Charlie). He passed away quietly at his home on Friday, February 22, 2019, following a recent fall, reads the statement. Its not what you know, its who you know, were the final words Charlie uttered to Keys for Kids President Greg Yoder, who spent time with him just before he was promoted to Glory, it continues. Though it was hard for Charlie to breathe, in his final moments he wanted everyone to know the 'who' he was talking about was Jesus Christ. He said, I trust Him today just like I did when I was six years old. Knowing Jesus as your personal Savior is the most important thing. VanderMeer was a pillar of Childrens Bible Hour radio ministry now known as Keys for Kids since he was 9 years old, when the host picked him out of a studio audience to participate in a live broadcast in 1943, according to his Keys for Kids Ministries biography page. After finishing college, he joined the organization full-time. As the host of The Childrens Bible Hour, he would add voices to a script, read poems, lessons, and Scripture to listeners worldwide. He would also visit churches across the world, ministering through magic tricks, ventriloquism, balloon animals, and stories. In March 1999, VanderMeer stepped down as Executive Director of the program but continued as the voice for the daily Keys for Kids 4 minute six-day-a-week program, and the daily/weekly program called Storytime, as well as re-runs of the classic Childrens Bible Hour broadcasts until the beginning of 2016, airing on more than 200 outlets. In 2017, VanderMeer received the Impact Award from the National Religious Broadcasters. In a 2006 Grand Rapids Press story, VanderMeer said the focus of his messages were always the same: To point young listeners to Jesus Christ. I hope (listeners) get the message that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven, he said, according to MLive. And also (that they) learn principles from the word of God in a fun and interesting way. Yoder told Michigan news channel WOODTV that he was one of many children who grew up listening to Uncle Charlie. "I looked to him for guidance in some ways," Yoder said. "Everybody did. He was good at what he did." Yoder hopes now Keys For Kids Ministries can carry on VanderMeers legacy. I feel like I'm a pebble, kind of a pebble in his shoe," Yoder said. "Cause he had such big shoes to fill. But to know I had his endorsement, in mutual respect, that just meant the world to me and to, I think, this organization." We praise the Lord for the decades of ministry he had on BBN encouraging children through Childrens Bible Hour and Storytime, the Bible Broadcasting Network stated on Facebook Friday. After days of passionate debate, deliberation, and prayerand years of tensionthe United Methodist Church (UMC) voted Tuesday to maintain its traditional stance against same-sex marriage and non-celibate gay clergy, bolstered by a growing conservative contingent from Africa. The denominations Traditional Plan passed, with 438 votes in favor and 384 against (53% to 47%), in the final hours of a special UMC conference held this week in St. Louis to address the issue of human sexuality. The decision leaves a sizable, vocal opposition, ensuring the exit of many progressive pastors and churches from the largest mainline Protestant body in America. After the final vote, protesters began chanting no and stop the harm through the rest of the session until the conference ended over an hour later. The Traditional Plan preserves existing UMC positions and adds further accountability measures for those who violate them by performing same-sex ... 1 The SBC Executive Committee response to J.D. Greear needs to be walked back to show survivors they are worth more than a quick dismissal. Image: By Poj Thevennugul via shutterstock The Southern Baptist Convention often does the wrong thing before it does the right thing. Or, in the case of last week, in responding to a wrong thing, they started to do the right thing, then went back to the wrong thing. Now, its time to do the right thing. The Houston Chronicles Abuse of Faith series pointed out what many already knewthe SBC has an abuse problem. SBC President J. D. Greear sought to at least take some steps to address it. The bylaws workgroup of the Executive Committee of the SBC heard his call and decided to address itat lightning speed. And, according to a growing number of Southern Baptists, without due diligence. Actually, they declared (without actually doing much inquiry) that no further inquiry is warranted in most of the cases. Now Southern Baptists have been accused of not taking sexual abuse seriously, and when the members of the Executive Committee responded, it seemed they did not take such allegations seriously as well. I should add that in three cases, they did say the situations required more diligence. One of those was Sovereign Grace Church in Louisville. Of course Sovereign Grace needs to do such an investigation. That has been obvious for years. But others need more investigation as well. And these interventions are not supposed to happen at lightning speed. The hasty response issued by the bylaws workgroup of the Executive Committee to a group of churches named by the Houston Chronicle has been roundly criticized by pastors, abuse survivors, and survivor advocates. Executive committee members are now tweeting their own statements. These statements have been picked apart for a multitude of reasons, but two are particularly problematic. First, the response was issued just one day after requested information was provided by Greear to the committee. The Executive Committee staff has been through an inquiry before. It was 2014 when they first took the action of disfellowshiping a church on behalf of the convention. The Executive Committee officers became concerned about a pastors views on homosexuality as they learned about them on social media. They asked the EC staff to research and then initiated the process through the bylaws workgroup, ultimately bringing the recommendation before the full committee. The initial post on social media was in February. The ECs process was completed in September. And just last year, the Executive Committee again disfellowshiped a church on behalf of the Southern Baptist Convention, this time over allegations of racism. This action followed two years of attempted intervention by the local association and state convention. Assessing these situations typically takes months or, in some cases, years. Now, suddenly, a Baptist committee is able to consider six churches in just over 24 hours and declare them all open and shut cases? You can see why some may not feel that due diligence was done. As Greear explained in a statement today, In most situations in which a churchs handling of an abuse case has been challenged, we believe prudence demands dialogue not only with the churches themselves, but also victims, victim advocates, and other authorities directly involved in the documented reports to ensure that the churches have acted, and are acting, in ways consistent with the Southern Baptist Conventions stated commitments to preventing abuse. Maybe, we could say, Lets take some time and look at these situations. That would not be too much to ask. Some of the churches named by Greear have already spoken up, some surprised they were named. So let them speak. Let the Executive Committee listen, but also listen to those bringing accusations or concerns. The full Executive Committee needs to walk back this too-quick response. Second, the response cites criteria for disfellowship that do not serve churches or survivors well. The established criteria make conviction the threshold for inquiry. As such, hiring R. Kelly at this moment would not violate the criteria. This is problematic for many reasonsmost of all because credible accusations are often brought forward against sexual predators, but charges are not always filed. In fact, even when formal charges are filed, arrests are made in only 29% of child sexual abuse cases. Failure to report is often due to statute of limitations, because the victim was above the age of consent (its not illegal but its still abuse), or for a variety of other reasons. This arbitrarily high standard for inquiry has also been met with widespread condemnation. One of the most prominent of these voices, Rachael Denhollander, had this to say on Twitter : I am deeply grieved at the SBC EC response to JD Greear. The EC has demonstrated the exact problems that lead to the abuse of so many - whitewashing the crimes and cover up, choosing largely irrelevant criteria, and investigating issues they have no training to investigate. Simply put, the standard of inquiry established by the EC is more likely to embolden abusers, silence victims, and perpetuate the problem for years to come. The full Executive Committee needs to walk this standard back. So why is this important for the SBC? Because to many survivors and victim advocates, the appearance is that bylaws workgroup of the Executive Committee took the well-worn, but easy path. To many, they simply declared Saturday night that they really dont want to make progress in this area, or as Denhollander put it, they are more interested in whitewashing the crimes and cover up. Some may say, Well, Greear did not allow for due process. But thats exactly what should have happened. The bylaws workgroup should have responded with due process, not a fast response that is now being widely (and rightly) criticized. I will not judge where their hearts are in this, because I do not know. But I can say that even if they did not intend it, they effectively communicated that they did not take the time to reach out to learn more. Thats not just a public relations disaster (and Southern Baptists specialize in those), it is just wrong. It is tone deaf and hurtful to survivors. This is not the right path and it is not the moral path. Keith Whitfield, dean of graduate studies at Southeastern Seminary, said it best when he spoke of the larger problem of abuse in the SBC in a recent article: Southern Baptists are proud of our Conservative Resurgence of 1979, when we reaffirmed that we believed the words of Scripture were the Words of God and should be the authoritative basis for truth. But now Southern Baptists require a Moral Resurgence to drive us to apply the teachings of the inerrant Word of God regarding who we are as human beings. A Better Way Leaders lead. And the SBC now has a leader in President J. D. Greear who is calling churches to a higher standard when it comes to sexual abuse. This is a needed change in the SBC, and one that will likely foster some discontent among some. But inaction is not an option. Our churches are called to a greater purpose and to greater action when it comes to addressing sexual abuse. Last December, Dr. Tammy Schultz, my fellow faculty member at Wheaton College, wrote on The Exchange: Survivors yearn for: Churches where the rivers of solace, comfort, justice, accountability, and truth-telling flow freely. Churches that are dedicated to repairing the institutional cultures that enabled violations to initially occur. Churches who will promptly report suspicions and allegations of abuse to proper authorities. Churches who will not shrink back and will face the crushing pain of sexual violations both in and outside the church. Churches, where survivors can be whole individuals, not having to hide parts of themselves and their experiences for fear of invalidation and exacerbation of shame. Churches who can bear the sad stories of survivors and celebrate their steps towards healing, absent of demands and impatience to move on quickly. Churches, the sheepfold, the family of God, who will embrace our mandate by God to care for the violated. With the report issued on Saturday night by some members of the Executive Committee of the SBC, some have questioned whether or not the committe wants Southern Baptist churches to strive to become the churches described above. I know I do. I know J. D. Greear does. And I know scores of other Southern Baptists do. Since Southern Baptists often do the wrong thing before they do the right thing, Im hopeful that the Executive Committee will see that further inquiry is good for everyone involvedthe SBC, the churches named, and (most importantly) the survivors. I trust the full Executive Committee will walk this hasty action back and help survivors to see that they are worth more than a quick dismissal. Its never too late to do the right thing. Ed Stetzer is Dean of the School of Mission, Ministry, and Leadership at Wheaton College and Executive Director of the Billy Graham Center. He is a Southern Baptist who has served in three Southern Baptist agencies. For the past four days, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church has been reexamining its doctrines on human sexuality. From Christianity Todays report from yesterday: The United Methodist Church (UMC) voted Tuesday to maintain its traditional stance against same-sex marriage and non-celibate gay clergy, bolstered by a growing conservative contingent from Africa. The denominations Traditional Plan passed, with 438 votes in favor and 384 against (53% to 47%), in the final hours of a special UMC conference held this week in St. Louis to address the issue of human sexuality. While this decision will likely have broad global consequences, it is also one that has been heavily impacted by the denominations large international presence. The UMC has about 7 million lay members in the US and 5.5 million overseas, and they operate in more than 130 countries. But the denomination's broad reach isnt anything new. Its inherently a global movement, said J. Steven OMalley, a professor of Methodist Holiness history at Asbury Theological Seminary, who recently spent the year working on a project called The Origin of the Wesleyan Theological Vision for Christian Globalization and the Pursuit of Pentecost in Early Pietist Revivalism. OMalley joined digital media producer Morgan Lee and editor in chief Mark Galli to discuss what was at stake at the most recent UMC meeting, how the denomination came together 50 years ago, and how it ended up around the world. This episode of Quick to Listen is also brought to you by Libromania, a podcast for book lovers from the Close Reads Podcast Network. For more information go to c losereadspods.com or subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you dial up your favorite podcasts. What is Quick to Listen? Read more Subscribe to Quick to Listen on Apple Podcasts Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow our host on Twitter: Morgan Lee Subscribe to Marks newsletter: The Galli Report Music by Sweeps Quick to Listen is produced by Morgan Lee, Richard Clark, and Cray Allred Show Transcript February 27 transcription Mark Galli: Well, with whom in particular is J. Steven O'Malley. He is the John T. Seamands Professor of Methodist Holiness History at Asbury Theological Seminary. And among of his many works--the one that plays the most part in our talk today--in the Spring and Summer of 2018, he completed, he just finished the manuscript, a sabbatical project on The Origin of the Wesleyan Theological Vision for Christian Globalization and The Pursuit of Pentecost In Early Pietists Revivalism. And this is something we want to just get a sense on, it's not only the movement, the Wesleyan and Methodist movement in the US, but maybe even worldwide, because I don't think people recognize its global nature. So welcome, Dr. O'Malley. Dr. O'Malley: Good morning--good afternoon, I should say. Morgan Lee: So this name of this project that you completed is almost 20 words, I want to say. Did you come up with the title? Dr. O'Malley: Oh, yes. I did. Morgan Lee: Very cool. As Mark suggested, it's very likely that we will be asking you quite a bit of questions based on that recent research, so I'm glad that you were able to join us today and bring that level of expertise. I think most of our listeners at this point should know kind of a little bit about what we're talking about, but in case they have not been paying attention, for the past four days the General Conference of the United Methodist Church has been in a special session to receive and act on a report from The Commission of The Way Forward, which re-examines paragraphs in the Methodist rule book, called The Book of Discipline, concerning human sexuality. Article continues below Currently The Book of Discipline bars gays and lesbian members from ordination and marriage, which has caused increasing divide in the church. So the commission included three different plans for moving forward. There was a plan called the One Church Plan, which would allow individual churches and regional annual conferences to decide to ordain and marry LGBTQ members. There's the Traditional Plan, which would strengthen enforcement of current language regarding LGBTQ people in the denomination's rule book. And there is the Connectional Conference Plan, which reorganizes United Methodist churches by conferences based on their LGBTQ policy rather than by geography. The decision of the special session, which is likely happening as we record this episode, could change the faith of Methodism and may have broad global consequences. The UMC has about 7 million lay members in the US and 5.5 million overseas, and they operate in more than a hundred and thirty countries. It traces its beginnings back to the Great Awakening preachers John and Charles Wesley. So this week on Quick To Listen, we want to explore the history of this tradition in denomination and learn what makes it unique today. All right, Mark time for a gut check. I don't know if Church meetings or something that provoke an emotional reaction from you. But tell us if they do. Mark Galli: They do. I've been involved in mainline Christianity. I was ordained in the Presbyterian Church, mainline Presbyterian Church, spent a number of years in the Episcopal church. And this is like a deja vu, as they say, deja vu all over again because when I was part of each of those denominations, they were wrestling over this same issue, you know some decades earlier. So part of me goes, I understand the tension and the anxiety that's produced in the churches by this topic and having meetings like this, and it just brings back those tense feelings. Morgan Lee: That's a super personal connection. Mark Galli: Yeah it just reminds me of just have a lot of the pain that a lot of us have experienced having to debate this issue other times. It seems to be my cross to bear that I was involved in each denominations as it was wrestling about these things. So, there you go. Morgan Lee: In other words, you should be feeling happy that you didn't join the Methodist Church after you left the Episcopal one. Mark Galli: Well, I'm also interested, I think the Methodist, as we'll get into, have a unique polity hear that bears on this conversation in a way that's different than other American denominations. So I'll be anxious to have as talk about that. Morgan Lee: You know, you mentioned different denominations which have split over this particular issue in recent years, and I guess I was a little bit surprised at the Methodist hadn't yet? So, I don't know if that's really a good check, but I was a little bit confused about where this denomination stood on this issue, what had been happening. It's not a denomination that I follow closely nor have very many, I guess, Christian friends who are part of the Methodist Church. And so I was actually excited to do this podcast today to fill in a lot of the holes that I have in my own knowledge about this and maybe I will have a more emotional reaction after learning all this information. All right, Dr. O'Malley, time to hit you with some questions. Let's begin by talking about how old the particular denomination the United Methodist Church is and maybe you can tell us a little bit about its origins. Dr. O'Malley: Our church has its 50th Anniversary in 1968 to 2018. So we've just passed the 50 year mark as a United Methodist Church. Article continues below We originated with the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was organized in 1784 in Baltimore, Maryland under the leadership of Francis Asbury, who became its first ordained pastor and then Bishop. It also became joined with various branches over the years in union to create the Methodist Church as came to be known by 1968. The union of former South and North groups, Methodist, Protestant groups. But then we had an addition to that in 1968, the union with the Evangelical United Brethren Church. I was a ordained minister of that denomination at that time. Had been ordained just a year prior to the union in 1968. And we represented, in itself, a coming together of two different streams of German American Revival Christianity that had its roots the German pietism and among immigrants to this country in the colonial period and into the 19th century. The two branches of that tradition represented first the United Brethren in Christ, which dated back to about 1767, which was even before the First Methodist preaching occurred in this country, under the leadership of two men: Philip William Otterbein, who came as a German reformed missionary to the colonial colony of Maryland and in 1752 serving in Baltimore the church there; it's still honored by his name, he's buried by that church in the harbor of Baltimore near where the War of 1812 conflict occurred and so it has some historic locations. And he served with a Mennonite, a layman and lay bishop as they have it, by the name of Mark Bain, who together joined hands and a fellowship by that name in that early year as a result of a Pentecost-based revival that occurred in a barn meeting in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Mark Galli: Pentecost before Pentecost, huh? Dr. O'Malley: Yes, it was on a Pentecost Sunday. What was called a Big Meeting, at grocer for someone help was held, which was a forerunner to the camp meetings that came in the 19th century in the places like Cane Ridge and the middle of the country. This was in the Northeast among the German immigrants, and they were holding these kinds of meetings quite early as a result of informal meetings that came as a spin-off of the Awakening that originated among the English-speaking colonists, through George Whitefield and others, and the colonies. They were meeting on this occasion. A man by the name of Bain, who was giving his account of his new birth, when Otterbein happened to be in the audience and exclaimed publicly and embracing him that Wir sind Bruder, We are Brethren. And this was a remarkable moment of reconciliation between two long streams of European Protestantism had gone unreconciled now for probably over, by that time over two centuries. Because since the 16th century the forerunners of the Mennonites, who had been Anabaptist had been persecuted have been persecuted for their mode of baptism primarily and their separation from State Church Authority by all other forms of organized Christianity, official Christianity. And so here you have a representative of the official State Church Christianity in the form of Otterbein, a German reformed missionary, embracing and affirming the witness of an Anabaptist descent, a Mennonite. And what was important in that moment to them was not their denominational affiliations, which had long been antagonistic to one another, but it was their common affirmation of the new birth in Christ is a moment of the spirits visitation at baptism upon them. So this launched a long-term relationship between these two traditions through these leaders. In fact by 1800, they organize their movement as unpartisan, which meant that they didn't want to become a narrowly exclusive denomination, but a broad one that would embrace all those who sought to have unity in the Lordship of Jesus Christ through the experience the new birth through the Holy Spirit. And it would be envisioned as a way of overcoming the hostilities of divisions within the various sects and church groups that then were prominent in the Middle Colonies, the German-speaking areas, which were quite numerous with that language and use--in Pennsylvania and Maryland, Western New York State and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and all that area represented tens of thousands of German speakers. Article continues below So it filled a void that needed to be filled probably because the English-speaking colonies have been experiencing renewal through the work of Edwards and Awakening among the New Englanders, and then later with Wesley in the Methodist. So this enables them to be involved in this larger movement of Awakening that have been moving across the globe from Europe to America in the early 18th century. Mark Galli: So it sounds like a lot of Methodist history is about not only revivals and that sort of thing, but also bringing Christians of various denominations together in these events. Dr. O'Malley: Right, and the other part of that the union, was with the United Brethren had been joined themselves with the Evangelical Association later--the Evangelical Church, it was called, of North America--which had its origins also in that early period around 1800 under the leadership of a Lutheran layman with the name of Jacob Albright, who had been a Revolutionary War soldier veteran and converted afterwards through a profound experience of spiritual crisis in his own family life. And he came spontaneously to own this new gift of salvation and to share it with his neighbors and he began to travel and continue that work spontaneously, but no formal backing for many Church tradition. And out of that, and he dies rather soon in the course of the early years of that ministry and you would think that would have been the end of it, but those who were converted under his leadership organized themselves after his death into a movement that continued to bear witness. Their particular distinctive had to do with bringing some of the Methodist forms of policy and emphasis upon Christian perfection in the fullness of the Spirit in the life of the Christian into expression among the German Americans. And their movement in the 19th century led to a return to their German fatherland and the establishment of a strong work in Europe, which is continued to this day. So those two groups joined as the EUV in 1946, and they had a 21-year history before the union with Methodist in 1968. So we're a broad family today that includes background not only in the Anglican heritage of John Wesley, but the Lutheran heritage of Jacob Albright, the Evangelical Church, and the German Reformed and Mennonite branches, which represent the extremes of the radical and the magisterial reformation the process, coming together through the United Brethren Christ. So that's a broad base. Mark Galli: Just quickly, for our listeners, where did the word 'Methodist' come from? Dr. O'Malley: John Wesley was called a Methodist going back to his pre-conversion theory as of term of criticism by early observers of the movement for establishing a Holy Club among his friends and associates. A very disciplined lifestyle of personal devotion based upon what they call their general rules that came to be identified in the course of Methodist history. The emphasis was upon those who were seeking to be saved from their sins and flee the wrath to come would join together and covenant to do all things good for God and for their fellow brothers and sisters, avoid all evil, and attend the ordinances of God, which would have been the Anglican service is worship. So those three rules basically defined, were the method of, this initial group of followers of Wesley. Looking from a distance as being Methodistic, being a strict and a kind of a Protestant form of monasticism, if you will. But that later took on a different flavor after the conversion that Wesley experienced it Aldersgate where he began to have a deep sense of love and forgiveness for his enemies and a desire to share the gospel with all. So it was not a revival movement until after that occurred, and that occurred in the context of him making connection with Continental renewal and Pietist groups such as the Moravians, who had been manifestors of that Awakening on the continent to him in the course of his early travels, particularly his trip from England to Georgia where he first encountered signs of that Awakening through the Moravians there on board the ship. Article continues below Morgan Lee: Well, I can definitely say I'm having a gut reaction now. My gut check is wow, that is an extremely fascinating Christian family tree that goes into Methodism. I'm so glad that you laid it out. But I definitely will say that I have probably more questions that I had earlier. We won't get into all of them, don't worry everybody, but that was a lot. Also it just made me think that the United Methodist Church today, I guess feels very American. This whole idea of, you know, on our like motto, it's like eplurbius has e pluribus... Mark Galli: E pluribusunum. Morgan Lee: Thank you. Dr. O'Malley: Many into one. Morgan Lee: Right! Yeah, I get that sense when you're talking about all the different things that fed into this, and you know, how that is all kind of what we see in modern-day Methodism. Is that okay? Is that a fair assessment? Dr. O'Malley: Well, we have been a originally we were called on one side of our union, a unpartisan group which meant that we were to be together in Christ in the midst of our individual differences, but that we would share all things through Him in common. And from the Methodist side that meant also that we were men and women of one book, The Bible, and we were to be those who are formed by the witness of the word of God as Jesus Christ is lifted as Savior and Lord. Mark Galli: It seems like a motivating factor in a lot of these early groups that eventually became united with Methodist was a very experiential, spiritual conversion or moment as a key part of understanding what's Christian Life. Dr. O'Malley: Well there was a great emphasis too on the spreading scriptural holiness, which was the theme, the outcome of the Christian Life, that was the manifestation of the new age of God's Spirit on Earth through the preaching of the Gospel was coming. Mark Galli: So it's a combination of experience but then also deep commitment to scripture and the teachings of holiness in scripture. Kind of that combination. Dr. O'Malley: Right. Morgan Lee: Maybe you can walk us a little bit through the series of events that happened in the 1950s and 60s that led to the UMC's formation. Dr. O'Malley: Union occurred in '68 began in about, discussions for it began about six or eight years earlier at least. Boards from the two denominations. And I was a witness to that that time, is I was preparing for my own ordination. Mark Galli: That is an interesting period in American church history because the Southern Presbyterian, what was formerly called the Southern Presbyterian Church and the Northern Presbyterian Church, united in '79, I believe it was. It might have been '78. I know that because I was the first, I just finished seminary and was being ordained in the Presbyterian system, and I was the first person ordained after that union took place. I had that distinction of the new United Presbyterian Church. So that happens in '78, you united southern and northern Methodism in '68. So there's that. In the '60s and '70s, the churches that had split formally over the issues of especially slavery, states' rights, were coming together. Article continues below Dr. O'Malley: For Methodist that union came about '39 was when the northern and southern Methodists and Protestants came together. So their history was divided back in 1844, 1845, when the north-south split occurred in Methodism in the pre-civil war period over the issue of possessing slaves on the part of Bishop Andrew and Georgia and so on, which led to eventually rupture there. But eventually the three-way union that occur included the Methodist-Protestants as well, which come out of the Methodist Episcopal Church earlier due to their disagreement with Francis Asbury over the office of Bishop as the proper title of a Protestant denomination. They wanted presidents of the church comparable to presidents of the United States. So that led to a third branch of the Methodist movement in the 19th century and early 20th century. So in '39, you finally had a three-way meeting in Kansas City as those three groups North-South and the Methodist-Protestant, who accepted the title of Bishops and the basic polity that Methodist had, to be there as well. So they had a history from '39 to '68 as simply the Methodist Church as a result of that three-way union, and we had our history in the EUV from '46 with the two-way union of the United Brethren and the Evangelicals until '68, and then the union with Methodist occurred. And the United side of that reflects the Evangelical-United Brethren half of that union. Mark Galli: Now contemporary Methodism, from what I understand, you're connected globally. You're not just a church of the United States, you are a worldwide church. Is that a correct understanding? Dr. O'Malley: Exactly. Operating on all continents throughout the world. It was mostly in the 19th century from the American side that the mission board was formed that went around the world with its work. Sometimes it was result of spontaneous initiatives, others through planned structure from conferences and for mission boards. Largely, the latter is what prevailed. Mark Galli: And I think this is one of the things that's led to some struggles in the church because the church overseas tends to be more conservative than the church the United States. Is that a fair thing to say? Dr. O'Malley: That is particularly the position of the churches in Africa are much more committed to a biblical, a higher view of biblical authority, as guides their church that has been influential in their church life. And I think they brought that, and it's been a high position in our church historically too in the Northern Hemisphere as it is in the global North as well in our earlier history. But they have held the torch for that, I would say, in recent years. Morgan Lee: So I want to kind of jump back to this particular conference that's happening right now. Maybe you can tell us a little bit about this conference. I guess it's every four years. But what type of things are usually determined when its being held? Dr. O'Malley: It meets every four years as a General Conference of the United Methodist Church. There are five jurisdictional conferences in the United States, which are secondary to them, and they are for the purpose of electing Bishops who serve the church and the various jurisdictions of the church. This has been a special General Conference called for a special purpose in particular dealing with the issues that have been brought before it. So it is not a regularly scheduled one that will be coming in another year. Article continues below Mark Galli: One of the things I was wondering... you know, one of the things that's been interesting about Methodist history is it's, you did mention the grounding in scripture, but it does seem that it has an initial powerful experience of some sort of spiritual experience. Is that something that's maybe getting the Methodist, making some confusion in Methodism right now? Because I do know a lot of the personal testimonies coming out of the LGBT community are grounded in the people's personal experience of how they experience themselves, how they experience their gender, how they experience God. Is it fair to say that this is some of the confusion in Methodism now? Where they are ultimate Authority lies? Dr. O'Malley: But I would that the United Methodist have been committed to officially a position of the scriptures as the foundation of our Authority, and it is also understood often in terms of the secondary witness of tradition, experience, and reason. But experience is not the origin of our Authority, but rather it confirms our engagement with the word of God as revealed scripture, and by the inspiration of the Spirit becomes not just that we believe that Christ died for us, but that he lives in and through us through the filling of the Holy Spirit. And that has its experiential dimensions. It means that's the basis for our ability to have personal fellowship with Christ through the Spirit, and with our fellow believers. That has always been an important emphasis, but within that order of priority to put experience before the first part, from scriptures is the witness to Christ, is the word of God, and to the authority the Spirit to bear witness to him for our life of holiness and for our service to the world, is to depart from what we consider the core of our mission. Mark Galli: Yeah, so I think that's referred to often as a three-legged stool of authority in Methodism, where you have scripture, experience, and reason all working together... Dr. O'Malley: I would say that we stand as part of a Christian community that has its origins in Apostolic Christianity and it's been the witness of the church fathers, the apostles, the traditions of the witness to that faith that continue down through history. Especially as being formed in the great ecumenical creeds of the early Church. Mark Galli: Okay, so it's a four-legged stool. Dr. O'Malley: Those are ways of giving confirmation to the authority of revelation we have in the scripture, that the church has acknowledged. Mark Galli: Okay, so I correct myself because yeah, you're reminding me of that. It's a four-legged stool that all work together. But in your view, it's scripture that's the really strong leg or the foundational leg of that. Dr. O'Malley: Well, John Wesley once said "I am a man of One Book. Homo unius libri." And by that he meant the Bible. And that was the authority that we relied upon in the Evangelical United Brethren tradition as well. And our confession of faith is one of the two standards of United Methodist doctrine today alongside the Articles of Religion that John Wesley prepared for the early Methodist. Morgan Lee: Talking about various Christian traditions, and these are words that I personally have not always understood exactly what is meant when they're said, but can you talk a little bit about what Wesleyanism is? Dr. O'Malley: Yeah, is there a difference between Wesleyanism and Methodism? Because are those terms just synonymous? Dr. O'Malley: Wesleyanism as an adjective, it refers to or could be referring to one who follows the theology of John Wesley as he lived it out in his ministry. There is Wesleyan Theology, which is that the theology that has been formulated based upon his life and ministry, and that has to do with his emphasis upon salvation through faith as declared in the scriptural revelation of Christ as appropriated through justification and sanctification, and even unto the Fulfillment of the gift of the Spirit and the sanctifying life, which he called Christian Perfection. Article continues below Morgan Lee: If you are a Methodist, does it necessarily follow that you follow Wesleyan theology? Dr. O'Malley: Well that refers to the theological tradition to which we adhere, but it also refers to a living faith that needs to be more than simply what is assented to by a written statement of belief or confession, but also what we are living out. And that we need to say this I think, that Methodism began or the Wesleyan movement if we refer to that, as a larger movement of his thought in the context of revival. Of bringing new life to existing church structures, namely first within the Church of England, Anglicanism, and then impacting also other traditions such as Albright with the Lutheran tradition, and Otterbein and Bain with the Reformed and Anabaptist traditions. All those traditions were being touched and influenced by a movement which had its roots really in Germany before Methodism called Pietism. That was an attempt to, or movement that brought about renewal within the churches of the Reformation after a long period of their decline and breaking down into inner divisions that occurred after the Reformation. Renewal of the original vision reformers that occurred in the late 1600s, 17th Century, just predating Methodism. So when that began in Lutheranism, and then the Reformed churches of the European continent, it was just a generation or so before Methodism began in England and Wesley was touched by those earlier movements of renewal that occurred on the continent within Christendom, as it was called the model of Christianity in that day, that would bring a new personal understanding of Christianity to the lives of people who lived outside the confines of that older State Church form of Christianity. So it was inherently a global movement. That gets into the area of interest for mine that I have from the research I've just completed on the early history of the globalizing movement of Methodism. Morgan Lee: Do you want to talk briefly about kind of the scope of what your research looked at? Dr. O'Malley: The global aspect, it really is rooted there. It's all along been acknowledged that John Wesley was touched by the Moravians in his initial movement toward faith, after he had been educated at Oxford and he had received his ordination. He'd been reading spiritual writers and then he encountered the living witness of these German Christians who were from the Pietists renewal, I mentioned, in Europe that began with the Moravians, an encounter that took place among the Moravians. And he meets the leaders of this Moravian renewal movement that were leading this refugee group and learns of their teaching of the personal belief in personal faith in Christ, resulting in the new birth experience of regeneration, new life In Christ through the witness of the Spirit. A message of the new birth, which was not taught in the Anglican Church. It was not known to Wesley in his Oxford training. It'd come through the witness of the Reformation, but also into the Pious Renewal on the continent of Europe. Thousands of children in that country called Silesia, that had been devastated by the struggles between the warring religious parties, were surviving in the difficulties of a wilderness without their families, without their churches, that have been removed and destroyed, and they began praying and believing that God would bring about a new future for them and for their families. This was utterly astounding to the elders who observed them, because no one else had any hope because the churches were gone. That is those that have been a part of the Reformation Heritage. Then there was this huge church of refugees established pastored by a man by the name of Johann Steinmetz, and he had 70,000 people in his emergency parish of refugees that he preached. Article continues below Preachers came and helped him who were knowledgeable in all the languages that surround the area because the refugees were Polish, they were German-speaking, they were Hungarian, there were Czech, and so it was like a Pentecost environment. And I found it fascinating that that was the beginning in many ways of the revival that later found its way into Methodism and England through Wesley. Mark Galli: So Methodism, in that regard, has a deeply International beginning. Dr. O'Malley: Exactly. And he and the fact that he hears this not from his own Anglican people primarily at that time, but from an Awakening that was occurring in Eastern Europe among a people of a different language, and that it had originated not among theologians, but from the message that was revealed through children. To be a completed Christian means to be as a child. Mark Galli: Well what a cool thing to get to spend a couple of years really diving into and pulling together, because it sounds like it's a history that not everyone knows and not everyone has been able to have the chance to do a deep dive in. So thank you so much for sharing about what you've been working on with your sabbatical project. Dr. O'Malley: Oh, you're welcome. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Geely Auto Group recently adjusted its marketing structure by adding the yet-to-be-launched Geely New Energy into its brand lineup, according to local media. Geely New Energy will be operated as an independent sub-brand with its own logo, parallel to the other four brands, namely, Geely Auto, Lynk & Co, Proton Cars and Lotus Cars. Yang Xueliang, vice president of Geely Auto Group, revealed last month that the company is going to build an independent sales company for Geely New Energy, which will run as an independent brand. After the latest adjustment, the automaker will sell models under three independent sub-brands in China, namely, Geely Auto, Lynk & Co and Geely New Energy. Yang said consumers' understanding about new energy vehicle (NEV) is updating and the NEV consumption scenarios and marketing modes have been essentially changed, thus the brand construction, marketing modes as well as consumers experience must be upgraded at the same time. Featuring all-new brand position, technologies and sales channel, Geely New Energy reportedly will sell vehicles based on some NEV sales channels akin to shop-in-shop derived from Geely's existing channels and other independent NEV-specific marketing channels. In 2018, Geely Auto and Lynk & Co launched several NEV models, including the Emgrand EV450, the Emgrand GSe, the Borui GE and the Lynk & Co 01PHEV. As part of the Blue Geely Initiative, Geely New Energy is ready to roll out three new models in 2019, namely, the GE11 all-electric sedan, the new Emgrand PHEV and a plug-in hybrid MPV. It is worth mentioning that Geely Energy vehicle also plans to release range-extended EV models. Pastor Says Donald Trump's Presidency and Blood Moons Are Connected Share Tweet In a YouTube video last month, Australian pastor Stephen Cioccolanti claims the connection between the presidency of Donald Trump and periodic lunar eclipses known as blood moons. A blood moon most commonly refers to the instance when the Earths moon is in a total lunar eclipse. Cioccolanti has studied these occurrences, and discussed their significance over his channel, and in an episode of The Strange Report on the Charisma Podcast Network. Cioccolanti claims the timing of the blood moons and Trumps life and presidency are significant. As he pointed out in his YouTube video, President Trump was born during a blood moon in 1946, and the last blood moon on Jan. 20-21 this year came at the mid-way point of Trumps first term in office. Further prophetic significance could also be derived from the Super Blue Blood Moon which occurred the day after Trumps first State of the Union Address, wrote CBN News. Cioccolanti explained that God will use signs such as these when he wants to confirm something, siting the star of Bethlehem as a widely-accepted example. The Thai pastor was born to a family of Buddhists, Catholics, Methodists and Muslims, and is now a Christian author, teacher and pastor of Discover Church in Melbourne Australia. Cioccolanti has been a strong supporter of President Trump, religious rights, and free speech, according to his personal bio on his churchs website. His YouTube channel exploded when he described how many signs of the end times warned of natural and man-made crises, which have been confirmed since the Arab Spring 2010, Tojoku Earthquake 2011, rise of ISIS 2014, destruction of Syria 2015, Hurricane Harvey 2017, and the relocation of the US embassy to Israels capital of Jerusalem 2018, his website claims. Cioccolanti drew significance from the symmetry of the lunar events, saying we had 10 symmetric Blood Moons beginning in 2010 all the way to 2019. The ones that people know most about are the four called the Tetrad, Greek for four is tetrad. That happened from 2014 to 2015. That was clearly when Trump was getting ready to run for president. John Hagee of San Antonio, Texas, and Mark Blitz of Seattle, Washington are among other pastors who speak on the prophetic significance of blood moons and how they point to the end times, how they correlate with events on the Hebrew calendar, and particularly in reference to Revelation 6:12 and Acts 2:20, which cites the book of Joel saying the moon will turn to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. Photo courtesy: Glen Carrie/Unsplash Video courtesy: Steve Cioccolanti & Discover Ministries Israel Terminates 'Government Christian Forum' Shocking Local Christians Share Tweet The Israeli government has canceled a five-year-old forum that works to build relationships between Israeli Christians and the government. According to CBN News, Israels head of the Desk of Minorities Affairs, Dr. Mordechai (Moti) Zaken, announced that the forum which was founded in 2013 - was outside of the government's scope and it would have to be terminated. In a statement, Zaken said, I have been informed that the Forum does not fall within the scope of the Public Security Ministry. Therefore, I have no choice but to discontinue the activity of the Forum as part of that ministry. The unexpected announcement reportedly sent shock waves through the Christian community in Israel. According to CBN News, several local Christians voiced their disappointment noting that by eliminating the forum, the Christian community in Israel will have no place to air their grievances. In a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a local Christian named David Pileggi of Rector Christ Church Jerusalem, voiced concern for the cancellation saying, Only Dr Moti Zaken, the head the Minority Affairs desk at the Ministry of Public Security has been consistently helpful This group meets to find practical solutions to the problems of the evangelical community here in Israel, issues such as visas, harassment at the airport, finding ways for young Christians to serve in the IDF and more. Unfortunately, this Forum has been terminated by the Ministry of Public security leaving us in the Christian community no real address to take our problems. Former Chair of the Evangelical Alliance Israel Pastor Chuck Kopp voiced his disappointment in a statement to CBN News saying he was saddened to know about this negative step that isolates millions of Evangelicals around the world who look to Jerusalem as their spiritual home. He continued, We want communion and connection to the government of Israel and the efforts of Dr. Moti Zaken, Phd. have helped in countless ways to foster this relationship. We have treasured our time together and to have the rug pulled out from under him at this time is very tragic. Reportedly, during the forums last meeting, government officials met with local Christian organizations in order to find a solution that would help Christians avoid harassment in airports. Photo courtesy: Faruk Kaymak/Unsplash United Methodist Church upholds position against homosexuality, same-sex marriage 27 February, 2019 by Michael Gryboski , | The United Methodist Church will maintain its official position that homosexuality is contrary to Christian teaching, in a decision following days of contentious debate over the issue. For the past several years, the UMC has been embroiled in an emotional debate over whether to change its stance, as outlined in its Book of Discipline, labeling homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teaching." Delegates at the UMC special session of General Conference, representing all of the global denomination, voted Tuesday to reject a measure called the "One Church Plan," which would have allowed regional bodies of the denomination to determine their position on homosexuality. Instead, delegates approved the "Traditional Plan" in a vote of 438-384. The Plan maintains the denomination's stance against homosexuality, gay marriage, and the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals while promising to better enforce those rules. Mark Tooley, president of the theologically conservative Institute on Religion & Democracy in Washington, D.C., celebrated the vote result against the "One Church Plan" on Twitter. "African, Filipino, Euro delegates crucial. They saved growing global church from plight of imploding USA Mainline Protestants. Thank you!" tweeted Tooley. At the 2016 General Conference, delegates passed a recommendation creating a "Commission on a Way Forward," which was meant to analyze the denomination's position on LGBT issues. Made up of a theologically diverse group of UMC leaders, the commission sought to create suggested proposals aimed at ending the divisive debate and possibly avoid a schism. In April 2017, the UMC Council of Bishops announced that there was going to be a special session of General Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, on Feb. 2326. "The purpose of this special session of the General Conference shall be limited to receiving and acting upon a report from the Council of Bishops based on the recommendations of the Commission on a Way Forward," explained the Bishops in an official letter. The two major plans that the commission recommended that were among those considered by the UMC delegates were the "One Church Plan" and the "Traditional Plan." The One Church Plan would allow regional bodies and congregations to determine their own stance on homosexuality. This plan was supported by a majority of the Council of Bishops. The Traditional Plan would maintain the UMC's position against homosexuality, while offering stricter enforcement and possibly a "gracious exit" for pro-LGBT congregations. During the special session, while the delegates voted Monday to advance the Traditional Plan to a plenary vote, the One Church Plan and a pro-LGBT "Simple Plan" were both voted down. The One Church Plan was still submitted in a minority report. On Tuesday, delegates voted to reject substituting the minority report in a vote of 374 in favor to 449 against, effectively killing the One Church Plan. Read more from "United Methodist Church upholds position against homosexuality, same-sex marriage" on The Christian Post. UN subjects persecuted Christian refugees in Thailand to unfair burden, expert tells Congress Christian Post Contributor | 27 February, 2019 by Samuel Smith Thousands of Pakistani Christian asylum-seekers in Thailand are subjected to an unfair burden of proof by the United Nations, which has led to many denials for believers fleeing persecution, a human rights lawyer told members of Congress Tuesday. Ann Buwalda, the director of the international advocacy group Jubilee Campaign USA and founder of Just Law International, testified before members of House Foreign Affairs subcommittee about the crisis of religious and ethnic minority asylum seekers in Thailand. As Pakistan ranks as the fifth-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, thousands of Pakistani Christians migrate to countries like Malaysia and Thailand in search of refuge from societal violence associated with their faith in Christ in the 97-percent Muslim Pakistan. According to Buwalda, Jubilee Campaign estimates that there are as many as 3,000 to 4,000 Pakistani Christian refugees in Thailand with cases pending before the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Many of those refugees are in the city of Bangkok. "Some of them are approved and awaiting resettlement," she explained. "But some cases are closed and affording them with no place to go." Buwalda entered into the testimony the case of Michael D'Souza, a Pakistani Christian who was denied refugee status by the UNHCR in Bangkok and was forced to stay in Bangkok's notorious Immigration and Detention Center (IDC). The conditions at the center, Buwalda and other rights activists say, are "deplorable." "[A]fter one year of suffering through that and no hope, he returned to Pakistan. Michael D'Souza was brutalized by the very people he feared would persecute him," Buwalda said. "His case should not have been denied and he remains stranded in Karachi, Pakistan." Conditions in the IDC are so rough that some have died inside of the center. Many are brought there after being arrested in immigration raids. In May 2017, one Christian man accused of blasphemy in Pakistan died in the center after authorities neglected to provide him with treatment to a curable health condition. As for D'Souza, Buwalda says that his case demonstrates the fact refugees fleeing religious persecution "should be provided with opportunities to have their cases with more reasonableness." "We have found that with many of the cases within UNHCR in Bangkok, there are denials because there is an unreasonable standard and burden of proof placed upon them," she explained. "We have many cases, as do colleagues of ours, that assist with the refugee processing. It clearly appears to us that UNHCR in Bangkok has placed a higher burden of proof on Pakistani Christian asylum seekers." Buwalda and her colleagues have tried to raise awareness about the struggles facing Christian asylum seekers in Thailand. "We have approached the UNHCR. They are sympathetic. But the conditions in terms of the interviews have not changed," Buwalda said. "We would like to see that change take place." Read more from "UN subjects persecuted Christian refugees in Thailand to unfair burden, expert tells Congress" on The Christian Post. Activists will target churches who counsel LGBT people, therapist warns 'God's Voice' conference 27 February, 2019 by Michael Gryboski , | A psychotherapist has warned a Christian conference opposed to queer ideology that if LGBT activists successfully ban secular counseling for people with unwanted same-sex attraction, they will next go after religious counselors. A conference known as "God's Voice: A Biblical Response to the Queering of the Church" was held Feb. 22-23 at Fairview Baptist Church of Edmond, Oklahoma. David Pickup, a licensed therapist who is a board member at the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) and a practitioner of sexual orientation change efforts therapy, spoke at the God's Voice conference last weekend. During his remarks, Pickup warned his audience that for the state legislators trying to ban SOCE therapy, "the next step is to come after you." "It's going to happen in your universities, it's going to happen in your schools, in your elementary schools if you don't conform to the new 'sex education' curriculum," said Pickup. "They try to get at psychotherapists first, and then they're coming after church counselors and the church. They're smart, folks. They know what's coming and they know what they're doing." Pickup has actively testified and lobbied against many proposed state-level bans on SOCE therapy, and is credited with helping to defeat most of them. Pickup called on the conference attendees to be "as smart as foxes but gentle as doves" when it comes to state-level efforts to ban SOCE therapy. Pickup then spoke about how SOCE therapy actually works contrary to popular perceptions, declaring that "the Mark Yarhouses and the Russell Moores and the Al Mohlers do not know what goes on in my office." "What goes on in my office is love, compassion," explained Pickup. "There is no such thing as compassion without truth." Pickup noted that the vast majority of his patients are male, though he had some females as well. He grouped his patients into two categories: either overtly abused or bullied in a dysfunctional family background, or covertly neglected in a stable family background. "I get to sit there, literally sit there, and because of these emotional healing experiences, watch my clients change their erotic feelings in the moment while they're having therapy. I see it," continued Pickup. Janet Mefferd, a widely-syndicated Christian radio host, introduced Pickup to the conference, referring to him as a "remarkable man" who "has done some phenomenal overturning of the tables when the situation has called for it." "He is really fighting," stated Mefferd, who stressed that the conference needs to be concerned about therapy bans because she believed that once states ban secular therapy options, "they're coming for your biblical counselors." "We need to be concerned about this issue if for no other reason that we have to stand together on the issue of freedom and self-autonomy, because that's the right thing to do." In addition to Pickup, other speakers at God's Voice included Peter LaBarbera, founder and president of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality; Stephen Black, executive director with First Stone Ministries; the Rev. Al Baker of the Presbyterian Church in America; and Southern Baptist evangelist the Rev. Thomas Littleton. Littleton echoed Pickup's comments, warning those gathered that "very soon, your testimony of conversion could be literally 'hate speech.'" "If you've left this lifestyle, your testimony of conversion, to read Romans 1 or an assortment of scriptures that speak to the subject of homosexuality could be 'hate speech' in our churches from our pulpits," Littleton said. "And we have friends in Europe where this is already the case. You could be inciting, potentially inciting a hate crime by reading Romans 1." Read more from "Activists will target churches who counsel LGBT people, therapist warns 'God's Voice' conference" on The Christian Post. Former attorney Michael Cohen was once a key member of Donald Trumps inner circle and the presidents personal lawyer for more than a decade but in February 2019, he agreed to testify against his former boss. This comes after Cohen was sentenced to three years behind bars for a number of crimes including arranging payments during the 2016 election to silence women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump. While Cohens name has been capturing headlines for his legal issues people have had questions about the woman standing by her husband throughout the scandal and controversies. They also want to know more about his daughter, who he once shared a racy photo of. Michael Cohen and his wife, Laura Shusterman | COREY SIPKIN/AFP/Getty Images Heres what we know about Cohens wife, Laura Shusterman, and the couples adult children. Suusterman is Ukrainian Shusterman was born in the Ukraine to parents Ania and Fima Shusterman. Her family moved to the states and in 1994, she married Cohen. In the book Trump / Russia: A Definitive History, author Seth Hettena alleged that Shustermans father introduced Trump to Cohen. Hettena wrote that Fima was possibly Trumps silent business partner and that he gave Cohen a job at the Trump Organization as a favor to Shusterman. Cohen called that claim fake news. I want to wish my wife and moms everywhere a happy and joyous Mother's Day! pic.twitter.com/XSgXLMIqOa Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) May 8, 2016 According to Newsweek, Trumps former attorney and his wife made a substantial amount of money from New York City taxicab medallions. But its since been reported that they owe tens of thousands in unpaid taxi taxes. They have one son and one daughter together Shusterman and Cohen have two children, Samantha Blake and Jake Ross. Their daughter is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and their son currently attends the University of Miami. Jake is set to graduate in 2022. Cohen tweeted a photo of Samantha in l ingerie Samanthas name ended up making news in 2017 when her father shared a photo of her wearing lingerie. So proud of my Ivy League daughterbrains and beauty channeling her Edie Sedgwick. On Instagram @samichka_ pic.twitter.com/mpQxhr3mh3 Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) May 15, 2017 Cohens choice to tweet the pic of his daughter caused some people to slam him calling it creepy. But Samantha defended her father telling the Daily Mail that the image was from a photo shoot and her dad was supporting her. My father, who has always been supportive of my endeavors, was merely expressing his pride, she said. There is nothing inappropriate in the picture and those who seek to make it something it is not are merely Trump haters who are using this an opportunity to stir up drama. I find it hypocritical that those who consider themselves liberal would criticize a woman embracing her body. There is nothing sexualized about the photograph it is tasteful and it is demure. In addition to his prison sentence, Cohen was ordered to pay $1.39 million in restitution to the IRS, $500,000 in forfeitures, and $100,000 in fines. A source close to the former lawyer said that He wants [his wife and children] to continue to live a normal life. Theyve been through more than enough. Read more: Who Is Roger Stones Wife, Nydia Betran? Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Bringing Up Bates is now in its 8th season, and the cameras have been busy catching fans up on whats been going on with the family in recent months. In January fans were treated to a glimpse into the proposal that Evan Stewart planned for his future bride, Carlin Bates. In the elaborate proposal, complete with a surprise trip, Stewart, 23, asked Carlin, 20, to be his bride. A joyous yes sealed the deal. While Stewarts camera-ready proposal was big, he isnt the first man to go all out to marry into the Bates clan, so which family member had the most elaborate proposal? A Maine extravaganza Stewart, to execute his big plan, enlisted the help of his parents, as well as Carlins parents and older sister. Together they planned a trip to Portland, Maine, where they enjoyed the sites, feasted on lobster, then took a private bike ride. Stewart and the family found a lighthouse that he thought would be a perfect engagement spot, and they lined the entire area with white roses. Stewart led Bates to the area before getting down on one knee for a picturesque proposal, according to Knox News. The pair, whose engagement took place in September 2018 will wed in an elaborate ceremony in May 2019. They began courting in 2016, according to In Touch. Kelton Balka used a trip to propose, too Kelton Balka, who married Josie Bates in October 2018, planned an elaborate proposal that depended on a trip, too. Balka, 23 and Bates, 19 courted for just a few months before becoming engaged. A far cry from her older sisters much lengthier courtship. To propose, Balka whisked Bates, who was a college student at the time, away to Utah. The pair, who are both from Tennessee enjoyed the sites, but Balka had more planned. He crafted a scavenger hunt for Bates to follow. The final clue led Bates to the proposal, according to Knox News. The pair married just a few months after they became engaged and now are expecting their first child together. Balka and Bates announced the pregnancy on Instagram in February. They are due in July 2019. A scavenger hunt in 2015 Michaella Bates, now 29, and Brandon Keilen, also 29, have been married since 2015, and his elaborate proposal was the first in a never ending line of engagements. Beilen planned a scavenger hunt that dragged his now wife all over the greater Virginia area, before he popped the big question. Keilen was not with Michaella as she traversed the scenery, but he met her at the final destination. The pair married in August 2015 after courting for over a year. They couple, who resides in Tennessee have been open in recent years about their struggle with infertility. They have documented seeing specialists for Bringing Up Bates. Kris Jenner, the matriarch of the Kardashian-Jenner family, didnt get to where she is now by sleeping in and binge-watching daytime TV. Shes making $500,000 for every episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians and her net worth is estimated to be $60 million. BEVERLY HILLS, CA DECEMBER 11: TV personality Kris Jenner attends The Inaugural Diamond Ball presented by Rihanna and The Clara Lionel Foundation at The Vineyard on December 11, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images) So, what does the queen Momager (she trademarked the term in 2012) do in the morning to make her day more successful? Find out her morning routine, ahead. She wakes up early Jenner doesnt wake up early in the morning. No, she practically wakes up in the middle of the night. Jenner told Heat magazine, I try to work out as much as possible and eat right. I get up about 4.30am and workout. Im a foodie so I love to eat, so its a problem, according to The Daily Mail. She has said on another occasion that she gets up at 4 a.m. before hitting the gym. No matter when she rises, one thing is for sure. Jenner makes the most of every 24 hours. She plans ahead I dont sleep a lot so Im trying to get a lot done early morning, Jenner told IOL, according to Insider. I plan everything, make sure everything is fine all the way [while] Im on the treadmill, I drink lots of coffee to get me going. This may be the one part of Jenners schedule that remains almost the same; her wakeup time and the fact that she exercises on a daily basis. Jenner is always going In a phone conversation with the Huffington Post, Jenner talked about hiring a new assistant and that it meant being on at all hours of the day like she is. I learned a lot in my life by paying attention and listening to how people around me worked, Kris told the Huffington Post. And I think that given the opportunity, somebody could really learn a lot just being around me and the girls because its really nonstop, 24/7 brainstorming and creativity and just trying to get organized and really pack a lot into a day being there nonstop with all engines blazing. She has no routine The thing with Jenner is that theres no morning routine for her because each day is different from the last. This comes as no surprise as she manages all of her kids careers. She explained what her day was like following the Met Gala in 2018 to the Huffington Post. Heres what she did in one day: Conducted phoners an interview thats done over the phone Had meetings Recorded Keeping up with the Kardashians at various points throughout the day Got ready, which is called glam and involves hair, makeup, and wardrobe Picked up her daughters at different hotels Changed outfits multiple times with Tommy Hilfiger Went to a dinner hosted by the Business of Fashion Got on a midnight flight with Kylie and Travis Scott Its no wonder why Jenner said she needed someone who had scheduling down on a very high level, to work for her. Its nonstop. Every day is different, you never know what to expect and you have to be ready to pivot on a dime, Jenner told the Huffington Post. Not many of us watch the Golden Globes to catch glimpses of the promotional models but the Fiji Water Girl caught the publics eye and made a big splash in Fiji Waters promotions. Who is the Fiji Water Girl? Kelleth Cuthbert, dubbed the Fiji Water Girl by the public, and born Kelly Cuthbert is a 30-year-old Canadian model. She was hired by Fiji Water for the 2019 Golden Globes to pose and promote their product. Cuthbert went above and beyond with her task: Located in a spot with a lot of celebrity traffic, she strategically positioned herself to appear in all these celebrities glamour shots. Jamie Lee Curtis was not amused by Cuthberts cameo. Why is Cuthbert suing Fiji Water? The issue began when Fiji Water started a campaign that utilized the image of Cuthbert in cardboard cutout form. In the complaint she filed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, she says her appearance at the Golden Globes generated $12 million for the Fiji Water brand, and claims that this is Fiji Water unlawfully using her image. She says although she did meet with Fiji Water about a cardboard cutout campaign, she never gave the brand permission to use her photograph, likeness or identity. A representative for Cuthbert says this lawsuit was a last resort for the model, who had hoped to discreetly resolve this dispute. Cuthberts representative said in a statement, Fiji Water used her image without a contract, without consent and without paying her, all for Fiji Waters financial gain. Models make a living off the use of their image. No one would expect other professions to work for free. Fiji Waters cardboard cutout campaign used Ms. Cuthberts image unlawfully and she just wants what is fair. FIJI Waters response Fiji Water claims this lawsuit to pointless, saying they are not stressed about the court proceedings, confident they will prevail. This lawsuit is frivolous and entirely without merit. Supposedly Fiji Water did come to an agreement with Cuthbert: After the Golden Globes social media moment, we negotiated a generous agreement with Ms. Cuthbert that she blatantly violated. We are confident that we will prevail in Court. Throughout our history, we have had a sterling reputation working with talent. But Cuthbert says she was bribed with gifts and tricked into signing away her rights. She says Fiji Water, pressured her into video recording a fake signing of a fake document to simulate her signing on as a Fiji Water Ambassador. she has since destroyed the alleged document and claims the brand has no right to use her likeness. Cuthbert has bitten the hand that feeds her Kelleth Cuthbert, right, and another FIJI Water Ambassador, left, at the 2019 Golden Globes. | Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for FIJI Water Fiji Water has now retaliated against Cuthbert with a countersuit. The brand says she has bitten the hand that feeds her. Fiji Water says not only has she violated their agreement, but she attempted to extort close to a half million dollars from Fiji because she wanted a better deal. According to the documents, the $90,000 deal included an agreement that she would act as the Fiji Water ambassador for a year, appearing in 3 Fiji Water promotions and not advertising any other foods or beverages in her term as ambassador. Fiji Water alleges the initial agreement was done over email before being made official in person. After the videotaping of the document signing, Cuthbert took the only signed copy and intentionally destroyed it. Cuthberts attorney, Kecia Reynolds, responded: The complaint filed by Fiji Water today is an obvious publicity stunt to counter revelations of Fiji Waters unlawful actions, however, Kelleth will not be bullied by Fiji Water, the Wonderful Company, or its billionaire owners. Reynolds adds, To be clear, Fiji Water has not fed Kelleth, Fiji Water has never paid Kelleth and there was not an agreement, not an email agreement or fake document agreement. Documents or not, the court proceedings are still in progress and we will see if the justice system leans toward the girl or the brand. The first installment of the documentary Making a Murderer came out in 2015, but people cant stop talking about it even now. And Steven Avery is back in the news again: apparently, his new lawyer Kathleen Zellner helped him win the right to appeal his guilty conviction. Its all putting him one step closer to getting out of prison in 2019. But most of us outside of Wisconsin wouldnt know anything about Steven Avery without the Netflix documentary about his life. The intentions of the documentary makers were clear they wanted to cast a shadow of doubt on Steven Averys guilt. It worked. Most people who finished the documentary were convinced that Avery was wrongfully convicted of murder. Here are the reasons most people believe that Steven Avery is innocent. Steven Avery | Netflix Steven Avery was wrongfully convicted before If anyone knows a guilty conviction doesnt necessarily prove guilt of a crime, its Steven Avery. The documentary spent plenty of time explaining how Avery was forced to serve 18 years of his life behind bars for a crime he didnt commit. A jogger named Patty Beernsten was attacked and sexually assaulted back in 1985. Steven Avery got sent to prison for the crime despite an appalling lack of evidence against him. He was freed after the Wisconsin Innocence Project took on his case and eventually DNA evidence led to discovering the real rapist. What happened next is another reason why many people believe that Steven Avery didnt really commit murder. Steven Avery | Netflix via YouTube He was suing the Manitowoc County sheriffs department Steven Avery wasnt willing to accept a formal apology from the people who wrongfully put him in prison for half his life at that point not that they were offering one anyway. Shortly after his release in 2003, Avery filed a civil lawsuit against the Manitowoc County sheriffs department. The total price for his pain and suffering? $36 million. The lawsuit was still ongoing when local photographer Teresa Halbach disappeared in October 2005. Avery was arrested for murder after police found blood that matched Steven Averys DNA inside her car, discovered her car in his salvage yard, and found bone fragments in a burn barrel near his house. But did Steven Avery really commit murder? The whole case was mismanaged from day one There are plenty of people who still think Steven Avery is guilty of murder. The documentary Making a Murderer left out plenty of incriminating details about the case possibly to cast more doubt on Averys guilt. But one thing thats not up for debate? His case was not handled properly, whether hes guilty or not. Because of the conflict of interest with Steven Averys pending lawsuit against Manitowoc County police, they were not supposed to be involved in the murder investigation at all. Yet they kept overstepping their roles, often being left alone with crucial evidence when they shouldnt have been present at the crime scene in the first place. While it may be a stretch to think police officers planted evidence to make Steven Avery look guilty, it is possible. And thats enough to cause doubt. Steven Averys salvage yard | Netflix via YouTube Other murder suspects were ignored Teresa Halbach did not live dangerously, but there were still plenty of plausible suspects for her murder case. Once Steven Avery became a person of interest, however, it seemed police were hellbent on proving his involvement rather than investigating all possible angles. Other potential suspects include Scott Tadych (Brendan Dasseys stepfather), Bobby Dassey (Brendan Dasseys brother), and Ryan Hilligas (Halbachs ex-boyfriend). All of these people are being looked at again, especially with the potential of the case being reopened. All of these details combined are enough to convince people that Steven Avery is really innocent. Will we ever know for sure? Probably not. But if Kathleen Zellner has anything to do with it, Steven Avery will have his day in court once again. Lady Gaga | MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images Lady Gaga made history when she walked the red carpet this past weekend at the Oscars. She was wearing perhaps the most expensive piece of jewelry to ever grace the event: a $30 million 128 carat Tiffany diamond. Prior to Gaga, the most expensive piece of jewelry to be worn across the Oscars carpet was the $20 million Harry Winston blue diamond inspired by the Heart of the Ocean featured in Titanic. The necklace was worn by none other than Gloria Stuart. It was Gloria Stuartat 87, the oldest person ever nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscarwho set a jewelry record that night. Her 15 carat blue diamondthe rarest of the rare and reminiscent of the famed Hope Diamond now on view at The Smithsonianwas set in a diamond necklace by Harry Winston, reported Town & Country of the 1998 red carpet moment. The famous Tiffany D iamond doesnt usually see the light of day The diamond Gaga wore, the $30 million 128 carat diamond, doesnt get a lot of actionits usually safely tucked away in its vitrine on the main floor of the Tiffany store on Fifth Avenue, according to jewelry expert Stellene Volandes. The store, however, made an exception for Gaga. someone need to keep an eye on sandra bullock https://t.co/BXPGnXVg0O josie (@evanswrth) February 25, 2019 The chief artistic officer of the jewelry empire, Reed Krakoff, thinks Gaga to be the ultimate creator, innovator and rule breaker. Im thrilled that she will be wearing the legendary Tiffany Diamond on the awards show red carpet for the first time since it was discovered 141 years ago, he said. Lady Gagas style team was giddy over the diamond The chance to work with such an amazing piece of design and history tonight is a creative dream come true, Lady Gagas stylists Sandra Amador and Tom Eerebout told The Hollywood Reporter. There are so many beautiful jewels in the world, but the radiant Tiffany Diamond is truly exceptional, which is just so fitting for Lady Gaga. The rest of Lady Gagas look When she first stepped onto the red carpet, Gaga was wearing a black Alexander McQueen gown (along with the Tiffany D iamond , of course). But she used her performance of Shallow with co-star and close friend Bradley Cooper as an opportunity to change gowns. For the performance, she wore a black Brandon Maxwell gown. Maxwell shared with his Instagram following how This is without a doubt one of the proudest days of my life and career. Audrey Hepburn wore the same diamond Audrey Hepburn wore the same iconic piece of jewelry back in 1962 to promote Breakfast At Tiffanys. She wore the diamond at the center of a Jean Schlumberger diamond ribbon necklace to take some promotional shots for the upcoming film. She was the second woman to ever wear it publicly, according to Volandes. The diamond was first worn by Mrs. Sheldon Whitehouse at the 1957 Tiffany Ball in Newport, Rhode Island. Lady Gaga is the third person to ever wear the diamond . Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! What dont we want to know about the British royal family? Wed like to know practically everything about them. Such as, what does Meghan Markle keep in her purse? And, who is the queens favorite Prime Minister? One of the questions we can answer is about how tall each member of the royal family is. Keep reading to learn about their heights. How tall is Prince Charles? The Internet says Prince Charles is 5 feet, 10 inches tall but his height has been a topic of debate. Different outlets have different stats for the princes height. Some say his height bottoms out at 5 feet, 8 inches, which is one inch shorter than the average British male. His height was a bigger deal than you may realize. More on why, next. How tall was Princess Diana? The late Princess Diana reportedly stood at 5 feet, 10 inches tall. Buckingham Palace even issued a statement about her height in comparison to that of her husband, Prince Charles. He was supposedly an inch taller than her, standing at 5 feet, 11 inches. ANGOLA JANUARY 05: Diana, Princess of Wales wearing protective body armour and a visor visits a landmine minefield being cleared by the charity Halo in Huambo, Angola (Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images) A concern of Dianas was not to appear taller than Charles in photographs. Her main concern was that she wouldnt appear taller than Prince Charles, Clive Shilton, Dianas cobbler, told The Mirror. Shilton also said because she was very tall 510 the shoes would have to have a low heel. How tall is Prince Harry? Knowing the height of his parents, as a child, people could probably already guess Prince Harry would grow up to be a tall man. Now in his thirties, Harry reportedly stands at 6 feet, 1 inches . How tall is Prince William? Again, we know that being tall is in Prince Williams genes. Hes even taller than his younger brother. The heir to the throne is reportedly 6 feet, 3 inches tall. As a member of the royal family, William will literally stand out in a crowd because of his height. How tall is Meghan Markle? Its hard to discern the height of the women in the royal family because theyre often photographed wearing high-heeled shoes or wedges (but no wedges when the queen is around because she doesnt like them). Actors sometimes appear taller onscreen and Markle, a former actress, was probably no stranger to people commenting on her height in her acting heyday. Maybe to Suits viewers, she appeared taller or shorter than in real life but she reportedly stands at 5 feet, 7 inches. That means Markle is six inches shorter than her husband, Prince Harry. Given the way she rocks high heels, their height difference isnt really noticeable. Markle and Middleton alike have to be pros at spending hours walking around in four or five inch heels. How tall is Kate Middleton? One look at Kate Middleton and you know shes got legs for days. She reportedly stands at 5 feet, 9 inches. She too is six inches shorter than her husband, Prince William. Again, Middleton wears high heels to royal engagements making her appear taller. With Middleton and Prince William both being tall, we can assume that Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis will grow up to be tall. How tall is Queen Elizabeth II? Queen Elizabeth II is smaller in stature compared to her children and grandchildren. She measures up at 5 feet, 4 inches. POUNDBURY, DORSET OCTOBER 27: Queen Elizabeth II tours Queen Mother Square on October 27, 2016 in Poundbury, Dorset. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage) King Charles I also reportedly stood at 5 feet, 4 inches. While shes shorter than most of her close relatives, the queen is the same height as the average woman in Britain. How tall is Prince Philip? Prince Philip was 6 feet tall in his youth. Today, The Duke of Edinburgh stands at about 5 feet, 11 inches. Hes taller than his son but shorter than his grandsons, William and Harry. Like many teens today, friendships extend far beyond backyards and schoolyards. And for Jazz Jennings from TLCs I Am Jazz, global friendships are pretty commonplace. The teen sensation is very active on social media and YouTube, which is pretty typical for most teens. However, Jennings has nearly 800,000 followers on Instagram and more than 630,000 people subscribe to her YouTube channel. Jazz Jennings /Getty Images While shes a pretty fierce and savvy individual, shes still a teenager. Which is likely why her parents were hestitant when she said she met a boy online and he was coming to Florida to visit. How did they meet? Ahmir Steward is a 19-year old from Philadelphia, Pennslyvania. He connected with Jennings through her YouTube channel, according to In Touch. Steward emailed Jennings and she was taken with his message. Something compelled me to reply and he just seemed very sincere in the message and it all just blossomed from there, she said. Although the show focused on Steward coming to Florida to meet Jennings, she said that wasnt their first meeting in real life. Ahmir and I met in Philly at the Transgender Health Conference. And since then, weve just kind of formed this bond, she remarked. We are talking and keeping in touch every single day. Steward is not transgender but is a big supporter of LBGTQ and feminism, Heavy reports. Id like to take this time to ask all of my followers that are against Feminism to kindly do me a favor and click that unfollow button, he wrote on Instagram. Lets spread love and positivity this year. What are Jennings family and friends saying? Friends (and even fans) are hoping Jennings is being cautious and taking the new relationship slowly, according to Heavy. But friends are getting positive vibes from the relationship. Hes very kind and he cares a lot about Jazz, a friend told Radar Online. However, like most parents, Jennings mom and dad want her to exercise caution. Jazz is really into this guy Ive never seen her actually like a boy, mother Jeanette Jennings says. And I know shes feeling better about herself she feels whole now and I think thats what made it so easy for her to accept somebody into her life. But this is different than [our] other three kids because number one, shes transgender. Number two, she just had the surgery and number three, [hes] a stranger. So you know, as parents, you just are protective of that. Any parent would be. Plus, shes never had a boyfriend in a sexual way so this is new territory for us. Jennings experiences this heartbreak While Steward embraces Jennings for who she is, his mother may not be on board. Steward and Jennings have a conversation that reveals Stewards mom isnt thrilled about her son having a relationship with someone who is transgender. Jazz Jennings/Getty Images Im shocked, Jennings says, Newsweek recounts. I finally found someone that was fully accepting of me, and yet his mom who raised him doesnt accept me. Jennings also worries that her relationship with Steward could even cause Steward to be cast out from his home because of his mothers misgivings. But Steward stands strong. The most hurtful thing my mom said was that Jazz was still a man and that I would be gay for being in a relationship with Jazz, he said. As soon as my mom said that, I lost it. Im not gay, Im not attracted to men and Jazz is a female. Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Kelly and Gil Bates and their supersized family are featured on Bringing Up Bates. Complete with 19 children and nine grandchildren, the family certainly is unique in many ways. While the Bates subscribe to the same religious beliefs as the Duggar family, fans of the Bates consider them the hip and fresh version of ultra-conservative Christian reality stars, and that might have something to do with their origin story. Sure, everyone is aware of the Bates now that they are a mega-family, but most people dont know how it all began. Where did Kelly and Gil Bates Meet? Gil, whose real name is William Gilvin Bates, was raised in South Carolina with one sibling. Growing up he attended Methodist churches and was heavily involved in sports. As a high school student, he became involved in a Christian ministry and continued his ministry work when he got to college at Anderson. Kelly Jo is the fourth of six children. Her parents divorced during her childhood, and her mother later went on to marry two more times. Kelly Jo attended Anderson College, where she met Gil Bates. According to a television interview, Gil was taken with Kelly right away, but she didnt notice him. It was only once Gil needed science help, and Kelly as a lab assistant tutored him, that she began to notice him. The pair began dating and transferred to Carson-Newman College together. In 1987 Gil proposed to Kelly. They married in 1988. Kelly and Gil have both admitted that they had no plans to have children until they were married for several years, but just months after their wedding Kelly was pregnant. Were Kelly Jo and Gil Bates always ultra-conservative? No, they were not. Kelly and Gil were both practicing Christians when they met, and their religious beliefs helped bind them together, but the pair were not ultra-conservative while in college. In fact, they had plans to delay children for several years. However, Kelly had a change of heart early on in their marriage. According to an interview Gil gave with The Christian Examiner, he was looking at children as a hindrance and was happy to use birth control to prevent pregnancy until the family was ready. Actively preventing pregnancy is against the rules of the ultra-conservative ministry the pair now belong to. What do Gil and Kelly Bates do for a living? Gil Bates first had an excavation and construction business with several of his oldest sons. They would spend most of their time cutting down trees and dealing with the construction needs of their small community in East Tennessee. Later, Gil would go on to found a church, where he remains the pastor. Gil and Kelly both are practicing Baptists, and their goal is to create a community and offer ministry services to those in their area. Kelly Jo does not work outside the home. Instead, she is tasked with the education of the children and ensuring everyone is happy, healthy and fed. While Kelly has a lot on her plate, things are beginning to get easier. Several of the children are out of the house and married with families of their own, leaving Kelly with a much smaller tribe to look after. The Bates youngest child is now 9 years old and becoming far more self-sufficient, the pair explained in a recent interview. They went from being one of Hollywoods power couples to going through a highly publicized divorce complete with a bitter custody battle. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have been fighting for the past two years over who their six children will live with. But now they might be taking bold steps to find a resolution. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie | Anthony Harvey/Getty Images Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie relationship timeline The pair met on the set of the film Mr. and Mrs. Smith in 2003. Their on-screen chemistry was palpable, but both denied their relationship was anything serious. At the time, Brad Pitt was still married to Jennifer Aniston. Angelina Jolie claimed a relationship was the last thing on her mind she had just adopted her son, Maddox, from Cambodia and was concentrating on being a single mom. Photographs kept popping up of the two hanging out with Jolies son, though they continued to deny romance rumors. In the end, Maddox was the one who made them admit their feelings for one another. According to the 2006 Vogue story Angelina Jolie explained that Maddox just out of the blue called him Dad. It was amazing. We were playing with cars on the floor of a hotel room, and we both heard it and didnt say anything and just looked at each other. So that was probably the most defining moment, when he decided that we would all be a family. The Jolie-Pitt family kept growing Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie | Jun Sato/WireImage Jolie adopted another child in 2005 as a single parent but the foursome was constantly being photographed together. In January 2006, Jolie and Pitt announced they were expecting their first biological child together. The following year Jolie adopted Pax from Vietnam and in February 2008, they announced they were pregnant with twins. The couple now had six children together but they werent necessarily in a rush to marry. However, the kids talked them into it. Pitt and Jolie wed in a small ceremony on August 23, 2014. They stuck together through health scares and plenty of other drama. But then seemingly out of the blue, Pitt and Jolie filed for divorce in September 2016. A bitter custody battle ensued After they officially broke up, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie began vying for custody of their three biological and three adopted children. Everything was going fine until the judge ruled that Jolie was in danger of losing primary custody of their kids if she didnt let them develop a healthy and strong relationship with her father. Things havent been going any better since then. But now Jolie and Pitt are taking bold measures to try to reconcile their differences. Are Jolie and Pitt going away together? Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie | Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images Sources say that even though the former couple has spent thousands of dollars on attorneys, theyre no closer to reaching an amicable solution on who will get custody of the children. Because of that, theyre now planning to go on a getaway together to work things out amongst themselves. Crazy? Yes. But it might be weird enough to work. Now theyre going to try a brand new, relaxed setting outside of LA where theyll have uninterrupted privacy and a long weekend to try and hash things out, the source told Celebrity Insider. But theyre not going alone. Apparently, both Jolie and Pitt will be inviting their respective legal teams on the trip. Theyre leaving all six kids at home. Hopefully theyll be able to come to a mutually agreeable resolution! Actress and activist Angelina Jolie has six children with her ex-husband, Brad Pitt. When they were together, Brangelina, as they were known, kept their kids out of the spotlight when possible, but this proved difficult given their high-profile status. Since the separation, weve seen even less of them. So when Jolie began to bring her kids out to film screenings more recently, we took note. Angelina Jolie with children Knox, Vivienne, Pax, Shiloh, Zahara, and Maddox on February 25, 2019 in New York City. | Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Netflix Who are Angelina Jolies kids? A refresher, for anyone not familiar: Jolie adopted a child, Maddox, from Cambodia, before she and Pitt got together. He later adopted Maddox himself. The couple went on to adopt two more children: Zahara, from Ethiopia and Pax, from Vietnam. The couple also has three biological children: Shiloh and twins Knox and Vivienne. All of the kids have the same last name: Jolie-Pitt. This has not changed post-split. When did Pitt and Jolie get divorced? Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are seen after landing at Los Angeles International Airport with their children February 05, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. | GVK/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images) The infamous couple reportedly got together during the filming of their movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith in 2005. However, they were not engaged until 2012, and didnt marry until 2014. They were frequently spotted together around this time. Brangelina announced their separation in 2016. Jolie then filed for divorce, but it has not officially gone through at this time. Custody of the Jolie-Pitt children has been the primary hold up preventing the divorce from becoming official. This is what Jolie has said since their split Divorce is never easy, especially when its a long drawn out process taking place in front of the entire world. Though she is a very private person, Jolie has spoken a bit about her life since the separation, touching on her own health struggles. Of course, Jolies primary focus is on her children. She told Vanity Fair in 2017, I do not want my children to be worried about me. I think its very important to cry in the shower and not in front of them. They need to know that everythings going to be all right, even when youre not sure it is. Jolie made two appearances with her children over the past week (L-R) Shiloh, Zahara Jolie-Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Maddox, Pax Jolie-Pitt, Rajendra Roy, and Prune Nourry | Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images for Museum of Modern Art Jolie has remained out of the spotlight for the most part over the last couple of years. However, she has continued making appearances related to her duties as a UN Ambassador, as well as a few red carpets here and there. On Feb 21, 2019, Jolie and her four eldest children arrived at the Opening Night of MoMAs Doc Fortnight Premiere of Prune Nourrys Serendipity striking a silly pose with Nourry and Rajendra Roy. Just four days later, on Feb. 25, 2019, Jolie and all six Jolie-Pitt children walked the red carpet at the premiere of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. The film, which was directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor, will be available on Netflix on March 1. Since we dont get a chance to see them very often, it was interesting to see how grown up all of the kids are, now ages 17, 15, 14, 12, and 10. Now that theyre getting older, Jolie considers her children more than just kids; theyre her friends. They really help me so much. Were really such a unit, she told the New York Times in 2017. Theyre the best friends Ive ever had. Nobody in my life has ever stood by me more. Check out the Cheat Sheet on Facebook! If youve seen any of MTVs Siesta Key, its pretty obvious that the shows star, Alex Kompothecras, comes from a lot of money. He lives in a massive beachfront home, constantly has luxury cars parked in his driveway, and seemingly gets everything he could ever want. But Kompo (as they call him) doesnt have all this money its his father. Who is Kompos father, Gary Kompothecras, and what is his net worth? Alex Kompothecras, far left, is the main cast member on Siesta Key. | Steve Granitz/Getty Images Kompos father is the founder of ASK-GARY Kompo wasnt born into a rich family. Hes currently the star of Siesta Key, and hes getting his law degree after graduating from University of Tampa. He runs the show and is one of the most well-known guys on the island. And thats mostly because of his fathers wealth. His father, Kompothecras, didnt decide to attend chiropractor school until 1990. In 1996, Kompothecras opened up his own practice, but quickly realized that there was money to be made in starting a hotline; a few years later, he founded 1-800-ASK-GARY. According to the ASK-GARY website, Kompothecras saw from his own patients that people werent aware of medical benefits linked to their auto insurance, so they werent getting the help they needed. Thats why he founded the hotline and it ended up being a major success. Kompos father actually footed the bill for the pilot episode of Siesta Key If youre wondering how Siesta Key got its start, you can thank Kompothecras. The father of six felt that his son and his friends had a life that was good enough to be a reality television show. So good, in fact, that Kompothecras actually called up a production company to come put together an episode. He reportedly paid the company $140,000 out of pocket to put together a 30-minute pilot episode, which Kompothecras then pitched to MTV. About a year later, the network decided they wanted to run the show. They spent $4 million to create a 10-episode premiere season, which was then renewed for at least two more seasons. The Kompothecras family lives in a 13,500 square-foot beachfront mansion The beachfront Kompothecras family mansion in Siesta Key | Jim Stem for Bloomberg/Getty Images If youre curious to know how much money the Kompothecras family has, just take a look at their mansion. According to Sarasota Magazine, the 13,500-square-foot mansion is worth around $12.6 million. It sits on the ocean in Siesta Key and comes complete with a pool and bowling alley. Plus, it has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms, and its modeled after the Marble House up in Newport, Rhode Island. Kompothecras bought the land for $2.3 million, then custom-built the home. Kompothecras net worth is unknown, but its inferred he makes at least $2 million per year Its hard to determine Kompothecras exact net worth, but it can be inferred based on his expenses. He has a home worth $12.6 million, which means hes likely taking home at least $2 million per year just based on that. Plus, he footed a $140,000 production bill as if it were nothing and reportedly spent more than $1 million to purchase a historic bar in town. He owns several luxury cars and recently bought his son a $195,000 Bentley. Its safe to say Kompothecras is worth well into the millions, and he doesnt seem to be facing any financial hardships. Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Officers with the Chattanooga Police Department on Thursday will travel to Cincinnati, Ohio to pay their respects and participate in the services for fallen CPD Officer Nicholas Galinger. Officers will depart from the Police Service Center at 3410 Amnicola Highway at 8 a.m. They will attend the visitation upon arrival in Cincinnati and the funeral and burial for CPD Ofc. Galinger on Friday. Chief David Roddy will speak at the funeral per the request of Ofc. Galinger's parents. Officers will return to Chattanooga after the services on Friday. Approximately 40 CPD officers will make the trip to Cincinnati including 21 members of Ofc. Galingers cadet class. Arrangements for CPD Ofc. Nicholas Galinger are as follows: Visitation noon to 5:00 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019 at TP White & Sons Funeral Home located at 2050 Beechmont Ave., Cincinnati, OH. Funeral at 11:00 a.m., Friday, Mar. 1, 2019 at Mount Washington Presbyterian Church located at 6474 Beechmont Ave., Cincinnati, OH. The Public Relations Society of America Lookout Chapter welcomes Crystal Drake, APR, as its March 2019 luncheon speaker. Entitled Executive Communications During Organizational Change, this event is open to anyone interested in learning about leadership and how to communicate in times of change."As the faces of organizations, leaders are tasked with messaging to a wide (and often disparate) range of audiences, all of which require specific attention to detail when it comes to tone, content and delivery format," officials said. "Communications professionals help by providing vital strategic and tactical communications advice and by challenging leaders to be better communicators themselves.In her presentation, Ms. Drake will share insights on how to guide leaders to authentically communicate changes."Ms. Drake is the executive communications manager for GE Power, based in Atlanta. Previously, she served as the vice president and southeast corporate communications manager for Wells Fargo & Co., where she was responsible for managing media relations for the organization in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee.The luncheon will take place on March 6, from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., at the Mountain City Club. Membership in PRSA Lookout Chapter is not required to attend, but tickets are limited. Reserve online at https://bit.ly/2Vnlsjz Attorneys will have 60 days to file legal briefs for Federal Judge Curtis Collier on the knotty issue of whether Robert Doggart should get a much-reduced sentence for threats against an Islamic community in New York. Doggart, a former TVA engineer and Congressional candidate from the back side of Signal Mountain, was initially offered a deal that would have carried a maximum of five years in prison. The guideline range would have been in the range of 18-24 months. He accepted the deal, but Judge Collier rejected it, citing the seriousness of the case. An eight-day trial followed and Doggart wound up with a 235-month sentence. He is in a federal medical facility in Kentucky and was not present for a Wednesday afternoon hearing. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals said Judge Collier was relying on an outdated casein rejecting the plea. The case was sent back to Chattanooga "to re-evaluate the plea agreement under the correct definition of a threat." Four members of Doggart's family attended the hearing along with 14 members of the Islamburg community, who have been closely monitoring the case. Attorney Myrlene Marsa recommended that the judge accept the earlier plea. Prosecutor Perry Piper acknowledged he had "laid a land mine" when the plea he offered was rejected and "the trial started and all the facts came out." He said, "It's a difficult situation. It's a trap I don't think I can get out of, but the court cannot close its eyes" (to the facts of the case). Judge Collier said Doggart "did not show any remorse and offered no empathy at all for the victims. Several statements he made were extremely concerning, including his inability to control himself." The judge said one responsibility of judges is to evaluate whether a plea should be accepted. Doggart never took any direct action against the community, but he was caught making a number of threats about shooting people and blowing up their buildings and homes. He said he believed they were a terrorist group. Each year, public schools across America celebrate National Reading Day. During this time, elected officials, public servants and other community stakeholders visit local public and private schools and read to the students. Unfortunately, homeschool children, small children in Mothers Day Out programs, and non-school aged children do not always have this opportunity.In order to help ensure this community of children are included, on Monday, March 4 from 10 a.m.-noon, the HCSO will host an event at their West Annex, 6233 Dayton Blvd.for local homeschool and non-school age children to come and be read to by Sheriff Hammond and members of the HCSO.During this time, snacks will be provided by the local Signal Mountain Walmart, and each child will receive a free childrens book, courtesy of the Hamilton County READ 20 Program. Children will also receive HCSO coloring books, crayons and a Junior Deputy Badge. "We will also host a K-9 demonstration for the children, a drone demonstration, provided by our UAS Division, and a small touch-a-truck area with some of our equipment, including Bob, our SWAT Team Armored Personnel Carrier," officials said.Any homeschool child or non-school aged child is invited to attend, as long as a parent or guardian is present.Last year, in addition to visiting local public and private schools to read, Sheriff Hammond hosted an online Facebook Live reading, via the HCSO Facebook page, specifically for local homeschool and non-school aged children. "This year, we will continue this opportunity as well, but we also want to host an event specifically for our homeschool and non-school aged community as we endeavor to support the importance of literacy," officials said.In addition to this event, the HCSO will also be visiting five local public schools to read to the students. The Tennessee Valley Corridor will hold its 24th annual science and technology summit on the campus of UTC May 29-30, hosted by UTC Chancellor Dr. Steven Angle in cooperation with Congressman Chuck Fleischmann. The theme of this years Summit is Chattanooga and the TVC: American Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Its Best. Registration is available at www.TennValleyCorridor.org. More than 300 attendees from the TVCs 12 Congressional districts in Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia are expected to attend and hear presentations about entrepreneurship and tech transfer; national security assets in the region; environmental management successes in the TVC; and advanced manufacturing in the public and private sectors. Support for the TVC is provided by its Leadership Council members that include: CNS Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee Valley Authority, the University of Tennessee, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Tennessee Tech, Teledyne Brown Engineering, UCOR, Auburn University and Morris Creative Group. Summit Sponsors already committed for the 2019 TVC event include: Presenting SponsorsEPB, CO.LAB, Protection Strategies, Inc., Tennessee Aquarium, Teledyne Brown Engineering, Wacker, Dynetics; Contributing Sponsors BWX Technologies, Vanderbilt, Roane State Community College, Cadre5; Supporting Sponsors Suntrust, Chambliss, Siskin Steel, Huntington Ingalls Industries; Friends of the TVC Jacobs, Information International Associates, Tennessee American Water, Tennessee Strategies, EnergySolutions, The Center for Rural Development and JPMorgan Chase. For more information about the TVC Summit, to become a sponsor or to register to attend, please visit www.TennValleyCorridor.org or email jwiggins@akinsps.com. See TVC full agenda below: May 29 Welcome Lunch: Chattanooga A Story of Community Visioning and Leadership Presenting Sponsor: EPB Learn how Chattanooga has achieved global recognition as one of the nations leading centers for entrepreneurship and innovation and about current efforts to provide the vision and leadership for future success. Developing TVCs New Economic Infrastructure Presenting Sponsor: CO.LAB Hear from entrepreneurs who have already leveraged relationships and opportunities with regional federal partners to create and grow new businesses, and learn from representatives of the regions federally funded organizations about how we prepare for more entrepreneurial inspired growth in the future. Addressing Americas Future Security Threats Presenting Sponsor: Protection Strategies, Inc. Receive updates on the threats facing America including cyber, nuclear and terrorism and how the TVC is providing the leadership to address these through deterrence and preparedness to assure our nations freedom and security. May 30 The TVC Where Nature and Technology Meet Presenting Sponsor: Teledyne Brown Engineering Learn how our region is making nature and brown field development compatible in the TVC and how the birth of an industry was established to restore the environment and reuse once contaminated properties that were created as an unfortunate consequence of the birth of nuclear power. TVCA Model for Advanced Manufacturing Presenting Sponsor: Wacker Discover how the TVC is hosting federally funded efforts to develop new materials, processes and techniques that can be transferred into the private sector, allowing the TVC to continue to serve as a center of excellence in advanced manufacturing. TVC Leaders Luncheon Presenting Sponsor: Dynetics The Summits closing luncheon, which is open to all attendees, will include keynote speakers who will showcase the TVCs important contributions to science, education, technology and national security. In partnership with Hamilton County Schools, the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga is offering a district-wide $25,000 matching campaign to fund the classroom needs of Hamilton County public school teachers through DonorsChoose.org. For every donation made to Hamilton County teacher projects this year, the Community Foundation will match that donation, until the $25,000 grant is expended. We are excited to continue our partnership with the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, said Superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson. Our teachers know our students unique needs better than anyone. This matching program empowers teachers by providing them the necessary resources to tailor their classroom to their students, while also giving them an opportunity to strengthen relationships within the community. DonorsChoose.org is an online crowdfunding platform that gives donors the opportunity to contribute directly to projects proposed by public school teachers to benefit their classrooms. Since its inception, DonorsChoose.org has facilitated more than $325,000 in donations to Hamilton County classrooms. What excites us about DonorsChoose.org is that it allows us to engage generous donors on both a local and national scale, in order to meet needs in our community, said Maeghan Jones, the president of the foundation. This is just another example of the way philanthropy is evolving. The matching campaign follows the success of a similar pilot program offered by the Community Foundation in 2018 for classroom projects in the Opportunity Zone of Hamilton County Schools. The $10,000 match from the Community Foundation leveraged more than $27,000 in other support. This years match is open to all classroom projects in Hamilton County Schools, which can be found at www.donorschoose.org/hamiltoncountyschools. Ashley Cox, the English Department head at The Howard School, used last years DonorsChoose.org campaign to expand her classroom library. Creating a reading culture only happens when teachers have a wide variety of books for students to read, Ms. Cox said. DonorsChoose.org and the match by the Community Foundation allows teachers, like me, to create a variety of projects that ensure students have the resources they need - like books! My students are reading more than ever!" Chattanooga was so generous throughout last years campaign as they helped make 50 classroom projects possible, said Robin Posey, the Community Foundations director of community impact. Were looking forward to seeing the impact this years expanded campaign will have for children and teachers throughout Hamilton County Schools. Teacher projects can be found online at www.donorschoose.org/hamiltoncountyschools. Donors can browse through a variety of topics including technology, flexible seating, books, experiences, and art supplies, allowing donors to put their dollars directly towards projects AND schools of their choice. In recognition of Black History Month, Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, a school that serves many students from the citys traditionally underserved neighborhoods, held two events, and will hold a third on Thursday, to close out the month-long celebration. On Feb. 18, Chattanooga natives, including Judge John McClarty, Dr. Edna Varner, Dr. Paul Taylor, Mr. Michael Jones and Mr. Fred McCray, gathered as a panel to share their own experiences with the local Civil Rights Movement, segregation and similar prominent historical events. Dr. Sheryl Randolph visited the school on Feb. 21 to discuss Michelle Obamas new book, Becoming. She opened the floor by dissecting Ms. Obamas choice in title. You do not have to be just one thing, Dr. Randolpha mother, teacher, motivational speaker and pastortold the students. "Since leaving the White House as the first African American First Lady, an iconic role in itself, Ms. Obama has not stopped evolving. She pursues speaking opportunities and, with the publication of Becoming, she has 'become' an author." "Much like Ms. Obama, Dr. Randolph does not accept a stationary identity and continues to 'become' in her own life; as she continued her discussion, she implored the girls to realize their own power to do the same," officials said. CGLAs culminating Black History Month event will take place Thursday from 4-6 p.m. in the schools cafeteria. The event will focus on aspects of black American culture through food, song, dance and a Kwanzaa celebration. CGLAs concert choir will kick-off the event with two performances. Attendees will then be invited to taste a variety of cultural foods and watch the official judging of CGLAs #STEMForTheCulture Competition. The public is welcome to join in this closing celebration of Black History Month. For more information about CGLAs Black History Month events, contact CGLA faculty member Kimberly Wright at kimberlywright@cglaonline.com. It was the new TAG Railroad of 1890 that created Harrisburg, Georgia, a small station that was very near where my father, Woodfin Ballenger Martin, was born in 1884. As a 6-year-old boy his farming father, George Leander Martin, was able to make a few dollars in CASH (rather than produce) to help sustain the family, as farmers were always short of greenback dollars. Memories of these events from 1890 were burned into my dad's memory for all the rest of his 92 years! The new railroad ran across a corner of my great-grandfather, Enos Martin's, farm, and am certain he was well compensated for it. Would love to know how much he got paid for it, but to my then six-year-old dad such information would have been meaningless, and was forgotten if he ever knew it. Before the railroad went through, the area had no real definable name save for "Duck Creek", possibly, as shown on old maps, but that designation applied better to a small area just north of the newer Harrisburg. Dad told me that the new name, Harrisburg, came from the city of that name in "Pennsylvany" - his pronunciation being the same as that of other country people of his day. Why that name was chosen for a new railroad stop in (very) rural northwest Georgia is still a mystery to me. Before Harrisburg appeared with its dependable railroad connections to Chattanooga, the Valley Store post office on Broomtown Road (now known as Ga. Hwy. 337) was the nearest. Valley Store appears on early maps of Chattooga County, variously known as Tapp's Store and Valley Store. (It was later used as a headquarters for both Northern and Southern armies during the Civil War - though supposedly at different times!) I am aware that the "TAG" name of this new railroad was not the first, but I prefer to use it throughout my story as it became locally famous as, "The TAG", standing for "Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia", while the earlier names were largely forgotten. This new railroad was begun chiefly to carry ore of different types which appeared in significant deposits along its route close to Pigeon Mountain in northwest Georgia and on into Alabama. John Wilson's book on Chattanooga Railroads depicts some of these deposit areas, and I personally know of a bauxite deposit directly beside the TAG tracks at a place known in railroad jargon as, "Hawkins 36". The number "36" designated the number of miles from Chattanooga's Union Station, TAG headquarters. Harrisburg was the next stop south of Hawkins, which would have been at about mile-marker 37, though I do not believe it was ever designated that way. Anyhow, Harrisburg had a small passenger station while Hawkins did not. The little community which already existed there soon grew larger and attracted the interest of some businessmen, as described later. A few people became well-off, if not rich, as a result. There was the story my dad used to tell of someone in the community who began hauling crossties for the TAG Railroad, and later talked his way into receiving a royalty for every crosstie all the way to Nashville along the L & N Railroad tracks! At least two competing stores sprang up at the new Harrisburg: one offered "credit" to the farmers, and survived, while the other, which demanded "cash" did not. There was even a small post office in one of the stores, and I have several old letters bearing the Harrisburg postmark. One of them has a letterhead showing "Harrisburg, Georgia" as the return address. Letter is signed by John Thurman, an uncle-by-marriage of my dad. Temporarily lost, I will publish them here when they come to light. I do not know if the photo shown in this article was the successful store or the failure, only that the picture printed here is of my dad (at left), with his brother, George Linton Martin - 22 years dad's junior. (Linton never knew his father, and my dad was designated Linton's caregiver till reaching his Majority), leading me to believe this picture was made about 1925). Anyway, the picture is known to have been made at Harrisburg, and you can see an ancient gas-pump on the left border, and the words, "Post Office" on the sign above. This entire Harrisburg (or Duck Creek) area had apparently been highly attractive to the Native American people, as my dad used to tell how arrowheads turned up in great numbers as he plowed the Martin lands - some of them very ornate and of superior workmanship. Reading information discovered online I have found that early settlers in the area believed that this was a sacred area for the Cherokee - possibly the site for yearly gatherings, competitions, or etc. (All Native American peoples were highly skilled in the sport of "Chungke", sometimes called, "Indian Ball" - as demonstrated still at Cherokee, NC). Truth is that this is an area that has fascinated me all my life - and that the well-off modern occupiers of the land do not want to talk about. A nearby prominent declivity in Pigeon Mountain leads over into McLemore's Cove at the lower end of Chattanooga Valley. My "original settler" ancestors told stories of going there on trading excursions, and an early writing about the area - only recently discovered on the Internet - says that the main Cherokee chief in the area had his home in that mountain pass. Hawkins and Harrisburg both lie west of Georgia Highway 337 - still known locally as the "Broomtown Road". "The Broom" was a Native American chief who lived at the time of Andrew Jackson. He was chief of his then-famous town, hence the name "Broom's Town", later shortened to "Broomtown". That road led directly to "Brainerd's Mission", so it also appears on original maps of Walker and Chattooga Counties as "Brainerd's Road". "The Broom" was killed at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, fighting for Andrew Jackson. The Broom's daughter married into a white Hicks family, and Ancestry says I am remotely related to them. Harrisburg today only barely exists, as I can only find that name in two places: there is only the name "Harrisburg Church", and a road sign which designates, "Harrisburg Road". Nothing more! Old timers like myself can still make out some landmarks in the area, but even the path of the TAG Railroad has been obscured by Time. All I see there today is the truly beautiful rolling landscape of Shinbone Ridge, ideal subject matter for artists, and fine new homes on spacious lands which exist near well-maintained pre-Civil War structures. The names shown on the oldest maps have long vanished, such as "Tap's Store" (Tapp was a distant relative of mine), and "Trinity Methodist Church" for which my great-grandfather, Enos Martin, signed the deed. "Center Post" is still barely marked on Ga. Hwy. 337 as it is the turn-off to Harrisburg. In my youth there was a small general store there on the northwest side and several fine Victorian homes nearby - all now disappeared. My elderly cousin - long deceased - Mary Martin Gilmer, said the name Center Post referred to a military compound that once stood there (about half-way between LaFayette and Menlo) and was used during the 1838 Indian Removal - starting point, locally, for the "Trail of Tears". My "original settler" g-g-grandfather, Joshua Martin, a veteran of the War of 1812, had arrived in Walker county in either 1836 or '37 in anticipation of that Removal. (Today we believe he received the Walker County land as payment for his service in 1812). That Josh Martin put down firm roots in the area, and a portrait of one of his sons still hangs in the LaFayette, Ga. Court House, where he held a high position. Other close kin of his still live in local houses now rapidly approaching 200 years of age. All around Center Post prosperity ruled! It was so well-off and self-sufficient that only the one tiny general store could exist - and there was only one other such store, much further south, toward Menlo, in Chattooga County. (The Harrisburg stores were from an earlier time, and very tiny compared to these 2 stores along the highway 337). Local farmers kept cattle, hogs, and to a lesser degree, sheep and goats. There were always rich crops in the fields, though an occasional drought could destroy half a year's work for the farmers. Corn and cotton dominated, later soy beans. Mr. Joe Clarkson always had his fields planted with corn so attractive to passers-by that he spent many a night hidden behind a monument in Trinity Cemetery across the road to catch thieves! (A childless couple, Clarksons served their community as school bus drivers and church workers for many years). Near Center Post were gristmills which were kept seasonally busy and served as great places for the local menfolk to gather and share information. Only one trace of these mills remains that I am aware of: "Hammond's Mill Road". Many churches dotted the sides of Broomtown Road back then - a total of FIVE Methodist churches in the 20 miles from LaFayette to Menlo, with all other major Protestant denominations represented. This writing is definitely NOT a lament for a "lost past", as I am modern enough to realize the world is in a constant state of change. The Broomtown Road, for example, only 20 years before my father's time, had seen both Union and Confederate armies on the march. It was so dangerous that Mr. McConnell, a very prominent and respected farmer, had sent his wife and daughters to Nashville for safety while his house was turned into a hospital for wounded soldiers! That fine old brick house later passed into my grandmother Harper's family, and, much restored today to its authentic ante-bellum beauty, remains an attractive local landmark. No, not a lament for a "lost past", but rather to applaud the area's successful transition into the 21st Century! Roads that once were so muddy as to be impassable between the main highway and Harrisburg, for example, are now wonderfully paved, making those formerly remote places desirable property for the well-off class of "gentlemen farmers" who now seem to have discovered it. Other old communities still barely exist along the TAG, such as Bronco, Chelsea, Teloga Creek, Cassandra, Alpine, etc., - some of which names seem more English than Georgian - but I know nothing about them. I have heard people much older than me speak of them, but they always seemed to ring of a forgotten "Neverland" from the deep past: Harrisburg, Center Post, and Valley Store were all my father's legacy - and have somehow become part of my own. The little map shows Chattooga County, Georgia, as the pink area at left, and with careful looking you can see Harrisburg just inside the county line with Walker. The black line it sits on indicates the route of the TAG Railroad. The name "Martindale" at upper right has no connection with "my" Martin name. * * * Chester Martin is a native Chattanoogan who is a talented painter, sculptor and artisan as well as local historian. He and his wife, Pat, live in Brainerd. Mr. Martin can be reached at cymppm@comcast.net. A study, conducted by researchers at the University of Georgias Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, found strong support for the preservation and expansion of wilderness areas among public land visitors living within a half-day drive of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The new report reveals that 89 percent of respondents across the Southeast support the preservation of wilderness areas and 88 percent of those that lived in Chattanooga and had visited a wilderness area thought more wildlands should be protected. Its clear from these findings that theres nothing more valuable in a crowded world than wild, untamed places, said Sam Evans, leader of the Southern Environmental Law Center's National Forests and Parks Program. While these places belong to all of us as Americans, when youre in wilderness, the experience is yours alone. The Appalachians are an iconic American mountain range with more than half of the U.S. population living within an 8-hour drive of its southern region. The wildlands located here offer one of the Easts greatest opportunities for escape, exploration, adventure and have been instrumental in shaping the regions rich history for centuries. Despite this, researchers studying human to outdoor interactions have known little about how Southerners perceive, use, or view these protected areas, said officials. This research was conducted as an effort to better understand the use and demand for Southern Appalachian wilderness, said Kyle Woosnam, UGA associate professor of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management. While wilderness areas are important for their ecological, social and economic contributions, little is known about how residents use and perceive these public lands. The intent of this study was to do just that. This Southern Appalachian region is also home to nearly 50 wilderness areas that span almost half a million acres, stretching from Alabama to Virginia. Researchers surveyed 1,250 residents in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee who had visited a protected natural area (ex: wilderness, state park, national scenic area, etc.) in the last five years, with questions focusing most closely on residents perceptions of and experiences in the Southern Appalachians. The research was funded by a grant from the Southern Environmental Law Center and The Wilderness Society. Highlights from the study include: People most often visit wilderness areas for day hiking, photography, swimming and camping Positive perceptions of wilderness spanned across the political spectrum Word of mouth was the #1 way people found out about wilderness areas Participants expressed a high level of emotional attachment to wilderness areas visited The protection of water quality and wildlife habitat were the most important wilderness benefits identified The natural qualities of wilderness were considered the most valuable characteristics of these areas The results of the study come just after Congresss December 2018 approval of a wilderness designation for 20,000 acres of the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee. That designation expanded the existing Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock, Big Frog, Little Frog Mountain, Big Laurel Branch and Sampson Mountain Wilderness areas and created the Upper Bald River Wilderness Area, a new 9,000-acre addition to the National Wilderness Preservation System. Unlike most federally managed forests, which allow for extractive uses like timber production or built facilities for human comfort and convenience, wilderness areas have only a single guiding purposeto remain in a natural state. Under the Wilderness Act of 1964, areas that receive wilderness designation by Congress are forever protected as wild places, preserving these areas for future generations, protecting wildlife, rare species habitat, and water quality, acting as a buffer against the damaging effects of climate change, providing economic benefits to rural communities and unparalleled recreation opportunities for all that visit. These unique public lands allow us to experience and create memories in some of the countrys wildest places, said Jill Gottesman, The Wilderness Societys Southern Appalachian conservation specialist. These areas are some of the most valuable, intact lands in the continental U.S. due to their connectivity, biodiversity and sheer remoteness. This study shows that Southerners are ready to work together to protect our Southern Appalachian wildlands for future generations. Read the full report here. Backyard Wilderness Areas for Chattanooga residents include: The Big Frog and Cohutta Wilderness areas are easily accessible from the Ocoee River corridor. This area includes sweeping views from high-elevation overlooks, popular areas like Jacks River, and endless solitude. Just across Highway 64 is the smaller and easily accessible Little Frog Wilderness, a great reminder that you can recharge in wilderness after a day in the office, not just on a backcountry hike. The Gee Creek Wilderness, located at the mouth of the Hiwassee River, protects twin canyons below sandstone cliffs, and is an idyllic setting to fish for native brook trout, hike or explore an equestrian trail that rims the valley. The Bald River Gorge and Upper Bald River Wilderness areas, near Tellico Plains, offer grand waterfalls, streamside hiking trails, and incredible starlit night skies to camp under. The Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock and Citico Wilderness areas are one of the largest wild tracts of land in the Appalachians and possibly the least touched by human hands. Visitors to this area can explore some of the Souths most iconic summits (like the aptly named Hangover) and old growth forests that inspire awe as hikers walk among massive oak, hemlocks and tulip poplars. The annual CELLARbration wine tasting and fundraising event for the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer is set for Friday at The Wheelhouse in Chattanooga. The CELLARbration will be held from 6-9 p.m. Tickets are $40 each and only 150 will be sold for this unique event that turns a night of wine tasting into a competition, with the winner taking home a new cellar of wine valued at more than $1,200. This event will benefit the foundations mission to erase the effects of pediatric cancer for young patients and their family members. The event will be held at The Wheelhouse (1216 E. Main St.) who is supporting the event alongside many local businesses including Chili Pepper Ranch, Hennens, EPB Fiber Optics, Cyclebar, Four Bridges Family Dentistry, Brewer Media, Steve & Cathy Snyder, Athens Distributing Company of Tennessee, Plainview Outdoor Advertising, Entercom, HealthScope Magazine and CityScope Magazine. The competition will consist of one or two people, with each team bringing three bottles of the same red wine to the event. Two bottles will be covered and numbered for the tasting, while the third bottle will go into the "cellar." The cellar, already stocked with wine valued at $500, will grow in value as each team adds their third bottle. Guests will enjoy the wines and hors d'oeuvres provided by Chili Pepper Ranch and Hennens, while voting for their favorite wine. At the end of the night, the team whose wine wins the popular vote will go home with the entire cellar of wine that will likely approach more than $1,200 in value. This years CELLARbration features some twists to the wine-tasting competition. Teams can purchase a plonk meaning a less-desirable wine to help their chances of winning. Plonks will be sold for $20 with each purchase giving a team one additional vote, and teams may purchase up to three plonk votes. There will also be a silent auction throughout the evening to benefit the Austin Hatcher Foundation. The silent auction will have more than 50 items ranging from vacations to beauty products, shopping sprees, wine baskets, and more. CELLARbration is always a fun event with a gratifying response from the community, said Austin Hatcher Foundation President Amy Jo Osborn. We look forward to a successful event that will help us kick off our 2019 fundraising calendar, and were excited to open the event up for more guests with our new larger venue. CELLARbration tickets can be purchased online at www.hatcherfoundation.org/cellarbration. The store that Samuel Williams set up with his brother George well before the Indian Removal was at Ross's Landing about the site of the current park on the Tennessee River. It was the same prime location where John and Lewis Ross once operated a trading post. During about eight years in the store business, Samuel and George Williams had varied partners as well as clerks. Col. James A. Whiteside had varied business interests with the Williams brothers, including the store. He noted, "I had a mercantile partnership with them commencing in the year 1838 or the first part of 1839 and terminating in 1841." Notations in the Williams lawsuit that was unearthed last year give a glimpse of what was sold at G&S Williams and how much the items cost. This was from a bill of merchandise sold to Allen White by order of and on account of G&S Williams: 1842 June 11 5 pounds coffee $1, coffee pot 75 cents Sifter 50 cents, wheat stone 25 cents bucket 75 cents, 4 tin cups 50 cents 10 pounds salt $1.80 set of plates 50 cents, set of teas 50 cents, wash pan 50 cents tin wash pan 25 cents, 2 plugs of tobacco 25 cents, 5 pounds of coffee $1.50 palm leaf hat 25 cents, 2 pair shoes $3, 2 quiro paper 13 cents plug tobacco 50 cents, 6 1/2 pounds manilla rope $1.62, 5 pounds nails 63 cents 6 yards Kentucky jeans $6, six yards domestic 75 cents 1 nail keg 25 cents, order to hands 94 cents pair of suspenders 25 cents, a penknife 63 cents, a yard of drilling 25 cents a fur hat $3, 1 pair shoes $1.75, penknife 12 cents 8 yards of calico $2 5 bunches tape 25 cents 1 pair cot cards $1, 2 gallons whiskey $1 merchandise to F.M. Caps $3.37, to Stephens $4.25 10 pounds coffee $2 The account with William Clark included a pair of shoes for Samuel $1.75. yard of muslin delane. salt for George W., four pounds of rice, 1 1/2 pounds Ep. salt, nails for boy, side upper leather for G.W., salt, nails for Thatcher. M.B. Parham, another merchant, listed 2 pounds raisins .75, 6 cups raisins .50, and a half ounce of calomel. Allen White promised to pay A.C. McCamy $12.50 July 15, 1842 and pay A.C. McCamy $8.65 for bacon weighed out of my lot of bacon at A.C. McCamy's. Sept. 13, 1842. Alvin Hornsty received the above order. Account with A.C. McCamy 2 pounds nails, 1 pound nails, half pound tobacco, scrip lot of B. Chandler, 8 pounds of cotton for boy Paddy, 6 pounds coffee, 8 pounds sugar, 10 pounds cotton, salt paid Mr. Weaver for S. Williams, 1 quart whisky, raw cotton for girl, salt got for Hughs, 25 pounds salt, gallon whisky .75, barrel of salt 308 pounds at 2 cents per pound, 602 pounds iron at 4 cents per pound, tire for a wagon for Little, cash borrowed to pay Boatman 1842. Other notations included: Pay Burt Kellum $15.30 and charge it to Samuel Williams. Let West Shelley have $2 on your store. Also, Frank Capps $3, A. Looney 50 cents, Shipley Dearing. September 1842, Allen White let George Evins have $6 in your store and let Thomas Discon have $2 and charge it to Samuel Williams. Oct. 15, 2842, let Henry Ison have $4.50 in goods and charge it to Samuel Williams. Let William Mason have $3.50. John Norman $2 in goods. Send Cornelius Milliken the following articles and charge it to Samuel Williams - four barrels of meat, 10 pounds of coffee, one large tin bucket, and six tin cups. Allen White said let Mr. McGehee have $1.50. Let Mr. Riddle have $2. Pay William Baker $4.50. Mr. Baucum have $4. Mr. Cook have $2. Frank Capp have $3. John R. Bell have 70 cents. John Kinny $7. John Tyner $6. Mr. Boren have $11. William Jones $10. John Kiling $5. William Lawrence $2. Bart Celing $3. John Keling $4. One cake of shaving soap. Let William Jones have $6 or $7. D.A. Wilds $4. Gross Scruggs $2.70. R.W. Gibson $5. July 26, 1842, Samuel Williams promises to pay Berry Brown $74.50, $26 in the store including one barrel of salt, all to be governed by cash prices of Chattanooga, current bank notes, all to be delivered at G.W. Williams, where he now lives. There was a note to send Cornelius Milliken the following articles and charge it to Samuel Williams - four barrels of meat, 10 pounds of coffee, one large tin bucket, and six tin cups. The Williams workers were often paid in "store trade" at their own store or another Chattanooga store with which they had an account. Obediah Patty said he worked for Williams and was paid in articles at the store of Smith, Edwards & Co. He said drawn orders were given for goods at the store. He saw some of the hands got paid there and some at Capt. John P. Long's store. Samuel Williams said when he came back from the east they would have goods of their own. This was the fall of 1842. Brittain Riddle said he made a pair of timber wheels, and the work was worth $47. He was paid first out of the store of Smith, Edwards & Co. and Williams paid him the balance. He said Allen White "was not good for his debts." John Godsey was to have some iron to make a stirrup for the saw mill and charge it to Samuel Williams.This was Oct. 31, 1842. Promise to pay Joseph Vandergriff $37 which may be discharged by two barrels of salt and dry goods delivered to the house where George Williams now lives. Pay William C. Murdock. June 10, 1842. Anderson & Bennett. 333 pounds bacon hams at 12 cents per pound scrip. $39.96. 1,234 pounds bacon at 10 cents per pound scrip. $133.40. Settlement with Robert Griffith. $7.84. Total $181.20. 10 and 23 pounds of lard total 33 at 10 cents. $3.30. Loaned Samuel W. Monroe. R.R. $1. Total $185.50. 27 pounds salt. 81 cents. 73 pounds of bones. $1.10. 75 pounds of heads. 75 cents. 23 pounds salt. 69 cents. 45 pounds of salt. $1.35. 115 pounds of pork $4.60. G&S. Williams to Clinton Armstrong. May 1838. for one double barrel and half barrel lard - about 600 pounds. $48. Account with Henry Long. Feb. 6, 1842. 250 bushels of corn at 25 cents per bushel. Total $62.50. Received full payment of Samuel Williams. June 1844. Order to Thomas Kelly for one --- of salt. June 3, 1844. Order to Thomas Kelly for one --- of salt. June 3, 1844. Account with Elisha Lee for brandy. Before T.W. Spice acting justice of the peace. Oct. 17, 1842. Dec. 21, 1842. G&S Williams account with J&S Martin. Bar of lead. Account to Brttain Riddle. Pair of chains $1.50. Pair of hems $1. Repairing wagon wheel $1.50. One carryall bed $8. * * * The links to the Williams papers on Sam Hall's website are here. Baylor School / Baylor Swim Club athlete Addison Smith will swim and attend Princeton University located in Princeton, New Jersey next year. Smith is a four-year boarding student from Knoxville, TN, and a twelve-time NISCA All-American. In January at the TYR Pro-Swim Series at Knoxville, she qualified for the 2020 Olympic Team Trials in the 400-meter freestyle. She finished 11th overall with a time of 4:16.82. The Olympic Team Trials- Swimming will be held June 21-28, 2020 at CHI Health Center in Omaha, NE. Smith is also a two-time TISCA State Champion in the 500-yard freestyle, claiming victories in 2018 and 2019. Smith is a 12-Time NISCA All-American and a Junior National Finalist. She holds the Baylor School record for the 500-yard freestyle. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said a bill heads to President Trumps desk that will permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which will help ensure Tennessees beautiful lands, water resources and recreation areas are protected and preserved for future generations. Over the past 50 years, the LWCF has provided Tennessee a total of $208.5 for projects such as Rocky Fork, the Walls of Jericho and John Tully State Forest. The Land and Water Conservation Fund has played a large role in protecting Tennessees outdoors for over 50 years, and in total, the LWCF has provided over $200 million to conservation and outdoor recreation efforts in Tennessee," Senator Alexander said. The legislation the House passed today will permanently reauthorize the LWCF, which will help preserve our states beautiful land, water resources and recreation areas so future generations have the same opportunities to enjoy them as we have. I look forward to the president signing this important legislation into law. Senator Alexander is a cosponsor of the Natural Resources Management Act, which included the provision to make the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The legislation passed the Senate on February 12 by a vote of 92-8. The House of Representatives passed the legislation today by a vote of 363 to 62, and it now heads to the presidents desk to become law. The Land and Water Conservation Fund was created to help preserve, develop and maintain access to outdoor recreation across the United States. The LWCF receives nearly all of its revenue from offshore oil and gas drilling and other activities that deplete natural resources. This revenue is then used to provide grants to states and funds conservation efforts by the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service. Over the past five decades, the LWCF has provided a total of $208.5 million for Tennessee conservation and outdoor recreation, including the following state and federal land acquisition projects: Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said a bill that would take the next step to protect and preserve President James K. Polks home in Columbia, Tn., now heads to the presidents desk. Tennessee is full of history, and Tennessees President James K. Polks home is a special prize for Tennesseans as well as Americans, Senator Alexander. We talk a lot about the importance of science and math, but, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, most high school seniors in America score the worst in history. I can think of no better way to encourage the study of U.S. history than to protect and preserve sites like Tennessees President James K. Polks home and I look forward to the president signing legislation that will do just that. It also provides an opportunity to attract more visitors to Tennessee and strengthen local economies. Tennessee has a legacy of raising leaders, and President James K. Polk is one that plays a chief role in our states history, Senator Blackburn said. Designating our former presidents home as a unit of the National Park System would preserve his legacy for generations to come, so that all Tennesseans can study his presidency while enjoying the place that meant so much to him. Alexander and Blackburn introduced the James K. Polk Presidential Home Study Act on January 16. The legislation, which was included in the Natural Resources Management Act, passed the Senate on February 12 by a vote of 92-8. The House of Representatives passed the legislation today by a vote of 363 to 62, and the bill now heads to the presidents desk to become law. Alexander is a cosponsor of the Natural Resources Management Act. The legislation directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to evaluate the suitability and feasibility of designating the site as a unit of the National Park System. Once the study is completed, the conclusions and recommendations will be submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources and the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, of which Alexander is a member. If the study recommends the Polk Home should be included in the National Park System, Congress would then need to pass legislation designating the Polk Home as a new unit of the National Park System. Senators Alexander and Blackburn also introduced the James K. Polk Presidential Home Study Act last Congress. Janet Hinds was at a Ringgold restaurant for three and a half hours on Saturday night prior to running over a city police officer on Hamill Road. Hugh Harris, owner of the Farm to Fork Restaurant on General Lee Drive, said he has cooperated fully with DUI officers who showed up at the establishment early Sunday morning. The restaurant has a bar separate from the regular dining area. Mr. Harris said the entire visit by Ms. Hinds was captured on three cameras in the restaurant. He said that video has been turned over to police along with her $19.57 receipt. Ms. Hinds, who is the postmaster of Soddy Daisy, ate dinner as well as having two beers and a small drink, it was stated. Mr. Harris said, "Other customers have told me that she was fine when she left here." The restaurant operator said he was putting out his own statement on social media, including offering condolences to both families involved. He said it was a tragedy for both sides. Ms. Hinds is charged with vehicular homicide in the traffic death of officer Nicholas Galinger. It happened on Hamill Road in Hixson shortly after 11 p.m. Bafuloto plant to open in 2020 27 February 2019 Construction work has started on Jah Multi Industrial Company Ltd's cement plant in Bafuloto, in the West Coast region of Gambia. Sheriff Faye, operational manager of Jah Multi Industrial Co (JMIC), said the plant will not be commissioned until 2020, but the company would be supplying the local market with cement before then. Two vessels of cement will dock at the port every 10 days, he claims, to earn the confidence of consumers. Mr Faye added that within a period of two months, the constraint of cement supply will be a thing of the past and that JMIC can meet the demand for cement in the country. By the end of April, there would be sufficient cement supply. JMIC has built four new silos that have a total cement capacity of 10,000t. If the silo system under construction is ready, it will have the capacity to make 200,000tph bags of cement. This work is expected to complete in two months," he explained. He disclosed some socio-economic contributions made by JMIC in terms of financing the construction of feeder roads, a community police station and mosques among others. JMIC notes that its cement is imported from Spain and Algeria, and bagged in Gambia. It points out that as the largest cement producer in the country, Jah Multi Industry has the capacity to produce 4200 bags/h, 108,000 bags/day or close to 300,000 bags at full capacity. This, it says, is enough to supply the entire West Coast and Greater Banjul regions. "At the regional level, there are two outlets in Farafenni and Basse, to meet the demand," the company said. According to its press release, the cost of Tiger Cement remains at GMD250 per 50kg bag (US$5.04/bag) at the factory and at all Jah Oil outlets with a minimum purchase of 100 bags. Published under Woman climbs to top of sign over GA 400, shuts down the highway Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact. Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here. Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing. You are our people. You Care. We Care2. 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 The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now. Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market. In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender. India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex. Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted. But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted? Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner. If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems. I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now. I want more variation in masturbation I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own. If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end. What is sex toys for Indian? Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation. It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms. They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable. Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner. The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner. It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past. In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping. Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order. In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing. Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome. Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own. But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance. More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around. Sextoy situation in India Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years. In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India. Mumbai Kolkata Bangalore Delhi Chennai Hyderabad These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India. In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well. If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too. If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it. What are Sextoys for beginner? Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms. Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy. I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion. I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy. If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma. Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it. Advantages of using sextoy for Indians There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways. Can have stimulating sex Can develop new sexual zones If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern. However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways. You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation. Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever. There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure. This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it. When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems. It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms). For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles [Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou... Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India. Sextoy for beginner men in India So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners. For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men! The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men Masturbator Cock rings Love Doll Sex Lubricants Toys for the prostate Lets check each one in detail. Masturbator The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products. It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands. Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands. They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.) Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much. Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! ! Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa SEXToys India PR (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018 Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood. If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ... [For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien... Cock Ring A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis. It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow. It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber. In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection. Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction. It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it. Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time. Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function. Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy. You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect. [Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat... Love Doll Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex. There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women. Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price. The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true. You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste. There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice. You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls. If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to... Sex lubricants Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules. It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution. Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse. There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent. Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent. If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here. What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many... Toys for the Prostate Another sextoy for men is prostate toys. The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line. Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men. Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men. What is the prostate? The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm. You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus. By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms. Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.) The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation. Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure. sextoy for beinner women in India The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy. The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy. Vibrator. Dildo Electric Masserger Lets check out what each one is in detail. If you want to check out womens toys, click here. [BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm... Vibrators A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator. Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy. It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy. Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women. For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators. Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex. Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself. This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual. Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men. When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons. Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most... Dildo A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis. It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass. A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it. They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well. It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device. A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo. Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands. For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis. This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one. To learn more about dildo, please click here. What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th... Electric Masserger A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores. It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low. Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels. Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation. It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure. For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm. It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out. If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager? To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here. What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th... How to choose a sextoy for Indian Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one. Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points: Does the size fit you (the partner)? Does the size fit you (your partner)? Is the environment able to produce sound without problems? Price range First of all, the choice of size is quite important. Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women. For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage. Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems. Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise. If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level. Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it. Finally, there is the price range. The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest. Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy. Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy? I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance. For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics. If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out. How to buy sextoys in India The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping. For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below. Sextoy is one of them. Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping. SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India. They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry. Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card. To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy. ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal. Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on. Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture. Cautions for Indians using sextoy When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind Keep sex toys clean Watch out for electrical leakage Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone. Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there. It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case. In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness. Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful. If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it. You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly. Summary What did you think? In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India. The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future. As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values. However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health. If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try? Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women. I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it. South Africa: SA making strides in Early Childhood Development Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga and Angolan Education Deputy Minister on Tuesday visited the Esikhisini Primary School in Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria, to observe the strides being made in South Africa to improve learning outcomes at the Early Childhood Development phase. This, according to the Basic Education Department is in line with the needs of the 4th Industrial Revolution. The Minister and Deputy Minister Pacheco Fransisco visited the school on the sidelines of the Africa Play conference. The Africa Play Conference, the first of its kind in Africa, will explore how learning through play can improve the quality of early childhood development and become an integral part of education systems. Set in a playful atmosphere, the conference brings together 400 thought leaders, educators, policy makers and researchers from around the world to discuss, share insights and inspire new ideas and ways of learning that will equip children all over Africa to become creative, engaged, lifelong learners. The Esikhisini Primary School is part of the activities linked to the Play Conference which commenced in Pretoria today. After observing, the Minister said she is pleased with the outcomes of the new programme. We are making good progress and we hope it will over time bear good results and progress, the Minister said. Fransisco said he was impressed with the changes that South Africa has in place in the education system. This will go a long way in improving and advancing education in South Africa, he said. Research indicates that while children from better-off homes make good progress following Grade R, children from poor households do not, and the gap between these two groups widens with age. Quality preschool programmes enable poor children to be ready to benefit from Grade R. In December 2012, the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) in the Presidency, in partnership with the Department of Basic Education (DBE), commissioned an Impact Evaluation of the Grade R programme. Through combining various data sources it was possible to create a very large dataset of 18 102 schools, which allowed precise measurement of the impact of Grade R on test performance in mathematics and home language for Grades 1 to 6. The first few years of a childs life lay a foundation for cognitive functioning, behavioural, social and self-regulatory capacities, and physical health. These early determinants reinforce each other. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2019-02-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. * 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 article $100.00 / for 365 days Sponsored Content Articles Policy & Procedure Only content submissions which satisfy our conditions for publication will be published. The fee for publication via this portal is $100. 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Both naval engagements occurred 77 years ago this week, off the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia). After the fall of Singapore to Japanese forces in December 1941, Japanese naval units covering an invasion force to East Java were met on February 27, 1942, in the Java Sea by Dutch, British, US and Australian warships, including the Australian cruiser, HMAS Perth. Both naval forces clashed in the Java Sea north of Surabaya with the more powerful Japanese fleet sinking several Allies vessels. HMAS Perth and the US Cruiser Houston managed to break free and sail for Batavia (Jakarta). Batavia was under air attack and was waiting for its impending fate as both ships decided to sail west for the Indian Ocean via the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. But on February 28, the eve of their departure, Red Lead, the Perth's cat went missing. The incident was seen as a mariner's omen and Perth's captain, Hec Waller, gave stern orders that Red Lead be found. He was located but went AWOL again. Found again, the wayward feline was "clapped in irons" a small metal drum with holes in it. And, as if to emphasise the "omen" the cat from the USS Houston also went missing. It's said that animals may foresee impending disasters. On the evening of the February 28 both ships left Batavia heading west for the Sunda Strait and hopefully to safety in the Indian Ocean. It was not to be. At midnight the Perth and Houston ran into a large Japanese invasion force from Singapore, bound for West Java. Both ships were sunk just after midnight on March 1. Of Perth's crew, 353 sailors were lost, while 334 were taken prisoner many to serve on the infamous Burma Siam railway. Only 218 returned to Australia after the war. History does not give us the fate of the ships' cats. John F. Janke, Pearce Retiree Jim Bonner (Letters, February 27) is an old mate of mine and remembered as a good bloke. We worked together for a number of years at the ABC and he was always open about his personal party preferences (which, incidentally, were more pronounced than most of us). And, while retired, he still sticks to the script, trying to strike fear into fellow retirees. Besides, I think it was disingenuous of Jim and his producers to pretend he is just an "ordinary" retiree. If Jim had remembered his fine reputation for journalistic ethics he would have insisted on full disclosure regarding his political interests. They are not irrelevant. Eric Hunter, Cook The Canberra Gambling Reform Alliance (CGRA) notes the valuable information provided in the article "Canberra clubs hit the jackpot with poker machine cuts" (canberratimes.com.au, February 23). We note, however, our concern about the comments provided by the CEO of Clubs ACT, particularly his categorisation of the respected researcher Dr Charles Livingston as an "anti-gambling activist whose shortcomings as a gambling expert were highlighted in a recent federal court case". This comment is a misrepresentation of what occurred in a recent court case, and a transparent attempt to divert the conversation from the important topic of evidence-based measures to reduce gambling harm. When CGRA undertook the process of engaging a researcher to undertake a peer-reviewed piece of research around gambling harm, we were surprised at the dearth of researchers who had not accepted funds from the gambling industry to support research. The research commissioned from Dr Livingston was generated out of his position as an Associate Professor at Monash University with expertise in this field, and was peer-reviewed. We encourage the gambling industry and its lobbyists to engage with the evidence and work with the community to reduce gambling harm in our community. Jeremy Halcrow and Rebecca Vassarotti, co-chairs, Canberra Gambling Reform Alliance Your editorial ("Paradise paved by memorial," February 25, p14) asks how the memorial "seems to be somehow immune to the usual processes of public consultation when it comes to development". There are two reasons for this apparent immunity. First, the memorial's director, Dr Brendan Nelson, is a consummate salesman. He could sell ice to eskimos, so it is easy for him to convince politicians, including former colleagues, of the worth of whatever project he is spruiking. Secondly, and more importantly, Dr Nelson can draw upon the idea that the memorial is a "sacred site", and those who question the Anzac legend and associated projects risk being seen as unpatriotic. Anyone who has seen Dr Nelson sail through Senate estimates hearings can attest to this; as the spokesperson for the "sacred" memorial and Anzac he is virtually untouchable. (One senator asked, only half facetiously, whether anyone ever says "no" to him.) The memorial should be subject to the same rigorous accountability as other national institutions. Anzac is not a state religion, and we are entitled to be atheist or agnostic about it, while respecting those who feel the need to worship at Anzac altars. It is time we said "no" to Dr Nelson. David Stephens, Bruce Christopher Prowse has exquisite timing, and we thank him for his inadvertent highlighting of the church's special pleading of the case for non-disclosure ("Priests face an impossible choice", February 26, p18). I remind the archbishop that a royal commission was necessary to get some light on the church's failings. If the church had not failed so egregiously perhaps civil society would not have found it necessary to legislate. And perhaps civil society has less confidence than him in the ability of the church to prevent future offending and/or future cover-ups. And perhaps that lack of confidence extends to members of the faithful. I counsel the good archbishop to look to his own church laws for the solution to his, and I repeat, his dilemma. In the meantime, as he wrote, "priests are not above the law". Ed Cory, Bywong So, Gary J. Wilson (Letters, February 27) wonders: "Just how different is it here?" May I suggest he prepare a placard on some issue of interest to China (anything that refers to the Falun Gong, the Uyghurs, the South China Sea or Tibet should do the trick) and hold it up outside the Chinese embassy. Nothing will happen but when he gets bored he could then go and hold it up on any street corner in Beijing. Then he'll discover what the difference is! Gordon Dickens, Gowrie As a grassroots Catholic, the "church" to me has always been the people on the ground working to help others: the thousands of St Vincent de Paul volunteers; those spending their lives in third world countries to help the disadvantaged; the many religious sisters organisations doing their "boots on the ground" work; local parish teams helping people in need; and so on. "Church" has certainly never been the hierarchy and their distorted view that the "real church" its heart and soul is the superstructure and the priestly caste. While so many of their members sexually abused the vulnerable and countless bishops and priests concentrated their efforts on supposedly "protecting the church", the irony is that their misguided efforts have actually damaged the church easily seen in the empty pews at Sunday masses. Furthermore, there seems to be little hope of real church reform, given Pope Francis' bland pronouncements at this week's Vatican summit that these appalling crimes and their systemic cover-up are nothing less than Satan being at work in this "mystery of evil". Phyllis Vespucci, Reservoir, Vic Federal Finance Minister Mathias Cormann appears incapable of managing his own credit card as shown in the Singaporean adventure. Former WA treasurer and now federal Attorney-General Christian Porter also seems to have difficulty with his sums. The latter claims the government is looking into hundreds of asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru, with red flags over dozens on character grounds, yet only two have been charged and another three mentioned ("Labor reaches into Asia with smuggler warning", February 18, p10). With recourse to the logic of "reductio ad absurdum", our top legal eagle manages to reduce hundreds to dozens and then to a mere five. However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison blithely assured those at his recent National Press Club appearance that restoring the nation's finances was one of the three achievements that would engender confidence in his government by voters come the election. One can but wonder if, on available evidence, this claim is a miraculous reversal of the five loaves and two small fish. Ann Darbyshire, Hughes As a long-time resident of the ACT, I must admit I am becoming somewhat puzzled with the focus of the ACT government. It is proposed to have cannabis grown and used legally in the territory. We are not going to restrict outlaw motorcycle gangs from congregating and operating (often illegally) in the ACT, despite such laws passed by other states. We are going to have pill testing of illicit drugs at festivals and restrict police from being adjacent to where this testing is taking place. We have severely curtailed police from pursuing stolen cars even though they often are later burnt out in the bush, thus causing bushfire emergencies. Builders can apparently build any shoddy building without any government restrictions. I am, however, pleased to see that the ACT government is leaping into action to prevent school chaplains from operating in schools where they have been requested. It is good to see that the government has its priorities right. Alan Castle, Weston Helen Goddard, of Turner, (Letters, February 26) laments the household items currently adorning nature strips in Turner and O'Connor. I suspect it's a seasonal thing. That is, they were left there by graduating ANU students departing sharehouses at the end of last year. If so, it'll be a matter of cometh the student, cometh the hour as they're gleefully scooped up by impoverished new undergrads doing their O Week scouring of local nature strips for household items for their sharehouses. (I swear I've seen the same battered couch move around the suburb over the past few years.) So I'm confident that the problem will soon disappear. Except for the cots and prams. I don't know what's going on there. Dallas Stow, O'Connor Dr Shroot's aversion to smoking is well known, and is commendable, but he doesn't really offer any practical help to those with a nicotine addiction, (Letters, February 27). Because some e-cigarettes are faulty is no reason to ban the product, but it is a valid reason for regulating better quality standards. Many readers might recall the poisoned smallgoods food case in South Australia in 1995; this did not lead to a ban on smallgoods but did result in the responsible authorities enforcing manufacturing standards. Yes, nicotine is addictive, but many of the adverse health consequences of smoking result not from nicotine but from the constituents in the tar. If we are to help addicted smokers to quit, we should accept that properly manufactured e-cigarettes have a role to play, and that giving the smoker access to e-cigarettes with a reducing nicotine content might help them, over time, kick the habit. Roger Dace, Reid Another ill-informed opinion about the Canberra taxi service (Letters, February 23). Dr Matt Overton took John McKeogh (Letters, February 20) to task over his claim that the ACT government had screwed the holders of taxi perpetual licences into the ground by releasing more taxis into the market than are needed to meet demand. What is it that causes someone who waits 30 minutes to be somehow suddenly imbued with the knowledge of the problems of the taxi service and how to remedy them. The peaks and troughs of taxi work especially at the airport, where several planes arrive in a short time creating a sudden backlog of passengers and then nothing for the rest of the evening means that there is no more work at the airport for the entire night. Yet Dr Overton says that there should be more taxis to cope with this. More taxis would soon go out of business. If more taxis were introduced there would simply be insufficient work for them overall. John McKeogh is right. The ACT government has robbed taxi plate owners of their investment, and it should compensate them. Fortunately, I've never been an owner of a taxi licence. Robert Wilson, Phillip A GIFT FROM ABOVE A cartoonist's gift from above, a Pope's take on a fallen cardinal (Editorial cartoon, February 27). Allan Gibson, Cherrybrook NSW FAIR SUMMATION Robin Brown's short and succinct take on Julie Bishop: "Big on style, small on substance" (Letters, February 27) is a superb summing up that cuts through the mystique and veneration of an ordinary state actor. Rajend Naidu, Glenfield, NSW A TOUGH ASK Apropos Margaret Lee's (Letters, February 26) complaint about the general public's indifference to obscure limited-release films, I was reminded of Phil Dunphy's (Modern Family) exasperated "why do I have to watch a French film? I haven't done anything wrong". Christopher Smith, Braddon POWER CORRUPTS The government; the church; and business exercise power. Power corrupts; absolute power absolutely corrupts. Today we are observing this truth at every level. Jeff Bradley, Isaacs THAT EXTRA EFFORT It bugs me that we are constantly told that the government is working hard to do the best it can for everyone. If that was true how come there is suddenly more it is able to do now? I would happily vote for a government that comes to an election and says there is no more it can do for us as it is already doing it. Ed Gaykema, Reid FOSSIL FUELS OLD HAT I strongly support solar and other renewables for our energy generation and I am strongly opposed to the continuing use of fossil fuels in Australia. The LNP government should wake up. The activist school kids have awoken and I will join them on March 15 as they march for sanity in politics in the interests of climate change. Jenny Holmes, Weston IRONIC TIMING How ironic and unfortunate for the Catholic Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn Christopher Prowse that his article defending the seal of confession ("Priests face an impossible choice between respecting the seal of confession or the law", February 26, p18) appeared on the same day that the suppression orders around the guilty verdict in Cardinal George Pell's child abuse trial were lifted. Roger Terry, Kingston COAL CAN BE PAINFUL Scott Morrison, when treasurer, took a lump of coal into Parliament asking people not to be afraid. Following an election-induced epiphany he is now pretending the Coalition has good credentials for reducing greenhouse emissions. Coal can't hurt you? Oh yes it can, Prime Minister. It can burn your fingers and the seat of your pants as well. Brian Cooke, Waramanga Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Send from the message eld, not as an attached le. Fax: 6280 2282. Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Canberra Times, PO Box 7155, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610. Keep your letter to 250 or fewer words. References to Canberra Times reports should include date and page number. Letters may be edited. Provide phone number and full home address (suburb only published). /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/cfb7a96c-56b4-4928-967c-a901029892c6/r0_21_484_294_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news The head of the ACT's Indigenous elected body says the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community will be better able to hold the territory government to account, and have a greater say on policy, after a new 10-year agreement was signed on Tuesday. The agreement sets out new broad principles for self-determination to allow the elected body to try to ensure the government's decisions about issues directly affecting Indigenous Canberrans are led by the Indigenous community. It will allow the elected body to challenge the government about its decision-making, so that policies across the government are done in agreement with the elected body and wider community, not without Indigenous involvement. While the new deal was welcomed by about 60 Indigenous community figures, politicians and public servants, it was largely to ensure consultation on issues, and contains no specific measures on what the government must do. Instead, elected body chairwoman Katrina Fanning said, the "teeth" of the agreement was in action plans that had been drawn up for each directorate, which included specific indicators in a similar vein to the national Closing the Gap reports. It is unclear what specific measures were included in the action plans, or the deadlines by which they should be met, as the government would not publicly disclose the plans on Tuesday. But Ms Fanning said the plans would ensure the Indigenous community was at the table when key decisions were made affecting the community about service delivery across all portfolios, with reviews of progress every 18 months. While the ACT performs better on some measures than other jurisdictions in Closing the Gap reports, it has long had a chequered relationship with Indigenous Canberrans and has performed worse than most jurisdictions on Indigenous contact with the child protection and the justice systems. Ms Fanning said the elected body had been working for more than a year reviewing about a decade of relevant reports and consulting the Indigenous community to find the specific issues that most needed action. But she said the reviews of the action plans would allow the body and government to update them or change the indicators to allow for new information or more urgent action, and the Indigenous community would be leading the work. Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the government's performance on issues affecting Indigenous Canberrans was better than other places, but still not good enough, promising to achieve better results in the future. The signing of the agreement also came as Opposition Indigenous affairs spokesman James Milligan published a raft of proposals for Indigenous Canberrans the Liberals' will take to the 2020 election, including considering an Indigenous residential rehabilitation centre. He said the government had had 18 years in power to address key Indigenous issues from child protection to health to the over-representation of Aboriginal men and women in Canberra's jail, but had failed to achieve anything. Mr Milligan said while the agreement was a good thing, he was concerned the action plans might not lead to appreciable positive outcomes for the community, and he wanted to see the details in the plans before commenting further. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/5bf9b37c-ccce-4356-85d0-3f868467762b/r0_22_2000_1152_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news Canberras two-hatted chef Ben Willis wanted to turn the spotlight onto four of Canberras best young chefs for a highlight event during Goodfood Month. The young chefs are chosen based on reputation within the industry, says Willis, who heads up Aubergine, where the lunch will be held, and Temporada. They are the chefs behind the chef, the ones who are putting some great ideas forward but probably not getting recognition outside of the kitchen for it. These are the chefs who you also see potential in, for them to step out and open up their own place as theyre just so dedicated to what they do and that next step wouldnt be a surprise to those that know them or work with them. Those people stand out and in a small town, and you hear about them. This year the Young Chefs Lunch will feature Aubergines own Sun Hwa Jang; Barry Burger from new favourite, Pilot; innovative South East Asian restaurant, XOs Noora Heiska; and Eddie Tsai from fine dining stalwart, The Boathouse. Its a huge developmental step for a chef to put themselves up for critique, Willis says. Theyll each bring their own style. Its hoped that the menu will be cohesive but thats not really the point and they dont know each other or cook together so it is just luck if it does. I hope we see diversity in the dishes they put out as Id like to see them take some risks and not play it safe, but push themselves creatively to step away from what is expected. Burger has only been working in the industry for three years. The 26-year-old moved to Australia from The Netherlands and realised he had an opportunity to reinvent himself. Id always been interested in food so I thought why not give being a chef a good crack. Hes made his mark at Eighty-Six, moving with Gus Armstrong when he took over Ainslies Pulp Kitchen. From there he went to Bar Rochford and worked with Louis Couttopes and when Pilot opened in 2018 he went back to Ainslie working under Malcolm Hanslow. Pilot is great, he says. It's a very young crew in the restaurant so there's a good atmosphere and its a great place for me to be developing my own style. I know Im still learning, Im still inspired by other people and thats why this lunch will be a great opportunity to work with Ben. Willis says its important to mentor young chefs, and he names Andy Turner, who was the head chef at Bennelong when he worked there from 1998 to 2001 as someone who put him on the path to becoming the chef he is now. I had never done much in the way of brigade-style, big-ticket dining and I had just moved to Sydney from Canberra so it was a huge environment shock on so many levels, Willis says. I was a qualified chef but in a way that I had still had so much to learn. I had to work really hard to get on top of it all and I struggled a bit but he was really good at teaching and putting up with me and he could probably see I was keen to learn. He said the key for young chefs is to find a place to work that offers something that they would like to learn and stick with it. Young chefs also need to push themselves to continue to learn and do better every day and take responsibility for their own education and develop skills that they arent getting from their employer. Some people think that you need to work in fine dining establishments to be a great chef. You can be the best pizza chef, the best burger chef, whatever it is as long as you want to be there and care about what the customers are coming to see you for and you will become well known for that. I started my career cooking deep-fried food at a club but I loved it and learnt so much from it and I use some of those skills regularly in my businesses. Heiska knew she wanted to get into the industry in her teens. Growing up in Finland, she helped out an aunt who owned a restaurant for work experience. It was pretty much just cleaning and washing dishes, maybe a little prep, but I really enjoyed the environment of the kitchen, she says. The 23-year-old moved to Australia three years ago, classically trained in French cuisine, XO is her first Asian experience and shes loving the opportunity to work with different produce, styles and technique. My family were all good cooks and I've grown up thinking good cooking comes from respecting the ingredient, getting the most out of it, using it in a way so its best qualities are highlighted, she says. I also like using the ingredients that people might have a prejudice about, different cuts of meat, pieces of the fish that might be neglected, things like this are always very interesting to work with. While Jang will feel at home in her regular kitchen she's going outside her comfort zone looking after dessert. "I'm more savoury than sweet," she says. "The challenge will be incorporating Korean flavours into dessert. I like to use unusual ingredients such as miso, sake lees and black garlic." Jang, 32, grew up in South Korea, learning cooking from her mother. At 16 she went to cooking school "and with that, a whole new world had opened up for me, 16 years later I am still passionate about food as my career". She moved to Australia in 2008 and worked at Etch by Becasse, with Justin North, before moving to Canberra in 2014 to Aubergine. Young Chefs Lunch presented by Citi, Sunday, March 17, 12.30-3pm. At Aubergine, $150pp includes four-course lunch with matched wines. For a full list of Goodfood Month highlight events head to goodfoodmonth.com/canberra /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/fdf0b136-a0e3-4541-826a-ca92e36f90e4/r0_129_3763_2255_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news, When Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced an extra $662 million in aged care funding earlier this month, it only added to Lucia Alvarez's frustration. Sitting in a small room in Canberra Hospital's geriatric unit, her bruised and fractured 96-year-old mother, Teresa Alvarez-Salguero, rhythmically chants and taps the small bedside table in front of her. She can't eat, dress, bathe, walk, or use the bathroom by herself. But up until December last year, Ms Alvarez-Salguero, who has dementia, was healthy - and had spent almost nine months waiting for help that never came. "I watch the news and I read the newspapers. But what the government says is, 'blah, blah, blah' - this is my reality," Ms Alvarez said. "I have a lot of depression because my mum cannot sleep because she is going worse. And after her falls, I am doing many things; calling here, calling there, calling the hospital, and I need to see her everyday." In March last year, Ms Alvarez-Salguero, who was living at home with her daughter in Rivett, was approved for a level three home care package. It would offer cleaning services, a visit from a staffer who could speak or understand Spanish (Ms Alvarez-Salguero's only language), transport, and dementia support services. Ms Alvarez spoke to multiple local organisations on her mother's behalf and was promised two staffers who would fit the bill. Both fell through, and she was told another would become available in February this year. By then, it was too late - in December, Ms Alvarez-Salguero's dementia worsened and multiple falls caused fractures in her arm. She's been in hospital since mid-January and has no choice but to enter a permanent residential aged care facility, which she's joined more waiting lists for as she needs a high care room. She's also waiting on the government to approve her subsidy for residential care, which Ms Alvarez was told could take up to six weeks. As of June 30, 2018, 91 per cent of residential aged care beds in the ACT were occupied. As of September 30, 2018 there were 735 people living in the ACT waiting for their approved home care package who had not been offered a lower level package. Of these people, more than 97 per cent had been approved for Commonwealth Home Support Program services. "Every day she tells me that she wants to go home. And she misses my food because I cooked for her," Ms Alvarez said. "I never wanted to put my mother in a nursing home. I thought it would be sad and lonely ... but now she is high care and I cannot leave her alone." On February 10, Scott Morrison announced $662 million in national aged care funding. As part of the package, the ACT would receive 180 extra home care packages and about a 1.1 per cent share of the $320 million being allocated to increase the residential aged care subsidy. The aged care subsidy would increase by June 30, a government spokesman said. It is unclear when the extra home care packages will become available. In 2017-18, 42.3 per cent of older people in the ACT received their home care package services within three months of being approved. The median wait time for those entering residential aged care services was 301 days, although this could have been affected by people wanting a specific room or requiring a certain level of care. Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris had previously said that the long wait times were due to reduced funding by the federal government, but it has grown every year since 2012-13. The Productivity Commission has said there needs to be a stop to the buck passing. Elderly Canberrans deserve better," shadow health spokeswoman Vicki Dunne said. "The ACT government needs to take responsibility and fight for a better deal for our elderly at [the Council of Australian Governments]. It is incumbent on [the council] and the royal commission into aged care to come up with solutions. In 2017-18, government spending on home care packages in the ACT was $83.4 million, which is up from recent years. Government spending on residential aged care in the ACT was $138.7 million in 2017-18. Of the 15 residential aged care organisations The Canberra Times contacted - some of which have multiple or several facilities across the ACT - many said they were wary of a lack of home care packages in the ACT. The number of residential beds available was also under strain and tended to vary day to day, depending on a whether a resident died or had to be taken to hospital indefinitely. RSL LifeCare has 18 beds free across its residences in Curtin, Page, and Lyneham, a spokesperson said. Presbyterian Aged Care had three vacancies, and Uniting said it had some vacancies but would not say how many. IRT could have up to 20 people waiting when a vacancy arises, while Villaggio Sant' Antonio had 46 applicants waiting for a bed. The government does not keep an overall waiting list on residential aged care facilities, so some applicants may appear on several waiting lists across different facilities. "We are aware of the shortfall in availability of residential aged care places in the ACT, and indeed across all the regions in which we operate," a spokesperson for IRT said. "We dont keep a formal waiting list for the IRT Kangara Waters Aged Care Centre, instead we aim to prioritise those with the highest needs." Home care packages are also given out on a priority basis. Ms Alvarez-Salguero was initially listed as a "medium" priority. The Department of Health said they do not comment on individual cases. The royal commission into aged care started on January 18 and a final report is expected to be prepared by April 30, 2020. Submissions to the commission are not being made available online due to the large volume. New aged care quality standards are set to come into effect on July 1 and would ensure information provided to older people is current, accurate and timely. In 2017-18, there were 88 complaints received about residential aged care facilities in the ACT. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/9376575d-8a60-4b3d-9274-0d92251a6b23/r0_212_4256_2617_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg comment, editorial The accounts of violence emerging from Canberra's schools have been shocking insights into a rising trend that threatens the safety of children and teachers. A clear increase in the number of ACT principals reporting violence - 74 per cent growth since 2011 - should alone attract a systematic, forensic rethink of the protections inside schools for students and staff. Accounts of kids being hit over the head with stools, rocks and tree branches, and a pregnant teacher being punched in the stomach, reveal an education system that is failing many children, staff and families. The reports from Theodore Primary School and others make the findings from a new report on the ACT's education system only more damning. An annual Australian Catholic University study, released on Wednesday, gave the territory the mantle of having the largest percentage of principals reporting physical violence, the figure reaching 51 per cent. That puts the ACT far ahead of NSW and Victoria, states with more schools to manage and greater spreads of disadvantage. What is Canberra doing wrong when it comes to school safety? Parents have reported fearing for their kids when dropping them off at school. Every second principal encountered a physical attack in 2018. Those feeling let down by the education system have every reason to demand change. The ACT government is aware of the trend. It is less clear that it understands the problem's causes, and in turn, knows how to solve it. Responding to reports of assaults against school staff in 2017, it announced a new occupational violence policy, apparently the first of its kind. The government has claimed its policies encourage reporting among teachers, and make sure schools have processes to address bullying, harassment and violence. Recently it has poured $7 million into reforms to tackle workplace violence, and responded to incidents with internal audits. Education Minister Yvette Berry cautioned in 2017 that the government wouldn't solve the problem overnight. Such management of the public's expectations perhaps underplayed the urgency of the problems ACT schools face, and in hindsight, overlooked the interim measures that could have prevented the situation from deteriorating. There have been glaring manifestations of the education system's failures since. The government's own work-safety watchdog last year decided it had cause to remind the Education Directorate of "the seriousness of these issues" with an enforceable undertaking. It alleged the directorate was not doing all that was "reasonably practical" to ensure the safety of its staff. Tellingly, WorkSafe ACT found the directorate's workplace violence policies were neither flexible nor fully implemented. A wicked combination of slow government responses, a lack of central databases recording incidents, and rising violence bears little promise of change. The fact the Education Directorate only reviewed incidents at Theodore Primary School a year after a minister was first contacted by distressed families at Theodore raises questions about the level of support principals and teachers are receiving in solving the problem. The government alone is not responsible. It's a community-wide question to answer. An independent inquiry, if it drew broadly on expertise and experiences, could point the ACT education system in the right direction. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/f748133a-f5bb-44a1-9ee7-6b28c35927a8/r0_223_4256_2628_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg St. Johnsbury, VT (05819) Today Partly to mostly cloudy with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 84F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Cloudy skies after midnight. Low 64F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Journalists and officials from all over the world have descended on Hanoi, Vietnam as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump prepare to meet for a second summit on Wednesday evening. While there were a number of factors behind the choice of Vietnam as the venue for the second historic meeting, many observers believe that the choice has great symbolic significance. Though North Korea and Vietnam are both socialist countries that fought the United States during the Cold War era, the two countries took very different routes to development. North Koreas relationship with the U.S. is fraught, with missile tests and rhetoric escalating tensions in recent years to near-disastrous levels. After the end of the Cold War, Vietnam and the U.S. normalized relations, and in the 1990s Vietnam opened its private sector to the rest of the world, inviting investment and speedy growth. Many analysts said that beyond the summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, Kims visit to Vietnam could also involve visits to manufacturing centers in the north of the country, to industrial port cities, to tourist destinations and more to see Vietnams model of economic transformation and quick development. The topic of North Korea drawing lessons from Vietnams development has actually been talked about for a while, said Nguyen Mai, president of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises. According to Nguyen, the South Korean ambassador to Vietnam had previously invited Vietnamese economics and investment experts, including Nguyen, to discuss with South Korean scholars visiting Vietnam the possibility of North Korea absorbing more foreign capital. North Korea has also sent delegations to Vietnam for field trips. Nguyen said that in the two weeks leading up to the summit, the South Korean ambassador held a meeting in which he suggested establishing a trilateral cooperation agreement between South Korea, North Korea and Vietnam. However, Nguyen added, As for what North Korea will learn from Vietnam? The North Korean side must decide for themselves once they have learned about Vietnam. Andray Abrahamian, a fellow at Stanford University who has been to North Korea more than 30 times, said that despite Vietnam and North Koreas similarities in geopolitical situations and national and social systems, their strategic contexts are quite different. However, Vietnams development shows that an American enemy can become a partner and that a single-party state can run an open and successful economy, Abrahamian told Caixin. Abrahamian, in his previous role as executive director of the Choson Exchange nonprofit that trains North Koreans in economic policy and entrepreneurship, took some of the trainees to visit Vietnam. The trainees were interested in land development, the tourism sector, and public-private partnerships, Abrahamian told Caixin. Overall, I think Vietnams development was impressive to the North Koreans. Troy Stangarone, the senior director of congressional affairs and trade at the Korea Economic Institute of America, pointed out that the most important lessons North Korea could learn from Vietnam might be in how to improve the vitality and production of state-owned enterprises and how to give private enterprises more space to develop. North Korea has taken some steps to deepen reform, including allowing for some market activity, but such steps have been tentative and legally ambiguous, he said. Taking clearer steps along the line of Vietnam and removing legal ambiguities, which means also having government officials enforce the laws appropriately, will be important steps for reforming North Koreas economy, he added. In a recent telephone call, South Korean President Moon Jae-in told Trump that he hoped the U.S. would consider offering joint North-South economic projects as incentives for the North to denuclearize. South Korea, looking to broaden its role in the historic summit, has sent more than 20 officials to Hanoi and set up a media center operating 24 hours per day from Feb. 26 to March 1 that 500 international journalists have signed up to use. They are also providing free snacks from popular South Korean bakery chain, Paris Baguette, to members of the media at the center. Contact translator Ren Qiuyu (qiuyuren@caixin.com) Live Event: Chinas New Securities Regulator Gives Much-Anticipated News Conference By Leng Cheng and Fran Wang / Feb 27, 2019 04:05 PM / Finance Chinas new top securities regulator Yi Huiman is giving his hotly anticipated first press conference today and he'll possibly reveal the timetable for the countrys new high-tech board. Yi, who was appointed chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission last month, was previously rumored to be giving his first press conference in late January. The rumors turned out to be false, but investors expecting news that the short-selling mechanism would be promoted and fraud crackdown would be intensified were spooked, dragging down the Shanghai Composite Index by nearly 2% in a couple of hours. Aside from the high-tech board, Yi may also signal his stance on regulation today, as he steps into the shoes of predecessor Liu Shiyu, who favored tougher regulation of Chinas securities market. Stay tuned for live updates. -------------- WRONGDOING: Yi said China will firmly crack down on wrongdoings in the capital market, including market manipulation, insider trading, and fraud in securities issuance, financial reports, and mergers and acquisitions. Yi added that China would push for revisions to the Securities Law to significantly raise the costs of violating the law and regulations of the capital market. LOWERING BARRIERS: Yi said China will eliminate the hurdles for social securities funds, insurance funds, and pension funds to enter the stock market, to push forward the reform and opening up of China's capital market and further improve the trading mechanism. MARKET ROLE: Yi said China will let the capital market "fully play its role" in allocating resources, setting prices of assets and mitigating risks to make the financial sector better serve the real economy. ----------------- HIGH-TECH BOARD: Yi: Setting up a registration-based high-tech board is a major institutional innovation. CSRC will evaluate the impact of the innovation, and coordinate future reform of the ChiNext board and the over-the-counter market. Yi: The high-tech board has made many innovations in share offerings, listing, trading and de-listing. The board has had many breakthroughs, so it's not about simply adding a new board, but rather core reform and innovation. Yi: The board is intended to building an IPO system with information disclosure at its center and gain reform experience that can be duplicated and rolled out." CSRC Vice Chairman Fang Xinghai: The boards loosening of rules on eligibility of companies to be listed, including the relaxation of profit requirements, comes on the condition that information disclosure will be tightened, which is the core of testing registration-based IPOs. CSRC Vice Chairman Li Chao: It's reasonable for investors to worry about the impact of the high-tech board on the secondary market. But the board has its own strict standards and procedures, and will respect market mechanisms, so capital won't be flooding into the new high-tech board. Vice Chairman Fang: Authorities will subject intermediary organizations for IPOs on the high-tech board, including securities companies, accounting firms and law firms, to high scrutiny, to ensure those who violate laws and regulations will be held accountable and punished. Fraud in information disclosure and fraudulent share issuance will be penalized harshly. Yi: We need the joint effort of various market participants to implement innovation. For example, share issuers should fully disclose information, as should bookrunners and investment bankers. One of the biggest unique features of the high-tech board is the pricing and underwriting of shares. It will test the core competitiveness of investment banks. We are worried that some domestic brokerages might lack related experience, and it's important for them to do full preparation to improve their capabilities. It's the most important market-oriented factor of the board. Li: Stock prices could be rather volatile in the early stage of the high-tech board and the pricing of shares of some companies may not meet market expectations, because it takes time for the policy innovations to be tested and improved, and the high-tech industry faces greater uncertainty than conventional sectors. The CSRC urges tolerance and understanding for such potential issues. Shanghai Stock Exchange Chairman Huang Hongyuan: The SSE is analyzing public comments on the draft rules of the high-tech board. It will make necessary revisions to the draft under the guidance of the CSRC and publish the new version after it is approved. Huang: Potential companies that could be listed on the high-tech board are in industries including new generation information technology, biology, high-end manufacturing and new materials. Many of the firms are located in Beijing, the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta, Wuhan, Chengdu and Xian. They have invested heavily in research and development and have good growth potential. Huang: IPO application filings by these companies are unlikely to flood in at the same time because their preparation work is at different stages. Relatedly, an anti-corruption board will be set up to supervise the IPO review work. ----------- TRADE WAR: Yi: Progress in China-U.S. trade talks has a positive impact on the operation of listed companies in China. The CSRC will keep a close eye on potential impact the trade friction will cause on pledged stocks and bond issuance and take measures tailored to different companies to deal with the uncertainties. ------------ VALUATION: Li: The primary market has seen overly high valuation of high-tech companies. The high-tech board aims to achieve reasonable valuation of these enterprises through market-based mechanisms, rather than judgement by the CSRC or the SSE. The conference has concluded. Follow @caixin and @caixinlive for future updates on China's markets, economic policy, and business developments. Feb. 27, 1969 The "pile driver" started work this week to drive about 200 timber pilings to an approximate 30-foot depth on the site of the new library building. Installation is expected to be completed next week if present weather conditions continue, a spokesman for the R.W. Cole Construction Co. said Wednesday. As the fight between India and Pakistan escalates in the airspace, both countries have suspended flights due to airspace restrictions. Indian carriers have suspended flights from northern cities closer to the international border, including Jammu, Srinagar, Amritsar, Adampur, Shimla, Bhuntar, Gagal, Dehradun, Leh and Chandigarh. All Indian carriers have asked passengers from these cities to keep a check on their flight statuses as the airspace restrictions are currently temporary. If and when the restrictions will be lifted, the passengers can board their scheduled flights. IndiGo has given options to passengers to either cancel the booking or opt for an alternate option on its website. The closure of multiple airports in India is expected to affect thousands of passengers. Also Read: IAF Surgical Strike 2.0 LIVE: Pak Air Force's F-16 fighter jet shot down; pilot ejected, condition unknown Pakistan too has stopped flights - international and domestic - from five airports (Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot, and Islamabad). As per Flightradar24, the online real-time flight tracking tool, the aircraft movement around the northern region of India and the entire Pakistan seems to have been halted. In an otherwise busy airspace, just three flights - flydubai's FZ571 flight from Dubai to Kathmandu, Air India's AI464 flight from Chandigarh to Delhi and AirAsia India's I51825 flight from Chandigarh to Bengaluru - were seen operating in the northern India at around 1.30 pm. At 2.20 pm, the entire Indian airspace over J&K, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh did not have a single civilian flight. The Pakistan's airspace was largely clear with just one flight -- Ukraine International Airlines flight PS388 -- between Colombo and Kiev operating at that time. The suspension of flights in at least 10 Indian airports, and restricted airspace over Pakistan, is likely to have cascading effects on the flight schedules across the country with airlines rerouting other flights. Also Read: Indian Air Force shoots down Pakistan F-16 fighter jet: report Several reports have appeared that Pakistan's fighter jets had crossed LoC (line of control) in the morning, and one of the Pakistan's warplanes F-16 was shot inside the PoK (Pakistan occupied Kashmir). Pakistan, on the other hand, has claimed to have shot down two Indian warplanes and has captured an Indian pilot. The official confirmations on these claims are awaited. The war-like situation between the two countries is a result of the terror attacks in J&K's Pulwama district two weeks ago that killed about 40 CRPF personnel. Also Read: India-Pakistan tension: Airports in many northern Indian cities shut down Two cabin crew members suffered "minor" injuries when a Kolkata-bound GoAir flight from Bhubaneswar experienced severe air turbulence Tuesday, the airline said. However, none of the passengers was hurt and the aircraft made a safe landing at Kolkata airport, it said. Also Read: Indian strikes Pakistan LIVE updates: Heavy firing along LoC; Punjab, Rajasthan, Mumbai on high alert The number of passengers on board the turbulence-hit aircraft was not immediately known. "GoAir flight G8 761 operating on Bhubaneswar-Kolkata route experienced severe turbulence wherein two crew members suffered minor injuries and were administered medication at the dispensary at Kolkata airport," a GoAir spokesperson said in the statement. For the last two days, weather has been extremely unforgiving, the airline said. It said the flight captain and co-pilot had a successful and safe landing at the Kolkata airport. There was no damage to the aircraft and it was thoroughly checked after landing at Kolkata airport, it said adding that the aircraft was released for subsequent flights from Kolkata later. Also Read: Delhi Budget 2019-20: AAP govt allocates Rs 500 crore for Metro Phase IV 03 Jun 2019, 12:46 PM Mukesh Ambani joins global rich list with $54 billion net worth Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani has broken into the top 10 richest list globally with a networth of $54 billion, while his younger brother Anil has paled into the oblivion having lost over 65 percent of his net worth, according to a report. The Hurun Global Rich List 2019 is topped by Amazon chief Jeff Bezos for the second year in a row, while the senior Ambani is placed 10th with a net worth of Rs 3.83 lakh crore Pakistan to boycott Indian movies after IAF strikes Jaish camps in Balakot Bollywood has been a bridge between India and Pakistan through several tense years. But the latest escalation in tension between the two embittered neighbours is set to burn this bridge. In the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, which claimed the lives of 44 CRPF troopers, All India Cine Workers Association had announced a blanket ban on Pakistani artists from working in Indian films earlier this month. Now, after Indian Air Force's surgical strike on its soil, Pakistan is planning to boycott Indian movies.The Cinema Exhibitors Association in Pakistan has decided to boycott all content originating from India India again extends deadline for imposition of higher import duties on 29 US products till April 1 The Narendra Modi-led government on Tuesday extended the deadline to impose retaliatory customs duties on 29 US products, including almond, walnut and pulses, till April 1. As discussions are going on between India and the US for a proposed trade package, the commerce ministry had asked its finance counterpart to again defer the implementation of a notification to impose high duties on US products. Pakistan Army doesn't think Indian Air Force carried out a strike, but promises to retaliate After the Indian Air Force's air strikes on the terrorist camps of Jaish-e-Mohammed in the early hours of February 26, the countries have continued to engage in a war of words. While India said that around 350 terrorists were killed, Pakistan refuted the claims. The Director General (DG) of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Asif Ghafoor refuted details of the air strike altogether but added that Pakistan would retaliate and that India should brace for a surprise. Rahul Gandhi, Kejriwal laud IAF pilots for air strikes on Pakistan Congress president Rahul Gandhi Tuesday lauded the pilots of the Indian Air Force after air strikes on Pakistan. Gandhi also put out the Indian flag along with his tweet. The Congress also tweeted, lauding the role of the Indian Air Force in keeping Indians safe with its consistent and determined effort. The Sensex and Nifty opened higher Wednesday after faltering on Indian Air Force's attack on Pakistan-harboured terrorist camps yesterday. While the Sensex rallied 232 points to 36,205 in early trade, the Nifty climbed 58 points to 10,893. YES Bank (2.20%), Sun Pharma (1.41%) and M&M (1.29%) were the top Sensex gainers. Of 30 Sensex stocks,27 were trading in the green . Top Sensex losers were HCL Tech (0.84%), NTPC (0.55 %) and PowerGrid (0.33%). On Tuesday, the BSE Sensex closed 239.67 points, or 0.66 per cent, lower at 35,973.71, and the NSE Nifty ended at 10,835.30, down by 44.80 points or by 0.41 per cent. Sensex closes 239 points lower as IAF strikes terror camps in Pakistan, Nifty below 10,850 Meanwhile, the mid cap and small cap indices were trading 139 points and 120 points higher in early trade. Auto and banking stocks led the gains with the BSE auto and BSE bankex rising 234 points and 256 points, respectively. Of 19 BSE indices, 17 were trading in the green. IT stocks were the top sectoral losers on the BSE . Meanwhile, the rupee opened marginally lower at 71.11 per dollar on today versus previous close of 71.06. Market breadth was positive with 948 stocks trading higher compared to 193 falling on the BSE. On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net of Rs 1,674 crore on Tuesday, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 720 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed. Indian strikes Pakistan LIVE updates: Heavy firing along LoC; Punjab, Rajasthan, Mumbai on high alert Mustafa Nadeem, CEO at Epic Research said, "At this point in time, we believe the markets are in the range of 10980 - 10700. The volatility index is, of course, up by 11% which indicates the volatility is there and some kind of panic is inherent in the market. Hence traders should keep a check at lower levels of Nifty which are placed at 10750 - 10720. Traders should look for some kind of hedging using put options. From here, we believe there may be some consolidation in Nifty between 10900 - 10750 for coming sessions as the rise in volatility has indicated traders rushing for Puts and hedging their positions. There may be further escalations on the geopolitical front and hence we suggest traders to keep the portfolio's intact with a tight stop loss and hedging using options." Global markets Asian shares were higher in muted trading Wednesday as investors watch the second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.5 percent in early trading to 21,550.02. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3 percent to 6,148.70. South Korea's Kospi edged up nearly 0.2 percent to 2,230.37. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5 percent to 28,909.38, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.9 percent to 2,966.84. Edited by Aseem Thapliyal A day after Indian Air Force blew up the terror camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot, Pakistan's Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relation (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor on Wednesday claimed that it undertook strikes across the border from Pakistani airspace. "Sole purpose of this action was to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. We do not wish to escalate but are fully prepared if forced into that paradigm," he said. Refuting India's claim of shooting down Pakistan's F-16 aircraft, the DG ISPR said that Pakistan had not used F-16 in entire operation and no Pakistani fighter jet has been hit. Earlier today, Indian news agency ANI had reported India had shot down a Pakistani F16 fighter jet which had intruded inside Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri sectors. A parachute was seen as the F-16 went down, however, the condition of the pilot is still unknown, reported ANI. Also Read: Indian Air Force shoots down Pakistan F-16 fighter jet: report Details are yet to come, but Pakistan Air Force (PAF) claimed that in response to PAF strikes this morning, Indian Air Force crossed LoC. "PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K [Azad Jammu and Kashmir] while other fell inside IoK [Indian occupied Kashmir]. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area," DG ISPR took to Twitter to confirm the action. Addressing a press conference, Ghafoor said that two Indian pilots have been arrested. As of now, there is no official statement from the Indian government regarding the incident. Reports also mention that two aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam. The SSP Budgam said, "Some aircraft has fallen. As of now we aren't in a position to ascertain anything. Technical team is here, they'll ascertain facts. We have found 2 bodies so far and have evacuated them. Search is going on here." Catch all the latest updates on BusinessToday.In live blog: India-Pakistan conflict Live: Pak claims to have arrested Indian pilot, releases video; India yet to confirm Edited by Chitranjan Kumar Nepal has asked India and Pakistan to come together for dialogue and resolve the ongoing tussle between them. Two nuclear powers engaged in aerial engagements today as Pakistan violated Indian airspace in response to a precise, non-military aerial attack on terror launch pads in its territory. Nepal, as the current SAARC Chair, said that it is concerned about the prevalent tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of Pulwama terror attack. "As current Chair of SAARC, Nepal calls on both sides to exercise utmost restraint and not engage in actions that would threaten peace and security in the region; also urges them to seek solution through dialogue and peaceful means in order to ease tension," a statement by Nepal Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. In 2016, India had boycotted the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Summit after the Uri terror attacks, saying that terror and talks cannot go hand in hand, and the remaining members of the bloc had followed suit. India once again has been trying to create diplomatic pressure on Pakistan after the Pulwama terror attack. The Indian Air Force had launched air strikes yesterday to demolish terrorist camps in Balakot, Chakothi and Muzaffarabad regions of Pakistan, without advancing on military and civilian targets. Pakistan had vowed retaliation against the non-military attack and violated Indian airspace multiple times today. Pakistan Air Force aircraft also targeted military establishments in India, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a briefing today. India registered a strong-worded objection to Pakistan's unwarranted advances into Indian airspace before the latter's Acting High Commissioner, Syed Haider Shah. Talking to Shah, Ministry of External Affairs also raised the issue of Pakistan apprehending a pilot of the Indian Air Force. The External Affairs Minsiry had summoned Shah to South Block after Pakistan Air Force's fighter jets violated Indian air space several times on Wednesday. In a briefing earlier today, the MEA had stated that Pakistan Air Force aircraft had targeted crucial military installations on the Indian side. This is in contrast to the non-military operation conducted by Indian Air Force against terrorist launch pads in Pakistani territory on Tuesday, the External Affairs Ministry told Shah according to ANI. ALSO READ: IAF air strike in Pakistan Live: No harm should come to Wing Commander Abhinandan, India tells Pakistan This morning, F-16 jets from Pakistan entered Indian air space and dropped payload with the intention to hit military posts and installation. The attempts were foiled and one Pakistani F-16 jet was downed. However, Pakistan's jets lured one MiG21 jet into an ambush and captured its pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan after bringing down his plane which fell into Pakistan occupied Kashmir. MEA later confirmed that Wing Commander Abhinandan had taken off this morning but his plane was destroyed and he is missing in action. "Pakistan claims he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had said Pakistan earlier claimed to have two Indian pilots in its custody, but later revealed that it only has one. ALSO READ: Omar Abdullah asks PM Modi to suspend political activities till Wing Commander Abhinandan returns safely Moreover, videos coming from PoK the shows locals injuring the IAF pilot and him being taken away by Pakistani soldiers while being blindfolded, his face covered in blood. India told off Shah for this the vulgar display of the injured IAF personnel, calling it a violation of all norms of the International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention. The MEA has made it clear to Pakistan via Shah that it will be well-advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian pilot, ANI reported. India also said that it expects safe and immediate return of its aviator. Indian Air Force had scrambled Mirage 2000 fighter jets, with support from MiG and Sukhoi aircraft, in the early hours of Tuesday to drop 1000kg laser-guided bombs on terrorist training camps in Balakot town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. While Pakistan army had denied any loss of life and property in the raid by IAF jets, it had warned that there will be retaliation. ALSO READ: MEA admits one pilot missing after Pakistan releases alleged video of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday conveyed his angst over the missing IAF pilot claimed by Pakistan to be in its custody. "I'm sorry to hear that one of our brave IAF pilots is missing. I hope he will return home soon, unharmed. We stand by our armed forces in these difficult times," tweeted Gandhi. I'm sorry to hear that one of our brave IAF pilots is missing. I hope he will return home soon, unharmed. We stand by our armed forces in these difficult times. - Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 27, 2019 The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has confirmed that it lost MiG 21 jet with its pilot missing in action after an engagement with a Pakistani Air Force fighter jet. It however did not confirm that the pilot is in Pakistani army's custody as is claimed by the neighboring country. MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar in his statement said, "India had informed about Counter Terrorism (CT) action it took yesterday against a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan based on credible evidence that JeM intended to launch more attacks. Against this Counter Terrorism Action, Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistan's attempts were foiled successfully. Also Read: Opposition leaders hold emergency meet in Parliament to discuss security situation amid Pakistan conflict He further said, "The Pakistan Air Force was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts." Also Read: IAF air strike in Pakistan Live: Lost MiG 21; verifying Pak claims of arresting missing Indian pilot, says MEA Pakistan military's official spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor earlier in the day had held a press conference claiming that PAF had carried out strikes in J&K. He stated that Pakistani jets shot down two IAF jets, one of which crashed in Pakistan-controlled territory and the two pilots of the aircraft were taken in custody. Pakistan has also released an unverified video of the IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan claiming of capturing him after downing his jet. A day after the Indian Air Force (IAF) struck at terrorist targets in Pakistan's Balakot, Chakothi and Muzaffarabad, Pakistan Wednesday claimed to have shot down two Indian aircrafts that had ventured in its airspace. The Director General (DG) of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Asif Ghafoor in his tweet said that one of the aircrafts fell inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Indian territory, with one Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground Pakistan's territory. In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area. - Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 27, 2019 Pakistani jets violated the Indian air space in Jammu & Kashmir's (J&K) Poonch and Nowshera sectors but were forced to return by the IAF fighters. The Pakistani offensive was confirmed by its foreign ministry. "Today, Pakistan Air Force undertook strikes across Line of Control from within Pakistani airspace. Also Reead: IAF Surgical Strike 2.0 LIVE: Pak Air Force's F-16 fighter jet shot down; pilot ejected, condition unknown This was not a retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. Pakistan has therefore, taken strikes at non military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. Sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence." It said. The statement further said, "We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we undertook the action with clear warning and in broad daylight." Also Read: Indian Air Force shoots down Pakistan F-16 fighter jet: report Blaming India for waging acts of aggression against it, the statement stated, "For the last few years, India has been trying to establish what they call a 'new normal' a thinly veiled term for doing acts of aggression at whatever pretext they wish on a given day. If India is striking at so called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan. We do not wish to go to that route and wish that India gives peace a chance and to resolve issues like a mature democratic nation." Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took to Twitter to say that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must suspend his political activities until Wing Commander Abhinandan who was arrested in Pakistan earlier today is brought back home safely. "PM Modi must suspend his political activities until Wing Commander Abhinandan is returned safely. It can't be business as usual with him cross crossing the country at tax payer expense making political speeches while our pilot is a Pakistani captive," he said. The former CM followed that with another tweet and said, "For the record it's not just unsolicited advice to the PM, I had requested the opposition to postpone the meeting in light of the developments, especially after the news of our pilot being in Pakistani custody but they felt otherwise. I chose not to attend as a result." PM Modi must suspend his political activities until #WingCommanderAbhinandan is returned safely. It can't be business as usual with him cross crossing the country at tax payer expense making political speeches while our pilot is a Pakistani captive. - Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 27, 2019 In his follow-up tweet, Abdullah is referring to the emergency meet of the opposition in the parliament that was attended by twenty one parties who expressed concern over the national security over escalating tensions with Pakistan. They also questioned Prime Minister Modi for not convening an all-party meet to assess the situation. After the meeting, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said that the meeting of leaders of 21 political parties condemned the dastardly Pulwama attack and lauded the action taken by Indian armed forces, further adding, "Leaders condemned Pakistani misadventure & expressed deep concern for safety of our missing pilot. Leaders urged govt to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity & integrity." Rahul Gandhi also took to Twitter to say that he hopes the pilot returns home safely. "I'm sorry to hear that one of our brave IAF pilots is missing. I hope he will return home soon, unharmed. We stand by our armed forces in these difficult times," he said. Also read: Opposition leaders hold emergency meet in Parliament to discuss security situation amid Pakistan conflict Follow the LIVE blog here: Lost MiG 21; verifying Pak claims of arresting missing Indian pilot, says MEA Also read: India-Pakistan conflict: Imran Khan says if war happens, it won't be in his or Modi's control Ministry of External Affairs has confirmed that one pilot of Indian Air Force has gone missing in action after an engagement with a Pakistan Air Force fighter jet. In a briefing, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar confirmed that the said PAF jet has been brought down. This comes after Pakistan claimed they had captured two IAF pilots and released a video showing one of the alleged pilots. "Pakistan has responded with using its air force to target military installations on the Indian side. In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by the ground forces falling on the Pakistan side. In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG21. The pilot is missing in action. We are ascertaining the facts," the MEA spokesperson said. ALSO READ: IAF air strike in Pakistan Live: Lost one MiG 21; verifying Paks claim of arresting missing pilot, says India Reports claim that the lost MiG21 was lured by PAF F-16s into an ambush and was brought down by air defence systems. Following this, Pakistan claimed that it captured the two IAF pilots in the downed aircraft. A video has surfaced, which Pakistan media is claiming that it is one of the two Indian pilots Pakistan army claimed to have apprehended today. The authenticity of this 49-second long footage could not be ascertained independently. Another IAF pilot Pakistan claims to have captured is said to be getting medical assistance, reports claim. ALSO READ: Several flights get suspended as India-Pakistan tensions escalate This development came after Pakistan army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said in a press conference that two Indian aircraft had been shot down today morning. While one fell on the Indian side, debris from the other plane landed in Pakistan's territory, he said. The pilots were retrieved from the latter aircraft, Ghafoor said. Aerial confrontation has been going on between the two nations since early morning today after India launched an aerial attack to destroy terror training camps in three locations in Pakistan yesterday. India has shot down a F-16 fighter jet of Pakistan Air Force which violated airspace in Lam valley. Pakistan has claimed to conduct air raids against India but denied using any F-16s. ALSO READ: Pakistan says no F-16 aircraft used, dismisses report of their fighter jet crashing So far, Pakistan has defended its violation of Indian airspace saying that this is in self-defence and shows its commitment to protect itself against advances from India. "We decided that we will not attack any military targets. We decided that no human life should be endangered in the strikes. We did not want to give the impression that we are an irresponsible nation. The intention was to tell we can retaliate, but we won't go to war at the cost of the region's peace," Ghafoor said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired a crucial security meeting in the wake of escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. The PM Modi-led committee has decided that India will not buckle under pressure. Navy, Air Force and Army have been given a free hand to take a future course of action. A befitting reply would be given at a proper time. Earlier today, Pakistan claimed its air force shot down not one but two Indian aircraft that entered its territory. One of the fighters crashed in Pakistan-controlled territory and its pilot was taken into custody. The Pakistan government also claimed to have two Indian pilots in its custody, but later changed his statement in a tweet saying there was only one. The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar confirmed that an Indian Air Force pilot was 'missing in action' and that a MiG-21 jet was 'lost' during a confrontation between the Indian Air Force and Pakistan Air Force this morning. The Indian Air Force has also said that a Pakistan fighter jet that had violated the Indian airspace in Lam district of Nowshera sector in J&K has been shot down. India registered a strong-worded objection to Pakistan's unwarranted advances into Indian airspace and advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian pilot. India also said that it expects safe and immediate return of its aviator. Catch all the latest updates on the India-Pakistan conflict on BusinessToday.In live blog. 10:10pm: With my heavy heart I appeal to yours, India,Pakistan is not your enemy, Your enemy is our enemy! How much more blood needs to be spilled before we realise we are both fighting the same battle.We need brothers in arm if we want to beat this war on terror #TogetherWeWin #NoToWar - Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) February 27, 2019 10:05pm: As an Air warrior, Wg Cdr Abhinandan Varthaman served the nation by defending it with total disregard to his personal safety. As a nation we pray for his continuous well being and early return. - Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) February 27, 2019 10:00pm: Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarter, Union minister Prakash Javadekar rejected the joint statement of 21 opposition parties, saying the allegation levelled by the opposition is 'baseless'. The opposition parties had alleged that BJP was politicising the sacrifices of armed forces. 9:55pm : In a high level meeting-headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was decided that India will not buckle under pressure. Navy, Air and Army have been given a free hand to take a future course of action. A befitting reply would be given at a proper time. 9:45pm: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar will address a press conference at the BJP Headquarters shortly. 9:40pm: A newborn baby in Rajasthan's Ajmer region has been named after the Mirage 2000 fighter jets used by the Indian Air Force in Tuesday's air strikes against Pakistan-based terror camps, ANI has reported. 9:30pm: Air Canada has temporarily suspended service to India due the closure of Pakistani airspace by Indian government. 9:00pm: All government and private schools located near Line of Control and international border to remain closed tomorrow. 8:30pm: India on Wednesday handed over to Pakistan a dossier detailing involvement of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in the Pulwama terror attack that left 40 CRPF personnel dead. 8:25pm: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in a statement said, "As advised by security agencies, Red Alert has been imposed in enitre DMRC netwok from 6 pm onwards today." 8:20pm: Delhi: Meeting of the three Service Chiefs with PM Narendra Modi at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg ends pic.twitter.com/MKV9g1Cy2L - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 8:10pm: DMK president MK Stalin urged the Modi government to take all necessary steps to rescue Wing Commander Abhinandan. "My thoughts are with the family and friends of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman." 8:00pm: In wake of rising tensions between India and Pakistan, Congress President Rahul Gandhi has cancelled a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and the 'Jan Sankalp rally' which was to be held here on Thursday, reports PTI. 7:50pm: The Indian Railways on Wednesday said the Samjhauta Express will continue to run as per schedule from Delhi to Attari in India, amidst reports that Pakistan has suspended its operations between Wagah to Lahore on its side. 7:40pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding a meeting with security and intelligence officials, in presence of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, after Pakistan Air Force jets intruded in the Indian airspace early morning today, sources said. 7:35pm: Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy says nation stands in solidarity with armed forces. 7:30pm: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh met top officials of army, paramilitary and the police to review the current situation in border areas, ANI has reported. 7.20pm: UK Prime Minister Theresa May has expressed concern over rising tension between India and Pakistan, urging both countries to exercise restraint. "We're in regular contact with both countries, urging dialogue and diplomatic solutions to ensure regional stability," May said. "We are working closely with international partners including through the UN Security Council to de-escalate tensions and are monitoring developments closely and considering implications for British nationals," May was quoted as saying by ANI. 7.00pm: Pakistan violates ceasefire in Krishna Ghati and Mendhar sector of Poonch 6.55pm: Before Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan Syed Haider Shah, India also registered its strong objection to the nation's vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention. India also cautioned Pakistan to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return. 6.50pm: Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan Syed Haider Shah has left the Ministry of External Affairs. The Ministry had called him to register its protest against Pakistan Air Force aircraft violating Indian airspace after the non-military surgical strike by India against terror camps in Pakistan. "It is unfortunate that instead of fulfilling its international obligation & bilateral commitment to take credible action against terrorist entities and individuals operating from its soil, Pakistan has acted with aggression against India," the Ministry of External Affairs told the Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan. 6.20pm: Pakistan army spokesperson has said that they only have one Indian pilot in custody. Earlier claims by Pakistan stated that two IAF pilots have been captured in PoK. 6.10pm: "PM Modi must suspend his political activities until Wing Commander Abhinandan is returned safely. It can't be business as usual with him cross crossing the country at tax payer expense making political speeches while our pilot is a Pakistani captive," former Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah said in a tweet. PM Narendra Modi is yet to make a statement in light of various airspace violations by Pakistan or the claims by the neighbouring nation that it has an Indian pilot in its custody. 6.00pm: After a meeting of Opposition leaders, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said that they condemn Pakistani misadventure and expressed deep concern for safety of the missing IAF pilot. 5.30pm: Russia has called for India and Pakistan to exercise restraint in the face of escalating tensions between the two neighbouring nations. Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that they are concerned about the aggravation of relations. 5.24pm: Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah (on the right) arrives at South Block after being summoned by Ministry of External Affairs. Delhi: Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah at South Block. He had been summoned by Ministry of External Affairs. pic.twitter.com/ZZEb0tAQ8z - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 5.20pm: Commercial operations at Amritsar airport, which was suspended early in the day, began even as the airports in Chandigarh, Pathankot, Halwara, Adampur and Bathinda remained on high alert in view of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, reported PTI. 5.10pm: National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah Wednesday called for de-escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan and asked both the countries to maintain "maximum restraint" for the "greater good of humanity". "History bears testimony to the fact that war did not help both the neighbours resolve their long pending issues. It is in the interest of our region if both the countries shun war rhetoric," Abdullah said in a statement issued by the party, reported PTI. 5.00pm: "I pray for the safety of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan," Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. I pray for the safety of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan. Whole country is proud of this brave son and everyone is hoping for his safe return. We all stand united to keep our country safe and strong - Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 27, 2019 We pray for our brave heart IAF Wing Commander #Abhinandan 1.3 Billion Indians stands beside you in solidarity. Stay strong Soldier!#BringBackAbhinandan pic.twitter.com/0otn6HpgBi - AAP (@AamAadmiParty) February 27, 2019 4.52pm: Our prayers are with the brave IAF pilot & his family in this very difficult time, says Asaduddin Owaisi, the president of All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen Party. Our prayers are with the brave IAF pilot & his family in this very difficult time Under Article 3 of Geneva Conventions every party is required to treat prisoners humanely. Pakistan must respect its obligations towards the IAF pilot, regardless of ongoing circumstances - Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) February 27, 2019 4.42pm: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav say the nation stands with him (the missing pilot) and is praying for his safe return. "I am praying for the safe return of our brave pilot. May God protect you and give you courage and strength. The nation stands with you," Akhilesh said in a tweet. I am praying for the safe return of our brave pilot. May God protect you and give you courage and strength. The nation stands with you. - Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) February 27, 2019 4.38pm: Imran Khan's video broadcast edited at least seven times, says India Today TV. "Two of India's MiGs were shot down...from here, it is imperative that we use our heads and act with wisdom," says Imran Khan. 4.20pm: Bring our pilot back safely, Congress tells govt: "We're saddened by the news that one of our @IAF_MCC pilots is missing in action, we urge the Govt to bring him back safely," says the Congress. We're saddened by the news that one of our @IAF_MCC pilots is missing in action, we urge the Govt to bring him back safely. https://t.co/TJu2slRu2O - Congress (@INCIndia) February 27, 2019 4.13pm: 'Can't afford miscalculations': Imran Khan says "I ask India .... the weapons they have and we have, can we afford a miscalculation? If this escalates, it won't be in my control and won't be in Modi's," reported Dawn. 4.07pm: Better sense should prevail, says Imran Khan: "Two of India's MiGs were shot down (during the action ). From here, it is imperative that we use our heads and act with wisdom," Imran Khan during a televised address says. "We should sit and settle this with talks." 3.40pm: India shot down Pak fighter gets, confirms India: The MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar says that Indian Air Force had launched a counter-terrorism action against a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan based on credible evidence that JeM intended to launch more attacks. "Against this Counter Terrorism Action, Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistan's attempts were foiled successfully," Kumar said. "In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. 3.25pm: Pakistan has not formally informed India about the detention of a pilot it claims to have in its custody, reports ANI. Contrary to Pakistan's claim of arresting two pilots, the Indian government has said only one pilot is missing. 3.18pm: India confirms one pilot has been arrested: "One Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by Indian Air Force. In this engagement we have lost one MiG 21. Pilot is lost in action. Pakistan claims he is in their custody," says MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. #WATCH Raveesh Kumar, MEA: One Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by Indian Air Force. In this engagement, we have lost one MiG 21. Pilot is missing in action. Pakistan claims he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts. pic.twitter.com/Bm0nVChuzF - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 3.08pm: Pak summons India's Acting High Commissioner: Pakistan has summoned India's Acting High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia to Islamabad hours after it claimed that Pakistan Air Force has arrested two India pilots after shooting down IAF jets. 3.03pm: Airport shutdown order withdrawn: The government has withdrawn the airport shutdown order, the Airport Authority of India has confirmed. Now the civilian flight activity is expected to resume soon. 3.02pm: PM Modi holds security meet: Top security and intelligence officials have huddled into a meet at the Prime Minister's Office in the wake of Pakistan Air Force jets violating the Indian airspace, PTI reported. Pakistan has claimed that it has arrested two Indian pilots, one of which is admitted in hospital. 2.55pm: Pak cancels all flights: Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority says it shut its airspace to all commercial flights as tensions with India escalate. BREAKING: Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority says it shut its airspace to all commercial flights as tensions with India escalate - The Associated Press (@AP) February 27, 2019 2.51pm: Govt to address media: Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale to brief media at 3:15 pm. The government will likely clear the air on the arrest of an Indian Air Force Wing Commander by Pakistan. Sources: IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan took off in a MiG 21 Bison jet today, he is yet to return pic.twitter.com/coryHqeRsR - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 2.40pm: Emergency meets in J&K, Rajashtan: Civil and police officials call an emergency meeting in Jammu and Kashmir. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has also called a meeting to assess the escalating situation between India and Pakistan. 2.30pm: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held a high level meeting to assess the security situation in the wake of the developments of the morning, including Pakistan claiming that it had shot down two Indian military jets and arrested two pilots, reports PTI. 2.15pm: Airspace above New Delhi vacated: The entire airspace north of the Indian capital has been vacated, reports PTI. The skies above New Delhi were vacated as nine airports in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab were closed for civilian air traffic on a day of rapidly escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. 2.05pm: Shot down 2 Indian jets, claims Pak: Pakistan Air Force claims it has shot down two Indian aircraft inside the Pakistani airspace. The PAF also claims to have arrested two pilots. It has not come out with any statement to authenticate the claim so far. In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area. - Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 27, 2019 1.55pm: Army, Navy, Air Force on highest alert: The Army and BSF have been put on the highest degree of alertness along the border here after air space violations by the neighbouring country and the night-long heavy firing and shelling by Pakistani troops on forward and civilians areas across the LoC. Authorities have ordered temporary closure of educational institutions in a 5-km radius along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri and Poonch districts on Wednesday amid mounting tensions between the two countries, following the Pulwama terror attack on February 14 and an Indian air strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed camp inside Pakistan on Tuesday, reported PTI. 1.40pm: 'We want peace,' says Pak: Pakistan's Director General of the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Asif Ghafoor, holds a press conference on the increasing tension with India. "We locked all targets with accuracy, and when we had option to fire, we acted responsibly from a safe distance. We have capability to do anything, but we don't want escalation. We don't want to go towards war," he says, quoted Geo TV. 1.25pm: About 60 flights scheduled for tomorrow have been cancelled and the number is likely to go up, reports News18. 1.18pm: Air traffic suspended at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace are now being affected, ANI reported. 1.16pm: 'We will not sit back,' says Pak: "Our Foreign Minister's letter to the UN Secretary General about India's act of aggression against Pakistan, has been circulated as a document to the UN Security Council today , at our request," says Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi. "We will not sit back," she told BBC radio. Our Foreign Minister's letter to the UN Secretary General about India's act of aggression against Pakistan, has been circulated as a document to the UN Security Council today , at our request - Maleeha Lodhi (@LodhiMaleeha) February 27, 2019 1.12pm: Exercise restraint, China tells India, Pak: China's Foreign Ministry has it reiterated its call for India and Pakistan to exercise restraint. Ministry spokesman Lu Kang made the comment at a regular news briefing in Beijing. Pakistan shot down two Indian jets on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Pakistan armed forces said, a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a war in 1971, prompting leading powers to urge both sides to show restraint, reported Reuters. 1.05pm: 'India-Pak tension will hurt Afghan peace process': The Taliban has said ongoing clashes between India and Pakistan will affect the Afghan peace process and wanted India to prevent the further escalation of violence with its neighbour. The hardline insurgent group issued the statement at the same time its leaders are holding peace talks with officials from the United States in Qatar to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan. "The continuation of such conflict will affect the Afghanistan peace process," Taliban Spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement, reported Reuters. 12.56pm: The Indian Air Force is also likely to issue a detailed statement soon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been briefed on the escalating situation along the border with Pakistan. 12.54pm: Pak peddles fake news: The Pakistan government has put out a fake video claiming its security forces shot down an Indian fighter jet. DG lSPR Major General Asif Ghafoor will shortly address a press conference in Rawalpindi. 12.48pm: International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace now being affected, reports ANI. Some flights returning to origin, while others appear to be seeking alternate routing. Punjab: Passengers stranded as flight operations at Amritsar airport have been suspended. pic.twitter.com/fQEtEEqZZh - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 12.39pm: Pakistan has immediately stops its domestic and international flight operations from Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad airports, reports ANI. Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations will soon brief the media on the prevailing situation. 12.36pm: Mohammad Faisal, Pakistan's MoFA spokesperson, says "we are fully prepared". "PAF undertook strikes across LoC from Pakistani airspace. Sole purpose of this action was to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence." #Pakistanstrikesback #PAF undertook strikes across LoC from Pakistani airspace. Sole purpose of this action was to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. We do not wish to escalate but are fully prepared if forced into that paradigm#PakistanZindabad - Dr Mohammad Faisal (@ForeignOfficePk) February 27, 2019 12.29pm: 5 airports closed for civilian flights: Srinagar,Jammu and Leh airports were among five airports closed on Wednesday for civilian air traffic shortly after an IAF jet crashed in Kashmir's Budgam district, officials said. The move to close the five airports comes amid escalation of tension between India and Pakistan after IAF carried out strikes on terror bases in Pakistan. Airports at Chandigarh and Amritsar were among those closed, according to airline officials. In Srinagar, an official of the Airports Authority of India told PTI, "The civilian air traffic has been suspended temporarily in view of the emergency". Flight operations have been suspended at Amritsar airport, reported ANI. 12.26pm: SSP Budgam on the aircraft crash in J&K's Budgam: "Technical team is here, they'll ascertain facts. We have found 2 bodies so far and have evacuated them. Search is going on here." SSP Budgam on military aircraft crash in J&Ks Budgam: Some aircraft has fallen. As of now we aren't in a position to ascertain anything. Technical team is here, they'll ascertain facts. We have found 2 bodies so far and have evacuated them. Search is going on here. pic.twitter.com/9YgEIwxFRw - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 12.19pm: Vistara on the cancellation of flights: "Due to airspace restrictions, flights to and from Amritsar, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Jammu are currently on hold. Customers are requested to check flight status before commencing their journey to the airport." 12.06pm: Pakistan Air Force's F-16 that violated Indian air space shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3KM within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, Nowshera sector, reported ANI. "Parachute seen as Pakistan Air Force's F-16 was going down, condition of the pilot is unknown," reported ANI. Pakistan Air Force's F-16 that violated Indian air space shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3KM within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, Nowshera sector. pic.twitter.com/8emKMVpWKi - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 11.55am: Pak says it shot down 2 Indian aircraft: "In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area," claims Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, spokesperson, Pakistan Armed Forces. In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area. - Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 27, 2019 11.42am: Civilian air traffic suspended from Srinagar airport: Reports suggest the government has shut down commercial flights from all airports including Chandigarh, Leh and Kashmir. Several IndiGo and SpiceJet flights cancelled to these areas. 11.35am: News agency PTI says Pakistani forces dropped bombs after violating the Indian airspace in Rajauri district of Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian air defence system has been put on the highest alert. 11.27am: The visuals from the crash site of a military aircraft in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam area; two pilots are feared dead in the crash. "Two bodies have been found at the crash site." #Visuals from the crash site of a military aircraft in Jammu & Kashmir's Budgam. pic.twitter.com/9mc3BZTgCQ - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 11.19am: Pakistan fighter jets violate the Indian airspace: Reports said Pak jets were forced to retreat after major retaliation by the Indian Army. Pakistani jets violated the Indian airspace in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district (Nowshera sector), PTI confirmed, adding that they were immediately pushed back by Indian jets on air patrol. Pakistan violates ceasefire in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir. India Today's @gauravcsawant brings you all the latest updates on this. Watch more videos at https://t.co/Nounxo6IKQ#ITVideo pic.twitter.com/wz3F8tF6go - India Today (@IndiaToday) February 27, 2019 11.07am: Indian Air Force's MiG crashes in Kashmir's Budgam area; two pilots are feared dead. #Breaking Two #IndianAirForce pilot are feared killed in a MIG crash in Naslapur area of #Budgamhttps://t.co/JPg2CnvzBD - India Today (@IndiaToday) February 27, 2019 11.03am: 'No country spoke in Pak's favour': "It is telling that no country has spoken out in Pakistan's favour after the Indian air strike," Husain Haqqani, the former Pakistani Ambassador to the US, told PTI. Even China called for restraint on both sides instead of supporting Pakistan in protesting India's violation of Pakistan's air space, he added. 10.52am: Rajnath Singh meets Doval: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh holds a meeting with National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and top officials of the intelligence agencies in wake of the prevailing tension between India and Pakistan, reported News 18. 10.40am: Pakistan has again violated ceasefire in the Poonch area. Heavy firing mortar shells by Pakistani troops, say security officials. 10.35am: Pak steps up international pressure on India: Pakistan says it will skip the OIC (Organisation ofIslamic Cooperation) meet in Abu Dhabi if India will be invited. "I have made myself clear that India has shown aggression. Under the current circumstances, it will not be possible for me to attend OIC meeting where Sushma Swaraj is present," says Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. 10.21am: Pakistan's National Command Authority to meet today: Pakistan's National Command Authority, apex civilian-led command head by Imran Khan, is meeting today to discuss a response to India's air strikes in Pak-based terror camps. The body oversees the policy formulation, exercises, deployment, research and development, employment and operational command and control of the Pakistan nuclear arsenals, reported Geo TV. 10.15am: A major rehearsal was carried out before Surgical Strike 2.0: Indian Air Force, Army and the intelligence agencies had carried out a rehearsal in coordination with the NSA Ajit Doval before carrying out the intelligence based operation of carrying out surgical strikes in Pakistan. The Indian Army played a very crucial role in identifying terrorist camp and the main terrorists operating out of the Jaish camp in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunwa in Pakistan, reported India Today. 10.05am: Nirmala Sitharaman to meet chiefs of Army, IAF, Navy: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa and Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba to meet shortly today over important proposals for the Armed forces, reported ANI. 10.01am: Our borders are safe! A day after the India conducted air strikes on Pakistan-based terror camps, the Indian Army posts a poem on Twitter. ADG PO, Indian Army, had put a poem on Wednesday too. 9.50am: IAF air strike tribute to Pulwama martyrs, says Bhagwat: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said the IAF air strike on a terrorist training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed, the group behind the suicide bombing targeting CRPF personnel in Pulwama, inside Pakistan was a tribute to the martyrs of the February 14 assault. He recalled legendary freedom fighter Veer Savarkar's observation that India needs to become powerful because without power, nobody listens. "We, as a nation, have the right to take the name of Veer Savarkar, because today we have paid a very appropriate 13th-day tribute to the 40 CRPF jawans martyred in Pulwama," he said amid slogans of 'Vande Mataram', as quoted by PTI. 9.46am: Shireen Mazari, Minister for Human Rights in PM Imran Khan's cabinet, at UNHRC: "Pakistan condemns India's unprovoked aggression on Pakistani soil which is yet another violation of international laws that will disrupt regional peace." "Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has rightly drawn attention to Indian brutality in Kashmir. #Pakistan condemns India's unprovoked aggression today on Pakistani soil which is yet another violation of Int'l laws that will disrupt regional peace"! - @shireenmazari1 pic.twitter.com/EaUYfX0Eik - PTI (@PTIofficial) February 26, 2019 9.40am: J&K governor reviews security situation: Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik reviewed the prevailing law and order and security situation in Jammu and Kashmir with senior officials following the Indian Air Force strike against Jaish-e-Mohammed camp inside Pakistan, an official spokesperson said. Malik directed all forces to take effective measures to maintain public order across the state. Praising people for maintaining compose, he said his administration is concerned about their welfare and, if necessary, it would communicate directly with them through radio, TV and other means, reported PTI. 9.24am: BJP Nation General Secretary Ram Madhav says a Pakistan national was among the two JeM terrorists killed in an encounter in Shopian. In another successful operation today, the forces have eliminated two Jaish terrorists, one was a Pakistani national, in J&K's Sophian district. A clean operation. So far 12 terrorists have been neutralised after Pulwama. Salute our forces!! - Ram Madhav (@rammadhavbjp) February 27, 2019 9.20am: United Nations Secretary-General AntonioGuterres has urged both India and Pakistan for "maximum restraint toensure that the situation does not further deteriorate", reported IANS. 9.13am: In an exchange of fire along the LoC, five soldiers ofIndian Army suffered minor injuries out of which two soldiers were evacuated toMilitary Hospital for medical treatment and are in stable condition. 9.05am: Two terrorists affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) have been killed in the encounter in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir. The bodies of both the terrorists have been recovered. The entire operation is over for now. Jammu & Kashmir: Visuals from Memander area of Shopian district where an encounter had started earlier today. Firing has stopped now. Search operation is underway. (visuals deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/ZXhPpmDHLJ - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 8.58am: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says: "I expressed to both Ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost. I also encouraged both Ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity." 8.55am: US tells Pak to take 'meaningful' action against terror groups. "I spoke to Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to underscore the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil," says US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. .@SecPompeo spoke with @SushmaSwaraj and @SMQureshiPTI to emphasize the shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region and to underscore the priority of de-escalating current tensions between India and Pakistan. Read his full statement: https://t.co/vEANoxGtGF - Robert Palladino (@StateDeputySPOX) February 27, 2019 8.40am: The Pakistan Army has resorted to heavy mortar shelling in Kamalkot area of Uri. All schools within 5km of the LoC have been closed for Wednesday in Poonch and Rajouri. #JammuAndKashmir: Encounter underway between terrorists and security forces in Memander area of Shopian district. More details awaited - ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2019 8.35am: 'It's your turn to get ready for our surprise,' says Pakistan. 8.30am: Sushma Swaraj raises issue of Pulwma terror attack with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi: "I am visiting China at a time when there is grief and anger in India. It is the worst terrorist attack directed against our security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. The attack was carried out by Jaish-e-Muhammad, the Pakistan-based and supported terrorist organisation." EAM @SushmaSwaraj holds bilateral meeting with State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China, Mr Wang Yi at Wuzhen before the start of 16th #RIC Foreign Ministers meeting. @MEAIndia @IndianDiplomacy pic.twitter.com/yKg4ux9I02 - India in China (@EOIBeijing) February 27, 2019 8.15am: Union Minister for External Affair Sushma Swaraj at 16th Foreign Ministers Meeting of Russia-India-China (RIC): "We're aware of the recent dastardly terrorist attack on our security forces in Pulwama, J&K perpetrated by Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan based & supported terrorist org proscribed by UN & other countries. We lost over CRPF 40 personnel while several others are injured seriously." China: EAM Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Wuzhen. She will attend 16th Foreign Ministers Meeting of Russia-India-China (RIC) here. She will also hold bilateral discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, besides the Chinese Foreign Minister. pic.twitter.com/PFSN24xkDC - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 8.00am: Pakistani troops resort to heavy firing all through the night at many places along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts. Army retaliated effectively to Pakistani firing. Heavy damage was inflicted on the enemy, Army officials said, adding that the extent of damage on the enemy is being assessed. 7.45am: Five Army personnel have been injured in heavy exchange of firing along the border. Pakistan violates ceasefire along LoC, 5 Army personnel injured Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/mwyVg9BEv5 pic.twitter.com/DDIbP6RMkq - ANI Digital (@ani_digital) February 27, 2019 7.15am: An encounter has broken out on Wednesday morning between militants and security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said, reported PTI. 7.30am: A major cordon and search operation is going on in Meemendar area of Shopian following information about presence of militants there. They said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants opened firing towards the security forces, who retaliated, reported PTI. Following Indian Air Force's air strike on the Jaish-e-Mohammed's terror camps on February 26, things have escalated between India and Pakistan. Earlier in the day there was heavy firing across the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts. Pakistan reportedly carried out multiple ceasefire violations and their fighter jets violated the Indian airspace. Pakistani jets were forced to retreat after retaliation from Indian Army. In the latest round of development, it is learned that a Pakistan F-16 that violated the Indian airspace was shot down in retaliation by the Indian forces in Pakistan territory in Lam district, Nowshera sector. A parachute was seen as the F-16 went down, however, the condition of the pilot is still unknown, reported ANI. However, challenging India's reports, Pakistan claims that no F-16s were engaged in today's operation. Pakistan's MoFA spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said that the sole purpose of the PAF's strike was to demonstrate their right and capability for self defence. Mohammad Faisal, Pakistan's MoFA spokesperson: PAF undertook strikes across LoC from Pakistani airspace. Sole purpose of this action was to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. We do not wish to escalate but are fully prepared if forced into that paradigm. pic.twitter.com/hSVlgYVsyX - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 Reports also mention that two aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam. According to police on the site, two bodies have been found at the crash site. The SSP Budgam said, "Some aircraft has fallen. As of now we aren't in a position to ascertain anything. Technical team is here, they'll ascertain facts. We have found 2 bodies so far and have evacuated them. Search is going on here." Airports in Leh, Jammu, Srinagar and Pathankot have been put in high alert. Their airspace has been suspended due to security reason and many commercial flights have been put on hold. Follow the LIVE blog here: Pak violates Indian airspace in J&K, drops bombs; claims it shot down 2 IAF jets Also read: Sensex, Nifty pare gains amid rising India-Pakistan tension Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said that they are ready to talk about terrorism and that better sense should prevail this time around. Khan invoked both the World Wars and the Vietnam War in his address to the nation and said that history is proof that all wars have been miscalculated. Khan added that if a war takes place now, it will not be in his or Prime Minister Narendra Modi's control. "Let us open the corridor of negotiations and settle all outstanding issues," he said. Bringing up the Pulwama attack, Imran Khan said, "We offered India every possible support into the investigation into the Pulwama attack. That's not in Pakistan's interest to promote terrorism. It is not in the interest of Pakistan that its soil should be used for exporting terror. Similarly, Pakistani soil cannot be subjected to terror," He said that no sovereign country can allow another to become judge, jury and executioner, which is why he had told India that in case of aggression there would be no option for Pakistan but to respond. PM Khan also said that all wars in history have been miscalculated and those who started them thought it would get over soon but that's not what happened. "All wars in world history have been miscalculated; those who started the wars did not know where it will end. So, I want to ask India, with the weapons you and we have, can we afford miscalculation?" he added. Follow the LIVE blog here: Lost MiG 21; verifying Pak claims of arresting missing Indian pilot, says MEA He said that "after India's provocation" Pakistan shot down two IAF jets today, adding that they ensured that there were no casualties and no collateral damage in the operations. "The intent was to show India, we can and would respond if aggression would be thrust upon us," he added. "If you can enter our country, we can also enter your territory. Two Indian MiGs who entered Pakistani airspace today after our retaliation were shot down. But where do we go from here?" the prime minister asked. Prime Minister Imran Khan reiterated the need for talks, and said, "If a war takes place, it will not be in my or Narendra Modi's control. If you want any kind of talks on terrorism, we are ready. Better sense must prevail. We should sit down and talk." Also read: MEA admits one pilot missing after Pakistan releases alleged video of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Also read: Pakistan says no F-16 aircraft used, dismisses report of their fighter jet crashing Delhi Metro's Phase IV, which has become a bone of contention between the city government and the Centre, was allocated Rs 500 crore in the budget presented on Tuesday. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia presented a Rs 60,000 crore budget for 2019-20 in Delhi Assembly laying emphasis on the education, health and transport sectors. The 104-km-long Metro Phase-IV project was estimated to be completed by 2021 after Delhi government's in-principle approval to it in February 2016. It has yet to start despite approval of the Delhi cabinet. "The government has approved the proposal of Phase-IV of Delhi Metro Project comprising six corridors with the length of 103.93 km. With the completion of the Phase-IV project, the total length of the Delhi Metro network will become 453.93 km," Sisodia, who is also Delhi's Finance Minister, said. "I propose Rs 500 crore in the Budget 2019-20 for Metro Phase-IV project," he said. Among the projects chosen under the Phase-IV are Rithala-Narela (21.73 km), Janakpuri West-R K Ashram (28.92 km), Mukundpur-Maujpur (12.54 km), Inderlok-Indraprastha (12.58 km), Tughlakabad-Aerocity (20.20 km), and Lajpat Nagar-Saket G-Block (7.96 km). The AAP dispensation early this month had accused the Centre of meting out "step-motherly treatment" to Delhi in the Union Budget, claiming that the Narendra Modi government had made "no provision" for the Metro's Phase-IV project in it. "They have done it in giving financial assistance, and now they have done it in Ph-IV too, they have forgotten about it," he claimed. The Delhi Metro had been given a grant of Rs 414.70 crore in the Union Budget 2019-20 as against Rs 50 crore in the last fiscal. The Arvind Kejriwal government had cleared the Phase-IV project in December last year and sent it to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The Union government sources last month had claimed that the AAP dispensation had "stonewalled" the progress of the Delhi's Metro's Phase-IV project, leading to "substantial delay" and inconvenience to people. Also read: Delhi Metro Pink Line Lajpat Nagar-Mayur Vihar stretch: How Ashram station became world's smallest Also read: Noida Metro Aqua Line: NMRC passengers can book QR-based tickets through mobile app Union Housing and Urban Affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri in January accused the AAP government of having a "behavioural pattern of creating hurdles" in response to conditions imposed by the Delhi government while clearing the project. Sisodia, after the approval of Phase-IV project, had said the city government would give its share of Rs 9,707 crore towards the construction work under the project, which is estimated to cost around Rs 45,000 crore. The fresh accusation had come amid an apparent tussle between the Centre and the Delhi government after Kejriwal imposed a condition of 50-50 per cent operational loss sharing while giving approval to the Phase-IV of the Metro network late December. A Delhi government official had recently said, "In the past one year, the ridership has gone down due to various reasons. So, if Delhi has to pay 100 per cent of the operational loss, it will not be financially viable for it". Also, there are certain corridors that may not be profitable in the future or even do not reach the break-even level, the official had said. Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry sources had said the two conditions imposed by the Delhi government is "contrary to condition of sanction of the Phase-III of the Delhi Metro wherein operational losses are to be borne by the Delhi government". Benchmark Indices ended lower on Wednesday as tensions between and escalated. The S&P ended at 35,905, down 68 points or 0.19 per cent, while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,807, down 29 points or 0.26 per cent. The 30-share index had hit an intra-day of 36,371, while the 50-share surged to 10,939 during the day. Among the sectoral indices, IT index ended 0.5 per cent lower led by a decline in Wipro and Infibeam. While the Financial Service index settled 0.5 per cent lower weighed by Edelweiss and Indiabulls Ventures. In the broader market, the S&P MidCap index ended 57 points, 0.40 per cent higher at 14,249, while S&P SmallCap index settled at 13,573, up 23 points, or 0.17 per cent. The on Wednesday slipped as much as 41 paise in the intra-day trade after Pakistani fighter jets carried out air strikes across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Nowshera sectors. The Pakistani aircraft violated Indian air space and were pushed back by Indian aircraft, news agency PTI reported citing senior officials. At 12:34 pm, the currency was trading at 71.38. Earlier, it opened 4 paise lower at 71.11 against the greenback. On Tuesday, the domestic unit snapped its gains of previous two sessions and closed 10 paise lower at 71.07 amid fears of escalation in geopolitical tensions, following Indian fighter jets' air strikes on Pakistan-based terror camps. Shares of Corporation Bank, Dhanlaxmi Bank and Allahabad Bank rallied up to 10 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in early morning trade on exit from the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework. The Reserve Bank of (RBI) on Tuesday removed these three banks from PCA framework allowing them to lend freely in line with the governments objective to empower lenders so that they support economic growth. Following the news, Corporation Bank rallied 10 per cent to Rs 32.40, Dhanlaxmi Bank, too, surged 10 per cent to Rs 15.30 and Allahabad Bank gained 6 per cent to Rs 46.65 on the "Shazam!" actor Zachary Levy has come out in defence of Brie Larson-fronted "Captain Marvel", which has been hit with fake reviews online, saying there is no competition between the two films. Larson's movie, which is set to bow out on March 8, has been subjected to fake reviews on the site Rotten Tomatoes with many people pitting the Marvel movie against Levy's "Shazam!". In a video message, currently being circulated on social media, Levy expressed his disappointment over the "fictitious" posts against Larson and her film, which he described as "inflammatory" and "defamatory". "There are people out there making inflammatory, defamatory, and completely fictitious like reviews and posts of Brie Larson's 'Captain Marvel' and trying to pit 'Shazam!' against it, you know saying they're going to support us and not them, because of things that by the way they are making up - things that they're saying, they saw some screening and this, that or the other is in the movie. "I just found this out last night and for anyone out there who thinks you're doing me a favour, or you're doing 'Shazam!' a favour or Warner Bros, you're not. This is not helping anyone or anything," he said. The actor also referenced to Shazam's initial name in the DC comics which was Captain Marvel. The DC comics had officially changed the character's name to Shazam after Marvel trademarked the title for its own superhero back in the 1960s. "There is no competition, just because Shazam! used to be called 'Captain Marvel' way back in the day, doesn't mean that somehow Brie or Marvel's 'Captain Marvel' are pitted against us..." he added. The actor said it is pure coincidence that both the films are releasing around each other. "Sure we're both movies and we're both going to be out in the theatres at similar times, and the irony of that timing is really interesting for sure but there is really no conspiracy guys," he said. Levy also asked his fans not to engage in any kind of abusive behaviour on social media. "This is really low blow type of stuff, to be going in lying first of all is just the bottom of the barrel to me, but then to be lying in an attempt to discredit or defame somebody is just really sad, so please don't do that," he added. "Shazam!" will release in the UK and US on April 5. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The whereabouts of IAF pilot Abhinandan are not known, government sources said on Wednesday, hours after the Pakistan Army claimed it shot down two Indian military aircraft over Pakistani air space and arrested two pilots. The Pakistan Army released a 46-second video showing a blindfolded man claiming he is IAF's Wing Commander Abhinandan. "I am an IAF officer. My service No is 27981," the man is seen as saying in the video. The veracity of the video could not be ascertained. Sources here did not give details of Abhinandan's designation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Deeply concerned over the growing confrontation between India and Pakistan, the US Wednesday urged the nuclear-armed neighbours to take immediate steps to de-escalate tensions, warning that the potential risks associated with further military action by either side are unacceptably high for both the countries. Tensions between India and Pakistan rose following the February 14 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group claimed responsibility for the attack. "The United States is deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan and calls on both sides to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation," said an official of the National Security Council (NSC) of the White House. "The potential risks associated with further military action by either side are unacceptably high for both countries, their neighbours, and the international community," the NSC official told PTI on the condition of anonymity. The official was responding to a question on Pakistan's claim that it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani air space and arrested a pilot. Following the Pulwama terror attack, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. On Wednesday, Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani air space and arrested a pilot. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan tried to defuse the tension by saying war is futile and can lead to unknown consequences while making an oblique reference to the nuclear weapons that both countries possess. "United States officials expressed their strong solidarity with India following the Pulwama attack," the official said. The official declined to comment on direct communication between the national security advisors of the two countries. "We decline to comment on specific discussions; however, reports that India coordinated its military response with the United States are inaccurate," the official said. A day earlier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke over phone with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi seeking de-escalation of tensions. "Following Indian counter-terrorism actions on February 26, I spoke with Indian Minister of External Affairs Swaraj to emphasise our close security partnership and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region," Pompeo said in a statement. Pompeo is currently in Vietnam to attend the second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the denuclearsation of the Korean peninsula. "I also spoke to Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi to underscore the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action, and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil," Pompeo said. "I expressed to both Ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost. I also encouraged both ministers to prioritise direct communication and avoid further military activity," he said. Last week, US National Security Adviser John Bolton told his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval that America supports India's right to self-defence as both sides vowed to work together to ensure that Pakistan ceases to be a safe heaven for JeM and other terror groups. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The West Bengal government has shifted 14 Pakistani prisoners, lodged in two correctional homes here, to separate barracks and "high-security" cells, amid soaring tension between India and its western neighbour, a senior official said. The state government's move comes days after a 50-year-old Pakistani convict was allegedly killed by fellow inmates in Rajasthan's Jaipur Central jail. "Strict instructions have been issued to separate Pakistani inmates from others following the incident in Rajasthan jail. They have been shifted to high-security cells, where heavyweight prisoners, such as those arrested for American Center attack and Maoists have been staying," the official of West Bengal Correctional Services said. A three-layered cordon has been set up for the security of the 14 prisoners, he said. "Most of these prisoners share a good rapport with their fellow inmates, but we cannot take risk in the wake of the Pulwama attack," the official told PTI on Wednesday. Of the 14 inmates, four are lodged at Presidency Correctional Home in the city and the other 10 at Dum Dum Central Correctional Home, he said. "Some were jailed for flouting visa norms, while a few were waiting to be taken to other correctional homes. There are also others who were imprisoned for their involvement in criminal activities," the state government official said. Along with the chief head warden, the head warders are keeping an eye on the cells, he said. "The Pakistani inmates will not be allowed to move out of the sensitive zones for now. Our officers are keeping a close watch on these cells round the clock," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A section of West Bengal Congress workers Wednesday staged protest against senior party leaders--Abdul Mannan and Pradip Bhattacharya-- over proposed seat sharing with the CPI(M) for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The West Bengal Congress had convened a meeting of its election committee during the day to decide election strategy for the 2019 Parliamentary polls. Mannan, who is Leader of Opposition in West Bengal state Assembly and Bhattacharya, a party MP and chairman of state coordination committee, faced protest as a section of the state Congress workers shouted slogans against the duo for trying to compromise interests of the party by forging a seat sharing deal with CPI(M). Congress workers asked then to go back. Bhattacharya hit back at the protestors saying they are acting against the interests of the party. "After being in Congress for last four decades. I don't need lecture from you guys on what is in favour of the party and what is against it," Bhattacharya said. Miffed with CPI(M), the West Bengal Congress Wednesday said there will be no seat sharing with CPI(M) by compromising the dignity of Congress and gave an ultimatum to Left Front to take a call on the tie-up by this Sunday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : Airports Authority of India (AAI),at present,would not close the Visakhapatnam international airport,though the Andhra Pradesh governmentwanted it shut once the Bhogapuramairport starts operations,said a senior AAI official said Wednesday. GMR Airports Limited (GAL), a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Ltd, has emerged as highest bidder for the development, operations and management of the greenfield international airport at Bhogapuram, Andhra Pradesh, on a PPP (public-private partnership) basis. The proposed greenfield airport site lies on the border of Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts, and is approximately 45 km from Visakhapatnam. "It (Vizag airport) will continue. In fact our minister tabled in Parliament that the facility will not be closed...We have received a request from tge Andhra Pradesh government, but we have not replied, because we are not going to consider," member (finance) AAI S Suresh told PTI. When contacted, principal secretary of Infrastructure, Andhra Pradesh, Ajay Jain said discussions were on with the AAI on the closure of the Vizag airport once Bhogapuram becomes operational. "We are discussing with the AAI with regard to the Visakhapatnam airport. They wanted to be compensated for the for whatever investment they made on the airport. So, theMinistryofCivilAviation told us to sort it out with them," he said. "We have written to them asking them give the details of what they have incurred, so that we can compensate them for which the discussion is on," Jain said. The State government had earlier cancelled bidding process after the AAI emerged as the winner with GMR being the unsuccessful bidder. According to an aviation expert, it is difficult that the operations of greenfield airport at Bhogapuram become viable immediately if the Vizag airport continues to be functioning. The Vizag airport is expected to handle nearly three million passengers by the end of the current fiscal with 80 flights in and out of the station. If both the airports continue to operate, then passengers would have a choice to chose the better one. The present airport in Visakhapatnam is located near the city whereas Bhogapuram is located about 45 km away. Both the airports have advantages and disadvantages, the expert said. Over the past four years, the passenger traffic at the Vizag airport has grown at 14 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR). The proposed Bhogapuram airport is proposed to be developed as a PPP project under a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) concession framework, with a concession period of 99 years with premium as the bidding parameter, with an investment outlay of Rs 2260.73 crore in Phase-I. The Andhra Pradesh government has created a special purpose vehicle Bhogapuram International Airport Corporation Ltd for the project. The airport would have an airstrip for operation of Airbus-A380 type of aircraft. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vistara airlines stated on Wednesday that no cancellation fee would be charged if a ticket has been booked to or from Amritsar, Jammu, Srinagar or Leh for travel up to March 31. For those passengers who could not make it to the airport to fly "to or from" the aforementioned cities on Wednesday, the airline said it is waiving the no-show fees and providing full refund. "For customers booked to or from Amritsar, Jammu, Srinagar or Leh for travel up to March 31, 2019, we are offering free cancellation with full refund," Vistara said in a Twitter post on Wednesday night. "For those who want to cancel their bookings to or from these cities for travel up to March 31, please email your request along with PNR details and phone contact...We will strive to respond to all such requests within 4 hours, between the hours of 7am and 11pm," the airline said. Vistara said it would be entertaining cancellation with full-refund requests only. "We will not be accepting any date change requests for these flights within the period specified." ALSO READ: Playing with fire in Kashmir The airline said that it would provide free cancellation and full refund for travel up to March 31 for armed forces personnel who have bookings on any route. Due to rising tensions between India and Pakistan, the (AAI) issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) earlier on Wednesday, saying flight operations at the airports in Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Pathankot, Amritsar, Shimla, Kangra, Kullu Manali and Pithoragarh would remain shut from February 27-May 27. However, the DGCA said at 3 pm that these airports have resumed operations. The AAI owns and manages more than 100 airports, including those shut temporarily, in the country. ALSO READ: Air Canada temporarily suspends flights to India as Pak closes its airspace said on Twitter that it would reschedule or cancel the tickets for all armed forces personnel, who have been asked to resume their duties, at no extra charge across all sectors up to March 15. tweeted that it would take zero-cancellation fee for all Indian soldiers who are on leave and have been asked to resume their duties. Vietnamese carriers signed aviation deals with US firms worth USD 21 billion on Wednesday as President Donald Trump met with top business leaders in Hanoi ahead of his summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. Budget carrier Vietjet will buy 100 Boeing 737 jets worth USD 12.7 billion, the airline said, while startup carrier Bamboo Airways signed a deal for 10 787 Boeing Dreamliners for USD 3 billion. State carrier Vietnam Airlines signed a USD 100 million maintenance contract with Sabre Corporation. "These deals will support more than 83,000 American jobs and provide increased safety and reliability for Vietnamese international travellers," a senior White House official said after the deals were signed in the Vietnamese capital. Trump has decried a gaping trade gap with Vietnam and urged the communist country to buy more American goods. Vietnam's booming aviation sector has sparked demand for more planes and equipment, with several carriers jostling for dominance of the fast-growing air travel business. The White House official said Vietjet will buy 215 engines made by CFM, a joint venture between America's GE Aviation and France's Safran Aircraft Engines. The budget carrier -- famed for its bikini-clad air hostesses -- also signed a maintenance deal with Boeing. "We are pleased to expand our partnership with Vietjet and to support their impressive growth with new, advanced airplanes," Boeing CEO Kevin McAllister said in a statement from the airline. Bamboo said the Dreamliners would allow it to fly further afield, as it plans to expand its network beyond domestic routes. "Vietnam and the US economic and trade relations have seen rapid expansion. Non-stop air routes between the two countries are of essence accordingly," said Trinh Van Quyet, the chairman of FLC Group, the airline's parent company. Last month the US Federal Aviation Administration granted Vietnam a "Category 1" ranking, paving the way for Vietnamese carriers to open direct routes to the United States. There are currently no such flights, though Bamboo said it planned to offer them by early next year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) / -- There is nothing more refreshing, more inspiring and wonderful than seeing a smile on the face of a little one who has just done something special for society. There is an immense feeling of joy that rushes over when one gives someone a gift that they might have needed. With this thought in mind, the students and parents from Vidyasagar Preschool (VSP) recently celebrated the Joy of Giving Week at their Koramangala, Indiranagar and JP Nagar campuses. As a part of the drive, 'Happy Donation Boxes' were placed at the preschool campuses to collect toys, educational games and books. The preschoolers were encouraged to contribute items that had brought them joy and now would bring joy to someone else. The students were also welcome to buy a new gift; the donations were gift-wrapped and presented in plenty which is the true spirit of giving. Parents observed that at such a small age, children were able to understand the virtue of sharing and parting with a prized possession for a cause. The toys and books were donated to the R.K Foundation (Townhall), Angels Orphanage (Shivaji Nagar) and Desire Society (JP Nagar). In keeping with the tradition of raising the empathy quotient of the child at Vidyasagar Preschool, the toddlers collected a total number of 15 boxes of toys and gifts for donations. This programme provided an opportunity for preschoolers to understand that this small gesture on their part was going to make another person or child extremely happy. As a practice, the preschool will celebrate the Joy of Giving Week every year. Ms. Shashikala C Rananavare, Principal from Vidyasagar Preschool J.P. Nagar said, "Raising the empathy quotient in a child is one of the pillars of Vidyasagar Preschool, the child is not only imparted in skill sets essential for development and learning capabilities but also encouraged to become a citizen capable of becoming support to society. The Joy of Giving was a heartwarming experience to see the number of contributions by the little ones from all branches." Expressing her views on the event, Ms. Manya a parent from the VSP Indiranagar branch said, "It is definitely a good initiative to teach kids and make them understand that there is lot more than just keeping things to themselves, and sharing it with someone who needs this more than they do; is important." About Vidyasagar PreschoolVidyasagar Preschool (VSP) is an assortment of happy preschool campuses spread across Hebbal, Koramangala, Indiranagar and JP Nagar, designed to provide a wide spectrum of formative for children in Bangalore. Our trained and empathetic faculty members consider identity development to be a key tenet in the holistic progress of each child, as they begin to embrace their unique talents, and start forming an idea of who they aspire to be, as young adults and responsible citizens. For more information please https://www.vidyasagarpreschool.com . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Venezuela's foreign minister Jorge Arreaza on Wednesday called for direct talks between President Nicolas Maduro and his US counterpart Donald Trump, to help ease the crisis gripping his country. "We are proposing the path of dialogue, even with the United States... Why shouldn't they meet, President Trump and President Maduro?" Arreaza said in an address at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. "Enough of all this aggression," he added. The US has led a diplomatic campaign in support of opposition leader Juan Guaido who has declared himself interim president and is recognised by about 50 countries. Maduro has accused the United States of using aid as a political tool aimed at overthrowing him, and blames US sanctions for the economic turmoil in his country. Arreaza also renewed an invitation to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, to visit Venezuela to evaluate the impact of what he described as a US-led "blockade". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The United States has threatened fresh import duties on nearly USD 2 billion in structural steel from Canada, Mexico and China, according to the Commerce Department. The latest investigation into possible dumping and unfair subsidies, announced late Tuesday, comes on top of sweeping tariffs on steel imports from all countries that President Donald Trump imposed last year ahead of major trade negotiations. But it also comes after the White House reached a new North American trade deal with Ottawa and Mexico City, and has called a truce in its trade dispute with Beijing. The American Institute of Steel Construction called for the investigation, alleging that imports of fabricated structural steel -- such as beams, frames, columns joists -- have been dumped on the US market at less than fair value and benefited from unfair subsides. The organization claims Canadian, Chinese and Mexican producers benefit from scores subsidy programs, including tax abatements, grants, loans and export insurance, debt restructuring, and can receive cut-rate local goods and services. In 2017, imports of these products from the three countries amounted to $1.9 billion, according to the Commerce Department. That was the year before Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on national security grounds. If the Commerce Department agrees with the charges on the US market it will impose extra duties on the imports. The alleged dumping margins are 30.41 percent for Canada, 222.35 percent for China, and 30.58 percent for Mexico. The independent US International Trade Commission can overturn if finds that no American industry has been harmed by the imports. In the first 10 months of last year, total US steel imports fell 10.6 percent compared to 2017, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An influential American Senator said Wednesday the Trump administration should stand ready to assist nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan in resolving the ongoing crisis peacefully between the two countries. Tensions between India and Pakistan rose following the February 14 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group claimed responsibility for the attack. "The heightening tensions between Pakistan and India are deeply alarming. These two nuclear-armed states must commit to resolving this crisis peacefully, and the US should stand ready to assist," Senator Edward Markey said in a tweet. "We must not allow conventional tensions to go nuclear," Markey said amidst increased tension between the two South Asian neighbors. Following the Pulwama terror attack, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. On Wednesday, Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani air space and arrested a pilot. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan tried to defuse the tension by saying war is futile and can lead to unknown consequences while making an oblique reference to the nuclear weapons that both countries possess. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mourning the loss of more than 40 Indian security personnel in a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist attack in Pulwama early this month, an influential American lawmaker has endorsed India's move to diplomatically isolate Pakistan. Forty Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based JeM in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. We mourn the victims of this act of terror and call for continued action against any nation to include Pakistan that harbour terrorists and promotes violent extremism, Republican Congressman Rick Perry, on the floor of the US House of Representatives, said. India has announced its plans to diplomatically isolate Pakistan and cancelled its preferential trade status. We support these efforts, he said. To the nation of India, we mourn with you, we pray for you and we stand in solidarity with you during this difficult time, Perry said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Britain's foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt Wednesday held talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi to prevent a further escalation of tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours following the Pulwama attack. Tensions between India and Pakistan rose following the February 14 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group claimed responsibility for the attack. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. On Wednesday, Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani air space and arrested a pilot. "I've been in touch with foreign minister Swaraj of India and foreign minister Qureshi of Pakistan. I've spoken to both of them about the situation. We are urging restraint on all sides," Hunt said in a statement issued by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). "The UK is very concerned about rising tensions in Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Both countries are good friends of the UK," he said. "Neither side wants to see this escalate further but this is going to take really critical restraint in the days ahead and we are doing everything we can to support the de-escalation of the tensions that are happening at the moment," Hunt said. The latest development follows a lengthy discussion on the "security and humanitarian situation in Kashmir" in the UK Parliament earlier on Wednesday. British Prime Minister Theresa May had informed MPs in the House of Commons that the UK remained in regular contact with both countries and was working towards de-escalating tensions. One of her other ministers in the FCO Mark Field told Parliament that he will be in India on a three-day pre-scheduled visit from Thursday where he will carry on the UK's efforts to encourage dialogue between India and Pakistan. India launched a major diplomatic offensive against Pakistan after the Pulwama attack and highlighted Pakistan's role in using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. The international community led by the US pressed Pakistan to deny safe haven to terror groups operating form its soil and bring the perpetrators of the Pulwama attack to justice. India has asked Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorists and terror groups operating from territories under its control. New Delhi also announced the withdrawal of the Most Favoured Nation status for Pakistan and hiked the customs duty by 200 per cent on goods originating from Pakistan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Theresa May insisted Wednesday that Britain will leave the European Union on schedule next month, amid signs that her promise to give Parliament a vote on delaying Brexit was boosting support for her unpopular EU divorce deal. May has bowed to pressure from within her Conservative government and given Parliament the chance to delay Britain's scheduled March 29 departure if lawmakers fail to approve her divorce agreement with the bloc. The change of course was welcomed by pro-EU members of Britain's divided Parliament, who sought further guarantees the government would not try to renege on May's commitment. Lawmakers in the House of Commons voted 502-20 in favour of a symbolic motion underscoring May's promise. Some pro-Brexit lawmakers, who fear delaying Brexit day could be used to try to stop Britain's withdrawal altogether, abstained from the vote. On Tuesday, May gave Parliament a greater say over Brexit to forestall a rebellion by pro-EU members of her government, who threatened to quit and vote with the opposition in order to rule out a disruptive "no-deal" Brexit. She said Parliament will get to vote again on her deal with the EU by March 12. If it is rejected, lawmakers will then vote on whether to leave the EU without an agreement or seek to postpone Brexit by up to three months. May stressed that she personally opposes extending the Brexit deadline, and said "the United Kingdom remains on course to leave the European Union with a deal" if lawmakers "hold their nerve." Writing in the Daily Mail, May said talks with the EU about securing changes to the divorce deal to make it more palatable to Parliament have "begun to bear fruit." The House of Commons rejected May's deal with the EU by a huge margin last month largely over concerns about a provision to guarantee an open border between the UK's Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland and sent May back to Brussels to get changes. The EU is adamant that the legally binding withdrawal agreement can't be changed, though the bloc's negotiators are holding talks with UK Attorney General Geoffrey Cox about potential tweaks or additions to reassure pro-Brexit British lawmakers that the border "backstop" is only a temporary measure. May is calculating that the prospect of a delay may persuade pro-Brexit lawmakers to support her deal despite their reservations. Many Brexiteers feel the Irish backstop portion of the deal keeps the UK bound closely to EU trade rules, unable to strike new agreements around the world. Brexit-backing Conservative lawmaker Edward Leigh said Wednesday that colleagues should back the agreement because "the choice is no longer perhaps between an imperfect deal and no deal it is between an imperfect deal and no Brexit." Lawmakers rejected a bid Wednesday by the main opposition Labour Party to force the government to embrace its alternative Brexit plan, which calls for retaining close ties with the EU. Labour has said if it can't get its plan through Parliament, it will campaign for a second referendum on Britain's EU membership. The government caved in on a vote it looked set to lose, agreeing to guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in Britain whether or not the UK leaves the bloc without a Brexit deal. "That such an amendment is needed is in itself a very sad state of affairs," said Alberto Costa, the Conservative lawmaker behind the motion. He said 3 million EU citizens in Britain and 1 million UK citizens in other EU countries "should never have been used as a bargaining chip. British businesses welcomed the prospect of a Brexit delay. They warn that without a deal, Britain risks a chaotic departure that could disrupt trade between the UK and the EU, its biggest trading partner. Confederation of British Industry head Carolyn Fairbairn said leaving without a deal would be "a wrecking ball on our economy" and giving the option to delay "feels like an option on sanity." Delaying Brexit would require approval from all 27 other EU countries, whose leaders are annoyed by what they see as the inability of feuding British politicians to agree on what kind of relationship the UK wants with the bloc. Chief EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said Wednesday that there must be clarity that extending negotiations wouldn't just prolong the impasse facing both sides. EU politicians say Britain must have a good reason for seeking a pause. French President Emmanuel Macron said any such request would need to be justified by "a clear perspective on the goal." "We don't need time. We need decisions," he said at a joint conference in Paris with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel said the EU wouldn't refuse Britain "a bit more time." She said "we are aiming for an orderly solution an orderly withdrawal by the British from the European Union. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Britain is deeply concerned over rising tensions between India and Pakistan, Prime Minister Theresa May said Wednesday, urging both the nuclear-armed nations to exercise restraint to avoid further escalation. Tensions between India and Pakistan rose Wednesday after Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani air space and arrested a pilot. The Pakistani claim came a day after Indian Air Force carried out a pre-dawn air strike on a terror training camp inside Pakistan. The strike was the first by the IAF inside Pakistan after the 1971 war. "The UK is deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan and urgently calls for restraint on both sides to avoid further escalation. We are in regular contact with both countries, urging dialogue and diplomatic solutions to ensure regional stability," prime minister May said. In response to an urgent question on "The situation in Jammu & Kashmir" tabled during the weekly Prime Minister's Questions session, May told the House of Commons that the UK remained in regular contact with both countries and was working towards de-escalating tensions. "We are working closely with international partners, including through the UN Security Council, to de-escalate tensions and are monitoring developments closely and considering implications for British nationals," she said. The "security and humanitarian situation in Kashmir" was later raised with UK Foreign Office minister Mark Field during the House of Commons session by Opposition Labour Party MP Debbie Abrahams as chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Kashmir. In an apparent reference to the upcoming general elections in India being among the factors to consider, the minister said while the polls may be "irrelevant" to the situation, it is a factor of concern. "We all know that we are in a pre-election period within India and that is one of the factors that obviously is a concern. It is one of the reasons we want to see a de-escalation at the earliest possible opportunity," he said. Field told MPs that he will be leaving for a three-day pre-scheduled visit to India on Thursday, where he will continue to monitor the situation from the ground. "Understandably, there has been huge interest in this rapidly developing situation. This House will understand it will not be appropriate for me to comment in detail on reportage at this time as the situation evolves," he said. Stressing that India and Pakistan are "nuclear nations" which makes the situation an urgent one to be addressed at the UN level, Field noted: "It is all the more important that we dial down some of the rhetoric, and some of the actions we have seen in recent days". "The UK will continue to support a listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed and its leader Masood Azhar under the UN Security Council Resolution 1267. But it is very pre-mature to start making categorical statements about any involvement by Pakistan in this issue," he said. Laying out the background to the situation before Parliament, the UK minister referred to the February 14 Pulwama attack which killed 40 CRPF soldiers. India-Pakistan tensions, already at a high level, rose significantly following that attack and both countries publicly exchanged heated rhetoric, the minister said. "There have been reports of ceasefire violations across the Line of Control overnight and the situation remains unclear, but fast developing," he said, reiterating that UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt had spoken to his counterparts in India and Pakistan on Monday and that Britain remains in "regular contact at senior levels". The Foreign Office minister said he was also scheduled for talks with Indian High Commissioner to the UK Ruchi Ghanashyam and Pakistani High Commissioner Mohammad Nafees Zakaria later on Wednesday to encourage a dialogue. Describing both countries as "important and long-standing friends of the United Kingdom", the minister said the UK government's position on Kashmir remains unchanged in that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution to the situation. "It isn't for the UK to prescribe, to intervene or to interfere with a solution or to act as a mediator," he said. During the lengthy Commons sessions, Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry called on the government to urge both countries to think "first and foremost of the innocent people in Kashmir, literally caught in the middle of this cross-fire". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two persons were lynched Wednesday by an irate mob which held them responsible for the killing a village headman in Assam's Chirang district, police said. The two men had allegedly killed the headman of Gargaon village under Bijni police station Tuesday and had buried his body in a graveyard, the police said. The family members of the headman, named Gauranga Das, along with villagers launched a search for him last night after he failed to return home till late. They found the grave and dug out the body, the police said. The family members accused the two persons of killing Das and a group of villagers attacked the duo Wednesday morning, the police said. Some villagers informed the police, who rushed to the spot but the two had succumbed to their injuries by then. Investigations into the incident is on and no arrests have been made so far, the police added. Several cases of vigilantism were reported in 2018. In August, 2018 a man was lynched and three others severely injured in Assam's Biswanath district on suspicions that they were cattle thieves. In June, 2018 two young men, a sound engineer settled in Mumbai and a businessman, were pulled out of their vehicle and bludgeoned to death on rumours that they were child lifters at Dokamoka in Karbi Anglong district. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Paris, TX (75460) Today Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High near 90F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 74F. Winds light and variable. US President Donald Trump touted North Korea's "AWESOME" future if its leader Kim Jong Un, whom he will meet for a high-stakes dinner later Wednesday, agrees to give up his nuclear arsenal. The Trump tweet, sporting his familiar use of capital letters for emphasis, said the opportunities facing a denuclearised North Korea were "like almost none other in history". Trump and Kim are due to meet for one-on-one talks, then dinner, in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, followed by more talks Thursday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump shook hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to kick off their second summit Wednesday in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi. Trump predicted the talks over the totalitarian state's nuclear programme would be "very successful." They were following up on a historic first meeting in Singapore in June with about 20 minutes of one-on-one talks scheduled before a wider dinner. Talks were then scheduled to resume on Thursday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Unlike Assembly elections when it announced a majority of candidates on the day the Assembly was dissolved, the ruling TRS in Telangana may not declare nominees for the coming Lok Sabha elections early, according to party sources. The party would focus on canvassing for the polls and not announce candidates even if there is unanimity within the party about the nominee, Telangana Rashtra Samithi sources said Wednesday. The party is likely to announce its nominees for Lok Sabha elections only ahead of nominations, they said. "The candidates will be selected by the party and party Chief KCR (K Chandrasekhar Rao) whenever it is required," they said. Rao had announced candidates for 105 out of the 119 assembly seats on September six last year when the Assembly was dissolved prematurely. Aiming to win 16 of the total 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana, the TRS had planned to hold preparatory meetings, to be addressed by its working president K T Rama Rao,from March one to gear up the party machinery. However, Rama Rao announced postponement of the proposed meetings in view of the situation prevaling at the country's borders. The decision on when to organise the meetings would be taken in consultation with the party president, he said. TRS MLC Palla Rajeswara Reddy told PTI Wednesday that the party activists would be informed of the welfare work done by the TRS government and individual MPs and they would spread the message in their own constituencies, he said. TRS has been seeking 16 Lok Sabha seats in the state, leaving Hyderabad held by ally AIMIMs president Asaduddin Owaisi, to ensure a better deal for Telangana. The party has returned to power by wresting 88 of the 119 seats in the December seven Assembly polls. Claiming that neither the Congress nor BJP would get a comfortable majority after the Lok Sabha elections, Rama Rao had earlier said Telangana can dictate terms to the Central government if TRS wins 16 seats. Meanwhile, TRS MP B Narsaiah Goud said the party appreciates the defence personnel who carried out air strikes against terror camps in Pakistan. It would be 'Congress-mukt' Telangana in parliamentary elections and people are ready for it, he claimed. Alleging that Telangana suffered whenever the Congress had won, he said the partys MPs would not be able to fight effectively for the states cause. Telangana had an insignificant share of national highways during the previous Congress and TDP governments, but it got 3,600 km of national highways in the last five years due to the efforts of TRS MPs and Chandrasekhar Rao's leadership, he said. He and other TRS MPs had introduced private members bills in Parliament, he said. Congress MPs could not introduce any such bill though the party had 33 MPs (in undivided Andhra Pradesh) earlier, he claimed. Hailing Chandrasekhar Rao's leadership, he claimed a permanent solution could be found to the Kashmir issue as well if there is a strong leader like KCR in the country. "Kashmir problem would also get a permanent solution if there is a concrete, specific and strong leader like KCR in the country," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) General Joseph Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Tuesday spoke to his Pakistani counterpart General Zubair Mahmood Hayat to discuss the "current security environment" in Pakistan, the Pentagon said, amid the spike in Indo-Pak tensions following the The telephonic talk is the highest level of contact between the two armies a day after India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The strike was the first by the (IAF) inside Pakistan after the 1971 war. Ramping up the rhetoric, Pakistan has threatened retaliation. "Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph F Dunford, Jr spoke today with Pakistan Chief of Defence Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat. The senior leaders discussed the current security environment in Pakistan," Joint Staff Spokesperson Col. Patrick S. Ryder said in a brief statement. No other details were immediately available. Forty Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based JeM in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in India and global condemnation. Over the years, despite a deterioration in US-Pakistan bilateral ties, Gen Dunford has maintained a good working relationship with both his Pakistani counterpart Gen Hayat and Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Wednesday briefed about the latest security situation following violation of Indian airspace by Pakistani fighter jets in Jammu and Kashmir, sources said. Top security and intelligence officials were in a huddle earlier in the day at the prime minister's office in the wake of fresh developments that followed India's airstrike at a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Pakistan. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, senior officials of the Indian Navy, Army and the Air Force and other security officials had met to discuss the current security situation, they said. Top defence and security officials later briefed the prime minister on the latest developments, including aerial confrontation in which one Pakistani jet and an IAF MiG 21 were shot down. The IAF MiG pilot is "missing in action". A PAF F-16 fighter jet was shot down in Rajouri sector of Jammu region. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Top security and intelligence officials Wednesday huddled into a meet at the prime minister's office in the wake of Pakistan Air Force jets violating the Indian airspace, sources said. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, senior officials of the Indian Navy, Army and the Air Force and other security officials were holding a meeting to discuss the current security situation, they said. Earlier in the day, a PAF F-16 fighter jet was shot down by Indian air defence forces in Rajouri sector of Jammu region. The aircraft was brought down in Jhangar area of Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri sector. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tobacco plants can be used as 'green bioreactors' to produce a potentially powerful therapeutic that could treat a number of disorders like diabetes, stroke, dementia and arthritis, scientists say. The plants are being used to produce large quantities of a human protein called Interleukin 37, or IL-37. The protein is naturally produced in the human kidney in very small quantities and has powerful anti-inflammatory and immune-suppressing properties, providing potential for treating a number of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders like type 2 diabetes, stroke, dementia and arthritis. "This protein is a master regulator of inflammation in the body, and has been shown in pre-clinical models to be effective in treating a whole host of diseases," said Tony Jevnikar, a professor at Western University in Canada. "The human kidney produces IL-37, but not nearly enough to get us out of an inflammation injury," said Jevnikar. While showing promise in animal models, IL-37's use clinically has been limited because of the inability to produce it in large quantities at a price that is feasible clinically. Currently, it can be made in very small amounts using the bacteria E coli, but at a very high cost. The research is the first of its kind to demonstrate that this functional human protein can be produced in plant cells. "The plants offer the potential to produce pharmaceuticals in a way that is much more affordable than current methods," said Shengwu Ma, an Adjunct Professor at Western University. "Tobacco is high-yield, and we can temporarily transform the plant so that we can begin making the protein of interest within two weeks," said Ma. The study, published in the journal Plant Cell Reports, that the protein can be extracted and quantified from the plant cells in a way that maintains its function. Researchers are investigating the effect that IL-37 has for preventing organ injury during transplantation. When an organ is removed for transplantation and then transferred to a recipient, inflammation occurs when the blood flow is restored to the organ. He and his team believe IL-37 provides a way to prevent that injury. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Wednesday unveiled the MGR Centenary Arch on Kamaraj Salai, a month after the Madras High Court allowed its unveiling sans any ceremony. Palaniswami unveiled the structure, built an an estimated cost of Rs 2.52 crore, from the state Secretariat, in the company of his deputy O Panneerselvam and senior cabinet ministers. The 66 feet wide and 52 feet tall arch was proposed to commemorate the birth centenary of the late chief minister MG Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR, also the AIADMK founder. In January last, the Madras High Court had permitted the Tamil Nadu government to unveil the arch, but without any ceremony. A division bench had said only the green net covering the arch should be removed, "without any ceremony in any manner." In November last, the bench had passed an interim order, restraining the state government from inaugurating the arch, off the famous Marina beach, till disposal of public interest litigation petition opposing it. The petitioner had alleged that the arch was constructed by encroaching on arterial Kamarajar Salai and its pedestrian space meant for public use in total violation of various legislations. As per the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, no permanent structure can be constructed either on the middle or the pathway of a road. Hence, any construction was unauthorised, the petitioner had said. The ruling AIADMK celebrated the birth centenary of MGR in 2017 on a grand scale and Palaniswami laid the foundation stone for the arch in August 2018. A charismatic leader, MGR a recipient of the Bharat Ratna, ruled Tamil Nadu from 1977 till his death in 1987 after breaking away from the DMK and forming the AIADMK in 1972. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Wednesday gave away appointment orders to the spouses of two CRPF jawans martyred in the February 14 Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. This was in line with the government's earlier announcement that it will provide job on compassionate grounds to one kin each of the slain soldiers, an official release here said. Accordingly, the chief minister gave away appointment orders to Krishnaveni, wife of the late G Subramanian, and Gandhimathi, spouse of the late C Sivachandran, it said. The government had earlier given the families a cash relief of Rs 20 lakh each. Subramanian and Sivachandran hailed from Tuticorin and Ariyalur districts, respectively, in the state. They were among the 40 CRPF jawans who were killed in a suicide attack by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group in Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The tiger that was found dead in Mahisagar district of Gujarat on Tuesday, had travelled from Ratapani sanctuary located in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, officials said on Wednesday. The Gujarat forest department confirmed that it was the same tiger that was captured on camera around two weeks back in Mahisagar district, the first sighting of a tiger in the state in three decades. The authorities, however, ruled out poaching as the cause of its death. On February 12, the Gujarat government had confirmed the presence of a tiger, aged 7 to 8 years, after it was captured on camera. On Tuesday, the carcass of the tiger was found at Kantar village in the forest area of Mahisagar. It was found around 15 kms from the spot, where the animal was last captured on camera. "The tiger that was found dead in Gujarat, had reached Mahisagar district after crossing Indore, Ujjain, Dewas and Jhabua districts of Madhya Pradesh," an MP Public Relations Department official said, quoting the state forest department authorities. The tiger had traversed from Ratapani sanctuary situated near Bhopal, he said. After getting the information that the tiger had entered Gujarat, MP's Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) U Prakasham had written a letter to the Gujarat Forest Department on February 14, urging it to protect the animal and keep a tab on its movements. Meanwhile, after conducting the examination of the carcass, the Gujarat forest department ruled out the possibility of poaching. The pattern of the tiger's stripes led the post-mortem panel, formed to probe its death, to conclude that it was the same animal that was captured on the camera trap around two weeks back, a Gujarat forest department official said. Samples of the tiger carcass have been sent to three laboratories to ascertain the cause of the death as no external injury marks were found on it, he said. Chief Conservator of Forests, Vadodara, S K Srivastava said, "During the examination, no physical injury was noticed on the tiger. Also, all the 18 claws, four canine teeth, genital organ and skin were found to be intact, hence this is definitely not a case of poaching." "We have collected three sets of samples for investigation, which have been sent to Gujarat Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Gandhinagar, Anand Veterinary Hospital and LaCONES in Hyderabad for examination," he said. The post-mortem panel comprises senior officials of the forest department, a representative of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), veterinary doctors, and district representative of the Animal Welfare Board of India, Srivastava said. "The carcass was burnt as per the protocol of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in the presence of a panel, villagers and mediapersons," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three Pakistani fighter jets entered into Indian air space at 9:58 AM on Wednesday targeting key military installations in Rajouri and Naushera in Jammu and Kashmir, as they sought to retaliate India's pre-dawn counter-terror strike a day earlier deep inside Pakistan, official sources said. Though three Pakistani jets violated Indian air space, the package of the aircraft deployed by Pakistan Air Force for the operation was "significantly large" as it comprised a fleet of JF-17 and F-16 combat aircraft, the sources said. Sources said the Pakistani jets targeted the Indian Army bases in Krishna Ghati and Nangi Tekri and an ammunition point in Narian. However, the bombs dropped by the Pakistani jets fell in un-inhabited areas. Minutes after Pakistani jets violated the Indian air space, the IAF's Combat Air Patrol (CAP), comprising MiG-21 and other jets engaged with the enemy aircraft, successfully thwarting their attempts to bomb a number of key military installations in Naushera and Rajouri, they said. In the ensuing engagement, a MiG-21 Bison of the IAF shot down a Pakistani jet, firing an R-73 air-to-air missile before being hit. It was not clear whether the IAF jet was fired from a Pakistani jet or was brought down by a missile attack by ground-based air defence, the sources said. They said the jet Pakistan lost was an F-16 aircraft. Pakistan has denied losing any jet. India confirmed that an IAF pilot has been captured by Pakistan during the fierce engagement. IAF sources identified him as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. Sources said all Indian personnel, except one pilot, returned to their bases after the engagement ended at around 10:45 AM. The sources said that two parachutes were sighted -- one was of the Indian pilot of the MIG-21 Bison and other was of the Pakistani pilot of the downed jet. The Pakistani retaliatory strike came a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a 1971 war, destroying the biggest terrorist training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan. The Indian air strike came after the February 14 terror attack carried out by the JeM in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb Wednesday said his government has made efforts to weed out corruption, nepotism and irregularities in government recruitment process, soon after coming to power last year. He said that by introducing the "fair employment policy" for jobs, his government ensured that the state's youth benefitted from it. "We have already recruited 983 teachers through Teachers Eligibility Test conducted through Teachers Recruitment Board in the education department. Other departments are also working on necessary recruitment processes," Deb told the Assembly in a written reply to BJP MLA Ranjit Das' query. Das had sought to know the "practical plans" of the government for the unemployed youths of the state. The chief minister said that his government is attaching a lot of importance to the tourism potential for creating new jobs. Slamming the former Left Front government for failing to harness the state's tourism potential, Deb said his government is taking steps to explore spiritual tourism, heritage tourism and eco tourism. He said unemployed youths are benefitting from job fairs organized under National Career Service Scheme; unskilled labourers are drawing benefit from MGNREGA and aspiring youths are given training under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushal Yojana. This apart, loans are being sanctioned to small, micro and medium enterprises. Deb said 2,014 vacancies in Tripura State Rifles (TSR) would be filled up to raise two additional India Reserve (IR) battalions of the counter-insurgency force. A Land Custom Station (LCS) would also be set up at Sonamura in Sepahijala district, 50 km from here, to boost trade with neighbouring Bangladesh, he said. A food park at Tulakona in West Tripura district, which was inaugurated on Debruary 20, would also create many employment opportunities in the state, he said. The Chief Minister also said efforts are being made to develop Tripura as an Information Technology (IT) hub, with a multi storeyed tower proposed on a government plot. Deb also said that his government has been working on a series of "realistic plans and programmes" to ensure jobs for unemployed youths in the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Pulwama terror attack is the direct result of the "impunity and cover" provided to the Jaish-e-Muhammed by Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday as she forcefully raised the February 14 strike with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi here. Swaraj's meeting with Wang came a day after India destroyed a major Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) terror training camp in Pakistan. China, a close ally of Pakistan has repeatedly foiled India's attempts to brand JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN. The JeM, founded by Azhar, has already been in the UN's list of banned terror outfits. In 2009, India had moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar. This was followed in 2016 when India moved the proposal with the P3 - the United States, the United Kingdom and France in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the air base in Pathankot in January, 2016. In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, on all occasions China blocked India's proposal. "I am visiting China at a time when there is grief and anger in India. It is the worst terrorist attack directed against our security forces in Jammu and Kashmir," she said in her opening remarks during the meeting held on the sidelines of Russia, India, China Foreign Ministers' meeting. "The attack was carried out by Jaish-e-Muhammed, the Pakistan-based and supported terrorist organisation," she said. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. Stating that the JeM is banned by the UN and other countries, Swaraj told Wang that "this terrorist attack is the direct result of the impunity and cover provided to the JeM and its leaders by the Pakistani side". "After the Pulwama attack the entire UN has spoken with full voice to condemn it," she said. Swaraj, who arrived here early this morning, told Wang that this is their first meeting this year and therefore an opportune time for the two sides to take stock of the bilateral relations and look ahead for cooperation. "This is our first meeting this year. Therefore, an opportune time for us to take stock of our bilateral relations and look ahead for cooperation. The India-China relationship is an important relationship for both of our countries," she said. Referring to the Wuhan summit between Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Swaraj said "we have made substantial progress in relations". "It is important for both sides to make sure the through and effective implementation of the guidance given by the two leaders," she told Wang, adding that both side made efforts and "we should sustain this". "Particularly the decision taken by our leaders to maintain strategic communication between them provided an important foundation for the development of our bilateral relations. This channel of strategic communication between the two of us and between senior officials should always remain open," she said. Wang said last year's Wuhan meeting between Modi and Xi led the bilateral ties into honest and new stage. "Led by the leaders, all aspects of our bilateral relationship are going well. Both nations and the international community are more optimistic of our bilateral relations. In 2019 we are going keep working on the consensus of the two leaders," he said. China on Tuesday called for restraint between India and Pakistan following India's airstrikes against terrorist targets in Pakistan and urged New Delhi to carry out its fight against terrorism through international cooperation. Asked for China's response to India's airstrikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told media briefing in Beijing on Tuesday that "we have taken note of relevant reports." "I want to say that India and Pakistan are both important countries in South Asia. A sound relationship and cooperation between the two serves the interests of both the countries and peace and stability in South Asia," he said. "We hope that the parties remain restrained and do more to improve their bilateral relations," he said. On India's assertion that it was a non-military attack directed against camps of the terrorist groups who are carrying out violent acts in India, Lu said "as for India's claim on taking action against terrorism, well fighting terrorism is a global practice". "It needs necessary international cooperation. And India needs to create favourable condition internationally for the same, he said. Lu also said that Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Shah Muhammad Qureshi also spoke to Wang on Monday over the tensions related to the Pulwama attack. "During the phone call Wang Yi listened carefully to Pakistan Foreign Minister's notification and proposals on the issues and reaffirmed his opinions that the two sides need to advance their cooperation in the counter terrorism for peace and stability in the region," Lu said. The Pulwama attack and its aftermath as well Tuesday's airstrikes were expected to figure in Swaraj's talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Levrov later in the day. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vedanta group firm Sterlite Wednesday moved the Madras High Court seeking a direction to allow the reopening of its copper smelter unit at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu which was closed last year over pollution concerns. Filing a petition in line with the Supreme Court's recent suggestion, it challenged the May 23, 2018 orders of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) refusing renewal of consent to the plant as well as permanent closure, terming them as wholly illegal, unconstitutional and ultra vires. The matter is likely to be taken up for hearing on Thursday. The apex court had on February 18 set aside the order of the National Green Tribunal allowing opening of the copper unit, but gave the liberty to the company to approach the high court against the closure order. A bench of Justices R F Nariman and Navin Sinha had said if such a writ petition was filed by the company, it could seek an interim relief considering the fact that their plant at Tuticorin had been shut down since April 9, 2018. The state government had ordered permanent closure of the unit in the wake of violent protests against Sterlite in Tuticorin that led to the killing of 13 people in police firing on May 22. The locals were protesting against environmental pollution allegedly caused by the factory. Allowing a plea by Sterlite, the NGT had on December 15 last year set aside the closure order, holding that it was "non-sustainable" and "unjustified". The apex court delivered the verdict on Tamil Nadu's appeal against the NGT's order, saying that the tribunal had "erroneously" set aside various orders passed by the TNPCB. In its petition in the high court, the company contended that TNPCB had blindly and without any independent application of mind passed the closure orders in a knee jerk manner in response to the political situation brewing in the area and according to the whims of the state government. The orders were "wholly illegal, unconstitutional, ultra vires the Air and Water Act", it claimed. Besides being "unsustainable" in the facts and circumstances of the case, the orders were also liable to be quashed on the grounds of violations of principles of natural justice apart from being vitiated by reliance on extraneous considerations, it added. The order had been made as per TNPCB's convenience for stopping the operation of Sterlite with complete non-application of mind, the company said in its affidavit. It also contended that the closure order issued on the ground that the unit was carrying out activities to resume its production operation was bad in law. Citing the shutdown of certain machineries as part of maintenance activities in progress at that time, the company said production operation was not feasible without them. Sterlite also submitted that closure of an industry was a measure of last resort in the absence of any other alternative and that the TNPCB, being a statutory public authority, was expected to consider all balancing factors before passing such a drastic order for permanent closure. The order was passed pursuant to a media publication by one of the NGOs "operating against" the company without any deliberation or discussions within departments concerned, and without even issuing notice to the company, it said. The company also claimed it had 36 per cent share in the total domestic market for copper besides exporting and hence, the closure would result in a loss of foreign exchange earnings of USD 1.5 billion per annum. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Maharashtra government Wednesday submitted in the Bombay High Court that the Constitution grants it powers to identify a community as "backward" and give it reservation. Senior counsels Mukul Rohatgi and V A Thorat, appearing for the state government, began arguments on petitions challenging a 16 per cent quota to the Maratha community in government jobs and educational institutions granted last year. One of the main contentions in the petitions is that the Maratha quota takes the overall reservation in the state to 68 per cent, breaching the cap of 50 per cent imposed by the Supreme Court. Rohatgi, arguing before a bench of justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre, said 50 per cent was not the limit. "We have quantifiable data to show that the Maratha community is backward and hence, we had to go beyond 50 per cent," Rohatgi said. "The state government derives its powers from Article 15 and 16 of the Constitution which says it can identify any community as backward and take appropriate measures (for its welfare)," Rohatgi said. Advocate Thorat argued that the reservation decision was not political but meant to give the community better prospects in government services and education. The division bench asked whether a President's notification is mandatory for granting reservation as per a 2018 amendment to the Constitution. "The amendment says reservation to a community can be accorded only after the President issues a notification after studying the issue along with the state's governor," Justice Dangre said. Rohatgi said the state government has the power to issue its own list of communities which it deems to be backward and in need of reservation. "The state government cannot wait till the President issues a notification. The state government has powers to make its own list. This can be in addition to the list prepared by the central government," Rohatgi said. On November 30, 2018, the Maharashtra legislature passed a bill giving 16 per cent reservation to the Marathas following an intense agitation by the community. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sri Lanka said on Wednesday that it was deeply concerned about the increasing tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pulwama attack and asked the two nations to act in a manner that ensures the security, peace and stability of the entire region. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it has unequivocally condemned this terrorist attack in Pulwama and stands firmly in the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) 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. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. Sri Lanka requests India and Pakistan to act in a manner that ensures the security, peace and stability of the entire region, it said. "Sri Lanka strongly supports peace and stability ion the South Asia region and all endeavours towards the diffusion of tensions including the resolution of bilateral problems through dialogue and building confidence," the statement added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SpiceJet on Wednesday announced to launch daily direct flights to Odisha's Jharsuguda from Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata under the Centre's regional connectivity scheme UDAN from March 31. "Jharsuguda, Odisha's top investment and manufacturing hub, marks SpiceJet's maiden entry into the state and will be the airline's tenth destination under UDAN," the airline said in a statement. SpiceJet also announced an "introductory promotional fare" starting at Rs 3,701 (all inclusive) on Delhi-Jharsuguda, Jharsuguda-Delhi, Jharsuguda-Hyderabad and Hyderabad-Jharsuguda routes. The airline added that similar introductory promotional fare of Rs 2,560 (all inclusive) would be charged on Jharsuguda-Kolkata and Kolkata-Jharsuguda routes. With the addition of these new flights, SpiceJet will be operating 29 daily flights under the regional connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) that seeks to connect unserved and under-served airports as well as make flying affordable. Jharsuguda is Odisha's second biggest airport and the only one to handle civil commercial operations after the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar. SpicetJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said, "SpiceJet is delighted to provide direct air connectivity from Jharsuguda, one of Odisha's biggest manufacturing hubs and a top investment destination, to key metro cities and beyond. We are confident that these new flights will do very well much like our other UDAN flights and will give a big push to the economic growth of Odisha." The airline will be deploying its Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the Jharsuguda-Delhi-Jharsuguda sector whereas the other two UDAN sectors of Jharsuguda-Hyderabad-Jharsuguda and Jharsuguda-Kolkata-Jharsuguda would be served by its Bombardier Q400 fleet. At present, SpiceJet operates 23 flights under the UDAN scheme. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Spain's former prime minister Mariano Rajoy, in power when Catalonia's executive tried to secede, on Wednesday accused separatist leaders of wanting to "liquidate national sovereignty" by organising a banned referendum as he testified in their trial. Rajoy governed Spain from 2011 until he was ousted in June last year by a no-confidence vote over a corruption trial that hit his conservative Popular Party (PP). He was replaced by socialist rival Pedro Sanchez. The 63-year-old appeared at Madrid's Supreme Court as a witness in the trial of 12 separatist leaders and activists - nine of them on rebellion charges - for pushing the referendum in October 2017 and for a subsequent short-lived declaration of independence. "They were fully aware that... as long as Mariano Rajoy was prime minister, there would be no (legal) referendum to liquidate national sovereignty," he defiantly told the court. Defence lawyers had yet to question him. Before him, his former right-hand woman Soraya Saenz de Santamaria testified, accusing separatist leaders of persisting in organising the referendum on October 1, 2017 despite a court ban and "knowing that violence would take place". Visibly angry, the former deputy prime minister said: "Everyone can have their own opinion and express it, but you can't violate the law and judicial decisions and generate violent incidents." She admitted images of police violence during the referendum were "not pleasant to see." But she said that if voters had not been mobilised to form "human walls" to prevent ballot boxes from being seized - as alleged by prosecutors - "maybe some images wouldn't have happened." Catalonia's former separatist president Artur Mas also gave evidence as a witness. Mas stepped down in January 2016 before the secession bid but was close to those who led the attempt. He criticised the decision to send police to stop people from voting in the referendum. "I said (at the time): 'Do you really think that the state will be so unintelligent to do something that will harm it directly with regards to its image in the whole world?'," he told the court. "I confess I was wrong because that was the option." Critics accuse Rajoy of having fuelled pro-independence passions in Catalonia, with support for separatism in the northeastern region leaping from 10 per cent of votes in 2010 to 47.5 per cent in 2017 -- much of it under his mandate. Even before he came to power, Rajoy had campaigned as opposition leader against a new, agreed status for the region that gave it extra powers and defined it as a "nation" within the Spanish state. The Constitutional Court eventually overruled that nationhood claim, fuelling pro-independence passions. "His appearance is very important because he headed" the country before, during and after Catalonia's secession bid, said Paloma Roman, professor at Madrid's Complutense University. Political debate in Spain has become increasingly virulent ahead of snap general elections on April 28 and European, municipal and regional polls in May. Rajoy's appearance "may be a key and dramatic moment of the trial," said Joan Botella, professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He "will try to reject any responsibility" but "will have to respond to the question: why did he never sit down to talk" to the separatists? Prosecutors are seeking seven to 25 years jail for the 12 Catalan separatist leaders and activists. Their independence bid prompted Rajoy's government to sack the Catalan executive, dissolve the regional parliament, impose direct rule on the semi-autonomous region and call snap local elections. Several days later, Catalonia's then leader Carles Puigdemont fled Spain for Belgium along with several other colleagues. Other separatist leaders were put in pre-trial custody. But in the regional elections in December 2017, separatist parties once again won a majority in parliament. Months later in June, Rajoy left "for good" after being ousted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The opposition Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) Wednesday withdrew its call for the statewide bandh on Thursday, a day after the Sikkim High Court restrained the SKM from going ahead with its proposed bandh. SKM president Prem Singh Tamang, better known as PS Golay, made the announcement to withdraw the bandh call. "We bow before the Hon'ble court for which we have the highest respect...we have decided to withdraw our call for bandh tomorrow in deference to the court's directive," Golay told reporters. He said that the party workers will instead observe a day-long fast at the party offices across Sikkim before the portraits of Mahatma Gandhi to press for those demands for which the bandh was proposed. While calling off Thursday's statewide bandh to press for their 35-point demand, Golay thanked various section of the people for extending their wholehearted support for the bandh call. A division bench of the Sikkim High Court comprising the Chief Justice Vijai Kumar Bist and Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai had yesterday restrained the SKM from going ahead with the bandh on February 28 next on a PIL filed by one Anita Sharma and others. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid escalating Indo-Pak tensions, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh Wednesday said the situation in the state was "under control" and the hospitals were prepared for any eventuality. Singh chaired a review meeting of the border areas in Jalandhar along with top officials of the Army, the Border Security Force (BSF), the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Punjab Police, an official spokesperson said. He extended all possible help to the Army to ensure that the border areas of the state remain stable and secure and appealed to the locals to be wary of rumour mongering. "The situation is under control and the armed and paramilitary forces, along with the police and district administrations, are aggressively countering all rumours," he said. The CM said he would visit the border areas in the districts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Pathankot, Faridkot and Ferozepur over the next two days to instill confidence among the people. He asked the police and the security forces to sensitise the people about the situation, in wake of the Indian Air Force (IAF) air strikes on militant hideouts across the Line of Control (LoC) following the Pulwama attack on a CRPF convoy in Kashmir. He said security measures have been undertaken at all the sensitive installations, including the army bases and the airports, in the region. Adequate steps have been taken to prepare the civil hospitals to handle any situation, which might arise in the current circumstances, he said. He saidthe armed and paramilitary forces had taken sufficient measures to ensure the state's preparedness and the safety of its people. Earlier, the chief minister chaired a high-level meeting of the police and civil administration of the state in Chandigarh to take stock of the situation and discuss steps to maintain peace and law and order in the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Sikh leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) won a by-election to enter the Canadian parliament. Jagmeet Singh, 40, won the Burnaby South constituency seat in British Columbia (BC) province after defeating Liberal party candidate Tory Shin, a corporate lawyer, and Lee, a former Burnaby member of the provincial legislature representing the BC Liberals, his campaign said. The by-election was held in three different provinces on Tuesday, with barely eight months left for the federal elections in October, also sealed Singh's position as an undisputed leader of the NDP, the third largest party in the House of Commons. The other two seats were bagged one each by the ruling Liberals from Ontario province and the main opposition Conservatives from Quebec. The Scarborough-born Sikh leader, also rated as a rising star in Canadian politics, had a shaky position as the head of the NDP as he was not a Member of Parliament. Following his win, Singh is now considered as a viable challenge to the main Opposition Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer, who is younger to him and streering a progressive alternative on the national stage to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal party. According to Singh's campaign spokesperson, James Smith, the NDP leader has now redeemed his supremacy in the party. Affordable housing, pharmacare and meaningful action to combat climate change are his focussed areas of work to solve the problems of the people, Singh told his supporters in his victory speech. Singh maintained that the successive governments of the Liberals and the Conservatives had only enriched corporations while neglecting common Canadians. "I know it's been a long slog, but I hope you have more left in the tank. We have just eight more months to let the people know they can choose a government that stands up for people and not corporations, that doesn't give handouts to SNC-Lavalin, Singh said in the context of the ongoing controversy involving SNC-Lavalin. The NDP victory comes at a time the Liberals are facing the worst crisis involving the SNC-Lavalin bribery scandal, which led to the resignation of the former justice minister attorney general Jody Wilsom-Raybould. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A sedition case has been registered against 11 youths in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district after a photo emerged on social media purportedly showing them wearing shirts of the Pakistan flag, police said Wednesday. Superintendent of Police (Dhanbad-Rural) Aman Kumar said five of the youths, suspected to have figured in the group photo, had been arrested on Wednesday. The police refused to share details of those arrested. The district administration imposed Section 144 at Baidpur village on Tuesday evening after tension prevailed over the photo on social media purportedly showing the youths wearing the shirts of the Pakistan flag, Kumar said. The SP said the situation was under control now. The residents of Nirsa block, who were celebrating Indian airstrikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Pakistan on Tuesday, saw the group photo of some local youths on social media, Kumar said. They surrounded the houses of the 11 youths and vandalised them on Tuesday evening, the officer said, adding police used batons to control the situation. Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner A Dodde, Senior Superintendent of Police Kishor Kaushal, sub-divisional magistrate Raj Maheswaram and Kumar went to the village and imposed Section 144 in the area. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Security was stepped up at the two major ports of the Eastern region - Paradip in Odisha and Kolkata - on Wednesday following escalation of tension between India and Pakistan, officials said. Frisking and patrolling of security personnel have started in the two ports. The authorities are extra vigilant keeping in mind that Pakistan based terrorists had entered Mumbai via sea route in 2008 and unleashed terror attacks now known as 26/11. "We are keeping a constant vigil on the crew members of ships landing at the port here. The crew members who want to go outside the port area are being throughly checked," said immigration officer at the port, Manas Ranjan Das. Das said the crew members normally go out of the port area when ships are anchored here. With at least four new ships arriving at Paradip Port every day, the authorities have instructed that constant vigil be maintained towards movement of outsiders, he said. The Indian Coast Guard has also intensified patrolling in the coast as well as in the deep sea since Tuesday as there is a possibility of entry of terrorists through sea route, a senior official said. Odisha has a 480 km long sea coast looked after the Coast Guard based in Paradip. "The state government has cancelled leave of all the personnel working in different Marine Police Stations along the Odisha coast," the official said. Security has been tightened in the port and emphasis given on access control, Kolkata Port Trust chairman Vinit Kumar said. "Anti-sabotage measures were also being taken," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court Wednesday sought response from the Centre on a plea challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The apex court had earlier decided to keep the plea pending saying that it would be taken up "only after the Citizenship Act Amendment Bill, consideration of which is now stated to be pending before the Rajya Sabha, reaches its finality". A bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, which recently considered the plea for an urgent hearing on the PIL, Wednesday ordered, "Issue notice returnable in six weeks." The bench, also comprising Justices LN Rao and Sanjiv Khanna, was hearing the petition filed by the "Nagarikatwa Aain Songsudhan Birodhi Mancha" (Forum Against Citizenship Act Amendment Bill) which has sought to declare the Passport (Entry into India) Amendment Rules, 2015 and the Foreigners (Amendment) Order as "discriminatory, arbitrary and illegal". The bill has been cleared by the Lok Sabha and it would now be presented in the Upper House of Parliament. The bill, passed in the Lok Sabha on January 8, provides for according Indian citizenship to the Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis who fled religious persecution in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after six years of residence in India, instead of the 12 years currently, even if they do not possess any document. It also seeks to provide relief to the persecuted migrants who have come through the western borders of the country to states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh etc., the home minister had said. The PIL opposed the bill on the ground that it had introduced religion as a new principle into the citizenship law and termed it as "communally motivated humanitarianism". "Never before has religion been specifically identified in the citizenship law as a ground for distinguishing between citizens and non-citizens. It has introduced religion as a new principle into the citizenship law and can be conveniently branded as 'communally motivated humanitarianism'. "The illegal immigrants who are to be granted the benefit of this legislation are to qualify for citizenship only on the basis of religion, a requirement that goes against one of the basic tenets of the Indian Constitution, secularism," it said. It further claimed that the "direct and inevitable" effect of the bill would be the dilution of the Assam Accord inked in 1985, which presently made anyone entering Assam from Bangladesh after March 24, 1971 an "illegal immigrant". "The amendment defeats the purpose of the accord and opens the floodgates to more illegal immigration and consequently, increases claims on diminishing resources. The transformation of migrants, hitherto perceived as illegal encroachers, into legitimate citizens cannot be justified," it said. The plea further claimed that the bill had the potential to "derail and nullify" the gains made by updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. "Many persons, who could not otherwise establish their claims and were therefore excluded from the draft NRC published recently, can now take shelter under this and subsequently, become legitimate Indian citizens at the cost of the indigenous people of Assam," it said. The petition further alleged that Assam had repeatedly witnessed ethnic clashes and violence, which were arising out of existential threat perceptions, fear of being reduced to minority in one's own homeland and giving up territories to foreigners and imposition of foreign or alien culture. The PIL sought directions to the Centre, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Assam government to declare the Passport (Entry into India) Amendment Rules, 2015 and the Foreigners (Amendment) Order as "discriminatory, arbitrary and illegal". It further sought directions to the Centre to constitute a National Immigration Commission or any other appropriate body to frame a National Immigration Policy and a National Refugee Policy. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Individual departments and not universities or colleges will be considered as the unit for implementing reservation for SC/ST or OBC in appointment of faculties members, the Supreme Court held Wednesday. The apex court trashed the Centre's plea seeking review of its earlier verdict by which it had declined to interfere with a decision of the Allahabad High Court on the crucial quota issue. The top court also dismissed the prayer for an open court hearing of the Centre's review petition. A bench of Justices U U Lalit and Indira Bannerjee dismissed the review petitions filed by Centre, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and several individual petitioners. "Application for listing Review Petition in open Court is rejected. Grounds in the review petitions were also raised and gone into when the special leave petitions were considered by this Court...We have gone through the review petitions and do not find any error apparent on record to justify interference in review jurisdiction. These review petitions are, therefore, dismissed," the bench said. It said that appeals of the Centre and the UGC were dismissed as the findings in the order of the high court was found to be correct. The apex court had on January 21, dismissed the appeals of the Centre and UGC against the order of Allahabad High Court which had ruled that quota for SC/ST or OBC in posts of faculty will be calculated department-wise and not College or University-wise. The high court, while deciding a petition challenging the reservation policy for faculties in Banaras Hindu University had on April 7, 2017, struck down a circular of UGC on filling of posts of teachers for SC/ST or OBC categories. "The respondent university will carry out the exercise of applying reservation to the posts under advertisement treating the department/subject as a unit for all levels of teachers rather than treating the university as a unit," the High Court had said. The Centre and UGC in their contention had said that process of selection of faculty members from SC/ST or OBC would get delayed due to difficulties in ensuring 15 percent, 7.5 percent and 27 per cent quota respectively. Earlier, Universities adopted a system under which every fourth teachers was appointed from OBC category, seventh from SC category and 14th from ST category. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russia on Wednesday urged India and Pakistan to ''show restraint" as it expressed "serious concern" about the escalation of hostilities between the two countries. "We call on both sides to show restraint and step up efforts to resolve existing problems by political and diplomatic means," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia said in a statement. It expressed "serious concern" about the aggravation of the situation along the Line of Control and the outbreak of tensions between the two neighbours. "We are ready to further assist in strengthening the counter-terrorism potential of New Delhi and Islamabad," the ministry added. The fresh confrontation came a day after Indian Air Force launched a counter-terrorism action against a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan, based on credible evidence that the UN-proscribed terror group intended to launch terror attacks. The JeM had taken the responsibility of the terror strike in Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. On Wednesday, Pakistan Air Force targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is "missing in action". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The over two-week long strike by a section of employees of Royal Enfield factory at Oragadam near here has been called off and normal manufacturing operations resumed, the company said Wednesday. "..the entire workforce at Royal Enfield's Oragadam, Chennai facility is reporting to work effective February 23 leading to resumption of normal manufacturing operations", it said in a notification to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The employees went on strike from February 9, seeking wage revision. Royal Enfield informed BSE that the demands by the workmen were considered unreasonable by the management but stated that it remained "deeply committed to the welfare of its workforce across all levels". The company said the factory was now fully operational. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The European Union (EU) Wednesday said that rising tension between India and Pakistan has the potential to lead to "dangerous consequences" for the two countries and the wider region and called for utmost restraint. European Union Commission Vice President Federica Mogherini said in a statement, "Following the recent terrorist attack in Pulwama, tensions along the 'Line of Control' between India and Pakistan have escalated militarily during the last days. This has the potential to lead to serious and dangerous consequences for the two countries and the wider region." On Wednesday, an IAF pilot was in Pakistani custody and a Pakistani fighter jet was shot down as fears of war darkened India-Pakistan relations with the Air Force repulsing retaliatory attacks from the western neighbour. Mogherini, who is also the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said the EU expects both countries to "now exercise utmost restraint" and avoid any further escalation. "To this end, the resumption of diplomatic contacts at political level and implementation of urgent measures by both sides is vital," she said. "Terrorism can never be justified. I spoke a few days ago by telephone with the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, to emphasise the need to continue to address terrorism, including clear and targeted actions related to all forms of terrorist activity," she added. She emphasised that the EU will remain in contact with both countries and will continue to closely monitor the situation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a significant gain for in its push to isolate internationally on the issue of post- attack, and on Wednesday agreed for a closer policy coordination to eradicate the "breeding grounds of terrorism". Their commitment came at the conclusion of the Russia, and Foreign Ministers' meeting here in the east Chinese city. "We agreed to jointly combat all forms through closer policy coordination and practical cooperation. Especially important is to eradicate the breeding grounds of and extremism," Chinese Foreign Minister said at the end meeting summing up the discussions on terrorism, specially in the backdrop of the February 14 terrorist attack. The mention of the "breeding grounds" of terrorism by Wang is significant as justified its airstrikes on saying that they were directed against the terror camps of the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. India on Tuesday bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC), killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The Chinese foreign minister, however tried to cautiously tread the fine line by highlighting that Pakistan, which is a close ally of Beijing, is also opposed to terrorism. "China, and India have reaffirmed our strong opposition to terrorism in various forms and manifestations. At the same time, we believe that has always been opposed to terrorism," he said at the joint press conference with External Affairs Minister and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Elaborating on China's stand Wang said "on the recent developments between India and Pakistan, appreciates the statements from Indian and Pakistani friends saying that they will exercise and avoid escalation of the situation." He said China for its part is playing a constructive role as a "mutual friend". "As a mutual friend to both India and Pakistan, we do hope that they can conduct dialogue to establish facts through investigation to keep things under control, maintain peace and stability in the region. In this process, China is playing a constructive role and not the opposite," he said. Answering a question on whether there were differences between India and China on the incident, Swaraj pointedly referred to Wang's comments on eradication of breeding grounds of terrorism and the agreement on close policy coordination. "As far as the joint strategy is concerned, you just heard foreign minister Wang Yi's speech. What he said during his concluding statement, he reiterated here and he said that we would cooperate on eradicating the breeding grounds of terrorism". "This is not only a common strategy for the three of us, but it is resolution for the three of us. said this during his concluding remarks and reiterated it here," she said. "Terrorism is a threat to the humanity that is why not only for our three countries, we also need a global strategy. We need global cooperation," she said and cited references to terrorism in the joint statement. "On the one hand we have gained consensus on the UN led counterterrorism mechanism, while alongside we have also discussed the India proposed Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) mechanism should also be soon finalised and adopted," she said. "Regarding Pulwama, I just told you both during my bilateral meeting with and also in the trilateral platform I strongly put forth India's perspective," she said referring to her speech outlining India's case against Pakistan and New Delhi's defence for the airstrikes against JeM targets. In her speech at the RIC Ministers meet, Swaraj referred to Pakistan's reluctance to take any action after the Pulwama incident. The joint statement issued at the end of the RIC Ministers' meeting also spoke strongly against terrorism. In the statement, the ministers called on the international community to strengthen UN-led global counter-terrorism cooperation by fully implementing the relevant (UNSC) resolutions. It said the the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy should be in accordance with the Charter of the and the principles of international law while respecting sovereignty and independence of all states, and expeditiously finalising and adopting the UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the earliest. "They reiterated that states and their competent agencies play a central role in both and international counter-terrorism efforts. They also stressed that terrorist groups cannot be supported and used in political and geopolitical goals," the statement said. Those committing, orchestrating, inciting or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with existing international commitments on countering terrorism, it said. The ministers stressed that those committing, orchestrating, inciting or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with existing international commitments on countering terrorism, including the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, relevant resolutions and the standards. Veteran industrialist Ratan Tata Wednesday praised the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hailed the Indian Air Force (IAF) for carrying out strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed's terror camp in Pakistan. "We congratulate the PM and the IAF for the successful air strikes on the terrorist training camps which Pakistan has claimed never existed! India is proud of the firm action taken in retaliation to the suicide attack on our soldiers a few days ago," Ratan Tata said in a tweet. On Tuesday India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC), killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The air strikes came 12 days after the JeM carried out a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday threatened to boycott a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) scheduled for this week in the UAE if India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj participates in the event. Swaraj has been invited as a "guest of honour" at the inaugural session of the OIC foreign ministers' conclave in Abu Dhabi on March 1-2. "I have no reservations with the OIC or any other Islamic country. My reservations are with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj's attendance at the OIC meeting," Qureshi was quoted as saying by the Geo "If Swaraj attends the meeting then I will not participate in it," he said. He said he spoke with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. "We believe India has committed aggression against a brother Islamic country and attacked a founding member of the OIC," Qureshi quoted Cavusoglu as saying. "The Turkish foreign minister said there is no reason for Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj to attend the meeting of the OIC and Turkey will fully oppose her invitation and opportunity to address," Qureshi claimed. Last night, Qureshi said he spoke to his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan expressed his reservations over invitation to Swaraj. "Under the current circumstances, it will not be possible for me to attend OIC meeting where Swaraj is present," he said. Meanwhile, the OIC on Tuesday "condemned" India's "incursion and aerial violation" in Pakistan. It urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid any steps that would endanger peace and security in the region. It called upon both parties to act responsibly and encouraged them to seek peaceful solution to current crisis without resort to use of force. It also called on them to embrace dialogue and work towards de-escalation of current situation as a matter of priority. The OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir held an emergency meeting at the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah and expressed deep concern over the heightened tension in the region and called for immediate de-escalation. The OIC is an international organization founded in 1969, consisting of 57 member states, with 40 countries being Muslim Majority countries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday threatened to boycott a meeting of the (OIC) scheduled for next month in the UAE if India's External Affairs Minister participates in it. Swaraj has been invited as a "guest of honour" at the inaugural session of the foreign ministers' conclave in on March 1-2. "I have no reservations with the OIC or any other Islamic country. My reservations are with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj's attendance at the OIC meeting," Qureshi told Geo News. "If Swaraj attends the meeting then I will not participate in it," Qureshi said. He said shared that UN Secretary-General and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu telephoned him. "We believe India has committed aggression against a brother Islamic country and attacked a founding member of the OIC," Qureshi quoted Cavusoglu as saying. "The Turkish foreign minister said there is no reason for Indian Foreign Minister to attend the meeting of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) and Turkey will fully oppose her invitation and opportunity to address," he added. Last night, Qureshi said he spoke to his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan expressed his reservations over invitation to Swaraj. "Under the current circumstances, it will not be possible for me to attend OIC meeting where Swaraj is present," he said. Meanwhile, the OIC on Tuesday "condemned" India's "incursion and aerial violation" in Pakistan. It urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid any steps that would endanger peace and security in the region. It called upon both parties to act responsibly and encouraged them to seek peaceful solution to current crisis without resort to use of force. It also called on them to embrace dialogue and work towards de-escalation of current situation as a matter of priority. The OIC Contact Group on held an emergency meeting at the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah and expressed deep concern over the heightened tension in the region and called for immediate de-escalation. The OIC is an organization founded in 1969, consisting of 57 member states, with 40 countries being Muslim Majority countries. The attack is the direct result of the "impunity and cover" provided to the Jaish-e-Muhammed terror group by Pakistan, External Affairs Minister said Wednesday as she forcefully raised the terror strike with her Chinese counterpart here. Swaraj's meeting with Wang came a day after India destroyed a major Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) terror training camp in China, a close ally of has repeatedly foiled India's attempts to brand JeM chief as a global terrorist by the UN. The JeM, founded by Azhar, has already been in the UN's list of banned terror outfits. In 2009, India had moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar. This was followed in 2016 when India moved the proposal with the P3 - the United States, the United Kingdom and France in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the air base in Pathankot in January, 2016. In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, on all occasions China blocked India's proposal on Azhar. "I am visiting China at a time when there is grief and anger in India. It is the worst terrorist attack directed against our security forces in Jammu and Kashmir," she said in her opening remarks during the meeting held on the sidelines of Russia, India, China Foreign Ministers' meeting. "The attack was carried out by Jaish-e-Muhammed, the Pakistan-based and supported terrorist organisation," she said. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country and international condemnation. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. Stating that the JeM is banned by the UN and other countries, Swaraj told Wang that "this terrorist attack is the direct result of the impunity and cover provided to the JeM and its leaders by the Pakistani side". "After the attack the entire UN has spoken with full voice to condemn it," she said. Swaraj, who arrived here early this morning, told Wang that this is their first meeting this year and therefore an opportune time for the two sides to take stock of the bilateral relations and look ahead for cooperation. "This is our first meeting this year. Therefore, an opportune time for us to take stock of our bilateral relations and look ahead for cooperation. The India-China relationship is an important relationship for both of our countries," she said. Referring to the Wuhan summit between Prime Minister, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Swaraj said "we have made substantial progress in relations". "It is important for both sides to make sure the through and effective implementation of the guidance given by the two leaders," she told Wang, adding that both side made efforts and "we should sustain this". "Particularly the decision taken by our leaders to maintain strategic communication between them provided an important foundation for the development of our bilateral relations. This channel of strategic communication between the two of us and between senior officials should always remain open," she said. Wang said last year's Wuhan meeting between Modi and Xi led the bilateral ties into a new stage. "Led by the leaders, all aspects of our bilateral relationship are going well. Both nations and the international community are more optimistic of our bilateral relations. In 2019 we are going keep working on the consensus of the two leaders," he said. Meanwhile, China on Wednesday again called on India and to exercise restraint amid the escalation of hostilities between the two countries and urged them to engage in dialogue to uphold the peace and stability in the region. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang's remarks came after Pakistan targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism strikes in Balakot. "I understand that in the latest development Pakistan says it had shot down two Indian aircraft and captured Indian pilots," Lu told the media in He said the international community is following the developments closely. Earlier, External Affairs Minister Swaraj kicked off her key meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang in a lighter vein, accusing him of cheating her by changing the venue of the RIC meeting to a more beautiful location here. "You cheated me," Swaraj said in her opening statement at their bilateral meeting here. Wang and other Chinese officials broke into laughter hearing her remarks. Swaraj said Wang first told her that the RIC Ministers meeting would be held in Shanghai and later sifted it to Wuzhen, the historic city famous for ancient stone bridges, stone pathways and delicate wood carvings. "Thank you" for the change of location and it is a very beautiful city, she said and expressed desire to go round the place before her departure. State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Wednesday said it will reduce the MCLR by 0.10 percentage point for various tenor loans from March 1. There is a reduction in the marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) with effect from March 1, 2019, PNB said in a regulatory filing. The one-year tenor loans, against which most of the consumer loans are benchmarked, has been cut to 8.45 per cent from 8.55 per cent. The three-year MCLR has been cut to 8.65 per cent. The rates for overnight, one/three/six month MCLRs are also down by 10 basis points each at 8.05 per cent, 8.10 per cent and 8.15 per cent respectively. Base rate at 9.25 per cent will remain unchanged, bank said. Country's largest lender SBI on February 8 had announced to cut home loan rates by 0.05 percentage point for loans up to Rs 30 lakh. The Reserve Bank in its last bi-monthly policy review for 2018-19 had cut the key repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 per cent, paving the way for banks to make consumer loans cheaper. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should suspend all his political activities till the missing Indian Air Force pilot returns home safely. India Wednesday said the pilot went missing after the IAF foiled Pakistan Air Force's attack on military installations in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan claims the pilot is its custody. "PM Modi must suspend his political activities until #WingCommanderAbhinandan is returned safely. It can't be business as usual with him crisscrossing the country at taxpayer expense making political speeches while our pilot is a Pakistani captive," Abdullah said in a series of tweets. The former chief minister also appealed to Pakistan to treat the Indian Air Force pilot well. "In the meantime, Pakistan please treat him as you would have us treat one of your men in uniform should he be unfortunate enough to be captured on this side of the border," he said. "Thoughts with the family, friends & colleagues of #WingCommanderAbhinandan. Prayers for his early & safe return home to all those eagerly waiting for him," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The West Bengal government has turned down the plea of teachers to allow them carry mobile phones inside centres during the ongoing Higher Secondary Examinations, class 12 state board examination, to prevent possibilities of question paper leak. When he met representatives of teachers' associations of the state, some of them made a plea to reconsider the decision of West Bengal Higher Secondary Council (WBHSC) not to allow teachers carry mobiles inside the examination centres, Chatterjee said here. "But I posed a counter query: who will own up the responsibility for a question paper leak? Who will take the responsibility if there is any incident?" the minister told reporters on Tuesday night after the meeting. He called upon the teachers to ensure that the rule was strictly enforced. The WBHSC had said, apart from the venue supervisor and the special council nominee, nobody else will be allowed to carry mobiles during the examination inside the centres. The WBHSC conducts the Higher Secondary Examinations. Chatterjee reiterated that images of question papers shared on social media during the recent Madhyamik, the class 10 state board examination, was not a leak but an effort by some quarters to malign the state government. For the same reason, the organisations conducting state board examinations need to be alert so that the government is not subjected to unfair criticism, he said. The teachers' bodies were asked to be vigilant to stop any malpractices during and on the eve of the examinations, the minister said. Asked about the directive issued by WBHSC to the candidates for appearing at the centre an hour before the start of the examination at 10 am, Chatterjee said, "The teachers' unions also brought this issue to my attention. But I am neither in favour of the decision, nor against it." "If I interfere into this decision and change it, what will happen if some incident takes place? And don't candidates living in far-flung areas, covering a distance like 65 km, leave early to reach the examination centre? Let the council explain its stance," he said. Chatterjee also advocated the need to accommodate the views of teachers' association representatives in conducting Madhyamik and Higher Secondary examinations from next year. Senior department officials and presidents of two boards were also present at the meeting. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistani fighter jets Wednesday violated Indian air space in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district but were pushed back by Indian aircraft, a top official said. "The jets entered into Indian air space over Nowshera sector this morning," the official said. They were immediately pushed back by Indian jets on air patrol. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) June 16, 2021, Wednesday If India goes on to win the inaugural WTC title, it could prove to be the watershed moment for the revival of the longest format ... Pakistan on Wednesday said that its jets crossed the Line of Control to undertake strikes in India for "self defence". Indian officials said Pakistani fighter jets on Wednesday violated Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Nowshera sectors but were pushed back by Indian aircraft. Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement said, "Today, Pakistan Air Force undertook strikes across Line of Control from within Pakistani airspace. This was not a retaliation to continued Indian belligerence," "Pakistan has therefore, taken strikes at non military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. Sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. "That is why we undertook the action with clear warning and in broad daylight. For the last few years, India has been trying to establish what they call 'a new normal' a thinly veiled term for doing acts of aggression at whatever pretext they wish on a given day. "If India is striking at so called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan. We do not wish to go to that route and wish that India gives peace a chance and to resolve issues like a mature democratic nation," it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistani army Wednesday violated ceasefire for the sixth consecutive day and resorted to firing and heavy mortar shelling on forward posts along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, prompting Indian Army to retaliate befittingly. The Indian Army destroyed five Pakistani posts along the Line of Control in J&K on Tuesday night in a befitting retaliation to firing from across the border, resulting in a "number of casualties" to Pak troops, officials said. Five jawans suffered injuries in the heavy Pakistan shelling, they said. On Wednesday, Pakistan troops resorted to heavy mortar shelling and small arms firing on forward posts and civilian areas along the LoC in Mendhar, Balakote and Krishnagati sub-sectors in Poonch district since 7pm, officials said. Indian troops retaliated strongly, they added. There was night-long heavy firing and mortar shelling along LoC in most areas in Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch districts on Tuesday. The Pakistani troops were seen firing mortars and missiles from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields. The Pakistani army used heavy weaponry, firing 120-mm mortar targeting civilian hamlets. All schools and educational institutes remained closed in a 5-km radius along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts on Wednesday. Authorities have ordered a temporary closure of educational institutions in a 5-km radius along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts on Thursday too. They have asked all the border dwellers to remain inside their homes and to not move outside in view the apprehension of the shelling by Pakistan. The year 2018 had witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violation, numbering 2,936 by Pakistani troops, in the last 15 years along the Indo-Pak border. Pakistan continues to violate the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India, despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the pact during flag meetings between the two sides. Amid mounting tensions between the two countries, following the Pulwama terror attack on Feb 14 and an Indian air strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed camp inside Pakistan Tuesday, people along the LoC and the International Border are living in fear. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Wednesday closed its airspace for commercial flights and suspended flight operations across major airports, including in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, for an indefinite period in the wake of the escalating tensions with India. Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority made the announcement after the director general of Inter-Services Public Relations, the military's media arm, acknowledged the closure of Pakistan's airspace due to the prevailing security situation. The airport will be used for "military purposes" till it is reopened for commercial activities, an official told DawnNewsTV, adding that a red alert has also been issued. "All civilian flight operations have been suspended," the official said. Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Mujtaba Baig said the flight operations in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces have been suspended for an indefinite period. He said the flight operations from and to Lahore, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Multan and Rawalpindi/Islamabad airports have been suspended. The planes which had left from foreign destinations for these airports have been diverted to the safer airports, he said. Earlier, DawnNewsTV quoting sources at the Karachi airport said that Pakistan International Airlines' (PIA) New Delhi-bound flight PK-270 had been cancelled due to tensions at the Line of Control (LoC). The move comes amid escalation of tension between India and Pakistan after IAF carried out strikes on terror bases in Pakistan on Tuesday. India has also closed nine airports in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab for civilian air traffic and the entire airspace north of New Delhi has been vacated on a day of rapidly escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was holding a high level meeting to assess the security situation in the wake of the developments of the morning, including Pakistan claiming that it had shot down two Indian military jets and arrested two pilots. India said Pakistan jets intruded into Indian air space in the Rajouri and Poonch sectors. The flare up in the cross-LoC shelling, which was initiated by Pakistani troops in early hours of Wednesday, has resulted in security forces and other establishments being put on a heightened alert. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Wednesday said the Indian Air Force (IAF) air strike on terror camps in Pakistan was carried out with caution and no civilian was hurt in it, but the neighbouring country wants to defame India nevertheless. India has given a befitting reply to the neighbouring country, Singh said and reiterated that Kashmir will always be a part of India and no power in the world can separate it from the country. Addressing a convention of BJP workers in Bilaspur town of Chhattisgarh, he said, "Two days back, our forces gave a befitting reply to Pakistan, which has been trying to destabilise India". "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured that we will not let the country be subjugated. Our government will do whatever is required but will not let Mother India bow her head," he said. "In the air strike, neither the Pakistani civilians were hurt nor the Pakistan Army was targeted. Our Air Force soldiers carried out the strike with caution. Despite this, Pakistan has been trying to defame India," he said. The BJP-led NDA government is not a weak regime, Singh said. India is no more a weak country, rather it has become strong," he added. India had earlier told Pakistan it could seek help from India if it was unable to root out terrorism on its own, he said. But the neighbouring country was never ready for it, he added. "India had told Pakistan several times that terrorism was being nourished on their soil. Pakistan has been giving shelter to terrorists. However, Pakistan's prime minister used to say that his country was also a victim of terrorism. "If you are a victim of terrorism, what have you done to root out the menace from your soil. The Pakistan PM has no answer for it," he said. In an apparent reference to separatists in Kashmir, Singh said some forces are getting money from Pakistan and work on the direction of the neighbouring country. "Now such forces will not be tolerated. They have been preventing the development of Kashmir which was once known as India's paradise. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Flight operations were suspended across major airports in Pakistan's Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces on Wednesday in the wake of the escalating tensions between Pakistan and India, according to a media report. The move comes amid escalation of tension between India and Pakistan after IAF carried out strikes on terror bases in Pakistan. According to Lahore airport manager, flight operations at Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad airports have been suspended, the Geo reported. All incoming and outgoing local and international flights have been suspended until further orders, he was quoted as saying. "A flight from Guanghzou, China has been sent back," the manager further said. The channel quoting its sources said a passenger airplane was stopped from taking off from Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar on the orders of Civil Aviation Authority. India has also shut down five airports in Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Chandigarh and Amritsar, on Wednesday for civilian air traffic shortly after an IAF jet crashed in Kashmir's Budgam district, officials said. The flare up in the cross-LoC shelling, which was initiated by Pakistani troops in early hours of Wednesday, has also resulted in security forces and other establishments being put on a heightened alert. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Wednesday suspended flight operations across major airports, including Islamabad and Lahore, for an indefinite period in the wake of the escalating tensions with India, a top civil aviation authority said. Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Mujtaba Baig told PTI that flight operations in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces have been suspended for an indefinite period. He said the flight operations from and to Lahore, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Multan and Rawalpindi/Islamabad airports have been suspended. The planes which had left from foreign destinations for these airports have been diverted to the safer airports, he said. The move comes amid escalation of tension between India and Pakistan after IAF carried out strikes on terror bases in Pakistan. India has also closed five airports in Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Chandigarh and Amritsar, on Wednesday for civilian air traffic shortly after an IAF jet crashed in Kashmir's Budgam district, officials said. The flare up in the cross-LoC shelling, which was initiated by Pakistani troops in early hours of Wednesday, has resulted in security forces and other establishments being put on a heightened alert. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's attempted attack on India's military installations was a mere "face saving exercise", former Army chief Gen V P Malik (Retd) said here Wednesday. "The (attempted) attack by the Pakistan Air Force on Indian territory is just a face saving action taken by the government of that country," Malik told the media here. "It's inadequacy was amply exposed during yesterday's air strikes by Indian Air Force on the terrorist camps when their forces were caught unaware," he added. He said that the Pakistan government was left with no other choice but to retaliate even if the attack failed to achieve anything. Earlier in the day, a Pakistani Air Force F-16 fighter jet was shot down by an Indian Air Force (IAF) MIG-21 jet in Rajouri sector of Jammu and Kashmir. In a press statement, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, accompanied by Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor, said the Pakistani jet had on its target the country's military installations. The attempted attack came a day after Indian fighter jets destroyed a terror camp in Balakot town of town of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. "Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistan's attempts were foiled successfully," Kumar said. He said the Pakistan Air Force activity was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. "In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side," Kumar said. The former army chief further warned that there was no doubt that terrorists were being trained in Pakistani camps and sent to India. "We must be careful of those Pakistani paid terrorists living in India. Pakistan can use them to create disturbances in India," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday claimed that two Indian pilots were detained after their MIGs were shot down, as he cautioned against any "miscalculation" in case of an escalation between the two nuclear-armed countries and offered to defuse tensions through talks. "Our action was only intended to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same. Two of their MiGs were shot down (in the ensuing action) and their pilots are with us," Khan said in an address to the nation which was telecast live. His comments came minutes after the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said that Pakistan Air Force targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is "missing in action". Khan said all wars have been started on miscalculations on the time and the human cost of war. This was the same with the World War I, with the World War II and the war on terror, he added. He said no one knows where the wars lead to. Khan said that better sense must prevail and the two sides should act with wisdom. "I ask India: with the weapons (nuclear) you have and the weapons (nuclear) we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this (situation) escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's," Khan said. "Let's sit together and settle this with talks," he added. Khan said that when India stuck Tuesday morning, he spoke with the army chief and Pakistan did not respond in haste. He said Pakistan offered India its cooperation in the investigation after the Pulwama terror attack. "We know how the families of those killed in Pulwama incident must have felt. We have been the victims of war for decades...Since the beginning we have asked India to share actionable evidence with us. It is nowhere in the interest of Pakistan for it to be used as a base for militancy," he said. "But I had a hunch that India would escalate, and that is why I had said that if India escalates, we will retaliate," he said, adding that Pakistan simply wanted to show its capability. "The sole purpose of our action (on Wednesday) was to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same," Khan added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Army on Wednesday said it has arrested "only one" Indian pilot, retracting from its earlier statement that two IAF pilots were under its custody. "There is only one pilot under Pakistan Army's custody. Wing Comd Abhi Nandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics," Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said. Earlier, Ghafoor claimed that two Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots were arrested. One pilot is injured and has been shifted to a hospital, while another one is unhurt, the spokesman had said. In New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs said that Pakistan Air Force targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is "missing in action". The MEA said that according to Pakistan the missing IAF pilot was in their custody. "We are ascertaining that," the MEA spokesman said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi Wednesday expressed concern for the Indian pilot who was "missing in action" and said Pakistan must respect its obligations under the Geneva Conventions. "Our prayers are with the brave IAF pilot & his family in this very difficult time. Under Article 3 of Geneva Conventions every party is required to treat prisoners humanely. Pakistan must respect its obligations towards the IAF pilot, regardless of ongoing circumstances," Owaisi tweeted. Pakistan has used its Air Force to target military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is "missing in action", External Affairs Ministry said Wednesday. In a very brief press statement, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, accompanied by Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor, also said details are being ascertained about Pakistan's claim of having captured one Indian pilot. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Opposition parties in Maharashtra staged a protest in the legislature complex here on Wednesday demanding that adequate number of animal fodder camps be set up in drought-affected areas of the state. Members of the Congress, NCP and other opposition parties sat on the steps of the Vidhan Bhawan, where the budget session is currently on, and shouted slogans against the BJP-led state government. NCP legislator and former minister Ajit Pawar claimed that the Devendra Fadnavis government had got its priorities wrong. "This government does not want to set up cattle fodder camps but is keen on giving licences to dance bars. This shows the government's priority is not for farmers and their cattle. The drought situation in the state is getting worse but the government seems to be indifferent to it," he said. Pawar also expressed disappointment over the government not granting classical language status to Marathi. The state is celebrating the Marathi Language Day on Wednesday, which is the birth anniversary of late Marathi litterateur and Jnanpeeth awardee V V Shirvadkar, popularly known as Kusumagraj. So far, Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia have been given the status of classical languages. The government's criteria to determine the eligibility of a language for classical status includes its recorded history over a period of 1,500 to 2,000 years, its ancient literature, to check if its literary tradition is original and not borrowed from another speech community, and other yardsticks. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to suspend all his political activities till the missing Indian Air Force pilot returns home safely, and also asked Opposition parties to put off their meeting in the national capital. India Wednesday said the pilot went missing after the IAF foiled Pakistan Air Force's attack on military installations in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan claims the pilot is in its custody. "PM Modi must suspend his political activities until #WingCommanderAbhinandan is returned safely. It can't be business as usual with him crisscrossing the country at taxpayer expense making political speeches while our pilot is a Pakistani captive," Abdullah said in a series of tweets. The former chief minister said he had requested Opposition parties also to postpone their meeting in New Delhi. "I had requested the opposition to postpone the meeting in light of the developments, especially after the of our pilot being in Pakistani custody but they felt otherwise. I chose not to attend as a result," he added. In their meeting, 21 opposition parties expressed anguish over what they alleged was "blatant politicisation" of the sacrifices of armed forces and urged the government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity. The Pakistan Army released a 46-second video showing a blindfolded man claiming he is the missing IAF pilot. The former chief minister appealed to Pakistan to treat the Indian Air Force pilot well. "In the meantime, Pakistan please treat him as you would have us treat one of your men in uniform should he be unfortunate enough to be captured on this side of the border," he said. "Thoughts with the family, friends & colleagues of #WingCommanderAbhinandan. Prayers for his early & safe return home to all those eagerly waiting for him," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An oil trader from the city was Wednesday arrested from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials for evading customs duty worth Rs 46 crore. The trader is being brought to the city on transit remand, DRI sources said. A DRI source told PTI that the trader used to evade customs duty by importing edible oil from Indonesia and Malaysia and re-routing them through Bangladesh to get the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) benefits, which pertains to imports from any SAARC country. The source said that since Bangladesh does not produce edible oil, it came to the notice of DRI officials and the trader was subsequently warned to pay up duty or face action. The trader did not pay heed to the DRI warning and was arrested on Wednesday, the sources said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's aircraft was Wednesday diverted to Jeypore in Koraput district after it failed to make a landing at Lanjigarh airstrip in Kalahandi due to inclement weather, an official said. A few local television channels claimed that Patnaik's aircraft had to make an emergency landing at Jeypore, but the chief minister's office (CMO) denied the report. "The report of CM's aircraft making an emergency landing at Jeypore is totally baseless. He will shortly leave for Rayagada in Koraput district by a chopper to attend the schedule programme," the CMO statement said Patnaik is set to inaugurate multiple projects and lay foundation for new ones at Raygada and Khurda districts, an official said. At Raygada, about a kilometer away from the Lanjigarh airstrip, he will launch 98 projects worth 737.42 crore, and lay foundation stones there for 48 others, he said. This apart, the chief minister will also attend a convention of women self-help groups in Raygada, before leaving for Khurda, he said. At Khurda, Patnaik is scheduled to launch development projects worth Rs 205 crore, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) / -- Project Aakriti bags the top spot for engaging local women in a sustainable source of livelihood Nuvoco Vistas Corp. Ltd. (formerly Lafarge India Limited), one of the country's leading building materials manufacturers, bagged the FICCI CSR Award for 2017-18 in the Women Empowerment category at the 17th edition of FICCI CSR Awards ceremony held in New Delhi. They were awarded for their project 'Aakriti', which has brought about economic empowerment of women in the community by engaging them in sustainable sources of livelihood. (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/827687/Nuvoco_wins_FICCI_CSR_Award.jpg ) The project has been implemented in the Nimbaheda block of Chittorgarh; where, over time, 400 women from neighbouring villages have been trained in tailoring and associated skills. The project runs across five villages of Mangrol, Bhawaliya, Unkhliya, Arniya Joshi, Nimbaheda in Chittorgarh. Project Aakriti has managed to transform the lives of women and their respective households by empowering them. Their financial independence has led to them have a stronger voice in domestic decision-making; while additionally improving the overall quality of life through better access to education, nutrition intake and asset creation. The project started as a pilot in 2014-15 when Nuvoco upgraded the stitching training centre to a 'Production Centre'. Speaking on the win Joydeep Chatterjee, Chief of Projects, CSR & Corporate Affairs, Nuvoco, said, "Aakriti has been one of our most challenging projects as it required changing highly conservative mindsets while also identifying a sustainable source of livelihood that was also considered acceptable for women in that milieu. It is also one of our significant initiatives in enterprise development, which is thriving and self-sustaining. Viewed against this backdrop; the FICCI Award is an important validation of our efforts." This year, the awards had over 150 corporates and organisations participate in the various categories. About Nuvoco Nuvoco Vistas Corp. Ltd. (formerly Lafarge India Limited), is a leading manufacturer and retailer of building materials with a vision to build a safer, smarter and more sustainable world. The company started operations in India in 1999 via acquisitions; and it has since emerged as one of the major players in India. Today it has an installed capacity of around 10.92 MTPA with six cement plants in Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and West Bengal; and a pan-India presence in the ready-mix concrete (RMX) business with around 70 plants across the country. Our aggregates business is based out of Kotputli with a capacity of 240 tonnes per hour. In Cement we are amongst one of the leading players in Eastern, Central and North India; with high performance, premium blended cement variants, which include Duraguard, Duraguard Microfiber, PSC, Concreto, and Infracem. We also offer value added products like construction chemicals, wall fill solutions and cover blocks. Our RMX range; comprising specialised products like Agile, Artiste, XLite, InstaMix, and Robuste; is trusted alike by large developers, small contractors, builders, architects, government agencies, and individual house builders. We are proud contributors to landmark projects like Lodha World One, the Metros [Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai]. Guided by the enduring principles of safety for its employees and social responsibility for the community, the company is charting new roads in providing solutions to meet the country's infrastructure needs. [http://nuvoco.in/ ] Source: Nuvoco Vistas Corp. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Shiv Sena chief and BJP ally Uddhav Thackeray said Wednesday that no political party should take credit for the air strikes carried out by the Indian Air Force on Jaish-e-Mohammed's training camp in Pakistan. "My heart is swollen with pride over the elimination of terror hide-outs in Pakistan. I salute the brave-hearts who conducted the operation," Thackeray told reporters here. "Nobody (other than the defence forces) should take credit for their (IAF pilots') valour and nobody should doubt it either," he added. Thackeray, who stitched a pre-poll alliance with the BJP last week, also said he made it clear to the latter that the Sena will continue to fight it on common people's issues. "When everybody was with you (BJP), we stood in front of you with questions of the common man and when everybody deserted you, we stood with you for Hindutva," he said. "There have been allegations that I made a U-turn (from earlier stand of not going for an alliance). However, I know what and for whom I have done what I did....Shiv Sena workers have faith in me," Thackeray said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nigeria's opposition leader on Wednesday rejected the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in a delayed poll plagued by claims of rigging, vowing to challenge the "sham" result in court. "If I had lost in a free and fair election, I would have called the victor within seconds of my being aware of his victory to offer not just my congratulations, but my services to help unite Nigeria by being a bridge between the North and the South," Atiku Abubakar said in a statement. "Consequently, I hereby reject the result of the February 23, 2019 sham election and will be challenging it in court. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing security in the Middle East with a focus on Iran. During the talks at the Kremlin, the two leaders were also set to discuss how to coordinate and avoid military clashes on Syrian territory, where Israel is taking action against Iran. "The biggest threat to stability and security of the region is Iran, and we will do everything to prevent this threat," Netanyahu said in opening remarks translated into Russian before closed-door negotiations. Iran, Hezbollah and Russia are allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Netanyahu has stressed that he will not let Israel's arch-foe Iran use Syrian territory as a base for its military. Prior to his Moscow visit, Netanyahu said the talks will focus on "preventing Iran from entrenching in Syria, the entrenchment of a country which explicitly says that its goal is to wipe us out." He is accompanied in Moscow by his national security advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat and head of military intelligence Tamir Heiman. On Sunday, the Israeli prime minister said talks with Putin will be "very important" to ensure Israel's freedom to act against Iran and Hezbollah in Syria while avoiding frictions with Russian forces. Wednesday's talks, which Israel postponed by several days, is the first extended face-to-face meeting since September 17, when Syria's air defence systems took down a Russian plane by mistake during an Israeli airforce operation. The resultant deaths of 15 Russian troops caused serious tensions between Israel and Russia. Netanyahu and Putin have spoken several times since the incident, and had a brief encounter in Paris in November. Netanyahu said his primary goal in Moscow was "to ensure that the Russian military and the IDF (Israel Defense Force) coordinate in such a manner so as to prevent friction and clashes between us," he said Wednesday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nepal's Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Rabindra Adhikari and six others were killed when a private helicopter crashed in eastern Nepal's mountainous Taplejung district, according to a media report. Besides Tourism Minister Adhikari, the Air Dynasty helicopter was carrying six others, including Ang Tsering Sherpa, a prominent aviation and hospitality entrepreneur, Yubaraj Dahal, personal aide to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Birendra Prasad Shrestha, Deputy Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. All seven on board the helicopter, including the pilot, have been killed in crash, an Air Dynasty official was quoted as saying by the Himalayan Times. Moments after the chopper was reported missing, local residents in Pathibara area informed the police about a huge flame at the crash site. The Chief District Officer of Taplejung, Anuj Bhandari quoted the locals as saying they heard a loud bang followed by a sight of smoke and fire in the area. It has been learnt that the tourism minister along with other officials had planned to visit Pathibhara Temple and then fly to Panchthar to observe the under-construction airport at Chuhan Danda. Authorities have rushed to the incident site. Meanwhile, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Minister has summoned an emergency cabinet meeting at the official residence of the Prime Minister in Baluwatar. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nepal's Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Rabindra Adhikari and six others were killed when a private helicopter crashed in eastern Nepal's mountainous Taplejung district, according to a media report. Besides 39-year-old Tourism Minister Adhikari, the Air Dynasty helicopter was carrying Nepal's prominent aviation and hospitality entrepreneur Ang Tsering Sherpa, Prime Minister's personal aide Yubaraj Dahal, two officials of tourism ministry and a body guard of the minister. The helicopter caught fire after it hit Chuchche Dada hill in Taplejung district in the mountain region of northeast Nepal. All seven on board the helicopter, including pilot Captain Prabhakar KC, have been killed in crash, an Air Dynasty official was quoted as saying by the Himalayan Times. Moments after the chopper was reported missing, local residents in Pathibara area informed the police about a huge flame at the crash site. The Chief District Officer of Taplejung, Anuj Bhandari quoted the locals as saying they heard a loud bang followed by a sight of smoke and fire in the area. The tourism minister along with other officials were on route to Pathibhara Temple after attending a programme at Chuhan Danda in Panchthar. Authorities have rushed to the incident site. Meanwhile, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Minister has summoned an emergency cabinet meeting at the official residence of the Prime Minister in Baluwatar. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Expressing concern over the escalating tension between India and Pakistan, Nepal on Wednesday said that as the current Chair of SAARC it underlines the importance of peace and stability in South Asia and calls on both sides not to engage in actions that would threaten security in the region. The Foreign Ministry in a statement said the Nepal government is concerned about the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama terror attack on February on February 14. It may be recalled that Nepal immediately condemned the heinous terrorist act, noted the Foreign Ministry. As the current Chair of the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), Nepal, while underlining the importance of peace and stability in South Asia, calls on both sides to exercise utmost restraint and not engage in actions that would threaten peace and security in the region," it said. Nepal government has also called both the countries to seek solution through dialogue and peaceful means in order to ease tension and normalise the situation. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) 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 India. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Gujarat Police's Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) Wednesday arrested here a suspected Naxal from Jharkhand who was carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head. Based on a tip-off, an ATS team raided a factory on the outskirts of the city and arrested Sitaram Birbal Manjhi (45), native of Topchanchi block in Dhanbad district, a police release said. He was hiding in Gujarat for the last five years, the ATS said. He is accused of carrying out a landmine blast in Dhanbad during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The Jharkhand government had declared a bounty of Rs 1 lakh on his head. Manjhi told the ATS that he joined Dhanbad-based Naxal group 'Krantikari Kisan Committee' in 2004 and was arrested in 2009 for attacking the Angarpathra railway police station, the release said. He allegedly confessed that while out on bail he and his associates carried out a landmine blast to target a police vehicle during the 2014 polls. He then fled to Gujarat and was working as a labourer at a factory in Odhav area here. A year ago he joined another factory from where he was nabbed Wednesday. Manjhi would be handed over to Jharkhand Police, the ATS said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy urged the Centre on Wednesday to take all possible steps for the safe release of the Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who is in the custody of Pakistan. "I feel sad for our Wing Commander IAF Pilot Shri #AbhinandanVarthaman is in the custody of Pakistan. I urge the Govt to take all possible steps including Diplomatic channel for release of the Pilot," Narayanasamy tweeted. India on Wednesday demanded immediate and safe return of IAF pilot Abhinandan, captured by Pakistan after an aerial confrontation, and strongly objected to the neighbouring country's "vulgar display" of an injured defence personnel in violation of international norms. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mayors and councillors of the three BJP-led municipal corporations of Delhi Wednesday held a demonstration outside the Assembly, protesting against the "cut in MCD funds" in the budget, officials said. North Delhi Mayor Adesh Gupta said the Delhi government has fixed an amount of Rs 6,380 crore for three corporations in the budget of 2019-20, which is "Rs 510 crore less than the sum allocated in the previous financial year". He said instead of increasing the funds every year, the dispensation was "deducting" the same. Gupta along with South Delhi Mayor Narender Chawla, East Delhi Mayor Bipin Bihari Singh and BJP councillors of all the three civic bodies demonstrated at the Vidhan Sabha against the "cut" in funds for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), officials said. During the demonstration, they demanded the AAP-led government to "release the outstanding dues of the corporations". Gupta claimed the government "did not issue arrears due to the north corporation despite a court order". Even the Fifth Delhi Finance Commission's recommendations have not been accepted in totality, he said. "The Delhi government has money to spend on advertisements to mislead the public, but there is no money to give to corporations for development works for the benefit of citizens of the city," the North Delhi mayor added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India could significantly reduce the deaths of newborn babies caused by rare genetic diseases by making genetic screening mandatory in government hospitals and subsidising the required drugs, experts say. While there is no formal definition for a rare disease, global health bodies say that it is characterised by three factors -- the total number of people having the disease, its prevalence and non-availability of treatment. "The government is not paying much attention to the cases of rare diseases thinking it as a rare case," Manjit Singh, President of Lysosomal Storage Disorder Support Society of India (LSDSS), told PTI. "However, there is a need for genetic testing laboratories in the every government hospitals to understand the real problem," he added. A newborn screening (NBS) test looks for various developmental, genetic, and metabolic disorders in the newborn. This allows steps to be taken before symptoms develop. Most of these illnesses are extremely rare, but can be treated if caught early. India currently has over 8,000 patients with rare diseases, which includes genetic disorders like rarest of rare ones such as Hunter Syndrome, Gaucher Disease and Fabry's Disease. While Fabry's Disease interferes with the body's ability to break down a specific fatty substance, Hunter Syndrome is a serious genetic disorder that interferes with the body's ability to break down specific mucopolysaccharides. Currently, all rare diseases get diagnosed at a much later stage when treatments are not much effective. The early diagnosis of such disorders during birth can be much useful in terms of medication enabling the patients to lead a normal life. According to the Organisation for Rare Diseases India (ORDI), there are 7,000 known rare diseases in India with a total of 70 million rare diseases patients in India. Currently, only one in 20 Indian patients get diagnosed with a rare disease. Prasanna Shirol, Founder Director of ORDI, said that almost half of rare disease patients in India are children, an important fact that often does not get highlighted enough. "We urgently need national and state policies that address the unique requirements of the rare disease community and enable them to lead lives of dignity and self-worth," Shirol told PTI. "We also need institutions like corporates, schools and colleges to create a more inclusive environment for rare disease patients," he added. Doctors said that there is also a need for the government to negotiate with the pharmaceutical companies and subsidise the medicines used in rare diseases as they are priced extremely high. According to the health advocacy groups fighting for the cause of rare diseases in India, the medicines to treat such diseases range anywhere between Rs 1 lakh to Rs 50 lakh per month. In 2017, the National Policy for Treatment of Rare Diseases (NPTRD) was announced by the Indian government with a corpus of Rs 100 crore to provide financial assistance for the treatment of rare disease patients. However, in November last year, the health ministry put on hold the policy and the corpus amount, saying the focus was currently on communicable and non-communicable diseases. Since then there have been several representations to the central government from organisations including LSDSSI seeking reinstating of the policy and funds to support the patients. ORDI said that it takes an average of seven years to diagnose a rare disease due to lack of awareness and scientific facts. Around 80 per cent of the rare diseases have identifiable genetic origin and 30 per cent of the patients die before reaching the age of 5 years. National bodies working for the well being of patients with rare diseases have urged the government for setting up genetic screening laboratories in every government hospitals so that newborns can be screened if they have any life threatening genetic disorder. At present, only a few top government hospitals such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh apart from the private hospitals have the newborn screening tests, making it extremely costly and unaffordable for the people from low-income group, a strata from where genetic disorder cases are frequent. Sunita Bijarnia, Clinical Geneticist, Gangaram Hospital said the decades of research for developing a medicine for rare disease coupled with not enough demand due to limited patients are the reasons behind high cost of the drugs. "Until the government negotiates with the pharmaceutical companies and subsidises the drugs for genetic rare disorders the problem cannot be solved. And it is of utmost importance to give medicines to such patients to enabling them to lead a normal life," she told PTI. Bijarnia said that unlike India several nations such as Australia and Philippine have a better system where the government pays for every medical expenses of rare diseases. This helps in the early diagnosis of such medical cases. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Patna police Wednesday said it has arrested one person for sharing a message on social media that the March 3 rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, scheduled to be held at the Gandhi Maidan here, could be rocked by an explosion. The message has gone viral in a large number of WhatsApp groups and sent the administration into a tizzy as the city had witnessed a series of explosions when Modi had addressed his maiden political rally in Bihar in October, 2013. "Udayan Rai was arrested late Tuesday night from the Kadamkuan locality of the city and sent to jail after being booked under sections of the IPC and the IT Act relating to spreading rumours," Kotwali police station house officer, Ramashankar Singh told PTI. The March 3 meeting called the 'Sankalp Rally' (a rally for resolve) is expected to be a virtual sounding of bugle for Lok Sabha polls by the NDA, which is also in power in Bihar. Preparations are on in full swing for the rally which would be the first occasion when people would see Modi sharing the stage with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at a political function. Kumar, who heads the JD(U), had snapped his 17-year-old ties with the BJP in 2013 following differences with it over projection of Modi. He, however, returned to the NDA in 2017. Modi, who was then the Gujarat Chief Minister, had burst into the political scene in Bihar with aplomb and delivered a rousing hour-long speech in October, 2013 unmoved by the bombs which kept exploding at the Gandhi Maidan during his address. Riding on the wave he had created, the BJP went on to win 22 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, its best-ever electoral performance. The NDA in Bihar at present comprises JD(U), BJP and Ram Vilas Paswans LJP. All the three parties are making efforts to ensure that the rally is a huge success, sources in them said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US, the UK, China, Russia and the on Wednesday urged both India and to exercise utmost restraint and avoid further military activity by the nuclear-armed neighbours. Tensions between India and rose Wednesday after claimed it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani air space and arrested a pilot. Pakistan Prime Minister tried to defuse the tension by saying war is futile and can lead to unknown consequences while making an oblique reference to the nuclear weapons that both countries possess. Worried over escalating tensions, US Secretary of State spoke separately with foreign ministers of India and Pakistan, urging them to avoid "further military activity". "I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost," Pompeo, who is accompanying President at the second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said in Vietnam. In London, Prime Minister said Britain is deeply concerned over rising tensions between India and Pakistan, urging both the nuclear-armed nations to exercise restraint to avoid further escalation. "The UK is deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan and urgently calls for restraint on both sides to avoid further escalation. We are in regular contact with both countries, urging dialogue and diplomatic solutions to ensure regional stability," she said. In response to an urgent question on "The situation in Jammu & Kashmir" tabled during the weekly Prime Minister's Questions session, May told the House of Commons that the UK remained in regular contact with both countries and was working towards de-escalating tensions. Russia has expressed "serious concern" over the escalation of tensions. Moscow called on both sides to exercise "restraint", adding that existing problems should be solved by "political and diplomatic means". For a second day, China urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and said the two sides should engage in dialogue to uphold the peace and stability in the region. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang's remarks came after Pakistan targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism in Balakot. "I understand that in the latest development Pakistan says it had shot down two Indian aircraft and captured Indian pilots," Lu said in Beijing. In Brussels, the European Union's diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini urged India and Pakistan to show the "utmost restraint" in their escalating confrontation. "We expect both countries to now exercise utmost restraint and avoid any further escalation of the situation," Mogherini said in a statement. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is heading to Paris to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss Brexit, relations with the United States and other European issues. Wednesday's meeting comes one day after British Prime Minister Theresa May said Parliament would get the chance to vote to delay Britain's scheduled March 29 departure from the European Union. Such a delay would require other EU members' approval. Merkel and Macron will also evoke the French-German defense partnership, according to the French president's office. The leaders in January signed a pact renewing their countries' decades-long friendship. They pledged to increase cooperation in the areas of foreign and defense policy, fighting crime and terrorism, international development and research. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Discrimination on the basis of caste is prevalent in urban spaces too, says author Yashica Dutt who has come out with her memoir in which she talks of "living in a constant fear" of being identified as a "Dalit". In "Coming Out As Dalit", Dutt recalls her journey from Ajmer to New Delhi to New York, where she is based now, describing how she came to terms with her "real identity" after years of "passing off as a Brahmin". She also seeks to make a compelling case for the community through stories from her life and others including that of Rohith Vemula, a PhD scholar at University of Hyderabad, whose suicide in 2016 triggered a major debate on caste system. "There was a constant fear in my mind that I'll be recognised, because I was effectively living a lie (about being Brahmin) and I did not want to be caught. So that was, to put it succinctly, growing up in Ajmer coming to St. Stephen's in Delhi and then working here through multiple jobs, living here for 10 years throughout that entire time I was hoping that nobody finds out I am a Dalit," she said. "I was trying really hard to hide the fact that what my real caste was, or who I really was. And it helped me in a lot of ways. I did not feel any discrimination," she told PTI. "People just assumed that I am an upper caste person because I was playing the role so well. This whole journey was marked by being somebody who was hiding their identity, living with a burden of what it feels like not being yourself," she said. Dutt, 33, recalled incidents from her childhood about discrimination that had left her "scarred" and became the reason for choosing to hide her caste even when working with a leading daily in New Delhi. "Often when I returned from school, my mother would enquire if someone asked me about my caste and if someone did I am supposed to say 'Brahmin' because she was worried that if I revealed I was from the 'bhangi' caste, I would face discrimination even by my teachers and friends in Ajmer and miss out on opportunities," she said reminiscing the Rajasthan of early 1990s. Asked if the "gap" in "discrimination" shrinks in urban spaces where money and services appear more dominant instead of caste, she said in villages caste is more visible, in cities it is invisible but it is equally present in both areas. "People who come to collect garbage at homes are almost always Dalits, those who do manual scavenging 99 per cent times they are Dalits, nobody from upper caste seeks quota in these jobs. Because Dalits have been doing these jobs, and they exist in cities also," she said. Through her book, published by Aleph Book Company, Dutt said she wants to reach out to those "who think we live in a post-caste world" and caste discrimination existed only in ancient India. "I want to start a conversation. I am trying to tell stories that have not found space so far in media or pop culture narratives. I am trying to document what this side of being a Dalit is like. So far this subject has not received any attention," she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Metro Railway services were disrupted during evening peak hours Wednesday due to a lightning-induced fire at its Tollygunge yard, an official said here. Power was switched off to the third rail, which supplies electricity to trains, leading to stoppage of Metro services for over half an hour from 5.41 pm to 6.14 pm, Metro spokesperson Indrani Banerjee said. She, however, said services were maintained in one section - between Maidan and Dum Dum stations - during the period of disruption. The fire had broken out on a wall of the yard in south Kolkata owing to a lightning strike. Fire services officials asked the Metro Railway authorities to switch off power to the third rail to enable them to douse the blaze, Banerjee said. Fire Brigade sources said three fire tenders were pressed into service to bring the flames under control. A spark in the third rail at Tollygunge station had disrupted Metro services for over half an hour in the afternoon Tuesday. The Metro Railway has been affected by frequent technical snags of late. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Kerala High Court Wednesday directed police and the child welfare committee to produce before it a 15-year-old girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a Muslim cleric. Considering a habeas corpus plea filed by the mother of the girl, the high court directed the child welfare committee and police to produce the girl before it on March 6. The girl is in the child welfare committee's protection. Last week, the court had directed the child welfare committee to consider and issue an appropriate order on the request made by the girl's mother to entrust the minor's custody with her. The court had also allowed the mother, the girl's siblings and grandparents to visit her at the children's home between 5pm-6pm. In her plea, the mother alleged that the minor was in illegal confinement and child welfare committee's custody. The mother also submitted that her daughter was studying in Class 10 and is slated to appear for the board examination next month. A case has been registered against Shafeeq Al Qasimi, the former chief imam (cleric) of a rural mosque at Tholicode near Thiruvananthapuram, under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act for luring the girl to an isolated forest area and allegedly sexually assaulting her, police said. The incident came to light after a group of local women had confronted the cleric after seeing him with the school-going girl in the forest, they said, adding that the cleric was absconding since then. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Wednesday inaugurated a Rs 25-crore project for the restoration of the heritage Mascot Hotel here, coinciding with the celebrations of 100 years of the hospitality pioneer. The project, drawn up by Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC), was undertaken close on the heels of the the hotel bagging the five-star status. Also, Vijayan unveiled a plaque to mark the historic occasion and opened a month-long exhibition that depicts the 100 years of service in the hospitality sector of the state. In his presidential address, Tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran said Mascot has got the distinction of being the first five-star hotel in the public sector. Recalling the history of the hotel, he noted that the hotel map published by the Bombay-based Indian Hotel Company in 1937 reveals Mascot as one among the four hotels listed from South India. In 1965, it came under the KTDC. The Minister underscored the need for quality service and new marketing strategies to compete with private players in the hospitality industry. The government has already accorded administrative sanction of Rs 5 crore for the project. Originally, an accommodation unit for officers of the Royal British Army during the First World War (1914- 1918) during the reign of the Kingdom of Travancore, Mascot has passed through a long history while emerging as the premium brand in Keralas hospitality sector. The hotel has several distinguished guests, including national leaders, diplomats, foreign dignitaries, writers and captains of industry. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kashmir is ours means all Kashmiris are ours, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said Wednesday, asserting that if something is happening against this spirit anywhere, then the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh stands against it. If some Kashmiris are on the wrong path or are behind anti-national activities, they will be punished but it has to be kept in mind that they have to be made "Hindustani" (Indians by heart) with a "spirit of love", he said. His remarks come against the backdrop of incidents of harassment of Kashmiris in parts of the country following the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed on February 14. Madhav, the BJP's points person for Jammu and Kashmir, was speaking at the launch of a book, The saffron surge-Untold story of RSS leadership, here. Madhav said Hindutva is the ideological foundation of RSS and that Hindutva cannot be exclusive. "It is an inclusive ideology," he added. He explained the evolution of RSS since its foundation in 1925 and its various chiefs to assert that it cannot be an exclusive organisation when its ideology and working are inclusive. "We will not hate anyone. We say in Sangh that Kashmir is ours. What it means? (It means) All Kashmiris are ours. We are not merely talking about the land," he said. He said the RSS is seen as a "guarantee" for the society's and country's unity. The Hindutva organisation has become synonymous with nationalism, he said, adding that "pseudo-liberals" nowadays call somebody a "Sanghi" if he talks of hoisting national flag in Kashmir. Under its current chief Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS has become a "reaching out" organisation from its earlier reticent self as it has been practising greater openness and engagement with different sections of society, including its critics. RSS publicity head (prachar pramukh) Arun Kumar said the unity of Hindu society has been of utmost priority for the organisation since its inception as it believes that India and Hindus are synonymous. The book, which promises to take readers through the lives of first five 'Sarsanghchalaks' (RSS chiefs), has been authored Arun Anand. Bhagwat is the sixth RSS chief. Journalist Kartikeya Sharma also spoke on the occasion and said the book will help people understand the RSS and its journey over the years. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Congress Wednesday condemned Pakistan for breaching the Indian air space and resorting to intense shelling along the Line of Control. The party also urged the state administration to take all precautionary and appropriate measures to ensure safety and security of the border population. "The entire nation is united and together in the fight against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and the neighbouring countries attempts to indulge in mischiefs and misadventures against India," J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said in a statement here. Lauding the Indian forces for shooting down a Pakistani fighter jet, he blamed Pakistan for escalating the tension by targeting civilian areas and Army installations through intense shelling and air strikes, which, however, were repulsed effectively by the Indian forces. "The Pakistan fighter jets had to make a hasty retreat without causing any loss, while a Pakistani fighter has been shot down by the Indian forces for which our forces deserve all commendation for their bravery," he said. He condemned Pakistan for resorting to intense shelling from across the border all along the LoC and border and intruding into Indian air space in Nowshera-Rajouri sector with an aim to target civilian population and the military installations. Sharma also appreciated the courage and bravery of the border area residents, who, he said, are standing like a rock behind their armed forces and are staying put in their areas. "There is no element of panic, but the administration should closely monitor the situation on the International Border and the LoC and take all precautionary and appropriate measures for the safety and security of civilians," he said. Sharma said the entire rank and file of the party is with the armed forces and the border population. "India only carried out a non-military, preemptive air strike over the terror camps. The retaliatory action by Pakistan shows its open support to terrorists," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday suggested that India is capable of carrying out an operation similar to the 2011 US action in Pakistan to eliminate Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. His remarks at an event related to the campaign to clean River Ganga came a day after the Indian Air Force pounded the main terror camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed terror outfit in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Referring to the US operation in Abbotabad, Jaitley said, "It is said that a week is too long a time in In our country the way people get enthusiastic, if you look at the last 24 hours, one week would appear to be a day. "The kind of things we see.... I remember when the US Navy SEAL had taken Osama bin Laden from Abottabad, can't we do the same?" "We could earlier only imagine, desire and get frustrated and disappointed (for failing to conduct such operations). But today, it is possible," he said at the event dedicated to generate funds to clean river Ganga. The event was organised by the Ministry of Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation at DRDO. Jaitley contributed Rs one lakh in his personal capacity for the programme to clean the river. The US' special forces had raided Osama's hideaway, a compound in Abbotabad in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa north of Islamabad, killing the dreaded terrorist. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Wednesday appealed to opposition parties to introspect their statement on "blatant politicisation" of the sacrifices of the armed forces, saying it is being used by Pakistan to bolster their case, drawing a sharp retort from the Congress that it is the ruling party "leadership who require real introspection". Jaitley hit out at the Opposition, saying why it is alleging that the government is politicising the anti-terror operation when the whole nation is speaking in one voice. "My appeal to India's opposition - 'Let the country speak in one voice'. Please introspect - 'Your ill-advised statement is being used by Pakistan to bolster its case'." "The Cross Border terror attack in Pulwama was a reality. The Balakot Operation was India's Anti-Terror preemptive strike to defend its Sovereignty," he said in a series of tweets. Countering Jaitley, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted, "Mr. Jaitley, It's BJP & its leadership who require real introspection. Entire opposition stood as one backing the armed forces & the Govt. Still, Amit Shah & entire BJP resorted to credit seeking for the sacrifice of our martyrs & indulged in blaming the Congress provocatively." The 21 opposition parties after their meeting earlier in the day issued a joint statement expressing "deep anguish" over what they alleged was "blatant politicisation" of the sacrifices of armed forces. They urged the government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity. The statement said, "National security must transcend narrow political considerations... The leaders observed that the prime minister has, regrettably, not convened an all-party meeting as per established practice in our democracy. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Finance Minister Wednesday appealed to opposition parties to introspect their statement, saying it is being used by to bolster their case. The 21 opposition parties after their meeting earlier in the day issued a joint statement expressing "deep anguish" over what they alleged was "blatant politicisation" of the sacrifices of armed forces. They also urged the government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity. In a series of tweets late night, Jaitley questioned that when the whole nation has spoken in one voice, then why is "India's opposition alleging that the government is politicising our Anti-Terror Operations. Jaitley said: "My appeal to India's opposition - 'Let the country speak in one voice'. Please introspect - 'Your ill-advised statement is being used by to bolster its case'." The cross border terror attack in Pulwama was a reality. The Balakot Operation was India's Anti- Terror preemptive strike to defend its sovereignty, Jaitley added. The statement issued after the meeting of opposition parties said, " security must transcend narrow political considerations... The leaders observed that the prime minister has, regrettably, not convened an all-party meeting as per established practice in our democracy. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh Wednesday challenged in the Delhi High Court the amendments made to the anti-money laundering law since 2015 saying that was done in violation of the Constitution as they were enacted as money bills. In his petition, which was listed for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao, the Rajya Sabha MP said that prior to the present regime at the Centre such amendments were part of an ordinary bill. A money bill is a piece of legislation which can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha cannot amend or reject it. The Upper House can only make recommendations which may or may not be accepted by the Lower House. The bench reserved its verdict after hearing arguments on behalf of the Congress leader and the Centre. Senior advocate P Chidambaram and advocate Abhishek Jebraj, appearing for the Congress leader, told the court that the amendments made to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) were "unconstitutional" and "illegal" as they have no relation to the money bill provisions enumerated in Article 110 of the Constitution. "Passing the impugned amendments by way of a Money Bill is grossly illegal and is expressly ultra vires the Constitution of India. Such action bypasses the authority of the Upper House and is a desecration of bicameralism which forms an invaluable part of the basic structure of the Constitution," the petition has said. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Maninder Acharya and central government's standing counsel Amit Mahajan questioned the locus of Ramesh to challenge the amendments and asked whether he has moved the petition on account of persons who have been accused of money laundering. They said Ramesh was in no way affected by the amendments to the PMLA and a person affected ought to have moved the court. The government lawyers also said that there was no public interest in the matter. The bench after hearing both the sides, said, "We will consider it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A retired IRCTC official has moved the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of an order that took cognizance of a charge sheet filed against him in an IRCTC case in which RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi Yadav are also accused. The petition filed by the then group general manager of IRCTC Vinod Kumar Asthana, in which he sought setting aside of the trial court order on the ground that no requisite sanction was taken to prosecute him, is likely to come up for hearing on Thursday. Lalu, Rabri, Tejashwi and others, including Asthana, were summoned by the trial court on July 30, 2018 in the case related to alleged irregularities in granting operational contract of two IRCTC hotels to a private firm. They were chargesheeted by the CBI on April 16 last year after the agency said there were enough evidence against them. Asthana claimed in the plea that the trial court judge failed to appreciate that prima facie there was no evidence against him. CBI had earlier told the trial court that sanction has been procured from authorities concerned to prosecute the accused, Additional Member of Railway Board B K Agarwal, who was then the group general manager of the IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation). Besides Lalu Prasad and his family members, former Union minister Prem Chand Gupta and his wife Sarla Gupta, Agarwal, then managing director of IRCTC P K Goyal and then IRCTC director Rakesh Saxena were also named in the charge sheet. The other names in the charge sheet include then group general managers of IRCTC Asthana and R K Goyal, and Vijay Kochhar, Vinay Kochhar, both directors of Sujata Hotels and owners of Chanakya Hotel. Delight Marketing Company, now known as Lara Projects, and Sujata Hotels Private Limited have also been named as accused companies in the charge sheet. The CBI had registered a case in July, 2017 and carried out searches at 12 locations in Patna, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar and Gurgaon in connection with the case. The charge sheet was filed for the alleged offences of criminal conspiracy and cheating under IPC and criminal misconduct by public servant and taking illegal gratification under the Prevention of Corruption Act. According to the charge sheet, between 2004 and 2014, a conspiracy was hatched in pursuance of which BNR hotels of the Indian Railways, located at Puri and Ranchi, were first transferred to the IRCTC and later, for its operations, maintenance and upkeep, it was given on lease to Sujata Hotel Private Limited, which is based in Patna. It was alleged that the tender process was rigged and manipulated, and the conditions were tweaked to help the private party (Sujata Hotels). The agency also claimed that Vinay Kochhar on February 25, 2005, sold commercial property in the form of three acres of land in Patna through 10 sale deeds for Rs 1.47 crore to Delight Marketing in which Sarla Gupta was a director as a front benami holder on behalf of Lalu Prasad. Between 2010 and 2014, this land was further transferred, the CBI alleged. In 2001, it was decided to handover the management of catering services of the Indian Railways, including of its hotels, to the IRCTC. Two such hotels -- BNR Hotels in Ranchi and Puri -- were also identified and an MoU was signed between the railways and the IRCTC on March 19, 2004. By this time, Lalu Prasad had demitted the office of railway minister. Lalu Prasad became chief minister in 1990 but had to resign in 1997 following corruption charges in the multi-crore rupees fodder scam. From 1997 to 2005 his wife Rabri Devi ruled as the Chief Minister. She was replaced by Nitish Kumar. Lalu Prasad also served as Union railway minister from 2004 to 2009. The RJD again came back to power after forging an alliance with its bitter rival JD(U), led by Nitish Kumar in 2015 and Tejashwi Yadav became deputy chief minister. However, Kumar parted ways from RJD in July 2017 marking the end of Tejashwi's tenure as deputy CM. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iran's president rejected the resignation of his foreign minister on Wednesday, throwing his full support behind the diplomat who negotiated the country's nuclear deal with world powers as both men face growing pressure from hard-liners as the accord unravels under American pressure. President Hassan Rouhani earlier gave a speech praising Mohammad Javad Zarif after the foreign minister's sudden resignation shocked the Islamic Republic late on Monday night. His rejection of the resignation, reported by the state-run IRNA agency, continued that praise. "Since I consider you in the front line of resistance against broad pressures by the U.S., I consider acceptance of your resignation against the expedience of the country and I do not agree with it," Rouhani reportedly told Zarif. It's unclear what will happen next. Zarif could stop going to work at the Foreign Ministry, forcing Rouhani's hand. But there's no precedent for that in the history of the Islamic Republic. Zarif more than likely will return to work. There was no immediate response from the 59-year-old diplomat. It remains unclear what sparked Zarif's resignation. However, it came after Zarif was not present for a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday. Assad was warmly received by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as well as Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of an elite unit of the Revolutionary Guard. The Guard's website later quoted Soleimani as offering his support to the foreign minister. "Definitely, Zarif is in charge of foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and he has been always supported by top officials including the supreme leader," Soleimani reportedly said. Analysts say Rouhani faces growing political pressure from hard-liners within the government as the nuclear deal unravels. Iranian presidents typically see their popularity erode during their second four-year term, but analysts say Rouhani is particularly vulnerable because of the economic crisis assailing the rial, which has hurt ordinary Iranians and emboldened critics to openly call for his ouster. The son of a wealthy family, Zarif overcame hard-line objections and Western suspicions to strike the accord with world powers that saw Iran limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions. But the deal was later challenged by the administration of President Donald Trump, which pulled America out of the accord. In doing so, Trump also fueled Iranian suspicions about U.S. intentions dating back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Zarif had faced withering criticism at home after he shook hands with President Barack Obama. On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, long a critic of Iran, welcomed his departure. "Zarif is gone, good riddance. As long as I am here Iran will not get nuclear weapons," he wrote in Hebrew on Twitter. Iran has always said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, and U.N. inspectors say it is still complying with the 2015 nuclear accord. Rouhani cited that Israeli response in his support of Zarif. "The happiness and rejoicing of the real enemies of the people such as the Zionist regime over your resignation is the best indication of success of Mohammad Javad Zarif and the biggest reason for continuation of your activity in the post of foreign minister," Rouhani said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jammu and Kashmir administration Wednesdaylaunched insurance scheme for poultry farmers of Jammu division. The scheme was launched here by Asgar Hassan Samoon, Principal Secretary, Animal and Sheep Husbandry, an official spokesman said. He said around 30 beneficiary farmers and representatives of insurance company were present on the occasion. Meanwhile, the spokesman said, an eight-member committee was constituted to verify and inspect the functioning and facilities of poultry dressing units and menace of import of unhygienic dressed poultry meat into the state. The committee, headed by commissioner food safety, has been asked to submit its report within a period of three months, he said quoting an order issued by General Administration Department. The spokesman said the terms of reference of the committee included random inspection of the facilities and infrastructure of poultry dressing units and verify processing capacity and mode of disposal of final product of poultry dressing units. The committee would interact with poultry farmers and verify the allegations that dressing unit holders are selling live birds in the market after exemption of tax, he said, adding it would also collect details of dressed poultry meat imported into the state, traders or agencies involved in importation of dressed poultry meat. It will randomly check hygiene of imported dressed poultry meat, mode of transportation and hygiene of retail outlets, maintenance of cold chain, firms or agencies from where poultry meat is imported, the spokesman said. The committee will also verify and collect the records of poultry products imported into the state from Lakhanpur check point and zig check point, he said, adding that the veterinary doctors posted at the two check points will assist the committee. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic and corporate social responsibility arm of Infosys, will help build a 300-bed hospital complex in the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Science and Research here. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy laid the foundation stone in the presence of Infosys Foundation chairperson Sudha Murthy, tourism minister S R Mahesh and the director of Jayadeva Hospital, Dr C N Manjunath. The project aims to help reduce the congestion faced by the hospital and also treat poor patients from various parts of the country, a Foundation release said. Infosys Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Jayadeva Hospital, it said. The Foundation has also agreed to help construct a 100-bed capacity maternal and child care hospital in Kanakapura in the adjoining Ramanagara district of Bengaluru, the release added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Indian student has been arrested after being charged with intentionally causing damage to over 50 protected computers owned by a college in New York state capital Albany, officials said on Wednesday. Vishwanath Akuthota, 26 was arrested on February 22 in North Carolina after being charged with intentionally causing damage to protected computers owned by The College of Saint Rose in Albany, US Attorney Grant Jaquith said. According to a criminal complaint, on February 14, Akuthota entered numerous locations around the Saint Rose campus and inserted a device into more than 50 computers used by students. The device, which resembles a normal USB memory stick, sends a rapid series of power surges into a computer's electrical hardware, rendering it inoperable. The damage exceeds USD 50,000. Akuthota, an Indian citizen, is residing in the US on a student visa. He appeared in the federal court in Raleigh, North Carolina, where a US Magistrate Judge ordered him detained and transported to the Northern District of New York. The charge filed against Akuthota carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to USD 250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Indian national held in Sri Lanka over an alleged plot to assassinate president Maithripala Sirisena was acquitted on Wednesday, court officials said. Marceli Thomas, from Kerala, was arrested in October following a complaint by Namal Kumara, a police informant, who had alleged a plot to assassinate Sirisena and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the former top defence ministry bureaucrat and brother of ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Colombo Fort Magistrate's Court acquitted Thomas of the charges of conspiring to assassinate the VIPs when the case was taken up for hearing on Wednesday. Colombo Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake on February 13 informed the CID to present to court evidence against the suspect regarding the plot in two weeks. However, the CID has not been able to produce any evidence against Thomas implicating him in the conspiracy charges. Thomas had denied the allegation in the court and claimed that he is innocent and that an attempt was being made to frame him. Considering the facts in the case, the Magistrate said he cannot order to keep a person in remand without evidence as the police wanted. However, Thomas has been remanded further on charges of staying in the country without a valid visa. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah Wednesday called for de-escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan and asked both the countries to maintain "maximum restraint" for the "greater good of humanity". "History bears testimony to the fact that war did not help both the neighbours resolve their long pending issues. It is in the interest of our region if both the countries shun war rhetoric," Abdullah said in a statement issued by the party. "I urge both the countries to shun violence for the greater good of people living in both the countries especially for the people of Jammu and Kashmir," he added. The former chief minister said it was the people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially those living on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) or the International Border (IB), who have to face the brunt of skirmishes between the two countries. "Let the war belong to tragic past in the history. It should find no place on our agenda. Let me remind the two nations that war is a plague that will have far-reaching consequences on the growth and development of the two nations," he said. The NC chief urged India and Pakistan to maintain "maximum restraint" as war, he said, was a little word of few letters but its effects were always harmful. "It brings destruction which cannot be compensated for many years. No peaceful mind wants war. I urge the peace loving people in both the countries to come forth and help de-escalate the situation," he said. "I am pretty sure that the number of people who want peace far exceeds the hawkish people numerically, it is right time for the doves to come forward," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India Wednesday handed over to Pakistan a dossier on "specific details" of involvement of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in the Pulwama terror attack on CRPF as also the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in that country. The dossier was handed over to the Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan, who was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs to lodge a strong protest over Pakistan Air Force targeting Indian military installations, a day after the Indian counter-terror action against the JeM. Government sources have claimed that over 350 JeM terrorists were killed in the pre-dawn strike on the terror camps in Pakistan on Tuesday. The JeM had taken the responsibility of the terror strike in Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. "Regret was expressed at continuing denial by Pakistan's political and military leadership at the presence of terrorist infrastructure in territories under its control," the MEA said. "A dossier was handed over to Pakistani side with specific details of JeM complicity in Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan," it said. The MEA said Pakistan was conveyed that India expects Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from territories under its control. In response to the Indian counter-terror operation, Pakistan air force tried to target certain locations in Jammu and Kashmir Wednesday morning which was countered by IAF jets. In the engagement, India shot down a Pakistani jet while an Indian IAF pilot was captured by the Paksitani authorities. India also lost a MiG 21 aircraft. India also lodged a strong protest at the unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan, including by violating the Indian air space and targeting military posts. "This is in contrast to the India's non-military anti-terror pre-emptive strike at a JeM terrorist camp in Balakot on February 26," the MEA added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An appropriate action plan should be prepared to tap opportunities for cooperation between Australia and India, especially Telangana, in education, agriculture, tourism, IT and other areas, Chief Secretary S K Joshi said here Wednesday Joshi said this while meeting an Australian delegation. The delegation was led by Northern Territory Government Education and Workforce Minister Selena Uibo, a state government release said here. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India Wednesday summoned the acting high commissioner of Pakistan and demanded immediate and safe return of an IAF pilot who was detained by Pakistan following an aerial engagement by air forces of the two countries. It has also been made clear to Pakistan that no harm should be caused to the Indian defence personnel, the External Affairs Ministry said, adding it has conveyed strong objection to the neighbouring country at the "vulgar display" of an injured personnel in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention. Pakistan detained Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman following a fierce engagement between air forces of the two sides along the Line of Control in which a Pakistani jet was downed. IAF also lost a MiG 21 jet in the engagement. "It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return," the MEA said. The Pakistani Acting High Commissioner was summoned this afternoon by the MEA to lodge a strong protest at the unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan against India, including by violation of the Indian air space and targeting of Indian military posts. The response by Pakistani air force came a day after IAF smashed a terrorist training camp of JeM terror camp in Balakot in Pakistan. "This is in contrast to the India's non-military anti-terror pre-emptive strike at a JeM terrorist camp in Balakot on February 26. It is unfortunate that instead of fulfilling its international obligation and bilateral commitment to take credible action against terrorist entities and individuals operating from its soil, Pakistan has acted with aggression against India," the MEA said. "It was clearly conveyed that India reserves the right to take firm and decisive action to protect its national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity against any act of aggression or cross-border terrorism," said the MEA. It said regret was expressed at continuing denial by Pakistan's political and and military leadership at the presence of terrorist infrastructure in territories under its control. "A dossier was handed over to Pakistan side with specific details of JeM complicity in Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan." the MEA said. "It was conveyed that India expects Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from territories under its control," it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For the first time, the popular Lathmar Holi of Barsana will be celebrated in two phases over a period of six days with the addition of Mathura as a host, officials said Wednesday. The attires worn by the participants will be more colourful and the venue will be given an attractive look this year, Shailjakant Mishra, Vice Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Braj Tirth Vikas Parishad told PTI. To facilitate the ever-increasing domestic as well as international tourists, the two-day attraction which takes place in Barsana, has been extended to six days with the addition of Mathura as a host, he said. Traditionally, the festival was celebrated for two days in Barsana near Mathura. "The entire area of Lathamaar Holi, including the attires of its participants would be given an attractive look," Mishra added. Celebrated a few days before Holi, Lathamar means playing with sticks. In the festival, men folk try to smear colour women who traditionally protect themselves with lathis or sticks. A meeting to finalise the proposals was attended by senior officers of the state government on Tuesday evening. The first phase of the celebrations will be held in Barsana over a period of two days on March 14 and 15 beginning with Laddu Holi. It will be followed by a colourful procession depicting different varieties of Holi of Brajbhumi accompanied by bands etc. starting from Rangili Mahal and passing through the main streets of the town, Mishra said. The remaining four days of festivities will take place in Mathura between March 16 and 19. Since Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath may not attend the Rangotsava this year, due to declaration of Lok Sabha election schedule, Governor Ram Naik has been invited for the function, he said. The winners of Radha Krishna sajsajja competition (children dressed as Radha-Krishna), Jal and Gobar Sanjhi (artistic impressions on water and using cowdung) competition would be rewarded, Mishra said, adding that children of foreign nationals too will participate in the competition. The temples of Barsana and Nandgaon would be decked up on the occasion and efforts will be made to reduce traffic congestion, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An IAF pilot is "missing in action" and a Pakistani fighter jet has been shot down, New Delhi said on Wednesday as fears of war darkened India-Pakistan relations with Islamabad launching retaliatory strikes and claiming it has arrested two Indian pilots in its territory. In Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan tried to defuse the tensions by saying that war is futlie and can lead to unknown consequences while making an oblique reference to the nuclear weapons that both countries possess. A day after India bombed Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Pakistan, it was a morning of developments moving with dizzying rapidity. Islamabad claimed it hit back at India by bringing down two Indian military aircraft, one of which crashed in Pakistan occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. Officials here said a Pakistani Air Force F-16 fighter jet was shot down by Indian air defence forces in Jammu region's Rajouri sector. During the encounter, a MiG 21 was lost and the pilot was missing. As tension mounted, the entire airspace north of New Delhi was briefly "vacated". Nine airports in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab were closed for civilian traffic for some part of the morning but opened later in the day. Jammu and Kashmir was the centre of much of the action on a day of escalating tensions between the two neighbours. An IAF helicopter crashed in Budgam in Kashmir, killing at least five people. One of the deceased persons was identified as Kifayat Hussain Ganaie, a local resident, while the identity of other four -- believed to be IAF personnel -- is being ascertained, they said. There was no direct established link with the activity by Pakistani jets, but for many it was just a sign of the disturbed times. There was also nightlong heavy firing and shelling on forward and civilian areas from across the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch with the Army and the Border Security Force being put on the highest degree of alertness. All residents of the border areas were asked to remain inside their homes and not venture outside. While the government and the defence establishment took stock of the situation, building up since the February 14 attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama in which 40 soldiers were killed, attention swivelled on the missing IAF pilot in enemy territory who was neither named nor his designation disclosed. In a terse press statement, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, accompanied by Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor, said details are being ascertained about Pakistan's claim of having captured one Indian pilot. Officials said Pakistani fighter jets violated Indian air space in Jammu region's Poonch and Rajouri sectors but were pushed back by Indian aircraft. The jets dropped bombs while returning but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, they said. "Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistan's attempts were foiled successfully," Kumar said. He said the Pakistan Air Force activity was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. "In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. "In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," he said. In Islamabad, the Pakistan Army released a 46-second video showing a blindfolded man claiming he is IAF's Wing Commander Abhinandan. "I am an IAF officer. My service No is 27981," the man is seen as saying in the video. The veracity of the video could not be ascertained. Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor claimed that two IAF pilots were arrested. One pilot is injured and has been shifted to a hospital, while another one is unhurt, he added, showing documents of the arrested pilots but identifying only one. Till late afternoon, India's political leaders, both in government and in the opposition, were mostly quiet. In a live television broadcast, Pakistan's leader Imran Khan also reiterated the military's claim that two Indian MIGs were shot down, as he offered to defuse tensions and resolve the issues through talks. He said the Pakistani incursion into the Indian air space was "only intended to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same." Two Indian MiGs were shot down in the ensuing action, Khan said, one day after Indian government sources said up to 350 JeM terrorists were killed in Tuesday's attack. There was no official confirmation of the claim. "I ask India: with the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this (situation) escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's," Khan said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An IAF pilot was in Pakistani custody and a Pakistani fighter jet was shot down on Wednesday as fears of war darkened India-Pakistan relations with the Air Force repulsing retaliatory attacks from the western neighbour. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan tried to defuse the tension by saying war is futile and can lead to unknown consequences while making an oblique reference to the nuclear weapons that both countries possess. The Pakistan Army retracted its earlier statement that two Indian Air Force pilots were arrested and in the evening said it had "only one" pilot in its custody. "There is only one pilot under Pakistan Army's custody. Wing Comd Abhi Nandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics," Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said in the evening. IAF sources identified him as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. A day after India bombed Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Pakistan, it was a morning of developments moving with dizzying rapidity. Islamabad claimed it hit back at India by bringing down two Indian military aircraft, one of which crashed in Pakistan occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. Officials here said a Pakistani Air Force F-16 fighter jet was shot down by Indian air defence forces in Jammu region's Rajouri sector. During the encounter, a MiG 21 was lost and the pilot was missing. As tension mounted, the entire airspace north of New Delhi was briefly "vacated". Nine airports in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab were closed for civilian traffic for some part of the morning but opened later in the day. Jammu and Kashmir was the centre of much of the action on a day of escalating tensions between the two neighbours. An IAF helicopter crashed in Budgam in Kashmir, killing at least five people. One of the deceased persons was identified as Kifayat Hussain Ganaie, a local resident, while the identity of other four -- believed to be IAF personnel -- is being ascertained, they said. There was no direct established link with the activity by Pakistani jets, but for many it was just a sign of the disturbed times. There was also nightlong heavy firing and shelling on forward and civilian areas from across the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch with the Army and the Border Security Force being put on the highest degree of alertness. All residents of the border areas were asked to remain inside their homes and not venture outside. While the government and the defence establishment took stock of the situation, building up since the February 14 attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama in which 40 soldiers were killed, attention swivelled on the IAF pilot in enemy territory. In a terse press statement, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, accompanied by Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor, said details are being ascertained about Pakistan's claim of having captured one Indian pilot. It was later confirmed that he was in Pakistani custody. Officials said Pakistani fighter jets violated Indian air space in Jammu region's Poonch and Rajouri sectors but were pushed back by Indian aircraft. The jets dropped bombs while returning but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, they said. "Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistan's attempts were foiled successfully," Kumar said. He said the Pakistan Air Force activity was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. "In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. "In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," he said. In Islamabad, the Pakistan Army released a 46-second video showing a blindfolded man claiming he is Abhinandan. "I am an IAF officer. My service No is 27981," the man is seen as saying in the video. The veracity of the video could not be ascertained. Till late afternoon, India's political leaders, both in government and in the opposition, were mostly quiet. In a live television broadcast, Pakistan's leader Imran Khan also reiterated the military's claim that two Indian MIGs were shot down, as he offered to defuse tensions and resolve the issues through talks. He said the Pakistani incursion into the Indian air space was "only intended to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same." Two Indian MiGs were shot down in the ensuing action, Khan said, one day after Indian government sources said up to 350 JeM terrorists were killed in Tuesday's attack. There was no official confirmation of the claim. "I ask India: with the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this (situation) escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's," Khan said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An IAF pilot was captured by Pakistan after an air combat Wednesday during which the two sides said they shot down each other's warplanes that followed an unsuccessful attempt to target Indian military installations in retaliatory strikes that sparked fears of war. The aerial engagement between India and Pakistan for the first time since the 1971 war marked a dramatic escalation of confrontation prompting world leaders to urge the two neighbouring countries to exercise "utmost restraint". India said it shot down a F-16 warplane of Pakistan while it lost a MiG 21 during the fierce engagement between the air forces of the two countries along the Line of Control(LoC). Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan sought to defuse the escalating tension by saying war is futile and can lead to unknown consequences while making an oblique reference to the nuclear weapons that both countries possess. "I ask India: with the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this (situation) escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's," Khan said in a live television broadcast, as he offered to hold talks with India to resolve issues. The Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) summoned the acting high commissioner of Pakistan Syed Haider Shah and demanded immediate and safe return of the pilot identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. It was also made clear to Pakistan that no harm should be caused to the Indian defence personnel, the ministry said, adding it has conveyed strong objection to the neighbouring country at the "vulgar display" of an injured personnel in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention. In a strongly worded statement, the MEA said the envoy was clearly told that India reserves the right to take "firm and decisive action to protect its national security". Pakistan detained the pilot following the aerial engagement in which a Pakistani jet, stated to be a F-16, was downed by Indian air defence forces in Jammu region's Rajouri sector. The IAF also lost a MiG 21 jet in the engagement, an Indian official said. Pakistan has denied losing a jet. The Pakistan Army retracted its earlier statement that two IAF pilots were arrested and in the evening said it had "only one" pilot in its custody. "There is only one pilot under Pakistan Army's custody. Wing Comd Abhi Nandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics," Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said in the evening. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was given an update on the latest security situation by the chiefs of the three armed forces following violation of Indian airspace by Pakistani fighter jets in Jammu and Kashmir and the capture of the Indian pilot across the LoC, sources said. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, senior officials of the Indian Navy, Army and the Air Force and other security officials also had a meeting to discuss the current security situation, they said. A day after India bombed Jaish-e-Mohammed's(JeM) biggest training camp in Pakistan, it was a day of hectic developments moving with dizzying rapidity. Three Pakistani fighter jets entered Indian air space at 9:58 AM to target key military installations in Rajouri and Naushera in Jammu and Kashmir, as part of the retaliatory strike, official sources said. Though three Pakistani jets violated Indian air space, the package of the aircraft deployed by Pakistan Air Force(PAF) for the operation was "significantly large" as it comprised a fleet of JF-17 and F-16 combat aircraft, the sources said. The sources said the Pakistani jets targeted Indian army's bases in Krishna Ghati and Nangi Tekri and an ammunition point in Narian. However, the bombs dropped by the Pakistani jets fell in uninhabited areas. Minutes after Pakistani jets violated Indian air space, the IAF's Combat Air Patrol (CAP), comprising MiG-21 and other jets engaged with the enemy aircraft, successfully thwarting their attempts to bomb a number of key military installations in Naushera and Rajouri, they said. Islamabad claimed it hit back at India by bringing down two Indian military aircraft, one of which crashed in Pakistan occupied Kashmir(PoK) while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. "This morning PAF (Pakistan Air Force) jets while remaining in Pakistani airspace engaged six targets across the LoC," Major General Asif Ghafoor told reporters in Islamabad. "Our pilots locked on those six targets and we struck on open places," he said, adding that it was decided that the PAF will not hit the military targets. He said some of the targets were in Bhimber galli and Naran area where the supply depots were engaged from a distance. "After the PAF strikes, 2 IAF jets entered Pakistani airspace and the PAF took them on and the two IAF were shot down. The wreckage of one (aircraft) fell inside Pakistan (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) while the second fell inside India." "Original targets were military posts and administrative facilities but we did not target those," he said. The spokesman claimed that targets engaged by the PAF were changed to avoid any loss of life. "It was not retaliation in the true sense but it was an action to show that we can retaliate. We do not want to push the region to war. We want peace." As tension mounted, the entire airspace north of New Delhi was briefly "vacated". Nine airports in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab were closed for civilian traffic for some part of the morning but opened later in the day. Jammu and Kashmir was the centre of much of the action on a day of escalating tensions between the two neighbours. There was also nightlong heavy firing and shelling on forward and civilian areas from across the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch with the Army and the Border Security Force(BSF) being put on the highest degree of alertness. All residents of the border areas were asked to remain inside their homes and not venture outside. In a terse press statement earlier in the day, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, accompanied by Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor, said, "Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistan's attempts were foiled successfully." He said the Pakistan Air Force activity was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. "In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. "In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action...." Expressing concern over the well-being of the IAF pilot, leaders of various parties said Pakistan should abide by Geneva Convention and ensure his safe return home. EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini called on India and Pakistan to show the "utmost restraint" in their escalating confrontation. British Prime Minister Theresa May also urged both the countries to exercise restraint to avoid further escalation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday expressed his anguish over the missing IAF pilot, who Pakistan claims to be in their custody. India is yet to confirm that the pilot is in the custody of Pakistan army, only stating that one pilot was missing in action. "I'm sorry to hear that one of our brave IAF pilots is missing. I hope he will return home soon, unharmed. We stand by our armed forces in these difficult times," tweeted Gandhi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sony has booked a 2021 Christmas release date for the fourth chapter in the "Hotel Transylvania" franchise. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the CG-animated picture has been green-lit and will open December 22, 2012. This is the first time the studio has gone for a date in the year-end holidays. "Hotel Transylvania 4" will clash with Universal's "Wicked" and less than a week after "Avatar 3" hits the screens on December 17. Featuring Adam Sandler as Count Dracula, the last installment, "Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation", grossed the highest USD 528.6 million following its release last July. The series consists of an ensemble cast, also led by the voices of Andy Samberg and Selena Gomez. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A chopper carrying Nepal's Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Rabindra Adhikari and five others crashed Wednesday in Taplejung district in the country, according to a media report. The Air Dynasty helicopter was carrying Adhikari as well as Ang Tsering Sherpa, a prominent aviation and hospitality entrepreneur, and Yubaraj Dahal, personal aide to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Inspector General of Nepal Police Sarbendra Khanal was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu Post. The two other passengers were Birendra Prasad Shrestha, Deputy Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, and Arjun Kumar Ghimire. The helicopter was being flown by Captain Prabhakar KC. Sherpa, managing director of Yeti Airlines, is the chairman of Air Dynasty. Moments after the chopper was reported missing, local residents in Pathibara area informed the police about a huge flame at the crash site, the daily said. Our people are about to reach the site of the crash and we will know more then, said Sarbendra Khanal, the Inspector General said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court is likely to pronounce on Thursday its verdict on TTV Dhinakaran and VK Sasikala's pleas challenging the Election Commission's (EC) decision recognising the group led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E K Palaniswami as the real AIADMK party and allotting it the 'two leaves' symbol. A bench of Justices G S Sistani and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal had on February 8 reserved its decision on the matter after hearing arguments on behalf of the EC and the two factions. The bench had said it would deliver the judgement within four weeks in view of the February 7 Supreme Court order that the EC can decide Dhinakaran's plea for an interim poll symbol, if the high court's decision does not come within four weeks. Dinakaran had floated Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) after he and Sasikala were expelled from the Palaniswami-led AIADMK. The apex court on February 7 had also vacated its order of abeyance on the high court's interim decision of March 9, 2018 directing the EC to allot a common symbol, preferably that of a 'pressure cooker', and a name to the then AIADMK (Amma) faction led by Dhinakaran. The top court had said that since the matter was pending before the high court for final adjudication, there was no just reason as to why the interim arrangement of allotting 'pressure cooker' symbol by the poll panel ought not continue. The apex court's order had come on an application filed by Dhinakaran for a direction to the EC for allocating his group a common symbol, preferably 'pressure cooker', as a by-election to fill the vacant assembly seat of Thiruvarur in Tamil Nadu had been announced and the date of polling had been fixed as January 28. Later, the by-election to Thiruvarur seat was rescinded by a notification issued by the EC on January 6. The 'pressure cooker' symbol was allotted, as an interim measure, to Dinakaran faction last year during the bypolls of the R K Nagar constituency in the state which he had won with a margin of over 40,000 votes. The EC on November 23, 2017 had allotted the 'two leaves' symbol to the group headed by Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam. The EC in March 2017 had given the 'hat' symbol to the Sasikala-Dhinakaran group after it froze the use of the 'two-leaves' symbol to which the group led by Palaniswami and Panneerselvam had also staked claim. The Palaniswami-Panneerselvam faction had at the same time been granted the 'electric pole' symbol. However, on November 23, 2017, the poll panel had ruled in favour of the Palaniswami-Panneerselvam faction by allotting the 'two-leaves' symbol to them. The symbol issue has been lingering since April 2017 in the aftermath of the announcement of the by-poll to Radha Krishnan Nagar constituency in Tamil Nadu following the death of AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa in December 2016. Earlier, rival factions led by Sasikala and Panneerselvam had staked claim over the symbol. Palaniswami was then in the Sasikala camp. Later, a large number of legislators led by Palaniswami revolted against Sasikala. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court is likely to pronounce on Thursday its verdict on a plea by National Herald publisher AJL challenging a single judge order to vacate the premises here. A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao had reserved its decision on February 18 after hearing arguments of the Centre and Associated Journals Ltd (AJL). During the arguments earlier, AJL, represented by senior advocate Abhishek M Singhvi, had said that transfer of the company's majority shares to Young India (YI) would not make Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi the owners of the Herald building here. He also contended that the Centre never raised the issue of lack of printing activity at the Herald building prior to June 2018, by when publishing of some of its online editions had already commenced. The Centre, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, had argued that in the manner the shares were transferred, the court needs to "pierce the corporate veil" of AJL to see who owns the premises -- Herald House -- leased to it for running a printing press. The government had contended that the land in question was allocated to AJL on lease for printing press and this "dominant purpose" was stopped several years ago. AJL has appealed against the single judge's December 21, 2018 order that directed it to vacate the premises at ITO within two weeks, after which eviction proceedings under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, would be initiated. The single judge had also said that by transfer of AJL's 99 per cent shares to YI, the beneficial interest of AJL's property worth Rs 413.40 crore stands "clandestinely" transferred to YI. In its order, the single judge had said that AJL has been "hijacked" by YI, in which the Gandhis are shareholders. The Centre had contended before the court that transfer of 99 per cent stake in AJL to YI, which bought over the Rs 90 crore debt for a consideration of Rs 50 lakh, led to a "virtual" sale of the Herald building at ITO. The December order had come on AJL's plea challenging the Centre's order to vacate the building. The Centre had ended its 56-year-old lease and asked AJL to vacate the premises, saying no printing or publishing activity was going on and the building was being used only for commercial purposes. The L&DO had ended the lease - entered into with AJL on August 2, 1962 and made perpetual on January 10, 1967 - asking the company to hand over the possession by November 15, 2018. In its plea, AJL has also said the digital versions of English newspaper National Herald, Hindi's Navjivan and Urdu's Qaumi Awaz have commenced from 2016-17. The weekly newspaper 'National Herald on Sunday' resumed on September 24, 2017, and the place of publication was the ITO premises, AJL said, adding that the Hindi weekly newspaper Sunday Navjivan was being published since October last year from the same premises. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the Centre's response on the plea of controversial meat exporter Moin Qureshi's daughter for grant of an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card. Justice Vibhu Bakhru, while issuing notice to the ministries of Home Affairs and External Affairs and the Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO), said that Qureshi's daughter appeared to be entitled for an OCI card according to the provisions of the Citizenship Act. Pernia Qureshi, who is a US citizen, has contended in her plea that she had applied for an OCI card in 2017 after the Indian government in January 2015 had issued a notification which said that all existing PIO card holders shall be deemed to OCI card holders. She has said in the petition that she was a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card holder since 2008 and that it was valid till 2023. However, when she came to India this year, immigration officers advised her to get an OCI card before March 31, 2019 as she would not be allowed to enter the country on the basis of her PIO card after that, the petition said and added that she had sent an email to FRRO to help her but has not received any response. Central government standing counsel Anurag Ahluwalia, who appeared for the ministries, told the court that the petitioner was a Pakistani citizen prior to becoming a US citizen and therefore, according to the Citizenship Act she was ineligible for an OCI card. The court, however, disagreed with the submission, saying that she cannot be denied an OCI card by an executive decision when there was no such bar under the legislation. It asked the Ahluwalia to file an affidavit indicating the government's stand on the issue and listed the matter for further hearing on March 15. Pernia's farther, Moin Qureshi, is facing prosecution in various cases lodged against him by the CBI, ED and the Income Tax department. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) There has to be a "change in attitude" of public insurance companies that do not insure people disabled since birth on the ground that they are suffer from congenital anomalies, the Delhi High Court said Wednesday. "You have to change your attitude. You are in the public sector," a bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao said to the General Insurance Council (GIC) after its lawyer told the court that insuring persons with congenital anomalies was a contractual matter between a company and the individual. The observation by the court came while hearing a PIL seeking directions to the Centre, the IRDAI and insurance companies to remove congenital anomalies, like external or internal abnormality in the womb, from the list of general exclusions in the health or life insurance policies. The petition, by Nipun Malhotra, has challenged the "arbitrary" and "illegal" mechanisms adopted by the IRDAI in denying the rights of Persons with Disabilities (PwD) to seek insurance cover for themselves on the ground that their conditions are categorised under the scope of "congenital anomalies", as defined under a July 29, 2016 circular by the regulator. Congenital anomalies are also known as birth defects and could be caused by single gene defects, chromosomal disorders, multifactorial inheritance, environmental teratogens and micronutrient deficiencies. During the day's hearing, advocate Jai Dehadrai, appearing for Malhotra, urged the court to pass an interim order directing the insurance companies to provide insurance cover to his client who suffers from a locomotor disability. Dehadrai said that Malhotra was in perfect health and was willing to undergo any test that is required for grant of the insurance cover. The counsel for GIC opposed grant of any interim order saying that it was a contractual matter and the high court has in the past in a similar case held that courts should not intervene in such matters. However, the bench said that the earlier high court decision was pertaining to congenital diseases and here the petitioner was in perfect health. "That was a case where a person had a congenital disease. Here the person has an anomaly. His mobility is affected. He needs a wheelchair to move around. Otherwise he is in perfect health. "You are in the public sector. When such a situation arises, you have to deal with it practically. You are a model statutory body. You have to change your attitude," the court said. It gave time to GIC and the Life Insurance Council to file their responses to the PIL and listed the matter for further hearing on May 15. Malhotra, a disability rights activist who suffers from locomotor disability from birth, has sought a direction to the IRDAI to remove the phrase 'congenital anomalies' from the standardised definition of the 2016 circulars. He has also sought direction to take a relook at the exclusionary clauses in insurance contracts and ensure that insurance companies do not reject claims on the basis of exclusions related to congenital anomalies. In his petition, he has said the effect of the circular and regulations was that PwDs found it next to impossible to seek insurance cover, when undergoing any health related complications. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Bombay High Court Wednesday directed the BMC to grant permissions to an under-construction residential society coming up near a Naval staff colony. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had denied further planning permissions to the society on the ground that it was being constructed near the Naval establishment in suburban Kanjurmarg. Heritage Lifestyles and Developers, which is constructing the Tirandaz Subha Niketan Society, had moved the HC against stop-work notices issued by the BMC. It said the civic body declined it permissions after the Chief of the Naval Staff refused to give NOC on the ground that no construction can be allowed within 500 meters of the Navy's residential colony. A division bench of Justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre rejected this argument. The naval authorities can not raise the issue of security as it was a residential colony of their staff and several private residential buildings are already standing in the vicinity, the bench said. It directed the BMC to grant necessary permissions. Society's lawyers Milind Sathe and Saket Mone had argued that in November 2016, the corporation issued them a construction commencement certificate without informing that the Navy's NOC would be necessary. The developer constructed seven floors, after which the BMC refused to give further planning permissions, saying the Navy had objected to the construction, the lawyers said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Haryana Assembly passed 18 bills, including the one that paves the way for regularisation of services of guest teachers, on the last of its budget session on Wednesday. Introducing the Guest Teachers' Bill 2019, Minister Ram Bilas Sharma said the BJP government in the state has fulfilled the promise made in 2014 to contractual teachers that their services will be regularised. The Assembly passed the bill unanimously. The Department in 2005 had authorised heads of institutions/block officers to assess shortfall in number of teachers and engage guest faculty wherever necessary. Sharma told the House that initially, the guest teachers were engaged on a fixed remuneration on per-period-per-day basis. However, from April 4, 2009, they were engaged on yearly contract and were given a fixed remuneration. The bill was passed to provide for the validation of appointment of teachers already engaged as guest faculty and to allow them to continue to work in the department till the age of superannuation. Sharma said that while the guest teachers were hired during the previous Congress government, the matter pertaining to engaging them had reached court and later the BJP government gave an affidavit so that their services remain protected. He said that during the tenure of previous Congress government, about 22,000 guest teachers were appointed. He said the wages of guest teachers will be increased twice a year -- on January 1 and July 1. Among other Bills passed in the Assembly was the Haryana Animal (Registration, Certification and Breeding) Bill, 2019 for welfare and genetic improvement of animals. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Gold worth over Rs 40 lakh was seized from two passengers in separate incidents at the international airport here, Customs officials said Wednesday. The two had arrived from Dubai. In one incident on February 25, 925.54 gm of gold concealed as mercury-coated plates worth Rs 31.10 lakh was found in a electrical toy car in the bag of one of the passengers, officials said. In the other incident on February 24, foreign origin gold in the form of dust and paste was concealed in the rectum of anotherpassenger, they said. Gold weighing 304.92 gm worth Rs 10.30 lakh was confiscated from him, they said. Both the passengers have been arrested and investigations have begun, a press release from the Customs here said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An 18-year-old college student suffered 80 per cent burn injuries after a man allegedly threw petrol and set her ablaze irked over her rejecting his advances, police said Wednesday. The 21-year-old man, who was also studying in the same private college as that of the woman, surrendered to police later. He has been arrested, an official said. The attack reportedly happened near the Warangal Police Commissionerate Office Wednesday morning. Warangal city Police Commissioner V Raveendra said the accused was allegedly pestering the woman with his love proposal for the past six months, but she spurned him. The woman had also complained to her parents who spoke to the man's father asking him to keep his son in check. Angered by her ignoring him, the man threw petrol on the woman while she was entering the college premises and and set her ablaze, police said. The girl is undergoing treatment at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Warangal where doctors said her condition is very serious. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany Karin Christina Maria Stoll called on Lt Governor Kiran Bedi at the latter's office here Wednesday. A release from the Lt Governor's office said they discussed schemes to help the youth of Puducherry learn the German language to enable them hone their language skills. Officer on Special Duty in Raj Nivas G Theva Needhi Dhas was also present during the discussions. The envoy had met the Chief Minister V Narayanasamy earlier at his office and official sources said it was a courtesy call. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rafael Nadal powered into the second rounds at the Mexican Open, breezing past Germany's Mischa Zverev in straight sets to advance to a meeting with Australia's Nick Kyrgios. World number two Nadal, playing in his first event since being thrashed by Novak Djokovic in last month's Australian Open final, was always in control during a 6-3, 6-3 victory. The 17-time Grand Slam champion completed victory in 1hr 20min at Acapulco's Princess Mundo Imperial venue, defeating his 76th ranked opponent with ease. The tournament top seed seized the advantage in the opening set, scoring a break to go 3-1 ahead with a delicate lob that left Zverev floundering. With Nadal's superior variety proving too much for Zverev, the Spaniard quickly wrapped up the opening set for a 1-0 lead. The second set went with serve until the seventh game, when a wild forehand from Zverev sailed wide to give Nadal the break for a 4-3 lead. Zverev's hung his head following the miscue, seemingly realising there was no way back. Nadal then held for a 5-3 lead and wrapped up victory in the ninth game, moving to match point when Zverev could only plop a return tamely into the net. Nadal then produced a sublime backhand winner down the line to seal a deserved win. Elsewhere Tuesday, Zverev's younger brother Alex had little difficulty in advancing to the second round, defeating Australia's Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-3. Second seed Zverev's service game overwhelmed Popyrin, with the German hammering down 13 aces en route to victory. Australia's Kyrgios meanwhile was made to work hard for victory in his win over Italy's Andreas Seppi, battling into the second round with a 6-3, 7-5 win. Third seed John Isner of the United States also had a testing opening game, needing three sets to subdue France's Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) France is working on a proposal to ban the chief of the UN-proscribed Jaish-e Muhammad (JeM) Masood Azhar and could move it in the Sanctions Committee after it assumes the Presidency of the powerful UN Security Council next month, sources said. The rotating monthly Presidency of the 15-nation UN Security Council (UNSC) will go from Equatorial Guinea to France on March 1. France, a permanent member of the Council with veto powers, is working on the proposal (to ban Azhar) and it should be ready soon, informed sources told PTI, adding that the proposal against the JeM chief could perhaps be moved in the Sanctions Committee under the French presidency. "France is focussed on bringing individual listing requests of JeM terrorists to the 1267 Sanctions Committee soon," they said. The Pakistan-based JeM claimed the responsibility of the heinous suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14 in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed, sparking outrage in India. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action. The facility at Balakot was headed by Yousuf Azhar, the brother-in-law of the JeM chief. The proposal, when moved, will be the fourth such bid at the UN in the last 10 years to list Azhar as a global terrorist. In 2009, India had moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar. This was followed in 2016 when India moved the proposal with the P3 - the United States, the United Kingdom and France - in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the air base in Pathankot in January, 2016. In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, on all occasions China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UNSC, blocked the proposal from being adopted by the Sanctions Committee. It remains to be seen how China will vote on the proposal this time, following a crucial bilateral meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wuzhen, where she is participating in the Russia, India, China (RIC) Foreign Ministers meeting. Swaraj on Wednesday raised the Pulwama suicide attack in her meeting with her Chinese counterpart, a day after India destroyed a major JeM terror training camp in Pakistan. Stating that the JeM is banned by the UN and other countries, Swaraj told Wang that "this terrorist attack is the direct result of the impunity and cover provided to the JeM and its leaders by the Pakistani side". "After the Pulwama attack the entire UN has spoken with full voice to condemn it," she said. The French Presidency of the UNSC comes after the 15-nation UN organ under the presidency of Equatorial Guinea had issued a highly significant press statement strongly condemning the Pulwama terror attack. China had to sign off on the February 21 UNSC press statement that "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". On the UNSC press statement condemning the Pulwama attack, a UN diplomat here said that what moved the Security Council was that "this is an issue that all the members speak with one voice in the fight against terrorism. Whenever there is an act of terrorism, any where no matter who perpetrates it, it receives the condemnation of not only of the Security Council but of all the international community." The UNSC press statement was seen not only as a strong condemnation of terror against India but also of international solidarity with New Delhi on its fight against terrorism. China's lone opposition in the UNSC to any mention of terrorism resulted in a delay of nearly one week in issuance of the press statement by the powerful body on the dastardly Pulwama terror attack, official sources had said. However, the US assiduously worked as "pen holder" making various adjustments to get the approval by all other members of the Council, they said. In a statement issued by the acting spokesperson of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of France following the air strikes by the Indian Air Force on the JeM training camp in Pakistan, France said it "stands by India in the fight against terrorism in all its forms" and "is fully engaged in mobilizing the international community to sanction the terrorists responsible for this attack and freezing their financing networks." Hours after India carried out the air strikes against the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres reiterated his "urgent appeal to both the Government of India and the Government of Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure that the situation does not further deteriorate."His spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters at the daily press briefing that the UN Chief is "obviously following this situation very closely. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) is working on a proposal to ban chief of the UN-proscribed Jaish-e Muhammad (JeM) after it assumes the Presidency of the powerful in March, sources said. The rotating monthly Presidency of the 15-nation (UNSC) will go from Equatorial Guinea to on March 1. France, a permanent member of the Council with veto powers, is working on the proposal (to ban Azhar) and it should be ready soon, informed sources told PTI, adding that the proposal against the JeM chief could perhaps be moved in the Sanctions Committee under the French presidency. " is focussed on bringing individual listing requests of JeM terrorists to the 1267 Sanctions Committee soon," they said. The Pakistan-based JeM claimed the responsibility of the heinous suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's district on February 14 in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed, sparking outrage in India. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action. The facility at Balakot was headed by Yousuf Azhar, the brother-in-law of the JeM chief. The proposal, when moved, will be the fourth such bid at the UN in the last 10 years to list Azhar as a global terrorist. In 2009, India had moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar. This was followed in 2016 when India moved the proposal with the P3 - the United States, the United Kingdom and France - in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the air base in Pathankot in January, 2016. In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, on all occasions China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UNSC, blocked the proposal from being adopted by the Sanctions Committee. It remains to be seen how China will vote on the proposal this time, following a crucial bilateral meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wuzhen, where she is participating in the Russia, India, China (RIC) Foreign Ministers meeting. Swaraj on Wednesday raised the suicide attack in her meeting with her Chinese counterpart, a day after India destroyed a major JeM terror training camp in Stating that the JeM is banned by the UN and other countries, Swaraj told Wang that "this terrorist attack is the direct result of the impunity and cover provided to the JeM and its leaders by the Pakistani side". "After the attack the entire UN has spoken with full voice to condemn it," she said. The French Presidency of the UNSC comes after the 15-nation UN organ under the presidency of Equatorial Guinea had issued a highly significant press statement strongly condemning the China had to sign off on the February 21 UNSC press statement that "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". On the UNSC press statement condemning the Pulwama attack, a UN diplomat here said that what moved the Security Council was that "this is an issue that all the members speak with one voice in the fight against Whenever there is an act of terrorism, any where no matter who perpetrates it, it receives the condemnation of not only of the Security Council but of all the international community." The UNSC press statement was seen not only as a strong condemnation of terror against India but also of international solidarity with New Delhi on its fight against China's lone opposition in the UNSC to any mention of resulted in a delay of nearly one week in issuance of the press statement by the powerful body on the dastardly Pulwama terror attack, official sources had said. However, the US assiduously worked as "pen holder" making various adjustments to get the approval by all other members of the Council, they said. In a statement issued by the acting spokesperson of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of France following the air strikes by the Indian Air Force on the JeM training camp in Pakistan, France said it "stands by India in the fight against terrorism in all its forms" and "is fully engaged in mobilizing the international community to sanction the terrorists responsible for this attack and freezing their financing networks." Hours after India carried out the air strikes against the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres reiterated his "urgent appeal to both the Government of India and the Government of to exercise maximum restraint to ensure that the situation does not further deteriorate." His spokesperson Stphane Dujarric told reporters at the daily press briefing that the UN Chief is "obviously following this situation very closely. An old four-storey building collapsed in central Delhi's Karol Bagh area Wednesday although no one was injured in the incident, police said. The incident happened two weeks after the deadly fire incident at Hotel Arpit Palace in the same area that claimed the lives of 17 people. A call about the incident was received at 8.40 am after which four vehicles, including two rescue responders, were sent to the spot, a senior official from Delhi Fire Service said. The building is located in the Dev Nagar area, a senior police officer said, adding that an investigation was underway to ascertain if there was any violation of civic norms. The area falls under the Karol Bagh Zone of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC). A case under section 336 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered, Mandeep Singh Randhawa, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central), said. Section 336 is imposed for endangering life or personal safety of others, and can attract punishment of imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to Rs 250, or both. Police said no one was injured in the incident. The ground floor of the building houses shops. However, there was no occupancy on the four floors of the building, the official said. Operations are underway to ascertain if anyone was trapped under the debris. No casualty has been reported so far, officials said. Currently, two vehicles are removing the debris, they said, adding that a Delhi Disaster Management Authority team was also on the spot. On Saturday, a portion of a dilapidated building had collapsed in Karol Bagh. Four people trapped inside the building were safely rescued, officials had said. NDMC officials could not be reached for comments despite repeated calls. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Author Fatima Bhutto, the grand daughter of former Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Wednesday asked the Imran Khan government to release an Indian Air Force pilot captured after an air combat. Pilot Abhinandan Varthaman was captured on Wednesday after he ejected safely from his MiG 21 Bison aircraft but landed across the Line of Control. India has demanded immediate and safe return of the Wing Commander Varthaman, who was and was taken into custody by Pakistani army following a fierce engagement between air forces of the two sides along the Line of Control. "I and many other young Pakistanis have called upon our country to release the captured Indian pilot as a gesture of our commitment to peace, humanity and dignity," Bhutto, 36, wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times. "We have spent a lifetime at war. I do not want to see Pakistani soldiers die. I do not want to see Indian soldiers die. We cannot be a subcontinent of orphans," said Bhutto, a writer who is also niece of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. "My generation of Pakistanis have fought for the right to speak, and we are not afraid to lend our voices to that most righteous cause: peace," said daughter of Murtaza Bhutto, son of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. She said Pakistan's recent history was bloody and no one has suffered more violence than its own citizens. "But our long history with military dictatorships and experience of terrorism and uncertainty means that my generation of Pakistanis have no tolerance, no appetite, for jingoism or war," she said. Bhutto said like her, a large section of the population was against the escalation of tensions. "I have never seen my country at peace with its neighbour. But never before have I seen a war played out between two nuclear-armed states with Twitter accounts," Bhutto said. In the afternoon on Wednesday, #saynotowar hashtag began to trend in Pakistan, before hitting the worldwide number 1 spot on Twitter. Tensions between India and Pakistan rose following the February 14 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group claimed responsibility for the attack. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. On Wednesday, Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani air space and arrested the pilot. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A father-son duo has been arrested by the customs officials for allegedly trying to smuggle out foreign currency worth Rs 68 lakh at Delhi airport, according to an official statement issue Wednesday. While the father had concealed the currency in his hand-baggage, a significant amount of forex was hidden by his son in rectum. The duo, who had arrived from Mumbai, were intercepted when they were proceeding to board a flight to Hong Kong, the statement issued by the customs said. A detailed examination of hand-baggage and personal search resulted in recovery of foreign currencies -- Euro 74,000, USD 13,000 and Hong Kong Dollar 2,400 -- equivalent to Rs 67.99 lakh, it said. "The said currency was concealed by the two passengers in their hand baggage and in the rectum," the statement said, adding that the accused have been arrested. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A pall of gloom descended on Badhani village in Jhajjar district of Haryana and in Chandigarh following the chopper crash in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday in which two IAF personnel from the two areas died. Squadron leader Siddharth Vashisht, 31, was a fourth-generation member from his family in the armed forces. His wife too is a serving squadron leader in the Indian Air Force. Siddharth, whose family had settled in Chandigarh, was commissioned in the IAF in 2010 and last month he was given commendation for his role in the rescue operation during the Kerala floods. In July last year, he was posted to Srinagar and his wife Arti was also posted there. "My son was flying this helicopter as he was the main pilot. He was inspired to join the IAF as his uncle Vineet Bharatwaj was a fighter pilot, so he also wanted to follow his foot steps. His uncle also died in a crash seventeen years ago," says Jagdish Kasal, father of Vashisht. Controlling his emotions Kasal, who served in the Army, said his son married in 2013 and has a two-year-old son, Anga. "My daughter-in-law, Arti, is also posted in Srinagar. She was on leave for a month, but the authorities told her that her leave has been cancelled and she has to report back for duty and now this came that my son is no more. Arti is coming here for the last rites," he said. Last Monday, Vashisht had come for two hours to meet his father, mother and sisters as he was on his way to Srinagar from Delhi, he said. The family, which now lives in Chandigarh, hails from Naraingarhin Haryana. Another IAF personnel, Vikrant Sehrawat, who died in the helicopter crash belonged to Badhani village in Jhajjar. A pall of gloom descended on the village as soon as the tragic of Sehrawat's demise reached there. He is survived by his wife and two children. Besides two pilots, four other on board the chopper died in the crash. A local resident also died in the crash in Budgam district of J&K. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid escalation of tensions with Pakistan, security has been stepped up along Gujarat's sea and land borders with the neighbouring country and restriction put on travel of people near them besides increasing vigil at vital installations, police officials said Wednesday. The move comes in the backdrop of India's aerial strike on terror camps in Pakistan Tuesday following the Pulwama carnage and retaliatory action by Islamabad Wednesday. All civil works near the border were suspended and police personnel deployed in large numbers at all vital installations in the border districts, they said. "In normal times, people are allowed to go up to the Kutch border with Pakistan after getting permission of the BSF as the border falls in the Rann of Kutch guarded by it. "But now defence forces have stopped giving permission to cross India Bridge, from where visitors were allowed to go near the border," the officials said. All civil works near the border have been suspended and workers told to leave the area, they said. Commandos of the state police's Quick Response Team (QRT) have been deployed at vital installations in the border districts, they said. Gujarat shares 512-km land border with Pakistan. Patan, Banaskantha and Kutch districts, which share land border with Pakistan, have been put on high alert. Besides more than half a dozen Gujarat districts share sea border with Pakistan. These include Kutch, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Amreli, Bhavnagar and Bharuch. The officials said the police have asked residents of villages located near the border to report any suspicious movement. IG (Border Range) D B Vaghela said they have laid out a definite plan for internal security along the sea and land borders. "We have rolled out a definite plan of internal security of sea border as well as land border. The border is being secured by our armed forces. "Our focus is on internal security. We are working to ensure no disturbance takes place in border regions during the ongoing tension," Vaghela told PTI. "We have secured around 20 vital installations in districts along the sea border. We have been holding meetings with the local people. "We held one such meeting with villagers in Naliya (Kutch district) today," the IPS officer said. "We have increased security along the entire land border area also," Vaghela said. Range IG ofBhavnagar Ashok Yadav said round-the-clock patrolling is being carried out in the sea. Costal districts of Bhavnagar and Amreli fall under his range. "We have told fishermen to immediately report any suspicious movement. Patrolling is going on round-the-clock," he said. Gujarat has vital industrial installations like Kandla and Mundra ports, oil refineries, LPG and LNG terminals in the coastal districts. Fishermen who venture into the sea have been told not to go near the International Maritime Boundary with Pakistan, the officials said. They have also been asked to report any suspicious movement to the police, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two-time former world champion Fernando Alonso will continue to work with McLaren as an ambassador and a car tester for the next two years after retiring from Formula 1 in November, the manufacturer announced on Wednesday. The Spaniard, a winner in 2005 and 2006 raced for the Woking-based constructor in 2007 and between 2015-2018 but will keep racing at the Indianapolis 500 this year looking to secure motorsport's Triple Crown having already won a Monaco Grand Prix and a Le Mans 24. "I said before I stopped racing in Formula 1 last year that I see myself with McLaren for a long-time to come, so I am delighted at this new role and the ability to stay closely involved with the team I feel is my spiritual home" 37-year-old Alonso said in a statement. "For any race team, having someone of Fernando's class on hand to provide support through his experience is of huge value," McLaren's chief executive Zak Brown said. "His insights and perspective will be welcomed by both our drivers and engineers alike, while his stature and character remain highly appealing to our partners and fans," Brown added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) European and US stock markets fell Wednesday with sentiment dented by heightened geopolitical worries, dealers said. An Asian market rally ran out of steam after Pakistan said it had shot down two Indian jets in its airspace in Kashmir, fuelling concerns of conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals. London equities fell 0.7 per cent in afternoon trading, owing to a strong pound, which extended gains on receding fears of a no-deal Brexit. In the eurozone, Frankfurt dropped 0.3 per cent and Paris slid 0.2 per cent. Wall Street also opened lower, with the Dow dipping 0.2 percent in the first minute of trading. "Rising geopolitical tensions dominates trading, sending global equities... lower as India clashes with Pakistan," said Oanda analyst Dean Popplewell. Trading floors were shaken in Asia by a statement from the Pakistan Air Force that it had downed two Indian planes and arrested one of the pilots. New Delhi confirmed the loss of one of its planes and said it had shot down a Pakistani fighter jet. While both sides have sought to play down the threat of war, the rare aerial engagement over the divided and disputed territory of Kashmir significantly raises the stakes in a standoff sparked by a suicide attack on the Indian-controlled side earlier this month. The developments came a day after warplanes struck a site in Pakistan that New Delhi said was a militant training camp, in retaliation for a February 14 suicide bombing in the disputed region that killed 40 Indian troops. Meanwhile, investors remain on tenterhooks over US President Donald Trump's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. And there remains lingering uncertainty over the long-running trade dispute between Beijing and Washington. "Equity markets are in the red ... as geopolitics is playing on traders' minds," said CMC Markets analyst David Madden. In addition to the Trump-Kim meeting, investors are still watching for any movement towards resolving the US-China trade spat. "We heard this week that tariffs on Chinese imports won't be hiked in March, but the trade dispute still needs to be finalised, and we are still a long way from the end result," said Madden. On currency markets, hopes that Britain will not leave the European Union without a divorce pact in place provided more support to the pound. Sterling had already surged Tuesday on Prime Minister Theresa May's decision to let MPs vote on a three-month delay to the March 29 Brexit deadline if she is unable to ram through her own deal. The UK retail sector was also in the spotlight after Marks and Spencer revealed it would team up with online supermarket Ocado to deliver M&S food direct to homes. But M&S shares dived 10.6 per cent to 270.8 pence after saying it would slash its dividend -- and raise up to 600 million pound from a rights issue to help fund the deal. On the upside, Ocado shares jumped 2.2 per cent to 1,012 pence. Shares in Air France-KLM tumbled 10.6 per cent to 11.38 euros after Paris reacted bitterly to a move by the Dutch government to take a stake in the airline equal to that held by the French government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A case has been registered against a Kanpur-based firm by the DRI for importing edible oils worth over Rs 110 crore, violating the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement and its promoter has been arrested, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday. If edible oils are imported from other than SAFTA countries, it attracts basic customs duty of 54 per cent along with social welfare surcharge (SWS) of 10 per cent, apart from the applicable IGST. However, if imported from SAFTA countries -- Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, basic customs duty and SWS are exempted. An intelligence was developed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence's Kolkata zonal unit to the effect that a syndicate of rogue importing firms are engaged in importing of edible oils -- refined palmolein, palm oil and soyabean oil -- by routing it through Bangladesh through different land customs stations (LCSs) of West Bengal, by misusing the SAFTA agreement with an intent to evade customs duty, the statement said. "During the course of investigation, one of the major importing firms, namely, M/s Kanpur Edibles Pvt Ltd, of Kanpur has been found to have imported 17365.81 MTs of refined Palmolien, cumulatively valued at Rs 116.04 crore from Gojadanga LCS, Mahadipur LCS and Petrapol LCS of West Bengal," it said. Seven consignments containing 771.935 MT of imported refined palmolien, cumulatively valued at Rs 4.55 crore have been seized, the DRI said in the statement. The total duty evasion of consignments imported in the past is around Rs 45.62 crore, the statement said. Investigation revealed that M/s Kanpur Edibles Pvt Ltd, had hatched a conspiracy to avail the benefit of exemption of duty under SAFTA rules which it was otherwise not eligible, it said. "As such, Sunil Kumar Gupta, Director and main operator of M/s Kanpur Edibles Pvt Ltd, has been arrested on February 25, 2019, in Kanpur," the DRI said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As Chinese telecom gear makers face heat globally over alleged security risks, Department of Telecom (DoT) Wednesday said it will "carefully" study the issue on which many countries have raised concerns. The comments come at a time when developed markets like the US, Australia and New Zealand have taken a position against the use of equipment by Chinese vendors, particularly Huawei. "(Many countries) have expressed security concerns, so India will also have to study it very carefully," Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan told reporters here on the sidelines of the launch of India's first indigenous semiconductor chips by Signalchip. Telecom operators are keenly monitoring the developments in the space, following the dispute between the US and China's Huawei that is among the world's largest telecom equipment makers. The US has alleged that Chinese equipment could pose security risks involving eavesdropping on global internet traffic. However, not all nations are convinced and Germany has said it is not ready to block Huawei from its 5G network. India's largest telecom operator Vodafone Idea had recently said it will comply with the decision of the Indian government on the issue of use of communications equipment from Chinese vendors, such as Huawei. This will be done to ensure that India's strategic needs and security are fully looked after, Vodafone Idea Chief Technology Officer Vishant Vora had said last week. On Tuesday, telecom czar Sunil Bharti Mittal had also stated that his company is tracking the developments closely, although it doesn't "see any alarm bells ringing" just yet. "In the end, Huawei is a big player in the telecom space. They have gone through rough patch with the US. Europe has largely taken decision that they will continue using Huawei. We are tracking this space very closely," Mittal had said. On the issue of 5G trials, Sundararajan Wednesday said a committee has been set up to come up with a framework for the said trials. "So it (committee) will have to look at several things. It will have to define what will be the size of the trial, what will be the duration of the trial, (we) have to define lot of parameters, quantum of spectrum, how many locations, etc," she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Goa Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar Wednesday urged tourists not to consume drugs in the state, but instead drink 'feni', a popular liquor made locally from cashew fruit. The minister made the statement while addressing a press conference here. "We have taken precautions that drugs is not introduced in the electronic dance music (EDM) festivals," the minister said in response to a query on the rampant sale of drugs at the EDM events. He said he had instructed the police that there should not be any chaotic situation during these festivals. "Enjoy the music, drink cashew feni, but do not indulge in drugs," Ajgaonkar said. The minister said the tourism department treats the tourists with dignity, but if they violate the law of the land, they would be dealt with strictly. Ajgaonkar said his department has rolled up its sleeves to implement the recently-amended Goa Tourist Place Protection and Maintenance Act, which bans drinking in places like beaches. He said if anyone is found drinking on the beaches, a fine of Rs 2,000 would be imposed on him, while groups will have to pay Rs 10,000 for the same offence. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The cross-LoC trade between J&K and continued Wednesday amid the escalating Indo-Pak tension with 50 goods-laden trucks crossing the a day after the IAF jet fighters bombed a JeM terror facility at Balakot in Pakistan, said officials. The cross-LoC trade via Chakan-da-Bagh Wednesday saw 50 goods laden trucks crossing the LoC, custodian Fareed Kohli of the LoC trade centre at told PTI. He said while 34 Indian goods trucks went to PoK, 16 trucks arrived here from the other side. The cross-LoC trade takes place between the two sides four days a week from Tuesday to Friday. A similar number of goods trucks, 35 Indian and 15 of PoK, had crossed the LoC Tuesday when the weekly trade resumed. A Air Force fighter jet was shot down by Indian air defence forces in Rajouri sector of region on Wednesday morning after it violated the Indian air space and dropped bombs at a few places near the LoC. The PAF fighter jet breached Indian air space after intense shelling all along the LoC in the twin districts of and Rajouri along with parts of on late Tuesday. While five Pakistani posts were damaged in retaliatory action by the Indian Army, whose five personnel were injured in Akhnoor sector of district in skirmishes. The intense shelling caused scare among the border residents who have been directed by authorities to stay back at their homes. The people at some places, including Mandi in district, however, were seen moving to safer places amid the rising tension which also forced authorities to close down all educational institutions within five kilometer from the LoC as a precautionary measure, officials said. The weekly bus-service between Poonch and Rawalakot (PoK), which had been suspended on February 18 following the Pulwama terror attack on February 14, had also resumed Monday with 17 passengers availing the facility. Billed as the biggest confidence-building measure, the bus service had been started on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route in region on April 7, 2005 and the Poonch-Rawalakot route in Jammu region on June 20, 2006, to facilitate easier trade and travel between divided families of and the The trade, which works on the barter system between the divided parts of the state had started in October 2008. CPI and CPI(M) leaders are meeting here March 2 to hold discussions on electoral alliance for Lok Sabha poll in Telangana, with the Left parties also expecting Jana Sena of Pawan Kalyan to join forces with them later. The CPI and CPI(M) had gone separate ways in the December 7, 2018 Assembly elections in Telangana. The CPI was part of the Congress-led 'Prajakutami' (People's Front) which also had the Telugu Desam Party and the Telangana Jana Samiti, while CPI(M) had fought under the Bahujan Left Front (BLF) banner that had some smaller parties. The Left parties say they have a strong base in four Lok Sabha constituencies -- Nalgonda, Bhuvanagiri, Mahabubabad and Khammam, and sources said the CPI and CPI(M) may contest two seats each. According to CPI(M) sources, some partners of the BLF are also likely to be part of the proposed alliance. State Secretary of CPI(M), Tammineni Veerabhadram noted that the Jana Sena, headed by actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan, is already working together with the Left parties in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. "Jana Sena will come. We are expecting Jana Sena (to join the proposed Left alliance in Telangana for Lok Sabha elections)," Veerabhadram told PTI. The Congress has decided to go it alone and contest all the 17 seats in Telangana, party sources said. The party has decided to seek the support of 'Prajakutami' partners in the Lok Sabha elections due by May. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A couple has been booked for allegedly duping a city-based doctor of over Rs 2 crore on the promise of helping him set up a hospital in Dubai, police said on Wednesday. The accused came to the victim, who runs an in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) centre in Thane city of Maharashtra, for some medical treatment in 2015-16. Due their interactions, the couple promised to help the doctor in setting up an IVF centre in Dubai and allegedly took Rs 2.15 crore from him, a Thane police spokesperson said. An estimated expenditure plan of Rs 3 crore was drawn for the project and the accused held several meetings with the victim till 2018 and also visited Dubai. The victim alleged that he made payments to the accused for interiors and other works to set up the hospital. However, when he went to Dubai last year, he came to know that the accused had not paid the money to the local agent to start the work, the police official said. Based on his complaint filed on Tuesday, the Vartak Nagar police here registered offences against the couple under IPC sections 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach of trust). No arrest has been made so far, the police said, adding that a probe was underway in the matter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) / -- Convergent Finance LLP ('Convergent') joins hands with Hindustan Foods Limited ('Hindustan Foods'), India's foremost contract manufacturer for the FMCG industry, by leading an investment aggregating INR 1,540 million for a significant minority stake of between 20% and 26% (on a fully converted basis). Customary closing conditions, including approval of shareholders will apply. Hindustan Foods manufactures a range of products with expertise in food and non-food, extending to cosmetics, personal care and home care products. With factories across six locations, Hindustan Foods offers reliable, pan-India contract manufacturing services to top FMCG customers who are looking to minimize cost while maximizing product quality in the post-GST environment. The Company was founded in 1988, went public in 1989 and has been under the current management since 2013. Sameer Kothari, MD of Hindustan Foods, welcomed this investment by saying, "We are most excited to have Convergent as our partner. The Convergent team has deep expertise in adding value through M&A and notably bolt-on acquisitions, which is the need of the hour in the contract manufacturing sector. We will also benefit greatly by their global network of relationships, strategic insights and operational expertise. We will use the proceeds of the investment to expand capacities to serve customers, thus creating value for all stakeholders." Sarvjit Singh Bedi, Partner of Convergent, commented, "We have been very impressed with the Company's performance under Sameer's leadership. Hindustan Foods is very well placed to continue leveraging India's consumption story." "This is our first investment after founding Convergent and we are delighted to partner with Hindustan Foods. We have a track record of working with great companies to help transform them into global leaders. We view Hindustan Foods as an excellent platform and look forward to working with them to expand their business both organically and inorganically," said Harsha Raghavan, Managing Partner of Convergent. About Hindustan Foods Hindustan Foods was established in 1988, with the objective of manufacturing nutritional food products. In 2013, the current promoters bought a controlling stake in Hindustan Foods and since then the company has diversified across various FMCG categories with manufacturing competencies in food and non-food, extending to cosmetics, personal care and home care products. It intends to continue leveraging the India's consumption story through organic and inorganic expansion. About Convergent Finance LLP Convergent Finance LLP is an investment partnership at the forefront of bringing together Ideas, Capital and passionate Entrepreneurs. The Convergent investment process involves identifying proprietary platform and bolt-on opportunities, speed of execution and a relentless focus on performance improvement. The Convergent value investing approach believes in paying fair and reasonable valuations through bilaterally negotiated transactions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Estranged BJP leader Yashwant Sinha Wednesday lamented at the decimation of Constitutional institutions like the Supreme Court, national investigative agency CBI, RBI, and Election Commission among others under the Modi regime. He was more critical of the way how Prime Minister Narendra Modi has used the occasion of the National War Memorial dedication earlier this week to drive political mileage and sought to credit his party for the memorial. Given this background Sinha, who has filed a petition seeking a CBI probe into the controversial Rafale jet deal on which the main Opposition Congress has alleged massive corruption to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore and personally blamed Modi, also called upon the civil society to be more vigilant and responsive in taking on the current dispensation. On the unceremonious way the last CBI chief Alok Verma was shunted out by the Modi government, the former finance minister said, "it is with a degree of sorrow I say that in this whole episode, I don't think the highest court of the land has covered itself with glory". Addressing an Asia Society event late evening, he also called for more institutionalised mechanism to select the heads of constitutionally mandated national institutions. "There is no reason why we should not have a high power panel to select the Chief Election Commissioner and other members of the EC instead of leaving it to the executive of the day. Even judicial appointment should not be left entirely to just one institution. We should have an in dependent body to select the judges as well," he said. "Given the compromises which have crept in, we need to do it sooner than later. Otherwise, we will continue with the present situation and the things are not going to improve," Sinha warned. Stating that there are various other issues on which the conventions of the Constitution, which have been established over the last seven decades, they have been violated with impunity by this government. Flaying Modi for the politicizing the National War Memorial at India Gate, he said, "can you imagine the Prime Minister going to inaugurate the War Memorial and uses that occasion for petty This has happened and how many of us are questioning this?" Flaying Modi for talking domestic in foreign soils, he said, "there was a very healthy rule that we will not talk domestic on foreign soil. But does anyone cares it now? "There is a very healthy rule that no policy statement will be made outside Parliament when Parliament is in session. But are we observing that rule? We have all accepted all these as if nothing has happened. This is where the danger lies," Sinha cautioned. Stating that the Supreme Court is compromised of late, he said, "an apex court judge retires one day and the next day says the CJI was under pressure. Now, the highest court of the land is compromised...Still it's business as usual for the civil society. It is very sad." There are various areas where as citizens of a free democracy must assert their rights to tell the government of the day where they are wrong and where they must get off, Sinha said. Addressing the same event, former Sebi chairman M Damodaran said think civil society needs to frame issues better. We need to recognise that all problems won't be solved overnight so we need to prioritise the sequence, frame the issues and approach them right. He also said today institutions have lost self respect as they function as if they are attached of subordinate offices. This way our institutions have destroyed themselves. They don't recognise when they hit the self destruct button. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress has asked ailing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to respond to his cabinet colleague Nilesh Cabral's statement that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report on illegal mining was a "political stunt". In 2012, Parrikar who was then the Leader of Opposition, chaired the PAC constituted by the Goa Assembly on mining. A report submitted by the PAC had pointed out irregularities in the mining industry, after which the Supreme Court appointed M B Shah Commission to conduct inquiry. The report had also named the then Chief Minister Digambar Kamat as one of the accused in illegal mining that took place between 2005 and 2012. Talking to reporters in Goa on Wednesday, All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary A Chellakuar asked Parrikar to come clean on the findings of the report. Cabral, who is a BJP MLA and state Power Minister, had recently said during a TV debate that the PAC report tabled by Parrikar was a "political stunt". However, he had later claimed that he meant to say "stand" and not "stunt". Chellakumar said, "On behalf of the Congress party, we request the CM, who is the propagator of Rs 35,000 crore figure of illegal mining, to respond to the statement of your own minister (Cabral). If you were right, then give a reply." He said the Congress is "very clean" and "not scared" of the allegations of illegal mining levelled against it. The Congress leader claimed that Parrikar, during his stint as the LoP, had tried to create a "mirage" before the people and branded the Congress as a corrupt party. With his own agenda, Parrikar succeeded in winning over power during the 2012 Assembly election, he added. "But the fact is that today his own cabinet minister openly said that it was a political stunt. The mining scam was totally a political stunt," Chellakumar said. He said that the findings of the Shah Commission, which had pegged the illegal mining in Goa to the tune of Rs 35,000 crore, were based on the PAC report. The Congress leader also alleged that BJP had misled the people and the country for their "short-term political gains". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress on Wednesday postponed its working committee meeting slated in Ahmedabad on Thursday in view of the security situation prevailing on the border. "In view of the prevailing security situation, the Congress leadership has decided to postpone its meeting of the working committee slated to be held in Ahmedabad on Thursday," Congress' Chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said. He also said Congress president Rahul Gandhi has postponed his public meetings in Ahmedabad as well. The party top brass was expected to attend the meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision making body of the party. Gandhi was to later address a public meeting in Ahmedabad, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With Pakistan on Wednesday claiming that it has captured the missing pilot of the downed IAF plane, leaders of various parties expressed concern over the well-being of the officer and voiced hope that he will return soon. India has said it is ascertaining Pakistan's claim after the Pakistan Army released a 46-second video showing a blindfolded man claiming he is IAF's Wing Commander Abhinandan. "I'm sorry to hear that one of our brave IAF pilots is missing. I hope he will return home soon, unharmed. We stand by our armed forces in these difficult times," Congress President Rahul Gandhi said. DMK leader M K Stalin urged the Centre "to do everything necessary to get him safely back home at the earliest". The hashtags 'BringBackAbhinandan' and 'Abhinandan' were trending on the social media, where people were appealing for efforts for the safe return of the officer. Taking to Twitter, the leaders said their thoughts are with the family and friends of the pilot and the whole country is standing with them. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said Pakistan should treat the pilot "as you would have us treat one of your men in uniform should he be unfortunate enough to be captured on this side of the border", while AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi said Islamabad must respect its obligations under the Geneva Conventions and treat him humanely. In a joint statement, leaders of 21 parties who met here condemned the Pakistani "misadventure" and expressed their "deep concern for the safety of our missing pilot". Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the whole country "is proud of this brave son and everyone is hoping for his safe return." "We all stand united to keep our country safe and strong (sic)," the Aam Aadmi Party chief tweeted. Abdullah also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi "must suspend his political activities until the pilot is returned safely and that he had suggested the opposition parties to also put off their meeting in Delhi. "It can't be business as usual with him criss-crossing the country at tax payer expense making political speeches while our pilot is a Pakistani captive," Abdullah said in a series of tweets. Owaisi said:"Our prayers are with the brave IAF pilot & his family in this very difficult time. "Under Article 3 of Geneva Conventions every party is required to treat prisoners humanely. Pakistan must respect its obligations towards the IAF pilot, regardless of ongoing circumstances." India said Wednesday a pilot is "missing in action" after it foiled Pakistan's attempts to target military installations by using its Air Force in response to India's counter-terrorismIn a very brief press statement, MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, accompanied by Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor, said details are being ascertained about Pakistan's claim of having captured one Indian pilot. "Against this Counter Terrorism Action, Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistan's attempts were foiled successfully," Kumar said. He said the Pakistan Air Force was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. "In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. "In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," he said. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav tweeted: "I am praying for the safe return of our brave pilot. May God protect you and give you courage and strength. The nation stands with you. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Wednesday directed security forces and administrative officials in the state to remain on alert in the wake of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. There should be strict surveillance on activities in the districts along the international border in the state, Gehlot directed officials in a high-level meeting on security arrangement here. He directed top administrative officials to monitor the situation in coordination with counterparts in districts, police, Army and the BSF. The chief minister directed officials to coordinate with the Health, Transport, Food, Water and Power departments and be prepared to tackle any situation. Chief Secretary D B Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajeeva Swarup, DGP Kapil Garg, DG (home guard) O P Galhotra and DG (SOG and ATS) Bhupendra Singh were present at the meeting, besides other officials. Jaisalmer District Collector Namit Mehta said all departments have been asked to remain on alert, adding that an order has been released directing government officials to not leave the district headquarters without prior permission. Sriganganagar District Collector Shiv Prasad Madan said that an advisory was issued to the people, urging them to inform the authorities about any suspicious activity in public places or near defence establishments. BSF DIG M S Rathore said the force is on full alert. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Delhi court Wednesday sought a detailed report from Tihar Jail authorities on a plea by Christian Michel, the alleged middleman arrested in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland chopper deal, claiming he has been kept in solitary confinement in the prison. Special Judge Arvind Kumar asked the jail superintendent or a competent authority to appear before the court to respond to Michel's allegation that he was not allowed to interact with co-prisoners. "The director general (prison) shall authorise jail superintendent or some other official who is well conversant with facts to appear before the court on February 28," the court said. An assistant superintendent present in the court denied the allegation. He told the court that the British national, extradited from Dubai in December, has not been kept in solitary confinement but was in a high-security cell with all facilities provided to prisoners. He, however, failed to state the reasons why Michel has been moved to the other cell. Michel told the court that the cell in which he has been shifted remains fully illuminated 24 hours because of which he was having problems in sleeping. The plea, filed by advocate Aljo K Joseph, sought direction to Tihar Jail superintendent to treat Michel at par with other inmates and provide basic facilities during his judicial custody. On February 18, the plea claimed, the jail authorities conducted a search of Michel's cell to look for a laptop computer allegedly being used by him. It said no computer was found in the cell. However, the authorities shifted him to a high-security cell immediately after, it said. "The accused is now kept in solitary confinement in the high-security jail along with other hard-core criminals," it claimed. The plea claimed Michel's liberty has been curtailed "illegally" and his right to be treated at par with other inmates has been taken away arbitrarily. It said when Michel asked for reasons for his "solitary confinement", the jail authorities told him it was the "decision from the top" and there was "serious threat" to his life. It said the high-security cell was "pathetic" compared to the previous cell. The plea has sought direction to the authorities to return his personal belongings, including a diary containing contact details of officers of the British High Commission and documents of the case, which were taken away after the search. Michel was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on December 22 after his extradition from Dubai. On January 5, he was sent to judicial custody in connection with a money-laundering case being probed by ED. Later, he was also arrested by CBI and is lodged in judicial custody in a CBI case related to the chopper deal scam. Michel is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the scam by ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation. The others are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China called on Pakistan and India on Wednesday to "exercise restraint" and seek dialogue after Islamabad claimed it shot down two Indian warplanes in its airspace over disputed Kashmir. "We hope that both India and Pakistan can exercise restraint, take initiatives that are conducive to promoting dialogue, meet halfway and make active efforts for lasting peace and stability in South Asia," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China on Wednesday again called on India and Pakistan to exercise restraint amid the escalation of hostilities between the two countries and urged them to engage in dialogue to uphold the peace and stability in the region. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang's remarks came after Pakistan targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism in Balakot. "I understand that in the latest development Pakistan says it had shot down two Indian aircraft and captured Indian pilots," Lu Kang told the media here. He said the international community is following the developments closely. "China's position is clear. As two important countries in South Asia we hope that the two countries can exercise restraint and engage in dialogue and take actions for the peace and stability in the region," he said. China on Tuesday also urged India and Pakistan to "exercise restraint" and asked New Delhi to carry out its fight against terrorism through international cooperation, hours after Indian fighter jets struck Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest camp in Pakistan in a pre-dawn attack. The Indian action came after Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chicago is poised to elect its first black female mayor, after first-round voters narrowed a wide field of candidates vying to address rampant gun violence and other vexing problems in America's third largest city. Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle received the highest share of the votes in Tuesday's election - 17.5 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively - to advance from a wide field of 14 candidates and compete in an April run-off. Since 1837, Chicago has chosen only one other black mayor and one other female mayor. If Lightfoot wins, she would also become the city's first openly-gay mayor. "It's true that (it's) not every day that a little black girl in a low-income family from a segregated steel town makes the run-off to be the next mayor of the third-largest city in the country," Lightfoot told supporters Tuesday night. Lightfoot, who has never before held elected office, is a former federal prosecutor who headed a panel investigating the city's policing problems. Preckwinkle is currently the chief executive of Cook County in which Chicago is located. "I know how gratifying it is when our efforts bend the arc of history a little closer to justice day by day," Preckwinkle said Tuesday night. Analysts said the election results suggested voters were looking to shake up city hall with new leadership. Voters had left little doubt they want the eventual victor to tackle the disparity in living conditions among the sprawling city's diverse communities. "The top issues are who's going to take care of the entire city," Lateef Moody told AFP after voting Tuesday. Some areas, such as the tourist-magnet downtown business district, are prosperous, while many predominantly African American neighborhoods struggle with economic decay and alarming levels of gun violence. "We're seeing wealthier, college graduates move to the city for jobs. And, we're seeing people leave the South and West sides - which in many cases are predominantly African American," Laurence Msall, head of Chicago watchdog group The Civic Federation, told AFP before the results were in. More than 550 people were killed in Chicago last year -- a higher number than the combined total in America's two most populous cities, Los Angeles and New York. No candidate generated the more than 50 percent of the vote necessary to win outright. Among the candidates voters rejected was Bill Daley, a member of a political dynasty that ruled the city for a combined 43 years, and former police chief Garry McCarthy who was fired after an incendiary police shooting case in which 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was killed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Justifying the legislature's decision to provide death penalty for repeat offence of rape, the Union government Wednesday told the Bombay High Court that rape laws had been amended in 2013 to introduce a powerful deterrent against such crimes. The Centre made the submission before a bench hearing writ petitions filed by the three convicts in the Shakti Mills gangrape case here challenging the constitutional validity of the death sentence awarded to them by the trial court in 2014. Arguing on behalf of the Union, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh told the high court that the IPC Section 376, that comprise the penal provisions for the offence of rape, had been amended following much deliberation. None of the provisions introduced through the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, was unconstitutional, he noted. "An act of rape is a very serious offence for even when it is non-homicidal, it doesn't merely cause physical harm to the victim, but, it affects her soul and her personality too," Singh said. "In most instances, because of the stigma attached to the offence of rape, victims do not come forward to register a case. "Therefore, considering that it is the state's duty not just to punish, but also to prevent a crime, the new, stricter provisions governing the offence of rape were introduced in 2013," he said. Singh was arguing before the bench of justices B P Dharamadhikari and Revati Mohite-Dere that is hearing the writ petitions filed by the three convicts Vijay Jadhav, Kasim Bengali and Salim Ansari. The convicts, through their counsel Yug Chaudhry, had argued on the previous hearing that the death sentence awarded to them violated their fundamental right to life. They had also said IPC Section 376 (E), under which they had been granted the death penalty, had been introduced by the legislature in "haste" and in an arbitrary manner, without laying down the procedure under the Code of Criminal Procedure for its implementation. Singh, however, disagreed with their arguments. He said the new provisions were in consonance with legal requirements and they do not need to stand the test of constitutional rights. "Section 376 (E) does not introduce a new category of punishment, and therefore, the existing provisions governing rape laws, the death penalty, and enhanced punishment in cases of repeat offences, are adequate to govern its implementation," the ASG maintained. In April 2014, a sessions court in the city held five persons guilty in the case. One of them, Siraj Khan, was sentenced to life imprisonment. A second person, a minor, was sent to a correctional facility. Jadhav, Bengali and Ansari were awarded the death penalty under the then newly introduced section 376 (E) of the IPC since the three had also been convicted in a previous case of gangrape. The trio, however, moved the High Court soon after their conviction, challenging the constitutional validity of section 376 (E). In March 2013, following the December 2012 gangrape case in New Delhi, 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 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. The three petitioners were convicted for raping a city-based photojournalist in the premises of defunct Shakti Mills here in August 2013. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) British MPs will vote on a series of important amendments in Parliament on Wednesday in an attempt to influence the course of UK's exit from the The votes come a day after British Prime Minister buckled under pressure from within her own Cabinet to allow the House of Commons to vote on a possible delay to the March 29 deadline if her own deal fails to clear Parliament next month. While the votes on Wednesday will not be on May's withdrawal agreement, which is scheduled by March 12, they could influence some aspects of the process. Out of a total 12 amendments for alternative plans tabled by cross-party MPs, Speaker John Bercow selected five for voting to take place on Wednesday evening. It includes an amendment tabled by MP Alberto Costa which seeks to protect the rights of UK citizens in the EU, and vice versa, regardless of the outcome of UK-EU negotiations. Costa resigned as an aide to Scottish Secretary David Mundell in line with a convention that members of the government should not table amendments to government motions. UK home secretary Sajid Javid informed Parliament that the government would back that particular motion. Among the other amendments is one tabled by the Opposition Labour Party to support its alternative Brexit plan, which would include a "comprehensive customs union" and close alignment with the EU in the future. This would mean no customs checks or charges would be imposed on goods moving between the UK and the rest of Labour had announced earlier this week that if that motion fails to find the backing of Parliament, his party would move to formally back a second EU referendum "in order to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit" or no-deal outcome. Prime minister May, who has insisted that the March 29 deadline can still be met after she wins assurances from the EU on the current withdrawal agreement, criticised the Labour Party's strategy as a cynical political game which would take the UK "back to square one". "Instead, Parliament should do its duty so that our country can move forward," she said. Some pressure on May has been taken off Wednesday's amendments after she promised to hold another "meaningful vote" on her Brexit deal on March 12 and if that fails to pass, MPs will be given a vote on leaving with no deal and, if that also fails, on extending Article 50 beyond the March 29 departure deadline. This prevents an all-out revolt within her own ranks, divided along pro and anti Brexit lines. The other amendments include one tabled by Labour MP Yvette Cooper calling on the government to bring forward a motion on whether Parliament wants to seek a "short limited extension" to Article 50 if the British Prime Minister's deal is rejected and if the Parliament then rejects leaving without a deal. Cooper says her amendment would "pin down and confirm the commitment made by the Prime Minister" to hold the series of votes. A fourth amendment, tabled by Tory MP Caroline Spelman, aims to hand over the parliamentary schedule to MPs for a day so they can endorse the process laid out to the Commons this week. The Scottish National Party (SNP) and Wales' Plaid Cymru have tabled a final amendment suggesting the UK should not leave without a deal at any time, even if Article 50 is extended. Some hard Brexiteer Tory MPs are particularly worried about an extension to the Brexit deadline, as they fear this could end with May reaching out to Labour to work on a softer Brexit deal they could vote for, a second referendum or General Election resulting in a Labour victory. Theresa May's critics have accused her of "kicking the can down the road" with her latest strategy but she insists her efforts to persuade the EU to make concessions had "already begun to bear fruit". With a former UP minister and SP leader terming India's air strikes at JeM's Balakot terror camp in Pakistan as "false", BJP MLA Prateek Bhushan Singh Wednesday dubbed his claim as an act of "foolishness" and asked SP president Akhilesh Yadav to rein him in. "This statement is an act of foolishness. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav should explain how his party leader, who was also a minister in his Cabinet is making such claims aimed at maligning the country's image," Singh, an MLA from Gonda Sadar seat told PTI. SP leader Vinod Kumar alias Pandit Singh had doubted the veracity of India's air strikes Tuesday. "BJP leaders are liars. Is the surgical strike anything new? TV channels were airing it today. This (that an air strike will happen) was known for 10 days," Singh had told party workers at a programme in Gonda. "It was known for five days that they (the government) have colluded with Pakistan and decided to drop a couple of bombs on an abandoned house. And then issue a statement (to the media)," he claimed, adding the air strike was "false". The SP leader also accused the BJP of "spreading terror". "By forming government in Jammu and Kashmir with Mehbooba Mufti, they proved that they have no hesitation in joining hands with those who supported terrorism," Singh said. Attacking the SP leader, the BJP MLA said, "The way he is making such statement has certainly not gone down well in the district. This is a matter of nationalism." "We object to such statements. It's our duty to be vigilant against such elements and highlight if anyone indulges in anti-national activities by making statements or in any other way," the BJP MLA added. Indian Air Force had Tuesday bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp inside Pakistan, killing over 350 terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The swift and precise "preemptive" air strike was conducted early Tuesday, officials had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : The BJP in Kerala Wednesday accused CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan of making "anti-national" remarks against India's critical air strikes in Pakistan 's terrorist camps and demanded the immediate cancellation of the Left party's recognition. While speaking in a party function in Idukki Tuesday, Balakrishnan had allegedly said the IAF strike in Pakistan was to create a war-like situation before the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls and to sabotage the election. As the polls were round the corner, the BJP, foreseeing defeat, was trying to create communal polarisation and create hatred against Muslims, he had reportedly alleged. BJP state chief P S Sreedharan Pillai said Balakrishnan had made the remarks while global nations and other states in the country had showered praise on the IAF for its critical move. He also demanded that the CPI(M) leader withdraw his statement and tender an apology at the earliest and said the saffron party would launch state-wide protests against the alleged remarks. "While CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechuri extended all support to the forces at the all-party meeting, the Left party's state chief took an anti-national stand. Do not demoralise our force for the sake of ensuring the support of minorities," Pillai said, alleging that the CPI(M) had adopted a similar anti-national stand during the time of the freedom struggle. "So the CPI(M)'s recognition should be cancelled," the BJP leader said. However, Balakrishnan Wednesday hailed the Indian Air Force's action, saying they had carried out an "effective attack" against the terrorists to avenge the killing of the CRPF jawans in Pulwama. "The CPI(M) congratulates the force for giving a befitting reply to the terrorists," he said in Ernakulam, adding that the entire nation should stand unitedly behind the armed forces. According to him, effective steps are required to put an end to the menace of terrorism, but the previous actions of the Modi government do not give any hope. Balakrishnan, however, alleged that the BJP was using the issue for political gains and urged the people to be cautious against such moves. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Angry protesters called Cardinal George Pell a "maggot" and a "monster" Wednesday as he arrived in court, possibly for the last time as a free man, in a last-ditch push for bail while he appeals his historic conviction for child sex crimes. Once among Pope Francis' closest advisors and the most senior Catholic cleric ever convicted of child sex crimes, Pell is facing up to 50 years in prison on five charges of sexual and indecent assault on two choirboys in 1996-97. He is expected to be remanded in custody after the pre-sentencing submissions in court, but his lawyer plans to apply for bail later in the day before the Court of Appeal. A large crowd confronted the Cardinal outside the County Court of Victoria in Melbourne, with supporters of other abuse survivors jostling the 77-year-old and yelling: "You're a maggot, Pell, you rot in hell." "You're the devil. You're evil... You're a paedophile. You're a criminal. You're a monster. May you rot in hell," one protester shouted. Shortly before Wednesday's hearing, Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti announced on Twitter that Pell had been removed from his position as chief of Vatican finances, the third-most powerful position in the Church. The Vatican said earlier it had "utmost respect" for the Australian justice system following the "painful news" of Pell's conviction. The Cardinal was found guilty in December of assaulting the two choirboys in the sacristy of Melbourne's Saint Patrick's Cathedral, but the verdict was only revealed Tuesday after a second trial against him was abandoned by prosecutors, allowing a gag order to be lifted. He was due to be remanded in custody in December but that was delayed until the pre-sentencing hearing as his lawyer said he required urgent double knee surgery. Pell has already appealed the verdict and his lawyer told the court Tuesday it would be based on three grounds -- that the jury verdict was unreasonable, that an animation showing movements of people in the cathedral on the day of the alleged abuse was rejected, and that there were issues with how the jury was formed. Pell is expected to be sentenced in the next two weeks. The Court of Appeal process, which could last up to a year, will see a bench usually made up of three judges review the same evidence that the jurors were presented with in the earlier trial. Criminal law expert Jeremy Gans of the University of Melbourne told AFP the judges could question the jury's conclusions based on the fact that the case was based on only one person's -- the surviving victim's -- testimony. The other choirboy, who died of a drug overdose in 2014, had never told his parents he was abused. During the trial, the court had heard that Pell abused the two boys after catching them swigging from a bottle of sacramental wine. He exposed himself and forced one of them to perform oral sex on him, and fondled the boy's genitals while masturbating. His legal team argued the cathedral sacristy was a hive of activity following Sunday mass and "only a madman" would commit such acts after such a busy time. The Catholic Church meanwhile could face a civil suit from the father of the deceased victim, who said via his lawyer Tuesday that the cleric had "blood on his hands". He said his son, who cannot be named for legal reasons, turned to drugs as a teenager to cope with the trauma and also suffered from PTSD. "We are looking at what knowledge the Church might have had in relation to what was happening," the lawyer, Leanne McDonald, told AFP. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Twenty-one opposition parties Wednesday expressed anguish over what they alleged was "blatant politicisation" of the sacrifices of armed forces and urged the government to take nations into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity. After a meeting in the Parliament Library, the leaders of these parties issued a joint statement, expressing concern over the prevailing security situation in the country. "Anguished over blatant politicisation of sacrifices of armed forces by ruling party. Urge government to take nations into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity, integrity. "National security must transcend narrow political consideration," the joint statement said. The parties also condemned the "dastardly" Pulwama terror attack by "Pakistan-sponsored" terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed on February 14. The leaders paid homage to the soldiers killed in the attack and expressed solidarity with the Armed Forces. The statement also said that the prime minister has "regrettably" not convened an all-party meeting as per established practice. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Various airlines such as Air India, Jet Airways, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines Wednesday announced they were rerouting their flights as Pakistan closed its airspace in the wake of escalating tensions with India. "Inbound and Outbound flights from USA and Europe for Delhi are being re-routed through Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Flights landing into India from USA and Europe are being re-routed via Dubai and Sharjah and will land into India with a delay," Air India tweeted Wednesday evening. The national carrier, however, added "no flights are cancelled and there will only be an increase in the flying time". Pakistan Wednesday closed its airspace for commercial flights and suspended flight operations across major airports, including in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, for an indefinite period in the wake of the escalating tensions with India. Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority made the announcement after the director general of Inter-Services Public Relations, the military's media arm, acknowledged the closure of Pakistan's airspace due to the prevailing security situation. In India, the Jet Airways sought relaxation in flight duty and rest-hour norms from the country's aviation watchdog the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) due to the closure of the Pakistani airspace and subsequent re-routing of the West-bound flights. The dispensation has been sought as the flights, which were earlier using the Pakistani airspace, will now have to be operated over the sea, entailing higher flying time than the regular routes, sources said. "Due to the escalation of tension along the western border, the Pakistani airspace has been closed. In view of this, we have to reroute flights South of Pakistan FIR (flight information region) leading to increase in flight and flight duty times," Jet Airways vice-president for operations Floyd Gracious said in a communication to the airline pilots. An FIR refers to specified airspace where flight information and alerting services are provided. Generally, an FIR can be land and sea territory as well as any international airspace as defined under global norms. "We have requested the DGCA for some special dispensation due to this sudden development keeping in view least discomfort to travelling guests," he said. Both pilots and cabin crew are governed by DGCA-mandated flight duty and time limitation (FDTL) norms, but a special dispensation allow the crew to do additional duties and night landings as well. The Singapore Airlines said due to the airspace closure by Pakistan, two of its Singapore to London flights - SQ308 and SQ318 - will stop for re-fuelling at Dubai and Mumbai, respectively on February 27. It said the Singapore-Frankfurt flight SQ318 will stop at Mumbai for re-fuelling on February 27 "provided it is able to arrive in Frankfurt before the airport's curfew". "All other flights that overfly affected airspace will be rerouted, but are due to operate as scheduled at this point," the airline added. Qatar Airways also stated that it was re-routing its flights due to the airspace closure. "Qatar Airways can confirm that due to the ongoing situation on the India-Pakistan border, its flights to the following airports are currently temporarily suspended: Faisalabad, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar and Sialkot," the airline said. "Other flights routed over India-Pakistan aerospace may also experience delays due to rerouting around the affected area," it said. British Airways said it was closely monitoring the situation and its flight plans varied "frequently" depending on a number of factors. "But our highest and first priority is always the safety of our customers and crew," it said. Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted Wednesday evening, "Reviewed the current airspace restrictions with Member (ANS), AAI in view of the current cross border situation. I assure you that we are working out modalities so that the air passengers are least inconvenienced. All stakeholders were kept informed. @AAI_Official." The Airports Authority of India (AAI) manages over 100 airports across the country. The AAI earlier Wednesday issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM), saying flight operations at the airports in Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Pathankot, Amritsar, Shimla, Kangra, Kullu Manali and Pithoragarh will remain shut from February 27 to May 27. However, the DGCA said operations at these nine airports have resumed "as of now". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Canada's flag carrier Wednesday temporarily suspended its flights to India due to the closure of Pakistani airspace, amid escalating tensions between the two countries. Pakistan Wednesday closed its airspace for commercial flights and suspended flight operations across major airports. India also closed nine airports in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab for civilian air traffic and the entire airspace north of New Delhi was vacated. The move came amid escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan after Indian Air Force carried out a pre-dawn air strike on terror bases in Pakistan on Tuesday. India said Pakistan jets intruded into Indian air space in the Rajouri and Poonch sectors. "One flight en route to Delhi from Toronto was turned back over the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday night and returned to Toronto Wednesday, while a second flight from Vancouver to Delhi that was scheduled to depart Tuesday night was also been cancelled," said. "Air Canada's flight from Toronto to Mumbai is planned to operate tonight as it takes a different routing, and we are evaluating the routing options for both Toronto-Delhi and Vancouver-Delhi flights scheduled to operate later tonight," it said in a statement. "We are monitoring the situation in order to resume service once the situation normalises and we determine it is safe to do so," it said. and Jet Airways operate 18 flights weekly to India from Toronto Pearson. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has decided to give electricity subsidy of Rs 105 per KW per month on fixed charges to farmers in Delhi, an official statement said on Wednesday. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday. "The agriculture electricity subsidy is expected to benefit at least 11,000 consumers. A provision of Rs 7.50 crore has been made for this," the statement said. The subsidy on exiting tariff will be provided on fixed charges to agricultural connections in Delhi for financial years 2018-19 and 2019-20, with effect from April 1, 2018, it said. It said the distribution companies (discoms) will have to ensure that subsidy is released only to genuine agricultural consumers. A special audit of subsidy released to discoms and that passed on to the consumers account may be undertaken by Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission(DERC), it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The issue of mass deletion of voters' names was raised in the Assembly on Wednesday, with Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta charging the Aam Aadmi Party government of "hiding" a reply of the chief electoral officer (CEO) of Delhi. Gupta alleged that the reply was hidden by the AAP government because it exposed the "lies" of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal that over 24-lakh voters' names, especially of Bania, Purvanchali and Muslims, were deleted since the last Assembly elections. The AAP leaders, including Kejriwal, had been hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party over alleged mass deletion of voters' names in Delhi in collusion with the Election Commission officials. As per the data presented by Gupta in the House, 11,54,332 names were deleted and 18,44,711 names were added from 2015-2018. "Thus, 6,90,379 names were added during these four years. This figure exposed the lie and propaganda of the chief minister," Gutpa said at a press conference. "The lie of Arvind Kejriwal about deletion of 24-lakh names from voters' list was exposed by his own minister of elections, Imran Hussain, in a reply to my question," the BJP leader said. "The minister (Hussain) concealed from the House the important letter of the CEO, dated December 14, 2018, on the subject and did not submit a report on the resolution adopted by the Assembly within the stipulated period of three months which expired today," he alleged. He said that the House on November 27, 2018, passed a resolution that a committee would examine the matter of deletion of votes and submit its report within three months. As the information was "concealed" action should be taken for breach of privilege against Election Minister Imran Hussain under Rule 106 (2) and 66 of the House, Gupta said. The BJP legislators accused Kejriwal of lying on the issue and staged a walkout. However, Gupta said, the government did not submit the report because the reply of CEO did not "suit" their claims that 24-lakh voters' names were deleted in Delhi. Gupta said Hussain, while giving his reply, told the House that the Election Commission did not maintain caste-based data of voters, which "demolished the charge" that most of the names deleted were those of Purvanchali, Bania and Muslims. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Six suspected robbers have been arrested in Ghaziabad district, police said Wednesday. Superintendent of Police (Rural) Neeraj said the six accused were arrested during a routine checking in Modinagar town on Tuesday night. The six men had allegedly robbed a family at gunpoint in November and another in January, the SP said. They have been identified Naushad, Javed, Shakeel, Abid, Rashid and Yameen, the officer said. Police have recovered looted cash, gold and silver ornaments, four countrymade pistols and two knives from their possession, the officer added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Six flights operated by Singapore Airlines and its low-cost carrier Scoot were cancelled or rerouted Wednesday amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. Pakistan Wednesday closed its airspace for commercial flights and suspended flight operations across major airports. India also closed nine airports in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab for civilian air traffic and the entire airspace north of New Delhi was vacated. The move came amid escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan after Indian Air Force carried out a pre-dawn air strike on terror bases in Pakistan on Tuesday. India said Pakistan jets intruded into Indian air space in the Rajouri and Poonch sectors. Out of the six, three were Singapore Airlines (SIA) flights headed to Europe from Singapore, Channel Asia reported, citing an airline spokesperson. SQ308 and SQ318 would stop in Dubai and Mumbai respectively to refuel before proceeding to London, while SQ326 would stop in Mumbai for refuelling before heading to Frankfurt, provided the aircraft was able to arrive ahead of the airport curfew, the spokesperson said. SQ325, however, was cancelled, with its passengers transferred to other airlines. "All other flights that overfly the affected airspace will be rerouted, but are due to operate as scheduled at this point," SIA said. Meanwhile, more than 600 passengers were affected when Scoot cancelled two flights "due to the closure of Amritsar International Airport along with several other airports in India", said an airline spokesperson. The cancelled flights were TR508 from Singapore to Amritsar, scheduled to depart at 3.50 pm local time, and TR509 from Amritsar to Singapore, due to have departed at 8.45 pm local time. Affected passengers were given the option of a refund or rebooking of a flight to other Scoot destinations in India. "Scoot will monitor the situation, which remains fluid," the airline said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four Indian passengers are stranded at the Lahore airport after the Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) closed its airspace on Wednesday in the wake of tensions with India. "The PIA's PK-270 Lahore to Delhi was to leave for its destination on Wednesday but due to suspension of flight operations the four Indian passengers are stranded at Allama Iqbal International Airport," an official of CAA told PTI. "The India passengers requested the authorities concerned to shift them to a hotel till the resumption of the flight operations. However, they were not allowed to leave the airport till filing of this report," he said. Meanwhile, the CAA tweeted: "North East & North Western airspace remains closed until further notice." Hundreds of international and domestic flights to and from Pakistan were cancelled on Wednesday. According to a source, the flight operations will likely to be restored partially from Thursday evening. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan on Wednesday claimed that it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani air space and arrested a pilot, as it closed its airspace amid escalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor claimed that two Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots were arrested. One pilot is injured and has been shifted to a hospital, while another one is unhurt, the spokesman added. He also showed items and documents recovered from the arrested pilots. However, he later said "only one" Indian pilot was under Pakistan Army's custody, retracting from his earlier statement. "There is only one pilot under Pakistan Army's custody. Wing Comd Abhinandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics," Ghafoor said. "I am an IAF officer. My service No is 27981," a blindfolded man - who identified himself as Wing Commander Abhinandan - said in a 46-second video released by the Pakistan Army. In a second video, the man refused to talk about the plane he was flying or talk about the mission. He said he was rescued from a mob by a Pakistan Army Captain. When asked about his identity, he said he was from down south (India) and a married man. The veracity of the video could not be ascertained. In New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs said that Pakistan Air Force targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is "missing in action". The MEA said that according to Pakistan the missing IAF pilot was in their custody. "We are ascertaining that," the MEA spokesman said. Meanwhile, Pakistan closed its airspace for commercial flights and suspended flight operations across major airports, including in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, for an indefinite period. The airport will be used for "military purposes" till it is reopened for commercial activities, an official told DawnNewsTV, adding that a red alert has also been issued. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, General Ghafoor said one of the IAF aircraft crashed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. "This morning PAF (Pakistan Air Force) jets while remaining in Pakistani airspace engaged six targets across the LoC," he said. "Our pilots locked on those six targets and we struck on open places," he said, adding that it was decided that the PAF will not hit the military targets. He said some of the targets were in Bhimber galli and Naran area where the supply depots were engaged from a distance. "After the PAF strikes, 2 IAF jets entered Pakistani airspace and the PAF took them on and the two IAF were shot down. The wreckage of one (aircraft) fell inside Pakistan (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) while the second fell inside India," Ghafoor said. "Original targets were military posts and administrative facilities but we did not target those," he said. The spokesman claimed that target engaged by the PAF were changed to avoid any loss of life. "It was not retaliation in the true sense but it was an action to show that we can retaliate. We do not want to push the region to war. We want peace," the spokesman asserted. He also rejected reports that Pakistan used F-16 fighters and one of them was shot down by India. "Pakistan does not want to go for war, our message is peace. The international community should also play its role," the spokesman said. "What we did today is in self-defence. We do not want to celebrate it, as war is victory of none," he said. He said war is also a failure of policy. "We do not want to escalate but we want to follow the path to peace," he said, adding that the people of both countries and the region should live in pace. "If you want peace then let us talk. No issue can be resolved through war. India should think about this offer with a cool mind," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The fact that the recent terrorist attack on the CRPF convoy was carried out by a local Kashmiri youth should lead to honest introspection among all right-thinking Indians. What deep resentment and frustration could have led an otherwise normal and educated Kashmiri boy to take this extreme step? Even if we believe that he was led astray by evil forces across the border, what made him receptive to their dark and murderous intent? In achieving success in eliminating terrorists in the Valley, do we stop and reflect why the ... 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 The editorial, After retribution (February 27) is a balanced assessment of the current situation. In the afterglow of the Indian Air Forces (IAF) show of strength and precision, let us not let our guard down. The chances of Pakistan trying to engage in a show of military prowess are slim given Indias overwhelming military superiority. But the chances of them encouraging terrorists to attack across India cannot be ruled out. While we might have neutralised a batch of trainees and their mentors, it will not take long for a fresh lot to be recruited and ... A baby weighing just 268 grams at birth, touted as the "smallest boy" in the world, has been released from hospital here, after growing to a weight of 3,238 grams in an advance that offers hope to babies with very low birth weight. According to the Keio University in Tokyo, the boy was born through an emergency caesarean section in August as his weight did not increase at 24 weeks gestation and doctors determined his life was in danger, The Japan Times reported on Wednesday. "I want people to know that babies can return home vigorous even if they are born small," Takeshi Arimitsu, who treated the extraordinary baby, was quoted as saying at the university's hospital. The baby was so small at birth that he could fit in a pair of hands. But after doctors treated him at a neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital, by managing his breathing and nutrition, he grew steadily and was able to be breastfed. He left the hospital last Wednesday, two months after the initial due date, weighing 3,238 grams, the report said. Babies born weighing below 1,000 grams are likely to suffer heart failure, have difficulty breathing or acquire severe infectious diseases due to their underdeveloped organs. The previous record holder was born weighing 274 grams in Germany in 2009, the university said, citing the University of Iowa's registry for the world's tiniest babies. The smallest girl was born weighing 252 grams, also in Germany, in 2015. There had been 23 babies worldwide who survived after having been born prematurely and weighing under 300 grams, out of whom only four were boys, according to the Tiniest Babies Registry website. --IANS rt/pgh/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Robert Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning for the seventh time in connection with its probe into a money laundering case. ED officials said that Vadra arrived at the agency's Jamnagar office in central Delhi at 10.40 a.m. The ED has questioned Vadra, for over 42 hours in connection with the case on February 6,7,9 20, 22 and 26. The case relates to the ownership of overseas assets worth 1.9 million pounds in London by Vadra. On December 7, the ED had raided several of Vadra's properties in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. Vadra, husband of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, is on interim bail till March 2. --IANS aks/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Representatives of the US and Venezuela crossed swords in the UN Security Council during a special session on the situation in the Andean nation, convened at Washington's request. The US is one of the roughly 50 nations that have recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's acting head of state and denounced incumbent leftist President Nicolas Maduro as illegitimate, Efe news reported on Tuesday. "We call on the members of the Security Council to join us in meeting the growing needs in Venezuela and the region. We call on member states to consider what resources and tools they have to contribute to Venezuelan democracy and to pressure the illegitimate Maduro regime to peacefully step down," the US special representative for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, said. He said that the world should back Guaido and "address the destabilizing results of Maduro's corrupt, fraudulent and incompetent reign, which just this weekend brought instability and violence" to the borders of Brazil and Colombia. Abrams was referring to clashes that occurred Saturday as Guaido supporters tried to force their way into Venezuela with US-donated aid rejected by Maduro as a stalking horse for military invention. Four people died on the Brazilian border and more than 200 others were injured in disturbances on the boundary with Colombia. The US official, who became famous in the 1980s for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal, went on to dismiss appeals from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and others for dialogue between the Maduro government and the opposition. Abrams told reporters ahead of the session that the US would present this week in the Security Council a resolution calling "for the admission of humanitarian aid into Venezuela" and demanding new elections in the oil-rich country. The two most powerful nations standing with Maduro, China and Russia, hold permanent UNSC seats and can veto any resolution. In his remarks, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza asked the Security Council to pass a resolution rejecting "the threat and the use of force" against his country. Citing what he described as US preparations for war in Venezuela, he urged the council to "exclude that option completely," after Abrams reiterated Washington's "all options are on the table" position. The Foreign Minister said that the violence last weekend on the Colombian border was initiated by Guaido supporters who accompanied the trucks loaded with aid, emphasising that most of the wounded were members of the Venezuelan security forces. "That was the last chapter in the coup on Saturday," he said, before directly addressing Abrams in English: "Read my lips - it failed. Now is the time for us to return to sanity." Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia also weighed in on the events at Venezuela's borders. "What took place on Saturday was reminiscent not of assistance but what is called force-feeding in the US," he said, going on to ask rhetorically how other countries would have responded to "an attempted illegal state border crossing for the delivery of unknown cargo." "One country even wants to build a huge wall on the border of another country to prevent an illegal border crossing," Nebenzia said, alluding to US President Donald Trump's desire to build a wall on his country's border with Mexico. --IANS vin/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US House of Representatives voted to block the national emergency declared by US President Donald Trump regarding border security. The lower chamber of Congress voted by 245-182 for the one page resolution that would terminate Trump's emergency declaration, preventing him from building a border wall by tapping into funds allocated for other purposes, Xinhua news agency reported. The Democratic party voted unanimously for the bill, also picking up 13 Republican votes. The tally fell short of the number needed to overturn a presidential veto. The US Senate is expected to vote on the resolution in the coming weeks. With the Republican party in control, it is unclear if the the chamber would clear the bill. The move marks the first time that the US Congress tried to block such a measure since it codified national emergencies in 1976. Trump, currently on a trip to Vietnam, declared the national emergency on February 15 after Congress passed a spending bill with less money for the border wall than he had demanded. --IANS vin/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) While US President Donald Trump is half-way around the world in Vietnam for a nuclear summit with North Korea, the House of Representatives has voted against his national emergency declaration for building a $8.1 billion wall along the Mexican border. Although the Democrats and the media played up the vote on Tuesday as a victory in their campaign against Trump's emergency declaration, it is only symbolic as the President has threatened to veto should it also pass the Republican-controlled Senate and the Democrats do not have a two-thirds majority to overturn it, even with some Republicans crossing sides to vote for it. As of Tuesday night, the Democrats were still at least a vote short of a simple majority in the Senate and were desperately trying to get some Republicans to cross over like the 13 in the House. Ultimately the courts, where 16 states and others have filed challenges to the emergency, will have the final say. The crux of the opposition to the emergency is that in bypassing Congress to fund the border project, Trump is violating its constitutional authority on approving government spending. Before the House vote, the Democratic Party leader in the House, Steny Hoyer, warned that Trump bypassing Congress to fund the barrier was how "despots take power" and could set a precedent. Trump declared a state of emergency on February 15 to fund the barrier, which he says is required to stop drug smuggling, people trafficking and illegal immigration, citing as a humanitarian crisis the several thousand Central Americans massed at some border points after arriving there in caravans hoping to make their way in. The border wall, now scaled by Trump to a series of metal slats along some areas along the frontier, is the point of prestige and contention for Trump, who made it his signature election pledge, and the Democrats. When the Democrats refused to allocate the $5.7 billion that he had asked for it Trump refused to approve the budget leading to a 35-day shutdown of non-essential government operations. Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi firmly faced off Trump and he had to agree to a deal to reopen the government without the border funding, losing face. He resorted to the emergency to find money for the border barrier and reestablish his standing with his hardcore supporters. The resolution against the emergency passed 245 to 182. The type of emergency Trump has imposed is basically a financial manoeuvre and does not authorise the suspension of civil liberties. Former President Barack Obama invoked emergencies at least 10 times, including once to deal with criminal gangs at the border areas. While Trump will be meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi for a second summit on Wednesday and Thursday to get him to scrap his cache of nuclear weapons as well as the capacity to produce them, Washington will be gearing up for a new wave of confrontations and exposes. His former personal lawyer Michael Cohen is scheduled to testify about Trump before House Oversight Committee on Wednesday and before the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday. The testimony on Wednesday will be in public and Cohen, who has been sentenced to three years in prison for tax fraud and lying, has dropped tantalising hints that he could make allegations of criminal conduct against Trump. Meanwhile, Special Counsel Robert Mueller is finalising his report on the investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 elections to help Trump and is expected to deliver it to Attorney General William Barr in the coming days. A finding that Trump personally colluded with the Russians would be lethal to his presidency, but he has said that he has received assurances that it would not be there. However, there may be other disclosures that could snare him in court cases as he prepares for re-election next year. Amid these problems and setbacks, Trump is now focused on a deal with North Korea to burnish his presidency, even asserting that it would make him worthy of a Nobel Prize. After ditching diplomatic niceties to match Kim's vicious rhetoric, he has managed to get Pyongyang to stop nuclear and missile tests that his predecessors had not been able to. Trump and Kim met in June for their first summit in Singapore. While North Korea has destroyed some missile facilities, there has been no progress in denuclearization and Trump must now push for it, if he is to succeed. Kim reportedly wants all sanctions lifted as a condition to proceed with denuclearization. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in) --IANS al/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UN welcomes the upcoming summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korea's top leader Kim Jong-un, a UN spokesperson said. "We very much welcome this dialogue between the leaders of the US and North Korea," Xinhua quoted Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as saying during a regular press briefing on Tuesday. Guterres in his January press briefing said it was high time to make sure that negotiations between the US and North Korea start again seriously and that a road map is clearly defined for denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, Dujarric recalled. But the spokesperson said he did not want to "predict or project what the outcomes of this summit will be," but would react to it, "depending on what it said." Trump and Kim are set to meet in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi for their second summit. They are expected to meet first on Wednesday night and have dinner together, and then hold discussion on Thursday joined by their respective delegates. Issues such as a roadmap for denuclearisation, the easing of sanctions against the DPRK and whether to issue a war-ending declaration are expected to be high on the agenda. The first US-North Korea summit, held in June 2018 in Singapore, resulted in improved bilateral ties. In a joint statement signed after their meeting, Trump pledged to provide security guarantees to North Korea while Kim reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to a complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. --IANS vin/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Special Task Force of the Kolkata Police arrested two operatives of terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from West Bengal's Murshidabad district and seized a huge cache of explosive making material from them, an officer said here on Wednesday. Police said the two accused were associates of JMB leader Kausar, one of the key accused in Burdwan's Khagragarh blast case of 2014. "Two JMB operatives - Moshibur Rahman (35) and Ruhul Amin (26) - were arrested from Murshidabad during a joint raid with the district police here. Both are residents of the district's Raghunathgunj area," a release issued by the STF said. According to STF officers, interrogation of a previously held JMB operative named Sajjad revealed that the two accused took training in making acid bombs and were planning an attack on the police to get Kausar released. "They were associates of Sajjad and Kausar. They would have attacked the police with acid bombs to release Kausar. Explosive making materials including aluminium dust, calether (spirit of ether), sulphuric acid etc. has been recovered from them," the release said. Both the accused were produced before the court on Wednesday. The STF had on February 16 arrested from Kolkata's Babughat area a JMB operative named Ariful Islam, who was said to be involved in last year's Bodh Gaya blast. Three days later, another operative named Asif Iqbal was arrested from a city railway station. --IANS mgr/rtp/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will begin their second summit here on Wednesday with a one-on-one meeting followed by a dinner. Eight months after their historic first summit in Singapore, Trump and Kim will meet again at 6.30 p.m. in the luxurious French colonial-style Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi hotel, Efe news reported. The two leaders will meet alone for a 20-minute conversation, according to the White House, and will be joined by four of their advisors for a dinner lasting for one hour and 35 minutes, which the US government has described more of a "social" than a working dinner. Accompanying Trump to the dinner will be Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney while it is believed that the North Korean leader will be accompanied by his sister and adviser, Kim Yo-jong, and former military intelligence chief, Kim Yong-chol. The summit will continue on Thursday and although the final agenda is still unknown, Trump and Kim Jong-un are expected to try to advance towards a shared definition of what denuclearisation means, an ambitious task given that Pyongyang believes that the process should also include South Korea. According to media reports, the summit could end with the signing of a legally non-binding peace declaration to symbolically end the state of war which still technically prevails on the peninsula since the end of the Korean War of 1950-1953. North Korea and the US are also expected to set up liaison offices in their respective capitals, the first step towards establishing diplomatic ties between the traditional foes. Before the start of the summit, Trump was due to take part in a series of meetings and the signing of a trade agreement with the Vietnamese authorities while Kim's agenda was unknown except that he has postponed until Friday the start of his state visit to Vietnam. --IANS ksk/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had a dinner date in Hanoi on Wednesday, at the start of a two-day summit. The pair smiled and shook hands for the benefit of media before heading to talks and dinner at the five-star Metropole Hotel. They are expected to discuss a road map for ridding the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons during talks, CNN reported. There has been little progress on the denuclearisation since the first Trump-Kim summit in Singapore last year. Both the leaders sat side by side at a round-table along with their respective aides. From the US side, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney were present. Kim was accompanied by Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and regime's senior official Kim Yong Chol. Trump said he looked forward to a "very successful" summit with Kim and that "our relationship is a very special". "It's an honour to be with Chairman Kim. It's an honour to be together in Vietnam. It's great to be with you, we had a very successful first summit and I hope the second summit will be equal or greater than the first," Trump said. Denying that he was "walking back" on denuclearisation, Trump said he looked forward to helping Kim achieve a tremendous economic future for his country. On a declaration on formal end to the Korean War, Trump said: "We'll see." The North Korean leader said they would "have a very interesting dialogue" and hoped the Hanoi summit delivers "an outcome welcome by everyone". He also alluded to the slow progress of negotiations, saying "it's been a period that required a lot of patience and effort". We "have been able to overcome obstacles," Kim added. Kim said the "outside world" had "misunderstood" the US-North Korean relationship in the period after the Singapore summit and added we shared a "very interesting conversation" for 30 minutes upon meeting on Wednesday. Praising the summit host country, Trump tweeted: "Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearise." "The potential is awesome," he added. Before meeting Kim, the US leader held talks with Vietnam's President, Prime Minister and other politicians. The two leaders will attend a series of meetings together on Thursday, but their exact agenda is unknown. --IANS soni/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un began their second summit here on Wednesday with a brief handshake, eight months after their historic first meeting in Singapore. Trump and Kim were expected to meet for a brief one-on-one before attending a dinner with their respective aides at the start of a two-day summit to discuss the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, CNN reported. The US leader said he looked forward to a "very successful" summit, while Kim said "we have been able to overcome all the obstacles and here we are today". "It's an honour to be with Chairman Kim, it's an honour to be together in Vietnam. It's great to be with you, we had a very successful first summit," Trump said as the two leaders clasped hands and posed while smiling in front of the media. "Some people wanted to see it go quicker, but I was very happy with how we are doing," Trump said, adding that their relationship was "really a good one". --IANS soni/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Trinamool Congress leader here has lodged a complaint against a professor of Rabindra Bharati University for "objectionable" social media post related to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other leaders of the party, police said on Wednesday. "This matter is in the initial stage and inquiry is on," a police officer said. Srijan Bose, in his complaint, mentioned that Bishakha Goswami of RBU's Music Department has posted and shared certain "controversial pictures" and the content shows the Chief Minister and the state government in bad light. "This incident has caused resentment among the students and faculty members. By posting such things she is belittling the developmental work done by the government and is tarnishing their image," Bose wrote in his complaint. He called for urgent action to maintain law and order in the state. --IANS bnd/ssp/mag/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India, Russia and China on Wednesday "strongly condemned" terrorism in all its forms, stressing that extremist groups cannot be used in political and geopolitical goals and those committing or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice. India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, along with her Chinese and Russian counterparts Wang Yi and Sergei Lavrov, also called on the international community to strengthen global counter-terrorism cooperation by fully implementing the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. "The Ministers strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They called on the international community to strengthen UN-led global counter-terrorism cooperation by fully implementing the relevant UNSC resolutions and the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law," said a joint communique of the 16th Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Russian Federation, the Republic of India and the People's Republic of China. They reiterated that states and their competent agencies play a central role in both national and international counter-terrorism efforts and that terrorist groups cannot be supported and used in political and geopolitical goals. "The Ministers stressed that those committing, orchestrating, inciting or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with existing international commitments on countering terrorism, including the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy," the statement said. The 16th meeting of the RIC leaders in China's Zhejiang held amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan after the February 14 Pulwama attack. After 12 days, Indian fighter jets pounded major terror training camps in the neighbouring country in what New Delhi called was a "non-military pre-emptive strike". Raising the issue of Pulawama terror attack by the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) during her bilateral meeting with Chinese counterpart, Sushma Swaraj said she was visiting China at a time when there is grief and anger in India. "It is the worst terrorist attack directed against our security forces in Jammu and Kashmir," she said in her opening remarks. At least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers were killed in the suicide attack by JeM, which had released photos and a video after the attack claiming full responsibility. Sushma Swaraj strongly put it across that the JeM is a "Pakistan-based and supported terrorist organisation". "Following the Pulwama terror attack, instead of taking seriously the calls by international community to act against JeM, Pakistan denied any knowledge of the attack and outright dismissed claims by JeM," she said. "Such dastardly terrorist attacks are a grim reminder of the need of all the countries to show zero tolerance towards terrorism and take decisive action against it," she added. Sushma Swaraj's meeting with her Chinese counterpart is significant as Beijing has repeatedly blocked India's bid at the UN to declare JeM chief Masood Azhar a UN-designated global terrorist. While countries across the world, including US, Russia, UK and France -- the UN Security Council's permanent members -- condemned Pakistan's role in the Pulwama terror attack, China's stand on Azhar has remained unchanged. The Informal summit between the three nations also imparted fresh impetus into the trilateral cooperation and reiterated their commitment to work together to further their cooperation on important issues and take the trilateral cooperation to a new level, said the communique Foreign Ministers of China and Russia reiterated the importance they attach to the status of India in international affairs and supported its aspiration to play a greater role in the United Nations. --IANS bns/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Commercial flight services were affected at the Amritsar and Chandigarh airports on Wednesday but authorities said that normal flight operations had been resumed and will continue normally on Thursday. Commercial flight operations were suspended on Wednesday from the Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport in Amritsar amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan. Commercial flights resumed services at all the Indian airports where they were suspended earlier in the day on Wednesday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said. Over 15 flights to and from Amritsar airport were cancelled, delayed or diverted. Passengers who were in the Amritsar airport terminal to catch flights for various destinations were asked to leave the building. Personnel from the Army, Indian Air Force (IAF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) took control of the airport complex. "We were inside the airport to catch an international flight. We were asked to leave. We do not know the fate of our flight. No one is telling us anything," said a young woman who was scheduled to leave for Dubai. At the Chandigarh International Airport, which is under the command of the IAF, at least 10 flights were cancelled on Wednesday. The cancelled flights included Indigo Airlines (five flights), Jet Airways (three), Go Air (one) and Air India (one). "Today, Chandigarh airport was open for flight operations for the full day and it will open at its normal time tomorrow onwards also," Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHAIL) spokesperson Deepesh Joshi said. The airports at Halwara near Ludhiana and Adampur near Jalandhar, which are both with the IAF, were also put on high alert. --IANS js/arm/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid escalating tension between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama terror attack and the Indian air strikes, security has been heightened for 14 Pakistani inmates in two jails in West Bengal, a minister said on Wednesday. The Pakistani prisoners at the two correctional homes (as jails are called in the state) have been barred from freely mixing with fellow prisoners or sharing meals as part of the "precautionary measures", Correctional Administration Minister Ujjwal Biswas told IANS. Among the 14 inmates of Pakistani origin, four are kept in the Presidency Correctional Home and other 10 are in Dum Dum Central Correctional Home in the city. "Generally the terrorists or extremists among the prisoners are always kept under special surveillance. But as the prisons have access to televisions, some precautionary measures have been taken following the Pulwama attack. "Earlier the prisoners were allowed to spend time with the fellow prisoners here. They have been barred from openly mixing with the other prisoners or having meal with them," Biswas said. Referring to the alleged killing of a 50-year-old Pakistani convict by fellow inmates in Rajasthan's Jaipur Central jail, he said the state government apprehended that such incidents could happen in the state as well. "We sensed that something like that could happen as the tension has been growing between the two nations recently. So these inmates have been shifted to separate cells where high value convicts including those involved in the attack on Kolkata's American Center are lodged," he added. --IANS mgr/ssp/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A combined team of the Indian Navy and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Wednesday pulled out a second body from the 370 feet deep flooded coal mine in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district where 13 miners still remain trapped since December 13, 2018, an official said. "The highly decomposed unidentified body was pulled to the water surface by the Indian Navy's underwater remotely operated vehicle (UROV) and then taken out in a bucket-type container to the higher grounds at 1.20 p.m.," a rescue official told IANS. This is the second body to be pulled out of the coal mine - 77 days after 15 coal miners were trapped inside the rat-hole coal pit - by the Indian Navy divers after they retrieved the first body identified as that of Amir Hussain from Assam's Chirang district on January 23. The rescue official said the recovered body was detected on Wednesday evening with the help of a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) at a depth of 230 feet. He said the body has been handed over to the Meghalaya Police and is now being taken to Khliehriat hospital for autopsy. "It was a painful exercise as they had to slowly pull out the body as the flesh started tearing off when the ROV tried to get a grip on it," the official said, adding that efforts are on to pull out the third and fourth body which were located on Saturday and Monday. Fifteen miners were trapped after water gushed into the illegal coal mine located in Ksan village, about 130 km from here, after the miners are believed to have punctured into another wall of another coal mine. The tragedy came to light after five miners escaped from the coal pit. The coal pit disaster took place despite an interim ban on rat-hole coal mining in the state by the National Green Tribunal since April 17, 2014. The Supreme Court, which is monitoring the rescue operations, has told the government that the trapped miners must be taken out of the mine, "dead" or "alive". --IANS rrk/mag/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting here to discuss internal security, a day after the Indian Air Force (IAF) bombed the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror outfit's biggest training camp in Pakistan. The issues discussed in the meeting included the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir, intelligence inputs after Tuesday's air strikes and further strategy, said sources. National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, Intellligence Bureau chief Rajiv Jain, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief Anil Kumar Dhasmana were present in the meeting along with other senior officials. --IANS rak-bns/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab Governor and Union Territory (UT) Administrator V.P. Singh Badore on Wednesday held a high-level coordination meeting with the top officers of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh Administration to review the arrangements and response mechanism in the eventuality of any emergency arising out of the current escalated situation between India and Pakistan. While advising that the administrative mechanisms in Chandigarh tri-city region be kept in maximum alertness, Badnore assured that at this juncture there is no reason to worry or panic. "All institutions including schools, colleges, offices and commercial establishments in the city will remain open and function as normal," he said. The Governor reiterated that the situation will be kept under constant watch and will be reviewed on a day-to-day basis. --IANS js/pg/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The last of the seven of Bihar shelter home girls who had escaped from a short-stay home here four days ago, have been traced to Madhubani district. The other six were recovered by the police within 24 hours of their escape. The 16-year-old is a resident of West Bengal and one of the prime witnesses in the Muzaffarpur shelter home horror case, who along with a few others were put up at the Mokama home in Patna district. Special Superintendent of Police Babu Ram said here that the last of the remaining missing girls, was recovered by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) from Madhubani. The SIT has also detained three youths, who were with the girl at the time of the recovery. "A police officer has been interrogating the girl as well as three youths to know more about their escapade," Babu Ram said. According to sources in the police headquarters here, seven special teams were looking for the girl in Bihar and West Bengal over the last three days. This particular girl had, in her confessional statement, reportedly revealed names of several persons, including top government officers and powerful politicians, who would regularly visit the Muzaffarpur shelter home. The horror had came to light in May 2018 when the Bihar Social Welfare Department filed an FIR based on the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) social audit. "She had shocked police officers during the probe by revealing that the main accused (in Muzaffarpur shelter home case) Brajesh Thakur often took her and some other girls out of the shelter home to unknown places where his guests sexually exploited them," said Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), Amit Kumar. --IANS ik/in/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Allahabad Bank will reduce benchmark marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) by 10 basis points (bps) across various tenures from March 1. The reduction will make home, car and other retail loans cheaper. According to the PNB, the reduction is applicable to all the tenures -- overnight, one month, three-months, six-month, one-year and three years. Similarly, state-run Allahabad Bank said it will cut MCLR across all tenures up to three years with effect from March 1. "The Asset Liability Management Committee of the bank has reviewed the MCLRs and decided to go for a downward revision by 10 bps for all tenures," Allahabad Bank said in a regulatory filing. For all the tenures -- overnight, one-month, three-month, six-month, one-year, two-year and three years -- the bank has cut the MCLR by 0.10 per cent each to 8.15 per cent, 8.25 per cent, 8.45 per cent, 8.50 per cent, 8.65 per cent, 8.85 per cent and 8.95 per cent, respectively, according to the regulatory filing. Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had asked lenders to transmit the repo rate cut benefit to the real economy after a 25 bps rate cut by the apex bank in early February. A basis point is one hundredth of a per cent. --IANS rv-bdc/arm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid escalating tensions after the IAF bombed the JeM's biggest training camp, India on Wednesday shot down a Pakistani jet and said one of its MiG-21 pilots was "missing in action" and reportedly in Pakistani custody. The External Affairs Ministry accused Pakistan of targeting Indian military installations in response to Tuesday's counter-terrorism action targeted at the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) that had claimed responsibility for suicide bombing of 40 CRPF troopers in Kashmir. "Against this counter terrorism action, Pakistan has responded this morning by using its air force to target military installations on the Indian side," Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar told the media in the presence of an Air Vice Marshal. He said the Indian Air Force (IAF) responded instantly and a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) aircraft was shot down by a MiG-21 Bison. "The Pakistani aircraft was seen by the ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side," he said. The statement did not say which Pakistani fighter jet was shot down although previous reports had suggested it was an F-16. The aircraft reportredly fell three kilometres inside Pakistan. "In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG-21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," said the spokesman. Earlier, the IAF scrambled and pushed back Pakistani fighter jets which intruded into the Nowshera sector in Jammu and Kashmir. An Indian military aircraft, however, crashed in Badgam in Jammu and Kashmir, 7 kilometres from the Srinagar International Airport, police said. This and the Pakistani action led to the suspension of commercial flights across at least eight cities including Leh, Pathankot, Jammu, Srinagar and Amritsar. But the operations were ordered resumed within hours. Indian Air Defence Systems have been on maximum alert since Tuesday. Simultaneously, Indian and Pakistani troops traded heavy fire using mortars and small arms in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri sector, Defence Ministry sources said. The clash occurred in Kamalkote area. Intermittent heavy firing was also reported at 40 places on the LoC including Poonch, Rajouri and Jammu districts since Tuesday night. The Indian attack on the JeM training camp came 12 days after a suicide bomber killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers in the worst terror strike in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy hit the state in 1989. --IANS gd-sq/mr/am (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi government has cancelled the Fire Safety Certificates of over 150 guest houses in the Karol Bagh area, after 17 people were killed in a hotel fire on February 12, the Assembly was informed on Wednesday. On the steps by the government after the fire accident, Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain said six teams have been formed to inspect the guest houses in the Karol Bagh area. "These teams are conducting raids and about 200 guest houses have been inspected. Certificates of about 150 of them were cancelled," Jain said. He said the Licensing Department, the Delhi Police and the Health Department and the North Delhi Municipal Corporation have been asked to stop shut them forthwith. "The places, after cancellation of certificate are not operational," he said, adding people can file a complaint if any of those found functioning. Jain said the fire department will intensify drives across the city to locate illegal constructions and hotels violating fire safety norms to prevent recurrence of any more incident. "The raids, being conducted in Karol Bagh at present, will be extended to other parts of the city as well," he said. The minister has approved around 10 amendments to the Delhi building bylaws 2016 to enhance safety. In the amendments, special directives have been issued regarding use of rooftops, basements, passages and exit routes, he said. "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," he said. Draft rule for events organised in tents is being drafted. It will soon will be publicised for seeking public opinion. --IANS nks/mag/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP on Wednesday rejected as "baseless" the opposition's charge of its "blatant politicisation of the armed forces' sacrifices" and said such allegations help Pakistan as their media is using this against India. "The opposition's allegations are baseless. There is no politicisation on the issue and we don't even wish to. But did the opposition ever thought that how their statement can be misused? Their statement has become news for Pakistani media," Union Minister and senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar told a press conference. He said such statements by opposition leaders sends the message that country is not united. "Pakistan, thee Pakistani army and the Pakistani media is happy with the statement of 21 opposition parties. Such statements creates trouble. The opposition should think whether their remarks are appropriate or not," he said. The opposition parties after a meeting issued a joint statement, expressing their deep anguish over the "blatant politicisation of the sacrifices of the armed forces" by leaders of the ruling BJP. --IANS bns/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid escalating India-Pakistan tensions, the opposition on Wednesday collectively flayed the ruling BJP for "blatant politicisation" of the armed forces' sacrifices and hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not convening an all-party meeting. On a day when India shot down a Pakistani jet and lost one of its MiG-21 jets, 21 opposition parties met here and expressed their concerns over the emerging security situation. Attended by Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, the meeting followed the capture of an Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot by Pakistan and the downing of a Pakistani aircraft by India -- events arising from the IAF bombing of the Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp at Balakot in Pakistan. The parties in a joint statement said that national security transcends "narrow political considerations. "The 21 parties expressed their deep anguish over the blatant politicisation of the sacrifices made by our armed forces by leaders of the ruling party. "National security must transcend narrow political considerations," said Gandhi while reading out the statement to the media. At the meeting, the parties attacked Modi and BJP President Amit Shah for "using" the IAF action to build a narrative for the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. After the air strike in Pakistan, Modi told a rally in Rajasthan that India was in safe hands while Shah declared Modi was the "only world leader" with strong determination and zero tolerance policy against terrorism. "Modi and Shah have been shamelessly using the sacrifices of our armed forces for their narrow political considerations," said Yechury. Referring to the government confirming targeting of Indian military installations and loss of one fighter aircraft, the leaders condemned the Pakistani misadventure. They expressed deep concern for the safety of the missing pilot. The parties also pointed to Modi's interaction with party workers scheduled for Thursday that has been billed by the BJP to be the "world's biggest video conference." "When the country is worried about the well-being of the missing pilot, the Prime Minister and the BJP are more concerned about politics," said Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala. The Congress has postponed its Working Committee meeting scheduled for Thursday and a rally in Gujarat that was to be addressed by Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi. The opposition parties also criticised Modi for not convening an-all party meeting and instead deputing External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to inform them about the IAF's action in Pakistan. The leaders urged the Modi government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity. Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Sharad Yadav and T. Shiva (DMK) were among those who attended the meeting at the Parliament complex. --IANS and/arm/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Popular electronic dance music festival Sunburn will not be held in Goa until the promoter of the event clears the dues owed to the state government, Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar said on Wednesday. Notices would be issued on Thursday to the promoter, Percept Live Pvt Ltd, for recovery of the dues which is around Rs 6 crore. "We will not allow Sunburn until the dues are recovered. They have to clear money first. I will be strict on this," Ajgaonkar said. The Minister's comment came a day after the Bombay High Court in Goa set a deadline of six months to the appellate authorities in Goa, which Percept Live had approached, to dispute the quantum of dues charged by the State government. The dues pending are towards various tax payments and police security fees charged by the Goa government during Sunburn events held over previous years. This year, the music festival made a comeback in Goa via a franchise route, called 'Sunburn Klassique', and was held last week. --IANS maya/pg/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After dilly-dallying for months, Karnataka's Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) government has finally appointed nine of its 37 legislators as chairmen of state-run boards and corporations, said a party official on Wednesday. "The legislators were selected for the posts in consultation with our party supremo and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, party's state working president A.H. Vishwanath and party's senior leader H.D. Revanna on Tuesday as the general elections are nearing," a party official told IANS here. Karnataka allies Congress and JD-S, as part of their coalition arrangement, have agreed to hold top posts in 30 boards and corporations in a 20:10 ratio in proportion to their representation in the assembly. Accordingly, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on January 7 appointed 14 Congress legislators, including a woman MLA, as heads of various boards and corporations. "He has also appointed four JD-S lawmakers as parliamentary secretaries according to the arrangement with the Congress, which already has eight parliamentary secretaries," added the official. Two more Congress legislators were appointed as chairmen of Karnataka Forest Industrial Corporation and Karnataka Tanda (Tribals) Development Corporation. The posts enjoy cabinet status with commensurate perquisites. Representation in the 34-member Council of Ministers is also in the ratio of 22:12, as the Congress has 80 legislators, including the Speaker. Ten of JD-S' 37 legislators, including Kumaraswamy, are cabinet ministers in the coalition government' while two vacancies are yet to be filled. The Congress has filled its quota of 22 cabinet posts with the induction of 10 more of its legislators on December 22 in a reshuffle, in which one of its ministers was dropped along with its supporting party member. In the 225-member assembly, including one nominated from the Anglo-Indian community, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 104 legislators, while the remaining are one each from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party (KPJP) and one independent. To ostensibly keep the BJP out of power, the Congress extended support to the JD-S and offered the Chief Minister's post to Kumaraswamy after it was defeated in the May 12, 2018, assembly elections in the southern state. --IANS fb/rtp/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday raided the houses of some active Jaish-e-Mohammad militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Awantipora area, police sources said. The counter-terrorism agency assisted by the state police and Central Reserve Police Forces (CRPF) searched the houses of Mudasir Khan and Manzoor Malik in Awantipora. The NIA also carried out searches at the house of Sajad Ahmad in Marhama village. Ahmad had provided his car to the JeM suicide bomber, who carried out the February 14 Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF troopers were killed. The NIA had carried out similar raids at several places on Tuesday, including at the residence of senior separatist leaders like Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and JKLF chief Yasin Malik. --IANS sq/in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Veteran author Nayantara Sahgal launched her new novel "The Fate Of Butterflies" amid a gathering of bibliophiles and several known faces from the literary and political world here on Wednesday. The novel, Sahgal said, confronts the toxic dangers of "war, religious polarisation and authoritarian charisma -- a dystopian future that is already upon the world". Introduced by author Namita Gokhale, "The Fate Of Butterflies" is published by Speaking Tiger and is priced at Rs 450. In conversation with Sanjoy Roy, producer of the Jaipur Literature Festival, Sahgal said that all her novels have been stories of the times she has lived in and how they contributed to the making of India. "But this novel is about the unmaking of India," she said, pointing to the horrors of innocent people being lynched. Sahgal, a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family and one of the most vocal critics of Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government draws inspiration from Nazi Germany. Alleging that India was under a dictatorial regime, the 91-year-old writer said that while Germans were told that Jews were a danger to them, the majority community in India is being told that it is under threat from the country's Muslims. She said that ministers from the ruling government have spread this fear. Sahgal said that she is a believing Hindu, but maintained that she "absolutely rejects" the ideology of Hindutva. "What's happening in the country has nothing to do with Hinduism, it is a political ideology, has nothing at all to do with religion," she said. --IANS ss/rtp/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Even though there has been some anxiety in the past 24 hours among people living in border villages in districts of Punjab sharing international border with Pakistan, normal life was witnessed in villages on Wednesday. Farmers could be seen attending to routine activities, including harvesting the sugarcane crop and tending to the wheat crop, amid heightened activity of the Border Security Force and Army troopers in view of the high alert sounded on Tuesday by the authorities. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's media advisor Raveen Thukral tweeted on Wednesday: "No evacuations ordered from border villages in Punjab. Chief Minister is reviewing situation in the state with senior officials. He will tour the border areas from Chandigarh by road in view of air space restrictions." Thukral told IANS that no evacuation has been ordered. He said the visit of the Chief Minister to the border belt, which was to begin from Wednesday, has been rescheduled to Thursday. Amarinder Singh tweeted earlier that "we're absolutely ready for any eventuality" and that he has communicated to the Home Affairs Ministry that "Punjab is prepared to do whatever may be needed in the service of the country". The Chief Minister will camp in the border areas of Punjab as part of confidence-building measures undertaken by the state government in the wake of the Indian Air Force (IAF) surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) on Tuesday. A high alert was sounded in the border districts by the state government, which is in constant touch with the Union Home and Defence Ministries to stay abreast of the volatile situation arising from the strikes, undertaken by India as a retaliatory measure in the aftermath of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack. "There is no tension among people in the border belt. We are ready for any eventuality. We will not leave our homes and villages," said Manjit Singh, a villager in the border belt in Amritsar district. Amritsar Member of Parliament Gurjeet Singh Aujla visited a number of villages in Amritsar district's border belt to assure people that all security measures were in place. "I have visited several villages. People are upbeat about the situation. There is no panic," Aujla said. The border districts - Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka - have been put on high alert following the IAF strike and their Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendents of Police have been asked to put in place all contingency plans to ensure the protection and safety of the citizens. Punjab shares a 553-km-long international border with Pakistan which has barbed wire fence inside the Indian territory. At different strategic locations, including installations, highways and border areas, Army troopers could be seen maintaining security. --IANS js/mag/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Wednesday evening met Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the three Services chiefs after the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jets intruded into the Indian territory across the Line of Control (LoC) and downed one Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jet, capturing its pilot. The Prime Minister learnt to have discussed the evolving situation at the meeting, also attended by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval. The PAF fighter aircraft made a shallow incursion across the LoC (maximum of 6-7 km deep, as per sources) on Wednesday morning and aimed at military installations. The exact number of planes in the Pakistani pack could not be ascertained. But they were detected by the Combat Air Patrol as the Indian Mig 21 Bison aircraft scrambled. The Pakistani aircraft dropped their payload at four places. One of the Mig 21 Bisons got to lock a Pakistani aircraft and fired an R-73 air-to-air missile that hit it. "It was not exactly known if it was an F-16 or JF 17 as the debris fell on their (Pakistani) side. But 90 per cent chances were that it was an F-16. Hitting an F-16 with a Mig 21 is quite an achievement as the two planes are generations apart," a source told IANS. Pakistan, too, downed an Indian Mig 21 and captured its pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan, alive. India has sought his immediate release. Sources said the armed forces have apprised the political leadership of available options "along with pros and cons". "The Indian armed forces are always ready to act for the security and sovereignty of the country. It is up to the political leadership to take a decision," the source said. A source in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said at this stage it was difficult to say how the entire scenario would unfold. "There is huge difference between the situation yesterday and today. It is difficult to say how things would turn out over the next few days or even hours," the source said. In an address after the PAF strikes, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said he does not want an escalation with India. Khan also said he could understand the pain of those who lost their own people in the Pulwama attack. --IANS mak/arm/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must suspend all political activities till India gets back Wing Commander Varthaman Abhinandan who is in Pakistan's custody. Abdullah said on Twitter: "PM Modi must suspend his political activities until Abhinandan is returned safely. It can't be business as usual with him cross-crossing the country at tax payer's expense making political speeches while our pilot is a Pakistani captive." The National Conference leader hoped that Pakistan will treat the captured pilot as they would want India to do if their men in uniform had been in India's captivity. "In the meantime Pakistan, please treat him as you would have us treat one of your men in uniform should he be unfortunate enough to be captured on this side of the border." --IANS sq/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The last of the seven Bihar shelter home girls, who had escaped from a short-stay home here four days ago, have been traced to Madhubani district. The other six were recovered by the police within 24 hours of their escape on February 22. The 16-year-old is a resident of West Bengal and one of the prime witnesses in the Muzaffarpur shelter home horror case, who along with a few others were put up at the Mokama home in Patna district. Special Superintendent of Police Babu Ram said here that the last of the remaining missing girls, was recovered by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) from Madhubani. The SIT has also detained three youths, who were with the girl at the time of the recovery. "A police officer has been interrogating the girl, as well as three youths to know more about their escapade," Babu Ram said. According to sources in the police headquarters here, seven special teams were looking for the girl in Bihar and West Bengal over the last three days. This particular girl had, in her confessional statement, reportedly revealed names of several persons, including top government officers and powerful politicians, who would regularly visit the Muzaffarpur shelter home. The horror had came to light in May 2018 when the Bihar Social Welfare Department filed an FIR based on the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) social audit. "She had shocked police officers during the probe by revealing that the main accused (in Muzaffarpur shelter home case) Brajesh Thakur often took her and some other girls out of the shelter home to unknown places where his guests sexually exploited them," said Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), Amit Kumar. Seven girls, including five, who were allegedly abused at the Muzaffarpur home in 2018, escaped from the Mokama short-stay home on Friday night. The girls were shifted to Mokama after the Muzaffarpur shelter home case surfaced in May 2018 following the TISS audit, which revealed that most of the 41 girls lodged at home had been sexually abused. The incident comes as a huge embarrassment for the Nitish Kumar government, especially after a POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) court on February 16 directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct an inquiry into the involvement of the Chief Minister and two senior officials in the case. Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and CPI-ML have demanded the resignation of Nitish Kumar alleging that the missing girls wwere made to flee from the shelter home to save some powerful people involved in their abuse. The Muzaffarpur abuses came to light when the Bihar Social Welfare Department filed an FIR based on the TISS social audit. Brajesh Thakur, a journalist-turned-social activist, who was heading the NGO that ran the shelter home, and other accused have since been arrested. The matter was handed over to the CBI in July 2018. Thakur has been shifted to a high-security jail in Patiala following a Supreme Court order, while the others accused, including his close aides and some government officials, are lodged in jails at Patna and Muzaffarpur. The trial of the case has been shifted to Delhi in February. --IANS ik/in/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel showed their unity on the question of Brexit during a joint press conference here. "The withdrawal agreement cannot be renegotiated," declared the French President to members of the press at the Elysee Presidential Palace on Wednesday, a day after British Prime Minister Theresa May's announcement of a possible delay of the UK's departure from the European Union (EU), currently scheduled for March 29, Xinhua news agency reported. "If the British need more time, we can consider a request for an extension," he added, saying, "if it is justified." The moment has "come for the British to make choices," insisted Macron, assured to have the support of Merkel. During an address to the House of Commons Tuesday, May admitted for the first time the possibility of a delay of Brexit from March 29 until the end of June. Beyond their displayed unity on Brexit, Macron and Merkel, both under pressure in their respective countries, must deal with numerous subjects which currently divide Paris and Berlin. The German Chancellor also underlined to the gathered journalists the necessary "compromises" to be found. During their working lunch, the two European leaders evoked "the principle subjects on the agenda for the March European Council (European industrial policy, reinforcement of the Euro zone, the fight against disinformation), Brexit, transatlantic relations and the international situation, as well as the defence relationship between France and Germany," said the office of the French Presidency. An update to the Franco-German treaty of friendship and cooperation, known as the Treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle, where it was signed in January, was also on the agenda for the meeting of the two leaders. --IANS vin/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will extend his stay in Vietnam following his second summit with President Donald Trump slated to begin here on Wednesday, Pyongyang state-media reported. The Korean Central News Agency KCNA has offered new details on Kim's agenda in Vietnam, which until now had been kept secret, reports Efe news. After Kim and Trump "hold the historic second bilateral summit" on Wednesday and Thursday, the North Korean leader will remain in Vietnam till Saturday, according to KCNA. On his visit to the North Korean embassy in Hanoi, Kim stressed the willingness to "consolidate the deep-rooted friendship between the two parties and the two countries, which had already been started by the founder of North Korea Kim Il-sung and former Vietnamese President Ho Chi-minh", KCNA said. The regime's official media alluded to the visits made by the grandfather of the current North Korean ruler between 1958 and 1964 to North Vietnam to visit the then Vietnamese leader. No further details about Kim's official agenda in Vietnam have been released but it could include a visit to the Hanoi mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, as well as a meeting with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong. This is the first trip of a North Korean leader to the country since its reunification in 1975. KCNA also published images of Kim's arrival in Hanoi, where he expressed "gratitude for the warm hospitality and honourable treatment of the Vietnamese government and people", as well as his visit to the North Korean embassy and a meeting with the delegation that finalises the details for the summit with Trump. Trump, who reached Hanoi on Tuesday night, tweeted on Wednesday morning: "Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize. "The potential is awesome, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong-un. We will know fairly soon... Very Interesting." The two leaders first met in Singapore last June. --IANS ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Beleaguered airline Jet Airways has grounded a "significant number" of aircraft, a senior Civil Aviation Ministry official said here on Wednesday. According to the official, the airline did inform the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) about the grounding and the regulator is monitoring the situation. Industry insiders said as many as eight aircraft have been grounded due to non-payment to lessors and the number might increase in the coming days. Earlier, the airline had informed the stock exchanges it has grounded five aircraft. The grounding of additional three planes has impacted around 15 flights. Some reports suggested airline may already have grounded more than 20 aircraft due to shortage of spare parts and inability to pay the lessors. This would mean a significant portion of the airlines' fleet of 123 aircraft remains grounded. But official sources did not confirm these figures. The airline is also disbursing monthly salaries to senior staff in a staggered manner and has been engaged with all its aircraft lessors to "regularly provide them with updates on efforts undertaken by the company to improve its liquidity". Lately, Jet Airways has been in a tight spot financially even as a rescue plan is being negotiated between the airline, its partner Etihad and a consortium of banks. The latest development has come as the State Bank of India (SBI) is holding meeting at its headquarters with key stakeholders to take forward the proposal to convert a part its loans into shares. --IANS rv/sn/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two Indian fighter jets crashed on Wednesday, one in Jammu and Kashmir's Badgam district and the other across the Line of Control (LoC), whose pilot has been captured alive, as claimed by Pakistani authorities. In a tweet by the Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces (PAF), said: "In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), IAF crossed LoC. "PAF shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K (Pakistan administered Kashmir)... One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground." The crash in Badgam was 7 km from the Srinagar International Airport, police said. It resulted in the suspension of commercial flight operations in Leh, Pathankot, Jammu and Srinagar. Earlier top Jammu and Kashmir police sources said three PAF F-16 fighter jets violated Indian airspace in Nowshera sector, but were pushed back by the Indian side. "The jets entered into the Indian air space over Nowshera sector of Rajouri district this morning," a police official said, adding that the Indian fighter jets on air patrol immediately scrambled and pushed them back beyond the LoC. There were no immediate reports of the Pakistani side having dropped any payload in the Indian territory. Indian Air Defence Systems have been put of maximum alert. --IANS sq-in/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Richwood, TX (77531) Today Partly to mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 88F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Partly cloudy. Low around 75F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. India, having sent its message with Tuesday's air strike, should now refrain from any escalation and tread carefully keeping all diplomatic channels open as a Wing Commander of the Indian Air Force (IAF) was in Pakistan's custody and bringing him back was among the top priorities, former IAF officers said on Wednesday. After an aerial engagement in Jammu and Kashmir's Nowshera sector on Wednesday, in which the IAF shot down a F-16 of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Pakistan claimed that it has captured one Indian pilot, who was identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, a MiG 21 Bison pilot. The Indian government has acknowledged that Varthaman has been captured by the Pakistani forces and said that it expects his immediate and safe return. "India should keep all the diplomatic channels open. The situation would not have gone this bad had there been a dialogue. These politicians think they can eradicate terrorism. Even the United States has been trying to do the same since the 9/11 attacks, but it has not been able to do so," Air Marshal (retd) Ashok Goel told IANS. "We need to tread very carefully and judiciously now. We don't know what kind of harm Pakistan may cause to the captured officer. There should not be an escalation from our side at least. The priority should be to get our man back," he said. Another former Air Marshal advised India to try to get the captured officer back with both the parties having achieved their objectives. "India achieved its aim by destroying their terror camp. Pakistan also saved its face by doing some sort of attack in which both nations lost an aircraft each. Unfortunately, one of our men was captured. We should make all efforts to retrieve our pilot," former IAF Chief P.V. Naik said. Former Air Marshal M. Matheswaran said that while bringing back our man should be the priority, India must extort some action from Pakistan against terrorism before it fully engages in a dialogue. "Of course, we must bring him back... But it's something that happens in an escalation. Our plane drifted into their territory and got captured... it is part of the conflict situation. We have to deal with it. "But Pakistan needs to show some action. It needs to stop supporting the terror outfits and eliminate them," he said. The already strained relations between India and Pakistan have been tested since Tuesday when the IAF, retaliating against the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF troopers, bombed the biggest training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed at Balakot in Pakistan. -- IANS vn/arm/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan on Wednesday said that India cannot remain secure in terms of data and save the excess outgo in royalty payments unless it manufactures its own chips and takes a lead in the core Information and Communications Technology (ICT). She was speaking after the unveiling of India's first indigenous semiconductor chips by a Bengaluru based company, Signalchip, for 4G/LTE and 5G NR modems for telecom base stations. These chips put India into the elite group of countries which own this widely used fundamental technology. Signalchip's semiconductor chips are for use in base stations and the customers of such chips are telecom equipment manufacturers. The combined multi-standard system-on-chip (SoC) can serve as a base station chipset for a wide range of form factors, from low-cost indoor small cells to high performance base stations, said Himamshu Khasnis, founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Signalchip. Sridhar Vembu, founder and promoter of Zoho which funded SignalChip, said the chips are currently manufactured in Taiwan. Sundararajan said that data security is the paramount concern in the world today and India cannot remain secure in terms of data, unless it manufactures its own chips. These home-grown chips are important from a strategic, economic and security point of view. The Telecom Secretary said that Signalchip will lead to a whole new architecture of tower building, mainly in the light of emission complaints and growing environmental concerns. The government recently cleared the new electronics policy to boost electronics manufacturing in the country. --IANS ana/sn/arm/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India on Wednesday said Pakistan has committed an "unprovoked act of aggression" by targeting Indian military posts with its air force and sought immediate and safe return of an Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot in its custody. After an aerial engagement in the J&K's Nowshera sector on Wednesday, Pakistan claimed that it has captured one Indian pilot, identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, a MiG 21 Bison pilot. India has issued a demarche to Pakistan, objecting to the "vulgar display" of the injured IAF pilot in violation of all norms and said Islamabad must ensure that no harm is done to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also summoned Pakistan's acting High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah and lodged a strong protest at "the unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan against India earlier today, including violation of the Indian air space by Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and targeting of Indian military posts." It also gave Pakistan a dossier with specific details of Jaish-e-Mohammed's complicity in the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, which killed 40 CRPF personnel. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been asking India to provide "actionable intelligence" to take action against those involved in the Pulwama attack. JeM, based in Pakistan, had claimed responsibility for the attack. The MEA said in a statement it was clearly conveyed to Pakistan that India reserves the right to take firm and decisive action to protect its national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity against any act of aggression or cross-border terrorism. "India also strongly objected to Pakistan's vulgar display of an injured personnel of the IAF in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention. It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return," the statement said. India had earlier in the day accused Pakistan of targeting the military installations in response to its counter-terrorism action a day earlier and said an Indian MiG-21 Bison pilot was "missing in action." It said Pakistan has used its air force to target military installations on the Indian side and in the aerial engagement, one PAF fighter aircraft was shot down but a MiG-21 aircraft was also lost. The MEA said targeting of Indian military posts was in contrast to India's non-military anti-terror pre-emptive strike at a JeM terrorist camp at Balakot in Pakistan eraly Tuesday. "It is unfortunate that instead of fulfilling its international obligation and bilateral commitment to take credible action against terrorist entities and individuals operating from its soil, Pakistan has acted with aggression against India," the statement said. The MEA said India expects Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from territories under its "control." "Regret was expressed at the continuing denial by Pakistan's political and military leadership at the presence of terrorist infrastructure in territories under its control. A dossier was handed over to Pakistan side with specific details of JeM complicity in the Pulwama attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan," the statement said. --IANS ps/arm/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a sign that the US backs India's tough action in bombing a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) base in Pakistan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has described it as "counter-terrorism actions" and emphasised the "close security partnership" between the two countries. In a statement issued on Tuesday night, Pompeo said: "Following Indian counter-terrorism actions on February 26, I spoke with Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj to emphasise our close security partnership and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region." However, Pompeo also said that he told the Foreign Ministers to "avoid further military activity". Pompeo calling Tuesday's attack by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Balakot "counter-terrorism actions" is a diplomatic blowback from terrorism for Pakistan that openly harbours terrorist organisations. On February 22, President Donald Trump told reporters in Washington that he "understood" why New Delhi was seeking a strong response to the suicide bombing of a Central Reserve Police Force convoy in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, on February 14. New Delhi is "looking for something strong" and because India has lost almost 50 people in the Pulwama attack, "I can understand that also", he said. Pompeo, who is visiting Hanoi for the US-North Korea summit, said that he spoke to Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi about "the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil". He added that he also underscored the "priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action". "I expressed to both Ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost. I also encouraged both Ministers to prioritise direct communication and avoid further military activity," Pompeo said. In the Pakistani version of the call, Qureshi had told Pompeo "that Indian aggression was worthy of condemnation and hoped that the United States would play its role in the situation", according to Dawn newspaper. But instead he got a warning against terrorist groups like JeM operating on its soil and, later, a statement calling India's raid on JeM base "counter-terrorism actions". According to Indian officials, in her conversation with Pompeo, Sushma Swaraj told him that the air raid was targeted solely at the JeM base and explained the background and the rationale for the attack. IAF Mirage 2000 fighter jets backed by an Emb 145 struck the JeM base Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 195 km from Islamabad and over 40 km from Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir, early Tuesday morning. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis) --IANS al/ksk/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday offered talks to India and urged that "better sense should prevail" as tensions spiked between the two nuclear-armed neighbours following an aerial engagement between their air forces. Khan's comments came after New Delhi said it shot down a Pakistan fighter jet in the aerial engagement between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) but lost one of its MiG-21s, with its pilot in Pakistani custody. Pakistan, however, announced earlier in the day that "it had shot down two Indian fighter planes on its soil, captured two pilots and carried out bombings in the neighbouring country while avoiding human loss and collateral damage". Pakistani military authorities later clarified that they were holding only one Indian pilot. That pilot was identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. As Pakistan claimed capturing the pilot, a video was circulated by Pakistani accounts showing a man in uniform, blindfolded and wounded. Prime Minister said in a televised address to the nation: "Our action was only intended to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same. Two of their MiGs were shot down... From here, it is imperative that we use our heads and act with wisdom. "All wars are miscalculated, and no one knows where they lead to. World War I was supposed to end in weeks, it took six years. Similarly, the war on terrorism was not supposed to last 17 years. "I ask India: With the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi's. India-Pakistan ties took a solid beating after the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on February 14 that killed 40 CRPF troopers in Kashmir. On Tuesday, IAF jets bombed the JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot, killing a large number of terrorists and their trainers. The Pakistan Prime Minister reiterated his offer to carry out an investigation into the suicide attack in Pulwama. "We understand the grief that you have suffered in Pulwama and are ready for a probe and dialogue. Let's sit together and settle this with talks. "...We have been the victims of war for decades. We know what war means. Since the beginning, we have asked India to share actionable evidence with us. It is nowhere in the interest of Pakistan for it to be used as a base for militancy," he said. "I feared that India would still take action and I had therefore warned India against aggression. When India stuck yesterday morning (on the JeM training camp at Balakot), we spoke to our Army command and waited to take action till we assessed the damage caused. It was our plan to not cause any collateral damage and not to cause any casualties. "Two Indian MiGs crossed Pakistan's borders and we shot them down. I also want to state that the pilot is with us," he said. "I want to now address India and say let sanity prevail. Let's think sensibly," Khan added. President Arif Alvi called Khan's address "very appropriate, precise and compassionate message conveyed to India. "Pakistan wants peace, it is to ready to help in investigation if any actionable information is provided. War has its own unmanageable dynamics, therefore sanity should prevail," he tweeted. Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader Ahsan Iqbal said: "All of Pakistan is on one page. We have expressed solidarity with the government and are with them on any action they want to take. "The big qualitative difference between Pakistan and Indian is that even though India is 7 or 8 times bigger than us, their thrives on Pakistan-bashing and this is how they get votes." Major General Asif Ghafoor, Director General of the Pakistan Army's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), addressed a press conference earlier in the day and said "Pakistan wanted peace and India needs to understand war is a failure of policy. "The state, government, armed forces and people of Pakistan have always conveyed a message of peace to India. The road to peace goes through dialogue... War is the failure of policy which India needs to understand. "We do not want to escalate and follow a path which leads to peace. The people of both countries and region at large have a right to live and live in peace. War is not the solution to problems. India should think with a cool head on this offer from Pakistan," he added. --IANS soni/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary B.K. Agarwal here on Wednesday reviewed the security in the wake of heightened tension between India and Pakistan and said the state had been put on high alert. Police had been asked to monitor spreading of any rumour by anti-social elements, he said. "Officials of various departments of the state and the central governments participated in the review meeting," Agarwal said. All district police chiefs have been asked to beef up security to ensure safety of vital installations in their districts, especially in border areas, a police spokesperson told IANS. He said directions have also been issued to ensure safety of Kashmiri people. Earlier in the day, all three -- Dharamsala, Kullu and Shimla airports -- in the state were shut for commercial operations. But flights were later resumed, officials said. --IANS vg/pg/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Despite the opposition parties alleging that the BJP government in Haryana was trying to favour private builders and land sharks, the Haryana Assembly on Wednesday passed the controversial Punjab Land Preservation (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2019. The new Bill has been passed to amend the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA),1900, in its application to the state of Haryana. Once cleared, the Bill will open up thousands of acres to real estate and other non-forest activity that were protected under the earlier Act for the past 119 years (since year 1900). Opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Congress legislators alleged that the Bill had been passed by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's government to favour private builders and the mining mafia. They demanded that the government should withdraw the Bill and that it should be examined by a House committee. Opposition leaders alleged that forest cover was depleting in the state and the amendment will allow construction even in areas where it was banned under the earlier Act. The opposition staged a walkout over the issue as the treasury benches went ahead with the passing of the Bill. The BJP itself has been accusing previous Congress and INLD governments in Haryana of massive corruption in land dealings. Khattar defended the move to bring in the Bill saying that it was as per the requirements of the present. He said that the earlier Act was very old and its provisions needed a change. Opposition legislators said that the ecologically fragile Aravali region in southern Haryana in Gurugram and Faridabad districts, adjoining the national capital, would be the worst affected by the enabling provisions of the new Bill. The Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900, was enacted by the then Governor of Punjab. The Act provides for the conservation of subsoil water and/or prevention of erosion in areas found to be subject to erosion or likely to become liable to erosion. "The intent behind the PLPA and its area of jurisdiction has evolved over a period of time. The first major amendment of immediate relevance was carried out in 1926 (Punjab Act VII of 1926) whereby it was clarified that the provisions of the Act never intended to extinguish the ownership rights of the people. Through the said amendment, from the existing expression 'temporarily or permanently' as appearing in section 4 and section 5 of PLPA, the expression 'or permanently', was omitted. This amendment is in conformity with the constitutional right granted under Article 300-A of the Constitution of India," a Haryana government spokesperson said, justifying the amendment. --IANS js/oeb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Gurugram police on Wednesday tightened security in public places like markets and malls and security force establishments following intelligence reports of possible terror strikes. Newly-appointed Police Commissioner Mohamad Akil has directed his officers to deploy extra security force in these places as well as business hubs and spots frequented by tourists following the inputs. "We have received intelligence inputs that Pakistan-sponsored terrorists may target certain places. We have deployed Quick Response Teams along with personnel from police stations concerned at these locations. We have also urged the people to alert the security personnel about any suspicious activity without any hesitation," he said. --IANS str/arm/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) June 19, 2019, Wednesday All private universities in Uttar Pradesh will now have to give an undertaking to the government, saying that their campuses will ... Commercial flight operations were suspended on Wednesday from the Guru Ram Das Jee International airport in Amritsar amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan. Passengers who were in the Amritsar airport terminal to catch flights for various destinations were asked to leave the building. The Army, Indian Air Force (IAF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel took control of the airport complex. "We were inside the airport to catch an international flight. We were asked to leave. We do not know the fate of our flight. No one is telling us anything," a young woman who was to leave for Dubai said. The airports at Halwara near Ludhiana and Adampur near Jalandhar, which are both with the Indian Air Force (IAF), were also put on high alert. --IANS js/mr/pg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The European Union (EU) on Wednesday urged India and Pakistan to exercise "utmost restraint" and avoid any further escalation of the situation on their border, as it could lead to "serious and dangerous consequences" for both countries and the wider region. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, in a statement, said tensions along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan have escalated militarily during the last few days, following the recent terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama. "This has the potential to lead to serious and dangerous consequences for the two countries and the wider region. We expect both countries to now exercise utmost restraint and avoid any further escalation of the situation. "To this end, the resumption of diplomatic contacts at political level and implementation of urgent measures by both sides is vital," she said. Mogherini said that "terrorism can never be justified" and recalled her conversation with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi "to emphasise the need to continue to address terrorism, including clear and targeted actions related to all forms of terrorist activity". "The European Union will remain in contact with both countries and will continue to closely monitor the situation," she said. Following February 14 Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed, Indian Air Force (IAF) on early Tuesday conducted an aerial strike on the biggest Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provice. On Wednesday morning, the the Air Forces of the two countries were engaged in a brief aerial fight in which India shot down a Pakistan fighter jet while losing one of fighter planes. JeM had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terror attack. --IANS rak/ps/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Emirates flight from Dubai to Delhi was diverted on Wednesday after Karachi airspace was closed amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. The Boeing 777 300 aircraft, which took off from Dubai at 10.30 a.m., half an hour behind schedule, landed at Ahmedabad airport at 2.45 p.m. for refuelling. Before landing, the plane's captain announced that it had to be diverted because it was denied permission to fly over Karachi airspace. The flight was grounded at Ahmedabad for an hour. Tensions have erupted between India and Pakistan following the Indian Air Force (IAF) jets bombing the biggest training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit in Balakot on Tuesday. The IAF on Wednesday chased away intruding Pakistani fighter jets in Jammu and Kashmir's Nowshera sector. Reports said that Pakistan has banned any Indian aircraft from using their airspace and that Pakistan's Air Traffic Control has banned any aircraft from flying below 32,000 feet. --IANS vsc-ps/soni/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday questioned Robert Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, for the seventh time in an ongoing money laundering probe for having overseas assets worth 1.9 million pounds. Vadra was questioned at the agency's Jamnagar office located at India Gate's mouth in Central Delhi for over five hours by the investigating officers, who began his grilling around 11 a.m, minutes after he deposed. The Directorate officials said that Vadra arrived at the agency's office at 10.40 a.m and was questioned till 5.47 p.m. The investigators recorded Vadra's statement and confronted him with the documents the ED has as evidence in the case related to his ownership of overseas assets in London. According to the ED, Vadra's properties are located at 12, Bryanston Square in London and are allegedly owned by the businessman in a "benami" way. The agency has informed a Delhi court about the various new properties in London that belong to Vadra. These include two houses -- one worth 5 million pounds and the other valued at 4 million pounds -- six flats and other assets. The ED has earlier questioned Vadra for over 42 hours in connection with the case on February 6, 7, 9, 20, 22 and 26. On December 7, the Directorate had raided several of Vadra's properties in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. Vadra, husband of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, is on interim bail till March 2. His first appearance before the ED earlier this month acquired political overtones after Priyanka 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. --IANS rak/nir (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The DRI has busted a syndicate importing edible oil from Bangladesh by misusing the agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) to evade customs duty, an official said on Wednesday. A man has been arrested in this connection. Kanpur Edibles Pvt. Ltd. had hatched a conspiracy to avail the benefit of exemption of duty under SAFTA rules which was otherwise not eligible, an official of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said. Sunil Kumar Gupta, director and main operator of the firm, was arrested on Monday from Kanpur. The accused was produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM), Kanpur, on Tuesday and was remanded to be produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Kolkata, on Wednesday, the official said. During investigation, the accused firm was found to have imported 17,365.81 tonnes of refined palmolein, cumulatively valued at Rs 116.04 crore from various land customs stations at Gojadanga, Mahadipur and Petrapol in West Bengal, the agency said. Seven live consignments containing 771.935 tonnes of imported refined palmolein, cumulatively valued at Rs. 4.55 crore, were seized. "In respect of consignments imported in the past involving duty of around Rs 45.62 crore are under investigation." If edible oil is imported from non-SAFTA countries, it attracts basic customs duty of 54 per cent along with social welfare surcharge (SWS) of 10 per cent, apart from applicable IGST. However, if imported from SAFTA countries, basic customs duty and SWS are waived. --IANS bdc/pg/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the trial court to expedite the trial in the 2008 TV journalist Soumya Vishwanathan murder case. Justice Mukta Gupta directed the court while disposing of an accused's plea seeking speedy disposal of trial in the murder case. The court was hearing the plea of one of the accused Baljeet Singh Malik through advocate Amit Kumar. Malik has sought the court's direction to the trial court to expedite and conclude the trial of the present case in a fixed time frame on a day-to-day basis. The court directed the trial court hearing the matter to conclude the proceedings as early as possible and preferably on day-to-day basis or at least to conduct hearing on two days a week. The court also directed to appoint a senior police officer to monitor the appearance of prosecution witnesses on the date fixed for hearing. Delhi government standing counsel Rahul Mehra told the court that Delhi Police has appointed a senior officer to monitor the issue. The court noted that apparently the trial has been delayed due to non-appearance of witnesses on the date fixed for hearing. Till February, the trial court concluded recording of the statement of nearly 42 witnesses in the case. The prosecution has cited nearly hundreds of witnesses in their charge sheet and supplementary charge sheet. Malik has also sought compensation of Rs 1 crore on account of the unreasonable and inordinate delay in investigation and trial of the present case. But the court rejected his plea seeking compensation. Malik, in his plea, told the court that he was a 20-year-old in 2008 when the case was registered. He was arrested on March 28, 2009, and since then he has been languishing in jails and facing trial as an undertrial prisoner. Delhi Police said Vishwanathan was shot dead on September 30, 2008, when she was returning home in her car from office in the wee hours. It has been more than nine-and-a-half years since the petitioner (Malik) was arrested but the respondent has not been able to conclude the trial of the present case so far, the plea said. The trial is pending before the sessions court in Saket. The next date of hearing is March 8. --IANS akk/mag/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, Congress President Rahul Gandhi has cancelled a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and the 'Jan Sankalp rally' which was to be held here on Thursday. After almost six decades, a CWC meeting was scheduled to be held in Gujarat. All the bigwigs of the Grand Old Party were supposed to be present on Thursday including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, new General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The CWC is the party's highest decision-making body. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala posted a Twitter message that Rahul Gandhi had postponed both the CWC meeting and the public rally due to the prevailing situation in the country. The Congress leaders were to address a public gathering at the TriMandir at Adalaj in the afternoon. A special committee was formed for the CWC meeting, which was to discuss economic, foreign and social policies. Congress workers were waiting for the meeting with enthusiasm. A resolution was also to be passed to strengthen the Panchayati Raj and democratic institutions. "Our President has postponed Thursday's CWC meet at Trimandir, looking at the prevalent situation. The decision regarding the same will be taken after the situation is stabilized," said Paresh Dhanani, Leader of Opposition in the Gujarat assembly. --IANS desai/mr/pg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, the Congress on Wednesday postponed the meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) scheduled for Thursday in Ahmedabad. The CWC, the party's highest decision-making body, was to be attended by the Congress leadership including President Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi and United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. They were also set to address a public rally in Adalaj in Gujarat. A party leader said that a decision on the next date for the meeting will soon be taken. --IANS and/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) To mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a UAE-based company will globally release 12 bank notes of zero value, the first-ever limited edition commemorative series, an official said here on Wednesday. The first two notes of the 12-part series, with just 5,000 pieces to be printed in each design, will go on sale at select outlets globally and online platforms while the remaining will be released in phases till October 2, said the top official of Numisbing Group, Dubai. The special notes have been designed by Dubai-based Indian artist Akbar Saheb who is also the main illustrator for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's book "Mann Ki Baat". Each note will feature memorable incidents from the personal and political life of Gandhi as a tribute to his legendary status, said Ramkumar Sarangapani, Numisbing Group founder and President of the International Bank Note Society, Dubai. "Besides the fact that these commemorative notes have a huge shelf value, the bigger reason for the initiative was to bring Mahatma Gandhi back to life using incidents that are more than just history lessons," said Sarangapani. The first (of two) note being released shows the "Promise to Mother" in 1888, the three vows the young Gandhi made to his mother Puttlibai before leaving for his law studies to England. The promises included complete abstention from alcohol, non-vegetarian food and regarding all other women as his mothers or sisters, intendeded to prevent him from going astray in a foreign land. The second note features the historic incident of 1893 when the young lawyer Gandhi was thrown off a train at Pietermaritzburg railway station in South Africa, from a "Whites Only" compartment. That incident left a deep scar on his memory and laid the foundations for his non-violence movement that eventually proved the critical factor in India gaining independence from the British. Initially, the plan was to issue just one commemorative note but since Gandhi's life was so inspirational and it would not be fair to confine him to just one note, it was decided to bring out a 12-part series, said Sarangapani. Only once in the past, a similar initiative was taken. India issued commemorative notes with the image of Gandhi in 1969 to celebrate his 100th birth anniversary and were given for public use as well, he added. An avid bank notes collector, Sarangapani features in the Limca Book of Records for having a unique collection of 45 commemorative bank notes of all denominations (from Re 1 to Rs 100) and all prefixes, that were issued in 1969. The zero euro note is a souvenir bank note authorised by the European Central Bank and are printed in the same security printers as other normal euro currency notes, carry all security features, except that they are marked "0" to ensure they do not enter normal market circulation, said Numisbing co-founder Steve Desouza, who is IBNS-Dubai Secretary. Numisbing Group is a Dubai-based arts and numismatics (collection of Coins and Currencies) company, founded in 2012, and has an exclusive gallery called "71 Arts" featuring the works of royal, Islamic and Arabic painting of top artists, including M.F. Husain and Akbar Saheb. --IANS qn/ksk/ab (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) All air space in Jammu and Kashmir was sealed on Wednesday after three Pakistan fighter planes violated the Indian air space in Rajouri district. Defence Ministry sources said all civilian flights to and from Leh, Srinagar, Jammu and Pathankot (Punjab) have been out on hold. Official sources said the Srinagar airport had also been taken over by the Indian Air Force (IAF). Official sources said a Mi-17 helicopter crashed due to a technical snag in Badgam district killing both the pilot and co-pilot. Police said a civilian, identified as Kifayat, was killed when civilians rushed for rescue operations after the helicopter crash. Meanwhile, scores of passengers at Srinagar international airport have been told to return as civilian flight operations are unlikely to resume on Wednesday. --IANS sq/mr/pg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bollywoood celebrities on Wednesday called for peace and wished for the safe return of an Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot who is in Pakistan's custody. Pakistan said it had Wing Commander Varthaman Abhinandan in its custody. Here's what the celebrities have to say: Actress Nimrat Kaur, who comes from an Army background: "Strength and resolve to the family and loved ones of Wing Commander Abhinandan. The nation's prayers and thoughts are with him in this tough hour. May this stoic, dignified officer be back on Indian soil soon." Former beauty queen Sushmita Sen, the daughter of a retired Indian Air Force officer, wrote: "We are all praying for the safe return of Wing Commander Abhinandan." "To all those who cheered from the sidelines yesterday, with all humility I ask you to read the next sentence. 'He has still not returned'," filmmaker Nikkhil Advani tweeted. Actress and daughter of Colonel V.K. Jaitley, Celina Jaitly said that Tuesday's action by India was "counter terrorism" and "no civilians (were) hurt, no military personnel targeted/hurt. "What Pakistan did is an act of war, they targeted military personnel, while no one wants war, Pakistan has aggravated the situation. Praying for Wing Commander Abhinandan's safe return." Actress Taapsee Pannu re-tweeted the news about Varthaman and said this is what she feared in all "this celebration" after the IAF fighter jets struck terror launch pads in Pakistan on Tuesday. Actress Swara Bhasker said: "Bring back Abhinandan." Some celebrities also urged the media and social media community to be more responsible and to steer clear from spreading anger. Swara wrote: We hope and pray for the safety of our soldiers and officers. Please stop circulating fake and old videos and creating panic and miscommunication. Things are tense and volatile as it is. Please be responsible. Ranganathan Madhavan: It's a war against terror not between two nations yet. Dear Media -- You can actually stop this escalation... Please let's be responsible and work towards peace. Shekhar Kapur: It's really important not to fan the flames of war rhetoric. It's not a game. You are not facing bullets or bombs. You are not the family praying and hoping fervently that your husbands, brothers or fathers are safe. Nor living in border areas in fear. It's easy to be armchair soldiers. Richa Chadha: Can news media be tried for inciting war? For ugly graphics, video game footage, provocative hashtags. Funnily, here is one place we are united eh India, Pakistan - in fake news! Vishal Dadlani: Indian or Pakistani, if you have any brains and any love/respect for your soldiers, say it out loud. We don't want war. We need peace. --IANS dc/rb/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday said his Telugu Desam Party (TDP) would participate in the protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to this port city on Friday. In a teleconference with TDP leaders, Naidu said the party would support the protest called by Prateekya Hoda Sadhana Samiti Joint Action Committee over the Centre not conferring special category status on the state and not fulfilling other promises made in Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. The JAC, which comprises various like-minded parties and groups fighting for special category status to the state, has said that Modi has no moral right to visit the state without fulfilling the commitments. Political parties, people's organisations and trade unions which are not part of JAC have also called for the protest against Modi's visit. They include the Congress, Jana Sena and the Left parties. Modi will address a public meeting at Visakhapatnam. Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary Anil Chandra Punetha on Wednesday held a meeting with top officials in state capital Amaravati to review the arrangements for the Prime Minister's visit. Modi had faced black-flag protests during his visit to the state's Guntur on February 10. Addressing a public meeting, he made a scathing attack on Naidu. Meanwhile, the TDP chief alleged that main opposition YSR Congress Party was busy in mobilising people for Modi's public meeting. He reiterated that YSR Congress is hand-in-glove with Modi and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao. Simultaneous elections to Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Lok Sabha are due in April-May. --IANS ms/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after its release from the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework, state-run Allahabad Bank on Wednesday said it will cut marginal cost of funds based lending rates (MCLR) across all tenors up to three years with effect from March 1, which will result in its home, car and other retail loans getting cheaper. "The Asset Liability Management Committee of the bank has reviewed the existing Marginal Cost of Funds Based Lending Rates (MCLRs) and decided for a downward revision of MCLR by 10 basis points (bps) for all the tenors," the bank said in a regulatory filing. For all the tenors - overnight, one month, three months, six months, one year, two years and three years, the bank has cut the MCLR by 0.10 per cent each to 8.15 per cent, 8.25 per cent, 8.45 per cent, 8.50 per cent, 8.65 per cent, 8.85 per cent and 8.95 per cent respectively, according to the filing. The Reserve Bank of India last week had asked banks to transmit the repo rate cut benefit to the real economy after a 25 basis points rate cut by the apex bank in early February. The apex bank on Tuesday decided to release Allahabad Bank, Corporation Bank and Dhanlaxmi Bank from its PCA framework. On Wednesday, Allahabad Bank's scrip jumped 7.53 per cent at Rs 47.15 at the closing on the BSE. The bank narrowed net loss to Rs 732.81 crore for the third quarter of the current fiscal against a net loss of Rs 1,263.79 crore for the same period last fiscal. It had reported a net loss of Rs 1,822.71 crore for the second quarter of the current fiscal. --IANS bdc/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi" actress Payal Ghosh has given up smoking. Payal will play a god woman in the upcoming film "Jai Mata Di", helmed by "Mickey Virus" director Saurabh Varma. She has started practicing yoga. Her trainer advised her to stop smoking if she plans to continue doing yoga. Initially, she found it difficult to quit smoking but soon health benefits overpowered temptation. "It's been two months since I've touched a cigarette. I feel fresher and my body is responding to yoga and workouts better. I urge everyone to work towards quitting smoking. It's amazing... the change one feels after kicking the b***," Payal said in a statement. --IANS nn/vin/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Seventy nine Rohingyas have been arrested by the Manipur police so far on the charge of entering the state without travel documents, Chief Minister N. Biren said on Wednesday. Biren was speaking in the Manipur Assembly in reply to a question by Congress MLA K. Ranjit. Twenty seven of the arrested Rohingyas are still serving prison terms under the Foreigners' Act while others have been released, he informed. Biren said: "They (Rohingyas) entered Manipur from Myanmar through Moreh town, and from other parts of the northeast states through Jiri town. We have instructed the police to beef up security to round up Rohingyas." He said the Manipur government had approached the Central government for implementing the National Register of Citizens in the state as in Assam. This will help the police identify and arrest foreigners, he added. The arrest of the Rohingyas began in 2012 when 32 Rohingyas were booked, while 36 foreigners were arrested in 2018. --IANS il/pg/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami on Wednesday launched the free laptop scheme for students for the academic year 2018-19 by handing over laptops to seven students at the state secretariat. In a statement issued here, the government said during this academic year, about 15.18 lakh students will be given free laptops involving an outlay of Rs 1,340.44 crore. The AIADMK government under then Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa launched the free laptop for students scheme in 2011. Since then a total of 37,88,528 students have been given free laptops at an outlay of Rs 5,552.39 crore. --IANS vj/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Domestic stocks reversed intraday gains to hit day's low in negative zone amid geo-political concerns. At 12:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 102.72 points or 0.29% at 35,870.99. The Nifty 50 index was down 40.60 points or 0.37% at 10,794.70. Intraday volatility was high. The Sensex was currently trading below the psychological 36,000 level after moving above and below that level in intrday trade. Pakistani fighter jets on Wednesday morning reportedly violated the Indian air space in Nowshera sector of Jammu & Kashmir's Rajouri district but were pushed back by Indian aircraft. India had carried out non-military, pre-emptive air strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) Tuesday morning to target the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Trading for the day began on an upbeat note as the key benchmark indices drifted higher in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. Stocks held firm in morning trade. Key indices trimmed gains in mid-morning trade. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.36%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.1%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative. On the BSE, 1089 shares rose and 1175 shares fell. A total of 128 shares were unchanged. Telecom stocks saw mixed trend. Bharti Airtel (up 0.29%), Vodafone Idea (up 0.05%)and MTNL (up 0.16%) rose. Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 4.44%) and Reliance Communications (down 0.63%) fell. Shares of Bharti Infratel fell 2.31%. Bharti Infratel is a provider of tower and related infrastructure and is a unit of Bharti Airtel. Corporation Bank (up 6.85%), Allahabad Bank (up 5.47%) and Dhanlaxmi Bank (up 7.5%) edged higher after the Reserve Bank of India permitted these banks to exit the prompt corrective action framework. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s board for financial supervision (BFS), in its meeting held on 26 February 2019, reviewed the performance of banks under Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework and noted that the Government of India has infused fresh capital on 21 February 2019 into various banks including some of the banks currently under the PCA framework. Of these banks, the BFS noted that Allahabad Bank and Corporation Bank had received Rs 6896 crore and Rs 9086 crore respectively. This has shored up their capital funds and also increased their loan loss provision to ensure that the PCA parameters were complied with. The two banks have also made the necessary disclosures to the stock exchange that post infusion of capital, the CRAR, CET1, net NPA and leverage ratios are no longer in breach of the PCA thresholds. The banks also apprised RBI of the structural and systemic improvements put in place to maintain these numbers. Accordingly, based on the principles adopted by the BFS in its earlier meeting dated 31 January 2019, it was decided in the meeting held on 26 February 2019 that Allahabad Bank and Corporation Bank be taken out of the PCA Framework subject to certain conditions and continuous monitoring. It has also been decided to take Dhanlaxmi Bank out of the PCA framework, subject to certain conditions and continuous monitoring, as the bank is found to be not breaching any of the risk thresholds of the PCA framework. Overseas, most Asian stocks were trading higher Wednesday as investors awaited the outcome of a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam. Kim and Trump both arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday and begin their meetings later in the day. U.S. stocks closed lower Tuesday after weaving in and out of positive territory all session following Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's congressional testimony, during which he reiterated the central bank's wait-and-see approach. Investors have been focused on U.S.-China trade developments after Trump in recent days indicated that he was willing to extend a March 2 deadline for increasing tariffs on some $200 billion in Chinese goods. In economic data, Consumer confidence surged in February, rising for the first time in four months, as the Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose to 131.4, up from 121.7 in January. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu, held an interaction with Farmer Producers' Organizations (FPOs) through video link in 81 locations of the country in New Delhi yesterday. Around twelve locations from the North East were part of this interaction with the Minister. Commerce Minster discussed with the FPOs about measures that may be implemented by them in order to boost exports of products from specific regions of the states. In order to implement the Agriculture Export Policy 40 clustershave been formedacross the country and through NABARD, APEDA, MPEDA and Plantation Boards farmer's organizations will be given all assistance in order to ensure that farmers get adequate market price and are able to export their produce. Commerce Minister suggested that FPOs must form federations which can become engines of growth in the districts. Minister informed that he is writing to all FPOs to take the lead and ensure that the object of the Agriculture Export Policy of doubling farmers income is implemented. While interacting with FPOs Minister heard problems faced by farmers in areas like Nasik in Maharashtra, Idduki in Kerala, Rayagada in Odisha, Dahod in Gujarat, Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, Gangtok in Sikkim and FPOs from Himachal Pradesh. Most of them face difficulty in accessing value chains and suffer from lack of access to markets. Commerce Minister assured all FPOs that he will look into each of their problems and ensure that these are solved at the earliest. The agri export policy is aligned with the vision of doubling of farmers' income by providing the farmers the benefit of export opportunities through a stable trade policy regime. The policy gives focus on developing clusters with potential for export-oriented production of specific products and greater thrust on value added products, promotion and branding of produce of India. The main aim of the policy is to double agriculture exports to USD 60 billion by 2022. Several initiatives have been taken to boost agricultural exports which include lifting of prohibition on export of Edible Oils and Pulses and provision of MEIS on a number of agricultural products. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The world's largest radio telescope, Square Kilometre Array (SKA), is one step closer to completion in the remote West Australian desert, as scientists are putting the final touches on the build for the ambitious project. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is heading the Australian side of the ambitious project to build the world's largest radio telescope built across two continents. As CNET reports, the SKA will include more than 132,000 low-frequency antennas in Australia and hundreds of dishes in South Africa, creating a total area of 1 square kilometre. CSIRO says the final setup will resemble metal Christmas trees. With SKA, the exchange of data is estimated to be on the scale of petabits per second which means an even enhanced infrastructure and the need to control the level of radio emissions. The projected infrastructure will include 65,000 fibre optic cables to transfer the data from the antennas to the SKA's supercomputing facilities. As the infrastructure design is finalised across Australia and South Africa, the construction on the SKA is expected to commence in 2020. When completed, the SKA will be capable of imaging the sky at a resolution surpassing the Hubble telescope. It will help scientists look at how galaxies formed after the Big Bang, explore magnetic fields and dark energy, even potentially search for signs of extraterrestrial life. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In the wake of the political crisis ensuing in Venezuela, Russia has claimed that the United States is planning a "military invasion" in the Latin American nation. "By showing sarcasm and arrogance towards the Venezuelan people, the United States is preparing a military invasion on an independent state," Nikolai Patrushev, the Russian Security Council Secretary, told Sputnik. "The transfer of American special forces to Puerto Rico, the landing of US forces in Colombia and other facts clearly indicate that the Pentagon is reinforcing the grouping of troops in the region in order to overthrow the lawfully elected incumbent President (Nicolas) Maduro," he added. Patrushev's comments come in the wake of the now culminated Lima Group talks in Colombia. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, United States Vice President Mike Pence and Colombian President Ivan Duque held a meeting, where Pence expressed the US' "100%" support for Guaido, underlining that Maduro "must go". "The Venezuelan people understand this well. Hence, such a reaction, the refusal to accept cargo from the aggressor country and the support of their President," Patrushev said. Violent clashes had broken out in Venezuelan border towns near Brazil and Colombia on Saturday when a group of Guaido's supporters tried bringing in aid - which has been blocked by Maduro - into Venezuela. Since then, Guaido has claimed that aid has, in fact, reached the South American nation, outlining the people's rejection of Maduro's leadership. Venezuela has been in the throes of a political turmoil ever since Guaido proclaimed himself as the President of the nation on January 23. Protesters have called for Maduro's resignation, while a few international countries like France, Japan, Germany, amongst others, have called for fresh elections to be held in the nation. With no new elections announced, Maduro has time and again reiterated his intention of not stepping down. The embattled President currently enjoys the Venezuelan military's allegiance, with reports claiming that there are over 320 servicemen who have defected to Colombia in recent days. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The United States is "deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan" and has called for both the sides to take "immediate steps" to de-escalate the situation. "(The United States is) deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan and calls on both sides to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation," a National Security Council official told the Voice of America. "The potential risks associated with further military action by either side are unacceptably high for both countries, their neighbours and the international community," the official further cautioned. US Senator Edward Markey, who is also the national leader on energy, environment, climate, and telecom, also raised concern over the ongoing tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours. "The heightening tensions between Pakistan and India are deeply alarming. These two nuclear-armed states must commit to resolving this crisis peacefully, and the U.S. should stand ready to assist. We must not allow conventional tensions to go nuclear," Markey tweeted on Wednesday (local time). The comments come in the wake of an Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman being captured by the Pakistani army on Wednesday when the Pakistan Air Force violated Indian air space. Fighter jets from the Indian Air Force repulsed the morning raid launched by Pakistani F-16 fighter jets which prevented damage on Indian troop positions or infrastructure. India has since sought the immediate and safe return of the personnel, strongly underlining that "no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody." On Tuesday, India launched an anti-terror strike against a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror training camp in Pakistan's Balakot, in which a large number of terrorists have been killed by the Indian Air Force, according to Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale. The air strike was carried out in the aftermath of the February 14 terrorist attack on a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, which claimed the lives of over 40 CRPF personnel. Pakistan-based JeM staked responsibility for the attacks, which have been widely condemned by the international community. There has been mounting global pressure against Pakistan to stop providing support and a safe haven to terrorists ever since. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday (local time) announced that the British Parliament may vote on March 14 to extend the Brexit deadline. The scenario may be possible if the Parliament rejects the newly negotiated deal with the European Union on March 12. Following this, a vote on March 13 will take place to decide whether the British Parliament agrees to exit from the EU without a deal on March 29. According to May, the vote on March 14 on the extension of the Brexit deadline would take place if the House rejects leaving the EU without a deal on March 13. "If the House, having rejected leaving with the deal negotiated with the EU, then rejects leaving on March 29 without a withdrawal agreement and future framework, the Government will on March 14 bring forward a motion on whether Parliament wants to seek a short, limited extension to Article 50," a statement issued by the UK Parliament, which quotes May, mentions. "And if the House votes for an extension, seek to agree that extension approved by the House with the EU and bring forward the necessary legislation to change the exit date commensurate with that extension," May further told the House on February 26 (local time). The British Prime Minister's previously clinched deal with the EU has already been rejected once by the Parliament already. Scores of MPs voiced their discontent, outlining the Irish backstop as a major roadblock to the parliamentary acceptance of the deal. The Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, has time and again labelled it as a "botched deal", having previously announced of his Labour Party's intent of holding a public vote to avoid a "damaging Tory Brexit. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump on Wednesday held a meeting with Vietnam's President Nguyen Phu Trong and thanked the country's leadership for agreeing to host the second US-North Korea Summit. Talking to the media after the meeting, he promoted the idea of a prosperous North Korea by citing the "good example" of Communist Vietnam. "We (Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un) both felt very good about having this very important Summit in Vietnam because you really are a good example of what can happen," CNN quoted Trump as saying. He also said that he is "very proud" of what Vietnam had accomplished economically. He later met Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Earlier, the Vietnam Prime Minister asserted that the US and North Korea should reach an agreement for the "peace of the world". "For the peace of the world, for a connected and developed world, let's shake hands. We shall develop together and contribute to global stability," he told CNN in an exclusive interview. "Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly if it would denuclearize. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting!," tweeted Trump. . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists were gunned down by security forces on Wednesday during an encounter in Memander area of Shopain district in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. The encounter, which broke out between the security forces and terrorists in the wee hours of Wednesday in Sophian, has ended and security forces have begun the combing operations in the area. The encounter comes a day after India carried out air strikes at a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Tuesday said Indian Air Force has eliminated a "large number" of terrorists, including top commanders, during multiple air strikes in the terror launch pads. The terror camp in a thick forest area atop a hill was led by Ustad Gauri, brother-in-law of JeM chief Masood Azhar, Gokhale said, making a statement before the media, hours after the air strikes using Mirage 2000 were carried out. In retaliation, Pakistan reportedly violated ceasefire in a number of places along the LoC. Heavy shelling was also reported in the region. On February 24, the three Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists were killed in an encounter in Kulgam, said the Jammu and Kashmir Police. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to pass further orders in the case concerning apprehensions of attacks on Kashmiris in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack. The top court today took note of the central government's submission that no incident against any Kashmiri students has taken place since its February 22 order directing all states to take strict action against violence after February 14 attack. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi also asked the Centre and 10 states to file a reply in seven days on the plea filed against the attack on Kashmiri students. There have been reports of persecution of Kashmiri students and others in different parts of the country following the Pulwama terror attack in which around 40 CRPF soldiers were killed. Pakistan based and backed 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.) The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought a response from Centre and Assam government on a plea challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi issued a notice to the Centre and the Assam government and asked them to file a response within two weeks. Nagarikatwa Aain Songsudhan Birodhi Mancha, a forum against Citizenship Act Amendment Bill, has sought to declare the Passport (Entry into India) Amendment Rules, 2015 and the Foreigners (Amendment) Act as "discriminatory, arbitrary and illegal". The petition opposed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill on the ground that it had introduced religion as a new principle into the citizenship law and termed it as "communally motivated humanitarianism". "The illegal immigrants who are to be granted the benefit of this legislation are to qualify for citizenship only on the basis of religion, a requirement that goes against one of the basic tenets of the Indian Constitution, secularism," the petition stated. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha on January 8, seeks to provide citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014. On February 13, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 lapsed in the Rajya Sabha, amid protests by the members of the House. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russia on Wednesday called on India and Pakistan to exercise restraint amid growing tension between the two countries. Press Secretary of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow is following the development of events closely. He also stated that Moscow is concerned about the aggravation of relations between India and Pakistan. "We are extremely concerned about the news coming in, we are very closely monitoring the situation and, of course, we urge all parties to show restraint," said the Kremlin spokesman. The Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia in connection with growing tensions in India-Pakistan relations expressed serious concern about the aggravation of the situation along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan. "We call on both sides to show restraint and step up efforts to resolve existing problems by political and diplomatic means. We are ready to further assist in strengthening the counter-terrorism potential of New Delhi and Islamabad," stated the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. The tension between New Delhi and Islamabad escalated following the Pulwama terror attack that claimed lives of at least 40 CRPF personnel on February 14. Russia had condemned the attack and denounced terrorism in all its forms and manifestation. Embassy of the Russian Federation tweeted, "We denounce terrorism in all its forms & reiterate the need to combat these inhuman acts with a decisive and collective response without any double standards. We express condolences to families of the deceased & wish a speedy recovery to injured." Meanwhile, the tension between the two neighbouring nations is escalating as Indian Air Force on Tuesday carried out strikes at a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror training camp in Balakot, in which a large number of terrorists were killed. Jammu and Kashmir saw heightened military activity on Wednesday with Pakistani jets violating the Indian air space and dropping some bombs in Rajouri sector after which one of their fighters was shot down. India said it foiled an attempt by Pakistan Air Force this morning to carry out strikes in Jammu and Kashmir by shooting down an F-16 fighter plane while losing its own MiG-21 jet after which a pilot was "missing in action". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A newborn baby in Rajasthan's Ajmer region has been named after the Mirage 2000 fighter jets used by the Indian Air Force in Tuesday's air strikes against Pakistan-based terror camps. The baby boy has been christened Mirage Singh Rathore and his father said he hoped that he will join the security forces when he grows up. Speaking to ANI Sharavan Singh Rathore, the father said: "In order to commemorate and keep the success of the Mirage air strikes alive, we have named our baby name as Mirage Singh Rathore. We hope he will join the security forces when he grows up." After nearly 48 years, the Indian Air Force has sent a retorting response to the country that whichever country uses the language of war will get a similar response from New India." Mirage's uncle, the elder brother of Sharavan Singh and an Air Force officer, said: "Yesterday I received news of two good developments. One was India's attack on Pakistani territory and the other was the birth of my younger brother's son. We have named him Mirage Singh Rathore, in memory of this big victory." Whether he will love it or not, the baby will surely have an interesting tale to tell about his name. In the wee hours of Tuesday, 12 Indian Air Force Mirage-2000 fighter entered Pakistani airspace and dropped 1,000-kg laser-guided bombs on Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) camps across the Line of Control. The Mirage-2000 is the same aircraft that helped India win the Kargil war. At 3:30 am on Tuesday, the Indian Air Force carried out multiple aerial strikes at terror launch pads in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, destroying control rooms of JeM and some other infrastructure. The French company Dassault Aviation manufactured Indian Air Force Mirage-2000 fighter jets attacked Jaish-e-Mohammed hideout in Balakot with 1,000-kg laser-guided bombs. Despite India having several new-age fighter jets like the Sukhoi and MiG 29, it was again the Mirage-2000 jet which has proved that it is India's most versatile and deadliest aircraft. Besides the Jaguar, the Mirage-2000 is the only other IAF plane capable of delivering nuclear bombs.It is worth mentioning that Mirage had played a decisive role in the Kargil war, which was an armed conflict between India and Pakistanheld from May to July 1999. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President of India and the supreme commander of the armed forces Ram Nath Kovind will present the coveted president's color to Air Force station Hakimpet and five base repair depots housed at Sulur in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore district, Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Air Command Air Marshal B Suresh said on Wednesday. Elaborating on the ceremony, the Air Marshal said, "It will take place during a ceremonial parade that will witness the presence of various dignitaries including Governor P Sathasivam, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and chief-of-Air Force staff BS Dhanoa." The award of President's colors/standard is one of the greatest honours bestowed upon an Air Force Unit or Squadron in recognition of exceptional service rendered by it to the nation, both during the war and in peace. He also informed that as part of enhanced security, an integrated perimeter security system is under process for deployment at most of the air force base stations. "For most of the stations, through an integrated perimeter security system, most of the strategic asset of the Indian Air Force will be very well protected. The project has been cleared and in a few years, most of the bases will have it. We have to switch over from manual protection to a combination of manual plus electronic surveillance. It is completely indigenous and this is the path ahead that we have envisaged," he said replying to a query. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed, including one from Pakistan, were killed in an encounter in Shopian on Wednesday, according to the Jammu and Kashmir Police. "Shopian encounter has completed. On specific information, this operation was launched. Two terrorists were killed. These terrorists belonged to proscribed terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammad," confirmed Kashmir's Inspector General of Police SP Pani. He added, "Arms and ammunition have been recovered. From the material we have recovered, it is ascertained that one terrorist belonged to Pakistan, and the other is from a local area." The investigation is underway. Early morning on Wednesday, the encounter between the security forces and terrorists broke out in Memander area of Shopian district in the Kashmir valley. The encounter comes a day after India carried out air strikes at a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Looking for in-depth reporting on labor issues? You're in the right place. Subscribe to The Chief and get stories that cover every side of civil service in New York City and beyond. You can sign up in minutes for immediate access. Amid the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, Islamabad closed its airbases and airports which led to delay of several flights. Qatar Airways issued a statement wherein it asserted that due to the ongoing situation on the India-Pakistan border, its flights to the following airports are currently temporarily suspended. "Qatar Airways can confirm that due to the ongoing situation on the India-Pakistan border, its flights to the following airports are currently temporarily suspended: Faisalabad, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar and Sialkot," read the statement issued by Qatar Airways. It added, "Other flights routed over India-Pakistan aerospace may also experience delays due to rerouting around the affected area. We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this situation, the safety and security of our passengers remains Qatar Airways' top priority." Meanwhile, Etihad Airways also issued a statement informing the passengers about the flight delay. Etihad Airways Spokesperson said, "Due to airspace and airport closures in Pakistan, Etihad Airways flights EY233 Abu Dhabi (AUH) - Islamabad (ISB) and EY243 Abu Dhabi (AUH) - Lahore (LHE), both due to depart 1400 February 27, are being held until further notice. Flight EY290 Abu Dhabi (AUH) to Kathmandu (KTM) is returning to AUH as a result of the en route airspace closure and is due to land at 1400. Our Guest Control team is actively working to support affected guests. This is an evolving situation and updates will follow as it develops. The safety and security of our guests will always be our number one priority at Etihad Airways and we continue to monitor the situation." Meanwhile, the airspace over Leh, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot and areas bordering Pakistan were also shut indefinitely earlier today in the wake of the security situation building up in the area. With all Indian establishments put on high alert in view of possible air space violation by Pakistan, the Indian government decided to shut the air space for commercial and civilian flights. Several commercial flights have been put on hold. Flight operations have been suspended at the Amritsar airport, too. "Due to operational reasons, the airspace at Amritsar has been closed for now. No commercial flights are coming to Amritsar, there is no base here, so flights are not even taking off from here," AP Acharya, Director of the Amritsar Airport, told ANI. Vistara, in a statement, said: "Due to airspace restrictions, flights to and from Amritsar, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Jammu are currently on hold. Customers are requested to check flight status before commencing their journey to the airport." A high-level meeting was called by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in which CISF DG Rajesh Ranjan was also present. He briefed MHA about the security preparedness of airports. All inconvenience meted out to the passengers have been regretted by the respective airlines. Meanwhile, Dubai Airports also confirmed that the flights to and from Pakistan have been impacted until further notice due to the closure of Pakistani airspace. "We are working closely with airlines, control authorities and air traffic controllers to minimise operational impact and customer inconvenience," the airport authorities stated. Singapore International Airlines also issued a statement to inform passengers about the flight delay. "In view of the closure of Pakistani airspace, the following Europe-bound flights will make refuelling stops en route before proceeding to their destinations: Singapore to London SQ308 operating from Singapore to London on 27 February 2019 will stop in Dubai for refuelling before proceeding to London. SQ318 operating from Singapore to London on 27 February 2019 will stop in Mumbai for refuelling before proceeding to London," stated the SIA spokesperson. The spokesperson further informed that 'SQ326' operating from Singapore to Frankfurt on 27 February 2019 will stop in Mumbai for refuelling before proceeding to Frankfurt, provided it is able to arrive in Frankfurt before the airport's curfew. "However, due to the delay, SQ325 operating from Frankfurt to Singapore on 27 February is cancelled and passengers will be transferred to other airlines. All other flights that overfly affected airspace will be rerouted, but are due to operate as scheduled at this point," the SIA spokesperson informed. On February 26, India carried out air strikes on a terror camp run by Jaish-E-Mohammad in Balakot, a hill town in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Soon after that the Pakistani side started building up for a confrontation and resorted to ceasefire violation in Rajouri. There were reports that the Pakistani Air Force jets violated Indian airspace in the Rajouri sector, and dropped bombs near Indian Army establishments. No casualties have been reported so far. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday threatened to boycott the next month's Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in the UAE if India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj participated in it. Swaraj will attend the meeting as the 'guest of honour' and will address the plenary of the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers slated to be held in Abu Dhabi from March 1 to 2. "I have no reservations with OIC or any other Islamic country. My reservations are with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj's attendance at the OIC meeting. If Swaraj attends the meeting then I will not participate in it," Qureshi was quoted by Geo News as saying. He claimed that he raised the matter with his Turkish and UAE counterparts. The OIC on Tuesday "condemned" the aerial strikes carried out by India, urging New Delhi and Islamabad to exercise restraint to avoid further provocations that would "endanger peace and security in the region." It called on both sides to resume bilateral dialogue towards de-escalation of the current situation "as a matter of priority." India on Tuesday carried out air strikes on a terror camp run by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in Balakot, a hill town in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, destroying a major camp of JeM and eliminating a "large number" of terrorists, including top commanders, of the group which attacked a CRPF convoy in Pulwama on February 14. In response, Qureshi said that Islamabad will respond to what he called "uncalled aggression" from New Delhi and warned India to be prepared for any "events of eventualities". On Wednesday, Jammu and Kashmir saw heightened military activity, with Pakistani jets violating the Indian air space. India said it foiled an attempt by Pakistan Air Force this morning to carry out strikes in Jammu and Kashmir by shooting down an F-16 fighter plane while losing its own MiG-21 jet after which a pilot was "missing in action". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An F-16 fighter plane of the Pakistan Air Force was reportedly shot down after it violated the Indian air space in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, officials said. The plane was seen going down in Lam valley, about 3 kilometers within Pakistan territory. A parachute was seen dropping but the fate of the pilot is not known. Indian forces are on high alert since the IAF air strike was conducted on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Balakot yesterday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan jets reportedly violated Indian airspace in Rajouri sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday and dropped bombs on their way out. Craters were reportedly spotted at the places where the bombs were dropped by the Pakistani jets. No casualties have been reported yet. This comes a day after the IAF carried out an aerial strike at a terror launch pad in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, destroying a control room of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and other infrastructure of the terror outfit. Air space over Pathankot in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir has been shut down. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The leaders of 21 political parties on Wednesday expressed their solidarity with the armed forces while expressing deep anguish over the "blatant politicisation" of the sacrifices made by the forces by the "leaders of the ruling party." The meeting of leaders of 21 political parties condemned the "dastardly" Pulwama terror attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit. However, the leaders observed that the Prime Minister has, regrettably, not convened an-all party meeting as per the established practice in our democracy, stating that " security must transcend narrow political considerations." "The meeting paid homage to our martyrs and expressed solidarity with our Armed Forces in crushing the menace of terrorism. The meeting lauded the action taken by the Indian Air Force against the terrorist camp on 26th February 2019 and praised our Armed Forces for their valour and bravery," a joint statement said. "The meeting of 21 parties expressed their deep anguish over the blatant politicisation of the sacrifices made by our armed forces by leaders of the ruling party," it added. A day after India carried out aerial strikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) camp in Balakot in Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir saw heightened military activity today, with Pakistani jets violating the Indian air space and dropping some bombs in Rajouri sector after which one of their fighters was shot down. Expressing concerns on the "emerging security situation", the leaders "urged the government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity." India said it foiled an attempt by Pakistan Air Force this morning to carry out strikes in Jammu and Kashmir by shooting down an F-16 fighter plane while losing its own MiG-21 jet after which a pilot was "missing in action". India's External Affairs Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar, flanked by Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor, said at a media briefing in New Delhi that Pakistan resorted to use of its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side in response to India's counter-terror operation against JeM camp in Balakot in Pakistan yesterday. Responding to MEA's statement, the opposition leaders said, "Post the statement from the MEA regarding targeting of our military installations and loss of one fighter aircraft, the leaders condemned the Pakistani misadventure and expressed their deep concern for the safety of our missing pilot. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday told North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un that his country has tremendous economic potential. CNN quoted Trump as saying, "I think your country has tremendous economic potential. I think you will have a tremendous future for your country, you're a great leader. We will help it to happen." The two leaders met for a second summit here and Trump made these comments during a dinner with Kim. The North Korean leader said that his second meeting with the US President was possible because of the "courageous political decision" taken by Trump. While addressing reporters on Wednesday here, Kim said that there had been "a lot of thinking, effort and patience" between now and last June. Trump and Kim met in June last year for their first-ever summit in Singapore. Kim further asserted that the "outside world" has "misunderstood" the US-North Korean relationship in the period after the Singapore summit. He also expressed hope that the Hanoi summit delivers "an outcome welcome by everyone." When quizzed if he'd walked back his vow to insist upon the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, Trump said he had not. Trump was also questioned about his plan to declare an end to the Korean War, Trump said, "We will see." On Wednesday, Trump also held a meeting with Vietnam's President Nguyen Phu Trong and thanked the country's leadership for agreeing to host the second US-North Korea Summit. Talking to the media after the meeting, he promoted the idea of a prosperous North Korea by citing the "good example" of Communist Vietnam. Trump chose Hanoi for the Summit to show Kim that once enemy could befriend the US after it mends its ways. The US has reinforced that sanctions would only be eased once full denuclearisation is achieved by Pyongyang - a stand which the US stuck to even with the second Summit drawing near. Unlike the last Summit in Singapore, Trump and Kim are expected to address a joint press conference after the meeting which is scheduled for today and tomorrow. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid growing tension between India and Pakistan, Nepal on Wednesday urged the two countries to find a solution through dialogue. "As the current Chair of SAARC, Nepal calls on both sides to exercise utmost restraint and not engage in actions that would threaten peace and security in the region," Foreign Ministry of Nepal said a statement. Expressing concern over the escalating tension between India and Pakistan following the terrorist attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir on February 14, Nepal said the two countries to seek a solution through peaceful means in order to ease tension in the region. Forty CRPF soldiers were killed in the Pulwama attack for which Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility. In the backdrop of the aerial strike by the Indian Air Force on a JeM terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan, France on Tuesday extended its support to India and said it stands with New Delhi in the fight against terror. France asked both India and Pakistan to exercise restraint to avert any risk of military escalation and preserve strategic stability in the region. It also asked Islamabad to put an end to the operations of terror groups in Pakistan, while recognising India's legitimacy to ensure its security against cross-border terrorism. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A helicopter carrying seven people, including Nepalese Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Rabindra Adhikari, crashed here on Wednesday, killing all on board. According to reports, Air Dynasty's 9N AMI helicopter crashed in the remote district ofTaplejung. Local television channels have shown clips of the debris of the chopper lying around a hill. Those who accompanied the minister included Prime Minister's Personal Secretary Yubraj Dahal and Tourism Entrepreneur Ang Chiring Sherpa. Prabhakar KC was reported to be the pilot of the chopper. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two criminals carrying a reward of Rs 25,000 each on their heads were injured in an encounter with police in Muzaffarnagar on Wednesday. The injured criminals were sent for treatment to the hospital and will be produced in court for custody, police said. Earlier on January 25, the Uttar Pradesh government had said that Uttar Pradesh police and special task force (STF) have killed 78 criminals during the first 16 months of Yogi Adityanath led Uttar Pradesh government. As many as "3028 encounters took place between police and criminals until July 2018. During these encounters 69 criminals were killed, 838 were wounded and 7043 were arrested. During the same period, 11981 criminals also canceled their bail and surrendered in the court," said the government. The government also stated that STF also killed nine wanted criminals during an encounter and arrested 139. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Robert Vadra, son-in-law of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, on Wednesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged purchase of a London-based property. A Delhi court had on Monday rejected Vadra's application for a stay on questioning and directed him to appear before the ED. He had sought the stay till required documents were supplied to him and his legal team. On another application of Vadra, the court had directed the ED to provide hard copies of documents to his legal team within five days in connection with the case. Vadra, who approached the court on Saturday, had sought a complete list of documents with full description of each document allegedly seized during a search of his office by the agency. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Relive the Most Important Week in History Ignatius Press and the Augustine Institute collaborate on FORMED-based book discussion of Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week Contact: Kevin Wandra, 404-788-1276, KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 27, 2019 /Standard Newswire/ -- Join Ignatius Press and the Augustine Institute for the first-ever FORMED-wide book club featuring a live discussion of Pope Emeritus Benedict's masterpiece, JESUS OF NAZARETH: Holy Week, at 2 p.m. ET Monday, March 4. Led by Father Joseph Fessio, founder of Ignatius Press and a former student of Pope Benedict, the book club will delve into the week of Christ's Passion in a group discussion on FORMED.org. Fessio will share personal stories about Benedict's influence on his own life and the worldwide impact of this important book, and answer questions from those who register for the event. The live event will be the beginning of an ongoing discussion about the book during Lent (March 4-April 15). Register for the book club: formed.org/promo/book-group-registration. "Every good book is a new world, or a new way of looking at my old world," said Fessio. "I'm enriched by reading it. But there's an added enrichment and an added joy when I can converse about the book with others who have read it. Often that's difficult or impossible. Now with the Formed Book Club, it's no longer difficult. What a wonderful opportunity to share our insight and our joy." In JESUS OF NAZARETH: Holy Week, Benedict challenges readers to contemplate the meaning and impact of Jesus' life. He looks at the days from Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem to the herald of followers to his suffering and death a few days later ... and his resurrection and appearances to his apostles and disciples for another 40 days. Benedict tackles many of history's most volatile questions about the final week of Jesus' earthly life, including: Who killed Jesus? Was Jesus a political revolutionary? Was he the Messiah, the Son of God? What did Jesus teach about the end of the world? Did Jesus establish a community of disciples the Church to continue his work? What does the evidence tell us about Jesus' ultimate fate? Did he really rise from the dead? For more information, or to schedule an interview with Father Joseph Fessio, please contact Kevin Wandra (404-788-1276 or KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com) of Carmel Communications. A newborn baby in Rajasthan's Nagaur region has been named after the Mirage 2000 fighter jets used by the Indian Air Force in Tuesday's air strikes against Pakistan-based terror camps. The baby boy has been christened Mirage Singh Rathore and his father said he hoped that he will join the security forces when he grows up. Speaking to ANI Sharavan Singh Rathore, the father said: "In order to commemorate and keep the success of the Mirage air strikes alive, we have named our baby name as Mirage Singh Rathore. We hope he will join the security forces when he grows up." After nearly 48 years, the Indian Air Force has sent a retorting response to the country that whichever country uses the language of war will get a similar response from New India." Mirage's uncle, the elder brother of Sharavan Singh and an Air Force officer, said: "Yesterday I received news of two good developments. One was India's attack on Pakistani territory and the other was the birth of my younger brother's son. We have named him Mirage Singh Rathore, in memory of this big victory." Whether he will love it or not, the baby will surely have an interesting tale to tell about his name. In the wee hours of Tuesday, 12 Indian Air Force Mirage-2000 fighter entered Pakistani airspace and dropped 1,000-kg laser-guided bombs on Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) camps across the Line of Control. The Mirage-2000 is the same aircraft that helped India win the Kargil war. At 3:30 am on Tuesday, the Indian Air Force carried out multiple aerial strikes at terror launch pads in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, destroying control rooms of JeM and some other infrastructure. The French company Dassault Aviation manufactured Indian Air Force Mirage-2000 fighter jets attacked Jaish-e-Mohammed hideout in Balakot with 1,000-kg laser-guided bombs. Despite India having several new-age fighter jets like the Sukhoi and MiG 29, it was again the Mirage-2000 jet which has proved that it is India's most versatile and deadliest aircraft. Besides the Jaguar, the Mirage-2000 is the only other IAF plane capable of delivering nuclear bombs.It is worth mentioning that Mirage had played a decisive role in the Kargil war, which was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan held from May to July 1999. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid escalating tensions, Pakistan Army on Wednesday said it does not want a war with India as it is not a solution to problems. "The road to peace goes through dialogue. Both countries have the capability and capacity but war is the failure of policy which India needs to understand," Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor said at a press conference here. His comments came after the Pakistani jets violated the Indian air space and dropped some bombs in Rajouri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, a day after the Indian Air Force carried out a strike at Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camp in Balakot. "We do not want to escalate this and want to follow a path which leads to peace. The people of both countries and region have a right to live peacefully. War is not the solution to problems. India should think with a cool mind on this offer from Pakistan," Gafoor said."Our message is for peace. Starting a war is easy, but where it will end, nobody knows," he added, while underlining the need for moving towards peace. "Pakistan's Armed Forces (PAF) have capability, will and people's support. But because we are a responsible nation and want peace, we decided that, first of all, we will not take any military targets and secondly, we decided that there will be no loss of life or collateral damage in our engaging of targets. Our forces locked the targets, then in open air carried out the strikes," he added."Pakistan's response is not a retaliation per se, but a demonstration of our capability, responsibility and will. It is now up to India whether they go towards peace. But if forced, we will respond," the spokesman said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Indian Air force Wing Commander piloting a MiG-21 fighter jet has not returned, sources said here on Wednesday amid claim by Pakistan that it had arrested two Indian pilots after shooting down two Indian aircraft in its air space. Sources confirmed that, IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan took off in MiG-21 Bison jet on Wednesday and is yet to return back. Today, Spokesperson Pakistan Armed Forces, Major General Asif Ghafoor had claimed, "The two aircraft were shot down by us. The first plane fell in our boundary and the second on India's side. Two pilots have been arrested- out of which one of them was injured and has been sent to CMH. He will be given proper care. The other one is in our custody," said Major General Asif Ghafoor, Spokesperson Pakistan Armed Forces. Further confirmation is awaited.. A day after Indian air strike on a terror camp in Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir saw heightened military activity on Wednesday, with Pakistani jets violating the Indian air space. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over 300 businessmen from India and Japan participated in the 43rd Joint India-Japan Committee Meeting held in Tokyo, according to a statement issued on Wednesday. Industry body FICCI and Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) had organised the meeting on Tuesday. It served as a significant institutional platform to complement efforts of both countries in highlighting new opportunities and resolving the challenges facing industry leaders. On the occasion, a FICCI Knowledge Report on 'An Overview of India-Japan Bilateral Relations: Initiatives and Opportunities Ahead' was released. The report emphasises joint collaboration in digital and information technology partnership besides greater people-to-people exchanges. FICCI's Past President Onkar S. Kanwar said that Japan has been a strong contributor towards India's economic development across a wide spectrum of agenda, including some of flagship initiatives such as Make in India, Digital India, Skill India and Smart Cities Mission. Indian Ambassador to Japan Sanjay Verma was also present on the occasion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev on Wednesday lauded the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the central government a day after air strikes were carried out by the IAF in response to the February 14 Pulwama terror attack in which over 40 CRPF personnel were killed. "India has shown its valour and power. I would like to thank the Indian Air Force and the central government for this. We are proud of our government and the Indian Air Force," Ramdev told media here. "This will now go on, but every time Pakistan will fall flat. This time our security forces and the Indian government will teach them a lesson after which they won't have the courage to stand up against us in future," he added. India on Tuesday carried out strikes deep inside Pakistan, destroying a major camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), a terrorist organisation which claimed responsibility of orchestrating the Pulwama terror attack. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India completed the 13th-day ritual or 'tehravi' (Hindu ritual performed for soul of deceased to attain salvation) of the 40 CRPF personnel who lost their lives in the dastardly Pulwama terror attack, said Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat while referring to the Indian Air force (IAF) air strike in Balakot. "We, as a nation, have the right to take the name of Veer Savarkar, because today we have very appropriately performed the 'tehravi' ritual of the 40 CRPF personnel killed in Pulwama terror attack," Bhagwat said at an event in Nagpur on Tuesday. He added, "It is necessary to show power. The world knows the language of power, no matter how good we are. Apart from spirituality and culture, we also need to show our strength to the world. Hindu society needs to be strong. It is necessary for the wicked to realise power." Remembering legendary freedom fighter Veer Savarkar's observation, the RSS chief said that India needs to become powerful as, without power, nobody listens. India on Tuesday carried out air strikes at a massive JeM camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, eliminating a "large number" of terrorists, including top commanders, according to Foreign Secretary VijayGokhale. The terror camp, which is located in a thick forest area atop a hill, was led by Ustad Gauri, brother-in-law of JeM chief Masood Azhar, Gokhale told media hours after the air strikes using Mirage 2000 jets were carried out. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan has, after the Indian strike on a major Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot, told the United Nations' Secretary-General that the Indian Air Force (IAF) strike is equivalent to "aggression against Pakistan." "I am writing a letter to you in view of the deterioration of the situation. Indian jets violated the Line of Control (LoC) this morning. We had informed the UN about Indian aggression after Pulwama attack in the previous letter," Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi wrote in a letter to UN Chief Antonio Guterres on Tuesday. Qureshi further outlined that the Indian strike is equivalent to aggression against Pakistan, and jeopardises peace and security in the region, reports ARY News. This comes after India conducted an anti-terror strike on a JeM training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in the early hours of Tuesday, eliminating a "large number" of terrorists, including top commanders, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said earlier. The terror camp, situated in a thick forest area atop a hill, was led by Ustad Gauri, brother-in-law of JeM chief Masood Azhar, Gokhale said, making a statement before the media, hours after the air strikes using Mirage 2000 were carried out. The air strike comes two weeks after a terrorist attack on a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district claimed the lives of over 40 CRPF personnel. Pakistan-based JeM claimed the responsibility for the February 14 attack, which has been largely condemned by the international community. In fact, the United States told Pakistan to stop providing a safe haven and support to terror outfits immediately after the Pulwama assault. "India is looking at something very strong. India just lost almost 50 people in the attack. I can understand that also," US President Donald Trump had earlier told reporters at the White House on February 22. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In the wake of air strikes carried out by the Indian Air Force (IAF) on terror camps in Pakistan's Balakot, the Maharashtra government has called for office bearers of the School & Co. Bus Owner's Association to ensure the safety of school children keeping the prevailing situation in mind. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the state legislature that security has been tightened across the city and appealed to people not to panic. After intelligence informed Mumbai police to be on high alert, the vigilance and CCTV surveillance has been increased in places like the airport, railway stations, and other key locations. This comes hours after India carried out air strikes at a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, eliminating a "large number" of terrorists, including top commanders, according to Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale. The terror camp, located in a thick forest area atop a hill, was led by Ustad Gauri, brother-in-law of JeM chief Masood Azhar, Gokhale said, making a statement before the media, hours after the air strikes using Mirage 2000 were carried out. In retaliation, Pakistan violated ceasefire in a number of places along the LoC. Heavy shelling was also reported in the region. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US House of Representatives passed a resolution to overturn President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration, on Tuesday (local time). Trump had declared the emergency on February 15 to fulfil his Presidential campaign promise of building a wall on the US-Mexico border. The resolution was passed 245-182, with 13 Republicans supporting the Democrats, reports CNN. The measure is likely to pass in the US Senate as well, as it now it has to be presented in the upper chamber within the next 18 days. Trump had earlier threatened to veto the resolution if it comes to him, which will occur if the US Senate passes the measure. CNN reports that three in five voters in Texas - the state which will be most affected by the emergency - disapprove of Trump's usage of emergency powers to secure funding for the wall, according to a poll by Quinnipiac University. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Leaders of opposition parties have urged the central government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity. As many as 21 parties sealed their stand in a joint statement after a meeting of the Opposition here on Wednesday. On behalf of the political parties, Congress president Rahul Gandhi told media person, "Leaders condemned Pakistani misadventure and expressed deep concern for the safety of our missing pilot. Leaders urged the government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity." "The parties lauded the action taken by AIF on Feb 26 and praised the armed forces for valour and bravery. All 21 parties expressed deep anguish over the blatant politicisation of the sacrifices made by our armed forces by leaders of the ruling party. security must transcend narrow political consideration," he further added. Congress president also stated that the leaders have observed that the Prime Minister has regrettably not convened an all-party meeting as per the established practice in our democracy. Meanwhile, Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter to speak for the safety of the missing pilot. "I pray for the safety of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan. The whole country is proud of this brave son and everyone is hoping for his safe return. We all stand united to keep our country safe and strong," he tweeted. All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen Party president Asaduddin Owaisi also expressed similar sentiments and tweeted, "Our prayers are with the brave IAF pilot & his family in this very difficult time Under Article 3 of Geneva Conventions every party is required to treat prisoners humanely. Pakistan must respect its obligations towards the IAF pilot, regardless of ongoing circumstances." A day after India carried out air strikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) camp in Balakot in Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir saw heightened military activity today, with Pakistani jets violating the Indian air space and dropping some bombs in Rajouri sector after which one of their fighters was shot down. India said it foiled an attempt by Pakistan Air Force this morning to carry out strikes in Jammu and Kashmir by shooting down an F-16 fighter plane while losing its own MiG-21 jet after which a pilot was "missing in action". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid border tension between India and Pakistan, flight operations across eight airports in India were shut briefly on Wednesday morning according to the Airports Authority of India. Flight operations in all the airports later resumed. The Airport Authority of India (AAI) had early on Wednesday issued NOTAM, 'A Notice to Airmen' that there will be no commercial flights movement in border airports of Amritsar, Pathankot, Srinagar, Jammu, Shimla, Dharamshala, Kullu and Leh. The NOTAM was later withdrawn and flights operations were resumed in all the eight airports. "Due to airspace restrictions, flights to and from Amritsar, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Jammu are currently on hold," said Vistara airlines on their twitter account. Jet Airways have suspended until further notice flight operations to Amritsar, Srinagar, Jammu and Leh and in a tweet said: "Due to air space closure, we'll waive off penalties for date/ flight change, refund & no-show on confirmed tickets for travel to/ from Amritsar, Chandigarh, Dehradun and Srinagar on 27th February 2019." IndiGo also announced that flights to and from Srinagar, Jammu, Chandigarh, Amritsar and Dehradun have been temporarily suspended. The international flights that transit between India and Pakistan airspace have been affected due to the cross border tensions between the two countries. "International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace now being affected. Some flights returning to origin, while others appear to be seeking alternate routing," sources said. Pakistan has immediately stopped its domestic and international flight operations from Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad airports. On Tuesday, India carried out air strikes on a terror camp run by Jaish-E-Mohammad in Balakot, a hill town in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Soon after that the Pakistani side started building up for a confrontation and resorted to ceasefire violation in 15 places including Poonch and Rajouri. There were reports that the Pakistani Air Force jets violated Indian airspace in Rajouri sector, and dropped bombs near Indian Army establishments. No reports of casualties have been reported so far. Meanwhile, five buses have been deputed for stranded passengers at Srinagar airport, five buses have been deputed, said Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar Shahid Chaudhary "For stranded passengers at Srinagar airport: 5 Buses have been deputed. Should you need any help please call us at 0194-2472580 / 2452182," he tweeted. District authorities of Jammu and Kashmir have also ordered the closure of schools as a precautionary measure. Due to prevailing situation on Line of Control, all schools located in 0-5 KM range from LoC in Rajouri district shall remain closed on Wednesday and exams of 5th, 6th and 7th Classes scheduled for tomorrow also stand cancelled in all the schools of the district according to order of the District Magistrate of Rajouri who said fresh dates will be notified. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) European Union on Wednesday expressed concern about the escalating tension between India and Pakistan. The High Representative of EU Federica Mogherini issued a statement saying, "Following the recent terrorist attack in Pulwama, tensions along the 'Line of Control' between India and Pakistan have escalated militarily during the last days. This has the potential to lead to serious and dangerous consequences for the two countries and the wider region." He further asserted that the EU expects both the countries to exercise utmost restraint and avoid any further escalation of the situation. "To this end, the resumption of diplomatic contacts at the political level and implementation of urgent measures by both sides is vital," he added. Stating that terrorism could never be justified, Mogherini said, "I spoke a few days ago by telephone with the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, to emphasise the need to continue to address terrorism, including clear and targeted actions related to all forms of terrorist activity." He also reiterated that the European Union will remain in contact with both countries and will continue to closely monitor the situation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In the wake of sexual abuse allegations against clergymen, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has claimed that the Catholic church will "disappear in almost 25 years." The Philippines President launched a homophobic rant against the church and asked, "When they get horny, the sons of b****es, they go after nuns. If they're gay, they go after young boys. Who needs a religion like that?" Duterte's spokesperson, Salvador Panelo, clarified his remarks and said that they were a "healthy criticism" which referred to "certain men in the cloth that have violated their own vows," according to Sputnik. The Philippines President's spokesperson further hoped that "it (Duterte's remarks) will help the Catholic Church cleanse itself and purge itself of those not deserving to be there." This is not the first time that Duterte has slammed the Catholic church, having previously claimed to have been sexually abused by a church priest as a child. A four-day summit on "The Protection of Minors in the Church" just culminated at the Vatican on February 24, where the Pope called for an end to clerical sexual abuse of minors. Critics and survivors of clerical sexual abuse alike expressed disappointment, noting that only a few concrete plans to stop the menace in churches had been put forth during the landmark summit at the Vatican. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after Indian air strike on a terror camp in Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir saw heightened military activity on Wednesday, with Pakistani jets violating the Indian air space and dropping some bombs in Rajouri sector after which one of their fighters was shot down. Amid fears of a military escalation between India and Pakistan, international flights that transit between the two countries have been affected, with some flights returning to the place of their origin while some others seeking alternate routes, officials said. Pakistani fighter planes violated the Indian airspace in Rajouri sector of Jammu and Kashmir and dropped bombs on their way out, officials said. Craters were reportedly spotted at the places where the bombs were dropped by the Pakistani jets but there were no reports of any casualty. Shortly thereafter, an F-16 fighter of the Pakistan Air Force was reportedly shot down and was seen falling in Lam area, about three kilometres inside Pakistan, officials said. A parachute was also seen dropping along with the crashing fighter but the fate of its pilot was not known. With all Indian establishments put on high alert in view of possible air space violation by Pakistan, the Indian government decided to indefinitely shut the air space for commercial and civilian flights in Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Pathankot and other areas bordering Pakistan. Meanwhile, a military transport helicopter crashed in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir. On Tuesday, India carried out air strikes on a terror camp run by Jaish-E-Mohammad in Balakot, a hill town in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Soon after that the Pakistani side resorted to ceasefire violation in 15 places including Poonch and Rajouri. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China on Wednesday endorsed India's position on terrorism, adding that terrorist groups cannot be supported and used in political and geopolitical goals. In a veiled reference to Pakistan, China in very strong terms said that "those committing, orchestrating, inciting or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice." While condemning the terrorism, Russia, India and China in a Joint Communique of the 16th Meeting of the respective countries' foreign ministers, said: "The Ministers strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations." It added, "They called on the international community to strengthen UN-led global counter-terrorism cooperation by fully implementing the relevant UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, while respecting sovereignty and independence of all states, and expeditiously finalizing and adopting the UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the earliest." "They reiterated that states and their competent agencies play a central role in both national and international counter-terrorism efforts. They also stressed that terrorist groups cannot be supported and used in political and geopolitical goals," stated the Joint Communique. "The Ministers stressed that those committing, orchestrating, inciting or supporting terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with existing international commitments on countering terrorism, including the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the FATF standards, international treaties, including on the basis of the principle "extradite or prosecute" and relevant international and bilateral obligations and in compliance with applicable domestic legislation," the statement added. The RIC meet, which held in China, was attended by India External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Addressing the threat of chemical and biological terrorism, Russia, China and India said, "They supported and emphasised the need for launching multilateral negotiations on an international convention for the suppression of acts of chemical and biological terrorism within the Conference on Disarmament." The three countries also expressed support to Libya in its fight against the ISIL, Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two smugglers were arrested after a total of 660 kg of wildlife species were seized by customs officials here in a raid conducted on Monday night. The seized species are estimated to be worth around Rs 7 crore, and were identified as sea horses, pangolin scales, pipefish, and sea cucumbers, among others. A case has been registered under the Customs Act, Wildlife Protection Act and FT D & R Act. Earlier on February 2, Customs officials had seized a leopard cub at Chennai International Airport from the baggage of a passenger coming from Bangkok. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Celebrities from the film world on Wednesday took to social media to pray for the Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan who according to Pakistan is in their custody. The Indian government recently confirmed that an Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander piloting a MiG-21 fighter jet has not returned, after Pakistan claimed that it had arrested IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan. A lot of celebrities are wishing for the pilot's safety and praying that he returns home safe. Several Bollywood stars took to their Twitter handles to share their thoughts. Karan Johar took to his Twitter handle and wrote, "Thoughts and strength to #WingCommandarAbhinandan amd his familly....India stands tall and proud with you." Arjun Kapoor wrote, "My prayers with #wingcommanderabhinandan hope he is safe & we see him back on home soil very soon." Anupam Kher wrote a message in Hindi, praying for Abhinandan's safe return and also saluted the courage of the pilot. The veteran actor also shared the pilot's picture. Sushmita Sen too took to her Twitter handle and prayed for Abhinandan's safe return. She tweeted, "We are all praying for the safe return of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman #IAF gratitude from the daughter of a retired Indian Airforce officer @fbhutto for choosing humanity first & a way to peace Dugga Dugga & God bless." Swara Bhasker wrote, "#BringHimHome #BringBackAbhinandhan BRING HIM BACK !!!!!!!," alongside a picture of the pilot. Many other celebrities including Arjun Rampal, Taapsee Pannu, Huma Qureshi, Renuka Shahane, Diljit Dosanjh, R. Madhavan, Vishal Dadlani, Nimrat Kaur took to their Twitter and wished for the safe return of the IAF pilot. A day after Indian air strike on a terror camp in Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir saw heightened military activity on Wednesday, with Pakistani jets violating the Indian air space. On Tuesday, India carried out an air strike on a terror camp run by Jaish-E-Mohammad in Balakot, a hill town in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in retaliation to the Pulwama terror attack that took place on February 14 and killed around 40 CRPF personnel. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lauding the Indian Air Force (IAF) for Tuesday's air strikes targeting terror launch pads in Pakistan, defence and strategic analyst, JK Verma said that the air strike is not an act of war, "but our right to do so". Speaking to ANI, Verma said that since no civilian or military installations were destroyed in the air strike, it is our right to attack such terrorist camps, especially since the terrorists in the camp were planning more attacks on India. "It is certainly not an action for war because we have not destroyed the military or civil installations. Indian Air Force attacked the terrorist camps and in those camps, the terrorists were planning other actions in India. It is our right to do it. It would be an act of war if Pakistan attacks India, because, in India, we have no terrorist camps," said Verma. He added that it should be seen as "a defensive attack and not an offensive attack." Verma also congratulated the government on the news of France backing India for its fight against terrorism, saying that the government is doing things in "a very planned way". Another defense expert Qamar Agha said that the air strikes will have far-reaching consequences, considering that Pakistan Army's prestige was damaged after that. "This will have far-reaching consequences. On one side we damaged the militant camps, and on the other side, their army's prestige was also damaged. Pakistan Army sees itself as the guardian of the Islamic state. This is an army that talks big but loses every war," said Agha. India on Tuesday carried out air strikes on a terror camp run by Jaish-e-Mohammad in Balakot, a hill town in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, destroying a major camp of JeM and eliminating a "large number" of terrorists, including top commanders, of the terror group which attacked a CRPF convoy in Pulwama on February 14. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The international flights that transit between India and Pakistan airspace have been affected due to the cross border tensions between the two countries, said sources. "International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace now being affected. Some flights returning to origin, while others appear to be seeking alternate routing," sources said. Pakistan has immediately stopped its domestic and international flight operations from Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad airports. Meanwhile, the airspace over Leh, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot and areas bordering Pakistan were also shut indefinitely earlier today in the wake of the security situation building up in the area. With all Indian establishments put on high alert in view of possible air space violation by Pakistan, the Indian government decided to shut the air space for commercial and civilian flights. Several commercial flights have been put on hold. Flight operations have been suspended at the Amritsar airport too. "Due to operational reasons the airspace at Amritsar has been closed for now. No commercial flights are coming to Amritsar, there is no base here, so flights are not even taking off from here.," AP Acharya, Amritsar Airport Director told ANI. In a statement, Vistara said, "Due to airspace restrictions, flights to and from Amritsar, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Jammu are currently on hold. Customers are requested to check flight status before commencing their journey to the airport." A high-level meeting was called by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh where CISF DG Rajesh Ranjan was present. He briefed MHA about the security preparedness of airports. All inconvenience meted out the passengers have been regretted by the respective airlines. On Tuesday, India carried out air strikes on a terror camp run by Jaish-E-Mohammad in Balakot, a hill town in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Soon after that the Pakistani side started building up for a confrontation and resorted to ceasefire violation in 15 places including Poonch and Rajouri. There were reports that the Pakistani Air Force jets violated Indian airspace in Rajouri sector, and dropped bombs near Indian Army establishments. No reports of casualties have been reported so far. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Airspace over Leh, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot and areas bordering Pakistan were shut indefinitely on Wednesday in the wake of the security situation building up in the area. With all Indian establishments put on high alert in view of possible air space violation by Pakistan, the Indian government decided to shut the air space for commercial and civilian flights. Several commercial flights were on hold. On Tuesday, India carried out air strikes on a terror camp run by Jaish-E-Mohammad in Balakot, a hill town in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Soon after that the Pakistani side started building up for a confrontation and resorted to ceasefire violation in 15 places including Poonch and Rajouri. There were reports that the Pakistani Air Force jets violated Indian airspace in Rajouri sector, and dropped bombs near Indian Army establishments. No reports of casualties have been reported so far. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa opined that the air strike recently carried out by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Pakistan has titled things in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's favour and will help the win 22 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka in the impending general elections. "The recent incident of armed forces attacking Pakistan has turned the tide in Narendra Modi's favour, as the youth is happy after the attack. It will help us win 22 seats in Karnataka," he told reporters here on Wednesday. India on Tuesday carried out air strikes against a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror training camp in Pakistan's Balakot, in which a "large number of terrorists" were killed, according to Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale. The air strike was carried out in the aftermath of the February 14 terrorist attack carried out by the JeM on a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel. There are 28 seats at stake in Karnataka, out of which the BJP currently holds 16 seats while the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) hold 10 and 2 Lok Sabha seats, respectively. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nationwide celebrations were held throughout the day after the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out an air strike targeting terror launch pads in Pakistan on Tuesday. In Bihar's Gaya and Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya, many diyas (earthen lamps) were lit in honour of the IAF, amid chants of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai.' Students of Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) were seen distributing sweets and throwing coloured powder on each other in a celebratory gesture. "This attack is a befitting response to any nation that engages in such attacks against India," a student told ANI. In Moradabad, locals were seen bursting firecrackers and dancing to drumbeats as a mark of celebration of the "pre-emptive" air strike. Locals in Tripura's capital Agartala and Rajasthan's Jodhpur city, too, burst firecrackers and exchanged sweets. Slogans hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the IAF were also raised in a number of cities. In a swift operation launched at around 3.30 am on Tuesday and completed within minutes, 12 Mirage-2000 fighter jets pounded the training centre, housing around 300 terrorists, in Balakot area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province with six bombs, while SU-30 combat aircraft maintained air superiority to ward off any retaliation by the Pakistan Air Force, sources said. The camp, located in a forest area atop a hill, was headed by Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar's brother-in-law Yusuf Azhar alias Ustad Gauri, who was involved in the 1999 hijack of Indian Airlines plane IC-814 and was on Interpol lookout notice since 2000. A large number of JeM terrorists, including top commanders, trainers and those terrorists who were to be the 'fidayeen' (suicide attackers) were eliminated in the "non-military" air strike, India's Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale told media while officially disclosing information about the air strike, hours after the action. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) All India Cine Workers Association (AICWA) has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding a complete shut down on issuing any Visa to Pakistani actors, Film Association and media fraternity. In regards with Pakistan's decision to ban the release of any Indian movie or content in their country, the AICWA, in a letter dated February 26, said, "We AICWA on behalf of entire film and media fraternity would demand complete shut down on issuing any Visa to Pakistani actors, Film Association and Media Fraternity." Expressing solidarity with the government, the Association said, "...We have to ensure that Government of India takes concrete actions and ensure that strict restrictions are imposed on such terrorist funding nations like Pakistan, the entire nation of 1.3 billion is with you in fighting with this terror sponsor perpetrators of Pakistan." It added, "Entire Film fraternity is proud of Indian Air Force, Government of India for displaying such a courageous and responsible retaliation in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and we hope that Government of India continues to do so." "We hope that you will soon order the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to regulate this request made by 1.3 billion people of India. Nation first is New India" the AICWA concluded. The letter from the film body came after Pakistan, in response to air strikes carried out by the Indian Air Force (IAF) against terror camps on Tuesday, announced a boycott of Indian films and 'Made in India' advertisements in the country. Pakistan's Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry took to his Twitter handle to state that the Cinema Exhibitors Association has decided to boycott the Indian content completely and that no Indian movie "will be released in Pakistan." The minister further stated that he has also instructed PEMRA (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority) to act against advertisements made in India. India on Tuesday carried out air strikes at a massive Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) camp in Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, eliminating a "large number" of terrorists, including top commanders, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said earlier. The terror camp in a thick forest area atop a hill was led by Ustad Gauri, brother-in-law of JeM chief Masood Azhar, Gokhale said hours after the air strikes using Mirage 2000 jets were carried out. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Patiala House Court on Wednesday sought a detailed reply from Tihar Jail authorities on a plea filed by AgustaWestland deal accused middlemen Christian Michel raising questions about putting him in solitary confinement. During the course of the hearing, Michel's counsel contended that for the last four days, Michel was being made to stay with dreaded criminals like Chhota Rajan. Michel's counsel Alio K Joseph told the court, "Jail authorities are alleging that he is using laptop inside the jail but when searches were made nothing was found. These are pressure tactics." A junior jail official who was present in the court denied the allegations made by Joseph but failed to answer the question put before him during the hearing. Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar directed the Jail Superintendent or a competent authority to be present before it on the next hearing and file a detailed report in the same. He then posted the matter for hearing on Thursday (February 28). On Monday, the court approved Michel's application to seek a meeting with his counsel for the handover of summer clothes. It also directed the Tihar Jail authorities to facilitate for the same as per the jail manual. On February 16, the Patiala House Court had dismissed the bail plea filed by him. Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar had contended that the court found no strong ground to grant him bail in this case. In its reply to the bail plea filed by Michel, the Central Bureau of Investigation had said, " This court has taken cognizance of both ED and CBI chargesheet. Once the cognizance has taken then accused cannot ask for statutory bail." It was stated before Delhi's Patiala House Court that since the chargesheet was not filed against Michel within the stipulated 60-day period under Section 167(2), there is no basis keeping him in judicial custody Michel who was extradited from the UAE in December last year is currently lodged in capital's Tihar Jail in connection with the CBI and ED case against him related to the AgustaWestland deal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four men have been arrested on production warrant for inquiry in connection with the murder of a Pakistani prisoner Shakar Ullah in Jaipur Central jail on February 20. Shakar, who was serving a life term in jail, was allegedly killed by other inmates after a fight over television volume, prison officials had earlier said. Jaipur Additional Commissioner Laxman Gaur had said: "Around four prisoners, including the Pakistani inmate, were watching TV when a brawl broke out among them over volume. As the fight escalated, the three convicts bashed Ullah's head against a stone." According to police, Shakur, who hails from Sialkot district of Pakistan, was arrested in 2011 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. In 2017, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. A day after his death, the Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had issued a notice to the Government of Rajasthan. It had also asked all states and Union Territories to take precautionary measures in jails where Pakistani nationals are lodged. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) One more unidentified body has been recovered from the ill-fated mine here where 13 miners were trapped since December 13 last year. The first body was found on January 26. Multiple agencies are involved in the operation which is underway to rescue the miners trapped in the mine located at Ksan near Lytein River in East Jaintia Hills. On January 28, the Supreme Court had asked the Centre and the Meghalaya government to continue their efforts to rescue the miners. This came two days after Navy divers recovered a second body from the flooded rat-hole coal mine. The miners were trapped in the illegal mine in Lumthari village when water from the nearby Lytein river flooded the mine. Since then, a multi-agency rescue operation has been underway to rescue the miners. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the average productivity of 16th Lok Sabha was 85 per cent which is 20 per cent more than the productivity of the 15 th Lok Sabha. He also said that the productivity of the Rajya Sabha or the Upper House was only 8 per cent and the Youth should ask questions from Rajya Sabha MP's and pressurize them to work. He was speaking here at Youth Parliament Festival 2019. "The average productivity of 15 Lok Sabha is 85 per cent, as compared to 15 Lok Sabha we did 20 per cent more work. But I am not satisfied because if Modi is there then the productivity should not increase only 20 per cent but 200 per cent," said Narendra Modi. "The Rajya Sabha is the house of elders, they should think wisely and with a very cool mind but what is happening is just the opposite. The productivity of Rajya Sabha is only 8 per cent," said Narendra Modi. He said that the Youth should organize programme in their respective districts and invite Rajya Sabha members from their areas as chief guest and question them. "Organize programmes and invite Rajya Sabha members from your area as chief guests, garland them with flower and shawls, make them sit on good chairs and then ask them what they have done. Then only pressure would be created on them," said Modi. He said that all Rajya Sabha members regardless of the fact that to which political party they belong to should be invited in such programmes and be questioned by the youth. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) When President Trump sits down this week for a second summit with North Koreas Kim Jong Un, he will face a young dictator who has grown in outward confidence as a negotiator since their last meeting. That could make it tougher to convince Kim to give up his nuclear weapons, longtime observers of the secretive leader say. Where Kim offered concessions before the first summit, he has tried to set conditions for this second meeting on Wednesday and Thursday in Hanoi. In the New Years speech where he offered to meet again, Kim also warned that if the US persists ... Twitter Inc plans to boost hiring in India and appoint an officer to liaise with the Election Commission (EC), a senior executive said on Tuesday, responding to concerns about political misuse of social media ahead of this years general elections. Speaking a day after an Indian parliamentary committee told the company to engage more with the Election Commission to help ensure a free and fair vote, Twitters global head of public policy, Colin Crowell, told Reuters the election was a top priority for the company. Crowell said he had told the panel that we will ... SBI calls emergency meeting on Jet Airways to thrash out contentious issues State Bank of India, which leads the consortium of lenders for Jet Airways, has called an urgent meeting of its members on Wednesday to thrash out contentious issues between promoter Naresh Goyal and his joint venture partner Etihad Airways as well as resolve other matters with the banks. According to sources, top executives of both the companies are expected to come for the discussion. 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 One year ago local LGBT rights activist Michael Rajner caused a furor when he posted on social media that homophobia is alive and well on the Fort Lauderdale City Commission. Rajners beef? He accused then Fort Lauderdale mayoral candidates Bruce Roberts and Dean Trantalis of not supporting a non-discrimination ordinance to protect LGBT residents. Fort Lauderdale Commissioners and mayoral candidates Bruce Roberts and Dean Trantalis have lied and broken their promise to bring forward an LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance, Rajner posted on Twitter last February. One year later and it doesnt appear any movement has been made on an ordinance. I just had hoped there had been a will for the city to move forward on something, Rajner said. I am disappointed. At the time Trantalis, who is now the gay mayor of Fort Lauderdale, said he did not support an ordinance at the city level because there was already a similar one in place on the county level. However three major LGBT rights groups, SAVE, Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, and Equality Florida supported enacting a city ordinance as well. Then commission candidate Steve Glassman also supported an ordinance. Glassman, who is also gay, now represents District 2. Yes, I still support that. I will need to find out from the City Manager why this has not moved forward, he said. Dean Trantalis did not respond to a request for comment by press time. Fort Lauderdale may not have moved forward with the non-discrimination ordinance but they did enact an Equal Benefits Ordinance late last year that passed unanimously. That ordinance states that any vendor that provides healthcare benefits to its employees and has a contract with the city over a $100,000, must provide those same benefits to domestic partners or a cash equivalent. Rajner said he worked closely with Vice Mayor Ben Sorensenon the ordinance. 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 Brandon Wolf, a 30-year-old Pulse survivor and LGBTQ activist, recently accepted a full-time position at Equality Florida as the Central Florida development officer and the statewide media relations manager. He says he is happy to pursue his interest on a scale larger than weekend activism. Equality Florida and I have always had a really strong relationship, Wolf says. Theres so much I want to be able to do to help my community and the state of Florida. After surviving the Pulse shooting which claimed the lives of 49 people, Wolf became a staunch activist for gun safety. At his new position with Equality Florida, he says he plans on advocating for LGBTQ state-level protections, womens reproduction rights and safe and healthy schools. Wolf returns to Central Florida after moving to Tallahassee in 2017. It feels awesome to be coming home, he says. Ive been away for two years and its been two years too long. Wolf starts his new position at Equality Florida March 4. Bharti Airtels decision to partner Vodafone Idea has come as a business opportunity for private equity funds keen on investing in the optical fibre space for leasing assets to earn rentals in return. The optical fibre synergies will be on the lines of the tower business where the two companies will hive off the fibre assets to a third company, which will in turn lease them out. Analysts believe that it is a balance sheet light approach for the companies which are under financial stress at the moment. In the current environment, the companies would want to demerge their fibre ... Campus News STARS report helps UB get a handle on sustainability efforts By DAVID J. HILL For Pete Logiudice, sustainability at UB means a lot of things. Its the 70 percent natural light that filters into Kapoor Hall on South Campus. Its the group of employees who meet once a week to go for a lunchtime walk. Its the GRoW Home, which produces more energy than it consumes. These are all facts that Logiudice, who works in human resources, loves to share when he leads new employee orientation sessions. Theyre also among the many sustainability pride points noted in a report UB Sustainability recently filed. At more than 260 pages, the report doubles as an in-depth look at sustainability at the university and a roadmap for the next several years by equipping every unit on campus with data that shows how UB can continue to move the needle. Simply put, sustainability at UB is focused on building a better world for future generations, says President Satish K. Tripathi. We are committed to creating sustainably literate leaders through our teaching, research and engagement. The report was filed as part of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Educations Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS). STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. More than 900 colleges and universities around the world file the report, typically every three years. Each universitys full submission is available on the STARS website. Participating institutions compile points across five broad categories Academics, Engagement, Operations, Planning and Administration, and Innovation and Leadership to earn one of the following designations: platinum, gold, silver, bronze, reporter. UB has again received gold designation, earning a total of 69.58 points, an improvement over its 2015 STARS submission. The university received a silver designation in 2012. Only five institutions have achieved platinum: Colorado State University; Stanford; Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, Canada; University of California, Irvine; and the University of New Hampshire. Compiling the STARS report is a comprehensive and integrated endeavor that requires cross-campus collaboration by working with and obtaining information from nearly 100 individuals and departments throughout the university. UBs score maintains its status as a leader in the SUNY system when it comes to sustainability, along with the University at Albany and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. UB peer-reviewed its latest STARS submission with Albany. All of our efforts are built on a foundation that supports greater efficiency and cost savings in areas such as, but not limited to, procurement, financial reporting, budgeting and overall financial decision-making, Tripathi says. This integrated approach leads not only to economic efficiency, but also to better levels of service to students, faculty and staff as we decrease our carbon emissions and adverse environmental footprint. While garnering gold again is nice, the bigger benefit lies in the wealth of data contained within the STARS report. This report provides the university with a foundation for how to think more strategically about how we move forward, says Laura Hubbard, vice president for finance and administration. Sustainability touches every corner of UB, and we need everyone to do their part to help us continue to improve. The STARS report identifies areas in which UB excels, and where theres room for improvement. UB fares well in its sustainability-oriented research. For example, nearly one-quarter of the universitys faculty are engaged in sustainability research. It also earns high marks in public engagement, thanks to strong community partnerships including the Western New York Sustainable Business Roundtable, the One Region Forward initiative and the Western New York Environmental Alliance as well as collaboration across campuses. On the operations side, UB accumulated nearly all of the available points in the subcategory on curbing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as for new or renovated buildings certified under a green building rating system. The STARS report also measures diversity and affordability, two areas in which UB was especially strong, earning 8.4 out of a possible 10 points. This point was recently highlighted in SUNY Chancellor Kristina Johnsons State of the University System address, during which she said: And the University at Buffalo alone one single SUNY campus serves as many students from low-to-moderate income families as the entire Ivy League all eight schools combined. Of course, theres room to grow, and it ranges from the simple to the complex. Easy fixes include encouraging more units on campus to purchase recycled office paper, as only 35 percent of UBs expenditures on office paper are 90 to 100 percent post-consumer recycled and/or agricultural residue content and/or FSC Recycled label. (View the universitys paper products purchasing policy.) A more long-term fix would be electrifying the universitys fleet of buses and shuttles to make them more efficient and cut down on carbon emissions. Food and dining is one area in which UB fares very well in some subcategories but not so great in others. UB scores highly in sustainable dining by offering low environmental impact dining events, hosting local harvest dinners, the availability of made in/grown in New York vending machines on campus, and outreach through the Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab in the School of Architecture and Planning. The university, however, receives poor marks in food and beverage purchasing, especially locally sourced products. Whether positive or negative, the information contained within the STARS report provides UB with a platform to update and enhance the universitys sustainability strategic plan. Toward that end, UB Sustainability will be working across UBs campuses to see how it can assist in achieving existing decanal, unit and office goals. For Logiudice, it all comes back to everybody on campus doing their part. Ive always been very conscious of my efforts, but coming here and seeing what a good steward the university is for the community in whole, its just so exciting for me to be a part of that, he says. To me, its everything counts. Do what you can. His story is one of thousands across UB. Over the next two months, in the run-up to sustainability month, UB Sustainability will be releasing 11 additional stories. Visit the UB Sustainability website to see the first two. Bryan, OH (43506) Today Showers and a few thunderstorms likely. High 78F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy with scattered thunderstorms mainly during the evening. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders entered the Presidential fray last week declaring his socialist agenda. Brothers and sisters we have a lot of work in front of us, Sanders said in a video released by his campaign. If we are prepared to stand together there is no end to what the great people of our nation can accomplish. Sen. Sanders won 23 states in his 2016 quest for the Democratic party nomination, eventually finishing second to Hillary Clinton. Campaigning as an avowed socialist, Sanders won 13 million votes and is largely credited for bringing younger participants into the political process. Real change never takes place from the top on down but always from the bottom on up, Sanders says in campaign video. An Independent three-term United States Senator, Sanders is scheduled to hold a campaign rally atChicagosNavy Pier on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee has set the limit at 20 candidates per debate. To qualify for thedebates, candidates must break the one percent threshold in at least three national polls or raise money from a diversified population. South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg explained the DNC rules this way: In order to earn a place on the debate stage Im going to have to demonstrate to the DNC that Ive got at least 65,000 different people contributing to our campaign at any level. Buttigieg, 37, a married gay man and Afghanistan war veteran, has decided to not accept corporate PAC money or funds from the fossil fuel industry. Other Democratic candidates who have announced exploratory campaigns and committees include Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Senator Kamala Harris of California, Senator Kristen Gillibrand of New York, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard (HI-2), former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro and self-help author Marianne Williamson. On the Republican side, former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld has announced plans for an exploratory committee but aside from that nobody else seems to have much of an appetite to challeng a sitting President. President Donald Trump travels to Vietnam this week for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump continues to deny allegations his campaign conspired with Moscow in the 2016 election. On Sunday Trump tweeted, wheres the Server that the DNC refused to give to the FBI? Where are the new Texts between Agent Lisa Page and her Agent lover Peter S? We want them now! LGBT FIELD NOTES: The Florida LGBTA Democratic Caucus elected new leaders at its winter conference in Jacksonville. They are: Stephen Gaskill of Delray Beach, President, Nik Harris of Fort Lauderdale, Vice President, Dave Cutler of Tampa, Secretary and Adam Sabin of Fort Lauderdale, Treasurer. Florida Representative Carlos G. Smith (D-Orlando) delivered the conferences keynote address. On Feb. 22 Smith issued a statement urging Congress and President Trump to authorize Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans fleeing the Nicolas Maduro regime. As millions of Venezuelans continue to flee Maduros brutal dictatorship, Congress and the President must take action to protect those seeking sanctuary in the United States, Smith 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 72nd Precinct Sunset ParkWindsor Terrace Have a glass Investigators arrested a woman suspected of beating her ex-boyfriend with a glass bottle inside a Fourth Avenue doughnut store on Feb. 19. The victim told police he was inside the pastry shop between 24th and 25th streets at 12:05 pm when the suspect smashed the bottle over his face, leaving him with cuts on his face and hand. The victim was taken to Lutheran Hospital for treatment, and police tracked down the suspect the next day, charging her with felony assault, cops said. Razor sharp Cops cuffed two men for allegedly slashing a man and beating his friend amid a brutal attempted robbery on Fourth Avenue on Feb. 24. The victims told police the suspects, along with another man, jumped them as they exited a diner between 60th and 61st streets at 4:30 pm, shoving them to the ground, before slashing one of them on the hand with a box cutter. Officers managed to track down two suspects, charging them with felony robbery, but a third remains on the lam, cops said. Third strike Police busted a 23-year-old man after he allegedly attempted to burgle a womans 17th Street home for the third time on Feb. 22. The victim told police the suspect tried to open a basement window leading into her home between 10th and 11th avenues at 5:40 pm, but took off after about 10 minutes. She claims the same guy was spotted on her property twice prior, on Feb. 2 and Feb. 16, and offered to provide police video evidence for each incident, cops said. Officers cuffed the suspect on Feb. 23, charging him with felony burglary, according to police. Take down Officers collared a 25-year-old man suspected of robbing a woman on 52nd Street on Feb. 23, taking her iPhone 8 and other valuables. The victim told authorities she was between Seventh and Eighth avenues at 5:20 pm when the suspect crept up and grabbed her from behind, before throwing her to pavement. The man then started screaming at her, demanding cash, before ripping the bag from her grasp and fleeing towards Seventh Avenue, according to the police report. Colin Mixson Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC 88th Precinct Fort GreeneClinton Hill Have a slice of that! A thief stole pizza from a delivery man at S. Elliot Place on Feb. 17. The victim told cops that he was delivering the pies to the address between Hanson Place and S. Portland Avenue at 11:45 pm when the malefactor paid him what looked like a fake $100 bill. When the victim gave back the fraudulent currency, the lout pulled out a black object that the victim assumed was a gun and demanded all the delivery mans change in addition to the purloined pies, cops said. A cutting case Two louts violently robbed a teen on Monument Walk on Feb. 18. The victim told cops he was near Navy Street at 9:45 pm when the delinquent duo approached him, and one of them demanded he hand over all of his money or they would shoot him. One of the brutes then bashed the victim in the back of the head with a blunt object, and they took $200 from him before making a run for it, according to cops. Stab attack A man stabbed a guy in the face on Saint Edwards Street on Feb. 24. The victim told police he and the attacker had had an argument about drugs earlier in the day, and when the victim encountered the man, along with a woman, near Myrtle Avenue at 4:50 am, they got into a dispute, which escalated when the brute stabbed the man in the face, according to police. The attacker and woman then fled the scene, and officers brought the victim to Methodist Hospital, cops said. Big bounty A burglar stole $20,000 from a womans N. Oxford Walk apartment while she was away between Dec. 26 of last year and Feb. 20. The woman told police she was out of her apartment near N. Portland Avenue between 5 am on Dec. 26 and 2:15 pm on Feb. 20, during which someone cut her window guard frame and took the cash from her nightstand table. She was hospitalized on Jan. 1 and left a key with her sister, according to cops. The victim also told cops that her neighbor saw her brother-in-law exit the apartment three days after she was hospitalized. Snooze sneak A cur stole a mans phone at a Flatbush Avenue fast-food restaurant on Feb. 17. The victim told cops that he fell asleep at one of the tables of the eatery near Fulton Street at 10 pm and that his phone was in his sweatshirt pocket with a cable sticking out. When he woke at 1 am, he realized someone had snatched the phone from his pocket and left the wire behind, according to police. Tracked down Cops arrested a man for stealing a womans cellphone on a platform at the Atlantic Avenue train station on Feb. 20. The woman told police she was at the Q train platform at the station near Hanson place at 3:45 pm when the suspect reached into her purse and grabbed her phone. A passerby yelled to alert the woman that the suspect was stealing from her, and at which point he fled on the Q train towards Brighton Beach, according to cops. The victim used the Find My iPhone app, which pinged the suspect at E. 17th Street and Caton Avenue, authorities said. Police searched the area, and when they called the victims number, saw the suspect answer it, and arrested him on the spot, cops said. 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 61st Precinct Sheepshead BayHomecrest Manhattan BeachGravesend Slashed Two jerks slashed a mans face in front of an Ocean Avenue bank on Feb. 22. According to police, the bandits told the man to, run his money, outside the bank near Avenue U at 9:30 pm before beating him and then fleeing down Avenue U. Police said they recovered a letter opener at the scene. Cashed out Some looter broke into an E. 18th Street store on Feb. 21 and stole the cash register. The nogoodnik shattered the glass door at the Kings Highway shop at 1 am and took the register, which contained more than $200, according to cops. Police said they recovered a single black glove and an umbrella from the scene of the crime. Masked men Three crooks burgled an Avenue V convenience store on Feb. 22. Employees at the Coney Island Avenue bodega told cops the masked marauders entered at 6:30 am, brandished a gun, and shouted, dont say anything, give me everything. Authorities said the thieves looted cash, cigarettes, and about 20 lottery tickets before fleeing toward E. 12th Street. Home invasion A burglar broke into a home at E. 29th Street on Feb. 23. The prowler looted cash from the Avenue V residence and attempted to open a safe before a motion-alarm activated around 7 pm, according to police. Natallie Rocha Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC 84th Precinct Brooklyn HeightsDUMBOBoerum HillDowntown Subway scoundrel Cops cuffed a woman for allegedly giving false identification after she was caught fare beating at the Hoyt Street subway station on Feb. 19. Police say officers noticed the woman crawling under a turnstile to avoid paying the fare at the station near Schermerhorn Street at 2:05 am, and stopped her. When they questioned her, she gave two different birth dates, addresses, and one different first name, according to authorities. The suspect then made a run for it with cops in pursuit, one of whom injured his forehead while trying to subdue the suspect, who allegedly refused to be cuffed and struggled with cops, police said. Commercial robber A looter broke into a commercial building on Court Street sometime overnight on Feb. 23 and rifled through desks. The burglar got into the premise near Schermerhorn Street sometime between 11:30 pm and 12:15 am, despite a locked door, and went through desks, taking miscellaneous items, according to cops. Coin collector A baddie stole $400 worth of valuable coins from a mans home on Livingston Street on Feb. 24. The victim told police someone broke the panel of his hallway door between Court Street and Boerum Place sometime between 4 and 6:30 am, and absconded with his coins. Luxury loot A luxury lout used a mans bank cards to shop at a pricey store on Bond Street between Feb. 13 and 15. The victims bank notified him that the sneak had made two unauthorized charges on his cards, which he had in his possession at the time, one at a Manhattan department store and another at a Brooklyn designer fashion store near Livingston Street, spending more than $1,800 between Feb. 13 at 2 pm and Feb. 15 at 4 pm. Watch out! A sneak stole pricey watches from a womans Remsen Street home that was being renovated between June 30, 2018, and Feb. 14. The victim told cops that she is currently having work done at her house between Henry and Hicks streets, and has a house keeper living there, who has access to the home and allows workers to do their jobs freely. The victim said she does not live full time at the house during the renovation, and that multiple workers had access to the bedroom, where someone stole watches worth $20,000. Pool loot A weasel looted a mans locker at an Atlantic Avenue pool on Feb. 24. The victim left his wallet and cash inside the locker between Boerum Place and Court Street at around noon, and when he returned at 1:30 pm, saw that someone had cut his locker and taken his bank cards, cash, and drivers license, police reported. He also told cops that someone used his credit cards without permission. 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 A hiker who died under mysterious circumstances in Florida last summer may have been a Brooklyn resident, according to a Sunshine State woman trying to locate his family. Two different hikers, who werent talking to each other, mentioned separately that he lived in Brooklyn, said Kelly Fairbanks, a trail angel who assists travelers on the Florida National Scenic Trail. The hiker, whose name is unknown and is generally referred to by his trail names Denim and Mostly Harmless, died last July on a trail near the Nobels Camp Site in the Big Cyprus National Preserve, amid an epic cross-country walk to Key West, according to Fairbanks. The angel met and photographed the late traveler on another Florida trail roughly one month before he passed, she said. Two other hikers found Mostly Harmless dead inside his tent, according to Fairbanks, and the wanderers discovered his emaciated body about two days after he died, according to information released by the out-of-state officials with the Collier County Sheriffs Office. They were doing a day hike, found the camp site, and wanted to take a rest, Fairbanks said of the hikers who allegedly discovered Mostly Harmlesss body. They kept hollering out, but nobody answered, and there were shoes outside, so they assumed he was there. Then one of them peeked in the tent, and thats how they found him. Local investigators believe Mostly Harmless had ties to both Louisiana and New York State, and police with the Florida sheriffs office in August disseminated posters to New York City media outlets hoping to find anyone who knew the hiker. Sunshine State investigators are still waiting for the local medical examiner to determine the hikers cause of death, but detectives believe he may have died of starvation, or succumbed to a pre-existing, fatal condition that compelled him to embark on the interstate trek, according to a podcast the Collier County Sheriffs Office released earlier this month. But there are mitigating facts that undermine those theories, including an abundance of food sources near Mostly Harmlesss place of death, and the testimony of fellow hikers he met on his journey, including Fairbanks, who said the deceased spoke optimistically of his plans for the future, such as his intention to settle in Key West. He sounded like he had plans, she said. Anyone with information regarding Mostly Harmless should call the Collier County Sheriffs Office at (239) 7744434. Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC Flatbush Councilman Jumaane Williams will be the citys next Public Advocate, after claiming victory in Tuesdays special election that featured a whopping 17 candidates battling for the office. Williams came out on top after winning some 33 percent of votes, according to the New York City Board of Elections, which reported he earned some 133,809 out of a total 402,778 ballots cast with more than 98 percent of precincts counted by Wednesday afternoon. The Brooklyn pol handily beat his second-place competitor, Councilman Eric Ulrich (RQueens), who won some 77,026 votes, roughly 19 percent of all cast, according to the board. Williams celebrated his win at an East Flatbush cafe, where he spoke about the offices important role of holding city leaders accountable, and rebuked legislation to abolish the position that his colleague Councilman Kalman Yeger (D-Midwood) introduced last year. The public advocate the peoples advocate is a role that I am incredibly excited to fill, and one that is crucial to our city. I know that there are some who have sought to get rid of it and now, Im sure there are powerful people who want it gone even more. But we arent going anywhere. Instead, were going to hold the powerful accountable. The mayor, the police commissioner, the governor, the big-money interests we are watching, and we will speak out, the pol said. Williamss win comes after his several previous unsuccessful bids for higher office, including two runs for Council speaker in 2013 and 2017, and his campaign for the state office of lieutenant governor last year, when he lost to incumbent Lieutenant Gov. Kathy Hochul in the September primary election despite winning the majority of votes cast within in the five boroughs. The pol, while delivering his victory speech, teared up as he addressed his past mental-health struggles and the challenge of overcoming stereotypes facing young black men, calling his win a success despite those obstacles. Ive been in therapy for the past three years. I want to say that publicly, I want to say that to black men who are listening, Williams said. I know theres a young black boy somewhere whos young, cries himself to sleep sometimes nobody knows what hes going through, and this world tells you that you have to hide it and cant talk about it. But Ive got something to say to that young man: his name is Jumaane Williams and Im the public advocate for New York City. Victor: Councilman Jumaane Williams won Tuesdays special Public Advocate election, trouncing the 16 others who competed against him for the seat. Photo by Steve Solomonson Candidates in the public-advocate race the citys first nonpartisan election ran on their own party lines, with Williams campaigning on the Its Time Lets Go line and a platform of affordable-housing, criminal-justice, and immigration reform. In addition to Ulrich, Williamss competitors included former Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who came in third earning some 44,158 votes, Bronx Assemblyman Michael Blake, Bushwick Councilman Rafael Espinal, activist and journalist Nomiki Konst, attorney Dawn Smalls, and others many of whom battled it out in heated debates, including two televised forums where participating candidates argued about issues such as the beleaguered public-transit system, Nycha, affordable housing, the now-dead Amazon deal, and expanding the public advocates oversight ability. Mayor DeBlasio earlier this year called the special election to fill the watchdog seat vacated by former Public Advocate Letitia Tish James, who left office to become New York State attorney general in January. And in addition to keeping city officials and agencies in check, Williams, as public advocate, is now first in line to succeed DeBlasio a chain of command that could come into play if Hizzoner, who held the seat before being elected mayor, next year chooses to leave office and mount a presidential bid before his second term concludes in 2021. But the public advocateelect said he would not follow Hizzoners footsteps and use the office as a launchpad for the top office in City Hall. To the mayor, Im not running for your job. But Im going to work with you to make sure we work on behalf of the people, he said. Williams, however, could only serve as public advocate for 10 months. A partisan primary will be held as soon as June, followed by a November general election to determine who will finish out Jamess second term, which also ends in 2021. Reach reporter Kevin Duggan at (718) 2602511 or by e-mail at kdugg an@sc hneps media.com . Follow him on Twitter @kduggan16. BLADENSBURG, Md. (February 26, 2019)When Steven Lowe first saw a 40-foot cross in a median strip here 30 years ago, he was too busy to think much of it. But as he drove and biked around it during his retirement, questions started arising in his mind. Why was a cross and not some other symbol there? And, if the cross is on public land, should it even be there? Now Lowe, of Washington, is part of a legal case on the constitutionality of the "Peace Cross" that will be the focus of oral arguments Wednesday at the Supreme Court. Lowe argues that the cross is a violation of "separation of church and state" which stems from the establishment clause of the First Amendment. Completed in 1925, the massive cross is a memorial to 49 area soldiers who died in World War I. The cross includes the symbol of the American Legion on both sides. The landmark is maintained by a state parks agency. Unlike the crosses Lowe said he is used to seeingand takes no issue witharound his neighborhood, the Peace Cross has no accompanying church or graveyard within sight of it. He said he also didn't know that the cross was a war memorial because he had trouble seeing the plaque at the foot of the stone monument. Those objecting to the cross, including the American Humanist Association, assert that the average viewer of the memorial would see it as a Christian symbol on government property. But lawyers representing the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, which currently owns the median strip, and the American Legion, which owned the land during the construction of the cross nearly a century ago, see the monument in a different light. They argue that the Peace Cross represents veterans and not religion. The defenders of the cross fear that if the justices deem the cross unconstitutional, the decision could put two large crosses in Arlington National Cemetery in northern Virginia in jeopardy. But Lowe said the two at Arlington are not at all a target in the case. "We are not challenging those, and we don't think they are challengeable because they are in a different kind of setting," he told Capital News Service. "They are in a cemetery, so we think that's materially different, substantially different, and therefore not affected by a precedent of this case." In fact, Lowe said the Bladensburg monument is an isolated case as the "most egregious" example of a highly visible cross on government property. Renee Green a documentary filmmaker from Annapolis, Maryland, disagreed. She interviewed families of men recognized by the memorial and residents of the Bladensburg area who identified either as Christian, Jewish or, in one case, atheist, she believes the majority of local residents do not see the cross as a religious symbol. Green said that she met some local business managers who offered to buy the land, others who offered to repair and restore the cross, and one Jewish resident who claimed, without mentioning religion, that the Peace Cross was a stable focal point for her during a rough time in her life. Green said she believes that those challenging the constitutionality of the cross aren't honestly bothered by it, but rather "they want to enforce their rights on us. That's what this is all about." "They want to jam their agenda down our throats," Green argued. Green wore her "Save the Peace Cross" t-shirt while speaking with CNS reporters to promote her documentary film by the same title, currently available on YouTube. Green said that the cross should not be taken down since it represents a "gravestone." Lowe, who is an atheist, countered that "no one is buried here, so this is not a gravestone." Cross supporters, Lowe said, "don't see these issues as clearly as someone who is not a member of the majority would see them." "It's just that idea of (a majoritarian) point of view is sometimes blinded to the offense, or the oppression, or the dismissals that are felt by other groups that are not in the majority," he said. When asked why it took him more than a decade to decide to fight for the removal of the cross, Lowe admitted that, "minorities put up with a lot when they're not in the majority," but now he feels "empowered" by the growing number and political strength of humanist and atheist groups. While speaking to CNS, Lowe pointed out his "honor them all" pin and hat to say that he was bothered that the World War I memorial didn't represent soldiers who weren't Christian. He added that American soldiers and sailors never fought a war for religious reasons, "so to represent them with a cross seems illogical." When the lawsuit was first filed by the American Humanist Association and others in 2014, the District Court for the District of Maryland said that the cross could stay. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled in 2018 that the cross violated the First Amendment's prohibition against the government establishment of religion. Religious groups, law firms, and state governments have filed more than 70 amicus briefs weighing in on the case. The State of Maryland filed a brief in support of the constitutionality of the cross, signed by eight state senators. Governor Larry Hogan supported the brief in a press release. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh also has filed a separate amicus brief in support of the monument. Cohen said he was "mesmerised" by Trump and was lured into doing things that he knew were "absolutely wrong". Cohen said he was "mesmerised" by Trump and was lured into doing things he knew were "absolutely wrong". Credit:AP "I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience," Cohen said in an opening statement to the committee. "I am ashamed because I know what Mr Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat." Cohen said that Trump had asked him, during Barack Obama's presidency, to name a country run by a black person that wasn't a "shithole". He said that African Americans would not vote for him because they were "too stupid". Loading Republican members of the committee slammed Cohen as a "scorned man", a "disgraced lawyer" and a "pathological liar" whose testimony could not be believed because of his past lies to Congress. Aware of his dubious credibility, Cohen brought copies of cheques, financial statements and letters with him to buttress his testimony. According to Cohen, Trump's long-time adviser Roger Stone told Trump in July 2016 that he had spoken to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that the site would soon publish hacked emails that would damage Clinton's campaign. "Wouldn't that be great," Trump replied, according to Cohen. Soon after the conversation, WikiLeaks published a trove of hacked emails that embarrassed Clinton's campaign and forced the resignation of the Democratic National Committee chairwoman. Stone, who faces jail time for lying to the FBI, has denied giving Trump advance warning about the WikiLeaks release, as has Trump. Cohen said he also believes Trump was aware of a now infamous 2016 meeting between his son, Donald Trump jr, his campaign chief Paul Manafort and a Russian lawyer with connections to the Kremlin. But Cohen also undercut one of the most discussed political stories of the year: a BuzzFeed report that Trump instructed Cohen to lie to Congress about his business dealings in Russia. Roger Stone, former adviser to Donald Trump, had informed Trump of his contact with WikiLeaks, Cohen said. Credit:Bloomberg The report prompted a rare denial by special counsel Robert Mueller's office. "Mr Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress," Cohen said. "Thats not how he operates." Cohen did say that Trump had implicitly directed him to lie about plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow by saying privately that he had no business interests in Russia despite both men knowing that was untrue. He added: "Questions have been raised about whether I know of direct evidence that Mr Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia. I do not." During questioning, Democratic congresswoman Raja Krishnamoorthi asked Cohen: "Is there any other wrongdoing or illegal act that you are aware of regarding Donald Trump that we havent yet discussed today?" Loading "Yes," Cohen responded. "And again, those are part of the investigation thats currently being looked at by the Southern District of New York." He did not elaborate on what the alleged wrongdoing involved. Reflecting on Trump's character, Cohen said that the President did not expect to win the Republican primary or the general election in 2016 and only ran for office to increase his profile. "He had no desire or intention to lead this nation only to market himself and to build his wealth and power," Cohen said. "Mr Trump would often say, this campaign was going to be the 'greatest infomercial in political history'." Trump had become "the worst version of himself" since becoming president, Cohen said. Among the documents Cohen presented were cheques signed by Trump reimbursing him for hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels to stop her going public about an affair with Trump. Donald Trump was aware of a hush payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels (left), Cohen said. Credit:AP The payments were "part of a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws", Cohen said. Cairo: At least 25 people were killed and 50 injured when a locomotive smashed into a barrier at Cairo's main train station on Wednesday, causing an explosion and a fire, state television and witnesses said. The fire sent black smoke billowing above Ramses station in the centre of the Egyptian capital. Inside the station, the train's blackened engine could be seen tilted to one side next to a platform. A railcar has rammed into a barrier inside Ramses station, causing an explosion of the fuel tank and triggering a huge blaze. Credit:AP Security sources said there was no indication that the crash was deliberate. Eyewitness Ibrahim Hussein said: "I saw a man pointing from the locomotive as it entered the platform, and screaming 'There are no brakes, there are no brakes' before he jumped out of the locomotive. And I don't know what happened to him." London: Australia is open to following Britain's lead in declaring the entire Hezbollah group as a terrorist organisation, foreign minister Marise Payne said. Hezbollah, a Shia militant movement, was established in was established in 1982 during the Lebanese civil war and is backed by Iran. Australia has listed Hezbollah's External Security Organisation as a terrorist organisation since 2003 Britain since 2001. Foreign Minister Marise Payne will also meet her British counterpart Jeremy Hunt in London. Credit:FDC Britain's Home Secretary Sajid Javid this week announced he would ban Hezbollah's political wing, instead of just the military wing which has also been banned by the UK for a decade and said he would raise it at the Five Eyes meeting he will chair in Manchester later this year. "There have long been calls to ban the whole group with the distinction between the two factions derided as smoke and mirrors, Hezbollah themselves have laughed off the suggestion that there is a difference," Javid told the Commons. Islamabad: Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan face their worst tension in years over the disputed region of Kashmir, with Islamabad saying they shot down two Indian warplanes on Wednesday and captured two pilots. Pakistan immediately shut down its civilian airspace in response. But how did the relations between these two Asian nations become so bad and what's at stake in this rapidly worsening conflict that both sides say they want to de-escalate? Kashmiri villagers gather to look at the wreckage of an Indian aircraft after it crashed in Budgam area on Wednesday. Credit:AP What started this latest tension? On February 14, a suicide car bomber attacked a paramilitary convoy on the Indian-controlled side of Kashmir in the Himalayas, killing more than 40 troops. The militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed, which is based in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack. The suicide bomber was from Indian Kashmir. But the chief judge in the case, I Ketut Kamiasa, said on Wednesday evening that the couple had been found "convincingly guilty of ownership, possession, keeping and providing narcotics". Brendon Luke Johnsson, 43, from Brisbane, and his partner Remi Purwanti, 43, an Indonesian national, had initially faced a possible death sentence if convicted on more serious charges under Indonesia's strict drug laws. Denpasar : An Australian man has been sentenced by a Bali court to five years and four months in jail, more than six months after being arrested while in possession of nearly 12 grams of cocaine. "We sentence the defendants Brendon Luke Johnsson and Remi Purwanti to five years and four months prison time and fine them 800 million Rupiah ($A80,000) or two months [more] prison time [if the couple can't pay their fines]," the judge said. Outside the courtroom, Johnsson's clearly relieved stepfather Ashley Robinson repeatedly thanked the Indonesian justice system for giving his stepson a second chance at life - rather than imposing the death penalty. "Brendon has been addicted to drugs since he was 16, we always knew we were going to get a phone call and we did. It could have been hospital, it could have been like this one, arrested, or it could have been worse. So he has to pay the price for what he has done. He has to get his head down now, do his time, be a good prisoner and be productive in there," Robinson said. "I would just like to thank the Indonesian government for their assistance, the way they have looked after Brendon. Obviously he hasn't touched drugs since August the fourth, this is the first time he has been clean since he was 16. The way I see it and his mother, there is a silver lining. This gives him an opportunity to do his time, come back to Australia, be a better person, be productive and have a good rest of his life. Hanoi: The Australian blogger detained in China, Yang Hengjun, has received a second consular visit from Australian embassy officials who are concerned he has still not had access to a lawyer. Mr Yang was taken by Chinese state security officials as he arrived at Guangzhou airport from New York on January 18. He was moved to a secret detention facility in Beijing the following week and is under investigation for espionage. Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun in 2010. The charge is widely used against Chinese dissidents and human rights activists, and Yang's friends in Australia are concerned his past writing about Chinese democratic reform may be the reason for his detention. A DFAT spokesperson said: "DFAT consular officials again met with Mr Yang Hengjun on 26 February 2019. The issue of legal representation was discussed." Kano: Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has won a second term at the helm of Africa's largest economy and top oil producer, a tally based on electoral commission results showed. Nigeria's President had urged voters to give him another chance to tackle gaping corruption, widespread insecurity and an economy limping back from a rare recession. While many frustrated Nigerians had said they wanted to give someone new a try, Buhari, a former military dictator, had the numbers for victory, his campaign said, after a troubled election in an oil-rich nation weary of politicians enriching themselves instead of the people. Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has won a second term. Credit:AP The campaign was laying out light refreshments "nothing heavy, finger food" and preparing for the president's acceptance speech, Babatunde Fashola, its director for election monitoring, said as dozens of supporters danced outside party headquarters in the capital, Abuja. Moves to protect the Great Barrier Reef from agricultural run-off have been slammed by farming groups and a crossbench MP. Queensland Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch has introduced laws to reduce run-off from agriculture and direct sources of pollution from intensive land uses, such as sewage treatment plants, aquaculture and mining. Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch has introduced a bill to further protect the Great Barrier Reef. Credit:XL Catlin Seaview Survey Ms Enoch said the reef was facing two major threats: climate change and water quality. "While we need national and global action to tackle climate change, water quality is something that we can tackle right here, right now," she said. NSW Opposition Leader Michael Daley has vowed to end "no grounds" evictions in the first 100 days of a Labor government, despite a recent tenancy law review recommending against it. Mr Daley on Wednesday said Labor would stop landlords from evicting a tenant without reason, introduce five-year tenancies and limit rent increases to once a year in order to make renting "fairer and more secure". NSW Opposition Leader Michael Daley announces that a Daley Labor government, if elected in March, will end unfair no-fault evictions. Credit:AAP Image/Dean Lewins "Its not about pitting tenants against landlords, its about making sure its fair for everyone," he said in the Labor-held seat of Summer Hill, home to suburbs with the biggest proportion of renters in Sydney. "We want to make sure theres good rental stock, we want to keep rental attractive thats key to the modern future of Sydney." A Perth mother is calling for a daycare centre to apologise after her baby son suffered a head injury while in their care earlier this week. According to Nine News Perth, Darlene Cox was picking up her one-year-old son and four-year-old daughter up from a childcare in Perth's northern suburbs on Monday when she noticed his grazes. Xavier with his injuries. Credit:Facebook [I was] extremely shocked. I said he looked like he'd fallen from a motorbike and scraped his face along the road, she said. Ms Cox said she was initially told Xavier had fallen off a chair by daycare staff, but her daughter told her he had actually been with one of his carers when he fell. Thomas Richard Sprague of Hollywood, MD passed away on February 25, 2019 in Callaway, MD. He was born October 7, 1929 in Bradford, PA to late David Thadeus and Edna Bell Hughes Sprague. Thomas was the loving husband of the late Virginia F. Hinzman White whom he married on January 11, 1999, and whom preceded him in death on October 17, 2014. Thomas is survived by his nieces and nephews. He was the youngest of three children, and was preceded in death by his siblings Robert David and Anna Louise. He lived in Rixford, PA where he graduated from Otto Township High School. From school he worked at Dresser Mfg in Bradford, PA. He had a short stay in Washington, DC in 1949 and moved to Kansas City, MO to work for the KC Terminal Railway. He enlisted in the US Air Force on December 28, 1950. He served as a aircraft mechanic on F-80, T-33, F-84B and F-84F aircraft. He returned to Kansas City to work for the Railroad Company until 1956 when he joined the DC Air National Guard, he was a crew chief on F-86 and F-100 aircraft. In 1972, he was assigned to the Classification and Training Office. He accepted the Training Specialist position in the National Guard Bureau at the pentagon, where he served until his retirement in 1986. They lived in Hollywood, MD and spent most enjoyable winters in Lake Wales, FL. A Graveside Service will be held on Thursday, March 7, 2019 at 11:00 AM in Maryland Veterans Cemetery Cheltenham, MD. Contributions may be made to the Salvation Army 7 Post Office Road, Suite D Waldorf, MD 20602. Arrangements by Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home. No private buildings identified in the statewide cladding audit pose an 'extreme risk' to inhabitants, according to Commerce Minister John Quigley. The public has been kept in the dark since the audit started in 2017 following the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy in London, with local governments, the building commissioner and the state government refusing to reveal details because of "privacy obligations. The scorched facade of the Grenfell Tower in London. Credit:FRANK AUGSTEIN The audit has so far found 12 private and 19 public buildings in WA that require work to address potentially combustible cladding partly blamed for the destructive nature of the Grenfell fire. However, earlier this month the City of Perth accidentally revealed details of three Perth CBD buildings identified in the audit in a list of building and development applications. "You will know that the charter of the PDC is to work to ensure conditions for growth within the Peel Region including economic growth." Mr Poland denied "ordering" the PDC officer at the meeting to stop taking notes. "The officer in question took no notes of the meeting," his lawyer said. "It was not necessary to take notes as it was an informal, private coffee meeting at the Subiaco Hotel to facilitate a private discussion where Mr Poland was giving advice to [the business owner] to submit any relevant proposal to the Peel Development Commission for board approval." During the meeting, Mr Poland described the access he enjoyed to Ms Saffioti because of his role on the PDC board, through his business interests, and as a founding member of the Labor Leaders Forum, a controversial fundraising organisation within WA Labor. Mr Poland suggested to the business owner how to propose the deal in a way that would be acceptable to the government and said he would meet with Ms Saffioti and Ms MacTiernan about it. Although Mr Poland said the deal may not ultimately be viable, he said the government would be in the business owner's debt if he could help solve the problem of the toxic sand and Ms Saffioti would push through the deal. Mr Poland brushed aside concerns raised at the meeting that a local shire president may oppose the plan. During the meeting, Mr Poland said power in the government was exercised by Premier Mark McGowan, Treasurer Ben Wyatt, Ms Saffioti and Ms MacTiernan and the opinions of other ministers and departments were irrelevant. He said he had been giving advice about the "ability of a Peel Region business to apply directly with the government to work with the government (in a public/private partnership)". "This is in the context where the Peel Region has a shortage of business sand capable for use for the construction industry," Mr Poland's lawyer said. "Information Mr Poland was given was that the cost of dealing with the contaminated sand was estimated to be $300 million. [The business owner] estimated the cost [of] the mining licence would be $500,000 and the transportation costs to move the toxic waste to his former mining site so as to dispose of it would be in the order of $25 million. "The simple economics was that presented as an opportunity to save the taxpayers of Western Australia $275,000,000 in exchange for which the government would give up $500,000 for the mining licence and the cost of transportation. This is in a context where the government could obtain royalties from the mining of sand. "Mr Poland is a donor to both the Liberal Party and the Labor Party. His political affiliation was irrelevant to the support for this proposal. As deputy chair of the Peel Development Commission, it was part of Mr Poland's role to help and assist with these interactions between Peel business people and the government. Mr Poland took his role as deputy chair seriously. He would see anyone he needed to see to support any idea such as that discussed with [the business owner] that had such a clear and evident benefit for the community generally, the Peel Region and taxpayers." Ms Saffioti said she had been unaware of the land swap deal, and did not meet with Mr Poland regularly. "Mr Polands reported comments are incorrect and I am personally insulted by them," the minister said. "They do not reflect how I as a minister operate, or how this government operates." Ms MacTiernan echoed Ms Saffiotis statement and said Mr Polands comments were "completely improper" and did not represent the government. "I was not involved in any discussions on this matter," she said. "Mr Poland has accepted that his position is untenable and he has today offered his resignation." Mr Poland was appointed to the board of PDC by Ms MacTiernan after Labor won the 2017 election. Over the past 10 years he donated more than $200,000 to political parties, but was part of a public falling out between a number of prominent WA businessmen and former premier Colin Barnett prior to the last election. The PDC board is chaired by former City of Mandurah mayor Paddi Creevey and the current mayor Rhys Williams also serves on the board. Ms Creevey said the organisation had been approached by business to discuss land use matters in the Peel, including the potential to accommodate spoil from the Forrestfield airport link project. "The Public Transport Authority has advised that the Peel region is not suitable for spoil disposal," she said. The verdict is in, but it is still being debated. With Cardinal George Pell in custody for the sexual abuse of choirboys, his high-profile supporters continue to voice their doubts about his conviction for abuse. On Wednesday, former prime minister John Howard and Australian Catholic University chief Greg Craven gave positive character references on behalf of Pell. Fellow former prime minister Tony Abbott revealed he had spoken to Pell after the verdict was revealed on Tuesday, and Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli said he remained Pell's friend and "I don't shy away from that". George Pell leaving court on Tuesday after a suppression order preventing publication of his crimes was lifted. Credit:Justin McManus Several criminal lawyers who spoke to The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald on the condition of anonymity said they were "astonished" at Pell's conviction given the apparent lack of grooming, the short window available for Pell to abuse the boys, and the robes he was wearing, which had no splits or openings. An Iranian refugee who set himself on fire on Nauru would almost certainly have survived had he been treated in Australia, an inquest has been told. Burns specialist Jason Miller treated 23-year-old Omid Masoumali at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital about 30 hours after he burned himself in April 2016, before he died of organ failure. Omid Masoumali died after setting himself on fire at the Nauru detention centre in 2016. Credit:AAP/Supplied Dr Miller testified based on Mr Masoumali's age and the fact around half his body was burned, the injuries would have a death rate of five-to-10 per cent under his care. That would have been the case for most major Australian metropolitan hospitals, he told Brisbane Coroners Court on Wednesday. The man shot several times in the groin and leg at his Gold Coast residence is a former professional fighter set to appear in court on drug charges. Gokhan Turkyilmaz, 33, was on bail for allegedly trafficking dangerous drugs and was set to appear in Cairns Supreme Court on Thursday with five other co-defendants. Gokhan Turkyilmaz was rushed to hospital after being shot multiple times in the leg and groin. Credit:Facebook Police were hunting for a group of men who were seen fleeing the scene of the shooting, a house on Kumnick Street at Upper Coomera, about 8.30pm. Mr Turkyilmaz, nicknamed "Pitbull", was taken to the Gold Coast University Hospital in a serious condition. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following story contains names and images of people who have died. A cultural smoking ceremony will be held in north Queensland in honour of the two brothers who were found in a deep section of a north Queensland river. The bodies of Jhulio Sariago and Barak Austral, 3 and 5, were found by police in the early hours of Tuesday morning, sending shockwaves through the community. Police were doorknocking parts of the community on Tuesday to build a timeline of the boys' movements in the hours before their deaths. Credit:Facebook. Advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights and the family's spokeswoman Gracelyn Smallwood stood with some family members and elders to front the media on Wednesday afternoon. A woman who let a dozen dogs live among their own excrement, some confined to small cages and without water, used social media to plead for donations for her animal welfare group. Danielle Lamprecht, 45, who founded Couch Surfers Animal Rescue in Deception Bay, was convicted of animal neglect in Caboolture Magistrates Court on Wednesday. The dogs were living among urine and faeces and some were confined in small crates. Credit:RSPCA Qld Lamprecht pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to treat injuries and seven counts of failing to provide appropriate living conditions. RSPCA Queensland spokesman Michael Beatty said 12 dogs had been kept in appalling conditions. George Pell is in jail for sexually assaulting two choirboys, and his lawyer expects the cardinal to be vulnerable throughout his time in prison. Pell arrived at Wednesday's pre-sentence hearing at the County Court to a torrent of abuse, as people screamed for him to "rot in hell". Six hours later, he left the dock in stony silence as everyone inside a packed court watched him bow to the judge and walk into custody. He will spend the next fortnight in jail awaiting sentence after abandoning a bail application intended for Wednesday. Cardinal George Pell arrives for a pre-sentencing hearing at the County Court on Wednesday after being found guilty of sexually abusing two choirboys. Credit:Justin McManus Judge Kidd said the victims' parents had entrusted their sons into the care of the church the day of the abuse. The ultimate responsibility for their safety, the court heard, fell on the then archbishop, similar to the way a principal looked after school students. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Regular Press Conference on February 27, 2019 2019/02/27 Q: According to reports, Stephen Jacobi, Executive Director of the New Zealand China Council, recently stated that the Belt and Road Initiative will help boost New Zealand's economic development and deepen New Zealand-China relations. How do you view the prospect of New Zealand's engagement in the Belt and Road cooperation? A: Having followed the principle of consultation and cooperation for shared benefits since its inception, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is welcomed and endorsed by the vast majority of the international community. It is joined by a growing number of countries and international organizations and has yielded concrete outcomes beneficial to all parties. All like-minded countries are welcome to participate in the BRI cooperation. Following the principle of consultation and cooperation for shared benefits and the principle of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, the Chinese side stands ready to advance mutually beneficial cooperation with other parties in an in-depth manner. Q: It has been reported that on February 27, Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission announced that Muhammadu Buhari, incumbent president and presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress party, won the general election with 55.6% of the vote. Does China have any comment? A: We noted that Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission has declared the official result for the general election. We'd like to extend our congratulations to Mr. Muhammadu Buhari on his re-election as president of Nigeria. Nigeria is China's important strategic cooperative partner in Africa. China always attaches great importance to growing its strategic partnership with Nigeria. We stand ready to work with the new administration to step up exchange and cooperation in various areas to bring more benefits to our peoples. Q: On Monday at the meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, both Turkey and Britain raised concerns on the Chinese government's policies in Xinjiang. What is your response? A: We noted that certain people in Turkey and the UK have been making irresponsible and bad remarks on the issue of Xinjiang recently in disregard of facts, which the Chinese side firmly opposes. In fact, those certain countries you mentioned know very well that the violent, terrorist and separatist forces of East Turkistan as represented by the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) have posed the most direct and serious threats to the safety of people in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region over the years. Some people in Xinjiang have been influenced and blinded by extremist ideology and isolated themselves from their families and the society. They don't have any decent jobs and lack working skills, thus become quite susceptible to terrorist, violent and extremist forces. The measures taken by the government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region aim to help them master skills and return to the society and their families. By learning the knowledge of national laws, vocational skills and common language, they will be able to conduct normal production and have a normal life. By doing so, they won't further fall victim to terrorists and separatist forces or even become perpetrators. These preventive measures are proven effective. In fact, these measures have achieved visible outcomes. The Chairman and other officials of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region have briefed the international community on the relevant situation for many times. The most notable effect is that in the past 20 months or so, no violent terrorist attacks have occurred that cause casualties of innocent citizens. I believe any unbiased person will give credit for such achievement. Turkey itself has been long plagued by terrorism and separatist forces, but certain people in Turkey have ignored basic facts, kept smearing China's efforts to combat terrorism and eradicate extremists, vilify the government of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region for the measures it has taken, which is clearly ill-intended. We urge the certain countries you just mentioned to look at China's measures to combat terrorism and eradicate extremists in an objective way, stop making erroneous remarks and uphold the general picture of the international counter-terrorism cooperation with concrete actions. Q: In wake of intrusion into its airspace and violations of its territorial sovereignty by Indian air force yesterday, Pakistan has called upon the international community to condemn Indian aggression which has violated the UN Charter, support de-escalation, urge India to end its suppression in Indian-occupied Kashmir, and promote peace and stability in the region through engaging in dialogue. It also said that onus of escalation is with India. What is China's comment? A: Actually I answered a relevant question yesterday and made clear the Chinese side's principled position. We have noted recent developments as well as the positions made clear by India and Pakistan. As I said yesterday, India and Pakistan are both important countries in South Asia. We hope the two sides will bear in mind the peace and stability in the region, exercise restraint, step up dialogue and properly resolve relevant issue, so as to safeguard the fundamental interests of their countries, maintain peace and stability in the region and refrain from actions that might lead to further escalation of tensions. Q: Just have a follow-up question on Pakistan and India. Pakistan just said that it has shot down two Indian military planes today in Kashmir. As a neighboring country, is China concerned about this move by Pakistan? A: Like I said when taking the previous question raised by APP, regarding the recent developments which have drawn the attention of the international community, China's position is clear-cut. Our concern is that India and Pakistan, two important countries in South Asia, will maintain good neighborliness and that South Asia will maintain peace and stability. So we hope both sides could exercise restraint, take measures conducive to promoting dialogue and work actively to contribute to the lasting peace and stability in South Asia. Q: The International Court of Justice has issued an advisory opinion on the Chagos Archipelago case on February 25. It said that the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 is against international law. The United Kingdom has an obligation to bring to an end to its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible. All member States must cooperate with the United Nations General Assembly to complete the decolonization of Mauritius. What is your comment? A: The Chinese government welcomes the advisory opinion of the ICJ on the Chagos Archipelago case which upholds the UN decolonization process, champions the right to self-determination and other relevant norms of international law, and supports Mauritius' legitimate quest. China has taken an active part in the relevant process and expressed its firm support to the decolonization process championed by the United Nations in its written statement to the ICJ. Q: It is reported that the US and the DPRK leaders may discuss the declaration on ending the Korean War during their meeting. China was part of the Korean War. What is China's comment on an end-of-war declaration? A: As we said yesterday, we hope the upcoming DPRK-US summit will build on what has been achieved and lead to more positive outcomes. China supports an early end to the state of war on the Korean Peninsula. We proposed and still believe that the effective way to resolve the Peninsula issue is to follow the dual-track approach, which is to promote denuclearization and the establishment of a peace mechanism on the Peninsula in parallel. We support all efforts that are conducive to this process and stand ready to play our role in this regard. A red power suit can say a lot. So can a small boy sitting quietly in court in a Batman suit. In a legal career spanning more than 40 years, outgoing NSW Court of Appeal president Margaret Beazley the state's next governor has said and done a lot, sometimes without uttering a word. On Wednesday, the ceremonial Banco Court in Sydney's Law Courts building was overflowing with senior judges, lawyers, friends and family who assembled to mark Justice Beazley's retirement. It was a wordless sign of her popularity in the profession. Left to right: Justices Carolyn Simpson, Margaret Beazley and Virginia Bell sitting as the Court of Criminal Appeal on the first all-female bench in 1999. Credit:Brendan Esposito In a farewell speech that was at turns profound and funny, the pioneering judge recalled wearing "a red pant suit to my first judges' meeting" after a male colleague expressed his disdain for women wearing pants. "And he's here [today]," Justice Beazley said after a perfectly-timed pause, to guffaws from the crowd. Imagine strapping yourself into a seat inside a hovering metal pod in Melbourne, before being fired at nearly the speed of sound down an airless 900-kilometre metal pipe, to arrive in Sydney in a little over an hour. Thats the pipe-dream the proponents of Elon Musks hyperloop will spruik to politicians at an inquiry in Sydney on Thursday. A hyperloop is several times faster than high-speed rail. It costs half as much. It runs off renewable energy. It is, its proponents say, the future. Melbourne to Sydney - in a tube? Credit:HyperloopTT/Supplied Sceptical transport experts say the hyperloop faces a major hurdle: there is only so much speed a human body can physically endure. An Archibald Prize finalist on trial for murder said that when she and her sons arrived home and could not find her mother-in-law they laughed about how she was probably already walking to her new unit, a jury has been told. Melissa Beowulf allegedly said that shortly afterwards they found Katherine Panin, 82, dead at the back stairs, having tripped and fallen. Melissa Beowulf (centre) and her son Thorsten Beowulf (far right, wearing glasses) arrive for their trial this year. Credit:Karleen Minney But the Crown contends the woman's death was not an accident, and that instead Mrs Beowulf, 61, and her sons Thorsten, 32, and Bjorn, 31, murdered Mrs Panin. It is alleged Mrs Panin was struck to the head and either left there to die or smothered, and that the three accused later arranged her body at the foot of the back stairs. Canberra's peak property and business groups have warned the ACT is heading for an economic "tipping point" due to continual increases in commercial rates, amid calls for a major review of the system. The presidents of both the ACT branch of the Property Council and the Canberra Business Chamber told a Legislative Assembly committee inquiry into commercial rates on Wednesday that a taskforce needed to be set up to review the system. The ACT commercial property sector is heading towards a tipping point where investors will look elsewhere due to rate rises, peak business groups have warned. Credit:Jessica Shapiro The committee is looking into numerous claims of valuations sending rates bills for commercial property owners soaring across the city, with witnesses also raising concerns commercial rates are charged at nine times residential rates. Outgoing ACT Property Council president George Katheklakis and business chamber president Archie Tsirimokos separately told the inquiry a taskforce needed to be set up to review the commercial rating system, made up of representatives from industry, the government and the wider community. The federal government has passed a law preventing Australian companies from relying on data from animal testing for ingredients to be used solely in cosmetics. More than 500,000 animals mainly rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats and mice suffer and die in cruel and outdated tests of cosmetic ingredients or products around the world each year. Jason Wood, the federal Liberal member for La Trobe, and Hannah Stuart, campaign manager for #BeCrueltyFree Australia, at a press conference to announce the passing of legislation to ban animal testing for cosmetics sold in Australia. Credit:Humane Society International These animals have cosmetic chemicals dripped in their eyes, spread on their shaved skins, or force-fed to them orally in massive, even lethal, doses. The law was championed by #BeCrueltyFree Australia, a partnership between animal charity Humane Society International (HSI) and not-for-profit organisation Humane Research Australia (HRA), which has campaigned since 2012 on the issue of cosmetics cruelty in Australia. Free-to-air television networks could also find themselves caught if new regulations are brought in to curb the data collection and targeting powers of Facebook and Google. The competition watchdog flagged on Wednesday evening that the networks could find themselves affected by the mooted rules which are designed to provide clarity for consumers when signing up with a company that intends to collect their personal information. ACCC chair Rod Sims Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairman Rod Sims said the TV networks' move towards "addressable" television was a development he was watching closely as part of a world-first inquiry into the digital platforms. Addressable television is a growing feature of television catch-up applications, where the TV networks ask viewers to provide some personal information such as their age and location when signing up. This information is then used to allow advertisers to target audiences based on their demographics. Weakness in the Australian economy did not stop job listings website Seek from posting strong results on Wednesday, with chief executive Andrew Bassat expecting a federal election in May will bring greater stability for the business. The career classifieds site's revenue for the six months to December 31 increased 21 per cent to $757.2 million compared to the same period in 2018 despite difficult economic conditions. Seek chief executive Andrew Bassat. Credit:Eddie Jim Earnings (before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) increased 6 per cent to $238.5 million, while net profit after tax fell 5 per cent to $99.3 million. When excluding factors such as additional investment spending on early-stage new business ventures, net profit increased 6 per cent to $123.8 million. Seek's share price rose 6.2 per cent to $18.42 on the back of the results by 12.04pm and closed up 8.25 per cent to $18.77. Harrisonburg, VA (22807) Today Sun and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 90F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. The United Nations has hailed the first assessment of a major United Nations (UN) aid storage facility in war-torn Yemen a "great first step". The World Food Organisation (WFO) confirmed that a team reached the Red Sea Mills near the port of Hudayah on Tuesday. Earlier this month, UN officials warned about the risk of food aid being spoiled because it is too difficult to access. Forces affiliated with the Houthi rebels, formally-known as Ansar Allah, had previously not allowed the UN to cross front lines to access the mills. 51,000 metric tonnes of grain belonging to the World Food Programme- enough to feed 3.7m people- is being stored in the Red Sea Mills in Hodeida, Hudaydah and has been inaccessible for over five months. WFO Senior Spokesperson Herve Verhoosel said that while it is a 'great first step', the WFO will need to sustain everyday access to the silo: The silos show evidence of damage by the fighting, but no apparent structural damage except the silo affected by a hit in late January, which basically resulted in serious fire damage to that specific silo. We have now a first assessment, well probably need additional technical assessments, he added. The assessment team also found evidence of weevil infestation, but no water infiltration. Yemen imports approximately 70% of its food, medicines and fuel through Hudaydah port. Speaking at a conference in Geneva yesterday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned of an "overwhleming humanitarian calamity" as 360,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition." Seguin, Texas (78155) Today Cloudy skies this morning followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 89F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 72F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. The Swedish domestic security agency said a person has been arrested on suspicion of having been recruited by Russia to carry out "illegal intelligence activities against Sweden". Daniel Stenling, head of the SAPO's counter espionage unit, said the individual "works in the Swedish high-tech industry" and has information that the agency knows is of interest to foreign intelligence services. Pakistan's prime minister Imran Khan has extended an offer to Indian prime minister Nerendra Modi for talks to de-escalate rising tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Mr Khan said war benefits neither nation and that he hopes "better sense can prevail". In a televised address to the nation, Mr Khan said Pakistan is "ready to cooperate" and added: "Let's sit together to talk to find a solution." Former cricketer Mr Khan again promised to cooperate with India to find the perpetrators behind a February suicide attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed more than 40 Indian troops. The Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad group claimed responsibility and the suicide bomber was from Indian-ruled Kashmir. India has long accused Pakistan of harbouring anti-Indian militants, a claim Pakistan denies. Update 10:40am: India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson has confirmed that one Pakistan fighter aircraft was shot down, one Indian MiG-21 jet 'was lost' and an Indian pilot is missing in action. Pakistans air force said it has shot down two Indian warplanes after they crossed the boundary between the two nuclear-armed rivals in the disputed territory of Kashmir, with two Indian pilots being captured. The civil aviation authority in Pakistan later shut all airspace in the country to commercial flights. Indian army soldiers arrive near the wreckage of an Indian aircraft (AP) Pakistans army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said Pakistani troops on the ground captured the pilots. He added that one of the downed planes crashed in Pakistans part of Kashmir, while the other went down in Indian-controlled section of the Himalayan region. The injured pilot is being treated at a military hospital. Maj Gen Ghafoor said the pilots are being treated well, but made no mention of them being returned to India. He struck a conciliatory tone, saying: We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. Supporters of a Pakistani religious group Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba condemn what they say is Indian aggression (AP) Earlier, senior Indian police officer Munir Ahmed Khan said an Indian air force plane crashed in Indian-controlled sector of Kashmir and that it was not immediately known if there were casualties. Another police officer, SP Pani, said firefighters were at the site in Budgam area in Indian-controlled Kashmir where the Indian warplane crashed. Eyewitnesses said soldiers fired into the air to keep residents away from the crash site. Pakistani watch news bulletins on television in Karachi (AP) Indian administrator Baseer Khan confirmed that the airport in Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir, was closed and said it was a temporary and precautionary measure. The Press Trust of India said two airports in northern Punjab state, which borders Pakistan, were also closed. Meanwhile, the foreign ministry in Islamabad said the countrys air force was carrying out air strikes from within Pakistani airspace across the disputed Kashmir boundary, but that this was not in retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. Maj Gen Ghafoor said the strikes were aimed at avoiding human loss and collateral damage. According to local Pakistani police official Mohammad Altaf, the six fatalities in the Indian shelling earlier on Wednesday included children. The shells hit the village of Kotli in Pakistans section of Kashmir. Kashmiri villagers gather near the wreckage of one of the aircraft (AP) In Tuesdays strike by India, Pakistan had said that Indian warplanes dropped bombs near the Pakistani town of Balakot, but there were no casualties. Residents on both sides of the de facto frontier, the so-called Line of Control, said there were exchanges of fire between the two sides through the night. In Pakistans part of Kashmir, hundreds of villagers fled border towns. The situation was no different in villages along the Line of Control in Indian-controlled Kashmir, where residents were moving to safer places following the intense exchange of fire, which began on Tuesday and continued on Wednesday. In New Delhi, Indian officials said at least five of their soldiers were wounded in firing by Pakistani troops along the volatile frontier. Supporters of Indias ruling Bhartiya Janata Party shout slogans as they celebrate reports of Indian aircraft bombing Pakistani territory (AP) The statement said Indian troops retaliated for effect and claimed to have destroyed five Pakistani posts. It accused Pakistani soldiers of firing mortars and missiles from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields. Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan is expected to convene the National Command Authority to discuss Islamabads response to the incursions by Indian warplanes. On Wednesday, Pakistans foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told state-run Pakistan Television he was in touch with his counterparts across the world about the Indian aggression, adding that New Delhi had endangered peace in the region by Tuesdays air strike on Pakistan. In New Delhi, Indias external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said her country does not wish to see further escalation of the situation with Pakistan and that it will continue to act with responsibility and restraint. She said the limited objective of Indias pre-emptive strike inside Pakistan on a terrorist training camp was to act decisively against the terrorist infrastructure of the Jaish-e-Mohammad group. The latest wave of tensions between Pakistan and India first erupted after Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing of a convoy of Indias paramilitary forces in the Indian portion of Kashmir which killed 40 Indian troops on February 14. Pakistan said it was not involved in the attack and was ready to help New Delhi in its investigations. - Press Association The government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has released dozens of people arrested in a last year's crackdown on street protests. The releases came just hours before talks between the government and opponents are scheduled to begin on Wednesday. Former US vice president Joe Biden has said his family, including his grandchildren, are encouraging him to launch a White House bid. "There's a consensus," Mr Biden told an excited crowd during an appearance at the University of Delaware. "The most important people in my life want me to run." The veteran campaigner who served as Barack Obama's vice-president did not explicitly say he was running. In fact, the 76-year-old lifelong politician conceded he may not be popular enough to win over the Democratic Party of 2020. Yet roughly 10 months before the first primary votes are cast, Mr Biden sent an unmistakable message to prospective rivals and voters alike that the already-crowded Democratic field is far from set. Should he run, he would instantly become a front-runner, the best-known option for primary voters and perhaps the best-respected by elected officials and donors, who in many cases have a decades-long relationship with the longtime Democratic leader. Mr Biden's potential rivals had little to say publicly about his latest comments on potentially joining the field, but in private, their camps conceded that he would be a political force who could scramble the evolving field. Mr Biden could erode Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders' popularity with working-class voters in the Midwest, California Senator Kamala Harris' standing with African-American voters in South Carolina and New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg's claim to the political centre. Foreign election interference is not only a serious threat to our democratic institutions, its a threat to our national security. Russia and other authoritarian regimes are actively seeking to try to change outcomes of our democratic elections, and we cant allow that to happen. https://t.co/9hFF6sHCQ5 Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) February 22, 2019 "Uncle Joe is absolutely beloved within the Democratic Party and for good reason," said Zac Petkanas, an aide to former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. "However, this isn't a popularity contest. Not only is he going to have to prove he's got fresh, bold ideas, but that he's tough enough to stand up to (Donald) Trump." While he would be the oldest US president ever elected, toughness has never been an issue for Mr Biden, a native of working-class Pennsylvania, who suggested last year that he would "beat the hell" out of President Donald Trump for his comments about women if the two were in high school. For all the respect I have for him, I don't know if he's the right thing for the Democratic Party right now. It is unclear, however, if Mr Biden's profile, politics and policies are in line with today's liberal base, a relatively small slice of the electorate that holds outsized sway in presidential primary elections. Mr Biden would stand out as an old white man just months after Democratic voters sent the most diverse class to Congress in history. He would also be viewed as an establishment-minded moderate unwilling to wholly embrace litmus test issues like free universal health care, free college and the so-called Green New Deal. "He is the biggest, best-known candidate in the race," said veteran Democratic strategist Gary Pearce. "Personally, I have mixed feelings. "For all the respect I have for him, I don't know if he's the right thing for the Democratic Party right now." Still, Trump allies have long considered Mr Biden among the most formidable possible general election opponents given his working-class appeal. Despite more than four decades in Washington, most of it as a Delaware senator, he has long played up his upbringing in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Mr Biden also has far more international experience than his would-be Democratic opponents and the president. At a global security conference in Germany this month, he told an international audience that a US leader "stands up to the aggression of dictators". Yet he has struggled to develop a strong base of political support in two previous presidential runs. -Press Association The European Union has said it is concerned about Italy's debt and is warning the government in Rome to shore up its public finances. European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said that Italy's "public debt ratio is not expected to decline in coming years due to the weak economic outlook and government fiscal plans". The Czech Parliament has approved a government plan to guarantee the short-term rights of British citizens in the country in the event of a "no-deal" Brexit. The lower house approved the plan in January, and the upper house, or the Senate, has followed suit in a 72-1 vote on Wednesday. A speeding train has crashed into a barrier at Cairos main railway station, causing its fuel tank to explode and triggering a huge fire that left at least 25 people dead, officials said. Railway officials said the train was speeding and collided head-on with the barrier. At least 47 people were also injured in Wednesdays accident. A firefighter stands amid rubble and blood-stained clothes (Nariman El-Mofty/AP) Photographs from the station showed charred bodies lying on the platforms at the Ramsis station in central Cairo as firefighters struggled to get the flames under control. Heavy black smoke rose into the sky as ambulances rushed to the scene. The Ramsis district is among the busiest and most crowded areas of the Egyptian capital. The state railway agency briefly halted all train traffic and ordered the evacuation of the station. People gather outside Ramsis railway station (Nariman El-Mofty/AP) A video that surfaced on social media showed men and women carrying bags and personal belonging and walking on the rail platforms as the train car crashed and exploded. Another video showed men and women running, searching for exits after the explosion. A man runs back and forth, his shirt on fire, until another man rushes to pour water on him. Egypts prime minister Mustafa Madbouli said authorities must determine who caused the accident and hold that person accountable. He promised harsh punishment for the culprits. Policemen stand guard in front of a damaged train (Nariman El-Mofty/AP) Official figures show that 1,793 train accidents took place in 2017 across the country. In March last year, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said the government lacks about 250 billion Egyptian pounds, or 14.1 billion US dollars, to overhaul the run-down railway system. Mr el-Sissi spoke a day after a passenger train collided with a cargo train, killing at least 12 people, including a child. And in August 2017, two passenger trains collided just outside the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, killing 43 people. In 2016, at least 51 people were killed when two commuter trains collided near Cairo. - Press Association Celebrated author Edna OBrien has admitted that the banning of her first novel in Ireland on its publication in 1960 hurt her because writing is not an easy job. Her The Country Girls trilogy has been chosen as Dublins One City, One Book representative for this year. It will feature in celebrations throughout the city from April. When I sat down to write The Country Girls in a room in London on my children's windowsill I realised I was as lonely as a bird, she told RTEs News at One. I had wanted to leave Ireland, I felt constricted, I knew without knowing that to write The Country Girls I would have people looking over my shoulder, it's hard enough to do it, believe you me with just yourself looking over your shoulder. She acknowledged that the trilogy was not celebrated on its publication. It was not celebrated, whatever the opposite word to celebration is, that's what it got - sticks and stones and cudgels. It hurt me because writing is not an easy job and the one thing is, the primary thing is, you write alone and therefore you would like or dream of a bit of support, and to not only not have support, but to be blamed for what seemed to other people unjustifiably a crime, is not great. What it made me feel is how frightened people are, were, to some extent of the truthful written word. Ms OBrien said that she is pleased that a new generation will now get to read the trilogy. Now comes the time when people won't tell me that they had to buy this book 'up North' and they had to read under the sheets, it was read furtively, covered in brown paper. I want young audiences for my own sake and for life's sake. Whatever else the book has, it has feeling. A woman with a history of mental health problems took her own life two days after she was discharged home from an emergency department, an inquest has heard. The 43-year-old woman was recovered alive but critically injured by Coast Guard volunteers more than 24 hours after she went missing. She died shortly after transfer to hospital. The woman, described as musical and driven, worked at the Department of Justice and bought her own home before she became unwell. She left her job and subsequently lost her home in 2014. Dublin Coroners Court heard the woman had made several attempts on her life. An inquest into her death heard how the woman died on February 24, 2017, having left her home at 4pm the previous day. On February 22, the woman had presented to the emergency department at Beaumont Hospital. She said Mam I have to go to hospital, I need help now, the womans mother told the court. She was assessed by the Psychiatry Senior House Officer on call along with a psychiatric liaison nurse. During the assessment, she said she had stopped taking her medicine in 2016 due to excessive weight gain. Her mother said the woman had gained four stone in four months. She denied suicidal ideation and was described by the psychiatric nurse as minimally anxious. She was placed on the anti-psychotic medication and mood stabiliser Olanzapine and discharged home to the care of her mother in a taxi. The following day she was assessed at home by two community nurses and at 4pm she told her mother she was going for a walk. She never returned. A post-mortem report gave the cause of death as intracranial haemorrhage due to trauma. I miss her so much. She was so depressed and so sad. When I think about her I realise how hard it was for her to get out of bed in the morning, the womans mother said. Community Psychiatrist Dr Malcolm Garland said the mental health services the woman interacted with were unable to diagnose her as suicidal, based on what she told them. During these three to four days that she was embroiled in the system, she was actually quite suicidal, we were unable to get into that part of her mind...We have to go with what the patient tells us, Dr Garland said. We are human, we dont as psychiatrists have special abilities to know what might be going on in peoples minds. Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane returned a verdict of suicide and extended her sympathies to the family. A woman on trial for attempted murder attacked her victim on the street with the intention of killing her, rather than robbing a handbag, according to a consultant psychiatrist. Laura Kenna (37), of no fixed abode, is charged with attempting to murder Fionnuala Burke on Lower Drumcondra Road, in Dublin, on January 3, 2017, and assault causing serious harm on the same occasion. Ms Kenna has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to both counts. A jury at the Central Criminal Court has heard that the central issue in the case is Ms Kennas state of mind at the time of the attack and that there will be a conflict in the opinion of two consultant psychiatrists, for both the prosecution and the defence. Dr Stephen Monks, a consultant psychiatrist based at the Central Mental Hospital, told the jury today that Ms Kenna was suffering from schizoaffective disorder, a chronic mental illness related to schizophrenia. Dr Monks told Barry White SC, for the defence, that Ms Kenna became homeless in 2013 and thereafter lived a "chaotic transient existence". In the months leading up to the alleged attempted murder, he said Ms Kenna perpetrated three violent assaults on homeless service users in Belfast, two of which were attempted eye-gouges. The jury were told that a few weeks before the alleged attempted murder, Ms Kenna attacked another woman at a LUAS stop. She told Dr Monks that the victim was supposedly saying things to her "so I stabbed her in the face with a pen. At the time of both incidents, Dr Monks said Ms Kenna did not know the nature and quality of her actions and couldn't stop what she was doing. As such, she was entitled to the special verdict of not guilty by reason insanity. It was put to Dr Monks that Professor Harry Kennedy, who will be called to give evidence for the prosecution, laid emphasis on the fact Ms Kenna was committing a robbery when she attacked Ms Burke. In response, Dr Monks said a person could commit a robbery as part of a delusional belief. They could commit a robbery for personal gain. He said he didn't believe the purpose of her "frenzied and vicious" attack on Ms Burke was a robbery. It was with the intention of killing Ms Burke in the context of delusions about death, vampires and cannibalism. Under cross-examination from Anthony Salmon SC, for the prosecution, Dr Monks said he disagreed with Prof Kennedys view that Ms Kenna had appropriated a sharp knife for the purpose of a robbery. In his view, Dr Monks said Ms Kenna had a knife, not for the purpose of robbing a handbag but for the purpose of killing somebody. Prof Kennedy will give evidence tomorrow before a jury of six men and six women with Ms Justice Tara Burns presiding. Irish troops have been undergoing intensive training to counter anything they may face during their upcoming deployment to potentially one of the most dangerous regions in the world. The 130-strong 59th Infantry Group has been on day and night exercises at Lynch Camp, Kilworth, Co Cork preparing to deploy with the United Nations inside war-torn Syria. They undertook a wide range of exercises today. These included CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) counter-measures, mine and IED (Improvised Explosive Device) detection and anti-ambush tactics. Combat readiness will be key to their six-month-long tour in Syria which has been rocked by years of bloody civil war and the fight to dislodge fanatical Islamic State (IS) fighters from their strongholds. The advance contingent of the 59th Infantry Group will deploy to Camp Faouar, 25kms inside Syria on March 24, with the rest following on April 2. Irish troops were forced to withdraw from that camp in August 2014 after they and fellow UN peacekeepers came under sustained attack from Islamic extremists. The UN regained control of the camp last September and, amongst other operations, it will be the Irish contingent's job to clear unexploded shells etc from UN outposts in areas which have yet to be reoccupied. The troops which include seven women will be led by Lieutenant Colonel Louis Flynn, who watched them being put through their paces today. He is acutely aware of the potential volatility of the area, describing it as a very complex security environment". The region has been fought over in a new Cold War-era battle between Russia, the US, Britain, France, and their proxy allies. Add to the mix Islamic State and a major refugee crisis. When deployed, his troops will be the UN's 'quick reaction force', tasked with being fully operational within 15 minutes of a call-out. As the senior officer explained, this will be on a 24/7 basis for the entire six-month deployment. Therefore, he and his officers don't want to leave anything to chance with the troops' intensive training, which started on Jan 2 and will continue in the Glen of Imaal and other training areas in the run-up to them flying out. Although some of them will be equipped with electronic mine-detectors, they won't always be on hand in the field and the troops were today down on their bellies 'doing it the old fashioned way' by probing the ground with sharp instruments to locate them. The contingent will also be made up of some personnel from the Air Corps and Naval Service. It is composed to be self-sufficient as it will consist of engineering, medical, ordinance, transport and logistics experts. The average age of those travelling to Syria is 32 and between them they have carried out 230 overseas tours of duty already. However, for 39 it will be their first foreign tour. The youngest is 21 and the most experienced, a Battalion Sergeant Major, has completed 14 missions abroad. A sub officer with Dublin Fire Brigade says that the timing of the fire at an apartment complex in Santry on Tuesday evening meant it was easier to evacuate the building. Darren OConnor told RTEs Morning Ireland that if the fire had been at a later time it might have been much more difficult. Schools are warning parents to be wary of cyberbullying trend Momo - but internet safety experts say there is nothing to worry about. The online phenomenon has reportedly started appearing on social media platforms in Ireland in recent days. According to some reports, users are encouraged to make contact with 'Momo' and are then sent challenges or threats. However, Facebook, which also owns WhatsApp, said it has received no reports relating to Momo in Ireland. In response to the reports, some schools have circulated information to parents indicating that cyberbullying can 'present a serious risk to the safety, welfare and wellbeing of children and young people'. A letter from one Cork city school said: "A person doesn't have to be searching for Momo to be exposed to it and, unlike other games that children enjoy, there is no positive side to this." Avril Ronan, global programme manager for Internet Safety at TrendMicro, said parents need to educate their children about online dangers. Ms Ronan teachers internet safety in Cork schools to 4th, 5th and 6th class pupils, as well as their parents. She said that the 'Momo' phenomenon is nothing new and that there is no need to be concerned. "It is just the flavour of the month," she said. "There are no direct links between viral challenges like this, the Blue Whale Challenge or others to the issues reported; it is all just hype and hysteria. "Parents need to use the opportunity to teach their children about online safety, about not clicking on things. Parents also need to use privacy settings and monitor their child's usage." Ruth Morrissey, who is terminally ill with cervical cancer, on the balance of probabilities would not have got cancer and be facing a death sentence if she had been referred for a colposcopy in 2009, the High Court heard today. Leading cervical cancer expert Professor John Shepherd said it was correct to say Ms Morrissey who now has only two years to live should in 2009 have been referred for a colposcopy. It is the third week of the 37-year old mothers action against the HSE and two US laboratories over the alleged misreading of two of her cervical smear slides taken in 2009 and 2012 under the CervicalCheck screening programme. Asked by Ms Morrissey s counsel, Jeremy Maher SC what would have been the likely findings of a colposcopy in 2009, Prof Shepherd said knowing a cancer was detected in Ms Morrissey in 2014, the balance of probabilities is there would have been a precancerous lesion there. The consultant gynaecological oncologist has reviewed Ms Morrissey's case along with the scans she had earlier this year. He told the court If she had been referred for a colposcopy biopsy specimens would have been taken and on the balance of probabilities it would have shown some degree of abnormality and he said there would be another procedure to remove the abnormality. He thought on the balance of probabilities there would be a 5% chance of a recurrence and a 1% chance of invasive cancer developing. On the balance of probabilities she would not have got cancer and be facing a death sentence, Prof Shepherd told the court. Cross-examined by Patrick Hanratty SC for the HSE, Professor Shepherd said Ms Morrissey's recurring cancer was bigger than anyone realised. Mr Hanratty said the recurrence of Ms Morrisssey's cervical cancer was in February 2018 and he put it to the witness that the earliest a tumour could be detected was May 2017. Prof Shepherd said he believed the tumour could be detected in scan imaging in early 2016. Counsel for Quest Diagnostics Michael Cush SC suggested to the witness that precancerous cells were not present in 2009, Prof Shepherd answered: " I believe you are wrong." Ruth Morrissey and her husband Paul Morrissey of Kylemore, Schoolhouse Road, Monaleen, Co Limerick have sued the HSE and the US laboratory Quest Diagnostics Ireland Ltd with offices at Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin along with Medlab Pathology Ltd with offices at Sandyford Business Park, Dublin 18. It is claimed there was an alleged failure to correctly report and diagnose and there was an alleged misinterpretation of her smear samples taken in 2009 and 2012. A situation it is claimed allegedly developed where Ms Morrisseys cancer spread unidentified, unmonitored and untreated until she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in June 2014. It is further claimed a review of the 2009 and 2012 smears took place in 2014 and 2015 with the results sent to Ms Morrissey's treating gynaecologist in 2016, but she was not told until May 2018 of those review results which showed her smears were reported incorrectly. The Morrisseys further contend that if Ms Morrissey had been told the results of the smear test audits in late 2014 or early 2015, she would have insisted on an MRI and other scans. The HSE the court has already heard admitted it owed a duty of care to Ms Morrissey but not to her husband. The laboratories deny all claims. The case before Mr Justice Kevin Cross continues. One million green card forms have been issued to motor insurance companies throughout Ireland as the industry ramps up preparations for a no-deal Brexit. In such a scenario, drivers will be required to have a green card to show they have valid insurance in the UK. The Polisario leaders are currently on the alert and await with great concern the outcome of the cycles of demonstrations staged in Algeria to denounce the candidacy of the moribund President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to a fifth term in office and openly demand the change of the totalitarian regime that is in control of the country. Informed sources in the Tindouf camps report a deafening silence at the Polisario headquarters in Rabouni, where the front leaders are in the expectation of a possible change at the helm of the country. The worries are all the greater because the separatists had, over recent months, witnessed the fall of other totalitarian leaders who used to support and finance their pseudo- Sahrawi Republic. President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, is one of them. Once a staunch supporter of the Polisarios fanciful schemes, Nicolas Maduro is now in turmoil. The opposition, led by the young Juan Guaido, is in the process of bringing down the Venezuelan authoritarian regime that ruled the country with an iron fist, starving its population while the oil windfalls flow. A same situation as in Algeria. With the support of the United States, the European Union and several Latin American countries, Juan Guaido, who has been recognized by fifty or so countries as interim president, called on Monday, during a meeting in Bogota with his allies of the Lima Group, to conceive every possible contingency against Nicolas Maduro, in power since 2013. His opponents claim his re-election was fraudulent. Even in South Africa, Polisarios main supporter in the continent after Algeria, President Cyril Ramaphosa, who succeeded the controversial Jacob Zuma, is threatened and may be ejected from the presidential seat because of the corruption that has plagued the country and its economy for so long. Furthermore, the Polisario leaders have been stunned by the inclusion of Western Sahara in the agricultural and fisheries agreements recently concluded between Morocco and the European Union, and in the aid earmarked for Morocco by the United States. Already at a loss, will they know where to turn if Bouteflikas clan is evicted from power? That is by no means a sure thing! A National Museum of Ireland (NMI) assistant keeper of antiquities will not have to hand over his medical records as part of his legal challenge to his suspension for alleged sexual harassment, the Court of Appeal has ruled. Dr Andrew Halpin, Yellowmeadows Avenue, Clondalkin, Dublin, is suing the National Museum of Ireland (NMI) over his suspension following an internal investigation in 2016 of sexual harassment of an intern which led to certain restrictions on him, including that he was not to work alone with female colleagues. He was also to have limited internet access after there was a separate complaint alleging he had several hundred pictures of tall women, including digitally altered images, on his work computer, none of which were pornographic. Following media reports in February 2017 about alleged sexual harassment by an NMI employee, he was suspended when he refused to go on a paid leave of absence. He brought High Court proceedings seeking to quash the suspension and prohibiting a requirement that he attend a psychiatrist and psychologist for assessment. Last May, the High Court ordered his medical records relating to documents on his mental health, including any counselling he had undergone, be provided on the basis that they would be sealed and placed on court file should they be required pending the outcome of his case. The NMI appealed the "sealed" requirement while Dr Halpin cross-appealed seeking to overturn the entire decision. On Wednesday, Ms Justice Mary Irvine, on behalf of the three-judge appeal court, dismissed the NMI appeal and allowed Dr Halpin's appeal. She was satisfied the High Court erred in making an order that he discover the medical records. This was not necessary or relevant for the proper and fair determination of any issue in the proceedings and was not in accordance with the rules of the superior courts, she said. Earlier, Ms Justice Irvine said a previous internal investigation in 2006 found Dr Halpinguilty of sexual harassment. Along with a loss of pay increments, he was required to undergo counselling. Following the new complaint in 2015 from an intern, and the separate complaint about pictures of tall women on his computer, he and the NMI agreed he would take a leave of absence on full pay, as an alternative to suspension. A few days later, he changed his mind and he was suspended on full pay while a decision was later taken by the NMI board that he undergo assessment. He then brought proceedings and brought a second case later because, it was claimed, the NMI had changed the terms of the suspension. In the meantime, the appeal over the disclosure of his medical records proceeded. The NMI argued the medical records had a clear bearing on his fitness for work. Dr Halpin argued it was a "fishing expedition" to retrospectively justify the decision to suspend. Ms Justice Irvine agreed it was a "classic fishing expedition" to provide justification after the event. She regretted to say the High Court failed to give due consideration to the issues actually identified in Dr Halpin's claim. That court had erred in law in acceding to the NMI application for discovery of the records, even on the restricted "sealed" basis, she said. A murder accused told gardai that he "fought back" after a 90-year-old retired farmer, who was found beaten to death in his own home, had hit him with a walking stick and shovel. The jury also heard that Ross Outram told gardai that he did not intend to murder Paddy Lyons or cause him serious harm when he went to his home looking for money. Mr Outrams garda interviews were read to the Central Criminal Court today on the sixth day of the 28-year-olds trial. Mr Outram, of Ferryland, Waterford Road, Clonmel in Co Tipperary, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Lyons at Loughleagh, Ballysaggart, Lismore, Co Waterford, at a time unknown between February 23 and 26, 2017. A pathologist has given evidence that Mr Lyons suffered multiple blows to his head and neck from a blunt weapon, before his blood-smeared body was found slumped in his armchair at his home. The jury has heard medical evidence that Mr Lyons suffered a stiffness or fusion of a shoulder during childbirth and could only keep it in one position. Giving evidence today, Detective Garda Martin Keohane told prosecuting counsel John OKelly SC that he conducted the first four memos of interviews with Mr Outram at Dungarvan Garda Station on February 27. Mr Outram initially told gardai that he was at home watching television on the evening of February 23 and went to Paddy Powers bookmakers the following day. He said he was living at home with his alcoholic mother at the time. Mr Outram said in his second interview that he neither knew Mr Lyons nor where he lived. The accused also denied that his maternal grandmother had a friend called Paddy from west Waterford and he would go to Ballysaggart when he was a child. The accused told gardai in his seventh interview that he could not remember what happened on the night as he was "back on drugs" but said Mr Lyons was not dead when he left his home in Ballysaggart as the pensioner had locked the door. Mr Outram said he figured that if he went to Ballysaggart and took Mr Lyons money, then his mother would no longer be able to get money off him [the deceased] for drink. I knew that man a long time, my grandmother used to look after him. I was trying to do good as my mother kept wrecking my head, she keeps getting worse, he said. Mr Outram said he had taken 100 Xanax when he knocked on Mr Lyons door on the night of February 24. The accused said he explained to Mr Lyons who he was and asked him for money but the deceased said he did not have any. Mr Outram said the pensioner started to hit him with his walking stick and shovel but he had fought back. Mr Lyons told him to go outside and locked him out. However, Mr Outram insisted Mr Lyons was not dead when he left his house. It wasnt money I was looking for, it was the simple fact of my mother not getting any more money, insisted Mr Outram, adding that he did not go there to intentionally kill the man as Mr Lyons was his grandmothers friend. Mr Outram said the incident happened on a Friday night and he could not believe Mr Lyons was dead when it came on the news on Sunday. The accused later told gardai that he hit Mr Lyons with his walking stick which was bendy and had a hook on top of it. Gardai put it to the accused that Mr Lyons had a lot of injuries to his head and asked him if he had any idea of how many times he had hit him. No idea, I didnt kill him in the house, he was alive when I was leaving. He put on his grey hat and locked me out, replied Mr Outram, adding that he was out of his face on drugs at the time. Following this, gardai told Mr Outram that Mr Lyons had 12 blows to his head and asked him if he accepted that he hit him. I must have, Mr Outram replied, adding that he would never have touched him if Mr Lyons had not hit him with his walking stick. Mr Outram dropped his trousers in one of the interviews and showed gardai some bruising and a tear on his inner thigh. The trial has previously heard that Mr Outram had injuries that included marks on his hands and bruising to the inside of his thigh. The accused told gardai that he could not remember whether Mr Lyons had swung the shovel or stick at him first. I think the reason I hit him was because every time I took something off him, he would pick up something else and hit me with it again, he added. Mr Outram said he threw the registration plates from his Volkswagen Passat car into the River Suir after watching the news on the Sunday. The accused said he did not know how many times he hit Mr Lyons but he did not do it intentionally. I cant remember what happened, its all a blur to me, he remarked. I want to clarify that I didnt intend to murder or kill him, he concluded. Under cross-examination by Michael O'Higgins SC, defending, Det Gda Keohane agreed that a shovel was visible in photos taken from Mr Lyons house. The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Paul Coffey and a jury of eight men and four women. A garda officer in charge of exhibits in the Patrick Quirke trial said he does not remember being told about a lady's hair clip taken from the tank where DJ Bobby "Mr Moonlight" Ryan's body was found. Detective Garda Kieran Keane was 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. 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 22 months later in April 2013. The prosecution claims that Mr Quirke murdered Mr Ryan so he could rekindle an affair with Ms Lowry (52). Det Gda Keane told prosecuting counsel Michael Bowman SC that he was appointed as exhibits officer in 2011 following Mr Ryan's disappearance. It is his job to secure all exhibits, he said, and he tracks them using an exhibits chart. Item 33 on this chart referred initially to a bag containing cable ties and pipe covers recovered from the tank and handed to the exhibits officer by Gda Larry Stapleton. Following an examination by a forensic scientist in January of this year, the chart was updated to state that the bag also included a hair clip. Lorcan Staines SC for the defence asked Det Gda Keane and Gda Stapleton about the broken, tortoiseshell, lady's hair clip. Garda Stapleton told counsel that he bagged the hair clip along with other items taken from the tank and handed the bag to Det Gda Kieran Keane. He said he did not write on the bag what was contained within it as this was not his practice and there was no space on the bag for that purpose. The witness also said that photos were taken of everything that was taken from the tank, including the hair clip. Mr Staines said those photos were not made available to the defence until November 2018, more than five years later and at a time when Mr Quirke was awaiting trial. The witness said he couldn't answer for that. He further told Mr Staines that he told the exhibits officer what was in the bag but agreed with Mr Staines that Det Gda Keane did not include the hair clip on the original chart. Mr Staines suggested it would be "highly unlikely" that Gda Keane, who was doing his best to be accurate, would have failed to note the hair clip if he was told of it. Mr Staines further put it to the witness that he did not make a statement about this until five-and-a-half years after the fact and questioned how he could be so sure of what he told Det Gda Keane. Gda Stapleton said he would have told Gda Keane about the hair clip because that is what is in his notes from the time. He added: "I know from the way I wrote it that's what I told to Gda Keane." Mary Lowry Gda Keane told Mr Staines that he does not remember the conversation with Gda Stapleton but said he would have noted on the chart everything that he knew was contained within the bag. Mr Staines suggested to him that it is "highly likely" that he was not told about the hair clip. The witness replied: "I can't recall what Larry Stapleton told me." Earlier in the trial, it was suggested that the chart available to gardai contained a reference to the hair clip while the one disclosed to the defence did not. Mr Staines told Det Gda Keane there is no suggestion that he acted improperly in carrying out his duty and the garda accepted this. The witness further explained to Mr Bowman that the exhibits chart was changed in January 2019 to include the presence of the hair clip following the examination by Forensic Science Ireland. He said it is a matter of routine that the chart is changed, updated or amended when new information becomes available. The trial also heard from veterinary surgeon Kieran O'Mahony who said that he tested Mr Quirke's herd in 2010 and found evidence of BVD infection. Another vet, Kevin Lenihan, said he was due to call to the Quirke farm at Fawnagowan to dehorn an animal on the morning Mr Ryan's body was found but he, Mr Lenihan, cancelled the appointment. Justice Eileen Creedon told the jury of six men and six women that the trial will run beyond the originally predicted eight weeks and they may be required until March 22, two weeks more than originally anticipated. Local radio stations could receive up to 250,000 a year in State funding under a multi-million euro support scheme. Fianna Fail has called for the establishment of a public service broadcast fund which would be paid for through a major clamp down on those who evade the TV licence fee. Fianna Fail's communications spokesperson Timmy Dooley said between 35m and 50m is lost every year from uncollected licence fees. "Local stations have a contractual obligation to fulfil the 20% public service obligation to provide new and current affairs programming, but they are finding it increasingly difficult to find the funds to maintain a full-service newsroom," he said. The private members' motion being debated in the Dail tomorrow calls for the introduction of a fund by the end of September which would invest 25% of money raised through the increased collection of the TV licence fee into local radio. "I think 10m initially would go a long way. We are saying 25% of whatever that fund might be," said Mr Dooley. "We believe that the funding can come from a better collection of our national licence fee. "As you know the Communications Committee last year did a body of work looking at the future funding of public service broadcasting and there are quite a few recommendations there. But it's well recognised that from an Irish perspective we are way behind in terms of collecting the licence fee. While Mr Dooley said there have been a number of publicity campaigns to encourage people to pay the TV licence, he said "there hasn't been the kind of direct approach that is needed on the ground". One District Court judge last year received 61,058 in expenses that included arrears payments of 36,919. New figures released by the Courts Service show that Judge Cormac Dunne received the highest expense payments of any judge in 2018. According to the Courts Service, of the 26,161 paid out in expenses to Judge Dunne between July and December, it included arrears of 16,620 from 2010, 2011 and 2012. In the first six months of this year, Judge Dunne received 34,897 in expenses and that included 20,299 paid out in expenses arrears for the period 2008 to 2017. Appointed a judge in 2002, Judge Dunne presides in the district courts in Co Louth and Co Meath which would involve significant travel to courts in the two counties. Five other District Court judges received expense payments over 35,000 in 2018: Judge Brian OShea, 37,777; Judge Paul Kelly, 35,797; Judge Alan Mitchell, 38,255; Judge Seamus Hughes, 37,195; and Judge Gerald Furlong, 46,735. The expenses claimed by judges are broken down between mileage, subsistence and incidental expenses such as judicial attire. The Courts Service figures show that for between January and December last, judges received 1.8m in expenses, a marginal increase on the 1.73m paid out in expenses for 2017. Judges can claim for newly purchased robes and the spend on judicial incidental expenses last year including judicial attire last year totalled 34,773. In total, 62 District Court judges claimed a total of 1.1m in expenses with Circuit Court judges claiming 565,667. Judges who have no assigned court district or circuit tend to have higher expenses payments due to the mileage travelled each year. High Court judges claimed 110,379 in expenses with the Court of Appeal judges receiving 13,057. Chief Justice Frank Clarke Judges on the Supreme Court claimed a total of 5,572 in expenses with Chief Justice Frank Clarke receiving 1,859 in expenses. The Supreme Court, High Court and Court of Appeal judges receive modest expenses due to them presiding for the most part in Dublin. The Courts Service state the level of costs recouped by each judge are a direct reflection of the work, numbers of sittings and the locations he or she is required to attend. The Courts Service point out that for the district court, it sits throughout the year in scores of venues across the country and is the busiest, largest and most geographically dispersed Court in the country. A disqualified driver who crashed into a garda car and a taxi during a high-speed pursuit has been jailed for three and a half years. Lee O'Brien (32) with an address at Cooley Road, Drimnagh, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to three counts of endangerment, one count of dangerous driving and one count of driving without insurance on January 9, 2018 in Dublin City Centre. The court heard the chase ended when O'Brien crashed into a taxi, which caused that vehicle to spin and collide with a pole. The father-of-three has 122 previous convictions, the bulk of which are for road traffic matters such as drunk driving and dangerous driving. Today, Judge Melanie Greally described the incident as an extremely serious episode of highly dangerous driving. She said, fortunately, there were no resulting serious injuries. She noted that O'Brien has a long history of addiction with little in the way of employment. She further noted that a report from the Probation Service was not positive, but accepted there could have been miscommunication involved. The judge said the endangerment offences lay in the upper range on the scale for such offences. She imposed a three-and-a-half year sentence and banned O'Brien from driving for ten years on his release. She backdated the sentence to May last year. Sergeant Brendan O'Halloran told John Byrne BL, prosecuting, that at 1.30am on the morning in question a garda patrol unit noticed that a red Nissan Micra seemed to hesitate upon the driver spotting the gardai. The car sped off when the gardai approached and the unit gave pursuit. O'Brien drove quickly down the wrong direction of several one-way streets and through red traffic lights. O'Brien appeared to lose control of the car on North King Street and stalled. When he turned the engine back on he reversed towards the patrol car that had also come to a halt and collided with it while two gardai were still in the car. Another patrol car took up the pursuit, which came to an end on Queen's Street when O'Brien collided with the taxi. O'Brien, his passenger and the taxi driver all had to be removed from the vehicles and were brought to hospital where they were treated for minor injuries. Sgt O'Halloran interviewed O'Brien and he admitted that he had been banned from driving at the time of the incident. He accepted all of the charges and said he was genuinely sorry. Sgt O'Halloran agreed with Karl Monahan BL, defending, that O'Brien had had significant difficulty with drug use. He is on 20ml of methadone per day while in custody and is attempting to break free of his addiction. Mr Monahan said his client had got a fright when he saw the patrol unit and drove away as he was disqualified from driving at the time. O'Brien was intoxicated during the incident. The Government is to introduce legal measures to ensure that the high level of data exchange between gardai and the PSNI which reached almost 70,000 pieces of information last year will continue if there is a crash out Brexit. The continuation of the sharing of information and intelligence was one of the biggest asks of Garda HQ to the Government in relation to contingency plans for a no deal Brexit on March 29. The scale of the sharing of criminal and security information across the border emerged at a special sitting of the Oireachtas Justice Committee on Brexit with Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan and his senior officials. The hearing focused on justice and security elements of the Government's Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2019. Minister Flanagan said the bill dealt with the most pressing and challenging issues arising from a no deal or a crash out Brexit that required primary legislation. These relate to the areas of extradition and immigration, including arrangements regarding the Common Travel Area between Ireland and Britain, certain data sharing systems and asylum-related matters. This includes provisions for the fingerprinting and the sharing of biometric data between Ireland and Britain to ensure the continuance of the British Irish Visa Scheme, seen as important for business and travel reasons. New provisions for extradition would aim to replace the existing European Arrest Warrant (which provides for the speedy extradition of people, including citizens of the country receiving the request, between member states). Official figures show Ireland sent 60 (out of a total of 76) requests to Britain in 2017, while Britain sent 207 EAW requests to Ireland (out of a total 357 requests received by Ireland). Minister Flanagan said there was very close cooperation between gardai and the PSNI, with up to 70,000 pieces of information shared last year. But he said this issue was not covered in the bill the Government had introduced, as, unlike extradition and immigration, it did not require primary legislation. Senior Department of Justice official Jimmy Martin said that the department had identified and examined 700 EU instruments relating to justice and security matters. He said they conducted meetings with the gardai, the DPP, the Courts Service, the Prison Service and the Probation Service to see how they would be affected by Brexit. In addition, they had contact with the European Commission and the British Home Office regarding what legislation might be required. He said that one of the biggest asks of gardai related to communication and data exchange with British authorities, saying that on average there was around 60,000-70,000 pieces of information exchanged every year, particularly with the PSNI. Mr Martin said that under Brexit, Britain would be a third party for data protection and there were big concerns around implications for this area. Following discussions with the Attorney General, it had been established that the necessary changes could be done through EU instruments, which did not require primary legislation. He said the list of areas which will be dealt with by way of secondary legislation or administrative arrangements was quite long. He said a big ask of the UK in the police cooperation area was continued access to the Europol and Schengen information systems which he said was outside Irish competence as they were EU systems. Minister Flanagan said that the contingency extradition arrangements under the bill using the 1957 Council of Europe Convention on Extradition would provide a workable solution but accepted it is not as effective or efficient as the EAW. He told Louth deputy Peter Fitzpatrick that matters relating to increased garda deployment along the border was a power resting with the Garda Commissioner, but accepted there would be a unique need for vigilance in terms of the smuggling of property or people. The Taoiseach has urged Theresa May to do the "honourable thing" and hold a public inquiry into the murder of solicitor Pat Finucane. The Supreme Court in London ruled on Wednesday that there has been no "effective investigation" into Mr Finucane's murder and that previous inquiries had not complied with the Finucane family's human rights. Mr Finucane was shot dead in front of his family in February 1989 by loyalists in an attack which an official report later concluded had involved collusion with the UK state. The 39-year-old was shot 14 times while enjoying Sunday lunch at home with his family. Mrs Finucane claimed the Government unlawfully "reneged" on a promise to hold a public inquiry into the killing - one of the most notorious of the Troubles - when former prime minister David Cameron instead ordered an independent review by former war crimes lawyer Desmond de Silva QC. His review concluded that there had been collusion between the killers and the state and Mr Cameron later apologised. During Leader's Question's on Wednesday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was asked by Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald whether he would ask his UK counterpart to hold an inquiry to address what she labelled "one of the many broken commitments of the peace process". Mr Varadkar hailed the family of Mr Finucane. "I never had the opportunity to meet Pat Finucane, but I've read about him, I know he was an honourable man, a lawyer and human rights activist - long before people even used that term. "I had the opportunity in recent weeks to meet with Geraldine Finucane and her family," Mr Varadkar said. "Geraldine made a real impression on me, particularly her dignity and steely resilience seeking justice and truth for three decades now." Mr Varadkar said: "The position of the Irish government is that the British government should now honour its commitment to now carry out a public inquiry in accordance with the inquiries act, into the murder of Pat Finucane. "The British Government should keep the promise made by Prime Minister Cameron back in Weston Park in 2001 (Mr Varadkar later corrected the record that this was Tony Blair), and accept the judgment made by the Supreme Court today. "It is the honourable thing to do, the right thing to do, and I believe the British government should do that. "I will certainly be raising it in my meetings with the Prime Minister." He concluded his answer by stating: "I will be pressing my counterpart Theresa May to honour the commitment made by her forebear." The Supreme Court ruled that the de Silva review was not compliant with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which required the investigation to be provided with "the means where, if they can be, suspects are identified and, if possible, brought to account". But the court also found that, while Mrs Finucane had been given "an unequivocal undertaking" that there would be a public inquiry into the murder, the UK Government was justified in later deciding against holding one. Digital Desk Earlier: 'A great result for our family', says son of murdered Belfast solicitor By Vivienne Clarke This was a great result today for our family, John Finucane told RTEs Today with Sean ORourke show. It was very emotional for all of us. It is an enormous relief for my mother, it has given all of us a boost. He said that the UK Supreme Courts decision has blown out of the water the results of the De Silva review. The British government has run out of road and will finally have to do the right thing. Mr Finucane denied that Brexit would have an impact on the obligation of the British government under Article Two to investigate all the facts of his fathers murder. The British government finally needs to deal with this case and do the right thing. He said that the family is more used to setbacks than to success, this has been an enormous lift to my family. He added that public support spurs us on. The decision was not just about the murder of Pat Finucane, he said. There are many other families who also deserve full accountability. This case goes to the heart of the British establishment and the deaths of so many people. The question now is will Downing Street do the right thing? However, he did caution that the longer the delay the greater the risk to the credibility of any inquiry as witnesses may have passed away. Previous investigations and reports into his fathers death did not meet their obligations, he said. The family now anticipates engagement with the British government. Family of murdered Pat Finucane lose UK Supreme Court challenge over inquiry The family of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane has lost a Supreme Court challenge over the decision not to hold a public inquiry into his killing, but won a declaration that an effective investigation into his death has not been carried out. Mr Finucane was shot dead in front of his family in February 1989 by loyalists in an attack found to have involved collusion with the state. The 39-year-old was shot 14 times while enjoying Sunday lunch at home with his family. Pat Finucane was shot dead in front of his family in February 1989 (PA) An investigation by former UN war crimes prosecutor Sir Desmond de Silva QC found shocking levels of state collusion involving the army, police and MI5, but ruled out an overarching state conspiracy. On Wednesday, just over 30 years on from her husbands murder, the Supreme Court in London ruled that Mrs Finucane had been given an unequivocal undertaking to hold a public inquiry into Mr Finucanes death, but that the change of heart on the part of the government was made in good faith. Giving the judgment of the court, Lord Kerr found that the decision not to hold a public inquiry into the murder was a matter for the Governments political judgment. He also dismissed Mrs Finucanes contention that the decision was predetermined, stating: There is simply no sustainable evidence that the process by which the decision was taken was a sham or that the outcome was predetermined. Mr Finucanes widow Geraldine claimed the Government unlawfully reneged on a promise to hold a public inquiry into his killing (Dominic Lipinski/PA) Lord Kerr declared that there has not been an effective investigation into Mr Finucanes murder, but added: It does not follow that a public inquiry of the type which (Mrs Finucane) seeks must be ordered. It is for the state to decide what form of investigation, if indeed any is now feasible, is required in order to meet that requirement. At a hearing in June, Barry Macdonald QC said Mr Finucane was a victim of a policy of systemic extra-judicial execution that was as cynical and sinister as can be imagined. He told the Supreme Court that loyalist terrorist organisations were infiltrated, resourced and manipulated in order to murder individuals identified by the army and the police as suitable for assassination. Mr Macdonald said this policy was widened to include lawyers such as Mr Finucane, who represented a number of high-profile republicans. He concluded: The police, the army and the security service, MI5, are all implicated in a policy that entailed identifying lawyers with their clients and legitimising them as targets for assassination. He added: In other words, state-sponsored terrorism. - Press Association UK supreme court to rule on case brought by family of murderer Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane The UK's highest court is set to rule on a legal challenge brought by the family of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane. Mr Finucane was killed in February 1989 by loyalists in an attack found to have involved collusion with the state. The 39-year-old was shot 14 times while enjoying Sunday lunch at home with his family. His widow Geraldine claims the Government unlawfully "reneged" on a promise to hold a public inquiry into the killing, which was one of the most notorious of the Troubles. Former British prime minister David Cameron decided not to hold a public inquiry into the murder, but instead ordered an investigation by former UN war crimes prosecutor Desmond de Silva QC. Mr de Silva found "shocking" levels of state collusion involving the Army, police and MI5 but ruled out an "overarching state conspiracy", prompting Mrs Finucane to describe it as a "whitewash". In February 2017, Mrs Finucane lost at the Court of Appeal in Belfast when three judges dismissed her case that Mr Cameron's decision to reject a public inquiry was unlawful. On Wednesday morning, just over 30 years on from her husband's murder, the Supreme Court in London will rule on the latest round of Mrs Finucane's long legal battle. At a hearing in June, Barry Macdonald QC said Mr Finucane was a victim of "a policy of systemic extra-judicial execution that was as cynical and sinister as can be imagined". He told a panel of five justices, including the court's president Lady Hale, that "loyalist terrorist organisations were infiltrated, resourced and manipulated in order to murder individuals identified by the Army and the police as suitable for assassination". Mr Macdonald added: "In other words, state-sponsored terrorism." He said this policy was "widened" to include lawyers such as Mr Finucane, who represented a number of high-profile republicans. Mr Macdonald concluded: "The police, the Army and the security service MI5 are all implicated in a policy that entailed identifying lawyers with their clients and legitimising them as targets for assassination." James Eadie QC, representing the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, told the Supreme Court that the lower courts which considered the case had correctly concluded that the decision-making process relating to the public inquiry was a "thorough, genuine and lawful" one. At an event in Belfast to mark the 30th anniversary of Mr Finucane's murder earlier this month, his son John said his father had been killed to silence other human rights lawyers. He said: "It was a deliberate decision to kill him, to silence other lawyers and prevent them from doing that type of work. "What we see now is a generation coming through with lawyers, people wanting their human rights. "I think that is very much a legacy of Pat Finucane and what he stands for and represents. "That gives me enormous pride. While they did silence him, they could not have made a bigger mess of it if they tried. "The name reverberates around the world and an enormous amount of credit for that is due to my mother." PA The long-awaited clean-up of a vast illegal dump next to a Traveller halting site on the northside of Cork city is finally underway. Contractors Loftus of Cork moved on to the city council-owned Elliss Yard site in Ballyvolane this morning to begin the removal of tonnes of hundreds of tonnnes rubbish which have been dumped on the site over several months. Work on the site alongside the Spring Lane halting site is expected to take several days. The contract also includes the repair of existing damaged fencing, and the provision of new security fencing to secure the entire site. Video by Eoin English The clean-up began this morning just a day after council officials assured the work would start within seven days. They had been under mounting pressure to move the clean-up contractors on site following a residents protest late last month after the condition of the site. Local residents who live overlooking the site had stepped up their calls for a start date for the clean-up. They had also asked the EU to investigate their complaint about council inaction in relation to tackling the illegal dumping issue. Video by Eoin English The site has been plagued by illegal dumping for almost two decades. The council has mounted several large-scale and expensive cleanups over the years, but the problem has persisted. A network of CCTV cameras is also being installed in a bid to deter future illegal dumping. In the meantime, officials are working on a long-term strategy that could see some form of development of the Elliss Yard site for community gain. The desecration of an 800-year-old mummified body at a church in Dublin has been described as 'an offence to the city'. Thieves broke into a crypt at St Michan's Church and stole the head of one mummy called The Crusader, while damaging a number of others. The Archbishops of Dublin from both the Church of Ireland and the Catholic Church visited the site this morning to observe the damage. It is not clear if the crypt at the church will reopen to the public again. Catholic Archbishop Diarmuid Martin is urging anyone with information to contact gardai. "You can there's a lot of damage and they've broken open the coffins," he said. "As a Dubliner, I feel this is an offence to the city, and it's a sad thing to see." The head of the mummified body which was stolen would have started to deteriorate once it was taken. Church of Ireland Archbishop for Dublin Michael Jackson says the temperature in the crypt is kept consistent to prevent the bodies from disintegrating. "It is of no help to us for an irreplaceable piece of humanity to be separated from the place it is safe in its rest," he said. HANOI, Feb 27: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump met in Hanoi on Wednesday for their second summit, with the U.S. president saying he was not walking back on U.S. demands for North Koreas denuclearization. Kim and Trump shook hands and smiled briefly in front of a row of their countries flags at the Metropole hotel in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi. Trump told reporters he thought the talks would be very successful, while he was not walking back on denuclearization. Asked if he would declare a formal end to the Korean War, Trump said: Well see. Kim said they had overcome obstacles to hold the summit in Vietnam and had needed patience since their first meeting in Singapore last year. He said he hoped these talks would be successful. Trump and Kim are scheduled to hold a 20-minute, one-on-one chat followed by a dinner with aides. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney will accompany Trump. Kim will be joined by his top envoy, Kim Yong Chol, and Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho. On Thursday, the two leaders will hold a series of back and forth meetings, the White House said. The venue has not been announced. Despite little progress on his goal of ridding North Korea of its weapons programs, Trump appeared to be betting on his personal relationship with North Koreas young leader, and the economic incentive after 70 years of hostility between their countries. Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize, Trump said on Twitter ahead of his meeting with Kim. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting! Trump said late last year he and Kim fell in love, and on the eve of his departure for the second summit said they had developed a very, very good relationship. Whether the bonhomie can move them beyond summit pageantry to substantive progress on eliminating Pyongyangs nuclear arsenal that threatens the United States is the question that will dominate the talks. PRESSURE At their historic first summit in Singapore last June, Trump and Kim pledged to work toward denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean peninsula. North and South Korea have been technically at war since their 1950-53 conflict, with the Americans backing the South, ended in a truce, not a treaty. That first meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader ended with great fanfare but little substance over how to dismantle North Koreas nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. U.S. intelligence officials have said there is no sign North Korea will ever give up its entire arsenal of nuclear weapons, which it sees as its guarantee of national security. Analysts say it wont commit to significant disarmament unless punishing U.S.-led economic sanctions are eased. In the run-up to the summit, Trump has indicated a more flexible stance, saying he was in no rush to secure North Koreas denuclearization. He has held out the prospect of easing sanctions if North Korea does something meaningful. The two sides have discussed specific and verifiable denuclearization measures, such as allowing inspectors to observe the dismantlement of North Koreas Yongbyon nuclear reactor, U.S. and South Korean officials say. U.S. concessions could include opening liaison offices, ending the war or clearing the way for inter-Korean projects. Any deal will face scrutiny from American lawmakers and other skeptics who doubt North Korea is willing to give up the weapons. A cyclist who claimed he suffered a severe and complex injury to his foot after he was struck by a jeep has settled his High Court action. The action was taken by sound technician Andrew Walsh (35 ) who claimed he was knocked off his bike at Meath Street, Dublin 8 on May 19th 2011. He claimed his bicycle was struck from the rear by a white Nissan Jeep driven by Maria Byrne of Windmill Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12. In his action, Mr Walsh with an address in Dublin 8 claimed Ms Byrne allegedly drove in a manner which was dangerous, allegedly failed to keep a proper lookout and to brake properly to avoid the collision. The claims were fully denied by Ms Byrne. On the second day of the hearing today Diarmuid Murphy Bl for Mr Walsh said the case had been settled and with the consent of the parties could be struck out. No details of the settlement , were given in open court. Ms Justice Bronagh O'Hanlon said she was "delighted" that the sides had come to a settlement. The Judge said the case was "an interesting one" which had raised issues concerning the rights of cyclists. Mr Walsh, represented by Stephen Lanigan-O Keeffe Sc and Mr Murphy claimed he suffered injuries including two fractures to his right foot as a result of the collision. He claimed the pain in his foot, and other symptoms including involuntary twitching had persisted, causing him difficulties, discomfort and has required the use of a walking stick and he has undergone surgery. He will also require further surgery in the future, the court heard. He told the court that two men, who he did not know, who came on the scene while he was on the ground after the collision had intimidated him. Under cross-examination by Vincent Foley SC for Ms Byrne, Mr Walsh denied giving different versions of the collision in statements to the gardai, his expert engineer and the court. He further denied that relevant medical evidence had been withheld. The Tanaiste says the Government will not be found wanting if there is a chaotic Brexit. Simon Coveney has been addressing the Dail as mammoth Brexit legislation makes its way through the house. Talks are still underway in Brussels to break the Brexit deadlock without compromising the backstop. Tanaiste Simon Coveney said plans are being put in place for EU support in the event of a no deal Brexit. He said: "There is an ongoing discussion between the European Commission, in particular, Commissioner Hogan, and the Government to look at the most appropriate ways in which we can support and sustain the Irish agri-food industry, the beef industry in particular, through a transition even if it is a semi-chaotic one as a result of a no-deal Brexit. "I don't believe that the European Commission or the Irish Government will be found wanting." Meanwhile, prominent Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg says he could support the Brexit deal - if there is a time limit on the backstop. Yesterday, the British Prime Minister revealed plans to hold a vote on delaying Britain's departure if MPs reject her deal and vote against a no deal Brexit. But Jacob Rees-Mogg - who heads the strongly pro-leave European Research Group of Tory MPs - said he is not in favour of a delay. He said: "What's quite interesting about this delay if it were to happen is that we would still face the same position at the end of June unless there is a deal that can get through parliament. "I'd be much happier to leave on March 29." Businessman Peter Conlon may be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder over being held in solitary confinement in a Swiss prison for a year, the High Court has heard. Mr Conlon's firm, the charities fundraising platform Pembroke Dynamic, is under investigation over alleged misappropriation of some 3.8m in donations. Last year the High Court granted the firm's liquidator Myles Kirby an injunction freezing Mr Conlon's assets, including his bank accounts, below a value of 3.8m. Those orders remain in place. Mr Kirby is also seeking various orders against Mr Conlon, including an order that he be made personally liable for the company's debts. Mr Conlon returned to Ireland last December following his release from prison in Switzerland, where he was convicted of embezzlement. The liquidator is unable to proceed with the application because of issues including the service of court documents on Mr Conlon. The matter has been adjourned on several occasions Today, Ms Justice Reynolds said that inappropriately an email had been sent to the court containing details about Mr Conlon's health. The e-mail contained a letter from a GP who said the businessman attended at their practice in late January. The letter said Mr Conlon had been detained in Zurich from December 22, 2017 until December 22, 2018. Mr Conlon was held in solitary confinement for 365 days for 23 hours a day, the letter continued. The doctor said since his release and return to Ireland he had been suffering from flashbacks, anxiety, and insomnia and other symptoms suggestive of PTSD. The doctor added that Mr Conlon has told her that due to his financial situation he did not have the resources to purchase medication the GP had prescribed for him. He has applied for a medical card and disability benefit, and the doctor said she has advised him to attend counselling, the letter added. Gerard Meehan Bl for the liquidator said Mr Conlon was playing a game of "hide and seek with the court", had not obtained lawyers to represent him in the action, and has not furnished any swore statement setting out his assets. Mr Conlon, he said is understood to be in Nice in the South of France, but has not obtained a lawyer to represent him, and has communicated to his client through third parties. Following an application from counsel, Ms Justice Reynolds adjourned the matter for five weeks. The Judge also directed that Mr Conlon enter an appearance within two weeks and that he file a sworn statement including details of his medical conditions. In January 2018, Mr Kirby was appointed as liquidator of Pembroke Dynamic over a 400,000 debt owed to Revenue. Pembroke, which previously traded as Ammado Internet Services, was an online donation platform through which people could give money to various charities - with the company taking five per cent. Mr Kirby sought freezing orders after he commenced an investigation into the firm's affairs. He claims various charities have not received some 3.8m donated to them via the platform. Mr Kirby claims Mr Conlon (64), with an address at St Marys Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin is "guilty of very serious misconduct" as company funds were used for personal expenditure. Assistant Garda Commissioner John Fintan Fanning's application for an injunction has been struck out at the High Court after his suspension from duty was lifted earlier this week. However, the court heard the Assistant Commissioner is proceeding with his main action against the Garda Commissioner where he seeks various declarations, including that his suspension was unlawful. At the High Court, today Paul McGarry SC for Mr Fanning told Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds the suspension imposed on his client was lifted on Monday after the Garda Ombudsman dropped its criminal investigation into the Assistant Commissioner. While the application for an injunction lifting the suspension could be struck out Counsel said the "main action" remains in being. Counsel said a timetable for the exchange of pleadings in the case had been agreed between the parties, and the case could be adjourned and mentioned before the court in late May. Shane Murphy SC for the Garda Commissioner said his client rejects Assistant Commissioner Fanning's claims that the suspension was unlawful or in any way procedurally flawed. Counsel said the Commissioner lifted the suspension "within an hour" of being notified by GSOC that it was not proceeding with the criminal investigation in the Assistant Commissioner. Ms Justice Reynolds agreed to adjourn the matter for mention to a date in late May. Last month Assistant Commissioner Fanning initiated his High Court action over his suspension on January 3rd last. In his proceedings, he had sought orders lifting his suspension pending the outcome of his challenge, restraining the Commissioner communicating "false" information concerning him and directing the Commissioner to co-operate with the GSOC investigation. He also seeks damages. He claims his suspension was in flagrant breach of fair procedures and Garda rules and he is also very concerned about the manner in which his suspension was allegedly leaked to the media. Mr Fanning who is due to retire in August after almost 39 years in the Force,, has held several high-profile posts, including chief superintendent of the Dublin South Central Division and regional commander for the Northern and Eastern Regions. Following the success of Irelands first May the 4th Be With You festival in May 2018, it was announced today that the festival will take place again this year, with the addition of events in Donegal. The three-day festival will kick off, in both the Kerry village of Portmagee and Donegals Inishowen Peninsula on May 3, to celebrate May 4, the day when fans across the globe commemorate the Star Wars Universe. Irish coast guards in Louth were summoned to Mell, Drogheda after a 999 caller reported a discovery in the river Boyne. According to Drogheda Coast Guard on their Facebook page, a land team was dispatched to investigate the sighting - which looked like dinosaur skeleton remains. Construction industry giant Roadstone has been ordered by the High Court to permit inspections of three of its quarries in Dublin to search for evidence as to whether they were the source of material which caused damage to new homes. Ballymore Residential Ltd and Crosswinds Cottage Ltd are suing Roadstone Ltd, its parent CRH Ltd, Murphy Concrete (Manufacturing) Ltd and William Miley Ltd over the supply of allegedly defective stone material used in 145 new houses at Drumnigh Wood, Portmarnock, Co Dublin. The defendants deny the claims. Built between 2001 and 2007, it was in 2010 that homeowners began to complain about structural defects, including cracking in walls. It is alleged these were due to the use of a material called pyrite in stone used in construction. In July 2017, Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy ordered Murphy Concrete to allow an expert for Ballymore and Crosswinds to drill, take samples, conduct experiments and make general observations in relation to its quarry at Hollywood, Co Wicklow, for the purpose of preparing their High Court action. A similar application was brought against Roadstown in relation to seven of its quarries. Roadstone resisted the inspections claiming the application was premature and unnecessarily invasive. It also suggested it was possible any damage to the homes was the result of misuse of its rock products by the two plaintiff companies in circumstances where its product was the highest and most expensive grade of stone. In particular, the two companies used muddy limestone in the foundations which was not suitable for that purpose, it was claimed. Roadstone also argued inspections of their working quarries, covering some 300 acres, would constitute an unwarranted interference with its business and cause reputational damage. Ms Justice Murphy adjourned the application in relation to Roadstone until after the Murphy Concrete inspection was complete. It was carried out in October 2017, and following further court hearings and correspondence, Ballymore and Crosswinds applied to Ms Justice Murphy for orders permitting inspections of three Roadstown Dublin quarries at Feltrim, Hunstown and Belgard. Roadstone again resisted the application. Ms Justice Murphy ruled the interests of justice required the inspections of the three quarries be permitted. She directed Roadstone to identify locations in its quarries from which stone supplied for the Portmarnock estate was extracted. To ensure least possible interference with Roadstone's property rights, there should be a "focused single inspection" at which all parties could attend, she said. At the root of this case are the people who bought their homes in good faith, some of which are affected by pyritic heave, she said. Some party is responsible for that, she said. It was in the interests of homeowners that liability for it be established and the inspection proceedings are the means by which those ultimately liable can be most readily and efficiently identified, she said. According to the organisation's chief human capital officer Robert Gibbs, who was speaking in Dublin, Irish people possess several traits that make them ideal NASA employees. "I think there are a lot of traits, this is very stereotypical of me from my experience, but I've always found my friends from Ireland to be creative, to be able to adapt to change and respond to hard times and keep a sense of humour about it while keep moving forward. "Those are all traits that any organisation, not just NASA, any high-performing organisation would seek to have," Mr Gibbs said. NASA's current mission is to have a "sustained presence" on the moon, growing food there and then head to Mars. In order to be an astronaut with NASA, you and about 20,000 people would apply for the space course, which typically has 12 places on each sitting. Mr Gibbs also described the traits they look for in a person who might become an astronaut. "You look for intellectual rigour. You look for folks who are smart and who can adapt to change. You look for folks who can respond appropriately in times of crisis. You look for those who have a bias towards action. "You're not necessarily looking for the 4.0 (highest grade) student from the best school, but maybe the 3.6 kid from a grade school who took apart their toaster when they were younger," he said. For Irish people looking to work for NASA, he said they hire 1,000 employees annually and their contractors hire "two to three times that" annually as well. Mr Gibbs, who was speaking at the Talent Summit by Sigmar Recruitment, also said there are more opportunities for people of all nationalities to be an astronaut, because of private companies working in the space industry. For an Irish person specifically, Mr Gibbs said: "If I was sitting in Ireland and telling a young student who was interested in science and mathematics, make sure you take all of the hard core courses, physics and calculus (maths)." SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan exchanged fire along their contested border in Kashmir on Wednesday, a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a war in 1971, while leading powers urged the nuclear armed rivals to show restraint. Tensions have been elevated since a suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police on February 14, but the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base. The attack targeted the Jaish-e-Mohammed militant, the group that claimed credit for the suicide attack. But while India said a large number of JeM fighters had been killed, Pakistani officials said the Indian airstrike was a failure and inflicted no casualties. On Tuesday, evening Pakistan began shelling using heavy caliber weapons in 12 to 15 places along the de facto border in Kashmir, known as the Line of Control (LoC), a spokesman for the Indian defense forces said on Wednesday. The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focused fire resulted in severe destruction to five posts and number of casualties, the spokesman said. Five Indian soldiers suffered minor wounds in the shelling that ended on Wednesday morning, he added. So far there are no (civilian) casualties but there is panic among people, said Rahul Yadav, the deputy commissioner of the Poonch district where some of the shelling took place. We have an evacuation plan in place and if need arises we will evacuate people to safer areas, he said. Local officials on the Pakistani side said at least four people had been killed and seven wounded, though it was unclear if the casualties were civilian or military. India has also continued its crackdown on suspected militants operating in Kashmir, a mountainous region that both countries claim in full but rule in part. On Wednesday, security forces killed two Jaish militants in a gun battle, Indian police said. HEIGHTENED SECURITY Pakistan has promised to retaliate to Tuesdays air strikes, and security across India has been tightened. The two countries have fought three wars since independence from British colonial rule in 1947 and went to the brink a fourth in 2002 after a Pakistani militant attack on Indias parliament. In Punjab, an Indian state that borders Pakistan, security alerts are in place in several districts, according to media reports. Schools within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of LoC were closed in one district in Kashmir. In Mumbai, Indias financial capital, there was a visible increase in security levels for a city that has suffered numerous militant attacks in the past. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke separately with the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan and urged them to avoid further military activity following Tuesdays airstrike. I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost, Pompeo said in a statement on Wednesday. I also encouraged both ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity, he said. Both China and the European Union have also called for restraint. On Wednesday New Zealands foreign minister Winston Peters also voiced concern over the escalation in tensions. Insurance group FBD views the prospect of Britain crashing out of the EU without a trade deal in place as the single biggest headwind facing its performance this year. However, the insurer's chief executive Fiona Muldoon said the company is staying positive on Brexit and is not counting on a crash-out scenario becoming reality. Ms Muldoon said she expected a rational economic solution to be reached on Brexit, but called it "an uncertainty we could do without". She said farmers will still need insurance whatever the Brexit outcome. The bigger concern of a no-deal outcome, she said, would be its impact on Ireland's agriculture industry as a whole. Approximately 55% of FBD's customer base is still accounted for by farmers and the 30% of the SME insurance market it controls is also heavily agriculture-focused. While the impact of any Brexit is unwelcome to FBD and to our customers, we are resilient and we will navigate this together with Irish farming and with all other Irish businesses. FBD's share price - down around 24% in the past 12 months - rose by around 1.6% as a 41% jump in underwriting profit and a better-than-expected net profit lifted a mixed set of annual financial results. On the back of the results FBD has proposed a more than doubling of its annual dividend to shareholders to 50c per share. The group's revenues - or gross written premium - slipped marginally to 371.5m, while pre-tax profits were flat at 50m. However, net profit - while largely unchanged at 42.4m - came in well ahead of analyst estimates of just 20m. FBD took a 6.6m hit from more than 1,200 claims from last year's Storm Emma harsh weather and incurred a 12m loss from buying itself out of a debt arrangement with Canadian investor Fairfax. However, new business grew by 11% and its car insurance partnership with An Post got off the ground. Ms Muldoon said while the insurance market is becoming more competitive she doesn't see scope for much consolidation, but does see opportunities for more business partnerships for FBD. She reiterated her stance that insurance costs won't come down until the costs of personal injury claims fall and said FBD is "very disappointed" with the slow progress of legislation on the matter. Fianna Fail's Billy Kelleher warned that businesses face closure due to not being able to afford "significantly increased insurance premiums" and said the Government has failed to act on the recommendations of the Cost of Insurance Working Group established to examine premium levels. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson has expressed disappointment in Senators owner Eugene Melnyk now that a proposed new downtown arena for the NHL team is in jeopardy. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/2/2019 (853 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk speaks to the media following the National Capital Commission approving the results from an evaluation committee regarding the Lebreton Flats redevelopment in Ottawa on Thursday, April 28, 2019. A proposed new downtown arena for the Ottawa Senators is in jeopardy after mediation failed to produce a settlement between parties looking to develop a community at LeBreton Flats. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson has expressed disappointment in Senators owner Eugene Melnyk now that a proposed new downtown arena for the NHL team is in jeopardy. Speaking after the National Capital Commission announced on Wednesday that no settlement could be reached on the LeBreton Flats file in mediation, Watson said Melnyk did not help the cause with some of his comments. "I said earlier today one of the frustrations I think in this partnership was Eugene Melnyk (and) the very fact that during the NHL outdoor (game at TD Place in Ottawa in 2017), or just before that, was musing about not even going downtown," said Watson, who also is a non-voting member of the NCC board. "I was pretty livid with him back then. I said 'Wait a minute. You're putting a lot of time, effort and money into this process and you come out and just muse off the top of your head, 'Well, I'm not interested in moving downtown.' "The whole purpose was because you wanted to move the arena downtown because there's no walk-up traffic in Kanata (home of the Senators' current arena, the Canadian Tire Centre). You need that kind of walk-up traffic and transit connections to make the arena successful like all arenas in North America are in the downtown core." The new arena was part of the RendezVous LeBreton Group's proposal for the land controlled by the NCC. Judge Warren Winkler, the mediator retained by RendezVous, advised the NCC that no settlement could be reached prior to Thursday's deadline. Winkler had been presiding over mediation between partners in the RendezVous LeBreton Group: Melnyk, Trinity Development Group founder John Ruddy and GBA Development and Project Management president Graham Bird. Melnyk's Capital Sports Management Inc., filed a $700-million lawsuit against Ruddy and Bird in November. Ruddy also a member of the ownership group of the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks, the United Soccer League's Ottawa Fury and the Ontario Hockey League's Ottawa 67's responded with a $1-billion counterclaim. While filing a statement of defence against Melnyk's lawsuit, Bird got the three parties to agree to mediation in early January. "We looked to mediation as our best opportunity to address and resolve these concerns," Melnyk said in a statement. "We participated in the process to the very end. "We are devastated that our dream has been shattered. However, we will not let our vision die or allow our enthusiasm to be diminished by this ill-fated experience. ... We are here for the long term and want a world class venue where Ottawans will live, work, play and enjoy the best the city has to offer. The people of Ottawa deserve this." Ruddy also released a statement, thanking Winkler. "While I am disappointed the mediation concluded without success, I would urge the National Capital Commission to move forward on the redevelopment of LeBreton Flats regardless of whether Trinity Group plays a role or not given the importance of this redevelopment to our community," Ruddy said. Bird declined comment. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement that the league "continues to support Mr. Melnyks efforts to find a solution for the long-term future of the Senators in Ottawa." The NCC board of directors will hold a teleconference on Thursday to review the file. The crown corporation says it will hold a meeting on March 7 to finalize the process for the redevelopment of LeBreton Flats. Watson wasn't ready to eliminate the possibility of an arena being built at LeBreton. "One of the things that's been talked about in the past is that if you don't have the Senators involved, you save the equivalent piece of land for an arena or some other institute of national significance that it can be used (for) and then (Melnyk) might realize that he should be downtown and make overtures to whoever wins the next proposal bid," Watson said. The founder of the Senators offered a different suggestion when asked about the future of the NHL's last-place team. "Reboot the arena (in Kanata) and improve the team," Bruce Firestone said. "Winning cures a lot. Ottawa is a great hockey town. ... Really, this is a tough time for (the) team, there's no question." Firestone said he approached the NCC about a downtown arena some 30 years ago and was told the plans for that land "did not include a hockey rink, even if it's a very nice hockey rink." So he looked at various other potential sites before settling upon Kanata. "Our first choice was LeBreton so I was pretty excited when the RendezVous LeBreton plan came out," Firestone said. "I think it's a world-class plan. RendezVous LeBreton wasn't just important for the hockey team, I think it's important for the city and I think it was the best plan and the fact that it's no longer on the table, at least as of today, I think that's a big loss for not only the franchise but also for the city." The NHL team has dealt with a long list of negative headlines for on- and off-ice developments since falling one goal short of reaching the Stanley Cup final in 2017. The Senators traded away top forwards Mark Stone, Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel for younger players and draft picks before this week's trade deadline after being unable to come to terms on new contracts for the pending unrestricted free agents. Ottawa also dealt its first pick in this year's draft expected to be very high because of the team's poor record in the original deal to get Duchene last season. The Senators lost 7-2 to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night, Ottawa's fifth defeat in a row. "When it rains, it pours," Watson said. "It's been a really bad time for them. They're in the basement of the standings, they've traded away three of their best players and now this. It's hasn't been a good stretch of time, but I'm not giving up on the Senators. I think we have to continue to support the team because, obviously, they bring a lot to the local economy, the tourism industry, the spirit of the city. When they're winning, everyone's on the bandwagon so let's not take this big disappointment that the city and citizens will face and start blaming the team and the players." With files from Danielle Edwards in Ottawa and Dan Ralph in Toronto. TORONTO - An incident in which a well-known comic actor nuzzles and licks the ear of an on-air TV journalist reporting from a meeting of comedians sparked widespread public condemnation and prompted the reporter to take the matter to police on Wednesday. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/2/2019 (853 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. People walk into the CBC building in Toronto on April 4, 2012. An incident in which a man nuzzles and licks the ear of an on-air TV journalist reporting on a comedy event was roundly condemned on Wednesday, with some arguing the actions amounted to an assault.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette TORONTO - An incident in which a well-known comic actor nuzzles and licks the ear of an on-air TV journalist reporting from a meeting of comedians sparked widespread public condemnation and prompted the reporter to take the matter to police on Wednesday. In a widely seen clip, CBC's Chris Glover is talking back to the studio when one man leans into the frame behind him and mugs for the camera before leaving, while a second man, dressed in a green Saskatchewan Roughriders hoodie, moves in on the reporter. The man, identified as Boyd Banks who has appeared on CBC shows proceeds to demonstratively lick Glover's ear and kiss his neck while the journalist continues speaking to camera, before throwing it back to the studio with the line: "Things are getting a little awkward out here, so I'm going to pass it back to you," Glover said on Tuesday from the Comedy Bar in Toronto. "Yeah, that's a little strange. It's really unnecessary," host Dwight Drummond told Glover. "Just move away from that gentleman." While some observers argued the actions amounted to an assault or sexual assault, Glover told The Canadian Press he would leave it up to police to make that determination. What's certain, he said, was how the incident made him feel. CBC reporter Chris Glover is seen on a leader???s bus during the Ontario election campaign on Sunday May 20, 2018. An incident in which a man nuzzles and licks the ear of Glover, an on-air TV journalist reporting on a comedy event, was roundly condemned on Wednesday, with some arguing the actions amounted to an assault.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Colin Perkel "I, as a journalist, was just trying to do my job," Glover said. "I feel deeply disturbed by what happened. I still feel like it was completely uncalled for. The whole thing just really made me feel really awkward and uncomfortable and embarrassed." Saskatchewan-born Banks, 54, who has multiple film and TV credits including the CBC's "Little Mosque on the Prairie," could not be reached for comment. Gary Rideout, owner of the Comedy Bar, said Banks was a regular visitor, though not as a performer. He said Banks was now barred from the venue for "displaying reprehensible behaviour that I can't condone in any way." In recent years, female reporters in particular have been the subject of crude, harassing catcalls which, in some cases, have resulted in charges against the perpetrator. More recently, other journalists have been physically assaulted while doing their jobs in public. "I took the step to go to police because I hope that this person can take responsibility for what has happened," Glover said. "Maybe this can prevent this kind of thing from happening again." The 40-second clip sparked outrage on social media, with some condemning what happened as an assault, and others saying they would not have remained so calm. "This is disgusting," CBC reporter Lorenda Reddekopp tweeted. "I also can't believe none of the bystanders did anything." "This is so disturbing and I get more uncomfortable every time I watch," said Toronto-based writer Jeffrey Vallis, who posted the clip on Twitter along with his comment. "Why do people think its OK to harass and assault reporters while they do their job?" Some, such as fellow comic Ian Sirota, defended Banks, who lives in Toronto. "Boyd Banks also regularly feeds hungry comedians out of his own pocket and is one of the bravest comics I know," Sirota said in a Facebook post. "Before you tear someone down look at all their actions not just one." Glover, who had never heard of Banks before the incident, said he was initially confused by the man's actions. He was "acutely aware" of the rolling camera and just wanted to get through the segment by staying calm and not doing anything to fuel the situation. That proved impossible. The moment the camera turned off, the man disappeared, Glover said. "I felt very unsafe," he said. A spokesman for CBC denounced the man's actions and praised the reporter. "Chris Glover showed remarkable composure and professionalism in the face of a very awkward situation," Chuck Thompson said. "Unfortunately, the trend of harassing reporters continues and is something we take very seriously." TORONTO - Jurors began deliberations Wednesday at the trial of a former Toronto pastor accused in the drowning death of his pregnant wife nearly eight years ago. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/2/2019 (853 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. TORONTO - Jurors began deliberations Wednesday at the trial of a former Toronto pastor accused in the drowning death of his pregnant wife nearly eight years ago. Prosecutors allege Philip Grandine secretly drugged his wife with the sedative lorazepam or offered her the medication so she would be less vigilant while he continued to carry out an affair with her friend. The Crown says Grandine then failed to protect her from danger by leaving her alone in the house to take a bath while she was incapacitated by the drug, also known under the brand name Ativan. Anna Karissa Grandine was 29 years old and 20 weeks pregnant when she was found in the bathtub of their Toronto home in October 2011. Her husband has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and the defence has argued Anna Grandine either died by accident or took her own life. Jurors heard Philip Grandine was already tried in connection with his wife's death but were not told the outcome of the previous trial, nor the reason for the new one. hose details can be revealed now that deliberations are underway. In the first trial, Grandine was charged with first-degree murder, accused of drugging his wife and either actively drowning her or letting her drown in the bathtub. He was convicted of manslaughter, which means jurors did not believe he intended to kill his wife the night she drowned. The trial judge found, however, that Grandine did drug her, which affected her ability to protect herself from harm. The former pastor was sentenced to 15 years behind bars. A new trial was ordered on appeal, however, after Ontario's highest court found the trial judge had made mistakes in his instructions to the jury. In answering a question from jurors, the trial judge introduced a new theory that could lead to conviction one that was inconsistent with how the case had proceeded, the appeal court found. Since the Crown did not appeal the acquittal on the murder charge, the appeal court deemed that Grandine should be tried again on manslaughter. As a result, in arguing the second trial, prosecutors could not allege Grandine intended to kill his wife nor present any evidence to that effect. Grandine did not testify in either trial. Both times, the defence argued Anna Grandine took the drug herself and either drowned accidentally or committed suicide. In the second trial, defence attorney Amit Thakore sought to have the case dismissed through what is known as a directed verdict application, arguing no reasonable jury, if properly instructed, could return a guilty verdict. In his application, made in the absence of the jury, Thakore argued there was no evidence to support the Crown's allegations that Philip Grandine obtained lorazepam through his work or by purchasing it, nor that he secretly drugged his wife. Thakore further argued that the duty of care to a spouse has not been defined to include preventing an able-bodied adult woman from taking a bath. The Crown argued, meanwhile, that there is evidence Anna Grandine did not take the drug herself but that she had it in her system and her husband had access to it. That evidence has a "cumulative effect," prosecutors said. Justice Faye McWatt dismissed the directed verdict application. In her instructions to the jury, McWatt said that in order to find Grandine guilty of manslaughter, they must determine that his actions contributed significantly to his wife's death, even if they were not the only or the main cause. Court heard Grandine stepped down as pastor after it came to light that he was having an affair with a parishioner, who was also his wife's friend. The couple decided to try marriage counselling, with the conditions that Grandine had to end the affair and stop viewing pornography, court heard. However, the affair continued and Anna Grandine grew suspicious, jurors heard. Three days before her death, Anna Grandine was taken to hospital after experiencing dizziness, fatigue and other symptoms, court heard. Her mother testified that Anna Grandine asked whether her husband had given her a pill, a question that surprised him and he denied. An analysis of the couple's shared computer found searches related to lorazepam and how much is considered a fatal dose. Police could not say conclusively who conducted those searches, but prosecutors allege it was Philip Grandine and the defence argues it was his wife. Lorazepam can cause side effects including drowsiness and reduced motor control, court heard. It had not been prescribed to Anna Grandine, court heard. On the night she died, Philip Grandine said he was going for a run and used that time to call his mistress, court heard. He told police he found his wife unresponsive in the tub when he got back. TORONTO - An ad campaign from a group of open vaccine skeptics that briefly dotted some streets in the Toronto area represents a "very concerning" development in the ongoing fight against misinformation, Ontario's health minister said Wednesday. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/2/2019 (853 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Ontario Deputy Premier Christine Elliott talks with journalists following Question Period at the Ontario Legislature in Toronto on Wednesday, August 1, 2018. Elliott says a large ad campaign urging Toronto residents to be wary of vaccinations is "very concerning." THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young TORONTO - An ad campaign from a group of open vaccine skeptics that briefly dotted some streets in the Toronto area represents a "very concerning" development in the ongoing fight against misinformation, Ontario's health minister said Wednesday. Christine Elliott expressed fundamental disagreement with the billboard ads paid for by Vaccination Choice Canada, an advocacy group that describes its mandate as ensuring people are fully informed and educated about immunizations for themselves and their children. The campaign, which rolled out across more than 50 digital billboards around the city last week but appeared to have been taken down ahead of schedule on Wednesday, featured a rotation of four slogans and direct questions that a group spokesman said aimed to ensure that Canadians are "truly informed" when they consent to getting vaccinated. The group's vice-president, Ted Kuntz, said the company responsible for disseminating the campaign faced pressure from an "unknown" source to remove the ads, saying the move suggests Ontario's public policy does not support public education. Elliott disagreed, lamenting the amount of public misinformation on medical subjects, redoubling calls for Ontario residents to get their vaccines and suggesting failure to do so has already had consequences. "A certain number of people need to be vaccinated in order for it to be effective," Elliott said after directly criticizing the Toronto-targeted campaign. "It's not necessarily happening now, and we're seeing things come forward like tuberculosis outbreaks in certain parts of Ontario, measles outbreaks and so on. So we are going to continue, through the Ministry of Health, to encourage people to have their children vaccinated and to receive regular inoculations themselves." Elliott did not offer details on which parts of the province she was referring to. The billboards at the heart of the campaign are meant to encourage parents to do research before proceeding with immunizations, Kuntz said, adding the group commonly described as "antivaxxers" are in fact former vaccine supporters who have grown "risk-aware" through their own research and experience. The messages in circulation as part of the campaign were meant to raise questions and spur discussion and deeper research, said Kuntz, who describes himself as the parent of a now-deceased child injured by a vaccine in infancy. Half the campaign's messages posed the questions "What are the risks?" and "How many is too many?" The other two came in the form of statements "Educate before you vaccinate" and "No shots, no school? Not true." Dr. Vinita Dubey, associate medical officer of health at Toronto Public Health, described the messages at the core of the campaign as "half-truths." Dubey agreed that over-vaccinating children is dangerous, for instance, but said current immunization protocols are safe, evidence-tested and effective in protecting both individuals and broader populations. She said the same held true for the message challenging vaccination policies in schools. Ontario parents are required to provide vaccination certificates for their children, she said, but noted they also have the option to obtain an exemption for their kids based on medical, religious or philosophical grounds. "They misrepresent information on vaccines," Dubey said of the billboards. "This is a common tactic that the anti-vaccine movement uses to try and change people's opinion on vaccines, and that is our biggest concern." Kuntz dismissed Dubey's characterization, calling common critiques of the group's messaging "dishonest." "A parent can't decide what is best for oneself and one's children without adequate information about the benefits and risks. Good products, backed by solid evidence of safety and effectiveness, are not afraid of educated and informed parents," he said. The Public Health Agency of Canada said in a statement that Canadian parents "rightly have questions about vaccines," but that the science on the topic is unequivocal. "Vaccines can prevent infectious diseases that once killed or harmed many infants, children and adults," spokeswoman Anna Maddison said. "However, there is a small but vocal anti-vaccination community that spreads false information. They use powerful emotional images and misinformation with their message. This creates confusion and fear for parents who are trying to make the best decisions for the health and wellbeing of their children." Timothy Caulfield, a Canada Research Chair in health law and policy at the University of Alberta, said the number of people who are staunchly opposed to vaccines form a very small minority. Their messaging, however, finds an increasingly receptive ear among the 20 to 30 per cent of Canadians who express "vaccine hesitancy," he said. Caulfield said science has unequivocally settled the debate, describing a "mountain of evidence" on the pro-vaccination side compared to a "small mound" fuelling the skeptics' arguments. But he said anti-vaccination messaging is reaching a wider audience, thanks to both social media and broader political forces that have roiled countries around the world. "The profile of the 'antivax' movement, I think, is connected to this rise in populism and this growing distrust of experts ... and our institutions," Caulfield said. "That gives space to these kinds of views and allows them to flourish." A woman is facing charges after she allegedly resisted arrest and assaulted five police officers. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2019 (855 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us A woman is facing charges after she allegedly resisted arrest and assaulted five police officers. Police were called to a business on the 2600 block of Willowdale Crescent on Sunday for a woman who was allegedly causing a disturbance. While attempting to remove the woman from the premises, she allegedly assaulted the attending officers by kicking them as well as spitting on one of their faces. The 23-year-old Brandon woman was arrested and lodged to Brandon Correctional Centre to appear in court on Monday. The Brandon Sun After dealing with frigid temperatures all winter and weeks below seasonal, Brandonites will have to wait a little bit longer for the spring thaw. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/2/2019 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us After dealing with frigid temperatures all winter and weeks below seasonal, Brandonites will have to wait a little bit longer for the spring thaw. Nadine Powell, a meteorologist for The Weather Network, said the cold will continue through March and maybe the beginning of April before a rapid warmup to seasonal temperatures. "Weve been stuck in the pattern where the jet stream has really sunk well to the south and that has allowed a lot of cold air from the Arctic to channel right into our area." The good news is that by the end of spring, Powell predicts the area will have seen more warm days than average. "That is after we get past this cold and even into the extension of it into the next week." On Tuesday, the temperature was around -19 C. This is well under the average low for late February, which according to Environment Canada is -16.7 C. The average daily high for this time of year is -5.8 C. Powell said she didnt have the numbers for the entire winter, but Brandon has been below seasonal for around two-thirds of February. Prairie temperatures are so cold because the area is far from either the Pacific of the Atlantic Ocean. The area is in the exact middle of the continent, where the jet stream brings arctic air further south, Powell said. Heading into the spring there is also concern of flooding in southern Manitoba and North Dakota, which could affect Brandon. "Just based (on) the way the Red River Valley flows, were also concerned about what happens on (the United States) side With their concern for flooding right now, I would not say the situation is optimistic for us right now." Below seasonal temperatures could help with flooding as the valley flows from south to north. If the snow remains frozen, it will give the ground south of the border more time to absorb the meltwater. "I think the immediate (temperatures) for us as we head into the next couple of weeks are still well into seasonal values," Powell said. "Not only across the province, were also anticipating that other areas of the country could also see below seasonal values." dmay@brandonsun.com Twitter: @DrewMay_ A 13-year-old boy with an already-lengthy criminal record has been handed a jail sentence after once again assaulting a group home worker. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/2/2019 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us A 13-year-old boy with an already-lengthy criminal record has been handed a jail sentence after once again assaulting a group home worker. The teen, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, pleaded guilty in Brandon provincial court on Tuesday to assault with a weapon and failing to comply with court orders not to possess a weapon or be in the drivers seat of a motor vehicle. The teen has nine previous convictions for assaulting people since turning 12 years of age, Crown attorney Grant Hughes told the court, and has a history of motor vehicle thefts that arent on his record because he was too young to be prosecuted at the time. The teen was also responsible for stealing a car and running a Brandon city bus off the road in downtown Brandon in 2017, causing an estimated $1 million to $2 million in damage. "(Hes) having difficulties following court orders and hes also having difficulties with his assaultive behaviour and the Crown is suggesting at this point the door to custody is open," Hughes said. Employees at the group home the teen resides called police on Feb. 17 after a staff member was assaulted while trying to break up a fight between the teen and another youth. The teen responded by punching the worker several times in the eye, nose and mouth, Hughes said. Staff also found a black, CO2 air pistol in the teens jacket pocket. The teen left the home and returned shortly after with a snow shovel, Hughes said, and began swinging it at the staff before leaving the house again this time attempting to get in the drivers seat of a vehicle outside. Staff were able to remove him from the vehicle and the teen ran from the scene, Hughes said. Police located him a short time later and took him into custody. The Crown asked the court to consider a one-month jail sentence, but defence lawyer Jennifer Janssens argued a stricter probation order or deferred custody would be the next appropriate step. "While I do appreciate the door to custody is open, he has already spent nine days in custody and he should be put on a further amount of probation," Janssens said. The teen has experienced numerous traumas in his life so far that have had significant impact on his behaviour, Janssens said, but he continues to have a lot of support at the group home he resides. "(Staff members) have recently changed their approach to him theyre hopeful this change will have positive results going forward," Janssens said. Because the teen has received non-custodial sentences in the past, Judge Donovan Dvorak said that at this point a custodial sentence was "inescapable." "It has to be a duration of sufficient length to denounce his behaviour and deter him from acting out," Dvorak said. Considering 10 days the teen has already spent in custody, Dvorak sentenced him to 20 days going forward. The teen remains on a supervised probation order from a previous conviction. edebooy@brandonsun.com Twitter: @erindebooy The cost of parking at the Brandon Regional Health Centre has gone up significantly. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/2/2019 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us Israel Aquino inserts his paid parking tab into the gated terminal at the Brandon Regional Health Centre parking lot on Tuesday. (Chelsea Kemp/The Brandon Sun) The cost of parking at the Brandon Regional Health Centre has gone up significantly. The hospital doubled its parking rates at the end of last month to help provide revenue to maintain parking infrastructure, said Steve Geletchuk, manager of security services with Prairie Mountain Health, in an emailed statement. "We updated parking infrastructure to meet industry standards for fee collection (credit cards) and to provide a second pay station within the main facility that was fully accessible to all parking users," Geletchuk said. The original infrastructure was purchased second-hand and was at the end of its service life, he said. A spokesperson was not made available for comment before deadline to provide additional details. Catheryn Pederson, chair of the Prairie Mountain Health board of directors, declined to comment, stating that all media inquiries must go through the health regions communications department. According to the Prairie Mountain Health website, the boards role is to "ensure PMHs accountability by monitoring and evaluating its performance and by interacting and communicating with the public." The parking rates went up Jan. 21. Before then, patrons paid $1 for the first hour, and 50 cents for each additional hour to a daily maximum of $6. Those rates were in effect since 2004. Now, people pay $2 for the first hour, then $1 for each additional hour to a daily maximum of $12. A manager at Shoppers Drug Mart, located just across the street from the hospital, said people frequently park there to avoid the cost of the hospital parking. "Absolutely they do," said Dana Davis, front store manager at the Victoria Avenue East location. Its difficult to say whether more people who are going to the hospital have been parking there since the rates increased, but the parking lot has been busier in general, she said. As to whether those people get towed "Generally most people that are at the hospital are only here for a couple of hours so we dont really make an issue of it," she said. Discussion on eBrandon, where The Sun discovered news of the parking increase, was mixed. "Its ridiculous for patients in the hospital or going to dialysis or cancer care to have to pay," one person wrote. "Visitors I get, but its expensive enough having an illness." Another person said they didnt have an issue with the increase. "The convenience of parking close to the hospital costs money," they said. "I personally find the cost to be quite reasonable." mverge@brandonsun.com Twitter: @Melverge5 Guwahati, Feb 26 : Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal thanked the Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel for carrying out air strikes against terrorists in Pakistan. He also expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narednra Modi for his timely action in safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the IAF has today given a strong reply. 130 crore people of India are today elated in response to the courage and conviction shown by Prime Minister Modi in carrying out offensive against the anti-India forces hell bent to create disturbances in the country. The PM has once again proved himself as he dedicated himself to the nation. After taking oath as the Prime Minister of India in 2014, he said that, I have come to serve the country as a principal servant and today he has once again proved it through his work," Sonowal said. While attending a meeting of BJP workers in Guwahati, Sonowal said that, the entire nation is today proud of the actions of the Indian Air Force for the timely actions undertaken to defend the motherland. (By Hemanta Kumar Nath, Guwahati) Russian human rights watchdog calls Poland to prevent destruction of unique nature wonder RIA Novosti 11:57 27/02/2019 MOSCOW, February 27 (RAPSI) The Russian Council for Human Rights (CHR) is seriously concerned with possible negative environmental effects resulting from the construction by Poland of a shipping canal across the Vistula Spit, a statement published by the CHR on Wednesday reads. The Vistula Spit together with Vistula Lagoon is a unique nature site inhabited by many Red Book animals and plants. The CHR is concerned with the fact that the construction requires cutting of trees, which, the Council says citing media outlets, has already started, will change water relationships in the lagoon resulting most probably in the destruction of sea and shore ecosystems, including those in the Russian territory. According to the CHR, an international environmental examination is needed prior to the implementation of the project. In this relation, the statement reads, the Council welcomes the stand taken by the European Commission in this regard and hopes Poland will consider protests on the part of the public and environmentalists. Bill on e-voting submitted to Russian State Duma RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 16:01 27/02/2019 MOSCOW, February 27 (RAPSI) A bill envisaging a test remote voting via electronic communications during the elections to the Moscow City Parliament has been introduced to the lower house of the Russian Parliament, according to Alexander Brod, a member of the Presidential Council of Human Rights. The test voting is to be conducted in only one city district, the statement reads. The remote voting will require changes and development of public control over the elections, Brod said. Earlier, the Central Election Commission (CEC) proposed to ease the procedure governing the elections of municipal deputies. As noted by Maxim Grigoryev, a member of the Civic Chamber, the measure will enable small political parties and those outside the Parliament to take a more active stand in the political life in Russia. CEC, Grigoriev pointed out, has also plans to improve the procedures on the participation of observers in the elections. | Welcome Guest! You Are Here: India's current account surplus at 0.9 per cent of GDP for FY21 against a deficit of 0.9 per cent in FY20, says RBI. NEWSALERT-MYANMAR-DETAINEES-RELEASE Myanmar government begins release of more than 2,300 detainees; political prisoners and journalists among those freed. (AP)Myanmar government begins release of more than 2,300 detainees; political prisoners and journalists among those freed. (AP) Actress Juliet Yaa Asantewaa Asante is not relenting on her effort to push for vigilante groups to be scrapped from Ghanas political scene. She has given the government a grace period of one month to ensure that all political militia groups are wiped out. We are giving the government one month to disband vigilante groups. And when I say government I mean everybody who is part of the leadership and management of Ghana. This includes all the key political parties that are represented at Parliament, she said. Juliet who embarked on a peace walk against political vigilantism today, Tuesday from the African Regent Hotel to the Parliament House told Citi TV she would keep walking until her request is granted. If by one month time nothing happens, we will keep on walking. I hope Ghanaians will join me and raise their voices against vigilantism, she noted. Juliet, who is also the Executive Director of Black Star International Film Festival (BSIFF) presented a petition to Parliament after the walk. The petition was received by Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, Principal Assistant Clerk in Parliament and Kate Addo, Acting Director of Public Affairs in Parliament on behalf of the Clerk of Parliament, Emmanuel Anyimadu. According to Juliet Asante, she is scared about what could potentially happen with the emergence of vigilante groups in Ghana. She urged all Ghanaians to wake up and speak against the menace than wait till it festers. Public concern over political vigilantism has been growing over the past few years with some high profile incidents from groups affiliated to the two major political parties in the country; the governing New Patriotic Party and the opposition National Democratic Congress. Recent conversations on vigilantism come on the back of the violence that took place during the by-election at Ayawaso West Wuogon a few weeks ago. In the meantime, the President, Nana Akufo-Addo has called on political parties to disband their vigilante groups or else he would put in place a legislation to force the parties to do so. 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 With Muhammadu Buhari poised to win Nigerias 2019 elections, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has alluded that it is a great sigh of relief for President Akufo-Addo in 2020. Mr. Bernard Antwi-Boasiako indicated that the fate that has befallen Atiku Abubakar, the main contender of Buhari, would be the same that would happen to former President Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC). In his view, there is a direct link to the elections held in Nigeria and that of Ghana. For this reason he stated that if a sitting president in Nigeria (Buhari) has won another term to rule, it means that President Akufo-Addo will win another term. If Atiku (PDP) is losing to Buhari (APC) as we speak now, then John Mahama should know that he will lose for a second time to Akufo-Addo. The wind of change is still favoring the incumbent and Mahama and the NDC shouldnt think they can benefit from this wind of change. The wind of channge is only circulating and favoring parties which are in power and doing the right things, and Akufo Addo has excelled so far as President. Chairman Wontumi said. He went on to state that what has happened to Atiku in Nigeria will happen to John Mahama in Ghana. Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has a strong lead in his bid for reelection, according to provisional vote results. An ongoing tally by Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday evening showed Buhari, who is seeking a second term, was more than 1.5 million votes ahead at the halfway point of state-by-state announcements. He had won 15 of Nigeria's 36 states at the time of publication with more than two thirds of states counted. Mr Abubakar's People's Democratic Party (PDP) has called for a halt in the count, alleging irregularities. Delays and violence marred the run up to the vote but no independent observer has said that there was electoral fraud. Mr Buhari, a member of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) party, is seeking another term in office. 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 Ghana's former Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ambassador Victor Smith who once expressed interest to partner Ex-president John Dramani Mahama as running mate says he is not interested in the position again. According to him, he is more interested to see the NDC regain power in 2020 and not to 'chase' positions within the party. I dont go around looking for positions, he said in an interview on Asempa FMs 'Ekosii Sen' political program, Tuesday, February 26, 2019. Mr. Smith however stated that John Mahama is more marketable and has what it takes to clinch victory for the NDC in the next elections. He added that, the poor economic performance of the ruling New Patriotic Party, (NPP) gives Ghanaians the chance to pick Mahama over President Akufo-Addo come 2020. When asked by host if Mahama, Victor Smith ticket will be solid for the 2020 election Mr Smith was quick to say No comment, dont put me in a tight corner. Ambassador Victor Smith is among some key NDC members that have been tipped to partner Ex-President John Dramani Mahama in the 2020 election as running mate. Others include; Marrietta Appiah-Opong Brew, a former Attorney-General; Kwesi Ahwoi, Ghanas former Agric Minister and High Commissioner to South Africa; Dr Johnson Asiama, a former Bank of Ghana Deputy Governor; Mr Julius Debrah, a former Minister and the immediate-past Chief of Staff and Hannah S. Tetteh, a former Foreign Minister now U.N top Diplomat, Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast and Education Minister under the John Mahama administration. Dr Kwesi Botchwey who was Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission under Mahama and Dr. Zanetor Rawlings, MP and daughter of Ex-President J.J Rawlings are all favorites for the position. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5/ Instagram: Ambrose_wash Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video SIGN UP TO GET BLACKLISTED NEWS DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR INBOX Enter your email address: The meeting is coordinated by Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY) Ministry of AYUSH and WHO are jointly organizing a three days Working Group Meeting for reviewing the WHO document Benchmarks for Training in Yoga from 26-28 February, 2019 at New Delhi. The meeting is coordinated by Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY). WHO is developing Benchmarks Document for Training in Yoga as part of its global strategy to strengthen the quality, safety and effectiveness of Traditional and Complementary Medicine. Development of this benchmarks document is included in the Project Collaboration Agreement signed between World Health Organization (WHO) and Ministry of AYUSH on Cooperation in the field of Traditional and Complementary Medicine under WHO strategy covering the period 2014-2023. Total 16 experts of yoga would be reviewing the draft document. Out of 16 experts, 11 International experts are from USA, UK, Canada, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Japan, Australia and Malaysia. There would be 4 session on all 3 days. All the technical sessions would be coordinated by the experts from WHO Secretariat. The specific objectives of the meeting are to discuss the challenges in training of Yoga, to review & discuss the scope and structure of the working draft document, to review and discuss the contents of the working draft document, to identify the type, scope and criteria of information/data that are further required, and to discuss the working procedure and time frame for further development of the document. This benchmarks document will be used in evaluating Yoga therapy, identifying trends in utilization, developing payment structures for service models, establishing regulatory framework for Yoga practice. World Health organization launched Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023 to help health care leaders to develop solution that contribute to a broader vision of improved health and patient autonomy. The strategy has two key goals: to support Member States in harnessing the potential contribution of Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T&CM) to health, wellness and people centered health care and to promote the safe and effective use of T&CM through the regulation of products, practice and practitioners. These goals will be reached by implementing three strategic objectives are 1) Building the knowledge base and formulating nations policies; 2) Strengthening safety, quality and effectiveness through regulation; and 3) Promoting universal health systems. Updating and enhancing the strategy has allowed WHO to acquire a better understanding of how to boost the global integration of T&CM into health systems. It will provide Member States with a road map to achieving further success in their T&CM strategic planning. Under this WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023, a Project Collaboration Agreement (PCA) was signed between WHO and Ministry of AYUSH on 13 May, 2016 for cooperation on promoting the quality, safety and effectiveness of service provision in traditional and complementary medicine between WHO and Ministry of AYUSH (2016-2020). Area of collaboration are Development of the WHO publication : Benchmarks for training in Yoga, Benchmark for practice in Ayurveda, Unani and Panchakarma, Basic ( essential) terms for T&CM, Project on the establishment of a WHO database for global T&CM practitioners and Support the establishment of a network of international regulatory cooperation for T&CM practice. Today, many startups are coming up with amazing innovations to address a number of disease burdens in India. On the concluding day of the 16th edition of BioAsia 2019, industry and healthcare stalwarts got together and came to the conclusion that healthcare outcomes in India can be best elevated if industry partners with the startups. Today, many startups are coming up with amazing innovations to address a number of disease burdens in India. Unfortunately, few ideas get stuck up due to regulatory constraints or funding disapprovals and are unable to reach the market. India is currently being run by entrepreneurship that needs to be pushed further. Startups should partner with the established companies and collectively bring out healthcare solutions. Often, startups hesitate to collaborate as their prime focus is on their technology. But in order to take the technology ahead, a business model needs to be developed, of which technology forms only 10 per cent. There are so many other parameters involved in making the product reach the end users. Another major factor affecting the growth of startups in India is the regulation. More focus should be given to the science part, mentioned Dr Krishna Ella, CMD, Bharat Biotech. Supporting this thought further, Shobana Kamineni, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals said, Industry can play a major role in facilitating the startups and their ideas to the market. But the government is equally responsible in giving the required push. For example, the Israeli government gives full funding support to the incubators in promoting the startups. Any new firm can start working on its idea with the government pitching in around 80 per cent of the funding. A similar arrangement needs to be built in our country as well. Although the government has been doing its bit to promote a large number of innovations through various grants, the ground reality seems to be different. India needs to develop a pathway where technology, collaborations and policies can fit together and put innovations as a top priority for achieving better health outcomes. The hepatitis programme in India is expected to benefit an estimated 50 million people suffering from hepatitis The World Health Organization and its Goodwill Ambassador for Hepatitis in South-East Asia Region, Amitabh Bachchan, have welcomed Indias national action plan for viral hepatitis which aims to reach life-saving drugs and diagnostics to over 50 million affected people across the country. The process of detection of hepatitis is important. If detected timely, hepatitis can be cured and I am an example of that, said Amitabh Bachchan, a hepatitis B survivor who has been passionately advocating for countries to prevent, test and treat hepatitis. He was speaking at the release of Indias National Action Plan for Viral Hepatitis. The hepatitis programme in India is expected to benefit an estimated 50 million people suffering from hepatitis - 40 million from hepatitis B, which is preventable, and over 10 million from hepatitis C, which can be cured. Complimenting India for becoming the first country in WHO South-East Asia Region to release a national action plan for hepatitis, Regional Director Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh said, Indias efforts are commendable and reflect the countrys commitment to health and universal health coverage. The Regional Director and WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Hepatitis were speaking at an event yesterday where Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare released the National Action Plan for Viral Hepatitis and the National Guidelines for Hepatitis B. The action plan, which is in sync with the WHOs regional and global action plans, follows launch of the National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme on the World Hepatitis Day last year. The programme aims at comprehensively addressing prevention, treatment and management of hepatitis A to E. Free drugs and diagnostics will help timely detection, treatment and prevention of disease complications. People would get themselves treated without any financial hardship. I look forward to phased implementation of these guidelines and their introduction at all levels of the health system and assure WHOs partnership and support to India in eliminating hepatitis, added Dr Poonam An estimated 257 million people are living with chronic hepatitis B and 71 million with hepatitis C globally. Only 5% of those with hepatitis B and 3% of those with hepatitis C have access to treatment. Twenty one countries account for 75% of global hepatitis burden, almost 15% of which is in countries of WHO South-East Asia Region, mainly in India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Thailand. Nearly 40,000 people die in WHO South-East Asia Region every year. Lauding the contribution of WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Hepatitis, Dr Khetrapal Singh said there is now a momentum for hepatitis elimination in the Region. For the past two years Mr Bachchans passion, voice and generosity of spirit has significantly increased awareness of hepatitis, influencing policymakers and the public alike. His many initiatives as Goodwill Ambassador have effectively resonated that we can and we must eliminate hepatitis as a public health problem. If my voice can make a difference, I am willing to join the campaign for hepatitis whenever needed, the Goodwill Ambassador said, adding that spreading awareness about hepatitis and ending discrimination, particularly against women affected by hepatitis B, is his priority. WHO has been advocating for hepatitis B vaccine at birth and subsequent doses in routine immunization programme for children, safe blood and blood products, safe syringes and vaccination of health workers, among key preventive measures. India has rolled out a number of cross sector initiatives for safe drinking water, sanitary toilets, and Swachh Bharat (clean India), which are also expected to contribute to prevention of viral hepatitis. Media Advisory, February 26, 2019 Contacts: Blake Kopcho, Center for Biological Diversity, (805) 708-, 3435, bkopcho@biologicaldiversity.org Andrew Christie, Sierra Club (SLO), (805) 543-8717, sierraclub8@gmail.com Katie Davis, Sierra Club (SB), (805) 451-4574, kdavis2468@gmail.com Plains Pipeline to Be Opposed at Rallies in Santa Barbara, Arroyo Grande Company Behind 2015 Refugio Oil Spill Seeks to Restart Offshore Drilling SANTA BARBARA, Calif. Opponents of Plains All American Pipelines proposal to build a coastal oil pipeline to serve offshore drilling platforms will rally outside two public hearings on the project this week. Santa Barbara County is holding environmental scoping hearings on Wednesday in Santa Barbara and Thursday in San Luis Obispo County, which would also be threatened by the pipeline. The new pipeline would follow the same general route as Plains Line 901, the severely corroded pipeline that failed in 2015, causing a large coastal oil spill and idling the offshore platforms it served. A Santa Barbara jury last year found Plains criminally liable for that oil spill near Refugio State Beach and the hundreds of marine mammals and birds that were coated with oil and died. Were sending the message that Plains Pipeline doesnt deserve a second chance to spill oil on Californias coast, said Blake Kopcho, an oceans campaigner with the Center for Biological Diversity. This project would bring dirty and dangerous offshore drilling back to life. Oil spills are dire threats to coastal communities and wildlife. What: Opponents to rally against Plains Pipeline project before a pair of environmental scoping hearings. When and Where: Wednesday, February 27, outside Santa Barbara County Administration Building, 105 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara. Rally at 5:30 p.m.; hearing starts at 6 p.m. in Board of Supervisors Hearing Room. Thursday, February 28, outside South County Regional Center, 800 West Branch St., Arroyo Grande. Rally at 5 p.m.; hearing at 6 p.m. Who: Groups opposing the project include the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, Food & Water Watch, 350.org, Wishtoyo Foundation, CALPIRG and Sunrise Movement. Oil pipelines regularly fail in California. Federal data shows there were 707 hazardous liquid pipeline incidents in California since 1986; these incidents killed nine people and spilled almost 9.5 million gallons of oil and other hazardous liquids. A Center analysis of federal pipeline data found pipeline failures are most common after 30 years or shortly after theyre completed, as a result of faulty welds and other construction-related problems. UNHCR lauded Pakistan ISLAMABAD: The Amnesty International (AI) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have lauded the governments decision of allowing the registered Afghan refugees to operate bank accounts in the country. Soon after the decision was announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan through a message on Twitter, the Amnesty International South Asia praised the governments move. The AI said in a Twitter message: At a time when much of the world has turned its back on refugees, Pakistans government has taken an excellent step to help them reclaim their dignity. After heading a meeting which discussed how money laundering could be curbed in country, PM Khan tweeted: I have issued instructions today that Afghan refugees who are registered can open bank accounts and from now onwards they can participate in the formal economy of the country. This should have been done a long time ago. The UN refugee agency also welcomed the prime ministers decision of allowing the registered Afghan refugees to open bank accounts. I commend Prime Minister Imran Khan, the government and the people of Pakistan for taking this important step in support of Afghan refugees a forward-looking, generous gesture of solidarity of global significance, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a statement. UNHCR Director for Asia and the Pacific Indrika Rawatte and UNHCR Representative in Pakistan Ruvendrini Menikdiwela said that Pakistan had generously hosted millions of Afghan refugees for decades and should be applauded for this latest decision. This is a bold demonstration of humanitarian leadership in a world that is not inclusive, Mr Rawatte said. Highlights The recent attacks indicate the emergence of a grassroots terrorist threat in Egypt. Egypt's major jihadist groups have been under pressure from government forces over the past year, undermining their ability to organize and conduct attacks. After a relatively quiet 2018 in terms of terrorist attacks, Cairo and the adjacent tourist destination of Giza have experienced a series of bombings in the past two months. On Dec. 28, 2018, a roadside improvised explosive device exploded next to a tourist bus near the Pyramids in Giza, killing three tourists and an Egyptian tour guide and injuring 11 other people. On Feb. 15, police found three explosive devices, also in Giza. One of them detonated, injuring two police officers and three civilians. Then on Feb. 18, a suspected bombmaker detonated a suicide device while reportedly conducting pre-operational surveillance near central Cairo's Khan el-Khalili market, killing himself and two police officers and wounding three bystanders. No one has claimed responsibility for a recent series of attacks in the Cairo area despite the existence of multiple groups eager to strike at the Egyptian state.The recent attacks indicate the emergence of a grassroots terrorist threat in Egypt.Egypt's major jihadist groups have been under pressure from government forces over the past year, undermining their ability to organize and conduct attacks. Authorities did not suggest the first bombing had links to any particular militant group. Though authorities did blame the last two bombings on numerous militant groups with a history of staging attacks in Egypt, they did not provide evidence for such links. And whereas attacks generally generate claims of responsibility, no group has claimed any of the three attacks, something that is unusual for Egypt. This suggests Egypt now faces a grassroots militant threat, alongside the extant risk from organized militant groups. This, in turn, means Egypt is likely to suffer more, albeit less potent, terrorist attacks. An Egyptian Grassroots Terrorist Threat While Egyptian authorities have not provided any evidence linking the suspect killed Feb. 18 to existing jihadist groups, they have provided evidence he was a skilled bombmaker. Shortly after the suspect died Feb. 18, police searched his apartment and found a well-stocked explosives laboratory containing tools, pipe, wiring and what appears to be precursor chemicals for making explosives. The suspect may have used large sections of well casing to construct a large bomb, such as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, as well as smaller pipe elbows that have appeared in small explosive attacks linked to jihadists elsewhere. While police have not tied the suspect to the Dec. 28, 2018, attack against the tourist bus, jars of ball bearings visible in a photo of the suspect's apartment are consistent with the shrapnel added to the device used in that attack. At 37, the suspect was older than the typical suicide bomber, suggesting he had more training and experience. This would make him akin to the veteran bombmakers prized by terrorist groups rather than just a young, recently radicalized and expendable recruit. The suspect is known to have spent time in the United States and France before his deportation to Egypt a factor that might have given him opportunities for networking and training. Surveillance video shows the suspect detonating an explosive device in his backpack just as officers descended upon him, suggesting he chose to avoid imminent arrest rather than plan such an attack. The video also raises the possibility that he may have been conducting surveillance of the prominent al-Azhar Mosque nearby and was only carrying the explosives to ensure he would not be taken alive if his cover was blown. The decentralized nature of the grassroots terrorist threat makes small, dispersed attacks harder to stop, though it also tends to limit the scope of assaults. None of the three recent attacks was particularly sophisticated or deadly, but the bomber was able to progress through the attack cycle undetected thanks to the inherent operational security that comes with acting alone. Working alone reduces the risk of allowing an informant into a group, having communications intercepted by authorities or jeopardizing the operation when security forces arrest and interrogate one individual. Operational security, however, comes at a price: The greatest of these is that the lone attacker must conduct each step of the attack cycle by himself, exposing militants like the Cairo bomber to interdiction at every step. All the evidence so far suggests the suspect killed Feb. 18 was a capable, valuable terrorist operator. But the mystery of why no group has claimed responsibility for his actions remains. A Successful Crackdown on Militant Groups Part of the solution may lie in the crackdown on jihadist groups in Egypt over the past year. Aggressive counterterrorism operations have thwarted efforts by various jihadist groups to carry out attacks in the capital and other densely populated areas, meaning affiliation with one of those larger organizations gives rise to operational security risks outweighing the reward of tapping the resources of a larger network. This suggests the bombmaker was working alone as a grassroots terrorist conducting attacks across the Cairo region. The lack of reports of further arrests after his death also suggests he was working in isolation. The dynamic of successful counterterrorism operations against groups resulting in grassroots attacks has been seen before in Western countries and Morocco, where vigorous counterterrorism programs have stymied efforts by hierarchical terrorist organizations to conduct spectacular attacks. This has forced jihadist groups to rely on inspired or directed individuals following the leaderless resistance model of terrorism to conduct attacks in their name. Terrorist organizations that form networks and cells and allocate resources to maximize the impact of their attacks pose a greater threat to the security and internal stability of a country. But as the attacks in Egypt show, breaking such terrorist organizations up or at least stopping them from expanding is no guarantee violence will end altogether: Radicalized individuals or small independent cells can continue to carry out attacks. But their effectiveness and the duration of their campaigns tend to be limited. The Cairo bombmaker's death, for example, could end the recent string of successful attacks in the Cairo area. Even so, there are doubtless more individuals like him who could choose to follow in his footsteps. As for militant groups themselves, several prominent terrorist groups continue to pose a threat to Egypt's population centers despite short-term government successes against them. These include the Islamic State's Wilayat Sinai, al Qaeda-linked groups and the Hasam Movement. Wilayat Sinai The Islamic State's Wilayat Sinai has waged a multiyear insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula, which it has also used as a base to strike in mainland Egypt. In its most notable terrorist attacks, it brought down a Russian airliner in 2015, bombed Coptic Christian targets in Cairo and Alexandria, and killed more than 500 people in a November 2017 attack on a Sufi Mosque in the Sinai Peninsula. While the number of attacks in Sinai dropped following Operation Comprehensive Sinai 2018 a yearlong counterterrorism campaign by the Egyptian army the group has still conducted frequent insurgent attacks against security forces on the peninsula, and was behind the last significant attack in the Cairo area when it targeted a Coptic store and church in Helwan in December 2018. But Egyptian operations have treated Sinai more as a counterterrorism operation rather than a counterinsurgency. The failure to address the underlying grievances helping to drive the insurgency means future attacks are likely. Al Qaeda-Linked Groups Various al Qaeda-linked groups operate in different parts of Egypt. Ansar al-Islam, which operates in its Western Desert region, was behind an October 2017 raid that killed dozens of Egyptian soldiers. The group would like to attack targets in Cairo, but it faced significant setbacks in 2018. It lost its leader, Hisham Ashmawy, whom Libyan authorities arrested in October 2018, and is not known to have carried out any attacks that year. Jund al-Islam, meanwhile, operates in the Sinai, where, in line with al Qaeda doctrine, it has largely chosen to strike security forces and foreigners rather than local civilians. Occasionally, it has even attacked Islamic State militants in an effort to win the support of Sinai Bedouin tribes. Ansar al-Islam has previously targeted security forces, high-profile officials and foreign civilians. The Hasam Movement The Hasam movement has staged numerous attacks in the Nile Delta, including shootings and bombings targeting police officers in Cairo and Alexandria. During 2016 and 2017, the group maintained a high tempo of attacks, which included assassinations of prominent officials. Aggressive security measures by Egyptian authorities have recently stymied its efforts, and the group has only been linked to three attacks (all unsuccessful) since the beginning of 2018, including a botched attack on the Myanmar Embassy in Cairo. We expect these groups, and others like them, to continue their efforts. The recent bombings, however, strongly suggest Egypt now also faces a more multifaceted, yet less potent, grassroots threat. Why Egypt's Terrorists May Choose to Go It Alone is republished with permission from Stratfor Worldview, a geopolitical intelligence platform. Apologies in advance, my friends: I usually try to write about something or someone important but today Im making an exception. Im writing about Brian Stelter, CNNs so-called chief media correspondent. Its not just that Stelter is a hopelessly biased newsman. Its also that he doesnt know it, that he lacks introspection. Hes a media critic who doesnt recognize his own media shortcomings. #Sad. Week in and week out he goes after his two favorite targets President Trump and Fox News. Good. No problem. When they screw up, which they often do, go after them. Hold them accountable. But when he had the opportunity not long ago to grill his fellow Trump-detesting liberal, Dean Baquet, the executive editor of the New York Times, he chose instead to do what he does best: toss softballs and then sit there like a potted plant. Heres one of Stelters tough questions: What is the cumulative effect of President Trumps attacks on the media? Heres another: Are the attacks out of control? One more: How much has Donald Trumps election contributed to a jump in online subscriptions at the New York Times? I wrote a column about Stelters less than stellar performance and suggested a few questions he might have asked the editor of the Times, if Stelter didnt have a man crush on Baquet. Do you think diversity is important in Americas newsrooms? Why? What about diversity of opinion? Do you think you have enough of that kind of diversity at the Times? Do you think that a newsroom populated overwhelmingly by liberal journalists poses no problems with bias, subconscious or otherwise? Would you be okay with a newsroom overwhelmingly populated by conservative journalists? Do you believe, as many of your critics do, that theres a liberal bias at the Times and in the media in general? Youve been a frequent critic of Fox News. Do you think Fox is any more biased than CNN or MSNBC? There were more questions like that, but you get the idea. I would have been more than happy to move on, to never write or think about Brian Stelter again. But along comes Jussie Smollett who inadvertently gives Stelter another opportunity to show us how dense he is. Why in the world, Stelter wondered, would Smollett make up a story about being mugged by two white guys, who put a noose over his head, poured bleach on him and proclaimed This is MAGA country. Its hard to imagine why anyone would think of orchestrating something like this, Stelter said on CNN. It just boggles the mind. Several liberal colleagues sitting there with him were equally baffled. It boggles the mind! One struggles in vain to think of another profession in which someone could evince or affect as much incompetence as Stelter and Co. and expect to remain employed. is how Kyle Smith so elegantly put it in National Review. Never mind that Stelter, as Smith points out, has lived nearly his entire life in the era of hate-crime hoaxes and so, you might think, wouldnt find Smolletts made up story so mind-boggling. Did Stelter forget about the Duke-lacrosse gang-rape hoax of 2006? How about the University of Virginia gang-rape hoax of 2014? What about the incident just after Trumps election when a woman on the New York City subway claimed drunken white men had ripped off her hijab did CNNs chief media reporter forget about that too? Did he forget about the Catholic high school kid in the MAGA hat in Washington and how the media got that story all wrong? Does the name Tawana Brawley ring a bell? Smollett purchased with his story things of immeasurable value: Attention, sympathy, love, Smith says. The worlds eyes were upon him when, the weekend after the attack, he gave a tearful, impassioned performance on stage in L.A. I had to be here tonight, yall. I couldnt let those motherf***ers win. I will always stand for love. I will only stand for love. Whatever you say, Jussie! What about Brian Stelter? What does he stand for? Well, we can start with gullibility and move on to cluelessness. Like so many liberals, both in an out of the media, he was eager to believe the worst about Trump supporters, which led to his bafflement on why such a nice gay, black man would ever make up such a story. But theres a piece of evidence that should have set off alarms for Brian Stelter and his baffled compatriots in the media, in Hollywood and in the world of pandering politicians: Al Sharpton didnt jump on a jet and head to Chicago to hold a well-publicized rally at the scene of the crime? When white guys attack a black man in the dead of night and shout a pro-Trump warning at their helpless victim, and Reverend Al doesnt head for the cameras and microphones there probably is no scene of the crime. Many Americans are depressed over the far-left progressive movement seemingly winning the political and cultural war in America. But theyre really not winning, its just that the corrupt media is spinning it that way - glorifying people like Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez. Hollywood also plays a part as outspoken celebrities are always leftists. If an actor says conservative things, he or she will lose work. A new poll says Americans are overwhelmingly against partial-birth abortion, even as only three Democrats in the Senate voted against prohibiting outright infanticide, killing a baby born after a botched abortion. If you support that, you are misguided in the extreme. But very few Americans want to allow killing babies born alive. I believe that backlash against lunatics on the far-left is coming. I fervently hope it is. America remains a great country. Good people must keep it that way. Tonight, I will analyze the coming backlash further in the context of how it affects President Trump. See you beginning at 7 eastern. 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 Pakistan summoned Indian high commissioner Pakistan Tuesday summoned the Indian acting high commissioner and strongly condemned the violation of Pakistans sovereignty and territorial integrity. At approximately 0254 hours on Tuesday 26.Feb.2019, eight Indian aircraft were effectively intercepted by Pakistani Air Force jets and forced to scuttle back, while randomly releasing their ordnance which landed in an uninhabited remote area, a Foreign Office statement said. Baseless, reprehensible Indian claims of targeting a large terrorist camp and resultant causalities to placate Indian domestic audience and electioneering are strongly rebutted, it added. The acting foreign secretary categorically stated that Indian aggression is a threat to regional peace and stability and will get a befitting response by Pakistan at a time and place of its choosing. He also condemned the baseless Indian allegations against Pakistans involvement in the recent attack in Indian-held Kashmir and reiterated Pakistans principled position of continuing support to the peaceful political struggle of the Kashmiri people for the realization of the right to self-determination as enshrined in the UN Security Council resolutions. Moncks Corner, SC (29461) Today Partly to mostly cloudy with widely scattered showers or thunderstorms possible this afternoon. High 87F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight A few clouds. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Voice TV chief executive Mekin speaks to reporters after a Thai administrative court ruled for the stations right to broadcast, Feb 27, 2019. Updated at 4:52 p.m. ET on 2019-02-27 A court in junta-led Thailand ruled Wednesday that national broadcasting regulators had unlawfully suspended a TV station owned by the son of fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) on Feb. 12 ordered Voice TV to go dark for 15 days, accusing the station of airing program content that caused public confusion and divisiveness. The station went off the air at midnight Feb. 13 but began broadcasting again on Feb. 15 after lodging a suit against the NBTC and obtaining a court injunction. The order of the accused is not correct according to the procedures ... Therefore, the resolution of the accused is not fair, the administrative court in Bangkok said as it ruled in favor of Voice TV, referring to the commission as the accused party in the stations lawsuit. Also on Wednesday, a court delayed taking action on a call to dissolve a political party that had nominated Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi as its prime ministerial choice for Thailands general election, scheduled for March 24. In addition, the attorney general delayed a decision on filing charges against the leader of Future Forward Party until March 26, two days after the polls. We filed a petition to the Administrative Court over the suspension order of Voice TV because we want to make a standard that regulatory governments agency must be politically balance and respect media freedom and freedom of speech, Voice TV Chief Executive Mekin Petplai told reporters after Wednesdays ruling. Thaksin and his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, are both deposed former prime ministers who live in exile. They have been banned from taking part directly in Thai politics, but they remain influential and their opposition Pheu Thai Party has fielded candidates for the upcoming election. Thai Raksa Chart party The NBTC order against Voice TV came the same day that the Thai Raksa Chart party, a populist movement linked to the Shinawatra clan, expressed public contrition for selecting Princess Ubolratana as its prime ministerial choice. King Maha Vajiralongkorn quashed the princess candidacy within hours, chiding it as highly inappropriate in the Buddhist-majority nation where the wealthy monarchy is revered and protected by Lese-Majeste, a draconian law that protects the royal family against insults and offensive statements. On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court set March 7 as the date to announce its verdict regarding whether the party should be dissolved. The Election Commission initially found that the party was hostile to the constitutional monarchy and requested that the court rule against the party. The court discussed the matter and found that the case has substantial evidence and there is no need for further hearings. ... The court will consider the case in the afternoon on March 7 and will announce the decision later on the same day, the court said in a statement delivered to the media. A legal adviser for the Thai Raksa Chart Party who appeared at the court Wednesday said the party would accept the decision regardless of the results. The party has submitted clarification to the accusation and witnesses accounts that we have no intent to be hostile to the constitutional monarchy, Surachai Shinchai told the media. Regardless of the results, we would accept it. As they wait for the court to rule, party leaders continue to campaign. Attorney general announcement Meanwhile, the attorney general delayed a decision on whether to indict Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and two accomplices, whom police have charged with violating Thailands Computer Crimes Act, but said it would appoint a committee to consider the case on March 26. The attorney general alleged that on two occasions in 2018, Thanathorn and his accomplices said that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, the junta chief, had bought-off politicians from other parties. Because these cases are important and are interested to the media and people, the attorney general chief will order a setup of a committee to consider the case, deputy spokesman Prayuth Petchkoon said. We believe in our innocence. We believe people have rights to criticize the rulers, a basic democratic right, said Thanatorn who appeared at the attorney general office Wednesday morning. We believe the attorney general should perform the duty duly. Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing: Imran Khan While strongly rejecting the Indian claim of targeting an alleged terrorist camp near Balakot, a special meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) Tuesday 26.Feb.2019 said India has committed an uncalled for aggression to which Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing. The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan here at the PM Office was attended by ministers of foreign affairs, defence, finance, chairman joint chiefs of staff committee, chief of army staff, chief of naval staff, chief of air staff and other civil and military officials. Prime Minister Imran Khan directed the elements of national power including the armed forces and the people of Pakistan to remain prepared for all eventualities. The meeting strongly rejected Indian claim of targeting an alleged terrorist camp near Balakot and the claim of heavy casualties, a statement from the PM Office said. Once again Indian government has resorted to a self-serving, reckless and fictitious claim. This action has been done for domestic consumption, being in election environment, putting regional peace and stability at grave risk, it added. The meeting said India has committed uncalled for aggression to which Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing. It said the claimed area of strike is open for the world to see the facts on ground and agreed that the domestic and international media be taken to the impact site. The meeting also decided to requisition the joint session of parliament to take all parties on board. It also decided to engage with the global leadership to expose irresponsible Indian policy in the region. Bangladeshis are in police custody after nearly 200 were found crammed in a shop house in Medan, Indonesia, Feb. 6, 2019. Indonesian authorities on Wednesday deported the last group of nearly 300 Bangladeshis who were detained by police in Medan city on Sumatra island while apparently trying to cross illegally into neighboring Malaysia to work, officials said. The final 34 people leaving for their home country from Kualanamu International Airport in Medan brought the number of Bangladeshis deported from Medan this month to 288, according to Icon Siregar, head of the immigration department in North Sumatra province. They all had their passports and it turns out that after we checked, they also had return tickets, so this made repatriation easier, he told BenarNews. Police and immigration officers rounded up the Bangladeshis in several locations in Medan on Feb. 5 and 6, officials said. Nearly 200 were found crammed in a shop house with little to eat. Officials said the Bangladeshis entered Indonesia legally, taking advantage of visa-on-arrival facilities, through airports in Surabaya and Bali. The first group departed from Medan on Feb. 11, Icon said. Representatives from the Bangladeshi embassy in Jakarta and the Indonesian Foreign Ministry were at the airport as they left. Icon said that the 288 Bangladeshis were banned from entering Indonesian territory for six months Meanwhile, officials at the Bangladesh embassy declined to comment and an email sent to the mission went unanswered. North Sumatra police spokesman Tatan Dirsan Atmaja said no one had been charged with any crime. We are still investigating and still coordinating with the immigration office, he said. In Dhaka, the head of the migration program for BRAC, Bangladeshs largest NGO, said he was aware that the last batch of Bangladeshis in Medan was due to return home soon, but he was not sure about how many there were. Some two hundred Bangladeshis have returned from Indonesia in recent days. Most of them are returning via Kuala Lumpur, Sharful Hasan told BenarNews. In transit Icon said he believed the Bangladeshis had chosen Medan as a transit point before traveling by boat to Malaysia, because of the citys proximity to the country. The indications are that they were transiting here, planning to go to Malaysia to work. We suspect theres a (human trafficking) syndicate there in Malaysia, he said. In Medan, of course there are facilitators. But the syndicate is in Malaysia and they work together, he said. Medan Legal Aid Institute director Ismail Lubis said undocumented job seekers, both Indonesians and foreigners, often used fishing boats to reach Malaysia. They take alternative routes from Tanjung Balai (in North Sumatra). They depart from ports built by local communities, he told BenarNews. They usually leave at midnight. The boats usually take them to Port Klang or Malacca. They arrive there at night to avoid attention, he said. Ismail said he believed agents working illegally were responsible for holding the Bangladeshis in Medan. We have had experience with Indonesians from East Nusa Tenggara and Papua. There were illegal brokers in North Sumatra who send undocumented workers to Malaysia, he said. Jesmin Papri in Dhaka contributed to this report. Indian army soldiers arrive near the wreckage of an Indian aircraft after it crashed in the Budgam area, on the outskirts of Srinagar in Indian-controlled Kashmir, Feb.27, 2019. Updated at 11:31 a.m. ET on 2019-03-01 India and Pakistan claimed they shot down each others warplanes over the disputed Kashmir region on Wednesday, a day after Indian officials said that their jets had destroyed a terror camp in Pakistani territory. The aerial engagements came two weeks after a suicide bombing killed at least 40 government troops in Indian-administered Kashmir, in an attack claimed by Pakistan-based militants. Pakistan said it downed two Indian fighter jets after they crossed the boundary in Kashmir, while India claimed to have shot down a Pakistani warplane that violated its airspace in the Nowshera sector of the troubled Himalayan region. India confirmed it had lost one MiG-21 fighter jet in an aerial engagement with the Pakistani Air Force, and said that one of its pilots was missing. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace, tweeted Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, a spokesman for Pakistans armed forces, referring to the Pakistani Air Force. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK, he said, using Pakistani acronyms for the Pakistani and Indian sides of Kashmir. The Pakistan Army released a 46-second video in which a blindfolded man with blood on his face was seen saying: I am IAF (Indian Air Force) Wing Commander Abhinandan. I am an IAF officer. My service number is 27989. Indias Ministry of External Affairs said it had lodged a protest with Pakistan over the vulgar display of the Indian Air Force pilot, and warned Islamabad against causing any harm to him. India also expects his immediate and safe return, the ministry said in a statement. Self defense Three Pakistani warplanes entered Indian airspace on Wednesday morning and dropped bombs, forcing the Indian Air Force to retaliate, Raveesh Kumar, spokesman for Indias Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters in New Delhi. A day earlier, Indian warplanes bombed the biggest training camp of Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) inside Pakistani territory where, Indian authorities said, a very large number of militants were killed. Pakistan-based JeM claimed credit for a suicide attack that killed 40 paramilitary police in Indian Kashmir on Feb. 14. Against this counter terrorism action [by Indian forces], Pakistan responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side, Kumar said. In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG-21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistani side. In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG-21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody, he said. Pakistan, however, said its jets were not targeting Indian military installations and the strikes were undertaken as an act of self defense. Today, Pakistan Air Force undertook strikes across [the] Line of Control from within Pakistani airspace. This was not a retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. Pakistan has therefore taken strikes at non-military targets, avoiding human loss and collateral damage, Pakistans Foreign Office said in a statement. We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm, it said. An Indian Air Force Mi-17 chopper also crashed in the Budgam district of Indian-administered Kashmir, killing two pilots, four crew members and a civilian on the ground, V. K. Birdi, deputy inspector general of police, told BenarNews. However, Pakistan said it had no engagement with that aircraft. Indian officials confirmed that a technical problem caused the crash. Indian investigators and security forces gather near the wreckage of an Indian Air Force aircraft that crashed on the outskirts of Srinagar in Indian Kashmir, Feb. 27, 2019. [Sheikh Mashooq/BenarNews] We should sit down and talk Meanwhile, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan warned India against any miscalculated aggression, but reiterated his intention to engage in talks with New Delhi. All wars in world history have been miscalculated. Those who started the wars did not know where it will end. So, I want to ask India, with the weapons you and we have, can we afford a miscalculation? he said in a televised address in Pakistan. If a war takes place, it will not be in my or [Indian Prime Minister] Narendra Modis control. If you want any kind of talks on terrorism, we are ready. Better sense must prevail. We should sit down and talk, he added. India and Pakistan have fought three full-blown wars in 1965, 1971 and 1998. Two of them were over the ownership of Kashmir, which the two sides claim in its entirety. The region has grappled with a separatist insurgency that has claimed upward of 70,000 lives since the late 1980s. Two suspected JeM militants were gunned down in Indian Kashmirs Shopian district on Wednesday, police said, adding that the slain were local residents. Sushma Swaraj, Indias external affairs minister, said Indian forces struck JeMs terror training camp across the border because Pakistan had refused to act against militant groups operating on its soil. In the light of continuing refusal by Pakistan to acknowledge and act against terror groups based on its territory, and based on credible information that JeM is planning other attacks in various parts of India, the government of India decided to take pre-emptive action, she said while addressing the 16th Foreign Ministers meeting of Russia-India-China (RIC) in Wuzhen, China. India does not wish to see a further escalation of the situation and will continue to act with responsibility and restraint, she added. Possibility of escalation An escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan, with sporadic airstrikes and cease-fire violations along the border, is inevitable, analysts said. But they ruled out the possibility of a full-blown war between the two nuclear-armed nations. There is a high possibility of escalation on the ground and aerial strikes from both sides that might seem beyond control. But I dont see the two nations going to all-out war, Ajai Sahni, a New Delhi-based security expert, told BenarNews. The aerial aggression by both sides was merely a face-saving measure for domestic consumption, he added. Retired Brig. Anil Gupta, another defense analyst, agreed. War is not the answer. I keep saying India has a small window of punishment short of an all-out war. And India is using that opportunity already, Gupta told BenarNews. In case Pakistan retaliates, striking civilian or military targets, it would mean aggression, and it should be prepared for the consequences, he said. Jaishree Balasubramanian in New Delhi and Mohammad Amin Pirzada in Srinagar, India contributed to this report. Updated to correct the year of the third war between India and Pakistan. An earlier version also reported incorrectly that at least 46 troops were killed in the car-bombing. Does anybody have a clue what Morecambe and Wise thought about the 1973 referendum on joining the EEC? Probably not. Celebrities back then were not expected to make pronouncements on the great issues of the moment. Those were the days. Now the rich and famous routinely bombard the benighted masses with their ready-made solutions to the world's problems and no one even sniggers when they do. Read More Latest to join the crowded ranks of showbiz leaders-in-waiting is comedian and TV presenter Patrick Kielty, who has written an article in the Guardian, predicting that Brexit will lead to a border poll in Northern Ireland and that this poll will, inevitably, result in Irish unity by 2025. Normally, one could put this down to another case of Brexit Derangement Syndrome, a useful term coined to describe the condition whereby people are so discombobulated at the prospect of leaving the EU that it makes them take leave of their senses. Most luvvies seem to have it bad. Unfortunately, in this case, there was one small detail that the local boy-done-good forgot to mention: namely, that there are nearly a million people in Northern Ireland who identify as unionists, as British, and who, according to all opinion polls and studies, don't want Irish unity. Actually, that's not strictly true. Kielty did mention unionists. Once. That's when he included, with barely disguised contempt, the Democratic Unionist Party, with its "blood-red lines", on a list of those shepherding the country into a "no-deal" Brexit. Other than that, his article was a unionist-free zone. That "almost half" of the population of Northern Ireland "sees themselves as Irish" got a mention all right, but the existence of more than half who don't had to be inferred by omission, as he bored on predictably instead about Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage and Jacob Rees-Mogg. This is what the politically committed invariably do when faced with facts that they don't like. They ignore them. Inconvenient voters who dare to believe in things that upset the narrative are simply erased from sight. Historically, there are plenty of precedents. Czech novelist Milan Kundera once recalled how a particular leader, who fell foul of the communist regime, was, after his execution, removed from all official photographs. The only problem was that, in one of them, they neglected to take out his hat, so it was left floating in mid-air as a testament to the stupidity of airbrushing history. The way in which the existence of nearly a million unionists is being left out of the increasingly feverish predictions of impending Irish unity is the local equivalent. Just because you can't see them doesn't mean that they're not there. Their bowler hats are still floating in the air. Many of those who identify as British may be desperately worried about the future. They may harbour regrets about leaving the single market, or losing other benefits of EU membership. But they're still unionists. They haven't suddenly abandoned their sense of self in favour of some shiny new Irish identity. Nor is pretending that they don't exist a wise way to go about persuading them of the argument for a united Ireland. As for the snide, Leo Varadkar-style reference to the "precious union", did he really think no one would notice the contempt? Patrick Kielty's concern that violence might return to Northern Ireland in the event of a "no-deal" Brexit is understandable. His father was shot dead by loyalist terrorists in Dundrum, Co Down in 1988, when the comedian was just a schoolboy. He has spoken movingly about the effect this had on him, both at the time and since, and recalls returning recently to his home village, where everyone in the pub agreed that no good could come of Brexit for Northern Ireland. He's also not wrong to be frustrated that the border did not feature more prominently in the 2016 referendum debate. Ulster was ever an afterthought in deliberations across the water. But the fact that he chose to express his misgivings in such divisive language is profoundly depressing. Kielty was part of a generation which was determined to challenge the sectarian divisions of the Troubles. He mocked both traditions with equal savagery. He showed people how to laugh at those on the other side of the peace line, as well as fear them, and, more importantly, how to mock themselves. He was able to do that by standing aside from the fight, like a Greek chorus commenting on the action. His words carried a moral, as well as a comic, authority. His contribution yesterday about the inevitability of a united Ireland was utterly different in tone. It was not a sardonic comment from the sideline, but a dispatch from someone who's pitched himself right into the front line of the battle. This is one of the tragedies of Brexit: it has kindled intransigence even in those who honourably resisted the lure of tribalism through the darkest days. It's having a similarly divisive effect in Britain, but there it doesn't matter so much. In the rest of the UK, Brexit can be characterised, with some justification, as a stand-off between an arrogant metropolitan elite, which thinks it knows best, and a discontented electorate, which feels ignored. Here, the divide carries an added edge of danger, because it intersects with multiple other fault lines of identity and history. All Kielty's criticisms were directed at those who want to leave the European Union. There was condemnation of London, but none of Dublin's role in fanning the flames; there were hard words for the DUP, but none for Sinn Fein, which is shamelessly exploiting Brexit for its own sectarian ends. Unionists are not responsible for what unelected EU empire-builders in Brussels are whispering in the ear of the Taoiseach, or the threats which are being made to lock Ireland out of the single market if they don't impose a hard border. It's fair enough to blame one side more than another for what's gone wrong; everyone has a right to take sides. But they can't expect to be regarded afterwards as the same honest broker if they do. Wishing to overturn the result of a democratic vote is not a moderate position. Wanting to honour it is not extremism. The lesson of Patrick Kielty's early career is that the most powerful contribution a comedian can make to a fractured society is to help people see their common humanity, rather than fixate on what sets them apart. To make them laugh together, rather than yell at each other. That's still true, even if he's tragically forgotten it. There are enough angry and bitter people preaching to the converted in Northern Ireland. We don't need another one. President Donald Trump hoped for great things from his second meeting with North Koreas Kim Jong Un as he paid a courtesy call on his Vietnamese hosts. Mr Kim was expected to take in some sights before the leaders open their second nuclear summit with private talks and a social dinner. Anticipation for what will come out of the summit is running high in Hanoi. But the carnival-like atmosphere in the Vietnamese capital, with street artists painting likenesses of the leaders and vendors selling T-shirts emblazoned with their faces, stands in contrast to the serious items on the agenda: North Koreas pursuit of nuclear weapons and peace on the Korean Peninsula. Expand Close President Donald Trump waves a Vietnam flag as he meets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (Evan Vucci/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp President Donald Trump waves a Vietnam flag as he meets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (Evan Vucci/AP) We have a very big meeting planned tonight as you know, with North Korea, Chairman Kim, and I think it may very well turn out to be very successful, Mr Trump told the top leaders of Vietnam. I look forward to the meeting tonight with Chairman Kim and hopefully its going to be successful. Well see what happens, but he wants to do something great, Mr Trump said, adding that Mr Kim could use Vietnam as a model for economic revitalisation. If you look at what youve done in a short time, he can do it in a very, very rapid time make North Korea into a great economic power. The president sounded a similar message about Vietnamese prosperity in a tweet before he left his heavily guarded hotel. Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize, Mr Trump tweeted on Wednesday, hours before he and Mr Kim were to meet again. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon Very Interesting! Expand Close Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton listen as Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (Evan Vucci/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton listen as Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (Evan Vucci/AP) Mr Trump said at a separate meeting with Vietnamese officials that hopefully great things will happen later on with our meeting with Mr Kim. Mr Trump and Mr Kim first met last June in Singapore, a summit that was long on historic pageantry but short on any enforceable agreements for North Korea to give up its nuclear arsenal. North Korea has spent decades, at great economic sacrifice, building its nuclear program, and there is widespread scepticism that it will give away that program without getting something substantial from the US. That could be a declaration to end the Korean War. While Mr Trump wants Mr Kim to agree to dismantle his nuclear sites in a verifiable way, Mr Kim is seeking relief from crushing US sanctions hobbling his economy. Other items being discussed are opening liaison offices in both North Korea and the United States. North and South Korea also want sanctions dialled back so they can resurrect two major symbols of rapprochement that provided much-needed hard currency to North Korea: a jointly run factory park in Kaesong and South Korean tours to the Norths scenic Diamond Mountain resort. Indian army soldiers arrive near the wreckage of an Indian aircraft after it crashed in Budgam area, outskirts of Srinagar in Indian-controlled Kashmir (AP) Pakistans military said it has captured two Indian pilots after the Pakistani air force shot down their aircraft on its side of the disputed region of Kashmir. The civil aviation authority of Pakistan announced that it has shut its airspace to all commercial flights amid rising tensions with its neighbour. The dramatic escalation came hours after Pakistan said mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier dividing the two sectors of Kashmir killed six civilians and wounded several others. Major General Asif Ghafoor said one of the captured Indian pilots is injured and is being treated in a military hospital, while the other pilot is in custody. Expand Close Supporters of a Pakistani religious group Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba hold a rally against India (AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Supporters of a Pakistani religious group Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba hold a rally against India (AP) The military said an Indian Air Force plane was downed on the Pakistani side of the Line of Control in Kashmir a boundary separating the disputed Himalayan region between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Indian air force spokesman Anupam Banerjee in New Delhi said he had no information on Pakistans statement. Earlier, senior Indian police officer Munir Ahmed Khan said an Indian Air Force plane crashed in Indian-controlled sector of Kashmir and that it was not immediately known if there were casualties. Expand Close Pakistani reporters and troops visit the site of an Indian air strike in Jaba, near Balakot, on Tuesday (Aqeel Ahmed/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pakistani reporters and troops visit the site of an Indian air strike in Jaba, near Balakot, on Tuesday (Aqeel Ahmed/AP) Another police officer, SP Pani, said firefighters were at the site in the Budgam area where the Indian warplane crashed. Eyewitnesses said soldiers fired into the air to keep residents away from the crash site. Indian news reports said airports in the Indian portion of Kashmir closed for civilian traffic shortly after the air force jet crashed in the area. The Press Trust of India news agency said these airports were located at Srinagar, Jammu and Leh. Indian authorities declined to comment. Indian administrator Baseer Khan confirmed that the airport in Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir, was closed and said it was a temporary and precautionary measure. Expand Close Kashmiri villagers gather to look at the wreckage of the Indian aircraft (AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kashmiri villagers gather to look at the wreckage of the Indian aircraft (AP) The Press Trust of India said Indian authorities also closed two airports in northern Punjab state, which borders with Pakistan. Meanwhile, the foreign ministry in Islamabad said the countrys air force was carrying out air strikes from within Pakistani airspace across the disputed Kashmir boundary, but that this was not in retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. The ministry said Wednesdays strikes were aimed at avoiding human loss and collateral damage. It said the Pakistanis have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we undertook the action with clear warning and in broad daylight. According to local Pakistani police official Mohammad Altaf, the six fatalities in Wednesdays shelling included children. The shells hit the village of Kotli in Pakistans section of Kashmir. Kashmir is split between Pakistan and India and claimed by both in its entirety. Expand Close Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi speaks after the Indian air strike (Anjum Naveed/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi speaks after the Indian air strike (Anjum Naveed/AP) Though Pakistani and Indian troops in Kashmir often trade fire, the latest civilian casualties on the Pakistani side came a day after tensions escalated sharply following a pre-dawn air strike and incursion by India on Tuesday that New Delhi said targeted a terrorist training camp in north-western Pakistan. Residents on both sides of the de facto frontier said there were exchanges of fire between the two sides through the night. In Pakistans part of Kashmir, hundreds of villagers have fled border towns. The situation was no different in villages along the Line of Control in Indian-controlled Kashmir, where residents were moving to safer places following the intense exchange of fire. In New Delhi, Indian officials said on Wednesday at least five of their soldiers were wounded in firing by Pakistani troops along the volatile frontier. Lieutenant Colonel Devender Anand, an Indian army spokesman, said Pakistani soldiers targeted dozens of Indian military positions across the Line of Control throughout the night. Expand Close A Pakistani soldier watches movement of Indian forces along the Line of Control earlier this month (MD Mughal/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A Pakistani soldier watches movement of Indian forces along the Line of Control earlier this month (MD Mughal/AP) An Indian military statement said that out of anger and frustration, Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation. The statement said Indian troops retaliated for effect and claimed to have destroyed five Pakistani posts. It accused Pakistani soldiers of firing mortars and missiles from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields. In Tuesdays pre-dawn strike by India, Pakistan said Indian warplanes dropped bombs near the Pakistani town of Balakot, but there were no casualties. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to convene the National Command Authority on Wednesday to discuss Islamabads response to the incursions by Indian warplanes. On Wednesday, Pakistans foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told state-run Pakistan Television he was in touch with his counterparts across the world about the Indian aggression, adding that New Delhi had endangered peace in the region by launching an air strike on Pakistan. In New Delhi, Indias external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said her country does not wish to see further escalation of the situation with Pakistan and that it will continue to act with responsibility and restraint. She said the limited objective of Indias pre-emptive strike inside Pakistan on a terrorist training camp on Tuesday was to act decisively against the terrorist infrastructure of the Jaish-e-Mohammad group. The tension between Pakistan and India erupted again after Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing of a convoy of Indias paramilitary forces in the Indian portion of Kashmir on February 14, which killed 40 Indian troops. Pakistan has said it was not involved in the attack and stands ready to help New Delhi in its investigations. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged greetings as they kicked off their second summit in Hanoi, Vietnam. The two leaders exchanged handshakes, laughs and small talk at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, where they were scheduled to meet for 20 minutes before sitting down for what the White House has described as a social dinner. Mr Trump told reporters of the meeting: We look forward to it, we both do. Asked whether he might formally end the Korean War, he responded: Well see. Mr Trump has made the case that North Korea could thrive economically like Vietnam if the North ends its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Mr Trump said: Well see what happens, but he wants to do something great. Expand Close President Donald Trump waves a Vietnam flag as he meets with Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (Evan Vucci/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp President Donald Trump waves a Vietnam flag as he meets with Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (Evan Vucci/AP) There has been a carnival-like atmosphere in the Vietnamese capital, with street artists painting likenesses of the leaders and vendors selling T-shirts emblazoned with their faces. It stands in contrast to the serious items on the agenda: North Koreas pursuit of nuclear weapons and peace on the Korean Peninsula. Speaking earlier to his Vietnamese hosts, Mr Trump said: We have a very big meeting planned tonight as you know, with North Korea, Chairman Kim, and I think it may very well turn out to be very successful. The president hailed Vietnam as a model for North Korea to follow in his remarks to his hosts, saying: If you look at what youve done in a short time, he can do it in a very, very rapid time make North Korea into a great economic power. In a tweet earlier Mr Trump said: Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearise. The potential is awesome, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon Very Interesting! Last years meeting between the two leaders in Singapore was a historic encounter which had followed sustained and personal insults between the pair over Pyongyangs nuclear programme. Expand Close Donald Trump meets Kim Jong Un in Hanoi (Evan Vucci/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Donald Trump meets Kim Jong Un in Hanoi (Evan Vucci/AP) With tests halted since the thaw in relations, Mr Trump hopes for more progress on denuclearisation from Mr Kim. Reflecting on Singapore, Mr Trump said: I thought the first summit was a great success and I think this one, hopefully, will be equal or greater than the first. Speaking through an interpreter, Mr Kim said he is confident of achieving the great results that everyone will welcome. Former US vice president Joe Biden has said his family, including his grandchildren, are encouraging him to launch a White House bid. Theres a consensus, Mr Biden told an excited crowd during an appearance at the University of Delaware. The most important people in my life want me to run. The veteran campaigner who served as Barack Obamas vice-president did not explicitly say he was running. Expand Close Former US vice-president Joe Biden (Niall Carson/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Former US vice-president Joe Biden (Niall Carson/PA) In fact, the 76-year-old lifelong politician conceded he may not be popular enough to win over the Democratic Party of 2020. Yet roughly 10 months before the first primary votes are cast, Mr Biden sent an unmistakable message to prospective rivals and voters alike that the already-crowded Democratic field is far from set. Should he run, he would instantly become a front-runner, the best-known option for primary voters and perhaps the best-respected by elected officials and donors, who in many cases have a decades-long relationship with the longtime Democratic leader. Mr Bidens potential rivals had little to say publicly about his latest comments on potentially joining the field, but in private, their camps conceded that he would be a political force who could scramble the evolving field. He is the biggest, best-known candidate in the raceGary Pearce, strategist Mr Biden could erode Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders popularity with working-class voters in the Midwest, California Senator Kamala Harris standing with African-American voters in South Carolina and New York billionaire Michael Bloombergs claim to the political centre. Uncle Joe is absolutely beloved within the Democratic Party and for good reason, said Zac Petkanas, an aide to former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. However, this isnt a popularity contest. Not only is he going to have to prove hes got fresh, bold ideas, but that hes tough enough to stand up to (Donald) Trump. While he would be the oldest US president ever elected, toughness has never been an issue for Mr Biden, a native of working-class Pennsylvania, who suggested last year that he would beat the hell out of President Donald Trump for his comments about women if the two were in high school. It is unclear, however, if Mr Bidens profile, politics and policies are in line with todays liberal base, a relatively small slice of the electorate that holds outsized sway in presidential primary elections. Expand Close Air Force One (Andrew Milligan/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Air Force One (Andrew Milligan/PA) Mr Biden would stand out as an old white man just months after Democratic voters sent the most diverse class to Congress in history. He would also be viewed as an establishment-minded moderate unwilling to wholly embrace litmus test issues like free universal health care, free college and the so-called Green New Deal. He is the biggest, best-known candidate in the race, said veteran Democratic strategist Gary Pearce. Personally, I have mixed feelings. Expand Close Joe Biden said he would beat the hell out of Donald Trump over his remarks about women (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Joe Biden said he would beat the hell out of Donald Trump over his remarks about women (Niall Carson/PA) For all the respect I have for him, I dont know if hes the right thing for the Democratic Party right now. Still, Trump allies have long considered Mr Biden among the most formidable possible general election opponents given his working-class appeal. Despite more than four decades in Washington, most of it as a Delaware senator, he has long played up his upbringing in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Mr Biden also has far more international experience than his would-be Democratic opponents and the president. At a global security conference in Germany this month, he told an international audience that a US leader stands up to the aggression of dictators. Yet he has struggled to develop a strong base of political support in two previous presidential runs. Opp Leaders on the same page as govt Leaders of all national political parties have emphatically condemned the Indian violation of the Line of Control, earlier on Tuesday. Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, on Tuesday, strongly condemned the Indian intrusion in Pakistani territory and called it a misguided response to an attack by homegrown, freedom fighters in Indian-held Kashmir, in a statement. He further maintained that Indias first airstrike on Pakistani soil since 1971 should be condemned by the international community for the outrageous and unprecedented aggression that it is. Pakistan is well within our right to retaliate, the statement continued. He claimed that the whole nation stood with our brave soldiers, who are always ready to respond to any scenario and risk their lives every day to keep us all safe. Atrocious that the extremist Hindutva government of the so-called largest democracy in the world would risk provoking a war between two nuclear-armed states, to feed war hysteria at home and help with Modis re-election campaign, Bilawal added The PPP Chairman further expressed pleasure because the opposition had summoned a joint session of the parliament, which was the appropriate forum for all decisions to be made. He, however, warned, While the whole nation will stand united with whatever decision is taken it is important for Pakistan to be cautious. Bilawal asserted that Pakistan does not want to play into Indian prime ministers hands and those advocating for peace in both Pakistan and India should join hands so that cooler heads may prevail. The innocent people of India and Pakistan will be the collateral damage to any misadventure, he added. While condemning the Indian airstrike in the strongest of terms, Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) President, Asif Ali Zardari, commented that India should not have any wrong ideas. Pakistan would not just condemn the incident but strike back at the appropriate time, he added in a statement issued from Islamabad on Tuesday. Zardari was confident that each and every Pakistani citizen was standing shoulder to shoulder with Pakistani armed forces and any Indian plans of misadventure should also consider that the Pakistani nation was both brave and united in the face of any aggression. He further maintained that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi should restrain from disturbing the peace of the region Pakistan is a peace loving country and wants peace in the region yet this policy of peace should not be regarded as a weakness, he concluded. Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar, on Tuesday, slammed India for violating Pakistans boundaries with the incursion of Indian planes in Muzaffarabad Sector. Appreciating PAF Eagles for their timely and befitting response to the Indian military planes, he said that the nation was standing with its brave armed forces. Every child of the country is ready to defend the motherland and nefarious Indian designs will be fully foiled by the nation. He further added that Indian aggression would be given a befitting reply and the enemy dare not cast an evil eye on this motherland. He called the Indian intrusion a violation of the international laws, and Indian aggressive designs, a threat to the who region. The Indian government is trying to divert the attention from internal problems through its xenophobia, the chief minister maintained. Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, on Tuesday, vehemently censured Modi-led Modi-led Indian government for using illegal tactics to perform well in the upcoming general polls Talking to media sources in Lahore, he said that the time had come to expose India in front of the whole world. India has been the worst enemy of Pakistan, he added. The vote now goes to the Republican-run Senate (PA) The US House of Representatives has voted to block President Donald Trumps emergency declaration, a measure intended get him billions of extra dollars to build his border wall. The Houses 245-182 vote to block Mr Trumps national emergency declaration fell well below the two-thirds majority that would be needed to override his promised veto. Top Republicans worked to keep defections as low as possible 13 backed the Democrats resolution underscoring their desire to avoid a tally suggesting that Mr Trumps hold on politicians was weakening. The vote now goes to the Republican-run Senate, where there were already enough defections to edge it to the cusp of passage. Vice President Mike Pence used a lunch with Republican senators at the Capitol to try keeping them aboard, citing a dangerous crisis at the border, but there were no signs he would succeed. Expand Close Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speak to reporters after a closed-door meeting with Vice President Mike Pence (J Scott Applewhite/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speak to reporters after a closed-door meeting with Vice President Mike Pence (J Scott Applewhite/AP) I personally couldnt handicap the outcome at this point, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is planning a vote within the next three weeks. He even said Republicans remained uncertain about the legality of Mr Trumps move, telling reporters, Were in the process of weighing that. Senate passage would force Mr Trumps first veto, which the House vote demonstrated that Congress would surely fail to overturn. But the showdown was forcing Republicans to cast uncomfortable votes pitting their support for a president wildly popular with Republican voters against fears that his expansive use of emergency powers would invite future Democratic presidents to do likewise for their own pet policies. There is a crisis at our border, but itas not an emergency when Congress doesnat spend money how the President wants. The Presidentas constitutional remedy is to veto spending bills that arenat suitable to him, yet he has chosen to sign many bills that did not fund the wall. Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) February 26, 2019 House Republicans who joined all voting Democrats to support the Democratic resolution included moderates from competitive districts such as Fred Upton of Michigan and libertarian-leaning conservatives such as Thomas Massie from Kentucky. The White House wrote to politicians formally threatening to veto the legislation. Expand Close President Donald Trump issued the emergency declaration last week to fund his long-sought wall along the US-Mexico border (AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp President Donald Trump issued the emergency declaration last week to fund his long-sought wall along the US-Mexico border (AP) The letter said blocking the emergency declaration would undermine the administrations ability to respond effectively to the ongoing crisis at the Southern Border. Republicans said Democrats were driven by politics and a desire to oppose Mr Trump at every turn, and said Mr Trump had clear authority to declare an emergency to protect the country. They also defended the presidents claims of a security crisis along the boundary with Mexico, which he has said is ravaged by drug smugglers, human traffickers and immigrants trying to sneak into the US illegally. We are at war on the Southern border with the drug cartels, said Representative Pete Olson. Democrats said the crisis is a fiction manufactured by Mr Trump to dance around Congress vote this month to provide less than 1.4 billion dollars (1bn) for barrier construction. That was well below the 5.7 billion dollars (4.3bn) Mr Trump demanded as he forced a record-setting 35-day federal shutdown. The president does not get to override Congress in a raucous temper tantrum over his inability to broker a deal with politicians for more money, said Representative Hank Johnson Representative Joaquin Castro, sponsor of the one-sentence measure blocking the declaration, called Mr Trumps move constitutional vandalism. Mr Trump used a 1976 law to declare a national emergency and ordered the shift of 3.6 billion dollars (2.7bn) from military construction projects to wall building. Citing other powers, he intends to shift another 3.1 billion dollars (2.3bn) from Defence Department anti-drug efforts and a fund that collects seized assets. The money would be used to build steel barriers up to 30 ft tall and other barriers and for law enforcement efforts, said a White House statement. Firefighters hose down a train that was damaged after a crash inside Ramsis train station in Cairo (Nariman El-Mofty/AP) A deadly train crash at Cairos main station which left 25 people dead was triggered by a brawl between two conductors. Prosecutor General Nabil Sadek said the conductor of the train that rammed into a station barrier Wednesday and caused a huge explosion and fire had left the vehicle without putting on its brakes. He said the driver left to fight with another conductor who had blocked his way with the train he was driving. The driver left the railcar without taking any measures to brake it, Sadek said in a statement. Health officials said at least 25 people were killed and dozens more injured in the crash and ensuing fire. Mohammed Said, the head of the Cairo Railway hospital, said there were concerns the death toll could rise further. Expand Close A firefighter stands amid rubble and blood-stained clothes (Nariman El-Mofty/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A firefighter stands amid rubble and blood-stained clothes (Nariman El-Mofty/AP) Photographs from the station showed charred bodies lying on the platforms at the Ramsis station in central Cairo as firefighters struggled to get the flames under control. Heavy black smoke rose into the sky as ambulances rushed to the scene. The Ramsis district is among the busiest and most crowded areas of the Egyptian capital. The state railway agency briefly halted all train traffic and ordered the evacuation of the station. Videos from surveillance cameras inside the station showed flames ravaging the station. Expand Close People gather outside Ramsis railway station (Nariman El-Mofty/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp People gather outside Ramsis railway station (Nariman El-Mofty/AP) A video that surfaced on social media showed men and women carrying bags and personal belonging and walking on the rail platforms as the train crashed and exploded. Another video showed men and women running, searching for exits after the explosion. A man runs back and forth, his shirt on fire, until another man rushes to pour water on him. Egypts prime minister Mustafa Madbouli said authorities must determine who caused the accident and hold that person accountable. He promised harsh punishment for the culprits. Egypts transport minister Hisham Arafat later resigned. Egypts railway system has a poor safety record, mostly blamed on decades of badly maintained equipment and poor management. Expand Close Policemen stand guard in front of a damaged train (Nariman El-Mofty/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Policemen stand guard in front of a damaged train (Nariman El-Mofty/AP) Official figures show that 1,793 train accidents took place in 2017 across the country. In March last year, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said the government lacks about 250 billion Egyptian pounds, or 10.7 billion, to overhaul the run-down railway system. Mr el-Sissi spoke a day after a passenger train collided with a cargo train, killing at least 12 people, including a child. And in August 2017, two passenger trains collided just outside the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, killing 43 people. In 2016, at least 51 people were killed when two commuter trains collided near Cairo. The US presidents former lawyer on Wednesday cast him as a racist and conman who used his inner circle to cover up damaging allegations about sex and lied about his business interests in Russia throughout the campaign that sent him to the White House. In a damning depiction of Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty last year to lying to Congress, testified that Mr Trump had advance knowledge and embraced the news that emails damaging to Hillary Clinton would be released. But he also said he has no direct evidence that the Trump presidential campaign colluded with Russia. Shaking off incessant criticism from Republicans anxious to paint him as a felon and liar, Cohen became the first Trump insider to pull back the curtain on his version of the inner workings of Mr Trumps political and business operations. He likened the president to a mobster who demands blind loyalty from underlings and expects them to lie on his behalf to conceal information and protect him even if it means breaking the law. I am not protecting Mr Trump any more, he declared. In one revelation, Cohen said that prosecutors in New York are investigating conversations Mr Trump or his advisers had with him after his hotel room was raided for documents by the FBI last April. He was asked by a Democratic congressman about the last contact he had had with Mr Trump or any agent representing the president. Expand Close US President Donald Trump passes wellwishers in Hanoi, Vietnam (Adam Schreck/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp US President Donald Trump passes wellwishers in Hanoi, Vietnam (Adam Schreck/AP) Cohen said that happened about two months after his hotel room was raided by the FBI. But he declined to provide more specific details on grounds that the matter was under current investigation by federal prosecutors. His appearance marked the latest step in Cohens evolution from legal fixer for the president he once boasted hed take a bullet for Mr Trump to a foe who has implicated him in federal campaign finance violations. The matter-of-fact testimony about hush money payments and furtive Russian meetings unfolded as Mr Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, offering stark TV counter-programming to the presidents official duties. At a Vietnam hotel and unable to ignore the drama thousands of miles away, Mr Trump lashed out on Twitter, saying Cohen did bad things unrelated to Trump and is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Cohen will soon report to prison for a three-year sentence. At the same time, he is seen as a vital witness for federal prosecutors because of his proximity to the president during key episodes under investigation. He is the first of six Trump aides charged in special counsel Robert Muellers Trump-Russia investigation to testify publicly about crimes committed during the 2016 campaign and in the months that followed. Cohen also gave his first-person account of how he arranged hush money payments to a porn actress and a Playboy model who said they had sex with the president. He testified that he was present for conversations in which Mr Trump denigrated black people as too stupid to vote for him. And he said he overheard Trump confidant Roger Stone telling the candidate that WikiLeaks would dump damaging information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Trump put Mr Stone on speakerphone as Mr Stone relayed that he had communicated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign, Cohen said. Damaging emails US officials say were hacked by Russia were later released by WikiLeaks. Mr Trump responded by saying wouldnt that be great, Cohen said. Mr Stone disputed that account on Wednesday, and Barry Pollack, a lawyer for Mr Assange, said Mr Stone and Mr Assange did not have the telephone call that Cohen described. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr Trump isMichael Cohen I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty, of the things I did for Mr Trump in an effort to protect and promote him, Cohen said. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr Trump is. Cohens claims that Mr Trump had advance knowledge of the emails contradict the presidents assertions that he was in the dark, but it is not clear how legally problematic that could be for Mr Trump. Mr Mueller has not suggested that mere awareness of WikiLeaks plans, as Mr Trump confidant Roger Stone is purported to have had, is by itself a crime. Cohen also suggested that Mr Trump implicitly told him to lie about a Moscow real estate project. Cohen has admitted lying about the project, which he says Mr Trump knew about as Cohen was negotiating with Russia during the 2016 campaign. Expand Close Michael Cohen is sworn in to testify on Capitol Hill (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Michael Cohen is sworn in to testify on Capitol Hill (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) Cohen said Mr Trump did not directly tell him to lie, but he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. Underscoring the deeply partisan nature of the proceedings, Republicans on the House Oversight and Reform Committee sought unsuccessfully to block the hearing as it got under way on grounds that Cohen had not provided his opening statement long enough in advance. Republicans repeatedly pointed out that Cohen had already pleaded guilty to lying to Congress and argued that the sole purpose of the hearing was to bring Mr Trump down. The most senior Catholic cleric ever convicted of child sex abuse is to face his first night in prison while he waits two weeks to learn his sentence for molesting two choirboys in a Melbourne cathedral two decades ago. Victorian state County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd revoked Cardinal George Pells bail at the end of a sentencing hearing. Mr Kidd said he would deliver his sentence on March 13. The 77-year-old Pell, who could face five decades in prison, showed no expression as he walked from the dock with a cane escorted by three court security officers and a prison guard. A jury unanimously convicted Pell in December of abusing the two 13-year-olds in 1996 weeks after becoming archbishop of Australias second-largest city. But Pell was not taken into custody immediately because he had surgery scheduled to have both knees replaced. Expand Close Cardinal George Pell at the County Court in Melbourne, Australia (Andy Brownbill/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Cardinal George Pell at the County Court in Melbourne, Australia (Andy Brownbill/AP) Pell faced an abusive crowd on Wednesday as he entered court half an hour before his sentencing hearing was scheduled. I hope you burn in hell! one man shouted while pushing against a cluster of police officers trying to shield the cardinal as he walked into the courthouse. The court had until Tuesday forbidden publication of any details about the trial because Pell had faced a second trial in April on charges that he indecently assaulted two boys aged nine or 10 and 11 or 12 as a young priest in the late 1970s. But prosecutor Fran Dalziel told the court on Tuesday that the charges had been dropped and asked for the suppression order to be lifted. The move came days after a judge ruled out two key prosecution witnesses. I can confirm that Cardinal George Pell is no longer the Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy Alessandro Gisotti (@AGisotti) February 26, 2019 Pope Francis removed Pell as a member of his informal Cabinet in October. He had remained prefect of the Vaticans economy ministry, but his five-year term expired this month, acting Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said. Mr Gisotti tweeted that Pell is no longer the Holy Sees economy chief. Pell faces a potential 50-year prison sentence for five convictions of sexual penetration and indecent acts involving the boys. The judge said Pell was guilty of a breach of trust with an element of brutality and had had a sense of impunity. I see this as callus, brazen offending blatant, Mr Kidd said. Pell had maintained his innocence throughout, describing the accusations as vile and disgusting conduct. His lawyers have appealed the convictions and were scheduled to appear in the Court of Appeal on Wednesday afternoon to apply for bail. But the bail application was later withdrawn. No date has been set for an appeal hearing. MPs will be given another chance to vote on the Governments negotiating strategy for Brexit on Wednesday night. The Commons will vote on a series of amendments to the Government motion ahead of another meaningful vote on Theresa Mays Withdrawal Agreement next month. It will be down to Speaker John Bercow which proposals are selected for a vote. Expand Close John Bercow (House of Commons/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp John Bercow (House of Commons/PA) Any successful amendments will not have the force of law but will carry heavy political weight as a signal to Downing Street and Brussels of what kind of Brexit MPs are likely to approve. Heres a look at the key amendments: Costa Tory backbencher Alberto Costa is demanding Mrs May seeks a treaty on citizens rights after Brexit. Home Secretary Sajid Javid has said the Government backs his amendment. 1/4 Canat begin to say how brilliant it is to see my amendment in black and white on the order paper today. Iam hugely grateful to those colleagues who have very kindly supported my amendment to ringfence rights for those EU citizens in the UK and those in UK citizens in the EU. pic.twitter.com/zrhwN9ljpw Alberto Costa MP #StayAlert (@AlbertoCostaMP) February 27, 2019 His amendment, which has the backing of more than 140 MPs from across the House, including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, calls for a separate agreement with the European Union to protect the rights of expats even if there is a no-deal Brexit. Cooper Labour former minister Yvette Cooper has tabled an amendment seeking to pin the Prime Minister down to the commitments she made to the Commons on Tuesday. Mrs May offered MPs a chance to vote to delay Brexit if her deal is rejected again next month, in a move which closely matched demands put forward in a plan by Ms Cooper and Tory Sir Oliver Letwin. We have tabled a cross party amendment to pin down PMs commitments from today & another to get a further day for Commons debate when amendments/options can be put. Weave also all still laid paving amendment for Bill just to ensure there is no backtracking from anyone in Cabinet Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) February 26, 2019 While Sir Oliver said there was now no need for the Cooper/Letwin Bill, Ms Cooper said she would lay a cross-party amendment to secure confirmation of the Prime Ministers commitment. Spelman/Dromey Conservative MP Dame Caroline Spelman and Labours Jack Dromey, who last month tabled a successful amendment opposing a no-deal Brexit, have tabled an amendment to pave the way for the Cooper/Letwin Bill to give MPs the opportunity to extend the two-year Article 50 negotiation process. Expand Close Jack Dromey and Caroline Spelman last month tabled a successful amendment opposing a no-deal Brexit (Stefan Rousseau/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jack Dromey and Caroline Spelman last month tabled a successful amendment opposing a no-deal Brexit (Stefan Rousseau/PA) The pair said they would seek assurances from ministers to secure confirmation of the Prime Ministers commitments during the debate on Wednesday. They said if they receive the assurances they will not push the amendment to a vote. Indicative votes A second amendment tabled by Dame Caroline and Mr Dromey would require MPs to be given an opportunity to vote on March 19 on a range of alternative Brexit outcomes. Labour Jeremy Corbyns amendment seeks support for his partys five Brexit demands. Expand Close Jeremy Corbyn (Aaron Chown/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jeremy Corbyn (Aaron Chown/PA) The party is calling for a permanent and comprehensive customs union with the EU; dynamic alignment on rights and protections; commitments on participation in EU agencies and funding programmes; unambiguous agreements on the detail of future security arrangements; and close alignment with the single market. Liberal Democrats have tagged their own amendment on to Mr Corbyns proposals, calling for an extension of Article 50 to provide time for a referendum. Independent Group MPs from The Independent Group (TIG), with support from the SNP, Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru, have tabled an amendment to pave the way for a second referendum. It would instruct the Prime Minister to table a motion for debate and a decision before March 8, setting out the steps to prepare for a public vote on whether to leave the EU on terms agreed by Parliament or remain a member. Our cross party @TheIndGroup amendment to the PMas Brexit motion which we have tabled and hope to put to a vote in the @HouseofCommons today - with numerous signatories from 4 different parties #ChangePolitics pic.twitter.com/i1sfFJvqAt ChukaUmunna (@ChukaUmunna) February 27, 2019 TIG member Chris Leslie said the amendment would require Mrs May to take the steps needed now so the public could take control and break through the Brexit gridlock. Liberal Democrats Backed by some Labour and Independent MPs, Sir Vince Cables party is calling on the Government to create a Brexit Support Fund of at least 7.5 billion to mitigate job losses caused by uncertainty over EU withdrawal, a no-deal Brexit or the PMs deal. SNP The SNPs amendment requires the PM to immediately rule out a no-deal Brexit under any and all circumstances and regardless of exit date. ai BREAKING: The SNP have tabled an amendment, with cross-party support, seeking to reject a no-deal Brexit in any circumstances. aA No-deal would disproportionately hit Scotland and would be the height of irresponsibility. Scotland will never accept it. pic.twitter.com/jq2N7APes8 The SNP (@theSNP) February 27, 2019 The partys Westminster leader Ian Blackford said Parliament must take control and force the UK Government to do the right thing by immediately ruling out a no-deal Brexit under any and all circumstances. Revoke Article 50 An amendment tabled by the SNPs Angus MacNeil and backed by Father of the House Kenneth Clarke calls on Parliament to bring forward legislation to require Theresa May to halt Brexit by revoking the Article 50 letter informing the European Council of the UKs intention to leave. Green Green MP Caroline Lucas has tabled an amendment, backed by MPs from several parties, calling for environmental protections to be prioritised in future relations with the EU. Plaid Cymru An amendment from the Welsh nationalist party calls on the Government to extend the period for Brexit negotiations to the end of 2021. Keep no deal on the table An amendment tabled by Tory backbencher John Baron seeks to make clear that an extension to Article 50 cannot take no deal off the table. Geraldine Finucane, the widow of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, arrives at the Supreme Court in central London. Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Geraldine Finucane, the widow of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, accompanied by her sons John (right) and Michael (left) speaks with reporters outside the Supreme Court in central London The family of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane has described as 'a victory' the Supreme Court ruling that the investigation into his death was not effective. Mr Finucane was killed in February 1989 by loyalists in an attack found to have involved collusion with the state. The family lost their challenge over the decision not to hold a public inquiry into his killing but won a declaration that an effective investigation into his death has not been carried out. Read More The 39-year-old was shot 14 times while enjoying Sunday lunch at home with his family. His widow Geraldine had claimed the Government unlawfully "reneged" on a promise to hold a public inquiry into the killing, which was one of the most notorious of the Troubles. Speaking after the ruling, Mrs Finucane said this was "a historic moment". "We have had to overcome obstacles the likes of which no other family has faced. And today we face the world with one simple message - We have won". Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Pat Finucane was shot dead in front of his family in February 1989 (PA) Press Association Images Pat Finucane was murdered by loyalist paramilitaries in 1989 Geraldine Finucane fought to overturn ex-PM David Cameron's decision / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pat Finucane was shot dead in front of his family in February 1989 (PA) The British Government now knows that it cannot conceal the truth any longer. They have now been told this by the highest court in the land. Geraldine Finucane She added: "The Supreme Court has given its judgment on the actions of the British Government. They have been found wanting. "They have been found in breach of the most fundamental obligation of all, to protect the right to life." Expand Close Funeral of lawyer Pat Finucane, murdered by loyalists. 1989. Pacemaker / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Funeral of lawyer Pat Finucane, murdered by loyalists. 1989. Pacemaker She added: It is time for the murder of Pat Finucane to be properly and publicly investigated in a public inquiry. Nothing less will suffice. Mr Finucanes son John said: Today is a very significant victory along the road of our campaign for truth and justice. His brother Michael added: This is no longer just a campaign of moral force. This is now a campaign that has the force of law. It is not an option for the Government to ignore our call for a public inquiry anymore. It should never have been an option, but it is one that they chose to push to its absolute limit. We have reached the limit. Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald also welcomed the ruling and called for a full public inquiry in the Dail today. Todays judgement is a watershed moment in the campaign for access to truth and justice about collusion," she said. This morning, the British Supreme Court has ruled that previous inquiries into Pats murder did not have the capability to establish salient facts into Pats death. As such, it has found that an inquiry, compliant with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, into Pats murder has not been held and that none of the previous inquiries has satisfied Article 2 obligations. The British government should now immediately fulfil its obligation to hold a public inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane. Former prime minister David Cameron had decided not to hold a public inquiry into the murder, but instead ordered an investigation by former UN war crimes prosecutor Sir Desmond de Silva QC. Sir Desmond found "shocking" levels of state collusion involving the Army, police and MI5 but ruled out an "overarching state conspiracy", prompting Mrs Finucane to describe it as a "whitewash". In February 2017, Mrs Finucane lost at the Court of Appeal in Belfast when three judges dismissed her case that Mr Cameron's decision to reject a public inquiry was unlawful. It is for the state to decide... what form of investigation, if indeed any is now feasible, is required in order to meet that requirement. Lord Kerr In London today, just over 30 years on from her husband's murder, the Supreme Court ruled that Mrs Finucane had been given "an unequivocal undertaking to hold a public inquiry into Mr Finucane's death", but that the "change of heart on the part of the government" was made in good faith. Giving the judgment of the court, Lord Kerr found that the decision not to hold a public inquiry into the murder was a matter for the Government's "political judgment". He also dismissed Mrs Finucane's contention that the decision was predetermined, stating: "There is simply no sustainable evidence that the process by which the decision was taken was a sham or that the outcome was predetermined." But the court also ruled that the de Silva review was not compliant with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which required the investigation to be provided with "the means where, if they can be, suspects are identified and, if possible, brought to account". Lord Kerr declared that there has not been an effective investigation into Mr Finucane's murder, but added: "It does not follow that a public inquiry of the type which (Mrs Finucane) seeks must be ordered." At a hearing in June, Barry Macdonald QC said Mr Finucane was a victim of "a policy of systemic extra-judicial execution that was as cynical and sinister as can be imagined". He told the Supreme Court that "loyalist terrorist organisations were infiltrated, resourced and manipulated in order to murder individuals identified by the army and the police as suitable for assassination". Mr Macdonald said this policy was "widened" to include lawyers such as Mr Finucane, who represented a number of high-profile republicans. He concluded: "The police, the army and the security service, MI5, are all implicated in a policy that entailed identifying lawyers with their clients and legitimising them as targets for assassination." He added: "In other words, state-sponsored terrorism." Andy Anderson, who played drums for The Cure, has died aged 68 after being diagnosed with cancer, according to his former bandmate. Best known for his short stint in the English rock band, Anderson went on to collaborate with artists including Peter Gabriel, Iggy Pop and Mike Oldfield. Anderson died before 6pm at home on Tuesday after being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, according to Lol Tolhurst, who played keyboards in the band. It's with a heavy heart, I have to report the passing of a Cure brother. Andy Anderson was A true gentleman and a great musician with a wicked sense of humor which he kept until the end, a testament to his beautiful spirit on the last journey. We are blessed to have known him. Lol Tolhurst (@LolTolhurst) February 26, 2019 On Twitter, Tolhurst described Anderson as a true gentleman and a great musician with a wicked sense of humour which he kept until the end. He added: It is a small measure of solace to learn that he went peacefully at his home. Anderson played on The Cures famous track, The Love Cats, which bucked the Robert Smith-fronted groups reputation for doom-laden sonics in favour of a jaunty beat. A post on Andersons Facebook page from earlier this month said there was no way of returning back from his cancer diagnosis. It said the disease was totally covering the inside of my body but urged fans to be cool, adding that Anderson was totally fine with the situation. Hi guys, I am and I have Terminal 4 Cancer, and their is no way of returning back from that, its totally covering the... Posted by Andy Anderson on Sunday, February 17, 2019 The message also confirmed he had asked to not be resuscitated. It read: Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy will be discussed over the next few days, hopefully Ill be able to get back to get to you in the next few days about the outcome, and please, No Boo, Hooing, here, just be positive. For me its just another life Experience and Hurdle, that one has to make yet another Choice in life, be cool, I most definitely am and positive about the situation. Anderson was born Clifford Leon Anderson in West Ham, east London. He joined The Cure in 1983, appearing on the albums Japanese Whispers, The Top, and Concert, as well as the singles The Love Cats and The Caterpillar. A slew of stabbings across two major cities has been described as a national emergency by West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson. Speaking after three teenagers died in knife attacks in two weeks in Birmingham, Mr Jamieson called on the Home Secretary to give his area a special policing grant to tackle the problem. Hazrat Umar, 17, was killed in Bordesley Green on Monday; Abdullah Muhammad, 16, died in Small Heath last week; and seven days earlier Sidali Mohamed, 16, was stabbed outside a college in Highgate. The attacks were among 269 knife crimes recorded so far this year in the West Midlands. There have been 17 homicides in London in 2019, six of which happened in nine days. On Tuesday alone, five people were stabbed, four of whom were attacked in less than eight hours and one who died. Patrols are being boosted across the capital, including by the Mets Violent Crime Taskforce and teams from the gang violence, roads, dogs and neighbourhood units. Expand Close West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson (Richard Vernalls/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson (Richard Vernalls/PA) Speaking to the media in the Dale End area of Birmingham on Wednesday, Mr Jamieson said: I would ask the Home Secretary now, to give a special grant here in the West Midlands to help the Chief Constable and his staff actually tackle what is a serious outbreak of violence weve seen here in Birmingham and other parts of the West Midlands. Many of the children who are getting involved in these crimes have been excluded from their school. This is a national emergency, and we must do something about that exclusion of children because those children are on almost an immediate path into crime and into violence. He continued: Certainly weve got a very high level of knife crime here, theres no escaping that and theyve got a real problem in parts of London. As part of emergency measures, officers in Birmingham are being given sweeping powers to stop and search suspects. For the first time ever, the Section 60 Order will cover the whole of Birmingham and will run until 3am on Thursday, police said. Expand Close Police operate a knife arch at a McDonalds in Birmingham city centre (Richard Vernalls/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Police operate a knife arch at a McDonalds in Birmingham city centre (Richard Vernalls/PA) Chief Constable David Thompson said: In my mind this has become a real emergency this week in terms of the work we need to do as the police. Resources are an issue but they should not get in the way of the police response to an emergency issue that this is. Mr Thompson continued: Im afraid on this story about the deaths of young men, we use the words tipping point too often so I have deliberately not used them today. I think weve been really clear that the force has reached a level, where in police officer numbers, it is smaller than it was in 1974. Mr Thompson told reporters the rate of knife crime was increasing across all major cities. Addressing the policing grant, a source close to the commissioner said: We are working with West Midlands Police to put forward a bid to the Home Office for a special grant bid, in a matter of weeks. In London, Commander Dave Musker urged the public to help stem the tide of attacks. He said: Every death or injury is a tragedy and will have a lasting impact on those who knew and were close to the victims. The public play a key role in helping to both prevent and detect crime in London. We are asking communities to support us and I strongly urge anyone who knows anything about these recent incidents, any violent crimes that have been committed or may be committed in the future, to give information however small or insignificant it may seem, it could help save lives. John Poyton from Redthread, an anti-knife crime charity that works in A&E departments, said all sectors of society have to take responsibility for stopping violence. It is always devastating to hear of someone losing their life to violence. Sadly, these deaths are just the tip of the iceberg emergency departments are seeing a steady increase in young people coming in having been caught up in youth violence. There is an urgent need to address the trauma some young people experience in their communities which perpetuates further violence. It is crucial that all sectors of society take responsibility to tackle violence as a health issue and ensure our communities are healthy, safe and happy for all young people. Comedian Patrick Kielty has said that a hard Brexit will lead to a united Ireland, and he claimed that a second referendum on EU membership "is the best way out of this mess". The TV star also likened Northern Ireland to Kevin in the Home Alone film - "only remembered at the baggage carousel after the plane had landed". Read More Writing in yesterday's Guardian, he said the only two options to resolve the border issue post-Brexit are custom checks on th e border or in the Irish Sea. The Dundrum funnyman, whose father Jack was shot dead by loyalist terrorists in 1988, added that either option would cause divisions. "There's only one thing you need to know - there are no workable alternative arrangements," he wrote. "If there were, you'd have heard of them by now. "If an alternative arrangement that worked actually existed (or was likely to exist in the next couple of years), Brexiteers would have already accepted the backstop, knowing they could easily replace it with their idea during the transition. "The fact that they won't bet on themselves tells you all you need to know about what they have in the locker. "If Brexit has proved anything, it's that many Tories don't give a stuff about the people of Northern Ireland, not even the unionists. "If they did, they wouldn't dream of a hard Brexit because it only guarantees one thing - a border poll." Kielty, who lives in Los Angeles with TV star wife Cat Deeley and their two children, said a border poll would be decided by nationalists and "pro-European unionists". He added that the "inevitable" economic downturn and "border circus" of a hard Brexit could swing floating voters and Northern Ireland out of the Union. "So, why would any member of the Conservative and Unionist party take that risk?" the comedian asked. "Because no matter what they say in public, they've never honestly believed Belfast is just like Finchley." Kielty said that there are three ways the Brexit negotiations could unfold. "On the one side is May's deal (complete with backstop)," he said. "On the other is the European Research Group (ERG) and a hard Brexit. "If the DUP buckles on the backstop, party members will walk away with their UK sovereignty between their legs. For those of us who have their early albums, this isn't going to happen. "Which leaves just one option. The DUP holds firm and jumps off the cliff with the ERG, knowing a hard Brexit is the only scenario that guarantees a hard border in Ireland, a border poll in Northern Ireland and the perfect economic storm where it could lose that vote. "By trying to be the most British person in the room, the DUP could actually end up the most Irish." He added that another referendum on EU membership is the only way to save peace and a continued shared future for people here. "It's wrong that Northern Ireland should take one for the team so that others can have their version of Brexit," he said. "It's now time to act, or Northern Ireland might decide the team is no longer worth playing for." A man who spat on a Catholic priest in a disgusting, cowardly and provocative act as an orange walk passed a church has been jailed for 10 months. Father Thomas White was targeted outside St Alphonsus Church in London Road, Glasgow, on July 7 last year, when he was speaking to parishioners. Bradley Wallace, 24, from Uddingston in South Lanarkshire, admitted assaulting Father White a charge aggravated by religious prejudice when he appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court last month. He was ordered to spend 10 months behind bars when he returned to the court for sentencing on Wednesday. The court was told that Wallace, who was intoxicated with alcohol that day, accepts that his behaviour was utterly reprehensible and quite frankly disgusting. The courts in Scotland still deal all too frequently with cases of sectarian abuse which serve to harden and perpetuate divisions in societySheriff Andrew Cubie Passing sentence, Sheriff Andrew Cubie said: This is about the courts reflecting disapproval of the depressingly still deep-seated and widespread social issue of sectarianism which generates at the very least tension and at worst both hatred and conflict, and which disfigures civilised society. The courts in Scotland still deal all too frequently with cases of sectarian abuse which serve to harden and perpetuate divisions in society. He also told the offender: In my view, this entire incident was not so much aggravated by as entirely motivated by, religious prejudice. The court heard how the assault happened amid a grotesque spectacle as the clergyman sought sanctuary in his own church to avoid the behaviour of a crowd outside, but he was unable to return to the building. Father White was in his clerical garb at the time, following a church service. Wallace was arrested days after the incident and the court heard that DNA tests confirmed his guilt. The attack on a respected member of the local community drew widespread condemnation, including from cross-party politicians, at the time. Sheriff Cubie told Wallace: You could have acted with restraint but rather, no doubt emboldened by (and thinking that you were under the cover of) this aggressive and threatening crowd, you took the decision to spit on the priest, an act which is disgusting, cowardly and provocative, which demonstrates contempt and hostility and is designed to humiliate and demean. The whole situation must have been, as you recognise, very frightening for the complainer and those around him. Sheriff Cubie said the social context in which the offence happened could not be overlooked. He told Wallace: You are at an age when you must realise that such behaviour serves to maintain the sectarian divide. How could any 24-year-old from Scotland not know that it is wrong to peddle sectarianism? It is no doubt partly because of the echo chamber effect of much social media, where your loyalties are displayed and perhaps your motivation identified. Defence lawyer John Coogan told the court on Wednesday: Bradley Wallace properly acknowledges that this offence is utterly reprehensible and, quite frankly, disgusting. He said the accused, who had consumed alcohol to excess that day, recognises the impact his actions have had on the priest and the wider public. Wallace has also been seeking a meeting in which he can apologise directly to Father White, the court was told. The sheriff said a custodial term was the only appropriate sentence in the case and the 10-month sentence he imposed was reduced from a possible 15-month term to take account of Wallaces early guilty plea. Sheriff Cubie told the court: Those tempted to act in a sectarian way must understand societys repugnance of and weariness of that kind of behaviour and must expect to be dealt with accordingly. OIC condemned India violation of LoC The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Tuesday condemned India's violation of the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan earlier in the day, urging both countries to exercise restraint. In the early hours of Tuesday, the Pakistan Army had revealed through a tweet that the "Indian Air Force violated Line of Control", following which "Pakistan Air Force immediately scrambled" and the Indian aircraft went back. "The General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation condemned this action against an OIC founding member state," the Organisation stated in one of a series of tweets. The Twitter statement went on to say that the OIC "condemned the Indian incursion and aerial violation and dropping of four bombs today, 26 February, 2019." It urged both sides to "exercise restraint and avoid any steps that could endanger peace and security in the region". The OIC also called upon India and Pakistan "to act responsibly and encouraged them to seek [a] peaceful solution to the current crisis without resort[ing] to use of force". It further called on them to "embrace dialogue and work towards de-escalation of [the] current situation as a matter of priority". The OIC statement comes hours after Pakistani politicians in a National Assembly session held in the aftermath of the Indian LoC violation severely criticised the OIC decision to invite Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj as a 'guest of honour' at an inaugural session of the OIC foreign ministers' conclave scheduled for next month in Abu Dhabi. PML-N stalwart Khwaja Asif suggested that Pakistan boycott the meeting. "It is an insult that our enemy is being invited as a guest of honour by a country friendly to us at a time when Kashmiris are facing bloodshed. It has not happened in the last 45 years," he asserted. Former NA speaker Ayaz Sadiq also called on the government to raise the issue with the OIC, saying the group had "no power to invite India without seeking the consent of member states". On Tuesday evening, Geo News quoted Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi as saying that he will boycott the OIC meeting in Abu Dhabi if the invitation to Swaraj is not withdrawn. Also on Tuesday, the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir expressed grave concern at the rising tensions in South Asia and strongly condemned the recent wave of repression, killing of innocent civilians, and frequent incidents of rape perpetrated by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir (IoK). The contact group had held an emergency meeting on Pakistan's request at the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah. The meeting was chaired on behalf of the secretary-general by Assistant Secretary-General Amb Hameed A Opeloyeru, and attended by Pakistan Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and Permanent Representatives of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Niger. Also in attendance at the meeting was the president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. In his opening remarks, the assistant secretary-general reiterated OIC's position on supporting the people of IoK in achieving their legitimate rights, including the right of self-determination. He emphasised that the conflict should be resolved in accordance with the aspirations of Kashmiris and OIC and United Nations resolutions. Foreign Secretary Janjua apprised the participants about the recent Indian threats to regional peace and security, continued Indian repression, and recent escalation in atrocities against innocent Kashmiris. She reaffirmed Pakistan's political, moral and diplomatic support to the people of IoK in their struggle to achieve the right to self-determination. She reminded the participants of Prime Minister Imran Khan's concrete offer for dialogue to India. AJK President Masood Khan also briefed the members on the "continued oppressive policies of Indian security forces in occupied Jammu and Kashmir that [have] alienated Kashmiris". The contact group, in response, appreciated the prime minister's offer for peace and dialogue to India to resolve all issues. The group also expressed deep concern over heightened tensions between Pakistan and India and called for an immediate de-escalation in the region. The members of the body reiterated their support to the people of IoK and called on India to "immediately stop repressive security operations against the people of Jammu and Kashmir and respect fundamental and basic human rights". The group asked India to address the dispute in accordance with the relevant OIC and UN Security Council resolutions, the wishes of the Kashmiri people, and the "principle of self-determination and human rights". It called on the OIC and the UN secretaries-general to use their offices to "put an end to the dangerous escalation by India" which it said was a threat to regional peace and security. It was underscored that priority should be given to peace and dialogue. Shamima Begum fled the UK to join IS (Laura Lean/PA) An image of teenage IS bride Shamima Begum has been used for a target at a childrens shooting range alongside others depicting Donald Trump and Justin Bieber. The target, designed by the Ultimate Airsoft Range in Wallasey, Wirral, received a record number of requests from customers, who would shoot at the target with BB guns. The company deleted a video posted on Twitter showing printed copies of the target accompanied by the hashtag no remorse, following a backlash from social media users. A UK shooting range is defending using images of Shamima Begum as target practice because of a arecord number of requestsa from its customers. It allows people ato have some light-hearted fun bringing out the inner child in alla theyave told @VictoriaLIVE. pic.twitter.com/fJgbKw5ST3 Catrin Nye (@CatrinNye) February 27, 2019 Photographs showing bullet holes around Begums face on the target also circulated online. The Ultimate Airsoft Range told the BBCs Victoria Derbyshire programme that the range was intended for people to learn the importance and safety of handling weapons, while having fun. Our targets provide some fantastic reactions and conversations bringing out the inner child in all, a spokesman said. The guns were available for use by children as young as six. The spokesman also said: The targets we provide do not necessarily always reflect our personal opinions, stating that Ultimate Airsoft Range LTD does not condone terrorism. After watching footage of Shamima Begum being interviewed and the lack of remorse and empathy she shows, we chose to go ahead and run the targets, he added. One user tweeted: An airsoft shooting range in the UK is using pictures of Shamima Begum as target practice. I am genuinely disgusted that this was even allowed to happen. Other target images include Margaret Thatcher, Jose Mourinho, Theresa May and Kim Jong Un. Angela Eagle, the MP for Wallasey, disagreed with the idea of real faces being used as targets saying it could be misinterpreted. They shouldnt be using living people as targets especially as six-year-olds might be playing, she added. The establishment offers the airsoft rifles and pistols to shoot at the image alongside other targets, with packages starting at 7. Airsoft guns, more commonly known as BB guns, enable replica weapons to fire 6mm plastic BB bullets. Begum, who left her east London home to join IS in Syria in 2015, wants to return to the UK for the sake of her newborn third child, but has been stripped of her British citizenship. Ultimate Airsoft Range did not respond when asked to comment by the Press Association. Two-thirds of hate crime recorded by Police Scotland in 2013 was race related (Danny Lawson/PA) Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has vowed to avoid a culture of acceptance on hate crime as a new report showed nearly half of recorded offences took place in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Around a fifth of Scotlands population lives in these cities (21%) but they accounted for 48% of all hate crimes, Police Scotland recorded in 2017/18. Glasgow had the highest rate of hate crimes in that period at 30 crimes per 10,000, followed by Edinburgh at 26, compared to a Scottish average of 12. The Scottish Government report suggested this could relate to a relatively higher level of ethnic diversity, with other factors suggested including greater nightlife, the amount of daily workers, visitors and tourists and the number of demonstrations and large events. The Northern and Western Isles had the lowest rates at under 0.5 hate crimes per 10,000 population. Hate Crime may not always be apparent to victims. If something does not feel right and you think it might be a hate crime a report it! Visit our website for more info ai https://t.co/9DL29PtKQ7 pic.twitter.com/dPUPA9yMmh Police Scotland (@policescotland) February 26, 2019 A total of 6,736 crimes were recorded on Police Scotlands hate crime database in 2017/18, the report states. The vast majority 67% were racist, while the second most common target was sexual orientation. A further 7% were based on religion, with 4% victimising those with disabilities and 1% targeting transgender people. These proportions remained relatively consistent between 2014-15 and 2017-18. More than half of all hate crimes the force recorded in 2017/18 were for threatening or abusive behaviour at 45%, with racially aggravated conduct accounting for just under a quarter (23%). A total of 13% of hate crimes were for common assault, 5% were offences relating to the 2003 Communications Act such as such as sending indecent or menacing text messages, and 2% were for serious violence or sexual crimes. Since 2014-15, the number of hate crimes recorded by the police in Scotland has fluctuated between 6,600 and 7,000. Expand Close Humza Yousaf said hate crimes will not be tolerated in Scotland (Andrew Cowan/Scottish Parliament/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Humza Yousaf said hate crimes will not be tolerated in Scotland (Andrew Cowan/Scottish Parliament/PA) Mr Yousaf, said: We are committed to tackling all forms of bigotry, prejudice and discrimination in Scotland and I welcome the new information in this report. This shows that around two-thirds of hate crimes are race-related, underlining the importance of our on-going efforts to tackle racism wherever it occurs. While the overall volume of hate crime dealt with by the police has remained stable, we also know that many incidents go unreported and we are determined to avoid a culture of acceptance. We all have a role to play in stamping out all forms of prejudice and ensuring Scotland is the inclusive and forward-thinking society that we want to be. Our message to perpetrators is clear this kind of hatred will not be tolerated in Scotland. We will continue to support Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority as they work to develop more detailed information on hate crime. Police are appealing for information about the collision (Joe Giddens/PA) A cyclist has been seriously injured in a collision involving a car near a former hospital. The incident happened at around 5.20pm on Wednesday on the access road to Bangour Hospital in West Lothian. Police said the vehicle involved was a Mercedes C220 car and they have appealed for information about the incident. Sergeant Brian Smith said: We are continuing to investigate the full circumstances surrounding this collision and are keen to hear from members of the public with relevant information. Likewise if any motorists who were in the area at the time believe they may have dash-cam footage of the incident, then please also contact police immediately. Those with information can contact Police Scotland via 101 and quote incident number 2915 of February 27. Some local roads were closed while emergency services dealt with the incident. Manufacturing giant Ineos is to invest 1 billion in the UK in projects it says will keep its British operations world-class for a generation. The biggest investment of 500 million is in the Forties Pipeline System (FPS), which will transform the asset and extend the life of the pipeline by at least 20 years, into the 2040s. Ineos said it intends to overhaul the reliability of the 310-mile (500km) North Sea pipeline system, including modernising the environmental systems. Through significant #investment, INEOS is: > Extending the life of @INEOS_FPS by 20+ years, > Making @INEOS_GM more reliable and energy efficient, > Bringing production of an important raw material back to the UK, doubling our Hull workforce in the process. #jobs #r4Today INEOS (@INEOS) February 27, 2019 Opened in 1975, FPS is a strategic UK asset that can transport up to 600,000 barrels of North Sea oil onshore for refining every day. The pipeline transports 40% of the UKs oil and gas to the mainland. Ineos is investing 350 million at its Grangemouth site in Scotland to develop a new steam and power plant, delivering significantly improved energy efficiency and long-term reliability. Ineos will also invest 150 million in a new plant in Hull. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, founder and chairman of Ineos, said: Ineos is a supporter of British manufacturing and this 1 billion investment underlines our confidence in our business in the UK. These investments will ensure that our UK assets continue to be world-class for many years to come. Expand Close Ineos chairman and chief executive Sir Jim Ratcliffe (Ineos/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ineos chairman and chief executive Sir Jim Ratcliffe (Ineos/PA) Andrew Gardner, chief executive of Ineos FPS, said: North Sea oil and gas producers are telling us that they want to be in the North Sea well into the 2040s, so we are making this commitment to be there with them. Following acquisition of FPS in 2017, we are now embarking on a period of investment that will guarantee that the system can support them for decades to come. Commenting on the Grangemouth investment, Tobias Hannemann, of Ineos, said: This investment forms part of our wider plans to secure a bright future for manufacturing at Grangemouth and will continue its renaissance as a world-class petrochemicals site while supporting the refinery, FPS and wider UK economy. Chemicals giant @INEOS to build new A150m plant at Saltend Chemicals Park on eastern edge of #Hull. Excellent news for the Humber region and UK manufacturing. https://t.co/8dmMNcFozn #INEOS #ukmfg John Meehan (@MeehanMedia) February 27, 2019 A new Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) plant will be built in Hull, which Ineos said will bring production of an important raw material back to the UK. VAM is a key component in a wide range of products including laminated windscreens, toughened glass, adhesives, coatings, films, textiles and carbon fibre. Graham Beesley, chief executive of Ineos Oxide, said: This is an exciting time for Ineos and great news for manufacturing in the region. We are proud to be bringing production of this important material back to the UK. This will not only strengthen UK manufacturing but boost exports from the UK to Europe and the rest of the world. Around 300 jobs will be created building the new plant in Hull and it will employ around 30 people when it is operational. Ineos asked the Government for financial support towards the project but has not received anything. Group director Tom Crotty told the Press Association: We are still in debate. Ineos closed its operation in Hull a decade ago because it was uncompetitive but Mr Crotty said the market for its products was much healthier. The new plant will be built on the same site and products will mainly be exported. The investment at Grangemouth will mainly be spent replacing a 40-year-old power station. Friends of the Earth Scotland director Richard Dixon said: The last thing the climate needs is yet more fossil fuels. Instead of prolonging our dependence on oil and fuelling our ocean of plastic waste, Ineos should be helping transform Grangemouth into a centre of zero-carbon industry. With concern about climate change at an all-time high, new emissions targets being agreed, petrol and diesel cars being phased out and a crackdown on using plastic, Ineos are investing in the technology of the past instead of the future. Dozens of firefighters are tackling a large gorse fire on Arthurs Seat in Edinburgh. Around 800 square metres of gorse is ablaze on the Salisbury Crags, with the flames visible across the city. Two fire engines initially went to the scene after the alarm was raised at around 6.30pm on Tuesday. They were later joined by another two along with an all-terrain vehicle from Dunblane. Expand Close Dozens of firefighters were sent to the blaze (Jane Barlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Dozens of firefighters were sent to the blaze (Jane Barlow/PA) Dozens of bystanders went to watch as firefighters tackled the blaze. Police said Queens Drive was closed between Dynamic Earth and the Commonwealth Pool while emergency services dealt with the incident. Many people took to social media to share images of the fire. Expand Close The flames were visible from across the city (Andy Holbrook/Twitter/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The flames were visible from across the city (Andy Holbrook/Twitter/PA) The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said they had received 197 calls about the fire by 8.30pm. There were no reports of any injuries. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has urged businesses to do all they can to prepare for a no-deal Brexit (Liam McBurney/PA Wire) The Irish government has urged businesses to step up their contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said there would be a certain level of disruption caused by the UKs exit from the EU but that the government was doing all it could to minimise it. Mr Varadkar said: I urge businesses to step up their contingency planning for a no-deal Brexit and to utilise the supports available. Brexit of any kind means change for the worse and no country can be fully prepared for no deal. It is uncharted territoryLeo Varadkar Brexit of any kind means change for the worse and no country can be fully prepared for no deal. It is uncharted territory. Mr Varadkar made the comments on the second day of debate in the Irish parliament on the governments no-deal Brexit emergency plans. The debate got under way in the Dail on Tuesday following the publication of the proposed legislation on Friday. The Omnibus Bill, which will be fast-tracked through the Oireachtas, features a wide range of worst-case contingency laws that will be enacted if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. It is designed to support businesses and jobs affected by a no deal and secure ongoing access to essential services and products across the Irish border. Mr Varadkar told the Dail that it was essential that the Bill passes through all stages of the Dail and Seanad in a timely fashion to ensure it is ready to be used on March 29 if needed. The leader of the main opposition party said nobody could seriously claim that businesses would be fully prepared by March 29, despite the many contingency plans that are under way. Fianna Fails Micheal Martin said: The government has not answered the simple question of what will happen at the border on March 29 if there is no deal. It is just not credible for the government to claim it has not studied what might happen or not happen at the border on March 29Micheal Martin, Fianna Fail leader We have been told repeatedly what is not being contemplated or not being planned but equally we have been told that a hard Brexit, and a no deal is the hardest of all Brexits, will cause serious disruption. Mr Martin claimed the Taoiseach, foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney and transport minister Shane Ross had all made entirely contradictory statements. According to the Taoiseach, the army may be sent to the border. According to Minister Ross, there may be security checks, he said. But according to the Tanaiste (Mr Coveney), there are no such actions likely or being considered. Mr Martin told the Dail that clarity was needed on the matter. It is just not credible for the government to claim it has not studied what might happen or not happen at the border on March 29, he said. Mr Martin said that despite the Bill being debated too close to the March deadline, it must be passed. The 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 focus on protecting Irish citizens rights, supporting businesses and jobs, healthcare, transport, education and energy. Alan Hawe with his wife Clodagh and their children Liam (13) Niall (11) and Ryan (6) who were killed by the former school principal at the family home in Co Cavan before he took his own life in September 2016 The mother of two young boys who were murdered by their father in the Republic has said calling Alan Hawe "insane" for killing his own family is a "dangerous thing to do" as it almost excuses his actions. Kathleen Chada said there is often a rush to use "mental health" as a reason for such murders. Ms Chada's two sons - Eoghan (10) and Ruairi - were murdered by their father Sanjeev Chada in July 2013. Sanjeev was subsequently found guilty of their murder and jailed for life. Read More Ms Chada said there are some similarities between the murders of her sons, and the murders of Alan Hawe's wife Clodagh (39), and her three sons Liam (13), Niall (11) and six-year-old Ryan. Hawe murdered his family at their home in Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan, in August 2016. . He then wrote letters to family members and transferred money from the family's joint account to his own current account, before he took his own life. "Quite similar to Sanjeev, people say, 'He must have been insane'. Well he wasn't. He didn't fit the criteria. He was just an evil man. Because Alan Hawe is dead, there's the sense of being able to rewrite that narrative," Ms Chada said. "I think it does a disservice to the family, to Clodagh and the boys and a disservice to other families out there and other potential victims. "Not everybody struggling with depression or mental illness is going to kill their children. "I spent the first number of months (after the murder of her sons) going, 'Would it be easier for me to say my husband was insane rather than my husband is an evil b****** and killed my children?' "Of course it would be easier if he was insane, because it puts a diagnosis on something and we're always looking for a diagnosis, a label. "But sometimes people are just evil. That's the only word and that's the only word we can use for people like Sanjeev or Alan Hawe and the meticulous level of planning they both put into trying to put the blame on others - Sanjeev saying, 'Mammy's getting rid of me' (to her sons) and Alan Hawe saying he 'didn't want Clodagh to clean up after his mess'." "We all want things to be easy and to try and explain something, but you're trying to explain the inexplicable. "There will be more cases unfortunately, so we have to learn from them and what has happened. "There's been a lot of saying we need to learn, but not enough being done," Ms Chada said. Ms Chada said she fully supports the family of Clodagh Hawe - her mother Mary Coll and sister Jacqueline Connolly - in their calls for a new enquiry into their murders. The two women told RTE's Claire Byrne Live on Monday night that they have unanswered questions following the tragedy, and have been refused access to the Garda file and relevant investigations. Yesterday in the Dail, the Irish government was urged to ensure Clodagh's family get access to basic information relating to the investigation. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said the tragic murders of Clodagh, Liam, Niall and Ryan "stretches our human capacity to understand". The family also want all information shared with families who lose loved ones to familicide as soon as is practical, after they had to wait 16 months for a copy of a letter that was left by Alan Hawes. Mr Martin told the Dail: "The family wants basic answers. It believes a full book of evidence should be published. There is no compelling reason why basic information could not have been given to Clodagh's family much earlier." The Taoiseach said what happened "must be beyond anyone's worst nightmares and it was truly a terrible crime" but noted that there were concerns about privileged information given to gardai during an investigation. Central Bank of Ireland estimated that in a no-deal scenario, economic growth was likely to be 3.2% lower than forecast (Isabel Infantes/PA) More than 50,000 Irish jobs could be at risk in a disorderly Brexit, a parliamentary committee has heard. The Central Bank of Ireland estimated that in a no-deal scenario, economic growth was likely to be 3.2% lower than forecast and that it would result in 50,000 fewer jobs. Central Bank economics and statistics director Mark Cassidy said a disorderly Brexit would result in significant additional costs for the Irish economy, which would have immediately damaging consequences for trade. It is clear that a no-deal scenario would have very severe and immediate disruptive effects, which would permeate almost all areas of economic activity, he said. Dr Cassidy appeared before an Irish parliamentary committee on Wednesday to discuss the potential impact of a disorderly Brexit on the countrys economy. Opening statement by Director of Economics and Statistics Mark Cassidy at the Select Committee on Budgetary Oversight https://t.co/ZHsStvlR9V pic.twitter.com/mfHQEiMND5 Central Bank of Ireland (@centralbank_ie) February 27, 2019 He told members of the Budgetary Oversight committee that there would still be some positive growth in output this year and next year, even if a deal cannot be reached between the UK and the EU, but he said it would be lower than forecast at about 1%. In the event of an agreement being reached between the UK and the EU which resulted in free trade between the economies, Dr Cassidy told the committee: The long-term impact on output would be 1.7% lower than under a scenario where Brexit had not taken place and employment would be 19,000 persons fewer than under a no-Brexit scenario. But in the event of a no-deal scenario the impact on output over the longer term is that output would be 3.2% lower than under a no-Brexit scenario and about 50,000 fewer jobs. Asked by Independent TD Tommy Broughan whether the Central Bank was being too sanguine about its scenarios, Dr Cassidy said that there was inherent uncertainty over the UKs withdrawal from the EU. Were projecting that economic growth over the two years combined, rather than being something above 8%, would instead be something close to 2% so six percentage points [or] three-quarters of the growth taken off the economy in the first two years, which is a major impact, he said. I would certainly hope that were not underplaying the extent of the estimate. Dr Cassidy said the Central Banks estimates were more adverse than those projected by the Department of Finance for first year post-Brexit. In many respects the economy is just not preparedMark Cassidy, Central Bank He added that the UKs withdrawal would be a shock that would permeate almost all areas of economic activity and that border regions and farming, agriculture and food producing sectors were most at risk of being disproportionately affected. In many respects the economy is just not prepared, he said. But he added that over time it was expected that the negative effects of Brexit on many sectors would eventually level off. Much of the economy will begin to cover, hopefully finding new export markets. There will be some positive reaction over time but that is not to downplay the overall seriousness of these effects, he said. India-Pakistan to avoid further escalation at any cost: Michael Pompeo US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has urged India and Pakistan to avoid further escalation "at any cost" and to "prioritise direct communication". In a statement issued by his office in Washington following India's Line of Control (LoC) violation, Secretary Pompeo said that he spoke with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj hours after Indian fighter jets intruded from the Muzaffarabad sector and scrambled back after dropping bombs. While civilian and military leaders in Pakistan termed the LoC breach "an act of aggression by India", Pompeo called it "counter-terrorism actions". Following Indian counter-terrorism actions on February 26, I spoke with Indian Minister of External Affairs Swaraj to emphasise our close security partnership and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region, he said in his statement. I also spoke to Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi to underscore the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action, and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil," he said of his conversation with the minister. According to the Foreign Office (FO), Qureshi had told Pompeo that Indian aggression was worthy of condemnation and hoped that the United States would play its role in the situation. He had also told Pompeo that the joint peace efforts in Afghanistan could be affected by India's aggression. I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost, he said. I also encouraged both ministers to prioritise direct communication and avoid further military activity. As diplomatic observers in Washington pointed out, asking Pakistan to avoid further military activity deprives Islamabad of the right to respond to an unprovoked attack while creates space for India to escape the repercussions of its action. Diplomatic sources in Washington said that Foreign Minister Qureshi told Secretary Pompeo Pakistan could not ignore the sentiments of its people on the Indian aggression when he asked him to show restraint. The Duchess of Cambridge takes part in a canoe lesson during a visit to Roscor Youth Village, Co Fermanagh (Niall Carson/PA) The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge tested out their sporting abilities at a youth facility in Co Fermanagh as part of their two-day visit to Northern Ireland. William and Kate joined in with children as they took part in a range of activities including archery, canoeing and an assault course. The action-packed afternoon at Roscor Youth Village kicked off with the duchess being given a demonstration on how to assemble cooking utensils used for camping, before she helped put up a tent. The Youth Village, which sits on the shores of Lough Erne, caters for young children from across the island of Ireland. Expand Close William took up position in the back of his boat for the race, which his team won (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp William took up position in the back of his boat for the race, which his team won (Niall Carson/PA) It offers a place of safety and hope for thousands of young people who face challenges at home or in care. The duke spoke to the children about what they love most about the facility. They described to him their favourite activities and how they have made life-long friends at the Youth Village. The couple were greeted to the facility by a range of people including Roland Eadie, deputy lieutenant of County Fermanagh; chairman of Fermanagh and Omagh Council Howard Thornton; Charlie Mack, the chief executive of the charity Extern; and Mark Rodgers from Roscor Youth Village. Expand Close Kate helped the children put up a tent at Roscor Youth Village (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kate helped the children put up a tent at Roscor Youth Village (Niall Carson/PA) As part of the tour of the facilities, Kate tried her hand at archery. The duchess missed her first shot but after getting some tips from the children, she hit the target on her second attempt. Meanwhile, Williams balance was tested as he walked across a low-ropes assault course. Some of the children urged him on until he made it to the end and celebrated with a cheer. Kate and William then went head-to-head in a canoeing race on Lough Erne. Expand Close William attempted an obstacle course, cheered on by children (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp William attempted an obstacle course, cheered on by children (Niall Carson/PA) They were part of two teams which raced each other in Canadian canoes. Williams team was crowned the winner after reaching the marker a few seconds ahead of Kates team. The duchess congratulated her opposing team before returning to dry land. The children at Roscor are given the opportunity to enjoy more than 50 water and land-based activities in a setting which offers life-changing psychological and social care interventions by the charitys staff. Expand Close The duchess was on target at the second attempt (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The duchess was on target at the second attempt (Niall Carson/PA) The duke met a number of young people who have previously been supported by the Extern charity and are still in touch with Roscor. The royal couple heard how the facility helps support the children to build much-needed resilience and self-confidence around issues in their lives. Before the couple left the youth facility, they were presented with a bowl that was painted by some of the children. They also signed their names on two tiles that will be placed on a wall outside the building. Expand Close The royal visitors signed two tiles which will be placed on a wall at the youth facility (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The royal visitors signed two tiles which will be placed on a wall at the youth facility (Niall Carson/PA) The couple posed with all the children and a number of staff from Roscor Youth Village for a photograph before leaving to the sounds of everyone cheering. Mr Mack said: We are tremendously honoured to have the duke and duchess visit Extern to learn more about the life-changing work which goes on at our Roscor Youth Village. Childhood should be a safe, happy and precious time but unfortunately, when things go wrong at home, it is often the children who feel the brunt. Extern applauds the work the royal highnesses are undertaking to raise awareness about the many challenges which children face today. Irish premier Leo Varadkar has urged the Britsh Government to honour its commitment to hold a public inquiry into the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane. Mr Finucane was shot dead in front of his family in February 1989 by loyalists in an attack judged by an official report to have involved collusion with the UK state. The Supreme Court in London ruled on Wednesday that there had been no effective investigation into Mr Finucanes murder and previous inquiries had not complied with the Finucane familys human rights. Judgment has been handed down this morning in the case of In the matter of an application by Geraldine Finucane for Judicial Review a UKSC 2017/0058 https://t.co/9CUvTVfOAP UK Supreme Court (@UKSupremeCourt) February 27, 2019 Following the judgment, Mr Varadkar said holding a full inquiry into the killing one of the most notorious of the Troubles is the right thing to do, and the honourable thing to do. He added that he would certainly be raising it in my meetings with Prime Minister Theresa May. During Leaders Questions on Wednesday, the Taoiseach was asked by Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald whether he would press the UK Government to uphold one of the many broken commitments of the peace process. Mr Varadkar responded: The position of the Irish Government is that the British Government should now honour its commitment to now carry out a public inquiry, in accordance with the Inquiries Act, into the murder of Pat Finucane. I will be pressing my counterpart Theresa May to honour the commitment made by her forebear. In the light of the judgment in the UK Supreme Court and the British Governmentas political commitments made in 2001, a Public Inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane must be established Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) February 27, 2019 An official statement from the Taoiseachs office said an independent public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane should be established, in line with the political commitments made by the British and Irish governments at Weston Park in 2001. Mrs Mays official spokesman said after the ruling: We recognise the suffering of Mrs Finucane caused by the appalling murder of her husband. In 2012, the then prime minister apologised for the collusion which took place and which should never have happened. In relation to the Supreme Court, we are considering that judgment. We will consider it in detail before determining our next steps. The spokesman added that the judgment makes it clear that it is for the state to decide what form of investigation, if indeed any is now feasible, is required in order to meet the investigative requirements. Ms McDonald called the judgment a watershed moment in the campaign for truth and justice. Finucane judgement a watershed moment in campaign for access to truth and justice - @MaryLouMcDonald https://t.co/N55d6uy3SV pic.twitter.com/I1E7yW3bdT Sinn FAin (@sinnfeinireland) February 27, 2019 The withholding of information on the part of the British Government and the disregard shown to victims in the courts is a feature of many other cases also this must stop, she said. At Weston Park in 2001, the British Government agreed to a public inquiry into Pats murder. That has not yet happened. The British Government should now immediately fulfil its obligation to hold a public inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane. In its judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that Mrs Finucane had been given an unequivocal undertaking that there would be a public inquiry into her husbands murder, but also found that the UK Government was justified in later deciding against holding one. Speaking outside the court, Mrs Finucane said: This is a historic moment. I stand before you today outside the United Kingdom Supreme Court with one simple message: we won. The British Government now knows that it cannot conceal the truth any longer. They have now been told this by the highest court in the land. It is time for the murder of Pat Finucane to be properly and publicly investigated in a public inquiry. Nothing less will suffice. Left to right, Piaras, Michael, Katherine, Geraldine and John Finucane outside the Supreme Court in London in June (Kirsty OConnor/PA) The UKs highest court is set to rule on a legal challenge brought by the family of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane. Mr Finucane was killed in February 1989 by loyalists in an attack found to have involved collusion with the state. The 39-year-old was shot 14 times while enjoying Sunday lunch at home with his family. His widow Geraldine claims the Government unlawfully reneged on a promise to hold a public inquiry into the killing, which was one of the most notorious of the Troubles. Former prime minister David Cameron decided not to hold a public inquiry into the murder, but instead ordered an investigation by former UN war crimes prosecutor Sir Desmond de Silva QC. Sir Desmond found shocking levels of state collusion involving the Army, police and MI5 but ruled out an overarching state conspiracy, prompting Mrs Finucane to describe it as a whitewash. In February 2017, Mrs Finucane lost at the Court of Appeal in Belfast when three judges dismissed her case that Mr Camerons decision to reject a public inquiry was unlawful. On Wednesday morning, just over 30 years on from her husbands murder, the Supreme Court in London will rule on the latest round of Mrs Finucanes long legal battle. At a hearing in June, Barry Macdonald QC said Mr Finucane was a victim of a policy of systemic extra-judicial execution that was as cynical and sinister as can be imagined. He told a panel of five justices, including the courts president Lady Hale, that loyalist terrorist organisations were infiltrated, resourced and manipulated in order to murder individuals identified by the Army and the police as suitable for assassination. Mr Macdonald added: In other words, state-sponsored terrorism. He said this policy was widened to include lawyers such as Mr Finucane, who represented a number of high-profile republicans. Mr Macdonald concluded: The police, the Army and the security service MI5 are all implicated in a policy that entailed identifying lawyers with their clients and legitimising them as targets for assassination. Sir James Eadie QC, representing the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, told the Supreme Court that the lower courts which considered the case had correctly concluded that the decision-making process relating to the public inquiry was a thorough, genuine and lawful one. At an event in Belfast to mark the 30th anniversary of Mr Finucanes murder earlier this month, his son John said his father had been killed to silence other human rights lawyers. He said: It was a deliberate decision to kill him, to silence other lawyers and prevent them from doing that type of work. What we see now is a generation coming through with lawyers, people wanting their human rights. I think that is very much a legacy of Pat Finucane and what he stands for and represents. That gives me enormous pride. While they did silence him, they could not have made a bigger mess of it if they tried. The name reverberates around the world and an enormous amount of credit for that is due to my mother. Criminal proceedings have been commenced against loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson as part of an investigation into the supply of door staff, the High Court heard today. Regulatory body the Security Industry Authority (SIA) is prosecuting the 29-year-old for stating a company in which he is a director has never traded. Mr Bryson, who is set to represent himself in the case, insisted he has not been charged with operating or supplying any unlicensed door staff. Details of the summons emerged during his challenge to the legality of warrants obtained from a lay magistrate to search residential and business premises in Co Down last August. The commentator, who denies any wrongdoing, was arrested but released without charge at the time. PSNI officers obtained and executed the warrants on behalf of the SIA for its inquiries into any suspected illegal supply of staff within the private security industry. Documents, laptops and an iPad were reportedly seized in the raids. Mr Bryson has issued judicial review proceedings in a bid to have the search warrants declared unlawful. His lawyers claim officers had no power to take journalistic and other legally privileged material during the operation. A County Court judge, rather than a lay magistrate, must give the go-ahead to seize such documents, they contend. A previous hearing was told the SIA wrote to Mr Bryson last summer requesting information about JJ Security Services Ltd, a company where he was a named director. It formed part of an investigation into door staff operating in the north Down area. In his reply Mr Bryson stressed JJ Security Services Ltd has never traded and does not hold any relevant information. As the case resumed today queries were raised over a 450 invoice for "SIA licensed event supervisors" at a bonfire festival in Bangor in 2017. According to the document, from JJ Security Services, five men were supplied for six hours at a rate of 15 per hour each. Counsel for Mr Bryson, Ronan Lavery QC, told the court JJ Security Services is not the same as the limited company associated with his client. "They are different entities," he said. Mr Bryson only provided administrative services for the sole trader who ran JJ Security Services, the court heard. Tony McGleenan QC, representing the SIA, claimed Mr Bryson had "conflated" the two companies in a reply to queries raised. The barrister contended that the invoice for services provided at the bonfire event raised a fundamental issue about the application for the warrant. It was then revealed that a summons has now been issued for Mr Bryson to attend Newtownards Magistrates Court next month. "Criminal proceedings have been initiated against the applicant," Mr McGleenan said. Adjourning the judicial review application, Mr Justice McCloskey requested amendments to the grounds of challenge. Outside court, Mr Bryson confirmed he will be representing himself in the criminal case and seeking to have the summons quashed for a lack of evidence. He also emphasised: "This is a private prosecution being initiated by the SIA, and not by either the Public Prosecution Service or the PSNI. "There has been no prosecution brought,private or otherwise, in relation to either operating or supplying door staff." Mr Bryson said that he provides administrative services to a sole trader linked to the private security industry. He added: "There's a distinction between this entity and a limited company - that was the core of the dispute in court today." With no Stormont Executive in place, it is now up to Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley (pictured) to pass new legislation in Westminster by the end of March, or payments will cease for most boiler owners A group representing business owners in Northern Ireland has vowed to take further legal action over "oppressive" new proposals for the controversial Renewable Heat Incentive. After a public consultation, the Department for the Economy (DfE) published a plan yesterday to continue the 20-year green energy scheme that led to the collapse of Stormont in January 2017. A lack of cost controls had led to spending on the green energy scheme spiralling out of control, with some users burning biomass just to take advantage of the over-generous subsidies on offer. The new plan to reduce costs would keep payments going for businesses with small and medium-sized boilers, with a new rate of return on investment of 12%. For those with the most common boiler, their subsidy would fall from around 13,000 to slightly more than 2,000. A voluntary option has also been included to buy out those boiler owners disadvantaged by the new tariffs, such as those with high capital costs or low usage. With no Stormont Executive in place, it is now up to Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley to pass new legislation in Westminster by the end of March, or payments will cease for most boiler owners. DfE said the new cost for the full 20 years will be around 190m (with 120m already spent) after initial fears it would overspend by many more hundreds of millions. Andrew Trimble, chair of the Renewable Heat Association NI (RHANI), said participating businesses now faced ruin. He called the proposals "unreasonable, arbitrary, oppressive, disproportionate and unnecessary". The group has already launched a legal challenge over tariffs set in 2017 and plans to challenge the latest proposal. "That's assuming the Government doesn't fall over Brexit by the end of March and the Northern Ireland Secretary can convince politicians this DfE plan is the only plan," he said. He said many businesses, such as poultry and mushroom farmers, could face ruin. "This is not a dog's breakfast of our making," he said. Another poultry farmer, who preferred not to be named, said he was "devastated" by the plans and would be switching back to fossil fuels this year. "My outgoings on heat this year would be about 28,000. I had originally expected to get about 27,000 a year. "The 2017 rate saw that drop to 10,000 and this new rate will be around 3,000. That's completely unsustainable." Richard Rodgers, Head of Energy at DfE, said the new tariffs were calculated after a financial review last year. A total of 258 people responded to a consultation, with most favouring the highest level of payment. The Department said there was "little supporting evidence" this could be justified. They said this also contrasted with evidence from the Northern Ireland Audit Office and European Commission officials made it clear the higher tariffs would not comply with State Aid regulations. A public inquiry into the RHI is expected to report later this year. PSNI equality officer Lorraine McCurdy said there are no records of discussions about a gender impact risk, which was perceived as "high" because health and safety "trumped" any concerns (stock photo) A senior police officer has admitted at a tribunal that female staff with ponytails were not dealt with in the same way as bearded men - despite both being in breach of health and safety policies. The revelation emerged during an employment tribunal case brought by Constable Gordon Thomas Downey. The case centres over whether respiratory masks used in certain police units, and which are supposed to be airtight, can be used safely if the officer has facial hair. Mr Downey was temporarily transferred from the predominantly male Armed Response Unit (ARU) for not being willing to comply with a policy forcing officers to be clean-shaven. A Chief Inspector McCreery said he only became aware of a number of female police officers who were "pulled to the ground and kicked" when Mr Downey presented his case last year. Despite others having knowledge of the health and safety incident, no action was ever taken against female officers for non-compliance with rules prohibiting ponytails. "It was a discriminatory application of PSNI policy," Mr Downey's lawyer asserted. Chief Inspector McCreery said he reported breaches to his line manager as soon as he learned about them in June 2018. But in a heated exchange with Mr Downey's legal team he admitted that he is not aware of any female officer being transferred as a result of breaching the policy. He said any failure to fairly apply the policy to women was at unit level and not an organisational problem. The tribunal was also told that the claimant felt victimised at a meeting to discuss his return to regular duties when he was questioned about his intention to pursue his complaint against the PSNI. A Superintendent Foy confirmed that she asked those questions on behalf of Assistant Chief Constable Barbara Gray. "I don't know why she wanted to know that," she added. Ms Foy insisted that Mr Downey's answer did not affect decisions which she ultimately made herself. Ms Foy, who chaired the uniform and protective measures committee on behalf of the Chief Constable, also revealed that no effort was made to explore how the "clean-shaven" policy was being applied elsewhere. "It was decided there was no way of policing it," she said. She said the committee, which ratified the policy, was not aware forces including West York and London City Police permitted officers to keep "neatly trimmed" beards which did not affect the seal of masks. The senior officer also admitted that the committee was oblivious to guidance from numerous organisations - including manufacturers of respiratory protective equipment - on how facial hair might impair its function. Ms Foy confirmed that the committee was not aware of officer claims that they hadn't used the safety equipment in 10 years. The claimant's lawyer argued that the original policy, which applied to officers who wear the masks on a "routine basis", should never have been applied to authorised firearms officers in ARU, which is why it needed to be amended. PSNI equality officer Lorraine McCurdy said there are no records of discussions about a gender impact risk, which was perceived as "high" because health and safety "trumped" any concerns. But she was adamant that the PSNI, which sought advice from the Equality Commission about religious exemptions, did consider the matter. The case continues. An Irish government committee has heard that there will be a number of potential legal issues following a no-deal Brexit despite contingency plans. The committee discussed at length The Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2019, which proposes legislative action Ireland could take under a range of scenarios, including a no-deal Brexit. Irish Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said on Wednesday: I have to concede that in a no-deal crash scenario there will be a number of potential problems. The entire regime may be regarded as less than satisfactory, so we must ensure that contingency is in place, in so far as they can be. Ultimately, the certainty will only be evident when an agreement is reached between the EU and UK, in respect of future relationship arrangements. Obviously while the EU have been a negotiating party, there have been certain areas in terms of our relationship with the UK that we need to discuss. We have set forward proposals but there have been, and continue to be, instances where we have to fall back on older legislation, less modern and potentially more challenging. But what were putting forward in the Bill is urgent areas which are likely to prove immediately challenging, and as time passes well continue discussions under the EU umbrella. Expand Close Mr Flanagan said the common travel area would continue (Brian Lawless/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mr Flanagan said the common travel area would continue (Brian Lawless/PA) Our objectives and the UK are broadly similar, ensuring protection of our people and the legal framework that existed between our countries will continue, notwithstanding withdrawal of UK from EU instruments. The minister told the committee that the biggest issues facing legislation post-Brexit will be immigration and extradition. To avoid those arrested on a European Arrest warrant being released at 11pm on March 29, the government will enact an older convention measure, and then plans to further legislate for a new agreement between the two states in the future. The Bill provides for two amendments of the Extradition Act, to ensure effective extradition arrangements are maintained between Ireland and the UK, the minister said. The optimal solution is to apply the 1957 Council of Europe Convention on extradition to which both Ireland and UK are party to extradition arrangements. While the procedure is not as effective or as efficient as an EU arrest warrant, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, it will provide a workable solution. The intention would then be to legislate for an extradition arrangement with the UK similar to the EU warrant. It was also noted that UK citizens wishing to join the Irish police force An Garda Siochana, was dependent on EU membership, and regulations will need to be amended to allow for recruitment to continue. The minister added he hoped to have that done at an early stage. Citizenship rights were also raised by a number of representatives. Mr Flanagan assured them that the common travel area will remain. The common travel area will continue, and that includes in a no-deal scenario, the British government and ourselves have confirmed that neither Irish citizens in the UK or British citizens in Ireland will be required to take any action to protect their status or rights. All of the current arrangements will continue and of course the guarantees under the Good Friday Agreement. The Chief Constable has launched a blistering attack on Mary Lou McDonald for her controversial comments over the appointment of his successor. George Hamilton said the Sinn Fein president's remark that she has no confidence in any current senior PSNI officer stepping into his role showed "poor leadership" which has had a "very detrimental impact" on policing. He was speaking at a press conference following a special meeting of the Policing Board yesterday, where members discussed whether or not the republican leader had compromised the Board's appointment process for selecting Mr Hamilton's successor when he retires in June. After meeting the board - which includes three Sinn Fein members - in private, the Chief Constable said he believed the comments were the "antithesis of all that Sinn Fein say that they stand for". "They say that they stand for equality, for fairness, for integrity and I can't think of anything further away from those qualities in what the Sinn Fein president said," he added. "I think whenever someone in leadership stands up and talks about the police being undemocratic, cynical and all the other very negative terms, how could we not be surprised if there's a problem with confidence in policing?" When asked if Mrs McDonald, who made the comments earlier this month, should offer an apology to his officers, he said it was a matter for her, but he didn't anticipate it would happen. "I think Mary Lou was wrong. I think she was inaccurate and I think it was an act of poor leadership and has had a very detrimental impact on policing and the peace we're all trying to build." He also offered his apologies to families affected by the PSNI's failure to disclose files requested by the Police Ombudsman relating to the 1992 murders of five men by loyalists at a Sean Graham's bookmakers in Belfast. They have since been disclosed to the watchdog and the matter is now the subject of an independent review. The PSNI has insisted its failure was not deliberate, but rather down to human error, and a report on the matter was presented at yesterday's meeting. Legal advice was also disclosed privately to the board over Mrs McDonald's remarks. Mr Hamilton's comments were echoed by the DUP's Mervyn Storey, who said: "There is a sense of irony that the party that shouts most about equality has now actually seriously damaged the issue of equality." Sinn Fein Policing Board member Gerry Kelly branded Mr Hamilton's remarks "political". He said his party would consider the legal advice offered by Board lawyers as to whether his leader's remarks on the recruitment of the next chief constable had compromised the process. He told reporters: "I think the chief constable, perhaps led a bit by yourselves, was more than political when he was answering those questions over a period of 20 minutes. "We have received legal advice, we will go away, it involves comments that were made not only by Mary Lou but by others, and that is the property of the Policing Board. I am not going into the detail of that." Mr Kelly said the panel established by the board to select the next chief would be "fair and open" and only select a candidate on the basis of "merit". Policing Board chair Anne Connolly said in a statement that its priority is to "move forward on the basis of equality of opportunity for all" in relation to the appointment process. ECC grant Rs 46.4 million to Petroleum Division for families of its deceased employees The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the federal cabinet, on Tuesday, accepted a grant of another Rs 46.4 million to the Petroleum Division to pay the families of its deceased employees. The committee also accepted the proposal by the finance division to place a summary for a supplementary grant to the provincial government of Baluchistan before the federal cabinet. This would be the federal governments share in the Pur-Aman Balochistan programme. Arlene Foster has warned that the experience of Northern Ireland proves extending deadlines does nothing to encourage a deal, after the Prime Minister promised MPs a vote on delaying Brexit. The DUP leader yesterday held Brexit talks in London with Mrs May, who earlier accepted for the first time that the UK may not leave the EU on March 29. In a statement to the House of Commons the Prime Minister offered MPs a chance to vote to delay Brexit if her deal is rejected again next month. But Mrs May stressed that she didn't want a delay and still hopes to obtain assurances from Brussels which will lead to Parliament approving her withdrawal agreement. Mrs Foster said: "Experience in Northern Ireland has shown that extending deadlines does nothing to encourage a deal. A no-deal outcome can be avoided and it can be agreed long before the 29th March. "The EU have it in their hands to avoid such an outcome. They know exactly what is required to achieve a deal which Parliament can support. It's time for Dublin and Brussels to be in a deal-making mode." Mrs Foster said the Prime Minister must deliver on her previous commitment to Parliament to seek legally binding changes to the withdrawal agreement. Sinn Fein MP Chris Hazzard said: "What was proposed by Theresa May at Westminster is indicative of the chaos in the British Parliament. "After two years and less than a month away from a potential cliff-edge crashout, the British Parliament still can't make up its mind whether it even wants a deal or not. "The British Parliament and British political system is in total disarray and is locked in a delusional bubble." The South Down MP added: "None of what is happening in Westminster is in the interests of Ireland. "What we need to see is the EU and the Irish Government standing firm and protecting the Irish backstop." Ulster Unionist leader Robin Swann said extending Article 50 and delaying Brexit would be worthwhile if it led to a better deal. "We want to see the referendum result honoured but with a deal for Northern Ireland that does not include the backstop, which undermines the Belfast Agreement and the principle of consent," he said. "The Brexit which the DUP promised will not be delivered by the present proposals. "What we are facing is the ongoing jurisdiction of the European Court; inability for UK to negotiate and implement trade deals with third countries; goods from England coming to Northern Ireland to be treated as if they were from a third country. "We are also facing a top heavy series of committees effectively running Northern Ireland, with no input from here. "The UK will be a rule taker from EU with no representation. "It really didn't have to be like this." Alliance deputy leader Stephen Farry said the Prime Minister had "opened the door" to extending Article 50 and "avoiding a no-deal cliff edge" next month. Dr Farry said: "A no-deal outcome would be a disaster for the UK, and a complete catastrophe for the UK. "But unless any possible extension is used to reassess and change the UK's farcical negotiating stance, the inevitable pain will only be deferred. "The Prime Minister continues to indulge delusions and contradictions, and has created unrealistic expectations the backstop can or indeed should be changed in any substantial way, including the creation of a time-limit or unilateral exit mechanism." He added that by not supporting a no-deal Brexit being "taken off the table", the DUP was causing real economic damage. Mrs May told the Commons that she wanted any delay to be "as short as possible". An extension beyond the end of June would require the UK to take part in the forthcoming European Parliament elections, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused her of "kicking the can down the road", while the chairman of the influential European Research Group of Tory eurosceptics Jacob Rees-Mogg raised concerns that democracy was being undermined. "My suspicion is that any delay to Brexit is a plot to stop Brexit," said Mr Rees-Mogg. He added: "This would be the most grievous error that politicians could commit." A Co Antrim man who lost 65,000 was among a number of scam victims targeted in Northern Ireland last week. The latest incidents, which happened in counties Derry/Londonderry, Antrim and Fermanagh, included telephone and online scams. Chief Superintendent Simon Walls said: In one of the most recent reports made on Monday, February 18, we heard from a man in his 80s from Fermanagh who had been swindled out of 20,000 in a telephone scam a few days previous. During the morning of Friday 15 February, the victim reported spending around five hours on the phone with a man who claimed to be from the Fraud Squad department of a bank. "The fraudster was able to get some personal details from the man, including his name and date of birth, which in turn gave him remote access to the victims computer and his money. The victim later noticed that 20,000 had been taken from his account." Police also we received a report that a man in his 40s from County Antrim was conned out of almost 65,000. The money was lost after his wife was contacted by a woman claiming to represent her telecoms provider about broadband speed issues, in a phone call that lasted around three hours. She was then passed on to another fraudster claiming to be from the same company, who persuaded her to give them access to her computer. She was convinced to perform a series of actions on the computer, including logging on to both her and her husbands online banking. This gave the scammers access to both accounts and resulted in the loss of close to 65,000 from the husbands bank account. We also received a further report from a man from Derry/Londonderry in his 70s who was swindled out of close to 4,000 over a period of almost five years," said Chief Superintendent Walls. "The victim was initially contacted in 2014 by someone claiming to be from a London-based law firm, and told that if he sent money to a woman in London, via electronic money transfer, he would receive a lump sum of 20,000 after a period of time. The man sent a number of payments over the five-year period, up until he made the report to us." He advised that if anyone is all suspicious about a call, they should hang up and phone the organisation the person is purporting to represent to check their authenticity. Ideally, they make the call from another telephone to be sure the original caller has not remained on the line. If you have received a call of this kind or if youre concerned by the intent of unsolicited calls, emails or letters then please report it to Action Fraud via their website www.actionfraud.police.uk or by phoning 0300 123 2040, or call police on the non-emergency number 101," he said. Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald is to travel to New York and Washington next month for discussions with US political leaders on Irish unity. Ms McDonald will be in America from March 12-16 for meetings with political leaders and Irish America. Read More The Sinn Fein President will also attend the annual St Patrick's Day Speakers Lunch on Capitol Hill and the White House event hosted by President Trump. DUP leader Arlene Foster is also visiting America for St Patrick's Day and is expected to attend events in Washington. Mrs Foster and Sinn Fein vice President Michelle O'Neill were not invited last year, but DUP MP Ian Paisley Jr, a noted supporter of President Trump, was at the yearly event. Ms McDonald will meet a cross section of Congress members in the Friends of Ireland Caucus and officials in the US Administration. In a statement Sinn Fein said that their leader was undertaking the trip "on the cusp of Brexit and with the increasing demand for Irish unity". Expand Close DUP Leader Arlene Foster (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp DUP Leader Arlene Foster (Niall Carson/PA) "The ongoing Brexit chaos, and the possible return of a hard border on the island of Ireland, represents a very real challenge to the Good Friday Agreement and the progress that has been made over the past 20 years," the statement read "Recent times have also seen an increase in support for Irish unity. Mary Lou is a forthright and passionate advocate of Irish unity and will raise the question of a referendum on unity as provided for in the Good Friday agreement." The visit comes as Ms McDonald marks her first year as Sinn Fein President, after succeeding long-serving leader Gerry Adams. The Sinn Fein leadership have repeatedly called for a border poll to be held on Irish unity in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Karen Bradley) can call a border poll if she believes it is likely to pass in favour of a united Ireland. Read More However, Mrs Bradley has said she did not feel the threshold had yet been met for a border poll. DUP leader Arlene Foster rejected calls for a border poll as part of the "project fear" surrounding Brexit. Speaking last weekend, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said that nationalists needed to have a proper plan in place for Irish unity before moving forward with a border poll. A man has received a broken finger after being bitten during an assault in Ballymurphy. Detectives are appealing for information following the report of an assault in the Glenalina Green area on Monday. Detective Sergeant Paddy Conlan said: We received a report that a man aged in his 20s was walking in the area at around 11.30pm on Monday evening when a car pulled up and a number of males got out. "One of the males approached the man and began to verbally abuse him before physically assaulting him. The man sustained cuts and bruising and a broken finger as a result of the attack. Our enquiries into this incident are ongoing and I am appealing for anyone who witnessed the assault or who has any information which could assist us with our investigation to contact detectives at Musgrave on 101 quoting reference number 1577 25/02/19. Information can also be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. A biker who crashed and died while racing for a Northern Ireland team at the Isle of Man TT was killed doing "what he loved", an inquest heard yesterday. Dan Kneen (30) "died instantly" after his machine hit a tree and burst into flames after a wheel "broke away", the Coroner's Court in Douglas, the island's capital, was told. The crash occurred near Churchtown on the TT course during Superbike qualifying on May 30 last year. At the time the 30-year-old was racing for the Tyco BMW team. Witnesses said Mr Kneen, from Onchan on the island, was "off the racing line" before his bike crashed. Recording a verdict of death by misadventure, coroner John Needham said it was "not entirely conclusive why the front wheel of Dan's bike broke away". Thanking those who tried to save Mr Kneen's life, the coroner said he "died instantly engaged in what he loved to do". The report said the Flybe pilot at first thought he had seen a large drone moving from west to east across his flightpath (stock photo) A Flybe jet came within a split second of smashing into a powered paraglider at 195mph in a potentially catastrophic collision while approaching Belfast, a report has revealed. The flier - suspended from a parachute and powered by a propeller on a backpack - flew as close as 100ft to the Embraer 170 while crossing its flightpath. The close call happened at 2,000ft when the Flybe flight from Manchester was eight miles from landing at George Best Belfast City Airport. A report by the UK Airprox Board blamed the paramotor pilot for "flying into conflict" with the twin-engined jet carrying up to 70 passengers. It rated it as a category B incident, where the safety of the aircraft "may have been compromised". Flight BE486 landed safely after the incident near Carrickfergus at around 7.30pm on August 13 last year. The board, which investigates near misses in UK airspace, said the paramotor pilot could not be traced despite "intensive" efforts. It called for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to review its licensing requirements for paramotor pilots as a result of the incident. The report said the Flybe pilot at first thought he had seen a large drone moving from west to east across his flightpath. But his first officer, who first spotted it half-a-mile away, realised it was the multi-coloured canopy of the parachute. The pilot immediately reported the incident to air traffic controllers, saying that the powered paraglider had passed 100ft to 200ft down the left side of his aircraft. He said he had no time to take avoiding action because the incident happened so quickly, said the report. Air traffic controllers confirmed that nothing was seen on radar and there were no sightings by other aircraft. The paramotor pilot had failed to seek clearance for his flight from air traffic control, as required in category D airspace. The British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (BHPA) told investigators that it was "most fortunate that a collision did not occur". It suggested that the incident "almost certainly" involved a paramotor, possibly flying across Belfast Lough towards Bangor with the aid of "a very helpful tailwind". It added that the height of the incident and wind direction made it "highly unlikely" that it involved an unpowered paraglider soaring from cliffs between Carrickfergus and Whitehead. The report said: "Extensive enquiries with BHPA schools, clubs and paramotor rated pilots in Northern Ireland regarding whether any paramotor (or paraglider) pilots were operating in that area on the 13th August have drawn a complete blank. "However, the BHPA would like to add that a number of non- BHPA paramotor pilots operate in Northern Ireland who may not have had the benefit of any formal training in airmanship, air law or airspace restrictions." The report concluded that the paramotor pilot had entered the category D airspace without informing air traffic control. It noted that the pilot was probably not a BHPA member "and therefore had potentially not participated in their formal training and pilot rating programme". The report added: "The board discussed how such pilots could be assured to have received appropriate instruction regarding the applicable aviation law, including airspace categorisation." The board recommended that the CAA review certification and licensing requirements for paramotor activities, as it was not convinced that existing rules were "robust" enough. The report said that the increasing numbers of independently operated paramotors meant that "efforts to educate the associated community of pilots were likely to be somewhat haphazard". It added: "For their part, the EMB170 pilots were placed in an unenviable situation whereby they had little time to recognise and react to an unexpected threat that was not detectable using their on-board systems either." The report said the Flybe crew only saw the paramotor "at a late stage and at a critical point in their approach", meaning they did not have "time to react in a timely manner". It added: "Fortunately the paramotor was sufficiently far away that a collision did not occur." The report said it was also agreed that safety margins had been much reduced below the norm". Timo Anderson, Flybe's chief operating officer, agree with the report's recommendations. He added: "Safety is always Flybe's number one priority and we employ a rigorous approach to ensuring the very highest standards are met and maintained at all times to ensure the safety of our passengers and crew." Tommy Fee at the site of the house in Derrylin where four people died in a fire a year ago today A man who battled in vain to rescue three generations of the same family who died in a horrific house fire in rural Fermanagh says he is still suffering "flashbacks and trauma" a year on from the blaze. Tommy Fee (58) owned the rural house on the Molly Road near Derrylin which was gutted in the blaze 12 months ago today. Four people, including a baby girl, were killed. Daniel Sebastian Allen (28) has been charged with the murders of grandmother Denise Gossett (45), her children Roman Gossett (16) and Sabrina Gossett (19), and Sabrina's one-year-old daughter Morganna Gossett. He is also charged with arson endangering life with intent in relation to the house at 57 Molly Road and the four people. Allen last appeared at Enniskillen Magistrates Court via video-link on Monday. He has yet to enter a plea to the charges. The case was adjourned to the same court on March 11 to fix a date. Allen, who was remanded in custody to Maghaberry Prison, is set to appear via video-link on that date. Mr Fee, a bus operator who grew up in the house which burned down and who drives past the scene every day, said he feels he and his family have been "left in limbo" following the tragedy. He previously told how, on the day of the horror, he raced to the scene and, in the hopes of saving the occupants, broke down a door and window with a sledgehammer. However, he and two neighbours were "beaten back by big balls of black smoke" from the ferocious blaze. "I don't feel like it has been a year, it is still fresh in our memories," he told the Belfast Telegraph. "I often think back to that night. "I have driven past that house every day since February 27, 2018, and I'm still getting flashbacks and trauma all the time. "My wife and daughter and myself are very cut-up about the whole thing. "I find it difficult to sleep and I've gone to the doctor to get help. My wife and daughter have also been receiving medical attention. We're hoping it won't stay with us forever." Today only a concrete base marks the site where the three bedroom bungalow was once located. Mr Fee revealed that the dwelling was not insured, and says he has been refused a ayout from Compensation Services, a branch within the Department of Justice which administers the Criminal Damage (Compensation) (Northern Ireland) Order 1977. He added: "There's just a concrete base there and there's no prospect of rebuilding, we wouldn't be able to replace the house, so we have suffered a big loss financially. "It will have a big impact on the future, we had been renting it out for four or five years. "It was my father's house, and we grew up there. "It was a comfort to have the wee income from the house." Mr Fee said the incident remains a "big topic of conversation" in the area, and he is still hoping to get answers through the justice process. "We have been waiting a year for answers and we haven't got any yet," he continued. "I feel that we have been left in limbo." Mr Fee said he planned to go to work as normal today, but his thoughts will be with the grieving relatives of those who died. "I'm thinking of the family members of those four people," he added. "We will definitely be thinking about what happened a year ago." Rev Alastair Davidson, the rector in charge of Kinawley and Holy Trinity Parish in Derrylin, also expressed his sympathy for the relatives of those who died. A memorial service for the four victims was held in his church last year. "My thoughts and prayers will be with the family of the victims," he said. Commenting on the progress of the case, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said that it would update the court on March 11. "As we informed the court this week, this is an extremely complex and serious case containing a large volume of evidence and third-party materials which must be considered carefully," it said. "This includes evidence received as recently as December 2018. "The PPS is working expeditiously towards a preliminary enquiry date and we will update the court on March 11." The Department of Justice had not provided a response at the time of going to press. DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said that a "comprehensive and proportionate" approach is needed to deal with Northern Ireland's troubled past. Mr Donaldson was speaking after Wednesday's Supreme Court declaration that an effective investigation had not been carried out into the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane. Read More However, the Supreme Court failed to recommend a public inquiry into Mr Finucane's death. Mr Donaldson said that the Finucane family had previously rejected an offer for a public inquiry under the Inquiries Act. The Lagan Valley MP said that there were countless families across Northern Ireland who had not seen an effective investigation or review into the deaths of their loved ones. "Indeed for many of those murdered by terrorists, there are individuals who hold information which could be of assistance in uncovering the truth but they prefer to hide behind a code of honour to their illegal criminal gangs rather than assist victims," Mr Donaldson said. "We need to see a comprehensive and proportionate approach to dealing with the past. Expand Close Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane (Handout/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane (Handout/PA) "Whilst there is a continued focus on the 10% of deaths attributed to the state many of the 90% of deaths at the hands of terrorists see absolutely no investigation whatsoever. This must change and soon. Pat Finucane was killed in February 1989 by loyalists in an attack found to have involved collusion with the state. The 39-year-old was shot 14 times while enjoying Sunday lunch at home with his family. Mr Finucane's widow Geraldine had claimed the UK Government unlawfully "reneged" on a promise to hold a public inquiry into the killing, which was one of the most notorious of the Troubles. Speaking after the ruling, Mrs Finucane said it was "a historic moment". Following the declaration, the Irish Government and Sinn Fein called on the UK Government to hold a full public inquiry into Mr Finucane's murder. The Alliance Party and SDLP have also supported the calls for a public inquiry. SDLP policing and justice spokesperson Dolores Kelly said that the Finucane family must be commended for their "relentless pursuit of justice" having been "shamefully denied the truth for too long. Alliance Party deputy leader Stephen Farry said a public inquiry was the only way foward. All those who have suffered tragedy throughout the Troubles are hurting and seeking truth. In parallel, proposals on how to deal sensitively and respectfully with the past were decided as part of the Stormont House Agreement, and there is a vital need to establish a comprehensive set of institutions based on them, as well as funding legacy inquests based on the proposals from the Lord Chief Justice," the North Down MLA said. Only by doing that can we deliver the justice these families deserve and allow us as a society to move on in a way inclusive to the needs of all. A north Belfast man is to stand trial for allegedly subjecting a child to a catalogue of sexual abuse, a judge ordered today. The 58-year-old, who is not being named for legal reasons, faces 35 charges spanning a period of more than 12 years. He appeared before Belfast Magistrates' Court for the first time to have the allegations put to him. The man is accused of 18 counts of indecent assault on a female, nine offences of sexually assaulting a child, and eight counts of sexual activity with a child. All of the charges relate to the same alleged victim and cover dates between August 2002 and November 2014. A preliminary enquiry was held to establish if the man has a case to answer. He did not call witnesses or give evidence during the brief hearing. District Judge Fiona Bagnall granted a prosecution application to have the defendant returned for Crown Court trial. He was released on continuing bail to return for his arraignment on a date to be fixed. Another Indian pilot arrested: DG ISPR Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on Wednesday a day after India violated the Line of Control (LoC) undertook strikes across the LoC from Pakistani airspace. "[The] PAF shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K [Azad Jammu and Kashmir] while [the] other fell inside IoK [Indian occupied Kashmir]. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area." While addressing a press conference an hour after his tweet, Maj Gen Ghafoor said that another pilot has been arrested. "Our ground forces arrested two pilots; one of them was injured and has been shifted to CMH [Combined Military Hospital] and, God-willing, he will be taken care of," said the army official. "The other one is with us." "Today's action was in self defence; we do not want to claim any victory. The way we set out target and made sure that there were no collateral damage the in-built message was that despite out capability, we look towards peace," said the army spokesperson. "Today morning, Pakistan Air Force engaged six targets at the LoC. Because we are a responsible state and want peace, we decided that we will not use any military target. "As a result of engaging our target, no human life was affected. Staying within our jurisdiction, six targets were locked. And we carried out the strike," said the army spokesperson. "Pakistan is not pushing the environment towards war," he made it clear, adding Pakistan deliberately avoided escalation. "If that were the case, we could have easily engaged the target, which our Air Force had locked. That would have resulted in human casualties and collateral damage as well. "We engaged a nearby open space where there were no human lives or military posts. We deliberately avoided the escalation. We only wanted to demonstrate that we could have easily taken the original target, which was their administrative setup and military post. But we did not do that." Regarding the upcoming meeting of the National Command Authority and potential use of nuclear weapon, the DG said: "I have always said that we must not talk about this. It is insane to talk about this. It is a capability and a weapon of political choice. Neither is this our level nor is this a topic that should be talked about." "The airspace is closed due to the environment. Pakistan's response is actually not a retaliation. It is the demonstration of our capability, capacity and will. We stayed within the domain of responsibility as a state that has the potential [to respond]. "We don't want to escalate the situation. It is up to India now whether they go for the way that we have suggested and which is the requirement of this region: peace. But it is understood that if aggression is imposed on us, then we will respond. But that will be under compulsion," he added. "Pakistan has taken strikes at non military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage," said a statement by the Foreign Office. "For the last few years, India has been trying to establish what they call 'a new normal', a thinly veiled term for doing acts of aggression at whatever pretext they wish on a given day. "If India is striking at so-called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan. We do not wish to go to that route and wish that India gives peace a chance and to resolve issues like a mature democratic nation," the statement added. A day earlier, the army spokesperson said that the prime minister had asked everyone to get ready for every eventuality. "We are all ready. Now it is time for India to wait for our response," he asserted. "The response will come at a point and time of our choosing where our civil military leadership decides, and as a matter of fact, has decided," he had said, reiterating the statement issued after the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting convened by Prime Minister Imran Khan. "We are peaceful; we didn't escalate, India did," said Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi while speaking to ARY. "We exposed their escalations and their false claims, we offered international observers to come and examine the claims of India. "India, listen: this is a new Pakistan, [there is] new enthusiasm, new valour," he cautioned the neighbouring country. "The nation is united, each and every child is standing by the Army and Kashmiris. Even today, our preference is peace. India should review its designs. A new Pakistan has been established," Qureshi said. "The next course of action will be devised after the NCA [National Command Authority] session in which military and political leadership are participating," he added. A resident caught up in the Ballymurphy massacre has told the inquest he was warned by a paratrooper before the shootings. Michael O'Hara, who lived with his wife and young daughter in Moyard maisonettes, said as he walked home from Turf Lodge at around 3pm on the afternoon of August 9, 1971 the soldier told him: "Michael, stay off the streets tonight." The paratrooper, named before the inquest as 'Drew', had been married to a friend's sister and had previously been a guest at Mr O'Hara's house. "I didn't respond," Mr O'Hara told the inquest. "I didn't want to be seen talking to a paratrooper." He also explained how, on hearing of attacks on homes in Springfield Park that evening, he had gone to help residents evacuate, but hadn't stayed long. And, choked with emotion, he talked about his last meeting with his aunt, Joan Connolly. "I was heading home when she was walking towards us. She told us she was looking for her children. She gave me a little smile and that's my last memory of her," he said. Mrs Connolly, a 45-year-old mother-of-eight, was killed later that evening, and Mr O'Hara hit out at the blackening of her name in the days after her death. "She was not carrying any weapons. She did not have a guard of honour at her funeral. There were no message of sympathy from any organisations. She was not an IRA woman," he added. Mr O'Hara then described how he had fled amid an "explosion of gunfire" and took refuge on the floor of his flat. Later he crawled along a balcony with a neighbour to check on his sleeping children to find his home riddled with bullet holes. Mr O'Hara also described how, the next day, he accompanied a TV crew into his neighbour's flat and found bullet scorch marks in the mattresses of the cots where his neighbour's two children had been sleeping. Earlier, a Ballymurphy community worker recalled how the blood of a local priest ran down his arms as he helped remove his body from the scene. Fr Hugh Mullan (38) died alongside 19-year-old Frank Quinn on wasteland at Finlays Field. Brian McLaughlin (74) was keyholder at Ballymurphy and New Barnsley Community Centre, which operated as a refuge for residents on the evening. Mr McLaughlin recalled that the bodies of Fr Mullan and Mr Quinn were brought to the centre by a student doctor from Jordan, Ali Keeli, who was serving as a youth worker. Mr McLaughlin said he had carried the body of Fr Mullan away to minimise the trauma to those receiving treatment. "We were living in a nightmare," he said. "We were being attacked by the police, the Army and the Protestant population." Ten people were shot over three days in Ballymurphy amid disturbances sparked by the introduction of internment. The inquest continues. Primary 6 pupil Patrycja was described as having the most beautiful smile A nine-year-old girl who died in a road crash in Co Armagh this week has been remembered as "a kind, gentle, outgoing little girl with the most beautiful smile". Patrycja, a P6 pupil at Hardy Memorial Primary School in her home village of Richhill, was the rear seat passenger in a Peugeot 407 that crashed on the Hamiltonsbawn Road near Armagh shortly after 9am on Monday. She died at the scene as a result of her injuries. Her surname has not been released at the request of her family, who are understood to be originally from Poland. The driver, a man in his 60s, was treated in hospital for non life-threatening injuries. A special assembly was held at Hardy Memorial Primary yesterday morning in memory of the popular pupil. In a statement, a spokesperson said the whole school community has been left "numbed" by Patrycja's tragic death. "The entire Hardy Memorial Primary School community is deeply shocked, saddened and numbed to learn of the passing of our Primary 6 pupil Patrycja. "Patrycja was a kind, gentle, outgoing little girl with the most beautiful smile. She loved singing and enjoyed her many outings with our school choir. "She endeared us all with her willingness to help and support others. "Patrycja was extremely popular with both staff and pupils and we are profoundly saddened by her death. "Our hearts go out to Patrycja's parents and wider family circle; they are foremost in our thoughts and prayers at this sad time," the statement added. Chairman of the school's board of governors, Alderman Jim Speers, added: "I have spoken to Hardy Memorial staff who are providing support to the pupils in her class and the wider school, who have all been deeply affected by what has happened. "She was an extremely popular pupil with her classmates and teachers alike. "It is a lot for young children to take in and I must commend Hardy Memorial's principal, Mrs Anderson and her staff for the professional way in which they dealt with this tragic news." Anyone who witnessed the crash or has dash cam footage is urged to contact PSNI officers in Armagh on 101, quoting reference 295 for February 25. The PSNI appealed to anyone who witnessed anything suspicious in the area between 2.30am and 4.30am to phone the non emergency number (stock photo) A vandalism attack at a pre-school has been condemned as "senseless". The incident took place at Kylemore Nursery in Coleraine during the early hours of yesterday. Flower beds were destroyed and stones were removed from a decorative wall at the front of the premises. Metal play hoops used by children were also stolen, along with a barbecue and a brass tap. According to residents, it is the latest in a series of attacks on property. Local MLA Claire Sugden, the former Justice Minister, said she was appalled by the "senseless vandalism". UUP councillor William McCandless said he believed the items had been taken because of their scrap metal value. The PSNI appealed to anyone who witnessed anything suspicious in the area between 2.30am and 4.30am to phone the non emergency number 101 quoting reference CCS172 of 26/2/19, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Northern Ireland needs 42 more paediatric consultants to provide a safe service for sick children, it has been claimed. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has called for health officials to act to address a waiting list crisis here. Read More It has emerged that some children are waiting four years just to see a hospital doctor, with cardiology and general surgery particularly struggling to cope with demand. Some young patients are waiting so long, they are being moved on to adult services' waiting lists before they ever get an appointment with a paediatric doctor.0 They then go to the bottom of a waiting list in adult services, meaning they face another lengthy wait to be seen. Reacting to statistics revealed in yesterday's Belfast Telegraph, Dr Simon Clark, officer for workforce planning at the RCPCH, said: "These figures are concerning, but sadly not surprising. "We know that the number of patients waiting for clinical appointments in outpatient centres is rising, with patient waiting times exceeding national targets. "In Northern Ireland, the cut-off age for admission to children's wards is 14, unlike in the rest of the UK, where it is 16 to 18, which might further exaggerate these delays. Regardless, as hospital admissions for children continue to rise, the numbers of doctors in post to meet this demand is not keeping pace, and these workforce pressures are felt keenly across paediatrics and the Northern Ireland health service as a whole. "We want to see all trusts adopt RCPCH Facing the Future standards to ensure better resourcing for the management of referrals, and we need an additional 42 paediatric consultants to meet these standards. "These measures will support subsequent efficiencies and a reduction in waiting times to ensure that every child is seen at the right time, in the right place, by the right person." The statistics highlighted an alarming postcode lottery, with the wait for a first outpatient appointment varying by years depending on where a child lives. Wait times for paediatric cardiology appointments are particularly bad - a child living in the South Eastern Trust can expect to wait almost three years for a routine referral. The longest wait time for a cardiology appointment in the Southern Trust is 45 weeks. In the Belfast Trust, the wait for a routine cardiology appointment is 43 weeks, while an urgent appointment is 20 weeks. The Department of Health did not respond to a request for comment. The Government's latest paper on a no-deal Brexit has warned that businesses in Northern Ireland could be driven across the border if the UK crashes out of the European Union. The report, drawn up to inform the Cabinet of the likely implications of a hard Brexit, claims the impact would be "more severe" here than in Britain and that it would last longer. "There is a risk that businesses in Northern Ireland will not have sufficient time to prepare," it said. "This could result in business failure, and/or relocation to Ireland with knock-on consequences for the Northern Ireland economy and unemployment. "Northern Ireland is particularly vulnerable given its high proportion of, and reliance upon (small to medium enterprises) - 75% of all private sector employment - and the number of businesses who trade directly with Ireland." The paper, which was released last night, said: "The agri-food sector is a disproportionately large part of Northern Ireland's economy and located predominantly in border/rural areas. "It is particularly vulnerable given its reliance on cross-border supply chains in the production stage and in finished products. "Disruption could also include impacts for the single electricity market, cross-border co-operation on areas such as crime and security, and potential for community tensions to be heightened." The paper reported that almost a third of the Government's most critical no-deal Brexit preparation projects are not on track for completion in time for the scheduled date of EU withdrawal on March 29. It warned that many businesses are unprepared for withdrawal without an agreement, which would result in "reduced availability and choice of products" in shops and additional costs to companies. It repeated official analysis suggesting no-deal could leave the UK economy 6.3% to 9% smaller after 15 years than it would otherwise have been, with the worst-hit areas being Northern Ireland (-9.1%), Wales (-8.1%), Scotland, and the North East (-10.5%). Just over two-thirds of the Government's most critical preparation projects were "on track" for completion in time for the scheduled date of Brexit on March 29, it said. The document said that delays and obstacles to cross-Channel trade as a result of no-deal "would not lead to an overall shortage of food in the UK". But it warned that 30% of the UK's food comes from continental Europe, and Britain is "particularly reliant" at that time of year on supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables via the Channel ports and Tunnel. "In the absence of other action from Government, some food prices are likely to increase, and there is a risk that consumer behaviour could exacerbate, or create, shortages in this scenario," it said. And it added: "As of February 2019, many businesses in the food supply industry are unprepared for a no-deal scenario." Under strict regulations, pallets arriving from non-member countries must be heat-treated or cleaned to prevent contamination, and marked to confirm they meet a series of EU rules The SDLP has warned that the Government is hurtling towards a car-crash Brexit as it was revealed the UK doesn't have the right pallets to continue exporting goods to the EU if it leaves without a deal next month. Under strict regulations, pallets arriving from non-member countries must be heat-treated or cleaned to prevent contamination, and marked to confirm they meet a series of EU rules. But most pallets that British exporters are currently using do not conform to these rules, meaning that export business could potentially grind to a halt following a no-deal Brexit, according to a report in the Business Insider. The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) last week told business leaders that the UK would not have enough EU-approved pallets for exporting to mainland Europe in the event of a no-deal Brexit next month. Defra is holding emergency talks with industry insiders. An SDLP spokesperson said: "This is yet another example of why we simply cannot countenance a no-deal Brexit. "With only 31 days to Brexit, we can clearly see how ill-prepared the Government is to deliver anything but a car crash of a Brexit. "This is why, despite our support for a second referendum, it is vital that the backstop is banked nonetheless. "Should the UK crash out of the EU, people here who did not vote for this debacle have the right to be protected from its worst excesses." Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson said: "This is just one of a list of things that could change under a no-deal Brexit. The UK will have to ensure it is compliant with EU rules and those advocating Brexit will have to realise this is the outworking of it, the UK becoming outsiders on the global stage." DUP MP Emma Little-Pengelly said: "It was right the Government carried out preparations for the possibility of leaving the EU without a deal. "It was right also that EU regulations on wooden pallets were included within those guidance documents. "It is entirely wrong, however, for anyone to give the impression that this issue has only been identified within the last few days when it was included in Government guidance over five months ago." The South Belfast MP added: "The DUP wants to see a sensible and managed withdrawal from the EU. We want to see a deal which can work for both the UK and the EU." An industry figure briefed by the Government told Business Insider: "It is the tiny, procedural, mundane-seeming stuff that will absolutely trip people up." Affected industry figures said they were baffled about why it took ministers so long to learn of the dearth of pallets, given that they were a basic feature of cross-border trade. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said his party will now support a public vote after his Brexit vision was rejected by MPs. He said his party "will back a public vote in order to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit or a disastrous no-deal outcome". Read More However he said Labour "will also continue to push for the other available options to prevent those outcomes, including a close economic relationship based on our credible alternative plan or a general election". The House of Commons emphatically rejected his Brexit vision by a margin of 240 votes to 323. The 83-vote defeat will place immense pressure on the Labour leader to throw his party's full weight behind demands for a second referendum on EU withdrawal. Brexit spokesman Matthew Pennycook appeared to suggest the party is ready to act, tweeting it is "now time to wholeheartedly get behind efforts to facilitate a new public vote that includes the option of staying in the EU". Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said he was "disappointed" at the defeat of Labour's amendment, adding: "We must do all we can to protect jobs and the economy. That's why Labour will put forward or support an amendment in favour of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit." Read More Mr Corbyn told Labour MPs on Monday that he was ready to support moves to demand a second public vote "to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country". Theresa May's dramatic announcement on Tuesday that she would allow MPs to vote on delaying the UK's EU withdrawal beyond March 29 took the sting out of an evening of Brexit votes which had been expected to feature a number of ministerial resignations. An amendment tabled by Labour's Yvette Cooper, designed to pin the PM down by placing her promise in a motion approved by Parliament, was passed by an overwhelming 502 votes to 20. Any Conservative bust-ups have now been delayed for up to two weeks, as Mrs May prepares to bring her Withdrawal Agreement back to the Commons for a "meaningful vote" by March 12. If she fails to overturn the 230-vote mauling the Agreement received in January, votes will be held on the following days on blocking a no-deal Brexit on March 29 and extending the two-year Article 50 negotiation process. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) Mrs May's U-turn threw a spotlight on the Labour leader, whose "constructive ambiguity" on Brexit has long frustrated those in his party who back a so-called People's Vote, and played a part in the defection of eight MPs to the new Independent Group last week. Labour's annual conference voted to keep a second referendum on the table, but made clear the party's priority was an early election to allow it to implement its Brexit plan for a customs union with a UK say, close ties with the single market and dynamic alignment with EU workplace and environmental regulations. Speaking to MPs on Monday, Mr Corbyn said Labour would put forward its plans in an amendment to the Government's Brexit motion, but was also committed to "putting forward or supporting an amendment in favour of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country". A briefing note to Labour MPs made clear the party would back the inclusion of Remaining in the EU on the ballot paper, as an alternative to a "credible Leave option", but would not back no-deal being a choice on offer. Mr Corbyn failed to back a referendum amendment tabled by Independent Group MP Anna Soubry, which was not selected for debate on Wednesday by Speaker John Bercow. But anti-Brexit campaigners will hope he will now give his full support to the People's Vote cause. Labour MP Alison McGovern, a leading supporter of the People's Vote campaign, said: "Labour policy was adopted unanimously at the party conference to campaign to give the people the choice of staying in the EU on the same terms as now or opting for a negotiated form of Brexit. The crisis is now so great the public must be heard." Following the vote, frontbencher Richard Burgon appeared to cast doubt on how quickly Labour would move to a second referendum position by tweeting that there would be "further opportunities to secure support for Labour's alternative Brexit deal". Mr Corbyn's plan was supported in Wednesday night's vote by Conservative former chancellor Kenneth Clarke and Liberal Democrat deputy leader Jo Swinson. All other Liberal Democrat MPs abstained. MPs later rejected a Scottish National Party amendment to rule out a no-deal Brexit in any circumstances and at any time by a margin of 288-324. And a proposal from Conservative backbencher Alberto Costa for a UK/EU treaty to protect expat citizens' rights in the event of a no-deal was passed without a vote. Mr Costa quit his position as an unpaid parliamentary aide in the Scotland Office, despite Home Secretary Sajid Javid saying he supported his proposal and Downing Street making clear that Mrs May does not oppose it. A Number 10 source said the South Leicestershire MP had breached a long-standing convention that members of the administration - including parliamentary private secretaries (PPSs) - cannot table amendments to Government motions. But Labour said he had effectively been sacked. Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said his removal "prolongs the anxiety and uncertainty that over five million people have faced for two-and-a-half years". A cross-party amendment designed to give Parliament the power to force a vote on extending Article 50 was pulled after its tablers - Conservative Dame Caroline Spelman and Labour's Jack Dromey - received assurances that Mrs May's plan would have the same effect. In a joint statement, they said: "The Government has just confirmed acceptance of all the proposals in our amendments. There will not now be a no-deal Brexit in 30 days' time because there is not a majority in the House for crashing out without a deal. "We will not plunge over the cliff on March 29 into an abyss, making the country poorer in every sense of the word. There will now be an extension of the Brexit deadline to allow for serious cross-party dialogue on a better deal to protect the British national interest." Over a year ago mum and I were asked if we would take part in Stephen Watson's BBC One Northern Ireland documentary to mark 50 years of the renal unit at Belfast City Hospital and allow the cameras to follow us around before, during and after our transplant. Little did we think then that I would be able to write in my column just two weeks after Life on the List aired that more than 100 people have come forward to offer themselves as living donors. Yes, that is more than 100 potential new living donors coming forward to help save lives right here in Northern Ireland. Last Thursday I got the opportunity to talk about transplants and organ donation as a guest on 'the biggest show in the country' on BBC Radio Ulster with Stephen Nolan. I chatted with Stephen about my own journey with kidney disease and the fantastic people who mum and I get to meet every single week as we work to support kidney patients and their families. Stephen Nolan has been a terrific support to the cause of promoting the organ donation message as well as championing the superheroes who work at the renal unit at Belfast City Hospital. Firstly he hosted Stephen Watson and our 'superhero' consultant surgeon Tim Brown to talk about the documentary and Stephen also got the chance to talk about how he needs a new kidney himself. As I'm writing this I am delighted to see that he is safely home from Mexico and presenting on BBC NI - he is a fantastic ambassador for kidney and dialysis patients. Then, last Wednesday night on Nolan Live, my consultant nephrologist Dr Aisling Courtney got the chance to explain about the work of the renal unit and the living donor kidney transplant programme. What a superb platform for those who are right at the coalface of organ donation in Northern Ireland to explain to the public exactly why they should think about becoming a donor. I want to send a massive thank you to Stephen Nolan for all he is doing to help bring this issue to the forefront - the response to the documentary has been completely overwhelming and humbling for us to hear exactly how we have touched the lives of people right across Northern Ireland. Two weeks ago I whetted your appetite by putting in a pretty cryptic message in my column about a skydive challenge. I promised that I'd fill you in with a little more detail - so here goes. South Belfast lady Sandra Robinson, whose late husband 'Jimbo' was a long-term kidney dialysis patient, is bravely putting her best foot forward to undertake a charity skydive in his memory. Jim, who sadly passed away four years ago, would have celebrated his 75th birthday in April. Sandra knows through Jim's experience of needing kidney dialysis just how important it is to support renal patients to live comfortable and healthy lives. Mum has supported Sandra as she undertakes a real leap of love in memory of a very special person to help support local kidney patients and their families. Sandra's big day will be on Saturday, May 25 and I would encourage you to log on to her JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sky divesandra to learn more about this amazing lady and why she is fundraising for Kidney Care UK and the NI Kidney Patients' Association. I want to leave the final word to the 100-plus people who have come forward to become potential kidney donors in the fortnight following the documentary. Your decision, which is motivated by love, will bring new hope to those dialysis patients who are literally facing a life spent on the list. For them, many of whom I can call firm friends, life is not easy. Their lives are dictated by the rigorous, endless routine of dialysis treatment which affects work life, home life and life as we know it. I know for them to hear that so many people have responded to the documentary highlighting the world-leading work being undertaken at the renal unit in Belfast will be beyond their wildest dreams. A man who received a sudden diagnosis that he was carrying a potentially fatal genetic blood condition has called for more routine testing. Seamus Breslin was speaking after a study showed one in five people in Northern Ireland could be unaware they have haemochromatosis. He urged people to ask their doctor to be tested for the condition, saying it could save their life. Known as the Celtic curse, haemochromatosis is prevalent in Irish and Scottish people and causes the body to absorb too much iron from food. If left undiagnosed it can lead to serious and often fatal heart and liver defects. Research from Exeter University showed as many as one in 10 Irish women and one in five men will have the condition, which was once thought to affect only one in 100 people. Professor David Melzer, who led the research, said: "The haemochromatosis mutations were thought to only rarely cause health problems. We've shown that hereditary haemochromatosis is actually a much more common and stealthy disease, including in older people. "We now need to test ways of screening and diagnosing haemochromatosis earlier. "It's exciting to think that better care might prevent so much unnecessary disease." A high number of people from Londonderry have already been diagnosed with the condition, including Mr Breslin, from Creggan, who is calling for routine tests for people who develop symptoms associated with haemochromatosis. Mr Breslin (54) was diagnosed in 2016, five years after he developed early signs of the condition. He said people need to be more aware of the risks. "The research coming out of Exeter University is something people here really should sit up and pay attention to, because haemochromatosis is something that could be in a high percentage of families if both parents are Irish or Scottish. "It is called the Celtic curse because it doesn't exist in other races and is similar to the condition that took Martin McGuinness's life (amyloidosis), which was also a blood disorder prevalent in Celtic people. I have often wondered about the connection, because both he and I come from the same area in Inishowen." Mr Breslin said it took a long time to get to diagnosed. He added: "I first went to the doctor in 2011 when I was 45 because I developed aches and pains and had a very low mood, which wasn't like me at all. "I was treated for all the individual symptoms but wasn't getting any better, until one day my wife, who is a nurse, came with me to the GP and more or less demanded further tests, which is when the haemochromatosis showed up. "The doctor told me my iron level was 3,000 when a healthy level should be less than 50. If that level of iron isn't taken out of your body you will develop silicosis of the liver and it will stop your heart and wreck your joints." Mr Breslin had his heart and liver tested for damage, but both came back clear. But he believes the prognosis could have been far more serious. He added: "If left undiagnosed I believe I could have dropped dead. "There are times when I can hardly walk with the pains in my joint, but I consider I got off lightly in comparison with what could have happened. "I was 51 when I was diagnosed and my father dropped dead at my feet when he was 51, and I have no doubt he had haemochromatosis. But in those days there wasn't a test for it. "I spent a year getting 30 pints of blood removed in a procedure called venesection to get my iron level down to 50, which is normal. "When I went to the hospital to get the venesection I was surrounded by people I knew who were all getting the same procedure. It was bizarre, but it ties in with the research coming out of Exeter University. "Since my diagnosis, the rest of my family got tested and my sister and brother both have it. It probably saved them because often by the time it is discovered, it is too late to save the person. "Haemochromatosis won't show up in a routine blood test, but it will in a simple blood test that specifically looks for it. "So I am backing calls from across Ireland for people to be aware of this condition and to ask for this blood test from your GP, because it could save your life." The head of Invest NI has said the economic development body is ramping up the help and advice it offers businesses here with just 30 days until Brexit. Alastair Hamilton has also said the organisation could pull staff away from other work in order to cope with the extra work involved with leaving the EU as March 29 looms. It comes just a few weeks after the board of Invest NI contacted the leaders of the political parties here to express concern over how unprepared many businesses are for Brexit. The board urged the parties to work together to ensure "every possible step is taken to avoid the consequences which a no-deal scenario would have on the Northern Ireland business base". Mr Hamilton told the Belfast Telegraph: "The original position that we would be neutral on Brexit was a board decision and rightly so. "But it was made and fully supported by all of the executive team, including myself. "It was right therefore that if we took a slight departure from that position, that it would be indicated by the board, who took the original decision. "It is fully supported and endorsed by the full executive team in Invest Northern Ireland, and including myself, there is no difference at all between the position I hold as chief executive of the organisation and those views expressed by the board in that letter," he said. The chief executive said there had been a considerable upturn in businesses engaging with Invest NI's workshops and advice clinics in the past week, with some events over-subscribed. "We're prepared to run as many workshops as we need in the next 30 days to get people through and start the preparation," he said. "We have a certain amount of flexibility in how we use our resources, year on year. "We're able to manage the funding that we need at this point through to the end of March, without needing any additional funding from the department," he added. "It means slowing down some other activity that's just not as big a priority as Brexit. "Clearly, once we get to the end of March, we will then need to see the outcome and what that may mean then for the future. "Our priority is to help companies survive and thrive in the immediate steps after March 29. "If that means we need to slow down some of our normal business-as-usual activity and turn and pivot and focus on a much more hands-on approach, then that's exactly what we'll do." Glyn Roberts was speaking after a meeting with the PSNI yesterday to discuss the growing problem of cash machine thefts here (stock photo) Police must strive to ensure convictions over a new spate of ATM raids outside shops in rural areas, a retail chief has said. Glyn Roberts was speaking after a meeting with the PSNI yesterday to discuss the growing problem of cash machine thefts here. Raids - including six in the last six months, four of which were in the last month alone - have occurred across counties Antrim, Armagh, Down and Tyrone. Retail NI boss Mr Roberts said he was "satisfied" the PSNI is treating the matter seriously, amid concerns that local communities will pay the price if retailers remove outdoor ATMs from their premises due to the raids. "These robberies have cost our members hundreds of thousands of pounds and the criminal gangs behind them belong behind bars for a very long time," he said. Mr Roberts said that a dedicated team of detectives is probing the crime spree and associated criminality following recent ATM thefts, adding that it's a step in the right direction. Best Western Hotels & Resorts (BWHR) has said it hopes to add three more hotels here to its global brand as it expands across the island. The international group, which was founded in the United States, has said that it hopes to have 10 hotels in Ireland within five years. It is now targeting new builds and existing venues with at least 75 rooms on both sides of the border for conversion to its brand. The White Horse Hotel in Londonderry, as well as the Green Isle Hotel in Dublin, are already run under the Best Western banner. Vivienne Nyhan, international development director, said: "Our objective is to motivate more Irish hotel owners and investors to take a look at the new brand image and talk to us to show what we can offer them." There are 13 brands in the BWHR portfolio, from three to five-star property types. In the UK there are 250 hotels, while BWHR is the largest hotel group in Sweden, with 156 hotels in Germany and over 2,000 hotels in the US. The group said it now wants to bring brands to Ireland including Best Western Plus, Best Western Signature and Best Western Premier, as well as new boutique brands, Sadie and Aiden. Ms Nyhan added: "We intend to rollout the new and improved BWHR portfolio in Ireland and Northern Ireland over the next five years and our team is currently out around the country meeting hoteliers, investors and those in the construction and property sectors, showcasing our various and suitable brands, so we hope to have some good news with hotel announcements and launches to talk about soon." A few years ago I had a telephone call from my good friend and fellow historian Ernie Cromie. He told me that he had been contacted by a man by the name of John McCleery, who suggested that he might have some material of interest to us. We called on John a few days later and he produced a battered tin trunk in which was a treasure trove of unique archive material pertaining to the deeds of John's father Jack in the First World War. Jack was born in Belfast in 1898 and had a lively, gregarious and fun-loving nature. As I studied this remarkable collection, including more than 150 letters, his wartime diaries, several volumes of photographs, the bulk of which had never been published, as well as textbooks and notebooks, I came to the conclusion that this was a book waiting to be written. My aim was to set Jack's story, as one of the world's first aircraft carrier pilots, in its context, showing how the Royal Navy, beginning from scratch, worked out how to launch aircraft from ships at sea, how to arm and equip them to play an effective part in fleet operations and, most difficult of all, how to land safely back onto a moving, pitching and rolling ship at the end of a sortie. Jack's ship was the Royal Navy's first aircraft carrier HMS Furious, the most technologically innovative and advanced naval aviation platform of its day. It played a vital part in this dangerous and challenging process. I visited the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton in Somerset, discovering an unpublished handwritten manuscript - Notes On HMS Furious 1917-18 - and then the National Archive at Kew, where the ship's logs were held. I also read around the subject extensively. At the book's heart were Jack's words, his innermost joys, fears and heartaches as revealed in his diary entries, and the slightly contrasting version supplied to his parents in his letters, no doubt toned down to stop them worrying about him. One of the most fascinating items in Jack's trunk was a little book he had bought in 1916. Its title was Hints For Flight Sub-Lieutenants Royal Naval Air Service by Flight Lieutenant. It was a practical guide for junior officers. It began with "A Little Friendly Advice - making a good start is half the battle, don't be too self-satisfied." It continued with tips on behaviour in the wardroom and good manners: "A golden rule is, when in doubt, to salute, and pay respect." How to conduct oneself taking a parade: "If you make your men move on the last sound of the word of command, you will have no difficulty in getting them smart." How to handle the men: "Only a bad officer has trouble with his men." Expand Close Probationary Flight Officer Jack McCleery RNAS in 1916 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Probationary Flight Officer Jack McCleery RNAS in 1916 It concluded: "Last, but by no means least, do not ever be seen in uniform with anyone that you would not like to introduce to your own people or your Commanding Officer. Nothing will do the Air Service or yourself more harm than this." So, in due course, I wrote World War One Aircraft Carrier Pioneer: The Story And Diaries Of Captain Jack McCleery RNAS/RAF, which was published by Pen & Sword Books. Since then I have given talks on Jack's life in many venues, including, most memorably on board HMS Caroline. A further high point came in 2018 with the screening on BBC1 NI and BBC 4 of Captain Jack And The Furious Few, a documentary based on the book. Jack's father John wrote a remarkably prophetic letter to his son at boarding school on July 11, 1912. It read: My dear old Jack, I was greatly interested in your nice long letter which I got yesterday. It was very well put together and your bicycle tour was very well described. If you take care, and give some thought to it, you ought to turn out a very good letter writer indeed, and believe me that is something worth striving for, for there are not many can write a really interesting description or narrative. Perhaps you might be able afterwards to write something more enduring, who knows? Have you ever yet had a wish to do something for your country? Now good bye for the present, dear boy. God take care of you. Your loving father, JO McCleery On the outbreak of war in 1914 the mood of the country was well summarised in the Belfast Telegraph. Expand Expand Previous Next Close A Bristol F2b fighter An SE5 fighter / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A Bristol F2b fighter "We go to war to save honour, reputation, good name and respect. This war is due to German aggressiveness. We must teach the Kaiser a lesson. We did not want this war and stayed out of it for as long as we decently could. Through no wish or part of our own we find ourselves engaged in the greatest struggle the world has ever known." Jack's was a remarkable story, but he was by no means the only airman of the Great War 1914-18 born in Ulster. The extensive research of a Dublin-based historian, my friend Joe Gleeson, has revealed that 6,500 Irishmen and women joined the flying services as pilots, observers, engineers, mechanics, drivers and in other support roles. More than half came from the nine counties of Ulster. I have listed below brief details of 14 airmen from the province who flew into action in the First World War with the Royal Flying Corps, Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force. They are commemorated on the RAF100 mural, which is on the Donegall Road, just beside the entrance to the City Hospital. I now need the help of the descendants of these exceptional characters, or indeed any others who I have not listed, to have a look for any memorabilia, letters, diaries and photographs they might have and so shed further light on their lives before, during and after their flying careers. Can you help tell stories of these 14 knights of the air? Lieutenant Colonel Charles James Burke DSO (1881/ 1882-1917). Born: Armagh. Commanding Officer of No 2 Squadron as a BE2a (reconnaissance aircraft) pilot. Killed in action on 9/4/17, the first day of the Battle of Arras, while commanding a battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment. Captain Sydney Edward Cowan, MC and two bars (1897-1916) Born: Downpatrick. Killed in action on 27/11/16 with No. 29 Squadron. DH2 (fighter) pilot with seven victories. Captain Robert Frederick Lea Dickey RNAS, DSC and two bars, French bravery award the Croix de Guerre (1895-c1959) Born: Londonderry. Three or four victories. Felixstowe F2a (flying boat) pilot. Captain Edward Gribben MC (1890-not known) Born: Cultra, Co Down. Five victories. Sopwith Camel (fighter) pilot. Captain Victor Henry Huston MC (1890-1941) Born: Duncairn, Belfast. Six victories. FE2b (fighter) pilot. Captain Oscar Aloysius Heron DFC, C de G (1896-1933) Born: Armagh. Thirteen victories. Sopwith Camel (fighter) pilot. Lieutenant Forde Leathley MC (1896-1982) Born: Trillick, Co Tyrone. Eight victories (observer in a FE2d fighter/bomber). Flight Lieutenant George McCormack (1896-1928) Born: Ormeau, Belfast. Five victories. Bristol F2b fighter pilot. Lieutenant Robert McLaughlin DFC (1896-not known) Born: Cromac, Belfast. Six victories. Sopwith Camel (fighter) pilot. Air Mechanic Thomas Proctor (1888-1918) Born: Lurgan. Killed in action on 27/9/18 with No. 88 Squadron. Five victories. Bristol F2b fighter pilot. Lieutenant Alfred Stanley Mills DFC (1897-not known) Born: Woodvale, Belfast. Fifteen victories. Bristol F2b fighter pilot Captain Leslie Vernon Porter (1881-1916) Born: Cullion, Co Derry. Killed in action on 22/10/16 with 45 Squadron. Sopwith Strutter (reconnaissance/bomber aircraft) pilot. Flight Commander Guy William Price RNAS, DSC and bar (1895-1918) Born: Rostrevor, Co Down. Killed in action on 18/2/18 with No. 8 Naval Air Squadron. Twelve victories. Sopwith Camel (fighter) pilot. Captain Walter Alexander Tyrell MC (1898-1918) Born: Crumlin Road, Belfast. Killed in action on 9/6/18 with No. 32 Squadron. Capt Tyrell had 17 victories. DH5/SE5 (fighter) pilot. Bedford, PA (15522) Today Some sunshine with a thunderstorm or two possible this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High around 90F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. Low 69F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Louisiana is the worst state for job hunters, according to an analysis by Zippia, a career search and employment services company. To determine the worst states for someone looking for a job, Zippia used data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey to rank states on four criteria year-over-year improvement in unemployment; current unemployment rate; year-over-year income improvements; and home to income prices (a measure of where income goes further). Researchers then averaged the rankings of all four criteria. States with the higher rankings were considered harder places to find jobs. Here are the 10 worst states for people looking for jobs, based on the analysis: 1. Louisiana 2. Arizona 3. Kentucky 4. Mississippi 5. Alabama 6. Wyoming 7. West Virginia 8. Alaska 9. New Mexico 10. Connecticut Access Zippia's full analysis here. Fountain Valley (Calif.) Regional Hospital will hold a job fair to fill various healthcare positions, the Orange County Register reports. Available jobs are for registered nurses, certified nursing assistants, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, certified lab scientists, radiology techs and operating room technicians. The job fair is scheduled to run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 28 in the Saltzer Conference Room on Euclid Street in Fountain Valley. More information about the event is available here. More articles on workforce: Yale Health-developed interactive videos combat sexual harassment, bullying 21 medical and health companies offering flexible jobs 6 healthcare organizations that are hiring Seven pharmaceutical executives, representing $140 billion in U.S. revenue, testified before the Senate Finance Committee Feb. 26. During the high-stakes hearing, lawmakers asked top executives to describe and defend their pricing strategies, what keeps them awake at night and their thoughts on various drug reform bills. Six key takeaways and revealing moments from the nearly 3.5-hour hearing: 1. Pharma pushed the blame to PBMs. Pharma executives repeatedly argued that pharmacy benefit managers play a significant role in high drug prices. The executives said that PBMs have strong negotiating power over drugmakers and often threaten to exclude drugs from formulary lists. While senators agreed that PBMs likely play a role, the committee's lead Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden, Ore., said high list prices are dictated by the drugmakers themselves. He accused drugmakers of "stonewalling" by trying to diminish the importance of list prices. Mr. Wyden told executives that PBMs will "have their day" and the Feb. 26 hearing was about what drugmakers can do to lower prices. The drug executives also argued the rebate system is a factor in high drug prices. During the hearing, Big Pharma greatly supported HHS' proposed rule to revamp the rebate system. 2. Drugmakers emerged unscathed. There were no infamous Martin Shkreli moments or remarks like the 1994 hearings in which lawmakers asked tobacco executives to admit their role in causing a public health crisis. Instead, drug executives largely escaped lawmakers' attempts to shame them for perceived unacceptable behavior. In one case, all seven executives said they never blocked access to drug samples for generic manufacturers, STAT reports. However, an FDA database shows that Pfizer and AstraZeneca have been accused of doing so by generic drugmakers. For the most part, the tone of the hearing was respectful, and committee members barely batted an eye when executives shifted the blame to others in the industry, including PBMs and insurers. A Feb. 25 Reuters report warned that pharma stocks may take a hit from the hearing, but all seven remained unstirred, according to The Wall Street Journal. 3. Another main Big Pharma argument: Medical innovation could be jeopardized. Many of the drug executives warned lawmakers that any "outrageous solutions" to lower drug prices could impede industry innovation, according to a seperate report from The Wall Street Journal. Other executives warned that "quick fixes" are not the answer either. 4. Big Pharma does care about its reputation. Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked executives if they considered "negative public opinion" when setting drug prices. All seven responded with a resounding, "yes," according to The Atlantic. In other words, this means drugmakers consider more than administrative and research and development costs when setting drug prices. 5. Execs admit the U.S. has higher drug prices, for a reason. One major argument lawmakers pointed to was that the U.S. has far higher drug prices than other economically similar countries. Mr. Wyden asked executives if they still made a profit on the drugs they sell in other countries, such as France or Germany. AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez admitted that they do still make a profit. After that exchange, Mr. Wyden accused him and AbbVie of "gouging" American consumers. Mr. Gonzalez added that the U.S. has "some of the highest prices in the world" and said "our system is built around a variety of pricing, around the world, but that overall system supports our R&D model," according to The Atlantic. In other words, if Americans paid similar prices, drugmakers wouldn't be able to afford to develop new drugs. 6. Drugmakers threw the ball back into lawmaker's court. "The government has to step up and change the rules," AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot told legislators, according to The Atlantic. Mr. Soriot's remark is a rare call for more government regulation. However, it also suggests that drugmakers may not move to change anything on their own, throwing it back to the legislators to make changes. A pharmacy professor from the University of Missouri-Kansas City stole a student's research and secretly sold it to a pharmaceutical company for $1.5 million, a lawsuit filed Feb. 26 charges. The lawsuit, brought by University of Missouri, claims Ashim Mitra, PhD, defrauded the university out of millions of dollars, according to The Kansas City Star. The suit alleges Dr. Mitra improperly reaped $1.5 million from the sale and may improperly earn up to $10 million more in royalties. Dr. Mitra stole a more effective way to deliver drugs to the eye from one of his graduate students, the suit alleges. Money from the student's research belongs to the university because the student, Kishore Cholkar, PhD, was employed as a graduate research assistant when he made the discovery, the university claims. Dr. Mitra announced his resignation in January without acknowledging any wrongdoing. His last day will be March 31. Read the full report here. Several healthcare groups, including the American Hospital Association and Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, have joined coalitions that oppose "Medicare for All" plans, according to The New York Times. Three things to know: 1. While 2020 presidential hopefuls incorporate Medicare for All into their platforms, hospitals, physicians, drugmakers and insurers are lobbying against the idea and proposed legislation. 2. In June 2018, the Federation of American Hospitals, America's Health Insurance Plans, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America created a coalition to combat Medicare for All proposals. The lobbying group, the Partnership for America's Health Care Fund, also includes the American Medical Association, the AHA and Blues plans, according to the NYT. 3. The AHA's president and CEO, Rick Pollack, recently cautioned against Medicare for All proposals in a Feb. 22 blog post, writing that such legislation "could do more harm than good to patient care." For the full NYT article, click here. More articles on payers: BCBS of Michigan accused of charging hidden fees UnityPoint back in network with Humana, Molina Anthem study: Employers are increasingly bundling health benefits Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., is the latest Democrat to unveil a bill aimed at instating a "Medicare for All" health insurance system, according to NBC News. Ms. Jayapal's single-payer bill proposes replacing existing private and public coverage with a Medicare option that covers medical services, vision and dental without premiums, copays or deductibles. The bill, which has 107 sponsors, doesn't outline how the proposal would be paid for. The Medicare for All debate is emerging as a key topic on the 2020 trail, according to NBC News. Here are four other updates on the Medicare for All debate: 1. Healthcare lobbies against 'Medicare for All': 3 things to know Several healthcare groups, including the American Hospital Association and Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, have joined coalitions that oppose "Medicare for All" plans. 2. Sen. Kamala Harris backs ending private insurance for 'Medicare for All' option Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., said she supports "Medicare for All" policies during a CNN town hall Jan. 28, and would consider ending private health insurance. 3. Nearly half of adults don't know what 'Medicare for All' is, NORC survey finds Almost half 46 percent of adults aren't familiar with "Medicare for All" proposals, according to a survey from NORC at the University of Chicago. 4. AHA CEO Rick Pollack: 'Medicare for All' proposals may harm patient care Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, cautioned against "Medicare for All" proposals in a Feb. 22 blog post, writing that such legislation "could do more harm than good to patient care." The federal trial for 10 defendants, including four surgeons and a pain physician, accused of participating in a $200 million healthcare fraud scheme kicked off last week, according to The Dallas Morning News. Five things to know: 1. The trial, which is expected to last up to two months, centers on bribes and kickbacks now-defunct Forest Park Medical Center in Dallas allegedly paid to physicians and surgeons to steer surgeries to the hospital. 2. The scheme, which began in 2009 and ran through 2013, involved paying surgeons for referring patients to FPMC, which was out of network with payers. Instead of billing patients for out-of-network copayments, hospital executives and physicians allegedly assured patients they would pay in-network prices. Those involved in the scheme allegedly concealed the patient discounts and wrote off the difference as uncollected bad debt. 3. There were 21 defendants charged in the scheme in 2016, 11 of whom have pleaded guilty and are expected to testify on behalf of the government at trial, according to The Dallas Morning News. 4. The $200 million healthcare fraud scheme allegedly involved FPMC officials making $40 million in illegal payouts to surgeons and others in exchange for referrals. Although the $40 million in payments looked legitimate, they were really "bribes and kickbacks," a government lawyer told the jury during opening arguments on Feb. 21, according to Law360. 5. Several of the defendants have denied any wrongdoing. They claim healthcare attorneys told them the marketing agreements they entered into, which are at the center of the kickback allegations, were not illegal, according to The Dallas Morning News. More articles on legal and regulatory issues: HCA accused of billing fraud: 3 things to know 10 latest healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements Ex-CEO accused of defrauding eHealth Technologies Novartis must pay $1.5 million in damages to a former employee who claimed she was fired in retaliation for objecting to a proposed drug study, according to STAT. Min Amy Guo, who had been executive director of the Health Economics and Outcomes Research Group at Novartis, filed the whistle-blower lawsuit in 2014. The suit alleged that she was fired for raising concerns in 2012 about a potential study of a cancer drug by McKesson. She argued, at the time, that the study appeared to be a kickback to McKesson to help sell the medicine. Novartis told STAT that they are "We are disappointed in, and disagree with, the jury's verdict in favor of the plaintiff. She was terminated for legitimate, nondiscriminatory business reasons, including her violation of company policy. We will vigorously pursue all post-verdict and appellate options in the case." Read the full report here. Support staff at Providence Portland (Ore.) Medical Center have decided by one vote to unionize, the Portland Business Journal reports. Healthcare workers voted in December against joining the Service Employees International Union Local 49. But some of the more than 700 ballots cast were challenged, and an administrative law judge with the National Labor Relations Board determined two of those challenged ballots should be counted, according to Jean Powell Marks, senior communications manager at Providence Portland. The final vote was 384-383 in favor of unionization. "Providence Portland Medical Center healthcare employees voted to have a stronger voice on the job through organizing with SEIU Local 49," union president Meg Niemi told the Journal. "We've talked to workers there for years who wanted to be stronger advocates for the quality of care and services and to stop the erosion of their wages and benefits and have the ability to collectively bargain. Over the course of the last year, workers came together in a significant way to demonstrate they wanted to organize and have a union." A statement from Ms. Marks said Providence Portland is now "considering our next steps." The hospital could still appeal the administrative judge's recommendation to the NLRB regional director in Seattle. The hospital and/or SEIU Local 49 could also have the NLRB regional director's decision reviewed by the board's national office. "Throughout this process, we have said we fully support that every properly cast ballot must be counted if they are within the defined scope for the election. We made that pledge to our caregivers, and we remain committed to it," said Ms. Marks. More articles on human capital and risk: RNs plan 10-day March strike in California Federal labor board affirms disbanding USC hospital union Hospitals and unions: 6 recent conflicts, agreements Baltimore-based LifeBridge Health has signed a letter of intent with Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health to acquire Bon Secours Baltimore Hospital. The systems will hold a series of community meetings to share details of the transition. The Bon Secours Community Works program will remain active and continue to focus on community health by addressing social determinants of health such as affordable housing and career services. "Bon Secours Baltimore Hospital is a vital part of the west Baltimore community. As a Baltimore-based health system, LifeBridge Health envisions building on Bon Secours' strong foundation to provide a comprehensive and enhanced plan for all levels of health care services," said Neil Meltzer, president and CEO of LifeBridge Health. "At the same time, we want to bring additional resources to the community to address needs related to employment, addiction and other challenges." Steven Long, MHA, MBA, ACHE, serves as Chief Executive Officer for Hancock Regional Hosptial. On April 4th, Steven will speak at Becker's Hospital Review 10th Annual Meeting. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference, which will take place April 1-4, 2019 in Chicago. To learn more about the conference and Steven's session, click here. Question: What do innovators/entrepreneurs from outside healthcare need to better understand about hospital and health system leaders? Steven Long: Peter Drucker has famously said that healthcare is the most difficult, chaotic, and complex industry to manage today. I think most healthcare leaders would agree wholeheartedly with this assessment. We have the fortune (or misfortunate) to be in an industry that is alternatively described as a tapeworm on the American economy, a human right, and a system that has seen some of the greatest achievements of human intellect since we started recording history. The way our services are paid is unlike any other in the world. The incentives within the industry are historically misaligned between various partners (hospitals, physicians, pharma, insurers, employers, government, etc.) Costs are rising dramatically especially for pharmaceuticals, technology, and physicians. We are simultaneously trying to keep the financial boat afloat by growing volume, while preparing for a future where more volume means disaster. At base, we are ordinary human beings, in a dreadfully complex situation, balancing competing priorities, and trying to make it all work out Q: What one strategic initiative will demand the most of your time and energy in 2019? SL: Adapting our strategies and operations to the growing wave of consumerism and value based care initiatives. These include evolving our community and population health initiatives to a higher level, building low-cost access points for those covered by high deductible health plans, and reducing our cost structure in core hospital operations. Q: Tell us about the last meaningful interaction you had with a patient. SL: A colleague in our community was diagnosed five years ago with terminal cancer. As with many people these days, his terminal diagnosis played out as more of a chronic illness with occasional bouts of high acuity intervention over that five year period. He had a remarkably positive attitude over the entire time, was intensely active in the community, and was beloved by all. That said, he did express to me privately that he felt toward the end that he was obligated to die because he had outlived the initial diagnosis by so long. His condition really was terminal that whole time, but no one anticipated he would survive as long as he did (aided by miracles in immunotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted surgical interventions, etc.). He spent his last few days in hospice and I visited him often, contemplating each time whether there was a better approach for patients in this dilemma. After Amazon canceled plans to build part of its second headquarters in New York City, a coalition of residents and local politicians in Virginia are similarly calling on state lawmakers to reject the tech giant's plans for the state, according to NBC News. Four things to know: 1. Amazon announced plans last year to split its second headquarters between New York City and Crystal City, Va. However, the company canceled its plans for New York City last week after criticism from several local and state politicians and public concern. 2. A coalition in Virginia called "For Us, Not Amazon" is similarly calling for transparency from the tech giant and politicians over the plan for HQ2, which was largely negotiated behind closed doors, according to the report. Opponents of the plan argue that the project will lead to gentrification and rising housing costs, and may negatively affect the region's immigrant and low-income communities. "There has been no outreach to the low-income, working class, and black and brown communities of Arlington who will be most negatively impacted by Amazon's arrival," one community member who opposes Amazon's plans told NBC News. "A lot of people are really concerned about rising housing costs, Amazon's anti-union stance and workplace practices." 3. Under its deal in Virginia, Amazon is poised to receive $573 million in incentives for creating 25,000 jobs with an average wage of more than $150,000. The incentives are contingent on the company hiring for those roles during the next 12 years. 4. While some state politicians have publicly opposed the deal, many officials have come out in support of Amazon's plans, the report states. To access the full report, click here. A Florida woman was charged $48,512 for rabies treatment after a cat bite, primarily for an antibody injection, according to a report on npr.org. Six things to know: 1. Jeannette Parker, 44, a state fish and wildlife biologist, saw a hungry stray cat wandering along a road in a rural area outside Everglades National Park in south Florida. When she tried to feed the cat, the animal bit her finger. 2. Ms. Parker tried to seek rabies treatment at the local public health department. But since the department was closed, she went to the emergency room at Tavernier, Fla.-based Mariners Hospital, part of Baptist Health South Florida. She received the first in a series of rabies shots, an injection of rabies immune globulin, and says she did not talk with a physician at all during the two hour-visit, according to the report. 3. Charges related to the emergency room visit totaled $48,512, most of which was for the rabies immune globulin. 4. Baptist Health spokesperson Dori Robau Alvarez said the hospital's rabies prevention protocol generally includes several rabies vaccine doses as well as one administration of rabies immune globulin. The first in a series of rabies vaccine and the rabies immune globulin are administered in the ER immediately after treatment of the initial bite or wound. She said the patient may also receive antibiotics and other additional medications depending on their condition. 5. Ms. Parker was treated on Sept. 22, the month before the hospital reduced the cost of the rabies immune globulin to $1,650.00 per 2-milliliter dose. Ms. Alvarez said statements for patients who received treatment before the change would reflect the previous charge of $7,737 per 2-milliliter dose. 6. Ms. Parker's insurer covered $34,618 of her total $48,512 ER bill, according to the report. Ms. Parker's out-of-pocket costs include her 10 percent share of the charges that American Postal Workers Union accepted. She is asking the hospital to resubmit the bill to her insurer to see if her costs can be reduced. Ms. Alvarez said: "We work with our patients on a case-by-case basis to resolve any concerns; and are doing so in this case." More articles on healthcare finance: RCM tip of the day: Teach staff, patients how to use new software ACA enrollees appeal less than 1% of denied claims, analysis finds Tax-exempt hospitals to get an IRS checkup on federal law compliance Moody's Investors Service affirmed its "A2" rating for Burlington-based University of Vermont Health Network, affecting $313 million of rated debt. The rating reflects Moody's view that UVMHN will continue to capture significant market share and leverage its presence as the only academic medical center in Vermont. The rating outlook is stable. Kentuckiana Medical Center in Clarksville, Ind., and its affiliated clinics will close April 27, according to the News and Tribune. Three things to know: 1. The hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2013 and subsequently entered into a management agreement with Galichia Hospital Group. 2. GHC sent a letter to Kentuckiana Medical Center's roughly 200 employees informing them their employment will be terminated when the hospital closes. "While I realize this will be a difficult time for everyone my hope is that you will be able to remain professional and compassionate towards patients, patient families and your KMC team members in the days ahead," Michael Phillips, co-founder, COO and CFO of Galichia Hospital Group, stated in the letter. 3. Kentuckiana Medical Center has been in operation since 2009, according to the report. More articles on healthcare finance: Vanderbilt University Medical Center's operating income more than doubles 10 hospitals seeking CFOs Nurses go months without pay after staffing company loses Medicare funding California Assemblymember Patrick O'Donnell, D-Long Beach, has introduced a bill that would require hospitals to provide more notice before closing or eliminating services. The closure transparency bill requires hospitals to provide a 180-day public notice before closing or eliminating services. Current law requires a 30-day notice before a hospital closure and 90-day notice before eliminating emergency services. "Hospital closures are devastating for communities. Just last year, Community Hospital of Long Beach closed its doors after abruptly diverting emergency room patients to other hospitals with little notice to residents," Mr. O'Donnell said in a news release. "There was very little time to engage the hospital provider on an alternative to closure, and patients ultimately paid the price. There are now longer wait times for services, longer ambulance travel times and overcrowding at other facilities." More articles on healthcare finance: NewYork-Presbyterian CFO Michael Breslin: There are 'limitless' opportunities in telemedicine Most health systems don't offer upfront cost information to patients, survey finds How publicity spurred Zuckerberg hospital to consider billing changes: A timeline A failed ballot measure calling for mandated nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in Massachusetts represented 86 percent of all statewide ballot question spending in 2018, according to a review by the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. The review found that committees in support of and in opposition to Question 1 together reported $36.9 million in receipts and $36.8 million in expenditures related to the measure. That's in addition to $2.5 million in in-kind contributions (such as donated staff time). The Coalition to Protect Patient Safety ballot question committee, which opposed Question 1, reported about $25 million in expenditures, most of which came from the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association, according to the review. The Massachusetts Nurses Association provided most of the funding for the Committee to Ensure Safe Patient Care Committee, which supported the measure. The review found that the union provided $10.5 million, or 87 percent of the committee's total receipts related to Question 1. Overall, the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance said, $15.29 was spent on average per opposition vote compared to $13.31 for each vote of support. The measure ended up failing 1,858,483-787,511 during last year's midterm elections. More articles on healthcare finance: RCM tip of the day: Teach staff, patients how to use new software ACA enrollees appeal less than 1% of denied claims, analysis finds Tax-exempt hospitals to get an IRS checkup on federal law compliance Four of the top vendors hospitals used to participate in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program are Allscripts, Cerner, Epic and Meditech, according to 2018 ONC data. Sixteen hospitals and health systems posted job listings seeking EHR and IT expertise during the past two weeks: Editor's note: This is not an exhaustive list. Job listings were compiled from job seeker websites. Allscripts 1. Methodist Hospital of Southern California (Arcadia): Seeks a clinical IT analyst 2. Sarasota (Fla.) Memorial Health Care System: Seeks a senior clinical business systems analyst 3. Memorial Sloan Kettering (New York City): Seeks a clinical systems manager 4. Northern Light Health (Portland, Maine): Seeks a manager of revenue cycle-health information management Cerner 1. New York-Presbyterian Hospital (New York City): Seeks a laboratory IT analyst 2. Virginia Mason Medical Center (Seattle): Seeks a senior clinical information system analyst 3. Steward Health Care (Watertown, Mass.): Seeks a practice and systems optimization manager 4. Moffit Cancer Center (Tampa, Fla.): Seeks a clinical pharmacy informatics analyst Epic 1. Erlanger Health System (Chattanooga, Tenn.): Seeks a systems project manager 2. Providence Health Systems (Portland, Ore.): Seeks a clinical applications senior manager 3. Louisiana Childrens Medical Center (New Orleans): Seeks an IT applications manager 4. Northeast Georgia Health System (Gainesville, Ga.): Seeks a clinical informatics analyst Meditech 1. Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center (Denver): Seeks a pharmacy manager 2. Methodist Hospital (San Antonio): Seeks a patient access manager 3. Saint Francis Hospital (Charleston, W.Va.): Seeks a clinical data analyst 4. Portsmouth (N.H.) Regional Hospital: Seeks an IT analyst With more than 10 years of experience, healthcare consultant Andy Hillig specializes in developing leadership and improving operational efficiency in surgical settings. Mr. Hillig, who runs Andy Hillig Solutions, shared eight steps ASC leaders can take to get staff onboard with strategy changes withBecker's ASC Review: 1. Create a sense of urgency. Outline why the change is needed, using empirical evidence that speaks to current performance and compels everyone to change. 2. Articulate a clear vision of the future. Paint a picture of what the "promised land" looks like. 3. Help everyone see how their work impacts the future. When personnel understand why and have a good sense of how their work impacts the new strategy and the role they play, they are more likely to embrace the change. 4. Set the course. 5. Move ahead. 6. Don't retreat into the office. Leaders must be present, supporting the change. 7. Measure the impact. Ensure the change is having the intended effect, and have the integrity to abandon plans if the change isn't working. 8. Celebrate success. To participate in future Becker's Q&As, contact Angie Stewart at astewart@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. Fight Colorectal Cancer launched its National Colon Cancer Month campaign petitioning the public to close the colonoscopy loophole, and to snap a #StrongArmSelfie. What you should know: 1. Fight CRC created a petition to close the colonoscopy loophole, an issue where patients are charged when a screening colonoscopy becomes a diagnostic colonoscopy. The organization will collect signatures through March and send it to Congressional representatives at the end of the month. 2. Fight CRC President Anjee Davis said closing the loophole would reduce Medicare spending by $525 million over the next decade and would prevent up to 2,000 cases of colon cancer. 3. The group selected 31 colon cancer ambassadors, who will share their stories in New York City's Times Square and on several social media channels throughout the month. 4. The group also launched the #StrongArmSelfie campaign. Fight CRC will receive $1 for every photo shared on social media with the hashtag. 5. Stage four colon cancer survivor Melissa Eckert-Zigrang said, "Colorectal cancer can be an uncomfortable, embarrassing thing to talk about poop, symptoms but we need to get past that." The operator of a new in-district charter in Beaumont ISD made a bold prediction Tuesday night as he introduced himself to parents, students and employees at Smith Middle School. I want to make a promise, founder and CEO Earl Phalen of Phalen Leadership Academy told the community gathering. Your students will be significantly outperforming the district in three years, and in five years, theyll be over-performing the state average. The Indianapolis-based charter has partnered with BISD to operate Smith Middle and Jones-Clark Elementary schools, both in the north end. Fehl-Price Elementary will be placed under Lewisville-based ResponsiveEd, which has held similar community meetings. The three campuses were threatened with closure after failing to meet Texas Education Agency standards for four consecutive years. The schools could have been closed in 2017, but they were granted waivers in the wake of Tropical Storm Harvey. The in-district charters give the campuses more time to change their Improvement Required rating in lieu of a state-mandated closure. The district can cancel the contracts if school ratings dont rise to at least a C on the TEAs A-through-F system within three years. Phalen spoke of his academys approach to raising the academic achievements of historically underserved students with a rigorous, personalized and well-rounded educational experience. Phalen said it was too early to definitively say what changes would be implemented in the schools regarding programs, but he stressed a commitment to retaining the programs and services that currently function well for the students and their families. Im sure there are a lot of great things at this school, but there are things that need improvement, he said. Its Day 1 on campuses, so decisions have not been made. We will be back with a much clearer picture of what we are going to do. One change Phalen was able to confirm was a salary increase for every employee of the two campuses and an increased enforcement of existing uniform policies. Other possible changes include the addition of dedicated counselors, small-group tutoring for students who are falling behind and more information for parents in assisting students with homework. BISD associate superintendent Shannon Allen said the district was elated about the partnership. haley.bruyn@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/HaleyWrites_BE Selena took her last bow at RodeoHouston 24 years ago this week. That final performance, in all its details purple jumpsuit, lost earring, disco medley is now legendary, the most revered in rodeo history. And Selena's impact is still being felt today. Grammy winner Kacey Musgraves inspired lots of emotions with a spirited cover of "Como la flor" during Monday's opener. Tuesday night, Prince Royce put his own spin on "No me queda mas," Selena's greatest ballad. It's a testament to the fallen star's enduring and evolving legacy. QUEENS RECOGNIZE QUEENS: Kacey Musgraves covers Selena at RodeoHouston "Selena always in our hearts!" Royce shouted. The bilingual heartthrob sings bachata, which originated in the Dominican Republic and combines dramatic, romantic lyrics with strings and percussion. He's the first tropical artist to perform at RodeoHouston. Texas was one of the first places to embrace his music, which also boasts pop, hip-hop and R&B elements. Royce is one of several acts with Latin roots on this year's lineup, which also includes Cardi B, Camila Cabello, Los Tigres del Norte and Santana. "What an honor to represent Latin culture this year at an event as historic as RodeoHouston. Humbly grateful," Royce wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of himself onstage during soundcheck. "Let's get it Houston!" SHE READY: But is RodeoHouston ready for Cardi B? He sparkled in a gold-studded jacket and sleeveless white shirt, "rodeo bling," he called it. He addressed the crowd of 51,826 in English and Spanish, effortlessly switching between languages. They screamed every time he spoke or moved his hips or lifted up his shirt. He was visibly excited, frequently jumping up and down or scurrying across the stage. His 2010 breakout hit, a simmering bilingual cover of Ben E. King's "Stand by Me," came early in the set. It typifies Royce's appeal, a smart blend of tradition, youth and swoon-worthy drama. He sat on the edge of one of the stage's star points during "Soy el mismo," serenading the chute seat buyers. He also attempted to throw roses to the crowd, but they landed in the dirt. Prince Royce RodeoHouston setlist "Te robare" "Stand by Me" "Soy el mismo" "Bubalu" "El amor que perdimos" "Las cosas pequenas" "Corazon sin cara" "Sensualidad" "La carretera" "Adicto" "Culpa al corazon" "No me queda mas" (Selena cover) "Extraordinary/Human Nature" "Incondicional" "El clavo" "Back It Up" "Ven conmigo" "Darte un beso" See More Collapse "This is a big ass place, y'all," he said. HISTORY MAKER: Prince Royce is ready to Rodeo, only on HoustonChronicle.com His songs are made for slow dances and late-night confessions "Soy el mismo," "El amor que perdimos," "Las cosas pequenas." And they're grounded in melodies that immediately stick in your brain. His voice warmed up nicely as the performance progressed. He jumped offstage during "La carretera" and again during "Adicto," throwing roses into the crowd and climbing the rails. He circled the entire venue, a victory lap met with a wall of ear-piercing shrieks and outstretched hands. He invited a female fan onstage for a slow dance, conversation and a kiss on the lips. "Are you single?" he asked. "I am," she replied, not missing a beat. "Waiting on you." Royce knows his crowd. But he later thanked the "fellas" for bringing their wives, girlfriends and daughters. And for putting up with a guy who keeps pulling up his shirt, he said. As he pulled up his shirt to more screams. To drive the point home, he handed out beers to several guys near the rails. When he closed with the bachata groove of "Darte un beso," couples were dancing in the aisles. Something, then, for everyone. Joey Guerra writes about music and pop culture for the Houston Chronicle. He will be writing about every single RodeoHouston concert. Follow him on Twitter. Send him news tips at joey.guerra@chron.com. Hotel Leela Venture said Tuesday JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (JMFARC) has filed an insolvency petition with the Mumbai bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) against the company. The application has been filed under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, Hotel Leela Venture said in a filing to BSE. Also Read: Indian strikes Pakistan LIVE updates: Heavy firing along LoC; Punjab, Rajasthan, Mumbai on high alert "The company is continuing to engage with prospective investors for a resolution," it added. On June 30, 2014, the erstwhile corporate debt restructuring lenders with exposure of 95.6 per cent of the CDR debt had assigned their debt to JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd and one lender with exposure of about 1 per cent of the CDR Debt to Phoenix ARC Private Ltd. Shares of Hotel Leela Venture closed at Rs 10.41 on BSE, down 6.55 per cent from the previous close. Also Read: Delhi Budget 2019-20: AAP govt allocates Rs 500 crore for Metro Phase IV Bluefield, WV (24701) Today A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 81F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. One on One: Bakersfield College President Sonya Christian talked about her work at the state level France is working on a proposal to ban chief of the UN-proscribed Jaish-e Muhammad (JeM) Masood Azhar after it assumes the Presidency of the powerful UN Security Council in March, sources said. The rotating monthly Presidency of the 15-nation UN Security Council (UNSC) will go from Equatorial Guinea to France on March 1. Also Read: IAF Surgical Strike 2.0 LIVE: Pak Air Force's F-16 fighter jet shot down; pilot ejected, condition unknown France, a permanent member of the Council with veto powers, is working on the proposal (to ban Azhar) and it should be ready soon, informed sources told PTI, adding that the proposal against the JeM chief could perhaps be moved in the Sanctions Committee under the French presidency. "France is focussed on bringing individual listing requests of JeM terrorists to the 1267 Sanctions Committee soon," they said. The Pakistan-based JeM claimed the responsibility of the heinous suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14 in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed, sparking outrage in India. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action. The facility at Balakot was headed by Yousuf Azhar, the brother-in-law of the JeM chief. The proposal, when moved, will be the fourth such bid at the UN in the last 10 years to list Azhar as a global terrorist. In 2009, India had moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar. This was followed in 2016 when India moved the proposal with the P3 - the United States, the United Kingdom and France - in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the airbase in Pathankot in January 2016. In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, on all occasions, China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UNSC, blocked the proposal from being adopted by the Sanctions Committee. It remains to be seen how China will vote on the proposal this time, following a crucial bilateral meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wuzhen, where she is participating in the Russia, India, China (RIC) Foreign Ministers meeting. Swaraj on Wednesday raised the Pulwama suicide attack in her meeting with her Chinese counterpart, a day after India destroyed a major JeM terror training camp in Pakistan. Stating that the JeM is banned by the UN and other countries, Swaraj told Wang that "this terrorist attack is the direct result of the impunity and cover provided to the JeM and its leaders by the Pakistani side". "After the Pulwama attack the entire UN has spoken with full voice to condemn it," she said. The French Presidency of the UNSC comes after the 15-nation UN organ under the presidency of Equatorial Guinea had issued a highly significant press statement strongly condemning the Pulwama terror attack. Also Read: Indian Air Force shoots down Pakistan F-16 fighter jet: report China had to sign off on the February 21 UNSC press statement that "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". On the UNSC press statement condemning the Pulwama attack, a UN diplomat here said that what moved the Security Council was that "this is an issue that all the members speak with one voice in the fight against terrorism. Whenever there is an act of terrorism, anywhere no matter who perpetrates it, it receives the condemnation of not only of the Security Council but of all the international community." The UNSC press statement was seen not only as a strong condemnation of terror against India but also of international solidarity with New Delhi on its fight against terrorism. China's lone opposition in the UNSC to any mention of terrorism resulted in a delay of nearly one week in the issuance of the press statement by the powerful body on the dastardly Pulwama terror attack, official sources had said. However, the US assiduously worked as "pen holder" making various adjustments to get the approval by all other members of the Council, they said. In a statement issued by the acting spokesperson of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of France following the air strikes by the Indian Air Force on the JeM training camp in Pakistan, France said it "stands by India in the fight against terrorism in all its forms" and "is fully engaged in mobilizing the international community to sanction the terrorists responsible for this attack and freezing their financing networks." Hours after India carried out the air strikes against the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his "urgent appeal to both the Government of India and the Government of Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure that the situation does not further deteriorate." His spokesperson St phane Dujarric told reporters at the daily press briefing that the UN Chief is "obviously following this situation very closely." Also Read: India-Pakistan tension: Airports in many northern Indian cities shut down A body found Thursday morning inside a southwest Bakersfield house has been identified as a man who, along with his wife, was arrested last we Joseph Luiz can be reached at 395-7368 or by email at jluiz@bakersfield.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @JLuiz_TBC. The Sensex and Nifty fell in afternoon trade amid rising geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan. While the Sensex fell 100 points to 35,000 level, Nifty fell 45 points to 10,789 level. The Sensex fell 238 points from the day's high of 36,371 and Nifty fell 188 points to 10,751 from its intra day high of 10,939 on reports of conflict in air between the two countries. Meanwhile, Karachi Stock Exchange too lost 3.30% or 1,280 points to 37,540 after reports came that Pakistan Air Force's F-16 that violated Indian air space was shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3KM within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, Nowshera sector. The Pakistani index has lost 2066 points in two sessions after India conducted airstrikes in Pakistan and demolished terrorist camps across the border early morning on Tuesday. IAF Surgical Strike 2.0 LIVE: Pak Air Force's F-16 fighter jet shot down; pilot ejected, condition unknown Pakistan too claimed it shot down two Indian aircraft. "In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area," claimed Major General Asif Ghafoor, spokesperson, Pakistan Armed Forces. Of 30 Sensex stocks, 18 were trading in the red. Tata Motors (2.96%), Vedanta (2.92%), and Kotak Bank (1.36%) were the top Sensex losers. BSE midcap and small cap indices too pared gains trading just 47 points and 10 points higher, respectively. The mid cap and small cap indices were trading 139 points and 120 points higher in early trade. Auto and banking stocks which led the gains in early trade were trading 33 points higher and 120 points lower in noon trade. In early trade, the BSE auto and BSE bankex rose 234 points and 256 points, respectively. Other major losers were consumer durables stocks with the BSE index falling 104 points to 21,140 level. Of 19 BSE sectoral indices, 12 were trading in the red. According to brokers, investor sentiment took a beating after Pakistan claimed that it shot down two Indian military aircraft over Pakistani air space and arrested one of the pilots. Volatility index NSE VIX rose 12% to 19.16 level as reports poured in about the conflict in air between the two countries. Experts said the market is pricing an escalation and its time to buy value stocks amid falling market. Edited by Aseem Thapliyal RENO, Nevada, USA, February 27, 2019 / B3C newswire / -- CAC Corporation (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Ryota Nishimori; hereinafter called "CAC") has signed a partnership agreement with rfxcel Corporation (Head Office: Reno, Nevada, USA; CEO: Glenn Abood; hereinafter called "rfxcel") in the pharmaceutical traceability field. From now on, CAC, as a distributor of rfxcel, will sell its products in the Japanese market and provide related services such as introduction support and help desks. In many countries, including the U.S., rfxcel provides a solution for the Life Sciences industry to store and share data tracking information that is serialized across the global supply chain. In recent years, the threat of counterfeit products in the distribution of pharmaceuticals has been expanding worldwide, and more and more legal restrictions have been placed on these counterfeit products. In Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the pharmaceutical industry, and medical-related organizations are also considering measures against counterfeit drugs. In addition, consideration will be given to establishing traceability across the entire medical field supply chain (pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesalers, medical institutions, and patients) to ensure efficient and safe medical care, as well as to ensure the safety and security of patients and users. Taking the opportunity of this agreement, CAC will promote closer collaboration with rfxcel. CAC will also engage in activities that will enable it to properly respond to the changes in the laws and regulations in the pharmaceutical traceability sector in the Japanese market by becoming an active member in conferences related to these various laws and regulations, such as conferences held by the Japan Medical Traceability Promotion Council and GS1 Healthcare Japan. In the Chinese market, we will also consider carrying out activities in cooperation with CAC Shanghai, a group company. About CAC The CAC group started as Computer Applications Co., Ltd. (CAC), the first independent software company in Japan, in 1966. Today it is spread across the globe with offices in USA, Europe, South East Asia and India; providing end-to-end IT and BPO services. CAC offer comprehensive IT services which include system development for a wide range of industries; system integration (SI), including construction of system infrastructure and outsourced IT services About rfxcel A global leader in traceability, rfxcel was founded in 2003 and is the most tenured provider of serialization and traceability solutions for Life Sciences. rfxcel is present in many countries and work with many large companies to secure their supply chains through serialization and track and trace. Our best-in-class, secure, cloud-based approach is based on global standards and proven methodology. Contact rfxcel Herb Wong, VP of Marketing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Published by B3C newswire and shared through Newronic If you've been watching the Democratic presidential hopefuls gear up, you have probably heard the phrase "Medicare for All." Start your mornings with anchor Yetta Gibson weekdays from 4:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. on CBS 5 This Morning. Her passion is telling great stories, getting out and about to meet and talk to people in the community, and making what she calls "that comfortable connection" with her viewers. Copyright 2019 KPHO/KTVK (KPHO Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved. Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, arrives to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Flight operations have been suspended across major airports in Pakistan due to the escalating tensions between Pakistan and India, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced on Wednesday. The Pakistan's aviation authority made the announcement on Twitter after the Director General, Inter-Services Public Relation (DG ISPR), acknowledged the closure of Pakistan's airspace due to the prevailing security situation, according to Pakistan leading daily Dawn. It is believed that the step was taken in view of escalation of tension between India and Pakistan after IAF struck down terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's camp in Balakot, killing up to 350 terrorists. The relation between India and Pakistan have worsened after February 14 Pulwama attack in which more than 40 CRPF personnel were killed. Confirming the development, Lahore airport manager told the Geo News that flight operations at Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad airports have been suspended. All incoming and outgoing local and international flights have been suspended until further orders, he was quoted as saying. According to manager, "A flight from Guanghzou, China has been sent back." The news channel quoting its sources said a passenger airplane was stopped from taking off from Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar following the orders of Civil Aviation Authority. Also Read: Pakistan says no F-16 aircraft used, dismisses report of their fighter jet crashing Earlier today, India closed several airports close to the Line of Control (LoC) for civilian air traffic. According to government sources, flights to Jammu, Srinagar, Chandigarh, Leh, Amritsar, Pathankot, Dehradun and Dharamshala have been suspended till further notice. Earlier in the day, Indian news agency ANI had reported that Indian forces struck down a Pakistan F-16 aircraft that violated the Indian airspace. A parachute was seen as the F-16 went down, however, the condition of the pilot is still unknown, reported ANI. Refuting India's claim of shooting down Pakistan's F-16 aircraft, the DG ISPR said that Pakistan had not used F-16 in entire operation and no Pakistani fighter jet has been hit. Addressing a press conference, Pakistan's Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relation (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor on Wednesday claimed that it undertook strikes across the border from Pakistani airspace. He claimed that Pakistan Air Force (PAF) shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace and two Indian pilots have been arrested. Also Read: IAF air strike in Pakistan Live: Pak releases video of arrested Indian pilot; airspace above New Delhi vacated (With inputs from PTI) Edited by Chitranjan Kumar Lawmakers in Arizona are considering bills that would make it easier for parents to exempt their children from vaccinations. By Leman Mammadova Eurotourism Travel Agency took part at the International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM 2019), organized in Tel-Aviv, Israel, Trend reports referring to the company. IMTM 2019, the 25-th Annual International Tourism Exhibition and Fair, took place in Tel Aviv Convention Center on February 12-13, 2019. IMTM is the official and only professional exhibition for the tourism trade market in Israel. The event is a trendsetter for the global and local tourist industry. Representatives of Israeli tourism market and participants from other countries, hotel and car rental companies, tour operators, professional associations, municipalities and technology suppliers took part in the event. In the morning, the exhibition was organized only for professionals in the tourism industry, and in the afternoon it was open to everyone. Workshops and press conferences were also held within the IMTM. Azerbaijan is represented by the delegation of the State Tourism Agency and the Azerbaijan Tourism Board at IMTM 2019 to promote its tourism potential and new tourism brand image awareness. Eurotourism Travel Agency also participated in this exhibition and successfully set up new partnerships. The company representative held over 30 business meetings with leaders and leaders of travel companies in Israel. The representatives of Indian, Kazakh and Russian companies also showed great interest in the stand. In general, the exhibition was quite productive, and will have a positive impact on the flow of tourists coming from Israel. Israel has particularly stood out among the countries that have shown interest in Azerbaijan in recent years. The number of tourists coming from Israel to Azerbaijan increased by 161 percent (40,000 travelers) in 2018 compared to 2017. In 2018, the number of flights between Baku and Tel Aviv has increased dramatically. Israir Airlines & Tourism Ltd., an Israeli airline based at Sde Dov Airport (SDV) in Tel Aviv, is carrying out flights to Baku three times a week, as part of tourist packages. The direct flight is of great significance in terms of mutual increase in tourism turnover. The International Mediterranean Tourism Market Exhibition (IMTM) is the annual and oldest event of the tourism industry in Israel that brings together Israeli tourists, tourism operators, their colleagues and clients from abroad and the general public, and is the main annual meeting point of the Israeli tourism industry. IMTM It was organized by "Ortra" Ltd. and Israel Travel News, in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and is sponsored by the Israel Hotel Association, the Israel Tourist Association and the Association of Travel Agents in Israel. The exhibition is intended for all those involved in the various tourism sectors domestic tourism, incoming tourism, countries and tourism bodies from abroad, and has a wide range of Israeli exhibitors: tourism associations from all over Israel, airlines, hotels, car rental companies, shipping companies and suppliers. The exhibition brought together more than 50 countries and 20 tourism ministers. --- Leman Mammadova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Abdul Kerimkhanov Kazakhstan imposed a ban on the import of gasoline from Russia by rail. The order was signed by the Kazakh Minister of Energy, Kanat Bozumbayev, according to the ministry's website. Earlier, Minister Kanat Bozumbayev explained that since January 2019, there has been a gasoline surplus in Kazakhstan. He added that already at the Shymkent refinery there was a threat of overstocking, filling all tanks and in the country as a whole. A similar ban on the import of gasoline from Russia was introduced on August 25, 2018. As the Vice-Minister of Energy Bolat Akchulakov explained, Kazakhstan, within the framework of the EAEU, has the right to periodically impose a conventional ban on the import of petroleum products. In addition to introducing a temporary ban, Kazakhstan, in order to prevent market glutting, will begin exporting petroleum products to the Central Asia countries. Gasoline in Kazakhstan is almost entirely of local production. In 2018, its production increased by almost a third. In January-November 2018, the country produced 10.6 million tons of oil products, including jet fuel, diesel fuel, gasoline and fuel oil. Kazakhstan in 2019 plans to supply about 1.2 million tons of gasoline to neighboring Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Besides, a ban was imposed in Kazakhstan on the export of light types of petroleum products. The restriction was valid until January 1, 2019. It was expected that by that time the republic will be able to start independently providing the domestic market with gasoline after the modernization of three large Kazakh refineries is completed. Earlier, Russia and Kazakhstan signed a protocol allowing Kazakhstan to begin exporting gasoline to other countries. Subsequently, Astana hoped to begin supplying gasoline to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan and bring exports to 1.2 million tons. Currently, Kazakhstan ranks 10th in the petrol rating from the agency Global Petroleum Prices. The average cost of one liter of this type of automotive fuel in the country is $ 0.48. Diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and Russia were established on October 22, 1992. The trade turnover of Kazakhstan and Russia amounted to $ 17.6 billion in 2018. This is 7.2 percent higher than the previous year. According to the figures for January-November 2018, Russia ranks first in terms of imports to Kazakhstan. Russia's share among the countries supplying products to Kazakhstan is 37.3 percent. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Chairperson of the Turkmen parliament Gulshat Mammedova received credentials of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Ghana Sayuti Yahaya Iddi, Trend reports Feb. 27 referring to the Turkmen government. At the meeting, the sides underlined Turkmenistans commitment to broad international cooperation, including in the context of currently expanding relations with the African Union, the states of North and West Africa. At the meeting, the parties noted the importance of intensifying the interstate dialogue between the countries both in a bilateral format and as part of authoritative international organizations. The diplomat was also received at the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan, where opportunities for partnership between the two countries in various areas were considered. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The Pakistani newspapers have put the blame on India for the escalation in tension with Pakistan following the Indian Air Force's punitive action against terror camps across the LoC. "It is a wildly provocative and shockingly aggressive act - and the potential repercussions may extend to the hitherto unthinkable possibility of war itself between the two South Asian neighbours," read the editorial in Dawn, a leading newspaper across the border. "With good sense having failed to prevail in India, the whole region now stands on the threshold of the unknown." Similarly, according to the Pakistan Observer, "Regardless of Pakistan's repeated peace offers, India is bent upon undermining the regional peace and security through its provocative acts and statements". Also read: IAF air strike in Pakistan Live: Lost MiG 21; verifying Pak claims of arresting missing Indian pilot, says MEA According to The Nation, the IAF "bombed an empty hilltop and hastily left once Pakistani jets were scrambled" but was quick to add that it represents "an escalation of another kind". The newspaper, one of Pakistan's most popular ones, also said that "This is the first time Pakistani airspace has been violated since 1971, and the territory targeted is in a province other than Azad Kashmir. It would be no stretch of imagination to construe this as an act of war." For the Pakistan Observer, the IAF raid was a "clear act of aggression" that was "challenged by vigilant Pakistan Air Force", which prompted our jets to drop their payload near Balakot. "To cover up the disgrace it [was] meted out on the LOC, the Indian side is once again presenting a totally false and concocted story to hoodwink its public as well as the world," the editorial added. Dawn is the only major publication that has acknowledged that "there are duelling official Indian and Pakistani version of events of what occurred on Tuesday morning", adding that "Few, if any, facts are publicly established when there are claims and counter-claims of military action along the LoC." The Nation claimed that "with the elections around the corner the government had to do something, anything to make it seem like they were responding" and that "Pakistanis have been waiting to see what manner of fictitious "surgical strike" will be launched this time". But while the paper essentially accused India of lying, Dawn went a step further saying, "Surely, any remotely rational Indian policymaker or public figure would have recognised that Pakistan would reserve the right to retaliate against an attack on this country's sovereign territory, but it does not appear that there are any rational Indian policymakers or public figures left." While several Pakistani dailies accused the Indian media of "virulent attacks" on their country and constantly pointing a finger at it, The Nation, without pulling in any punches, wrote: "As expected this one [surgical strike] was as ineffectual and token as the last; but in the eyes of the Indian media it morphed into an exaggerated fantasy complete with impossible numbers of causalities and claims not backed by any evidence." Pakistan Today, however, forayed where few other publications wanted to go. "The embarrassing incident should make those who take decisions realise the danger posed by the presence of terrorist networks on Pakistan's territory," read its editorial today. "While supporting the indigenous struggle of the brave Kashmiri people politically and morally Pakistan has to urgently get rid of whatever terrorist networks still exist in Pakistan in a convincing manner. Everyone knows Pakistan has nuclear weapons. No country would however appreciate if we dangle the threat." "The awful spectacle of the Indian state, overwhelming sections of its media and seemingly swathes of the population celebrating an attack on Pakistan suggests that much of India does not understand what it has potentially triggered," wrote Dawn. While acknowledging that "rational, right-minded and sensible denizens in both countries" would realise the perils of military action by either country, it went on to accuse the "Indian war lobby" of not appreciating or having any regard for "what the outcome of provoking Pakistan into militarily responding to India could be". According to The News International, the "harsh rhetoric from New Delhi, warning of retaliatory action, has fuelled the fires and prevented a sensible response to the more rational approach taken by Pakistan" while The Nation feels that Pakistan "has been quite admirably stoic in the face of Indian provocations and has remained sagacious enough to urge de-escalation". But Pakistan Today, once again took a different stand on the topic. "Imran Khan once again proved himself to be no more than a run-of-the mill politician playing to the gallery," said its editorial referring to his warning to Prime Minister Modi. "While he posits as a proud Pathan who always carries out whatever he says, he will have to eat the humble pie by going back on his impolitic statement." Also read: Pakistan says no F-16 aircraft used, dismisses report of their fighter jet crashing Also read: Indian Air Force shoots down Pakistan F-16 fighter jet: report By Trend Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Dominican Republic Danilo Medina. On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I congratulate you and the people of your country on the occasion of Independence Day of the Dominican Republic, President Aliyev said. On this remarkable day, I extend my best regards to you, and wish the friendly people of your country everlasting peace and prosperity, he added. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has met with President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili, who is on an official visit in Azerbaijan. First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva said that she is happy to see Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili in Azerbaijan, and expressed confidence that this visit will contribute to the further expansion of relations between the two friendly countries, Azertag reported. Saying she is happy to visit Azerbaijan, President Salome Zourabichvili stressed the importance of meetings held in Baku in terms of developing the bilateral ties. They also exchanged views on cooperation prospects between the two countries in a variety of areas. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade There is a plan to enclose some of forest areas to protect them from fire and prevent uncontrolled grazing of livestock, Employee of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources Sadig Salmanov said, Trend reported. He noted that worldwide, the main cause of wildfires is the human factor. The proof of this was the strong fires that occurred in Greece and California last year. Unfortunately, last year forest fires occurred in Azerbaijan due to the negligence of people. Therefore, in certain areas of the forest, fencing works are being carried out. Fencing in the forests will be carried out only in the necessary places. We are talking about a natural fence on a small area. This will protect the new areas planted, protect against fire, speed up the natural restoration of forests, Salmanov said. Salmanov added that this experience is used throughout the world. This is also provided for in the recommendations of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for the development of the National Forest Program. Earlier, the ministry official also informed that five cameras have been installed to protect forest resources. "15 more cameras are planned to be installed in the forests this year and works in this direction will continue in the future, Salmanov emphasized. Generally, forestry in Azerbaijan is a major environmental resource and plays an important role in the life of people, especially in rural areas. Forests support human well-being in many ways, including timber production, wildlife habitat, air quality, soil protection, carbon storage and recreation. The forests tend to cause abundant and needed rainfall and to preserve the moisture when fallen, releasing it to the rivers gradually, and thus preventing abnormal freshets and extreme droughts, which is very important factor for the agriculture development. Preservation of the nature and biological diversity is one of the basic priorities of the state policy in Azerbaijan, and large-scale state programs directed to the improvement of the ecological situation have been implemented during the past decade. Over the past few years, the forest area in the country increased from 11.4 to 11.8 percent. Over the past decade, the number of protected areas, national parks and nature reserves have increased significantly in Azerbaijan, which is very helpful to prevent the deforestation. However, occupation of the 20 percent of Azerbaijans territory by Armenian military forces caused a significant damage to the forests, especially those located in the mountainous areas. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Following the one-on-one meeting, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili were joined by their delegations for a meeting in an expanded format. The presidents made speeches at the meeting. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said: - Dear Madam President, distinguished guests! Let me sincerely welcome you again. Welcome to Azerbaijan! We attach great importance to your visit. I have congratulated Madam President on her victory in the presidential election. I am very pleased that after a short time, Madam President is visiting Azerbaijan. This is an excellent indicator. In a one-on-one meeting today, we discussed many issues. We discussed regional problems, our bilateral and multilateral cooperation. We were once again convinced that our positions overlap on all the issues. I am sure that this visit will be an important step for the development of Georgian-Azerbaijani relations. So far we have resolved many issues together. Georgia and Azerbaijan are close friends and fraternal countries. We have lived in the atmosphere of good neighborliness for centuries and are successfully developing today. The projects we are jointly implementing are important for our countries, for the continent and for the whole world. So we have managed to create a very successful format of cooperation. I am convinced that our cooperation will deepen and expand even more in all areas in the coming years. This is necessitated by our political will. I am sure that we will always be next to each other on all matters, will support each other just as we have always done in all matters before. We have discussed foreign policy issues, the situation in the region and the implementation of our transport and energy projects today. Of course, we will now discuss these issues in an expanded format, in a wider form. I am convinced that the results of the visit will be very positive and make a new contribution to our cooperation. Once again, you are welcome! --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend An official welcome ceremony has been held for President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili, who is on an official visit in Azerbaijan. A guard of honor was arranged for the Georgian president in the square decorated with the national flags of the two countries. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev welcomed Salome Zurabishvili. The chief of the guard of honor reported to the Georgian president. President Ilham Aliyev and President Salome Zurabishvili reviewed the guard of honor. The Georgian president saluted the Azerbaijani soldiers. The state anthems of Georgia and Azerbaijan were played. State and government officials of Azerbaijan were introduced to Salome Zurabishvili, and members of the Georgian delegation were introduced to Ilham Aliyev. The guard of honor marched in front of the heads of state to the accompaniment of a military march. The presidents then posed for official photos. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend As part of his working visit to Geneva, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with Retno Marsudi, minister for foreign affairs of Indonesia, Trend reports with reference to Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry. At the meeting the sides discussed the cooperation relations between the two countries and expressed their satisfaction over the current level of political relations. Furthermore, the sides discussed the cooperation issues within the international organizations, in particular the UN. At the meeting the sides also exchanged their views on the issues of mutual interest. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend In the margins of the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with Peter Maurer, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. At the meeting the sides exchanged views on the current state and future perspectives of the Azerbaijan and the ICRC relations and expressed hope for further development of the existing successful cooperation. Minister Elmar Mammadyarov noted that the ICRC is the main partner of Azerbaijan in the humanitarian field and positevely assessed the ICRC activities in the context of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Foreign minister informed his interlocutor on the current situation of the negotiations over the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It was underlined that Azerbaijan is in favor of results-oriented talks and the conflict can be settled in the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationaly recognized borders in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and OSCE documents. Elmar Mammadyarov touching upon the humanitarian aspects of the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan, emphasized the importance of the release of Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilgam Asgarov, who were illegally taken hostage by Armenia back in 2014, while they were visiting their native lands. At the same time, Minister Elmar Mammadyarov emphasizing the violation of international humanitarian law by Armenia, especially its committments taken by the 1949 Geneva Conventions underlined the importance of the ICRC to provide necessary assessment to these acts of occupying country. In his turn, the president of the ICRC thanked for the information provided and stressed that the humanitarian cooperation and the relevant projects in the context of conflict settlement will be continued. Minister Elmar Mammadyarov invited the ICRC president to the XVIII Summit meeting of the heads of states and governments of the Non-Alligned Movement to be held in Baku on 25-26 October 2019. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Armenias aggression against Azerbaijan will be discussed at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries, the OIC told Trend Feb. 27. It was noted that, along with this, the Syrian crisis and the situation in Yemen and Afghanistan will also be put on the agenda. The issue of strengthening economic and political relations between the OIC member countries will also be discussed. The meeting of foreign ministers will be held March 1-2 this year in Abu Dhabi, and will be the 46th in a row. 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 Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend On the sidelines of his working visit to Geneva Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with Didier Reynders, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of the Kingdom of Belgium, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. At the meeting the sides exchanged their views about the current level of cooperative relations between Azerbaijan and Belgium. Minister Elmar Mammadyarov informed his interlocutor on the current status of negotiations process of the peaceful resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and spoke about the commemoration of the 27th anniversary of the Khojaly Genocide perpetrated by the Armenian armed forces. Furthermore, the sides discussed other issues of mutual interest. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Azerbaijan, with a population of almost 10 million people, is a country with the largest number of IDPs and refugees per capita, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at the 40th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, Trend reports referring to the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan. The minister stressed that unfortunately the ongoing armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan still represents a major threat to international and regional peace and security, human rights and development. "Today, Azerbaijan marks the 27th anniversary of one of the brutal pages of this conflict the Khojaly Genocide committed by Armenia, as a result of which 613 residents of this small town in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, including 106 women, 63 children and 70 elderly were murdered by Armenian military in 1992," the minister said. "As a result of the armed aggression by neighboring Armenia, 20 percent of the territory of Azerbaijan has been under occupation since 1992. Over 1 million Azerbaijanis, subjected to ethnic cleansing, remain forcefully displaced from their native lands, which in per capita terms makes it one of the highest numbers of IDPs and refugees in the world with a country of 10 million. Armenia continues the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by disregarding the UN Security Council resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 and related documents of many other international organizations, which firmly reaffirm the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and demand immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan." "In this context, I urge the UN Human Rights Council, its mandate holders and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to take a principled stance and efficient actions for administration of justice and restoration of human rights of Azerbaijani IDPs and refugees, violated or more than two decades." "Azerbaijan believes in importance of multilateral institutions for promotion and protection of human rights around the world. Therefore, Azerbaijan attaches importance to the UN Human Rights Council mandated to promote and protect all human rights through cooperation and genuine dialogue," Mammadyarov said. "At a time when human rights challenges, in particular forceful displacement of millions of people and racial and other forms of discrimination are on the rise globally, the role of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights with principal responsibility for promotion and protection of all human rights has become even more crucial," he added. The minister noted that while being an observer to the Council, Azerbaijan actively contributes to its work. "At the 37th session of the Council, Azerbaijan together with Georgia, Kenya, Thailand and Turkey submitted a draft resolution co-sponsored by 92 states on promoting human rights and SDGs through transparent, accountable and efficient public services delivery, which was unanimously adopted by the Council. This year, Azerbaijan in cooperation with the OHCHR will host a follow-up international conference, where countries with effective models of public services can share their best practices with other Member States as encouraged by the above-mentioned resolution," Mammadyarov said. He noted that the Azerbaijani Government continues to carry out large-scale programs to ensure that Azerbaijani citizens fully enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms. "In this regard, I would like to highlight the recently adopted State Program on the Development of Justice in 2019-2023, which is aimed at further legislative and structural measures to improve performance of judiciary," the minister said. "Let me underline that Azerbaijan is strongly committed to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which embodies all human rights, including economic, civil, cultural, political, social rights, and the right to development. Azerbaijan will submit its 2nd Voluntary National Report on the implementation of SDGs later this year," he added. Mammadyarov reminded that in October 2019 Azerbaijan will host the 18th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement, where Azerbaijan will take over the presidency of the Movement. "We are convinced that the presidency of Azerbaijan will provide another impetus for advancing the founding principles of the Movement, the 65th anniversary of which will be celebrated in 2020, across many UN platforms, including the Human Rights Council. I take this opportunity to reaffirm my country's commitment to the Non-Aligned Movement endeavors," he said. 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. 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 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 Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz In the wake of ongoing Indo-Pak tensions along the Line of Control (LoC), Prime Minister is chairing a crucial security meet at his residence to assess the current situation. The meeting is currently underway and is attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, National Security Advisor Ajit Singh Doval and intelligence officials. Also Read: IAF Surgical Strike 2.0 LIVE: Pak Air Force's F-16 fighter jet shot down; pilot ejected, condition unknown Modi is being briefed by Doval and his officers on the border situation after today's offensive by Pakistan Air Force (PAF) along the LoC in Naushera sector of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh also held a high-level meeting with Doval, RAW chief, Home Secretary and other officials at North Block, ANI reported. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is holding a high-level meeting at North block; NSA, RAW chief, Home Secretary and other officials present at the meeting https://t.co/dOrQVYTuxJ - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 (This is a developing story. Will be updated soon.) By Trend Rauf Aliyev, Azerbaijani MP and head of the Azerbaijan-Bulgaria Interparliamentary Friendship Group, took part in a commemoration ceremony dedicated to the 27th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, Trend reports. The ceremony was organized by the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Bulgaria. The event was attended by public and private structures, media representatives, diplomatic corps and other guests. In order to better inform the Bulgarian public about the Khojaly genocide, a troupe of the Azerbaijan State Pantomime Theater showed the performance "Xocal-bu olub" ("This was Khojaly") in Sofia. 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. 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 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 Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Those who committed the Khojaly genocide ruled Armenia for years, Azerbaijani Presidents Assistant for Public and Political Affairs, Professor Ali Hasanov said in an interview with Turkey's Anadolu Agency on the 27th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, Trend reports. On the night of Feb. 25-26, Armenians, with the support of Soviet tanks and the 366th motor rifle regiment of the former Soviet Union, launched an offensive on the town of Khojaly, he said. In one night Khojaly was wiped off the map, 613 people were brutally killed, including children and old people. Hundreds of residents were taken hostage. The fate of more than 150 of them is still unknown. The Armenians committed a terrible genocide in the town where the civilian population lived. Those who perpetrated the Khojaly genocide subsequently ruled Armenia for years by holding posts of prime minister and president. Even the former President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, strongly justifying the Khojaly genocide, recognized all committed that night. Hasanov stressed that the Khojaly tragedy committed 27 years ago is one of the genocides committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis over the past 200 years. Ali Hasanov noted that the main reason for this is the policy of ethnic cleansing pursued by Armenians to consolidate in the Caucasus. He said that the Armenians have implemented this policy with the support of their patrons. Historical facts show that the Azerbaijanis were constantly subjected to the policy of ethnic cleansing, genocide and aggression pursued by Armenian nationalists, were expelled from their historical lands, became refugees and IDPs, he added. Armenians living by a dream of Greater Armenia to achieve their goals in different times committed genocides with the help of foreign patrons. Only in the 20th century Azerbaijanis were subjected to genocide and ethnic cleansing four times - in 1905-1906, 1918-1920, 1948-1953 and 1988-1993. In 1915-1918, Armenians committed in Baku, Guba and other Azerbaijani districts massacres even bloodier than the Khojaly genocide, and their death tolls were bigger. He said that at that time Armenians killed about 20,000 people in Baku. Later, in 1948-1953, the Soviet Union deported 150,000 Azerbaijanis from Armenia, he noted. Thus, a big step was taken in Armenia towards the achievement of goals related to the expulsion of every single Turkic and Muslim people, he added. Ali Hasanov said that from 1988 until the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenians openly put forward land claims against Azerbaijanis. He stressed that as a result of the occupation policy in 1988-1994, the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the surrounding areas were subjected to continuous attacks. Ali Hasanov added that as a result of the occupation, more than a million Azerbaijanis became IDPs, the settlements were wiped off the map and mass genocides committed. He noted that the Khojaly genocide is the bloodiest tragedy among them. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Laman Ismayilova Two films of Azerbaijani film director Jalaladdin Gasimov have achieved huge successes in Mexico. The films "Sholler's Archive" and "Execution Day" were awarded at the third Rosarito Film Festival. "Sholler's Archive" got the prize for the "Best Script", while "Execution Day" won in the nomination "Best film director". The film "Sholler's Archive" is dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the resettlement of German colonists in Azerbaijan and was screened on the special order of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. It tells a story of the German colonist and his family, who moved to Azerbaijan. During World War II, 22,841 Germans were exiled to Kazakhstan and Siberia. One of the families were the Shollers. And Mrs. Sholler gave her granddaughter, who was 6 months old, to an Azerbaijani family due to the harshness of the conditions of exile. Film director Jalaladdin Gasimov obtained all the information about the Shollers from his father. The shooting of the film took place in Ganja, Goygol, Tovuz and Baku. The cast includes Ajdar Zeynalov, Shirzad Pirallahi, Ramiz Valiyev and others. Earlier, "Sholler's Archive" was awarded the prizes at Noord-Holland European Cinematography Awards. The film won in the nominations "Best Dramatic Film" and "Best Feature Film". "Sholler's Archive" also grabbed five gold medals and received a certificate of excellence in filmmaking at Mediterranean Film Festival Cannes 2018 in France. In 2018, it was named the most awarded Azerbaijani feature film. "Execution Day" is a psychological thriller. The events in the films take place in prisons during the Soviet time. Rovshan Karimduht, Sabir Mammadov, Mammad Aliyev, Nazil Agalarov, Ramin Shikhaliyev, Soltan Gasimov, Hikmat Mammadov, Vugar Gurbanov and others starred in the film. The film's producer is Mehdi Yagubov. The main purpose of filming is to reveal the talent among all young people and to show their talents to a wide audience. "The capture of a detainee is reflected in the camera's exciting moments. While writing the screenplay, I met with the former Soviet-era employees in the Bail Prison and found interesting information," said Jalaladdin Gasimov. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade The first meeting of the working group on transport and logistics between Azerbaijan and Poland was held in Warsaw on February 25-26, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies said, Report informs. The meeting was chaired by the Deputy Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies Elmir Valizade from the Azerbaijani side and by the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Andrzej Bittel from the Polish side. Within framework of the meeting, the possibilities of cooperation in the field of highways and railways, maritime transport, transit and postal services were discussed. At the same time, the importance of continuing joint activities to fully utilize the transit capabilities of the two countries during cargo transportation within the East-West and South-West transport corridors and to encourage transport along the Trans-Caspian international transport route was noted. Following the meeting, a protocol was signed. Azerbaijan and Poland have well-established economic relations. In 2008, for the first time in the history of the two countries' economic relations, Azerbaijan experienced a trade surplus, and turnover of goods between the two countries reached $166.9 million. Azerbaijan is an important partner of Poland in the South Caucasus and Caspian regions, and Poland attaches a particular importance to boosting its economic cooperation with Azerbaijan. Moreover, currently, Azerbaijan demonstrates great interest in cooperation with Polish companies both in Azerbaijan and Poland as part of various projects. Azerbaijan takes part in investment projects and invites Polish companies to become partners in the energy, transport and construction projects being implemented in Azerbaijan as contractors. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Leman Mammadova Local honey and bee products play a special role in increasing the share of Azerbaijan's non-oil exports in the country's foreign trade. In 2018, as many as 4,993.9 tons of honey, 98.6 tons of beeswax, 9.9 tons of propolis, 7.7 tons of pollen and 400.8 kilograms of bee milk were obtained from 501,000 bee colonies in 30,474 beekeeping farms in Azerbaijan, Trend reports. The average price of one kilogram of honey was 20.6 manats ($12.12), beeswax - 14.2 manats ($ 8.36), propolis - 118.4 manats ($ 69.67), pollen - 71.1 manats ($ 41.84), and one gram of bee milk- 4.6 manats ($ 2.71). Last year, Azerbaijan exported 8.3 tons of honey worth $ 71,500, which is 1.8 tons more than in the previous year. In particular, 96.4 percent of exported honey accounted for Japan. In the 10 years following the adoption of the Law on Beekeeping, honey production increased 3.5 times, and the number of bee colonies per average for each beekeeping farm increased from 11.1 to 16.4. New methods will be implemented to increase honey production in Azerbaijan. Productivity is expected to double as a result of the installation of mobile bee pavilions, which will be acquired for farmers in the framework of the Project to strengthen the competitiveness of agriculture. The use of new methods will result in 28 instead of 15 kilograms of honey from each hive. Beekeepers have been recently granted a subsidy of 10 manats ($ 5.88) for each beehive for the five years according to the Azerbaijani Presidents order "On stimulating the development of beekeeping in Azerbaijan" dated March 5, 2018. The aim was to stimulate the development of beekeeping in the country, to support small businesses and to employ in individuals and legal entities engaged in beekeeping in rural areas. It is no coincidence that the number of bee colonies increased by 229,300, and the production of honey - by 1950.8 tons in 2018 compared to the previous year. The rich climate of subtropics, the riotous diversity of flora and the valuable qualities of local bees - these are the favorable natural conditions of Azerbaijan, which contributed to the maintenance of the centuries-old tradition of beekeeping in Transcaucasia. During the excavation in The Azokh Cave, where one of the most ancient settlements of the primitive man was discovered, a bowl with the bee depicted on it was found, which once again proves that beekeeping has deep roots in Azerbaijan. Honey is used in the treatment of many diseases in folk medicine as well as in our daily lives. Currently, Azerbaijan is doing its best to contribute to the rehabilitation and further development of beekeeping by creating favorable conditions for beekeepers. Climatic conditions and rich vegetation are the main factors that contribute to the development of beekeeping in our country. There are about 600 species of honey plants in Azerbaijan, of which almost 200, as a source of nectar and pollen, create even greater natural opportunities for the expansion of beekeeping. Annual honey production in the republic is 3,000 tons, and honey consumption is 5,000 tons. Most of bee families are located in Zagatala (17,097), Astara (12,429), Gakh (9,125), Lerik (8,669) and Balakan (8,581). In 2018, 3,000 tons of honey were produced in Azerbaijan. Moreover, 65-70 percent of the country's population is provided with honey produced in the country. The number of bee colonies increased in 2018 compared to 2017. According to the available data, there were 300,000 bee colonies in Azerbaijan. However, presently, there are 400,000 bee colonies and grants have been given for the maintenance of 270,000 of them. It is expected that the number of colonies will reach 500,000-600,000. On average, each bee colony gives up to ten kilograms of honey. If certain measures are carried out, volume of honey from each bee colony can be increased up to 25-30 kilograms. Presently, about 6,000 people are engaged in beekeeping in Azerbaijan. --- Leman Mammadova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend As of late, it is possible to come across certain websites, forums, and social networks spreading news about the alleged rise in food prices in Azerbaijan. However, monitoring conducted in markets and stores shows that no such changes have occurred. Sellers and buyers surveyed by Trend also pointed out not encountering products with increased prices Shahin Naghiyev, Head of Anti-Monopoly and Advertising Legislation Control Department at the State Service for Antimonopoly Policy and Consumer Rights Protection, told Trend that the government is taking all necessary measures to prevent price manipulation. Employees of the Antimonopoly Service conduct regular in-the-field monitoring in particular. According to Naghiyev, not a single case of price increases has been identified recently. Should such cases be confirmed, the Antimonopoly Service is ready to take legal measures to penalize the perpetrators. For example, as previously reported by the Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev, the price of grain has risen in countries which Azerbaijan imports this product from. This may have been reflected in prices in Azerbaijan; however, after meeting with producers and representatives of retail chains, the government took measures to prevent an increase in the price of bread. Mustafayev then stressed that the relevant state bodies daily monitor the prices of food products in the country, and no price manipulations have been detected. The data of the State Statistics Committee also confirms this. For example, in January, the cost of food, beverages and tobacco products in the country rose by only 0.7 percent in annual terms. Moreover, according to statistics, prices (all in annual terms) fell by 0.3 percent for bakery products, by 1 percent for meat products, by 6.6 percent for fruits , and by 0.3 percent for sugar, honey, candy and chocolate. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Leman Mammadova By expanding its activities and increasing revenues, SOCAR Turkey contributes to the further growth in economies of Azerbaijan and Turkey. "We fully trust Turkeys economic strength and political stability," SOCAR Turkey Energy CEO Zaur Gahramanov said at a meeting with journalists, together with the head of Investment Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey Arda Ermut, Report informs citing Turkish media. Gahramanov underlined that SOCAR contributes to the development of Turkey's economy. Turkey opens its doors for investments. SOCAR operates in the markets of 15-16 countries. However, nowhere are there such laws and incentives as in Turkey. Turkey has the highest potential in the region. In 2008, we entered the Turkish market through the privatization of Petkim and invested $15 billion in over 11 years. In 2018, STAR Oil Refinery and Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) projects, were opened which is very important for both Turkey and Azerbaijan's economies, he said. In addition to these two giant projects, we have a container terminal and a wind power projects. We will continue our investments by laying the foundation for a new petrochemical plant this year. We fully rely on Turkey's economic power and political independence. We want to strengthen our relations by attaching economic cooperation to the eternal friendship between Turkey and Azerbaijan, Gahramanov added. Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR carries out its activity in Turkey through SOCAR Turkey. SOCAR Turkeys market value is around $11 billion owing to the recent investments. SOCAR Turkeys share in SOCAR constitutes 35 percent. So far, SOCAR Turkey has invested over $14 billion in the Turkish economy. Meanwhile, 5,000 people work in the company, while the export potential reaches $3 billion. The company has a controlling stake (51 percent) in the Petkim petrochemical complex on the Aliaga peninsula since 2008 and owns the STAR oil refinery. Star Oil Refinery that is the first Turkey-specific Industrial Zone opened in October 2018. Refinery will supply Petkim with raw materials. Star has already launched the sale of its first products on January 31, 2019. By selling 1.303 tons of naphtha produced at STAR refinery to Petkim, SOCAR Turkey Energy completed the integration of the refinery and the petrochemical complex. The total investment of the project is $ 6.3 billion, of which 90 percent has been already invested. By the end of 2021, Star's total capacity will be increased. In the end, the investment will total $7 billion. STAR has the first investment incentive granted by Turkey. Recently, SOCAR has acquired EWE Turkey Holding, owned by the German energy company EWE AG. Earlier, EWE AG told Trend that the decision on the possible sale of its assets in Turkey is related to the optimization of the company's activity. SOCAR will start construction of a new petrochemical complex in Turkey in 2019.The enterprise is expected to be commissioned at the end of 2022. SOCAR Turkey also plans to increase energy production at the Petkim wind power plant as well as expand network of filling stations in Turkey. Moreover,Turkish Gubre Fabrikalari TAS (Gubretas) and SOCAR Turkey Energy signed a letter of intent to create a joint venture with a 50 percent share each to import carbamide from SOCAR petrochemical plants and from other manufacturers in the neighboring geography and sell this carbamide in Turkeys domestic market and in foreign markets. Investments of the SOCAR in Turkey will reach $19.5 billion in the future. --- Leman Mammadova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly urged neighboring Armenia on Wednesday to strengthen its relationship with his country contrary to what the United States desires to see. Khamenei blasted the U.S. as he met with Armenias visiting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian accompanied by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The U.S. is completely unreliable and always tries to cause sedition, corruption, conflict and war, the Mehr news agency quoted him as saying. They are against the relations between Iran and Armenia and they act against the interests of our nations. In response, we need to strengthen our relations and cooperation. Iran and Armenia have never had any problems with each other, Khamenei went on. According to our Islamic teachings, we feel obliged to behave well toward our neighboring countries. But U.S. officials such as [National Security Adviser] John Boltonhave no understanding of such matters or of human relations. Rouhani likewise warned any third country against meddling in Armenian-Iranian relations after holding talks with Pashinian earlier in the day. Bolton discussed with Pashinian Armenias traditionally cordial relations with Iran when he visited Yerevan in October. He said Washington will be enforcing renewed U.S. sanctions against Tehran very vigorously and that the Armenian-Iranian border is therefore going to be a significant issue. Speaking in the Armenian parliament a few days later, Pashinian said he made it clear to Bolton that his government will maintain Armenias special relationship with Iran. Khamenei singled out the need for closer economic cooperation as he made a case for strong, persistent and friendly ties between Iran and its sole Christian neighbor. According to Mehr, he called for a vigorous implementation of agreements reached during Pashinians first official visit to Tehran. An Armenian government statement said the powerful Iranian leader also discussed with Pashinian various regional issues and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in particular. It said they agreed that there can only be a peaceful, negotiated solution to the conflict. Successive Armenian governments have praised the Islamic Republic for its balance position on the unresolved dispute. Visiting Moscow on Wednesday, parliament speaker Ararat Mirzoyan criticized pro-government Russian parliamentarians for taking part in what he described as an anti-Armenian demonstration held in Baku. The Azerbaijani government organized the demonstration on Tuesday as part of an annual commemoration of hundreds of Azerbaijani civilians killed in February 1992 following the capture of the Nagorno-Karabakh village of Khojali by Karabakh Armenian forces. It accuses the Armenian side of massacring them, a charge strongly denied by the authorities in Stepanakert and Yerevan. The demonstration was attended by three members of the Russian State Duma. It was also covered in detail by a state-run Russian TV channel. The Armenian ambassador to Russia, Vartan Toghanian, condemned the lawmakers in a statement issued on Wednesday. Mirzoyan also brought up the issue when he gave a speech in Russias upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, later in the day. I have to note with regret that despite the high level of relations and allied partnership between our countries as well as Russias consistent efforts at a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh, just yesterday some of our Russian colleagues participated in a markedly anti-Armenian action held in Baku and aimed at undermining regional stability, said Mirzoyan. He said he is particularly bewildered by the fact that one of the State Duma members, Irina Rodnina, is a member of a Russian-Armenian commission on inter-parliamentary cooperation. Mirzoyan at the same time praised Russias role in long-running international efforts to end the Karabakh conflict. He also emphasized Armenias continuing commitment to a special and strategic relationship with Russia. Mirzoyan further mentioned the recent dispatch of 83 Armenian medics, sappers and other military personnel to Syria, which was welcomed by the Russian Defense Ministry. Mirzoyan arrived in Moscow earlier this week at the head of a large delegation comprising deputies from the three political forces represented in Armenias parliament. He met with Federation Council speaker Valentina Matvienko on Tuesday. Matvienko stressed that he will be the first Armenian speaker to address the council. Iran and Armenia want to deepen their relations and will not allow any third country to undermine them, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said after meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in Tehran on Wednesday. Rouhani said that he and Pashinian reached good agreements in different areas but did not go into details. As I said at the meeting with the prime minister, we are pleased with Armenias position on illegal and irrational sanctions against Iran, he said, clearly referring to the U.S. sanctions re-imposed by President Donald Trump. The two countries are willing to keep moving forward based on their national resources and not to allow any third state to interfere in our cordial relations, he added in a statement to the press cited by Iranian news agencies. Pashinian did not mention the sanctions at the joint news briefing. But he did describe Iran as a friendly country and reaffirm Armenias desire to forge closer ties with the Islamic Republic. The weather in our relations is every good, declared the Armenian leader, who was making his first official visit to Tehran. U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton discussed with Pashinian implications of the U.S. sanctions for Armenian-Iranian ties during a trip to Yerevan in October. Bolton said Washington will be enforcing them very vigorously and that traffic through the Armenian-Iranian border is therefore going to be a significant issue. In November, a team of officials from the U.S. state and treasury departments visited Yerevan to explain the sanctions Armenias government and private sector. Pashinian made clear afterwards that that Yerevan will deepen not only economic but also political relations with Tehran. With Armenias borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey closed due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Iran as well as Georgia serve as the sole conduits for the landlocked countrys trade with the outside world. Armenia also imports Iranian natural gas and diesel fuel. Closer commercial ties between the two neighboring states appeared to be a key focus of Pashinians talks with Rouhani. The Iranian president said that his country is ready to sell more gas to Armenia and also use Armenian territory for gas supplies to Georgia. Armenia is ready to be a transit for Iranian gas, Pashinian said in this regard. Armenia is also willing to boost imports of Iranian gas, Pashinian said, while cautioning that the two sides have yet to agree on its price. This is a crucial issue in terms of the attractiveness of such a deal, he explained. Officials in Yerevan have long said that Armenia buys over 80 percent of its gas from Russia because Russian gas is cheaper than Iranian. Armenia currently pays for Iranian gas with electricity exported to the Islamic Republic. This swap arrangement is due to be expanded significantly after the ongoing construction of a new Armenian-Iranian power transmission line is completed in 2020 or 2021. Rouhani and Pashinian reportedly discussed this project on Wednesday. According to Pashinians press office, they also agreed to take practical steps towards finally building a major hydroelectric plant on the Armenian-Iranian border. In his comments to the press, Pashinian also said he is looking forward to the implementation of a free-trade agreement between Iran and the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union. This is going to open up new opportunities for increasing our trade, he said. According to official Armenian statistics, Armenias trade with Iran soared by over 40 percent, to almost $364 million, in 2018. Oriflame, a direct selling beauty brand, is looking to expand its operations in tier-2 and tier-3 cities and at the same time strengthening its digital presence to be accessible to people across the country. The Swedish cosmetics giant is opening three new offices this year in Raipur, Ludhiana and Aizawl. Currently, Oriflame is present in 20 locations across the country. Also Read: IAF air strike in Pakistan Live: Pak releases video of arrested Indian pilot; airspace above New Delhi vacated "We are looking at expanding further in tier 2 and tier 3 cities of India. Also, the company is looking at strengthening its digital presence to be accessible to people across the country, even in remote locations and also offer another avenue to its consultants to grow their business," said Frederic Widell, Vice President and Head of South Asia and India's Managing Director, Oriflame. The company is working on making the mobile app interactive and user-friendly so that it can offer immersive digital experience. For instance, if users place their phone's camera on the product's photo in the catalogue, they can see videos of how it is made, its history and articles on its different features. "Catalogue is an important part of our business and we are looking at ways to make it interactive and accessible using digital," says Widell. They are also working to ensure that the entire ordering process can happen from their web and mobile app. In spite of the digital focus, as a part of company's policy, Oriflame is not present on e-commerce portals. "Individual consultation is at the heart of the company's business model and online platforms might help with better sales but it defeats the ethos of the brand. However, we have noticed our products being sold online. It is difficult for us to control it without a strong legislation that prohibits sellers from selling products online without company's permission." On the huge traction that ayurveda and herbal products are getting in India, Widell says, "Oriflame has Swedish-based ayurveda that combines the best of nature with the best of science. This is done at our lab in Stockholm where they do research in flowers, leaves and also its impact on environment." Orfilame currently has 30 lakh consultants present in 60 countries, such as China, Indonesia, Latin America and Europe, among others. Read More: Whereabouts of IAF pilot Abhinandan not known, say govt sources PM Modi chairs security meeting at his residence to discuss Pakistan conflict Armenias current government has made serious progress in combatting corruption in the country but should not rest on its laurels, a senior European Union diplomat said on Tuesday. Piotr Switalski, the head of the EU Delegation in Yerevan, admitted that the reform-minded government is serious about its repeated pledges to eliminate corrupt practices. But political will, being the sine qua non element, is not enough, Switalski cautioned at a news conference. You also need other elements such as institutions, laws and a social culture or environment. Regarding the institutions, we can see that the government wants to create a new, independent anti-corruption agency that will have wide-ranging powers, he said. He also praised the governments plans to enact anti-graft laws. Switalski added that the EU stands ready to help the authorities in what he hopes will be a sustained and long campaign against corruption. Dont rest on your laurels because the way [forward] is long, he said, appealing to them. The number of high-profile corruption investigations launched by Armenian law-enforcement authorities has risen significantly since last springs velvet revolution. They have targeted former senior officials as well as former President Serzh Sarkisians relatives. Speaking in the parliament on February 12, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian declared that his administration has already broken the spine of systemic corruption in Armenia. Pashinian said it will now focus on putting in place institutional safeguards against the problem. In particular, he said, it will make information about the personal assets of individuals holding or aspiring to state posts easily accessible to the public. Switalski made clear that the EU is also encouraged by other reforms initiated by Pashinians government and will reward them with greater financial assistance already this year. He cited statements to that effect made by Johannes Hahn, the EU commissioner for European neighborhood and enlargement negotiations. Hahn hailed democratic change in Armenia when he visited Yerevan and met with Pashinian late last month. He singled out the conduct of the December 9 parliamentary elections, saying that they are regarded as free and fair by the international community. Hahn did not specify the likely amount of the extra EU aid. He said only that it will be allocated from an EU fund designed to reward partner states special achievements in the areas of democratization and rule of law. McCrae Dowless, the political operative at the heart of the election fraud case in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District, was indicted on seven charges Wednesday, per the Wake County District Attorney's office. Details: Dowless is facing counts of obstruction of justice, conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice and possession of absentee ballots. He worked on behalf of Republican candidate Mark Harris, who has announced he will not run in the district's new election, and Dowless stands accused of collecting and filling out hundreds of voters absentee ballots. Go deeper: North Carolina investigators find evidence of significant fraud in House election 1 big thing: The green new deal everyone can agree on While the Green New Deal is drawing both devotees and detractors on Capitol Hill, green energy is seeing nothing but love in the market. Driving the news: The International Energy Agency reports that electricity investment has shifted towards renewables, networks and flexibility, while investments in coal dropped by a third in 2017. It's the second year in a row coal- and gas-fired power generation has seen a pullback. Why it matters: That's got market analysts at UBS betting on renewable energy. They expect cumulative investment in renewable energy will exceed $9 trillion by 2050 and cumulative investment in clean-air technologies and energy efficiency will rise to $35 trillion between 2015 and 2030. "We think the renewables longer term investment theme has great potential, particularly for project developers and wind turbine manufacturers," UBS analysts said this week in a note to clients. "Clean air, energy efficiency and storage, and electric vehicles are topics closely linked to the theme." What they're saying: UBS points to increasing urbanization and population growth, leading to higher electricity demand; technological progress with relative cost advantages for renewable energies; and an improved regulatory environment of social and political support as tailwinds that will buoy the demand for green energy. Only six countries have laws that give women equal economic opportunity to men: Belgium, Denmark, France, Latvia, Luxembourg and Sweden, according to a new World Bank report. Why it matters: The global average scores showed that, on average, women are afforded only three-quarters the legal rights of men in the categories chosen for the study. And legal opportunity is the bare minimum, as laws do not solve discriminatory societal pressures or cultural biases. All nations studied made progress in legal equality over the past decade, but "this is just a first step in the right direction," Rita Ramalho, a lead author of the report, told Axios. The U.S. isn't even in the top 60 nations for legal environments that promote women in business. in the top 60 nations for legal environments that promote women in business. 35 nations have implemented laws against sexual harassment in the workplace over the past decade. In the past two years, the #MeToo movement has spread from the U.S. to the world, drawing attention to toxic work environments for women. against sexual harassment in the workplace over the past decade. In the past two years, the #MeToo movement has spread from the U.S. to the world, drawing attention to toxic work environments for women. 33 economies introduced laws that require businesses to offer paid paternity leave. The U.S. has no federal paid family leave policy. require businesses to offer paid paternity leave. The U.S. has no federal paid family leave policy. Sub-Saharan African nations saw some of the biggest gains in legal equality over the past decade. But it is largely because many of these nations were so far behind the others 10 years ago, according to the study's authors. The big picture: Where there are more laws protecting equal opportunity, there is higher participation among women in the workforce and they get paid more, the report found. "This is an equality issue. But behind it is very much an economic issue, an economic argument." Rita Ramalho About the study: The World Bank looked at laws that allow women to move, start a job, get paid, marry, have children, run a business, manage assets or receive a pension as easily as men. Go deeper: U.S. women are now more educated than men, but lag in workforce Michael Cohen, who worked as President Trump's fixer and personal attorney for 10 years, testified Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee. 1 big thing: Cohen told the committee that Trump is "becoming an autocrat," adding that The Trump Organization was steeped in a culture of threatening people sometimes physically who might pose a threat to Trump. "Every day, most of us knew we were coming in and we were going to lie for him on something. And that became the norm. ... It's exactly what's happening here in government, sir." Highlights Cohen's hearing started off with Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) unsuccessfully moving to postpone the hearing because Cohen did not submit his testimony 24 hours in advance. Following his opening statement, Cohen described in detail how he, President Trump and Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg repeatedly discussed how Trump would reimburse payments made to Stormy Daniels. Cohen confirmed that Trump had advanced notice that Wikileaks was going to dump Democratic National Committee emails before the 2016 election. He said Trump cheered the release, but could not say whether Trump knew the specific contents of the emails. Cohen testified that "Mr. Trumps desire to win would have him work with anyone." Asked whether Trump would have "the potential to cooperate or collude with a foreign power to win the presidency," Cohen answered: "Yes." Cohen fought back against a characterization by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) that he was disgruntled because he was not offered a job in the White House: "I was extremely proud to be personal attorney to the president. ... I did not want to go to the White House. ... Shame on you, Mr. Jordan." Asked about his claims that Trump has made racist comments, Cohen said he had no proof to back up his allegations. Cohen did say, however, that he has taped about 100 conversations over 10 years. Cohen said that he is in "constant contact with the Southern District of New York regarding ongoing investigations," and that they have asked him not to talk about his most recent conversation with Trump because it is currently under investigation. He also said he has spoken with special counsel Robert Mueller's office 7 times. Asked whether Trump attempted to influence his testimony during a meeting prior to his appearance before the House Intelligence Committee, Cohen said: "It's difficult to answer, because he doesn't tell you what he wants. What he does is, 'Michael there's no Russia, there's no collusion, there's no involvement, there's no interference.' I know what he means because I've been around him for so long." Cohen testified that during a deposition, Trump either misled or lied under oath about not knowing Felix Sater, who worked with Cohen on the Trump Tower Moscow project and had an office on the same floor as Trump in Manhattan's Trump Tower. Cohen repeated that on either July 18 or 19 of 2016, Roger Stone called Trump and told him on speaker phone that he had just finished a call with Julian Assange, who said there would be a massive dump of emails that would severely hurt the Clinton campaign. Leaked DNC emails were then published on July 22. Addressing a critical component of the infamous Steele Dossier which alleges Cohen traveled to Prague to meet Kremlin officials in 2016, Cohen testified that he has never been to Prague or the Czech Republic. Cohen testified that Trump has probably asked him about 500 times over 10 years to threaten an individual on his behalf, either through litigation or other means. Cohen confirmed that he hired someone to rig online presidential polls for Trump in 2014, and that Trump directed him to do so. Cohen told Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that Trump inflated the value of his assets for insurance purposes and deflated them to get tax deductions. He said Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg is aware of this practice. Go deeper: Most Americans don't want a "guaranteed minimum" as outlined in the Green New Deal Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is spearheading, Ivanka Trump told Fox News in an interview released Monday night. Why it matters: President Trumps elder daughter and White House senior adviser discussed in the interview, to be broadcast on Sunday, whether the 2020 presidential election would be centered around her father's capitalism versus the Democratic partys perceived pivot toward socialism. She said the U.S. economy was "doing very well" under her father's presidency. When asked what she would say to people to whom Ocasio-Cortez's new deal policy appealed, Trump said: "I dont think most Americans, in their heart, want to be given something. ... People want to work for what they get. So, I think that this idea of a guaranteed minimum is not something most people want." Hillary Clinton claimed that "Trump's fantasy about negotiating with the North Koreans" is more a play for positive headlines or even a Nobel Prize than national security. What they're saying: In an appearance on the TBD with Tina Brown podcast from Wondery, Trump's 2016 opponent says she doesn't know "whose national security interests Trump is either pursuing or will actually try to defend" as he meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. She notes that the Russians and Chinese both have significant interests in the outcome of the summit, but that Trump himself is "much more interested in perceptions than reality." More from the interview: "All the intelligence, which Trump dismisses, suggests that it's unlikely if not impossible that Kim Jong-un will give up his nuclear weapons capacity. ... I don't know what Trump will claim, but I have serious doubts that whatever he claims will be actually achieved." "At the end of the day, I think he would love to get a Nobel Prize that was the biggest joke of the week, where he got [Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo] Abe to nominate him for a Nobel Prize by getting a deal and claiming it." "And you know, this is what he used to do in real estate. So many guys who did business with him in real estate would say, you know, he'd have a $15 million profit from a real estate deal which he would call $150 million and then he would call everybody and beg them not to contradict the press because he was going to say it was $150 million not $15 million. That's how he sees negotiation." Her bottom line: "So if he can put lipstick on a pig and he can say, 'OK, this is what we're going to do with North Korea, and he keeps saying it over and over again and Fox News says it over and over again and other outlets say it over and over again and the so-called mainstream media does their both-sides-ism ... he wins the news cycle. That's really what he lives for." Go deeper: Trump believes the investigations against him weaken his standing with foreign leaders ExxonMobil said it added 4.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent to its proven reserves last year, which is over three times what the multinational giant produced in 2017. Why it matters: The strong performance represents a major bounce back from some high-profile struggles, notably in 2016 when Exxon was forced to cut reserves by over 3 billion barrels. It also beats their result from the prior year, when the company added enough to replace 183% of annual production. Proven reserves are essentially a metric of what a company can take from the ground under current economic conditions and methods. The intrigue: The breakdown of the increase also tells a story of Exxon's positioning as it seeks to drive up production sharply over the next half-decade. "Exxon has been struggling to arrest production declines over the past two years after a series of strategic mistakes over the past decade," Bloomberg notes. The company added volumes in the Permian basin, a sign of its growing footprint in shale. What to watch: Another 1.3 billion primarily came from big offshore fields in Brazil and Guyana. Exxon made huge finds in Guyana and hopes to be producing 750,000 barrels per day there by 2025. Go deeper: Exxon mulling investing in electric-vehicle charging President Trump's advisers say one of his more frequent gripes about the scandals and investigations both by Mueller and the Hill is that they weaken his standing with foreign leaders. The big picture: One of Trump's former advisers said the president would tell stories of a foreign leader asking him about the special counsel's investigation. The adviser interpreted that as Trump feeling humiliated by having to discuss it. Trump wants to claim a victory from his North Korean summit. And he also wants to, as he always does, produce good television. Today's explosive testimony by Michael Cohen (10 am, overshadowing the Hanoi statecraft and stagecraft for the day) makes the second less likely. by Michael Cohen (10 am, overshadowing the Hanoi statecraft and stagecraft for the day) makes the second less likely. And the first a meaningful commitment from North Korea doesnt look achievable. As if the situation wasn't charged enough, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), is trying to embarrass Cohen: Gaetz tweeted threateningly at Cohen last night: "Hey @MichaelCohen212 - Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if shell remain faithful when youre in prison. Shes about to learn a lot." threateningly at Cohen last night: "Hey @MichaelCohen212 - Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if shell remain faithful when youre in prison. Shes about to learn a lot." White-collar lawyers immediately condemned Gaetz's tweet as witness intimidation. immediately condemned Gaetz's tweet as witness intimidation. Gaetz deleted the tweet after Speaker Pelosi warned of ethics implications for members who "adversely affect" the work of House committees. Why it matters: Gaetz has been among a small group of House Republicans who've won favor with Trump by relentlessly attacking the Mueller probe as a politically biased "witch hunt." Gaetz has attacked the FBI and done Trumps bidding in the presidents favorite arena: cable news. attacked the FBI and done Trumps bidding in the presidents favorite arena: cable news. Trump laps it up. Sources familiar with the relationship say he loves Gaetz, talks to him on his cell phone, and has even praised Gaetz for being "handsome." Swan called Gaetz shortly after he sent his incendiary tweet. Swan asked Gaetz what the purpose of the tweet was. "To test the truthfulness and character of a witness that's coming before the Congress," Gaetz replied. So why spread rumors about a witness? "I just asked questions," Gaetz replied. about a witness? "I just asked questions," Gaetz replied. Come on, Swan said: By putting it out there as a member of Congress, a lot of people might believe it. Swan said: By putting it out there as a member of Congress, a lot of people might believe it. "I reject the premise of your question that people always believe what they see from members of Congress," Gaetz replied. "I'm just a man asking questions. ... You should watch the hearing. ... You'll get a far clearer understanding as to my factual basis if the Democrats allow me to ask questions at the hearing." But you're not a member of the Oversight Committee and so you won't be asking questions of Cohen, Swan said. "I'm not. But I'd sure like to participate," Gaetz replied. He wouldn't say whether another member would be asking these questions on his behalf. Swan asked Gaetz whether anybody in the White House put him up to this threat, or whether he'd discussed his tweet with Trump before or after the tweet. "Nope," he said, adding that he hadn't heard from Cohen or the White House since his tweet. (Swan spoke to Gaetz at around 6 pm) Lanny Davis, an attorney for Cohen, said in a statement: "We will not respond to Mr. Gaetzs despicable lies and personal smears, except to say we trust that his colleagues in the House, both Republicans and Democrats, will repudiate his words and his conduct." "I also trust that his constituents will not appreciate that their congressman has set a new low which in todays political culture is hard to imagine as possible." Go deeper: Editor's note: Booker dropped out of contention for the Democratic presidential nomination on Jan. 13, 2020. Below is our original article on his candidacy. Democrat Cory Booker is a New Jersey senator known for his optimistic views. The former mayor of Newark lived in one of the city's most distressed buildings until 2006 in a show of defiance against the landlord and the city. Key facts about Cory Booker: Current position: Senator from New Jersey 5 years served Senator from New Jersey 5 years served Age: 49 49 Born: Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. Undergraduate: Stanford (Rhodes Scholar) Stanford (Rhodes Scholar) Date candidacy announced: Feb. 1, 2019 Feb. 1, 2019 % of votes in line with Trump, per FiveThirtyEight: 15.4% per FiveThirtyEight: 15.4% Previous roles: Newark, N.J. city council, mayor of Newark Cory Booker's stance on key issues: Key criticisms of Cory Booker: Corporate interests: Booker was the top recipient of Wall Street money in the 2014 election cycle. He also has a reputation as a friend of the pharmaceutical industry as well as Silicon Valley. Booker was the top recipient of Wall Street money in the 2014 election cycle. He also has a reputation as a friend of the pharmaceutical industry as well as Silicon Valley. Self-promotion: He has been criticized as a grandstanding politician, highlighted by his "I am Spartacus" moment when he said he would jeopardize his Senate seat by releasing confidential documents during the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings. 1 fun thing about Cory Booker: When he was Newark's mayor, he rescued a neighbor from a burning house in 2012. Go deeper: Everything you need to know about the other 2020 candidates Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired a crucial security meeting in the wake of escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. The PM Modi-led committee has decided that India will not buckle under pressure. Navy, Air Force and Army have been given a free hand to take a future course of action. A befitting reply would be given at a proper time. Earlier today, Pakistan claimed its air force shot down not one but two Indian aircraft that entered its territory. One of the fighters crashed in Pakistan-controlled territory and its pilot was taken into custody. The Pakistan government also claimed to have two Indian pilots in its custody, but later changed his statement in a tweet saying there was only one. The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar confirmed that an Indian Air Force pilot was 'missing in action' and that a MiG-21 jet was 'lost' during a confrontation between the Indian Air Force and Pakistan Air Force this morning. The Indian Air Force has also said that a Pakistan fighter jet that had violated the Indian airspace in Lam district of Nowshera sector in J&K has been shot down. India registered a strong-worded objection to Pakistan's unwarranted advances into Indian airspace and advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian pilot. India also said that it expects safe and immediate return of its aviator. Catch all the latest updates on the India-Pakistan conflict on BusinessToday.In live blog. 10:10pm: With my heavy heart I appeal to yours, India,Pakistan is not your enemy, Your enemy is our enemy! How much more blood needs to be spilled before we realise we are both fighting the same battle.We need brothers in arm if we want to beat this war on terror #TogetherWeWin#NoToWar - Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) February 27, 2019 10:05pm: As an Air warrior, Wg Cdr Abhinandan Varthaman served the nation by defending it with total disregard to his personal safety. As a nation we pray for his continuous well being and early return. - Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) February 27, 2019 10:00pm:Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarter, Union minister Prakash Javadekar rejected the joint statement of 21 opposition parties, saying the allegation levelled by the opposition is 'baseless'. The opposition parties had alleged that BJP was politicising the sacrifices of armed forces. 9:55pm : In a high level meeting-headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was decided that India will not buckle under pressure. Navy, Air and Army have been given a free hand to take a future course of action. A befitting reply would be given at a proper time. 9:45pm:Union Minister Prakash Javadekar will address a press conference at the BJP Headquarters shortly. 9:40pm:A newborn baby in Rajasthan's Ajmer region has been named after the Mirage 2000 fighter jets used by the Indian Air Force in Tuesday's air strikes against Pakistan-based terror camps, ANI has reported. 9:30pm:Air Canada has temporarily suspended service to India due the closure of Pakistani airspace by Indian government. 9:00pm:All government and private schools located near Line of Control and international border to remain closed tomorrow. 8:30pm:India on Wednesday handed over to Pakistan a dossier detailing involvement of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in the Pulwama terror attack that left 40 CRPF personnel dead. 8:25pm:Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in a statement said, "As advised by security agencies, Red Alert has been imposed in enitre DMRC netwok from 6 pm onwards today." 8:20pm: Delhi: Meeting of the three Service Chiefs with PM Narendra Modi at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg ends pic.twitter.com/MKV9g1Cy2L - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 8:10pm:DMK president MK Stalin urged the Modi government to take all necessary steps to rescue Wing Commander Abhinandan. "My thoughts are with the family and friends of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman." 8:00pm:In wake of rising tensions between India and Pakistan, Congress President Rahul Gandhi has cancelled a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and the 'Jan Sankalp rally' which was to be held here on Thursday, reports PTI. 7:50pm:The Indian Railways on Wednesday said the Samjhauta Express will continue to run as per schedule from Delhi to Attari in India, amidst reports that Pakistan has suspended its operations between Wagah to Lahore on its side. 7:40pm:Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding a meeting with security and intelligence officials, in presence of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, after Pakistan Air Force jets intruded in the Indian airspace early morning today, sources said. 7:35pm: Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy says nation stands in solidarity with armed forces. 7:30pm:Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh met top officials of army, paramilitary and the police to review the current situation in border areas, ANI has reported. 7.20pm:UK Prime Minister Theresa May has expressed concern over rising tension between India and Pakistan, urging both countries to exercise restraint. "We're in regular contact with both countries, urging dialogue and diplomatic solutions to ensure regional stability," May said. "We are working closely with international partners including through the UN Security Council to de-escalate tensions and are monitoring developments closely and considering implications for British nationals," May was quoted as saying by ANI. 7.00pm: Pakistan violates ceasefire in Krishna Ghati and Mendhar sector of Poonch 6.55pm: Before Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan Syed Haider Shah, India also registered its strong objection to the nation's vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention. India also cautioned Pakistan to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return. 6.50pm:Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan Syed Haider Shah has left the Ministry of External Affairs. The Ministry had called him to register its protest against Pakistan Air Force aircraft violating Indian airspace after the non-military surgical strike by India against terror camps in Pakistan. "It is unfortunate that instead of fulfilling its international obligation & bilateral commitment to take credible action against terrorist entities and individuals operating from its soil, Pakistan has acted with aggression against India," the Ministry of External Affairs told the Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan. 6.20pm:Pakistan army spokesperson has said that they only have one Indian pilot in custody. Earlier claims by Pakistan stated that two IAF pilots have been captured in PoK. 6.10pm: "PM Modi must suspend his political activities until Wing Commander Abhinandan is returned safely. It can't be business as usual with him cross crossing the country at tax payer expense making political speeches while our pilot is a Pakistani captive," former Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah said in a tweet. PM Narendra Modi is yet to make a statement in light of various airspace violations by Pakistan or the claims by the neighbouring nation that it has an Indian pilot in its custody. 6.00pm: After a meeting of Opposition leaders, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said that they condemn Pakistani misadventure and expressed deep concern for safety of the missing IAF pilot. 5.30pm: Russia has called for India and Pakistan to exercise restraint in the face of escalating tensions between the two neighbouring nations. Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that they are concerned about the aggravation of relations. 5.24pm: Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah (on the right) arrives at South Block after being summoned by Ministry of External Affairs. Delhi: Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah at South Block. He had been summoned by Ministry of External Affairs. pic.twitter.com/ZZEb0tAQ8z - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 5.20pm:Commercial operations at Amritsar airport, which was suspended early in the day, began even as the airports in Chandigarh, Pathankot, Halwara, Adampur and Bathinda remained on high alert in view of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, reported PTI. 5.10pm: National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah Wednesday called for de-escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan and asked both the countries to maintain "maximum restraint" for the "greater good of humanity". "History bears testimony to the fact that war did not help both the neighbours resolve their long pending issues. It is in the interest of our region if both the countries shun war rhetoric," Abdullah said in a statement issued by the party, reported PTI. 5.00pm:"I pray for the safety of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan," Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. I pray for the safety of Indian Air Force pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan. Whole country is proud of this brave son and everyone is hoping for his safe return. We all stand united to keep our country safe and strong - Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 27, 2019 We pray for our brave heart IAF Wing Commander #Abhinandan 1.3 Billion Indians stands beside you in solidarity. Stay strong Soldier!#BringBackAbhinandanpic.twitter.com/0otn6HpgBi - AAP (@AamAadmiParty) February 27, 2019 4.52pm:Our prayers are with the brave IAF pilot & his family in this very difficult time, says Asaduddin Owaisi, the president of All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen Party. Our prayers are with the brave IAF pilot & his family in this very difficult time Under Article 3 of Geneva Conventions every party is required to treat prisoners humanely. Pakistan must respect its obligations towards the IAF pilot, regardless of ongoing circumstances - Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) February 27, 2019 4.42pm: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav say the nation stands with him (the missing pilot) and is praying for his safe return. "I am praying for the safe return of our brave pilot. May God protect you and give you courage and strength. The nation stands with you," Akhilesh said in a tweet. I am praying for the safe return of our brave pilot. May God protect you and give you courage and strength. The nation stands with you. - Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) February 27, 2019 4.38pm: Imran Khan's video broadcast edited at least seven times, says India Today TV. "Two of India's MiGs were shot down...from here, it is imperative that we use our heads and act with wisdom," says Imran Khan. 4.20pm: Bring our pilot back safely, Congress tells govt: "We're saddened by the news that one of our @IAF_MCC pilots is missing in action, we urge the Govt to bring him back safely," says the Congress. We're saddened by the news that one of our @IAF_MCC pilots is missing in action, we urge the Govt to bring him back safely. https://t.co/TJu2slRu2O - Congress (@INCIndia) February 27, 2019 4.13pm: 'Can't afford miscalculations': Imran Khan says "I ask India .... the weapons they have and we have, can we afford a miscalculation? If this escalates, it won't be in my control and won't be in Modi's," reported Dawn. 4.07pm: Better sense should prevail, says Imran Khan: "Two of India's MiGs were shot down (during the action ). From here, it is imperative that we use our heads and act with wisdom," Imran Khan during a televised address says. "We should sit and settle this with talks." 3.40pm: India shot down Pak fighter gets, confirms India: The MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar says that Indian Air Force had launched a counter-terrorism action against a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan based on credible evidence that JeM intended to launch more attacks. "Against this Counter Terrorism Action, Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistan's attempts were foiled successfully," Kumar said. "In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. 3.25pm: Pakistan has not formally informed India about the detention of a pilot it claims to have in its custody, reports ANI. Contrary to Pakistan's claim of arresting two pilots, the Indian government has said only one pilot is missing. 3.18pm: India confirms one pilot has been arrested: "One Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by Indian Air Force. In this engagement we have lost one MiG 21. Pilot is lost in action. Pakistan claims he is in their custody," says MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. #WATCH Raveesh Kumar, MEA: One Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by Indian Air Force. In this engagement, we have lost one MiG 21. Pilot is missing in action. Pakistan claims he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts. pic.twitter.com/Bm0nVChuzF - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 3.08pm:Pak summons India's Acting High Commissioner: Pakistan has summoned India's Acting High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia to Islamabad hours after it claimed that Pakistan Air Force has arrested two India pilots after shooting down IAF jets. 3.03pm: Airport shutdown order withdrawn: The government has withdrawn the airport shutdown order, the Airport Authority of India has confirmed. Now the civilian flight activity is expected to resume soon. 3.02pm: PM Modi holds security meet: Top security and intelligence officials have huddled into a meet at the Prime Minister's Office in the wake of Pakistan Air Force jets violating the Indian airspace, PTI reported. Pakistan has claimed that it has arrested two Indian pilots, one of which is admitted in hospital. 2.55pm: Pak cancels all flights: Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority says it shut its airspace to all commercial flights as tensions with India escalate. BREAKING: Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority says it shut its airspace to all commercial flights as tensions with India escalate - The Associated Press (@AP) February 27, 2019 2.51pm:Govt to address media: Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale to brief media at 3:15 pm. The government will likely clear the air on the arrest of an Indian Air Force Wing Commander by Pakistan. Sources: IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan took off in a MiG 21 Bison jet today, he is yet to return pic.twitter.com/coryHqeRsR - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 2.40pm: Emergency meets in J&K, Rajashtan: Civil and police officials call an emergency meeting in Jammu and Kashmir. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has also called a meeting to assess the escalating situation between India and Pakistan. 2.30pm: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held a high level meeting to assess the security situation in the wake of the developments of the morning, including Pakistan claiming that it had shot down two Indian military jets and arrested two pilots, reports PTI. 2.15pm:Airspace above New Delhi vacated: The entire airspace north of the Indian capital has been vacated, reports PTI. The skies above New Delhi were vacated as nine airports in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab were closed for civilian air traffic on a day of rapidly escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. 2.05pm: Shot down 2 Indian jets, claims Pak: Pakistan Air Force claims it has shot down two Indian aircraft inside the Pakistani airspace. The PAF also claims to have arrested two pilots. It has not come out with any statement to authenticate the claim so far. In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area. - Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 27, 2019 1.55pm: Army, Navy, Air Force on highest alert: The Army and BSF have been put on the highest degree of alertness along the border here after air space violations by the neighbouring country and the night-long heavy firing and shelling by Pakistani troops on forward and civilians areas across the LoC. Authorities have ordered temporary closure of educational institutions in a 5-km radius along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri and Poonch districts on Wednesday amid mounting tensions between the two countries, following the Pulwama terror attack on February 14 and an Indian air strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed camp inside Pakistan on Tuesday, reported PTI. 1.40pm: 'We want peace,' says Pak: Pakistan's Director General of the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Asif Ghafoor, holds a press conference on the increasing tension with India. "We locked all targets with accuracy, and when we had option to fire, we acted responsibly from a safe distance. We have capability to do anything, but we don't want escalation. We don't want to go towards war," he says, quoted Geo TV. 1.25pm:About 60 flights scheduled for tomorrow have been cancelled and the number is likely to go up, reports News18. 1.18pm:Air traffic suspended at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace are now being affected, ANI reported. 1.16pm: 'We will not sit back,' says Pak: "Our Foreign Minister's letter to the UN Secretary General about India's act of aggression against Pakistan, has been circulated as a document to the UN Security Council today , at our request," says Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi. "We will not sit back," she told BBC radio. Our Foreign Minister's letter to the UN Secretary General about India's act of aggression against Pakistan, has been circulated as a document to the UN Security Council today , at our request - Maleeha Lodhi (@LodhiMaleeha) February 27, 2019 1.12pm: Exercise restraint, China tells India, Pak: China's Foreign Ministry has it reiterated its call for India and Pakistan to exercise restraint. Ministry spokesman Lu Kang made the comment at a regular news briefing in Beijing. Pakistan shot down two Indian jets on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Pakistan armed forces said, a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a war in 1971, prompting leading powers to urge both sides to show restraint, reported Reuters. 1.05pm: 'India-Pak tension will hurt Afghan peace process': The Taliban has said ongoing clashes between India and Pakistan will affect the Afghan peace process and wanted India to prevent the further escalation of violence with its neighbour. The hardline insurgent group issued the statement at the same time its leaders are holding peace talks with officials from the United States in Qatar to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan. "The continuation of such conflict will affect the Afghanistan peace process," Taliban Spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement, reported Reuters. 12.56pm: The Indian Air Force is also likely to issue a detailed statement soon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been briefed on the escalating situation along the border with Pakistan. 12.54pm: Pak peddles fake news: The Pakistan government has put out a fake video claiming its security forces shot down an Indian fighter jet. DG lSPR Major General Asif Ghafoor will shortly address a press conference in Rawalpindi. 12.48pm: International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace now being affected, reports ANI. Some flights returning to origin, while others appear to be seeking alternate routing. Punjab: Passengers stranded as flight operations at Amritsar airport have been suspended. pic.twitter.com/fQEtEEqZZh - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 12.39pm: Pakistan has immediately stops its domestic and international flight operations from Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad airports, reports ANI. Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations will soon brief the media on the prevailing situation. 12.36pm: Mohammad Faisal, Pakistan's MoFA spokesperson, says "we are fully prepared". "PAF undertook strikes across LoC from Pakistani airspace. Sole purpose of this action was to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence." #Pakistanstrikesback#PAF undertook strikes across LoC from Pakistani airspace. Sole purpose of this action was to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. We do not wish to escalate but are fully prepared if forced into that paradigm#PakistanZindabad - Dr Mohammad Faisal (@ForeignOfficePk) February 27, 2019 12.29pm: 5 airports closed for civilian flights: Srinagar,Jammu and Leh airports were among five airports closed on Wednesday for civilian air traffic shortly after an IAF jet crashed in Kashmir's Budgam district, officials said. The move to close the five airports comes amid escalation of tension between India and Pakistan after IAF carried out strikes on terror bases in Pakistan. Airports at Chandigarh and Amritsar were among those closed, according to airline officials. In Srinagar, an official of the Airports Authority of India told PTI, "The civilian air traffic has been suspended temporarily in view of the emergency". Flight operations have been suspended at Amritsar airport, reported ANI. 12.26pm: SSP Budgam on the aircraft crash in J&K's Budgam: "Technical team is here, they'll ascertain facts. We have found 2 bodies so far and have evacuated them. Search is going on here." SSP Budgam on military aircraft crash in J&Ks Budgam: Some aircraft has fallen. As of now we aren't in a position to ascertain anything. Technical team is here, they'll ascertain facts. We have found 2 bodies so far and have evacuated them. Search is going on here. pic.twitter.com/9YgEIwxFRw - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 12.19pm: Vistara on the cancellation of flights: "Due to airspace restrictions, flights to and from Amritsar, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Jammu are currently on hold. Customers are requested to check flight status before commencing their journey to the airport." 12.06pm:Pakistan Air Force's F-16 that violated Indian air space shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3KM within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, Nowshera sector, reported ANI. "Parachute seen as Pakistan Air Force's F-16 was going down, condition of the pilot is unknown," reported ANI. Pakistan Air Force's F-16 that violated Indian air space shot down in Indian retaliatory fire 3KM within Pakistan territory in Lam valley, Nowshera sector. pic.twitter.com/8emKMVpWKi - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 11.55am: Pak says it shot down 2 Indian aircraft: "In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area," claims Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, spokesperson, Pakistan Armed Forces. In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area. - Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 27, 2019 11.42am: Civilian air traffic suspended from Srinagar airport: Reports suggest the government has shut down commercial flights from all airports including Chandigarh, Leh and Kashmir. Several IndiGo and SpiceJet flights cancelled to these areas. 11.35am: News agency PTI says Pakistani forces dropped bombs after violating the Indian airspace in Rajauri district of Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian air defence system has been put on the highest alert. 11.27am: The visuals from the crash site of a military aircraft in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam area; two pilots are feared dead in the crash. "Two bodies have been found at the crash site." #Visuals from the crash site of a military aircraft in Jammu & Kashmir's Budgam. pic.twitter.com/9mc3BZTgCQ - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 11.19am: Pakistan fighter jets violate the Indian airspace: Reports said Pak jets were forced to retreat after major retaliation by the Indian Army. Pakistani jets violated the Indian airspace in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district (Nowshera sector), PTI confirmed, adding that they were immediately pushed back by Indian jets on air patrol. Pakistan violates ceasefire in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir. India Today's @gauravcsawant brings you all the latest updates on this. Watch more videos at https://t.co/Nounxo6IKQ#ITVideopic.twitter.com/wz3F8tF6go - India Today (@IndiaToday) February 27, 2019 11.07am: Indian Air Force's MiG crashes in Kashmir's Budgam area; two pilots are feared dead. #Breaking Two #IndianAirForce pilot are feared killed in a MIG crash in Naslapur area of #Budgamhttps://t.co/JPg2CnvzBD - India Today (@IndiaToday) February 27, 2019 11.03am: 'No country spoke in Pak's favour': "It is telling that no country has spoken out in Pakistan's favour after the Indian air strike," Husain Haqqani, the former Pakistani Ambassador to the US, told PTI. Even China called for restraint on both sides instead of supporting Pakistan in protesting India's violation of Pakistan's air space, he added. 10.52am: Rajnath Singh meets Doval: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh holds a meeting with National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and top officials of the intelligence agencies in wake of the prevailing tension between India and Pakistan, reported News 18. 10.40am: Pakistan has again violated ceasefire in the Poonch area. Heavy firing mortar shells by Pakistani troops, say security officials. 10.35am: Pak steps up international pressure on India: Pakistan says it will skip the OIC (Organisation ofIslamic Cooperation) meet in Abu Dhabi if India will be invited. "I have made myself clear that India has shown aggression. Under the current circumstances, it will not be possible for me to attend OIC meeting where Sushma Swaraj is present," says Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. 10.21am:Pakistan's National Command Authority to meet today: Pakistan's National Command Authority, apex civilian-led command head by Imran Khan, is meeting today to discuss a response to India's air strikes in Pak-based terror camps. The body oversees the policy formulation, exercises, deployment, research and development, employment and operational command and control of the Pakistan nuclear arsenals, reported Geo TV. 10.15am: A major rehearsal was carried out before Surgical Strike 2.0:Indian Air Force, Army and the intelligence agencies had carried out a rehearsal in coordination with the NSA Ajit Doval before carrying out the intelligence based operation of carrying out surgical strikes in Pakistan. The Indian Army played a very crucial role in identifying terrorist camp and the main terrorists operating out of the Jaish camp in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunwa in Pakistan, reported India Today. 10.05am: Nirmala Sitharaman to meet chiefs of Army, IAF, Navy: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa and Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba to meet shortly today over important proposals for the Armed forces, reported ANI. 10.01am: Our borders are safe! A day after the India conducted air strikes on Pakistan-based terror camps, the Indian Army posts a poem on Twitter. ADG PO, Indian Army, had put a poem on Wednesday too. 9.50am: IAF air strike tribute to Pulwama martyrs, says Bhagwat: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said the IAF air strike on a terrorist training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed, the group behind the suicide bombing targeting CRPF personnel in Pulwama, inside Pakistan was a tribute to the martyrs of the February 14 assault. He recalled legendary freedom fighter Veer Savarkar's observation that India needs to become powerful because without power, nobody listens. "We, as a nation, have the right to take the name of Veer Savarkar, because today we have paid a very appropriate 13th-day tribute to the 40 CRPF jawans martyred in Pulwama," he said amid slogans of 'Vande Mataram', as quoted by PTI. 9.46am: Shireen Mazari, Minister for Human Rights in PM Imran Khan's cabinet, at UNHRC: "Pakistan condemns India's unprovoked aggression on Pakistani soil which is yet another violation of international laws that will disrupt regional peace." "Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has rightly drawn attention to Indian brutality in Kashmir. #Pakistan condemns India's unprovoked aggression today on Pakistani soil which is yet another violation of Int'l laws that will disrupt regional peace"! - @shireenmazari1pic.twitter.com/EaUYfX0Eik - PTI (@PTIofficial) February 26, 2019 9.40am: J&K governor reviews security situation: Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik reviewed the prevailing law and order and security situation in Jammu and Kashmir with senior officials following the Indian Air Force strike against Jaish-e-Mohammed camp inside Pakistan, an official spokesperson said. Malik directed all forces to take effective measures to maintain public order across the state. Praising people for maintaining compose, he said his administration is concerned about their welfare and, if necessary, it would communicate directly with them through radio, TV and other means, reported PTI. 9.24am: BJP Nation General Secretary Ram Madhav says a Pakistan national was among the two JeM terrorists killed in an encounter in Shopian. In another successful operation today, the forces have eliminated two Jaish terrorists, one was a Pakistani national, in J&K's Sophian district. A clean operation. So far 12 terrorists have been neutralised after Pulwama. Salute our forces!! - Ram Madhav (@rammadhavbjp) February 27, 2019 9.20am: United Nations Secretary-General AntonioGuterres has urged both India and Pakistan for "maximum restraint toensure that the situation does not further deteriorate", reported IANS. 9.13am: In an exchange of fire along the LoC, five soldiers ofIndian Army suffered minor injuries out of which two soldiers were evacuated toMilitary Hospital for medical treatment and are in stable condition. 9.05am:Two terrorists affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) have been killed in the encounter in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir. The bodies of both the terrorists have been recovered. The entire operation is over for now. Jammu & Kashmir: Visuals from Memander area of Shopian district where an encounter had started earlier today. Firing has stopped now. Search operation is underway. (visuals deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/ZXhPpmDHLJ - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 8.58am: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says: "I expressed to both Ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost. I also encouraged both Ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity." 8.55am: US tells Pak to take 'meaningful' action against terror groups. "I spoke to Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to underscore the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil," says US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. .@SecPompeo spoke with @SushmaSwaraj and @SMQureshiPTI to emphasize the shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region and to underscore the priority of de-escalating current tensions between India and Pakistan. Read his full statement: https://t.co/vEANoxGtGF - Robert Palladino (@StateDeputySPOX) February 27, 2019 8.40am: The Pakistan Army has resorted to heavy mortar shelling in Kamalkot area of Uri. All schools within 5km of the LoC have been closed for Wednesday in Poonch and Rajouri. #JammuAndKashmir: Encounter underway between terrorists and security forces in Memander area of Shopian district. More details awaited - ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2019 8.35am:'It's your turn to get ready for our surprise,' says Pakistan. 8.30am: Sushma Swaraj raises issue of Pulwma terror attack with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi: "I am visiting China at a time when there is grief and anger in India. It is the worst terrorist attack directed against our security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. The attack was carried out by Jaish-e-Muhammad, the Pakistan-based and supported terrorist organisation." EAM @SushmaSwaraj holds bilateral meeting with State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China, Mr Wang Yi at Wuzhen before the start of 16th #RIC Foreign Ministers meeting. @MEAIndia@IndianDiplomacypic.twitter.com/yKg4ux9I02 - India in China (@EOIBeijing) February 27, 2019 8.15am: Union Minister for External Affair Sushma Swaraj at 16th Foreign Ministers Meeting of Russia-India-China (RIC): "We're aware of the recent dastardly terrorist attack on our security forces in Pulwama, J&K perpetrated by Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan based & supported terrorist org proscribed by UN & other countries. We lost over CRPF 40 personnel while several others are injured seriously." China: EAM Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Wuzhen. She will attend 16th Foreign Ministers Meeting of Russia-India-China (RIC) here. She will also hold bilateral discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, besides the Chinese Foreign Minister. pic.twitter.com/PFSN24xkDC - ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 8.00am: Pakistani troops resort to heavy firing all through the night at many places along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts. Army retaliated effectively to Pakistani firing. Heavy damage was inflicted on the enemy, Army officials said, adding that the extent of damage on the enemy is being assessed. 7.45am:Five Army personnel have been injured in heavy exchange of firing along the border. Pakistan violates ceasefire along LoC, 5 Army personnel injured Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/mwyVg9BEv5pic.twitter.com/DDIbP6RMkq - ANI Digital (@ani_digital) February 27, 2019 7.15am: An encounter has broken out on Wednesday morning between militants and security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said, reported PTI. 7.30am:A major cordon and search operation is going on in Meemendar area of Shopian following information about presence of militants there. They said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants opened firing towards the security forces, who retaliated, reported PTI. Palmdale, CA (93550) Today Sunshine early followed by partly cloudy skies and gusty winds this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 102F. SW winds at 5 to 10 mph, increasing to 20 to 30 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. SW winds at 15 to 25 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Sometimes, all it takes to make an idea reality is one spark. And from that spark comes innovation which can pave the way for a better future. One such designer from the Philippines aims to turn his idea into a solution by joining the 2019 Lexus Design Awards with a project called 'Baluto'. He is one of the six finalists that were hand-picked from 1,548 entries. With it, his 'Baluto' project has proceeded into the prototype phase, with support from Lexus. But what exactly is this project and how will it help people, particularly in times of floods? Designed by Jeffrey Dela Cruz, an architecture graduate from Saint Louis University in Baguio, his project aims to help mitigate flooding for those who are living low-lying areas. Named after the local term for fishing vessels used by people living in the north, it combines the traditional 'bahay kubo' design but has elements of a boat in order for the it to withstand flooding. In an interview with Dela Cruz, he said that he decided to join this year's Lexus Design Award because he saw it as an opportunity to turn his study into reality. It will be a probable solution for a very serious problem in our community and the entire Philippines. This project was conceived during my undergraduate thesis in Saint Louis University, Department of Architecture. And because of LDA they gave me an opportunity to build the life scale prototype which is now under construction in Bautista, Pangasinan, said Dela Cruz. Being a victim of flooding himself in his own community on numerous occasions, this project is his way of addressing the problem head-on. And thanks to LDA, Dela Cruz was given an opportunity to build a 1:1 scale prototype. When completed, Dela Cruz plans to show it to everyone, as well as to other designers and architects. My goal is to make it significant to people. It will be open to the public to gain their interest. And if the government wants to pursue this kind of project, I am willing to work with them, added Dela Cruz. Dela Cruz was also able to hone and refine his project further with the help of a 2-day mentoring workshop in New York. Guiding him were four renowned designers: Shohei Shigematsu, Jaime Hayon, Jessica Rosenkratz, and Sebastian Wrong. According to him, their ideas and suggestions helped him improve the aesthetic design, as well as the function of the project. Wrong even stated that his idea is full of common sense, pragmatic, practical and is actually feasible. Here's to hoping that Dela Cruz's Baluto project wins when all of the finalists show their finished products at the 2019 Milan Design Week in April. Good luck, kabayan. SUV Two cars are being shown which will become available during the third quarter. There's a Jetta sedan, as well as a Jetta/crossover, though there's also going to be a second one.All are going to be built by the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture in Chengdu, targetting young buyers that perhaps don't have the biggest budget in the world. There's also a separate Jetta badge, which kind of looks like the Dacia shield. We wouldn't be surprised if the brand pops up in other regions.Volkswagen is one of the oldest brands in China, and the Jetta was their bread-and-butter model. The venerable Mk2 was locally made there with various upgrades and facelifts until 2010. So you could say that China grew up in a Jetta, at least part of it.Nothing is known about either of these two models we're showing you, but the sedan is not the same as the 2019 model sold in America, looking smaller and cheaper. The little SUV, meanwhile, seems similar to the Chinese version of the Skoda Kamiq. We suspect both will rely on a 1.4-liter turbo engine.In China, the Jetta plays an extremely valuable role for us as a Volkswagen model, said Jurgen Stackmann, VW board of management member responsible for sales. It has brought mobility for the masses, just like the Beetle once did in Europe. Developed by Volkswagen and built in China, the Jetta China has placed China on four wheels. To this day, it is one of Volkswagens most popular models in China a real icon. This is why we are transforming a model into a brand for the first time in the history of Volkswagen and establishing a separate model and brand family. A New York-headquartered firm known for its business and commercial law practices successfully acted in a citizenship case thats making headlines in the US. On 21 February, US District Judge John Walter of Los Angeles ruled in a case that involved a same-sex married couples twins, who were initially deemed of different nationalities by the United States Department of State. The ruling stems from lawsuits filed by Sullivan & Cromwell and Immigration Equality on January 2018 on behalf of married same-sex couples and their children. Two of those plaintiffs, Andrew Dvash-Banks and Elad Dvash-Banks, had twin sons, Aiden and Ethan, through surrogacy in Canada. Allens has won over a senior lawyer from a US giant to bolster its banking and finance team in Australia. The firm has appointed David Couper as managing associate. He returns to Australia from Hong Kong, where he was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis since 2017. He was also previously a managing associate at Linklaters, Allens global alliance partner. David adds additional depth to our leveraged finance practice and also supports the continued growth of our private equity practice, said Tom Highnam, who leads the firms banking and finance practice. At least 5 people were killed Wednesday when an Indian Air Force (IAF) Mi-17 chopper crashed in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir. The accident happened in an open field near Garend Kalaan village in Budgam at around 10.05 am due to a technical glitch, officials told PTI. One of the five killed is a local resident identified as Kifayat Hussain Ganaie, while the identity of other four believed to be IAF personnel is yet to be ascertained. Also Read: IAF air strike in Pakistan Live: Lost MiG 21; verifying Pak claims of arresting missing Indian pilot, says MEA The officials also said that the aircraft broke into two and caught fire immediately. Tension is palpable at Jammu and Kashmir border with Pakistan amid rising hostilities with the neighboring nation over the recent spate of counter-attacks on each other's territories. Also Read: Pakistan says no F-16 aircraft used, dismisses report of their fighter jet crashing IAF destroyed Pakistani territories considered to be safe havens for the terror camps of banned outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in retaliation to February 14 attack on CRPF troopers in Pulwama. The Pakistani Air Force (PAF) in response to yesterday's attack by IAF intruded into the Indian airspace today trying to target its military installations in Poonch and Nowshera sectors, but was forced to return by the IAF fighters. The north entrance of the Pitkin County Courthouse is pictured. Though there was talk last year of making it the lone access point for the historic building, the existing main entrance on the south side ended up being favored by a majority of county commissioners. Falling short On the face of it, Islamic bonds, or sukuk, have what is probably the key factor required to become a major force in the financial industry: a vast and ready market. But in reality, the sukuk market hasnt lived up to its full potential in roughly 30 years of development Photo: Courtesy of Hunter Lewis If youre like us, youve probably wondered what famous people add to their carts. Not the JAR brooch and Louis XV chair, but the hand sanitizer and the electric toothbrush. We asked Food & Wine editor-in-chief Hunter Lewis about the boots, fish sauce, and planner he cant live without. Blundstone BL519 Boots $180 I got my first pair of Blundstones about 12 years ago, and they became indispensable. I wore them as a professional cook working the line because they were comfortable and easy to clean. I also could wear them hiking, and then when I started working in food media, I could dress them up with jeans and a blazer. I just feel good every time I wear them. Theyre so practical, Ill get shout-outs from other people wearing them. The shoe-shine guys will comment on them. When I met Laura Brown of InStyle, I was wearing them, and she gave them a nod. I feel like that gave me fashion cred. $180 at Zappos Buy Feather Bifold Cash & Card Case $120 Everyone needs a wallet, and this is the first one Ive had that makes me feel like an adult. It doesnt fit a lot so you have to keep it minimal. It forces you to edit. 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If Im in a kitchen and theres no Red Boat fish sauce, I feel like Ive got one hand tied behind my back. $27 for 2 at Amazon Buy $27 for 2 at Amazon Buy Large 8 Thai Granite Mortar and Pestle $80 now 19% off $65 When I was a cook at Barbuto, there was a period of time when my chef (Justin Smillie, whos now at Upland) banned all things that had plugs in them. So instead of a Vitamix to make pounds of pesto, we did it with a mortar and pestle. It really taught the cooks about the right consistency of the ingredients and how to use technology thats centuries-old to do that. I got obsessed with the tactile nature of using a mortar and pestle, whether youre smashing garlic and anchovies for a dressing or grinding spices. It brings out different oils and flavors because youre breaking down the cellular structure in a way thats different than a whirring blade with a motor. You can taste it. I cant tell you scientifically whats happening but it tastes like theres more love. 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You can use it as a bib. If things get really dire, you can use it as a tourniquet. There seems to be something that happens every day that I need it for. I buy a couple of them cheaply, wash them a bunch till they get really soft, and the older they are, the better. $10 for 12 at Amazon Buy $10 for 12 at Amazon Buy Tom Beckbe Tensaw Jacket $495 The Tom Beckbe brand started in Alabama, and its a funny story. This guy was a lawyer, and I saw him at a Christmas party four years ago, where he told me, I have this jacket Im going to start making, and I said, Yeah, right. And then I saw the first iteration of his jacket, and it blew me away. Theyre very heavy waxed jackets that are great for bird hunting and shotgun shells and are totally rain-resistant. The inside lining is dyed in industrial waters with Alabama red clay so theres a sense of place, too. I also dont like wearing things everyone else has on. I see your waxed Barbour jacket on the streets of NYC and Washington, D.C. and raise you a Tom Beckbe. $495 at Tom Beckbe Buy Billy Reid Dylan Regular Fit Knit Wool Blend Sport Coat $695 $695 I think Billy Reid is super cool as a human being, and his style is very classic. I was talking to a guy from Italy at a mens shop in Birmingham about why so many of the clothes were Italian brands, and he said that Southerners and Italians are a lot alike: we dig soft fabrics, tradition, and unstructured blazers. Billy Reid is based in Florence, Alabama, and often stitched in Italy, and makes the classic, comfortable clothes I want to wear every day. $695 at Nordstrom Buy get the strategist newsletter Actually good deals, smart shopping advice, and exclusive discounts. 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. The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatments, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, natural anxiety remedies, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. Every editorial product is independently selected. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission. The hits to the Metropolitan Museums finances attributable to its previous director, Tom Campbell, just keep on coming. In a contrite press release, the museum reported on Feb. 15 that it had recently surrendered to the Manhattan District Attorneys office (for return to Egypt) the gilded Coffin of Nedjemankh. Evidence had emerged that the late Ptolemaic cartonnage, gilded with bright but incredibly thin gold (according to the Mets label), had been looted in 2011. The Met had shelled out some $3.95 million to buy it in 2017, according to a Met spokesperson. Here it is, as displayed in a recent Met exhibition that closed early when the shows errant headliner was unceremoniously escorted out of the building: Gilded Coffin Belonging to Nedjemankh, Priest of Heryshef, 1st Century B.C. Photo by Lee Rosenbaum What the Mets press release tactfully omitted is that although the ill-fated purchase occurred in July 2017, the month after Campbell left, the inadequate due diligence that had green-lighted the acquisition was completed prior to his departure, as Kenneth Weine, the museums chief communications officer, confirmed in response to my direct inquiry. Although the Met claimed (in its press release) that all of the museums acquisitions of ancient art undergo a rigorous vetting process [emphasis added], Nedjemankhs background check clearly wasnt rigorous enough: The Met fell for an allegedly false ownership history, fraudulent statements, and fake documentation, including a forged 1971 Egyptian export license for the coffin, as it admitted in its press release. Surely there are ways to verify with Egyptian authorities the legitimacy of a purported export license. To avoid future fiascos, attorney Rick St. Hilaire, the go-to blogger on cultural property issues, recommended that the Met hire a provenance curator like the one the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has [currently Victoria Reed]a professional whose job is to investigate the collecting histories of archaeological artifacts, paintings, and other cultural objects. That person should be full-time and have the experience to navigate the complex art and antiquities trade. The year when the golden coffin is said to have been looted, 2011, was a time of so much unrest in Egypt that Campbell himself issued a statement on Mar. 3, 2011 that the entire museum community worldwide are increasingly concerned about what appear to be ongoing, grievous security breaches at Egypts historic sites and archaeological digs.These sites have remained unprotected for more than a month, andlooters continue to pillage them without effective resistance from police or military authorities. In other words: Buyer Beware. It should be noted that in July 2017, when the Nedjemankh purchase was consummated, the Met was essentially directorless. Max Hollein didnt arrive until Summer 2018. Daniel Weiss, the president and CEO, was a seasoned college administrator but lacked museum experience (other than service as a board member at the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore) before arriving at the Met in 2015. According to Weine, the acquisition process that led to the July 2017 purchase involves review from the relevant curatorial department [Diana Craig Patch, curator in charge], the general counsels [Sharon Cotts] office, and the directors office, and then moves on to board review. Patch became acting associate curator in charge of the Egyptian department in 2012, upon the retirement of the departments veteran chairman, Dorothea Arnold. The following year, Patchs title was elevated to curator in charge of the Egyptian department (but not chairman). Below is a screenshot of Patch from my CultureGrrl Video at the October 2015 press preview for the Mets Ancient Egypt Transformed: The Middle Kingdom (which, as I explained here, had no loans from Egypt). She mentioned (at 1:37) that the Met worked with the [Egyptian] Ministry [of Antiquities]on the repatriation of antiquities. Diana Craig Patch, the Mets Curator in Charge of Egyptian Art Photo by Lee Rosenbaum The Met, in its press release, vowed to consider all available remedies to recoup the purchase price of the coffin. Specifically, the museum will be taking action against the dealer, Weine told me. He confirmed reports that the museum had bought Nedjemankh through Paris dealer Christophe Kunicki. That name was omitted from the following (now allegedly false) information about Nedjemankh, which was posted on the Mets collections website until the object (along with its online description) was removed: The coffin was exported in 1971 from Egypt with an export license granted by the Antiquities Organization / Egyptian Museum, Cairo. It belonged to the stock of Habib Tawadrus, a dealer active since at least 1936, with a shop Habib and Company in Cairo opposite Shepheards Hotel, and was exported by the representative of the Tawadrus heirs to Switzerland. An official translation of the export license was provided by the German embassy in Cairo in February 1977 for the use of the representative and now owner in Europe. The coffin has remained in the family of that owner until its acquisition by the Metropolitan Museum in 2017. When I asked for more details about where, when and how Nedjemankh was believed to have been looted, the Met referred me to the Manhattan District Attorneys Office, which had brought the allegedly false ownership history and fake documentation to the Mets attention. But veteran prosecutor Matthew Bogdanos, the assistant DA who leads the Manhattan District Attorneys Antiquities Trafficking Unit, would tell me only this: This is an active criminal investigation and so there is very little we can say, other than to confirm the execution of the search warrant on the Met. Assistant Manhattan DA Matthew Bogdanos As for the Golden Parachute part of this posts headlinethe Mets 2017 IRS Form 990 states on this page that Campbells compensation from the Met in calendar year 2017 totaled a whopping $3,017,012$543,317 in base compensation, $2,146,890 in other reportable income, $27,000 in retirement and other deferred compensation, and $299,805 in nontaxable benefits. The biggest windfall (as revealed on this page of the Form 990) was the generous $1.5 million in severance pay. The Met declined to comment on whether that amount was contractual and, if so, what written provisions triggered such a munificent sendoff. In todays Wall Street Journal Sightings column, I discuss Nan Goldins protests at museums that accept charitable contributions from the Sackler family. Heres an excerpt. * * * Nan Goldin, a fine-art photographer hitherto best known for her interest in sexual politics, has found herself a new cause. It is now her mission to force art museums not merely to stop accepting charitable donations from members of the Sackler family, but to give back donations that theyve already accepted. Having previously staged anti-Sackler protests at New Yorks Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Sackler Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonians Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, she has just informed Londons National Portrait Gallery that she wont permit that museum to mount a planned retrospective of her work if they accept a proposed million-pound donation from the Sacklers. So who are the Sacklers? Mortimer and Raymond Sackler, two now-deceased brothers who gave millions of dollars to the Met back in the 70s, are better known nowadays for having launched Purdue Pharma, the manufacturers of OxyContin, the painkilling drug introduced in the U.S. in 1996 whose present-day popularity is widely thought to have driven the opioid-abuse epidemic in America. Ms. Goldin, a recovering OxyContin addict who contends that Purdue Pharma seems to have marketed the drug in such a way as to encourage mass addiction, thinks that any museum that takes or has taken Sackler money should be publicly shamed. Nowadays social media makes it dangerously easy to convene spur-of-the-moment outrage mobs, and the activists who have come to be known in recent years as social justice warriors (or SJWs) are quick to resort to public protest whenever their sensibilities are inflamed, especially by the seeming misconduct of the rich. The problem, however, is that Ms. Goldin is also targeting the family of the late Arthur Sackler, the older brother of Mortimer and Raymond and a major donor to the Met and the Smithsonian Institution, even though he had no connection whatsoever with OxyContin. * * * Read the whole thing It was 1923, and Francesco Ruffini was going to rescue science. The Italian senators plan was simple: Give scientists an ownership stake in their discoveriesa sort of patent on the laws of nature they discovered. The idea has re-emerged in the US Senate. Slate The Turkish-Kurdish painter and journalist was jailed for a watercolor she made depicting a Kurdish town destroyed by the Turkish military. The charge: spreading terrorist propaganda. (The painting was made from an official military photograph.) Her cause was taken up by artists in the West, with Banksy putting up a mural in New York counting the days she was imprisoned. Hyperallergic Online Access for Print Subscribers. Do you have a print subscription with the Argus-Press? If yes, then click here to enjoy complimentary access to our Online Content! Photo: courtesy of the Retailer If youre sick of hiding your cocktail glass collection away in a cabinet, it may be time to consider a bar cart . A bar cart is both a storage solution and a decor opportunity wrapped up in one. We spoke to 11 interior designers for their top picks. Below, youll find a cart to fit any budget, space, or style. And if youre stumped about the best way to stock your new bar cart, dont worry, weve got a guide that outlines all the best gear you need to keep your cart fully stocked and styled. Mercer41 Schroeder Bar Cart $250 This mid-century style bar cart can be used in any type of space. Its spacious and open, which makes it perfect for storing bottles, glasses and other barware. The mirror and metallic details are sophisticated, too, and I love the reflection that the mirrors create. Natalie Kraiem, designer $250 at Wayfair Buy Mid-Century Bar Cart, Walnut $299 We love the simplicity of this mid-century piece. The warm walnut is nicely complemented by a touch of brass so its chic but not too glossy. This is the cart we picture making a whisky on the rocks from. Chloe Pollack Robbins and Anna Cappelen, designers $299 at West Elm Buy Glasgow Bar Cart $150 You cant beat the price of this cart, and the bonus is that it looks sharp too. In black, it feels very Bauhaus, and provides a strong graphic punch against a white wall. This could serve a few purposes beyond bar duties Id love to style it with books and plants. Liz Lipkin, Homepolish, designer $150 at Target Buy Sika Design Oslo Trolley $348 This bar cart feels like summer. Love the balance of retro wood vibe and clean lines; the glass adds a lightness to it. Chloe Pollack Robbins and Anna Cappelen, designers $348 at Candelabra Buy The Bachelor Bar Cart Roman and Williams custom bar carts are available for purchase in a variety of wood and metal finishes. The craftsmanship of everything they design is next-level they are really making modern heirlooms. Christine Gachot, co-founder of Gachot Studios Buy at RW Guild Buy New York Drinks Cabinet The New York Drinks Cabinet by Australian Design House Grazia & Co is simultaneously modern and timeless. This versatile piece can either hide away your bar essentials or display your crystal decanters with the drop-down front and fold-up top. I like to include furniture pieces in my homes that are not only functional but sculptural and beautiful and Grazia & Co have really done that with this bar cabinet that can truly stand alone as a work of art in the home. Amy Row, Homepolish designer Buy at Grazia and Co. Buy Fuori Serving Trolley $959 The Fuori Serving Trolley is designed and produced by Danish brand Skagerak from certified FSC wood and powder-coated aluminum. Its brilliant because it can be used both inside and outside, and the design is a perfect marriage of both modern and industrial. Sheena Murphy and Tor Sauder, nune Design Studio $959 at Danish Design Store Buy Selamat Heaslip Bar Cart $712 I love the daintiness and details on this cart it feels like summer is around the corner. I imagine rolling it from your dining room to your terrace for outdoor entertaining, (if youre lucky enough to have outdoor space). Casey DeBois, designer $712 at Candelabra Buy Bar Cart by Chris Earl $2,040 This Chris Earl piece is the perfect blend of utility and good looks. Every detail is so well thought out I love that theres a mini-well that keeps your favorite bottles close at hand, and a place for a bar towel. Its clean lined, timeless silhouette highlights the warmth and beauty of the brass construction. Liz Lipkin, Homepolish, designer $2,040 at Goop Buy Perrie Bar Cabinet $1,400 $1,400 This bar is one of my favorites and so versatile. It is neutral and clean-lined with an unexpected terrazzo detail. The glass shelving is perfect to display your more unique pieces with storage to hide everything else. Larisa Barton, Homepolish designer $1,400 at Anthropologie Buy get the strategist newsletter Actually good deals, smart shopping advice, and exclusive discounts. 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. The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatments, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, natural anxiety remedies, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. Every editorial product is independently selected. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, highlighted the need for a global repositioning of Africas aviation industry as well as the changing political approach to aviation in the region at the Aviation Africa Summit & Exhibition, taking place from 27-28 February in Kigali, Rwanda. Speaking to an audience that included the President of the Republic of Rwanda, His Excellency Paul Kagame, as well as senior government ministers, aviation industry executives and guests of honour, H.E. Mr. Al Baker addressed the need for liberalisation of aviation regulations in Africa to bring improved connectivity to travellers, as well as significant benefits in trade, tourism and employment. H.E. Mr. Al Baker noted that although Africa makes up 16 per cent of the worlds population, it only captures approximately 3.1 per cent of the worlds air travellers. Al Baker, said: Now is the time to reconsider how Africas aviation market is positioned in order to maximise its full potential. Governments should leave behind protectionist approaches to regulating aviation and embrace liberalisation, because when such policies are adopted, countries benefit from improved connectivity and a positive impact on trade, tourism and employment. Qatar Airways vision is about freedom, collaboration and long-term sustainable investments in African infrastructure, human capital, and capacity-building. We strongly believe in Africas aviation potential, and we are ready to offer a solid and long-term partnership. Qatar Airways operates a Boeing B787 Dreamliner to Kigali, which features 22 Business Class seats and 232 seats in Economy Class. Lufthansa Systems develops cost-efficient solution for displaying aircraft position on airport maps This GPS is easy to install on the flight deck and considerably cheaper than using GPS information from conventional avionics systems. The small Bad Elf GPS devices accurately show the own-ship position on the airport map. This helps pilots, especially when navigating unfamiliar airports, and improves their situational awareness. The new function was successfully tested with the customer KLM Royal Dutch Airlines during live operations between March and October 2018. Since 2015 we have been using the digital Lido/mPilot maps across our entire fleet, said Maarten Koudijs, Manager Digitizing & Navigation Support at KLM. The Lido/AMM tests with the Bad Elf GPS device continually improved our setup. We also had test flights on different aircraft types, including B737, B777, B787 and A330. We are very pleased with the result of the field tests and are currently reviewing whether to introduce Lido/AMM with GPS-based own-ship position. Taken together, the navigation applications from Lufthansa Systems have thus far supported the following aircraft interface devices (AIDs) for integrating GPS information: the AID from Boeing ONS, the UTC Aerospace Systems Tablet Interface Module (UTAS TIM) and GroundLink AID+ from Teledyne. Other cheaper GPS solutions, by contrast, are often not precise enough for use at airports. This new cooperation with Bad Elf led to the solution: a portable, external GPS device that is smaller than a conventional smartphone and can be simply certified for use on the flight deck. The Bad Elf GPS connects to the digital maps either via Bluetooth or cable, and no further installation is necessary. The new function has already been integrated into Lido/mPilot for iOS and Lido/eRouteManual for Windows. All that an airline needs to use it is the Bad Elf GPS Pro+ accessory. Displaying the own-ship position in Lido/AMM is not new in itself, but it has not often been requested by customers to date. We are therefore delighted that, thanks to our cooperation with Bad Elf, we can offer a more cost-efficient solution that is also fast and easy to integrate, explained Dr. Bernd Jurisch, Head of Flight & Navigation Solutions at Lufthansa Systems. We are confident that more airlines will now use this feature, which will further improve safety while navigating at airports. Lido/mPilot is Lidos mapping solution for the iPad. Lido/eRouteManual is the Windows-based app for navigation maps. Both applications include all important route information, including altitude data, airways and airport information. The systems can access data such as GPS information, speed and the direction of the airport in order to display the position and orientation of the aircraft on the integrated Airport Moving Map (Lido/AMM). The Aviation Africa Summit and exhibition was opened this morning by Rwandan President, H.E. Paul Kagame with a strong message of support for the aviation industry along with a reaffirmed determination to see Africa progress with its Open Skies actions. President Kagame was chairperson of the African Union (AU) in 2018 when the agreement for the introduction of a Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) was signed by African nations. Sixteen countries in Africa are landlocked, including Rwanda that is almost one-third of Africa - but every country is air-linked. So, geography should not be seen as an excuse for underdevelopment. This highlights the importance of regional integration where there have been some notable achievements over the past year, chief among these is the Single African Air Transport Market, said President Kagame. However, the full promise of this pact only becomes apparent in the wider context of the African Continental Free Trade Area, and the Protocol of the Free Movement of Persons which were also signed last year. It is therefore important to attract more countries to join the Single African Air Transport Market, and to fully implement its provisions. He added that Protectionism is a short-sighted policy, which only serves to keep the African market fragmented, inefficient, and expensive - thereby reducing opportunities for African firms. One industry analysis has calculated the requirement for new aircraft in Africa over the coming generation at more than 1000 aircraft with a value exceeding $150 billion dollars, said President Kagame. That means there will be many more high-quality jobs for African pilots, engineers, and service personnel, to operate and maintain this equipment professionally, and above all, safely. The Minister of Infrastructure and Transport for Togo, Hon Mme Zoureatou Tchakondo Kassa-Traore, whose president Faure Gnassingbe is the AUs Champion of the initiative, also called on African states who have signed the commitment to implement without delay. There is no doubt about the benefits to our States from the full implementation of SAATM, said the Minister, By integrating our air routes and opening up the African skies with the implementation of SAATM, we are broadening the paths of growth and development of our continent. The fourth edition of the Aviation Africa Summit & Exhibition saw more than 800 delegates from 71 countries converge on the Kigali Convention Center. The audience included government ministers, air chiefs of staff and directors general of civil aviation authorities with representatives from 35 African nations. Industry is well supported in the exhibition hall with 100 exhibitors including Host Sponsors Nexus & Wyvern, Platinum Sponsor Gulfstream and Gold Sponsors Bestfly and Airbus. The Aviation Africa summit has established itself as an important business event on the African calendar, said Hadi Akoum, vice president, sales for Sub-Sahara Africa & the Indian Ocean Islands at Airbus. With urbanisation, population growth and economic expansion, Africas air travel market is doubling in size every 15 years, making it one of the fastest expanding markets. When one takes a broader view, aerospace in Africa also presents significant opportunities for industrial, social, knowledge-based and entrepreneurial partnerships that are essential to sustainable development. Chairman of IATA, Akbar Al Baker the CEO of Qatar Airways also spoke at the opening session. Africa is a promising land for aviation, said Al Baker. The list of distinguished guests here today is clear confirmation of Africas commitment to reach new heights in the coming years. The launch of SAATM in January 2018 and the African Continental Free-trade Area in March of 2018 are testament of Africas visionary leadership and long-term thinking in aviation. He added: Going forward, we need to support the successful implementations of regional initiatives that aim to improve Africas position in the areas of igniting integration, trade, human capital, air connectivity, and tourism. I dont think there is any continent in the world that has bigger tourism potential growth than Africa. The event continues until February 28. Further details on www.aviationafrica.aero Take shorter showers. Only use the sprinklers in the cooler parts of the day. Run the dishwasher less often. Recycle sink and shower water for plants. Turn off the water while your brushing teeth. I don't. Other. Vote View Results Pakistani military shot down an Indian fighter in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir territory. Photo: STR/AFP/Getty Images Pakistans military says it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Kashmir Wednesday, capturing one pilot and escalating the most serious military dispute between the two nations since 1999. The Pakistani military says the aircraft had entered its airspace, while India accused Pakistan of intruding on its territory in the disputed area of Kashmir. After initially claiming to have two pilots, Pakistans military said one pilot landed inside Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and the other on the Indian side of the disputed border, the AP reports. Pakistans military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor tweeted a photo of the pilot in custody and wrote that hes being treated as per norms of military ethics. There is only one pilot under Pakistan Armys custody. Wing Comd Abhi Nandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics. pic.twitter.com/8IQ5BPhLj2 Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 27, 2019 India has called for the immediate and safe return of the pilot and objected to Pakistans vulgar display of an injured personnel in what it says is a violation of the Geneva Convention. The incident comes just a day after India conducted airstrikes within Pakistan for the first time in decades. The bombs were dropped on what Pakistan says was a empty wooded area, but India claims was a training ground for the militant group Jaish-e-Muhammad. The group has claimed responsibility for a February 14 bombing in Kashmir that killed around 40 Indian soldiers and reignited simmering tensions between these two longtime rivals. Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan said India knew it wasnt attacking a terrorist camp and blamed the bombing on self-serving politicians. This action has been done for domestic consumption in the election environment, putting regional peace and stability at grave risk, he said. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is up for reelection in the coming weeks. The two countries have also exchanged volleys of heavy artillery fire. Late Tuesday, Pakistan reportedly shelled Indian territory in Kashmir, and India retaliated early Wednesday. Mortar shells fired into Pakistani territory killed six people, children among them, according to local officials. After the Indian planes were downed Wednesday, Kahn said in a televised speech that the two nations should settle their dispute with diplomacy. I ask India: with the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? he said, alluding to their nuclear arsenals. Lets sit and settle this with talks. 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 27, 2019 1:22 PM The Archbishop of Canterbury, has praised the unique and extraordinary work of the Mothers Union, as he commissioned the international Anglican mission agencys new Worldwide President, Sheran Harper, during a service in Londons Southwark Cathedral last night (Tuesday). Sheran Harper from Guyana, the former Provincial President of the Mothers Union in the Province of the West Indies, is the first Worldwide President to be elected from outside the United Kingdom. Archbishop Justin congratulated Sheran for the trust the members have bestowed on you and also expressed his thanks to outgoing Worldwide President Lynne Tembey for her service. There is only one Mothers Union, he said. It is unique. It is the worlds oldest and largest womens movement. It is a gift of God to Anglicans and is one of the Anglican Communions greatest gifts to the worldwide church. He described its four million members as a powerful force of hope in every aspect of the life of the worldwide Church and indeed of society and praised its role in bringing hope and reconciliation. You are one of Gods great works throughout the Anglican Communion, he said. We delight and rejoice in what you do. You share love and hope; you give support and strength. He urged the new Worldwide President to make the Mothers Union better known. More than 600 people from around the world attended last nights service in Southwark Cathedral. The congregation included the High Commissioner of Guyana to the UK, Fredrick Hamley Case, and a representative from the High Commission of Rwanda in London. In addition to Archbishop Justin, the service was attended by at least four other Bishops, including the Bishop of Guyana, Charles Davidson, the Bishop at Lambeth, Tim Thornton, the Bishop of Southwark, Christopher Chessun, and the Archbishop of Canterburys Advisor for Anglican Communion Affairs, Bishop Anthony Poggo. I feel overjoyed and humbled by the outpouring of love and support I have received, Sheran Harper said. I am so very grateful to everyone who travelled from far and wide for this special day in the history of Mothers Union. Thank you everyone who came and those who were unable to but were lifting me up in their prayers. I especially thank Archbishop Justin for his encouraging words. We are indeed a unique and extraordinary gift from God. Mothers Union is at a very important point in history when our Trustee Board now reflects the truly global nature of the movement. Our recent global conversations, with emerging themes are setting the tone for the future of our work which will be even stronger in meeting the needs of the communities we serve in a life-changing way. Referring to the readings from Romans, Archbishop Justin spoke about the simplicity of the New Testament and how, once called by God, He takes us by the hand and takes us on the greatest adventure that there is, the adventure of Christian discipleship, he said. That adventure has taken Mothers Union from Mary Sumner in the countryside of England to a worldwide organisation on which people can depend. He spoke of the challenges that many Mothers Union members face in their work of supporting the communities in which they live and serve, in many places you will have to bear the cross of other peoples suffering. Whether its in Burundi, the DRC, Guyana, South Sudan, Nigeria or in towns and cities and slums, whether it is domestic violence, whether it is loneliness, whether it is spiritual emptiness, the Mothers Union is there bringing hope and a future, he said. So, make yourselves known. During the service, Archbishop Justin also commissioned the Mothers Unions new global Trustee Board, whose members are elected to represent Mothers Union regions. The new Trustee Board comprises: Nikki Sweatman (Church of Englands Canterbury Province); Libbie Crossman (Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, Australia, Melanesia, and Papua New Guinea); Canon Catherine Hilton (Church of Englands York Province); Jennifer Barton (Church in Wales); June Buter (Church of Ireland); Thembsie Mchunu (Central Africa, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, and Southern Africa); Kathleen Snow (Canada, South America, the US, and the West Indies); Roshini Mendis (Korea, Myanmar, North India, South India, Sri Lanka); Paul Hindle (Scottish Episcopal Church); Deaconess Mary Kamwati (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Jerusalem and the Middle East); and Marie-Pierrette Bezara (Burundi, Congo, Indian Ocean, Rwanda, and West Africa). Sheran Harper was born in the UK and grew up in Guyana where she studied at the University of the West Indies School of Physical Therapy. She undertook her Clinical Practice at Guys Hospital in London and then worked with the Ministry of Health in Guyana where she opened and managed new physiotherapy departments in hospitals throughout the country and lectured on the Rehabilitation Therapists Programme. She stopped working in this area 17 years ago to focus on her calling of serving Mothers Union. She has served as a volunteer at all levels from parish, diocese and province. Until recently, she was the Worldwide Parenting Trainer where she rolled out Mothers Union Parenting programmes in 23 countries across the globe. Her expertise is often called upon and she has been a spokesperson in her region for Mothers Union on various inter-faith, and international panels and forums. Posted on: February 27, 2019 4:04 PM The Anglican Communion Office at the United Nations is taking a delegation of seven women to New York next month for the 63rd annual meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63). Eight women were chosen, but one member of the delegation was denied a visa by the US authorities. This year, the 45 UN Member States who are members of the Commission will discuss Social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls this includes issues such as access to health and education systems. As in recent years, the US-based Episcopal Church will also have an official delegation at the event. The Anglican mission agencies Mothers Union and USPG will also be present. Anatolie Dusabe from the Anglican Church of Burundi, is Diocesan President of the Mothers Union in Rumonge. Her entry visa to the US was refused. Dusabe, had been looking forward to networking with colleagues with experience in advocating for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. Before her visa was application was rejected, she said. It will be a time for learning and to see how I can implement the knowledge back in my country and in my diocese. She added: violence leads young ladies to abandon school, to conceive undesirable pregnancies, to become HIV / Aids positive, despair themselves and suffer from a lot of socio-economic miseries. She said that going to the CSW would have been an opportunity to share a plan to empower women, especially young ladies, to be able to minimise victims of violence and to overcome such pain. The official Anglican Communion delegation includes Jennifer Allen, who attended previous CSW meetings as part of the official delegation from the US-based Episcopal Church. I am particularly excited about the opportunity to network with women from all over the world, she said. I am excited to learn about the barriers other women face and what initiatives are being implemented around the world to address those barriers. I hope to bring some level of expertise from prior experience with CSW, having served as a representative for the Episcopal Church in 2016 and 2017. I also have knowledge and perspective about womens access to support services, particularly womens health care, as a result of working as a nurse in womens healthcare and in relationships built with women in Kenya. Scottish Episcopal Church member Ley-Anne Forsyth, a housing professional, is another Anglican Communion delegation member. Im really looking forward to having an opportunity to hopefully engage with the UK government mission and pick up on the issues raised by Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, on his recent visit to the UK about our failing social protection systems, particularly around welfare support failings for women. I am keen to learn more and feed in to discussions around housing-centric policies for support and care for women and families. As a Youth Officer in the Scottish Episcopal Church I am looking forward to learning from groups and my fellow delegates ways in which I can help empower our young women to achieve everything they set their minds to. Anglican Communion delegation member Tomie Kaneko from the Nippon Sei Ko Kai (NSKK) the Anglican Communion in Japan said: I am excited to meeting new Anglican friends from all over the world! Attending is a great opportunity, I want to learn and bring back to Japan the trend of the gender equality and the empowerment of women. NSKK believe the nuclear power is not a right answer for the sustainable infrastructure. She referenced the eight-year wait for a solution to the Fukushima power plant disaster, when a tsunami caused a meltdown in a nuclear power plant. From our experience, I want to say: no more nuclear power. Another Anglican Communion delegation member, Anika Kingmele from the Anglican Church of Melanesia, said that she is keen to learn from other countries progress in social protection programmes in breaking the glass ceiling and the role of faith-based organisations in empowering women and girls. I hope to contribute critical aspects of the Melanesian culture, political, social and economic factors that contribute both positively and negatively on the interventions that aim at attaining gender equality. The delegation includes a priest from the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, Nontlantla Mashiyane. I am looking forward to learning about what other governments around the world are doing to achieve development that is inclusive of women and girls, especially those who are most vulnerable, especially in rural areas, she said. I look forward to being a part of women who are the agents of change globally. Women are the face of poverty in Africa. They have to contend with the challenges brought about by social and economic inequalities of our society on a daily basis. Outreach programmes targeting rural women should be prioritised. Their condition could be ameliorated by the provision of assistance mainly in the areas of education and health care. In this way, the theme of sustainable infrastructure and social protection systems is critical to the empowerment of women. Economist and Policy Analyst Dr Grace Ofori-Abebrese, from the Church of the Province of West Africa, is another member of the Anglican Communion delegation. I am actually thrilled for being part of the delegation for CSW63, she said. This is my first time of joining members of the Anglican Communion around the world in such an important programme. I trust I am going to learn many things to equip me help the community of West Africa. She added: I hope to contribute immensely to important issues concerning public financing of some of these social intervention programmes. I am expecting to throw light on areas that seem challenging in their implementation. The final member of the Anglican Communion delegation is Ruihana Paenga, a member of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. She says that she will be sharing the Mana Wahine a Maori phrase for a spirit of womanhood with the other members of the Anglican delegation. I come to share with my Anglican sisters, Mana Wahine, a model of female leadership ingrained from the many women who have shaped and influenced my life, she said, adding: I hope to bring to CSW an insight to Pacific Priorities on Climate Change and Youth Empowerment which are underpinned by indigenous values & development frameworks. Posted on: February 27, 2019 3:54 PM The Diocese of Peshawar, part of the united Church of Pakistan, has held an orientation programme to celebrate two decades of work promoting interfaith harmony in its diocesan schools. And the Bishop of Peshawar, Church of Pakistan Moderator Humphrey Peters, continued the reconciliation work outside schools at a major peace conference in Islamabad. The Diocese of Peshawar has been working actively to promote Interfaith Harmony in all sections of society, the latest edition of its newsletter, The Frontier News, says. It has also involved communities from the grass roots level to become elements of change regarding peaceful co-existence of various faiths in the region. Working towards interfaith harmony among its students who belong to various religions has become an essential component of the dioceses schools. This initiative is to help children to appreciate commonality of each other religions and to defy negative discrimination and attitudes, The Frontier News said. A number of different religious leaders took part in the Orientation Programme, including Moulana Hassan, a Muslim; Pandit Sham Lal, a Hindu; Dr Jatendir Singh, a Sikh; and Shahzad Murad, Priest in Charge of Peshawar Citys All Saints Church. Their existing knowledge about interfaith harmony has been enhanced through this orientation programme, Frontier News said. Meanwhile, the Bishop of Peshawar, Humphrey Peters, attended the Pagaim-e-Pakistan (Message of Peace from Pakistan) Peace Conference at a hotel in Islamabad. Ambassadors to Pakistan from Saudi Arabia and Lebanon joined religious leaders and scholars, prominent citizens, social activists and representatives of the various sects and religions at the event, which was chaired by Chief Imam Moulana Abudl Khabir Azad from the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore. In a speech, Bishop Humphrey congratulated the organisers of the Conference and said that Christianity and Christians are a symbol of peace. He said that while the conference drew people from different religions, we have one agenda of peace and together we stand firm as our nation to promote peace, reconciliation and interfaith harmony for a prosperous Pakistan. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 has been put to harsh durability tests in a new video by popular YouTuber JerryRigEverything, and the mid-range budget device performed quite well up until the very last moment when its structural weak points have been revealed. The tests determined some of the building materials used by the Chinese OEM to manufacture the device and confirmed that the 6.3-inch IPS LCD display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The shiny frame surrounding the device is made out of plastic despite its metallic look, and so is the dual-SIM card tray which can accommodate a microSD card in the second slot. Disappointingly, the rubber meant to seal the SIM card tray and protect it from outside elements came off by its own without being subjected to harsh treatment, so prospective buyers should be aware that this particular component might have a manufacturing defect. Advertisement On the bright side, the material covering the rear-mounted fingerprint scanner didnt suffer any damage when scratched with the tip of a cutter, which is a very positive outcome given the importance of the module for unlocking the phone. Likewise, the glass covering the dual camera module also proved to be quite resilient to scratches, and technically it shouldnt suffer any damage in day-to-day usage scenarios. The IPS LCD display performed very well in the heat test, but the panel was irrecoverable after being subjected to the final bend test. More importantly, the final test revealed that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7s weakest point is the lack of a stronger internal structure. Its perfectly fine to have a budget device built out of plastic, but the SIM tray and physical button cutouts on the plastic frame compromise the structural integrity, and it doesnt look like Xiaomi took many precautions to prevent the phone from being easily bent. Having said that, the build quality of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 is appropriate for its market segment, especially for a device costing roughly $150, but prospective buyers are advised to never carry the device in their back pocket. The phone doesnt seem to have any flexing ability and once its bent, it will forever remain that way. Likewise, the glass panel covering the rear of the phone shattered spectacularly in the bending process. Advertisement All in all, while the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 ultimately failed JerryRigEverythings final durability test, it performed quite admirably along the way, especially given its price point. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 was introduced last month and according to an earlier GSMArena report, the OEM managed to sell over 1 million units in 30 days of market availability. Its success is largely attributed to a mix of decent features and affordability. The mid-range smartphone is equipped with a 48MP camera supplied by Samsung, coupled with a secondary 5MP depth sensor and a 13MP front-facing unit. Its powered by the Snapdragon 660 chipset from Qualcomm and 3GB, 4GB, or 6GB of RAM along with 32GB or 64GB of built-in storage. It runs the OEMs proprietary MIUI 10 software based on Android 9 Pie and relies on a 4,000mAh battery which can be seen in the video below. Samsung Executive Vice President Eui-Suk Chung shared more details about the thought process that went behind the development of the Galaxy Fold while speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. In a recent interview, the EVP reveals that Samsung views the Galaxy Fold as a direct response to how people interact with their phones today, which is all the time and for all things and offered a glimpse at how foldable technology could evolve even further in the future. The interview touched on future App Continuity support while an embedded cartoonish YouTube video provided a few examples of how the Galaxy Fold will change the way people will interact with mobile devices in this emerging foldable category. Samsung has prior experience with so-called hybrid mobile devices including the Galaxy Note series which greatly contributed to defining the phablet concept. The Galaxy Note itself was created because Samsung noticed a demand for larger screens, but apparently, this need has not been entirely satiated by the Note series and, as a response, Samsung developed the Galaxy Fold. Advertisement The new form factor brings together the functionality of smartphones and tablets thanks to a combination between the 4.6-inch non-flexible screen and the large 7.3-inch flexible panel. This unique design allowed the OEM to explore new ways in which users can interact with mobile applications, and App Continuity along with Multi-Active Window are direct results of this hybrid design. App Continuity is a new feature that allows users to seamlessly move applications between the Galaxy Folds two displays, whereas Multi-Active Window takes split-screen multitasking to a new level by allowing three mobile apps to be simultaneously shown on the screen. The interview reveals that these new functions have been developed in partnership with app developers in the Android community as well as Google. And to ensure that some of the most popular mobile applications will be optimized for the Galaxy Folds unique software, Samsung set up a test lab allowing the OEM and its partners to work more closely for the best possible results. Advertisement Still, not every application is capable of leveraging on the capabilities of App Continuity and Multi-Active Window. Samsung will continue to work with its partners to increase the number of apps optimized for these features, but thanks to the foldable phones app compatibility software the OEM promises to offer the best possible experience for applications that have not yet been optimized. Only time will tell just how well the myriad of unoptimized apps will work with the new form factor. But in Samsungs eyes, this new foldable form factor is only the beginning of a new era. Specifically, Eui-Suk Chung claims that mobile devices capable of folding in multiple ways are now technically obtainable, and future smartphones could even become rollable or stretchable. The tech giant has been working on foldable display technology for nearly a decade, with its first flexible display prototype having been showcased as far back as 2011. There were other challenges that had to be faced in order to create the Galaxy Fold, beyond the development of a reliable foldable screen. A lot of engineering effort went into the development of certain mechanical aspects such as the Galaxy Folds internal hinge, and of course, stretchable and/or rollable form factors will pose their own challenges in all areas across the board, ranging from hardware to software. Jim Jordan mid-fit during the Michael Cohen hearing in the House. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images In todays dramatic House Oversight Committee hearing featuring former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, Republicans have not bothered with any complex strategy to undermine his testimony, much less to pursue the truth. Led by ranking minority member and pro-Trump conservative firebrand Jim Jordan, so far committee Republicans have painted Cohen as someone whos already (admittedly) lied to Congress, and thus cant be trusted on any matter. For the most part, they have not even made an effort to rebut Cohens specific claims against Trump, though they have made bold allegations of their own, suggesting that he and congressional Democrats are conspiring against their beloved leader. In fact, even before Jordan started throwing serial fits over Cohens mendacity, his House Freedom Caucus colleague Mark Meadows objected to the entire hearing, arguing that Cohens prepared testimony was submitted too late to be reviewed. You have to wonder what in the GOPs one-note attack on Cohen would have changed given more advance notice of what he planned to say. But after the committee predictably brushed aside this effort to shut down the hearing, Jordan heatedly sent the signal for all-out war not only on Cohen but on the evil, godless liberal Democrat agents persecuting the noble president, as Galen Druke observed in the FiveThirtyEight live blog of the event: Jordan has opened this hearing by essentially describing a Democratic conspiracy to discredit the president or even remove him from office, relying on a witness who already lied to Congress. That accurate description, however, doesnt do justice to the tone and demeanor of Jordan and his troops. Gaze in awe: A lowlight was this passage, the only time Jordan appeared to treat Cohen as anything other than a low-life who should be in prison already: [The Democrats] just want to use you, Mr. Cohen. Youre their patsy today. Theyve gotta find someone, somewhere, to say something, so that they can try to remove the president from office because Tom Steyer told them to. Steyer, in case youve missed it, is the billionaire agitating for formal impeachment proceedings against Trump, whom a solid majority of congressional Democrats (and all of their leadership) have been resolutely ignoring or rebuking. Later on, Representative Paul Gosar nicely encapsulated the case against Cohen himself: GOP Rep. Paul Gosar used his time to repeatedly blast Cohen as a liar. He called Cohen a pathological liar who knows nothing but lying. He even said liar, liar, pants on fire at one point. Cohen did manage a riposte: Are you talking about me or the president? Cohen shot back. Louisiana Republican Clay Higgins expressed sympathy for Cohens family in a courtly Southern manner and addressed him as good sir. But then he suggested, implausibly, that the Long Island attorney reminded him of thousands of bad actors he had arrested as a law enforcement officer back in the bayous. The GOP strategy of loud and furious objection to Cohens very existence is part of a broader strategy of dismissing every allegation against the president as part of a witch hunt that Democrats have cooked up out of thin air to overturn the 2016 election results. Its an interesting question whether there is any revelation that Cohen (or, for that matter, Robert Mueller) could produce that would convince them to abandon this advanced line of defense for their hero. The answer, at this point, would appear to be no. Perhaps the most searing critique of todays behavior by House Republicans came from Cohen himself: I did the same thing that youre doing now for ten years. I protected Mr. Trump for ten years. Look whats happened to me. I wonder if any of his tormenters think about that before they go to sleep tonight. Andover, MA (01810) Today Sunshine this morning. Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 94F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Considerable cloudiness. Low 72F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Traveler sentenced for attempting to have sex with a child Defendant Traveled from Minnesota to Have Sex with a 9-Year-old; FBI Agents Were Waiting for Him Alaskans say goodbye to the stigma of sobriety, say hello to sober celebrations during Sobriety Awareness Month More than 200 companies and trade groups, including steel industry members, have launched the USMCA Coalition to press Congress to approve the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the US Chamber of Commerce said on Tuesday February 26. More than 200 companies and trade associations, including members of the steel industry, have launched the USMCA Coalition to press Congress to approve the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the US Chamber of Commerce said in a release on Tuesday February 26. Over the coming weeks and months, the USMCA Coalition will make the case for expeditious passage of the agreement to members of Congress, and it will work to educate the American public about the benefits of the new deal, it said. The effort will harness the advocacy strength of a broad membership of companies, trade associations and chambers of commerce, including many that operate outside of Washington, DC. Steel companies and associations that have joined the initiative include ArcelorMittal, Nucor Corp, SSAB Americas, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), the coalition said on its website. We look forward to working with members of the USMCA Coalition to support passage of the innovative new agreement, SMA president Philip K. Bell said in a statement on February 26. As written, USMCA improves fair and free trade for the steel industry, our supply chain, workers and the US economy. The new trilateral trade deal, meant to replace the existing North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), was agreed upon by the US, Canada and Mexico on September 30. The agreement was signed by the three North American trading partners on November 30, but ultimately requires approval from each countries' legislatures in order to take effect. The trade agreement would enter into force 60 days following ratification by all three countries. But there is no indication when the USCMA might be voted on by Congress, industry representatives said. Fastmarkets' daily US Midwest hot-rolled coil index a broader measure of the direction of steel prices currently stands at $35.38 per hundredweight ($707.60 per short ton) fob mill, down by 14.7% from $41.48 per cwt in late September when the USMCA was signed. Red Flag is a brilliant exercise in which many combat aircraft flying from Nellis AFB engage to simulate real combat scenarios within a well designed and instrumented extremely stressful air combat environment. A "face shot" is slamming a missile right into the face, head on, of your enemy. USAF chief of staff General David Goldfein, reflecting on the success of the F-35 at a recent USAF "Red Flag" exercise, gave both the People's Liberation Air Force and the Russians what we fighter pilots call a "face shot." The U.S. Air Force put the F-35 up against "the most advanced weapons systems out there" during the recent Red Flag air combat exercise, and the fight-generation stealth fighters apparently dominated so much so that even the rookie pilots were crushing it. The F-35A is "exceeding our expectations when it comes to not only being able to survive, but to prosecute targets," Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein said Tuesday, according to Air Force Times. A lasting phrase used by President Obama is actually appropriate in this situation: the Russian are getting all "wee-weed up." The Russian Embassy in the US took aim at America's F-35 stealth fighters on Friday in a threatening message apparently tweeted in response to an earlier speech by the chief of staff of the US Air Force. "If a Russia... ever was to see an F-35 inside its airspace', we would love to send Chief of Staff of the [US Air Force] Gen. David L. Goldfein 'message with two words' 'remember Vietnam," the tweet read, adding, "An F-35 will never be alone." Okay, "Ivan" let's remember Vietnam...and now the fights is on! A historical takeaway from the cold and hot war air battles between the U.S. Air Force and the USSR is that in the air-to-air mission, a country that equips its fighters with airborne radar and sensors allows more autonomous action and actually favors tactical simplicity and operational autonomy even though the equipment becomes more complex. In air-to-ground, airborne simplicity indicators are usually smaller formations and allowance to maneuver independently into weapon launch envelopes primarily in a weapons-free environment. Embedding technology into the weapon itself bombs and rocket-fired weapons has also made a revolutionary difference. A key conclusion is always to assume that a reactive enemy can develop the necessary technology to mitigate any advantages. With the worldwide proliferation of weapons, even a second- or third-world nation might have state-of-the art systems. The air war over the skies of Vietnam was between two peer competitors because of USSR support and constraints by the U.S. national command authority on how the U.S. would fight an air campaign. The peer fight in the air abruptly ended when President Nixon unleashed the full power of U.S. air in the famous Christmas bombing of 1972. The war ended quickly after that. When the North invaded the South in 1975, U.S. air power was not used like the first invasion in1972, which was a dismal failure. The lesson on the U.S.-USSR rivalry is that air combat leaders must be able to adjust during the course of an air battle or war by changing strategy and tactics, to achieve exploitation of the enemy's mistakes or weakness. Aircrews must be adaptable enough to follow changing commands from leadership and also, on their own initiative, to change tactics to achieve local surprise and exploitation. Like the quote from Animal House, "knowledge is good." In the cockpit, it can be a life-saver and an aid in "mission accomplished." An air-to-air engagement totally slaved to a ground-controlled radar attack, the USSR model was a colossal failure and deadly to a lot of pilots locked into such a system. A bottom-up approach with evolving aircraft system capabilities in a competitive airframe makes for adaptive, creative air crews who will have a large repertoire of tactical moves and a better chance of getting inside an opponent's OODA loop. This is true for both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions. As the history of war in the air shows, it was a constantly evolving process of human factors integrated into technology. The Cold War ended well for humanity, and a lot of courageous pilots, bold leaders, and smart technologists deserve a lot of credit for this great victory. General Goldfein well remembered the lessons learned when he mentioned the awesome capabilities of the F-35. All U.S. air power combat pilots along the way will always recognize and honor the loss of good men and women in the air who paid in their blood for America today to have the best technology available flown by the best Air Force, Navy, and Marine aviators this country can produce. The future for American air power is to shape its concepts of operations in order to take advantage of the fifth-generation aircraft and the associated new tools of combat. The recent Red Flag reporting results complimenting the F-35 are telling us that the future is now apparently truly scaring the Russians. The Left wants everything free, except free speech Free health care, free college tuition, free child care are the beacons for the liberal Left. As leftists' platforms further regress into socialism, they know the only thing that remains an obstacle and can't be free: speech and expression. Twitter and Facebook are actively aiding Democrats in their opposition by banning conservative voices on their platforms. Alex Jones's and Milo Yiannopoulos's previous bans from the tech giants' websites were a litmus test. When they were allowed to get away with that with no serious blowback, they went for more. So far this week, many prominent right-wing influencers have been banned or silenced from Facebook and Twitter. Jacob Wohl, Tommy Robinson, and Raheem Kassam follow other conservative voices to their social media graves. As Donald Trump, Jr. observed, these episodes of censorship happen only one way. Jacob Wohl made a nuanced comment that he would start fake Twitter profiles, as 2020 Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has done. Tommy Robinson was kicked off Facebook and Instagram for religious blasphemy, criticizing Islam. Raheem Kassam was temporarily banned for the same. Yet Jack Morrissey, who made the post about violently executing children in MAGA hats, continues to enjoy Twitter. Brad Parscale, one of the longest lasting Trump campaigners, once said right after the 2016 elections that "Facebook and Twitter were the reason we won this thing." Now the social media monopolies are doling out their punishments. Even if they are private companies, they are treated as platforms, not publishers, but because technology is so new and developing, they get to write and enforce their own laws about who can speak and what he can say, with no recourse. There is still an establishment of free speech that Facebook and Twitter will parrot when asked to take down pro-Taliban videos, refusing the U.S. government's request on the grounds of free expression. These companies are unregulated as they write their own community standards that constantly evolve. As Jeffrey Rosen states, "lawyers at Facebook and Google have more power than a Supreme Court justice." Arguably, it's the moderators of the sites who wield the most power. They get to decide for themselves what they feel is hate speech, not just what has already been established as such. This raises serious ethical concerns. For example, does this continuing censorship of conservative ideas on the largest social media platforms actually have a quantifiable effect on elections? If social media's employees with power to censor speech online are monetarily supporting Democrats over the GOP, which they are, can they actually change the outcome of elections? Because these moderators can delete posts and accounts on their own judgement, conservative voices are in danger of not being allowed to reach moderate voters. Last year, Facebook congratulated itself on lowering the traffic to right-wing websites by an astonishing 93%. Since most people don't possess the individual drive to seek out opposing viewpoints, they remain stationary on the comfortable middle ground, where not liking Trump is the safest position, without challenge. This may be creating an environment of groupthink, where leftists believe that their ideas are farther spread than they are because they are successfully silencing the opposition. This will lead them to believe that their opinions on policy are the status quo. Their own platforms reflect this, as, with the help of social media, they believe that people are willing them to go even farther left on their policies than ever before, like open borders, infanticide, and the Green New Deal. This could ultimately end up being a trap for Democrats, since recent polls show a major shift within even Millennial liberals toward conservative ideas, like that abortion should have limitations. When the media are totalitarian and state-run, like in the USSR or North Korea, it comes with the negative externalities like most people understanding that they should not believe what they see and hear. Essentially, the more conservatives are unwillingly separated from their platforms, the less the public will trust the institutions' censorship and the material they do allow. It brings a literal meaning to the "silent majority" when the majority is physically being silenced. Connect with Taylor Day on Facebook and Twitter. Wait...I thought colonization was imperial, racist, and white and was wrong because it denies the people residing in those lands their right to self-determination. Oh, I see. It's okay just as long as progressive, imperious white guys do it to subhuman conservatives who have tilled the land and run their ranches for generations. On his HBO show, Real Time, last Friday, Bill Maher viciously took down red cities, red counties, red states, and red MAGA hatwearing Americans in his shtick criticizing Amazon for telling New York State to take the 20,000-plus jobs it would have brought to the Big Apple and shove 'em. Instead, he wants Amazon to turn needy red states like Nebraska into the next Silicon Valley because it would bring them jobs and prosperity and...would eventually turn those states blue by "re-colonizing" them. It should make anyone pretty uncomfortable that one class of people in a country has the hubris to believe it needs to rescue poor, uneducated, toothless, MAGA-infected Tea Party troglodytes and turn them into enlightened, tolerant, intellectually superior beings made in the progressive image. In his own words (and I apologize for any typos in this transcript, but I just couldn't keep listening to this drivel over and over to ensure perfection), Bill lays out, in all seriousness, that America has a "spatial geographic inequality" problem. [This] means that the most affluent and educated people are clustered in just a few cities. ... The blue parts of America are having a big prosperity party while that big sea of red feels like their invitation got lost in the mail. And they still use the mail. They turn on the TV and all the shows take place in a few hip cities. There's no Real Housewives of Toledo or CSI Lubbock. There are no red carpets in Wyoming and no one ever asks you "Who are you wearing"? Because the answer is always "Target." There are two Americas, and it seems like one is where all the cool jobs are, where people drive Teslas and eat artisanal ice cream. We have orchestras and theater districts and world class shopping. We have Chef Wolfgang Puck. They have Chef Boyardee. Our roofs have solar panels. Theirs have last year's Christmas lights. We've got legal bud. They've got Bud. ... The flyover states have become the passed over states. That's why red state voters are so pissed off. They don't hate us. They want to be us. ... How do I know this? Because 238 cities and regions submitted proposals to Amazon for the company to locate in their area, all desperate for jobs that don't involve guarding prisons and murdering chickens. And Amazon picked two places that didn't need them at all [that would be Virginia and New York] places where prosperity already was. Bezos: You're worth $130 billion. Take one for the team. Stop playing cities off against one another and help a dying one come back to life. ... But if liberals are serious about winning elections, they have to start recolonizing the parts of the country they've abandoned. Mississippi is the poorest state in the country. Amazon could buy the whole state and rename it Amazippi. If we keep leaving the red states behind, they're going to keep getting angrier and crazier. ... When Amazon moves to West Virginia, people get better jobs that don't give them black lung. The locals meet people of different races and backgrounds and sexual orientations none of whom kill them. They find out gays don't ruin anyone's marriage, but they do improve the karaoke scene. A yoga studio opens up. Then an art gallery. A gym that admits women. Then one of those trendy bars. ... Asians come and open a Chinese restaurant. Then the Jews come because there is a Chinese restaurant, and before you know it, there is legal weed and decent health care and the schools are teaching science again. Where to begin? Aside from the fact that there is some good ol' stereotyping about gays, Jews, and Asians that only guys like Bill Maher and Joe Biden can get away with and the rest of us can't, there's a whole lotta stereotyping about Middle America. I don't think Bill is up on his stats. The states he sees as the most prosperous like California, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois aren't doing so well these days. Businesses are leaving traditional blue states in droves and taking their tax dollars and jobs to the nearest red states. (Sadly, they bring with them a lot of employees who embrace blue-state policies, the same ones that got them into trouble "back home" in the first place. It doesn't take long for them to infect the body politic in the red states they now inhabit with their failed liberalism.) The fact is, New York was dying for that Amazon pick-me-up. Long Island City needed those high-paying jobs and the collateral businesses that would spring up to meet consumer demands like gas stations so we can kill the Earth, dentists to replace our missing teeth, affordable stores like Target so we can dress up for the red carpet, fancy coffee shops where we can talk about "who we wore on the red carpet," and grocery stores that sell pantry staples like Chef Boyardee because we can't afford to eat at any of Wolfie Puck's restaurants. New York is prosperous only for the wealthiest, the most elite like you, Bill. Maybe if you got out of your Tesla bubble every once in a while and drove upstate in New York or downstate in Illinois or in the Central Valley of California, you'd see the economic and cultural devastation. Those smart states are actually pretty stupid, dying under the weight of trillions in unfunded pension liabilities. The major cities you laud? Even the major cities in traditionally red states are riddled with crime, drugs, poverty, and cultural decline. That education you want to impose on the putrid masses stuck in the cornfields, doesn't exist in any major city in the country unless you are extraordinarily wealthy or extremely lucky and win the school lottery. You might not feel it or see it because your life is so cushy, Bill, but those states and cities that are so progressive (and broken) are exclusively run by your people. Y'all have become the colonizers, the imperialists, the totalitarians in training. And let's talk about "cool" jobs. Not everyone wants to be a hipster tech drone tiptoeing through piles of human feces on the way to work in San Francisco. A lot of people want to farm. They want to work with their hands. The want to own small businesses in their small towns where everybody knows their names. Millions of Americans shy away from the corporate urban grind and long for the simplicity Small Town, USA has to offer. I know for you that's just a silly euphemism for the "basket of deplorables" they really are, clinging to their guns and Bible propaganda, but who is to say your propaganda will be any better? Bill, get rid of Middle America, get rid of the MAGA chapeaus, re-colonize the blue states, and who will build your Tesla? Who will fuel your energy needs? Who will install your solar panels? Who will truck your wine in from Napa? Who will teach your children, mow your lawn, build your pool, and paint your house? Ya like that artisanal ice cream? If we gotta ax the farting cows and keep driving farmers out of business the bulk of whom, even in California, are conservatives who will provide you with the ingredients to make your yuppie foods? Ya ain't gonna git much in the way of orchestras and theatrical productions in your thee-ater districts, without the men and women who do all of the unsexy stuff the electricians, the stage hands, the folks who actually build the sets, the little people who work in the ticket booths, the make-up artists, the faceless musicians in the pit. The waiters and kitchen help in any restaurant are average people, Bill. You want your food cooked up jest raight, ye bitter keep yer pie hole closed. Someone who hears this shtick just maght spit in yer high-falutin' grub. Yes, there are people in the rural areas of even your blue states who work in prisons and slaughterhouses. They should be applauded, not ridiculed and denigrated. They keep us safe and feed us. They keep you safe and feed you. When the SHTF, Bill whether an EMP, a natural disaster, an epidemic, or you don't win an Emmy and go wah wah wah all the way home (please don't come back to New Jersey; stay in La La Land) how are you going to survive? The people you make fun of? They know how to grow crops and raise animals. They know how to make a fire, how electricity works, how to plumb. They can build a house, make a table, craft a wagon. Without the very people you mock, you would starve or freeze to death. "Who" you wear, what you drive, where you eat, and how much you think of yourself aren't as important to the people you despise as it is to you and your pals. You have become the aloof, self-absorbed kind of aristocrats who care more about their food, drink, dress, and baubles than the miserable masses they claim to want to uplift. Yet your kind denies them the jobs and opportunities for prosperity from which you yourselves have benefited. One wonders: when you re-colonize the red zones, will you lop off the heads of those of us who resist? A small word of advice from one of little brain: You shouldn't underestimate the people you try to re-colonize. We have backbone. We have grit. We are tenacious. We are the kind of people who will fight for our rights, our freedoms, our individuality, our families, our religion, and our culture and most of all, our country. We will never give up. We will never give in. Keep smoking all that weed, Bill. One thing about stoners is once they stop munching and start talking, they truly believe they are brilliantly pontificating on a topic, when in fact they just sound really dumb. (And I'm not sure you really want schools to start teaching science in school again, Bill, because then all of these really screwed up, anxiety-ridden Millennials will find out shhh! there really are only two sexes.) We saw a bit of this over the last few days. In one single sense, President Andres Lopez-Obrador reminds me of President Trump. People either love or hate him. Many in the middle class and business sector call him names not suitable for this page. On the other hand, the poor believe he will change Mexico, especially all of the corruption embedded in the system. First, "El Presidente" said the movie Roma was evidence of "racismo" in Mexico. He said this: Asked if he agreed with Cuaron that Mexican society remains rife with racist prejudice, the veteran leftist did not mince his words. "I completely agree. Unfortunately, there is a lot of racism in Mexico," he said. Lopez Obrador, who in the 1970s worked for the indigenous affairs bureau in his home state of Tabasco in southern Mexico, has pledged to give priority to the poor as president. This is pure pandering! Yes, it is true that many Mexican families have maids. Yes, it is also true that most of these women come from very poor areas of the country. At the same time, most of these "muchachas," as Mexicans call them, live inside the homes and get many benefits, from school to medical care, paid by the family. In other words, it is wrong to say this is a sign of racism. I'd rather call it a sign of poverty. Then "El Presidente" got really silly. He announced this: Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says his administration has auctioned off most of the bulletproof and luxury vehicles used by past presidents. Lopez Obrador has eschewed the traditional trappings of power since taking office on Dec.1. He uses a compact Volkswagen car and refuses to live in the sprawling presidential residence compound, instead remaining in a middle-class condo. He has pledged to sell off the presidential jet and instead uses commercial flights. He also disbanded Mexico's equivalent of the Secret Service. This is stupid, to say the least. Lopez-Obrador is not saving any money at all by selling bulletproof cars or the presidential jet. He is also exposing himself, his family, and people who travel with him to an attack. Last, but not least, a couple of Mexican friends told me they think the bit about bulletproof cars is just talk and will never happen. We will see, but Lopez-Obrador is turning into the Mexican version of Sandy O. PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter. Tuesday, that brilliant climate scientist John Kerry was at it again. He penned an op-ed in the Washington Post saying President Trump should disband his "Climate Denial Panel." The thing about global warming alarmists is that they can't stand debate. Anyone who disagrees with their theory that humans cause global warming or climate change is called a denier and told to shut up. Not one of us who question the theory that humans, fossil fuels, and CO2 cause warming (or climate change, if you will) has ever said the climate is constant and has never changed, so calling us "deniers" is a bald-faced lie. Since she believes what journalists and others have taught her, she and others have come up with what can best be described as an abjectly ignorant Green New Deal that would absolutely destroy our economy. Russia would certainly be happy to have politicians destroy America. They would love to have people like Kerry, Hillary, Pelosi, Schumer, and Ocasio-Cortez in charge instead of Trump. It is no wonder that twenty-nine-year-old Ocasio-Cortez believes this garbage, since she has been indoctrinated with it her entire life. She actually tells young people that maybe they shouldn't have children because she believes the nonsense she has been told. There are thousands of questions, and it is sad that no one asks the alarmists. It is obvious that the climate has always changed and always will change naturally, and it is arrogant to believe that politicians and bureaucrats can control temperatures, sea levels, and storm activity forever. They just want the money to control our lives. Scientific studies have shown that droughts were much longer in the past, prior to when humans and fossil fuels could have caused them, so why do climate change alarmists continually lie that we cause longer and more severe droughts? Isn't that a daily assault on the truth? Scientific studies have shown that droughts were much longer in the past, prior to when humans and fossil fuels could have caused them, so why do climate change alarmists continually lie that we cause longer and more severe droughts? Isn't that a daily assault on the truth? We have been warned that because humans and fossil fuels cause warming, we would have snowless winters. Why were the predictions so wrong, and why should we believe the doom and gloom about the future since previous predictions have been 100% wrong? We have been warned that because humans and fossil fuels cause warming, we would have snowless winters. Why were the predictions so wrong, and why should we believe the doom and gloom about the future since previous predictions have been 100% wrong? What caused the ice to melt after the Ice Age, since humans and fossil fuels couldn't have caused it? What caused the ice to melt after the Ice Age, since humans and fossil fuels couldn't have caused it? How come the ice is still in the Arctic after 150 years of exponential growth in fossil fuel use, since we were told it would be gone by now? How come the ice is still in the Arctic after 150 years of exponential growth in fossil fuel use, since we were told it would be gone by now? It is too bad that journalists won't question John Kerry and other fear-mongers, but here are a few easy ones for them: The predictions were 100% wrong in 1922 as the ice came back, and so far, they have been wrong now . But somehow, being wrong so consistently allows them to say the science is settled. The only reason they get away without being questioned about their bad previous predictions is that almost all journalists just repeat what they are told with no questions. Reports from fishermen, seal hunters and explorers all point to a radical change in climate conditions and hitherto unheard-of temperatures in the Arctic zone. Exploration expeditions report that scarcely any ice has been met as far north as 81 degrees 29 minutes. Soundings to a depth of 3,100 meters showed the gulf stream still very warm. Great masses of ice have been replaced by moraines of earth and stones, the report continued, while at many points well known glaciers have entirely disappeared. The Arctic ocean is warming up, icebergs are growing scarcer and in some places the seals are finding the water too hot, according to a report to the Commerce Department yesterday from Consulafft, at Bergen, Norway. People writing in the Washington Post have been spewing forth this climate change alarmism for a very long time. In 1922, they essentially predicted the same garbage as they have predicted for the last approximately forty years. Snopes.com dug up the 1922 article: But the administration's most dangerous collision with facts has been its effort to paralyze U.S. efforts to join the nations of the world in confronting climate change. The White House plans to convene "experts" to "determine" whether climate change is a national security threat. We know what the outcome will be: President Trump's council of doubters and deniers will convene to undo a 26-year-old factual consensus that climate change is a national-security threat multiplier. Many have become immune or anesthetized to the daily assault on truth that is the Trump presidency, an alternative reality where North Korea has denuclearized and Russia might not have attacked our elections in 2016. It would be laughable were it not dangerous. Presidents are supposed to hold consensus together, not invent fictions to fray it. The thing about global warming alarmists is that they can't stand debate. Anyone who disagrees with their theory that humans cause global warming or climate change is called a denier and told to shut up. Not one of us who question the theory that humans, fossil fuels, and CO2 cause warming (or climate change, if you will) has ever said the climate is constant and has never changed, so calling us "deniers" is a bald-faced lie. Tuesday, that brilliant climate scientist John Kerry was at it again. He penned an op-ed in the Washington Post saying President Trump should disband his "Climate Denial Panel." Many have become immune or anesthetized to the daily assault on truth that is the Trump presidency, an alternative reality where North Korea has denuclearized and Russia might not have attacked our elections in 2016. It would be laughable were it not dangerous. Presidents are supposed to hold consensus together, not invent fictions to fray it. But the administration's most dangerous collision with facts has been its effort to paralyze U.S. efforts to join the nations of the world in confronting climate change. The White House plans to convene "experts" to "determine" whether climate change is a national security threat. We know what the outcome will be: President Trump's council of doubters and deniers will convene to undo a 26-year-old factual consensus that climate change is a national-security threat multiplier. How dare Trump bring in scientists who disagree with the indoctrination? People writing in the Washington Post have been spewing forth this climate change alarmism for a very long time. In 1922, they essentially predicted the same garbage as they have predicted for the last approximately forty years. Snopes.com dug up the 1922 article: The Arctic ocean is warming up, icebergs are growing scarcer and in some places the seals are finding the water too hot, according to a report to the Commerce Department yesterday from Consulafft, at Bergen, Norway. Reports from fishermen, seal hunters and explorers all point to a radical change in climate conditions and hitherto unheard-of temperatures in the Arctic zone. Exploration expeditions report that scarcely any ice has been met as far north as 81 degrees 29 minutes. Soundings to a depth of 3,100 meters showed the gulf stream still very warm. Great masses of ice have been replaced by moraines of earth and stones, the report continued, while at many points well known glaciers have entirely disappeared. The predictions were 100% wrong in 1922 as the ice came back, and so far, they have been wrong now. But somehow, being wrong so consistently allows them to say the science is settled. The only reason they get away without being questioned about their bad previous predictions is that almost all journalists just repeat what they are told with no questions. It is too bad that journalists won't question John Kerry and other fear-mongers, but here are a few easy ones for them: How come the ice is still in the Arctic after 150 years of exponential growth in fossil fuel use, since we were told it would be gone by now? What caused the ice to melt after the Ice Age, since humans and fossil fuels couldn't have caused it? We have been warned that because humans and fossil fuels cause warming, we would have snowless winters. Why were the predictions so wrong, and why should we believe the doom and gloom about the future since previous predictions have been 100% wrong? Scientific studies have shown that droughts were much longer in the past, prior to when humans and fossil fuels could have caused them, so why do climate change alarmists continually lie that we cause longer and more severe droughts? Isn't that a daily assault on the truth? There are thousands of questions, and it is sad that no one asks the alarmists. It is obvious that the climate has always changed and always will change naturally, and it is arrogant to believe that politicians and bureaucrats can control temperatures, sea levels, and storm activity forever. They just want the money to control our lives. It is no wonder that twenty-nine-year-old Ocasio-Cortez believes this garbage, since she has been indoctrinated with it her entire life. She actually tells young people that maybe they shouldn't have children because she believes the nonsense she has been told. Since she believes what journalists and others have taught her, she and others have come up with what can best be described as an abjectly ignorant Green New Deal that would absolutely destroy our economy. Russia would certainly be happy to have politicians destroy America. They would love to have people like Kerry, Hillary, Pelosi, Schumer, and Ocasio-Cortez in charge instead of Trump. Image credit: Pixabay. Five years ago, when Ukrainian protestors gathered in Maidan Square, hoping for a better future in the family of European nations and enthusiastically cheered by the Western establishment, nobody could predict the consequences of the Revolution of Dignity, as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has since called it. What started as peaceful protests very quickly transformed into violent riots that led to the overthrow of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovychs regime in 2014. As a country that is located between two major geopolitical entities the European Union (EU) and the Russian Federation, and having limited power-projection capabilities, Ukraine has had to carefully balance its foreign policy. Heavily reliant on Russia as its largest economic partner with long-established labor and trade relations, Ukraine has since strived to modernize its politics, economy, and standard of living, according to the Western paradigm that was viewed as the ultimate golden standard. It has been looking to do this since its founding in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union. And, until the Orange Revolution of 2004, the country had successfully maneuvered between a rock and a hard place. In the West, Russian aggression towards Ukraine is widely believed to be the primary catalyst that created the Ukrainian crisis, bringing disarray and economic collapse to the largest European country. There is no doubt that Russia plays a role in the post-Euromaidan events in Ukraine, but Russia cannot be exclusively blamed for the current situation within Ukraine. The subsequent Euromaidan revolution of 2014 revealed the multidirectional processes at work within Ukrainian society and the respective paths the society could choose. Two paths were evident -- one in pursuit of European integration, the other aimed to preserve close relations with Russia. In the past, these were carefully combined. Yet opposition elites presented these two paths as contradictory and exclusionary - the one could not be pursued unless the other was not. This very juxtaposition an either/or framing of the social and political path is what has catalyzed confrontation within Ukrainian society. A rapid and chaotic course of revolutionary events had activated radical political elements that had been previously marginalized such as neo-fascist militant groups that became the violent extremists of the revolution. Violent protestors who switched their agenda from European integration to anti-Russian rhetoric and practices, also provoked a strong reaction from supporters of the pro-Russian vector, which for historical and territorial reasons, are people are located primarily in the Eastern and Southern regions of Ukraine. The net result is that Ukrainian society became truly polarized on the basis of ethnicity, language, and religion. Rather than trying to pacify and reassure those Ukrainian compatriots who had valid concerns regarding the overthrow of Yanukovychs government, the newly appointed government in Kiev decided to recklessly pursue their own anti-Russia political agenda and disregard any consequences. Thus, one of the first decisions made by the newly elected officials in the Ukrainian Parliament, known as the Verkhovna Rada, was to repeal the law that stated that the Russian language is provided regional status within Ukraine. Getting rid of that significantly reduced the status of the Russian language in Ukraine, specifically with regards to its official use in matters pertaining to education, media, local government, and culture. It was just one instance of the post-Euromaidan order creating fuel for conflict. There were others. Often overlooked during the events of Euromaidan and its aftermath are incidents that resulted in a devouring cycle of violence within Ukraine. Such events include the massacre of pro-Russian protesters in Odessa and Mariupol in May 2014 who were declared by the central government to be paid Russian agents of influence. There also was the imprisonment and killing of famous pro-Russian activists across the country. Other incidents of violence undoubtedly occurred against Ukrainian nationalists who wanted their country to move outside of the Russian sphere of influence, which is to say violence was seen on both sides. The cyclical impacts of these events significantly escalated the conflict, ultimately resulting in the creation of a proxy war within the heart of Europe. Five years later, Ukraine is still striving for progressive economic reform and definitive political reform. Although both western and eastern Ukrainians despised Yanukovych's regime for its corruption and inconsistency, the same groups of Ukrainians are undoubtedly questioning the resolve of President Poroshenkos regime after more than half a decade since Euromaidan. Despite the fact that relations between the EU and Ukraine have advanced over the past five years through the UkraineEuropean Union Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), and Ukraine now is recognized as a priority partner within the Eastern Partnership and the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), the aforementioned advances have not yielded any of the much-anticipated economic and political improvements promised during Euromaidan for the lives of the Ukrainian people. The systemic corruption within the Ukrainian government and in Ukrainian society continues to remain an obstacle to the countrys democratic and economic development. The multiple anti-corruption institutions created in the past five years are not unified in their objectives and the country still lacks anti-corruption courts and effective corruption prevention mechanisms. Ukraines Western-financed economy continues to fail, as even some of its ardent Western supporters now admit. According to the World Bank, the economy of Ukraine keeps shrinking, causing, among other things, an unseen level of labor migration from the country, which, in turn, accelerates economic decline. At the same time, many Ukrainians now say that the greatest problem facing their country ahead of the next presidential election in March 2019 is the conflict in eastern Ukraine. As the conflict enters its fifth year, the administration of President Poroshenko is now forced to acknowledge that its been unable to defeat the separatists and find a political solution to the conflict. The failure to resolve the conflict in the east has led to the people of Ukraine to look to alternate options in the next presidential election. As Ukrainians now prepare for the next presidential election in Ukraine on 31 March 2019, the time for reflection has come people can choose between a record number of 44 candidates. Recent polls in Ukraine indicate that political veteran Yulia Tymoshenko and comedian Volodymyr Zelensky, both strongly critical of President Poroshenko and both significantly more popular than him, are the current front-runners in the election. Tymoshenko, a former gas executive and two-time Ukrainian prime minister, is rallying voters on an aggressively populist platform. Instantly recognizable, shes also an unpredictable and Machiavellian master of politics, who has successfully veered from being a renowned Ukrainian nationalist to presenting herself as capable of working directly with Russia as a close partner. Her very presence in the campaign raises questions about whether anything has changed, or ever will change in Ukraine. Vladimir Zelensky is now rapidly surging in popularity as an alternate to Tymoshenko. Since he does not have a well-defined campaign or platform, the policy implications of his potential victory are among one of the many unknowns. His lack of political experience and the questions about his ability to navigate the unwieldy Ukrainian political system to deliver reforms, as well as his alleged ties to oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi, may prove to be obstacles. Although the political future of Ukraine remains unclear and the Revolution of Dignity may have failed, Ukraine will take the next step into the future. With a rotating cast of older and newer political characters, the paths for Ukraine remain the same as before. One path leads to the EU and the other path leads to the establishment of a closer relationship with Russia. It is now up to the people of Ukraine to select the way ahead or to find a delicate balance. Veronika Kyrylenko, Ph.D. is a Research Associate at GeoStrategic Analysis (Arlington, VA) and a writer at the Western Journal. Back in 2016, a statue called Mother Bird designed by a Japanese special effects company, Link Factory, was displayed at the Vanilla Gallery in Tokyo. In another world, youd probably never have heard anything about Mother Bird. No offense to its creators. But for reasons I can only explain as because the internet, the bird with its eerie eyes and strange proportions took on another life online. Its now known as Momo, a creepy internet meme paired with so-called challenges essentially dares ranging from silly things to self-harm sent via WhatsApp and Facebook. The gist is you have to do whatever Momo or, really, the person sending you the Momo image says, or else Momo will come for you and your family and curse you. The final step in the process is, according to urban legend, killing yourself and filming it. In 2018, a 12-year-old girl in Argentina died by suicide, hanging herself in her familys backyard. Some reports claimed the girl took her own life as part of the Momo challenge. This was never confirmed, and there have been no deaths in the United States connected to the meme. Which makes it a little strange that were once again talking about Momo in 2019. Strange, but given the way the web works, not that surprising. Often, viral online panic gets a second life. A recent example: in 2018, headlines all over the place declared that kids were once again snorting condoms up their noses as part of the Condom Challenge. Spoiler: they werent. The Condom Challenge was a fleeting viral stunt performed by a number of YouTubers in 2013 and, for some reason, people decided to start worrying about it again five years later with no evidence of its recurring. Thats whats happening this week with Momo, which first reemerged in the U.K. and has since made its way across the pond. Much like the Condom Challenge, there seems to be no clear origin point for the return of Momo. A Facebook post, subsequently also shared on Twitter, claims that Momo is back and being hidden inside seemingly innocuous YouTube videos to lure children to hurt themselves. (A recent report from the Washington Post highlighted videos in which clips of suicide instructions were spliced into childrens videos on the platform.) But the post does not contain any links to such videos. And none of the news outlets reporting on the so-called trend have been able to point to any either. (A cursory search led me to many clips warning against these videos, but no actual examples.) Warning! Please read, this is real pic.twitter.com/980jS0FU12 Wanda Maximoff (@BreeDaAuraGod_) February 26, 2019 In a segment from WPTV News in Florida, newscasters attempt to explain Momo, inaccurately identifying it as the latest trend and pivoting to methods for talking to your kids about safe online behavior. If you see this on your kids phone, theres no good coming from that, a technology expert explains, pointing at ASL short for Age/Sex/Location from a list of internet acronyms. Thats useful information, but it has effectively nothing to do with Momo. Police in Northern Ireland attribute the return of the challenge to hackers looking for personal info. This is also unlikely. There are so many actual things to worry about when it comes to keeping kids safe online. Last week, YouTube deleted hundreds of channels and millions of comments in an attempt to combat the child predation problem it has had for years. There are channels devoted to creating videos that look just like cartoons kids watch think Peppa Pig but instead contain twisted and violent content. The list goes on and on. Momo is not on it. Update 6:34 PM: YouTube published a statement regarding Momo content. After much review, weve seen no recent evidence of videos promoting the Momo Challenge on YouTube. Videos encouraging harmful and dangerous challenges are clearly against our policies, the Momo challenge included. Despite press reports of this challenge surfacing, we havent had any recent links flagged or shared with us from YouTube that violate our Community Guidelines. The statement also noted images of Momo are not against YouTube Terms of Service, but they are banned from YouTubes Kids, the platforms app for children. The Resistance is Everything They Accuse Trump of Being The defining characteristic of todays Democrats is that most unattractive of human failings, hypocrisy. Since Donald Trumps improbable election, Dems and their media mouthpieces have been demanding that the rest of us recognize the existential threat he poses to the nation. Their demands are based on a litany of accused authoritarian character traits and fascistic conduct that Trump obviously doesnt hold and in fact never committed. The reality is the Democrats are projecting -- accusing Trump of the very outrages that they themselves practiced in their obsession to prevent and then overturn his election. The most ridiculous of these accusations is that Trump colluded with Russia to steal the election. Setting aside for the moment the massive economic damage Trumps energy policies have inflicted on Russias fragile economy, lets examine the Democrats actions to protect us from the Russian Bear. Is the World Bank Changing for the Better? When the World Bank was founded at Bretton Woods in 1944, WWII was still on, though its ultimate outcome was no longer in doubt. From the beginning the banks charter was to alleviate poverty through loans and expert advice. More recently, it pledged to help end extreme poverty by 2030. Toward this purpose it distributed some $60 billion in loans (2015) to countries that, for the most part, had difficulties accessing market loans. It was not always successful in what was or should have been a noble pursuit. It gave money to countries like China that no longer needed it and to dictators that pilfered it. Throughout it all, it was perennially unable to prove how much good it was doing or develop reliable metrics of accomplishment other than the huge amounts it was disbursing. Around 2010 and coinciding with the tenure of Barack Obama, the bank capitulated to the powerful green lobby in the United Nations and Washington and became an anti-development bank in the apt analysis of Rupert Darwall from the Global Warming Policy Foundation. In short order a politically correct Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change (AGECC) was formed within the bank that doubled down on renewable energy and promised sustainable energy for all by 2030, an absurd promise since renewable energy was known to be at least ten times more expensive than conventional power. Then in 2012, President Obama appointed the American hard-left academic, Jim Yong Kim, a man publicly committed to social justice and liberation theology, yet lacking any financial experience, to be the new president of the World Bank. Kim wasted no time in abandoning cost-benefit analysis of coal over solar and wind, dropping support for coal power (including a key power project in Kosovo), extending what was de facto a ban to financing upstream oil and gas projects and by and large sacrificing the interests of the poor to green ideology. This despite the fact that there is no known instance of a country developing to middle income status without fossil fuels. All of this should be seen as background to the abrupt and still unexplained resignation of Kim, who had just been appointed to a second term that he very much wanted. And the less unexpected but nonetheless dramatic announcement by President Trump that he would appoint as the new president of the World Bank none other than its most persistent critic and public nemesis, David Malpass, of the Treasury Department. It should be mentioned here that by long-standing tradition the president of the bank has always been an American (just as the head of the IMF is always an European), but it is also worth mentioning that there has never been a candidate before who broke so clearly with the banks tradition of going along to get along. So opposition from Europe and others would not be a surprise. Whether that could torpedo Trumps choice is unclear. What is clear is that such a clearly political and anti-American outcome could endanger the very existence of the institution. So what could we expect of a WB president Malpass? Judging by his criticism of the bank, quite a lot. He is known for his trenchant critique of the banks lack of measurable accountability, abandoning its core mission in favor of politically correct tangents and continuing to lend to China ($62 billion since 1980), which it no longer needs it. Beyond that, Malpass has taken the bank and the Obama administration more broadly to task for crony capitalism, distorting credit markets through quantitative easing and for its tendency toward big spending, globalism, and obsession with multilateralism. If he were to make good on even some of these, the change would be profound and positive. And it is well past time for such change. The unseemly obsession with green panaceas has already forced the Germans not only to pay the highest prices for their electricity, but also subsidize industry, something last seen in the defunct Soviet Union. Even worse, from an American point of view, is the nearly unanimous support by Democratic leaders for an absurd Green New Deal in America, should give a pause to those who still believe that asinine socialistic policies are just an European specialty. Alex Alexiev is chairman of the Center for Balkan and Black Sea Studies (cbbss.org). He could be reached at alexievalex4@gmail.com . Grove City, PA (16127) Today Partly cloudy early. Thunderstorms developing this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 79F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Thunderstorms this evening, then cloudy with rain likely overnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. As far right backs PM, BAME communities already worried about lack of will to tackle racism fear further discrimination. Michael Cohen arrives for private testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Bloomberg via Getty Images Michael Cohens highly anticipated testimony in front of the House Oversight and Reform Committee is underway on Capitol Hill. The former personal lawyer and fixer for Donald Trump testified Tuesday behind closed doors to the Senate Intelligence Committee, answering questions related to the panels investigation into Russian interference with the 2016 election. Today, hes expected to talk about his personal and professional relationship with Trump. In a statement last week, committee chairman Elijah Cummings laid out the topics the hearing will cover, including Trumps compliance with campaign-finance and tax laws, his business practices, and the accuracy of his public statements. Late Tuesday night, the New York Times published a copy of Cohens introductory remarks, in which Cohen will call the president a conman and a cheat. In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing, Cohen intends to say, according to a copy of his opening statement obtained by the Times. In his way, he was telling me to lie. The Trump administration has already begun pushing back against Cohen. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders unveiled the predictable line of attack against Cohen Tuesday. Disgraced felon Michael Cohen is going to prison for lying to Congress and making other false statements, she said in a statement. Sadly, he will go before Congress this week and we can expect more of the same. Its laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies. Shes not wrong about Cohen being a liar. Indeed, hes previously lied to Congress, which is one of the reasons hell begin serving a three-year prison sentence on May 6 (the others being financial crimes and campaign-finance violations). To some, Cohens record makes him an unreliable witness. But to others, it makes him someone who realizes the consequences of lying to Congress. And this, based on numerous reports, is what he plans to say: Cohen will accuse Trump of crimes. According to the New York Times, Cohen plans to tell lawmakers that Trump initiated the $130,000 hush payment to Stormy Daniels meant to keep her quiet about the affair she says she had with Trump. While Trump has admitted to knowledge of the payments, he says he didnt tell Cohen to make them. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Cohen will present evidence of criminal conduct related to the Daniels payment that occured since Mr. Trump became president. Its unclear if Cohen will address the catch and kill deal he orchestrated to keep former Playboy model Karen McDougal quiet about an alleged affair with Trump. Cohen, the WSJ reports, will also testify that Trump was involved in efforts to conceal the payments from the public in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, and will implicate Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg in the effort. The Washington Post reports that Cohen is also expected to address a BuzzFeed News story alleging that Trump instructed Cohen to lie to Congress about the Trump Tower Moscow project. Robert Muellers office has disputed the BuzzFeed News story, which initially led some to call for Trumps impeachment, and Cohen has yet to comment on it publicly. According to the Times, Cohen will provide counter-evidence to BuzzFeeds reporting, saying, Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. Thats not how he operates. According to a copy of the opening remarks obtained by the Times, Cohen will provide a clear picture of the blurry timeline of Roger Stones contacts with WikiLeaks. In July 2016, days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trumps office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone, the written statement says. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign. Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of wouldnt that be great. Speaking with reporters, Roger Stone has denied such a conversation took place. Cohen will also accuse Trump of being a racist, lying cheat. Cohen will testify that Trump lies about his wealth when it suits him, the Washington Post reports. Trump used high numbers for his purposes, such as getting on the top 10 wealthiest people on the Forbes list, and low numbers, when it came time to paying real estate taxes, a person familiar with Cohens expected testimony told the paper. Cohen also plans to tell lawmakers that Trump made racist comments in front of him, including questioning the intelligence of African-Americans, Politico reports. In the opening statement provided to the Times on Tuesday night, Cohen claims Trump once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasnt a shithole. This was when Barack Obama was President of the United States. Cohen will bring receipts. Cohens lawyer Lanny Davis hasnt said much about what to expect from his client, but he has said that Cohen has worked very hard on this moment to not only tell the truth, but to back it up with documents. Among the documents, which will reportedly be made visible to those watching at home, will be financial statements demonstrating that Trump has inflated his net worth. Hell also bring a document, Politco reports, to refute a claim by Rudy Giuliani, Trumps attorney, that Cohen used a $35,000-a-month retainer from Trump as reimbursement for paying off Daniels. Committee Republicans will call Cohen a liar. White House aides expect GOP members on the Oversight Committee, led by Ohios Jim Jordan, to aggressively go after Cohens credibility. The Times reports that Republican members will spend their allotted time trying to paint him as a liar and accusing him of fabricating stories to help his cause. Jordan has said, Our members intend to question Mr. Cohen about the crimes he pleaded guilty to, other criminal activity he participated in but refused to disclose, his international financial dealings and a long list of other probative activities. Cohen will explain why hes turned on Trump. When Cohen, who once said hes take a bullet for his boss, appeared in front of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees in the fall of 2017, he lied, telling lawmakers that discussion of a potential Trump Tower in Moscow ended in early 2016. He later admitted that those discussions went on into June of that year. Those lies are part of the reason why hes going to jail for three years. Whats changed in the last year and half that has led Cohen to go from lying for Trump, to trying to destroy him? Cohen plans to explain. The Republican candidate at the heart of an election-fraud scandal in North Carolinas Ninth Congressional District says he wont run in a special election to fill the seat. Mark Harris, whose campaign had hired a Republican operative accused of improperly collecting and altering absentee ballots in Bladen County, urged supporters to back Union County commissioner Stony Rushing instead. Mark Harris endorses Union Co Commissioner @StonyRushing for the seat. Rushing attended every day of the hearing last week in support of Harris. He also spearheaded a referendum by Union BOCC in support of Harris certification #NC09 @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/qc9iwv4Neg Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) February 26, 2019 Rushing, a Republican and the owner of Take Aim Training Range, did not return emails sent to his government account and to an AOL address linked to his professional website by press time. But a Facebook page that appears to belong to him features weeks of posts denying any possibility of election fraud. (It also features multiple photos of Rushing dressed as Jefferson Davis Boss Hogg, a recurring character on The Dukes of Hazzard.) As recently as Saturday, Rushing had decried the state board of elections fraud hearings: In earlier posts, Rushing seems to suggest that fraud didnt occur at all, and that NCSBEs investigation was politically motivated: Want to solve the irregularities issue in Bladen County? Contact your favorite reporter and ask them to do one... Posted by Stony Rushing on Thursday, January 17, 2019 Open Letter to Mark Harris Mark, I want you to know that you have strong support from the 9th District Voters even... Posted by Stony Rushing on Saturday, December 15, 2018 On January 10, Rushing accused Jens Lutz, the former chairman of the Bladen County Elections Board, of seeking revenge against the operative, Leslie McCrae Dowless, for personal reasons. Lutz, who also formerly chaired the county Democratic Party, resigned from the elections board in December; the Raleigh News & Observer reports that he and Dowless had once owned a political consulting firm. Looks like we have been scammed in the 9th District. April 2018- Jens Lutz appointed to Bladen Elections Board serves... Posted by Stony Rushing on Thursday, January 10, 2019 Lutz appears in another graphic that Rushing posted to both his Facebook and a Twitter account in his name: Rushing also claimed to have contacted the Justice Department to complain that a political coup had occurred in the district, and once said that the FBI should investigate the NSCBE. Today I have submitted a request to the US Department of Justice for an investigation into the NC State Board of... Posted by Stony Rushing on Sunday, December 30, 2018 We need an FBI investigation into the State Elections Board in NC. Posted by Stony Rushing on Friday, December 7, 2018 Rushing may prove to be a controversial candidate for other reasons, too. In 2015, not long after Dylann Roof murdered nine members of the historically black Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, South Carolina, Rushing introduced and passed a measure that prevented Union County from removing Confederate flags on display at a local courthouse. I dont have a problem with the flag or our history, he said to the Charlotte Observer at the time. He probably wont be the only Republican running to replace Robert Pittenger, the incumbent Harris defeated last year. Republicans Tommy Tucker and Matthew Ridenhour also told WSOC 9 that theyre considering runs. Dan McCready, the Democrat that Harris narrowly defeated in November, will also run in the special election. Will banning Huawei equipment from being used in the rollout of 5G in the U.S. end up being more costly to our national interest than whatever threat the Chinese telecom giant may pose? Photo: Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images In 2016, Chinese telecom giant Huawei the worlds largest manufacturer of telecom equipment and the number-two supplier of smartphones on the planet was a company whose name many Americans couldnt pronounce (its wah-way, per the companys own instructional video). Now, the company is regularly in the headlines though not for the reasons Huawei itself would want. The company has been dogged for years by U.S. intelligence agencies, which fear it could act as a proxy for Beijing. A U.S. congressional report in 2012 warned that Huawei posed a risk to U.S. national security. But under the Trump administration, the behind-the-scenes fight between U.S. intelligence and Huawei has taken center stage, culminating in the arrest of Huawei CFO and heir apparent Meng Wanzhou in Canada, the Department of Justice charging Huawei with fraud, obstruction of justice, and theft of trade secrets, and President Trump potentially on the verge of signing an executive order that would ban Huawei equipment from the U.S. wireless grid. The executive order would be a blow to both Huawei and the U.S. telecom industry; the inability to use Huawei equipment will hamper how quickly U.S. companies can roll out 5G networks, whose development is vital for the U.S. to stay competitive in the global landscape. It will also place an increasing strain on traditional U.S. allies, as other countries seem much less willing to issue a blanket ban of Huawei equipment; Germany looks close to proceeding with its plans to use Huawei equipment, and both the U.K. and Canada both part of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance have signaled they may continue to use Huawei equipment as well. The question at the crux of this whole debate: Are U.S. intelligence and military officials being properly paranoid, or overly paranoid? And how far is the U.S. willing to go to make sure Huawei stays out of its wireless infrastructure? The Ascent of Huawei For the first part of this decade, Huawei was the leading light of Chinas tech sector and particularly, of the industrys hopes of making inroads into Western markets. In 2012, it knocked off Swedens Ericsson to become the worlds largest telecom equipment maker, signing contracts on every continent except Antarctica to build out cellular data networks. In 2018, it took over from Apple as the worlds number-two supplier of smartphones, second only to Samsung. Per its latest earnings statement, the company brought in $108.5 billion in revenue, making it one of the worlds largest privately owned companies and placing it among the ranks of Cargill and Koch Industries. Its been a quick ascent for the company, which was founded by former Peoples Liberation Army engineer Ren Zhengfei in 1987 in Shenzhen, China. Founded in the shadow of Deng Xiaopings open-door policy and during a time when China was attempting to rapidly upgrade its telecom infrastructure, Rens key insight was to use aggressive reverse engineering of foreign competitors products to create an R & D and manufacturing pipeline that was contained entirely in China. This sometimes landed the company in hot water; it was forced to settle out of court after Cisco accused Huawei of copying source code for one of its routers, bugs and all. For most of the 1990s, simply supplying the exploding Chinese domestic market (including winning key government contracts) was enough to transform Huawei from a company most of whose staff (including some top executives) worked in small offices that doubled as dormitories and kitchens, to a rapidly growing high-tech giant. Starting in the late 1990s, Huawei began to expand internationally, first into neighboring southeast-Asian countries and then across the globe. By 2002 it was bringing in a half billion in revenue from foreign sales, and by 2005 it was bringing in more revenue from overseas sales than it was domestically. Beginning in 2003, Huawei began to develop mobile phones. While phones were initially a small part of its business, the company moved aggressively to change that as Android smartphones entered the market. By 2018, nearly half of Huaweis revenue came from smartphone sales, with its P20, P20 Pro, and Mate 20 flagship phones all receiving high marks from both reviewers and consumers abroad, especially in Europe and the Middle East. There are larger Chinese firms in terms of pure revenue, but none with the international reach of Huawei. But the company has always been slightly baffling to outside observers. It has an odd corporate structure, including a system of rotating CEOs picked from the same group of three top executives. And while Huawei is a privately held collective, it acts much like a publicly traded company, even issuing annual earnings reports audited by KPMG. Within the industry, Huaweis telecom equipment and phones are seen as both a good value and exceedingly well-made, but the companys reputation as a corporate citizen in the U.S. has been shaky for nearly a decade. The U.S. Fears About Huawei In 2012, a blistering U.S. Congressional report was released, warning that Huawei was a national security threat, accusing it of stealing American IP, having close ties to the Chinese military, and of violating U.S. sanctions against selling to Iran. Since then, U.S. concerns have focused on three areas, says Scott Kennedy of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Theres the issue of IP theft, including the case of Cisco routers and a case settled out of court between Huawei and T-Mobile. There is also the possibility that Huawei may have built hardware or software backdoors into its equipment. The third type of concern is that Huawei is a telecom company based in the Peoples Republic of China led by the Communist Party and Xi Jinping, says Kennedy. So it may be forced to serve the interests of the Chinese Communist Party. There are two reasons for the U.S. to take the fear of the Chinese government forcing Huawei to spy seriously. One is the passage in 2017 of the Chinese National Intelligence Law, which allows the Chinese intelligence apparatus a broad range of powers, including allowing intelligence agencies to ask relevant institutions, organizations, and citizens to provide necessary support, assistance, and cooperation. But the real reason the U.S. intelligence community may be worried about what the Chinese government could compel Huawei to do is that the U.S. has done the exact same thing in the past. Starting in 2007, the U.S. government compelled some of Americas largest tech companies, including Microsoft, Google, and Apple, to spy on its own citizens under the PRISM program, as revealed in the documents leaked by Edward Snowden. I think that was a wakeup call to the Chinese about what the U.S. was doing, says Kennedy. In the same way that the 1991 U.S. bombardment of Iraq on CNN showed the Chinese and others how far behind they were in military strength, in 2013 Snowden showed them how vulnerable and how far they were behind in cyber. At this point, it seems like the potential ban on Huawei equipment is based on hypothetical scenarios. Theres no evidence in the public domain that Huawei has engaged in espionage in the U.S. on behalf of the Chinese government, and theres seemingly no assurance Huawei could give that would satisfy China hawks in the U.S. government that the company would be a safe partner to work with; the U.S. has said it doesnt need to show proof that Huawei is a national threat. Kennedy thinks the U.S. intelligence community does have some information compelling it to advocate so strongly against Huawei. I dont have a security clearance, but I dont think people are just whistling Dixie and making random claims, he says. Is Huawei intentionally putting in backdoors or does the existence of their technology in a network create vulnerabilities which then the Chinese military intelligence community can exploit? I think both of those two things deserve a fuller investigation. Under the Shadow of Trump All of this has happened in the shadow of two world-altering events: the election of Donald Trump and the rollout of 5G. While Huawei has been viewed with suspicion long before Trump took office, the ascendance of Trump and the looming spread of 5G has stoked the paranoia of Americas spy networks even further. The sheer amount of data that will flow through 5G networks will dwarf anything that has come before, and the amount of infrastructure 5G will touch everything from medicine to autonomous vehicles is vast. And theres a strong desire among many carriers use Huawei equipment. Operators have looked at alternatives but have realized that Huawei is currently more innovative and probably better for 5G, said analyst Dexter Thillien of Fitch Solutions, speaking to the Singapore newspaper the Business Times. But carriers in other countries who use Huawei equipment risk endangering their relationship with the U.S. In an interview with Fox Business Network in late February, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was blunt: If a country adopts [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, Pompeo said. Were not going to put American information at risk. Pompeo warned allies that using Huawei equipment would place not only their own infrastructure at risk, but also endanger whether the U.S. chooses to place or keep key governmental and military outposts in their countries. We wont even be able to co-locate American resources, an American embassy, an American military outpost. Andy Purdy, the chief security officer at Huawei who formerly spent time working for the Department of Homeland Security, sees the U.S.s hawkish stance towards Huawei as being based purely on a geopolitical layer, and not on any real evidence, classified or otherwise. The U.S. government liked the world better after the Cold War was over and Russia was broken up, says Purdy. The U.S. was a dominant power in the world. We had all the friends. We had all the resources. We had the strength. We could project power around the world and nobody threatened us and nobody really threatened our allies in any significant way. Certainly none that would affect our national security. The rise of China has changed that. Many believe that economic power relates directly to national security, so you have China becoming a very strong global power, says Purdy. In Purdy and Huaweis view, the U.S. watched as Huawei rapidly became the worlds largest supplier of telecom equipment, and realized that it had significantly affected the U.S.s own ability to project power. Thus the ban on Huawei. I believe the U.S. government does not have evidence that Huawei or the China government is using Huawei equipment to conduct surveillance around the world or anywhere, says Purdy. I do not believe the U.S. government has evidence of that. The Trump administration has a distinctive approach to foreign affairs, says Kennedy. At a minimum, theyre looking at the world much more as a Hobbesian place, where alliances arent as dependable. This, combined with the free-floating chaos within the Trump administrations foreign-policy team, have allowed for a sudden increase of pressure on Huawei. China hawks, who were constrained by a clearer hierarchy of priorities under previous administrations, have been unchained to pursue their pet issues. Under Obama, China was still described as a strategic partner, says Paul Triolo of the Eurasia Group. Behind the scenes, there were still worries about China and Huawei, but those were put on a back burner in order to work with China on issues like climate change or terrorism. When the Trump administration came out with its national security strategy in late 2017, China was now described as a threat. The rapid shift in the U.S.s stance confounded the Chinese. The Chinese still cant really figure it out. Theyre like, Wow, what happened? In about a year and a half, you go from Mar-a-Lago and Trump and Xi having a great time, and now China is the Evil Empire. Ren Zhengfei, once a media recluse who shied away from speaking to the press, has been on something of a charm offensive, recently sitting down with an American journalist for the first time and saying Huawei would not allow the Chinese government to force it to use it as a tool for espionage. We never participate in espionage and we do not allow any of our employees to do any act like that, said Ren in an interview with CBS This Mornings Bianna Golodryga. And we absolutely never install backdoors. Even if we were required by Chinese law, we would firmly reject that. Ren even seemed willing to let the chance for Huawei to do business in U.S. pass by. We focus on what we can do, said Ren. Its okay to leave behind whats impossible. The final wrinkle in all of this is Donald Trump himself. While people within the Trump administration have worked for months to get Trump to sign an executive order banning Huawei, and his secretary of state was warning allies about the repercussions of doing business on cable television with Huawei, Trump seemed much more ambivalent. In a pair of tweets on February 21, Trump mused: 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! When questioned further by the Chinese state-run outlet China Daily, Trump said, Id like to have all companies be able to compete. I dont want to artificially block people out based on excuses or based on security. I dont want to have a security problem. Trump is currently in a round of extensive trade negotiations with China, and its possible that China has made it clear that Huaweis being allowed in the U.S. is one of its key goals, hence Trumps tweets. Or it may simply be Trump being contrarian. Regardless, it leaves the situation in the U.S. and internationally still very much up in the air. The Cost of Slowing Down 5G 5G is technology that has the potential to redefine not just how fast you download your Spotify playlist, but also vast sectors of industry and information technology. The big thing about 5G are the applications built on top of it, says Triolo. 5G itself is just this really nice, fast, capable infrastructure. But the real money thats going to be made is the innovation thats going to be on top of it autonomous vehicles, remote medicine, AR/VR. Thats the holy grail. The U.S. would be tying one hand behind its back by denying its carriers the ability to use Huawei equipment. There are three other major suppliers of 5G equipment Nokia, Ericsson, and Cisco and all are seen as lagging behind the complete and higher-quality solution that Huawei offers. And while major U.S. carriers have been planning for a while to operate in a world without Huawei equipment, smaller operators have already installed Huawei equipment, meaning there will be some overhauls regardless. For Huaweis Purdy, the answer is simple: the U.S. should sit down and talk with Huawei, the same as it would with any other company supplying equipment vital to national security. Three of our competitors, Nokia, Ericsson, and Sprint, operate under national security agreements, says Purdy. The concept is a recognized risk-mitigation technique that the U.S. government relies on and its a fundamental concept. They put those in place, whether its a U.K. company, a Japanese company, a Swedish company, or whatever. The U.S. government is I mean paranoid sounds pejorative, but they want to be extra careful to make sure there is no undue foreign influence on operations of important companies in the U.S. As Purdy sees it, Huawei should get the same treatment. The U.S. should determine how best to insulate itself from the potential risks of using Huawei equipment, while reaping the rewards. Im not predicting that the U.S. government is going to negotiate with us. I think if they did theyd be surprised that were willing to discuss effective mechanisms for assurance and transparency. As the world prepares for 5G, it remains unclear what will happen with the U.S. and Huawei. With many U.S. allies seeming unwilling to hold the line on a Huawei ban, the U.S. will have to learn to live with interacting with Huawei equipment on some level. A new U.S. administration may come into power in 2020 with a very different take on how to handle Huawei. Theres a chance that Trump, seeing the chance to declare a win in other areas of Chinese trade negotiations, may simply allow Huawei equipment into the U.S. wireless grid over the protests of his own administration, forcing the U.S. intelligence community to hope that Huawei is true to its word and that the Chinese intelligence state is more beneficent than the U.S. was under the PRISM program. What would be ideal for American interests would be to have our own Huawei a telecom company capable of manufacturing the wireless infrastructure that 5G will require at scale. But we dont; our telecom manufacturing base has vanished over the past two decades. Cisco, based in the Bay Area, can produce some of the 5G equipment needed, but it wont be able to do so at the pace or level of sophistication that Huawei offers. As long as the threat of an executive order banning Huawei hangs over the U.S. landscape, U.S. carriers have to make business decisions as if Huawei is banned regardless why install infrastructure if theres a chance Trumps signature will mean you have to rip it all out again? The last major revolution in mobile networks, 4G, saw the birth of companies like Uber, which fundamentally altered vast swaths of the economy around the world. America can build a 5G infrastructure entirely free of Huawei equipment, but the longer our 5G rollout is, the more likely it is that the next major disruptive industry wont emerge from the United States and that may be much more damaging to our national interests than whatever danger Huawei may pose. The confrontation between India and Pakistan could escalate further but war is not in anyones interest. India and Pakistan are headed towards a potential military escalation in the wake of the February 14 attack in Pulwama carried out by Pakistan-based armed group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), which killed over 40 Indian paramilitary soldiers. On February 26, the Indian military launched what it said were retaliatory air raids which allegedly destroyed a terrorist training camp in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Pakistan for its part also responded with air raids across the line of control (LoC) which separates Indian- from Pakistan-administered Kashmir and claims to have downed two Indian fighter jets. Military standoffs or escalations between India and Pakistan are not new, nor is the use of military means to settle scores. However, what sets this round of escalation apart is that this is the first time since the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war that the two countries attack targets deep within each others territories. In the past, when India sent fighter jets to attack Pakistan (say during the Kargil war), it always made sure that the aircraft remained on its side of the LoC in Kashmir; Pakistan did so as well. Also, any cross-border attacks were always within Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a disputed territory, and not in Pakistan proper, as was the case with the September 2016 surgical strike in response to the Uri army camp attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. While Indias reasons to attack may have been partly influenced by the upcoming national elections in the country, with its counterstrike, Pakistan seeks to avoid embarrassment and to ensure that such attacks do not become routine in future. One side wants to create a new military normal, and the other side wants to desperately avoid that. Its Indian election season Although this is easily the most serious military escalation between the two sides in close to two decades, since the Kargil crisis, what makes this even more dangerous is that it is election season in India and the hawkish Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a second term in office. Given that Modis government has consistently made strong claims about security matters, it could not help but respond with force to the February 14 attack in Pulwama. Not responding would have been politically unsustainable for the prime minister and his right-wing party, given the unrelenting calls from the opposition for a counterattack and the rather disappointing performance of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at important by-elections over the past year. The Pulwama attack came at a politically opportune time for Modi and he will seek to capitalise on it as much as he can, which could make him seek further escalation against Pakistan. For Pakistans Prime Minister Imran Khan, not responding to a much-publicised India attack could mean political suicide; for the Pakistan army, the lack of a response could deeply erode their popular legitimacy and the morale of the rank and file. What happens next? Earlier this morning, Pakistan decided to respond to Indias air raid by carrying out air raids in Indian-administered Kashmir. Predictably, India struck back and the two sides fought it out in the airspace above their shared border. The scale of the air battle is difficult to gauge given conflicting reports. Both sides have claimed that they have shot down each others aircraft. There are also contradictory accounts of how many aircraft have been downed, whether their pilots have been captured and what damage the air raids have caused, among others. What could potentially complicate the situation is how the captured pilots are treated, whether or not they are returned, and whether the continuing air raid results in large scale damage on the Indian side. In the wake of the Indian air raids, Pakistan also activated the LoC with heavy shelling, a strategy used before by the two countries during heightened tensions. In the days ahead, New Delhi and Islamabad could increase the intensity and calibre of the LoC firing by engaging in what is referred to as fire assaults, a standard form of border escalation by the two sides. How far this escalation can go is still unclear. If India carries out a counterattack, most likely using attack aircraft once again, the two sides could find themselves in an unpredictable conflict escalation, unless of course Pakistan decides to back off at that point. Islamabad has the option to downscale its military response and instead give armed groups a free run to attack targets in India. It has done it before. After the Indian surgical strikes of 2016, attacks against Indian convoys and military installations and terror incidents in general in Indian-administered Kashmir sharply increased. However, this option would not bring much political capital to the Pakistani prime minister or the army. It is important to note that this is also a war of perceptions for both Modi and Khan. Therefore, a de-escalation could very much hinge on their ability to step back and still save face in front of the general public. Prospects for a de-escalation Having hit back, and hence achieved a certain balance of strikes with India, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan extended an olive branch earlier today, offering New Delhi cooperation in fighting terrorism in order to end the standoff. At this point, there have been no early signs of an Indian desire to engage in a dialogue with Pakistan as doing so at this point might be domestically costly for Modi. India now faces the choice between an unfavourable compromise or an escalation which would invariably involve more violence. Currently, there are hardly any backchannel contacts between the Indian and Pakistani governments, which makes it even more difficult for them to negotiate an immediate cessation of hostilities. At the same time, the desire on both sides to make political gains from the confrontation is high. However, both Modi and Khan likely understand that an all-out war is not in their best interest. If the two sides fail to de-escalate on their own, the international community, especially the United States, the European Union, China and Russia, will step in decisively and pressure the two sides to disengage, given that they are both armed with nuclear weapons and the danger of a nuclear war is real. Whether these world powers have enough leverage over Islamabad and New Delhi to restrain them and prevent a major conflict in South Asia remains to be seen. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call,Inc. On the eve of Michael Cohens testimony before the House Oversight Committee, reports emerged that the lawyer, convicted felon, and former Trump fixer intends to provide evidence that his ex-boss engaged in criminal activity since becoming the president. A short time later, Trump surrogate and Florida congressman Matt Gaetz issued what appeared to be a threat to Cohen, regarding an alleged series of extramarital affairs: Hey @MichaelCohen212 - Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if shell remain faithful when youre in prison. Shes about to learn a lot... Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) February 26, 2019 Late on Tuesday night, Gaetz deleted the tweet and apologized, saying it was NOT my intent to threaten. Congressman Gaetz, a career lawyer, initially told the Daily Beast that he did not consider his tweet to be an example of witness tampering. He was simply challenging the veracity and character of a witness. We do it everyday. We typically do it during peoples testimony. Gaetz added, in a profound misunderstanding of John Stuart Mill that This is what it looks like to compete in the marketplace of ideas. But on CNN, former prosecutor Laura Coates told Wolf Blitzer she indeed considered the congressmans tweet to be witness intimidation: Now the idea of somebody doing this is really odd to me, given the fact that were very well-versed at this point in time of what intimidation looks like. There have been discussions about the presidents tweets, using Twitter as a medium to do so. This to me is a classic test example of someone saying, Listen, Im going to try and harass you, I havent proposed physical violence. Thats not the requirement. I havent threatened you in some way. I havent said, If you dont do X, this will happen. But harassment is part of the witness intimidation statutes, talking about, are you trying to somehow influence or withhold testimony. Thats doing that exact thing. It appears that Representative Gaetz was banking on the speech or debate clause of the Constitution, in which lawmakers are allowed a great deal of rhetorical leeway while Congress is in session. In a text to the New York Times, Gaetz claimed he was testing the veracity and character of Michael Cohen. That is allowed. In a text to Vox, Gaetz told reporter Alex Ward that those watching Cohens testimony tomorrow should prepare for fireworks, possibly referring to Republicans plans to paint Cohen as an unreliable liar and convicted felon a strategy that could backfire since Trumps lawyer broke the law while working for the president. But despite Gaetzs pushback, allegations of witness intimidation continued. Gaetz eventually deleted the tweet an apologized, insisting he never meant to threaten Cohen: Speaker, I want to get the truth too. While it is important 2 create context around the testimony of liars like Michael Cohen, it was NOT my intent to threaten, as some believe I did. Im deleting the tweet & I should have chosen words that better showed my intent. Im sorry. https://t.co/Rdbw3sTQJD Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) February 27, 2019 In a statement issued before Gaetzs apology, Cohens lawyer Lanny Davis said his constituents in Florida would not appreciate that their congressman has set a new low. Meanwhile, Daviss client is preparing to give what could be the most damning evidence yet in all of the investigations into Trumps alleged misconduct. With documents and financial statements in hand, Cohen will reportedly give testimony that Trump was an ersatz success prior to The Apprentice, and lay out in granular detail how the president concocted the plan to give hush money to Stormy Daniels a payoff that resulted in one of Cohens two campaign finance felonies. Cohen may also reportedly discuss the presidents racist comments, as he did last year when he told Vanity Fair that Trump said to him in 2016 that black people are too stupid to vote for me. Gaetz, a second-term Congressman for the staunchly Republican Florida panhandle, is one of Trumps most outspoken advocates on the Hill, and one of the more active Twitter users in the legislative branch. I aspire to be the conservative AOC, the 36-year-old Congressman once said, referring in part to the upstart Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs social media savvy. However, to date, the 29-year-old Bronx lawmaker has yet to engage in potential felony action while online. This post has been updated with Gaetzs apology. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarifs resignation took many by surprise. I warmly apologise for my inability to continue serving [the nation] and for all the shortcomings and negligences during the period of service, he wrote in a post on his official Instagram account. The short resignation letter was posted at night as if to deliberately make it harder for President Hassan Rouhani to dismiss it before the news would set in and thus present him with a fait accompli. I hope my resignation will act as a spark for the return of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to its mandated position in [decision-making on Irans] foreign relations, Zarif told colleagues and local journalists the following morning. Rouhani expectedly rejected the resignation, but this is unlikely to salvage his cabinet from the deepening crisis it has descended into. Even if Zarif chooses to come back, he will not wield the same authority he once had under the first Rouhani administration and the fortunes of the current government will certainly not improve. Deep fractures and fierce political rivalry in the Iranian corridors of power have given rise to parallel structures, which are undermining Irans elected officials and their political power. Zarifs resignation is a symptom of a larger malaise currently afflicting the Islamic Republic. Parallel structures of power The abrupt resignation was reportedly triggered by the foreign ministers exclusion from an important meeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held in Tehran during his surprise visit on February 25. This was likely the last straw that broke the camels back and pushed an otherwise patient and experienced diplomat into a rash decision. Zarif had reportedly broached the topic of resignation with the president a number of times in the past, as the authority of his ministry was increasingly being attacked and undermined. Gholamali Jafarzadeh, deputy head of the independent fraction in the Iranian parliament, attributed Zarifs resignation to dozens of parallel trips and talks by state officials without any coordination with the foreign ministry. Over the past year, Iranian officials close to the supreme leader undertook work visits to a number of countries that are key to Iranian foreign policy. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneis special adviser on international affairs, Ali Akbar Velayati, travelled to Damascus in April and to Moscow in July last year to coordinate Tehrans Syria policy with its partners. A few months later, in November, Khameneis aide Kamal Kharrazi, who is also head of Irans Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, visited Europe to hold talks on the European Unions measures to facilitate trade with Tehran after the reimposition of US sanctions. These visits and negotiations seem to have been conducted independently of the foreign ministry and have effectively enabled the supreme leader to strengthen his control over key foreign policy portfolios, overriding Zarifs authority and efforts. At the same time, the Iranian security agencies have continued with their highly problematic subversive pursuits abroad, which have been undermining efforts by Iranian diplomats to contain the fallout of the Iran deal collapse and improve the image of the country. Perhaps the most disruptive of all of them were the foiled assassination and bombing plots uncovered in France and Denmark and attributed to Irans intelligence services. These revelations eroded confidence among European powers in Irans peaceful intentions which Zarif and his team had put a lot of work into restoring and ultimately led to the imposition of EU sanctions on a number of Iranian officials and entities. Hardliners in parliament opposed to the Rouhani government have also obstructed diplomatic efforts to improve the countrys international standing and strengthen economic ties with the EU that could ease the pressure on the Iranian economy after the reimposition of the US sanctions. They blocked the passage into law of measures proposed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) aimed at aligning Iranian law with international regulations, seeking to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and transnational organised crime. The stalling of these important legislative changes has constituted a major upset for Zarifs ministry. In its latest plenary meeting on February 22, the Paris-based international watchdog once again extended Tehrans deadline until June to implement these legislative changes; if it fails to, it would be put back on its blacklist of risky countries for business and trade and lose the chance to establish important new financial channels to Europe. A swing to the right The parallel networks of power and decision-making undermining Zarifs foreign ministry are a structural issue that has also affected a number of other state functions, including economic policies, security, intelligence and military affairs. It is rooted in the Islamic Republics complex system of governance and the historical tensions between the elected and non-elected bodies of the state. Zarifs resignation is yet another sign that the hardliners resurgence is skewing the balance of power within the Iranian state in favour of unelected and unaccountable power structures which are dragging the country into further isolation. If this trend continues, and moderates like Rouhani and Zarif are completely sidelined, Irans foreign policy will likely see a turn to a more confrontational stance. While there seems to be a fragile collective consensus among Iranian leaders and top decision-makers about sticking to the nuclear deal, for the time being, Zarifs departure can tilt this fine balance towards those who have been seeking to set the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on fire. If hardliners, who worry about increased transparency exposing the lucrative money-laundering and sanctions-violating schemes of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), have their way, initiatives to build alternative financial mechanisms with EU countries will likely be aborted. The IRGC, already largely in control of Iranian regional policy on Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, will also be able to pursue its confrontational policies and revisionist ambitions with greater ease, if restraining forces in the foreign ministry are removed. Thus Zarifs weakening and potential departure will surely clear the way for hardliners to stir the country away from diplomatic engagement with the West and towards a more confrontational foreign policy. This is definitely bad news for the Iranian people and the international community, as it will likely diminish the EUs ability to resist the Trump administrations maximum pressure policy against the Islamic Republic and to prevent a regional military escalation. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Michael Cohen Photo: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock The persistent nagging skepticism that has surrounded President Trumps legal travails arose again in recent days when reports claimed that Robert Mueller would soon publish his final report. If Mueller was almost done, he couldnt have much more, and none of it would touch Trump directly. Michael Cohens testimony destroys that presumption completely. Trumps former fixer alleges not only systematic criminality by his former boss, but deep culpability in the Russia scandal itself. There is no longer any serious chance that Trump will avoid impeachment proceedings. Cohens testimony should be seen as the first hearing. Cohens opening statement reviews many of Trumps familiar degeneracies. He is casually racist and habitually criminal, gleefully refusing to pay his contractors and arranging petty scams like using his charitable foundation for self-enrichment. More seriously still, Cohen has evidence in the form of signed checks that Trump knowingly violated campaign finance law by reimbursing him for payments to Stormy Daniels during the campaign. Trump signed the reimbursement checks that violated campaign finance law as a sitting president. (And, by signing a Trump organization check, he also casually broke his promise not to involve himself in any business activities while in office.) But the most damning details in Cohens testimony concern the Russia scandal. Cohens evidence that Trump knew about the July 2016 meeting with Russian operatives is highly circumstantial, yet persuasive. He notes that Trump knew about everything that happened in the campaign, and describes a meeting in which Donald Jr. appeared to inform his father: I remember being in the room with Mr. Trump, probably in early June 2016, when something peculiar happened. Don Jr. came into the room and walked behind his fathers desk which in itself was unusual. People didnt just walk behind Mr. Trumps desk to talk to him. I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: The meeting is all set. I remember Mr. Trump saying, Ok good let me know. Cohen is now the second member of Trumps inner circle to publicly express complete certainty that Trump knew about the meeting. The chance that Don Jr. did not walk these jumos up to his fathers office on the 26th floor is zero, said Steve Bannon last year. Neither of them have anywhere close to enough evidence to prove it, of course, and this fact may never be proven. But Cohen does have clear and direct testimony of several other aspects of Trumps involvement. He testifies that Trump knew about the attempts to develop a tower in Moscow, asked about the project repeatedly, and stood to gain hundreds of millions of dollars from the deal. So Trump was secretly beholden to Russia while he was running for president, and none of this was disclosed to the public during the campaign. Cohen also explains that Trump directed him to lie to Congress about the project. (In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing.) That is suborning perjury, just as surely as a boss telling a subordinate, I was never here, or, We never had this conversation, is clearly an instruction to lie. Most explosively, Cohen alleges that he witnessed a conversation between Trump and Roger Stone, his intermediary to Wikileaks: I was in Mr. Trumps office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign. Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of wouldnt that be great. This is the final link in the chain between Trump and Russia. Robert Muellers indictments have outlined a conspiracy connecting Russian intelligence to the hackers who stole Democratic emails, the hackers to WikiLeaks, and WikiLeaks to Stone. Cohen is now connecting Trump to Stone. Trumps inner circle has obviously been aware of this. Asked in December if Stone ever gave Trump a heads-up on what WikiLeaks had obtained, his lawyer equivocated: .@GStephanopoulos: "Did Roger Stone ever give the president a heads up on Wikileaks leaks?" Rudy Giuliani: "No, he didn't ... I don't believe so, but again, if Roger Stone gave anybody heads up about Wikileaks leaks, that's not a crime" https://t.co/7XzYDoD43L #ThisWeek pic.twitter.com/GKPN8nL4PY This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 16, 2018 In a recent profile, Jeffrey Toobin asked Stone about persistent rumors that Mueller has a witness who says he heard Trump and Stone on a speakerphone discussing WikiLeaks. Stone replied, Prove it. If this can be proved, it would also likely expose Trump to direct perjury charges. In his written answers to Mueller, Trump reportedly denied having been informed in advance about emails obtained by Wikileaks. And this explains why Mueller settled for allowing Trump to answer written questions rather than demanding a live interview. He knew he could commit Trump to supplying false answers that would expose him to perjury charges. Proving it remains the obstacle. The scale of Cohens accusations are so vast that it is not tenable for Trumps defenders to simply brush them aside. Instead, they are attacking him as an untrustworthy liar a convicted felon whos been lying, in the words of Donald Trump Jr. This counterattack proves much less than Trump seems to think it does. Busting up a criminal organization usually requires the cooperation of some of its members, who, by definition, are also criminals. Federal prosecutors have publicly vouched for their belief that Cohen has turned the page on his criminal history and is coming clean. Cohens testimony is credible and consistent with other evidence obtained in the SCOs ongoing investigation, reports his sentencing memorandum. He has told the truth, said Jeannie Rhee, one of Muellers prosecutors. Cohen has backed up some of his allegations against Trump with physical evidence, such as signed checks. Of course, the charges to which Cohen has pled guilty are serious ones. He lied to protect Donald Trump. This is the same crime President Trump and his son have also apparently committed, a fact that rather complicates their attempt to present Cohens lies as fatally disqualifying to his credibility. In any case, the depth and breadth of credible allegations against the president are now on a scale at which it will not do to let them go without further investigation. Regardless of whatever additional evidence Mueller finds, Congress will surely start impeachment hearings to get to the bottom of it. The future of air travel in Mobile is taking shape in a building called T1T, a construction site as busy as a kicked anthill. That stands for Terminal One Temporary, and if you fly out of Mobile after May 1, there's a chance you'll pass through its doors (which, as of Wednesday, hadn't been installed yet). That's the date when Frontier Airlines will begin service from Mobile, using the Downtown Mobile Airport at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley. Another low-cost carrier currently flying out of Mobile Regional Airport, Via Airlines, will shift its base of operations to Brookley immediately after T1T opens for business, said Elliot Maisel, chairman of the Mobile Airport Authority board. Via was the first to commit to Brookley, announcing when it came to Mobile in spring 2018 that it planned to shift to the downtown airport as soon as possible. Under the leadership of Maisel and President Chris Curry, the Mobile Airport Authority has aggressively pushed the long-debated concept of swapping commercial passenger service from Mobile Regional to Brookley. They and other local leaders, including Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, argue that Brookley's easy interstate access and closer proximity to potential customers in Baldwin County make the swap desirable. Such advantages should make it more competitive with other airports in the region, they say, with more customers leading to more flights and lower fares. On Wednesday, Maisel described T1T as essentially step one, phase one of the airport swap. The big picture includes a master plan that hasnt been drawn up and the construction of a full-service terminal that hasnt been designed. Those things will take years. But the Airport Authority has committed $7 million to getting T1T ready for business on a tight timetable. After pressing briskly through its regular meeting agenda on Wednesday, members of the Airport Authority board got a hardhat tour of the new facility from Izzy Bonilla, the authority's vice president of operations. The building is a warehouse that was being used by Airbus. For now the authority has a little less than half of it -- about 22,000 square feet -- and it'll take over the rest in July. The parking lot outside is tracked with the muddy treadprints of heavy equipment. Inside, fresh drywall is being readied for paint, wiring is being run, framing is being put up for climate control and other equipment. Back in their boardroom, members had heard Curry talk about contracts for automated parking equipment and a security plan required by federal authorities. On-site, they followed as Bonilla led them through a series of unfinished spaces, explaining where ticket counters will be set up, how the flow of incoming baggage will be handled and where lines for security checkpoints will be arranged. One theme was that expansion capacity is being built into the design. Bonilla said T1T will open with one security check lane, but there's room to add a second. When Airbus turns over the other half of the building, there'll be room for more of everything. Another was that this was no mere show-and-tell tour. Maisel took advantage of the situation to set some goals for customer service. Automated baggage handling will come eventually, but the terminal will open with manual baggage handling. "Let's not short on personnel," Maisel said, saying it's important to impress the terminal's first wave of users -- both passengers and airlines -- with speedy service. He also focused on making sure there was adequate parking, saying that if necessary, terminal workers will park elsewhere and be shuttled in to free up more nearby spots for customers. And he suggested that as concessions are added, he'd rather see some local flavor -- this restaurant's famous hot dogs or that one's gumbo -- rather than generic snacks. "This is not a lipstick-on-a-pig project," he said. T1T isn't a stopgap until a "real" terminal arrives, he said. It's a facility that will meet short-term needs while offering room for growth. It might help attract other low-cost carriers to Mobile alongside Frontier and Via. It might prompt airlines currently using Mobile Regional to switch over. It might become a permanent fixture even after a bigger Terminal Two is built at Brookley. There are a lot of options that may be explored, he said, and T1T will make it possible to explore them. "This building takes all the pressure off," he said. There's a lot of work to be done between now and May 1, he said, but when the day arrives, Mobile air travelers will find an "efficient, functional, clean terminal that will allow them to best use the location of Brookley Field." Nothing happens without a deadline, Maisel said of the pace. The building will be there. The chemical spill at a Birmingham Water Works water treatment plant that sent 55 people to the hospital Wednesday morning has been contained, Water Works officials announced Wednesday afternoon. Somehow, two chemicals commonly used to treat water, sodium hypochlorite and ferric sulfate, were accidentally mixed, creating a toxic gas. Some of the effects people can experience from being exposed to chlorine gas are sneezing, nose irritation, burning sensation and throat irritation, nausea, vomiting or a headache. People may also experience skin irritation or chemical burns and eye irritation. Mountain Brook PD (@mountainbrookpd) February 27, 2019 Fourteen contractors and one Birmingham Water Works employee were initially sent to the hospital with respiratory issues, officials said. However, none of their injuries are life-threatening, said spokesman Rick Jackson. Birmingham Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Sebastian Carrillo said 40 others were taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. Jackson said the BWW has not determined why or how the chemicals got mixed. The safety of the public and our employees is our top priority. Our employees and first responders are trained to act swiftly and decisively in the event of any accident, and they have responded precisely per our emergency plan to contain the accident, Jackson said in a statement. He said there is no threat to the public at this time and the water supply was not contaminated. He said the chemicals were contained to the building where the incident happened. The incident closed Highway 280 in both directions for nearly two hours. The highway was reopened about 1:30 p.m. Further details about the spill were not immediately available. This is a developing story. Walmart is doing away with its traditional greeters. The nations largest retailer is eliminating greeters - employees stationed at the front of stores to welcome those who enter - at about 1,000 stores and replacing them with a new and expanded position called customer hosts. The job description for the new position requires hosts to be able to lift 25 pounds, clean up spills, collect carts and stand for long periods of time, NPR reported. According to NPR, the change is effective April 25. The new requirements essentially eliminates employees with disabilities, many of whom have served as greeters, from continuing in their jobs. Greeters with disabilities from five states including Alabama told NPR they expect to lose their jobs due to the change. Elderly workers who are greeters will also be impacted. Its been very stressful, said a Walmart greeter identified only as Mitchell, who told NPR his position is being eliminated after four years on the job at an Alabama store. It gives me a place to go every day, where Im not sitting at home. Im not one of these people in the wheelchair that want to draw Social Security. Im able to work; I want to work; I want to be out in society. In a statement to NPR, Walmart said it will work with employees with disabilities during the transition. "We recognize that our associates with physical disabilities face a unique situation. With that in mind, we will be extending the current 60-day greeter transition period for associates with disabilities while we explore the circumstances and potential accommodations, for each individual, that can be made within each store. This allows associates to continue their employment at the store as valued members of the team while we seek an acceptable, customized solution for all of those involved." Walmart said it expects more than 80 percent of affected greeters to be able to find new positions but did not detail what those jobs could be. This is an opinion column. My dad was a Methodist preacher. Like his dad and his dad before him. It was, I suppose, the family business. All his life Dad told me to trust the goodness of the church. If I found myself in trouble anywhere in the world, he said, go find the local Methodist church and tell the pastor my story. Trust the church, he said. No matter how or why or what situation I found myself in, I would find compassion in the United Methodist Church. That was even before they put it right there on the label: Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors. Im sure Dad told my brothers and sister the same thing, because he believed it down in his bones. The church was a place to bring people together, and to God. Not to drive them away. There are too many other places that will do that. Im sure he said the same thing to my oldest brother, Murray, who is gay. Open hearts. Open minds. And Murray came to believe it, down in his bones, too. He bought in completely, so he and his lifetime partner became active -- instrumental in their Delaware church and in the Rehoboth Beach community. When my brother-in-law Steve Elkins died last year Epworth United Methodist was so packed with people and with love it took my breath away. Gay people, straight people, it didnt matter. Delawares top politicians came, or sent word, or signed proclamations. The city named a street after Steve, because he and Murray worked for decades in their community and their church and their state. To open minds. And hearts. And doors. The Methodist church is as much a part of my familys lineage as a blood relative. Its in my DNA and the foundation of all I have come to believe. It has, over the course of my lifetime, been the consistent voice of my better angels. Until Tuesday. When the United Methodist Church slammed shut its door. And its heart. And its mind. The United Methodist Church after contentious debate doubled down on a decades-old ban on same-sex marriage and gay and lesbian preachers, reinforcing its position that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. But it went even farther this time. The vote by delegates from across the U.S. and the world now requires United Methodists to certify adherence to the position. Those churches that refuse will be stripped of the United Methodist name, barred from using the logo and asked to leave. Leave. It also sets up a procedure to punish and remove clergy who participate in same-sex weddings. First-time offenders -- though they are not the offensive ones -- face an unpaid, year-long suspension. A second strike and they are out. Just like that. Closed heart. Closed Mind. Closed door. I admit it. I mourn. For all of those people who thought they found love and grace and a closeness to God amid the hymns of Charles Wesley and promises of understanding. For my brother who grieves not only for Steve but for the church that meant so much to them both and helped them help a community. For my father, who always wanted to believe the best about his church. For friends and church members who mourn for all same reasons. Mostly I mourn because I see the truth. The church I loved has shut its heart from those who need love and closed its minds to those who need understanding. I wont wait for it to shut its doors. Thank you, Ill let myself out. John Archibald, a Pulitzer Prize winner, is a columnist for Reckon by AL.com. His column appears in The Birmingham News, the Huntsville Times, the Mobile Register and AL.com. Write him at jarchibald@al.com. Forty-eight governors including Alabamas Kay Ivey - attended the National Governors Association meeting in Washington, D.C. last weekend. Joining them was Alabamas most recent ex-governor, Robert Bentley. Bentley tweeted out a photo showing him at the meeting with his governor colleagues, former & current. Looking forward to working with them and (the National Governors Association) as states tackle tough issues facing our country in trade, (criminal justice) reform, healthcare and jobs, he tweeted. Those attending the meeting heard from President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Cabinet secretaries and representatives from foreign countries. Bentley is now working as dermatologist in Tuscaloosa. He resigned office in 2017 as part of a plea deal related to campaign finance and ethics violations. Bentley was succeeded by then-Lt. Gov. Ivey, who won her own term in November 2018. Bentley has hinted at a return to politics, possibly in the U.S. Senate race against Democrat Doug Jones in 2020. "I love serving the people of this state. Serving as governor was the greatest honor of my life. I have a heart for our people and I believe we are all called to serve one another in some capacity. I found public service was a way to do that. I believe what is missing in public service today is loving the people that you serve and wanting to help those who need help, especially those who are less fortunate and really have nothing. If God shows me a new avenue where I can do that, I'll do it, Bentley said late last year. Bentley also launched Bentley for Alabama website and Facebook page. Authorities have arrested three teens and are seeking a fourth in connection with the Tuesday morning shooting at Robert E. Lee High School and unrelated gun incidents at the school, Montgomery police said Wednesday morning. Michael Woods, 17, was arrested in connection with the shooting, police said. He was charged with attempted murder and possession of a firearm on school premises. He is charged as an adult. He was being held in the Montgomery County Detention Facility. Bond at $75,000. The gun used in the shooting has been recovered, police said. Three additional students were charged with possession of a firearm on school premises. Those students were not involved in Tuesdays shooting. A 16-year-old male was charged with possession of a firearm on school premises and making terroristic threats. Police say the weapon was in the students backpack. He had the backpack with him in class and fled the classroom when the school was placed on lockdown Tuesday, police said. Police caught him leaving campus and found a gun in his possession. He was charged as a juvenile and placed in the Montgomery County Youth Detention Facility. A 17-year-old male and a 14-year-old male who were in the school gym at the time of the shooting were also charged with possessing a firearm on school premises and making terroristic threats. Police have not recovered the firearm they allegedly possessed. MPDs investigation is continuing, and police are working with MPS to determine how and when the weapons were introduced to campus, police said in a statement. The school was placed on lockdown after the shooting and reopened this morning. This story will be updated. Two days before the most devastating hurricane in modern memory slammed into Mobile, the board of the Order of Polka Dots called a special meeting. With Hurricane Frederic churning, and emergency agencies issuing dire warnings, the women of the Polka Dots urgently discussed whether to raise the insurance coverage on the mystic societys float warehouse. An insurance company had given the board 24 hours to make up its mind. By single vote 5 to 4 the board demurred. The decision proved somewhat fateful. Two days later, on Sept. 13, 1979, the president of the Polka Dots declared, Were out of business. What had happened the night before was utter devastation. The float warehouse was gone, the floats wrecked, chewed apart by Frederics fury. But though the Polka Dots may have been temporarily out of business, they were not out of resolve and grit. It was, We shall overcome, said Ann, who, like other Mobile mystics, speaks about her societys affairs only if she remains anonymous. Ann, now 77 years old, is the longest-serving of the Polka Dots, who in 1950 became the first female mystics in Mobile to hold a parade. Said Ann, There was an elderly lady in the organization who had been in it for 30 to 40 years and she made the comment that day that if she was asked to dig a ditch across the property with a teaspoon, she would do it because she was Polka Dot. We need this event The 1980 Mardi Gras, occurring in February that year, still resonates with longtime Mobilians who recall it is as a pivotal moment in the citys emotional and economic recovery. Frederic, just five months earlier, had dealt such a hard blow that upward of 90 percent of the city endured weeks without electrical power. Mardi Gras is always a needed and physical relief from the doldrums of winter time, said David Cooper, board chairman of the Mardi Gras Museum and a longtime Carnival presence in Mobile. In 1980, it was especially poignant for Mobilians who had been putting roofs back onto their houses and were struggling with so many personal issues while also trying to keep their children in school. He said. That year, I just remember it as being enjoyable and being enjoyed by so many Mobilians and families that really appreciated having a time out, if you will. Its also recalled fondly as an example of how Carnival, with its centuries-old reputation for merriment and mirth, can unite a city and region across complex social divides. This year, its Panama Citys turn to try to heal. The Florida city, located about three hours east of Mobile, celebrated the 22nd annual St. Andrews Mardi Gras last weekend with 14 krewes and 30 brightly colored floats parading through areas of a city still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Michael in October. There was a legitimate chance that the event wasnt happening, said Chris Pfahl, the Mardi Gras event director in Panama City. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Some city officials said, We need to have this event. In New Orleans, the Mardi Gras of 2006 helped the city start to smile. Leading up to the Carnival season, some naysayers had said that revelry seemed wrong after the tragedy and terror of Hurricane Katrina. But Mayor Ray Nagin said: We need Mardi Gras. Some questioned if New Orleans would ever resemble the city it was before the storm, said Stephen Barnes, director of the Economics & Policy Research Group at Louisiana State University. Being able to re-establish Mardi Gras and tourism was critical to helping the city recover as quickly and fully as it has. Lemons to lemonade The supplied picture shows the rubble of what was once the Order of Polka Dots warehouse destroyed after Hurricane Frederic blew into Mobile County in September 1979. Despite the devastation, the mystic society was able to parade during the 1980 Mardi Gras thanks to three mystic societies donating floats to the all-woman's organization. (photo supplied by Wayne Dean). Category 3 Frederic was the first hurricane to make a direct hit in Mobile County since 1926. The damages of $1.77 billion would equate to about $5 billion today. Wayne Dean, a Mardi Gras historian, rode out the storm in his Oakleigh neighborhood home with his family. It was a night storm and the next day, we get up and hear things crashing and we had an oak tree that fell onto my house, said Dean. A 40-foot pecan tree fell crossways over my car. He said he told himself: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But if Frederic could toss trees like so many twigs, how would boxy float barns have fared? The question was already on Deans mind, and answers werent long in coming. For example, the front door of the Mystic Stripers barn was blown off, said Dean, but the floats, while battered, werent shattered. Likewise, the Infant Mystics barn took a tough lick but still stood. The Polka Dots were a different story. Of course, the Polka Dots were all concerned, said Dean, who these days is also renowned for portraying the Chief Slacabamarinico character invented by Joe Cain when he revived Mardi Gras in Mobile after the Civil War. This was September, and the parade was in a couple of months. There was no way, in their mind, they could get all the floats rebuilt and the warehouse rebuilt. According to historical notes compiled by the Polka Dots and provided to AL.com, two former Polka Dots queens visited three other mystic societies begging/asking for the use of their floats. The Conde Cavaliers, formed three years earlier in 1977, offered all of their floats but the Emblem float. The Order of Inca make its barn available. The Crewe of Columbus pitched in with its three ship floats. None charged the Dots a dime. The Crewe of Columbus, in fact, was still recovering from an arson fire at its barn just a month before Frederic. Those flames on Aug. 11 had consumed three floats and damaged six others. Another and worse -- arson fire erupted that same night at the Knights of Revelry barn, burning a dozen floats. Despite the mayhem, none of the parades were canceled for the 1980 Mardi Gras. For the Polka Dots, the generosity of other mystics inspired their parade theme, Variety is the Spice of Life. The festive Polka Dots tossed a special doubloon, too: It featured a satellite image of Frederic etched into it. Said Dean, I remember my wife saying, At least they got to ride At least they got to parade on the street. Remember Freddie Frederic also dominated the themes of some other parades that year. The Floral Parade heralded the theme: Remember Freddie. One of the floats was designed as a big, orange calendar that marked the date Frederic struck. Another float, The Lone Night, recognized the widespread power outages and honored the Mobile Lions Club Auxiliary for valiant radio broadcasts during the storm. The Next Morning float depicted a scene of devastation complete with broken trees, downed electricity lines, a leaning street sigh and the roof of a house cracked by a fallen tree. Another float celebrated the chainsaw, which was the most popular tool in the weeks following Frederics damage. The final Floral float, according to Press-Register archives, included the statement, Next Time, well be Ready for Freddie. True to form, the Comic Cowboys of 1980 took on Frederic during their annual satirical look at Mobiles current events and politics. Among the Cowboys parade placards: Sept. 12 was the night the lights went out in City Hall and nobody noticed. Definition of a tree surgeon: Redneck with a chainsaw. Definition of an insurance adjuster: Anybody out of work who can read fine print Definition of a roofing contractor: Any idiot from out of town with a hammer Prichard was found to be, the only thing Hurricane Freddie improved Rick Courtney remembers Fat Tuesday that year as a day of huge crowds and great weather. Courtney, in 1980, was the 26-year-old Mobile Carnival Associations King Felix III. It was probably the best Mardi Gras they ever had in the history of Mobile, said Courtney, now an attorney in Mobile, jokingly adding: Partially it was due to the recovery of Frederic, but there were many reasons as well, some of which arent printable. Courtney looks back fondly on his experience, although its something of a blur to him: Parade after parade, ball after ball, quick naps in between. The one thing I remember about Frederic was that everyones house was messed up and there was no electricity for weeks, said Courtney. But it became a huge party in that you need to eat everything in the refrigerators and freezers. Its kind of Mobiles spirit, what happens good, bad or different, to make a party out of it. Mardi Gras being no exception. Rayfords goodbye Julian Rayford, the famed folklorist whose efforts created the modern-day Joe Cain Day celebration during Mobile's Mardi Gras, speaks during the 1980 event in Bienville Square in downtown Mobile, Ala. Smiling in the background is Lambert Mims, a former Mobile city commissioner. The 1980 Mardi Gras and Joe Cain Day celebration was the last one for Rayford, who died on Aug. 3, 1980. (supplied photo). The 1980 Mardi Gras, away from serving as the first post-Frederic Carnival, was historically significant in another sense: It was the final Mardi Gras for Julian Rayford. The folklorist is credited for creating Joe Cain Day, the wildly popular Mardi Gras celebration in Mobile that is traditionally held on the Sunday before Fat Tuesday. Mobiles memories of Joe Cain and his remarkable Carnival contributions had faded until Rayford pushed Cain to the fore. In 1966, following an 11-year battle, Rayford was able to get Cains body disinterred from Bayou La Batre and removed to the Church Street Grave Yard in Mobile. Rayford himself then re-created Cains Chief Slac the next year, leading a first-ever Joe Cain Procession. In 1980, a photo was taken at Bienville Square showing Rayford standing next to a successor Slacabamarinico, James Red Foster, and Dean. It is the last-known picture of the three Slacabamarinicos together at a Mardi Gras event. The three Chief Slacabamarinico's are all pictured in this rare shot taken during the 1980 Joe Cain Day. Pictured are Red Foster, who was Slac III (pictured wearing the Indian headdress on bottom left), Julian Rayford (standing in the middle) and historian Wayne Dean (dressed in a jester outfit on the far right). Dean became Slac IV in 1985. Rayford, who is credited with inspiring the creation of the modern-day Joe Cain Day on the Sunday before Fat Tuesday, died on Aug. 3, 1980. (photo supplied by Wayne Dean). Rayford died on Aug. 3, 1980. He was not in the best of health, said Dean, referring to Rayford who according to a letter after he died, left behind a used car, personal effects and a memory of kindness and artistic accomplishment. Mardi Gras soul Joe Cain Day, like Fat Tuesday in 1980, drew huge crowds of over 100,000. Said Dean, I think after a disaster of any kind, such as a hurricane, floor or tornado, you want to get things as close to normalcy as possible. You need that comfort and peace of mind that all is right again. In Mobile and New Orleans, Mardi Gras is normal. The Polka Dots, meanwhile, kept pressing forward through the rest of 1980. They and their Marshals the men who parade alongside the Polka Dots -- removed the mangled floats and sorted through the barns remains. Their cleanup events became social affairs: The Dots president personally paid for beer and ice, while members came armed with sandwiches, snacks and soft drinks. Construction of a new barn was under way by the middle of the year. According to the groups history, members donated building supplies as did Kitchens Electrics, which also furnished labor. Charlie Kuppersmith did the plumbing at no charge. One year later, during the 1981 ball, the Polka Dots saluted their entire executive board and their Marshals, grandly bringing them on stage. All had donned costumes, dispensing with the traditional gowns and tuxes. According to the Polka Dots, the board felt this would show Mobile that the OOP ladies were united and here to stay. Said Ann, the longest-serving Polka Dot who has personally attended over 50 of the groups balls, There is something about Mardi Gras that gets into your blood and soul and you either love it, or you dont have any use for it. Those of us who love it will continue to have our Mardi Gras. A federal judge has granted an expedited hearing for a lawsuit that would allow Alabama ISIS bride Hoda Muthana to return to the United States. U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton on Tuesday filed an order for attorneys for Muthana and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appear in court at 11 a.m. Monday, March 4. The lawsuit, filed by Muthanas father, Ahmed Ali Muthana, on her behalf asks the court to recognize her citizenship and her sons. It also asks the court to allow her father to send money to her so she can return to the United States safely. Last week, Hoda Muthana began pleading to return to the United States. She had fled from ISIS with her 16-month-old son and was captured by Kurdish forces in northern Syria. Pompeo claimed Muthana has no legal basis on which to claim her citizenship. His statement was based on a technicality regarding her time of birth and her fathers status as a diplomat at the time she was born. Several state and local officials, including Sen. Doug Jones and Rep. Gary Palmer, have spoken out about her returning to the United States. 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. Jones did not speak to the issue of her citizenship, but said she should have to face the U.S. justice system if she returns to the United States. While I certainly understand the initial reaction to prohibit Hoda Muthana from coming back to the United States, I am concerned that allowing anyone who has committed crimes against the people of this country to remain beyond the reach of our justice system is the wrong approach and sends the wrong message," Jones said in a statement emailed to AL.com. My view is that she should absolutely be brought to justice for inciting violence against Americans. Doing so would send a powerful message that any American who lends support to a terrorist organization will be pursued to the fullest extent of the law. The immunity hearing in Huntsville police officer William Darbys murder case has been postponed. The hearing, which was set for Thursday afternoon, is being rescheduled at the request of Darbys defense attorney Robert Tuten. Tuten said in court records that hes out of town representing another client in an unrelated case. The conflicting trial is going into (its) third week and is not expected to end prior to the setting of this instant case, Tuten said. In an order this morning, Madison County Circuit Judge Donna Pate said the hearing will be rescheduled on the next available docket. Darby is seeking immunity from prosecution in the on-duty fatal shooting of Jeffrey Parker. Darby is asking Judge Pate to bar the district attorneys office from prosecuting him on a murder charge. The defendant contends that, acting in his official capacity as a Huntsville Police Officer, he was acting in self defense and in the reasonable defense of others pursuant to ... (Alabama law), Tuten wrote last month in a motion for immunity. Darbys trial is scheduled April 8. Its not yet clear whether the postponement of the immunity hearing will also push back the trial date. Darby killed 49-year-old Parker on April 3, 2018. Parker called police that day, saying he was suicidal and had a gun, the authorities said. Officers said they briefly spoke to Parker at the scene on Deramus Avenue. Parker didnt comply with Darbys orders to drop the gun, the police department said, and Darby fatally shot him. Weeks later, the police departments internal review board cleared Darby of wrongdoing. But in August, a Madison County grand jury indicted the 25-year-old officer on a murder charge. District Attorney Rob Broussard said he was "gravely concerned" about Darbys actions after seeing body camera video of the shooting. His office is prosecuting Darby. The defense is arguing that Darbys actions didnt violate Alabama law, which says, a person who is justified in using deadly physical force is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action. Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and police Chief Mark McMurray have defended Darby, saying he isnt a murderer. The city has refused to release to the public the body camera videos or other records related to Darby and the shooting. The city council at the urging of the mayor voted to pay for Darbys defense. Darby, a 25-year-old from neighboring Morgan County, was on the police force for about two years at the time of the shooting, the department said. Judge Pate issued a gag order that prohibits public comments by lawyers and law enforcement regarding the case. Madison County Chief Trial Attorney Tim Gann and Assistant DA Tim Douthit are prosecuting. Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle will meet in an April 2 runoff. Photo: Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune via Getty Images; Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune via Getty Images A very crowded Chicago mayoral field that aroused diminished public interest (turnout was near the record low of about one-third) nonetheless produced a historic result as two black women former prosecutor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board president Toni Preckwinkle finished first and second, with 17 and 16 percent, respectively. Both edged out the early favorite, former Commerce secretary and local royal family scion William Daley. They will meet in an April 2 runoff that will likely attract significantly higher turnout. White men have held the Chicago mayors office for the last 32 years, most of it under Richard M. Daley (Williams brother) and Rahm Emanuel, whose surprise decision to retire after two terms created this turbulent election. So either outcome in the runoff will be historic. (Lightfoots might be adjudged as somewhat more historic in that shes openly lesbian.) There are signs both candidates will accuse each other of being too close to the pro-business Democratic Establishment of the city exemplified by Emanuel and the Daleys. Preckwinkle has been a fixture of local politics for many years, which won her high name ID and significant labor backing. But her candidacy was undoubtedly damaged by her association with Alderman Edward Burke, who has been the target of a major federal corruption investigation. Shes also responsible for a soda tax proposal that turned out to be very unpopular. Lightfoot successfully positioned herself as a progressive reformer, and executed a late surge to make the runoff. But in a preview of the runoff campaign, Preckwinkle noted on election night that her opponent had worked for both Daley and Emanuel. Lightfoots bigger problem may be raising enough money for a tough campaign, though a big financial advantage didnt do Bill Daley much good. The New York Times offered a good, brisk summary of the problems the ultimate winner will face: The citys pension system will require an additional $1 billion in revenue by the end of the new mayors first term. Yet residents say they are weary from years of increases in their property tax bills and fees. Crime and gang violence remains a deep worry for many, even as the city contends with its long history of troubled relations between the police force and residents, especially in the black community. And although tourism has boomed downtown, development along the Chicago River has flourished and corporations have flocked to the city in recent years, some neighborhoods on the South and West Sides have struggled with disinvestment, schools closing and people moving away. Lightfoot in particular focused her campaign on claims of being a representative of the neighborhoods instead of downtown, and has considerable experience as an Emanuel appointee in examining corruption and racism in the police force. But Preckwinkle could inherit Establishment support to go with her own long-standing progressive claims. Endorsements by the 12 losing candidates the third- through seventh-place finishers together won nearly half the total vote could matter as well. But whatever happens, Chicago will turn a page in its rich political history. A Huntsville fisherman caught a 10-foot great white shark off the waters of a Florida fishing pier, according to a report. Video of the release of the 10-foot Great White shark caught today on Navarre Beach Fishing Pier. The shark was immediately released after Team True Blue tagged it and recorded data, such as the length, girth and weight. That information will be forwarded to NOAA's Apex Predator research program by Earnie Polk, the group's leader. Jeremy Utter of Huntsville, Alabama reeled in the shark and Thomas Thielman, a pier employee, served as the leader man. Posted by South Santa Rosa News on Tuesday, February 26, 2019 Jeremy Hunters catch off of the Navarre Beach fishing pier was tagged and its data sent to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Apex Predators Research Program. The program conducts studies of commercially and recreationally important shark species. Its about 10-foot long, Id say 650-750 pounds, Ernie Polk of the fishing group Team True Blue, who was on the boat during Hunters catch, told the South Santa Rosa News. It was a big, fat, healthy male. We got it tagged and released. It swam off good. Gov. Kay Ivey and other officials announced a plan to increase funding for roads, bridges and other state infrastructure by raising the states gasoline tax 10 cents per gallon over three years. The state gasoline tax, which is 18 cents per gallon, would increase by 6 cents this year, 2 cents in 2020 and 2 cents in 2021. The plan also links the tax to a national index on highway construction costs. That could increase the tax no more than 1 cent every two years, Ivey said. The same increases would apply to the tax on diesel fuel, which is now 19 cents per gallon. House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, a supporter of the plan, said each 1-cent increase would generate an estimated $32 million in new revenue, so the full 10-cent increase would raise more than $300 million. Rep. Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa, the bills sponsor, said the plan calls for 66 percent of the new revenue to go to the state, 25 percent to counties and 8 percent to cities. A separate portion will go to finance a bond issue to widen and deepen the shipping channel in Mobile Bay to allow more shipping traffic and faster turnaround in the state port. Poole said associations representing cities and counties had agreed on the formula. Ivey, McCutcheon, Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh and other legislative leaders announced the Rebuild Alabama Infrastructure plan this morning at a press conference by an aging bridge on a county road in Maplesville, two turns off the main highway between Tuscaloosa and Montgomery. The Republican governor and the Republican leaders of the Legislature say the state gasoline tax does not provide enough money to support a road system adequate for todays traffic volume and competitive economy. The 18 cents-per-gallon tax hasnt changed since 1992. The total gas tax in Alabama, including federal and local taxes, is lower than in most states. Ivey said increasing the investment in infrastructure is vital to promoting economic growth and making roads safer. Yall, this is an issue that is felt by every Alabamian," Ivey said. "Every Alabamian is affected. That makes it clearly a bipartisan issue. That means an issue that we can all get behind and all find a solution to. Republican leaders in the Alabama House proposed gas tax increases in 2016 and 2017 but they did not pass. The governor and lawmakers had not announced a specific proposal for this year before today. There is opposition in the Republican Party. On Saturday, the state Republican Executive Committee passed a resolution opposing a gas tax increase without an offsetting tax decrease, which was not mentioned as part of the plan today. Its very clear that theyre staying as close as they can to their original broken record of a significant increase in the per capita tax burden under the auspices and justification of infrastructure, said Tom Fredricks of Decatur, who sponsored the resolution passed by the GOP. Fredricks said the Legislature should first look at ways to make better use of current tax dollars, partly by working to eliminate tax earmarks that dedicate revenues to a specific purpose and restrict the ability of legislators to put money where its most needed. Its a blatant attempt to give no consideration to finding and improving the process internally, to dismantling some of the earmarking structure thats created this conundrum and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of government. They are simply taking the easy way out, Fredricks said. Other opposition surfaced today. Stop the Alabama Gas Tax, a newly formed political action committee, issued a news release. Governor Kay Ivey has just proposed the largest gas tax increase in the history of Alabama, more than double that of any Democrat governor in the states history, Ralph Long, chairman of the PAC said. Her proposal is a knife in the back to voters. We elected her to clean up Montgomerys abundant fiscal woes, not increase our taxes to satisfy Montgomery lobbyists. Proponents of the plan said this morning theyre not choosing the easy way. This is a hard issue, Ivey said. I know that. But its an issue that we will have to work hard to get it through but we will be successful because it is the right thing to do. McCutcheon, standing near the aging Chilton County bridge this morning, noted that theres a cost in time and money when school buses take longer routes to avoid substandard bridges. This is about coming right down to the quality of life of a family, McCutcheon said. These are the things that we need to be looking at. And we look at moving commerce up and down our highways. When we look at unemployment in some of the counties of our state and try to recruit business, our infrastructure is vital to where we are. McCutcheon and Marsh thanked Ivey for her stance. We want to come in and address this issue in a proactive manner and not be called into a special session because a school bus has gone through a bad bridge," Marsh said. Marsh said Ivey had directed his office to research the need for more infrastructure funding. He said lawmakers will have ample information. Our legislators when we go into session will have all the things needed to make educated decisions and support this piece of legislation," Marsh said. Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, leader of the Democratic minority in the Senate, expressed support for the plan. Singleton said he supported the plan from a statewide perspective and because of how it could help the low-income families in his district. I have hundreds of miles of dirt roads that are in my district, Singleton said. "We could have easily found bridges in west Alabama that look like this or even wooden bridges that look like this. But I know that this governor has the commitment and heart to come forth with this and as the speaker said, it is not the easiest thing to do. " Poole, the bill sponsor, was not able to attend this mornings press conference. In a telephone interview this afternoon, Poole said the proposal for a phased-in 10-cent increase was based on infrastructure needs, comparisons with neighboring states and keeping the state competitive. Ultimately, I think we landed on that as the most fair and reasonable number that we could present to the citizens of the state," Poole said. Poole said some details are still in the works. He said he hopes to have a bill ready by Friday. Its a difficult issue, Poole said. I expect a lot of discussion. And I think that discussion and even some disagreement is fair. Poole said he believes there is a cost associated with not addressing the issue. So, the cost of doing nothing is not nothing, Poole said. "It will stunt our economic growth. Stunt our future prosperity. Continue to subject our citizens to congested and dangerous roads. And so, I look forward to having the debate and Im very optimistic about it." Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, will sponsor the bill in the Senate. Ivey has spoken about the need for more infrastructure funding many times, including during her inaugural address in January. The legislative session begins Tuesday. Ivey Press Secretary Daniel Sparkman said there has been discussion about the governor calling a special session on the infrastructure plan but that she would not do so today. A follow-up press conference is planned for Friday. A special session could provide one possible advantage for advocates of a tax increase. During a regular session, every bill that passes before the state budgets must clear a procedural hurdle called the budget isolation resolution that requires approval by three-fifths of those voting. There is no such requirement during a special session and a tax bill could pass by a simple majority. Asked today if she was considering calling a special session, Ivey said that option was on the table. This story was updated at 3:41 p.m. to add quote from Tom Fredricks. Updated at 5:39 p.m. to add information from Rep. Bill Poole and video. Updated at 5:46 p.m. with comment from Stop the Alabama Gas Tax committee. Supporters of a state infrastructure program and a gas tax increase have been buoyed in recent days over a blistering report about Alabamas roads and bridges. Research was compiled by a Washington, D.C.-based transportation research group called TRIP, otherwise known as The Road Information Program, and compiled into seven reports detailing how the states roads and bridges are costing residents $5.3 billion a year in higher vehicle operating costs, traffic crashes and congestion-related delays. The release of each report has been met with news conferences involving mayors, county commissioners, economic development specialists and others advocating for a state transportation program on the eve of Alabama Gov. Kay Iveys unveiling Wednesday of an infrastructure plan. The reports by TRIP outline just how much deficient, congested and unsafe roads truly impact Alabama citizens, said Drew Harrell, executive director of the Alliance for Alabamas Infrastructure. "This data only reiterates the dire situation we face as a state when it comes to providing Alabamians with a safe and efficient road and bridge system. On Tuesday, the TRIP Mobile report was discussed during a news conference at the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce. We understand the residents of Alabama and the Legislature are making an important decision on the future of their transportation system, said Carolyn Bonifas Kelly, associate director of research and communications with TRIP, a non-profit which is not taking an official stance on a gas tax increase. With that in mind, we want them to have all the available information. Lines drawn TRIPs two-day push through Alabama counters push back from state Republican leaders who voted overwhelmingly Saturday in support of a resolution opposing a gasoline tax increase, which would be a first in Alabama since 1992. Other state officials are pushing for alternative funding mechanisms to support road and bridge projects. Alabama Auditor Jim Zeigler, for instance, held a town hall meeting Monday in Wetumpka to pitch his Plan Z which opposes tax increases and would, instead, support an infrastructure plan by prohibiting budget diversions from state money earmarked for roads and bridges. The gasoline tax increase ideas are also dominating attention of state lawmakers during recent constituent meetings. In Huntsville Monday, the gas tax increase dominated the topics most talked about during a town hall meeting involving a dozen state lawmakers. Lawmakers, who will be tasked with voting on Iveys infrastructure plan, say that there is nothing wrong with the concerns being raised by anti-tax advocates. But without details about Iveys proposal, lawmakers warn, there is little feedback they can currently provide. There are a lot of lines being drawn already, but if you dont have details about a bill, I dont know if you can stand on it one way or the other, said state Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster. State Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, said the timing is right for Alabama residents to be voicing their concerns about a proposed fuel tax hike, an overall infrastructure program and how the process might work out. For instance, on Tuesday, social media rumors surfaced that Ivey planned to call a special session of the Legislature to focus specifically on the gasoline tax increase. An Ivey spokesman, however, quieted the talks later in the day by confirming that the governor does not plan to call a special election during Wednesdays announcement in the tiny Chilton County town of Maplesville. Said England, We need these conversations out there right now that if people are for or against it, you need to let your feelings known. I am sure that as soon as the first day (of the spring legislative session) hits, a bill will be dropped and they will be working on it. Generational opportunity Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson speaks during a news conference on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019, at the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce in Mobile, Ala., in support of a statewide roads and bridges plan. Stimpson spoke after the release of a report from the advocacy group, TRIP, which detailed that Alabama's roads and bridges are costing the state's motorists $5.3 billion statewide in vehicle operating costs, congestion, and traffic crashes. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com). In Mobile, at the news conference, the attitude was nothing but positive toward whatever Ivey may propose. Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said that the mayors of Alabamas five largest cities Mobile, Birmingham, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa and Montgomery all support the plan even without knowing its details. Stimpson called the approval of an infrastructure program a generational opportunity that will allow the state to capture more revenues to better attract federal highway money. We dont know what it is, but we realize the importance of getting something done, said Stimpson. Whatever the outcome is, well be getting more than what we are getting today. Its just crucial that we do not miss this opportunity to get an infrastructure package. His comments came after the TRIP report showed the Mobile area roads costing the average driver $1,576 annually in extra vehicle operating costs, lost time and fuel due to congestion-related delays, and traffic crashes. Only Birmingham at $1,846 and Tuscaloosa at $1,713, had annual operating costs higher than Mobile in Alabama. Other areas examined by TRIP included Decatur-Huntsville, Florence, Anniston-Oxford-Gadsden, and Montgomery. In Tuscaloosa Monday, Mayor Walt Maddox who ran against Ivey in last years governors race publicly backed the governors plan. In a statement to AL.com, Maddox said Ivey has made it clear that she has shown the courage of her convictions to address this matter. Tuscaloosa, according to TRIPs data, has some of the deadliest roads in Alabama ranking first among the states regions in the financial impact of traffic crashes on area drivers -- $492 annually. From Muscle Shoals to Mobile, the data is clear and compelling We are far behind most states, and if we are going to provide safer highways and bridges, plus be competitive economically, then we must act, said Maddox. The TRIP report isnt the only analysis that punches at the state of Alabamas infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineering gave Alabamas roads a D-plus and its bridges received a C-minus score. Said Harrell, The cost of doing nothing to address our road and bridge needs has risen to $507 per driver. Thats $187 more per driver than just four years ago. This is an unsustainable course. Republican opposition But even as pro-infrastructure forces gather up to support Iveys plan, a host of conservative Republicans are pushing back against a tax increase. At the Alabama GOPs executive committee meeting in Birmingham, approximately 400-plus party loyalists voted 61 percent to 39 percent in favor of a resolution opposing a gas tax increase without a reduction in existing tax revenues. A defection of sorts surfaced on Monday, when the Houston County GOPs executive committee backed a resolution in support of state elected officials like Ivey and her initiatives she campaigned for related to improving infrastructure in Alabama. Ivey, a Republican and considered among the most popular governors in the U.S., easily cruised to election during last years GOP primary and the general election. Terry Lathan, the chairwoman of the state GOP, said its the prerogative of a county party on whether it chooses to make a statement regarding the tax increase. In instances where debated subjects arise, we will see and hear many different types of opinions, Lathan said. The Republican supermajority of elected officials have done great work that often does not grab a headline, yet they are also tasked with difficult responsibilities. It is their job to work through these processes as they share information with the citizens. Michael Hoyt, chairman of the Baldwin County Republican Party, said there are plenty of needs in coastal Alabama, including the $2 billion Interstate 10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway widening project. But he said that Republicans, overall, have no appetite for a tax increase. He said the more fiscal responsible approach would be to end diverting money for roads and bridges to other segments of the states budget, such as approximately $63.5 million that is moved to fund the Alabama Administrative Office of Courts and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. People do not want to pay more in taxes only to see that money to be transferred elsewhere or without requisite offsets, said Hoyt. I think the Legislature is creative and we have a lot of good people up there who will come up with another solution. Political push Road and bridge programs are dominating statehouses throughout the U.S. in recent years, largely because of an absence of a federal infrastructure program. Since 2013, 27 states have raised or reformed their motor fuel tax rate to pay for them. In November, a total of $24 billion in bond initiatives were endorsed by voters nationwide addressing a swath of public construction projects. In Ohio and Minnesota, both Republican and Democratic governors recently announced gas tax increases to pay for transportation programs. Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine is pitching an 18-cents-per-gallon tax increase to help address what he has described as a deep hole in transportation funding. Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz is advocating for a 20-cent hike of the states gasoline tax. According to Governing Magazine, in Ohio, a group of experts analyzed the states transportations funding woes and released an 89-page report examining options to raise new revenues. Ultimately, though, the only funding solution to generate broad consensus, was the gas tax, the magazine reported. Jess Brown, a retired political science professor at Athens State University and a longtime observer of Alabama state politics, predicts a gas tax increase being approved in Alabama for the first time since George H.W. Bush was president, and Guy Hunt was governor. He said the support of the gas tax from the Business Council of Alabama and pro-industry groups like the chamber of commerce, could prove too powerful for the newly-elected Legislature. I think the actions and words of Auditor Jim Zeigler and the resolutions of the state executive committee of the GOP make for interesting press, and it will generate some friction, said Brown. But in the final analysis, the infrastructure plan is the primary agenda item for the Business Council of Alabama and they hold the power and will get what they want. Said Brown, Im also looking for the well-financed and influential and organized opposition (to a gas tax increase) and I just dont see it. The U.S. Senate voted Monday against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, that would have criminalized doctors who fail to provide medical care if a fetus is born alive after an abortion. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., was one of three Democrats to vote for the bill. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., on Tuesday tried to revive the bill and asked for the its immediate consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives, but was quickly shut down and wasn't allowed to debate in the Democratic-controlled House. "Every newborn deserves the highest quality of care, regardless of the circumstances of their birth. For this reason, I support the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act," Jones said in statement to AL.com. "Though there are deep disagreements on the issue of abortion, I firmly believe that if we have more dialogues, we will find that we have more in common than not. We should focus on that common ground by working together on policies that can reduce abortions and strengthen families. That means taking steps to ensure that all people have access to affordable, quality health care, and develop policies that reduce unplanned pregnancy, lower the cost of child care, and promote adoption. I would like to see all sides of this debate come together to reduce and even eliminate some of the circumstances that cause women to face this difficult decision. The bills sponsor, Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said it is intended to protect newborn babies. Full coverage of the abortion debate in Alabama This should not be complicated. But Democrats are making their feelings known by refusing to vote on H.R. 962, Palmer said in an emailed press release. They want abortion at any time, even after birth, and they are afraid to allow anyone in their party who might have a different opinion to vote their conscience. President Donald Trump parroted similar sentiments in a tweet Monday night claiming Democrats are satisfied killing babies after they are born. ....This will be remembered as one of the most shocking votes in the history of Congress. If there is one thing we should all agree on, its protecting the lives of innocent babies. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 26, 2019 According to the CDC, 1.3 percent of abortions performed in the U.S. were done at or after 21 weeks. Dr. Hal Lawrence, former executive vice president of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists told reporters in 2015 there is no way a 20-week fetus is viable, even with intensive medical treatment. Cindi Branham, of Alabama Reproductive Rights Advocates, said babies are not being born and then ignored. There are not medical professionals who will do this when a fetus is viable, Branham said. These people are far too compassionate and good to do this. Branham said bills like these are trotted out every year to criminalize abortion and help politicians win elections. The goal is to purely win elections. The people that bring it out, the representatives, senators legislators, theyre doing it just to get elected again because none of this is ever rooted in fact, Branham said. Theyre doing it purely because the evangelical voting bloc will vote for them without fail if they cry abortion loud, enough and often enough. Branham said the bill's failure to pass was a small, but bittersweet victory. If anti-choice people would take the time to educate themselves on the situations of women who find themselves in a late-term abortion choice, they would shed tears for the women and their families rather than the already-unviable fetus, Branham said. Another inmates death in an Alabama prison has been ruled a suicide, officials confirmed today. Matthew Blake Holmes was a 28-year-old prisoner at Limestone Correctional Facility when he was found dead the night of Feb. 14, according to prison officials and court records reviewed by AL.com. Holmes death was ruled a suicide, Alabama Department of Corrections spokesman Bob Horton said in an email to AL.com on Wednesday. Holmes suicide came just days after lawyers from the Southern Poverty Law Center held a news conference and said 13 Alabama prison inmates had died by suicide since December 2017. Holmes death appears to mark the 14th such case during that time period. Prison officials said they couldnt comment further on Holmes death. In 2010, Holmes was sentenced to 22 years in prison for Lee County robbery convictions, court records show. He was being held at Limestone Correctional, a north Alabama prison in Limestone County. In Alabama prisons, which have been overcrowded and understaffed for years, the inmates attorneys said recently that the suicide rate constitutes an emergency. The inmates are represented by SPLC and the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program in a federal court case. The lawyers recently asked U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson for an emergency order to block the placement of inmates diagnosed with serious mental illness in segregation, or individual cells, because the isolation causes their conditions to worsen and increases the risk of suicide. In a 2017 ruling which called the prison systems mental health care horrendously inadequate Thompson cited the risk of isolating mentally ill inmates. The inmates attorneys say the suicide rate shows the state isnt fixing what Thompson ruled an unconstitutional lack of mental health care. Earlier this month, Gov. Kay Ivey announced plans to build three new state prisons as part of efforts to fix the correctional system. AL.coms Mike Cason contributed to this story. Alva Johnson, a staffer on Donald Trumps presidential campaign, is speaking out on her allegations he kissed her without her consent at an Aug. 24, 2016 event. Speaking on MSNBC, Johnson said she didnt think Trump had a chance to win the White House but thought it would be good to support a businessman. Her time with the campaign included serving as director of outreach to coalitions for Alabama, followed by travels to other states. It was in Florida Johnson said the incident occurred. Johnson said she was speaking to Trump in a campaign RV when he grabbed her hand after she wished him well. As hes looking at me, hes holding my hand and he starts coming towards me. Im thinking is he going to hug me and he keeps coming closer, Johnson said, He keeps coming and I think Oh my god, I think hes going to kiss me. Johnson said she turned her head when she realized Trump was going to kiss her. I turned my face and he caught me on the corner of my mouth, she said. I knew it was inappropriate. It was gross and creepy. In her suit against Trump, Johnson also claims she was paid less than other staffers because she was a black woman. The White House denies all the accusations. Witnesses in the RV on the day of the alleged incident also deny Johnsons claims. Editors note: The Press-Register holds exclusive global rights to reportage of the Masked Observer, a mysterious denizen of the leisure class who covers the local Mardi Gras scene. Those who prefer to spend their Carnival season in a perpetual state of sensory overload were satisfied on all counts as the Order of Inca celebrated its 63rd annual ball on Friday night. The sun worshipers pulled out all the stops, with confetti cannons, flames and giant voodoo dolls. Conch-shell blasts heralded the Mighty Inca emblem and his traditional opening dance, before the creatures of black magic even a towering rattlesnake coiled to strike emerged from a dramatic smokescreen to gasps from the crowd. Lovely Queen Cheryls entrance followed, to the haunting tones of I Put a Spell on You. And the queen proved herself a siren and Oscar soothsayer as the soundtrack of her promenade unexpectedly shifted to a poignant, orchestral version of Bohemian Rhapsody. Will you do the fandango? Dark Hallway asked a nearby vixen, draped in black and gold. Lucky for him, the Masked Observers guy Friday was too enrapt with Queen Cheryl to fully absorb the young ladys immediate, and inevitable, rebuke. The theme of the evening was We Will Rock You, and the float riders were in full costume as gods of rock n roll. Who can compete with the KISS guys? Floral Headpiece, the Observers social secretary, murmured in awe, as the most-eye-catching maskers of the evening strutted their stuff during the brisk tableau. She gulped as one particular Ace Frehley pulled a crossover move of his own, dropping to his sha-na-na-na-knees in a pile of confetti as the Guns N Roses anthem Welcome to the Jungle screamed through the arena. When Queen Cheryl and her entourage of officers and escorts mounted the stage, the curtain parted to reveal a haunting swamp, complete with Spanish moss and a sinister-looking kettle bubbling over broad flames. The Masked One is still a little dubious about the direct connection between voodoo and rock n roll except in the minds of thankfully absent Puritans but he still had to admire the Incas for the creative meld of mysticism and magnetism. The Observer is himself a creation of similar alloy. The Order also paid homage to its longtime emcee, the inimitable Ron Reams, who was celebrating his 35th year of announcing the tableau. The final confetti cannonade was so lavish that Mr. Reams had to cover his head in order to finish reading the script. As the last bits of glitter drifted down from the spotlights, Floral Headpiece did not envy the job awaiting the arenas custodians, who had to clear the drifts of ticker tape and once again reveal the dance floor. The first band, Category 6, quickly took the stage and began with a brisk Styx set. (Inexplicably, the Cat 6ers led off with Mr. Roboto, which did nothing to fill the nearly empty dance floor. Category 6? Id call it more like a tropical depression, Hallway muttered. I hadnt heard that one in years, and could have gone a few more without it.) The Icon of the iPad, DJ Mike Barnes, was his usual rollicking self, entertaining happy revelers right outside of the Queens room. The Category 6 members were later seen watching in appreciation from the sidelines as Bag of Doughnuts rocked some lusty Rick James classics, awakening overt appetites within the crowd. Ode to the Butterfly Maidens The following evening found the Crewe dObserve materializing at Fort Whiting for a much-anticipated soiree with the Order of Butterfly Maidens. The theme was Butterflies on Broadway, and the lovely lasses pranced through a fun and flirty tableau. It began with a spectacular tribute to cinemas The Greatest Showman, as a troupe of talented and limber acrobats performed a circus routine in the center spotlight, to the crowds delight. As always, the Butterflies had a lot of fun with their skits and sparkly costumes. But on this night, the standouts were the green-clad witches from Wicked, the parasol-twirling, ascot-necked dames from My Fair Lady, and the patriotic damsels from Hamilton. Those revolutionaries fired off confetti cannons to punctuate their Carnival revolt. Also showing out were Legally Blonde, Phantom of the Opera, Grease and Hello Dolly. Emblem Karen presided as Madame Butterfly, kindly bidding that her cast of characters join their guests for dancing with the band Perfect Image and DJ Hot Ron Anthony. Guests dined on an enviable spread from Tyners Catering, but had to circumnavigate Dark Hallway, who posted up early at the grits-and-gumbo bar. A Maids of Mirth finale The Masked Observer is always pleased to carouse with the Maids of Mirth, and this year the ladies chose enchanting Cotton Hall as the setting for their 70th ball on Saturday evening. The Infant Mystics den was the perfect place for a midnight aperitif as the well-appointed courtyard honored the theme Cheers to 70 Years. Each of the MOMs floats represented a different decade, and many a tale was heard of the triumphs and tribulations of yesteryear. Leading Lady Walsh shared candlelit smiles with the guests who continued to rally deep into the night as headlights scattered refracted light from rainy streets just outside the iron gates. And as the second-to-last Saturday of Carnival came to an end, the Observer held close a hope that reality would creep no closer than that. Early Saturday morning, Matt St. John got a call from his father, who lives in a cabin on Weiss Lake that was about to be flooded. Its waist-high outside the house, Matt said. Weiss Lake is reaching record levels this week. The lake was rising and everything Matts parents owned was at risk. Terry St. John, 77, and his wife, Sandra, 72, who had breast cancer surgery earlier this month, were panicked. Matt called Cris Mahy, director of small groups and pastoral care at the Gadsden campus of the Church of the Highlands, where he attends worship services. Just before 8 a.m., Mahy then called Doug Molock, outreach group coordinator for the Gadsden campus. Molock called Matt St. John back within 15 minutes and said he would be there and would try to get other helpers. He arrived by 11 a.m. with three other volunteers, Greg Brannon, Nick Richey, Randy Astin, who promptly began helping the family pack every item in the house and put it in a U-Haul truck provided by Coosa Corner gas station in Leesburg. They were wrapping each individual item like it belonged to their own parents, Matt said. I could not have hired that kind of help. Theres no way. The house soon had three inches of water inside it. My parents are living upstairs at my house, Matt said. Ive been involved in leadership at churches for 20 to 30 years and never have seen a non-denominational church that has so much structure, accountability, follows the word, and is so full of loving servants, Matt said. It brings out peoples talents and spiritual gifts and plugs them where they can serve. The Gadsden campus of the Church of the Highlands meets at the Gadsden City School auditorium and draws 1,800 to 2,100 combined at three Sunday services. The church is looking to buy property in Gadsden to build a campus there. Its a loving, godly church that treats everyone the same and they still preach the word, Matt said. To get four guys to come out on Saturday morning and work like dogs for your parents, who are not members of Highlands, its amazing, he said. You hear so much negative about church. People are on the attack about (Church of the Highlands founder) Pastor Chris Hodges and his family anytime they sneeze. Its about more than the Hodges family. Molock, as outreach group coordinator for the church, oversees 11 team leaders, with 18 to 20 people per team. We have a team that responds to emergencies and disaster-type situations, Molock said. We just respond as needed. The need is so great. Thats just part of our ministry. Thats just we do. The Church of the Highlands has a main campus in Irondale and 18 branch campuses that draw more than 40,000 worshippers a week, making it the largest church in Alabama. The main church has a disaster relief team that responds to many disasters throughout the Southeast, Molock said. We give all the glory to God. Molock said he has been a member of smaller churches that could not muster the type of resources that the Church of the Highlands does. It helps him help others. I love serving, Molock said. I know what Gods called me to do. Im retired, in good health. Ive got that desire to help people. Were just here to bless and help people. Molock said he knows that the Church of the Highlands absorbs a lot of criticism because its a megachurch. People ask me all the time what makes Church of the Highlands special, he said. Its the most self-giving people Ive been around. From bottom to top, they give of themselves. Its not about I, its about others. Three Alabama chefs and one cocktail bar have made the James Beard Foundation's preliminary list of semifinalists for its 2019 culinary awards. The Beard Foundation's restaurant and chef semifinalists were announced this morning. The Alabama chefs among the semifinalists for best chef in the South are: David Bancroft of Acre in Auburn, who is a semifinalist for the fourth year in a row. Bill Briand of Fisher's Upstairs at Orange Beach Marina in Orange Beach, also a four-time semifinalist. Timothy Hontzas of Johnny's Restaurant in Homewood, a semifinalist for the third consecutive year. Also, The Atomic Lounge in Birmingham is a semifinalist for the second year in a row for outstanding bar program. In addition, former Birmingham resident Hannah Black of Lil Debs Oasis in Hudson, N.Y., is a semifinalist for best chef in the Northeast. Black previously worked at Satterfields Restaurant in Vestavia Hills. For the first time since 2008, Birminghams Highlands Bar and Grill is not one of the semifinalists for the countrys most outstanding restaurant. After being nominated for 10 consecutive years, Highlands finally won the James Beard Award in 2018 and is therefore not eligible to win that category again. The same is true for Highlands pastry chef Dolester Miles, who won the James Beard Award as the countrys outstanding pastry chef last year. Miles had been a semifinalist for five years in a row and a finalist in each of the past three years. Each category includes 20 semifinalists, and the field will be narrowed to five finalists on March 27. The overall winners will be announced at the 29th annual James Beard Foundation Awards ceremony on May 6 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Previous James Beard Award winners from Alabama include: Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, most outstanding restaurant, 2018. Dolester Miles, Highlands Bar and Grill, Birmingham, most outstanding pastry chef, 2018. Chris Hastings, Hot and Hot Fish Club, Birmingham, best chef South, 2012. The Bright Star, Bessemer, America's Classic winner, 2010. Frank Stitt, Highlands Bar and Grill, best chef Southeast, 2001. For a complete list of all of this years restaurant and chef semifinalists, go here. A Florida man was arrested and extradited to Shelby County last week for allegedly bilking an Alabama resident out of more than $2 million, the Shelby County District Attorney and director of the Alabama Securities Commission announced Tuesday. John David Geraci was indicted on charges of sale of unregistered securities and sale of securities by an unregistered agent, the agencies said. Geraci was also charged with theft by deception and fraud in connection with the sale of securities. Geraci, who is out on $45,000 bond, faces up to 10 years in prison and a $15,000 fine on each of the indicted charges and between two and 20 years in prison and a $30,000 fine on each of the fraud and theft charges. An unnamed Alabama resident who wired more than $2 million to Geraci within five days in late August 2015 to invest in the Meridian Matrix Long Short Equity Fund but the transaction was not recorded, according to Shelby County District Attorney Jill Hall Lee and Alabama Securities Commission Director Joseph Borg. The resident was also misrepresented about the performance of the fund, Lee and Borg said. The stock fund had not been registered with the ASC and Geraci did not properly register the sale of the security to the commission, according to the agencies. In Jessica Patterson, Californias Republicans get a bright new face but may have the same old right-wing spirit. Photo: Steve Yeater/AP The good news for a badly damaged California Republican Party: It elected a shiny new, diverse group of leaders over the weekend. The new chairman of the state party is a 38-year-old Latina named Jessica Patterson; the vice-chairman is an immigrant from Taiwan, Peter Kuo; and the party treasurer is Gregory Gandrud, who is openly gay. Pattersons victory, over two older white guys who are hyper-Trump supporters (including failed 2018 gubernatorial candidate Travis Allen), is being hailed far and wide as a step away from self-isolation for a party that hasnt won a statewide race since Arnold Schwarzenegger left office, and just lost half its 14 U.S. House seats last November. 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. The bad news is that this diversity in leadership doesnt necessarily mean that conservatives have relaxed the ideological death grip on the California GOP that has made the party irrelevant. As political reporter Ben Christopher observed, Patterson may not be an old white guy, but she sort of thinks like one: Patterson is hardly a moderate. She is unequivocally opposed to abortion, is backed by the House minority leader and noted Trump whisperer, Kevin McCarthy, and spent the convention referring to Democratic legislators as the enemy. One of her first attagirls was from Donald Trump Jr.: Congrats @Millanpatterson on becoming the new Chair of the California Republican Party! #MAGA https://t.co/GDaSk60OrK Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 24, 2019 And at least one other member of Pattersons team has notably non-moderate views, too, notes Christopher: Lest anyone accuse the new leadership team of championing multicultural diversity for its own sake, Gandrud recently formed a nonprofit to sue the Santa Barbara public school district for, according to his website, a curriculum that is racist against white people and teaches students that white male Christian capitalists are oppressors. Indeed, a lot of the excitement about Patterson seems to be based on relief that the party didnt lurch even further to the right with one of her opponents, who were, as the Los Angeles Times noted, proud of the GOPs more problematic views: On Saturday, Allen supporters gathered on the steps of the state Capitol and danced to music with lyrics supportive of Trumps signature initiative: Build the wall, 10 feet, 20 feet, 100 feet tall. Among them was a handful of men wearing clothes identifying themselves as members of the Proud Boys, a far-right organization Allen and Frank, both favorites among grassroots activists, had argued that taking a hard turn right and returning to conservative values was the only way to inspire Republicans again. They urged doubling down on support for Trump, pushed unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud in the state and attacked Patterson as part of the failing status quo that led the party to its worst losses in years. Patterson, at least, recognizes this is no time for ideological purges, acknowledging that [t]here are too few of us for us to try and push people out in one direction or the other. Still, halting a march off the cliff is necessary, but not sufficient, to a party revival. Well see how the California GOP looks after being harnessed closely to the profoundly unpopular president in the upcoming presidential cycle. Birmingham Police Department detectives are searching for a gunman who shot and killed a person in west Birmingham Tuesday night during an attempted robbery. The victim was found by police unresponsive with a gunshot wound around 5:35 p.m. Tuesday on the 1200 block of Daniel Drive, police said. Wednesday morning, the Jefferson County Coroners Office identified the man as 41-year-old Marco Devonta Robinson, of Birmingham. He was taken to UAB Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, said Jefferson County Coroner Bill Yates. Authorities said the victim attempted to rob the victim when they fired shots. The gunman was not in custody as of Tuesday night, police said. Updated at 11:43 a.m. Tuesday to add the deceaseds identity. Hyundai plans to invest about $40 billion over the next five years to develop new technologies for electric and autonomous, or self-driving, vehicles, Bloomberg is reporting. The average annual spending will be 58 percent more than over the past five years, the company said today in a statement. The South Korean manufacturer, which has a plant in Montgomery, is only the latest automaker to pledge billions for what car companies see as the next modes of transportation. Last May, Hyundai began a $388 million technology upgrade in an engine shop and added engine head machining capabilities in Montgomery. That was the largest expansion since the plant began production in 2005. The new engine head machining facility was projected to be operational by the middle of this year, when Hyundai will begin producing Theta III engines for Sonata sedans and Santa Fe crossovers. The companys total investment so far in the Montgomery facility has been $1.8 billion, with about 2,700 full-time employees and 500 part-timers working there. In its statement today, Hyundai said it wants to lead the paradigm change facing the automotive industry. The company also said it will achieve an operating profit margin of 7 percent by 2022. Automotive e-commerce platform Carvana is expanding into Tuscaloosa as part of a push into four southern cities. The company is now offering as-soon-as-next-day vehicle delivery in Tuscaloosa as well as Hilton Head Island, S.C., Athens, Ga., and the companys 100th market, Savannah, Ga. Carvana allows customers to shop, even through a mobile device, from more than 15,000 vehicle choices, as well as finance, purchase, trade-in and schedule delivery. The platform also allows users to sell their current vehicle by entering their license plate online, receiving offers and scheduling pickup. The company has a Birmingham curbside location. The vehicles come with a seven-day return policy, and are certified that they have no frame damage, have never been in a reported accident and have undergone a 150-point inspection. Features, imperfections and updated information about open safety recalls are listed on the cars vehicle description page. Despite its initial pleasure upon hearing of the US withdrawal from Syria, Turkey seems to be facing difficulties in achieving its goals in its southern neighbor. Recent back-and-forth statements between the United States and Ankara have pointed to a couple of disagreements over the Syria dossier. Turkey is engaging in a flurry of high-level contacts with the United States and Russia to negotiate the future of northern Syria and east of the Euphrates River following Donald Trumps decision to pull US forces out of Syria. Ankara wants to establish a strong military presence in the region to fight the People's Protection Units (YPG), which is lodged there with US backing. Turkey considers the Kurdish YPG to be a terrorist organization and has vowed to eliminate it, even if Washington refuses to sever ties with the group. The latest statements out of Washington and Moscow, however, have highlighted again the difficulties Ankara faces in trying to achieve its aim. Ankara is trying now to gauge the significance of Washingtons announcement that it will leave behind a contingent of up to 400 troops in Syria, after the bulk of US forces are withdrawn from that country in line with President Trumps December decision. Turkeys position regarding the region remains unchanged and leaves little room for a compromise. It wants Washington to closely coordinate its withdrawal from Syria with the Turkish military, and for this withdrawal to be conducted in an orderly way, so that Turkish forces can take over bases left behind by the Americans. Turkish officials are concerned that a hasty and disorderly pullout by the United States will result in an authority vacuum east of the Euphrates River that terrorist groups could exploit. Furthermore, Ankara wants a security zone in Syria 30-40 kilometers deep, and controlled exclusively by the Turkish army and its Free Syrian Army proxies, and definitely not by the United States or European members of the US-led coalition in Syria. Turkey does not want a Russian or a Syrian regime presence in this zone either. Apart from securing itself against the YPG, Turkey plans to settle in the zone some of the 4 million Syrians who have taken refuge in Turkey. Ankaras talks with Washington and Moscow have failed to produce any tangible results on these issues so far, but the sides appear to be keen to keep talking. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone conversation with Trump Feb. 21. A day later Turkeys defense minister, Hulusi Akar, was in Washington for talks with acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan. In addition to this, US officials, who are part of a task force set up during Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's visit to Washington earlier this month, will be in Ankara this week for talks that concentrate on the details of the US withdrawal. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Vietnam Television, Chinas CCTV and Phoenix TV on Feb. 4 that negotiations with Turkey on northern Syria were continuing. Although he was trying to present the Turkish-Russian dialogue in a positive light, his remarks were problematic for Ankara on a number of counts. Lavrovs suggestion, for example, that Syrias border with Turkey could be patrolled by Russian military police to ensure Turkish security needs is a non-starter for Ankara. Moscow remains opposed to any foreign military presence in Syria that is not sanctioned by the Syrian regime. Lavrov underlined this point by indicating that Russia and Iran were in Syria on the invitation of the countrys legitimate government. Tellingly, he went on to point out that the Bashar al-Assad regime was opposed to any Turkish military presence in Syria. Moscow also wants the Syrian regime to gain full control of northern Syria after the US withdrawal. This includes territories captured by Turkey in its operations against the Islamic State and the YPG. Turkey, for its part, does not want to see regime forces east of the Euphrates River. Cavusoglu underlined this point in a meeting with editors from the Demiroren Media Group in January. The entry of the regime into these lands will not eliminate our security concerns, Cavusoglu said, indicating that the regime and the YPG could cooperate against Turkey. Lavrovs comments regarding the YPG also grated on Turkish nerves. "We do not have a common vision of who among the Kurds should be regarded as terrorists, he said. We understand [Turkey's] concerns, but it is still necessary to separate the wheat from chaff to see which one of the Kurdish groups is indeed an extremist one and poses a threat to the security of the Turkish Republic," Lavrov added. The US decision to leave a contingent of troops in Syria as peacekeepers appears at first glance to be a fresh setback for Ankara. Nevertheless, some analysts argue that this could turn out to be a blessing in disguise, since it is not clear yet who will fill the vacuum created by a US departure from Syria. During an interview with the Turkish NTV channel on Feb. 26, Erdogan appeared to downplay the significance of Washingtons decision to leave a small contingent of troops in Syria. He said that the presence of these troops would be symbolic. Ankara is nevertheless aware that various branches of the US administration, and the US Congress, have been working hard to get Trump to reverse his decision to pull troops out of Syria. Turkish officials are concerned that even a partial reversal by Trump of his decision to withdraw all forces from Syria could turn out to be a prelude to a long-term US presence in that country. The Turkish side is also taking note of American press reports citing administration sources that indicate that the presence of a limited number of US troops in Syria will be more than symbolic. These reports indicate that this military presence, limited as it might be, mean that the US military will continue to control the airspace in northeastern Syria, and also continue with its logistics operations there. Retired Brig. Gen. Naim Baburoglu, a prominent commentator on political and military matters, believes the United States will not leave Syria or the Middle East anytime soon until, that is, it has fully achieved its strategic targets. Baburoglu argued, in his column for the news portal Gercek Gundem, that the United States would only leave the region after guaranteeing the security of Israel, guaranteeing the security of the YPG, eliminating the Iranian presence in Syria, destroying Syrias unity and securing unification between the Kurds of northern Iraq and northern Syria. Meanwhile, differences remain between Ankara and Washington over who will run the security zone in northern Syria, the establishment of which the United States has agreed to in principle. Washington wants this to be controlled by an international force comprised of countries that are already part of the US-led coalition in Syria. It has reportedly told Turkey that it could also participate in this force, seeing as it is technically a member of this coalition. This, however, is also a non-starter for Ankara. Turkish official sources have been telling the press that such a proposal can only be designed to prevent Turkey from deploying a strong military presence in the region. Saban Kardas, from the Ankara-based Center for Middle Eastern Studies, spelled out the underlying reason for Turkeys concerns. Agreeing to a safe zone on Washingtons terms is likely to set into motion a path-dependent process that may eventually replicate the experience of an embryonic Kurdish state in northern Iraq, something that awakens fears in Ankara, Kardas wrote for the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Pointing to large gap between the Turkish and American positions, Kardas added that Turkey and the United States will have to engage in competitive bargaining in a zero-sum setting and make major concessions and trade-offs if they are to get anywhere. Turkey, however, is in no mood for compromise. In his public addresses, Erdogan continues to use a threatening tone. He says that Turkey will rid itself of the YPG peril in northern Syria on its own, if necessary, adding that the Turkish military has drawn contingency plans to achieve this. Whether Ankara is prepared to escalate the situation in this way remains an open question, given that it will face opposition from Washington and Moscow, not to mention Iran and key Arab states, if it goes ahead. Many believe Erdogan is only playing to a domestic gallery at a time when crucial local elections are just around the corner. The bottom line, however, is that Turkey is not likely to climb down with regard to its demands in northern Syria, even if it is rowing against strong currents as it tries to achieve its aims. Idlib, Syria, is once again in the spotlight following reports that the Islamic State (IS), beset by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Baghouz in eastern Syria, is seeking passage to the jihadi-held province in the northwest. An SDF commander in Deir ez-Zor, commenting on the siege on Baghouz, told Russias Sputnik, [IS], which is against the wall, asked to go to Idlib and toward the Turkish border. We rejected this request. Agence France-Presse also reported Feb. 18 that IS fighters sought safe passage to Idlib but had been turned down. The Associated Press reported Feb. 23 that 300 IS fighters are thought to be trapped there. However, an SDF commander told Kurdistan 24 news there could be "maybe more than 1,000" fighters still there, plus their families. The SDF said tens of thousands of civilians have been evacuated, many to camps for displaced persons. When it comes to fighters who have surrendered or have been captured, the SDF expects their countries to take them. Besides Idlib, two regions stand out as potential safe passage options for IS the Badia desert in eastern Syria, where the group is still active, and Iraqs border province of Anbar, where the militants can blend in easily with locals. The IS fighters in Baghouz are predominantly Iraqis, so they are expected to prefer Anbar, while Syrians are likely to head to Badia. Those who want to leave the region via Turkey, meanwhile, are eyeing Idlib as their ultimate destination. Before discussing whether IS could find refuge in Idlib, it is worth overviewing the jihadi groups dominating that province and the rifts between them. The factions, which sprang from al-Qaeda tradition and split up for various reasons, can be divided into five main categories: Some jihadi groups have interacted with IS, though the latter has no organized presence in Idlib. Since IS was removed from areas along Turkish borders, Jund al-Aqsa and its offshoot Liwa al-Aqsa and the Dawood Brigade stand out as IS-linked groups in Idlib and rural Hama. Isolated IS cells are reportedly also present in Sarmin, Sarmada, Musaybeen and Nayrab. Opposition group Jabhat al-Nusra once pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda. But, hoping to shrug off its terrorist label, the former created Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) along with several Islamist groups and said it had severed ties with al-Qaeda. HTS adopted a pragmatic approach, limiting its jihad to Syrian territory. As a result, HTS has grown strong enough to claim its own emirate in Idlib. Some al-Qaeda loyalists, however, rejected HTS' more "moderate" aspirations and left last year to create Tanzim Huras al-Din, which also has grown strong, encompassing numerous factions and some splinter cells from Jund al-Aqsa. Like HTS, these factions are opposed to IS. IS supporters accuse HTS of betraying both IS and al-Qaeda and of opening Idlibs doors to Turkey's secular army. One publication, for instance, charges that "HTS has become the Syrian branch of Turkish intelligence and turned into an organization of militants who run the errands of taghut [infidel or pagan] Turkey. There are also groups such as Ahrar al-Sham, founded by former al-Qaeda leaders, which are now part of the Turkish-backed National Liberation Front (NLF). Finally, there is the foreign fighters camp. Groups with links to the Taliban and al-Qaeda such as the Uighurs Turkistan Islamic Party, the Uzbeks Tawhid and Jihad Brigade and the Chechen-led Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar have generally maintained distant but balanced ties with other groups. In a January rift between the jihadis, however, they sided with HTS. The relationship of the groups in Idlib has always been a spiral of alliances and clashes. The factions that captured Idlib as part of a rebel coalition called the Army of Conquest have again turned against each other under the impact of the peace negotiations. In 10 days in early January, HTS routed the Nureddin Zengi Brigade, proceeding to expand HTS' domination over Idlib and placing the entire region under the control of its civilian arm, the so-called Salvation Government. Then it made efforts to form a joint military council and weed out the most radical elements in a bid to avoid a confrontation with Turkey, deny Russia a pretext for an offensive and take a chance at getting off the list of terrorist organizations. But as those efforts proved futile, HTS was forced to reach a reconciliation deal with Tanzim Huras al-Din on Feb. 1, ending its feud with a group to which radical HTS defectors gravitated. In the current state of affairs, the ability of IS to infiltrate jihadi groups in Idlib can't be ruled out completely. Yet because of old enmities and the problems IS could create, Idlibs factions remain wary of IS fighters. In other words, IS is a problem common to the radical and pragmatic jihadis, and hard-line and moderate Salafists in Idlib. After serious clashes in the past, the IS-HTS enmity continues today with assassinations and executions. Bomb attacks have been on the rise, especially in peripheral areas in southern and eastern Idlib province, which brings to mind the question of whether IS is coming back. The perpetrators of the attacks aren't clearly known. They could be IS militants or rival forces at loggerheads in the region. HTS and NLF factions had traded accusations over a string of assassinations from February to April last year. IS fighters have previously tried to sneak into Idlib and the Operation Euphrates Shield area (northern Syria) by mingling in with civilians. As the last IS holdout is falling, infiltration attempts could increase. To head off militants fleeing from Deir ez-Zor to Idlib, HTS has erected earthen barriers on several roads. The Turkish military has also taken fresh security precautions around Idlib in recent days. HTS held IS responsible for the Jan. 29 suicide attack on the Salvation Government building in Idlib. On Feb. 11, HTS members raided an IS cell in al-Dana, clashing with armed members. Then on Feb. 18, twin bomb explosions ripped through Idlib city, claiming 25 lives, just as HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Golani was to meet with representatives of other groups there. Some reports even claimed that Golani was injured in the head and taken to a hospital in Turkey. The HTS news agency, IBA, denied that Golani was wounded in the blasts, whose perpetrators remain unknown. HTS has given no respite to Jund al-Aqsa, the IS offshoot, in the past, locking up dozens of its members. In February 2018, it released 50 Jund al-Aqsa prisoners as it clashed with NLF factions, but those militants had been arrested for attacks on rival groups. In September, HTS executed five IS militants captured in Khan Sheikhoun. In sum, the factions holding Idlib are on alert against IS infiltration attempts, knowing that such infiltrations would make Idlib a more salient target and strengthen the hands of Russia and Iran as they keep Turkey under pressure in the region. Yet no place in Syria is completely immune to IS infiltrations, including regime-controlled areas. Hence, the scattered organization could make its presence felt in various places through assassinations and bomb attacks, just as it did Jan. 16 in Manbij. CAIRO Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, during a Feb. 18 meeting with members of the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin, said his country upholds the principle of national unity and sovereign integrity in Syria. Some diplomats speculate that Egypt has become the only Arab country to be considered a mediator in the Syrian crisis. In the past two months, Egypt has hosted a series of high-level visits by international officials to discuss developments in resolving Syria's nearly eight-year-long civil war. Most importantly, UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen visited Cairo on Jan. 28. A Foreign Ministry statement that day said Pedersen is keen on Egypt being among the main countries to discuss the developments unfolding in Syria and on considering Cairos vision on moving forward in the political process to resolve the crisis. Shoukry is calling on Pedersen to help break the deadlock in negotiations in a bid to reach a political solution. Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs member Rakha Hassan believes the UN envoys visit to Cairo soon after he left Damascus in mid-January strongly indicates that Cairos views are to be taken seriously, especially since Pedersen offers a new vision of a transitional government in Syria and the drafting of a new constitution. Hassan told Al-Monitor via phone that Egypt seeks to participate in Syria's reconstruction, a step welcomed by Russians and Syrians. The reconstruction was a topic of discussion when Egypt sent representatives to the Damascus International Fair in September. Egypt has [previously] benefited from the close relations with the Syrian regime at the commercial level. Cairo is considered the second-largest Arab exporter to Syria, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, Hassan said. He also pointed out that Egypt has expressed reservations about Syria returning to the Arab League, which he considers an important consensus among Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia and the EU. He attributes Egypt's reservations to the need to first reach a political solution in Syria. Egypt's former assistant foreign minister, Hussein Haridi, concurs with Hassan, saying he also believes Egypt does not want Syria to rejoin the Arab League before agreeing on mechanisms for a political course. Dalia Youssef, a member of the Egyptian parliament's Foreign Relations Committee, expressed regret over the policies of some Arab countries regarding Syria. Egypts role has become more effective in the Syrian crisis, given its balanced position on the Syrian conflict for years and in light of the decline of the Saudi role in several issues in the region, Youssef told Al-Monitor. Egyptian-Syrian contacts are ongoing, and Damascus wishes Egypt to have a prominent role in rebuilding institutions." Noha Bakr, a political science professor at the American University of Cairo, told Al-Monitor that geopolitical changes in Syria, in light of the planned withdrawal of US forces, make Egypt an acceptable mediator, because it wasn't involved in any military action in Syria, not even funding. She stressed that there is international interest in Egypts role to this effect, given Cairos influence on the Syrian opposition factions based in Egypt, and its ability to galvanize them into accepting a political process, leading eventually to the formation of a constitutional committee. Egypt was able to reach a cease-fire agreement in Cairo between the different Syrian opposition factions in mid-2018. Ayman al-Sisi, deputy editor of the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram, said Cairo has been pressuring opposition factions in Egypt to reach compromises with the Syrian regime. Sisi also underlined the international communitys interest in Egypts role, especially since Egyptian General Intelligence demonstrated a high level of professionalism in mediation in South Sudan in 2017 and also among the Palestinian factions. This has broadened its experience in dealing with reconciliation issues and finding common ground to resolve civil disputes. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is a military man and has a firm belief that security and stability in Syria are an extension of security and stability in Egypt. This is why he supports the Syrian army, Ayman al-Sisi told Al-Monitor. In November 2016, the president expressed his support for the national armies in Arab countries that are torn apart by civil conflicts, and called on the international community to support the Syrian and Libyan armies. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, secretary-general of the Arab League and a former Egyptian foreign minister, said Feb. 11 that he did not sense any consensus among member states that would allow Syria to rejoin the organization. At a time when most Arab and Gulf countries are eschewing normal relations with the Syrian regime, Cairo opened its door to Syrian officials when Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took power in 2014. Most recently, the head of the Syrian National Security Office, Ali al-Mamluk, visited Cairo in December to discuss political and security issues. Egypt is expected to try to bring the countries closer together to push forward a political process in Syria and to form a constitutional committee. This is in tandem with talks about reconstruction and preparing for the return of refugees. Syrias President Bashar al-Assad paid a visit to Iran Feb. 25 his first such trip since the outbreak of the Syria conflict. In Tehran, Assad was promised help with Syria's recovery that Damascus itself estimates will cost an astronomical $250-400 billion. However, Damascus' blueprint for reconstruction is important. In mid-2017, Damascus produced an ambitious strategy for rebuilding the country, allegedly pre-approved in April by the Central Committee of the Al-Baath Arab Socialist Party. It focuses on economic and social recovery in the face of Western sanctions, giving the green light to companies and businesses from friendly countries to conduct commercial and investment projects, branding reconstruction as a prize for participants with long-term profits and promoting a destroyer pays formula, particularly to the Gulf states as sponsors of the main opposition groups. The Syrian authorities used the annual Damascus International Fair, a respected forum in prewar times that took place in 2017 for the first time in five years, as an opportunity to demonstrate a "quick restart" for Syria. The Syrian leadership also took a series of steps to improve legal and institutional frameworks so as to attract foreign investors and press the local private sector to take a more active reconstruction role. A 2016 law permits partnerships between the government and private companies for the rebuilding of Syria's industries and infrastructure, except in the oil and gas sector, under a council established and chaired by the prime minister. Local consultants for the government have outlined several priorities for 2018-2022: construction of electricity plants, solar panels, electrical towers and wind turbines; transportation of energy; investment in railways and improvement of airports; construction of dry freight logistics centers and ports; and production of electrical micro-components and basalt fiber. There has been a growing demand for practical adaptation of public-private partnerships under direct governmental guarantees that are particularly required in the electricity sector. In June 2017, Assad announced reforms including the creation of an inter-ministerial assistance center that together with electronic feedback and human resources centers would support direct dialogue with regular citizens. This month, Prime Minister Imad Khamis announced he will meet with investors on a weekly basis. Damascus views economic aid from friendly countries such as Russia, Iran, China and India as a strong driving force of reconstruction. In 2013, Iran opened a line of credit for Syria worth $3.5 billion and extended it by $1 billion in 2015. During Khamis' visit to Tehran in January 2017, the Iranians obtained the right to operate the phosphate mines in Sharqiya, southwest of Palmyra. In September 2018, Iranian companies agreed to open plants in Syria to produce construction materials and in October, an accord was signed to build a 540-megawatt energy plant in Latakia. On Jan. 29, 2019, the Iran-Syria High Bilateral Committee held its 14th summit in Damascus, co-chaired by Khamis and Irans First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri. The Russian efforts to raise economic ties to the same level as military coordination and political dialogue have been managed under the auspices of a joint commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation that met in December 2018 in Damascus. Its priorities included the oil and gas industries, water resources, health care and transportation, meaning the modernization of seaports, railroads and the national air navigation system. After sitting on the sidelines of the Syrian conflict for some time, the Chinese have been seeking a role since 2016, believing that neither Moscow nor Tehran can benefit from small-scale deals because of their own economic problems. In July 2017, the Syrian Embassy and the China-Arab Exchange Association created an ad-hoc group on Syrian reconstruction in Beijing. The Chinese promised to invest $2 billion in an industrial park in Syria. India has promised $20 billion for the recovery process (5-8% of the total estimated needs). Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Israel in July 2017, Damascus confirmed it maintains a pragmatic relationship with New Delhi, reassuring India that all prewar joint projects between India and Syria in steel and electricity as well as in the oil and gas sectors will be revived. Other recent developments give reason for cautious optimism on Syria's reconstruction: Lebanon is expanding the seaport of Tripoli to make it a transit hub to Syria. At the end of 2018, inter-Arab discussions spread about readmitting Syria to the Arab League, aiming to find a counterbalance to the growing influence of Iran and Turkey and coinciding with a visit to Damascus by the President of Sudan. In December 2018, the UAE Embassy was reopened in Damascus, followed by the creation of a Syrian export center in Dubai. There is more than meets the eye when it comes to Western states. While many are still reluctant to allocate funds for Syria's reconstruction, some are of two minds whether their own influence in Syria should be yielded to the Syria-friendly states. Ericsson, Siemens, CMA-CGM and other companies are asking European governments for protection of their business interests in Syria. The Czechs are in the vanguard, having maintained their embassy in Damascus throughout the conflict. In 2017, the Aradoz brewery was opened with Czech technical aid in a Syrian town of Safita. Brussels wants Syria to stop bleeding refugees. During the conflict, the EU has mobilized $12 billion for food, shelter and medical treatment in Syria and neighboring countries, including $2.7 billion for 2019-20. Nevertheless, serious challenges persist. The Syrian leadership is still unable to restore the full economic integrity of the country, with vast territories out of its control. At the same time, urban terrorism continues to plague civilians and the business community. The gradual territorial partition of Syria is likely to continue under the influence of outside players with geopolitical ambitions. Ambiguity remains over the fate of Idlib, the north and the northeast. Damascus may need to strike a deal with the Kurds to grant access to the eastern and northeastern regions that are rich in mineral resources and fertile agricultural land. Without them, the authorities will be left with few resources to supply the reconstruction-costly regions, including big cities like Damascus, Aleppo and Homs. Local business elites oppose the formalization of relations with the government, entailing paying taxes and customs duties and obligations such as sponsorship of social projects. After years of war, the authorities have to reward loyalist field commanders, communities and entrepreneurs that are happy with their informal status. There are differences among the Syrian elites in their attitudes toward friendly countries such as Iran, Russia and China. Despite sympathies based on Alawite-Shiite ties and the existence of Shiite shrines in Syria, controversy remains between the secular nature of power and society in Syria and theocratic one in Iran. Tehran's aid is frequently met with mistrust, assessed not as charity but rather as a bid for dominance in rebuilding Syria. The UN does not recognize Syrian reconstruction as a nationwide political process. Thus, the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan addressed only saving lives, alleviating suffering and enhancing protection, based on the Whole of Syria approach. There is a wide diversity of outside assessments of reconstruction prospects, coupled with a lack of confidence in the success of investments. A majority of Western and Arab analysts are skeptical about rapid economic recovery under Assads rule. Many politicians in Europe and especially in the United States reject any joint efforts with the Syrian government. The US approach involves several planning guidelines: bypass official authorities, concentrate on cross-border aid and focus on the areas outside the government's direct control; view the reconstruction as a bottom-up process aimed at enhancing the autonomy of local actors; concentrate on places where destruction had been less severe than in the urban centers of Western Syria; go slowly to minimize the impact of poorly designed projects and to avoid flooding communities with resources they cannot absorb. The Syrian opposition and the loyalists are frequently hostile to each other, and that reality poses difficulties for establishing new business relationships. In sum, the process of rebuilding Syria will depend upon future political-military developments, international attitudes and the domestic reconciliation process. The interview given by US President Donald Trumps senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner to Sky News Arabia on Feb. 25 did not please associates of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to a political source who spoke with Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, senior Cabinet members labeled it a verbal terror attack. Prior to the interview in which Kushner disclosed details from the deal of the century on which he has been laboring with US special envoy Jason Greenblatt over the last two years, most of Israels senior right-wing officials had been convinced that Netanyahu was fully coordinating with Trump on everything connected to the US peace proposal that was taking shape. But suddenly, said a senior Cabinet member to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, along came Kushner at the worst possible time, with the worse possible details, thus forcing Netanyahu on the defensive. The day after the interview, Netanyahu instructed all the ministers in his government no exceptions to maintain their silence and not give interviews or even address the American initiative and/or Kushners details. Simultaneously, as could be expected, a multi-participant squabble broke out throughout the right-wing camp over Kushner's and Netanyahus words. Education Minister Naftali Bennett has been trying for a while now to stop the flow of right-wing votes from his party to Netanyahus exactly as happened in the 2015 elections so this was an opportunity he could not miss. Bennett immediately announced that Netanyahu will divide Jerusalem. In response, Netanyahu "advised" Bennett to calm down and denied any such possibility. Bennett did not calm down and on Feb. 27 called upon Trump to publish his Mideast plan before Israeli elections. The prime minister tried to somehow leverage even this explosive event. He hinted that just as he was able to face down President [Barack] Obama, he'll be able to do the same vis-a-vis Trump as well with regard to defending Israels interests in other words, to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. It is not clear if this message has really penetrated the hard-right-wing voters who negate the two-state solution and sanctify the status quo. Despite all of this, most of Netanyahus Cabinet ministers are still convinced that he is coordinating with the Americans regarding the details of the proposal taking shape and also regarding the timing of its disclosure. He knows whats in the offer, a non-Likud senior minister told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. The minister added, Hell also control the timing for when it will be placed on the table. The problem is that Netanyahu did not anticipate Kushners interview. Turns out that there are limits to even Netanyahus ability to control the White House. Another minister, also speaking on condition of anonymity, added, So its not just Netanyahu who has internal needs. The Americans also face constraints of their own. President Trump is under heavy pressure, and hes trying to create a global agenda and international leadership. We see this with regard to China, with regard to the meeting held with [North Korea leader] Kim [Jong-un] and also in the Middle East arena. Netanyahu learned a hard lesson this week. The prevailing opinion within Israels highest political-security ranks is that Netanyahu is completely in the US administrations loop regarding the deal of the century, and that Washington and Jerusalem were supposed to present it after the elections. The deal of the century, explains a high-level Israeli Cabinet member speaking with Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, is meant to try to extricate Netanyahu from his legal troubles. After the elections, he is supposed to take a political turn to the center and announce to the public that there is no way he can turn down the best US president that Israel ever faced in the White House." The minister added, On this basis, he will establish a coalition based only on parties willing to say yes to Trump, on the assumption that the Palestinians would do the work for us by again rejecting any possibility of reaching an arrangement with Israel. The problem is that Netanyahu is, at the moment, on an entirely different trajectory. After the elections is another story altogether. Now he is focused on the right, and his highest strategic-existential goal is to bring as many votes as possible to the Likud in order to signal Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit that the "nation is with Netanyahu" despite investigations, recommendations and indictments. He is supposed to make his left-wing about-face only after stealing all the right-wing votes, one of Netanyahus right-wing adversaries explained on condition of anonymity, From this point of view, Kushners words which included a mention of a restructuring of Israels borders completely disrupted Netanyahus election strategy. Netanyahus hopes of avoiding an indictment against him by agreeing to an arrangement with the Palestinians is based on mistaken basic assumptions. Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert found himself in a similar situation about a decade ago when he offered a generous, unprecedented Israeli peace proposal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas when he Olmert was up to his neck in criminal investigations in 2008. Olmert was the dream come true of all left-wing Israelis: He had been a Herut [Likud] member from birth who went from the depths of the right to a peace-pursuing leftist who saw the light and agreed to go the whole nine yards for peace. But this had no effect at all on the police, the attorney general or the state attorney's office. Netanyahu still hopes that with him, things will be different. As opposed to Olmert, Netanyahu is a popular prime minister. Many Israelis feel that only he could craft a peace agreement that would earn the confidence of the Israeli public. On the other hand, loathing and abhorrence of Netanyahu is so deeply rooted in the Israeli center-left that even if hed divide Jerusalem with his own hands and offer it to Abbas on a silver platter, no one would be convinced. And with all due respect to Kushner, Netanyahus real troubles lie in wait for him this coming weekend or at the beginning of March when Mandelblit will probably publicize his decisions regarding the prime ministers criminal portfolios. This is a key watershed event that is expected to begin the countdown toward the end of the Netanyahu era. The prime minister is in real trouble and under great pressure. Word circulated Feb. 26 that the attorney general was deliberating about submitting his decisions Feb. 28. Netanyahu was on his way to the airport, ready to take off for an important meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. At first, he considered lengthening his stay in Moscow, thus forcing Mandelblit to delay the dissemination of his decision. Afterward, he understood that shenanigans of this type would only harm him. Thus, the prime minister decided to shorten his visit to the minimum and return to Israel on Feb. 27 in order to prepare for what awaits him on Feb. 28. Netanyahu is lagging behind the Blue and White Party in the polls. In Mandelblits office, Netanyahu is expected to be slapped with an indictment of bribery. One way or the other, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fighting against all odds. On Feb. 21, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) issued a laconic statement condemning Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power), a radical right-wing party. The pro-Israel lobbying group was reacting to the recently announced alliance between Otzma Yehudit and the national religious party HaBayit HaYehudi that has been endorsed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of April 9 elections. Netanyahu is hoping that the alliance will save the two parties from missing the vote threshold for entering the Knesset. Avigdor Liberman, chair of Yisrael Beitenu, described AIPAC's unusual statement as an expression of genuine alarm. Liberman, whose party advocates the voluntary transfer of Israeli Arabs to other states, knows that the powerful pro-Israel lobbying group in Washington rarely attacks Jewish politicians who espouse Israels ethnic cleansing of Arabs. In fact, when Liberman was appointed foreign minister, in 2009 and 2013, AIPACs leadership remained mum. When Liberman called on Israelis to boycott Arab businesses in Wadi Ara, the leaders of the Jewish, pro-Evangelist lobby did not utter a word. So what made them deviate from their long-standing official policy of non-intervention in Israeli politics and from their non-official support of Israels pro-settlement political right? The answer appears to lie in AIPACs tweet stating that it has a longstanding policy not to meet with members of this racist and reprehensible party. That said, however, some of AIPACs best friends are racists. In 2007, AIPAC invited no less a racist than the evangelical preacher John Hagee to address its annual convention. That would be the same John Hagee who suggested in his book Jerusalem Countdown that Hitler was sent by God to drive the Jews back to Israel in order to fulfill a biblical prophecy. The Holocaust, Hagee has also opined, occurred because the Jews rebelled and denied the true God. Thousands of pro-Israel activists cheered the man who said that it was the disobedience and rebellion of the Jews that had led to the Jews trials and tribulations over the centuries and that the Jewish Rothschild family was part of a global economic conspiracy. AIPAC did not break its silence even when Netanyahu recently cooperated with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in waging an anti-Semitic campaign of incitement against the Jewish American philanthropist George Soros. The American gambling magnate Sheldon Adelson, philanthropist to Netanyahu and Orban and patron of Israels political right, does not appreciate Jews such as Soros who donate to human rights causes advocating minority rights. Netanyahu knows that what most American Jews think does not matter. What counts is what AIPAC does for presidential and congressional candidates. As long as he has the wealthy, conservative lobby in his pocket, Reform and Conservative Jews can shout until they're blue in the face about his violating promises he made to enable egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall, Judaisms holiest site. AIPACs tolerance of Netanyahus alliance with Liberman and with pro-annexationists such as Education Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the New Right, has resulted in complacency on the right. So did AIPACs tolerance of the series of discriminatory laws that Netanyahu, Liberman and Bennett enacted attacking minority rights. Netanyahu was too busy with the police investigations against him and a possible indictment for bribery to examine what was happening in the American Jewish arena. He figured that his struggle against anti-Semitism from the left such as against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and anti-Zionists would leave him free to conduct his affair with Hagee and Co., those who convinced President Donald Trump to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem last May. The prime minister surmised that inflating the threat from enemies such as Iran and BDS would distract US Jewrys attention from other issues. It would conceal the threat by Israels right to Israeli democracy and human rights from the eyes of American Jews, most of them Democrats. Even more so, Netanyahu took into account that American Jewish organizations such as the liberal lobbying group J Street would protest his embrace of Otzma Yehudit. In fact, this provided him with an excuse to lash out at the hypocrisy and double standards by the left, which he said acted to bring extreme Islamists into Knesset. He was ill prepared for AIPAC to make such a big deal of the new alliance he cooked up on the right. They know, after all, that the main difference between Otzma Yehudit and Netanyahus Likud is more a matter of style than substance. Neither Otzma Yehudit or Likud recognizes the Palestinians right to self-determination. All the parties on the Israeli right aid and abet the theft of Palestinian land. All are silent conspirators in the creeping annexation of the West Bank. All support the racist Nationality Law. All incite hatred against Arab citizens and the political left. Culture Minister Miri Regev of Likud inflamed sentiments against unfortunate African asylum seekers, calling them a cancer in our body. Bentzi Gopstein, leader of the far-right Lehava and a head of Otzma Yehudit, incites against Arab cab drivers from East Jerusalem. All those on the political right share some form of the same ideology and policy, but while Otzma Yehudit blares its filthy rhetoric out loud, the political families of Netanyahu, Bennett and Liberman coat their racism with pretty but hollow words about a Jewish and democratic state. A wordsmith like Netanyahu, who prides himself on his deep understanding of the United States, should have kept his distance from a party that proudly carries the banner of hatred for Arabs and the message of Jewish supremacy. For example, Otzma Yehudits platform calls for state-level a bureau to encourage emigration of minorities to other countries in order to cleanse Israel of its enemies. An American Jewish organization that tolerates a promise by Netanyahu to appoint a politician affiliated with this party as education minister in his next government will be hard pressed to protest a similar deal between Trump and the white supremacists seeking to cleanse the United States of Jews. Just two weeks before Israels April elections, Netanyahu will mount the podium at AIPACs annual conference in Washington, March 24-26. The reception that the lobby accords him will indicate whether its reaction to his contamination of the Israeli electoral system was indeed a genuine alarm, as Liberman said, or a false alarm. The thousands of pro-Israel activists on hand to greet him at AIPAC conventions are usually his most ardent supporters. They do not care about the corruption scandals in which he is embroiled. They forgave him for plotting with Congress behind the back of President Barack Obama in a bid to derail the Iran nuclear deal. Netanyahu need only utter the words Jerusalem is ours for eternity to elicit a standing ovation from wildly cheering AIPAC members, who will send him back to Israel for the last leg of his election campaign and the assumed formation of a new government with Otzma Yehudit. If the lobby meets with members of a future Netanyahu government, which will include this racist party, they will have to erase the word pro-Israel from its mission statement. The resignation of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was good news for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In fact, it was great news. He spared no effort to show his glee. To make sure Iranians were aware of how delighted he was, Netanyahu's Persian-language Twitter account on the morning after Zarifs resignation read: Zarif went. We are rid of him. As long as I am here, the Iranian regime will not acquire nuclear weapons. But now Zarif appears to be back, and thats bad news for Israel given Zarifs warm ties with many of his European counterparts. Zarifs smiling face and veneer of moderation get under the skin of Netanyahu and many in Israel. However, again there is good news: Zarifs resignation revealed fissures within the Iranian political establishment over its Syria policy. This is evident from Zarifs absence in President Hassan Rouhanis meetings on Feb. 25 with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, which seems to be one of the reasons that Zarif resigned in the first place. Why was Zarif not invited? Surely it cannot be because someone forgot to send the invitation. Netanyahu met with Russian President Vladimir Putin Feb. 27 in Moscow, where the conflict in Syria was a key topic in their talks. Just as important for Israel, there are distinct signs attesting to the unpopularity of Irans Syria policy among the people of Iran and even among its former and serving officials. Gholam-Hossein Karbaschi, the former mayor of Tehran, was recently sentenced to one year in prison for criticizing Irans involvement in the Syria war. The very fact that a former official is jailed for uttering a few lines of criticism shows fear by the regime in Tehran fear of public opinion. Another sign attesting to the unpopularity of Irans current Syria policy is the absence of debates surrounding this issue in the Iranian press. There are lively debates regarding numerous issues, but not on Irans policies in Syria. Iranian reporters could get called up for questioning if they criticize Assad, or worse, have their publications shut down temporarily. This was witnessed on the day of Zarifs resignation when the Ghanoon daily called Assad an Uninvited Guest. Even Maj. Gen. Ataollah Salehi commander of Irans army, the Artesh distanced himself from Irans involvement in Syria. After reports that four members of the Iranian armys special forces belonging to the mythical 65th Airborne Brigade were killed in Syria, Salehi stated publicly on April 20, 2016, that his organization had no role in dispatching them to Syria. He put the responsibility on the shoulders of an "unnamed" organization, meaning the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He didnt have to state this publicly. By doing so, it seems that he was indirectly showing his displeasure and it's understandable that Iranians on social media were shocked as to how such a mythical fighting force lost four of its best soldiers and officers so soon after arriving in Syria. Perhaps the clearest sign that Irans Syria policies are unpopular among the people of Iran is the fact that its not an election issue. There are no candidates for or against this issue. There are no debates during the elections when many other issues including relations with the United States are discussed. There are very valid reasons why Irans Syria policies are unpopular among the people of Iran. Despite Irans multibillion-dollar investment to save the Assad regime, Syrians in general are staying away from Iranian products. According to an interview with deputy head of Irans Chamber of Commerce Hossein Selahvarzi in November 2017, despite Iran allocating $1 billion in credit to Syrian companies to buy Iranian goods, and despite Iran having a preferential trade agreement with Syria, the Syrians are creating limitations so that we cannot export our products. He then went on to state that Syrias market is flooded with smuggled products from Turkey, which Syrians are inclined to buy. Iran also recently woke up to the rude awakening that when it comes to being awarded contracts in Syria, the Russians are trying to limit Irans participation. Furthermore, according to an article published Jan. 18, 2018, in the Ghanoon daily, Even in consortiums between the Russians and the Syrians, if Iran wants to play a part in the process of Syrias reconstruction, it has to negotiate with the Russians. Iran sent forces and invested billions in Syria to make sure Assad stays as the arbiter of all in Syria, including the Syrian economy. Now, it seems that when it comes to Syrias reconstruction, in some areas it's Putin who has the last word, not Assad. Is this why Iran went to war in Syria? Last but not least is the question of Hezbollah and Irans deterrence. Iranian hard-liners have always tried to justify support for Hezbollah by portraying it as a proxy force to defend Iran against Israel a powerful pro-Iran proxy that saves Iran from having to fight Israel directly. However, such logic has already lost part of its meaning as Israel has dropped more than 2,000 bombs on Iranian and pro-Iranian forces in Syria, while Hezbollahs approximately 100,000 missiles next door in Lebanon can only sit and watch. Therefore, Hezbollahs deterrence against Israel is clearly limited. If anything, Irans involvement in Syria has seriously eroded its deterrence posture since Israel keeps attacking yet Irans hands are tied and Russian air defenses in Syria sit back and do nothing. All of these factors are likely to bring up the question again in Tehran: Is the price being paid to support Assad worth our while? A rejuvenated and reinstated Zarif should use his supposedly stronger hand after his resignation to address this question. Moroccos first sugar refinery Cosumar confirmed that production in its new refinery in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, will start by the end of 2019, as planned. The confirmation was made by the firms CEO Mohammed Fikrat in a statement to the media Tuesday, in Casablanca. The establishment of the new white sugar refinery, named Durrah sugar refinery, was announced in 2016, as part of a joint venture between Cosumar and the Saudi partners Consolidated Brothers Company and Industrial Project Development Company, Wilmar, with Cosumar Group holding 43.27 % in the capital of the refinery. The nominal 850,000 tons of white sugar to be produced by the refinery are destined primarily for the Saudi market. The refinery location in Yanbu Port is close to major Saudi cities (Jeddah, Medina, Mecca). However, as MENAs needs exceed 4 million tons per year, exports to neighboring countries may be envisioned. Cosumars Morocco-based refinery exports 400,000 tons of sugar to 40 countries in Africa and in the MENA region. Exports represent between 20 to 25 percent of our turnover, Fikrat said, adding that Cosumar imports half of its raw sugar needs from Brazil and produces the rest locally. Part of its ambitious expansion plans, Cosumar Group set up with SOGECILE, a Guinean company, COMAGUIS (Compagnie Maroco-Guineenne de Sucre) to strengthen its commercial presence in West Africa through the packaging and marketing of white sugar in Guinea Conakry. Cosumar holds 55% of stakes in COMAGUIS, while the remaining 45% are held by SOGECILE. The first commercial operations of COMAGUIS are planned for the third quarter of 2019. The production unit, located 1km from the port of Conakry, will have a production capacity of 50,000 tons. According to a posting on Cosumars website, COMAGUIS products will bring a diversified and competitive supply of sugar conditioning to Guinean consumers and neighboring countries. COMAGUIS will provide a high quality sugar and modern packaging adapted to local needs. The new offer will be composed of granulated sugar and sugar molded pieces packaged in different formats. This investment confirms Cosumars strategic vision for the development and promotion of the export business, which will enable the Group to become a competitive regional agro-industrial player. Set up in 1929, Cosumar employs 1, 700 men and women. Paradoxically, it was the new Blue and White party of Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid that pushed the Labor Party back to its traditional positions on diplomatic affairs. It happened almost immediately after the big political explosion caused by the founding of the new party Feb. 21. This merger of center-left parties was the worst possible news that Labor Party Chairman Avi Gabbay could have asked for. And it happened just one day after the announcement that Maj. Gen. Tal Russo had joined Gabbay's party and taken the No. 2 slot on its list. Even before the creation of the rival Blue and White party, the Labor Partys campaign was foundering. It had single digits in the polls when Gabbay launched his campaign for prime minister. Then Gantz entered the fray with a successful launch that drove voters to him. For Gabbay, the future was already bleak. Then the merger of Gantz Israel Resilience party and Lapids Yesh Atid was nothing less than a death stroke for Labor. With voters seeing a real opportunity to take down Netanyahu, they rallied around the platform headed by Gantz and Lapid. As the two remaining parties on the left, Labor and Meretz would end up paying the price. In 2009, Meretz came very close to being kept out of the Knesset by the vote threshold. Its supporters switched allegiance to Tzipi Livni, who was then head of Kadima, believing that this would help her get elected prime minister. This is the exact same situation that the Labor Party is facing today. So, having no choice, Labor switched campaigns yet again. Now Gabbay as party chairman will have to navigate his party through stormy waters in an effort to bring back voters who fled Labor for the Blue and White party, while preventing even more voters from abandoning ship. At the same time, he cannot attack Gantz to his face, since that will make it seem like he is trying to sabotage a potential attempt to bring down Netanyahu, the one thing Labor Party supporters want most of all. Anyone who has kept track of Gabbays interviews and activity on social networks over the last weekend, done in coordination with opposition Chair Shelly Yachimovich (also of Labor), will see that Labor has returned to its natural element in just about everything it says, and in a big way. Its messages have been sharpened and honed in this new, ad hoc campaign. On the one hand, Labor puts its support behind Gantz, whom it regards as a natural ally and will support to form the next government. On the other hand, senior Labor Party members argue that voting for Labor is the only way to prevent Gantz from joining forces with the Likud. Campaigners call it strategic voting: A vote for Gantz is a vote for a government headed by Netanyahu, while a vote for Labor is a vote for a government headed by Gantz. In a Feb. 23 interview with Channel 12, Gabbay called a vote for the Labor Party an insurance policy for a government turnover. The greatest trauma faced by our camp is that the new parties that were created transferred their allegiance to Netanyahu. The very next day, Lapid himself provided them with a basis for this compelling argument. Kan News revealed a recording, in which he is heard saying that the Blue and White party would turn first to the Likud about forming a government. Lapid, who was charged with running the new partys campaign, later tweeted that the Blue and White party is the new Likud. In response, Yachimovich tweeted: Every vote for Gantz is a vote for ministers in a government headed by Netanyahu. Every vote for Labor is a vote for a government headed by Gantz. We are more committed to recommending Gantz to the president than Gantz and Lapid are committed to recommending Gantz. Do not cast your vote for a right-wing government. Haim Jelin was, until recently, a member of the Knesset for Yesh Atid, but he switched allegiances when he did not receive a realistic place on the partys new list and was assured a safe spot with the Labor Party. He also attacked the Blue and White party in a tweet: From the very beginning, what I liked about Yesh Atid was its call for a national unity government. Today I heard Lapid saying that Blue and White is the new Likud. Thats not a problem per se. Just speak clearly and say that we are on the right and not in the center. Then, on Feb. 25, President Donald Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner began to reveal the outline of the presidents new diplomatic policy for the Middle East. Gabbay was quick to praise the new policy, tweeting, Separation from the Palestinians on the basis of a two-state solution is our way as the Labor Party. Similarly, Yachimovich tweeted that the US plan aligns with Labor Party values. In contrast, the Blue and White party forbade its candidates from commenting on this or any other issue, so as not to scare away potential voters from the right. It has yet to determine what its messages will be, and even Gantz, as party chair, has yet to respond to this important initiative. Anyone following Gabbays Twitter account will see that he has honed his positions on almost every issue traditionally identified with the Labor Party. This includes support for the LGBTQ community, public transportation on the Sabbath and persistent support for Israels Arab population. In contrast, the new party formed by Gantz and Lapid has rejected the idea of joining forces with Arab parties to block a right-wing coalition. On Feb. 25, Gabbay participated in a joint Jewish-Arab conference organized by the Labor Party in Ein Harod. He summed up the event by saying, I am proud of the path taken by the Labor Party, which leads the way in advocating for coexistence between Jews and Arabs. Equality is a supreme value, and we are committed to it. As far as the Labor Party is concerned, it had no choice but to adopt this campaign. It is intended to rescue the party from being overwhelmed by a flood of votes for Gantz and Lapid. At the same time, however, this has also forced the Labor Party to sharpen and hone its messages. Over the last few years, its leaders, Yachimovich and then Gabbay, have attempted to appeal to the right and even sent signals to the settlers. Upon being elected chairman of the Labor Party, Gabbay announced that he knows how to draw Likud supporters. He even tried to ingratiate himself with this voter base with the controversial statement The left forgot what it means to be Jewish. Now the Labor party is returning to the left. Has the Labor found the formula it needs to keep its voter base and also embrace Gantz as its candidate for prime minister? The next round of polls will show how effective the current campaign is. Far-right party Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) and national-religious HaBayit HaYehudi announced Feb. 20 that they will run on one ticket at the upcoming April elections in a merger endorsed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But the addition of Otzma Yehudit to the bloc already formed between HaBayit HaYehudi and the National Union has caused a rift in the religious Zionist movement. Criticism among the movements more moderate circles focuses on the racist elements of the teachings of Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the Kach movement. The members of Otzma Yehudit regard themselves as his students. Danny Hirschberg, a former head of the prominent Bnei Akiva religious Zionist youth movement, said in an interview with Army Radio, I tried to stop the process. They have no place in the realm of religious Zionism. We will have to ask ourselves how we can explain to our youth that this ideology is far removed from our own. Another prominent religious Zionist, Rabbi Amnon Bazak, described the election of Kahane's followers to the Knesset as a desecration of Gods name. The sharpest critic of all has been Rabbi Benny Lau, who represents the leftist, liberal branch of religious Zionism. He did not mince words in interviews, on Facebook or in his synagogue. For instance, he posted on Facebook, The introduction of racial theory into the Knesset signifies the destruction of the Jewish Commonwealth. Violence against the non-Jewish residents of this land is a violation of our alliance and poses a challenge to the very settlement of this land. And yet the prime minister doesnt care. All he wants is to win the election. According to Lau, Otzma Yehudit is simply a new iteration of the Kach movement, which the Supreme Court disqualified from running for the Knesset in 1988 and which the government classified as a terrorist organization in 1994. He says that attempts are being made to soften the image of Kach so as to enable its entry into the mainstream through the historic National Religious Party (HaBayit HaYehudis predecessor), which once represented a moderate and inclusive school of religious Zionism. Kach was a racist movement with fascist overtones on Israels far right. It called for the expulsion of Arab citizens from Israeli territory and the enactment of racist legislation, as well as for the implementation of religious law in the state of Israel and the annexation of all parts of the Land of Israel. Lau also noted that former Likud Knesset member Michael Eitan compared laws proposed by Kahane to the Nazis Nuremberg Laws. Both dealt with the status of Jews and non-Jews, residential restrictions, bans on mixed marriages, separation of students, a ban on encounters between the youth of both groups and separate beaches. Then he added: Its terrible. These are teachings inundated with racism. We, the families of those people murdered in the name of the Nuremberg Laws, have an obligation to remain vigilant and keep our one and only state far from this racist climate. Most of Lau's criticism is directed at HaBayit HaYehudi for agreeing to form a bloc with Otzma Yehudit. Rabbi Chaim Druckman, a spiritual leader of HaBayit HaYehudi, told Al-Monitor the two parties should not have joined together and that the ways of Otzma Yehudit are not those of the central stream of religious Zionism. HaBayit HaYehudi Knesset member Nissan Slomiansky was involved in talks with Netanyahu over the partnership with Otzma Yehudit. He reported that the prime minister reminded everyone of the 1992 election, in which three separate parties on the right enabled the left bloc managed to form a narrow coalition that gave Israel the 1993 Oslo Accords. He said he and his colleagues realized that their party would not pass the Knesset entry threshold and that the bloc would lose the election if they failed to act. Otzma Yehudit and the various other groups in which its members are active tend to operate within the boundaries of Israeli law, but some of them tread the line in their efforts to separate Jews and non-Jews. For instance, the group Lehava, founded by Otzma Yehudit member Bentzi Gopstein, works to prevent assimilation and mixed marriages between Arab men and Jewish women. Gopstein has been arrested on suspicion of incitement and has used violent means to advance his groups objectives. Itamar Ben Gvir, another right-wing activist, argues that criticism of the partnership is rooted in hypocrisy. He said, I am not willing to accept criticism of us from people who are willing to sit with, speak with, and befriend those who advocate the elimination of the State of Israel and replacing it with an Arab state, as do [former Knesset member] Azmi Bishara and [Knesset member] Haneen Zoabi. The central principles of Otzma Yehudit include imposing full Israeli sovereignty over the Temple Mount and the removal of all restrictions on Jews praying in the compound. The platform also calls for full Israeli sovereignty over all the Land of Israel and arranging for enemies of Israel to obtain status in the Arab states surrounding us in other words, the expulsion of anyone who refuses to accept Israeli domination. Meretz appealed to the Central Election Committee to disqualify Otzma Yehudit from running in the April elections because of its record of racism and incitement, both of which are forbidden by law. Their appeal to the committee states that Otzma Yehudit continues in the path of the Kach movement, which was defined as a terrorist organization in the United States. But the Supreme Court had already rejected a similar appeal against Otzma Yehudit member Baruch Marzel just before the 2015 election. Netanyahus insistence that religious Zionist parties unite with Otzma Yehudit is detrimental to his own image, as is evident from the criticism over the last few days from Jewish organizations in the United States, including his allies in AIPAC. These critics remind him that while Kahane served in the Knesset in the 1980s, Likud members would walk out of the plenum whenever he spoke. The chair of Meretz, Knesset member Tamar Zandberg, described Netanyahu as the groomsman at a wedding between the Knesset and a Jewish terror group. The Likuds main response to this criticism is that the move was intended to save the right-wing coalition and prevent another Oslo disaster. Yet even Netanyahu, Slomiansky and others involved in the process must be aware of the steep cost, even if Otzma Yehudit operates within the law and draws a distinction between itself and the teachings of Kahane. The moral blemish will be hard to erase. Under the new moniker of Otzma Yehudit, the followers of Rabbi Meir Kahane are ostensibly no longer a bunch of wild weeds or a gang of fascist and racist thugs operating under the radar among their target audience. They are now at the forefront of a new Israeli discourse unlike anything the country has heard since the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 or Baruch Goldsteins massacre of Muslim worshippers the preceding year in Hebron. It was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who granted them this legitimacy, letting the genie out of the bottle with his own bare hands. On Feb. 3, it was the Likud, not Netanyahu in name, who called on the parties on the right to join forces with Otzma Yehudit. Netanyahu was prudent about that fearing general public reaction to the ultra-nationalistic group but once the unification between the national-religious HaBayit HaYehudi and Otzma Yehudit was finalized, Netanyahu returned to his old ways. Even the harsh reaction by his longtime admirers in AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, has not deterred him. Netanyahu went on the offensive, attacking the left and comparing Otzma Yehudit to the Arab parties in Israel. Bringing the right-wing parties under a single roof is illegitimate, but taking steps to bring in agitators and spies acting against Israel is legitimate. That is the height of absurdity, he claimed. The disciples of Kahane and admirers of the mass murderer Goldstein couldnt have found themselves a better advocate and defender. Meanwhile, Itamar Ben Gvir, an attorney and holder of the eighth slot on the Union of Right-Wing Parties list, has been appearing in television studios to disseminate his ideology. It should be remembered that days before Rabin was assassinated, Ben Gvir boasted that he had been able to steal the emblem from Rabins secure Cadillac. On the Kan network on Feb. 23 when asked on a politics show about the picture of Goldstein hanging in his home, Ben Gvir chose to play dumb, claiming that it is not because Goldstein murdered Arabs, but because he saved Jewish lives as a doctor. What this means is that a disciple of Kahane, a man whose movement was outlawed in Israel and is still considered a terrorist organization in the United States, has launched a campaign to grant legitimacy to a Jewish terrorist who murdered 29 Muslim worshippers and injured 125 others in the Cave of the Patriarchs. Once Ben Gvir did this, journalists identified with the right felt that they had greater freedom to do the same. Thus, Maariv legal correspondent Avishai Greenzweig tweeted Feb. 25, There is something that no one dares to say about the massacre committed by Baruch Goldstein in the Cave of the Patriarchs. What he did was a serious crime, but lets remember that Hebron has been a hornets nest of terrorists for the past 100 years. The methodology of terrorism was invented by the Arabs of Hebron, who never once held back, as individuals and as a group, in their desires and attempts to destroy us. Goldstein responded to them in language that they understand. In response, Likud campaign organizer Avishai Ivri wrote, Hes 100 percent right. What do you think? That he got up one morning and decided to kill Arabs? No, he lived under constant attack, with his life always at risk. Does the fact that he acted unacceptably change all that? In the opposing camp is Rabbi Benny Lau, a religious Zionist and nephew of former Chief Rabbi Yisrael Lau. He claims that Kahanes Kach movement, whose legacy Otzma Yehudit carries, is saturated with racism akin to the Nazis Nuremberg Laws. Lau bases his argument on a comparison made by former Likud Knesset member Michael Eitan, who did, in fact, find that the legislation proposed by Kahane himself was remarkably similar to the Nuremberg Laws: There were two legal systems dealing with the status of Jews and non-Jews, residential restrictions, bans on mixed marriages and extra-marital relations, the separation of students, prohibitions on social encounters between the two groups, separate beaches, etc. Yet Ben Gvir has not only been invited into the countrys television studios but into its schools as well. He participated in an election panel on Feb. 26 at the Sharett High School in Netanya. Events like this are a routine occurrence in high schools across Israel, but in this particular case, it almost blew up in everyones face when Labor Party candidate Emilie Moatti, who was also scheduled to be on the panel, walked out to protest Ben Gvirs participation. Moatti stated, I have no interest in being on a panel with a representative who participated in the incitement that led to Prime Minister Rabins assassination. I will not stay here, and I call on all of you to walk out too and refuse to listen to what he has to say. While attending a conference organized by the Israel Institute for Democracy at the Leyada School in Jerusalem, another Labor candidate, Knesset member Shelly Yachimovich, learned that Ben Gvirs brother was in attendance. I despise you, you racists! she lashed out. I feel deep scorn for you. Do you have any other brothers at home to send to other events like this? Youre a bunch of racists. Youre disgraceful! Shame on you! Any other country would have spat you out of the political system. Not only has the political system failed to spit them out, Netanyahu has opened the door for them and granted them legitimacy. For their part, they are acting just like Netanyahu by casting Arab Knesset members as enemies of Israel. After Knesset members from Meretz, Labor, and Yesh Atid asked the Central Election Committee to disqualify Otzma Yehudits candidates, Ben Gvir wrote to Knesset member Stav Shaffir, stating, Ever since you sent that ridiculous letter [to the Central Election Committee], people havent stopped talking about us, and our campaign has gathered momentum. You did not ask to disqualify [Arab Knesset members] Zoabi and Tibi, two enemies of Israel, proving to everyone how hypocritical you are. Keep it up, Stav. Keep it up. Kahanes disciples are, indeed, gaining momentum, especially when compared to how they were doing before Netanyahu granted them legitimacy. They have suddenly become the face of HaBayit HaYehudi. They are engaged in the political discourse. They are invited to election debates. They overshadow their peers on the far right, who are seemingly moderate compared to them. Established right-wing journalists Kalman Liebskind and Erel Segal, who have a daily show on Kan 11, have wondered aloud how Bezalel Smotrich has become right lite. Smotrich is the Knesset member who once said that his wife would be unwilling to share a room in a maternity ward with an Arab mother giving birth. If I were campaigning for HaBayit HaYehudi, I would come out with a billboard that said, Only Smotrich can bring peace, Liebskind joked on their show. Yet just two weeks ago he was the symbol of extremism. Segal smiled and said, In 20 years time, theyll miss Ben Gvir just as much as they miss [moderate Likud Knesset member] Benny Begin today. In an official letter made public early in the morning of Feb. 27, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani put an end to speculation, rejecting the abrupt resignation by his Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The much anticipated letter addressed Zarif's complaints about his ministry's "integrity and credibility" in running Iran's foreign affairs. Rouhani recognized the veteran politician's concerns, stressing that all state institutions must work in "full coordination" with the Foreign Ministry for diplomatic activities. "I do not accept it," Rouhani said about Zarif's resignation, which he found against Iran's "interests." The president said he saw himself in the same boat with the foreign minister as both face domestic pressure, but expressed confidence that "we will pass through this tough stage." The best proof of Zarif's success, according to Rouhani, was that Iran's "sworn enemies" such as "the Zionist regime" had celebrated his resignation, referencing a tweet by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Within an hour of the letter's release to the media, pictures went viral of a smiling Zarif sharing an umbrella with Rouhani as the two waited to welcome a visiting Armenian delegation led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Tehran's Sa'dabad Palace. After Zarif's resignation announcement on Instagram late on Feb. 25, Iran was overwhelmed with reactions from officials and the public. But the one that came last probably counted most. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Quds Force the overseas branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps expressed his open support for the foreign minister. Zarif had told the press that his resignation was triggered by his exclusion from meetings between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Iranian leadership including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Rouhani. It ignited a blame game over who sidelined the foreign minister. Soleimani explained that it evidently happened due to a lack of coordination in the president's office. The Quds Force commander's presence in the meetings with Assad had served as the basis for arguments that he was becoming the most influential figure in managing Iran's regional policies and that Zarif had fallen from grace. But Soleimani reassured everyone that Zarif is in charge of the Islamic Republic's foreign policy with the full backing of the supreme leader. "Rouhani did not accept the resignation [and] Zarif is back. Prudence worked. Commander Soleimani also just proved he is dignified," wrote conservative university professor and political scientist Amir Mohebian. In addition to senior officials and over 150 parliamentarians who rallied behind Zarif and urged his return, many ordinary Iranians also took part in social media campaigns for his comeback. There were also hard-liners who used hashtags such as "Zarif escapes." One researcher pointed out that 88% of the accounts that tweeted that hashtag in Persian had been created since July 2018, suggesting bot activity. Predictably, the top diplomat's resignation hit the front pages of newspapers published before Rouhani's decision to keep Zarif in office. The papers speculated about what would happen next, what drove Zarif toward resignation and how his decision was received across the political spectrum. Aftab, a daily with pro-Reformist leanings, openly listed those at home and abroad who were "overexcited" to see Zarif's back. It grouped Iranian hard-liners with Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying both sides joyously sung one chorus in celebration of the departure. While Etemad and Arman, two other Reformist papers, urged Zarif to stay, the approach taken by conservative Javan was critical. It called the foreign minister's move an untimely decision rooted in personal anger, shifting the media attention away from close ally Assad's Tehran visit. Javan also claimed that Mahmoud Vaezi, the president's chief of staff, had decided to keep Zarif in the dark regarding the Syrian leader's trip. But the toughest line was taken by Vatan-e Emrooz, known for its biting and often single-word headlines against the Rouhani government. The daily attacked the administration for performing a "Kids' Show," borrowing the title of an Iranian TV program in which children are kept busy playing while their parents fight for a prize. The byline claimed that Zarif had written a letter of strong protest to Rouhani over the latter's failure to invite him to sit down with Assad. Vatan, too, threw the ball in the presidential office's court, saying that Rouhani's inner circle had directed the entire drama and the supreme leader's office had nothing to do with it. Although the diplomatic controversy over Assad's visit was short lived, it did leave one victim behind. Reformist paper Ghanoon has been temporarily banned after its Feb. 26 front-page headline about the Syrian president's trip was found outrageous by judicial authorities. The daily described Assad as an "uninvited guest" or "gate crasher." The ban has drawn criticism from several journalists who accuse the judiciary of exercising double standards and refusing to impose penalties on hard-line outlets. "In a matter of hours, Assad's visit cost Iran a foreign minister and a newspaper," tweeted one user. While a full explanation of what prompted Zarif's decision to depart may never be offered, Iran's top diplomat is now back to continue facing challenges from both domestic opponents and foreign adversaries. Above all, he has to go on shuttling among camps to keep the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action alive. The sudden resignation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has predictably hit Iran as nothing short of an earthquake. However, before engaging in analysis of which dynamics are at play and what the potential ramifications may be it is useful to consider the procedural dimensions. Zarif posted his resignation on his personal Instagram page at midnight, local time, on Monday. He expressed gratitude to the dear and honorable Iranian people for the last 67 months, apologizing for his incapacity to continue serving in his post. Zarif has reportedly submitted an actual letter of resignation, as is required, to President Hassan Rouhani. The president can now either accept or reject the request. In the wake of Zarifs Instagram post, several lawmakers including fierce critics of Zarif claimed that the foreign minister has submitted his resignation up to 14 times since becoming chief diplomat back in 2013. While these claims ought to be taken with a grain of salt, the reality is probably that this is not the first time Zarif has sought to step down, for whatever reason. In the meantime, Rouhani has yet to formally reject any resignation request. Indeed, amid rumors in Tehran that Rouhani had accepted the resignation, Mahmoud Vaezi, the presidential chief of staff, took to Twitter to strongly reject such claims. Moreover, in an address at the central bank early Tuesday, broadcast on state television, Rouhani praised Zarif and the Foreign Ministry as combatants in the front against the United States, alongside the central bank and the Oil Ministry. No mention was made of any resignation. Instead, Vaezi took to Twitter once again, this time to claim that Rouhanis remarks were clear evidence that the president was wholly satisfied with Zarifs performance, and that the Islamic Republic has one foreign policy and one foreign minister, hinting at the chief diplomats apparent discontent with having been iced out of a recent meeting with Bashar al-Assad. There is also an additional and perhaps more important dimension to consider: Even if Rouhani accepts the resignation, the reality is that Zarif will need another signature in order to step down. Tradition has it that the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, must sign off on four ministerial posts, including foreign minister. As such, even if Rouhani accepts the resignation, Zarif still needs Khameneis approval. The latter is a particularly salient dimension since Zarif is widely known to enjoy a close relationship with the supreme leader, who has stood behind him since day one. Some local news sites claimed late Tuesday that a high-ranking official has rejected the resignation, alluding to Khamenei. Thus, mindful that it is still unclear whether the president and the supreme leader will accept the resignation request, it is useful to consider the dynamics that may be at play. As senior officials have made clear to Al-Monitor, the presidencys failure to inform Zarif that Assad was in town on Monday was the apparent straw that broke the camels back. Furious with the presidential offices apparent overlooking of protocol for visiting foreign dignitaries and particularly with a rare visit such as Assad's Zarif reportedly told Entekhab news agency that after photos of todays meeting, he had no credibility left. In this vein, and amid a massive backlash among both elites and the public urging him to stay in his post #ZarifStay, in Persian, is trending on Twitter Zarif told media on Tuesday that his move was aimed at protecting the integrity and position of the Foreign Ministry in handling Irans foreign relations. Given that Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani was present at Rouhani and Khameneis meetings with Assad, it could be argued that the issue at hand centers on discontent with the Foreign Ministrys level of authority, particularly in the aftermath of the emboldening of hard-liners amid growing US pressure, and Europes failure to take tangible steps to deflect that pressure. But there is more to the equation than Soleimani. The president is, under the Iranian Constitution, head of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) the body tasked with making decisions on major matters of state, albeit in the shadow of Khameneis veto power. Previously, Rouhani led the SNSCs powerful secretariat, from the inception of the council in 1989 until 2005, when Irans diplomacy with Europe to secure a nuclear deal collapsed, resulting in the rise of hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mindful of this backdrop, and given Rouhanis background as a moderate, although right of center, the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has engendered a situation in which SNSC Secretary Ali Shamkhani a Rouhani appointee who doubles as one of Khameneis two personal representatives on the council has risen as an influential and tough voice, perhaps at the expense of Zarif. Adding to the palace intrigue is Vaezis longstanding ambitions to shape the countrys diplomacy, having been on the cusp of becoming foreign minister back in 2013. Since becoming chief of staff in Rouhanis second term, Vaezi has accumulated power, thus enraging Reformists and Cabinet ministers alike by limiting access to the president. He has also allied with government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht to marginalize Reformist First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri, and, in addition to accompanying Rouhani on diplomatic ventures, has made multiple solo high-profile visits to places like Turkey. Indeed, well-informed sources in Iran suggested to Al-Monitor in private conversations that while Zarif and Vaezi have been friends for decades, tensions have increased regarding what could be seen as Vaezis encroachment on the Foreign Ministrys domain. Meanwhile, Khameneis foreign policy advisers have also increasingly entered the diplomatic fray. Ali Akbar Velayati, a former foreign minister and longtime mentor to Zarif, has been visibly involved in Irans diplomacy, particularly when it comes to Russia and Syria. Last year, Velayatis parallel diplomacy is said to have made Alexander Lavrientiev, Vladimir Putins special envoy to Syria, feel emboldened enough to come to Iran for meetings without having informed even Rouhani. More recently, Kamal Kharazi another foreign minister who advises Khamenei in his capacity as head of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations has increasingly gotten involved in outreach around the world in the aftermath of the US withdrawal from the JCPOA. As such, it is evident that US pressure and, to some extent, internal politics have combined to fracture the Foreign Ministrys role as the chief implementer of Iranian foreign policy: and Zarif appears to no longer be having any of it. In this context, Zarifs maneuvering is likely the last resort of a man focused on maintaining cohesion in Irans diplomatic apparatus including through the firing of a loud warning shot against the consequences of the fracturing of Irans diplomacy. For these consequences may include the danger of Iran being perceived as weak and then taken advantage of by outside powers, whether by Russia, China or Europe. As such, what may ultimately be at play is brinkmanship albeit genuine brinkmanship by an astute tactician who, having perfected the art in his dealings with Irans friends and foes abroad, has finally decided to deploy this same skill set at home. In this equation, the most important statement of the past 48 hours may not have been Rouhanis defense of Zarif but rather Vaezis apparent climbdown when he publicly stated: The Islamic Republic of Iran has one foreign policy and one foreign minister. That the debacle over Zarifs apparent resignation has only empowered the Rouhani administration is the cherry on top. Currently, the Rouhani administration is engaged in a war of words with certain parties who are doing everything in their power to undermine the elected government, whether through sabotaging the passage of two bills to put Iran in compliance with the Financial Action Task Force, or their poisoning of domestic discourse through relentless attacks on Zarif and other members of the Cabinet. The reactions of Rouhani and Khamenei in the coming hours and days will ultimately decide Zarif's fate. If the foreign minister remains in his post which appears likely he will emerge from this crisis no longer as a foreign-educated outsider chiefly recognized for his focus on Irans foreign relations. Rather, the new Zarif will have shown that he is capable of turning his own perceived weaknesses into a source of strength, and, in doing so, that he can hold his own on the domestic political stage, too. The surprise resignation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has sparked major debate in Iran regarding the reasons behind the departure. Zarif said his resignation was intended to protect the Foreign Ministrys integrity, but he offered no other explanation, leaving room for a variety of speculations, many of them focused on Zarif's perception that he lacks the authority to execute his powers. Reformist journalist Emadeddin Baghi noted that "Zarif's message was clear: People vote in elections for a certain political program but the unelected parallel organizations within the state hijack the votes to impose the very policies which people reject in their ballot papers." He predicted that more of President Hassan Rouhani's ministers may follow suit and resign as they find themselves powerless in their positions. Zarif's absence at recent meetings in Tehran with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were due to a "lack of administrative coordination," an unnamed Foreign Ministry source told Entekhab. In response, pro-Reform sociologist Hamid Reza Jalaeipour attacked those who kept "Zarif, the representative of the country's official diplomacy, behind the door." However, in his first interview following the announced departure, Zarif ruled out personal reasons, and noted that he made the decision to "defend the position of the Foreign Ministry," whose powers, he said, had been violated. According to Mostafa Danandeh, a pro-government journalist, the foreign minister did the right thing by resigning after he found himself stripped of his powers. Danandeh expressed his wish that Rouhani would resign for the same reason. Zarif announced his resignation via Instagram, while other officials, including fellow Cabinet members and parliamentarians, also took to social media to present their views. Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, already under fire from hard-liners and facing prosecution for not implementing restrictions on social media, urged Zarif to remain strong and consider not resigning. The same was conveyed by Masoumeh Ebtekar, the vice president for women and family affairs. While parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani has yet to react, his deputy Ali Motahari said no one was qualified enough to replace Zarif. Meanwhile, 150 lawmakers, making up more than half of parliament, urged in a public letter to Rouhani to reject Zarif's resignation. Whether the president would accept Zarif's decision remained the big question. In a Feb. 26 speech, Rouhani refused to directly touch upon the issue, merely expressing gratitude to the foreign minister for fighting the United States on "the front line." But that did not mean that all hope was lost. Zarif's senior aide, Hossein Jaberi Ansari, wrote in response to a comment on social media that the president would not accept the resignation. In his last interview before announcing his resignation, Zarif told moderate paper Jomhouri Eslami that his foreign policy decisions were made in full coordination with the supreme leader. But Ayatollah Ali Khamenei refused to address the diplomat's resignation in a speech he made the day after the announcement. In the same interview, Zarif lashed out at critics of controversial bills related to making Iran compliant with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The passage of the compliance bills is required to keep Western financial transactions with Iran running. Now those bills are gridlocked. For months, Zarif and his diplomatic team have tried to convince Iran's hard-liners to pass the bills and not provide the United States with any more excuses to pressure Iran. In spite of parliament's approval, the legislation is now in the hands of the Expediency Council, whose members are appointed by the supreme leader. Now, the pressure from hard-liners to block the bills is also believed to have served as an impetus for the foreign minister's resignation. Many Iranian hard-liners, who have called for Zarif's head, could not help but embrace his resignation. "It heralds the collapse of the Rouhani government," wrote conservative cleric and former parliamentarian Hamid Rasaee. "After losing hope in the ratification of the FATF-related bills, he made that decision and it is now time for the judiciary to impose a travel ban on him, and launch proceedings over his role in the reimposition of sanctions as well as the presence of spies in his negotiating team." A merciless critic of the foreign minister and the nuclear deal, hard-line TV host Vahid Yaminpour likened the resignation to an "ejection from an already falling airplane." Ultraconservative parliamentarian Javad Karimi Ghodousi expressed a similar joy. Known for claiming access to confidential intelligence, Ghodousi said that the resignation has already been finalized and that next in line is Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh. Ghodousi is also said to have offered sweets an Iranian tradition to celebrate good news to fellow parliamentarians over Zarif's departure. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also expressed satisfaction: Zarif is gone, good riddance, he tweeted hours after the announcement. Staunch domestic critics of the Islamic Republic were outraged in recent months over many statements Zarif had made in public while abroad. Critics deemed his comments as lies meant to promote the international standing of the Iranian establishment. Among his most controversial comments, Zarif said Iran held no prisoners of conscience and never persecuted members of the outlawed Bahai faith. Zarif also said Iran was proud of being under pressure if that was the price for supporting Palestinians and the Syrian government. "The man who said we will survive did not survive himself," wrote some of those critics, in a sarcastic reference to Zarif's remarks. Still, many on social media expressed gratitude to the veteran politician, hailing him as a national hero. They lamented his departure and expressed fear that his resignation would be a repeat of history, which has seen Iranian men of sincere service removed. They drew similarities between Zarif and Mohammad Mossadegh, the democratically elected prime minister who was ousted in 1953 following a US-British coup. But perhaps this repeat of history is not what Rouhani wants. His close aide, Mahmoud Vaezi, who is believed to have significant leverage over Rouhani's decisions, tweeted that, in Rouhani's view, "Iran has only one foreign policy and one foreign minister," suggesting that the president will not let Zarif step down so easily. Jared Kushner, President Donald Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara today on the most recent leg of a Middle East tour to promote his upcoming Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative. Erdogans own son-in-law, Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, was reportedly present at the meeting, which ran for two hours and was closed to the press. Why it matters: Erdogan has styled himself as a champion of Palestinian rights, calling Jerusalem a red line and accusing Israel of genocide. Kushner ought to be something of a nemesis, since he is widely believed to have pushed Trumps decision to relocate the US Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Israels ambassador to Ankara was expelled soon after when more than 60 Palestinians were killed in ensuing protests. Turkey has close ties to Hamas and is widely believed to host operatives of the militant group. These reportedly include some of the prisoners freed as part of a 2011 deal between Hamas and Israel in exchange for captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Analysts speculate that Kushner will urge Erdogan to use his leverage over the group to help move the US peace plan forward. But Western diplomatic sources speaking on condition of anonymity told Al-Monitor that the profound distrust between Ankara and Tel Aviv makes it highly unlikely that the Israelis would want Turkey involved in any way at this stage. All in the family: Private face time with Trumps most trusted lieutenant, however, will have given Erdogan an opportunity to lobby on a number of files that are poisoning ties. These include Turkeys unsuccessful attempts to have Pennsylvania-based imam Fethullah Gulen extradited over his alleged masterminding of the abortive 2016 putsch, continued US support for the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) and US reluctance to join Turkey in going after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over his alleged role in the October murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. In a weekend interview, Erdogan said direct contact with Trump allowed the two leaders to solve their problems more efficiently. Presumably, their respective sons-in-law can do the same. Whats next: Regardless of the outcome, Kushners meeting with Erdogan allows the Turkish president to project the image of a world leader courted by global heavyweights ahead of local elections March 31. The real prize would be a green light from Washington for Turkish forces to enter the contested northern Syrian town of Manbij, where YPG militants continue to hold sway. Talks are continuing on the Manbij road map and a planned US-enforced safe zone in northern Syria, but Washington and Ankara remain at odds over the implementation and purpose of these. Know more: Read about Turkeys rocky relations with Israel here, and the booming trade between the two antagonists here. -Amberin Zaman ANKARA, Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to reverse the results of next months municipal elections, saying that if voters elect mayors linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the Kurdish insurgent group, he will promptly dismiss them and appoint civil servants to run their towns. In a campaign speech in the central Anatolian town of Yozgat, Erdogan also said that PKK militants had infiltrated the alliance of the Republican Peoples Party (CHP) and the Iyi, or Good Party, in order to work as election observers and rig the results in the oppositions favor. The two biggest opposition parties, the CHP and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), condemned Erdogans allegation of PKK links. We will lay a criminal complaint against Recep Tayyip Erdogan, CHP deputy chairman Ozgur Ozel said in a tweet Tuesday. The president had tarnished our partys reputation by linking it to terrorist organizations. The HDP, a pro-Kurdish party that polled third in last years general elections, said Erdogans government has nothing to offer this country anymore. They only want to strengthen their hand by criminalizing the HDP, the party said in a statement from its press office. The HDP took the votes of 6 million people in the last election. We dont accept the claim that a party which gained votes from all parts of society is taking orders from Qandil, the party added, referring to the Iraqi mountain range where the PKK is headquartered. Curiously neither the CHP nor the HDP referred directly to Erdogans vowing to remove mayors whom he deems to be tied to the PKK. The threat applies to the HDP, which has seen the government dismiss many of its elected mayors in the Kurdish-majority towns of southeast Turkey. For instance, in Diyarbakir, the virtual Kurdish capital of Turkey, Gultan Kisanak and Firat Anli were elected co-mayors for the HDPs sister party, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), in the 2014 elections. But the government removed them in 2016 and the city is now run by Ankara appointees. One of the criticisms of the governments policy of ousting elected officials is that the mayors alleged PKK links cannot be challenged in court. The HDP has been urging people to vote for them on March 31 so they can regain control of the town councils taken over by Ankara. Erdogan said: Now they say they will take back the towns where the trustees are appointed. If my citizens give you the opportunity to get them back, and if you send the facilities given by the state to Qandil, we will immediately appoint our trustees again. The HDP is well aware of the risk of Erdogans expelling the mayors elected on March 31, the partys co-leader, Pervin Buldan, told foreign correspondents in Istanbul on Feb. 14. To overcome this, we need even bigger [electoral] victories, Buldan said. We believe that strong results on March 31 will show the world that we are not accepting the governments threats. A retired professor of politics at Ankara University, Dogu Ergil, said Erdogans threat to expel mayors will not influence the polls. Erdogan has already lost the Kurds, so it wont affect the Kurdish vote, he told Al-Monitor. Traditionally most Kurds vote for the HDP and BDP, but about a third of Kurds vote for Erdogans Justice and Development Party (AKP). Ergil predicts the AKP will poll less than a third of the Kurds on March 31. In the past three years, Erdogan has been against anything that is Kurdish, he said. Asked to give examples, Ergil referred to Erdogans objection to HDP politicians using the word Kurdistan, despite the fact that Erdogan once used this word in parliament. He referred to Erdogans revoking the immunity of HDP legislators and putting them in prison on charges of terrorism as happened with the previous leaders of the HDP, Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag. And Ergil pointed to Erdogans strenuous opposition to the administration set up by Syrian Kurds in northern Syria and the Iraqi Kurds referendum on independence in 2017. He hates any positive development in other parts of the Kurdish world, Ergil said. Erdogan and his spokesmen frequently declare that they are not against the Kurds as a people, but they are against PKK terrorism and PKK sympathizers in the HDP. Ergil said Kurds do not read his actions that way. These moves are received as anti-Kurdish, not as anti-HDP, he said. In a separate development today, Turkish truck drivers parked their transport trucks next to Turkeys border gates with Greece and Bulgaria to protest the imminent execution in Saudi Arabia of a colleague convicted of possession of drugs. The drivers did not block the roads at Kapi Kale and Hamza Beyli, on the Bulgarian border, or at Ipsala, on the Greek border, but they succeeded in drawing attention to the plight of Remzi Cicek, who is due to be executed Wednesday. One of our brothers detained in Saudi Arabia for four years has been sentenced to death, driver Burhan Oguz said on CNNTurk. Wearing a wool hat and anorak, Oguz added: We believe that he is innocent. We want our brother to be taken down from the gallows. CNNTurk screened pictures of Cicek, an elderly man with gray hair. On a happier note, CNNTurk broadcast footage of voters giving Erdogan homemade cakes to celebrate his 65th birthday today. He was campaigning in northern Turkey and the well-wishers approached him as he stepped out of his car. Clearly touched by the gesture, we saw the president eating a piece of cake and responding graciously to people who wanted to congratulate him. But then CNNTurk went one step further. Repeatedly during the day, independent of the birthday-cake footage, the channel screened a still picture of Erdogan with a caption saying it was his 65th birthday and giving the hashtag #NiceSenelereSeninle (To many years to come with you). The image spoke volumes about CNNTurk, a privately owned channel that used to have a reputation for political independence. Egyptian seaports and airports are on high alert following warnings of infiltration by foreign nationals fleeing Syria and Iraq, having joined and fought with extremist groups there such as Islamic State (IS), Jabhat al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham. Officials have become sufficiently concerned about these radicalized elements to order security forces to enhance precautionary procedures for regulating the entry of foreign nationals. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi gave the issue top priority at the recent Munich Security Conference. Addressing the session Feb. 16, Sisi asked, Who brought foreign fighters to the Arab countries, and who supports them? He called on the international community to step up efforts to reveal the identities of the extremists financial backers. Noting that foreigners had been found among extremists killed in counter-terrorism operations in Egypt, Sisi emphasized the importance of not interfering in other countries' affairs. Two days after Sisis speech, on Feb. 18 an extremist targeted the Darb al-Ahmar district in Cairo, near Al-Azhar Mosque, but when intercepted by security forces blew himself up, killing three policemen. According to the Ministry of Interior, the suicide bomber held US citizenship. Egyptian Interior Minister Mahmoud Tawfik on Jan. 11 ordered security forces to broaden their circle of suspicion and strictly monitor foreigners' entry with the goal of arresting suspected extremists and foiling plans for attack. The standard procedure of circulating data on known suspects is being intensified at all ports of entry. Egypt has experienced a number of deadly attacks by religious extremists in recent years. The Sinai Peninsula has been plagued by turmoil and unrest since the 25 January Revolution in 2011. The security situation worsened after the toppling of President Mohammed Morsi, an Islamist, in 2013. Among the attacks, extremists using guns and grenades targeted the al-Rawda Mosque in North Sinai in November 2017, claiming the lives of more than 300 people. No group accepted responsibility, but a tribal leader, Essa al-Kharafin claimed in a TV interview that nine of the attackers had been foreigners. In February 2018, an Egyptian official announced that security forces had killed 10 members of a terrorist cell at a house in el-Arish, North Sinai's provincial capital. Egyptian armed forces launched a counterterrorism campaign, Comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018, last February and arrested some 400 people, including foreigners. Amid warnings of foreign infiltration, the issue has been raised about the need to strike a balance between attempts to boost tourism and tracking potential terrorists trying to enter the country on tourist visas. Ahmed Madian, a member of the parliaments Defense and National Security Committee, spoke to Al-Monitor about efforts to track foreign militants, which he described as quite challenging. The issue of terrorists infiltration is not new, but, unfortunately, this problem has reached alarming levels, Madian said. It is very hard to thoroughly monitor all borders. For instance, there is the vast area of desert [straddling the border of] Egypt and Libya, and many terrorists and armaments enter the country through these borders. As IS militants continue to flee Iraq and Syria, they are moving into the African desert, especially in Libya. Egypt is not fabricating stories about foreign militants, Madian emphasized. We have crystal clear evidence, as many foreigners have already been arrested and killed in counter-terrorism operations in Sinai. On Jan. 11, Egyptian authorities arrested and deported two Germans of Egyptian background, Issa Mohammed Abdel-Ghany Ibrahim al-Sabagh and Mahmoud Amr Mohamed Ezzat Abdel Aziz, on the suspicion that they are IS militants. Egyptian officials claim that Sabbagh, who arrived at Luxor airport claiming to be visiting his grandfather, possessed a compass and maps of North Sinai and that he intended to join extremist cells active there. Abdel Aziz, a student at the Islamic University of Medina, arriving at the Cairo airport from Saudi Arabia and claiming to be visiting his grandparents, was arrested based on information that he had attempted to join IS. Commenting on the impact of such moves as deporting terror suspects on tourism, Madian said it is terrorism, not enhanced monitoring, that is harming the tourism sector. According to Ahram Online, tourism in North Sinai has been hard hit with shop owners citing a decline of 60-70%. Terrorists want to destabilize the country and send the message that Egypt is not safe, Madian said. Definitely, Egypt is open for all people of all nationalities as long as they meet the security conditions. All countries worldwide have their entry rules. These rules do not undermine tourists' movement. Rather, they seek to secure them. Mohsen Hefzy, a security expert and former assistant to the interior minister, stressed the importance of combining efforts through enhanced international cooperation to prevent extremists from entering the country. According to my information, Egypt is now coordinating with some countries to exchange comprehensive data on suspects and terrorists, Hefzy told Al-Monitor. Egypt is to send the names of those terrorists to warn other countries and to take legal actions against them if they enter Egypt. Also, it will receive names of persons suspected by other countries to prohibit their entry in case of their attempt to infiltrate the country. With terrorism an issue worldwide, Hefzy said, It is time to exchange information to help undermine the moves of terrorists. AL-FAKIHA, Lebanon Art is not a priority for many in the northern Bekaa Valley. But we see art as the solution, especially in a region where we have a high level of crime and violence, Mehdi Yehya, founder of Peace of Art (PoA), told Al-Monitor. People, especially teenagers, see arms they see conflict. The ideal person for them is someone holding a gun, a killer. But we are trying to give another example, someone holding a guitar. PoA, founded in 2016, is both a humanitarian organization and a fine arts academy. It aims to bring together people from different religions, sects, nationalities and backgrounds in the tumultous Baalbek district in the northern Bekaa Valley. PoA established the first, and only, art school in the region, in the small northern Bekaa Valley town of al-Fakiha, with volunteers teaching over 200 students a month. The courses include photography, film-making, painting and dance, as well as musical instruments such as the oud, a Middle Eastern and North African stringed instrument, guitar and piano. We started with three small rooms and we faced many challenges, Yehya said. Because in this region we dont have art teachers or music teachers, it was one of the first places where people gathered from different [backgrounds] and nationalities. The Bekaa Valley is a long, flat and fertile valley, with the snowcapped Mount Lebanon on its west and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains forming the Syrian border on its east. The region has been an agricultural hub going back to antiquity, and despite its diversity, villages are often isolated from each other based on sect. Yehya, whose hometown al-Ain is only a short walk from al-Fakiha, explained, There are no public spaces here, especially where different sects and genders can mingle. We were interested in finding a solution as citizens of the region. PoA was the solution to discrimination in the small villages. We have Sunnis and Shiites, and Christians from different sects [in the region], but the Syrian refugees were a new experience and something we are not adapting to easily. Syrians and people from the outside are subjected to racism, he said. In 2011, following the outbreak of the Syrian conflict many Syrians fled across the border into the Bekaa Valley, where it is estimated that Syrian refugees make up half of the population there. This demographic change let to tension between the local and refugee communities, which was only heightened by the large number of Syrians settling in Lebanon. In 2014, the town of Arsal, neighboring al-Fakiha, was seized by the Islamic State, before being pushed back by Lebanese forces, kicking off years of conflict between extremist groups and the military. This climaxed in the 2017 Qalamoun offensive that saw Hezbollah and Syrian government forces, and later the Lebanese military, repel extremist groups from the border region. During the conflict, PoA started the project Art Against Discrimination. This ongoing project has brought together 100 young people from around the Bekaa Valley with refugees from both Syria and Palestine, to partake in a series of intensive art workshops culminating in a photography exhibition, short film and the formation of a band. Yehya explained that the project, like the organization itself, seeks to show the importance of art in fighting violence and discrimination, especially fighting extremism and extreme violence in the region. The project is not limited to the sectarian conflict but also tackles gender-based violence and inequality. Hiba Soukarieh, who grew up in al-Fakiha and volunteered for the project in the summer of 2018, told Al-Monitor, The north Bekaa region is very strict for girls. There is a lot of gender discrimination between girls and boys, and I think that by working with PoA I am starting to break down this discrimination. She said, I was isolated from other people. If I talked or spoke loud, people would say, 'You are a girl, dont be like this.' I dont feel free outside. But here I feel very free. PoA also offered Soukarieh, 16, a way to follow her passion. I have many hobbies, but I love music very much, especially the violin. I started to attend some classes and learn to play the violin in order to achieve my dream. Soukarieh added that she hopes the activities of PoA will change misconceptions about the people who live in the region, and not reduce the population to the violence that surrounds them. I live right next to death and so many conflicts, Soukarieh said. When I go to Beirut, they say, She is from Baalbek, she only knows weapons and drugs. But I am not like that, Soukarieh added, referring to the cannabis and illegal drug trade in the Bekaa Valley. She noted, I like art and I know how to communicate with people normally. I want to get rid of these [negative] ideas [about the Bekaa Valley] and I found PoA was very suitable for that. Despite the opportunities PoA offers, Yehya worries that many students like Soukarieh will not remain in the northern Bekaa Valley. We dont have musicians and music teachers from the region, or a very small number, Yehya said. We are trying to get people to come back when they finish their studies. But it is very difficult because there are no places to work. It is not easy to tell young people to come back to their home town, especially when they see how people are living elsewhere. Even for me it is not easy. However, there is hope that the current students at PoA will become the teachers of the next generation, to continue guiding young people in art. Mohammad Shreif, who took classes at PoA himself and now teaches guitar, told Al-Monitor, It is still hard to find a place where we can play, improve ourselves, learn and show people [our music]. But [the success of] PoA shows that people want this. Over the last four months, at least seven students, some of whom have never held an instrument before, take Shreif's weekly guitar classes. Musically speaking they are improving in terms of rhythm and time measures," Shreif said. "In terms of mindfulness, the music is getting into their head, and they are getting to know each other in a more cooperative way and overcoming social problems. Varroc Lighting Systems opened Tuesday a greenfield 17,000-square meter facility in Tangier, Morocco. The facility produces headlamps, rear lamps, and daytime running lamps for current and future customers located in Morocco, Spain, and France. Speaking on this occasion, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, Minister of Industry, Investment, Trade and Digital Economy, said the opening of this plant by a world leader in automotive lighting systems is part of the current dynamics of the automotive industry sector, which is making a very good performance thanks to the vision of King Mohammed VI. This new manufacturing facility confirms, once again, the attractiveness of Morocco as a global platform for production and export of the automotive industry, he added. For his part, Varroc Lighting Systems President and CEO Stephane Vedie, described the plant as one of the cornerstones of our organic growth strategy. He said the factorys location reinforces the companys global competitive footprint and gives it a strong position to serve customers in Morocco and in Southern Europe. The combination of cutting-edge technology and geographical proximity to Europe will result in competitive offerings that will help us strengthen our position with both existing and future customers. We are committed to being where our customers need us to be, he said. We are proud to bring some of the most advanced lighting technologies to Morocco and not only manufacturing jobs but also design and engineering. We are grateful with the support we have received from local authorities during the construction phase and excited with all the talents and motivated workforce we have recruited locally for the first phase of our project, said Mohamed LBaouch Varroc Lighting Systems Morocco General Manager. The state-of-the-art facility includes a 12,000-square meter manufacturing facility, 3,000 square meter administration offices and a 2,000-square meter product development and engineering center featuring optics and electronics laboratories, product validation, and tooling maintenance and support. This is phase one of the project as phase two with an additional 14,000-square meters has already been kicked off and will be finished this year. This project should lead to the creation of about 650 jobs by 2024 and a 45 Million investment. The facility is located in Free zone at Tanger Automotive City, in the industrial platform of Tanger Med, within an ecosystem of one hundred automotive suppliers. This industrial platform is backed by the port complex of Tanger, Africas leading port, with key connections to Europe and America. Since the beginning of 2018, Varroc Lighting has expanded its manufacturing footprint in Brazil, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Vietnam. In Feburary of 1968, photographer John Olson covered the intense fighting in Hue City, Vietnam, where he shot an iconic image of an unconscious Marine lying on the tank surrounded by his comrades. Last year, on the 50th anniversary of the battle, a best-selling book, (Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam, by Mark Bowden) and an exhibition at the Newseum in Washington told the story behind the picture. But, notes Reading the Pictures writer Michael Shaw at the NY Times, both got it wrong. The calendar says spring is just around the corner, but a look out the window says it may be quite a while before the planters roll. That reality could soon be a factor for the grain markets. Were four to six weeks away from planting season, and were still talking about major blizzards in the forecast, says Karl Setzer, director of risk management for Citizens LLC, a grain elevator company based in Charlotte, Mich. Many Midwestern farmers struggled through a wet fall in 2018, which means less fall tillage was done and only about a quarter of the usual amount of anhydrous was applied. For those areas, more time may be required this spring. A late spring with wet fields could complicate that. Economists at the USDA Ag Outlook forum last week predicted that farmers would plant more corn and fewer soybeans in the United States this spring. The agency threw out numbers like 92 million corn acres and 85 million soybean acres, a fairly dramatic change from 2018. I dont have any faith in that at all, Setzer says of the outlook numbers. And thats where the weather and field conditions come into play. A late, wet spring could push more acres to soybeans in parts of the Midwest. Cost of production could also be a factor as farmers look to cut costs as a way of making ends meet in difficult economic times. And until the weather changes, it may be difficult for the USDA to get a handle on planting projections this spring ahead of the first projected acreage report at the end of March. Vaccine mandate laws are sweeping the nation hidden within the Trojan Horse of minor measles outbreaks that have not been deadly in this, a first world nation with sanitation, access to medicine and clean water (Detroit notwithstanding....) I add this because the response to mandate balking has been to talk about close to 1000 deaths in Madagascar following a measles outbreak. Madagascar to most of us is an imaginary place where penguins fly airplanes and a dancing hippo flirts with a hypochondriac giraffe. In reality, it is one of the top 25 poorest countries in the planet, riddled with malnutrition, no sanitation and filthy water. Take a peek at the stats from WHO on probability of death under the age of 5 in Madagascar versus the USA: 44 to 7. The estimate from attendees whom we know was over 1300 protesters, there in America's Land of 10,000 Lakes, Minnesota. ### Hundreds Rally To Oppose Bill Limiting Vaccine Exemptions MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) Hundreds of people opposed to requirements for childhood vaccines rallied at the Minnesota State Capitol Monday. They were there to voice their opposition to a measure that would make it harder for parents not to vaccinate their kids. A proposed Minnesota Senate bill would remove language in state law that allows parents to conscientiously object to the shots. We believe that parents should be able to make their own choice. They should be having this conversation with their doctor, said Alicia Leiviska, of Health Choice Minnesota. Those at the rally dispute the position by the medical and scientific community that vaccines are safe. by John Stone The deadly charade continues. British television viewers were told on ITV NEWS on Thursday night that an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) was to investigate "the resurgence of the anti-vaccination movement". They should not be deceived into thinking however that the APPG on Vaccination is the equivalent of a parliamentary committee. The secretariat for the group - which itself consists of five little known members of the House of Commons and two of the House of Lords - is listed as an organisation called Results UK, which is in turn a satellite of GAVI, which we all know is a partnership of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the WHO, Unicef, the World Bank and the Pharmaceutical Industry etc. Every single vaccine manufacturer is represented within GAVI. The strategy has been apparent since the summer of 2017 when the director of GAVI, Seth Berkley, had an article published in the on-line Spectator - a British news journal - calling for "anti-vaxxers" to be banned from the web, when what he was really setting out to do was ban all criticism of vaccines from the web while simultaneously indulging in hate rhetoric. In the British context it might perhaps be a modestly hopeful sign that the present move comes from an undistinguished ad hoc group of parliamentarians rather than a standing committee: less helpful is the continuing treachery of the mainstream media which cannot any longer report anything without a having devious agenda behind it. John Stone is UK editor of Age of Autism Enter pharmaceutical interests. The request to do research on the population became so huge that a governing review board was sort of established. The researchers were to register with a review panel based out of Markerere University in Kampala. On the Universitys own website they acknowledge the need for some ethical review of research done on their population, and admit the lack of funding (presumably to ensure its efficacy). What follows is an explanation of the International Review Board from their website: A little background is needed here. Uganda is located in East Africa in an area known as the African Rift Valley along Lake Victoria and Lake Albert on the western side. The northern part of Uganda borders the Congo, Rwanda, Kenya and Southern Sudan. What makes this area unique is that it is considered a place of great natural wealth in the form of minerals ranging from gold and tin to copper and cobalt. It also has untapped reserves of natural gas and crude oil. The paradox is that this vast source of wealth, along with regional conflicts, has led to complete impoverishment as people crowd into a small area of usable land, their mineral resources sold to foreign interests and their forests decimated to make room for more farm and grazing land to cope with the soaring population. Along with this population increase a whole host of diseases grew in proportion, making northern Uganda ripe for disease research, including HIV and Ebola. So when I saw the headlines that described the situation going on in northern Uganda where children are dying of a mysterious disease, otherwise known as nodding disease, I knew to get her opinion. The disease is similar to narcolepsy, only with the added condition that many of these children between the ages of 5 15 eventually die from seizures and malnutrition. Reading the symptoms of the disease it became apparent that these children were mimicking many of the traits of encephalitis or traumatic brain injury. In truth, the symptoms mirrored vaccine injury. Grace was not surprised and thoroughly blamed the government for their past transgressions of selling out the population of northern Uganda. By Mary Romaniec Grace is a friend of mine from Uganda, a country with a mixture of cultures carved out in part by a long line of civil and territorial wars. In our many conversations about life in Uganda, Grace has regaled me with tales of the delicacies of bush meat, picking mangoes fresh from the tree, the acceptance of bigamy, and life growing up in a village in northern Uganda. Of all of her stories about Uganda, Grace has made one thing clearshe loves her homeland but would never go back to live there. The Science and Ethics Committee (SEC)/ Institutional Review Committee (IRB) was established in 1992, when researchers realized the need for an IRB to oversee the research and address human protection issues. The UVRI science and ethics committee was established with assistance from each collaborating programs that is, Medical Research Council (MRC), Center for Disease Control (CDC), Rakai Health Sciences Program (RHSP) and International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). The Institute with the assistance of the collaborating programs was able to solicit for funds to help in the day-to-day activities. In 2003, members suggested the need for a secretariat to coordinate the review process. However, due to inadequate funding, this was only realized in 2007. A secretariat was established with a full time IRB Administrator, a part time Regulatory Officer and staff in the Directors office to assist in coordination of UVRI SEC activities. Objectives of the UVRI Science and Ethics Committee To contribute to the development of quality and consistency in the ethical review of biomedical research at UVRI. To protect the rights and welfare of research participants. To provide ethical standards for conduct of research involving humans as research participants and to ensure that research takes into account social and cultural sensitivities of participating communities. It is not difficult to imagine the gray area of interpretations in this program, especially the part that reads ethical standards for conduct of research involving humans as participants. With this level of interest in the diseases of northern Uganda one would conclude that nodding causes should be known. However, nothing concrete connects nodding disease to this area except for two plausible theories: either a direct result from the H1N1 swine flu vaccine trials, or from the swine flu directly infecting the population. As nodding disease began to manifest in Uganda, a probe was beginning through the World Health Organization on the flu vaccine made by GlaxoKlineSmith, Pandemrix, which began to be suspected as a cause of narcolepsy in European countries. The announcement was made weeks after a Finnish Study suggested that children who received the GSK shot were nine times more likely to develop narcolepsy. Finland opened its own investigation on Pandemrix after their population of children began to show symptoms of nodding disease, including a complete loss of muscle tone during severe attacks. And yet, the WHO said that Pandemrix remains on the preferred vaccine list and countries should continue to administer the shots. The population of northern Uganda was potentially involved with the H1N1 vaccine trials. What makes the Finnish report interesting is they lay out the epidemiological instances of narcolepsy, which in their population coincided to about one for every two thousand people annually before this study began, across a wide spectrum of ages. Causes were generalized and not necessarily related to genetics, although genetics seemed to play a minor role in cases of identical twins. However, the study went on to correlate that narcolepsy in general can be brought on by a variety of infections including streptococcal A and viral infections. Other triggers could, but not necessarily include allergic reactions, inflammatory diseases, autoimmune disorders, brain damage, thyroid dysfunction, and severe psychological trauma. By May 2010, the first cases of narcolepsy, or nodding disease began to be reported in Finland, with immediate concern that the median age of those afflicted was 12 years, with the onset occurring on average 52 days after the inoculation. In all cases the symptoms were characterized by unavoidable falling asleep during daytime, different sleep disturbances combined with changes in the appetite and metabolism. It seems that eating sets off attacks, which is why many of the children, at least in Uganda, have been reported as malnourished and underdeveloped. By January 2011, Finland knew they were dealing with serious problem and released their report of the huge increase of narcolepsy cases, possibly associated with Pandemrix H1N1 flu vaccine. In their report they accounted for 102 new narcolepsy diagnoses, with 62 of those in the 4 19 age group. At this point only Finland, Ireland, Sweden, Iceland, Germany and Canada were reporting similar incidences of narcolepsy. Vaccine lot numbers were discussed but nothing conclusive drawn from the results of the data. So why is it a stretch for some to correlate what happened in the European countries to be any different than what is happening in northern Uganda, and parts of Southern Sudan? It isnt. To date over 4000 children have been afflicted with nodding disease in Uganda alone, with over 200 children dying. In Sudan the numbers are also rising into the thousands, possibly as high as 8,000. Unfortunately for most of the children in these African countries, access to health care is limited. While the children in Europe were being cared for in hospitals, the children in Uganda were being abandoned and left to die by their parents who could not, or would not, continue to care for them. It was reported that children with the disease were significantly deficient in Vitamin B6, which raised a red flag. The CDC, whose field team includes nutrition specialists and neurologists as well as infectious disease experts have begun conducting tests to check for levels of Vitamin A, B6, B12, heavy metals as well as genetic markers in the southern Sudan population. It has begun to sound eerily familiar. Is it possible the CDC may actually be looking into the direction of vaccine trials gone bad? Probably not, but the testing of these biomedical markers is warrantedand suspicious. To be fair there is a possibility that this is some version of the African swine flu run amuck with just children as the victims. Another possible theory is that this is related to black fly-borne parasite that causes river blindness, or onchoceriasis. But that does not account for the fact that the same symptoms showed up in Europe directly following H1N1 inoculations. The most common link so far seems to be that a flu virus is potentially involved meaning there should be more answers forthcoming from the government health agencies, but they are not. This is why the citizens of this area are in an uproar with their governmentand rightfully so. There just seems to be a national inertia when it comes to the population in the area of northern Uganda. The government in an election year makes all kinds of promises, and in the case of northern Uganda they have promised medical centers to open to treat these children. This just recently happened with children beginning to receive anti-seizure medication, but that is pretty much all they receive. The general consensus in Uganda is this is all too little, too late, especially for the children who are currently afflicted, or have died. Grace answered me in an email about this disease, saying: I heard about the disease. My village is among the affected areas. This is pure negligence on the government side. Perhaps they are tired of people of northern Uganda. It is sad. Then I asked her if by chance this might have been done as part of a vaccine trial, one where the government allowed drug companies access to their population, perhaps with payments going straight to the government (pure conjecture on my part). Her response again unsettling: The Ugandan government has always allowed pharmaceutical companies to use its population for trials including HIV drug trials. This is well known in the government although I don't know that the population is informed about the trials. The truth is we dont know what is causing nodding disease in children in Africa. But what we do know is this area is ripe for the population to be used as pharmaceutical guinea pigs, with a government that at best is either incompetent or duplicitous in the saga. The ongoing dispute on this disorder is waking a lot of people up to how universally a health program can potentially run out of control. . .with children being the ones to be hurt the most. Mary Romaniec's son Daniel was diagnosed with autism she soon learned how little the medical community understood about this disorder. Driven by a sense of urgency Mary began long nights of researching the internet, speaking with other parents and attending conferences that discussed ways to treat autism. Treat autism? Yes, the common notion given by the established medical community is that autism is not treatable. Meanwhile a legion of parents has discovered how wrong the medical community has been on this subject. Contrary to the wide-spread myth that children cannot be treated successfully for autism, Mary Romaniec, was able to unlock the door that lead to her son losing his autism diagnosis and declared recovered by the age of four. Visit her website at MaryRomaniec.com. Related links: http://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/topics/influenza/pandemic/h1n1_safety_assessing/narcolepsy_statement/en/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyxzB_KcwfI&feature=related Finland Report on Narcoplexy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFpq4H4wK_U&feature=relate The embezzlement of humanitarian assistance is seemingly an enduring phenomenon in the Polisario-run Tindouf camps although the populations sequestrated there are in dire need of this assistance. A new embezzlement scandal broke out Tuesday, when the canary Islands La Provincia daily reported the diversion of some 2.5 million of humanitarian aid provided by the international community for the Tndouf camps populations. The diversion was revealed by a senior member of the very separatist movement who asked the Polisario leaders to provide explanations on this aid, said the author of the article Miguel Angel Ortiz, who is the president of the Canary-Sahrawi Forum. The Polisario is currently unable to justify how the grants were spent, which shows that corruption and fraud are deeply rooted among the separatists, wrote the author of the article. Seemingly outraged by this new diversion, Miguel Angel Ortiz stated, once again, the Polisario commits this kind of indecent practices and dishonest behavior to the detriment of the population it claims to represent. For the author of the article, this behavior is also an outrage to the international community, which donates every year, in good faith, huge amounts of money that are managed in a suspicious way by the Polisario leaders. The president of the Canary-Sahrawi Forum strongly condemned this new case of corruption and the lack of accountability prevailing within the separatist movement. He recalled that Spain alone donates annually several million Euros worth of humanitarian aid and economic contributions, earmarked in the budgets of the different autonomous communities in addition to foodstuffs and equipment sent to the camps by official bodies and NGOs. Reports about the embezzlements of humanitarian aid by the Polisario leaders and some Algerian officials were recurrent. However, the most alarming report was issued in 2015 by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), which documented the diversions and how the products destined to the camps were sold in Algerian markets and in neighboring countries. Following the release of the report, the European Parliament adopted unanimously a resolution urging Algeria to allow the organization of a census of the Tindouf camps refugees and warned that Europe will extend humanitarian assistance to the camps on condition that the population living there is registered. The MEPs also called for a reassessment of the EU aid and for its adaptation to the true needs of the people living in the Tindouf camps. The UN Security Council had also insistently reiterated its request for the registration of the Tindouf camps refugees and repeatedly invited Algeria to do efforts in this regard. The camps were set up in the early 70s to accommodate the Sahrawi separatists that left the Sahara after Morocco recovered the territory. Having soon sensed that hosting the refugees was a money-spinning operation, Algeria and the separatist Polisario front started luring nomads and Touaregs from Mauritania, Mali and Niger to swell the numbers and claim more and more humanitarian aid. They have thus deceived humanitarian aid donors as to the true needs of the camps population for years and were fully free to distribute the assistance between the camps and their own warehouses wherefrom the goods were channeled for sale in Algeria and other neighboring countries, as documented in the OLAF document. Pulwama Terror Attack was the most Aired News in Week 8 of 2019, followed by news about Hurriyat Leaders security withdrawn by J&K Government, as per Chrome News Track data. News about 2019 Lok Sabha Elections was placed third, while Saudi Arabia Prince Bin Salmans India Visit and news about Interview of the Defence Minister secured the fourth and fifth spots, respectively. Chrome News Track, from Chrome Data Analytics and Media, conducts study on news content aired across India by choosing the Most Aired, Most Watched and Most Discussed News of the Week. The survey conducted is an outcome of the data collected from 34,000 Chrome DM panel homes across India. It analyses the effectiveness of the News aired on television every week and categorises it through three broad segments namely Most Aired, Most Watched and Most Discussed. Most Watched News in Week 8 The survey also unveils that Pulwama Terror Attack was the most watched news for Week 8, grabbing maximum eyeballs, followed by 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. The news about Interview of the Defence Minister, Hurriyat Leaders security withdraws by J&K Government and Saudi Arabia Prince Bin Salmans India Visit also generated interest amongst viewers and were placed at 3rd, 4th and 5th, respectively, in the list. Most Discussed News in Week 8 On the other hand, taking a closer view of the Most Discussed News category of the survey, the news about Pulwama Terror Attack has been the talk of the nation, making it the most discussed news, whereas the News about Hurriyat Leaders security withdraws by J&K Government was the second most discussed news as per the survey. Saudi Arabia Prince Bin Salmans India Visit became the third most discussed news among the masses. 2019 Lok Sabha Elections and Aircraft Crash in Bengaluru were placed at fourth and fifth spots, respectively, in the list. Did you know Kumbh' actually means nectar. Legend has it that in order to restore peace, Lord Brahma advised all the Gods to churn out the nectar of immortality and that this nectar is said to be accessible during the Kumbh Mela. Join actor Dominic West in his visit to the Kumbh to bathe in the River Ganges with his school friend Dr. Jim Mallinson and 30 million other pilgrims this March on HISTORY TV18 Friday 8 PM. Kumbh Mela has been an inspiration and spiritual journey not just for the Indians but for many westerners as well. The documentary WEST MEETS EAST tracks the journey of Mallinson and West as they travel to northern India where the festival takes place. It affords some special access and insight into what has grown to become the largest gathering of humans worldwide. Dr Mallinson takes his old friend to live with his own sect of Sadhus and Dominic is granted permission to take part in a unique event, James ordination as a Mahant, a cross between an abbot and a brigadier - the first time a westerner has received this honor in this ancient order of master yogis. The position is permanent and requires James to attend every Mela to give a feast. Watch how this unique filma spiritual journey that changes both men as they immerse themselves in the vast crowds and see the power of mass devotion up close on HISTORY TV18s West Meets East premiering on 1st March 8PM. ROSEVILLE, Calif. - A Sacramento woman is facing charges in connection with elder abuse and identity theft involving a 92-year-old woman in her care. Placer County Sheriff's Deputies arrested 27-year-old Charisma Denise Wells for an incident from November of 2018, related to a Roseville woman. Detectives say the victim's daughter said she discovered unusual charges on her mother's credit card a few days after Wells had taken care of her as a "fill-in" caretaker. An investigation discovered Wells spent over two-thousand dollars using the victim's credit card between mid-November and mid-January. A search of her phone also turned up photos of the 92-year-old victims' credit card and another credit card belonging to a second elderly victim from Davis. Charges have also been filed against Wells in Sacramento in a separate but similar case. Wells is charged with elder abuse and identity theft and posted bail after her arrest. LAST UPDATED 12:42 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019 - The Butte County Sheriff's Office has issued various evacuation orders and warnings due to extensive flooding in the county. The Butte County Sheriff's Office lifted evacuation warnings for the following areas: Alberton Avenue Anjou Court Magness Court Bosc Drive Richvale area, Highway 99 from Nelson Shippee Road to Highway 162 Taffee Avenue Reavis Avenue Keefer Slough There are no areas currently under evacuation orders. The following areas remain under an evacuation warning: Hamilton Nord Cana Highway Instagram TV It arrives after Joe confronts afaree for bringing Erica to the cast members' trip to Costa Rica despite saying no when asked before. Feb 27, 2019 AceShowbiz - Things between Erica Mena, Safaree Samuels, Joe Budden and Cyn Santana get even more nasty. Following a big fight over Erica between former best friends Safaree and Joe and recent episode of "Love and Hip Hop: New York", Erica is throwing some serious accusation against Joe. During the episode, which was filmed last year when Safaree and Erica's relationship wasn't official yet, Joe confronted Safaree for bringing Erica to their trip to Costa Rica despite saying no when asked before. For those who need a reminder, Erica used to date Joe's fiancee Cyn before breaking up in a bad way. "I asked him if he was bringing Erica Mena. He said no," Joe said in a confessional interview. "Maino asked him, he said no. So you can imagine our surprise when all of us picked up our phone and saw none other than Erica Mena hanging out and tanning at our resort." In his defense, Safaree explained, "Well, when we had that convo, that wasn't the scenario. I mean, bringing my girl here." Joe seemingly couldn't hold back his anger as he snapped, "When the situation changed, you got my number. That was a simple f***ing text." Following the episode, which ended on a cliffhanger, fans were split on whose side to take. Erica weighed in on the issue by responding to a fan who said, "#LHHNY I really don't care for @JoeBudden comfront'n @IAMSAFAREE we ain't even kno @iamErica_Mena was there who cares." I dont get it especially since no one really cared , let alone asked about Cyn whereabouts when he brought another female to my mans crib. Who cares https://t.co/efxW01W6wB Erica Mena Samuels (@iamErica_Mena) February 26, 2019 Erica wrote, "I don't get it especially since no one really cared." She went on alluding that Joe was cheating on Cyn as she said, "let alone asked about Cyn whereabouts when he brought another female to my mans crib. Who cares." Mentioned me enough like candy man. I wasnt even bothering anyone. Not even on the show go figure. let me get back to my real life now. https://t.co/K5MdFq7TLV Erica Mena Samuels (@iamErica_Mena) February 26, 2019 "Mentioned me enough like candy man. I wasn't even bothering anyone. Not even on the show go figure. let me get back to my real life now," she added in another tweet. WENN/Instagram/Brian To Celebrity Instead of forgiveness, 'The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show' receives more backlash for disrespecting the Asian stars in their apology. Feb 27, 2019 AceShowbiz - Local radio station KISS FM recently irked many K-Pop fans after its hosts made disrespectful remarks about NCT 127 and EXO's Lay during their show. Employees at the radio station has since issued apology regarding the comment to no avail because fans believed they were mocking their idols in their statement. It all started when Jason Derulo's collaboration with the Asian stars, "Let's Shut Up & Dance", was played during "The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show". The hosts introduced the Michael Jackson tribute project as new music by Jason without mentioning his collaborators. When they did, they mistook them for BTS (Bangtan Boys). After realizing that Jason's collaborators were actually not the seven-piece group, they said, "So it was just some random group of Asian guys dancing? We just got excited for nothing." Fans naturally criticized the radio hosts for the disrespecting both NCT 127 and Lay, and it didn't take too long for staff from the radio station to apologize. The statement read, "We're still learning K-Pop and know of BTS, but hadn't yet discovered NCT 127 or Lay. Calling them a 'random group of Asian guys dancing' was unprofessional on our part. Sometimes we speak before getting all the info. This was one of those times." "Again, we're sorry and look forward to the day when every person on Earth knows NCT and Lay in a way that they know Ari [Ariana Grande], Taylor [Taylor Swift] and Justin," the statement concluded. Instead of forgiveness, the radio station received even more criticism with many believing that they're still disrespecting their idols in the apology. "I actually felt the apology was ok as I read the first 2 paragraphs but then you guys haddd to butcher it with that last one didn't ya," one user tweeted, to which the station replied, "We are just saying the industry is very tough and wish them good luck in their rise to fame." We are just saying the industry is very tough and wish them good luck in their rise to fame. KiddNation (@KiddNation) 26 Februari 2019 "Deepest apologiez???? Are you serious!!!!!? SINCERELY?? Your 3rd paragraph not even sincere! You're being sarcastic!" another snarked. In its defense, it tweeted back, "Not at all. The music industry is tough. Very tough. We have been friends with lots of talented artists who never hit it BIG. NCT is on their way and we really hope they do well!" Not at all. The music industry is tough. Very tough. We have been friends with lots of talented artists who never hit it BIG. NCT is on their way and we really hope they do well! KiddNation (@KiddNation) 26 Februari 2019 Shutting down the station's claim that both NCT and Lay aren't big enough, one compared the number of Instagram followers that Lay and Jason had. While Jason has 4.3 million, the Chinese star has more than 9 million followers. NCT and EXO Lay are already big pic.twitter.com/nUvBXKy0Q0 karil (@babooo1004) 27 Februari 2019 Neither NCT 127 nor Lay has yet to respond to this. Instagram Celebrity A source reports that the couple has a heated argument when attending an event in Dubai, prompting the Topshop heiress to fly to Monaco. Feb 27, 2019 AceShowbiz - There seems to be trouble in paradise in Jeremy Meeks and Chloe Green's relationship. The daughter of Phillip Green has been spotted without her rumored engagement ring in recent Instagram photos, prompting people to speculate that the couple might be putting the breaks on their romance. One picture appeared to be taken during her vacation, showing her leaning to a balcony as she posed for the camera. Both of her hands were visible in the picture, and her alleged engagement band was clearly missing. "Summer is nearly here," Chloe wrote along with the photo. Making things worse, Daily Mail reported that the couple had a fight when they were at Cavalli Club in Dubai, where they both attended the launch of fashion brand Extremedy. While the engaged pair were all smiles for the camera, things were tense between them. "They were all smiles posing for the pictures for the photographers but things turned sour later in the night," a source told the news outlet. "They were spotted having a heated exchanged and Jeremy walked out of the club without Chloe," the insider continued. "You couldn't hear what they were saying but it was obvious they were having a row from their body language. Chloe tried to shrug it off but you could see she was upset and she left with a friend shortly after." Chloe reportedly flew to Monaco following the fight, while Jeremy continued partying in Los Angeles. However, a second source doubted their recent fight would affect their relationship. "These ups and downs are part of every relationship but they are usually settled particularly when one of the parties is worth so much money. I expect them to sort it out," the insider noted. Jeremy and Chloe began dating in summer 2017. Last year, they welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Jaden. Instagram Celebrity The 33-year-old soon-to-be mother takes to her Instagram account to make a big announcement to her followers. Feb 27, 2019 AceShowbiz - Congratulations are in order for Whitney Bischoff and husband Ricky Angel! "The Bachelor" alum took to her Instagram account to make a big announcement to her followers, that she and Ricky are expecting their first child together. "Sorry I've been MIA, I've been busy growing a little angel for the past 7 months," so she wrote in the caption alongside a picture of her sporting a growing belly. "We are so excited to welcome our little man in May." The 33-year-old soon-to-be mother added, "As you can tell, Lillie can't wait to be a big sis!" referring to their 12-year-old dog. "Thank you @londonwalderinteriordesign for helping us create the coziest space for our little one." Whitney and Ricky met back in 2015 on the dating website Bumble. The two then tied the knot in 2017 at the luxury Wequassett Resort on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Of her husband, Whitney gushed, "As soon as I met Ricky, I knew. I was in a very raw emotional state after my breakup. And I could be myself with him. I didnt feel like I needed to put on a facade. I felt back to normal. It was a very refreshing feeling." Whitney, a fertility nurse, continued saying, "I've always wanted to get married. I was scared for a while that I wouldn't be able to find that. But I have absolutely no regrets. Everything happens for a reason. And I'm so happy." Prior to marrying Ricky, Whitney was engaged to former "The Bachelor" star Chris Soules before splitting in 2015. President Ali Bongo has appointed Gabons envoy to Togo as his new ambassador to Morocco that hosted him for medical treatment for several months after he suffered a stroke in October while attending an investment conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. President Bongo returned home Sunday after he spent a convalescence period in Morocco. At the first cabinet meeting he chaired Tuesday, Bongo appointed Sylver Minko Mi-Nseme, the Gabonese current envoy to Togo, Benin and Ghana as his new ambassador to Morocco in replacement of Abdu Razzaq Guy Kambogo. Guy Kambogo becomes Gabons new foreign minister, according to a statement issued after the cabinet meeting. In January, President Bongo had interrupted his medical treatment in rabat and spent less than 24 hours in Libreville to attend the inauguration of a new cabinet. Bongo, 59, came to power in the elections held following the death of his father, Omar Bongo, in 2009. Omar Bongo had ruled the country for 41 years. WENN/Joel Ginsburg Celebrity The 46-year-old star also talks about the process of Joe's deportation in the 'RHONJ' episode, which will air on Wednesday, February 27 on Bravo. Feb 27, 2019 AceShowbiz - Teresa Giudice gives more insight into the situation that her jailbird husband Joe Giudice is facing. In a sneak peek of the second part of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" reunion, the 46-year-old reality TV star reveals to host Andy Cohen that Joe feels "tremendous guilt" leading up to his deportation to native Italy. When asked about Joe's "state of mind," Teresa explains, "He has tremendous guilt." She goes on noting that despite that, "he's very positive, very strong." She also talks about the process of Joe's deportation in the episode, which will air on Wednesday, February 27 on Bravo. "He will go directly from the facility that hes in now to an airplane?" Andy asks, to which the mother-of-four responds, "Yeah, I don't know exactly the technicalities of it, but I hope I don't have to cross that bridge." Teresa shares that their lawyers are "trying their best" to win an appeal to the ruling. She also uses the opportunity to shut down rumors of her split from Joe, assuring everyone that she's still Joe's "ride or die." Andy says, "You have been so ride or die and so devoted to him," before Teresa clarifies, "And I still am!" The teaser, however, cuts to an end right after the "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" host tries to pry on Teresa about whether she plans on moving to Italy with Joe. Teresa and Joe married in 1999. The pair share daughters Gia, 18, Gabriella, 15, Milania, 13, and Audriana, 10. While Joe is serving his jail time while as he awaits his deportation following his tax scandal, rumors are running rampage that Teresa is set to divorce from Joe. A source previously revealed that during the taping of the reunion, "Teresa told Andy that if Joe gets deported, she's not going." The source continued, "She said that she and Joe had talked about it over the phone, and that he understood." WENN/Sheri Determan Celebrity Four months after going public about her struggles with multiple sclerosis, the 'Cruel Intentions' actress gives her first interview about her health condition to 'Good Morning America'. Feb 27, 2019 AceShowbiz - Actress Selma Blair turned to alcohol to help her cope with her ailing health, years before she was finally diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). The "Cruel Intentions" star went public with her personal struggles in October (18), two months after doctors told her the central nervous system disease was to blame for her extreme fatigue, loss of balance, and lack of coordination. The aggressive form of MS Selma has developed has since also left her with spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological disorder which affects the voice muscles, but that didn't stop the 46-year-old from giving her first TV interview about her health to U.S. breakfast show "Good Morning America", despite confessing she was a little "scared". Days before making her return to the red carpet at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party on Sunday, February 24, the actress opened up about her medical crisis, and admitted that finally being able to put a label on her illness brought her a measure of relief, because she had been complaining about symptoms since welcoming her son Arthur in 2011. "I cried, I had tears," Selma recalled of her initial reaction to the diagnosis. "They weren't tears of panic. They were tears of knowing I now had to give in to a body that had loss of control. And there was some relief in that, 'cause ever since my son was born, I was in an MS flare-up and didn't know, and I was giving it everything to seem normal." The stress of her situation drove her to drown her sorrows in booze whenever Arthur, her child with ex-boyfriend Jason Bleick, wasn't around. "I was self-medicating when he wasn't with me," Selma explained to newswoman Robin Roberts (II). "I was drinking, I was in pain. I wasn't always drinking, but there were times when I couldn't take it. And I was really struggling with, 'How am I going to get by in life?' " The pressure of keeping up appearances while also being a "great mother" left her exhausted, and she confesses, "It was killing me." Selma eventually decided to reach out to fellow actor Michael J. Fox, who has continued to work despite battling neurodegenerative disorder Parkinson's since 1991, and the 57-year-old "Back to the Future" star's words of support and comfort helped to give her "hope." She also had to sit down with her son to explain her diagnosis, after previously choosing to deal with her symptoms by laughing them off with her kid. "I did have to tell him after the MRI (scan which confirmed her illness)," she shared. "I said, 'I have something called multiple sclerosis,' and he nearly cried and said, 'Will it kill you?' And I said, 'No, I mean we never know what kills us, Arthur. But this is not the doctor telling me I'm dying.' And he was like, 'Oh, OK!' " Selma insists she is now doing "very well", given the circumstances, and she is optimistic about her future, as her doctor believes she could regain "90 per cent" of her abilities back "within a year". But when she does have a "difficult day," she has learned it's OK to just stay in bed and rest. "You just have to, you can't do it all!" she shrugged. "It's fine to feel really crappy and say, 'I gotta.' And my son gets it, and now I've learned not to feel guilty." Despite her health woes, Selma hasn't given up on her career - she features in forthcoming Netflix series "Another Life", and has two other projects in post-production. WENN/Judy Eddy Music In the residency announcement, the 'Together Again' hitmaker describes her 'Metamorphosis' show as a celebration of her journey and the 30th anniversary of 'Rhythm Nation'. Feb 27, 2019 AceShowbiz - Janet Jackson is the latest star heading to Las Vegas, as she announced a three-month residency on Tuesday, February 26. Following in the footsteps of recent Sin City signings Christina Aguilera, Cardi B and Oscar winner Mark Ronson, Janet will be heading to the Nevada city for a string of shows, kicking off in May. She'll play her new "Metamorphosis" show across 15 dates at the Park Theater at Park MGM resort from 17 May until 10 August. "Hey u guys, I'm so excited to announce my new Vegas residency, 'Metamorphosis'! A celebration of my journey and the 30th anniversary of #RhythmNation!" Janet tweeted. "I'll be at the @parkmgm in May, July & August." As well as featuring songs from the 52-year-old's extensive back catalogue, Janet will also touch on personal issues she's had to overcome during the course of her life and career. "The centrepiece of this all new thought-provoking show, will be Janet herself, captivating you through your senses with electrifying visuals, explosive dance numbers, chart-topping hits and fan favorite deep cuts," a press release announcing the residency reads. "The show also features a special 30-year anniversary celebration of her ground-breaking album 'Rhythm Nation'." "Fans will follow her path to self-love, empowerment, motherhood and activism, amid the challenges faced along her personal journey. She encourages her audiences to find their own light within themselves through her Metamorphosis." The official social media accounts for the Park Theater also shared the news across its online platforms, "JUST ANNOUNCED: This summer, @JanetJackson transforms the #ParkTheater stage with an electrifying residency: Metamorphosis!" JUST ANNOUNCED: This summer, @JanetJackson transforms the #ParkTheater stage with an electrifying residency: Metamorphosis! Tickets go on sale this Saturday, 3/2 at 10 am. DATES & TICKET INFO https://t.co/rF0sSqDZzupic.twitter.com/uy3zBIL0Lz ParkTheaterLV (@ParkTheaterLV) 26 February 2019 Tickets go on sale on Saturday, March 03. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Another large group of migrants has been arrested after illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, marking the latest in a wave of Central Americans who have been apprehended in remote areas of New Mexico, authorities said Wednesday. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the group made up primarily of families and unaccompanied children crossed early Tuesday near Sunland Park, a community just west of the busy border city of El Paso, Texas. Its the second time in as many weeks that such a group has been encountered at Sunland Park. In mid-February, 311 people made their way around a pedestrian fence under the cover of darkness before being taking into custody. That was less than 24 hours after another group of 330 people were apprehended more than 150 miles (240 kilometers) to the west near the Antelope Wells port of entry. More than two dozen large groups of 100 migrants or more have been apprehended in the region since Oct. 1, according to border officials. This is a situation that Border Patrol agents continue to face in southern New Mexico: hundreds of parents and children being encountered by agents after having faced a dangerous journey in the hands of unscrupulous smugglers, the agency said in a statement Wednesday. After initial medical screenings were conducted, agents called on Sunland Park medical technicians to assist with the latest group. The local responders treated some migrants, while others were transported to a local hospital. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The influx comes as state leaders push back against the Trump administrations immigration and border policies, particularly President Donald Trumps efforts to install more barriers along the border. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is among the critics. The Democrat has repeatedly challenged Trumps description of a security crisis on the border and recently withdrew most of the states National Guard contingent, leaving about a dozen troops in a well-traveled corridor for cross-border migrants. Her office reiterated Wednesday that a wall doesnt address humanitarian and safety problems at the border. Our Health Department has been to the border to assess what medical assessment and service aid can be provided and where, Lujan Grisham spokesman Tripp Stelnicki wrote in an email. In the meantime, we hope and expect the migrant families receive the medical attention they need. The governors office did not immediately say whether the Health Department would be taking any specific action or making recommendations to address the influx of migrants and the need for access to medical care across the region. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2019 Albuquerque Journal A lawsuit alleging that the former New Mexico State Police chief engaged in blatant, ongoing and systematic discrimination during his time at the helm including at one time mooning his employees was settled in December after two days of negotiation. Diane Garrity, a lawyer for the three law enforcement officials who filed the suit, said she could confirm there was a settlement in the case but a confidentiality clause barred her from discussing how much money was doled out. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ There was a settlement, but they have us bound and gagged in terms of state money, Garrity said. I cant tell you the amount. She said her clients were pleased with the terms of the settlement. In response to questions about whether any changes are expected at State Police in the wake of the lawsuit, a NMSP spokesman said all terms of the settlement are confidential and the lawsuit was resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties. State Police Sgt. Monica Martinez-Jones, retired Lt. Julia Armendariz and retired Deputy Chief Michael Ryan Suggs filed the lawsuit against former Chief Pete Kassetas and the New Mexico Department of Public Safety in 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe in June. They alleged discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation and retaliation for whistleblowing activities. According to the lawsuit, Kassetas described his employees as dumb (expletive) bitches and once sent an image of a mans testicles blocking out the sun to a deputy cabinet secretary in the Department of Public Safety. The lawsuit also alleged Kassetas behavior has gone unchecked by DPS, because the office of Governor Susana Martinez has protected Kassetas from adverse employment action, making him untouchable and above the law he is commissioned to enforce. At the time the suit was filed, a spokesman for the governor said the allegations were ridiculous and completely removed from the truth. Mark Jarmie, Kassetas attorney, said he could not comment on the settlement. Paula Maynes, the attorney representing the Department of Public Safety, also said she could not comment. She did not know when the terms of the settlement will be made public. Kassetas retired at the end of December, as Martinezs term in office came to a close. He had served as police chief since August 2013. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. The city of Farmington says it has signed an agreement with a New York investor to continue operating the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station after 2022, but apparently its only a letter of intent to keep negotiating. The letter, obtained by the Sierra Club through an Inspection of Public Records request, lays out terms for both sides to pursue further negotiations, but no binding agreement has been signed. The prospective investor, Acme Equities LLC, is a New York City-based private holding company focused on energy assets in the U.S. Farmington city manager Rob Mayes said Saturday the parties are finalizing their agreement and will begin negotiations with other San Juan plant owners to transfer their interests in the generating station. We have reached a milestone that few people thought remotely possible, Mayes had said in a news release. By identifying and entering into an agreement with a capable new owner to continue operations of San Juan Generating Station and associated San Juan Mine well beyond 2022, we have potentially saved 1,600 jobs of real people and countless New Mexican families. If the parties do reach a final agreement, Acme would acquire San Juan for $1, according to the letter of intent. That reflects Farmingtons right to take over San Juan at no cost from the plants five other owners if none of the others wants to keep operating the facility after 2022, when the plants coal supply agreement with San Juan mine expires. Public Service Co. of New Mexico, the plants largest owner and operator, said all other utilities currently connected to San Juan officially announced their intent last year to abandon the facility. Only Farmington said it wanted to continue, but until now, it hadnt discussed any concrete plans with PNM. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ PNM, in an email to the Journal, said it was surprised to hear the announcement about Acme Equities. It said it will continue to move forward with shutting down San Juan. Even if Farmington and Acme do reach an agreement, its unclear how the partners could run San Juan economically, especially if the newly proposed Energy Transition Act is approved by the state Legislature. The bill, now under discussion, calls for New Mexico utilities to move the grid entirely to renewable and carbon-free resources over the next 25 years, and it would require any coal facility that continues to operate here to install costly pollution controls to cut carbon emissions to a fraction of their current levels, said Steve Michel, attorney with the environmental group Western Resource Advocates. Its hard to imagine Famingtons agreement is anything near a firm commitment, Michel said. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... LONDON Prime Minister Theresa May insisted Wednesday that Britain will leave the European Union on schedule next month, amid signs that her promise to give Parliament a vote on delaying Brexit was boosting support for her unpopular EU divorce deal. May has bowed to pressure from within her Conservative government and given Parliament the chance to delay Britains scheduled March 29 departure if lawmakers fail to approve her divorce agreement with the bloc. The change of course was welcomed by pro-EU members of Britains divided Parliament, who sought further guarantees the government would not try to renege on Mays commitment. Lawmakers in the House of Commons voted 502-20 in favor of a symbolic motion underscoring Mays promise. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Some pro-Brexit lawmakers, who fear delaying Brexit day could be used to try to stop Britains withdrawal altogether, abstained from the vote. On Tuesday, May gave Parliament a greater say over Brexit to forestall a rebellion by pro-EU members of her government, who threatened to quit and vote with the opposition in order to rule out a disruptive no-deal Brexit. She said Parliament will get to vote again on her deal with the EU by March 12. If it is rejected, lawmakers will then vote on whether to leave the EU without an agreement or seek to postpone Brexit by up to three months. May stressed that she personally opposes extending the Brexit deadline, and said the United Kingdom remains on course to leave the European Union with a deal if lawmakers hold their nerve. Writing in the Daily Mail, May said talks with the EU about securing changes to the divorce deal to make it more palatable to Parliament have begun to bear fruit. The House of Commons rejected Mays deal with the EU by a huge margin last month largely over concerns about a provision to guarantee an open border between the U.K.s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland and sent May back to Brussels to get changes. The EU is adamant that the legally binding withdrawal agreement cant be changed, though the blocs negotiators are holding talks with U.K. Attorney General Geoffrey Cox about potential tweaks or additions to reassure pro-Brexit British lawmakers that the border backstop is only a temporary measure. May is calculating that the prospect of a delay may persuade pro-Brexit lawmakers to support her deal despite their reservations. Many Brexiteers feel the Irish backstop portion of the deal keeps the U.K. bound closely to EU trade rules, unable to strike new agreements around the world. Brexit-backing Conservative lawmaker Edward Leigh said Wednesday that colleagues should back the agreement because the choice is no longer perhaps between an imperfect deal and no deal it is between an imperfect deal and no Brexit. Lawmakers rejected a bid Wednesday by the main opposition Labour Party to force the government to embrace its alternative Brexit plan, which calls for retaining close ties with the EU. Labour has said if it cant get its plan through Parliament, it will campaign for a second referendum on Britains EU membership. The government caved in on a vote it looked set to lose, agreeing to guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in Britain whether or not the U.K. leaves the bloc without a Brexit deal. That such an amendment is needed is in itself a very sad state of affairs, said Alberto Costa, the Conservative lawmaker behind the motion. He said 3 million EU citizens in Britain and 1 million U.K. citizens in other EU countries should never have been used as a bargaining chip. British businesses welcomed the prospect of a Brexit delay. They warn that without a deal, Britain risks a chaotic departure that could disrupt trade between the U.K. and the EU, its biggest trading partner. Confederation of British Industry head Carolyn Fairbairn said leaving without a deal would be a wrecking ball on our economy and giving the option to delay feels like an option on sanity. Delaying Brexit would require approval from all 27 other EU countries, whose leaders are annoyed by what they see as the inability of feuding British politicians to agree on what kind of relationship the U.K. wants with the bloc. Chief EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said Wednesday that there must be clarity that extending negotiations wouldnt just prolong the impasse facing both sides. EU politicians say Britain must have a good reason for seeking a pause. French President Emmanuel Macron said any such request would need to be justified by a clear perspective on the goal. We dont need time. We need decisions, he said at a joint news conference in Paris with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel said the EU wouldnt refuse Britain a bit more time. She said we are aiming for an orderly solution an orderly withdrawal by the British from the European Union. ___ Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this story. ___ Follow APs full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2019 Albuquerque Journal About once a week, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent visits the Bernalillo County jail, moves through the security perimeter and sits down at an open work station in the records department. He gets access to a Metropolitan Detention Center database that includes Social Security numbers, addresses and the place of birth for inmates all without presenting a warrant. But that is set to change. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ A resolution the County Commission unanimously approved to cheers on Tuesday night reinforces the countys assertion that it is an immigrant-friendly community with language that effectively prohibits that practice. Introduced by Commissioner Steven Michael Quezada, the resolutions purpose is strengthening Bernalillo Countys non-discrimination policies, and that includes denying federal immigration agents access to non-public areas of county property for the purpose of enforcing federal immigration law unless they have a warrant issued by a judge. Quezada said in an interview he only recently learned about ICEs regular visits to peruse records. He called it disconcerting and said its one of the reasons he drafted the resolution. Theres got to be a process; if he has a warrant, then he has legal right to do that, Quezada said. If hes looking for someone specifically, I dont want to stop him from doing that job, but hes got to do it through the way the system is set up. Theres no end around. An ICE spokesperson has not responded to Journal questions about how it would move forward under the new policy. Bernalillo County in 2017 declared itself an immigrant-friendly county with a resolution stating no county resources could be used to discern an individuals immigration status or apprehend anyone solely on the basis of their immigration status, unless otherwise required by law. But the new resolution adds several rules. In addition to denying ICE agents access to non-public areas without a court-issued warrant, the resolution will prevent any county employee or anyone acting on the countys behalf from asking individuals about their immigration status, citizenship, place of birth or nationality, except as required by law. It would also ban county agencies, employees and contractors from releasing sensitive information obtained in the course of their county duties, including Social Security numbers or lack thereof, addresses, employment information, sexual orientation, religion and inmates custody release dates. There are some exceptions, including disclosure to assist the Judicial branch of our State, including state courts, state district attorneys and state public defenders, and in response to public records requests for information not exempted under law. While it would extend to all county government divisions, it would have obvious implications at MDC, which generally houses from 1,300 to 1,400 inmates. Jail spokeswoman Candace Hopkins said MDC does not track inmates immigration status, but it does keep information about their place of birth and national origin questions it cannot ask under the new resolution. Various records at the jail also contain details about inmates employment, gender identity, sexual orientation and, in some cases, their religion and whether they receive public assistance. It was unclear late Tuesday when the jail would change its procedures to comply with the new county rules, but County Attorney Ken Martinez said he planned to meet with MDCs leadership today. About 20 members of the public spoke in favor of the resolutions broader implications on Tuesday, including representatives from the Law Offices of the Public Defenders metro division, El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos, the New Mexico Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice, the New Mexico Conference of Churches and the American Civil Liberties Union. This resolution will make sure the County is not complicit in assisting the administration (of President Donald Trump) in unfairly targeting members of our immigrant community, and the law is on our side, said Maria Martinez Sanchez, a staff attorney with the ACLU of New Mexico. Some who spoke said the resolution could make the community safer if the immigrant population trusted that county agencies and law enforcement officials would not volunteer their personal information to ICE. Some shared their own experiences of having a family member detained or deported; others described immigrants contributions to the community and local economy. Dozens in the chambers applauded the commissions 5-0 approval and the celebratory spirit spilled out into the hallway after the vote. If people in the community are afraid just to contact law enforcement when theyve been victims of a crime, it puts everybody in danger, said Marian Mendez-Cera, a civil rights and workers justice organizer with El Centro, in lauding the commissions decision. This is a great victory for the immigrant community, she added. It is also a victory for vulnerable communities as a whole because it includes safeguards for private information, (including) gender identity, religion, sexual orientation. Its super-important that this information (is) kept confidential. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... The states premier prep distance runner has signed his national letter of intent, as Kirtland Central High senior Kashon Harrison signed his LOI with Colorado. Im relieved I dont have to look at other schools, Harrison said in a telephone interview with the Journal on Tuesday. He chose Colorado, he said, over Syracuse and Oklahoma State. I know high-elevation training. Its what drew me to Boulder, the elevation and the city itself, Harrison said. Two weeks ago, when Harrison was named the Gatorade athlete of the year, the news release said he had verbally committed to Oregon. Harrison said Tuesday he doesnt know where that mistake originated. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... SANTA FE People with an arrest or conviction in their history could have it removed from the public record if a court approves under legislation that passed the House late Tuesday. The proposal, House Bill 370, would allow expungement of criminal records in certain circumstances. Prosecutors and police would still have access to the records, but they would be removed from public view. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Rep. Antonio Moe Maestas, an Albuquerque Democrat who co-sponsored the bill, said the goal is to allow people after enough time has passed to move on with their lives. Job-seekers could tell potential employers, he said, that they have no criminal history, improving their chances at getting a stable job and never returning to prison. It grows public revenue because folks are paying taxes, Maestas said. It reduces recidivism. Opponents of the bill said it went too far. They said criminal records could provide an employer with insight into an applicants character. I really feel the public has a right to know some of those things if theyre dealing with someone convicted of forgery, for example, Rep. Greg Nibert, R-Roswell, said. Maestas said there would be safeguards in place, including a review by a judge. You have to prove to a judge that youre worthy of expungement, he said. Rep. Andrea Romero, a Santa Fe Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill, said young people who have committed a crime or been wrongly accused deserve a chance to petition the court so they can move on. About one-third of adults, she said, have a criminal record of some kind. The bill at least provides them a chance at clearing the record, Romero said. Some offenses wouldnt be eligible for expungement such as drunken driving, a crime that caused great bodily harm or death, sex crimes, embezzlement and crimes against children. The proposal picked up bipartisan support and passed 52-17. It now heads to the Senate for consideration. In a second bash on Fattah al-Sisi, Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the European Union bloc for being insincere because they attended the joint summit with the Arab League in Egypt, a country with an impressive record of executions. Erdogan, speaking at an electoral rally in Giresun said the EU, is insincere considering its alleged demand for human rights respect around the world, but yet took part in a conference in Egypt led by a putschist, in reference to al-Sisi. There was a summit in Egypt [on Feb. 25]. EU and Arab League members had gathered at the invitation of the putschist Sisi. The EU is against death penalties and execution is prohibited in EU member countries. So how can one speak about democracy in these EU states, which accepted the invitation of Sisi, who executed nine young men last week? Erdogan said. Egypt since January has hanged 16 people including nine last week. They had been convicted for aiding in the assassination of the countrys top prosecutor in 2015. Rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch decried the executions and the trials which they said did not respect procedures. Several other convicts are still on the death row. Erdogan in an interview end of last week said he will never meet with Sisi until the general turned President releases all prisoners including Mohamed Morsi, the first democratically elected Egyptian President. Sisi toppled Morsi in July 2013 and was elected President the following year. The Egyptian strongman won another four-year term in March last year and is expected to remain in power for a longer period after pro-Sisi lawmakers pushed last week for constitutional amendments to allow him to do so. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Almost 275,000 acres in New Mexico would be designated a wilderness area under a public lands package passed by the U.S. House on Tuesday night. Two of the wilderness areas designated by the National Resources Management Act are within the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, while 10 areas are within the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. The two areas within Rio Grande del Norte National Monument are the Cerro del Yuta (Ute Mountain) and Rio San Antonio. The package also includes the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Area comprising approximately 7,242 acres and a 2,250-acre expansion of the existing Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area near the Four Corners region. A total of 273,000 acres were designated wilderness areas in the state. All three U.S. Representatives from New Mexico Deb Haaland, Xochitl Torres Small and Ben Ray Lujan voted in favor of the package, which now goes to President Donald Trump for consideration. It passed the House by a 363-62 vote. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The Public Lands Package is clearly in line with our values to protect our natural heritage, our resources, and ensuring future generations can enjoy the places we hold dear in New Mexico. My vote in support of the Public Lands Package will reflect these values while standing with the 99,000 New Mexicans employed in the outdoor recreation economy, Haaland said in a statement. Haaland said on the House floor that the package would help the state address the challenges of climate change. The package had the support of U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall. Both crafted parts of the legislation, as did Haaland. The package of bills originated in the Senate, where it passed 92-8. Heinrich and Udall supported the provision to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which they said invested more than $312 million in New Mexico to protect public lands and open spaces, and increase recreational opportunities across the state, helping to bolster a $9.9 billion outdoor recreation industry. Authorizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund will help ensure that New Mexicans have access to safe drinking water, and our rivers, lakes and streams are protected for us all, Lujan said. Im also incredibly proud to have helped shepherd the passage of the Cerros del Norte Conservation Act, which ensures that two of New Mexicos most stunning landscapes are protected for future generations. Included in the package was the Every Kid Outdoors Act, a bill co-sponsored by Heinrich and Sen. Lamar Alexander. Torres Small was also a sponsor in the House. It will provide Americas fourth-graders and their families free entrance to Americas public lands, waters and historic sites, including national parks. The package also reauthorizes the Rio Puerco Watershed Management Program, which facilitates federal and state agencies, tribal communities and local communities working together to reduce sediment and control erosion on the watershed. We are ecstatic that some of New Mexicos best remaining wild places are one step closer to permanent protection so that future generations can experience the richness of our shared cultural and natural heritage said Mark Allison, executive director of New Mexico Wild. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. They rise tall and sinewy and shiny, their fiberglass bodies locked in an eternal Mexican hat dance near the front of Popejoy Hall at the University of New Mexico. The vivid colors of the Fiesta Dancers are the trademark of legendary artist Luis Jimenez, and so is the controversy his work often creates. I create these knowing they might start dialogue, he said. Which is putting it mildly. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ When Fiesta Dancers was installed on campus in 1996, some argued that the woman figure was too slutty, too ugly; the man too chubby, too dark, too full of machismo and muscle. Critics gasped at the voluptuousness of the womans figure, her breasts barely concealed by a flowered wisp of a blouse clinging to her curves like a wet T-shirt, her Kardashian-league rear jutting above the ruffles of her flamenco-inspired skirt. They derided the grotesque features of her scowling, manly face, her bushy eyebrows and jagged teeth, the smeared blue eye shadow and pink lips. They questioned why the male figure looked like he was leering, looking somewhere south of the womans face, why he presented a paunch despite the Superman-like muscles of his arms and legs, why his burnished skin was nearly black. They considered the liquid-like high gloss of the fiberglass piece too circus clown, too sweaty sexuality, too ethnic. Jimenez scoffed. Its an out-and-out Mexican hat dance, he said then. Its not cute. Its not a Disneyland version. The American culture, he opined, was too tied to its Puritanical roots, too obsessed with the repression of sexuality and sensuality. Images such as these are engraved in the Mexican and Chicano psyches, he said. Machismo is certainly an element of Latin culture, but I am observing it, not inventing it. The controversy eventually faded. So, too, did the sculptures brilliant hues, drained by more than two decades of sun and wind. Patrons of Jimenez voiced concern about the pieces diminished look, which led to the hiring of an art restoration crew out of Denver to return the colors to their original glory, said UNM Art Museum Director Arif Khan. From Dec. 10 to Dec. 22, the Silo Workshop artists toiled in the cold optimum for the type of paint used at a cost of $11,760, Khan said. UNM announced the completion of the restoration last week. Love it or loathe it, Fiesta Dancers is as iconic as its artist, whom writer Rudolfo Anaya called the son of the border and others called the godfather of Chicano art. He was also the son of an undocumented Mexican immigrant. I grew up with one foot on each side of the border, Jimenez said. The first of five Fiesta Dancers nearly does, too, installed 10 feet from the border at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry near San Diego. That version was installed in 1991 and immediately drew the ire of a local businessman who complained that the male figures skin was too dark and the woman figures dress too sleazy. The piece stayed. The other Fiesta Dancers, which vary slightly in size and color, are located at the University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of Houston (where one collegiate writer called the dancers middle-aged) and the Fine Arts Center in Colorado Springs. A desk-sized model is also located in the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. The UNM version was the fourth, which explains the 4/5 inscribed on the sculptures sombrero and the dates 91-96. What cannot be fully explained is the inscription of the pieces formal name Fiesta-Jarabe jarabe referring to a traditional Mexican hat dance which reads Fiesa-Jarabe. It was literally a typo, Kahn said. Its unknown whether the misspelling was pointed out to Jimenez. In 2006, he was killed in a freak accident when a large sculpture piece fell from a hoist in his Hondo art studio, pinning him to a steel support and severing a leg artery. He was 65. That deadly sculpture became the Blue Mustang, a 32-foot horse with glowing red eyes that greets or scares off visitors to the Denver International Airport. Locals call the sculpture Blucifer. As for the Fiesa-Jarabe dancers at UNM, Kahn said the sculpture will be maintained by students willing to take on the project. Its like taking care of your car with wax, he said. From time to time, he strolls around the artwork and listens to the comments. I wouldnt say it sparks controversy anymore, he said. But for some, its not their personal cup of tea. Its a dialogue Jimenez might have relished. UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Joline at 823-3603, jkrueger@abqjournal.com or follow her on Twitter @jolinegkg. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Deputies say a suspect waved a gun at another man on Interstate 40 during an alleged road rage dispute Tuesday morning. Romolo Aragon, 19, is charged with aggravated assault, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and tampering with evidence. According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, deputies responded to an alleged road rage incident on Interstate 40, near Carnuel, around 11 a.m. Two men told deputies they were almost run off the road by a truck that was driving aggressively. The driver, later identified as Aragon, pointed a black pistol at them and the men heard a pop sound. Deputies say they caught up with Aragon and pulled him over on State Highway 337, near Chamisoso Canyon. Aragon told deputies the other vehicle was driving aggressively and he and the other driver exchanged hand gestures before the other driver threw something at his truck. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Deputies say Aragon denied having a pistol at first but then told deputies that he had thrown it out the window after he saw deputy vehicles. He was not sure of the area where he threw the pistol from the vehicle and deputies were not able to locate the firearm, a detective wrote. A passenger in Aragons truck told deputies that he had anger issues and did pull out a pistol but she did not think he pointed it or fired it at the other vehicle. This is the fourth road-rage incident involving a firearm, in or around the city, in the past few weeks. Only two have resulted in someone being shot. Police say on Valentines Day Steven Lovato, 22, shot and injured Matthew Barnes on Interstate 25 and Felix Villanueva, 20, was arrested Monday night in the Feb. 19 incident that left Emad Bissada shot in the face. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2019 Albuquerque Journal A federal appeals court has upheld New Mexicos bail bond reforms that limit the use of monetary bail bonds and have put many bonding companies out of business, ruling that a lawsuit by four legislators, the Bail Bond Association of New Mexico and one criminal defendant was frivolous. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also upheld sanctions against A. Blair Dunn, one of the plaintiffs lawyers, with Judge Mary Briscoe writing, Again, we employ an objective standard intended to eliminate any empty-head pure-heart justification for patently frivolous arguments. Barring further appeals, the decision would appear to put an end to the legal wrangling over the new system put in place after voters in November 2016 approved a constitutional amendment that specifically allowed defendants to be held in jail without bail until trial if they are found to be a danger to the community. It also said inmates who are not a risk could be released from custody even if they couldnt afford a monetary bond. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ The combination essentially dried up most business for bail bondsmen in the state, who at one point aggressively marketed around courthouses with catchy phrases like, You Ring, We Spring. The challenge by bail bondsmen was heard by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert A. Junell of Texas, who ruled that all but one of the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the lawsuit and all of the claims were barred by long-standing legal principles. The rules for the new pretrial release system were drawn up by the state Supreme Court after the amendment was approved. The suit also challenged the system developed by lower courts to determine who would be eligible for pretrial release and who should be held in jail pending trial. The lawsuit was filed by Darlene Collins, a criminal defendant who spent five days in jail before she was released by a judge. Prior to the constitutional amendment, she could have been released on monetary bond posted by a bail bond company. The charges against Collins were later dismissed by prosecutors. Collins was joined by the bail bond association and the four state legislators: Sen. Richard Martinez, D-Espanola; Sen. William Sharer, R-Farmington; Sen. Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho; and former Rep. Carl Trujillo, D-Santa Fe. They sued the state Supreme Court and each of its members, the Second Judicial Court in Albuquerque, members of the Metropolitan Court, the Bernalillo County Commission and Bernalillo County. Junell ruled that Collins had standing but could not overcome judicial and state immunity based on her claims. The ruling said other claims made by the bail bond association and legislators against the state courts and individual defendants, in their official capacities, are barred by sovereign immunity; that plaintiffs claims against the state court judges and court executives, in their individual capacities, are barred by judicial immunity; that plaintiffs claims against the state Supreme Court justices, in their individual capacities, are barred by legislative immunity; and that plaintiffs failed to state a claim. Briscoe wrote the decision, which also upheld Junells sanctions against Dunn. Dunn was ordered to pay the $14,868 in attorneys fees and costs, Junell ruled, because the legislator plaintiffs and bail bond association ha[d] no objectively reasonable basis for asserting standing to sue and their claims for money damages against state judges were frivolous. When we analyze the frivolity of an attorneys arguments, it is not sufficient for an offending attorney to allege that a competent attorney could have made a colorable claim based on the facts and law at issue; the offending attorney must actually present a colorable claim. Dunn said in a statement, Apparently the judiciary is still intent on penalizing anyone that has the audacity to challenge the judiciary and tell the judges that they got it wrong. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2019 Albuquerque Journal Editors note: APS Board Member Candelaria Patterson emailed the Journal after this story went to press. Her comments have been added to the story. Albuquerque Public Schools already had a read on its February special election months before voters struck down all three ballot measures by wide margins. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Research commissioned on the ballot questions by APS in late-November had forecast significant opposition to proposed tax hikes. Research and Polling Inc. conducted a telephone survey of 400 likely voters between Nov. 26 and 28. The poll cost APS $21,000. A draft report recently obtained by the Journal through a public records request showed that once those surveyed learned how much approval would cost them, the majority were not supportive of questions that would increase their taxes. Just 38 percent of those likely voters backed a mill levy that would have contributed to a tax rate increase, with 24 percent strongly supporting and 14 percent somewhat supporting it, according to a draft of the report. And support for a $200 million bond, which also would have raised taxes, was at 44 percent 27 percent strongly supporting and 17 percent somewhat supporting when those interviewed were told about the potential tax hike. These two questions would have resulted in a proposed 4.7 percent property tax increase for most people. For a homeowner with a home valued at $220,000, the increase would have meant an increase of about $147 a year, according to APS. The poll also indicated that a mill levy renewal that would not have raised taxes was better received, with 41 percent of people saying theyd strongly vote yes and 24 percent noting they supported it somewhat. Ultimately, the report highlighted that voter support for the ballot questions was not solid compared with previous elections. Poll results show that support levels for these tax measures are not as strong as in past years, the report states. Despite the results, district officials pushed forward with the election, saying they had a responsibility to ask voters for funds to fix dilapidated buildings and address other student needs. And the district stressed to the Journal that a poll like this would not influence whether an election takes place. In fact, the APS Board of Education had already approved moving forward with the election before the poll was taken, said Capital Master Plan Executive Director Kizito Wijenje. The poll does not play into the decision as to whether or not we are going to have an election, he said. Rather, he said, facility assessments and safety standards are what determine if an election takes place. The poll did, however, shape how the district advertised. What this poll does is kind of like taking a finger on the pulse. Are people aware? We ask where they get their information, Wijenje said. We also use the poll as a tool to advertise the election, he added. According to the report, the study was commissioned in order to measure voter support for an APS General Obligation Bond, a new APS property tax and property tax extension in the upcoming (election). Wijenje also said a poll like this is typical. We do these polls regularly, he said. We always do one right before an election. But APS Board Member Peggy Muller-Aragon told the Journal she didnt know about the poll until the Journal started asking questions about it. I had no idea about the poll. I had no idea what the taxpayers paid for it, she said. I dont know why it wasnt put before the board. And board member Candelaria Patterson didnt either, telling the Journal she wasnt informed the poll was conducted, nor presented with its results before the election. Board Member Lorenzo Garcia, however, said he was told about the poll. He said he felt the results showed the public was concerned about buildings and improving the schools. Its unclear whether other board members had been aware of the poll prior to the election. They could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Regardless of this months election results, Wijenje said APS will never use polling of this type to determine whether it holds an election. In general, Jaime Diaz, deputy Bernalillo County clerk, said an entity can cancel an election 40-45 days before it kicks off without being billed for the whole cost. But Diaz noted that in his more than 27 years running elections he has never seen one called off after it has been announced. In the end, voters overwhelmingly struck down all three of APS ballot questions in the special mail-in election that concluded on Feb. 5. District officials are in the process of going back to the drawing board for the capital master plan priorities and figuring out how to maintain facilities with current funding. And APS will soon be billed for the election. The Bernalillo County Clerks Office has estimated the special election cost at $1.2 million. The official bill wont come for about a month, Diaz said. APS has previously said a typical election would cost the district closer to $600,000. Under new election law, APS was required to do a mail-in ballot for its special election in February, meaning the ballots were sent to voters registered addresses and there were no physical polling locations. The Research and Polling Inc. analysis had noted that voter turnout would be a critical factor in this type of election. It alerted the district that the mail-in election would be uncharted territory and that it would be difficult to predict voter participation. In the end, 121,454 ballots were cast in Februarys election, compared to 31,569 in a combined Central New Mexico Community College and APS bond election in 2016. The three measures defeated in the February vote would have raised $900 million over six years for construction, maintenance and other uses. APS December 2018 Poll Report by Albuquerque Journal on Scribd .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... I wholeheartedly support Senate Bill 367 as a way forward in addressing New Mexicos overpopulation of homeless companion animals. SB 367 places a modest increase to a registration fee paid to the N.M. Department of Agriculture by pet food manufacturers on product lines of dog-cat food or dog-cat treats, with the proceeds going to increasing the availability of low-cost spay-neuter services for low-income New Mexicans. Among my responsibilities as chief of police is oversight of our local animal shelter. In that capacity, I have witnessed the predictable cycle of euthanizing healthy, loving and adoptable dogs and cats simply to make cage space for other incoming homeless animals. The vast majority of those animals arrive to our shelter not having been spayed or neutered. In this scenario, which is played out in shelters all over New Mexico, euthanasia becomes a de facto population management tool. However, the problem of companion animal overpopulation does not start in our shelters and cannot be solved there. It is a problem in our communities, particularly the estimated two-thirds of our counties that lack affordable and accessible spay-neuter services. SB 367 will help fund low-cost spay-neuter services throughout New Mexico, and that will finally help us to reduce the number of companion animals entering our shelters and those who will be euthanized to make cage space for other homeless animals. SB 367 will increase the availability of affordable spay-neuter services for companion animals of income-qualified recipients, and to that end it is in the interests of us all to support this vital bill. It is a win for counties, the quality of life in our communities, for taxpayers and for animals. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Major changes are coming to education in New Mexico. With a record high budget available, increased spending is not the only paradigm shift apparent as legislators consider sweeping changes across the board. As bills move through the system, it remains difficult to anticipate any outcomes and impossible to consider all unintended consequences. Embedded into both Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 5, current language introduces an age cap, redefining who is eligible to receive public education funding. If passed, students over the age of 22 would no longer be eligible to earn a high school diploma, forcing schools like Gordon Bernell Charter School to close. Gordon Bernell is an Albuquerque Public Schools charter currently serving adults on seven campuses. Originally opening 10 years ago with two campuses, one inside the Bernalillo Metropolitan Detention Center and the other located in Downtown Albuquerque, the intention was to transition students from school in jail out into the community. Designed to accommodate transitional high-risk students, our self-paced mastery-based curriculum allows students to complete credits in chunks and re-engage with education while navigating out of the tremulous cycle of trauma, poverty, low academic skills, unemployment, crime and incarceration. The mission and vision has always targeted adults, with the intention to stabilize families, and increase academic and scholastic achievement for generations to come. Since then, additional community partners have approached the school, interested in our successful, replicable model. Now housed inside multiple long-term residential treatment centers that realize increased skills are highly correlated to successful rehabilitation, we also meet the high mobility demands and unique educational needs of Job Corps. Our Downtown Roma campus is set to relocate to our own brand new building early this spring, where it is evolving into a true community school serving transfer students from our other campuses, as well as any adult wanting to use education as a means to transform their lives. Our school holistically supports our students: developing individualized academic plans; addressing self-regulation through trauma-informed mental health programs; devoting time to job-readiness and employability skills; and coordinating community resources to ensure student success in the community. We are the evidence-based model of a community school that the Public Education Departments new administration envisions as the answer to underserved and low-performing populations in the states proposed revised ESSA plan. We are not a low-performing school. Only a few points from a B on last years rigorous School Report Card, we have been proactively compliant with all accountability measures outlined by PED and APS, our local authorizer. We engage with over 1,000 students each year, are funded on only 425 and consistently graduate 50-60 students a year, while transitioning hundreds of others directly to the workforce and back to their families. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ We serve an undeniable need in our community, giving one of our most vulnerable and unpredictable populations the opportunity to stabilize through education. Current legislation, if passed, will close us down. Sponsors of the age cap language claim that adult students are funneling funding away from their younger counterparts and should access adult basic education programs, such as the GED or online private high schools. The reality is that adult dropouts never accessed their full K-12 funding, as it went unclaimed once they dropped out, and they are entitled to utilize their unused appropriated funds to re-engage with education and improve the future for their families. The return on investment through education is saved in corrections and public assistance programs when adult students successfully reintegrate as productive members of the community. The idea of our students accessing other diploma equivalency programs is unreasonable. Test preparation and online programming prove unsuccessful because this population does not have the skills or the money to access them and requires comprehensive wrap-around services to break the cycles holding members back. There has been an amendment proposed to save us, and the House Finance committee will be voting on it at 1:30 today. Please consider voicing your support, because without advocates willing to stand up for us, we will disappear. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... Copyright 2019 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE A proposal to require background checks before almost any gun sale in New Mexico inched closer to passage Tuesday but with some political drama. The legislation, Senate Bill 8, narrowly cleared the Senate two weeks ago and is now mowing forward in the House, potentially its last stop before reaching Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a supporter of the proposal who on Tuesday took to social media to accuse gun control opponents of hyperbole and fearmongering on the bill and other gun control measures. The House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee endorsed the background check bill on a party-line vote of 3-2 Tuesday after a Republican lawmaker walked out, slammed the door behind her and later returned for the vote. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Rep. Candy Spence Ezzell, R-Roswell, accused Democrats of trying to stifle her voice. She left for about five minutes before coming back and holding up a sign that said no to register her vote. The dust-up didnt slow down the legislation. Senate Bill 8 now heads to the House Judiciary Committee and, if passed there, on to the House floor. The legislation appears to be in good position to make it through the Legislature before the session ends March 16. A similar version of the bill has already passed the House, suggesting the Senate version would succeed, too. The bill would require a background check before nearly any gun sale, including between two individuals. Licensed dealers already must do the checks, but supporters of Senate Bill 8 are hoping to capture sales between two individuals who, say, arrange the transaction on their own. There would be exceptions for sales or transfers between two close family members or sales between law enforcement officers. Antiques and inoperable firearms would also be exempt. Under the bill, people who want to sell a gun would arrange for a licensed dealer to do the background check. The dealer could charge up to $35. Its the right thing to do, said Sen. Richard Martinez, an Espanola Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill. Its about saving lives. Its not about taking gun rights or violating the Second Amendment. The proposal has drawn opposition from many sheriffs throughout New Mexico, and about 20 counties have declared themselves sanctuary counties for Second Amendment rights, opponents said. Doctors, students and victims of crime have turned out on the other side, describing the bill as a common-sense way to make it harder for criminals to obtain guns. Rep. Gregg Schmedes, R-Tijeras, questioned a provision in the Senate legislation that would prohibit licensed dealers from unreasonably refusing to carry out the background check. We dont force people to participate in business transactions, he said. Martinez said the proposal would still give dealers some leeway to turn away sellers and buyers, as long as they have a reasonable basis for the decision. Tuesdays meeting took place in a cramped committee room at the Roundhouse, filled with both supporters and opponents. The chairwoman of the committee, Democrat Liz Thomson of Albuquerque, urged people to focus their comment on the parts of the Senate legislation that are new in other words, that werent part of the background check bill that had already been debated and passed in the House. Ezzell, the Republican from Roswell, assailed the proposal as unenforceable and unconstitutional. She held up copies of the U.S. and New Mexico constitutions at one point. Eventually, she raised the prospect of marijuana legalization a separate proposal pending in the Legislature this year and Thomson banged the gavel and directed Ezzell to focus her comments on the bill at hand. If our voice is not going to be heard, Ezzell said, Im done. The door banged shut as she left. The hearing continued without her for about five minutes, before she returned. When it was time to vote, she held up a sign that said no in bold letters. Gov. Lujan Grisham, a Democrat who took office this year, has called on lawmakers to pass the bill. Im not daunted by obstacles, whether its NRA propaganda, rogue sheriffs throwing a childish pity party or bad-faith critics, she said Tuesday on Twitter. Legislative leaders and I will continue to fight the scourge of gun violence in our communities. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. The governor on Tuesday announced five appointments to the boards of regents at New Mexico State University and the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. Each school is governed by its own five-member board of regents, which will be full if the nominees are approved by the state Senate. At NMSU, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham tapped a longtime director of the New Mexico Beef Council and a volunteer and promoter of art in southern New Mexico to the board. Dina Chacon-Reitzel and Ammu Devasthali were nominated to six- and four-year terms, respectively. Chacon-Reitzal has been the executive director of the Beef Council for 30 years and has held seats on several national beef industry committees, according to a news release from the Governors Office. She has a masters degree in business administration from NMSU. Devasthali is working to raise money to renovate Williams Hall at the university and she is a member of a think tank aimed at improving life in downtown Las Cruces, according to the release. She earned a two masters degrees from NMSU and received an honorary degree from the university last year, according to a university news release. The governor nominated Luke Sanchez, a biology major who graduated from St. Pius X High School, as a student regent, which is a two-year term. At New Mexico Tech in Socorro, the governor selected Yolanda Jones King, who had a lengthy career in the Air Force and is retired from a Department of Defense agency, as a regent. Veronica Espinoza, a chemical engineering student, was nominated to be student regent for two years, according to the Governors Office. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Jones King, who if confirmed will serve for six years on the board, retired in 2014 from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and prior to that served several high-level roles within the Air Force, according to the Governors Office. She earned her bachelors degree and a doctorate in chemistry from New Mexico Tech. Lujan Grisham earlier this month filled five of the seven seats on the University of New Mexico Board of Regents. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Emergency crews in Albuquerque rescued a man who was stuck in a storm drain at the corner of San Mateo and Lomas. Albuquerque Fire Rescue officials say the man was seeking shelter to stay warm Monday night when he realized he was stuck and began calling for help. Someone called 911 just after 9 p.m. and emergency crews were able to rescue the man, who was taken to a hospital for evaluation. The name and age of the man wasnt released. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Several lawmakers and local elected representatives of the ruling Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) have said they will not join the March 2 counter-demonstration aiming to show support for President Abdelaziz Bouteflikas candidacy for April 18 elections, Huffpost Algerie reports. The North African country has been rocked for weeks by demonstrations rejecting plans by incumbent President to seek another office term for the next five years. The 82-year old and ailing President will reportedly submit his application for the April elections on March 3. Thousands of Algerians across the country and abroad have staged demonstrations against the presidential plans and are expected descend in the streets again on March 1st. Given the growing national discontent against the fifth term, the ruling FLN has planned a counter-demonstration nationwide on March 2 to endorse Bouteflikas candidacy. A lawmaker from the FLN told Huffpost Algerie on condition of anonymity that several members of the party have refused to subscribe to the planned counter-demonstration and to Bouteflikas fifth candidacy. Today none at FNL wants to organize a demonstration, said the senate member. An attempt by the partys secretary, the controversial Mouad Bouchareb, to organize a campaign explaining Bouteflikas drive for the election, on Saturday failed over resistance by some local representatives, the media reports. Additionally, a local senior member of the party has indicated that they have made it clear to the central committee of the FNL that they will no longer heed any call seeking to involve them in campaigns to defend the Presidents electoral ambition. We were clear with the central committee. We told them we refuse to embark on their projects, the senior member said. Friday demonstrations have freed the freedom of speech within the party. The members are no long scared to say it is enough, said a senator under condition of anonymity. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. The District Attorneys Office says a 19-year-old man charged in two nonfatal shootings last year is also a suspect in the murder and burial of two teenage boys in December. Michael Patrick, spokesman for the 2nd Judicial District Attorneys Office, said Stephen Goldman Jr. is being investigated in connection with the killings of Ahmed Lateef, 14, and Collin Romero, 15. Patrick made the confirmation after details of Goldmans possible involvement in the teens deaths came out Wednesday morning as the DAs Office sought to keep Goldman behind bars during a detention hearing for a separate case. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ In that case, he is accused of firing at a vehicle on Nov. 22. Goldman was arrested last week after being on the run for nearly two months and was appearing before state District Judge Charles Brown. The bottom line is, they think he killed two other people with the same weapon they found casings from. Is that right? Brown asked as he looked over the case filings. Prosecutor Natalie Strub told Brown he was correct. During a back-and-forth exchange with Brown, she confirmed that the boys died from gunshot wounds, but she said she didnt want to proceed with the detention hearing until the primary detective is available to take the witness stand. There is a lot of other details, especially in terms of the autopsy, Strub said of the teens deaths. It shows evidence of torture and more of a violent conduct of the defendant. The detective is expected to testify on Goldmans alleged involvement in the teens slayings and provide details on the extensive investigation which Strub said identified at least two other suspects in the double homicide. In light of Strubs argument, Brown reset the hearing for Friday morning and Goldman will remain behind bars until then. In late December, the bodies of Lateef and Romero were found in shallow graves on a mesa west of Rio Rancho by a cadaver dog and Sandoval County Sheriffs Office deputies. The boys had been missing for nearly two weeks. They were last seen in a neighborhood in Albuquerques foothills on Dec. 16 and police say the boys could have been involved in a drug deal that may have gone bad. Shortly after they disappeared, a video on the Snapchat messaging app surfaced of the pair being beaten and bleeding on a mesa. Anthony Loy Aragon, 36, has been charged with two counts of tampering with evidence in connection with the boys burial. Aragon is currently behind bars in Nevada on armed robbery charges. Goldman, also known as Calypso, is already facing a slew of charges, including shooting at or from a motor vehicle, armed robbery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in two unrelated shootings that happened in November. According to court records, the first incident happened in the early hours of Nov. 3 at a house party near Constitution and Wyoming NE. Two boys at the party told police Goldman and several other men forced them into a backyard at gunpoint and robbed them. During the robbery, Goldman allegedly fired several shots at one of the boys, who ran away and escaped uninjured. He was not charged in that case until after he was arrested in connection to the drive-by shooting that occurred nearly three weeks later. On Nov. 22, police say Goldman was in the passenger seat of a car when he fired at another vehicle on San Mateo NE, near Comanche. When a detective tracked down the man who was driving Goldman, he told police he didnt know Goldman had a weapon before the shooting started and that Goldman was a sociopath who preys on kids who are afraid of him. .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... RIO RANCHO, N.M. You may have already heard that effective June 30, Steve R. Jenkins will leave Sandoval Economic Alliance to pursue other opportunities. We are grateful that he lent his talents to our community, as we have accomplished a great deal during his tenure, including: Target Industry and Laborshed Study to identify three target economic-base clusters to pursue for business attraction: Life sciences, professional services and support, and advanced manufacturing and technology; A comprehensive, five-year marketing and sales strategy based on the economic-base clusters; ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ Aggressive new business attraction metrics; A new, award-winning website; An organizational rebrand; Revision and update of the mission, core values, bylaws, personnel policies and a fiscal management policy; Renewed Sandoval County funding; Strategic staff changes, including the addition of a research position; Involvement and support of the Los Diamantes development, which will include a business park; VeriReady Sites Program: The verified sites program of Sandoval Economic Alliance; ReadyBuild: The virtual building program of Sandoval Economic Alliance; CORE Program: Community Opportunities for Retention & Expansion to support retention and expansion for existing businesses; Cuba VISTA initiative focused on building an entrepreneurial ecosystem; A new Partner Recruitment & Retention Committee and new partner recruitment materials; and An Economic Development Action Strategy commenced to be completed in late spring. We know Sandoval County and Rio Rancho have abundant assets to grow, but critical competitive items must be addressed. While not easy, these issues will be essential to the communitys future: Balancing residential development with development of economic-base industries. Many studies clearly show that public services to residential development costs between $1.16 and $1.25 for every dollar of tax revenue received. The cost of services to commercial and industrial growth costs between 30 cents and 60 cents for every dollar of tax revenue received. Eventually, the total cost of providing public services as a bedroom community will increasingly exceed revenue, triggering tax increases. Acquiring housing options for the younger population not interested in single-family homes. This is essential to the community to attract and retain the younger population, which is needed to offset the increasing median age. The development of competitive locations for manufacturing operations with all services available. The manufacturing sector desires to be in industrial parks surrounded by like-minded and compatible operations. We have not been able to compete for these projects as well as we should with what our community has to offer because we lack available, ready sites for this sector. The completion of Paseo del Volcan (Pete Domenici Parkway). This is important infrastructure for the economic viability of Sandoval County and the west Albuquerque Metro Area, and has the potential to be one of the most important roadways in New Mexico. As we execute our transition plan, our commitment to fulfilling our mission and promise to the community will not falter. We will forge on with our comprehensive growth strategy and meet our commitments on deliverables and tackle these challenges. We have a very capable team in place and I am confident that we will win! .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... RIO RANCHO, N.M. Thirteen days after his 88th birthday, Mel Eisenstadt passed away Feb. 14, losing his battle with cancer after a five-month hospice stay. Eisenstadt and his wife of nearly 60 years, Pauline a former New Mexico state representative and senator had been living at The Neighborhood in Rio Rancho, after moving there from their longtime home in Corrales. Sensing the end was coming, Pauline urged the couples sons, Keith and Todd, to hasten their plans to return to New Mexico Todd from Washington, D.C., Keith from Montana to see their father before his passing. In hospice, he could walk around, enjoy his grandkids, (but) hed been bedridden for about a week, Todd Eisenstadt said. He was waiting; my brother and I were able to be with him for about an hour and a half before he passed away he was more or less listening (as we spoke to him). His nurse had told him we were coming. ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ He left us at a good moment; he hadnt suffered for a long time, Todd added. His father had led a full, adventurous life. Mel was born on Feb. 1, 1931, in the Bronx, N.Y.; his family moved to Miami in 1938, where he remained through his high school years. His early life was tumultuous, Todd said. His father died when he was about 8; he had to really help his mother. In going through his things, we found a wooden shoe-shine kit, very old he was shining shoes in Miami when he was 8 or 9, delivering newspapers, whatever he could. (Later), he served in the Korean War with the Air Force. Mel and Pauline were married in Miami Beach, Fla., at the Eden Roc Hotel in 1960, after meeting in Orlando, when Pauline was in her senior year at the University of Florida and Mel was an engineer for the Martin Company. Mel had already served in Korea. They moved to Tucson, where Mel earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering and Pauline earned a masters degree in social science. Mel was then an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California in Santa Barbara. Their two sons were born in Santa Barbara. The family then moved to Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, where Mel taught engineering at the University of Puerto Rico for three years and Pauline taught English as a second language part-time. The family moved to Albuquerque in 1973 and Mel then in his 40s and not afraid to change careers attended law school at the University of New Mexico. The two moved to Corrales in 1976, and became very involved in the community. Pauline served in the state House and Senate. Mel, the villages second elected municipal judge (1980-90), stayed busy with his law firm, Mel Eisenstadt & Associates in Albuquerque. In his later years, he became a craftsman in jewelry and authored four novels, Navajo Afterglow (2000); Noahs Millennium (2005), The Dynamite Campaign (2006) and The Great Colorado River Water War (2007), all on shelves in the Southwest Room of the Corrales Community Library. He was a very resourceful person who was able to do a lot of things in his life, Todd said. He always appreciated learning something new and was never dissuaded from trying new activities, new fields he changed jobs several times in his life. To him, learning was a big adventure. My brother Keith and I remember him very much as someone who believed in the power of explaining; he took his interest in learning and extended it to everyone, Todd said. He always said that everybody has a story to tell; our job is to learn from others and kind of meet them where they are; hed listen to people and what their story was, and benefit from everyone. On my best days, I can do that and it comes from him. His passion for leaning and knowledge are parts of my life every day. His mother, he said, is OK, and still enjoying life at The Neighborhood. He was not as much of a social person; they had activities here and he did all of them, so he was more social (once they moved to The Neighborhood). They made a lot of friends here, Todd said. But, as one can expect when a six-decade marriage comes to an end, Its gonna be hard on her. In addition to his wife and two sons, Mel is also survived by four grandchildren. The family will host two memorial services: Saturday at 11 a.m., at The Neighborhood; and March 3, at 3 at Congregation Albert, 3800 Louisiana Blvd. NE in Albuquerque. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to the New Mexico Environmental Law Center. Aberdeen News Property owners within the Herreid School District were surprised with their property tax bills this year. The request made by the school district for capital outlay revenue was double the previous years. But, according to the school superintendent, it wasnt intended to be. Superintendent Daniel Hoey said the school board approved a budget with a capital outlay request of $385,000, but the amount relayed to the Campbell County auditor was higher. Campbell County Auditor Lisa Schaefbauer said the request that she received for Herreids 2018-19 school year was for $605,217, which was more than the district is allowed to levy. So she adjusted the total to the schools maximum of $583,643, for 2018 property taxes payable this year. Schaefbauer said the request for the previous years budget was $275,000. The district can levy up to $3 per $1,000 in taxable value for its capital outlay fund. But, Hoey said, there are also limits on how fast the capital outlay fund can grow. For example, the districts maximum reflects a current levy of $2.036 per $1,000 in value. The capital outlay fund is used for building repairs, construction or the purchase of equipment, like a bus. Once the tax bills went out, Schaefbauer said, residents started calling. Some also went to the school board for answers. Hoey said hes unsure how the larger amount got relayed to the auditors office. The district approved its budget in May with a request for $275,000, then amended the budget adding another $110,000 for roof repairs and a bus. But, he said, instead of requesting $385,000, the auditors office received a request for $605,217. Even though the number given to the auditors office is wrong, the maximum of $583,643 will be collected and put in the capital outlay fund, officials said. While Hoey categorizes this as a clerical error, he said the frustration is hes unable to trace back where the mistake happened. But the school board has taken steps to make sure it doesnt happen again. As a realization of that clerical error, and to be transparent, we have incorporated fail-safes and checks moving forward, Hoey said. He said all future tax requests will be approved by the school superintendent, the business manager and the chairman or chairwoman of the school board. The capital outlay levy is one of three levies the district has for generating local revenue. The general fund levy is used for salaries and operation of the school. The district also has a levy for special education instruction. Further state restrictions on the capital outlay fund are set to go into effect starting in 2020-21. According to state law, the maximum will remain at $3 per $1,000 in property value, but districts will only be able to levy for $2,800 per student. Bills before the South Dakota Legislature to remove that limitation or set a higher per- student amount have been rejected. Victoria Lusk vlusk@aberdeennews.com Each year, the bodies of two donors lie safely tucked away for lab use at Presentation College. Students in anatomy and physiology classes gain valuable insight into the human body that they would otherwise not have access to. Cadaver bodies tell stories, said Sara Bird, coordinator of the body donor program at the University of South Dakota. Because the USD program funnels cadavers to area schools, including Presentation College, Northern State University and Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown, the requirement for each school year is 60 to 65 donations. But at the beginning of the 2018-19 school year, the program had just 36 bodies, Bird said. The decline was very sudden, she said. And it poses a big problem. The shortage of donors means the program has had to turn away schools, limit requests and even reduce the number of students in different programs, including those at USD, Bird said. We understand that this isnt just about USD and our medical school. Its about giving students a strong foundation in whatever anatomy course they are trying to access, she said. We just try the best we can. On average, there are five or six anatomy and physiology labs per semester with 16 students in each lab at Presentation, said Trisha Waldman, associate dean of health and natural science. The school gets two cadavers per year. The generous donation of ones body allows medical professionals to gain hands-on experience understanding human anatomy and physiology and the ability to learn and practice skills on human tissue. Most individuals who have sought medical care have benefited from a doctor or health professional who was able to learn utilizing a cadaver, Waldman said. Cadavers serve as a students first patient, but the skills learned go beyond gross anatomy, she said. Students learn respect, compassion and to appreciate the intricacy of the human body, she said. Filling a need With the decrease in body donations, it became apparent to USDs program that it needed to be more open and available for those interested in donating their bodies, Bird said. There are very few conditions that would invalidate a body donation, but some include morbid obesity, organ donation beyond the eyes, communicable diseases, (such as HIV or chronic hepatitis) or severe trauma. While organ donation can also be very valuable, people with diseases such as cancer cannot donate vital organs, Bird said. But they can still donate their bodies. This could be that Plan B and a way for that person to still be able to give back, she said. Once a person chooses to donate his or her body, Bird recommends that they talk to their family members and loved ones. Most of the time the family wants to honor the wishes of a loved one, but the family also has the option of revoking the donation, Bird said. Typically, donors are given a funeral prior to arriving at USDs Sanford School of Medicine. Because maintaining confidentiality is key, a donor cannot decide which school his or her body goes to, Bird said. We cant guarantee (a specific location) for several reasons. For example, if you are a well-known community member, it might be too hard for a student or faculty member to work with you, she said. Bodies stay in the program for approximately two years before being cremated. Then, ashes are either returned to the family or buried at Bluffview Cemetery in Vermillion. Each year, students at USD honor donors with a memorial service. Presentation College students have attended those services, Waldman said. For Waldman and Bird, there is likely no greater gift than the donation of a body. Donors help build the foundation for knowledge, Bird said. (The students) build off the donors. They can work with pictures and the latest and greatest technology available, but its not the same as working with a very unique human individual. Aberdeen News Taylor Kwas walked up to his ex-girlfriend at The Zoo Bar shortly after 1 a.m. on Oct. 6, but never got to say hello. Instead, Kwas was blindsided by a punch in the jaw, he testified Wednesday in the trial of Roberts County Sheriff Korey J. Ware, who faces a felony count of aggravated assault. Kwas testified the punch broke his jaw, leaving him on a liquid diet for the next three weeks. He was the first to take the stand in Wares trial. Ware, 28, is from Sisseton. He was elected Roberts County sheriff in the June primary since he was unopposed in November. It was completely unprompted, Kwas said of Wares punch. Since the incident, Ware has appeared before the South Dakota Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training Commission in Pierre. There, he agreed that he would be sworn in as sheriff, but only handle administrative and civil duties, and oversee the jail and juvenile detention center until the criminal case is resolved. Former Day County Sheriff Barry Hillestad has been appointed interim sheriff for Roberts County. This Law Enforcement Standards and Training Commission could revoke Wares law enforcement certification as a result of the criminal case. A 13-member jury of nine men and four women was selected Wednesday morning to hear the testimony. One of the jurors, an alternate, will be dismissed prior to deliberations. Defense attorney Tom Sannes of Webster and Brown County Deputy State Attorney Ernest Thompson agree on the facts. Both Kwas and Ware were at The Zoo Bar when Ware suddenly punched Kwas in the jaw. That was about 1:30 a.m. But, Sannes said, it is a case in which jurors will be asked to pay close attention to the definition of aggravated assault and determine whether the incident was severe enough to meet the felony threshold. The punch was captured on surveillance cameras at the bar. Jurors watched that video, which showed Ware slamming his beer glass on the bar counter seconds before he launched himself at Kwas, punching him in the jaw. The next shot in the video shows several people surrounding Ware and escorting him out of the bar. According to testimony from Kwas, hed just walked up to his ex-girlfriend, who was then in a relationship with Ware. While Kwas relationship with the woman ended months earlier, he said the two had stayed in contact, but hed never met nor visited with Ware. While he didnt go to a hospital that night, Kwas testified, he did go to Sanford Quick Care the following day. That was after he woke up and realized something was wrong with his jaw. The doctor found he had a broken jaw and referred Kwas to a specialist in Sioux Falls, he testified. Kwas instead met with a surgeon Oct. 10 in Sioux City, Iowa, which is where he now lives. Sannes attempted to downplay the injury by pointing out that Kwas didnt immediately meet with the surgeon and instead went to his appointment after attending some meetings. Kwas said those meetings were extremely important for his career, and the appointment with the specialist wasnt scheduled until later. All three of the prosecutions witnesses testified Wednesday. The trial resumes today at 8:30 a.m. with any defense witnesses and closing arguments. The surgeon was Dr. Nathan Phillips, who testified that people with jaw injuries sometimes shrug them off because the severity of it may not be readily apparent. By the time Kwas arrived for his appointment, Phillips said, Kwas was clenching his jaw shut. It was the only way it was comfortable, Phillips said. Repairing the injury meant one of two options, he said: Surgically inserting arch bars and wiring the jaw shut for 21 days. Surgically inserting plates and screws to set the broken bone. Kwas chose the less- invasive procedure of wiring his jaw shut, Phillips said. Phillips described the injury as a significant, traumatic event. Its a hard bone to break, he said. During cross- examination Sannes pointed out that Phillips medical reports never used the terms serious, critical, major, grave, urgent or life-threatening. Phillips said no matter the wording, the injury was not trivial. Judge Richard Sommers is presiding over the case. Weather Alert ...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM MDT FRIDAY... * WHAT...High temperatures in the mid to upper 90s. Some areas may exceed 100 degrees at times. * WHERE...Portions of central, north central, and west central Montana. * WHEN...Until 9 PM MDT Friday. * IMPACTS...Hot daytime temperatures may cause heat illnesses. 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. 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. 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. && Amnesty International has denounced the lack of freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association in Algeria, deploring the arbitrary arrest and detention of journalists and activists. In its annual review of the situation of Human rights in the MENA region, AI said the Algerian authorities maintained a de facto ban on protests in the capital, using excessive force to disperse peaceful demonstrations across the country. According to the human rights Watchdog, the Algerian regime continued to use Penal Code provisions to stifle freedom of expression. At least seven journalists and six activists were arrested and detained under such provisions. In some cases, they were tried, convicted and even sentenced to prison terms. Between May 31 and June 1, journalists Khelaf Benhadda, Said Boudour and Adlene Mellah and whistle-blower Noureddine Tounsi were arrested for insulting institutions and undermining national unity after they covered a corruption scandal in the city of Oran. The Algerian authorities kept many associations in legal limbo by failing to respond to registration applications submitted as required by the highly restrictive Associations Law, said Amnesty International in its report on Algeria. Members of the Ahmadi religious movement in Algeria continue to suffer persecution because of their beliefs, subjecting dozens of them to trial or investigation, as well as confiscating the passports of some of them, said AI. Amnesty also slammed the Algerian regime for its continued crackdown on sub-Saharan migrants that began in August 2017, subjecting several thousands of them to arbitrary arrest, detention, forcible transfer to the far south of Algeria and expulsion to neighboring countries. In 2018, over 12,000 nationals of Niger and more than 600 nationals from other sub-Saharan African countries, including regular migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers, were summarily expelled to neighboring Niger, in blatant violation of international law. The Algerian authorities forcibly transported over 11,000 nationals of sub-Saharan African countries to the border with Niger and left them there and took similar action against more than 3,000 others whom they left at the border with Mali. In some cases, the security forces compelled migrants at gunpoint to walk through the desert to cross the borders. According to UNHCR in Algeria, on 26 December, the Algerian authorities deported at least 100 Syrian, Yemeni and Palestinian nationals to the border with Niger and left them stranded in the desert. These included several registered refugees and asylum-seekers who had previously been detained in Tamanrasset. Weather Alert ...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM MDT THURSDAY... * WHAT...Temperatures up to 105 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. && Coles told AAFP News that she believed the Academy's Commission on Health of the Public and Science chose to endorse this guideline for several reasons. Tonsillectomy in children is an important and relevant issue for family physicians because they are frequently asked to evaluate whether tonsillectomy is indicated for recurrent throat infections and obstructive sleep-disordered breathing, she said. Additionally, family physicians often see these children in the postoperative period and may be asked to assist in management of post-tonsillectomy pain. "This guideline gave clear, actionable and sound recommendations that are valuable in the primary care setting," Coles said. "The guideline panel was multidisciplinary and, importantly, included consumer representatives to ensure that patient preferences were sought and addressed throughout the process." Updates Since 2011 Guideline The AAO-HNS said in its news release that since its 2011 guideline, changes in practice have included fewer clinicians using routine postoperative antibiotics and the FDA's addition of a black box warning on the use of codeine in children. (That drug safety communication has since been updated.) The revised guideline incorporates input from the two new consumer advocates who joined the guideline update group and includes evidence from one new clinical practice guideline, 26 new systematic reviews and 13 new randomized controlled trials, among other changes. According to Coles, major updates from the previous guideline included adding evidence profiles for each of the 15 key action statements (seven of which are new). "These profiles include aggregate evidence quality, confidence in the evidence, benefits and harms of the recommendations, role for patient preferences, value judgments made by the panel, and a description of any differences of opinion expressed by panel members," she said. "This is intended to increase clarity and transparency for physicians utilizing this guideline." Additionally, Coles said the AAO-HNS updated five of its previous key action statements, including changing the strength of a recommendation for watchful waiting for recurrent throat infection if there have been fewer than seven episodes in the past year, fewer than five episodes per year in the past two years, or fewer than three episodes per year in the past three years. That is now a strong recommendation, she noted. "Tonsillectomy in children who do not meet these criteria (known as the Paradise Criteria) does not provide clinically meaningful improvements in outcomes, is not cost-effective and exposes children to unnecessary risks of surgery," Coles said. Notes on Key Action Statements Coles said there are a number of key action statements she thinks are especially important for family physicians to know about. First, the AAO-HNS added a new action statement that suggests physicians recommend tonsillectomy for children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) documented by overnight polysomnography. "The prior guideline stated that physicians should counsel caregivers about tonsillectomy to improve health in children with abnormal polysomnography," Coles said. "The results of the Childhood Adenotonsillectomy Trial (CHAT) demonstrated that tonsillectomy improved symptoms, behavior and quality of life outcomes for children with OSA treated with tonsillectomy compared with watchful waiting." Another new key action statement specifically recommends that clinicians not administer or prescribe codeine, or any medication containing codeine, after tonsillectomy in children younger than age 12. "This is in line with the FDA's black-box warning," Coles said. "Patients and caregivers are likely to look to their family physician for assistance in postoperative pain control. Family physicians should feel comfortable recommending pain control measures." Instead, said a closely related key action statement, physicians should recommend ibuprofen, acetaminophen or both for pain control after tonsillectomy. "Ibuprofen is safe and effective and is not associated with significant increased bleeding risk," Coles said. Finally, Coles highlighted a key action statement that said tonsillectomy may be considered for recurrent throat infection with a frequency of seven or more episodes in the past year, five or more episodes per year in the past two years, or three or more episodes per year in the past three years with documentation in the medical record for each episode of sore throat and one or more of the following: temperature greater than 38.3C, or 101F; cervical adenopathy; tonsillar exudate; or a positive test for group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus. "In severely affected children, tonsillectomy results in a small improvement in the first year following tonsillectomy," she said. "However, those benefits do not persist after one year. Watchful waiting is an appropriate option for these children, as well." More From AAFP Familydoctor.org: Tonsillitis Additional Resource Choosing Wisely: Perioperative antibiotics for elective tonsillectomy in children LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) The Nebraska Supreme Court has ruled that a Guatemalan mother who fled her home country and Nebraska to escape abusive men can keep her children. In a corner of the world known for fine family farms, gorgeous dairy land, and fresh seafood, inspiring meals and agri-tourism experiences await at every turn. Whether you're looking to get away for the day or the weekend, there's something for everyone. Here's your spring itinerary for a visit to our neighbors to the north. Cowgirl Creamery Dinner, March 20 (Courtesy of Cowgirl Creamery) Eat, laugh, and connect at Cowgirl Creamery's Pt. Reyes Community Dinner on March 20th. While you indulge in a family-style dinner highlighting seasonal ingredients, you'll also learn about West Marin painter and ceramicist Susan Hall and how she finds inspiration in the surrounding landscape. Space is limited so get your tickets ($55) online, or call 866.433.7834 to reserve. Room for more? Visit the original creamery on Fridays at 11am and 2pm for a 60-minute presentation on West Marin and the early days of Cowgirl Creamery. Experience a curd-making demonstration and guided tasting of all of your favorite Cowgirl cheeses. // 80 4th St. (Point Reyes Station), cowgirlcreamery.com Thursdays at The Marshall Store (Courtesy of The Marshall Store) It's Thursdayyou've either had a long day at work, or a long day of (hiking the coast) playing hooky from work. Take a load off with $1.50 oysters at The Marshall Store every Thursday from 10am to 4pm. Toss back as many as you likethey're serving the good stuff straight from their family farm, Tomales Bay Oyster Co. If oysters aren't your thing, go for the Bodega Bay Dungeness crab with the famous grilled garlic bread and all the fixings. // 19225 CA-1 (Marshall), themarshallstore.com Tour Straus Home Ranch (Courtesy of Straus Home Ranch) You've stuffed yourself to your heart's content, and now it's time to find a place to stay. Look no further than Straus Home Ranch, a beautifully renovated 150-year-old farmhouse on the Straus Family Creamery's 166-acre organic ranch. You and nine of your closest friends can enjoy this working ranch hideaway, just one hour north of San Francisco. Awake to cows grazing behind the house and walk to the beach for tide pooling. Take a walking tour of the historic working ranch where the original Straus' children will guide you through the fields to meet the cows and share stories about the history of dairy farming in Marin, as well as organic agriculture and environmental conservation. A moderately steep hill at the end of the tour reveals sweeping views of Tomales Bay and the Point Reyes National Seashore. Included after your walk is a guided sampling of local, artisan cheeses. // 22888 Shoreline Hwy (Marshall), straushomeranch.com Saturdays at Marin Country Mart (Courtesy of Marin Country Mart) If you only have a few hours, the weekly farmers market at Marin Country Mart is a quick way to experience artisan ingredients from around the region all in one place. Every Saturday from 9am to 2pm, you'll find produce and flora from local and seasonal farmers, premium seafood, meat and dairy from the likes of Belcampo and Fallon Hills Ranch, artisan kombuchas, vegan eats, and all the arts, crafts, and live music you can handle. There's stuff for the kiddos too: Treat them to face painting, story telling, and pony rides. // 2257 Larkspur Landing Cir (Larkspur), marincountrymart.com Plan your next Marin County adventure at visitmarin.org. Greg Grandin in The Chronicle of Higher Education: On a late February day in 1805 in the South Pacific, Amasa Delano, master of the Perseverance, a sealer out of Boston, boarded a distressed Spanish ship carrying about 70 West African men, women, and children. Delano spent about nine hours on the vessel, called the Tryal. He talked with its sailors, who were few in number, doled out water to its black-skinned men and women, and took charge of organizing repairs. And all that time, he couldnt see that it was the West Africans, whom he thought were slaves, and not the Spaniard who introduced himself as captain, who were in command. Nearly two months earlier, the West Africans, who had been loaded at Valparaiso, Chile, bound to be sold in Lima, rose up, executing most of the Tryals crew and passengers, along with the slave trader who was taking them to Peru. Led by an elderly man named Babo and his son Mori, the rebels ordered Benito Cerreno, the ships owner and captain, to sail them to Senegal. Cerreno stalled, cruising first north and then south, before running into the Perseverance.The rebels began to ready their weapons for a fight. But then Babo had an idea. The West Africans let Delano come on board and acted as if they were still slaves. Mori stayed at Cerrenos side and feigned at being a humble and devoted servant. Cerreno pretended he was still in charge, telling Delano stories about storms, doldrums, and fevers to account for the state of his ship and the absence of any officer aside from himself. The alabaster-skinned Delano later wrote that he found himself surrounded by scores of Africans and a handful of Spanish and mulatto sailors telling their stories and sharing their grievances in a babel of languages. They spoke in Wolof, Mandinka, Fulani, and Spanish, a rush of words indecipherable in its details but soothing to Delano in its generalities, convincing the New Englander that the desperation he was witnessing was real, that he wasnt being lured into a pirates trap. Over the years, this remarkable affairin effect, a one-act, nine-hour, full-cast pantomime of the master-slave relation performed by a group of desperate, starving, and thirsty men and womenhas inspired writers, poets, and novelists. The Chilean poet Pablo Neruda thought the boldness of the slaves reflected the dissent of the 1960s. More recently the Uruguayan Tomas de Mattoss Chinese box of a novel, La fragata de las mascaras, uses the deception as a metaphor for a world where reality isnt hidden behind a mask but is the mask itself. But by far the most haunting rendition of the events on the Tryal is Herman Melvilles Benito Cereno, first published in 1855. Melville left no letters or diaries, at least none yet found, that reveal his thoughts upon reading Delanos memoir, or what had moved him to fictionalize Delanos experience on board the rebel-held ship. But by the 1850s, Melville had become preoccupied with the sham of modern life, with the difficulty of distinguishing surface appearance from substance. So it isnt hard to imagine what attracted him to the incident, and particularly to the duped Delano. More here. (Note: Throughout February, we will publish at least one post dedicated to Black History Month) Gal Koplewitz in MIL: During his long journey through Europe and the Levant in 1867, Mark Twain stopped off in Milan. Like many, he was struck by the grandeur of the citys great cathedral, but it was something else that truly became etched in his memory. Standing inside the cathedral was a statue of St Bartholomew, the apostle who had been skinned alive, and who was depicted with his skin draped around his shoulders as if it were a towel. In The Innocents Abroad, Twains account of that year of travel, he recounts: The figure was that of a man without a skin; with every vein, artery, muscle, every fibre and tendon and tissue of the human frame represented in minute detail It was a hideous thing, and yet there was a fascination about it somehow. Animated by this same fascination, physicians and artists have, over the centuries, opened up the human body and recorded what they discovered inside, as visitors to a new exhibition at the Royal College of Physicians in London will find. Under the Skin brings together a small yet impressive selection of anatomical illustrations, produced primarily by Western physicians and artists (though there are some striking exceptions) from the late Middle Ages through to the 20th century. These scrolls, prints and woodcuts show how these scientists grappled with the challenges of representing human anatomy, and in so doing made illustrations that are as gruesome as they are compelling. More here. Andrew Marzoni at The Baffler: What is missing in Claptons imitation of African American musical tradition on Unplugged, which Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot fairly described as a blues album for yuppies, is the quality most responsible for the musics sadness as well as its humor, lasting relevance, and political bite: that is, a profound self-awareness. As Eric Lott writes in Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class (1993), whose title Bob Dylan lifted for his 2001 record, Minstrelsy brought to public form racialized elements of thought and feeling, tone and impulse, residing at the very edge of semantic availability, which Americans only dimly realized they felt, let alone understood. The antebellum minstrel show, whose enthusiasts included Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, and Abraham Lincoln, was an expression of white Americas ambivalence toward its own culture of self-proclaimed supremacy; the whites involved in minstrelsy, Lott writes, were far from unenthusiastic about black cultural practices or, conversely, untroubled by them, continuous though the economic logic of blackface was with slavery. more here. Every once in awhile, you get a cabbie who wants to tell you his life story, or a waiter who needs you to know he's an actor, too. Depending on their charm and your attitude, we meet such people with wan smiles in the U.S.and in most other countries, they're even less tolerated. Yeah, yeah: Just fix the toilet. It's not like that in the Dominican Republic. Todayon Dominican Republic Independence DayI'm flying home from the DR, where I got to know so many people whose stateside counterparts would have gone about their business quietly. Beginning with the government driver who picked my wife and me up at the airport at Punta Cana and drove us more than two hours to Santo Domingo, and then back to Punta Cana when my work was done: We learned about Francis' family, what he likes to do on weekends, his political point of view, his personal philosophy of work and life, and his sense of humor. All this even though Francis speaks less English than we speak Spanish. All this through frantic and awkward work on Google Translate. This is not a particular credit to my curiosity, human or journalistic. When we met Francis I was preoccupied about the gig the next day, and when he dropped us off I was exhausted. Had Francis offered silent servitude like so many cabbies and Uber drivers in the U.S., that would have been perfectly fine with me. But it wouldn't have been Francisand, as I would come to understand, it wouldn't have been the Dominican Republic. In Punta Cana, where we spent a few days in a corporate chain resort called Zoetryour stay here was compensation for my speakingwe were not charmed by the corporate bullshit behind everyone's first-day greeting, "Welcome home." Uh huh. We also understood some of the resort workers' initial overtures as traditional island patter. Fifty years ago, my parents used to mimic the accent of a porter at a St. Thomas resort who reassured my nervous mother that she had nothing to fear from the geckos or other native critters: "Nutting on dis island can her-chu." But I was unprepared for a much more insistent, more personal kind of humanity. The hostess at the restaurant nearest our villa introduced herself as Maria the first day and asked our names. She pointedly spoke our names every time she saw us, even as we shuffled, sun-dazed and beer-buzzed, in and out of the restaurant. It didn't seem like a form of ingratiating. It seemed like a politely stubborn demand: I am here. I remember you. Sooner or later, you will remember my name. And sooner or later we did. "Good morning, Maria, como esta?" On the third morning, I was writing on my second-story balconyand going well, until I began hearing this repeated hissing sound. Was it a bird? Was it someone splashing a hose on a wall below? I sat there looking up and down and all around. Until I saw Maria, downstairs, laughing. She had been fucking with me! (Who would do a thing like that at an American hotel?!) At a bar on the other side of this campus, a serious and quietly charismatic bartender named Joaquin was frequently teased by other workers passing by. "Joaquin is a very bad man," one worker told us, detailing a prank Joaquin had pulled on him earlier that day. Joaquin theatrically refused to crack a smile. Another employee sidled by the same bar. (The workers were unhurried and un-self-conscious about chewing the fat, with one another or with the guests.) His English was especially good and we got to talking about presidential politics here. He was opinionated, and forthcoming. We discussed the Dominican Republic's burgeoning relationship with China, and the displeasure it has brought to the U.S. government. "Because of the Monroe Doctrine," the guy said, and out of my arrogant American poker face popped a "Wow!" Which I lamely covered over by saying it's rare when the Monroe Doctrine comes up in any conversation. (When the guy left, I checked my phone to bone up on the fucking Monroe Doctrine; later he told me he'd spent much of his childhood in Providence, Rhode Island.) By the time our personal concierge Dio started telling us as we squinted into the poolside sun about his dreams to become a science fiction writer and his frustration at not finding enough time before work or energy after a day of serving customers in the hot sun, I was starting to think this whole country is full of people disinclined to hang their humanity on the hook next to the time clock. I wonder if Francis will agree with my assessment of his entire nation, based on a few interactions over a seven-day stay, mostly at a resort that caters to Americans. And I will find out, because Francis and I are Facebook pals, and I bet he'll feed this post into Google Translate, and let us all know what he thinks. If I know Francis. *** Postscript: All of the above was actually written and scheduled before our last afternoon here, when I emerged dazed from a massage to entertain a 90-minute barstool political and socio-historical discourse with Dio, and another session just as long and even more intense with the onetime Rhode Island guy, whose name is Enrique. For our entire last afternoon here, they told stories of a nation utterly transformed over the last 25 years30-something Dio grew up with his nurse mother washing clothes in the river, educated in a school that only ran four hours a dayand they offered different takes on the current political system, here and in the U.S. both: nuanced, considered and often surprising. (Enrique thinks Trump is terrific, for instance, and blames the Clinton Foundation for "losing" all the earthquake money they raised for the DR's hapless neighbor Haiti. Enrique is also now my friend on Facebook, and he'll probably weigh in here too.) Jesus Christ, how are you supposed to vacation in a place this alive? CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. On Feb. 14, The Temple of Time opened in Coral Springs. That day marked the first anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. It left 34 physical casualties, 17 dead and another 17 injured, and uncountable, far-reaching emotional damage. This temple project mixes grief-work, art, inclusive spirituality, and an engaged community. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School draws students from two cities, Parkland and Coral Springs. A Bloomberg 2018 Public Art grant and the City of Coral Springs provided funding to build this temple. The temple will be open until mid-May. Then, at some point in the near future when weather conditions are favorable and meet the approval of the fire marshal, a planned cleansing fire will consume and transform it. The building, co-creation, and destruction of this temple is not a Pagan ritual, but many Pagans, would find the process familiar. c eserman / donated by friend of mine Around 5 p.m. on that day, 100 to 150 people were visiting the temple. Some were leaving memorial graffiti or making offerings. These offerings, meanderings, and graffiti messages were co-creating the temple. About 20 police were also present. They expect a lot of people to be participating in the Temple of Time. A live web cam provides a 24/7 view of this temple to everyone online. The Temple The temple is reminiscent of a stupa and rises from a base of 1225 square feet (113.90 square meters) to a height of 37 feet high (11.28 meters). At its center, stands an altar. Construction took about two weeks. The crew included professionals and people from the local community. All surface parts of the temple have been cut from four-by-eight pieces of birch plywood. credit C Eserman Grief-Work These temporary temples may remind some individuals of Buddhist Sand Mandalas. In both cases, artists create something of beauty and then destroy it. Two major differences exist, however: artist control vs. community co-creation and exclusive vs. inclusive spirituality. In Sand Mandalas the monks retain control of the entire process. In these grief-work temples, the project only comes alive with community participation. Sand paintings are linked to a particular religion, Buddhism. In contrast, griefwork temples are secular but inclusive. David Best, the lead artist, chose this temples name, Temple of Time, to stress the time needed to deal with grief. He rejected a theme of healing. He felt one year was not enough time for healing to have occurred. In a Miami New Times article, Best said, healing is not something that is going to happen overnight. Im not pretentious enough to think that Im offering something that is going to change someones life. The loss of a loved one or a child is going to be with them for the rest of their life. I have no intention to try to erase that; I dont believe I could. Members of the community work with the crew to create these griefwork temples. Survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas mass shooting helped to build the Temple of Time. The crew encourages members of the community to write on every surface in the temple. They write the names of the people for whom they grieve, notes to them, or messages to the public. Paul Walker, a member of the crew, said that the crew creates the empty space. As members of the community enter that space, they co-create the temple. Only at that moment of co-creation, does the grief-work temple begin to get its power. That power grows until the cleansing fire consumes the offerings, graffiti, and structure. That fire releases what the community is holding. In a published interview, Best described the burning as a cathartic ritual that inspires healing and community. According to Best, people have lots of places to celebrate but not many to grieve. Some people can transform pain and loss into strength and courage. Best described how he transforms pain into something positive, not everything were given is good, but its a gift if we make something out of it. In the Miami New Times article, Best described the temples as delicate but strong. It features delicate but strong lines and swirls. It has to be delicate enough that an emotionally vulnerable person can feel safe inside. It has to be strong enough to absorb the pain and provide comfort. Bests history with the temples as grief-work Michael Hefflin, a friend and co-worker of Best, died in a motorcycle accident. Hefflins friends felt that the Burning Man festival offered the best venue for his memorial. They built their first temple there and then torched it. David Best had found a new art form. Over the years he has built seven temples at Burning Man. Other artists have built other temples. Paul Walker described these temples as the spiritual heart of Burning Man. Keith Pomakis [CC BY-SA 2.: Creative Commons] The Burning Man Festival had begun as a reenactment of an alleged Gaulish human sacrifice. Julius Caesar had alleged that the Gauls built a huge Wicker man. They filled it with animals, prisoners, and other humans. The Gauls then torched it. The founders of Burning Man burned an empty Wicker man. Best has built temples in other places as well. For example, he and his crew built and burned a temple in Derry, Northern Ireland. They built it on a meadow overlooking the River Foyle. Some of the worst violence of the Troubles occurred in Derry. Best said in a BBC interview that this temple as allowing people to grieve, forgive, and address their losses. According to Best, 68,000 people visited the Derry temple. Best discussed this Irish temple in a Tedx Talk. The crew included 20 unemployed carpenters from Derry. A local priest accused the temple of being a Satanic project and Best of being Pagan. Best rejected the Satanic assertions and added I didnt mind the Pagan thing. I thought thats not a bad label. Ive had bad reviews; that was good one. At My Book, The Movie Ronlyn Domingue's "The Mapmaker's War" WATERLOO Peoples Community Health Clinic this month has launched its first medication assisted treatment program. MAT is a type of treatment used to help someone with an opioid substance use disorder, said Dr. Sharon Duclos, family practice medical director and MAT provider. The ultimate goal is for the patient to be able to fully function in society. This form of substance use disorder treatment is successful for anyone wanting to work towards a life free from opioid abuse. A few examples of the opioids this treatment program addresses include hydrocodone, oxycodone, heroin, fentanyl and morphine. The MAT team includes a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, two nurses, two doctors and a doctor of nursing practice, said Dr. Vicki Henderson, family practice and MAT provider. The program is currently accepting new patients. A provider referral is not necessary, and a person does not have to be a current patient of the clinic to take part. The clinic offers a sliding fee scale. For more information or to schedule and appointment an appointment, call 874-3000. More information also is available at www.peoples-clinic.com/MAT. Love 2 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 WATERLOO Crashes shut down sections of U.S. Highway 218 during a morning of slick conditions Wednesday. Waterloo police and firefighters, sheriffs deputies and state troopers worked to untangle a pileup involving 10 vehicles in the southbound lanes between Ansborough and Fletcher avenues in Waterloo. Police said part of the crash involved a semi that collided with a private garbage truck. Waterloo paramedics took one of the drivers, Jill Ford, 49, of Allison, to MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center. Jacob Dolan, 32, of Waterloo, was taken to UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital for treatment, according to the Iowa State Patrol. The highway later reopened, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. Earlier Wednesday morning, the Highway 218 overpass over downtown Waterloo was closed off following a series of crashes one involving a school bus on the slick roadway. No serious injuries were reported. The collisions came around 7 a.m. Wednesday at the edge of overpass near Sergeant Road. Three passenger cars collided in the northbound lanes. Personnel cost increases are a driving factor in the proposed $3.2 million tax hike. That includes about $413,000 for projected wage increases and more than $1 million in health insurance cost hikes. The published budget includes hiring another police officer requested by Police Chief Dan Trelka; more overtime for the fire department to ensure Fire Station No. 6 is open nearly full time; a new city planning position; and another mechanic to service the citys vehicle fleet. Other big ticket items included $200,000 more for the citys legal department, $60,000 for election expenses next year, $71,600 in additional MET Transit support, and $65,000 for Waterloo Fire Rescue to outsource some of its vehicle maintenance to private garages. The budget also adds $710,000 to make up for the use of general fund reserves. Because the city balanced its current budget with those reserves, it would need to do the same thing next year or tax to make up the difference. The city also is projecting a $106,000 bump in principal and interest payments on its debt, although council members have had discussions about reducing this years bond issue to avoid that hike. CEDAR FALLS -- The city council is holding a special session today to discuss a proposed parking study at College Hill and a public safety union agreement. The Teamsters Union, local No.238, the Cedar Falls police union, has unanimously voted to agree to allow public safety officers to work for 24-hour hour shifts, similar to firefighter scheduling. "There's a clause in there for anyone looking to move to go full time assigned to fire," said Mayor Jim Brown. Brown said there's been a great response from PSOs who want to move to the fire department. The city has at least six PSOs interested in moving to the fire department and four of those six will be able move after this meeting, said Jeff Olson, public safety director. "I'm just trying to build in more time to get those folks down there who want to get down there right away," Brown said. The Cedar Falls PSOs who want to move to the fire department have a lot of confidence in the city and will help it move forward with the public safety model, he said. The council also will discuss authorizing a parking study for the College Hill district. The study would be done by Wantman Group Inc., the same company that performed the downtown parking study. Current law prohibits optometrists from administering injections other than to counter an anaphylactic reaction. Optometrists are prohibited from administering injections until the receive approval from the Iowa Board of Optometry. The bill directs the board to accept a license to practice optometry issued to someone who graduated from an accredited school of optometry after January 2011 as proof of sufficient educational or clinical training. The Iowa Optometric Society supported the bill. Most other medical groups were opposed. Judicial openings As state lawmakers debate changes to the way Iowa judges are selected, the State Judicial Nominating Commission is seeking applicants to fill two vacancies on the Court of Appeals. The commission will nominate six candidates for Gov. Kim Reynolds to consider for appointment to the bench. To be considered for both vacancies, an application must be received 14 days before March 28. Anyone may submit names of people for consideration. Application material can be obtained by contacting the secretary of the commissions office at appellate.vacancy@iowacourts.gov. WATERLOO A Waterloo man has pleaded not guilty to federal firearms charges in connection with a revolver found during an October traffic stop. Rodonus Chino Echols, 18, of 701 Logan Ave., appeared in U.S. District Court on Wednesday after a grand jury handed up an indictment charging him with possession of a firearm by a drug user. He remains detained pending a hearing. Waterloo police stopped a Mazda in the 700 block of Logan Avenue around 1:26 a.m. on Oct. 21. Echols was in the back seat, and officers found a chrome .38-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver in his waistband, according to court records. He was detained for carrying weapons. Court records show Echols has prior drug arrests in connection with a February 2018 search at his home and another house at 705 Logan Ave. that turned up marijuana and traffic stops in July 2018 and January 2019. Love 2 Funny 9 Wow 4 Sad 3 Angry 5 WATERLOO A Waterloo man who allegedly returned fire on a passing vehicle in July has pleaded to federal weapons charges. Treysean Adair Burnside, 23, pleaded to one count of possession of a firearm by a drug user in January in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. Sentencing will be at a later date. According to court records, Burnside had returned to his South Street home following an altercation over a counterfeit $100 bill at an area bar on July 22. After receiving phone call, Burnside armed himself with a Kel Tec 9mm rifle and waited on a couch on his porch. When someone drove by and fired a shot around 2:30 a.m., Burnside responded with six or seven shots, according to court records. Police were alerted to the gunfire and found Burnside's rifle in his bedroom, records state. Officers also found Xanax bars on a window ledge near his bed. Urine tests found traces of cocaine and other drugs, and investigators discovered Facebook and Snapchat posts on Burnsides accounts showing a large bag of what appeared to be marijuana as well as photos of firearms. A subsequent search of Burnsides house in Des Moines turned up a Taurus 9mm handgun in November, according to court records. Burnside had obtained a permit to carry weapon on July 5, 2018, records state. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The last thing the world needs is a nuclear war between Pakistan and India. The danger is growing, and it is real. India and Pakistan may be the most dangerous in more than 20 years. Pakistan reported today that it shot down two Indian military aircraft over its territory and also responded to the Indian aggression with missile attacks in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Both India and Pakistan are claiming they have each shot down a fighter jet in the aerial encounter. However, only Pakistan military has posted a photo of the captured Indian fighter pilot. While Pakistani military officials released a photo the Indian pilot showing him on Twitter, sitting in a room, and insisted he is being treated as per norms of military ethics. The fact is showing his picture is a violation of Geneva Conventions. The video and pictures of the Indian pilot showed him blindfolded and apparently with blood on his face. This prompted Indias Foreign Ministry to issue a statement saying it strongly objects to Pakistans vulgar display of the injured pilot and expected his immediate and safe return. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in a speech to his nation today that wants to avoid war with India, and urged Lets settle this with talks. Prime Minister Imran Khan went on referring to the airstrikes by India on Tuesday and Pakistan's response on today went on to say Our action was only intended to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same. With the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? 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! There was no public stat Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The tit-for-tat airstrikes and todays aerial dogfight, the first since 1971, were triggered by a Feb. 14 terrorist bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 Indian security personnel. The Kashmir bombing on February 14th was claimed by a Pakistan-based militant group called Jaish-e-Muhammad and was the deadliest single attack in 30 years of protests and conflict over the disputed Himalayan region, which after decades is claimed in its entirety by both nations. Republican representative Matt Gaetz from Florida threatened Cohen ahead of his upcoming testimony. The threat, reading like something from a high school twitter spat, is already setting in motion what could be an acrimonious couple of days as former Trump spokesman and proclaimed "fixer" Michael Cohen takes the stand before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. Petty threat or witness intimidation? Slate.com reported on the tweet, which Mr. Gaetz submitted on the public platform today from his personal account. It was seen by many as a textbook example of witness intimidation, following in the footsteps of similar tactics via social media first demonstrated by President Donald Trump. In his tweet, Matt Gaetz wrote, "Hey, @MichaelCohen212 - Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she'll remain faithful when you're in prison. She's about to learn a lot." Several prominent law experts responded with their own sharp retaliation by way of Twitter, amongst them professors Ryan Goodman and Laurence Tribe at New York University and Harvard University respectively. Goodman's was appropriately snide. "Hey @mattgaetz, Does your personal attorney know you've just engaged, very clearly, in the crime of witness tampering? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat." Tribe's was more direct, to say the least. "@mattgaetz is a disgusting excuse for a human being," he wrote, adding, "He's also engaged in criminal witness tampering in plain sight. No immunity is available. He deserves to be indicted, and of course, needs to be kicked out of Congress." Gaetz has received few allies online since making the tweet, a notable exception being sitting congressman Matthew Louis Gaetz II. The latter stated he considered Gaetz' tweet provocative, but more in the line of what he deemed "witness testing" than witness tampering. Gaetz himself tweeted that in his defense he was merely "testing the veracity and character" of Cohen. He added defiantly, "That is allowed." Asked whether his tweet attacking Michael Cohen should be perceived as a threat, Rep. Matt Gaetz told reporters, "Absolutely not. Were witness testing not witness tampering." https://t.co/Qg1JcOm5Jh pic.twitter.com/YfBC2weUCC ABC News (@ABC) February 27, 2019 Despite intimidation, Cohen presses on Among the many topics covered in the testimony on Wednesday, arguably one of the most blush-inducing would be Cohen's description of providing hush money to adult star Stormy Daniels. While unable to speak about his role in the Special Counsel's investigation of the 2016 campaign, Cohen will also speak about specific aspects of the methodology used to silence her, which he claims in direct contradiction of the president, was initiated by Mr. Trump. Other topics of discussion will include the actual nature of the president's earnings, decades-spanning white collar crime, and use of racial epithets. The New York Times noted that Cohen stated that he looks forward to "letting the American people" decide "who is telling the truth." Gaetz's threat to Mr. Cohen as he prepares to do so is hardly the first explosive response from the Republican, and particularly Trump loyalist, camps. Sarah Huckabee Sanders denounced the proceedings, calling it "laughable" that anyone would give a "convicted liar" like Cohen the floor of the House Committee. The president himself has yet to comment, but has derided Cohen before ever since his indictment by the Special Counsel. A past hit from a tweet claimed that Cohen "makes up stories to get a great and already reduced deal" in court, while another compared him to Roger Stone, who President Trump praised as still "having guts." Yesterdays furious back-peddling by embattled Prime Minister Theresa May has ended with no solution to the Brexit impasse. In what initially looked like progress May announced that she would allow Parliament a vote to remove the No Deal option from Britains negotiating strategy. The deal that May has already introduced with the EU has been rejected by a historic margin and is expected to be similarly rejected when put to Parliament for the second time on March 12. The day after that expected rejection, Parliament will be asked whether they support a No Deal exit from the EU. As such an exit would involve the UK necessarily losing tariff-free access to the European market, and to all the extra-EU markets with which the EU has concluded trade deals, it is expected that it too will be rejected. Given that Parliament will then have voted for a deal, but rejected Mays deal, on 14 March they will be given the option to extend the time period within which the UK will exit the EU. Such an extension is the only logical conclusion for a Parliament which has rejected the deal on offer but also voiced its desire to have a deal of some sort. The EU Position The EU has insisted that it cannot re-open negotiations on the Brexit deal itself as any such approach would involve input from its 26 remaining member states. But they have always been amenable to providing written guarantees on the temporary nature of the Northern Irish backstop. The backstop was initially offered to accommodate Mays stated desire to remove the UK from the EU customs union without creating a hard border in Ireland. As such, the EU see it as something which was created in response to the requirements of May herself, something which the Republic of Ireland still requires, and something which might be imposed by an international treaty and its associated memorandums, in the form of the Good Friday Agreement. The EU has stated that they are willing to extend the time period for Britains departure, but only if a viable solution to the impasse, is in sight. What Happens Next? Mays Brexit party members, the self-styled European Research Group (ERG) reacted calmly to the news. They have re-stated their position that they will not accept any deal that contains the Irish back-stop and the Telegraph reports their warning that an extension might be an attempt to block Brexit altogether. On Sky News, their Chairman, Jacob Rees Mogg, also referred to the so-called Malthouse Compromise again. This initiative came in the wake of the ERGs failure to advance their promised viable technological solutions to the Irish border problem and involves presenting the EU with two choices; that of a May like deal without the Irish backstop, or a managed No Deal exit. The EU has already rejected any such ultimatum as being outside of the deal they already negotiated with the Prime Minister. According to the Daily Mail, the Prime Minister reports that she is close to gaining concessions from Europe that will allow the ERG to support her deal thereby negating the need for an extension. With a deal that allows Britain to exit the Single Market and the Customs Union, take back control of its borders, its fisheries and its agricultural policy, already on the table, she is already very close to appeasing the ERG. As the European Union continues to state that the Irish back-stop is a temporary measure until alternative methods of maintaining an open border on Ireland are found, and the ERG was once confident that such solutions were easily found in the form of technology, one hopes that Brexit will not be allowed to die, by the very people that promoted it most loudly. Uprooted Palestinians are at the heart of the conflict in the M.E Palestinians uprooted by force of arms. Yet faced immense difficulties have survived, kept alive their history and culture, passed keys of family homes in occupied Palestine from one generation to the next. Two University of North Georgia (UNG) students are one step away from earning highly competitive national scholarships to continue their higher education dreams. Senior John Blessing has been selected as a Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation finalist while sophomore Allison Rogers is a semifinalist for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. The Truman Scholarship Foundation awards scholarships up to $30,000 for undergraduate students to attend graduate school in preparation for careers in government or public service. Blessing, a student on UNGs Gainesville Campus, is pursuing bachelor's degrees in political science and history with a focus in pre-law. A list of Truman finalists was announced online recently. Other universities and colleges in Georgia with a Truman finalist are University of Georgia with three and Emory University and Spelman College with one each. The Jack Kent Cooke scholarship pays up to $40,000 a year for associate degree students to attend an accredited undergraduate school and earn a bachelors degree. Rogers is working four jobs to pay for her tuition, gas and books while attending UNG's Oconee Campus. A list of semifinalists for the Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship is online. Other colleges and universities with semifinalists are Georgia Perimeter College with nine and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, East Georgia State College and Georgia Highlands College with one each. Both students were elated after learning they were in the final round of the selection process. "When I got the email, I wasn't sure if it was real," Blessing said. He emailed Dr. Anastasia Lin, assistant vice president of research and engagement, to verify if it was authentic. It was. "It was exhilarating," he said. "My friends and I went out to celebrate." Blessing said if he becomes a Truman Scholar, the designation given to the scholarship winners, he will attend law school. "I want to defend the rights of those who have difficulty defending themselves," the 22-year-old from Gainesville, Georgia, said. Rogers has similar aspirations. The 18-year-old from Covington, Georgia, wants to serve and protect her community as a federal agent. Sophomore Allison Rogers is a semifinalist for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. The scholarship pays up to $40,000 a year for associate degree students to attend an accredited undergraduate school and earn a bachelors degree. Rogers is working four jobs to pay for her tuition, gas and books while attending UNG's Oconee Campus. "I want to work as an FBI special agent who specializes in violent crime," Rogers said. "But they want people with a degree." She hopes to make her career plan a reality by earning a bachelor's degree and then a law degree. Winning the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship would require Rogers to transfer to another school. She has applied to Yale University in Connecticut and Harvard University and Williams College in Massachusetts. "I would study government, ethics and law," Rogers said. Dr. Rosaria Meek, assistant professor of Spanish at UNG, believes Rogers is an ideal candidate to receive the prestigious scholarship. "She is one of most hardworking students I know," Meek said. "She embodies the UNG Oconee student and is the perfect example of a student who is thriving at a small campus. Allison also has the skills and abilities to succeed at larger college or an Ivy League school." Last year, 47 Jack Kent Cooke scholarships were awarded, according to the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation website. UNG student Teri Jones, a non-traditional sophomore majoring in visual arts on UNG's Oconee Campus, won the scholarship in 2015. Jennifer Conley and Blessing were semifinalists in the 2016-17 academic year. Dr. Dwight Wilson, assistant professor of political science and international affairs at UNG, believes Blessing would be a "terrific" candidate to become a Truman Scholar. Knowing him as a student in class and working with blessing on an undergraduate research project, Wilson said Blessing's unbounded curiosity, open-minded attitude and modesty would make him an asset to any graduate program. "He has the qualifications in spades to really succeed in whatever field he chooses," Wilson said. "He would not be at all out of place in any top level program because of his energy and passion. He would make a difference in the area of government or public service. John is a man of action, and he wants to make a difference. Couple that with his intellect, he is capable of going far in any area of his choosing." Last year, 59 students became Truman Scholars, according to Truman Scholars website. Jennifer Hightower, who majored in psychology, was a finalist in May 2015. No UNG student has become a Truman Scholar. Students interested in learning more about nationally competitive scholarships should contact ncs@ung.edu for more information. FILE PHOTO: Members of the United Nations Security Council gather during a meeting about the situation in Venezuela, in New York, U.S., February 26, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council is due to vote on Thursday on rival U.S. and Russian draft resolutions on Venezuela, diplomats said, with Washington's proposal calling for free and fair presidential elections and unhindered aid delivery. The Russian draft text, seen by Reuters, expresses support for a political solution to the crisis and backs the Venezuelan government as the primary coordinator of international assistance efforts in the country. A resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes by Russia, China, France, Britain or the United States to pass. Diplomats said the U.S. draft is likely to gain the minimum nine votes to force a likely Russian veto, while the Russian draft is expected to fail without the need for a U.S. veto. Russia and the United States have been at loggerheads over a U.S.-led campaign for international recognition of Juan Guaido, the Venezuelan opposition leader and head of the countrys elected National Assembly, over President Nicholas Maduro. Guaido last month declared himself the interim head of state. The U.S. draft resolution, seen by Reuters, asks U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to help ensure there is a free, fair and credible presidential election with international observers. It stresses the need to ensure the safety of all the members of Venezuelas National Assembly. The U.S. envoy on Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that he was concerned for Guaidos safety upon his return to Venezuela. Guaido crossed into Colombia on Saturday in preparation for efforts to move aid over the border to Venezuela. He then met with members of the Lima Group, a bloc of nations from Argentina to Canada, on Monday in Bogota. The Russian draft resolution expresses concern over threats to use force against Venezuela. U.S. President Donald Trump has all options are on the table in dealing with Venezuela. The United States and dozens of other nations have recognised Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate president, but Maduro still controls the military, state institutions and oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA [PDVSA.UL], which provides 90 percent of the country's export revenue. Story continues The United States targeted Venezuela's government with new sanctions on Monday and called on allies to freeze the assets of state-owned PDVSA after deadly violence blocked humanitarian aid from reaching the country over the weekend. In Geneva, Venezuela Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council, suggested on Wednesday that Maduro and U.S. President Donald Trump meet to "try to find common ground and explain their differences." Maduro also "stands ready for dialogue" with the Venezuelan opposition, he said. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Lisa Shumaker) Unofficial tallies for Senegals elections give incumbent President Macky Sall a first-round win with almost all of the votes counted. Senegalese news website Emedia reported that Sall looks set for re-election with 95 per cent of votes counted, according to tallies compiled across the countrys different administrative departments.Ousman Sonko, a former tax inspector who became an MP, secured 15 per cent of the vote, Issa Sall of the Unity and Assembly Party (PUR) took less than 4 per cent of the vote and former justice and foreign minister Madicke Niang won less than two per cent of the ballots, according to Emedia.Turnout was more than 66 per cent, according to Emedia, a figure with corresponds with reports from the AFP news agency citing an interior ministry source.Some 6.7 million people were registered to vote in the countrys elections. However, two of Salls main rivals had been barred from running in the polls.The EUs election observation mission said that the polls had demonstrated enormous democratic maturity.The best proof is the participation of voters, said Elena Valenciano, a European MP heading the EU election monitoring mission. A feeling of participation, transparency and peacefulness, she added.Nevertheless, the EU observers noted a political climate that had for several years been characterised by a lack of confidence and blocking of dialogue between the opposition and [ruling] majority, according to Valenciano. Unofficial tallies for Senegals elections give incumbent President Macky Sall a first-round win with almost all of the votes counted. Senegalese news website Emedia reported that Sall looks set for re-election with 95 per cent of votes counted, according to tallies compiled across the countrys different administrative departments. Ousman Sonko, a former tax inspector who became an MP, secured 15 per cent of the vote, Issa Sall of the Unity and Assembly Party (PUR) took less than 4 per cent of the vote and former justice and foreign minister Madicke Niang won less than two per cent of the ballots, according to Emedia. Turnout was more than 66 per cent, according to Emedia, a figure with corresponds with reports from the AFP news agency citing an interior ministry source. Some 6.7 million people were registered to vote in the countrys elections. However, two of Salls main rivals had been barred from running in the polls. The EUs election observation mission said that the polls had demonstrated enormous democratic maturity. The best proof is the participation of voters, said Elena Valenciano, a European MP heading the EU election monitoring mission. A feeling of participation, transparency and peacefulness, she added. Nevertheless, the EU observers noted a political climate that had for several years been characterised by a lack of confidence and blocking of dialogue between the opposition and [ruling] majority, according to Valenciano. The challenge supposedly involves getting children to follow Momos orders in secret A cyber expert has branded the recent online craze Momo challenge as a hoax. Dr Dawn Branley-Bell, a cyberpsychologist from Northumbria University, told Yahoo News UK: I believe that the Momo challenge is largely an urban myth or online hoax. This is the latest hot topic which is spreading like wildfire due to its sensationalist nature and is causing a lot of parents to be unnecessarily worried. The Momo challenge allegedly entices children to add a contact into their phones and then instructs them to complete increasingly dangerous tasks in secret with the threat of harming their families if they do not comply. The messages are often accompanied with the image of Momo, a bug-eyed, skeletal woman with a long, thin mouth and scraggly black hair. The picture first appeared last summer when a 12-year-old girls suicide in Argentina was thought to have been motivated by the so-called Momo game, but no link between the two has yet been proven. Dr Branley-Bell believes this is the modern equivalent of the monster under the bed, but acknowledges that a small number of children may have been disturbed by this. The sculpture was originally part of an art exhibition in Tokyo and had absolutely nothing to do with any challenge but somewhere along the line someone has started this hoax and it has spread. The image of Momo was originally a sculpture called Mother Bird by Japanese artist Keisuke Aisawa, which was on display in 2016 at the Vanilla Gallery in Tokyo She added: If a child is/has been affected, then we would be better focusing upon the underlying psychological reasons behind that childs vulnerability. More generally, we should be focusing upon providing the younger generation with the tools they need to become resilient to online content, through education and support including equipping them with the skills to identify hoaxes and encouraging them to become critical observers of what they see online, which would be much more beneficial than headlines and panic around extreme crazes or rumours. READ MORE: How to safeguard your children online There will no doubt be another challenge that comes along, however, it is undoubtedly likely to involve an element of fear whether thats through the character fronting the hoax, such as the haunting imagery associated with Momo and Slenderman, and/or a fear of the consequences, i.e., the threat that something bad will happen to you or your family if you do not follow through with the challenges. Story continues They will continue to appear and this is why the key to addressing these issues is to raise awareness of online hoaxes without scaremongering. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here to do so. Police around the UK have released statements acknowledging they know of the existence of this challenge and giving advice to worried parents about how best they can protect their children. Multiple schools have also handed out letters to parents warning them about the Momo challenge and its potential dangers. There are also concerns that the social media giants are not doing enough to prevent children from taking part or even seeing the images. After the Belgian parliament asked Berlin to stop payments to non-Germans who worked alongside the Nazi regime, France has said it will work to identify the 54 French citizens who receive such ... Secretary of State to the Minister of the Armed Forces, Genevieve Darrieussecq, said she was unaware that 54 people in France had received war pensions from Germany for services rendered to the Nazi regime during World War II."We had no knowledge of this pension," she told Le Parisien on Monday, "but they could have been people who were wounded while serving in the Wehrmacht [unified, armed forces of Nazi Germany].Darrieussecq was called to react after the Belgian parliament passed a resolution last Thursday urging the government to seek more information from Berlin regarding 27 Belgian citizens who allegedy still receive a complementary pension from Germany.Belgian MPs called for the German federal government to put an immediate stop to the payments and publish a full list of the beneficiaries.German authorities have refused to communicate the list of recipients, citing legal concerns around protecting privacy.But on Friday the German labour ministry told French enws agency AFP that 2,033 people living outside the country had received payments in February as war victims and collaborators of the Nazi regime.Three-quarters are in Europe, with the highest number in Poland (573), followed by Slovenia (184), Austria (101), Czech Republic (94), Croatia (71), France (54), Hungary (48), UK (34), Belgium (18).The payments range from 435 euros to close to 1,300 euros per month depending partly on time spent in prison after the war, which was regarded as "working for Germany".Compensation rather than pensionThe pensions are deliverd under the 1951 Law on the Care of the Victims of the War which was passed to compensate war victims of Nazi crimes and includes former collaborators of the Nazi regime, some of whom were forcibly enrolled and recruited.It built on a decree, signed in 1941 by Adolph Hitler, and never abrogated, to compensate those who pledged "allegiance, fidelity, loyalty and obedience" to the Fuhrer in the event they suffered partial or total invalidity as a result of their collaboration in the war.So technically the payments are seen as compensation rather than a pension.The law excludes former members of the SS and perpetrators of war crimes.Calls for pensions to be stoppedOn Saturday, the head of hard-left France Unbowed, Jean-Luc Melenchon, demanded the pensions be stopped and that all sums paid out be handed over to the Charles de Gaulle Foundation.But Genevieve Darrieusecq has called for caution."They could be former soldiers, widows," she told Le Parisien. "We must first of all try to investigate more thoroughly who might be concerned," citing the case of people forced to enroll in the German army."In the case of people in Alsace and Moselle [who were enrolled by force], there were 135,000. Thousands among them were injured or became invalids. Many were seriously impacted, against their will.We must take the time to study the situation calmly and not rush into controversy, she said. "We mustnt be excessive and turn these kind of subjects into caricature.The subject is particularly sensitive in France, which has seen a recent steep rise in anti-Semitic attacks. After the Belgian parliament asked Berlin to stop payments to non-Germans who worked alongside the Nazi regime, France has said it will work to identify the 54 French citizens who receive such ... Secretary of State to the Minister of the Armed Forces, Genevieve Darrieussecq, said she was unaware that 54 people in France had received war pensions from Germany for services rendered to the Nazi regime during World War II. "We had no knowledge of this pension," she told Le Parisien on Monday, "but they could have been people who were wounded while serving in the Wehrmacht [unified, armed forces of Nazi Germany]. Darrieussecq was called to react after the Belgian parliament passed a resolution last Thursday urging the government to seek more information from Berlin regarding 27 Belgian citizens who allegedy still receive a complementary pension from Germany. Belgian MPs called for the German federal government to put an immediate stop to the payments and publish a full list of the beneficiaries. German authorities have refused to communicate the list of recipients, citing legal concerns around protecting privacy. But on Friday the German labour ministry told French enws agency AFP that 2,033 people living outside the country had received payments in February as war victims and collaborators of the Nazi regime. Three-quarters are in Europe, with the highest number in Poland (573), followed by Slovenia (184), Austria (101), Czech Republic (94), Croatia (71), France (54), Hungary (48), UK (34), Belgium (18). The payments range from 435 euros to close to 1,300 euros per month depending partly on time spent in prison after the war, which was regarded as "working for Germany". Compensation rather than pension The pensions are deliverd under the 1951 Law on the Care of the Victims of the War which was passed to compensate war victims of Nazi crimes and includes former collaborators of the Nazi regime, some of whom were forcibly enrolled and recruited. Story continues It built on a decree, signed in 1941 by Adolph Hitler, and never abrogated, to compensate those who pledged "allegiance, fidelity, loyalty and obedience" to the Fuhrer in the event they suffered partial or total invalidity as a result of their collaboration in the war. So technically the payments are seen as compensation rather than a pension. The law excludes former members of the SS and perpetrators of war crimes. Calls for pensions to be stopped On Saturday, the head of hard-left France Unbowed, Jean-Luc Melenchon, demanded the pensions be stopped and that all sums paid out be handed over to the Charles de Gaulle Foundation. But Genevieve Darrieusecq has called for caution. "They could be former soldiers, widows," she told Le Parisien. "We must first of all try to investigate more thoroughly who might be concerned," citing the case of people forced to enroll in the German army. "In the case of people in Alsace and Moselle [who were enrolled by force], there were 135,000. Thousands among them were injured or became invalids. Many were seriously impacted, against their will. We must take the time to study the situation calmly and not rush into controversy, she said. "We mustnt be excessive and turn these kind of subjects into caricature. The subject is particularly sensitive in France, which has seen a recent steep rise in anti-Semitic attacks. French President Emmanuel Macron demanded on Wednesday that the Dutch government clarify its intentions over a surprise move by The Hague to buy up shares of Franco-Dutch airline Air ... Macron said that Paris had not been told about the decision by the Dutch government to up its stake in the carrier and called on the Netherlands to clarify its intentions.What matters is that the interests of the company are preserved, said Macron, according to the AFP news agency.A source close to the matter told AFP that an exceptional meeting of Air France-KLMs board of directors had been called on Wednesday.French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire described the Dutch move as unfriendly and more akin to the sort of tactics employed by a trader rather than a state.The Air France CFDT trade union said the Dutch move was done on the sly and the government in the Netherlands intends to influence strategic choices.Bernard Garbiso, secretary general of CFE-CGC, an Air France trade union, said it amounted to a certain Dutch chauvinism, according to AFP.Social media users in France and the Netherlands reacted strongly to the news.Jelle Leenes said on Twitter that the French must stop complaining, pointing out that the French state had long since promised to sell its stake in the commercial airline, but not kept its promise.French Twitter user Kentaing said Macron and Le Maire could retaliate by buying a stake in Rotterdam port in order to protect the interests of French ports.Other French social media posters suggested that KLM actually generates much more profit than Air France and staff spend less time on strike. French President Emmanuel Macron demanded on Wednesday that the Dutch government clarify its intentions over a surprise move by The Hague to buy up shares of Franco-Dutch airline Air ... Macron said that Paris had not been told about the decision by the Dutch government to up its stake in the carrier and called on the Netherlands to clarify its intentions. What matters is that the interests of the company are preserved, said Macron, according to the AFP news agency. A source close to the matter told AFP that an exceptional meeting of Air France-KLMs board of directors had been called on Wednesday. French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire described the Dutch move as unfriendly and more akin to the sort of tactics employed by a trader rather than a state. The Air France CFDT trade union said the Dutch move was done on the sly and the government in the Netherlands intends to influence strategic choices. Bernard Garbiso, secretary general of CFE-CGC, an Air France trade union, said it amounted to a certain Dutch chauvinism, according to AFP. Social media users in France and the Netherlands reacted strongly to the news. Jelle Leenes said on Twitter that the French must stop complaining, pointing out that the French state had long since promised to sell its stake in the commercial airline, but not kept its promise. French Twitter user Kentaing said Macron and Le Maire could retaliate by buying a stake in Rotterdam port in order to protect the interests of French ports. Other French social media posters suggested that KLM actually generates much more profit than Air France and staff spend less time on strike. If there's one thing you don't want while you're cruising downhill on a scooter, it's sudden braking. Lime has rolled out firmware updates after the detection of a bug within its fleet of electric scooters, which "under rare circumstances could cause sudden excessive braking." SEE ALSO: Yup, e-scooters are dangerous, study confirms especially since nobody wears helmets According to a company blog post, Lime commissioned "extensive analysis" of the problem by its internal team and other experts, and found that although the issue was rare, it was indeed happening. "We diagnosed the issue in a laboratory environment and determined that in very rare cases usually riding downhill at top speed while hitting a pothole or other obstacle excessive brake force on the front wheel can occur, resulting in a scooter stopping unexpectedly," read its statement, published Feb. 23. Lime noted the issue affected less than 0.0045 percent of all rides, but confirmed that "some riders have been injured, and, although most have been bumps and bruises, any injury is one too many." The company said it has developed updates for the firmware, some of which have already been rolled out, and that the company is "confident in their efficacy." "A final update is now being dispatched to every Lime scooter in the market and will be complete shortly," the post added. "We are also proactively working with consumer protection agencies around the world to ensure we meet their rigorous safety expectations." If you're thinking of riding, Lime recommended doing a visual inspection of the scooter you're about to hop on to make sure the hardware looks in good condition, and report it to customer service if not. Once you're off and away, Lime said to give the brake a good squeeze, and if it doesn't work, hop off the scooter, end the trip, and report the issue. If it does work, Lime recommends not going full speed when going downhill, as that seemed to be the circumstance when most "sudden excessive braking" has occurred. Story continues Some countries aren't satisfied with Lime's solution, however. One South Australian lawmaker asked for a halt to the trial in Adelaide following a braking incident, while New Zealand councils implemented a ban on the scooters due to safety concerns related to the braking issues. Lime had reportedly advised Auckland Council of 155 reported incidents in the country involved "irregular braking" possibly "caused by the unexpected locking issue," with 30 of these leading to injury. According to the New Zealand Herald, 1,300 scooter-related injuries have been reported since their introduction to the country in Oct. 2018. That seems a particularly high number for New Zealand, as a study by the Consumer Reports watchdog indicated that 1,500 scooter related incidents have occurred in the U.S. since late 2017, when Lime launched and rival company Bird was founded. Be safe out there, riders. By Parisa Hafezi and Babak Dehghanpisheh DUBAI/GENEVA (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rejected the resignation of his foreign minister on Tuesday, standing by a leading moderate ally long targeted by hardliners in internal factional struggles over a 2015 nuclear deal with the West. Zarif - a U.S.-educated veteran diplomat who helped craft the pact that curbed Iran's nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief - gave no reason for his decision to quit when he announced it on Instagram on Monday. Rouhani also used Instagram to disclose his rejection of Zarif's resignation, adding a picture of himself and Zarif together and smiling as well as the hashtags, "#Zarif_is_not_alone" and "#Zarif_is_staying" in Farsi. Zarif's move thrust the schism between Iran's hardliners and moderates into the open, effectively challenging Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to pick a side. An ally of Zarif said his resignation was motivated by criticism of the nuclear accord, under increasingly intense fire in Iran since the United States abandoned it last year. "There were closed-door meetings every week, where top officials were bombarding him with questions about the deal and what will happen next and so on," a Zarif ally told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "He and his boss (Rouhani) were under a huge amount of pressure." Since the United States walked out of the nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions last year, Rouhani has had to explain why Iran has continued to abide by its restrictions while reaping virtually none of the foreseen economic benefits. In an apparently related development, an oil ministry spokesman said Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh is not resigning, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA). Like Zarif, Zanganeh is regarded as a moderate. Iran's Foreign Ministry reiterated that Rouhani had not accepted Zarif's resignation, rejecting reports in the media. Story continues "WISE AND EFFECTIVE POSITIONS" "All interpretations and analysis around the reasons behind the resignation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, beyond what he posted on his Instagram account, are not accurate and, as the chief of staff of the president of Iran said today, the resignation has not been accepted," spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by Fars news. Lawmakers representing the majority moderate faction sent Rouhani a letter asking him to keep Zarif on, IRNA reported. Rouhani's chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi said Rouhani stood by Zarif. The president's praise was "a clear sign of the satisfaction of the representative of the people of Iran about the wise and effective positions and work of Dr Zarif," Vaezi wrote on Instagram. Lawmaker Ali Motahari, like other politicians from both camps, said Rouhani was unlikely to accept Zarifs decision since no one else could fill the demanding post. The schism between hardliners and moderates over the nuclear deal shows the tension in Iran between the two factions, and between the elected government which runs the country on a day-to-day basis and a clerical establishment with ultimate power. Rouhani won elections in 2013 and 2017 on reform promises, while Khamenei, in power since 1989, is seen as above factional infighting but sympathetic to hardliners. While Rouhani chooses ministers, Khamenei traditionally has the last say. UNCERTAINTY "If he (Khamenei) publicly backs Zarif and Rouhani, this crisis will be over in a good way and it will narrow the gap between different political camps in the country," said an official close to the hardline camp. The political uncertainty comes at a difficult time for Iran's leaders as the reimposed U.S. sanctions have dashed hopes of an economic breakthrough. Rouhani has warned that the country is facing the worst economic crisis in 40 years. Hardships have triggered waves of nation-wide protests, with calls for both Rouhani and clerical leaders to step down. Some unconfirmed Iranian media reports indicated Zarif had resigned because he had not been informed about a visit by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday. Zarif was quoted as condemning "factional fighting" in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday - suggesting political tensions may have played a part in his decision. The Fars news agency reported that the interview had taken place last week, before Zarif's resignation. (Reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Michael Georgy, Andrew Heavens, Peter Graff, William Maclean) Belgium's federal investigating magistrates have outlined their arguments in the trial of Frenchman Mehdi Nemmouche accused of killing four people at the Jewish Museum of Brussels in ... Investigating magistrates, Bernard Michel and Yves Moreau, presented evidence aiming to show that 33-year old Mehdi Nemmouche is the author of the attack on the 24th May 2014 at the Belgium Jewish Museum.The trial begun in January and a ruling is expected to be delivered in March by three presiding magistrates and 12 jurors.Nemmouche is accused of "terrorist murder" and if found guilty faces a life sentence. He denies the charges but has, so far, not given any further details.The prosecution described his silence as "indecent" and his defense "stupid".The Belgium prosecution said the 2014 attack on the Jewish museum is the first one carried out in Europe by a jihadist fighter coming back from Syria.Nemmouche was captured in France six days after the attack in Marseille. He was previously known to French authorities, having served five years in prison for robbery.He had been under surveillance by French and Belgian security services. French authorities also identified him as one of the jihadists who kept four French journalists hostage until they were freed in April 2014 in Syria.The investigating magistrates presented on Monday a number of evidence: fingerprints on murder weapons, clothes and accessories found on Nemmouche, as well as his attitude while in remand.Nemmouche's lawyers claim that the attack was not carried out by the Islamic State but by the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, which was targeting an Israeli couple.Nacer Bendre (30) is also facing trial for supplying Nemmouche with the arms used in the killings. Nacer denies the charges. Belgium's federal investigating magistrates have outlined their arguments in the trial of Frenchman Mehdi Nemmouche accused of killing four people at the Jewish Museum of Brussels in ... Investigating magistrates, Bernard Michel and Yves Moreau, presented evidence aiming to show that 33-year old Mehdi Nemmouche is the author of the attack on the 24th May 2014 at the Belgium Jewish Museum . The trial begun in January and a ruling is expected to be delivered in March by three presiding magistrates and 12 jurors. Nemmouche is accused of "terrorist murder" and if found guilty faces a life sentence. He denies the charges but has, so far, not given any further details. The prosecution described his silence as "indecent" and his defense "stupid". The Belgium prosecution said the 2014 attack on the Jewish museum is the first one carried out in Europe by a jihadist fighter coming back from Syria. Nemmouche was captured in France six days after the attack in Marseille. He was previously known to French authorities, having served five years in prison for robbery. He had been under surveillance by French and Belgian security services. French authorities also identified him as one of the jihadists who kept four French journalists hostage until they were freed in April 2014 in Syria. The investigating magistrates presented on Monday a number of evidence: fingerprints on murder weapons, clothes and accessories found on Nemmouche, as well as his attitude while in remand. Nemmouche's lawyers claim that the attack was not carried out by the Islamic State but by the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, which was targeting an Israeli couple. Nacer Bendre (30) is also facing trial for supplying Nemmouche with the arms used in the killings. Nacer denies the charges. Kashmir conflict heats up as India, Pakistan claim to down each other's jets By James Mackenzie and Alasdair Pal ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India and Pakistan both said they shot down each other's fighter jets on Wednesday, with Pakistan capturing an Indian pilot a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a 1971 war, prompting world powers to urge restraint. Both countries have ordered air strikes over the last two days, the first time in history that two nuclear-armed powers have done so, while ground forces have exchanged fire in more than a dozen locations. Tensions have been running high since at least 40 Indian paramilitary police died in a Feb. 14 suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, but the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base. A senior Indian government source said 300 militants were killed in Tuesday's strike. Pakistan says no one died. The White House condemned the intensifying conflict and urged "both sides to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation." "The potential risks associated with further military action by either side are unacceptably high for both countries, their neighbours and the international community," a National Security Council official said on condition of anonymity. The Pentagon added to U.S. pressure for restraint by the foes, issuing a statement that said Acting U.S. Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan is focussed "on de-escalating tensions and urging both of the nations to avoid further military action." Pakistan's envoy to the United States, Asad Majeed Khan, said Islamabad would like to see the Trump administration play a more active role in easing the crisis. "We would certainly like to have more, and would certainly like to see more active involvement of the United States," he told reporters. At the same time, he said the lack of U.S. condemnation of India's strike on Pakistan is "construed and understood as an endorsement of the Indian position, and that is what emboldened them even more. Story continues Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan called for talks with India and hoped "better sense" would prevail so that both sides could de-escalate. "History tells us that wars are full of miscalculation. My question is that, given the weapons we have, can we afford miscalculation," Khan said during a brief televised broadcast to the nation. "We should sit down and talk." The Pakistan government's official Twitter account released a video of a man it claimed was an Indian pilot who had been shot down. The man, whom Pakistan has named as Wing Commander Abhi Nandan and whose face was bloodied and blindfolded, gives his name and service number before telling a man questioning him: "I'm sorry sir, that's all I'm supposed to tell you." A statement from India's foreign ministry said the pilot's treatment was a "vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention," ordering his immediate release. India has not yet named the pilot. In a second video circulating on social media, a screenshot of which was shared by the same Pakistan government account, the pilot was seen sipping tea while praising his treatment by the Pakistani military. Reuters could not independently verify the second video's authenticity. POLITICAL PRESSURE Pakistan and India have fought three wars since independence from British colonial rule in 1947, two over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and went to the brink of a fourth in 2002 after a Pakistani militant attack on India's parliament. The latest escalation marks a sudden turnaround in relations between the two countries, both of which claim Kashmir in full, but only rule in part. As recently as November, Pakistan's Khan spoke of "mending ties" with India. The conflict also comes at a critical time for Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi, who faces a general election in a matter of months. Modi's decision to order air strikes could benefit him politically, according to analysts and pollsters, but he was accused on Wednesday by opposition parties of capitalising on conflict. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the "blatant politicization of the sacrifices made by our armed forces," in a joint statement by 21 opposition parties, the first time they have broken ranks with the government over the issue. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke separately with the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan and urged them to avoid "further military activity" following Tuesday's air strike. "I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost," Pompeo said in a statement on Wednesday. "I also encouraged both ministers to prioritise direct communication and avoid further military activity," he said. China and the European Union have also called for restraint. AERIAL BATTLE Many of the facts in the latest series of engagements are disputed by the two sides. Major General Asif Ghafoor, spokesman for the Pakistan armed forces, said two Indian jets had been shot down after they entered Pakistani airspace while responding to a Pakistani aerial mission on targets in Indian-controlled Kashmir. One of the jets crashed on the Indian-controlled side of the de facto border in Kashmir, known as the Line of Control, and the other on the Pakistani side. Ghafoor said the Pakistani aircraft had carried out the strikes in response to India's air strike the day before but had taken deliberate action to ensure no casualties were caused. The Pakistani jets had locked on to six targets, in a demonstration of their capacity to hit strategic installations, but deliberately fired into open spaces where there would be no casualties. "This was not a retaliation in true sense, but to tell Pakistan has capability, we can do it, but we want to be responsible, we don't want an escalation, we don't want a war," Ghafoor told a news conference. One of the aircraft fell on India's side of Kashmir, while the second came down in Pakistani-held territory with two pilots captured, he added. Raveesh Kumar, a spokesman for India's foreign ministry, gave a different account, telling a news briefing that the Pakistan air strikes on military targets had been "foiled." India shot down one Pakistani plane that landed in Pakistani territory, Kumar said, adding that it had lost one of its own planes, not two, with the pilot "missing in action." "Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," Kumar said. Pakistan denies it lost a plane in the encounter. At the Pakistani briefing, Ghafoor produced photographs of weapons and identity documents he said were carried by Indian pilots. Pakistan initially said that two Indian pilots had been captured, before clarifying it only had one in its custody. The Indian air force has ordered Kashmir's main airport in Srinagar along with at least three others in neighbouring states to close, an official said. Pakistan shut its airspace, with commercial flights in the country cancelled. Flights from the Middle East and India were also affected. Air Canada said on Wednesday it has temporarily suspended service to India, following a decision by the Pakistani government to close its airspace. In a separate incident, police officials in Indian-occupied Kashmir said that four passengers and a civilian had died after an Indian aircraft crashed in Kashmir. The craft was initially reported by officials to be a plane, but a partial tail number from the craft seen by a Reuters witness showed it to be an Mi17 military helicopter. The cause of the crash was unknown. CIVILIAN FRIGHT The aerial engagement followed overnight artillery fire by both sides. Pakistan used heavy-calibre weapons in 12 to 15 places along the Line of Control, a spokesman for the Indian defence forces said on Wednesday. "The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focussed fire resulted in severe destruction to five posts and number of casualties," the spokesman said. Five Indian soldiers suffered minor wounds in the shelling that ended on Wednesday morning, he added. "So far there are no (civilian) casualties but there is panic among people," said Rahul Yadav, the deputy commissioner of the Poonch district on the Indian side where some of the shelling took place. "We have an evacuation plan in place and if need arises we will evacuate people to safer areas, he said. Officials on the Pakistani side said at least four people had been killed and seven wounded, including civilians, with thousands evacuated and schools closed in border areas. "Only those families are still here which have concrete bunkers built within or along their homes," said Muhammad Din, a resident of Chakothi, a village in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir near the de facto border. India has also continued its crackdown on suspected militants operating in Kashmir, and on Wednesday security forces killed two Jaish militants in a gun battle, Indian police said. Syed Maqsood, the superintendent of a government hospital in Indian-occupied Kashmir, said that all hospitals in the region had been asked to paint a red cross on their roofs in case of further Pakistani air strikes. (Reporting by James Mackenzie and Alasdair Pal; additional reporting by Fayaz Bukhari, Devjyot Ghoshal, Aditi Shah, Aditya Kalra, Drazen Jorgic, Rupam Jain, Abu Arqam Naqash, Eric Beech, Jonathan Landay and Praveen Menon; editing by Nick Macfie, G Crosse and James Dalgleish) German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a joint news conference with the President of Burkina Faso Roch Marc Christian Kabore after a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) BERLIN (AP) German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that the head of the European Union's executive branch has her full support in the face of a new Hungarian government campaign alleging that EU headquarters has purposely weakened the bloc's external borders to let in more migrants. The campaign by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government, launched ahead of European Parliament elections in May, has added to long-running tensions between Budapest and Brussels. Government posters featuring EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Hungarian-American financier George Soros have recently started appearing in Hungary and in the country's newspapers and magazines. They claim that EU leaders, who Orban says are carrying out instructions from Soros, "are launching experimental immigration projects with African countries; want to introduce mandatory settlement quotas; want to reduce financial assistance for countries opposed to migration." EU leaders have rejected the claims, arguing that the EU and Juncker are in fact at the forefront of reinforcing the bloc's external borders. "Jean-Claude Juncker has my full solidarity, and we will also make that clear in our discussions with Hungary," Merkel told reporters in Berlin. The campaign has prompted renewed calls for Orban's Fidesz party to be thrown out of the center-right European People's Party group in the European Parliament, but Merkel sidestepped a question on when her patience with Orban would snap. Juncker and Merkel's Christian Democratic Union are members of the EPP. "I'm very much surprised if I am seeing these posters now spread around in Hungary," Juncker said at a conference in Brussels. "But I'm not giving in. I'm not like that." Juncker added that there can be "no progress" in Europe if nations fight against each other. "Enough is enough," he said. Story continues Manfred Weber, a German conservative who is the EPP's candidate to succeed Juncker as Commission chief after the EU election, said Orban's campaign and other recent comments were causing "great incomprehension and anger" in the European center-right grouping. He told Germany's daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung it wasn't right for Orban to be in the EPP and campaign against a Commission president who is also from the party. Orban must "recognize that he is moving further and further away from the EPP," Weber added. Hungary showed no sign of backing down. The poster "includes tenable, exact and true statements in all of its elements," said Gergely Gulyas, Orban's chief of staff. "The past five years have been a failure for Europe as a result of the activities of the European Commission, and the European Commission cannot deflect responsibility for what has happened in Europe," he said, mentioning Brexit and the large influx of migrants. The Dutch government increased its stake in Air France-KLM to 14 percent on Wednesday, just short of the 14.3 percent held by France. The move comes a day after the Dutch surprised Paris by purchasing a 12.68 percent share in the alliance. "The Dutch state has bought a 14 percent stake in Air France-KLM," the government announced in a statement on Wednesday. The shares package is valued at a total of 744 million, it said, adding that "buying of Air France-KLM shares has been halted".The Dutch government already sparked French anger a day earlier when it announced the acquisition of a 12.68 percent share in the alliance without first informing Paris. France, which holds a 14.3 percent stake in Air France-KLM, appeared stunned by the move and demanded Amsterdam "clarify" its intent."The government was not informed of this decision nor its implementation ...," French President Emmanuel Macron said at a press conference in Paris after learning about the first purchase. "It is now up to the Dutch government to clarify its intentions." While the Netherlands did not own shares in the France-KLM alliance before its first purchase on Tuesday, it did own a 5.92 percent stake in KLM itself. An anonymous finance ministry source told the AFP news agency that the transaction was viewed by Paris as a hostile move for more control."The way this stake was acquired resembles the techniques of a trader instead of a state shareholder it is both very surprising and unfriendly towards Air France's board and other shareholders," the source said.Following the initial purchase of a 12.68 percent share, Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra said the government ultimately wanted a stake to rival that of France."The aim is, eventually, to acquire an interest that almost equals that of the French state," he said on Tuesday.With this share purchase, the Dutch cabinet wants to be able to influence the future development of Air France-KLM directly to serve the Dutch public interest."(FRANCE 24 with AFP) The Dutch government increased its stake in Air France-KLM to 14 percent on Wednesday, just short of the 14.3 percent held by France. The move comes a day after the Dutch surprised Paris by purchasing a 12.68 percent share in the alliance. "The Dutch state has bought a 14 percent stake in Air France-KLM," the government announced in a statement on Wednesday. The shares package is valued at a total of 744 million, it said, adding that "buying of Air France-KLM shares has been halted". The Dutch government already sparked French anger a day earlier when it announced the acquisition of a 12.68 percent share in the alliance without first informing Paris. France, which holds a 14.3 percent stake in Air France-KLM, appeared stunned by the move and demanded Amsterdam "clarify" its intent. "The government was not informed of this decision nor its implementation ...," French President Emmanuel Macron said at a press conference in Paris after learning about the first purchase. "It is now up to the Dutch government to clarify its intentions." While the Netherlands did not own shares in the France-KLM alliance before its first purchase on Tuesday, it did own a 5.92 percent stake in KLM itself. An anonymous finance ministry source told the AFP news agency that the transaction was viewed by Paris as a hostile move for more control. "The way this stake was acquired resembles the techniques of a trader instead of a state shareholder it is both very surprising and unfriendly towards Air France's board and other shareholders," the source said. Following the initial purchase of a 12.68 percent share, Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra said the government ultimately wanted a stake to rival that of France. "The aim is, eventually, to acquire an interest that almost equals that of the French state," he said on Tuesday. With this share purchase, the Dutch cabinet wants to be able to influence the future development of Air France-KLM directly to serve the Dutch public interest." (FRANCE 24 with AFP) Demonstrators gathered in Peshawar on February 27 to urge Pakistani leaders to go to war with India as the two countries clash over Kashmir. Tension between India and Pakistan is high following a series of air attacks involving both sides, in which fighter jets from each nation were shot down and an Indian pilot was captured by Pakistani forces, Reuters reported. Indias Ministry of External Affairs summoned on February 27 the Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan to lodge a strong protest at the unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan against India earlier today. Credit: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty via Storyful Theyve done it. The UK and Ireland have agreed on something Brexit-related, written it down, and finalised it. Alas, the UK-EU withdrawal agreement remains mired in controversy, but that shouldnt distract from the important stepping stones being put in place regarding the Common Travel Area between the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The Common Travel Area allows visa-free travel between the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands for all citizens. Beyond travel, related legislation in each member of the Common Travel Area has long allowed citizens of other members to be treated in most regards as if they are home citizens, for example for work or residency purposes. The Common Travel Area was once touted as the solution to virtually every difficulty that Brexit posed for Ireland and Northern Ireland. Although both the UK and Ireland have facilitated cross-border travel for each others citizens for the best part of a century, our recent research has demonstrated this isnt sufficient to keep the border open in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The arrangements have existed for decades in a patchwork of laws and policies. Besides a tweak to immigration policy in 2011, little attention has been given to the Common Travel Area, and EU free movement law has provided a more developed legal framework. For example, welfare provisions in Northern Ireland which disadvantaged cross-border workers were only fixed after litigation under EU law. Whats needed after March 29, or Brexit day, is a clear legal basis for the Common Travel Area both in the UK and Irelands own legal systems, underpinned by an international agreement between the two countries. Agreement on social security In February 2019, a newly agreed memorandum of understanding (MoU) on social security belatedly started the process of solidifying these arrangements. For those whose lives straddle the border in Ireland or who move from the UK to Ireland (or vice versa), these new measures will provide some certainty over rights even in a no-deal Brexit scenario. Story continues This agreement on social security equivalence is hugely important, particularly in providing a basis for shared rules. To know whether someone who claims benefits in Louth should be paid by the UK or Ireland currently relies on where that person is habitually resident. If, after Brexit, the two countries adopted substantially different rules, people could claim in both countries or get stuck in a gap where neither system considered them a resident. This scenario is just the tip of the iceberg, and as many convoluted examples exist as there are complexities in peoples lives and patterns of work. This new MoU signals the start of a common, bilateral, understanding on these matters. Next, making sure that the benefits system is efficient and fraud is prevented will require data sharing across borders. In a no-deal scenario the UK would lose access to the EU database on social security, and provisions of the new MoU could rescue social security and pensions from complete chaos. Alongside this MoU, a new immigration and social security bill before the UK parliament aims to tidy up Common Travel Area arrangements which predated the age of mass air travel. At the moment, a strict reading of the law would suggest that visa-free travel after Brexit would only apply when an Irish national travels directly to the UK from Ireland. The change would make an Irish nationals point of departure irrelevant, meaning they will enjoy access to the UK without a visa even if they arrived from another country such as France, or the United States. Both countries want to make sure that UK and Irish nationals are treated like home citizens in most respects. Both governments have emphasised that the area existed before their countries EU membership and that its benefits should therefore continue after Brexit. Still, these arrangements are no substitute for a comprehensive withdrawal agreement. First, this MoU only covers the UK and Ireland. Second, its full terms only cover UK and Irish nationals, meaning other EU nationals who have moved their lives between the two countries wont benefit. Third, it doesnt cover matters of trade or regulation, and because Ireland granted the EU competence to manage these issues, the two countries cannot address them bilaterally. All of these issues require the UK and EU to agree a future Brexit deal. More work to do Social security and pensions is just one area of rights related to the Common Travel Area, and other problems remain. Much is in the pipeline, but the UK and Ireland urgently need to finalise agreements across areas as diverse as security, health, and education. The Common Travel Area and the rights associated with it reflect an important part of the two nations shared history, a reality that isnt well served by multiple technical legal documents. One potential way to resolve this issue would be for Ireland and the UK to conclude a general framework agreement. This could restate their intention to treat UK and Irish nationals as equivalent to home citizens and to continue to use the Common Travel Area as the foundation of a close and co-operative relationship. Any relevant domestic law could be interpreted in light of these arrangements. The recent MoU is a recognition that the two governments can be proactive in smoothing administrative bumps, even if the wider Brexit debate frequently presents them as being at loggerheads. But much more needs to be agreed before there can be any collective sigh of relief. The UK and Ireland might have decided who gets the Guinea pig in the divorce, but theres still the matters of the kids, house and car. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The Conversation Colin Murray receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council to support the project Performing Identities: Post-Brexit Northern Ireland and the reshaping of 21st-Century Governance" (Grant ES/S006214/1). This article does not reflect the views of the research council. Ben Warwick receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council to support the project Performing Identities: Post-Brexit Northern Ireland and the reshaping of 21st-Century Governance" (Grant ES/S006214/1). This article does not reflect the views of the research council. The BBC is launching a timely series of programmes encouraging people to cross political divides in a polarised world. Programmes in the Crossing Divides schedule will aim to explore and narrow the gaps of religion, geography, age and ethnicity which separate factions in a fragmented modern era. The broadcaster is seeking to push different world views in to dialogue, and director general Tony Hall has welcomed the year of conciliatory programmes. Shows will see Stacey Dooley face-to-face with a suicide bomber, mothers disguised as 21-year-olds to bridge the age gap, far right and far left activists in conversation, and commuters thrown into debate on public transport. Lord Hall said: Crossing Divides couldnt be more timely it is an ambitious season that will bring fascinating stories to audiences across the UK and the world, and help us understand a little more of each others worlds. In Stacey Dooley: Face To Face With A Suicide Bomber, the Strictly Come Dancing winner will talk to female Boko Haram survivors who had failed to detonate their suicide devices. She will travel to the war-torn east of Nigeria to see how communities have been affected by terror. Stacey Dooley will travel to Nigeria (PA) Also on BBC Three, 21 Again will see youthful-looking mothers infiltrate the world of the younger generation. On BBC Radio 5 Live thousands of political opposites will be paired off in a series of chats to try and reach common ground. On BBC World News representatives of the far left and far right will be filmed in conversation, as will citizens of Russia and Ukraine. Emily Kasriel, BBC editor for the special season, said: Crossing Divides draws on the BBCs public purpose to contribute to social cohesion and our solutions-focused journalism initiative to explore themes of collaboration and relationships across divides, whilst also asking searching questions and stimulating new thinking. Story continues BBC Two Pilgrimage: The Road To Rome will see people from different faiths travel to the centre of the Catholic world. Educational programmes exploring global differences and how to negotiate a diverse world will also run on BBC services for children and young people. Crossing Divides will run across the year on TV, news, radio and online starting from March 4. A college student arrested near Dedan Kimathi University with suspected explosive devices has been set free. Nyeri Chief Magistrate Wendy Kagendo ordered the release of Bruce Ndegwa on Tuesday after the prosecution failed to establish he had committed an offence. A medical examination also showed that Ndegwa has schizophrenia, a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. Medical documents presented in court showed that the suspect sought treatment at Canopy Hope Counselling in September 2017. He is said to have a history of hallucinations and inconsistent flow of thought. The report also showed consistency with a substance-induced disorder and symptoms of residual schizophrenia a type of schizophrenia where a person displays mostly the negative symptoms of the mental disorder. The medical examination was ordered when Ndegwa was arraigned in Court on Monday, 18, three days after his arrest on Friday, 15, February 2019. The mental assessment was conducted by two psychiatrists at Nyeri County Referral Hospital in the presence of an officer from the Director of Public Prosecution. In her ruling, Chief Magistrate Wendy Kagendo told Ndegwa he would be on probation for two years. The suspect is released from custody and the mother of the accused should ensure he gets proper medication, she said. Ndegwa is a Tourism and Hospitality student at Nyeri National Polytechnic. His colleagues described him as an introvert who is known for skipping classes. They said the third year student dropped out of college in 2017 before resuming studies last year. Pakistan and India said Wednesday they had shot down each other's warplanes, in a dramatically escalating confrontation that has fuelled concerns of an all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals. Calling for talks with India to defuse the situation, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan warned of the potentially catastrophic consequences should "better sense" not prevail."Can we afford any miscalculation with the kind of weapons that we have and you have?" he said in a televised statement.While both sides have sought to play down the threat of war, the rare aerial engagement over the divided and disputed territory of Kashmir significantly raises the stakes in a standoff sparked by a suicide attack on the Indian-controlled side earlier this month.Pakistan initially said it downed two Indian jets in its airspace and captured two pilots, but later its military spokesman tweeted that there was "only one pilot" in Pakistani custody.India's foreign ministry demanded the "immediate and safe return" of the pilot, calling on Pakistan to ensure no harm comes to him.The pilot "gives Islamabad a key bargaining chip that may affect just how muscular Delhi's next move could be," tweeted US analyst Michael Kugelman.New Delhi also confirmed the loss of one of its planes and said it had shot down a Pakistani fighter jet.>> Pakistan's ambassador to France: Islamabad's policy is 'not to escalate' tensions with IndiaIn a sign of the deepening crisis, Pakistan closed its airspace "until further notice". At least six airports were shuttered in India, and a vast area north of New Delhi was closed to civilian flights."We do not want to go towards war," Pakistan's military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor told a press conference.Ghafoor said the jets had been shot down after Pakistani planes earlier flew across the Line of Control, the de facto border in Kashmir, to the Indian side in a show of strength, hitting non-military targets including supply depots.Afterwards, he said, the two Indian planes crossed the LoC into Pakistani airspace. One fell into Pakistani-held Kashmir, while the second crashed on the other side, he said.He denied initial reports that a Pakistan plane had been shot down, saying accounts an F-16 had been lost were incorrect.'Unfortunate loss' Later, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Rajeesh Kumar said a Pakistani jet was hit as it took part in an operation "to target military installations on the Indian side".He said the Indian plane flown by the captured pilot -- a Mig-21 -- was lost in that operation.Pakistan state media published a video purportedly showing the captured pilot being interrogated.It shows a blindfolded man in an Indian Air Force uniform, his face bloodied, with his hands tied behind him, giving his name, rank and serial number as a soldier interrogates him.The military later released a second video showing the man without a blindfold and drinking a cup of tea.The incidents are the latest in a dangerous sequence of events between the two countries, whose ties have been under intense strain since the February 14 suicide bombing in Indian Kashmir that killed 40 troops.New Delhi had promised to act, and on Tuesday its warplanes flew into Pakistani airspace and struck what it said was a camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the militant group that claimed the Kashmir bombing.It was India's first air strike on Pakistani soil since the neighbours fought a war in 1971 -- when neither had nuclear weapons.Islamabad, while denying the Indian strike caused any major damage or casualties, quickly vowed to retaliate, fuelling fears of a disastrous confrontation in South Asia.Appeal against 'escalation' Earlier Wednesday, India's foreign minister sought to ease the situation by downplaying Tuesday's strike, repeating Indian claims that it had been a pre-emptive attack on JeM."India does not wish to see further escalation of this situation," Sushma Swaraj said during a visit to China.The US, along with China, Britain, Germany and the European Union, have called for cooler heads to prevail."We encourage India and Pakistan to ... avoid escalation at any cost," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.China Wednesday again urged the two sides to "exercise restraint". Britain said it was "deeply concerned" and working with partners including the UN Security Council to defuse tensions.Crisis for Khan The confrontation represents the first major foreign policy crisis for Pakistan's leader, who is believed to be close to the powerful military and who came to power last year vowing to seek dialogue with New Delhi.Pakistan has denied involvement in the Kashmir bombing on February 14.While India has consistently accused its neighbour of supporting extremist groups, Pakistan has equally vehemently denied any role in attacks in India and its only Muslim-majority state, Kashmir.The Himalayan region has been divided between India and Pakistan since independence in 1947. They have fought two of their three wars over the territory.Previously, the US and other members of the international community have acted to defuse tensions."If I were Washington, I'd be in overdrive making phone calls and signalling that it wants tensions to be de-escalated now," said Moeed Yusuf, an expert at the US Institute of Peace in Washington."The risks of letting this play out are too great."(AFP) Pakistan and India said Wednesday they had shot down each other's warplanes, in a dramatically escalating confrontation that has fuelled concerns of an all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals. Calling for talks with India to defuse the situation, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan warned of the potentially catastrophic consequences should "better sense" not prevail. "Can we afford any miscalculation with the kind of weapons that we have and you have?" he said in a televised statement. While both sides have sought to play down the threat of war, the rare aerial engagement over the divided and disputed territory of Kashmir significantly raises the stakes in a standoff sparked by a suicide attack on the Indian-controlled side earlier this month. Pakistan initially said it downed two Indian jets in its airspace and captured two pilots, but later its military spokesman tweeted that there was "only one pilot" in Pakistani custody. India's foreign ministry demanded the "immediate and safe return" of the pilot, calling on Pakistan to ensure no harm comes to him. The pilot "gives Islamabad a key bargaining chip that may affect just how muscular Delhi's next move could be," tweeted US analyst Michael Kugelman. New Delhi also confirmed the loss of one of its planes and said it had shot down a Pakistani fighter jet. >> Pakistan's ambassador to France: Islamabad's policy is 'not to escalate' tensions with India In a sign of the deepening crisis, Pakistan closed its airspace "until further notice". At least six airports were shuttered in India, and a vast area north of New Delhi was closed to civilian flights. "We do not want to go towards war," Pakistan's military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor told a press conference. Ghafoor said the jets had been shot down after Pakistani planes earlier flew across the Line of Control, the de facto border in Kashmir, to the Indian side in a show of strength, hitting non-military targets including supply depots. Story continues Afterwards, he said, the two Indian planes crossed the LoC into Pakistani airspace. One fell into Pakistani-held Kashmir, while the second crashed on the other side, he said. He denied initial reports that a Pakistan plane had been shot down, saying accounts an F-16 had been lost were incorrect. 'Unfortunate loss' Later, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Rajeesh Kumar said a Pakistani jet was hit as it took part in an operation "to target military installations on the Indian side". He said the Indian plane flown by the captured pilot -- a Mig-21 -- was lost in that operation. Pakistan state media published a video purportedly showing the captured pilot being interrogated. It shows a blindfolded man in an Indian Air Force uniform, his face bloodied, with his hands tied behind him, giving his name, rank and serial number as a soldier interrogates him. The military later released a second video showing the man without a blindfold and drinking a cup of tea. The incidents are the latest in a dangerous sequence of events between the two countries, whose ties have been under intense strain since the February 14 suicide bombing in Indian Kashmir that killed 40 troops. New Delhi had promised to act, and on Tuesday its warplanes flew into Pakistani airspace and struck what it said was a camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the militant group that claimed the Kashmir bombing. It was India's first air strike on Pakistani soil since the neighbours fought a war in 1971 -- when neither had nuclear weapons. Islamabad, while denying the Indian strike caused any major damage or casualties, quickly vowed to retaliate, fuelling fears of a disastrous confrontation in South Asia. Appeal against 'escalation' Earlier Wednesday, India's foreign minister sought to ease the situation by downplaying Tuesday's strike, repeating Indian claims that it had been a pre-emptive attack on JeM. "India does not wish to see further escalation of this situation," Sushma Swaraj said during a visit to China. The US, along with China, Britain, Germany and the European Union, have called for cooler heads to prevail. "We encourage India and Pakistan to ... avoid escalation at any cost," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. China Wednesday again urged the two sides to "exercise restraint". Britain said it was "deeply concerned" and working with partners including the UN Security Council to defuse tensions. Crisis for Khan The confrontation represents the first major foreign policy crisis for Pakistan's leader, who is believed to be close to the powerful military and who came to power last year vowing to seek dialogue with New Delhi. Pakistan has denied involvement in the Kashmir bombing on February 14. While India has consistently accused its neighbour of supporting extremist groups, Pakistan has equally vehemently denied any role in attacks in India and its only Muslim-majority state, Kashmir. The Himalayan region has been divided between India and Pakistan since independence in 1947. They have fought two of their three wars over the territory. Previously, the US and other members of the international community have acted to defuse tensions. "If I were Washington, I'd be in overdrive making phone calls and signalling that it wants tensions to be de-escalated now," said Moeed Yusuf, an expert at the US Institute of Peace in Washington. "The risks of letting this play out are too great." (AFP) BERLIN (Reuters) - The German cabinet gave the green light on Wednesday for Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann to serve a second eight-year term, a move that keeps him in the mix as a possible successor to ECB chief Mario Draghi later this year. The ECB's top job will become available from November and while Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau is seen as the frontrunner, the selection process has yet to start and several names remain in the frame. A monetary policy hawk, Weidmann has often challenged the ECB's ultra-easy monetary policy, criticising decision sometimes within hours of policy meetings, irking fellow policymakers in the process. His first Bundesbank term expires at the end of April. Before he took over the post in 2011, Weidmann advised Chancellor Angela Merkel on economic policy. The prospect of Weidmann, 50, succeeding Draghi is controversial among the 19 members of the euro zone, with some southern European countries traditionally opposed to the idea of having a German in the job. Others, including Austria, however, openly back him. Still, despite earlier conflicts, Italy's economy minister kept the door open last month to Weidmann's candidacy, saying that past disagreements should not weigh on the decision. Draghi's successor is likely to be named only after elections for the European Parliament in May. The decision feeds into a package of posts that includes heads of the European Commission and Council. It is commonly accepted that Germany could only win one of these positions and Merkel is expected to seek the Commission Presidency for Germany. However, Die Zeit weekly reported that Berlin believed the chances of Weidmann succeeding Draghi at the ECB were growing, suggesting that Merkel may still opt for the central banking job. Asked about the report, a spokeswoman for the German government declined to comment on Draghi's possible successor, saying the matter would be decided later in the year. Story continues She said Weidmann had carried out his duties as Bundesbank President effectively so it would be good if he continued. Die Zeit said senior members of the government were looking at the possible effects of such a move by Weidmann as doubts were growing that German conservative Manfred Weber would succeed in a bid to become president of the European Commission. Weber is head of the conservative European People's Party (EPP) grouping in the European parliament which has faced criticism from some European liberals and Social Democrats for its links to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. "If Weber fails, then Weidmann becomes current again from a German point of view," reported Die Zeit without identifying any sources or exactly where this view came from. A government source told Reuters that it was far too early to judge who has the best chances of getting the ECB job. (Reporting by Holger Hansen, Markus Wacket; Additional reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Michelle Martin and Madeline Chambers; Editing by Toby Chopra) After 48 years Indian Air Force flew missions and attacked terror camps inside Pakistan occupied Kashmir. This is the event of the century in Indo -Pakistan relations. The last time this had happened was in 1971 when the Pakistani army had surrendered and signed on the dotted line, and over 90,000 soldiers were taken as POWs in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The BBC has reported that it was the first time Indian warplanes have crossed the de-facto border in Kashmir - in more than 40 years. Prime Minister Modi had announced days back that Pakistan would have to pay a heavy price for the killing of 43 soldiers during the Pulwana attack. A suicide bomber owing allegiance to the Jaish-e - Mohammed had in a suicide attack killed over 40 CRPF soldiers on the highway to Srinagar. The attack The IAF using 12 French-built Mirage 2000 low-level deep penetration strike aircraft mounted an attack on terrorist command centers in POK (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) and the northern territory of Pakhtoonwali. The raids appear to have been a success, and the biggest success was the bombing of the terrorist command center at Balakot. The Business Standard has reported that a dozen Mirage 2000 Indian fighter jets dropped 1,000 kg bombs on terror camps across the Line of Control. Pakistan's failure From all accounts, it appears the Pakistan radar failed to detect the approach of the Mirages's. This does not speak highly of their Air Defence. One is reminded of a similar operation by US special forces which also went undetected when they neutralized the noted terrorist Osama bin Laden. He was given refuge in Pakistan by the government and army at Abbottabad about 100 miles from the capital. The US helicopters entered deep inside Pakistan and assaulted the residence of Osama and took his dead body away leaving the country red-faced. The Indian Express reported the Indian foreign secretary has announced that the strikes were a "non-Military pre-emptive action." He further added that the strikes targeted a training camp for the Jaish-e-Mohammad group in Balakot, north-east Pakistan. Pakistan has been taken by surprise as they never expected such attack. In the 1999 Kargil conflict, the IAF never breached the LOC, but Narendra Modi is a different type of leader than Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He is aggressive and forthright. Pakistan reaction Prime Minister Imran Khan has promised a reaction at a time and place of its choosing. At the moment the IAF can bask in the sun as reportedly over 200 terrorists are eliminated. After a lapse of a few years after "Slumdog Millionaire," a Film from India has again won an Oscar. This time it's in the best short documentary film category. The film "Period. End of Sentence" was produced by Guneet Monga. He is the executive producer, and Iranian American filmmaker Rayka Zehtabchi directed the film. Short film The short film, set in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh's Hapur district, is based on taboos that surround menstruation. In the subcontinent menstruation is a taboo period and in Nepal, a menstruating woman is asked to live outside the house in a hut. In a tragic case a few days back a woman with two children died in a hut after being ostracised by the family due to the severe winter. BBC has reported that the present film is based on a true incident and concerns a young lady named Sneh who helps make sanitary pads. Sneh now 22 attended the Oscar awards which in 2016 had Priyanka Chopra as one of the presenters. Akshay Kumar's 'Padman' The documentary comes close on the heels of Akshay Kumar's "Padman" who starred in "2.0" with Rajinikanth. This film was made on a similar subject and offended quite a few. The movie was a hit in India, but, Pakistan banned the film as it went against Islamic principles. The pad project The film came into being as a part of the Pad Project, started by students at the Oakwood School in Los Angeles and their teacher, Melissa Berton. She was at the stage along with Rayka Zehtabchi to accept the award. The group had traveled to the Northern state of Uttar Pradesh and shot the film at Hapur which is a mere 130 km from the Indian capital New Delhi. The city is modern with shopping malls and broad avenues, but Hapur was steeped in superstition and taboo. It was as if it existed in another world. The team shot the film there and never expected they would be nominated for an Oscar, let alone win the coveted award. The Tribune has reported that Zehtabchi while accepting the award broke into tears and said that she never expected that a film on menstruation would win an award. Melissa Berton has dedicated the award to her school. She also informed that the project was born because of her students in LA as well as people in India who wanted to make a human rights difference. The director Zehtabchi also had a special word of praise for the producer Guneet Monga. Future It's been a long wait for an Indian film to have won an Oscar. For decades Indian films never won an Oscar but now there is international recognition and Bollywood is looking up. It is the second largest film industry in the world and produces the most number of films. Adama Brown-Hathasway, left, The Rev. Dr. Jay Williams, both from Boston, and Ric Holladay of Kentucky join in prayer during the 2019 Special Session of the General Conference of The United Methodist Church in St. Louis, Mo., Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. America's second-largest Protestant denomination faces a likely fracture as delegates at the crucial meeting move to strengthen bans on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT clergy. (AP Photo/Sid Hastings) Government Reporter Erin came to Tyler from Vermont, where she worked for VTDigger.org and previously the Rutland Herald. She received her B.A. in Economics and Spanish from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where she also attended journalism school. The Anti-Counterfeit Agency has impounded fake Samsung products worth Sh3 million following a raid in Nairobi. The authority also arrested several people over the sale of the counterfeit products that included mobile phones and batteries. The raid was carried out on the busy Tom Mboya Street on Tuesday by the authority and Samsung brand protection officers on Tuesday. The anti-counterfeit agency said the devices are usually imported as Unitel or Calsen Mobile and rebranded as Samsung by retailers on arrival in the country. Some of the counterfeit goods confiscated this morning include Samsung phones with removable IMEI stickers, which is not the case with authentic Samsung smartphones, the authority said. The raid comes against the backdrop of a report released by the Anti-Counterfeit Agency in February which shows that nearly three-quarters of Kenyans use counterfeit goods. Out of the 70 percent above, 19 percent purchase fake goods knowingly, 49.6 percent claim they bought the goods because they were cheap, 17.3 percent were looking for original items but couldnt find them, and 18.3 percent were not aware of the risks. The most counterfeited goods in the Kenyan market are mobile phones at 51.8 percent, alcohol at 30.8 percent, DVD players at 26.4 percent while bottled water is at 24 percent. South Africa: Be vigilant - follow the rules of the road! President Cyril Ramaphosa has encouraged road users to be vigilant and obey the rules of the road at all times. This call follows the death of six people in an accident during a three-vehicle collision on the notorious R573 Moloto Road at Kameeldrift, near Pretoria, on Monday. At least 25 people most of them bus passengers were taken to hospital after a Putco Bus, an SBV armoured vehicle and a Toyota Avanza got involved in a head-on collision. The 160km stretch of Moloto Road - dubbed road of death - runs through the provinces of Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. The road is used by close to 60 000 commuters on a daily basis. This tragic incident reminds us of the fragility of life and reminds us why it is necessary for all of us to be patient and considerate as we use and share our roads. A few seconds of consideration can prevent a lifetime of trauma and loss, said President Ramaphosa. The President went on to extend his condolences to the family and friends of the deceased. He also wished the survivors of the incident a speedy recovery. South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) is currently upgrading the Mpumalanga and Limpopo side of this road to the value of R4.5 billion. This includes the improvement of road safety measures. - SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2019-02-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that it is the end of an era. The adventures of viking Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his best friend, n Queensland media personality Billy J. Smith, best known for co-hosting Its a Knockout, has died, aged 73. He died yesterday after a fall the day before which caused a brain bleed. His family turned off life support yesterday. Smith began his career hosting quiz show The Numbers Game before locally produced NRL games and State of Origin coverage. He hosted Its a Knockout ran on 10 from 1985 to 1987 alongside Fiona MacDonald, filmed in a field in Dural, NSW until noise complaints from local residents caused the show to cease production. A 2011 revival hosted by HG Nelson, Charli Robinson and Brad McEwan featured a Billy J. Smith Cup as its grand prize. After his TV career Smith was an in-demand compere in the Brisbane corporate world. Rugby league legend Wally Lewis described Smith as the ultimate entertainer of his time. Source: 10 News First Matt Le Nevez features in his first major role outside of Australia in The Widow, a new series starring Kate Beckinsale as a woman searching to uncover the mystery of the disappearance of her husband in the Congo. The 8 part series also features Charles Dance. Friday March 1 on Amazon Prime. By Robert Willmann As television and media excitedly broadcast the now disbarred former Trump lawyer and loudmouth, Michael Cohen, in the ongoing attempt to create an atmosphere conducive to removing president Trump without an election, three issues that really matter can better serve the public interest: the tensions and violence now existing between Pakistan and India, the always critical issue of nuclear weapons, and the country of Korea. There have been informative discussions on SST regarding the area encompassing Pakistan and India. In addition, as a contributor, FB Ali has provided excellent insight concerning that part of the world. President Ronald Reagan recognized the risks and problems with nuclear weapons and did what he could to end the "cold war" and reduce nuclear weapons. Here is a speech of his from 1981-- https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/research/speeches/111881a The current issues about India and Pakistan, and Korea-- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-kashmir-idUSKCN1QG0IR https://www.reuters.com/live/north-korea A buffet with a variety of food is available free of charge at the press center in Hanoi for more than 3,500 local and international reporters who are in the Vietnamese capital to cover the second U.S.-North Korea Summit. The buffet features nearly 40 dishes, including many of Vietnams traditional courses and street food, all of which are carefully cooked by a team of talented chefs. The International Media Center for the summit includes a restaurant that is open around the clock, but the buffet is only served during lunch and dinner on a daily basis. The food is prepared for about 3,500 local and international reporters. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre Snacks and drinks are served at the venue during the remaining time of the day. The menu of the buffet is regularly adjusted to ensure reporters have tasty and interesting meals while covering the international event. According to Nguyen Quoc Hung, deputy director of the National Convention Center, which is in charge of preparing the meals, the chefs that cook the buffet were previously selected by the Hanoi administration based on their reputation in the eyes of foreign visitors. Reporters pick their food at the buffet at the International Media Center. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre Matthias Muller, a journalist from Switzerland, considered the buffet a great way to promote Vietnamese cuisine and culture to the international correspondents amidst their hectic schedule at the event. The Hanoi summit, scheduled for February 27 and 28, takes place less than a year since U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un first met in Singapore in June 2018. A stall serving bun thang, one of Hanois specialties. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre The high-profile leaders are expected to meet at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi at 6:30 pm (local time) on Wednesday and have a 20-minute one-on-one conversation before a dinner scheduled to last just over an hour and a half, according to the White House. Trump landed in Hanoi on Air Force One just before 9:00 pm on Tuesday, hours after Chairman Kim arrived in the Vietnamese capital by car, following a 60-hour train journey from Pyongyang through China. Bun cha, another famous dish of Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre A Japanese reporter carries a bowl of pho. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre A server presents some of Vietnams traditional dishes. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre Traditional Vietnamese desserts. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre A reporter carries a bowl of pho. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre A group of foreign journalists have a chat during their meal. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi on Wednesday afternoon, before they enjoyed a working lunch together with their personnel. The reception took place at the Government Office in the Vietnamese capital at 11:50 am, as part of President Trumps trip to Hanoi for the second U.S.-North Korea Summit. The U.S. leader had joined talks with General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong at the Presidential Palace earlier the same day. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc welcomes President Donald Trump at the Government Office. Photo: Viet Dung / Tuoi Tre PM Phuc and President Trump had a working lunch with five courses featuring Vietnams traditional dishes, according to CNN. Some of the dishes included deep fried Hanoi-style spring rolls with shrimp, pork, vermicelli and vegetables, grilled cod fish, or cha ca, and steamed sticky glutinous rice with shrimp wrapped in a lotus leaf. Their dessert consisted of lotus seeds, longans, and white wood-ear mushrooms served warm and in a light sugary syrup. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc welcomes President Donald Trump at the Government Office. Photo: Viet Dung / Tuoi Tre After the meal, the U.S. president returned to his hotel in Hanoi and is expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at around 5:55 pm on the same day. The high-profile leaders will meet at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi and have a 20-minute one-on-one conversation before a dinner scheduled to last just over an hour and a half, according to the White House. The two leaders wave national flags along with a group of Vietnamese children. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) shakes hands with President Donald Trump. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The United States will continue working with Vietnam to step up practical and effective bilateral links in the near future, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh during their meeting in Hanoi on Tuesday evening. The talks were held shortly after the top U.S. diplomat arrived in Hanoi ahead of the second U.S.-North Korea Summit scheduled for February 27-28. Minh, who is also deputy prime minister, spoke highly of the U.S. and North Koreas selection of Vietnam as the venue for their second summit, asserting that the event will be a success, contributing to promoting denuclearization and restoration of long-term peace on the Korean peninsula. Vietnam attaches importance to the comprehensive partnership with the U.S., he continued, adding comprehensive development has been achieved in bilateral ties in economic matters, trade, education, and settlement of war consequences. He suggested the two sides should step up collaboration in bomb and mine clearance, and support for Agent Orange victims. According to Secretary Pompeo, the U.S. treasures its comprehensive partnership with Vietnam and will continue working with the Southeast Asian country to step up practical and effective cooperation. The U.S hopes for a strong, independent, and prosperous Vietnam, which plays an increasingly important role in the Indo-Pacific region, the official noted. Both sides agreed to increase the exchange of visits, especially high-level ones, in 2019 and prepare for the 25th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties in 2020. The two countries will continue considering trade and investment ties as a driving force for their bilateral relationship, while enhancing education-training ties and people-to-people exchange. Regarding the situation in the East Vietnam Sea, they reaffirmed their support for the settlement of disputes via peaceful means in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). President Trump arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday night and was scheduled to meet Vietnamese leaders on Wednesday, before having a one-on-one conversation followed by a social dinner with North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un in the evening. The leaders will meet again on Thursday. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The second U.S.-North Korea summit officially began as President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un had talks in Hanoi at 6:30pm on Wednesday (local time). During their greeting before the 20-minute talks at Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, the U.S. leader expressed his belief that the summit will be very successful, equal to or even better than their first in Singapore in June 2018. The president said North Korea holds great economic potential and wished to witness their achievements. Trump also pledged to support the Asian country to reap these economic achievements. Chairman Kim said he had expected the second meeting with the U.S. president and vowed to do his best for the event. He firmly believed that the Hanoi meeting will bring about positive results. After the talks, the high-profile leaders had dinner with the participation of their assistants, including U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, North Koreas senior envoy Kim Yong-chul and foreign minister Ro Yong Hol. The two leaders are expected to conduct a series of meetings on February 28, according to the White House. U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sit down for a dinner during the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam February 27, 2019. Photo: Reuters Since the first summit in Singapore eight months ago, both Trump and Kim have taken several steps to settle their contradictions that last for decades. Several points in the joint statement on June 12, 2018 have been realized such as the search and hand-over of remains of prisoners of war and personnel missing in action during the war. According to experts, the two leaders will discuss North Koreas specific steps for the denuclearization on the Korean peninsula and Washingtons measures to loosen sanctions against Pyongyang and improve bilateral ties during the summit. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnamese Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong on Wednesday held talks with United States President Donald Trump, who is in Hanoi for the second U.S.-North Korea Summit. The meeting took place at the Presidential Palace in the Vietnamese capital at 11:00 am. President Trump expressed his joy that the significant U.S.-North Korea Summit takes place in Vietnam. General Secretary Trong affirmed that Vietnam had exerted its best efforts to provide the most favorable conditions for a successful summit. Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong (R) shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre The two leaders witnessed Vietnamese carriers VietJet and Bamboo Airways sign deals with Boeing Co to buy 110 planes worth more than $15 billion. Vietjet signed firm order to buy 100 new Boeing 737 Max planes worth $12.7 billion at list price, whereas Bamboo Airways inked a deal to purchase ten planes from the U.S. planemaker. The two leaders witness the signing of many important documents following their talks. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre President Trump arrived at Hanois Noi Bai International Airport on late Tuesday and was welcomed by Minister-Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, Chairman of the Hanoi Peoples Committee Nguyen Duc Chung, and several other high-ranking officials. This is the second time the U.S. president has come to Vietnam. In November 2017, he paid an official visit to Vietnam and attended the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Economic Leaders Meeting in the central coastal city of Da Nang. Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong at the meeting. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre President Donald Trump is pictured during the talk. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre Vietnamese students wave the two countries' flags in front of the Presidential Palace in Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! HANOI, Feb 27 - U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet on Wednesday for their second summit, betting their personal relationship can break a stalemate over the North's nuclear weapons and end more than 70 years of hostility. Despite little progress toward his stated goal of ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons since first meeting Kim in Singapore last year,Trump has said he is fully committed to his personal diplomacy with Kim. Trump said late last year he and Kim "fell in love", and on the eve of his departure for the second summit said they had developed "a very, very good relationship". Whether the bonhomie can move them beyond summit pageantry to substantive progress on eliminating Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal that threatens the United States is the question that will dominate their talks in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. "Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize," Trump said on Twitter. "The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting!" Trump and Kim will meet at the Metropole hotel at 6:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) on Wednesday for a 20-minute, one-on-one chat followed by a dinner with aides, the White House said. The elegant interior of the 118-year-old Metropole thronged with security personnel and hotel staff as final preparations were made. On Thursday, the two leaders will hold "a series of back and forth" meetings, the White House said. The venue for those meetings has not been announced. In Singapore, they pledged to work toward denuclearisation and permanent peace on the Korean peninsula. North and South Korea have been technically still at war since their 1950-53 conflict, with the Americans backing the South, ended in a truce, not a treaty. The Singapore meeting - the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader - ended with great fanfare but little substance over how to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Both sides are likely to feel pressure to agree on specific measures this time - what concrete steps North Korea will take to give up weapons that threaten the U.S. mainland, and what the United States will offer in return. Many analysts believe North Korea won't commit to significant disarmament unless punishing U.S.-led economic sanctions are eased. Trump has held out the prospect of easing them if North Korea does something "meaningful". Concession? In the run-up to the summit, Trump has indicated a more flexible stance, saying he is in no rush to secure North Korea's denuclearisation. The two sides have discussed specific and verifiable denuclearisation measures, such as allowing inspectors to observe the dismantlement of North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear reactor, U.S. and South Korean officials say. U.S. concessions could include opening liaison offices or declaring an end to the technical state of war, they say. Vietnam, relishing its role as mediator, could serve as a model for North Korea. Vietnam normalised ties with old battlefield foe the United States in 1995 after decades of Cold War mistrust, and its "Doi Moi" reforms transformed its economy. Trump is due to meet Vietnam's president, Nguyen Phu Trong, at the grand presidential palace, before he meets Kim. Majority of Kenyans have less than Sh1 million in their bank accounts, CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge has said. Mr Njoroge made the revelation when he appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Finance on Tuesday. He told the MPs that less than 0.7 percent of bank accounts in Kenya have a balance of more than Sh1 million. The CBK boss was defending banking regulations that require full disclosure of cash transactions exceeding Sh1 million. Njoroge said the regulations as enshrined in Section 33c of Banking Laws are in line with the International Anti-money Laundering guidelines. The requirement to report any transactions above USD 10,000 (Sh1 million) or equivalent are contained in the requirements and provisions of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act (POCAMLA) which was effected in 2010, he said. The CBK boss said if Kenya removes Section 33c of Banking Laws, there would be immediate and severe consequences such as the risk of Kenya being locked out of the global financial system, a move whose effects he termed as adverse. Consequences of doing away with anti-money laundering are harsh. Kenyan banks will be blacklisted in the international market with international banks operating in the country recalled. Kenya will be regarded as a safe haven for money laundering, Njoroge said. According to Njoroge, Kenya is particularly vulnerable because of its geography, advanced banking and financial sector as well as its characteristics of a largely cash-based economy. The war against corruption, money laundering and terrorism financing will be impaired if the requirements on cash withdrawals and deposits are weakened, said Njoroge. The Goldenberg scandal is a good cautionary tale as we know it devastated the economy to the weakest we have ever been- GDP fell to the lowest in the entire history of our country. Several banks collapsed, prices of essential commodities rose significantly and inflation hit a record high, he added. Njoroge said only the CBK has the mandate to determine transaction limits and that the amendment to the Act followed all procedures as required by law. HANOI, Feb 27 - A storied French colonial-era hotel once used by the North Vietnamese government to house foreign guests during the American war in Vietnam is set to host U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as they meet for a second nuclear summit on Wednesday. The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi has hosted dignitaries and celebrities from Charlie Chaplin on his honeymoon in 1936 to "Hanoi Jane" Fonda during her 1970s anti-war campaign and even Trump himself on a recent visit to the Vietnamese capital. The Metropole could begin a new chapter as a symbol of peace if Trump and Kim, as some officials in Seoul and Washington expect, formally declare an end to the last remaining Cold War conflict after their two-day summit. The United States and North Korea are technically still at war, because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. "We hope Trump and Kim make some progress with their denuclearisation and hopefully open North Korea to the outside world," said Stephen Fries, a doctor from Colorado whose long-planned family trip was disrupted by preparations for the summit. He was among two dozen Metropole guests touring an underground air raid bunker at the hotel used during the war that was rediscovered by chance in 2011 while the hotel was renovating its poolside Bamboo bar. Trump and Kim will meet at the Metropole at 6:30 pm (1130 GMT) on Wednesday, where the two will have a 20-minute one-on-one chat followed by a dinner with aides, the White House said. "It's about time there is a deal. Vietnam had been our enemy, now they are kind of a friend. I hope North Korea would become exactly like Vietnam, and maybe use it an example to follow for its own economic development," Fries said. Secrets and security The elegant interior of the 118-year-old Metropole thronged with security personnel and hotel staff on the summit eve as final preparations were made. Nearby street corners were guarded by armed police, while security staff searched pot plants around the pool. In a letter distributed ahead of the leaders' arrival, the hotel's general manager notified guests of the "very strict security measures" expected in the coming days. All but one entrance to the hotel will be blocked during the summit and a temporary checkpoint has been installed to screen guests, who need to show copies of their passports to gain access to the hotel. The hotel, decorated with U.S. and North Korean flags, was locked down on Wednesday morning, with roads around it blocked and TV crews filming at barricades. Trump and Kim likely chose Metropole for its ability to keep secrets, Nguyen Dinh Thanh, former head of marketing at Metropole, told Reuters. "When superstars come here, some journalists offered $2,000-$5,000 or more to staff to take a photo of that superstar, but that has never happened," said Thanh. "That shows Metropole has a tradition of keeping secrets as well as knowing how to treat VIP guests." Celebrities and controversies Heads of state from European kings and British royals to U.S. and South American presidents have all chosen the Metropole as their Hanoi abode. It has attracted celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in 2007, but perhaps its most iconic guest is American actress Jane Fonda, who stayed for two weeks in 1972 when visiting then-enemy territory. A controversial photo of her sitting with North Vietnamese troops atop an anti-aircraft gun used to shoot at American planes earned her the nickname "Hanoi Jane". The Metropole also hosted Graham Greene, who wrote part of his seminal 1955 work, "The Quiet American" there, and numerous war correspondents during the 20-year-long war that ended in 1975. Trump, who stayed in the hotel on his last visit to Vietnam in 2017, has chosen the easier-to-secure JW Marriott hotel this time. Kim is staying at the Melia Hanoi hotel. Trump and Kim held their first summit at Singapore's Capella hotel, a refurbished British Royal Artillery mess on the resort island of Sentosa. A number of parents in Ho Chi Minh City have been disillusioned to find their first-grade children incapable of following an integrated program combining the curricula of the UK and Vietnam, which they had hoped would give the students a great future advantage. First graders in this course have to study the mandatory Vietnamese curriculum imposed nationwide by the Vietnamese education ministry with domestic teachers. They also have to take extra classes to learn math, science and English, whose lesson plans are developed with mixed elements of the Vietnamese and UK educational programs, with native speakers. The integrated program has been put in place at 47 elementary schools, 26 middle schools and 16 high schools across the southern metropolis since 2015. But after the first semester of grade 1 ended, many parents decided to transfer their children to standard classes, where only the Vietnamese curriculum is taught, as they recognized the kids had had an unpleasant school experience. One of the parents, D.Q.T., said he sent his son to a school in District 9 that offers the integrated program mainly because this would obviate the need for the kid to learn in extra tutoring classes after school which are very common in Vietnam. But the child gradually looked quite tired after stepping out of the class whenever he came to pick him up, the father recalled. He said he had no appetite and didnt want to study anymore, the man continued. I realized that his ability wasnt up to the program. He suffered tiredness during the semester. A similar situation went for the child of a woman known as P.T.T.S., who wanted her kid to have an opportunity to study abroad in the future after following the program. The program was said to use advanced subjects taught in English, introduce systematic knowledge and hone learners skills, she said. As many of my friends had let their children study in the program and they were successful, I believed this would also happen to my kid. Nguyen Kim Dung, deputy director of the Education Research Institute at the Ho Chi Minh University of Pedagogy, underlined that not all first graders fit in well with the integrated courses math, science and English. Dung advised parents to consider whether their children can follow the program in the long run before enrolling them in the course. An official at a local education department said several people would simply put their kids in an integrated program class without considering their ability. Taking failing students out of the program means depriving them of an environment for their success at the beginning of elementary school, he underscored. Ngo Xuan Diep, head of the psychology faculty at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities, believes a pleasant school experience is extremely important to children. Those parents who persistently chose an advanced class for their children deliberately bent the kids development trajectory to their own will, Diep said. That would demotivate the children, make them afraid of school and worse, leave a lasting adverse impact on their well-being. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! HANOI -- Vietnamese carriers VietJet and Bamboo Airways formally announced on Wednesday deals with Boeing Co to buy 110 planes worth more than $15 billion as the fast-growing companies look to expand their operations in Asia and beyond. On the sidelines of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, VietJet showcased a recent order to purchase 100 737 MAX planes worth $12.7 billion. The deal was provisionally announced in July 2018 and firmed up later that year, without a public announcement until now. Boeing said the VietJet purchase, which was previously on its order books as an unidentified order, took the Vietnamese carriers MAX orders to 200 jets and included 80 of its latest 737 MAX 10 model. VietJet CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao told Reuters the first four aircraft ordered as part of a previous 100-plane deal, announced in 2016 when President Barack Obama visited Vietnam, would be delivered later this year. Bamboo announced a firm deal with Boeing to purchase 10 wide-bodied 787 planes worth $2.9 billion. Boeing said this deal too was already on its order book as an undisclosed customer. Bamboo, owned by property and leisure company FLC Group, is also in talks to buy 25 narrow-bodied Boeing 737 planes, Chairman Trinh Van Quyet told Reuters. Bamboo, which made its first flights in January, had placed a provisional order last year for 20 Boeing 787 widebody jets worth $5.6 billion at list prices, and Wednesdays deal is not part of that. The purchases are part of our strategy to expand our operations on the international market, including flying to the United States and Europe, Quyet said. Bamboo plans to launch its first international flights in second quarter this year, with initial destinations in Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore, he added, ahead of non-stop flights to the United States late this year or early next. Earlier this month, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration declared Vietnam complied with international aviation standards, allowing Vietnamese carriers to fly to the United States for the first time and codeshare with U.S. airlines. VietJet also finalised a $5.3 billion long-term engine support agreement with General Electric for the LEAP-1B engines in its fleet. The White House put the total value of the deals at more than $21 billion. These deals will support more than 83,000 American jobs and provide increased safety and reliability for Vietnamese International travelers, a senior White House official said. Trump and Kim Jong Un meet in Hanoi on Wednesday for their second summit, with Trump holding out Vietnam as a model of economic success that North Korea could follow. Trump hailed the Boeing deals at a lunch with Vietnamese officials. We appreciate very much that youre reducing the trade deficit with the United States, which was very substantial before I got here, and now where were bringing it down with great orders like the orders that you made today, Trump said. Vietnam ran a trade surplus of $34.8 billion with the United States last year, widening from a surplus of $32.2 billion a year earlier, according to Vietnamese customs data. Hernandez said the students have proven through their work drafting and lobbying for this bill that they are politically savvy and willing to learn and work with the system something that is necessary if they want to further their causes promoting school safety. I think (they) are going to be really important, moving forward, Hernandez said. MAKING SCHOOLS SAFE Ensuring all school staff know how to identify and help students who could be in crisis is an essential safety concern, Ashton said. The issue hits particularly close to home for him. When Ashton was in eighth grade, before he moved to Arizona, he began to struggle with depression. He was being bullied consistently at school, as a gay kid living in a hyper-conservative town, and the stress became too much for him to deal with. Logically, he knew he should talk to a school counselor , but didnt even know who his counselor was. He had never talked to one, and they had never approached him. His depression symptoms continued to worsen, and Ashton began to contemplate suicide. One day after school, he waited for his parents and sister to leave and came up with a plan to shoot himself . Its 100, 200 at a time, but if we keep at it and do it every year, youre creating a culture of tree care and tree growing, Gannon said. The problem, then, comes when trees get overgrown or are disturbing streets and other rights of way. The city agencies that prune trees include Transportation, Environmental Services, Tucson Water and Parks and Recreation. Then there are contractors who do landscaping work for the city, and of course there is Tucson Electric Power, perhaps the crudest tree-cutter of them all. Yes, TEP has to make trees safe for power lines, so the utility has an excuse for its sometimes brutal pruning. But other agencies dont have the same requirements, and Gannon said a tree should never lose more than 25 percent of its bulk at a time. City Councilman Steve Kozachik has called for tree-pruning and management to be consolidated under one office, so there isnt so much inconsistency. Its a Keystone Kops approach to landscape maintenance where everyone is doing their own thing, Kozachik said. Neighbors see a guy come through and ruin 20 years of hard work. Kennedy is particularly interested in the donations that APS and Pinnacle West, the utilitys parent company, have given to certain tax-exempt organizations. Thats because federal tax laws allow these organizations to influence elections with campaigns mounted on behalf of or against candidates. More significantly, Arizona law exempts those organizations from having to disclose their donors. Two dark money groups that fall into that category spent $3.2 million in 2014 to help elect Republicans Tom Forese and Doug Little to the commission. APS will neither confirm nor deny it was the source of those dollars. In 2016, the company spent $4 million in the open to help keep the commission an all-Republican panel. In 2018, the utility pretty much stayed out of the commission race, deciding to put $32 million into fighting an initiative that would have required utilities to generate half their power from renewable sources by 2030. Kennedy said finding out where all that money is going is crucial to the role of the commission in regulating utility rates. I think the ratepayers ... have a right to know where the monopoly that they have to get their services (from) is spending their money, she said. A 61-year-old Tucson woman who was killed Tuesday at her apartment had once provided food to the man arrested in her attack, police say. The husband of Lorraine Martinez Salas came home to their apartment in the 1900 block of West Valencia Road about 4 p.m. and found her seriously wounded. He ran to the leasing office for help. Workers were trying to save Salas when police arrived at the complex near West Valencia and South Mission roads. Salas was pronounced dead at the scene when paramedics arrived. Tucson police arrested Robert J. Ocano, 22, on suspicion of first-degree murder charges in the killing of Salas. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 88-CRIME, an anonymous tipster line. Editor's note: Police originally said Martinez Salas' name was Lorraina. Her family say it is Lorraine. Contact Star reporter Shaq Davis at 573-4218 or sdavis@tucson.com On Twitter: @ShaqDavis1 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. A post-mortem examination on Beryl Ouma, who died following a domestic brawl with her husband in Kahawa Sukari last week, shows she was strangled to death. According to Government pathologist Peter Ndegwa, the 28-year-old Ms Ouma suffered head injuries as well. A post-mortem report shows that the head injuries were as a result of being hit by a blunt object at least six times. Peter Ndegwa conducted the postmortem with two other pathologists; Joseph Ndungu, who was representing Ms Oumas family and Charles Muturi, who representing the family of the suspect, Mr Laiko Osuri. Beryls family lawyer Evans Ondieki told journalists that the pathologists were unanimous that Beryl was physically strangled to death. Last Friday, Ms Oumas father, Douglas Ouma Nyakach, recounted how on Thursday morning he had received distress messages from his daughter, an employee of Guru Nanak Hospital, asking him to call her at 5 am. I reached her on phone, but her husband picked the call. I could hear my girl in the background crying in pain and telling her husband not to lie to me, that he was killing her. She begged him to let her speak to me, but he hung up, Mr Nyakach said. At around 7 am, Mr Osuris father called him, telling him that Ms Ouma had been taken to hospital following the fight with her husband. Mr Nyakach rushed to Uhai Neema Hospital in Kahawa Sukari where his daughter was pronounced dead on arrival. The hospital informed him that she was taken there by Mr Osuri and his parents. Nyakach said he suspects that his daughter died at around 5 am and that Mr Osuris parents were present during the fight. He claimed that the hospital attendants had informed him that the two had tried to get them to issue a transfer letter, allowing them to take the body to the mortuary instead of involving the police. On Monday afternoon, the two families nearly exchanged blows at the Chiromo Mortuary. Douglas Ouma Nyakach was seen pushing and shoving one of his in-laws, prompting police to come in and separate them. She said some retired veterans can go on to make $100,000 in a high-tech job in the private sector. Yet at the same time, Arizona is looking for money to improve teacher salaries, while many teachers start their career at $25,000 a year. she said. Gowan said thats missing the point. He said the legislation would help persuade those retiring from the military to remain in Arizona, as other states offer more generous tax benefits. We want them to come here and spend their dollars in this state to help our families, help our friends, Gowan said. As to the cost to the state of making military pensions tax-exempt, no one was able to provide a figure during Tuesdays hearing. Sen. Lisa Otondo, D-Yuma, said she believes a similar proposal several years ago had a $49 million price tag. The House is weighing a less far-reaching proposal to increase the exemption from $3,500 to $10,000, which would reduce state revenues by an estimated $15 million. But several lawmakers said the more meaningful issue for them is how this could help the economy. A public memorial for Tucson Musicians Hall of Famer Yvonne Ervin will be held March 9, more than two months after the Tucson Jazz Festival founder died after undergoing liver surgery in Phoenix. The memorial event at the downtown Scottish Rite Cathedral will include tributes by Tucson dignitaries and performances by some of the citys finest musicians paying their respects to a woman many credit with putting Tucson on the countrys jazz map. Ervin was the indefatigable force behind Tucsons jazz music scene, first in raising the prominence and profile of the Tucson Jazz Society and then in founding the festival. Her death on Dec. 26, following a monthslong illness, came just weeks before the fifth annual festival kicked off in January. Her husband, Alan Hershowitz, said he waited to hold the memorial services until after the jazz festival. His wife would not have wanted anything to distract from the festival, which this year featured Trombone Shorty, Pink Martini, Asleep at the Wheel and Bobby McFerrin. The March 9 memorial begins at 10 a.m. at the Tucson Scottish Rite Cathedral, 160 S. Scott Ave.; doors open at 9:30 a.m. Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com or 573-4642. On Twitter @Starburch. Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. PINEDALE (WNE) Almost 77,000 people have signed online petitions at Care2.org with another 308,000 at change.org against the legality of coyote whacking in Wyoming. Those 385,000 signatures come from across the country and many countries around the world for the petitions, which are aimed at Wyoming legislators and the governor. We wish this was a twisted joke, the Care2 petition begins. Unfortunately, there really are people who participate in a sport called coyote whacking and they can continue to legally do so. Wyoming legislators had an opportunity to outlaw it but they didnt even bother looking at the bill, let alone passing it. House Bill 288, titled Animal cruelty snowmobiles, was introduced by freshman Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, on Jan. 28 after he reportedly received a video and photos of people chasing coyotes, wearing them out and killing them. Sen. Mike Gierau, D-Jackson, co-sponsored the bill. It went to the Wyoming House of Representatives, where it was not considered for introduction by the Feb. 4 deadline. It requested criminal penalties for aggravated cruelty to animals, including sponsors, for using a snowmobile to willfully and wantonly cause the death, injury or undue suffering of an animal, including a predatory animal. Love 4 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 5 Rep. Lloyd Larsen, R-Lander, of the House Appropriations Committee, said the committee would meet Wednesday morning to decide which vetoes the body will attempt to override by two-thirds vote. Once those bills are selected, the House could then adjourn sine die meaning closing business with no set deadline on when they return and vote next Monday. This action has traditionally been used sparingly, Harshman said. However, the House of Representatives has carried out a veto override 23 times before. That is a legislative power we do not take lightly, but at times, we have used it, Harshman told the House. Really, our next opportunity for a veto override would be next Monday. This timeline is made even more complicated by the fact the House of Representatives is already two days behind schedule, having missed a key voting deadline for bills Monday, leaving them one additional working day to take a final vote on nine bills. While constituting only about 1 percent of the states overall spending this session, the supplemental budget has been the source of an unusual amount of strife this legislative session, with the Senate and House of Representatives largely divergent on what the budget should do. Both Cheney and Barrasso have sought to drum up support for the presidents wall, both in Washington and in the court of public opinion. While Cheney has spearheaded communications for the wall both on cable television and in directing the party, Barrasso a voice close to the president has spoken numerous times on the floor of the Senate in support of the wall. The funds Congress approved provided a down payment on border security, he said. The president has made a compelling case for more. Partisan Democrats ignored security experts and blocked the presidents full funding request for border barriers. Now the president is doing what he said he would do, even though he knows his decision will wind up before the courts and Congress. Congress should listen to the experts and do whats right to secure our border and protect our citizens. While still placing the blame on Democratic members of Congress, Enzi was the sole member of the Wyoming delegation to express some reluctance at the declaration of a national emergency to override the federal appropriations process, saying through a spokesman he was still reviewing the emergency declaration to understand the scope of its implications. Senator Enzi is disappointed that House majority and Senate minority leaders put the president in a position where he believed he had no other choice but to attempt to secure the border through an emergency declaration, Max Donofrio, a spokesman for Enzi, said in a statement. That is the way an executive approaches things, but as a legislator, Senator Enzi has concerns this could set a bad precedent. Follow politics reporter Nick Reynolds on Twitter @IAmNickReynolds Love 2 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 10 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. Officers found a person shot in a central Casper home early Tuesday morning, police said in a statement. According to the statement, police responded at about 1 a.m. to a home on East 10th Street between Center and Wolcott streets for a report of a residential alarm alerting. When they arrived, officers found the person, whom they identified only as an adult victim, had been shot. The person was taken to Wyoming Medical Center for treatment, police said in a Tuesday morning Facebook post. In a new statement issued Tuesday evening, police said the wounded person remained in critical condition. Police did not specify in the statement if the shooting was being investigated as an attempted homicide and did not state if any suspects had been identified or taken into custody. Citing the early stage of the investigation, police stated there is little information that can be released. In the statement, police said dozens of people from a variety of law enforcement agencies were assisting in the investigation. The man arrested on suspicion of shooting a woman at a central Casper home early Tuesday is her adult son, police said Wednesday. Larimer County, Colorado, sheriffs deputies detained Andrew Steplock, 27, of Casper, at about 11 p.m. Tuesday, Casper Police Chief Keith McPheeters said at a press conference. Wednesday morning, authorities served Steplock with an arrest warrant for second-degree murder. In addition, Steplock is being held in Colorado on allegations of aggravated burglary and possession of a firearm with unlawful purpose. Authorities have begun the process of extraditing him to Wyoming. McPheeters said he did not know if Steplock had a lawyer. Steplocks mother, 58-year-old Deborah Steplock, received a critical wound that is not survivable, McPheeters said during remarks made at the Casper Events Center. She was being kept alive to honor her wishes to donate her organs, the chief said. While immediate family members still journey back to Casper, we ask that they be given privacy during this difficult time, police said in the statement. Corruption risks in Georgian judiciary Transparency International Georgia presented research assessing corruption risks in the Common Courts System of Georgia. It should be stressed, that this type of research is the first of its kind in Georgia and its findings are current as of April, 2018.Based on the research of the current situation within the judicial system, the main factors that contribute to suspected cases of corruption are undue influence on judicial administration by a certain dominant group of judges; and structural and other weaknesses of the Georgian court system caused by flawed legislation, which have not been remedied due to deep opposition from within and outside the judiciary.Key findings: The existing legal framework, including recent legislative amendments, serves the interests of the dominant group of judges and further strengthens its positions. The existing deficient legal framework increases the risks of corruption in the judicial system and concentrates excessive powers in the hands of the dominant group of judges. This creates opportunities for decisions to be made behind closed doors, through informal negotiations. The flawed procedure of selection/appointment of judges increases risks of cronyism and conflict of interest. The High Council of Justice enjoys unjustifiably broad discretion with judicial appointments, which has resulted in unsubstantiated appointments. Because of this flawed system of judicial appointments: Levan Murusidze was appointed for a three-year probationary period, while lifetime appointments were granted to Manuchar Kapanadze (Sulkhan Molashvili Case), Giorgi Goginashvili (Sergo Tetradze Case) and other judges, whose past judicial experience spoke for their inadequate professional reputation. There is a dominant of judges within the judiciary, mostly consisting of the HCoJ members, which has the leverage to influence judges. This group holds significant powers (e.g., launching disciplinary proceedings, appointment/removal/promotion of judges, setting salary supplements for judges, an appointment of court chairpersons), which are often exercised on the selective basis. These excessive powers enable them to influence judges, which in turn, increases opportunities for corruption. Members of the dominant group of judges are considered to include: Mikheil Chinchaladze, Irakli Shengelia, Levan Murusidze, Giorgi Mikautadze, Dimitri Gvritishvili, Levan Tevzadze, Vasil Mshvenieradze, Sergo Metopishvili, Shota Getsadze, Davit Mamiseishvili. A major problem is the suppression of critical opinion in the system by the dominant group of judges. An example of which was the process, when members of the Association Unity of Judges were slowly pushed out of the system. Initially, there were up to 50 active judges in the association. Currently, the Association has no acting judge members (some of the judges were not reappointed on the position after expiration of their tenure and others left the association voluntarily). Another example of suppressing critical opinion was the allegations made by Judge Irakli Shavadze. Distrust towards judiciary has been further damaged by the fact that for years, the institution of Court Chairperson has been dominated by a small group of judges who are regarded as the superiors to other judges. They are considered to be the members of the dominant group of judges. There is no efficient system of combating corruption within the judiciary. Alleged criminal violations, as well as disciplinary offenses, usually ignored. For example, the Prosecutors Office did launch an investigation into the alleged leak of judicial qualification tests in early 2016, but no information about the results has been made public. The HCoJ did not react to the misuse of court resources by former Chairman of Tbilisi Court of Appeals, Valeri Tsertsvadze, either. In 2016, Transparency International Georgia submitted a disciplinary complaint to the High Council of Justice regarding the latter case, however, the Council failed to react to the incident. There is a clear perception within legal professionals that corrupt deals are made in courts. Especially of concern is allegations made by the attorneys, interviewed for this research, that there are corrupt deals being made in courts. Legal professionals say that, in order to reach a right outcome in a case, it has to be fixed with dominant judges, who are called bosses within the system. The problems of Georgian judiciary are also discussed by business-associations, including big investors. Their concerns are not addressed in an efficient manner, which considerably damages the investment climate in the country. Such allegations were made regarding the case of Phillip Morris. This case, which was examined by Transparency International Georgia, gave rise to serious doubts about the fairness of the proceedings and impartiality of the court. Consideration of politically sensitive cases in courts did not enjoy public trust. Certain doubts have been raised about making politically motivated decisions. For example, such questions have been raised in the case of TV company Rustavi 2 and the so-called cable case.In order to address these problems: Investigative bodies and HCoJ should effectively respond to alleged cases of judicial corruption, while all ongoing investigations involving the judiciary and its personnel should be promptly concluded. Comprehensive legislative amendments must be put in place that will curb excessive powers currently exercised by the High Council of Justice. Transparency in all key aspects of the appointment of judges must be guaranteed by law, and the institutional and functional independence of the High School of Justice must be ensured. In addition, the court chairpersons should be elected by their peer judges, instead of being appointed by the HCoJ. The Court Chairpersons should have powers removed that enable them to manipulate the electronic system of case assignment. Court Chairpersons should be stripped of the authority to unilaterally determine the composition of narrow specializations within panels of courts, which creates a strong risk of Chairpersons influencing case assignments in a manner contrary to the intent of the current case assignment system. Accountability mechanisms for judges must be strengthened. Independence guarantees for the independent Inspector of the HCoJ should be significantly strengthened. Current broad and vague grounds for disciplinary proceedings against judges must be corrected and brought into conformity with international standards. We do hope that the findings and recommendations of this research will be considered by the members of the High Council of Justice as well as respective authorities of the executive and legislative branches. Strip club assault Two men Derek Hamilton and Sonny Pilcher then testified that Cercy had assaulted a woman at a strip club about a decade ago. Hamilton said Cercy bit a dancer on the breast and grabbed her by the throat before Hamilton, the clubs manager, was able to stop the assault. Pilcher, who owned the club, which is now known as Racks, said he was not present during the alleged assault but that he later paid the woman $25,000 $5,000 of which came from a debt Cercy forgave him for in order to make the payment. Under cross-examination, Pilcher admitted he had initially told police different details regarding the alleged assault. Forgey later decided not to consider Pilcher or Hamiltons testimony. The defense then called four people to make statements, including Cercys wife, Caryl. She asked the judge for leniency and said she did not believe her husband was guilty. He is not the man the prosecution has made him out to be, she said. After two former employees and Cercys social worker made statements, Blonigen and Mackey argued for their preferred sentences. "The essence of Karachi Bakery is absolutely Indian by heart and will remain so. We request everybody to refrain from any kind of misconceptions," the renowned Karachi Bakery had to issue an explanation like this through their twitter handle after the dastardly attack on soldiers in Pulwama recently. A section of people had protested against the Bengaluru outlet of the iconic bakery, which is popular across the country for it signature fruits cakes and biscuits, falsely thinking that the bakery has connections with Pakistan. The protesters who demanded to change 'Karachi' from the name of the bakery, however, did not vandalize the outlet. The workers then had to cover the word 'Karachi' on their name board and had even exhibited the Indian tricolour in front of the shop. Following this, the bakery issued a statement confirming that they are an Indian brand, through the social media. The story of 'Karachi' The Karachi in the bakery's name indeed comes from the city of Karachi in Pakistan. The chain of bakeries was founded by Khanchand Ramnani who migrated to India during the partition in 1947. Ramnani, who belonged to a Sindhi family, arrived in India, along with his sons Hansram and Ramdas and their families. The Ramnani family, which settled in Hyderabad, began a bakery, in 1953, at the famous Mozamjahi market. Khanchand may have named it the Karachi Bakery, to honour the city where he had grown up. The unique recipes brought to India by Khanchand and his sons floored Hyderabad, which is known for its rich culinary heritage. Delicious Osmania biscuits, fruit biscuits, breads and plum cakes, made at the kitchen of Karachi Bakery, drew hundreds of food lovers to their outlet. Though there were many shops which sold Osmani biscuits, it was the unique taste of the ones made at the Karachi Bakery which gave them a footing here. The brand which gradually grew, now, has 15 outlets in Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Besides, they have opened outlets at many leading cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru as well. It is estimated that around one and a half tones of biscuits and 800 loaves of bread are sold at the various outlets around the country. The owners say that they do not compromise on the taste and quality of their products. That must definitely be the secret behind the Karachi Bakery's incredible success saga. Pratheeksha G Pradeep has made an impact as the vamp with class in the world of Malayalam serials. Though this beautiful actress has essayed many negative roles, the real-life Pratheeksha has the innocence of a child with remarkable histrionic skills. The TV audience frequently ask Pratheeksha about her negative characters' scale of cruelty. And Pratheeksha replies with a gentle smile implying that she is just a simple girl next door. Do you know what she likes the most apart from acting? Since childhood, Pratheeksha always wanted to travel a lot. As part of serial shooting schedules, Pratheeksha has been fortunate to travel to many places that were on her wishlist. "I have visited almost all destinations in Kerala," notes Pratheeksha. Love for adventure travel Pratheeksha loves adventure sports, and was part of the 'Star War' show on TV in which serial actors vie for honours in adrenaline-rush activities. The show was shot at various places in Wayanad, Palakkad and Munnar. "I had a certain degree of fear factor while doing these risky tasks. But I did complete them in style. It was also an opportunity for me to soak in the natural beauty of Wayanad, Palakkad and Munnar," says the actor. Wayanad is one of the most preferred destinations of Pratheeksha. This district in north-east Kerala is a center of adventure for many travel buffs, and offers nature's enchanting and pristine beauty. The lingering smell of coffee, mesmerizing greenery, and swirling mist give an out-of-the-world experience for anyone visiting this place tucked away on the Western Ghats. "I, along with my parents, went to Wayanad when my elder brother was studying at the government engineering college there, and explored the high-altitude destination inside out," notes Partheeksha. If you want to get a feel of the village life and its rustic charm, one should spend some time in a peaceful and alluring place such as Wayanad, she adds. Panipuri from Delhi Pratheeksha had spent her childhood in Delhi as her father, who is in the Army, was posted there, and because of that the national capital tops the list of her most-loved places. The actor, who loves panipuri and other street food, badly misses the unique taste of north Indian delicacies. Pratheeksha always has a desire to travel to Delhi, but her present comfort zone is Bengaluru, where her father is working right now. "We go to Bengaluru once in a while. After sight-seeing, we would just feast on panipuri, samosa and other chaats," says Patheeksha. Whenever a travel plan is chalked out, the first place that crops up in her mind is Delhi. Though the actor had visited Agra, Taj Mahal and other forts, she says that she has lot more to see in Delhi. On Tuesday morning, EU Commissioner Pierre Moscovici met with Luxembourg's finance and budget commission in parliament and expressed a hope that Luxembourg world become a bit more proactive in terms of taxes. "If we want to make structural reforms that are useful to our fellow citizens, we will have to progressively move from unanimous voting to qualified majority voting when it comes to taxation", Moscovici said on Tuesday. While Moscovici conceded that a paradigm shift had taken place over the last 10 years on the question of taxation in Luxembourg and that the Grand Duchy had been very forthcoming to EU directives on the matter for the past four and a half years, the EU commissioner explained that it is now time for the next step. Moscovici touched on the "delicate" subject of taxes in Luxembourg, saying that a lot has already been done to combat tax evasion in the country. However, he said that real progress could only be made by a move from unanimous voting to qualified majority voting in the EU on the issue of taxation. He named energy taxes in the fight against climate change, the digital economy, and VAT taxes as examples of issues that could be moved along a lot quicker by a change in the voting system. Rene Pfeiffer / RTL Tele Letzebuerg Rene Pfeiffer / RTL Tele Letzebuerg Rene Pfeiffer / RTL Tele Letzebuerg So far, the Luxembourgish government has remained quite unimpressed by this proposal. PM Xavier Bettel said that he didn't want Luxembourg's fiscal policies to be dictated by the EU. Moscovici showed understanding for these arguments, saying that some believe that a new system could risk marginalising smaller countries. In an effort to ease concerns, the EU Commissioner said that Luxembourg had no reason to fear marginalisation because, while it is small in size, the Grand Duchy plays an important role in the EU. Moscovici's approach was criticised by CSV MP Laurent Mosar, who explained that the EU could end up crippling itself on the global market by introducing a fairer tax system. Mosar believes that the move towards qualified majority voting could disrupt the current equilibrium and destroy the "level playing field": "We can't give ourselves strict rules and have the rest of the world ignore them: The Americans, the Chinese, the Japanese, the Russians. I think we could risk a very difficult competitive situation, which is why I think caution is essential." Mosar went on to say that while the meeting with EU Commissioner Moscovici was very positive, a number of important questions still remain on the topic. According to Bloomberg's Health Index, Luxembourg has declined in terms of healthy living. The parliamentary commission on health discussed the health status of the Luxembourgish population on Tuesday morning. The task of the national monitoring centre on health (Observatoire national de la Sante), which is the subject of an impending draft bill, is to evaluate the health status of Luxembourg's residents and work on ways to improve it. MPs forming the parliamentary commission on health discussed the national monitoring centre on Tuesday morning. Minister of Health Etienne Schneider highlighted the centre's purpose and listed its exact duties, which include examining risk behaviours such as smoking and their evolution. The centre should also provide the government with recommendations on how to improve the general health of the populace as well as improvements to the healthcare system in order to attain its goals. CSV MP Jean-Marie Halsdorf declared his support for the creation of such a centre, as Luxembourg's neighbours all have such monitoring centres. He continued by saying that it is a necessary initiative, but the institution must remain independent despite its adherence to the Ministry of Health. Specifically, Halsdorf highlighted the need for the data to be trustworthy and analysed in a manner that corresponds to reality, as statistics can be warped. He wants the centre to be used to have results that give Luxembourg high-quality medical policies. He also queried the composition of the experts selected to work for the centre, as the law only states that five experts would be selected. Instead, Halsdorf expressed a desire for this to be more specific. As for the Greens, the head of the party in the Chamber of Deputies, Josee Lorsche , stressed that the monitoring centre must not overlap with other institutions such as the General Inspectorate for Social Security (IGSS) and the Health Card (Carte Sanitaire), which is an inventory of all hospitals in Luxembourg, including their services, resources, bed occupancy, and equipment as well as national health needs. Lorsche expressed a concern that the monitoring centre may overlap with the Health Card, but not in a constructive manner. Instead, both institutions should collaborate and ensure that the quality remains logical. The draft bill must be voted on by the state council, but should then go to the Chamber of Deputies before the summer. About the grants The Powers VFW is one of four historic preservation projects receiving grants from the Coquille Tribal Community Fund during its 2019 Grant Week, Feb. 23 to March 1. The others are the Bandon Historical Society Museum ($2,500), the Curry County Historical Society ($1,500), and the South Umpqua Historical Society ($5,000). Altogether, the tribal fund is awarding $266,762 to 50 community organizations and programs. A complete list will be announced on Friday. Ugandas Energy Minister, Irene Muloni, on Tuesday said oil production in the East African nation has been pushed forward to 2022 after missing the countrys target of 2021. The Energy Minister explained that factors such as lack of infrastructure, mainly a pipeline and a refining facility, has held up the output resulting in the slight delay. We have to build a pipeline for exports and a refinery in order for us to start producing the oil, said Ms. Muloni. Uganda signed a deal to build and operate a 60,000-barrel-per-day refinery that is estimated to cost between $3 billion and $4 billion. As to the 1,443km pipeline, once completed, it will transport the refined oil for export at the Tanga port, in Tanzania. The 24-inch diameter pipeline, to be constructed in 2022, will have the capacity to transport 260,000 barrels of oil. The Energy minister noted that the first production in 2022 would come from the Kingfisher blocks led by Chinas National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and Tilenga blocks led by Total. Uganda has proven crude oil reserves of 6.5 billion barrels, about 2.2 billion which is recoverable. The International Monetary Fund had said in 2013 that these reserves are the fourth largest in sub-Saharan Africa, behind Nigeria, Angola, and South Sudan. 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) Sue was a fixture at the business. She stressed the importance of the family, telling The Times and Democrat in 2011 regarding owning and operating Palmetto Office Supply along with her husband and two daughters over decades: "I am probably one of the luckiest mothers and grandmothers in the world. We have played together and we work together, and we still do. We get along beautifully." A caring family atmosphere has been a key component of the business success, where customer service is first. We always think of giving good service and we also stress it, Henry Allen said. It is nice to have it confirmed by your customers. We make every effort to give good service. It is my idea that customer service is something you can do that our competitors cant always or dont always do. Orangeburg loved Henry and Sue Allen and Palmetto Office Supply, recognizing the couple as grand marshals of the annual Christmas parade in 2015. The Allens returned the love to their community. Congressional Democrats are all over this, and we know why -- they expect the report to condemn Trump to one degree or another. While it may stop short of the most overheated claims (like the idea cultivated by former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe and others that Trump could be an actual Russian agent), they hope it will at least reveal damning evidence of collusion between Trump's presidential campaign and Vladimir Putin's regime, finally getting 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton off the hook for her poorly run campaign and embarrassing loss. U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is already threatening to subpoena Mueller and sue for release of the report, with any redactions made by Congress rather than by the Department of Justice. That's a start, but it's not good enough either. No redactions are permissible. We shouldn't just see the parts of the report that Schiff wants us to see because they support Schiff's preferred conclusions. If these two years of "Russiagate" theatrics have really been about getting at the truth and not just about embarrassing Donald Trump or even removing him from office while redeeming Clinton's reputation, well, let's have a look at the report sans edits by Barr OR Schiff and see whether or not WE think it does those things. The era of public permissiveness regarding government secrecy is -- or at least should be -- over. Thomas L. Knapp (Twitter: @thomaslknapp) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 I blame Congress, says Matt Gardner, a senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which first released the news of Amazons zero corporate tax bill. Unless we see the actual tax returns, nobody can say exactly how Amazon avoided paying any corporate income taxes, but the available information makes it clear that three provisions in the tax code were very important: The research and development tax credit, the ability to write off 100 percent of investments in equipment, and the ability to deduct stock options to employees from taxable earnings, Gardner said. While the Trump tax bill made some changes, all three of these have been part of the tax code for a long time. Congress could have eliminated or reformed them. They knew full well what the impact would be, Gardner said. Politicians talk all the time about closing loopholes, but the conversation never goes any further. What changed in 2015? Nothing -- except the definition of combat, which the Pentagon altered so that civilians could pretend that this is not a travesty. It took only a generation or so for the culture to be manipulated into believing that women are equal to men not just under the law but in every conceivable way. This is, of course, a purely political abstraction with existential consequences. Moreover, this entire debate isn't really about military preparedness but is about social engineering -- changing the way people perceive things so that they can be arranged according to the designs of a relatively very few. What's missing from all such cultural arrangements is a full appreciation of human nature, which remains essentially the same through most of time. Progressives will twist themselves into balloon poodles trying to codify gender differences, but heaven forbid we should speak of sex differences, not to mention cultural adaptations to better ensure survival of the species. Maybe no 18-year-old American "woman" will ever be conscripted or ordered to fight men mano a mano, but it seem more than a possibility at this point. I'm going to go out on a limb and simply say that a civilized nation doesn't put its women in combat where they have an unequal ability to survive. Finally, here's a prediction you can take to your bookie: When women are included in the draft, America will no longer have to worry about declining birth rates, and big families will be back in vogue. Kathleen Parker writes for the Washington Post Writers Group. Her columns include her own opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinion or editorial position of The Southern. Her email address is kathleenparker@washpost.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 South Africas Ministry of Energy aims to expand into cleaner power generation from renewable energy to combat climate change. Renewable power from independent producers currently accounts for 3,776 megawatts, less than 5 percent of the energy sold to consumers, Energy Minister Jeff Radebe said. The most industrialized African nation has made various commitments to reduce climate change and the focus on renewables is part of various commitments of the country. Ramaphosa, a wealthy businessman, has prioritized revamping the economy and turning around struggling state-owned enterprises like utility Eskom, which will purchase power from independent producers. Under President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is leading a drive to attract $100 billion investment, Radebe revived the national renewable-energy program that was once the worlds fastest growing, but had since stagnated. The minister signed agreements with 27 independent power producers, or IPPs, in April after more than two years of delays. On Tuesday, Radebe highlighted that, despite the higher pricing, the government had no intention to renegotiate power purchase agreements with IPPs. Former President Jacob Zuma had courted controversy through his support for a nuclear power program, which could have added almost 10 gigawatts of capacity to South Africas overstretched grid, but which was regarded by many, including Ramaphosa, as being too expensive-potentially costing up to $100bn. South Africa relies on coal-fired plants for more than 80 percent of its electricity generation, while renewables contribute around 7 percent. SPRINGFIELD On Tuesday, Capitol News Illinois reported on Springfield GOP Rep. Tim Butlers bill to change how Illinois allocates its Electoral College votes for president. Somewhat forgotten, however, is a decade-old law which already binds the state to change its electoral process without having to do anything more. That law, signed by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2008, included Illinois in a multi-state alliance to effectively bypass the countrys Electoral College. Rather than award their electoral votes to the winner of the statewide popular vote, the compact requires member states to award their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. If enough states sign onto the compact to push their cumulative voting power to more than 270 electoral votes the amount required to win the presidency the compact will take effect in the next presidential election cycle. Thus, the popular vote would decide the winner of the presidency, even without an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. National Popular Vote is the group that advocates for this measure across the country. Their campaign began in 2005, with Illinois being the first state to introduce the legislation and the third to sign it into law. The U.S. is expected to add 439,300 registered nursing jobs by 2024, a 16 percent increase in the workforce, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects. Locally, SIH hired 76 nurses into its residency program in 2018, and still has dozens of nursing openings at its hospitals, said SIH Vice President Phil Schaefer. The company hopes a Carbondale bachelors degree program will keep more nurses in Southern Illinois. If you go somewhere else to study nursing, youll do clinicals and build relationships there, and people dont tend to always come home, Schaefer said. This lays the foundation for people who are advancing in their careers to move on to graduate degrees, head up nursing units and become advanced practice nurses. None of that can happen without a BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing). SIH offers tuition reimbursement to nurses who pursue further education, and will be encouraging its nurses to enroll at SIUC, administrators have indicated. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} John Dunn Interim Chancellor Mugshot SIU Carbondale Interim Chancellor John Dunn SIUC Interim Chancellor John Dunn is "very bullish on the program, Goldsmith said. He sees it, of course, helping with enrollment, but also addressing a very critical regional need, in partnership with the region. There are a lot of positives. Like a good neighbor ... is perhaps one of the most universally recognized advertising slogans in the world, and Maggie Dutton, of Maggie Dutton State Farm, is committed to being the best neighbor to her clients and the community-at-large. South Hills (15301) Today Mostly cloudy skies early then heavy thunderstorms developing this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 83F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall may reach one inch.. Tonight Showers and scattered thunderstorms. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. 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. Vijay Gadepally stands in Lincoln Laboratory's in-house supercomputing center. Gadepally is part of a team that leveraged supercomputing to address cybersecurity issues. Credit: Glen Cooper Identifying cybersecurity threats from raw internet data can be like locating a needle in a haystack. The amount of internet traffic data generated in a 48-hour period, for example, is too massive for one or even 100 laptops to process into something digestible for human analysts. That's why analysts rely on sampling to search for potential threats, selecting small segments of data to look at in depth, hoping to find suspicious behavior. While this type of sampling may work for some tasks, such as identifying popular IP addresses, it is inadequate for finding subtler threatening trends. "If you're trying to detect anomalous behavior, by definition that behavior is rare and unlikely," says Vijay Gadepally, a senior staff member at the Lincoln Laboratory Supercomputing Center (LLSC). "If you're sampling, it makes an already rare thing nearly impossible to find." Gadepally is part of a research team at the laboratory that believes supercomputing can offer a better methodone that grants analysts access to all pertinent data at oncefor identifying these subtle trends. In a recently published paper, the team successfully condensed 96 hours of raw, 1-gigabit network link internet traffic data into a query-ready bundle. They created the bundle by running 30,000 cores of processing (equal to about 1,000 laptops) at the LLSC located in Holyoke, Massachusetts, and it is stored in the MIT SuperCloud, where it can be accessed by anyone with an account. "[Our research] showed that we could leverage supercomputing resources to bring in a massive quantity of data and put it in a position where a cybersecurity researcher can make use of it," Gadepally explains. An example of the type of threatening activity that requires analysts to dig in to such a massive amount of data are instructions from command-and-control (C&C) servers. These servers issue commands to devices infected with malware in order to steal or manipulate data. Gadepally likens their pattern of behavior to that of spam phone callers: While a normal caller might make and receive an equal number of calls, a spammer would make millions more calls than they receive. It's the same idea for a C&C server, and this pattern can be found only by looking at lots of data over a long period of time. "The current industry standard is to use small windows of data, where you toss out 99.99 percent," Gadepally says. "We were able to keep 100 percent of the data for this analysis." The team plans to spread the word about their ability to compress such a large quantity of data and they hope analysts will take advantage of this resource to take the next step in cracking down on threats that have so far been elusive. They are also working on ways to better understand what "normal" internet behavior looks like as a whole, so that threats can be more easily identified. "Detecting cyber threats can be greatly enhanced by having an accurate model of normal background network traffic," says Jeremy Kepner, a Lincoln Laboratory fellow at the LLSC who is spearheading this new research. Analysts could compare the internet traffic data they are investigating with these models to bring anomalous behavior to the surface more readily. "Using our processing pipeline, we are able to develop new techniques for computing these background models," he says. As government, business, and personal users increasingly rely on the internet for their daily operations, maintaining cybersecurity will remain an essential task for researchers and the researchers say supercomputing is an untapped resource that can help. Explore further A system that identifies malicious patterns in network traffic More information: Vijay Gadepally et al. Hyperscaling Internet Graph Analysis with D4M on the MIT SuperCloud, 2018 IEEE High Performance extreme Computing Conference (HPEC) (2018). Vijay Gadepally et al. Hyperscaling Internet Graph Analysis with D4M on the MIT SuperCloud,(2018). DOI: 10.1109/HPEC.2018.8547552 This story is republished courtesy of MIT News (web.mit.edu/newsoffice/), a popular site that covers news about MIT research, innovation and teaching. It's been a short while since the Samsung Galaxy S10 series was unveiled to the world. As the 10th edition of the Galaxy S series, Samsung sure surprised us with a lot of features, much more than we expected and even though all of them aren't exactly new, we think they are a nice improvement. So, here are the Top 5 Features the Samsung Galaxy S10 series got right. The camera quality Starting with almost everyone's favourite feature - Samsung has finally brought the triple camera configuration to their flagships (except the Galaxy S10e). With the trend of running on wide angle lenses, the Galaxy S10+ and Galaxy S10 are using the same 12MP (wide-angle, F/1.5 - F/2.4, OIS) + 16MP (ultra wide-angle, F/2.2) + 12MP (telephoto, F/2.4, OIS) triple rear camera. The numbers may not look that impressive, but we will let the photos speak for themselves. We took some outdoor and indoor shots which look great. You may have experienced the fish-eye lens effect on some phones, but the Galaxy S10+ does not give off much of that vibe even though the ultra wide-angle lens is 123-degrees. This is an improvement from the Galaxy A7 (2018) last year and the colours are spot on, this goes for indoor shots too where the lights don't overexpose itself. Starting with this one, you can see that there isn't much noise in this low-light environment cafe. The yellow light in the middle there also didn't shine too brightly when facing the camera (L-R) Next, we played around with the ultra wide-angle, wide-angle, 2x telephoto shot and a 10x zoom in An ultra wide-angle shot is excellent for this kind of shot It even captures the sunray piercing through the clouds! The scene optimizer still works wonders in this Insta-worthy shot There are some nice filters too for you to check out Wireless PowerShare Sure, reverse wireless charging is not new and at the moment, it's not really the preferred method to fast charge a smartphone yet. But what Samsung did was even better, besides being able to charge a smartphone via Wireless PowerShare (Samsung's version of reverse wireless charging), the Galaxy S10+ is able to charge accessories as well! This is definitely bringing convenience to another level and you can say goodbye to your charging cables. That said, we couldn't really test out how fast the Galaxy S10+ is able to charge the Galaxy Buds casing, as there is no battery indicator shown in the setting. But we will surely do a test in our future review! Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor Another feature that has been around for the whole of 2018, Samsung has also finally brought it to live this year. Previously, there have been rumours about it appearing on the Galaxy S8 series (which it never did). Even though it came later, the Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor's unlocking speed is actually faster than we thought. From my experience during the Samsung Galaxy S10 Tech Breakfast event, the feature was one of the first things I tried and I was very impressed (you have to take my word for it). So yes, it came late to the party, but at least it's not clunky, unlike other phones. The Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensor also works with the display turned off, so that's really great without having to press the power button to login. A less bulky premium design Here's a fun fact, when we were comparing the sizes between the Galaxy S9+ and Galaxy S10+ for research purposes, we actually found out that the new flagship not only looks more beautiful but is sleeker as well. The Galaxy S10+ may sport a slightly bigger display of 6.4-inches, but it's also thinner measuring at 7.8 mm only compared to the Galaxy 9+'s 8.5mm size. The Galaxy S9+ (left) and Galaxy S10+ (right) looks similar, but the Galaxy S10+ looks thinner Oh, did I mention that the Galaxy S10+ is surprisingly lighter? It weighs 175g only! Also combined with the Infinity-O display, which almost maxes out the screen and definitely looks better than the original notches. The huge memory space (at the right price) Finally, another thing they got right is everyone's most relied upon but understated feature - the storage space. As you may know, the highest memory capacity (for the Malaysia market) goes up to 8GB of RAM + 512GB storage and usually, this will jack up the price tag a lot. Comparing this with the Apple iPhone XS Max that uses a 4GB + 512GB combo at a hefty RM7049, it makes a lot more sense to get the Galaxy S10+ at just RM4599. If that's still not enough internal storage for you, you'd be glad to know that the memory is expandable up to 512GB via microSD card, effectively going over 1TB storage and able to save many precious photos and videos. Aw yis. So those are the Top 5 Features the Samsung Galaxy S10 series got right for us. But what about you? Which part do you think Samsung got right? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more tech articles at TechNave.com. During a public-comment session before the vote, Sierra Club activist Brittney Bollay said the plan would allow the city to "welcome more friends and new neighbors." On some blocks, developers would be able to build two houses on a lot, up from one. On other blocks, they would be able to build one or several floors taller. On still other blocks, such as those around the Northgate light-rail station set to open in 2021, they would be able to build much taller. The plan would require developers to devote 5 percent to 11 percent of their projects to l0w-income apartments or pay $5 to $32.75 per square foot in fees, depending on project location. It was initially proposed under then-Mayor Ed Murray. Wallingford resident Fay Frank urged the council to ensure that the affordable apartments built with developer fees be sited in the same neighborhoods as the market-rate projects. "Failure to include such a provision will result in gentrified and segregated neighborhoods," Fay said. District-based Councilmembers Lisa Herbold, Johnson and O'Brien have sought to scale back the upzones on certain blocks of single-family houses in West Seattle Junction, Wallingford, Crown Hill and some other areas, arguing milder changes would be better received by existing residents there. Police arrested a Longview 15-year-old Tuesday morning on suspicion of first-degree robbery after he allegedly took less than $200 from a clerk the Beachway Gas and Grocery on Ocean Beach Highway. Longview officers reported to the convenience store located in the 3100 block of Ocean Beach Highway shortly after 6 a.m. when an employee reported that a suspect with a concealed face threatened her with a handgun, which investigators learned may have been an air pistol, Detective Sgt. Chris Blanchard said Tuesday. After taking the money, the suspect fled on foot. Officers used K-9 Ike to track the suspect to an apartment on Maryland Street, where they arrested the 15 year-old suspect. After getting a search warrant, police found a black air pistol replica of a 1911 style gun and distinctive clothing the suspect had been wearing, Blanchard said. The suspects mother, a former employee at the convenience store, was also arrested on suspicion of rendering criminal assistance. Jennifer Holt, 43, initially told police she didnt know about the robbery, Blanchard said, but later on police learned that her son came home and told her about it. When she was arrested, police found cash on Holt that is believed to be from the robbery, Blanchard said. We are competing for that talent with these other employers, he said. But our staff salaries have been stagnated, basically, while other areas (like K-12) have grown to compete for that talent. The solution the state board is proposing addresses the problem on both fronts. LCC and the other colleges represented by the board are asking the Legislature to provide $68 million more in funding to fully support a 6 percent raise for faculty over the next two years. (To put that in perspective, the state allocated $1.5 billion in total to community and technical colleges in the 2017-2019 biennium budget.)Boesenberg anticipates these colleges will ask for another 6 percent raise in 2021 to cover the rest of the 12.4 percent disparity. We would like the 12.4 percent right now, but weve had discussions and evaluated that and decided it would be more reasonable to ask for that over four years, rather than all in one, Boesenberg said. And by getting rid of the fund-split, this proposal means colleges could maintain their current programs and faculty populations. Of course, the state could also choose to increase college tuition to help these institutions with their financial contribution to salaries. Group donates to girls club The second anniversary chapter meeting of the Lower Columbia Chapter of 100+ Women Who Care took place Jan. 30, where members collected $8,200 for the Breakpoint Highlands Girls Club. According to chapter organizers, checks still are coming in from members who could not attend the meeting. The chapter meets quarterly in January, April, July and October at the Kelso-Longview Elks Lodge. Each member donates $100 at each meeting. Members nominate local nonprofit groups and randomly draw three group names. The groups then share their stories and chapter members vote and select the recipient of their quarterly donation. Besides selecting the girls club as the recipient of the January donation, Bob Thierault of FISH of Cowlitz County updated the chapter on how FISH is using the chapters donation from the October meeting. Since forming in 2017, the Lower Columbia Chapter of !00+ Women Who Care has donated nearly $142,000 to nine local nonprofit organizations including Janus Youth Program Cowlitz Street Youth Outreach, Harlies Angels, The Dino Doozer Foundation, Longview Laundry Love, the Belly Brigade, Habitat for Humanity, Safe Kids Lower Columbia, FISH of Cowlitz County and the Breaking Point Highlands Girls Club. Hehehe. A few people ask why I post my portfolio results every day. Some of them asked rudely, but I shall not call them idiots. Here are... The UAE was the first Arab state to reopen its embassy in Damascus, but other Arab and Western states have been more reluctant without a political solution writes Hurriya Press. On Monday, the Emirati academic Abdulkhaleq Abdullah stirred controversy with his statements to the Russian Sputnik agency, in which he stressed the diligent Emirati efforts and its race to rehabilitate the war criminal Bashar al-Assad among Arabs and restore his regime to the Arab League before the Tunisia summit scheduled for March. The agency quoted Abdullah as saying that there were unremitting efforts being made by the Emirates to restore the Assad regime to the Arab League before the Tunisia summit. Abdullah said that meetings and efforts were currently ongoing behind the scenes and indicated that there is a 50 percent chance that the Assad regime would attend, and that a state of accord could occur in the next few days, despite the Arab League Secretary-General, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, saying two weeks ago that there was no Arab agreement about the Assad regimes return and that the matter was tied to this agreement. Abdulkhaleq Abdullah, who Sputnik said was a former adviser to the Abu Dhabis Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Zayed, claimed that, Syria returning to the Arab League is a major necessity at the current time, especially as leaving it in this state will give Turkey and Iran a greater chance to penetrate the Arab territory even more. He said that Arab countries should separate their position on the political regime (the Assad regime) and the state, which is the territory, the people, and history, as he put it. The Emirati state was the first Arab state to reopen its embassy in Damascus in last December, in a step which the State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, justified by saying that it aimed to fight, Iranian and Turkish penetration into Syria and the region. However, the renewed efforts of the Emirates ran into the walls of Arab and international rejection, which is ongoing. Doha said it rejected the return of the Assad regime before a political solution was achieved, and Morocco took the same position. Saudi Arabia placed conditions on the return, most importantly that it be freed from dependency on Iran. This appears impossible in light of the Assad regime handing the entire country over to Iranian and Russian occupation. The decisive blow came from Trump, who advised the Arabs not to normalize with the Assad regime, as did the Europeans. France and Britain totally ruled out reopening their embassies in Damascus before a political solution was reached. Several countries stand alongside the Emirates, including Bahrain, Iraq, Algeria and Egypt. Lebanon is carrying out major efforts at the political level at the moment, with allies are mobilizing, according to Lebanon experts. They pointed to the major role played by Lebanon to rehabilitate the Assad regime and for it to attend the March Arab League summit. This line is led by the son-in-law of President Michel Aoun, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, who wants to expel a million Syrian refugees from Lebanon by any means, refusing to tie their fate to a political solution, as international law and UN Security Council resolutions stipulate. The Emirati academic and political science professor Abdullah was a major supporter of the Syrian revolution, however he has a volatile positions even on allies. He stirred discontent in Saudi Arabia when he demanded a few months ago that a Saudi prisoner of conscience be released, and he was arrested and forcibly disappeared in January 2017, to be released a few days later having flipped entirely and now supporting Abu Dhabis policies entirely, even saying in one of his tweets that Abu Dhabi was the center of Arab gravity. 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. Regime attacks has forced over 30,000 people to flee their homes, but the safety of other villages and the camps on the border is relative reports Alsouria Net. Nearly two weeks of bombing has displaced tens of thousands of civilians from the cities and towns under the control of the opposition in northern Syria, most notably Khan Sheikhoun, which has become a ghost town after the displacement of most of its residents. The attacks by regime and its pro-Iranian militias are centered on the towns of Khan Sheikhoun, Jirjenaz, Maarret al-Numan and other towns and villages in the countrysides of Idleb and Hama. Activists and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the deaths of dozens of martyrs and a large number of wounded over the past ten days, with as many as 48 civilians, including 16 children and nine women thought to be affected. Attacks by Assads airforce entered their third day, targeting opposition controlled areas, and was accompanied by regime artillery and rocket attacks from its barracks and strongholds deployed in the countryside of Hama. On Tuesday, two warplanes carried out raids on the town of Khan Sheikhoun and other villages near Sarakib, causing the deaths of several martyrs and wounding several others. The Directorate of the Syrian Civil Defense, reported that three children were killed and eight civilians were wounded during the two raids that targeted Khan Sheikhoun. Photographs were published showing the evacuation of the victims and those trapped under the rubble. Ghost Town Thousands of civilians have been forced to flee to relatively safe villages, as well as to camps and other temporary structures to escape the shelling. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 30,000 people have fled Khan Sheikhoun. The Observatory pointed out that the city is now almost empty. Only a few citizens have refused to be displaced or have volunteered to stay and guard houses from theft. 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. An Economic Postcard from Malaysia Not so long ago, Malaysia was set to lose years of economic progress. Today, following the re-imposition of economic discipline, the country is almost back on track. A new era dawned in Malaysia in May 2018, when the opposition coalition led by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim secured a simple majority in a historical election. When Mahathir will return to retirement, opposition leader Anwar is expected to replace him in about two years. In the 2018 election, their coalition - Pakatan Harapan (PH) - won 113 seats against the ruling coalition (United Malays National Organization, UMNO and its allies) that had not lost an election since 1957. Last year, Malaysias economy grew 4.7% year-on-year. Despite fiscal consolidation and challenging international conditions, the country is set to sustain its growth path in 2019. It is an extraordinary achievement after years of political turmoil. The Najib regression As the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak ruled the country from 2009 to 2018. His early tenure was marked by economic liberalization measures, including cuts to government subsidies, loosening of foreign investment restrictions, and reductions in preferential measures for ethnic Malays in business. After the 2013 election, the neoliberal economic policies gave way to greater efforts at political consolidation, including the pursuit of critics on sedition charges, the imprisonment of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, the implementation of a consumption tax (GST), and the embarrassing scandal involving state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). That's when Malaysia lost its economic discipline. The changing fortunes can be illustrated by the fluctuations of Malaysian ringgit. Between 2009 and 2013, US dollar was still about 3-3.60 MYR. As economic prospects weakened, so did the ringgit. Between 2013 and 2018, US dollar amounted to 4.40 MYR (Figure). Figure Malaysian Ringgit, 2009-2019 Eventually, the massive 1MDB corruption debacle led to rallies calling for Najib's resignation, spearheaded by the grassroots movement Bersih. Following his release in 2004, Anwar Ibrahim became the leading figure in the opposition and helped coalesce the opposition parties into the Pakatan Rakyat, which contested the 2008 and 2013 general elections. These protests culminated in the Malaysian Citizens' Declaration by Mahathir, the rise of Pakatan Harapan and NGOs to oust Najib. The 2018 election triumph paved the way to Mahathir to become the world's oldest elected leader at 93. He said his coalition would not seek revenge but would "restore the rule of law". Recently, Anwar Ibrahim seconded those views. He said Malaysia will not compromise in its talks with Goldman Sachs over the 1MDB corruption scandal, and the bank must bear responsibility. The nation has a responsibility to uncover any crimes the investment bank may have committed. Fiscal consolidation Between 1974 and 2004, Mahathirs Malaysia experienced a period of rapid modernization and economic growth, as his government initiated a series of bold infrastructure projects. During his reign, Malaysia was transformed into an ASEAN tiger. Politically, Mahathir was dominant, winning five consecutive general elections and fending off a series of rivals for the leadership of UMNO. The final test came with the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis in 1998. While much of Asia succumbed to IMF-imposed austerity, Malaysia did not. Instead, Mahathir pursued a heterodox model of economic policies, including currency and capital controls, while deterring George Soros's speculative efforts to derail the economy. In the West, Mahathir was demonized as an authoritarian dictator who was intent on undermining his own economy. In reality, his mix of policies ultimately helped Malaysia endure a shallower GDP loss than crisis-afflicted Indonesia, South Korea, and Thailand. Now Mahathirs objective is fiscal consolidation to surpass the policy mistakes of the Najib years, while stabilizing a more robust growth path. It is a challenging task that must be implemented amid Americas new protectionism and U.S. tariff wars. Moreover, Mahathir has had to suspend several multibillion-dollar projects, including China-backed initiatives, in a bid to target Malaysia's estimated $250 billion national debt and other liabilities. Early signs are promising. In 2019, economic growth is likely to be around 4.5%; in 2020, 4.2%. Private consumption is the key contributor as consumers have loosened their purse strings amid an improving labor market and lower consumption tax. However, investment growth is lingering as several high-profile projects have been put on the back-burner following the new government's fiscal rationalization. Preparing for 2020 contingencies As the new government's first budget suggests, the focus is on institutional reforms, improving the standards of living, particularly for the lower income groups, as well as encouraging entrepreneurship. The fiscal deficit is projected to narrow to 3.0% of GDP by 2020; and to 2.0% in the medium-term. It is a typical Mahathir mix: people first, good governance, self-sufficiency, but openness to international trade and investment. Yet, there are two key risks to the fiscal target forecast. On the one hand, growth could be less than anticipated, thanks to the challenging external environment. On the other hand, revenue flows could prove more volatile than expected, given the higher dependence on oil-related revenues, which account for almost a third of total. While the government's expansionary efforts are limited by the ongoing fiscal consolidation, Malaysia can still rely on more accommodative monetary policy. In 2019, monetary policy is expected to be stable. As international headwinds are likely to escalate in 2020, the central bank could opt for a more dovish stance. Until recently, neoliberal policies have often been portrayed as "natural" for post-industrializing Asia. In reality, such policies tend to boost oligarchs and shun the rule of law. Led by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's political reset shows that neoliberal trajectory and corruption are not an inevitable destiny. Malaysians deserve a better, sovereign future. Dr Steinbock is the founder of the Difference Group and has served as the research director at the India, China, and America Institute (USA) and a visiting fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (China) and the EU Center (Singapore). For more information, see http://www.differencegroup.net/ 2019 Copyright Dan Steinbock - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors. Dan Steinbock Archive 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. The leaders of the two countries reiterated their commitment to eliminating terrorism and rejecting the schemes and plots of the West writes SANA. On Monday, President Bashar al-Assad met the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, in Tehran. President Assad congratulated Mr. Khamenei and the Iranian people on the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, which has formed, over the past four decades, an example that should be followed to build a powerful state that is capable of realizing the interests of its people and standing up against foreign interventions. During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the strong relationship between the two countries and affirming that this relationship is the main factor of the steadfastness of Syria and Iran against the hostile plots of states, which seek to weaken the two countries and destabilize them. Mr. Khamenei, for his part, congratulated President Assad and the Syrian people, the army and armed forces, on the victories achieved against terrorism, saying that these victories have dealt a blow to the US-western project in the region, but that they must be prepared for what comes next. The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution reiterated that his countrys support to Syria will continue until the country has completely recovered and overcome terrorism. Talks during the meeting dealt with the latest developments in the region. President Assad pointed out that to realize the interests of the peoples in the region, their governments must stop yielding to the will of some western states, mainly America, and adopt balanced polices based on respect for the sovereignty of states and non-interfering in their affairs. The two leaders stressed that the escalation policy and the attempt to spread chaos, adopted by some western states, especially in Syria and Iran, will not prevent the two countries from defending the interests and rights of their people. Later, President Assad met the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, with both sides expressing satisfaction over the strategic relationship between the two countries. President Assad thanked Iran, its leadership and people, for what they have offered Syria during the war, while President Rouhani affirmed that Irans support of Syria stemmed from a principled stance to support the legitimacy that resists terrorism. The victory of Syria is a victory for Iran and the Islamic nation as a whole, President Rouhani said, affirming that Tehran will continue to help the Syrian people in any way they it can, until terrorism is eliminated and the reconstruction process can begin. The talks also dealt with the efforts exerted in the framework of Astana to end the war on Syria. President Rouhani briefed President Assad on the latest Sochi meeting that brought together the three guarantor states within the Astana framework. Viewpoints were identical on means of achieving the aspired-for progress in that framework in a way that retains Syrias territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty as well as eliminating terrorism on all its territory. The two presidents agreed to continue coordination between the two sides on all levels in the interest of the two countries. This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, who are the dominate force in Idleb province, claimed responsibility for the attack reports Zaman Al Wasl. At least nine regime troops were killed in a missile attack launched by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Idleb province, the groups propaganda agency said Monday. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants rocked the army battalion with the US-made TOW missile, east of Idleb city, Ebaa agency reported. Eleven more troops were wounded in the attack. Idleb city is under the control of Tahrir al-Sham, a bloc of Islamist militant factions spearheaded by Syrias former al-Qaeda affiliate, and has long been targeted by bombings and assassinations. Since the Syrian revolution erupted in 2011, more than 560,000 people have been killed, and more than six million people have been displaced. This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. As US-backed forces close in on the Islamic State, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces are trying to run humanitarian and military operations concurrently writes Asharq al-Awsat. US-backed forces in eastern Syria on Tuesday screened and treated truckloads of suspected militants and relatives who left a village where the ISIS terrorist groups caliphate is making its last stand. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) struggled to cope with the flow of people exiting the very last shred of a once-sprawling proto-state that claimed dominion over millions of people. Several thousand of them are believed to remain in a last redoubt which has been shrunk to about half a square kilometer on the edge of Baghouz, a hamlet by the Euphrates river. SDF forces and medics were treating the last batch of more than 2,000 people who were trucked in from the front line to a desert screening point at night. An AFP reporter saw an 11-year-old girl who had lost her leg, a small child with a broken hand and his pregnant mother as well as others who had suffered wounds from landmine explosions and bombardment. Kurdish fighters there said 30 people, mostly women, had already been sent on to other facilities for treatment, and that a total of 300 had received emergency care. Their accounts of the makeshift camp in Baghouz where the SDF says around 5,000 people remain describe a death trap of disease and starvation. Many of the women told AFP they were not able to leave earlier for lack of funds to pay the smugglers who spirit groups out of the besieged area. Inside, there is nothing but hunger, said one of them. Next to her, two famished, dust-caked children were spooning out jam from a pot with their grimy fingers. Nearby in the chaotic SDF outpost, a woman from Kazakhstan was walking around asking people if they knew whether meals would be handed out soon. The number of people trapped in the last ISIS pocket near the Iraqi border has exceeded all estimates from a month ago, when SDF forces looked poised to complete their takeover. The SDF, which has spearheaded the fight against ISIS in Syria since 2015, has complained that the burden was too heavy and urged the world to scale up its humanitarian effort. Many of the civilians and fighters emerging from the ruins of the ISIS caliphate are foreigners whose countries of origin are reluctant to repatriate. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, around 50,000 people have quit the last ISIS pocket in the Euphrates Valley since December 2018. Among them are up to 5,000 suspected ISIS members, while most of the rest are their relatives. After being vetted, women, children, and men not suspected of belonging to the extremist group are transported north to the Kurdish-run camp of Al-Hol, while suspected militants are sent to SDF-held detention centers. More evacuations are likely in the coming days but SDF forces, with backing from the US-led coalition and its aerial might, are then expected to move in and flush out any diehard ISIS fighters. Kurdish foreign affairs official Abdel Karim Omar said Monday that the SDF would announce the end of the ISIS proto-state in the next few days. But this does not mean that we have eliminated terrorism, which must be eradicated at the roots, he said. Beyond Baghouz, ISIS still has thousands of fighters and sleeper cells across several countries. In Syria, it retains a presence in the vast Badia desert, and the militants have claimed deadly attacks in SDF-held territory. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. The recent Warsaw summit aimed to create a united front against Iran, but failed to create a consensus of ideas or opinions writes Al-Watan. The Warsaw summit called by the United States, with representatives of 60 countries in attendance, including foreign ministers from ten Arab countries and the prime minister of the Zionist entity, Benjamin Netanyahu, failed to achieve its primary aim, which was forming a regional and international front against Iran. Instead, it turned into a normal conference with the aim of recognizing the Israeli presence as an open fait accompli. American Vice President Mike Pence spoke of the Saudis and Emiratis sharing bread with Israel, which was clear evidence of the conferences nature. The conference came within the context of passing the American deal of the century, with the participation of its godfather Jared Kushnerthe son-in-law and adviser to President Trump. The deal aims to obliterate the Palestinian cause and to legitimize the Zionist entity and to integrate it into the region by forming an Arab-Zionist-American alliance to confront an imaginary enemy, represented by Iran. The head of the Iranian National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, said that Washingtons sponsoring of an anti-Iran conference meant the failure of the most severe sanctions in history, and indicated inability and despair. Irans Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, described the conference as an expression of political despair, and said that the Warsaw conference was, a new effort carried out by the United States in the context of its baseless obsession with Iran. The Warsaw conference was stillborn. The American Secretary of State, in closing the conference, said that a meeting of Israeli and Arab officials in the same room the night before had comprised a historic day. In his speech, Vice President Pence criticized the position of Washingtons European allies on the Iranian nuclear deal, saying that the mechanism that the European Union had set up to ease trade with Iran was an effort to break American sanctions on the Iranian regime. The Palestinian Authority refused to attend the conference and said that the central factor in regional instability was the Israeli occupation, and that there would be no security or stability before the occupation ended. Russia also refused to attend the conference and considered it a hostile step against Iran rather than being for the sake of discussing solutions to Middle East issues. Its ambassador to the United Nations said that the Warsaw conference would harm Middle East security and that the attempts to form certain political-military alliances in the region were not constructive. Federica Mogherini, the European Unions High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, justified her lack of attendance with compliance to prior commitments. Even its host Poland said that it was still complying with the EU position supporting the nuclear deal with Iran. France and Germany as well as some other European countries were able to establish a system for financial cooperation with Iran in order to avoid American sanctions. This measure also derailed the American and Israeli plan to isolate Iran and blockade it economically. Analysts believe that the United States aimed to achieve a number of gains from the conference, first of all to pressure Iran and to blockade it, as well as to include Israel as a major player on the field in combating Iranian influence. The United States failed to mobilize against Iran. All American policies over the past 40 years, including economic war, psychological war, proxy war, and the war in Syria have failed. Therefore America has resorted to this conference, which was like a circus, in order to compensate for its failure. The Warsaw conference was stillborn. More than 20 major and important countries declined to attend the conference. The remaining countries that participated had a very low level of representation. Therefore the results were not as the United States desired, faced with the solidity of the Iranian political and military position. The conference failed to advance the idea of the Arab NATO to confront Iran, which was an American idea put forward in 2011 and renewed in 2015, to form an Arab security alliance to repel Iran. The Warsaw conference, engineered by America, in its current form is a circumvention of resolutions with international legitimacyindeed it is a declaration of war upon them. It is a reward to the occupation state for its occupation of Palestinian and Arab land, and it is one form of the political confusion of the Trump administration. In the context of the American strategy to liquidate the Palestinian cause, it is a despairing attempt to portray Iran as an enemy of the Arabs, and to show Israel as a peace-loving neighbor, rather than a racist state planted in the heart of the Arab nation to strike and to prevent the establishment of any Arab renaissance, occupying the land of others and turning its back on international law and the international community. The American-Israeli conference in Warsaw failed, and it is a black mark for the Arab governments who participated. Its results will be no better than those of the Geneva Peace conference held in 1973, without the participation of Palestinians. 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. Dear economics department chairman, In all the formal economic study I have sat through, I have developed a growing concern for the direction of the economics profession in general, and economic education in particular. Let me explain and challenge you. What is knowledge? How is knowledge acquired? What do we know? How do we know what we know? These questions seem most fitting for a philosophy class in epistemology however, they are also essential in the world of economics. The discovery of knowledge can be broken down into two main approaches (excluding the category of divine revelation): inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning. Simply put, inductive reasoning is the discovery of knowledge through observation (as in the scientific method). Conversely, deductive reasoning is the discovery of knowledge done through logic. Or, said differently, deductive knowledge is gained in an a priori (knowledge before experience) fashion that follows naturally from stated axioms. Importantly, knowledge gained through deductive means is no less valid than knowledge gained through inductive means. The issue is that in the realm of mainstream economics today this is not recognized to be true. Deductive reasoning is sneered at, especially when it is not presented in the formality of Greek letters. Most economists label those that use deduction as unscientific and imprecise. The emphasis on induction is so strong in economics PhD programs today that a grad student with a background in math or statistics can finish his or her PhD with superb grades and know literally nothing about cause-and-effect economics. Let me be clear, having induction as the mainstream of economic thought is not the issue that I wish to bring up: the issue is having inductive analysis as the mainstream of economic discovery while deductive discovery is not only looked down upon it is not even taught. Innovation in economic thought requires a dynamic debate by all. It must be a process that includes healthy academic discussion by those who favor inductive and those who favor deductive discovery. At one time in economics relatively short history, it was not so one-sided. The period from 1870 to 1920 saw the deductive-favoring Austrian School of economics and the inductive-favoring German School of economics in a pointed exchange of academic ideas. As the marginalist revolution in economics had just exploded, healthy economic debate was alive and well. Carl Menger introduced marginalism in his 1871 book, Principles of Economics, which also refuted work done by both Adam Smith and David Ricardo. Next, Karl Marx, working on the labor theory of value, was challenged heavily by Eugen von Bohm-Bawerk. Finally, the likes of Ludwig von Mises, Joseph Schumpeter, Friedrich von Hayek, John Maynard Keynes, and Alfred Marshall spent a generation at variance, debating ideas about the progress of economic theory and the basis upon which it began. The point is that both deductive- and inductive-favoring economists contributed and offered analysis in healthy academic debate. Sadly, World War II broke up the primarily European dialogue. When the dust of war had settled, the result was that the deductive-favoring Austrian School was less prominent and the inductive-favoring German School was now the mainstream.[1] As induction took root, the use of deduction was more and more looked down upon, until acceptable economic inquiry became the one-sided view that it is today: Use the scientific method on a dataset. Quantify. Infer. Switching gears a bit, there are essentially three ways (in a free market) in which a business can get ahead of its competitors: make a better product at a cheaper price; for the same price, make a better product; or differentiate yourself from your competitors. In some ways, graduate education can be looked at in the same light. There are X number of schools offering schooling in a particular program and Y number of students in any given year, choosing among available schools. Parameters that can play a part in the students decision include the following: What school leaves me the least in debt? What schools have a better reputation? What schools have strong programs in what I want to study? And most importantly, What schools do I have the grades to get into? From the perspective of the school, however, the goal is to attract as many applications as possible. The more students that apply, the more a given department can be more selective in admitting students, as they are now drawing from a larger pool. By offering one or two undergraduate or graduate courses in this vein, your school can pride itself on being one of the few programs in the nation that offer students an additional perspective to round out their education. It is even better if you oversee an agricultural- and applied-economics program. Then you may boast that you are the only school in the nation that offers any formal study of such economics based in deduction.[2] Marketed in the right light, this could be a simple and effective way to differentiate your school in the minds of prospective students particularly graduate students. And most importantly, from the point of view of academic honesty and freedom, adding an economics class or two based in deductive or Austrian analysis is the right thing to do. The discovery of knowledge is the literal foundation of the academic process, and dogmatically relegating one form of inquiry to obscurity is not only a bit academically dishonest its wrong. I hope you will make the right decision. Sincerely, Sterling T. Terrell First published by the Mises Insitute. Eugene D. Gene Oldford, 86, whose career in harness racing as a breeder, owner, and administrator led to his induction into the Michigan Harness Horsemens Association Hall of Fame in 2013 as well as numerous other accolades, passed away peacefully on Feb. 25, 2019, at Blue Water Hospice Home in Michigan. Oldford was a longtime member of the MHHA board of directors, past president of Harness Horsemen International, and member of the U.S. Trotting Association. He received the 2014 HHI Person of the Year Award as well as multiple honours from MHHA including Board Member of the Year, Owner of the Year, and an Appreciation Award. Among his favourite horses was Godiva Hall, a multiple-stakes-winner and world-record-setting female trotter, in the mid-2000s. Other top horses included pacers Billmar Scooter and Park Avenue. His current group of horses included stakes-winners Two A M and Chin Chin Hall, a three-year-old trotter who is eligible to this summers Hambletonian. His son Stephen is a U.S. Trotting Association director and amateur driving champion. Eugene D. Oldford was born to parents Stephen and Clara (Hallett) Oldford on July 28, 1932, in Detroit. He graduated from Croswell-Lexington High School in 1950 and attended St. Clair County Jr. College and the University of Michigan. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and was stationed in Panama. Oldford, along with his brother Bill, acquired Huron Tool and Manufacturing, now Huron Inc., in Lexington, from their father Stephen in 1958. The company was sold to US Industries in 1968. He founded Oldford and Associates, an automotive manufacturers representative sales firm, in 1973 where he continued to work until his unexpected death. He was also co-founder of Black River Manufacturing, Port Huron, along with partners Jarold Hawks and Isaac Lang Jr. Always active in his community, Oldford served in various leadership roles on the Worth Township Board, Boy Scouts of America, Jaycees, Croswell-Lexington Little League, Masonic Lodge and Trinity Episcopal Church. Over the years, he gave generously to his community establishing the Stephen and Clara Oldford Scholarship fund to assist students attending St. Clair County Community College. Oldford is survived by his three children, Stephen (Gale), Susan Zappa and Laurie. He was blessed with five loving grandchildren, Michelle (Manny) Chavez, Troy (Kelly), Kara, Joey Zappa and Vincent; and three great-grandchildren; Alex Chavez, Bensen Chavez, and Brooklyn. He is also survived by special friend, Nancy Edmonson; brother, William; sister-in-law, Jill Meyers; niece, Kathy (Gwen) Johansen; and nephews, Will (Ann Marie) and Douglas (Amy) Gough. He was preceded in death by Sandra S., Barbara L. Edwards and Joseph R. Zappa. Oldford was a loving and generous man who made friends wherever he went. He deeply loved his family and friends and lived a very active and full life. Please join the family to celebrate Genes life. A visitation will take place on Friday (March 1) at the Pomeroy Funeral Home in Lexington from 2:00-9:00 p.m. On Saturday (March 2), a funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. in Trinity Episcopal Church, Lexington, with visitation in the church beginning at 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service. Memorials contributions may be made to Trinity Episcopal Church, Project Blessing, Blue Water Hospice, The Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame or New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program. Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Gene Oldford. (USTA) The United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA), the leading organization of harness racings chroniclers, held its annual meetings at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, Florida for the second consecutive year this past Saturday and Sunday. The writers meetings were held in conjunction with the groups annual Dan Patch Awards Banquet, which on Sunday evening celebrated the best of brightest of the sport during the 2018 racing campaign (including an attending mystery guest). Saturdays meeting gathered the organizations board of directors, while Sundays session was an open gathering for all of USHWAs members. The major by-law change passed by the USHWA directors gave a fuller oversight authority to the groups Integrity Committee, who now is empowered to take action during all stages of all of the awards processes, from the start of the nominations all the way through and beyond the awarding of any honours. As a result of discussion during the meetings, two new USHWA Committees were formed. A proposal to transfer final decision-making power on journalists to appear on the annual Communicators Hall of Fame ballot, which would have shifted that authority from the Directors to the Hall of Fame Screening Committee, was after a multifaceted discussion tabled pending a report from the new committee to be established to study the matter. Also to be the subject of investigation of a committee was the possibility of producing past performance line-type information to aid voters of the various Dan Patch Equine Awards at years end. USHWA continued its recent trend of financial responsibility and income production during 2018, showing a profit for the second straight year. Prospects for 2019 also received an early boost from the excellent sale of journal ads, sponsorships, and tickets surrounding the weekends Dan Patch Awards Banquet. As reported earlier, the Directors voted Ken Weingartner, media relations manager for the U.S. Trotting Association, and Phil Pikelny, former publicity director at the USTA and several tracks and also co-author of the book Rambling Willie: The Horse That God Loved, as ballot candidates for this summers election for the status of being a member of the Communicators Hall of Fame. The team of Officers in charge of guiding the fortunes of USHWA was returned for another year: Shawn Wiles, of Monticello Raceway, as President; Kim Rinker, of the Ohio Sire Stakes and Ohio Standardbred Development Fund, as Vice-President; and freelance communicators Barry Lefkowitz and Jerry Connors as, respectively, treasurer and secretary. The fifth Officer, the multitasking Tim Bojarski, remains as Chair of the Board, as that position is defined in the USHWA bylaws as the immediate past president of the organization. At the Dan Patch Awards Banquet, USHWAs Stan Bergstein-Proximity Award, the highest honour voted on solely by the organizations members and given for longtime distinguished service to the sport, was bestowed on the top money-winning Standardbred of all time, the $7,635,588 earner Foiled Again. And the banquet crowd was roused to a standing ovation when the 15-year-old Foiled Again, now in retirement, was himself walked into the banquet hall, displaying the equanimity which had endeared him to so many harness fans on both sides of the fence during his long and illustrious career. McWicked, the leading money-winner of the 2018 season, took home both Harness Horse of the Year and Pacer of the Year honours, while the three-year-old filly Atlanta, conqueror of the boys in the prestigious Hambletonian Stake, won plaudits as Trotter of the Year on the 2018 racing scene. Also on hand to be honoured were Ted Gewertz, Joe Holloway, Jerry Silverman, and Linda Toscano upon their election to the sports highest honour, the Hall of Fame, along with Mark Hall and Dave Little, who were voted into the Communicators Hall of Fame. This group will join with Hall of Fame electees Blair Burgess and Ted Wing to be formally inducted on the seventh of July at the site of the sports Hall, Goshen NY. (USHWA) Originally built in 1909, the iconic Meier & Frank building was once home to some of Portlands busiest department stores. Now in 2019, with the wrap-up of a multi-million dollar landmark renovation project, the building is now home to the second outpost of Portlands very own Upper Left Roasters. Growing up here, I visited this building to come to Macys. Now I own a coffee shop here and its very surreal, says Upper Left co-owner and CEO Katherine Harris. The multi-year remodel in the heart of downtown Portland includes a sprawling 10,000-square-foot outpost of Japanese homewares and lifestyle brand MUJI, as well as mixed-use retail and commercial offices across 15 floors spanning an entire city block. Upper Left has made a name for itself over the past three years at their original location in SE Portland, anchoring a sun-drenched corner of Ladd's Addition, the leafy planned neighborhood of parks and stately homes designed in a wagon wheel shape inspired by Washington D.C. From the in-house roaster to the sunlit interior, Upper Left has set down roots in Portland and has become a staple in the coffee communitythe cafe still feels quite like nothing else in the city. For this new project downtown, going from their own brick and mortar shop to fitting in as a piece of a 40,000-square-foot project came with a host of new challenges. Harris and her team embraced the process as they worked to integrate their coffee company into this brand new space. This opportunity to work on this project with Meier & Frank has been fulfilling because of how the team came together, Harris said. This project takes a whole team, and were getting better every day as a team. The teamwork does not begin and end with Upper Left solely; in addition to MUJI, the building is also home to The Nines hotel and its nationally regarded restaurant, Departure, helmed by two-time James Beard Award semifinalist (and Top Chef finalist) Gregory Gourdet. This district of Portland is packed with retail options, restaurants, and coffee bars; with other popular brands in the vicinity, it took a pointed effort from Upper Left, the adjoining businesses, and the design team to make sure each individual brand identities would cut through, rather than blending in. Our brand translating was important. We wanted to preserve our minimalism, clean lines, and thoughtful construction, Harris said. Although they achieved in bringing their aesthetic to life in the lobby, this part of Portland is very fast-paced. From people going to work or shopping at local retail stores, its a toss-up whether customers will get the coffee shop vibe when shortly visiting. With Upper Left, Harris ensured they get the full shop experience in a short period of time. No matter where you are, everyone wants great customer service. We want to create a visually appealing place to enjoy your coffee, explained Harris. What your coffee tastes like and the experience you have is extremely important. One of the highlights of this new location is their menu, and how it caters to the space. Harris felt that they needed to be very intentional when selecting the options. The team checked all boxes when curating their menu, from customers schedules, the size of the space, and even how the food smelled in the lobby. Speaking of food, Upper Left's original location is well-regarded for its cafe menu, and at the downtown shop there are some new menu items to check out. Definitely get the new bagel sandwich, featuring ponzu cream cheese, avocado, and Asian chili salt. They also offer avocado toast with nut butter; both are solid food options for people to enjoy in-house or on the go. Whether ordering a cortado or picking up a bag of Guatemala Chapina, the coffee portion of the menu strikes a similar tone to the brand's original location, focusing on roast quality and sourcing. However, one stark contrast between the two locations is the exclusion of pour-over service downtown, in an effort to minimize wait times. Perhaps to help speed things up and with summer just around the corner, Upper Left are kegging their original cold brew as well as a single-origin cacao nib nitro cold brew, and offering an array of tea options courtesy of Steven Smith and Tea Bar. Behind the coffee bar, they have a La Marzocco Linea Classic two-group, paired with Mahlkonig EK43 and Mazzer Major espresso grinders. Batch brew happens via a trusty Curtis Brewer. Since their opening on December 20, the shop has been creating a buzz in downtown Portland. Although the holiday months and start of the New Year can often be slow for downtownwhich really comes alive during the summer international tourist seasonUpper Left has seen a steady stream of traffic, even with only weekday hours. For Harris, this shop opening in this building isnt simply a plot in a popular area, its nostalgic. Its an honor to have a coffee shop in this historic building. Im excited to be downtown and encounter new types of customers. And downtown seems pretty pumped to have them, too. Giovanni Fillari is a social media manager at Nike and the publisher of @coffeefeedpdx. Read more Giovanni Fillari for Sprudge. President Rodrigo Duterte signed several laws this month, the passage of which is worthy of cautious commendation. Regardless of how one views the administration and its leaders, these laws send a strong message about the things it considers important. There are several health measuresthe National Integrated Cancer Control Act, Expanded Maternity Leave Act, Universal Health Care Act. Essentially they guarantee affordability and accessibility of pertinent health services to Filipinos. These laws are, quite literally, deal with gut issuesmillions of Filipinos are unable to avail themselves of quality health care because of its prohibitive cost. Another new law establishes a mandatory career counseling program for high school and senior high students. Indeed, secondary school students could use the career advice at a time when options are veered toward jobs that are in vogue, or that pay relatively higher than other professions. A new department was created as well, through Republic Act 11201the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development consolidates the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board. The measure ideally will do away with any overlap, and the resulting inefficiency, between the two former agencies, and elevates housing as a central national priority. Mr. Duterte called precisely for the passage of the rice tariffication bill in his State of the Nation Address last year. It is hoped the new law would help manage fluctuations in rice supply more effectively, shielding Filipinos, for whom rice is a staple, from high prices.The Revised Corporation Code seeks to make the Philippines a more attractive investment destination. The New Central Bank Act expands the powers of the Bangko Sentral to regulate non-bank financial institutions and allows it to impose administrative and criminal sanctions. The Mobile Number Portability Act allows users to switch telecom providers without changing their numbers, encouraging better quality and competition. Finally, the Tax Amnesty Act is meant to complement the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion, allowing the government to raise revenues while unburdening those with past tax liabilities. To be sure, these laws came into being with various challenges of their own. Some are more universally accepted than others; some took long years to craft; others contain provisions that some quarters find unacceptable. But there is no such thing as a perfect law, and these measures are in themselves goodenough beginnings that articulate the Duterte administrations vision and priorities, as well as its acknowledgment of the demands of changing times. Now the harder part beginsactually ensuring that the lofty ideals of these laws are embodied in the details of the implementing rules and regulations, and, more tangibly, in the way the changes are carried out to the agencies and people they seek to serve. Certainly there will be difficulties, perhaps even disconnect, between the letter of the law and the way it is carried out. The Executive faces a daunting task, and now more than ever the public should offer its support not in the least by way of feedback and, if necessary, constructive criticism. Peter Kazimir to lead the National Bank of Slovakia President Andrej Kiska will appoint the current finance minister on June 1. Font size: A - | A + Incumbent Finance Minister Peter Kazimir (Smer) will officially become the new governor of the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS), the country's central bank. President Andrej Kiska will officially appoint him on June 1. The incumbent governor, Jozef Makuch, was intending to leave office on March 1. Nevertheless, he has agreed to remain at the helm of the bank until Kazimir takes up his appointment. "I accepted Finance Minister Peter Kazimir's request to delay his departure from the government after an agreement with PM Peter Pellegrini (Smer)," said Kiska, as quoted by the TASR newswire. Read also: Finance Minister Kazimir wants to govern the central bank Read more "I want to spend the time before my appointment preparing for my new position and the challenges related to it," Kazimir claimed, as quoted by the SITA newswire. He also wants to take some time off to distance himself from public finance, of which he has a been part for 12 years. Deputy governor's chair remains empty Kiska was also expected to decide on the appointment of Jozef Hudak, who wants to become the new vice governor. However, the opposition as well as Makuch have criticised him over his qualifications. "On the whole, I am satisfied but Mr president will have the final say," said Hudak after his meeting with Kiska, during which they discussed several topics, as reported by TASR. In the meantime, Makuch announced he will move on as a host professor at the Faculty of National Economy at the University of Economics in Bratislava after he leaves the NBS, TASR wrote. Kazimir's ambitions Read also: Finance Minister headed for the central bank, insiders claim Read more The details of Kazimir's departure from the Finance Ministry are not clear either. He briefed the media solely on his plans as the new governor. "My ambition is to continue the modernisation of the NBS and make it into an institution, which will be able to respond to challenges," he said, as quoted by SITA. Kazimir wants not only to prepare the bank for new technologies and digitalisation, but also for people to understand its role and importance in their everyday lives. Kazimir also underlined the interconnection of the NBS and the European Central Bank (ECB) within the eurozone, SITA wrote. "Our joint task is not only to secure price stability but also the stability and good shape of the banking sector itself," he said, as quoted by SITA. Kazimir also wants to increase the participation of the NBS in the research for the ECB's monetary policy. 27. Feb 2019 at 21:51 | Compiled by Spectator staff Slovakia's business environment has been stuck The country's attractiveness for businesses has not grown in years. A quarter of Slovak firms lags behind when it comes to paying their invoices on time. (Source: SME) Slovakia has lost the whole decade to improving the quality of its business environment. Although there has been no rapid decrease, the country did not report any significant rise either, according to the Business Alliance of Slovakia (PAS). Read also: Another cuts of red tape should save businesses about 70 million Read more In the recent Superindex ranking, it scored 80.9 points, down by one position to 36th place compared with 2017. "Slovakia is still lagging behind the most attractive countries for doing business and failing to catch up," PAS wrote in a press release. Resolute reforms lacking Despite Slovakia's positive developments in the rankings by the first two organisations, the country's score decreased in the index by Heritage Foundation. Overall, Slovakia has not managed to climb up the business rankings in a decade. "In the long-term, stagnation is an unbearable strategy and it would be convenient if the current government, and the governments yet to come, started to implement resolute and systematic reforms," said the PAS. Top 10 Superindex PAS countries for business: Singapore 103.9 Hong Kong 102.2 New Zealand 100.6 Denmark 98.3 Great Britain 97.9 USA 97.4 Switzerland 97.4 Sweden 96.6 Australia 96.3 Finland 95.7 Within the central European region, Austria came 20th and the Czech Republic preserved its 2017 position, coming 27th. Poland also performed better, coming 33rd despite a drop by one place. Singapore is the best country for business Singapore tops the Superindex PAS, followed by Hong Kong and New Zealand. On the contrary, Venezuela is the worst country for doing business. Denmark, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland and Finland are the only European countries that regularly make it into top 10 countries for business. In 2018, Azerbaijan was a country that made the biggest progress while Peru dropped the most rapidly as the Superindex PAS suggested. The ranking, which was first published in 2010, combines four prestigious rankings by the World Bank, World Economic Forum, Heritage Foundation and Transparency International. 27. Feb 2019 at 13:40 | Compiled by Spectator staff Diversity is not an option. Its a necessity Ikeas HR manager talks about how a diverse working environment can help withstand upcoming changes. Font size: A - | A + Read also: Diverse groups are more innovative and more profitable Read more Companies should not be afraid of opening a dialogue about diversity in the workplace. It may help unleash the spirit of togetherness and make diversity a living reality, said Alessandro Lagazio, Regional HR Manager at IKEA Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, in an interview with The Slovak Spectator. The Slovak Spectator (TSS): Why is it important for companies to support diversity? How might it benefit them? Alessandro Lagazio (AL): All companies should understand what business advantages they may find in it. There are different components. First, we cannot continue to learn and improve if we arent able to expose people to different backgrounds, different life experiences, and different points of views. Learning refers to our ability to be enriched through individual differences and be better. The second component is how happy people are with their work. People need to interact. You are most satisfied when you are able to deliver something together with different people. Another extremely important point involves unleashing creativity. Diversity offers the possibility of making people feel that they are included, that they can be themselves. This generates creativity, which is the best resource we need at a time of change, transformation and disruption. All these ingredients together make me think that diversity is not an option, but a necessity. We cannot be successful if we do not bring different points of view and different experiences to the business environment. TSS: What is the approach of Slovak companies to diversity? Are they open to supporting it? AL: There is some positive evolution and there are also many good examples. I think there is a need to continue to expand the dialogue and bring more attention to diversity to make an impact in society, as well as companies. TSS: Apart from Slovakia, you are also responsible for the Czech Republic and Hungary. Compared to these countries, where is Slovakia in terms of supporting diversity? 27. Feb 2019 at 6:30 | Radka Minarechova Diverse groups are more innovative and more profitable Many companies promote diversity, but a recent survey shows they are still just outliers. The Diversity Charter has more than 50 signatories right now. (Source: Courtesy of the Pontis Foundation) Wearing a rainbow lanyard, offering family benefits to LGBTI couples, removing prejudices and eliminating differences in the approach to men and women: these are some of the ways companies in Slovakia are supporting diversity and inclusion in their workplace. Diversity is an integral part of every successful community as it greatly contributes to addressing challenges in a more innovative and open way, Ondrej Krizko, Policy Officer for Political, EU and Press Affairs at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, told The Slovak Spectator. The embassy is a signatory of the Diversity Charter, a public pledge to create positive working conditions for employees so they feel good and like they can be themselves at the workplace. The Dutch Embassy is the only embassy on the list as of now. Read also: Diversity is not an option. Its a necessity Read more 50 signatories Diversity is at heart of our success, creating a culture of respect, trust, empathy, learning and inclusion, which enables us to recruit the best talent and empowers the people to be more innovative, productive and solve problems in more creative ways, reads the charter. Signatories acknowledge diversity as a core of their success and an effective tool to boost their reputation and build good relations with employees, suppliers, shareholders, business partners andclients. The charter was created in May 2017, inspired by similar initiatives from other European Union countries. Since then, 50 organisations have signed it. Paylab Diversity Study in Europe (Source: Paylab) Its a very nice number for such a small and quite conservative country, Ivana Vagaska, senior programme manager at the Pontis Foundation, which administers the charter, told The Slovak Spectator. The list includes subsidiaries of big multinational companies, small local companies, NGOs, chambers of commerce, but also the University of Economics in Bratislava and the Justice Ministry. Why is diversity important? 27. Feb 2019 at 6:30 | Radka Minarechova Sandor Marai grew up in Kosice and mentioned the city in his work repeatedly. He loved the city although it changed in the last century, losing its original inhabitants due to ethnic cleansing. He was very erudite and well-read in modern literature at a time when novels set in the countryside were being written in rustic Slovakia. In 1921, he was the first to publish the very first translations of Franz Kafka's progressive stories in the Kosice newspapers Szabadsag and Kassai Naplo. Despite his love of Kosice, he emigrated. His brother, film director Geza Radvanyi, who also emigrated, once said that Kosice "was not a city, but a worldview" to Sandor. In the nineties, the Slovak media labelled him a "fascist" and "irredentist", for he had not welcomed the creation of Czechoslovakia due to Czechoslovak persecutions of Germans and Hungarians after the war. Yet, his books have become bestsellers in Italy, Germany and Spain. Only today have Slovaks started to discover and recognise Hungarian-language author Sandor Marai, a native from Kosice with German roots. 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. A 24-year-old Honduran woman went into early labor and delivered a stillborn baby while she was in custody at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in South Texas last week. The official joint statement from ICE and Customs and Border Protection, released Monday by the Department of Homeland Security, reports that the woman, whose name and identifying details are being withheld in order to protect her privacy, was six months pregnant when she was apprehended on Feb. 18 by U.S. Border Patrol near Hidalgo, Texas. The agencies further indicate that she was taken to a hospital, given two medical screenings, and then cleared for release on Feb. 21. The woman was then transferred to ICE custody on Feb. 22, where she was supposed to be processed for release. Its not clear why she was to be released, though there had to be a reason, given that in 2017, the Trump administration changed the prior policy of presumptive release for pregnant women to a policy wherein they are treated like all other detainees, meaning theyd be processed on a case-by-case basis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DHS joint statement also noted that on the evening of Feb. 22, while being processed for release by ICE, the woman began complaining of abdominal pains. EMS was called, though she went into premature labor, at 27 weeks pregnant, and delivered an unresponsive male infant. ICE Health Service Corps initiated CPR, and EMS transported them both to the Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, Texas, where the infant was later pronounced dead. DHS would further like to note that they are transparent in the extreme, as they write, Although for investigative and reporting purposes, a stillbirth is not considered an in-custody death, ICE and CBP officials are proactively disclosing the details of this tragic event to be transparent with Congress, the media and the public. Advertisement Thats another subset of lives at the border that the government didnt bother to count for investigative and reporting purposes, it would seem. The stillbirth happened Friday. On Tuesday morning, Rep. Ted Deutch, a Florida Democrat, publicly released internal documents (published in full by Axios) from the Department of Health and Human Services detailing thousands of reports of sexual abuse visited on minor migrants in U.S. custody. That would work out to, on average, one sexual assault by HHS staff on an unaccompanied minor per week. (The reports of abuse reach back to the Obama Administration, too.) Advertisement It is unclear what we can do with these crimes beyond count them. We certainly cant understand them. Just last week, a 45-year-old Mexican died in CBP custody in McAllen, Texas. An 8-year-old Guatemalan boy, Felipe Gomez Alonso, died Christmas Eve in DHS custody, where he had been held for six days with his dad. Three weeks before that, a 7-year-old Guatemalan girl, Jakelin Caal Maquin, also died in Border Patrol custody. Advertisement Scott Lloyd led HHSs Office of Refugee Resettlement through its catastrophic period of family separation, before he failed upward into a job at the HHS office for faith initiatives. On Tuesday, Lloyd testified before the House Judiciary Committee, where he was be questioned about the fact that he had ignored warnings from career HHS staffer Jonathan White about the profound health risks of separating migrant children from their parents. White said Lloydwho possessed no previous experience overseeing care for migrantsassured him the policy would not be enacted even as it went forward. Under oath Tuesday, Lloyd admitted that he failed to pass on these warnings from career experts about how family separation would cause lasting trauma in children. He also testified that ORR only began tracking lost children in the summer of 2018, months after the family separations had begun. Thats another subset of lives at the border that the government didnt bother to count for investigative and reporting purposes, it would seem. Advertisement Advertisement Last week, Trumps Justice Department advised a federal judge that children separated from their families at the border under a then-secret, now-known zero tolerance policychildren who number in the thousands according to the DOJs own Inspector Generalare not actually worth counting at all. At a hearing to determine whether the government was responsible for finding and reuniting children removed from their families prior to an ongoing class action suit, a Justice Department lawyer told Judge Dana Sabraw that parents whose children had been taken from them prior to the formal zero tolerance policy would have to file their suits elsewhere. Were not saying that they cant be reunified, he told the judge. Were saying that its just not part of the class the court certified, its not part of this case. And if there are folks in this category who want to seek relief, there are courts, there are informal channels available to do that. To reiterate, not only does DHS not count stillborn babies as in-custody deaths in their data, they also dont appear to count the live ones they have taken and then misplaced. They agree only to an accounting when forced to do so in litigation. Advertisement Advertisement Every time this administration is caught doing something deplorable at the border, it initially claims not to be doing it. Then it claims to have no records of this, and then it claims that even if this is happening, it somehow doesnt count. That is how they manage to enact deplorable policies at the border: by assuming that entire classes of humansmigrant families, separated children, abused teenagers, pregnant mothers, and now stillborn babies, dont count enough to even warrant being literally counted at all. They dont keep records, and they admit to not keeping records, because some stillborn babies matter more than others, and some do not evidently matter at all. Rep. Stacey Plaskett, the non-voting delegate for the U.S. Virgin Islands in the House of Representatives, found unlikely internet fame Wednesday for her obviously annoyed reaction to Republican Rep. Jim Jordan from Ohio. Plaskett was clearly irritated at Jordan, a staunch defender of President Donald Trump who tried as hard as he could to question Michael Cohen and diminish the value of his testimony Wednesday. At one point, Jordan characterized Cohen as the patsy for the Democrats. Yet it seems like Plasketts breaking point was when Jordan complained about not getting a copy of Cohens opening statement in advance. Advertisement I just have a simple motion, Mr. Chairman, Jordan said and thats when Plaskett turned around and looked in his direction, delivering what many on social media characterized as an eye roll of epic proportions. Some say Plaskett could be seen mouthing be quiet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stacey Plaskett is all of us looking at Jim Jordan, the last person who should address anyones character, tweeted the Atlantics Jemele Hill. Stacey Plaskett is all of us looking at Jim Jordan, the last person who should address anyones character pic.twitter.com/z2fKUVHwYa Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) February 27, 2019 Advertisement Many others on Twitter celebrated Plasketts eye roll with screengrabs and videos. Advertisement Stacey Plaskett gave the boy bye look to Jim Jordan pic.twitter.com/usTWwiDqn8 Erin Ashley Simon (@erinasimon) February 27, 2019 Advertisement Plaskett took note of all this attention and even retweeted a message that said @StaceyPlaskett is all of us right now listening to the bs in #CohenHearing. Advertisement @StaceyPlaskett is all of us right now listening to the bs in #CohenHearing pic.twitter.com/9JSCxSvmd7 Supreme (@BarbKilla) February 27, 2019 She also replied to Hill, thanking her for the support. Advertisement As if there werent enough conflicts to keep track of around the world, you can add a new one to the list. Although more than new its more of a blast from the past that has suddenly escalated to such a degree that it is making many wonder whether a nuclear war between old enemies India and Pakistan is on the horizon. The good news? Not quite yet. The bad news? After each country carried airstrikes against the other, the crisis between India and Pakistan is escalating to a level not seen in years and could raise tensions in an area of the world that is no stranger to conflict. Advertisement How did we get here anyway? It all started when the militant group Jaish e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on Feb. 14 that killed more than 40 Indian troops in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. That led India to conduct airstrikes against what it alleged was a militant camp in Pakistani territory. Advertisement Advertisement A senior Indian official tells Reuters that 300 militants were killed in that strike while Pakistan claims there were no casualties. But then on Wednesday, Pakistan said it carried out its own airstrikes as a show of force. And then Pakistans military said it had shot down two Indian fighter jets that had entered Pakistani airspace and captured a pilot. India later said it had lost one of its fighter jets, claiming the jet was trying to stop an attack by Pakistan. India also claims a Pakistani jet was shot down. Advertisement Although conflicts and tit-for-tat shows of force are hardly uncommon between India and Pakistan, what sets this apart is that it marked the first time since a 1971 war that the countries carried out raids on the other side of the line of control that separates the Indian administered portion of Kashmir from Pakistans side. In past instances of jets attacking the other country, India and Pakistan always made sure the aircraft actually stayed within their sides of the line. Any attacks that did cross the line, such as in 2016, were within the disputed territory of Kashmir. One of the main reasons for concern about a possible escalation is politics. Happymon Jacob at Al Jazeera explains: Advertisement Advertisement Although this is easily the most serious military escalation between the two sides in close to two decades, since the Kargil crisis, what makes this even more dangerous is that it is election season in India and the hawkish Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a second term in office. Given that Modis government has consistently made strong claims about security matters, it could not help but respond with force to the February 14 attack in Pulwama. Not responding would have been politically unsustainable for the prime minister and his right-wing party, given the unrelenting calls from the opposition for a counterattack and the rather disappointing performance of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at important by-elections over the past year. The Pulwama attack came at a politically opportune time for Modi and he will seek to capitalise on it as much as he can, which could make him seek further escalation against Pakistan. Advertisement For now though the world seems to have sent a message that it is standing a bit with India on this one. Or at the very least, it isnt standing with Pakistan. Few governments rushed to Islamabads defense after the attack by India considering many had signaled they were impatient with Pakistans lack of action against militants after the terror attack earlier this month, notes the Washington Posts Ishaan Tharoor. This must greatly disappoint Pakistan because it would have expected its most trusted all-weather friend to make a straight condemnation of India, Indian journalist Shekhar Gupta wrote. But its a new world with no patience for terror as an instrument of policy. "The Aquino family has been the biggest beneficiary of People Power. They were awarded two presidencies totaling 12 and a half years." "The Aquino family has been the biggest beneficiary of People Power. They were awarded two presidencies totaling 12 and a half years." For the third year in a row, President Duterte has boycotted the celebration of EDSA People Power (EDSA for short). I think he hates People Poweror the artificiality of it. For the first time since 1987, Fidel V. Ramos did not show up at the EDSA celebration and make the ceremonial victory jump. He was quite ill to come. For the first time since 1987, Lt. Col Gringo Honasan, now a perennial senator, made a bitter remark about EDSA. On Sunday, Feb. 24,2019, he asserted it was of the utmost importance to tell the true story of the February 1986 Revolution to our most precious children, the next generation of citizens, why it happened and what it was for and against. We in the breakaway Reformist RAM, accelerators of historical events, the crucial Military component of People Power, already spoke with decisive action 33 years ago, the once-dashing rebellious army colonel said. We will not compete for attention with those who continue to distort facts and history, continue to claim credit and propriety ownership over what rightfully belongs to the Filipino People. One family that has usurped EDSA is the Cory Cojuangco Aquino family. She proclaimed herself the revolutionary president of the Philippines after failing to defeat the strongman Ferdinand Marcos in the February 1986 snap election. Then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and his RAM boys made the strategic mistake of declaring Cory the winner. What followed were six and a half years of unprecedentedly incompetent rule (from February 1986 to June 30, 1992). Cory died in August 2009. By May 2010, a grieving nation elected Corys only son, Benigno Noynoy Aquino III, as president. What a disaster Noynoy was as president. Disgraced, former president BS Aquino tried during the 33rd anniversary of EDSA this year to spin the EDSA legacy to push for his Otso Diretso senatorial candidates. The irony is because the eight otherwise qualified senatorial aspirants, none of them, except for Mar Roxas, have a chance to win, thanks to Noynoys forgettable presidency. Noynoy destroyed the Aquino brand in politics. So damaged is the brand that an otherwise decent and purposeful senator, his cousin, Bam Aquino, wont probably be reelected. The Cojuangco-Aquino family of BS Aquino III had appropriated Edsa People Power as if it were their brand, their franchise, their business. Truth to tell, Cory had very little role, if any, at EDSA. She was so afraid of snipers that there is no known photograph of her waving at the crowds at EDSA. Cory was in Cebu hiding in a convent during the first and most dangerous night of People Power, on Feb. 22, 1986. Her son, Noynoy, was too engrossed with many other things to have participated, too. I was at People Power I as a foreign correspondent. The Aquino family has been the biggest beneficiary of People Power. They were awarded two presidencies totaling 12 and a half years, more than enough compensation for what opposition leader Benigno Ninoy Aquino Jr. did in his political lifetime, which was to heckle and needle Marcos during 17 of his 20-year presidency. Ninoy died from a military bullet in August 1983. And what did the people get for having two Aquino presidents? It was a bad deal. The Aquino-Cojuangco family has no more right to claim Edsa as theirs than every Filipino, you and I. Their Edsa failed us, the people. On the first day of Edsa I, Feb. 22, 1986, I was lucky to be both in Cebu, for Corys civil disobedience afternoon rally, and Manila, for the first night of Enriles breakaway coup. Enrile had no troops, just about two dozen RAM soldiers. His shock troops were us, foreign correspondents, numbering about 40.Not many people know it but Edsa I was triggered by greed and was won by a lie. The crowds that massed on Edsa on Feb. 24, 1986, Monday, and Feb. 25, Tuesday, were there not to stage a revolt but to hold a picnic. June Keithley had announced on radio at 7 a.m. of Feb. 24, 1986 that the Marcoses had left. It was a lie. In their glee and feeling that finally it was all over, people trooped to Edsa to celebrate. The greed arose from a Chinese forex trader who violated the peso-dollar trading band imposed by the then unofficial central bank, the Binondo Central Bank managed and headed by then Trade and Industry Secretary Roberto V. Ongpin. Ongpin had the erring trader arrested and loaded into a van. Unfortunately, the forex trader died. Unfortunately again, the trader happened to be a man of then-Armed Forces chief Fabian C. Ver. Angered, the dreaded military chief had 22 of Ongpins security men arrested. They were marching in full battle gear and dressed in SWAT uniform at about 4 a.m. inside Fort Bonifacio when arrested on Feb. 22, 1986, a Saturday. At 11 a.m., at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ongpin went looking for his security men. He called up then-Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile who was with the Club 365 at the Atrium in Makati. Enrile thought the arrest of the 22 Ongpin security men, who turned out to be RAM Boys of Colonel Honasan, was part of the crackdown against the plot to oust Marcos. The putsch was being planned by Enrile and his RAM Boys. The defense chief had grown disenchanted with Marcos, who was very ill following a botched kidney transplant three years earlier. JPE had become wary of the palace cabal led by Ver and the First Lady, Mrs. Imelda Romualdez Marcos. Enrile summoned his boys to his house on Morado Street, Dasmarinas Village. There they plotted their next moves. They decided to make a last stand at the armed forces headquarters, Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. At 2 p.m., Enrile called then Vice Chief of Staff Lieut. Gen. Fidel V. Ramos. Are you with us? JPE asked Eddie. I am with you all the way, FVR assured. More tomorrow. [email protected] Listen to Slates The Gist: Get More of The Gist Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcastsand much more. Sign up today. Join Slate Plus Subscribe to The Gist Copy this link and add it in your podcast app. copy link copied! For detailed instructions, see our Slate Plus podcasts page. Get The Gist in Your Inbox We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. Listen to The Gist via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play. On The Gist, corn syrup and beer. In the interview, whats the difference between a 16-year-old and an 18-year-old? In terms of maturity, not so much. But only one of them has the right to vote. In Oregon, state Sen. Shemia Fagan is hoping to change that, and shes letting young activists take the lead. In the Spiel, who wants to talk about reparations? Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at Slate.com/gistplus. Join the discussion of this episode on Facebook. Email: thegist@slate.com Twitter: @slategist Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Pierre Bienaime. Chief Justice John Roberts likely saved Vernon Madisons life. He also may have saved the Eighth Amendment. On Wednesday morning, Roberts joined the Supreme Courts liberal justices in Madison v. Alabama, an important death penalty decision affirming that states may not execute inmates who are unable to understand their punishments due to disorders like dementia. The ruling bolsters constitutional protections against executions for prisoners who suffer mental disabilities while cementing Roberts role as the courts new swing justice. Advertisement Madison was sentenced to death for killing an Alabama police officer in 1985. Today he is nearly 70 years old and has spent 33 years in solitary confinement. Following a series of strokes, he has severe cognitive impairment due to vascular dementia. He struggles to walk, speak, or process basic information. Because of these ailments, Madison can no longer remember his 1985 crime. Advertisement Advertisement Alabama still wants to kill him. Madisons attorney, famed civil rights advocate, Bryan Stevenson countered that the Eighth Amendment prohibits his execution. In 2007s Panetti v. Quarterman, the Supreme Court ruled that the government may not execute an individual whose mental state is so distorted by a mental illness that he lacks a rational understanding of the rationale for [his] execution. Stevenson claimed that, under Panetti, lethal injection would be unconstitutionally cruel and unusual. Advertisement Alabama argued otherwise, noting that Panetti specifically addresses inmates who suffer gross delusions. Madison, prosecutors claimed, experienced dementia, not delusions, and is thus unprotected by Panetti. The central question for the Supreme Court in this case, then, is whether the Eighth Amendment bars the execution of individuals whose dementia (not delusions) impede a rational understanding of the reason for their execution. In her majority opinion, Elena Kagan easily concluded that it does. Relying on Panetti, Kagan first reasoned that an inmates failure to remember his criminal act does not by itself render him immune from execution. She then wrote, however, that such memory loss still may factor into the rational understanding analysis that Panetti demands. If memory loss combines and interacts with other mental shortfalls to deprive a person of the capacity to comprehend his death sentence, then the Panetti standard will be satisfied. Advertisement Advertisement Kagan then held that it doesnt matter if these mental shortfalls stem from delusions, dementia, or some other disorder. Courts must look beyond any given diagnosis to a downstream consequencewhether a disorder can so impair the prisoners concept of reality that he cannot come to grips with the meaning of his punishment. Both dementia and delusion come in many shapes and sizes, and not all will interfere with the understanding that the Eighth Amendment requires. Courts must gauge disorientation and cognitive decline to determine whether execution is constitutional; they cannot simply look to a prisoners formal diagnosis. Does that mean Alabama may not lawfully kill Madison? That remains unclear. Kagan noted that the Alabama court that approved Madisons execution held only that the evidence does not support that Mr. Madison is delusional. She directed the court to reevaluate the case in light of Wednesdays holding, to disregard evidence in the record that reflects an incorrect view of the relevance of delusions or memory, and to consider supplementing the record in light of the new decision. The implication here is obvious: Madison is likely too ill to be executed constitutionally, and if the Alabama court disagrees, it better give a really good reason. Advertisement Advertisement Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch dissented. (Justice Brett Kavanaugh did not participate because he was not on the court during oral arguments.) Alito accused the majority of mak[ing] a mockery of the courts rules, because Stevenson did not initially present Madisons case as a straight elucidation of Panetti. (Kagan dismissed his gripes as high dudgeon.) Alitos dissent has more to do with the justices long-standing disgust with attorneys who oppose the death penalty than with the legal issues at hand. The big question here is why Roberts crossed ideological lines to support Madison. There are a few possibilities. First, if Roberts voted with the conservative bloc, the court wouldve split 44, leaving in place a lower court order permitting Madisons execution. The chief justice hates stalemates, and during oral arguments it appeared that Roberts was trying to avoid one, goading Stevenson to agree that the case could be decided on narrow grounds by following Panetti. He then pushed Alabamas deputy attorney general to concede that Madisons dementia may shield him from execution under Panetti, even though he isnt delusional. These concessions, extracted by Roberts masterful questioning at oral arguments, formed the bedrock of Kagans opinion. Advertisement Advertisement But theres a wrinkle here: Roberts dissented from Panetti, disagreeing with its interpretation of the Eighth Amendment. Has Roberts merely embraced Panetti as precedent, even if he still thinks its wrong? Perhaps. But I have another theory. In 2015, the Yale Law Journal published a pathbreaking article by Michael Clemente asserting that the Eighth Amendment, as originally understood, provides robust protections against the execution of the mentally disabled. Citing a wealth of historical documents, Clemente made a compelling case that the Framers, in drawing up the Eighth Amendment, defined insanity much more broadly than the Supreme Court has in the death penalty context. The court, Clemente argued, should restore this more generous standard for the level of mental impairment required to forbid execution. Clemente is now a Roberts clerk. We may never know if he influenced his boss in Madison. But Roberts vote on Wednesday reflects a significant evolution in his interpretation of the Eighth Amendment. And the chief justices enlightenment may well spare the life of an elderly, disabled inmate currently sitting on Alabamas death row. Jorge Ramos spent the past few days running through the list of questions he had prepared for Nicolas Maduro, the leader who has sunk Venezuela into an abyss of unprecedented proportions. Ramos, Univisions main news anchor for more than 30 years, was particularly focused on his first query, which would set the tone for the interview. He knew he had to put Maduro on the defensive to contain the Venezuelan strongmans penchant for long-winded, empty rhetoric. I wanted him to face a dilemma, Ramos told me over the phone from Miami. He asked Maduro whether he should refer to him as Venezuelas president or merely as a dictator, which is what millions of people think of him. It proved to be a brilliant journalistic choice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Confronted with the growing assertions of his illegitimacy, Maduro grew irritable. The interview had run for 17 tense minutes when Ramos took out an iPad and showed Maduro a video he had shot hours before of a group of hungry Venezuelan men digging through trash in search of food scraps. He couldnt go on, Ramos recalls. He broke down and stopped the interview. Maduro then stupidly tried to cover Ramos iPad and finally stood up and left, fuming, leaving Ramos behind. Ramos would soon learn just how acutely he had gotten under Maduros skin. Venezuelan security forces detained the anchor and his team, and confiscated all four Univision cameras and every memory card on which the interview had been recorded. They seized the crews personal belongings and even forced Ramos to surrender his personal phone. For a while, Ramos and his producer were held in a dark room, where they were searched. Twenty-four hours later, Maduros government summarily deported the group. By then, word of Maduros despotic reaction had spread to every news outlet in the world. Advertisement Those unfamiliar with Jorge Ramos interviewing style might have been shocked by the incident. I wasnt. As a colleague of his (I have worked with him for eight years at Univision), Ramos courageous and astute journalistic provocation of the Venezuelan leader comes as no surprise. Maduros reaction is just another notch on Ramos belt, one more remarkable episode on a long list of historic clashes in the three decades since he took over Univisions network newscast. Advertisement A firm believer in confrontational journalism, Ramos has chosen the interview as his weapon of choice. His style is not without its critics. He has been accused of being an activist in the guise of a journalist. Its a claim Ramos doesnt shy away from. Especially in the age of Trump, he does not believe in detachment, so much so that his brand of forceful journalism has become a personal banner of sorts. When it comes to racism, dictatorship and human rights, we cannot remain neutral, we have to take a stand, reads his Twitter cover picture. What makes Ramos unique, though, is that his appetite for confrontation is almost universal. He is a relentless interrogator of power, no matter who wields it. Advertisement A firm believer in confrontational journalism, Ramos has chosen the interview as his weapon of choice. Take Maduros mentor, the cunning Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez. A shrewd communicator in the model of Fidel Castro, Chavez could talk for hours on end, spinning weary reporters around. He could be beguiling and intimidating, utterly convinced of the socialist experiment he had unleashed in Venezuela. Ramos faced Chavez during very different, yet crucial, moments in his career. In 1998, before the elections that would first bring him to power, Ramos proved prescient, asking a deceptively subdued Chavez about his commitment to the rule of law. He lied three times, Ramos recalls, running through the list of what proved to be Chavezs empty promises to respect Venezuelas democratic institutions. Advertisement Two years later, Ramos went back to Venezuela and sat with Chavez, surrounded by a group of the presidents ardent sympathizers. They booed my questions and applauded his answers, Ramos remembered. Despite a noticeable nervous quiver in his voice, Ramos refused to be intimidated by the scene and pushed Chavez repeatedly. Dressed in full military garb, Chavez faced Ramos with a cynical smirk, growing increasingly upset by his antagonists insistence. Youre parroting trash, Chavez said, trying to dismiss the journalist. He couldnt: Ramos kept pushing. My role is to ask questions, Ramos said, undaunted. Advertisement It was not only dictators who got the Ramos treatment. He used this same doggedness to interview Barack Obama in 2012, during a Univision town hall conversation. Ramos pushed Obama on his failure to keep the promise of immigration reform in his first term in office. Visibly irked, Obama tried to justify the lack of reform for the countrys undocumented population. Ramos would have none of it. A promise is a promise. With all due respect: You didnt keep that promise, Ramos insisted. Two years later, Obama met Ramos again. This time, Ramos went after Obama on deportation. They called you deporter in chief, Ramos told Obama, who pushed back immediately, glaring at the interviewer. The exchange is still one of the few times Barack Obama has betrayed a hint of genuine discomfort during a formal television interview. Advertisement Advertisement Ramoss piece de resistance came in 2015, when he faced Donald Trump, a man diametrically opposed to everything Ramos has stood for as a Hispanic journalist. In a controversial moment, Ramos stood up during a press conference in Iowa to repeatedly ask Trump a question on immigration. When Trump tried to ignore him, Ramos remained standing, repeating his query like a mantra. Trump, who had been on the campaign trail for just a couple of months, lost his cool. Sit down. Go back to Univision, he said, in an astonishing rebuke. But Ramos wouldnt move. I have the right to ask, Ramos insisted. Trumps security detail then pushed Ramos out of the room, in an indelible moment that, if read correctly, should have been interpreted by American media as a sign of things to come. To this day, Trump has not agreed to sit down across from Jorge Ramos. Can you blame him? The man has questions. In 2002, Justice Antonin Scalia warned that our peoples traditional belief in the right of trial by jury is in perilous decline. His successor, Justice Neil Gorsuch, agreesand he isnt happy about it. On Tuesday, during oral arguments in United States v. Haymond, Gorsuch lambasted Congress efforts to skirt the Constitution by empowering judges to imprison sex offenders without the safeguard of a jury. It was a remarkable defense of the Sixth Amendment that points toward a broad decision restoring the jury trial right to some of the countrys most maligned defendants. Advertisement Haymond involves a federal statute that governs sentencing for certain defendants convicted of a sex offense. After completing their prison term, these offenders are placed on supervised release. If offenders violate the terms of their release, a judge can send them back to prison to serve more time for their original conviction. Thats standard practice in the federal system. The statute at issue in Haymond, though, is a different beast. Under this law, a judge must sentence offenders to additional prison timefrom five years to lifeif they violate the terms of their release. This new sentence may go beyond what the offenders first conviction allowed. And the judge need only find proof of a violation by a preponderance of the evidence. No jury is involved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This scheme is, to put it mildly, quite weird. Generally, under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, the government must prove every element of a crime that increases a sentence to a jury, beyond a reasonable doubt. The law in Haymond flips this requirement on its head. It allows a judge to decide the facts herself, under a standard more lenient than the Due Process Clause typically requires. And once she has found the offender guilty, she can imprison him for much longer than his original conviction permitted. Get The Angle in Your Inbox Every weekday, Slate's copy editors round up the stories you should read. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. On Tuesday, Gorsuch sounded downright shocked by this flagrant infringement of the Sixth Amendment. Why is the government so anxious to avoid having the involvement of citizens in this process? he asked Eric Feigin, assistant to the Solicitor General. It would be a rather simple thing to convene a jury, wouldnt it? Advertisement Historically, Gorsuch continued, theres never been this kind of system before. Congress self-consciously created this system. And I guess Im just struggling. I just dont understand why the government resists the involvement of a jury of a mans or womans peers. Gorsuch seemed rankled by the fact that Congress abolished parole for federal defendants, then sought to replace it with a draconian scheme like this one. Instead of parole, sex offenders now receive supervised releasebut if theyre accused of a new misdeed, they lose their right to a jury trial. And if theyre found guilty (by a judge), they may be locked up for life. We had parole systems previously, Gorsuch said, and Congress chose to abandon that system. And why doesnt that choice have consequences? And why isnt one of those consequences the jury right? Advertisement Advertisement As usual, Justice Sonia Sotomayor was right at Gorsuch side defending the Sixth Amendment. Is there any other area of the law in which we permit imprisonment by a preponderance of the evidence? Sotomayor asked Feigin. Im trying to figure out why a judge now gets to find by a preponderance of the evidence, after youve been sentenced to the five years, that we really should have given you eight years. If a jury didnt find facts sufficient to give him the additional years, how can that sentence possibly be constitutional? The answer is that it isnt. And on Tuesday, a clear majority of the court seemed prepared to rule as much, either striking down the scheme altogether or compelling the government to prove each new offense to a jury, beyond a reasonable doubt. That would be an important victory for the Sixth Amendment, and an affirmation that the government cannot lock away sex offenders for life without a jurys input. True, it might make prosecutors jobs a bit more difficult. As Scalia wrote in 2003, however, the jury trial has never been efficientbut it has always been free. On Tuesday, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz sent the following tweet to Donald Trumps former fixer Michael Cohen: Hey @MichaelCohen212 - Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if shell remain faithful when youre in prison. Shes about to learn a lot... Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) February 26, 2019 Advertisement Gaetzs threat comes on the eve of Cohens public testimony about the presidents involvement in schemes to buy the silence of adult actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in order to prevent the public from discovering that a man famous for being unfaithful to his various wives was still sleeping around. Theres a complicated moral calculus surrounding these payoffs: Its obviously good any time Donald Trump has less money, but it might also have been good for the public to have evidence that Trump is an immoral jerk who shouldnt be allowed anywhere near government power. On the other hand, the public already had mountains of evidence that Trump was an immoral jerk who shouldnt have been allowed anywhere near government power on Nov. 8, 2016, and elected him anyway, so its possible the payoffs were nothing more than a waste of Trumps money, which, again, would be something to applaud. On the other hand, Gaetzs tweet threatening Cohen the night before he testifies seems to be a little easier to parse. For more on this, lets check in with what looks like every single law professor in America. Heres Ryan Goodman of NYU: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hey @mattgaetz - Does your personal attorney know youve just engaged, very clearly, in the crime of witness tampering? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. https://t.co/d4d1O7nnMw Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) February 26, 2019 Heres Steve Vladeck of the University of Texas: Hey @mattgaetz: Do you know about 18 U.S.C. 1512(b), which prohibits tampering with witnesses to official proceedings?:https://t.co/4ZZ2jQ0Qrs https://t.co/t7XMXITlNb Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) February 26, 2019 Advertisement Heres Rick Hasen of UCIrvine: Not a joke----and I don't think that such comments on Twitter would be protected by legislative immunity even if they could be privileged if uttered on the House floor. https://t.co/NZJvwpDiln Rick Hasen (@rickhasen) February 26, 2019 Heres Anthony Michael Kreis of Chicago-Kent: Advertisement Does the Speech and Debate Clause apply to Twitter? Asking for a Florida Congressman. Anthony Michael Kreis (@AnthonyMKreis) February 26, 2019 Advertisement Heres Laurence Tribe of Harvard: .@mattgaetz is a disgusting excuse for a human being. Hes also engaged in criminal witness tampering in plain sight. No immunity is available. He deserves to be indicted, and of course needs to be kicked out of Congress.https://t.co/nTg9KzSwMW Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) February 26, 2019 Advertisement In fact, there seem to be only two members of the legal establishment willing to defend Gaetzs actions. The first is one Matthew Louis Gaetz II, a 2007 graduate of the College of William and Mary. Although Gaetz is himself a sitting congressman, he nevertheless seems to feel that there was nothing untoward about Gaetzs tweet, which he described as witness testing rather than witness tampering. Rep. Matt Gaetz defended his tweet directed at Michael Cohen, saying it should not be perceived as a threat https://t.co/aYIcGo5zvO pic.twitter.com/YX5q6fkJnW CBS News (@CBSNews) February 26, 2019 Advertisement Rep. Gaetz further elaborated his defense of Rep. Gaetz in an interview with the Daily Beast, saying, This is what it looks like to compete in the marketplace of ideas. But Gaetz has something of a conflict of interest here, in the sense that he, himself, is Matt Gaetz. Only one prominent lawyer who was not Gaetz was willing to defend Gaetzs actions, and he hasnt been a real player since the 1970s. Heres Tom Hagen of (presumably) USC, leading by example: Advertisement Now thats ethical lawyering! Unfortunately, one of the mildest responses to Gaetzs tweet came from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who warned that the Committee on Ethics might look into the matter because tweeting threats about exposing a private citizens alleged infidelities the night before he testifies about the presidents criminal conduct might be construed as not reflecting creditably on the House: Advertisement Advertisement I encourage all Members to be mindful that comments made on social media or in the press can adversely affect the ability of House Committees to obtain the truthful and complete information necessary to fulfill their duties. https://t.co/NDnxkaiFCA pic.twitter.com/DIIgSHgeb5 Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) February 26, 2019 Advertisement Be mindful, Matt Gaetz! Update, Feb. 27, 2018: After receiving implicit criticism from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Gaetz deleted his original tweet and sent a new one Tuesday night, apologizing for his earlier remarks: Last month, Brett Kavanaugh issued his first opinion as a Supreme Court justice in the unanimously decided case of Henry Schein v. Archer and White Sales. The opinion was straightforward, and nothing about Kavanaughs writing style really stood out. On SCOTUSblog, Ronald Mann described the opinion as succinct and methodicalan aptly blase evaluation. Many commentators fear that Kavanaughs latest opinionhis striking dissent earlier this month in June Medical Services v. Geeis a more indicative signal of the impact that the new justice will have on Supreme Court jurisprudence. A large-scale empirical analysis of Kavanaughs D.C. Circuit opinions suggests that this may be a legitimate concern. Advertisement In the June Medical Services opinion, Kavanaugh tried to justify his disagreement with the majoritys decision to stay a Louisiana law that would severely restrict womens access to abortions in that state. Kavanaughs dissent cites exactly one other caseWhole Womans Health v. Hellerstedtand only to explain how the facts of the present case are (or may turn out to be) meaningfully different, such that even though a nearly identical Texas statute was deemed unconstitutional in Whole Womans Health, the Louisiana iteration of the statute might be just fine. None of the other three dissenters signed onto Kavanaughs June Medical Services opinion. Advertisement Advertisement Those who have commented on Kavanaughs approach to judicial writing have offered only faint and colorless praise. Law360 described his writing as clear and concise, and President Donald Trump likewise said that he has a clear and effective writing style. Adam Liptak similarly praised Kavanaughs first Supreme Court opinion as crisp and clear. Advertisement The most notable aspects of Kavanaughs opinions, though, tend to elude traditional modes of analysis. After subjecting Kavanaughs preSupreme Court judicial opinions to a large-scale empirical analysis, facilitated by computer algorithms, I found that Kavanaugh cites judicial decisions less than others on the federal bench, even while he cites statutes and constitutional provisions more than others. For many commentators, his June Medical Services dissent amounted to an attack on the Supreme Courts abortion precedent. And, in the wake of that decision, fears that Kavanaugh cares little about case law seem to be rising. Kavanaughs citation practices may indicate that he has less care or respect than most judges for precedent. Given that we dont yet have much Supreme Court data to rely on, Kavanaughs D.C. Circuit opinions likely represent the most promising data source for gaining insight into his approach to opinion writing and to legal authority in particular. A data science approach can reveal significant details that would be difficult if not impossible to detect with the human eye alone. My empirical methods and results are described in more detail in a chapter forthcoming in Computational Legal Studies: The Promise and Challenge of Data-Driven Legal Research, edited by professor Ryan Whalen. Advertisement Advertisement In a previous study using the same approach, I found that Justice Neil Gorsuchs 10th Circuit opinions stand out from the pack on many stylistic variables. In contrast, Kavanaughs D.C. Circuit opinions are average on most measures, which perhaps helps explain why his writing style has received scant attention. However, Kavanaughs opinions do possess some notable qualitiesqualities that have been largely overlooked. Perhaps most pressing to consider, given current fears and speculation about Kavanaughs jurisprudence, are his relatively infrequent citations of case law. On average, his D.C. Circuit opinions cited 6.6 cases per 1,000 words, whereas opinions by the other judges on that court during the same time period cited on average 8.0 cases per 1,000 words. Meanwhile, Kavanaugh incorporated an average of 9.7 citations of statutory and constitutional provisions per 1,000 words, whereas the other judges averaged 7.2 such citations. Moreover, my results suggest that during his tenure on the D.C. Circuit, Kavanaugh relied decreasingly on cases, but increasingly on statutory and constitutional provisions. Advertisement Advertisement Kavanaughs citation practices may indicate that he has less care or respect than most judges for precedent, but greater concern for statutes and the Constitution as sources of authority. Moreover, my time-trend analyses, which suggest that Kavanaughs deference to case law is on the decline while his deference to statutes and the Constitution is growing, may provide textual evidence of Kavanaughs increasingly textualist and originalist philosophy. For what its worth, in contrast, my previous study of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals revealed that Gorsuchs opinions for that court included fewer citations of cases than his peers opinions did, but also included fewer references to statutory and constitutional provisions. Advertisement Advertisement Kavanaughs federal appellate opinions were also unusually likely to inspire dissent: His opinions had more dissents than any of his male colleagues on the D.C. Circuits and the third-most dissents on the court as a whole. Its worth keeping in mind that opinions by Kavanaughs female colleagues generated more dissents on average than those by the men on the court. Perhaps the women on the D.C. court tend to write more contentious opinions, or maybe their opinions are perceived to be less credible because of some bias. Either way, the gender disparity makes Kavanaughs distinction on this measure all the more remarkable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kavanaughs lower court opinions also had unusually high standard deviations on many of the features I measured, meaning that his writing is less consistent on these qualities than the writing of his peers. One possible explanation for this variability is that Kavanaughs law clerks have more influence than usual over the writing process. Kavanaughs high stylistic variability may help explain why commentators have been vague and laconic in their descriptions of his writing: He just doesnt have much of a style to report. Advertisement Kavanaughs federal appellate opinions are impressive, however, not only in their variability but also in the rate at which they inspire dissent and their relatively light citation of legal cases. His tendency to cite statutory and constitutional provisions at an increasing rate, and cases at a decreasing rate, might be indicative of a judicial philosophy that is growing more extreme over time. My analysis of Kavanaughs D.C. Circuit opinions may provide some evidentiary fuel to the growing suspicion, exacerbated by his dissent in June Medical Services v. Gee, that Kavanaugh will not let precedent stand in his way. Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign launched like a rocket. Within 24 hours of his official kickoff, the Vermont senator had raised a staggering $6 million, quadruple the previous known first-day record, and within a week, his campaign had signed up more than 1 million volunteers. All that excitement is already showing up in the polls, where Sanders had been running second in a still-hypothetical field for most of the past year. According to Morning Consult, which is surveying primary voters daily, Sanders picked up 6 percentage points in the past week and, as of Tuesday, clocked in at 27 percent support nationally, moving him into a statistical dead heat for first place with Joe Biden, who remains on the sidelines. Bernies closest declared rival, meanwhile, is Kamala Harris, who sits in a distant third place with 10 percent support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sanders impressive start would not have been possible without the foundation he laid during his insurgent challenge to Hillary Clinton in 2016. It was then that the self-styled democratic socialist amassed the network of supporters that begat last weeks initial burst of donations and volunteers. And it was then that he transformed himself from a Phish Foodflavored fringe character into a national politician with near-universal name recognition. But unfortunately for Sanders, hes carrying over something else from his remarkable 2016 campaign: baggage. Over the weekend, Sanders felt compelled to make a semipublic plea for his allies to be on their best behavior during the Democratic primary, or in his words, to engage respectively with our Democratic opponentstalking about issues we are fighting for, not about personalities or past grievances. It served as a tacit acknowledgement of something Sanders conceded more openly in the 2016 campaign but that continues to dog him: that some of his most ardent supporters have a nasty streak that Clinton die-hards have not forgotten and the political press corps cannot get enough of. I want to be clear that I condemn bullying and harassment of any kind and in any space, Sanders wrote in his recent email. Advertisement Its not entirely clear that the festering 2016 resentment matters outside the Beltway. The lingering bad blood between the Sanders and Clinton camps then spilled more fully into public view Monday by way of a Politico story headlined Ex-Clinton Staffers Slam Sanders Over Private Jet Flights, in which former Clinton staffers complained that the campaign had to pay to fly Sanders on private jets while he was stumping for Clinton in the general election. Much of the sniping was done under cover of anonymity, but the harshest words were on the record. Im not shocked that while thousands of volunteers braved the heat and cold to knock on doors until their fingers bled in a desperate effort to stop Donald Trump, his Royal Majesty King Bernie Sanders would only deign to leave his plush D.C. office or his brand new second home on the lake if he was flown around on a cushy private jet like a billionaire master of the universe, said Zac Petkanas, who led Hillarys rapid response team in 2016. Michael Briggs, Sanders 2016 campaign spokesman, fired back, calling Clintons team total ingrates and some of the biggest assholes in American politics. Advertisement The insult-slinging was ostensibly about private jets, but in reality it was a proxy for the larger debate that continues to bubble up inside the Beltway in Year 3 of Donald Trumps presidencynamely, how much Sanders primary challenge damaged Clintons candidacy and whether he subsequently did all he could to heal the intraparty wounds before the general election. The fact that Mondays spat was about Sanders mode of travel to Clinton rallies illustrates how unproductive this feud is. Its about whether Sanders did enough to help the first female nominee of a major party in U.S. historynot whether he helped her at all. Likewise, it calls to mind the running debate over Bernie Bros, who simultaneously exist and dont exist in the numbers Sanders critics suggest: Did Bernie do enough to rein in the worst impulses of his most combative fans, and is he doing enough now? As narrow as these rifts are, theyre unlikely to ever be bridged by the two entrenched sides. Advertisement Advertisement The good news for Sanders is that its not entirely clear that the festering 2016 resentment matters outside the Beltway. His favorability rating within the Democratic rank and file suggests the vast majority of primary voters have either forgiven, forgotten, or never noticed the rift in the first place. In the Morning Consult poll, for example, 75 percent of Democratic voters said they had a favorable opinion of Sanders, while just 15 percent said they had an unfavorable one. Those numbers are nearly as good as Bidens (76 percent to 12 percent) and far better than every other potential rival, none of whom have faced the same kind of hes-not-even-technically-a-Democrat complaints that get lobbed at Sanders from the party faithful. Advertisement If the old Clinton and Sanders camps continue to relitigate those old grievances, however, the squabbles could complicate Sanders attempts to defend himself from the more specific criticisms leveled at his first presidential campaign, which include the alleged mistreatment of female staffers and his lackluster appeals to black voters, particularly in the early nominating contests back when his leadership team was predominantly white. Sanders has taken steps to address bothhe apologized to his female campaign staffers publicly, and hes now more explicitly drawing a connection between economic inequality and racial inequality than he did in 2016but the complaints will almost certainly re-emerge in a primary where gender, race, and identity are dominant themes. Sanders may have to lug his 2016 baggage with him into 2020, especially if a candidate of color and/or a woman emerges as his most direct challenger. The question, though, is whether his campaign will have so much momentum that he wont feel the weight of it. A slice of my pie: Back in 2014, when Seattle established a $15 minimum wage, economists were wary of the effects this would have on the citys jobs and overall economic output. But recent research shows the impact has been more beneficial than predicted, and with other cities and states taking on this raise, its positive effects could be replicated across the country. Jordan Weissmann, a former skeptic of the measure, explains how the conventional wisdom has shifted. The past still hurts: The new Michael Jackson documentary, Leaving Neverland, deals frankly with the child sexual abuse allegations that have been made against the megastar over the years. And its only one of a string of films over the past few years that have attempted to deeply, effectively reckon with controversial figures of recent history, including Surviving R. Kelly, O.J.: Made in America, and I, Tonya. Willa Paskin looks at why our current cultural and political moment has given rise to such revisitations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deal or : If youre struggling to make sense of the recent spate of Brexit news, Joshua Keating has you covered. He explains how the U.K.s political parties have shifted their stances on the issue, what the next step in negotiations is, and what a no deal Brexit would mean for the country. Wardrobe malfunction: The enduring metaphor of the closet continues to define the arc of queer development to this day. Tom Joudrey interrogates why a concept created by the sting of homophobia endures and suggests its time to move past it. For fun: An interview with the Oscars costume designer. You could say that cloak was my favorite, Nitish The Angle crew is taking the next couple of days off. Well be back Friday. AUGUST 1 - Kelli Newman, Laura Cheek, Jordan Bell, Jason Karten 2 Ashley Bravin, Margaux Cowden, Fred Smith, Teresa Osso 3 Disney Samutsakorn, Samantha Harder, Heather Levinson, Steve Wasserman, Cory Holtzman 4 David Trigger Ortiz, Kyle Burdges 5 Elizabeth Zimmerman Calderwood, Robert Nero, Chris Michael, Amy Rice, Sean Dunn 6 Joe Tomola, Jeff Greenwood, 7 Bodio-Jodi Hews Shultz, Michelle Charalambopoulos, Xinyan Zhang 8 - Jennie Wilson 9 Cassie Winters 10 - Wally Newman, Miguel Garcia, Lisa Marie Bauman, Tim Emery, Victoria Lobanov, 11 Laura Windell 12 - Josh Hammock, Javier Navarro, Laura Konowalski, Leah Frances Turano 13 Madi Swayne, Elle Michelle, Alannah Blanco 14 Nancy-Jo Webster White, Georgio Mahmood, Fia Fasbinder 15 - Joe Schmal, Kat Latona 16 Oliver Putnam, Charee Wagner, Brian Gardner, Jake Dieringer 17 Julie Kelley, Margo Cramer, Gene Shabinaw, Warunee Ngennak 18 Aaron Spiwak, Emily Joyce Phillips, Stacey Cambers 19 - Stephanie Olsen, Shelby Moran 20 - Brenda Bennett, Samantha Tang, Neil Reinhold, Richard Berentsen, Christina Rico Ricafort 21 - Jill Rudberg, Anders Strand, Melinda Bracken-Hof, Kayla Babb 22 Josh Schulman, Alberto Izarraraz, Cybele Parsignault 23 Eden Allegra Young 24 Keith Andreen 25 Serena Wong, Audrey Frenzel, Ashley Poole, Austin T-Rex Divine, Alex Campbell 27 Rose Angulo, Dave ONeill, Mary Jean Bustard 28 Tony (I-thought-you-said-pickets) Arlyn, Corky Cronin, Jasmin Newberry 29 Charlie Silveria 30 - Beth Beltramo 31 Debra Simons, Maggie Harris, Beth Lee, Zac Araneta, Kristen Casalenuovo (if you'd like to be included in this list, email me - skip@skiptucker.com) "Scented, sanctified, glamorized" "Scented, sanctified, glamorized" As I said, the so-called People Power Revolution is a myth. There was nothing to celebrate last Feb. 25, even though it was declared a non-working holiday. This is because a revolution entails something elsestructural change, to be precise. There are many examples of real revolutions, and what happened at Edsa in February 1986 was not comparable to them. What in fact happened then was just a turnover of power from one elite political family to another. Historians Salvador Escalante and J. Augustus Dela Paz of the Truth and Justice Foundation said it too well when they pointed out that there was never a revolution because there were only less than half a million people out of the more than 80 million Filipinos at that time. The Yellows simply glamorized, scented and sanctified Cory Aquino. Escalante and Dela Paz added that there was nothing to commemorate and celebrate, because people went to Edsa to celebrate an accident of time, place and personalities. I can go on to cite instances of change in regime throughout history, but I would just be repeating what others have said before. Its time we discontinued the hype and malarkey. * * * What did the historic Pope Francis-initiated summit on sex abuse by members of the clergy achieve? The summit brought forth not only the sexual scandals and coverup, but the willingess and readiness of the Catholic Church to finally address the issue. It highlighted the need for change. It also allowed the victims to speak out. As a result, concrete steps to address abuse were identified. The most important step was that the policy of coverup will no longer be allowed. We expect that after the Vatican summit, the implementation of a 2016 law holding bishops and other superiors accountable for any coverup will be clarified. The Church now recognizes that abuse, and subsequent coverup, are egrerious crimes. Pope Francis is indeed leading the cleansing of the Catholic Church. * * * The reported signs of discontent among some sectors of Moroland on the formation of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission is expected.For one thing, the Moro National Liberation Front, the original secessionist movement under Nur Misuari, out of which the Moro Islamic Liberation Front came from, was outside the kulambo if you know what I mean. It was not included at all in the Bangsamoro Organic Law. Theres a clear reason. Its because Misuari has Tausug origins, while the MILF is a combined force of Maranaos and Maguindanaoans. Its always a tribal issue among the Moros. This is also why Sulu did not ratify the BOL in the plebiscite. Now, President Duterte is talking to Nur Misuari, obviously to placate him considering the fact that Misuari enjoys a measure of influence among members of the IS-inspired Abu Sayyaf Group. But what can Duterte offer Misuarimoney? Power? It all boils down to the fact that with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the MIF now has power and money by the billions, mind you. Other clans and tribes cannot tolerate this. Can President Duterte resolve this? I doubt it. * * * I am saddened with the passing of Makati College dean Tommy Lopez. Tommy was my assistant during the martial law days when I was manager of the public affairs department of the Robert-Benedicto-controlled Kanlaon Boradcasting System that operated Channels 4,2,9and 13. Tommy and I enjoyed our days together. He was a congenial person, a joy to work with. My deepest condolences to the family. * * * Malacanang claims that President Duterte had nothing to do with the assassination threats that Caloocan Bishop Virgilio David has been getting. But didnt the President tell people to rob and kill bishops and priests, because they have been stealing from the faithful? Now Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo says that Mr. Duterte was just using hyperbole when he uttered those words. I want to laugh but cant. Death threats are a serious thing. His words against members of the clergy who have been critical of his war against drugs is sufficient to encourage criminals to take him seriously. My gulay, with spokesmen like Panelo, who needs enemies? * * * The continued dumping of waterproof bundles of cocaine bricks on the Eastern seaboard, supposedly by the Colombian drug cartel, can only mean there remains great demand for drugs. This also means that the market for cocaine has been growing. The poor cannot afford cocaine. www.emiljurado.weebly.com From the beginning, we have supported completion of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of alleged interference by Russians in the 2016 election for president and the question of whether Donald Trump or Trump associates colluded with them. All of us, we have said, should want Mueller to finish what he started so we will know, one way or the other. To this end, we support public release of Mueller's full report on the investigation. Recent news reports indicate Mueller is close to providing the Justice Department with the required confidential report on his probe of almost two years. In turn, Attorney General William Barr is required to send a summary of the report to Congress. Barr can, but isn't required by special counsel regulations to open the entire report to the public, but we believe anything less than full public release is unacceptable because after almost two years of reading and hearing about Mueller's investigation in small pieces, including speculation and rumor, Americans should have access to the full story of Mueller's work. As we write this, it's unclear exactly when Mueller's report will be turned over to Barr or exactly what Barr will do. In the meantime, members of Congress push for transparency. WASHINGTON -- In 1964, Nelson Rockefeller, then the governor of New York, rose before the Republican National Convention to condemn "extremists" who had "no plan and no program to keep the peace and bring freedom to the world." Amidst the boos and catcalls from right-wingers on the floor, Rockefeller denounced those who "spread distrust," "engender suspicion" and "encourage disunity." "There is no place in this Republican Party," declared this stalwart of GOP progressivism, "for such hawkers of hate, such purveyors of prejudice, such fabricators of fear." You wonder what Rocky would make of a President Trump and the movement he has nurtured. And you sure wish someone like Rockefeller were around today to call his party back to reason and tolerance. The events of recent days ought to try the consciences of Republicans who know that extremism and hatred are wrong. Many in the party acknowledge -- usually in private -- that the president they have continued to back has rooted his political appeal in vicious attacks against his opponents and a free press. He has invented crises for the purpose of stoking dread and horror. And he targeted minority groups (immigrants especially) to harvest political support. Our intention is ... to better focus our attention and our energies, Piper said. Sinclair clarified during a legislative meeting on the bill that the proposal does not allow schools to remove the requirement that health screening tests are conducted. Theres no elimination of screening or the data collection, Sinclair said. It eliminates the schools from being that (data) collection point. Herman Quirmbach, a Senator from Ames and the top Democrat on the Senates education committee, said it is important that schools continue to collect that information because it is easier for parents to work with local school districts than the state, and its easier for a school district to reach out to parents than it would be for the state to do the same. Quirmbach said his concern is if districts do not collect the health screening data, children who do not get those screenings could slip through the cracks. The schools need that information, Quirmbach said. Theyre the most effective at gathering that information. Theyre going to be the most effective at making sure that requirement is satisfied. SIOUX CITY -- Woodbury County officials are looking for $12.5 million to fix the big network of rural gravel roads, and could tap selected upcoming property tax revenues tied to CF Industries over the next many years. The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors and County Engineer Mark Nahra in a Tuesday board meeting said it would cost more than $12 million to restore gravel roads to the base thickness and condition of 30 years ago. They noted that is just the estimated cost of of the gravel, and doesn't include hauling the gravel and prepping roads to handle it. Nahra said the county spends $1 million on gravel most years, but the needs are greater. Supervisor Jeremy Taylor recommended the supervisors pass a non-binding motion to set a goal of using future rural property tax revenues associated with CF Industries for the gravel project. That measure passed on a 4-1 vote. Taylor's summary said $6.8 million would come to the secondary roads fund from 2020 through 2036, based on the plant's projected valuation growth, and if the county in each future year agrees to levy rural property to the the minimum level required by the state. He based that on a 1 percent annual growth projection of the CF property valuation. SIOUX CITY -- Woodbury County Republican leaders have passed a resolution that supports U.S. Rep. Steve King and rebukes U.S. House GOP leaders for their decision to strip King of his committee assignments over his published comments on white supremacy. King, an outspoken conservative, came under fire for a Jan. 10 quote in a New York Times story in which he asked, "White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization how did that language become offensive? Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?" The Iowa 4th District congressman has since repeatedly tried to distance himself from the comments, claiming he was misquoted and refuting suggestions that he harbors white supremacist or white nationalist views. King said he considers himself a Nationalist trying to preserve Western Civilization. SIOUX CITY -- U.S. Rep. Steve King will hold his fourth town hall meeting of the year on Friday, in an event set for Harrison County. King in a Tuesday release announced the meeting will be held in Logan, Iowa. That event of one hour duration will begin at 9:30 a.m. Friday, at Logan Community Center, 108 W. Fourth St. King, a Republican from Kiron first elected in 2002, has veered from his recent practice of not holding town hall meetings where people can speak with him in public events. King has vowed to hold 39 this year -- one in each 4th congressional district county. The first town hall was in the O'Brien County seat of Primghar in late January, and others have followed in Northwest Iowa in Rock Rapids and Ida Grove. King told the crowd of 45 people in Rock Rapids he strongly supports President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency to finance a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. 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 "This law gives hope to cancer patients, survivors, those living with cancer, and their carers. It shows that the government knows their plight and is setting up ways to help them." "This law gives hope to cancer patients, survivors, those living with cancer, and their carers. It shows that the government knows their plight and is setting up ways to help them." President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed into law last Valentines Day a measure institutionalizing a national cancer control program that provides accessible and affordable cancer treatment to Filipinos. Because cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the Philippines, Republic Act No. 11215 integrates and strengthens the governments cancer treatment programs, policies, and systems. Heres the important part: It shall likewise make cancer treatment and care more equitable and affordable for all, especially for the underprivileged, poor, and marginalized Filipinos. How is the law going to do all that? For starters, it establishes the National Integrated Cancer Control Program that shall serve as the framework for all cancer-related activities of the government. It shall be run by a National Integrated Cancer Control Council, with the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau of the Department of Health acting as the Councils secretariat. To enable the Bureau to undertake its new tasks, the number of personnel attached to its Cancer Program arm shall be increased. The governments cancer care facilities shall be expanded, and a Philippine Cancer Center established under the control and supervision of the DOH. Other centers shall be opened in high-risk and high-population areas. A cancer awareness campaign shall be launched, and February has been designated National Cancer Awareness Month throughout the Philippines. In addition, a Cancer Assistance Fund shall be established to support the cancer medicine and treatment assistance program. PhilHealth is also ordered to expand its benefit packages for cancer. Another interesting provision is the establishment of a Cancer Control Policy in workplaces. It shall form part of employee benefits in the formal sector covering the entire cancer continuum, from prevention, including genetic counseling and testing, to screening, diagnosis, and palliative care, treatment, rehabilitation, survivorship, or hospice care. Moreover, the cancer-related absences from work of member employees as well as voluntary members shall be covered by the sickness benefits of the SSS and disability benefits of the GSIS. Another important provision considers cancer patients, those living with cancer, and cancer survivors as persons with disabilities with the same rights and privileges such as discounts on medicines, in establishments, and on food.In late 2017, the Cancer Coalition of the Philippines said that 11 new cancer cases are reported every day. One out of every ten deaths is caused by cancer. According to the DOH, Among Filipino men, the six most common sites of cancer diagnosed in 2010were lung, liver, colon/rectum, prostate, stomach, and leukemia. Among Filipino women, the six most common sites diagnosed were breast, cervix, lung, colon/rectum, ovary, and liver. Regular screening is vital because early detection catches the disease when it is most treatable and there is a higher chance of surviving it. Cancer treatments involve surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or other procedures in combination depending on the type and stage of cancer. Such treatment is expensive, out of the reach of the poor and many middle-class households. The CCPh says that 56 percent of households with cancer patients suffer financial distress, which often leads to the patients discontinuing their treatment. Many of us have relatives, friends, or family who have cancer, survived it, or passed away because of it, and we know what its like, particularly with regard to the cost of treatment. And its not just the chemo or surgery per seits also the related expenses, such as the medicines (oral chemo drugs, vitamins, laxatives, maintenance medicines, other drugs), tests (blood tests every three weeks or so, CT scans, x-rays, and so on), good food, travel to and from hospital, and the occasional confinement. I battled colon cancer last year and I was able to afford the treatment only because generous donorsformer employersfunded my chemotherapy. I am alive today because people were kind. But I was lucky and its not something I can count on in the future. If this law had been passed sooner, I would have availed myself of its benefits. This law gives hope to cancer patients, survivors, those living with cancer, and their carers. It shows that the government knows their plight and is setting up ways to help them. There is much work to be done regarding the implementation of the National Integrated Cancer Control Act. Just reading the law makes me dizzy with the sheer scale of what they need to get done. But this is all necessary and timely, and very much welcome. During my surgery and chemo, my colorectal surgeon told me to Think positive! and Walk a lot. It helped. FB and Twitter: @DrJennyO SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City man was arrested Tuesday and charged with sending a series of threatening text messages to a woman, including one that threatened to "murder everyone around me." Kory Irwin, 30, faces one count of first-degree harassment, an aggravated misdemeanor. He was being held in the Woodbury County Jail on a $3,000 bond. According to a complaint filed in the case, Irwin sent the text messages from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Tuesday to a woman while she was at her workplace. Police say that Irwin sent messages saying, "You ever want to rest and relax? Play (expletive) nice and maybe I will leave you alone," "I'm a 30 year old white male with nothing to lose," "You don't think I'm serious, I will (expletive) murder everyone around me," and finally, "I'll be eating your (expletive) heart after I rip it out of your chest." Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 4 Funny 3 Wow 0 Sad 2 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. DES MOINES -- A Cherokee, Iowa, man was sentenced Monday to 40 years in prison on child pornography charges. Joel Augard, 50, had pleaded guilty in October in U.S. District Court in Des Moines to two counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. A victim in April reported to Des Moines police that the victim had been sexually abused by Augard, who formerly lived in Des Moines, numerous times approximately 10 years earlier and that Augard had recorded some of the incidents, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. On May 1, investigators executed a search warrant at Augard's Cherokee home and found several electronic media items that contained child pornography, including videos he had made of the sexual abuse of the victim 10 years earlier in Des Moines. Copyright 2019 The Sioux City Journal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 2 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. Pat and Audrey Robinson. Image via Schlegel Villages. Words: Elizabeth Di Filippo A young girl sends a message in a bottle out to sea, and finds her true love. Its a love story befitting a novel or romantic movie, but for Audrey and Pat Robinson its the beginning of a real-life romance that has lasted 68 years. The Village of Riverside Glen, a retirement home in Guelph, Ont. shared the love story of two residents to its website, which began in England during the 1940s. It was during a family holiday to the Isle of Wight that 14-year-old Audrey Munroe dropped a message in a bottle over the side of a ferry into the English Channel in search of a pen pal. She threw this bottle in, thinking it would pop across to France, which was only 22 miles away, Pat Robinson told local newspaper Guelph Today. Of course, it got washed back in to shore. Image via Getty Images. The message was found by Pats cousin who gave it to her mother after discovering the bottle washed ashore in the south of England. When it made its way into Pats hands, the then 15-year-old obliged the request, and sent a letter to the unknown girl. After a year of sending letters to one another, Pats marching band was set to perform near Audreys hometown. I was in the Marines as a drummer boy, Pat said. It was just by chance I said Ill go see this Audrey Munroe.' Soon after, the couple became engaged and Pat was sent to Hong Kong to serve during the Korean War. They were married in 1951 after he returned, and went on to have three children. The couple moved to Canada nearly 65-years-ago, settling in Guelph, Ont. After the retirement residence shared the couples story to Facebook, the Robinsons began to receive messages from people around the world. Image via Getty Images. We used to do everything together, not one here and one there, Audrey said of the secret to their long-lasting relationship. Were opposites, Pat added. Opposites attract. She has the patience of Job, I dont have much patience. Reflecting on their life together, Pat says he worries that younger people put too much value into the big house, the big car and vacations. Story continues Material things are not the most important things in life, he shared. Family, love, health, friends and respect are. 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: Love has no age limit: Photographer celebrates older couples from around the world How falling in love changes a womans body Pet names could make your relationship stronger, new research reveals Wang Junzheng, one of the Chinese Communist Partys rising stars, has officially taken over as the party secretary in charge of law and order in Xinjiang. Xinjiang Daily reported on Tuesday that the former party chief of Changchun city had presided over a meeting of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission the top political body responsible for law and order in the region in Urumqi on Monday. Speaking at the meeting, Wang vowed to ensure the partys absolute leadership over political and legal work, and firmly implement the Party Central Committees strategy in governing Xinjiang. The South China Morning Post reported earlier this month that the 56-year-old cadre has been transferred to Xinjiang and he would take up his position as political and legal affairs secretary of the region. Wang will be tasked with implementing Chinas stabilising measures in Xinjiang including the oversight of the controversial internment camps where an estimated 1 million inmates, mainly Uygur Muslims, are reportedly being held. A source familiar with Wang told the Post that the Shandong-native was among a group of up-and-coming cadres who have won the trust of President Xi Jinping and had a bright future. Observers believe he is not likely to implement drastic changes to Beijings tight control policies in Xinjiang. Alfred Wu, an associate professor at Singapores Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said looking at Wangs past record of fast-track rotation and promotion, Xinjiang is likely just another stop in his political career. Beijings main focus is stability in Xinjiang, not economic growth. If Wang can prove himself in following orders from Beijing, implementing Xis strategy in Xinjiang and maintaining stability, he will be regarded as delivering good results. Xinjiang recorded economic growth of 6 per cent last year, in contrast to the national average of 6.6 per cent. Story continues For this year the region has a remarkably modest growth target of 5.5 per cent. Another informed source, whose family members work for the regional government, said apart from maintaining stability, a key challenge for Wang and the Xinjiang Communist Party was to boost the morale of local cadres. Many of them are overworked and are under tremendous pressure. They are required to arrange to have at least one person to be on call round the clock. There are not enough people in the office and they] have to be on duty twice a week. We are all very tired. He said cadres were also obliged to keep watch over Uygur families by staying in their homes, but they were not able to claim any expenses for doing so and have to buy gifts for their hosts. Although we have made some friends [with these families], this also created additional financial burdens for us, he said. Chinas policies in Xinjiang especially those relating to the mainly Muslim Uygurs have faced increased scrutiny in the West, especially since the United Nations reported that more than a million people were being held in internment camps. China has said that the camps are vocational training centres and denies mistreating the inmates. The official news agency Xinhua reported on Monday that the Foreign Ministry recently invited senior diplomats from the permanent missions of eight countries at the United Nations Human Rights Office in Geneva to visit Xinjiang. The news agency reported that diplomats from Pakistan, Venezuela, Cuba, Egypt, Cambodia, Russia, Senegal and Belarus, spoke with trainees at vocational education and training centres. This article Rising Chinese political star Wang Junzheng confirmed in Xinjiang security role first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2019. "The reception seems lukewarm." Do not laugh because if indeed the name of our country will be changed, we will be calling ourselves Maharlikans instead of Filipinos. President Duterte himself suggested the change and if he is really serious, which seems to be the case, he has a lot of allies in Congress who can file a bill for the purpose of changing the name of the country. The principal reason seems to be to sever all vestiges of colonization associated with the name so that we can establish our own identity. Another reason that he gave which was reported in yesterdays papers is that Muslim Filipinos do not like being called Filipinos and would rather be identified by the tribe or ethnic group to which they belong. In his eyes, we should not be called Filipinos to honor the Prince of Spain who eventually became the King. To the President as well as others, this simply is not right because the term Filipinos during the Spanish colonial period referred to Spaniards who were born in the country. Natives were called Indios, not Filipinos. But that was then. Today is a different time but this is apparently not enough. Maharlika to them is a better word for describing who we are. This is not the first time that such a suggestion has been made. The late President Ferdinand Marcos also suggested the word Maharlika. He named the planned North-South national highway Maharlika and also gave his phantom guerrilla unit the same name. The late President was clearly enamoured with the word Maharlika, attributing it to something noble. The move went as far as the late former Senator Eddie Ilarde filing a bill for the name changebut the move did not gain any traction. In a speech in Mindanao on Feb. 11, President Duterte said that the word has something to do with the concept of serenity and peace. It appears however, that both gentlemen may not be exactly right. The word Maharlika actually refers to the feudal warrior clans in ancient Tagalog society in Luzon. The translation in Spanish is hidalgo meaning freemen. Etymologically, the term Maharlika is derived from Sanskrit Mahardhikka which means a man of wealth, knowledge or ability. Whether this move will be supported this time, we still do not know. As far as I know, no survey has yet been conducted by Social Weather Stations and Pulse Asia to gauge what the people may be thinking. One thing sure though is that because the original suggestion from the late President Marcos, the Yellow army is not inclined to support such a move.Setting politics aside, is there a case to be made with the name change? Is it so wrong for the country to be named in honor of a prince? The Americans are called that to honor Amerigo Vespucci who was an Italian navigator. They seem to be proud of it. Colombia is named after the man who discovered the new world, Christhoper Columbus. But there are indeed some countries that made a change for colonial reasons like Myanmar. Some countries in Africa also changed colonial given names. Tanzania for instance is a corruption of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. There are therefore models to follow. For instance, will there be a plebiscite after a law is passed to change the name of our country? I believe that this is an absolute necessity. New Zealand, for instance, had a plebiscite just to change the design of their flag. I believe this proposal lost. Other than Maharlika, how should we call the country? Combine the three major island groups and call the country Luzvimin? Calling ourselves Luzvimins does not sound right. Maybe Rizal, to honor our national hero? Rizalians does sound a little better than Luzvimins. But as the current Miss Universe Catriona Gray quipped, When it aint broke, dont fix it. With that comment, the suggestion seem to have stopped after a couple of days until yesterday when the President made another pitch for the change. Nonetheless, there seems to be a lukewarm reception. Maybe like the first effort by the late President Marcos, Filipinos are not ready or do not want to make any changes and would rather leave things as they are. * * * Like many others, I was surprised to read about the President saying that we should allow illegal Chinese staying here to work in the country so that the 300,000 of our countrymen staying and working in China will not suffer retaliatory actions by the Chinese government. I am sure the President was just thinking of those Filipinos working in China. But to his critics, it reinforces the notion of his preference of China and really is not joking when he said that the country can be a province of China. It is good that the Palace clarified the Presidents remarks after many of his political allies and labor organizations criticized the remarksand rightly so. It would have been much better, though, if it was the President himself who made the clarification. We assume that our countrymen who are working in China are there legally. If not, then the Chinese government has all the right to deport them. If those Chinese nationals are here illegally, they should be rounded up and also deported. What the government should be doing is creating enough jobs so that our womenfolk do not have to go abroad to work as domestic helpers and be abused and maltreated by many of their employers. To keep allowing this is the greatest failure of any government, present or past. It is time it stopped. ELSA uses artificial intelligence to hear mistakes in pronunciation and offer very specific corrections ELSA, an American english-language learning app, has raised a US$7 million Series A led by Gradiant Ventures. The Asia connection is that it is a portfolio company of both Monks Hill, from Singapore, and SOSV, which has a strong network in China and Taiwan. Gradiant Ventures is the AI-focussed fund from Google. ELSA stands for English Language Speech Assistant and the product works by using artificial intelligence to detect peoples pronunciation errors. It claims to have a success rate of over 95 per cent. ELSA listens to people pronouncing english words and then responds with hyper specific corrections based on their mistakes. Also Read: 500 Startups invests in Thai food deeptech startup JuiceInnov8 The money is going to be used to scale the product and grow in markets like Japan, Indonesia and India. Interestingly, Vietnam is ELSAs fastest growing market and it saw a 4X YoY growth between 2017 and 2018. Vietnam was also the testbed for a teacher-focussed educational programme that it plans to expand globally in the future. The company also plans to launch a social feature at the end of this year and continue to build out its AI capabilities (including updates in rhythm intonations). Also Read: Last year TOP100 gave away over S$100,000 worth in prizes. Expect more this year! ELSA was founded in 2015 and has raised US$12 million to date. Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash The post Monks Hill portfolio company ELSA raises US$7 million Series A appeared first on e27. PARIS (Reuters) - "Birdman" and "21 Grams" director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu will head the jury at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival in May, becoming the first Mexican to do so, organizers said on Wednesday. Inarritu, 55, won the best director award in Cannes in 2006 for "Babel", a film with a web of narratives spanning three continents and exploring cultural prejudices. He also won back-to-back best director Oscars in 2014 and 2015, for "Birdman", a black comedy about a washed-up actor starring Michael Keaton, and "The Revenant", which featured Leonardo DiCaprio as a bear trapper battling the elements in the American wilderness. "Cannes embraces all types of cinema, and through the presence of... Babel's director, it is Mexican cinema that the Festival will be celebrating," organizers including Pierre Lescure, President of the Festival de Cannes, said in a statement. They cited "Carne y Arena" (Flesh and Sand) - a virtual reality project showing life as an immigrant and presented by Inarritu at Cannes in 2017 - as a recent highlight of work he has launched in France. Other jury members for the 72nd edition of the festival, which runs from May 14 to 25, will be announced at a later date. Inarritu succeeds Australian actress Cate Blanchett as jury head. Last year the top "Palme d'Or" award went to "Shoplifters", by Japanese director Kore-eda Hirokazu. Inarritu is among a trio of Mexican film directors who have risen to global prominence in recent years, alongside Alonso Cuaron, who won this year's best director Oscar for "Roma", and Guillermo del Toro, whose feature "The Shape of Water" won the best picture Oscar in 2018. (Reporting by Inti Landauro and Sarah White; editing by John Stonestreet) As the traffic condition in Metro Manila continues to worsen, the project to put up a new mass transit system under the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte will soon rise as the Metro Manila Subway project broke ground today north of Metro Manila. The premier underground railway system of the Philippines, the said project is the flagship program of the Duterte administrations Build, Build, Build Program. Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea led the groundbreaking ceremonies, together with Japanese Ambassador Koji Haneda, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, mayors Rexlon Gatchalian and Herbert Bautista of Valenzuela and Quezon City, respectively, and Senate Committee Vice Chair on Public Service, Senator JV Ejercito, among others. Metro Manila Subway Project During the kickoff of the program, Medialdea, Haneda, and the others led the unveiling of the scale model of the Tunnel Boring Machine. We believe in a fast and sure approach and the efficient delivery of public service. Matagal nang deprived sa ganitong mass transport system (We have long been deprived of this kind of mass transport system), Medialdea said. Ejercito, who is one of Dutertes staunch supporters, reiterated his support for the infrastructure projects being done by the current administration. One of the reasons that I support the President is that he is the only President in the recent years to commit and spend PHP3 trillion for the next six years for infrastructure development. Given the situation that we have right now, we have a growing population, 105 million, we have 30,000 new vehicles added to our streets every month. So thats about 1 million vehicles in the next three years, Ejercito, who is seeking reelection bid for the 2019 midterm election this May, said Id like to congratulate Sec. Tugade for really pushing our railway projects, particularly the PNR North, PNR South, Mindanao railways system and this time, what used to be like a dream but now is becoming a reality, the Metro Manila subway system.I know that we really need this, this will stimulate our economic growth, we will never reach the full economic potential for growth for the Philippines if we do not invest in infrastructure, he added. Story continues Though he believed that there would be problems that would arise prior to the subways completion, he said that such improvements would help the country in the long run. The only way we can spread out the development to the countryside, to decongest Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao, is through the infrastructure development and transport modernization. I think the Philippines is 30 years behind in terms of infrastructure development. We have a lot of catching up to do. And the DOTr has been moving and I would like to commend Sec. Tugade and it has been a pleasure to have been defending the budget of (the) DOTr in the recent years because of this dream, Ejercito claimed. I will always support the Build, Build, Build program of the Duterte administration. This is the only way we can only achieve full economic growth, we will spread the development, we can create growth development areas in all provinces. Kung gusto nating ng tunay na trabaho at hanapbuhay (If we want real jobs and livelihoods), if we want genuine exclusive growth we really have to invest in infrastructure and transport modernization, he concluded. Relatedly, the government awarded certificates of entitlement to affected informal setters who will be relocated to Disiplina Village II in Bignay, Valenzuela City. Planned as a 36-kilometer rail line, a total of 15 stations will be constructed from Quirino Highway to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal. The trains are set to run at about 80 kph and will go through Metro Manilas business districts, with the end-to-end trip expected to take around 30 minutes. During the program, Medialdea announced that partial operation through the first three stationsQuirino Highway-Mindanao Avenue, Tandang Sora, and North Avenueshall commence by 2022, with the entire project expected to be fully operational by 2025. The subway is eyed to cater to 370,000 passengers daily in its first year of full operations, with a design capacity that can accommodate 1.5 million passengers per day. The Metro Manila Subway is a PHP365-billion project with the government of Japan through official development assistance (ODA) from the Japan International Cooperation Agency. We support the Philippines in shifting the Build, Build, Build Program in shifting to higher gearTogether there is no stopping Japan and Philippines in achieving more, said Haneda. For his part, Valenzuela mayor Gatchalian expressed elation over the building of the subway, which is one of the government projects that would benefit the city. Truly,it pays to be in the northernmost part of Metro Manila. These projects will open Valenzuela to vast opportunities, he said, pertaining to the subway and the recent opening of the NLEX Harbor Link project. Metro Manila Subway Project The post Metro Manila Subway Breaks Ground Today appeared first on Carmudi Philippines. By James Mackenzie and Alasdair Pal ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India and Pakistan both said they shot down each other's fighter jets on Wednesday, with Pakistan capturing an Indian pilot a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a 1971 war, prompting world powers to urge restraint. Both countries have ordered air strikes over the last two days, the first time in history that two nuclear-armed powers have done so, while ground forces have exchanged fire in more than a dozen locations. Tensions have been running high since at least 40 Indian paramilitary police died in a Feb. 14 suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, but the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base. A senior Indian government source said 300 militants were killed in Tuesday's strike. Pakistan says no one died. The White House condemned the intensifying conflict and urged "both sides to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation." "The potential risks associated with further military action by either side are unacceptably high for both countries, their neighbours and the international community," a National Security Council official said on condition of anonymity. The Pentagon added to U.S. pressure for restraint by the foes, issuing a statement that said Acting U.S. Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan is focused "on de-escalating tensions and urging both of the nations to avoid further military action." Pakistan's envoy to the United States, Asad Majeed Khan, said Islamabad would like to see the Trump administration play a more active role in easing the crisis. "We would certainly like to have more, and would certainly like to see more active involvement of the United States," he told reporters. At the same time, he said the lack of U.S. condemnation of India's strike on Pakistan is "construed and understood as an endorsement of the Indian position, and that is what emboldened them even more. Story continues Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan called for talks with India and hoped "better sense" would prevail so that both sides could de-escalate. "History tells us that wars are full of miscalculation. My question is that, given the weapons we have, can we afford miscalculation," Khan said during a brief televised broadcast to the nation. "We should sit down and talk." The Pakistan government's official Twitter account released a video of a man it claimed was an Indian pilot who had been shot down. The man, whom Pakistan has named as Wing Commander Abhi Nandan and whose face was bloodied and blindfolded, gives his name and service number before telling a man questioning him: "I'm sorry sir, that's all I'm supposed to tell you." A statement from India's foreign ministry said the pilot's treatment was a "vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention," ordering his immediate release. India has not yet named the pilot. In a second video circulating on social media, a screenshot of which was shared by the same Pakistan government account, the pilot was seen sipping tea while praising his treatment by the Pakistani military. Reuters could not independently verify the second video's authenticity. POLITICAL PRESSURE Pakistan and India have fought three wars since independence from British colonial rule in 1947, two over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and went to the brink of a fourth in 2002 after a Pakistani militant attack on India's parliament. The latest escalation marks a sudden turnaround in relations between the two countries, both of which claim Kashmir in full, but only rule in part. As recently as November, Pakistan's Khan spoke of "mending ties" with India. The conflict also comes at a critical time for Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi, who faces a general election in a matter of months. Modi's decision to order air strikes could benefit him politically, according to analysts and pollsters, but he was accused on Wednesday by opposition parties of capitalising on conflict. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the "blatant politicization of the sacrifices made by our armed forces," in a joint statement by 21 opposition parties, the first time they have broken ranks with the government over the issue. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke separately with the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan and urged them to avoid "further military activity" following Tuesday's air strike. "I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost," Pompeo said in a statement on Wednesday. "I also encouraged both ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity," he said. China and the European Union have also called for restraint. AERIAL BATTLE Many of the facts in the latest series of engagements are disputed by the two sides. Major General Asif Ghafoor, spokesman for the Pakistan armed forces, said two Indian jets had been shot down after they entered Pakistani airspace while responding to a Pakistani aerial mission on targets in Indian-controlled Kashmir. One of the jets crashed on the Indian-controlled side of the de facto border in Kashmir, known as the Line of Control, and the other on the Pakistani side. Ghafoor said the Pakistani aircraft had carried out the strikes in response to India's air strike the day before but had taken deliberate action to ensure no casualties were caused. The Pakistani jets had locked on to six targets, in a demonstration of their capacity to hit strategic installations, but deliberately fired into open spaces where there would be no casualties. "This was not a retaliation in true sense, but to tell Pakistan has capability, we can do it, but we want to be responsible, we don't want an escalation, we don't want a war," Ghafoor told a news conference. One of the aircraft fell on India's side of Kashmir, while the second came down in Pakistani-held territory with two pilots captured, he added. Raveesh Kumar, a spokesman for India's foreign ministry, gave a different account, telling a news briefing that the Pakistan air strikes on military targets had been "foiled." India shot down one Pakistani plane that landed in Pakistani territory, Kumar said, adding that it had lost one of its own planes, not two, with the pilot "missing in action." "Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," Kumar said. Pakistan denies it lost a plane in the encounter. At the Pakistani briefing, Ghafoor produced photographs of weapons and identity documents he said were carried by Indian pilots. Pakistan initially said that two Indian pilots had been captured, before clarifying it only had one in its custody. The Indian air force has ordered Kashmir's main airport in Srinagar along with at least three others in neighbouring states to close, an official said. Pakistan shut its airspace, with commercial flights in the country cancelled. Flights from the Middle East and India were also affected. Air Canada said on Wednesday it has temporarily suspended service to India, following a decision by the Pakistani government to close its airspace. In a separate incident, police officials in Indian-occupied Kashmir said that four passengers and a civilian had died after an Indian aircraft crashed in Kashmir. The craft was initially reported by officials to be a plane, but a partial tail number from the craft seen by a Reuters witness showed it to be an Mi17 military helicopter. The cause of the crash was unknown. CIVILIAN FRIGHT The aerial engagement followed overnight artillery fire by both sides. Pakistan used heavy-calibre weapons in 12 to 15 places along the Line of Control, a spokesman for the Indian defence forces said on Wednesday. "The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focused fire resulted in severe destruction to five posts and number of casualties," the spokesman said. Five Indian soldiers suffered minor wounds in the shelling that ended on Wednesday morning, he added. "So far there are no (civilian) casualties but there is panic among people," said Rahul Yadav, the deputy commissioner of the Poonch district on the Indian side where some of the shelling took place. "We have an evacuation plan in place and if need arises we will evacuate people to safer areas, he said. Officials on the Pakistani side said at least four people had been killed and seven wounded, including civilians, with thousands evacuated and schools closed in border areas. "Only those families are still here which have concrete bunkers built within or along their homes," said Muhammad Din, a resident of Chakothi, a village in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir near the de facto border. India has also continued its crackdown on suspected militants operating in Kashmir, and on Wednesday security forces killed two Jaish militants in a gun battle, Indian police said. Syed Maqsood, the superintendent of a government hospital in Indian-occupied Kashmir, said that all hospitals in the region had been asked to paint a red cross on their roofs in case of further Pakistani air strikes. (Reporting by James Mackenzie and Alasdair Pal; additional reporting by Fayaz Bukhari, Devjyot Ghoshal, Aditi Shah, Aditya Kalra, Drazen Jorgic, Rupam Jain, Abu Arqam Naqash, Eric Beech, Jonathan Landay and Praveen Menon; editing by Nick Macfie, G Crosse and James Dalgleish) President Rodrigo Roa Duterte greets MNLF Founding Chairman Nur Misuari during their meeting at the Malacanan Palace on February 25, 2019. (Photo from PCOO) MANILA, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chairman Nur Misuari is willing to talk peace when he comes back from his travel abroad. Areglo na tayo. Sabi ni Nur hes willing to talk. Hes waiting for me to make a decisive decision when he comes back, President Duterte told the general assembly of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines on Tuesday night (February 26) citing his short conversation with the MNLF leader on Monday (February 25). The Chief Executive said it is high time for the government to craft a new peace agreement with the MNLF and so he directed Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to help in creating a draft. Sabi ko its time to craft a new deal for the MNLF. Kailangan pa natin iyan. But they are revolutions driven with territorial intentions or objectives, President Duterte said. During the arraignment on Tuesday at Sandiganbayan, Misuari refused to enter a plea for the charges of graft and malversation filed against him in relation to the P77-million ghost textbooks contracts entered into by his office when he was still governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The court entered a not guilty plea on his behalf and later on granted his request to travel overseas since he agreed to be arraigned. Misuari argued that his presence at the conferences in Abu Dhabi, UEA and in Morocco are crucial to the peace process in Mindanao. The court allowed him to leave on a travel bond amounting to P920,000. Marje Pelayo (with reports from Rosalie Coz) The post Duterte eyes new peace agreement with MNLF appeared first on UNTV News. Bitcoin is not only an evolution of something from the past it has much from the future This is a very popular question. I usually answer it with a counter-question what does have real value? Think about it, and youll see that very few things really matter. Food, a roof over our heads, clothes they are real, and they have value, simply because we need them for life, and they cannot be replaced. I mean, you can move from one house to another, of course, but we are talking about a shelter as a phenomenon. All the diamonds in the world become useless when youve got nothing to eat, or live in the open. They cannot warm you, protect you from rain and snow, or feed you. The same applies to all so-called valuables, including money. We can exchange them for necessary things only because ages ago people agreed that precious metals, gems, and later banknotes can be accepted as an equivalent of our labour, and as a payment for things or services. As long as this agreement is real, the system works fine, and you can buy anything with dollars in your wallet. Imagine the situation you are on an island inhabited by people, who have never heard of America, banks, or money. Try to offer them a case full of bucks, and you wont get a piece of bread for it. A jaded story, I know. Yet, it can help you understand why I believe that Bitcoin has value in our world. It has value in the USA and in all other countries where it is accepted and not forbidden by law. Id like to talk about this issue in detail. Hopefully, this posting will answer some of your questions when I finish it. Well try to find out why the BTC price changes, what influences it, and why cryptos have a price in general. Eternal controversy: intrinsic value This term, intrinsic value, is a favourite among those who oppose to cryptocurrencies. They do not find it in BTC and altcoins, but arent they the same people who claim paper money does not have it, too? Surprisingly, I agree with both statements. The word intrinsic can be understood differently, and the explanation given by financiers is rather hard to understand. Story continues I prefer the term fundamental, or true, meaning that this is the value of an asset or commodity, which is independent of its market price, but instead refers to: its ability to generate income; its potential and practical utility; how much it takes to produce it. Nevertheless, there is no common understanding of what intrinsic is. Some say that fundamental value is inherent in things that support life in humans food, housing, clothes, vehicles, weapons, etc. However, this model works for primitive societies, while in the modern world everything is a bit more complicated. In this day and age, we cannot rely on tangible things exclusively. Human civilization exists thanks to constant development and progress, and we need something that can sustain our quality of life, and achievements in economics and civil society building. Value of monies The concept of money has become a cornerstone of the world as we know it. We would not have any chances to build the modern system of economic relations, intercontinental trade, and capital flows without currencies. And still, they all can be accepted only as long as they are backed by governments and banks. What does this support from political and financial authorities mean to us, ordinary people? We simply have to believe them that a piece of metal, or paper, or even some numbers on the screen, are worth something. But is this value really intrinsic? I do not think so. Take dollars for example, one Zimbabwean, and another USD. Both currencies were not gold-backed, but both were supported by their states and national banks. However, the former devalued significantly, from 0.67 per one buck to hundreds of thousands. Why did it happen? The reason is that one country, the USA, has a powerful economy, and its currency has value. Zimbabwe did not manage to build such a strong economy, and its money disappeared completely. Can it happen to USD? Yes, if other nations lose faith in the US power, and start selling off the American currency. Now take Bitcoin. It is not backed by any precious metal, neither is it supported by national economies, armies, politicians, etc. It costs a lot when many people want to buy it and believe that one bitcoin can be exchanged for more than US$19,000, and it dips when the same people lose this faith. Doesnt it look just like US money? This is why I think that Bitcoin, as well as other currencies, and even gold and diamonds, has no intrinsic value, as it is understood by anti-Bitcoiners. But it does not mean that it is worthless. Quite the contrary. Bitcoin is a replacement for the old system So, what do we have? Everything is valuable as long as it can be accepted as a medium of exchange or means of payment for real things. Gold, for example, costs so much because people once decided to give out the outcome of their work in exchange for golden coins. The same applies to other currencies, too. Lets call it a collective agreement. Without this agreement, anything beyond really necessary things would not matter. Lets see how and why weve invented currencies, and why cryptos are the natural progression of dollars and euros. Why we need money It all started when people exchanged goods and services directly for products and services, with no medium in between. Then, the value of things was calculated easily it directly depended on the amount of time and work spent to produce them. For instance, if you were a poultry farmer, youd need, say, a hundred chickens to exchange them for a cow, or one half for a small fish. This system, though it was very ineffective, existed for thousands of years. Its inefficiency stemmed from two factors: it was impossible to estimate the conversion rate of all products and services with respect to all other products and services; it was a huge problem to find a person who has something you need and needs something you have. Can you imagine, you go to the shoemaker with a chicken or eggs, but he needs ham, so you have to go to a piggery with a hope that people there will take your goods in exchange of theirs. Also Read: 500 Startups invests in Thai food deeptech startup JuiceInnov8 No guarantees, though, that theyd want to do so, maybe youll need to go to another place, and so on and so forth. Moreover, you know that you need one chicken to buy a pair of shoes, but who can tell you what will be the price of pork meat or other things? This chaos pushed human civilization to develop a medium of exchange. Evolution of currencies It was coinage that replaced bartering and kept hold for about four centuries. It had huge advantages over the previous system: merchants did not have to make many transactions in order to buy and sell their products, they had to exchange goods for coins, and then coins for goods; everything found its fixed price, measured in silver or gold; a poultry farmer could find his buyer before his hens and eggs rot; moreover, he had a chance to buy something small and cheap without needing to cut the chicken into pieces. In technical terms, precious metal coins acquired the properties of money: they were durable, fungible, portable, divisible, acceptable, verifiable, and scarce. However, they had their problems, too. First of all, it was a big problem to transfer significant sums from one country to another, let alone intercontinental transactions. I believe that was the main compelling motive for humankind to use paper money. Originally, each banknote was backed by gold, or some other commodity, even by bread, but in the first half of the 20th century, most countries got rid of the golden standard, and now fiat currencies are supported only by the governments decree. Anyhow, the next task assigned to money by people was to let them make transactions without being physically present where the deal takes place. So, why Bitcoin? Paper money evolved into credit and debit cards very quickly, and with the development of the internet and digital technologies, the evolution was accelerating every day. Weve got electronic wallets, online bank accounts, payment systems, wire transfers, etc., to operate our dollars. And yet, fiat currencies could not satisfy all the needs of a modern person. We needed something that was independent of politicians, could not be artificially inflated or devalued and was not prone to any kind of world crises. We needed Bitcoin. If you compare it with regular money or coins, youll see that this crypto has all the same characteristics: as well as with gold and silver, it takes a lot of time and efforts to mine BTC; it does not age; it is recognized all over the world, and accepted by many companies, and it is the same bitcoins everywhere; the supply of tokens is limited, so it is scarce; you can divide it into fractions; its even more portable than any fiat currency. In addition, Bitcoin has some brand-new features, which were not peculiar to regular money. You cannot counterfeit bitcoins. It is not limited by borders; it is international by its nature. It does not have a centre, or a person at the helm. No one, including the most powerful governments on Earth, can issue more BTC than programmed in the core code, there is no chance for a man, or a group of men, to move its price up and down to benefit from these swings. The market sentiment changes so frequently only due to its youth, and comparatively small total cap. Bitcoin charts obey only the trading laws, supply and demand. Bitcoin is the money of the future However, having said everything above, it is not the main thing that gives Bitcoin its value. The main cryptocurrency is useful, and lots of people want to have it. This utility makes Bitcoin so precious and wanted by so many people. We use cryptos to pay for goods and services, to play the market, to invest money in them, etc. Also Read: 7 things to look out for before buying an online business And, old monies cannot compete with the cryptography anymore; people lose trust in fiat currencies with each new economic collapse or geopolitical crisis. We are tired of borders and restrictions, tired of being unaware of who makes decisions and how. Bitcoin is not only an evolution of something from the past it has much from the future. Those guys, who invented cryptocurrencies, gave us an entirely new idea of money, based on principles of transparency, decentralization, openness to all, and governance by everyone who uses it. Unfortunately, the old ways do not want to recede easily. Politicians and financiers from the past try to ban digital assets and impose various restrictions, but I am sure they cannot succeed. People need the brand new money, and Bitcoin is what weve been looking for. Its value will only grow with soaring demand, which is not going to lose steam. e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here. The post Does Bitcoin have any real value? appeared first on e27. Cocaine bricks intercepted by police along the shores of Camarines Norte, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte and Quezon from February 10 to 18, 2019 QUEZON CITY, Philippines Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Oscar Albayalde said on Wednesday that the cocaine bricks recovered off the waters of Mindanao and Luzon in the past two weeks may have been part of a drug shipment bound for Australia. Albayalde said they are now coordinating with their Australian counterparts to determine the signature of the cocaine slabs in order to confirm if these were among those being used by drug dependents in Australia. I talked with my Australian counterpart earlier. Parang nanggaling ito sa Pacific Ocean, pero hindi ito delivery sa Pilipinas (It looks like it came somewhere from the Pacific Ocean and these are not for delivery in the Philippines), Albayalde told media after his meeting with Australian Federal Police officials. Both the Philippine and Australian authorities believe that the contraband which floated to the eastern seaboard are connected to the cocaine bricks that were recovered in Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea in September last year because of its similar markings. Sometime in 2018, yung Australian Federal Police assisted a police [operation in] Solomon Islands, meron silang nakuha na the same nature, the same package na cocaine, Albayalde said. The PNP Chief said Australian authorities had reported about the operations they conducted in three drug trafficking incidents in the Pacific Ocean in 2018. First was in June where two suspects were arrested in Melbourne for conspiring to import and ship 300 kilograms of cocaine from Peru through the Pacific. The second incident occurred in September in Siassi Island in Papua New Guinea, which yielded the arrest of six Hong Kong nationals and one Montenegro national following a high speed chase. The group allegedly dumped some of the cocaine slabs they were carrying in their boat during the chase but authorities were unable to find it after the operation. Authorities also seized in September around 500 kilograms of cocaine from a yacht from Solomon Islands bound for Australia. Story continues Ito yung nakuhang ship noon. Maliit lang kaya theres a possibility na ito ay mga nag-capsized. Itong nakuha kasi ay yate, saka ang mga ganitong klase, way back in September, may nakuha sa Solomon island na around 500kg of cocaine, Albayalde said. Meron din silang narecover with the help of Australian Police na the same package, he added. Since February 10, more than 100 kilograms of cocaine have been recovered on the shorelines or waters off Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Dinagat Island, Quezon, Aurora, Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte. The PNP is awaiting results of the laboratory examinations of the seized cocaine samples they sent to Australian authorities. Robie de Guzman (with reports from Lea Ylagan) The post Albayalde: Cocaine bricks hauled off PH waters may have been bound for Australia appeared first on UNTV News. MelbourneConvicted Australian Cardinal George Pell will spend his first night behind bars Wednesday following his historic conviction for child sex crimes, capping an extraordinary fall from grace for one of the most powerful men in the Catholic Church. Once among Pope Francis closest advisers and the most senior Catholic cleric ever found guilty of child sex crimes, Pell returned to court for a pre-sentencing hearing a day after his conviction was made public on Tuesday. The 77-year-old is facing up to 50 years jail after being convicted on five counts of sexual and indecent assault of two choirboys in the sacristy of Saint Patricks Cathedral in 1996-97, shortly after Pell became archbishop of Melbourne. Pell, who has lodged an appeal against the verdict, will be sentenced on March 13. His lawyers earlier Wednesday withdrew an application for bail following his conviction, saying the cleric believes it is appropriate for him to await sentencing. At Wednesdays hearing, Chief Judge Peter Kidd blasted Pells behavior at Saint Patricks as callous, brazen offending. I think it did involve breach of trust... he exploited two vulnerable young boys. They were entrusted into the care of the church... and the person who stood at the top of that was your client, he said. Arguing that Pell should receive a substantial punishment, Crown Prosecutor Mark Gibson said the cleric had shown no remorse nor taken responsibility for his actions. There has been a breach of trust... Cardinal Pell was the driving force... and in charge of the cathedral, and these choristers were cogs in the cathedral wheel, Gibson said. But defense lawyers issued a statement following the hearing insisting that despite the unprecedented media coverage, Cardinal Pell has always and continues to maintain his innocence. Like any person he has the right to pursue his legal rights and will do so. Pells barrister, Robert Richter, argued in court for a short prison sentence, saying that even if Pell had committed the crimes, they were no more than a plain vanilla sexual penetration case where a child is not volunteering. AFP He stressed that Pell had received 10 supporting character references from individuals such as former prime minister John Howard and that none of them believe him capable of the crimes for which he was convicted. This is a court of law, not a court of morals, he told Judge Kidd.The conviction of Pell, long a prominent and conservative voice in Australia, has rocked the nation and dominated the news. In chaotic scenes, a large media pack and crowd confronted the cardinal as he arrived at court Wednesday morning, with one protester screaming: Youre a maggot, Pell, you rot in hell. Youre the devil, Youre evil... youre a pedophile, criminal, monster, May you rot in hell, protesters shouted. It was just after Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti announced on Twitter that Pell had been removed from his position as chief of Vatican finances, the third-most powerful position in the Church. Pell was found guilty in December of assaulting the two choirboys, but the verdict was only revealed Tuesday after a second trial against him was abandoned by prosecutors, allowing a gag order to be lifted. Pells appeal will be based on three grounds -- that the jury verdict was unreasonable, that there were issues with how the jury was formed and that the defense had not been allowed to show jurors an animation illustrating the movements of people in the cathedral on the day of the alleged assault. The Court of Appeal process, which could last up to a year, will see a bench usually made up of three judges review the same evidence that the jurors were presented with in the earlier trial. Criminal law expert Jeremy Gans of the University of Melbourne told AFP the judges could question the jurys conclusions based on the fact that the case was based on only one persons -- the surviving victims -- testimony. The other choirboy, who died of a drug overdose in 2014, had never told his parents he was abused. The Catholic Church could face a civil suit from the father of the deceased victim, who said via his lawyer Tuesday that the cleric had blood on his hands. During the trial, the court had heard that Pell abused the two boys after catching them swigging from a bottle of sacramental wine. He exposed himself and forced one of them to perform oral sex on him, and fondled the boys genitals while masturbating. AFP The deeptech startup specialising in food biotechnology raises a Pre-Series A Round from 500 Startups JuiceInnov8, a Bangkok-based deeptech startup in the food biotechnology vertical, has closed a US$500k pre-Series A round led by 500 Startups Durians II Fund and TukTuks Fund. The company said it will use the funding to expand its core scientist and engineering team and help accelerate the development of its platform from pilot to commercial scale. Also Read: Meituan-Dianping lays groundwork for Southeast Asia entrance via Chope JuiceInnov8 seeks to bring forward healthier juice that has less sugar & lower calories. To do so, the company is working with food and beverage manufacturers worldwide to develop a sugar reduction technology platform that uses natural, non-genetically modified microbes and proprietary sugar conversion processes. With JuiceInnov8s technology, juices available in the market can have its original juice content and key nutrients but with near zero sugar and calorie content. Consumers are increasingly conscious about having better and healthier food & drinksfrom less sugar, less fat, less sodium to more nutritious with functional health benefits. That is why we started JuiceInnov8, instead of creating our owns CPG brand of less sugar juice, we aim to partner with beverage companies globally to help them bring healthier juice to consumers everywhere, said Sean Chonchayong Trairatkeyoon, JuiceInnov8 co-founder & CEO. Our mission is to reduce sugar in at least 30% of juice sold in the market. Also, as juice is a base ingredient to most foods, snacks, confectionary and dairy products, applications of our technology wont be limited to only beverages, he added. Trairatkeyoon further explained that being based in Southeast Asia gave the business an edge. We have a lower cost of operating and development compared the US or other regions. This allows us to deliver our technology platform to customers in any continent while maintaining cost competitiveness in both development and production in Thailand, he added. Story continues JuiceInnov8 was founded four years ago and has been recognised for its technology and mission by the likes of Spanish food startup incubator DigEatAll, and Silicon Valley food and agtech accelerator TERRA. Part of JuiceInnov8s technology was extracted from a research by Thailands top food biotech professor at Food Technology Department at the local Chulalongkorn University. The tech development and scale-up was done in collaboration with the Department Chemical Engineering at Chulalongkorn University. JuiceInnov8 is spearheaded by a team of 15 scientists & engineers with a background in molecular biology, biomedical/biochemistry, food sciences to mechanical & chemical engineering. The company is set to launch a new category of reduced sugar juice to the market next year. Also Read: Cradle Funds DEQ800 invests in US$190K in proptech NEXPlatform Back in August 2018, Plug and Play selected JuiceInnov8 into its Food & Beverage Verticals Cohort 4, making them the first startup from Asia in the program. Previously, JuiceInnov8 closed a Seed round of US$500K led by Intania Open Innovation Club a venture fund investing in Chula Engineering alumni-led companies and a former top-level executive of a global beverage brand. Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash The post 500 Startups invests in Thai food deeptech startup JuiceInnov8 appeared first on e27. SINGAPORE (Feb 25): Adam Gilmour had been a banker for more than 20 years when he left his job in 2012 to realise his boyhood dream of developing space technology, especially rockets. As a kid, I would play with LEGO Space all the time, Gilmour tells The Edge Singapore in an interview. Today, the CEO and co-founder of Gilmour Space Technologies leads a team that designs and builds hybrid rockets, which he claims are cheaper, more environmentally friendly and safer. This is because the companys hybrid-propellant rockets unlike most commercial rockets in operation today use a liquid oxidiser and a proprietary solid fuel. This overcomes long-standing performance issues with traditional hybrid rockets, especially explosions. Gilmour Spaces rockets will be carrying a payload such as a satellite into space. While the companys rockets have yet to be commercialised, test performances of its engines have shown promise. In late 2017, Gilmour Space conducted two successful ground engine tests, one of which was a low-pressure testfire that generated 45 kilonewtons (over 10,100 pounds-force) of thrust. This was improved upon by another ground test early last year that recorded 70 kilonewtons, or 15,700 pounds-force of thrust. Subsequently, the company achieved 80 kilonewtons, or 18,000 pounds-force of thrust, from a 17-second test-fire of its orbital-class rocket engine. This year, Gilmour Space is set for a flight test. The aim is to test its proprietary hybrid rocket engine for commercial orbital launches. The 9m-tall rocket, called One Vision, will be carrying payloads from universities in Singapore and Australia. It will be launched from a private property in Queensland. Gilmour Space has operations in both Singapore and Australia. The company conducts most of its R&D activities here, but performs its test launches Down Under. Orbital flight We havent launched any rockets into space yet, says Gilmour. The next one that we launch will be close to space. It will get into an area that is less than 1% atmosphere. He adds that getting into space, which is beyond 100km in altitude, will be the companys next challenge. To be in space, you need to stay in orbit. To stay in orbit, you need speed, which is at least 8km per second. We are aiming to achieve orbital flight by 2020. Story continues Gilmour Space signed a Space Act Agreement last year with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration to collaborate on various research, technology development and educational initiatives. Under the agreement, the company will work closely with NASA on rover testing at Kennedy Space Center. It may also explore activities of mutual interest, including space transportation, propulsion, in-situ resource utilisation and sustainability and life support systems. Gilmour Spaces progress so far has enabled it to attract funding from new and existing investors. Last year, the company raised $19 million in a Series B round, led by Main Sequence Ventures, which manages Australias Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) innovation fund. The investment round also included Blackbird Ventures, which led the companys Series A round of A$5 million in 2017. Additionally, US-based 500 Startups increased its stake from the Series A round. Gilmour Space also received funding from new venture capital, family-office and private investors. The companys progress has also attracted potential clients, who have expressed interest in using its rockets to launch their payloads into space. This could be for a myriad of purposes, including constellation-based earth observation and communications, satellite servicing, the Internet of Things, radar and debris clearing. We have letters of intent from at least 12 companies. As we keep developing our technology, they should become firm contracts [eventually], Gilmour says. Its not a big market yet. They know who we are. And we know who they are. Naivety needed Gilmour Space was initially founded to design and manufacture spaceflight simulators that could be used for astronaut training. This business was supposed to fund the companys eventual diversification into the rocket- making business, says Gilmour. However, that did not quite go according to plan, as it did not generate sufficient revenue, he says. Fortunately, some venture capitalists came to the rescue. They said: We love the rocket business and we are going to give money for that. [But] forget about the other one. Its not going to make any money, says Gilmour. Despite starting from scratch in an industry as challenging as space, Gilmour Space has managed to achieve one milestone after another. Gilmour credits this to his team of engineers, some of whom had previously worked for foreign space agencies and satellite manufacturing companies. One of the things I learned [in the banking industry] was that if there is an area of financial services that the bank didnt understand and another bank was doing it it could hire people from that bank to help set up the services, he says. I realised that if you have a vision and money, you could attract talent that knows how to do it. As long as I had the interest and a good idea of the business side of things, I knew I could hire people such as engineers who could build the stuff for me. Also of big help to Gilmour Space is the Office for Space Technology and Industry (OSTIn), which provided the company with special grants, says Gilmour. OSTIn is the agency that is tasked with helping to develop Singapores fledgling space industry. It comes under the Economic Development Board (EDB). OSTIn works closely with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education, National Research Foundation, Agency for Science, Technology and Research and satellite- based companies. It was not easy to obtain these grants, though. You have to convince them, says Gilmour. They want you to employ people, conduct R&D here, generate intellectual property that can be monetised and contribute to the building of the local space industry. Being naive can be an advantage in building a rocket company, says Gilmour, although he admits that in hindsight, he had underestimated the challenges. Founders with a good measure of naivety are unlikely to give up before even starting. If you have a really good idea that it is very hard to climb Mount Everest without oxygen, and you give it a go, what ends up happening is that you face an obstacle and you just get over it. And thats what we did, Gilmour says. Space, the final frontier The space industry is expected to grow into an enormous and lucrative one in the coming years. According to a Morgan Stanley report last year, the global space industry is forecast to generate revenue of US$1.1 trillion ($1.48 trillion) or more in 2040, up from US$350 billion in 2018. The most significant short- and medium-term opportunities could come from satellite broadband internet access, the bank says. This is because launching satellites that offer broadband internet service will help drive down the cost of data, in response to increasing demand for data, it explains. In Singapore, the local space industry is still nascent. But EDB head of capital goods Wee Wei Tat says commercial players are starting to warm up to business applications using satellite technology. This is driven by satellites that are getting smaller in size, more sophisticated and cheaper to build. Also, launch cost is declining. All these factors are contributing to the growth of this market. I would say we need to be a bit more patient; we need to give the commercial players more time to adapt to use these technologies, he says at a forum entitled Space Tech for Mobility, which was organised by SGInnovate on Feb 13. This provides ample opportunities for companies such as Gilmour Space. Gilmour says no one will buy space components such as sensors, solar panels or satellites from a manufacturer unless they have been tested in space. Therefore, there is a burgeoning demand for launches to conduct testing in space. He estimates launch cost to be US$50,000 to US$60,000 a kg today. That is already considered cheap, he says. Gilmour Spaces ultimate goal is to put people into space on one of its rockets, says Gilmour. But for now, he is watching the progress in this area closely, especially that by notable players such as Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musks SpaceX and Amazon.com CEO and founder Jeff Bezos Blue Origin. It is on our agenda only if it is commercially viable, he says. Ultimately, Gilmour has high ambitions for the company. Our vision is to be world-famous in developing fantastic space technology quickly and cheaply. This could involve technology required for deep-space missions, space mining or even trips to the Moon or Mars. We want to be right out there in space because that is where the future is, he says. This story appears in The Edge Singapore (Issue 870, week of Feb 25) which is on sale now. Subscribe here By Stephanie van den Berg and Myriam Rivet THE HAGUE/PARIS (Reuters) - The Dutch government will take a stake in Air France-KLM equal to that of the French government in order to increase its influence in the carrier's operations, a move that took the French by surprise. The investment comes weeks after a confrontation between the Dutch government and the company's French-dominated executive board over waning Dutch influence, which has been exercised through its management of group subsidiary and Dutch flag-carrier KLM. Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra said on Tuesday the state had already taken a 12.7 percent stake for 680 million euros ($774 million) and aimed to increase that to about 14 percent. The French government holds 14.29 percent of the combined company that was formed in 2004. The move is a "fundamental step toward protecting Dutch interests", Hoekstra told journalists in The Hague. "Buying this stake ensures we have a seat at the table." Hoekstra said the state was not making an investment but protecting the interests of the Dutch economy and Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, Europe's third-largest airport and a major source of employment. French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told journalists he and Air France-KLM's board of directors had not been informed. "I reaffirm my support to the strategy of the company and to its management," Le Maire said, adding it was essential for Air France-KLM to be "managed without national public interference." Le Maire's statement appeared to contradict his Dutch counterpart. "Several times in recent years the Dutch interest was not given enough weight in important decisions for the company as a whole," Hoekstra said in a letter to parliament. "In our view, possible consequences for Dutch public interests are not given enough consideration in the current set-up." Hundreds of KLM workers gathered at the airline's office in the Netherlands earlier this month to deliver a petition voicing support for CEO Pieter Elbers after rumours that Air France intended to remove him and fully integrate the two companies. Story continues Air France's new CEO Ben Smith travelled to the Netherlands for a reportedly uncomfortable meeting with Hoekstra before an Air France board meeting on Feb. 19.. Elbers' reappointment was confirmed ahead of the group's full-year earnings presentation on Feb. 20, at which Smith also announced plans for further coordination of the airlines' fleets and networks. Air France this month reported full-year operating earnings of 266 million euros, compared with 1.07 billion euros at the KLM subsidiary. The group 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 CEO. ($1 = 0.8783 euros) (Additional reporting by Bart Meijer and Toby Sterling in Amsterdam and Tim Hepher in Paris; Writing by Anthony Deutsch and Matthias Blamont; Editing by Bill Rigby) FILE PHOTO: Ford's oldest Brazil plant is seen after the company announced its closure, in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil February 20, 2019. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli By Marcelo Rochabrun SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian automaker CAOA, which produces vehicles with Korea's Hyundai Motor Co and China's Chery Automobile Co, is in talks to buy a Ford Motor Co plant in the country that is slated to close by 2019, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. Ford announced earlier this month that it would shut down its Sao Bernardo do Campo plant, a sprawling complex in a suburb of Sao Paulo that employs some 3,000 people. In 2018, Ford said it used only 12 percent of its installed capacity in the plant, which is its oldest in the country. Shutting the plant is part of Ford's wider move to stop producing heavy commercial trucks in South America. It also produces the Fiesta small car at the plant. Negotiations have not been finalized, the source said. Earlier on Tuesday, Sao Paulo governor Joao Doria said there were three companies interested in buying Ford's plant, although he declined to name them. Doria has pledged to help find a buyer for the plant. Sao Paulo state government declined to comment on CAOA talks with Ford. A Ford representative denied that CAOA had approached the automaker directly about buying the factory. CAOA, which started as a chain of dealerships, has expanded into manufacturing in recent years, most recently purchasing half of a factory originally developed by China's Chery. As part of the move, cars produced in the factory are now co-branded CAOA Chery. CAOA is already Ford's single largest distributor in the country. (Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by Bill Rigby) SINGAPORE (Feb 27): Fostering human connections is a significant factor in retaining employees who value job security, especially in Singapore. This is according to Mercers 2019 Global Talent Trends study, which surveys over 7,300 senior business executives, human resources (HR) leaders and employees from nine key industries across 16 geographies around the world. Based on its Singapore-focused findings, job security is one of the top three reasons cited by employees for joining an organisation. Yet, 50% of them said they were concern that artificial intelligence (AI) and automation would eventually replace their current roles. Notably, thriving employees i.e. those who are already prospering in the areas of health, wealth and career in Singapore were found to be three times as likely to describe their roles as relationship-focused, and twice as likely to describe their work as collaborative. The way Mercer sees it, this underscores the importance of fostering human connections among the Singapore workforce. The report also highlighted that thriving employees are twice as likely to work for an organisation that enables quick decision-making (80% versus 41%), and nearly three times more likely for an organisation that provides the necessary tools and resources for them to do their job efficiently (80% versus 30%). Other retention factors cited include setting personalised and simplified professional development plans, as 50% of employee respondents asked for curated learning as a means to help them evolve their skills and prepare them for future jobs. As this is closely linked to technology, Mercer also highlights the survey finding that high-growth firms in Singapore are also twice as likely to provide a fully-digital employee experience, or close to it, as moderate-growth firms in the city state (65% versus 30%). While two-thirds of employee respondents in Singapore are also asking for more clearly-defined responsibilities, Mercer highlights that job redesign remains low on the C-suite agenda, with only a sixth of executives in Singapore saying doing so would have a sizeable impact on their companys business performance. Story continues From the HR perspective, employee morale is seen as a significant barrier to making changes that come with organisational transformation initiatives stick. Employee attrition and decline in employee trust were two of the top five challenges cited by HR respondents for the year ahead. Enabling quick decision-making as well as providing employees tools and resources for them to do their job efficiently are just some of the must-dos for an organisation to retain its top talent These findings point to the need for transformation efforts to focus on people-centered design and better talent metrics to understand how people are experiencing and embracing change,says Ilya Bonic, president of Mercers Career business. Philippine National Police chief Oscar Albayalde on Wednesday offered a different explanation as to the bricks of cocaine that washed ashore the eastern seaboard, directly contradicting an earlier statement of. Albayalde said the bricks of cocaine that washed ashore the eastern seaboard may have drifted off from the waters of Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, after the vessel carrying them capsized while on the way to Australia. He noted that his counterpart from the Australian Federal Police had pointed to similar recoveries of cocaine bricks in the Solomon Islands in June and September last year. On Tuesday, however, PDEA chiefThe President is right in saying thehas already penetrated the Philippines based on the representative samples we got in Matnog, Sorsogon in 2018. It showed the drugs came from Colombia, Aquino said. Albayalde on Wednesday said they are now coordinating with Australian authorities to determine the signature of the cocaine to determine if this is the same as those being used by drug dependents in Australia. READ: Colombian drug cartel active in PH, PDEA says I talked with my Australian counterpart earlier. It seems these more than 100 kilos of cocaine, 111 kilos to be exact, were recovered from the eastern seaboard of our country. It looks like these came somewhere from the Pacific Ocean and these are not for delivery in the Philippines, Albayalde told reporters after a meeting with officials from the Australian Federal Police during the launch of the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Center at the police headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City. Albayalde said Australian authorities believe that a yacht carrying the contraband might have met an accident while repacking the cocaine or those who picked them up in the high seas might have deliberately dumped them after being chased by Coast Guard or Navy vessels. Albayalde said that based on the ranking of cocaine use in the world, the Philippines is number 14 from the bottom of the list. So I dont think we have a market for those kilos of cocaine which have been so far recovered. Accordingly, the probability is that they were supposed to be delivered to Australia because the market is good there for cocaine, he added. Both Philippine and Australian authorities believe that the cocaine bricks that were recovered in the past few weeks in Luzon and Mindanao are connected to the 500 kilos of cocaine bricks that were recovered in Papua New Guinea last year. Since Feb. 10, more than 100 kilos of cocaine worth P871 million have been recovered so far on the shorelines or off the waters of Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur, Dinagat Island, Davao Oriental, Quezon, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur and Aurora.The PNP is awaiting the results of the laboratory examinations that would be done by their Australian counterparts on the seized cocaine blocks. READ: International syndicates behind cocaine blocks found in PH We will be giving specimen to our Australian counterparts because they told us that they can determine the signature on where they were manufactured because according to them, cocaine has also some sort of a DNA that could determine where it was made and where it came from, said Albayalde. The PNP and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said that only 2 to 3 percent of drug users in the country are into cocaine as compared to those who are using shabu, marijuana or ecstasy. With a length of 36,289 kilometers, the Philippine coastline is one of the longest in the world. While admitting that it is difficult to guard Philippine shores, PNP Maritime Group Director, Chief Supt. Rodelio Jocson said they already increased patrol security as soon as the floating cocaine were found. READ: Dangerous years ahead in drug war The PNP also acquired the 46 high speed tactical watercraft, which will help them in patrolling the seas. This is scheduled to be delivered before the year ends. The Commission on Human Rights, meanwhile, said it supports the eradication of the illegal drug trade, but this should not be at the expense of peoples lives, and must be carried out within the bounds of the law. We hope that the words of the President will not be construed as a license to circumvent due process but will instead serve as a directive to firmly resolve the drug problem in accordance with Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Act of 2002, said CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia . Earlier, President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to wipe out drug pushers and users in Talisay City, Cebu, which he described as a drug haven. New letter urges Prez Trump "to make lasting reforms to the clemency process by removing its administration from the Department of Justice" | Main | FBI reports on encouraging crime data from the first half of 2018 Though I have not yet had time to read the full transcript of oral argument in United States v. Haymond, which is now available here, reading Amy Howe's argument analysis at SCOTUSblog suggests the tea-leaves are easy to read after the oral argument. The posting is titled "Court poised to rule for challenger in dispute over constitutionality of sex-offender law," and here are snippets: This morning the Supreme Court heard oral argument in a dispute over the constitutionality of a federal law that requires convicted sex offenders to return to prison for at least five years and possibly for the rest of their lives if a judge finds that they have committed certain crimes. The defendant in the case, an Oklahoma man who served time for possessing child pornography and was then sent back to prison after he violated the terms of his supervised release, argues that the law violates his right to have his sentence determined by a jury, rather than a judge, beyond a reasonable doubt. Today the justices seemed overwhelmingly likely to agree with him, even if it was not entirely clear how they will remedy the constitutional violation.... Eric Feigin, an assistant to the U.S. solicitor general, defended the law on behalf of the federal government. But he was quickly interrupted by a skeptical Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who asked him whether there was any other area of the law in which the United States allows a defendant to be sent to prison based on the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard. Feigin responded that both parole and probation operate in a similar way, but Sotomayor dismissed that analogy as comparing apples and oranges. With parole, she stressed, the state gives a benefit by cutting a sentence short. Where do we allow more prison time based on the preponderance of the evidence, she repeated? Justice Brett Kavanaugh echoed Sotomayors thinking toward the end of Feigins initial stint at the lectern. When the government revokes an inmates parole, Kavanaugh suggested, it is simply denying a benefit. But when the government revokes an individuals supervised release, he continued, thats more like a penalty: The government is adding a chunk of time on. Several justices also questioned the governments contention that a jury was not required to find the facts leading to the conclusion that Haymond had violated the terms of his supervised release and the imposition of the new five-year sentence.... Only Justice Samuel Alito seemed to be squarely on the governments side, warning that a ruling for Haymond could potentially bring down the entire supervised release system. As a result, much of the second half of the oral argument focused less on whether the law was unconstitutional and more on what should happen next. Lots of notable arrest data in Drug Policy Alliance report on marijuana legalization states | Main | Child molester/gymnastics coach Larry Nassar gets (only?!?) 40 to 175 years as state prison sentence for mass molestation January 23, 2018 New FBI crime data on first half of 2017 show encouraging declines in all areas except murder and car thefts This new news release from the FBI, headlined "2017 Preliminary Semiannual Crime Statistics Released: Stats Show Slight Crime Decline in First Half of 2017," reveals some generally positive crime news for the start of 2017. Here are the basics: Preliminary statistics show declines in the number of both violent crimes and property crimes reported for the first half of 2017 when compared with the first half of 2016, according to the FBIs Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, January - June 2017, released today. The report includes data from more than 13,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide that submitted crime data to the FBIs Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. According to the report, overall violent crime decreased 0.8 percent in the first six months of 2017 compared with the same time frame in 2016, though the number of murders and non-negligent manslaughters reported increased by 1.5 percent. Additionally, the number of rapes (revised definition) decreased 2.4 percent, robberies decreased 2.2 percent, and aggravated assaults were down 0.1 percent. Overall reported property crime offenses dropped 2.9 percent in the first half of 2017 compared with the first half of 2016. Burglaries decreased 6.1 percent, and larceny-thefts decreased 3 percent. One area of property crime that did rise was motor vehicle thefts, with a 4.1 percent increase. This FBI table providing year-to-year trends of the last four years provides a little more context for this latest data. It is especially encouraging to see violent crime start to tick down after two years of increases, but the continued increase in murders remains disconcerting coming on the heels of two prior years of increases. As has been the case in recent years, I suspect the homicide story is a dynamic region-specific tale with divergent numbers and stories in different cities. Indeed, this FBI chart with population breakdowns and this FBI chart with regional breakdowns seem to indicate that mid/large-sized cities in the Midwest and South account for much of the increases in murders in the first part of 2017. UPDATE : Attorney General Jeff Sessions already has penned this commentary published by USA Today touting the good news in this new FBI crime data. Here are parts of the piece: When President Trump was inaugurated, he made the American people a promise: This American carnage stops right here and stops right now. It is a promise that he has kept.... Trump ran for office on a message of law and order, and he won. When he took office, he ordered the Department of Justice to stop and reverse these trends and that is what we have been doing every day for the past year. We have placed trust in our prosecutors again, and were restoring respect for law enforcement. We have invested in new resources and put in place smarter policies based on sound research. Ensuring every neighborhood in America is safe again will take time, but we are already starting to see results. In 2017, we brought cases against more violent criminals than in any year in decades. We charged the most federal firearm prosecutions in a decade. We convicted nearly 500 human traffickers and 1,200 gang members, and helped our international allies arrest about 4,000 MS-13 members. We also arrested and charged hundreds of people suspected with contributing to the ongoing opioid crisis. Morale is up among our law enforcement community. Any loss of life is one too many, but it is encouraging that the number of officers killed in the line of duty declined for the first time since 2013, reaching its second lowest level in more than half a century. And we are empowering and supporting our critically important state, local and tribal law enforcement partners as we work together to protect communities from crime. In the first six months of last year, the increase in the murder rate slowed and violent crime actually went down. Publicly available data for the rest of the year suggest further progress. For the first time in the past few years, the American people can have hope for a safer future. Our strategy at this department of concentrating on the most violent criminals, taking down violent gang networks, prioritizing gun prosecutions, and supporting our state, local and tribal law enforcement partners has proven to work. Of course, our work is not done. Crime is still far too high especially in the most vulnerable neighborhoods. This first year of the Trump era shows once again that the difficult work we do alongside our state, local and tribal law enforcement partners makes a difference. Crime rates are not like the tides we can help change them. And under Trumps strong leadership, we will. I fear that AG Sessions may be taking a victory lap a bit too early based on just a small bit of data from the first half of 2017. But this commentary references positive "data for the rest of the year," and that lead me to think he has a reasonable basis to expect subsequent crime data reports for 2018 to also be positive. Given that crime rates are already pretty low by historical standards, I rather like that AG Sessions is already prepared to "take ownership" of crime data. Consequently, if crime continues to trend down, he certainly can and will be in a position to take credit. And if crime does not continue to trend down, he will have some explaining to do. January 23, 2018 at 06:17 PM | Permalink Comments Sessions has probably helped rein in Chicago's murder rate. And getting 4,000 MS-13 gangbangers off the streets is huge. And human traffickers---more scum of the earth finding a home in prison. Sessions is awesome!! Posted by: federalist | Jan 23, 2018 11:14:50 PM Crime has not dropped, of course. Democratic politicians are forcing the police to throw out reports, or get fired. Crime has modernized to the internet. There were 15 million internet crimes. The average identity theft nets $5000, with literally no risk. The average bank robbery nets $4000, with the risk of getting shot, attacked, imprisoned. There is also the Ferguson Effect. It applies to all crime, not just murder. Thus an increase in murder is a reliable indictor in the increase in all crime. It is just tougher to throw out the report on a dead, shot up body for the politician to force the police to do. Prof. Berman should stop claiming crime has decreased. It has not. He my be fairly said to be a Democratic Party talking points propagandist. The lower crime rate is lawyer propaganda, fake news. This recurrent fake news in this blog detracts from Prof. Berman's credibility. The drop in crime is a ridiculous, flat earth, Truther class denial. Posted by: David Behar | Jan 24, 2018 7:52:21 AM Post a comment The U.S. Cyber Command blocked the Internet access to the Russian troll factory while it was attempting to interfere with 2018 midterm. According to the Washington Post, that cites several U.S. officials, the operation conducted by the U.S. Cyber Command hit the Internet Research Agency in St. Petersburg, the company used by the Russian Government in propaganda and psyops operations. They basically took the IRA offline, said an individual familiar with the events who spoke on the condition of anonymity. They shut them down. The operation marked the first muscle-flexing by U.S. Cyber Command, with intelligence from the National Security Agency, under new authorities it was granted by President Trump and Congress last year to bolster offensive capabilities. states the Washington Post. The president approved of the general operation to prevent Russian interference in the midterms, officials said. The operation was led by Gen. Paul Nakasone, who in July formed the Russia Small Group, a team composed of 75 to 80 people from Cybercom and the NSA. Intelligence analysts believe that this attack is just a temporary success against Russian activities, Russias tactics are rapidly evolving and the troll factory will continue its operations. U.S. officials pointed out that this operation is part of a long-term campaign aimed at preventing further interference in the politics of foreign countries. Part of our objective is to throw a little curveball, inject a little friction, sow confusion, said one defense official. Theres value in that. We showed whats in the realm of the possible. Its not the old way of doing business anymore. The fact that the 2018 election process moved forward without successful Russian intervention was not a coincidence, said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who did not discuss the specific details of the operation targeting the St. Petersburg group. Without Cybercoms efforts, he said, there would have been some very serious cyber-incursions. The attack against the troll factory has happened the day Americans went to the polls and a day or so afterward as the votes were tallied. The timeline of attacks allowed the US government to prevent the Russians trolls from mounting a disinformation campaign that cast doubt on the results. The operation also was the first real test of Cybercoms new strategy of persistent engagement, issued in April, involving continually confronting the adversary and sharing information with partners. Cybercom in fall 2018 sent troops to Montenegro, Macedonia and Ukraine to help shore up their network defenses, and the Americans were able to obtain unfamiliar malware samples that private security researchers traced to the GRU, according to officials. concludes the Washington Post. The Cybercom campaign also was part of what Nakasone described in an interview with Joint Force Quarterly as acting outside our borders, being outside our networks, to ensure that we understand what our adversaries are doing. Pierluigi Paganini (SecurityAffairs Troll factory, US Cyber Command) Share this... Linkedin Share this: Twitter Print LinkedIn Facebook More Tumblr Pocket Share On Can you shape the future by imagining and shaping it in to a story? It seems like a far fetched idea on the face of it but when you stop and think for a moment, how many things did Gene Rodenberry dream up for Star Trek that are reality now? Our communications technology has caught up in the years since, smart phones are not all that far off from being a tricorder, and what is 3D printing if not a preliminary version of the replicator? Star Trek dreamt a version of the future, they made it entertaining, and the generation that dreamed along with the Star Trek storytellers then went out and made it happen. And that's exactly what the forces behind Red Bull Futur/io are hoping to accomplish. Red Bull has announced the finalists of Red Bull Futur/io, a competition inviting creative minds and storytellers from around the globe to imagine and shape desirable futures. Of the 955 entries, 21 winners were selected to attend the Red Bull Futur/io Academy, this March in Lisbon, Portugal. Click here to view videos from all finalists. Much of the technology that runs the world we live in today began as remarkable, disruptive, and often far-fetched ideas from long agoin the literary works of Jules Verne and Isaac Asimov, and sci-fi classics ranging from Minority Report to The Jetsons. The future visited in Back to the Future is now four years old, and this year, 2019, marks the setting of the 1982 classic, Blade Runner. Sci-fi envisioned technologies like smart watches, hoverboards, and video conferencing have already been realized today, while others, like time traveling cyborg assassins thankfully have not. But what will our real future look like? Will it be as dystopian as those envisioned in the Terminator and Matrix movies, or something brighter and more hopeful? Thats what Red Bull Futur/io set to find out. Students, scholars, dreamers, and visionaries from around the world were invited to share their visions of the future, submitted in the form of 60 second videos, to be judged in the categories of Desireable Future, Creative Storytelling, and Insipiring Visions. The winning 20 entries were chosen by a panel of judges, all esteemed authorities within their areas of expertise including futurism, filmmaking, storytelling, and design. Nick Sun from Ukraines video We Create Future was also selected as the Peoples Choice Wildcard chosen via a public vote on the Red Bull Futur/io website. Successful submissions depict everything from a world where space travel is a reality, shared transportation is the norm, lifelong education replaces our current educational systems and of a life without borders or states; where everyone is a citizen on humanity. Jarod Neece, Senior Film Programmer SXSW, and a member of the Red Bull Futur/io jury, commented on the submissions received. It was really fun to see everyones take on the future and see what modern day problems they are interested in fixing and where they see us in a decade. I loved the mix of live action and all the different styles of animation from experienced filmmakers, students and storytellers. Winners will unite at Red Bull Futur/io Academy, a 3-day summit of academics, futurists and disruptive minds in Lisbon, Portugal (March 21-24, 2019). The event will include workshops and discussions on future scenarios, storytelling, and exponential technologies. Participants will have the chance to develop and fine-tune their concepts with key thought leaders within this community and attend workshops on topics like the perfect pitch, technology in films, and idea visualization. On the final day of the academy participants will have the opportunity to pitch their final concepts to the jury for a chance to turn their vision into a professional Red Bull Media House production. For more information please visit Red Bull Futur/io. For the full list of jury members, click here. Full list of Red Bull Futur/io finalists: Check out all the finalist pitches for a taste of the future! Why so glum, chum? Cold and inexpressive of any emotion except anger in The Black Windmill (1974), Michael Caine is far more appealing starring opposite Sidney Poitier in The Wilby Conspiracy (1975), a film that passed by me entirely in its year of release. (It's now available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.) Poitier is top-billed as Shack Twala, an anti-apartheid activist who has been imprisoned for 10 years. As the film begins, he is in chains in a court of law, while his lawyer Rina Van Niekerk (Prunella Gee) argues for his release. Meanwhile, engineer Jim Keogh (Caine) sits in the courtroom, bored, waiting for Rina to finish up so they can go to lunch. It's a quick and easy set-up, and also proves to be typical of the movie as a whole. Ralph Nelson directed; he's best-known for social drama Lilies of the Field (1963), for which Sidney Poitier won an Academy Award. (Nelson and Poitier also worked together on Duel at Diablo (1966).) So Nelson may seem like an atypical choice to direct a thriller, until remembering (or researching) his experience as a TV director in the 1950s, followed by a nice variety of films that he helmed throughout the 60s and 70s, including Father Goose (1964), Charly (1968), and Embryo (1976), to list only the titles I've seen. Prior to this film, Nelson directed family drama Flight of the Doves (1971) and 1920s adventure-drama The Wrath of God (1972), so perhaps he was ready to do something more relevant. Briskly told and surging with energy, The Wilby Conspiracy is a rousing action-drama with a timely political edge. Set in South Africa, it's thoroughly enjoyable and only occasionally ludicrous, reflecting a good deal of expert craftsmanship. The film is also bolstered considerably by the presence of Poitier and Caine. Poitier made his directorial debut with Buck and the Preacher (1972), followed by A Warm December (1973) and then the popular caper comedy Uptown Saturday Night (1974), which earned a sequel, Let's Do It Again, released in October 1975. Between the latter two films came The Wilby Conspiracy, released in July 1975. It was his first starring performance for another director since The Organization (1971), in which he reprised his role as Virgil Tibbs (from In the Heat of the Night and then They Call Me Mister Tibbs!). Though the plot seems to harken back superficially to The Defiant Ones (1958), again teaming Poitier with a white co-star who constantly complains about the black man while they go on the run, Michael Caine could never be mistaken for Tony Curtis. His character wants nothing to do with South African politics, and definitely has little to no empathy for the black majority in the country and their treatment by the white minority. After the release of Don Siegel's The Black Windmill (1974), discussed here, Caine starred in the crime picture The Destructors and then The Wilby Conspiracy. The combination of Poitier and Caine is pleasantly combustible. Poitier is a strong man of strong convictions; Caine is 'the bloke who woke,' as might be said today. His engineer becomes embroiled far more than he wishes; all he wanted to do was spend time with his married girlfriend Rina, and instead he finds himself pursued and then tortured by two pernicious South African authority figures. Nicol Williamson brings vile conviction and absolute sureness of his racial and moral superiority as Major Horn, aided by his nasty subordinate Van Heerden (Rijk de Gooyer). Noted for his brilliant stage performances, Williamson had not achieved screen stardom yet, so I can easily imagine that his lesser-known status chilled moviegoers even more back in the day. Other gems in the supporting cast include actors making their debuts (of various types): Prunella Gee, a British stage and television actress making her big-screen debut in an appealing yet thankless role; Persis Khambatta, an Indian model turned actress who later gained widespread attention as the bald alien in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), discussed (and argued about) here; and Rutger Hauer, who had already made an impression in Paul Verhoeven's Turkish Delight and looks fantastic here. Rod Amateau (mostly known as a director, he also directed the action sequences) and Harold Nebenzal are credited for the screenplay, based on the second novel by Peter Driscoll; John Coquillon (Straw Dogs, Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid) photographed and Ernest Walter edited. The Wilby Conspiracy "is, at heart, a good old chase melodrama," as Vincent Canby wrote in The New York Times, "decked out in modern dress and in liberated racial attitudes. The best thing about the movie, flimed mostly in Kenya, is its performances." Nearly 44 years later, it's hard for me to argue any differently. So: recommended! 70s Rewind is a feature that ruminates on the less-heralded cinematic wonders of the past. or anti-administration trolls bent on discrediting the government. In an interview on radio dzBB, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the threats, which Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle had informed the President about, needed to be investigated.useless and rich Catholic bishops and priests. Since then, the Palace has depicted Dutertes remarks as an exaggeration. After receiving Tagles message,. On Tuesday, Caloocan City Bishop Pablo David was supposed to receive the Ka Pepe Diokno Human Rights Awards in De La Salle University but skipped the awarding ceremony after receiving death threats on his phone. Contradicting the Palace, opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros said President Rodrigo Duterte should be blamed for the death threats received by clergymen. She said these threats are a direct result of the same threats that Duterte himself made against Caloocan Bishop Pablo David last year. They are also the consequences of the violent verbal attacks of the President on the Catholic Church and its religious leaders in light of its strong critique of the present administrations bloody and abusive war on drugs, Hontiveros said.They further assert the culture of impunity to try to silence valid Church-led criticisms of state policies, particularly those with implications on human rights and due process, she added. Another opposition senator, Leila de Lima, said the Catholic Church cannot trust Duterte when he says that bishops and priests should not be harmed, and that those who harm them will have to deal with him. De Lima said no one in this Catholic country, whether politician or ordinary citizen, had ever had it on the agenda to kill bishops and priests until Duterte started it. Strange as it may seem, the President telling himself not to carry out his threat to kill bishops is not entirely unexpected, she said. READ: Duterte takes up cudgels for priests The detained senator also noted that Duterte is toying with officials of the Catholic Church with his sick jokes that can only come from a sick mind. What is worrying is that Dutertes jokes can be taken seriously by his executioners who have already reiterated the same death threats to several clergymen, she said. READ: Palace washes hands of threats Santa Maria-Bonita is turning the traditional Science Fair model on its head. Instead of having teachers and outside groups lead the workshops, a handful of parents taught their children and other families in Spanish and Mixteco about science through culturally relevant lessons. The event was designed to take parents from a passive to active part of their childrens schooltime education 022519 Parent Science Fair 05.jpg 022519 Parent Science Fair 07.jpg 022519 Parent Science Fair 03.jpg 022519 Parent Science Fair 06.jpg 022519 Parent Science Fair 08.jpg 022519 Parent Science Fair 04.jpg 022519 Parent Science Fair 02.jpg 022519 Parent Science Fair 01.jpg 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. Despite an environment rife with economic and political instability, global M&A value in 2018 reached near-record levels as markets remained unhampered by the heightened geopolitical risk. The cryptocurrency space was not nearly as rampant, yet the industry still managed to record a decent amount of consolidation as companies looked to beef up their platforms through the acquisition of like-minded entities. But now another trend is emerging: crypto companies are using backdoor listings to ease into the mainstream. Several cryptocurrency exchanges have sought to move closer to the mainstream and gain some legitimacy through tie-ups in the financial services world they once spurned. Also known as reverse mergers, these buyouts allow these crypto companies to offer their shares to the public and raise funds without the rigors and regulatory scrutiny that goes with traditional IPOs (Initial Public Offerings). Seeking legitimacy One such deal is the January 2019 takeover of Hong Kong-listed construction firm, LEAP Holdings by OKC Holdings, a company owned by Star Xu, founder of the crypto exchange OK Coin in a deal valued at HK$484 million ($61.69 million). A few days later, the parent company of popular Korean exchange Bithumb announced plans to list in the U.S. market via the purchase of Blockchain Industries, an OTC-listed diversified holding company. Last year, crypto-exchange software producer ANX International purchased Hong Kong-listed Branding China while Singapore-based Huobi bought Hong Kongs Pantronics Holdings. Experts say that mergers between crypto and traditional companies could help the industry gain more mainstream acceptance. And, its hardly surprising that exchanges now feature prominently in these new-age mergers. Last year, the New York attorney generals office castigated crypto exchanges due to what it termed as poor surveillance and pervasive conflict of interests, going as far as saying that some may be operating illegally. Related: Blockchain Startup Wants To Bring Microgrids To Japan Public listing of cryptocurrency exchanges poses a challenge for regulators who are only beginning to grapple with the task of overseeing the trading aspect. Japans FSA famously became the first country to regulate the regions exchanges on 2016 before pulling back and allowing them to self-regulate. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's market watchdog, the Securities and Futures Commission, has questioned the sustainability of the crypto model. Lastly, crypto exchanges might simply be seeking new growth/profit avenues as more founding investors seek an exit. Expect more consolidation as ICOs slow down You can probably expect to see more of these mergers if the activity in the ICO (Initial Coin Offering) market is any indication. An October 2018 report by EY Global revealed that a staggering 86 percent of ICOs were already trading below their listing prices with nearly a third totally decimated. With the entire crypto universe out of favor during the year, its hardly a surprise ICO activity also slowed down. (Click to enlarge) Source: Autonomous Luckily, the crypto market has been more or less treading water this year and avoided another sharp downturn. At this rate, ICO activity could start seeing an upturn as well. (Click to enlarge) Source: CoinMarketCap But even with a healthier market, consolidation within and without the industry appears like the next natural phase. Early-stage industries tend to be fragmented and all over the place , a phase that is usually followed by consolidation as they mature. With nearly 2,100 digital coins, the industry appears cluttered and begging for consolidation. Related: Lending: The Good, Bad, And Ugly Expect a major shakeout to weed weak and worthless players to continue. Self-regulation alone is likely to take years, maybe even decades, to achieve this and consolidation will help hasten things along. The cloud industry provides a nice blueprint. The cloud started life as a pretty novel concept that allowed remote server access. But once it reached mainstream adoption, app-building mania took over-- the token mania we have been witnessing especially with ERC20 is not very different. Once apps flooded the ecosystem, larger platforms started creating huge networks that enabled companies to adopt other tools via APIs while weaker technologies were gradually phased out. You can expect more or less for the crypto industry. None other than Ether co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, had predicted a massive shakeout while another co-founder, Charles Hoskinson, had predicted earnest consolidation to follow the epic crash. We might simply be witnessing the unfolding of both phases in the industrys evolution. By Alex Kimani for Safehaven.com More Top Reads From Safehaven.com A Busby lawmakers proposal for a grant program to establish a database of missing Native people among Montanas Indian reservations failed to advance from a state legislative panel Wednesday. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to table Republican Sen. Jason Smalls measure after Republicans on the panel questioned whether the costs should be supported by the state, rather than the tribes themselves. Reached by phone after the vote, Small said he was working to have his Senate Bill 312 reconsidered, saying he believed the money to support the program would ultimately be available. The bill would create the Looping in Native Communities grant program, which would allow one of the tribal colleges to create and maintain a database of missing Native people in Montana. It would also provide smaller, noncompetitive grants to allow each tribe to designate a tribal agency that would be responsible for taking reports of missing people on the reservation and adding them to the statewide database. The public would be able to view those missing person reports on a website, which would also be created and maintained by the tribal college awarded the larger grant. The state Board of Crime Control would administer the new program. WASHINGTON Democrats hoping to use the governor's mansion to launch a campaign for the White House are likely to run into a major hurdle: money, or rather, a lack thereof. Of the current and former governors who are considering a presidential campaign, including Jay Inslee of Washington, Steve Bullock of Montana and John Hickenlooper of Colorado, none have the name recognition enjoyed by a pack of senators who are already in the race. They risk being further overshadowed if a heavyweight such as former Vice President Joe Biden jumps in, as he strongly suggested on Tuesday that he would. The coming months will likely be an uphill battle for the governors. Though they have resumes full of executive experience, standing out could be difficult in a crowded Democratic field that already includes high-wattage names like Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Without that name recognition, attracting small, online contributions, such as the ones fueling Sanders' candidacy, could be difficult as could convincing big donors to invest. A Republican lawmaker who wants most Medicaid expansion recipients to work or attend job training has updated his draft bill to ease reporting requirements after an analysis predicted tens of thousands of people could lose their coverage by failing to meet the reporting terms. Democrats are criticizing Republican Rep. Ed Buttrey's proposal to nix coverage for those who do not complete 80 hours per month of work, job training or searching, education, volunteer work or mental health treatment, with some exemptions. His initial bill called for the state to track their compliance every three months. A new draft of Buttrey's proposal would instead allow people to self-report their work, volunteer or other "community engagement" hours by phone, in writing or electronically. His measure proposes the state verify a percentage of those reports. Democratic Rep. Mary Caferro, who is sponsoring a bill to continue Montana's Medicaid expansion program substantially as it is, said Tuesday the work requirement is a bad policy and isn't cost-effective. About 3,700 out of 96,000 people covered under Medicaid expansion aren't working, the state has said. Heavy snow and icy roads caused the state to limit travel to emergency traffic only for some of central Montana on Tuesday. The Montana Department of Transportation issued the restriction Tuesday morning from Reed Point west to Three Forks and from Big Timber north to Judith Gap, said Brooke Johnson, public information officer and disaster and emergency services coordinator for Sweet Grass County. By the middle of the morning falling snow caused icy road conditions on the interstate near Columbus to deteriorate. By 1:40 p.m. severe driving conditions were present from Park City to areas west of the town, according to MDT. Visibility on Interstate 90 in Sweet Grass County was down to 100 feet, the driving lane was snow-packed and icy and the passing lane was "invisible," Johnson said, describing what she had been told by Sweet Grass County Sheriff Alan Ronneberg. As of about 10:10 a.m. the sheriff's office was responding to a semi that had slid into the median on I-90 between the two exits to Big Timber. Six miles east of Reed Point, both eastbound lanes of I-90 were blocked by a multi-vehicle crash as of 10:50 a.m., according MDT. The crash was cleared by 12:48 p.m. The road nearby is covered with snow and ice with more snow coming down, per the report. GREAT FALLS A Montana man convicted of assaulting minors for beating his girlfriend's sons with a belt and rubbing hot sauce in their eyes has been sentenced to prison. The Great Falls Tribune reports 33-year-old Robert Mathew Holguin Jr. was sentenced Monday in Cascade County District Court to four years in prison with one year suspended for each of the two assault counts. The sentences will run consecutively. A jury found Holguin guilty in November. The victims' guardian submitted a statement to the court, saying the boys have difficulty in school and have developed anger issues. The statement said they fear that Holguin will be released back into the community. Holguin claimed in court that his actions were disciplinary and not abusive. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A Hamilton man was charged with allegedly strangling a woman after she said she was leaving their relationship because he didnt keep their trailer clean. Charles Owen Hill, 35, appeared Tuesday before Ravalli County Justice Jim Bailey on a felony charge of partner or family member assault by strangulation and a misdemeanor count of unlawful restraint. Ravalli County Deputy Attorney Angela Wetzsteons charging affidavit said a sheriffs deputy responded to a reported disturbance on East Ravalli Street in Hamilton on Feb. 25 at about 1:30 p.m. The deputy spoke with a woman who reported she and Hill had argued over the trailers tidiness and, at one point, the woman said she was done with the relationship and attempted to leave. She told the deputy that Hill then strangled her and attempted to tie something around the door to keep her from leaving. The woman said she began to scream. In an attempt to get her to stop, the affidavit said Hill strangled her and then covered her mouth and nose with his hands. She reported not being able to breathe. Labor groups slammed the Chinese ambassador Wednesday for warning Manila against, saying Beijing would do the same to Filipinos working in China. The Partido Manggagawa and the Federation of Free Workers said that Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhuas threat was blatant blackmail and the government should grow enough of a spine and have the Department of Foreign Affairs file a diplomatic protest. We stand for the protection of all migrant workers everywhere and thus oppose threats and plans for deporting en masse both Filipino and Chinese migrant workers, said Rene Magtubo, PM national chairman. Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo admitted that Jianhua had told him that China would do the same if the Philippines would hastily deport Chinese illegals. But he later went on TV to say the ambassador had issued no threat. The Chinese government did not make a threat, Panelo said in an interview on GMA News TV. We were discussing what the government would have done if another government would recklessly deport their nationals not in accordance with law, he said. But in a statement, FFW president Sonny Matula said the Chinese envoys action was bullying and bordering on interference in the affairs of a sovereign state. The labor groups said migrant workers should not made pawns in a diplomatic war and also must not become scapegoats in a failed government policy. It is the Chinese investors bringing in Chinese workers that must be made responsible for their crimes. Everybodys hypocritically talking of upholding the law by evicting Chinese workers but turn a blind eye to the violations by Chinese investors, Magtubo said.The root of the problem is the Duterte administrations lax policy with regard to the entry of Chinese capital and loans. The government itself created the problem because of its subservience to the interests of the Chinese government and Chinese capitalists, the PM said. Magtubo said that, the two countries should forge a bilateral labor agreement to protect migrant workers. READ: Chinese illegals face ouster, Palace cites Such an agreement must secure decent wages, benefits, working conditions and jobs including the freedom to unionize. Further, to plug the gaping loophole that facilitates illegal migration, labor deployment abroad must be through government channels instead of private agencies, the labor group added. Anakpawis party-list Rep. Ariel Casilao, meanwhile, urged Presidentto prioritize the hiring of Filipino workers in government projects. Casilao issued the statement against the backdrop of rising unemployment. READ: Allies score government policy on Chinese workers He promised to create jobs by proposing to rebuild industries and factories, and vowed to end labor contractualization, but we all know now, that they were just trapo promises, worse, more Filipino workers are jobless, and rubbing salt into the wound, the number of foreign workers is swelling, Casilao said. READ: Duterte: Let Chinese nationals work in PH In many respects this nation needs healing and a refocusing on our priorities. We can do this through coming together as community. Spiritually or not we must all come to the realization that chasing happiness through material things is a dead end. We need each other. John Newland Rapid City Blessed to live in Hot Springs I recently had the pleasure of seeing Hot Springs residents at their finest. A routine trip to the post office took a turn when my car got stuck in the snow. A gentleman got a snow shovel out to help dig under my tires, and a woman driving by came back with some kitty litter to put under the tires. The car next to me also needed help, so another gentleman stood in the street to direct traffic coming around the corner. Three other people helped push my car to get it past the troublesome area where I could get traction. I did not know any of these people, but they jumped in to help both cars without hesitation. Their years-long courtship resulted in marriage in the summer of 1981. Two daughters soon followed, and her years of travel faded into years of raising children and teaching Spanish in Newcastle, WY. They bought land in the hills with a view of the plains, and Molly filled her daughters imaginations with stories of museums, art and interesting characters. There they hunted and hiked, camped and biked. She cared for Frank through months of illness before he died in 1998. When her daughters left for college, Molly began to travel again. First to England, Wales and Scotland, then to Mexico and the Caribbean. Her passports once again told the story of her life. She was consummately polite with a mischievous sense of humor. She insisted she wasnt to be taken seriously but could float back and forth between Spanish and English and was well-versed in artists and authors, both historic and contemporary. At 64, the summer before she retired from teaching, Molly left to walk nearly 500 miles of the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage through northern Spain. It was a journey she had been dreaming of for decades that united history, spirituality, and perseverance. SD Legislature fights culture wars and ignores jobs, wages, health care and the fact that we are one of the two poorest states. The $700K "left over" from the bark beetle war belongs to taxpayers so give it back. Typical government thinking is that our money is theirs and their job is to find a way to spend it. I think we should put the Obama statue overlooking the landfill to keep track of his mandates. Most people will agree that the world population and the number of livestock have increased dramatically and will continue to do so. I seriously doubt there is much we can do to slow our climate change when more than thirty-six percent of the world's population lives in India and China combined and these countries do little to curb their industrial pollution. Sioux Falls is building two new schools and Rapid City needed a third high school 20 years ago; but, hey, Main Street Square is getting new lighting. The major and city council need to learn the difference between want and need. The clergy have done a tremendous job of building a curtain of silence on the issue of reporting child molestation to law enforcement. Now the South Dakota legislature gives them an assist by way of continued exemption as mandatory reporters of this terrible crime. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Ellsworth Air Force Base and Make-A-Wish South Dakota joined forces on Tuesday to give a Rapid City teen one of the best surprises of his life. Justin Mohler, 17, is being granted his wish to visit the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City, thanks to Make-A-Wish South Dakota. Mohler is adjusting to life with a new kidney after receiving a transplant in November 2018. The wish announcement was a complete surprise to Mohler, who received an itinerary and was told he'd be visiting the base Tuesday for a guided tour along with his mother, Wendy Sogn, and sister, Mercedez Mohler. Mohler's tour included the 28th Security Forces Squadron that defends the base, and combat training. He saw military dogs. He met firemen, the explosives ordinance disposal team, and emergency managers who respond to disasters such as chemical and biological warfare. He also saw a B-1 bomber, said Lt. Col. George Nichols, who assisted with Mohler's tour of Ellsworth and the Make-A-Wish announcement. "We did the best we can to give him the best experience possible," Nichols said. "Justin was very quiet. He was taking it all in. ... It was overwhelming but you could see (from his) million-dollar smile that he was having the time of his life." Two Rapid City men were arrested Wednesday morning in the shooting death Tuesday night of a Box Elder teenager. Cole Waters and Andre Martinez, both 19-year-olds from Rapid City, are each charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit a felony and attempts to commit crime, according to the Pennington County Jail website. Emmanuel Hinton, 17, died after being shot around 8 p.m. Tuesday in the 700 block of Blaine Avenue, the Rapid City Police Police Department said in a news release. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} The shooting was reported around 8 p.m. by a person driving Hinton to the hospital, the release says. Hinton died around 10:30 p.m., spokesman Brendyn Medina said. Police said that Hinton and the driver made contact with two men in the alley while in their car, and one of the men they met shot Hinton with a handgun, the press release says. The driver immediately took Hinton to the hospital while the suspects fled on foot. Waters turned himself in Wednesday morning while Martinez was arrested at his home after a brief deployment of the Rapid City-Pennington County Special Response Team, the release says. When she arrived at Janklow's house, the teacher said, she brought the food into his bedroom, where he was lying in bed under the covers, the reports say. He then pulled out a handgun and pointed it at her, saying she caused him to lose his job (Urban said Janklow has not been fired) due to a November 2018 incident. The woman told police that she and Janklow went out with other people and she and other friends ended up calling a limo to take Janklow home since he was being drunk and aggressive. She said Janklow later received a call from a school administrator about the evening. The woman said she tried to calm Janklow down but he pulled out a shotgun from underneath the covers and pointed both weapons at her, according to police reports. She said Janklow threatened to kill her and himself, and then made her write a letter saying that what happened in November wasn't true. She later emailed that letter to police. After writing the letter and leaving the home, the woman said, she immediately called a defense lawyer but couldn't reach her until Feb. 18., the reports say. The lawyer told the woman to call police, which she did. When asked why she didn't immediately call 911, the woman said she had "some distrust with people and the police." Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} CHEYENNE, Wyo. | Wyoming lawmakers disagreed Tuesday over whether unintended consequences might result from a bill that would make it easier to terminate parental rights when sexual assault results in childbirth. The Wyoming House voted 35-24 not to agree with changes made by the Senate, sending the bill to a committee where lawmakers from both chambers will try to work out their differences. The Senate changes included an exemption for parents who are married or who have lived together for at least two years. Even so, some lawmakers worried the bill could cause certain people to unfairly lose their parental rights, or for children to unjustly lose a parent. The bill could cause a 19-year-old man to lose parental rights for having illegal but consensual sex with a 15-year-old girl, said Republican Rep. Clark Stith, an attorney from Rock Springs. A person on parole who consensually conceived a child with a corrections officer also could lose parental rights, Stith argued. "This bill as it goes through is overly broad," Stith told fellow lawmakers. "The law is unambiguous that intentionally targeting a peaceful protester with a flashbang constitutes excessive force in violation of the United States Constitution," attorney Edward Barnidge wrote. "Every reasonable officer knows that hitting someone with a flashbang will likely cause serious harm, or even death. Thus, it is only reasonable to infer that Officer (John) Doe intended to injure Sophia," Barnidge said. "If Sophia's injury had been unintended, Officer Doe's co-workers would have gasped in horror, not cheered." Wilansky's attorneys also dispute the government's assertion that public statements officials made blaming Wilansky for her own injury were legally done in the course of their job duties. They want the case to proceed so they can gather more information from the government on the job duties of officials who released statements that they consider defamatory. "Defendants are attempting to cloak themselves in the shroud of absolute privilege by introducing myriad new facts regarding the scope of their job duties," Barnidge said. "These new facts are contested, and the court should refrain from considering them until plaintiff has had an opportunity to test them." You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Bighorn sheep in the Panhandle are sporting some new hardware thanks to the work of a helicopter capture crew, wildlife professionals and volunteers. South Dakota State University joined the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission in capturing and processing a total of 48 sheepFeb. 18-19 -- 22 in the Wildcat Hills near McGrew and 26 at three locations in the Pine Ridge near Chadron and Crawford. Wildlife professionals have ramped up monitoring efforts in recent years to combat disease issues with Nebraskas bighorn sheep, the most notable malady being Mycoplasma pneumonia. In addition to the sheep captured, processed and released, seven chronically ill ewes from the Pine Ridge were taken to South Dakota State University in Brookings for additional study. The sheep that were released received new tracking collars and ear tags, in addition to undergoing a series of tissue samples and vaccinations. The ewes were not only fitted with new collars and tags, but also with vaginal implant transmitters. The latter devices, which have been used the past two years in the Pine Ridge, will help study lamb mortality. President Trump never would have had to worry about putting up a wall along the Mexican border if the Texans who fought at the Alamo thought of it first. A wall would have kept Santa Anna out of Texas. Sam Houston would not have had to raise an army to fight Santa Anna. There would not have been a battle at the Alamo. Today a wall would be in place to keep people from crossing the border illegally from Mexico. The thirteen members of the Continental Congress should have built a wall along the Atlantic Ocean. King George should have been informed in the Declaration of Independence that a wall had been built to keep his army out of the colonies. Up to three lanterns could have been put in the window to warn Paul Revere. One by land, two by sea and three, King George's army is coming over the walls. Who knows how the Civil War between the states would have come out if the South had built a wall dividing the North from the South. General Robert E. Lee should have made a suggestion to build a wall before the South started the secession of states. The South would remain on one side of the wall and the North on the other. There would not have been a battle cry, "Remember the Alamo." Paul Revere could have taken the night off. Ulysses S. Grant may not have been known as a popular general. Advocates of the movement for water security on Wednesday urged the government and the private sector. In a statement, Sonny Sioson, Central Luzon Rice Farmers Cooperatives chairperson, said they have already been experiencing the impact of El Nino. We in the private sector composed of business and civil society [groups] cannot delay. We must now unite and move with a sense of urgency to attain our elusive, important and long neglected water security, he said. The phenomenon has a disastrous effects on agriculture, he said. He, however, said the government has failed to adopt rain harvesting as mandated under the Green Building Code. Citing studies of the Asian Development Bank in 2013 and 2016, he blamed the water crisis on the governments lack of good governance. To ease the impact of El Nino, Sioson said President Rodrigo Duterte should sign an executive order to create a body to oversee the more than 30 government water-related agencies. In addition, he said support must be given to the 18 major water basins using the integrated water resource management scheme for critical watersheds.Inspired by the unprecedented political will that the government demonstrated in Boracay and the war for Manila Bay, we the private sector are uniting nationally for the first time to participate in the movement for water security, according to the movement spearheaded by Ernesto Ordonez, a former member of Ramos Cabinet. We must address water security immediately because we have a serious global water crisis today, Ordonez said. READ: Full-blown El Nino drought threatens, weathermen warn El Nino is dangerous since the Philippines is among the most vulnerable countries to climate change, he added. He said more than 50 people die a day due to water-related diseases with nine-million people having no access to safe and potable water.in the tropical Pacific, including the Philippines this year. READ: El Nino threatens food security, senator warns Quite the opposite, the pope has squelched efforts to expose and punish those responsible for covering up abuses by McCarrick and others. The Wall Street Journal reports that in 2015, Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley -- whom Francis put in charge of handling the abuse crisis -- recommended the creation of a special tribunal to try bishops who ignore or cover up abuse. The pope rejected his proposal. Last year, O'Malley met with Francis in Rome where, the Journal reports, the pope "made it clear he would not authorize a full-fledged investigation into the McCarrick affair." He then "stunned" the cardinal by recommending that the U.S. bishops cancel a meeting at which they were to vote on penalties for bishops who neglect or cover up abuse -- suggesting they hold a spiritual retreat instead. When they held the meeting anyway last November, Francis forbade them from voting on the measures. And O'Malley -- ostensibly the pope's point man on sex abuse for the past five years -- was omitted from the speaker's list at the pope's sex abuse summit. DES MOINES --- There was a decided consensus among the mental health care advocates in the room: The proposed groundwork for a statewide childrens mental health care system being discussed is long overdue, is much appreciated and is incomplete. Please pass it as soon as possible, those advocates said. Legislation that would lay the foundation received its first public hearing Wednesday at the Iowa Capitol. The proposed legislation came from Gov. Kim Reynolds and was based on recommendations made by a panel of experts and stakeholders. Its a priority of ours, Reynolds said Wednesday during a news conference. Its the right thing to do. We dont have a childrens mental health system right now. Weve been talking about it for decades. As I said in the condition of the state (address), now is the time to act. The governors proposal establishes eligibility requirements, core services that must be provided statewide, aligns the new childrens system with the regionally-focused adult system, and creates a state board to oversee the new childrens system. Reynolds pledged during her 2018 campaign that she would work to expand birth control access for Iowa women. Her bill will receive its first legislative hearing Thursday in the Iowa House and is similar to the one that advanced Tuesday in the Iowa Senate. A spokeswoman for the governor spoke at Tuesdays hearing in the Senate, saying it is the governors passion to increase access to contraceptives and reduce barriers to reducing unintended pregnancies. Statehouse Republicans in 2017 eliminated state funding to any womens health care clinics that perform abortions. Critics of that decision note those clinics most of them from Planned Parenthood, four of which closed in Iowa as a result of the loss of state funding also provide birth control services. This is closing a gap (that occurred) after action was taken the last couple of years when some clinics closed, said Pam Jochum, a Democratic state senator from Dubuque who said she supports the new legislation. A Planned Parenthood representative also spoke at Tuesdays meeting in support of the proposal. Opposition to the new proposal came from faith-based organizations like the Iowa Catholic Conference and Concerned Women for Iowa. Miller-Meeks, Greene and Jochum, all of whom supported the proposal, discussed possible alterations, including a fee to help pharmacists to handle an increased workload, some minor liability for pharmacists to prevent reckless prescribing, and a reduced allotment for the first dispensing of birth control to a new patient. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In 1990, Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, then also a New York Times journalist, became the first husband-wife team to win a Pulitzer Prize for journalism, for their coverage of China's Tiananmen Square democracy movement. Kristof won his second Pulitzer in 2006 for what the judges called "his graphic, deeply reported columns that, at personal risk, focused attention on genocide in Darfur and that gave voice to the voiceless in other parts of the world." Kristof and WuDunn have written four best-selling books: Half the Sky, A Path Appears, China Wakes, and Thunder from the East. Oprah Winfrey devoted two full programs to their work, and they have been on countless other television programs. Half the Sky and A Path Appears each inspired a prime-time PBS documentary series. Archbishop Desmond Tutu dubbed Kristof as "an honorary African" for his reporting on conflicts there, and President Bill Clinton said: "There is no one in journalism, anywhere in the United States at least, who has done anything like the work he has done to figure out how poor people are actually living around the world, and what their potential is." By lunchtime in Washington, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley had yet to hear one word of televised testimony from Michael Cohen, President Donald Trumps former attorney who on Wednesday publicly accused the president of being a racist, a conman" and a "cheat." Even so, the Iowa Republican cast doubt over what Cohen was telling the House Oversight Committee, saying hes lied to Congress before. If theres some sort of evidence of any sort of wrongdoing he ought to turn it over to the Congress and if he did that, Id be interested in reviewing it, Grassley said Wednesday afternoon as the hearing was still underway. But I happen to be very skeptical that theres much of substance or else I think that he wouldve received a better plea agreement than he did from the prosecutors and wouldnt have been going to jail. The senators comments came amid a dramatic day of testimony before the U.S. House Oversight Committee, where a panel of lawmakers grilled Cohen about his assertion that the president had knowledge of a conspiracy to release internal Democratic National Committee emails and a slew of other accusations. That conduct, according to authorities, included increasing count of served meals beyond what was actually provided or submitting forms for dates on which no meals were served from the listed site, according to authorities. The overflow from the falsified forms was used to pay Steele's salary and create a retirement fund for her and it paid for salaries for family members who did a minimal amount of work for the program. Steele was also accused of using the program's credit card for personal purchases, including an exercise bike. Steele was also accused of falsifying mileage so she could claim reimbursements for 1,500 miles of monthly program-related travel she did not actually do. She did not report the money on her personal income tax returns, meaning she owes about $10,128 in taxes for the fraudulent mileage. Other employees and members of the volunteer board for the program began investigating Steele's actions with the help of federal authorities in 2016. The program had to close in late 2017 because of the fraud. Steele has also been accused of stealing money before. As expected, the U.S. Supreme Court didn't put an end to government's authority to seize the assets of private citizens, law-abiding or otherwise. But justices did declare that local and state governments in all 50 states cannot simply seize whatever they wish in ruling that the U.S. Constitution limits the amount of private property -- cash, cars, houses, etc. -- that can be taken and kept by claiming it may have been used in the commission of a crime. In the case of Tyson Timbs, an addict whose $40,000 SUV was seized after he was convicted of selling a few grams of heroin worth $280, the unanimous court declared that the U.S. Constitution's excessive fines prohibition also applies to state and local government seizures. That's what civil libertarians hoped would be the outcome of Timbs v. Indiana, a textbook case of the government overreach at work in too many seizures of property at the state and local levels. Justices, led by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, agreed. Writing for eight of the nine justices, she declared, The historical and logical case for concluding that the 14th Amendment incorporates the Excessive Fines Clause is overwhelming, she wrote. Child rights advocates on Wednesday expressed alarm over the 2.6-million unregistered Filipino children. At a news conference in Quezon City, Pauline de Guzman, Children Rights Network representative, blamed poverty and geographical barriers as two of the major reasons why many children could not have their births registered on time. Registration offices are too far away and the fee for birth registration is not affordable to the poor, she said. She said 2.6-million unregistered children was just 35 percent of the total unregistered Filipinos, adding this means that 7.5-million Filipinos do not have access to civil registry documents. Moreover, De Guzman said, to have an authenticated and valid civil registry for birth, death or marriage, one must secure a copy from the Philippine Statistics Authority, and not from the local civil registry. The number of PSA regional and field offices is not directly proportionate to the number of cities and municipalities in the country, she cited. She called for the digitization and establishment of a culturally sensitive barangay civil registration system to encourage more Muslims and members of the indigenous peoples communities to have their vital events registered as soon as possible. Maria Consolacion Salcedo, program officer of the Council for the Welfare of Children, said we [in the government] want to secure the welfare of the children. A birth certificate is the only piece of legal document a child needs from the day he or she is born. Without it, everything is affected, she told the conference.Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat said I was indeed very shocked to know there are 2.6-million children without registration. When I was then a mayor, the municipal government waived the fees for birth registration and even late registration, he said. He said many local government units have not relaxed their policies in collecting fees for birth, marriage and death registration. The indigenous people are the most marginalized sector [of society] and lack the political voice not only in the national government but also in the local government [level] for their basic services, he said. Even the unions of indigenous peoples solemnized by a native priest or whatever you call him are not documented. Baguilat, a three-term congressman, said the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Bill he filed was still at the committee level. The menace of such white-supremacist terrorism is real and growing. Debacles such as Smollett's apparent hoax do nothing but provide excuses to ignore the threat. Were the news media too credulous in their initial reporting about Smollett's claim? Not necessarily. A well-known person reported being assaulted, and Chicago police said they were taking his story seriously. Smollett had suffered minor injuries and been treated at a hospital. I don't know what reporters were supposed to do except report the facts as far as they were known -- absent concrete evidence that those facts were fabrications. Police now say that the scratches on Smollett's face were self-inflicted and that he paid two men $3,500 to rough him up -- gently -- so he could become more famous and demand more money for his role in the Fox series "Empire." But nobody knew that at first. When new facts gradually emerged that cast doubt on Smollett's account, those facts were reported. I also don't blame "Empire" cast members who stood by Smollett. It is only natural to want to support a friend and colleague who is in crisis. DAVENPORT International Blues Challenge winner and Iowa native Kevin "B.F." Burt is bringing blues education to Quad-Cities schools. His residency with the Mississippi Valley Blues Society teaching blues harmonica at schools in Milan, East Moline, Moline, Davenport, Bettendorf, and Pleasant Valley concludes with a free performance at The Mound, 1029 Mound St., in the Village of East Davenport, Thursday at 7 p.m. Burt, who's from Coralville, Iowa, was honored by the 2018 International Blues Challenge, in Memphis, Tenn. Representing the Central Iowa Blues Society, he won awards for First Place Solo/Duo, Best Solo/Duo Guitarist, and the Lee Oskar Award for Best Harmonica Player. Oskar is a world-renowned harmonica virtuoso, composer, producer, visual artist, musical explorer and harmonica manufacturer. After winning the Iowa Blues Challenge, the International Blues Challenge Finals represented the crowning event of the Blues Foundations five-day festival in January 2018. More than 800 musicians in approximately 250 bands, solo/duos, and youth showcase acts filled Beale Street venues day and night, according to blues.org. 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 Father Alfred Kunz disdained bookkeeping. He stuffed money from Sunday collections into trash bags, which he shoved under his desk inside St. Michael School. Envelopes fat with cash sat unopened, sometimes for months. If Kunz was following the church law that required him to have a parish finance committee, police could find no evidence of it. In early 1998, someone perhaps knowing about the priests tendency to stash money pried open the door and robbed the school. Then statues started to disappear from Catholic churches and other buildings around Wisconsin. Jesus, his arms open in welcome. St. Anthony, the patron of lost objects. The Virgin Mary. Kunz wrote a letter warning parishioners to be mindful of safety, but was loath to change his hospitable ways. Jesus welcomed sinners. Kunz couldnt let fear prevent him from doing the same. In the weeks following Kunzs death in March 1998, his flock and the police began to wonder whether his murder and the missing statues were connected. Perhaps the thief had targeted St. Michael that night. Perhaps Kunz had surprised his assailant when he returned from taping his radio show. Perhaps whoever stole the statues was the one who slit his throat. Two months after Kunzs death, police got a break in the case of the missing statues. They followed the lead to rural Necedah, Wis., to the shrine of the Queen of the Holy Rosary, Mediatrix of Peace. Kunz had been familiar with the place. Maureen OLeary, whom hed hired as principal of St. Michael School, lived in Necedah, which was about 80 miles from Dane. Kunz was an expert in the laws of the church, and the people who cared for the shrine sometimes turned to him with questions on theology. Back in 1949, the site where the shrine now stands was the home of Fred and Mary Ann Van Hoof and their children. If the faithful are to be believed, the familys life was transformed in November of that year, when Van Hoof, then 40, spied the Blessed Virgin Mary in the doorway of her bedroom. Several months later, as the humble wife and mother prayed, a glow emanated from the crucifix hanging on her bedroom wall. A voice said to her, Yes, pray, my child. Pray, pray and pray hard. On May 28, 1950, Van Hoof reportedly saw Mary again. Journal Sentinel files Reports by Mary Ann Van Hoof that she had been visited by the Virgin Mary inspired believers to build a shrine near Necedah. Van Hoof is shown in these archival photos. I was calling the family to dinner and as I stooped over to brush a mosquito off my leg I noticed a flash of light, Van Hoof wrote. I looked up, and out through the screen door I saw a blue mist behind the ash trees. Then out of the mist I visioned the figure of Our Holy Mother. Oh, She was so radiant and beautiful! An artist could not paint Her to do Her justice. During that visitation, the Blessed Virgin gave Van Hoof a list of dates on which she would return. The news could not be contained. On Aug. 15, 1950, a crowd estimated at 100,000 flocked to the Necedah farm. Van Hoof blessed the assembly with the crucifix that had glowed in her bedroom and repeated the Virgins new message into a microphone for all to hear. Half of America is involved with the enemy of God, she said, in part. Some are innocent. They are just stumbling in the darkness. You Christians here, wake those up! They do not know what they are doing. They are listening to Satan, who is wrapping himself around so many of you. For 34 years, according to the believers, the apparitions continued, and not just of the Virgin Mary. Van Hoof spoke of receiving messages from several other saints, including the archangel Michael, patron saint of Kunzs church. In 1950 and 1951, her followers say, Van Hoof suffered the stigmata, the crucifixion wounds of Jesus, as her arms stretched so securely to an invisible cross that five men could not budge them. Pilgrims told of their rosaries turning to gold and of the sun swirling, radiating green and pink and platinum light. Many also claimed to be miraculously cured of disability and disease, even as Van Hoof grew old and her visions ceased; even after she died in 1984 at age 74. One man, who called himself Brother Joseph after the Virgin Marys husband, gave testimony of being healed twice once after a botched knee surgery and once when an intestinal blockage left him immobile and near death. I took a little trip to hell, he said. I was going to die. And I came here. And on the feast of St. Joseph, I got fixed. Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Volunteers have been working for decades to build a church on the site of the Queen of the Holy Rosary, Mediatrix of Peace Shrine in Necedah. The shrine, which includes 14 religious and patriotic grottoes, was built on the site where Mary Ann Van Hoof claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary in 1949 and 1950. Two Roman Catholic bishops in the Diocese of La Crosse, John Treacy in 1955 and Frederick Freking in 1975, denounced Van Hoofs visions as fallacy. Still, by the time Kunz was murdered in 1998, a core group of about 150 families, known around the region as shriners, remained devoted to her message. At that time, Kunzs parish was said to be one of only two in the region to welcome the shriners. Several were known to have attended Mass at St. Michael, including Brother Joseph, whose real name was Jeffrey L. Maas. Read the documents Read the documents Maas became a suspect in the case of the missing statues after he allegedly stole one during a funeral at Holy Assumption Church in West Allis. A mourner noticed a man fitting Maas description outside, loading a bulky object into his Chevy Chevette. Another tipster alerted authorities that Maas was building a shed in a wooded area. Confronted by police, Maas told them communists were about to burn down all the Catholic churches and an asteroid would soon strike the earth. He led them to what looked like a mountain of pine branches not far from the shrine in Necedah. Brushing the boughs aside, the officers found a tunnel and ventured into the darkness. The beams of their flashlights illuminated a floor reinforced with wood, then revealed cardboard boxes lining the metal walls. And then: human figures. Startled, it took the cops a minute to realize the people huddled together as if in conversation were actually some of the missing statues. The massive shed and two others rented by Maas housed everything the shriners would need to survive Armageddon: books, bikes, clothes, rifles and lots and lots of oatmeal. To ensure the Catholic Church would go on after the asteroid came, he had collected not only 29 statues, but also clerical collars, religious books, calendars, chalices and communion wafers. Authorities estimated there was enough to fully outfit 10 churches. Maas also had moved all the worldly possessions of two recently deceased shriners into the sheds. Journal Sentinel files Jeffrey A. Mass was convicted of nine crimes for stealing religious items from churches around Wisconsin. Some of the items were displayed by police in this 1998 photo. Journal Sentinel files Jeffrey A. Mass was convicted of nine crimes for stealing religious items from churches around Wisconsin. Some of the items were displayed by police in this 1998 photo. Maas said he had taken supplies only from liberal churches, which had strayed so far from tradition they would probably be getting rid of them soon anyway. In the end, Maas pleaded guilty to nine charges and was sentenced to probation. Asked about Kunz, Maas told police he thought the priest was gay, so he didnt trust him. But he said he bore Kunz no ill will and denied killing him. Maas gave a DNA sample, which didnt match anything found at the scene of the murder. Maas also gave an alibi for the night Kunz was murdered. He said he was with his dear friend Brother Francis King, who had helped him build one of the storage sheds. Brother Francis swore Maas was with him that night, and police found no reason to doubt his word. View key locations Click on a point to learn more about key locations in this chapter How we reported this story In reporting this story, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Gina Barton conducted dozens of interviews with those involved in the case. She attended the 20th anniversary Requiem Mass for Father Alfred Kunz and visited the Queen of the Holy Rosary Mediatrix of Peace shrine in Necedah, Wis. The Dane County Sheriffs Department declined to release its case file to the Journal Sentinel, citing an exemption to the states public records law for open cases. Barton reviewed 50 pages of department reports that had been released to the Journal Sentinel in 1998 and remained on file in the newsroom. Those reports document the initial police response to the 911 call and several interrogations of Brian Jackson and people who knew him. Barton read court records, archival records detailing events at the shrine and portions of Malachi Martins book on exorcism, Hostage to the Devil. She also reviewed dozens of print and television news reports about the Kunz homicide and investigation. In addition, Barton listened to seven and a half hours of the Our Catholic Family and Our Apostolic Church radio programs. Recordings of the programs were provided to the news organization by Peter Kelly, who produced them. Descriptions of Kunzs feelings, beliefs, experiences and teachings were taken from statements he made on the show in 1997 and early 1998. Father Charles Fiore also spoke on some of the recordings. Details and quotes in scenes were obtained through interviews with those present or from police reports, court records, transcripts, archived news reports, video recordings or audio recordings. Brian Jackson spoke briefly in person to Journal Sentinel reporter Ashley Luthern. He said he is innocent and believes the investigation was waylaid by the fact detectives spent so much time on him. He declined a detailed interview, saying his lawyer had advised against it. Jacksons thoughts, feelings and interactions with Kunz, as conveyed in the story, come from police reports in which he described them to detectives. In all other instances in which peoples thoughts are described, they conveyed those thoughts to a reporter. Throughout the series, quotation marks indicate a subjects exact words as written in a transcript, as recalled by a party to the conversation or as stated to a reporter, either now or at the time of the incident. Italics indicate statements recalled or summarized by a third party in an interview, a news story or an investigative document, such as a police report. People who provided information for this chapter include Lt. Kerry Porter, Jeffrey Maas and Francis King. Anyone with information about the murder of Father Alfred Kunz is asked to call the Dane County Sheriff's Department tip line at 608-284-6900. 3 hours ago | June 30th | 2021 7:00 AM How This Food Industry Innovator Used His Experience Working for the World's Biggest Brands to Transform Chipotle In Just 3 Years Since food industry innovator and leader Brian Niccol joined Chipotle Mexican Grill (Nasdaq: CMG) as its CEO in 2018, the company has been virtually unstoppable. Within two years of his tenure, nearly all 2,500 Chipotle locations had been retrofitted for the future with digital ordering capabilities, and the business President Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday night he will summon the mother of opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV over her alleged anomalous dealings with the Philippine Navy.In his speech during the general assembly of local government leaders at the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, Duterte said the government had the power to summon Trillanes mother. You went overboard. We will initiate an investigation like you, and I will subpoena your mother whether you like it or not, Duterte said. You may say we have no power, there is. We also have the contempt power, but we have to go to court. But Trillanes said Duterte would just end up embarrassing himself again if he subpoenas his mother. Duterte is threatening to subpoena my mother. Just do it and let it be another humiliating episode for you like the fake offshore bank accounts you alleged against me, Trillanes said in a statement. Dutertes statement was in connection with the governments investigation into the supposed business dealings of Trillanes mother, Estelita, with the Philippine Navy.Trillanes then hit back at the President for not showing a shred of evidence to back up his claims. Since September last year, Duterte has been saying that he asked different agencies to investigate the supposed anomalous transactions of my mother. But up to now, he has yet to show even a shred of evidence to prove his baseless allegations, Trillanes said. Now Duterte is threatening to subpoena my mother. Just do it and let it be another humiliating episode for you like the fake offshore bank accounts you alleged against me. The difficult thing with Duterte is since he cant harass me, he is now singling out my sick mother. Go ahead, do your worst while I count the days. At the height of the Presidents revocation of Trillanes amnesty in September 2018, Duterte claimed Trillanes mother had supply transactions with the Philippine Navy when the lawmaker and his father were still in the military service. A month after that, the President said the supposed dealings were being investigated. Trillanes has since slammed Duterte for dragging his 84-year-old mother, who currently suffers from advanced Parkinsons disease, into their political quarrels. So according to another editorial by The Post-Star, Sen. Daphne Jordan, the Republican senator from Halfmoon who wants to create a work group to do a study on the effects of splitting off NYC and surrounding areas, is really just grandstanding for the people and wasting her time. Evidently the editorial board regards this as a joke and thinks it has zero chances of ever happening. I mean, after all, why would people up in the North Country wanna get rid of the trash infested, polluted coast lines and waterways down in this overpopulated cesspool? How could the nature lovers and outdoor people of the North Country, along with lifelong hunters, ever do without the Democrats from the city ramming their ridiculous and never-ending gun laws down our throats? After all, why would we ever wanna be free from city politicians, city government, and the over regulation, due to the concrete cesspool to the south? The local residents of the Adirondacks just love having the city its around all summer long, they bring along their arrogance, their rude behavior, their stress and tension, plus their rotten attitudes. What's not to like? And why would the locals up here wanna be separated from these backcountry explorers of nature? Where else can we go for a nice, leisurely drive through the Adirondacks with our families and have some stressed out idiot from the city riding on our back bumpers, blasting the horn at us? Stefaniks NY-21 Congressional District includes Fort Drum. This is the third time Stefanik has voted with the Democrats on this border security issue. She voted on two occasions to reopen the government without funding for a border wall. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took the unusual step of speaking from the House floor, saying that the U.S. Constitution set up three co-equal branches of government to serve as a check and balance on each other. We are not going to give any president Democratic or Republican a blank check to shred the Constitution of the United States. We would be delinquent in our duties as members of Congress if we did not overturn what the president is proposing, she said. Republican U.S. Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri offered a rebuttal, saying that President Barack Obama had requested emergency funding in 2014 to deal with the crisis at the southern border. He said drug trafficking is a serious problem and Trump has the authority to invoke the national emergency as provided in the statute. The president is acting within the authority that Congress has given him, Graves said. SOUTH GLENS FALLS There will be no debate among the four candidates running for Village Board. Former Mayor Joe Orlow and board member Tim Carota, the only incumbent running, have decided not to participate in a League of Women Voters debate. Their challengers, two Democrats, both agreed to the debate. The League of Women Voters has a policy, however, of not staging debates if only one party will attend. If there was one from each party, we would do it, said League of Women Voters official Charlotte Druschel. But theyre both from one party. Were not going to do that. She said Orlow and Carota both declined the Leagues offer of a debate. Mr. Orlow and Mr. Carota did not want a debate, she said, adding that both men said they respect the League. In an email to The Post-Star, Carota said he was simply not interested in a debate. Orlow did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Later, Carota explained in another email that he saw no need for a debate. Defense claims prosecutorial misconduct in 'kidnapping' case FORT EDWARD The defense lawyer for a man accused of kidnapping a 12-year-old Hudson Falls girl in September has asked for charges against hi Police used technology to trace her to New York City, and she was found unharmed two days later, after meeting up with another man who has been charged with first-degree rape for an alleged sexual encounter with her in New York City after she left Torres. Torres told police he thought the girl was 18 from the online correspondence they had. A New York City detective testified Wednesday that Torres expressed surprise to learn her real age from police after she left his Staten Island apartment the morning of Sept. 27. The girl looked considerably older than 12 at the time of her disappearance. Second person charged in connection with Hudson Falls runaway case A second man has been charged in connection with the September case in which a 12-year-old Hudson Falls girl ran away to New York City, prompt Detective Omar Delcid said Torres told police the matter was a big misunderstanding and that when he found out the girls age, he took her to the Staten Island Ferry station at her request. Delcid said Torres called him after learning that police were looking for him, and asked to come down to the precinct to explain what happened. He was questioned for about an hour and was later turned over to State Police, who brought him to Washington County Delcid said he believed Torres reaction when told the girls true age wasnt genuine, although he didnt elaborate on why he drew that conclusion. August 28, 1925 February 21, 2019 QUEENSBURY Marie Ann Hamalainen, 93, passed away peacefully at home on Feb. 21, 2019. She was born in Flatbush, Brooklyn, on Aug. 28, 1925. She had a wonderful, happy childhood thanks to her loving parents, Santina and Frank Sanfilippo, both deceased. Marie had good memories of elementary and high school. She cemented relationships with friends, which were still ongoing through the years. I was never a conformist, always did my own thing, kind of like a maverick, and always stood up for my convictions. I met my young husband who was serving in the Navy, then our very unorthodox wedding ceremony. After time, gave birth to two beautiful girls, and after 73 years of marriage, we are still in love. Marie Ann was a loving wife to husband Henry Whitey and a loving mother of two girls, Linda Ganci and her husband, John, and Diane Bell and her husband, Kenneth; and had eight grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. She was a housewife and mother for many years; president of the high school PTA; did volunteer work; and was a member of Catholic Women for many years. She married Charles Lynn Stewart on June 14, 1947. They had two children, David and Brenda, while living in Montpelier, Vermont. Beas family was her pride and joy! She especially loved babies and little children and would light up whenever she interacted with them. She was a Girl Scout leader when her daughter was a troop member. Bea enjoyed knitting and was always knitting something for her family or to give to the church sales. She also made several ceramic pieces for her home at ceramics class. She had a green thumb and was great at growing African Violets. She always had them in bloom on her living room table by the big window. Bea and Bud looked forward to their Friday night dinners with the Bartholomews and other friends at local restaurants. They took turns choosing the restaurants. Michael Goot reporter - Warren County, crime, education and politics Follow Michael Goot 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 News flash. Reporters make mistakes, but it does not have to be a federal case. On Feb. 20, I received an email with the subject line Re: false information you wrote. That concerned me. I worried I had misquoted somebody or had wrong figures in an article. When I opened the email, it was from someone named Greg Fisher from a website called Truth and Falsity.com, pointing out that I accidentally referring to Chuck Schumer as the Senate majority leader, instead of the minority leader, in a blog I wrote on Jan. 14 about the average citizen not being able to get a timely response from elected officials about the border wall and border security funding during the government shutdown. He asked if anybody edited my piece before it ran. I wrote back to Fisher, thanking him for pointing out the error and saying that I could fix it online. I said that blogs are typically self-edited. That explanation did not satisfy him and he wrote back: The odds of your missing the i key and striking the a (with your right hand, crossing to the extreme left side of the keyboard) are very small. Granted, j and n are adjacent on keyboards, but smaller still are the odds that that was followed by j instead of n, perfectly forming the exact opposite word that you meant to type. Monday 8:30 am: Conservative Breakfast Meeting (locations vary, email Doug for information) Monday 6:00 pm: Huntington Beach Constitution Class, Bergman Family Chiropractic 18582 Beach BlvdHuntington Beach Tuesday 8:30 am: Bible Study Tuesday 11:00 am: Fallbrook Constitution Class, Emmanuel Baptist Church, 911 E Elder St Fallbrook, CA Tuesday 3:00 pm: Constitution Class Online with Scott McKay, Patriot Streetfighter, www.scottmckay.us Tuesday 6:00 pm: San Juan Capistrano Constitution Class, Bravo's California Fresh31772 Rancho Viejo Road, San Juan Capistrano Wednesday 3:00 pm: Constitution Association Weekly Executive Meeting (all welcome to attend), 412 Murrieta Church, 41831 McAlby Ct., Murrieta, CA Wednesday 5:00 pm: Temecula Valley Constitution Class, 412 Murrieta Church, 41831 McAlby Ct., Murrieta, CA(Note: Location for both meeting and class to change by June 16) Thursday 10:00 am: Beaumont Constitution Class, Marla's Cocina1310 E. 6th Street, Beaumont Thursday 11:30 pm: Post Class Lunch/Meeting with Banning/Beaumont/Cherry Valley Tea Party, Marla's Cocina, 1310 E. 6th Street, Beaumont Thursday 6:00 pm: Carlsbad Constitution Class, Health From Within Family Wellness Center1818 Marron Rd., #103, Carlsbad, CA 92008(zoom available, go to www.1776foreverfree.com for details) Friday 6:00 pm (once per month): Murrieta/Temecula Republican Assembly Meeting, see www.mtra.club for details Saturday 1:00 - 3:00 pm: Constitution Radio, KMET 1490-AM Sunday 5:00 - 7:00 pm: For the Republic, www.patriotssoapbox.com Various times during the weekend: The Show Podcast, www.theshow57401.buzzsprout.com PXP Energy Corp. is trying to convince China National Offshore Oil Corp. to proceed with the joint exploration of Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea after its initial effort received a cool response, its top executive said Wednesday. PXP Energy chairman Manuel Pangilinan said the company reached out to CNOOC several weeks ago but did not receive a response. Radio silence on their part. Im just assuming that they have not gotten permission from their government. We tried to reach out to them, Pangilinan said. PXP Energy, through Forum Energy Ltd., controls Service Contract 72 (Recto Bank) and SC 75 (Northwest Palawan), which are under moratorium amid the territorial dispute with China. PXP Energy asked the Department of Energy to lift the moratorium in the wake of closer ties with China. PXP Energy is hoping to continue its exploration activities in the said service contracts once the moratorium is lifted. The Energy Department forwarded PXP Energys request to the Foreign Affairs Department, the agency involved with China. I understand the DoE has written to DFA because clearly, it involves the relationship with China. I believe thats where it is. We have not officially been advised what is the next step for us, Pangilinan said. The Philippines and China last year formed a panel on the way forward for a possible joint exploration in the West Philippine Sea. Pangilinan wanted to talk with Chinas state-owned company to revive exploration in SC 72. He earlier said PXP Energy planned to conduct a seismic survey once the moratorium was lifted.SC 72, which covers an 8,800-square-kilometer area west off Palawan, is estimated to contain bigger oil/gas reserves than the Malampaya gas project. We have to send a survey ship into the area to do the final validation and establish the baseline position of the ecology where were likely to drill and find the potential sites for two exploratory wells, he said. Pangilinan also said he was waiting for developments on the planned liquefied natural gas project of Phoenix Petroleum Philippines and CNOOC. Tanglawan Philippines LN, Inc., the joint venture of Phoenix and CNOOC, was granted a notice to proceed to construct the $2-billion LNG project. PXP Energy previously announced that it would acquire up to a 49-percent interest in the planned LNG project of Phoenix as a part of the subscription agreement with Dennison Holdings Corp. Phoenix and Dennison are companies owned by Davao City-based businessman Dennis Uy. Dennison paid the initial downpayment of P40.29 million for the subscription of its shares in PXP Energy with the full payment due by March 31. Dennison agreed on Oct. 26 agreed to subscribe to 340 million common shares in PXP Energy at an aggregate subscription price of P4.03 billion. He was cited for assaulting a sheriff's deputy on June 3, after law enforcement was called to a reported shooting in the 2300 block of Golden Avenue in Raleigh. They did not find a shooting victim, but they found Hinton and took him to the hospital. The sheriff's office said at the time that Hinton "became combative and resisted treatment" in the ambulance. "Say you had a plane crash," she said. "You had 17 people die in this plane crash, and you did an investigation and found out that the pilot didn't know how to fly his plane. And then we did another report and we found out that most of our pilots didn't know how to fly planes. Do you feel that we're really putting that same sense of urgency into the corrective actions in our surface force?" In the months since, the board's work has proceeded in fits and starts. Consensus reached one week will fall apart by the next, or even within the span of a few minutes as it did when the board agreed, after months of back-and-forth, on how to conduct Boone's mid-year evaluation. One moment, it seemed board members would reconvene later to discuss their feedback, in the next Gabriel was calling for a vote to do it then, and in the next there was agreement to wait. From the witness stand Tuesday, Cromwell said he had finished his security check on the clubhouse grounds when Chen pulled into the driveway. Cromwell said the van was pulling into the area after hours and he went to investigate, parking his car in front of Chen's van. He said he recognized Chen as he got out of his security vehicle. In them, Butkiewicz threatened to punch the senator in the jaw and shoot him in the head, the prosecutor said. In one, he said he was going to wait outside Warner's house and fire at him when he came outside. None of the council members replied to the speakers about whether they support what Baron's doing, but most have been silent for months. Three have told The Pilot they support what Baron's doing because it's legal, it makes the city money, and it's his decision. Mayor Kenny Alexander has said he supports what Baron's doing because it's legal, but has also said he wants to hold a public hearing about the issue to learn more about it. Why the move? Growth and time off. I spent all my time in Virginia Beach and had never even been to Norfolk. I was always working. The minute I walked into Voila! for an interview, it was love at first sight. The intimacy of the space impressed me and felt immediately like home. I went from a "churn and burn" pace in a more tourist-focused location to one where I can peek out of the kitchen window and see the faces of the guests as they take their first bite of our food. ... from "hand to table." The feeling of seeing the results of your work is everything. And I love the spirit and energy of Norfolk. The crab cakes were delicious: a good amount of what appeared to be a crab had just a bit of binder and seasoning and was pan-seared until golden. The cakes were flavorful, and just the right size for brunch. I also enjoyed the eggs, which were light with a mostly-liquid yolk that mixed with the sauce and enriched the cakes and muffin. I love this burger. The peanut butter, which is made with Suffolk peanuts, is an umami siren and trips the light fantastic when paired with the meat. A contradictory flavor comes from the jelly, which in one bite is fruity, and the other spicy. What does the bacon offer? Well, you really shouldn't need to ask. American smartphone and computer parts manufacturer Ever Win International Corp. transferred its operations to the Philippines from China where the cost of doing business increased rapidly in recent years. Two more US electronic firms would soon join Ever Win while finalizing their strategies to operate in the Philippines, according to DTI Export Marketing Bureau director Senen Perlada. Perlada, who returned from a mission to Silicon Valley in the US, said a number of American companies were rethinking their investments in China and that most of them were looking at the Philippines as an investment location. He said the other two electronics firms were into artificial intelligence and integrated chips manufacturing. The US-China trade war is immaterial to the decisions of these companies to move out of China. Its more of sustainability and stability issues since China is fast becoming expensive, Perlada said at the launching of Global MSME Academy at the Philippine Trade Training Center in Pasay City. Ever Win already registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority to avail of existing tax incentives.The company manufactures and exports smartphone and computer parts to different parts of the world and carries various global and regional brands. Perlada said barely months of operating in the Philippines, the company was already looking for other economic zones in the country as the new site of another facility that it might transfer out of China. Ever Win maintains a business model where it entices suppliers to follow where they operate. The company is slowly shutting down their facilities in China but not all may be relocated to the Philippines, officials said. It plans to set up new facilities in different host countries to spread out risks. Meanwhile, the Global MSME Academy will help MSMEs develop and upgrade their capabilities to become more innovative and competitive for both local and foreign markets. To produce cannabinoids in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), UC Berkeley synthetic biologists first engineered yeast's native mevalonate pathway to provide a high flux of geranyl pyrophosphate (GPP) and introduced a hexanoyl-CoA biosynthetic pathway combining genes from five different bacteria. They then introduced Cannabis genes encoding the enzymes involved in olivetolic acid (OA) biosynthesis, a previously undiscovered prenyl transferase enzyme (CsPT4) and cannabinoid synthases. The synthases converted cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) to the cannabinoid acids THCA and CBDA, which, upon exposure to heat, decarboxylate to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), respectively. Credit: Jay Keasling lab, UC Berkeley University of California, Berkeley, synthetic biologists have engineered brewer's yeast to produce marijuana's main ingredientsmind-altering THC and non-psychoactive CBDas well as novel cannabinoids not found in the plant itself. Feeding only on sugar, the yeast are an easy and cheap way to produce pure cannabinoids that today are costly to extract from the buds of the marijuana plant, Cannabis sativa. "For the consumer, the benefits are high-quality, low-cost CBD and THC: you get exactly what you want from yeast," said Jay Keasling, a UC Berkeley professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and of bioengineering and a faculty scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. "It is a safer, more environmentally friendly way to produce cannabinoids." Cannabis and its extracts, including the high-inducing THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, are now legal in 10 states and the District of Columbia, and recreational marijuanasmoked, vaped or consumed as ediblesis a multibillion-dollar business nationwide. Medications containing THC have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to reduce nausea after chemotherapy and to improve appetite in AIDS patients. CBD, or cannabidiol, is used increasingly in cosmeticsso-called cosmeceuticalsand has been approved as a treatment for childhood epileptic seizures. It is being investigated as a therapy for numerous conditions, including anxiety, Parkinson's disease and chronic pain. But medical research on the more than 100 other chemicals in marijuana has been difficult, because the chemicals occur in tiny quantities, making them hard to extract from the plant. Inexpensive, purer sourceslike yeastcould make such studies easier. Plus, he added, there is "the possibility of new therapies based on novel cannabinoids: the rare ones that are nearly impossible to get from the plant, or the unnatural ones, which are impossible to get from the plant." Keasling, the Philomathia Foundation Chair in Alternative Energy at Berkeley, and his colleagues will report their results online Feb. 27 in advance of publication in the journal Nature. Plugging chemical pathways into yeast Cannabinoids join many other chemicals and drugs now being produced in yeast, including human growth hormone, insulin, blood clotting factors and recently, but not yet on the market, morphine and other opiates. One of the pioneers of synthetic biology, Keasling has long sought to exploit yeast and bacteria as "green" drug factories, eliminating the expensive synthetic or extractive processes common in the chemical industry and the often toxic or environmentally- damaging chemical byproducts. Cannabis cultivation is a prime example of an energy-intensive and environmentally-destructive industry. Farms in northwest California have polluted streams with pesticide and fertilizer runoff and helped drain watersheds because marijuana plants are water-hungry. Illegal grows have resulted in clear-cutting and erosion. Indoor cultivation under grow lights with ventilation fans uses a lot of energy, accounting for a growing percentage of annual power consumption. One study estimated that California's cannabis industry accounted for 3 percent of the state's electricity usage. Indoor grows have caused blackouts in some cities, and energy consumption can add more than $1,000 to the price of a pound of weed. Hence Keasling's interest in finding a "green" way to produce the active chemicals in marijuana. "It was an interesting scientific challenge," he admitted, that was akin to other challenges he and his team have successfully overcome in yeast: producing an antimalarial drug, artemisinin; turning plant waste into biofuels; synthesizing flavors and scents for the food and cosmetics industries and chemical intermediates for making new materials. "But when you read about cases of patients who have seizures and are helped by CBD, especially children, you realize there is some value in these molecules, and that producing cannabinoids in yeast could really be great." With approval and oversight by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agencycannabis is still illegal under federal lawBerkeley postdoc Xiaozhou Luo and visiting graduate student Michael Reiter, who led the project, started assembling in yeast a series of chemical steps to produce, initially, the mother of all cannabinoids, CBGA (cannabigerolic acid). In both marijuana and yeast, the chemical reactions involve the acid form of the compounds: CBGA and its derivatives, THCA and CBDA. They readily convert to CBG, THC and CBD when exposed to light and heat. Turning yeast into chemical factories involves co-opting their metabolism so that, instead of turning sugar into alcohol, for example, yeast convert sugar into other chemicals that are then modified by added enzymes to produce a new product, such as THC, that the yeast secrete into the liquid surrounding them. The researchers ended up inserting more than a dozen genes into yeast, many of them copies of genes used by the marijuana plant to synthesize cannabinoids. One step, however, proved to be a roadblock for Keasling's group and competing groups: an enzyme that performs a key chemical step in making CBGA in the marijuana plant didn't work in yeast. Rather than engineer a different synthetic pathway, Berkeley postdoc Leo d'Espaux and graduate student Jeff Wong went back to the plant itself and isolated a second enzyme, prenyl transferase, that does the same thing, and stuck it in the yeast. "It worked like gangbusters," Keasling said. Once they had yeast-producing CBGA, they added another enzyme to convert CBGA to THCA and a different enzyme to create a pathway to CBDA. Though the products the yeast produce are predominantly THC or CBD, Keasling said, each must still be separated from other chemicals present in tiny quantities. They also added enzymes that made the yeast produce two other natural cannabinoids, CBDV (cannabidivarin) and THCV (tetrahydrocannabivarin), whose effects are not well understood. Surprisingly, Xiaozhou and Michael discovered that the enzymatic steps involved in making CBGA in yeast are flexible enough to accept a variety of starter chemicalsdifferent fatty acids in place of the one used by the marijuana plant, hexanoic acidthat generate cannabinoids that do not exist in the plant itself. They also got the yeast to incorporate chemicals into cannabinoids that could later be chemically altered in the lab, creating another avenue for producing never-before-seen, but potentially medically useful, cannabinoids. Keasling subsequently founded an Emeryville, California, company, Demetrix Inc., which d'Espaux and Wong later joined, that licensed the technology from Berkeley to use yeast fermentation to make cannabinoids. "The economics look really good," Keasling said. "The cost is competitive or better than that for the plant-derived cannabinoids. And manufacturers don't have to worry about contaminationfor example, THC in CBDthat would make you high." Explore further Getting yeast to make artificial sweets More information: Complete biosynethesis of cannabinoids and their unnatural analogues in yeast, Nature (2019). www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-0978-9 Journal information: Nature Complete biosynethesis of cannabinoids and their unnatural analogues in yeast,(2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-0978-9 Two white-tailed deer seen in 2015 on a wildlife camera in eastern Washington state. Credit: University of Washington As gray wolves continue to make a strong comeback in Washington state, their presence can't help but impact other animalsparticularly the ones these large carnivores target as prey. White-tailed deer and mule deer, two distinct species common in Washington, are among wolves' favorite catch. Wolves will chase deer great distancessometimes upwards of 6 miles (10 kilometers)in search of a satisfying meal. How these two deer species respond to the threat of being pursued by wolves in the early years of this predator's return could shed light on changes to their behavior and numbers. To help answer this question, researchers from the University of Washington and other institutions monitored the behavior and activity of wolves and deer in Washington for three years. They found that mule deer exposed to wolves, in particular, are changing their behavior to spend more time away from roads, at higher elevations and in rockier landscapes. "In any particular ecosystem, if you have a predator returning, prey are unlikely to all respond similarly," said senior author Aaron Wirsing, an associate professor in the UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences. "We show that wolves don't have a uniform effect on different deer species." Their results were published Dec. 11 in the journal Oecologia. An adult gray wolf is caught on a wildlife camera in eastern Washington in 2015. Credit: University of Washington Wolves were completely wiped out from Washington early last century, but began returning to the state from Idaho, Montana and Canada about a decade ago. The latest estimates now show about 200 wolves in packs across eastern Washington. Both white-tailed and mule deer are important food for gray wolves. While they might look similar to an untrained eye, white-tailed deer and mule deer are very different animals: Mule deer are bigger, with large, dark ears and a black-tipped tail. White-tailed deer are smaller animals, boasting an unmistakably long tail with a white underside that stands straight up when alarmed. Aside from their physical characteristics, the two species differ in how they escape from predators. When chased, mule deer "stot," a quick bound with all four legs touching the ground at the same time. This bounding gait helps them negotiate all types of terrain and can give them an agility advantage over predators in rocky, uneven areas where it might be hard to run. By contrast, white-tailed deer sprint away from predators and rely on spotting them early enough to try to outrun them. Keeping these known escape tactics in mind, the research team focused on the "flight behavior" of deer living in areas where wolves have returned and in areas without wolves. The researchers chose four distinct study areas, all near the small town of Republic, Washington. All four areas are home to both species of deer, but only two were occupied by known wolf packs at the time of the investigation. A pair of wolves run across the landscape in eastern Washington in 2016. Credit: University of Washington In partnership with the Colville Tribes and the U.S. Forest Service, researchers set up wildlife cameras, captured and put collars on wolves and deer, and monitored the data from all of the collars over three years, from 2013 to 2016. This endeavor involved complex coordination and a dedicated team of UW students who were always ready to respond should an animal enter one of the traps. "That part of eastern Washington is really special," said lead author Justin Dellinger, who completed the work as a UW doctoral student and now works at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. "There is huge diversity of large mammals, including all of the native prey populations like big horn sheep, moose and deer. And now we're starting to see a full complement of native predators, like wolves, here as well." Overall, the researchers found that mule deer in gray wolf areas changed their behavior to avoid wolves altogethermainly by moving to higher, steeper elevations, away from roads and toward brushy, rocky terrain. Alternately, white-tailed deer that favor sprinting and early detection as ways to escape from predators were more likely to stick to their normal behavior in wolf areas, sprinting across open, gently rolling terrain with good visibilityincluding along roads. "Mule deer faced with the threat of wolves are really changing their home ranges, on a large scale," Wirsing said. "They appear to have shifted kilometers away from where they had been prior to the return of wolves, generally going up higher where the terrain is less smooth and where wolves are less likely to hunt successfully." These larger shifts among mule deer could affect hunting opportunities. Indeed, some hunters in eastern Washington have already reported seeing mule deer higher on ridges where they are less accessible than in past years, Wirsing said. Hunting for white-tailed deer likely won't change to the same degree with the presence of wolves, the results suggest. Long term, changes among mule deer in wolf areas could affect other parts of the ecosystem, and perhaps reduce the number of deer-vehicle collisions. These possible impacts are tantalizing fodder for future studies, Wirsing added. Explore further White-tailed deer shape acoustic properties of their forest habitat More information: Justin A. Dellinger et al, Habitat use of sympatric prey suggests divergent anti-predator responses to recolonizing gray wolves, Oecologia (2018). Journal information: Oecologia Justin A. Dellinger et al, Habitat use of sympatric prey suggests divergent anti-predator responses to recolonizing gray wolves,(2018). DOI: 10.1007/s00442-018-4323-z The ancient Italian city of Pozzuoli was shaped by volcanic activity. Credit: Kurt Hickman High above Italy's Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, 13 students sit atop Stromboli Volcano as it erupts. Ash falls on their shoulders and ping-ping-pings their helmets. The ground beneath their feet trembles. "It's one thing to read and talk about seismic and volcanic hazard; it's another thing to experience it," said geophysicist Tiziana Vanorio, an assistant professor in Stanford's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (Stanford Earth). "I wanted to share this with them." The journey to Stromboli had begun the day before in Vanorio's hometown, Pozzuoli, a colorful port city founded by the Greeks and later occupied by the Romans, at the center of a volcanic caldera, or depression, known as Campi Flegrei. Vanorio, the 13 students and two teaching associates boarded a hydrofoil in Naples and sailed south across the deep blue water of the Tyrrhenian for nearly four quiet hours before catching sight of smoke, steam and gases puffing from Stromboli's cone. Reaching the top would prove more arduous a five-hour climb up steep slopes of ash and rock. Sedimentologist Nora Nieminski, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford Earth and a guest instructor on the trip, sprinted ahead to shoot drone footage that she would later help the students manipulate to create 3-D models of the volcano. But the rest of the group walked without hurry. Halfway to the top, they stopped to rest near a dark scar on the volcano's northern flank known as the Sciara del Fuoco, where the volcano has collapsed on itself. Dionne Thomas, '20, a student on the trip who is majoring in chemical engineering, remembers smelling dirt and ash, seeing the Tyrrhenian Sea reflecting the sky's late-afternoon wash of orange and blue, and counting down the minutes between small bursts of lava from a caldera upslope. While she noticed the weight of exhaustion from the long climb, she said, "I felt really strong." Romans used concrete made with volcanic ash to build long-lasting structures like the amphitheater in Pozzuoli, Italy. Credit: Nora Nieminski Thomas and the 12 other students on the trip visited Stromboli as part of a three-week seminar in southern Italy focused on volcanoes, archaeology and the science of Roman concrete an exceptionally durable material that may hold insights for future materials that are more sustainable or even suitable for building habitats on Mars. Offered through Stanford's Bing Overseas Studies Program, the seminar is an opportunity to draw visceral connections between science and history, and to gain a better understanding of Earth along the way. Nature's laboratory The Neapolitan Province in southern Italy is an ideal place to dive into the science of natural hazards and how they have played into daily life and innovation over thousands of years. Densely populated and peppered with dozens of volcanoes, the region ranks as one of the most hazardous on Earth. The ruins of a Roman harbor and an emperor's villa can be found offshore, sunken like Atlantis as a result of unrest in Earth's crust. "Not many places on Earth experience this kind of seismicity and volcanism, while being an ancient town and functioning as a modern society," Vanorio said. "That's the beauty of the place." Underlying the seminar's excursions and daily lessons in geophysics, the properties of Roman concrete and 3-D modeling from drone images was a larger exercise in finding connections between different fields of study. It's no accident that students chosen to participate in the seminar represented a wide range of majors, including computer science, physics, classics, chemical engineering and political science. Parts of Pozzuolis ancient architecture contain records of long-term subsidence and brief periods of uplift. Rapid uplift during the 1980s left the towns harbor too shallow for docking. Credit: Kurt Hickman "There are still scientific questions that we don't know how to answer," said Vanorio, who discovered natural processes deep in the subsurface of Campi Flegrei that mirror those in Roman concrete, and has used historical texts to shed light on strengths and the characteristics of both volcanic and engineered materials. "The more we leverage knowledge across different disciplines, the more we can address and solve those problems." For Amara McCune, BS '18, who joined a previous seminar in the region led by Vanorio in 2016, the intermingling of geophysics with dives into the region's culture proved a powerful mix. "The unique combination of learning about Pompeii, volcanic uplift and Rome while being on-site, hearing from local guides and having archaeological and geological experts point out features of a location made for an incredibly rich learning experience," she said. Now pursuing a Ph.D. in physics, McCune said the seminar in southern Italy helped to broaden her thinking about how she might apply her degree. "It made me more open to different fields and eager to learn the history and intricacies of the natural world around us," she said. During the most recent trip, darkness fell as the group, giddy in anticipation of the volcano's powerful eruptions, settled in around Stromboli's rim. "It explodes violently and without warning these big, loud bang explosions followed by incandescent ash flying into the air," explained Dulcie Head, a teaching assistant on the trip and a Ph.D. student in geophysics. By this time, the students could see the ash swirling around them as more than volcanic dirt. They knew that similar ash had been a key ingredient in construction of the amphitheater, harbor and ancient marketplace in Pozzuoli, and even the Pantheon in Rome, with its massive, unreinforced dome the largest in the ancient world. Students swam through a sunken Roman resort town in the underwater archaeological park of Baiae off the coast of Pozzuoli. Credit: Kurt Hickman "Pozzuoli is possibly the place where Romans, by looking at nature, were inspired to make an iconic material," Vanorio said. They developed a recipe for concrete that lasts for thousands of years using volcanic ash, lime, tiny volcanic rocks and water, while modern concrete often crumbles within 50 years. Atop Stromboli, which scientists carefully monitor for safety, the students also had enough Earth science churning through their heads to see the volcano itself as a natural laboratory. "This volcano is literally producing new rocks as we're sitting here. It's throwing them at us," Head explained. "It's exciting to see such an active process, where a natural event also produces new materials." The group bounced and slid down a path on the volcano's slopes wearing gas masks to protect their lungs from ash and sand kicked up by their feet. Back at their hotel at the foot of the island, they peeled off their masks and washed away Stromboli's detritus. Later, the group learned how to calculate the trajectory and velocity of the volcano's arcing ash projectiles with particle-tracking software. "This was one way for us to use time-lapse images," Vanorio said. "I wanted students from Earth science, from the classics, and engineers to learn how to use this tool because we are finding ourselves using these kinds of images more and more often captured by drone whether it's to analyze inaccessible outcrops of rocks or map vast ancient sites or a building." What could have seemed like abstract calculations took on greater resonance in light of the group's up-close encounter with the eruption. "I'll never forget the bright sparks of the eruption against the dark night," said Sylvia Choo, '20, who is majoring in classics and biology. "It was incredible to experience the great force of nature." The market, or Macellum, in Pozzuoli carries a visible record of the restless lands rise and fall over 2,000 years. Credit: Stanford University Ancient city Some 150 miles across the cool Tyrrhenian, within the Campi Flegrei or "Burning Fields" caldera, lies downtown Pozzuoli. In this city best known to many Italians as the birthplace of Sophia Loren, the ruins of a Roman marketplace are a hub for cross-disciplinary connections. Pozzuoli sits on a restless, Manhattan-sized swath of coast where the rotten-egg smell of sulfur laces the air. Solfatara crater, home of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, gurgles on the edge of town. And just offshore, sculptures, thermal baths, a villa, bright tiled mosaics and other archaeological ruins rest more than 30 feet below sea level, victims of the caldera's subsidence. Near Pozzuoli's modern-day waterfront, three columns stand amid the ruins of the old marketplace, or Macellum. The students knew from their studies on campus in the spring that the marble trio held a 2000-year record of long-term subsidence and brief periods of uplift. So as the columns came into view when the group first walked down from their villa residence, several students exclaimed, "Oh, there they are!" Gathering close to the columns for a lecture from Vanorio while Nieminski's drone buzzed overhead, they could see bands of tiny holes bored by so-called "stone-eater" mussels marine mollusks that drilled up and down the columns as the rise and fall of the caldera changed how much of the structures extended above the waterline. "They literally made a mark on history," Choo said. Students hiked Mount Vesuvius to get a firsthand view of how the volcano shaped the region. Credit: Stanford University Using skills developed in on-campus seminars led by Nieminski, the students were able to analyze history at the Macellum and other sites with a lighter touch. They built 3-D models of the marketplace from Nieminski's drone imagery and manipulated them with software to take measurements and answer scientific questions of their own devising. Thomas, for example, examined the different materials in the columns to understand how weathering and water pressure from below played out over time. The project, she said, allowed her to weave together knowledge from chemical engineering, physics and math, as well as the geophysics lessons from the seminar. "After this seminar, I am even more convinced that many fields can overlap," she said. Restless Earth Ups and downs are part of the fabric of life in Pozzuoli. In the early 1980s, the ground rose more than 6 feet in just two years, an alarming rate of uplift that reshaped the town, leaving the harbor too shallow for docking and forcing the relocation of schools and shops. The rising seabed also triggered enough earthquakes to prompt evacuation of nearly 40,000 people including Vanorio, then a teenager for two years beginning in 1982. "Everyone was worried," she said. "People were expecting an eruption, and we were really concerned about the seismic hazard. The houses were not retrofitted seismically." 3D reconstruction of the Macellum based on the survey and drawings by A.N. Caristie (1820). Credit: Stanford University But as seminar students learned through lectures and readings this summer, the episode tipped off Stanford scientists to an unusual toughness in the rock here. Other volcanic calderas, like Yellowstone or the Long Valley, located east of Yosemite National Park, tend to release the energy accumulated from uplift fairly soon through earthquakes. "Those calderas experience uplift and then almost immediately, seismic activity starts," Vanorio explained. "The rocks deform and then they fracture." In Pozzuoli, earthquakes didn't begin until the Campi Flegrei caldera had deformed by nearly 3 feet. "The question from a rock physics point of view has been, what kind of rocks in the subsurface are able to accommodate such large strain without immediately cracking?" The rock capping this caldera, it turns out, contains fibrous minerals mirroring those in Roman concrete that allow it to stretch and bend before failing under stress. At the marketplace, Vanorio also pointed out that the durability of Roman concrete can be seen in sections of the ancient walls where the bricks made of tuff a kind of volcanic rock eroded away long ago, but the mortar made with volcanic ash and lime still remains. "At the end of the day, these ancient sites are made of Earth materials that degrade and change over time," Vanorio said. "We can use rock physics to understand those materials and learn to preserve them better." Living with natural hazards The iconic cone of Mount Vesuvius rises less than 15 miles west of Pozzuoli. Its eruption in AD 79 is best known for destroying Pompeii, but the same event also buried Herculaneum, a seaside resort town perched on the complex stratovolcano's western base. Credit: Stanford University The students spent a morning walking through the town's narrow streets, noticing elements of everyday life eerily preserved by the superheated pyroclastic flow of ash, molten rock, mud and gas: wooden chests and cupboards, paintings, the burnt wooden door to a study. As a classics major, Choo had some ideas about what life was like in Roman times before she embarked on the seminar. "But it was fascinating to see the places they used to live, walk and socialize," she said. Leaving Herculaneum behind in the afternoon, the group piled into a bus bound for Mount Vesuvius, the source of the town's destruction. Like Campi Flegrei and Stromboli, Vesuvius sits along a tectonic boundary, where the African plate is sliding underneath the Eurasian plate. A tear in the African plate allows heat to seep through Earth's crust, gradually melting rock and building up pressure under Vesuvius, which has erupted more than 50 times since AD 79 most recently in 1944. From the bus drop-off point, a foot trail led the group up toward the volcano's rim and then down to a shallow shelf in the crater. At the top, more than 4,000 feet above sea level, the air was cool, and the students could see mountains, rolling hills and cities in the distance. Bright green lizards skittered over the rust-colored rocks, fumaroles streamed sulfur-scented steam and Nieminski's drone canvassed the crater as the students listened to a local guide describe the inner workings and history of the 400,000-year-old volcano. Thomas remembers looking down at the sea and clouds. "I felt as if I was on top of the world," she said. "That was the most elated I've ever been in life. It made me feel like I was experiencing to the fullest what life has to offer." Explore further Volcanic rocks resembling Roman concrete explain record uplift in Italian caldera Botswana has about 122,000 elephants left. Credit: Mike Dexter/Shutterstock Botswana has an elephant poaching problem. The numbers far exceed previous years according to a new survey. The survey was conducted between July and October 2018 by conservation group Elephants without Borders, in collaboration with Botswana's Department of Wildlife and National Parks. The survey reported a total of 1677 observed carcasses in the survey area of northern Botswana. The surveyors visited carcasses that were of concern reported as possibly poached which numbered 104 out of a total of 128 "fresh" carcasses. Dr. Mike Chase, who managed the survey, wrote that: "of the over 100 carcasses of concern, 90% were confirmed as poached." In the 2014 survey the last one conducted in the area no evidence of poaching was found. Though the number of elephants in Botswana has decreased only slightly since 2014 from 124,584 to 122,797, this evidence of poaching in hotspot areas is deeply concerning. Botswana is home to just under a third of the continent's remaining Savannah elephant population about 415,000 the single largest population by far. Becoming an increasingly attractive target for poaching would devastate the country's thriving tourism industry. What's worrying is that the government despite the involvement of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in the survey is blocking the release of the report and is questioning its findings. It maintains that elephant numbers in the country are too high. Not all the fresh or recent carcasses are attributable to poaching. A small number reflect death from natural causes. But one of the aims of the report was to verify whether poaching accounted for the sudden increase in fresh carcasses. Poaching can be identified through skull damage and attempts by poachers to cover the carcasses. The authors of the report identified four regions with high "fresh" or "recent" carcass counts those of elephants killed within 12 months prior to the survey and used a helicopter to check 33 'fresh' carcasses suspected of having been poached. All 33 were confirmed as such. The survey team also conducted ground checks for 79 carcasses classified as "old". 81% were verified as poached. As the authors note, "these results suggest that there is a significant elephant-poaching problem in northern Botswana that has likely been going on for over a year." It doesn't take long for poaching to take root and become deeply embedded. This can be seen in Tanzania where 60% of its elephants were lost in half a decade. Tanzania's Selous Game Reserve alone lost about 100,000 elephants between 1976 and 2013. Botswana has to address this problem urgently. Tourism contributes about 11.5% of Botswana's economy and its options for economic diversification, after diamond rents start to dwindle, are highly limited. Without wildlife tourism, prospects are bleak. Nature adapts, so culling isnt necessary. Credit: Ross Harvey The drivers So what's driving the poaching in Botswana? First, Botswana has become a safe haven for elephants as it has historically managed its populations exceptionally well. Elephants are smart refugees and move to avoid danger. For instance, because of poaching, there are only about 21,000 elephants left in neighbouring Zambia. Angola and Zimbabwe also have poaching problems. This partially accounts for why such a large number of the continent's savannah elephants have made their home in Botswana. They escape poaching and hunting elsewhere but also grow from within as reduced stress aids breeding. But where the elephants go, the poachers follow. Second, demand for ivory from East Asia remains high, though there is some indication of a Chinese slowdown. Strong demand, combined with the growing market for bushmeat, continues to drive elephant poaching across African range states. While the Chinese domestic ivory ban is a welcome move in the right direction, it's not enough. From a policy perspective, it has to be complementary to demand reduction efforts, not a substitute for them. Third, since Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi took office in April last year, there have been changes in policy that may threaten elephant populations. Wildlife rangers have had their military-grade weapons removed. Masisi has also ended the unofficial "shoot-to-kill" policy favoured by his predecessor, Ian Khama. These policy changes seem legitimate, as bringing arms into conservation battles like anti-poaching efforts has its own problems. But the more controversial indications of policy shifts are contained in a report submitted by a Cabinet sub-committee this month. Botswana's elephant hunting ban, implemented in 2014 by Khama, is up for debate. The report advises that the ban be lifted, "regular but limited" culling be introduced, and fences be constructed to reduce human and elephant conflict. While local communities are key conservation drivers, the solutions proposed here are likely to backfire. Botswana will have to figure these knotty problems out quickly. Increased poaching and a potential return to hunting risk damaging Botswana's conservation reputation. This in turn could translate into tourism losses. Vast wilderness landscapes require substantive tourism revenues to be protected. But protection is not about building fences to keep animals in and people out. Nor can it be achieved through culling - South Africa has been down that road before and it cannot be justified. There is plenty of space across the continent where elephants can be relocated, provided there is sufficient protection in place in advance. Besides, in landscapes like the Okavango Delta or Chobe, predators adapt to take down elephants. Nature responds best to high numbers when left to itself. Conservation success is about addressing the root causes of conflict and poaching and generating more tourism revenue. This is where Botswana has a chance to lead. Explore further Nearly 100 elephants killed for ivory in Botswana (Update) This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Against a background of more conventional technologies, Sandia National Laboratories researchers, from left, Steve Verzi, William Severa, Brad Aimone and Craig Vineyard hold different versions of emerging neuromorphic hardware platforms. The Whetstone approach makes artificial intelligence algorithms more efficient, enabling them to be implemented on smaller, less power-hungry hardware. Credit: Randy Montoya Whetstone, a software tool that sharpens the output of artificial neurons, has enabled neural computer networks to process information up to a hundred times more efficiently than the current industry standard, say the Sandia National Laboratories researchers who developed it. The aptly named software, which greatly reduces the amount of circuitry needed to perform autonomous tasks, is expected to increase the penetration of artificial intelligence into markets for mobile phones, self-driving cars and automated interpretation of images. "Instead of sending out endless energy dribbles of information," Sandia neuroscientist Brad Aimone said, "artificial neurons trained by Whetstone release energy in spikes, much like human neurons do." The largest artificial intelligence companies have produced spiking tools for their own products, but none are as fast or efficient as Whetstone, says Sandia mathematician William Severa. "Large companies are aware of this process and have built similar systems, but often theirs work only for their own designs. Whetstone will work on many neural platforms." The open-source code was recently featured in a technical article in Nature Machine Intelligence and has been proposed by Sandia for a patent. How to sharpen neurons Artificial neurons are basically capacitors that absorb and sum electrical charges they then release in tiny bursts of electricity. Computer chips, termed "neuromorphic systems," assemble neural networks into large groupings that mimic the human brain by sending electrical stimuli to neurons firing in no predictable order. This contrasts with a more lock-step procedure used by desktop computers with their pre-set electronic processes. Because of their haphazard firing, neuromorphic systems often are slower than conventional computers but also require far less energy to operate. They also require a different approach to programming because otherwise their artificial neurons fire too often or not often enough, which has been a problem in bringing them online commercially. Whetstone, which functions as a supplemental computer code tacked on to more conventional software training programs, trains and sharpens artificial neurons by leveraging those that spike only when a sufficient amount of energyread, information has been collected. The training has proved effective in improving standard neural networks and is in process of being evaluated for the emerging technology of neuromorphic systems. Catherine Schuman, a neural network researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratories, said, "Whetstone is an important tool for the neuromorphic community. It provides a standardized way to train traditional neural networks that are amenable for deployment on neuromorphic systems, which had previously been done in an ad hoc manner." The strict teacher The Whetstone process, Aimone said, can be visualized as controlling a class of talkative elementary school students who are tasked with identifying an object on their teacher's desk. Prior to Whetstone, the students sent a continuous stream of sensor input to their formerly overwhelmed teacher, who had to listen to all of itevery bump and giggle, so to speakbefore passing a decision into the neural system. This huge amount of information often requires cloud-based computation to process, or the addition of more local computing equipment combined with a sharp increase in electrical power. Both options increase the time and cost of commercial artificial intelligence products, lessen their security and privacy and make their acceptance less likely. Under Whetstone, their newly strict teacher only pays attention to a simple "yes" or "no" measurement of each studentwhen they raise their hands with a solution, rather than to everything they are saying. Suppose, for example, the intent is to identify whether a piece of green fruit on the teacher's desk is an apple. Each student is a sensor that may respond to a different quality of what may be an apple: Does it have the correct quality of smell, taste, texture and so on? And while the student who looks for red may vote "no" the other student who looks for green would vote "yes." When the number of answers, either yay or nay, is electrically high enough to trigger the neuron's capacity to fire, that simple result, instead of endless waffling, enters the overall neural system. While Whetstone simplifications could potentially increase errors, the overwhelming number of participating neuronsoften over a millionprovide information that statistically make up for the inaccuracies introduced by the data simplification, Severa said, responsible for the mathematics of the program. "Combining overly detailed internal information with the huge number of neurons reporting in is a kind of double booking," he says. "It's unnecessary. Our results tell us the classical waycalculating everything without simplifyingis wasteful. That is why we can save energy and do it well." Patched programs work best The software program works best when patched in to programs meant to train new artificial-intelligence equipment, so Whetstone doesn't have to overcome learned patterns with already established energy minimums. Can you tell the spiders from the ants? UC researchers found that baby S. formica spiders, bottom left, closely resembled a tiny ant called Crematogaster, top left, while adult S. formica spiders, bottom right, mimicked a bigger species called Camponotus, top right. Credit: Alexis Dodson Spiders that pretend to be ants to fool predators have an unusual problem when it comes to sex. How do they get the attention of potential mates without breaking character to birds that want to eat them? University of Cincinnati biologists say evolution might provide an elegant solution. Viewed from above, the mimics look like skinny, three-segmented ants to fool predators. But in profile, the adult mimics retain their more voluptuous and alluring spider figure to woo nearby mates. UC researchers presented their findings in January at the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology conference in Tampa, Fla. Most birds avoid ants and their painful stingers, sharp mandibles and habit of showing up with lots of friends. Try to eat one and you're likely to get chewed on by 10 more. That's why nearly every insect family from beetles to mantises has species that mimic ants. By comparison, spiders are delicious and nutritious, said Alexis Dodson, a UC doctoral student and lead author. "That's what a lot of natural selection is all aboutto convince other species not to eat you and convince members of your species to mate with you and to do so at the least cost possible," Dodson said. Lots of insects and arachnids mimic ants because they're so formidable. Some plants, too, have evolved a mutually beneficial relationship with aggressive ants to discourage hungry leaf-eaters. "Ants are distasteful," said Nathan Morehouse, assistant professor of biological sciences in UC's McMicken College of Arts and Sciences. "They're well-defended and they come in big numbers. So a lot of animals avoid them," Morehouse said. "Unless you're a specialist like an anteater, they're just not a good meal." Spiders occupy a three-dimensional world. But whether they're on the ground or climbing a tree, potential predators are likely to get a dorsal view, he said. UC student Alexis Dodson discusses her morphometric comparison of a spider and an ant with UC assistant professor Nathan Morehouse. Credit: Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative Services "Thinking of vantage point is essential," Morehouse said. "From the top, juveniles and adults both look like ants. And juvenile spiders look very much like ants from the side. But adult spiders shift away from the ant profile toward a more traditional spider-like profile." But it's not enough to look like an ant, Morehouse said. To fool clever predators, you have to act like one, too. The spiders have enormous back legs like ants. Spiders have an extra pair of legs compared to ants and no antennae. But ant mimics will wave their small forelegs in the air like ant antennae. "The level of mimicry we encounter in jumping spiders is incredibly detailed," he said. "When ants follow a trail, they weave their heads back and forth. The ant is trying to cast back and forth over a chemical trail that's hard to find. "Remarkably, jumping spiders also perform this weaving behavior even though it has no functional significance for them," Morehouse said. "They're trying to be convincing actors. They're trying to look like an ant." UC researchers studied a jumping spider called Synemosyna formica found in Ohio and across eastern North America. Jumping spiders are so named because they jump. Some can leap more than 50 times their body length. But ants don't jump. And neither do the spiders who pretend to be ants. In fact, it's likely the mimics can't jump because their antlike frame won't allow it. Amazingly, Morehouse said, the ant mimics seem to have lost the ability to jump by copying ant locomotion so well. "Some of it is biomechanics. They're constrained by the loading of their body weight," he said. "So they just sort of lurch. They're becoming more like ants in all kinds of ways. It's pretty neat." UC researchers examined how close the spiders resemble ants using an elliptical Fourier analysis, a mathematical approach that compares complex shapes. It's an anatomical study called morphometrics. S. formica is unusual for another reason: It mimics two different species of ants during its lifetime. To make the illusion more convincing, adult spiders will mimic Camponotus, a bigger kind of ant than the tinier black ants called Crematogaster the young spiderlings copy. "I think that's the most surprising finding," UC postdoctoral researcher and study co-author David Outomuro said. "It makes a lot of sense to mimic something that matches your size." UC student Alexis Dodson is examining whether spiders that mimic ants engage in overt courtship behaviors like other jumping spiders. Credit: Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative Services Now UC researchers are studying how ant mimics communicate with each other without blowing their cover. Jumping spiders are renowned for their larger-than-life courtship rituals. Many such as the peacock jumping spider have flashy colorsiridescent blues, greens and redsand perform showstopper courtship dances like some kind of arachnid vaudevillian. "This is my passion project," Dodson said. "Do they have mating rituals like other jumping spiders?" So far Dodson has only observed what she calls "handshake" behaviors, or spiders seeming to acknowledge each other from a distance. "It's as if one says, 'Hi, I'm not an ant.' And the other says, 'I am also not an ant,'" Dodson said. "It's definitely there. It's distinct from just walking around. And it's not something I've seen an ant do." But do the mimics retain their distinctive courtship ritual like other jumping spiders? Some spiders will take these intimate encounters below ground where it's safer, Outomuro said. "If you do courtship outside, predators might perceive you as potential prey and the mimicry stops working," Outomuro said. Morehouse said the possibilities are intriguing. Perhaps, spiders behave more like ants during courtship because their antlike bodies demand it. Or maybe they borrow cues from ant behavior to maintain their protective ruse during courtship. "Or it's possible there are no antlike motions. When they court, they completely break character and behave like other jumping spiders," Morehouse said. "That's something Alexis is just beginning to understand." Animal mimicry has been studied extensively in many other species but not this particular jumping spider. That makes the research particularly exciting, Morehouse said. "Alexis was first to recognize that the ant mimics look like spiders in profile. We're really breaking new ground here," Morehouse said. "We have to figure out how these animals can be obvious to each other but not obvious to other species." Explore further Spider walks like an ant and raises front legs to mimic ant antenna Credit: NASA Einstein predicted that time slows down the faster you travel and the time-dilation hypothesis has since been proven by flying atomic clocks on aircraft. The three fastest human beings at the moment are NASA astronaut Anne McClain, Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques (pictured) and Roscosmos astronaut Oleg Kononenko who are orbiting Earth on the International Space Station at a speed of around 28,800 km/h. They are travelling so fast that they will return home to Earth after their six-month spaceflight 0.007 seconds younger than if they had stayed with their feet on the ground. But how do astronauts perceive time in space? Space Station crew report that time seems to speed up in microgravity so European researchers are trying to find out more by immersing astronauts in virtual reality and testing their reaction times. A virtual reality headset is used to block external visual cues that could influence the results. The experiment focuses on how astronauts estimate time duration as well as their reaction times. They are asked gauge how long a visual target appears on screen. Their reaction times to these prompts are recorded to process speed and attention. The astronauts run the experiment before flight, on the International Space Station and again when they land to compare results. ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst was the first test subject to take part in this experiment in 2018. Anne and David did a session in February in ESA's Columbus laboratory. Understanding how time is perceived in space is important as astronauts are often required to conduct precision work where timing is everything. This research in microgravity will help reveal clues as to what helps keep our brains ticking the seconds accurately. Explore further Three astronauts blast off to International Space Station The Etmopterus spinax, a Lantern shark species closely related to the Etmpterus lailae, is shown in this photo. Credit: Chris Bird University of Rhode Island shark researcher Bradley Wetherbee is best known for his studies of mako sharks, the fastest swimming sharks in the world. But when it came to identifying and describing a new species of shark, the process was anything but fast. It took Wetherbee and his colleagues nearly 30 years to reveal that a group of lantern sharks inadvertently captured in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands were a new species. Wetherbee named the shark Laila's lantern shark (Etmopterus lailae) after his 17-year-old daughter, Laila Mostello-Wetherbee. They live in Lincoln. "It's not uncommon for it to take many years for a new species to be recognized as new to science and then properly described and named," said Wetherbee, a professor in the URI Department of Biological Sciences. "This one just took a little longer than usual." Laila's lantern shark grows up to three feet long, has a dark brown back with a black T-shaped flank marking, spines coming from its dorsal fin, and a longer snout than other lantern sharks. Like most lantern sharks, they are bioluminescent. The new species is found in waters approximately 1,000 feet deep. Why it took Wetherbee so long to identify it as a new species is a long story. While studying deep-sea sharks as part of his doctoral research at the University of Hawaii in the early 1990s, he was offered two large boxes of frozen sharks about 150 individuals that had been captured in 1988 by scientists from the National Marine Fisheries Service. The scientists were studying armorhead fish and were uninterested in the sharks. About a year later, Wetherbee examined the specimens and sorted them according to what species he believed they were smooth lantern sharks and rough lantern sharks. Little was known about either species, so he planned to give the specimens to the Bishop Museum in Honolulu for inclusion in its natural history collection. But before he could do so, the freezer where they were being stored broke down while Wetherbee was away on a research cruise. One box of sharks was salvaged, including specimens that would later be named Laila's lantern shark, but the rest had thawed so much that they had to be thrown out. Just 15 survived intact. "I had gone through every individual in the boxes and measured many body parts so we had enough information to write a paper about their biology, because hardly anything was known about them," explained Wetherbee. "But then I ran into someone that was working on the classification of lantern shark species in the genus Etmopterus. He wanted to look at the specimens before we wrote our paper, so we had the sharks shipped to his lab in California." It took that man, David Ebert at the Moss Landing Marine Laboratory, about five years, but he eventually examined the specimens in great detail and compared them with other species of lantern shark and determined that Wetherbee's sharks did not belong to any of the other already-described smooth nor rough lantern shark species but was a species new to science. "Since the sharks were essentially mine to begin with, Dave and the others involved agreed to let me name it after my daughter," Wetherbee said. It then took several more years for them to write the definitive paper describing the new species, which was finally published in the journal Zootaxa in 2017. According to Wetherbee, the only specimens of the new species ever seen are those individuals he and his colleagues had studied. "It likely has a very small distribution only around the seamounts northwest of the Hawaiian Islands. That's the nature of lantern sharks. There are different species in different areas, and they tend to be isolated," he said. "If you went to that spot and fished for them, you'd probably catch them. But it's so remote, there's not much of a reason for anyone to go there." Wetherbee's daughter wasn't especially impressed at first that her father named a shark after her, but she has grown to appreciate it. "At first it didn't really register with me as anything special, but then when my friends Googled me and saw that I had this shark named after me, they thought it was cool," said Mostello-Wetherbee, a senior at Lincoln High School. "Now I appreciate it a lot more, not because of my friends' reaction, but because as I've gotten older, I understand it more and think it's really neat." The URI shark expert said that naming the shark after his daughter may have rekindled his interest in the animal nearly 30 years after he first laid eyes on it. "There are only 500 species of sharks and only a handful of people in the world have a shark named after them," Wetherbee said. "Now that it's called Laila's lantern shark, it certainly gives me motivation to go back to Hawaii to study it. "People often ask me what my favorite shark is, and I used to say the tiger shark," he concluded. "But now I say it's Laila's lantern shark." Explore further Comparative analysis reveals use patterns of deeper Caribbean coral reefs by shark species More information: David A. Ebert et al. Etmopterus marshae sp. nov, a new lanternshark (Squaliformes: Etmopteridae) from the Philippine Islands, with a revised key to the Etmopterus lucifer clade, Zootaxa (2018). Journal information: Zootaxa David A. Ebert et al. Etmopterus marshae sp. nov, a new lanternshark (Squaliformes: Etmopteridae) from the Philippine Islands, with a revised key to the Etmopterus lucifer clade,(2018). DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4508.2.3 Schematic representation of methods for characterizing the physical properties of hydrogel: the bulk stiffness of hydrogel and chain flexibility in viscoelastic networks through the semi-flexible model. Credit: Scientific Reports, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-38951-7 Hydrogels are commonly used as biomaterials for applications in biomedicine due to their biocompatibility. However, the relationship between biological cells and the hydrogel surface is still unclear and the existing parameters to explain the interactions are not sophisticated enough. In a recent study, Jooyoung Lee, Boa Song and co-workers at the Center for Biomaterials and the Department of Polymer Engineering in the Republic of Korea studied the impact of polymer chain flexibility on cell adhesion, with a variety of hydrogel constructs composed of the natural polymers collagen and fibrin. They introduced a new method of semi-flexible, model-based analysis to confirm that chain flexibility mediated the hydrogel microstructure as a critical factor that allowed cell adhesion at the cell-material interface. The analysis proposed in the study is able to more accurately predict biocompatibility (cytocompatibility) of hydrogels. Results of the work now published in Scientific Reports, provide an important criterion for polymer design and development by enhancing biocompatibility and biofunctionalization at the cell-material interface for biomedical applications in vivo. Hydrogels are made of polymer networks swollen with water and have applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering. Cell-material adhesion is crucial for in vivo biocompatibility and most studies have tested cell behavior by analyzing bulk stiffness of the materials composition. Nevertheless, communication between cells at the hydrogel surface remains to be accurately understood. The FDA approved natural polymers collagen and fibrin, provide excellent biocompatibility for biomedical applications. Also known as semi-flexible polymers, they do not comply with models of flexible chain solutions or rigid-rod networks. The semi-flexible model allows the prediction of chain flexibility of polymer networks by experimentally scaling the elastic plateau modulus. (a) Representation of 2 types of hydrogel constructs evaluated in this study. (b,c) Adhesion of HUVEC cells on collagen and fibrin gels onto top surfaces of 2D hydrogel-coated plates (b) and bulk hydrogel (c), which is measured by CCK-8 assay 2 hrs after seeding. Credit: Scientific Reports, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-38951-7 In the new study, Lee and Song et al. proposed a new, semi-flexible model-based analysis to understand cell adhesion to hydrogels using the well characterized collagen and fibrin polymers. They used three different collagen and fibrin constituents, to investigate the factors that determined cell adhesion: Two dimensional (2-D) coated substrates. 2-D bulk hydrogels, and 3-D bulk hydrogels The scientists varied the hydrogel concentration in the material constituents from 1 mg/mL to 7 mg/mL and quantified the bulk stiffness and roughness of the newly formed biomaterials. To define the parameters of cell attachment, they observed the chain morphology of the new materials. The results confirmed that the microarchitecture of hydrogels affected chain flexibility as a crucial factor affecting cell adhesion. (a) Representation of 3D bulk hydrogel constructs (b) The inner surface of hollow channels in which the images were captured 24 hrs after seeding. (c) The fraction of cell lining as quantification of cell adhesion. Credit: Scientific Reports, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-38951-7 In the experimental setup, the scientists prepared a variety of collagen and fibrin constructs, to test cell adhesion without gravity effects. They controlled hydrogel stiffness using incremental concentrations of each component and quantified the stress-strain relationship based on axial (tensile or compressive) and rotational (shear) stress. To measure the rheological properties of the hydrogels, the scientists used a stress controlled rheometer. They then measured the compressive modulus for tensile testing with a universal testing machine. To investigate surface topography, the scientists used an atomic force microscope, followed by microindentation to measure the Young's modulus (E) of the hydrogels, where they calculated average (E) using JPK data processing software. Lee and Song et al. believe the study was a first to investigate cell adhesion onto hydrogels using the slope of elasticity of model semi-flexible polymers. For cell culture in the lab, Lee and Song et al. used human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) as the preferred cell line. They measured the rate of cell adhesion on diverse concentrations of collagen and fibrin hydrogels in 2-D, and quantified cell adhesion using the cell counting kit 8 (CCK-8). The scientists did not observe a statistically significant difference between cell adhesion on 2-D collagen and fibrin coated substrates; possibly since cells sensed the mechanical properties of cell culture plates, instead of material properties of the hydrogels. In 2-D bulk hydrogel surfaces, cell adhesion to collagen (2-D bulk gels) was much higher than that on 2-D fibrin bulk gels. Furthermore, as the hydrogel concentration varied, the scientists observed the cell attachment systematically increased with the increasing concentration of collagen. In comparison, cell adhesion on fibrin gels was independent of the concentration of the incorporated hydrogel. Left: Linear viscoelastic properties of collagen and fibrin hydrogels as a function of various hydrogel concentrations: (a,b) angular frequency dependence of storage (G, filled symbols) and loss (G, open symbols) moduli for (a) collagen and (b) fibrin hydrogels. Right: Mechanical properties of collagen and fibrin hydrogels at various concentrations: (a) Youngs and (b) compressive modulus as a function of collagen or fibrin gel concentration. Credit: Scientific Reports, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-38951-7 Lee and Song et al. then used 3-D lumen structures of hydrogels to clarify the rate of cell adhesion on collagen and fibrin gels. They observed the cells were better attached to collagen compared to fibrin gels. Cell adhesion phenotypes were also much clearer on the 3-D constructs compared to attachments on 2-D. Typically, cells attach to material surfaces or the extracellular matrix (ECM) via anchorage points known as focal adhesions. Cells on stiffer substrates generally contain well organized cytoskeletons for stable focal adhesions. To understand if bulk hydrogels could contribute to cell adhesion, the scientists plotted the bulk stiffness of the hydrogels and compared collagen and fibrin at different concentrations. Lee and Song et al. thereby experimentally showed that bulk stiffness was not a critical factor to impact cell adhesion onto the hydrogels. The scientists determined the Young's modulus and compressive modulus as additional mechanical properties of the materials that influenced cell adhesion. They showed how the stiffness increased with increasing concentration, and suggested chain flexibility as an appropriate parameter. Despite the increased stiffness with increasing concentration of collagen and fibrin, the scientists could not explain the varying cell adhesion rates observed between the two polymers. Analysis of chain flexibility of hydrogel: (a) power-law scaling of plateau modulus with a concentration of hydrogel for collagen and fibrin. Dash lines are the results of fits to power law equation G'p=cv and microstructure of two representative samples of 0.5% concentration each in collagen and fibrin. (b) cell surface marker, CD31, after cells seeded for 2 hours for two representative samples of collagen and fibrin (0.5% concentration). Credit: Scientific Reports, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-38951-7 For this, Lee and Song et al. examined the architecture of fiber molecules and their networks on the microscopic scale using atomic force microscopy. Collagen gels displayed a fibrous structure as reported before, with well-defined rod-shaped, semi-flexible filaments. In comparison, in the fibrin gel structure, the scientists only observed a few semi-flexible filaments, where the associated protein was entangled as dynamically trapped flexible chains. To confirm the degree of cell on hydrogel attachment, the scientists stained the cells with the cell surface marker CD31 (glycoprotein expressed on endothelial cells) and confirmed the stable architecture of the endothelium on the material. The scientists observed that total cell attachment to collagen hydrogel was greater than on fibrin hydrogel. The outcomes were due to the higher stiffness of collagen at the microscopic scale, compared to the relatively flexible chain architecture of fibrin. The scientists thus showed the microscopic stiffness of hydrogels as a dominant factor that determined the degree of cell attachment onto a biomaterial surface. In this way, Lee and Song et al. proposed analytical methods in the study to describe the interaction between cell adhesion and material surfaces. The results will provide significant guidelines during biomaterial design in the future, while integrating optimized material properties of durability and mechanical strength for hydrogel applications in vivo. The scientists demonstrated a semi-flexible, model-based explanation of cell adhesion to biomaterials by studying tissue stiffness to control cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation on the material constructs. The authors propose that this simple method can explain the properties of cell adhesion on polymeric biomaterials for precise predictions of biocompatibility. The results will provide a practical tool to design and construct 3-D artificial tissue with higher biomechanical precision and biocompatibility for a variety of applications, such as bioengineering blood vessels and drug delivery mechanisms in vivo. 2019 Science X Network Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings Inc., the hospital unit of conglomerate Metro Pacific Investment Corp., expressed interest to acquire a stake in The Medical City. Metro Pacific chairman Manuel Pangilinan said his company was in talks with both camps involved in the ownership battle at TMC, a world-class healthcare organization serving around 40,000 inpatients and 400,000 outpatients annually. Yes, [we are talking to both of them], Pangilinan said when asked which camp he was in talks with for the acquisition. TMC is embroiled in an ownership issue between TMC chairman Jose Xavier Gonzales and his uncle, former health secretary Alfredo Bengzon. Theyre in the middle of a serious legal battleIts deep into the fight between Dr. Bengzon and Eckie. We dont know if other shareholders are willing to buy their shares. So we have to wait for the outcome, what will happen. We remain interested in Medical City, Pangilinan said. Pangilinan said he has known Gonzales since 1977 in Hong Kong while Bengzon was a colleague in Ateneo de Manila University, where Bengzon served as the dean of the Ateneo Professional Schools. We are friendly to both... Yes, we could buy the foreign stake, he said. He said Metro Pacific has yet to conduct due diligence on TMC. Pangilinan said he was hoping the dispute would be settled soon to protect the interest of the public. Were just bystanders. Its a very interesting situation. For whatever reason and by whatever means, I hope it is settled. It is not an ordinary company. It is a major hospital in the city. Its mission is to promote the well-being of the people. I hope the SEC and so forth would resolve the issue. You know the welfare of the people is at stake, Pangilinan said.TMCs primary hospital is located in Ortigas, Pasig City which has about 800 beds being served by about 1,500 physicians. The TMC network is composed of the Ortigas flagship healthcare complex, four provincial hospitals and 35 clinic sites in Metro Manila and selected provinces. Bengzons camp filed a case with the Securities and Exchange Commission against Gonzales and the Clermont Group. Bengzons camp alleged that Gonzales entered into an alleged anomalous corporate deal with Clermont of Singapore. Gonzales and Clermont claimed to have a combined 54-percent stake in TMC. Pangilinan said a stake in TMC would expand MPICs hospital footprint, which currently includes Makati Medical Center (33 percent), Cardinal Santos Medical Center (100 percent), Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital (100 percent), Asian Hospital and Medical Center (86 percent), De Los Santos Medical Center (51 percent), Manila Doctors Hospital (20 percent), Mega Clinic (51 percent), Marikina Valley Medical Center (93 percent) and Delgado Memorial Hospital (65 percent). MPIC also owns hospitals in Malolos, Tarlac, Davao, General Santos and Zamboanga. St. Lukes Medical Center and TMC are the only major hospitals in Metro Manila where MPIC has no stakes. We know St. Lukes will never be for sale. Its [TMC] the last remaining major hospital in Metro Manila, Pangilinan said in explaining his interest to acquire TMC. Pangilinan said Metro Pacific was also looking at several hospitals in Mindanao. It expressed interest to invest in more hospitals to expand the chain with a target of 5,000 beds and better coverage. MPIC currently has more than 3,000 hospital beds. Eocene shark teeth from northwestern Madagascar. Credit: Samonds et al, 2019 Eocene-aged sediments of Madagascar contain a previously unknown fauna of sharks and rays, according to a study released February 27, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Karen Samonds of Northern Illinois University and colleagues. This newly-described fauna is the first report of sharks and rays of this age in Madagascar. The Mahajanga basin of northwestern Madagascar yields abundant fossil remains of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, but little is known about fossil sharks and rays during the Eocene Epoch, 55-34 million years ago, in this region. This is in contrast to the numerous shark and ray faunas known from other Eocene sites around the globe, and to shark and ray ecosystems known from older and younger sediments in the Mahajanga basin. In this study, Samonds and colleagues collected isolated teeth, dental plates, and stingray spines from ancient coastal sediments of the Ampazony and Katsepy regions of the basin, dated to the middle to late Eocene. They identified at least 10 species of sharks and rays, including one new species, Carcharhinus underwoodi. This is the oldest named species of Carcharhinus, a genus that has been globally distributed for the past 35 million years but is known only rarely from the Eocene. Aside from the new species, the fauna of Eocene Madagascar shares many species with Eocene ecosystems across North Africa, suggesting these animals were widespread in southern seas at that time. On the other hand, the Madagascar fauna is uniquely lacking in sandsharks and dominated by eagle rays, indicating a somewhat unusual ecosystem, unsurprising given Madagascar's long history of isolation. The authors caution that this study provides an incomplete picture given that they collected only fossils larger than 2 millimeters. They recommend that future studies target smaller material for a more complete view of the ancient ecosystem. Explore further Ancient pygmy sea cow discovered More information: Samonds KE, Andrianavalona TH, Wallett LA, Zalmout IS, Ward DJ (2019) A middle - late Eocene neoselachian assemblage from nearshore marine deposits, Mahajanga Basin, northwestern Madagascar. PLoS ONE 14(2): e0211789. Journal information: PLoS ONE Samonds KE, Andrianavalona TH, Wallett LA, Zalmout IS, Ward DJ (2019) A middle - late Eocene neoselachian assemblage from nearshore marine deposits, Mahajanga Basin, northwestern Madagascar.14(2): e0211789. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211789 Credit: CC0 Public Domain Australia has a problem with population. It's a problem with the potential to result in enormous chaos, risking the nation's economic well-being. And this problem is moving like an overcrowded Sydney train, careering out of control towards inevitable carnage. Much of this population problem is of our own making: past demographic successes and policy and funding complacency have created a ticking time bomb. Politicians have struggled to manage the population problem, but no longer have the luxury of looking away. With the dial on public sentiment set to outrage, fuelling a population problem far removed from reality, it's time for a reasoned consideration of the population policy needs of Australia. An effective population policy would focus on quality of life, from the cradle to the grave. Numerous policy domains feature: education and training, health care, housing, employment, the environment, and many more. The problem with population Australians' average life expectancy is among the longest in the world. Much of our longevity is thanks to medical technology and investments in childhood immunisations. Access to birth control allows greater freedom to choose the number of children we have. Women have benefited from social change that has enabled a world outside the home and transformed traditional caring roles although gender equality remains a work in progress. We've invested in ourselves, and the investment has paid off. But our successes have created a different demography. We're living longer and not replacing ourselves through births. The result is a bigger bulge in the relative proportion of older people, an ageing population. Population ageing in its own right isn't a concern. The challenges it poses can be turned into opportunities. Difficulties come from the balance of the population contributing income tax versus people no longer in the workforce. As government coffers get tighter, determining what should and can be funded is a challenge. For example, the education needs of young people will compete with the growing healthcare costs of older people. Immigration has featured as an important complement to natural increase (births minus deaths) as a way to offset the shortfall in the workforce resulting from population ageing, as well as enriching our multicultural nation. Australia's policy response to the challenge of an ageing population have been inadequate. In the absence of any coherent policy, the nation's economy has come to rely on a quasi-population policy. Governments use an immigration ceiling as the lever over time to respond to workforce needs stemming from demographic pressures. Immigration is the easiest of the demographic levers to pull. But focusing solely on immigration as an approach to population policy undermines the suite of issues that comprise the full population puzzle. How Australia grows Australia has grown at a higher rate than most OECD countries. Overall population size, age structure and density, and a country's stage of economic development are factors that help explain this. An obsession with the rate of growth has plagued public discourse and pressured decision-makers to bow to populist fears. An example is cutting immigration intake contrary to the evidence. The Challenge of Change was an attempt to get Australians to engage with the 2015 Intergenerational Report, but partisan aspects of the campaign caused controversy. Latest data show Australia's population grew by 1.6% in the 12 months to June 2018. This growth was comprised of 153,800 people from natural increase and 236,700 people from net overseas migration. Population growth, and demography generally, is seen as an inevitable thing: destiny. Demography as destiny appears to have been the motivator for successive Australian governments to simply shut their eyes to the issues of population growth. Where people live across Australia has become a major focus, particularly in the main destinations for immigrants: Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Concerns have been raised about inadequate infrastructure in our main cities. Population policy solutions A coherent whole-of-government population policy is a priority for Australia's government. Population policy is too often overlooked because, let's face it, it's hard. But solving the population problem is crucial to Australia moving forward without the presently inevitable train crash. Population policy isn't just about population growth, distribution and change. Education and employment, healthcare, transport, housing and the environment must feature in a joined-up approach to population policy. Effective population policy would be to set a blueprint for the future of what we want and should be, then mapping milestones to ensure we're tracking against the aims. This requires significant commitment and transformation in government and in public sentiment no easy feat. There is no need for an overall population target, or growth target. The current immigration intake ceiling is about right. If anything, immigration could be increased. Policy must engage the people The first steps toward a solution for Australia involves taking back the narrative of population, from problematising to problem-solving. We all have a role. The focus needs to be on advancing a fair Australia by creating opportunities out of the challenges of population ageing. That means investing in Australians (locals and migrants) to live quality lives. Quality of life is one thing that unites all Australians, regardless of whether they're pro-immigration or not. This is how all Australians can be appealed to in order to gain buy-in from the electorate. Commitment from politicians to avoid divisive practices could be harnessed through innovation narratives. Public engagement with the process of making opportunities of population ageing challenges could be achieved through a program similar to the Challenge of Change campaign. Ideally, such an undertaking would not be partisan. In the medium term Australia needs to plan for growth, even if immigration were to be cut. Accommodating population growth is about planning, including adequate funding. Healthy, prosperous communities and cities across Australia require adequate investment in essential infrastructure. Sending migrants to regional areas and imposing punitive measures if they try to leave is not the answer. Cities are the main receivers of migration because this is where most of the population lives, and thus where the opportunities exist. Australia must have strong global cities. To this end transportation, housing, employment and education in the major cities should continue to be built upon. At the same time, promoting regional living for overseas migrants and locals is a worthwhile endeavour if essential infrastructure is adequate. Population is ultimately a bunch of people with aspirations and dreams trying to find their way. We just need the leadership. Explore further 5 things to know about the future U.S. demographics This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Credit: CC0 Public Domain Australians left with soaring energy bills in the wake of a scorching summer are about to face another harsh reality: the vast majority of the nation's houses do not meet the current minimum energy performance requirements. New research from the University of South Australia (UniSA) shows that most of Australia's 10 million homes have star ratings of 1.5-3, requiring up to four times the amount of energy to cool and heat the interior than houses built after 2010. Sustainable housing expert, UniSA engineer Dr. David Whaley, says most Australian homes were built before the introduction of the current 6-star minimum energy requirements and with materials available at the time of construction, which may severely limit their capacity to withstand extremes of temperature, and which require more cooling than today's newly-built houses. Poor building shells (roof, floor, walls, windows and doors) which let heat in, and hot direct sunlight through windows, particularly those that face west, are the main problems with most houses. Insufficient ceiling insulation, draughty windows and doors, and lack of glazed windows or external shading devices all contribute to low star energy ratings. Dr. Whaley says while many Australian householders are installing over-sized air conditioners to offset increasing energy costs, people generally neglect the shell of their home. Modifying the shell can make a huge difference to thermal comfort. In a recent study, Dr. Whaley investigated the payback period to retrofit six typical South Australian homes built prior to 2000, improving their energy initial star ratings from 1.12.8 to beyond the current requirements. For each house, 25 different energy improvements were modelled, including installing insulation in the ceiling and walls, floors if applicable, and replacing single-glazed windows with double-glazed windows. A range of heating and cooling options including reverse cycle, evaporative cooling and ducted gas systems were also simulated. The retrofit costs varied between $15,000 and $38,000, and the payback period between 6.5 and 16 years, depending on the heating and cooling system used. "Earlier research suggests that insufficient ceiling insulation is by far the biggest issue in most Australian homes, with the majority of roofs requiring a 50 per cent increase in insulation, while walls need up to 30 per cent more, to achieve optimal savings," Dr. Whaley says. "We assume that the houses we live in have been insulated and sealed properly but that is often not the case. An airtight building combined with the right ventilation system will lead to lower energy costs, as less heated or cooled air escapes from the home." The study showed there are multiple ways to achieve the same energy savings for vastly different costs. Home owners can get caught out by buying the most expensive double-glazed windows, where cheaper types can deliver the same thermal properties and energy savings, for example. Sealing gaps around windows and under doors can cost as little as $200 (for a DIY option) yet make a huge difference to comfort, reducing draughts, Dr. Whaley says. A retrofit combining evaporative cooling and ducted gas provides the highest energy savings and lowest payback period. Inspecting ducts for leakage and replacing old ducts with new, more energy efficiency ones can also result in significant energy savings, the study found. Dr. Whaley cautions home owners to think carefully before installing solar panels as a quick fix to soaring energy costs. "Some people believe they will save money just by having solar panels, but you should first consider your roof space, if it is shaded throughout the day, what time you use energy, and are you willing to change your behaviour? "People can take control of their energy bills if they use the solar power when it is being generated. This may not be ideal for everybody but try to delay using your washing machine and other appliances, including air conditioners and dishwashers, to come on during the middle of the day when the sun is out. "Solar panels are great but be aware that there is less solar output during winter, and often during peak demand events, which means you will probably still be buying energy from the grid at these times. A new problem is that people are starting to install larger solar systems, and in some cases, we are seeing voltage problems on the network when there are a lot of PV panels installed in one street and households are all pushing energy into the network at the same time. "More importantly, would you rather be spending money on solar panels and still running your air conditioner at the same time, or putting that money into providing a more thermally comfortable environment that overall requires a lot less energy to provide the same levels of comfort?" he asks. Dr. Whaley encourages home owners to get their existing insulation checked by a qualified professional. "It doesn't last forever and depending on the materials used or the age of the insulation, it could be costing you a lot of money and comfort. "Air conditioners should be serviced every five years and filters inspected every year if you want them to run as efficiently as possible. If you are looking at replacing your heating or cooling system, seriously consider the appliance star rating which indicates its energy efficiency. For example, replacing a 2-star air conditioner with a 6-star system, in a typical older house in Adelaide, could save you about $600 a year in electricity bills." Explore further Building code debate heats up as Australia swelters More information: David M. Whaley et al. Economic Case for Simulated Thermal Energy Improvements to Existing Older South Australian Houses, Sustainability in Energy and Buildings 2018 (2018). David M. Whaley et al. Economic Case for Simulated Thermal Energy Improvements to Existing Older South Australian Houses,(2018). DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-04293-6_36 Credit: Terry Koening Social workers apply a diverse range of theories that examine social, cultural, political, ecological and psychological aspects of human behavior to their everyday work in helping people. Yet, when receiving their professional education, there are virtually no classes or books that bring the two together. University of Kansas social welfare professors have authored "Human Behavior Theory for Social Work Practice," one of the first to directly link human behavior theories to a range of practice-based case examples spanning individual, family, community and global social work practice. The textbook, from Sage Publishing, is among the first to link theory and practice through case examples and classroom exercises, but also covers existing scholarship in the field to help guide students and social work faculty in how they can link all three in their professional careers. "You can say it's almost a hybrid because it encourages this integration of theory, practice and research," said Terry Koenig, professor of social welfare and co-author of the book. "I'd like to holistically link all of those ideas together and not see them as cut off from each other or as elements that need to be separated." Koenig co-authored "Human Behavior Theory" with Richard Spano, professor emeritus of social welfare, and John Thompson, associate professor at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, and former doctoral student in KU's School of Social Welfare. The book includes three introductory chapters that emphasize social work practice and how it can be informed by theory, regardless of the setting where a professional works, be it a foster care or mental health setting, school, hospital, correctional facility or private practice setting; encourage students to engage in a critique of each theory using questions rooted in the profession's purpose and values; and support a historical analysis of each theory, examining its roots and current trends. Ten chapters then provide an overview of the theory, an in-depth look at a key theorist, a critique and the theory's application to social work case examples. "We ask questions like, 'Does this theory focus on growth and change?'" Koenig said. "If a theory is pessimistic about growth and change, is it something we want to use in practice? If so, how can we best do that?" Koenig provided the book's overviews and critiques, while Spano wrote the application sections, informed by his extensive experience in private practice. Thompson provided the in-depth reviews of theorists and their work. "Human Behavior Theory" also focuses on diverse theories from a broad range of scholars, and the case studies cover a wide spectrum to help future social workers understand how varying life experiences can shape human growth and development. Critical self-reflection and its value to social workers is a central theme throughout. "There wasn't a textbook that we knew of that linked theory to how things are practiced in the field, and we thought, 'Why isn't there a book that does that?'" Koenig said. "I think students need to be exposed to ideas. They're going to work with people from all walks of life in their careers and just need to be exposed to a range of ideas, especially those that might differ from their own experiences." Social work curriculum has traditionally provided theory in human behavior in the social environment classes and social work practice in separate courses. Koenig, who teaches human behavior theory at undergraduate and graduate levels, and co-authors say the book can be beneficial to faculty and students teaching in any of those areas or levels by providing background and real-life cases of theories at work. Each chapter also features photography from Koenig's international travels as a social work educator. A chapter on empowerment and the strengths perspective, for example, contains a photo of a dragon in a Buddhist temple in South Korea. Photos from locations such as Croatia, Italy, Spain and Kazakhstan are featured throughout. The profession of social work is an "interesting blend of art and science," Koenig said. Just as no two people have identical life experiences, no two social work practitioners or clients will be exactly the same. Therefore, knowledge of a wide range of theories, practices and research are beneficial and fit together between the covers of one book. Explore further Certification standards, education critical for social workers in school safety efforts The researchers cross a dry stream bed on the remote island of Hauturu, in search of samples. Photo courtesy of Andrew Dopheide. Credit: Andrew Dopheide. In the face of declining numbers of insects across the globe, scientists continue to expand our knowledge about invertebrate organisms and their biodiversity across the globe. Insects are the most abundant animals on planet Earththey outweigh all humanity by a factor of 17. Their abundance, variety, and ubiquity mean insects play a foundational role in food webs and ecosystems, from the bees that pollinate the flowers of food crops to the termites that recycle dead trees. With insect populations dwindling worldwide, there are still new species being discovered. Researchers on the remote forested island of Hauturu, New Zealand (also known as Little Barrier Island) have compiled a staggering inventory of invertebrate biodiversity using DNA sequencing, adding a significant number of invertebrates to GenBankan open access database of all publicly available DNA sequences. The results are published this week in the Ecological Society of America's journal Ecological Applications. The number of invertebrate species that exist globally is uncertain, and it is difficult to characterize entire invertebrate communities using traditional methods that require the examination of individual specimens by an expert taxonomist. This is where DNA sequencing comes in. This method is hailed as a tool for resolving the biodiversity of earth's underexplored ecosystems. It allows for the identification of invertebrate specimens based on more efficient molecular analysis. Andrew Dopheidea researcher at the University of Aucklandand colleagues employed a combination of old-school field biology with next-generation DNA sequencing to explore the use of combined datasets as a basis for estimating total invertebrate biodiversity on Hauturu island. They collected specimens from leaf litter samples, pitfall traps, and the soil itself. "In a New Zealand context, we are not aware of any other ecosystem-wide DNA-based surveys of terrestrial invertebrate biodiversity on this scale," explained Dopheide. "Additionally, there was no information about invertebrate biodiversity on Hauturu, despite this being one of New Zealand's most pristine and important natural ecosystems." At the end of the study, they estimated that the above-ground community of invertebrates includes over 1000 arthropod species (having an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages), of which 770 are insects, and 344 are beetles. The soil they sequenced yielded even richer samples. Soils are a promising substrate for DNA analyses of biodiversity because they contain diverse communities of organisms as well as biological debris including DNA molecules. Scientists know much less about soil communities than about above-ground communities. From the soil samples they were able to estimate 6856 arthropod species (excluding mites), of which almost 4000 are insects. Beetles (order Coleoptera) were most abundant, followed by sawflies, wasps, bees and ants (order Hymenoptera), flies (Diptera), butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera), and various Amphipodaa diverse order of small, shrimp-like crustaceans that mostly occur in the ocean, but also in freshwater and some terrestrial habitats. In total, they added over 2500 new DNA sequences to GenBank, which houses data from more than 100,000 distinct organisms, and has become an important database for research in biological fields. "We were surprised that so few of the invertebrates were already represented in GenBank," said Dopheide, "which suggested that we had recovered mostly new or little-studied species despite using very traditional collection methods, and emphasized the lack of knowledge about these important organisms... It's likely that many of the invertebrates without DNA sequences in GenBank are indeed new species, but we don't know for sure." With insect populations dwindling worldwide, at least there are still new species being sequenced and documented. This work by Dopheide et al. has marked the trail, and set the bar, for mixing old-school natural science with DNA sequencing to characterize species that dominate the structure and function of ecosystems... while marveling at how many of them are beetles. Explore further DNA traces on wild flowers reveal insect visitors More information: Andrew Dopheide et al, Estimating the biodiversity of terrestrial invertebrates on a forested island using DNA barcodes and metabarcoding data, Ecological Applications (2019). Journal information: Ecological Applications Andrew Dopheide et al, Estimating the biodiversity of terrestrial invertebrates on a forested island using DNA barcodes and metabarcoding data,(2019). DOI: 10.1002/eap.1877 Remains of the Phoenician settlement of Sa Caleta (Ibiza). Credit: UPF "Ibiza is different." That is what the hundreds of standard-bearers of the "hippie" movement who visited the Pitiusan Island during the 60s thought, fascinated by its climate and its unexplored nature. What they did not imagine was that the most unique feature of the island was in its inhabitants. Now a study led by Francesc Calafell, principal investigator of the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE) - a mixed center of the UPF and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) reveals that the genes of Ibiza natives are really different. Yes indeed, the island is unique. The piece of work, published in the European Journal of Human Genetics with the collaboration of researchers from the American University of Lebanon and the University of Otago, reveals that current Ibizans come from the Catalan invaders who repopulated the island from the 13th century. The result seems to conflict with the history of the island, which had been invaded and inhabited by many peoples previously, from the Phoenicians and Carthaginians to the Romans and Arabs. In a previous workthis time led by Zalloua and with the collaboration of Francesc Calafell and Benjami Costa, Director of the Archaeological Museum of Ibiza -, researchers had already observed that the original settlers, the Phoenicians, did not seem to have much in common with current Ibizans, but had not located the source of their genetic heritage. "The famine that followed the Franco-Ottoman attack in 1536 along with the epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Ibizan people in 1652 was a major demographic crisis for the island; this would explain the current absence of ancient genetic traits in the islanders, as well as their differentiation, since the current population descends from a small number of survivors of these calamities, "says Simone Biagini, Ph.D. student in Francesc Calafell's group and first author of the study. To discover the origin of Ibizan genes, scientists have determined the genetic information of 163 volunteers from 3 regions of Spain (Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands) and have used 69 Spanish samples previously published. To evaluate the connection with the Phoenician genome, samples of ancient DNA from the Phoenician necropolis of Puig des Molins, in Ibiza, and 257 samples of modern DNA from the Middle East and North Africa have been used. "Although we expected that there was no genetic link with the Phoenicians, the genetic singularity of today's Ibizan people is very surprising," says Benjami Costa, who has collaborated in the genetic analysis of ancient Phoenician samples. The information on the Ibizan population contributed by the study of Calafell, also a professor at UPF, could shed light on other scenarios where there has been a similar geographical segregation. However, not all Mediterranean islands follow the same pattern: while those of Ibiza and Sardinia are clearly differentiated populations, Mallorcan, Menorcan and Sicilian peoples are much more similar to mainland inhabitants. Explore further Study forces a rethink on population history of Ibiza More information: Simone Andrea Biagini et al, People from Ibiza: an unexpected isolate in the Western Mediterranean, European Journal of Human Genetics (2019). Simone Andrea Biagini et al, People from Ibiza: an unexpected isolate in the Western Mediterranean,(2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41431-019-0361-1 Provided by Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Barcelona Credit: CC0 Public Domain Proposals to relax customs rules and duties in specially-designated areas, known as free ports or more generally free zones, would make little impact on rebuilding the UK economy after Brexit, new analysis by the UK Trade Policy Observatory (UKTPO) at the University of Sussex has detailed. The creation of free ports, which would give companies the ability to defer payment of taxes on imported inputs and in some circumstances even avoid them altogether, have been mooted as a way to create thousands of new jobs, rebuild the nation's manufacturing industry and regenerate deprived areas of the country once the UK leaves the EU Single Market and Customs Union. But analysis by University of Sussex economists Dr. Ilona Serwicka and Dr. Peter Holmes released today states that potential benefits and savings for businesses operating in free ports with simplified customs procedures, relief on customs duties and tariff inversion are likely to be limited in the UK. While free ports could in some circumstances help increase export opportunities after Brexit, the academics warn that any economic benefits brought to free zones could simply be diverting economic activity from elsewhere. In the US their main impact has been to promote imports. Dr. Serwicka, Research Fellow in the Economics of Brexit at the University of Sussex, said: "While some form of free zones could help with shaping export-oriented and place-based regional development programmes, UK policymakers will need to devise measures that counteract the possible risk that economic activity will simply be diverted from elsewhere. They will also need to offer a wider set of incentives for trade and jobs while keeping within the WTO and any 'level playing field' obligations that arise from new agreements." The new UKTPO analysis questions previous research claiming free zones in the UK could generate up to 150,000 new jobs, add 9bn a year to the UK economy and narrow the North-South divide. The UKTPO team believe a smaller proportion would be genuine additional jobs and economic activity rather than just redistributed from elsewhere in the UK. The UKTPO research notes that while free zones in the US prevent "tariff inversion" costs, where tariffs on intermediate goods exceed tariffs on finished goods, such opportunities are slight in any likely UK trade policy scenario. The new briefing also warns that free zones have costs as well as benefits. The brief observes that to have any noticeable effect, UK trade policymakers would need to offer a wider set of incentives in addition to just free zones while warning that such incentives could be limited in scope by World Trade Organisation rules and "level playing field" obligations (state aid rules) included in a future trade agreement with the EU that the UK would be bound by. Analysis of free zones operating within the US by the UKTPO team suggested limited evidence on their ability to create genuinely new jobs rather than just encourage companies to shift jobs from other parts of the country. Dr. Holmes, Reader in Economics at the University of Sussex, said: "The UK Government will have to be innovative and inventive if it's to build fruitful new trading relationships as a sovereign nation outside the EU. "Free zones alone can't do very much to promote overall regeneration. They will need to be incorporated into a far more comprehensive plan alongside other regional incentives to revitalise areas hollowed out by de-industrialisation and in need of services jobs as well as manufacturing." Goods that are imported into free zones/ports do not incur usual import procedures on entry and reexit, and import duties are not payable until these goods are released for free circulation in the domestic economy (or used or consumed within the free zone). Free zones came into operation in the UK in 1984 when areas of Birmingham, Belfast, Cardiff, Liverpool, Prestwick and Southampton were designated the UK's first free zones. In July 2012, however, the UK stopped renewing the licenses for free zones as the Government switched its focus to enterprise zones which can offer companies a wider set of financial incentives. Research has shown that UK enterprise zones established in the 1980s had a limited impact in terms of job creation, with up to 41 per cent of the 58,000 jobs "created" relocated from elsewhere in the UK, and were expensive, costing the public purse 17,000 per additional job created in the zone (in 1994-95 prices). There are currently 61 enterprise zones across the UK: 48 in England, eight in Wales, and four in Scotland (called enterprise areas). Recently, Northern Ireland's first enterprise zone Atlantic Link Enterprise Campus was launched in Coleraine. Within the EU, there are currently 80 free zones located across 21 EU Member States and more than 4,300 Special Economic Zones (of which free zones are one type) may be in operation around the world, although the number is difficult to verify because no exact census exists. Explore further Brexit could lead to thousands of extra heart disease and stroke deaths More information: What is the 'extra mileage' in the re-introduction of free zones in the UK? What is the 'extra mileage' in the re-introduction of free zones in the UK? blogs.sussex.ac.uk/uktpo/publi ree-zones-in-the-uk/ Pumpjacks dot the Kern River oil field outside Bakersfield, Calif. Credit: James William Smith/Shutterstock.com Many Democratic lawmakers aim to pass a Green New Deal, a package of policies that would mobilize vast amounts of money to create new jobs and address inequality while fighting climate change. Led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey, they are calling for massive investments in renewable energy and other measures over a decade that would greatly reduce or even end the nation's overwhelming reliance on fossil fuels. As experts in environmental geography, sociology, and sustainability science and policy, we wholeheartedly support this effort. And, as we explained in a recently published study, climate change is not the only reason to ditch fossil fuels. The coal, oil and natural gas industries are also major contributors to human rights violations, public health disasters and environmental devastation. Sacrifice zones While conducting our research, we constantly encounter new evidence that depending on fossil fuels for energy harms people and communities at every point along fossil fuel supply chains, especially where coal, oil and natural gas are extracted. Fossil fuels require what journalist Naomi Klein calls "sacrifice zones" places and communities damaged or even destroyed by fossil fuel drilling and mining. But we have observed that politicians and other decision-makers tend to overlook these harms and injustices and that most energy consumers meaning most people are generally unaware of these issues. We see no sign that decisions about new pipelines, power plants and other fossil fuel infrastructure account fully for the harms and costs of these industries to society and the toll taken on nature from pollution and other problems attributable to burning fossil fuels. Burning coal, oil and natural gas is particularly bad for public health. This combustion generates a lot of air pollution, contributing to 7 million premature deaths worldwide every year. The Cerrejon open-pit coal mine in Colombia has severely disrupted life for indigenous people across La Guajira. One Duke University-led study of climate scientists determined that reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with a goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 C, a level that scientists believe could avert disastrous consequences from climate change, would prevent 153 million premature deaths, largely by reducing air pollution. Some communities are harmed more than others. For instance, EPA researchers studying data collected between 2009 and 2013 found that black Americans are exposed to 1.5 times more pollutants than white people. Coal More than 2,000 miners across Appalachia are dying from an advanced stage of black lung disease. This illness, also known as coal workers' pneumoconiosis, comes from inhaling coal mine dust. And thousands of coal miners have died horrible deaths from silicosis after inhaling tiny silicon particles in mines. And the communities where oil and gas is being extracted are exposed to water and air pollution that endangers their health, such as increasing the risk to certain childhood cancers. Even living near coal mines or coal-fired power plants is a health hazard. A team of Harvard school of public health scientists estimated that 53 premature deaths per year, 570 emergency room visits, and 14,000 asthma attacks annually could be attributed to pollution from a coal power plant in Salem, Massachusetts, one of the sites we studied. What's more, the people living within 30 miles of the coal plant, which was replaced with a natural gas-burning power station in 2018, were between two and five times more likely to get respiratory problems and other illnesses than those living farther away do. But what we call the "hidden injustices" tied to Salem's coal plant didn't stop there. The Aliso Canyon gas leak near Los Angeles in 2015 released more than 100,000 tons of methane into the atmosphere. The plant burned coal imported from La Guajira, Colombia, that was mined from Cerrejon, one of the world's largest open-pit coal mines. That same mine has displaced thousands of indigenous people through physical force, coercion and the contamination of farmland and drinking water. Natural gas As coal plants shut down, more natural gas is being burned. That should be cleaner and safer right? Not exactly. First, the methane and other greenhouse gases that leak from natural gas pipelines and other infrastructure mean that using gas warms the climate nearly as much as coal does. Second, fracking, horizontal drilling and the other so-called unconventional methods for extracting natural gas and oil are introducing new dangers. There is growing evidence that living close to fracking sites causes various public health complications including: increased risk of birth defects, certain cancers, asthma and other respiratory ailments, earthquakes, and occupational health and safety problems like exposure to crystalline silica, a type of sand used during fracking. Many of the Pennsylvanians we interviewed for our study told us that they feared for their health due to their potential exposure to the chemicals and toxicants used in fracking. Other research indicates that living near fracked natural gas wells can increase the probability of skin and respiratory conditions. At every stage, natural gas operations can pollute water, air and land, harming ecosystems. In California, a catastrophic natural gas leak at Aliso Canyon storage well in 2016 spewed as much pollution as some 600,000 cars would over a year. Hundreds of neighboring residents experienced nausea, headaches and other health problems. Natural gas is also highly flammable. Two serious accidents in January 2019, the deadly gas explosions at a bakery in Paris and the more than 89 people killed in Tlahuelilpan, Mexico, highlighted how risky natural gas can be. In the wake of the Gulf Coast oil disaster, Dr. Farris Tuma, chief of the NIMH Traumatic Stress Research Program, addressed mental health challenges facing residents and health care providers. Here in the U.S., a series of deadly explosions and gas-fueled fires in September 2018 in the Merrimack Valley in Massachusetts intensified debates over the future of natural gas. Oil Despite global reliance on oil and petroleum products like plastics, oil extraction, whether through traditional drilling technology or fracking, is dangerous. Its distribution by pipelines, trains and trucks is also risky. Decades of oil spills in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta has made the region one of the most polluted places on earth. And the mining of Canada's tar sands has desecrated land belonging to First Nations, as most of the indigenous people of Canada are known. In addition to the environmental devastation of massive oil spills like the Exxon Valdez and BP's Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill of 2010, these leaks can cause pollution and serious health hazards. Phasing out Like virtually all environmental scholars, we consider global warming to be an urgent and existential threat. We recognize that replacing fossil-fuel infrastructure is an enormous endeavor. But the latest National Climate Assessment, a federal report predicting dire consequences from global warming, showed how ignoring this problem could cost more in the long term. Based on our research, we believe that phasing out fossil fuels can improve public health, enhance human rights and empower communities politically. Moreover, a Green New Deal has the potential to create many jobs and enhance global stability. As the debate about the Green New Deal takes shape, we hope that more lawmakers will recognize that above and beyond the benefits of a more stable climate, phasing out fossil fuels as soon as possible would also improve the lives of many vulnerable communities in the U.S. and around the world. Explore further Fossil fuels are bad for your health and harmful in many ways besides climate change This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Princeton researchers found that greater anis, which normally nest communally in groups of two to three females, can become social parasites and start laying their eggs in the nests of other groups after their own nests are destroyed. Credit: Christina Riehl In the tropical jungle of Central America where predators abound, a species of cuckoo has found safety in numbers by building communal nests guarded by two or three breeding pairs. Why then do these agreeable avians sometimes ditch the collaborative lifestyle and instead deposit eggs into nests outside the communal group, acting like social parasites, in the hopes that other females will raise the chicks as their own? In a paper published online in the journal Nature, Princeton researchers show that the cuckoos, known as greater anis (Crotophaga major), act collectively for the most part but can become social parasites after their communal nest is destroyed. They start the breeding season placing all their eggs in one basket, but if predators intervene, the birds switch to a strategy of spreading the eggs around in other nests. "When different females in a population pursue different reproductive tactics, like cooperative and parasitic nesting, this poses an evolutionary puzzle. We wondered why some females lay their eggs into other groups' nests, whereas other females never do," said Christina Riehl, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. She and co-author Meghan Strong, a research specialist in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, conducted the study with help from undergraduates, graduate students and interns, including several from the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI). "We found the parasitic strategy is more of a second-line option," Riehl said. "It's as if the birds say, 'If our cooperative attempt fails, let's go to Option B.'" The team concluded that the two reproductive strategies can coexist in the population because the mixed strategy of first cooperating and then parasitizing yields about the same number of offspring as the pure cooperative strategy does. If one or the other were clearly better, then all the birds would most likely adopt the most successful strategy. The greater ani is one of the few bird species in which unrelated females come together to raise their young communally. In contrast, social parasitism is quite common, found in over 250 bird species. To find out why the normally collaborative anis resort to parasitism, the scientists observed the birds and their nesting behaviors over an 11-year period at Barro Colorado Nature Monument in Panama. The birds build the nests in branches that overhang the Panama Canal, requiring the researchers to reach the nests by boat. Under constant threat from predators such as snakes and monkeys, nearly all of the anis start the breeding season in communal groups, the researchers found. However, social parasitism is also widespread, the researchers found, with about 25 percent of the nests being parasitized by a female who was not a member of the group. Communal nest of Greater Anis containing nestlings from two breeding pairs. Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Credit: Christina Riehl The team found that females whose nests were destroyed by predators early in the nesting cycle were most likely to lay parasitically, typically in nests close to their own failed nest. The researchers also asked whether switching mid-season from collective nesting to social parasitism might actually lead to more offspring. Although laying as many eggs as possible sounds like a good strategy, social parasitism has drawbacks. The eggs tend to be slightly smaller and thus less likely to thrive. And due to the risk of being found out, these eggs have a lower chance of survival to the stage where the chicks leave the nest. In contrast, the cooperative females lay fewer eggs but they put more effort into tending them, so more chicks survive to leave the nest. The take-away: Both of the reproductive strategiescommunal breeding only versus the mixed approach of starting as communal breeders and switching to parasitismare viable reproductive strategies. Mark Hauber is an ornithologist and behavioral ecologist of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who was not involved in the study. "The study explains why cooperative breeding is maintained evolutionarily in this speciessolitary breeding or parasitism alone are simply not productive enough," Hauber said. "But either cooperative breeding with large clutches or failed cooperative breeding followed by parasitism are equivalent strategies fitness-wise. Thus parasitism continues to be present in the population and so is cooperative breeding." The team also found that the same females turned to parasitism after the failure of their nests year after year. "Previously in my own work on captive zebra finches I found that some individuals are more likely to become brood parasites than others," Hauber said. "This is now demonstrated and confirmed firmly in a wild population of free-living tropical birds." The ongoing study monitors roughly 40 to 60 nests per year. Overall, for the current finding, the team studied genetic data from 1,776 eggs laid by 210 females in 240 nests from 2007-17. Each year the team begins the breeding season in June by searching for nests in the vegetation along the shoreline. The researchers check the nests daily, swabbing each new egg to collect cells and blood left on the egg with the goal of using genetics to identify each egg's mother. They weigh and measure every egg, and collect blood from the chicks to confirm their parentage. "Getting into the nest is actually often the trickiest part of collecting measurements," said Luke Carabbia, Class of 2019, who conducted field work as a PEI intern. "While some groups of birds cooperate with us very well and nest right at an accessible chest height, others build their nests all the way at the top of their trees or in flimsy reeds deep in grass, and the birds often have a real knack for picking spots that are either incredibly thorny or right next to a nest of angry wasps." Explore further Russian cuckoo invasion spells trouble for Alaskan birds, study finds More information: Social parasitism as an alternative reproductive tactic in a cooperatively breeding cuckoo, Nature (2019). www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-0981-1 Journal information: Nature Social parasitism as an alternative reproductive tactic in a cooperatively breeding cuckoo,(2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-0981-1 Jimmy Toton inspects a 3D printed steel milling cutter. Credit: RMIT University Ph.D. candidate Jimmy Toton from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, has won the 2019 Young Defence Innovator Award and $15,000 prize at the Avalon International Airshow for the research, which was conducted with Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC) and industry partner Sutton Tools. Because the metals used in Defence and aerospace are so strong, making high quality tools to cut them is a major, and expensive, challenge. This collaborative project conducted at RMIT's Advanced Manufacturing Precinct is the first convincing demonstration of 3-D printed steel tools that can cut titanium alloys as well as, or in some cases better than, conventional steel tools. "Now that we've shown what's possible, the full potential of 3-D printing can start being applied to this industry, where it could improve productivity and tool life while reducing cost," Toton said. The team's high-performance steel milling cutters were made using Laser Metal Deposition technology, which works by feeding metal powder into a laser beam. As the laser moves and the metal solidifies at the trailing edge, a 3-D object is built layer by layer. This additive manufacturing process also allows for objects to be built with complex internal and external structures. Toton overcame significant challenges in getting the layers to 'print' to form strong, crack-free parts as he took this from initial concept through to development. He is now working towards establishing a print-to-order capability for Australia's advanced manufacturing supply chains. The high-performance steel milling cutter 3D printed by RMIT researchers. Credit: RMIT University "Manufacturers need to take full advantage of these new opportunities to become or remain competitive, especially in cases where manufacturing costs are high," Toton said. "There is real opportunity now to be leading with this technology." DMTC Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Mark Hodge, said the importance of productivity and cost-efficiency to Australian manufacturers should not be underestimated. "Supply chain innovations and advances like improved tooling capability all add up to meeting performance benchmarks and positioning Australian companies to win work in local and global supply chains," he said. "The costs of drills, milling cutters and other tooling over the life of major Defence equipment contracts can run into the tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars. This project opens the way to making these high-performing tools cheaper and faster, here in Australia." Sutton Tools Technology Manager, Dr. Steve Dowey, said having Toton working closely with them as an engineering intern during his research was crucial in ensuring industry-relevant outcomes. "This project exemplifies the ethos of capability-building through industrial applied research, rather than just focusing on excellent research for its own sake," Dowey said. RMIT's Advanced Manufacturing Precinct Director and Toton's supervisor, Professor Milan Brandt, said the work was a clear demonstration of the technology's potential. "Additive technology is rising globally and Jimmy's project highlights a market where it can be applied to precisely because of the benefits that this technology offers over conventional manufacturing methods," Brandt said. Explore further Laser-made aircraft parts a breakthrough for industry The Metro Manila Subway Project, a 36-kilometer underground railway system dubbed as the project of the century, broke ground Wednesday. Today marks a historic day for the Philippines as our first-ever underground railway system, the Metro Manila Subway, broke ground in Barangay Ugong, Valenzuela City, the Transportation Department said in a statement. The subways depot will be located in Barangay Ugong and the project will have 15 stations from Quirino Highway in Quezon City to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City and FTI complex in Taguig City. It would transform the economic and social landscape of the National Capital Region, the Transportation Department said. The department would bid out the operation and maintenance of the project by end of the year. By end of this year will be published [bid documents] for the entire thing. We cannot have different operators. They will come in time for the partial operations, Transportation Undersecretary for railways Timothy Batan said. The government expects 370,000 passengers to benefit from the subways first year of full operations by 2025. Real estate consultancy Colliers International said the ground-breaking for the subways first three stations would benefit Quezon City property over the near to medium term. In our opinion, the subway should play an important role in dictating private developer strategies in Metro Manila, Colliers said. The implementation of the P350 billion [$6.5 billion] subway should help provide access to properties that could be redeveloped into mixed commercial, residential, hotel, and institutional projects. Colliers sees the project raising the prices of land and properties within a kilometer from the subways stations, Colliers said. A flagship project under the governments Build, Build, Build program, MMSP would be built with a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.Once completed, it will have 15 stations from Quirino Highway in Quezon City to Naia Terminal 3 in Pasay City and FTI in Taguig City, crossing seven local governments and passing through three Metro Manilas business districts. With a speed of up to 80 kilometers per hour, travel time from Quezon City to Naia Terminal 3 is seen to be reduced to 30 minutes, the Transportation Department said. The department signed on Feb. 20 the main contract for the design and build of the subways depot and first three stations, or its partial operability section, along with the structures and facilities of the Philippine Railway Institute. The first three stations consist of the Quirino Highway-Mindanao Ave. Station, Tandang Sora Station and North Ave. Station. Partial operation with the first three stations is targeted by 2022, while full operations of all 15 stations will be in 2025. Under the design-build contract, the joint venture of Shimizu Corp., Fujita Corp, Takenaka Civil Engineering Co. Ltd. and EEI Corp. will design and build the first three stations, tunnel structures, the subways Valenzuela depot and the facilities of the Philippine Railway Institute. Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade inspected the tunnel boring machines, subway flood control equipment, and other technological advancements and practices in railway operations during his recent visit to Japan. The Philippine government signed a loan agreement with the Japanese government amounting to P51.3 billion in March 2018. Farmer tending a fire. Credit: Dr. Atinderpal Singh, Physical Research Laboratory (PRL, Ahmedabad) Urban emissions of black carbon from fossil fuel combustion are not always the main contributor to severe air pollution in south Asian megacities like New Delhi, shows a new study by researchers from Stockholm University and the Indian Institute for Tropical Meteorology, published in the journal Nature Sustainability. While fossil fuel emissions in New Delhi account for 80 percent of the air pollution plume during the summer, emissions from biomass burning (such as crop residue burning) in neighboring regions rival those from fossil fuels during the fall and winter. "Black carbon aerosols are damaging to human health and their levels are higher in New Delhi than in many other megacities. During fall and winter, the levels of polluting air particles in New Delhi can reach ten times the limit recommended by the World Health Organization. To determine the environmental effects of black carbon in this highly populated city, it is crucial to quantify the contributions from the key emissions sources," says August Andersson, Researcher at the Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University and co-author of the study. The researchers collected air samples from New Delhi during 2011 and analyzed their black carbon content by creating carbon isotope signature profiles of each of the samples to identify the source of the particles. Different sources of carbon give their own unique isotopic fingerprints. When they compared the relative amounts of the black carbon particles from the different sources over the course of a year they discovered a strong seasonal variation. The relative contribution from fossil fuel combustion peaked during rainy summers and the contribution from biomass burning (for example wood and straw burning) peaked during the dry fall and winter months. In addition, the scientists found that the sources of the high biomass emissions were regional rather than local and urban, for example, burning of residual crops by farmers living approximately 200 km away from New Delhi. In India, crop residue burning occurs after harvest, which typically occurs in October/November for wheat, and in April/May for rice. "Our findings contradict the widespread notion that the emission flux between cities and the countryside is mainly one-way. No other study has conclusively reported such high amounts of black carbon from biomass burning in the middle of a megacity, where the main source is expected to be traffic. The wintertime regional influx of black carbon into New Delhi suggests that to efficiently combat severe air pollution, it is necessary to not only mitigate the urban emissions, but also regional-scale biomass emissions, including agricultural crop residue burning," says August Andersson. He continues: "Air pollution in the Indo-Gangetic region, which includes eastern Pakistan, northern India and Bangladesh, is a regional problem, potentially affecting nearly 1 billion people." Explore further Long term study shows sources of black carbon in the Arctic More information: Srinivas Bikkina et al. Air quality in megacity Delhi affected by countryside biomass burning, Nature Sustainability (2019). Journal information: Nature Sustainability Srinivas Bikkina et al. Air quality in megacity Delhi affected by countryside biomass burning,(2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41893-019-0219-0 The Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization was the victim in November 2016 of the "most serious cyberattack in its history," Radio-Canada said The Montreal-based United Nations aviation agency concealed for months a hack of its computers and allowed malware to spread throughout the airline industry, Canada's public broadcaster reported Wednesday. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had in November 2016 been the victim of the "most serious cyberattack in its history," Radio-Canada said. Internal documents obtained by the broadcaster revealed a flawed response to the attackbelieved to have been launched by a Chinese hacker groupmired in delays, obstruction and negligence, and attempts by staff to hide their incompetence. American airplane maker and defense contractor Lockheed Martin was the first to raise concerns, alerting the ICAO that its servers had been hijacked to spread malware to government and airline computers. In an email to the ICAO, the Lockheed Martin cyberintelligence analyst described the attack as "a significant threat to the aviation industry." It had the characteristics of a "watering hole attack" that targets visitors to a website. The UN agency, working with 192 member states and industry groups, is responsible for setting international civil aviation standards, including for safety and security. The ICAO information technology team reached out to a New York-based IT agency affiliated with the UN to analyze the attack, but then rejected its expertisenot bothering to respond to emails for several days or transmitting unusable data. It would take a fortnight before an analysis revealed that the intrusion was actually an even bigger problem. Mail server, domain administrator and system administrator accounts were affected, giving hackers access to the passwords of more than 2,000 ICAO users to read, send or delete emails. Within 30 minutes of the ICAO piracy, at least one member state's website, Turkey, had been infected. But the ICAO tech chief continued to downplay its seriousness. An independent investigation in 2017 would conclude that the malicious software used in the attack had been identified by ICAO antivirus software a year earlier, but that the computers had still not been disinfected. The ICAO told AFP that the Radio-Canada report contained "many erroneous interpretations and conclusions," saying the gravity of the malware found on its servers "has been greatly exaggerated." "We're not aware of any serious cybersecurity ramifications for external partners which resulted from this incident," it said. "And as a standards-setting body, with no operational role or mandate in aviation, the inference that our data security could pose risks to the combined aviation and aerospace sectors, or the general public, is grossly inaccurate." The agency also has made "robust improvements to its cybersecurity posture and approaches to mitigate further incidents," it said. In Ottawa, Canadian Transportation Minister Marc Garneau called the revelations "worrying" and vowed to discuss them with ICAO boss Fang Liu. Explore further Airline industry agrees to carbon emissions cap: ICAO 2019 AFP Eastern quolls have been introduced in Booderee Nation Park as part of a rewilding project. Credit: Oisin Sweeney Since colonisation, a dizzying array of Australia's native species and ecosystems have been altered or removed altogether. It therefore seems natural to consider the idea of restoring what's been lost a process termed "rewilding." Now a global trend, rewilding projects aim to restore functional ecosystems. The rationale is that by reactivating the often complex relationships between species such as apex predators and their prey, for example these ecosystems once again become able to sustain themselves. Rewilding has successfully captured the public interest, particularly overseas. Conservation group Rewilding Europe has a network of eight rewilding areas and a further 59 related projects, covering 6 million hectares in total. The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park in the United States remains the most recognised example of rewilding. The wolves reduced elk numbers and changed their behaviour, which allowed vegetation to grow and stabilise stream banks. It's not hard to see why rewilding is popular, given that it sounds a note of hope and inspiration amid the seemingly endless stories of despair over ecological disaster. But in Australia, we need to do rewilding differently. The particular challenges we face with issues such as introduced species mean that, like Vegemite, our rewilding future must have a unique flavour. Australian values Our recently published paper builds on findings from a rewilding forum held in Sydney in late 2016. Academics, government and non-government agencies met to discuss some of the outstanding issues around rewilding in Australia. Despite the large, diverse audience and wide-ranging views, the forum succeeded in identifying some key themes. Peninsulas often make good locations for rewilding in Australia because their geography allows the impacts of introduced predators to be minimised. Booderee National Park at Jervis Bay has reintroduced long-nosed potoroos, southern brown bandicoots and eastern quolls. A much bigger Peninsula, Yorke, in South Australia, is the site of an ambitious project to reintroduce 20 species currently extinct in the area. The widespread removal of dingoes has reduced natural control on introduced species such as foxes and cats. This in turn has allowed feral cats and red foxes to prey on small digging native mammals in the absence of a larger competitor. Meanwhile, declines in Tasmanian devils have been mirrored by declines in smaller predators like eastern quolls, and changes to cat behaviour, suggesting devils indirectly affect other species. Many of these digging mammals have declined continent-wide and disappeared completely from other areas. This in turn has resulted in knock-on effects, such as altered fire regimes and changes to plant diversity. It's no surprise, then, that our workshop identified restoring predators and small mammals as priorities in Australia. Lots of work is already going on to restore small mammal populations, such as via Australian Wildlife Conservancy's and Arid Recovery's fenced exclosures, from which foxes and cats have been eliminated. But exclosures are also contrary to the aims of rewilding, because they need ongoing maintenance and do not help the ecosystem inside to be self-sustaining. They can also exacerbate prey naivete, whereby the native mammals fail to recognise and avoid introduced predators. It may therefore be useful to view fences as a stepping stone to restoring small mammal populations to broader landscapes, helped by a variety of means including promoting co-evolution of native and introduced species, incentives to farmers, and the use of guardian animals. Australia is different Passive rewilding the removal of human agriculture, resulting in the return of natural vegetation has had positive impacts on biodiversity in Europe. It could have similarly positive impacts here, for example by increasing the density of tree hollows in previously logged forest and woodland. But a complete removal of management is unlikely to be effective because of, for example, the need to manage fire and the presence of introduced species like miner birds that exert influences on other species and even entire ecosystems. In arid areas, simply removing agriculture is unlikely to halt the declines in biodiversity unless deliberate steps are taken to control pest plants and animals and to shift the ecosystem into a preferred state. In oceans, where rewilding is no less urgent due to declines in large predatory fish, passive rewilding may be more feasible, as marine protected areas can result in recovery of fish, provided certain key criteria are met. Reintroducing large (bigger than 100kg) herbivores is part of rewilding efforts in Europe and Asia. Yet in Australia, all large herbivores are introduced and are generally perceived as having negative impacts. "Natural" control of such species is not possible due to a lack of big native predators. Introducing "surrogates" of long-extinct predators (as are used elsewhere in rewilding) would have predictable results in terms of human acceptance (farmers wouldn't like it), but uncertain impacts on ecosystems. What about people? People can benefit from rewilding either directly, through wildlife tourism income or reduced kangaroo grazing on farmland, or indirectly such as via provision of services like flood control. So rewilding should not, as has been suggested elsewhere, necessarily separate humans from nature. Aboriginal owned and managed land offers huge opportunities in this regard because it covers 52% of the country and is home to many threatened species. In urban areas, rewilding will have to be a compromise between what is acceptable to humans and what benefits ecosystems most. There is clearly an appetite among scientists and managers for bold interventions such as trial reintroductions of Tasmanian devils to mainland Australia to restore ancient food chains or allowing dingoes to return to areas where they occur at low densities and are functionally extinct. Rewilding's focus on restoration of ecosystem processes can complement, but not replace, existing conservation approaches. For example, we still need to achieve a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve network on land and at sea. Development of a rewilding vision and strategy would be a valuable first step towards maximising the potential of rewilding, tracking success, and persuading governments to fund it. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Phuket, Thailand, February 2019 Banyan Tree Phuket is proud to announce the dual appointments of Chatuporn Srisoi as Director of Events, and Filipa Carvalho De Sousa as Director of Marketing Communications. This announcement comes as part of the resorts renewed commitment to being a preferred destination, as the Banyan Tree brand prepares to celebrate its 25-year anniversary. Chatuporn Srisoi (Eve) is no stranger to the island of Phuket and the Laguna area, having previously worked at Splash Beach Resort. With a 10-year background in sales and reservations, Ms Srisoi possesses extensive knowledge of the Phuket market. Her unbridled energy and experience will lead the Banyan Tree Phuket Events team toward new heights. Ms Srisois appointment comes at an opportune time, as Banyan Tree Phuket opens the new Lagoon Deck event space. It is custom designed to host a greater number of sophisticated galas and intimate gatherings in the coming months set within the resorts exquisite and peaceful location. The spacious Lagoon Deck represents a major addition to Banyan Tree Phuket, whose wide range of MICE venues is already among the finest on the island. Also joining Banyan Tree management team is its new Director of Marketing Communications, Filipa Carvalho De Sousa. Arriving from the U.A.E. with eight years experience in the luxury hospitality industry, Ms Sousa previously served as Director of Communications at Rosewood Abu Dhabi. Her passion for people, digital marketing and social media will find plenty of expression as Banyan Tree Phuket expands its active online presence. Ms De Sousa will oversee the resorts new digital marketing and social media strategy for Banyan Tree Phuket, generating excitement for another lively year filled with special promotions and events. Phuket, Thailand, 26 February 2019 Phuket Marriott Resort and Spa, Nai Yang Beach has announced the appointment of Gerd Kotlorz as its new General Manager, effective 25 February 2019. A German national and highly experienced hospitality professional, Gerd moves to Phuket from Bangkok, where currently holds the position of Area Director of Sales & Distribution for Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. He will take over Phuket Marriott Resort and Spa, Nai Yang Beach from David Ippersiel, who as General Manager successfully led the resort through its extensive refurbishment and opening phase in 2016. Under Davids tenure, Phuket Marriott Resort and Spa, Nai Yang Beach was established as one of the islands most desirable beachfront destinations and an award-winning wedding venue. Gerd Kotlorz studied aerospace engineering at the Technical University in Berlin, but soon discovered his passion for tourism and hospitality. He spent his formative years working in the aviation industry with major airlines including Pan Am and JAL, taking him to the US and Japan and introducing him to a career in sales & marketing. Having moved into the hospitality industry, Gerd held a series of senior sales & marketing positions with leading European companies including Maritim Hotels and TUI Hotels. He then joined IHG and spent almost a decade at major hotels in destinations across the world, including Oman, Germany, South Korea, Kenya and the UAE. Gerd arrived in Southeast Asia for the first time in 2011 as Director of Sales & Marketing for the InterContinental Danang in Vietnam. In 2013 Gerd joined Marriott International. He achieved considerable success in his role as Area Director of Sales & Distribution for Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar, leading a multinational team and driving strong results. A passionate photographer and motorcycle enthusiast, Gerd loves travelling around Asia and discovering new sights, sounds and tastes. He devotes his personal time to his wife Julia and his daughter Antonia. Following President Rodrigo Dutertes recent remark that the only campaign promise he made during the 2016 presidential election that he has yet to deliver is to solve the traffic on EDSA, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is pushing for the passage of the proof-of-parking space bill as an alternative to ease traffic congestion in Metro Manila. In Senate Bill 201, or the Act Regulating the Sale of Motor Vehicles in Metro Manila by Requiring a Proof-of-Parking Space as a Prerequisite for the Purchase of a Motor Vehicle which Gatchalian filed in June 2016, the sale of motor vehicles in Metro Manila will be regulated by requiring prospective buyers to prove that they have parking space. We are now putting the responsibility on the car owners: if you buy cars, you have to make sure that you have a parking space for your vehicle, and not park on the streets, the neophyte solon said in a statement. This could potentially clear our side streets of obstructions, which in turn could be used as alternate routes to decongest EDSA. Gatchalian also urged President Duterte to certify the bill as priority measure for the next Congress. Ipagpapatuloy nating isusulong ang panukalang batas na ito hanggang sa tuluyan itong maging batas (We will continue to push for the passage of this bill until it becomes a law). I therefore humbly urge the President to declare this one of his priority measures for the 18th Congress to hasten its passage, he said. The post Solon Pushes for Passage of Proof-of-Parking Space Bill appeared first on Carmudi Philippines. PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday, February 26, that he had made "some arrangements" with Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Nur Misuari in an effort to boost peace efforts in strife-torn PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday, February 26, that he had made "some arrangements" with Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Nur Misuari in an effort to boost peace efforts in strife-torn Mindanao. In a speech delivered in Manila, Duterte said he had yielded to Misuari's request to allow the latter first to travel abroad for pan-Islamic council summits before participating in peace dialogue with his administration. This developed following Duterte's meeting with Misuari at Malacanan Palace on Monday night, February 25. "So I had to make some arrangements. Sabi ko, this is a personal request of me, which I do not do at any time, at any other time. Sabi ko, ah palabasin ninyo. Sabi ko, for the sake of -- alam mo na because I still have to craft -- we in government," he said. (So I had to make some arrangements. I said, this is a personal request of me, which I do not do at any time, at any other time. I said, let him travel overseas for the sake of the government's [efforts in pursuing peace and order in Mindanao] because I still have to craft [a peace deal with Misuari]). "So he went to see me last night and we... Whenever we see, we embrace each other because I consider him a brother. Tapos sabi niya, 'Papuntahin mo lang ako, babalik ako.' Sabi ko, 'Fine. You have done that several times, you can go.' So nag-courtesy call siya tapos umalis siya," he added. (So he went to see me last night and we... Whenever we see, we embrace each other because I consider him a brother. And he said, "Allow me to go abroad, I will return home." I said, Fine. You have done that several times, you can go. So he paid a courtesy call then left.) Misuari is on trial before the Sandiganbayan Third Division for two counts each of graft and malversation due to alleged anomalous purchase of P77 million worth of educational material when he was governor of then Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm). Story continues On Tuesday, the Sandiganbayan granted Misuari's motion to travel abroad for his participation in the 46th session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers in the United Arab Emirates and the meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States in Morocco. Misuari is scheduled to fly to Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, February 26, and will proceed to Morocco on March 11, based on his itinerary. He is expected to return to the Philippines between March 17 to 20. The Moro leader met with Duterte on Monday before leaving the country and amid the supposed rumblings within the MNLF with regard to the unequal distribution of slots in the Bangsamoro Transition Authority a body that will serve as interim government of new Bangsamoro region replacing Armm. Duterte said he had a received a commitment from Misuari to hold peace negotiations and craft a "new deal" with his government upon his return to the country. "Iyan, kailangan pa natin yan (We need this). And but they are revolutions driven with territorial intentions or objectives. Ngayon, kung naplantsa mo yan (Now, if we're able to iron out differences) and we are able to talk to them, you must understand Philippine history and the core of what ails this country," he said. "Kaya sabi ko itong kay Nur, areglo tayo dito. Sabi ni Nur, he is willing to talk and he has waited this long for me to make a decisive decision when he comes back... Sabi ko, time for us to craft a new deal for the MNLF of Misuari," the President added. (So I said, we'll settle everything with Misuari. Nur said he is willing to talk and he has waited this long for me to make a decisive decision when he comes back... I said, time for us to craft a new deal for the MNLG of Misuari.) (SunStar Philippines) PERSONNEL of local and international law enforcement agencies gathered Wednesday, February 27, at the national police agency headquarters for the establishment of the first Philippine Internet Crimes Against PERSONNEL of local and international law enforcement agencies gathered Wednesday, February 27, at the national police agency headquarters for the establishment of the first Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Center (Picacc) in Camp Crame. The Philippine National Police Women and Children's Protection Center (PNP-WCPC), the National Bureau of Investigation Anti Human-Trafficking Division (NBI-AHTRAD), the Australian Federal Police, International Justice Mission, and the United Kingdom National Crime Agency, together with several non-government organizations, have partnered for the establishment of Picacc, as they aim to combat online exploitation of children and human trafficking. The agencies said the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (Osec) is one of the most alarming forms of human trafficking in the country where sex offenders and predators from anywhere in the world can search online and pay for live sexual abuse. The PNP said that in 2017 alone, the Philippines received 45,645 reports for missing and exploited children related to Osec, in which 50 percent of the rescued victims were ages 12 and below. The Picacc will serve as the center and connectivity for all WCPC and AHTRAD regional offices where they will be providing national and international support element to those involved in investigation and operation against online exploitation of children. The center will enhance the capability and connectivity of the agencies in relation to the Osec, said the PNP. PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde lauded its establishment. This is the very reason kung bakit tayo merong mga cooperation na ginagawa rito with our foreign counterparts at lahat ng resources to upgrade ng ating equipment ay ginagawa natin para maiwasan natin ito and at the same time, meron tayong unit na nito na ACG (Anti-Cybercrime Group) at saka yung WCPC, kaya although inaamin na medyo talagang mahina pa tayo rito but nasa process pa tayo na iniimprove ang ating technology, that's why we have this partnership with our foreign counterparts, he said. WCPC head Chief Superintendent William Macavinta said the establishment of Picacc is a "collective global law enforcement effort" to detect perpetrators and protect the minors. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo/SunStar Philippines) " " Emory historian and professor Joe Crespino lectures to his packed History 385: Right-Wing America class. Kay Hinton/Emory University It is a chilly mid-January morning and the first day of the semester for History 385: Right-Wing America at Atlanta's Emory University. The class syllabus promises it will examine the history of right-wing ideology in the U.S. by "checking our personal politics at the classroom door in the pursuit of greater knowledge, insight and wisdom about America's political past and present." There's not an empty seat in the house. The teacher is Joe Crespino, a historian by profession and a Mississippian by birth. He's tall, thin and with an earnestness that comes with someone who lives his work. This son of the South "I grew up in Mississippi in the '70s and '80s, where the legacies of racial segregation were still very real ... that's why I do what I do," he says later in his office is not here to bash Donald Trump lovers or rail against the right. He doesn't teach to rile up his left-leaning students, nor is he out to offer some treacly Kumbaya moment in the search for middle ground. Crespino freely admits to being "left-center" in his politics, but holding a certain political position doesn't preclude him and, he hopes, his eager class from striving for objectivity maybe, even, a tad of empathy when it comes to dissecting the "other" side. In explaining this, Crespino's first assignment is to have his students bone up on historian Thomas Haskell's notion that "Objectivity is Not Neutrality." It's OK, Crespino is saying and, in fact, if you're a student of history and politics, this is kind of the point to look both ways. Don't try to be neutral. Just try to be objective. Advertisement Teaching the History of the Right Forty students have crammed into Crespino's class, the second time he's taught it at Emory. The course aims to define the right (as difficult as that may be) along a timeline that begins as far back as the nation's rebellious birth. It moves on through more rebellion secession the Civil War, segregation, the first "Red Scare," the rise of nationalism, the Ku Klux Klan, the religious right, Dixiecrats, the radical right, Reagan, the South, the rise of technology in right-wing politics, extremism, sexuality, racism, immigration ... and, yes, Trump. Not necessarily in that order. To teach a class on the American right these days, you have to start with the man now sitting in the Oval Office. "Donald Trump really defied what we thought we knew about American politics," Crespino tells his class that first day. "Trump's election not only kind of upended what we thought were these iron laws of American politics" mainly, that candidates have to run toward the center to get elected "but it also makes the American past look a lot different, you know? Things that we used to take for granted as kind of hiccups along the way all of a sudden look more important. And they look more ominous. And we begin to see that they weren't just hiccups, but they're kind of a recurring pattern." That pattern is what interests scholars. It's what Crespino hopes his students will grasp, too; that the ideas and beliefs that drive right-wing America today didn't begin with Trump. And they won't disappear when he does, either. "I'll put my cards on the table. I don't think Donald Trump's election was good for America," Crespino says to nodding heads in his classroom. "But it was great for historians." " " Part of the goal of the course, Crespino says, is drawing a line from slavery and the Civil War, Jim Crow laws and segregation to border walls and immigration reform to Trump nationalism. Kay Hinton/Emory University Advertisement Free Speech and the Right In March 2016, chalk-wielding vandals, with either a need to exercise their rights of free speech or a desire to stir things up maybe both scribbled pro-Trump messages around the school's normally pristine campus. The chalkings ran along the lines of "Trump 2016" or "Vote Trump," though evidently a few "Build a Wall" scratches were in the mix. Still, some Emory students were appalled and frightened. Dozens marched on the administration building to demand (and get) a meeting with school president Jim Wagner. Several student groups, including the Emory chapter of the NAACP, the Young Democrats of Emory and the Emory University Young Democratic Socialists circulated a petition via social media that said, in part: "Supporting [Trump], repeating his catchphrases, and arguing for his plausibility as the leader of the free world has become a threat to our democracy and an implicit attack on the Muslim, Latinx, Black, and other communities at Emory and across the country. This is not political expression; this is hate speech." "There is right-wing speech, and then there are provocateurs," Crespino says. "There's a lot of back and forth, a lot of bluster, a lot of accusations. "I'm interested in people who are serious about it and want to have serious conversations. Universities have to be places where people can come together and have difficult conversations. If not here, where?" Isaiah Sirois is a 20-year-old history student from Nashua, New Hampshire. He writes opinion pieces for Emory's newspaper The Emory Wheel. He was an intern on Democrat Stacey Abrams' recent failed gubernatorial campaign in Georgia. He doesn't find Crespino's class particularly politically charged. During a recent session, students were asked to come up with one-word descriptions for right-wing America. "Conservative" and "libertarian" were among the terms that made it to the blackboard. "We had like 20 to 25 words up there ... but no one had said 'fascist,' which was interesting because that's one of the go-to pejoratives," Sirois says. "The class goes about it in a pretty academic way. "For me, personally, there's a lot you can say about what's wrong with the right in the United States and there's a lot, especially in Georgia, that's wrong with how the right is operating," Sirois says, referencing allegations of voter suppression during the state's gubernatorial race last fall. "There's a lot of scholarship about how much empathy should be extended in situations like that ... I'm just trying to take an academic approach to this subject matter." Advertisement Understanding Does Not Equal Accepting Crespino urges his students to try to walk in the American right's shoes, to understand the worries that a large segment of American voters have over changing demographics that they see as a threat to their cultural status. "It used to be a pretty good deal to be a white, Christian male in America," Diana C. Mutz, the director of the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for the Study of Citizens and Politics, told The New York Times in 2018, "but things have changed and I think they do feel threatened." Still, asking students to feel for a political group that, historically, has embraced policies that many consider as discriminatory is one big ask. "I think it's a legitimate pushback point that a student could make. 'Why should I be empathetic? These people are repugnant to me. These people don't think I should be here. They respect nothing about who I am as a person. Why should I be empathetic to them?'" Crespino says from his office overlooking the grassy quadrangle at the center of Emory's main campus. "I can see that. I can see that point. I can see that frustration. Or, 'Why should I be empathetic, why shouldn't they be empathetic to me?'" In his eyes, Crespino's students seem to be, if not outwardly empathetic, at least more curious and scholarly than radical and loud. They show signs of empathy. But there may be a limit. "I feel like, with empathy, you have to put a lot of thought into it to make sure that the empathy you're extending isn't coming at the expense of other individuals," Sirois says after some thought. "If you're extending too much empathy to a white supremacist, then you're probably not extending enough toward African-Americans." These are the timeless lessons that Crespino is teaching through history. He is explaining how right-wing America came to be as a way of understanding how the nation is now so divided. He is drawing a line from slavery and the Civil War, racism, Jim Crow laws and segregation to border walls, immigration reform, wage gaps, voter disenfranchisement and Trump nationalism. And from here? That may be the biggest question facing Crespino's class. Facing America. "I certainly think that bridge-building is one way to approach things. That might be too, like, modern or milquetoast of an answer for a good chunk of people," Sirois says. "But, I mean, I don't know what else to do." In his State of the Union address in early February, Trump made what many viewed as a somewhat tepid call for unity. Few think that's possible any time soon. Immediately after the speech, 64 percent of Americans in one poll said that's unlikely. Polls overwhelmingly say the country is heading in the wrong direction. This is what these college kids are facing. This, more importantly, is why they're learning about the right. "I really do believe that if we're ever going to get past this moment of polarization," Crespino says, "it has to start somewhere." NOW THAT'S INTERESTING Emory's Right-Wing America class stands out, too, in that students (mostly political science and history majors) are required, in collaboration with the Emory Center for Digital Scholarship, to produce a short film documentary as part of their final grade. The first Documenting the Right student film festival, held in the Fall 2017 semester, included shorts on racism in the career of former Alabama Gov. George Wallace, white supremacy in Forsyth County (about 30 miles or 48 kilometers north of Atlanta), and Atlanta's reputation as the "City Too Busy to Hate." This year's film festival is scheduled for April 23. The stock market tumbled Wednesday on profit-taking and a brewing tension in Kashmir after Pakistan said it had shot down two Indian jets in its airspace in the region. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index sank 99.04 points, or 1.2 percent, to 7,889.12 on a value turnover of P7.4 billion. Losers overwhelmed gainers, 123 to 69, with 63 issues unchanged. PLDT Inc., the biggest telecommunications firm, declined 4.4 percent to P1,050, while conglomerate San Miguel Corp. fell 4.4 percent to P172. Jollibee Foods Corp., the largest fast-food chain, dropped 2.2 percent to P308, while JG Summit Holdings Inc. of industrialist John Gokongwei also lost 2.2 percent to P68. The rest of Asian markets were mixed Wednesday as an earlier rally had the wind taken out of it after Pakistan said it had shot down two Indian jets in its airspace in Kashmir, fueling concerns of conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals. Regional investors had been in a broadly upbeat mood owing to optimism about a China-US trade deal, a dovish outlook on monetary policy from Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell and easing Brexit worries. But trading floors were shaken in the afternoon by a statement from the Pakistan Air Force that it had downed the two planes and arrested one of the pilots. That came as Indian sources said Pakistani fighter jets had violated airspace over Indian Kashmir, but were forced back over the de facto border of the disputed territory. The developments came a day after warplanes struck a site in Pakistan that New Delhi said was a militant training camp, in retaliation for a February 14 suicide bombing in the disputed region that that killed 40 Indian troops. Islamabad had vowed to retaliatefueling fears of a dangerous confrontation.This is unprecedented territory, we havent had tit-for-tat air strikes between India and Pakistan since the 1971 war, Anit Mukherjee, a former Indian Army major and assistant professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, told Bloomberg News. We dont know what will come from this. But it seems like Pakistan has given a response. And there have been casualtiescaptures, deaths. Markets fell sharply on the reports but managed to claw back some of the losses. Mumbai was down 0.4 percent while the rupee was down a similar amount. The Karachi Stock Exchange sank almost three percent. Shanghai ended up 0.4 percent, having plunged deep into negative territory, though Hong Kong was struggling to get back into the green. Tokyo, which closed before news of the jet downings filtered through, was up 0.5 percent, though Singapore was 0.1 percent lower. Sydney added 0.4 percent, Taipei was flat and Wellington was off 0.5 percent. Hopes that Britain will not leave the European Union without a divorce pact in place had provided some support to markets and the pound in particular. Sterling held its own in Asia a day after surging more than one percent on Prime Minister Theresa Mays decision to let MPs vote on a three-month delay to the March 29 Brexit deadline if she is unable to ram through her own deal. 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? 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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! The mathematical (and other) thoughts of a (now retired) math teacher, Russian companies in Venezuela are not experiencing any problems resulting from the escalation in the political situation in the country and have not incurred any losses on the oil they produce there, Russias Energy Minister Alexander Novak told news outlet Gazeta.ru in an interview. Our companies present there [in Venezuela] are following the situation very closely. To date, we have no information about any problems or losses. Work is going as usual, Novak said. Rosneft and Gazprom are among the foreign companies still present in Venezuela. Lukoils trading arm Litasco, however, exited the country as soon as the United States imposed the latest round of sanctions against the Maduro government, targeting specifically state oil company PDVSA. Litasco does not work with Venezuela. Before the restrictions were imposed, Litasco had operations to deliver oil products and to sell oil. There were swap operations. Today there are none, since the sanctions were imposed, Lukoils Alekperov said at the Russian Investment Forum in the Black Sea resort of Sochi earlier this month. Another Russian oil producer, Gazprom Neft, however, does not see major risks for its oil business in Venezuela, the companys chief executive officer Alexander Dyukov said at the same event two weeks ago. Russian and other companies, including U.S. Valery Energy and Chevron, operate in Venezuela via joint ventures with PDVSA. The heavy crude they produce, however, is sitting unsold as buyers shy away from the problematic commodity as Washington threatens sanctions. Just yesterday Bloomberg reported there are more than eight million barrels of crude produced in Venezuela that is sitting in tankers offshore because onshore storage facilities are getting filled up and the crude is not being sold. Whats more, because of this excess supply, heavy crude upgraders are operating at reduced rates in the Orinoco Belt, including an upgrader operated by the Rosneft PDVSA joint venture there. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerias president, has won a second term in office with a lead of over three million over opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar, who made some bold promises on the campaign trails, including a promise to Niger Delta communities that if he won they could keep all oil revenues generated by supermajors operating in Nigerias oil-rich region. The first Buhari term was marked by violence in the Delta by various militant groups that claimed they were attacking oil fields and infrastructure in response to the poverty that reigns in the region despite the billions of dollars made from oil production and exports. The violence, coupled with more sort of traditional forms of vandalism such as oil theft from pipelines, created quite a few headaches for the Buhari government, leading to a serious slump in Nigerias total oil production and gravely affected the countrys export revenues as a result. However, in the past year or so the situation has improved somewhat. Violence is significantly less frequent these days after the oil ministry managed to negotiate a truce with most militant groups. Vandalism is still a serious problem, but steps are being made to rein in self-styled refineries who bought the crude stolen from the pipelines that crisscross the Delta. After for years chasing and closing them down, now the government is trying a new approach: making them legal. In this context, many observers of the political situation in Nigeria warned that if Buhari lost this vote, the terms of agreements struck with militant groups and Delta communities by the Buhari government would need to be renegotiated and they might break down. So, for the oil industry the re-election of the incumbent in Nigerias presidency is good news. As for what the future holds, the restructuring and reform of the national oil company would likely continue to top the agenda as it has proven to be slower and more challenging than what its engineers initially may have expected. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The United States announced new sanctions against Venezuelan government officials this week as the situation in the country thats home to the worlds largest oil reserves continues to escalate. The latest sanctions, against four governors close to President Nicolas Maduro, came after clashes at the border prevented humanitarian aid from entering Venezuela and they will pressure not just the Maduro government but also Venezuelan bondholders and other creditors that rely on oil payments. Reuters reported yesterday that U.S. Vice President Mike Pence had called on the Lima Groupa group of governments trying to resolve the Venezuelan crisis peacefullyto increase pressure on the Maduro government by seizing PDVSA assets as well as other government-owned assets of Venezuela and transfer the ownership to Juan Guaidos interim government from the Venezuelan opposition. The Lima Group, however, is reluctant to interfere so directly. Washington has taken the matter to the United Nations Security Council but it has as members Russia and Chinaallies and large creditors to Madurowho can veto U.S. proposals. What this suggests is the crisis in Venezuela will continue with the resolution no closer in sight than it was a month ago. This is probably making a lot of people and companies nervous: earlier this year, when opposition leader Juan Guaido became the focus of media attention after declaring himself interim president of the country, holders of Venezuelan debt had cause for optimism for the first time in a long while. The hope there will be a government change in Caracas pushed Venezuelan bonds to two-year highs and had some bondholders begin planning for the future and how a new opposition-dominated government would help them get their money back. Alternatively, they will get paid in oil, like China. China is the largest creditor of the Maduro government. Over the last ten years, Beijing has dispensed some US$62 billion to the Venezuelan state and since the latter is unable to meet its obligations with cash, it is repaying the Chinese debts with crude oil. The situation is pretty similar with Caracas number-two creditor, Moscow. PDVSA has given Rosneft the right to acquire 49 percent of Citgo as collateral on a debt the two agreed a few years ago and it has also agreed to supply crude oil to the Russian company. Now, with the new sanctionsand more to follow, as threatened by Washingtonrepaying these debts could become even harder, and bondholders optimism might fizzle out. Last month, before the rise of Guaido to international media prominence, Bloomberg reported that a group of Venezuelan bondholders had sent an envoy to the government in Caracas to discuss options for repayment of the debt, on which Venezuela has largely defaulted. The most viable option, it seems, was the same old money-for-oil scheme the Maduro government is using with China and Russia. However, as the political situation grows increasingly confusing, with two governments, two parliaments, and even two boards of directors for PDVSA, the chances of creditors getting their money in one form or another diminishes. It will diminish even more as Venezuela is forced to reduce its oil production under the weight of the sanctions. Even the oil it does produce cannot be used as payment by U.S. bondholders: they would be in violation of the sanctions if they take it in. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The U.S. suffered though multiple bouts of severe cold in the last few weeks, but the weather has done very little to rescue low natural gas prices. Henry Hub gas prices have been wallowing below $3/MMBtu for much of this winter, after briefly trading at multi-year highs late last year. Low prices are remarkable for several reasons. First, the U.S. entered the peak winter demand season with gas storage at its lowest level in 15 years. Indeed, a thin cushion of gas sitting in storage helped spark the price rally in November. But the price spike was fleeting, a notable development for a second reason. Demand soared to new heights this winter, particularly during bouts of extreme cold. Gas consumption broke record highs in late January after half of the U.S. suffered through a deep freeze. Residential/commercial consumption in the Midwest reached 26 Bcf on January 30, an all-time high. (Click to enlarge) However, prices continued to slide as January gave way to February. While spot Henry Hub prices traded at $3.50/MMBtu in mid-January, a month later they had plunged to $2.60/MMBtu. Prices have edged up a bit since then, but with the end of winter in sight, there is little prospect of a major rebound. With roughly six weeks left in the winter season, the chance of meaningful storage scarcity is rapidly declining, so storage holders have less incentive to hold onto gas and purchase gas on the spot market instead, Barclays wrote in a note. Also, our model shows a more balanced market next month with withdrawals of a mere 2 Bcf/d or so, which would be the fifth-smallest on record. The investment bank lowered its first quarter pricing forecast to $2.78/MMBtu, down from a previous estimate of $2.98/MMBtu. Related: Venezuela Fails To Sell Its Heavy Crude Amid Dwindling Supply Barclays admitted that inventories are tighter than expected, sitting 362 bcf below the five-year average for this time of year. However, the ongoing price slide amidst supportive storage suggests that this is not enough to arouse bullish interest anymore in the March or April 2019 contracts. Volatility has died down, too, Barclays analysts noted. The market, apparently, has moved on. The shale gas industry continues to ramp up production, while ongoing gains in associated gas in the Permian have added new supplies. Yet, much hinges on the de-bottlenecking of the Permian, which would allow gas some of which is being flared to find a way to market. The Marcellus and Utica shales too are hoping for more pipelines, which would allow for another step up in drilling. The pace of production gains will have an outsize impact on price strength next winter. Coming out of this winter, lower-than-expected inventories means that storage levels will be lower heading into next winter. That puts a lot of onus on the so-called injection season to replenish stocks. Related: Thailand Pivots To Renewables As Gas Dries Up Barclays baseline projection is for the U.S. to end the injection season in the fall with storage levels at 3.4 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), a little below the five-year average of 3.7 Tcf. But the investment bank also laid out a scenario in which production exceeds expectations. All else equal, a 3 Bcf/d shift in summer production would add about 600 Bcf to our call for end-October stocks, pushing it towards historical highs north of 4 Tcf. This storage level would markedly lower the chance for storage scarcity and, thus, high prices next winter, the bank said. (Click to enlarge) Of course, there is no guarantee that production growth surprises on the upside. Interestingly, the same pressure on oil companies, which has them coming under fire from shareholders demanding a focus on profits, even at the expense of growth, is also occurring for gas drillers. For instance, Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. reiterated its preference for [free cash flow] generation over volume growth, Morgan Stanley said in a research note. Cabot lowered its 2019 production guidance from a 20 to 25 percent range down to just 20 percent. Other shale drillers posted similar revisions, which, to be sure, are rather modest, but are notable given the industrys history. Still, lower prices and volatility are an indication that the market is rather unconcerned about adequate supply for the foreseeable future. By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Last year, President Donald Trump successfully convinced Saudi Arabia to help keep a lid on global oil prices by ramping up production. The Saudis acquiescence to Trumps tweets at the time were likely appeasement to the president for placing fresh sanctions against Saudi Arabias middle eastern nemesis, Iran. Moreover, most concede that Riyadh was a deciding factor in swaying the president to withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran. Consequently, Saudi Arabias kowtow to Trumps tweets was a returned favor. However, when Trump later granted waivers that allowed several countries to keep importing Iranian crude, oil prices started their nosedive during the last quarter of the year, catching Saudi Arabia flat-footed, and according to many accounts furious at the president for what they saw as a betrayal of trust. Now, Trump is tweeting again about high global oil prices and asking OPEC+ to reconsider its oil production cut deal that was implemented at the start of the year. On Monday, the president tweeted Oil prices getting too high. OPEC, please relax and take it easy. The world cannot take a price hike - fragile! However, in order to remove excess oil from global markets, particularly due to Trumps Iranian oil exports waivers in addition to rampant U.S. production that just hit a once unthinkable 12 million barrel per day (bpd), its likely that Riyadh will think twice before appeasing the American president - who at the end of the day appears to lack in-depth knowledge of how global oil markets work. Related: Oil Inches Higher Ahead Of Inventory Data Pushing back against Trump In fact, in an apparent rebuke of the president, Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said yesterday that oil inventories in the U.S. are brimming, and reducing that glut remains the main goal for the group, adding that the kingdom plans further curbs to output in March. Oi prices this year have risen around 20 percent recouping much of the losses incurred in the oil price downturn from last October through December. Oil markets are also responding to another Trump intervention, this time fresh U.S. sanctions against not only Iran but Venezuela. All of the outlooks that I have seen tell us that we will continue, well need to continue, to moderate production in the second half of this year, Al-Falih said. Yet, he added that an easing of oil production cuts could still happen depending on the continuation of supply curbs in Libya, Venezuela and Iran. Extending the cuts wont be automatic, he said. If we find out that the fundamentals are tightening by June, you can bet that I will be, just like we did last year, encouraging my colleagues within OPEC+ to ease the cuts and not allow the market to tighten. Related: Oil Jumps On Large Crude Inventory Draw Trumps quandary The latest Trump tweets and Saudi Arabias lack of willingness to be pressured to act over those tweets shows that the president has not only lost leverage with Saudi Arabia in his efforts to keep oil prices, therefore gasoline prices, low as the 2020 presidential election cycle kicks in, but it also shows Trumps lack of understanding of oil market fundamentals. In essence, for a U.S. president to use social media to try to sway a U.S. ally, and the worlds largest oil exporter, not only diminishes the office of the president but shows that U.S. shale oil production, which has been responsible for a re-positioning of oil market fundamentals, and alliances, also ushering in OPEC+, is not the power in global markets that many hoped it would be just a few years ago. As recently as two years ago, many were reporting that the U.S. would replace Saudi Arabia as the global oil markets swing producers, yet with the formation of OPEC+, namely Saudi Arabia and Russia, that has not yet materialized. At the end of the day, it would be prudent for Trump to allow oil markets to evolve as they have for decades. Despite recent wild swings in prices to both the upside and downside, markets cycle and eventually return to equilibrium - albeit without Trumps ill-timed tweets. By Tim Daiss for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Indonesia's bans on things like this is so weird and arbitrary. That being said, I am way more offended by the existence of Shape of You and Thinking Out Loud than anything Bruno Mars has released (with the possible exception of The Lazy Song). Reply Thread Link I mean I know hes kidding but Bruno Mars has a lotta nerve joking about sexual deviants after doing that song with Kodak Black Edited at 2019-02-27 10:41 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link ...and a song with R. Kelly. Reply Parent Thread Link and defending chris brown Reply Parent Thread Link i can't tell who's being more sarcastic, bruno or the OP Reply Thread Link petition to change Ariana's to Arianyuh Grande Reply Thread Link Or Ariyuhna Reply Parent Thread Link Yuhriyuhnyuh tbh Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I'm for that motion. Reply Parent Thread Link lmao I'm here for doing this Reply Parent Thread Expand Link This post is weird and angry. Reply Thread Link i was listening to yo-yo ma on spotify and his version of shape of you came on. i was horrified hankhillohgod.gif Reply Thread Link Lmao my exact reaction. Reply Parent Thread Link The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Reply Thread Link Sexual deviant. Monster. Tell me more Bruno Mars. Also OP, I dont think this counts as an obliteration tbh. It barely seems coherent. Reply Thread Link I came in here thinking they were really beefing. lol Reply Thread Link "Gorilla" is one of the worst and cringiest songs to ever be a hit tbh not to mention "Young Girls"......... Reply Thread Link lol ikr, i like the way gorilla sounds but god those lyrics are BAD Reply Parent Thread Link Same. Its kind of like Prince lite. Reply Parent Thread Link you should check out who's featured on the remix. Reply Parent Thread Link Washington, PA (15301) Today Mostly cloudy skies early then heavy thunderstorms developing this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 83F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall may reach one inch.. Tonight Showers and scattered thunderstorms. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. There are a lot of gorgeous beaches to choose from in Australia but one beach has top the polls for a second year in a row. Manly Beach has been given the top honour at the 2019 TripAdvisors Travellers Choice Awards, with the iconic Northern beaches hotspot beating out the likes of Whitehaven Beach and Bondi Beach. Surfers Paradise was named runner up for a second year in a row, while Turquoise Bay jumped up from ten to three. Manly Beach has been named the top Australian beach at the 2019 TripAdvisors Travellers Choice Awards. Photo: Getty Images/Brendon Thorne Mooloolaba Beach and Whitehaven round up the top five, while Bondi Beach and Noosa Main Beach also make the top ten. However, none of the Aussies beaches managed to make it only the list of top ten in the world. That honour went to Baia do Sancho in Brazil, while Varadero Beach in Cuba and Eagle beach in Aruba came in second and third. Top 10 Travellers Choice beaches in Australia Manly Beach Sydney, NSW Surfers Paradise Beach Surfers Paradise, QLD Turquoise Bay Exmouth, WA Mooloolaba Beach Mooloolaba, QLD Whitehaven Beach Whitsunday Island, QLD Bondi Beach Sydney, NSW Noosa Main Beach Noosa, QLD Burleigh Heads Beach Burleigh Heads, QLD Cable Beach Broome, WA Mindil beach, Darwin NT Got a story tip? Send it to lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com Want more lifestyle and celebrity news? Follow Yahoo Lifestyle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Or sign up to our daily newsletter here. The world watched as Meghan Markle nervously bobbed her head in her first curtsy to the Queen on Christmas Day in 2017. But fast-forward over a year later, and the Duchess of Sussex has proved how far shes come in her royal training, as she performed a perfect curtsy while in Morocco. The pregnant 37-year-old and her 34-year-old husband, Prince Harry, met with the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, this week. Meghan Markle has nailed the perfect curtsy. Photo: Getty Images The pregnant 37-year-old and her 34-year-old husband, Prince Harry, met with the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, this week. Photo: Getty Images In the above video, the Duchess, who wore a stunning blue Dior gown for the occasion, can be seen bowing her head slightly in front of the king. Former butler, Grant Harrold told the Daily Mail that its obvious the Duchess has been working hard on her curtsy skills. It is clear that the Duchess of Sussex has perfected her curtsy over the last few years, he said. Last year, Grant critiqued Meghans curtsy, after her first Christmas with the royals, saying she bobbed too low. The world watched as Meghan Markle nervously bobbed her head in her first curtsy to the Queen on Christmas Day in 2017. Photo: Getty Images However, at this years Sandringham Christmas Day service, the Duchess pulled off the curtsy like a pro. Photo: Getty Images What you should be doing, for a lady, is the right foot behind the left, and then it is a gentle bob, he said on Good Morning Britain. You dont want to go too far down because you might not come back up. You keep the hands in because youre not a penguin. However, at this years Sandringham Christmas Day service, the Duchess pulled off the curtsy like a pro. Got a story tip? Send it to lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com Want more lifestyle and celebrity news? Follow Yahoo Lifestyle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Or sign up to our daily newsletter here. Username: Password: or Register Back to Forum Reply to This post Post New Thread Thread Rating: 3 Vote(s) - 3.67 Average 1 2 3 4 5 Boeing bids for new arsenal of ICBMs, Nikki Haley named to BoD Treebeard Registered User User ID: 479750 02-27-2019 06:38 PM Posts: 4,307 Post: #1 Boeing bids for new arsenal of ICBMs, Nikki Haley named to BoD Advertisement https://thedefensepost.com/2019/02/26/bo...ley-board/ A major project for Boeing (and Northrup Grumman) at this time is the full replacement of the American land-based ICBM backbone - the Minuteman II. There are at least 450 Minuteman II nuclear silos armed at all times. Current Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan was a Boeing executive for 31 years and has faced criticism for potentially favoring Boeing in contracts: Air Force gets first real look at future ICBM designs https://spacenews.com/air-force-gets-fir...m-designs/ The Pentagon in recent months is also scrambling to develop a new hypersonic defense system that is capable of intercepting or shutting down Russian hypersonic missiles. For the first time officially, new "non-kinetic" applications may be introduced. utilizing "high-powered lasers and adopting new "non-kinetic" capabilities" https://insidedefense.com/daily-news/mda...m-concepts Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) is expected to enter fully operational service in 2027, with projections for application to 2075. I would have to spend more time trying to discover if the Air Force has been given the go-ahead on its 2013 proposal to bore deep underground tunnels connecting the new ICBM missiles. That proposal for an underground subway system, trackless tunnel transport for the entire class of weapons: Having recently quit (or fired from) the post of UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley now sits on the Boeing board of directors.A major project for Boeing (and Northrup Grumman) at this time is the full replacement of the American land-basedICBM backbone - the Minuteman II. There are at least 450 Minuteman II nuclear silos armed at all times.Current Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan was a Boeing executive for 31 years and has faced criticism for potentially favoring Boeing in contracts: https://insidedefense.com/daily-news/pen...boeing%C2% Air Force gets first real look at future ICBM designsThe Pentagon in recent months is also scrambling to develop a new hypersonic defense system that is capable of intercepting or shutting down Russian hypersonic missiles. For the first time officially, new "non-kinetic" applications may be introduced. utilizing "high-powered lasers and adopting new "non-kinetic" capabilities"Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) is expected to enter fully operational service in 2027, with projections for application to 2075. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_Bas..._Deterrent I would have to spend more time trying to discover if the Air Force has been given the go-ahead on its 2013 proposal to bore deep underground tunnels connecting the new ICBM missiles. That proposal for an underground subway system, trackless tunnel transport for the entire class of weapons: https://www.wired.com/2013/03/nuclear-subway/ Archangel Michael User ID: 441975 02-27-2019 06:51 PM Posts: 14,103 Post: #2 RE: Boeing bids for new arsenal of ICBMs, Nikki Haley named to BoD Curious how the war monger Haley winds up on the board of part of the MIC. Damnrod Pull my finger User ID: 296050 02-27-2019 06:55 PM Posts: 7,591 Post: #3 RE: Boeing bids for new arsenal of ICBMs, Nikki Haley named to BoD Surprise...surprise...surprise...nah, not really. and this folks is an example of how things work. This airhead knows nothing about building weapons and planes but she did rub elbows and bump uglies with a lot of powerful people while at the UN. Do you do Political favors much? "I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery"...Thomas Jefferson "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it"...Thomas Jefferson LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 479750 02-27-2019 07:02 PM Post: #4 RE: Boeing bids for new arsenal of ICBMs, Nikki Haley named to BoD Archangel Wrote: (02-27-2019 06:51 PM) Curious how the war monger Haley winds up on the board of part of the MIC. To be expected, sure she will also oversee the sale of nukes to Saudi Arabia. To be expected, sure she will also oversee the sale of nukes to Saudi Arabia. Treebeard Registered User User ID: 479750 02-27-2019 07:04 PM Posts: 4,307 Post: #5 RE: Boeing bids for new arsenal of ICBMs, Nikki Haley named to BoD Notice one of the links in the OP is basically an official admission that the US has no defense at all against the new classes of Russian hypersonic missiles. Archangel Michael User ID: 441975 02-27-2019 07:08 PM Posts: 14,103 Post: #6 RE: Boeing bids for new arsenal of ICBMs, Nikki Haley named to BoD LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 07:02 PM) Archangel Wrote: (02-27-2019 06:51 PM) Curious how the war monger Haley winds up on the board of part of the MIC. To be expected, sure she will also oversee the sale of nukes to Saudi Arabia. I read something yesterday, posted it in the India/Pakistan war thread, or one of them, that Saudi Arabia may have nukes on order from Pakistan. Saudi's nuclear power plants, quite likely she will have her fingers in the pie. I read something yesterday, posted it in the India/Pakistan war thread, or one of them, that Saudi Arabia may have nukes on order from Pakistan.Saudi's nuclear power plants, quite likely she will have her fingers in the pie. Damnrod Pull my finger User ID: 296050 02-27-2019 07:13 PM Posts: 7,591 Post: #7 RE: Boeing bids for new arsenal of ICBMs, Nikki Haley named to BoD Treebeard Wrote: (02-27-2019 07:04 PM) Notice one of the links in the OP is basically an official admission that the US has no defense at all against the new classes of Russian hypersonic missiles. Yeah and they know it. Park a missile cruiser at the edge of international waters and the flight time will be so short that no one could do anything about it Yeah and they know it.Park a missile cruiser at the edge of international waters and the flight time will be so short that no one could do anything about it "I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery"...Thomas Jefferson "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it"...Thomas Jefferson Archangel Michael User ID: 441975 02-27-2019 07:14 PM Posts: 14,103 Post: #8 RE: Boeing bids for new arsenal of ICBMs, Nikki Haley named to BoD ....snip... Following the money The United States and its allies have had a curious relationship with Pakistan and terrorism for years, as anyone who knows their history will know. What they might not remember, however, is that in February 2007, then vice president, Dick Cheney, made a trip to Pakistan to meet with President General Pervez Musharraf. According to PBS, the secret US-backed campaign against Iran by the terror group known as Jundullah was high on Cheneys agenda. A few months later, ABC News reported that Jundallah, which is responsible for a series of deadly guerrilla raids inside Iran has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials since 2005. The report explains that US relationship with Jundullah is arranged so that the US provides no funding to the group, which would require an official presidential order or finding as well as congressional oversight. Not to mention that former Pakistani army chief, retired General Mirza Aslam Baig, further explained that the U.S. supports the Jundullah terrorist group and uses it to destabilize Iran. Read more Mastermind of Kashmir suicide car bomb attack killed after 12-hour siege Mastermind of Kashmir suicide car bomb attack killed after 12-hour siege Okay, so the US supported the Jundullah group in Pakistan against Iran, but what does that have to do with the current situation at hand? Well, it appears that JeM and other terrorist organisations in Pakistan receive direct support from key US allies, including and especially Saudi Arabia. For example, an action request cable archived by Wikileaks, documenting the illicit finance activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan, stated that it has been an ongoing challenge to persuade Saudi officials to treat terrorist financing emanating from Saudi Arabia as a strategic priority. Still, the cable continues, donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide. Not surprisingly, Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for wait for it Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, LeT [Lashkar-e-Taiba] and other terrorist groups. The LeT is a Pakistan-based terrorist organisation which also has a strong focus on Jammu and Kashmir, where the recent terror attack took place (and Indias initial response). Both LeT and JeM have received overwhelming support from Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) since the early 1990s. In fact, LeT became part of the United Jihad Council in 1993, an umbrella group for militant Islamists operating in Kashmir and in doing so, formed a direct alliance with JeM. As far as the US State Department is concerned, the two groups are almost all but completely synonymous. The ISI itself had been a prime recipient of billions of US aid, particularly under the administration of George W. Bush. The Wikileaks cable clearly shows that the US was well aware elements within the ISI were maintaining ties to the LeT. The cable also noted that Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE have provided support to LeT and other terrorist groups operating in the region as well. All of these countries are US allies. Furthermore, a separate Wikileaks cable confirmed that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been funnelling money not just to LeT but to JeM directly, stating that: Locals believed that charitable activities being carried out by Deobandi and Ahl-e-Hadith organizations, including Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the Al-Khidmat Foundation, and Jaish-e-Mohammed were further strengthening reliance on extremist groups and minimizing the importance of traditionally moderate Sufi religious leaders in these communities. Government and non-governmental sources claimed that financial support estimated at nearly 100 million USD annually was making its way to Deobandi and Ahl-e-Hadith clerics in the region from missionary and Islamic charitable organizations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates ostensibly with the direct support of those governments. Saudi Arabia itself has been considered to be somewhat of a safe haven for jihadists targeting India, including and especially the LeT. An investigation also found that Saudi Arabia funnelled funds to anti-Indian terror groups through Hajj pilgrims, and the Diplomat lamented that JeM hunts for potential recruits among the 150,000 devout Indians visiting Mecca every year. Read more Danger & restraint: Neither India nor Pakistan want to start nuclear war, former leaders insist Danger & restraint: Neither India nor Pakistan want to start nuclear war, former leaders insist So, to summarise: the US has a long and documented history of backing anti-Iranian Sunni-based Pakistani terror groups. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have been funnelling financial support to the LeT, who has a direct alliance and operates in the same area as the JeM (who also receives direct funding from Saudi Arabia), which recently claimed responsibility for an attack which killed at least 40 Indian police personnel. Its not exactly rocket science. Call me a little bit suspicious, but perhaps this is why Saudi Arabia was quite open in its assurances to Islamabad that it need not go after JeM directly, even while the groups leadership apparently continues to live comfortably inside Pakistan. And what no one really seems to be talking about is the implications this wider geostrategic struggle has for the region. Saudi Arabia wants to win Pakistan over in a tug-of-war game in which Islamabad finds itself in the centre, and in doing so, is committing $10 billion to build an oil refinery in the Gwadar port project, which actually puts a major Saudi project on Irans border. Most disturbing is the revelation that Saudi Arabia is also being rumoured to have nuclear weapons on order from Pakistan. If it isnt bad enough that India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons and are now potentially launching air strikes into each others territory, the idea that these apocalyptic weapons could one day end up in the hand of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the country currently launching a genocidal war in Yemen and backing known jihadists right across the wider region, all the whilst constantly threatening war with Tehran, is nothing short of suicidal. According to Israeli media, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmans (MBS) recent visit to Pakistan has essentially cemented Pakistans inclusion in anti-Iran Arab NATO. Will these countries rush to Pakistans aid as it is pummelled by Indian fighter jets? Or will diplomacy and cooler heads eventually prevail? Thankfully, we can trust the media to ask these all-important questions, and not focus its entire energy on yet another regime-change operation in yet another oil rich country, right? https://www.rt.com/op-ed/452461-india-pa...terrorism/ Here it is. Just a rumor at this point, still one that needs to be considered:....snip...The United States and its allies have had a curious relationship with Pakistan and terrorism for years, as anyone who knows their history will know. What they might not remember, however, is that in February 2007, then vice president, Dick Cheney, made a trip to Pakistan to meet with President General Pervez Musharraf. According to PBS, the secret US-backed campaign against Iran by the terror group known as Jundullah was high on Cheneys agenda.A few months later, ABC News reported that Jundallah, which is responsible for a series of deadly guerrilla raids inside Iran has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials since 2005.The report explains that US relationship with Jundullah is arranged so that the US provides no funding to the group, which would require an official presidential order or finding as well as congressional oversight. Not to mention that former Pakistani army chief, retired General Mirza Aslam Baig, further explained that the U.S. supports the Jundullah terrorist group and uses it to destabilize Iran.Read moreMastermind of Kashmir suicide car bomb attack killed after 12-hour siege Mastermind of Kashmir suicide car bomb attack killed after 12-hour siegeOkay, so the US supported the Jundullah group in Pakistan against Iran, but what does that have to do with the current situation at hand? Well, it appears that JeM and other terrorist organisations in Pakistan receive direct support from key US allies, including and especially Saudi Arabia.For example, an action request cable archived by Wikileaks, documenting the illicit finance activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan, stated that it has been an ongoing challenge to persuade Saudi officials to treat terrorist financing emanating from Saudi Arabia as a strategic priority.Still, the cable continues, donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide.Not surprisingly, Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for wait for it Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, LeT [Lashkar-e-Taiba] and other terrorist groups. The LeT is a Pakistan-based terrorist organisation which also has a strong focus on Jammu and Kashmir, where the recent terror attack took place (and Indias initial response). Both LeT and JeM have received overwhelming support from Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) since the early 1990s. In fact, LeT became part of the United Jihad Council in 1993, an umbrella group for militant Islamists operating in Kashmir and in doing so, formed a direct alliance with JeM. As far as the US State Department is concerned, the two groups are almost all but completely synonymous.The ISI itself had been a prime recipient of billions of US aid, particularly under the administration of George W. Bush. The Wikileaks cable clearly shows that the US was well aware elements within the ISI were maintaining ties to the LeT.The cable also noted that Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE have provided support to LeT and other terrorist groups operating in the region as well. All of these countries are US allies.Furthermore, a separate Wikileaks cable confirmed that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been funnelling money not just to LeT but to JeM directly, stating that:Locals believed that charitable activities being carried out by Deobandi and Ahl-e-Hadith organizations, including Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the Al-Khidmat Foundation, and Jaish-e-Mohammed were further strengthening reliance on extremist groups and minimizing the importance of traditionally moderate Sufi religious leaders in these communities. Government and non-governmental sources claimed that financial support estimated at nearly 100 million USD annually was making its way to Deobandi and Ahl-e-Hadith clerics in the region from missionary and Islamic charitable organizations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates ostensibly with the direct support of those governments.Saudi Arabia itself has been considered to be somewhat of a safe haven for jihadists targeting India, including and especially the LeT. An investigation also found that Saudi Arabia funnelled funds to anti-Indian terror groups through Hajj pilgrims, and the Diplomat lamented that JeM hunts for potential recruits among the 150,000 devout Indians visiting Mecca every year.Read moreDanger & restraint: Neither India nor Pakistan want to start nuclear war, former leaders insist Danger & restraint: Neither India nor Pakistan want to start nuclear war, former leaders insistSo, to summarise: the US has a long and documented history of backing anti-Iranian Sunni-based Pakistani terror groups. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have been funnelling financial support to the LeT, who has a direct alliance and operates in the same area as the JeM (who also receives direct funding from Saudi Arabia), which recently claimed responsibility for an attack which killed at least 40 Indian police personnel.Its not exactly rocket science. Call me a little bit suspicious, but perhaps this is why Saudi Arabia was quite open in its assurances to Islamabad that it need not go after JeM directly, even while the groups leadership apparently continues to live comfortably inside Pakistan.And what no one really seems to be talking about is the implications this wider geostrategic struggle has for the region. Saudi Arabia wants to win Pakistan over in a tug-of-war game in which Islamabad finds itself in the centre, and in doing so, is committing $10 billion to build an oil refinery in the Gwadar port project, which actually puts a major Saudi project on Irans border.According to Israeli media, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmans (MBS) recent visit to Pakistan has essentially cemented Pakistans inclusion in anti-Iran Arab NATO. Will these countries rush to Pakistans aid as it is pummelled by Indian fighter jets? Or will diplomacy and cooler heads eventually prevail?Thankfully, we can trust the media to ask these all-important questions, and not focus its entire energy on yet another regime-change operation in yet another oil rich country, right? Damnrod Pull my finger User ID: 296050 02-27-2019 07:15 PM Posts: 7,591 Post: #9 RE: Boeing bids for new arsenal of ICBMs, Nikki Haley named to BoD Archangel Wrote: (02-27-2019 07:08 PM) LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 07:02 PM) To be expected, sure she will also oversee the sale of nukes to Saudi Arabia. I read something yesterday, posted it in the India/Pakistan war thread, or one of them, that Saudi Arabia may have nukes on order from Pakistan. Saudi's nuclear power plants, quite likely she will have her fingers in the pie. I would bet they already have nukes (illegally) but they are now moving to legitimize their ownership of them I would bet they already have nukes (illegally) but they are now moving to legitimize their ownership of them "I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery"...Thomas Jefferson "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it"...Thomas Jefferson Treebeard Registered User User ID: 479750 02-28-2019 12:12 AM Posts: 4,307 Post: #10 RE: Boeing bids for new arsenal of ICBMs, Nikki Haley named to BoD The elite are bad for us all, common people everywhere under threat from the actions and recklessness of these scumbags. Treebeard Registered User User ID: 574852 01-20-2021 01:55 AM Posts: 4,307 Post: #11 RE: Boeing bids for new arsenal of ICBMs, Nikki Haley named to BoD Remember this when she runs for PRESIDENT !!!!! Back to Forum Reply to This post Post New Thread Home | World | Africa | First ever albinism free clinic in Harare, Zimbabwe Global Aid Missions, a non-governmental organization that supports people with Albinism, has opened the first ever albinism free clinic in Harare, Zimbabwe. The GAM Health Clinic situated at number 53 Central Avenue in Harare, will also be open to the general public. People with Albinism (PWA) have been for a long time marginalized from the mainstream healthcare services due to stigmatization and poverty, and the purpose of this clinic is to close the gap. Our mission is to make the lives of people with Albinism a living experience through the service provision of GP Consultations, Sexual Reproductive Health Services, Ophthalmology Services, Dental Services as well as Dermatological Services. In the process, we will be collecting baseline data for the purposes of coming up with interventions towards the reduction of early life mortality for PWA. At the moment the clinic is offering GP Consultations, Family Planning Services, HIV/AIDS Testing and Counselling, Medical Examinations and Immunization. We still need assistance with capacitating the Ophthalmology, Dermatology and Dental rooms at the clinic. Nevertheless, there is some emphasis on equipping the Dermatology room as it is key for the early detection of cancerous lesions. This will greatly help with the reduction of early life mortality among people with albinism. The Clinic Project was birthed in 2014 and the journey to the establishment of the first albinism free clinic has been an uphill task but one which has now been scaled over. Plans to open more clinics around Zimbabwe are in the pipeline. The Clinic Project is structured in such a way that it can sustain itself. People with albinism get services for free and the general public pays a subsidized charity fee. About Global Aid Missions: Global Aid Missions (GAM) is a non-governmental organization registered in Zimbabwe that supports people with albinism. Founded in 2007, GAM has assisted people with albinism through education, health, counselling, advocacy and psychosocial support. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: Africa Loading... Home | World | Africa | Mnangagwa mortgages diamonds to Botswana PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa's government could be mortgaging the country's diamond deposits to Botswana, which has offered the struggling economy a US$500 million bailout backed by diamonds and a further one billion pula bailout package for the private sector, months after being spurned by South Africa. Officially opening the inaugural session of the Zimbabwe-Botswana Bi-National Commission in Harare yesterday, Foreign Affairs and International Trade ministry secretary Joe Manzou confirmed the two major deals, which could throw the already over-indebted Zimbabwe deeper into debt. Previously, the cash-strapped and investment-hungry country has entered into several similar arrangements with China and Russia, which have doled out arms and millions in loans to Harare in a series of murky deals in return for unrestricted access to the country's vast platinum and diamond deposits. "Zimbabwe is also appreciative of the US$500 million diamond-backed facility offered by Botswana. I also urge this meeting of officials to work in earnest to ensure that all outstanding issues relating to this facility are finalised," he said. The Botswana US$500 million package, which will be backed by the Chiadzwa diamonds, is still murky and will be finalised during the two-day bi-national commission between the two countries. The deal marks an improvement in relations between the two neighbouring countries, which had experienced years of deteriorating diplomatic relations during the tenure of former presidents Robert Mugabe and Ian Khama. Khama was the only African leader who would stand to challenge Mugabe's transgressions. "I wish to extend my gratitude to the support extended to Zimbabwe, by Botswana, as our country embarks on a development trajectory under the new dispensation Zimbabwe welcomes with much appreciation that Botswana proposed a P1 billion credit line facility in support of the Zimbabwe private sector," Manzou said. The loan facility will be extended directly to the private sector for retooling and recapitalisation. Economist Eddie Cross said Zimbabwe did not need to get the loan facility backed by diamonds, saying it was equal to mortgaging the future of the country and could push the sector into losses. "We are mortgaging our future and we should not be doing that. I don't think we are short of foreign currency to the point of wanting to mortgage our future, because we are going to get a return which is less than the market rate and it's not necessary," he said. Cross said Zimbabwe was better off raising the $500 million from direct sales of its diamonds, instead of getting the loan. "This shows that we have no proper commercial control of the diamond market. They should look at Botswana, they have proper controls and they have an effective market which they sell their diamonds and get fair value, which we could do. In my view, this is retrogressive," he said. Botswana's International Affairs and Co-operation permanent secretary Gaeimelwe Goitsemang confirmed the deal, saying his country had a massive interest in partnering Zimbabwe in enhancing its diamond industry. "Both our countries are experiencing high levels of unemployment. Zimbabwe has incorporated vocational training in its curriculum, making it easy for your people to be resourceful. This is something we can learn from Zimbabwe," he said. " Botswana has the expertise in the diamond industry. Over the years, we have even started the process of diamond beneficiation to ensure that we develop local skills in the industry. We can share our experiences to help Zimbabwe develop her own industry." Former Finance minister Tendai Biti said the money, which is equivalent to $100 million, was a drop in the ocean for a country which needs nearly $2 billion to retool and capacitate its industry. "That's a drop in the ocean. That is absolutely nothing. The industry itself needs about $2 billion to retool," he said, adding money alone would not save the country's economy because there were a lot of micro-economic fundamentals that government needed to get right. "In any event, it's not about the money. Do we have the right micro-economic fundamentals, a decent exchange rate? There is chaos with the situation of the RTGS$ [real time gross settlement dollar]. The statutory instrument shows that it's a virtual currency and the politics is just not right, so you can pour money, but that won't change anything," he said. Owing to the political uncertainty at home and indebtedness, the country has been struggling to get badly needed lines of credit from international financial institutions and is now turning to its neighbours for help. The United Kingdom and European Union have demanded political and economic reforms as a prerequisite before they can extend lines of credit to Mnangagwa's administration. Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president Sifelani Jabangwe said the loan could have a significant impact on industry and the economy by boosting the depleted nostro accounts, adding that the money would go a long way to help retool small businesses. "It will boost the nostro accounts and provide capital for retooling. This will significantly help business that require around US$500 000 and below to retool and ramp up production and productivity," he said. Since coming into office, Mnangagwa has been in drive to attract the much-needed foreign direct investment and loans to capacitate the country's ailing industry. Zimbabwe's external debt currently stands in excess of $10 billion, presenting a massive setback on the economy. Apart from what have been coined mega deals and commitments to invest, the Mnangagwa administration has not been able to record meaningful economic traction. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: Africa Loading... Home | World | Africa | Mnangagwa's govt releases international labour leader The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Africa Secretary General Kwasi Adu Amankwah, who was being held by the The Zimbabwe Immigration department since Tuesday morning, has been released, according to Information Permanent Secretary, Nick Mangwana. Adu Amankwah arrived in the country on Tuesday morning for an international solidarity meeting with one of ITUC Africa affiliate, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and he was taken into the custody of immigration officials and taken back to Robert Mugabe International Airport just after he had checked into a Harare hotel. It is not yet clear why he was held, and there are no details as yet on the conditions of his release. Fears were now abound that he could be deported, and ITUC had to intervene by urgently writing to President Emmerson Mnanagwa, demanding for the labour leader's immediate release. Amankwah is scheduled to meet the Ministry of Labour, the International Labour Organisation and the Employers Confederation of Zimbabwe for an appreciation of the trade union and country obtaining situations. "This is to bring to your attention that Adu-Amnkwah (a Ghanaian) has been taken from (a local hotel) where he checked in upon arrivalwe fear he is being processed for deportation. We, nevertheless, hope this will not be the case," reads part of the ITUC Africa letter to Mnangagwa, signed by the Deputy Secretary Adrian Akouete. "We ask that your government take the necessary steps to ensure that Adu-Amankwah is released and allowed to continue with his mission. The least appropriate thing will be that the ZImbabwe Department of Immigration will tender an unreserved apology for this action and take genuine efforts to prevent future reoccurence," read part of the ITUC letter. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: Africa Loading... Crisis Coalition in Zimbabwe chairperson Rashid Mahiya appeared before Magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa today charged with subversion following violent demonstrations that rocked the country in January. He was remanded in custody to 12 March. Mahiya is accused of being the mastermind behind the demos following his address to members of Heal Zimbabwe Trust in partnership with Interpeace of Switzerland between 3 and 6 December 2018 at a resort area in Harare. Mahiya allegedly incited some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the public to subvert a constitutionally elected Government. Mr Shepherd Makonde prosecuted. About 1000 people were arrested in connection with charges of wanton destruction of property and looting during the MDC Alliance and civil society organisations-led protests. Mahiya was on the police radar and believed to be in hiding before surrendering himself to the police on Monday. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: Africa Loading... Home | News | General | Accept outcome of election - Senator Manager urges Uduaghan - The winner of the Delta south senatorial election, Senator James Manager of the PDP, urges his follow contestants to accept the outcome of the election - Manager says the election victory is more about Delta south senatorial district and not about himself - The senator congratulates other candidates and ascribed his victory to the work of God The winner of the Delta south senatorial election, Senator James Manager of the PDP, has urged his fellow contestant, Emmanuel Uduaghan of the APC to accept the outcome of the election in the interest of the people. Manager made the statement after Uduaghan wrote a petition calling for the cancellation of the result over alleged election malpractice, Vanguard reports. READ ALSO: PDP urges Nigerians to remain peaceful after election defeat But Senator Manager in response, told Uduaghan, who he called a brother, that all contestants were together. He said the election was about Delta south senatorial district. To all my fellow candidates, particularly my main challenger, my brother, friend, ally and Oga, Dr. Emmanuel Ewetan Uduaghan, we are all winners together after all it is about Delta South senatorial district," he said. I want to sincerely thank my teeming supporters, by that I mean all in Delta south. I want to thank you all for giving me your support thus far. Your support is what I dont take for granted. So, I am grateful to everybody for their continued confidence and faith in me. This victory is for all delta southerners. I am most grateful to Almighty God who has made this victory possible. READ ALSO: Breaking: INEC officially declares President Buhari winner of 2019 election Senator Manager said his victory is not about him. He also congratulated other candidates and ascribed his victory to the work of God. In another news report, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state has said he has retired a former governor of the state and incumbent senator representing Benue north west, George Akume, as he promised to do. Ortom made the statement when reacting to Akumes defeat by the serving House of Representatives member representing Buruku constituency, Emmanuel Yisa Orker Jev, in six out of seven local government areas of the state, The New Telegraph reports. The governor stated that Akume deserved the humiliating defeat for playing God in Benue politics. He described the senators defeat as an act of God. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! 2019 Election: Nigerians reveal what Buhari did to them| Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Username: Password: or Register Back to Forum Reply to This post Post New Thread Thread Rating: 3 Vote(s) - 2.33 Average 1 2 3 4 5 Page: 1 2 Let's talk a little about Trump's adoration of the 'Kim personality cult' spo snouou Vocem sine nomine audivit! User ID: 350320 02-27-2019 12:10 PM Posts: 66,867 Post: #1 Let's talk a little about Trump's adoration of the 'Kim personality cult' Advertisement Trump has some nerve to attack Senator Richard Blumenthal who actually did serve in the Marine Corps Reserves from 1970 to 1976 within the United States. Trump, on the other hand, had two doctors commit fraud and lie about him having bone spurs so that he could dodge the draft. It boggles the mind that bone spurs draft dodger Trump, who boasted that his own personal Vietnam War was avoiding STDs from all the unprotected sex he was having, would have the audacity to attack someone who actually served in the military about their service record. Trump is unhinged because Michael Cohen is set to publicly testify against him. In fact, in his opening statement Cohen talks about Trumps fake bone spurs and quotes Trump as saying You think Im stupid, I wasnt going to Vietnam. How ironic that hes there right now. In fact, Trump is in Hanoi meeting with the brutal North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un for the second time since the first summit in Singapore. Hes being played by Kim and all his advisors and even his Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats knows it. Trump admires Kim Jong Un to such a bizarre and scary degree. In fact, Trump told a crowd in West Virginia that he and Kim fell in love over love letters. It was so strange and crazy to watch the President of the United States say such a thing about a North Korean dictator. But it goes even further than that. Trump, believe it or not, covets the same type of absolute dictatorial power as Kim. He told a reporter in front of the White House that when Kim speaks his people sit at attention and Trump wants the American people to do the same for him. Keep in mind that the reason Kim Jong Un is able to command such terrifying attention is that he has literally executed members of his inner circle for having a slouching posture or dozing off. He blows them up with anti-aircraft guns and burns their bodies with flamethrowers. You know, the best part of the Hanoi summit was supposed to be the Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump impersonators. But the authorities were party poopers and deported the Kim Jong Un impersonator. The Trump one got to stay because the plane tickets to get him out were too expensive. https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/11006...reshed=yes It boggles the mind that bone spurs draft dodger Trump, who boasted that his own personal Vietnam War was avoiding STDs from all the unprotected sex he was having, would have the audacity to attack someone who actually served in the military about their service record.Trump is unhinged because Michael Cohen is set to publicly testify against him. In fact, in his opening statement Cohen talks about Trumps fake bone spurs and quotes Trump as saying You think Im stupid, I wasnt going to Vietnam. How ironic that hes there right now.In fact, Trump is in Hanoi meeting with the brutal North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un for the second time since the first summit in Singapore. Hes being played by Kim and all his advisors and even his Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats knows it. Trump admires Kim Jong Un to such a bizarre and scary degree. In fact, Trump told a crowd in West Virginia that he and Kim fell in love over love letters. It was so strange and crazy to watch the President of the United States say such a thing about a North Korean dictator. But it goes even further than that. Trump, believe it or not, covets the same type of absolute dictatorial power as Kim. He told a reporter in front of the White House that when Kim speaks his people sit at attention and Trump wants the American people to do the same for him.Keep in mind that the reason Kim Jong Un is able to command such terrifying attention is that he has literally executed members of his inner circle for having a slouching posture or dozing off. He blows them up with anti-aircraft guns and burns their bodies with flamethrowers. You know, the best part of the Hanoi summit was supposed to be the Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump impersonators. But the authorities were party poopers and deported the Kim Jong Un impersonator. The Trump one got to stay because the plane tickets to get him out were too expensive. general mishka Registered User User ID: 490426 02-27-2019 01:02 PM Posts: 20,922 Post: #2 RE: Let's talk a little about Trump's adoration of the 'Kim personality cult' spo snouou Wrote: (02-27-2019 12:10 PM) Trump has some nerve to attack Senator Richard Blumenthal who actually did serve in the Marine Corps Reserves from 1970 to 1976 within the United States. Trump, on the other hand, had two doctors commit fraud and lie about him having bone spurs so that he could dodge the draft. It boggles the mind that bone spurs draft dodger Trump, who boasted that his own personal Vietnam War was avoiding STDs from all the unprotected sex he was having, would have the audacity to attack someone who actually served in the military about their service record. Trump is unhinged because Michael Cohen is set to publicly testify against him. In fact, in his opening statement Cohen talks about Trumps fake bone spurs and quotes Trump as saying You think Im stupid, I wasnt going to Vietnam. How ironic that hes there right now. In fact, Trump is in Hanoi meeting with the brutal North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un for the second time since the first summit in Singapore. Hes being played by Kim and all his advisors and even his Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats knows it. Trump admires Kim Jong Un to such a bizarre and scary degree. In fact, Trump told a crowd in West Virginia that he and Kim fell in love over love letters. It was so strange and crazy to watch the President of the United States say such a thing about a North Korean dictator. But it goes even further than that. Trump, believe it or not, covets the same type of absolute dictatorial power as Kim. He told a reporter in front of the White House that when Kim speaks his people sit at attention and Trump wants the American people to do the same for him. Keep in mind that the reason Kim Jong Un is able to command such terrifying attention is that he has literally executed members of his inner circle for having a slouching posture or dozing off. He blows them up with anti-aircraft guns and burns their bodies with flamethrowers. You know, the best part of the Hanoi summit was supposed to be the Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump impersonators. But the authorities were party poopers and deported the Kim Jong Un impersonator. The Trump one got to stay because the plane tickets to get him out were too expensive. https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/11006...reshed=yes Trump is just patronizing the little fat boy. About the only thing that Donald admires, is Kims harem of the finest North Korean Chicks Trump is just patronizing the little fat boy. About the only thing that Donald admires, is Kims harem of the finest North Korean Chicks spo snouou Vocem sine nomine audivit! User ID: 350320 02-27-2019 01:07 PM Posts: 66,867 Post: #3 RE: Let's talk a little about Trump's adoration of the 'Kim personality cult' President Trump Posts Altered Photos to Facebook and Instagram That Make Him Look Thinner The original photo was taken by a White House photographer on January 14, so you know that the original hasnt been altered by anyone in the so-called fake news media to make Trump look heavier. It sounds silly to even have to say that, but many Trump supporters believe that the media is involved in a coordinated conspiracy against him. Allegations about this conspiracy often have anti-semitic overtones. As you can see in the comparison above, Trumps right shoulder has been slimmed down and his face is looking thinner. Hes also gotten a haircutwell, a digital one anywayand in one of the strangest alterations, Trumps fingers have been made slightly longer. Seriously. Donald Trump, an unindicted co-conspirator whose own lawyer admits that the president was trying to secure a real estate deal in Russia as late as November of 2016, has been somewhat sensitive about the size of his hands ever since journalist Graydon Carter described Trump as a short-fingered vulgarian. Carter was writing for the now-defunct Spy magazine in the 1980s when he made the observation and the insult has reportedly bothered Trump for decades. more: https://gizmodo.com/president-trump-post...09849?IR=T Familism in the personality cult Familism is a type of collectivism in which the one is expected to prioritize the needs of the greater society or family over the needs of the individual. This plays out on a large scale in North Korea, where the Great Leader Kim Il-Sung is Father and the Worker's Party is Mother. Thus, not only are the people expected to cherish their birth parents and treat them with all the respect demanded of traditional Confucian filial piety, but they must cherish and adore the ruling Kim family and the Mother Party even more so. Familism in North Korea stems from a combination of the traditional East Asian Confucian value of filial piety, the communist system of collectivism, and the Kim cult of personality. As a traditional East Asian and Confucian value, the importance of family has come to resonate through all aspects of North Korean life, from politics to the economy to education and even to interpersonal relationships between friends and enemies. When the Soviet Union first entered North Korea in 1945 to start its occupation, it had to start almost from scratch in establishing a communist base in the capital region of Pyongyang.[95] In fact, the Soviets' ideologies of communism and socialism were likely as foreign to the Koreans of Pyongyang as the Soviets themselves. However, by emphasizing family and a father-child relationship between the Soviet Union and Korea, and later between Kim Il-Sung and the North Korean people, Kim not only managed to apply Western Marxism to an Asian state, but also to secure his own personality cult, thereby constructing a sense of unquestioning loyalty toward him amongst the North Korean people when North Korea was at its most vulnerable to unwelcome western influences. However, in the late 1960s after the establishment of Juche as official North Korean ideology, through the cult of personality North Korea began to prominently focus the family ideology more on the North Korean nation itself, with Kim Il-Sung himself as the new pater familias. The cults of personality also promote the idea of the ruling Kims as a model family. In grief over the death of his second son, Kim Pyong-Il in 1947, Kim Il-Sung returned to the very same spot a decade later with a Korean shaman to perform rituals to "assuage his loss and pain."[96] There was particular stress on the Confucian filial love of the son for his parents. After their deaths Kim dedicated monuments to his father and mother, respectively. However, biographer Dae-Sook Suh doubts the sincerity of Kims displays of reverence of his parents. In considering Kims relatively independent childhood, Suh does not believe that Kim held any special love for his parents that would necessitate separate museums and statues for each. Instead, Suh says that "his purpose, rather, seems to be more self-serving: an effort to build his own image as a pious Korean son from a revolutionary family."[84] By publicly portraying himself as a loyal son who loved his mother and father, Kim positioned himself to demand the same filial loyalty from his subjects. Likewise, in celebration of his father's 60th birthday, Kim Jong-Il produced three operas for him,[citation needed] built three monuments, including North Korea's Arch of Triumph, for his 70th birthday in 1982,[97] and upon Kim Il-Sungs death in 1994, Kim Jong-Il declared three years of mourning before fully claiming leadership of North Korea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Kore...im_Il-sung Lots of similarity between Trump and Kim's cults.The original photo was taken by a White House photographer on January 14, so you know that the original hasnt been altered by anyone in the so-called fake news media to make Trump look heavier. It sounds silly to even have to say that, but many Trump supporters believe that the media is involved in a coordinated conspiracy against him. Allegations about this conspiracy often have anti-semitic overtones.As you can see in the comparison above, Trumps right shoulder has been slimmed down and his face is looking thinner. Hes also gotten a haircutwell, a digital one anywayand in one of the strangest alterations, Trumps fingers have been made slightly longer. Seriously.Donald Trump, an unindicted co-conspirator whose own lawyer admits that the president was trying to secure a real estate deal in Russia as late as November of 2016, has been somewhat sensitive about the size of his hands ever since journalist Graydon Carter described Trump as a short-fingered vulgarian. Carter was writing for the now-defunct Spy magazine in the 1980s when he made the observation and the insult has reportedly bothered Trump for decades.more:Familism is a type of collectivism in which the one is expected to prioritize the needs of the greater society or family over the needs of the individual. This plays out on a large scale in North Korea, where the Great Leader Kim Il-Sung is Father and the Worker's Party is Mother. Thus, not only are the people expected to cherish their birth parents and treat them with all the respect demanded of traditional Confucian filial piety, but they must cherish and adore the ruling Kim family and the Mother Party even more so.Familism in North Korea stems from a combination of the traditional East Asian Confucian value of filial piety, the communist system of collectivism, and the Kim cult of personality. As a traditional East Asian and Confucian value, the importance of family has come to resonate through all aspects of North Korean life, from politics to the economy to education and even to interpersonal relationships between friends and enemies.When the Soviet Union first entered North Korea in 1945 to start its occupation, it had to start almost from scratch in establishing a communist base in the capital region of Pyongyang.[95] In fact, the Soviets' ideologies of communism and socialism were likely as foreign to the Koreans of Pyongyang as the Soviets themselves. However, by emphasizing family and a father-child relationship between the Soviet Union and Korea, and later between Kim Il-Sung and the North Korean people, Kim not only managed to apply Western Marxism to an Asian state, but also to secure his own personality cult, thereby constructing a sense of unquestioning loyalty toward him amongst the North Korean people when North Korea was at its most vulnerable to unwelcome western influences.However, in the late 1960s after the establishment of Juche as official North Korean ideology, through the cult of personality North Korea began to prominently focus the family ideology more on the North Korean nation itself, with Kim Il-Sung himself as the new pater familias.The cults of personality also promote the idea of the ruling Kims as a model family. In grief over the death of his second son, Kim Pyong-Il in 1947, Kim Il-Sung returned to the very same spot a decade later with a Korean shaman to perform rituals to "assuage his loss and pain."[96] There was particular stress on the Confucian filial love of the son for his parents. After their deaths Kim dedicated monuments to his father and mother, respectively.However, biographer Dae-Sook Suh doubts the sincerity of Kims displays of reverence of his parents. In considering Kims relatively independent childhood, Suh does not believe that Kim held any special love for his parents that would necessitate separate museums and statues for each. Instead, Suh says that "his purpose, rather, seems to be more self-serving: an effort to build his own image as a pious Korean son from a revolutionary family."[84] By publicly portraying himself as a loyal son who loved his mother and father, Kim positioned himself to demand the same filial loyalty from his subjects.Likewise, in celebration of his father's 60th birthday, Kim Jong-Il produced three operas for him,[citation needed] built three monuments, including North Korea's Arch of Triumph, for his 70th birthday in 1982,[97] and upon Kim Il-Sungs death in 1994, Kim Jong-Il declared three years of mourning before fully claiming leadership of North Korea. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 490985 02-27-2019 01:16 PM Post: #4 RE: Let's talk a little about Trump's adoration of the 'Kim personality cult' all the elite filth are part of the same cult...Kimmy and trumpy could be twins, blue suits for the whole class! make em perfect! Laserz let there be light User ID: 490843 02-27-2019 01:51 PM Posts: 40,481 Post: #5 RE: Let's talk a little about Trump's adoration of the 'Kim personality cult' Five stars ***** You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. ~ C.S. Lewis LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 489497 02-27-2019 01:51 PM Post: #6 RE: Let's talk a little about Trump's adoration of the 'Kim personality cult' Trump is the only one who has bothered to make any headway with NK. Insult away, it is still more than anyone before him has bothered to do. Here is a thought, why don't we let him try? Laserz let there be light User ID: 490843 02-27-2019 01:53 PM Posts: 40,481 Post: #7 RE: Let's talk a little about Trump's adoration of the 'Kim personality cult' LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 01:51 PM) Trump is the only one who has bothered to make any headway with NK. Insult away, it is still more than anyone before him has bothered to do. Here is a thought, why don't we let him try? Colluding isnt a good negotiation tactic. Colluding isnt a good negotiation tactic. You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. ~ C.S. Lewis LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 490988 02-27-2019 01:55 PM Post: #8 RE: Let's talk a little about Trump's adoration of the 'Kim personality cult' LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 01:51 PM) Trump is the only one who has bothered to make any headway with NK. Insult away, it is still more than anyone before him has bothered to do. Here is a thought, why don't we let him try? These morons would rather go up in flames than have Trump piss on them to put out the fire. These morons would rather go up in flames than have Trump piss on them to put out the fire. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 490988 02-27-2019 01:56 PM Post: #9 RE: Let's talk a little about Trump's adoration of the 'Kim personality cult' Fork Wrote: (02-27-2019 01:53 PM) LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 01:51 PM) Trump is the only one who has bothered to make any headway with NK. Insult away, it is still more than anyone before him has bothered to do. Here is a thought, why don't we let him try? Colluding isnt a good negotiation tactic. You really are a dumb ass arent you? Now run to your mommy mod. You really are a dumb ass arent you? Now run to your mommy mod. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 490955 02-27-2019 01:56 PM Post: #10 RE: Let's talk a little about Trump's adoration of the 'Kim personality cult' LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 01:51 PM) Trump is the only one who has bothered to make any headway with NK. Insult away, it is still more than anyone before him has bothered to do. Here is a thought, why don't we let him try? trump enjoys going on vacation. that's it. free holiday to asia on the taxpayer dime. just like his free golfing vacations to Florida every weekend. nothing has changed in NK you dumbfuck trump enjoys going on vacation. that's it. free holiday to asia on the taxpayer dime. just like his free golfing vacations to Florida every weekend.nothing has changed in NK you dumbfuck spo snouou Vocem sine nomine audivit! User ID: 350320 02-27-2019 01:59 PM Posts: 66,867 Post: #11 RE: Let's talk a little about Trump's adoration of the 'Kim personality cult' Fork Wrote: (02-27-2019 01:51 PM) Five stars ***** spo snouou Wrote: (02-27-2019 01:07 PM) Lots of similarity between Trump and Kim's cults. or I should say.. a lot of similarity to what Trump would like to see his MAGA populist national socialist personality cult movement become. can no body else see this is why they chant socialism at people defending democracy like hare krishnas? or I should say.. a lot of similarity to what Trump would like to see his MAGA populist national socialist personality cult movement become.can no body else see this is why they chant socialism at people defending democracy like hare krishnas? (This post was last modified: 02-27-2019 02:04 PM by spo snouou .) Laserz let there be light User ID: 490843 02-27-2019 02:02 PM Posts: 40,481 Post: #12 RE: Let's talk a little about Trump's adoration of the 'Kim personality cult' LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 01:56 PM) LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 01:51 PM) Trump is the only one who has bothered to make any headway with NK. Insult away, it is still more than anyone before him has bothered to do. Here is a thought, why don't we let him try? trump enjoys going on vacation. that's it. free holiday to asia on the taxpayer dime. just like his free golfing vacations to Florida every weekend. nothing has changed in NK you dumbfuck That is a very good point. That is a very good point. You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. ~ C.S. Lewis LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 490988 02-27-2019 02:03 PM Post: #13 RE: Let's talk a little about Trump's adoration of the 'Kim personality cult' Lets talk a little about you not even living in the U S or being a citizen but constantly posting about our business and president. Have you registered as a foreign agent yet? Laserz let there be light User ID: 490843 02-27-2019 02:03 PM Posts: 40,481 Post: #14 RE: Let's talk a little about Trump's adoration of the 'Kim personality cult' LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 01:56 PM) Fork Wrote: (02-27-2019 01:53 PM) Colluding isnt a good negotiation tactic. You really are a dumb ass arent you? Now run to your mommy mod. Typical reply. Have a good day. Typical reply. Have a good day. You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. ~ C.S. Lewis LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 490988 02-27-2019 02:04 PM Post: #15 RE: Let's talk a little about Trump's adoration of the 'Kim personality cult' Fork Wrote: (02-27-2019 02:02 PM) LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 01:56 PM) trump enjoys going on vacation. that's it. free holiday to asia on the taxpayer dime. just like his free golfing vacations to Florida every weekend. nothing has changed in NK you dumbfuck That is a very good point. No its not unless you are a dim witted naysayer. No its not unless you are a dim witted naysayer. Advertisement Back to Forum Reply to This post Post New Thread Home | News | General | Army reveals how Wike allegedly bribed soldiers to compromise INEC officers - Army has accused Governor Nyesom Wike of an attempt to compromise INEC officers - The deputy director, Army public relations, Col. Aminu Iliyasu, said Wike attempted to induce its officers financially during the Saturday, February 23, elections - But Wike in his reactions, said the state government had written to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute the Army for alleged crimes against humanity The 6 Division of the Nigerian Army has alleged that the governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, attempted to induce its officers financially during the Saturday, February 23, presidential and National Assembly polls. Channels TV reports that during a press briefing in Port Harcourt, on Tuesday, February 26, which was televised live on national television, the Army played an audio purported to be Governor Wikes voice allegedly trying to compromise the officers. READ ALSO: President Buharis full victory speech after his declaration by INEC Legit.ng gathered that the deputy director, Army public relations, Col. Aminu Iliyasu, also claimed that some people who were paraded before the public at the briefing were arrested for their alleged involvement in election malpractice. But the suspects who included some officials of the state government denied the allegations and faulted the Army for parading them as criminals before the public. Governor Wike has also denied the allegation of financial inducement by the 6 Division spokesperson, describing it as baseless. It was gathered that the INEC electoral officer of Ikwerre local government area, Mary Imawuya, said that the military personnel did not allow the ad hoc staff to carry out collation in their wards. She said: Between 7pm and 8pm on Saturday, February 23, 2019, the military invaded INEC office at Isiokpo and they walked out every ad hoc staff that were there to present their results to the collation officers. The evidence is still there. We took recordings. Also speaking, INEC electoral officer for Emohua local government area, Kenneth Etah, blamed the disruption of the collation process in the area on the shootings by the military. As I speak, I do not have any results to present for Emohua Local Government Area because collation did not take place, he said. Sent on:9:35 pm. Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that Nyesom Wike, the Rivers state governor, said that the state government had written to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Jamil Sarhem, for alleged crimes against humanity. READ ALSO: PDP urges Nigerians to remain peaceful after election defeat NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better #Elections2019: INEC announces election results #2 - on Legit.ng TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Buhari's hometown Daura erupts in frenzy as INEC declares president winner of 2019 poll - Daura, the hometown of President Muhammadu Buhari, has been thrown into frenzy - The wild excitement followed the re-election of the president after polling the highest votes - Youths gathered in Daura where activities including car and horse riding began as early as 6.30 am Many people in the ancient town of Daura, Katsina, on Wednesday, February 27, jubilated after the news broke that President Muhammadu Buhari has won a second term. NAN reports that Buhari was declared re-elected having polled 15,191,847 votes, winning in 19 states, to defeat other 72 candidates including Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who scored 11, 255,978 votes and won 17 states and the FCT, to occupied the second position. Youths gathered at the popular Kangiwa square in Daura, where activities including car and horse riding began as early as 6.30 a.m after INEC declared Buhari winner of the elections . READ ALSO: President Buharis full victory speech after his declaration by INEC Some of the residents, who expressed optimism that Buhari would complete the development projects he started, described the re-election as an act of God. Alhaji Abdulmanaf Muhammad, the Northwest zonal organising secretary of the APC said: We are happy. The re-election of Buhari is as an act of God and clear manifestation of the will of the majority . The next four years of this administration, will be for consolidation, nation-building and cooperation. President Buhari will use his wisdom and experience to unite the nation. I call on the president to extend the olive branch to the opposition in the spirit of nation building and cooperation.'' He appealed to the APC-led administration to reconsider bringing back aggrieved members of the party who defected to other political parties. Also speaking, Malam Ali Rabe, a civil servant said: ''We are so happy today. We cannot control our feelings. ''We pray for him to succeed in the next four years by repositioning Nigeria. We also look forward to seeing Buhari tackling the nations economic challenges, strict adherence to rule of law especially on anti corruption fight and attitudinal change amongst Nigerians.'' Also speaking, Alhaji Lawal Garba ,a former member of House of Representatives, described Buharis victory as the victory for Nigeria and the entire African continent especially considering the role played by Nigeria on the African continent on sensitive issues . Contributing, Alhaji Shuaibu Wakili, the Katsina state chairman of the Rice Farmers Association, who glorified God for the victory of Buhari, called on members to pray for a successful tenure for the president. The infographics of the 2019 presidential election result by Legit.ng. Source: UGC He said: Hundreds of members of the association have benefited from the anchor borrower agricultural programme of this administration. ''We are looking forward to many more laudable programmes for Nigerians.'' PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news update Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had officially declared President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress as the winner of the 2019 presidential election, defeating Atiku Abubakar of the PDP with over three million votes. Mahmood Yakubu said the duty of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is to conclude and collate the presidential result for final declaration. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! 2019 Election: Nigerians reveal what Buhari did to them| Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Delta APC calls for cancellation of presidential, NASS election over alleged rigging - The APC in Delta state has called for the cancellation of the Presidential and National Assembly elecction - The Delta chapter of the APC claimed that the February 23 election was rigged - The party claimed that the PDP leadership in the state compromised the military and police operatives The Delta state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on has alleged that there was massive rigging in the just concluded presidential and national assembly elections which was held in the state on February 23. The party is asking the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancelled the election due to the alleged rigging. In a statement signed and made available to newsmen by the Director General (DG), Delta State APC Campaign Council/Great Ogboru Campaign Organisation, Hon. Timinimi George, the party called for INEC to cancelled results from all the troubled local government area in the state. READ ALSO: International media react to Buharis re-election The statement reads: There was no election in the riverine areas of Delta South. What happened was daylight robbery and a shameless effrontery on our nascent democracy. The PDP leadership in the state largely compromised the military and police operatives deployed by authorities to ensure a free and fair elections. "In Delta South, in the riverine areas of Burutu, Bomadi and Patani LGAs, the PDP leaders hijacked ballot papers and thumb printed massively in favour of their party and candidates. The venue of their thump printing is like a massive polling centre with many men and women aggressively carrying out this criminal act . I have enough video to buttress what I am saying. In Warri south west local government area at Ogbe-Ijoh, in ward 1 of unit 005, 006, 007 and 008 in the riverine areas of the LGA, elections were characterised by massive rigging in connivance with INEC officials. "There were also hellish thuggery, harassment and intimidation of voters and agents. These criminal acts were also awfully manifest in Gbaramatu, Oporoza , and Isaba wards of same LGA. Burutu and BOMADI LGAs and the Riverine areas of Patani LGA also shared in the barbaric and mindless rigging with the attendant violence. "Tragically, in the few Units and Wards where few electoral materials were present, the result sheets for the units were missing completely. I therefore call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to outrightly cancel the elections in the aforementioned LGAs." PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, rejected the result of the election won by President Muhammadu Buhari. Atiku, who had kept mute since Monday, February 25, when the results showed that he was going to be the loser, knocked the election as a sham. The former vice president said if he had lost in a free and fair election, he would have called the victor within seconds of being aware of his victory to offer not just his congratulations. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! 2019 Election: Nigerians reveal what Buhari did to them| - on Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | 2019 presidential election: How Buhari, Atiku stand in 36 states, FCT according to INEC's official results (with infographics) President Muhammadu Buhari is set to be re-elected to lead Africas most populous country for an additional four years. At the end of collation on Tuesday night, February 26, President Buhari crossed the 15 million mark in votes scored in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. He polled 15,191,847 votes, winning in 19 out of the 36 states. READ ALSO: LIVE UPDATES: Day 2: Buhari continues to lead as results of more states are released His main challenger Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party scored 11, 255,978 votes and won 17 states and Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Buhari also satisfied the constitutional requirement of making 25% in 34 states and the FCT. He missed the cut in Enugu and Anambra. According to the electoral commission, 29,364,209 votes were cast out of which 27,324,583 were valid while 1,289,607 votes were rejected. In Summary, this is how Nigerians voted: Infographics show Buhari's and Atiku's votes in the 36 states and the FCT. Credit: NAN Source: UGC Meanwhile, Observer group, YIAGA Africa, had earlier projected that there would be no run-off when the final results of the presidential election is announced. The group made the projection during a press briefing on Monday, February 25 addressed by the chairman of its Watching The Vote Working Group, Dr. Hussaini Abdu. Dr Abdu said its projection is based on what the group received and processed its data from the sampled polling units. PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news update His words: YIAGA Africas preliminary estimates indicate that turnout for the February 23 presidential elections will be between 36% and 40% based on official turnout figures collected from the PVTs representative statistical sample of polling units across the 774 LGAs in the country. If INECs official turnout falls within WTVs estimated range then it accurately reflects the ballots cast at polling units. Although YIAGA Africa currently has a stable estimated range for the election outcome, it is the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that has the mandate to announce results. However, based on currently received observer reports, there will be no run-off for the presidential elections because a clear winner will emerge. YIAGA AFRICAs PVT shows that no candidate will receive more than 55% of the vote share. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: We have updated to serve you better! 2019 Election: Presidential candidate, party leaders react to announced results| Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Breaking: INEC officially declares President Buhari winner of 2019 election The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially declared President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress as the winner of the 2019 presidential election, defeating Atiku Abubakar of the PDP with over three million votes Mahmood Yakubu said the duty of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is to conclude and collate the presidential result for final declaration. READ ALSO: 2019 presidential election: How Buhari, Atiku stand in 36 states, FCT according to INEC's official results (with infographics) He said on the problem of accredited voters not adding up to number of voters, Yajubu said the problem affects less than 2 per cent of voters and thus does not affect the general conclusion. He said in Yobe and Akwa Ibom, the numbers add up. He said on the request of the opening of the commissions backlend for verification and cross checking of voters, he says it is not a matter of law. He said the discussion can be continued after the end of this process. INEc chairman, Mahmood Yakubu signs the collation form Source: Original Osita Chidoka representing the Peoples Democratic Party said there was a discrepancy of more than 1,600, 000 voters in terms of registered voters. He said the cancelled votes affected more than 2 million voters. He claimed there were 5.1 million votes that cannot be accounted for and thus called for a rerun. Scoresheet of the presidential candidates Source: Original In his response, Yakubu said the asserting that 5.1 million voters could not vote because of card readers is not true. He also said when card readers are deliberately circumvented, votes will be cancelled. He said constitutionally, he has two roles. Firstly, as a the chief commissioner of the election, he will announce the national collation of results. Secondly, as the returning officer for the presidential election, he will make an official declaration of the winner of the election. PDP presidential result Source: Original The INEC chairman announced that Muhammadu Buhari of the APC scored 15, 191, 847 votes. while Atiku Abubakar of the PDP scored 11, 262, 978. Total valid votes - 2, 732, 4583 Rejected votes 1, 289, 607 Total votes cast - 2, 861, 4190 Yakubu said following the collation, he said he now performs his role as returning officer and listed all the names of the presidential candidates and their total votes. Mahmood Yakubu declares winner of presidential election Source: Original He said Muhammadu Buhari is declared winner of the election and returned elected. Follow live update of the presidential election here NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! 2019 Election: Nigerians reveal what Buhari did to them| Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Breaking: Buhari speaks after winning 2019 presidential election President Muhammadu Buhari at the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council Office addressed the nation shortly after being declared the winner of the 2019 presidential election. In a brief speech by the president, he thanked Nigerians for re-election him and praised the efforts of the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the party's national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, towards his successful re-election. READ ALSO: LIVE UPDATES: Day 2: Buhari continues to lead as results of more states are released He also commended security agencies for a job well done during the election while expressing condolences over the lives lost during the polls. PAY ATTENTION: Read best news on Nigeria's #1 news app Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had officially declared President Buhari of the APC as the winner of the 2019 presidential election, defeating Atiku Abubakar of the PDP with over three million votes. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! 2019 Election: Nigerians reveal what Buhari did to them| Legit TV [embedded content] CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Home | News | General | Everything you need to know about MDCN portal registration Get to learn how to complete all the MDCN portal procedures online by going through this post. Here are simple step by step tutorials which will help you to register on the website, pay all necessary fees and even your license renewal. So, keep reading if you want to know all the details. Image: pixabay.com Source: Depositphotos Contemporary technology progress provides us with an opportunity to make a lot of things sitting at home. We can make payments, shopping and many other things online without leaving our homes. Fortunately, now we can manage even things concerning our job. MDCN portal is of no exception as all the applications and fees payment options are now available to assess in your computer. Step by step guide for MDCN registration Here, you will find out how to perform MDCN full registration online. All you need to do is follow our easy guidelines. We promise that you will not find it difficult. So, let's get started. Step 1 First of all, you need to visit the official website of MDCN portal. Here, you will see the bar with quick links. Image: mdcn.gov.ng(modified by author) When you direct your cursor at the "Registration. MDCN Licensing," you will be able to see the additional menu dropping out. Image: mdcn.gov.ng (modified by author) From this three-heading menu, click on any shortcut starting with "full registration." You will be redirected to the next page. Step 2 On the registration page, we can see four windows for logging in and registration, providing options for medical staff, organisations and providers of CPD. The one that is of our interest today is "Doctors' Access." Click the "Register" button and proceed to the next step. Image: portal.mdcn.gov.ng (modified by author) Source: Depositphotos Step 3 You will see the window named "Create an account as a Doctor," in which you need to fill the necessary blanks. For the first one, you need to select the type of practice you have. Here, you have three options: Medical registration; Dental registration; Alternative registration. Pick the option which is relevant for you and move to the neighbouring gap. Image: portal.mdcn.gov.ng (modified by author) Source: Depositphotos The next one is for the number of your license, and it is called "Folio number." Fill it out correctly. Note, please, that this is not applicable for those Nigerian doctors who have studied abroad and for foreign doctors as well. Image: portal.mdcn.gov.ng (modified by author) Source: Depositphotos Now, you have to fill three blanks with your first name, last name and other names (for example, the middle name if you have one). Image: portal.mdcn.gov.ng (modified by author) Source: Depositphotos Next gap is for your phone number and e-mail. You should provide the current information so that everyone could contact you. Image: portal.mdcn.gov.ng (modified by author) Source: Depositphotos Also, there is an option to select your gender. Image: portal.mdcn.gov.ng (modified by author) Source: Depositphotos After you have filled all the blanks, you need to click the "SUBMIT NOW" button, and that is it. Now, you are done with the registration. Image: portal.mdcn.gov.ng (modified by author) Source: Depositphotos Next, we are going to tell how you can pay for your charges using one of the most popular payment platforms in Nigeria called Remita. So, read on to find everything out. MDCN Remita payment procedure When you visit the MDCN portal official website, the first thing that meets you is the disclaimer about the requirement for payments. There are two options provided: You can make payment directly through the MDCN portal and You can make payment using the Remita service. That is why, today, we are going to show you how to do it using the second option. So, read on to learn the process. The first thing you need to do is visit the Remita Payment website, particularly for MDCN portal payment. Image: login.remita.net Source: Depositphotos Here, you can see three options for making payment: Image: login.remita.net (modified by author) Source: Depositphotos Option for one-off (single) payment; Option for periodic payments and; Option for making an e-Invoice. Let's begin with the first one. Here, you have to start filling in all the necessary gaps, that are marked with the red gear. In the "Service Name" blank you need to pick the service you want to make payment for. Click on the relevant option from the drop-out menu and proceed to the next blank. Image: login.remita.net (modified by author) Source: Depositphotos The next one is for the amount of money you are going to pay. You will be able to fill this gap only if you have already elected the purpose of the payment. As you can see, the currency is set for Naira by default. So you just need to specify the figure. Image: login.remita.net (modified by author) Now, you have to provide your personal information. Namely, fill the gaps with your first and last name. This one is obligatory. Phone and e-mail are optional, but you can name them as well. Image: login.remita.net (modified by author) The last step at this point is verification with the help of the code. Fill in the figures and letters you see in the gap, and then click the "Proceed To Payment" button. You will be redirected to the next page on which you will be able to make the payment itself. Image: login.remita.net (modified by author) On this page, you will be provided with reference data of the Remita service, and also you will have to choose the way you want to perform the payment. There are three methods: You can pay with a card; You can pay using Internet banking or; Via Paga/Pocketmoni services. Now, let's review what you need to do for making a retrieval payment. First, you should revisit the website of Remita. The process is pretty the same as for the first variant. Although, here you need to specify dates and periods for your payments. Image: login.remita.net (modified by author) Also, you will need to point out the bank you are using, specify its type and name. According to the kind of the bank (commercial, microfinance or mobile platform), you will be provided with a drop-out menu where you will be able to select the particular institution. Next, you should write your account number, and then proceed to fill other gaps. Image: login.remita.net (modified by author) Now, you will need to fill your personal information such as first and last name, telephone number and e-mail. Then, proceed with the verification step with code and click the "Create Mandate" button. You will receive an MDCN Retina Retrieval Reference, which will be able to be used to submit your payments. You can use it on the official website of your bank or in the bank department When you have received the RRR code, you can make your payment right on this page. All you need to do is insert the code into the corresponding gap and click the "Continue" button. You will be redirected to the page to specify all the necessary details for processing the payment. Image: login.remita.net (modified by author) READ ALSO: Best doctor in Nigeria - Top 10 And, that is it for the payment methods. As you can see, everything is very easy and fast. Following our guidelines, it will not take you a lot of time to pay all of your fees using the MDCN Remita platform. Now, let's take a look at the license renewal process. MDCN license renewal If you want to renew your doctor's license, follow these simple steps. First of all, you have to visit the Remita website for MDCN payments. Here is the link for it; just follow it. And, on this page, you need to fill the gaps accurately to process the payment. Step 1. From the drop-out menu in the "Service Name" section, select the option "Practicing fee." Step 2. Specify the "Description." Here, you need to write that you want to pay for an annual practising license. Step 3. Insert your personal information (your full name, e-mail, and phone number). Step 4. Complete verification code step and submit the payment. When you finish your payment, you will receive a Remita Retrieval Reference, which you will use for the next steps to accomplish the procedure. Image: login.remita.net (modified by author) Source: Depositphotos Step 5. Now, you should visit the MDCN portal official website and make your MDCN login. Step 6. When you have signed in into your personal account, click on the "My license" button and follow all the links until you see the gap for your RRR code. Insert it and submit. And, that is all. You have paid for your license renewal and verified it. After that, you will be able to print your license and provide it to MDCN so that they can prove it and give you the evidence for it.. MDCN exam The assessment examination for Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria is an obligatory procedure for foreign doctors and Nigerian doctors, who have obtained an education abroad. That is, this exam is necessary to verify the unrecognised qualification certificates. Image: pexels.com Source: Depositphotos There are no specified dates when this examination is held this year, but usually, it takes place twice a year in April and November. Also, there are two ways to apply for it: You can print out the application form from the MDCN official website. Here is the link where you can find it. Another way is filling the application form online. Follow the link and see the form itself. Also, to complete the application form you need to make a payment for it. You can do this using the Remita service. You will need to select "Assessment examination" option and then follow all the steps, which we have described before. And that is it. Well, we think, it is high time to finish our article. We hope that it has been useful and informative for you. We have tried to explain all the steps for MDCN portal registration, license renewal and examination to make it easy to perform them for you. As you can see, everything can be done online so it is even more comfortable as you can complete all the tasks you need just sitting at home. [embedded content] READ ALSO: How to study medicine in Canada? CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General Loading... Young Americans Carrying More Than $1 Trillion in Debt Americans under 30 carried the highest levels of debt in 2018to the tune of $1 trillionfor their age group since 2007, according to the New York Federal Reserve Consumer Credit Panel. Student loans were the main culprit, making up $379 billion of the total, then mortgages at $363 billion, auto loans at $167 billion, credit card debt at $58.6 billion and revolving and other debts at $33 billion. Student loan debt has increased 102% since 2009, with mortgages lagging way behind with just a 3.2% increase over the same period. Here is a breakdown of outstanding debt by age group, according to data from the New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel and Equifax: 18-29 years old: $1.05 trillion 30-39 years old: $2.9 trillion 40-49 years old: $3.4 trillion 50-59 years old: $3.2 trillion 60-69 years old: $2.0 trillion Not surprisingly, the impact of carrying so much debt has has led to muted spending by younger consumers, which may have a long-term impact on economic growth, according to a recent University of Michigan survey. The biggest impact has been seen in home ownership, with new mortgage rates growing just slightly to 36.2% in 2018, but substantially lower than its peak of 43.1% in 2004 and 2005 before the Great Recession. Traditionally, the peak debt years are mid-life, as noted above, and declines with age. Hopefully, with contracted spending, dedicated debt repayment, as well as new policies and proposals, such as the introduction of new student loan forgiveness programs, this age group will be able to shed some of their burden over the next decade or so. The debt most easily controlled is credit card debt. With the average APR on new credit cards hovering around 17%, rolling over a balance from month to month can get expensive, fast. Never charge more than what you can pay off when the bill comes due. And if youre already carrying too much card debt, make a plan to get it back under control by either taking advantage of a 0% balance transfer card offer, taking on a side gig to make bigger payments or by visiting a nonprofit credit counselor to evaluate your budget and possibly enter into a debt repayment plan. Value investing is always a very popular strategy, and for good reason. After all, who doesnt want to find stocks that have low PEs, solid outlooks, and decent dividends? Fortunately for investors looking for this combination, we have identified a strong candidate which may be an impressive value; Lenovo Group Limited LNVGY. Lenovo Group in Focus LNVGY may be an interesting play thanks to its forward PE of 18, its P/S ratio of 0.2, and its decent dividend yield of 1.5%. These factors suggest that Lenovo Group is a pretty good value pick, as investors have to pay a relatively low level for each dollar of earnings, and that LNVGY has decent revenue metrics to back up its earnings. But before you think that Lenovo Group is just a pure value play, it is important to note that it has been seeing solid activity on the earnings estimate front as well. For current year earnings, the consensus has gone up by 12.6% in the past 30 days, thanks to one upward revision in the past one month compared to none lower. This estimate strength is actually enough to push LNVGY to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), suggesting it is poised to outperform. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. So really, Lenovo Group is looking great from a number of angles thanks to its PE below 20, a P/S ratio below one, and a strong Zacks Rank, meaning that this company could be a great choice for value investors at this time. Is Your Investment Advisor Fumbling Your Financial Future? See how you can more effectively safeguard your retirement with a new Special Report, 4 Warning Signs Your Investment Advisor Might Be Sabotaging Your Financial Future. Click to get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Lenovo Group Ltd. (LNVGY) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research A moral catastrophe unfolded on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Monday. Forty-four Democratic senators voted against legislation that would have required doctors to give the same care to infants who survive abortion procedures that they would give to any other infant. One after another, Democratic senators took to the floor to smear the bill as an attack on womens health care, a baseless criticism that they failed to substantiate. In the process, they revealed their belief that allowing unwanted infants to perish after birth constitutes a form of womens health care. Senator Ben Sasse (R., Neb.) reintroduced his Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act in direct response to Virginia governor Ralph Northams endorsement of permitting mothers and doctors to let infants die of neglect. The infant would be delivered, Northam said, explaining a hypothetical case in which a woman in labor wanted an abortion. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if thats what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother. This discussion is what Democrats voted on Monday to preserve a discussion not about health-care options for women but about whether or not to extend health care of any kind to newborn infants. With their votes and their speeches, 44 U.S. senators embraced Ralph Northams position, which, despite attempting to clarify, he has never retracted. I want to ask each and every one of my colleagues whether or not were okay with infanticide, Sasse said at the start of floor debate on Monday. This language is blunt. I recognize that. It is too blunt for many people in this body. But frankly, that is what were talking about here today. Infanticide is what [the bill] is actually about. Though Sasses bill failed to pass, it succeeded in forcing Democrats to take a stance on infanticide, and though they refused to do so explicitly, the reality of their disgraceful position was abundantly clear. Story continues During floor debate, Senator Tina Smith (D., Minn.) said that the bill puts Congress in the middle of the important medical decisions that patients and doctors should make together without political interference. Democratic senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii said it represents the idea that the moral judgment of right-wing politicians in Washington, D.C., should supersede a medical professionals judgment and a womans decision. It makes no sense for Washington politicians who know nothing about these individual circumstances to say they know better than the doctors, patients, the family, said Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.). The bill is solely meant to intimidate doctors and restrict patients access to care and has nothing, nothing, nothing to do with protecting children. This is how our medical system is supposed to work, Smith added later in her remarks. Physicians and patients making decisions together based on patients individual needs. Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois labeled the bill an effort to bully doctors out of giving reproductive care. And Jeanne Shaheen (D., N.H.) said the legislation would interfere with the doctorpatient relationship and impose new obstacles to a womans constitutionally protected right to make her own decisions about her reproductive health. Conservative politicians should not be telling doctors how they should care for their patients, Hirono said. Instead, women, in consultation with their families and doctors, are in the best position to determine their best course of care. All of these statements take as their premise a fundamental lie about the legislation. No part of the born-alive bill limits abortion access or regulates abortion methods in any way. It involves abortions only to the extent that the infants in question survived them. Nor does the bill mandate any particular kind of care for these infants; it merely requires that these nearly aborted newborns be afforded the same degree of care that any other child born alive at the same gestational age would receive. But these statements from Democrats are more than mere falsehoods. They expose a sinister reality: There is no daylight between their argument and that of Ralph Northam. They have admitted that they believe that denying medical care to infants can constitute legitimate womens health care, classified under the untouchable umbrella of reproductive rights. That was the ultimate triumph of the attempt to pass the born-alive bill. Though Democrats managed to block the legislation, it forced the moral equivocators of the Democratic party to step out from behind their smokescreens. It demanded that they put their name to a vote permitting doctors to turn a blind eye to dying babies. It compelled them to defend Ralph Northams indefensible comments. This and not because it would impede womens reproductive rights is why Democrats were so afraid of Ben Sasses bill. They knew that nothing in the text restricts access to abortion. But they knew, too, that it would expose them. To support the bill would betray a logical and philosophical inconsistency Democrats would affirm the dignity and rights of a newborn infant, even as they dehumanize that same life, at the same stage of development, inside its mothers womb. To oppose the bill would reveal the ghastly, consistent principle of the abortion-rights movement that a childs rights depend not on her size or location, but on whether she is wanted by her mother. The Democrats chose consistency, and consistency means infanticide. More from National Review HANOI (Reuters) - The White House barred reporters from Reuters, the Associated Press, Bloomberg and the Los Angeles Times from covering a dinner between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday after two of them asked Trump questions during his initial interactions with Kim. The reporters are part of the White House press pool, which covers the U.S. president wherever he goes. Reporters in the pool regularly shout out questions to leaders and on Wednesday they asked Trump about the summit and the testimony in Congress of his former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen, in two separate opportunities known as "pool sprays." The reporters were later excluded from covering the dinner because of what White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said were "sensitivities over shouted questions in the previous sprays," the Washington Post reported. The pool was present when Trump and Kim first met and shook hands. During that short initial meeting, while cameras were rolling, Reuters correspondent Jeff Mason asked Trump what he wanted to achieve at the summit and whether he had backed away from his demand for North Korea's denuclearization. Trump replied "No" to the second question and gave a longer answer to the first. AP reporter Jonathan Lemire then asked Trump if he expected to end the Korean War. Trump said: "We'll see." Reporters were escorted out of the room. Shortly thereafter they were brought back in to listen while Trump and Kim, seated this time, visited. At the conclusion of that "pool spray," the AP's Lemire asked Trump if he had a reaction to Cohen's testimony due to take place later on Wednesday. With excerpts from Cohen's prepared remarks having already been made public, Trump scowled and shook his head. Cohen accused Trump of being a racist, a conman and a cheat. After the second interaction, pool reporters returned to their work space, followed by Sanders, who voiced concern about the questions asked and announced that the third "pool spray" would be limited to photographers. Pool reporters argued against the move and persuaded Sanders to include a print reporter and a radio reporter along with the television journalists. The four reporters, Mason, Lemire, Justin Sink of Bloomberg News and Eli Stokols of the Los Angeles Times, remained excluded. Due to the sensitive nature of the meetings we have limited the pool for the dinner to a smaller group, but ensured that representation of photographers, tv, radio and print Poolers are all in the room," Sanders said in a written statement. "We are continuing to negotiate aspects of this historic summit and will always work to make sure the U.S. media has as much access as possible. Reuters said it was "deeply troubled" by the exclusion of Mason and other reporters from covering the dinner. "We believe it is essential that government provide access to and the ability to ask questions of officials and hold them to account," Reuters said in a statement. The Associated Press said it opposed White House efforts to restrict access to the president. "It is critically important that any president uphold American press freedom standards, not only at home but especially while abroad," said AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton. Los Angeles Times executive editor Norman Pearlstine called the reporters' exclusion "another sad example" of the White House's "failure to uphold the American publics right to see and be informed about President Trumps activities." (Additional reporting by Steve Holland in Washington; Editing by Mary Milliken and Howard Goller) The Democratic National Committee and Senator Elizabeth Warren both used Michael Cohens highly anticipated congressional testimony in fundraising pleas addressed to supporters Wednesday. Under oath and in an open session of Congress, one of Donald Trumps most trusted advisors implicated him in criminal activity while hes been in the White House, read an email from Warren asking for donations. Our criminal justice system is hanging on and doing its job the truth is coming out despite unprecedented, relentless, and potentially illegal pressure from Donald Trump and his associates in and out of government. But heres the biggest threat right now: Donald Trump, or the next President, using the pardon power to cover up and permanently excuse this wrongdoing. The Democratic National Committee also sent out a fundraising text that read, Michael Cohens testimony makes this clear: Trump is a threat to our country. Its up to us to make him a one-term president. Cohen has been cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation since November. He appeared before the House Oversight and Reform Committee Wednesday to testify against Trump, comparing the president to a mobster and calling him a racist and conman. While he refused to accuse Trump of collusion with Russia, he told the committee that the presidents desire to win would have him work with anyone. Cohen is scheduled to begin a three-year prison term soon after he was convicted of financial crimes, campaign-finance violations, and lying to Congress late last year. More from National Review Not happy with your tax situation? Maybe your refund is too small or you owe more to the government than you expected. Fortunately, there remain three ways that you can lower your taxable federal income and one potential way to reduce your state taxes. Some of these strategies are simple to understand such as making contributions to individual retirement accounts. Others are more complex and carry penalties if used incorrectly, such as contributions to health savings accounts. In those cases, it may be better to seek out guidance from a tax professional to make sure your contributions are made properly and you get a legitimate deduction. Here are four moves to consider: IRA contributions Contributions to traditional IRAs are tax-deductible. Roth IRA contributions arent deductible. You also have until tax filing day April 15 this year to contribute to an IRA for the previous year. Tax tips: Are you young and in a low tax bracket? Here are 3 reasons you should get a Roth IRA Workplace alert: Taking a lot of sick days at work? It could be sick building syndrome For 2018, you can deduct up to $5,500 if you meet the income requirements. Those 50 and over can contribute up to $6,500, depending on income. Generally, you can deduct your full IRA contribution amount if you and your spouse dont have employer-sponsored retirement plans. If you have a work plan, how much you can deduct of your contribution could be limited depending on your adjusted gross income. Self-employed retirement savings Self-employed and freelance workers can use a solo 401(k) or SEP-IRA to save for retirement. Contributions to these retirement plans are tax-deductible. You also can make contributions long after the calendar tax year has passed by. You can contribute to a solo 401(k) until April 15 to qualify for a federal tax deduction. The only caveat is that the solo 401(k) plan must have been opened by the end of 2018, so some preparation is required. Solo 401(k) contributions are a bit complicated. You can make contributions as both an employee and as the employer. Story continues Driving help: Gas prices are going up. Here are 10 states where you can find the most relief at the pump. For 2018, you can contribute up to $18,500, or $24,500 if youre 50 or older. As the employer, you can contribute 20 percent of your self-employment income, minus the deduction for the half of self-employed tax you paid. Total contributions to a solo 401(k) as both employee and employer cant exceed $55,000 a year not counting "catch-up contributions" for those age 50 and over. If you have an SEP-IRA instead, you also have until April 15 to make contributions or until Oct. 15 if you file for a tax return extension. You can contribute up to 25 percent of net self-employment earnings or up to $55,000 a year. Health investment savings If you were covered by a qualified high-deductible healthcare plan (HDHP) and have a health savings account (HSA), then you make 2018 contributions to your HSA until April 15. The contribution rules can be complex. In general, the maximum contribution for 2108 is $3,450 if you were covered by an HDHP the entire year. If you werent, you can make a prorated contribution. Or if you were covered by an HDHP by Dec. 1, 2018 you can contribute the maximum, but you must remain enrolled in a HDHP through the end of the following year. If not, you will pay income tax and a penalty. Education savings plan Some states let you to deduct contributions to a 529 plan, a tax-advantaged savings plan for future education costs, on their state tax returns. A handful allow you to deduct contributions made after the 2018 taxable year. You have until April 15 to make 529 contributions that you can deduct on the following 2018 state tax returns: Georgia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina and Wisconsin. You have until April 30 for Iowa state returns. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Want to lower your taxable income? Four tax-saving investments you can still make now By Jeff Mason and Khanh Vu HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnamese carriers VietJet and Bamboo Airways formally announced on Wednesday deals with Boeing Co to buy 110 planes worth more than $15 billion as the fast-growing companies look to expand their operations in Asia and beyond. On the sidelines of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, VietJet showcased a recent order to purchase 100 737 MAX planes worth $12.7 billion. The deal was provisionally announced in July 2018 and firmed up later that year, without a public announcement until now. Boeing said the VietJet purchase, which was previously on its order books as an unidentified order, took the Vietnamese carrier's MAX orders to 200 jets and included 80 of its latest 737 MAX 10 model. VietJet CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao told Reuters the first four aircraft ordered as part of a previous 100-plane deal, announced in 2016 when President Barack Obama visited Vietnam, would be delivered later this year. Bamboo announced a firm deal with Boeing to purchase 10 wide-bodied 787 planes worth $2.9 billion. Boeing said this deal too was already on its order book as an undisclosed customer. Bamboo, owned by property and leisure company FLC Group, is also in talks to buy 25 narrow-bodied Boeing 737 planes, Chairman Trinh Van Quyet told Reuters. Bamboo, which made its first flights in January, had placed a provisional order last year for 20 Boeing 787 widebody jets worth $5.6 billion at list prices, and Wednesday's deal is not part of that. "The purchases are part of our strategy to expand our operations on the international market, including flying to the United States and Europe," Quyet said. Bamboo plans to launch its first international flights in second quarter this year, with initial destinations in Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore, he added, ahead of non-stop flights to the United States late this year or early next. Story continues Earlier this month, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration declared Vietnam complied with international aviation standards, allowing Vietnamese carriers to fly to the United States for the first time and codeshare with U.S. airlines. VietJet also finalised a $5.3 billion long-term engine support agreement with General Electric for the LEAP-1B engines in its fleet. The White House put the total value of the deals at more than $21 billion. "These deals will support more than 83,000 American jobs and provide increased safety and reliability for Vietnamese International travelers," a senior White House official said. Trump and Kim Jong Un meet in Hanoi on Wednesday for their second summit, with Trump holding out Vietnam as a model of economic success that isolated North Korea could follow. Trump hailed the Boeing deals at a lunch with Vietnamese officials. "We appreciate very much that you're reducing the trade deficit with the United States, which was very substantial before I got here, and now where we're bringing it down with great orders like the orders that you made today," Trump said. Vietnam ran a trade surplus of $34.8 billion with the United States last year, widening from a surplus of $32.2 billion a year earlier, according to Vietnamese customs data. (Reporting by Khanh Vu and Jeff Mason in HANOI. Additional reporting by Mai Nguyen in HANOI; Editing by Lincoln Feast) - AFP Veneuzela on Tuesday deported a celebrated US television anchor from the country, after his interview with President Nicolas Maduro turned sour and he was briefly detained for asking unpalatable questions. "We're leaving, expelled from Venezuela, for asking questions - simply for that," said Jorge Ramos, the high-profile anchor for Miami-based Latino network Univision. "Our cameras and video memory cards have been stolen by the government. But we're going to keep asking questions," he added, walking through Caracas airport. Ramos was detained beneath Miraflores presidential palace late on Monday night, after a televised interview with Mr Maduro took a turn for the worse. Ramos, a household name in Latin America, was 17 minutes into the interview when he showed Mr Maduro footage of young Venezuelan men in Caracas following a bin lorry, rifling through the rubbish as it was thrown into the back and eating the filthy scraps of food they found. He didnt like the things we were asking him about the lack of democracy in Venezuela, the torture and the political prisoners, said Ramos. He said he and his team were held for more than two hours, and their equipment confiscated including their phones and memory cards. We dont have anything, he said. They confiscated the interviews. Venezuelas communications minister did not deny that Ramos was held, but blamed the reporter for staging a cheap show which he said was directed by the US state department. He added: Hundreds of journalists have come through, who have received the decent treatment that we always give to those who do journalistic work. Short detentions and deportations have become common, especially as reporters facing delays for official permissions seek shortcuts to report in Venezuela. This has come into the spotlight over the past month as Mr Maduro faces his biggest political challenge since he replaced Hugo Chavez six years ago, with dozens of countries recognising his rival Juan Guaido as the country's legitimate leader. Story continues Venezuelan children, who attend school on the Colombian side of the border, have been blocked from class after the border between both countries was closed Credit: AP Photo/Fernando Llano At least seven foreign journalists who flew in to cover the turmoil were briefly detained in January. A group of MEPs were also turned back at the airport, with the Venezuelan government claiming they came to Venezuela with suspicious intent. Mr Guaido was on Tuesday still in Bogota, having left the country ahead of the planned delivery of humanitarian aid on Saturday. It was unclear when, or how, he would return, given that Mr Maduro banned him from entering the country. The aid delivery ended in fiasco as the convoys were blocked, a truck of supplies was burnt, four died and 300 were injured in violent skirmishes between Venezuelan troops and Mr Guaidos supporters. A Colombian police officer in Cucuta, Colombia, looks across the border at Venezuelan security forces Credit: RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP/Getty Images Mr Maduro says that the aid convoy was an excuse for US military intervention. They are trying to fabricate a crisis to justify political escalation and a military intervention in Venezuela to bring a war to South America, he said, speaking to ABC news in his first interview with a US network in many years. "The extremist Ku Klux Klan government that Donald Trump directs wants a war over oil, and more than just oil." Jorge Arreaza, Venezuela's foreign minister, was in New York on Tuesday night for a meeting of the UN Security Council on Venezuela. The US wants the Council to vote this week on a draft resolution calling for elections and the delivery of aid, but Russia and China would block such a resolution. Mr Arreaza told the Security Council that the US-led campaign to oust Mr Maduro had failed. "That was the last chapter in the coup on Saturday," he said. "Read my lips - it failed. Now is the time for us to return to sanity." Vassily Nebenzia, Russias ambassador to the UN, supported Mr Arreaza and questioned what other countries would have done if confronted with "an attempted illegal state border crossing for the delivery of unknown cargo." Turning to the US, he pointedly noted: "One country even wants to build a huge wall on the border of another country to prevent an illegal border crossing." Cardinal George Pell became the most senior Catholic clergyman worldwide to be convicted for child sex offences - AFP An Australian court has found Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican treasurer and a former top adviser to Pope Francis, guilty on five charges of child sexual offences committed more than two decades ago against 13-year-old boys. The verdict was made public on Tuesday following the lifting of a court suppression order on the trial, after a second abuse case against Pell was dropped by the prosecution. A jury in the Country Court of Victoria in Melbourne found Pell guilty on December 11 last year following a four-week trial. Pell becomes the most senior Catholic clergyman worldwide to be convicted for child sex offences. He had pleaded not guilty to all five charges. He was convicted of five sexual offences committed against the 13-year-old choir boys 22 years earlier in the priests' sacristy of St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne, where Pell was archbishop. One of the two victims died in 2014. Each of the five offences carries a maximum 10 years in jail. Pell's lawyers have filed an appeal against the verdict on three grounds, which if successful could lead to a retrial. Pell, who remains on bail, left the court on Tuesday without speaking to reporters, who virtually mobbed him as he walked from the courthouse steps to a waiting car. He is due to return to court on Wednesday for the start of his sentencing hearing. The verdict has been made public as the Catholic church tries to deal with a growing child sexual abuse crisis, following scandals in the United States, Chile, Germany and Australia. The most senior Catholic cleric ever charged with child sex abuse has been convicted of molesting two choirboys Credit: Andy Brownbill/AP Pope Francis ended a conference on sexual abuse on Sunday, calling for an "all out battle" against a crime that should be "erased from the face of the earth". The Vatican said in December that Francis had removed Pell, 77, from his group of close advisers, without commenting on the trial. Pell, who took indefinite leave in 2016 from his role as economy minister for the Vatican to fight the charges, was not called to the stand in the trial. Story continues Instead, the jury was shown in open court a video recording of an interview Australian police held with Pell in Rome in October 2016, in which he strenuously denied the allegations. The jury was also shown a video recording of the surviving victim's testimony behind closed doors. The court had issued a suppression order on the trial out of concern that a second trial Pell faced could be prejudiced by the outcome of the first case. But prosecutors dropped the charges on Tuesday. Judge Peter Kidd had extended bail for Pell, who had been walking with a crutch throughout the trial, to allow him to undergo double-knee surgery in Sydney in December. His bail had been extended since then. Sign up for your essential, twice-daily briefing from The Telegraph with our free Front Page newsletter. Tens of thousands more visas were denied in 2018 than previously because of President Trumps travel ban on certain countries, according to data released Tuesday. According to Reuters, the State Department said it rejected over 37,000 visa applications last year because of the travel ban restrictions, many times more than the 1,000 blocked in 2017, before the ban kicked in completely. The ban mostly affects the Muslim-majority countries Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. Visas issued to those countries are down 80 percent since 2016. About 14,600 visas were granted to applicants from those five countries from October, 2017 to September, 2018, down from the 72,000 approved the year before. The ban also restricted visas for those from Venezuela and North Korea. Last year, the government rejected 15,384 applications for immigrant (permanent resident) visas because of the ban, as well as 21,645 short-term visit applications. After Trump announced the ban in January, 2017, citing terrorism concerns from the countries listed in the order, it faced challenges in several federal courts over whether the ban was illegally discriminatory against Muslims. The administration tweaked the order, and the Supreme Court approved the implementation of most of it in December, 2017. The Court upheld the current version of the ban last summer. The U.S. denies close to 4 million visa applications every year for a laundry list of reasons, including criminal activity and not qualifying for the particular visa sought. More from National Review Username: Password: or Register Back to Forum Reply to This post Post New Thread Thread Rating: 1 Vote(s) - 5 Average 1 2 3 4 5 Market crash coming first week of March this year. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 471715 02-27-2019 02:55 AM Post: #1 Market crash coming first week of March this year. Advertisement Buckle up. At the latest March 5th.Buckle up. PopEye D's klansman and a scum sucking maggEt User ID: 436592 02-27-2019 02:56 AM Posts: 11,835 Post: #2 RE: Market crash coming first week of March this year. Thanks for the information! The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who haven't got it. George Bernard Shaw ____________________ LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 471715 02-27-2019 02:58 AM Post: #3 RE: Market crash coming first week of March this year. PopEye Wrote: (02-27-2019 02:56 AM) Thanks for the information! It is in the cover of the economist magazine for 2019. You are welcome. I`ll be surprised if they delay it again. It is in the cover of the economist magazine for 2019.You are welcome. I`ll be surprised if they delay it again. SkeptiSchism Registered User User ID: 450243 02-27-2019 02:58 AM Posts: 33,389 Post: #4 RE: Market crash coming first week of March this year. Unfortunately to get richer the elite will have to skim off the wealth of even the 1%, so we'll end up with 0.001% of the population owning everything and everyone else will be dirt poor but look like we are doing great because of credit. Nope I think they got rid of market crashes from here on out the markets will only go up and up and up making the elite richer and richer and richer.Unfortunately to get richer the elite will have to skim off the wealth of even the 1%, so we'll end up with 0.001% of the population owning everything and everyone else will be dirt poor but look like we are doing great because of credit. Collectivism is basically totalitarianism disguised as humanitarianism. Brandon Smith LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 471715 02-27-2019 03:02 AM Post: #5 RE: Market crash coming first week of March this year. SkeptiSchism Wrote: (02-27-2019 02:58 AM) Nope I think they got rid of market crashes from here on out the markets will only go up and up and up making the elite richer and richer and richer. Unfortunately to get richer the elite will have to skim off the wealth of even the 1%, so we'll end up with 0.001% of the population owning everything and everyone else will be dirt poor but look like we are doing great because of credit. They cant get any richer. They want absolute power. The only way is to create a new world order. They will crash the market because of it. It is in their cover. I posted it many times before. Many other agendas are also posted in that cover which include the Moon, Trump and Putin, Colombia and Venezuela, the legalization of Marihuana and so on. All currently happening as we speak. They cant get any richer. They want absolute power. The only way is to create a new world order. They will crash the market because of it. It is in their cover. I posted it many times before. Many other agendas are also posted in that cover which include the Moon, Trump and Putin, Colombia and Venezuela, the legalization of Marihuana and so on. All currently happening as we speak. HardTruth Get your wisdom on or GTFO of the way User ID: 490728 02-27-2019 03:22 AM Posts: 3,318 Post: #6 RE: Market crash coming first week of March this year. LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 03:02 AM) SkeptiSchism Wrote: (02-27-2019 02:58 AM) Nope I think they got rid of market crashes from here on out the markets will only go up and up and up making the elite richer and richer and richer. Unfortunately to get richer the elite will have to skim off the wealth of even the 1%, so we'll end up with 0.001% of the population owning everything and everyone else will be dirt poor but look like we are doing great because of credit. They cant get any richer. They want absolute power. The only way is to create a new world order. They will crash the market because of it. It is in their cover. I posted it many times before. Many other agendas are also posted in that cover which include the Moon , Trump and Putin, Colombia and Venezuela, the legalization of Marihuana and so on. All currently happening as we speak. What about the moon? . What about the moon? If it seeketh, expects, or demands worship, it is not divine!! Anyone that believes Earth has the only intelligent life in the whole of the cosmos, is a f*cking moron, and shouldn't be allowed an opinion about anything else!! Galaxy LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 471715 02-27-2019 03:30 AM Post: #7 RE: Market crash coming first week of March this year. HardTruth Wrote: (02-27-2019 03:22 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 03:02 AM) They cant get any richer. They want absolute power. The only way is to create a new world order. They will crash the market because of it. It is in their cover. I posted it many times before. Many other agendas are also posted in that cover which include the Moon , Trump and Putin, Colombia and Venezuela, the legalization of Marihuana and so on. All currently happening as we speak. What about the moon? . I dont know why they are agending the Moon in their cover, but it is the first thing that appears in it and you know China already went to the dark side of the Moon this year, yes, China is one of them. China is also in the cover along with Russia, if you notice there is kind of a new Cuba missile crisis going on between the US and Russia. I`m going to post the video one more time and please watch it completely, we havent got much time. The elite are in full swing with their agendas. It includes a full blown market crash. Notice this is the 33rd edition of the cover. I dont know why they are agending the Moon in their cover, but it is the first thing that appears in it and you know China already went to the dark side of the Moon this year, yes, China is one of them. China is also in the cover along with Russia, if you notice there is kind of a new Cuba missile crisis going on between the US and Russia.I`m going to post the video one more time and please watch it completely, we havent got much time. The elite are in full swing with their agendas. It includes a full blown market crash.Notice this is the 33rd edition of the cover. aBen Dover lop guest User ID: 454760 02-27-2019 03:45 AM Post: #8 RE: Market crash coming first week of March this year. I'm ready, pull it, Larry! Mr ifnoc nli lop guest User ID: 490904 02-27-2019 03:58 AM Post: #9 RE: Market crash coming first week of March this year. Who's the best silver purchaser around? Might be best to check in, talk some turkey. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 441631 02-27-2019 04:31 AM Post: #10 RE: Market crash coming first week of March this year. The market runs on emotion and speculation. For now, be it justified or not, the market is emotionally invested in the US China trade relationship. If it works out favorably the markets will rise. If not the market will tank. It's silly because the market has so many other factors to consider. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 491014 02-27-2019 05:46 PM Post: #11 RE: Market crash coming first week of March this year. LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 02:55 AM) At the latest March 5th. Buckle up. Link? Link? LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 459067 02-27-2019 05:55 PM Post: #12 RE: Market crash coming first week of March this year. The DNC has been paying for FAKE Market Advice to be published to the internet in an attempt to adversely effect markets. In material sent to University personnel in every university and educational institution in America, They seem to be publishing very bad advise about investments. Which only goes to show, they care more about making Trump look bad by trying to CRASH Markets, Than they do about their own people. OP Your THREAD is JUST MORE DNC Produced Fear MONGERING about The DOW and Global Markets! LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 490491 02-27-2019 06:05 PM Post: #13 RE: Market crash coming first week of March this year. At this point you don't need the cover of some magazine to point to a coming global crash... it's pretty much there for anyone looking... Back to Forum Reply to This post Post New Thread By Carlos Garcia Rawlins CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela on Tuesday deported a team from U.S. television network Univision after anchor Jorge Ramos said authorities detained them at the presidential palace because President Nicolas Maduro was upset by their interview questions. The six-person team was held for more than two hours and had their equipment confiscated, Ramos told reporters on Monday evening after arriving back at his Caracas hotel which was surrounded by intelligence agents. Ramos and his team left the hotel on Tuesday morning guarded by personnel from the U.S. and Mexican embassies while intelligence agents escorted them to Caracas' Maiquetia airport. They left on a midday flight to Miami, according to Reuters witnesses. "They didn't give us a reason" for the deportation, Ramos told reporters as he arrived at the terminal. "They just said to us last night that we had been expelled from the country." In a further twist, U.S. Spanish-language channel Telemundo said on Tuesday one of its journalists, Daniel Garrido, was "abducted" by a group of armed and unidentified individuals early in the day while covering the deportation of Ramos. He was interrogated for more than six hours before being released, it said. Telemundo did not specify who was responsible for the incident but Venezuela's media trade union said he was taken by agents from the intelligence service. Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said on Monday the government had previously welcomed hundreds of journalists to the presidential palace, but it did not support "cheap shows" put on with the help of the U.S. Department of State. Ramos, a veteran anchor born in Mexico, told Mexican broadcaster Televisa that Maduro became annoyed when they showed him a video of young Venezuelans eating from a garbage truck, a sign of widespread food shortages across the country. Maduro faced regional condemnation this week after his security forces violently drove back opposition attempts to bring in foreign aid. He is facing his biggest political crisis since he replaced Hugo Chavez six years ago, after rival and congress chief Juan Guaido last month invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing Maduro's re-election was fraudulent. Venezuela's socialist government has long had a tense relationship with Western media, which it largely considers hostile and in league with "imperialist" interests. Short detentions and deportations have become common, especially as reporters facing delays for official permissions seek shortcuts to report in Venezuela. At least seven foreign journalists who flew in to cover Venezuela's political turmoil were briefly detained in January. The Venezuelan media trade union said at least 30 journalists and workers for media outlets were detained in the first two months of 2019. (Reporting by Carlos Garcia Rawlins and Carlos Carrillo; Additional Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Writing by Angus Berwick; Editing by James Dalgleish and Tom Brown) United Airlines the wholly owned subsidiary of United Continental Holdings UAL filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in a bid to expand its footprint in Japan and attract additional traffic. Notably, this Chicago-based carrier has sought permission to operate daily non-stop flights to Tokyos Haneda Airport from six U.S. international airports. In the summer of 2020, United Airlines plans to commence operations to Haneda after the slots are awarded from its hubs at Newark Liberty, Chicago O'Hare, Washington Dulles, Los Angeles International, Houston George Bush and Guam. The aviation agreement between the United States and Japan is expected to be completed later this year. Per United Airlines application, the flights to Haneda from Newark, Los Angeles and Guam would be in addition to the daily flights between the above three hubs and Tokyos other international airport Narita. However, the non-stop flights to Haneda from its hubs at Chicago O'Hare, Washington Dulles and Houston George Bush would be shifted from Narita. With the Olympics to be held in Tokyo next year, the routes are likely to invite substantial traffic. Accordingly, other U.S. carriers Delta Air Lines DAL and American Airlines AAL have also applied for slots at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. While Delta is bidding for five slots, American Airlines has sought permission for four. With leading carriers interested to fly to Haneda, investors would keenly look forward to DOTs decision on the applications. Zacks Rank & Key Pick United Continental carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Investors interested in the airline space may consider Azul S.A. AZUL sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Azul has an impressive history with respect to earnings per share, having trumped the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 97.9%. Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. Theyre also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases. Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119% and +164% in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better. See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>> 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 Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report United Continental Holdings, Inc. (UAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report AZUL SA (AZUL) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday revived a lawsuit by villagers in India seeking to hold a Washington-based international financial institution responsible for environmental damage they blame on a power plant it financed. The justices ruled 7-1 that there are limits to immunity for entities like the one involved in this case - the International Finance Corp (IFC) - under the 1945 International Organizations Immunity Act, just as there are for foreign countries under a 1976 law called the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. The court, in a decision written by conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, overturned a lower court's ruling that the IFC, part of the World Bank Group, was categorically immune from such lawsuits under U.S. law. The IFC provided $450 million in loans in 2008 to help construct the coal-fired Tata Mundra Power Plant in Gujarat, India. IFC loans included provisions requiring that certain environmental standards are met. Lead plaintiff Budha Ismail Jam and other fisherman and farmers living near the plant sued in federal court in Washington in 2015, accusing the IFC of failing to meet its obligations. Marco Simons, an attorney with EarthRights International, a legal advocacy group representing the plaintiffs, said the decision is significant for protecting the environment and the welfare of people around the world because it could force international organizations to take greater care in their financing and monitoring of projects. "These organizations have a huge impact on development decisions around the world, and for decades they've essentially operated above the law," Simons said in an interview. Roberts dismissed concerns that a ruling favoring the villagers would open the door to a flood of litigation against international organizations and hurt their mandate, saying that plaintiffs would still have to overcome a series of hurdles to bringing suit. The case will now return to a lower court for further litigation. "In the meantime, we are going to work to ensure that this ruling does not affect our ability to deliver for our partner countries and does not hinder our mission," the IFC said in a statement. Justice Stephen Breyer, a liberal, was the lone dissenter, saying that when the 1945 law was written, international organizations enjoyed broad immunity. President Donald Trump's administration had backed the plaintiffs, saying international organizations should not be given anything more than the limited immunity foreign countries are accorded. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee who joined the court last October, did not take part because he was involved in the case in his prior role as a federal appeals court judge. The villagers said the plant's construction and operations did not comply with the environmental plan set out for the project. The local environment has been devastated, according to the plaintiffs, with marine life killed by water discharges from the plant's cooling system and coal dust contaminating the air. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Addditional reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham) By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's enforcement chief on Tuesday pushed back on "the myth" that the regulator is soft on polluters as Democratic lawmakers pressed her on the big decline in civil penalties and site inspections last year. Susan Bodine, assistant administrator of the EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), testified at a House energy committee panel, where Democratic lawmakers pressed her on significant drops in inspections, penalty collections and referrals of cases to the Department of Justice. The EPA's annual report https://bit.ly/2Sn0z6h released earlier this month showed it leveled $69 million in civil penalties against polluters and conducted 10,612 site inspections in the 2018 fiscal year, the lowest in at least a decade for both measures. But Bodine said in her testimony that despite these numbers, EPA is achieving results by focusing on compliance over enforcement, encouraging companies to self-report violations and make compliance and enforcement processes more efficient. "I am pushing back on the myth," she told the panel. "A strong environment program doesn't mean we have to collect a particular dollar amount or pick up a number of penalties." The hearing comes as Democrats, now in control of Congress after last November's elections, heap scrutiny on the Trump administration over its efforts to unwind environmental regulation to favor business. Colorado Democratic Congresswoman Diana DeGette, chair of the oversight subcommittee of the energy panel, said the drop-off in major enforcement metrics means pollution will increase. "I see an agency sitting on its hands, an agency that gives polluters a pass," she said. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone said the Democrats' first oversight hearing on EPA enforcement questioned Bodine on how low staffing in the agency's compliance division was impacting the agency. The OECA saw a net loss of 131 full-time employees, 17.8 percent of its staff, over the last two years, according to EPA data. Bodine said she plans to hire more enforcement officials this year. Bodine several times said that the number and amount of penalties are not good metrics to measure OECA's work, and said that annual civil penalties can be highly variable year to year - with some years significantly higher after major cases like BP Plc's settlement for its 2010 offshore oil spill are factored in. Lawmakers pushed back on that assertion, saying that even when removing large penalties as outliers, the results were still lower than other years. "These are really low numbers some of the lowest numbers weve seen in a long time, said Maryland Congressman John Sarbanes. The Environmental Integrity Project, led by former EPA civil enforcement director Eric Schaeffer, said the decline in enforcement and inspections posed a disproportionate threat to poor communities located near big infrastructure like oil refineries and power plants. Those cutbacks are leaving communities including those with high poverty levels and African-American or Latino neighborhoods - exposed to public health risks, while letting polluters off the hook for serious violations of the law, Schaeffer said. He will also testify at the hearing on Tuesday. (Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; editing by Lisa Shumaker and Marguerita Choy) By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States said on Tuesday it wants the United Nations Security Council to vote this week on a draft resolution calling for elections in Venezuela and the delivery of humanitarian aid, but the move is likely to be opposed by Russia and other states. Speaking ahead of a council meeting on Venezuela, the U.S. special envoy for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, also told reporters Washington would impose more sanctions on "high-ranking members of the regime and their financial affairs" this week and next. Russia and the United States have been at loggerheads over a U.S.-led campaign for international recognition of Juan Guaido, the Venezuelan opposition leader and head of the country's elected National Assembly, over President Nicholas Maduro. Guaido last month declared himself the interim head of state. Earlier this month the United States proposed a draft Security Council resolution, which prompted Russia to propose a rival text that makes no reference to elections or aid. A resolution needs nine votes in favor by the 15-member council and no vetoes by Russia, China, France, Britain or the United States to pass. "I would not like to predict what the Russians are going to do. I think it would be shameful to veto a resolution that calls for more humanitarian aid," Abrams told reporters. The Security Council met on Tuesday at the request of the United States, days after Maduro troops violently drove back U.S.-backed foreign aid convoys from Venezuela's border with Colombia on Saturday, killing two protesters and prompting Guaido to propose that Washington consider "all options" to oust Maduro. Venezuela's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza told the Security Council that a U.S.-led campaign to oust Maduro had failed. "That was the last chapter in the coup on Saturday," he said. "Read my lips - it failed. Now is the time for us to return to sanity." "FORCE-FEEDING" Guaido crossed into Colombia on Saturday in preparation for efforts to move aid over the border to Venezuela. He then met with members of the Lima Group, a bloc of nations from Argentina to Canada, on Monday in Bogota. Abrams told the Security Council he was concerned for Guaido's safety upon his return to Venezuela. "What took place on Saturday was reminiscent not of assistance but what is called force-feeding in the United States," Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council. "The U.S. authorities now decided to force feed a whole country." Nebenzia also questioned what other countries would have done if confronted with "an attempted illegal state border crossing for the delivery of unknown cargo." "One country even wants to build a huge wall on the border of another country to prevent an illegal border crossing," he said, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. China said it opposed the use of humanitarian aid for political purposes. U.N. political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo said the world body was concerned by Venezuela's serious humanitarian problems. "Available information depicts a grim reality with the economy continuing to deteriorate, people dying of preventable causes and leaving the country in search of assistance," she told the council. Abrams denied Russian accusations that the United States is preparing to intervene militarily in Venezuela, but reiterated that Trump has said all options are on the table in dealing with Venezuela. Abrams said that U.S. policy was "to use as much diplomatic and economic and political pressure as we can ... to support the Venezuelan people's desire for democracy, that's our policy. "We call on member states to consider what resources and tools they have to contribute to Venezuelan democracy and pressure the illegitimate Maduro regime to peacefully step down," he told the Security Council. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Writing by David Alexander; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Leslie Adler) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military disrupted the internet access of a Russian troll farm accused of trying to influence American voters on Nov. 6, 2018, the day of the congressional elections, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. The U.S. Cyber Command strike targeted the Internet Research Agency in the Russian port city of St. Petersburg, the Post reported, citing unidentified U.S. officials. The group is a Kremlin-backed outfit whose employees had posed as Americans and spread disinformation online in an attempt to also influence the 2016 election, according to U.S. officials. "They basically took the IRA (Internet Research Agency) offline," the Post quoted one person familiar with the matter as saying. "They shut em down." The Pentagon's cyber warfare unit, which works closely with the National Security Agency, said it did not comment on cyberspace operations but would continue to "defend our elections and democratic institutions from foreign malign influence." Cyber Command's offensive operations are highly classified and rarely made public. The Internet Research Agency was one of three entities and 13 Russian individuals indicted by Special Counsel Robert Muellers office in February 2018 in an alleged criminal and espionage conspiracy to tamper with in the U.S. presidential race in a bid to boost Trump and disadvantage his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. Prosecutors said the agency is controlled by Russian businessman Evgeny Prigozhin, who U.S. officials have said has extensive ties to Russias military and political establishment. Prigozhin, also personally charged by Mueller, has been dubbed "Putin's cook" by Russian media because his catering business has organized banquets for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since those indictments, the breadth of the troll farm's activities have come to light. A report by private experts released to the Senate Intelligence Committee said the Internet Research Agency has tried to manipulate U.S. politics for years and continues to do so today. The report, by an Oxford University team working with analytical firm Graphika, said Russian trolls urged African-Americans to boycott the 2016 election or to follow wrong voting procedures, while also encouraging right-wing voters to be more confrontational. Since Donald Trump was elected president, the report said, Russian trolls have put out messages urging Mexican-American and other Hispanic voters to mistrust U.S. institutions. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Mark Hosenball; editing by Bernadette Baum; and James Dalgleish) (This Feb 26 story corrects data in paragraph 11 that was provided by Kent International comparing wages in China to the United States. Fixes typos in Kent chief executive's name in paragraph 24.) By Rajesh Kumar Singh (Reuters) - U.S.-based bicycle manufacturer Kent International has found a way around President Donald Trump's tariffs - by shifting production out of China. Like almost all U.S. bike makers, Kent has long relied on low-cost Chinese labor and parts, but Trump's tariffs have so far inflated its costs by about $20 million annually. "We have no choice but to - as rapidly as possible - look to move production away from China," said Arnold Kamler, chief executive and majority owner of the Parsippany, N.J.-based bike company. But Kent and other bike makers don't have to move their manufacturing operations to the United States to avoid tariffs - nor do they have to stop using Chinese parts. The company now plans to make bike frames in Cambodia while continuing to buy about half the components it will attach to those frames from producers in China. The resulting bicycles can enter the United States tariff-free because of U.S. rules that generally allow products to be designated as made-in-Cambodia as long as 35 percent of their costs for parts and labor are derived from that country. Gaming the so-called rules of origin is a legal tariff-avoidance strategy being adopted by other major U.S. bike builders and explored across the industry, along with other manufacturing sectors, according to bike executives and supply chain consultants. The shift in the $6 billion bike industry underscores how such rules allow manufacturers, despite tariffs, to continue sourcing large portions of their parts from China, undermining the Trump administration goal of boosting U.S. manufacturing employment. It further shows how quickly light manufacturers with less capital-intensive operations can move to Southeast Asia, which has seen a blitz of new investment since Trump launched his first tariffs last spring. Story continues The bike industry plays a small role in what experts call the biggest shake-up in cross-border supply chains since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. Companies in an array of industries - furniture, electronics, apparel, tires, vacuum cleaners, to name a few - are moving operations to Vietnam, Thailand and other Asian countries, often while continuing to use some suppliers in China. "This is a mid- to long-term issue that is not going to blow over in a year," said Brett Weaver, a supply-chain consultant at KPMG. "More and more companies are beginning to take that perspective." The Trump administration's office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) did not respond to requests for comment. RISING CHINA LABOR COSTS For many companies, tariffs proved the deciding factor in moves already under consideration because of rising labor costs in China. Three decades ago, when Kamler first offshored Kent's production, the firm's labor costs in China were a tenth of those in the United States, he said. Now, workers in China make about a quarter of their U.S. counterparts. Kent currently sources nearly 90 percent of the 3 million bicycles it sells to Target, Walmart and other U.S. retailers from China. But sales took a hit after it raised prices in response to tariffs last September. Kent's new factory in Cambodia is estimated to cost $20 million - an amount equivalent to one year of Kent's increased costs from Trump's 10 percent tariffs, which were added to existing duties. Trump's tariffs were set to rise to 25 percent on March 2, but on Sunday he delayed the increase, citing progress in trade talks with China. Another major brand, Specialized Bicycle Components, has moved production from China to Cambodia, Vietnam and Taiwan, expanding its existing Southeast Asia operations, said Bob Margevicius, a vice president of the Morgan Hill, California-based bike maker. Smaller producer Pure Bicycles, based in Los Angeles, is preparing a move to Vietnam, said Michael Fishman, president of the Los Angeles-based firm. Industry officials and supply chain consultants say all American bike-makers are considering similar moves to shield their low-margin businesses from tariffs. "Their supply chains are disrupted," said Morgan Lommele, a director at PeopleForBikes, an industry association. "They are looking at other countries." 'A WAKE-UP CALL' All manufacturers face challenges in moving their operations to Southeast Asia, including constraints on port capacity and labor. And no country can easily supplant China's scale and production volumes for bicycles after three decades of the industry migrating there from the United States. In the 1970s, U.S.-based firms made more than 15 million bicycles annually, compared to fewer than 500,000 now, according to the data presented by the industry to the USTR last year. And 94 percent of U.S. bike imports currently come from China, U.S. Census data shows. (GRAPHIC: https://tmsnrt.rs/2ElEW2d) China also provides more than 300 million components such as tires, tubes, seats and handlebars - accounting for about 60 percent total component imports. Specialized finished moving all its production out of China by December but, like Kent, will continue to buy components from there. Trump's tariffs provided a "wake-up call for the industry," said Margevicius, who also serves on the board of an industry trade group, the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association. CHINA FIGHTS BACK Chinese authorities are keen to protect manufacturing jobs, too. To cushion the impact of tariffs, China has increased export tax rebates and quickened tax refunds to exporters, Margevicius said. It is also offering companies cheap loans. A more than 5 percent decline in the value of the Chinese Yuan last year, along with forecasts of further depreciation this year, are also helping blunt the impact of higher U.S. duties. Kent is, nonetheless, moving ahead with plans to start manufacturing in Cambodia in September, and Kamler said it will shift the bulk of its production there over the long term. Lower labor costs were a major deciding factor in addition to tariffs, said Kamler, who remains skeptical that Beijing will sustain its tax incentives to lower-end manufacturers as its economy shifts toward services, consumption and high-tech production. South East Asian countries are also wooing firms exploring options outside China. Cambodia has allowed Kent to bring in short-term workers from China. Thailand is promoting itself as a regional manufacturing hub, offering incentives such as an exemption of up to eight years on corporate income tax for certain industries and exemptions on import duties for some raw materials. Vietnam has finalized 16 free trade agreements including with the European Union and is a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, offering companies almost duty-free access to big bike markets from Germany to Australia. LOGISTICAL HURDLES Specialized's Margevicius advises companies considering a move to look carefully at whether locations outside China have the required infrastructure to meet their needs. Each of the two biggest ports in Vietnam, for instance, has only a sixth of the capacity of the port of Shanghai, and Cambodia lacks a deep-water port to accommodate larger vessels. The rush of manufacturers moving operations to Southeast Asia will also bring new competition to hire and train workers from a labor force far smaller than that of China. Kamler is not deterred. Kent's Chinese partner has already bought a plot for the Cambodian factory, five miles from downtown Phnom Penh. Construction is scheduled to start next month and finish by June. The company will initially hire and train up to 300 workers to start the production. It will also bring in 100 robots from its Chinese facilities for welding work. "We have a big business in the United States," Kamler said. "My priority 1,2,3 and 4 is to rescue my USA business." (Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; editing by Joseph White and Brian Thevenot) 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 How will the US break up? LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 489602 02-27-2019 02:24 AM Post: #1 How will the US break up? Advertisement Yellow: The Democratic Socialist Republic of New England. Strongly based on democratic socialist principles of taxing the rich and a strong welfare state Capital: Boston Population: 15 M Blue: Socialist Confederation of New York State owned means of production and guaranteed food housing and healthcare. Class money and stocks no longer exist. Most industrialized and powerful. Population: 70 M Brown: The Confederate States of the South. The new confederacy. Principally agrarian with a strong capitalist basis. Slavery is reinstated in this region. Most people are very poor except for slaveowners. Population: 25 M Red: The Appalachian Republic. This area is primarily rural outside of a few large cities. A strong capitalist economy but extensive poverty in the eastern portion of the country. Population: 15 M Green: Democratic Republic of Illinois Largely urban and industrial society has many major manufacturing cities. Industry is mostly overseen by the state. Has free healthcare and food but continues to allow private property. Population: 48 M For some explanation: this is only whats east of the Mississippi. The west will have to be another post.Yellow: The Democratic Socialist Republic of New England.Strongly based on democratic socialist principles of taxing the rich and a strong welfare state Capital: Boston Population: 15 MBlue: Socialist Confederation of New York State owned means of production and guaranteed food housing and healthcare. Class money and stocks no longer exist. Most industrialized and powerful.Population: 70 MBrown: The Confederate States of the South.The new confederacy. Principally agrarian with a strong capitalist basis. Slavery is reinstated in this region. Most people are very poor except for slaveowners. Population: 25 MRed: The Appalachian Republic.This area is primarily rural outside of a few large cities. A strong capitalist economy but extensive poverty in the eastern portion of the country.Population: 15 MGreen: Democratic Republic of Illinois Largely urban and industrial society has many major manufacturing cities. Industry is mostly overseen by the state. Has free healthcare and food but continues to allow private property.Population: 48 M LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 290096 02-27-2019 02:31 AM Post: #2 RE: How will the US break up? LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 02:24 AM) For some explanation: this is only whats east of the Mississippi. The west will have to be another post. Yellow: The Democratic Socialist Republic of New England. Strongly based on democratic socialist principles of taxing the rich and a strong welfare state Capital: Boston Population: 15 M Blue: Socialist Confederation of New York State owned means of production and guaranteed food housing and healthcare. Class money and stocks no longer exist. Most industrialized and powerful. Population: 70 M Brown: The Confederate States of the South. The new confederacy. Principally agrarian with a strong capitalist basis. Slavery is reinstated in this region. Most people are very poor except for slaveowners. Population: 25 M Red: The Appalachian Republic. This area is primarily rural outside of a few large cities. A strong capitalist economy but extensive poverty in the eastern portion of the country. Population: 15 M Green: Democratic Republic of Illinois Largely urban and industrial society has many major manufacturing cities. Industry is mostly overseen by the state. Has free healthcare and food but continues to allow private property. Population: 48 M Stupid Land. Population: YOU Stupid Land. Population: YOU LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 290096 02-27-2019 02:34 AM Post: #3 RE: How will the US break up? LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 02:31 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 02:24 AM) For some explanation: this is only whats east of the Mississippi. The west will have to be another post. Yellow: The Democratic Socialist Republic of New England. Strongly based on democratic socialist principles of taxing the rich and a strong welfare state Capital: Boston Population: 15 M Blue: Socialist Confederation of New York State owned means of production and guaranteed food housing and healthcare. Class money and stocks no longer exist. Most industrialized and powerful. Population: 70 M Brown: The Confederate States of the South. The new confederacy. Principally agrarian with a strong capitalist basis. Slavery is reinstated in this region. Most people are very poor except for slaveowners. Population: 25 M Red: The Appalachian Republic. This area is primarily rural outside of a few large cities. A strong capitalist economy but extensive poverty in the eastern portion of the country. Population: 15 M Green: Democratic Republic of Illinois Largely urban and industrial society has many major manufacturing cities. Industry is mostly overseen by the state. Has free healthcare and food but continues to allow private property. Population: 48 M Stupid Land. Population: YOU i want to KIND OF apologize for that. but when i see that slavery in the south again sh*t it pisses me off. you know who else the end of slavery hurt? the northern textile factories. you know what it lead to? the late nineteenth century depression. i want to KIND OF apologize for that. but when i see that slavery in the south again sh*t it pisses me off.you know who else the end of slavery hurt? the northern textile factories. you know what it lead to? the late nineteenth century depression. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 489602 02-27-2019 02:36 AM Post: #4 RE: How will the US break up? So you think slavery couldnt happen again? I know many rich people that aspire to own slaves...or at least have people work for free GenX Subscriber User ID: 489566 02-27-2019 02:46 AM Posts: 32,305 Post: #5 RE: How will the US break up? I for one appreciate this provocative thought experiment. I think the OP is trying to express the sentiment as it is NOW. Whether he personally likes it or NOT. ************ If I don't look after the interests of the underprivileged, maybe somebody else will. Maybe somebody without any money or property, and that would be too bad!" -Citizen Kane LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 290096 02-27-2019 02:47 AM Post: #6 RE: How will the US break up? LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 02:36 AM) So you think slavery couldnt happen again? I know many rich people that aspire to own slaves...or at least have people work for free hell no it couldnt happen again. and how the f*#k do you know MANY rich people? slavery, even if it was legal in this country just isnt economical. think about it. slaves dont live on sunshine and air. if you owned a slave you would have feed, clothe, house and keep captive that slave. that costs a sh*t ton of money. hell no it couldnt happen again. and how the f*#k do you know MANY rich people? slavery, even if it was legal in this country just isnt economical. think about it. slaves dont live on sunshine and air. if you owned a slave you would have feed, clothe, house and keep captive that slave. that costs a sh*t ton of money. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 290096 02-27-2019 02:48 AM Post: #7 RE: How will the US break up? General Banter Wrote: (02-27-2019 02:46 AM) I for one appreciate this provocative thought experiment. I think the OP is trying to express the sentiment as it is NOW. Whether he personally likes it or NOT. nobody down here wants to re-form the confederacy and have a bunch of slaves. nobody down here wants to re-form the confederacy and have a bunch of slaves. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 290096 02-27-2019 02:55 AM Post: #8 RE: How will the US break up? most people here in the appalachian mountains werent down with slavery or leaving the union to begin with. while this may shock the f*#k out of you autistic basement dwellers the following is true. eastern tennessee tried to secede from the state of tennessee and form a state that could remain in the union. but alas we were occupied by 7000 confederate troops sent by the governor of tennessee and remained occupied until roughly 1862. most of you are too stupid to crack an actual history book, i get it. its easier to believe in your world of absolutes. look up LINCOLN MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY. and read its history AND WHERE ITS AT AND WHY ITS THERE. because i'll be goddamned if i'm gonna link or write it out for you. /rant LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 489602 02-27-2019 02:58 AM Post: #9 RE: How will the US break up? LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 02:47 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 02:36 AM) So you think slavery couldnt happen again? I know many rich people that aspire to own slaves...or at least have people work for free hell no it couldnt happen again. and how the f*#k do you know MANY rich people? slavery, even if it was legal in this country just isnt economical. think about it. slaves dont live on sunshine and air. if you owned a slave you would have feed, clothe, house and keep captive that slave. that costs a sh*t ton of money. I have seen postings on reddit from business owners that think they should be able to have young people work for free so they can gain experience. Not quite slavery but close. I have seen postings on reddit from business owners that think they should be able to have young people work for free so they can gain experience. Not quite slavery but close. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 489602 02-27-2019 02:59 AM Post: #10 RE: How will the US break up? LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 02:55 AM) most people here in the appalachian mountains werent down with slavery or leaving the union to begin with. while this may shock the f*#k out of you autistic basement dwellers the following is true. eastern tennessee tried to secede from the state of tennessee and form a state that could remain in the union. but alas we were occupied by 7000 confederate troops sent by the governor of tennessee and remained occupied until roughly 1862. most of you are too stupid to crack an actual history book, i get it. its easier to believe in your world of absolutes. look up LINCOLN MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY. and read its history AND WHERE ITS AT AND WHY ITS THERE. because i'll be goddamned if i'm gonna link or write it out for you. /rant Note in my prediction that Tennessee was not part of the confederacy. Only SC GA AL and MS were. Oh thats right I didnt post the map here to go along with the words. Is it even possible to post a picture here? Note in my prediction that Tennessee was not part of the confederacy. Only SC GA AL and MS were.Oh thats right I didnt post the map here to go along with the words. Is it even possible to post a picture here? LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 290096 02-27-2019 03:04 AM Post: #11 RE: How will the US break up? LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 02:59 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (02-27-2019 02:55 AM) most people here in the appalachian mountains werent down with slavery or leaving the union to begin with. while this may shock the f*#k out of you autistic basement dwellers the following is true. eastern tennessee tried to secede from the state of tennessee and form a state that could remain in the union. but alas we were occupied by 7000 confederate troops sent by the governor of tennessee and remained occupied until roughly 1862. most of you are too stupid to crack an actual history book, i get it. its easier to believe in your world of absolutes. look up LINCOLN MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY. and read its history AND WHERE ITS AT AND WHY ITS THERE. because i'll be goddamned if i'm gonna link or write it out for you. /rant Note in my prediction that Tennessee was not part of the confederacy. Only SC GA AL and MS were. Oh thats right I didnt post the map here to go along with the words. Is it even possible to post a picture here? it is possible to post pics here. HOWEVER..... Mississippi is 50% african american. good luck getting them enslaved, much less joining the new confederacy. it is possible to post pics here. HOWEVER.....Mississippi is 50% african american. good luck getting them enslaved, much less joining the new confederacy. Back to Forum Reply to This post Post New Thread By Jeff Mason and Soyoung Kim HANOI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump hailed "a very special relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as they met in Vietnam for a second summit on Wednesday and said he was satisfied with the pace of denuclearization talks despite some criticism they were not moving quickly enough. The U.S. president appeared upbeat with Kim even as on the other side of the world in Washington his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen called Trump a "conman" who knew in advance about the release of stolen emails aimed at hurting his Democratic rival in the 2016 election campaign. "Great meetings" and a "Very good dialogue," Trump said on Twitter after dinner with Kim at Hanoi's French-colonial-era Metropole hotel while the White House said the two planned to sign a "joint agreement" after further talks on Thursday. Facing increasing political and legal pressure at home over investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, Trump has devoted significant time and effort to trying to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for promises of peace and development, a foreign policy goal that has confounded multiple predecessors. The Hanoi meeting was Trump's second meeting with Kim in eight months and he appeared to reiterate recent statements that he was in no rush. "We had a very successful first summit," he told Kim. "I felt it was very successful, and some people would like to see it go quicker; Im satisfied; youre satisfied, we want to be happy with what we're doing." Asked by a reporter if he was "walking back" on denuclearization demands, Trump said "no". Trump and Kim held a 20-minute, one-on-one chat before they sat down to dinner with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump's acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Kim's top envoy Kim Yong Chol and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho. On Thursday, the two leaders are scheduled for a series of meetings at the Metropole, beginning with another one-on-one session lasting 45 minutes, the White House said. The two leaders would hold a "joint agreement signing ceremony," at the end of the meetings, which would be followed by a news conference by Trump at 3:50 p.m. Hanoi time (0850 GMT). The White House has given no indication as to what the signing ceremony might involve, although the two sides have held discussions that have included the possibility of a political statement to declare the 1950-53 Korean War over, which some critics say would be premature. Asked if he would declare a formal end to the Korean War, which concluded with an armistice, not a peace treaty that North Korea has long sought, Trump said: Well see. Their summit in Singapore in June was the first meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader and ended with fanfare but little substance. Trump and Kim pledged to work toward denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean peninsula, but there has been little progress since. Kim said they had overcome obstacles to meet a second time and praised Trump for his "courageous decision" to begin a dialogue. "Now that we're meeting here again like this, I'm confident that there will be an excellent outcome that everyone welcomes, and I'll do my best to make it happen," Kim said. "Were going to have a very busy day tomorrow, a smiling, relaxed-looking Trump, said seated beside Kim at a round dinner table with the other four officials and two interpreters. "Our relationship is a very special relationship." Observers said the pair were at pains to show their relationship had improved since June, with their body language closely mirroring each other. LEVERAGE Trump said late last year he and Kim "fell in love", but whether the bonhomie can move them beyond summit pageantry to substantive progress on eliminating a North Korean nuclear arsenal that threatens the United States is the big question. Trump indicated a more flexible stance in the run-up to Hanoi, saying he was in no rush on denuclearization as long as North Korea, which has not tested a nuclear weapon or intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017, maintained that freeze. Trump risks squandering vital leverage if he gives away too much, too quickly, critics said. Evans Revere, a former U.S. negotiator with North Korea, said Trump was under pressure given his domestic problems and "Kim may be tempted to push Trump even harder for concessions, knowing how much the president wants and needs that testing pause." Daniel Russel, who served as the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia until early in Trump's presidency, said telling Kim that he could take his time was anything but strategically wise. "The yardstick for assessing ... results is not whether Trump proclaims himself 'happy,' but whether the outcome takes North Korea measurably closer to revealing and dismantling its nuclear and ballistic missile programs." U.S. intelligence officials have said there is no sign North Korea will give up its entire arsenal of nuclear weapons, which Kim's ruling family sees as vital to its survival, and analysts say Pyongyang is unlikely to commit to significant steps without an easing of punishing U.S.-led sanctions. The two sides have discussed partial denuclearization measures, such as allowing inspectors to observe the dismantlement of North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear reactor, U.S. and South Korean officials say. U.S. concessions could include opening liaison offices or clearing the way for inter-Korean projects. Trump has appeared to be betting on his personal relationship with Kim, and the economic incentive after 70 years of hostility between their countries. "Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize," Trump said on Twitter ahead of the meeting. (For live coverage of the summit, click: https://www.reuters.com/live/north-korea; Eikon SUMMIT LIVE [nL3N20M1H6]; Reporting by Soyoung Kim and Jeff Mason in HANOI; Additional reporting by Hyonhee Shin, James Pearson, Mai Nyugen, Ju-min Park, Khanh Vu, Josh Smith in HANOI, David Brunnstrom and Matt Spetalnick in WASHINGTON; Editing by Robert Birsel, Lincoln Feast and Grant McCool) By James Pearson and Jeff Mason HANOI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump used a meeting with Vietnamese officials on Wednesday to pitch arms exports from the United States, ahead of a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump is in Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, for his second summit with Kim since their first historic meeting in June last year. Speaking after Boeing and General Electric signed agreements with Vietnamese airlines VietJet and Bamboo, Trump said he appreciated the aviation deals and added that Vietnam had been looking to buy military equipment from the United States. "I also appreciate the fact that you're looking at much of our military equipment," Trump said during a lunch meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. "We make the best military equipment in the world by far, whether it's jet fighters or missiles or rockets or anything you want to name, we make, we're acknowledged to have made, we make the best," said Trump. "So I appreciate you're looking at that very strongly and I know that's a decision you make". Vietnam has been one of the world's most active arms importers in recent years, amid China's increasingly aggressive stance in the South China Sea, where the neighbors have long-standing rival claims. Vietnam has been seeking to diversify its equipment and reliance on Soviet-era or Russian technology. The United States announced a complete end to its arms embargo on old war-time enemy Vietnam in May 2016 during a visit to Hanoi by former U.S. president Barack Obama, which paved the way for Hanoi to be able to buy a full range of U.S. weapons and military equipment. Immediate big-ticket purchases are not expected, but Vietnam's military strategists have in the past indicated interest in U.S. drones, radar, and possibly P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft. The United States gave six patrol boats to the Vietnamese coastguard in March last year, the latest move in increased security ties between them, following a landmark visit by a U.S. aircraft carrier the same month. The vessels were in addition to another six patrol boats and a high-endurance cutter provided to Vietnam by the United States in 2017. (Reporting by James Pearson and Jeff Mason; Editing by Robert Birsel; Additional reporting by Khanh Vu) Donald Trump kicked off a consequential week of domestic and international developments on Monday by attacking a film directors Oscars speech as racist and becoming the subject of another sexual assault lawsuit. The president went after Spike Lee who used his Oscar acceptance speech to urge mobilisation for the 2020 election in a tweet, claiming the filmmaker did a racist hit on your President. Mr Trump then claimed that he had done more for African Americans than almost any other president. Mr Lee did not directly name Trump. He spoke about black history and his family history, saying his grandmothers mother was a slave, before stressing the presidential election next year. Lets all be on the right side of history, Mr Lee said on Sunday nights awards show. Make the moral choice between love versus hate. The controversial tweets arrived the same day Mr Trump faced a lawsuit alleging he abruptly grabbed a former campaign staffers hand and planted an unwanted kiss on her face during a Florida meeting with staff and volunteers. Alva Johnson wrote in the federal lawsuit that Mr Trump made the nonconsensual advance in August 2016 in Tampa, Florida. She said he grasped her hand and did not let go and kissed her on the corner of her mouth as she turned slightly away. The forced and unwanted kiss was deeply offensive to Ms Johnson, the lawsuit says, adding that she suffered emotional distress, psychological trauma, humiliation, embarrassment, loss of dignity, invasion of privacy and other damages. The lawsuit, first reported by Washington Post, seeks unspecified money damages and an order preventing the president from grabbing, kissing or otherwise assaulting or harassing women without prior express consent. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders called Johnsons allegations fabricated and said other people who were there say it did not take place. This accusation is absurd on its face. This never happened and is directly contradicted by multiple highly credible eye witness accounts, Sanders said. Story continues The president departed on Air Force One by Monday afternoon for his upcoming second summit with North Korean regime leader Kim Jong Un. Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence visited Colombia to discuss the Venezuela crisis with the president of Colombia and Venezuelas opposition leader, Juan Guaido. Both Mr Trump and his vice president will be outside of the US this week a rarity in American politics for national security reasons. The Associated Press contributed to this report. See The Independents live coverage below. 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 Donald Trump dined with dictator Kim Jong Un on Wednesday night in Hanoi, Vietnam, painting a rosy picture for economic prosperity in North Korea after previously claiming the brutal regime is no longer a nuclear threat to the United States. Theres just one problem: intelligence experts say the North has only sought to advance its nuclear ambitions under Mr Trump, who has undermined his negotiators routinely throughout behind-the-scenes conversations ahead of this weeks summit. North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities are more dangerous than when Trump took office and remain a strategic threat to Americas allies in the region, Jon Wolfsthal, former senior director for arms control and nonproliferation at the National Security Council under Barack Obama, told The Independent. A lack of testing by North Korea has had almost no impact on that threat, he added. Mr Trump has touted an apparent calming of tensions with North Korea during his presidency and a lack of missile testing as signs the reclusive regime could be willing to forego its efforts of obtaining an intercontinental missile capable of reaching mainland US. On Wednesday, Mr Trump repeated his claims that North Korea could become on the worlds great economic powers during his face-to-face summit with the regime leader, saying in front of reporters, I think that your country has tremendous economic potential. Unbelievable. Unlimited. And I think that you will have a tremendous future I look forward to watching it happen, and helping it to happen. The president also took a shot at Democrats and his predecessor on Twitter, writing, The Democrats should stop talking about what I should do with North Korea and ask themselves instead why they didnt do it during eight years of the Obama Administration? Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize, he tweeted. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting! Story continues In speaking to The Independent, Mr Wolfsthal acknowledged shortcomings by the previous administration in achieving the denuclearisation of North Korea. Still, he noted the supposed difference between past efforts and what Mr Trump has seemingly employed throughout his two public spectacles in meeting with Mr Kim. Under Obama, we sought real progress, not the appearance of progress, he said. We did not succeed, but we remained steadfast and did not give away key steps North Korea has wanted for years. Mr Trumps willingness to claim North Korea was no longer a threat made it less likely that lower level North Koreans would engage with their US counterparts, according to Mr Wolfsthal, who now serves as the director of the nuclear crisis group at Global Zero, a coalition of 300 world leaders seeking to eradicate nuclear arsenals globally. Even Mr Trump's own Secretary of State Mike Pompeo contradicted the president, saying the North was still a threat in an interview with CNN ahead of the summit. A major question remains surrounding Mr Trumps second summit with the North Korean leader about what exactly his administration hopes to accomplish during the historic event. Whereas the North has sought a peace declaration that would effectively end the longstanding Korean War Mr Trump said Well see about that happening before the two sat down for nuclear talks on Wednesday the US has sought verifiable evidence of the Norths denuclearisation. Trump claimed in the campaign that only he can solve problems, he added. It is ridiculous to think that any President would work out the meticulous details needed to achieve and verify destruction of North Korean weapons. On Wednesday, the North Korean leader described his regime as misunderstood, without directly indicating whether it would work towards complete denuclearisation. There have been efforts, whether out of hostility or not, to block the path that we intend to take, he said. But we have overcome all these and walked toward each other again and weve now reached Hanoi after 261 days. By Jeff Mason and Soyoung Kim HANOI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will hold another day of talks at their second summit in eight months on Thursday, after swapping compliments at a dinner but giving no sign of progress on the key issue of denuclearization. Trump hailed "a very special relationship" when he met Kim in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi on Wednesday and said he was satisfied with the pace of talks, despite some criticism they were not moving quickly enough. "Great meetings" and a "Very good dialogue," Trump said on Twitter after dinner with Kim at the French-colonial-era Metropole hotel while the White House said the two planned to sign a "joint agreement" after further talks on Thursday. The White House has given no indication of what the signing ceremony might involve, although the two sides' discussions have included the possibility of a political statement to declare the 1950-53 Korean War over, which some critics see as premature. They have also discussed partial denuclearization measures, such as allowing inspectors to observe the dismantling of North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear reactor, U.S. and South Korean officials say. U.S. concessions could include opening liaison offices or clearing the way for inter-Korean projects, but critics say Trump risks squandering vital leverage if he gives away too much, too quickly. The Hanoi summit was Trump's second with Kim since an inconclusive meeting in Singapore in June that produced much fanfare but little substance and there had been little sign of concrete progress since. The U.S. president nevertheless appeared upbeat with Kim even as his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen testified at a congressional hearing in Washington, calling Trump a "conman" who knew in advance about the release of stolen emails aimed at hurting his Democratic rival in the 2016 election campaign. Facing mounting pressure at home over investigations into Russian meddling in the election, Trump has sought a big win by trying to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for promises of peace and development, a foreign policy goal that has confounded multiple predecessors. Trump told Kim on Wednesday he felt the first summit was "very successful". "Some people would like to see it go quicker; Im satisfied; youre satisfied, we want to be happy with what we're doing." The leaders exchanged views at dinner with the aim of achieving comprehensive and ground-breaking results from their summit, state news agency KCNA said on Thursday. "Sincere and in-depth views were exchanged to bring about a comprehensive and groundbreaking outcome," it said. TRUMP SAYS NOT WALKING BACK Asked by a reporter if he was "walking back" on denuclearization demands, Trump said, "No". Trump and Kim held a 20-minute, one-on-one chat before a dinner that also involved U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump's acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Kim's top envoy Kim Yong Chol and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho. On Thursday, they two leaders have a series of meetings scheduled at the Metropole, beginning with another one-on-one session lasting 45 minutes, the White House said. After a "joint agreement signing ceremony" Trump plans a news conference at 3:50 p.m. Hanoi time (0850 GMT). Asked if he would declare a formal end to the Korean War, which concluded with an armistice, rather than a peace treaty that North Korea has long sought, Trump said on Wednesday: "Well see." The June meeting was the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader. It produced a joint statement in which Kim pledged to work toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and the two sides committed to establish new ties and build a permanent peace regime. But there has been little progress since. Kim said on Wednesday the leaders had overcome obstacles to meet a second time and praised Trump for his "courageous decision" to begin a dialogue, adding that he was "confident that there will be an excellent outcome that everyone welcomes". Trump said late last year he and Kim "fell in love", but whether bonhomie can move them beyond summit pageantry to substantive progress on eliminating a North Korean nuclear arsenal that threatens the United States is a big question. Trump indicated a more flexible stance in the run-up to Hanoi, saying he was in no rush as long as North Korea, which has not tested a nuclear weapon or intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017, maintained that freeze. U.S. intelligence officials have said there is no sign North Korea will give up its entire arsenal of nuclear weapons, which Kim's ruling family sees as vital to its survival, and analysts say Pyongyang is unlikely to commit to significant steps without an easing of punishing U.S.-led sanctions. Trump has appeared to be betting on his personal relationship with Kim, and the economic incentive after 70 years of hostility between their countries. "Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize," Trump said on Twitter ahead of the meeting. (For live coverage of the summit, click: https://www.reuters.com/live/north-korea; Eikon SUMMIT LIVE; Reporting by Soyoung Kim and Jeff Mason in HANOI; Additional reporting by Hyonhee Shin, James Pearson, Mai Nyugen, Ju-min Park, Khanh Vu, Josh Smith in HANOI, David Brunnstrom and Matt Spetalnick in WASHINGTON; Editing by Grant McCool and Clarence Fernandez) Donald Trump has responded angrily to reports his former lawyer will testify that he is a racist conman, claiming Michael Cohen's allegations are an attempt to reduce his prison time. The president's former attorney is expected to tell the House oversight committee on Wednesday he is a "racist, a conman and a cheat" and that he was negotiating a business deal in Russia on his client's behalf during the 2016 presidential election. But in his first public response to the revelations, Mr Trump said on Twitter: "Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately). "He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crookeds lawyer!" Mr Trump's claim Cohen was merely "one of many lawyers" - an apparent attempt to distance himself from the 52-year-old - is in stark contrast to a 2012 tweet in which he described Mr Cohen as his EVP (executive vice president). Despite Mr Trump's attempts to discredit his former lawyer's truthfulness, Cohen is set to provide "irrefutable" evidence to back up his claims about the president. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Those allegations, made under threat of perjury, include that Mr Trump was aware of communications between his presidential campaign and WikiLeaks, and that he was lying to the American people when he insisted he has no business in Russia. In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing, Cohen will say. In his way, he was telling me to lie. Cohen will also claim Mr Trump directed him to send letters to the president's former schools threatening them with legal action in order to prevent the release of his exam scores. Story continues It came on the same day Mr Trump is meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at a summit in Vietnam intended to address the communist state's nuclear weapons ambitions. "All false reporting (guessing) on my intentions with respect to North Korea. Kim Jong Un and I will try very hard to work something out on Denuclearization & then making North Korea an Economic Powerhouse," Mr Trump tweeted on Wednesday afternoon in Vietnam. "I believe that China, Russia, Japan & South Korea will be very helpful!" ANKARA (Reuters) - White House adviser Jared Kushner arrived in Turkey on Wednesday for talks with President Tayyip Erdogan that are expected to focus on a U.S. peace plan for the Middle East. Kushner, who has responsibility for Washington's Israel-Palestinian policy, has said the plan will address final-status issues of the conflict, including establishing borders. He was scheduled to meet Erdogan at the presidential palace in the Turkish capital Ankara at 3 pm (1200 GMT), the presidential office said. No media statement has been scheduled. Erdogan has been one of the most vocal critics of President Donald Trump's support for Israel. Last year he said the United States had forfeited its role as mediator in the Middle East by moving its Israel embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing the city as Israel's capital. "The United States has chosen to be part of the problem rather than the solution," the Turkish president said last May, days before he hosted a summit of Muslim leaders which threatened economic measures against countries which followed the United States in moving their embassies to Jerusalem. Israel calls all of Jerusalem its "eternal and undivided capital", a status not recognized internationally. Palestinians want East Jerusalem, captured and occupied by Israel in a 1967 war, as capital of a future state. In an interview broadcast on Monday on Sky News Arabia during a visit to U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states, Kushner made no specific mention of a Palestinian state, whose creation had been a key goal of Washington's peace efforts for two decades. But he said the long-awaited peace proposal would build on "a lot of the efforts in the past", including the 1990s Oslo accords that provided a foundation for Palestinian statehood, and would require concessions from both sides. U.S. officials said that Kushner, who is Trump's son-in-law, is expected to focus on the economic component of the plan during his week-long trip to the region. (Reporting by Mert Ozkan; Writing by Daren Butler; editing by Gareth Jones) Former Trump campaign staffer Alva Johnson joined All In With Chris Hayes Tuesday night where she spoke about the lawsuit she filed against Donald Trump on Monday. In the lawsuit, Johnson alleges that Trump kissed her without consent before a campaign event in August of 2016, and that she was grossly underpaid while working on the campaign. Of the unwanted kiss, Johnson said shed given Trump words of encouragement before the event and after a brief exchange he went in for a kiss.He just starts getting closer, and then when I realize he was going to kiss my lips, I turn my mouth and he caught me right in the corner of my mouth, and I was just kind of frozen, Johnson said. She went on to call the incident gross and creepy.White House Press Secretary Sarah Sandersdismissed the claims, as did former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi and Trumps Florida campaign director Karen Giorno. According to the lawsuit, Bondi and Giorno were present at the time of the incident, but their reactions were as if something positive had just happened.Pam kind of looked at me like (smiles and nods her head), and Karen Giorno, who I reported to at the time, kind of grabbed my elbow, kind of congratulatory, Johnson said, and I didnt feel that way. Johnson said she pushed the incident to the back of her head until several weeks later when the infamous Access Hollywood tape, in which Trump brags to Billy Bush about forcing himself on women, was released. When I heard the audio, I mean, I was like screaming at my car. Like, Oh my god, thats exactly what he did to me, Johnson said. Like, he literally described exactly what he did to me, minus the grab the P.Johnson never returned to work for the campaign, saying that now there was no doubt what Trumps intentions were and that she was too afraid.Johnson went on to say she regrets helping Trump get elected, citing his reaction to Charlottesville, the separation of families at the southern border, and his response to the #MeToo movement.I never signed up for that, an emotional Johnson said. And then you have him mocking women with the #MeToo movement, making fun of them. And for me, Im sitting there and Im like, Thats exactly what you did to me. President Trumps former lawyer, Michael Cohen, testified before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday that his former boss is a racist who told him that African-Americans were too stupid to vote for him. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., a member of the committee, invited Lynne Patton, an African-American member of the Trump administration, to the hearing to refute that characterization. You made some very demeaning comments that Mrs. Patton doesnt agree with, Meadows, the head of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, told Cohen as Patton stood behind him. She says, as a daughter of a man born in Birmingham, Ala., that there is no way that she would work for an individual who was a racist, Meadows continued. How do you reconcile the two of those? Neither should I as the son of a Holocaust survivor, Cohen shot back. Ive talked to the president over 300 times, Meadows said. Ive not heard one time a racist comment out of his mouth in private. Patton, a regional administrator in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, was formerly an executive with the Eric Trump Foundation. Ask Miss Patton how many people who are black executives at the Trump Organization," Cohen told Meadows. "And the answer is zero. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., speaks to Michael Cohen during a House Oversight Committee hearing, with Lynne Patton, a regional administrator in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, standing behind him. (Screengrab: Yahoo News Video) Near the end of the hearing, Rep. Tlaib, D-Mich., criticized Meadows for bringing Patton to the hearing, and accused him of using a black woman "as a prop." "Just because someone has a person of color a black person working for them does not mean that they aren't racist," Tlaib said, addressing the chairman. Meadows erupted, demanding Cummings strike Tlaib's comments from the record. "My nieces and nephews are people of color," Meadows said. "To ask someone who is a personal friend of the Trump family, who has worked for him ... that she's coming in to be a prop? It's racist to suggest that." "That was not my intention, I do apologize if that's what it sounded like," Tlaib said. "I was not referring to you as a racist." Story continues Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., questions Michael Cohen during his hearing before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images) In his opening statement to the committee, Cohen recounted a conversation he had had with Trump while they were driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago. He commented that only black people could live that way, Cohen recalled. And he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. And yet I continued to work for him. Cohen also said Trump once asked him to name a country run by a black person that wasnt a s***hole. This was when Barack Obama was president of the United States, Cohen added. In an Instagram post published before the hearing, Patton accused Cohen of leveling unsubstantiated claims. I am sad that Michael has elected to leverage his own personal illegal activities into nothing more than political theater this week with the sole partisan purpose to embarrass a sitting President with unfounded personal or professional gossip, Patton wrote. I am sad that Michael would turn his back on a man to whom he has repeatedly said he owes everything in the hope of a reduced prison sentence. ___ Read more from Yahoo News: Lunaticoutpost.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program , anaffiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.Amazon, the Amazon logo, MYHABIT, and the MYHABIT logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.Don't be a pest to the forum.No profanity in thread-titles or usernamesNo excessive profanity in postsNo Racism, Antisemitism + HateNo calls for violence against anyone..This website exists for fun and discussion only. 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A timeline of Pell's career and the criminal case: July 16, 1996: Auxiliary Bishop George Pell is appointed Archbishop of Melbourne. Within months he abused two choir boys at St. Patrick's Cathedral. March 26, 2001: Pell becomes Archbishop of Sydney. Oct. 21, 2003: Pope John Paul II makes Pell a cardinal. Feb. 25, 2014: Pope Francis appoints Pell to the powerful position of Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy. April 8, 2014: One of the molested choirboys dies of a heroin overdose without alleging the crime and having told his mother he had not been abused. Aug. 5, 2014: Victoria state police establish Task Force Sano to investigate allegations that arose from a state parliamentary inquiry into handling of child abuse by religious and other non-government organizations. Sano also investigates allegations made to a similar national inquiry. June 18, 2015: The surviving choirboy gives his first statement to Sano detectives outlining criminal allegations against Pell. Dec. 12, 2015: Australian media report that Pell has cancelled an appearance before an Australia government-commissioned inquiry into how the church and other institutions responded to child sexual abuse over decades. Pell said he could not fly back to Australia because of ill health. Dec. 23, 2015: Sano makes a public appeal for information relating to allegations of sexual offences in Melbourne while Pell was archbishop from 1996 until 2001. March 1, 2016: Pell begins testifying by video link for four days from Rome to the Australian child abuse inquiry. Pell was critical of how the church had dealt with pedophile clerics in the past but denied he had been aware of the extent of the problem. Pell said he did not immediately act when a boy raised abuse allegations against a cleric in the 1970s and should have done more. Story continues July 27, 2016: Pell issues a statement denying sexual abuse allegations made on an Australian Broadcasting Corp. current affairs program. Oct. 19, 2016: Santo detectives go to Rome and question Pell. Pell hears for the first time details of the choirboy's allegations. June 29, 2017: Police charge Pell by summons with multiple counts of historical sexual assault offenses, making him the most senior cleric to be charged in the church's abuse crisis. Pell denied the accusations and took an immediate leave of absence as Vatican finance czar to return to Australia to defend himself. July 26, 2017: Pell makes his first appearance in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on charges that he sexually abused multiple children in his home state of Victoria decades earlier. Details of the allegations were not made public. Pell was not required to enter pleas but he vowed through his lawyers to fight the allegations. May 1, 2018: A magistrate commits Pell to stand trial after dismissing half the charges against him during a month-long preliminary hearing. Pell pleads not guilty to all charges. May 2, 2018: A County Court judge rules Pell's charges will be separated into two trials. One would deal with charges relating to his time as archbishop in Melbourne in the 1990s and the other when he was a young priest in Ballarat in the 1970s. Aug. 15, 2018: Trial begins and runs for four weeks. Sept. 20, 2018: Jury discharged after failing to agree on a verdict following more than five days of deliberation. Nov. 7, 2018: Retrial begins. Dec. 6, 2018: Jury retires. Dec. 11, 2018: Jury unanimously convicts Pell on all charges. Feb. 26, 2019: Suppression order forbidding publication of any details about the trial is lifted. Feb. 27, 2019: Sentencing hearing scheduled to begin. A car "trying to beat the gate" was struck by two trains going opposite directions in Long Island Tuesday night, killing all passengers in the car, police said. Seven passengers on the trains were hospitalized, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. Just before 7:30 p.m., a car allegedly drove around railroad crossing gates in Westbury, MTA Long Island Rail Road president Phillip Eng told CNN. It was hit by an eastbound train first and then a westbound train. At least one train was traveling at "full speed," according to Nassau County police, and derailed. About 900 passengers were traveling on the trains involved. The crash ignited fires, and caused significant damage to a concrete platform and rail. "This is a ... very tragic cautionary tale that you just don't try to beat the train. It's not going to work," Nassau County Executive Laura Curran told CNN. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The vehicle and the vehicle's passengers couldn't immediately be identified. Cuomo called for a full investigation of the incident. Wednesday, Long Island Rail Road was operating with limited service. The Long Island Railroad says service was suspended Tuesday evening in both directions on the Ronkonkoma and Huntington/Port Jefferson branches. Contributing: AP. Follow Ashley May on Twitter: @AshleyMayTweets This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Three people killed after two New York trains hit car 'trying to beat the gate' Thousands of migrant children who crossed the southern border into the U.S. have reported they were sexually assaulted while in government custody, according to Department of Health and Human Services documents released Tuesday by Rep. Ted Deutch's office. In the past four years, 4,556 children said they were sexually assaulted while in the care of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement, which takes custody of unaccompanied minors who cross the southern border alone and those who are separated from their families. Allegations go back to 2015, meaning the reported assaults started under the Obama administration. But the allegations have increased in the past two years after the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy that led to at least 2,800 family separations flooding the department with additional children. The data show the majority of the alleged assaults were carried out by other minors in custody, but at least 178 were carried out by staff. "These documents detail an environment of systemic sexual assaults by staff on unaccompanied children," said Deutch, a Democrat from Florida, in a House Judiciary Committee meeting Tuesday. "These documents tell us that there is a problem with adults, employees of HHS, sexually abusing children." Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., speaks during a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on Feb. 08, 2019 in Washington, DC. Cdr. Jonathan White, who has overseen the care of migrant children at Health and Human Services, responded angrily to the congressman, saying the government officials at his department have never been accused of such a crime. "Those are not HHS staff in any of those allegations," White said. Instead, the department contracts with more than 100 local shelters that house and care for children in its custody. Those facilities are inspected by state child welfare officials, and criminal charges can be filed against employees by state or federal prosecutors. When a sexual assault is reported to Health and Human Services, White said, it is investigated fully, and those found to be legitimate are referred to the Justice Department of Justice for prosecution. Story continues Data provided by Deutch's office show that of the 4,556 complaints investigated by Health and Human Services, 1,303 29 percent were sent to the Justice Department for further review. White said the vast majority of those cases later proved to be unfounded. "Any time a child is abused in the care of (the refugee resettlement office) is one time too many," White said Tuesday. The data were included as part of a large set of documents provided to the Judiciary Committee on the eve of Tuesday's hearing. At the start of the hearing, Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., complained about the last-minute document dump, arguing that it took the administration six weeks to answer their questions. "The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security until last night stonewalled the legitimate request for information by this committee," Nadler said. "That is absolutely inexcusable." The House Oversight and Reform Committee took it a step further Tuesday, issuing the first subpoenas against the Trump administration after failing to receive answers on separated migrant families that were first posed in July. The subpoenas were directed at Attorney General William Bar, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. "When our own government rips vulnerable children, toddlers and even infants from the arms of their mothers and fathers with no plan to reunite them, that is government-sponsored child abuse," said committee chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md. "It is our job to step in and protect those children. Further delay is not an option." Tuesday's hearing was the second time House Democrats have grilled the administration over family separations. The House Energy and Commerce questioned Health and Human Services officials on Feb. 7 about last summer's family separations and the separations that continue to happen when Homeland Security agents decide migrant parents pose a danger to their children. U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw also is considering a request from the American Civil Liberties Union to vastly expand the number of separated migrant families the government must identify and possibly reunite. In June, Sabraw ordered the administration to reunite more than 2,800 families that were separated at the time. But media reports and an internal government watchdog revealed that the administration was systematically separating families a full year before it formally announced its zero-tolerance policy, possibly leading to thousands of additional separations. The ACLU said the government needs to account for all those families. Sabraw is expected to decide on that request in the coming days. The Department of Homeland Security also is dealing with a spate of deaths in its custody. Three migrants have died after crossing the border since December, and an Honduran woman delivered a stillborn baby at an immigration detention facility in Texas on Feb. 21. Families on the border: Despite ban, separating migrant families at the border continues in some cases Deaths in government custody: Honduran migrant delivers stillborn baby while in ICE custody in Texas This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Thousands of migrant children report they were sexually assaulted in U.S. custody WASHINGTON Michael Cohen's dramatic congressional testimony against President Donald Trump on Wednesday came loaded with lurid details, signed checks and partisan sniping offering a level of spectacle that was unusual, even for Washington. But both Democrats and Republicans signaled that Cohens remarks before the House Oversight Committee his first extensive public remarks about his role as Trumps personal attorney was only a first act in a larger drama to be staged on Capitol Hill. As Democrats sought to tease new details out of Cohen, a pugnacious former attorney, and Republicans tried to undermine his credibility, both sides were staking out talking points to be replayed in coming weeks as lawmakers look ahead to the next plot twist: the conclusion of special counsel Robert Muellers probe into the 2016 election. Mr. Cohens testimony is the beginning of the process, not the end, House Oversight Committee chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said during a hearing that was carried live on cable news for hours. More: Read Michael Cohen's opening statement to Congress With the 2020 presidential election already underway, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are well aware of another possibility looming in the background: Democrats now in control of the House may decide to impeach Trump. Republicans accused Democrats of having that goal in mind by calling Cohen to testify. Republicans repeatedly raised the specter of Tom Steyer, the billionaire Democratic donor and an outspoken supporter of impeaching Trump. Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the committee, and others questioned who was paying for Cohen's attorney, implying it might be Steyer or other Democratic opponents of Trump. "You're their patsy today," Jordan said. "They've got to find somebody somewhere to say something so they can try to remove the president from office because Tom Steyer told him to." Cohen said his attorneys were not receiving money. Story continues Steyer likewise said he is not involved. "For the record, I am not paying nor have I paid Mr. Cohens legal bills," Steyer tweeted. Cohen often seemed more like an amused spectator than the star witness as the drama unfolded. But he also, at times, scolded and warned Republicans including for signs they posted such as one reading: "LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE! This is really unbecoming of Congress, Cohen said, before taking the blame as a way to point the finger back at his GOP inquisitors none of whom had asked him questions about Trump. Im responsible for your silliness because I did the same thing that youre doing now, Cohen said. I protected Mr. Trump for 10 years. More: While in Hanoi, Donald Trump attacks Michael Cohen before testimony Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, arrives to hear testimony from Michael Cohen, former attorney and fixer for President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill February 27, 2019 in Washington, DC. Elijah Cummings warns Trump Cummings vowed to use the committee as a check on the Trump administration, a level of oversight he has long complained was missing when Republicans ruled. The son of former sharecroppers who migrated from South Carolina to Maryland, the 68-year-old underwent heart surgery in 2017, a brush with death he said gives him renewed focus. The days of this committee protecting the president at all costs are over, Cummings said at the start of the hearing. Theyre over. Jim Jordan blasts Democrats Jordan, a co-founder of the upstart conservative House Freedom Caucus, came out swinging in defense of Trump. "Your chairmanship will always be identified by this hearing," steamed Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the committee's top Republican. "You have stacked the deck against the truth." The theatrics began before Cohen started speaking, when Rep. Mark Meadows, the chairman of the conservative Freedom Caucus, tried to delay the hearing. Meadows, a North Carolina Republican, said Cohens testimony arrived less than 24 hours before the hearing began, which he said violated the committees rules. Cummings dismissed that argument, countering that Republicans just didnt want Cohen to testify at all. With Democrats in control of the committee, a series of procedural votes allowed the hearing to go on as planned. Progressive firebrands Three of the most outspoken freshmen Democrats class will get to grill Cohen later Wednesday. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has a knack for making news no matter the situation. Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib made headlines the night she was sworn in, calling for Trumps impeachment and referring to him with an expletive. Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who represents one of the nations most liberal districts, is another unapologetically progressive freshman. "We have a constitutional obligation to conduct robust, effective & efficient oversight over this Administration," Pressley tweeted soon after the hearing began. The decision to appoint the trio to the oversight committee was widely viewed as adding an explosive counterpoint to firebrand conservatives on the panel, including Jordan and other leaders of the Freedom Caucus. Jordan vs. Cohen Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee, clashed early and often with Cohen on Wednesday. Shame on you, Mr. Jordan. Thats not what I said. Shame on you, Cohen said after Jordan accused him of denying culpability in crimes to which he had already pleaded guilty. "I take responsibility for my mistakes, alright? I am remorseful, and I am going to prison. I will be away from my wife and family for years." Jordan also mocked Cohen for a Women for Cohen Twitter account, which Cohen asked to be set up by the tech firm Red Finch Solutions, according to The Wall Street Journal. The account was created to portray Cohen as a "sex symbol" and hype his statements in favor of Trump's presidential campaign, the Journal reported in January. Cohen said the account was created for a bit of fun amid a hectic 2016 political campaign. Jordan asked if the account was created to protect the president or to help himself. Im not sure how that helped me, sir, Cohen replied. Im not sure how that did either, Jordan said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Theatrics of Michael Cohen's testimony is only first act in larger Trump saga with Democrats in control Michael Cohens testimony Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee contained no shortage of explosive charges, many of which could spell trouble for Cohens former boss Donald Trump. As Republicans on the committee repeatedly reminded Americans watching the proceedings, Cohen had already lied to Congress in 2017 when he testified about the duration of negotiations with Russian officials to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. The testimony by Cohen, who is scheduled to begin a three-year prison term in May on campaign finance charges in relation to hush money payments made on behalf of Trump, lying to Congress, and bank and tax fraud related to his personal business interests, nevertheless poses threats to the president, especially since Cohen backed up of some of his claims with physical evidence. While not every revelation detailed by Cohen pointed to criminal activity by Trump, here are the biggest bombshell allegations from the hearing so far. Ongoing investigations of Trump In an exchange with Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., Cohen said federal prosecutors are investigating the president over criminal allegations not yet made public. Is there any other wrongdoing or illegal act that youre aware of regarding Donald Trump that we havent yet discussed today? Krishnamoorthi asked Yes, Cohen responded, and those are part of the investigations that is currently being looked at by the Southern District of New York. Why it matters: Trump is hoping that after special counsel Robert Mueller wraps his investigation into the Trump campaigns ties to Russia during the 2016 presidential election, he will be out of legal jeopardy. Cohens cooperation with investigations not yet disclosed indicates this may not be the case. Trump Tower Moscow testimony While Cohen has admitted lying to Congress about the scope of Trumps effort to build a skyscraper in Moscow leading up to and during the 2016 presidential campaign, he said Wednesday that he had help in doing so. Cohen said Jay Sekulow was among those on Trumps legal team who made changes to Cohens statement to Congress to make it seem as though the negotiations did not extend as long as they did. Story continues There were changes made, additions, Jay Sekulow, for one Were there changes about the timing? There were several changes that were made, including how we were going to handle that message. The message of course being the length of time that Trump Tower Moscow project stayed and remained alive, Cohen acknowledged. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Cohen also testified that Trump had personally spoken to him about his first 2017 appearance before Congress. He wanted me to cooperate. He also wanted to ensure, by making the statement, as I said it in my testimony, there is no Russia, there is no collusion, there is no there is no deal, Cohen said. Cohen specified that Trump did not directly instruct him to lie, noting, Thats not how he operates, but that Trump made his wishes clear indirectly. Why it matters: Cohen faces jail time after pleading guilty to lying to Congress. Anyone who helped craft his lies is also in potential legal jeopardy. Hush money reimbursements from Trump In his opening statement and throughout his testimony, Cohen made clear that hush money payments made to porn actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal came at the direction of Trump himself. Mr. Trump directed me to use my own personal funds from a home equity line of credit to avoid any money being traced back to him that could negatively impact his campaign, Cohen testified, adding, I am providing a copy of a $35,000 check that President Trump personally signed from his personal bank account on Aug. 1, 2017 when he was president of the United States pursuant to the cover-up, which was the basis of my guilty plea, to reimburse me the word used by Mr. Trumps TV lawyer for the illegal hush money I paid on his behalf. This $35,000 check was one of 11 check installments that was paid throughout the year while he was president. Furthermore, Cohen testified that a year after being elected president Trump told Cohen to mislead the public about his knowledge of the payments. Why it matters: Cohen is going to jail over the payments to Daniels and McDougal. If Trump told him to make those payments, hes guilty, too. Michael Cohen at the hearing Wednesday. (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP) Trump told him to lie to Melania about hush money Cohen testified that he was especially disturbed that the president told him to lie about Trumps alleged affairs with Daniels and McDougal. He asked me to pay off an adult film star with whom he had an affair, and to lie to his wife about it, which I did, Cohen said, adding, Lying to the first lady is one of my biggest regrets. She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly, and she did not deserve that. During questioning, Cohen was asked repeatedly about the lies he had told about his work for the president, and he again brought up the first lady. Not only did I lie to the American people, I lied to the first lady. When the president called me I was sitting in a car with a friend of mine, and he had me speak to her and explain to the first lady, Cohen testified. Why it matters: Rudy Giuliani, Trumps current lawyer, said in December that Trumps hush money payments didnt violate campaign finance laws if there was a strong personal component to a payment like protecting your wife, children and family from scandal. That line of thinking would not explain why Trump asked Cohen to lie to his wife about the alleged affairs. Trump may have known about his sons meeting with Russians For years, President Trump has insisted that he knew nothing of his son Don Jr.s June 9, 2016, meeting with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer in order to obtain damaging information on Hillary Clinton. In his prepared statement, Cohen implied that Trump had advance knowledge of the meeting, and approved of it. I remember being in the room with Mr. Trump, probably in early June 2016, when something peculiar happened. Don Jr. came into the room and walked behind his fathers desk which itself was unusual, Cohen said in his statement. People dont just walk behind Mr. Trumps desk to talk to him. I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: The meeting is all set. I remember Mr. Trump saying, OK, good ... let me know. Why it matters: Meeting with a foreign national to solicit help in a U.S. election is a violation of U.S. law. Penthouse for Putin Former mobster and real estate developer Felix Sater spoke with Cohen about securing a $50 million penthouse apartment in the proposed Trump Tower Moscow skyscraper for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Cohen testified during an exchange with Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif. So Felix Sater had suggested to you that Mr. Trump offer a penthouse to Mr. Putin? Speier asked. Yes, because it would certainly drive up the price per square foot, no different than in any condo where they start listing celebrities that live in that property, Cohen responded. Why it matters: Offering Putin a penthouse could violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which makes it a crime to bribe foreign officials. Trump and Roger Stone discussed WikiLeaks release of DNC emails Cohen recounted a phone meeting between Trump and Roger Stone during which the latter announced over speakerphone that he just got off the phone with Julian Assange, and in a couple of days theres going to be a massive dump of emails thats going to significantly hurt the Clinton campaign. Those emails are believed to have been stolen by Russian hackers and leaked via WikiLeaks a few days after the call between Trump and Stone. WikiLeaks denied Wednesday that Assange had ever talked with Stone. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Why it matters: Stone has been indicted on charges brought by Mueller that allege he sought stolen DNC emails from WikiLeaks so as to boost Trumps presidential campaign. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: By Patpicha Tanakasempipat BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's Constitutional Court said on Wednesday it will give its ruling on March 7 on whether to ban an opposition party for nominating a princess as its candidate for prime minister in a general election. The Election Commission asked the court to dissolve the Thai Raksa Chart party after it nominated Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi for prime minister in the March 24 election, the first since a 2014 military coup. Even though Ubolratana relinquished her royal titles in 1972 when she married an American, her bid to enter politics on the side of the anti-establishment opposition was hugely controversial. Just hours after the shock announcement, King Maha Vajiralongkorn said his sister's bid was "inappropriate" and unconstitutional. She was swiftly disqualified by the election commission. The banning of Thai Raksa Chart, one of several parties loyal to military-ousted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, would be a set-back for opposition chances in the election. "There will be a verdict on March 7 at 1.30 pm and the verdict will be read out to concerned parties on the same day at 3 pm," the Constitutional Court said in a statement. Earlier on Wednesday, prosecutors said they would decide after the election whether to prosecute a criminal case against a leader of another political party who criticised the military junta in a speech on Facebook last year. Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, a 40-year-old auto parts billionaire and political novice, could be jailed for up to five years under the Computer Crime Act for "uploading false information" in a speech posted on Facebook in June. Thanathorn has gained popularity, especially among young people, for his use of social media in the campaign and calls to end military meddling in politics.. His Future Forward Party has denied the charges against him and two other party members, and Thanathorn said the case against him is politically motivated. Story continues "We believe in our innocence. We believe in the rights of the people to criticise those in power, the fundamental rights of democracy," he told reporters. The legal moves against opponents of the junta have raised questions about the fairness of Thailand's electoral process. The election is seen as a battle between voters who want junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha to retain the premiership and political parties, including the populist forces backed by Thaksin, that want to see the end of military rule. "The legal mechanism has been exploited by those in power to threaten their opponents," said Titipol Phakdeewanich, dean of faculty of political science at Ubon Ratchathani University. "The move today creates uncertainty over two parties and shows that the military establishment is still in control and this could create more problems in the future," he told Reuters. (Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat, Panu Wongcha-um, and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Paul Tait and Darren Schuettler) BANGKOK (AP) Thailand's Constitutional Court announced Wednesday it will issue a ruling on whether to dissolve a political party opposed to the country's military government on March 7, less than three weeks before long-delayed elections. The Thai Raksa Chart Party has been threatened with dissolution for having nominated King Maha Vajiralongkorn's sister as its candidate for prime minister, an unprecedented move that the monarch declared was inappropriate and unconstitutional. The board overseeing the March 24 general election voided the nomination. Thai Raksa Chart had quickly accepted the king's order and said it would argue to the court that the nomination was made with good intentions. Separately, the attorney general's office said it will decide after the polls whether to prosecute Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the youthful founder of the Future Forward Party, on charges filed against him by the ruling junta for online remarks saying that it had unfairly lured other political parties to be allies of the military. He is accused of violating the Computer Crime Act by allegedly putting false information online, and could be punished with a five-year prison term. The state prosecutor's office did not ask for Thanathorn to be detained Wednesday, noting that he had turned himself in and had shown no signs of seeking to evade prosecution. After the prosecutor's announcement, Thanathorn tweeted: "Thank you for everyone's support. From today on, I and the Future Forward Party will continue with our work in full force. However, I believe what happened is not the last effort to stop us. May all you #Futurista help be the eyes and ears to make sure that this election will be free and fair." Thanathorn could also face a threat from a complaint that his party's website posted a false detail about his career, an infraction punishable by a fine, imprisonment and a ban from politics for up to 20 years. The incorrect entry described him as the head of a national industrial organization rather than of one of its regional branches, and his party said it was the result of a clerical error. Taxes Have Gotten Tougher. But You Might Still File for Free The recent changes to the U.S. tax system have made it even more of a head-spinner. The tax law signed in December 2017 added new complexity and even took a swipe at people who pay to let software or a tax pro figure out the mess for them. The deduction for tax-prep expenses is history. But why pay for help with your taxes? Maybe you can join the 50 million Americans who get theirs done for free, thanks to a program offered by the Internal Revenue Service. IRS Free File is what the name says Rob Crandall / Shutterstock The IRS says Free File has saved consumers more than $1.6 billion. The IRS says 70% of U.S. taxpayers qualify for its Free File service, which you can use to complete and file your taxes at no cost. (Or as the tax agency's website puts it, "for less than a penny.") According to the IRS, Free File has saved Americans more than $1.6 billion in filing fees since its launch in 2003. Here's how it works: If your income is $66,000 or less, you file using a free version of popular, commercial tax software such as TurboTax, H&R Block or Jackson Hewitt. What if you earn more than $66,000? The free software isn't available to you, but if you're willing to try tackling an old-fashioned tax return on your own, you can use "Free File Fillable Forms." (Just try to say that five times fast.) Note that while Free File is free, there can be related charges, such as a credit card fee if you use plastic to pay any taxes you owe, or a charge to file your state taxes with the same commercial tax-prep service. Using Free File software baranq / Shutterstock You use a free version of popular, commercial tax software. If your income qualifies you for Free File software, go to IRS.gov/freefile. Choose the option best for you, and you'll be directed to click through to the company's website. (You might save a step and go directly to the site of a provider, like H&R Block.) You'll need to have a copy of your last tax return handy, along with your W-2 and any other documentation of your income and deductions. Never used tax software before? It's incredibly easy and goes step-by-step through your return by asking a series of questions to fill in all of the blanks. At the end of the process, you file your return eletronically. Story continues The IRS says you save time and will get your refund faster, particularly if you opt to have the money direct-deposited into your bank account. Using 'Free File Fillable Forms' REDPIXEL.PL/Shutterstock You fill in all of the lines on a tax return manually, on your computer screen. The Free File version available to higher earners requires you to keep things somewhat lower-tech and fill in a tax return manually, on your computer screen. You'll also need to know which additional forms and schedules to file with your 1040. You still can file your return electronically and have any refund direct-deposited. If you owe money, methods to pay include by check or through an electronic funds withdrawal. While 50 million people have already used the two Free File options, another 50 million are eligible but haven't yet benefited. "It's not advertised, so nobody knows about it," explained Tim Hugo, the executive director of the alliance of participating tax software providers, in an interview with CNBC. Taxes aren't going to get any simpler, despite the promises that one day we'd all be filing on postcards. You're probably going to need help with your return so don't pay for it if you don't have to. If investors are looking at the Sector - Tech fund category, T. Rowe Price Media & Telecomm (PRMTX) could be a potential option. PRMTX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance. Objective We note that PRMTX is a Sector - Tech option, and this area is loaded with many options. Found in a wide number of industries such as semiconductors, software, internet, and networking, tech companies are everywhere. Thus, Sector - Tech mutual funds that invest in technology let investors own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector, but with a much more diversifies approach. History of Fund/Manager T. Rowe Price is based in Baltimore, MD, and is the manager of PRMTX. T. Rowe Price Media & Telecomm made its debut in July of 1997, and since then, PRMTX has accumulated about $5.05 billion in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. Paul D. Greene is the fund's current manager and has held that role since May of 2013. Performance Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.44%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 18.7%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame. When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. PRMTX's standard deviation over the past three years is 14.26% compared to the category average of 12.68%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 14.69% compared to the category average of 12.45%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade. Risk Factors One cannot ignore the volatility of this segment, however, as it is always important for investors to remember the downside to any potential investment. In the most recent bear market, PRMTX lost 53.95% and underperformed its peer group by 0.64%. This makes the fund a possibly worse choice than its peers during a sliding market environment. Story continues Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.11, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Alpha is an additional metric to take into consideration, since it represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which in this case, is the S&P 500. With a positive alpha of 1.58, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns. Expenses Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, PRMTX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.78% compared to the category average of 1.31%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PRMTX is actually cheaper than its peers. Investors should also note that the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500 and that each subsequent investment needs to be at $100. Bottom Line Overall, T. Rowe Price Media & Telecomm ( PRMTX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers. For additional information on the Sector - Tech area of the mutual fund world, make sure to check out www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds. There, you can see more about the ranking process, and dive even deeper into PRMTX too for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank. 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 Get Your Free (PRMTX): Fund Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Username: Password: or Register Back to Forum Reply to This post Post New Thread Thread Rating: 1 Vote(s) - 5 Average 1 2 3 4 5 Here's a Lesson from Jorge Ramos's Detention by Maduro: Venezuela Is Not Iowa She Man lop guest User ID: 453356 02-27-2019 12:28 AM Post: #1 Here's a Lesson from Jorge Ramos's Detention by Maduro: Venezuela Is Not Iowa Advertisement Since MRC Latinos inception, weve noted a weird dichotomy wherein Univisions news operation seems to run with a reliably liberal slant on U.S. domestic issues, yet is solidly anti-communist when it comes to Latin American affairs. And so it is that Ramos went into Venezuelas presidential palace, sat down with the tyrant Maduro, and asked tough questions of him to the point of getting himself and his team arbitrarily detained. Some of the reaction to this illegal detention was discomfiting. It bears noting and remembering that this was an American news crew (regardless of editorial slant and broadcast language) being illegally held by a brutal dictatorial regime that has seized or closed hundreds of local media outlets in an effort to control what is said about the regime. Any celebratory or karmic tones witnessed on social media were beyond the pale. If anything, we should celebrate their prompt release given the grim alternatives. Unfortunately, some (including the anchormans daughter Paola Ramos who on Twitter denounced both Trump and Maduro as dictators) pounced upon the opportunity to leverage this incident into a cheap point-scoring opportunity against President Trump, by suggesting that this incident is somehow similar to Trump's 2015 ejection of Ramos from an Iowa press conference. https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/latino...a-not-iowa The detention of a Univision News team, headed by senior anchor Jorge Ramos, at Venezuelas presidential palace serves to showcase the very real and present risks that are concomitant to the practice of journalism. Unfortunately, it also has the potential of birthing some very bad takes.Since MRC Latinos inception, weve noted a weird dichotomy wherein Univisions news operation seems to run with a reliably liberal slant on U.S. domestic issues, yet is solidly anti-communist when it comes to Latin American affairs.And so it is that Ramos went into Venezuelas presidential palace, sat down with the tyrant Maduro, and asked tough questions of him to the point of getting himself and his team arbitrarily detained. Some of the reaction to this illegal detention was discomfiting. It bears noting and remembering that this was an American news crew (regardless of editorial slant and broadcast language) being illegally held by a brutal dictatorial regime that has seized or closed hundreds of local media outlets in an effort to control what is said about the regime. Any celebratory or karmic tones witnessed on social media were beyond the pale. If anything, we should celebrate their prompt release given the grim alternatives.Unfortunately, some (including the anchormans daughter Paola Ramos who on Twitter denounced both Trump and Maduro as dictators) pounced upon the opportunity to leverage this incident into a cheap point-scoring opportunity against President Trump, by suggesting that this incident is somehow similar to Trump's 2015 ejection of Ramos from an Iowa press conference. The ghost of capncrunch Registered User User ID: 490261 02-27-2019 12:40 AM Posts: 5,060 Post: #2 RE: Here's a Lesson from Jorge Ramos's Detention by Maduro: Venezuela Is Not Iowa venezuela was ok until the u.s. placed sanctions, arbitarily, there are a dozen nations around the world with problems, why pick venezuela? LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 490894 02-27-2019 12:50 AM Post: #3 RE: Here's a Lesson from Jorge Ramos's Detention by Maduro: Venezuela Is Not Iowa She Man Wrote: (02-27-2019 12:28 AM) The detention of a Univision News team, headed by senior anchor Jorge Ramos, at Venezuelas presidential palace serves to showcase the very real and present risks that are concomitant to the practice of journalism. Unfortunately, it also has the potential of birthing some very bad takes. Since MRC Latinos inception, weve noted a weird dichotomy wherein Univisions news operation seems to run with a reliably liberal slant on U.S. domestic issues, yet is solidly anti-communist when it comes to Latin American affairs. And so it is that Ramos went into Venezuelas presidential palace, sat down with the tyrant Maduro, and asked tough questions of him to the point of getting himself and his team arbitrarily detained. Some of the reaction to this illegal detention was discomfiting. It bears noting and remembering that this was an American news crew (regardless of editorial slant and broadcast language) being illegally held by a brutal dictatorial regime that has seized or closed hundreds of local media outlets in an effort to control what is said about the regime. Any celebratory or karmic tones witnessed on social media were beyond the pale. If anything, we should celebrate their prompt release given the grim alternatives. Unfortunately, some (including the anchormans daughter Paola Ramos who on Twitter denounced both Trump and Maduro as dictators) pounced upon the opportunity to leverage this incident into a cheap point-scoring opportunity against President Trump, by suggesting that this incident is somehow similar to Trump's 2015 ejection of Ramos from an Iowa press conference. https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/latino...a-not-iowa It's not okay for rightwing war scum to pretend to be liberals. Newsbusters can forcibly suck it... Along with NBC Univision. Americans don't have to support rights for globalist corporations that are not actually American. Overthrow of Maduro = More money in Ramos pockets. It's not okay for rightwing war scum to pretend to be liberals. Newsbusters can forcibly suck it... Along with NBC Univision.Americans don't have to support rights for globalist corporations that are not actually American. Overthrow of Maduro = More money in Ramos pockets. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 490894 02-27-2019 12:52 AM Post: #4 RE: Here's a Lesson from Jorge Ramos's Detention by Maduro: Venezuela Is Not Iowa Just because someone hates Trump and wears their suits too tight does not make them a "journalist" LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 471715 02-27-2019 12:57 AM Post: #5 RE: Here's a Lesson from Jorge Ramos's Detention by Maduro: Venezuela Is Not Iowa The ghost of capncrunch Wrote: (02-27-2019 12:40 AM) venezuela was ok until the u.s. placed sanctions, arbitarily, there are a dozen nations around the world with problems, why pick venezuela? Venezuela was ok until the Cubans took over. Did you know that there are more than 2000 soldiers that are Cubans in the Venezuelan armed forces in different positions including generals? The sanctions were and are made against high ranking officers and just about anyone that is working for the current Maduro regime. Do some searching before blaming everything on sanctions. Venezuela was ok until the Cubans took over. Did you know that there are more than 2000 soldiers that are Cubans in the Venezuelan armed forces in different positions including generals? The sanctions were and are made against high ranking officers and just about anyone that is working for the current Maduro regime.Do some searching before blaming everything on sanctions. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 471715 02-27-2019 12:59 AM Post: #6 RE: Here's a Lesson from Jorge Ramos's Detention by Maduro: Venezuela Is Not Iowa The guy showed Maduro a video of someone eating food from a garbage can and Maduro got pissed and cut of the interview. 269346 The Grinch Who Stole LOPmas! User ID: 391289 02-27-2019 01:05 AM Posts: 7,029 Post: #7 RE: Here's a Lesson from Jorge Ramos's Detention by Maduro: Venezuela Is Not Iowa I wish Trump would start locking up the media, even for life. They are a clear and present danger to the republic and are walking menaces. They are as much a threat as an insane person who is an imminent threat to himself or others and in need of preventative detainment. Media have renounced their membership in the brotherhood of man, so much so that they are no longer even human. LoP Guest lop guest User ID: 491058 02-27-2019 10:38 PM Post: #8 RE: Here's a Lesson from Jorge Ramos's Detention by Maduro: Venezuela Is Not Iowa The ghost of capncrunch Wrote: (02-27-2019 12:40 AM) venezuela was ok until the u.s. placed sanctions, arbitarily, there are a dozen nations around the world with problems, why pick venezuela? Sean Penn is still not coming over for a pajama party... Sean Penn is still not coming over for a pajama party... Back to Forum Reply to This post Post New Thread By Katharine Jackson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lifting his thick paw to shake, former President George H.W. Bush's service dog took an oath to serve at Walter Reed National Medical Center on Wednesday, embarking on a new job helping disabled American veterans and active-duty service members. Sully H. W. Bush became famous as canine caretaker and constant companion to the 41st U.S. president in the final stages of his life. In the Capitol rotunda after Bush's death in 2018, Sully faithfully laid down beside Bush's casket. In his new role as a hospital "foreman" in a Walter Reed facility outside Washington, Sully's duties are to provide support, comfort and cheer to wounded veterans, their families and facility staff, thus reducing stress and increasing positive feelings, the medical center said. "Sully will go on to spread his love at Walter Reed Hospital. He was a loving companion when my Gampy needed him most," Jenna Bush Hager, Bush's granddaughter, posted on Twitter on Thursday. The yellow Labrador is one of seven dogs working at the facility in Bethesda, Maryland. Collectively, they "average 2,500 contacts and over 200 working hours per month," according to the medical center. He is about 2-1/2 years old, according to America's Vetdogs, the organization that trained him. During the ceremony, which was posted in a video on Facebook, Sully prompted laughter from the audience when he raised his head and dipped his chest to stretch before taking his oath to care for veterans "without any promise of treats or tummy rubs." Afterwards, he was fitted with a "military uniform," a new vest he will wear while working. Sully was named after Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the pilot who landed a U.S. Airways passenger jet in the Hudson River after both engines lost thrust when the aircraft struck a flock of geese while taking off from New Yorks LaGuardia Airport. (Reporting by Katharine Jackson; editing by Bill Tarrant and Jonathan Oatis) Former President George H.W. Bushs service dog, Sully, is now a sworn member of the U.S. Navy. The yellow Labrador retriever joined Walter Reed National Military Medical Centers Facility Dog Program in Bethesda, Maryland, on Wednesday as a sworn service dog. Sully, also now known as Navy Hospital Corpsman (HM) Petty Officer Sully, took an oath before U.S. servicemen and -women and at least six other service dogs, while vowing to comfort, support and cheer warriors and their families, active duty and retired. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Sully additionally agreed, with a silent shake of his paw, that he was taking on the role freely, without any promise of treats or tummy rubs. A photo later posted to Sullys Instagram account celebrated his enlistment, calling it an honor and privilege to join a wonderful group of dogs at [Walter Reed Bethesda.] I look forward to continue my mission to serve veterans as my best friend wanted me to, the post read. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The endearing ceremony follows Sully briefly serving as Bushs service dog before the presidents death last November. Prior to this, Sully was trained by Americas VetDogs, a nonprofit organization that raises and trains service dogs for disabled military veterans and first responders. Sully, who was named after retired airline pilot Chesley Sully Sullenberger III, who famously landed a damaged airline plane on the Hudson River in 2009, captured hearts around the world while attending the late presidents funeral and memorial services, with him repeatedly seen sitting and lying before his casket. Sully sits near former President George H. W. Bush's casket as Bush lies in state at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC., in December. (Photo: Drew Angerer via Getty Images) Related... 'Mission Complete' For Sully, George H.W. Bush's Service Dog Twitter Users Bite Slate Hard Over Barking Mad Story On Sully H.W. Bush Sully The Service Dog Arrives To View Owner George H.W. Bush's Casket Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. By Nathan Layne and Ginger Gibson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen accused him of breaking the law while in office and said for the first time that Trump knew in advance about a WikiLeaks dump of stolen emails that hurt his 2016 election rival Hillary Clinton. In a dramatic televised hearing in Congress on Wednesday, Cohen said Trump approved hush payments to cover up extra-marital sexual relationships in violation of campaign finance laws, and signed a personal check for $35,000 in 2017 to reimburse Cohen for at least one of those payments. Cohen, 52, was a close aide of Trump for years and his testimony could increase the legal and political pressure on the Republican president, but he did not appear to disclose a "smoking gun" that could sink his former boss. Cohen told a House of Representatives committee he had no direct evidence that Trump or his campaign colluded with Moscow during the election campaign. Possible collusion is a key theme of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, which has dogged the president during his two years in office. Trump has repeatedly denied the allegation as has the Kremlin. Assailing the president as a "conman" and a "cheat," Cohen said Trump knew ahead of time about WikiLeaks' release of emails in 2016 that undermined Democrat Clinton's presidential bid. He also said Trump directed negotiations for a real estate project in Moscow during the White House race even as he publicly said he had no business interests in Russia. "I wouldn't use the word colluding," Cohen said of Trump's dealings with Russia, adding that there was "something odd" about the president's good relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The White House had no comment on Cohen's testimony but Trump earlier on Wednesday accused his former employee of lying. "He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time," Trump wrote on Twitter from Vietnam, where he was meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Story continues Republican lawmakers at the hearing tried to undermine Cohen, portraying him as an irredeemable liar who had benefited from financial crimes he pleaded guilty to last year, and saying the hearing was an opening gambit in a Democratic push to impeach Trump. "I dont believe Michael Cohen is capable of telling the truth," said Republican Representative James Comer. Cohen was mostly calm and contrite under the heated questioning from Republicans, and cautioned them not to make the same mistake he did in protecting Trump. "I did the same thing as you're doing now, for 10 years. I protected Mr. Trump for 10 years," Cohen told the committee hearing. "The more people that follow Mr. Trump as I did blindly are going to suffer the same consequences that I am suffering." As the hearing wrapped up, Cohen wiped away tears when the committee's Democratic chairman, Elijah Cummings, expressed sympathy for him. Cohen said in his closing remarks that he worried about the ramifications if Trump loses his re-election bid in 2020. "Given my experience working for Mr. Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020, there will never be a peaceful transition of power," Cohen said. ALLY TURNED WITNESS Cohen was one of Trump's closest aides and fiercest defenders, working with him on business and personal deals for a decade. But he turned against him last year and is cooperating with prosecutors after pleading guilty to tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations. Democrats took control of the House after last year's congressional elections and called Cohen to testify. He begins serving a three-year prison sentence in May. "I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat," Cohen said. He said he was directed by Trump in 2016 to make a $130,000 payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels to cover up an extra-marital affair. That payment could amount to an illegal in-kind contribution by Cohen to the campaign because it exceeded donation limits and was not disclosed in Trump's campaign finance reports, legal experts say. Trump has denied having sex with Daniels and said the payments to her and another woman who claimed an affair were not illegal. Cohen turned over to the committee a copy of a $35,000 check Trump signed on Aug. 1, 2017, one in a series he said was to reimburse him for paying off Daniels after Trump took office. Cohen said Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., co-signed another check, again for $35,000. A lawyer for Donald Jr. did not respond to a request for comment. The sweeping claims against Trump, from a man who once said he would take a bullet for his boss, come as Mueller appears to be close to completing his investigation into possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Russian efforts to sway the vote. Trump has called the Mueller investigation a "witch hunt." U.S. officials have said the emails released by WikiLeaks were stolen by Russia as part of Moscow's campaign of hacking and propaganda during the presidential race aimed at sowing discord in the United States and harming Clinton. Trump has previously denied knowing in advance about the release of hacked Democratic National Committee emails during the election. Cohen said he was in Trump's office in July 2016 when Roger Stone, a self-described "dirty trickster" and longtime political adviser to Trump, called the then Republican presidential candidate. Cohen said Stone told Trump he had been speaking with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who told him there would be a dump of emails within a couple of days that would damage Clinton's campaign. The DNC emails drove a wedge between supporters of Clinton and her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senator Bernie Sanders. Although Clinton won the nomination, that rift weakened her candidacy. "Mr. Cohen's statement is untrue," Stone said in an email, but did not specify which parts of the statement he meant. Stone was indicted by Mueller on charges of lying to Congress about his communications with others related to WikiLeaks email dumps. Cohen apologized for initially lying to Congress in 2017, when he said efforts to build a Trump skyscraper in Moscow had ceased by January 2016. He now says they continued through June 2016, during the height of the election campaign, and that Trump's lawyers "reviewed and edited" those false statements to Congress. Cohen said Trump on multiple occasions inquired about the Moscow real estate project while telling the public he had no business dealings in Russia. "He lied about it because he never expected to win the election. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars," Cohen said. (Reporting by Nathan Layne and Ginger Gibson; Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld, Doina Chiacu, Sarah N. Lynch and Mark Hosenball; Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Will Dunham, Alistair Bell and Peter Cooney) RENO, Nev. Police in Nevada found a 48-year-old woman inside a vehicle fully buried in snow this month after it was struck by a snowplow clearing the street. The woman was alive and well, according to South Lake Tahoe spokesman Chris Fiore, but her vehicle was completely buried and undetectable to the plow driver. The plow operator and police who responded to help dig the car out on Feb. 17 had no idea there was a person inside until they saw a hand pressed against the window, Fiore said. "With that much snow piled on top of the car ... if the snowplow hadn't hit the back of it we could be having a much different conversation," he said. "She could have suffocated." Police believe the woman was homeless and living in her car, according to Fiore. She told officers she had only been inside the car for a few hours. The pried open door of a vehicle fully buried in snow found after being struck by a snowplow in South Lake Tahoe. While digging out the vehicle to be towed, police found a 48-year-old woman still inside. "Judge for yourself with the amount of snow on top of that car," Fiore said. "It could have been days that she was there." That morning, South Lake Tahoe was digging out in the waning hours of a multiday storm that dumped several feet of snow across the Tahoe Basin. Her car was illegally parked on the street, a chronic problem in South Lake Tahoe during winter. Fiore said that with each storm this winter, snow removal has been frequently slowed by cars parked in illegal places and then buried in snow. A rear view of a buried car struck by a snowplow in South Lake Tahoe. While digging the vehicle out to be plowed, police found a 48-year-old woman still inside. Any time a plow hits a buried car, police are called to do a report and then tow the car, according to South Lake Tahoe Police Department Lt. Shannon Laney. Laney, who has been with the South Lake Tahoe Police Department for nearly 20 years, said he has never seen anything like this incident. "It's a first for me, but we also haven't had storms that dump this much (snow) this fast either ... it's a unique winter for us," Laney said. Another storm is currently bearing down on the Tahoe Basin, rounding out what many expect to be a record February for snowfall around the lake. More: Thundersnow heard in several states during winter storm: But what is it? This article originally appeared on Reno Gazette Journal: Snowplow strikes buried car in Tahoe, police find woman alive and well inside Simon Mayo said he told the BBC it was a mistake to team him up with Jo Whiley Simon Mayo has revealed that it was an easy decision for him to leave Radio 2 after he was teamed up with Jo Whiley. Mayo hosted the 5pm-7pm slot on the radio show for eight years until Whiley was introduced to the schedule to mix things up. In October last year, he announced he was leaving the BBC to join classical radio station Scala. Speaking on Lorraine today, Mayo admitted that it was an easy decision for him to leave Radio 2 because he wanted to start something brand new. I was quite sad. It was quite a shock to me as well. When it came to it the decision, it was ultimately quite an easy one, he said. Because the decision was, do you want to go and start a brand new radio station doing Scala, or do you want to stay doing this thing youre doing at Radio 2? Simon Mayo announced he was quitting BBC Radio 2 in October last year I thought, on balance, Id never been at the start of anything. Ive never launched anything, Ive always just joined other networks which has been fine, but the thought of starting something was too impossible to say no to. The decision to bring in Whiley was met with criticism and Mayo revealed that he told the BBC he thought it was a mistake to introduce the presenter to the show. They were trying to do the right thing, he said. The Germans have a word for it, which means an improvement which makes things worse. You might have encountered a few. They wanted to do the right thing and they ended up making a mistake, and I did tell them it was a mistake. He added: Can I just say at that point, because its been reported that listeners deserted in droves, its not true. Jo and I finished on 6.2 million listeners, so actually the show worked although it was a bit clunky to start with, which I take full responsibility for. Mayo added that the Drivetime show he did at Radio 2 was the happiest hes ever done. But having spent 30 years at the BBC, where he also presented shows for Radio 1 and Five Live, he decided the opportunity to jump ship sounded promising. Read more Chris Evans reveals he and his wife found maggots in their bed Stacey Solomon reveals fears for children over horrifying Momo Challenge Good Morning Britains Kate Garraway slams school banning pupils from wearing fake tan Bemused firefighters pulled off a more unusual animal rescue in Germany when this rat got wedged in a manhole cover. The rotund rodent got firmly stuck in the covers drainage hole and was spotted by a passing family. The family tried to free the chubby rat themselves to no avail, leading firemen to be called in Bensheim, Hesse. Help! The stricken sewer-dweller had become wedged in a drainage hole. (CEN) Gnaw way out: The chubby rodent struggles to get free. (CEN) Easy does it: Fire crews carefully free the rodent. (CEN) A local resident who saw the terrified stricken rodent said they initially used gloves to try to twist the animal free. The woman, known only as Juliana, said: When my husband came home, he thought that the rat was just sitting there at first. We tried to free the animal ourselves. We took leather working gloves and tried to carefully twist it out of the hole. It was terrified, screamed terribly, and bit into the glove. The family called in the help of Michael Sehr of the Professional Animal Rescue Rhein-Neckar. Intricate operation: Rescuers managed to set the rat free in around three minutes. (CEN) Sehr immediately informed a friend from the local fire brigade, who also came to the scene with seven firefighters. Mr Sehr said: When the manhole cover was completely raised, I was able to free the rat with a twisting motion. It immediately dashed back to the sewers. Photos show the firefighters working to release the animal. It reportedly took Sehr and the firefighters just three minutes to rescue the rat. Sehr said that the rat, which normally can weigh up to 650 grams (22 ozs), was one of the heavier ones he had ever encountered. He said that the chubby rat had lots of winter fat on its body. By Diadie Ba DAKAR (Reuters) - Senegalese President Macky Sall is on course for a strong election victory, according to preliminary results from Sunday's vote provided by local media and a source inside the electoral commission on Tuesday, though opposition candidates have rejected the numbers. Media website Dakaractu.com said that Sall had won over 58 percent of the vote based on preliminary data from polling stations, while the commission source said he won 59.5 percent. Official results are expected later this week. His closest rival, former Prime Minister Idrissa Seck, won 20 percent, according to Dakaractu, with former tax inspector Ousmane Sonko receiving 16 percent. A spokesperson for Idrissa Seck told Reuters that the provisional results were "entirely false", without giving his camp's numbers. A spokesperson for Sonko declined to comment. The early figures will likely spark controversy. Sall's team declared him victor on Sunday, but the opposition said their results showed he had not won the required 50 percent of votes to avoid a run-off next month against a second-placed candidate. Sall has won popularity for driving economic growth during his first term, building highways and an airport and widening the electricity grid. Yet the opposition and rights groups say he used his influence to bar major candidates from running in the election because of corruption convictions. (Additional reporting by Juliette Jabkhiro; Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Frances Kerry) By Drazen Jorgic and Aditya Kalra ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A downed Indian fighter pilot who was attacked by a mob and then paraded on video by Pakistan's army has become a social media sensation and a hero in his homeland amid a spiraling crisis between the nuclear-armed neighbors. With Pakistani villagers and soldiers filming his capture and captivity on Wednesday in clips that have since gone viral on social media, the pilot identified by Islamabad as Indian Wing Commander Abhi Nandan has fast emerged as the human face of the dangerous flare-up between the arch-foes. India has not confirmed the pilot's identity. Indian media have given his name as Abhinandan Varthaman. The pilot and the Indian Air Force (IAF) are at the heart of the crisis between two countries who have conducted air strikes on each other's territory in the last two days. The United States and China have appealed for restraint. The airman's treatment at the hands of Pakistani troops drew both condemnation and praise, while at his house in southern India supporters gathered to record messages of solidarity. In one video posted on social media, a Pakistani soldier ankle-deep in a stream of water in the disputed Kashmir region can be seen shielding the pilot from angry villagers and shouting "enough" as they pummel his bloodied face and strike blows against his limp body. In another video, posted on Twitter by Pakistan's information ministry, the pilot is blindfolded and can be heard saying "I've got hurt and I would request some water". He then reveals his name and rank before politely fending off questions from soldiers by saying: "I'm not supposed to tell you that." Later, in a video released by Pakistan's military, the captured airman is shown without a blindfold, appearing more relaxed, thanking the Pakistani army and sipping tea. "The officers of the Pakistani Army have looked after me well, they are thorough gentlemen," he said. "VULGAR DISPLAY" India's foreign ministry branded Pakistan's videos as a "vulgar display" of an injured airman, saying they violated international humanitarian law and the Geneva convention. "Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defense personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return," it said in a statement. Pakistan's army spokesman Asif Ghafoor tweeted a photo of the airman and said he was "being treated as per norms of military ethics". Pakistani tweeters said he had been shown exemplary hospitality. After Pakistan's government released a picture of the downed pilot, social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp were inundated with old videos and photos of him. By Wednesday evening, the two top trends on Twitter in India were about the pilot, with many Indians demanding his release under a #BringBackAbhinandan hashtag. In one video shared on social media, purportedly from 2011, he is seen dining with the hosts of a popular Indian television food show. Asked about attributes important for a pilot, he says: "Bad attitude". Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the video. Many posts concerned the pilot's safety, and some expressed relief to see the later video of him clutching a cup of tea. "I Salute Our Brave IAF Pilot," said Twitter user Aarti, who changed her Twitter profile picture to one of his old mug shots. (Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Gareth Jones) Days after Vladimir Putin warned Russia would target the US with new hypersonic missiles if the Trump administration deployed nuclear weapons in Europe, Russian state television has listed potential targets in America. The Sunday evening broadcast claimed the missiles could hit the Pentagon and the Camp David presidential retreat in less than five minutes. The news report, belligerent even by Russian state TV standards, comes amid rising tensions between the two countries over Donald Trumps plans to withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty. Mr Trump has accused Russia of breaking the terms of the deal, and Russia has also accused the US of being in direct violation of the deal. Earlier this month, Mr Putin gave his approval to plans which include the building of hypersonic land-based missiles as well as a ground-based version of the Kalibr (also known as Caliber) sea-launched cruise missile. But he has also said he does not want Russia to be drawn into an expensive arms race. Last week Mr Trump said in a statement the US will move forward with developing its own military response options to Russias deployment of banned cruise missiles that could target western Europe. Mr Putin said if this meant US missiles being brought to Europe, Russia would be forced to respond by placing hypersonic nuclear missiles on submarines near US waters, where their targets would be in range. In the Sunday broadcast, Dmitry Kiselyov, presenter of Russias main weekly TV news show Vesti Nedeli, showed a map of the United States and identified several targets he said Moscow would want to hit in the event of a nuclear war. The targets, which Mr Kiselyov described as US presidential or military command centres, also included Fort Ritchie, a military training centre in Maryland closed in 1998, McClellan, a US Air Force base in California closed in 2001, and Jim Creek, a naval communications base in Washington state. Story continues Kiselyov, who is close to the Kremlin, said the Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic missile that Russia is developing could hit the targets in fewer than five minutes if launched from Russian submarines. Hypersonic flight is generally taken to mean travelling through the atmosphere at more than five times the speed of sound. For now, were not threatening anyone, but if such a deployment takes place, our response will be instant, he said. Reuters contributed to this report MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Moscow military court on Tuesday sentenced a former state security officer and a former cyber-security expert at Kaspersky Lab to 22 and 14 years in jail respectively for treason, Russian news agencies reported. The two men, named as Sergei Mikhailov, a former officer in Russia's Federal Security Service, and Ruslan Stoyanov, head of the computer incidents investigation team at Russian cyber-security firm Kaspersky Lab, were both convicted of passing secret information to foreign intelligence services, agencies reported. (Reporting by Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Andrew Osborn) In questioning Michael Cohen at the momentous House hearing Wednesday, Republicans tried to paint Donald Trumps former lawyer as a disappointed applicant for a top White House job who is now seeking revenge on the president. After a blistering opening statement in which Cohen called President Trump a racist, con man and cheat, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, questioned Cohen about his career. He pointed out that despite all the negative things Cohen had said about Trump, he had nevertheless worked for him for over a decade before asking about what happened after the 2016 election. How long did you work in the White House? asked Jordan. I never worked in the White House, replied Cohen. And thats the point, isnt it, Mr. Cohen? said Jordan. Cohen denied that was the reason he had turned against Trump, but Jordan painted him as a bitter former employee, upset that he didnt get brought to the dance. I was extremely proud to be personal attorney to the president of the United States of America, said Cohen. I did not want to go to the White House. I was offered jobs. I can tell you a story of Mr. Trump reaming out [former Chief of Staff] Reince Priebus because I had not taken a job where Mr. Trump wanted me to, which was working with Don McGahn at the White House general counsels office. Reporting by CNN, however, indicates that Cohen very much wanted a top White House job. Cohen said a lawyer advised him against taking a post with the White House counsel because there would be no attorney-client privilege in his dealings with Trump, which would make it difficult for him to handle personal matters for the president. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, speaks at the hearing with Michael Cohen. (Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Jordan called Cohen selfish and compared his motivation for testifying to that of former FBI Director James Comey, whom Trump fired in May 2017 and who subsequently offered testimony detrimental to the president. Cohen insisted that he got exactly what he wanted, which was to be the personal attorney to the president, enjoy his sons senior year of high school and wait for his daughter to return to New York after her college graduation. Jordan pointed out that he was also going to federal prison. The presidents two adult sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, both stated on Twitter during the testimony that Cohen had indeed sought a job at the White House. Michael was lobbying EVERYONE to be Chief of Staff. It was the biggest joke in the campaign and around the office. Did he just perjure himself again? wrote Eric Trump. Hahahaha Michael Cohen begged to work at the White House and everyone knows it, wrote Donald Trump, Jr. If evidence, such as emails, emerges showing that Cohen had asked for the chief of staff job or another role in the White House, he might be subject to additional perjury charges. WASHINGTON One of President Donald Trump's fiercest allies in the House of Representatives posted a tweet Tuesday that many called a direct threat to Michael Cohen ahead of his public testimony before Congress on Wednesday. Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz posted on Twitter that Cohen's wife was "about to learn a lot" about him and accused the former Trump attorney and fixer of being unfaithful in his marriage. He later deleted the tweet and apologized to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "Hey @MichaelCohen212 - Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends?" Gaetz wrote in the since-deleted tweet. "Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if shell remain faithful when youre in prison. Shes about to learn a lot..." Cohen spent Tuesday behind closed doors testifying to the Senate Intelligence Committee. He will appear before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Wednesday in a public appearance that's expected to revolve around the president's alleged infidelities, businesses and finances. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., speaks during the House Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence, at Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 6, 2019. When asked by reporters on Capitol Hill about the tweet, Gaetz denied that the post was a threat or attempt to intimidate Cohen. "This isn't witness tampering, it's witness testing," he told reporters outside his office. "When people like Michael Cohen, who's about to go to prison for lying, come before the Congress, there's an enhanced responsibility on the part of members of Congress to test that veracity, to test the truthfulness and character of the witness, and I think we ought to do it with great vigor." Gaetz did not elaborate on his allegations that Cohen had an affair, which hasn't been previously reported, or where he obtained this information, only saying that reporters should tune in during Wednesday's hearing. Later, however, Gaetz deleted his tweet after Pelosi said via Twitter that members' comments "on social media or in the press can adversely affect the ability of the House Committees to obtain the truthful and complete information necessary to fulfill their duties." Story continues In response, Gaetz tweeted: "Speaker, I want to get the truth too. While it is important 2 create context around the testimony of liars like Michael Cohen, it was NOT my intent to threaten, as some believe I did. Im deleting the tweet & I should have chosen words that better showed my intent. Im sorry." More: Michael Cohen plans to accuse the president of 'criminal conduct' More: Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer, disbarred because of his felony convictions Cohen pleaded guilty and agreed to provide evidence to prosecutors in two separate criminal investigations involving Trump and those around him. He admitted to illegally paying hush money to two women who claimed to have had sex with Trump and lying to Congress about the extent of negotiations for a Trump real estate project in Russia. A person familiar with Cohen's planned testimony said he was prepared to testify about "criminal conduct" by Trump after he assumed the presidency. The person, who was not authorized to speak publicly, declined to characterize the conduct but said it happened during Trump's first year in the White House. Lanny Davis, an attorney for Cohen, said the post "set a new low" for the congressman, adding they would not respond to his lies and "personal smears." "We will not respond to Mr. Gaetz's despicable lies and personal smears, except to say we trust that his colleagues in the House, both Republicans and Democrats, will repudiate his words and his conduct," Davis said in a statement. Opinion: Jordan & Meadows: Democrats put out welcome mat for a liar. We can't trust Michael Cohen. "I also trust that his constituents will not appreciate that their congressman has set a new low which in todays political culture is hard to imagine as possible," Davis added. Those on Twitter, including members of Congress, reacted quickly, many pointing that the comments could be seen as intimidating a witness and witness tampering. Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-New Jersey, said the tweet warranted an investigation by the House Ethics Committee. "One of my colleagues, a duly elected member of Congress, has taken to twitter to intimidate a witness," Pascrell, Jr. wrote. "This is grossly unethical and probably illegal (18 USC 1512(b)). House Ethics must investigate this disgrace and stain on our institution." The statute Pascrell, Jr. noted in his tweet is the law that states intimidating a witness is illegal. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, said Gaetz's tweet seemed like something "out of a Mob novel" not from a member of Congress. "Thats the sort of behavior thats sadly become normalized in the last two years," Coons told CNN. "I think that would previously be considered absolutely shocking for a congressman to publicly engage in sort of badgering a witness in advance of their appearing." Contributing: Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Republican congressman Matt Gaetz tweets apparent threat to Michael Cohen, alleging affair What if you wanted an easy way to help women business owners succeed? If when you went to buy something or hire someone, you could select a woman-owned business? Well, if designer/entrepreneur Rebecca Minkoff has her way, youll soon have a way to quickly identify women-owned businesses a female founder symbol to look for whenever you shop or hire. First and foremost, we want a symbol that can be recognized on packaging, or websites, or storefronts, said Minkoff. We want to galvanize a community to buy from and support each otherWe can educate the consumer in the (same) way that shes been educated to turn over and see (if a product) is non-GMO or organic. Since March is Womens History Month, nows a good time to see how women entrepreneursand many corporate partnersare pulling together to help women entrepreneurs succeed. More: The best of deals and the worst of deals: Small business lessons from the NBA More: What's the biggest small business training program for girls? Girl Scouts Last September, Minkoff co-founder and creative director of the popular fashion design company that bears her name launched the Female Founder Collective. One of the main goals of the collective is to increase women-owned businesses share of sales revenue. To do that, they launched a symbola sealthat women-owned businesses can use to identify themselves. Women are more likely to support female-owned companies if they only know how, said Minkoff. But the Female Founder Collective is designed to be more than a symbol. Minkoff and other collective founders aim for it to be a platform and a movement for female business leaders to connect and support each other, socially, legally and economically. There are between 1100 and 2000 female-owned businesses starting every day, said Minkoff, and I think those women face unique challenges that theyve never faced before. The goal is to have a directory of all these (women-owned) brands, said Minkoff. It will be a b2c (business to consumer) directory, and a b2b (business to business) portal for these companies to continue to help one another. Story continues The collective was launched in September 2018 and it already has more than 3,000 women members. When you see a ground swell of this kind of activity it reflects a need that is not being met, said Minkoff. I have 11 million businesses to reach, said Minkoff. I would love all them to turn lights on this seal so its recognizable and we change our shopping habitsIf were all shopping from females, that wealth trickles up. Does the idea of identifying businesses by gender, ethnic or religious groups bother Minkoff? Its been filtered the opposite way for a really long time. So if the pendulum has to swing a little bit to get things more equalized, Im okay with that. Men can have their own symbol. Minkoff has entered into a partnership with Visa, which has recently launched the Shes Next campaign to help empower and educate female business owners. On March 6 International Womens Day the Collective and Visas Shes Next will host a day of workshops in New York City for hundreds of women entrepreneurs to help give them tools and training to help them significantly scale their companies. Arianna Huffington, left, and Rebecca Minkoff attend A recent Visa study on the State of Female Entrepreneurship indicated that 73 percent of women entrepreneurs reported having difficulty securing the funding they needed to start their businesses, so Visa and Chase will co-host a workshop on lending to help women get the loans and capital they need. Starting and growing a business can be both incredibly rewarding and daunting, said Suzan Kereere, Visas global head of merchant sales & acquiring, who is heading up Visas Shes Next campaign. There is never enough time or enough resources, but when we work together to support each other, amazing things can happen. If youre a woman business owner who wants to join the Collective, go to the Female Founders Collective website (www.femalefoundercollective.com ) and fill out the application. Your company must be majority-owned by women. Once you are a member, We send you the seal to useso consumers can see it, wonder what it is, and hopefully seek it out, said Minkoff. You get access to our Slack, Google, and Facebook groups. You get access to events, and we send information of use to the community. Rhonda Abrams is the author of Six-Week Start Up just released in its fourth edition. Connect with Rhonda on Facebook and Twitter: @RhondaAbrams. Register for Rhondas free business tips newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How Rebecca Minkoff's 'Female Founder' seal of approval will help women business owners One of the best investments we can make is in our own knowledge and skill set. With that in mind, this article will work through how we can use Return On Equity (ROE) to better understand a business. By way of learning-by-doing, well look at ROE to gain a better understanding of Tian Chang Group Holdings Ltd. (HKG:2182). Tian Chang Group Holdings has a ROE of 4.3%, based on the last twelve months. That means that for every HK$1 worth of shareholders equity, it generated HK$0.043 in profit. See our latest analysis for Tian Chang Group Holdings How Do You Calculate Return On Equity? The formula for ROE is: Return on Equity = Net Profit Shareholders Equity Or for Tian Chang Group Holdings: 4.3% = 16.534 HK$381m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2018.) Its easy to understand the net profit part of that equation, but shareholders equity requires further explanation. It is all the money paid into the company from shareholders, plus any earnings retained. You can calculate shareholders equity by subtracting the companys total liabilities from its total assets. What Does ROE Mean? ROE looks at the amount a company earns relative to the money it has kept within the business. The return is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. A higher profit will lead to a higher ROE. So, as a general rule, a high ROE is a good thing. That means ROE can be used to compare two businesses. Does Tian Chang Group Holdings Have A Good ROE? One simple way to determine if a company has a good return on equity is to compare it to the average for its industry. However, this method is only useful as a rough check, because companies do differ quite a bit within the same industry classification. As is clear from the image below, Tian Chang Group Holdings has a lower ROE than the average (9.4%) in the Chemicals industry. SEHK:2182 Past Revenue and Net Income, February 27th 2019 That certainly isnt ideal. We prefer it when the ROE of a company is above the industry average, but its not the be-all and end-all if it is lower. Still, shareholders might want to check if insiders have been selling. Story continues How Does Debt Impact ROE? Virtually all companies need money to invest in the business, to grow profits. That cash can come from issuing shares, retained earnings, or debt. In the first and second cases, the ROE will reflect this use of cash for investment in the business. In the latter case, the use of debt will improve the returns, but will not change the equity. Thus the use of debt can improve ROE, albeit along with extra risk in the case of stormy weather, metaphorically speaking. Combining Tian Chang Group Holdingss Debt And Its 4.3% Return On Equity While Tian Chang Group Holdings does have some debt, with debt to equity of just 0.76, we wouldnt say debt is excessive. Im not impressed with its ROE, but the debt levels are not too high, indicating the business has decent prospects. Careful use of debt to boost returns is often very good for shareholders. However, it could reduce the companys ability to take advantage of future opportunities. The Key Takeaway Return on equity is one way we can compare the business quality of different companies. A company that can achieve a high return on equity without debt could be considered a high quality business. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt. Having said that, while ROE is a useful indicator of business quality, youll have to look at a whole range of factors to determine the right price to buy a stock. Profit growth rates, versus the expectations reflected in the price of the stock, are a particularly important to consider. So I think it may be worth checking this free this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow . If you would prefer check out another company one with potentially superior financials then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt. 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. MOSCOW, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Russian state television has listed U.S. military facilities that Moscow would target in the event of a nuclear strike, and said that a hypersonic missile Russia is developing would be able to hit them in less than five minutes. The targets included the Pentagon and the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland. The report, unusual even by the sometimes bellicose standards of Russian state TV, was broadcast on Sunday evening, days after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was militarily ready for a "Cuban Missile"-style crisis if the United States wanted one. With tensions rising over Russian fears that the United States might deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe as a Cold War-era arms-control treaty unravels, Putin has said Russia would be forced to respond by placing hypersonic nuclear missiles on submarines near U.S. waters. The United States says it has no immediate plans to deploy such missiles in Europe and has dismissed Putin's warnings as disingenuous propaganda. It does not currently have ground-based intermediate-range nuclear missiles that it could place in Europe. However, its decision to quit the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty over an alleged Russian violation, something Moscow denies, has freed it to start developing and deploying such missiles. Putin has said Russia does not want a new arms race, but has also dialed up his military rhetoric. Related: President Trump meets with Vladimir Putin in Finland: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The Pentagon said that Putin's threats only helped unite NATO. "Every time Putin issues these bombastic threats and touts his new doomsday devices, he should know he only deepens NATO's resolve to work together to ensure our collective security," Eric Pahon, a Pentagon spokesman, said. Some analysts have seen his approach as a tactic to try to re-engage the United States in talks about the strategic balance between the two powers, for which Moscow has long pushed, with mixed results. Story continues In the Sunday evening broadcast, Dmitry Kiselyov, presenter of Russia's main weekly TV news show 'Vesti Nedeli', showed a map of the United States and identified several targets he said Moscow would want to hit in the event of a nuclear war. The targets, which Kiselyov described as U.S. presidential or military command centers, also included Fort Ritchie, a military training center in Maryland closed in 1998, McClellan, a U.S. Air Force base in California closed in 2001, and Jim Creek, a naval communications base in Washington state. Kiselyov, who is close to the Kremlin, said the "Tsirkon" ('Zircon') hypersonic missile that Russia is developing could hit the targets in less than five minutes if launched from Russian submarines. Hypersonic flight is generally taken to mean traveling through the atmosphere at more than five times the speed of sound. "For now, we're not threatening anyone, but if such a deployment takes place, our response will be instant," he said. Kiselyov is one of the main conduits of state televisions strongly anti-American tone, once saying Moscow could turn the United States into radioactive ash. Asked to comment on Kiselyov's report, the Kremlin said on Monday it did not interfere in state TV's editorial policy. (Additional reporting by Tom Balmforth and Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Dan Grebler) Pressure on Trump at Korean summit is extraordinary - so is potential for progress: ANALYSIS originally appeared on abcnews.go.com This week, President Donald Trump will have his second nuclear disarmament summit with the North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. Vietnam will play host and, despite reduced tensions, the stakes remain high. By most accounts, North Korea has nuclear weapons affixable to long range missiles. In fact, they seem to have a growing arsenal. Experts say more than 30, with the ability to strike South Korea, Japan, and -- likely -- the United States. The clock is ticking. Sanctions have tightened, thanks to a highly-cohesive and unusually diverse international coalition assembled by the United States. But, the resolve of its members has historically been fickle and minor cracks in enforcement are beginning to show. More importantly, evidence indicates that the North Koreans have already gone back on their promise to denuclearize by secretly continuing to produce fissile material. This saga has played out for the past 20 years. In 1994, President Clinton led bilateral talks with Kim Jong Uns father that produced an agreed framework for a slow drawback, starting with a freeze in the North Korean plutonium production program followed by eventual disarmament. The U.S. was slow in meeting its commitments under that framework, and the North Koreans ultimately cheated by maintaining their forbidden nuclear weapons program. President George W. Bush withdrew the U.S. from the deal, re-imposed sanctions, and began multilateral, six-party talks led by China. PHOTO: North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un arrives at the Dong Dang railway station in Dong Dang, Vietnam, Feb. 26, 2019, to attend the second US-North Korea Summit. (Nhac Nguyen/AFP/Getty Images) That process also failed to produce results. North Korea conducted a successful nuclear test detonation, violated the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and then withdrew from that treaty. President Barack Obama chose not to engage directly with the North Koreans. He preferred to use U.S. and UN sanctions and pressure China to reign in Pyongyang. That too, failed, and North Korea was able to master uranium enrichment. Obama witnessed their first long range missile tests -- and a second nuclear test detonation of notably higher yield. Story continues By 2017, tensions in and around North Korea were extremely high as the North Koreans proceeded to rather brazenly miniaturize their warhead design and test fire more than a dozen ballistic missiles, including some fired towards and over Japan, and at least one intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can range the United States. These tensions, and the threat of war on the Korean Peninsula that the tensions produced, abated considerably thanks to the truly remarkable recent efforts of the South Koreans and the United States. Trump assembled a global coalition, and stiffened their backbones with his resolve. His maximum pressure campaign deprived the North Korean people the benefits of international trade and denied Kim money to fund his arms program. Then, at the end of 2017, the South Korean President, Moon Jae In, made secret overtures to the North, broaching peace and reconciliation. To his credit, Kim responded positively to both efforts, by proposing to send North Korean athletes to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, and by initiating serious diplomatic overtures to Washington. This led to a remarkable summit between Moon and Kim in April 2018 and the historic summit in Singapore in June, 2018 between Trump and Kim. Progress after the Singapore summit slowed after the United States pushed the North Koreans for a full declaration of their nuclear weapons program. According to most reports, Pyongyang responded angrily to this request. Why they did remains a topic of speculation. PHOTO: President Donald Trump gestures as he meets with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un at the start of their historic US-North Korea summit, at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore, June 11, 2018. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images, FILE) Nevertheless, the Singapore summit pulled us back from the brink of war. The North Koreans have not conducted any missile tests since then, nor have they conducted any nuclear test detonations. In addition, the North and South continued last year to make progress toward reconciliation with two more leader summits. At the Singapore summit, President Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the [North Koreans], and Chairman Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, according to the agreement. The two leaders also agreed to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. No timetables were set to meet the Singapore summits goals. Meanwhile, sanctions have made a real difference. Kim wants relief and he promised economic growth to his people in his 2019 New Years Day speech. This gives Trump something with which to bargain. If Kim does not get relief, or cheat, he risks failing to deliver on his promise to his people. Even dictators prefer to avoid that when possible. Unfortunately, normalization and denuclearization are dissonant goals. Last year, Moon agreed to explore re-opening the Kae Song industrial complex, which would employ many North Koreans. It would also remove pressure on Kim to deliver money to the people and government. Moons strategy of incentivizing reconciliation could undermine the maximum pressure approach to denuclearization. Worse still, it could bankroll the weapons program. If I were still advising the U.S. president, I would have two goals in mind this week in advance of the second summit. First, lower expectations. This meeting will not magically produce normalization or denuclearization. The skeptics and cynics are all around the president and they will probably be proven right on this round. Trump need not feel pressure to post another big win. This is a long process and he has a lot to be proud of already. Second, maintain credibility. It seems time to deliver a get tough message to Kim and to restore the resolve of the coalition. Trump gained good will from Kim by praising him after the last summit. He also worried the coalition. Trump might consider being brutally frank and transparent in emerging from these talks, using carefully-chosen words and being careful to acknowledge the limited value of any superficial or reversible gestures made by the North, no matter how positive they might seem. (MORE: Second Trump-Kim summit propels Vietnam to geopolitical center stage) Trump is representing the whole world in this effort, and every nation is anxious. Many have a lot to lose and understandable desires to depart the coalition or take unilateral steps in their own self-interest. The South Koreans must be clear that pursuing reconciliation with sanctions exceptions as inducements -- or by reopening industrial complexes that allow money to flow to the North Korean people and their government -- is at odds with the primary objective of ridding the North of their illicit nuclear weapons program. Japan must be reassured that we will still defend them and that we will not naively allow the North to string us along while secretly amassing an arsenal that would overwhelm the region -- or us. (MORE: Everything you need to know about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un) China must be reminded of the threat that an unchecked nuclear North Korea would be and how costly a regional nuclear arms race will be if our efforts fail. And, everyone should remember the cost of nuclear proliferation if this problem persists. No varnish this time. The U.S. president must clearly articulate the strategy and time horizon after he leaves this meeting. His team will need that top cover to continue making progress. Tom Bossert, an ABC News National Security analyst, is the former Homeland Security Advisor to President Donald Trump. WASHINGTON When President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un sit down Wednesday in Vietnam, one of their goals will be rather basic: defining the very topic of their negotiations, denuclearization. The United States basically defines the term as having North Korea eliminate all of its nuclear weapons programs. North Koreans see it as removal of all nuclear assets from the region including those the United States put there to protect South Korea and other allies. Bridging this definition gap is key to this week's second summit between Trump and Kim in Hanoi. "A shared understanding is what denuclearization is," is how one administration official put it. Two senior administration officials discussed next week's emerging schedule on condition they not be named, citing the confidential nature of negotiations that are already going on in Vietnam. Few details were provided about the agenda on Wednesday and Thursday. But they did confirm that Trump and Kim intend to meet alone without aides, just as they did during their first summit last year in Singapore. Trump-Kim summit: What happened at their first meeting and what to expect at their next More from Trump: North Korea must do something 'meaningful' to denuclearize before sanctions relief Trump and aides want the North Koreans to commit to detailed, concrete ways to eliminate their nuclear weapons programs. But Kim and his government want the U.S. to do something first: ease economic sanctions that are crippling their country. Addressing this standoff is part of the effort to define denuclearization, officials said. Trump has downplayed expectations, saying last week that he was in no "rush" to demand denuclearization and insisting he remained confident Kim eventually would do so. "I dont think this will be the last meeting by any chance, but I do think that the relationship is very strong," Trump told reporters. Previously: Trump on Kim Jong Un: 'We fell in love' over 'beautiful letters' Story continues Kristine Lee, research associate with the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, said the definition of denuclearization has been "a sticking point" because of U.S. assets in the region. "Denuclearization for North Korea has long meant the removal of all of these assets (missile defense systems, stealth fighters) from the peninsula," she said. "Whereas for the United States, this refers exclusively to the elimination of North Korea's nuclear program." As he prepared to head to Vietnam, Trump got plenty of advice. A group of more than 40 retired military generals and diplomats urged Trump to consider some kind of sanctions relief. They also backed a proposal to have the United States and North Korea set up liaison offices in each other's cities not embassies, but offices that can be used to transmit government-to-government messages. Trump "must move beyond symbolism if he hopes to make real headway towards ending the danger of the North Korean nuclear program," read the letter released by the American Collage of National Security Leaders. A group of House Democrats, meanwhile, have asked Trump for more details about the North Korea talks. In a letter to the president, three chairmen of national security committees said Trump's positive statements about Kim are at odds with intelligence assessments that North Korea remains a threat and is likely to want to keep its nuclear weapons. The letter was signed by chairmen Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Adam Smith, D-Wash., Committee on Armed Services; and Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. "There are ample reasons to be skeptical that Chairman Kim is committed to a nuclear-free North Korea," they said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: President Trump, Kim Jong Un seek something basic: A definition of denuclearization Pot stock, Elon Musk, Fed Reserve Speaking in front of the US Congress today, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said clarity is needed for US banks dealing with cannabis companies. Marijuana is illegal under Federal law but legal now in 10 US states creating conflict for financial institutions. A number of pot stocks are pushing higher today on this and other news. A Difficult Place for Financial Institutions Powell was asked by Democratic Senator Bob Menendez if banks needed clarity in order to assess how to deal with cannabis businesses in US states where the substance is now legal. Powell said that clarity would be great adding: VERO BEACH, Fla. Only one person has been charged with human trafficking in connection with prostitution in Florida massage parlors, despite multiple agencies linking the 10 spas shut down this month to Chinese sex trafficking. Her name is Lanyun Ma, and she's a 49-year-old Orlando woman who ran East Spa in Vero Beach. "It's very difficult to charge somebody with that," acknowledged Detective Sgt. Phil Huddy, who supervises the detective division at the Vero Beach Police Department. Ma was seen transporting numerous women with suitcases to and from the spa who are believed to be victims of human trafficking, according to her arrest warrant. Some stayed for a couple days, others for weeks. More: Sex spas are big business, investigator says It's hard to know how many total victims there were at East Spa, police said. One was placed in a shelter and is cooperating with investigators; several are incarcerated and a handful were never identified. Lanyun Ma, 49, of Orlando, was charged with human trafficking, racketeering, unlawful transportation for the purpose of prostitution, deriving support from proceeds of prostitution and engaging in prostitution. "It's a very large network and they move around constantly, so that's why it's been difficult for us to locate the other Jane Does that we have," Huddy said. "We're still sifting through that, and we're hoping all the ladies involved come forward and will open up about their experience and how they got into the position they're in." The women were trapped in the spa, living in a small room with two mattresses on two-by-fours, using a makeshift shower and cooking in a small unsanitary room, Huddy said. "If they did show their faces outside the establishment, they were outside for a brief period of time, and they were within earshot or eyeshot of Lanyun Ma," Huddy said. Police believe most of the victims came to the country on airplanes, but they don't know for sure. "There are basically like travel agents that go to these little villages (in China) where they're destitute, poor and have no other way out, and approach families and approach females and say, 'Hey, you wanna go to America?'" Huddy said. Story continues "Then when they get here it's basically indentured servitude." More: Sex trafficking is rampant across US 'Only scratched the surface' Police are under no illusions about how far they've reached into the seedy human trafficking organization believed to be rooted in China and loosely tied to New York, Texas and California. "I think we've only scratched the surface on this," Huddy said. Video surveillance played a key role in capturing the major players, Huddy said, because detectives could not do anything illegal, even undercover. "It takes time," he said. "We have to keep this investigation going because it takes us so long to establish a human trafficking charge." Ma was arrested Feb. 19 and also stands charged with racketeering, deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution. Her bail was set at $155,500. Yongzhang Yan owned spas in Indian River County and the Orlando area shut down in a human trafficking investigation. He was not criminally charged. Ma and her husband, Yongzhang Yan, owned several spas in Vero Beach, Sebastian and the Orlando area. Each spa generated tens of thousands of dollars per month, according to police. Police are now following that money, poring over records to determine what happened to it and building evidence to ultimately seize any funds they can. "It was basically all cash," Huddy said. "They find very intricate ways to try and hide where their proceeds are going, where theyre coming from and who theyre going to." Huddy said no solid ties have emerged between the 10 spas from Orlando to Jupiter shut down Feb. 19, aside from the ones owned by Yan and Ma. He does believe the local ringleaders at least know of each other and may coordinate in exchanging women, something done to confuse authorities. "I think there is some sort of broader link, to where they know who to call (and) when," Huddy said. Potential punishments Human trafficking and racketeering are the most serious charges levied so far. They are first-degree felonies, punishable by up to 30 years in prison. If any of the victims are found to be minors or if they are seriously physically harmed, the punishments can escalate to life sentences. The next most serious charge, deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution, is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The remainder of prostitution charges levied against about 300 across the region are various degrees of misdemeanors which have maximum sentence lengths of 60 days to a year in county jail. This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Why is there only one human trafficking charge in Florida massage parlor busts? If you have been looking for Large Cap Growth funds, it would not be wise to start your search with Parnassus Endeavor Fund (PARWX). PARWX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance. Objective PARWX is classified in the Large Cap Growth segment by Zacks, an area full of possibilities. Companies are usually considered to be large-cap if their stock market valuation is more than $10 billion. Large Cap Growth mutual funds invest in many large U.S. firms that are projected to grow at a faster rate than their large-cap peers. History of Fund/Manager Parnassus is based in San Francisco, CA, and is the manager of PARWX. Parnassus Endeavor Fund debuted in April of 2005. Since then, PARWX has accumulated assets of about $2.76 billion, according to the most recently available information. Jerome L. Dodson is the fund's current manager and has held that role since April of 2005. Performance Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund in particular has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 12.22%, and it sits in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 15.33%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame. When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. The standard deviation of PARWX over the past three years is 16.14% compared to the category average of 11.06%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 14.51% compared to the category average of 10.83%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade. Risk Factors Investors should always remember the downsides to a potential investment, and this segment carries some risks one should be aware of. In PARWX's case, the fund lost 43.15% in the most recent bear market and outperformed its peer group by 5.69%. This could mean that the fund is a better choice than comparable funds during a bear market. Story continues Even still, the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.18, so investors should note that it is hypothetically more volatile than the market at large. Because alpha represents a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark, which is the S&P 500 in this case, one should pay attention to this metric as well. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -0.25. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns. Holdings Exploring the equity holdings of a mutual fund is also a valuable exercise. This can show us how the manager is applying their stated methodology, as well as if there are any inherent biases in their approach. For this particular fund, the focus is largely on equities that are traded in the United States. As of the last filing date, the mutual fund has 81.22% of its assets in stocks, which have an average market capitalization of $90.37 billion. The fund has the heaviest exposure to the following market sectors: Technology Retail Trade Services With turnover at about 55.9%, this fund makes more trades in a given year than the category average. Expenses For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, PARWX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.94% compared to the category average of 1.05%. From a cost perspective, PARWX is actually cheaper than its peers. While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,000, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $50. Bottom Line Overall, Parnassus Endeavor Fund ( PARWX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees compared to its peers. For additional information on this product, or to compare it to other mutual funds in the Large Cap Growth, make sure to go to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information. If you want to check out our stock reports as well, make sure to go to Zacks.com to see all of the great tools we have to offer, including our time-tested Zacks Rank. 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 Get Your Free (PARWX): Fund Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Palo Alto Networks PANW reported second-quarter fiscal 2019 non-GAAP earnings of $1.51 per share, which not only improved 43.8% on a year-over-year basis but also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.22. The companys revenues of $711.2 million surged 30% year over year, outpacing the consensus estimate of $683 million. The impressive results were mainly driven by several deal wins and increasing adoption of the companys next-generation security platforms. In a parallel announcement, Palo Alto introduced open and integrated AI-based continuous security platform Cortex, and Cortex XDR and Traps 6.0 Endpoint Protection. Quarterly Details Product revenues increased approximately 32.6% to $271.6 million. The company witnessed a 29% jump in subscription and support revenues to $439.6 million. SaaS-based subscription revenues rose 36% from the year-ago quarter to $249.7 million. Support revenues increased 21% to $189.9 million. Billings improved 27% year over year to $852.5 million. On a geographical basis, revenues from the Americas climbed 27%. Revenues from Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Asia Pacific were up 38% and 35%, respectively. Management mentioned that Palo Altos first speedboat in cloud security, which was launched in the last reported quarter, was a positive, with approximately 8000 adoptions of the offering. Its GlobalProtect cloud offering also recorded success with some of the large players during the reported quarter. A couple of the most significant wins are 25,000 users at a global financial services company and 80,000 mobile users for one of France's largest state-owned public services. Palo Alto also continued to benefit from the Redlock acquisition, exceeding its quarterly expectations from the business by 50%. Notably, during the quarter, the company signed a major deal with a data center at one of Europe's key car manufacturers. Moreover, Palo Alto expanded its hardware footprint through deals with a major online gaming company and a major global retailer. A mammoth deal was also signed between it and several subsidiaries of one the largest broadcasting companies in the United States over its VM-Series firewall. Moreover, 47,000 endpoints were secured in a deal with a major U.S. university health care system. Management also noted that over the last decade, the company experienced great success with attached subscriptions, the most successful ones having attach rates of about 90%. Moreover, Palo Alto has added a new product to its hardware portfolio. The PA-7000 series features powerful throughput capabilities, and will aid customers with large data centers and high volumes of encrypted traffic. Further, the company made its K2 series available, with which it expects to address the stringent security needs that come with the growing adoption of IoT and the advent of 5G in the service provider market. Operating Results Palo Altos non-GAAP gross margin expanded 30 basis points (bps) on a year-over-year basis to 76.3%. Non-GAAP operating expenses of $367.5 million, as percentage of revenues, improved 220 bps to 51.7%. Non-GAAP operating margin expanded 250 bps to 24.6%. Balance Sheet Palo Alto exited the fiscal second quarter with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of approximately $3.6 billion compared with $3.2 billion at the end of the preceding quarter. Furthermore, long-term debt came in at $808.6 million. The companys balance sheet was free of any long-term debt in the preceding quarter. It generated cash flow from operations of $275.4 million compared with $252.3 million in the previous quarter. Free cash flow came in at $251.9 million. During the quarter, Palo Alto completed its $1 billion share repurchase program. Approximately 1.9 million shares were repurchased at an average price of approximately $178 per share. On Feb 22, the company announced a new $1 billion share repurchase program. Its authorization will expire on Dec 31, 2020. Guidance For the third quarter of fiscal 2019, Palo Alto anticipates revenues of $697-$707 million, up 23-25% year over year. Non-GAAP effective tax rate for the current quarter is projected to be approximately 22%. Non-GAAP earnings per share are estimated in the range of $1.23-$1.25, which includes expenses related to the impending acquisition of Demisto. The EPS also includes an expense of 1 cent per share as a result of the U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. The company expects Demisto billings of approximately $50 million to $55 million in the year following the completion of the buyout. Palo Alto continued to invest in in Advanced Endpoint Protection with its newly launched behavior threat prevention engine Traps 6.0, which features container security protections. The company boasts approximately 4,000 Traps customers a large chunk of them managing Traps from the cloud. Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider Palo Alto currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are Symantec Corporation SYMC, Fortinet, Inc. FTNT, and eGain Corporation EGAN, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Long-term earnings growth rate for Symantec, Fortinet and eGain is projected to be 7.9%, 16.75% and 30%, respectively. Is Your Investment Advisor Fumbling Your Financial Future? See how you can more effectively safeguard your retirement with a new Special Report, 4 Warning Signs Your Investment Advisor Might Be Sabotaging Your Financial Future. Click to get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Fortinet, Inc. (FTNT) : Free Stock Analysis Report eGain Corporation (EGAN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) : Free Stock Analysis Report Symantec Corporation (SYMC) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research The Pakistani air force said Wednesday that it downed two Indian warplanes and took one pilot captive in the latest escalation of a recently reinvigorated conflict between two hostile nuclear powers. Indian officials disputed the Pakistani account, telling Reuters that both Indian pilots and a civilian were killed in the crash. The planes were downed after crossing the disputed border region of Kashmir into Pakistani territory, according to Pakistani officials. The attack represents the latest salvo in a tit-for-tat escalation that began earlier this month when a suicide bomber killed 40 Indian police officers in Kashmir. Pakistani terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad took credit for the February 14 bombing but Pakistani officials have denied any involvement. In response to the bombing, India launched an airstrike against a Jaish-e-Mohammad training camp in Pakistan on Tuesday. Indian officials claimed a very large number of Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and jihadis were killed in the attack while Pakistani officials said no one was harmed. The airstrike was the first time Indian planes crossed into Pakistani territory since the two countries went to war in 1971. Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan urged Indian officials to come to the negotiating table during a broadcast address to the nation on Wednesday. History tells us that wars are full of miscalculation. My question is that, given the weapons we have, can we afford miscalculation, Khan said. We should sit down and talk. More from National Review Pakistans air force claimed it shot down two Indian warplanes on Wednesday along a tense border in the disputed province of Kashmir in a potentially major escalation of hostilities between the nuclear-armed neighbors and rivals. Pakistan said it captured an Indian pilot after his plane crashed in Pakistans part of Kashmir. The other pilot crashed in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The dramatic escalation came after Pakistan said that mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier dividing Kashmir's two sectors known as the "line of control" killed six civilians and wounded several others. Kashmir is a Himalayan region sandwiched between India to the south, Pakistan to the west and north, and China to the northeast. Two out of the three wars India and Pakistan have fought since both countries gained independence from Britain in 1947 have been over Kashmir. It is split between both nations but claimed, entirely, by both. Pakistan denied reports that one of its planes was also shot down. India confirmed the loss of an MiG21 fighter jet, but said it was still investigating the claim its pilot had been captured. It wasnt immediately clear if the incident led to any casualties. In a video clip that Pakistan's media claimed shows the captured Indian pilot he says he is being treated well by Pakistan's military after being taken into custody. Seen drinking from a cup of tea, the pilot refers to his rescuers as "gentleman." Separate footage showed him being kicked and punched as he was handed over to military authorities. The Geneva Convention bars nations from using POWs for "public curiosity," often interpreted as a way to stop prisoners from being hauled in front of television cameras. Increased tension between India and Pakistan erupted earlier this month after a Pakistani national, Jaish-e-Mohammad, claimed responsibility for a Feb. 14 suicide bombing of a convoy of Indias paramilitary forces in the Indian portion of Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops. Pakistan said it was not involved in the attack. Story continues India and Pakistan frequently have border skirmishes related to Kashmir, but political scientists have long speculated that the area is one of the most likely places in the world for a nuclear war to break out. Each country has a few hundred nuclear bombs. Amid the ongoing escalation, Pakistan shut down its civilian airspace and Prime Minister Imran Khan called for negotiations, noting that the two sides could not afford to let things spiral out of control because of the nuclear weapons they each posses. "Better sense can prevail," Khan said. "Lets sit together to talk to find a solution." India's leader Narendra Modi has not publicly reacted to the incident. It comes as President Donald Trump holds a summit with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un this week aimed at denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is in Vietnam, released a statement Wednesday urging both countries to "exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost." More: Pakistan accuses Indian aircraft of crossing into its territory, dropping bombs More: Trump-Kim summit Day 1: Nuclear weapons (and Michael Cohen) Kashmiri villagers gather to look at the wreckage of an Indian aircraft after it crashed in Budgam area, outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Feb.27, 2019. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pakistan claims it shot down 2 Indian warplanes in disputed Kashmir province This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Two planes shot down over Kashmir border Pakistan claims to have two pilots held Sources: jets shot down in 'four-on-four' dogfight Both countries dispute each other's claims Analysis: Pakistan and India need help climbing down, or risk another war over Kashmir Pakistan has claimed to have shot down two Indian jets and captured a pilot after a dogfight over Kashmir, igniting fears of an all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Tensions remain high on the Asian Subcontinent where tens of thousands of Indian and Pakistani soldiers face off along the disputed Kashmir boundary. There are competing claims regarding the exact details of what has taken place, but Pakistan's Major General Asif Ghafoor said a pilot was in Army custody. Pakistan had earlier said it was holding two pilots. Ghafoor said the jets had been shot down after Pakistani planes earlier Wednesday flew across the Line of Control, the de facto border in disputed Kashmir, to the Indian side in a show of strength, hitting non-military targets including supply depots. Although this version of events is disputed by India, the Pakistani official said: "The Pakistan Air Force was ready, they took them on, there was an engagement. As a result both the Indian planes were shot down and the wreckage of one fell on our side while the wreckage of the other fell on their side." Initially, the Indian Air Force (IAF) denied Pakistani claims, despite videos of the two pilots in Pakistani captivity being broadcast by state media. The IAF is also decried claims that two Indian fighter aircraft had been shot down. But later on Wednesday a foreign ministry official told a press conference in Delhi that there was an "aerial engagement", conceding just one Indian jet was shot down. IAF sources said that there were four Pakistani F-16 fighters against four IAF MiG-21 Bison combat aircraft and the dogfight happened in a chase. Story continues The four Pakistani fighters are believed to have tried attacking an ammunition dump at Nowshera near the Line of Control in Kashmir, when they were chased by four Indian planes. India claims it has also shot down one of the Pakistani fighter jets. The incident is the latest in a dangerous sequence of events between the two countries, whose ties have been under intense strain since a February 14 suicide bombing in Indian Kashmir that killed 40 troops. Islamabad insisted the latest move was in self defence and officials said strikes had been taken at non-military targets avoiding civilian casualties. Ghafoor said: "We do not want escalation, we do not want to go towards war," at a press conference in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, calling for talks with New Delhi. Pakistan closed its airspace Wednesday, "until further notice", the civil aviation authority and the military said. A military spokesman said the decision had been taken "due to the environment". How did we get here? The claim came a little over 24 hours after Delhi said it had struck a Jaish-e-Mohammad training camp near Balakot where it said militants were preparing for imminent terrorist attacks. Islamabad had denied any camp was struck, but on Tuesday warned India to prepare for a surprise and vowed a "befitting" response at a time and place of its choosing. In a statement headed "Pakistan strikes back", the foreign ministry said the action was not retaliation " to continued Indian belligerence". "Pakistan has therefore, taken strikes at non military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. Sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. Pakistani soldiers stand next to what Pakistan says is the wreckage of an Indian fighter jet shot down in Pakistan controled Kashmir at Somani area in Bhimbar district Credit: AFP A spokesman for Pakistan's military said that Indian jets had then crossed the line of control and the Pakistan air forces had gone on to shoot two of them down inside Pakistani airspace. "One of the aircraft fell inside Azad Jammu and Kashmir, while other fell inside Indian Occupied Kashmir. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area," said Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor. There was no immediate response from Delhi, but Indian media did report an Indian air force jet crashed in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Wednesday morning. Delhi said on Tuesday it had said it had struck a pre-emptive blow against the Pakistan-based militant group it blames for a suicide bomb that killed at least 40 paramilitary police in Kashmir earlier this month. The force of jets destroyed a hilltop training camp near Balakot where Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) jihadists were preparing an imminent attack, the country's foreign minister said. But Pakistan dismissed that claim as fictitious and self-serving, saying its own jets had intercepted the raiding force and seen it off. Pakistan's military said the Indian jets dropped their payload of bombs in haste as they fled and they caused no damage after landing in deserted forest. Indian soldiers gesture near the remains of an Indian Air Force helicopter after it crashed in Budgam district, outside Srinagar on February 27, 2019 Credit: Tauseef Mustafa/AFP Villagers near Balakot said they had been woken by jets and four blasts in an area close to a JeM madrassa. But they denied heavy casualties and said the damage was largely to trees. One person was wounded. "We saw trees fallen down and one house damaged and four craters where the bombs had fallen," said Mohammad Ajmal, a 25-year-old who visited the site told Reuters. Another neighbour, who declined to be named, said JeM ran a nearby Islamic school. An Indian attack had been widely predicted as Narendra Modi faced domestic outrage over the bomb attack in Pulwama blamed on JeM. A history of trouble Pakistan has long been accused of harbouring and supporting militant groups as tools of its foreign policy in India, Kashmir and Afghanistan. JeM is a primarily anti-India group that forged ties with al Qaeda and has been on a UN terrorist list since 2001. India says the JeM was also behind the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament and on an Indian air force base in 2016. Pakistan denies any involvement in the Pulwama attack and has challenged Delhi to deliver actionable intelligence on who carried out the attack. Western diplomats now fear any counter retaliation by Pakistan could dangerously escalate the stand-off and trigger an international crisis. One diplomat said both sides must try to carefully measure their action to satisfy domestic nationalist fervour, while not provoking all out war. However with an Indian general election only weeks away, Mr Modi had come under intense pressure to act. As news channels on both sides of the border became increasingly bellicose, a Pakistani military spokesman even alluded to its nuclear arsenal, highlighting the escalation in hostile rhetoric. Indian soldiers and Kashmiri onlookers stand near the remains of an Indian Air Force helicopter after it crashed in Budgam district Credit: Tauseef Mustafa/AFP The spokesman said a command and control authority meeting, which decides over the use of nuclear weapons, had been convened for Wednesday, adding: "You all know what that means." The Indian strike 30 miles from the frontier was thought to be the first strike inside its neighbour's territory since their 1971 war. Indian military sources said 12 French Mirage 2000 fighters crossed the line of control dividing the adversaries in Kashmir on their raid into Pakistani territory at around 3.15am local time. Accompanied by an airborne early warning and control aircraft and a mid-air re-fueller, the Mirages reportedly employed 1,000kg precision guided munitions to hit their targets in a mission that lasted a few minutes. Kashmir: why the tension? The Kashmir dispute dates from 1947. The partition of the Indian sub-continent along religious lines led to the formation of India and Pakistan. However, there remained the problem of over 650 states, run by princes, existing within the two newly independent countries. In theory, these princely states had the option of deciding which country to join, or of remaining independent. In practice, the restive population of each province proved decisive. As a result, both India and Pakistan control parts of Kashmir, but claim it in its entirety and have fought two wars over Kashmir since Partition in 1947. Where do we go now? Pakistan have claimed the two pilots are being treated well, according to its state media. One is in hospital and one has been arrested, but there are question marks over where this tit-for-tat will go next. Islamabad has said it does not want to escalate the situation to a full-blown war - a sentiment echoed by those around the world. China is renewing calls for Pakistan and India to take steps to avoid a further deterioration of ties following the latest flare-up. Indian army soldiers arrive near the wreckage of an Indian aircraft after it crashed in Budgam area Credit: Mukhtar Khan/AP Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters at a daily briefing on Wednesday that "both Pakistan and India are important countries in the subcontinent of South Asia." He added that China hopes "they will keep in mind the regional peace and stability, exercise restraint, take effective measures to strengthen dialogue, and maintain two sides' fundamental interests and the regional peace and stability." Lu also said: "We hope they will avoid deterioration of the situation." China is longstanding close ally and arms supplier to Pakistan, but has also sought better ties with its southern neighbor and Asian rival India. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also urged the two countries to exercise restraint and avoid escalation at any cost, and said in a statement he had spoken to foreign ministers from Indian and Pakistan to "encourage both ministers to prioritise direct communication and avoid further military activity." Sign up for your essential, twice-daily briefing from The Telegraph with our free Front Page newsletter. Outcry over refugee deportations as Trump visits Vietnam for summit originally appeared on abcnews.go.com With President Donald Trump in Vietnam this week, advocates are continuing calls for his administration to fully reverse moves to deport refugees who came to the U.S. in the wake of the Vietnam War. The issue has left many in a state of uncertainty over the possibility of deportation and lawmakers joined activists on Capitol Hill Wednesday calling on the administration to stop what they call a targeting of Asian American immigrants. PHOTO: Bill Nguyen, 12, and Jade Nguyen, 9, hold signs at a rally protesting President Donald Trump's deportation policy to deport Vietnamese refugees, at the Mary Queen of Vietnam Church in New Orleans, Dec. 20, 2018. (Gerald Herbert/AP, FILE) The administration is clearly trying to deport as many immigrants as possible, Democratic Rep. Judy Chu of California told ABC News. (MORE: 5 effects on immigration from the new funding bill) The issue centers on the Trump administrations reconsideration of a 2008 bilateral agreement between the U.S. and Vietnam that effectively stopped deportation orders for Vietnamese nationals who arrived in America prior to 1995. Immigration court removal orders for Vietnamese nationals steadily declined throughout most of the Obama administration and have leveled off in recent years. A lawsuit from the nonprofit advocacy group Asian Americans Advancing Justice revealed the administration's wavering posture last year. (MORE: California officials: Immigration facilities lack oversight) The court challenge, brought against the Department of Homeland Security, relies in part on a 2001 Supreme Court ruling that prevents extended detention for immigrants whose country of origin will not accept their return. Its part of a larger practice and pattern that we have seen with this administration," said Phi Nguyen, one of the lawyers who brought the class action lawsuit. "Theres a lot of, I think, abuse of power. In court documents from April of last year, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official acknowledged the agencys efforts to remove Vietnamese nationals who had previous orders of removal. Story continues But in September, the same official said senior ICE officials had met with the Vietnamese government and determined they could not carry out the removals. ICE has no arrests policy specific to particular nationalities, ICE spokesperson Brendan Raedy said in response to questions from ABC News. ICE remains committed to directing its enforcement resources to those aliens posing the greatest risk to the safety and security of the United States. Concern over deportation orders has prompted action from within Vietnamese communities across the country. In recent months, Vietnamese Americans rallied in Seattle, New Orleans and Orange County, California. PHOTO: Mary Nguyen, a Vietnamese community activist, chants at a rally protesting President Trump's deportation policy to deport Vietnamese refugees, at the Mary Queen of Vietnam Church in New Orleans, Dec. 20, 2018. (Gerald Herbert/AP, FILE) Our families came to America as war-torn refugees, after narrowly escaping the horrors of the Vietnam War, said Matt Nguyen, a local community activist who participated in the Orange County rally and formerly worked on refugee rights for the U.S. State Department. Trumps new policy reopens old wounds and inflicts incredible pain on our community, he said. The Vietnam embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The continuing battles pose additional strain for Trump's Republican Party after the traditionally conservative voting patterns of the Vietnamese American community were disrupted in the 2018 midterm elections. Congresswoman condemns first daughters comments to Fox News on Green New Deals living wage guarantee Without calling her out outright, the Democratic freshman congresswoman and Twitter wonder Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday rebuked the first daughter Ivanka Trump for sounding off on something she could never truly understand: working for a living wage. Describing her expertise as a person who actually worked for tips and hourly wages, Ocasio-Cortez essentially pointed out that Ivanka Trump has never had to work a minimum wage job in her life and that her comments on the Green New Deal jobs guarantee rang hollow. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Imagine attacking a jobs guarantee by saying people prefer to earn money, Ocasio-Cortez later tweeted. Trump hadwaded into the Green New Deal debate on Monday during an interview with Steve Hilton on Fox News. I dont think most Americans, in their heart, want to be given something. Ive spent a lot of time traveling around this country over the last four years. People want to work for what they get, Trump responded to Hiltons question about the Green New Deal. So, I think that this idea of a guaranteed minimum is not something most people want. They want the ability to be able to secure a job. They want the ability to live in a country wheres theres the potential for upward mobility. Ocasio-Cortezs Green New Deal proposal, which she launched with the Massachusetts senator Ed Markey this month, seeks to eliminate greenhouse gas pollution in the United States over the next decade while also addressing inequality with a job guarantee program to assure a living wage job to every person who wants one. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez described her experience as a person who actually worked for tips and hourly wages. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP Dozens of progressive lawmakers have endorsed the blueprint and young climate activists have launched an ambitious push to convince others to sign up. Republicans have condemned it, and some Democrats have said it is not feasible in the 10-year timeframe proposed. Story continues Facing a torrent of criticism following the Fox News interview, Trump backpedaled on Tuesday, tweeting that she supported a minimum wage, just not a minimum guarantee for people unwilling to work, which was the question asked of me. That did not appear to be the question asked of her nor what she originally said. In Fox News video, Hilton says: Youve got people who will see that offer from the Democrats, from the progressive Democrats, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Heres the Green New Deal, heres the guarantee of a job, and think, Yeah, thats what I want, its that simple. What do you say to those people? While charges against New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft for soliciting prostitution brought national attention to the issue of sex trafficking on Friday, data, expert opinion and cases from around the USA show how widespread the problem is. Sex trafficking accounted for 6,081 of the more than 8,500 reported cases of human trafficking in the United States in 2017, according to statistics from the National Human Trafficking Hotline. There is no official estimate of the total number of human trafficking victims in the U.S. Polaris, a nonprofit that operates the hotline on human trafficking, estimates that the total number of victims nationally reaches into the hundreds of thousands when estimates of both adults and minors and sex trafficking and labor trafficking are aggregated. Illicit massage or spa businesses, similar to the ones in the Florida case, were the top location or industry where sex trafficking occurred in 2017, with 714 reported cases, according to the hotline's data. More than 9,000 illicit massage businesses operate in every state around the country, bringing in a stunning $2.5 billion each year, according to estimates in a 2018 report by Polaris on trafficking in these businesses. "It's not accurate to understand these cases as local," Bradley Myles, CEO of Polaris, told USA TODAY on Friday. "The places are being overlooked and underestimated." More: 'Were talking tens of millions of dollars': Sex spas are big business, investigator says Characteristics of the average illegal spa that Polaris details fit with how prosecutors described ones in Florida. Ten spas were shut down in Orlando, Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast after several months of investigation revealed women there were in "sexual servitude," according to arrest records. At Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida, where Kraft allegedly paid for sexual services, women many of them from China lived in the spa and were not permitted to leave, according to Martin County Sheriff Will Snyder. Story continues Kraft, who has been charged but not arrested, denied the allegation. He is one of the hundreds of alleged clients facing charges in the recent Florida stings. More: Robert Kraft investigation: What we know about Patriots owner's sex solicitation allegations Like some of the spas that allegedly engaged in sex trafficking in Florida, the average illicit massage business is connected to at least one other, according to Polaris. Myles said most are tied to larger criminal networks that have links to the countries where many of the women at the spas are from. Many of the women are coerced to work in the businesses and often earn no wages and have no autonomy, Myles said. "These girls are there all day long, into the evening. They cant leave and they are performing sex acts," Vero Beach Police Chief David Currey said of the investigation. "Some of them may tell us theyre OK, but theyre not." Beyond sex trafficking at just massage spas, the United States prosecutes hundreds of cases each year and wins scores of convictions on charges of trafficking with respect to slavery and sex trafficking of children by force, fraud or coercion, according to an analysis of federal records by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. In fiscal year 2018, 189 cases resulted in convictions, according to TRACs data. Here's a look at how sex trafficking has affected areas across the country: 'Mecca of sex trafficking' In March last year, a report estimated 340 young adults and children have been victims of sex trafficking in Milwaukee in a four-year period. "We've heard from different sources that we're the mecca of sex trafficking, but we need to be able to measure that," Mallory O'Brien, director of the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission, which participated in the report, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel at the time. "This was our opportunity to do that," she said. Research found 340 people ages 25 and younger who were confirmed or believed to have been victims of sex trafficking in Milwaukee between Jan. 1, 2013, and Dec. 31, 2016. Overall in Wisconsin, child welfare workers confirmed 99 incidents of children and youth sex trafficking statewide from June 2017 through August 2018, the state Department of Children and Families said in January. Backpage and effects of its shutdown The CEO and co-founder of Backpage.com, Carl Ferrer, pleaded guilty in April to charges of facilitating prostitution and money laundering after the Justice Department seized the controversial online classifieds site. The website's other co-founders Michael Lacey and James Larkin, as well as five other executives, faced 93 charges involving facilitating prostitution through the Backpage site and money laundering. While some praised Backpages demise as a blow to an abusive industry, sex workers across the United States and Canada swarmed social media to air concerns rarely heard in political discourse: To them, Backpages demise meant the end of safeguards and a reliable revenue stream in a profession thats not going anywhere. More: Sex workers 'devastated,' look to alternatives after Backpage closure Theyre devastated, Laura Dilley, executive director of PACE, a Vancouver-based nonprofit that advocates for decriminalizing prostitution, told the Arizona Republic in April. While many sex workers said they would keep posting on smaller websites, they also worried about the future. "Theres a lot of uncertainty; a lot of grief and fear," Jelena Vermilion, a sex worker based outside of Toronto told the Arizona Republic in April. "A lot of people are essentially planning to be homeless, planning how to fall gracefully as much as possible." On the flip side, Backpage's shutdown affected law enforcement trying to help victims of sex trafficking. Before Backpage was terminated, Cpl. Chris Heid could locate sex trafficking victims exclusively on the website. Backpage was responsive to the Maryland State Police corporal's requests for records and his agency's warrants and subpoenas. When he asked the site to remove advertisements he determined were trafficking-related, moderators complied sometimes within minutes. While anti-trafficking operations by Maryland State Police yielded three more arrests in 2018 (when Backpage was seized) than the year prior, the number of victims police came in contact with dropped 38 percent, from 113 in 2017 to 70 last year, the Salisbury Daily Times reported in February. 'Theres a place for them. They just dont know it yet' Opened in February 2018, Sanctum House became the first human trafficking shelter of its kind in southeastern Michigan. Survivors who come to live there enter a two-year program that includes drug and alcohol rehabilitation as well as education, counseling, job training and support. Speaking with the Detroit Free Press, founder Edee Franklin described human trafficking as a snare of tiny strings that pulls victims back again and again. One by one, she's trying to snip those strings to free women who want to get out, but have yet to find a way because they don't have a safe place to live or are without access to drug or alcohol rehab, financial security, job training or education. "There are women out there right now that are being raped and brutalized and they are saying, 'Dear God, get me out of this.' And theres a place for them. They just dont know it yet," Franklin said in December 2017. "Somebody is going to say to them whether its at the jail or the ER or the judge somebody is going to say: 'Well, you can go to a three-night shelter or you can go to jail or you can go to a detox for three weeks. You can go back to your pimp, you can go to the streets or to your abusive family or you can go to Sanctum House if you would like to change your life." Need help? See something? The National Human Trafficking Hotline is confidential, toll-free and available 24/7 in more than 200 languages. Call: 1-888-373-7888 Text: BeFree (233733) Chat: humantraffickinghotline.org Contributing: Cara Kelly and Bart Jansen, USA TODAY; Mary Helen Moore and Will Greenlee, Treasure Coast Newspapers; Ashley Luthern and Mary Spicuzza, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Megan Cassidy and Richard Ruelas, The Arizona Republic; Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: It's not just the Florida spa investigation allegedly tied to Robert Kraft. Sex trafficking is rampant across US By Paul Carsten and Alexis Akwagyiram ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari won a second term at the helm of Africa's largest economy and top oil producer, the electoral commission chairman said on Wednesday, following an election marred by delays, logistical glitches and violence. He defeated his main opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar, a businessman and former vice president. Buhari secured 56 percent of votes, compared with 41 percent for Atiku, a candidate for the People's Democratic Party (PDP). Buhari faces a daunting to-do list, including reviving an economy still struggling to recover from a 2016 recession and quelling a decade-old Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands of people in the northeast, many of them civilians. Addressing supporters at the campaign headquarters of his All Progressive Congress (APC) party in the capital Abuja, he promised to tackle these issues. "The new administration will intensify its efforts in security, restructuring the economy and fighting corruption," Buhari said after being declared the winner. He urged his supporters "not to gloat or humiliate" the opposition. A message on Buhari's Twitter feed showed a picture of him waving to supporters and a simple message "4+4" as he embarks on his second four-year term. The president won by 3.9 million votes, having garnered 15.2 million to Atiku's 11.3 million. The election turnout was 35.6 percent, the electoral commission said, which compared with 44 percent in the 2015 presidential election. "Muhammadu Buhari of the APC, having satisfied the requirement of the law and scored the highest number of votes is hereby declared the winner," Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), told election officials and reporters in the early hours of Wednesday. Buhari's supporters gathered at the party's headquarters to celebrate, many of them holding flags and dancing. Story continues "As a youth of Nigeria, I believe this is the way forward for this country and for my generation and that is why we choose to bring him back for the second time," said Juwarat Abubakar, a Buhari supporter. Osita Chidoka, a representative of the PDP and its defeated candidate Atiku, repeated the party's stance that it does not accept the election result. "We will explore all options including the belief that the legal process in Nigeria is one of the ways to resolve issues," he said. Buhari's party has said the opposition was trying to discredit the returns from Saturday's election. The accusations have ratcheted up tensions in a country whose six decades of independence have been marked by long periods of military rule, coups and secessionist wars. Observers from the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union and the United Nations appealed to all parties to await the official results, expected later this week, before filing complaints. The candidate with the most votes nationwide is declared the winner as long as they have at least one-quarter of the vote in two-thirds of Nigeria's 36 states and the capital, Abuja. Otherwise there is a second-round run-off. Buhari secured enough votes to meet both requirements. MARRED BY VIOLENCE Analysts had forecast a tough race for Buhari, but his comfortable victory capped a remarkable turnaround. Buhari, 76, took office in 2015 and sought a second term with pledges to fight corruption and overhaul Nigeria's creaking road and rail network. Atiku, 72, had said he would aim to double the size of the economy to $900 billion by 2025, privatise the state oil company and expand the role of the private sector. Voting took place after a week-long delay which the election commission said was due to its inability to get ballots and results sheets to all parts of the country. The event - Africa's largest democratic exercise - was also marred by violence with at least 47 people killed since Saturday, according to the Situation Room, a monitoring organisation linking various civil society groups. Some deaths resulted from clashes between groups allied to the leading parties and the police over the theft of ballot boxes and allegations of vote fraud. Police have not yet provided official casualty figures. In his address, Buhari said he was saddened by the loss of lives during the elections and commended Nigeria's security agencies for their work "as severely overstretched as they are." More than 260 people have been killed since the start of the election campaign in October. The toll so far is lower than in earlier elections, but the worst violence occurred previously only after results were announced. The vote was also affected by problems with smart-card readers that authenticate voters' fingerprints. That meant voting in a small number of precincts was put off to Sunday. U.S. observers said the week-long delay in holding the election damaged public trust in the process and probably reduced Saturday's voter turnout, while the European Union said the vote was hit by "serious operational shortcomings". (Additional reporting by Camillus Eboh and Felix Onuah; writing by James Macharia and Alexis Akwagyiram; editing by Grant McCool and Neil Fullick) By Camillus Eboh and Felix Onuah ABUJA (Reuters) - President Muhammadu Buhari took an early lead on Monday in initial official results from Nigeria's presidential election, but the party of his main challenger quickly rejected the tallies as "incorrect and unacceptable". Saturday's election, which U.S. observers said had lost some credibility after being abruptly delayed by a week by officials citing organizational glitches, was expected to be Nigeria's tightest since the end of military rule two decades ago. At stake is control of Africa's top oil producer and biggest economy. Northeast Nigeria has also been wracked by a decade-long battle with Islamist militants that has spilled into neighboring countries and led to the deployment of a regional task force. Buhari, 76, is a former military ruler seeking a second term on an anti-corruption platform, while Atiku Abubakar, 72, a businessman and former vice president, has pledged to expand the role of the private sector. Initial results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday put Buhari in the lead, having won in seven of Nigeria's 36 states, the commission said. Atiku prevailed in four states and the capital, Abuja, which is not a state but treated as a separate district in elections. Buhari led Atiku by 51 percent to 46 percent, according to a Reuters tally based on the figures given by the commission. In provisional results announced in state capitals but not yet confirmed by the commission, Buhari had won four states to Atiku's one. In the northern state of Kano, hundreds of people celebrated Buhari's provisional lead in what was billed as one of the key battlegrounds in this year's elections. "Kano is for Buhari," Wahab Abdulawal, a trader, said. Asked about the early results, Buhari told reporters: "I don't want to depend on rumors. ... We will rather wait for INEC to announce the (full) results." But the chairman of Atiku's People's Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, said the election tallies announced so far were "incorrect and unacceptable". "The results are being manipulated and canceled for APC to retain power," he told reporters, referring to Buhari's party. Buhari's All Progressives Congress (APC) said in a statement that the PDP had "embarked on a cynical plan to discredit INEC as a backup plan in the likely event of them losing the election". The outcome, expected this week, appears to hinge on which man voters trust most to revamp an economy still struggling from a 2016 recession. A credible and relatively calm vote would open a new chapter in the checkered political history of Nigeria, where nearly six decades of independence have been tarnished by military coups, endemic corruption and secessionist movements. But doubts rose when the election was postponed on Feb. 16, just hours before it was due to begin, with authorities citing problems in delivering ballot papers and results sheets. 'NEGATIVE EFFECTS' The week-long delay in holding Nigeria's presidential election damaged public trust in the process and probably reduced Saturday's voter turnout, U.S. observers said. The civil society group YIAGA AFRICA, which monitored the election, projected turnout at 36 to 40 percent. Situation Room, a monitoring mission comprising over 70 civic groups, said on Sunday that as many as 39 people had been killed in election-related violence, and more than 260 in all since the start of the campaign in October. Voting, however, took place "in a generally peaceful environment", said Hailemariam Desalegn, head of the African Union observer mission and a former premier of Ethiopia. "There were scattered incidents of violence but it was not seen as pervasive on Election Day," said Derek Mitchell, president of the U.S. observer mission. Previous Nigerian elections have been marred by violence among supporters of different political parties that at times sparked conflict between Christians and Muslims. Security forces are currently stretched by the Islamist insurgency as well as by communal violence and banditry in other areas. Hours before polls opened, explosions rocked Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, epicenter of the insurgency. In neighboring Yobe, residents of the town of Geidam fled a militant attack around the same time. Scattered violence and problems with smart-card readers that authenticate voters' fingerprints meant voting in a small number of precincts was put off to Sunday, Mitchell said. "Serious operational shortcomings put an undue burden on voters," Maria Arena, the EU's chief observer and member of the European parliament, told reporters. (Reporting by Camillus Eboh and Felix Onuah; Additional reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram, Paul Carsten and Kazeem Sanni; Writing by James Macharia; Editing by by Mark Heinrich and Peter Cooney) CUCUTA, Colombia (AP) Next year in Caracas? As Venezuela's opposition rekindles street protests and builds powerful international support, the millions who fled are redirecting their gaze toward their beloved homeland in hopes that their exile will prove short-lived. Diomira Becerra has been watching the events unfold from Colombia, eyeing every development for a hint of how soon she might be able to pack her bags. She left three years ago and has built a life for her family in the border city of Cucuta. But the country that took them in has never quite felt like home. "I don't know how it's going to happen, but next Christmas will be in Venezuela," Becerra said. The high expectations of an exile community that is over 3 million strong are fueling a renewed push from abroad to bring about change in Venezuela. Some like Becerra are tempted to return already, wanting to join in protests. Others, like exiled lawmaker Gaby Arellano, are playing a key role in collecting humanitarian aid. Even many who left long ago and cannot see themselves returning have begun imagining how they might contribute to Venezuela's recovery. "I want to put in my little grain of sand," said Pedro Morales, a gastroenterologist who has lived in Miami for over two decades. In the throes of an economic downturn worse than the U.S. Great Depression, Venezuela will need the knowledge, contacts and financial resources many exiles took with them. One prominent economist predicts Venezuela will need a $60 billion cash infusion just to begin a turnaround. At least a small portion of that could come from exiles eager to invest in Venezuelan businesses, send remittances or buy property. And yet even as Venezuelans like Becerra daydream of spending next Christmas back home with relatives they haven't seen in years, they are also steeling themselves for the possibility that Nicolas Maduro will manage to keep his grip on power. One month after opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself Venezuela's interim president, the military has shown little sign that it plans to revolt against Maduro. Story continues At least four people were killed and 300 injured over the weekend when clashes broke out between state security forces, armed pro-government groups and the opposition as they tried to bring food and medical supplies into the country. Like the exile group they most resemble Cubans Venezuelans are all too aware that their current status as emigres could become a permanent condition. Cubans for decades toasted to "Next year in Cuba," a cry that is uttered less and less as their exile from the communist island drags into its 60th year. Each time Becerra gets the urge to pack her bags, she talks herself out of it. Her daughter and mother, a cancer patient, are comfortable in Colombia. An opposition activist, she wonders if pro-Maduro compatriots might still hold a grudge against her. In her mind, she questions if she'd even be returning to the same country. "It has been 20 years of this," she said. "How do you change 20 years?" Venezuelans began fleeing two decades ago, when revolutionary Hugo Chavez rose to power, in a familiar pattern: Those with money and connections fled first, often to the United States, while the poorer left later, by bus and on foot to Colombia. The exodus of Venezuelans is now one of the largest mass migrations in the world an estimated 5,000 cross into Colombia every day, about the same size as the entire migrant caravan from Central America to the U.S. last fall. The United Nations estimates there are 3.4 million Venezuelans abroad, a conservative assessment based on government figures, though the actual number could be as high as 5.5 million. A study of 2013 Census Bureau data by the Pew Hispanic Center found that Venezuelans in the U.S. have higher levels of education than the general population and a higher median income than most Latinos in the country, an indicator of the skill sets and capital they can contribute to their homeland. Unlike the Cubans who fled decades ago, many still have fresh memories of Venezuela and want to put their knowledge to use. "There is a lot of international know-how waiting outside Venezuela," said Daniel Lansberg-Rodriguez, a Venezuela expert who teaches at Northwestern University. Past experience shows that once a Latin American emigre has been abroad for more than five years, they are very unlikely to return, said Manuel Orozco, director of the Migration, Remittances and Development Program at The Inter-American Dialogue in Washington. But other countries that have experienced protracted domestic conflicts saw a boom in remittances once political stability was restored and Venezuela could too, if a more effective payment network is established, Orozco said. Still, he warned, it will fall short of what is needed by a nation in such dire straits. "The diaspora think they can just come and redo the country in a short period of time it's just not going to be that way," he said. Frank Carreno, an actor and businessman, said that after 15 years in Miami, where his immediate family is now all located, he wouldn't move back. But he would like to open a business in Venezuela as he did 10 years ago when he set up three vocal training studios. He closed them in 2013 as the country's economic crisis began to sink in. "I'd return to invest," he said. "But to live, no. It would mean starting from scratch again. I have my family here and it's just not feasible." Others, like Gabriela Alvarez, 32, who has lived in Madrid for the last two years, envision themselves returning but want more than just political change. She said she'd want Venezuela's crime rate among the highest in the world to improve and to be assured that she and her family could get adequate medical care. "Venezuela needs us," said Alvarez, who used to work as a producer at a Venezuelan television channel. "The best thing we could do is return to help the country recover." Venezuelans abroad are already playing a key role in helping Guaido consolidate his position as the country's interim president. In the years leading up to his proclamation in January, dozens of opposition leaders fled under the threat of arrest. They used their platform outside Venezuela to raise awareness with international leaders and are now helping execute Guaido's mandates, like findings ways to gather humanitarian aid. "Exile feels isolating, but we've been able to reinvent ourselves," said exiled lawmaker turned activist Arellano. Becerra, who can see the Venezuelan mountains from her new home in Cucuta, said her young daughter Hillary often asks when they can go back. She was 4 when they left, but has idyllic childhood memories of her homeland. Becerra struggles with how to respond: "How do I explain to my 7-year-old daughter that the country she remembers doesn't exist anymore?" A trained occupational therapist, in exile Becerra has done everything from dog walking to selling corn pastries at the Simon Bolivar International Bridge where masses of Venezuelans enter each day. She says her biggest wish is for her family to spend Christmas together again, gathered like they used to at her grandmother's house. But she knows it's more complicated than that: Would she be able to earn a living and provide for her daughter? Could she just abandon the life she has built in Colombia after three painstaking years? "You get your bags ready each morning but unpack them by the evening," she said. "It's wanting to go home. But it's not the same home." By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There's a new cartoon up on the wall in John Bolton's West Wing office, one that depicts U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser shaking maracas and dreaming of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro behind bars in an orange jumpsuit. Until now, the trophy wall has been dominated by mementos associated with Bolton's signature foreign policy fight: Iran. One cartoon features an ayatollah hearing about Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. The new addition is a sign of how Bolton's hawkish focus has zeroed in on a new target - getting Maduro to leave Venezuela. It's a battle he has waged on Twitter, where his acid-tongued trolling of the socialist leader has made him one of the Trump administration's fiercest voices on the issue. Since January, Bolton has fired off more than 130 withering missives directed at Maduro, accounting for three quarters of all his Twitter activity in that time and more than a third of all his tweets since Trump named him national security adviser in March 2018. A spokesman for Bolton declined comment on the strategy. The United States has led an international effort to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as the legitimate interim president of Venezuela, considering Maduro's 2018 re-election a sham. More than a month later, Maduro clings to power, with the support of his military. Bolton, a veteran neoconservative who critics call a warmonger, has tweeted far more about Venezuela in his time as national security adviser than any other topic, including Iran (34 tweets) or the Middle East and Syria (29 tweets). It was Bolton's most viral Venezuela tweet that was the genesis for the cartoon from Miami newspaper Diario Las Americas that now graces his office. "I wish Nicolas Maduro and his top advisors a long, quiet retirement, living on a nice beach somewhere far from Venezuela," Bolton said, a zing that has since been retweeted 19,000 times and liked 39,000 times. The next day, Bolton talked about the tweet with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, and added a threat: "The sooner he takes advantage of that, the sooner he's likely to have a nice, quiet retirement on a pretty beach, rather than being in some other beach area like Guantanamo," Bolton said. In Caracas, cartoonist Fernando Pinilla heard about Bolton's warning and was inspired. "Guantanamero ... Maduro Guantanamero ...," Bolton sings in the caricature - a play on both the well-known Cuban song, and the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay. "It was easy to imagine that it would be the soundtrack of that arrest, which is our dream," said Pinilla, who said he was surprised and honored when he learned from Reuters that his work was hanging on Bolton's wall. 'I DREAM OF BOLTON' Bolton's war of words has rankled his targets. Earlier this month, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza held up his phone at a United Nations press conference, brandishing a Bolton tweet warning countries and companies against buying oil and gold from Maduro's government. "What hes trying to do here is give orders," Arreaza complained to reporters. Arreaza follows Bolton on Twitter. Bolton does not follow him back. "Bolton's gangster-style language and threats are proof of the most sublime diplomatic practice. How regrettable that US foreign policy has fallen into the hands of such a gang," Arreaza tweeted last week. While Bolton has far fewer followers than Maduro - 543,000 to Maduro's 3.5 million - Bolton has stronger stats on "engagement," a measurement of how readers connect with a message, noted Matthias Luefkens, who produces an annual "Twiplomacy" study on how world leaders use Twitter. "His language is very bold, very daring, direct. It's not diplomatic language that he uses," said Luefkens, who works for the public relations firm BCW Global in Geneva. The strategy bypasses the time-sucking layers of approvals needed to release a traditional White House statement and also side-steps the media. "It's the Trump formula of avoiding the gatekeepers," said Philip Seib, who writes about diplomacy and social media at the University of Southern California's School for Communication and Journalism. Bolton's brash style won fans in Caracas among supporters of opposition leader Guaido, like Martha Anez. She gushed about the mustachioed Trump adviser as she welcomed her friends to a crochet circle in her home in a well-to-do district earlier this month. "I dream of Bolton!" Anez quipped. "The first thing I do in the morning, even before my coffee, is check whether or not the gringos have said they will intervene. Here we need a square in honor of Bolton! Because he has helped us," she said. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; additional reporting by Sarah Marsh and Shaylim Valderrama in Caracas and Michelle Nichols in New York; Editing by Mary Milliken and Grant McCool) [Question]I'm in the Navy, and I chose to enroll in the military's new blended retirement system last year. How can I make the most of the new plan? [Answer]To get the most out of the new retirement system, make sure you contribute enough to the federal Thrift Savings Plan to qualify for a matching contribution--something the old system doesn't offer--from the Department of Defense. You can also boost your retirement savings the longer you stay in the Navy. Under the new blended retirement system, you--or anyone who joined the military in 2018 or later--will receive a smaller lifetime pension than you would under the old system. You'll receive an annual pension of at least 40% of your base pay if you stay for 20 years, or 60% if you stay for 30 years. But you'll also receive extra money in your Thrift Savings Plan, the tax-advantaged retirement-savings plan for members of the military and federal employees. Any member of the military can contribute to the TSP, but people who are covered by the blended retirement system will receive a matching contribution from the Department of Defense. The department will automatically contribute 1% of your base pay to the TSP after 60 days of service, and it will match your TSP contributions for the next 4% of your pay, which can continue for up to 26 years of service. You can keep the entire balance in the TSP--including the government contributions--as long as you remain in the military for at least two years. Because the TSP benefits are matching contributions, people in the blended retirement system need to take some extra steps to receive the maximum--specifically, you have to contribute 5% of your pay each year to the TSP to receive a full match from the Defense Department. Try to contribute at least enough money to receive the full match each year. After all, that's free money that can help you boost your savings. And if possible, it's a good idea to invest even more in this tax-advantaged retirement-savings plan. The government offered a new retirement plan after finding that fewer than 20% of service members stayed long enough in the military to qualify for a pension. Under the traditional retirement system, service members receive a lifetime income of at least 50% of their base pay if they remain in the military for at least 20 years, and up to 75% pay for 30 years of service. But if they leave before 20 years, they don't receive any retirement pay. People who joined the military before 2006 or didn't opt in to the blended retirement system are still covered under the traditional plan. Story continues People who chose to remain in the traditional retirement system don't receive matching TSP contributions from the Defense Department. But they can still benefit from contributing to this low-cost, tax-advantaged retirement plan and can keep all of the money that is growing tax-deferred in the TSP, no matter when they leave the military. (You'll have to pay a 10% early-withdrawal penalty if you withdraw money from the TSP before age 59 , unless you leave your job after age 55.) Service members--whether in the new or old system--can contribute up to $19,000 to the TSP in 2019 (up to $25,000 if age 50 or older). And if they're deployed and receiving tax-exempt pay while serving in a combat zone, they can contribute up to $56,000 to the TSP for the year. Deployed service members can also invest up to $10,000 in the military's Savings Deposit Program; they'll receive 10% annual interest while deployed and for up to three months after their return. For more information about the Thrift Savings Plan, the military's Savings Deposit Program for deployed service members, and other special saving and investing opportunities for members of the military, see the newest edition of our Financial Field Manual. I just updated the manual to include strategies for making the most of the new retirement system and how to make the most of other financial benefits, such as low-cost life insurance, education benefits, mortgages requiring no down payment, special legal protections and income-tax benefits. You'll also learn about strategies to protect yourself from scams targeting military families, how to plan financially for deployment and ways to prepare your finances for the transition to civilian life. SPECIAL REPORT: Personal Finance for Military Families EDITOR'S PICKS Copyright 2019 The Kiplinger Washington Editors By Maria Caspani and Colette Luke NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly 60 percent of Americans said transgender people should be allowed to serve in the U.S. armed forces, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll conducted ahead of a congressional panel's review, set for Wednesday, of Trump administration curbs on transgender service. The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 22 ruled in favor of letting the Trump administration enforce its policy of barring many transgender people from the military. Implementation of the policy has been delayed by legal wrangling in a lower court case that the Supreme Court did not directly address. The high court's ruling and the President Donald Trump's policy have dismayed some transgender service members, such as Army Sergeant First Class Kai Landeros, 38. In the service since 2005 and twice deployed to Iraq, he is based at Fort Huachuca in Arizona, "It's just disappointing," Landeros told Reuters. "You put forth your best effort every single day, something that you love doing and then to be told you shouldn't be in the military ... when you are fully capable and competent of serving. I dont see why there should be an issue," he said. In the poll, conducted from Jan. 25 to Feb. 16, 59 percent of respondents said transgender people should be able to serve, while 24 percent said they should not. Of those in favor of service, 67 percent said the military should also provide medical care related to gender transition. The poll showed a partisan split, with 79 percent of Democrats in favor of transgender troops serving versus 38 percent of Republicans. Republican support has grown since 2017, when 32 percent backed transgender personnel. Trump in 2017 announced a plan to ban transgender people from the military, reversing Democratic former President Barack Obama's policy of allowing transgender troops to serve openly and get medical transition care. In March 2018, Trump backed a revised policy from then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. It banned, in some circumstances, transgender people with gender dysphoria, or distress due to internal conflict between physical gender and gender identity. Story continues The Mattis policy also banned transgender people who seek or have undergone gender transition steps. But it allowed people diagnosed with gender dysphoria during the Obama policy to stay in the military and serve according to their gender identity. After several federal courts blocked both versions of administration's policy as unconstitutional, the government asked the Supreme Court to intervene. It lifted lower court injunctions, but did not resolve the underlying question of the legality of the Republican president's plan. U.S. Navy Master-at-Arms Matthew McCarty, based at a Naval station in South Carolina and in the service since 2013, said Trump's ban came as a stab in the back. "Theyre treating it like were mutants and we're not able to serve just like everyone else next to us," said McCarty, 25. Asked for comment, a Defense Department spokeswoman defended the Trump policy, saying it is not a ban on transgender service members, but a policy on gender dysphoria. Congressional Democrats have condemned the policy as discriminatory. Wednesday's hearing of the Democratic-led House of Representatives Armed Services Committee will include the testimony of several transgender service personnel as well as members of the Trump administration including James Stewart, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness. The Reuters/Ipsos poll surveyed 8,823 adults online in English across the United States and it has a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of 2 percentage points. (Additional reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and David Gregorio) South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuter Harry J. Kazianis Security, Asia Moon Jae-in does not get nearly enough of the credit for forging peace in Northeast Asia. And yet, without Moon playing the vital role of peacemaker, the detente we see today between Washington and Pyongyang would never have occurred. How the Moon Miracle Made the Second Trump-Kim Summit a Reality He just doesnt care who gets the credit. Thats the truth. Thats what a senior South Korean government official said recently when I asked what President Moon Jae-in thought of how people perceive his role in helping to craft a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, and specifically how much credit he deserves. I would say Moons philosophy is that he doesnt care who gets credit, a Nobel Prize, awards, fame or recognition for the changes we are seeing here in Korea. All he wants is a day where the thought of war on the peninsula is impossible to fathom. We might just as well call President Moon Mr. Impossible. Thats the best way to describe what is taking place today in Northeast Asiaa shift that at the end of 2017 would have seemed inconceivable. North Korea has not fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in over a year nor tested a nuclear weapon. There have been three inter-Korean summits with a fourth likely coming soon. Moreover, there have been two U.S.-North Korea summits counting the one about to happen in Vietnam. There seems to be a once-in-a-generation chance to forge a different relationship with the Hermit Kingdom, with Moon being essentially the man in the middle between Pyongyang and Washington. Thats no easy task. While it was clear Moon entered office seeking a new beginning with his brethren in the north, South Korean officials in Seoul right around this time a year ago always made it a point to explain that Moon did not want to be perceived as a mere go-between when it came to U.S.-North Korea ties. As one official based in Seoul explained: Our job is not to be seen as carrying water for Washington or Pyongyang. That could get complicated and unstable. We are happy to help as we can, but that cant be our role. Story continues How times have changedand for the better. In a strange mix of fate, time, and circumstance, Moon has emerged as perhaps the only person who understands on the most intimate level what President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un are actually thinking about the difficult issues that impede better relations. Thanks to the January 2018 New Years Day speech opening the door to talks, Moon jumped at the chance and leveraged the Olympic Games in South Korea to his advantage, clearing the way for much-needed dialogue. Those successful games paved the way for the first inter-Korean summit, where Kim and Moon met at the Demilitarized Zone, with Moon making history crossing into North Korea and shaking hands with Chairman Kim. And lets not gloss over the rough patches Moon has had to smooth over. Dont forget how a piece of North Korean propaganda nearly scuttled the first Trump-Kim summit, with Washington canceling the summit in retaliation. Absent Moons efforts, holding what can only be called a snap summit with Kim to break the impasse, we might not be talking about a Hanoi Summit after all. Of course, while Moons motives are to foster peace and prosperity as well as an end to decades of hostile relations between Washington and Pyongyang, there is a much deeper driving force at work. I suspect Moon looks at the north with a mixture of hope and fear all wrapped into one, and that goes way beyond denuclearization. He likely is concerned that: -North Koreas new way, as laid out in Kims 2019 New Years Day Address, could mean that if talks with Washington hit an impasse, Kim will simply decide to go all in on Chinese economic aid and assistance at some point. Seoul looks at the north, knowing it has few options for large scale economic growth now that its economy has reached first-world status and its demographics are less than ideal. Furthermore, North Korea could open trillions of dollars in potential profits for the south. In many respects, there is a race to Pyongyang that is now just beginning, and who is on the ground first when North Korea opens for business could stand to gain profits beyond anyones wildest dreams. -Indeed, Moons strategy towards the north goes way beyond just trying to forge better relations and economic ties. I suspect Moon believes the best way to ensure North Korea is no longer a military threat is to tie its fortunes to not only South Korean investment but eventually the United States, the European Union, Japan and other nations eager to do business someday in the north. Pyongyangs behavior would need to change knowing its economic future depended on the goodwill of corporations from nations that simply would not invest if we went back to the days of missile and nuclear weapons tests. Additionally, Pyongyang would need to clean up its human rights record. If those challenges can be addressed, and if Moon is thinking long-term, he might be gambling that rapid economic growth could be the ultimate security guarantee for the Kim regime, all thanks to South Korea and its alliesand not China. -In his heart of hearts, Moon is a Korean nationalistand I mean that in a positive way. Moon believes that the Korean people must solve their divide largely on their own terms, avoiding outside powers dictating how reunification or even a less ambitious confederation would unfold. Washington or Beijing might not like that approach, but a Korean-led process of someday rebuilding a nation still dealing with its colonial legacy and its division after World War II would be one that is surely more sustainable and embraceable over the long-term. Whatever happens in the days ahead, if there was a different person sitting in the Blue House, then geopolitical events on the Korean Peninsula might have unfolded very differently. The Moon Miracle is realand we should embrace it. Harry J. Kazianis is Director of Korea Studies at the Center for the National Interest. You can follow him on Twitter: @Grecianformula. Image: Reuters Read full article WASHINGTON Pentagon officials were chastised on Capitol Hill on Wednesday for their strategy to redirect $3.6 billion from military construction projects to build barriers on the southwest border. Robert McMahon, assistant secretary of Defense for sustainment, told lawmakers that construction projects would be delayed but not canceled in response to President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency. The projects chosen will have a minimal effect on readiness to fight, he said. Requests for additional funding will come in Trump's 2020 budget for the Pentagon, McMahon said. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., chairwoman of the panel, immediately challenged McMahon, telling him "you're fooling no one." Adding money to future budgets to pay for the delayed projects amounts to funding the wall without approval from Congress, she said. She accused McMahon of treating members of Congress like "chumps." Border wall divides Texas: Lone Star voters evenly split on need for barrier, poll finds Tough barrier: Trump says the border wall will be tougher to climb than Mount Everest Blocking the build: House passes resolution to stop Trump's emergency declaration McMahon promised a state-by-state list of projects that could be delayed to pay for the wall. The Pentagon began preparing options to build barriers on the southern border last month, anticipating Trump's declaration of a national emergency. Trump wants $5.7 billion to build a wall on the border, and, after failing to negotiate a deal with Congress, he declared the emergency. That allows the administration to tap military accounts that have not spent money on approved construction projects. The White House has said Trump will attempt to access $3.6 billion in military construction money. On Tuesday, the House voted 245-182 to block Trump's declaration of a national emergency along the southern border. But Democrats didnt win enough support from Republicans to overcome Trumps threatened veto. Story continues The national emergency and other measures will free up $8 billion to fund 234 miles of bollard wall, according to the White House. A lengthy legal battle is expected over the president's ability to use the declaration for that purpose. Meanwhile, the number of troops deployed to the border in support of the Department of Homeland Security is growing. There are more than 5,000 personnel deployed to the southwest border, about 2,900 active duty and 2,100 National Guard troops. Their numbers are expected to grow to 6,000 by March. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Money for the wall: Pentagon briefs Congress on impact on military construction projects MORRISVILLE, Pa. A Pennsylvania woman and her teen daughter were charged and arraigned Tuesday in the deaths of five family members including three children following what law enforcement officials say is a possible murder-suicide. The suspects, Shana S. Decree, 45, and Dominique Decree, 19, were taken into custody Monday after the bodies of five relatives were found inside a small apartment in suburban Philadelphia, authorities said. Both admitted to choking victims in separate interviews with police, according to criminal complaints filed as part of the arrests. The mother, Shana Decree, told police that everyone in the apartment, including the children, "wanted to die" and that they were all "talking about suicide." The victims include Shana Decrees children, NaaIrah Smith, 25, and Damon Decree Jr., 13, both of Morrisville; as well as Shana Decrees sister Jamilla Campbell, 45, of Trenton, and Campbells 9-year-old twin daughters Imani and Erika Allen. Each lived in the same apartment with the suspects. An emotional Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub, called the deaths "an unspeakable tragedy" and paused as he discussed the deaths of the children. Weintraub provided an update of the ongoing investigation at a Tuesday afternoon news conference, saying investigators have yet to determine a motive and are awaiting the coroner's report for a cause of death. "As far as what the two defendants contemplated themselves, that would be purely speculation at this point," he said when asked if it were a murder-suicide case. "That is a potentiality though." He noted that police were working some theories, "but it wouldn't be fair for me to speculate." Shana Decree and Dominique Decree are charged with five counts of homicide and one count each of conspiracy in the deaths. Pat O'Niell, a laundry attendant at Canal Laundry, a laundromat down the street from Robert Morris Apartments, looks out the window at the crime scene while customer Jamie Eatoa, waits for laundry to dry. Shana Decree was jailed without bail following a preliminary arraignment early Tuesday morning, while her daughter was still receiving medical care to address injuries to her neck. The daughter was arraigned and jailed without bail Tuesday afternoon. Story continues Start the day smarter: Get USA TODAY's Daily Briefing in your inbox Campbells 17-year-old son Joshua, who also resided in the apartment, was found on Tuesday. Weintraub said the teen is not a suspect in the deaths. The bodies were discovered at about 4 p.m. Monday after a county social worker went to check on the welfare of residents at a unit in the Robert Morris Apartments in Morrisville, about 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia. A maintenance worked unlocked the apartment after there was no response to initial knocks. Police were called to the apartment after two women described as "disoriented," later identified as the suspects, were found in a bed inside. The apartment was found in disarray with broken glass and furniture turned over and clutter throughout, according to the criminal complaints. Police investigate a residence at Robert Morris Apartments where five people were found dead on Monday. Suspects Shana S. Decree, 45, and her daughter Dominique Decree, 19, have been taken into custody and charged with five counts of homicide and one count of conspiracy. Police found all five bodies in a separate bedroom toward the back of the apartment. One of the bodies, a male, was found face up with his head toward the foot of the bed and his right foot through the wall of the bedroom. The other four bodies were found in various spots on the floor, including one female found in a seated position against the bed and another female found under a body. The two suspects agreed to speak with police without lawyers present, according to the complaint. Both the mother and daughter initially denied involvement, but then each admitted to choking some of the victims. Their accounts differ somewhat on who killed whom. Each said Campbell participated in the killings before Dominique Decree choked and killed Campbell. Weintraub declined to discuss what the suspects said to officers, adding that there are no additional suspects in the case. "I just cannot comment on any statements that they might have made. We just feel very confident that we have the two killers locked up that committed these atrocious, atrocious murders." The community reacted with shock Tuesday as police scoured the crime scene. The Robert Morris Apartments are a three-story, red-brick complex on a busy road lined with auto repair shops and a safe-and-lock shop and a bail bonds agency nearby. Nicole Owens, a resident of the apartment building and friend of the family, watched as police took garbage bags from the building. She said she had been under the impression that the family was close-knit. "It's very eerie," she said. "Scary. Shocking." The crime is all people are talking about, said Pat O'Neill, an employee at nearby Canal Laundry. ONeill recalls seeing Shana Decree wash her clothes at the laundromat. When a customer told her about the news Tuesday morning, ONeill initially thought the person was joking. While drugs have been an issue in the area, shes never heard of homicides in the 12 years shes lived in Morrisville. You wouldnt expect a mother and daughter to do this, she said. Thai Hall, 24, grew up in the Robert Morris Apartments. Her mother still lives there, in an apartment near where the crime occurred. Hall said her mother knew the family, often exchanging pleasantries in the hallway. Hall, who now lives in Bristol, and her mother learned of murders on the news last night. Her mother hasnt been able to sleep since, she said. Hall went to school with Naa'Irah Smith, who was killed. Though they weren't close friends, Hall described Smith as a very pretty girl who loved makeup. She kept to herself and "wanted to be successful." Morrisville, a town of less 9,000 people, is a quiet place, Hall said. Nothing exciting happens here, she added. Kim Bachmann, a cashier at Ben's Morrisville Deli, said Morrisville still has its small-town charm. Loyal customers wait outside every morning for the deli to open. But she also feels crime has increased in recent years because of the town's proximity to Trenton, which has struggled with the opioid crisis and drug trafficking. "Like any place in America, there are good parts and bad parts," she said. She can't recall a crime of this magnitude, though. Hall can't remember any violence in the apartment buildings or surrounding neighborhood until now. "How could this happen?" Hall said. "To your own children, to your sister, your nieces. It's just sad." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Unspeakable tragedy': Mom, teen daughter charged with killing five family members in Philadelphia suburb Cardinal George Pell has become the highest-ranking Vatican official ever to be found guilty of child sex crimes, after a unanimous decision by an Australian jury. Here are some of the early reactions to the verdict: - Pell victim - "Like many survivors I have experienced shame, loneliness, depression and struggle. Like many survivors it has taken me years to understand the impact upon my life. At some point we realise that we trusted someone we should have feared and we fear those genuine relationships that we should trust." -- Former choirboy who Pell was found to have assaulted, and who has not been identified - Pell's lawyer - "Cardinal George Pell has always maintained his innocence and continues to do so. An appeal has been lodged against his conviction and he will await the outcome of the appeal process. Although originally the Cardinal faced allegations from a number of complainants, all charges except for those the subject of the appeal have now been either withdrawn, discharged or discontinued." -- Pell's lawyer Paul Galbally - The Catholic Church - "The news of Cardinal George Pell's conviction on historical child sexual abuse charges has shocked many across Australia and around the world, including the Catholic Bishops of Australia. The Bishops agree that everyone should be equal under the law, and we respect the Australian legal system." -- Archbishop of Brisbane Mark Coleridge on behalf of national body the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference - Abuse survivors and advocates - "It is a miracle. It is unbelievable. The Catholics throw unlimited money at this. I'm a Catholic. I'm ashamed to be a Catholic... We have got wonderful justice in getting that lunatic, that freak, that monster -- he is a paedophile." -- Michael, child sex abuse victim and advocate, outside the County Court of Victoria in Melbourne "I have such mixed feelings. I feel emotional, I'm thinking about my dead brother who never got justice... I'm thinking about all those people who never got justice. And then on the other side I feel ecstatic that Mr Pell has been found guilty... And there's a message for the Pope there, you're never too old to be arrested for raping children no matter what country it's in." Story continues -- Leonie Sheedy, Care Leavers Australasia Network, outside the court - Pell supporter - "I think the public mind has been so contaminated by the misdeeds of the Catholic Church and by the complaints, which people have raised, which have not been dealt with, that they said well he must have been guilty." -- Peter Westmore, Pell's friend of two decades and who attended the trial, outside the court WASHINGTON Michael Cohen provided a detailed account of a crucial and disputed element of his business dealings with President Trump in his testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. Cohen, who was Trumps longtime personal attorney and an executive at the presidents real estate company up until he took office, said Trump did not explicitly tell him to lie to Congress about the scope of their efforts to build a skyscraper in Moscow. I lied to Congress [about] when Mr. Trump stopped negotiating the Moscow tower project in Russia. I stated that we stopped negotiating in January of 2016. That was false. Our negotiations continued for months later during the campaign. Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. Thats not how he operates, he said. Cohen went on to say Trump made clear that he wanted Cohen to lie about the timing of the project without directly saying so. Cohen noted that Trump regularly and falsely said he had no business dealings in Russia both during personal conversations in 2016 and in appearances on the campaign trail. Michael Cohen, former personal attorney of President Trump, sits at the witness table waiting to testify before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill on Feb. 27, 2019. (Yahoo News photo Illustration; photos: AP, Getty) In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me there was no Russian business and then go on to lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie, Cohen said. Additionally, Cohen claimed that Trumps desire for him to lie was clear because the presidents personal lawyers reviewed the statement he delivered to Congress in 2017. In that statement, Cohen stated he gave up on the Trump Tower Moscow project in late January 2016, when he determined that the proposal was not feasible for a variety of business reasons and should not be pursued further. You need to know that Mr. Trumps personal lawyers reviewed and edited my statement to Congress about the timing of the Moscow tower negotiations before I gave it, said Cohen. Story continues Last May, Yahoo News was first to report that prosecutors and congressional investigators had obtained extensive documentation showing Cohen pursued the project through the middle of 2016 and had likely lied to Congress. Cohen, who had a reputation as a fiercely loyal fixer for the president, was sentenced to three years in prison in December after pleading guilty to what a federal judge described as a veritable smorgasbord of fraudulent conduct, including lying to Congress about the Moscow skyscraper project, and arranging payments to women who alleged they had had affairs with President Trump in an effort to suppress their stories during the campaign. Cohens detailed description of Trumps role in his congressional testimony comes in the wake of a report published by BuzzFeed last January attributed to two anonymous federal law enforcement officials that claimed Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress. That report caused a huge stir because it indicated that Trump could himself be guilty of a crime, since many experts say encouraging false testimony before Congress is illegal. The office of special counsel Robert Mueller, which helped prosecute Cohen, quickly released a statement disputing the BuzzFeed story. 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, the statement said. Cohens congressional testimony is not the first time he has discussed Trumps role in his prior statement to Congress and said there was no specific directive for him to lie. In the guilty plea allocution that he delivered in court last November, Cohen suggested that he falsely said the project had concluded and did not have extensive involvement from Trump because he was familiar with the day-to-day political messaging that Trump and his advisers broadcast during the campaign, including repeated disavowals of commercial and political ties between [Trump] and Russia. In the allocution, which was probably reviewed by Muellers team, Cohen referred to Trump as Individual 1. I made these misstatements to be consistent with Individual 1's political messaging and out of loyalty to Individual 1, Cohen said of his false statements to Congress. During his testimony on Wednesday, Cohen confirmed that Individual 1 was Trump. Michael Cohen just before his testimony to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Feb. 27, 2019 (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) There have been previous indications that the version of events presented in Cohens guilty plea allocution was among the reasons that Muellers office disputed the BuzzFeed story. Shortly after the piece was published, the Washington Post reported that Peter Carr, a spokesman for Muellers office, sent the BuzzFeed reporters a partial transcript of Cohens plea hearing where he discussed his false statements to Congress when they reached out with questions before publishing their piece. BuzzFeed has stood by the disputed story. Yahoo News reached out to Carr on Wednesday to ask if Cohens description of Trumps role in his false testimony matched the special counsels understanding. Carr, as is his custom, declined to comment but also suggested the answers were in the court record, which includes the allocution. Well decline to comment beyond the court record, Carr said. Along with providing further clarity on the disputed story about Trumps role in his false statement, Cohens testimony was the first time that he had claimed the presidents legal team played a role in his lies to Congress. Yahoo News reached out to a spokesperson for Cohens lawyer, Lanny Davis, to ask which lawyers Cohen was referring to in this claim. The spokesperson said they did not know. Attorneys for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Cohens claim that the presidents lawyers reviewed the false statement before it was delivered. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who joined Trumps legal team last April, said he didnt know specifically whom Cohen was referring to. However, Giuliani said it would not have been unusual for Trumps attorneys to review Cohens statement and that they were unaware Cohen was not being truthful in his characterization of Trumps business dealings. I dont know. Wasnt there then but there were in a joint defense agreement at the time and it would not be unusual. Of course, at that time none of the lawyers knew he was lying if he was, Giuliani wrote in a text message. Trump, other Republicans and members of his legal team have questioned Cohens credibility by pointing to his crimes and past false statements to Congress. In his opening remarks on Wednesday, Cohen apologized, said he was ashamed of his past conduct and wanted to correct the record. While Cohen said Trump did not explicitly direct him to lie to Congress about Trump Tower Moscow, he stressed that the president personally lied to the public when he repeatedly claimed he had no business deals in Russia during the campaign. Cohen said Trump was extensively involved in the Russian tower project and asked Cohen about progress on it at least a half a dozen times after the presidential primaries began. So, to be clear, Mr. Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it, Cohen said. He lied about it because he never expected to win. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project. And so, I lied about it too. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Donald Trumps former lawyer is set to deliver explosive testimony before Congress claiming the president is a racist, a conman and a cheat. Michael Cohen, the man who who once said he would take a bullet for the president, will tell politicians he is ashamed of what he did allegedly at the behest of the man who occupies the Oval Office. I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty of the things I did for Mr Trump in an effort to protect and promote him, he will tell the House of Representatives oversight and reform committee. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. According to an advanced copy of the 52-year-olds remarks, first obtained by the New York Times, he will add: I am ashamed because I know what Mr Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat. He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails. Last summer, Cohen pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion, bank fraud, and campaign finance violations in relation to hush money payments made to two women, Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, on the eve of the 2016 election. He also pleaded guilty to a separate charge brought by Robert Muellers office that he lied to Congress about discussions over the construction of a proposed Trump Organisation skyscraper in Moscow referred to in court documents as the Moscow Project. He was sentenced to three years in jail and is due to start his sentence shortly. Before he does, the former lawyer was asked to appear on Capitol Hill. On Tuesday, he appeared in private before members of the Senate. Afterwards he told reporters it would be up to the American people who to believe. I look forward to tomorrow to being able in my voice to tell the American people my story and Im going to let the American people decide exactly whos telling the truth, he said. Story continues Within hours if became clear just how dramatic he intended his appearance to be, ahead of his incarceration in May. In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing, Cohen intends to say. In his way, he was telling me to lie. He will add: Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. Thats not how he operates. Hours before he was to appear, Republican congressman Matt Gaetz, an ally of Mr Trump, suggested in a tweet that compromising information about Cohens private life might soon be released. Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends, he wrote. Mr Gaetz later denied suggestions that his tweet amounted to witness intimidation. It is challenging the veracity and character of a witness. We do it everyday, he told the Daily Beast. Cohen will testify he was intoxicated by Trumps power. I am not a perfect man. I have done things I am not proud of, and I will live with the consequences of my actions for the rest of my life, he will say. But today, I get to decide the example I set for my children and how I attempt to change how history will remember me. I may not be able to change the past, but I can do right by the American people here today. In a statement to The Washington Post, Mr Trumps personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, claimed Cohen was a liar. Its pathetic. This is a lawyer who tapped his own client when he claimed he was being loyal. If you believe him you are a fool, he said. He bragged he was connected to Russian organised crime and he may be. His father in law who gave him millions to [invest] was convicted of tax fraud in a money laundering operation. Lets see if these Democrats want to ask about his many crimes having nothing to do with anyone but his coterie of business associates with questionable connections. Donald Trump is a racist whose prejudice is even worse in private than his public outbursts suggest, the presidents former lawyer Michael Cohen is due to say in explosive testimony before Congress. Mr Trump is a racist. The country has seen Mr Trump court white supremacists and bigots. You have heard him call poorer countries s***holes, Cohen will tell the House oversight committee on Wednesday, according to a transcript obtained by the New York Times. In private, he is even worse. He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasnt a s***hole. This was when Barack Obama was president of the United States. While we were once driving through a struggling neighbourhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. Cohens racism claims are part of a larger picture he plans to sketch of Mr Trump as a dishonest conman who only entered the presidential race to further his own business interests. I am ashamed because I know what Mr Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat, Cohen is expected to say. The 52-year-old will detail allegations the president was likely aware of a June 2016 meeting between members of his campaign and a Russian lawyer which Mr Trump denies as well as claims Mr Trump lied to the American people about his business links to Moscow. In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing, Cohen will say. In his way, he was telling me to lie. On Wednesday, Mr Trump responded angrily to reports of Cohens upcoming testimony. Story continues Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately), Mr Trump tweeted. "He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crookeds lawyer! Mr Trump added, in reference to Hillary Clinton. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement: Disgraced felon Michael Cohen is going to prison for lying to Congress and making other false statements. "Sadly, he will go before Congress this week and we can expect more of the same. Its laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies. Last summer, Cohen pleaded guilty to charges of tax evasion, bank fraud, and campaign finance violations in relation to hush money payments made to two women, Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, on the eve of the 2016 election. He also pleaded guilty to a separate charge by brought by Robert Muellers office that he lied to Congress about discussions over the construction of a proposed Trump Organisation skyscraper in Moscow referred to in court documents as the Moscow Project. He was sentenced to three years in jail and is due to start his sentence shortly. Michael Cohen, the former personal lawyer and fixer to Donald Trump, is publicly testifying before the House Oversight Committee delivering remarks under oath in which he calls the President a racist, conman and cheat. The public testimony kicked off contentiously Wednesday with a motion from Republican Rep. Mark Meadows asking to delay the hearing, arguing that evidence was not submitted early enough. The panel voted against the motion. A copy of Cohens prepared opening statement was made public the night before the hearing. While Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, initially said the hearing would not extend to matters related to the investigation looking into links between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 presidential election by special counsel Robert Mueller, he said at the start of the hearing that the committee would not restrict questions about Russia. Cummings said that Cohens opening statement raised questions about Russia, allowing questions about the investigation from the committee. Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, ranking member of the Oversight Committee, spoke after Cummings and made the argument that Cohen is a fraudster, cheat, felon and in two months a federal inmate who cannot be trusted and is a patsy for the Democrats who want to remove President Trump from office. The live testimony before Congress takes place as Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam. When asked if he had any response to Cohens testimony, Trump didnt answer and just shook his head. In a tweet early Wednesday, Trump said Cohen is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Cohen is set to begin a three-year prison sentence in May following his guilty plea. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Among those expected to question Cohen on the House Oversight Committee are Democrats Cummings, Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley. Meadows, Justin Amash, Paul Gosar and Virginia Foxx are some of several Republicans who will question Cohen. Story continues Follow along for updates as Cohen testifies before Congress and above, watch the hearing live. Cohen calls Trump a racist, conman, and cheat in prepared statement Cohen, who was disbarred in New York after pleading guilty to lying to Congress about his pursuit of a potential Trump Tower development in Moscow and committing campaign finance violations, called Trump a cheat in his testimony. Cohen suggested in his testimony that Trump implicitly instructed him to lie about the real estate project in Moscow and says Trump knew he was lying to Congress. Cohen said that Trump knew about and directed negotiations for the Moscow development project during the presidential campaign and lied about it. He also told the House committee that Trump knew in advance about WikiLeaks release of emails that were damaging to Hillary Clintons presidential campaign. Cohen claimed that Roger Stone told Trump about the email dump from WikiLeaks in June 2016; the first emails were released in July of that year. Cohen additionally detailed racist statements from Trump, including saying that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. Cohen says Trump, while in office, paid him off to reimburse costs related to silence Stormy Daniels Cohen provided a check to the committee that Trump personally signed, while he was in office, to reimburse him for a $130,000 payment made to keep Stormy Daniels, a porn star, quiet about her affair with Trump. Trump has previously claimed to know nothing about these payments. During the hearing, Cummings asked Cohen: Is there any doubt in your mind that President Trump knew exactly what he was paying for? There is no doubt in my mind, he said. Cohen says Trump is all about winning Committee member Debbie Wasserman-Schultz asked Cohen if he believed Trump had asked for the WikiLeaks email dump. Cohen said he was not aware and added, Mr. Trump is all about winning. Asked by Wasserman-Schultz if Trump would have the potential to cooperate or collude with a foreign power to win the presidency at all costs, Cohen answered, Yes. Mr. Trumps desire to win would have him work with anyone, he said. Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch spars with Republicans Massachusetts Rep. Stephen Lynch refuted the Republicans line of questioning toward Cohen after GOP committee members repeatedly brought up his crimes in anger throughout the course of the hearing. Lynch noted that a number of other people associated with Trump, including Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort, have emerged as criminals. Your side ran away from the truth, and were trying to bring it to the American people, Lynch said. Lynch then questioned Cohen about the Trump Tower Moscow deal. Cohen said he briefed Trumps children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump about ten times on the deal. Cohen says he spoke with Novartis multiple times In another heated exchange between Meadows and Cohen, the congressman asked how times many Cohen had spoken with representatives from the pharmaceutical giant, which previously paid him $1.2 million for access to his knowledge of the enigma of Donald Trump, he said. Cohen said hed talked to Novartis about six times. Cohen and Rep. Jim Jordan have tense exchanges Cohen and the Republican Congressman have sparred on and off throughout the hearing. Jordan at one point accused Cohen of wanting a job at the White House, and said hes now behaving just like everyone else who got fired or didnt get the job they wanted. Cohen pushed back at the accusation, saying he did not want to go to the White House. I was offered jobs. Trumps sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, who have been tweeting throughout the hearing, disputed Cohens account. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Later, Jordan asked why Cohen didnt deny a BuzzFeed report that said Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress. It wasnt our responsibility to be the fact-checker, Cohen said. Cohen says his attorney, Lanny Davis, is representing him for free Asked by Republican Jody Hice who was paying his attorney, Lanny Davis, Cohen said the lawyer was working for free. So hes doing all this work for nothing? Hice asked. Yes sir, and I hope so, Cohen responded. Hice said, I kind of doubt it. Davis, who previously served as special counsel to Bill Clinton, has been accused by Republicans of orchestrating the testimony. Jordan, in his opening remarks, said, Theyve got to find somebody somewhere to say something to remove the president from office. They didnt find him. Lanny Davis found him. So now Clinton loyalist, Clinton operative Lanny Davis has persuaded the chairman of the oversight committee to give a convicted felon a forum to tell stories and lie about the president of the United States. With reporting from Alana Abramson. Michael Cohen released his prepared remarks before a public testimony on Capitol Hill in which he was due to detail Donald Trumps alleged lies, corruption and criminal conduct throughout the 2016 presidential election. Among those explosive claims Cohen will say Mr Trump was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails include the president telling his former attorney there was no real medical excuse behind his military deferral during the Vietnam War. Mr Trump tasked me to handle the negative press surrounding his medical deferment from the Vietnam draft, Cohen said in his prepared remarks on Wednesday. Mr Trump claimed it was because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery. He told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment, he added. The remarkable decision by Cohen to expose the presidents supposed crimes and wrongdoings reflects an incredible reversal from one of Mr Trumps closest former confidants who previously said he would defend his ex-boss until the very end. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders came out in defence against Mr Trump ahead of Cohens public testimony, calling him a disgraced felon and noting he is going to prison for lying to Congress. Sadly, he will go before Congress this week and we can expect more of the same, she said. Its laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies. Cohen was scheduled to meet with the Democratic-controlled House Oversight Committee on Wednesday during a three-day appearance on Capitol Hill. Story continues Mr Trump has previously received scrutiny over his deferral from the Vietnam War, with dubious claims he suffered bone spurs at the time never having been held up by verifiable facts or evidence. You think Im stupid, I wasnt going to Vietnam, Cohen said the president told him. Mr Trump reportedly told The Times in 2016 his bone spurs healed up over a period of time. Within the world of FCA US, few accolades mean more than the precious metal designations awarded to plants each time they succeed in implementing World Class Manufacturing (WCM) policies and procedures. In 2018 one local plant reached a new milestone for the areas five plants, while another is set to do the same later this year. Last year Tipton Transmission Plant (TTP) ascended the WCM ladder as the first local FCA plant to achieve a silver ranking. That achievement, according to company management, was thanks to the hard work of the facilitys employees. And now that TTP has reached the ranking of silver, Indiana Transmission Plant I (ITPI) is positioned to do the same later this year. On the WCM scale, once 60 points are garnered by the facility showing proficiency in the WCM scale, which accounts for factors such as efficiency, safety, and other similar qualifiers, a silver designation can be awarded. Presently, all five of the areas plants have reached a bronze ranking, while TTP stands alone. Tipton garnered a score of 62 during its last audit last year. Joe Good, the plant manager for TTP, said the ranking was earned due to improvements by employees in recognizing value-added activities, as well as a bolstering of understanding internal processes within the plant. We achieved silver last year, which is a huge accomplishment, said Good. Silver is about the people on the floor and developing autonomy to where the people are running it. It was a great experience People are your best asset so developing your people, getting their input, and valuing their input, taking time to listen, and acting on what they say. Now our focus has turned more to achieving gold. Meanwhile at ITPI, the last WCM audit put the facility at a score of 58, just shy of silver status. Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute Plant Manager Kevin Sell said the facilitys solid track record in terms of safety, possessing the highest safety rating of the five area plants, persists, and he hopes to attain silver soon. But he said it will be no small task, as the facility operates 1,600 individual machines for manufacturing purposes. Its within reach, but its challenging, said Sell. With the higher population of employees and number of machines it becomes more challenging. Were on track to get there. Theres criteria you have to meet before even being accepted to challenge for silver. Theres metrics within each, certain safety, quality, expansion, and delivery method metrics that we have to meet and get approved for silver, which is a challenge in and of itself. ITPI, said Sell, should be able to challenge later in the year. All in all, FCA General Manager Bob Varsanik said both ITPI and Tipton workforces have done solid jobs in turning out 9-speed transmissions, helping local facilities produce nearly 1 million 9-speeds in 2018. In long-awaited and explosive testimony before a congressional panel, President Trumps former personal lawyer Michael Cohen said that as a candidate, Trump was aware that Roger Stone was working with WikiLeaks to disseminate hacked emails, and that after he took office, the president reimbursed Cohen with a personal check for hush money payments to the actress Stormy Daniels. In his opening statement at a Wednesday morning hearing by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, the presidents former personal lawyer and Republican National Committee deputy finance chairman attacked Trumps character and described the work that he did for him over a decade, as a lawyer and fixer in matters concerning his private and business life, campaign and presidency. Among the new details in Cohens account, Trump had him threaten his schools and the College Board not to disclose his grades or SAT scores, and that at a time when he cut his employees salaries by 50 percent, Trump received a $10 million refund from the IRS and made fun of the governments stupidity in sending him money. He described Trumps penchant for making racial slurs against black people. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience, said Cohen. I am ashamed, because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a con man. He is a cheat. According to Cohens testimony, he was present when Trump was personally informed by Stone, a longtime ally, that he was in communications with WikiLeaks Julian Assange about the upcoming release of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee. In July 2016, days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trumps office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone, said Cohen. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign. Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of Wouldnt that be great? Story continues Stone, who is under indictment over charges he lied to Congress, has denied speaking directly to Assange or being involved in the email releases. Michael Cohen, President Trump's former personal attorney, testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 27, 2019. (Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images) In discussing a June 2016 meeting between Trump campaign officials and a representative of the Russian government arranged in part by Donald Trump, Jr., Cohen said the president often said his eldest son had the worst judgment of anyone in the world. Cohen provided a copy of a check Trump wrote from his personal bank account after he became president to reimburse Cohen for hush money payments he made to Stormy Daniels during the campaign. He also provided copies of 2011-2013 financial statements that Trump gave to Deutsche Bank and letters Cohen had written threatening academic institutions to not release his grades or SAT scores. Trump had previously called on former President Barack Obama to release his college applications and transcripts. Cohen also said that while Trump courts white supremacists and racists, he was even worse in private. He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasnt a s***hole, said Cohen. This was when Barack Obama was president of the United States. While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. And yet I continued to work for him. The White House has denounced Cohens testimony as fabrications. "Disgraced felon Michael Cohen is going to prison for lying to Congress and making other false statements, said press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in a statement Tuesday morning. Sadly, he will go before Congress this week, and we can expect more of the same. It's laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies." Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress about a Moscow real estate deal. He has also pleaded guilty to campaign finance fraud related to the payments to Daniels. Cohen acknowledged his past lies in his opening statement and apologized. I recognize that some of you may doubt and attack me on my credibility, said Cohen. It is for this reason that I have incorporated into this opening statement documents that are irrefutable, and demonstrate that the information you will hear is accurate and truthful. In his recitation of Trump's greed, dishonesty and duplicity, Cohen summed up many of his points with the refrain, And yet, I continued to work for him. Cohen said he has never asked for and would never accept a pardon from Trump. The testimony had originally been scheduled for Feb. 7, but was delayed after Cohen said he had been threatened by Trump and his allies. At the start of Wednesdays hearing, Republicans on the panel attempted to get Cohens testimony postponed. Cohen testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday behind closed doors and will be doing the same with the House. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. WASHINGTON Michael Cohen, the pugnacious lawyer and problem-solver for Donald Trump who has confessed to committing crimes for his benefit, is scheduled to testify for the first time in public on Wednesday before members of Congress eager to explore the details of his work for the president. Cohen has pleaded guilty and agreed to provide evidence to prosecutors in two separate criminal investigations into Trump and those around him. He admitted to illegally paying hush money to two women who claimed to have had sex with Trump and lying to Congress about the extent of negotiations for a Trump real estate project in Russia. The question looming over his testimony will be whether the president himself participated in those crimes. A person familiar with Cohen's planned testimony said he was prepared to testify about "criminal conduct" by Trump after he assumed the presidency. The person, who was not authorized to speak publicly, declined to characterize the conduct but said it happened during Trump's first year in the White House. Trump has said he was not involved in Cohen's crimes. He argued some of them weren't crimes at all, and he derided Cohen as a "liar" and a "rat." Both Cohen and the Justice Department have said in court that Trump directed payoffs to two women in the final months of the 2016 campaign. And prosecutors have confirmed that they are scrutinizing the circumstances that led Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. The House Oversight and Reform Committee plans to delve widely into Trump's businesses and finances, exploring his debts and payments for the 2016 election, his compliance with campaign finance and tax laws, his business practices, the Trump Foundation and the Trump International Hotel in Washington. Cohen had been an executive vice president and special counsel to the Trump Organization. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EST Wednesday. Story continues More: Cohen loses license to practice law because of his felony convictions More: Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz sends apparent threat to Cohen, alleging affair Michael Cohen, former attorney and fixer for President Donald Trump, arrives at the Hart Senate Office Building before testifying to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill on February 26, 2019 in Washington. Cohen met behind closed doors Tuesday with the Senate Intelligence Committee and is scheduled to appear in private Thursday before the House Intelligence panel. Both of those committees planned to focus their questioning on their investigations of Russian interference in the 2016 election. "I look forward to tomorrow, to being able to in my voice, to tell the American people my story," Cohen told reporters as he left the closed-door session. "Im going to let the American people decide exactly who is telling the truth." Asked Tuesday what he hoped to learn from a man who had already confessed to lying to Congress, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence panel, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., replied: "The truth." Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said lawmakers gave Cohen "an extensive grilling" on Tuesday, but she and other lawmakers declined to describe the questions they asked or the answers Cohen provided. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders called Cohen a "disgraced felon" and said that "it's laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies." The oversight chairman, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said Congress has an obligation to conduct independent and robust oversight of the executive branch. The hearing, where Cohen is appearing voluntarily after being subpoenaed by the Senate, is not supposed to include questions about Russian interference in the 2016 election, which is being investigated by the House and Senate Intelligence committees and special counsel Robert Mueller. Republicans are expected to attack Cohen's credibility. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the top Republican on the panel, expressed disappointment with limits on questions and said he planned to ask Cohen about the crimes he admitted and other activities he refused to disclose. Jordan criticized Democrats for promoting an admitted liar as part of an effort to impeach Trump. Mr. Cohen cannot be trusted to partake in honest fact-finding before our body, Jordan said. Cohen once declared that he would take a bullet for Trump. Less than a year later, he became one of Trump's main antagonists, providing information to federal prosecutors in two criminal investigations focused on the president. In one of those cases, Cohen pleaded guilty in New York in August to tax evasion, to making false bank statements and to making illegal campaign contributions for paying hush money to two women who said they had sex with Trump. Cohen also pleaded guilty in Mueller's investigation in November to lying to Congress about talks for a Russian real estate project in what he described as an attempt to reduce attention on Trump's overseas business. He told the House and Senate Intelligence committees that talks ended in January 2016 before the Iowa caucuses even though talks extended through at least June 2016, when Trump had effectively wrapped up the Republican nomination. The defendants false statements obscured the fact that the Moscow Project was a lucrative business opportunity that sought, and likely required, the assistance of the Russian government, prosecutors working for Mueller wrote in a court filing in that case. If the project was completed, the company could have received hundreds of millions of dollars from Russian sources in licensing fees and other revenues. Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison. He is scheduled to surrender May 6. Cohen had been scheduled to testify earlier, but the sessions were postponed because Cohen said he and his family faced intimidation from Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Trump had tweeted that investigators should watch Cohens father-in-law, and Giuliani said in television interviews that the relative "may have ties to something called organized crime." Contributing: Kevin Johnson More about Michael Cohen and the charges against him: Michael Cohen postpones congressional testimony, claims 'threats' from President Trump and Rudy Giuliani Cohen takeaways: As Trump's former lawyer heads to prison, political and legal implications grow for White House Michael Cohen, Donald Trump and Russia: Prosecutors document series of lies by president's former fixer This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michael Cohen, once keeper of Donald Trump's secrets, plans to accuse the president of 'criminal conduct' I knew early on in my work for Mr. Trump that he would direct me to lie to further his business interests, said Michael Cohen in his opening testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Wednesday. I am ashamed to say, that when it was for a real estate mogul in the private sector, I considered it trivial. As the President, I consider it significant and dangerous. He continued: But in the mix, lying for Mr. Trump was normalized, and no one around him questioned it. Cohen, Trumps former attorney, who pleaded guilty to tax fraud and lying to the IRS and to Congress, said Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. Thats not how he operates. Cohen continued: In conversations, we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no Russian business and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie. Cohen, who frequently expressed remorse and humiliation for his admitted crimes, described himself as a fool for his loyalty. He said he was a victim of the intoxication of Trump. Cohen said he was so mesmerized by Donald Trump that I was willing to do things for him that I knew were absolutely wrong. Being around Mr. Trump was intoxicating, said Cohen. When you were in his presence, you felt like you were involved in something greater than yourself -- that you were somehow changing the world. Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, reads his opening statement as he testifies at a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 27, 2019. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) At the start of the hearing, Cohens credibility was heatedly contested by the committees ranking member Jim Jordan (R-OH). This might be the first time someone convicted of lying to Congress has appeared again so quickly in front of Congress, said Jordan. Certainly, its the first time a convicted perjurer has been brought back to be a star witness in a hearing. Cohen admitted lying to Congress about the extent of the Trump Organizations attempts to win approval for a billion-dollar project in Moscow during Trumps presidential campaign. He apologized for lying to Melania Trump about payoffs he made to a porn star to cover up her relationship with Donald Trump. Story continues Lying to the First Lady, he said, is one of my biggest regrets. I have lied, but I am not a liar, said Cohen. I have done bad things, but I am not a bad man. I have fixed things, but I am no longer your fixer, Mr. Trump. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Sunny Hostin and Meghan McCain on the set of The View (Photo: Getty Images) After an explosive episode of The View, Meghan McCain continued to call out Democrats for supporting infanticide, after a majority of Democratic senators voted against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. I stand by what I said this morning, if the Democratic Party wants to be the party of late term abortion and infanticide, they wont just lose history will judge them for what they did, she tweeted Tuesday. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. A discussion of the place of abortion in the Democratic Partys platform for the upcoming 2020 presidential election was discussed on the ABC show Tuesday, with a passionate contribution from McCain. The 34-year-old View co-host began by talking about how the U.S. Senate had failed to pass a Republican-sponsored bill that would have increased criminal penalties for doctors who do not try to resuscitate babies who survive third-trimester abortions. Ben Sasse authored the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. This act would punish any doctor who fails to provide medical care to a child born alive after an attempted abortion. Every single Democrat except three of them voted [against the bill] yesterday, McCain said, before rattling off the names of the Democrats and 2020 presidential hopefuls like Sens. Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Amy Klobuchar, who voted against the measure Monday. So that means these Democrats dont believe that a baby born after a botched abortion should receive medical care, McCain continued, adding, This is an example of just how extreme the left has gone. If Democrats want to win an election going forward, are you going to be the party of late-term abortion? The party of infanticide? McCain asked, as her colleagues tried to jump in. Let me finish, please. Is this the platform youre going to have? Because when youre talking about children and being pro-life, this is well out of the mainstream of where Americans are at. McCain then brought up Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who recently called it a legitimate question to ask whether it is acceptable for people to continue having children amid the concern over global warming. Story continues And when I hear AOC saying that, I actually think Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, they are answering her, McCain continued. I believe AOC is the leader of the party, and if you think that is how you win back the White House, Im here to tell you, I spend a lot of time in red states, Im from a red state: That is a losing argument. Her co-host Sunny Hostin who is also opposed to abortion interjected to say that she wanted to push back on her co-hosts argument, but McCain didnt let her get a word in. Meghan, let her tell her side, please, Joy Behar objected, in an attempt to moderate the discussion. Its disgusting. Its infanticide, McCain replied. The bill that the Senate Dems blocked yesterday was to provide medical care for infants who survived failed abortions, Hostin said, before she was quickly interrupted. Now one thing is So those babies should be left on the table? interrupted McCain. Is she going to be able to tell her side for this or not? Behar asked again. McCain groaned and sighed as Hostin tried to make her point, and Behar called a commercial break. When they returned, Hostin was able to give her rebuttal without interruption. Hostin admitted that the topic was difficult, but added that legally speaking, the reason the bill that Senate Democrats blocked Tuesday was blocked, is because Dems felt there wasnt a need for a new law, because its already required that medical care for infants born alive need be provided. She went on to say that Mondays proposed bill called for all babies born alive be immediately moved to a hospital, which she said is not always a safe option. So that is one of the reasons the Democrats also voted against the bill. Passing the bill would impose legal and criminal penalties on doctors who dont comply with moving the infant, even if it isnt in the best interests of the infant, Hostin continued. Its extremely rare that this sort of failed abortion happens. And even in the case when it happens, doctors are required to make sure that the baby receives medical treatment. McCain had the final word: But all pro-life women know exactly what Im saying, exactly what I meant. If the Democratic Party wants to be the party of infanticide, that is their choice. We got it, now were talking about the Kardashians, Behar interjected. Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Matador Resources Company MTDR recently announced the creation of a second partnership in the Delaware Basin with a private equity firm, Five Point Energy LLC. The joint venture (JV), San Mateo II, is expected to enhance natural gas gathering and processing, along with salt water gathering and disposal operations in the Delaware formation of the Permian Basin. The new JV is also expected to boost oil gathering operations in the region. Similar to the previous JV structure, Matador will own 51% in San Mateo II, while a subsidiary of Five Point Energy will hold the rest. The midstream JV is expected to almost double the processing capacity in the region on the back of a cryogenic natural gas processing plant in New Mexico, near the existing Black River Processing Plant that has a designed natural gas inlet capacity of 60 million cubic feet per day (Mcf/d). The facility came online in August 2016. Following the creation of the first JV (San Mateo I) between Matador and Five Point in February 2017, the capacity of the facility was ramped up to 260 Mcf/d. Due to rising production in the Permian Basin, the Black River Processing Plant is almost fully subscribed. The latest expansion plan will bring its capacity to 460 Mcf/d, which is expected to come online by mid-2020. The JV intends to enhance its natural gas pipeline system via building a large-diameter pipeline, which will move north from the Black River Processing Plant to serve the Stebbins leasehold of Matador, and south to the company's new Stateline asset. Notably, Matador acquired the Stateline property in September 2018 from an oil and gas lease sale. The JV also plans to create at least two saltwater disposal wells in the Stebbins and Stateline asset areas, along with related facilities. Following the completion of the facilities, San Mateo II is anticipated to have a water disposal capacity of 80,000 barrels per day. Matador dedicated a total of around 25,500 gross acres to San Mateo under 15-year fixed-fee contracts, which are expected to pave way for creating economies of scale and facilitate the transaction. In exchange, Matador will receive a capital carry, due to which the company will only have to invest $25 million of the first $150 million in expansion-related construction costs. Most importantly, the capital carry along with the expected cash flows from the existing operations of San Mateo will likely cover most of the companys anticipated capital obligations for San Mateo during this year. Story continues As the Delaware Basin lacks in-basin infrastructures, the transaction will enable Matadors midstream operations to climb to a favorable position compared to peers. It will also provide the exploration and productions companies operating in the Permian Basin with more options. Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider Currently, Matador carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Investors interested in the energy sector can opt for some better-ranked stocks as given below: Austin, TX-based Jones Energy, Inc. JONE is an exploration and production company. For 2019, its bottom line, which has witnessed one upside revision over the past 60 days, is expected to grow 19% year over year. The company currently holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Madrid, Spain-based Repsol, S.A. REPYY is an integrated energy company. Its bottom line for 2019 is expected to increase 13.7% year over year. The company delivered average positive earnings surprise of 9% in the trailing four quarters. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2. Enbridge Inc. ENB is a Calgary, Canada-based energy infrastructure provider. The company delivered average positive earnings surprise of 33.2% in the trailing four quarters. It currently has a Zacks Rank #2. Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. Theyre also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases. Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119% and +164% in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better. See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>> 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 Repsol SA (REPYY) : Free Stock Analysis Report Enbridge Inc (ENB) : Free Stock Analysis Report Matador Resources Company (MTDR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Jones Energy, Inc. (JONE) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Disney (NYSE: DIS) CEO Bob Iger has been forthright in noting the company's focus on direct-to-consumer streaming will weigh on the company's bottom line in the short term. In particular, Disney is giving up high-margin licensing revenue from its deal with Netflix in order to retain those rights for its own Disney+ service. During the company's first-quarter earnings call, CFO Christine McCarthy said investors should expect a $150 million drop in operating income as a result of decreased licensing revenue. That's actually a relatively small number. For reference, Disney generated $3.7 billion in operating income in the first quarter alone and $15.7 billion for the full year last year. In the context of Disney+, for which Disney hasn't announced pricing, it could mean just a couple of million subscribers paying $7 or $8 per month. Disney grew ESPN+ to 2 million subscribers in just nine months, so it's feasible Disney could cover its licensing revenue loss in about a year. But lost licensing revenue is just part of the equation. Let's break down the true cost of Disney's direct-to-consumer service and how many subscribers it'll need just to get back to where it started. Disney+ logo on a blue background. Image source: Disney. Opportunity cost is just a small expense Disney isn't just forgoing licensing revenue to build Disney+ and its other streaming services. It's also investing in new content for the services and must market them in order to attract subscribers. Disney is investing in exclusive series and films based on its Star Wars, Marvel, and classic Disney intellectual property. The company hasn't disclosed how much it's budgeting for exclusives, but considering the talent it's signed, it should be substantial. Spending on marketing could also add up. Macquarie analysts estimate marketing and technology expenses for ESPN+ alone will total $100 million through its first three years of operation. Considering the broader target audience for Disney+, the marketing budget could be much higher. Story continues How much will this whole thing cost? Development of the Disney+ platform alone is costing hundreds of millions of dollars. Disney disclosed that investments in ESPN+ and Disney+ resulted in a $200 million negative impact on operating income in the first quarter. About one-third of that -- $66 million -- is tied to Disney+. As a reminder, that doesn't include any of its content costs (which start amortizing after the service launches), and there's no marketing expense for the product yet since there's no product to sell. The $133 million or so loss associated with ESPN+ may be an indication of ongoing costs associated with Disney's streaming services after launch. Those expenses are offset by the 2 million or so customers paying $4.15 to $5 per month for the service, plus ad revenue. That's likely over $30 million in revenue offsetting the operating loss. Disney's investments in content and marketing will likely be bigger for Disney+, but the technology back end may be less expensive due to less live streaming and a lack of advertising on the platform. Based on the roughly $16 million in content and operating costs for ESPN+ last quarter, Disney+ will likely cost more than $200 million per quarter once it launches. That number could climb much higher if Disney doubles down on content or marketing expenses. Adding it all together When you add in the $150 million in lost annual operating income from its licensing deals, Disney's annual costs (including opportunity costs) for Disney+ after launch could be around $1 billion. Iger said consumers should expect Disney to charge less than Netflix for its service -- and he said that when Netflix charged $10.99 per month for its most popular plan. A price around $8 per month, about $100 per year, sounds more reasonable. At that rate, Disney will need at least 10 million Disney+ subscribers to reach true breakeven, including its foregone licensing revenue. That's likely going to take a few years, but Disney has been forthcoming with milestone updates for ESPN+, so investors should get a good idea of how the company is progressing with regard to Disney+, as well. Disney will provide additional details on Disney+ at its investors meeting in April, so look for a clearer outlook on the service then. More From The Motley Fool Adam Levy has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Netflix and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday signaled a willingness to let a 40-foot-tall (12 meters) cross-shaped war memorial stay on public land in Maryland despite a legal challenge that called it an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion. But during a lively 70-minute oral argument in the major case about the separation of church and state, the justices appeared unlikely to issue a sweeping ruling allowing greater government involvement in religious expression. Justice Stephen Breyer, one of the court's four liberals, suggested a compromise ruling allowing the cross to remain based in part on the fact it was built in 1925 while making it clear that newly built religious symbols would be treated differently. "What about saying past is past ... but no more?" Breyer asked. On one hand "we're not going to have people trying to tear down historical monuments," Breyer said. But on the other, "we are a different country now" that is more pluralistic, he added. The case, one of the most important of the court's current term, presented the justices with their latest test on the parameters for government-endorsed religious expression. A ruling is due by the end of June. The so-called Peace Cross, a concrete memorial to 49 men from Maryland's Prince George's County killed in World War One shaped like a Christian cross, is situated on public land at a busy road intersection in Bladensburg just outside Washington. Fred Edwords and two other plaintiffs filed a 2014 lawsuit challenging the cross as a violation of the U.S. Constitution's Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from establishing an official religion and bars governmental actions favoring one religion over another. On the bench, where conservatives hold a 5-4 majority, liberal Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor appeared the most reluctant to find the cross constitutional. Story continues On the question of whether the cross should be retained because of its historic nature, Sotomayor pointed out that there are few large crosses on public land across the nation. "We don't have a long tradition of that. It's sectarian," Sotomayor said. A DOG'S BREAKFAST Fellow liberal Justice Elena Kagan asked tough questions of the monument's supporters, at one point noting that the cross is "the foremost symbol of Christianity." But at another point, Kagan appeared willing to compromise, based on the role of the cross as a war memorial. Aside from its shape, the cross has no other religious themes or imagery. "So why in a case like that can we not say essentially the religious content has been stripped of this monument?" Kagan asked. There appeared little appetite on the court for a broad ruling proposed by the American Legion, a veterans' group that supports the cross, that would say that the government violates the Constitution only when it actively coerces people into practicing religion. Several conservative justices indicated they are not content with the court's current precedent that holds that mere government endorsement of religion is unconstitutional, but the alternative test suggested by the American Legion did not seem to appeal either. One of them, Justice Neil Gorsuch, described both approaches as a "dog's breakfast." Edwords, who is retired, is a long-time member and previous employee of the American Humanist Association, which advocates for the separation of church and state. The most steadfast supporter of the Maryland cross was conservative Justice Samuel Alito, who questioned the American Humanist Association's lawyer, Monica Miller, on the fate of other crosses on public land if she were to win. "Do you want them all taken down?" Alito asked. The cross was funded privately and the property where it stands was in private hands when it was erected, but it is now on land owned by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, a governmental agency. The cross has the backing of President Donald Trump's administration. The American Legion holds memorial events at the site. Veterans and their relatives have said the monument has no religious meaning despite being in the shape of a cross, calling the lawsuit misguided and hurtful. The Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the cross unconstitutional, reversing a Maryland-based federal judge's decision. That ruling was appealed by the park commission and the American Legion, which is represented by the conservative religious rights group First Liberty Institute. The Supreme Court has sent mixed messages about limits on government-approved religious expression, including in two rulings issued on the same day in 2005. In one, it ruled that a monument on the grounds of the Texas state capitol building depicting the biblical Ten Commandments did not violate the Constitution. But in the other, it decided that Ten Commandments displays in Kentucky courthouses and schools were unlawful. Breyer was the decisive vote in both cases. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Additional reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham) By Anthony Boadle and Stephanie Nebehay BRASILIA/GENEVA (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido was to arrive in Brazil on Wednesday night to meet with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro as part of a tour of several nations to drum up international pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to step down. Guaido last month invoked constitutional provisions to assume an interim presidency, arguing Maduro's re-election was fraudulent. He has since recognised by most Western nations - including Brazil - as Venezuela's rightful leader. The congress chief has organised nationwide protests over the past month while the United States has imposed crippling sanctions on Venezuela's key oil industry and government officials. Yet Maduro retains control of state institutions, leaving the two sides locked in a stalemate. Guaido will travel to Brasilia for a two-day visit from Bogota, where he had attended a meeting with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and the regional Lima group about how to resolve the political and economic crisis in Venezuela. "The interim president of Venezuela will meet on Thursday afternoon with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at the Planalto Palace," said Maria Teresa Belandria, appointed by Guaido as his ambassador to Brazil and recognised as such by the far-right Bolsonaro government. After the meeting on 2 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Thursday, Guaido will hold a news conference, the envoy said. Guaido over the weekend called for the international community to make clear all options were on the table to oust Maduro, after security forces loyal to him violently drove back the opposition's attempts to bring humanitarian aid into the country. Yet Brazil, whose northern state of Roraima depends on Venezuela for electrical power, this week played down the possibility of military intervention. While in the Brazilian capital, Guaido will also meet with diplomats of other countries that have recognised him as Venezuela's interim leader, pending new presidential elections, Belandria said. Story continues OPTIONS ON THE TABLE Brazil is hosting one of the Venezuelan opposition's collection points for aid and together with the United States has funded the 200 tonnes of food and medicine being stockpiled in the northern city of Boa Vista. The opposition failed to get that aid across the border as planned last weekend after Maduro closed it, and 25 Venezuelans who were wounded by gunfire in rioting across the frontier were treated in a Brazilian hospital. Maduro denies there is a crisis in the country despite overseeing a hyperinflationary meltdown that has seen sharp increases in malnutrition and the spread of preventable disease, as well as an exodus of 3.4 million Venezuelans since 2015. The socialist leader and his allies, like Russia and Cuba, have accused the opposition of using aid as an excuse for foreign intervention and the United States of preparing for a military incursion. The U.S. special envoy for Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, denied those accusations on Tuesday but said Washington would impose more sanctions on "high-ranking members of the regime and their financial affairs" this week and next. In the latest sign of Maduro's desperation to raise hard currency amid tightening sanctions, at least 8 tons of gold were removed from the Venezuelan central bank's vaults last week, an opposition legislator and three government sources told Reuters. Venezuela's foreign minister on Wednesday suggested talks between Maduro and U.S. President Donald Trump over the crisis - an idea the Trump administration immediately rejected. Jorge Arreaza, addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council, suggested that Maduro and Trump meet to "try to find common ground and explain their differences." He also said his country had lost $30 billion in assets "confiscated" since November 2017 under sanctions. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence ruled out prospects of talks. "The only thing to discuss with Maduro at this point is the time and date for his departure," he said on Twitter. "For democracy to return and for Venezuela to rebuild - Maduro must go," Pence said. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Anthony Boadle in Brasilia; additional reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Sarah Marsh; Editing by Gareth Jones and Dan Grebler) Its been nearly two years since FCA US launched an initiative to bolster its workforces capabilities, and more than 10,000 participants have taken part in the companys effort. In March 2017, FCA cut the ribbon its World Class Manufacturing training facilities, with one located in Kokomo and another at the Tipton Transmission Plant (TTP). These facilities aimed to strengthen the local workforce through continued growth in WCM. At the time of the facilities opening, Brian Harlow, FCAs head of manufacturing, heralded the initiative as yet another example of the automobile manufacturer working toward remaining competitive in a global market. This new WCM academy will further extend that good news story by equipping our employees with the knowledge and training necessary to make FCA compete on the world playing field, said Harlow. WCM has fueled a true cultural change of our company because its a goal of continuous improvement and depends upon engaging our employees at every level in planning, executing, and problem-solving. This system compels us to set priorities and target our efforts, which enables us to use our assets in the best way possible. And it seems Harlows expectations may have been exceeded. At the time, it was anticipated the academies would field 1,500 participants each year, who would work toward improving quality and safety, eliminating waste, and engaging in providing and applying suggestions on how to improve local manufacturing. But according to Lori Hoback, FCA US co-lead of the World Class Manufacturing Academy Indiana, far more employees have gone through the academies than originally projected. Hoback said more than 10,000 participants have been fielded by the academies just shy of their two-year anniversary. We were quick to pay back the investment from the first year, and in the second year weve been able to cross over the 10,000 mark, said Hoback. Weve expanded a little bit from the first year to include some outreach into the community as well. Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute Our main priority is serving our employees, so we do all kinds of manufacturing training, technical training, we also serve as a conduit with local universities to provide opportunities. Those other opportunities include partnerships with Ivy Tech, Indiana University Kokomo, as well as Purdue University. That investment pays dividends for the company as well. According to TTP Plant Manager Joe Good, employees remain the most important aspect of marching local factories up the WCM rating system. Were very blessed to have it here at the plant, said Good. The classes are great. Lori has done a phenomenal job on understanding what the needs are for the plant, and we can go to her and say, Heres a gap we need to close, and come up with the criteria to close that gap. And then we implement. Its a huge blessing, and I think the people really love it. The Tipton plant was the first of the areas five FCA facilities to reach a silver designation on the WCM scale, which was accomplished after audits last year put the plant at a score of 62. Now, with the Tipton plant working toward a gold designation, Good said the academy will play a role in pushing TTP to the next level. Right now its about developing the people, said Good. So when you achieve silver, 60 percent of your plant is through steps one through three [of WCM], and gold is 100 percent. Were working on closing that gap that we didnt have when we achieved silver. PARIS (AP) German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized Wednesday that the European Union's remaining members are unwilling to renegotiate a Brexit agreement the British government accepted but lawmakers have refused to approve. Merkel was in Paris to discuss Brexit, relations with the United States and other European issues with the French president. With the U.K. leaving the EU, the two have positioned France and Germany as the logical drivers of the bloc's future. "The Franco-German relationship is the necessary condition to make Europe move forward," Macron said during a joint news conference with Merkel. Britain's departure is set to take effect on March 29. The absence of an approved agreement on the withdrawal and future relations has created deep concerns of possible economic, transportation and trade chaos from a "no-deal" Brexit. British Prime Minister Theresa May said Tuesday that Parliament will get a chance to vote on whether to ask the EU for a postponement of Brexit day. All member countries would have to approve a delay. Joined by Merkel, Macron said Britain would need a good reason for pushing back its scheduled exit. Any delay request would need to be justified by "a clear perspective on the goal," he said. "We don't need time, we need decisions." "If Britain needs a bit more time, we will not refuse that, but we are aiming for an orderly solution an orderly withdrawal by the British from the European Union," Merkel said. The two leaders reiterated the withdrawal agreement the EU won't renegotiate the divorce deal it reached with the British government in November. Macron and Merkel said they wanted to strengthen defense cooperation between their countries, including developing a Franco-German arms industry and a common stance on weapons exports. In January, they signed a pact to renew a pledge of peace and friendship Germany and France too decades ago to bury the bitterness from World War II. The new pact deals with increased cooperation in the areas of foreign and defense policy, fighting crime and terrorism, international development and research. American Equity Investment Life Holding Company (NYSE:AEL) is a company with exceptional fundamental characteristics. Upon building up an investment case for a stock, we should look at various aspects. In the case of AEL, it is a well-regarded dividend-paying company with a a strong history of performance, trading at a great value. In the following section, I expand a bit more on these key aspects. For those interested in digger a bit deeper into my commentary, read the full report on American Equity Investment Life Holding here. Good value with proven track record and pays a dividend AEL delivered a triple-digit bottom-line expansion over the past couple of years, with its most recent earnings level surpassing its average level over the last five years. Not only did AEL outperformed its past performance, its growth also surpassed the Insurance industry expansion, which generated a 2.2% earnings growth. This paints a buoyant picture for the company. AEL is currently trading below its true value, which means the market is undervaluing the companys expected cash flow going forward. According to my intrinsic value of the stock, which is driven by analyst consensus forecast of AELs earnings, investors now have the opportunity to buy into the stock to reap capital gains. Compared to the rest of the insurance industry, AEL is also trading below its peers, relative to earnings generated. This supports the theory that AEL is potentially underpriced. NYSE:AEL Income Statement, February 27th 2019 For those seeking income streams from their portfolio, AEL is a robust dividend payer as well. Over the past decade, the company has consistently increased its dividend payout, reaching a yield of 0.9%. NYSE:AEL Historical Dividend Yield, February 27th 2019 Next Steps: For American Equity Investment Life Holding, there are three essential factors you should further examine: Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for AELs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for AELs outlook. Financial Health: Are AELs operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why weve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here. Other Attractive Alternatives : Are there other well-rounded stocks you could be holding instead of AEL? Explore our interactive list of stocks with large potential to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! 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 man was stabbed to death in east London on Tuesday night (PA) The scourge of violence in London continues after a man in the capital was knifed to death on Tuesday night. The victim, believed to have been in his 20s, was stabbed near Ilford Station in east London on Tuesday night and died at the scene. The man is thought to have been the fifth person to be stabbed in London on Tuesday and the fourth in less than eight hours. Those stabbings took place in Enfield at 1.50pm, South Ruislip at 4.28pm, Romford at 6.30pm and Ilford at 8.50pm. There have now been 17 homicides in London so far this year, six of which happened in nine days. Homicides across the capital so far in 2019 (PA) The Metropolitan Police said it was called to reports of a stabbing at Cranbrook Road in Ilford on Tuesday night. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene about half an hour later. Zamirullah Stanikzai, 21, who works in a phone shop close to where the attack took place, said he saw two men brandishing knives. I saw people running up and down the station when I went out, he said. MORE: Jeremy Corbyn ally condemned after saying Labour was too apologetic over anti-Semitism MORE: James Bulger murderer Jon Venables begs for anonymity over fears he will be killed Ilford South MP Mike Gapes tweeted that he was shocked and saddened by the killing. The Met said a murder probe had been opened, while no arrests had yet been made. Tuesday in the capital got off to a bloody start when a 25-year-old man was left critically injured in a stabbing in Enfield, north London. Police were called to Green Street at 12.40am and the man was taken to hospital for treatment, while three men aged 24, 26 and 27 were arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder. Emergency services at the scene of the stabbing near Ilford station (Twitter/@stanikzai_19/PA) Officers responded to another incident in Enfield on Tuesday afternoon where a man in his 30s was stabbed in the thigh following an altercation on Parsonage Road at around 1.50pm. The man was later discharged from hospital, while a man arrested at the scene on suspicion of grievous bodily harm was taken into custody. Story continues A few hours later a male, reported to be a teenager, was stabbed at South Ruislip Underground in west London. British Transport Police said it was called to reports of a disturbance at the station shortly before 4.30pm. The man is thought to have been the fifth person to be stabbed in London on Tuesday and the fourth in less than eight hours (PA) The victim was taken to hospital for treatment for a stab wound to his abdomen, which was not thought to be life threatening. Around two hours later police were called to a stabbing in Victoria Road in Romford, east London. An 18-year-old man was taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries. The fatal stabbing later on Tuesday night was the fifth homicide in London in nine days. There have now been 17 homicides in London so far this year (PA) On February 18 Bright Akinleye, 22, died in the lobby of a luxury hotel in Euston Street in Camden, central London, after being stabbed outside. Glendon Spence, 23, died after being stabbed at a youth club in Brixton, south London, on February 21. The following day a 19-year-old man was stabbed to death in Wood Green, north London, while on February 25 a man was fatally stabbed in a fight in Tower Hamlets, east London. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK Kris Osborn Security, How? Locked and Loaded: How the F-35 Will Dominate the Skies Until 2070 The Block 4 initiative is part of a long range trajectory planned for the F-35 described by Pentagon developers as C2D2 - Continuous Capability Development and Delivery. The idea, officials say, is to position the multi-role fighter such that it can consistently accommodate new weapons, stealth materials, sensors and guidance technology as it becomes available. The Air Force has begun early testing, software development and weapons integration for its upcoming Block 4 variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, an emerging model intended to give the multi-role fighter a new dimension of attack mission possibilities, service leaders said. (This first appeared several months ago.) The new version, to emerge in the early 2020s, will add new long-range precision-tracking weapons such as the Small Diameter Bomb II and also integrate a computer-generated automatic ground collision avoidance technology. The next step for F-35 weapons integration will be to address the weapon requirements within Block 4. Integration of the Small Diameter Bomb II has already begun, and flight test is scheduled to start as early as 2019, Capt. Emily Grabowski, Air Force Spokeswoman, told Warrior Maven in a statement. The current consensus among senior Pentagon weapons developers holds that, at the moment, the F-35 is the most capable 5th generation plane in the world. Maintaining this edge, however, is anticipated to quickly become more and more difficult now that both Russia and China are building 5th-gen stealth fighters. Block 4 is important with the national defense strategy to make sure we are modernizing the plane to keep it dominant on the battlefield. We are close to knowing the strategy for how to go after it, Dr. Will Roper, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, told a group of reporters. While the applied impact of Block 4 will incorporate a range of mission-expanding technologies, much of the ongoing preparation work is in the realm of software development, Roper said. Story continues The physical pieces of the plane are moving in a good direction. Most of what we have left to do is software. The department (DoD) has not historically been good at software development. That will take a little longer. I cannot imagine building anything for the Air Force that is not software intensive, Roper said. The Block 4 initiative is part of a long range trajectory planned for the F-35 described by Pentagon developers as C2D2 - Continuous Capability Development and Delivery. The idea, officials say, is to position the multi-role fighter such that it can consistently accommodate new weapons, stealth materials, sensors and guidance technology as it becomes available. We own todays fight, said Lt. Col. Tucker Hamilton, F-35 Test Director, Edwards AFB, told reporters. However, Tucker went on to say that, in the absence of aggressive modernization, sustainment and various improvement efforts, this will no longer remain the case. *********The Pentagon plans to fly the F-35 until 2070******** Small Diameter Bomb II The SDB II, described as a key element of Block 4, is a new air-dropped weapon able to destroy moving targets in all kinds of weather conditions at ranges greater than 40-miles, Air Force and Raytheon officials said. GPS and laser-guided weapons such as Joint Direct Attack Munitions have been around for decades, however, they have primarily been designed for use against fixed or stationary targets. While the Air Force currently uses a laser-guided bomb called the GBU-54 able to destroy moving targets, the new SDB II will be able to do this at longer ranges and in all kinds of weather conditions. In addition, the SDB II is built with a two-way, dual-band data link which enables it to change targets or adjust to different target locations while in flight, Raytheon developers told Warrior Maven. The Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II ), which has already completed a series of wind tunnel tests, can destroy moving targets in all weather conditions at ranges greater than 40 miles -- a Raytheon statement said. A key part of the SDB II is a technology called a tri-mode seeker a guidance system which can direct the weapon using millimeter wave radar, uncooled imaging infrared guidance and semi-active laser technology. Raytheon weapons developers say the tri-mode seeker provides a range of guidance and targeting options typically not used together in one system. Millimeter wave radar gives the weapon an ability to navigate through adverse weather, conditions in which other guidance systems might encounter problems reaching or pinpointing targets. Imagining infrared guidance allows the weapon to track and hone in on heat signatures such as the temperature of an enemy vehicle. With semi-active laser technology, the weapon can be guided to an exact point using a laser designator or laser illuminator coming from the air or the ground, Raytheon officials told Warrior. Also, the SBD II brings a new ability to track targets in flight through use of a two-way Link 16 and UHF data link, Raytheon officials said. One Raytheon SDB II developer told Warrior in a previous interview that the millimeter wave radar turns on first. Then the data link gives it a cue and tells the seeker where to open up and look. Then, the weapon can turn on its IR (infrared) which uses heat seeking technology. The SBD II is engineered to weigh only 208 pounds, a lighter weight than most other air dropped bombs, so that eight of them can fit on the inside of an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Raytheon officials explained. If weapons are kept in an internal weapons bay and not rested on an external weapons pod, then an aircraft can succeed in retaining its stealth properties because the shapes or contours of the weapons will not be visible to enemy radar. About 105 pound of the SDB II is an explosive warhead which encompasses a blast-frag capability and a plasma-jet technology designed to pierce enemy armor, Raytheon officials explained. The SDB II also has the ability to classify targets, meaning it could for example be programmed to hit only tanks in a convoy as opposed to other moving vehicles. The weapon can classify tanks, boats or wheeled targets, Raytheon officials added. Auto Ground Collision Avoidance System Grabowski also told Warrior Maven that, alongside the ongoing integration of the SDB II, the Air Force is progressing with the integration of a technology called Auto-Ground Collision Avoidance System. It is expected to be integrated next year, she added. The technology, now installed on digital F-16 fighters, uses computer algorithms to take over an aircraft's flight trajectory and change a potential collision course with the ground or nearby terrain, senior Air Force officials told Warrior. The technology calculates where the aircraft is and where it would hit the ground based upon the way it is flying at the time, senior Air Force officials told Warrior Maven. If the fighter jet is flying toward a potential collision with the ground, the on-board computer system will override the flight path and pull the aircraft away from the ground. Auto-Ground Collision Avoidance is already saving lives, senior Air Force officials told Warrior Maven. 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. Read full article The House Ways and Means committee is questioning United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer about trade talks with China. In his opening statements, Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) said a trade deal with China needs to secure changes not just additional purchases of American goods. This administration has chosen to take the path of a high-risk confrontation with China. It must hold out for a good deal a structural deal. The future of Americas economic prosperity is at stake, Neal said. Ranking member Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) said an agreement with China needs to be enforceable and measurable. "While we want China to buy more U.S. goods that support farmers, manufacturers, and professionals here at home, its even more important for us to hold China accountable to meeting high international standards on intellectual property rights, subsidization, overcapacity, and the other structural ways in which China distorts the global economy, Brady said in prepared remarks. Lighthizer told lawmakers progress has been made with China but its still early to predict the outcome of negotiations. If we can complete this effort and again I say if and can reach a satisfactory solution to the all-important outstanding issue of enforceability as well as some other concerns, we might be able to have an agreement that helps us turn the corner in our economic relationship with China, said Lighthizer. On Sunday, President Trump announced he was delaying the Friday deadline when tariffs were set to increase from 10% to 25%. Speaking to a group of governors earlier this week, Trump talked about the possibility of a signing summit after productive talks with China. Enforcing a deal While there has been some concern the administration would accept a deal that focuses on the trade imbalance, Lighthizer stressed that the administration wants a measurable and enforceable deal that addresses structural issues. Lighthizer revealed some details about how enforcement would work, if a trade deal is made. Lighthizer said there will be monthly director-level meetings, quarterly vice ministerial level meetings and semi-annual meetings between him and Chinas Vice Premier, Liu He, to discuss any issues. Story continues I should say, this is fairly unique idea -- right? This is not something that has a lot of precedent. But without that sort of thing, to me, we dont have real commitments, Lighthizer said. He added that if a deal is made, individual companies will likely report individual complaints. He also expects systemic problems and patterns to arise. Hopefully, in most cases theyll be resolved at the first or second level. If not, theyll be resolved at my level, he said. If theres disagreement at my level, the United States would expect to act proportionally but unilaterally to insist on enforcement. Lighthizer told lawmakers that negotiators were focused on intellectual property rights, forced technology transfer and other structural issues. Neal asked the trade rep if he envisions one negotiated package in the next few weeks that would solve all those issues. "I'm not foolish enough to think that theres going to be one negotiation thats going to change all the practices of China or our relationship with them. I don't believe that, replied Lighthizer. Lighthizer repeatedly said if there is a deal, work will continue after the signing. Jessica Smith is a reporter for Yahoo Finance based in Washington, D.C. Follow her on Twitter at @JessicaASmith8. Read more: Senators grill pharma execs over drug pricing 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 MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) The Latest on Cardinal George Pell (all times local): 11:25 p.m. The Vatican spokesman says that the Vatican office that handles sex abuse of minors has taken over the case involving Cardinal George Pell following his conviction for molesting two choir boys. Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said Wednesday that the Australian cardinal, the highest Catholic cleric convicted of sex abuse, was being investigated by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, which has the power to remove him from the priesthood. The move was expected as the Church must conduct its own canonical investigation whenever there is a credible allegation of sex abuse. Pell was jailed Wednesday pending his sentencing in the decades-old molestation case. Pope Francis removed Pell as a member of his informal Cabinet in October, and the Vatican confirmed he is no longer its economy minister. ___ 6:40 p.m. The most senior Catholic cleric ever convicted of child sex abuse has been sent to prison and will wait two weeks to learn his sentence for molesting two choirboys in a Melbourne cathedral two decades ago. A Victorian state court judge revoked Cardinal George Pell's bail at the end of a sentencing hearing Wednesday in a packed courtroom. The judge said he would deliver his sentence on March 13. The 77-year-old Pell, who could face 50 years in prison, was taken from the court to the Melbourne Assessment Prison, a maximum security facility where inmates new to the state penal system are assessed. A jury unanimously convicted Pell in December of abusing the two 13-year-olds in a rear room of St. Patrick's Cathedral in 1996 weeks after becoming archbishop of Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city. But Pell wasn't taken into custody immediately because he had surgery scheduled to have both knees replaced. ___ 2 p.m. A judge has revoked Cardinal George Pell's bail and said he would announce the disgraced cleric's sentence on March 13. Story continues The bail revocation means the most senior Catholic cleric ever convicted of child sex abuse will be jailed while waiting to learn his sentence for molesting two choirboys in a Melbourne cathedral two decades ago. Victorian state County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd said Pell was guilty of a breach of trust with an element of brutality and had had a sense of impunity. He said, "I see this as callus, brazen offending blatant." The 77-year-old former Vatican economy minister showed no expression as he walked from the dock with a cane escorted by three court security officers and a prison guard. A jury unanimously convicted Pell in December but the verdict was suppressed until Tuesday. ___ 10 a.m. The most senior Catholic cleric ever convicted of child sex abuse faces his first night in custody following a sentencing hearing for molesting two choirboys in a Melbourne cathedral two decades ago. Victoria state County Court jury unanimously convicted Cardinal George Pell in December of abusing two 13-year-olds in a rear room of St. Patrick's Cathedral in 1996. But unusually, Pell wasn't taken into custody immediately because he had surgery scheduled in Sydney to have both knees replaced. Pell's sentencing hearing is set for Wednesday. Pell could face 50 years in prison. His convictions were suppressed by a court order until Tuesday. Pell's lawyers lodged an appeal and will apply for bail in the Court of Appeal later Wednesday. No date has been set for an appeal hearing. GUERNEVILLE, Calif. (AP) The Latest on winter storms slamming western U.S. states (all times local): 9:30 p.m. A Northern California river that surged over its banks after days of rain has flooded some 2,000 homes, businesses and other buildings. Sonoma County spokeswoman Briana Khan says the Russian River has submerged areas of Guerneville and neighboring Monte Rio, which are described as "islands" because of flooded roads. The river in California's wine country has hit its highest level in about 25 years. Some places were standing in 8 feet (2.44 meters) of water and residents were using kayaks and boats instead of cars. The river is expected to return to its banks late Thursday night. It rose because of storms that also dumped rain and heavy snow in several states in the western U.S. ___ 5 p.m. Idaho's rural mountain towns have been hit hard by several feet of snow this month so much snow, in fact, that one ski area was forced to close while workers try to dig out equipment and make the slopes safe for skiers. The Soldier Mountain ski resort near the small town of Fairfield reported that it would be closed Thursday because of too much snow. The ski area could receive another foot of snow this week. The National Weather Service says weather spotters in the small town of Featherville have reported 60 inches (1.52 meters) of snow since Feb. 22. The mountain town of Stanley became marooned Wednesday after all three highways leading to the town were closed because of drifting snow, avalanches and the risk of more slides. ___ 4:50 p.m. Montana officials have identified a skier who died in an avalanche Tuesday. On Wednesday, Gallatin County sheriff's officials identified 36-year-old Peter Lazar as the Bozeman man caught in the avalanche in the Bridger Mountains. Eric Knoff of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center tells the Bozeman Daily Chronicle that Lazar loved skiing and had recently been accepted into a school for physical therapy. Story continues Avalanche center officials released a statement saying Lazar was alone when he triggered the slide, which carried him 1,000 vertical feet (305 meters) down a steep slope. Montana is one of several states being pummeled by a strong winter storm. Gov. Steve Bullock signed an emergency order Wednesday meant to help keep up the supply of heating fuel amid the massive snowfall and frigid temperatures affecting the state. ___ 2:25 p.m. The famed West Coast highway that runs from Washington to California is closed at a spot along the Oregon coast after a landslide caused severe damage to the roadway. U.S. Highway 101 was cracked and severed at points near the southwest Oregon town of Brookings. The Oregon Department of Transportation says in a statement that there is a threat of more landslides amid heavy rain and snow caused by a storm system that is pummeling Northern California, Nevada, Washington state and Montana. Traffic is being detoured Wednesday using a long, narrow and winding road with steep grades. The department says it has a bid to repair damage but that work cannot start until the landslide stops. Landslides are common on the stretch of highway on the southern Oregon Coast. ___ 12:30 p.m. An avalanche has prompted Amtrak officials to suspend passenger rail service between Sacramento and Reno, Nevada after more than more than 4 feet (1.2 meters) of snow fell in the Sierra Nevada. Officials also shut down a 70-mile (112-kilometers) stretch of Interstate 80 from Reno to Colfax, California. Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods said Wednesday that service on the California Zephyr rail line has been suspended until weather conditions improve from a series of storm that has dumped rain in Northern California and snow in the mountains that divide the state from Nevada. The storm has also caused heavy snow in Washington state and Montana. The avalanche sent snow onto the tracks owned by Union Pacific at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday at Donner Pass about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of Truckee, California. Union Pacific spokesman Tim McMahan says crews are still working to clear the tracks. He says there's no estimate on when they will reopen. The region remains under a winter storm warning until 4 a.m. Thursday. ___ 12 p.m. A resident of a Northern California town isolated by floodwaters who stayed behind instead of heeding an evacuation order says he and many in the community are well prepared to ride out the storm. Reached by telephone Wednesday in Guerneville north of San Francisco, Jeff Bridges said Wednesday he is staying on the second-floor of his house because the first floor is swamped by 7 feet (2.1 meters) of water. He says the town has experienced several floods and people stack up on food and water and hanker down until the water recedes. Bridges says "everyone just pulls together." Bridges co-owns a hotel and says he plans to canoe through the town to assess the damage from the storms that soaked Northern California and also dumped heavy snow in western U.S. states including Nevada, Washington state and Oregon. Sonoma County Sheriff spokesman Sgt. Spencer Crum estimates that only half of about 4,000 people told to evacuate Guerneville and two dozen other towns actually left their homes. ___ 10:10 a.m. Authorities say blowing and drifting snow in eastern Washington state has closed down portions of several state highways, forced schools to close and caused numerous vehicle crashes. Winds were gusting up to 35 mph (56 kph) and the National Weather Service said Wednesday that the snow would fall through Thursday. The service says drifting snow was creating problems in an area spanning the Columbia Basin, the western suburbs of Spokane and farming areas south of Spokane. ___ 9:40 a.m. An official estimates that only half of about 4,000 people told to evacuate towns north of San Francisco that are flooded or threatened with floods actually left their homes. Sonoma County Sheriff spokesman Sgt. Spencer Crum said deputies went door to door before the Russian River broke its banks late Tuesday to advise people to leave. As of Wednesday, the communities of Guerneville and Monte Rio were surrounded by the rising water and roads leading into both of them were swamped. Crum said Wednesday that those who decided to stay stocked up on food and drinking water. The only way to reach the two communities now is by boat. Crum says sheriff's deputies in a boating team are patrolling the flooded areas to prevent looting. He says four National Guard high-water rescue vehicles are ready to be used if needed. Deputies have also helped people get out of cars stuck in floodwaters. ___ 9:35 a.m. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock has signed an emergency order meant to help keep up the supply of heating fuel amid the massive snowfall and frigid temperatures affecting the state. The order signed Wednesday by the Democratic governor suspends rules that restrict working hours for truckers carrying heating fuel. It cites harsh winter conditions that have resulted in distributors having to travel farther to find fuel sources and deliveries being delayed by poor road conditions. Truck drivers aren't allowed to work too many hours in a row and must rest a certain amount of time between shifts. Bullock's order lifts those restrictions for truckers hauling propane, heating oil and diesel fuel until March 28. If a driver says he or she needs immediate rest, the "hours of service" requirements must be followed, regardless of the order. ___ 8 a.m. An official says a second Northern California community is isolated by floodwaters after a river broke its banks. Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman tells KTVU-TV all the roads into the town of 1,000 people along the Russian River north of San Francisco are inundated. Baxman said Wednesday that crews have been rescuing people from cars stuck in flood waters caused by a series of storms hitting states from California to Montana with rain and snow. Forecasters say the Russian River in Sonoma County topped 32 feet (9.8 meters) Tuesday evening and it that it could crest at more than 46 feet (14 meters) by Wednesday night. Baxman says the area won't be in the clear until the river start going back down. To the east Monte Rio, the small city of Guerneville is also only accessible by boat. ___ 7:45 a.m. Officials in rural western Montana are prepared to rescue nearly 50 snowed-in residents if they need help. But so far, KULR-TV reports that the 46 residents in Cascade County are managing and don't need assistance. Capt. Scott Van Dyken of the Cascade County Sheriff's Office says the people who are stranded live in remote cabins accessible by private roads. Snow drifts as high as 6 feet (1.8 meters) in some areas are trapping people in their homes. The sheriff's office has contacted every family to make sure they have a way of calling for emergency help. Montana residents are digging out from a series of snowstorms that have buried parts of the state this winter. ___ 6:45 a.m. Officials say flood waters have inundated a California town north of San Francisco and that the community is now only accessible by boats after a rain-swollen river overflowed its banks. The Sonoma Sheriff's Office said in a statement Wednesday that Guerneville is "officially an island" because all roads leading to it are covered by water. Residents of the town with 4,500 people and two dozen other communities along the Russian River were ordered to evacuate. The National Weather Service says the Russian River in Sonoma County topped 32 feet (9.8 meters) Tuesday evening and it that it could crest at more than 46 feet (14 meters) by Wednesday night. The river has repeatedly flooded following heavy rains, but this marks the highest level that its waters have risen in more than two decades. Several other Northern California creeks and rivers are expected to crest before the storm eases out of the region. Heavy snow has prompted the closure of several mountain roads in the Sierra Nevada. ___ 12 a.m. Thousands of people along a flooded river are under evacuation orders as a relentless storm pounds Northern California with heavy rain and snow. The town of Guerneville and some two dozen other communities are at risk of flooding from the Russian River north of San Francisco, which hit flood stage Tuesday evening and was expected to peak Wednesday morning at more than 46 feet (14 meters). That's the highest point in nearly a quarter-century. No major problems have been reported yet but authorities worry about impassable roads and the chance of mudslides in areas scarred by wildfires. Flood watches and warnings also remain up throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. In the Sierra Nevada, snow closed some 50 miles (15 meters) of Interstate 80 to the Nevada state line overnight. By Stephen Kalin and Ghaida Ghantous BEIRUT/DUBAI (Reuters) - White House adviser Jared Kushner made a whirlwind visit this week to rally U.S.-allied Gulf Arab allies to support his still- unannounced Middle East peace plan, the leaked contours of which suggest little has been done to address Arab demands. Kushner's approach to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict does not appear to have progressed since his last regional tour in June, focusing largely on economic initiatives at the expense of a land-for-peace deal long central to the official Arab position, two sources in the Gulf told Reuters on Wednesday. Palestinians have refused to discuss any peace blueprint with the United States in the wake of President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017, while some Arab leaders have publicly rejected any deal that fails to address Jerusalem's status or refugees' right of return. Kushner, who is President Donald Trump's son-in-law, met with leaders in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman this week. He arrived in Turkey on Wednesday. Three sources said Kushner had gone to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday although there was no official statement on the visit or his meetings with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Saudi media office did not respond to a request for comment. One of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the plan presented this week did not appear to take into consideration previously stated Arab demands on the status of Jerusalem, the right of Palestinian refugees to return and Israeli settlements in occupied territory. Under the Arab Peace Initiative drawn up by Saudi Arabia in 2002, Arab nations offered Israel normal ties in return for a statehood deal with the Palestinians and full Israeli withdrawal from territory captured in 1967. The source said Kushner, a real estate developer with little experience of international diplomacy or political negotiation, wanted to make a deal first and then agree on details. The source added that the plan envisages a "substantial" financial contribution from Gulf states, but did not provide details. ARAB CONCERNS King Salman has dismissed Arab concerns that Saudi Arabia might back a U.S. deal that aligns with Israel on key issues, after the crown prince, who is close to Kushner, reportedly pressed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to support the administration's efforts. Kushner's meeting with Prince Mohammed on Tuesday was the first since the murder of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last October sparked an outcry and tarnished the prince's image. Jordan, a U.S. ally where a majority of the population are descendants of Palestinians who fled during or after the creation of Israel in 1948, insists that no peace can be achieved without dealing with Jerusalem, where it serves as custodian of Muslim holy sites. "The Americans are still in the process of presenting various ideas and scenarios but don't appear to have arrived at final parameters of a plan," said a second source in the Gulf region. "They know that there are final-status issues that are non-starters for regional allies and the Palestinians alike," the source added, referring to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. Kushner was given responsibility for Israel-Palestinian policy two years ago, but has still not provided concrete details of U.S. efforts, which Trump has dubbed "the deal of the century". Kushner said in an interview on Monday that Washington would present the peace plan only after Israel's election on April 9, though previous targets have passed without any announcement. He said it would build on past efforts -- including the 1990s Oslo accords that provided a foundation for Palestinian statehood -- and resolve borders and final-status issues. But he made no specific mention of a Palestinian state. Israel has long rejected any return to what it has described as indefensible boundaries that existed before it captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war. (Writing by Stephen Kalin; Editing by Kevin Liffey) Both the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex are known for their enviable style. When William and Kate announced their engagement in 2010, the blue Issa dress she wore flew off the shelves and shes been a trend-setter ever since. The Kate effect is still going strong eight years on from their wedding and the duchess has her own fail-safe fashion formula. She loves to team designer pieces with high street wears and champions British fashion brands, including Alexander McQueen, Jenny Packham and Catherine Walker. Kate wearing Gucci for the 100 Women in Finance gala and Meghan in Carolina Herrera in Morocco [Photos: Getty] Meghan has added some Hollywood glamour to the royal fold and introduced us to some little-known Canadian and American fashion labels. Shes also renowned for her love of high-end pieces from the likes of her wedding dress designer Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy, Dior and Stella McCartney. The former actress would have been loaned clothing from fashion labels for the red carpet, press junkets and photoshoots, but thats all changed since she married into the firm. Kate in the Issa dress that kick-started the Kate effect on her engagement with William in 2010 [Photo: Getty] The Daily Mirrors fashion and beauty director Amber Graafland says the Royal Family members do not accept free clothing. She tells Yahoo UKs The Royal Box: You can imagine that every brand in the world is desperate for Meghan or Kate to be seen wearing their clothes because its a huge endorsement, its amazing advertising. She explains that packages will arrive at the palace and get shown to Meghan and Kate and if they decide to wear something, they pay for the items they keep. So who funds it? Prince Charles private estate The Duchy of Cornwall funds his immediate family [Photo: PA] Prince Charles runs his own estate called the Duchy of Cornwall which funds the public, charitable and private activities of his immediate family, including William and Harry and their wives and children including a clothing allowance. This private estate was set up in 1337 to provide an income to the heir to the throne. The Duchy of Cornwall owns and operates a vast amount of land and properties across the country, bringing in an annual surplus in excess of 20m ($26.5m) that goes to the royal couple. Story continues They also receive some money from the Queens Sovereign Grant and UK government departments to pay for their official trips, property expenses and security. 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: Kate Middletons style file: Every outfit the Duchess of Cambridge has worn to work in 2019 Meghan Markles 2019 style file: Every outfit the Duchess of Sussex has worn out this year Meghan Markles outfits from her Morocco royal tour 2019 Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway has hit out at a school for banning its pupils from using fake tan. Garraway shared her views on the matter following the news that the headmaster of Ulverston Victoria High School in Cumbria banned fake tan for its pupils after some of them came back from half-term apparently looking fairly orange. I think maybe its a step too far, she began. I think fake tans are actually a good thing. Her co-host for the day Ben Shephard looked bemused as he replied: Even when youre a student at school? Kate Garraway defends students using fake tan at school Garraway continued: Look, no ones saying that when you go to school you should be thinking about your tan. Of course you shouldnt be thinking about makeup and boys and social media everyone knows that. But teenagers do think about their appearance. And as an alternative to sun beds and frying in the sun like Im ashamed to say I did. I used to put olive oil on my skin because I wanted to look like George Michael in the 80s. You know, that reddy-brown mahogany look? Later in the programme, Garraway and Shephard continued the debate with Katie Ivens, the Vice Chairman of the Campaign for Real Eduction, who argued that pupils should be focusing on gaining knowledge, rather than their appearance. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. There is too much focus in our education system on feel good, me, me, me, said Ivens. The focus should honestly be on teaching the children, so they get the knowledge. Once you get to school, it doesnt really matter what youve got on your face or what you havent got on your face your focus should be on the knowledge. Garraway argued that fake tan can give students confidence to learn and be present in the classroom, but Ivens insisted that it only encourages them to focus on their appearance and that they should instead be focused on learning. Read more Stacey Solomon reveals fears for children over horrifying Momo Challenge Simon Mayo opens up about his easy decision to leave BBC Radio 2 Chris Evans reveals he and his wife found maggots in their bed An incumbent Democratic candidate for Kokomo Common Council attempted to void a challenge to his candidacy after his legal counsel called the legitimacy of the challenge itself into question. After a local voter challenged the validity of Kokomo Common Council President Bob Hayes bid to seek reelection, the incumbent candidates attorney returned fire during last weeks meeting of the Howard County Election Board. Hayes attorney, Manny Herceg, claimed the wording of the challenge, filed by a local voter, didnt stand up to parameters set forth by the Indiana code. The challenge, filed by Kokomo resident Joshua Layton, came two weeks ago and centered on Laytons claim that Hayes primary residency may not be Howard County. This claim, submitted to the clerks office in a CAN-1 form, included paperwork showing the candidates name on property in Osceola, Ind., which he is listed as owning with his wife. His registration for the election listed a Kokomo address, and since the allegation arose, Hayes has claimed to have been a lifelong resident of Kokomo. But Hayes residency didnt serve as his legal counsels primary argument during the recent election board hearing. During last weeks meeting, which had been scheduled prior to challenges being filed against Hayes and two other Democratic candidates seeking common council seats, board members sought to set a date for a hearing on the challenges. But, Herceg contested that the challenge against his client shouldnt even reach that point due to how Layton worded his claim against the candidate. In his challenge form, Layton reworded the phrasing of his claim. It read, under a section designated as facts known to me and lead me to believe that the individual listed ... is ineligible to be a candidate for the office, Layton wrote, Primary residency may not be Howard County. But between the words residency and may, the words is not are scratched out. Herceg contended utilizing the phrase may not didnt stand up to scrutiny under the Indiana code. Mr. Layton states the basis for the challenge is primary residency is not, and thats crossed out, said Herceg. It says may not be Howard County. Thats not a fact. Thats an opinion. As a basic requirement of the statute, the challenge cant be heard and should be dismissed before setting a hearing because its not based on fact. He had to verify this under oath. And he started to write a fact, and he crossed it out and wrote an opinion. Respectfully, I would contest that this challenge is invalid on its face. Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute Herceg further contended the claim, citing a social media post by Layton that read, All I can say is my limited research leads me to believe that he may reside in Osceola. Even if that was on this challenge form its not a fact, said Herceg. Its akin, essentially, to an absurd but hypothetical situation, as if somebody were to challenge any candidates on any assertion that he or she is not 18 years of age without any basis in fact whatsoever. Derick Steele, the Democratic appointee to the three-member election board, wasnt certain about dismissing the challenge under Hercegs chosen pretense. My gut on that would be, while I understand the assertions that qualifications of facts may render them lesser than we would typically like to see, Im not sure that would rise to the level of the dismissal on its face like with any general pleading, said Steele. I would think that when were talking about moving to dismiss for it being insufficient on its face, we need to err on the side of the challenger. If theres any grounds here where we could see the basis for the challenge and Im not making any determination about Mr. Hayes residency but if it may be an inappropriate residence thats enough of a grounds for the board to at least survive to at least get us to the hearing. The meeting concluded with no definitive action taken on the matter by the board but to schedule a date for a hearing on the challenges against Hayes, as well as council candidates Chris Wendt and Jimmy Jones. The challenges against Wendt and Jones were both filed by Justin Kingery, who claimed neither candidate voted in the last primary election as a Democrat. Without local Democratic Party approval, both candidates may be removed from the ballot unless they win the boards favor. Neither Wendt nor Jones attended last weeks meeting. In the instance of Hayes challenge, the board asked that Hercegs claim be submitted to the board in writing so it can be reviewed prior to a hearing date set for March 4. Board members intended to review the claim with Howard County attorney Alan Wilson. Then, after input is garnered from Wilson, the board will let the involved parties know if a hearing will be held regarding the challenge against Hayes prior to the hearing date. Regardless, the challenges against Wendt and Jones will go before the board on the set hearing date. KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Kansas City has shed its reputation as one of the largest cities in the U.S. without a public memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. The city on Monday installed the first signs along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. After an often contentious debate, the City Council voted last month to rename a 10-mile (16-kilometer) stretch of a local roadway after the civil rights leader. The Kansas City Star reports the change came after a push by religious leaders and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization King helped found. The delay was caused by some council members who didn't believe residents and businesses along Paseo Boulevard had been properly consulted about changing the name of the section of the roadway, known locally as The Paseo. The city will replace the remaining signs over the next few months. ___ Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com Our Solar System is full of planets and moons that are quite interesting, varying from dusty rock worlds like Mars to frigid collections of methane lakes like on Saturns moon Titan. But of all the objects orbiting the Sun, Jupiter has to be the most interesting to look at. Theres just so much going on in its swirling clouds that you could stare forever and never get bored. NASAs Juno orbiter has been doing some fantastic work as it orbits the gas giant, sending back stunning images of the planet in greater detail than anyone has ever seen. NASA choose to showcase one such image this week, and boy is it pretty. Dramatic atmospheric features in Jupiters northern hemisphere are captured in this view from NASAs Juno spacecraft, NASA explains in a new blog post. The new perspective shows swirling clouds that surround a circular feature within a jet stream region called Jet N6.' NASA says the image was snapped back on February 12th, 2019, and was taken during Junos 18th flyby of Jupiter. The spacecraft was some 8,000 miles from the tops of the swirling vortex you see here, but thats still close enough to capture some remarkable detail. Jupiter is covered in massive storms that stretch for hundreds of miles into the planet. In terms of overall size, some of the storms like the iconic Great Red Spot could swallow Earth many times over. Understanding how the storms are born, live, and die, as well as what powers them, is something NASAs Juno team has been working on for a long time now. Much of Jupiter is still a mystery to scientists, as we have very little idea what the huge storm clouds are hiding deep within the planet. What factors determine the colors of the various clouds is also something researchers are still trying to figure out, and images like this one are eye candy for science fans. Trending Right Now: See the original version of this article on BGR.com Elon Musk is facing a new round of regulatory trouble for tweets about Tesla, raising fresh concerns about the chief executive officers ability to keep his impulses in check and responsibly run a public company. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday asked a judge to hold Musk in contempt for violating a settlement that required him to get Teslas approval before communicating material information to investors. He breached that deal with a Feb. 19 tweet that said Tesla would make about half a million cars in 2019, the agency claims. The CEO posted a few hours later that deliveries would only reach about 400,000. The SECs move, which sent Tesla shares down about 2.5 percent shortly after the start of regular trading Tuesday, puts Musk in fresh legal peril less than five months after he settled claims he misled investors with tweets about taking the electric-car maker private. He could face a variety of penalties, with the stiffest being that hell be barred from running Tesla or any other public company for a period of time, said Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. Having your CEO in contempt of an SEC action is a pretty bad thing, Elson said in a phone interview. They settled with him and within a few months hes back to doing similar things. Its unbelievable. Calls to Tesla and emails to Musk and his representative werent immediately returned. In tweets after the filing, Musk criticized the SEC and said it had overlooked comments he made on the companys Jan. 30 earnings call that Tesla may make as many as 500,000 of its Model 3 sedans this year. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan, who is handling the case, hasnt scheduled a hearing to weigh the contempt request. On Tuesday, she told Musk to file a brief responding to the SEC by March 11. Needless Distraction Losing Musk, the principal architect of Teslas vision of a future where electric vehicles and solar power reduce humanitys dependence on greenhouse gases, would be gutting for the company. The automaker has relied on its CEO not just for technology leadership but for its bold, anti-establishment image. Story continues But the cult of personality has also had a downside for Tesla, with Musk sending the stock into a tailspin after antics such as smoking marijuana during a podcast interview or insulting analysts on a conference call. Musk continues to be reckless with Twitter, said Gene Munster, a managing partner at venture capital firm Loup Ventures. If you were hoping for him to change, its clear that its not going to happen. Its unfortunate because its a needless distraction from the companys world-class product line. Tesla shares were already down 10 percent this year through the close of regular trading Monday. Musk was subject to regulatory scrutiny in August soon after posting on Twitter that he was considering taking the company private at $420 a share and had funding secured. In its September lawsuit, the SEC said Musk hadnt discussed any specific deal terms with any funding partners and knew the potential transaction was uncertain. The accord required Musk and the company to each pay a $20 million penalty and also barred him from serving as chairman for three years. Statements tied to the Model 3, Teslas lower-priced electric car, have also caught the SECs attention. The agency and the Justice Department have both sought information from Tesla over forecasts made about Model 3 production in 2017, when the carmaker started making the sedan but fell well short of Musks projections. Inaccurate Information The SEC alleged Monday that Musk once again published inaccurate and material information about Tesla to his over 24 million Twitter followers, including members of the press, and made this inaccurate information available to anyone with Internet access. The first tweet Musk sent on Feb. 19 said: Tesla made 0 cars in 2011, but will make around 500k in 2019. Later, Musk clarified to say the companys annualized production rate at end of the year would probably be around 500,000. The next day, Tesla announced that its general counsel was leaving, just two months after the company hired him. The SEC has to view the conduct as akin to another violation of securities laws to take this step, said Brad Bennett, a former SEC enforcement attorney. Its a very novel situation where someone is running an enterprise with this kind of market cap and gives the SEC cause for concern that the person is not capable of following the securities laws. In its defense, Tesla lawyers said Musk was trying to recapitulate a pre-approved statement from the companys earnings call, stating that the company would get production to 10,000 vehicles a week by the end of the year, according to the attorneys Feb. 22 letter to the SEC included in court filings Monday. The companys attorneys stressed that Tesla and Musk take seriously their responsibility under the settlement reached with the SEC last year to review communications about securities issues made through Twitter and other social media. Although the 7:15 PM EST tweet was not individually pre-approved, Mr. Musk believed that the substance had already been appropriately vetted, pre-approved, and publicly disseminated, they wrote to the agency. Clarifying Tweet When Teslas designated securities counsel who monitors Musks Twitter account saw the tweet, the attorney immediately arranged to meet with Musk at the carmakers Fremont, California, plant. Together, they drafted a clarifying tweet, according to the letter. Since agreeing to the settlement, Musk has repeatedly antagonized Wall Streets main regulator. A few days after the Sept. 29 agreement, he dubbed the SEC the Shortseller Enrichment Commission in a tweet. In December, Musk told Lesley Stahl of CBSs 60 Minutes that he didnt respect the agency. Its very clear that the SEC is not happy with Musk, said Stephen Diamond, an associate professor of law at Santa Clara University who specializes in corporate governance. Musk is on a self-destructive path. Hes the controlling stockholder but hes not respecting the rights of other shareholders. The case is SEC v. Musk, 18-cv-8865, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan). A key ally of Jeremy Corbyn has apologised after he was criticised by several Labour MPs for saying the party has been too apologetic over anti-Semitism. Derby North MP Chris Williamson also suggested that Labours response to complaints of anti-Semitism had contributed to the party being demonised. In a clip published by the Yorkshire Post, Mr Williamson told a meeting hosted by grassroots group Momentum that the party had given too much ground. Labour MP Chris Williamson said the party has been too apologetic over anti-Semitism (PA) Jeremy Corbyn insists he is tackling anti-Semitism in the Labour party (Getty) Mr Williamson also said he had celebrated the resignation of former Labour MP Joan Ryan, who defected to join the Independent Group of MPs last week. Following condemnation from MPs in his own party, Mr Willliamson has now apologised for his recent choices of words. 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. Labour are also now investigating Mr Williamson but he has not been suspended something Prime Minister Theresa May said should happen during PMQs. Jewish MP Luciana Berger, who quit Labour over its handling of anti-Semitism, wrote on Twitter of the video: This is what I have left behind. Its toxic. Our country deserves so much better. #ChangePolitics. Labour deputy leader Tom Watson described Mr Williamsons behaviour as deliberately inflammatory and is reportedly set to call for his suspension from the party. MORE: Fire crews tackle huge blaze on Saddleworth Moor as Britain bakes in record-breaking winter temperatures MORE: Magnitude 3 earthquake rocks Surrey less than 10 miles from Gatwick Airport Meanwhile, Cardiff South MP Stephen Doughty tweeted: This conduct is unacceptable and has no place in our party. I have made clear to both the leaders office and our whips that I expect urgent action to be taken. Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips said Mr Williamsons comment seemed specifically designed to upset, adding: Must be disciplined. Mr Williamson is a prominent supporter of Jeremy Corbyn (Getty) Theresa May has a higher approval rating than Jeremy Corbyn (PA) Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy said anti-Semtitism has to be expunged not ignored, tweeting: Those who perpetuate it or minimise it bring the party into disrepute. No ifs, no buts. #standupspeakup. Story continues And Ilford North MP Wes Streeting tweeted: Stomach-turning. No action will be taken. In the video, recorded at a meeting in Sheffield, Mr Williamson said: The party that has done more to stand up to racism is now being demonised as a racist, bigoted party. I have got to say I think our partys response has been partly responsible for that because in my opinion we have backed off on too much, we have given too much ground, we have been too apologetic. Several Labour MPs quit in part because of anti-Semitism in the party (Getty) Mr Williamson also said he had sung Celebration by Kool & The Gang after hearing of Ms Ryans resignation. She was one of nine MPs who quit in protest at Mr Corbyns leadership last week, with his handling of anti-Semitism in the party among their central grievances. The video of Mr Williamson emerged as he came under fire for booking a room in Parliament for a screening of a film about anti-Semitism and activist Jackie Walker. Labour has been rocked by anti-Semitism scandals over the past few months (Getty) She was suspended by Labour over allegedly anti-Semitic comments in 2016. Mr Watson said he reported the matter to the chief whip and general secretary as soon as he found out about it. A Labour Party spokesman said Mr Williamsons actions had been completely inappropriate and fell below the standards it expects of MPs. During a visit to Derbyshire in January, Mr Corbyn said Mr Williamson was a very good, very effective Labour MP. 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 Labour leader told Derbyshire Live: Hes a very strong anti-racist campaigner. He is not anti-Semitic in any way. Mr Williamson was first elected MP for Derby North in 2010, but was unseated in the 2015 general election. He ran again in 2017, this time receiving a visit from Mr Corbyn during the general election campaign, and won. Mr Williamson was later made a shadow fire and emergency services minister. He left the post by mutual agreement six months later after commenting on policy outside his brief to suggest that council tax should be doubled for better-off homes. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK Jagmeet Singh has secured himself a seat in the House of Commons, and now his sights are set on becoming prime minister. We made history today, Singh told his supporters Monday after winning the federal byelection in Burnaby South. When I was growing up as a kid, I couldve never imagined someone like me ever running to be prime minister. Guess what? We just told a lot of kids out there: Yes, you can.' It wasnt very surprising, political analyst Philippe Fournier said of the result, calling the B.C. seat a favourable for New Democrats, It also helps that the Greens didnt run a candidate in the British Columbia riding, Fournier added. The win is important for Singh because it provides a platform to share his vision in Parliament. It also gives him an opportunity to debate his biggest political opponents during question period. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. But the byelection results werent entirely positive for New Democrats. The party did lose their seat in Montreals Outremont, the riding former leader Tom Mulcair held since 2007. He lost it, but he lost it badly, too, Fournier said of the Quebec riding. The NDP is now polling at 12 to 14 per cent nationally, a distant third behind the Liberals and Conservatives, according to Fournier. Its really, really bad, the creator of political blogs 338Canada and Qc125 said of the NDPs poll numbers. [Singh] has not really been that convincing. Highlighting Canadas housing crisis The new MP will have to find a way to connect with Canadians if he wishes to fulfil his dream of becoming prime minister. Former NDP national director Karl Belanger acknowledges the key to success for Singh will be showing that he can grow the party. He needs to find a way to connect with [voters] and to tell a story that they can relate to, Belanger said. So far, he has been unable to establish that kind of narrative. Hoping to improve on the 44 seats the NDP won in 2015, Singh may have identified an issue that affects nearly all Canadians. Story continues Across Canada, people are worried about housing, Singh told CBC News Network on Tuesday. People are finding it hard to find a home. Vancouver Sun columnist Daphne Bramham says this is a problem that is especially pressing for young people. The issue of housing is as important in Regina as it is in Vancouver, Bramham told Yahoo Canada. Singh says its a crisis that is top of mind for many Canadians, among the top three for many he has spoken to. He insists its the governments job to find solutions for problems, and this one could be addressed with more affordable housing. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Why Quebec may be a challenge The housing debate is one that could potentially win over millennials, but it may not be enough to regain the support the NDP has lost since the orange wave swept across Canada in 2011. Led by Jack Layton, the party became the official Opposition for the first time ever, propelled by strong gains in Quebec. Fournier sees the Liberals emerging as the big winners if the NDP cant improve on the 16 seats won in Quebec during the the last election. Weve got lots of great support to build on, weve got great MPs that are there, Singh said, as reported by The Canadian Press. Theres a potential roadblock in Quebec this time around because of the fact that Singh, a Sikh, wears a turban. Fournier, a Quebec native, says its more about religion for Quebecers than it is about race when it comes to voting. After all, this is a province that last year gave a majority mandate to a government that has proposed a ban on public servants wearing religious symbols at work. It does turn off many Quebecers, Fournier admitted. That may not be as big of an issue for the rest of Canada. In 2017, an Angus Reid Institute poll suggested 56 per cent of Canadians could vote for someone who wears a religious head covering. I would argue that hes still a fairly unknown entity to Canadian voters, Belanger told Yahoo Canada. So thats a challenge, but its also an opportunity. Bramham says Singhs message appears to be that the politics of division that weve seen mostly in the U.S. underscores social problems that arent being addressed. Young people cant buy houses. Young people cant afford to live in the Lower Mainland (Metro Vancouver) and they cant find good jobs. They can get an education, but they still cant get a good job. Is Singh Canadas Bernie Sanders? Singhs message goes back to the roots of the NDP, according to Bramham, and that may be one that hits home with millennials social justice and equality for all. Its a very socialist message that hes sending, the columnist said. That message, it certainly resonated in the U.S. with Bernie Sanders, and its a message thats resonating, I think, with younger people. The question is: will those younger people vote? And they did vote for Justin Trudeau; he mobilized that group. A progressive, populist message that appeals to average Canadians might be the key to success for Singh and the NDP, according to Bramham. How that message is delivered across the country will likely determine how successful the NDP will be in the fall election. And if Singh wants the support of Quebecers, Fournier says improving his French by mastering pronunciation will go a long way, especially among voters in the Montreal area. If the NDP stays around that 12 to 14 per cent nationally, I dont see them making any gains, Fournier said. I just do not see any Quebec seats staying with the NDP. Jagmeet Singh celebrates his Burnaby South byelection win on Monday in British Columbia. The federal NDP leader will now get a chance to represent his party in Parliament for the first time. Photo from The Canadian Press. With files from The Canadian Press MPs have voted against adopting Labours Brexit policy in the latest Commons battle over the UKs approach to leaving the EU. Jeremy Corbyns proposal, which includes close trade ties with the EU and keeping the UK in a customs union, was defeated by 323 votes to 240. In theory, the defeat means Labour will now move to back a second Brexit referendum after Mr Corbyn said on Monday he would move to do so if his Brexit plan was rejected. The Labour leader told his MPs he was ready to support moves to demand a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country. Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer was clear that Labour would put forward or support a Peoples Vote at some point, without providing detail on when this might happen. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Labour spokespeople have been ambiguous about the partys support for a second Brexit vote, saying they will continue to push for other options, including their alternative approach to the deal. Shadow minister Richard Burgon tweeted there would be more opportunities to back Mr Corbyns plan, and failed to mention the notion of another Brexit referendum. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. MPs also rejected an amendment from the SNP to rule out no deal under any circumstances by 324 votes to 288. Senior Labour MP Yvette Cooper put forward an amendment pinning down the Prime Minister on promises she made this week, which was approved by 502 votes to 20. Around 80 Tory MPs abstained on the vote, showing the PM is far from able to rely on the hardcore Eurosceptics in her party. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. After bowing to pressure from her own party, Theresa May said yesterday if she loses she would then give MPs a chance to vote on whether they want to leave without a deal. If this is then voted down, MPs will vote again on whether they wish to delay Brexit for a short period. What is the EUs current position? European leaders have said today that they could block proposals to delay Brexit. Speaking at a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris, the French president Emmanuel Macron said: We would support an extension request only if it was justified by a new choice of the British. Story continues Mrs Merkel said: If Great Britain needs more time we will not oppose it but of course we are seeking an orderly exit. We regret this step, but it is reality and we now have to find a good solution. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK ITV and BBCs BritBox service. Photo: Screenshot ITV (ITV.L) and the BBC have announced plans to launch a new subscription online streaming service to rival Netflix, dubbed BritBox. Both broadcasters released statements on Wednesday saying that they are in the final stages of talks to establish a strategic partnership on the new service. The platform, set to launch in the UK later this year, will host classic British boxsets and series, as well as new commissions created specially for the service. The exact programmes on BritBox have not been announced but the website for the new service features images from ITV programmes Young Victoria and Broadchurch alongside BBC shows McMafia and Les Miserables. The price of a BritBox subscription in the UK has not yet been set but both parties said it would be competitive. Carolyn McCall, CEO of ITV, said in a statement: BritBox will be the home for the best of British creativity celebrating the best of the past, the best of today and investing in new British originated content in the future. BBC Director General Tony Hall said in a statement: I am delighted that the BBC and ITV are working together on something truly special BritBox. A new streaming service delivering the best home grown content to the public who love it best. The service will have everything from old favourites to recent shows and brand new commissions. Its an exciting time for the viewing public. The partnership between two of the UKs biggest broadcasters comes at a time of intense competition and change in the TV industry. US giants such as Netflix (NFLX) and Amazon (AMZN) are helping to drive rapid changes in how people consumer shows while also signing up millions of customers around the world. ITV continues to grow its pay-per-view offering and its studios business, which sells content to other channels, while a new partnership with the BBC should help it adapt to the brave new world of on-demand streaming led by Netflix and Amazon, George Salmon, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said in an email. Story continues The BritBox service has been successful in the US, and ITV is hopeful it can replicate this success at home. The BBC and ITV already operate Britbox in North America, where the service has half a million subscribers. ITV will invest 25m into BritBox this year and expects to spend 40m on the project next year. We anticipate that other partners will be added to BritBox and we will both speak to regulators and the wider industry about our proposals, McCall said in a separate statement in ITVs full-year results on Wednesday. ITVs full-year results showed revenue up 3% to 3.7bn in 2018 and earnings down by 4% to 810m. The broadcaster, which makes programmes such as Love Island and the Bodyguard, warned that it was seeing weakness in the advertising market in the UK. The economic and political headwinds for the UK will have an effect on the advertising market and while ITV is increasingly diversified, we remain sensitive to this, McCall said. Salmon said: Not only is the way we watch TV changing, the rise of Google and Facebook means the way advertisers promote their products is too. All the while, a tighter economic background brings more pressure. ITV shares were down by 1.9%. BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq could help transfer non-Iraqi Islamic State detainees held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria, Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said on Tuesday. Iraq will either help repatriate those citizens to their home countries, or prosecute on its own those suspected of having committed crimes, he said at his weekly news conference. "Some countries could ask Iraq to help to transfer some of her Daesh citizens to the other country, like France for example," Abdul Mahdi said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. "Iraq might help, would help, helped to transfer those people to their country. It is one battle and Iraq should fulfill its duties and obligations." "Fighters belonging to Daesh from other countries that their states, their countries refuse to receive - how should we deal with that?" he asked. "Each case we should study the names, whether they participated in terrorist acts in Iraq. Then they could be judged by Iraqi tribunals." Earlier in the press conference, the prime minister specified that Iraq would not receive from Syria foreign fighters whose home countries refused to take back from Iraq. The comments came one day after Iraqi President Barham Salih said that 13 Islamic State detainees who were transferred to Iraq last week from the Syrian Democratic Forces would be tried in Iraq. [nL5N20K52I] Two Iraqi military sources told Reuters on Sunday that the U.S.-backed SDF handed over 14 French and six non-Iraqi Arab Islamic detainees last week. [nL5N20J11D] The fate of foreign detainees in SDF custody has become more pressing in recent weeks as U.S.-backed fighters planned an assault to capture the last remnants of the group's self-styled caliphate. [nL5N20L5KE] The militant group still poses a threat in Iraq and some western officials believe that Islamic State's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, may still be hiding in the area. "We will deal with the case because if we don't, then they can use a 600 km (372.82 miles)border with Syria and infiltrate once again in Iraq. So it's a case that really concerns us, worries us and we have to deal with it," Abdul Mahdi said. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad and Raya Jalabi in Erbil; Writing by Raya Jalabi; Editing by Richard Chang) By James Mackenzie and Alasdair Pal ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India and Pakistan both said they shot down each other's fighter jets on Wednesday, with Pakistan capturing an Indian pilot a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a 1971 war, prompting world powers to urge restraint. Both countries have ordered air strikes over the last two days, the first time in history that two nuclear-armed powers have done so, while ground forces have exchanged fire in more than a dozen locations. Tensions have been running high since at least 40 Indian paramilitary police died in a Feb. 14 suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, but the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base. A senior Indian government source said 300 militants were killed in Tuesday's strike. Pakistan says no one died. The White House condemned the intensifying conflict and urged "both sides to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation." "The potential risks associated with further military action by either side are unacceptably high for both countries, their neighbors and the international community," a National Security Council official said on condition of anonymity. The Pentagon added to U.S. pressure for restraint by the foes, issuing a statement that said Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan is focused "on de-escalating tensions and urging both of the nations to avoid further military action." Pakistan's envoy to the United States, Asad Majeed Khan, said Islamabad would like to see the Trump administration play a more active role in easing the crisis. "We would certainly like to have more, and would certainly like to see more active involvement of the United States," he told reporters. At the same time, he said the lack of U.S. condemnation of India's strike on Pakistan is "construed and understood as an endorsement of the Indian position, and that is what emboldened them even more. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan called for talks with India and hoped "better sense" would prevail so that both sides could de-escalate. "History tells us that wars are full of miscalculation. My question is that, given the weapons we have, can we afford miscalculation," Khan said during a brief televised broadcast to the nation. "We should sit down and talk." The Pakistan government's official Twitter account released a video of a man it claimed was an Indian pilot who had been shot down. The man, whom Pakistan has named as Wing Commander Abhi Nandan and whose face was bloodied and blindfolded, gives his name and service number before telling a man questioning him: "I'm sorry sir, that's all I'm supposed to tell you." A statement from India's foreign ministry said the pilot's treatment was a "vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention," ordering his immediate release. India has not yet named the pilot. In a second video circulating on social media, a screenshot of which was shared by the same Pakistan government account, the pilot was seen sipping tea while praising his treatment by the Pakistani military. Reuters could not independently verify the second video's authenticity. POLITICAL PRESSURE Pakistan and India have fought three wars since independence from British colonial rule in 1947, two over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and went to the brink of a fourth in 2002 after a Pakistani militant attack on India's parliament. The latest escalation marks a sudden turnaround in relations between the two countries, both of which claim Kashmir in full, but only rule in part. As recently as November, Pakistan's Khan spoke of "mending ties" with India. The conflict also comes at a critical time for Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi, who faces a general election in a matter of months. Modi's decision to order air strikes could benefit him politically, according to analysts and pollsters, but he was accused on Wednesday by opposition parties of capitalizing on conflict. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the "blatant politicization of the sacrifices made by our armed forces," in a joint statement by 21 opposition parties, the first time they have broken ranks with the government over the issue. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke separately with the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan and urged them to avoid "further military activity" following Tuesday's air strike. "I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost," Pompeo said in a statement on Wednesday. "I also encouraged both ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity," he said. China and the European Union have also called for restraint. AERIAL BATTLE Many of the facts in the latest series of engagements are disputed by the two sides. Major General Asif Ghafoor, spokesman for the Pakistan armed forces, said two Indian jets had been shot down after they entered Pakistani airspace while responding to a Pakistani aerial mission on targets in Indian-controlled Kashmir. One of the jets crashed on the Indian-controlled side of the de facto border in Kashmir, known as the Line of Control, and the other on the Pakistani side. Ghafoor said the Pakistani aircraft had carried out the strikes in response to India's air strike the day before but had taken deliberate action to ensure no casualties were caused. The Pakistani jets had locked on to six targets, in a demonstration of their capacity to hit strategic installations, but deliberately fired into open spaces where there would be no casualties. "This was not a retaliation in true sense, but to tell Pakistan has capability, we can do it, but we want to be responsible, we don't want an escalation, we don't want a war," Ghafoor told a news conference. One of the aircraft fell on India's side of Kashmir, while the second came down in Pakistani-held territory with two pilots captured, he added. Raveesh Kumar, a spokesman for India's foreign ministry, gave a different account, telling a news briefing that the Pakistan air strikes on military targets had been "foiled." India shot down one Pakistani plane that landed in Pakistani territory, Kumar said, adding that it had lost one of its own planes, not two, with the pilot "missing in action." "Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," Kumar said. Pakistan denies it lost a plane in the encounter. At the Pakistani briefing, Ghafoor produced photographs of weapons and identity documents he said were carried by Indian pilots. Pakistan initially said that two Indian pilots had been captured, before clarifying it only had one in its custody. The Indian air force has ordered Kashmir's main airport in Srinagar along with at least three others in neighboring states to close, an official said. Pakistan shut its airspace, with commercial flights in the country canceled. Flights from the Middle East and India were also affected. Air Canada said on Wednesday it has temporarily suspended service to India, following a decision by the Pakistani government to close its airspace. In a separate incident, police officials in Indian-occupied Kashmir said that four passengers and a civilian had died after an Indian aircraft crashed in Kashmir. The craft was initially reported by officials to be a plane, but a partial tail number from the craft seen by a Reuters witness showed it to be an Mi17 military helicopter. The cause of the crash was unknown. CIVILIAN FRIGHT The aerial engagement followed overnight artillery fire by both sides. Pakistan used heavy-caliber weapons in 12 to 15 places along the Line of Control, a spokesman for the Indian defense forces said on Wednesday. "The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focused fire resulted in severe destruction to five posts and number of casualties," the spokesman said. Five Indian soldiers suffered minor wounds in the shelling that ended on Wednesday morning, he added. "So far there are no (civilian) casualties but there is panic among people," said Rahul Yadav, the deputy commissioner of the Poonch district on the Indian side where some of the shelling took place. "We have an evacuation plan in place and if need arises we will evacuate people to safer areas, he said. Officials on the Pakistani side said at least four people had been killed and seven wounded, including civilians, with thousands evacuated and schools closed in border areas. "Only those families are still here which have concrete bunkers built within or along their homes," said Muhammad Din, a resident of Chakothi, a village in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir near the de facto border. India has also continued its crackdown on suspected militants operating in Kashmir, and on Wednesday security forces killed two Jaish militants in a gun battle, Indian police said. Syed Maqsood, the superintendent of a government hospital in Indian-occupied Kashmir, said that all hospitals in the region had been asked to paint a red cross on their roofs in case of further Pakistani air strikes. (Reporting by James Mackenzie and Alasdair Pal; additional reporting by Fayaz Bukhari, Devjyot Ghoshal, Aditi Shah, Aditya Kalra, Drazen Jorgic, Rupam Jain, Abu Arqam Naqash, Eric Beech, Jonathan Landay and Praveen Menon; editing by Nick Macfie, G Crosse and James Dalgleish) Kevin and Nancy Sell call themselves empty nesters on a mission. Were following our hearts and how our faith drives us, said Kevin, FCA US plant manager at Indiana Transmission Plant I. We have been so blessed in our lives that we feel compelled to give back to others, whether its here in the U.S. or in Kenya. Through their nonprofit, Hearts of Hope International, their mission now is to equip residents of Kiambu County, Kenya, many of whom are HIV positive widows and orphans, with skills training by building a vocational school in partnership with the Dorcas Orphans and Widows Ministry. We have spent time with this community and know they are eager to provide more for their families but lack opportunities and skills, said Kevin. If we can offer vocational training, such as carpentry, dressmaking, aquaponics, farming, and so on to the residents who are now living on less than a $1.25 a day, they can raise their income past the poverty line and provide for their families with dignity. Kevin and Nancy went on their first mission trip to Kenya in 2015. While there, they were moved to commit their missionary work to the impoverished area in Kiambu County located in the countrys rural central highlands. Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute Currently, they are scouting land to purchase with a goal to begin construction and open the vocational school in 2021. Through close partnership with indigenous leaders and community members, the 10-year plan is to transfer operational ownership to the residents. He and his wife have four grown children, twins Katherine and Joshua, and adopted sisters, Kayla and Candace. Together, they have done missionary work in Chicago, Detroit, Honduras, and now Kenya. To learn more about Hearts of Hope International, visit the website at https://heartsofhopeinternational.org/. By Abu Arqam Naqash and Sanjeev Miglani BALAKOT, Pakistan/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India said its warplanes killed "a very large number" of fighters when they struck a militant training camp inside Pakistan on Tuesday, raising the risk of conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors, although Pakistan officials denied there had been casualties. Pakistan said it would respond at a time and place of its choice, with a military spokesman even alluding to its nuclear arsenal, highlighting the escalation in hostile rhetoric from both two sides since a suicide bombing in Kashmir this month. The spokesman said a command and control authority meeting, which decides over the use of nuclear weapons, had been convened for Wednesday, adding: "You all know what that means." The air strike near Balakot, a town 50 km (30 miles) from the frontier, was the deepest cross-border raid launched by India since the last of its three wars with Pakistan in 1971 but there were competing claims about any damage caused. The Indian government, facing an election in the coming months, said the air strikes hit a training camp belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), the group that claimed a suicide car bomb attack that killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir on Feb. 14. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said "a very large number" of militants were killed in the strikes in northeast Pakistan. "The existence of such training facilities, capable of training hundreds of jihadis, could not have functioned without the knowledge of the Pakistani authorities," Gokhale said. Pakistan denies harboring JeM. A senior Indian government source said that 300 militants had been killed in the strikes and that the warplanes had ventured as far as 80 km (50 miles) inside Pakistan. But no evidence was provided to back up the claims of casualties. The government said the action was ordered as India said it had intelligence that Jaish was planning more attacks. Pakistani officials dismissed the Indian claims, saying the Indian aircraft had dropped their bombs in a wooded area, causing no damage or casualties. Villagers near the town of Balakot were shaken from their sleep by the air strikes. They said only one person was wounded in the attack and they knew of no fatalities. "We saw fallen trees and one damaged house, and four craters where the bombs had fallen," said Mohammad Ajmal, a 25-year-old who visited the site. A resident, who did not want to give his name, said there was a nearby madrasa Islamic college run by Jaish, though most villagers were guarded in talking about any militant neighbors. JeM is a primarily anti-India group that forged ties with al Qaeda and has been on a U.N. terrorist list since 2001. In December 2001, Jaish fighters, along with members of another Pakistan-based militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, attacked India's parliament, which almost led to a fourth war. HOSPITALS ON ALERT There has been mounting impatience in India to avenge the Feb. 14 attack, which was the most deadly seen in Kashmir during an insurgency that has lasted three decades, and as news of the raid broke, celebrations erupted across the country. "I want to assure you our country is in safe hands," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said to cheers at a rally in western India hours after the raid. "I won't let the country down." Pakistan's top civilian and military leaders rejected India's comments that it had struck a "terrorist camp" inside Pakistan, warning that they would retaliate. Pakistan's National Security Committee (NSC), comprising top officials including Prime Minister Imran Khan and army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, said Khan would "engage with global leadership to expose irresponsible Indian policy". It also warned that "Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing" to Indian aggression. China, Pakistan's long-time ally, and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged both countries to exercise restraint. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement issued in Washington that he had talked to Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi separately and encouraged both countries to "exercise restraint ... and avoid further military activity." He said he had underscored to Qureshi "the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil." Swaraj said she had spoken to Pompeo and Indian diplomats had met foreign ambassadors to assure them no escalation was planned. But as fears grew that the conflict could escalate, hospitals in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were ordered to set a quarter of beds aside for "a national cause", officials said. "We put all hospitals in the province on high alert due to the present situation on the border with India and issued directives to all heads of the hospitals to be prepared for any sort of emergency," provincial secretary health Dr Farooq Jameel told Reuters. Indian and Pakistan troops exchanged gunfire along several sectors of their contested border in Kashmir later on Tuesday and local officials on the Pakistani side said at least four people had been killed and seven wounded. Giving the Pakistan military's account of the Indian incursion, spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said Pakistani aircraft were patrolling and identified Indian jets on the Indian side of the border near Okara and Lahore in Punjab as well as Muzaffarabad where they crossed and were engaged. They left Pakistani airspace after only four minutes. He denied the incursion had caused any damage, saying there was no debris, "not even a single brick" and no casualties. "You have proved you are not a democracy, you have chosen the path of war," he said, addressing his remarks to India. (Additional reporting by James Mackenzie, Drazen Jorgic, Asif Shahzad, Fayaz Bukhari, Neha Dasgupta, Aftab Ahmed, Nidhi Verma; and Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar, Ben Blanchard in Beijing,Michelle Nichols at the United Nations and Idrees Ali in Washington; Writing by Alasdair Pal and Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Alison Williams and James Dalgleish) By Hyunjoo Jin SEOUL (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor Group on Tuesday rejected demands by U.S. activist investor Elliott Management for a combined 7 trillion won ($6.3 billion) dividend payout and new board members, complicating efforts to revamp South Korea's second-biggest conglomerate. Opposition from Elliott led Hyundai to drop an attempt to overhaul its ownership structure last year, and Executive Vice-Chairman Euisun Chung pledged in January to complete a restructuring expected to pave the way for him to succeed his father Mong-Koo Chung as group chairman. Elliott, which was not immediately available for comment, had proposed a 2018 dividend of 4.5 trillion won for Hyundai Motor and 2.5 trillion won for auto parts supplier Hyundai Mobis, according to regulatory filings and sources. This is well over the companies' proposed payouts of nearly 1 trillion won. Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Mobis will hold separate annual shareholders' meetings on March 22, when shareholders have a chance to vote on the respective proposals made by the companies and Elliott. Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Mobis shares gained more than 4 percent on Wednesday as investors licked their lips at the prospect of higher returns and a favorable restructuring plan due to Elliott's pressure. "We expect a vote showdown at the upcoming meeting, which will create a favorable environment for minority shareholders," Chung Yong-jin, an analyst at Shinhan Investment and Securities said. Hyundai Motor Group is expected to come up with a revised restructuring plan, which is expected to be put to a vote at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting in April or May, experts said. "Elliott's purpose is to eventually rally support from other shareholders for a vote on a restructuring plan," Park Ju-gun, head of corporate analysis firm CEO Score, said. Hyundai Motor said in a regulatory filing that the dividend proposed by Elliott would lead to a "massive cash outflow," hurting future investments and shareholder value. Story continues Hyundai Mobis also said it would "undermine its future competitiveness" as it needs to invest more than 4 trillion won to develop new vehicles over the next three years. Instead Hyundai Mobis announced a 2.6 trillion won shareholder return package over the next three years, less than Elliott's demand for at least 4 trillion won. The Hyundai Mobis package includes dividends worth 1.1 trillion won, a buyback of stock worth 1 trillion won and a cancellation of 460 billion won worth of shares. It said it will appoint former Opel Chief Executive Karl-Thomas Neumann, and Brian Jones, co-president at Archegos Capital Management, as outside board directors. Hyundai Motor said it will also add foreigners as outside board directors, while appointing president Albert Biermann, a former BMW executive, as a new board member. Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Motor also announced plans on Tuesday to appoint Euisun Chung as co-CEO. Mong-Koo Chung will remain as co-CEO of the two companies. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by David Evans and Stephen Coates) It was some of the most riveting testimony Congress has heard in years: Michael Cohen, alternately contrite and combative, offered up damning new evidence about Donald Trumps efforts to do business in Russia, his finances, his payoffs to women and his ethics. While calling the president a con man and a cheat, Cohen, a convicted felon, provided a veritable roadmap for congressional investigators for the rest of the year one that could potentially lead to House impeachment proceedings against the president. But as revealing as it was, Cohens account of Trumps alleged misdeeds only goes so far and contains significant gaps that could offer more than enough wiggle room for the presidents defenders. Here is a rundown on some of Cohens major claims and how Congress and the public can assess them: The Trump Tower Moscow project Cohen directly tied Trump to the project to build a lucrative Trump Tower in Moscow, saying that even while running for president in 2015 and 2016, the then GOP candidate asked him on at least a half dozen occasions for updates on the deal. Hows it going in Russia? Trump would ask, according to Cohens account. The mere existence of the project would seem on its face to implicate Trump in a major deception of the public. Throughout the campaign and well into his presidency, Trump repeatedly denied having any business interests in Russia even while Cohen, on Trumps behalf, was negotiating with a Kremlin official to build the tallest tower in Europe in the Russian capital. Moreover, Cohen testified, he also briefed Trumps children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, both of them executives in the Trump Organization, about the deal. Michael Cohen is sworn in to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Wednesday. (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP) But Cohen stopped short of saying that Trump directed him to lie about the subject. Before he appeared before Congress in 2017 and falsely testified that his pursuit of the tower project ended in January 2016, Cohen reviewed that testimony with Trump himself at the White House as well as with one of his lawyers, Jay Sekulow, in May 2017 and let them edit his remarks. Yet the president never ordered him to perjure himself. Instead, Cohen testified, he simply inferred thats what Trump wanted him to say. Story continues He doesnt give you an order, Cohen told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He speaks in code. I understand that code. Moreover, Cohen offered up a plausible explanation for Trumps pursuit of the deal: He never expected to win the presidency anyway, so why shouldnt he continue to try to make money? He viewed his campaign as an event that would amount to the greatest infomercial in political history." The Trump Tower meeting in New York In the so-called Russia collusion case against Trump, no event looms larger than the meeting on June 9, 2016, at Trump Tower in New York when Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort sat down with a delegation of visiting Russians at Trump Tower. The meeting was convened after Trump Jr. received an email from music publicist Rob Goldstone that the visiting Russians would turn over very high level and sensitive information about Hillary Clinton that would be part of Russia and its government support for Mr. Trump. Trump has consistently denied that he ever knew about the meeting, and Trump Jr. has testified that he never even told his father about it. Cohen said he knew nothing about the meeting as well but offered up this peculiar clue: Around that time, Cohen testified, he was in a room with Trump when Trump Jr. came in and walked behind his fathers desk, leaned over and whispered, The meeting is all set, at which point Trump replied OK, good let me know. Cohen said that all this prompted him to conclude well after the fact that the peculiar conversation was about the notorious Trump Tower meeting. But he doesnt know for sure, leaving open the possibility that Trump Jr. could have been referring to lots of other meetings that had nothing to do with Russia. As for collusion itself, Cohen made clear he has no direct knowledge that Trump conspired with Russian operatives during the 2016 election and he flatly denied one of the more sensational allegations in the so-called dossier written by former British spy Christopher Steele: that he flew to Prague in the summer of 2016 to meet with Russian agents about paying off hackers in Europe. Ive never been to Prague, Cohen testified for the first time in public, repeating an assertion he has made many times before, although never under oath. Ive never been to the Czech Republic. Trumps advance knowledge of the WikiLeaks disclosures This was one of the more vivid accounts in Cohens testimony. He was in Trumps office around July 19, 2016, when Trumps longtime assistant, Rhona Graff, announced, Roger Stone on Line 1. Trump took the call and put Stone, his longtime political adviser, on speaker. Stone told him that within a couple of days there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign. Trumps response: Wouldnt that be great. This is the first time anybody has ever implicated Trump in knowing about the WikiLeaks disclosures before they were public and would seem even more significant since thats exactly what WikiLeaks did just a few days later, releasing thousands of stolen Democratic National Committee emails that had been hacked by Russian military intelligence. In an email to Yahoo News, Julian Assange's lawyer Barry Pollack denied that his client had such a conversation with Stone. Roger Stone did not have the telephone call Michael Cohen described Stone claiming to have had with Julian Assange, he wrote. But even if Cohens account is entirely accurate, it could arguably prove much less than it seems to on the surface. Cohen makes clear that Stone never told Trump what was in these emails or where they were from. And in a recent indictment, special counsel Robert Mueller never accuses Stone of communicating directly with Assange. Instead, he charges, Stone lied about his efforts to learn through cut-outs conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi and talk show host Randy Credico what Assange had and was prepared to release. Was Stone lying to Trump as well? Moreover, Republicans pointed to a June 12, 2016, Guardian story quoting Assange as saying he was about to release more damaging emails about Clinton, suggesting that Stone was merely repeating to Trump information that was already public. Hush money payoffs to women This was one of the crimes that Cohen has pleaded guilty to and for which he is going to prison: making a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to conceal a sexual relationship she had with Trump, a payoff that federal prosecutors have charged was a violation of campaign finance laws because it was made for the purpose of influencing an election. Cohens account of Trump agreeing to reimburse him for these payments was vivid: In February 2017, one month into his presidency, Im visiting President Trump in the Oval Office for the first time. Its truly awe-inspiring, hes showing me around and pointing to different paintings, and he says to me something to the effect of Dont worry, Michael, your January and February reimbursement checks are coming. Cohen submitted copies of those checks as part of his testimony. Whether Cohens testimony is enough to implicate Trump in a violation of campaign finance laws is unclear. Although he pointed out that the Trump campaign was highly nervous about stories about Trump and women after the release of the Access Hollywood tape on Oct. 7 Trumps spokeswoman Hope Hicks even called him about it Cohen never actually testified that Trump directed these payments be made for the purpose of benefiting his campaign. And Republicans noted that, as Trumps lawyer, it was Cohens job to advise Trump of the potential legal consequences of the payments, something he acknowledged he never did. Still, Cohen testified that Trump told him to lie about the payments, saying the president called him in February 2018 and told him to say he was not knowledgeable of these reimbursements and he wasnt knowledgeable of Cohens actions. Perhaps wary of trying to build a case against Trump over his efforts to conceal a sexual affair, House oversight chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., highlighted a different potential crime by Trump: his failure to report his debts to Cohen when he filed his first financial disclosure form as president in 2017. (Trump later amended his form in 2018 to reflect the debt.) Trumps misuse of the Trump Foundation Although it got scant attention in the questioning, Cohen in his prepared testimony provided a graphic account of how the president abused his tax exempt charity for personal purposes. A prime example: an auction for a Trump portrait that Trump wanted for himself. As Cohen told it, the 2014 auction was being held in the Hamptons on Long Island. Trump arranged for a fake straw bidder a reference to pharmaceutical executive Stewart Rahr, a friend of Trump to bid $60,000 for the painting. Trump then had the Trump Foundation reimburse the bidder and kept the painting for himself, an apparent abuse of a tax-exempt charity for personal purposes. The Trump Foundation has since dissolved after being sued for fraud by the New York Attorney Generals Office, but Cohens testimony could potentially spur a criminal investigation. Trumps Tax Returns Cohen testified late in the day that Trump at one point told him he didnt want to release his tax returns because he didnt want tax experts from think tanks ripping through his returns and finding fault that could lead to an audit and penalties. But Trump had maintained throughout the campaign that he wouldnt release his returns because they already were under audit (although legally an audit would not stop him from making them public). Under questioning by Rep. Jimmy Gomez, Cohen said he had asked Trump for the IRS audit letter, but had never received it, and had seen no evidence the audit was real. But Cohen offered another intriguing clue into Trumps refusal to do so. In 2008, he testified, Trump showed him that he had gotten a $10 million tax refund from the IRS and then said he could not believe how stupid the government was for giving someone like him that much money back. The revelation suggests a reason for Trumps concealment of his tax returns that has not previously been discussed: to conceal big tax refunds that would not sit well with the voters. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Senator Bernie Sanders, gamely making the case for socialism on CNN, offers a familiar argument: that access to health care and other goods like it should be understood as a right. Properly understood, that claim is literally nonsensical, having the grammatical form of a sentence but no meaningful content, inasmuch as it is logically meaningless to declare a right in a scarce good. (I am using scarce here in its economic sense rather than in its common conversational sense.) For example: If you have twelve children and six cupcakes, the possibilities of division remain the same even if you declare that every child has the right to an entire cupcake of his own. Goods are physical, while rights are metaphysical, and the actual facts of the real world are not transformed by our deciding to talk about them in a different way. Other declarations in the same form Health care is quintessentially axiomatic, Health care is candy-apple gray, Health care is a spastically cloistered bottle of courageous smoke, etc. would be equally meaningless as sentences. Health care is a right is a sentence that fools some people into thinking that it means something because the synthetic impression of moral urgency that accompanies the declaration of a right overwhelms the ordinary logical faculty, which in many people is less developed than the emotional endowment, that widespread condition being the principal defect in democracy. When a politician declares a right in a scarce good, it indicates either that he is a simpleton or that he believes you to be, and ones as good as the other, that being another defect in democracy. (Another defect in democracy is its apparently inability to learn, hence the Democratic embrace of socialism in 2019 in spite of socialisms unbroken track record of failure and brutality.) Senator Sanders points to the Scandinavian model as an example of what it means to have health care as a right. Senator Sanders has traveled widely in his life he found much to praise in the Soviet Union while honeymooning there, and said so but he is, like many American progressives, almost completely parochial. As is the case with the United Kingdom and much of Europe, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark are in the 21st century markedly different from the countries they were in the 1970s, when Senator Sanderss awareness of the world seems to have congealed into the impenetrable clot of ignorance on such ghastly display in his current political career. A generation of reform including tax cuts and reductions in the scope of the public sector have left the Scandinavian countries with lower public-sector spending than such European standard-bearers as France and Belgium. In the Heritage Foundations economic-liberty rankings, the Scandinavian countries come in right alongside the United States and behind such market-oriented leaders as Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. On many scores, the Scandinavian countries offer more robust free-market systems than does the United States. Story continues Another thing the Scandinavian countries have in common: Their politicians may talk about health care as a right sometimes, too, but in none of those countries is health care free. There isnt a single Scandinavian model of health care, but there are some features common in the set. One of them is that consumers pay out of pocket for health care, starting with copays but also extending to many specialist services, prescription drugs, dental care, and the like. In fact, as the Commonwealth Fund runs the numbers, private out-of-pocket spending on health care is proportionally higher in Sweden (about 16 percent of all health-care spending) than in the United States (about 11 percent). Out-of-pocket spending as a share of health-care costs is higher in Denmark (12 percent) and Norway (14 percent), too. (Statistical note: There is a small difference between private spending and out-of-pocket spending, but it is trivial in the Scandinavian cases cited here, with out-of-pocket spending accounting for 98 percent or so of private spending. Also, those figures are complicated by the fact that spending levels are different from country to country, and that the United States is an outlier; the Swedes spend more out-of-pocket as a share of a lower spending total, meaning that their out-of-pocket expenses are higher than U.S. rates as a share of medical costs but lower in absolute terms.) In other countries with widely admired health-care systems, out-of-pocket spending is even higher as a share of health-care costs: around 19 percent in Switzerland and 60 percent in Singapore. Those numbers in some ways say both more and less than it may seem, in that the U.S. employer-based health-insurance system plays a role similar to the social-insurance programs some other countries (it does not perform that role especially well), and a dollar taken out of your paycheck for health-care coverage is a dollar gone whether we call it a tax or an insurance premium. It is a peculiarity of the American system that we attempt to deputize employers to administer what is in many other countries part of the welfare state. As it stands, the U.S. system retains much of what people dislike about private care while incorporating much of whats undesirable about state-dominated systems: insecurity and relatively high costs plus sclerotic bureaucracy and cumbrous regulation hooray for us. The numbers may not be quite what American progressives expect, but what is interesting about them is not so much what they tell us about economic incentives as what they tell us about health-care attitudes. In an interview with James Pethokoukis, Swedish economist Tino Sanandaji links the social organizing principle behind the Scandinavian welfare states to what the Swedes refer to as duktig loosely translated, competence. Citizens are understood not as baby birds with open beaks being fed by the state, but as having primary responsibility for themselves. It has the connotation that you have the social obligation to be competent, Sanandaji says. Not a right, but a duty. As a matter of national rhetoric, this is strongly emphasized in countries such as Switzerland and Singapore. That is one reason why the individual mandate to carry health insurance is uncontroversial in Switzerland. We consider the health insurance mandate to be a form of socially responsible civic conduct, former Swiss health minister Thomas Zeltner told Health Affairs. In Switzerland, individual freedom does not mean that you should be free to live irresponsibly and freeload from others. In the United States, the individual mandate has been effectively repealed, but even before that, the Supreme Court was obliged to participate in a silly charade that the mandate was an exercise of Congresss taxing authority in order for the law to even partly withstand a constitutional challenge. Adopting a rhetoric of rights is not going to simplify that. Fundamentally, health care is not a moral question but an economic one. That much can be demonstrated by the fact that even if every American agreed with Senator Sanders about health care as a moral question, wed still be obliged to approach it as an economic one the moral consensus, even if it were not mistaken, would solve precisely nothing. Medical care costs something, and we have a social commitment to seeing to it that those costs dont come down on vulnerable people in an unnecessarily burdensome way, part of what F. A. Hayek described as providing for those common hazards of life against which few can make adequate provision. Contra Senator Sanders et al., this is not a project that require socialism in any degree. What it does require is responsibility including responsible citizenship and a clear-eyed understanding of the nature of the problem. What does it mean to be a responsible citizen? In the United States, we have a poor and diminished notion of citizenship, that citizens are only taxpayers and voters. Good citizens, in the inescapable contemporary formulation, are those who play by the rules and pay their taxes. Thats the real individual mandate: Pay and obey. The progressive proposition is that, in exchange for this obedience, childlike citizens are to be provided for by government in loco parentis, and that their role in this is almost entirely passive: submit to taxation, follow the regulations, receive the benefits. Hence the rhetoric of health care as a right. A fuller and more mature notion of citizenship would be one that holds, as ours once did, that among the first duties of the citizen is to provide for himself and look after his family so as not to burden his neighbors unnecessarily. The rhetoric of benefits as rights cultivates just the opposite attitude, one of learned helplessness, not in response to extraordinary challenges but in the face of the ordinary business of life. That attitude of helplessness is of great benefit to a certain stripe of politician. It is not good for people or countries. And it isnt really characteristic of the Scandinavian societies that Senator Sanders thinks he admires. More from National Review By Nathan Layne (Reuters) - Special Counsel Robert Mueller is preparing to submit to U.S. Attorney General William Barr a report detailing his findings in the investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 presidential election and any links to the Trump campaign. Mueller has been looking since May 2017 into whether U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign conspired with Russia and whether Trump unlawfully sought to obstruct the probe. Mueller already has indicted or secured guilty pleas from 34 people, including six associates of Trump, as well as three Russian entities. Here is a look at possible scenarios following the completion of Mueller's report. REPORT FINDS TRUMP INVOLVED IN RUSSIA CONSPIRACY Among those who already have pleaded guilty or have been convicted are: former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort; former Trump personal lawyer Michael Cohen; former national security advisor Michael Flynn; and former Trump campaign aides Richard Gates and George Papadopoulos. Others indicted include Trump adviser Roger Stone and Russian intelligence officers. But the central question is whether Mueller will find that Trump himself played a role in a conspiracy with Moscow to boost his chances of winning the election or committed obstruction of justice to try to impede the Russia probe. Trump has denied collusion and obstruction. If Mueller's report reveals a willingness by Trump to collude with Russia or contains evidence of direct coordination involving the Republican president, such findings could be the starting gun for the Democratic-led House of Representatives to launch the impeachment process set out in the U.S. Constitution to remove a president from office. Current Justice Department policy opposes bringing criminal charges against a sitting president. Stone's indictment points to instances in which people connected to the campaign communicated with him about Wikileaks, the website that released emails that U.S. officials have said Russians stole from Democrats to harm Trump's Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. For example, after a July 2016 release of emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee a "senior Trump campaign official was directed to contact STONE about any additional releases" by Wikileaks, the indictment stated. The sentence's wording left open the possibility that Trump himself directed the campaign official. Sam Nunberg, a former Trump aide and Republican political consultant, said any evidence that Trump was willing to work with Moscow, even without proof that he actually did that, might be enough for Democrats to draw up articles of impeachment. "That's impeachable for the Democrats," Nunberg said. The U.S. Constitution sets specific grounds for impeachment: treason, bribery or "other high crimes and misdemeanors." If the House approves any articles of impeachment, the Senate then would hold a trial to determine whether to remove the president from office. The Senate is controlled by Trump's fellow Republicans. Only two presidents have been impeached in American history, and neither was removed. There is also the issue of obstruction. Legal experts have pointed to Trump's firing of former FBI director James Comey while he was leading the Russia probe, Comey's allegation that Trump asked him to end the investigation of Flynn, and the president's dangling a possible pardon to Manafort among other acts that may amount to obstruction of justice. Barr, months before Trump named him as attorney general, last year wrote an unsolicited memo to the Justice Department arguing Mueller should not be permitted to investigate obstruction by the president. NOBODY IN TRUMP CAMPAIGN IMPLICATED IN RUSSIA CONSPIRACY Mueller's cases against Manafort and Stone have come the closest to showing coordination between Trump's campaign and Russia. Manafort shared election polling data with his Russian associate Konstantin Kilimnik, who prosecutors have said is tied to Russian intelligence. Manafort attended a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York with other campaign officials with a Russian lawyer who promised "dirt" on Clinton. Mueller also found that Stone communicated with Wikileaks and the Russian hacker dubbed Guccifer 2.0. But Mueller's evidence made public to date falls short of demonstrating Trump and his campaign colluded with Russia. Collusion is a non-legal term often used to describe acts that in a criminal context in this investigation likely would translate to a charge of conspiracy against the United States. If Mueller's report goes no further, it could set back any Democratic effort to impeach Trump. But House Democrats could proceed with their own investigations that could cause Trump ongoing political damage heading into his 2020 re-election bid. "If nothing more comes out than what is public then I think Trump could claim victory," said Nelson Cunningham, a former federal prosecutor in New York and White House lawyer under Democratic President Bill Clinton. REPORT IMPLICATES OTHERS IN CONSPIRACY BUT NOT TRUMP Transcripts of closed court hearings this month indicated Mueller considers Manafort's alleged lies about his interactions with Kilimnik to be "at the heart" of the probe into possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia. But that disclosure suggested Mueller was still trying to determine whether collusion occurred. In addition to sharing polling data, court filings show, Manafort and Kilimnik discussed a "Ukrainian peace plan," a reference to Kremlin-friendly proposals to resolve the Ukraine conflict and end U.S. sanctions on Russia. It is possible Mueller's report will show that Manafort or others in Trump's orbit conspired with Russians but there was no credible evidence Trump himself was involved or aware. While politically damaging to Trump, such a finding may not be enough to trigger an impeachment effort, though it could fuel House committee investigations. "It's not enough to show the Russians used their people," said Robert Ray, who served as the second independent counsel in the 1990s Whitewater probe involving the Clintons' business dealings, adding there would need to be proof that Trump's people actively colluded to the point that it violated the law. "I don't think it occurred," Ray said. (Reporting by Nathan Layne in New York; Additional reporting by David Morgan in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham) BOSTON (AP) Gov. Charlie Baker brushed aside on Wednesday a proposal for Massachusetts to allow supervised injection sites for drug users. The Republican told reporters the proposal is illegal under federal law and he wants to focus on legal actions the state is taking to curb overdose deaths. Baker pointed to comments U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling has made warning that regardless of any state law, drug users and employees at the sites would be exposed to federal criminal charges. "The U.S. attorney has made it absolutely crystal clear that he will prosecute anyone who tries to open up a safe injection site in Massachusetts," Baker said. "Chasing something that's not legal under federal law just doesn't make a lot of sense." Baker said the state has already taken steps to curb drug-related deaths, including expanding access to the overdose-reversal drug Naloxone. On Tuesday, a legislative commission recommended the state approve one or more supervised injection sites for drug users on a test basis. Commission members said the state should allow the sites to see if they can help reduce the harm associated with injecting illegal drugs, including the risk of overdosing alone. At the sites, individuals could inject drugs obtained elsewhere. Health care professionals would be on hand to prevent fatal overdoses. Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders, who headed the commission, said the report will be delivered to the Legislature by the end of the week. Baker said he would read the report. Democratic Sen. Cindy Friedman, a member of the committee, said supervised injections sites are a way to give people a chance to ultimately get free of the drugs. "We just need to do everything we can to stop people from dying and allow them to live long enough to decide to get into treatment," Friedman said Tuesday. The U.S. doesn't have any publicly sanctioned safe injection facilities, but Philadelphia, Seattle and San Francisco are among those actively considering them. In Philadelphia, the top federal prosecutor has filed suit to stop a nonprofit from opening a supervised injection site. Advocates have likened the sites to the adoption of needle exchange programs created in the wake of the AIDS epidemic as a way to slow the spread of the disease among intravenous drug users. There are currently about two dozen needle exchange sites in Massachusetts. Baker pointed to the needle exchange programs as another legal step the state has taken to help those struggling with addiction. Indiana Transmission Plant I Quality Engineer Tanya Foutch was chosen among engineers across the nation as the recipient of the 2019 Black Engineer of the Year Gerald Johnson Legacy Award. The award recognizes high merit, impact on people and value to the community and society and was presented to the longtime FCA US employee at the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Engineering Deans Power Breakfast on Feb. 9 in Washington D.C. Foutch, who was joined by engineers from diverse fields, including the military and aerospace, said it was an honor to be chosen as the recipient of the award. Its overwhelming. I was kind of thrown off guard, but it was really exciting to see other people from other companies at the conference just from all fields. It was overwhelming, and I was really honored to represent FCA at the conference as an honoree recipient, she said. The engineer began her career at FCA as a tool engineer in 1996 after graduating from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering. In 1999, she was named resident engineer supervisor at the transmission plants. As a resident engineer supervisor, Foutch serves as the go-between for the design group in Auburn Hills, Mich., and the local FCA plants in order to implement changes, identify quality issues, and improve processes. While her work at the plants served as the foundation for her to be chosen as the recipient, it was her work outside the plants that made her stand out. As an advocate for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education for youth, Foutch started a successful STEM camp for middle school girls last year, hosted by Ivy Tech Community College Kokomo Region. The idea for the camp came after Foutch said she read an email that Auburn Hills was having a STEM camp for youth. I got mad because I was like, Hey, how come were not having a STEM camp in Kokomo? We have five plants. Why cant we do this? That was kind of the fuel that set me on fire to have a STEM camp for girls, she said. So, in 2017, Foutch and the FCA US Transmission & Casting Womens Group began planning a camp for 2018, and the first year 37 girls participated. Through multiple hands-on projects over two days, the girls were introduced to everything from aerospace topics to kinetic and potential energy to learning the basics of welding. Support Local Journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Contribute The purpose of the camp, Foutch said, was to encourage girls to pursue careers in the fields that typically are male-dominated at an age when theyre still impressionable. What Ive seen is that in middle school, its kind of almost a transitioning point. Youre starting to go through puberty. Youre starting to transition, and youre becoming more aware of things. Ive found that girls pull back, so while youre still in middle school, youre still open to ask questions. By having it just for girls, they feel more free to ask more questions and not be intimidated by the boys. It was more freeing for them. We got to do girls stuff balloons, glitter, whatever. We want to get the girls thinking about STEM careers because thats the way the future is headed, and we wanted to be prepared for that and start early and get girls thinking about that, she said. Foutch said the hope is that the girls will develop an interest in STEM-related careers by the time they enter high school so that theyre then able to seek out opportunities relating to their interests and start down a path that will lead them to a successful career in science, technology, engineering, or math. By having the camp led by many women in STEM fields, too, she said, is beneficial. We want them to see women who are already doing it. We want girls to be able to see people who look like them. Some of these women are young. Some of these women are old; weve been around for a while and all different nationalities. So they get to see, Yeah, OK. Theres somebody who looks like me whos doing it. Maybe I can do it too, she said. The STEM camp for girls will return for the second year this summer. Her next brainchild, she said, is to start a STEM camp for boys. I want to have a STEM camp for boys because girl power has taken off which it needed to but the boys seem to have gotten lost in all the focus on the girls. So I want to bring that back to them, she said. Mark Champine, head of quality for FCA North America, commended Foutch for her work not only with the company but also in her community. I am very pleased Tanya received this prestigious award earned through her ongoing commitment to FCA US as an engineering leader and her passion for engaging youth about the promise and career opportunities of the STEM fields, he said. Tanyas commitment to the company and to her community are an inspiration to her colleagues and to me personally. Recently, The Goldman Sachs Group GS stated that expenses made on ongoing legal matters might be $1.9 billion above the aggregate reserves the company has kept for such purpose. Per its latest annual filing, an event is reasonably possible if the chance of the future event or events occurring is more than remote but less than likely. As of Dec 31, 2018, the company had $844 million as net provisions for litigation and regulatory proceedings, considerably above $188 million for 2017. At present, the major lawsuit that Goldman is dealing with relates to its role and involvement in arranging bond sales for a sovereign wealth fund in Malaysia 1Malaysia Development Berhad. The company said that it is cooperating in investigations conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice and other regulatory bodies, which can lead to imposition of fines, penalties and other sanctions, including restrictions on activities. Apart from this, Goldman faces probe over mortgage loans in two residential mortgage-backed securitization trusts that are alleged of not complying with applicable representations and warranties. Further, Goldman is involved in a currencies-related litigation, whereby it is charged of conspiring to manipulate the foreign currency exchange markets under federal and state antitrust laws as well as state consumer protection laws. The firms investment management and financial advisory services, system of risk management and controls, transactions involving government-related financings and other matters, municipal securities are some of the other areas being investigated and reviewed by the governmental and regulatory bodies. Goldmans involvement in a horde of litigations has likely kept investors worried, as reflected in the 17% drop in share price over the past six months. Also, it is expected to keep legal expenses elevated, which may partially impede its bottom-line growth in the near term. Story continues However, the companys efforts to tap on new growth opportunities through several strategic investments, including the digital consumer lending platform, will likely bolster overall business growth. Goldman currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Stocks to Consider Evercore Inc EVR has long-term earnings growth rate of 15.6%. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Stifel Financial Corporation SF has long-term earnings growth rate of 8% and a Zacks Rank #1. JMP Group LLC JMP has long-term earnings growth rate of 10% and a Zacks Rank #2. Is Your Investment Advisor Fumbling Your Financial Future? See how you can more effectively safeguard your retirement with a new Special Report, 4 Warning Signs Your Investment Advisor Might Be Sabotaging Your Financial Future. Click to get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Evercore Inc (EVR) : Free Stock Analysis Report JMP Group LLC (JMP) : Free Stock Analysis Report Stifel Financial Corporation (SF) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research BERLIN (Reuters) - Britain could delay its withdrawal from the European Union once, for a short time but must put something substantially new on the table to make the case for a postponement, Germany's European Affairs Minister Michael Roth said on Wednesday. "You can delay once, a single time, we are talking about a few weeks or few months, otherwise Britain would have to participate in the European elections," Roth told German ZDF television. "For us it is important that something substantially new would be put on the table to justify a delay. Then we would all have to vote on it ... No one wants to punish the Britons, if we can achieve something with a delay, we would be the last ones to stand in the way," he added. (Writing by Madeline Chambers; editing by Thomas Seythal) By Carolina Mandl SAO PAULO (Reuters) - German online banking startup N26 will open a subsidiary in Brazil next week, marking its first move to enter Latin America, the company's head for Brazil said on Wednesday. Eduardo Prota said N26, which raised $300 million in January in a new funding round that valued it at $2.7 billion, also seeks to form a partnership with a local bank to offer a suite of mobile banking services. N26 has yet to decide whether to operate in Brazil as a bank, and has not applied for a Brazilian banking license, Prota added. In Europe it started operating through partnerships and eventually rolled out some independent online banks. The arrival of N26, which has 2.5 million clients in 24 European countries, underscores how fintechs are ramping up competition with traditional branch-based banks in Brazil, where 30 percent of the population lacks any kind of bank account, according to the World Bank. N26 will compete in Brazil with digital banks such as Nu Pagamentos SA, which has more than 2.5 million digital accounts, Banco Inter, and C6Bank, which started operations in January. N26's investors include New York-based Insight Venture Partners, Singapore investment vehicle GIC, China's Tencent Holdings, the digital investment arm of insurer Allianz, and Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel. (Reporting by Carolina Mandl; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Richard Chang) The broadening revelations of the lawless, almost putschist excesses of the Comey-McCabe FBI and elements of the Justice Department and the Brennan-Clapper intelligence services invite serious contemplation of how close the United States came to being a country where regime change might be plausibly and self-righteously attempted by what in undemocratic countries is generally known as the secret police. It is fantastic to contemplate such a thing in the United States, which is fundamentally prouder of nothing than of its Constitution and the immense place that the system created by that Constitution and maintained these 230 years by recourse to interpretation and reassertion of it has played in the unprecedented rise of America from a loosely connected group of colonists numbering only a few million at independence to the overwhelming preeminence of the U.S.A. at the end of the Second World War. That preeminence has been substantially maintained since. For at least 60 years I have heard high American officials announce that the United Sates is not a banana republic. Of course it is not, and never was. But there is a complacency about Americas status as a society of laws that is both unbecoming and unjustified. As many judges, lawyers, and commentators have noted, the level of prosecution success in criminal cases is over 95 percent, 97 percent of those without a trial; these, and the proportion of the population that is incarcerated, are totalitarian numbers. Congressional investigations where there is no lawyerclient privilege, the ease of alleging and gaining convictions on charges of dishonest responses to the police, as well as media trials long before a defense has even been filed (as in the Jussie Smollett case, where the chief of police of Chicago has been garrulously babbling out the prosecution evidence); all of this is a Star Chamber. None of it would be admissible in any other serious common-law country, such as Great Britain, Canada, Australia, or Ireland. Story continues Every nomination to the Supreme Court is now a pitched battle replete with paid demonstrators at hearings and extensive campaigns of character assassination, but that court has sat inert as practically all the Bill of Rights constitutional assurances of due process, prompt and impartial justice, and the avoidance of capricious prosecutions have been abandoned. It is in this, as other civilized jurisdictions would consider it, tenuous state of the rule of law that the antics of the Comey-McCabe FBI and Brennan-Clapper intelligence direction, and their partisan effort to bend the law to install Hillary Clinton as president and sandbag Donald Trump, should be considered. Celebrated as Thomas Jefferson rightly is for his seminal role in the creation of the countrys initial texts and its early governance, one achievement for which he has received insufficient credit is the founding of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1802. While this began as a corps of engineers limited to 20 men at first (led by Benjamin Franklins nephew, Jonathan Williams), the objective was to assure a non-political class of officers. The focus on engineering was, at this early stage, the young nations chief military requirement. Jeffersons initiative assured the United States of a nonpolitical military. The country has had twelve presidents who were celebrated combat military officers, from Washington to Eisenhower, including citizen generals such as Jackson, Hayes, and Garfield. And it has had a number of presidents who were distinguished middle or junior officers, including Presidents Truman, Kennedy, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and George H. W. Bush, and six high-ranking military officers who were unsuccessful presidential candidates, including the first Republican candidate, Colonel John C. Fremont; a general fired by Abraham Lincoln as commander of the Army of the Potomac, George B. McClellan, who had the effrontery to run against Lincoln in 1864; and a hero POW, John McCain. The point of this recitation is that none of these people dabbled in politics while they were in the armed forces. The only serious figure who did so was General Douglas MacArthur, who, in response to a freshet of Republican-delegate enthusiasm from a midwestern state while he was preparing to liberate the Philippines, wrote to a supporter for public circulation a letter stating that he would accept the Republican nomination in 1944, but would be unable to campaign (as if his commander-in-chief, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, would tolerate such a thing from a serving theater commander). When General Dwight D. Eisenhower was nominated as the Republican candidate for president in 1952, and was asked when he became Republican, he replied: Today. No soldier has led Great Britain since Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century, except the Duke of Wellington, for two years. The federal police (FBI) are another matter. The leader of a successful previous organization and of the FBI for a total of 47 years, J. Edgar Hoover, has been strenuously criticized for his unscrupulous political machinations, but he never attempted to influence a presidential election. When the military are depoliticized, the secret police and intelligence services, if not reined in, can be very powerful, in a democratic country as in a dictatorship. In the Soviet Union, the army only briefly was politically influential, under Marshal Zhukhov just after the death of Stalin, while Stalins last three secret-police leaders, Yagoda, Yezhov, and Beria, were all summarily executed after they had done a great deal of his unimaginable dirty work. Even in revolutionary and Napoleonic France, the greatest police minister in all history, the egregiously cunning Joseph Fouche, who sent the head of the Committee of Public Safety, Robespierre, to the guillotine at the end of the Reign of Terror, after Robespierre had tried to do the same to him, was sent packing finally, rich but mistrusted and powerless. American democracy is insuperably strong in the hearts of the people and in 230 years of triumphant survival through a vehement and contentious national history. But the recent fantastic cascade of professions of righteous untouchability from Comey and McCabe and Brennan and Clapper shows that there is no institutional tradition of respect for and deference to the constitutional integrity of the system in the main police and intelligence agencies. Though fired for dishonesty and sent for grand-jury evaluation as a criminal lying to Congress and out of control, Andrew McCabe generally enjoys the support of the Trump-hating media in his book tour, celebrating a lawless disregard for the supremacy of the people under the Constitution. He feared that Trump might be a Russian asset, and accordingly set a special counsel with practically unlimited powers, who engaged a fervently partisan Democratic staff, upon him. Almost the entire legal system of the United States requires radical reform and democratization, and the disarming of a virtually omnipotent prosecutocracy. It is the strength and the weakness of America that it is not really the gentle and kindly country portrayed by Norman Rockwell and Walt Disney. That America exists and is a revered pastoral self-image. But the United States is ultimately a jungle, and jungles are ruled by 30-foot constricting snakes and 600-pound cats, and these are usually the rulers of America, with a varying level of humanization. The intense struggle for the highest positions in the country is a generally meritocratic struggle, with only rare lapses into mediocrity. The survival and elevation process leaves an inordinate number of severely shattered people. In such a society, the senior police and intelligence apparatus can be dangerous, and in the last few years, it has been. The outcome of the present struggle for power in Washington should include tighter civilian control of these agencies, as in the military, the end of the effort to criminalize policy differences, and the end of the attempted reduction of the drastic remedy of impeachment to a partisan power play to reverse the result of elections. That is essentially what it was in the Nixon and Clinton presidencies and has been since the 2016 election. The United States has had a close call with something close to banana republicanism, and it must draw and apply the lessons of this turbulent time. More from National Review By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker agreed to meet with lawmakers to clarify his testimony, a congressional leader said on Tuesday, referring to an appearance where Whitaker was quizzed about whether President Donald Trump had sought to influence investigations. "I want to thank Mr. Whitaker for volunteering to meet with us to clarify his @HouseJudiciary testimony," Representative Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, tweeted, saying he hoped to schedule Whitaker in the "coming days." Lawmakers have not said what Whitaker will address from his Feb. 8 testimony, which Nadler previously said was "unsatisfactory, incomplete, or contradicted by other evidence." But the most persistent questions then focused on whether Whitaker had contact with Trump about an investigation into hush-money payments to women during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney. The Justice Department, which has already said Whitaker stands by his testimony, had no immediate comment. The brief tenure of Whitaker as head of the Justice Department ended on Feb. 14 when the Senate confirmed Trump's choice of permanent Attorney General William Barr. The Judiciary Committee has obtained possible evidence suggesting that Trump asked Whitaker about possibly changing the prosecutor in charge of the hush-money probe, said a person familiar with the matter. A House Judiciary Committee spokesman and a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office declined to comment. If true, such a request by Trump could bolster Democratic efforts to show that the president has sought to influence law enforcement investigations against him and his associates. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is said to be close to ending a 21-month investigation into whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election to help Trump; whether Trump's campaign colluded with Moscow; and whether Trump has since obstructed justice. Story continues Russia has denied meddling. Trump has denied any collusion. The Mueller probe has clouded his presidency for many months. Nadler's panel has information suggesting that Trump asked Whitaker if U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman could take control of an investigation of Cohen by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, said the source who asked not to be identified. Berman is a former law partner of another Trump attorney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Trump dismissed as false a report in the New York Times last week about a similar request to Whitaker. Congressional investigators now have information that such a request was made and that Whitaker provided misleading testimony to the panel while under oath during his contentious Feb. 8 hearing, the source said. In that session, Whitaker testified he had not talked to Trump about the probe and had not interfered with it in any way. He also denied media reports that claimed that Trump had lashed out at Whitaker after he learned Cohen was pleading guilty to lying to Congress about a proposed Trump Tower in Moscow. Nadler said then that media reports contradicted Whitaker's testimony and that "several individuals" had direct knowledge of phone calls Whitaker denied receiving from the White House. Cohen was sentenced in December to three years in prison after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations, including making payments to adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels, and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Cohen said he made those payments at the direction of Trump. Both women have claimed they had affairs with Trump. He has denied having sex with Daniels and denied McDougal's claim. Cohen testified behind closed doors to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday. He is expected to testify publicly on Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee. (Additional reporting by Nathan Layne and Karen Freifeld; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Cynthia Osterman) WASHINGTON Michael Cohen, the man tasked with keeping Donald Trump's deepest secrets, offered Congress a damning portrait of his former boss on Wednesday, saying the president encouraged him to lie to Congress and the public for Trump's protection. During an often combative appearance before a House committee, Cohen delivered a searing account of his dealings with the man who he helped win the White House, casting Trump as a "racist," a "con man" and a "cheat" and tying the White House more directly than ever to criminal investigations that have shadowed Trump's presidency. And when his own credibility was directly and frequently challenged as a recently convicted felon who lied to Congress two years ago about his own dealings on behalf of the president, Cohen countered that he had served Trump and his business for a decade and that few people are in a better position to offer insights about his former boss and the organization he built around himself. "He doesn't give orders," Cohen told the committee. "He speaks in a code. And I understand the code, because I've been around him for a decade." In more than six hours of sworn testimony, Cohen asserted that Trump knew WikiLeaks planned to release stolen emails that were damaging to political rival Hillary Clinton. "Wouldn't that be great," he said Trump replied when informed of the prospect during the 2016 campaign. Cohen told the panel that Trump helped engineer and personally reimbursed Cohen for an illegal hush-money payment to a porn star, then told him to lie about the arrangement. And he said the president indirectly encouraged him to lie to Congress about his pursuit of a potentially lucrative Trump Tower development in Moscow, even as Trump repeatedly denied any business interests in Russia throughout the 2016 campaign. "Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress," Cohen said. "That's not how he operates. He would look me in the eye and tell me there's no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way he was telling me to lie about it." Story continues Cohen said he shared his false statement with Trump's personal lawyers, including Jay Sekulow, before he provided it to Congress. "There were several changes that were made" during that review, he said. Sekulow said the allegation is "completely false." The disclosures went on, as Cohen suggested that Trump knew in advance of a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower, headed by Donald Trump Jr., in which a Russian lawyer promised to provide damaging information on Clinton. "I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: 'The meeting is all set.' I remember Mr. Trump, saying, 'OK, good ... let me know." Cohen, however, could not pinpoint when he saw the interaction between father and son. Nor did he elaborate on whether the two could have been referring to another unrelated meeting. The series of events described by Cohen, who is set to begin a three-year prison term for pleading guilty to a string of financial crimes and lying to Congress, are at the heart of several ongoing criminal investigations, including Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller's inquiry into Russia's interference in the 2016 election. And he disclosed that he remains in "constant contact" with federal prosecutors from Manhattan who are in the midst of a wide-ranging review that includes the Trump Organization. Part of that investigation, Cohen said, involves his most recent conversation with the president, which occurred two months after the FBI raided the attorney's offices and home in April 2018. Cohen said other conduct involving the president also was under investigation by the Manhattan prosecutors. He declined to elaborate, because he said prosecutors had asked him not to. He acknowledged that he hoped his cooperation could lead to a reduced prison term. Read: Michael Cohen's opening statement to Congress Cohen: From Trump fixer to Mueller informant: Timeline of Michael Cohen's role in Russia probe Highlights: From threatening schools to racist remarks: Five alleged Trump deeds Cohen plans to share "I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him," Cohen said. "I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a con man. He is a cheat." Cohen acknowledged his past criminal conduct and said his testimony represented a clean break from Trump, whose actions Cohen described as akin to those of a Mob boss. "I have done bad things, but I am not a bad man. I have fixed things, but I am no longer your fixer, Mr. Trump," Cohen said, adding that he would not seek or accept a pardon should one be offered by the president. In addition to his written testimony, Cohen arrived at the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing Wednesday with documents that appeared to back up some of his claims, including a $35,000 check signed by Trump. Cohen said the personal check, signed during the first year of his presidency, was one of 11 "installment" payments to reimburse him for the hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who says she had an affair with Trump. Other installment checks were signed by Donald Trump Jr. and Trump Organization finance chief Allen Weisselberg, Cohen said. Asked by Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., whether his testimony indicated that they and Trump had engaged in a "criminal conspiracy of financial fraud," Cohen replied: "Yes." Cohen ticked off a list of names of people who could provide additional information about the transactions, including Weisselberg, Trump Organization attorney Alan Garten and David Pecker, publisher of the National Enquirer, who assisted in the hush money scheme. Federal prosecutors in New York say Trumps private business reimbursed Cohen $130,000 for his payment to Daniels, added another $130,000 to cover his taxes and paid him a $60,000 bonus on top of that, then disguised the payments as legal bills. "Everything was done with the knowledge and at the direction of Mr. Trump," he said. Cohen said Trump orchestrated the "cover-up" and directed him to lie about the transactions, even to the president's wife. "Lying to the first lady is one of my biggest regrets," Cohen said as camera shutters clicked. "She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly, and she did not deserve that." Cohen said Trump's misconduct extended to the characterization of his personal financial status. "It was my experience that Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes," Cohen said. He said Trump also inflated the value of his assets to obtain insurance policies. Trump didn't even wait for Cohen to begin his testimony before firing back from Vietnam, where he was meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately)," Trump tweeted from Hanoi, site of his second summit with Kim. "He had other clients also." Noting that Cohen has been disbarred, the president said "he did bad things unrelated to Trump," and "is lying in order to reduce his prison time." This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Cohen's testimony, however, went beyond Trump's business and campaign dealings to describe his former boss a "a racist." Publicly, Cohen said, Trump courted white supremacists and bigots. "In private, he was even worse," the attorney said. "He once asked if I could name a country run by a black person that wasn't a 'shithole.' ... While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. And yet I continued to work for him." The House committee's chairman, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., warned Cohen that members would seek to assess his credibility given his criminal conduct, as well as the president's. Lawmakers sought details on everything from Trump's finances to the operation of his private business. They also questioned whether Trump complied with tax laws and campaign finance regulations. Cohen has confessed to committing crimes for Trump's benefit, and he came ready to unload on the president Wednesday. Trump's defenders were equally ready for fireworks. Hours before Cohen was due to testify, one of the president's staunchest defenders in Congress, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., asked him on Twitter whether his "wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends?" He mused: "I wonder if shell remain faithful when youre in prison. Shes about to learn a lot." On Wednesday, Republican members sought to postpone the hearing, claiming that Cohen had not provided a copy of his testimony in a timely manner. The effort was derailed, but the fight to discredit Trump's former lawyer went on. Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the panel's ranking Republican, seized on Cohen's past false statements to Congress. "Here we go," Jordan told the packed gallery. "This might be the first time someone convicted of lying to Congress has been brought back" to testify so quickly. "We are legitimizing dishonesty," Jordan said. "We are de-legitimizing this institution." As Cohen read from the 20-page statement, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., shook his head in visible contempt. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., also drilled Cohen, referring to the attorney's admitted criminal conduct and then drew a ripple of laughter with a brief question followed by an unexpected answer. "What would you call yourself?" Comer asked the witness. "A fool," Cohen shot back. Virtually every question from a Republican lawmaker contained a reference to Cohen's damaged credibility. Few sought more information about Cohen's claims against Trump. When it was Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Airz., turn, a poster appeared behind the Republican members carrying the slogan: "Liar Liar Pants on Fire!" At one point, the tense exchanges prompted Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., to challenge Republicans: "Your side ran away from the truth," Lynch thundered. "We're trying to bring it to the American people." Cohen then interjected, urging skeptical Republicans to review the documents that supported his claims against the president. "You don't have to take my word for it," Cohen said at one point. "Look at the documents ... I did the same thing that you are doing now. I protected Mr. Trump for 10 years." Cohen had long been among Trump's most voluble defenders. Responding to a question from Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., Cohen said he threatened as many as 500 people at Trump's behest, including journalists. But last year, before he was sentenced to prison, he told a judge he had been blinded by misguided loyalty. "Time and time again, I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds," he said at the time. Michael Cohen, former attorney and fixer for President Donald Trump, arrives at the Hart Senate Office Building before testifying to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill on February 26, 2019 in Washington. Cohen, the combative lawyer who once vowed that he would "take a bullet" for his former boss, has pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate in investigations of Russian interference in the 2016 election and illegal payments to women who claimed to have had sex with Trump. Both Cohen and the Justice Department have alleged in court that Trump directed Cohen to make the payments, though they stopped short of accusing the president himself of violating the law. Trump has said he was not involved in Cohen's crimes and has described his former lawyer as a "liar" and a "rat." White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said "it's laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies." At the end of more than six hours Wednesday, Cohen appeared spent. He wiped tears from his eyes as Cummings offered an emotional postscript to the extraordinary session, suggesting that Cohen's testimony could help repair a wounded government. "I've sat here and listened to all of this, and it's very painful; it's very painful," Cummings said. Cohen's testimony Wednesday does not end his interaction with Congress. He is scheduled to testify again in closed session Thursday before the House Intelligence Committee. Testimony: Michael Cohen, once keeper of Donald Trump's secrets, plans to accuse the president of 'criminal conduct' Takeaways: Cohen takeaways: As Trump's former lawyer heads to prison, political and legal implications grow for White House This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'I am not protecting Mr. Trump anymore.' Michael Cohen ties the president to ongoing criminal probes BEIJING Ford Motor Co's joint venture in China has "quietly begun" dismissing thousands of its 20,000 workers due to weak auto sales in the world's second-largest economy, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. The report did not identify its source of the information on the scale of the job cuts. Ford did not immediately comment on the report. A spokeswoman for Ford's local joint venture company, formed in partnership with Changan Automobile Group, did not respond to a request for immediate comment. The news is part of a bigger report on how U.S. automakers are faring in the world's largest auto market, where they've invested billions only to see market forces, along with U.S.-China trade relations, shifting the ground beneath their feet. Output from Detroit's factories in China, the Times reports, has slowed to a crawl. The report says that output at Ford's three factories at the inland city of Chongqing are operating at one-fifth of their capacity. The report is headlined "China Shifts, and Detroit's Big Bet Goes Sour." By Corina Pons and Mayela Armas CARACAS (Reuters) - At least 8 tons of gold were removed from the Venezuelan central bank's vaults last week, an opposition legislator and three government sources told Reuters, in the latest sign of President Nicolas Maduro's desperation to raise hard currency amid tightening sanctions. The gold was removed in government vehicles between Wednesday and Friday last week when there were no regular security guards present at the bank, Legislator Angel Alvarado and the three government sources said. "They plan to sell it abroad illegally," Alvarado said in an interview. The central bank did not respond to requests for comment. Alvarado and the government sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not say where the central bank was sending the gold. They said the operation took place while central bank head Calixto Ortega was abroad on a trip. In 2018, 23 tons of mined gold were transported from Venezuela to Istanbul by plane, according to sources and Turkish government data. The central bank bought part of this gold from primitive gold-mining camps in the south of Venezuela and exported it to Turkey and other countries to finance the purchase of basic food supplies, given widespread shortages, according to more than 30 people with knowledge of the trade. Some 20 tons of monetary gold were also removed from the central bank's vaults in 2018, according to the bank's data, leaving 140 tonnes remaining, the lowest level in 75 years. Abu Dhabi investment firm Noor Capital said on Feb. 1 that it bought 3 tons of gold on Jan. 21 from the Venezuelan central bank and would not buy more until Venezuela's situation stabilized. Noor Capital said its purchase was in accordance with "international standards and laws in place" as of that date. Maduro's government has been seeking to repatriate some 31 tons of gold in the Bank of England's vaults on fears it could be caught up in international sanctions on the country. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said on Wednesday, during a United Nations meeting in Geneva, that the Bank of England had blocked the government's assets. Maduro's government has resorted to selling off gold after falling oil production, the country's wider economic collapse and mounting sanctions hit public income and made it hard for the country to access credit. The United States, which is backing an attempt by opposition leader Juan Guaido to force Maduro to step down and call new elections, has warned bankers and traders not to deal in Venezuelan gold. (Reporting by Corina Pons and Mayela Armas; Writing by Angus Berwick; Editing by Christian Plumb and Leslie Adler) WASHINGTON The Pentagon has spent nearly $8 million to treat more than 1,500 transgender troops since 2016, including 161 surgical procedures, according to data obtained by USA TODAY. As of Feb. 1, 1,071 service members have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Public Health Service on active duty and in the reserve force. Most of them are senior enlisted personnel, but there are 20 senior officers majors and lieutenant commanders and higher as well. Overall, the troops represent a fraction of the total force of 2.1 million. The number of transgender troops serving who have not sought treatment through the military is not known. Start your day smarter: Get USA TODAY's Daily Briefing in your inbox Transgender troops and their medical and psychological treatment has been a flash point for controversy since President Donald Trump tweeted in July 2017 that he wanted to ban them from the military. In January, the question reached the Supreme Court, which ruled that a modified ban could take effect while lower court challenges continued. On Wednesday, the House Armed Services Committee will hear testimony on the military's policy, which bans most troops with a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have blasted the Pentagon policy as bigoted. She invited transgender troops to Trump's State of the Union address this month. Data on the population of transgender troops have been closely held at the Pentagon. The most definitive estimates of the population of transgender troops have come from a Defense Department-commissioned report in 2016. The non-partisan RAND Corp. report estimated as many as several thousand among the 1.3 million service members on active duty in the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy. RAND researchers determined that their treatment would have negligible effects on military readiness. The data obtained by USA TODAY show in greater detail the number and rank of troops receiving treatment, the type of therapy and the cost. Story continues Gender dysphoria is a condition recognized by the medical and mental health community. The American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association and American Psychological Association oppose the Pentagon's ban, noting that there is no medically valid reason to exclude those with the diagnosis of gender dysphoria from military service. (story continues after chart) The Pentagon data date to July 1, 2016, when the Obama administration lifted the existing ban on service for transgender troops and allowed them to seek treatment. Since then, 1,524 troops have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. In the active-duty force there were 500 in the Army, 442 in the Navy, 354 in the Air Force, 101 in the Marine Corps, 33 in the Coast Guard and four in the uniformed Public Health Service. And 90 service members served in the reserves. Through Feb. 1, the cost of treating troops with the diagnosis of gender dysphoria has totaled $7,943,906.75. That included 22,992 psychotherapy visits, 9,321 prescriptions for hormones and 161 surgical procedures. Surgeries performed included 103 breast reductions or mastectomies, 37 hysterectomies, 17 "male reproductive" procedures and four breast augmentations. Psychotherapy sessions cost nearly $5.8 million and surgery cost more than $2 million, according to the data. The Pentagon's budget this year is $716 billion. Brad Carson, the Pentagon's former top personnel official and one of the architects of the Obama-era policy, said Wednesday that the number of transgender troops is smaller than anticipated, as is the cost of treating of treating them. He noted that the Pentagon spends about $50 billion per year on health care. "A few million spent here is dwarfed by the treatment cost of virtually any ache and pain you can think of," said Carson, who is now a professor of public policy at the University of Virginia. The relatively small number of transgender troops also indicates that recruits are not joining the military to receive medical treatment, Carson said. "We need every qualified patriot willing to serve in our armed forces," said Air Force Lt. Col. Carla Gleason, a Pentagon spokeswoman. "The 2018 update to the 2016 policy is not a ban on transgender service members; it is a policy on gender dysphoria. Any currently serving transgender service member with a diagnosis of gender dysphoria will remain under the 2016 policy. Any new policy will not apply to those individuals." Wednesday's hearing is scheduled to be held before the House Armed Services Committee's panel on personnel, chaired by Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif. She has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration's efforts to exclude transgender people from serving in the military. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Exclusive: Pentagon spent nearly $8 million to treat 1,500 transgender troops since 2016 By Devika Krishna Kumar and Florence Tan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp has hired veteran crude traders Mitch Rubinstein and Michael Paradise in Houston, to further boost its trading capabilities, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. In a break from its past, Exxon has been building a global cadre of experienced traders and beefing up risk management systems to lift profit. Exxon, the largest U.S. oil company by market capitalization, has historically stood apart from rivals by limiting trading activity out of concerns it would be accused of market manipulation. The oil major has lagged behind rivals BP Plc, Chevron Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which have created trading units that occasionally generate more profit than their refining businesses. Both Rubinstein and Paradise, both of whom will be based in Houston, left commodity trader Noble Group Ltd in 2017. Rubinstein was managing director and global head of crude oil at Noble until 2017, when rival Vitol SA agreed to buy Noble Americas Corp. Noble was once Asia's biggest commodity trader, and has restructured after facing insolvency last year. Before Noble, Paradise was Citigroup Inc's director of oil trading in Houston. Exxon also recently hired Gary Pace, a senior gasoline trader, sources familiar with his move said. Pace was most recently at investment bank Macquarie in Houston and previously worked for Shell's U.S. trading arm, according to his LinkedIn profile. Last year, Exxon hired at least four gasoline market specialists from refiner Phillips 66. In 2018, it also hired former BHP Billiton Plc trader Nelson Lee as an international crude trader. A spokeswoman for Exxon declined to comment. Pace and Rubinstein did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Rubinstein updated his LinkedIn profile to reflect his move to Exxon, but his exact title is not clear. A source familiar with the matter said he has already started at the company. Story continues Exxon has been aiming to expand trading and marketing around more of its growing energy assets to get the best prices for its products and increase earnings. "That is the style of the guys they are hiring," one industry source said. This week, Exxon said its oil and gas reserves rose nearly 23 percent last year, driven mainly by increases from holdings in U.S. shale, offshore Guyana and Brazil. (Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York and Florence Tan in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Steve Orlofsky) By Moses Kyeyune. Members of parliament have asked Rtd Maj Gen Matayo Kyaligonza to resign or be recalled as Ugandas Ambassador to Burundi. General Kyaligonza is on the spot together with his security guards for assaulting Sgt Esther Namaganda at Seeta over the weekend as she carried out her duties. In a motion moved by the Chairperson of the Uganda Women Parliamentary association and also Budaka MP Pamella Kamugo, Kyaligonzas actions were brutal and mirror the growing impunity among high ranking officials. She has recommended for his prosecution and ultimate promotion of Sgt Namaganda. Her motion has been supported by other MPS who have described the ambassadors actions as shameful. Related Stories.. FDC calls for resignation of Kyaligoza French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that the EU could block a proposal to delay Brexit (Picture: REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes) European leaders could block proposals to delay Brexit, French president Emmanuel Macron has warned. Mr Macron said any request by Britain to delay the Article 50 process would need to be justified by a clear perspective on the goal, adding: We dont need time, we need decisions. His comments come after Theresa Mays u-turn earlier this week which saw her announced that she would allow MPs to vote on an extension to Article 50 if she has not secured Parliaments approval for her deal by March 12. But any extension of Article 50 requires the unanimous agreement of the remaining 27 EU states and Mr Macrons comments on Wednesday appeared to threaten to scupper any hopes of a delay. Mr Macron and other European leaders have called for decisions (Picture: PA) Speaking at a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris, the French president said: We would support an extension request only if it was justified by a new choice of the British. Mrs Merkel said: If Great Britain needs more time we will not oppose it but of course we are seeking an orderly exit. We regret this step, but it is reality and we now have to find a good solution. MORE: Home Secretary admits it may be difficult to strip Isis bride Shamima Begum of UK citizenship MORE: Homeless man covered in water by rail workers is convicted killer who said victim deserved to die Meanwhile, Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez told the Madrid Parliament he would not oppose an extension if it pointed the way to a resolution of the Brexit issue. But he warned: Prolonging uncertainty by postponing deadlines is not a reasonable nor desirable alternative. Asked about Mr Macrons remarks, the Prime Ministers official spokesman said: Its clear what the Prime Minister is trying to achieve which is to secure further assurance in relation to the backstop not being indefinite. Thats what were working towards What the Prime Minister has said is that any extension from the EU would have to be agreed by member states and that they are not going to agree to an extension simply to provide for more time that they would expect clarity on the UKs position. Story continues The comments came as MPs were due to vote on various amendments selected by Speaker John Bercow following a debate in the Commons. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK Billionaire Elon Musk laid into the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission again on Tuesday, after it accused the Tesla Inc chief executive of violating the terms of a settlement last year of fraud charges against him. In a filing on Monday, the SEC said that in a tweet on Feb. 19 Musk had broken a promise made last year as part of the deal, in which agreed to have his public statements even his tweets vetted by the company's board. The regulator did not say what remedy it wanted the court to impose, but the commitment was part of a settlement that headed off demands by the SEC for Musk to resign as Tesla CEO, seen by investors in the company as a substantial risk to its future. Musk, who initially on Monday accused the SEC of failing to read the company's annual reports, followed up with another tweet in the early hours of Tuesday. "Something is broken with SEC oversight," he wrote. Shares of the electric carmaker dipped 2.6 percent to $291 in trading before the bell, signaling concern among investors that Musk had reopened his feud with the regulator. The company's only junk bond also dipped 0.75 points to a cash price of 87.75 in thin trading, still some way off last year's lows. "With Tesla/Musk settling with the SEC in October this black cloud was in the rear view mirror for the company," analysts from brokerage Wedbush said in a note to clients. "This latest tweet (is) a wild card that could potentially bring this tornado of uncertainty back into the Tesla story until resolved." J.P. Morgan Securities analyst Ryan Brinkman said that in a worst-case scenario, the SEC could again seek Musk's removal as CEO for violating the terms of the agreement and its shares could fall by a fifth, or more than $50, in value. "It is difficult to judge the likelihood of the reappearance of this worst case scenario ... but on the other hand the current allegations seem much less serious (than last year's)," Brinkman told clients in a note. Story continues "If the SEC were to seek Mr. Musk's removal (perhaps subject to yet another settlement), we believe the shares may approach the mid-$200 levels." Thirteen of 32 Wall Street brokerages now rate the electric car company a "buy" or higher. Eight view it as a "hold" and 11 "sell" or lower, with a median PT of $327.50 Tesla's general counsel Dane Butswinkas, hired as an outside counsel to help settle the case with the SEC, resigned a day after Musk made the tweet to which the new SEC case refers. The tweet read: "Tesla made 0 cars in 2011, but will make around 500k in 2019," an inaccurate claim which the SEC said had not been pre-approved by the board and was disseminated to over 24 million people. Musk corrected his tweet four hours later to say that the "annualized production rate" at year-end 2019 would probably be about 500,000, with deliveries expected to be about 400,000. "While this tweet (after market hours) and the quick correction seem innocuous, the SEC isn't likely to cut Musk any slack," said another analyst, Gene Munster from Loup Ventures. "Musk's unwillingness to follow the rules is part of what you have to be willing to accept as an investor in Tesla." (Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Patrick Graham and Bernard Orr) BOLAANG MONGONDOW, Indonesia (AP) A grueling search and rescue effort has saved 19 people from the debris of a collapsed illegal gold mine in Indonesia's North Sulawesi province but officials said Wednesday that several dozen remain trapped. The national disaster agency said four people are confirmed dead and an estimated 37 are still buried beneath soil and rocks in an area that is difficult to access because of its remoteness and steep terrain. "The land contour is worrying with an 80 degree slope, so it's pretty steep, and we don't want any unwanted things to happen," said local police chief Gani Fernando Siahaan. "We will continue the rescue process until night as long as weather permits." Emergency personnel used their bare hands and farm tools to search for the victims. Video showed rescuers struggling to bring out a body bag in nearly vertical terrain. Makeshift wooden structures in the mine in Bolaang Mongondow district collapsed on Tuesday evening due to shifting soil and the large number of mining holes, burying people in the mine pit. "Unstable soil conditions make us extra careful lifting rocks because it can lead to new landslides," local disaster official Abdul Muin Paputungan said. Rescuers heard voices crying for help from beneath the debris, he said. The disaster agency said at least 140 people from different agencies are involved in the rescue effort. It said there is an urgent need for body bags. Informal mining operations are commonplace in Indonesia, providing a tenuous livelihood to thousands who labor in conditions with a high risk of serious injury or death. Small artisanal and often unauthorized mining is rising in many parts of Asia and Africa. A study by the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development found the number of people engaged in such mining had risen to over 40 million, up from 30 million in 2014 and 6 million in 1993. Landslides, flooding and collapses of tunnels are just some of the hazards. Much of the processing of gold ore involves use of highly toxic mercury and cyanide by workers using little or no protection. HANOI, Vietnam Warming up for his meetings with Kim Jong Un, President Donald Trump spoke to the leaders of Vietnam on Wednesday while proclaiming that their country can be a model for Kim, the North Korean dictator he described as "my friend." "Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize," Trump tweeted near the start of a two-day summit with Kim. Describing North Korea's economic potential as "AWESOME," Trump said it is "a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting!" While the global media is covering the Trump-Kim summit, the U.S. president finds himself competing with events back home including congressional testimony from former lawyer Michael Cohen, who is expected to accuse Trump of criminal conduct. Trump tweeted before making a series of courtesy calls on the president, prime minister, and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the hosts for the U.S.-North Korean summit. Trump is also expected to sign new commercial trade agreements with Vietnam. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The president praised the host country during a photo opp with Vietnam President Nguyen Phu Trong. Trump said both he and Kim feel good about holding the summit in Vietnam "because you really are an example as to what can happen, with good thinking. The North Korea summit starts later Wednesday, including a 20-minute one-on-one meeting between Trump and Kim, and a "working dinner" with the two leaders and their aides. The United States is trying to get North Korea to take specific steps to junk its nuclear weapons programs; Kim wants the United States and other countries to first ease economic sanctions that have crippled his country. More: Americans fought in Vietnam. Now the nation makes their shoes More: Everything you should know about the Trump-Kim summit in Vietnam Story continues At the same time, Trump has said he is "in no rush" to see North Korea denuclearize, and held out the hope of more economic development, possibly as a way to encourage North Korea to pursue the kinds of economic reforms Vietnam did three decades ago. Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, said there are two problems with Trump's Vietnam-inspired optimism, the first being that Kim has no intention of giving up his nuclear weapons because he sees them "as his countrys ultimate security guarantee." Speaking on Twitter, Haass also said tweeted that Kim "has no desire to open up economically" a la Vietnam because he might "lose control" of his country. "He wants sanctions relief, something (very) different," Haass tweeted. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Trump also finds himself sharing screen time abroad with domestic events. In addition to Cohen's testimony, the Democratic-run U.S. House voted Monday to revoke Trump's declaration of a national emergency on the nation's southern border, though the Republican-run Senate is not expected to follow suit. Some Democratic lawmakers are also questioning Trump's ability to deal with his authoritarian "friend" Kim, noting that the North Korean leader maintains political prisons and is accused of having his critics killed, including his uncle and his half-brother. They also pointed out that Kim has taken no major steps toward denuclearization since a first meeting with Trump back in June. Donald Trump accomplished little during the first summit aside from elevating a brutal and cruel dictator on the world stage," said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois. "It is critical for this meeting to not be another PR stunt and for the President to obtain serious, measurable and verifiable commitments." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump says his 'friend' Kim Jong Un can learn from Vietnam Donald Trump today called Kim Jong Un as a great leader as he met the North Korean leader for the second time. President Trump met Mr Kim in Vietnam on Wednesday and the pair were pictured exchanging a warm handshake during their second summit. Addressing Mr Kim during a scheduled media appearance, Mr Trump spoke about North Koreas economy, saying: Your country has tremendous economic potential. Unbelievable. Unlimited. He added: I think you will have a tremendous future with your country and great leader. And I look forward to watching it happen and helping it happen. And we will help it happen. U.S. President Donald Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, in Hanoi. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) All smiles: Trump and Kim exchange pleasantries during their second meeting. (Reuters) The two leaders exchanged handshakes, laughs and small talk at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, where they were scheduled to meet for 20 minutes before sitting down for what the White House has described as a social dinner. Mr Trump told reporters of the meeting: We look forward to it, we both do. Asked whether he might formally end the Korean War, he responded: Well see. Mr Trump has made the case that North Korea could thrive economically like Vietnam if the North ends its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Mr Trump said: Well see what happens, but he wants to do something great. US President Donald Trump (L) and North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un arrive for a meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images) Before the summit, President Trump had told how he hoped for great things from his second meeting with North Koreas leader as he paid a courtesy call on his Vietnamese hosts. Mr Kim was expected to take in some sights before the leaders open their second nuclear summit with private talks and a social dinner. Mr Trump and Mr Kim first met last June in Singapore, a summit that was long on historic pageantry but short on any enforceable agreements for North Korea to give up its nuclear arsenal. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. North Korea has spent decades, at great economic sacrifice, building its nuclear program, and there is widespread scepticism that it will give away that program without getting something substantial from the US. That could be a declaration to end the Korean War. Story continues While Mr Trump wants Mr Kim to agree to dismantle his nuclear sites in a verifiable way, Mr Kim is seeking relief from crushing US sanctions hobbling his economy. Other items being discussed are opening liaison offices in both North Korea and the United States. North and South Korea also want sanctions dialled back so they can resurrect two major symbols of rapprochement that provided much-needed hard currency to North Korea: a jointly run factory park in Kaesong and South Korean tours to the Norths scenic Diamond Mountain resort. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK Weve lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So well take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Vedanta Limited (NSE:VEDL). What Is Insider Selling? It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information. Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. As Peter Lynch said, insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise. View our latest analysis for Vedanta Vedanta Insider Transactions Over The Last Year While no particular insider transaction stood out, we can still look at the overall trading. Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 3.35k shares worth 1.0m. But they sold 21.69k for 5.9m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Vedanta shares, than buying. The average sell price was around 270. Insider selling doesnt make us excited to buy. But we note that the selling, on average, was at well above the recently traded price of 171. You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction! NSEI:VEDL Recent Insider Trading, February 27th 2019 For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. Does Vedanta Boast High Insider Ownership? Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Vedanta insiders own 5.0% of the company, currently worth about 32b based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders. Story continues What Might The Insider Transactions At Vedanta Tell Us? There havent been any insider transactions in the last three months that doesnt mean much. While we feel good about high insider ownership of Vedanta, we cant say the same about the selling of shares. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Vedanta. If you would prefer to check out another company one with potentially superior financials then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt. 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. INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) Defending champion Juan Martin del Potro has withdrawn from next month's BNP Paribas Open because of a knee injury. Del Potro said Wednesday through tournament officials that he's been advised to rest by his doctors and he hopes to return to action soon. He defeated Roger Federer to win his first Masters 1000 title last year in the Southern California desert. The fourth-ranked Argentine lost in the quarterfinals of last week's Delray Beach Open in Florida. It was del Potro's first tournament since injuring his knee at the Shanghai Masters in October. Del Potro had already pulled out of this week's Mexican Open in Acapulco, which he won last year. He also missed the Australian Open in January. With del Potro's withdrawal, Taro Daniel of Japan moves into the men's draw. The women's draw already lost two-time winner Maria Sharapova, who withdrew with a shoulder injury. The tournament runs March 6-17 in Indian Wells. Tupperware (NYSE: TUP) reported its fourth-quarter 2018 earnings on Jan. 30, and surprised investors with weak financial performance and a 60% dividend cut. The company's stock price dived over 27% in the day following the announcement and is down nearly 40% in the past year. TUP Chart TUP data by YCharts Could Tupperware's depressed stock price be a buying opportunity? Or is the dividend cut a signal that management sees more pain ahead? Perhaps both statements are true. What drove the recent earnings miss? Tupperware's Q4 2018 earnings were weak due to a combination of macroeconomic headwinds stemming from the strong US dollar and company specific issues. Q4 revenue declined 14% but only declined 7% in constant currency terms. Q4 EPS declined 11% but only declined 6% in constant currency. A strong US dollar hurts Tupperware's earnings because over 90% of the company's sales are generated outside of the United States, and Tupperware reports its financials in terms of US dollars. The reported dollar amount of revenue and earnings are worth less in US dollar terms if the foreign exchange rate in places where Tupperware operates becomes relatively weaker vs. the US dollar. This negative impact from currency exchange rates explains half of the recent quarter's revenue decline. Another headwind for Tupperware has been weakness in emerging market economies. 67% of Tupperware's sales are generated in emerging market countries such as India, China, Mexico, and Brazil. Historically these countries have spurred growth for the company, but today these markets are suffering due to a whole host of issues. In the recent quarter, Tupperware saw its sales in Asia decline 16% and its sales in South America decline 22%. However, not all of Tupperware's problems can be blamed on external economic forces. The company saw its salesforce decline 5% last year. Tupperware has a direct-to-consumer business model whereby an independent salesforce distributes the company's products directly to retailers and consumers. Tupperware is dependent on its direct salesforce to sell its products and a decline in the number of sales people translates to lower product sales. Story continues There is no doubt that the Q4 earnings report was disappointing, but much of the negative drivers were due to economic factors that are out of the company's control. These economic headwinds could abate or even reverse in the future. Also, shareholders may be happy to hear that the company has a plan to address the company specific issues. Tupperware Image source: Tupperware. A turnaround plan Tupperware's turnaround plan is propelled by the dividend cut. Tupperware cut its dividend from $0.68 per share to $0.27 per share, a 60% reduction. This reduction saves the company $80 million per year in cash which it plans to invest back into the business. On the Q4 2018 earnings call, management announced a plan to invest $100 million over the next 3 years in efforts to grow sales and reduce costs. Specifically, the company wants to deploy technology that will help improve the productivity of its salesforce by spending less time on logistical and administrative duties and more time focused on speaking to customers. Furthermore, Tupperware is streamlining its organizational structure and compensation so that there are fewer layers of management and salespeople are better incentivized. The company noted that a reduction in management headcount would result in $50 million in annual cost savings beginning in 2020. Tupperware has suffered a decline in its salesforce headcount over the past year which has translated into a decline in revenue. Because Tupperware uses a direct-to-customer salesforce, the company must constantly work toward recruiting and retaining productive salespeople for the business to thrive. The company believes that the investments it plans to make over the next 3 years will improve the size and the productivity of the salesforce, helping to drive revenue growth. Tupperware's turnaround plan appears very sensible. The big question mark is execution. If the changes being made do not result in a better salesforce headcount and improved productivity, then the company may need to explore a deeper rethink of the brand or business model. Shoring up the balance sheet In addition to the cost cuts and growth investments announced, Tupperware will be allocating the remaining savings from its reduced dividend payments to paying down debt and opportunistically repurchasing shares. Metric Financials as of Q4 2018 ($in millions) Total debt $888.9 2018 Adjusted EBITDA (reported) $351.6 Debt to EBITDA ratio 2.53x Source: Tupperware financial reports. Tupperware carries $888.9 million in total debt and reported 2018 adjusted EBITDA of $351.6 million. EBITDA is a measure of earnings before interest expense, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. EBITDA is the measure of earnings most commonly used for assessing leverage because it shows a company's capacity to service interest payments. Taking the ratio of debt to EBITDA shows the company has a leverage ratio of 2.53x. While Tupperware does not have an unsustainable level of indebtedness, leverage could become a more serious problem if earnings continue to decline. The company is targeting a leverage ratio below 2.0x over the next couple years. With $149 million in cash on its balance sheet and over $125 million in cash flow expected for 2019, reducing leverage likely won't be a Herculean task. The company will be balancing debt reductions with share buybacks. Last year, Tupperware announced a $200 million share buyback plan. The company executed $100 million of buybacks in 2018 and recommitted to finishing the remaining $100 million of buybacks opportunistically. Share buybacks give the company more flexibility than dividends. Sacrificing dividends for a stronger balance sheet is a bitter pill to swallow for shareholders. However, shoring up the balance sheeting and shifting to a more flexible capital return policy will protect the company ahead of the next economic downturn. Putting the pieces together The depressed stock price and dividend cut have rattled Tupperware's shareholders. However, there is a silver lining to the story. Much of the weak financial performance over the past quarter and year can be attributed to macroeconomic forces which may abate or even reverse in the future. The company specific issues are fixable, and Tupperware has taken major steps to address the problems. The dividend cut is a red flag to the market, but it provides the company with the flexibility it needs to turnaround the company and improve its balance sheet. Despite the dividend cut, the stock still yields nearly 4%, which could be attractive to prospective investors. The deciding factor in the fate of Tupperware's stock will be execution. The company has reset expectations and laid out a viable recovery plan. It will be important to see how the company executes against that plan over the next year to determine if the turnaround will be successful or if greater changes will need to be made. More From The Motley Fool Luis Sanchez 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. As a serial entrepreneur himself and an investor in dozens of companies through his role as a panelist on Shark Tank, Daymond John -- known as the "People's Shark" -- has seen every possible mistake a start-up can make. The FUBU founder, who built a $6 billion business from the ground up, has perhaps even made some of those mistakes himself -- but his many years as an investor in fledgling companies have taught him what to look for. John may not get every investment he makes right, but he has identified some red flags that scream for him to stay away. These are mistakes entrepreneurs make over and over again that can be avoided. Daymond John speaking on stage at the Bob Evans Farms "Heroes to CEOs" event John has been part of the Bob Evans Farms "Heroes to CEOs" event, in support of veteran entrepreneurs, for the past three years. Image source: Bob Evans Farms. These are John's red flags John named a scenario seen on his television program as his top red flag. It's a sort of flawed logic that countless entrepreneurs use to justify the valuation of their business when they can't use actual sales. "Red flags are when entrepreneurs talk about theory," John said during a phone interview with The Motley Fool: "When they say this is a $50 billion market, and if I can only get 1% of 1%, I would be a millionaire." That type of thinking, the Shark explained, tends to stand in for hard data. "Red flags are people who don't have any indication in regards to sales," he said. "They don't have to have a million dollars in sales, but they haven't sold one item to one person, so they really don't know who their customer is." John explained that entrepreneurs should not expect investors to do their research for them. That includes having already sold their product or service enough to have an understanding of what the market is and what it wants at what price. "Does their customer want to pay $39 for this or $42? Do they want it red or yellow? Large or extra large?" he said. "If they don't know and they don't have any understanding of sales, then they are basically taking the investment of my money and using it as tuition." Story continues Be ready when you get your chance John pushed the idea that it's important to gather sales data without spending too much money. He advocated a sort of do-it-yourself bootstrap approach, where entrepreneurs do as much leg work as they can before seeking investors (at least outside of friends and family), and especially angel investors. His red flags show the dangers of going to smart investors without fully understanding your potential customer base. Getting 1% of 1% of a huge market isn't easy, and the size of the market doesn't mean your idea will succeed in cracking the code, or winning even a fraction of the available audience. Have your numbers down cold before you pitch an investor. You may not yet have an enormous amount of sales data, but you need to have enough to make the case that you understand your customers, and to show that enough of those customers exist to meet your revenue projections. More From The Motley Fool The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. By Ritah Kemigisa. The Member of Parliament for Persons with Disabilities Safia Nalule has added voice to those opposed the PWD bill 2018 labeling it a bad law. Nalule tells KFM that the bill in its current nature is political and ignores the real issues of economic, social, cultural and human rights which affect persons with disabilities. She adds that the bill does not clearly outline the role of government in ensuring a fair environment for PWDs and that no penalties for the offenders are given. Nalule has now appealed to the gender committee which is currently scrutinizing the bill to ensure it conforms to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities before its passed by parliament. WHIPPANY, N.J. Carol Palk was sick and bleeding from an ulcer in her stomach riding in the back of a cab during a five-hour trip through a dangerous Mexican state, so that she and her husband could catch a plane that would eventually fly them back to the United States via Mexico City. Neither Carol nor her husband, Bertram "Buzz" Palk, can speak Spanish, so they could not communicate beyond showing their driver their airline tickets. Hours earlier, she and her husband were marooned on a foreign shore by the crew of their cruise ship because they could not treat her ulcer. Carol Palk, a 79-year-old from Whippany, was sailing on the Allure of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean Cruises ship registered in the Bahamas but sailing out of Miami, with her husband and friends from their Rotary Club. The seven-night cruise, which stopped in ports throughout the western Caribbean Sea, was the couple's 16th cruise vacation. Bertram "Buzz" and Carol Palk of Whipanny talk about their difficult experiences after they were removed from a cruise ship in Mexico due to a problem with Carol's health. They are at their kitchen table on January 25, 2019 with a photo that was taken on the cruise ship before they were let go in Mexico. More than 20 million people cruise each year, according to TripSavvy.com. But it is unclear how many people find themselves in a situation in which they are forced from their ship in a foreign country because of a medical emergency. The ship's crew was following a company policy. "Our actions depend entirely on the condition and needs of our patients," said Owen Torres, a Royal Caribbean Cruises spokesman. "In this case, our ships doctor and medical crew initially treated the guest in our medical facility but required additional and urgent medical attention that could only be provided in a hospital." More: What you need to do if your cruise ship leaves you behind! More: Norwegian Epic cruise ship crashes into dock in Puerto Rico Carnival and Norwegian cruise lines, two other popular cruise ship companies, did not respond when asked if they have similar policies. During the trip, Palk sought treatment from the ship's doctor when she noticed blood in her stool, a sign of internal bleeding. That's when she got shocking news. Story continues The doctor on board told Palk that he was monitoring her red blood cell count and that if it dropped below a certain level he would be forced to take her off the ship. "The doctor told me, 'I'm going to kick you off the ship' if the level dropped any further," Palk said. That's exactly what happened. After Palk's blood count dropped again the following day, the couple were told to pack their belongings because they were being removed from the ship at the next port-of-call. In a matter of hours, the Palks were left watching the ship sail off from a dock in Puerto Costa Maya in Mexico on Jan. 11, just two days before the ship was scheduled to arrive back in Miami. Bertram "Buzz" and Carol Palk of Whipanny talk about their difficult experiences after they were removed from a cruise ship in Mexico due to a problem with Carol's health. They are at their kitchen table on January 25, 2019 with papers and bills accrued on their trip. "I just had no idea what was going to happen to me or my wife," the 82-year-old Bertram Palk said. The mistreatment of passengers by a cruise line does not surprise Jim Walker, a maritime lawyer based in Miami. Many cruise ships are registered in foreign countries, just like the Allure of the Sea, so passengers are in a legal "no man's land" when aboard some of these vessels. "Legally, there is not much people can do in these cases," Walker said. "If the couple were to sue, they'd have to prove injury or negligence to get anywhere." Instead of going to a hospital, the Palks opted to return to the United States. So the ship's staff arranged for a $600 taxi to Cancun and two flights: one from Cancun to Mexico City and one from Mexico City to Miami, totaling an additional $1,039. The couple also had to pay $74 for entering Mexico, a fee that was collected at the ship's dock. "I told them we didn't want a flight to Miami and that we wanted a flight to Newark, but they said it was too late," Bertram Palk said. "They didn't even ask us." The Palks' journey home took a grueling 24 hours that was so strenuous Carol Palk decided to write an impromptu will on one of her flights. Ron Francioli, the Whippany mayor, who was part of the Rotary Club group with the Palks, was desperate to get in contact with his friends during their trek home. "The way Royal Caribbean handled this was a complete disaster," Francioli said. "I was up through the night trying to talk to them." The more than 200-mile taxi ride from Puerto Costa Maya to Cancun through the Yucatan Peninsula took the couple through the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, where a Level 2 travel warning has been issued by the federal State Department, on a scale that has four levels. Story continues below photo gallery The couple were unsure about what to do in the foreign country. They don't speak Spanish and they didn't know where to turn. The United States has an embassy in Mexico City and nine consulates general and nine consular agencies that act as extensions of the consulates general. There is a consular agency about 9 miles from Mexico City International Airport and a consular agency in Cancun, but the couple did not think to call them. "When a U.S. citizen needs assistance overseas, the department works to provide all appropriate consular assistance," said Marlo Cross-Durrant, a State Department spokeswoman. But she didn't comment on the Palks' situation. The Palks were exhausted once they arrived in Cancun for their flight to Mexico City. On the flight, Carol Palk said, she wrote a will on a piece of paper despite already having a formal one in place, just so she could explain what had happened in the event of her death. The Palks were relieved to be back in New Jersey when their flight landed on the morning of Jan. 12 a day before the cruise was scheduled to return to Miami. "If we went to Miami, we would have to pay for a hotel while [Carol] was getting looked at, plus another flight to Newark," Bertram Palk said. More: 10 dreamiest barge cruise destinations in Europe Carol Palk's physician told her she will be fine, and the couple have returned to their normal daily lives. However, there is one thing they are asking from Royal Caribbean: an apology. "We don't want money. All we want is a 'sorry' from them," Bertram Palk said. The closest thing to an apology the couple received was a voucher for 20 percent off from the customer service department after Carol Palk told a representative what happened over the phone. "What makes them think we want to go on another cruise after all that?" she said. The Palks said they are fortunate they were able to fund the $3,400 almost twice what the cruise cost in costs to get back home. "What would have happened to someone who didn't have enough money to cover all of this?" Carol Palk said. Follow Anthony Zurita on Twitter: @AnthonyRZurita This article originally appeared on North Jersey Record: Couple stranded in Mexico after kicked off cruise ship for medical emergency By Jonathan Barrett BALLARAT, Australia (Reuters) - On the day Cardinal George Pell, one of the highest ranking Vatican officials, was publicly revealed as a convicted child sex offender, his old high school in an Australian goldfields town physically scraped his name from one of its buildings. A thick black-taped line was also put through his once-revered name on a timber board of ordained alumni in the front offices of St Patrick's College in Ballarat, Pell's hometown in the state of Victoria. It is the fifth name on the board to be taped over, in a diocese ripped apart - like others before it in the United States, Ireland and elsewhere - by an abuse scandal. "We believe the decision to revoke those various honors is the appropriate course of action for the best interests of the boys who walk through the front gates of St Patrick's College each and every day," principal John Crowley told Reuters on Wednesday, a day after Pell's conviction was made public. A jury in the County Court of Victoria in Melbourne found Pell guilty on Dec. 11 of five offences against two 13-year-old choir boys, committed when he was the Roman Catholic archbishop of the city in the 1990s. But a court-imposed suppression order banning reporting of the trial was only lifted on Tuesday, giving Pell's hometown its first opportunity to respond. "As a church we - and I say we because I'm part of the church - need to do more," said Crowley. "We are well and truly behind the pack here." Pell's name looms large in Ballarat, a town of 100,000 people 120 km (75 miles) west of Melbourne. His father was the local publican, and the son proved himself to be a dogged defender of the faith as a young priest in the gold district, one of the country's biggest Catholic dioceses. PAPAL ADVISER The physically intimidating former athlete, measuring more than 190cm (6 foot 3 inches) tall, would later cut a path all the way to Rome, where he became the Vatican's economy minister and one of the pope's top advisers. But a government-ordered inquiry in 2013 started to expose wide-ranging allegations of clerical child abuse and cover-up, with Ballarat at its epicenter. Pell testified at the hearings, mostly about his knowledge of complaints in the 1970s and 80s. He was not named as an alleged perpetrator at the inquiry. Child abuse survivor Paul Auchettl said the town's strong Catholic ties made it difficult to speak out, even as some of its residents succumbed to suicide, self-harm and isolation. "I was being courted by priests because families used to offer their oldest boy to the priesthood," said Auchettl. "If you went into the church it was the best thing ever that could happen and it gave your family elevated status - it was what everybody was hoping for actually." The 77-year-old Pell was back in court on Wednesday for his sentence plea hearing, where his bail was revoked and he was taken into custody ahead of his sentencing on March 13. He has maintained his innocence throughout proceedings, and his lawyers have lodged an appeal against his conviction. While Pell's conviction relates to abuse occurring in Melbourne, residents in Ballarat rejuvenated a campaign of tying bright ribbons on the cathedral in his hometown after the jury's findings were made public. Campaigner Maureen Hatcher, who said she started the colorful ribbon campaign several years ago in defiance of the secrecy cloaking the town and its victims, said the once intense opposition to people like herself was finally falling away. "It's quite a conservative town and a very Catholic town; things are changing obviously with current news," said Hatcher. "There's been a big black cloud over this city for many decades ... and I think every day now there is a little bit more sunshine in the town." (Reporting by Jonathan Barrett in BALLARAT; Editing by Alex Richardson) U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 5, 2019. REUTERS/Jim Young Rep. Joe Wilson Security, Asia President Trump got Kim to the negotiating table. Now he must keep him there. Congressman Joe Wilson: Peace Through Strength Needed with North Korea On the eve of then-President-elect Donald Trumps inauguration, the United States and North Korea were in the throes of successive rounds of escalating nuclear tensions. Fast forward two and a half years, President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un are preparing for a second summit in Vietnam and North Korea has not conducted a single nuclear test in eighteen months. No matter where you stand on one of the most challenging national security debates in history, there is simply no denying that the Trump Administration has presided over a de-escalation of tensions with North Korea. President Trump must leverage this progress to extract meaningful commitments from Kim in Vietnam next week. As co-chair of the Korean caucus in Congress, I gained an on-the-ground understanding of the North Korean regimes mentality when I visited Pyongyang in 2003. The trip turned out to be an orchestrated propaganda tour of the country, with every meeting and detail staged so as to distract the Congressional delegation from the countrys grim realities. Over the years, the North Korean regime has employed a similar facade in successive rounds of negotiations with the international community. They have repeatedly come to the table and made bold commitments only to renege once any meaningful concessions are madeincluding as part of the Six-Party Talks in 2008 and the Leap Day Agreement in 2012. Thats why President Donald Trump must insist on continuing his strategy of peace through strength with North Korea, a notable departure from the past administrations insistence on strategic patience. This strategy has already yielded unprecedented dividends, including the release of three Korean-American hostages and the handover of remains of U.S. troops missing in action during the Korean War. But thankfully President Trump has made it very clear just this week that absent meaningful progress on Pyongyangs nuclear program, the Kim regime will not enjoy any much-needed sanctions relief. Story continues After the landmark summit in Singapore last year, questions abounded regarding the precise meaning of denuclearization. President Trump should make it clear to the North Korean regime next week that the United States is committed to the full dismantling of Pyongyangs nuclear program, while underscoring that Washington will not abandon its security commitments to Seoul. Ideally, a concrete and detailed framework for implementation of North Koreas denuclearization should emerge from the Vietnam summit, including specific measures and timetables. If not, at the very least the talks should conclude with a clear understanding of each sides demands, unlike the vague pledges that followed the last summit. At the same time, the United States should not make the same mistakes that befell the negotiators of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran. We must not isolate negotiations on North Koreas nuclear program from efforts to advocate on behalf of the human rights of the North Korean people. Sanctions in place on North Korea as a result of the countrys glaring human rights record must stay in place regardless of any potential progress on the nuclear front. Now that North Korea is at the table, after hurting from a painful regime of international sanctions, the United States must use its leverage to urge the Kim regime to respect the human rights of its own people. Unprecedented progress with North Korea has been achieved thanks to the leadership of President Donald Trump. Although the details of a potential deal have not emerged, this administration has pushed us back from the brink of nuclear war to the security of the negotiating table. Whether or not the North Korean will negotiate in good faith remains to be seen. The United States will need to hold steadfast to its principles and emerge with the best deal possible under the circumstances. In the words of President Reagan, peace is not the absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means. I am hopeful that President Donald Trump will manage this conflict, bearing in mind the interests of the American people, by peaceful means. Congressman Joe Wilson is the representative for the Second Congressional District of South Carolina. Wilson sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where he is the ranking member of the Middle East, North Africa, and International Terrorism Subcommittee. Image: Reuters Read full article Frances McDormand set a new standard for red carpet comfort when she showed up to present at the 2019 Oscars in a pink Valentino haute couture gown and a pair of custom yellow suede Valentino Birkenstocks. McDormand, whos often been noted for her pragmatic fashion choices, told Vogue that her choice to pass up heels in favor of everyones favorite hippie sandal was a natural choice. When given the chance to lend my enthusiasm and experience to the collaboration of a particular item of fashion there was only one answer for me: Birkenstocks Arizona two strap sandal, the two-timer Oscar winner said, noting that she always appreciated the world of fashion, but was especially enthusiastic to create these shoes after she attended the 2018 Met Gala with Valentinos creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli. I have worn these sandals for most of my adult life. They have literally formed me physically and philosophically. All that I desired was to have a pair in my favorite color: acid yellow. And now they exist! The spark caught fire and theres no going back. See McDormands glamorous Birkenstocks look for the 2019 Oscars below. 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. By Doina Chiacu and Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump ordered his personal attorney to make threats for him about 500 times over the last 10 years, former lawyer Michael Cohen told lawmakers on Wednesday. During testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives' Oversight Committee, Trump's longtime "fixer" described a boss who was "intoxicating" but also deeply flawed, a "conman" who lied without hesitation. Cohen lamented his "misplaced loyalty" to Trump and said he was ashamed of "concealing Mr. Trump's illicit acts." "How many times did Mr. Trump order you to threaten an individual or entity on his behalf?" Democratic U.S. Representative Jackie Speier asked him. "Quite a few times," Cohen responded. "50 times?" "More." "100 times?" "More." "200 times?" "More." "500 times?" "Probably," Cohen replied, saying the threats sometimes involved litigation or "an argument with a nasty reporter that is writing an article." Cohen provided the committee with copies of letters he wrote at Mr. Trumps behest threatening his high school and colleges not to release his grades or test scores. "We will hold your institution liable to the fullest extent of the law including damages and criminality," Cohen wrote in a letter to Fordham University https://tmsnrt.rs/2BPK4Kz. The panel's top Republican, U.S. Representative Jim Jordan, read from a profanity-laced threat of legal action made by Cohen to a Daily Beast reporter in 2015. Cohen acknowledged he made the comments to protect Trump from a negative story. Speier also asked Cohen about stories purchased but never published by American Media Inc, publisher of tabloid National Enquirer, which is headed by Trump friend David Pecker. "So he paid off someone about a love child that doesn't exist?" Speier asked, referring to one such story. Story continues "Correct," Cohen said. American Media said Pecker met with Cohen and at least one other member of Trump's presidential campaign in August 2015 and offered to help with negative stories about Trumps relationships with women by buying the rights to those stories, according to a deal made public in December by federal prosecutors in New York. Cohen acknowledged lying for Trump and expressed remorse in particular about heeding Trump's demand that Cohen lie to his wife about hush money payments to an adult film star. "Lying to the first lady is one of my biggest regrets," he said. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Sarah N. Lynch; editing by Jonathan Oatis) Michael Cohen, the long-time consigliere and personal lawyer to Donald Trump, once received an email from a friend since boyhood, Felix Sater, who had become a criminal with gangland connections before becoming a federal informer: Can you believe that two guys from Brooklyn are going to elect a President? Sater had chaperoned Donald Junior and Ivanka to Moscow at Trumps request. Vladimir Putin, Sater declared, would back a project to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. But this would be just the beginning of a very fruitful relationship: Our boy can become President of the USA and we can engineer it ... I will get Putin on this programme and we will get Trump elected. All this may smack of braggadocio from Sater, born Felix Sheferovsky in Russia. But he was not without influence: he claimed he got Ivanka to sit and be photographed on Putins chair in the Kremlin, something she has not denied. He is now once again helping Federal authorities and Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating whether Trump was the Muscovian candidate for the White House, had arrested and turned Cohen. Cohen may not have engineered the election of Our boy to the presidency, but this week the man who is said to know where the Trump skeletons are rattling away is giving testimony which has the potential to gravely damage the chances of the president staying in the White House. [[gallery-0]] Cohen will provide evidence of Trumps lies, racism, cheating and conning, details of his personal finances, including how he allegedly manipulated his income to avoid property tax and, crucially, will supposedly accuse the president of criminal conduct while in office. And he will talk about Russiagate, including the Trump Tower deal Sater was involved in. The alleged criminal conduct is related to hush-money payments made by Cohen on behalf of the president to Stormy Daniels, the adult movie actor who says that she had an affair with Trump a decade ago. Story continues An example of the racism, it is claimed, are remarks Trump reportedly made about the intelligence of black people and the type of lives, in his eyes, that they live. Cohens prepared testimony to the committees, which was initially leaked to The New York Times, will say In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie. Mr Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. Thats not how he operates. I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty of the things I did for Mr Trump in an effort to protect and promote him, he will tell the House of Representatives oversight and reform committee. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. He will also make hugely significant claims about the Russia investigation, saying that Trump was aware that Democratic Party emails, damaging to Hillary Clinton, had been hacked and would be leaked. Some of the allegations concern Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder living at the Ecuadorean embassy in London, and Roger Stone, the presidents friend and adviser who has now been arrested. Cohen is due to say: In July 2016, days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr Trumps office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr Trump put Mr Stone on the speakerphone. Mr Stone told Mr Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr Assange told Mr Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign. Mr Trump responded by stating to the effect of wouldnt that be great. Cohen, who will begin a three-year sentence on 6 May after pleading guilty to tax crimes, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress, will appear before three Congressional Committees on three consecutive days this week, one in public and two private sessions. There will be intense focus on his public testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, the same day that Trump will be meeting Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, in Vietnam for their second summit. White House officials told CNN that Trump will be watching the proceedings on television during his overnight stay in Hanoi. Cohen, according to his testimony, will say about Trumps business practices that: Mr Trump is a cheat. It was my experience that Mr Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes. Mr Trump directed me to find a straw bidder to purchase a portrait of him that was being auctioned at an Art Hamptons Event. The objective was to ensure that his portrait, which was going to be auctioned last, would go for the highest price of any portrait that afternoon. The portrait was purchased by the fake bidder for $60,000. Mr Trump directed the Trump Foundation, which is supposed to be a charitable organisation, to repay the fake bidder, despite keeping the art for himself. And it should come as no surprise that one of my more common responsibilities was that Mr Trump directed me to call business owners, many of whom were small businesses, that were owed money for their services and told them no payment or a reduced payment would be coming. When I advised Mr Trump of my success, he actually revelled in it. The House Oversight Committees chairman, Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat, has already stated that Trumps former lawyer will speak about Trumps finances, conflicts of interests at the Trump Foundation and the Trump International Hotel. He has also agreed to discuss the Presidents debts and payments relating to efforts to influence the 2016 election. Cummings is certainly looking forward to Cohens testimony. This is one moment in history, and when you get to my age and you look back and you realise these moments are very, very significant. It may well be a turning point in our countrys history..., he reflected. He is the only person that I know who has accused this president of a crime. And I think its only fair to the president and to Michael Cohen and to the public that he comes forward so that theyll have an opportunity to observe his demeanour. Republicans will be able to ask him questions, just like a cross-examination, and they can make their own judgment. On Trumps alleged racism, Cohen is due to say: The country has seen Mr Trump court white supremacists and bigots. You have heard him call poorer countries shitholes. In private, he is even worse. He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasnt a shithole. This was when Barack Obama was president of the United States. While we were once driving through a struggling neighbourhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. The Oversight Committee will, supposedly, not stray too much into the Russia inquiry questions centring on that will come during the closed Senate and House Intelligence Committee hearings. These will look into, among other things, the Trump Tower Moscow project and a meeting in Trump Tower, New York, between a group of Russians, Donald Junior, Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner and Trumps campaign manager, Paul Manafort, who is now in prison. Cohen is due to say on the Moscow Tower project: I lied to Congress about when Mr Trump stopped negotiating the Moscow Tower project in Russia. I stated that we stopped negotiating in January 2016. That was false our negotiations continued for months later during the campaign. Mr Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. Thats not how he operates. In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie. You need to know that Mr Trumps personal lawyers reviewed and edited my statement to Congress about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations before I gave it. To be clear: Mr Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it. He lied about it because he never expected to win the election. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project. Cohen returns to Capitol Hill around 18 months after he appeared for the first time before the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of the Russia investigation when he lied about how long discussions about the Trump Tower project had extended into the 2016 campaign. At the time, Mr Trump was praising his lawyer. But then Cohen started co-operating with Mueller and the president accused him of becoming a rat. In the run-up to the testimony, the Trump team has kept up a barrage of insults. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders called the presidents former lawyer a disgraced felon and declared that it was pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies, and just laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word. Cohen is due to say: I knew early on in my work for Mr Trump that he would direct me to lie to further his business interests. I am ashamed to say, that when it was for a real estate mogul in the private sector, I considered it trivial. As the president, I consider it significant and dangerous. But in the mix, lying for Mr Trump was normalised, and no one around him questioned it. In fairness, no one around him today questions it, either. The beginning of the Trump Presidency saw a high number of former military commanders in the administration. But the president appeared to later fall out with the intelligence services and armed forces and regularly traduced senior officers. Cohen is due to speak about how Trump dodged the Vietnam draft. He is due to say: Mr Trump tasked me to handle the negative press surrounding his medical deferment from the Vietnam draft. Mr Trump claimed it was because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery. He told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment. He finished the conversation with the following comment. You think Im stupid, I wasnt going to Vietnam. Democrats hold that a lot of truth about the president will come out in what Cohen has to say. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said Cohen would be questioned about Kremlin links: Did they go beyond what he told us about Moscow Trump Tower into other areas as well? Who would have been aware of the false testimony that he was giving? What other light can be shed now that hes cooperating on issues of obstruction of justice or collusion? What more could be tell us about the Trump Tower New York meeting or any other issues relevant to our investigation. We think he has a lot to offer. Michael Cohen has revealed he is not allowed to discuss his last conversation with Donald Trump with anyone, because it is currently part of ongoing investigations by federal prosecutors. The presidents former attorney told lawmakers during a high-profile public testimony on Capitol Hill that he was aware of additional illegal acts by the president, adding that those alleged acts of misconduct were part of the Southern District of New Yorks probe into the Trump Organization. When asked whether he was aware of additional illegal wrongdoing besides whats already publicly known about Mr Trump, Cohen responded, Yes, and again those are part of the investigation that is currently being looked at by the Southern District of New York. Cohen said his final conversation with the president happened about two months after his hotel room was raided by the FBI in April 2018. But he declined to provide more specific details and said the matter was being investigated by federal prosecutors. He also said he had a conversation with the president prior to his first hearing with the House Intelligence Committee in which Mr Trump encouraged him to claim there was no collusion between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. Democrats asked Cohen about details of his accusations against Trump, while Republicans on the House Oversight and Reform Committee focused on assailing him and his credibility. Accused at length by one GOP lawmaker of being a pathological liar, Cohen responded, Sir, are you referring to me or the president? I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty, of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him, Cohen said. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. Mr Trump, at a Vietnam hotel before a planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and unable to ignore the drama playing out thousands of miles away, lashed out at Cohen on Twitter, saying his lawyer did bad things unrelated to Trump and is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Story continues A judge already has set Cohens sentence, and Cohens cooperation will have no bearing on that term. Cohen, ahead of his appearance, said Tuesday that the American people could decide exactly who is telling the truth when he testified before the House committee. A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time, Cohen said in his prepared testimony. The answer is yes. Cohen said he does not have direct evidence that Trump colluded with the Russian government during the election, but that he has suspicions. Of a meeting in Trump Tower between campaign advisers, including Mr Trumps oldest son, and a Russian lawyer, Cohen said that the president had frequently told him that Donald Trump Jr had the worst judgment of anyone in the world and he would never set up any meeting of any significance alone and certainly not without checking with his father. Additional reporting by AP By Benjamin Jumbe. The ambassador of the Democratic Republic Congo to Uganda Jean Pierre Massala has appealed to all M23 ex combatants still in Uganda to consider returning home. The call was made as the ambassador saw off a group of close to 70 ex combatants including their dependents who voluntarily decided to go back home. At least 200 ex-combatants are reportedly still in Bihanga camp in Ibanda District in western Uganda. The Ambassador is optimistic that more will volunteer to return to their country to contribute to its building under the new leadership. In 2012, more than 1,000 M23 fighters fled into Uganda after they defeated by a joint force of the UN and DR Congo government troops Related Stories Uganda repatriates close to 70 M23 rebels Michael Cohens testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday saw several heated exchanges between Cohen and the Committees ranking Republican, Jim Jordan, who called Cohen President Trumps former personal lawyer a patsy for Democrats. The Democrats dont care, Jordan told Cohen. They just want to use you. You are the patsy today. They want to find someone somewhere to say something so they can remove the president. Cohen, who worked for Trump as his personal lawyer for a decade, appeared before the Committee on Wednesday after months of criticizing his former boss and cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation of Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election. He pled guilty to federal prosecutors in New York in December and was sentenced to three years in prison for financial crimes, campaign-finance violations, and lying to Congress about how deep into the 2016 campaign negotiations over a proposed deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow continued. His remorse is nonexistent. You just debated a member of Congress saying, I really didnt do anything wrong with the false bank things that Im guilty of and going to prison for,' Jordan said during one of the most dramatic moments of the hearing. Shame on you, Mr. Jordan, Cohen shot back. Thats not what I said and you know that thats not what I said. I pled guilty and I take responsibility for my actions. Shame on you. I am remorseful and I am going to prison, Cohen said. I will be away from my wife and family for years, so before you turn around and cast more aspersion, please understand, there are people watching you today that know me a whole lot better. I made mistakes. I own them. A number of Republicans echoed Jordans comments during the course of the hearing, including Georgia representative Jody Hice, who called the hearing a shameful mockery, and Tennessee representative Mark Green, who called Cohen a fake witness. More from National Review President Trumps personal attorney Michael Cohen will deny having any knowledge of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia when he testifies before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, but he will accuse, and provide documents to prove, that his former boss committed illicit acts. Questions have been raised about whether I know of direct evidence that Mr. Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia. I do not. I want to be clear. But, I have my suspicions, Cohen will say, according to his opening statement, which was released Tuesday night. Cohens expected testimony will refute previous reporting that he travelled to Prague in 2016 to pay Russian hackers for releasing the stolen Democratic National Committee emails that harmed Hillary Clintons campaign. While he maintains he has no direct evidence of collusion, Cohen will claim that Trump had advance knowledge that Wikileaks planned to publish the hacked DNC emails. Cohen is expected to testify that he heard Roger Stone tell Trump that he had been in contact with Wikileaks Julian Assange, who informed him the DNC email leak was forthcoming. A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr. Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time. The answer is yes, Cohen will testify. He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails. In addition to describing consequential events that occurred during the campaign, Cohen will impugn Trumps character and apologize for his role in furthering his efforts. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience, Cohen will say. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat. More from National Review Michael Cohen, while testifying Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee, denied traveling to Prague to meet with Russian operatives during President Trumps 2016 campaign, as was alleged in the infamous Steele dossier and subsequent reporting. Ive never been to Prague. Ive never been to the Czech Republic, Cohen told lawmakers. Cohens testimony refutes both the Steele dossier, in which former British spy Christopher Steele alleged that Cohen traveled to Prague to meet with a Kremlin official about Russian efforts to leak DNC emails, and a subsequent McClatchy report that partially confirmed Steeles findings. The McClatchy report, published in April 2018, claimed that Special Counsel Robert Mueller had evidence that Cohen secretly made a late-summer trip to Prague during the 2016 presidential campaign and speculated that Cohen did so to meet with Konstantin Kosachev, a member of the Russian legislature with close ties to Vladimir Putin. McClatchy followed up with a second report in December that indicated Cohens cell phone briefly sent signals ricocheting off cell towers in the Prague area in late summer 2016, at the height of the presidential campaign, leaving an electronic record to support claims that Cohen met secretly there with Russian officials. Cohen and his representatives have previously denied the allegation, but Wednesday represents the first time hes done so under oath. Bad reporting, bad information and bad story by same reporter Peter Stone, Cohen tweeted in response to the initial McClatchy report. The Steele dossier, which was indirectly funded by the Clinton campaign through a law firm, alleged that Cohen met with two Russians and a number of Eastern European hackers in Prague to discuss how deniable cash payments were to be made to hackers in Europe who had worked under Kremlin direction against the Clinton campaign. Many of the salacious allegations in the Steele dossier remain unsubstantiated and Steele himself has conceded that only 70 to 90 percent of the dossier is accurate. More from National Review Cardinal George Pell, once the Vatican's third-most powerful official, was sent to prison in Australia on Wednesday pending formal sentencing for sexually abusing a pair of 13-year-old choirboys in what the judge called "callous, brazen" acts. Victorian state County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd revoked Pells bail at the end of a sentencing hearing in a packed, standing room-only courtroom. Kidd said he would deliver his sentence on March 13. The judge said Pell was guilty of a breach of trust with an element of brutality and had had a sense of impunity. I see this as callous, brazen offending blatant, Kidd said. At the time, he thought he was going to get away with it. Otherwise he wouldnt have done it, the judge said. The Catholic Church is not on trial ... Im imposing sentence on Cardinal Pell for what he did. Cardinal George Pell makes his way through members of the media to the court in Melbourne on February 27, 2019. Pell arrived in court, possibly for the last time as a free man, in a last-ditch push to apply for bail after his historic conviction for child sex crimes. Pell's lawyer, Robert Richter, described the abuse as a temporary loss of judgment in response to an irresistible impulse. Pell, 77, who maintains his innocence and has appealed the verdict, faces up to 50 years in prison. He was convicted of abusing the boys in a cathedral in the 1990s when he was archbishop of Melbourne. The verdict was reached in December but only became public this week when the court lifted its gag order. Pell, who was appointed treasurer by Pope Francis to address simmering financial scandals in the Vatican, was remanded to the Melbourne Assessment Prison pending the formal sentencing, Vatican News reports. More: Five major Catholic leaders taken down by the church sex abuse scandal The announcement of the conviction came just days after Francis wrapped up the first-ever Vatican summit on sex abuse where more than 175 bishops from around the world discussed the clergy scandal and how better to respond to victims. Alessandro Gisotti, acting director of the Holy See Press Office, called the verdict painful news that, as we are well aware, has shocked many people, not only in Australia. Story continues He added that Cardinal Pell maintains his innocence and has the right to defend himself until the last stage of appeal. Gisotti later tweeted confirmation that the prelate is no longer the Holy Sees economy chief, having not been reappointed when his five-year-term ended this month. Francis confirmed that "precautionary measures" already imposed on Pell would remain, including a ban on carrying out priestly duties or having any contact with minors, Gisotti said. The church's response in the Pell case is in striking contrast to its swift action against Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was quickly expelled from the priesthood in 2018 for sexually abusing minors and adult seminarians over decades. Five major players in the church have now been brought down by abuse scandals. Three of them, Pell, McCarrick and Pierre de Castelet, were convicted on sex abuse charges. More: The Catholic Church is worried about its future. Why Latino millennials may be the answer Cardinal Bernard Law, former archbishop of Boston, resigned his position in December 2002 following published reports that he had done little to punish abusers and protect children despite extensive knowledge of cases within his archdiocese. Monsignor William Lynn was convicted of covering up a sex abuse scandal while working at the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Andre Fort, former bishop of Orleans, was given a suspended prison sentence for failing to report de Castelet's crimes. Contributing: Lindsay Schnell; Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Church sex abuse scandal: Vatican opens investigation into Cardinal George Pell HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD Co Ltd reported preliminary net profit for 2018 that was 31.4 percent lower than a year earlier, pinning the blame on intensifying competition in the world's biggest auto market. The result comes as China's market for new energy vehicles is booming, but profit in the sector is being squeezed by competition between established automakers and a multitude of startups, as well as the government's reduction of subsidies. Profit likely fell to 2.79 billion yuan ($416.5 million) from 4.07 billion yuan, as slowing auto sales across China increased competitive activity among car makers and hit the profitability of the fuel vehicle business, BYD said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange late on Tuesday. The automaker, backed by U.S. investor Warren Buffett, also said orders and profit in its smartphone component and assembly business were affected by weak demand and competition. It also saw deeper loss in its photovoltaic business due to change in government policy and provision for impairment, while an increase in financing expenses hit overall profitability. Total operating revenue increased 22.8 percent to 130.06 billion yuan. The Shenzhen-based firm reported rapid growth in sales of new energy vehicles - those not powered solely by internal combustion - as the sector develops at pace and also due to the firm's new product cycle. It said it ranked first in global sales volume of such vehicles for the fourth consecutive year. BYD in October said it expected 2018 profit to drop almost a third due to increased competition. It is expected to report final full-year figures in late March, as per last year. The price of BYD's Hong Kong-listed shares was down 0.3 percent in early trade, versus a 0.2 percent rise in the benchmark Hang Seng Index. ($1 = 6.6980 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Christopher Cushing) Chicago Mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot addresses the crowd at her election night party as she leads in the polls, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019, in Chicago. Lightfoot, a federal prosecutor running as an outsider, advanced Tuesday to a runoff for Chicago mayor, a transitional election for a lakefront metropolis still struggling to shed its reputation for corruption, police brutality and street violence. CHICAGO The two candidates vying to become mayor of the nation's third-largest city are both transplants from elsewhere in the Midwest who are casting themselves as progressives. They're also no strangers to Chicagos rough-and-tumble politics. Former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot, 56, and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, 71, finished first and second in the election to replace Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday. They advance to a runoff vote on April 2. The winner will be Chicago's first black woman mayor; Chicago will become the largest U.S. city to be led by a black woman. The race could be a turning point for a city that's shifting further to the left ideologically as it tries to shake a reputation for political corruption and the scourge of gun violence. Its clear were at a defining moment in our citys history, Preckwinkle said. The challenges that our city faces are not simply ideological. Its not enough to say that Chicago stands at a crossroads. We need to fight to change its course. The city has had a large African-American population for much of its 181-year history, but only two of the citys 55 mayors have been black: Harold Washington from 1983 to 1987 and Eugene Sawyer from 1987 to 1989. Only one woman, Jane Byrne, has held the mayors office, from 1979 to 1983. Lightfoot would also be Chicago's first openly gay or lesbian mayor. Elizabeth Todd-Breland, a professor of history at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said the moment is significant for a city that has long suffered racism and the marginalization of its black residents. Toni and Lori's respective platforms are the products of pressure from sustained community organizing efforts on issues of education, police accountability, and racial and economic equity over the last couple of decades, Todd-Breland said. This does not mean that Chicago has suddenly transformed into a politically progressive city. But the next mayor will have run on relatively progressive promises. Story continues The race between Lightfoot and Preckwinkle will likely be as hard-fought as the first round of voting when 14 candidates fought for the mayors seat. A head-to-head poll published by 270 Strategies before the vote Tuesday showed Lightfoot leading Preckwinkle 42 percent to 25 percent. Chicago mayoral candidate Toni Preckwinkle greets supporters at her election night event in Chicago on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. Cook County Board President Preckwinkle will face former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot in a runoff to become Chicago's next mayor. The race will guarantee the nation's third-largest city will be led the next four years by an African-American woman. The two candidates attacked each other relentlessly in the lead-up to the first round of voting. Preckwinkle attempted to paint Lightfoot as a relic of the Emanuel and Richard M. Daley administrations. Both mayors selected her to serve in high-level positions on police accountability panels. While my opponent was taking multiple appointments in the Daley and Emanuel administrations, I fought the power elites that were trying to hold this city back for decades, Preckwinkle said. Lightfoot has punched back. She frequently pointed to Preckwinkle's ties to Alderman Ed Burke, the 50-year veteran of Chicagos city council who was charged by federal authorities last month with attempted extortion. Burke is accused of trying to shake down the operators of Burger King restaurants in Illinois. He has pleaded not guilty and was re-elected on Tuesday. Burke hosted a fundraiser for Preckwinkle last year that netted her more than $100,000 in campaign contributions. Lightfoot criticized Preckwinkle last week after a senior Preckwinkle campaign adviser posted a photo of Nazis at the Nuremberg trials on social media to argue against supporting Lightfoot. Preckwinkle fired the aide and apologized to Lightfoot. "Politics is a tough business," Lightfoot said. "I knew that before I jumped in. But it is disturbing to me that a mayoral candidate's 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." Historic race: Chicago will elect first black female mayor; Lightfoot and Preckwinkle advance to runoff Cliff notes: Chicago votes for a new mayor: 5 things to know about historic race Corruption case: In corruption-plagued Chicago, high-level shakedown charges loom over mayoral race, candidates Preckwinkle, a former high school teacher from St. Paul, Minnesota, spent 20 years as a Chicago alderman representing the South Side ward where President Barack Obama lived. She was an early backer of Obama, dating back to his first run for the state legislature in 1996. She was elected president of the Cook County Board in 2010 and became head of the Cook County Democratic Party last year. Preckwinkle has also been critical of the former president. She suggested in a 2008 interview with the New Yorker that Obama ignored his South Side base after he was elected to the Senate in 2004. My view is you have to bring your constituency along with you. Granted, you have to make some tough decisions, Preckwinkle said. Granted, sometimes you have to make decisions that people wont understand or like. But its your obligation to explain yourself and try to do your supporters the courtesy of treating them with respect. Obama did not endorse a candidate during the first round of voting for mayor. The field included Bill Daley, who served as his White House chief of staff. A spokesman for the former president did not respond to a request for comment about whether Obama will endorse for the runoff. In her victory speech Tuesday, Preckwinkle joked that shes been a progressive since the days when the word was at best a euphemism for unelectable. She argues that shes not only ideologically aligned with most working-class Chicagoans, but that shes also got the experience with political sausage-making to know how to make substantial changes in the city. "It's not enough to stand at a podium and talk about what you want to see happen," Preckwinkle said. "You have to come to this job with the capacity and capability to make your vision a reality." Lightfoot is the daughter of an Arkansas sharecropper grew up in Ohio steel country. She moved to Chicago in 1986 to attend law school at the University of Chicago. Shes worked as a federal prosecutor in Chicago and a partner at the law firm Mayer Brown. She was appointed by Emanuel to the Chicago Police Board and the citys Police Accountability Task Force. In 2002, Lightfoot was appointed by then-Mayor Richard M. Daley as chief administrator of the Office of Professional Standards, a disciplinary arm of the Chicago Police. It was criticized for rarely taking action against officers for excessive use of force and eventually was abolished. Lightfoot has never held elected office, and raised just $1.6 million, little more than a third of the $4.6 million Preckwinkle hauled in. (Bill Daley, who finished third on Tuesday, led the field with more than $8.7 million.) Still, she managed more votes than any other candidate. Lightfoot has cast herself as an independent who will work to improve the citys public schools and address gun violence as a public health issue. Shes also said that she supports mayoral term limits. The former prosecutor has a brother who has spent a significant portion of his life incarcerated. When she worked in the U.S. Attorneys Office in Chicago, she has noted, she was asked to sign a loyalty oath because her brother was a fugitive at the time. As a black woman leading the Police Accountability Task Force and the Police Board and paving the way for police reform in this city," she said, "I knew full well the devastating impacts of the criminal justice system on black and brown families and, really, all families in the community. Emanuel, a moderate Democrat who served as a top aide to President Bill Clinton, a member of the Democratic leadership in Congress and White House chief of staff to Obama, leaves office after two terms. His legacy is seen as mixed. Emanuel was already a national figure when he arrived in the mayor's office. He's credited with persuading several big corporations, including McDonalds, Walgreens and Motorola, to move their headquarters from the suburbs to the city. But his standing in the citys sizable African-American community plummeted in 2015 with the release of chilling police video that showed a white police officer firing 16 shots at a black teen on the city's Southwest Side. Emanuel was pilloried by the left as Mayor One Percent as the citys chasm between rich-and-poor widened. He was criticized for the closure of 50 Chicago public schools in predominantly black and Latino neighborhoods. And he faced enmity of the Chicago Teachers Union, which in 2012 struck for seven days the first time in 25 years Chicago endured a system-wide work stoppage. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chicago votes: Who are the two women looking to make history as first black female mayor? What is happening? President Trumps former personal lawyer has given explosive testimony to US Congress against his former boss. Michael Cohen branded the President a racist, conman and a cheat in a stinging opening statement. Mr Cohen said Mr Trump claimed black people are too stupid to vote for him and when the two men were driving through a struggling neighbourhood in Chicago, Mr Trump said only black people could live that way. The former lawyer also alleged the President committed crimes while in office and knew in advance that WikiLeaks had emails damaging to Hillary Clintons presidential campaign. How bad is this for Trump? Michael Cohens allegations are serious and could be severely damaging for the President. The former lawyer is submitting evidence he claims will prove Mr Trump committed a crime while in office the first time he has done so publicly. If true this could provide grounds for impeachment in the future. Mr Cohen says Trump asked him to pay off porn star Stormy Daniels after they allegedly had an affair, then asked him to lie to his wife Melania about it. Federal prosecutors say the payment would violate campaign finance laws. Today is the first time the American public is officially hearing Mr Cohens claims against the President. Another potential problem for Mr Trump is that the testimony is gripping the country and overshadowing his meeting with Kim Jong-un. The evidence against Mr Trump is undoubtedly damning, but is potency is diluted by the fact the man who is giving it has been found to have lied to Congress before. Cohen was convicted over the payment to Stormy Daniels after it was classed as an illegal contribution to influence the election, and was found guilty of providing false testimony. He is due to start a three-year prison sentence in May for the charges. Mr Trump and his supporters allege Mr Cohen is lying again to try and get his sentence reduced. Read more about this story Follow the live updates from here (Yahoo News) Cohen unloads on Trump in explosive testimony (Yahoo News) Trump erupts over explosive Michael Cohen testimony (The Independent) Story continues The killer of toddler James Bulger will be in danger of death if he is publicly identified, his lawyer has argued. Jon Venables faces a real risk of serious personal violence if he loses his anonymity, according to Edward Fitzgerald QC. Bulgers father and uncle want information they say is common knowledge about Venables to be made public and most Yahoo users agree with them. Read the full story and have your say below: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Pakistan captures Indian pilot after shooting down two jets India and Pakistan both said they shot down each others fighter jets on Wednesday, with Pakistan reportedly capturing a pilot a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a 1971 war. Both countries have ordered air strikes over the last two days, the first time in history that two nuclear-armed powers have done so, while ground forces have exchanged fire in more than a dozen locations. World powers have urged restraint amid the growing crisis. Read the full story here (The Telegraph) Labour party suspends Chris Williamson MP over anti-Semitism comments A prominent ally of Jeremy Corbyn has been suspended from the Labour party after he suggested the party had given too much ground in its response to complaints of anti-Semitism. Derby North MP Chris Williamson said he regretted his choice of words and insisted he had not intended to minimise the seriousness of anti-Semitism during a Momentum group meeting in Sheffield. But his apology was rejected as half-hearted by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, which sent a formal complaint calling for Mr Corbyn to withdraw the Labour whip. Read the full story here (HuffPost) A chubby rat caused these bizarre scenes in Germany when it got wedged in a manhole cover. The rotund rodent became stuck in Bensheim, Hesse, and had to be freed by a team of seven firefighters. The family who spotted him said he looked terrified, but scuttled safely back to the sewer once hed been freed. 3.0 The magnitude of the earthquake that rattled homes in Surrey on Wednesday morning. It was the strongest of four that have occurred in the past two weeks. The British Geological Surveys report determined it is unlikely the tremors have been induced by fracking, after work restarted nearby in 2018 after a two-year hiatus, and that it was natural seismic activity. According to the BGS, the strongest known earthquake in Britain occurred near the Dogger Bank in 1931, with a magnitude of 6.1. Read the full story here (Sky News) By Laurence Frost and Gilles Guillaume PARIS (Reuters) - PSA Group's Peugeot lineup will lead a return to the United States after an absence of almost three decades, as the French carmaker seeks to expand beyond Europe. Paris-based PSA will also launch the Citroen brand in India and revive Opel sales in Russia as it pursues a 50 percent group sales increase outside its home region by 2021. Europe now accounts for 80 percent of PSA's global vehicle sales after its purchase of General Motors' Opel-Vauxhall division in 2017. The carmaker raised its medium-term profitability outlook on Tuesday after posting record sales and earnings for 2018. But the guidance and revenue disappointed some investors, sending its shares lower. Under Chief Executive Carlos Tavares, PSA has begun a long-promised return to North America - after an absence of almost three decades - by deploying its car-sharing operations in Seattle and Washington D.C. The renewed U.S. sales push will be supplied by PSA plants in Europe and China, leaving it vulnerable to any new tariffs on imported vehicles, Tavares said. Washington is in talks with Beijing and Brussels on new trade deals and has threatened to slap duties on European cars. "I'm going to wait for the current negotiations to give us more visibility on the tariffs," Tavares said. Rather than rebuilding a traditional dealer network from scratch, the group has identified a "creative and disruptive way to distribute our cars", Tavares added, without elaborating. Opel's return to Russia may include some manufacturing at the PSA Kaluga plant, southwest of Moscow, the group said. Strong sales of the Peugeot 3008 and 5008 SUV models and the acquisition of Opel-Vauxhall have helped to build on Paris-based PSA's steady recovery from near-bankruptcy in 2013-14. Sales rose 19 percent in 2018 from a year earlier to a record 74.03 billion euros (63.86 billion) but fell short of the 74.76 billion euros predicted by an Infront Data analyst poll. Story continues The miss knocked the carmaker's shares 3.1 percent lower by 1538 GMT, paring their 22 percent gain so far this year. But recurring operating income beat expectations, jumping 43 percent to 5.69 billion euros for a 7.7 percent profit margin. RENAULT CONTRAST PSA's record earnings and confident tone contrasted with domestic rival Renault, which reported lower 2018 sales and profit earlier this month. After turning the French brands around, Tavares is applying the same discipline to Opel, which recorded a 4.7 percent margin on sales of 18.31 billion euros, its first full-year profit since 1999, and contributed positive cashflow of 1.35 billion euros towards the group's 3.5 billion euros. PSA said its 4.5 percent "all-weather" margin goal for 2019-2021 period would now include the less profitable Opel unit, effectively raising the benchmark. Chief Financial Officer Philippe de Rovira said the conservative target covered the possible scenario in which Britain leaves the EU in a no-deal "hard Brexit", as well as other potential market setbacks. Bernstein analyst Max Warburton, who applauded PSA's results, nonetheless described as "meaningless" a margin goal trailing more than three points behind current profitability. "We don't entirely understand PSA's approach to guidance," Warburton said in a note to clients, while reiterating his "outperform" rating on the stock. The legacy Peugeot, Citroen and DS brands reported a record 8.4 percent margin, up 1.1 percentage point as stronger pricing and production-cost savings overpowered currency and raw-material setbacks, while sales rose 18.9 percent. PSA increased its dividend to a proposed 78 euro cents from last year's 53 cents, while raising its payout ratio to 28 percent from 25 percent, starting in 2020. (Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Alexander Smith) By Byron Kaye SYDNEY (Reuters) - For two decades, George Pell was the dominant figure in the Catholic Church in Australia - a boy from a gold mining town whose ambition, intellect and knack for befriending influential people propelled him to become the third-most senior official in the Vatican. That came crashing down in December, when a court found Pell, 77, guilty of five charges of child sex offences committed in a Melbourne cathedral 115 km (70 miles) from his hometown of Ballarat. The verdict had been subject to a court order that prevented reporting of the case until the judge lifted the restrictions on Tuesday. Pell is the most senior Roman Catholic official to be convicted of sexual offences, bringing a rolling abuse scandal that has dogged the church worldwide for three decades to the heart of both the Vatican and Australian civic life. Pell spent most of his first three decades as a priest in Ballarat, an old gold mining town in the state of Victoria, about 120 km (75 miles) from Melbourne. State and federal inquiries would later find it to be one of the Catholic dioceses worst-affected by cases of abuse, though none of the complaints against Pell stem from his time there. It was after Pell left his hometown to become Archbishop of Melbourne, in 1996, that he committed offences against two choirboys in the city's St Patrick's Cathedral for which he was found guilty by the 12-person jury. It was not until 2016 that the complaints against Pell were first made public, with charges laid in 2017, and in the meantime he continued to rise through Australia's Church hierarchy. By the time Pell became Archbishop of Sydney, the country's top-ranking Catholic position, in 2001 he was a polarizing national figure revered by many conservative Catholics but criticized by liberals for his outspoken views. At a 2002 World Youth Day event in Toronto, Pell made headlines by saying "abortion is a worse moral scandal than priests sexually abusing young people" since abortion was "always a destruction of human life". In a short statement outside the court on Tuesday, after Pell departed in a waiting car, Pell's lawyer, Paul Galbally, said: "Cardinal Pell has always maintained his innocence and continues to do so." He said an appeal had been filed. FINANCIAL ROLE In meetings among cardinals before the conclave that elected Pope Francis in 2013, the Australian stood out not only for his imposing height and broad shoulders, but also for his command of financial matters. Hoping to end Vatican financial scandals, the pope moved Pell to Rome and in 2014 he was appointed to run a new ministry, the Secretariat for the Economy. Meanwhile, in Australia, a state inquiry into institutional abuse began airing accounts of child abuse and cover-ups in Ballarat and elsewhere over generations, triggering a more powerful, comprehensive Federal Royal Commission inquiry. Pell was not named as an alleged perpetrator at either inquiry. When he was called to give evidence at the Royal Commission it was only in relation to his knowledge of others' conduct, and the question of whether he was present when church leaders decided to move offending priests between parishes. In testimony to the commission in March 2016, Pell said that he did not know of the sexual abuse of children in Ballarat by another priest in the 1970s until his conviction in 1993, although the commission had heard testimony from others that the priest's behavior was an open secret in the diocese. "It's a sad story and it wasn't of much interest to me," he told that inquiry. Pell also said the Church made "catastrophic" choices by minimizing its response to, and covering up, abuse complaints. When the global wave of abuse allegations reached Pell in June 2017, some of the country's most powerful people stood by him, including former conservative Prime Minister Tony Abbott, himself a devout Catholic, who told a newspaper "the George Pell I have known is a very fine man indeed". Pell's successor as Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, also told media at the time that "the George Pell I know is a man of integrity in his dealings with others, a man of faith and high ideals, a thoroughly decent man". Abbott and Fisher did not immediately respond to requests for comment after the verdict was made public. Mark Coleridge, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said the conviction had shocked people around Australia and the world, including the bishops. "We pray for all those who have been abused and their loved ones, and we commit ourselves anew to doing everything possible to ensure that the Church is a safe place for all, especially the young and the vulnerable," he said in statement. Pell took leave from his Vatican finance role to fight the charges but he still officially held that job through his trial. Pope Francis and the Vatican made no statement on the guilty verdict when delivered in December, which was reported by some international media at the time, saying they would respect the Australian legal process and suppression order. A day after the December verdict, Pell was one of three cardinals the pope removed from his group of close advisers. No reason was given at the time. Some victims' advocates say the conviction of so high profile a figure could encourage other survivors of clerical abuse to speak out. "A lot of people, particularly survivors, are scared to come forward because they think 'no one's going to believe me, the court's not going to believe me'," said Philip Nagel, who went to a Ballarat school where Pell was a priest in the 1970s and testified against another clergyman who has since been jailed. "Not getting justice is probably as damaging as the offences being committed, so this will give more people more courage to come forward." (Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by John Mair and Alex Richardson) The Utilities sector was the best performer for the S&P 500 in 2018. Although Wall Street has been recovering impressively so far in 2019, several headwinds still persist. On Feb 25, the Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in its Congressional testimony that although the U.S. economy is in good shape now, it may face headwinds due to slowdown in China, Japan and European Union. Utilities are a safe bet during times of market turmoil, as they are relatively stable due to the essential nature of the products they offer. Consequently, it will be prudent to invest in utility stocks with a favorable Zacks Rank to stay safe. Eurozones Growth at Risk On Feb 21, Data firm IHS Markit reported that Eurozones Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) declined to a reading of 49.2 in February, its lowest reading in 69-months. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction of manufacturing activities. On Feb 6, the European Commission lowered 2019 growth projection for the 19-member Eurozone from 1.9% in November to 1.3%. The growth rate for 2020 was pegged at 1.6%.On Feb 4, Bank of England reduced growth rate of the U.K. for 2019 to 1.2% from 1.7% forecasted earlier. Economic forecast for 2020 has been reduced to 1.5%. The root cause of an impending slowdown is the Brexit related problem. Japans Manufacturing Declining On Feb 21, Bloomberg reported that the Flash Markit/Nikkei Japan Manufacturing PMI fell to a seasonally adjusted 48.5 in February from 50.3 in January, its lowest reading since June 2016. On Feb 20, Japan stated that its trade deficit for the month of January increased a whopping 49.2% year over year to 1.41 trillion yen. The stiff increase in trade deficit was owing to a decline of 17.4% of exports to China, its largest decline since January 2016. This was the second consecutive month of export decline. Slowdown in Chinese Growth Chinese economy expanded at 6.6% in 2018, its slowest pace since 1990. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported that deliveries of passenger vehicles to dealers dropped 4.1% to 23.7 million units, its first decline in 28 years. Moreover, the China Passenger Car Association reported a slump of 6% in retail vehicle sales in 2018. China is providing several stimuli to accelerate its economic growth. Story continues Utilities are Immune to Vagaries of Economic Cycle The Utilities sector is mature and fundamentally strong as demand for such services is generally immune to vagaries of the economic cycle. It's because these companies provide basic services like electricity, gas and water, which can never go out of demand. Consequently, adding stocks from the utility basket usually lends more stability to a portfolio in an uncertain market condition. Moreover, the sector is known for stability and visibility of its earnings and cash flows. Stable earnings enable utilities to pay out consistent dividends that add to their attractiveness to income-oriented investors. Utility companies enjoy a reputation for safety given the regulated nature of their business, which lend their revenues a high level of certainty. These companies also benefit from the domestic orientation of their business, which shields them from foreign currency translation issues that have been plaguing the other industries of late. Our Top Picks Utility service providers will benefit from the new rates in their service territories, customer growth, effective management and control of expenses through the introduction of new technology. Consequently, we have narrowed down our search to five utility stocks with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. NRG Energy Inc. NRG operates as an integrated power company in the United States. The company has expected earnings growth of 101.1% for current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 8.1% over the last 60 days. Northwest Natural Holding Co. NWN builds and maintains natural gas distribution systems in the United States. The company has expected earnings growth of 11% for current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 0.4% over the last 60 days. NextEra Energy Inc. NEE generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power to retail and wholesale customers in North America. The company has expected earnings growth of 9% for current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 0.4% over the last 60 days. Spark Energy Inc. SPKE operates as an independent retail energy services company in the United States. The company has expected earnings growth of 104.6% for current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 10% over the last 60 days. American Water Works Co. Inc. AWK provides water and wastewater services in the United States and Canada. The company has expected earnings growth of 8.5% for current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved by 1.4% over the last 60 days. Is Your Investment Advisor Fumbling Your Financial Future? See how you can more effectively safeguard your retirement with a new Special Report, 4 Warning Signs Your Investment Advisor Might Be Sabotaging Your Financial Future. Click to get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) : Free Stock Analysis Report NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG) : Free Stock Analysis Report Spark Energy, Inc. (SPKE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Northwest Natural Gas Company (NWN) : Free Stock Analysis Report American Water Works Company, Inc. (AWK) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research In his decades-long career in politics, Bernie Sanders was never more active as a foreign-policy figure than when he was the mayor of Burlington, Vt. He owned it. Burlington had a foreign policy, he wrote in his 1997 book, Outsider in the White House. From his mayoral perch he fired off missives to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, demanding better treatment of IRA prisoners held in Northern Ireland. He tried to establish direct relations with the incoming Sandinista regime in Nicaragua, hoping to establish a radio channel that would broadcast the revolution to Vermont. The mayor met with Daniel Ortega to convey that many Americans rejected the Reagan administrations foreign policy. Ortega, in the many years since, has looted his country, installed hideous light fixtures along the major roads to please his wife, suborned much of the Catholic Church to his rule, and blown past his own constitutions term limits. The country is sliding into unrest, as the aid that used to come in from the Netherlands and Luxembourg has dried up. As mayor, Sanders cemented a sister-city relationship between Burlington and the Russian city of Yaroslavl (he and his wife spent their honeymoon in the Soviet Union). Sanders was diplomatic during his trip. After a presentation on central planning, Sanders told his Soviet peers that health care and housing were better in the United States, though they cost much more back in America. When he came home, Sanders praised Soviet train stations and palaces of culture. His wife was even more effusive, almost describing the theory of New Soviet Man, when she described a cultural life that wasnt cleaved off from work, as a mere hobby, but fully integrated into an ideal of community service. Burlingtons foreign policy, as it was then, was driven by idealism (some of it misguided), lots of easy talk about imperialism, and dislike of Ronald Ray-gun. By the time of his run for president in 2016, Sanders had let foreign policy drop somewhat. He was a domestic-policy candidate focused on delivering the unmet promises of mid-century liberalism: free health care and free college. His positions on Obamas intervention in Libya were unclear. He co-sponsored a bill condemning Qaddafis regime, a vote that his opponent Hillary Clinton mischaracterized as a vote for regime change. Sanders might express hope that the military action in Libya would end and dither about his desire not to be in another quagmire, but he did not launch any direct criticism of President Obama. The U.S. policy under Obama of unrestricted drone warfare was the sort of thing that, if done by Reagan, would have had Burlingtons old mayor talking about fascism and lawlessness, perhaps looking for a Houthi radio broadcast to simulcast. But when asked about it during the last election, Sanders averred only that he would use drones very selectively. But has he got a foreign policy for the 2020 campaign? New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie argues that, since his last effort, Sanders has developed a powerful and appealing foreign policy-vision for the left. And, in a certain way, Bouie is right. Story continues Burlington has changed over the past three and a half decades; progressives have moved up in the world. And Sanders foreign policy vision reflects the appetites and prejudices of a class that is moving up in the world. Bouie argues that Sanders foreign policy pits democratic peoples everywhere against illiberalism at home and abroad. Sanders has characterized President Trump as one of many demagogues who exploit peoples fears, prejudices and grievances to gain and hold on to power. Sanders lumps him together with other avatars of what he calls oligarchic authoritarianism, such as Mohammad Bin Salman, Viktor Orban, Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Jair Bolsonaro. They share key attributes, Sanders claims, intolerance toward ethnic and religious minorities, hostility toward democratic norms, antagonism toward a free press, constant paranoia about foreign plots, and a belief that the leaders of government should be able use their positions of power to serve their own selfish financial interests. Sanders charged Trump with openly siding with the very forces challenging the democratic foundations of our longtime allies. Sanders new list of enemies and priorities should be read as his attempted enlistment in the defense of the vaunted liberal world order. It is his bid to join his socialist instincts to the existing foreign-policy elites agenda. What Sanders adds to the Establishments usual case against illiberalism is a more pointed charge of financial corruption. Hes going respectable, even corporate. Like progressives, Sanders has moved up in the world. When I say that Bouies analysis of Sanders new position is correct, I mean that Bouie is right to sense there is political power to be had in this narrative. It would help unify the Democratic left, with the Democratic establishment. What Im less sure about is whether it makes any sense, or that most of the charges hurled against the illiberal and authoritarian arent also true of liberal democracies and defenders of the liberal world order. Were told that one side is hostile to democratic norms. But our allies in Western Europe routinely discount the results of democratic elections when they get in the way of further European integration. Votes are repeated until the correct result is given. Parties such as Jeremy Corbyns Labour run on an election manifesto of implementing the Brexit result of 2016, but are now turning around and demanding a revote. Paranoia about foreign plots is hardly unique to populist nationalists and may in fact be even more common to partisans of the liberal world order. Vladimir Putin is popularly imagined to control Donald Trump and to have hacked Brexit. Almost every election in which liberals take a rooting interest suddenly develops a Russian subplot. The last French presidential election included charges of Russian hacking in the days before the vote. Months later security services confirmed that no such Russian hack took place. Where Russian generated memes are found, they get fewer collective impressions than a mildly popular Twitter account. Antagonism toward a free press? Part of the modern liberal case that elections are hacked is the idea that people who vote against liberal causes are uniquely misinformed. Rupert Murdoch is held out as uniquely responsible for inflicting Trump and Brexit on the world. The EU had to explain that its post-Brexit raid of one of his offices was not revenge. One wonders if this excuse would have sufficed if it had come from east of the Elbe. Who used their positions of power to enrich themselves? Is it just this new wave of anti-liberals? Of course not. Why couldnt Bernie have been this direct while criticizing Hillary Clinton? The Clintons became an immensely wealthy family because of the implicit promise of a Hillary administration. Emmanuel Macron is the product of a revolving door of corruption that has made elite French civil service one of the main avenues to the accumulation of wealth in France. Cronyism is almost perfected there, where privatization is a word not for creating market competition, but for licensing a class of profiteers who can be connected to state-owned or tightly regulated assets. And intolerance of religious minorities? The party Bernie is running for contains senators who have questioned whether Catholic jurists who belong to the Knights of Columbus are able to serve the government. Sanders new tendency to lump together Russia, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, and Trump as one phenomenon is not perspicacious, it is slapdash. The differences between countries where journalists are murdered and those where the government withdraws advertising dollars from critical newspapers are not differences of intensity, but of kind. Hungarys reforms have tended to tax foreign oligarchs to build out new welfare and workfare policies. Polands supposed illiberal government instituted a massive child-welfare policy over the objections of their liberal opponents. The frame of oligarchy is not helpful for understanding Saudi Arabias actions, which are driven by sectarianism. Burlingtons new foreign policy reflects the gentrification of the Left. Instead of cultivating a naivete about Americas enemies, it projects its image of domestic enemies upon the geopolitical stage. And it cultivates in its adherents precisely the faults it once detected in Ronald Reagan and conservatives: ideologically induced blindness to its own moral failings, and hubris in action. More from National Review 11 of the cult shows cast reunited. (Instagram) Buffy The Vampire Slayer fans were in for a treat at Oregon, USAs Wizard World Portland on Sunday. Eleven members of the cult shows cast attended the fan convention, giving a Q&A on stage and posing with fans for selfies. While the shows iconic star, Sarah Michelle Gellar, was noticeably absent, fans were still delighted to see many of the shows most beloved characters reunite 16 years after the show ended. The actors in attendance included Amber Benson (Tara), Julie Benz (Darla), Lyari Limon (Kennedy), Amy Acker (Fred), James Leary (Clem), James Marsters (Spike), Clare Kramer (Glory), Alexis Denisof (Wesley), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia), Alyson Hannigan (Willow), and Nicholas Brendon (Xander). This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The actors reportedly discussed which Harry Potter houses they reckon theyd be members of, their favourite Girl Scout cookies and their favourite colours. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a television spin-off of the cult 1992 movie with the same name, ran from 1996-2003 and launched the careers of several Hollywood actors including Sarah Michelle Gellar, David Boreanaz and Alyson Hannigan. It also provided a career renaissance for Anthony Head, whod earned previous fame in Britain for his Nescafe ads of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Buffy is reportedly lined up for a comeback on Fox, but its cast and release date has yet to be confirmed. Its producer, Monica Owusu-Breen also shared on Twitter last summer that it wont be a reboot in its truest form, as she believes the original and widely beloved characters cant be replaced. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. She teased that the world may be ready for a new slayer. For some genre writers its Star Wars. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is my Star Wars. Before I became a writer, I was a fan. For seven seasons, I watched Buffy Summers grow up, find love, kill that love. I watched her fight, and struggle and slay. There is only one Buffy. One Xander, one Willow, Giles, Cordelia, Oz, Tara, Kendra, Faith, Spike, Angel They cant be replaced. Story continues Joss Whedons brilliant and beautiful series cant be replicated. I wouldnt try to. But here we are, 20 years later and the world seems a lot scarier. So maybe, it could be time to meet a new Slayer And thats all I can say, she wrote. Read more Chris Evans discovers bed full of maggots Stacey Solomon warns against Momo Lady Gaga praises genius Bradley Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday that any changes to the divorce deal with the European Union would be put before parliament ahead of any vote on a Brexit agreement. "We are in discussions with the EU about changes ... in relation to the backstop for Northern Ireland," May told parliament. "Any changes that are agreed with the European Union would be put before this House (of Commons, lower house of parliament) before the meaningful vote." (Reporting by William James, writing by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Stephen Addison) By Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew MacAskill LONDON (Reuters) - A new party backed by Nigel Farage, the insurgent who helped shove Britain towards the EU exit, has a message for the country's leaders: The foundations of the political system will explode if Brexit is betrayed. Brexit remains up in the air more than 2-1/2 years since the United Kingdom voted 52-48 percent to leave the European Union and supporters of Brexit fear it will be thwarted by a political elite that was broadly opposed to leaving. Prime Minister Theresa May opened up the possibility of a delay to Brexit on Tuesday after negotiating a deal with the EU that parliament then refused to ratify. Farage, who as leader of the Eurosceptic United Kingdom Independence Party put so much pressure on the Conservatives that in 2013 then prime minister David Cameron promised a referendum, has switched his support to the Brexit Party, which aims to fight the May European elections if Brexit is delayed. "I think they will delay and betray," Catherine Blaiklock, the 56-year-old founder of the Brexit Party, told Reuters. "The two main parties will explode, I believe, and we will get new formations," she said over lemonade at the Langham Hotel in London. "This is what the politicians don't understand. We won't put it back in the box." Last week eleven members of parliament from both main parties defected to form an Independent Group, in large part dismayed by the handling of Brexit. Blaiklock, an Oxford-educated former currency options trader, said her party would seek the support of the 17.4 million people who voted for Brexit to harry both Conservative and Labour constituencies. Founded this year, the Brexit Party has yet to face the voters. UKIP's support peaked at 12.6 percent in 2015. It won 24 seats in the European parliament in 2014, but Britain's electoral system meant it only ever won two seats in the House of Commons. Europe, the United States and the West, according to Blaiklock, are facing a populist avalanche that will define their place in the 21st Century after years of misrule by ill-informed politicians living in the past. Her support for Brexit comes from years on trading floors where she saw markets soar and implode: the euro, she says, will collapse as investors eventually ditch government bonds and money hemorrhages out of southern Europe to Germany. "It is going to break up," said Blaiklock, whose hero is Michael Burry, a hedge fund manager whose shorting of subprime mortgages ahead of the 2008 financial crisis won him a fortune and a place in Michael Lewis's book, The Big Short. "To some extent he was a bit like Nigel Farage. He took the abuse. He had a vision. He knew what was going to happen." Farage, who once posed with Donald Trump in a gilded lift, has been cast by enemies as a delirious racist though supporters credit him with a prescient contribution to the biggest political upset in modern British history - Brexit. He now says Brexit is being betrayed by an out of touch elite who do not understand that if they thwart Britain's exit then politics will be poisoned for a generation or more. May herself has warned that British democracy will be undermined if Brexit is not implemented. Blaiklock wants Britain to leave the EU without a trade deal and says the threat of economic damage from a potentially disorderly no-deal Brexit has been vastly exaggerated. She said that the pound's fall, the biggest-ever drop of any of major currency, after voting to leave the EU was "best thing that could have possibly happened" and wants a further 20 percent fall. FROM TRADING TO BREXIT Blaiklock is an unlikely politician. She made her money in financial markets, invested in property and had never voted until the 2015 general election because she claims she was too focused on her career, which spanned New York, Tokyo and London. As a teenager, she spent four years in a care home because she had bulimia and her father, an Antarctic explorer, was struggling to help her. "When I went to Oxford ... I was so bulimic that I was not expected to reach 40. I was told don't worry about smoking you will never get cancer," she says. Blaiklock has blunt views on such things as crime among black men, Muslims' use of the veil, and food banks. She has written that high levels of testosterone could explain violence among young black American men. In another blog, she called last month for the end of food banks for the poor because they are creating a "dependent, obese population". She invokes her own marriages as proof that she is not racist. Her first marriage was to a Nepalese Sherpa and then she married a black Jamaican man. During the 2017 election campaign, Blaiklock once carried a large picture of her husband, saying: "I sleep with someone who is black." At times, she says things other politicians might avoid. Explaining her penchant for travel to places such as Iran and eastern Europe, she said: "I don't relax on beaches but I like going to concentration camps. Don't say that. For God's sake. No, don't put that in." She detested growing up in Norfolk, where she lives, describing it as "intellectually devoid". Her spokesman interrupts, advising against such comments.Is she then, as Cameron once said of UKIP supporters, a fruitcake, or a racist or a bigot? "Do you think so? I think it takes a certain type of person to stick their head above the parapet," she said. "It takes an entrepreneurial vision and that can be misinterpreted." (Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Giles Elgood) SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) Bosnian police say they have detained three people at two separate locations on suspicion of attempting to smuggle 19 migrants through the Balkan country. A statement on Tuesday says two suspected people smugglers were detained in area of Tuzla, in central Bosnia, with twelve migrants from Iraq, Iran and Pakistan. In a separate action, police say they detained one person Monday and prevented the illegal transfer of seven Turkish citizens from Bosnia to neighboring European Union member state Croatia. Police say they used thermal cameras to locate the migrants who were hiding in ditches in the area of Corkovaca, near the Bosnia-Croatia border. Thousands of migrants have been stuck in Bosnia as they seek to move on toward Western Europe. Migrants mostly travel illegally with the help of people smugglers. By Soyoung Kim and Mai Nguyen HANOI (Reuters) - A storied French colonial-era hotel once used by the North Vietnamese government to house foreign guests during the Vietnam War is set to host U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as they meet for a second nuclear summit on Wednesday. The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi has hosted dignitaries and celebrities from Charlie Chaplin on his honeymoon in 1936 to "Hanoi Jane" Fonda during her 1970s anti-war campaign and even Trump himself on a recent visit to the Vietnamese capital. The Metropole could begin a new chapter as a symbol of peace if Trump and Kim, as some officials in Seoul and Washington expect, formally declare an end to the last remaining Cold War conflict after their two-day summit. The United States and North Korea are technically still at war, because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. "We hope Trump and Kim make some progress with their denuclearisation and hopefully open North Korea to the outside world," said Stephen Fries, a doctor from Colorado whose long-planned family trip was disrupted by preparations for the summit. He was among two dozen Metropole guests touring an underground air raid bunker at the hotel used during the Vietnam War that was rediscovered by chance in 2011 while the hotel was renovating its poolside Bamboo bar. Trump and Kim will meet at the Metropole at 6:30 pm (1130 GMT) on Wednesday, where the two will have a 20-minute one-on-one chat followed by a dinner with aides, the White House said. "It's about time there is a deal. Vietnam had been our enemy, now they are kind of a friend. I hope North Korea would become exactly like Vietnam, and maybe use it an example to follow for its own economic development," Fries said. SECRETS AND SECURITY The elegant interior of the 118-year-old Metropole thronged with security personnel and hotel staff on the summit eve as final preparations were made. Nearby street corners were guarded by armed police, while security staff searched pot plants around the pool. Story continues In a letter distributed ahead of the leaders' arrival, the hotel's general manager notified guests of the "very strict security measures" expected in the coming days. All but one entrance to hotel will be blocked during the summit and a temporary checkpoint has been installed to screen guests, who need to show copies of their passports to gain access to the hotel. The hotel, decorated with U.S. and North Korean flags was locked down on Wednesday morning, with roads around it blocked and TV crews filming at barricades. Trump and Kim likely chose Metropole for its ability to keep secrets, Nguyen Dinh Thanh, former head of marketing at Metropole, told Reuters. "When superstars come here, some journalists offered $2,000-$5,000 or more to staff to take a photo of that superstar, but that has never happened," said Thanh. "That shows Metropole has a tradition of keeping secrets as well as knowing how to treat VIP guests." CELEBRITIES AND CONTROVERSIES Heads of state from European kings and British royals to U.S. and South American presidents have all chosen the Metropole as their Hanoi abode. It has attracted celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in 2007, but perhaps its most iconic guest is American actress Jane Fonda, who stayed for two weeks in 1972 when visiting then-enemy territory. A controversial photo of her sitting with North Vietnamese troops atop an anti-aircraft gun used to shoot at American planes earned her the nickname "Hanoi Jane". The Metropole also hosted Graham Greene, who wrote part of his seminal 1955 work, "The Quiet American" there, and numerous war correspondents during the 20-year-long Vietnam War that ended in 1975. Trump, who stayed in the hotel on his last visit to Vietnam in 2017, has chosen the easier-to-secure JW Marriott hotel this time. Kim is staying at the Melia Hanoi hotel. Despite its long history of hosting VIPs, the Metropole is not an ideal summit venue from a security point of view, said Le Van Cuong, who used to head the strategy institute of the Ministry of Public Security. "Metropole is definitely more tricky to protect the leaders, especially because of the lack of space. In the protection job, space gives us advantages. Metropole sits right in the centre of crowded streets, so it's difficult to ensure security," Cuong told Reuters. "Singapore chose an isolated island and protection on such island is much easier, definitely easier than Metropole." Trump and Kim held their first summit at Singapore's Capella hotel, a refurbished British Royal Artillery mess on the resort island of Sentosa. (For live coverage of the summit, click: https://www.reuters.com/live/north-korea; Eikon SUMMIT LIVE [nL3N20L1GT]Reporting by Soyoung Kim, James Pearson, Mai Nguyen and Ju-min Park in HANOI.; Editing by Lincoln Feast.) bitcoin cryptocurrency visa mastercard Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency wont supplant PayPal and credit cards as payment options yet, but they could in due time. Thats the assessment of Lisa Ellis, an equity analyst with sell-side research firm MoffettNathanson. Cryptocurrency systems (e.g., Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple) are potentially disruptive to private payment systems, Ellis wrote in a client note. Their core design characteristics which are aimed at enabling freedom of money are in direct contrast to the characteristics of most traditional, private payment systems. Ellis: Visa and PayPal Should Embrace Crypto Because of their disruptive potential, Ellis says crypto could become an existential threat to Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal. But thats not happening anytime soon, she noted. However, Ellis says these established payment giants should embrace crypto and blockchain or risk losing market share to Ripple and Veem, which are leveraging cryptocurrencies for cross-border payments. Read the full story on CCN.com. WILMINGTON, Del. Joe Biden led a discussion at the University of Delaware on Monday, touching on themes of political divisiveness, a struggling middle class and "demagogues" sparking fear of the unknown. The former vice president then addressed what many among the Delaware audience had thought or hoped he might: his presidential ambitions. Biden said he has not yet decided whether to run for president, though he is close. He revealed in detail how his family has expressed their support for a potential presidential run, but he must decide "whether or not I am comfortable taking the family through a very, very, very difficult campaign." "The general election, running against President (Donald) Trump, I don't think he's likely to stop at anything," Biden said to a capacity crowd of 700 at the University of Delaware. The longtime Delaware senator also said he has yet to decide whether he would be able to attract enough individual contributions to mount a campaign, whether support he sees in the public runs deep enough to lead to a victory, and how he may deploy resources onto social media platforms in what would be a "massive undertaking." "I don't want this to be a fool's errand, he said. "This alleged appeal that I have. How deep does it run? Is it real?" At one point, a woman in the crowd yelled, "Oh, God, just say yes." Answering in a style that has become part of his political identity, Biden said he always means what he says. "The problem is I sometimes say all that I mean," he said. Thats as straightforward as I can be. I have not made the final decision." Feb. 5: Defeating Trump is more important than issues for most Democratic voters, poll finds Jan. 29: Most Americans don't want Trump, but there's no clear favorite to oppose him, poll finds The comments had been prodded out of Biden by author Jon Meacham, who was onstage with the former vice president at a University of Delaware conference hall to discuss his book, published last year, called "The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels." Story continues It was the first event ever held at the newly named Joseph R. Biden Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration. In an opening statement, Biden recalled advice he had received more than three decades ago from a former professor about running for elected office: "Remember what Plato said: 'The penalty that good people pay for not being involved in politics is being governed by people worse than themselves.' " The significance of the comment from a potential presidential contender was not lost on the crowd, or on Meacham. After Biden completed the opening remarks, the author turned to him and said, "I want to go back to that Plato thing. "Does that have any resonance for you" today? Biden postponed his answer, instead turning to Meacham's book a work about voters' ability to survive and defeat "even the most divisive of presidents and the most depressing of eras," as Meacham described it last year in a column for USA TODAY. While the theme was a direct allusion to Trump, Meacham argued that political divisiveness today is not unknown to the United States. "From Reconstruction to the first Red Scare under Woodrow Wilson, from the rise of a new Ku Klux Klan in the early 20th century to the cataclysm of the 1930s, from Joe McCarthy to the backlash against civil rights, our national story is no fairy tale," he said. At Tuesday's event, Meacham said he wrote the book in response to white nationalist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, the death of counterprotester Heather Heyer and Trump's response to it. "There's a struggle between our better angels and the Klan," he said. Also lambasting the president's response to Charlottesville, Biden said Trump created a moral equivalency between people "chanting the same anti-Semitic bile that was chanted in the streets of Nuremberg in 1933" and those who oppose them. "Has any president since the Civil War said anything like that?" Biden asked Meacham. "No," the author and historian replied. In the hours before the event, Biden made references that also appeared to indicate a distaste for Trump, who would be expected to be the Republican nominee in 2020. Biden tweeted a photo of Meacham's book opened to a page scribbled with notes and underlined sentences. "A president's vices and his virtues matter enormously," proclaimed one underlined sentence on the page. Follow Karl Baker on Twitter @kbaker6. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Biden says his family backs a potential presidential run, and he's close to deciding We might be seeing a lot less British content on Netflix in the future. BBC and ITV have confirmed that they are launching the paid streaming service BritBox later this year in the UK, to rival the dominant streaming service Netflix. BritBox will offer archived content from the two broadcasters as well as new British originals made specifically for the platform. SEE ALSO: Everything coming to Netflix in March 2019 The monthly cost of the streaming service has not been announced, but the BBC announced it will be "competitive." In the UK, a standard Netflix subscription costs 7.99 ($10.61) a month. Due to the BBC's policies surrounding the BBC on demand service iPlayer, the very latest shows from the publicly funded broadcaster will only be available on BritBox after they have been available on iPlayer, per the BBC. The launch of BritBox might mean that BBC and other UK broadcasters will not be licensing off programs to other streaming services such as Netflix in the future, but instead making them available exclusively on BritBox, per The Guardian. CEO of ITV Carolyn McCall said in a BBC press release that "BritBox will be the home for the best of British creativity - celebrating the best of the past, the best of today and investing in new British originated content in the future." BritBox.co.uk is expected to launch towards the end of 2019, and will only be available to UK subscribers. A US version already exists, which has 500,000 subscribers. Tom Phipps, 63, from Bristol, who was the first person to undergo the pioneering surgery - Parkinson's UK Parkinsons patients treated with a groundbreaking new therapy to regrow their brain cells have criticised a decision by regulators to stop trials as sinful. In the biggest surgical trial ever for the disease, British patients had holes drilled into the heads and special ports implanted so that a naturally occurring protein could be infused directly into the brain over nine months. Described as Baby Bio for brain cells, the Glial Cell Line Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF) encourages the growth of cells that produce dopamine, a crucial hormone needed for movement, which vanishes in Parkinsons patients. The pioneering therapy allowed some patients to put socks on for the first time in years as well as stopping debilitating tremors. But although some patients reported feeling 100 per cent better the trial did not hit the strict targets set by regulators and has been stopped, meaning none of the patients have been allowed treatment since February 2017. Vicki Dillon, 47, from Tyneside described the therapy as a bloody miracle. It changed my life and a lot of peoples lives for the best, she said. It does work, there is no doubt in my mind that it works and to deny it to hundreds of thousands of people around the world would just be sinful. We need it back and we need it soon please. A port is placed into the patients head allowing infusions of growth factor to get to a specific area of the brain Credit: MintMotion for Passionate Productions Around 145,000 people are affected by Parkinson's in Britain, and there is yet not treatment to stop the progression of the illness, which brings tremors, speech impediments, muscles spasms and eventually death. Some 42 patients underwent robot-assisted surgery to have four tubes carefully placed into their brains between 2012 and 2017, so that GDNF could be infused directly to the affected brain areas. Half were given the treatment and half had a placebo. But although there were encouraging signs of improvements in those receiving GDNF, there was no significant difference between the active treatment group and those who received placebo. Story continues However, brain scans showed an improvement of 100 per cent in a key area of the brain affected in the condition - offering hope that the treatment was starting to reawaken and restore damaged brain cells. And when the trial was continued for 18 months and the placebo group mover on to GDNF, both groups showed moderate to large improvements in symptoms. Tom Phipps, 63, from Bristol, who was the first person to undergo the pioneering surgery, said: "During the trial I noticed an improvement in my mobility and energy levels, and I was even able to reduce my medication. Since it ended, I have slowly increased my medication but I still ride my bike, dig my allotment and chair the local branch of Parkinson's UK. Yet because there was no control group, and the study was not blinded, it did not count towards the final results. Dr Alan Whone, Principal Investigator on the GDNF trial, said: It may be that the effects on symptoms lag behind the improvement in the brain scans, so a longer double-blind trial may have produced a clearer effect. It's also possible that a higher dose of GDNF would have been more effective, or that participants at an earlier stage of the condition would have responded better. This is why it's essential to continue research exploring this treatment further - GDNF continues to hold potential to improve the lives of people with Parkinson's. This represents some of the most compelling evidence yet that we may have a means to possibly reawaken and restore the dopamine brain cells that are gradually destroyed in Parkinson's. Charities also hailed the trial and the new technique of getting drugs to the brain, which could help in a number of other neurodegenerative conditions. Dr Arthur Roach, Director of Research at Parkinson's UK, said: "While the results are not clear-cut, the study has still been a resounding success. It has advanced our understanding of the potential effects of GDNF on damaged brain cells, shown that delivering a therapy in this way is feasible and that it is possible to deliver drugs with precision to the brain. The results of the trial were published today in the journals Brain, and the Journal of Parkinsons Disease. The BBC followed the trial over six years for a two part series The Parkinson's Drug Trial: A Miracle Cure?, which will be broadcast on BBC Two on February 28th and March 7th. Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. B&G Foods announced this week that it is voluntarily recalling 1,280 cases of its 40-ounce Victoria Marinara Saucesold nationwidebecause the products may contain traces of cashews that are not declared on its label. Consumer Reports recently rated Victoria Marinara sauce a top tomato sauce after our team of nutritionists and professional food tasters evaluated 35 tomato-based sauces for nutrition and taste. This recall does not impact our ratings. B&G Foods was alerted to the safety issue after receiving a complaint from a consumer with a cashew allergy who reported a reaction after eating the sauce. After an investigation and testing indicated the possible presence of cashews in the sauce, B&G Foods initiated the recall in cooperation with the Food and Drug Administration. The recall applies only to the 40-ounce jars of Victoria brand marinara sauce, which were all produced at the same facility on just one day, with a best by date of March 6, 2020. (The date is located on the glass jar toward the bottom). The UPC number on the jars is: 0-70234-00411-2. And there is no risk to consumers who do not have an allergy or sensitivity cashews or tree nuts. The company did not report which stores received the recalled sauce. Possible Origins A spokesperson for B&G foods said it is not yet clear how the cashew contamination occurred or if the sauce was produced in a facility that also processes tree nuts. But most recalls involving undeclared allergens stem from contamination with another product made in the same facility, according to a representative from Kids With Food Allergies, a division of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. The FDA requires that companies must declare on the label if a product contains any of eight major food allergens, which are milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soybeans, said Charlotte Vallaeys, CRs senior policy analyst. For tree nuts, the label has to include the specific type of nut that is present. But companies are not required to declare if their products are produced in a facility that also processes tree nuts or peanuts. Story continues According to its website, B&G Foods prides itself on creating products with just a few wholesome ingredients, which are listed on the front label. In fact, the company's tagline is Ingredients Come First, and it has launched a #ReadYourLabel campaign to encourage consumers to be aware of the ingredients in their food. The safety of our consumers is our number one priority. We are committed to providing safe, quality products while observing the highest ethical standards in the conduct of our business, said William Herbes, executive vice president of operations at B&G Foods, in a statement. The Details Products recalled: 40-ounce jars of Victoria brand marinara sauce with a best-by date of March 6, 2020. The UPC number on the jars is: 0-70234-00411-2. The problem: The product may contain cashew traces that are not declared on the label. The fix: Consumers who have purchased the recalled products can return them to the place of purchase or contact B&G Foods for a full refund or coupon via phone (800-811-9104) or through the company's website. More from Consumer Reports: Top pick tires for 2016 Best used cars for $25,000 and less 7 best mattresses for couples Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright 2019, Consumer Reports, Inc. Photo credit: Anna Bizon / EyeEm - Getty Images From House Beautiful Buying a home isnt like buying a pair of shoes, or even a car. Rather than simply showing up with money, the process of purchasing real estate is a legal transaction as well as a financial transaction, and it takes weeksif not monthsto complete. But, when you find a place you can call your own, it's totally worth the wait. Use this home-buying timeline so you know what to expect every step of the way, and roughly how long it'll take you to get there. It may seem daunting (especially as you try not to let your eyes glaze over at the mention of words like "escrow" and "PMI"), but you've got this. Photo credit: . 6-8 Months Before You Want To Move In: First, figure out your funds. Photo credit: . Before you begin the home-search process, its crucial to get a good idea of how much house you can afford. Financial expert and author Dave Ramsey recommends multiplying your monthly take-home pay by 25 percent to determine what your maximum mortgage payment should be. You can then use a mortgage calculator to determine the ballpark home price that will keep your monthly payment under that amount. 5-7 Months Out: Next, narrow down where you want to live. Photo credit: Rob Wilson When you know what you can afford, start limiting your options. Take time to learn the neighborhoods youre considering: Research the schools and municipal services, and drive through them at various times, day and night, to determine whether you want to actually live there. Do you feel safe walking around the neighborhood? How far is it to the nearest stores and restaurants, and how much does that matter to you? While youre at it, spend time searching online for recent home sales in the areas youre considering to get a sense of whether the homes are in your price range. 3-6 Months Out: Get pre-approved for a mortgage. Before you start working with a Realtor and seriously searching for you home, you should find a mortgage lender and get pre-approved for a mortgage. It shows your Realtor and the sellers that youre qualified to purchase a home, and it ensures you know the price range you should be looking for. In a competitive market, many sellers wont consider an offer without a letter from a lender ensuring that the potential buyer can qualify for the mortgage. Story continues "Many first-time homebuyers will begin to look at properties prior to speaking with a lender, but this is a huge no-no," says Colin McDonald, a licensed real estate agent at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Blake, in Delmar, NY. "Most Realtors or sellers will not start to show houses to buyers until they've actually spoken with a lender and can provide a pre-qualification letter." McDonald recommends working with a local lender rather than an online or non-local lender, even if the online lender is offering a better rate. "Working with a local lender that's knowledgeable of the local market ensures you a smooth transaction right through to closing," he says. "Local lenders are typically also more readily available to their clients, and many local lenders will match the rates their competitors are offering." When youve found a local lender, youll have to submit your financial information to get pre-approved, including tax forms and W-2s, recent pay stubs, savings, retirement accounts, and debt obligations. After reviewing all of this information, the lender will let you know the size mortgage for which you can qualify and provide a letter that shows youre pre-qualified. In the meantime, keep track of all those financial forms and add new pay stubs and bank statements to the file, as youll need them again. That pre-approval letter usually expires after 60 or 90 days, so if you havent found your home before it expires, youll just have to resubmit the paperwork. Find a real estate agent. You can buy a home without a Realtor, but theres really no reason to do so. Because in most cases, the seller of a home pays the real estate commission. So, as a buyer, you have nothing to lose. (Some real estate firms do charge a fee to buyers; if you dont want to pay for their services, look for a Realtor that charges sellers exclusively.) And having a Realtor on your side can help you all the ins and outs of buying a home, which can be confusing. "This investment shouldnt be entered into without someone who knows the market, the neighborhood, local trends, specific values, and how to navigate the process," says George Lawton, licensed real estate agent with RE/MAX Over the Mountain in Birmingham, AL. "A Realtor who is your advocate and is looking out for your needs can simplify this process and make it enjoyable. But dont just hire your neighbors mom who does this part time for Christmas money. Interview a few that are recommended by friends and family and see who you feel most comfortable with. You may be working together for months, and you want it to be a good relationship." Start house hunting. When youve selected a Realtor, start searching in earnest for your new home. Your real estate agent will find properties that he or she thinks you may like, but you can also search on your own. Check out internet listings, drive around and look for yard signs, and ask around to learn about houses that may be available in the neighborhoods you want. In a sellers market, where available properties may be limited, try to exhaust all your optionsnot just Trulia, Zillow, and whatever your Realtor sends your way. 1-2 Months Out: Submit an offerand be prepared to negotiate. Photo credit: Rob Wilson When you find the home you wantand you willits time to make an offer. Talk to your agent about the right price to offer; it's common to make the first offer below the listed price, but in a very competitive market, you may need to offer the asking price or even more. Your real estate agent can help you gauge this, and often can get the scoop on how much competition there is for a certain home. When youve made an offer thats within your budget, your Realtor will prepare the paperwork for you to sign and will submit it, along with your pre-approval letter and your earnest money, which is a good-faith deposit of about 1 percent of the purchase price. All this usually happens quickly, especially if other buyers are interested in the same property. Usually, the seller will have about 24 hours to respond to your offer, and in most cases, they will counter your original terms. Your Realtor can help you through the negotiation process. If you and the seller arent able to agree on a price, closing date, and other terms, be willing to continue your search. But if you do come to an agreement with the seller, youll both sign the contract, and the buying process will begin. Then, call your lender. Once you have a signed contract in hand, let your mortgage lender know immediately. That way, you can lock in the current mortgage rate, and he or she can get started processing your mortgage loan. Throughout the process, your mortgage lender will likely request various documents from you, such as updated pay stubs, current tax records, and other items that may have changed since pre-approval, as well as information about the home insurance policy you plan to purchase. Try to respond as quickly and accurately as you can, providing the needed information as soon as possible. Your promptness will help move your loan through the process faster and help ensure you can close on time. 3-8 Weeks Out: Get a home inspection. Photo credit: Rob Wilson Most home sale contracts give the buyer about 10 days to complete a home inspection. If youre getting a mortgage to buy the house, your lender will likely require you to use a certified home inspector. (Even if youre not required to get a home inspection, its best to get one anyway to make sure youre not buying a house full of expensive problems.) Your inspector will provide a detailed report of everything in the home that could be repaired. Some of the items may not be a big deal, but some may be expensive or important repairs, such as the need for a new roof or HVAC system. You and your Realtor can request that the seller make some repairs, and the seller will have a few days to let you know whether they are willing to make the changes or reduce the price of the house. If the inspection uncovers major problems, such as termites or an unstable foundation, it can be your way out of a sales contract. 2-5 Weeks Out: Choose a home insurance provider and a closing attorney. Before your lender will close your loan, theyll want to make sure the home is insured. Locate a home insurance providermaybe the same company that insures your carand request a homeowners policy. Provide your lender with all the information. Also, select a closing attorney, or ask your Realtor for a recommendation. The attorney will ensure that you have a clear ownership title to the property and that all the contracts are appropriate. Your attorney will schedule a closing date, and you can start packing. On Closing Day: Grab a reliable penyou've got a lot of papers to sign. Congratulations, youve made it! On closing day, your team (AKA you, your Realtor, lender, and attorney) will meet with the sellers and their attorney to make things official. Your lender or attorney will let you know in advance the total amount of money youll need to bring to the closing meeting for your down payment or any closing costs. Bring that amount in the form of a cashiers check, then sit back and get ready to sign your nameover and over and over. There will be tons of paperwork to sign, but your lawyer will walk you through each one and what it means. (And if he or she doesn't, don't be afraid to ask if something seems confusing or unnecessary!) When its overwhich could take a few hours, so plan on taking the day off from workyoure a homeowner. Depending on your agreement, you might get the keys and be able to move in that day. Certain counties won't let you move in until the title's been recorded with the local government, which can take a few days, but your Realtor should know that law and brief you beforehand, if that's the case. At this point, its time to start making your home your own. Follow House Beautiful on Instagram. You Might Also Like Michael Cohen will label President Donald Trump as a "conman" and a "cheat" before Congress on Wednesday and present multiple documents to illustrate the president's "illicit" financial activities, according to his opening statement, first reported late Tuesday by Politico. Set to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Trump's former attorney and fixer plans to say that Trump knew a longtime associate was discussing a WikiLeaks drop and implicitly instructed him to lie about a Moscow Trump Tower project negotiated during the 2016 campaign. The documents will include a copy of a personal check Trump wrote to him after becoming president to reimburse Cohen for hush money payments made for Trumps alleged affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels. The statement also says Cohen will provide proof that Trump deflated his assets to lower his taxes through three years of financial statements. Cohen testifies: Former Trump lawyer testifies before Congress about his old boss: 'He is a conman.' Cohen, who plans to say that he is ashamed for concealing Mr. Trumps illicit acts," will also apologize to first lady Melania Trump for covering up Trump's affair with Daniels, according to the statement. "Lying to the First Lady is one of my biggest regrets," Cohen plans to say. "She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly and she did not deserve that." Cohen says Trump lied about the Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars and didnt expect to win. And so I lied about it, too because Mr. Trump had made clear to me, through his personal statements to me that we both knew were false and through his lies to the country, that he wanted me to lie, his remarks say. And he made it clear to me because his personal attorneys reviewed my statement before I gave it to Congress. More: Republican congressman Matt Gaetz sends apparent threat to Michael Cohen, alleging affair Story continues More: Michael Cohen, President Trump's former lawyer, disbarred because of his felony convictions Days before the 2016 Democratic Convention, Cohen says he heard a conversation between Roger Stone and Trump on speaker phone. Stone, who has been charged with obstruction and lying to Congress, told Trump that he had just spoken with Julian Assange. When Stone shared that Assange said a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign would be released soon, Trump effectively responded, Wouldnt that be great, Cohen alleges. He will also recount an interaction between Trump and Donald Trump Jr. suggesting Trump knew about a June 2016 meeting between a Russian lawyer and campaign officials at a Trump Tower. I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: The meeting is all set. I remember Mr. Trump saying, OK, good let me know, Cohen plans to testify. Also, Cohen will say he has letters that Trump told him to write threatening Trumps high school, colleges and the College Board not to release his grades or test scores. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Conman.' 'Cheat': Cohen set to slam Trump in Wednesday's congressional testimony WASHINGTON Exactly what could overshadow a nuclear summit between a U.S. president and a North Korean despot? House oversight hearings on Capitol Hill managed to cross that high bar Wednesday with testimony from Michael Cohen, President Trump's former fixer, detailing what he described as bank fraud, hush money payments, racist chatter, perjury and more by his one-time boss. His explosive 30-minute opening statement was followed by hours of sometimes-combative exchanges over Trump's conduct and Cohen's credibility. That said, it's not clear whether the litany of lies and unsavory behavior some of it criminal, if true will significantly sway voters' attitudes toward Trump, including whether he deserves to be impeached now, say, or re-elected next year. Because up until now, nothing has. Trump's presidency has had several unprecedented characteristics, one of them being the steadiness of his support. His job-approval rating has bumped between 35 and 45 percent in The Gallup Poll since the day he was inaugurated. Unlike his predecessors, not even record low unemployment has won him much support from his skeptics. And not even missteps such as the record-setting government shutdown has cost him much allegiance among his believers. The five-minute segments for members of the House Oversight and Reform Committee to question or speechify mirrored that polarization. Just about every Democrat posed questions meant to illuminate the worst allegations against Trump. Almost every Republican pressed reasons not to believe Cohen, who is on his way to prison for lying to Congress and other felonies. Many of the allegations he made were familiar from news accounts over the past year, typically based on unnamed sources. What made this day different, and notable, was that Cohen was speaking on the record, and under oath, and with the perspective of a close aide who had once declared he would "take a bullet" for his boss. Story continues Cohen, 52, looked tense and exhausted, but he generally spoke with a calm and emphatic tone. He began by apologizing, expressing regret for his willingness to do Trump's dirty work and for lying to Congress. He described a life and a livelihood now turned upside down. Worried about attacks, he said he now insists that his wife and children walk ahead of, not beside, him when they go out. One of the few times he openly bristled was when Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, accused him of lacking remorse. "Shame on you, Mr. Jordan!" Cohen shot back. When another Republican, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, noted that Cohen had called Trump a "cheat" and asked what he would call himself, he replied quietly, "A fool." Indeed, Cohen denied some of the wilder speculation that has circulated about Trump. He said he didn't know if there was a "love child" in the president's past. He said he didn't believe rumors about an elevator video that allegedly showed Trump hitting his wife, Melania. But the portrait Cohen painted of Trump was damning. He called the president a bully, a liar, a racist, a con man. He testified that Trump submitted inflated financial statements to Deutsche Bank when he was applying for a loan. He said Trump lied when he denied under oath knowing a businessman with alleged Russian mob ties. As a presidential candidate, despite his denials, Trump knew in advance via adviser Roger Stone that Wikileaks was going to unload a "massive dump" of hacked Democratic emails, Cohen said. While he was president, Trump told Cohen to lie to reporters about whether he knew about money being paid to buy the silence of an adult film star about an alleged sexual encounter, a payment that prosecutors say would be an illegal campaign contribution. Cohen brought along a copy of a check for $35,000 signed by Trump, from his personal account, which Cohen said was a partial reimbursement of those payments. More: See evidence Cohen says shows hush money payments and Trump's finances More: Donald Trump uses Twitter to attack Michael Cohen before testimony "He has both good and bad, as do we all," Cohen said. "But the bad far outweighs the good, and since taking office, he has become the worst version of himself." The day-long hearing included some of the most serious allegations ever made by a former aide against a sitting president at a congressional hearing, though there have been others. During the Iran-contra hearings in 1987, National Security Council staffer Oliver North testified that President Reagan knew North was diverting funds from secret Iran arms sales to the Nicaraguan contras. During the Watergate hearings in 1973, fired White House counsel John Dean implicated President Richard Nixon in the conspiracy to cover up the scandal. Those hearings prompted Nixon to resign from office in the face of all-but-certain impeachment. This time, whatever the impact of Cohen's testimony, the hearing sets the stage for the forthcoming report from special counsel Robert Mueller and the former FBI director who has led the inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 election doesn't have the credibility issues that opened Cohen to attack. Meanwhile, in Hanoi, Trump was embracing Kim Jong Un at what the White House hoped would be a triumphant display of nuclear diplomacy perhaps something so dramatic it would reclaim the headlines. For now, though, the loudest explosions were political, and back home in Washington. President Donald Trump shakes hands with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un before a meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi on Feb. 27, 2019. More: Read Michael Cohen's opening statement to Congress More: While in Hanoi, Donald Trump attacks Michael Cohen before testimony More: Cohen's testimony is first act in larger saga with Democrats in control This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Analysis: For President Trump, Cohen's allegations were explosive. Will they matter? Flying overnight. Working on less than optimal rest. Landing at smaller airports. Carrying hazardous goods. These are some of the elements cargo plane pilots frequently encounter as part of their jobs, presenting them with different challenges than their peers who carry passengers. Its not clear yet whether any of these factors played a role in Saturdays crash of an Amazon Prime Air cargo plane outside Houston, but the accident has shined a spotlight on the conditions in which freight flights operate at a time when their demand is on the rise with the popularity of e-commerce. Flying cargo is a different type of operation than carrying passengers, said longtime pilot John Cox, who writes the Ask the Captain column for USA TODAY. There are higher levels of risk and there are more hazards flying cargo than there are with passengers. Cox, president of the consulting company Safety Operating Systems, is particularly concerned about the different rest requirements for commercial passenger and cargo pilots. Longtime pilot John Cox believes cargo pilots should be covered by the same rest requirements as their peers who carry passengers. When the Federal Aviation Administration implemented new rules mandating 10-hour rest periods for pilots in 2014, an exception was carved out for cargo pilots as a concession to the freight industry, so they were kept under the old regulations that called for eight hours. Cox is among those who consider that a mistake. Fatigue has been either the direct cause or a contributor to several accidents, he said. The fatigue issue for cargo pilots is very real. The National Air Carrier Association, a trade group made up of 16 carriers, did not return USA TODAY's calls and emails seeking comment. Crash history The industrys safety record has been pretty remarkable, though not as impressive as its counterpart on the passenger side, which accounts for 15 times the number of domestic flights. Since Feb. 13, 2009, the day after a Colgan Air plane crash that killed 50 people (including one on the ground) north of Buffalo, the only casualty in an accident involving a U.S.-based airline came last April when a passenger was partially sucked out of broken window after an engine exploded during a Southwest Airlines flight. Story continues A Bloomberg report said Saturdays tragedy represents the fifth fatal crash of a U.S.-registered cargo plane in the last 10 years, costing a total of 16 lives. When also counting smaller planes, though only those certified as capable of carrying at least 12 passengers, there have been 17 fatal accidents involving cargo aircrafts run by U.S. operators since 2009, compared with 12 for passenger airlines, according to the Flight Safety Foundation. More: Search continues for body of victim, black box in Amazon Prime Air cargo plane crash It is those smaller cargo planes that raise some of the biggest concerns, said Thomas Anthony, director of the Aviation Safety and Security Program at the University of Southern California. A lot of cargo operations are back of the clock, so theyre flying at night, Anthony said. And especially the feeder operations, theyre not flying into those airports with the highest level of instrumentation for navigational aids and for air traffic. You see the Cessna Caravans that are feeders for FedEx, well, theyre flying everywhere. Indeed, one Caravan and two Cessna Cargomasters made the list of 17 cargo planes that crashed. 'Fly by night' But Robert Ditchey, a former Navy pilot and airline executive and now a consultant and expert witness for litigation cases, says its important to sort through the numbers because flight operators can be very different, and its misleading to lump them together in the same category. Ditchey tells a story about the time he worked as an executive in Miami for National Airlines later acquired by Pan Am in the 1970s. He said a part of the airport known as corrosion corner was populated by the kind of outfits that lived up to the expression fly by night in every way. They were owned by questionable characters and would fly risky planes to dangerous places That exists today, Ditchey said. They are vastly, vastly different from UPS or FedEx and so on. Ditchey acknowledged flying into smaller airports with lesser instrumentation presents additional risks, and he said the amount of cargo can become a challenging factor on some flights. Freighters sometimes carry large loads of lithium batteries, which are limited on passenger flights because they can heat up and explode, and may also transport animals and hazardous materials. Their design also makes it more difficult to suppress fires. In 2010, the crash of a UPS plane outside the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai was traced to a fire from lithium batteries. Investigators also found that smoke-detection equipment took too long to alert the crew members, both of whom died in the accident. The Air Lines Pilots Association, which says on its website that it represents more than 61,000 pilots at U.S. and Canadian airlines, has posted a position paper in which it calls for equal security standards for passenger and cargo pilots. It also requests the same rest requirements and the installation of intrusion-resistant cockpit doors on cargo planes. Those measures may become more important as cargo flights continue to soar. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the number of cargo flights in the U.S. increased by close to 100,000 in the last five years, to an estimated 550,000 in 2018 (December figures are not yet available). Thats just 1/15th of the more than 8.5 million domestic passenger flights, but the amount is still significant. Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation as a whole dont have an unlimited budget, so theyre going to provide the greatest security where you have mom and pop and Bill and Joel boarding the airplane, as opposed to somebody sending toilet paper to sub-Saharan Africa, Ditchey said. The priorities are different. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Amazon Prime Air plane crash: Pilots admit cargo planes face 'higher levels of risk' By Aditi Shah and Devjyot Ghoshal NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Several airlines, including Emirates and Qatar Airways, suspended flights to Pakistan on Wednesday after the South Asian nation closed its air space following heightened tensions with neighbouring India. Etihad, flydubai, Gulf Air, SriLankan Airlines and Air Canada also suspended services to the country and flight tracking portals showed Singapore Airlines, British Airways and others were forced to reroute flights. Airlines flying over India and Pakistan to Europe, the Middle East and Asia were disrupted and some flights were routed through Mumbai on India's western coast, so they could head further south and avoid Pakistan air space, an Indian government official told Reuters. Pakistan carried out air strikes and shot down two Indian military jets on Wednesday, Pakistani officials said, a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a war in 1971, prompting leading powers to urge both of the nuclear-armed countries to show restraint. Tension has been elevated since a suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police on Feb. 14, but the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base. Mark Martin, founder and chief executive at Martin Consulting India, said about 800 flights a day use the India-Pakistan air corridor, making it "very critical". "You can't overfly China, so you have to overfly Pakistan and India and go to Southeast Asia and Australia. Most of the traffic destined for Bangkok and Singapore will have to fly over Iran and then possibly take a detour," he said. International airlines that normally transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace have been forced to reroute, including flights by Singapore Airlines, Finnair, British Airways, Aeroflot, and Air India, according to online portal flightradar24.com which tracks the movement of planes globally. Story continues Qatar Airways said in a statement it has temporarily suspended flights to eight cities in India and Pakistan "due to the ongoing situation on the India-Pakistan border" and that its flights routed over the India-Pakistan air space may be delayed due to rerouting in the area. Bahrain's Gulf Air said it had suspended all fights to and from Pakistan due to closure of airspace while low-cost carrier flydubai said it is reviewing its schedule. Emirates and Etihad also said they had suspended some flights to Pakistan. All flights from Kabul to India have been cancelled until further notice while India's state-run carrier Air India has cancelled its flights until the first week of March, an airline official in Kabul said. Air Canada said it has temporarily suspended service to India because of Pakistan's airspace closure. Singapore Airlines' Europe-bound flights would need to make refueling stops, the airline said in a statement. British Airways said it is monitoring the situation closely. DOMESTIC DISRUPTION India, earlier on Wednesday, shut several airports in the northern part of the country temporarily, leading to dozens of domestic flight cancellations after Pakistani warplanes crossed a disputed border into the Indian side of Kashmir. Operations at the Indian airports have now resumed. Indian airlines including IndiGo, India's biggest airline by market share, low-cost rival GoAir and full-service carriers Jet Airways and Vistara, a joint venture between Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons, were forced to cancel services to at least six cities in northern India due to airport closures. The airlines said on Twitter that flights to cities including Amritsar, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Jammu, Leh and Srinagar have been put on hold or temporarily suspended. Airports in the cities of Amritsar, Pathankot, Jammu, Leh and Chandigarh were temporarily closed for commercial flights earlier on Wednesday, sources told Reuters. (Additional reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan in New Delhi, Krishna Das in Jammu, Alexander Cornwell in Abu Dhabi, Rupam Jain in Kabul, Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore and Alison Lampert in Montreal; editing by Darren Schuettler and Neil Fullick) BERLIN (Reuters) - Airbus has decided to redesign the C295 military transport aircraft it builds in Spain to remove German components following Germany's freeze on arms exports to Saudi Arabia, company sources told Reuters. Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders said earlier this month the company could consider making products free of German parts because of Germany's "moral superelevation" on arms exports, which was frustrating Britain, France and Spain. German curbs on arms exports to non-EU or NATO countries have long been a thorn in bilateral co-operation because of the historical objections of the Social Democrats (SPD), junior partners in Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition. But in October, Germany decided unilaterally to reject future arms exports licenses to Saudi Arabia over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and to freeze deliveries of already approved equipment. Existing deals allow Berlin to stop exports of arms that include German parts. "We are now designing (the German content) out of the plane," said one source familiar with the plans. Navigational lamps used for landing the planes are built in Germany, with the total German content standing at about four percent, the source said. Airbus has received 208 orders for the military transport from 28 countries, with 166 aircraft in operation worldwide. A second company source said a review was underway to see if German-sourced parts could be replaced on other Airbus aircraft that have smaller amounts of German content. No further details were immediately available. But this source said it would be difficult, if not impossible, to redesign the Eurofighter Typhoon, a multinational program that has about a third German content. Britain's BAE Systems, which generates 14 percent of its annual sales from selling Typhoons and other arms to Saudi Arabia, last week warned Germany's freeze on arms exports to Saudi Arabia could hit its financial results. Story continues The German move has delayed British government efforts to finalize a 10 billion pound deal to sell Saudi Arabia 48 new Typhoons. Airbus estimates that the export freeze on Saudi Arabia is affecting delivery of equipment and parts worth billions of euros. One French supplier, PME Nicolas Industrie, has already cut jobs as a result, according to French media. Germany's SPD said this week it wanted to extend the freeze on arms exports to Saudi Arabia beyond the current March 9 deadline, despite pressure by Britain and France not to do so as it could risk costly compensation claims. Merkel last week declined to say whether the freeze would be extended, but senior conservative lawmakers say they see no immediate progress on loosening the embargo. (Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Andrea Shalal; Writing by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Jane Merriman and Jan Harvey) Avoid these dividend stocks. In an unpredictable market, dividends can be one of the few reliable sources of investor returns. However, a dividend is only as good as the underlying stock that's paying it. General Electric Co. (ticker: GE) investors know all-too-well how quickly a huge dividend yield can be cut to just 1 cent per quarter if a company is in dire financial straits. In addition, plenty of dividend stocks reached such high yields because the stock's share price has dropped so much. Here are nine stocks with at least 4 percent dividends that Bank of America says to avoid. Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) Campbell Soup pays a generous 4.1 percent dividend. Unfortunately, analyst Bryan Spillane says Campbell is in the middle stages of a transition in strategy and leadership. Spillane says Campbell is unlikely to generate growth in 2019 as it shifts gears and invests heavily in its transition. Campbell also has $9.6 billion in debt, which will continue to weigh on its valuation. Bank of America named CPB stock its top overall stock to sell in the first quarter. The firm has an "underperform" rating and $31 price target for CPB stock. Dominion Energy (D) Dominion is a regulated gas and electric utility with operations primarily in Virginia, North Carolina, Utah and Ohio. The stock also has a 4.6 percent dividend yield, but analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith says Dominion may struggle to hit the low end of its growth targets. Dumoulin-Smith has major concerns about Dominion's Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which is being challenged in court and was delayed to 2021. He says uncertain costs and timelines related to the pipeline's construction will remain an overhang. Bank of America has an "underperform" rating and $72 price target for D stock. Edison International (EIX) Edison and its 4.1 percent dividend may seem like a safe play on a relatively stable utility stock. However, the recent bankruptcy filing of competitor PG&E Corp. (PCG) highlights just how dangerous it is for California electric companies these days. California has recently experienced several of the most devastating wildfires in its history, and the state is still sorting out wildfire liabilities. Despite Edison's earnings growth potential, Dumoulin-Smith says the stock simply has too much wildfire and mudslide liability risk to own. Bank of America has an "underperform" rating and $62 price target for EIX stock. Story continues Kellogg Co. (K) Kellogg joins Campbell as a powerful brand with a high dividend yield and a potentially difficult 2019 ahead. Spillane says that behind the 4 percent dividend, Kellogg's growth has stagnated. Cash flow is expected to be flat in 2019, and modest earnings and revenue growth won't come until at least the second half of the year. Spillane says the U.S. ready-to-eat cereal market has been particularly weak in recent quarters, and Kellogg's recent growth rates put management's long-term targets at risk. Bank of America has an "underperform" rating and $55 price target for K stock. LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) LyondellBasell is a leading producer of petrochemicals with high exposure to natural gas prices. The stock pays a 4.6 percent dividend, but analyst Steve Byrne says margin pressures in the company's polyethylene business are unlikely to subside in the near future. Byrne says the largest risk to LYB stock in 2019 is falling polyethylene prices in the U.S. and Europe. He says global polyethylene supply growth will continue to outpace demand growth, and there is downside risk to consensus earnings estimates. Bank of America has an "underperform" rating and $85 price target for LYB stock. Macy's (M) With a dividend yield above 6 percent, retailer Macy's pays one of the highest yields in the S&P 500 index. Unfortunately, analyst Lorraine Hutchinson says the fact that Macy's fell short of consensus expectations during the holiday sales season is a huge red flag given the relative strength of the U.S. consumer. Hutchinson says Macy's will need to invest heavily in its remaining stores simply to maintain its current level of sales, a recipe that doesn't bode well for margins. Bank of America has an "underperform" rating and $18 price target for M stock. Philip Morris International (PM) Analyst Lisa Lewandowski says tobacco giant Philip Morris is making the right call by investing aggressively in its IQOS smoke-free tobacco technology, but she says gaining share from the cigarette market may be more difficult and costly than investors realize. PM stock pays a 5.6 percent dividend, but the company recently guided for 2019 cigarette and heated tobacco volume to drop at least 1.5 percent. For now, Lewandowski says Philip Morris remains a "show me" story. Bank of America has an "underperform" rating and $74 price target for PM stock. Seagate Technology (STX) Seagate Technology designs and manufactures hard disk drives for server, PC and other electronic device storage. STX stock pays a 5.5 percent dividend, but analyst Wamsi Mohan says STX faces a secular challenge from the NAND flash memory market. Seagate's first-quarter margin guidance of 26 percent was well short of market expectations, and the company blamed factory underutilization and weaker market pricing. Mohan says Seagate is facing uphill battles as the PC market declines and flash solid-state drives gain market share. Bank of America has an "underperform" rating and $39 price target for STX stock. Western Union Co. (WU) Western Union is the global leader in money transfer services, another market that may be in secular decline thanks to the rising popularity of digital payment services. WU stock pays a 4.4 percent dividend, but analyst Jason Kupferberg says a 2019 guidance miss in the most recent quarter is not encouraging. He says low to mid-single digit revenue growth is a best-case scenario for Western Union in the near term, but digital disruption will make growth increasingly difficult in the longer term. Bank of America has an "underperform" rating and $20 price target for WU stock. Avoid these high-yield stocks. These nine stocks with dividend yields of 4 percent or more should be avoided, according to Bank of America analysts: -- Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) -- Dominion Energy (D) -- Edison International (EIX) -- Kellogg Co. (K) -- LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) -- Macy's (M) -- Philip Morris International (PM) -- Seagate Technology (STX) -- Western Union Co. (WU) When John Bean Technologies Corporation (NYSE:JBT) announced its most recent earnings (31 December 2018), I compared it against two factor: its historical earnings track record, and the performance of its industry peers on average. Being able to interpret how well John Bean Technologies has done so far requires weighing its performance against a benchmark, rather than looking at a standalone number at a point in time. In this article, Ive summarized the key takeaways on how I see JBT has performed. View our latest analysis for John Bean Technologies Commentary On JBTs Past Performance JBTs trailing twelve-month earnings (from 31 December 2018) of US$104m has jumped 27% compared to the previous year. Furthermore, this one-year growth rate has exceeded its 5-year annual growth average of 23%, indicating the rate at which JBT is growing has accelerated. Whats enabled this growth? Lets take a look at if it is only a result of an industry uplift, or if John Bean Technologies has experienced some company-specific growth. NYSE:JBT Income Statement, February 27th 2019 In terms of returns from investment, John Bean Technologies has invested its equity funds well leading to a 23% return on equity (ROE), above the sensible minimum of 20%. Furthermore, its return on assets (ROA) of 8.2% exceeds the US Machinery industry of 7.3%, indicating John Bean Technologies has used its assets more efficiently. And finally, its return on capital (ROC), which also accounts for John Bean Technologiess debt level, has increased over the past 3 years from 17% to 20%. What does this mean? While past data is useful, it doesnt tell the whole story. While John Bean Technologies has a good historical track record with positive growth and profitability, theres no certainty that this will extrapolate into the future. I suggest you continue to research John Bean Technologies to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at: Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for JBTs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for JBTs outlook. Financial Health: Are JBTs operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why weve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here. 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. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the trailing twelve months from 31 December 2018. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. 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. Did you know that it takes 100 years for a Saguaro cactus to begin to grow an arm? Or that it takes a mere 2.8 seconds for a British supercar with 710-horsepower to blur a pack of Saguaro cacti into a solid green streak in the Arizona desert? The former fact is courtesy of the kind folks at McLaren during a press briefing, and the latter comes from sampling the mind-warping launch control on its latest road rocket, the 2019 McLaren 720S Spider. The orange landscape melted around the drop-top Belize Blue 720S as it eviscerated a quiet back road near Bartletts Reservoir, outside Scottsdale, its speedo skipping up in chunks on the ferocious tear to an outrageous triple-digit speed Im too hesitant to immortalize here. (Thats called evidence, right?) Related stories The 5 Cars We Can't Wait to See at the Geneva Motor Show With the 2019 720S Spider, McLaren Might Have Pulled Off Its Greatest Trick Hennessey Performance Announces a 1,000 hp McLaren 600LT Package To fire the earth-bound missile, tap the Launch button in the center console, stand on the brake, and mat the accelerator. When youve steeled your nerves, release the brake and white-knuckle that Alcantara-wrapped wheel with all your might. McLaren 600LT and 720S Spider Behind you, a 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V-8 unleashes its full stable of 710 galloping stallions, while the 568 pound-feet of torque sledgehammers you into the seat, seemingly trying to liquify your internal organs. During a brief stint as a bouncer at a college bar, I was once sucker-punched in the gut by a unruly goliath of a defensive lineman. The McLaren 720S Spider hits far harder. Theres just the teensiest skitter from the Pirelli P-Zero tires as they scramble to propel the 3,236-pound beast forth. In that split-second, your pupils dilate, which is good because youll need full capacity of your senses to control whats about to happen. When those Trofeo Rs bite, all bets are off. In (a conservatively estimated) 2.8 seconds, 60 miles an hour briefly blinks on the digital dash, but youre in it to win it, so you keep the throttle buried as the 720S snarls its way through the revs. Each satisfyingly chunky upshift through the seven-speed gearbox gives you an extra jab rearward, while you hurdle forth at an eye-watering clip. In 7.9 seconds, 124 miles an hour arrives, and in 10.4 seconds youve run one blistering quarter-mile. Story continues McLaren 720S Spider An ominous county sign flashes by, as you scream around a corner. Did that say Highway ends? Sure enough, around a blind bend and just beyond a dip, the asphalt simply ceases, yielding to a rock-hewn trail. Time to drill the carbon-ceramic stoppers. The six-pot aluminum grabbers up front chomp onto the dinner-platter-sized discs, and the prow plummets. It takes just under 400 feet to yank the blue behemoth to a full halt from 124 mph, about four and a half seconds. Plenty of room to spare. The faintest scent of smoldering brakes wafts into the cabin, along with a little plume of dust, and its then the realization comes: Good God; I forgot this is a freaking convertible. Indeed, the McLaren engineers greatest feat may be momentarily making you forget youre in a spider. Thats one helluva trick. Credit that carbon-fiber Monocage II-S monocoque underpinning the 720s chassis for supreme stiffness and lowering the center of gravity to keep the handling as on-point as it was in the Coupe. Even with all the tweaks needed to accommodate the removal of the roofwhich happens in an impressive 11 seconds, at speeds up to 30 miles an houronly 108 pounds are added. The Super Series Spider mirrors the Coupes sprint to 60 (the aforementioned 2.8 seconds) and concedes only 0.1 second in the shuffle to 124. McLaren 720S Spider But aside from the wind buffeting over the cabinand perhaps blasting directly in your face, depending on how youve positioned the rear wind deflector glassyoud be hard pressed to distinguish any difference, especially in the handling. The same Proactive Chassis Control II offered on the Coupe works marvelously here, too, whether youre in Comfort, Sport, or Track mode. The ride is comfortable for longer hauls, thanks to multi-adjustable seats, but stiffens up when youre ready to rail on it. The independent adaptive dampers and dual aluminum wishbones keep the Spider cemented in on whatever line you throw it into on curvaceous sweepers. Understeer creeps in, but only if youre pushing hard, trying to find that ten-tenth. The road to Bartletts Reservoir is a lead-footed drivers dream. Its a long inky ribbon with plenty of fast corners, and off-camber turns, and virtually empty. Its the optimal playground for the Spider, which will happily gobble the whole stretch high in the rev-range, its sonorous exhaust note bellowing magnificently behind you. The car easily slices through corners at multiples of the demarcated speeds, a parlor trick that will routinely affix a shit-eating grin on your face. With unlimited tarmac, the 720S Spider will continue hit a double-century top speed of 212, with the roof up, and 202 mph with the wind assaulting your face. McLaren 720S Spider Usability is a cornerstone of McLarens design DNA that is a constant consideration. In a testament to that facet, the 720S Coupe had remarkable, class-leading, 360-degree visibility, and engineers knew that had to carry over to the Spider. When designing the Rollover Protection Structure (ROPS) to integrate with the Monocage, the rearward flying buttresses were glazed, enabling unparalleled visibility in your blindspots, while also increasing downforce, and allowing the engine to breathe easier. Try reversing out of a Walgreens parking lot in a Lamborghini Aventador Spyder without breaking a sweat. Its impossible. Not in the Macca. Gripes are limited to the fact that the powertrain can be a little lurchy in Track for around town driving, and a little laggy in Comfort, if youre trying to get up and go, but thats easily solved by just leaving the thing in Sport mode. That said, the 720S Spiders marvelous all-around attributes do create a solid issue for the lads at Woking, McLarens headquarters: how the hell do you top perfection? Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 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 When University of Miami senior Breana Ross left the United States last spring to study abroad in South Africa, she thought she had a grasp of what poverty looked like. Ross had volunteered at a homeless shelter throughout high school, and founded the service group Written in My Soul at UM to help underprivileged Miami children express themselves through writing. Yet the scenes she saw in South Africa were humbling. As part of a course required on her UCapeTown program, Ross volunteered with an after-school enrichment program called SHAWCO Education, which serves children who live in townships, or areas of forced segregation under apartheid. Although the prejudiced government policy ended in 1994, South Africa remains a country where economic mobility is difficult for blacks and those of mixed European and African or Asian ancestry, often referred to as coloured. Its hard to wrap your mind around the poverty there, and how the legacy of apartheid influences peoples lives so much, said Ross, a broadcast journalism and political science major, likening the policy to the Indian caste system. In a video presentation, Ross described the scene as she arrived in Nyanga, a black township near Cape Town where she spent Mondays with third graders. She said many of the children came to school barefoot and often battling illness. As we rode in on the school bus, I couldnt help but notice that the streets were lined with shacks that barely looked like they were being held together by anything, said Ross, who is also a Hammond Scholar and a Foote Fellow. They were dilapidated and they were peoples homes. And they were my students homes, I realized. Ross wrote about these experiences on her blog, and also wrote a piece for the University of Cape Towns student newspaper during her four months on the UCapeTown program. For her skillful ability to describe these experiences, Ross was recently awarded the 2018 Global Citizen of the Year Award from IES Abroad, a Chicago-based company that works with UM and runs study abroad programs in 85 locations around the world. They began recognizing students with the Global Citizen award and a $1,000 prize three years ago, but this year marks the first time the designation was given to a UM student. From founding her writing organization for low-income youth in Miami, to volunteering to teach math and reading to elementary kids in a black township in Cape Town, giving back is part of who Breana is, no matter where she is, said IES Abroads senior AVP of marketing, Amy Ruhter McMillan. Each year, we seek to find extraordinary students who are going out into the world to learn and do good, and Breana did just that. Ross works with students on a painting activity in Manenberg, a coloured township just outside of Cape Town, South Africa. Just about six years old, the UCapeTown program begins with a foundation course co-taught by Professor Richard Grant in UMs Department of Geography and Regional Studies that introduces students to the history of South Africa. Then the course pushes students to get involved with a non-governmental organization of their choice for an 80-hour service commitment. What attracted Ross to the program was its service component, which is unique to the South Africa study abroad experience. Grant said most students enjoy the six-credit course because it gives them hands-on experience in the country that hopefully aligns with their career goals. While some pre-med students have volunteered at mobile medical clinics, one also volunteered to teach surfing to underprivileged kids. All of my students are like evangelists for the UCapeTown program, Grant said. Its a very powerful experience that they have over there. Although Ross spent her service learning experience teaching, and not formally reportingshe and a UM classmate took a bus twice a week to two different townships to teach English and mathshe said she will undoubtedly draw upon her experience abroad as a journalist. Throughout her time in South Africa, Ross would reflect upon situations and conversations about race through her blog. She was surprised to find an audience at home captivated by her perspective. Ive started to look at journalism as a way of giving viewers a window into a world thats different from what they know, she said. I did not realize how much my blog posts would impact and enlighten people, but when I started to look at journalism like that, it changed the way I tell stories. Ross added that her third-grade students were able to impart something to her as wella sense of resilience and optimism for the future. Many of them did not have adequate food, water, shelter, or clothing, yet they approached each day with a happiness and zealousness that changed my entire perspective, Ross said. They did not focus on what they did not have. They focused on being happy in the present moment and showing love the best ways they knew how. Story Highlights 14% in U.S. say North Korea is the country's greatest enemy, down from 51% 86% of Americans view North Korea unfavorably 79% see North Korea's development of nuclear weapons as a critical threat WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, far fewer Americans today, 14%, see North Korea as the United States' greatest enemy than the 51% who did a year ago. Despite this decline, the vast majority of Americans still view North Korea unfavorably, and nearly eight in 10 see the country's development of nuclear weapons as a critical threat to U.S. security. These data come from Gallup's annual World Affairs survey, conducted Feb. 1-10. Midway through the survey, on Feb. 5, Trump announced during his State of the Union address the date for his second summit with Kim. This year's survey marks the 12th time since 2001 that Gallup has asked Americans which country they perceive as the United States' greatest enemy -- and North Korea has been in the top five on that list in all but the first year. The 51% of Americans who cited North Korea as the nation's greatest enemy in 2018 reflected the heightened state of tensions at that time following harsh rhetoric by Trump and Kim toward each other. That survey also came after a series of ballistic missile tests by North Korea, including one that demonstrated the ability to potentially strike the continental U.S. Both sides subsequently cooled their rhetoric, and North Korea publicly committed to suspending nuclear and missile testing in April 2018. This was followed by a meeting between Kim and Trump in June. After these events, the percentage of Americans viewing North Korea as the United States' archrival fell precipitously, returning to pre-2018 levels. Perceptions of North Korea as the United States' greatest enemy have fallen sharply among Americans of all political leanings. Now, the two major parties are about equally likely to identify North Korea as the nation's greatest enemy. A year ago, Republicans were more likely to do so -- and thus, mentions of North Korea as the top enemy have fallen more sharply among Republicans, from 58% last year to 12% today. Among independents, there has been a 36-percentage-point drop (to 14%), and among Democrats, a 28-point drop (to 17%). The 51% of all Americans who cited North Korea made it the top choice for 2018. In 2019, however, both Russia and China have eclipsed North Korea as Americans' pick for the country's greatest enemy. Americans Continue to View North Korea Unfavorably Despite their marked shift away from naming North Korea as the country's greatest enemy, the vast majority of Americans continue to see North Korea in a negative light. A full 86% of Americans say they have a mostly or very unfavorable view of North Korea, compared with 12% who have a very or mostly favorable view of the country. Large majorities of Americans have consistently viewed North Korea negatively since 2003. This followed President George W. Bush's labeling the country as part of the "axis of evil" and North Korea's announcement that it planned to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. However, after ranging between 77% and 87% for more than a decade, the percentage of Americans with an unfavorable view of North Korea edged up to 92% last year amid escalated tensions. This year's decline to 86% represents a return to the trend's recent 10-point range. Americans' negative views of North Korea are similar across party lines: 85% of Republicans, 86% of independents and 89% of Democrats view the country unfavorably. Most Americans Still See Critical Threat in North Korean Nuclear Weapons Americans' continued perception that North Korea's development of nuclear weapons poses a critical threat to U.S. security likely contributes to their negative views of North Korea. When asked what level of threat North Korea's development of nuclear weapons poses to the U.S., 79% of Americans say it poses a critical threat, 17% say it poses an important but not critical threat and 3% say it isn't an important threat at all. These percentages haven't changed substantially from the previous two times Gallup asked the question in 2018 and 2013. Americans' Views of the Threat Posed by North Korea's Development of Nuclear Weapons Next, I am going to read you a list of possible threats to the vital interests of the United States in the next 10 years. For each one, please tell me if you see this as a critical threat, an important but not critical threat or not an important threat at all: Development of nuclear weapons by North Korea. 2013 2018 2019 % % % Critical 83 82 79 Important but not critical 14 14 17 Not important at all 3 3 3 Gallup Among both Democrats and Republicans, there has been little movement in views that North Korea's development of nuclear weapons poses a critical threat to U.S. security. Currently, 81% of Democrats and 86% of Republicans see it as a critical threat, compared with last year's 82% and 88%, respectively. There has been a decline among independents, with 74% now saying the issue is a critical security threat, down from 81% in 2018. Bottom Line Trump touted his last summit with Kim as a great success. That meeting and the subsequent softening of rhetoric between the two leaders has perhaps contributed to Americans being substantially less likely to view North Korea as the United States' greatest enemy. However, there has been only modest improvement in Americans' overall opinion of North Korea and in their view that North Korea's development of nuclear weapons poses a critical threat to vital U.S. interests. Americans' perceptions may have been affected by a belief that the imminent threat of war between North Korea and the U.S. during the crisis had passed, but that the country remained a bad actor on the world stage. This may be due, at least partially, to continued questions concerning North Korea's commitment to denuclearization and widespread human rights violations by the country's government. All of these developments have contributed to Americans' perceptions of North Korea, including the threat posed by the country returning to pre-2018 levels. View complete question responses and trends. Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works. Many times you might have found the multiple casinos available in the online market but when you are going to... The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, has arrived in Iran, together with his wife, Anna Hakobyan, on Wednesday morning. On the same day, the PM met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The sides signed two memoranda of understanding and made a statement for the media. Iranian president Hassan Rouhani expressed readiness to increase the volumes of gas supplies and to conduct trilateral cooperation to export the Iranian gas to Georgia via Armenia. Rouhani also expressed Irans readiness to participate in the North-South Road Corridor project. PM Pashinyan in turn underlined importance of a free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and Iran. Speaking about cooperation in energy sector, PM said it is important for the parties to agree on a gas price, and confirmed Armenias readiness to act as a transit. The newly US appointed ambassador to Armenia, Lynne Tracy, is already in capital city Yerevan. The photos of Tracys first day at work in this capacity have been posted on the Facebook page of the US Embassy in Yerevan. Ambassador Lynne Tracy started her work at U.S. Embassy Yerevan today! reads the caption to these photos. Welcome Madam Ambassador! The Armenian parliament speaker Ararat Mirzoyan delivered a speech in the Federation Council of Russia , the first speech in the history of the plenary session of the Federation Council. Mirzoyan emphasized that Armenia considers Russia its strategic partner, and it is impossible to drive a wedge between the relations of the two countries. He appreciated Russias role as a co-chairing country of the OSCE Minsk Group and reiterated Armenias commitment to a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict. [But] literally yesterday, some of our Russian colleagues have become participants in a strongly expressed anti-Armenian action that was held in [Azerbaijans capital city of] Baku, and was aimed at the disruption of sustainable peace and stability in the region. Moreover, the Russian-Armenian Inter-Parliamentary Commission members participation in that event generates a justified bewilderment, he said. Armenian citizen Karen Ghazaryan who was captured by Azerbaijan last summer has been sentenced in Azerbaijan to twenty years in prison. Karen Ghazaryan is charged with several articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijanespecially of committing crimes against life and health, economic activity, and public safety. Even though this young man has mental disorders, this does not prevent Azerbaijani authorities from portraying him as a saboteur. Two Armenian nationals who are suspected of conspiracy to a murder of Turkey citizen were arrested in Istanbul. Two men, together with 46-year-old Stella M. and her son Varlam M. both nationals of Armenia are behind a murder of 58-year-old Sedat Yongel, the Turkish media said. They allegedly killed Yongel to steal money and jewelry. Mother and son escaped to Armenia via Georgia, while the two men were arrested. 1. Yes. Its a serious public health issue; unvaccinated workers put others at risk. 2. Yes. Some colleges and school districts are mandating it. Its a necessary step. 3. No. Employees should have the option of getting vaccinated or not. Its up to them. 4. No. Some people have serious side-effects. Geting jabbed should be optional. 5. Unsure. Getting people vaccinated is important, but so is having a choice. Vote View Results Top court rejects stay appeal against Pathao The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a request for an interim order to halt the operation of Pathao, a popular ride-sharing service company, providing a temporary relief to the business which has seen its existence challenged multiple times in the past few months. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke about historical ties and expansion of bilateral cooperation in such areas as energy and tourism in an interview with IRNA agency. This year marks the 28th anniversary of establishment of Iran-Armenia diplomatic relations. How do you assess the current level of relationship between the two friendly countries? Definitely positive. Moreover, the centuries-old friendship between our peoples is a good example of intercultural dialogue and coexistence between different religions and civilizations, which is also an important factor promoting peace and stability in the region. Our centuries-old strong ties are based on mutual understanding and mutually beneficial cooperation. The strong ties of friendship and partnership with Iran are part of our foreign policy, and we are committed to further developing our good-neighborly relations. At the same time, it should be noted that there is still huge untapped potential, especially as regards our trade and economic exchanges. I am convinced that contacts and dialogue at different levels will help outline the steps to take ahead in order to tap the existing opportunities. What are the main spheres where even stronger and more comprehensive ties (economic, cultural, industrial, political, etc) can be built between Armenia and Iran? I see great potential in all spheres of cooperation that should be used with maximum efficiency. In particular, we need to take steps to develop trade and economic interaction, increase the volume of commodity turnover, and in general, tap the opportunities available in that sphere. Indeed, the energy sector, too, has a great potential for development. In this area we have serious joint projects, such as gas / electricity exchange, construction of the third high-voltage power transmission line Armenia-Iran. Negotiations are underway on the Meghri HPP project, which has recently been ratified by the Iranian Majlis. A number of other projects are also being discussed. As I already mentioned, the EAEU-Iran Free Trade Agreement creates new opportunities for trade and economic cooperation. In the coming months, serious preparations are needed. As an important area, I would like to highlight the cooperation in the cultural sphere. Relevant ministries of both countries are focusing on issues such as publishing, film production, restoration and preservation of historical and cultural monuments, museum and library work. We are also cooperating in the framework UNESCO. As you may know, due to Irans efforts, the St. Thaddeus and St. Stephen monastic complexes have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Armenia has prepared a complete package to submit the Yerevan Blue Mosque for the UNESCO World Heritage List. Joint work is underway with the Iranian side, and it will be properly presented after some adjustments. Another key cultural event was the Iranian National Museum-hosted exhibition, entitled Armenia and Iran: Land Memory, where unique exhibits from the History Museum of Armenia were exhibited. You know that the Golden Apricot International Film Festival is held in Armenia, and I am pleased to note that films by Iranian filmmakers Abbas Kiarostami, Asghar Farhad and others are represented on a regular basis. By the way, the latter chaired the refereeing group of the 15th Golden Apricot Festival and his film Divorce Naderi and Siminwas recognized as the winner in the International Feature Film nomination. The aforementioned and similar programs are a good opportunity for Armenian and Iranian peoples to get acquainted and interact with each others cultures. How do you assess the future of bilateral cooperation in tourism? A. You know, each country is represented by its history, culture, traditions. Obviously, tourism helps our peoples to get acquainted with each others history, culture, traditions, spiritual and religious values, scientific and technological achievements. Tourism development is one of our countrys priorities, and we are making great efforts to make our country attractive to tourists. Following the visa abolition arrangement in 2016, the number of Iranian tourists visiting Armenia has considerably increased, especially in the days of the Iranian New Year - Novruz. Special events are being held in these days for ensuring the security of Iranian tourists; 911 services are available in Persian. I think that tourism is a promising field, and the indicators tend to grow in that area. Anil Giri is a reporter covering diplomacy, international relations and national politics for The Kathmandu Post. Giri has been working as a journalist for a decade-and-a-half, contributing to numerous national and international media outlets. Dollar rises slightly after long decline in Armenia Putin: Neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan is interested in development of crisis in Karabakh Karabakh Ombudsman: Azerbaijan continues aggression against Artsakh people through informational terrorism EU governments decide to lift travel restrictions from Armenia and 10 other states Spanish PM says there will be no referendum on Catalonia independence Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg adopts petition condemning operations against Artsakh Armenia acting deputy MOD on deployment of Russian peacekeepers on country's borders Baku continues to present demands to Armenia and threaten the country Armenia MP: PACE special rapporteur to meet in Azerbaijan to discuss release of Armenian captives Azerbaijan FM informs counterparts of BSEC about construction of "Zangezur corridor" Seven new cases regarding Armenian POWs filed with European Court of Human Rights Over 100 people die from heatwave in Canada Attachment imposed on assets of Armenia ex-police chief Vladimir Gasparyan Armenia motorists protesting outside State Revenue Committee Armenia delegation to PACE raises matter of Azerbaijan army invasion Armenia acting deputy justice minister on draft of new Penitentiary Code Global Climate Partnership Fund extends US$20-million loan to Ardshinbank to develop green energy Armenian trace in Baku subway explosion is 'confirmed' Court announces verdict on Armenia opposition party leader Armenias Kotayk Province also suffering from drought (PHOTOS) Armenia, Finland to collaborate in technology, education Armenia acting justice minister, newly appointed Japan envoy discuss avenues for deepening cooperation Armenia President expresses conviction that cooperation with Latvia will continue to strengthen, develop Catholicos of Armenian Catholicosate of Great House of Cilicia to head for Vatican Six new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh UNDP to support livelihoods of around 28,000 people in Armenia, including the displaced, funded by Russia MP: Armenia legislature must apply to Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe Iranian navy begins drills in Caspian Sea Iran vice president proposes to establish high-tech center in Armenia Biden intends to repair old pipelines in US and establish high-speed Internet 13 Armenian captives court trial rescheduled in Azerbaijan 128 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia UN says economic losses due to recession in tourism sector in 2021 could reach $ 2.4 trillion Red Cross to continue work on exchange of POWs after Karabakh war, says its director Armenia outgoing parliament convenes special session World oil prices on the rise Ardshinbank, Visa International payment system extend card-to-card money transfer campaign, increase cashback Russia, Turkey FMs to discuss Nagorno-Karabakh conflict US senators propose allocating $2mn for Karabakh demining program New York ex-mayor Rudy Giuliani lobbied for Turkey interests? Newspaper: Personnel 'massacre' to begin at Armenia law enforcement agencies Newspaper: Another scandal brewing at Armenia MFA Hailstorm wreaks havoc in Armenias Lori Province US, Iran have only partially resolved their differences, says Blinken Turkish scientists discover 11 ancient wonders at once Armenia 2nd President: Some Armenians believe Pashinyan signed the November 9 statement because he was threatened World Bank raises its forecast for China's economic growth this year to 8.5% Police arrest suspect in theft of Picasso painting in Greece US First Lady may visit Tokyo to attend 2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony Indian police press preliminary charges against senior Twitter employees Robert Kocharyan: Armenians won't have answers to questions about loss of Hadrut and Shushi and $5 bln deal Robert Kocharyan: New snap elections might be held in Armenia in a year-and-a-half Karabakh: Remains of 2 Armenian servicemen found in Hadrut, searches in Mataghis were fruitless 'Armenia' bloc member Armen Charchyan's wife reads his message at alliance's first general assembly US is a much more important ally for Italy than China Blinken calls Vatican key partner of US Abu Dhabi to use face scanners to detect COVID-19 infections 'Armenia' bloc representative states electoral violations regarding which it will apply to Constitutional Court Armenia acting MOD introduced to some samples of armament of military aircraft at Erebuni Airport Turkey is about to start mass production of its first unmanned surface ship Council of Europe Secretary General sends congratulatory message to Armenia's Pashinyan Armenia National Academy of Sciences ex-president: Large-scale weapons can only be produced with other countries 'Armenia' bloc: We need to be ready for new snap elections at any moment Lebanese government raises fuel prices by over third Richard Kauzlarich: If the conflict is over, why is there a need for Azerbaijan President to wear a military uniform? Karabakh President receives relatives of servicemen declared missing in action during 44-day war Azerbaijan extorting testimonies against Russian peacekeepers from Armenian POWs Israeli FM opens 1st embassy in UAE Head of health center in Armenia's Achajur submits resignation letter Digest: OSCE urges Baku to return Armenian POWs, Biden congratulates Pashinyan on winning elections 1 injured in Prague shooting EU might lift travel restrictions for Armenia citizens Azerbaijan still investigating downing of Russian MI-24 helicopter, but not reporting info Armenia ruling party's faction to convene special session on June 30 NATO Ramstein Alloy drills taking place in Baltic countries Yerevan pedestrian run over twice, dies after failing to regain consciousness Azerbaijan MOD has 'lost' dozens of soldiers EU Council approves decision on signing of Common Aviation Area Agreement with Armenia Artsakh interior minister: Search for, return of captives, the missing are on main agenda of our activity Brazilian military to be sent to Amazon to fight deforestation Karabakh Parliament unanimously approves amendments to law on legal regime of martial law Advocate: 'Armenia' bloc to clarify issue regarding mandates after Constitutional Court announces decision Armenia acting PM holds consultation devoted to irrigation problem Dollar still losing value in Armenia Acting premier instructs to set up working group to operatively address Armenia agricultural challenges OSCE Media Freedom Representative expresses concern at increased attacks on journalists in Turkey Armenia MP on election results: I heard about widespread electoral fraud, but I don't have concrete facts EBRD forecasts 4% growth in Armenian economy for 2021 Armenia acting PM makes new appointment Russian State Duma chairman congratulates Armenia Parliament Speaker on victory in elections Armenia acting high-tech industry minister meets with GSMA Vice-President Daniel Pataki in Barcelona Ann Linde congratulates Nikol Pashinyan on winning the elections Gallup announces post-election survey results in Armenia OSCE Chair-in-Office and Secretary-General discuss Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Show continues...Baku court doesn't launch criminal case against Armenia ex-defense minister and ex-army official US: Mexican faces 20 years in prison for jumping out of airplane American-Armenian Aram Shatakhtsyan included in Forbes' list '30 under 30' OSCE Chairperson-in-Office again calls on Armenia, Azerbaijan to release POWs, find political solution China shares new photo of Mars Gallup International Association in Armenia: Pro-government media labeled data as 'fake' after November 9 On March 6, the Napa County Planning Commission will meet again to take more public comment and make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors on a watershed and tree protection ordinance. This is the result of Measure Cs (Watershed and Oak Woodland Protection Initiative) almost passing. The wine industry showed up in force at the Feb. 20 Planning Commission meeting, asserting that protecting our hillsides and watersheds any further would result in the demise of the wine industry. Talk about Chicken Little. The truth is, if further protective measures are not put in place, our environment and water supply will suffer, and with it, the wine industry as well. The wine industry is robust. Limiting its ability of develop our hillsides and watersheds is not going to be the death of it. However, there is a conflict of interest when any industry insists that a governmental body protect its financial interests at the cost of the environment and water supply. This is why the Environmental Protection Agency was formed in 1970: to separate out the interests of agricultures use of pesticides from the needs of the environment. Until then, pesticide usage was governed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), described by Rachel Carson of Silent Spring as a financial conflict of interest. MUNICH, Germany The biggest security threats to America in the near future will have nothing to do with migrant caravans or terrorism or clashes with enemy forces. At this years Munich Security Conference, an annual meeting of global leaders and foreign and security officials, the focus was more on threats from new technologies than on conventional warfare or terrorism. Russia is already waging cyberwar on U.S. and European elections, while Washington is already engaged in a technology war with China over who will dominate fifth-generation (5G) computer networks. But listening to panels with titles like The Coming Role of Artificial Intelligence in Global Affairs and Cyber Risks and the Financial System was a reminder: we are on the cusp of technological changes that will shake global security in the near term. Changes that will play out not only on earth, but in space and in earthly regions that were previously impervious to political clashes, such as the Arctic. And changes about which most Americans have little awareness. The intersection of geopolitics and technology is not sufficiently understood, said Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, at a Munich Fireside Chat on Geopolitics and Technology in 2019?. Amid drenching rains from an atmospheric river storm, the National Weather Service on Tuesday forecast the Russian River at Guerneville in Sonoma County will reach 45.9 feet by Wednesday night -- nearly 14 feet above its flood stage -- and a level that would rank as the worst flood in 24 years. The last time the river waters rose that high was in January 1995. The all-time record for the Russian River is 49.5 feet, in 1986. At 10:50 a.m., the Sonoma County Fire and Emergency Services Department warned of "major flooding" in the Guerneville area and recommended that residents living along the Russian River evacuate. "It's pretty serious," said Peter Fickenscher, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento. "We consider this a major flood. There will be numerous impacts. It's a rare event. The rainfall has been very focused and concentrated right through the Russian River basin. It has been non-stop rain for 24 hours and it will continue overnight into Wednesday." The river is forecast to peak at 10 p.m. Wednesday evening. If it reaches the forecast level, much of downtown Guerneville is expected to flood, including Safeway supermarket, the post office, Highway 116 west of town and Monte Rio Elementary School. Napa has met its state-required goal for permitting new housing with four years to spare and added its first significant sum of less-expensive dwellings to its total. The city in 2018 granted building permits for 591 residential units, bringing its total to 871 halfway through an eight-year cycle, staff members told the Planning Commission on Thursday. This total exceeds the goal of 835 dwellings. Sixty-eight of the housing permits Napa issued last year were for dwellings affordable to those earning less than the Napa median 53 for households on very low incomes and another 15 reserved for low-income families, according to senior planner Michael Walker. Two affordable housing developments accounted for those totals: the 50-unit Stoddard West apartments off Soscol Avenue, and the 20-unit Napa Courtyards at 535 Coombsville Road east of downtown. The city still needs an additional 355 affordable units by 2023 to meet its goals under its allocation, which is broken down into categories for very low incomes (less than 50 percent of the local median), low (below 80 percent), moderate (80 to 120 percent) and above-moderate (more than 120 percent) incomes. Remaining needs include 132 units attainable at very low incomes, 84 at low incomes and 139 at moderate incomes. Palpa folk concerned about adverse effects of coal mining Locals of Jhadewa, Mathagadhi-4 of Palpa, have demanded coal extraction in the area be stopped. The reason being the adverse effect mining is inflicting on their quality of life and environment. Some people who realize an officer has caught them using their cellphone while driving try to get slick. Theres the phone dropper, said Sgt. Kris Jenny of the Napa Police Departments traffic division, and theres the person who tries to act like they were itching their head instead of holding a phone to their ear. Others are oblivious especially of officers who pull up in a vehicle other than a traditional, black-and-white cop car, he said. They might be on Facebook, snapping selfies or steering with their knee while taking pictures of their view, Jenny said. A new state study found that drivers cellphone use appears to be slightly less frequent than it was a few years ago, but Jenny is skeptical that people have kicked or will kick the habit. Kids have an even stronger connection to their devices than adults, he said. In my opinion, its remained the same, Jenny said. Its a habit that they werent willing to change. Researchers at California State University Fresno examined drivers at 204 locations across 17 counties, statewide. 19452019 Carol passed away peacefully in her Napa home on January 27, 2019. Her family and members of Collabria Hospice provided her with daily comfort and care until she succumbed to a long battle with cancer. She is survived by her husband, Robert (Bob); her daughter Lauren Meanza, also of Napa; her son Jeffrey Meanza of Minneapolis, MN; her step-son, Robert Meanza Jr. of San Antonio, TX; and her step-daughter, Catherine Hogue of York, PA. Carol was born on November 8, 1945, the only child of Herman and Patricia (Williams) Wolf and raised in Cincinnati, OH. In 1973, she and Bob moved to California shortly after their marriage. They lived in Fresno, San Francisco, and Concord, before settling down and raising a family in Modesto. They moved to their Napa home in 1997, after their children were in college. While her children were still in school, Carol continued her formal education, receiving a bachelors degree (summa cum laude) in Organizational Communication and her diploma in Professional Paralegal Studies. She spent several years working in the Human Resources field, serving as HR Manager for Interval Resorts, LLC (RiverPointe) and Aldea Children and Family Services, both in Napa. He said Mauritius is a 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. Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. One of the first things Jean-Charles Boisset did when he purchased the Oakville Grocery was to move the brick oven between the shop and the adjacent Victorian residence so that visitors can sit at tables and take in the view. Look at it, he said. There, to the north is Mount St. Helena. Across the road is To Kalon, the most famous vineyard in Napa Valley. There are the Mayacamas Mountains, and beyond them, the Pacific Ocean. This is not a million-dollar view; its a billion-dollar view. Boisset is devoted to the pleasures of wine and food and other elements of the good life in which his native France excels, but this has never prevented him being an ardent admirer of California, its products, its lifestyle, and its history. He has purchased properties in Northern California, among them Vista, DeLoach and Raymond wineries. But his newest acquisition may prove to be his most significant tribute to his adopted state. At a meeting in the 1881 Victorian house, Boisset outlined his plans for this historic building and the grocery store, the purchase for which closed on Jan. 3. A vehicle driven by a suspected drunk driver ran off Silverado Trail and hit a power pole early Monday morning, closing the roadway from Deer Park Road to Lodi Lane, the California Highway Patrol reported. The collision occurred just before 3 a.m., approximately a half mile north of Deer Park Road. The CHP said the roadway likely wouldn't be reopened until mid-afternoon. A Pacific Gas & Electric crew is having to replace a 50-foot pole and restring lines, which could take all afternoon, Deanna Contreras, a company spokesperson said. The outage originally impacted 49 customers, but 16 of them had power back by 5 a.m., she said. The motorist, Isaac Galan, 24, of Calistoga lost control of his 2015 Ford Mustang due to his intoxicated state, the CHP said. Galan, who was not injured, was arrested at the scene for investigation of DUI, the CHP said. He was booked at the Napa County jail. 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. Each week, bureau reporters Seaborn Larson and Sam Wilson, along with deputy bureau chief Tom Kuglin, bureau chief Holly Michels and host Thom Bridge, will take their work off the printed and digital page. Theres only so much that can fit into a report, and theres always much more tell. With nearly a foot of snow reported in some areas of Butte and Anaconda Tuesday, business slowed to a standstill for some merchants in the region, many of whom didnt open their shops at all. Foot traffic was slow Tuesday on Main Street, punctuated by intermittent periods of light snowfall. It was the kind of day that caused many merchants to stay at home, like shop owner Pat Campbell from Beautiful Butte And Beyond, who said that she didnt anticipate many sales at her Main Street gift shop and decided to work from home Tuesday. Campbell wasnt alone. OMG Mongolian Grill, also on Main Street, closed Tuesday, while a sign outside Town Talk Bakery on Front Street told patrons that the business was taking a snow day. Jon Wick, who owns 5518 Designs on Main Street, decided to keep his apparel shop open Tuesday. He said foot traffic was low, but a few customers did stop by and make purchases. Wick said that parking was limited along Main Street due to snow piles, and multiple motorists got stuck while attempting to park or leave the area. Despite the decline in foot traffic, Wick was in good spirits Tuesday. Despite the federal government shutdown, Montanas state legislators were hard at work in the capital city last month. Fortunately for 4-Hers across the state the legislators took special time out of their busy schedules to have a formal breakfast with them. 4-H is the top youth development program in the state of Montana with over 20,000 youth participants pursuing over 200 projects. 4-Hers and legislators were given the opportunity to visit with each other and discuss how 4-H has been impactful in the individual lives and counties of 4-Hers statewide. Legislative breakfast is an event that is hosted by a group called Montanans for 4-H. The breakfast also reinforces the vital role of the MSU Cooperative Extension Service budget, which supports 4-H in Montana communities. In addition to the breakfast, Cody Stone, director of Montana State Extension, also testified at a legislative hearing last month. I articulated how MSU Extension is integrating learning, discovery, and engagement to provide unbiased, research based information and develop mutually beneficial partnerships across the state, Stone said. We are able to transform lives and communities through our state appropriation and our cooperative funding model that matches every state dollar with 3 more from counties, USDA, and contracts/grants. Deer Lodge County was represented at the legislative breakfast by Cody Ehman. Cody is a freshman at Anaconda Junior Senior High School, a 4-H ambassador, and a member of the Montana Clovers 4-H club. Legislative breakfast was a great opportunity for me to share my experiences in 4-H with legislators, Ehman said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Butte School District No. 1 and Butte Central will resume classes on Wednesday, but around 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, Anaconda School District No. 10 Superintendent Justin Barnes decided to give his students one more snow day. Barnes initially told The Montana Standard school would go on as usual Wednesday, but after driving around to the Anaconda district's schools on Tuesday afternoon, he decided it would be better to cancel classes. "The sidewalks look pretty good, but there is zero parking and buses would have to drop students off in the streets, so we decided to go ahead and give them one more day," Barnes said. Barnes also said the district plans to resume classes on Thursday morning and will most likely make up this second snow day over spring break. Although Anaconda students will get one more snow day, Butte students will be back in school Wednesday. Judy Jonart, superintendent of Butte School District No. 1, said all school parking lots and bus loading zones have been plowed and that school will resume Wednesday, unless Butte gets hit by another storm this evening. If a storm does hit and Jonart decides to cancel school, she said shell send out a text to Butte School District No. 1 parents by 6 a.m. Wednesday. Morang Police to continue drive against narcotics use After the success of a 90-day campaign to prevent the use of narcotics, the Morang District Police is planning to make it a permanent mission. One occurred at about 11 a.m. Tuesday in the 500 block of 8th Street. Another avalanche reportedly slid into residents yards Wednesday morning in a nearby neighborhood along Birch Street. But for all the snow counted in Anaconda, there could in fact be more on the ground than has been reported, according to Corby Dickerson, who oversees the official weather observers for the NWS Missoula office. Dickerson noted that official snow totals could change as more accurate reporting comes in and is analyzed, and some Anaconda residents have said that there's up to three feet of powder in the area. Everett said the snow is as high as his window sill, which is four feet high. He also said it's higher than his chain link fence. The adverse weather is unrelenting for Anaconda. Bruce Bauck, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Missoula, said Wednesday will bring another two to three inches in Anaconda and Thursday the Smelter City will see an inch or two more. No snow is expected for Friday, but the respite will be brief. Over the weekend Anaconda can anticipate Arctic, frigid winds with highs in the single digits on both Saturday and Sunday and the lows dropping at night to 15 to 20 below zero. Its a process, and its not something people really tell you about, said Amanda Loveday, who works in public relations in Columbia. Loveday was shocked when she started hunting for day care for her first child. She and her husband spent more than $1,000 to get on waiting lists, she said. The woman at every single center I went to knew I was pregnant before my best friend did. And I wanted safe, regulated child care, so I went and filled out forms (when I was) six to eight weeks pregnant and begged them not to tell anybody. Ragley said one center asked her for proof of a positive pregnancy test. She said the question came about because women had gotten on its waiting list without being pregnant. When they came up on the list, there was no baby. I feel like it was just very abrasive, she said, adding she kindly told the center, no thank you. Tuition for highly rated child care centers in the Midlands can easily reach or exceed $10,000 annually, in a review of day care centers fee schedules. Bistro Enzo celebrated a birthday a few months ago. The restaurant has served up food in the Mediterranean-style building in the West End of Billings for 20 years. According to James Honaker, owner and executive chef, the unofficial date of the restaurants opening was Nov. 11, 1998. I went to the restaurant with my husband, and good friends Bill and Suzanne Smoot on the anniversary night. It was business as usual and I was not surprised, as Chef Honaker has always deflected attention. On that Sunday, we slipped in for a late dinner after catching a movie at the Art House Cinema and Pub downtown. Twenty years ago, we did not have this option. It was great to have an intimate movie theater screening of an adaptation of a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and part-time Billings resident, Richard Fords book Wildlife with the honor of his presence. The restaurant was characteristically full when we arrived. Host Jason Shuck immediately seated us to a table in the corner that had perfect viewing into the lobby and throughout the restaurant. At 7 oclock on a Sunday night, the place was abuzz, mostly with families dining together. For me it was fun to see the service action with staff whisking glasses of wine to tables and putting plates of food in front of customers in synchrony. Our table was located below a painting by local artist Ben Peases print "It Was All A Dream," featuring two Native American women on horses. The art is available for purchase, and at our request, Shuck brought over a price list from the Stapleton Gallery of the various pieces arranged throughout the room. Minutes later, Honaker appeared with a basket of Country Loaf from Le Fournil, an artisan bread bakery downtown. He wanted to personally greet us, but moreover wanted to point out that he was supporting a local producer. Then, like an apparition, he was gone. Honaker has been recognized three times as a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation award as Best Chef of the Northwest. He admitted to being anxious about the nomination and the expectation it engendered, but said the recognition pushed him to continue to perform at his highest level. Honaker recently changed his menu back to an entirely a la carte bill of fare, allowing diners to choose small plates, and mix and match as they please. Many of the entrees remain the same, focusing on food inspired by Italy, France, Morocco, Greece and Spain. Major changes in menu items are problematic since so many customers are regulars, with favorite dishes. To keep things vibrant and fresh, Honaker runs seafood specials every night as well as a soup and steak option. Working at Le Bernardin with Chef Eric Ripert in New York, Honaker learned to select and cook fish, something landlocked Montanans have always appreciated about his craft. Daily air delivery of fish has been his standard of always sourcing what he termed pristine fish. From halibut to salmon, he counts on the freshest product to create his nightly specials. Vinaigrette-based sauces are his go-to favorites, the combination of oil and acid supplying balance to food. An in-season dish that appeared often at the restaurant was a piece of halibut seared to perfection, served with a white wine shallot, lemon and caper sauce, combining two of chefs preferred foods to prepare. Over the years, my husband and I have eaten at the restaurant hundreds of times. Bill and Suzanne recalled coming to the restaurant on the opening night in 1998, and have been frequenting ever since. They both agreed, We always find Enzo warm and socially inviting with wonderful food. That night, as with past visits, I had a hard time choosing what I wanted for dinner. I should have the menu memorized. Our server Nate Raschkow patiently gave us time to make up our minds. Suzanne started with a mixed green salad with olive, tomato, ciabatta croutons, celery and Gorgonzola. Bill chose the small Caesar salad and the bay scallop and white shrimp made with vermouth cream, shallots, asparagus and linguini fini. My husband opted for the vegetarian option of Moroccan-spiced couscous and fried cauliflower with chickpeas, grilled zucchini, local tomatoes and aioli, while I finally settled on the truffled airline chicken grilled, with linguini fini and braised leek cream, mushroom, asparagus and Parmesan, reminiscent of a dish from the past. While Honaker seemed nonchalant about rounding the 20-year corner in a business where you are only as good as your last meal, he expressed gratitude to his staff for their hard work. As for his customers, he said, Thats the only reason why we are in business. I have great appreciation for them. He promised to continue doing what he does best. Stella Fong, author of 'Historic Restaurants of Billings and Billings Food' hosts 'Flavors Under the Big Sky: Celebrating the Bounty of the Region' for Yellowstone Public Radio. TheLastBestPlates.com is a digital destination that serves up Montana's tasty food, travel and culture stories one bite at a time. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Disclaimer : The views expressed in the forum are the views of the user writing the post, and not that of moneycontrol.com. You agree, by accessing this forum, that moneycontrol.com bears no liability for any posts on this forum or, any losses suffered by following any advice posted on this forum. moneycontrol.com operates this real time, open, unmoderated, private forum for users to exchange information and to discuss various investing techniques. moneycontrol.com or, its personnel do not post anything, or vet the content posted, on this forum. moneycontrol.com reserves the right to deny service to anyone. You, and not moneycontrol.com, assume the entire cost and risk of any trading you choose to undertake. You are solely responsible for making your own investment decisions. If you choose to engage in such transactions with or without seeking advice from a licensed and qualified financial advisor or entity, then such decision and any consequences flowing therefrom are your sole responsibility. "Yes" on House Bill 284, to assure our choices are honored and not overruled by corporations, non-government organizations, Department of Public Health and Human Services and others. Keep government out of our private lives and deaths. The large body of work that attempted to legalize euthanasia in the nation clearly favors predatory corporations and others at the expense of the us, the expendable. They lead with emotional promotions to pass laws that are written to benefit corporations. Anyone who stands first for the individual and reads the language votes "yes" for House Bill 284. Clearly Beth Thompson has not ever read any of the euthanasia laws or bills. Not a single one of the hundreds introduced honors the individuals choice by providing an ordinary witness to the now-infamous so-called self-administration which Thompson refers to. These policies are emotionally sold as something for the individual but are written to give instant immunity to predatory corporations and others at the expense of the individual. Read the language of the laws/bills and note the omissions, commissions and double speak to reveal the normalized, the exploited, the expended, the euthanized. Diane Coleman of the disability rights group Not Dead Yet describes all of the laws/bills in this way: Sam is not the only veteran we serve who does not receive VA healthcare benefits. About 30 percent of the veterans served through the Poverello Center programs are not eligible for VA healthcare benefits. To receive care through the VA, veterans must meet certain criteria in terms of time served, disability and income. For example, many service members after 1980 served less than two full years, and therefore, are ineligible for VA care. Other examples include Reserve or National Guard veterans who do not qualify for VA benefits because they do not meet deployment requirements as an active duty service member, despite serving loyally for years. Medicaid expansion has given Sam the opportunity to be one of the 7,000 veterans in Montana able to get healthcare. Through Medicaid, Sam receives dental care, which is generally not available to most veterans, even for those who receive VA healthcare. Sams holistic care offered through Medicaid has stabilized him enough to begin to look for permanent housing. Grieving the complicity of our own tradition within this history of hatred, moreover, we express our urgent desire to live out our faith in Jesus Christ with love and respect for the Jewish people. We recognize in anti-Semitism a contradiction and an affront to the Gospel, a violation of our hope and calling, and we pledge this church to oppose the deadly working of such bigotry, both within our own circles and in the society around us. Finally, we pray for the continued blessing of the Blessed One upon the increasing cooperation and understanding between Lutheran Christians and the Jewish community. In need of a broader solidarity #MeToo is an intersectional issue where gender, caste, and ethnicity all come into play One lane was open on Highway 93 between Ronan and St. Ignatius at around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday after a multiple-vehicle crash earlier closed the entire roadway, the Montana Department of Transportation said late Wednesday. Winter conditions have led to crashes across western Montana throughout the day. Highway 12 opened midafternoon Wednesday after a semi-truck crash shortly before noon on blocked both lanes of traffic west of Lolo Pass, according to MDT. MDT made the announcement reopening traffic on Highway 12 around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The roadways across most of Montana were snow- and ice-covered Wednesday morning, according to the MDT online road map. Much of western Montana remains under a winter weather advisory, according to the National Weather Service. Sgt. Shawn Smally with the Montana Highway Patrol said there were no injuries reported by late Wednesday afternoon, as most crashes had been slide-offs. "People are just driving too fast," he said. "It creates problems." The Lake County Commissioners see much to improve in their county's infrastructure: an event center, a stage upgrade at the county fairgrounds, a new detention and mental health center, a drug treatment facility, added courtroom space and a multimillion-dollar affordable housing complex. All were discussed at the Lake County Community Development Corp.'s annual Needs Assessment Hearing Tuesday. The purpose of todays meeting is specifically to identify community needs and the priorities for calendar year 2019, said Marie Hirsch, the Community Development Corp.s Business Center director. The Lake County Community Development Corp. serves as the Certified Regional Development Corp. for the states Western Rural Development Region, which covers Lake, Mineral and Sanders counties. In that role, it supports local organizations development efforts. At Tuesdays hearing, held in the Lake County Commissioners chambers, Hirsch and Billie Lee, the corporations interim executive director, discussed funding opportunities for infrastructure, housing and economic development. Geddes said wild claims about bison harming the environment have not been proven, noting that bison grazed the prairie area for thousands of years prior to the arrival of ranchers and cattle. Where the APR has been allowed to take down interior fences on its Sun Prairie unit that holds bison, Geddes said the group has met or exceeded BLM standards, partly because it does not stock the land to capacity. The discussion wasn't limited to bison, fences and grazing. Bartel said in part that the resolution is also needed to protect Montana farmers, ranchers and communities from disappearing. Geddes countered that the American Prairie Reserve is not the enemy of Montanas farm and ranch communities, pointing to one business it established to pay ranchers more for their beef if they support wildlife and wildlife habitat. Our goal is to help diversify the economy, Geddes said, adding that APR had pumped $5.7 million into the region. We are not the boogie man. Support At the rally, UM representatives praised the support in Helena for the "tuition buy-back," but they also advocated for pushing money for students who need the most financial support from $2 million back to $5 million, as originally proposed. "That is going to affect kids on our campus at UM," Welch said. By one estimate, according to Welch and Alex Butler, president of the Associated Students of the University of Montana, the reduction in state support from $5 million to $2 million means 800 fewer students at UM receive help. But Butler said UM students are the type of citizens and future members of society who embody the values of higher education. Martin Luther King Jr., expressed the ideals, he said: "The complete education gives one not only the power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate." For example, Butler pointed to Tommy Jensen, a senior at Missoula College on the brink of receiving the ASUM student service award. Jensen is studying sustainable construction, and he's not only getting an education in Montana, he's intent on working here and making the Treasure State a more sustainable place, Butler said. "We are asking the state of Montana to continue investing in students," Butler said. The assault charge against a former University of Montana Buddhism and yoga professor was dismissed last week after he made a restitution payment in the case. Bradley Stevens Clough, who is still under state probation, according to Department of Corrections records, was cleared of the charge on Feb. 20. Missoula County prosecutors filed to dismiss the case a day earlier. Missoula County Justice Court staff confirmed Clough had paid $295.99 in restitution on the case a week earlier. The former professor was charged with misdemeanor assault in September after he reportedly hit a bouncer in the stomach at the KettleHouse Amphitheater during a Jason Isbell concert. Clough became agitated when the bouncer tried removing him from the venue's private booths, according to charging records. It was just four months after Clough, 58 at the time, was sentenced to a 10-year probation term for pleading guilty to felony criminal endangerment related to a drunken driving incident. Associated Press Miami Beach Rep. Michael Grieco made the first go at legalizing recreational marijuana in Florida Tuesday, filing two separate bills that would legalize personal pot use and create an excise tax on the drug. HB 1117, co-sponsored by Orlando Democrat Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, would make recreational marijuana legal. The bill specifies that only those 21 or older could purchase the drug in no more than 2.5 ounces at a time and restricts smoking the drug to private places only. If someone were to smoke in public, according to the bill, they would face a $100 penalty. In the 58-page bill, Grieco and Smith also addresses the highly criticized vertical integration model, which by law requires medical marijuana treatment facilities to grow, process, market and sell their own goods. The bill says if passed, retail stores could buy, sell or deliver marijuana from another marijuana cultivation facility. The bill also mandates that 5 percent of the recreational marijuana revenues be given to the Department of Health to provide grants for peer-reviewed research on marijuana's beneficial uses and safety. HB 1119, which Grieco filed separately, creates an excise tax to charge growers $50 an ounce for marijuana that is sold or transferred from a marijuana cultivation facility. It also caps the application fee for a marijuana establishment license at $5,000. Considering the amount of pushback medical marijuana bills have already faced this session, these bills will likely face an uphill battle. House Speaker Jose Oliva has openly criticized smoking medicinal marijuana, and said efforts to legalize it was just some cover for getting access to recreational use. He pointed out that the drug is still illegal under federal law, and is still a concern because of its highly marketable quality. The recreational use of marijuana is currently legal in 10 states, with New Jersey soon to be the 11th. In 2018, Vermont became the first state to legalize marijuana for adult use through the legislative process. Grieco said even though he and Smith expect pushback on the bill, the language is "consistent with the will of the majority of Floridians." "We're going to see next year a majority of Floridians voting on this," Grieco said, referring to potential ballot initiatives. "Even if we get pushback, it continues the conversation. Its a conversation thats being had nationally. I expect some movement to be had federally, prior to the presidential election next year." In 2016, Grieco received $20,000 from marijuana entrepreneurs Rustin and Evan Kluge for a mayoral campaign fundraising operation the then-Miami Beach commissioner denied involvement with. That committee, called People for Better Leaders, raised more than $200,000 from Miami Beach developers, lobbyists, city vendors and residents in the run-up to the 2017 mayoral election. "Rep. Smith and I worked tirelessly to try to get the bill language perfect to ensure access, protect local decision making and create a revenue-generating structure for the state," Grieco said. Smith, who serves on the House Health Quality Subcommittee and has been vocal about legalizing smokeable medical marijuana, said he co-sponsored the bill because criminalizing adult use "just doesn't make any sense." "Theres no reason cannabis cant be regulated in ways similar to alcohol," he said. "No one is dying from cannabis overdoses but they are getting arrested and being given criminal records for no good reason ... We expect that its always going to be a tough legislative route, but thats not a reason to stop advocating for it." Gary Stein, of Clarity PAC, said while the bills do important work like move the program under-regulated industries and separate it from the medical program, it still has issues Stein says could be roadblocks. Stein points out that the excise tax imposed far too high and that the term recreational is a misnomer. He also thinks the Legislature needs to fix the medical marijuana program before it can move in this direction. This is a good legislative start and a way to open the discussion for the future, he said. But we still have to fix the medical program before we can move in this direction. Other states have hurt their med programs by rushing to adult use, and we need to be cautious that it doesnt happen here. Credit: CC0 Public Domain A new law quietly went into effect in January that requires health insurers to cover the cost of routine screening for prostate cancer, a measure aimed at encouraging more men to consider the benefits of being tested. New York is the only state in the country to pass a law that supports full insurance coverage of the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood test, which helps determine prostate cancer risk. The new law is the brainchild of a coalition of New York urologists and patient advocacy organizations that not only saw a need for the legislation, but over a two-year period made a case for the measure among legislators in Albany. "As far as physician practices go, we were in the lead," said Dr. Deepak Kapoor, president of Advanced Urology Centers, which has offices throughout Long Island and in New York City. "This is something that was done for the public good. We had lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who really linked arms together to make this happen," said Kapoor, a longtime advocate of PSA screening. "This is what happens with bipartisanship. It was also a great example of the private sector and nonprofit organizations working closely with legislators to make this happen." Hewlett-based 1 in 9 Long Island Breast Cancer Coalition was one of the leading advocacy groups to support the law, Kapoor said. As far as insurance coverage, New York now puts men's prostate screening on par with routine mammography, which under the Affordable Care Act became fully covered nationwide with the act's passage in 2010. Framers of the ACA didn't extend the same consideration to the PSA, despite the prevalence of prostate cancer in the United States and roughly similar costs for the two forms of cancer screening. A PSA exam averages between $60 and $80, while a mammogram can cost anywhere from $75 to as much as $250, but generally runs about $100, according to several local and national patient advocacy organizations. This is about removing barriers," Kapoor said of the law. Some men may have avoided screening because their insurance company required a copay. Others, Kapoor said, may have been wary of testing because of misinformation about the PSA's reliability. Despite criticism of the test, the PSA in the last few decades has dramatically changed the trajectory of care by offering screening, early detection and prostate cancer management, Kapoor said. The PSA is part of our armamentarium," he said of tools to help lower the risk of prostate cancer. "It's a gateway test. It isn't perfect and no one would say the PSA alone is a perfect instrument. But it is a tool of a skilled provider to determine if further testing is warranted." Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer in men, with more than 240,000 new diagnoses and 28,000 deaths in the United States annually. While no cancer screening is 100 percent accurate, Kapoor said the PSA has been fraught with controversy for years. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force discouraged screening in 2012 only to somewhat reverse itself last year. Seven years ago, the panelan independent committee of health experts empaneled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Servicesgave the PSA a grade of D. The committee makes recommendations on clinical preventive services, particularly screenings. In 2018, panelists issued their final recommendation, giving the PSA a grade of C for men between the ages of 55 and 69, noting those men should have a discussion with their doctors about the pros and cons of the test before undergoing screening. Committee members recommended against screening for men 70 and older, giving it a letter grade of D. For older men, they concluded that benefits of the test do not outweigh the "harms," which were defined as the anxiety produced by additional testing required in the event of a positive result. Older men are more likely to have slow-growing tumors that will not lead to their deaths. Men at average risk should consider screening, starting at age 50, Kapoor said, while African-American men and anyone with a family history of the disease should consider screening starting at age 40. Men of all ages should discuss the test with their doctors. Kapoorand other doctorssay it's better to know one's status than to be left in the dark. "I am totally in his camp on that," said Dr. Aaron Katz, chairman of urology at NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola. "I was trained as urologist at a time when there wasn't a way to screen for prostate cancer. I remember men coming in with extreme bony pain," Katz said of pain caused by prostate cancer that had spread to patients' bones by the time the cancer was recognized. We have to be smart about this," he said of screening. "We should not be putting our heads in the sand." Katz emphasized that just because a patient has an elevated PSA result does not mean he has cancer. And even if cancer is found, he said, the malignancy may be slow-growing and require what doctors refer to as active surveillance, a strategy in which the tumor is monitored over time. Some of Katz's patients have been under active surveillance for as long as 15 years. Kapoor also supports active surveillance, a strategy in which the PSA also plays a role. "The utility of the PSA is in how you use it over time, Kapoor said. "There's a variety of ways to use it. If you have an abnormal PSA, that's an invitation for further testing. We have the patient undergo additional evaluation and only when warranted do we proceed with a biopsy." Explore further Experts advise against routine testing for prostate cancer 2019 Newsday Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. In his own words: How a man whisked away gold from Indian smugglers Six months ago, Laxman Tiruwa landed a job as a driver in India. His task: to drive a car from New Delhi to Mizoram, an Indian state bordering Myanmar. All he was supposed to do was follow a couple of other cars travelling to and from the New Delhi-Mizoram route. In this June 27, 2013 file photo, Reggie Batiste, program manager with AIDS Healthcare Foundation, administers a free HIV test as part of National HIV Testing Day in Atlanta. Just three weeks after President Donald Trump launched a campaign to end the U.S. HIV epidemic by 2030, new data suggests shows has already stalled. Health officials on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, said that that after declining for several years, the estimated number of new HIV infections held about steady from 2013 to 2016. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) Three weeks after President Donald Trump announced a campaign to end the U.S. HIV epidemic by 2030, new government data show that progress against the disease stalled recently. After declining for several years, the estimated number of new HIV infections held about steady from 2013 to 2016, the latest available data, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. Health officials already knew HIV diagnoses had stopped declining. But that is a flawed measure, because in some cases people are not diagnosed until years after infection. This latest CDC report estimates how many new infections happen each year, whether they're diagnosed or not. And it too shows a stall. The new numbers show the government fell well short of previously set goals for reducing the spread of HIV by 2015, noted Dr. David Holtgrave, a longtime HIV expert who is dean of public health at the State University of New York at Albany. What does it say about the 2030 goal? CDC officials said there's reason to be optimistic, but Holtgrave said the new report and other data do not bode well. Barring new government funding of at least several billion dollars a year, "it's extremely unlikely that will occur," Holtgrave said. The report found: An estimated 38,700 new HIV infections occurred in the United States in 2016. Nearly 20,000 of those 2016 infections happened in the South. That's more than the combined total for the rest of the country. New infections have been dropping among many groups of people, including black women, those younger than 24 and gay white men. But there's no longer a decline in infections among people who inject drugs; it stopped declining in 2012. Experts believe the nation's opioid epidemic is to blame. Infections are rising among black and Latino gay men who are ages 25 to 34. That number grew 65 percent from 2010 to 2016, offsetting decreases in other groups. During his State of the Union speech earlier this month, Trump said he was launching a campaign to end HIV in the U.S. by 2030. Separately, federal health officials said the government hopes to reduce new infections by 90 percent over the next 10 years. The president did not say how much new money will be spent on the effort. CDC officials have calculated that as many as 130,000 new infections were happening each year in the mid-1980s, when the nation's AIDS epidemic took off. The count fell to around 50,000 in the mid-1990s. Explore further Study: HIV infections in US could be reduced by up to 67 percent by 2030 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Illustration showing adaptive and innate immune responses to live typhoid vaccine. Credit: University of Liverpool/Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine New research by the University of Liverpool and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine shows that vaccination with weakened strains of Salmonella may also protect against other infections. The researchers hope that the findings could impact vaccination strategy in the developing world, where infectious diseases are common and where broader protection could potentially save many lives. Typhoid fever is a bacterial bloodstream infection caused by Salmonella Typhi that is estimated to affect between 11-18 million people and cause between than 128,000-190,000 deaths annually worldwide. Published in the journal Science Advances, a new experimental study presents promising first data on the 'non-specific' immune response triggered by the live oral typhoid vaccine Ty21a. "Live-attenuated Salmonella vaccines are low-cost, well-tolerated and easily administered. These vaccines could potentially be included in global vaccination programmes, not just for their impact on Salmonella, but also for their off-target, non-specific beneficial effects," says lead author Dr. Shaun Pennington from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Previous evidence has suggested that some live-attenuated vaccines, such as those for measles and polio, can stimulate the human immune system to generate a wider protective response and lower all-cause mortality. In order to investigate whether Salmonella vaccines might offer similar protection, the researchers vaccinated a small group 16 healthy adults in the UK with the Ty21a vaccine and studied its impact on their immune system over the course of six months. Professor Melita Gordon explains the background and findings of the study 'Nonspecific effects of oral vaccination with live-attenuated Salmonella Typhi strain Ty21a.' Credit: Professor Melita Gordon They looked at immune responses targeting Salmonella as well as those targeting a range of other pathogens. The changes they observed to levels of infection-fighting white blood cells (monocytes) and immune system messengers (cytokines) suggest that Ty21a can strengthen the immune response against subsequent, unrelated infections. "The next step is to observe whether these responses also occur in children in low-income settings where their impact would be greatest. We'd like to conduct further clinical studies, where we will be able to assess the wider impact of our observations in conferring protection against other common infections, not just Salmonella," says Professor Melita Gordon from the University of Liverpool and Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme, who was the study's principal investigator. The researchers add that the ability to manipulate live-attenuated Salmonella so that they express components of other pathogens could make their findings particularly exciting for future 'vector vaccine' design. "Salmonella vector vaccines could provide Salmonella-specific protection, vectored-pathogen protection and non-specific protection, making live-attenuated Salmonella a hugely powerful 'triple threat' tool for global vaccine development," adds Professor Gordon. The paper 'Nonspecific effects of oral vaccination with live-attenuated Salmonella Typhi strain Ty21a' is published in Science Advances. Explore further Team develops an oral vaccine against Salmonella More information: S.H. Pennington el al., "Nonspecific effects of oral vaccination with live-attenuated Salmonella Typhi strain Ty21a," Science Advances (2019). Journal information: Science Advances S.H. Pennington el al., "Nonspecific effects of oral vaccination with live-attenuated Salmonella Typhi strain Ty21a,"(2019). advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/2/eaau6849 The GDNF delivery device. Credit: MintMotion for Passionate Productions Results from a pioneering clinical trials programme that delivered an experimental treatment directly to the brain offer hope that it may be possible to restore the cells damaged in Parkinson's. The multimillion-pound study, funded by Parkinson's UK with support from The Cure Parkinson's Trust and in association with the North Bristol NHS Trust, aimed to investigate whether boosting the levels of a naturally-occurring protein, Glial Cell Line Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF), can regenerate dying brain cells in people with Parkinson's and reverse their condition, which is something that no existing treatment can do. To get GDNF to the brain cells that need it, a specially designed delivery system was developed. In total, 41 participants underwent robot-assisted surgery to have four tubes carefully placed into their brains, which allowed GDNF to be infused directly to the affected brain areas with pinpoint accuracy, via a port in the side of their head. Six took part in the initial pilot study to assess the safety of the treatment approach. A further 35 people then participated in the nine-month double blind trial, where half were randomly assigned to receive monthly infusions of GDNF and the other half placebo infusions. After the initial nine months on GDNF or placebo, all participants had the opportunity to receive GDNF for a further nine months. While there were some encouraging signs of improvements in those receiving GDNF, disappointingly there was no significant difference between the active treatment group and those who received placebo on any assessments of Parkinson's symptoms. However, results from brain scans revealed extremely promising effects on damaged brain cells. All participants had brain scans before starting the trial and after nine months to assess how well their dopamine-producing brain cells were working. After nine months, there was no change in the scans of those who received placebo, whereas the group who received GDNF showed an improvement of 100% in a key area of the brain affected in the conditionoffering hope that the treatment was starting to reawaken and restore damaged brain cells. By 18 months, when all participants had received GDNF, both groups showed moderate to large improvements in symptoms compared to their scores before they started the study. This offers further encouragement that the treatment may have long-term beneficial effects but because everyone knew they were receiving the active treatment and there was no comparison group, these improvements need to be treated with caution. The findings from these ground-breaking trials are published today in Brain and the Journal of Parkinson's Disease. The trial also features in an upcoming two-part documentary series for BBC TwoThe Parkinson's Drug Trial: A Miracle Cure? Dr. Alan Whone, Principal Investigator on the GDNF trial, said: "The spatial and relative magnitude of the improvement in the brain scans is beyond anything seen previously in trials of surgically delivered growth-factor treatments for Parkinson's. This represents some of the most compelling evidence yet that we may have a means to possibly reawaken and restore the dopamine brain cells that are gradually destroyed in Parkinson's. "Its failure to produce the same effect on symptoms could be for a number of reasons. It may be that the effects on symptoms lag behind the improvement in the brain scans, so a longer double-blind trial may have produced a clearer effect. "It's also possible that a higher dose of GDNF would have been more effective, or that participants at an earlier stage of the condition would have responded better. "This is why it's essential to continue research exploring this treatment furtherGDNF continues to hold potential to improve the lives of people with Parkinson's." Dr. Arthur Roach, Director of Research at Parkinson's UK, said: "While the results are not clear-cut, the study has still been a resounding success. It has advanced our understanding of the potential effects of GDNF on damaged brain cells, shown that delivering a therapy in this way is feasible and that it is possible to deliver drugs with precision to the brain. Trial participant Tom Phipps. Credit: Parkinson's UK "All the partners involvedincluding the scientific team, companies, charities and patientsare continuing to work together to explore possible routes to further studies. It is vital that we learn everything we can from these recent trials and we're keen to work with both the wider research community and people affected by Parkinson's so that any future trials have the very best chance of success." Trial participant Tom Phipps, 63, from Bristol, was the first person to undergo the pioneering surgery. He said: "Clinical trials around Parkinson's are so important because it's a condition that's not going to go away unless people do proper research. Being a scientist myselfI'm a graduate of biological sciencesI wanted to contribute. "During the trial I noticed an improvement in my mobility and energy levels, and I was even able to reduce my medication. Since it ended, I have slowly increased my medication but I still ride my bike, dig my allotment and chair the local branch of Parkinson's UK. "My outcome was as positive as I could have wished for, I feel the trial brought me some time and has delayed the progress of my condition. "The best part was absolutely being part of a group of people who've got a similar goalnot only the team of consultants and nurses, but also the participants. "You can't have expectationsyou can only have hope." Professor Steven Gill, lead neurosurgeon and designer of the device, commented: "This trial has shown that we can safely and repeatedly infuse drugs directly into patient's brains over months or years through a small implanted port that emerges through the skin behind the ear. This is a significant breakthrough in our ability to treat neurological conditions, such as Parkinson's because most drugs that might work cannot cross from the blood stream into the brain due to a natural protective barrier. "Even at a low dose we have seen evidence of patient improvement, which is incredibly encouraging. Now we need to move towards a definitive clinical trial using higher doses and this work urgently needs funding. I believe that this approach could be the first neuro-restorative treatment for people living with Parkinson's which is, of course, an extremely exciting prospect." Helen Matthews, Deputy CEO at The Cure Parkinson's Trust, said: "It is fantastic to see these encouraging results. This was an extremely complex trial delivered with thanks to the dedication of the entire trial team of participants, researchers, industry and charities. "The Cure Parkinson's Trust has been involved in and has championed the GDNF story since 2003 through the commitment and determination of the charity's late co-founder and president Tom Isaacs. "These results, particularly the brain scans show that GDNF, delivered with Convection Enhanced Delivery, has promise as a potential treatment to slow, stop or even reverse Parkinson's. However, it is critical we now concentrate on how to best support moving GDNF forward, to understand if it can be a viable treatment to potentially regenerate dopamine cells and impact the lives of people living with Parkinson's." Dr. Erich Mohr, Chairman and CEO of MedGenesis, the biotechnology company who owns GDNF, commented: "While the results are not as clear cut as would have been desirable, when you look more closely there are exciting signs of promise for Parkinson's. "In particular, when the scores on three of the key assessments are combinedmotor response, activities of daily living and good quality "on timeit reveals a highly significant difference between the treatment and placebo groups. We believe this experimental Parkinson's Disease Composite Response (PDCORE) may better capture the full effects of GDNF and we're working to get it scientifically validated so that it can be used in future trials." Paul Skinner, General Manager for Neurological Products at Renishaw, the engineering company which developed and built the device, said: "It has been a privilege to work alongside the study team and with the participants in this ambitious trial. "We are very encouraged that there were changes in the brain scans, demonstrating that GDNF is having an effect, and that the delivery system achieved precision administration of drugs into the brain. "This provides great potential for using the drug delivery system, being developed by Renishaw, for future Parkinson's studies and experimental treatments for other neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumours." Explore further Neurotrophic factor GDNF is an important regulator of dopamine neurons in the brain More information: 'Extended Treatment with Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Parkinson's Disease' - published in Journal of Parkinson's Disease. dx.doi.org/10.3233/JPD-191576 'Extended Treatment with Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Parkinson's Disease' - published in 'Randomised trial of intermittent intraputamenal glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor in Parkinson's disease' - published in Brain: A Journal of Neurology. Journal information: Brain , Journal of Parkinson's Disease Provided by Parkinson's UK Catalan paramedics were among those demonstrating the advantages of 5G wireless technology, in their case in their ambulance Telemedicine has gone way beyond conference calls: new technologies allow doctors to monitor blood pressure and other vital signstake x-rays evenand assist with operations from miles away. Wireless technology is moving "healthcare outside of clinics and hospitals", said Pamela Spence, health sciences market leader at Ernst & Young, at the Mobile World Congress trade fair in Barcelona. And that is making it easier to provide in remote areas, she added. Participants at the mobile industry's biggest annual global event discussed how telemedicine is doing more than just connecting doctors and patients over a video or voice call. A telemedicine cabin developed by French firm Health for Humanity (H4D) allows a doctor hundreds of miles away from a patient measure their pulse rate, temperature and blood oxygen level. The cabindubbed the Consult Stationis also equipped with tools that allow a doctor to carry out X-rays and hearing tests. Dozens of Consult Stations have so far been installed in France, Italy and Portugal and H4D is carrying out pilot projects in Canada, the United States, the Philippines and Dubai. But training doctors on how to carry out a clinical exam remotely is "crucial" to the success of the service, said HD4 founder and president Franck Baudino. They have to learn how guide the patient through the process. Doctors were initially wary of the idea of telemedicine cabins when the company was founded in 2008 but have since warmed to them, he added. "Ten years ago people looked at me as if I were an alien," said Baudino, a French doctor who worked in remote African communities. "Today people still think we are avant-garde but the big difference is that 10 years ago we were talking about the future, today it is systems that are already being used." 'Proven itself ' Market research firm Forrester predicts there will be more virtual visits to healthcare providers in the United States than in-person visits by the end of 2020. "Up until this point there has been relatively slow growth in the telemedicine market," said Jeff Becker, a health care IT expert at Forrester. 5G technology means images and data are relayed almost instantly: vital for improving telemedicine "We do think it has proven itself in these early years and that we are going to see broad adoption." The arrival of blazing fast 5G wireless networks, which telecoms operators are starting to roll out, opens up new possibilities for telemedicinesuch as surgeries performed by remotely controlled robots. Spanish doctor Antonio de Lacy carried out the world's first 5G-power telemonitored operation on Wednesday from the Barcelona trade fair grounds. He provided real-time guidance via a 5G video link to a surgical team operating on a patient with an intestinal tumour about five kilometres (three miles) away at the Hospital Clinic. "This is a first step to achieve our dream, which is to make remote operations in the near future," said de Lacy. Doctors have performed surgeries in the past using wireless networks. What 5G does is increase image quality and definition, crucial for medical teams to take decisions with as much information as possible and reduce the risk of mistakes. This next-level cellular networks also greatly reduces latencythe time it takes to get a response to information sentof wireless networks. That means images and data are relayed almost instantly. 'Room to grow' Telemedicine could be especially important in developing nations. Gifted Mom, a text-messaging service and app, gives women in out-of-the way rural communities across Cameroon free health advice from doctors. By 2020, it expects to reduce the number of women who die during childbirth in the African country by at least 70 percent. Even if many patients are still more comfortable being treated face-to-face, the use of telemedicine will "definitely" continue, said Michael Barnett, a professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston who has studied the new techniques. "The question is where it will plateau," he added. "Use is still pretty uncommon, so it still has plenty of room to grow." Explore further Doctor performs first 5G surgery in step towards robotics 'dream' 2019 AFP A study led by researchers at RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) has analysed the pattern of skin cancer rates in kidney transplant patients, which suggests the increased risk is related to the anti-rejection medications. The research is published in JAMA Dermatology and was a collaboration between the National Cancer Registry Ireland and the National Kidney Transplant Service in Beaumont Hospital. Patients who receive a kidney transplant are at increased risk of cancer, in particular skin cancer. The study found that this skin cancer risk falls when the transplant fails and the patients return to dialysis but rises again when they receive another transplant. However, the rate of skin cancer is still higher in patients with failed transplants than pre-transplant patients on dialysis. Due to this pattern of skin cancer rates, the data suggests that the cancer risk is related to the stopping and starting of anti-rejection medications. "In recipients of multiple kidney transplants, the incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancer fell during periods defined by transplant failure, but there was still an elevated risk. The incidence of cancer overall highlights the need for continued cancer surveillance during graft failure," said the study's lead author Dr. Donal Sexton, Department of Nephrology and Kidney Transplantation, Beaumont Hospital, RCSI. The study analysed the rates of cancer in 3,821 individual deceased and living kidney transplant recipients. Of the patients analysed, 3,215 recipients had one transplant, 522 recipients a second; and 84 recipients had three kidney transplants. During the patient's first kidney transplant, the rate of skin cancer rose 15 times higher than before the procedure. That skin cancer rate fell by half when the transplant failed and the patient returned to dialysis; however, the rate was still seven times higher than the pre-transplant patient's rate. When they received a second transplant, the rate of skin cancer rose again to 12.8 times more than pre-transplant rate. "Our study has provided a comprehensive analysis of cancer risk over multiple kidney transplants in the same individuals. However, the retrospective nature of the analysis makes it difficult to capture the effect of the lag between exposure, cancer development, presentation, and diagnosis, and which may vary by treatment period," said Professor Peter Conlon, Associate Professor of Medicine at RCSI. Explore further Kidney failure patients face higher risk of cancer death More information: Donal J. Sexton et al, Variation in Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Incidence by Treatment Modality Among Patients Receiving Multiple Kidney Transplants, JAMA Dermatology (2019). Journal information: JAMA Dermatology Donal J. Sexton et al, Variation in Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Incidence by Treatment Modality Among Patients Receiving Multiple Kidney Transplants,(2019). DOI: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2018.4660 Provided by RCSI This Feb. 6, 2015, file photo shows a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine on a countertop at a pediatrics clinic in Greenbrae, Calif. The U.S. has counted more measles cases in the first two months of this year than in all of 2017and part of the rising threat is misinformation that makes some parents balk at a crucial vaccine, federal health officials told Congress Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019 .(AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File) The U.S. has counted more measles cases in the first two months of this year than in all of 2017and part of the rising threat is misinformation that makes some parents balk at a crucial vaccine, federal health officials told Congress Wednesday. Yet the vaccine is hugely effective and very safeso the rise of measles cases "is really unacceptable," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, infectious disease chief at the National Institutes of Health. The disease was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, which means it was not being spread domestically. But cases have been rising in recent years, and 2019 is shaping up to be a bad one. Republican and Democratic lawmakers at the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing bemoaned what's called "vaccine hesitancy," meaning when people refuse or delay vaccinations. "These outbreaks are tragic since they're completely avoidable," said Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky. "This is a public health problem for which science has already provided a solution," agreed Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J. Here are some questions and answers about measles: Q: How dangerous is measles? A: Measles typically begins with a high fever, and several days later a characteristic rash appears on the face and then spreads over the body. Among serious complications, 1 in 20 patients get pneumonia, and 1 in 1,000 get brain swelling that can lead to seizures, deafness or intellectual disability. While it's rare in the U.S., 1 or 2 of every 1,000 children who get measles dies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Q: How does it spread? A: By coughing or sneezing, and someone can spread the virus for four days before the telltale rash appears, Fauci warned. The virus can live for up to two hours in the air or on nearby surfaces. Nine of 10 unvaccinated people who come into contact with someone with measles will catch it. Fauci called it "one of the most contagious viruses known to man." Q: How widespread is measles? A: In the U.S., the CDC has confirmed 159 cases so far this year in 10 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. That compares to 372 cases last year, and 120 in 2017. But measles is far more common around the worldthe World Health Organization said it claimed 110,000 lives in 2017. The WHO says there's been a 30 percent increase in measles cases in recent years. Unvaccinated Americans traveling abroad, or foreign visitors here, can easily bring in the virus. For example, a huge outbreak in Madagascar has caused more than 68,000 illnesses and 900 deaths since September. But you don't need to go as far as Madagascarcommon tourist destinations like England, France, Italy and Greece had measles outbreaks last year, noted CDC's Dr. Nancy Messonnier. Nearly 83,000 people contracted measles in Europe in 2018, the highest number in a decade. Q: How many U.S. children are vulnerable? A: Overall about 92 percent of U.S. children have gotten the combination vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella, known as the MMR vaccine. Two shots are required, one around the first birthday and a second between age 4 and 6. Full vaccination is 97 percent effective at preventing measles. But the CDC says 1 in 12 children doesn't receive the first dose on time, and in some places vaccination rates are far lower than the national average. For example, an outbreak in Washington state is linked to a community where only about 80 percent of children were properly vaccinated. Q: Is the vaccine safe? A: Yes, said Fauci and Messonnier, who point to decades of use by millions of children each yearand who made sure their own children were vaccinated. In the late 1990s, one study linked MMR vaccine to autism but that study was found to be a fraud, and Fauci said later research found no risk of autism from the vaccine. Still, misinformation about MMR safety is widespread. Fauci said the solution isn't to criticize people who have no way to know what's false. Instead, "we need to education them to show them what the evidence is." Q: Why isn't everyone vaccinated? A: Some people can't be immunized for medical reasonsincluding infants and people with weak immune systemsand most states allow religious exemptions. But while vaccination against a list of contagious diseases is required to attend school, 17 states allow some type of non-medical exemption for "personal, moral or other beliefs," according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In Washington state, lawmakers are debating ending that personal or philosophical exemption, as are several other states. California ended a similar exemption in 2015 after a measles outbreak at Disneyland sickened 147 people and spread across the U.S. and into Canada. Explore further US health experts say measles resurgence 'unacceptable' 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. he tsetse fly transmits a parasite that can be lethal to both humans and animals, especially cattle. Credit: International Atomic Energy Agency via Wikimedia Commons The tsetse fly has wreaked devastation across large swaths of sub-Saharan Africa. About the size of a housefly, the insect transmits a parasite that can be lethal to both humans (sleeping sickness) and animals (nagana)especially cattle. In many countries of the sub-Sahara, there are large regions where farmers cannot raise cattle; most eventually die as a result of infection caused by the trypanosomiasis parasite. And if farmers take the risk of raising cattle, they must live with the constant fear that their livestock will be infected by the parasite. The tsetse has caused many farmers to lose their livelihoods as well as an essential source of nutrition for their villages. Across the whole of sub-Saharan Africa, cattle deaths from trypanosomiasis can cause billions of dollars of production and economic losses. One Columbia team is therefore pioneering a machine learning-based imaging and sorting solution that aims to drastically reduce Africa's tsetse population. The solution, which allows for the sorting of male and female tsetse flies, was discovered by Zelda Moran, now a researcher at the Center for Sustainable Development within Columbia's Earth Institute. While working as an intern at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Moran first used near-infrared light to peer inside the pupae of tsetse flies to determine their sex. Her novel sorting techniquewhich involves placing the pupae under a microscope and using near-infrared light to photograph themis designed to support the sterile insect technique, which the IAEA has used to eradicate tsetse populations in Zanzibar and other countries. The sterilizing technique uses irradiation to render large numbers of male flies infertile. The flies are then released into breeding grounds, where they mate with female flies. Since the females usually mate only once in a lifetime, the unfertilized mating will drastically reduce the tsetse population and help eliminate the spread of the disease, enabling farmers to more safely raise livestock. As it is, though, fly-production labs use a manual and time-consuming technique to sort the flies by sex. The sorting solution pioneered by the Columbia team, once refined, will enable the labs to sort the flies faster and more efficiently and on a larger scale. This enhancement will allow the labs to ship a higher number of sterile flies, in earlier stages of their life cycles, out to the sub-Saharan breeding grounds. This innovative research project was born out of a chance encounter. Four years ago, Moran and Szabolcs Marka met at the IAEA in Vienna. They were both interested in finding high-tech solutions to public-health problems, and soon found themselves discussing how to use machine-vision methods to combat the tsetse fly infestation. After Moran finished her internship at IAEA and later moved to New York, she teamed up with the Marka lab at Columbia. In that lab, Szabolcs Marka, an astrophysicist with an expertise in biophysics, and Zsuzsa Marka, an experimental physicist, had previously collaborated on insect behavior research, including how to mitigate malaria mosquitoes and fruit flies. The Markas' expertise in optics, hardware instrumentation and electronics has also been used successfully in biophysics and astrophysics applications. Most prominently, they are members of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, a consortium of scientists who worked on the instrument that in 2015 detected gravitational wavesa discovery that resulted in scientists at LIGO winning the Nobel Prize. John Wright, the fourth member of this research team, is an electrical engineer who does high-dimensional data analysis and develops algorithms to solve imaging problemsin this case, the pupae images. Wright and the Markas are also affiliates of Columbia's Data Science Institute. Together, the team aims to develop a sorting-machine prototype that can process tens of thousands of pupae images a day. Right now, the four are focused on amassing large numbers of pupae images that will be used to train a machine-learning algorithm. At the same time, they are also designing a robot that can sort the pupae based on the result of the algorithm. Once the robot can process a large number of images with high accuracy, they will send it to the IAEA, which will use it to sort the male flies, irradiate them and release them in Africa. "We'll use data science to create a machine learning-based automated system that can quickly determine from a tsetse pupae if it's male or female," says Zsuzsa Marka. "And that system will be the basis for a robotic sorting machine that we hope will eventually be used in sub-Saharan Africa to mitigate the scourge of the tsetse fly." Explore further The eradication of the tsetse fly will boost the livestock sector in Senegal Provided by Earth Institute, Columbia University This story is republished courtesy of Earth Institute, Columbia University http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu. Vassiliki Papadimitrakopoulou, M.D. Credit: MD Anderson Cancer Center A multi-center study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center revealed that a liquid biopsy test called Guardant360, is comparable to standard tissue biopsies in detection of guideline recommended biomarkers in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), has a faster turn-around time, and has the potential to support identification of more patients who can be treated with targeted therapy. The study findings are significant given that 30 percent of lung cancers can be treated successfully with molecular-targeted therapies, which often yield higher response rates than chemotherapy. Trial results were shared during a media preview of the AACR Annual Meeting 2019, to be held March 29-April 3, in Atlanta. The multi-institutional trial was led by Vassiliki Papadimitrakopoulou, M.D., professor of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology. "When choosing therapy for patients with NSCLC, it is vital that we know which patients have gene mutations that often respond to molecular therapies. The response rates can be up to 30 percent higher than with chemotherapy or immunotherapy, said Papadimitrakopoulou, "In the past, our only option to test for mutations was to rely on tissue-biopsy-based testing, which can be invasive, have serious complications, is time-consuming and often not adequate to test for all relevant targetable mutations." In this comprehensive liquid biopsy study conducted at several participating institutions, Guardant360 employed cell-free tumor DNA (cfDNA) in blood to test for mutations in 282 patients. The test detected seven known predictive biomarkers including genomic alterations in ROS1, BRAF, RET, MET, ALK, EGFR and ERBB2, and one prognostic biomarker, KRAS mutations. Standard tissue sampling detected at least one of predictive biomarkers in 60 patients, while Guardant360 identified biomarkers in 77 patients. Among the remaining 193 patients who did not have one of the seven biomarkers, the liquid biopsy test found the KRAS mutation in 92 patients, compared to 24 patients with standard tissue sampling. Therapies specifically targeting EGFR, ALK, ROS1 and BRAF gene mutations or fusions are already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "We know that guideline-recommended testing is normally completed in only 8 percent of patients with NSCLC," said Papadimitrakopoulou. "This does not provide all the crucial information for physicians to make an informed therapy decision. This study shows that a highly sensitive and specific liquid biopsy should be part of the standard of care for these patients." The study reported a median turn-around time from test order to final results of nine days for the liquid biopsy test, compared to 15 days for tissue-based testing. "Given that advanced NSCLC is often fatal, it is important we get patients on treatment at the earliest possible time," said Papadimitrakopoulou. "Our findings show that we can greatly reduce the amount of time between testing and initiation of therapy." The study's limitations included that the test was compared to the standard-of-care tissue genotyping test and not the tissue-based next-generation sequencing test. The study results were applicable only to the Guardant360 test and not to other liquid biopsy tests. The study incorporates analysis of patient outcomes that will be separately reported at a later date. Explore further Blood test identifies more treatable cancer mutations than tissue biopsy alone First lady Jackie Kennedy with twins Debbie and Donna Horst in 1961. Photo: Robert Knudsen, White House Photographs. WEDNESDAY, Feb. 27, 2019 (American Heart Association News)On Feb. 1, 1961, twins Debbie and Donna Horst arrived at the White House to fanfare. The 6-year-olds, decked out in fancy dresses and satin sashes, found themselves surrounded by a pressing crowd and a sea of blinding flashbulbs as they made their way to see Jacqueline Kennedy. The girlsboth born with holes in their aortaswere meeting with the first lady to kick off a national campaign to raise awareness about congenital heart defects. "There were hundreds of reporters because this was Jacqueline Kennedy' first public act as first lady," Debbie said. She recalls being startled when the reporters asked Mrs. Kennedy if they could move in closer. "It was frightening because they all jumped at us at once." The Pennsylvania twins, just a few weeks from turning 7, were among the first "Heart Fund Sweethearts" in the campaign to raise money as well as awareness. The month before, they'd met up with Micki and Patricia Gane, also of Pennsylvania, and Jackie and Jeri Pelletieri of New Jersey, at the U.S. Capitol Building. All but one of the six were born with a hole in their heart at the time, a devastating diagnosis. More than 50 years later, the four surviving Sweethearts share their unforgettable childhood stories. Debbie and Donna When Debbie and Donna were born in 1954 in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, they experienced seizures and turned blue, leading doctors to conclude they each had a hole in their aortas. The hole is supposed to close before birth. Otherwise, getting enough oxygen to the blood is a problem. The condition could be repaired with surgery at age 5. "Sixty years ago, it was major surgery," Debbie said. "We didn't go to kindergarten, because of a risk of infection from the other kids." After their surgeries in 1959, the girls' parents were asked if the girls could be "poster sweethearts" for an American Heart Association campaign about congenital heart defects. Fast-forward to that February day in 1961. President John F. Kennedy' inauguration was just 12 days before, and the press was clamoring to capture the first lady' first public act. Debbie and Donna remember being escorted into her office amid the chaos. "She was so soft-spoken and kind," Debbie recalled. "She asked my mom how to tell us apart, and she told Mrs. Kennedy the story of me cutting my own hair in the front, so mine was a little shorter than Donna'." The girls gave the first lady a gift of heart-shaped flowers and dolls wearing the same dresses they wore baby blue with red hearts to give to her daughter, Caroline. Kennedy gave Debbie and Donna heart charms with her initials and their initials. "I still have that charm today on my charm bracelet," Debbie said. Today, Debbie' a medical receptionist in Yardley, Pennsylvania, and is married to her high school sweetheart, John Deeney. They have three children and five grandchildren. Donna eventually married, and she and her husband, Lenny Jachimowicz, had two children, Nicole and Raymond. The family lived in Virginia when Donna died from cardiac arrest in 1998 at age 44. It wasn't related to her congenital heart defect, but it was rooted in an undiagnosed heart problem, Debbie said. "When I lost Donna, it was like I lost my right arm," Debbie said. "But I have a lot of faith in God." Patricia and Micki Patricia, whose last name is now Olekszyk, was the only one of the six Sweethearts with a normally functioning heart. But she was very involved in the world of heart disease. "When your sibling, especially a twin, is going through something this impactful, you feel it almost as much," Patricia said. Micki had surgery at age 5. The hospital stay was long four months. But when she got out, she had energy to spare, jumping fearlessly in piles of leaves, Patricia recalled. While only Debbie and Donna met Jacqueline Kennedy, all six girls visited the U.S. Capitol and met then-Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. "He saw what all of these little girls were going through, and what their families were going through, and I guess he just couldn't let it go overlooked," Patricia said. Today, Patricia is married with a 29-year-old son. She teaches karate and self-defense and is the Delaware state champion for powerlifting and bench press for her age group. Micki eventually married Jim Gaffney. She was a fan of Scottish country dancing and raising funds for projects she cared about, such as heart health. But Micki struggled with health problems. She suffered from chronic pain after a car accident and died in her sleep in 2016. "I miss her, but at the same time, I feel like she never left," Patricia said. Jackie and Jeri Jackie and Jeri were well-known in their town of Milton, New Jersey, even before they went to Washington. In addition to all the concerns about their condition and the upcoming surgery, their family was trying to rally their hometown to make sure they had enough blood for the procedure. They needed 48 pints of rare O-negative. Ads were placed in the local newspaper. One headline proclaimed, "100 donors helped twins facing knife." Their mom' reaction matched the headline' drama she was terrified. So, she told the 5-year-old girls they were just getting their tonsils out. The girls survived the lie, the surgery and long stints cooped up at the hospital and home. From their kitchen cots, Jackie and Jeri "operated" on their dolls, crayoning scars down the plastic chests. When they went to Washington in 1961, they too met Johnson. A photo famously shows all the Sweethearts circling him while he clutched a large heart made of flowers. They recall his kindness and the letters he sent afterward; he said meeting them had been good for his heart. Just a few years later, in 1964, Johnson would issue the first-ever national proclamation declaring February as American Heart Month to raise national awareness about heart disease. The tradition has continued ever since. Today the sisters both live in Milton. Jackie Meller is retired after many years of waitressing. She has been married 23 years and has three children and five grandchildren. Jeri Wyse is a board assembler for Hubble, where she' worked for 40 years. The family has seen some health scares. Twelve years ago, Jeri needed a stent. Eight years later, a quivering heartbeat required treatment. More recently, a cousin' young son had surgery for a hole in his heart. His hospital stay was a few days, and Jeri couldn't help but to note how much less fuss and drama there was compared to her day. "It' amazing what they can do for your heart today," Jeri said. Explore further Mortality still high after surgery for congenital heart defects American Heart Association News covers heart and brain health. Not all views expressed in this story reflect the official position of the American Heart Association. Copyright is owned or held by the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved. If you have questions or comments about this story, please email editor@heart.org. Scanning electromicrograph of an HIV-infected T cell. Credit: NIAID The review, published in Nature, outlines how healthcare workers in low-income countries, like those in sub-Saharan Africa, could use existing smartphones to diagnose, track and control infectious diseases in low-income countries. There are already initiatives focused on using established mobile technologies like text messages and calls to connect healthcare workers and patients to each other, and to test results. This new review by researchers from Imperial, Karolinska Institute, UCL, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Africa Health Research Institute, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says that smartphones could also help enable people to test themselves, and get results and support in their own homes. This would make it easier for people to look after their own healthparticularly in rural regions, where clinics can be too far away to travel. In addition, patients worried about a potential HIV infection might be more inclined to get tested if they could do it at home and avoid the stigma of attending a clinic. Many smartphones have sensors built in that could aid diagnosis, such as a heart rate monitor and an oximeter, as well as a camera and microphone that can be used to analyse images and sounds like a person's breathing. In addition, simple testing technologies are being developed that can be linked into a phone, via a USB stick or wirelessly. In theory, a person could test themselves using an easy to collect sample, such as a pinprick of blood, and the results would be scanned onto mobile apps. The apps would send the results to local clinics before being uploaded to a central online databaseinstead of patients having to attend in person. Lead author Professor Molly Stevens, from Imperial's Departments of Bioengineering and Materials, said: "People increasingly use smartphones to manage their money and connect with the world. It makes sense that phones can also play an even larger role in healthcare than they already do." The bigger picture Smartphones are increasingly used in sub-Saharan Africa. By 2020, one in two mobile phone connections in the region will be via smartphonea similar figure to worldwide smartphone adoption. The researchers say this presents a prime opportunity to harness the existing technology where clinics in rural areas can be scarce. Approaches outlined in the review include apps that use the phone's camera to interpret test results, send findings to local clinics or healthcare workers, and host virtual follow-up appointments with healthcare workers. The authors say these approaches might help increase rates of disease testing in regions with limited facilities. Combined, the test results would build a picture of symptoms across a region to help predict and fight current and future outbreaks. Health on the move Co-author Dr. Chris Wood, who conducted the work at Imperial's Department of Materials and Sweden's Karolinska Institute, said: "By developing mobile health interventions, we address a number of challenges in healthcare and public education. Connected diagnostic tests for diseases have the ability to improve and build on these in new and exciting ways." The authors add that these ideas are not without challenges. Although rapid technological advances have improved access to testing, more than 35 per cent of the world has no access to mobile phones. It is also easier to accurately collect and analyse samples in a healthcare setting, where there are trained staff and the environment is designed to be sterile, than in a person's home. Safeguarding measures must be put in place to protect privacy and confidentiality of patient data, the authors say. These measures must also be fully explained to users to build trust in and encourage adoption of these new healthcare services. Still, the report's authors remain optimistic. As of 2016, global smartphone adoption has reached 51 per cent and is predicted to keep growingparticularly in resource limited settings such as sub-Saharan Africa. This means more and more of the world's population is equipped with a powerful pocket computer that can connect patients and share healthcare data. Professor Stevens said: "This is an exciting opportunity for researchers and policy makers to develop new tools and systems that could drastically improve human health and wellbeing in the future." "Taking connected mobile-health diagnostics of infectious diseases to the field" by Christopher S. Wood, Michael R. Thomas, Jobie Budd, Tivani P. Mashamba-Thompson, Kobus Herbst, Deenan Pillay, Rosanna W. Peeling, Anne M. Johnson, Rachel A. McKendry, & Molly M. Stevens, published 28 February 2019 in Nature. Explore further Bedside tests for syphilis and yaws tested in sub-Saharan Africa More information: Taking connected mobile-health diagnostics of infectious diseases to the field, Nature (2019). www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-0956-2 Journal information: Nature Taking connected mobile-health diagnostics of infectious diseases to the field,(2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-0956-2 Ilam sets up red panda breeding centre Sandakpur Rural Municipality in Ilam district has set up a red panda breeding centre in Tappu area at ward no 1, 2 and 3 for the pandas conservation. An electron micrograph of the measles virus. Credit: CDC/ Courtesy of Cynthia S. Goldsmith US public health experts sounded the alarm Wednesday over a resurgence of measles in recent years, principally in communities where people reject vaccinations and obtain exemptions for religious or "personal" reasons. Six outbreaks of the disease have been reported in the United States since January 1, totalling 159 cases, in the states of Washington, Colorado and New York. Since 2000, between 50 or several hundred cases have been reported a year, even though the highly contagious disease was declared eradicated at the start of the century. Its return is "really unacceptable," said Antony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, during a congressional hearing. "We need to get to zero." The virus is one of the most contagious known. It can linger in a room or on a surface for up to two hours after the infected person has left. In most American measles epidemics, the virus has been imported by travelers returning to the United States, the disease being highly active in many other countries. It then propagates among un-vaccinated people, who tend to live close to each other. "There are pockets of people who are vaccine hesitant," Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), told the lawmakers. In the past five years, 12 of the 26 US measles epidemicsan epidemic is defined as more than five people infectedoccurred in "close knit communities," she said. Three quarters of the cases are concentrated in such communities. Examples include an outbreak in the Somali community in Minnesota in 2017, and in the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn last year. Disinformation Disinformation about vaccines is a factor, the experts stressed, blaming social networks for spreading false information about the risks of vaccination. Recently, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest, under pressure from Congress, announced measures to block anti-vaccine content. The MMR vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella is "incredibly safe," Messonnier said. Since it was created in the 1960s, millions and millions of doses have been administered, with sore arms the most frequent side effect. "We are a victim of our own success," said Messonnier. As the number of measles cases has dropped by 99 percent since the 1960s, parents have become less attentive to the risks posed by the disease. Measles once claimed 400 to 500 lives a year in the United States. Besides fever, tiny red spots and other symptoms, complications from the disease include ear infections (1 in 10 cases); pneumonia (1 in 20 cases); and encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain (1 in 1,000 cases). To obtain "herd immunity"in which unvaccinated people are protected by the high proportion of others who are vaccinatedrequires vaccinating between 92 and 95 percent of the population, Fauci said. The national rate of vaccination for children is at about that level, but there are big disparities among states, and from one city or school to another. The exemptions The most flagrant example of that is Clark County, a jurisdiction just north of Portland, Oregon, where 65 of 159 cases of measles in the United States are concentrated. Fifteen years ago, 96 percent of five-year-old students in the county were vaccinated against measles. In the 2017-2018 school year, the proportion had fallen to 84 percent. In some schools, especially private schools, the MMR vaccination rate was as low as 20 or 30 percent. Washington state lawmakers have reacted by advancing legislation that would eliminate exemptions for personal or philosophical reasons. The opt-out for religious reasons would remain. Other states are also considering similar action. In the United States, only three of the 50 statesCalifornia, Mississippi and West Virginiaallow exemptions only for medical reasons. Explore further US debates exemptions for child vaccination rules 2019 AFP The electroencephalogram records the electrical activity of the brain in a non-invasive way using 256 electrodes placed on the scalp. Thanks to mathematical algorithms combined with anatomical imaging, we can see what is happening in the deepest part of our brain, without having to enter it directly. Credit: UNIGE The subcortical areas of the brain, situated in its deepest reaches, remain a mystery. Scientists are aware of the critical role they play in motor, emotional and associative activity but do not know precisely how they work. A number of serious diseases are directly linked to these areas, including Parkinson's, Tourette syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD). Existing treatments for regulating and measuring the activity of the subcortical areas are highly invasive, and sometimes work without us really knowing how. Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, and Cologne University (Germany) decided to see whether a non-invasive method electroencephalography (EEG) could be employed in tandem with mathematical algorithms to measure this brain activity externally. They proved for the first time that this technique is able to record signals usually only seen by implanting electrodes in the brain. The results, published in Nature Communications, pave the way for new, precision clinical applications. It is very difficult to study and get close to the subcortical areas, which are located in the deepest part of the brain. We know that two key structures in these areas, the thalamus and nucleus accumbens, communicate with each other and the cortex to control motor, emotional and associative activation (higher-level thinking) via electrical oscillations. "A dysfunction in this communication causes very serious diseases in humans, such as Tourette's and OCD, which generally begin in adolescence when the brain's development comes to an end, as well as Parkinson's disease", explains Christoph Michel, a professor in the Department of Basic Neurosciences in UNIGE's Faculty of Medicine. Current treatments, based on deep brain stimulation are highly invasive: implanting electrodes into the centre of the brain, which are stimulated electrically by an external stimulator. "Although this technique has been shown to be effective in Parkinson's, unfortunately it doesn't work so well for OCD and Tourette syndrome," says Martin Seeber, a researcher in the Department of Basic Neurosciences and the study's first author. An established and truly non-invasive analysis technique To improve existing treatments, it has become essential to understand how these subcortical zones function and how they communicate. The diseases mentioned above only affect humans, however, and suffer from insufficient animal models. Since implanting electrodes is an extremely invasive technique, another method was called for to increase the number of subjects studied. "We naturally thought of EEG, which records the electrical activity of the brain using 256 electrodes placed on the scalp," continues Michel. But is it really possible to measure deep brain activity from outside the skull? In collaboration with a team headed by professor Veerle Visser-Vanderwalle, a neurosurgeon at the University of Cologne, the UNIGE researchers were able to measure and record the electrical activity of the subcortical areas of four OCD and Tourette's patients who had been given electrode implants. At the same time, these individuals were equipped with an EEG as the scientists measured the activity of the same areas from the surface. "The mathematical algorithms that we developed meant we could accurately interpret the data provided by the EEG and ascertain where the brain activity was coming from," says Seeber. And the verdict? The results correlated perfectly. "In obtaining highly similar signals as with the implants, we finally proved that surface EEG can be used to see what is happening in the deepest part of the brain without having to go into it directly," says professor Michel. The door is open to new precision treatments "Now that we know that EEG can be used to analyse the subcortical zones," continues Seeber, "we can try to understand how they communicate with each other and the cortex in the hope that we'll be able to better understand the causes of diseases such as Tourette's and OCD." The scientists are also keen to use the technique to improve current treatment methods, based on rebalancing network interactions using a very slight electric shock. They would also like to apply them to other diseases such as obesity, addiction or Alzheimer's. "Lastly, we hope that in time we'll be able to stimulate the deep brain areas from the surface via an electromagnetic treatment, doing away with electrode implants in the brain once and for all," says professor Michel. Explore further New brain stimulation target identified for Tourette syndrome More information: Martin Seeber et al. Subcortical electrophysiological activity is detectable with high-density EEG source imaging, Nature Communications (2019). Journal information: Nature Communications Martin Seeber et al. Subcortical electrophysiological activity is detectable with high-density EEG source imaging,(2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-08725-w Credit: CC0 Public Domain As the fast-moving Ebola virus sweeps through eastern Congo, scientists are braving war zones hoping to test new medicines on sick patients there. Despite civil unrest in the region, Doctors Without Borders has set up testing sites in the cities of Butembo and Beni, the latest hot spots of the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But researchers have plans to chase the virus as it moves throughout the region, which it does at a rather rapid pace. Here in San Diego, where scientists have long been studying the deadly virus, a biotech company is getting a rare shot at seeing how its drug compares to three other experimental treatments that are part of this trial, including ones made by biotech giants Regeneron and Gilead Sciences. The San Diego firmMapp Biopharmaceuticalleaped into national news in 2014, when its experimental medicine, ZMapp, was used during the West African Ebola epidemic. The drug is a mixture of three antibodies meant to knock down levels of the Ebola virus in the body, hopefully buying time for the patient's immune system to rally and defeat the disease. Anecdotal accounts indicated ZMapp might have helped save the lives of infected patients such as American missionaries Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol. ZMapp spiked in demand during the 2014 outbreak, but the company wasn't set up to make its drug at mass scale back then. By early 2015, when a clinical trial was finally authorized to start treating patients with ZMapp, the epidemic was waning. The study moved forward anyway but had a hard time recruiting patients to test. In the end, the data showed some evidence ZMapp helped Ebola patients survive. But not enough patients were enrolled in the trial for the drug to prove statistical significance. Of course, fewer grievously ill people is a good thing. But it's hard to test whether a drug works when proper trials can't be conducted. "It's challenging to do clinical trials in a way that will satisfy (regulators) because we obviously would never intentionally infect people with Ebola," said Larry Zeitlin, founder and president of Mapp Biopharmaceutical. And so data on ZMappand other newer drugs designed to fight the virusare slim. And that means scientists must rely on animal trials to learn how Ebola reacts to drugs, which can be a hindrance to understanding the virus. This is why researchers are rushing into regions of eastern Congo to set up new trial sites at area hospitals where outbreaks arise, despite the political unrest in the area. The National Institutes of Health is leading the trial, and it's overseen by a World Health Organization steering committee, along with other national and international actors. But it's a difficult task. In December, an Ebola treatment center was stormed by rioters in Beni, who protested the postponement of an election by setting fire to the facility. Virus researcher Erica Ollman Sapphire, who works at The Scripps Research Institute of La Jolla, helped Mapp determine the molecular structure of ZMapp and is familiar with the new trial sites in eastern Congo. She said the trial might be able to tell researchers which of these four anti-Ebola drugs work best, how well and at what stage of the virus' progression. But that's assuming best case scenario. Sapphire said she's worried the data might be "noisy" if the trial stumbles into difficult circumstances, like not having enough patients to sort into a truly randomized trial. "Can we be sure the people getting 'Therapy A' is an identical population to the people getting 'Therapy B'?" Sapphire said. "In a traditional randomized trial, more people would be involved." Not to mention, she said, the instability in the region could shake up a clinical trial's best efforts. "They're working under very difficult circumstances," Sapphire said. "This is an Ebola outbreak in an unstable zone. Getting a trial done at all would be a good outcome." The drugs being tested in the trial are Gilead's Remdesivir, mAb114, Regeneron's REGN-EB3 and ZMapp, which is the control arm. Zeitlin said the trial would likely not play into ZMapp's future regulatory approval in the U.S., however. The company is taking a different route through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration via the "Animal Rule," which allows drugs like ZMapp to get approval by showing efficacy in animals only. If all goes well in ZMapp's trials, the company will ask the FDA for approval around 2022, Zeitlin said. Explore further Congo starts first-ever trial testing Ebola drugs 2019 The San Diego Union-Tribune Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (HealthDay)First symptoms and disease type are contributors to delays in multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis, according to a study recently published in the Multiple Sclerosis Journal. Laura Barin, from the University of Zurich, and colleagues examined data from the Swiss MS Registry to identify possible causes of delay in the diagnostic process for 522 patients. The time from first contact to the first consultation and evaluation-to-diagnosis time were modeled. The researchers found that general practitioners were mostly contacted first (67 percent), which did not delay diagnosis. First symptoms and MS type were major contributors to delay: Longer contact-to-evaluation times were seen for gait problems; longer evaluation-to-diagnosis times were seen with depression as a concomitant symptom; and both phases were prolonged for primary progressive MS. Living in mountainous regions correlated with longer contact-to-evaluation times, while faster diagnoses were seen with diagnosis after 2000. "The observation that the majority of Swiss MS patients were diagnosed in a timely manner regardless of setting and specialty of first physician contact is reassuring, but still too many potentially preventable delays occur in these first steps until diagnosis initiation," the authors write. "For a faster diagnostic process, awareness for MS as a differential diagnosis of gait disorders should be raised, and an attentive follow-up of possible MS cases with depression as a concomitant first symptom is needed." Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry. Explore further Diagnostic delays common in inflammatory bowel disease Copyright 2019 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Credit: CC0 Public Domain A study headed by researchers from the Danish project iPSYCH and the Broad Institute in the U.S., has found the first common genetic risk variants for autism and uncovered genetic differences in clinical subgroups of autism. The discovery means that we will in future be able to determine the genes that separate the diagnostic groups, make more precise diagnoses, and provide better counseling for the individual person suffering from autism disorders. Autism is not a new phenomenon, as historical records describe individuals with symptoms that today are associated with this group of disorders. It was not until 1938 that the first person was given that diagnosis. Ever since then, researchers have tried to explain the cause of autism. There have been many suggestions, but one factor has long been establishedgenes play an important role. A large-scale international collaboration headed by the Danish iPSYCH project and Broad Institute, together with several international groups organized in the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, has now identified the first common genetic risk variants for autism, and for the first time, found the genetic differences between different types of autism. These genes increase risk "When we look at autism, there is a heredity factor of up to 80 percent, so genes have a great deal of impact overall. Nevertheless, despite many years of work, identifying precisely which genes are involved has been very challenging," says Professor Mark Daly from Broad Institute and Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, who is one of the leading scientists of the study. In the study, the researchers compared the genomes of 20,415 people with autism and 174,280 healthy control subjects, and in this way, and report that five genetic variants increase the risk of autism. The results have recently been published in the scientific journal Nature Genetics. "It is known that there are very rare genetic variants that carry a high risk for autism, but they do not explain many cases. However, according to our estimates, there are common variants that [cause autism] when enough of them act together. In this study, we have examined all the approximately 9 million frequent variants that can be found in the genomes of the people who are included in our study. These are genetic variants which are common in the population at large and where the individual variant's contribution to the risk is very small," explains Associate Professor Jakob Grove from Aarhus University. He is the lead author of the study and a member of the iPSYCH research project. The genetic findings provide an entirely new insight into the biological processes involved in the development of autism. "By comparing the genetic risk variants with the genes' expression and the 3-D structure of the genome in the developing brain, we can show that the identified risk genes are important for the development of the brain, and in particular, the development of the cerebral cortex," explains Professor Anders Brglum from Aarhus University, who is research head at iPSYCH and directed the study with Dr. Daly. The researchers have also found a significant overlap between the genetic background for autism and other mental disorders such as schizophrenia and depressionthough also with positive cognitive characteristics such as educational attainment and IQ. "The positive correlation with educational attainment might seem paradoxical, because some autistic people have reduced cognitive function, and on average, fewer people with an autism diagnosis end up with a higher education. The correlation is seen in several previous studies, and in our data we can confirm that in general, this correlation between the genes for autism and genes that predispose for longer education does exist," says Jakob Grove. "However, we can demonstrate that this does not apply to all subsets of autism. We see that people with Asperger's syndrome or infantile autism have more of the genes on average that are beneficial for education, while this is not the case for people with so-called atypical autism or unspecified autism disorders." Better treatment on the horizon Autism refers to a very mixed group with different autism disorders. Some have very pervasive developmental disorders with mental retardation, while others may be cognitively well-functioning with a normal or high IQ. "Thanks to a new and highly sensitive method that we've developed, we can for the first time establish genetic differences between the various diagnostic subgroups. This indicates that larger studies in the future will be able to pinpoint genes that separate the diagnostic groups and enable more precise diagnosis and advice for the individual person suffering from an autism disorder. We also hope that the genes we identify can provide an opportunity for developing actual treatment or prevention of the condition, which is something that we unfortunately cannot offer at present," says Anders Brglum. The scientific article titled "Identification of common genetic risk variants for autism spectrum disorder" was published in Nature Genetics, February 2019. Explore further The genetic architecture of risk for autism spectrum disorder More information: Identification of common genetic risk variants for autism spectrum disorder, Nature Genetics (2019). Journal information: Nature Genetics Identification of common genetic risk variants for autism spectrum disorder,(2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41588-019-0344-8 Credit: ChiccoDodiFC, Shutterstock Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? The social media campaign that had everyone from celebrities to politicians dumping buckets of icy water over their heads? Behind the viral videos that saturated our social media feeds was an effort to promote research on ALS, like that being conducted by the EU-funded ExItALS project. To learn more, we sat down with Project Coordinators Dr. Alessandro Quattrone, a Professor of Experimental Biology at the University of Trento, and Manuela Basso, a Principal Investigator at the University of Trento's Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO). What is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis? Quattrone: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a rare neurodegenerative disorder that primarily targets upper and lower motor neurons leading to the inability to control voluntary movements. Like other chronic neurodegenerative diseases, ALS starts at one focal point before spreading to the entire nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord. Basso: As the disease spreads, motor neurons, those that control specific muscle movements, begin to degenerate, causing the individual to initially experience difficulties swallowing or performing fine motor movements. Gradually, all muscles under voluntary control are affected, causing the individual to lose the ability to speak, eat, move, and even breathe. Thus, most people with ALS die of respiratory failure, typically within three to five years of when they first start experiencing symptoms. What does the ExItALS project aim to accomplish? Quattrone: There is no cure for ALS, so our focus is on trying to determine what causes the disease to spread. If we know this, then we can begin developing strategies for stopping it from spreading. Do you have any indication of what may be behind the disease's ability to spread so rapidly? Basso: Motor neurons are supported by glia cells, accessory cells that have been shown to play an important role in the progression of ALS. One of the ways in which glia cells and neurons communicate is through nanoparticles called extracellular vesicles, or EVs. Extracellular vesicles are small pieces of cells that can be formed in various ways and that are released by the cells constitutively, with the rate of their release increasing due to certain stimuli. To illustrate, EVs can be pictured as many little space shuttles being launched from the Space Centre, in this case the cell, to reach and then orbit neighbouring planets. Quattrone: These EVs are loaded with proteins RNA and metabolites that reflect the content of the cell's origin. Because EVs are both absorbed by neighbouring cells and able to travel to the periphery of the body (i.e. every system outside the central nervous system) we can use them as biomarkers a measurable substance whose presence is indicative of some phenomena such as diseases. Identifying the EV content that breeds toxicity would allow us to better understand how ALS is spread and possibly short-list the disease's biomarkers. What have been the most important results that the project has achieved thus far? Quattrone: Perhaps the most important result is the project's ability to generate new ideas and cross-institutional collaboration. For example, due to our collaboration with Manuela Basso, we were able to purify EVs from cells to tissues derived from controlled and disease conditions using a novel and high-performance technique. This is a clear example of the essential role that collaboration plays in scientific research. Basso: Together, we successfully characterised the genomic and proteomic content of these vesicles and are now setting up new methods to determine which of these EV components cause toxicity. At the same time, we analysed EVs in the plasma of both ALS patients and controls (patients with healthy, neuropathic and muscle dystrophy). From this, we have detected a unique profile for ALS, the results of which will be reported in an upcoming study. During your research, did you have to overcome any unexpected challenges? Basso: The biggest challenge we faced was finding a purification method that could be used rapidly and efficiently, and that was also reproducible and pure. But even here we benefited from collaboration, as another research group at CIBIO happened to have such a method. We were able to compare their method to existing ones and then subsequently validate it using a large cohort of samples. What are you most proud of? Quattrone: In just a matter of months, we set up a pipeline of experiments that provided us with the opportunity to study the mechanism of intercellular communication using both in vitro and in vivo ALS models. We were then able to validate the data from these experiments against the samples derived from actual patients. From this, we could better understand how cells communicate with each other via nano-messages and how this communication influences cell performance and well-being. Although we still do not understand the nature of these nano-messages, thanks to projects like ExltALS, we are now that much closer to being able to decode them. Could you go into detail on what you mean by nano-messages? Quattrone: If an EV originates from sick cells, such as motor neurons that are degenerating or glia that are no longer providing support to neurons, they will contain molecules that reflect this damage and thus propagate the malfunctioning. The fact that we can analyse the EVs released by a sick spinal cord in the plasma helps us capture the message from the spinal cord without having to conduct a lumbar puncture, which can be very painful and invasive for a patient affected by a neurodegenerative condition. Furthermore, we are exploring the possibility that the content of the EVs can be used as a biomarker to diagnose the disease in its early phases. After the project is finished, what will the project's legacy be? Quattrone: Although the project itself will end in March 2019, we were lucky enough to receive funding from the Italian Ministry of Health to continue our research. During this next phase, we plan to study a wider biomarker discovery platform in human samples, the functional mechanism of EVs in respect of motor neuron degeneration, and how to inhibit particularly deviant EV from spreading. Explore further Newly identified messenger molecules could help protect survival of neurones I can not agree with your Cheer to Sally Toone on her proposal to provide $12,000 debt relief to new teachers who stay for four years in Idaho. As usual, this is a short-sighted slight to experienced teachers who have weathered the ups and downs of Idahos lack of priority placed on retaining teaching professionals. This plan is a gift/bribe for people who have not planned ahead financially to go to college, it is punitive to those that do. Why not just pull a minor or double major and rack up $12,000 debt? Then, let the taxpayers bear the burden. To start with, we have many qualified teachers on an ABCTE certification track. These teachers must bear the burden of all additional classes, fees for praxis exams and licensing. Why wouldnt Idaho offer relief for these costs? Why doesnt Idaho offer reimbursement for class credits all teachers must take to maintain their licenses? This adds up to several hundred dollars over the course of 5 years. Why not re-appropriate this money to ALL teachers for debt relief? Almost all teachers invest personal monies to enhance their students experience. This is not reimbursed by school districts. So why not just give it up on the front end? In regards to the New Teacher-$12,000 plan, a better incentive would be to target the forgotten middle, the current backbone of the education system. Like every issue we face today, the mantra attempts to provide a simple slogan about a complex issue and, I honestly believe, is no longer true. It is true that some revenue has not been spent wisely. It paid for lawsuits that did not need to be filed or penalties that could be avoided. Government contracts were poorly written, and the results were poor quality. All of this is not because too much money was raised. It is the fault of poor oversite of spending by elected officials and the bureaucrats they employ. Sometimes it is because of corrupt practices. It is also true that we have a complicated tax system that has inequities built in. Deals have been made to give tax advantage to people or a class of business. They may no longer be needed or practical now. There may be more equitable ways to charge taxes. The point is, this is something that can be addressed in the same way the new education funding was addressed. The education funding matrix was put on an excel spreadsheet which allowed a change in one area to show its impact on all of the othersincluding putting more funding into the budget. The same could be done with all of Idahos sources of revenue. Increase or decrease one rate, see its effect on the total. The same could be done for an increase in taxing units like population shifts, new businesses, or new customers for sales tax. January 19, 1998February 22, 2019 Austin Lee Holt, 21 Springfield Missouri passed away in Springfield on February 22, 2019. He was born on January 1998 to Jeremy Hold and Cindy Higens. He was a free spirit that lived life to the fullest and touched as many lives as he possible could, from being friends with everyone he came in contact with to standing up for anyone who needed help. He loved snowboarding, skateboarding and working on his car while spending everyday like a new adventure all while causing as much mischief as possible. He attended school at Minico High School and Kimberly High School and worked at Commercial Tire in Burley, Idaho, Five Guys in Twin Falls, Idaho and Walmart in Springfield, Missouri. He is survived by his mother Cindy Higens (Travis), his father Jeremy Hold (Starla), and siblings Brecka, Kyle, Jason (Heather), Tabitha, Lane, Levi. His grandparents; Linda Wallace, Tim and Linda Holt. He is preceded in death by his grandfather Scott and his Aunt Bethy. Services will be held at Reynolds Funeral Chapel on Saturday, March 2, 2019 at 11:00 a.m., located at 2466 Addison Ave. E., Twin Falls, Idaho. A memorial fund was set up in his honor at D.L. Evans Bank. Sarah Pearce, 17, said she chose to testify after a friend of hers told her she didnt realize people could contract a sexually transmitted disease through oral sex. This is a problem, Pearce said. We need to be expanding sex education. Lydia Christensen, an 18-year-old from Twin Falls, was one of several people who said an opt-in requirement could be dangerous to students who are abused by a parent or guardian. I would like to address that not all students come from homes that are safe and they too deserve to be heard, Christensen said. The Idaho School Boards Association also came out in opposition to the bill. The three people who supported the bill included Rep. Bryan Zollinger, R-Idaho Falls, Christian Welp from the Catholic Diocese and John Paulton from the Family Policy Alliance of Idaho. Paulton said some children may not be able to handle sex ed courses, and the state should trust their parents to do what is right. We can all agree sexual education is a loaded topic, Paulton said. Lets allow parents to make an informed choice based on where their child is at. Government doctors say adjustment provision against their career prospects Dr Sunil Poudel, a consultant physician, has been serving at the Damauli District Hospital of Tanahun for the last five months One of two Idaho South Idaho Correctional Institution residents who walked away from a job site was taken back into custody, but the other remains missing after being spotted near Hagerman, authorities said. ELKO, Nev. An Idaho man was booked Monday at Elko County Jail on charges of illegally killing a mountain lion two years ago near Jarbidge, Nev. Ralph W. Crown, 57, of Buhl, was one of three men contacted Feb. 4, 2017, by an Idaho conservation officer after being seen hunting before dawn with the aid of a spotlight. The men were cited, and the officer noted that Crowns Idaho hunting license had been suspended three times since 2003 for various violations. The officer said Crown told him about seeing a lion behind the dump near Jarbidge. Three months later, witnesses reported seeing a dead lion near Sawmill Campground, about a mile from the dump, on the afternoon of Feb. 4. Two months after that, a Nevada game warden investigated and collected evidence from where the animal was seen. Then, in October 2017, an Idaho conservation officer requested a search warrant for Crowns cellphone records. That December, the Nevada and Idaho officers served the warrant at Crowns home and reviewed his cellphone but found no information relating to the dead lion. The officers said Crown became agitated and denied having any knowledge of killing a mountain lion in Nevada. He allowed them to inspect the contents of his freezers. If you go Shows will be at 7:30 p.m. everyday from Thursday to Sunday, with a 2 p.m. matinee Saturday and Sunday, in the College of Southern Idaho Fine Arts Auditorium All tickets are $12 and are available from cast members, at Kurts Pharmacy, the CSI Box office or at the door. TWIN FALLS Human trafficking seemed like something that was miles away from Alma Jam. When she was in college she attended an event on human trafficking and realized that it was closer to home than she thought. She made it a personal goal to raise awareness of this issue. Jam and a crew of Idaho filmmakers are now spreading the word about human trafficking in Idaho with the new documentary The Cost of Freedom. I just wanted to serve something greater than myself, Jam said. The documentary premieres at 4 and 6 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Magic Valley Arts Council, 195 River Vista Place. The film shows the history of human trafficking in Idaho through personal accounts and experiences. It takes a look at laws and policies concerning human trafficking and what citizens in Idaho can do to help prevent it from happening. Jam, the executive producer, had the idea for the documentary in the summer of 2018. She contacted Billy Perry to be the producer and found a crew to work on the project. Filming started in September 2018 and took place in Pocatello, Boise and Twin Falls, and other areas of Idaho are also mentioned in the film. BURLEY A Cassia County judge has disqualified himself in the case against a Burley man charged with the 1995 murder of a Burley teen. Cassia County Magistrate Judge Blaine Cannon, a former deputy prosecutor in Cassia County, voluntarily disqualified himself from the first-degree murder case against Gilberto Flores Rodriguez, 56. Rodriguez is being held at the Mini-Cassia Criminal Justice Center without bond. Rodriguez was charged after three confidential witnesses told detectives that Rodriguez killed 14-year-old Regina Lee Krieger, dumped her body in the river and then buried a knife in a box. Krieger went missing from her basement bedroom and was found on a bank of the Snake River weeks later. Her throat had been slashed and she had stab wounds to her heart. The Fifth District Court administration on Feb. 26 assigned Minidoka County Magistrate Rick Bollar to take over the case, according to court documents. A Feb. 22 preliminary hearing was canceled and a two-day hearing was set to begin at 9 p.m. March 7. Cassia County Public Defender Timothy Schneider also asked Feb. 26 to withdraw from the case. Schneider said his request stems from a conflict of interest. He said he represented one of the confidential witnesses when the witness was involved in the investigation of the case. Love 0 Funny 3 Wow 8 Sad 1 Angry 13 The labor shortage is the biggest challenge facing Wisconsin businesses and, thus, the Wisconsin economy. As a result, state business leaders hope Gov. Tony Evers will include tangible measures to address the problem when he unveils his state budget Thursday. Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the states largest business association, has a few suggestions based on comprehensive research commissioned by WMC Foundations Future Wisconsin Project. The full workforce study will be released in mid-March, but some of the key points should be considered by the governor and Legislature during the budget process. First, as a state with births below the rate of replacement for the last 20-plus years, we need to retain as many born-and-raised Wisconsinites as possible. The best way to do that is to make sure young people are exposed to the diverse and rewarding professions the Wisconsin economy has to offer so they can make informed career choices. That is one of the reasons WMC asked Gov. Evers predecessor to proclaim October as Manufacturing Month in Wisconsin. The goal is to get as many young students as possible to visit a local manufacturing facility so they can see firsthand what advanced manufacturing looks like and whether it matches their career interests. The strategic plan still needs to be approved by the City Council, which Thompson said he hopes will happen in the next month or two. Three neighborhood areas all on the north side of Fitchburg have been identified as revitalization targets. The neighborhoods surrounding Fish Hatchery Road between Greenway Crossing and Caddis Bend will be the main focus of the pilot program because there has been significant neighborhood interest, Thompson said. Were trying to go where the energy is, Thompson said, but programs that succeed in that neighborhood could also be implemented in other areas. The other two areas targeted in the initiative border each side of Verona Road just south of the Beltline. City and county collaboration While awaiting approval, the Planning and Zoning staff have already begun searching for a neighborhood leader to employ for the neighborhood on Fish Hatchery Road, which they consider a crucial element of the initiative. The designated neighborhood leader will be a part-time paid city employee funded through Dane Countys neighborhood navigator program launched last year. Farming interests have suggested that some drinking water contamination may be the fault of poor well construction. But wells built to draw from deeper groundwater werent significantly less likely to be contaminated than shallow wells, Borchardt said. You cant construct yourself out of contamination, Borchardt said. I dont even think people could afford to go as deep as youd have to go. Built on DNA from microbes The research was built on Borchardts previous studies using DNA markers to identify exactly which types of microbes were in tainted wells. Some pathogens come from farm animals, while others from humans. Still others such as coliform and nitrate can originate from either source. Borchardt said the new study was the first time a highly rigorous risk assessment has been applied to several potential causes and types of water pollution. The models are sophisticated in that they account for the effects of multiple risk factors at the same time, Borchardt said. Silurian dolomite poses public health hazards by allowing pathogens and nitrate from the surface to reach groundwater, Borchardt said. The findings come on the heels of another study Borchardt was involved in that found 42 percent of wells in three southwest Wisconsin counties were contaminated. That region has another kind of porous bedrock, and areas with different soil conditions. A separate risk assessment is planned for those three counties, Borchardt said. 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. A couple staying at a Wisconsin Dells hotel earlier this week made a startling find -- about 20 used syringes inside a bathroom wall. Wisconsin Dells police went to the Polynesian Water Park Hotel on North Frontage Road on Monday after Brooke Abel and her boyfriend found the syringes in the wall behind the toilet paper holder. "The only reason we found it was because it (the holder) was sticking out half way when he went to use the bathroom, and it basically fell out of the wall when he tugged the toilet paper," Abel said in a Facebook post. The couple called police about drug paraphernalia found in the room, but police didn't say if the syringes had been used for drugs. The syringes were taken out of the wall by police, and hotel staff inspected other rooms at the hotel, police said in a release. It wasn't known how long the syringes were in the wall or who put them there. The investigation is continuing. 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. Were bidding farewell to a February plagued with way below zero temperatures, brutal wind chill factors, and mountains of snow we would have enjoyed for hours as youngsters. Thoughts of those days carry me back to meals that warmed us from the toes up after willingly and joyfully spending hours outside wearing thickly-padded snow suits, heavy boots, wool mittens, and soft warm wool scarves wrapped around our faces for protection from winters cold. It never seemed to matter how many hours we spent tobogganing at Olbrich, sliding on sleds overlooking the railroad tracks, building snow forts in the backyard, or just having fun in the neighborhood. What was important after hours of having winter fun outside was returning home and going down in the basement to remove our winter attire before heading upstairs to the kitchen where mothers were busy keeping kitchens warm preparing favorite family meals. These sisters crush truck full of stones to earn their living Titi Rokaya and Srikala Rokaya spend their entire day crushing stones at the old mining vicinity in Chobhar, Kathmandu. Originally from Humla, the Rokaya sisters came to Kathmandu with their husbands in search of a better livelihood. Dutch Parliament Recognizes 1915 Armenian Massacre As Genocide THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The Dutch parliament on Thursday passed a motion recognizing as genocide the massacre of as many as 1.5 million Armenians in 1915, although the government said it would not become official policy of the Netherlands. The motion, which was opposed by just three lawmakers out of 150, risks further straining relations between The Hague and Ankara, which have been tense since the Dutch barred a Turkish minister from campaigning in the Netherlands last year. Turkey denies that the killings, which took place at the height of World War One, constitute genocide. Its foreign ministry strongly condemned the Dutch parliament's approval of the motion and noted the Dutch government's response to it. "The government will not follow the judgment of the parliament," Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag told Dutch television before the vote. She urged "utmost caution when applying the term 'genocide' to past events". "This cabinet wants to be very careful about relations with Turkey, which have been better," she said. Relations between the two countries, both members of NATO, plunged last year when the Netherlands deported a Turkish minister who had come to campaign among the Dutch Turkish minority for a constitutional referendum in Turkey. The Turkish statement made reference to the 1995 Srebrenica massacres, in which victims were killed after being turned away from a Dutch-run United Nations base where thousands had sought refuge towards the end of the Bosnian war. "Baseless decisions taken by the parliament of a country that turned a blind eye to the still painful genocide at Srebrenica have no place in history or in justice," the Foreign Ministry's statement said. "Turkey's attitude towards the events of 1915 is based on historical facts and legal norms." Turkey summoned the Dutch charge d'affaires to Ankara on Saturday to express unhappiness with the impending vote. Nearly a dozen other EU countries have passed similar resolutions. On Feb. 5, the Netherlands said it would not attempt to appoint an ambassador to Turkey for now. A second motion passed on Thursday calls for a high-level Dutch government official to attend Armenia's formal genocide remembrance day on April 24. In the past, the Dutch ambassador has attended. Kaag said the government would consider how best to represent the Netherlands. Most scholars outside Turkey consider the killings were a genocide, or an attempt to destroy a people in part or whole. Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed during World War One, but contests the figures and denies that the killings were orchestrated. Ruth Traut said she was glad Zuelsdorf warned them about the fire, but she did not believe she and her mother were trapped inside the house, as previously described. Zuelsdorf, who was visiting Portage from Florida, said he just wanted to get them out. He doesn't remember exactly whether he used an arm, shoulder or foot to open the unlatched front door Monday and said he was moving fast. "I don't regret any action I took," Zuelsdorf said, adding the priority of every single person involved was Ruth and Elizabeth's safety. "I can't imagine leaving my house the way they did. It was hectic." Klafke said Columbia County Sheriff's Office deputies on the scene were instrumental in getting Elizabeth out of the house safely in a wheelchair. Police don't believe Ruth was trapped inside the house, but Klafke said Elizabeth needed help to get moving quickly. Coffman said his grandmother is able to walk slowly. Zuelsdorf said he pointed out to police where the wheelchair was located and helped Ruth gather her cell phone and purse as police lifted Elizabeth into her wheelchair. Zuelsdorf said he helped push the wheelchair after police got Elizabeth out of the house. Upham Woods Director Justin Houghman has told the Dells Stewards he has seen everything from packs of cigarettes and beer bottles to human excrement on the shoreline of the island, and that preserving the shoreline and natural beauty of the property is an additional reason for the installation of the fence. Upham Woods said in materials provided during one of the meetings between the Stewards and officials that While many visitors and members of the community are good stewards of the land and river, some are not. Our primary responsibility is the safety and protection of the minor children using the campus, shorelines beaches and Blackhawk Island. While the Stewards admit there are viable concerns about trespassers on Blackhawk Island, Kinder claims that most of those trespassers are from pontoon boats and not paddlers or kayakers. While there are other sites to access the Wisconsin River in the area, Kinder says those sites are not hospitable to beginners and that those sites cannot replace the access provided near Upham Woods. RACINE A Racine man who reportedly threatened to shoot up a veterans facility at Southern Wisconsin Center, and who faces three counts of sexual assault of a child, was also charged Monday with felony bail jumping. Thomas J. Baggesen, 57, has been facing three counts of first-degree child sexual assault, intercourse with a child under age 12. Those charges were filed last June 12. On July 5, Baggesen was released under conditions of bond that he not commit any new crimes and to remain under house arrest. His bond was later modified to allow him time out of the house for doctor appointments, grocery shopping and to get prescriptions from a certain CVS Pharmacy. According to the criminal complaint filed Monday in Racine County Circuit Court: On Wednesday, Baggesen went to the Veterans Affairs clinic at Shemanske Hall at Southern Wisconsin Center, 21425 Spring St., Dover. While there, he reportedly told a nurse that every day he wakes up and wants to kill someone and that it would most likely be a police officer. Based on those statements, Baggesen was transferred to the Clement J. Zablock VA Medical Center in Milwaukee. Ive lost two sons to the streets. Its killing me on the insides, Phyllis Canady said. How can you imagine just going up to someone and shooting someone nine times is OK? Cory A. Brown, then 22 years old, was convicted in 2008 of Markey Canadys murder and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Ill never get my son back, Phyllis Canady said at Browns sentencing. My son was my pride, he was my joy, he was my eldest child that he took from me to me, my son didnt deserve what he got. Martinez had four kids. The youngest, Marcellus Martinez Jr., was born on Nov. 9, the same day as his fathers funeral, Canady said. These kids are really going through some trauma, she said. Canady said that everything Martinez did, he did for his kids. He saw them daily and spent time with Markeys kids, too. About two years ago, Martinez started working as a caretaker at Roots Residential Adult Family Homes, a Racine-based assisted living business. His job changed his whole world around, Canady said. He loved his clients. "Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland" by Patrick Radden Keefe; Doubleday (441 pages, $28.95) ___ Jean McConville was a widowed mother of 10 children in Belfast when the IRA came for her in 1972. She was never seen again - one of the thousands of victims of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, but one of only 16 who were "disappeared" - murdered and secretly buried in an unmarked grave. Her orphaned children were left to wonder what happened to their mother. "Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland" answers the question through a riveting account of the bombings and assassinations carried out by the Irish Republican Army, as told by those who planted the bombs and pulled the triggers. In particular, the book takes aim at Gerry Adams, one of the most recognizable names and faces of the struggle by Catholics to end British rule over the six counties making up Northern Ireland. From 1983 to 2018, Adams was the head of Sinn Fein, the legal, political cousin of the outlawed IRA. Adams has steadfastly denied that he was ever an IRA member, which author Patrick Radden Keefe, among many others, says is ludicrous. "Gichi Bitobig, Grand Marais" by Timothy Cochrane; University of Minnesota Press (272 pages, $21.95) ___ In October 1823, Bela Chapman arrived in Gichi Bitobig, the original name for Grand Marais, and began building a fur trading post. Before the month was out, he had dubbed it "Fort Misery." Chapman wasn't alone in finding life on Lake Superior's North Shore to be severe. He was replaced a year later by George Johnston, who described Grand Marais as a "lonely and dismal place" and lamented his "Siberian exile." Today we are drawn to the North Shore by its rugged beauty, but it was no vacation for these fur traders. The remote location, harsh weather, leaky roofs, scarcity of food and tensions with the Anishinaabeg (the autonym for Ojibwe) made for a challenging stay. Chapman and Johnston's journals provide a detailed look at the privations they endured and the battle between the company they worked for, John Jacob Astor's American Fur Co., and the rival Hudson's Bay Co. As a result of recent disclosures regarding past statements and actions by Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brian Hagedorn, the Wisconsin REALTORS Association has withdrawn its endorsement of his candidacy, read a statement from WRA President and CEO Michael Theo, who explained: 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. The other, non-real estate related issues have to do with Hagedorns overt, and seemingly unrelenting, bigotry. Hagedorn, who is opposed by Wisconsin Appeals Court Chief Judge Lisa Neubauer in the April 2 election, has been buffeted in recent weeks by a series of revelations regarding his explicit and oft-stated biases. Most of his bigotry has been directed toward the LBGTQ community. A longtime associate of Walker who was appointed to an Appeals Court sinecure by his political patron, Hagedorn helped found a school that permits the firing of teachers and the expulsion of students based on their sexuality. Today, many of the so-called 1 percent are outraged over her 70 percent proposal which, incidentally, was the highest tax bracket through the late '50s, the '60s and the '70s. It was slashed to 50 percent in the early '80s and is now at 37 percent on income earned over $600,000. Income for a married couple is taxed at 10 percent up to $19,000, income between 19k and 77k at 12 percent, the chunk between 77k and 151k at 22 percent and so on, with the rate gradually rising to 37 percent on any earnings over 600k. The effective tax rate for those earning over $600,000, of course, is well below 37 percent. None of this is suggesting this portrayal accurately compares apples to apples there were changes in deductibles, credits and other factors but it does present a snapshot of what's happened through roughly three-quarters of a century and how we tax the rich among us. Some economists contend that the changes in tax policies and the rates paid by the wealthy are precisely why we have the incredible income gap between the rich and poor. In the years of the 90 percent rate, the ratio of CEO pay to their workers' pay was roughly 20-1. Today, it's estimated at 339-1 in other words the corporation's CEO makes as much in one year as 339 of his or her employees. Writing in Isthmus, Ruth Conniff, editor-at-large of the Progressive, says "Tear down that wall." She traveled with dairy farmers from Wisconsin and Minnesota to Mexico with a nonprofit group to meet with the families of their undocumented workers. The arrangements between farmers and undocumented workers have been mutually beneficial, writes Conniff, and says what both the Midwestern farmers and the Mexican workers want is a year-round visa program that acknowledges that we need these workers and they deserve our protection and thanks. It is so sad for people who have looked up to me, for people who have benefited from the programs I created, are now denying what I do, Vue said. Freedom, Inc., has long claimed Vue and Her seized control of the Kajsiab program. Her and Vue have said the split came down to a difference of opinion on how to spend funds and the role of longtime program manager Doua Vang. As they have at several other city committee meetings, many Hmong and Cambodian community members and elders spoke before the council, saying they did not have a relationship with the Hmong Institute, Vue or Her, and asked that the money be given to SEAHC or put up for RFP. Nancy Vue-Tran, board president of SEAHC, advocated for an RFP, asking for a fair and transparent process. We know that elders who have come to testify again and again ... these elders are here to follow and seek services from Doua and his staff (at SEAHC), she said. Myra McNair, founder and owner of Anesis Therapy, said Anesis did not bring clients to testify to the council, citing HIPPA laws and explaining, We believe in trauma-informed care. Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal to finance airport improvement project The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has decided not to take a loan from the Asian Development Bank to implement package 4 of the Tribhuvan International Airport improvement project saying that its lengthy process would slow them down and eventually push up costs. Lawmakers would vote on the maps, but the changes the Legislature could make would be limited. The LRB would not be allowed to use voting patterns, party information, incumbent residence information or demographic information to draw the maps, except where required by law. Districts would be required to be made as compact and contiguous as possible. The Redistricting Advisory Commission would be composed of five members: one person each appointed by the Assembly Speaker and minority leader and the Senate majority and minority leaders, and a chairperson chosen by the other four commissioners. At the time of appointment, commissioners must be eligible Wisconsin voters, and cannot hold a partisan public or political party office. Commissioners could not be employed by the Legislature or Congress and could not be related to or employed by a member of the Legislature or Congress. The commission would be required to release its redistricting bill including related data and maps as soon as practicable after sending it to the Legislature, and would be required to hold a public hearing in each congressional district. The legislation came after years of allegations of inmate abuse and unsafe working conditions at the state's only juvenile corrections facility. Goyke has led the charge for years on juvenile corrections reform, urging lawmakers to develop a model that places youth offenders closer to home. "'The Wisconsin Model' for juvenile corrections will succeed," Goyke said. "Lincoln Hills will close without question and we must do everything we can to ensure this transition is done correctly. Wisconsin's youth and their families are counting on us." Under the law passed last year, the Department of Corrections is required to build at least one new prison for serious juvenile offenders at an estimated cost of $25 million. The state will also spend $15 million to add capacity for at least 29 offenders at the Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center in Madison, and $40 million in grants to help counties cover the costs of building or renovating their own facilities. A bill designed to drive down prescription drug costs in Wisconsin has bipartisan support from a group of lawmakers who say it will benefit both consumers and local pharmacies. The legislation unveiled on Tuesday by Sens. Roger Roth, R-Appleton; Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton; and Reps. Michael Schraa, R-Oshkosh; and Debra Kolste, D-Beloit creates new rules for pharmaceutical benefit managers, or PBMs, which act as go-betweens for pharmacies and health insurance companies by managing prescription drug plans, negotiating prices and processing claims. "The high price of prescription drugs is something we as legislators hear on almost a weekly basis from constituents," Kolste said. "We need to be confident that PBMs are not abusing their position in the marketplace as middlemen and are acting in the best interest of their clients and patients." The bill would prohibit PBMs from enforcing "gag clauses," which prevent pharmacists from telling customers when a prescription is available at a lower price by paying cash than by going through insurance. It would also ban "co-pay clawbacks" situations in which an insured consumer's co-payment is more than the total cost of the drug to the insurer or the PBM. "I know the model is set up to recognize individuals. I hate individual awards," Hunter said. "It's such an honor to get recognized but I want to recognize the people who are in my team." Hunter contacted the Beards after the list was announced and asked them to add Maggie Roovers, chef at Forequarter. "Maggie at Forequarter has been leading the kitchen for two years now," Hunter said. "She's brought focus and creativity to the kitchen that has kept it relevant and interesting." Hunter also credited Mark Bystrom, general manager, who's been at Forequarter off and on since it opened, and the contributions of founding business partner Mel Trudeau. "The thing about Madison is because we don't have the same spotlight from national media outlets but have been so good for so long we can't get discovered," Hunter said. "We've had the best farmers' market and outstanding restaurants for 40 years now. "So it says a lot, both the access to amazing producers and the sophisticated customer that's here, who appreciates and demands we put forward wonderful, good food. You can't rest on things here in Madison." Macao Water is expecting a delay in the replacement of the remaining pipes containing asbestos due to traffic matters. Last year, the citys sole water supplier announced that the asbestos plumbing a material known to cause serious health problems would be replaced as it is fragile and could be damaged by temperature changes. However, Nacky Kuan, executive director of Macao Water, said that the completion of the project would be delayed due to traffic arrangements. The [project] should be finished by the end of this year but due to traffic problems and arrangements, we will push it a little bit more, Kuan told the press on the sidelines of its annual Spring luncheon. Due to the traffic arrangements, most of the preparations are not yet finished [as it is] located in a very busy area so we have to liaise with the Transport Bureau to complete the pipes, she explained, referencing the Nam Van and Kiang Wu districts. The project which is a five-year program will conclude once it has replaced the asbestos plumbing in the two districts. Meanwhile, Kuan announced that the water company recorded an income of over MOP80 million last year. The annual water consumption hit 100 million cubic meters, a 3 percent increase year-on-year which was within expectations. The firm predicted that the citys water consumption for 2019 would increase by 3 percent, similar to its prediction last year, noting that consumption is greater in the Cotai district. Kuan said that the company is capable of handling the increase in the regions visitors expected in the coming years. We still have a capacity for the water demand; there is around 30 to 40 percent capacity remaining. So, we are capable of meeting the demands of tourists, she said. Domestic use is not a large part of the water consumption. Macao Water is also expecting that the construction of a fourth raw water pipe to Macau will be completed in the second quarter of this year, and raw water will be transported to the SAR from Hengqin progressively starting from the second half of the year. The firm also said that it is speeding up the construction of the Seac Pai Van Water Treatment Plant with the aim of starting operations by the end of 2020. Further, Macao Water announced that it will co- organize a seminar with Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Zhuhai, aiming to further promote exchanges and collaboration within the industry, as well as to provide water security and safety. Portuguese company Biaut Automacao Industrial is negotiating with the Sao Tome and Principe authorities to set up a chicken production unit with an annual capacity of 30 tonnes of meat, said the director of the subsidiary. Pedro Garcia, director of Sistema Tecnico do Comercio (STC), a company set up in Sao Tome and Principe by Biaut Automacao Industrial, spent the weekend in the archipelagos capital where he met with the Secretary of State for Commerce, Eugenio Graca, and with the Prime Minister, Jorge Bom Jesus. At the end of the audience granted by the prime minister, the director of STC said that the project aims both to satisfy local consumption as well as export, with production in unit terms estimated at 1.6 million chickens per year. Garcia also said that the initial planned investment of 18 million euros is cost-effective, according to an economic feasibility study, Portuguese news agency Lusa reported. MDT/Macauhub The domestic violence victim at the center of an ongoing medical spat is said to have not yet signaled a willingness to receive treatment in Singapore, according to a statement released by the Health Bureau (SSM) earlier this week. In the statement, the SSM revealed that both the victim and her family have not made a decision. The bureau claims that once the victim confirms her stance in relation to receiving treatment in Singapore, the SSM will then contact and coordinate with the concerned hospital in order to make sure the victim receives suitable treatment. Ho Chio Meng affiliate given two years Lam I Na, former head of the Judicial Affairs Department of the Public Prosecutions Office, was found guilty of charges relating to her involvement in the case of former prosecutor general Ho Chio Meng. Lam was accused of collecting a customs seizure worth MOP107,000 at the request of Ho. According to a report by Macao Daily News, Lam denied the allegation during the trial at the Court of First Instance. However, the court ruled that Lam had indeed committed the act. She was sentenced to two years of imprisonment, with three years probation, and ordered to compensate all losses incurred by the government. First phase of border relocation expected 2019 The first phase of the relocation of the Cotai border gate to Hengqin is expected to complete by the end of this year, according to Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak. In order to handle matters concerning the relocation, the Macau government has established four groups responsible for matters including immigration, laws, and construction associated with the relocation. According to the plan for the new border, the immigration method used will be similar to that at the Macau-Zhuhai crossing of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. Yesterdays anticipated kitesurfer crossing of the Pearl River Delta, starting at Hong Kongs Cheung Chau Beach and arriving at Ha Sac Beach in Coloane, was postponed by organizers due to bureaucratic problems. According to what the Times could ascertain from kitesurfer Hillian Siu, the problem was not related to the kitesurfing part of the adventure but, instead, with the clearance needed for the supporting boat. Siu told the Times that the group could not obtain clearance early enough for me to catch the early wind, an unfortunate event that organizers aim to correct soon. The sea-crossing adventure aims to raise awareness over the accumulation of plastic and garbage in the oceans and raise funds for an ocean-cleaning project. Election affairs briefing in March A briefing session regarding the 2019 Chief Executive election campaign will be held at the Macao Science Center on March 22, the Electoral Commission for the Chief Executive Election said yesterday. The session will be held between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. and the briefing will be related to the election of the members of the Election Committee. The commission also met with the representatives from the Office for Personal Data Protection and representatives from the Public Security Police Force to discuss matters concerning data protection for the election. Hong Kongs Financial Secretary Paul Chan will have a much smaller pile of cash to distribute than last year when he presents the annual budget today, and a longer list of problems to address. The economy has slowed as the trading hub found itself wedged between the U.S.-China standoff and the property market has come off its record highs. Both of those factors have shrunk the fiscal surplus available to Chan to a figure likely below HKD60 billion (USD7.6 billion), down from HKD149 billion last year. Economic growth, which spiked to a seven-year high of 4.6 percent from a year earlier in the first quarter, has since slipped to 2.9 percent in the third. The worlds most expensive property values have trailed off as borrowing costs rose in the wake of the Federal Reserves hikes. A promising rally in retail spending through the first half of the year has almost entirely evaporated. Even the stock market failed to cooperate last year, as the benchmark Hang Seng Index stumbled to its worst annual loss since 2011. Chan will present his budget on Feb. 27. Fourth-quarter gross domestic product is also scheduled to be announced the same day, with a median estimate of 2.3 percent growth according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. Chan warned in a Feb. 17 blog post that fourth-quarter GDP growth will slow even further, to less than 1.5 percent the worst performance since the first quarter of 2016. That will also drag the 2018 expansion to the low end of the 3 to 4 percent growth forecast by the government. Chan disclosed the citys budget surplus for the first nine months stood at HKD59 billion at the end of December. The final figure will be released today. The situation is not optimistic, Chan said in the post, highlighting the governments first-quarter business tendency survey that shows 21 percent of responding companies expect their business situation to be worse in the first quarter of 2019, compared with only 9 percent expecting it to be better. Jeremy Choi, Hong Kong tax partner with accounting firm PwC, said his firm now projects a full-year surplus of HKD50 billion to HKD60 billion, or roughly a third of the surplus from a year ago, blamed to a large degree on lower revenue from property transactions and stamp duties. Choi noted that the financial secretary has previously indicated that there will not be handouts in the same fashion as last year. In 2018 the government cut taxes and increased investment in high-tech industries as well as a scheme to distribute additional handouts of as much as HK$4,000 to eligible citizens. This year, items trailed in advance of the budget include Chans plan to spend HKD5 billion on a face-lift for the citys harbor area, and another HKD500 million to upgrade Hong Kongs public toilets, the South China Morning Post reported. With less to go around, Choi suggests the government focus on investments in long-term growth, such as a more comprehensive tax incentive framework to attract high-tech companies from overseas and the mainland, in a highly competitive environment. Hong Kong does still have the security blanket of a significant fiscal reserve in place, projected to come in at about HKD1.15 trillion as of March 31, Choi said. Thats roughly in line with the governments projection of HKD1.14 trillion, according to a December budget consultation document. We still have a decent reserve after this year, but we have to use our reserve wisely and appropriately, Choi said. The surplus may decrease further in the next few years if you continue to face a challenging economy. Eric Lam, Bloomberg A speaker during the Macao Polytechnic Institutes (IPM) forum on youth policy in the Greater Bay Area said that the initiative is poised to encourage young people in Macau to relocate to Guangdong province. The speaker was Loi Hoi Ngan, associate professor at the Social, Economic and Public Policy Research Center of IPM. The Macau youth born and raised in Macau might think that there is no need for them to go out [to Guangdong]. But, even if you dont go out, the future will affect you because the Greater Bay will become one market, said Loi at yesterdays forum, which was attended by more than 150 of the institutions students. Capital, technology and labor will flow increasingly smoothly in it. Even if you dont go to [Guangdong], there will be many other specialists [from the mainland] coming to Macau to seek out opportunities, added Loi. Despite Lois enthusiasm and high expectations for the Greater Bay Area, only one forum attendee raised his hand when the audience was asked if they were interested in relocating. Moreover, none of the IPM students who were at yesterdays forum had read the Outline Development Plan for the Greater Bay Area, when Loi asked the question. In Lois opinion, Macau has already taken a large number of protective measures for local residents employment. However, he hopes that the city can increase the competencies of Macau locals to better prepare them for future competition. Besides Loi, another speaker, the vice-president of IPM, Lei Ngan Lin, also told the media that the university will launch other relevant measures and strategies to push forward the development of and cooperation in the Greater Bay. According to Lei, IPM has already signed cooperation agreements with several universities in the region, including the Sun Yat-sen University and Beijing Normal University Zhuhai campus. These cooperation agreements concern degrees of mutual recognition as well as the exchange of students. Recently, the school signed a knowledge exchange agreement in conjunction with several universities in the Greater Bay Area. The institute also plans to launch a Chinese-Portuguese translation machine next month. Next month, periodical research results will be announced. We hope that the research can solve Chinese-Portuguese translation problems which we have encountered in the Greater Bay Area, said Lei. Sangam Prasain is Business Editor at The Kathmandu Post, covering tourism, agriculture, mountaineering, aviation, infrastructure and other economic affairs. He joined The Kathmandu Post in October 2009. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brunei is calling on applicants for its Scholarship Award Scheme for the upcoming academic session including students from the Macau SAR. According to an announcement made by the administration, the scholarship program is applicable to students who wish to undertake a diploma, undergraduate degree or postgraduate masters degree at its four universities, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali, Universiti Teknologi Brunei and Politeknik Brunei. Applications are open to citizens of ASEAN, Commonwealth and Organization of Islamic Cooperation member states. The scholarship recipient will be exempted from tuition fees and other related fees for the duration of the program, in addition to receiving an air-ticket to Brunei from the recipients country of origin. The scholarship also includes a monthly personal allowance, meal allowance and an annual book allowance of around MOP3,000, MOP900 and MOP3,500 respectively. The administration reminds applicants that upon completion of the program, the scholarship recipient will be required to leave the country with immediate effect. Interested applicants can submit application documents to the Brunei consulate in Hong Kong by 4 p.m. tomorrow. The Higher Education Bureau (DSES), which changed its name from the Higher Education Office after the Chinese New Year period denoting the bureau as an autonomous administration body, said it forwarded the notice to students who have been receiving scholarships from the bureau. As cited in the Official Gazette, the bureau has increased its responsibilities in implementing the requirements of the citys higher education system. The DSES will be comprised of the Student Affairs Office, the Department for Higher Education Cooperation and Science and Technology and the Office of General Affairs. Sou Chi Fai, the current director of DSES, along with his deputy director, will continue their contract until they are completed. As previously announced at an Executive Council press conference, the bureaus budget has been increased by MOP4 million. LV Despite a general stabilization in the growth of crime in Macau, reporting a mere 0.5 percent increase in 2018, both the authorities and society at large are concerned about a rapid rise in reports of specific offenses, revealed the Secretariat for Security at a presentation yesterday. The crime of child sexual abuse grew by 50 percent year-on- year to reach a total of 27 cases in 2018, juvenile delinquency saw year-on- year growth of 35.6 percent (61 cases), usury crimes hiked 26.8 percent and scams increased 31.3 percent to a total of 1,195 cases. With particular regard to the increase in cases of child sex abuse and juvenile delinquency, the Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak said, these situations deserve consideration and attention from all of society. These problems need coordinated urgent action in terms of interdepartmental cooperation, schools and parents and guardians in order to ascertain motives and reinforce information, communication and awareness [] in cooperation with prevention and resolution efforts. Questioned on the topic of scams, especially those involving illegal currency exchanges that have been making headlines and contributing to a significant portion of the 2018 scams growth, the Secretary noted that the authorities have been paying significant attention to the topic and have organized police operations to target this type of crime by disrupting syndicates. According to the statistics [for 2018] we conducted 913 operations that intercepted a total of 3,050 people. All of them were deported according to the law and 2,269 of them were forbidden from entering Macau for a period of one year, Wong said. In January alone this year, we intercepted a total of 545 scammers, of which 411 were punished with a reentry ban in the region. The Secretary affirmed that anti-scam activities would continue to be one of the main priorities of the Public Security Police Force in 2019. On the other hand, the Secretary for Security emphasized a drop in violent crime which, according to statistics, fell 21.1 percent last year, primarily due to declines of 36.1 percent and 33.3 percent registered in cases of homicide and theft respectively. Among the other offenses that registered declines in 2018 were cases of drug consumption, drug trafficking and providing assistance to illegal immigration, which dropped by 32 percent, 4.9 percent and 8.7 percent respectively. Nonetheless, Wong affirmed that the authorities intend to continue addressing these crimes as priorities. We need to consider that these are crimes that result in high profit, so the offenders are certainly going to risk it and produce serious problems to society, he said. Questioned about the huge difference between the number of cases opened by the police and categorized as domestic violence (105 cases) and the final number of cases reaching the courts (two cases), the Secretary noted that not all cases with signs of domestic violence turn out to involve it. Wong noted that the legal provisions are quite restrictive on the classification of crimes as domestic violence, adding that many of the cases were suspected domestic violence or early stage situations that could develop into domestic violence. The chief security official added that in cases with serious consequences, such as those resulting in severe injuries or death, the police always opt to categorize the case under the most serious offense framework. Judiciary Police (PJ) director Sit Chong Meng added that most of the cases of suspected domestic violence that were later dropped were classified as situations involving threats or bodily harm. Sit supplemented Wongs statement by explaining that, in general the crime is classified as domestic violence so we can activate the mechanism of victim protection of the Social Welfare Bureau. If the crime meets the conditions stated by the legal provisions, of course we would forward it [to the Public Prosecutions Office] as domestic violence. The PJ director also noted that the definition of this crime is quite restrictive. For example, a family relationship must exist between the victim and suspect and the maltreatment must involve physical, psychological or sexual harm since the legal interest concerns the physical integrity of the victim. Sands China Ltd. has banned shark fin from its restaurants, as part of the companys ongoing commitment to protecting the environment, the gaming operator announced in a statement. The ban went into effect January 1, 2019, and covers the entirety of Sands Chinas internal and external food and beverage operations, including all restaurants owned by the company. Sands China began making steps toward a complete ban in 2017, when it removed shark fin from all its menus. This shark fin ban reflects our companys firm commitment to continue reducing the environmental impact of our operations, said Mark McWhinnie, senior vice president of resort operations and development for Sands China Ltd. Meanwhile, Sudhanshu Sarronwala, executive director of marketing and communications for WWF International, said: As sustainable options do not exist for sharks, halting consumer demand is the only solution today. Sands Chinas commitment takes us a significant step closer to closing shark product demand for good. Sofitel launches new menu for March Sofitel Macau announced its March food offerings, introducing Parisian-style bistro dining at Prive and a showcase of Singaporean dishes. Prives bistro menu will offer guests a selection of French favorites to choose from classic Nicoise Salad to Duck Confit along with a range of wines that reflect the diversity of the countrys cuisine and viticulture, the hotel noted in a statement. Prives signature dishes, including: La Bouillabaisse, the Provencal fish stew made with prawn and scallop; the must-try Le Croque Nunu, a contemporary spin on the croque-madame featuring extra old mimolette cheese from Lille, amongst others, will be offered to its guests. Meanwhile, the Mistral Restaurant is launching a dinner buffet menu that serves over 30 Singaporean delicacies in rotation beginning March 1 to April 30. There will be a selection of Singapore Prawn Mee, Singapore Laksa Noodle Soup, and Bak Chor Mee, amongst all time Singaporean favorites. Pakistan says India launched an airstrike on its territory yesterday that caused no casualties, while India said it targeted a terrorist training camp in a pre-emptive strike that killed a very large number of militants. The overnight raid was the latest escalation between the nuclear-armed rivals since a deadly suicide bombing in the disputed Kashmir region earlier this month killed more than 40 Indian soldiers. Pakistan has denied involvement in the attack but has vowed to respond to any Indian military operation against it. The Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility. The bomber, who made a video before the attack, was a resident of Indian-controlled sector of Kashmir. Pakistans military spokesman, Maj. Gen Asif Ghafoor, said the Indian aircrafts crossed into the Muzafarabad sector of Kashmir, which is split between the two countries but claimed by each in its entirety. He said Pakistan scrambled fighters and the Indian jets released payload in haste near Balakot, on the edge of Pakistani-ruled part of Kashmir. Indias foreign secretary, Vijay Gokhale, told reporters in New Delhi that Indian fighter aircraft targeted Jaish-e-Mohammad camps in a pre-emptive strike after intelligence indicated another attack was being planned. Acting on intelligence, India early today stuck the biggest training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad in Balakot, he said. In this operation a very large number of Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and jihadis being trained were eliminated. Balakot police chief Saghir Hussain Shah told The Associated Press that he had sent teams to the area where the Indian bombs reportedly hit, which he described as a mostly deserted wooded area. There are no casualties, there are no damages on the ground because of the dropping of the bombs, he said. There was no immediate explanation for the differing accounts, but India and Pakistan routinely contradict one another. The Feb. 14 attack in Indian- ruled Kashmir was the worst attack on Indian forces since the start of the 1989 insurgency in Kashmir and came as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the middle of a re-election campaign. Addressing a rally of former soldiers in the Indian state of Rajasthan yesterday, just hours after the airstrike, Modi said India was in safe hands. I vow that I will not let the country bow down, he said. China, a close ally of Pakistan, urged both sides to show restraint. We hope that both India and Pakistan can [] take actions that will help stabilize the situation in the region and help to improve mutual relations, instead of the other way around, Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters. Insurgents in the Indian-controlled Kashmir have been demanding either outright independence or union with Pakistan. India routinely accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants who cross the mountainous Himalayan region. In the last year, its increasingly bloody crackdown has escalated tensions in the troubled region. Kashmir divided between India and Pakistan but claimed by both in its entirety has been the cause of two wars between the uneasy neighbors. They fought a third war in 1979 over East Pakistan, which gained its independence with the help of India and became Bangladesh. Pakistans Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi condemned yesterdays incursion, saying New Delhi had endangered peace in the region for political gains. Riaz Khan & Aijaz Hussain, Peshawar, AP The most senior Catholic cleric ever charged with child sex abuse has been convicted of molesting two choirboys moments after celebrating Mass, dealing a new blow to the Catholic hierarchys credibility after a year of global revelations of abuse and cover-up. Cardinal George Pell, Pope Francis top financial adviser and the Vaticans economy minister, bowed his head but then regained his composure as the 12-member jury delivered unanimous verdicts in the Victoria state County Court on Dec. 11 after more than two days of deliberation. The court had until yesterday forbidden publication of any details about the trial. Pell faces a potential maximum 50-year prison term after a sentencing hearing that begins on today. He lodged an appeal last week of the convictions. Details of the trial had been suppressed because until Tuesday, Pell had faced a second trial in April on charges that he indecently assaulted two boys aged 9 or 10 and 11 or 12 as a young priest in the late 1970s in a public pool in his hometown of Ballarat. Prosecutor Fran Dalziel told the court on Tuesday that the Ballarat charges had been dropped and asked for the suppression order to be lifted. The move came days after a judge ruled out two key prosecution witnesses in the Ballarat case. Acting Holy See spokesman Alessandro Gisotti read a statement to reporters Tuesday at the Vatican, saying Pope Francis has confirmed precautionary measures already taken against Pell, including a ban on his saying Mass in public and as is the rule, contact in any way or form with minors. The victim who testified at Pells trial said after the conviction was revealed that he has experienced shame, loneliness, depression and struggle. In his statement, the man said it had taken him years to understand the impact the assault had on his life. Lawyer Lisa Flynn said the father of the second victim, who died of a heroin overdose in 2014 at the age of 31, is planning to sue the church or Pell individually once the appeal is resolved. Pell was surrounded by a crush of cameras and members of the public as he was ushered from the courthouse to a waiting car. Youre a monster! one man shouted. Youre going to burn in hell, you freak! Are you sorry? one woman shouted. Pell did not respond. Another of Pells lawyers, Paul Galbally, said Pell continued to maintain his innocence. The revelations came in the same month that the Vatican announced Francis approved the expulsion from the priesthood of a former high-ranking American cardinal, Theodore McCarrick, for sexual abuse of minors and adults. The convictions were also confirmed days after Francis concluded his extraordinary summit of Catholic leaders summoned to Rome for a tutorial on preventing clergy sexual abuse and protecting children from predator priests. Australias ranking bishop, Mark Coleridge, who delivered the homily at the final Mass of the summit, said Pells convictions shocked many across Australia and around the world, including the Catholic Bishops of Australia. The lifting of the suppression order was welcomed by SNAP, a U.S. support group for victim of clergy abuse. We hope that his conviction will not only bring healing to his victims in Australia but hope to survivors across the world who are yearning for accountability at the top levels of the church, SNAP said in a statement. We believe [the] conviction will make Australian children safer and parents and parishioners better informed about how to prevent sexual abuse. The jury convicted Pell of abusing two boys whom he had caught swigging sacramental wine in a rear room of Melbournes St. Patricks Cathedral in late 1996, as hundreds of worshippers were streaming out of Sunday services. Pell, now 77 but 55 at the time, had just been named the most senior Catholic in Australias second-largest city, Melbourne. The boys were both 13 years old. The jury also found Pell guilty of indecently assaulting one of the boys in a corridor more than a month later. Pell had maintained his innocence throughout, describing the accusations as vile and disgusting conduct. Pells lawyer, Robert Richter, had told the jury that only a mad man would take the risk of abusing boys in such a public place. He said it was laughable that Pell would have been able to expose his penis and force the victim to take it in his mouth, given the cumbersome robes he was wearing. Both he and Chief Judge Peter Kidd urged the jury of eight men and four women not to punish Pell for all the failings of the Catholic Church, which in Australia have been staggering. Along with Ireland and the U.S., Australia has been devastated by the impact of the clerical abuse scandal, with a Royal Commission inquiry finding that 4,444 people reported they had been abused at more than 1,000 Catholic institutions across Australia between 1980 and 2015. As a result, Pells trial amounted to something of a reckoning for survivors, with the brash and towering cardinal becoming the poster child for all that went wrong with the way the Catholic Church handled the scandal. As a result of the scandal, Francis approval ratings have tanked in the United States, and his standing with conservative Catholics around the world has plunged. When the jury chairman delivered the first guilty verdict, Pells hands slipped from the arm rests of the chair where he sat in the dock at the back of the courtroom. His head bowed after the second verdict, but he restored his composure for the final verdicts. The now 34-year-old survivor told the court that Pell orally raped him, then crouched and fondled the complainants genitals while masturbating. I was young and I didnt really know what had happened to me. I didnt really know what it was, if it was normal, the complainant told the court. The other victim died of a heroin overdose in 2014 without ever complaining of the abuse, and even denying to his suspicious mother that he had been molested while he was part of the choir. Neither boy can now be identified, because it is illegal to name victims of sexual assault in Victoria state. Rod McGuirk, Melbourne, AP The national minimum wage for the private sector in Angola has been increased by 30 percent, pending publication of the respective presidential decree in the countrys official gazette, Diario da Republica, which is expected to be signed between March and April, an official said. The Minister of Public Administration, Labour and Social Security, Jesus Maiato, said at the end of the meeting of the Economic Commission of the Council of Ministers last week that the lowest minimum wage will cover agricultural workers, whose wage will increase from 16,503 to 21,454 kwanzas (USD68). Trade and manufacturing workers will receive 26,817 kwanzas and those in the extractive industry will see their wages rise to 32,181 kwanzas (USD102). The minister stressed that the measure is the result of a study carried out and an increase was proposed to allow the recovery of household purchasing power and to maintain stability and balance. Regarding the pension adjustment project in terms of Mandatory Social Protection, also approved at the same session, Maiato said that the minimum old-age pension was increased by 57 percent to 33,598 kwanzas (USD106). Salaries in the civil service were revised last January, with the minimum wage rising 57 percent to 33,000 kwanzas (USD105). The Angolan parliament has approved in a final global vote the introduction of the Value Added Tax Code (VAT/IVA) in the country, which is expected to boost tax collection from consumption, the local press reported. The document was approved with 166 votes in favor, none against and one abstention, during the 4th Ordinary Plenary Meeting, chaired by the parliamentary president, Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos. The approval of the document changes the existing model in consumer tax and extends the tax base, which will allow the State to collect more tax. The Minister of Finance, Archer Mangueira, on presenting the government proposal said the introduction of VAT (known as IVA in Portuguese) in Angola aims to increase justice and neutrality in the taxation of consumption, in order to adapt the taxation of expenditure to the new economic and social reality of the country, as well as to promote the collection of public revenues, to replace Consumer Tax and adjust Stamp Duty. MDT/Macauhub Responding to the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong- Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, the Macau International Airport (MIA) says it will fully implement the South Expansion Project of the Terminal Building. On February 22, the Macau International Airport Company (CAM) held a seminar on the outline plan to discuss its response. According to the outline plan, Beijing will support the expansion of Macau International Airport (MIA) and the development of regional business aircraft services in order to build a modern transportation system and strengthen the unique roles of MIA and Zhuhai Airport by pursuing the differential development of airports in the Greater Bay Area. Accordingly, MIA intends to increase the overall capacity of the terminal and the number of boarding bridges, increase the number of parking stands, and optimize the existing parking stands to become multi-functional. With the addition of TAG Macau, MIA now has two business jet fixed base operators providing comprehensive services to Macau. The Macau airport expects to have more room for business jet activity, and the airport expects this function to become more prominent. In line with the outline plan, MIA will improve the transportation facilities between the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, the airport terminals, Light Rail Transit and land borders, to provide connectivity between transportation hubs and to build a cohesive traffic network to provide passengers with convenient travel options. At the same time, CAM will operate a check-in service at the Hong Kong- Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Service Center to enhance the competitiveness of MIA. CAM will also introduce an Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) system, making use of airspace information interconnectivity to improve the overall operational efficiency and effectiveness of the airport. Additionally, CAM has entered into a subconcession contract with Miniso Department Store Co. Ltd, providing retail services at the arrival hall of the passenger terminal building of MIA. The retailer commences operations at the airport this week. JZ You are free to express how you feel, he said. People in Africa dont have the same freedom to do what they feel. Regardless of the personal risk to preach inclusion, he said: My conscience wouldnt serve me right to go contrary to the Scriptures. Nor to go contrary to a clear rule in the United Methodist Book of Discipline that says the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. I respect their faith, but and you need to understand the impact of that language, said Swanson, the sign holder. There is harm being done, and we need to find a way to end it. Apart from being a deacon in California, shes a therapist who counsels youths. She handed out flyers at the special session that said 40 percent of the nearly 1.7 million homeless youths in the United States are LGBTQ. She said she sees the consequence of divisiveness as a therapist and lives it as a church leader in a global denomination. As with many United Methodists, she didnt read the Book of Discipline before joining. She said she was raised in the church by her parents in St. Charles, Ill. Her father was a police captain, her mother stayed home with the large family. It rips our heart out to hear someone say that they refer to the flag as a rag, Brewer said. Its hard to refer to the flag as a rag because you have to fold it, and you have to give it to the parents of soldiers who die. On Tuesday, Chambers, who also served in the military, refused to back away from his comments. Every hateful thing that was done to black people was done under the aegis of that rag, he said, adding, Youre more upset by whats said about that rag than about the savaging of the Constitution. Others argued that the idea of America is worth teaching to students, along with the countrys dark side. Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Bennington said students should learn about the flaws of historical leaders, as well as their accomplishments. That is what I pledge my allegiance to, to the hope of something we might call America-to-come, she said. Nayak Paudel is a crime reporter for The Kathmandu Post. Since joining the Post in 2018, he has also written on health issues. Amita Sharma: More retirees find themselves caring for their very elderly parents Lompoc Police arrested a man Tuesday on suspicion of attempted murder after he allegedly placed a rope around a local doctor's neck, pulling h Ansari has support from ruling party The ruling party has thrown its weight behind Samim Ansari, for endorsing his nomination as the chairman of the National Muslim Commission despite controversy over his credentials. Events at the Lexington Grand Generation Center - Public Bingo on Mondays at 7 p.m. Must be 18 to play. For questions call 308-324-2498. Homemade Pretzel Baking on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 1 p.m. Cost to purchase pretzels is .50/pretzel, $6.00/dozen. Purchase and/or come help roll. RYDE Transit - Public Transportation is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. To schedule a ride in Dawson County or Lexington call 308-324-3670. Public Transportation is easy to ride and open to everyone. PUBLIC LIBRARies Sunday, March 3 at 2:00 p.m. Rascal Martinez will be performing at the Lexington Public Library. Rascals music channels a mix of rockabilly, folk, and country, with a subtext of Latin melodies and his vocals come up out of the Nebraska plains like a cool summer swell. Rascal enjoys writing his own songs, but also appreciates performing the 50s and 60s timeless hits along with other genres. The Friends of the Library will serve refreshments following the program. Families are invited to join us for a Family Movie Night on Thursday, March 7 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Benthack Margritz Room of the Lexington Public Library. Come and enjoy a family friendly movie; light refreshments will be served. To find out more, contact the Lexington Public Library at 324-2151. Salem thanked this boss, Dan Roberts for his support and belief in him over the years. The Agri-Service Award was presented by Dave Stenberg to Dave Schroeder of KRVN. Schroeder said after the banquet, he was listening to the accolades of the award winner and thought this person would be interesting to interview, and then realized, he was the award winner. Schroeder said soon he will have spent 31 years at KRVN. During the 1980s farm crisis, Schroeder said his father urged him to find a career in something other than agriculture due to the downturn. Schroeder said he was lucky to find KRVN and still has been involved with agriculture in a way through his work at the station. He said his work is about telling the stories, both good and bad, of whom we are. Clay Patton of KRVN read the presentation of the Farm Family of the Year Award. The story and presentation were created by Don and Barb Batie. Craig and Terry Uden were named as the Farm Family of the Year. Craig Uden spoke after the presentation and spoke about their travels around the world and realized something. We are very proud of this community and this area, Uden said, We have tremendous support in this area and we should not take that for granted. scholarship, news and new ideas in legal history Ang Tshering Sherpa, aviation pioneer and hospitality entrepreneur, dies in a helicopter crash Ang Tshering Sherpa, the aviation and hospitality entrepreneur who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most powerful businessmen in the country, died in a helicopter crash. Kitzhaber ultimately won 50 to 44 percent. After he lost, Parrish said, he took a year off to serve a mission with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Parrish said she repeatedly pushed him to run for secretary of state, and he eventually relented. She ran his campaign, and brought him to places like North Portland, which Republican politicians usually ignore, she said. He was the nonpartisan leader for all of us, Parrish said. But even his 12 years in the House, working long days, didnt prepare him for being secretary of state, Parrish said. So Richardson set in. He rented a small apartment in Salem within walking distance to the Capitol. Parrish said he lived and breathed fiscal conservancy, evidenced by the air mattress he used for a bed until his wife made him buy a real one. And in two years, Parrish said, Richardson fulfilled his campaign promises. The last item to check off his list was a deep audit into issues that have plagued Portland Public Schools for years. He did what he said he was going to do, Parrish said. He made a commitment to really run that office who the lens of someone who wasnt partisan. He didnt think anything had happened to the plate, but at his friends suggestion he flipped it over and looked at the bottom. A machine gun had walked right across that sucker and my head was right beside it, Barrett said. I had a few more near escapes; I was just one of the lucky idiots. Barrett was born in Pasadena, Calif., and grew up in southern California. He had enlisted in the Marine Corps three years earlier, needing his mothers permission to join as a 17-year-old. He went to basic training at Camp Pendleton and trained to be a parachutist. I jumped out of the first plane I ever flew in, Barrett said. He saw his first duty as part of the clean-up squad on Guadalcanal. That first tour through the Pacific also included stops at Vella Lavella and Choiseul. At that time, the Marines Corps parachute program was disbanded and Barrett was among those sent back to Camp Pendleton for re-training. It was there that he was assigned to a mortar platoon. After the brief stop at Camp Pendleton, he was sent to Hawaii for additional training. Their first action back in the Pacific was at Iwo Jima. A Venezuelan opposition plan failed to bring humanitarian aid into the country Saturday. Soldiers loyal to President Nicolas Maduro refused to let the trucks carrying food and medical supplies cross the border from Colombia. Many of Venezuelas National Guard then made the decision to flee the military and their country for Colombia. Immigration officials there said that more than 320 soldiers have sought shelter in Colombia since Saturday. Many of the military dissenters ended up in a shelter run by a Catholic religious worker. There, they can find information about family members back home. The former soldiers are also learning how to request for asylum. Nine of them spoke with the Associated Press. They described the day they were ordered by commanders to stop aid from entering Venezuela. Many feared they would be placed in jail. So, they obeyed their orders and fired tear gas at protesters. Two soldiers said they were part of the failed aid transport plot. The soldiers escape comes as the Venezuelan opposition pressures the military to accept Juan Guaido as the nations true president. More than 50 nations -- including the United States and many Latin American countries -- have recognized Guaido as such. But top military officials have stood by Maduro, who has shown no sign that he will surrender power. The soldiers who fled say within the military, breaking from Maduro is almost impossible. The Venezuelan army includes at least 200,000 troops. Severe shortages of food and medicine in the last few years have led more than 3 million people to leave Venezuela When Guaido first announced the aid push, Jorge Torres said he and three other soldiers began to form a plan. As National Guard drivers, they had access to armored trucks. They planned to drive the vehicles across the Simon Bolivar International Bridge, break down the barriers that stood in the way and permit opposition trucks to carry the aid in. Saturday morning, Torres climbed into one of the trucks and drove it across the bridge. He broke through several barriers, but also hit a woman trying to enter Colombia. She escaped serious injury, but he was forced to stop. Torres raised his arms in surrender and helped the woman toward a hospital emergency vehicle. He was quickly taken and presented to Guaido, who secretly came across the border into Colombia to lead the aid launch. Torres said he stood at attention and promised his loyalty to Guaido. Were still in time to change history, he said Guaido told him. Many of the soldiers said they worry their wives and children will now face problems. They are also concerned about finances. Many soldiers who have fled in the last year have had difficulty getting work. They end up making a little money selling food on the streets. Almost all the soldiers who left would support a foreign intervention in Venezuela and join in the fight. Guaido called on the international community Saturday to consider all possible actions to resolve Venezuelas crisis. The conflict over the aid shipments caused four deaths and injured 300 other people. Several of the dissenters said they believe the best way forward is for more troops to leave and help form a resistance from outside. Some say Venezuelans alone should lead such efforts. Others believe resistance requires the help of an international coalition. All said they do not see themselves as dissenters, but as troops set on restoring Venezuelas democracy. Were going to change history, Torres said. We are history. Im Jonathan Evans. Christine Armario reported this story for the Associated Press. Jonathan Evans adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ Words in this Story access n. a way of getting near, at, or to something or someone Depression is more than just feeling sad. It is a serious disease. Depression can interfere with normal life and a persons sense of self-worth. It can end in suicide. Some people are helped with traditional treatments, such as medicine or talking with mental health experts. Yet these treatments are not 100 percent effective. Luckily, there are other methods people can try. One such treatment involves bursts of electromagnetic energy. It sends magnetic pulses directly to the brain. Sonya Kibbee is from Columbia, Missouri. She works as a physical therapist. Kibbee says she is normally active, but because of severe depression last year, she had trouble making simple decisions. Just dumb little decisions that we make that we dont even think about, I have to think about. And then it just gets me more stressed out because every little decision is hard. People suffering from depression often seem to lack energy or interest in the things around them. Depression affects how much a person eats and can interfere with sleep. Even with medication and talking with mental health professionals, Kibbee said, she thought about suicide. Doctors ordered hospital stays for her several times. Then she heard about TMS, short for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. TMS does not involve doctors operating on the patient. And the treatment usually does not require anesthesia. TMS uses a wire to send powerful magnetic pulses to the brain. During the treatment, patients feel gentle, repeated beats on their head. The treatment can cause minor pain inside the head. So before her treatments, Kibbee took pain medicine, which reduced the sensation. After one week, she said she noticed a real difference. I just felt so much better. After more than 30 treatments, her signs of depression almost disappeared. Doctor Muaid Ithman directs the TMS program at University of Missouri Health Care. He says the treatment can help patients when other methods do not. Basically, 50 (or) 60 percent of people who suffer from treatment resistant depression will see a clinically meaningful response to TMS. And one third of these people will go into remission, which means that their symptoms will completely will go away. The United States National Institute of Mental Health has reported on two large studies on the safety of TMS. It said they found that most side effects, such as head pain, were minor to moderate. However, the treatment is relatively new. The institute added that long-term side effects are unknown, and more studies are needed. As for Kibbee, she returned to work and some of her favorite activities. I'm Caty Weaver. Carol Pearson reported this story for VOANews.com. George Grow adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. __________________________________________________________ Words in This Story pulse n. a beating noise; the beat resulting from such a sound stressed adj. feeling very worried clinically adv. relating to or based on work done with real patients; of or relating to the medical treatment that is given to patients in hospitals or medical centers anesthesia n. a loss of sensation; something that produces a loss of sensation response n. something that is done or happens as a reaction to something else symptom n. a change in the body or mind which indicates that a disease is present We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. India is claiming responsibility for air strikes on Pakistani territory. India says the attack targeted a camp of the Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad. The group took responsibility for a suicide bombing in Indian Kashmir earlier this month. The explosion killed 30 paramilitary troops. India says many militants died in the air strikes on Tuesday. The strikes will increase military tensions between India and Pakistan. Pakistani officials claim the attack caused no damage or injuries. In a statement, Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale called the attack a pre-emptive strike. He also said he had reasonable intelligence that the Jaish-e-Mohammed was planning another suicide terror attack in India. The foreign secretary said his country struck the groups biggest training center at Balakot, in Pakistan. In this operation, a very large number of Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists, trainers, (and) senior commanders, were killed, he said. Gokhale added that India had taken steps to avoid civilian deaths and injuries. In Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan called an emergency meeting of his national security committee on Tuesday. After the meeting, his office released a statement. It said that the strike was a political move because India is in an election environment. The statement added that Indias claims were fictitious. It said local and international media were being taken to the area so they could see it was not a militant camp. Major General Asif Ghafoor, a Pakistani spokesman, denied Indias description of the attack. In a statement on Twitter, he said, Indian aircrafts(faced) timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force. He added that there were no deaths or damage from the attack. Observers said this is the first air strike launched across the line of control in Kashmir since the two countries fought a war in 1971. Indian forces and air defenses have been put on high alert while waiting for possible reaction by Pakistan. Pakistan has warned it will answer any military action by India. There has been a large Pakistani troop buildup in Indian Kashmir in recent days. The Indian foreign secretary repeated his countrys calls on Pakistan to take action against militants operating on its territory. He said Pakistan should take action to remove Jaish-e-Mohammed camps and arrest terrorists. Pakistan has long denied that it gives assistance to militant groups that target Kashmir. The deadly car bombing in Indian Kashmir led to widespread anger in India and calls for action. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised a strong response and said the armed forces had been given the freedom to take action. The targeting of militant camps is a change from Indias years-old policy of restraint. The militant groups are fighting for either Kashmirs independence or to join Pakistan. The military action follows a diplomatic attempt by India to isolate Pakistan from other countries for its suspected support to militant groups. The Himalayan territory is divided between the two countries and has been the cause of two of their three wars. VOAs Anjana Pasricha reported this story. Susan Shand adapted her report for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ___________________________________________________________ Words in This Story pre-emptive adj. done to stop an unwanted act by another group or country from happening fictitious adj. not true or real alert n. to give (someone) important information about a possible problem or danger response n. an answer; something spoken, written or done in reaction to something else isolate v. to put or keep (someone or something) in a place or situation that is separate from others Tuesday, February 26, 2019 A father and son are the subject of a complaint filed by the Illinois Administrator. The facts are littered with a number of sudden deaths In 2015, Respondent William agreed to represent Stephen Nocek ("Stephen") in certain legal matters. Stephen was an 89 year-old man with three adult sons, Daniel, Michael and Philip Nocek. In late August 2015, Daniel Nocek ("Daniel") died unexpectedly at the age of 58. Respondent William agreed to represent Stephen in the probate of Daniels estate. Respondent William and Stephen agreed on a flat fee of $2,300. Stephen paid Respondent William in full and Respondent completed the representation. Stephen also executed a will Respondent William prepared Stephens will and, on September 30, 2016, Stephen signed the will which was also witnessed and notarized on that date. Stephens September 30, 2016 will provided that his entire estate would be left to his son Michael Nocek ("Michael"). Stephens son Philip Nocek ("Philip") was a disabled adult. The will appointed Michael to serve as executor. Stephens September 30, 2016 last will and testament complied with Chapter 755, Section 5/4-3. Then In February 2017, Michael was hospitalized following an illness. On February 21, 2017, Stephen contacted Respondent William to draft a last will and testament for Michael. Respondent William agreed to create a will for Michael. Respondent William and Stephen did not did not discuss a fee for Michaels will. On or about February 21, 2017, Respondent William drafted a last will and testament for Michael. Michaels will named his aunt, Stephens sister Elizabeth Riff, and his two cousins as beneficiaries but did not include his brother Philip. Michaels will also appointed Stephen as executor and his cousin, Kathleen Raymond ("Raymond"), as successor executor in the event Stephen was unable to serve. On February 23, 2017, Respondent William visited Michael in the hospital to review the will. Respondent William and Michael reviewed the will and its terms and Respondent William read the will aloud to Michael. Respondent William was present as Michael signed the will. No other person was present when Michael executed his will. Respondent William left the hospital with Michaels unattested will. On February 24, 2017, Michael died. The reaper grimly continued to stalk the family Nocek On February 21, 2017, the same day that Stephen asked Respondent William to draft a will for Michael, Stephen also asked Respondent William to modify his (Stephens) September 30, 2016 will. Respondent William agreed to draft a codicil to modify Stephens will. Respondent William and Stephen did not discuss a fee for the codicil to Stephens September 30, 2016 will. On February 24, 2017, Respondent William visited Stephen, who was in a hospital. Respondent William reviewed the codicil to Stephens September 30, 2016 will with Stephen by reading it aloud to Stephen. Respondent William was present when Stephen executed the codicil. The codicil modified Stephens original will in that, if Michael died before Stephen, Raymond would serve as executor. The codicil further modified the distribution of Stephens estate from Michael to three beneficiaries: Stephens sister and Stephens niece and nephew. Respondent William was present when Stephen signed the codicil and he left the hospital with Stephens unattested codicil. Stephen died on March 2, 2017. The alleged misconduct On March 1, 2017, Respondent William asked Respondent James to sign the attestation clauses and affidavits of attesting witnesses on Michaels will and Stephens codicil even though Respondent James had not been present for the signing of Michaels will or Stephens codicil... On March 1, 2017, after Respondent William and Respondent James signed the attestation clauses and affidavits...Respondent William asked Kimberli Montes, a family member, to notarize Michaels will and Stephens codicil by affixing her notary seal to the documents. Ms. Montes did notarize the documents, notwithstanding the fact that she had not observed Michael, Stephen, Respondent William or Respondent James sign the documents. The signatures on the attestation clauses and affidavits of witnesses by Respondent William and Respondent James on Stephens codicil and Michaels will were false, as Respondent James did not observe Michael or Stephen execute the respective documents, Respondent James did not know Michaels and Stephens capacity at the time the documents were executed and Respondents William and James were not "in the presence of each other" when Stephen and Michael signed the respective documents. As such, both Michaels will and the codicil to Stephens September 30, 2016 will did not comply with Chapter 755, Section 5/4-3. Philip's counsel uncovered the issue and the documents were declared invalid Respondent William, along with counsel for Raymond and Phillip, appeared before the court in case numbers 2017 P 2424 and 2017 P 2426. Respondent William informed the court that Respondent James, the second witness, was not present when Michaels will and the codicil to Stephens will were executed, that the witness attestation clauses and affidavits of witnesses on those documents were false attestations and the will and codicil were not executed properly. The complaint alleges that both respondents made a false statement to a tribunal and engaged in dishonest conduct. (Mike Frisch) https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2019/02/a-father-and-son-are-the-subject-of-a-complaint-filed-by-the-illinois-administrator-the-facts-are-littered-with-a-number-of.html Tuesday, February 26, 2019 From AP, via the NACDL news scan: Lawmakers in Connecticut, Hawaii, Mississippi and Virginia have proposed murder and manslaughter charges for overdoses this year. Several states passed such laws over the past two years, while others have taken to charging drug deaths under murder and manslaughter statutes that dont specifically mention overdoses. Twenty states now have so-called drug-induced homicide laws that carry the same sentences as murder and manslaughter, according to the Drug Policy Alliance, a nonprofit drug policy organization based in New York. https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/crimprof_blog/2019/02/should-drug-dealers-be-charged-with-murder-states-ponder.html Oversight and Reform Chairman Elijah E. Cummings and Others Expects Mueller Report to be Made Public Chairs of six committees in the U.S. House of Representatives wrote to Attorney General William Barr to inform him of their expectation that he will make Special Counsel Robert Muellers report public without delay and to the maximum extent permitted by law. The letter follows news reports that suggest the Special Counsel investigation is nearing an end. The letter was signed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairman Elijah E. Cummings, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Adam B. Schiff, Committee on Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters, Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Richard E. Neal and Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot L. Engel. Full text of the letter is available here and below. ADVERTISEMENT February 22, 2019 The Honorable William P. Barr Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice ADVERTISEMENT 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530 Dear Mr. Attorney General: Recent reports suggest that Special Counsel Robert Mueller may be nearing the end of his investigation into any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump and other matters that may have arisen directly from the investigation.[1] As you know, Department of Justice regulations require that, [a]t the conclusion of the Special Counsels work, he or she shall provide the Attorney General with a confidential report explaining the prosecution or declination decisions reached by the Special Counsel.[2] After nearly two years of investigationaccompanied by two years of direct attacks on the integrity of the investigation by the Presidentthe public is entitled to know what the Special Counsel has found. We write to you to express, in the strongest possible terms, our expectation that the Department of Justice will release to the public the report Special Counsel Mueller submits to youwithout delay and to the maximum extent permitted by law. There also remains a significant public interest in the full disclosure of information learned by the Special Counsel about the nature and scope of the Russian governments efforts to undermine our democracy. To the extent that the Department believes that certain aspects of the report are not suitable for immediate public release, we ask that you provide that information to Congress, along with your reasoning for withholding the information from the public, in order for us to judge the appropriateness of any redactions for ourselves. We also expect that the Department will provide to our Committees, upon request and consistent with applicable law, other information and material obtained or produced by the Special Counsel regarding certain foreign actors and other individuals who may have been the subject of a criminal or counterintelligence investigation. This expectation is well-grounded in the precedent set by the Department in recent years. In other closed and pending high-profile cases alleging wrongdoing by public officials, both the Department and the FBI have produced substantial amounts of investigative material, including classified and law enforcement sensitive information, to the House of Representatives. Finally, although we recognize the policy of the Department to remain sensitive to the privacy and reputation interests of individuals who will not face criminal charges,[3] we feel that it is necessary to address the particular danger of withholding evidence of misconduct by President Trump from the relevant committees. If the Special Counsel has reason to believe that the President has engaged in criminal or other serious misconduct, then the President must be subject to accountability either in a court or to the Congress. But because the Department has taken the position that a sitting President is immune from indictment and prosecution,[4] Congress could be the only institution currently situated to act on evidence of the Presidents misconduct. To maintain that a sitting president cannot be indicted, and then to withhold evidence of wrongdoing from Congress because the President will not be charged, is to convert Department policy into the means for a cover-up. The President is not above the law. Thank you for your consideration. ### Congresswomen Terri Sewell Partners to Introduces The Voting Rights Advancement Act U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced legislation to help address the most egregious forms of recent voter suppression by developing a process to determine which states and localities with a recent history of voting rights violations must pre-clear election changes with the Department of Justice. ADVERTISEMENT In my hometown of Selma and throughout Alabamas 7th Congressional District, Americans bled, marched and died for the right to vote, but the modern-day voter suppression we saw in the 2018 mid-term elections shows that old battles have become new again, Sewell said. Since the Supreme Courts Shelby vs. Holder decision, many states have enacted more restrictive voting laws that have led us in the wrong direction. The Voting Rights Advancement Act helps protect and advance the legacy of those brave foot soldiers of the civil rights movement by restoring key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and empowering the Justice Department to stop voter suppression tactics before they go into place. Nearly 54 years ago next week, on March 7, a courageous band of civil rights activists including my friend and hero, Congressman John Lewis began a march for the right to vote from Selma to Montgomery. They marched non-violently in the face of unspeakable violence. On that Bloody Sunday, they shed their blood for the ballot. But we gather today for much more than a vital history lesson, Leahy said. We assemble today for a call to action. Voter suppression efforts are unacceptable and un-American. But because of a disastrous Supreme Court decision, they are almost impossible to stop. The Voting Right Advancement Act we are introducing today would restore and bolster the Voting Rights Act, and undo the damage done by the Shelby County decision. The election of 2016 was a wakeup call. Voters were threatened and given false information. Hundreds of thousands of voters were purged from the rolls all over the country. People who had voted for decades were turned away from the polls. What happened? It was the first election in over 50 years without the protection of the Voting Rights Act, Rep. John Lewis said. We must repair what the Supreme Court damaged. We must pass this bill to ensure that every American has equal freedom to participate in our democracy. The right to vote is one of the most sacred and fundamental tenets of our democracy. Despite the progress we have made as a nation since the passage of the Voting Rights Act, there are far too many examples of those in power working to make it harder for folks to vote, Sen. Doug Jones said. Efforts to restrict access to the ballot box disproportionately affect people of color, the elderly and people with disabilities. Its just plain wrong. Thats why I am proud to once again join Congresswoman Sewell and our colleagues in introducing this important legislation and carrying on the legacy of all those who fought tirelessly to extend the right to vote to every American. Voting is the basis of our democracy, and yet a privilege still denied to many. While weve seen state leaders in places like Texas challenge voting rights and actively suppress turnout, we can and must do more to break down barriers that keep Americans, and disproportionately minority communities, from the polls, CHC Chairman Joaquin Castro said. Im proud to support H.R.4, which would restore a critical Voting Rights Act protection by requiring states with recent history of voter discrimination seek federal preclearance for election charges, and in doing so, prevent voter suppression, make elections more transparent and ensure all Americans, regardless of their zip code or skin color, have a voice in our democracy. This is not a partisan issue. As Americans, we must ensure the integrity of the robust democracy our Founding Fathers envisioned for our nation. The Supreme Courts 2013 Shelby County v. Holder ruling struck down Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlined the qualifications needed to determine which states are required by the Justice Department to pre-clear elections changes in states with a history of voter discrimination. ADVERTISEMENT Since the Shelby decision, nearly two-dozen states have implemented restrictive voter ID laws and previously-covered states have closed or consolidated polling places, shortened early voting and imposed other measures that restrict voting. The Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA) seeks to restore the VRA by developing a process to determine which states must pre-clear election changes with the Department of Justice. It will also require a nationwide, practice-based pre-clearance of known discriminatory practices, including the creation of at-large districts, inadequate multilingual voting materials and cuts to polling places. The House and Senate will also hold a series of hearings to document the public record of voter suppression and the need for federal pre-clearance enforcement. In addition to Reps. Sewell, Lewis and Castro the bill was introduced by 207 representatives. In addition to Sens. Leahy and Jones, the bill was introduced by 46 senators. The Voting Rights Advancement Act is endorsed by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights; Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Brennan Center for Justice; Human Rights Campaign (HRC); Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC); National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund; Native American Rights Fund (NARF); National Education Association (NEA); Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF); NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. Congresswoman Jahana Hayes Cosponsors Medicare For All Act of 2019 WASHINGTON, D.C. Congresswoman Jahana Hayes released the following statement, after House introduction of the Medicare for All Act. The bill was drafted by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), and has over 100 cosponsors. I know how important quality, affordable health care is for the people of Connecticuts Fifth District. I ran on a platform of providing health care coverage for more people, and the Medicare for All Act will achieve that goal. ADVERTISEMENT Nearly 30 million Americans are uninsured. Another 40 million cannot afford the costs of their co-pays or deductibles. People should not have to choose between their health and their livelihoods. Working families deserve better. Our job as lawmakers is to provide them with better outcomes and that is what we are doing by supporting this legislation. A horror confronted Sexual harassment of girls in schools largely goes unreported WASHINGTON In response to the Trump Administrations elimination of critical reproductive health services provided by the Title X program, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) issued the following statement: Let me be crystal clear: reproductive rights are human rights. The Trump Administrations Domestic Gag Rule is further putting our humanity at stake, preventing people throughout the United States from accessing health care and family planning services. Nearly 4 million people, including thousands across the Massachusetts 7th, rely on the Title X program to responsibly plan for their future and safeguard their sexual health. This Gag Rule robs our most marginalized communities of critical medical resources and will jeopardize their ability to access quality, affordable healthcare. Title X empowers people throughout the United States to take control of their reproductive health and family planning decisions. I will not allow this administration to attack our reproductive freedoms and put our future at risk. I stand ready to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to affirm that reproductive rights are not up for debate. Congressmember James E. Clyburn Partners to Work to Change the Charleston Loophole Gun Law that Allowed the Mother Emanuel Massacre Charleston, S.C. Next week the U.S. House of Representatives will take the first step to close the so-called Charleston Loophole that allowed the perpetrator of the Mother Emanuel massacre to obtain his gun. House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn and Congressman Joe Cunningham were joined at a press conference today by political, religious and community leaders in support of the passage of the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2019. The legislation introduced by South Carolina Congressmen Clyburn and Cunningham along with their Republican colleague, Rep. Peter King (NY) will extend the initial background check review period from three to 10 days. Next, after that initial 10 business day period, if a background check is not completed, a purchaser may request an escalated review to spur the FBI to complete its investigation. If the background check is not resolved after the additional 10 business day escalated review, the purchase may proceed. Under current law, the sale of a firearm can proceed if a background check is not completed within three days. The Enhanced Background Checks Act is designed to ensure that background checks for potential firearms purchases are completed before sales proceed while also protecting the rights of law-abiding gun purchasers to purchase weapons in a timely manner. ADVERTISEMENT It is important for us to do what we can to prevent people who should not purchase a gun from purchasing one, said Congressman Clyburn. As the years go by its become evident that if we change nothing, nothing will change. This is our step to make a change, Congressman Cunningham said. This is a common sense and pragmatic solution to allow law enforcement the time they need to do their job. Many speakers explained personal connections to gun violence when pledging to support the legislation. We know that background checks work. And we also know that sometimes they take longer than three days, said Rabbi Stephanie Alexander from Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim. The vast majority of Americans want to see this loophole closed. Lets get this done. So that the next time our children come home from school after practicing a code red to prepare for gun violence, we will be able to look them in the eye knowing we have done something to protect them from gun violence as well. The founder of the Safe School Project and high school English teacher, Patrick Martin, explained that teachers have a front row seat to the fears of students and said that this bill is a common-sense measure to help ease the apprehension of students and reassure parents that the polarization that has led to these senseless killings will end. The bill is expected to pass the house next week and Congressman Clyburn urged everyone to talk to as many people as you possibly can. Write as many people as you possibly can. Call as many people as you possibly can. Lets see what we can do to build support for this on the Senate side. Speakers included Reverend Eric Manning, minister at Mother Emanuel AME; Mayor John Tecklenburg, Charleston; Former Mayor Joe Riley, Charleston; Rabbi Stephanie Alexander, Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim; Ilene Turbow, Vice President of the Jewish Federation of Charleston; Reverend Nelson Rivers, National Action Network; Patrick Martin, High School English Teacher and Founder of The Safe School Project; Jackie Shelley, Charleston Moms Demand Action; Sydney Clinton, Lowcountry Students for Political Action; Thomas Dixon, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence; Meghan Alexander, Founder of Arm in Arm. ADVERTISEMENT Full Text of H.R. 112 Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2019 Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.s Statement On House Vote Rejecting National Emergency Declaration Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. WASHINGTON, DC Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), Vice Chairman of the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H. J. Res. 46, a resolution opposing the national emergency declared by the President on a vote 245 to 182. The resolution will now be sent to the Senate where it is expected to receive expedited consideration. ADVERTISEMENT The President declared an emergency over a crisis that does not exist. Border crossings are down to one-fifth of what they were in 2000, and apprehensions are at their lowest level in more than four decades. Instead of protecting our national security, the Presidents declaration makes America less safe by stealing billions from high-priority military construction projects that ensure our troops have the essential training, readiness and quality of life necessary to keep the American people safe, which directly undermines Americas national security. The declaration clearly violates the Congresss exclusive power of the purse under Article I of the U.S. Constitution, and, if unchecked, would fundamentally alter the balance of powers established by the Founding Fathers in that document the Supreme Law of the land. The resolution rejecting the emergency declaration transcends partisan politics and partisanship, and is really about patriotism. A bipartisan group of nearly 60 national security officials including former secretaries of state, defense secretaries, CIA directors, and ambassadors to the UN issued a statement declaring that there is no factual basis justifying the Presidents emergency declaration. In this vote, the House voted to honor and protect the U.S. Constitution, said Bishop. Adapted from the Twitter feed, Monday, February 25, 2019. Posted Tuesday night, February 26. Republicans can't break the law because laws are for other people Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pray during a campaign rally in Ocala, Fla. Associated Press/Photo by Evan Vucci 2016 via World. This AP story is damning, but it wont damn him with Republicans The Democrats had blamed Russia for the hacking and release of damaging material on his presidential opponent, Hillary Clinton. Trump wasnt buying it. But on July 27, 2016, midway through a news conference in Florida, Trump decided to entertain the thought for a moment. Russia, if youre listening, said Trump, looking directly into a television camera, I hope youre able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing messages Clinton was reported to have deleted from her private email server. Actually, Russia was doing more than listening: It had been trying to help Republican Trump for months. That very day, hackers working with Russias military intelligence tried to break into email accounts associated with Clintons personal office. It was just one small part of a sophisticated election interference operation carried out by the Kremlin and meticulously chronicled by special counsel Robert Mueller. We know this, though Mueller has made not a single public comment since his appointment in May 2017. We know this, though the full, final report on the investigation, believed to be in its final stages, may never be made public. Its up to Attorney General William Barr. We know this because Mueller has spoken loudly, if indirectly, in court indictment by indictment, guilty plea by guilty plea. In doing so, he tracked an elaborate Russian operation that injected chaos into a U.S. presidential election and tried to help Trump win the White House. He followed a GOP campaign that embraced the Kremlins help and championed stolen material to hurt a political foe. And ultimately, he revealed layers of lies, deception, self-enrichment and hubris that followed. Republicans will never admit Trump is a criminal because in their minds Republicans CAN'T be criminals. Republicans don't break the law because a.) they're too good and law-abiding and anyway b.) laws are for other people...THOSE people! Republicans are good people. The good people. The only good people. The only ones who work and pay taxes. Gods favored. The only real Americans. The people the whole nations for. Laws exist to keep THEM in line and in their place. Laws are there to protect "us" and "our" property from THEM! Republicans get to make the laws and to say what the laws mean and to whom they apply. They are not subject to them. They are the enforcers and the defenders. This is what they see Trump doing. Not breaking the law but applying it to THEM. THEM of course includes the usual threats to white people's sense of privilege and vanity but also the Europeans, the Canadians, and the Japanese I should say white *Republicans* sense of privilege and vanity. White Republicans being synonymous with AMERICANS. In their minds they're the only real Americans. So Trump isn't colluding with the Russians. The Russians don't truly matter. They're just useful. Trump is protecting Americans, that's all they care about, and if he has to make deals with the Russians to do it, it's fine with them Again, this is what laws are for, to protect "us" from THEM. I'm not just talking about the Congressional Republicans. Every Republican feels this way, voters included. They don't think laws SHOULD apply to them. In the rare instance when they find themselves subject to them, they're shocked and outraged. They expect a special exemption. "Why are you after me when they're are REAL criminals out there?" Want to test this? Ask them about that time they got stopped by a cop for speeding. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ To read the Chad Day and Eric Tuckers whole article, follow the link to Court records reveal a Mueller report right in plain view at AP News. Afghanistan, in early 2019, is a stalemated war of almost 20 years, and there is no victory in sight for either side. President Donald Trump is fostering peace talks with the Taliban, a change of story from fighting to peace, if desired. Trump is on the right side of history. In 2014, President Barack Obama, a constitutional lawyer turned president, justly said that if the U.S. was to intervene militarily in Syria then Congress must approve. Congress deferred and the political right still howled for war. Obama, seeing no throngs in the streets protesting war in Syria, entered the field of battle. It was another well-laid trap to pull us into war and more war. Trump wants us out of Syria. His changing the story in Syria from war to peace is a good thing. Regarding Korean peace in 2019, Trump and Kim Jong Un are defying the naysayers. I hope they shock us by a formal declaration ending that war. In our time, we see the power in changing the stories of wars ending. We urge taking this to the next level: Trump, in the hallmark of his second term, embraces the Kellogg-Briand Pact to end all war. By changing the story from war to peace, Trump will be among those awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize for his part in ending the Korean War and humanity ending all war. It is all within his grasp. Will the people follow? JanStephen Cavanaugh East Hempfield Township Tired of voting for the lesser of two evils? Is an election in which most peoples preferred candidate loses a good thing? The number of candidates vying for the upcoming presidential election means that most voters will likely end up disappointed because their preferred candidate is eliminated. Ranked-choice voting could help fix that problem. On their ballots, voters rank the candidates in the order of their preference. The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and the second-choice candidate on those ballots now receives that vote. The elimination continues until one candidate has a majority. San Francisco has used rank-choice voting in local elections since 2004 and the system decided a 2018 congressional election in Maine. Towns that use it tend to have better voter turnout than before. Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessigs group, Equal Citizens, is proposing the use of ranked-choice voting in presidential primaries in 2020. If you are interested in expanding your voting options, contact your state representatives and urge them to pass ranked-choice voting legislation. Meanwhile, keep looking for how upcoming presidential candidates address the obscenely bloated military budget that could be better used to meet real human needs and save our planet. According to a 2017 Brown University study, federal spending on domestic programs in health care, education, clean energy and infrastructure creates more jobs, dollar for dollar, than military spending. Harold A. Penner Akron On Feb. 15, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on the border with Mexico. He claims the wall is paramount to stopping the flow of drugs, criminals and immigrants that supposedly is threatening American citizens as the immigrants are invading our country. In the same speech in which he declared that immediate funding was essential for security, he acknowledged a shocking fact that we the people know to be true. I didnt need to do this, but Id rather do it much faster, he said. I just want to get it done faster, thats all. This emergency, based on impatience from our president instead of necessity for our safety, diverts funds toward a structure when they could be poured into a system instead. As of now, the Trump administration is requesting $5 billion to build the wall, asking Americans to fund blatant racism, intentional ignorance and unfounded stereotypes. Claiming that funding the wall will protect Americans is hypocritical when we remember that the wall will pass through sacred indigenous land and that building a wall along the entire border will require seizing almost 5,000 parcels of land from U.S. citizens in Texas alone. The United States does have a crisis at the border, but it is a crisis of compassion, not of migration. When undocumented children who are seeking asylum are captured by or turn themselves in to immigration officials, they are often kept in an icebox, or a cold room without adequate food or warmth, for up to 72 hours. According to reports like those from The Atlantic, these children who often speak very little to no English are left to navigate a foreign legal system almost completely on their own. According to Syracuse Universitys TRAC Immigration database, more than 80 percent of children who are unrepresented in the legal system are deported. Of the children who are able to procure lawyers, only 12 percent are deported. Undocumented asylum-seekers who make their way to the border are criminalized by our legal system, but arent given the protections such as the right to be provided an attorney afforded by the Fourth Amendment. USA Today produced a Pulitzer Prize-winning report on the border wall that examined the effects it will have on people and on the environment, and its results cast doubts on the claims that a wall will solve all of our problems at the border. Despite media framing and some politicians claims, a Pew Research study found that the number of unauthorized immigrants in the United States has been steadily dropping and is at its lowest level since 2004. A report by the Center for Migration Studies found that two-thirds of undocumented individuals have overstayed visas meaning they arrived completely legally in the country and have simply stayed after their papers expired. These statistics are important to note because research blatantly contradicts the claims from our president that illegals are invading our country. Instead, these are individuals seeking refuge from increasing violence in Central America that the United States has directly contributed to through political policy decisions. We are complicit in creating this crisis and now is the time for us to take responsibility for our actions. The National Emergencies Act, enacted in 1976, conferred power upon our president to declare a national emergency and to garner the support and funds necessary to combat threats to our nation. It is a power that our current president is obviously and admittedly abusing. The only way this can be undone is through a presidential proclamation or through a joint resolution in Congress with a veto-proof (two-thirds) majority vote. This is where all of us college students, parents, grandparents, Democrats, Republicans and independents come in. Contact U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and Pat Toomey today to ask them to vote to block this national emergency declaration, as the U.S. House did by a 245-182 vote Tuesday. Websites such as the National Priorities Project allow you to enter your address to find names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses for your Congressional representatives, and a letter or phone call can be made in less than five minutes. The American government cannot stand under the stars and stripes of a flag that waved for freedom while allowing its president to erect walls that will only perpetuate systemic failings as its structure is being completed. For America to be beautiful, we the people must be brave and remember that standing against injustice in retrospect is not standing against injustice at all, but is instead complicitly participating in its execution. The children on our border will remember our actions. Their parents will remember our actions. I hope that, when we look back on this moment in history, we will remember that our actions placed us on the side of liberty and justice for all. Liz Bierly, a Hempfield High School graduate, is a sophomore at Ithaca College in New York state. Success! An email has been sent with a link to confirm list signup. Manheim Township police ASSAULT MANHEIM TWP.: Marcello L. Torres-Borges, 21, of Lancaster, was charged with simple assault, unlawful restraint and criminal mischief following a domestic dispute Feb. 23 at his residence in the 600 block of Janet Avenue, police said. DRUG CHARGES LANCASTER TWP.: Naseem Waquin Preston, 22, of Lancaster, was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia following a traffic stop Feb. 23 in the 1300 block of Columbia Avenue, police said. LANCASTER TWP.: Gabriel Leon-Rivera, 31, of Lancaster, was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia following a traffic stop Feb. 23 in the 100 block of Michelle Drive, police said. LANCASTER TWP.: Darius Alexander Richardson, 20, of Lancaster, was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia following a traffic stop Feb. 22 in the 1300 block of Elm Avenue, police said. LANCASTER TWP.: Justin Charles Kauffman, 35, of Lancaster, was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia following a traffic stop Jan. 14 on Spencer Avenue at Atkins Avenue, police said. LANCASTER TWP.: Adrian Viruet-Rodriguez, 23, of Mountville, was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia following a traffic stop Jan. 26 in the 600 block of Bean Hill Road, police said. MANHEIM TWP.: Ashley L. Croft, 36, of Marietta, was charged with possession of heroin, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia after officers responded to reports of a disturbance Feb. 23 in a vehicle in the parking lot of Walmart, 2030 Fruitville Pike, police said. LANCASTER TWP.: Jewel L. Brown, 20, of Lancaster, was charged with possession of marijuana after he was stopped by police Feb. 15 on Charles Road at St. Joseph Street, police said. LANCASTER TWP.: Madai Allen, 27, of Columbia, was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia following a traffic stop Feb. 18 in the 1400 block of Columbia Avenue, police said. DUI LANCASTER TWP.: Cit Thu, 31, of Lancaster, was charged following a crash Feb. 23 in the 1300 block of Millersville Pike, police said. LANCASTER TWP.: Brent L. Thomas Jr., 31, of East Petersburg, was charged following a traffic stop Feb. 15 in the 200 block of Charles Road, police said. HARASSMENT LANCASTER TWP.: Kane M. Kendig, 30, and Brandon N. Heiserman, 29, of Lancaster, were charged after allegedly fighting Feb. 22 in the 1100 block of Millersville Pike, police said. LANCASTER TWP.: Jennifer C. Rivera, 30, of Lancaster, was charged after she allegedly struck someone during a fight Feb. 23 at her home in the 100 block of Nassau Road, police said. TRESPASS MANHEIM TWP.: David Llano, 34, of Lancaster, was charged following a domestic dispute Feb. 22 in the 900 block of Louise Avenue, police said. THEFT LANCASTER TWP.: Symar R. May, 18, who is homeless, was charged with stealing merchandise worth $24.99 from Weis Markets, 1204 Millersville Pike, and with giving false identification to law enforcement Feb. 18, police said. MANHEIM TWP.: Wanda I. Torres, 33, of East Petersburg, stole merchandise worth $75.97 from Target, 1589 Fruitville Pike, around 12:55 p.m. Feb. 22, police said. MANHEIM TWP.: Louis A. Rowe, 59, of Lancaster, was charged with four counts of retail theft. Police said he stole detergent from Weis Market at 1204 Millersville Pike on Jan. 8, Jan. 12 and twice Jan. 11. MANHEIM TWP.: Someone smashed the window of a car parked at LA Fitness, 1300 Lititz Pike, between 11:50 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. Feb. 23 and stole a purse, wallet, $80 in cash and credit and debit cards, later used to make purchases, police said. The total loss was $880, police said. LANCASTER TWP.: Someone smashed the window of a vehicle parked in the 800 block of Fifth Street overnight Feb. 23-24 and stole a backpack, laptop, book, Apple iWatch and headphones, police said. The total loss was $1,330, police said. MANHEIM TWP.: An unknown black male reportedly took $200 in cash from an ATM that a customer inadvertently left behind after withdrawing it from an ATM at Sheetz, 1699 Oregon Pike, at 9:50 a.m. Feb. 23, police said. Oak Tree Development Group executives last week offered a project update prior to a tour inside the ongoing, multifaceted construction of The Wilbur, a planned Hilton Hotel, 48 On The Park condominiums, bistro, and retail shops that will open this summer. Ian Ruzow, Oak Tree Development Group partner, and Michael OBrien, company president, unveiled plans for Market At The Wilbur, a small food marketplace expected to open in June. Market At The Wilbur, which Ruzow compared to markets you see in larger metropolitan areas, such as Union Market in Washington, D.C. or Eately in New York City, adds the final piece to the overall redevelopment plan of the former Wilbur Chocolate plant. The Market At The Wilbur will feature six restaurants in one open space, serving fresh, local food and drink in an upscale urban setting, Ruzow said. The shops will complement the hotels yet-to-be-named bistro under construction and expected to open along with the Hilton Hotel possibly in time for July 4 fireworks. Shop-owners who inked leases with Market At The Wilbur are Rooster Street Butcher and Deli, Whiff Roasters, Waltz Vineyards, Oola Acai Bowls and Smoothies, Presto Pasta, and Zigs Bakery. All but two are secondary sites of shops in the local area. We were looking for something a little different, more exciting, because this whole project is new and exciting, Ruzow said. Rooster Street Butcher and Deli will offer sandwiches, cheese and fresh meats; and Whiff Roasters will sell various coffee to drink or take coffee to make at home. Waltz Vineyards will offer wine tastiness and Pennsylvania wines to purchase by the glass or bottle; Oola Acai Bowls and Smoothies makes healthy, fresh-fruit drinks. Presto Pasta, is a York-based business that serves through an ordering line where customers can select a pasta, vegetables, sauces and toppings. Zigs Bakery will offer its baked goods, breakfast sandwiches, breads, soup and salads. Ruzow quote Its a good mix of different food businesses that will carry from breakfast through dinner, Ruzow said. He said there was enough interest by local restaurants to easily open a 10,000-square-foot market on the North Broad Street site and theres a waiting list of interested businesses. So you can buy your fresh linguine and fresh clam sauce at Presto; turn around get your fresh bread at Zigs, go to Rooster Street to buy your cheese go home and youve got dinner, Ruzow said. The market will be located on Broad Street next to the entrance to the main restaurant and will run up to Klein Street. We started with 2,000-square-feet of retail space that was divided into three individual spaces and we had a lot of interest from small mom and pop businesses who wanted to come and open, Ruzow said. The shops will all operate during the same hours six days a week and closed on Mondays. Tuesday to Saturday hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. with shops open Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Who doesnt love walking into a food market? Ruzow asked. There is a certain kind of energy; a mingling of sounds, smells and sights. There will be an outside produce stand operating a few days per week outside Market At The Wilbur, which will remain open late during special events such as Fire & Ice, he said. Oak Tree announced plans in May 2017 to renovate the former Wilbur Chocolate plant and add 26 loft-style condominiums, a 74-room boutique hotel, sit-down bistro and small retail shops. Last March, the developer announced the name of 48 On The Park for the condominiums and the collaboration with Hilton Tapestry Brand Hotels. Last week, an army of subcontractors and crews from Wohlsen Construction and Simeral Construction continued to make progress creating the living spaces, restaurant, bar, lobby, and a modern elevator. Workers are already moving in the drywall that will transform the rapidly developing segments inside the former chocolate factory. It will be the third Hilton Hotel that Oak Tree Development Group has built. Phase two of the project includes two new five-story, wood-framed apartment buildings with 155 one- and two-bedroom apartments and hybrid senior living housing with 32 independent living apartments. Construction is now ongoing for a structured covered parking area with an on-street level and lower-grade section. Ruzow said the idea to add the six-shop market to the project was inspired by Penn Medicine Lancaster General Healths announcement in December 2017 that it would bring about 400 non-medical staff to work at the former Susquehanna Bank headquarters and BB&T offices in downtown Lititz. John Lines, of Penn Medicine LGH, said the non-medical staff workers would all move at the same time, sometime in the fall. He said renovations on the property are continuing to make room for staff currently working in the Burle Business Park in Lancaster. The Market at Wilbur makes even more sense with the hospital moving its back-office to Lititz and adding 400, 500 people on a daily basis to downtown, Ruzow said. The concept of the Market at The Wilbur was to have merchants who could sell you something you could eat right away as well as have products that you can purchase for later use. Its a good mix of different food businesses that will carry from breakfast through dinner, Ruzow said. He said there was enough interest by local restaurants to easily open a 10,000-square-foot market on the North Broad Street site and theres a waiting list of interested businesses. I only wish we had more space to accommodate all the concepts that want to go into the space, Ruzow said. We now have a waiting list. Ruzow said setting up the food market was a labor of love and that food halls are the new food trucks with a simple concept: providing the latest food trends under one roof from businesses that are locally owned and operated, fast and affordable. Food, food markets and food halls are my passion and we are excited to bring the first true food hall to the Lititz community and Lancaster County, he said. Ultimately, the goal of Market At The Wilbur is to allow customers to walk in, get a loaf of bread, a glass of wine, some fresh pasta and enjoy a meal in a cool environment. Or you can pick up your meal and take it with you, Ruzow said. A veteran Lancaster County prosecutor who has alleged he was suspended by District Attorney Craig Stedman for political reasons earlier this year has retained a high-profile employment lawyer from Philadelphia. Assistant District Attorney Mark Fetterman has retained Sidney Gold of Sidney L. Gold and Associates, Gold confirmed Tuesday. He declined to comment further or say whether Fetterman is preparing a lawsuit against the county. Gold handles employment-related litigation exclusively, according to his firms website, including claims under federal and state anti-discrimination laws and federal civil rights laws." Christina Hausner, the solicitor for Lancaster County, said she has not received any notice of any legal action from Gold on behalf Fetterman. Fetterman was suspended for undisclosed reasons last month but returned to work after complaining that the disciplinary action was politically motivated, three people in county government with knowledge of the matter told LNP. The sources said Fetterman alleged in a grievance communicated to the county human resources director that his boss, Stedman, acted improperly when he suspended him with pay beginning Jan. 30. Fetterman had been a leading Republican candidate for district attorney but dropped out of the race last week. Stedman, through a spokesman, has denied ever taking an employment action for political reasons. Paula Knusden of The Caucus contributed to this report. More coverage: A group of Columbia residents worry borough council is violating the states open meeting law by holding information sessions in private prior to most of its public meetings. Council held an information session prior to its regular meeting Tuesday to receive information only items from its borough manager and solicitor, according to the meeting agenda. Im somewhat suspicious, knowing this boards history, borough resident Sharon Lintner said after the regular meeting. We are suspicious of how much is going on behind closed doors. Council President Kelly Murphy said the board doesnt deliberate or vote during information sessions. Its just for information, he said after Tuesdays regular meeting. Our solicitor is a stickler for the law. He is super, ultra-conservative. There is absolutely no debating, Murphy said. It is just asking questions so we are prepared when we come out here for the public meeting. Norm Meiskey, a former Columbia borough manager and a frequent critic of council, agreed with Murphys description of the information sessions. Meiskey said when he was manager, such sessions were a one-way street, with the borough manager presenting information to clarify any issues on the agenda, Anytime people started to discuss something they were warned against it and it was stopped. The Sunshine Act Lintner, who helped create the Columbia Concerned Citizens group and who is running for a seat on council in the upcoming election, previously filed a complaint with the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office alleging council violated the states open meetings law, known as the Sunshine Act, when it voted in a closed-door November meeting to fund a proposed new position. The district attorneys office declined to prosecute council members for that alleged violation, saying it could not prove criminal intent. But it did send the borough a letter warning that now that it has been advised of the laws requirements, any future allegations of violations would be investigated with an assumption council now knows such actions are illegal. The Sunshine Act requires that all deliberations and official action on council business be conducted in an open, public meeting. The act does provide exceptions allowing certain matters, such as pending litigation, personnel issues, and real estate purchases or leases, to be discussed privately in what are known as executive sessions. Final votes and decisions, though, must be made in public. Information sessions Closed door information sessions are not mentioned in the law, but their legality was confirmed by a 2013 decision by the state Supreme Court, according to Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. The court ruled the Sunshine Act only applies to gatherings where an agency engages in decision making or deliberations. Deliberations were defined as the framing, preparation, or enactment of laws, policies, or regulations, or the creation of liability by contract or otherwise, but only where the discussion is held for the purpose of making a decision. Melewsky said the courts decision did not create a blanket information session exception to the Sunshine Act and argued even if they are technically legal, they are not in the publics interest. That doesnt mean that presentations to the board should be done in private; they concern public business and the public has a right to know whats going on, she said in an email Tuesday. Lancaster's City Council, following the Historical Commission's guidance, signed off Tuesday on a rooftop deck addition planned at 551 West, the restaurant at 551 W. King St. But council tabled the proposed demolition of a small 19th century warehouse at the corner of North Plum Street and New Holland Avenue. That will allow for discussion of the matter at Monday's committee meeting. The warehouse sits in a parking lot for 454 New Holland Ave., a building whose tenants include The Science Factory. That buildings owners plan to remodel some space there for offices and need the additional parking spaces to comply with zoning requirements. The Historical Commission had approved allowing the demolition, with one dissenting vote. But City Councilman John Graupera said he had "a level of discomfort" about taking a vote without a committee discussion on a building that may have historical significance. He noted that council may soon have to decide on the fate of another historic building an allusion to the senior residence complex proposed for 221-227 N. Prince St. The developers there have proposed demolishing the building Roburrito's occupies at 227 N. Prince St., which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Preservation advocate Linda Aleci said best practices promulgated by the federal government call for thorough physical documentation of a historic building if it is to be torn down. She called on City Council to make such documentation mandatory going forward. "We continue to lose individual buildings. ... This is a minimal step council could take to mitigate the damage," she said. Nick Barakos may have grown up in landlocked York, but summers gave him a connection to his deeper heritage and food that remains strong today. The son of immigrants, Barakos would spend each summer back home in Greece, which includes a group of 6,000 islands surrounded by the Aegean and Ionian seas. With that kind of childhood, how could a love of seafood not develop? Today, hes owner of Kyma Seafood Grill, at 1640 N. Reading Road in Stevens. He came of age working in the restaurant business, too, working in his fathers Hanover restaurant, Cross Keys Diner, at the corner of routes 30 and 94. I learned a lot of cooking there, he says, after starting out as a dishwasher. With salmon from Scotland, Prince Edward Island mussels and cold-water lobster from South Africa, Kyma (its pronounced kee-mah, and means wave in Greek) keeps Barakos about as close to the sea as youre going to get in a Pennsylvania February. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Whats your connection to Greece? Im first-generation Greek. My parents were born in Greece my dad was from a small village up in the mountains, Platanos; my mothers from a little bigger town, maybe 10, 15 kilometers away called Thermios. He met my mother when he had to go to school (in the bigger town). I think my father was 20 when he got married; my mother was, I think, 17. My siblings and I were born in York. Yeah, I mean, we were very I wouldnt say spoiled we were very fortunate. Our summers, when I was a kid, wed go to Greece all summer. I think it was the best thing my parents ever did, because our bonds grew stronger. Thats my heritage. Was seafood a staple in your house growing up? Especially when we were in Greece, a lot of seafood. But even here in the States, my pop would bring whole fish home and my mom would prepare it herself. My mom was a great cook still is. So you werent one of the kids who says, ew, if it doesnt look like a hamburger. Well, there are Greek dishes, theres one thats basically internal organs of a lamb, right, wrapped with intestines (kokoretsi). It sounds disgusting, but its so good. ... We always tried everything because thats the way we were taught. People will say, Oh, that doesnt look good. No, thats not how we judge food. No. Would you go fishing when you were visiting Greece? No, thats the only thing I didnt do! So what became the connection to seafood when you were looking to start Kyma? Two-and-a-half years previous (to Kyma), we opened Johnnys (Bar & Steakhouse, at the same address as Kyma), which is primarily steak with some seafood. Up here, I wanted to do more of a seafood to complement (what we already had). What seafood do most customers go for? We sell a lot of tuna, but we sell more salmon than tuna. Are there fish that you think more people should be willing to try, beyond the usual? I never thought of it in that sense. ... I just think people should try different things (in general). If people have been reluctant to try seafood, whats maybe a good dish for them to start with? I mean, some people dont like (anything) fishy. Some people dont like salmon. So, a fish like flounder. Try we do a stuffed flounder, a filet stuffed with crabmeat. We do a baked haddock with some crumbs on top; we sell a lot of that. I think more people are prone to (those) because theyre not fishy, plus almost everyone likes crabmeat. And we sell a lot of shrimp about 150 pounds a week coconut shrimp, our regular fried shrimp we do ourselves, and then the grilled, skewered shrimp. When youre making seafood for yourself, what do you cook and how do you make it? Oh, a variety of stuff. Ill make tuna, salmon at least once a week, salmon haddock. ... I just switch them around. I can do that here! How do issues like overfishing or off fishing seasons affect your business? One fish that we used to have here, and I took it off the menu about two years ago, was Chilean sea bass. We would get it regularly, but the price started jumping up a lot, and the quality went down. And thats when I stopped (serving it). I mean, a couple years ago, (prices for) crabmeat was crazy. I mean, a pound was like 20 bucks. A few years ago, it went to $40, $45, because there was a shortage. It was a bad fishing season, there were storms, it was tough. Its come back down now to (a price point) between those two. Whats one seafood dish that you would love to add to the menu, but havent yet? I dont know the chef (Dustin Leed) and I I never think of it that way. If something pops up, well try something different. Get creative. If the annual waterfowl spectacle at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area isnt on your bucket list - add it now. Because nows the time to cross it off. Every year at the end of February and beginning of March, tens of thousands of snow geese, as well as thousands of tundra swans and Canada geese, stop by Middle Creek on their migratory route. Lancaster County park naturalist Mary Ann Schlegel has been leading a public excursion to experience the sight for years, and has made the pilgrimage privately since she was a child. This years field trip is slated for Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., but reservations and payment ($4) are due by noon Thursday. Call 717-295-2055. Participants will meet at the Middle Creek Visitor Center and visit several viewing areas. Dress for the weather and bring a lunch if desired. Be aware that heavy rain or snow will postpone the visit until March 8. And remember, the waterfowl are on their own schedule. Its not an exact science predicting their arrival or departure, especially with the odd weather weve had lately. The Pa. Game Commission regularly updates the number of birds at Middle Creek. For the latest info, click here. 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Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Everything you need to know about the Valley Girl stereotype can be found in this two-and-a-half minute clip from the 1983 film of the same name. Scene set in a mall? Check. Featuring white people -- mostly women? Check. "Like," "for sure," "as if" used heavily, plus some upspeak? Check and check. The stereotype of a blonde-ditz with a credit card and shallow materialism to match has been around for almost four decades, with plenty of examples in songs, movies* and recent celebrity impressions. But a group of Valley artists is now saying enough is enough. For about a decade, creative collective 11:11 has brought Valley women artists in the San Fernando Valley together to demolish the cliche. Their latest exhibit, in partnership with Brand Library & Art Center in Glendale, is called "Valley Girl Redefined" and runs through March 22. A TIME FOR 'VALLEY WOMEN' According to Erin Stone, the exhibit's curator, there's no better time to take back the "Valley girl stigma." "I think that the stereotype of the Valley girl has affected the global identity of womanhood," she said. "Which is why now, in 2019, this is a story that needs to be told... I think women all over the world feel that. So I really do see the redefining of the Valley girl being a redefinition of women in general." Monica Sandoval's "Together Again" on display at "Valley Girl Redefined" at the Brand Library and Art Center in Glendale. (Courtesy Monica Sandoval) One of the artists featured at the exhibit is Monica Sandoval, one of her works on display is a large scale self-portrait photograph of her as a self-proclaimed fat Latina woman. According to Stone, it was important for Sandoval to include the word "fat" and to show that, though her waistline is not in line with the stereotype, she very much still is a Valley girl. Even though Sandoval grew up in Sylmar and San Fernando, she never looked or felt like she fit the Valley mold. It's a sentiment Stone ran into quite a bit when speaking with Latina women and curating the show. "I would mention Valley girl (stereotype) and they would say, 'but that's not me.' But that's why this is a redefinition -- it does represent you," she said. "Women of all shapes, all sizes, all colors, all socioeconomic demographics have a place as a Valley girl. They are Valley women." Kathie Flood's dress forms on display at "Valley Girl Redefined" at the Brand Library & Art Center. (Lori Galarreta/LAist) This theme can also be seen in another artist whose work is showcased at the exhibit, Kathi Flood. Flood's work includes two antique dress forms, of varying sizes. The forms have etchings that have been collaged onto the dress forms made to look like a map and showcase the famous grid of the San Fernando Valley. The parallel and perpendicular streets cross over each other while Ventura Boulevard, one of the main arteries running through the Valley, is draped over the mannequin shoulder like a sash. The thicker dress form has the Valley's natural features. The waistline is the base of tree etchings that come up and depict different animals coming off of that waistline and up towards the neckline. "What I really love about these pieces is they show altogether was very important to show the connection between the woman and the geography," said Stone, "How the SFV shaped who we are and this, I think, is the perfect visual representation of that." Unlike the stereotype suggests, there's so much more to Valley culture than the mall. Janna Ireland's pieces remind the observer of the Valley's past by prominently featuring orange groves. Meanwhile, Casey Kauffmann's mixed-media wall reflect her experience as a Valley girl and the shift in perspective with time and distance. Janna Ireland's "The Orange Grove," on display at the "Valley Girl Redefined" exhibit at the Brand Library & Art Center in Glendale. (Courtesy Janna Ireland) But can a globally-known stereotype that's survived nearly 40 years be shattered? These artists believe so. "It's time for us to tell our story and us to tell our story exactly how it is and how we believe that it is. I think that Valley Girl Redefined is in direct extension of that," Stone said. "(It's) old news for people outside of the San Fernando Valley or from the runoff of Hollywood or even globally telling the Valley Girl what she is... the 'likes' and 'for sures' make her a certain thing that is less respected than we should be. We're standing up and screaming 'it's our time to tell our story!'" * Editor's note: Yes, we know Cher is technically from Beverly Hills, but she's like, for sure a Valleyspeak offender, okay? 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 It may not seem like a lot compared with centuries of genocide, displacement from their land and separation of their families, but some Southern California Native Americans say they appreciate how local public universities are moving to recruit more American Indian students and faculty and generally improve relations. UCLA is the most recent campus to reach out to Native Americans. Last fall, Chancellor Gene Block created the position of Special Advisor to the Chancellor on Native American and Indigenous Affairs. "[The position] is a new way of recognizing that we're a land grant institute, and that the land grant comes from the dispossession of the Gabrielino Tongva peoples," said Mishuana Goeman, a UCLA Native American studies professor who was appointed to the position in October. The Gabrielino Tongva lived in the L.A. basin when Europeans first arrived. Goeman will advise the chancellor on how to interact with tribes as sovereign nations, consult with faculty and staff on how to reach out to tribes and work on the creation of policies to improve Native Americans' experience on campus. There are 14 federally recognized tribes in Southern California, and others that don't have federal recognition. L.A. County has one of the country's largest populations of American Indians -- 68,000 in the 2010 census. RETURNING ANCESTORS High on Goeman's to-do list is something UCLA and other campuses have been working on for decades: The return to tribes of Native American human remains that are under the university's control due to past archeological practices and donations of artifact collections. UCLA started handing over its 2,300 remains, including bones and bone fragments, in 1996 to comply with a federal law. It now has only four left, and Goeman wants to finish the task quickly. "It's hard to say, 'Oh, I want to have a better relationship with you, I want to work with you to solve these environment issues, I want to work with you to solve water issues in L.A.' ... if you're holding people's ancestors and relatives in very disrespectful ways," she said. Other UC's, such as UC Berkeley, have more remains to return. TAKING ON STANFORD AND DARTMOUTH Goeman wants to increase the number of Native American students at UCLA. The campus enrolled 249 Native American students in 2018, about 1 percent of the student population. That was an increase of 83 students from 10 years earlier. Native Americans make up 1 percent of UC's student population systemwide. At the 23-campus California State University, that number is less than 1 percent. In total, there were 2,742 Native American students in the UC and Cal State systems in 2017, out of a population of 764,000. Private universities like Stanford and Dartmouth are recruiting high-performing Native American high school graduates more aggressively than UCLA, and that's leading many Indians to turn down offers from California public universities, Goeman said. One way she hopes to increase the number of Native American undergrads will be to increase the number of Native American graduate students. "I'm hoping, as I move forward, to try to figure out ways to establish more scholarships and more ways to help graduate students come along, because graduate students in these programs can really change the ways which undergrads experience [college]," Goeman said. Goeman points to UCLA's Mapping Indigenous LA project as a way to render Native Americans more visible in the dense Los Angeles region. Using interactive maps, the project seeks to show the ancient and modern presence of Native Americans in Southern California. It also challenges the U.S.-centric part of the term Native American by including in the project indigenous peoples who moved here from Latin American countries. INCLUDING TRIBAL LEADERS On Feb. 1, UC President Janet Napolitano convened the first meeting of the Native American Advisory Council, a group she created to guide her on important issues facing the Native American community that overlap with those confronting the UC's. The council is made up of tribal leaders from the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians, the Gabrielino-Tongva and several other tribes, along with UC Native American academics and Native American cultural experts. Its priorities mirror Goeman's at UCLA: the return of remains; recruitment and retention of Native American students, faculty and staff; and greater engagement with Native American communities. Cal State San Marcos has had a Native Advisory Council since 2005, and that's led to increased cooperation with neighboring tribes and Native communities. Joely Proudfit, the San Marcos American Indian Studies chair and director of the campus' California Indian Culture & Sovereignty Center, put it this way: "This is a direct result of our intentional effort to listen and learn from the sovereign tribes in our area and make an investment in what tribes and students need." 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 Three years after Southern California Gas Company sealed a massive natural gas leak at its storage field near Porter Ranch, a judge has approved a legal settlement stemming from the disaster. The settlement will cost SoCal Gas $120 million, but it disappointed some environmental groups who said it didn't do enough to address the damage the gas leak caused to residents living nearest the gas well. The well ruptured in October 2015, and blew methane gas and other substances for four months, becoming the nation's largest-ever uncontrolled gas leak. California's Attorney General and the city and county of Los Angeles agreed to drop their lawsuits against SoCal Gas as part of the $120 million settlement. The settlement was meant to fulfill an emergency order issued by then-Gov. Jerry Brown at the height of the blowout. He ordered SoCal Gas to fully offset the harmful greenhouse gases that went into the atmosphere. The agreement provides $26.5 million dollars for projects to offset 109,000 metric tons of methane released by the ruptured gas well. To do that, the money will be used to capture methane being produced in large amounts - by cows. Loans will be funded to to build systems at big dairies in Kern County that will capture methane from cow manure and convert it to usable natural gas. The project will also fund construction of pipelines to move the gas from the dairy farms into the natural gas distribution system where it can be sold. SoCal Gas would not own the gas produced in the methane capture projects or earn income from the sale, state Air Resources Board spokesman Dave Clegern said. Once the proceeds of gas sales repays the loans with interest, the money will be available to fund methane capture projects in Los Angeles city and county. Byron Chan, an attorney with EarthJustice, a legal organization that represents environmental groups, said the settlement did not require SoCal Gas to pay the full cost of the methane capture projects. "It's not holding them fully accountable for the entire mitigation," Chan said. The California Air Resources Board says the settlement does require SoCal Gas to pay to offset all the methane it released into the atmosphere via the dairy methane digester projects. The money will do double-duty, first to fund the dairy gas projects and later to be used closer to communities that were harmed by the gas release, said Dave Clegern, ARB spokesman. The settlement cost comes out of the company's profits, not ratepayers. The company still faces about 350 lawsuits and 48,000 plaintiffs who sued the company over the gas leak. Getting the methane mitigation projects in place as soon as possible is critical, Clegern said. That is because methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that does its worst damage in the atmosphere in the first decade after it is released. A group of Porter Ranch residents called the Aliso Canyon Community Action Committee also came out against the settlement because it directs the methane mitigation money to dairy farms in the San Joaquin Valley, not to projects in Los Angeles city or county where affected families live. The settlement also pays the state and local governments' legal costs and provides $25 million for a long-term health study of Porter Ranch residents who live close to the Aliso Canyon gas storage field. Some 8,000 households relocated away from neighborhoods near the gas leak, many complaining about headaches, nosebleeds, and other symptoms. 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 Did you hear the thunder of helicopters this morning in Southern California? If you were confused to notice military fighting machines overhead on your way to work, while dropping off your kids at school, or while sleeping in (no judgment), you weren't alone. Holy crap got woken up by a fleet of helicopters flying over us heading towards downtown LA. What the hell is going on?#LosAngeles Niilo Tippler (@upsidedowndog) February 26, 2019 There were 22 heavily armored Apache and Blackhawk helicopters in the skies above Los Angeles on Tuesday -- part of an Army training flight to San Diego that required a stopover for refueling at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana. The squadron visible in the San Gabriel Valley, L.A. and Orange County was part of the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade based at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. They were attached to the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Infantry Division (known as the "Arctic Wolves") out of Fort Wainwright, Alaska. The troops spent the last month on a "readiness rotation" at the military's National Training Center at Fort Irwin, near Barstow. "They were testing their ability to fight in combat. Just to make sure they are ready if called upon," said Master Sgt. Jason Stadel, an Army spokesman. It looked like the choppers took the scenic route on the way south. (The flight path was controlled by the FAA, Stadel noted.) Video from KTLA showed some of them passing by the Hollywood sign, giving off major Ride of the Valkyries vibes. Did you spot them in the sky? Ten Apache helicopters flying over LA this morning (here for training) @MarkKonoSky5 and @LAflyingcameras caught them flying over #Hollywood. pic.twitter.com/trdokMDj5F Jennifer Thang (@jenniferthang) February 26, 2019 And John Wayne Airport tweeted images from the afternoon refueling stop. Sharing a few photos from todays @USArmy 25th Combat Aviation Brigade training exercise where 22 Blackhawk and Apache helicopters from Fort Irwin landed at JWA for refueling before heading to San Diego. #USArmy #FlyJWA #FlySNA pic.twitter.com/c4dJ8gglPQ John Wayne Airport (@JohnWayneAir) February 26, 2019 In San Diego, the crews will load onto a ship bound for the island of O'ahu. "Their training is done. They've been away from their families for 4-5 weeks. So they're coming home," Stadel said. This story has been updated. Ryan Fonseca contributed to this report. 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 By Jill Replogle and Mary Plummer The Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a switch to vote centers on Tuesday -- a move that clears the path for dramatic changes to the way OC residents will cast their ballots starting in 2020. The board vote, which was unanimous, will reduce the county's 1,200 polling places to just 188 vote centers. Those vote centers will be open for voting and registration for up to 10 days prior to the election. Voters can cast ballots at any vote center in the county, eliminating the provisional ballots that voters currently cast if they go to a polling location other than the one where they're registered. All voters will receive ballots in the mail prior to the election, and those ballots can be mailed back or dropped off at any of the vote centers. The Board of Supervisors' decision makes Orange County the seventh California county to adopt vote centers since the state legislature passed a bill to allow the new election model in 2016. THE LAST TIME THIS WAS ATTEMPTED All of this comes after a failed attempt in Orange County to switch to voting centers back in 2017. At the time, concerns about voter fraud were raised by some members of the board. Back then Republicans held every seat. Now the board has one Democrat, Fourth District Supervisor Doug Chaffee, and three Republican supervisors. A fifth seat is vacant pending a March 12 special election. The previous lack of support for vote centers in Orange County had been a rebuke to Secretary of State Alex Padilla, a Democrat, who's been a high-profile backer of the Voter's Choice Act. In a statement released after the vote on Tuesday, Padilla called the decision a great move for democracy. "By adopting the Voter's Choice Act, Orange County continues to be a national leader in administering accessible and secure elections," he said. COMMUNITY SPEAKS OUT At the Tuesday meeting, several dozen Orange County residents spoke passionately in favor of adopting vote centers, including members of OC's Asian and Latino communities, school board members and voting advocates. Vincent Tran, community engagement coordinator for the civic group VietRISE, said voting centers would encourage turnout among residents who work and study far away from their traditional polling place. He said his mother was able to vote in the 2018 election thanks to the county's pilot vote centers. "I was able to take my mother to go vote on a Sunday," Tran said. "Any other day it would've been incredibly difficult for my mom to go vote on her own. We both work full-time. My mom works the night shift." Supervisor Andrew Do led the vote in favor of adopting vote centers, telling the public "we hear your support loud and clear." VOTER'S CHOICE ACT Under the landmark voting overhaul package signed into law by former Governor Jerry Brown in 2016, counties across the state have the option of closing many neighborhood locations. Officials can then open new polling places called "vote centers," which along with other changes, are aimed at making voting more flexible. Under the model, a much smaller number of vote centers are available compared to traditional polling locations, but voters in counties that switch over have access to new features: they can vote over several days, choose which location they prefer to vote at and register to vote at the last minute. There's also a much larger push toward getting voters to cast ballots through the mail, a practice that's been growing steadily in California. Most Republican state lawmakers voted against it. OC Registrar Neal Kelley said he thought the Board of Supervisors may have warmed to vote centers after last year's successful elections using the model in Madera, Napa, in Nevada, Sacramento and San Mateo counties. In addition, Kelley said, vote centers are likely to decrease the number of provisional ballots cast when voters go to the wrong polling place or lose their mail-in ballot and vote provisionally at polling places, a phenomenon that bogged down the 2018 elections and slowed results. NEXT STEPS IN ORANGE COUNTY The OC Registrar will now put out a request for proposals to equip vote centers. Kelley estimated the cost at between $11 million and $19 million -- about half the estimated cost of providing new equipment for traditional polling places, which are aging and in need of replacement. The Registrar's office is also narrowing the field of potential vote center locations. Kelley said he's eyeing retail spaces and big community centers. He said voters will likely have to travel about a mile farther than they did to vote at traditional polling places. 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 Homelessness disproportionately affects black people in Los Angeles. Though about nine percent of Los Angeles County's total population is black-identifying, black people make up about 36 percent of the county's homeless population, according to the 2018 homeless count. It's an overrepresentation born out of a deep history of institutionalized racism in America, and is the focus of a groundbreaking report formally released this week by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA). The 115-page report, the goal of which is to lay a framework for building a more equitable Los Angeles, spells out in explicit detail how institutional racism stitched into the fabric of Los Angeles' criminal justice, education, and healthcare systems, as well as discrimination in the job and housing markets, conspire to force black people to the street at a rate much higher than Angelenos of other races. Where roughly one in every 250 white residents are homeless, the rate for black residents is about one in 40. "If you want to end homelessness, you have to end it for those groups that are disproportionately impacted," said Jacqueline Waggoner, a Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority commissioner and chair of the special committee that authored the report. "What we want is a system that works for everyone. We learned through this process how the system is not working for everyone." LASTING CHANGE The report advocates for a fundamental paradigm shift in how Los Angeles is addressing its homelessness crisis: address the inequality that continues driving Angelenos of all races (but especially black residents) to the street. If we don't, the report says, progress will fleeting. "For lasting change to occur, institutional barriers across agencies and mainstream systems must be dismantled to eliminate the racial disparities and systemic racism affecting Black people experiencing homelessness," it says. The report is the result of a year-long collaborative process by Waggoner and others on LAHSA's Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness. The committee was modeled after another that reported on women and homelessness in Los Angeles. Its findings are based on extensive engagement with black Angelenos who are or have been homeless. That feedback, collected in a series of listening sessions and focus groups, was used to craft 67 specific policy recommendations the committee says would be meaningful steps towards undoing systemic racism in Los Angeles' public institutions and private markets that contribute to homelessness. The recommendations underscore how much work remains to be done if L.A. is ever going to alleviate in its homelessness crisis. Among the recommendations: eliminating discrimination against renters with housing vouchers, strengthen links between the faith and homeless service communities, increase resources for foster children when they are emancipated, and implicit bias training for workers in the homeless services industry. There's virtually no institution that isn't implicated in the report. On the justice system, for example, the report highlights how approximately one-fifth of L.A. County's jail inmates are homeless. THE ROLE OF IMPLICIT BIAS The report also goes deep on implicit bias and shortcomings in the homeless services sector. Besides things like high staff turnover and overburdened caseworkers, the report calls out industry workers who "may have the academic qualifications, but not the requisite life experience or expertise" needed to guide and empathize with people who are struggling to survive on the street quite literally from one day to the next. It advocates staffing more people who have themselves been homeless. The report also calls for more rigorous analysis of tools used by homeless service workers for implicit bias and other shortcomings. "Scoring components often [lead] participants to feel they need to provide false information or make higher acuity claims--such as mental health issues or substance abuse--in order to be prioritized for scarce housing resources." That is, homeless people being evaluated by outreach workers may play up mental health or substance abuse issues because it means they'll be placed higher on the list for public assistance. (According to the most recent homeless census, about 26 percent of L.A.'s homeless report having a serious mental illness, 15 percent report a substance abuse disorder, and 10 percent report both.) Besides analysis of the current system and recommendations for how to make it better, the report includes powerful testimonials by black and brown Angelenos who have been homeless. READ THE FULL REPORT Searchable at www.wipricepoint.org, the site is updated quarterly with data from all Wisconsin hospitals. That data comes largely from discharge claims, which are required by law for all hospitals and ambulatory centers. Medicare and Medicaid patient data are included. The system allows users to compare prices for similar operations statewide or within a certain geographic area, which is often how patients consider how to access care if their insurance coverage allows or simply to compare what different health systems might charge for the same procedure. People should know how much their health care costs, said Jennifer Mueller, WHAs vice president and privacy officer. Were really trying to do what is easy and best for patients, who are more cost-conscious now. The PricePoint site is linked to a second online source, CheckPoint, which WHA established to display health-care quality ratings for Wisconsin hospitals. It is updated periodically using eight data sources, including the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. CheckPoint is relatively new but used by three other states. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers two-year budget proposal will include several initiatives aimed at helping Wisconsins Native American communities, including more grant money for tribal college students. Some of the other initiatives released by the governors office Tuesday include: More money for the language revitalization grants program, which goes to schools on or near tribal lands to teach tribal heritage languages; Using tribal gaming revenue to increase funding for tribal family service grants and tribal elderly transportation grants that assist in providing transportation services for elderly persons; Funding the next phase of an $8 million, 36-bed youth wellness center to treat opioid addiction for both tribal and non-tribal populations. The investments Gov. Evers is making in Wisconsins tribal communities are well overdue, and we applaud the steps hes taking to support Native American children and families, Michael Decorah, the senior intergovernmental affairs director for the St. Croix Chippewa Indians, said in a statement. Evers spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff declined to say how much more grant money the tribal college students and language revitalization grants program would receive under his proposal until it is released Thursday. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Juvenile justice issues are such a priority for Wanggaard that he is delaying a Judiciary Committee vote on Corrections Secretary-designee Kevin Carrs confirmation to speak with him about the matter. He added he does expect Carr to be confirmed. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, ripped the governor for unraveling the bipartisan plan to close the troubled youth prison. After using this issue as a political football during the last campaign, its surprising that the governor is now indefinitely delaying the closure of Lincoln Hills and leaving those who work there at risk, Fitzgerald said in a statement. Transformation But Rep. Evan Goyke, D-Milwaukee, another co-author of the Lincoln Hills law, said he doesnt support removing a hard deadline on the youth prisons closure, but praised other parts of the proposal for introducing a transformation of the juvenile justice system. Goyke said the bill he and other lawmakers are crafting to provide technical changes to last years juvenile justice law and delay the closure of Lincoln Hills will still be introduced separately from the budget. Whether the bill includes a hard deadline for closing Lincoln Hills is yet to be determined, he said. Gov. Tony Evers first budget, to be unveiled this week, will surely please his Democratic supporters by fulfilling campaign promises to legalize medical marijuana, expand Medicaid and spend more money on public education. But theres one big problem. Many of the ideas will be dead on arrival in the Republican-controlled Legislature, or face little chance of passing without significant changes. Add to the mix huge issues upon which even Republicans cant agree and it seems a stalemate is inevitable. Republicans have made clear their opposition to Evers proposals to accept federal money to expand Medicaid, legalize medical marijuana and decriminalize small amounts of recreational pot, and freeze enrollment in private voucher schools. Even in areas where there appears to be common ground such as cutting middle-class taxes Evers and Republicans have been unable to compromise to get it done. Former Gov. Scott Walker didnt sign the last budget until late September, after Republicans struggled with how to fund roads and ultimately decided to punt and borrow more money rather than raise taxes or fees. A Cudahy bakery raises nearly $22,000 for the family of Milwaukee police officer Matthew Rittner, who was killed in the line of duty on Feb. 6, according to media reports. Jen Clark, the owner of Jens Sweet Treats, donated her store's sales for Feb. 12 to Rittners family and that totaled $21,599. Clarks shop had received more than $10,000 in pre-orders for the fundraiser and sold out of its bakery items by the early afternoon on Feb. 12, WTMJ reported. Ritter died at Froedtert Hospital after being shot while he and other officers served a warrant on someone suspected of illegally selling firearms and drugs, who fired on officers and was later arrested. Clark also held a fundraiser last year when officer Michael Michalski died, she's created Easter baskets for hospitalized children, and raised and donated $20,000 for the Honor Flight Program over the past three years, WISN reported. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 ONTO RETIREMENT - After 40 years of municipal service to Massachusetts, including the last seven years as Burlingtons town administrator, John Petrin took part in his last Board of Selectmen meeting this past Monday night. Various town and state officials recognized Petrins career. Here, (l-r) new Town Administrator Paul Sagarino, Jr. congratulates Petrin via a handshake. (joebrownphotos.com) La Crosse residents can pick up copies of The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir at several locations as the communitywide La Crosse Reads event returns for another year. The Latehomecomer, written by Kao Kalia Yang about her familys escape from Laos and resettlement in Minnesota, was the winner of two Minnesota Book Awards in 2009. Natalie Eschenbaum, who teaches English at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and helped organize the event, said the selection of this memoir serves a dual purpose. Its an opportunity to celebrate the Hmong community in La Crosse, and to educate non-Hmong residents about the traditions and histories of marginalized people. The Hmong community in La Crosse is a culturally vibrant one, Eschenbaum said. But the stories of Hmong-Americans in our predominantly white, upper-Midwestern community have historically been untold. Yang has repeatedly described the book as both a history of the Hmong people and a memoir of her familys experiences. The story not only teachers readers about the history of the secret war and Hmong immigration to the Midwestern U.S., but it invites them into a world of oral story-weavering. To stay up-to-date on everything happening in the area send your event information no later than Friday noon for the following weeks edition. Email information to angie.cina@lee.net. Western Technical College Computer Support Specialist students will be offering a technology support help desk for the community from March 4-April 12. Services will be available online, over the phone, or in person in Room 219 of the Business Education Center, 405 Eighth St., La Crosse. The support desk will run on Mondays from 4-7 p.m., Wednesdays from noon-3 p.m., and on Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon. Students can assist with computer software training, hardware support, and general troubleshooting. The help desk is part of Westerns community engagement program, which takes credit courses and uses them to address and solve community needs. This program is not only helping the students learn, it is also helping the public, said Cindy Prindle, the instructor for the classes. It teaches our students how to become leaders in our community. If interested in visiting the help desk in person, walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are encouraged. Community members may park in Western lot H or visitor parking spots for free during help desk hours. Interested individuals can make an appointment or seek technology assistance by calling 608-785-9900, emailing studenthelp@westerntc.edu, or visiting www.studenthelp.westerntc.edu/portal. For more information about community education at Western, visit www.westerntc.edu/events. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The 11th annual Bald Eagle Watching Day will be held at the Ferryville Village Community Center, Saturday, March 2. This program is sponsored by the Ferryville Tourism Council and co-sponsored by Friends of Pool 9. Event activities, all of which are free to the public, are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (doors open at 8:45 a.m.). There will be free refreshments and childrens craft activities throughout the day. Live bald eagle programs will be at 10:15 a.m. and 2 p.m. featuring eagles from the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota with Kelsey Griffin as presenter. The University of Minnesota Raptor Center is back for the 10th year with raptors and an eagle. Local photographic artist, Larry Knutson, will be exhibiting his award-winning art featuring scenes of nature, eagles and the area. Knutson is a native of Ferryville and the region. His art is well-known throughout the Driftless Region and it is an opportunity to meet him in person. Dr. Michael White, with the help of children/youth from the audience, will build a bald eagle nest at 9:30 a.m. Learn how really big these nests are, how heavy they are and how they are constructed. At 11:30 a.m. there is a hooting contest for folks of all ages. In the Madison area, the success stories over the past few years have included the expansion of Little Vikings, a Mount Horeb day care facility; improving the business plan for Parthenons Gyros on State Street; and the creation of State Line Distillery on Madisons Near East Side. Jenie Gao, an artist known for her murals and other paintings in public spaces and businesses in Madison, used the SBDC at UW-Madisons Entrepreneurial Training Program to help her grow her business in a fiscally responsible way. I was bleeding money and trying to figure out what to say yes to and what to say no to. It was hard to figure out what it was all going to add up to when I was going from one gig to the next, Gao, who completed the program in 2017, told the SBDC. Id gotten to the point where I was growing and needed to continue growing. I needed a business plan to meet my goals for growth. In 2016, centers throughout the country provided 1.24 million hours of consulting to 188,602 businesses. Those services resulted in 17,174 new businesses, 96,095 jobs, $6.4 billion in sales growth and $5.16 billion in capital investments. In Southern Wisconsin, centers are located at UW-Madison and UW-Whitewater while a Southwest Center covers Crawford, Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette and Richland counties. Send retail-related tips and story ideas to badams@madison.com or call Barry Adams at 608-252-6148. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Ce phenomene, observe sur les berges du lac Erie (Canada), dans la region des Grands Lacs, se produit habituellement au printemps. Polynesie la 1ere @NiagParksPolice advising that @NiagaraParks Roads Department closing Niagara River Parkway near Mathers Arch. Strong winds blowing ice over the retaining wall from the lake. Drive with caution. Video courtesy @NiagRegPolice Insp. Garvey.... pic.twitter.com/RdXh5HYxfx Niagara Parks Police (@NiagParksPolice) 24 fevrier 2019 The Town of Hamburg Emergency Services says there is a voluntary evacuation of Hoover Beach due to ice shifting. Residents in Hoover Beach can expect the Woodlawn Fire Department to come door to door accounting for residents. pic.twitter.com/d58HJFGcEQ WGRZ (@WGRZ) 24 fevrier 2019 La scene a ete filmee et photographie par de nombreux internautes.Dans la region des Grands Lacs, entre le Canada et les Etats-Unis, un phenomene impressionnant a ete observe, dans le week-end du 23 et 24 fevrier : les vents violents ont en effet rejete sur les berges du lac Erie des blocs entiers de glace, creant un veritable mur blanc entre la route et l'eau. A tel point que les habitants parlent de "tsunamis de glace"."C'est la premiere fois de ma vie que je vois la glace monter si haut et venir si pres de chez moi", a raconte un riverain au journal Buffalo News. Leprecise que le phenomene est appele "poussee de glace". "Cela se deroule generalement au debut du printemps, quand la glace commence a fondre et qu'elle se casse", ajoute le The Trump administrations announcement that it will bar organizations, such as Planned Parenthood which provides abortion referrals, from receiving federal family planning money is long overdue. Planned Parenthood (a serious misnomer) is one of the most despicable, evil organizations ever to exist. Its founder, Margaret Sanger, advocated a stern and rigid policy of sterilization and segregation to that grade of population whose progeny is already tainted, or whose inheritance is such that objectionable traits may be transmitted to offspring. Sanger and Hitler were quite a pair. Their evil offspring Planned Parenthood (Sanger) and the Nazi Holocaust (Hitler). They wanted the same thing, to eliminate people they believed to be undesirable or inconvenient. And now Democrats in New York, Virginia and other states have followed suit passing or proposing laws allowing babies to be killed even at and after birth. The US continues to be tyrannized and demoralized by Roe v. Wade and by Planned Parenthood and its paid-for politicians. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Thats from the Miranda warning, the words that law-enforcement officers are required to read or recite to suspects when arresting them. It is the law that an attorney will be provided. But its hard to follow that law when there is a shortage of public defenders and private attorneys willing to take on these cases. Its causing backups in the Racine County Circuit Court system and statewide. This was an issue Journal Times reporter Alyssa Mauk outlined in December in an article headlined Attorney shortage causing court delays in county, state. Racine County is not the only county in Wisconsin affected. In fact, six people facing charges in rural Ashland and Bayfield counties have filed a class-action lawsuit over long delays in appointing lawyers there. The delays dont just infringe on the rights of the accused, they also make the courts run less efficiently. Defendants who, with an attorney, might win reduced bail instead sit in jail, sometimes losing employment, adding to their and their employers problems, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported as part of the story on the northern Wisconsin lawsuit. I understand adults do and thats their choice, said Perez. We wish you well as an adult, but we have a responsibility as a society to establish some care for our young people. While some vaporizers are sold with liquid that does not contain nicotine, those could be refilled with liquids that do. Perez said theres no way for authorities to know whether a particular vaping liquid has nicotine or not, so to be safe he wants to ban the sale and possession of all vaping equipment to minors. Sandberg said implementing the ban is fairly simple and would require amending current ordinances to include e-cigarettes to the list of products store owners are not allowed to sell to minors. She provided an example to the committee based on the ordinance being considered in Kenosha. Sandberg said that adding e-cigarettes and vaping equipment to the indoor smoking ban would also be fairly straightforward and is recommended by the American Cancer Society. The committee decided to revisit the proposal at its next meeting, which is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12, at City Hall, 730 Washington Ave., Room 307. I understand adults (vape) and thats their choice. We wish you well as an adult, but we have a responsibility as a society to establish some care for our young people. Alderman Henry Perez Love 5 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. Iranian Christians Arriving in U.S., But Questions Remain Nearly a dozen members of a group of 87 Christian and other religious-minority refugees from Iran -- who were marooned in Austria for 2 years -- recently began enjoying a series of joyful reunions with family and friends in Los Angeles. Arriving at the airport to the welcoming arms of aunts, uncles, cousins and other extended family members seemed almost surreal after their arduous, 29-month travail, lawyers for the group said. The asylum seekers sold all their worldly possessions and left their jobs and life in Iran only to become stranded in Vienna with little hope they would ultimately make it to the U.S. If forced to return to Iran, they would undoubtedly be labeled traitors and face imprisonment or worse -- a fear that loomed over them as they waited while their funds were depleted week by week, month by month. While the first group is celebrating the sudden breakthrough in their cases, hard questions remain about the reasons behind the U.S. government's decision to block these refugees from entering the United States after almost all previous applicants under the same program had been accepted. U.S. citizens and family members had sponsored the refugees' applications for asylum in the United States under the Lautenberg Amendment, a law Congress passed three decades ago to facilitate refugee admission of Jews fleeing the former Soviet Union. Lawmakers expanded the program in 2004 to include religious minorities persecuted in Iran. The program has quietly admitted an estimated 30,000 persecuted Iranians, mainly Jews and Christians, but also Mandaeans, Zoroastrians, and members of the Baha'i faith over the last decade, according to U.S. lawmakers familiar with the acceptance record. Advocates for the group initially believed the 87 were victims of President Trump's highly controversial travel ban on citizens from several Muslim-majority countries, including Iran. On further investigation, they traced the denials to stricter vetting procedures for asylum seekers implemented before Trump took office. After the 87 refugees arrived in Vienna, the designated city for further vetting, in 2016, the Obama administration's Department of Homeland Security suddenly put the brakes on their applications. DHS later denied their entrance to the U.S. without explanation. Legal advocates for the group argue that Congress was clear when it passed the Lautenberg Amendment that if the U.S. government denies any asylum claim, it must provide a reason "to the maximum extent feasible." However, no explanation came even after the group's plight attracted the attention and support of a bipartisan group of key members of Congress who called on Vice President Pence to intervene on their behalf in January 2018. A White House official told the Washington Free Beacon early last year that the administration is paying "careful attention to the issue" and was working to find a solution. "High-level administration officials are monitoring the progress," the official said. "Certain complexities exist that the administration has to work through, including human-rights concerns and national security. But the administration is certainly engaged." The same day the official issued that statement, Trump declared Jan. 16, 2018 to be Religious Freedom Day and extolled the need to protect the rights of all U.S. citizens to practice the religion of their choice without fear of government reprisal. He also stressed the need to champion religious freedom around the world. "We will be undeterred in our commitment to monitor religious persecution and implement policies that promote religious freedoms," the president said at the time. No specific national-security concern with the group was ever disclosed. The lack of a stated risk or problem has led some advocates to believe the 87 were caught up in a tug-of-war between the Trump administration and career officials at both the State Department and DHS who didn't agree with the Lautenberg program offering special priority asylum for Christians and other persecuted religious minorities in the Middle East. They pointed to vague statements like this one by a State Department official about the group's legal limbo in Austria early last year: "The safety and security of the American people are paramount," said Cheryl Harris, spokeswoman for the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. "Iranian refugee applicants under this program are subject to the same security vetting process that applies to refugee applicants of other nationalities considered for admission to the United States of America." Advocates countered that the Lautenberg program was specifically expanded by an act of Congress to give persecuted minorities in Iran priority in the vetting process. Moreover, they argued, it's simply not true that these refugees face the same security vetting process as other non-religious minority refugees from Iran or elsewhere. According to Ann Buwalda, executive director of the Jubilee Campaign, a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of religious minorities abroad, vetting them is much easier than other non-Christian refugees seeking asylum in the United States. The mostly Christian Iranians in the group of 87 are not converts, but ethnic minority Christians of Armenian and Assyrian descent who fled their homeland during Turkish persecution before and during World War I. They have different sounding names than other Iranians, speak a different language, and belong to churches allowed to exist in Iran, though they are heavily discriminated against. Buwalda has said holding up the group's entry into the U.S. for more than two years is particularly cruel, given that they have already endured generations of persecution in Iran. Despite the high-level White House attention to the case, the stalemate on the issue continued until lawyers at the International Refugee Assistance Project and Latham & Watkins took up their cause and filed suit on their behalf. A federal judge in California ruled in their favor last July, forcing DHS to re-evaluate their applications on an individual basis. It was only earlier this month that DHS suddenly notified nearly a dozen of those stuck in Vienna that their applications had been approved and they could book airline tickets to the U.S. Neither DHS nor the State Department has provided an explanation for why these particular individuals were first denied and then recently approved and did not say whether more of the group of 87 would also be granted asylum in the U.S. "We are not able to comment on the specific reason for the denials or approvals," a State Department spokesperson told RealClearPolitics over the weekend. A DHS spokesperson didn't return a request for comment. Attorneys for the group of Iranians said the breakthrough is a victory for their clients and the rule of law -- and means that those allowed entrance to the United States would no longer have to live in fear of being deported back to Iran. "At long last, justice has been served for some of the world's most persecuted religious minorities!" Nina Shea, director of the Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom, said in an emailed statement. "Given that the administration adopted the defense of Middle Eastern religious minorities as a foreign-policy priority and that the Iranian regime is officially designated as a persecutor, this episode is utterly inexplicable." Shea is now pressing the Trump administration to follow through with its stated foreign policy priority of trying to protect religious minorities in the Middle East, especially those in Iran. She is calling on Trump to issue a presidential directive and order DHS and the State Department to take actions to "shore up the Lautenberg lifeline for Iran's horribly repressed religious minorities." Without a proper government explanation for the bizarre episode and additional remedies to help the other Iranians who remain in limbo in Vienna, Shea and other advocates argue that Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, both of whom have expressed strong support for religious freedom around the globe, risk losing faith with dissidents in Iran and imperiling trust in the Lautenberg program. Over the past year, opposition forces in Iran have led the strongest protests against the government in Tehran since the so-called Green Revolution in 2009. During a speech at the Reagan Presidential Library in July, Pompeo denounced Iran's leaders, accusing them of becoming multimillionaires while mismanaging the economy, sponsoring terrorism and bolstering other tyrannical regimes while their own people suffer in poverty. "Sometimes it seems the world has become desensitized to the regime's authoritarianism at home and its campaigns of violence abroad, but the proud Iranian people are not staying silent about their government's many abuses," he said. "And the United States under President Trump will not stay silent either." "In light of the protests and 40 years of regime tyranny," Pompeo added, "I have a message for the people of Iran: The United States hears you; the United States supports you; the United States is with you." The departments on-site training facility has proven to be beneficial to the department. With an indoor shooting range, Soens said the facility provides officers the opportunity to practice real-life scenarios. We can use an open concept, where we can practice different tactics and movement, Soens said, things that we would need to do on the street if that situation ever arises. In previous years, Soens said officers have had to travel to other places for training and that would likely overtime for the officers. We can accomplish in 30 minutes now what would take us an hour and a half or two hours to do it, Soens said, adding that officers can now train during their normal work hours. The department can also host training sessions for other departments in Wisconsin and Illinois. And, if there are a few open spots in those trainings, Mount Pleasant officers can join the training free of cost. The department also has a 10-person civil disturbance team to provide a visible presence during protests and special events countywide. Sometime in March, cement barriers were placed in front of the Erickson Truck-n-Parts' entrance on Frontage Road, blocking the only way the owners could get in and out. The village is mum about what's going on, even after one of the Ericksons was cited for trespassing on his own property. An attorney representing the Ericksons wrote in a letter to a Mount Pleasant official: "In Catch-22 fashion, my client has been directed to clean up its property, but its owners and employees are not allowed on the premises." In other words, were expecting Nebraska businesses and taxpayers to pick up the alcohol industrys tab. Broken down by drink, economic costs alone amounted to $1.61 per drink in our state. By contrast, the bills drafted by Albion Sen. Tom Briese and Henderson Sen. Curt Friesen seek to increase the excise tax paid per drink from 3 to 4 cents to 10 cents. In total, these bills would raise approximately $90 million or less than 8 percent of our economic costs. The World Health Organization recommends that policymakers focus on three areas to reduce alcohol-related harms: price, availability and advertising in order to reduce excessive drinking, which affects all Nebraskans -- and not just those engaging in that activity. Dozens of academic studies show that these policy strategies are effective because the industry passes these increases on to their customers. Yet you wont hear the alcohol industry citing peer-reviewed studies. Their reaction is the same as every other industry facing increased taxes: doing so will result in jobs cuts and ruin businesses, but that statement couldnt be further from the truth. CHICAGO Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has been nominated for a seat on the board of directors at Boeing Co. The defense contractor and aircraft manufacturer said Tuesday that Haley will stand for election at its annual shareholder meeting on April 29. Haley was previously the governor of South Carolina, and she fought attempts by unions to represent workers at the plant where the Chicago-based company assembles its Boeing 787 jetliners. She said that companies in her state take care of workers, and unions aren't needed. In 2017, Boeing workers in North Charleston voted about 3-to-1 against representation by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, a resounding setback for unions that have long hoped to make inroads in the South. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said Tuesday that the company will benefit from Haley's combination of diplomatic, government and business experience. The 47-year-old Haley was named as ambassador to the UN by President Donald Trump, and served from January 2017 until December 2018. In a prepared statement from the company, she praised Boeing as the world's biggest aerospace company and the largest U.S. exporter. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Other conclusions of the task force: * None of the focus programs are operating at capacity. Arts and Humanities is at 67 percent, the Science Focus known as zoo school at 78 percent, The Career Academy at 50 percent and the Junior ROTC program at 54 percent. The IB program has 188 students and enrollment is driven by staffing levels. Larson said capacity levels aren't a concern. The only program with significant space is The Career Academy, but it saw a 30 percent increase last fall and is expected to increase next year. That's happened in part because of a targeted marketing campaign aimed at students, he said. * Retention is an issue at many of the programs and should be examined. Retention is 36 percent at Arts and Humanities, 48 percent at Science Focus, 58 percent at The Career Academy, 12 percent at the Junior ROTC, and 100 percent for juniors and seniors in the IB program. Larson said students leaving the program will be given an exit survey to find out why they decided to leave. Lincoln Public Schools were open for business Monday, but business was a bit slower than usual. Lincolns motorists including those either driving to school or making a valiant effort to get their kids there had to battle the slick and messy streets. Most of them did. LPS officials said the number of students counted tardy wasnt available but that most schools were lenient when they counted students tardy, given the conditions. Overall attendance was down slightly, though theres no way to know whether Mother Natures mess was to blame. Average attendance at LPS, according to the Nebraska Department of Education, is 94 percent. Monday, attendance was 89.6 percent, according to LPS. That compares with the 91.9 percent Feb. 11 and the 93 percent Feb. 4. In actual bodies, thats 37,686 students 952 fewer than Feb. 11 and 1,471 fewer than Feb. 4. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 3 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly 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. Sherri Jones, chair of the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders, has been promoted to dean of the University of Nebraska-Lincolns College of Education and Human Sciences. Jones will begin her appointment July 1, pending Board of Regents approval. She was chosen following a national search. "She is a talented, experienced and well-respected scholar and department executive officer, and a Nebraskan who is committed and passionate about the universitys work," said Donde Plowman, executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer. "Sherri will step into the role as dean and make an immediate impact. I look forward to working with her to take the college to the next level of notoriety and excellence." During the past seven years, Jones has developed a collaborative culture that enhanced research, improved grant productivity, increased partnerships with the campus and community, expanded clinical services and bolstered opportunities for study abroad, the university said in a news release. She is also director of the Barkley Memorial Center, which houses three training programs, two clinics, nine research laboratories, three partner service agencies and the Nebraska Hearing Aid Banks. "Everyone who came in said it looked like it was planned," Maddy said. They celebrated for hours, until it was time to figure out where to go from there. Residents of the town offered their spare beds to anyone in attendance, including the bride and groom. There was a slumber party in the basement of the church for 15, including the parents of the bride and groom catching a few hours of sleep on cushions pulled off pews. The following day, the couple had a second reception at the Pla Mor, allowing those who couldn't make it to the wedding to celebrate their marriage. The original cake was served. Days later, what sticks out for the newlyweds was how the Mead community rallied behind them to make the wedding happen in the most dire of circumstances. "We had no part in it, and we are very grateful for all they did for us," Jacob said. And while Maddy said she wasn't the kind of bride who spent her life forming the perfect vision for her wedding, she said she's happy with how it turned out. "You could say we had our plan, and God had his plan," she said. Jacob, on the other hand, jokes that his new wife got exactly what she and many other brides wish for. Register Hop, SCIP, Jump & Run fun run Friday registration opens for the fun run at 5:30 p.m. May 10, fundraiser for the School Community Intervention & Preventions (SCIP) in cooperation with Nebraska Mental Health Centers. The run will begin at Antelope Park, 33rd and Sheridan streets. Participants can visit booths for prizes, 1-mile fun run is $15 per person, tickets purchased by April 25 include a T-shirt, kids under age 9 must be accompanied by an adult, all proceeds benefit SCIP, online registration ends on May 10 at 1 p.m, registrations are accepted at the event. Register: raceregister.net (search words: hop, scip, jump or run) or 402-327-6843. "It's the issue of this body. There's too many cowards who don't want to vote," he said. "If you're going to vote against it, or sit on your hands, at least stand up and explain why." A wave of folks did not want to commit to the bill and have their names attached to their votes. So they did nothing, he said. It was heart-wrenching for Brewer, he said, to see the Sandhills residents in the balcony, who were there for probably the fifth time on the issue, watch as senators who were elected to represent their districts be unwilling to listen to the debate. And then walk in at the end and not vote, or vote against it. "It really doesn't leave a very good taste in their mouth about what this unicameral's all about," he said. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Twyla Witt of Thedford said most of the senators against the bill were not knowledgeable about the Sandhills and its issues with wind farms and the R-Project. Robert Bernt of Spalding, whose family owns Clear Creek Organic Farms, said senators who consider themselves to be pro-environment voted against the bill or did not vote on Wednesday, which is at odds with the environmental cause. By not settling and losing in court, however, Windstream put itself in a precarious financial situation. While a $310 million verdict is substantial -- representing nearly a quarter of the company's annual revenue -- the court's ruling that it had technically defaulted on the debt was more devastating. It put Windstream into default on its other debt and also imperiled its access to credit to fund its daily operations. That left Chapter 11 bankruptcy as the only choice to ensure Windstream could meet its day-to-day financial obligations. The bankruptcy filing has inevitably led to questions about the future of the company that serves more than 100,000 customers in Lincoln and Southeast Nebraska. "Windstream is continuing to operate as usual throughout the Chapter 11 process and will continue serving our customers," Scott Morris, a company spokesman, said in an email. On Tuesday, the company received approval from the bankruptcy court to access up to $400 million in financing and to continue the normal operation of its businesses. Windstream has more than 200 employees in Nebraska, including more than 150 in Lincoln. The company said no layoffs are planned in connection to the bankruptcy filing. BNSF Railway Company on Wednesday announced plans to spend $140 million in Nebraska this year on capital improvements. The railroad said projects will focus on maintenance projects to ensure it continues to operate a safe and reliable rail network. The largest component of this years capital plan in the state will be for replacing and upgrading the main components for tracks. BNSF said the maintenance program in Nebraska includes approximately 1,290 miles of track surfacing and/or undercutting work as well as the replacement of about 55 miles of rail and about 130,000 ties. The 2019 planned capital investments in the state are part of BNSFs $3.57 billion network-wide capital expenditure program announced earlier this month. The $140 million is the most the company has spent in Nebraska since 2015. BNSF, which is owned by Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway, employs about 5,000 people in Nebraska, including around 2,000 in Lincoln. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 DETROIT Fiat Chrysler on Tuesday announced a $4.5 billion investment plan it said would increase its workforce in Detroit and the surrounding suburbs by about 6,500 jobs to build all-new or next-generation SUVs, in a move touted by officials as an uncommon opportunity to revive the regional economy. Under the plan, the company said it would reopen a shuttered engine plant in the city and convert another in the same complex into a future assembly plant for the Jeep Grand Cherokee and a new, three-row, full-size Jeep SUV and plug-in hybrid models for all. The Motor City was once home to about a dozen massive auto production plants, but a rash of closures helped to push Detroit's unemployment rate to a peak of almost 29 percent a decade ago. The new Chrysler plant would be the first to be built in Detroit since 1991 and is expected to add 3,850 jobs. The company said in a news release that it would add another 1,100 new jobs at its Jefferson North Assembly plant in Detroit, and roughly 1,500 new jobs at facilities in the neighboring suburb of Warren. The investment would roughly double FCA's hourly workforce in the city. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 1. Comments must not be racist, misogynistic, homophobic, or otherwise bigoted. 2. Comments must not involve little more than name-calling and insulting remarks. 3. Comments must not be made by "anonymous" or "unknown". 4. Comments must not try to sneak in some free advertising for themselves (like spam). I invite anyone who wishes to comment on this blog to do so. I enjoy the comments, whether you agree with what I have said or not. But some people want to abuse the right to comment, and since this is my blog, I have decided to lay down the following rules. If your comment violates these rules, it will not be published. Position Summary: The EAL Specialist reports to the Director of EAL and will typically be expected to engage in a full teaching timetable including allocated time for planning and department meetings. Our highly motivated, experienced and flexible team of EAL specialists, working across all age phases, have good knowledge of the National Curriculum for England, and support its delivery through an EAL model of sheltered immersion. The EAL specialists also play key roles in the promotion and development of EAL strategies for all. They do this by working closely with mainstream teachers at the planning and delivery stages, and through leading staff training. English language learning is one of the main pillars of the schools mission, and our expectations of the children are very high. The solid foundation set at the primary level and the development, consolidation and refinement of our students proficiency in English as they move through the school is crucial to meeting these aspirations. EAL Specialists at Shrewsbury are exceptional practitioners who understand the nature of second language acquisition and how best to support it in a specific setting such as this. General: Shrewsbury is one of South East Asias outstanding international schools, with enrolment of 1700 students from Early Years to Sixth Form, exceptional examination results and particular strengths in the creative arts, design and sport. The school itself enjoys a delightful and spectacular setting, right on the banks of the Chao Phraya River in the heart of Bangkok. The school is readily accessed by road and boats, which provide an easy and quick link to Bangkoks Skytrain and the city centre. The link with Shrewsbury School UK (www.shrewsbury.org.uk) is taken very seriously and, year-on-year, develops into a world-class educational partnership. MADISON, Wis. Wisconsin National Guard officials said Tuesday they're looking into whether to punish an Illinois congressman who belongs to the Wisconsin detachment for criticizing Gov. Tony Evers' decision to withdraw troops from the U.S. southern border. Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger is a Wisconsin Air National Guard pilot with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He ripped Evers Monday on Twitter and on Fox News for ordering Wisconsin troops to pull out of Arizona. Wisconsin statutes state that any commissioned officer who uses "contemptuous words against the president, the vice-president, members of congress, the secretary of defense, the secretary of a military department, the secretary of homeland security, or the governor or legislature of the state of Wisconsin shall be punished as a court-martial may direct." Evers is a Democrat. His position as governor automatically makes him the commander-in-chief of the Wisconsin National Guard. Asked if Kinzinger might be disciplined for his remarks, Guard spokesman Capt. Joe Travato said the Guard and Evers' office are looking into the matter. Kinzinger's spokeswoman, Maura Gillespie, said in an email that Wisconsin law makes clear that such restrictions only apply to members while "on service." She did not respond to follow-up questions from The Associated Press seeking an explanation. She told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Kinzinger was off-duty when he made the remarks and has the right to exercise his freedom of speech, just as he has done when he's been critical of President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama. University of Wisconsin-Madison law and political science professor Donald Downs, who studies free speech issues, said he knows of no exceptions in state law that would allow off-duty National Guard personnel to criticize the government. However, it's unclear whether the First Amendment's free speech guarantee would trump state statutes in such cases, Downs said. The First Amendment protects an employee's speech if he or she is speaking as a citizen, not as an employee, but the scales still likely would tilt toward the military if the soldier was criticizing a specific lawful order, he said. "I doubt that the fact the guardsman was off duty would matter," Downs said. Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker ordered Wisconsin National Guard troops to Arizona in June to assist the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. Evers issued an executive order late Monday afternoon recalling the 112 troops currently serving there, saying there's no justification for their deployment. Kinzinger reacted with a series of scathing tweets, calling protecting the border an honorable mission, ripping Evers for not visiting the border himself, asking Evers whether the decision was political and requesting he reconsider. He echoed those thoughts during an appearance on Fox News, accusing the governor of lacking the courage to announce the withdrawal earlier in the day Monday. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 MATTOON -- The Mattoon Fire Department is temporarily operating without an interim chief following the retirement of Tony Nichols as chief on Monday. Mayor Tim Gover said the city is still working on a plan for filling the chief post on an interim basis. Gover said they hope to have an interim chief plan in place by the time of the March 5 Mattoon City Council meeting. He said the fire department's various shift captains are handling top leadership responsibilities with the fire department in the meantime. Nichols retired on Monday after serving as fire chief since October 2009 and being on staff with the fire department since December 1994. Nichols has said he will now be working in a fire prevention post with the Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office. The council voted on Oct. 17 to eliminate the fire department's assistant fire chief position due to budgetary restraints and to transfer then assistant fire chief Sean Junge to fill a vacant shift captain post. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 1 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. New Braunfels, TX (78130) Today Cloudy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 89F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. A few clouds. Low 73F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The new editor of an Alabama newspaper whose owner's calls for reviving the Ku Klux Klan gained national attention is an Eastern Illinois University graduate. Elecia R. Dexter will take over as publisher and editor of The Democrat-Reporter of Linden, Alabama, from Goodloe Sutton, who has run the 140-year-old paper since the 1960s. Dexter, 46, told The Associated Press that Sutton will retain ownership of the newspaper, which has a circulation of about 3,000, "but I will handle everything else." Dexter is an alumna of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. EIU confirmed Tuesday that Dexter attended the university from 1990-1998 and received a bachelor's degree in speech communication. Sutton had a history of publishing racially and ethnically insensitive editorials, and Dexter said she hoped her appointment would let the community know "this is everybody's paper." "I think it can be helpful," she said. "We want to make sure people understand this is a great community of great families." The change came the week after Sutton wrote and published an editorial that began: "Time for the Ku Klux Klan to night ride again." The editorial said Democrats and "Democrats in the Republican Party" are plotting to raise taxes, so the Klan should raid their communities. Sutton, in a subsequent interview with the Montgomery Advertiser, suggested lynchings as a way to clean up Washington. Sutton also questioned whether the KKK was violent, claiming America's most feared white supremacist terrorist organization "didn't kill but a few people." Auburn University and the University of Southern Mississippi quickly rescinded previous honors for Sutton, who won praise two decades ago for stories exposing corruption in the sheriff's office. The Alabama Press Association censured Sutton and suspended the Democrat-Reporter's membership. Dexter, whose family is from rural Marengo County, where Linden is located near the Mississippi line, said she began working at the paper earlier this year and has a good working relationship with Goodloe. She added: "I told him there were some different ways you could have made your point." The paper has received emails from those who supported what Sutton wrote and others who were "disgusted" by his statements, she said. The paper dates to 1879 and its editorials are consistently conservative and often critical of Democrats. The use of "Democrat" in its name reflects back to the period when nearly all white conservatives in the South were Democrats. Dave Fopay and the Tribune News Service contributed to this story. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 MARSHALL -- An Indiana man has been charged with murder after reportedly confessing to killing a woman in Martinsville when he lived there more than four years ago. The Illinois State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor Office filed two counts of first-degree murder charges Monday in Clark County Circuit Court against Connor W. Scott, 24, of Danville, Indiana. He is accused of killing Kaylyn Whitaker, 20, of Terre Haute, Indiana, at Scott's home in Martinsville on Oct. 31, 2014. Scott was advised of the charges during a hearing on Monday at which he requested the appointment of legal counsel. Judge Tracy Resch appointed Public Defender William McGrath to represent Scott. This case has been set for a March 4 preliminary hearing, when a judge considers prosecution evidence to decide if there is sufficient reason for a case to continue. The Associated Press has reported that Danville, Indiana, police say Scott walked into the police station Sunday night and confessed to killing Whitaker. The AP reported that her shooting death was originally considered a suicide, but it was ruled a homicide about 10 months later. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Ed Parkinson, with the Illinois State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor Office, said Scott and Whitaker were engaged in fall 2014 and living with his parents in Martinsville. He said investigators found that they were the only two home at midday Oct. 31, 2014, when she died as the result of a gunshot wound to the back of her head. "(Scott) was maintaining he didn't do it and she must have killed herself," Parkinson said. The Clark County state's attorney later requested that the Illinois State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor Office review the evidence in the case, Parkinson said. Their office subsequently determined the evidence indicated that the death of Whitaker was a homicide, Parkinson said. "We were ready to file charges as recently as a few days ago," Parkinson said, adding that he was surprised by Scott's reported confession and unsure what prompted this action. Parkinson said he and fellow special prosecutor Matthew Goetten will prosecute the case. Scott was initially held at the Hendricks County Jail in Danville, Indiana, and was later extradited on Monday to Illinois, where he has been placed in the custody of the Clark County jail. He is being held with his bond set at a level that he would need to post $100,000 in order to be released from custody. The AP reported that police say Scott had been living in Danville, Indiana, for about six months after moving there from Noblesville, Indiana. The Illinois State Police has led the investigation into Whitaker's death. Contact Rob Stroud at (217) 238-6861. Follow him on Twitter: @TheRobStroud Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 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. URBANA -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a set of highly anticipated reports on Friday. The results projected lower ending stocks for corn and soybeans during this marketing year. Despite lower ending-stock forecasts, the results disappointed and produced a somewhat bearish outlook, according to University of Illinois agricultural economist Todd Hubbs. Hubbs recaps developments in corn and soybean crop fundamentals coming out of the reports and price implications moving forward. Corn ending-stock projections for the 2018-19 marketing year came in at 1.735 billion bushels, down 46 million bushels from the December forecast. Reduced corn production in 2018 drove ending stocks lower despite a 165 million-bushel reduction in total use during the marketing year, he says. Corn production is down 1.4 percent from the November forecast at 14.4 billion bushels. The harvested-acreage estimate of 81.7 million acres is down from the November forecast of 81.8 million acres. Average corn yield of 176.4 bushels per acre is 2.5 bushels lower than the November forecast. Dec. 1 corn stocks came in at 11.952 billion bushels. Total disappearance came in near 4.62 billion bushels during the first quarter of the marketing year, up from last years first quarter use by approximately 280 million bushels. Despite the lower domestic supply numbers and stronger first-quarter use, lower consumption forecasts in key categories provide little support for corn prices, Hubbs says. The WASDE report forecast for U.S. corn during 2018-19 lowered corn use projections for feed and residual use, ethanol crush, and other food and industrial uses. At 5.375 billion bushels, the projection for corn feed use and residual moved lower by 125 million bushels. The ethanol use forecast decreased by 25 million bushels to 5.575 billion bushels. The lower ethanol use reflected the slowing ethanol production levels over the last month, he says. Food, seed, and industrial use other than ethanol saw the consumption forecast lowered 15 million bushels on reduced corn use for high fructose corn syrup, glucose and dextrose. Corn export forecasts maintained the 2.45 billion bushels forecast in December. The potential for increased corn usage seems increasingly dependent on continued economic growth and the resolution of the current trade impasse, Hubbs says. World ending stocks for corn increased by almost 40 million bushels from December forecasts. The increase focused on stronger production in key growing areas. In particular, Argentine corn production forecasts totaled 1.81 billion bushels, up from last years 1.26 billion bushels. Brazils corn production forecast stayed at 3.72 billion bushels this year. In total, Brazil and Argentina production forecasts exceed 2017-18 production estimates by 1.04 billion bushels. Projections of corn exports from Argentina and Brazil sit at an additional 492 million bushels each above last marketing year. Given the increase in South American production, the evolution of crop conditions in the region bears monitoring as we move into 2019, Hubbs adds. The forecast for soybean ending stocks fell to 910 million bushels. Despite the 45 million-bushel reduction to ending stocks, the current projection remains record high, Hubbs says. Soybean production came in 56 million bushels lower than the November forecast at 4.54 billion. The harvested acreage estimate of 88.1 million acres is down from the November forecast of 88.3 million acres. Average soybean yield of 51.6 bushels per acre is 0.5 bushels lower than the November forecast. While the expected reduction in soybean production materialized, consumption continues to exhibit strong crush levels and weak exports this marketing year, he explains. The WASDE report increased the soybean crush forecast by 10 million bushels to 2.09 billion bushels. The change in the crush projection reflects strong crush numbers through January. Soybean exports saw the forecast lowered by 25 million bushels to 1.875 billion bushels. Considerable uncertainty remains in export potential in 2019 as the sporadic nature of trade talks with China unfold, Hubbs says. Total use fell by 15 million bushels on weaker export projections to 4.092 billion bushels. The consumption for this marketing year holds the potential for deterioration if the trade war escalates and increased competition out of South America materializes. World production forecasts for the marketing year decreased by 301 million bushels to 13.26 billion bushels on the smaller U.S. and Brazilian crops. The Brazilian soybean production forecast decreased by 183.72 million bushels over the December forecast to 4.3 billion bushels. Reports out of Brazil indicate this number may fall further before the final crop estimate is complete. The Argentinian soybean production forecast fell slightly to 2.02 billion bushels on reduced acreage. The Brazilian soybean export forecast dropped by 55 million bushels reflecting the decreased crop production levels. Forecasts for Brazil and Argentina soybean exports sit at 3.15 billion bushels over the marketing year, up from last marketing years estimate of 2.88 billion bushels. While the ending stock projections for both crops fell, the USDA maintained price projections for the marketing year at the December mid-point ranges for corn and soybeans at $3.60 and $8.60 respectively, Hubbs says. Barring a resolution to the trade issues with China or a significant deterioration in the South American crop, soybean prices are untenable at current levels. Corn prices appear set to remain flat and range bound until the March Prospective Planting reports provide an initial indication of crop acreage in 2019. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 URBANA -- Adding soy flour to school lunches in Ghana provides a cost-efficient way of increasing the protein level, according to a new study co-authored by a University of Illinois researcher. Soy is known to be a low-cost protein source, says Peter Goldsmith, professor of agricultural and consumer economics at the U of I. But the thesis that soy is a good ingredient in a national school lunch program had yet to be proven, though everyone assumed it. The researchers demonstrated the economic and nutritional impact of replacing some of the starch in a school lunch meal with soy products or another protein source. Their results showed that adding soy flour provides a low-cost way to increase the protein level in the meal. Goldsmith is lead researcher for the USAID Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Soybean Value Chain Research, also known as the Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL), a program that brings together about 35 researchers from 17 different countries to study how soy can help reduce poverty and malnutrition in developing countries. SIL researchers conducted this study in cooperation with Catholic Relief Services and the Ghana National School Lunch Program. Government-supported school lunch programs are important in many developing countries as a way to address stunting and malnutrition, Goldsmith says. In Ghana, the national school lunch program delivers a daily meal to more than 1.6 million students, or 38 percent of the countrys student population. The national school lunch program in Ghana is intended to ensure that all children get their nutritional requirements met. Its often the main meal that the child gets, especially girls. So it is important that it meets the nutritional requirements for protein. SIL researchers conducted a case study of four caterers delivering a traditional dish of tomato stew with rice. They interviewed the caterers and observed them as they prepared, cooked, and served the meal. Then they measured the nutritional content and estimated the cost per unit of protein. The caterers receive recipes and basic training from the government, but have considerable flexibility in meal preparation. They receive a budget allowance per meal, and their operating margin depends on the cost of ingredients they purchase. This leads to considerable variation in actual nutritional content across caterers. Therefore, it was important to measure the nutritional content directly, rather than relying on recipes or student recall of what they ate, as most studies typically do, Goldsmith says. We found great variation, he explains. They had permutations in what they used, they had permutations in the cost of what they used. They had significant differences therefore in the nutrition they were delivering and the net margins they earned. Overall 17 different ingredients were used, and only eight were common across caterers. Water content can also vary and that affects nutritional value, Goldsmith says. The tomato stew recipe is estimated to provide 32 percent of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of protein for very young students, but only 18 percent for 9-13 year olds. The most common protein source is dried mackerel, but its used in small amounts because of the expense. Thus, most of the protein is obtained from rice, which is a cheap starch, but it is very low in protein. So it is beneficial to replace some of the rice with a source thats high in protein and has a superior amino acid profile. After analyzing the nutritional content and cost per unit of protein in the meals, the researchers simulated the addition of three soy productssoy flour, texturized soy protein (TSP) and tofu to the recipe, replacing 10 grams of the rice with 10 grams of the soy product. The researchers found that soy flour and TSP added the most protein at the lowest cost. Tofu is also a good source of protein but less cost-efficient because of its high moisture and relatively low protein levels. Soy flour is about one-third cheaper per unit of protein than TSP and local proteins such as ground beef and dried mackerel. Soy flour is really a superior ingredient, since its a high quality protein and its very dense; its low cost and shelf-stable. Supplementing it up to 10 grams is very beneficial, Goldsmith says. TSP is also a cost-efficient source of protein with benefits similar to soy flour; however, TSP is currently not produced in Ghana and therefore is not practical to include at this point, Goldsmith says. For comparison purposes, the researchers also simulated the inclusion of ground beef and mackerel, substituted for 10 grams of rice. Both are much more expensive than soy flour or TSP. The next step is to train caterers to include soy flour so it can be implemented in the whole school lunch system. Weve shown the economy in it and the benefits to nutrition, now they see the results, Goldsmith says. Soy flour in the recommended amounts does not change the taste or texture of the food. Its not really a foodstuff, so youre not creating a soy dish. Its an ingredient that fortifies the local cuisine. Theres no change in flavoring or spices. Thats why soy is advantageous, because it just takes on the flavor of whatever youre cooking. Its really about fortification, Goldsmith says. The studys findings can be extrapolated to other developing countries that have national school lunch programs and that are interested in cooking with soy. SIL started in Ghana but other countries have a huge interest in developing their soy value chain, so we are now in 17 countries; it has really grown, Goldsmith says. Adding soy flour to meals is a very low-cost solution to stunting and malnutrition, Goldsmith says. It can also provide benefits to economic development, as it can provide incentives to grow soybeans and replace current crops with soy. USAID wondered whether it was a good mechanism to address poverty and malnutrition; they didnt know and needed to see evidence, Goldsmith says. Thats where SILs research and its interdisciplinary team can be helpful to development organizations like USAID and Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection that operates the Ghana School Lunch Program. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 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.) Reuters reports that Tasnim News Agency, an outlet close to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, published remarks to that effect on Saturday, saying that Tehran has many available options for neutralizing the sanctions and that the regional influence of the Islamic Republic cannot be curtailed in accordance with Western interests. Among the specific threats underlying Tasnims claims were quotations from Ali Shamkhani, the head of Irans Supreme National Security Council, in which he reiterated the countrys longstanding insistence that it is willing and able to close the Strait of Hormuz to global shipping traffic in retaliation for any perceived aggression on the part of the US or its allies. At present, about a third of the worlds seaborne oil passes through the narrow strait at the end of the Persian Gulf, which the naval forces of the IRGC are tasked with patrolling and defending. Associated vessels are well known for unsafely approaching US warships transiting the area, in a recurring show of force that is supposed to signal Iranian readiness for conflict with a military superpower. This explanation for the motives of the IRGC and some factions of Irans regular military are not merely speculative. Reuters quoted Shamkhani as boasting of such readiness on Saturday, saying, Iran is capable of confronting any military threat Trump and Israel are well aware of Irans military might. They know that they cannot enter a war with Iran. That is why they publicly threaten Iran. It is far from being the only statement to this effect in recent months, as tensions between Iran and the US have ramped up. Last Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, sometimes identified as a moderate by the standards of the clerical regime, acknowledged this escalation and appeared to embrace the provocative response that is typical of hardliners. Reuters quoted him as saying, The struggle between Iran and America is currently at a maximum. America has employed all its power against us. He went on to assert that US sanctions and other efforts to prevent international businesses from conducting transactions with Iran are one-hundred percent a terrorist act. The comments arguably represent endorsement of Irans ongoing military buildup and aggressive response to US-led pressure, especially considering that the remarks closely coincided with a large-scale military demonstration that spanned three days and what Iranian state media referred to as a vast area stretching from the Strait of Hormuz to the Indian Ocean. According to another Reuters report, the war games began on Friday and involved approximately 100 Iranian vessels, including a newly unveiled submarine equipped with intermediate range cruise missiles. Embracing the Potential for Conflicts A successful test of one of those missiles reportedly took place on Sunday. While the Islamic Republic News Agency praised this development, representatives of the IRGC went further by insisting that the cruise missile was launched in spite of efforts by foreign enemies to sabotage this and similar weapons. Al Jazeera quoted Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Guards aerospace force, as saying that the would-be sabotage involved an imported component but, they couldnt do a damn thing because we had seen this coming from the start and had reinforced this sector. But while Hajizadehs comments aim to give the impression that Iran stands toe-to-toe with the US in both military readiness and counterintelligence, the rest of the Al Jazeera report suggests the distinct possibility that the IRGC saw sabotage coming because Western and Israeli politicians and intelligence sources have made no secret of their intention to carry out such a program over the long term. Additionally, the available data on Iranian missile tests suggests that the program has been successful in the past. Over a period of 11 years, an estimated 67 percent of those launches have failed. Foreign sabotage may account for only a portion of this figure, but most any other factors would necessarily undermine the Iranian regimes efforts to portray itself as having made unqualified advancements in military technology during that same time. Nevertheless, the IRGC and hardline Iranian officials lean heavily on that propaganda to project an image of strength for domestic audiences and to justify and promote ongoing military provocations. At the same time, Tehran makes recognizable efforts to portray missile tests and military demonstrations as part of a response to constant threats from foreign adversaries including but not limited to the US. In remarks at this months Munich Security Conference and in a subsequent newspaper interview, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif connected US foreign policy to that of Irans regional arch-enemy Israel and said that both states actions were increasing chances of open conflict. Asked about the possibility of war between Iran and Israel, Zarif said we cannot exclude the possibility, according to Reuters. The Jewish state has repeatedly committed to preventing Iran from securing a permanent foothold in neighboring Syria, where Iran helped the dictator Bashar al-Assad to hold onto power in the midst of an eight-year civil war. For its part, Iran has similarly committed to keeping forces in the country at least until all domestic rebellion is dislodged. The Islamic Republic is also reported to be developing permanent military bases in Syria, and it recently began work on a highway that is expected to connect Tehran to Damascus via Iraq. The strength of Irans influence over Syria was arguably reinforced once again on Monday when Assad visited Tehran for the first time since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War and met with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Syrian media described the two leaders as agreeing to continue cooperation at all levels for the interests of the two friendly nations, and Khamenei reportedly praised Assad as a hero for setting the stage for closer relations not only between the two nations but also between Syria and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, which also played a substantial role in the military defense of the Assad regime, potentially securing a permanent foothold on Israels eastern border in the process. Notably, the meetings dialogue included clear references to an adversarial posture toward the West. Khamenei and other hardline figures have long promoted the notion of an axis of Resistance against Western and Israeli interests, with Iran at its center. The axis ostensibly aspires to include any and all Muslim-majority nations in the vicinity of the Persian Gulf, but Tehran has had little success to date in shaming countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates into abandoning their alliances with the US and Europe. Accordingly, the Gulf Arab states are cited right alongside the US in Iranian propaganda that portrays an imminent or recurring foreign threat. Broad Responses to Narrow Threats As one example of that propaganda, Iran was quick to attribute to Saudi Arabia a recent terrorist attack that targeted a bus carrying off-duty IRGC officers in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan. Regime officials refused to back down from that accusation even after the governments official narrative changed to say that the perpetrators of the attack were Iranian and were supported by a terrorist group across the border in Pakistan. In fact, the revised narrative appears to simultaneously blame nearly all of Irans regional adversaries, thereby setting the stage for the IRGC and the regime as a whole to take as broad an approach to retaliation as they like. This was specifically the message of an article published in Tabnak last Friday, which quoted Brigadier General Hossein Salami, the IRGCs lieutenant commander, as saying that the organizations revenge will not stop with the actual members of the terrorist cell involved in the attack. The scale of Irans revenge is not limited to clashes with four terrorists, he said, adding that the IRGC would target anyone who they are linked to. And as per the public statements that Iranian officials have already made, this might be seen as including the governments of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, among others. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the IRGCs foreign special operations branch, the Quds Force, reaffirmed this possibility in remarks that took direct aim at the Saudis and highlighted a competition between Iran and its regional rival for influence over the Gulf States and the Muslim world. Saudi Arabia is building its regional influence with money only. This is a false influence and a failureWe will take revenge for our martyrs [and] it might be anywhere around the world, he said on Thursday in remarks to Tasnim. The regimes broad condemnation of various enemies is reminiscent of its response to other crises. In early 2018, when the country was gripped by an anti-government uprising involving demonstrations in more than 100 cities and towns, Supreme Leader Khamenei and other officials disregarded the domestic roots of the Resistance movement in favor of a narrative that ascribed the protests to a triangle of enemies consisting of the Gulf Arab nations, Israel, and the US, with members of the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran merely acting as foot soldiers in a foreign plot. In working to contain that plot, Iran has taken aim at domestic activists but has also cracked down on foreign nationals and all supposed conduits for Western influence, as well as striving to place more restrictions on the internet. As Agence France-Presse reported on Monday, Irans information and telecommunications minister has come under fire from hardliners over his former opposition to plans to ban Instagram, the last major social network site to be permitted in the Islamic Republic, and for supposedly leaving the Iranian internet vulnerable to both foreign influence and domestic organizing among dissident groups. For the time being, President Rouhani is supporting Minister Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi amidst calls for his resignation. But Rouhani has been widely criticized during his six-year tenure for failing to seriously oppose hardline pressures or follow up on campaign promises regarding domestic freedom and better relations with the international community. In spite of this, Foreign Minister Zarif was recently forced to defend the administrations record of subservience of the supreme leader saying in a parliamentary debate, It is not true that we acted against the will of the supreme leader We are not a system in which people can act on their own. We can do nothing in this country without having to report it. On Monday, Zarif was conspicuously absent from the meeting between Khamenei and Assad, and later that same day he abruptly announced via Instagram that he is stepping down from his position. He did not give a reason but apologized for shortcomings and flaws in his role, possibly hinting at his succumbing to pressure from a hardline faction that intends to adopt an even more confrontational approach to foreign affairs. It is clear from the mullahs statements that the Iranian Regime is furious about the chance that Irans economic isolation could increase if those three countries want to boost their economic and political cooperation with Saudi Arabia. Five agreements and memoranda of understanding worth $18.5 billion in oil refining, renewable energy, petrochemicals and mining projects were signed during Crown Prince Mohammeds Pakistan visit, which concluded on February 19. It should not be surprising that the Saudi crown princes visit to Pakistan has increased the divide between Pakistan and Iran. After all, the two nations were already competing to build ports connecting Central Asian countries with an outlet on the Arabian Sea. And now that Saudi Arabia has agreed to provide the money for Pakistan to build a giant oil refinery at Gwadar port, the Iranian port of Chabahar is less likely to be developed. India had previously been investing in Chabahar, but if it wants to get Saudi investment, especially with increased US pressure, it may have to withdraw its support. Of course, data indicates that India had already been doing this, with sales of Iranian crude oil to India declining 45% in January, even though India received a US sanctions waiver. Another reason why Saudi investment in Gwadar is so important is that China has already invested more than $60 billion in order to secure this as its outlet to the Arabian Sea Iran sees all of this as a major threat to its financial security, something already under threat, so the Regime sent out statements attacking Pakistan for allying with Saudi Arabia against Iran. This indicates that the Saudi investment and US sanctions are likely to cut off Irans economic ties to the three countries, but also reduce the number of countries and businesses who wish to trade through Chabahar. According to observers familiar with the situation, Indian, Chinese and Pakistani interests with Saudi Arabia are much more important, profitable, and safe, than the relations, the Asian nations currently have with Iran. After all, Iran is a country facing widespread domestic protest and the likelihood of regime overthrow soon. It is also facing huge international pressure and the deals may not be worth the paper theyre printed on. In the speech, Maryam Rajavi called on France, and by extension the EU, to abandon the distortions appeasement policy on the Iranian Regime and stand with the Iranian people who are calling for justice. In our previous pieces, we looked at the Regimes terrorism abroad and how Resistance Units in Iran are leading nationwide anti-regime protests. Here, we will look at Maryam Rajavis advice on how the international community can tackle the Iranian Regime as a whole. Maryam Rajavi explained, as if it should need clarification, that the Iranian Regime is not moderate in any way and so should not enjoy the support or appeasement of other countries. Maryam Rajavi noted that many politicians have refused to end the appeasement policy for fear that it would only encourage the Iranian security apparatus to attack more countries in the Middle East; that it would create a power vacuum, as in Iraq or Syria, that would allow malign powers to take hold because there are no alternatives to the Regime. Thats why many argue that its better to continue negotiating with the Regime, rather than taking a firm policy. Maryam Rajavi dismissed that notion, pointing out that the Iranian Resistance is popular and ready to take control for a six-month transitional period until democracy can be installed. There would be no power vacuum. Maryam Rajavi said: Those who make such recommendations are actually seeking to give concessions to the mullahs. They are confronting the Iranian peoples desires and uprisings for regime change. In a word, they seek to preserve and protect the regime. Maryam Rajavi advised that the international community should terminate the policy of appeasement, which is detrimental to the Iranian people and all countries in the Middle East, and instead look to the Iranian Resistance as the solution. She said that there was no reason to worry about regime change by the Iranian people and its resistance because this would not cause Iran to fall, instead, it would remove the main obstacle to Irans freedom. Maryam Rajavi said: I urge the French government to initiate a bold policy in the European Union. An initiative that places France and Europe beside the people of Iran, and would respect the Iranian peoples struggle for freedom and democracy. She said that the world must recognize the right of the Iranian people to overthrow the mullahs and stressed that the Iranian Resistance is an accountable, dedicated and qualified movement with a strong and comprehensive plan for the future of a free Iran. Maryam Rajavi said: We enjoy our peoples support in seeking to establish a republic based on the separation of religion and state, gender equality, the abolition of the death penalty, an independent judiciary, autonomy for ethnic groups, a foreign policy based on peaceful co-existence, and a non-nuclear Iran. As well as noting that President Hassan Rouhani had not yet accepted the resignation on Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that 150 Iranian lawmakers a majority of the national parliament had signed a letter urging him to retain Zarif in the role. Meanwhile, Agence France-Presse reported that the foreign minister followed up on his informal resignation by urging fellow diplomats not to follow suit with their own resignations. It is not clear whether Zarifs input was necessary to prevent massive changes in diplomatic staffing, but rumors immediately began to swirl of supporters planning to resign in solidarity or in protest against the same issues that led the foreign minister to his decision. It remains somewhat unclear what those issues were, but many have connected the announcement to Zarifs absence, earlier on Monday, from a meeting between Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who traveled to Tehran for his first publicly-acknowledged state visit since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War nearly eight years ago. According to one Iranian newspaper, when Zarif was reached for comment in the wake of that meeting, he complained that his absence from photos had robbed him of credibility. But others disputed the notion that Zarif would have resigned over such a singular event. The Washington Post quoted Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, as saying that the Foreign Ministry has long been ornamental in such debates as the meeting between Khamenei and Assad. The power broker of Irans regional security policy has always been the IRGC, not the Foreign Ministry, Taleblu explained, suggesting that Zarif was well aware of this fact and could not have realistically expected to have been given a meaningful voice in the meeting. Nevertheless, it is possible that his absence was the result of more deliberate and visible exclusion by the supreme leader, the IRGC, or both. And this may have been regarded as significant in its own right, because of what it says about underlying factional feuding inside the regime. This is the very issue that Zarif highlighted in his first public remarks since his ostensible resignation, although many of these were recorded prior to his announcement. Just hours beforehand, he told a moderate local newspaper that Irans foreign policy is at the mercy of disputes between political groups and factions, according to Bloomberg. And AFP quoted him as follow up on Tuesday with the Islamic Republic News Agency by expressing hope that his resignation (or threat thereof) would allow the foreign ministry to regain its proper statutory role. But it is not clear what this restoration is supposed to look like, and whether it would involve the Khamenei and other hardliners granting a role to an alternative representative of the so-called moderate faction or Iranian politics, or whether it would involve the Rouhani administration simply ceding foreign policy to the IRGC. Reuters quoted one official as describing his vision for something like the former scenario: If [Khamenei] publicly backs Zarif and Rouhani, this crisis will be over in a good way and it will narrow the gap between different political camps in the country. But considering that the official was identified as being close to the hardline camp, this narrowing is presumably seen to involve the moderates drawing closer to the hardliners. In this sense, both of the above-mentioned scenarios may be functionally identical, especially considering that many critics of the Iranian regime insist that there are few real differences between the two factions. Under fire from hardliners in the weeks leading up to his resignation, Zarif defended the Rouhani administrations record before parliament by saying, It is not true that we acted against the will of the supreme leader We can do nothing in this country without having to report it. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a rather similar message via Twitter on Monday, in response to Zarifs resignation announcement. The president and foreign minister, he said, are just front men for a corrupt religious mafia in which the supreme leader makes all real decisions. He went on to say of the US government, Our policy is unchangedthe regime must behave like a normal country and respect its people. But Pompeos message was quoted in a Wall Street Journal article that began by suggesting that Zarifs announcement could signal a victory for the hardline faction at a time when tensions between Iran and the US have already been sharply escalating. The article said that Zarif was consistently seen as a government figure who Iranians and foreigners alike could approach to discuss grievances against the regime involving human-rights violations, business deals and foreign policy. However, this description is much disputed, and Zarif has been ridiculed and condemned by opponents of the regime for spreading its message abroad while leading a charm offensive both during and after the nuclear negotiations that led to the 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers. On the cusp of that agreement in April 2015, Zarif famously said in an American television interview, We do not jail people for their opinions, even as the regime held several foreign nationals on trumped-up national security charges. Those who see little difference between the two factions whose competition may have fueled Zarifs resignation will likely see no further threat in the possible domino effect that could result from that move. This is the outcome that is expected by one pro-reform official quoted by Reuters, if Rouhani accepts the foreign ministers resignation. A separate Reuters report noted that rumors erupted almost immediately of the planned resignation of Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, although his office denied that they had any validity. Still the pro-reform official said that other ministers and even Rouhani might follow [Zarif], and this is not something that the country can tolerate when pressured by America and sanctions. But this was not the first suggestion of Rouhanis possible departure. On Sunday, the Associated Press published a report examining that potential outcome, emphasizing the pressure that the president is facing not just from hardliners but from much of the civilian population over his failure to address the nations economic crisis. At the same time, Rouhani has also lost much of his support among advocates of reform, due to the lack of progress on any of his key campaign promises regarding a freer and more open Iranian society. In 2017, during his campaign for reelection, activists associated with the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran organized a boycott of the polls, urging Iranians to vote for regime change and emphasizing the perception of a lack of serious differences between the hardline and reformist factions of mainstream Iranian politics. Mondays letter, published in its entirety by the Center for Human Rights in Iran, points out that no evidence has ever been provided to substantiate these accusations. It also highlights the fact that the Iranian judiciarys case against the environmentalists is apparently built solely on a confession that was elicited under torture and later withdrawn. The defendant who was the object of this torture was absent from three of five trial sessions, presumably because she had interrupted the first session to object to the prosecutions persistent references to her forced statement. The allegations of torture are strengthened by a number of factors, including further information about the given case, as well as historical information about the Iranian regimes conduct in politically motivated arrests and trials. The eight co-defendants in the current case might have been joined in court by a ninth, had he not died under suspicious circumstances shortly after his arrest. The Iranian-Canadian university professor and founder of the PHWC, Kavous Seyed-Emami, was found dead in his cell last February, and prison officials quickly labeled the incident a suicide but also stymied all efforts to secure an independent autopsy for the deceased. His family has vigorously disputed the official account, and the resulting controversy has helped to bring international attention to the likely instance of fatal torture, and also to the broader crackdown on environmentalists. A number other persons fitting into that category have been arrested over the past year, including a dozen in the countrys Kurdistan region alone. And environmentalists are only one of a number of groups that have seemingly been targeted for harassment, arrest, and prosecution. Others include participants in and supporters of long-term labor protests like that which has dogged the Haft Tapeh sugarcane factory. That situation has also become the focus of international attention in the wake of the re-arrest of fellow activists Esmail Bakhshi and Sepideh Gholian, who revealed details of their torture after Iranian state media aired their forced confessions in January. Bakhshi and Gholian have both been the subject of urgent statements from Amnesty International and other human rights groups concerning the likelihood that they are being subjected to further torture during their current period of detention. Those warning were reiterated last Friday, when IranWire published an update on their case and described the activists as facing intense pressure by authorities who are committed to airing another round of forced confessions. Persons familiar with the case indicated that the detention orders of Bakhshi and Gholian had been extended for another month. Meanwhile, the scope of the Iranian regimes campaign against them and against labor activists in general has expanded. Authorities now appear to be advancing a propaganda narrative that portrays the Haft Tapeh protesters as part of an organized foreign plot to destabilize the Islamic Republic. This is notably the same strategy that was used in the regimes response to nationwide anti-government protests that began in December 2017 and continued through much of the following January. In that case, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other officials insisted that domestic organizers affiliated with the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran were only foot soldiers in a plot hatched by a triangle of enemies consisting of the United States and Irans regional adversaries. The IranWire report quoted a source close to Bakhshi and Gholian as expressing some optimism about the possibility of their being released. The Intelligence Bureau is trying hard to force them into giving confessions in the coming days, said before adding, Perhaps, if they fail, they will release Esmail and Sepideh next week. But the same source indicated that authorities have also signaled their intention to transfer the pair from their current detention facility in Khuzestan to a more prominent center for political prisoners somewhere in Tehran. He also noted that relatives of both Bakhshi and Gholian have come under pressure as the regime struggles to contain public information about the case. IranWire gives the impression that authorities are alternating between putting pressure on the prisoners and on their families, and CHRI corroborated this, giving some details of the Intelligence Ministrys actions. On February 17, agents attempted to violently arrest Bakhshis mother, causing her to collapse before being taken to the hospital. Other relatives have been explicitly threatened with prosecution and instructed to help calm the medias response to the ongoing situation. CHRI also notes that Bakhshis and Gholians families have been told that both prisoners are lying about their experiences of torture, even though eye-witnesses inside the relevant prison have confirmed their accounts. Pressure tactics are commonly used against both prisoners and their families to enforce the regimes pre-fabricated narratives, and there is little reason to suppose that the efforts in the present case will be abandoned simply because the prisoners hold out a little longer. Foreign and domestic backlash against those tactics may prove helpful, but as mentioned above, the arrest and prosecution of conservationists and labor activists is part of a much larger phenomenon that must be addressed in its entirety. Reports concerning Bakhshi and Gholian point to deteriorating health conditions for both prisoners, and this puts them at risk of another familiar pressure tactic that has seemingly escalated in recent months. On Monday, Iran Human Rights Monitor published a report detailing several instances of authorities in just one Iranian prison, Rajai Shahr, withholding medical treatment from political prisoners who are sick or wounded. The report highlighted one inmate who may lose a kidney as a result of progressive damage and the denial of sophisticated treatment that his family has already paid for. Another is at risk of going blind, partly as a result of the effects of torture he experienced early in his 15-year sentence. The same prisoner is said to be suffering from a number of other ailments, as is the case with many political detainees who have been denied medical treatment over the long term. In some cases, the effects of torture and harsh prison conditions are amplified by the effects of age. The oldest prisoner identified in the IHRM report is 72. The report states that Iranian authorities have a long history of putting the lives of political prisoners at serious risk by denying them adequate medical care. But the volume of recent cases may be indicative of recent escalation. This would certainly be in keeping with the overall trend in the regimes treatment of political prisoners and known activists. The seriousness of that trend was a key message of the report released last week by Iran Human Rights on the situation of human rights defenders in Iran over the past year. In 2018, the pressure upon and suppression of human rights activists in Iran intensified through detention, threats and imprisonment, the website said in its summary of the report. Iranian authorities view human rights defenders as threats to the security of the state. The summary also discusses the situation in the context of two prominent anniversaries: the 40th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution and the birth of the Islamic Republic, and the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The report itself focuses on 19 individual human rights defenders who have been subjected to political imprisonment and large-scale extrajudicial pressure, but it notes that this is only a sample of the broader phenomenon, which affects labor organizers, environmentalists, womens rights advocates, minority activists, and other specific groups. Iran Human Rights notes that the collective plight of these groups and of the Iranian people as a whole can be addressed by the international community this year, when Iran is subject to its third Universal Periodic Review. The UPR was similarly cited in another report also released by Iran Human Rights last week, this one focusing on Irans prolific use of the death penalty. The report acknowledges progress in this area relative to last year, resulting from the governments reform of laws regarding standard sentencing for non-violent drug criminals. This accounts for all or most of the 48 percent decrease in total executions between 2017 and 2018. But with 273 people put to death in the most recent year, the Islamic Republic appears to be retaining its status as the country with the largest number of executions per capita. Whats more, 13 of the executions took place in public, and this practice continues with IHRM reporting one such incident on Sunday. The problem is compounded by the routine denial of due process in Iran, particularly in cases involving laws that do not rise to international standards for justifying the death penalty, or are not recognized as laws at all. During the previous UPR in 2014, Iran accepted only one of 41 recommendations involving the death penalty. And in 2018, the execution of six individuals who were under the age of 18 at the time of their alleged crimes confirmed that Iran remains committed to defying the international community over this and other human rights matters. * "Most Popular Intellectual Property Law Blawg" of all time according to Justia rankings , June 2021. * "Most Popular Copyright Blawg" of all time according to Justia rankings , June 2021. * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the World Intellectual Property Review's "Influential Women in IP" of 2020. * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2018. * IPKat founder and Blogmeister Emeritus Jeremy Phillips listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2005, 2011, 2013, and 2014. * Recommended by the European Patent Office as reading material for candidates for the European Qualifying Examinations, 2013. * Listed as "Top Legal Blog" in The Times Online, March 2011. 2010 ABA Journal 100. * One of the only two non-US blogs listed in the Blawg100. * Court Reporter Top Copyright Blog award winner, November 2010. * Number 1 in the 2010 Top Copyright Blog list compiled by the Copyright Litigation Blog, July 2010. * Selected by the United States Library of Congress for inclusion in its historic collections of Internet materials related to Legal Blawgs as of 2010. * Top Patent Blog poll 2009: 3rd out of 50 in the "Favourite Patent Blog" poll and 2nd out of 50 in the "Most-read" poll. Blog of the Year, 20 August 2008. * ComputerWeekly IT Law and Governance, 20 August 2008. Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, stands as he waits to be sworn in to testify at a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (Reuters) - The following is a timeline of significant developments in the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller into U.S. intelligence agencies' conclusions that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to help get Donald Trump elected: 2017 May 17 - U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appoints former FBI Director Mueller as a special counsel to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election and to look into any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and people associated with Republican Trump's campaign. The appointment follows President Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey on May 9 and days later Trump attributed the dismissal to "this Russia thing." June 15 - Mueller is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice, the Washington Post reports. Oct. 30 - Veteran Republican political operative Paul Manafort, who was Trump's campaign chairman for five months at crucial junctures in the run-up to the election, is indicted on charges of conspiracy against the United States and money laundering as is his business partner Rick Gates. - Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleads guilty to a charge of lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials. Dec. 1 - Michael Flynn, Trump's national security adviser for less than a month and who had a prominent campaign role, pleads guilty to the charge of lying to the FBI about his discussions in 2016 with the Russian ambassador to Washington. 2018 Feb. 16 - Federal grand jury indicts 13 Russians and three firms, including a Russian government propaganda arm called the Internet Research Agency, accusing them of tampering to support Trump and disparage Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The accused "had a strategic goal to sow discord in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 U.S. presidential election" according to the court document filed by Mueller. Story continues - An American, Richard Pinedo, pleads guilty to identity fraud for selling bank account numbers after being accused by prosecutors of helping Russians launder money, buy Facebook ads and pay for campaign rally supplies. Pinedo was not associated with the Trump campaign. Feb. 22 - Manafort and Gates charged with financial crimes, including bank fraud, in Virginia. Feb. 23 - Gates pleads guilty to conspiracy against the United States and lying to investigators. He agrees to cooperate and testify against Manafort at trial. April 3 - Alex van der Zwaan, the Dutch son-in-law of one of Russia's richest men, is sentenced to 30 days in prison and fined $20,000 for lying to Mueller's investigators, becoming the first person sentenced in the probe. April 9 - FBI agents raid home, hotel room and office of Trump's personal lawyer and self-described "fixer" Michael Cohen. April 12 - Rosenstein tells Trump that he is not a target in Mueller's probe. April 19 - Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump supporter in the election campaign, joins Trump's personal legal team. June 8 - Mueller charges a Russian-Ukrainian man, Konstantin Kilimnik, a Manafort business partner whom prosecutors suspect of having ties to Russian intelligence, with witness tampering. July 13 - Federal grand jury indicts 12 Russians whom prosecutors describe as military intelligence officers, on charges of hacking Democratic Party computer networks in 2016 and staged releases of documents. Moscow, which denies interfering in the election, says there is no evidence that the 12 are linked to spying or hacking. July 16 - In Helsinki after the first summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump publicly contradicts U.S. intelligence agencies, says no reason for Russia to meddle in election. He calls the Mueller inquiry a "rigged witch hunt" on Twitter. Aug. 21 - A trial jury in Virginia finds Manafort guilty on eight counts of fraud. - Cohen, in a case brought by U.S. prosecutors in New York, pleads guilty to tax fraud and campaign finance law violations. Cohen is subsequently interviewed by Mueller's team. Aug. 31 - Samuel Patten, an American business partner of Kilimnik, pleads guilty to unregistered lobbying for pro-Kremlin political party in Ukraine. Sept. 14 - Manafort pleads guilty to some charges and signs a cooperation agreement with Mueller's prosecutors. Oct. 22 - Giuliani says Manafort's lawyer has kept Trump informed about Manafort's meetings with prosecutors and Manafort has not said anything damaging against the president. Nov. 8 - U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns at Trump's request. He had recused himself from the Mueller inquiry because of his contacts with the Russian ambassador as a Trump campaign official; Trump appoints Sessions' chief of staff Matthew Whitaker, a critic of the Mueller probe, as acting attorney general. Nov. 20 - Giuliani says Trump submitted written answers to questions from Mueller. Nov. 27-28 - Prosecutors say Manafort breached his plea deal by lying to investigators, which Manafort denies; Trump says he has not ruled out granting Manafort a presidential pardon. Nov. 28 - Giuliani says Trump told investigators he was not aware ahead of time of a meeting in Trump Tower in New York between several campaign officials and Russians in June 2016. Nov. 29 - Cohen pleads guilty in the Mueller investigation to lying to Congress about the length of discussions in 2016 on plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. "I made these misstatements to be consistent with individual 1's political messaging and out of loyalty to individual 1," says Cohen, who previously identified "individual 1" as Trump. - The president criticizes Cohen as a liar and "weak person." Dec. 12 - Two developments highlight growing political and legal risks for Trump: Cohen sentenced to three years in prison for crimes including orchestrating hush payments to women in violation of campaign laws before the election; American Media Inc, publisher of National Enquirer tabloid, strikes deal to avoid charges over its role in one of two hush payments. Publisher admits payment was aimed at influencing the 2016 election, contradicting Trump's statements. 2019 Jan. 25 - Longtime Trump associate and self-proclaimed political "dirty trickster" Roger Stone charged and arrested at his home in Florida. Stone is accused of lying to Congress about statements suggesting he may have had advance knowledge of plans by Wikileaks to release hacked Democratic Party campaign emails. Feb. 21 - U.S. judge tightens gag order on Stone, whose Instagram account posted a photo of the judge and the image of crosshairs next to it. Feb. 22 - Manhattan district attorney's office is pursuing New York state criminal charges against Manafort whether or not he receives a pardon from Trump on federal crimes, a person familiar with the matter says. Trump cannot issue pardons for state convictions. Feb. 23 - Mueller's office recommends no leniency in sentencing for Manafort for charges brought in federal court in Washington, describing him as a "hardened" criminal who repeatedly broke the law. Manafort, 69, is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison when he is sentenced in his Virginia case on March 7 with prosecutors recommending 19 -1/2 years to 24 -1/2 years. Feb. 24 - Senior Democratic U.S. Representative Adam Schiff says Democrats will subpoena Mueller's final report on his investigation if it is not given to Congress by the Department of Justice, and will sue the government and call on Mueller to testify to Congress if necessary. Feb. 27 - Cohen tells U.S. House Oversight Committee Trump is a "racist," a "conman" and a "cheat" who knew in advance about a release of emails by WikiLeaks in 2016 aimed at hurting rival Clinton. Trump directed negotiations for a real estate project in Moscow during the campaign even as he publicly said he had no business interests in Russia, Cohen testifies. (Compiled by Grant McCool in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis) The United States is seeking more information on the potential misuse of F-16 fighter jets used by Pakistan against India after Balakot air strikes, PTI reported. This move comes after Indian Air Force displayed evidence of Pakistan using the F-16 even though it had initially denied using the jets. A letter signed by the Noble winners, under the aegis of the Laureates and Leaders for Children, a platform founded by India's Nobel peace laureate Satyarthi, was submitted to India and Pakistan's Permanent Representatives to the United Nations on Saturday, 2 March, it said. Click here to get updates on IAF Pilot Abhinandans return. Click here to get the updates in Hindi. Indian armed forces said that they were prepared to retaliate, if Pakistan chooses to escalate the situation In his first statement after the strikes, PM Modi addressed BJP workers via a video conference and said, India will live as one, work as one, grow as one and fight as one Pakistan Stops Domestic and International Flight Operations Pakistan has stopped its domestic and international flight operations from Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Islamabad airports. At Least Two Dead As IAF Chopper Crashes in Jammu and Kashmirs Budgam An IAF chopper crashed near the Garend Kalan village in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam area, leaving at least two dead, news agencies reported on Wednesday, 27 February. Shortly after the crash, Pakistan Armed Forces Chairperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said that the Pakistan Air Force shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace, with one of them falling inside the Indian territory. An official IAF response on the crash is awaited at the moment. Pakistani F-16 Jet Shot Down by India: Reports Pakistan Air Force F-16 jet, that violated the Indian airspace on Wednesday, 27 February, has been shot down three kilometres within the Pakistan territory, reported ANI. There is no official confirmation on this development. Story continues Pak Confirms Strikes Across LoC, Says Sole Purpose is to 'Demonstrate Our Right' Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has confirmed that Pakistan undertook strikes across the Line of Control (LoC), but within the Pakistani airspace. In an official statement, Qureshi said, Sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. The statement further read, If India is striking at so called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan. 2 IAF Jets Shot Down, One Pilot Arrested: Pak Reiterates Claim Addressing a press conference in Pakistan, Major General Asif Ghafoor said that two IAF aircrafts crossed LoC. PAF took them on, both IAF aircraft were destroyed one on our side, one on the other. We have nothing to do with the third crash that has taken place in Indian territory, Ghafoor added. He further claimed that two pilots were recovered and provided all necessary medical treatment. News agency PTI reported that a video has been issued by the Pakistani Army in which an officer is heard saying I am Wing Commander Abhinandan Vartaman, I am an IAF officer. My service No is 27981. Entire Airspace, North of Delhi, Vacated The entire airspace north of Delhi has been vacated, reported PTI, citing officials. Arun Jaitley Defends Air Strikes on JeM Camp Finance Minister Arun Jaitley defended the air strikes on the JeM terror camp across the LoC, saying if the US Navy SEALs could take Osama Bin Landen from Abbottabad, then India can also do the same. MEA Briefing at 3:15 pm on Escalation of Tensions A Ministry of External Affairs briefing would take place at 3:15 pm today, presumably on the escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan. NOTAM Withdrawn, Flight Operation to Resume Shortly The Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) to alert aircraft pilots of potential hazards along a flight route has been withdrawn. Flight operations will resume shortly, reported ANI. The entire airspace north of Delhi had earlier been vacated. Pakistan Has Not Formally Informed About IAF Detention: Sources to ANI When asked if the MEA will take up Pakistans claim that the missing IAF pilot is in their custody, through military channels, sources told ANI that India has not been formally informed. Pakistan has not formally informed India about the detention of the pilot which it claims to have in its custody, sources told ANI. Sources also told ANI that only one pilot was missing in action, while Pakistan has claimed that two Indian pilots have been captured. Imran Khan to Address Pakistan Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will address his nation at 3:15 pm their time, on 27 February, tweeted the Government of Pakistan. Read the MEA-IAF Full Statement India had informed about Counter Terrorism (CT) action it took yesterday against a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan based on credible evidence that JeM intended to launch more attacks. Against this Counter Terrorism Action, Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistans attempts were foiled successfully. The Pakistan Air Force was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts. Better Sense Should Prevail: Imran Khan Invites India for Dialogue Addressing the country soon after the MEA-IAF joint briefing, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan invited India for dialogue, stating that things might get out of control, if the situation escalates. On the events that unfolded on 27 February, the Pakistan prime minister said that we had to show that if you come in our territory, we can also come into yours. Stressing that better sense should prevail, Khan added that if the two nations go to war, it will be neither in his control, nor in Prime Minister Narendra Modis. If situation escalates from here, things might spin out of control. Better sense should prevail. We are inviting India for dialogue, said Imran Khan. He further ascertained that the country shot down two Indian fighter jets, and that two of Indian pilots were in Pakistan custody. Khan also claimed that he offered to fully cooperate with India after 40 CRPF personnel were killed in Pulwama. Pray for Wing Commander's Safety: Arvind Kejriwal Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that he prayed for IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Vartamans safety. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Pakistan has claimed that they have captured two IAF pilots. MEA Briefs UN's Security Council Countries The Ministry of External affairs is reportedly briefing member countries of the United Nations Security Council, addressed as P5 envoys, on Pakistan's attempts at targeting Indian military installations and also updating them about India's position alert, sources told CNBC. Ambassadors of China, United Kingdom and Kuwait reportedly visit the MEA. MEA Summons Pak Deputy High Comissioner The Ministry of External Affairs has summoned Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah, reported ANI. Pak Deputy High Commissioner Arrives at South Block Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah, who was summoned to the South Block here, told Indian officials about capturing of an Indian pilot by Pakistani authorities, sources told PTI. Hope Missing Pilot Returns Home Soon: Rahul Gandhi Congress President Rahul Gandhi tweeted that he hoped that the missing IAF pilot will return home soon. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Condemn Pulwama Attack, National Security Must Transcend Political Considerations: Opposition Joint Statement 21 Opposition parties, led by the Congress, condemned the Pulwama attack and expressed solidarity with the armed forces. Addressing the media after the Opposition meet, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said that the leaders condemned Pakistani misadventure and expressed deep concern for safety of our missing pilot. The Opposition, in a joint statement, said that they urged government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity. Qureshi Threatens to Boycott OIC Meeting Over Swaraj's Participation Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday threatened to boycott a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) scheduled for this week in the UAE if India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj participates in the event. Swaraj has been invited as a "guest of honour" at the inaugural session of the OIC foreign ministers' conclave in Abu Dhabi on 1-2 March. "I have no reservations with the OIC or any other Islamic country. My reservations are with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj's attendance at the OIC meeting," Qureshi was quoted as saying by the Geo News. UK Foreign Minister to Meet India, Pak Envoys United Kingdom junior foreign office minister Mark Field to meet India and Pakistan envoys on Wednesday to urge restraint, reported Reuters. Pakistan Claims Only One Pilot Under Custody Pakistan Armed Forces spokesperson Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor backtracked on his earlier claim and said that only one pilot of the Indian Air Force was under their custody. Pakistan had earlier claimed that two IAF pilots were captured by them. We Expect Immediate, Safe Return of Missing Pilot From Pak: MEA Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday lodged a strong protest with the acting High Commissioner of Pakistan against unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan against India. It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return, the MEA statement read. The MEA added that Pakistans action was in contrast to Indias non-military anti-terror pre-emptive strike at a JeM terrorist camp in Balakot on 26 Feb 2019. "It is unfortunate that instead of fulfilling its international obligation & bilateral commitment to take credible action against terrorist entities and individuals operating from its soil, Pakistan has acted with aggression against India." - MEA Statement Punjab CM Meets To Officials from Army, Paramilitary & Police Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh met top officials of army, paramilitary and the police to review the current situation in border areas, reported ANI. Urge India-Pak to Exercise Restraint: UK PM May UK Prime Minister Theresa May has joined other countries in urging Indian and Pakistan to exercise restraint and ensure the tensions do not escalate any further. We are in regular contact with both countries urging dialogue and diplomatic solutions to ensure regional stability, May said in the UK House of Commons. Top Security, Intel Officials Meet at PMO Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Wednesday briefed about the latest security situation following violation of Indian airspace by Pakistani fighter jets in Jammu and Kashmir, sources told PTI. Top security and intelligence officials were in a huddle earlier in the day at the prime minister's office in the wake of fresh developments that followed India's airstrike at a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Pakistan. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, senior officials of the Indian Navy, Army and the Air Force and other security officials had met to discuss the current security situation, they said. Meeting of Three Service Chiefs With PMO Ends The meeting of the three Service Chiefs with PM Narendra Modi at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg ended, reported ANI. Red Alert Sounded for Delhi Metro A red alert was sounded for the entire Delhi Metro network on Wednesday by the DMRC, in view of hightened tensions between India and Pakistan. "As advised by security agencies, a red alert has been imposed on the entire DMRC network from 6 pm onwards," a senior DMRC official said. The Delhi Metro's current operational span is 327 km with 236 stations, in Delhi and neighbouring cities. "After a red alert is sounded, all station controllers are required to inspect entire station premises for any suspicious items or activity, including in parking lots, and report to the control centre every two hours," he said. Air Canada Suspends Service to India Air Canada has temporarily suspended service to India due the closure of Pakistani airspace by its government, reported ANI. India Hands over Dossier to Pak with Details of Jem Role in Pulwama India handed over to Pakistan a dossier on "specific details" of involvement of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in the Pulwama terror attack on CRPF as also the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in that country. The dossier was handed over to the Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan, who was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs to lodge a strong protest over Pakistan Air Force targeting Indian military installations, a day after the Indian counter-terror action against the JeM. Government sources have claimed that over 350 JeM terrorists were killed in the pre-dawn strike on the terror camps in Pakistan on Tuesday. Let the Nation Speak in One Voice: Jaitley Hits Out at Opposition Finance Minister Arun Jaitley appealed to the Opposition to speak in one voice, after they alleged that the NDA government was politicising the sacrifies of the armed forces. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Hope Saner Counsels Shall Prevail Between India And Pakistan: Manmohan Singh Amid growing tension between India and Pakistan, former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday, 27 February, voiced hope that saner counsels shall prevail between the leadership of India and Pakistan and the two countries will get back to the task of economic development. He said this at a function at Teen Murti Bhavan where he was presented with the first 'P V Narasimha Rao National leadership and lifetime achievement award' by former president Pranab Mukherjee. "I do hope that saner counsels will prevail between leadership of the two countries and we will get back to the economic development, which is the basic requirement of India and Pakistan," Singh said in his address. Air Canada Temporarily Suspends Flights to India Canada's flag carrier Air Canada on Wednesday, 27 February temporarily suspended its flights to India due to the closure of Pakistani airspace, amid escalating tensions between the two countries. "One flight en route to Delhi from Toronto was turned back over the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday night and returned to Toronto Wednesday, while a second flight from Vancouver to Delhi that was scheduled to depart Tuesday night was also been cancelled," Air Canada said. "Air Canada's flight from Toronto to Mumbai is planned to operate tonight as it takes a different routing, and we are evaluating the routing options for both Toronto-Delhi and Vancouver-Delhi flights scheduled to operate later tonight," it said in a statement. "We are monitoring the situation in order to resume service once the situation normalises and we determine it is safe to do so," it said. Air Canada and Jet Airways operate 18 flights weekly to India from Toronto Pearson, reported PTI. US Urges India, Pak to Take Steps to De-Escalate Tensions Deeply concerned over the growing confrontation between India and Pakistan, the US on Wednesday, 27 February urged the nuclear-armed neighbours to take immediate steps to de-escalate tensions, warning that the potential risks associated with further military action by either side are unacceptably high for both the countries. "The United States is deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan and calls on both sides to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation," said an official of the National Security Council (NSC) of the White House. "The potential risks associated with further military action by either side are unacceptably high for both countries, their neighbours, and the international community," the NSC official told PTI on the condition of anonymity. The official was responding to a question on Pakistan's claim that it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani air space and arrested a pilot. A day earlier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke over phone with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi seeking de-escalation of tensions. "Following Indian counter-terrorism actions on February 26, I spoke with Indian Minister of External Affairs Swaraj to emphasise our close security partnership and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region," Pompeo said in a statement. Pompeo is currently in Vietnam to attend the second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the denuclearsation of the Korean peninsula. "I also spoke to Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi to underscore the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action, and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil," Pompeo said. "I expressed to both Ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost. I also encouraged both ministers to prioritise direct communication and avoid further military activity," he said. Last week, US National Security Adviser John Bolton told his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval that America supports India's right to self-defence as both sides vowed to work together to ensure that Pakistan ceases to be a safe heaven for JeM and other terror groups. Its BJP & Its Leadership Who Require Real Introspection: Congress Hits Back at Jaitley Responding to Jaitleys claim of the statement by the 21 opposition party leaders being used by Pakistan, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted, "Mr. Jaitley, It's BJP & its leadership who require real introspection. Entire opposition stood as one backing the armed forces & the Govt. Still, Amit Shah & entire BJP resorted to credit seeking for the sacrifice of our martyrs & indulged in blaming the Congress provocatively." This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The 21 opposition parties after their meeting earlier in the day issued a joint statement expressing "deep anguish" over what they alleged was "blatant politicisation" of the sacrifices of armed forces. They urged the government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity. The statement said, "National security must transcend narrow political considerations... The leaders observed that the prime minister has, regrettably, not convened an all-party meeting as per established practice in our democracy." Pakistan Orders Complete Closure of Flight Operations Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced complete closure of flight operations for all domestic and international airlines across Pakistan till further orders, reported ANI quoting Pakistan media. US, UK & France Ask UNSC to Impose Sanctions on JeM Chief The United States of America, United Kingdom and France have asked the 15-member United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions committee to subject Maulana Masood Azhar, the head of Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad, to an arms embargo, global travel ban and asset freeze. Read the full story here. Urge PM to Bring Back Airforce Soldier: Siddaramaiah Former Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah took to Twitter to urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring back the IAF pilot who is in Pakistans custody. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Pak Begins Dismantling JeM Camps: Reports A day after IAF Wing Commander was taken into Pakistans custody, India is committed to bring him back in the next 72 hours, reported CNN-News18. The channel also reported that Pakistan has begun action against the Jaish terror camps. Pak Violates Ceasefire in Poonch District Pakistan violated the ceasefire at 6 am in Krishna Ghati sector along the Line of Control in Poonch district. US Supports India's Action Against Terror: Reports US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tells NSA Ajit Doval that US supports Indias decision to take action against JeM terror camps on Pakistani soil, reported ANI quoting sources. Union Cabinet Meeting at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg Later Today A Union Cabinet meeting is scheduled to be held at the prime ministers residence, 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, later today. Indian High Commission Asks Pak's Acting High Commission for Wing Commander's Safe Return Indian High Commission gave a demarche to Pakistan's acting High Commissioner on Wednesday, 27 February, in New Delhi for immediate and safe return of Wing Commander Abhinandan. We Hope Brave Pilot Would Return Home Soon: VK Singh Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh tweeted saying that efforts are on to bring the Wing Commander back under the Geneva Convention. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Abhi is Alive, Not Injured, We Are So Proud of Him: Air Marshal (Retd) S Varthaman A day after India confirmed that missing Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan was under Pakistan custody, his father Air Marshal (Retd) Varthaman said his son was alive, not injured and that he was proud of him. Thank you my friends for your concern and wishes. I thank God for his blessings, Abhi is alive, not injured, sound in mind, just look at the way he talked so bravely...a true soldier...we are so proud of him. I am sure all your hands n blessings are on his head, prayers for his safe return, I pray that he does not get tortured, and comes home safe n sound in body and mind. Thank you all for being with us in this hour of need . We draw our strengths from your support and energy (sic). Pakistan Suspends Samjhauta Express Train Service Pakistani authorities have suspended the Samjhauta Express train service between Pakistan and India until further notice, media reports said amidst tense bilateral ties in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack. The train departs on Monday and Thursday from Lahore. The Samjhauta Express train service between Pakistan and India has been suspended until further notice, DawnNewsTV reported on Thursday citing railway authorities. The biweekly train was scheduled to depart from Lahore with 16 passengers. It embarked on its journey from Karachi but the passengers are stuck at Lahore railway station, the report said. Defence Minister to Meet 3 Service Chiefs Shortly The three service chiefs to meet Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shortly. Reported Pictures of Wreckage of Pakistani F-16 Jet Shot Down by India The picture reportedly shows the wreckage of the F-16 Pakistani fighter jet, which was allegedly shot down by India on Wednesday. ANI reported that after being shot down the jet fell in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistani media had reported (using the same picture) that the wreckage is of the India aircraft shot down by Pakistan. Japan Urges India, Pakistan to 'Exercise Restraint' In response to the mounting tension due to the operations since 26 February between the Indian Air Force and the Pakistan Air Force, Japan urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and stabilise the situation through dialogue. Concerned about deteriorating situation in Kashmir. Strongly condemn terrorist attack on 14 Feb for which Islamic extremist group Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility; urge Pakistan to take stronger measures to counter terrorism, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said in a statement. India Is Grateful to All Those Who Are Protecting the Nation: PM Modi Addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers via video conference on Thursday, 28 February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India will live as one, work as one, grow as one and fight as one. He further said that India is grateful to all those who are protecting the nation. Though the prime minister didnt make any direct reference, but in what looked like an attack on Pakistan, Modi said, The enemy tries to destabilize us, carries out terror attacks, they want to stop our growth, but we are all (countrymen) standing like a rock. Joint Briefing by Army, Air Force and Navy at 5 pm There will be a joint press briefing by Army, Air Force and Navy in New Delhi at 5 pm, media reported. Trump Says India-Pakistan Situation Will Hopefully End Soon US President Donald Trump said there was a reasonably attractive and reasonably decent news from the two countries and expressed hope that the tensions are going to come to an end" "There is a lot of dislike and we have been trying in the middle to help them both out so that we have some peace." - US President Donald Trump We Believe That Pakistan Air Intrusion Was an Attack on Military Installations: Defence Ministry Reiterating MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumars stand, a defence ministry official told ANI, We believe that the Pakistan air intrusion was an attack on military installations. We believe that the Pakistan Army is actively supporting the Jaish-e-Mohammed and is harbouring the leaders including Masood Azhar in its facilities, he added. Lt General Ranbir Singh Visited Troops in Rajouri Sector Lt General Ranbir Singh visited troops deployed in forward areas along LC in Rajouri sector. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Will Decide on IAF Pilot's POW Status Soon: Pakistan Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Muhammad Faisal has said that the IAF Wing Commander is safe and healthy, reported Dawn. India has raised the matter of the pilot with us. We'll decide in a couple of days what convention will apply to him and whether to give him Prisoner of War status or not, Faisal added. May Consider Returning IAF Pilot If It Leads to De-Escalation: Pak Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday, 28 February, said that Pakistan is willing to return IAF Pilot if it leads to de-escalation between the two countries. Speaking to Geo News, Qureshi further said , Prime Minister Imran Khan is ready to hold a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Qureshi Makes 'Urgent' Phone Call to Chinese FM, Briefs Him on Indo-Pak Tensions Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi made an "urgent" phone call to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to update him about the tensions between Pakistan and India, Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. During the phone call, Wang briefed Qureshi on China's efforts to promote peace talks and reiterated his hope that Pakistan and India would exercise restraint and "earnestly fulfil" their commitment to prevent the escalation of the situation, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Return IAF Pilot Immediately, No Question of Deal: Govt Sources A day after Indian government confirmed that a missing Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot was under Pakistan custody, India asked Pakistan to immediately return him, and added that there is no question of any deal with Pakistan, reported ANI quoting government sources. If Pakistan thinks they have a card to negotiate then they are mistaken. India expects the Wing Commander to be treated in a humane manner, the source told ANI. Pakistan is trying to create a Kandahar type pressure but India will not give in, there will be no deal or talks on Wing Commanders release, the source added. Pak Will Examine Dossier: Qureshi Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi has said his country will examine India's dossier on Pulwama terror attack, reported PTI. Foreign Secy Meets Diplomats from 10 Countries The Meeting of Foreign Secretary with diplomats from 10 countries, including Germany, Dominican Republic, Nigeria, South Africa & Belgium, has concluded, reported ANI. PM Addressing Booth Workers When Nation Looking Towards Leadership: Manish Congress leader Manish Tewari said that at the time when the nation was looking towards leadership, the prime minister was addressing BJP booth workers. "At this point in time when the nation is looking towards its leadership, when the nation wants its leadership to speak to it, the Prime Minister chose to address the booth workers of the BJP rather than address the nation." - Manish Tiwari, Congress Leader Tried Calling PM Modi Last Evening, Pakistan Wants Peace: Imran Khan Addressing a joint parliamentary session, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday, 28 February, said that he tried calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi last evening to covey that they wanted de-escalation. However, he warned that, the de-escalation efforts should not be mistook for "weakness." He also claimed that India should introspect how it has handled the situation in Kashmir. "I want to ask the people of India that instead of pointing fingers at Pakistan, without a shred of evidence, should they have tried to figure just why a 19-year-old-would blow himself up - what caused him to carry out such an act." IAF Pilot to Be Released Tomorrow: Imran Khan in Pak Parl Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that his country will release captured IAF pilot Abhinandhan Vartham on Friday, 1 March. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The members of the Pakistan parliament thumped their desks in approval when Khan made the announcement. Pakistan Violates Ceasefire Along LoC, Resort to Unprovoked Firing Pakistan violates ceasefire by shelling with mortars and firing of small arms in Sunderbani, Mankote, Khari Karmara and Degwar sectors along Line of Control, reported ANI. The shelling and firing which started at 6 am paused and was resumed at 3pm. India Cancels Samjhauta Express from 4 March: Report The Indian Railways has cancelled the Samjhauta Express from 4 March, sources told PTI. Happy to Hear About IAF Pilot's Release: Singh Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said that he was "very happy" to hear about Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman's release. "I'm very happy. I had demanded his release earlier too. This is going to be a step towards goodwill and I hope this will be lasting," Singh said. PM Modi to Hold Security Review Meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a security review meet at 6:30 pm, reported News18. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is expected to brief the prime minister. Have Completed a Pilot Project: PM Modi Makes Veiled Reference In a veiled reference to the IAF pilot Abhinandan's release, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: Pilot project hone ke baad scalable kiya jata hai, to abhi abhi ek pilot project ho gaya, abhi real karna hai, pehle to practice thi. (Just now one pilot project has been completed. We have to make it real, earlier it was just practice.) Modi was addressing the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology ceremony at Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi Imran Khan As Acted Like a Statesman: Mehbooba Mufti Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said that while the release of IAF pilot Abhinandan is "good news," she hopes Pakistan will keep its word to take steps on Pulwama dossier. She added that Imran Khan has acted like a statesman. "Good news, the whole nation will be relieved. I hope our leadership will also reciprocate this peace gesture. I hope Imran Khan will stand by his word and take steps on dossier on Pulwama attack. Imran Khan has acted like a statesman," said Mufti. Joint Press Briefing by Three Services Underway The Army, Air Force and the Navy will address a joint press conference, after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the release of IAF pilot Abhinandan. Major General Surendra Mahal, Rear Admiral Dalbir Singh Gujral and Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor addressed the media. Pakistan Tried to Attack Our Military Establishment: IAF Reading on behalf of the IAF, Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor said that Pakistan has made many "factually incorrect statements." He asserted that the Pakistan Air Force attempted to attack Indian Army formation compounds. "IAF fighters were tasked to intercept the intruding Pakistani aircraft and managed to thwart them. Although PAF jets dropped bombs, they were not able to cause any damage," Kapoor said. He said that MiG-21, Sukhoi and Mirage 2000 were tasked to intercept Pakistan aircraft, which foiled Pakistan's attack. "One Pakistani F-16 was shot down by an IAF MiG 21 Bison Aircraft. East of Rajouri, parts of F-16 have been recovered, inside Indian territory. Also, IAF is happy that Wing Commander Abhinandan is returning tomorrow." - Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor, Kapoor added that there was enough evidence to show that F-16s were used by Pakistan and one of those was downed by the IAF. India Ready for Any Misadventure by Pak: Navy & Army Navy Rear Admiral DS Gujral said India was ready for any misadventure by Pakistan. "We are ready for resolute action. We want to ensure safety and security of our citizens," Gujral said. Addressing the gathering, Indian Army's Major General S S Mahal said escalation of tensions had been done by Pakistan but India was prepared for any contingency if the enemy provoked it. Mechanised forces were put on standby and troops were ready to deal with any security challenge, he said. Premature to Say Number of Casualties in Balakot: Air Force Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor, to a question on bombing on JeM terror camps in Balakot, replied that it was "premature" to say the number of casualties in the terror camp. Premature to say number of casualties on the camp, whatever we intended to destroy we got that result, Kapoor said. IAF Shows Part Of Missile Solely Used in F-16 The IAF showed parts of Amraam missiles as proof that Pakistan used F-16 aircraft to attack Indian military establishments on Wednesday. The part of a missile, shown below, is solely used by F-16. Pakistan lied that no F-16 was used but there was enough evidence,Air Vice Marshal Kapoor said. Stating that Pakistan aircraft targeted military installations, he added that PAF bombs were unable to damage any of India's defence installations. Part of a missile called AMRAAN which is solely used by F16. PM Modi Chairs Security Meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on security chaired at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. Pilots Return in Consonance with Geneva Conventions: Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF), in a joint briefing with the Indian Army and the Navy on Thursday, 28 February said that it was happy about Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthamans return from Pakistan. Asked if the IAF sees the release of Varthaman as a goodwill gesture by Pakistan, Air Vice Marshall RGK Kapoor said, We see this as a gesture in consonance with Geneva conventions. Centre Declares Jamaat-e-Islami, J&K 'Unlawful ' Centre declares Jamaat-e-Islami, Jammu and Kashmir (JIJK) as an unlawful association under Section 3 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Centre Declares Jamaat-e-Is... by on Scribd This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Pompeo Hopeful India-Pak Tension Would Come Down US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday, 28 February he had "good conversations" with Indian and Pakistani leaders and was hopeful that the rising tension will come down between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Over the last two days, Pompeo spoke to the leaders of the two countries including External affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, National Security Advisor Ajit K Doval and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. "We were and continue to be very engaged with the issue between India and Pakistan," Pompeo told reporters travelling with him from Hanoi, Vietnam to Manila in the Philippines. "I spent a good deal of time on the phone last night talking to leaders in both countries, making sure there was good information exchanged, encouraging each country to not take any action that would escalate and create increased risk," he said. "I had good conversations, and I am hopeful that we can take down the tension there, at least for the time being, so they can begin to have conversations that don't portend risk of escalation to either of the two countries. So we're working hard on that," Pompeo said.Pompeo Hopeful India-Pak Tension Would Come Down Pak Violates Ceasefire in Uri Sector, Civilian Injured One civilian was injured in a ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops along the LoC in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, reported PTI. Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing towards Indian posts and villages in Kamalkote area of Uri in Baramulla district on Thursday evening, the officials told PTI. They said the intermittent firing continued through out the night. One civilian has been injured in the firing. Indian Army has responded to the Pakistani firing in adequate measure, the officials said. Man Arrested from Border Post in Ferozepur, Pakistani SIM Found in Possession The Border Security Force (BSF), in Ferozepur, has arrested an Indian national near border outpost and a mobile phone with Pakistani SIM card, in use, has been seized from his possession, reported ANI. The news agency further added that the number is added to eight Pakistan groups. Six other Pak phone numbers also retrieved from him. China Cancels All Flights to and From Pakistan in View of Indo-Pak Tensions China has cancelled all flights to and from Pakistan and rerouted its international aircraft flying over the Pakistani airspace due to the regional tensions, official media reported. The closure of Pakistan's airspace in response to escalating tensions with India disrupted major routes between Europe and South East Asia and left thousands of air travellers stranded worldwide. Flights from the Middle East that usually overfly Pakistan and the Pakistan-India border will have to re-route over India, Myanmar or central Asia to enter China, civil aviation experts told Global Times. The Beijing Capital International Airport cancelled all flights to and from Pakistan on Wednesday and Thursday, including connecting flights, according to a statement sent to the Global Times by the North China Air Traffic Management Bureau. Whether those flights will fly on Friday as scheduled is still unknown, state-run Global Times reported. Why Has Imran Khan Not Condemned Pulwama Attack: Amit Shah BJP President Amit Shah has slammed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for not condemning the Pulwama terror attack and said how could India trust him. Speaking at the India Today Conclave, Shah said, The Pakistan PM should have at least criticised the Pulwama attacks, at least once. How can we expect anything from him, or trust him. Maybe the situation is not in his control. At least he could have done lip service. US Has Designated JeM to Cut Off the Flow of Money: Nathan Sales The United States has designated JeM and its leadership under our domestic authorities to cut off the flow of money and deprive them of the resources they need, said Nathan Sales, Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator for Counter-terrorism, US Dept of State. Pak Foreign Minister to Miss OIC Meet Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday, 1 March, said that he will not attend the OIC meet due to Swaraj's presence at the conclave as the guest of honour, ANI reported. I will not attend Council of Foreign Ministers as a matter of principle for having extended invitation as a Guest of Honour to Sushma Swaraj, he said. Click here to read the full story. Pakistan Appeals UN, Russia to Mediate De-escalation Process Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has appealed to UN General Secretary and Russia to play a mediation role to de-escalate tensions in South Asia. JeM Chief in Pakistan and Really Unwell: Pak Foreign Min Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday, 28 February, said that Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar is in Pakistan and he is really unwell. He further added that he is sick to the extent that he cant leave his house. Qureshi made these comments in an interview with CNNs Christiane Amanpour and added thats the only information he has on the JeM chief. Read the full story here. MEA to Brief Parl Panel on Indo-Pak Relations Post Pulwama Terror Attack The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs will be briefed on the current Indo-Pak relations by the foreign affairs ministry on Friday. The committee headed by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor will meet in Parliament House this afternoon. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The briefing will be on the present Indo-Pak relations in the light of the recent strain in relationship after the Pulwama attack and a air strike by India, PTI reported quoting officials. Nurturing Terrorism Will Do Countries No Good: EAM Sushma Swaraj Addressing the OIC Plenary in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), External Affairs Minister said that harbouring and nuturing terrorism will do countries no good. She further said, If we want to save the humanity then we must tell the states who provides shelter and funding to the terrorists, to dismantle the infrastructure of the terrorist camps and stop providing funding and shelter to the terror organisations, based in that country. Banning Jammat-e-Islami is Condemnable: Mehbooba Mufti PDP leader and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti condemned the banning of Jammat-e-Islami by the government. In a tweet, Mufti said, Ideas cant be banned or jailed, need better idea to replace it. India is a democracy with different ideologies battling it out democratically. Steps like this chocks space for dissent and leads us to violent times. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Entire Nation Proud of Pilot Abhinandan PM Modi, while addressing a rally in Tamil Nadu said that the entire nation is proud of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who will be released by Pakistan today. Every Indian is proud that the brave Wing Commander Abhinandan is from Tamil Nadu, he said. Modi further condemned the alleged politicisation of the Indo-Pak tensions by the Opposition. A few parties, guided by Modi hatred have started hating India. No wonder, while the entire nation supports our armed forces, they suspect the armed forces. The world is supporting Indias fight against terror but a few parties suspect our fight against terror, he said. These are the same people whose statements are helping Pakistan and harming India. They are the same people whose statements are being happily quoted in Parliament of Pakistan & in the radio of Pakistan. I want to ask them- do you support our armed forces or suspect them? he added. Nirmala Sitharaman Meets Doval, Chiefs of Armed Forces Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a security review meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and the three services chiefs. Pakistan Resumes Airspace Operations Partially Thousands of air travellers stranded worldwide heaved a sigh of relief as Pakistan partially resumed flight operations in the country, two days after the country's airspace was closed in view of escalating tensions with India. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced that flight operations at Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta airports resumed on Friday. However, the eastern side airports - Lahore, Multan, Sialkot, Faisalabab and Bahawalpur - will remain closed till 4 March. Pak Violates Ceasefire Along LoC Ceasefire was violated by Pakistan along the LoC in Mendhar, Balakot and Krishna Ghati sectors at 6 pm, ANI reported. 1 CRPF Jawan Martyred in Encounter in Kupwara One CRPF personnel has lost his life and three CRPF personnel were injured in an encounter in J&Ks Kupwara. Pilot Abhinandan Returns to India Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman returned home from Pakistan on Friday, 1 March, to a hero's welcome. He crossed the Attari-Wagah border, almost three days after he was captured. Varthaman was handed over at 9.20 pm. The pilot crossed the border with Director India in Pakistans Foreign Office Dr Fareha Bugti and IAF Group Captain Joy Thomas Kurien. US Seeks Information On Potential Misuse Of F-16 By Pakistan The US is seeking more information on the potential misuse of American-made F-16 fighter jets by Pakistan against India in violation of the end-user agreement, the State Department has said. "We are aware of these reports and are seeking more information," a State Department spokesperson told PTI when asked about report that Pakistan has violated end-user agreement with the United States in this week's border clash with India. Also Read: US Questions Pakistan On Potential Misuse of F-16s Against India "Why Would Our Forces Attack Our Territory?": Jaitley Slams Confusion Over Balakot Air Strikes Speaking on the IAF's Balakot air strikes, Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday, 2 March, questioned the confusion over the geographical origin of Balakot. "Some people whom I call compulsive contrarians found a new Balakot," he said. Jaitley made the comments during the launch of the book, 'Mann Ki Baat - A Social Revolution on Radio'. "When our Air Force reached Balakot in KPK (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), before we could get any information, some people started saying Balakot is along LoC. Some people, whom I call compulsive contrarians found a new Balakot and didn't check that... that Bala Kote is in our Poonch. Why would our forces attack our territory?" Chief Air Marshal R Nambiar To Review Fighting Formations' Operational Preparedness Western Air Command Chief Air Marshal R Nambiar will visit Srinagar on Saturday to review operational preparedness of the fighting formations, reported ANI. He will also review the recent aerial engagement between the India and Pakistan's combat aircraft over Rajouri sector in Jammu and Kashmir. There Was No Pressure on Pak to Release Abhinandan: Pak FM Qureshi Pakistan was not under "pressure" or "any compulsion" to release Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday, reported PTI. "There was no pressure on Pakistan to release him nor any compulsion," he said. In an interview with BBC Urdu, Qureshi said: "We wanted to convey to them (India) that we do not want to increase your sorrow, we do not want your citizens to be miserable, we want peace". 'Time For Pakistan's Leaders To Stand Up Against Extremists,' Says Gabbard Democratic presidential aspirant Tulsi Gabbard called out Pakistan over terrorism and said it's time for Pakistan leaders to "stand up against extremists", reported PTI. "It's time for Pakistan's leaders to stand up against extremists," Gabbard said, as she slammed the country for providing terrorists with a safe haven which is causing tensions with India. "As long as Pakistan is providing terrorists with a safe haven, there will be heightened tensions between the two countries," Gabbard said. Samjhauta Express Services To Resume From India From 3 March The Samjhauta Express services will resume from India from 3 March, reported ANI. Bipin Rawat to Review Preparedness of Forces General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, Army Commander, Northern Command visited White Knight Corps will review the operational preparedness of the forces in the Corps Zone in view of the current situation along LoC and International Border. 59 Nobel Laureates Urge India-Pak To Diffuse Tensions A letter signed by the Noble winners, under the aegis of the Laureates and Leaders for Children, a platform founded by India's Nobel peace laureate Satyarthi, was submitted to India and Pakistan's Permanent Representatives to the United Nations on Saturday, 2 March, it said. "In the best interest of our children, we, the Laureates and Leaders for Children call upon the Prime Minister of India HE Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of Pakistan HE Imran Khan to demonstrate wise leadership and exercise immediate restraint at this critical juncture, to avoid any escalation into a full-fledged war," reads the joint appeal, according to the statement from Satyarthi's office. This is for the first time ever that such a large number of Nobel laureates, ranging from peace laureates to those from the fields of economics, chemistry, physics and medicine have come together with a joint appeal to call attention to the lives and future of more than half a billion children in India and Pakistan that are at stake, the statement claimed. UK's PM May Calls on Imran Khan To Take Action Against Terror Groups Downing Street said that on Sunday, 3 March, British PM May spoke to Pakistans Prime Minister Imran Khan, reported PTI. During the phone conversation between the two leaders, May welcomed Khan's commitment to reduce tensions following the return of captured Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman by the Pakistani authorities earlier this week. "The Prime Minister May welcomed his commitment to reducing tensions with India, and the return of Wing Commander Abhinandan, a Downing Street spokesperson said. "The leaders discussed the need to address the causes of this conflict. The Prime Minister emphasised the importance of Pakistan taking action against all terrorist groups, in support of global efforts to combat terrorism, the spokesperson said. Both leaders also "reiterated their commitment" to the UK-Pakistan bilateral relationship during the interaction. During an urgent question in the House of Commons on Wednesday, 27 February, UK Foreign Office minister Mark Field had told MPs that the UK would continue to support a listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed and its leader, Masood Azhar, under a UN Security Council Resolution. Ceasefire Violations Along LoC Resumes Pakistani troops Monday violated ceasefire by targeting forward posts and villages along the Line of Control in Akhnoor sector here, breaking a two-day lull in cross-border skirmishes, amid heightened India-Pakistan tensions. "The firing from across the border started around 0300 hours and stopped at 0630 hours," a defence spokesman said. He said Pakistan initiated the unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing mortar shells and small arms on forward posts and villages. . Read more on India by The Quint.RSS & BJPs Nehru-Netaji Cosplay: Irony Dies a Thousand DeathsDemonetisation, GST Effects Continue, Deepen Indores Jobs Crisis . Read more on India by The Quint. IAF Mirage 2000. By striking terrorist camps about 80 km away from the Line of Control in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, India chose "non-military" targets. (File) Less than a fortnight after the single bloodiest attack in Jammu and Kashmir in the last three decades of militancy, India on Tuesday conducted air strikes deep inside Pakistan, the first time after the 1971 war that it has hit targets in the country. Announcing that India had struck the "biggest training camp" of the Jaish-e-Mohammad in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday, in which "a very large number" of JeM terrorists and their trainers were "eliminated", the NDA government, effectively, drew a new red line in its strategic calculus with Pakistan. This not only challenges the conventional escalation ladder between the two nuclear-armed countries but, after the post-Uri surgical strike, sends a strong signal to Islamabad that there will be a high cost for not tightening the terror tap on its soil. The strike also tests Pakistan's retaliatory response as New Delhi shifts its focus to a renewed diplomatic outreach to the global community to persuade and convince Islamabad to avoid any step that may precipitate escalation. By striking terrorist camps about 80 km away from the Line of Control in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, India chose "non-military" targets, the Jaish-e-Mohammed-run terror camps, and justified the strikes as "pre-emptive" since terrorists, Delhi said, were plotting another attack. air strike by india, air strike india pak, india strikes back, india air strike on pakistan, mirage aircraft, iaf surgical strike, surgical strike 2, surgical strike 2019, surgical strike news, surgical strike by Indian Army, india surgical strike, iaf attack on pakistan, india air strike, indian army attack on pakistan, india attack on pakistan, indian air force, indian air force news, india attack on pakistan today, india pakistan attack, indian air force aerial strike, india pakistan latest news At 11.30 am on Tuesday, about six hours after Pakistan Army's spokesperson first broke the news of a "Line of Control violation by the Indian Air Force," the government confirmed that India had struck the Jaish camp in the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday in what it called a "non-military pre-emptive action". Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said in a prepared statement, "Credible intelligence was received that JeM was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country and fidayeen jihadis were being trained for this purpose. In the face of imminent danger, a pre-emptive strike became absolutely necessary." Story continues "Pakistan has taken no concrete actions to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism on its soil", Gokhale said. "In an intelligence-led operation in the early hours of today, India struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot. In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated. This facility at Balakot was headed by Maulana Yousuf Azhar alias Ustad Ghouri, (who is) the brother-in-law of Masood Azhar, chief of JeM", Gokhale said. Stressing that the Indian government is firmly and resolutely committed to taking all necessary measures to fight the menace of terrorism, Gokhale said that this "non-military pre-emptive action was specifically targeted at the JeM camp". Gokhale did not take any questions. READ | Mirage, Awacs, Sukhoi, Popeye: How IAF took down Jaish training camp He underlined that the selection of the target was conditioned by India's desire to "avoid civilian casualties". "The facility is located in thick forest on a hilltop far away from any civilian presence," he said. While he did not specify the location of Balakot, sources later confirmed that it was in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province - considered to be the stronghold of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's party PTI. It is located about 80 km from the LoC and near Abbotabad, where Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed in hiding by covert US forces. Gokhale, who was speaking within a few hours of the air strike, said that as the strike had taken place only a short while ago, Delhi was awaiting further details. The Foreign Secretary recalled the Pulwama attack by a Jaish operative that killed 40 CRPF personnel and outlined that the group has been active in Pakistan for the last two decades. Led by Masood Azhar, with its headquarters in Bahawalpur, this organization, which is proscribed by the UN, has been responsible for a series of terrorist attacks including on Parliament in December 2001 and the Pathankot airbase in January 2016, he said. Explained | Why Balakot is a watershed "Information regarding the location of training camps in Pakistan and PoK has been provided to Pakistan from time to time. Pakistan, however, denies their existence. The existence of such massive training facilities capable of training hundreds of jihadis could not have functioned without the knowledge of Pakistan authorities," he said. India has been repeatedly urging Pakistan to take action against the JeM to prevent jihadis from being trained and armed inside Pakistan. "Pakistan has taken no concrete actions to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism on its soil", Gokhale said. NSA Ajit Doval met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security was held on Tuesday. He underlined that the Pak government had made a commitment in January 2004 not to allow its soil or territory to be used for terrorism against India. "We expect that Pakistan lives up to its public commitment and takes follow up actions to dismantle all JeM and other camps and holds the terrorists accountable for the actions," Gokhale said. "I want to assure the people that the country is in safe hands. There is nothing above the nation," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a public rally in Churu, Rajasthan, in his first remarks after the strike. He, however, did not make a direct reference to the attack. EXPLAINED | After India strike, what can be Pakistan's options? The news of early morning strikes Pakistan was announced by Pakistan at 5:12 am IST with a tweet by its military spokesperson, Maj General Asif Ghafoor. He confirmed that Indian Air Force had crossed into Pakistan's air space. "Indian Air Force violated Line of Control. Pakistan Air Force immediately scrambled. Indian aircrafts gone back. Details to follow." His next tweet, at 7:06 am, said the intrusion occurred in the "Muzaffarabad sector". He identified "Balakot" as the place where the IAF jets dropped their "payload", i.e. bombs when they were met with "a timely and effective response" from the Pakistani air force. On Wednesday, 27 February, India handed over a dossier to Pakistan on the "specific details" of the involvement of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in the Pulwama terror attack. The JeM had taken the responsibility of the terror strike in Kashmir's Pulwama district on 14 February, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. The dossier also detailed the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in that country. The dossier was handed over to the Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan, who was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs to lodge a strong protest over Pakistan Air Force targeting Indian military installations, a day after the Indian counter-terror action against the JeM. Government sources have claimed that over 350 JeM terrorists were killed in the pre-dawn strike on the terror camps in Pakistan on Tuesday, 26 February. "Regret was expressed at continuing denial by Pakistans political and military leadership at the presence of terrorist infrastructure in territories under its control." - MEA Also Read: Imran Khan Offers Dialogue With India, Offers to Probe Pulwama "A dossier was handed over to Pakistani side with specific details of JeM complicity in Pulwama terror attack and the presence of JeM terror camps and its leadership in Pakistan," it said. The MEA said that it was conveyed to Pakistan that India expects Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from territories under its control. India Says Pak Violated Indian Air Space In response to the Indian counter-terror operation, Pakistan air force tried to target certain locations in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, 26 February morning which was countered by IAF jets. In the engagement, India shot down a Pakistani jet while an Indian IAF pilot was captured by the Paksitani authorities. India also lost a MiG 21 aircraft. India also lodged a strong protest at the unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan, including by violating the Indian air space and targeting military posts. Story continues "This is in contrast to the Indias non-military anti-terror pre-emptive strike at a JeM terrorist camp in Balakot on 26 February." - MEA Also Read: Who Is Abhinandan Varthaman, Missing IAF Pilot in Pak Custody? . Read more on India by The Quint.RSS & BJPs Nehru-Netaji Cosplay: Irony Dies a Thousand DeathsIndo-Pak Crisis: Complete Closure of Flight Operations in Pakistan . Read more on India by The Quint. Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 aircrafts were used in the strike (Source: REUTERS/File Photo) Days after the terror attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama killed 40 personnel, India Tuesday conducted an air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad camp in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan. "In an intelligence-led operation in the early hours of today, India struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot. In this operation, a very large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said. This is how the international media reported Indias "non-military preemptive action": The New York Times termed Indias strike on terror camps in Balakot "a calculated bet" to assuage public anger following the Pulwama attack while also minimising the risk of retaliation. It also looked at the matter in the light of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections saying the "voters have demanded that New Delhi respond to the Kashmir attack with force against Pakistan." The Washington Post called it a "serious escalation in hostilities between the two nuclear-armed neighbours" and said that the strike is a reflection of Indias "deep frustration" with Pakistan for harbouring militants. Talking about strained Indo-Pak relations, BBC News in its report, said, "The Indian air strikes that hit a target inside Pakistani territory have taken tensions to a dangerous level." Stressing on the fact that the strike took place across the international border, it reported that the Indian side hit a target inside Pakistani territory, where a training camp of militants is known to have existed for several years. Also Read | Pakistan violates Indian airspace in Rajouri, security tightened across Jammu Kashmir: Report Commenting on Pakistans dismissive response to the strike, the news website said, "Pakistani officials have been underplaying the severity of the incident by describing it as a strike "across the LoC", not one across the international border." Story continues Chinas daily Global Times cited a report from news agency Xinhua, which was updated late afternoon local time. The report cited Pakistan military's statement that Indian warplanes "violated the Line of Control in Kashmir region and dropped 'payload' hastily". Calling the attack an expected one, Al Jazeera said that the Indian government has been under a lot of pressure to act in the wake of the Kashmir attack. It further said that "one of the reasons it was delayed was the visit of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the region." The news channel also called it an anticipated action on part of India in view of the approaching general elections. The Telegraph voiced a similar stance, in its report, saying, "Narendra Modi faces a general election this spring and has come under intense domestic pressure to respond to an attack he says was carried out by the Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad." Also Read | Mirage, Awacs, Sukhoi, Popeye: How IAF took down Jaish training camp Australias leading newspaper, The Daily Telegraph focused on the nuclear capabilities of the two nations amid escalated tensions. "If reports of the use of the Mirage 2000 jet fighter are correct, it raises a risky aspect to the raid. The jet is capable of deploying nuclear weapons. Any border crossing by these Indian warplanes could be construed by Pakistan as a nuclear first strike," it said. The newspaper reported that the Australian government has urged Pakistan to take "urgent and meaningful action" against terrorist groups in its territory, including Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Tuesday that he has spoken to his UAE counterpart and "expressed reservations" about invitation to India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to attend the OIC meeting scheduled later this week. Islamabad: Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Tuesday that he has spoken to his UAE counterpart and "expressed reservations" about invitation to India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to attend the OIC meeting scheduled later this week. In a strategically significant development, India has been invited to the inaugural plenary of the foreign ministers' conclave of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a powerful grouping of Muslim majority nations, in Abu Dhabi from March 1 to 2. Swaraj will attend the meeting as the 'guest of honour'. Addressing a press conference here after a special meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) in the wake of India's air strikes inside Pakistan early Tuesday, Qureshi said the situation has changed now. "Aggression has been done against a founding member of the OIC," he said, referring to the Indian attack that destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and commanders. The air strikes came 12 days after the JeM carried out the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. Qureshi said that he has spoken to the foreign minister of the UAE and expressed Pakistan's reservations for inviting the Indian foreign minister as chief of guest in the OIC meeting. Describing the situation following the Indian air strikes as "serious", Qureshi said that Prime Minister Imran Khan also had telephonic conversations with UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as well as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman over the development. The OIC is a grouping of 57 countries, majority of which are Muslim majority. It has usually been supportive of Pakistan and, often sided with Islamabad on the Kashmir issue. On the request of Pakistan, the OIC summoned an emergency meeting of its Kashmir Contact Group at its General Secretariat in Riyadh on Tuesday. Story continues The Contact Group expressed deep concern over the heightened tension and called for immediate de-escalation in the region, the Foreign Office said. In a tweet, the OIC "condemned" India's "action against an OIC founding member state." "OIC called upon both parties to act responsibly & encouraged them to seek peaceful solution to current crisis without resort to use of force. It also called on them to embrace dialogue & work towards de-escalation of current situation as a matter of priority," it tweeted. In a bizarre development, a former UP minister and senior Samajwadi Party leader has called the air strike by Indian Air Force on a Jaish terrorist camp inside Pakistan "false". Uttar Pradesh: In a bizarre development, a former UP minister and senior Samajwadi Party leader has called the air strike by Indian Air Force on a Jaish terrorist camp inside Pakistan "false". "BJP leaders are liars. Is the surgical strike anything new? TV channels were airing it today. This (that an air strike will happen) was known for 10 days," SP leader Vinod Kumar, who is also known as Pandit Singh, told party workers at a programme in Gonda Tuesday. "It was known for five days that they (the government) have colluded with Pakistan and decided to drop a couple of bombs on an abandoned house. And then issue a statement (to the media)," he claimed, adding the air strike was "false". The SP leader also accused the BJP of "spreading terror". "By forming government in Jammu and Kashmir with Mehbooba Mufti, they proved that they had no hesitation in joining hands with those who supported terrorism," Singh claimed. Officials said the Indian Air Force bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp inside Pakistan, killing over 350 terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The swift and precise "preemptive" air strike was conducted early Tuesday, they said. The BJP had formed a political alliance with Mufti's PDP in J&K, but it pulled out after three years in June 2018, amid worsening security challenges in the state. Nepal's key Madhesi party Rastriya Janata Party Tuesday organised a rally to protest the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 Indian soldiers. Kathmandu: Nepal's key Madhesi party Rastriya Janata Party Tuesday organised a rally to protest the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 Indian soldiers. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed on February 14 in Jammu and Kashmir when a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into their bus in Pulwama district, sparking outrage in the country. The cadres of Rastriya Janata Party (RJP) organised a rally in Birgunj, a southern Nepal town bordering Raxaul of India, to express solidarity with India in its action against JeM. Hundreds of cadres and students belonging to the fourth largest party in the Parliament of Nepal organised the rally in Birgunj expressing solidarity with government of India in its action against the terrorist outfit, said Rakesh Mishra, joint secretary of the RJP. The party slammed Pakistan for allegedly providing shelter to the terrorist outfit. The protestors carried placards with slogans reading "We are with India in its action against terrorists" and "Down with the country sheltering terrorists". "People of the world should unite against terrorism and we organised the rally to protest against those who support and provide shelter to the terrorists," said RJP general secretary Rajesh Man Singh. Madhesis are mostly of Indian-origin. The party also organised a motorcycle rally to show solidarity with India. India launched a major diplomatic offensive against Islamabad after the Pulwama attack and highlighted Pakistan's role in using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. The international community led by the US pressed Pakistan to deny safe haven to terror groups operating form its soil and bring the perpetrators of the Pulwama attack to justice. India has asked Pakistan to take immediate and verifiable action against terrorists and terror groups operating from territories under its control. New Delhi also announced the withdrawal of the Most Favoured Nation status for Pakistan and hiked the customs duty by 200 per cent on goods originating from Pakistan. 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. Productivity culture and its capitalist mama do not love you, will never love you and will never grant you restespecially if you are Black. CW: This pi... 21 hours ago Noise in our oceans is increasing due to human activities such as shipping, seismic surveys, the construction of offshore windfarms and whale watching. A popular tourist activity, whale watching is known to disturb the mammals that people come to see. In Iceland, for example, minke whales were found to decrease the amount of time they spent feeding when a vessel was nearby. But whether these behavioural changes are linked to underwater noise is unknown. What people have studied in the past is the actual presence of the boat, said marine biologist Dr Kate Sprogis from Aarhus University in Denmark. Dr Sprogis would like to pin down the effect of boat noise itself, which she is investigating as part of a project called NOISE. Her team is focussing on how humpback whales respond to the sound of small whale-watching vessels in shallow coastal waters, which typically doesnt travel as far as acoustic waves deeper down. We don't know much about how that sound affects the animals, she said. The researchers performed experiments off the coast of Exmouth, Western Australia, where they changed the noise level of their boat as they travelled past humpback whales at a distance of 100 metres. They observed different behaviours, such as the direction the whales were heading, to determine whether this changed when boat noise was present. Mothers feeding their calves in breeding grounds were particularly of interest. If underwater noise disrupts resting mothers, they may be disturbed from feeding their calves. The calf has to migrate back with (their mother) to cooler areas and it might not be able to do that if it's not big enough or strong enough, said Dr Sprogis. Swim away Preliminary results suggest that noise level has an impact on whale behaviour. What I'm finding is that from a quiet boat to a loud boat, at the same 100 metres, that loud boat is causing the animal to stop what it's doing and swim away, said Dr Sprogis. Later in the year, the team will return to the same spot to investigate the effect of boat sounds on the whales from three different distances. In some countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, regulations stipulate that vessels must stay at least 100 metres away from animals. However, they arent based on the effects of noise. The aim is to be able to tell whale-watching bodies about our results so that people can incorporate them into their guidelines worldwide, said Dr Sprogis. The findings from the project will also hopefully lead to the design of quieter boats, or modifications to existing ones. A better understanding of cetacean hearing should also help set limits for underwater noise. Although sound is the primary mode of communication for these species, we have limited insight into how they hear. The lack of knowledge is partly because studying cetacean ears is a challenge: they must be obtained soon after death before they start to decompose. Hearing impairment is particularly detrimental for these species since they depend on hearing for all their daily activities such as finding food, communicating and navigating. Dr Maria Morell, Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier, France We only have a window of a few hours to collect and fix the ears in stranded individuals, said Dr Maria Morell, a biologist from the Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier in France. What we do know, however, is that repeated exposure to sound at certain frequencies and intensities can cause hearing loss in mammals. Hearing impairment is particularly detrimental for these species since they depend on hearing for all their daily activities such as finding food, communicating and navigating, said Dr Morell. As part of the Cetacean Inner Ear project, Dr Morell and her colleagues are aiming to better understand how whales, dolphins and porpoises are able to hear high-frequency sounds and how underwater noise might affect their hearing. Inner ear They are examining tiny structures in their inner ear, which is responsible for detecting sounds, and comparing how they differ across stranded individuals, looking for lesions, for example, that could result from exposure to noise. By collaborating with organisations from 31 countries that research or investigate strandings, they receive cetacean ears from various locations. It is very valuable to have an overview of individuals coming from several oceans which may have been exposed to different sound sources, said Dr Morell. The team is also trying to assess hearing range across different species. Each frequency is detected by a specific part of the cochlear spiral in the inner ear, where sound vibrations are converted into electrical signals that are sent to the brain. The researchers are creating frequency maps that predict the distribution of frequencies along this spiral since the layout varies across species. If lesions from noise exposure are found at a given location on the cochlea, the maps could allow the source of the sound to be identified from its frequency. So far, the researchers have developed a method for analysing the sensory cells of the cochlear spiral that will allow newly formed and chronic lesions to be distinguished for the first time. This discovery is crucial to be able to know if there is any relationship between hearing damage and the stranding of an individual, said Dr Morell. It can help explain the cause of death. Results from the project should better inform policymakers about how noise can affect cetacean hearing, allowing them to evaluate the impact of local marine activities and improve regulations. Dr Morell thinks that noise from seismic surveys, military sonar and pile driving during the construction of offshore windfarms possibly has the biggest impact on animals since they are the loudest sources within the hearing range of cetaceans. Furthermore, analysing ear damage in cetaceans should also reveal causes other than noise pollution. Hearing can be affected by several other factors such as age, infections or physical trauma. The study of the inner ear contributes to the health assessment of wild cetacean populations, said Dr Morell. The research in this article was funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media. Dr. Mark David Hall of the George Fox University faculty will present the address Did America Have a Christian Founding? on Wednesday, March 6, at 4 p.m. at Hope College in the Fried-Hemenway Auditorium of the Martha Miller Center for Global Communication. The public is invited. Admission is free. Mark David Hall is Herbert Hoover Distinguished Professor of Politics and Faculty Fellow in the William Penn Honors Program at George Fox University. He is also Associated Faculty at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University and a Senior Fellow at Baylor Universitys Institute for Studies of Religion. He has written, edited, or co-edited a dozen books, including Great Christian Jurists in American History (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming). His next book, Did America Have a Christian Founding?: Separating Modern Myth from Historical Truth, will be published by Thomas Nelson this coming fall. The address is sponsored by the colleges Department of Political Science. The Martha Miller Center for Global Communication is located at 257 Columbia Ave., at the corner of Columbia Avenue and 10th Street. My Writings On My Passions - History, Languages, Some Movies, Technology, Architecture, Life, Blah Blah Blah. I am a Canna What Flower Are You? table width="145">"You stand up for what you believe in, even if it gets in the way of what other people think. You are proud of yourself and your accomplishments and you enjoy letting people know that." DECATUR After winning national recognition in last year's America in Bloom contest, members of the Beautify Decatur Coalition are taking a year off from the competition. But their other community beautification efforts are well in hand, though green foliage and blooming flowers are months away. Businesses can start planning now for the Lets Keep Decatur Bee-utiful contest, which organizers have revamped this year. We decided after nine years we wanted to change things up a bit, said Jill Davis, co-chair of the annual contest. We thought we would rework the entire contest and make it new and fresh. The coalition, various local governments and organizations and other volunteers worked for months last year to prepare for a judges' visit for the America in Bloom contest, a showcase of communities across the country working on improvement and beautification efforts. Decatur received the "YouTube Peoples Choice," "Outstanding Video" and "#Catching Community Spirit Best Use of Social Media" awards during a symposium held in Lexington, Kentucky, in September. Organizers of the local effort decided to wait a year before applying again because a number of community projects, such as the new Nelson Park water park, are in progress. There is a lot of things going on that the city and the park district are doing, said Susan Avery, co-chair of Lets Keep Decatur Bee-utiful contest. We want to get all those done so we can make a better showing for 2020. There is plenty of work ahead for the coalition this year. Plans for the annual Lets Keep Decatur Bee-utiful landscaping competition are in their final stages and there are big changes for participants. The contest, started in 2011, encourages participating businesses to take steps to improve their "curb appeal," highlighting those that present especially welcoming environments. Lets Keep Decatur Bee-utiful has done so much to help the community, said Verneil Phillips, grounds manager at Millikin University. For small and large businesses, it has been bringing others together. In the past, businesses were separated into three categories according to number of employees. Small, medium and large business had the opportunity to win a first, second and third prize. They could also win a Best in Show prize and a Speed Lube Continued Excellence award. Now, all of the categories have been pruned and thrown into a mulch pile. Organizers said they want to focus on the essence of the contest, instead of the smaller details. We want to get everybody excited about beautification and making their business beautiful, Davis said. Not concentrating on points. The free contest runs during the month of June. Businesses will be able to register in the coming months. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Categories are divided into themes. Best Use of Flowers, Best Landscape and Best Signage are judged by teams of Busy Bee judges. While the judges are studying the businesses, they will be looking to give another prize, the Most Litter-Free prize. Best in Show will be decided by the public. A professional photographer will take pictures of each businesses, which will be posted on the contest Facebook page. Visitors will be allowed an opportunity to vote. Trophies will be given in all five categories, and each award will be at least $500. Millikin University's grounds manager, Verneil Phillips, and his crew have already been preparing for the spring weather. The crews clean brush and litter from pocket spots, the areas near walls and other closed-in exterior areas. The nice weather comes and people start thinking about landscaping. Now is the time to start thinking about what to do, he said. And we are itching to get out. For the past two years, Phillips has had the opportunity to accept the Lets Keep Decatur Bee-utifuls Best in Show award on behalf of the Millikin University maintenance crew. It shows we strive for beauty, he said. We want to make it the students' home. Hearing positive comments about the Millikin campus from parents, staff and visitors also proves deeply rewarding, Phillips said. Future plans for this years contest includes a kick-off party with city officials, contest sponsors and the public. Organizers of the event will discuss the past and present conditions of the Beautify Decatur Coalition. Another of the coalitions priorities has been becoming a No Litter city. This year's campaign, called "be a deer, put it here," will kick off May 4 with the erection of a statue of a white-tailed deer a "litter critter." People can pick up litter and put it in the sculpture, Davis said. The event at Overlook Adventure Park in Nelson Park will include an artist presentation, food and of course, cleanup activities. For those anxious to get outside, the coalition said work can still be done. Its far away from judging, but get out now and pick up your litter, Davis said. Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR 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. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. The new editor of an Alabama newspaper whose owner called for reviving the Ku Klux Klan gained national attention is an Eastern Illinois University graduate. Elecia R. Dexter will take over as publisher and editor of The Democrat-Reporter of Linden, Alabama, from Goodloe Sutton, who has run the 140-year-old paper since the 1960s. Dexter, 46, told The Associated Press that Sutton will retain ownership of the newspaper, which has a circulation of about 3,000, "but I will handle everything else." EIU confirmed Tuesday that Dexter attended the university from 1990-1998 and received a bachelor's degree in speech communication. Sutton had a history of publishing racially and ethnically insensitive editorials, and Dexter said she hoped her appointment would let the community know "this is everybody's paper." "I think it can be helpful," she said. "We want to make sure people understand this is a great community of great families." The change came the week after Sutton wrote and published an editorial that began: "Time for the Ku Klux Klan to night ride again." The editorial said Democrats and "Democrats in the Republican Party" are plotting to raise taxes, so the Klan should raid their communities. Sutton, in a subsequent interview with the Montgomery Advertiser, suggested lynchings as a way to clean up Washington. Sutton also questioned whether the KKK was violent, claiming America's most feared white supremacist terrorist organization "didn't kill but a few people." Auburn University and the University of Southern Mississippi quickly rescinded previous honors for Sutton, who won praise two decades ago for stories exposing corruption in the sheriff's office. The Alabama Press Association censured Sutton and suspended the Democrat-Reporter's membership. Dexter, whose family is from rural Marengo County, where Linden is located near the Mississippi line, said she began working at the paper earlier this year and has a good working relationship with Sutton. She added: "I told him there were some different ways you could have made your point." The paper has received emails from those who supported what Sutton wrote and others who were "disgusted" by his statements, she said. The paper dates to 1879 and its editorials are consistently conservative and often critical of Democrats. The use of "Democrat" in its name reflects back to the period when nearly all white conservatives in the South were Democrats. Dave Fopay and the Tribune News Service contributed to this story. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CHICAGO Lawyers for a transgender woman held at the Pontiac men's prison have filed a lawsuit asking that she be moved to a women's facility, and an end to alleged sexual assault and harassment she has experienced for a decade. Janiah Monroe has attempted suicide multiple times and also tried to harm herself in other ways while housed in men's prisons, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Peoria by the Uptown People's Law Center and Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center in Chicago. In a statement from her lawyers, the inmate identified as Andre Patterson by the Illinois Department of Corrections, said, "I have been sexually assaulted at every men's prison that IDOC put me into, including by IDOC staff. It's time for IDOC to recognize my gender and take responsibility for keeping me safe. As long as I'm in a men's prison, IDOC can never protect me from sexual assault." Monroe's anticipated release date is March 2051 on Cook County attempted murder and attempted aggravated arson charges and several aggravated battery charges involving prison staff. In the lawsuit alleging sexual violence inside the prison system against Monroe, Monroe's attorneys ask that she be transferred to a women's prison and receive adequate mental health services for the remainder of her sentence. "Guards using coercion and unnecessary force is, sadly, widespread in Illinois prisons. But trans women in men's prisons suffer this abuse more frequently, and at times with deadly consequences. Gendered bigotry shouldn't be tolerated anywhere, but least of all in our prisons, which are supposed to be places of law," said Alan Mills, of Uptown People's Law Center. Monroe's 2017 request for transfer to a women's prison was denied. IDOC spokesperson Lindsey Hess declined to comment on the pending litigation. On the issue of housing for transgender inmates, Hess said the agency "carefully considers housing assignments and works with a committee comprised of medical, mental health and security professionals when making placements for transgender offenders." The lawsuit follows a ruling last year by a federal judge ordering the IDOC to review its denial of Strawberry Hampton's request to be transferred to a women's facility. The state also was ordered to develop training for correctional officers on transgender issues. Hampton, who alleged she was sexually abused in prison, was moved to Logan Correctional Center in December from the men's prison in Dixon. Contact Edith Brady-Lunny at (309) 820-3276. Follow her on Twitter: @pg_blunny DECATUR The head of Illinois Department of Children and Family Services said the agency will review its involvement with the family of 2-year-old TaNaja Barnes, the Decatur girl police say was allowed to starve and freeze to death by her mother and mother's boyfriend. The statement came Wednesday after Twanka Davis, the girls mother, pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge. Her father, Dartavius Barnes, spoke to reporters outside the courthouse, saying he had thought of kidnapping his daughter to remove her from what he knew to be poor conditions. I mean, I actually had thoughts of kidnapping her. I had thoughts of doing that, of kidnapping my daughter, to try and get her out of there, said Barnes, who lives in Springfield. But, in the end, I didnt want to take the chance of going to jail. But I knew she was living in bad conditions. Police say TaNajas body was found wrapped in a urine-soaked blanket on the morning of Feb. 11 after officers were called to her home in the 1800 block of East North Street. Her body was dirty, and the child was kept in a bare, cold bedroom with no furniture and one bare mattress, police said. The house was described as filled with garbage and rodent droppings and suffused with the overwhelming smell of urine, feces and rotten food/garbage, according to a Decatur Police sworn affidavit. DCFS interim director Debra Dyer-Webster said the agency was devastated and working with law enforcement to investigate. We have a responsibility to the children and families we serve to provide the best possible care, she said, and we are committed to understanding where we come up short and striving to do better. The agency said TaNaja had been removed from the care of both her mother and father at different times because of abuse allegations. DCFS involvement began in December 2017, and a judge ordered the case closed in October, after the girl had been returned to her mother. Dartavius Barnes, 23, said allegations made against him were unfounded. He had custody of the child between March and June. They came and took my daughter from me and I asked why they were taking her from me, and they said somebody had called about alleged abuse, that I was abusing and neglecting my child, he said. But there wasnt a mark on her. DCFS timeline On Nov. 6, a call to a DCFS hotline alleged non-compliance with voluntary community services and medical neglect for lack of immunization. But Dyer-Webster said no action was taken because the information as did not substantiate allegations of medical neglect. The next entry in the timeline is for Feb. 11, when her death was reported. The agencys involvement began Dec. 23, 2017, with a hotline call alleging TaNaja was being neglected. At this time the child was living with Davis, 21, and Davis 25-year-old boyfriend Anthony Myers. Both now face murder charges and charges of endangering the life and health of a child through a combination of starvation and neglect. Both TaNaja and her younger half-brother were placed in foster care Dec. 27, with the case managed by the Decatur-based Webster Cantrell Hall private agency. The next day, a court had granted DCFS temporary custody of TaNaja and her brother while Davis and Myers received mental health assessments and underwent parenting classes and drug screens. The family was compliant with services. Visitation with TaNaja was established for her mother and (biological) father, Dyer-Webster said. By March 27, the children were returned home by court order after the successful completion of parenting classes. But, based on what Dyer-Webster called case-specific interactions, the custody of TaNaja was granted to Barnes. Her half-brother was returned to Davis and Myers. Beginning in March 2018, under court supervision, Dyer-Webster said aftercare services were provided by Webster Cantrell to both the homes of Davis and Barnes. Visitation was established between the two families and caseworkers made routine visits to both homes. But on June 27, TaNaja was removed from her fathers care after Dyer-Webster said a hotline call alleged abuse; she was again placed in foster care. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Barnes said he believes it was Davis who contacted a DCFS hotline to cause trouble for him. He also believes DCFS didnt want him to have custody and they had no intention of letting me keep my baby. On Aug. 8, Dyer-Webster said, TaNaja was returned to the home of Davis and Myers by court order, and Webster Cantrell Hall continued to monitor the home through weekly unannounced visits. On Sept. 12, DCFS said it received a report alleging TaNaja had red scratches on her stomach and diaper rash. But an investigation concluded the report was unverified and the marks on the body were judged to be scarring from a previous incident. By Oct. 24, following a recommendation by Webster Cantrell Hall, based on family cooperation with services and satisfactory monitoring of the home," a judge ordered the case closed. With that case closure, the child welfare communitys involvement with the family ended, said Dyer-Webster. Dyer-Webster said DCFS will work with new administration of Gov. J.B. Pritzker to boost its staff of caseworkers and investigators. She cited a budget proposal that would deploy 126 additional direct service staff who work children. The agency also wants to upgrade its 30-year-old technology system and said improvements are needed after years of being hollowed out by lack of investment. She said the agency will undertake a review of our practices on family involvement following case closure, a specific reference to TaNajas case, and seek to improve communication with the community of professionals involved in these cases. We ask for justice Barnes, who was wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with his daughters smiling face on the front and a poem in her memory on the back, said it was time for him to move in silence now and let justice take its course on the woman accused of murdering his little girl. My daughter should still be here, and my daughter is not here, so were asking for justice, Barnes said. Im going to wait in silence now for the courts to do their job and we ask for justice. Those people took a life, added his girlfriend, Megan Harris. So they need to pay. In a hearing Wednesday morning, Davis waived formal reading of the evidence against her and answered in a soft Yeah when Judge Phoebe Bowers asked her if she was sure she wanted to do that. The precise language of the first-degree murder charge, stating the death was caused by the mothers brutal or heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty, exposed Davis to the prospect of being sentenced to life in prison if convicted. Davis also pleaded not guilty to a second charge, a Class 3 felony, of endangering the life or health of TaNaja by sheer neglect: depriving the child of food, water, heat and proper care, and so causing her death. Myers, the boyfriend of Davis, was arrested last week and booked on preliminary charges of murder and endangering the life and health of a child. Preliminary charges are subject to review by the states attorneys office. Myers is due in court Friday and, like Davis, remains in the custody of the Macon County Jail in lieu of posting $1 million bail. Davis was represented by Chief Public Defender David Ellison, who was told by Bowers that she was scheduling the case for a pretrial hearing April 9. Police previously described how the heat in the house was frequently shut off by Davis, who had taken a heater out of TaNajas room just before she died. That heater was used in the room where Davis and Myers slept with a 1-year-old child that they had in common. Police said the boy weighed 28 pounds compared to his half-sisters weight of 21 pounds. A sworn affidavit outlining the charges against Myers accuses him of contributing to the neglect by his stingy attitude and indifference to TaNajas fate. Myers was miserly about the use of electricity and water in the filthy house and would not even allow the use of lights, police said. The family water bill had sunk as low as $15 and $7 a month in a home where the lone toilet was backed up with excrement, according to police, and the kitchen sink plumbing disconnected. Though Myers is not TaNajas biological father, but police said he described himself as her parent and he had made the 911 call that brought police to the home. 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. Imagine how hard it would be to find good mangoes in Kathmandu. But when you have promised your boss you will make mango ice cream when she is visiting the capital of Nepal, you find them. Especially when your boss is the queen of England. Darren McGrady was the royal chef at Buckingham Palace for 11 years, and was later personal chef to Diana, Princess of Wales, for two years. Now a resident of Dallas, he is the author of two cookbooks. Speaking from his home, McGrady said royal chef was a government job, so salary is not the main thing. But it is a very prestigious job, and one that involved lots of travel around the world with the royal family wherever they went, so that made up for it. The job, he said, required him to travel wherever the queen went, from all of the royal residences to the royal yacht Britannia (which has since been decommissioned) to such places as Kathmandu. On an advance trip to Kathmandu a few weeks before the queens visit, the kitchen staff was shown wonderfully ripe mangoes. But during the royal visit, the mangoes were rock-hard, McGrady said, which precipitated the eventually successful search across the city for mangoes that were ripe. Dinner could be for one, the queen, or for several thousand at an event at the palace. He cooked for Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and both Bushes, George and George W. Cooking for presidents, royalty from other lands and other chiefs of state made you proud to be British, he said, but cooking for celebrities was fun. Diana was more likely to dine with celebrities, who got involved in her charities. Once, in Miami, the boss walked in and said, Come and meet my chef, he said. Behind her was Gianni Versace, behind him was George Michael and behind him was Elton John. McGrady trained at the prestigious Savoy Hotel in London, rising to the rank of chef de partie saucier (he was in charge of the people who made the sauces). He was there when Prince Charles and Lady Diana were married. My mother and I decided to sleep outside Buckingham Palace, along with thousands of other people. When I was there, I decided that was what I wanted to do. They must have nice food and nice things, he said. He applied for a job and was accepted, but he started at the bottom of the staff, chef No. 20 out of a staff of 20. It was a shock, coming from a prominent position at the Savoy. I started off as vegetable chef for staff lunches. It was a while before I could even cook for the royal family, he said. Eventually, he rose through the ranks to run the entire kitchen staff. In that time, he became intimately familiar with the familys likes and dislikes. The queen is a chocoholic. She loves anything with chocolate in it. And she also loves game from her estates. So if you could put on the menu salmon the Prince of Wales caught from the River Dee at Balmoral (Castle in Scotland), she would love it, he said. Still, with access to virtually anything she could care to eat, the queens standard breakfast is a bowl of Special K cereal. The queen eats to live, rather than lives to eat. Shes not a real foodie, the chef said with some resignation. She does not like garlic and, when served beef tenderloin, prefers the burnt ends. She will not eat rare meat. On the other hand, her husband, Prince Philip, was a bit more adventurous. He would go for things like jugged hare hare cooked in its own blood. He liked curry, so we could put that on the menu, too. He liked anything different, so we could experiment. I think that came from his days in the Royal Navy, he said. When he left Buckingham Palace, McGrady went to Kensington Palace, where Diana lived after she separated from Prince Charles. Diana, he said, liked healthful eating. She liked vegetables, vegetarian eating. Stuffed bell peppers and things like that. She would occasionally have fish or chicken, but she never ate red meat. To his surprise, the kitchen at Buckingham Palace was actually kind of disappointing. It was enormous you had to walk miles and miles and far from state of the art. The only part of the kitchen of true quality was the cookware, he said, antique copper pots and pans lined with tin and stamped on the bottom with VR for Victoria Regina, meaning they were used to cook for Queen Victoria. In fact, when the kitchen staff traveled, they took with them enormous hampers filled with all of their equipment: pots, pans, bowls, whisks and the like. The other British royal residences grand palaces all were empty of the accouterments of cooking. When laughing that obviously, I never had any disasters as the royal chef, McGrady did share a story about a member of his staff. They were at Windsor Castle, and the queen asked for a chocolate souffle for herself and one guest. Souffles can be tricky, and the chef was nervous; after all, he was cooking for the queen. When he opened the oven to check on the souffles progress, he was horrified to see that it had not risen at all. Rather than admit that the souffle had failed, he intentionally dropped the dish and broke it. He then informed the queen that, sadly, the dish had fallen and broken. Would she mind having ice cream instead? Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The annual Outlook Forum of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is an event that draws more than a thousand attendees from all parts of the world, which is a testament to the global impact of U.S. agriculture. The few farmers who attend may sit next to a diplomat from a foreign country or a top executive from a multi-national agribusiness. The presentation of USDA Chief Economist Robert Johansson was the primary drawing card, not only for ag economists, but even non-economic thinkers, and included: Our general expectation is for continued declines in real agricultural commodity prices over the next 10 years. Falling commodity prices are the result of continued production growth, which continues to outpace global demand. Since 1960, soybean production has increased nearly 1,200 percent, while real soybean prices have fallen by 52 percent. Corn production has grown by more than 400 percent, and prices have fallen by nearly 60 percent. In addition to global or domestic stocks relative to use, prices will be affected by the impacts of retaliatory trade tariffs on commodities. Soybean prices deteriorated by 20 percent following escalation of the trade dispute and improvement in growing conditions over the summer. The 25 percent retaliatory tariff effectively blocked U.S. soybean sales to the Chinese market, forcing U.S. soybeans to sell at steep discounts in other markets relative to our main competitor Brazil. That discount reached over $90 per metric ton ($2.44 per bushel) in October. With the large overhang in soybean stocks, soybean area needs to adjust to work down record large soybean carry-in stocks. As a result, soybean area is expected to fall 4.2 mil. acres, to 85 mil. acres in 2019. Despite the large stocks, the decline in soybean acres is tempered by current forward pricing opportunities with current harvest time futures prices setting the soybean to corn price ratio at about 2.4:1. Winter wheat planting conditions proved unfavorable across several states and, as a result, winter wheat planted area is currently estimated to be the lowest in 110 years, or since 1909, the first year the USDA survey was conducted. The current expectation of farm income at $66 billion in 2018 is a long way from the heights we saw when real net farm income peaked at $134 billion in 2013. Relative to the 10-year average, real net farm income is down 28 percent. Looking forward, net farm income is expected to rise slightly, remaining below $80 billion annually over the next 10 years. U.S. market share for corn and soybeans is projected to decline due to growing competition from South America as its production increases both from yields and area expansion. Over the next 10 years, the U.S. share of global corn and soybean exports is expected to fall to 36 and 31 percent, respectively, or roughly 6 percentage points lower than 2017-18 shares. While Johansson was speaking to global agriculture, he described every farm familys financial dilemma. Stu Ellis is an observer of the Central Illinois agriculture scene. In addition to his weekly column, you can view his From The Farm and Harvest Heritage reports on WCIA 3 News. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need With a weekly newsletter looking back at local history. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. In Cooke City, visitation has spiked by 37 percent over the past five years and thats stressed the local infrastructure to the point residents are reaching out to Sen. Steve Daines and other state leaders asking for help providing basic sanitation. For my community, reality hit in 2016, when West Yellowstone placed a moratorium on new water connections. In order to sustain current impact while allowing for incremental growth vital to economic development, West Yellowstone will need to repair and replace current infrastructure including putting in place a long-term plan to improve waste water treatment. Senate Bill 241, which is currently making its way through the Montana Legislature, will give the electorate of West Yellowstone the opportunity to better address this critical need. It would permit our town and the states other resort tax communities to increase by 1 percent what they collect from the throngs of tourists. SB 241 does not mandate any additional resort tax, nor does it raise property taxes or place any additional financial burden on government. It simply empowers resort town locals to decide how they want to deal with what is certain to be a busy and challenging future. With SB 241 on the books, West Yellowstone and other resort towns will be able to come together and hold a local vote on any future resort tax increase. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock has signed an emergency order meant to help keep up the supply of heating fuel amid the massive snowfall and frigid temperatures affecting the state. The order signed Wednesday by the Democratic governor suspends rules that restrict working hours for truckers carrying heating fuel. It cites harsh winter conditions that have resulted in distributors having to travel farther to find fuel sources and deliveries being delayed by poor road conditions. Truck drivers aren't allowed to work too many hours in a row and must rest a certain amount of time between shifts. Bullock's order lifts those restrictions for truckers hauling propane, heating oil and diesel fuel until March 28. If a driver says he or she needs immediate rest, the "hours of service" requirements must be followed, regardless of the order. Search and rescue teams are standing by in case nearly 50 snowed-in residents in rural western Montana need help. But so far, KULR-TV reports that the 46 residents in Cascade County are managing just fine and don't need assistance. Montana lawmakers heard and then tabled a bill Tuesday that would have required the state to purchase a portion of the Capital Hill Mall property and enter into a public-private partnership to construct a new Montana history museum. Rep. Bradley Hamlett, D-Cascade, brought House Bill 623 to the House Appropriations Committee. The bill would have the state purchase about 9.6 acres of the mall site for roughly $4.2 million using bonds approved by the Legislature in 2005. The Montana Historical Society would then enter into an agreement with the Montana History Center Foundation, which pledged to privately raise between $80 million and $100 million for a new building. Once constructed, the state would take ownership under a shared board of directors between the society and the foundation. The whole idea is to get the Montana Historical Society built in an optimal location and with the basis of it to be private funds, Hamlett said, adding that he believed it to be a better location than the current site at 6th Avenue and Roberts Street. The future of Montanas state historical museum has been in limbo for nearly two decades. Current plans call for construction at the current site, with renovations of the existing building and construction of a second connected building that would nearly double display space. The Helena Police Department responded to 65 calls for service. Of those calls, they responded to six vehicle crashes, five welfare checks, one trespassing complaint and two suspicious circumstance calls. As of Wednesday morning, the county jail held 100 inmates (92 for felonies and eight for misdemeanors). In total, the county has 125 inmates at various detention facilities. 102 clients are serviced by the 24/7 sobriety program. Of these, 53 are on Personal Breath Test, 32 are on Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor bracelet, eight are on GPS, and nine are on house arrest. Pretrial Services is currently working with 278 clients. Garcin said the county has been working on better handling flood-mitigation in the Ten Mile Creek drainage area, including the Trap Club Project near Rossiter School, which will significantly expand culverts. "In 2015, a hydrologic and hydraulic study was added to the scope of the project," Garcin said. The purpose was to model the Helena Valley to determine existing conditions and, more importantly, what effect new projects would have to the overall system. The county also created a Rural Improvement District in the Valley at a cost of $100 per year per parcel of land that takes those funds and spends them only in the RID. Last year, the Community Organizations Active in Disasters, or COAD, also helped provide sandbags to homeowners who needed them. Capt. Rob Lawler of the Salvation Army in Helena said the group has not yet made any plans to help with flooding again this year, but "if there is a need we'll look at it." Love 11 Funny 1 Wow 2 Sad 3 Angry 33 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. This all took place months before Bain stepped into the director seat. And the business behind the foundation is far separated from the veterans who depend on it. "There are so few places like this," said Mark Follweiler, a U.S. Army veteran who currently resides in Willis Cruse. "It's a place where we can feel safe and not worry about being on the streets, or where we will be tomorrow." Follweiler, a Missoula resident, said he stayed in the home briefly two years ago. He and his service dog, Reveille, wound up back in Willis Cruse about three months ago after running into financial struggles. "Every bit of my money was going toward rent," he said. "I had no opportunity to save, and I'm using this as a way to get back on my feet." Follweiler said things are working out for him this time around. He is a fly-fishing guide in the summer and works odd jobs in the winter to supplement his VA pension. He is saving money to buy a boat so he can guarantee a more stable line of work for himself. "There is no place like this in Missoula," Follweiler said. "There are a lot of people depending on this place, short or long term." In other words, the U.S.-North Korean diplomatic process remains at the quiet impasse thats existed since the Norths last intercontinental ballistic missile test in late 2017. Any deal inked by Kim and Trump in Vietnam this week will merely formalize this current state and establish the framework for negotiating lesser issues going forward. But this means de facto U.S. recognition that North Korea yes, that North Korea is now a nuclear power. Can this frozen peace really hold? Washington Moves the Goal Posts Forward The U.S. can live with the status quo, and unless it suddenly becomes more willing to bear the enormous risks of attempting to eliminate the North Korean threat by military force, it will probably have no other choice. Indeed, ahead of the summit in Vietnam, the Trump administration is bending over backward to lower public expectations. Trump himself, who has repeatedly declared that the North would hand over all of its nukes by the end of his first term, said Wednesday that he was in no rush to see it happen. This is a stark change from the White Houses pronouncements that surrounded the Singapore summit . North Korea, of course, never promised complete, verifiable, and irreversible disarmament, as touted by the White House for months after Singapore. In Pyongyangs view, denuclearization means effectively the same thing as what the U.S. agreed to when it signed the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which requires Washington and other nuclear states to pursue disarmament someday. (The U.S. says one goal of the upcoming summit is to pin down a common definition of denuclearization.) Nothing the North has done since then has substantively diminished its nuclear or missile capabilities. Nor will anything it can realistically agree at the summit to give up , including (as rumored) its Yongbyon nuclear reactor complex. Proclaiming otherwise was putting the White House in an untenable political position and bolstering Pyongyangs negotiating stance . The Trump administration has instead started to declare that its priority is securing the U.S. mainland that is, permanently ending the Norths ICBM testing. North Korea has tested ICBMs that can fly far enough to strike the U.S., but it has yet to demonstrate that the targeting systems of these missiles can survive re-entry to the Earths atmosphere the last and most difficult step in ICBM development. It makes sense for the U.S. to refocus negotiations on this red line. Its much easier to persuade the North to give up something its struggling to obtain than something its already stockpiling, like nuclear weapons. Achieving the latter would likely require war, and the U.S. made clear in 2017 that so long as its mainland remains out of the Norths reach, war just isnt worth the cost. In other words, the U.S. negotiating stance is starting to align with geopolitical reality. This tells us two things about the U.S. approach going forward. First, the White House is shifting to containment. It may never publicly abandon the pretense that the diplomatic process will eventually end with a disarmed North. But the U.S. position at the negotiating table will be increasingly focused on things like managing the shape and size of the Norths arsenal and its behavior as a nuclear power. For example, the U.S. is currently pushing for a full accounting of the Norths nuclear facilities and arsenal so that Washington can, among other things, detect attempts by Pyongyang to pass nuclear fuel, technology or even weapons to other U.S. adversaries. Second, in service of containment, the U.S. is about to take a page from Pyongyangs own negotiating playbook. North Korea is the master of stall tactics; it keeps adversaries at bay by engaging in endless and typically fruitless diplomatic processes, carving out breathing space for itself without conceding anything that would truly weaken its hand. The past year is illustrative, as Pyongyang has bogged down the talks over largely symbolic measures, disputes over concession sequencing and myriad minor points of contention, whether real or imagined. Freed from the political need to deliver on its promise of rapid denuclearization, the Trump administration can use a protracted diplomatic slog to its advantage, dangling any number of carrots to entice the North to stay on its best behavior indefinitely. Will the North Buck? North Korea, however, is less keen to abide the status quo forever. Its desperate for sanctions relief. It ultimately wants U.S. military forces off the Korean Peninsula altogether. U.S.-South Korean military drills are likely to resume in some form, possibly as soon as next month. (The U.S. is reportedly hoping that refocusing the drills on defensive capabilities will satisfy Pyongyang.) And if it thinks that its existing nuclear and missile arsenal which, to be clear, can inflict untold damage on U.S. military bases and allies across the Western Pacific is sufficient to expose U.S. military threats as hollow, its not hard to imagine Pyongyang toying with a resumption of ICBM testing to gain leverage in pursuit of these goals. But the North also has plenty of reasons to stay the diplomatic course. Symbolic but long-sought U.S. concessions, such as an end-of-war declaration and a peace treaty, are within reach. The U.S. appears willing to put limited sanctions relief and, eventually, a limited withdrawal of U.S. troops on the table. In Trump, Pyongyang sees a president who is far more willing than his predecessors (and presumably his successor) to bring all the troops home. The abrupt Syria withdrawal has only strengthened this view. In dovish South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Pyongyang sees an administration whose determined rapprochement is at odds with more hawkish political parties that have historically been more dominant in the South. Reunification is a long-term imperative for both Koreas; the road forward here is complicated enough without the U.S. threatening fire and fury or blocking Moons attempts to forge new cross-border ties. A deal on ICBMs that protects the U.S. mainland while leaving the South, Japan and other nearby U.S. allies exposed may widen cracks in the U.S. alliance structure, furthering its rapprochement with Seoul and pleasing China . The longer Pyongyang acts like a responsible nuclear state, the more international isolation and sanctions pressure will weaken, and the more the North will be able to push forward with its all-important economic modernization campaigns . Most important, the North can never really be sure that the U.S. is bluffing when U.S. B-1 bomber planes are making daily runs toward the Demilitarized Zone. Pyongyang has seen the U.S. as fundamentally unpredictable since U.S. troops began pouring into Pusan in 1950. And in 2017, the U.S. and North Korea came uncomfortably close to a war that would certainly have meant the end of the Kim regime. It wont risk pushing the U.S. back to war footing without wringing every concession possible from the diplomatic process first. Even then, its hard to imagine scenarios where the rewards of an ICBM outweigh the risks. The path forward will not be smooth. The North wont hesitate to rattle sabers when it thinks its being strung along by the U.S. Expect, for example, shorter-range missile tests intended to cause political problems for the White House and remind U.S. allies of their vulnerability. The Norths response if and when the U.S.-South Korean drills resume will be telling. And the frozen peace wont be inherently stable. We generally see the North as acting rationally , despite what can sometimes look like utterly bizarre behavior. But the fact remains that its a highly militarized, internally fractious state with unclear capacity to implement nuclear safeguards, uncertain command and control structures, and steep incentives to strike first if it concludes that an attack may be imminent even if that conclusion is borne of its culture of paranoia. The risk of mistake or miscalculation will be high. And Pyongyang has considerable interest in pushing the envelope to explore just how much ability its nukes give it to reshape the regional security environment to its taste. This isnt the grand bargain the White House touted, but its the bargain geopolitical realities allowed. The U.S. and North Korea have identified the space within which they can coexist, and theyll have little choice but to learn how to do so. The Brexit delusion of creating Singapore upon Thames Promoting a small Asian city-state as a model for Britain is magical thinking Martin Wolf Singapore is not a laissez faire paradise Bloomberg Inside two months, the UK might have crashed out of the EU into a no deal limbo. What happens then? For some Brexiters, the answer seems to be to blame this disaster on the EU and then turn the UK into Singapore, or what they imagine Singapore to be. These people are right on one thing: Singapore has been a great economic success. But it is not a laissez faire paradise. On the contrary, its success has been built on hard work, forced sacrifices and a (relatively benign) authoritarianism. We should learn from Singapore, but must not think it a plausible model for the UKs future. Of the economic successes of the UKs former colony, there is no doubt. By 1980, Singapores real gross domestic product per head had converged on the UKs. By 2018, it was more than twice as high. According to the IMF, Singapores real GDP per head is fourth in the world (after Qatar, Macau and Luxembourg). As a city-state with a tiny domestic market, Singapores future lay in attracting foreign multinationals and skills. With no domestic market to speak of, free trade was an obvious choice. But free trade is not laissez faire. Singapore promoted new industries. It continues to have large shareholdings via Temasek, its sovereign wealth fund. Singapore has exploited a superb location in the fast-growing Asian region, its increasingly high-quality workforce and low taxes to turn itself into a premier hub for international business. But it has also participated actively in regional integration via the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Crucially, the reliability of Singapores offer to the world is underpinned by the fact that just one highly competent governing party has ruled it throughout its history as an independent country. Among complementary explanations for Singapores fast growth is that it invests so much: between 2008 and 2018, it invested an average of 29 per cent of GDP, while the UK invested a mere 17 per cent. This also helps explain why Singapores infrastructure is exceptional. Singapore had a staggering savings rate of 47 per cent of GDP in those years, against the UKs miserable 12 per cent. Singapores gross savings rates are heavily distorted by inclusion of the profits of multinationals. Yet even savings rates in indigenous GDP have been around 30 per cent. One explanation for these high savings is the central provident fund, which compels workers and employers to contribute 37 per cent of wages and salaries up to age 55. People use this money for house purchases, health and pensions: it is Singapores alternative to a redistributive welfare state. Another explanation is fiscal surpluses: between 2008 and 2018, these averaged 5 per cent of GDP. Amazingly, Singapores net international assets reached 340 per cent of gross national income in 2017. How can anybody imagine this is a credible model for Brexit Britain? Far from being able to offer stability to global businesses, the UK is busily blowing up the basis on which many of them came to the UK. Far from guaranteeing favourable access to its most important regional economic arrangement, the UK is leaving it, possibly without any deal at all. And, far from being a city-state of 5.6m people, the UK is a geographically, socially and politically diverse democratic polity of 66m. Its future should not and will not be determined by people and businesses enticed by turning it into nothing more than a haven of low taxation and light regulation. That cannot stand. It would be wrong to argue that the UK lacks everything Singapore possesses. Its civil service is non-corrupt, for example, and the rule of law remains entrenched. It would be quite wrong, too, to argue that the UK is unable to learn a great deal from Singapore. Indeed, it would be a good idea for the UK to learn from successes elsewhere. A determined effort to raise abysmally low savings and investment rates, improve infrastructure and transform educational standards, all hallmarks of Singapores development, would be highly desirable. Singapore has also raised home ownership to an extraordinary rate of 91 per cent. All these are achievements from which the UK could seek to learn. But they also demand difficult political choices and sacrifices. The idea that eliminating tariffs and regulations and slashing taxes will deliver broadly-shared prosperity in post-Brexit Britain is a fantasy. The Singapore example is far more complex and nuanced than that. The two economies and polities are starting from quite different places, with different histories and different possibilities. To believe otherwise is magical thinking. To inflict magical thinking on the lives of real people is an unforgivable political sin. Lewes, DE, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Legum & Norman, an Associa company, will be hosting a board member training seminar and vendor expo on Monday, April 1, 2019 from 8:30AM3:00PM at the Atlantic Sands Hotel in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The event will feature industry leaders Chad J. Toms, Esquire of Whiteford Taylor Preston, LLP; Kevin E. McLaughlin, senior vice president and general counsel of The McKee Group; and Tara Laing, general manager of Legum & Norman. The expert panel will provide information on new communities and developer transition, amending governing documents, and document adherence and violations. The seminar will also include a complimentary breakfast, lunch, and vendor exhibit where board members can connect with more than 20 local businesses. Legum & Norman is dedicated to educating board members and providing them with the most up-to-date training opportunities and resources, stated Linda Fulkersin, Legum & Norman senior vice president. This event is a great way to learn essential information to help you become the best community representative and make sure your neighborhood is successful. We look forward to hosting our boards and would like to send a special thanks to our sponsors and vendor exhibitors. Please RSVP to Lisa Meck at lmeck@legumnorman.com or 410.524.5577 by March 22nd as space is limited. With more than 180 branch offices across North America, Associa delivers unsurpassed management and lifestyle services to nearly five million residents worldwide. Our 10,000+ team members lead the industry with unrivaled education, expertise and trailblazing innovation. For more than 40 years, Associa has provided solutions designed to help communities achieve their vision. To learn more, visit www.associaonline.com. FALLS CHURCH, Va., Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A coalition of Google shareholders has filed a resolution asking the company to publish a human rights impact assessment for a controversial censored search product -- called "Dragonfly" -- that Google is reportedly developing for use in China. Led by Azzad Asset Management, the shareholders are concerned that Google's compliance with Chinas repressive laws would facilitate and legitimize surveillance and censorship, posing serious human rights risks. The shareholders call to action at Google is timely given recent reports that the company is already censoring its search product in Russia, blacklisting websites according to government instructions. Indias government is considering new rules that could again implicate Google in censorship. Open MIC, a non-profit that fosters shareholder engagement at leading tech and media companies, developed the proposal alongside lead filer Azzad, a socially responsible investment firm. The group of filers includes institutional and individual investors representing over $3 billion in assets under management. In submitting the resolution, shareholders are asking Google to demonstrate that the companys stated ethical codes, values, and policies are truly informing all its products in the global market. Advocates are concerned that Dragonflys reported development may already be sending a dangerous signal to other governments, including authoritarian governments. Last Thursday, 14 members of Congress asked Google and Apple to remove a Saudi government app that both companies offer through their app stores; it includes a disturbing tracking component that allows men to register, track, and control the travel rights of women in their families. The shareholder resolution asks Google to proactively assess all actual and potential risks before launching the Dragonfly product. Human rights experts say that a Google search product in China would serve as an additional surveillance tool for the government to use against all residents in that country, and that Uighurs and religious minorities who already face state violence, systemic discrimination, and grave human rights abuses face the greatest danger. Just last week, a New York Times investigation revealed that an American company has been deeply implicated in the surveillance and tracking of Uighur Muslims in China, affirming shareholders concern that Google must proactively assess its operations in China to avoid supporting the Chinese governments documented human rights abuses. Despite reports in December 2018 that the planning of Dragonfly had stalled, Google CEO Sundar Pichai has refused to say that the company will not proceed with its plans, and the company faces continued backlash. Last month, a coalition of Chinese, Tibetan, Uighur, and human rights groups protested Dragonfly outside of 10 Google offices around the globe. U.S. lawmakers and Googles own engineers have also called on Google to end work on the project. Joshua Brockwell, investment communications director at Azzad Asset Management, said: "As shareholders, we are concerned that Google's powerful technology could produce data on citizens that their governments wouldn't be able to reach on their own. We believe that technology companies have a responsibility to consider the human rights implications of how their products will be used." Jonas Kron of Trillium Asset Management said: The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights provide a framework for companies, including Alphabet, to Protect, Respect and Remedy human rights. Now is the time for Google to demonstrate its commitment to this framework with specific reference to China. All eyes are on Google at this critical juncture. Trillium co-filed the resolution. Michael Connor, Executive Director of Open MIC, said: Google has long been a leader in global technology. Its high time for Google to take the lead on human rights. In submitting this shareholder resolution, investors are asking Google to demonstrate its previously stated commitment to human rights and free expression for all its users, regardless of where they live as these open internet values are precisely what fuel the companys business success. The resolution requests that the company publish the human rights impact assessment no later than October 30, 2019, and recommends that the company refer to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. View the full shareholder proposal here. About Azzad: Azzad Asset Management is a faith-based investment firm based in Falls Church, Va. Azzad is committed to providing investment services designed to help people enjoy optimum performance without compromising their values. The firm operates with the belief that companies in ethical lines of business offer relatively less business risk and are in a better position to thrive in the long term. About Open MIC: Open MIC works to foster greater corporate accountability at media and technology companies. Our primary tool is shareholder engagement. Working with impact investors, Open MIC identifies, develops and supports campaigns that promote values of openness, equity, privacy, and diversity values that provide long-term benefits for individuals, companies, the economy and the health of democratic society. Attachment TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corporation's (TSX:TNX) (NYSE MKT:TRX) (the "Companys) Board of Directors is pleased to announce the entering into subscription agreements for the sale of 625,557 common shares at $0.4492 per share raising $281,000 in the aggregate with three investors. The proceeds from the sale of common shares will be used in furtherance of the Companys Three-Phase Drill Program at the Buckreef Project previously announced. The common shares are being offered pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form F-3, which was previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and declared effective on September 5, 2018. The sale of the common shares is expected to close on or before on March 1, 2019, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including acceptance of the listing of the common shares by the NYSE American and the Toronto Stock Exchange. Respectfully Submitted, "James E. Sinclair" James E. Sinclair Executive Chairman For further information, please contact Michael Martin, Investor Relations, m.martin@tanzaninaroyalty.com , 860-248-0999, or visit the Company website at www.tanzanianroyalty.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements Certain of the statements made herein may contain forward-looking statements or information within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. Often, but not always, forward- looking statements and forward-looking information can be identified using words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negatives thereof or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, ,occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements or information herein include, but are not limited to the Positive Feasibility Study on Buckreef, the timing and the results of the proposed drilling program. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information by their nature are based on assumptions and 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 such forward-looking statements or information. We have made certain assumptions about the forward-looking statements and information and even though our management believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements or information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statement or information will prove to be accurate. Furthermore, should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements or information. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others, the following: gold price volatility; discrepancies between actual and estimated production, mineral reserves and resources and metallurgical recoveries; mining operational and development risk; litigation risks; regulatory restrictions, including environmental regulatory restrictions and liability; risks of sovereign investment; currency fluctuations; speculative nature of gold exploration; global economic climate; dilution; share price volatility; competition; loss of key employees; additional funding requirements; and defective title to mineral claims or property, as well as those factors discussed in the sections entitled "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 20-F Annual Report dated November 29, 2018. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements or information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements or information contained herein. Except as required by law, we do not expect to update forward- looking statements and information continually as conditions change and you are referred to the full discussion of the Company's business contained in the Company's reports filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada and the U.S. Cautionary Note Regarding Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources The terms "Mineral Reserve", "Proven Mineral Reserve" and "Probable Mineral Reserve" used in this release are Canadian mining terms as defined in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects under the guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (the "CIM") Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council on August 20, 2000 as may be amended from time to time by the CIM. These definitions differ from the definitions in the United States Securities Exchange Commission ("SEC") Guide 7. In the United States, a mineral reserve is defined as a part of a mineral deposit which could be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time the mineral reserve determination is made. The terms "Mineral Resource", "Measured Mineral Resource", "Indicated Mineral Resource", "Inferred Mineral Resource" used in this release are Canadian mining terms as defined in accordance with National Instruction 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects under the guidelines set out in the CIM Standards. Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. For a detailed discussion of Buckreef resource and reserve estimates and related matters see the Company's reports, including the Form 20-F Annual Report dated November 29, 2018 and technical reports filed under the Company's name at our website at: www.TanzanianRoyaltyExploration.com. Cautionary Note to US Investors Concerning Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resources Note to U.S. Investors. While the terms "mineral resource", "measured mineral resource," "indicated mineral resource", and "inferred mineral resource" are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, they are not defined terms under standards in the United States and normally are not permitted to be used in reports and registration statements filed with the SEC. As such, information contained in this report concerning descriptions of mineralization and resources under Canadian standards may not be comparable to similar information made public by U.S companies in SEC filings. With respect to "indicated mineral resource" and "inferred mineral resource" there is a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and a great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an "indicated mineral resource" or "inferred mineral resource" will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into reserves. CONNECTICUT OFFICE: PO Box 577 Sherman, CT U.S.A. 06784 Fax: (860) 799-0350 investors@TanzanianRoyalty.com TORONTO OFFICE: 82 Richmond Street West Suite 208 Toronto, Ontario M5C 1P1 Toll Free (844) 364-1830 www.TanzanianRoyaltyExploration.com 27 February 2019 - Akastor ASA has today sold 386 161 own shares in relation with a share purchase program offered to its corporate employees and managers. The share price is payable in cash and was based on the average volume weighted share price on the Oslo Brs (the stock exchange in Oslo) over the 5 days period from 20 February to 26 February 2019 giving a price per share of NOK 13.46. Following the transaction, Akastor ASA holds a total of 2 390 215 own shares. For further information, please contact: Eirik Thomassen Head of Legal and Compliance Mobile: +47 995 13 580 E-mail: eirik.thomassen@akastor.com Akastor is a Norway-based oil-services investment company with a portfolio of industrial holdings and other investments. The company has a flexible mandate for active ownership and long-term value creation. This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. English Swedish Bilias has concluded an agreement to acquire Jensen & Scheele Bil AS. The business is operated in three nearby facilities in Halden, stfold south of Oslo, Norway. Jensen & Scheele Bil AS consists of a complete Volvo facility, a damage workshop and a facility for sale of used cars with related service workshop. The planned date of possession is 1 April 2019. The agreement is subject to approval from the Norwegian Competition Authorities. During 2018 the turnover of Jensen & Scheele Bil AS amounted to about 370 MNOK, with an average operating margin during the last four years of around 3.5 per cent. The number of employees is 56. Jensen & Scheele Bil ASs capital employed, plus agreed-on surplus values, amounts to 46 MNOK. Per Avander, Bilias Managing Director and CEO, comments: Its very gratifying for Bilia to expand the Volvo business in Norway. The operation in Jensen & Scheele Bil AS means additional facilities in an attractive area, where we will offer the customers high qualitative services. Frode Hebnes, Bilias Managing Director in Norway, comments: We are both happy and humble that Jensen & Scheele chooses to be a part of Bilia. This is an unusually well-run Volvo dealership, that is a clear market leader in Halden and appointed the Yearly Volvo dealership in Norway 18 times during the last 21 years. The former owners will be part of the business also in the future and we look forward to enjoy their competence and experience to further develop the now larger Bilia in Norway. Gothenburg, 27 February 2019 Bilia AB (publ) For further information, please contact CEO Per Avander or CFO Kristina Franzen, Bilia AB, tel: +46 10 497 70 00. 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 English Norwegian CEO Arve Regland has today informed Entra's board of directors that he will resign from his position in the summer 2019. Regland is leaving Entra at his own request to take up the position as CFO in Fredensborg AS. Regland was first employed as CFO of Entra in January 2014, and he had a central role in the IPO of Entra in the autumn of 2014. He was appointed CEO in February 2015. - Regland has done a very good job in leading the development of Entra as a listed company to the position the company has today. Entra has over the past years set new records when it comes to customer and employee satisfaction and increased the focus on sustainability and technology development. During the same period, the profitability and value of the company has increased substantially. The company is highly regarded in the capital markets and is well prepared for the future. The board would like to thank Arve for his great efforts during his five years with the company and wish him all the best with new challenges, says Siri Hatlen, Chair of the board. - It has been a great pleasure to work with so many nice and competent colleagues throughout the last five years. It will be sad to leave Entra, but I am confident that Entra will continue to develop its position as the leading property company in Norway, says CEO Arve Regland. Regland will remain as CEO in Entra until 30 June 2019. The board of directors will immediately start the search for a new CEO. Contact persons: Siri Hatlen, Chair of the board, Phone: +47 917 44 863, mail: siri.hatlen@gmail.com Ida Schlotterbeck, Head of Communications, Phone: + 47 970 31 917, mail: iks@entra.no This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS, BARCELONA -- Aricent , a global design and engineering company, today announced that it has been selected by Sichuan Tianyi Comheart based in China for its fully pre-integrated 5G RAN framework. This is significant as it drastically cuts Network Equipment Providers (NEPs) time to introduce 5G RAN solutions. Aricent has outstanding expertise of delivering multi-mode RAN frameworks across a variety of different standards. This agreement comes hot on the heels of many other design wins across the world making Aricent the de-facto vendor for 5G RAN frameworks. Aricent also offers customization services to help NEPs build and launch differentiated 5G RAN solutions. Aricents 5G RAN framework is fully compliant to 3GPP specifications and offers both Standalone (SA) and Non-Standalone (NSA) modes to support millimeter wave and sub-6 GHz frequencies for 5G use cases. Whats more, the software framework architecture has the flexibility to support all split options meeting 3GPP specifications. The software framework solution contains Layer 2 and Layer 3 capabilities which come pre-integrated with PHY from multiple vendors for interoperability. These capabilities give the Chinese OEM a significant advantage to meet 5G trial requirements from service providers in its country and across the world. Chinese carriers could spend close to $400 billion on 5G network infrastructure rollouts by 20201. China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom have all been conducting large scale 5G trials across a number of cities2. In the race for 5G supremacy, China has invested heavily and gained an impressive head start, said N. Mohan Rangan, Chief Engineering Officer at Aricent. 5G RAN solutions spanning across small cells and high-powered cells across different frequency spectrums are critical to the success of 5G to deliver seamless coverage and serve a variety of use cases and applications. Having built a solid track record of delivering RAN frameworks for 3G and LTE, Aricent is pleased to be partnering and powering Sichuan Tianyi Comhearts small cell program to create an industry leading solution for operators in China and abroad. Globally, small cells will play a critical role to meet the exponential demand for data in 5G, said Shihong Li, CEO at Sichuan Tianyi Comheart Telecom. And given the variety of use cases and applications 5G will support, we needed a partner who has the expertise to develop reliable, robust and interoperable small cell solutions. The collaboration with Aricent has been outstanding. We have developed a solution that allows operators to seamlessly scale and maximize bandwidth spectrum and enhance subscriber Quality of Experience. 1 Nikkei Asian Review, November 28, 2018 2 MIT Technology Review, December 18, 2018 About Aricent Aricent is a global design and engineering company innovating for customers in the digital era. We help our clients lead into the future by solving their most complex and mission critical issues through customized solutions. For decades, we have helped companies do new things and scale with intention. We bring differentiated value and capability in focused industries to help transform products, brands and companies. Based in San Francisco, frog, the global leader in innovation and design, is a part of Aricent. Aricent is a part of the Altran Group . About Altran Altran ranks as the undisputed global leader in Engineering and R&D services (ER&D), following its acquisition of Aricent. The company offers clients an unmatched value proposition to address their transformation and innovation needs. Altran works alongside its clients, from initial concept through industrialization, to invent the products and services of tomorrow. For over 30 years, the company has provided expertise in aerospace, automotive, defense, energy, finance, life sciences, railway and telecommunications. The Aricent acquisition extends this leadership to semiconductors, digital experience and design innovation. Combined, Altran and Aricent generated revenues of 2.9 billion in 2017, with some 45,000 employees in more than 30 countries. About Sichuan Tianyi Comheart Telecom Co., Ltd Sichuan Tianyi Comheart Telecom Co., Ltd was founded in 2001. The company has nearly 4,000 employees, including more than 400 R&D personnel. On March 30, 2018, the company's shares were listed and traded on the Growth Enterprise Market of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (stock abbreviation: Tianyi Shares, stock code: 300504). Since 2001, the company has been providing 2G, 3G, 4G mobile network optimization products and services for Chinese telecom operators. A large amount of R&D resources have been invested in the research and development of 5G products such as 5G small cell and 5G CPE since 2018. Learn more about Tianyi at www.tianyisc.com Media Contact: Juhie.gorwara@aricent.com English Dutch French Press Release Outside trading hours - Regulated information* NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AUSTRALIA, OR JAPAN OR THEIR TERRITORIES OR TO, OR FOR THE ACCOUNT OR BENEFIT OF, U.S., AUSTRALIAN, OR JAPANESE PERSONS OR OTHERWISE THAN TO PERSONS TO WHOM IT CAN LAWFULLY BE DISTRIBUTED. THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF A POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL TIER 1 TRANSACTION IS FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE OR FORM PART OF ANY OFFER INVITATION TO SELL OR ISSUE, OR ANY SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO PURCHASE OR SUBSCRIBE FOR, ANY SECURITIES OF KBC GROUP NV. NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO, OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN, ANY JURISDICTION WHERE IT IS UNLAWFUL TO RELEASE, PUBLISH OR DISTRIBUTE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT NOTICE AT THE END OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. Brussels, 27 February 2019 KBC successfully places an Additional Tier-1 instrument for 500 million euros KBC Group NV (KBC) yesterday placed 500 million euros in non-dilutive, Additional Tier-1 (AT1) securities (the Securities). There was considerable interest in the issue, which was 4 times oversubscribed. Johan Thijs, KBC Group CEO commented on the transaction as follows: We continuously monitor our capital structure and our current portfolio of outstanding securities in light of market conditions. The issue of the Securities enables us to maintain an optimal capital structure and continue to support our already excellent solvency ratios. There was considerable interest in the issue of our euro-denominated CRD IV-compliant Additional Tier-1 instrument of benchmark size, which was 4 times oversubscribed. The success of the transaction emphasizes the trust of the market in KBCs solid capital position and business model. KBC is one of the best capitalised and well-positioned financial institutions in Europe. KBCs common equity ratio under the Danish Compromise came to 16% fully loaded at the end of 2018, well above the minimum capital requirements set by the competent supervisors of 10.70% by 2019. This AT1 instrument will be 5-year non-call perpetual with a temporary write-down at 5.125% CET1 and an initial coupon of 4.75% per annum, payable semi-annual. The instruments were placed with institutional investors spread across Europe and Asia. The Securities were offered in minimum denominations of 200 000 euros and are expected to be rated BB+ by Standard & Poors (S&P) and Ba1 by Moodys. The Securities are expected to be issued on 5 March 2019. Application will be made for the Securities to be listed on Euronext Brussels. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs International, J.P. Morgan and KBC Bank were mandated as Joint Bookrunners and Joint Lead Managers for this transaction. Disclaimer The announcement of a potential additional tier 1 transaction shall not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States (or to U.S. persons). The Securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") or the securities laws of any state of the United States or any other jurisdiction and the Securities may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. persons except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state or local securities laws. The announcement of a potential additional tier 1 transaction is being distributed only to and directed only at (i) persons who are outside the UK, or (ii) persons who are in the UK who are (a) persons who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 or (b) otherwise, persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be distributed. Furthermore this announcement is not addressed to any person (i) who is a retail client (as defined in Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments and amending Directive 2002/92/EC and Directive 2011/61/EC (recast) (MiFID II)) or (ii) in Belgium to any consumers (consumenten/consommateurs) within the meaning of the Belgian Code of Economic Law (Wetboek economisch recht/Code de droit economique) dated 28 February 2013, as amended from time to time (the Belgian Code of Economic Law). The announcement of a potential additional tier 1 transaction shall not constitute an offer of Securities to the public in Canada. No prospectus qualifying the Securities for sale in Canada has been approved by any regulator or regulatory authority in Canada and the Securities may not be offered or sold in Canada or to residents of Canada except pursuant to an exemption from the prospectus requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, all applicable securities laws in each relevant province or territory of Canada. The announcement of a potential additional tier 1 transaction is directed only at persons that are accredited investors and are permitted clients and should not be distributed to, or acted upon by, any other persons. MiFID II professionals/ECPs-only / No PRIIPs KID / FCA PI restriction Manufacturer target market (MIFID II product governance) is eligible counterparties and professional clients only (all distribution channels). No PRIIPs key information document (KID) has been prepared as not available to retail in EEA. For more information, please contact: Kurt De Baenst, General Manager, Investor Relations, KBC Group Tel +32 2 429 35 73 - E-mail: kurt.debaenst@kbc.be Viviane Huybrecht, General Manager, Corporate Communication/Spokesperson, KBC Group Tel +32 2 429 85 45 - E-mail: pressofficekbc@kbc.be * This news item contains information that is subject to the transparency regulations for listed companies. KBC Group NV Havenlaan 2 1080 Brussels Viviane Huybrecht General Manager of Corporate Communication KBC Group Spokesperson Tel.: + 32 2 429 85 45 Press Office Tel.: + 32 2 429 65 01 (Stef Leunens) Tel.: + 32 2 429 29 15 (Ilse De Muyer) E-mail: pressofficekbc@kbc.be Check this documents authenticity at www.kbc.com/en/authenticity KBC press releases are available at www.kbc.com Follow us on www.twitter.com/kbc_group Stay up-to-date on all innovative solutions at www.kbc.com/innovation. Attachment English Danish COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT No. 39/2019 Tvis, 27 February 2019 Interim report Q4 2018 (October 1 - December 31) (All figures in brackets refer to the corresponding period in 2017) Excellent ending to strong 2018 with 17% organic growth in Q4 Financial highlights Q4 2018: Revenue DKK 251.8 million (DKK 215.0 million) corresponding to an organic growth of 17.1% Adjusted EBITA up DKK 6.9 million to DKK 46.2 million (DKK 39.3 million), corresponding to an increase of 17.4%. Adjusted EBITA margin was 18.3% (18.3%) EBIT up DKK 19.4 million to DKK 44.3 million (DKK 24.9 million), corresponding to an EBIT margin of 17.6% (11.6%). Non-recurring items had a negative impact of DKK 12.6 million in Q4 2017 Net profit up 172.1% to DKK 33.5 million (DKK 12.3 million) Free cash flow excl. acquisitions of operations was DKK 53.6 million (DKK 31.4 million) Cash conversion ratio was 102.6% (110.0%) Please see attached Q4 Interim Report for further details about Q4 2018. Financial highlights 2018: Revenue DKK 899.9 million (DKK 817.3 million) corresponding to an organic growth of 10.1% Adjusted EBITA up DKK 24.9 million to DKK 147.7 million (DKK 122.8 million), corresponding to an increase of 20.3%. Adjusted EBITA margin was 16.4% (15.0%) Non-recurring items had a negative impact of DKK 2.0 million in 2018 due to costs related to the integration of Nettoline. This compares to non-recurring costs in 2017 of DKK 34.3 million related to the Initial Public Offering and the acquisition of Nettoline EBIT up DKK 57.2 million to DKK 138.1 million (DKK 80.9 million), corresponding to an increase of 70.7%. EBIT margin was 15.3% (9.9%) Net profit up 116.1% to DKK 103.7 million (DKK 48.0 million) Free cash flow excl. acquisitions of operations was DKK 141.5 million (DKK 99.8 million) Proposed dividend distribution of DKK 4.75 per share corresponding to 46% of net profit Outlook for the financial year 2019 is expected to be in the range DKK 960-1,000 million in revenue, adjusted EBITA in the range DKK 155-165 million translating into an EBIT in the range of DKK 145-155 million. Please see attached 2018 Annual Report for further details about the full-year 2018. CEO Ole Lund Andersen Q4 2018 was very strong with an organic revenue growth of 17% and a similar strong growth in earnings. We are proud of the strong double-digit organic growth for the full year and once again we outperformed the general market. All in all we are very satisfied with the results for 2018, where we delivered in the high end of our guidance, and look forward continuing our growth journey in 2019. Conference call A conference call for investors and analysts will be held today at 9:30 CET. The presentation for the conference call will be available on www.investor-en.tcmgroup.dk Dial-in numbers for the conference call: Confirmation Code: 2440947 Denmark: +45 32728042 United Kingdom: +44 (0)844 571 8892 Contact For further information, please contact: CEO Ole Lund Andersen +45 97435200 CFO Mogens Elbrnd Pedersen +45 97435200 IR Contact - ir@tcmgroup.dk About TCM Group TCM Group is Scandinavias third largest manufacturer of kitchens and furniture for bathrooms and storage. The products are Danish design, produced in Denmark and rooted in a proud tradition of good quality and good craftsmanship. TCM Group pursues a multi-brand strategy, under which the main brand is Svane Kkkenet and the other brands are Tvis Kkkener, Nettoline and kitchn. Combined, the brands cater for the entire price spectrum, and are sold through c. 125 dealers in Denmark and the rest of the Scandinavia. In addition, TCM Group sells private label kitchens through DIY stores in Denmark and independent kitchen stores in Norway. See www.tcmgroup.dk for more information. This interim report contains statements relating to the future, including statements regarding the TCM Group's future operating results, financial position, cash flows, business strategy and future targets. Such statements are based on managements reasonable expectations and forecasts at the time of release of the interim report. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and a number of other factors, many of which are beyond the TCM Group's control. This may have the effect that actual results may differ significantly from the expectations expressed in the interim report. Without being exhaustive, such factor include general economic and commercial factors, including market and competitive conditions, supplier issues and financial and regulatory issues. Attachments VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eco Oro Minerals Corp. (CSE:EOM) (the Company or Eco Oro) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an investment and backstop agreement (the Investment Agreement) with Trexs Investments, LLC (Trexs), pursuant to the terms of which Trexs and Eligible CVR Holders (as defined below) will be entitled to participate in a private placement (the Private Placement) for aggregate gross proceeds of up to US$35,000,000. Pursuant to the terms of the Investment Agreement, the proceeds of the Private Placement will be used to, among other things, repay all outstanding obligations owing by the Company to Trexs under its previously announced US$15,190,000 secured term loan (the Loan) and for general corporate purposes, including working capital needs. Holders (the Existing CVR Holders) of the Companys previously issued contingent value rights certificates (Existing CVRs) who are eligible to participate in the Private Placement on a prospectus exempt basis (Eligible CVR Holders) will be entitled to participate in the Private Placement on a pro rata basis as set out in the Investment Agreement. Trexs will backstop any portion of the Private Placement that Eligible CVR Holders do not subscribe for and purchase. Overview of the Private Placement Under the terms of the Investment Agreement, the Private Placement will be completed in two tranches: a First Tranche for aggregate proceeds of US$28,000,000, consisting of (i) US$13,000,000 of contingent value rights certificates (the New CVRs and, together with the Existing CVRs, the CVRs), and (ii) US$15,000,000 of unsecured 0.025% interest-bearing promissory notes due June 30, 2028 (the New Notes); and a Second Tranche consisting of up to US$7,000,000 of unsecured 10% interest-bearing promissory notes due June 30, 2028 (the 10% Notes and, together with the New Notes and $9,672,727.30 of existing unsecured 0.025% interest-bearing notes due June 30, 2028, the Notes). The First Tranche will include (i) an Initial Subscription, pursuant to which Eligible CVR Holders will be entitled to acquire their pro rata share of the New CVRs and New Notes, and (ii) a Supplemental Subscription, pursuant to which Eligible CVR Holders who subscribe for their full pro rata allocation of the First Tranche will be entitled to subscribe for the unallocated portion of the First Tranche on a pro rata basis. It is currently anticipated that the Initial Subscription will close on or about April 3, 2019 and the Supplemental Subscription will close on or about April 24, 2019. Eligible CVR Holders who subscribe for their full pro rata allocation of the First Tranche will also be entitled to participate in the Second Tranche on a pro rata basis. Under the terms of the Private Placement, the 10% Notes issued in the Second Tranche will compound and capitalize annually and be issued in increments of not less than US$1,000,000 in the aggregate upon majority approval by the Companys board of directors (the Board of Directors). Following completion of the Private Placement, any proceeds from the Corporations arbitration proceedings against the Republic of Colombia (the Claim Proceeds) will be distributed in accordance with the Distribution Waterfall described in Section 8 of the Investment Agreement, in the following order of priority (in each case to the extent that the amount of Claims Proceeds is sufficient): in full repayment of any accrued and unpaid default interest, fees, expenses or indemnity obligations in respect of the CVRs and the Notes; in full repayment of all obligations, liabilities and indebtedness (including all principal, interest, fees and other amounts) under the Notes; to holders of CVRs and eligible participants in the Companys Management Incentive Plan (the MIP), in an amount equal to the lesser of (i) US$460,000,000 and (ii) their maximum aggregate entitlements to the Claim Proceeds under the CVRs and the MIP; to the Company, US$30,000,000 which may be used for, among other things, distributions to common shareholders of the Company; to holders of CVRs and eligible participants in the MIP, until aggregate distributions equal their maximum aggregate entitlements to the Claim Proceeds under the CVRs and the MIP; and to the Company, the balance for, among other things, distributions to common shareholders of the Company. Closing of the Initial Subscription, the Supplemental Subscription and each call of the Second Tranche are subject to customary closing conditions, as set out in more detail in the Investment Agreement. A copy of the Investment Agreement will be filed under the Companys SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Subscription Process The Company will deliver a Notice of Private Placement and form of subscription agreement to Existing CVR Holders. Eligible CVR Holders who hold an indirect ownership interest in Existing CVRs through Kingsdale Partners LP (the Custodian) and wish to participate in the Private Placement should contact the Custodian at corpaction@kingsdaleadvisors.com for additional information about the subscription process. Board Approval In arriving at its decision to approve the Investment Agreement and the Private Placement, the Board of Directors took into account, among other things, the recommendation of the Special Committee of independent directors formed to review and consider financing alternatives. In order to assist with this process, the Special Committee engaged Ernst & Young Orenda Corporate Finance Inc. as financial advisor and McCarthy Tetrault LLP as special counsel. With the advice of its financial and legal advisors, the Special Committee conducted a thorough process and considered a number of options, including alternative financing transactions proposed by third party investors. Following this review process, the Special Committee determined that the Private Placement is the best available option for repaying the Loan and meeting the Companys capital needs. As Trexs, certain Existing CVR Holders who are also significant shareholders of the Company and certain directors of the Company will or may be participating in the Private Placement, the transaction would ordinarily be subject to the minority approval requirements set forth in Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (MI 61-101). The Board of Directors, including its independent members, have determined, in light of the Companys circumstances, that the Company is eligible to rely on the exemption from minority approval requirements provided by Subsection 5.7(e) of MI 61-101. Company Profile Eco Oro Minerals Corp. is a publicly-traded company and its arbitration against the Republic of Colombia is its core focus. Forward-Looking Statements This news release includes "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, including statements with respect to the completion of the Private Placement and the distributions of Claims Proceeds in accordance with the Distribution Waterfall. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements that involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon the current belief, opinions and expectations of management that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and other contingencies. Many factors could cause the Companys actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These factors include, among others, the Companys ability to satisfy the conditions to the closing of the Initial Subscription, the Supplemental Subscription and each call of the Second Tranche, the cost and results of the Companys arbitration proceedings against the Republic of Colombia and the amount of Claim Proceeds, if any, available for distribution to the Companys securityholders. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. SOURCE Eco Oro Minerals Corp. For further information: Paul Robertson, Chief Executive Officer (Interim) Tel: +1 604 682 8212, TF: +1 855 682 8212. CO: Eco Oro Minerals Corp. TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: ELO; FSE: P2Q) (Eloro, or the Company) announces the resignation of Mr. Philip Garratt as a director of the Company effective immediately. The Company would like to express its thanks to Mr. Garratt for his contributions to the board of directors throughout his tenure and wishes him success in all of his future endeavours. About Eloro Resources Ltd. Eloro is an exploration and mine development company with a portfolio of gold and base-metal properties in Peru and Quebec. Eloro owns a 90% interest in the La Victoria Gold/Silver Project, located in the North-Central Mineral Belt of Peru some 50 km south of Barrick's Lagunas Norte Gold Mine and Tahoe's La Arena Gold Mine. La Victoria consists of eight mining concessions and eight mining claims encompassing approximately 89 square kilometres. The property has good infrastructure with access to road, water and electricity and is located at an altitude that ranges from 3,100 m to 4,200 m above sea level. For further information please contact Jorge Estepa, Vice-President of Eloro Resources Ltd. at (416) 868-9168. Information in this news release may contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information express, as at the date of this news release, the Corporation's plans, estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations, or beliefs as to future events or results and are believed to be reasonable based on information currently available to the Corporation. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. EDMONTON, Alberta, Feb. 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ceapro Inc. (TSX-V: CZO) (Ceapro or the Company), a growth-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of active ingredients for healthcare and cosmetic industries, announced today that its collaborators from University of Alberta will present at the 17 th European Meeting on Supercritical Fluids (EMSF 2019) being held April 8-11, 2019 in Ciudad Real, Spain. Summarized below are the abstracts that have been selected for oral presentation at EMSF 2019. Tuesday, April 9, 2019 Time: 3:15 PM CEST Presenter: Dr. Ricardo Couto Abstract #33537: Drying biopolymers with Pressurized Gas eXpanded (PGX) liquids: polysaccharides vs proteins Wednesday, April 10, 2019 Time: 10:45 AM CEST Presenter: Yonas Gebrehiwot Abstract #33540: Pressurized Gas eXpanded (PGX) liquid drying of soy protein isolate Time: 12:45 PM CEST Presenter: Zixiang Liu Abstract #33540: Drying of sodium alginate using Pressurized Gas eXpanded (PGX-SA) liquid technology Ceapro has conducted research on a number of various biopolymer samples from different sources. These studies conducted in collaboration with Dr. Feral Temellis team at University of Alberta further demonstrate the versality of PGX Technology. Results of these studies illustrate the potential to dry, purify, micronize and functionalize proteins, peptides, and polysaccharides that can lead to the development of highly potent bioactive delivery systems with desirable characteristics. Additionally, the studies demonstrate the potential to generate new material (PGX SA) that exhibits a unique fibrous structure, which can be very desirable for wound healing applications or bioactive delivery systems. About EMSF 2019 EMSF 2019 is organized by The International Society for Advancement of Supercritical Fluids (ISASF) and the Organizing Committee of the 17th European Meeting on Supercritical Fluids (EMSF). This is the 17th of a fruitful series of meetings, where Scientists, Students and Industry Partners discuss current developments and innovations based on the extraordinary properties of supercritical fluids. The meeting will be held in Ciudad Real (Spain), between 8-11th of April 2019. As in previous years, the conference will include sessions, plenary lectures, oral communications and poster sessions. For more information, please visit the conference website, here . About Ceapro Inc. Ceapro Inc. is a Canadian biotechnology company involved in the development of proprietary extraction technology and the application of this technology to the production of extracts and active ingredients from oats and other renewable plant resources. Ceapro adds further value to its extracts by supporting their use in cosmeceutical, nutraceutical, and therapeutics products for humans and animals. The Company has a broad range of expertise in natural product chemistry, microbiology, biochemistry, immunology and process engineering. These skills merge in the fields of active ingredients, biopharmaceuticals and drug-delivery solutions. For more information on Ceapro, please visit the Companys website at www.ceapro.com . For more information contact: Jenene Thomas Jenene Thomas Communications, LLC Investor Relations and Corporate Communications Advisor T (US): +1 (833) 475-8247 E: czo@jtcir.com Issuer: Gilles R. Gagnon, M.Sc., MBA President & CEO T: 780-421-4555 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 Press Release Rakuten aims to tap new revenue opportunities through an IoT ecosystem of industry players, systems integrators, developers and academia Deal extends Nokia's existing end-to-end cloud-native mobile network relationship 26 February 2019 Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced that Rakuten has selected its Intelligent Management Platform for All Connected Things (IMPACT) to help the company tap new revenue opportunities through the rollout of Internet of Things (IoT) services across Japan. As an integrated, standards-based platform, IMPACT simplifies the process of bringing and scaling multiple applications onto a single platform. As a result, Rakuten can deploy various IoT applications faster and more cost effectively across multiple sectors such as agriculture, industry and the automotive field, including connected vehicles. Nokia will provide turnkey deployment and integration of the IMPACT platform, leveraging its experience of implementing a complete end-to-end IoT solution for several leading communication service providers around the world. Nokia is working with Rakuten to build vertical specific use cases and a comprehensive IoT ecosystem of its own comprised of industry players, system integrators, software developers and academia. This modular solution will maximize automation, bring in innovation and help Rakuten launch new use cases faster. Further, Nokia's solution will allow Rakuten to conceive and implement unique IoT use cases specific to the Japanese market and differentiate their offerings to B2B and B2C customers while reducing the cost of launching new IoT use cases and operations. Rakuten and Nokia are completely aligned on the IoT vision and it is being implemented in Rakuten's new mobile network operation in Japan. Tareq Amin, Chief Technology Officer of Rakuten Mobile Network, Inc., said: "We are very excited to be collaborating with Nokia in the field of IoT. Our experience as an IT company and strong presence in a wide variety of consumer tech industries and business domains puts us in a strong position in terms of deploying the IoT platform and applications. By leveraging our existing ecosystem and Nokia's advanced IoT platform, we believe will be able to create innovative, cost-effective IoT solutions and take a leading role in the market." Bhaskar Gorti, President of Nokia Software, said: "Rakuten has quickly established its presence in the Japanese service provider market and we are pleased to be providing it with our full IMPACT solution in order to help it seize the many IoT opportunities available in the country. IMPACT is a great extension of our relationship with Rakuten and underlines the attractiveness of Nokia's full end-to-end portfolio in the marketplace." The Nokia IMPACT IoT Platform is a horizontal platform covering connectivity management, data collection, device detection and analytics, and business application development, on top of device and subscription management across all industries. Resources: Webpage: IMPACT IoT Platform Press Release: IMPACT 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 Media Inquiries: Nokia Communications Phone: +358 10 448 4900 Email: press.services@nokia.com English French Luxembourg February 25, 2019 (6:00 PM CET) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Aperam announce the signature of a financing contract where the EIB will make available to Aperam an amount of EUR 100 million. The purpose of this contract is the financing of ongoing investments in the cold rolling, and annealing & pickling line at Aperams Genk plant (Belgium) as well as the companys ongoing modernisation programmes in the cohesion regions of Nord-Pas-de-Calais (France) Isbergues plant, and Hainaut (Belgium) Chatelet plant. Timoteo Di Maulo, CEO of Aperam, commented: We are pleased to announce this financing contract with EIB on attractive financial terms. It will fully support Aperams top line strategy and leadership journey. The Genk investment will further facilitate the transformation of Aperams business with state-of-the-art modern lines using the latest technology. This will enlarge our product range to incorporate the most demanding applications, which will improve lead time and flexibility to satisfy market demand, increase the efficiency and cost competitiveness of our assets, and continuously enhance our health, safety and environmental impact. In keeping with our objective of sustainability, this financing also contributes to our plan of modernization of the industrial tools at our Isbergues and Chatelet plants. EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle said: The EIB is proud to continue supporting Aperam in its plant modernisation investments in France (Nord Pas-de-Calais) and Belgium (Chatelet) and also now to contribute to upgrading its Genk (Belgium) plant with advanced stainless steel manufacturing technology. Innovation, at the heart of competitiveness, is the best response against the challenges currently facing the industry and the EIB is there to support it. The EIB has made innovation a top priority and is keen to partner with companies that push innovation to the forefront for a growing economy. Aperams investment in its plants in Nord-Pas de Calais and Hainaut makes it a partner of choice for the EIB. Indeed, for the financing institution of the European Union, supporting EU cohesion policy is also one of the EIBs main objectives and operations in these areas accounted for about one third of its lending in 2018. About Aperam Aperam is a global player in stainless, electrical and specialty steel, with customers in over 40 countries. The business is organised in three primary operating segments: Stainless & Electrical Steel, Services & Solutions and Alloys & Specialties. Aperam has 2.5 million tonnes of flat Stainless and Electrical steel capacity in Brazil and Europe and is a leader in high value specialty products. Aperam has a highly integrated distribution, processing and services network and a unique capability to produce stainless and specialty from low cost biomass (charcoal). Its industrial network is spread in six production facilities located in Brazil, Belgium and France. In 2018, Aperam had sales of EUR 4,677 million and steel shipments of 1.97 million tonnes. For further information, please refer to our website at www.aperam.com About the EIB The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals. In 2018, the EIB Group dedicated EUR 64 billion to projects within and outside Europe, contributing to EUR 230 billion of investments in all sectors and targeting key priorities: supporting innovation and skills, SMEs and larger companies, infrastructure projects and all climate investments, engaging in the transition to a low-carbon, environmental friendly and climate-resilient economy. For further information on our priorities and impact, see www.eib.org/projects/priorities Contacts Aperam: Corporate Communications / Laurent Beauloye: +352 27 36 27 103 Investor Relations / Thorsten Zimmermann: +352 27 36 27 304 EIB: Sabine Parisse (Luxembourg), s.parisse@eib.org, +352 43 79 83340, mobile: +352 621 45 91 59 Cyrille Lachevre (France), c.lachevre@ext.eib.org, +352 4379 73984, mobile: +33 6 20 42 12 08 Website: www.eib.org/press, Press Office: +352 4379 21000 press@eib.org 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 ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland and Labrador, Jan. 28, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Consistent with its capital investment funding strategy, Fortis Inc. ("Fortis" or the "Corporation") (TSX/NYSE: FTS) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement with Columbia Power Corporation ("CPC") and Columbia Basin Trust ("CBT") to sell its 51% interest in the Waneta Expansion Hydroelectric Project in British Columbia ("Waneta Expansion") for approximately $1 billion. CPC and CBT are currently partners with the Corporation and together own 49% of the Waneta Expansion. As previously disclosed, the Corporation expects to fund its $17.3 billion five-year capital investment plan at its North American regulated utility business with cash from operations, debt raised at its utilities, common equity from the Corporation's dividend reinvestment plan and $1 to $2 billion of proceeds from non-core asset sales. "The sale of our interest in the Waneta Expansion helps finance the substantial growth occurring in our regulated utility business, including growth in British Columbia," said Barry Perry, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fortis. "This transaction completes the asset sale funding component of our five-year capital investment plan." Fortis expects the transaction to close within 90 days. Closing is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions for a transaction of this nature and the receipt of routine approvals. With its partners, Fortis constructed the 335-MW hydroelectric generating facility expansion ahead of time and on budget and, through FortisBC Inc. ("FortisBC"), has operated the facility since it went into production in 2015. CPC and CBT are both 100% owned by the Government of British Columbia. FortisBC will continue to operate the Waneta Expansion facility and purchase its surplus capacity. RBC Capital Markets acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Fortis. Forward-Looking Information Fortis includes "forward-looking information" in this media release within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively referred to as "forward-looking information). Forward-looking information included in this media release reflects expectations of Fortis management regarding future growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities. Wherever possible, words such as "anticipates", "believes", "budgets", "could", "estimates", "expects", "forecasts", "intends", "may", "might", "plans", "projects", "schedule", "should", "target", "will", "would" and other similar terminology or expressions have been used to identify the forward-looking information, which includes, without limitation, statements related to the Corporation's forecast capital spending for the five-year period 2019 through 2023 and potential funding sources, the satisfaction of the conditions precedent and the expected timing of the closing of the transaction. Forward-looking information is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Certain material factors or assumptions have been applied in drawing the conclusions contained in the forward-looking information. These factors or assumptions are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations generally, including those identified from time to time in the forward-looking information. Such risk factors or assumptions include but are not limited to: the implementation of the Corporation's five-year capital plan; no material capital project and financing cost overrun related to any of the Corporation's capital projects; and risks relating to failure to complete the transaction and the timing thereof. Fortis cautions readers that a number of factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking information. These factors should be carefully considered and undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information. For additional information with respect to certain of these risks or factors, reference should be made to the continuous disclosure materials filed from time to time by Fortis with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking information included in this media release is given as of the date of this media release and Fortis disclaims any intention or obligation to revise or update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. About Fortis Fortis is a leader in the North American regulated electric and gas utility industry with 2017 revenue of C$8.3 billion and total assets of approximately C$50 billion as at September 30, 2018. The Corporation's 8,500 employees serve utility customers in five Canadian provinces, nine U.S. states and three Caribbean countries. Fortis shares are listed on the TSX and NYSE and trade under the symbol FTS. Additional information can be accessed at www.fortisinc.com , www.sedar.com , or www.sec.gov . A .pdf version of this press release is available at : http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/5f62e6a5-f8a8-41e5-bc97-5a28cd210d92 For more information please contact: O'Rourke and another street department employee were able to get the SUV unstuck, but O'Rourke said he told the driver, "There's no way you are going to Mason City in that vehicle," and advised him to call 911 for an ambulance. O'Rourke continued to sand the streets. Fifteen minutes later, he got a call from Dale Rayhons, paramedic supervisor for the city of Forest City, telling him the pregnant woman's water just broke and asking him to provide a snowplow assist for the ambulance. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} O'Rourke went south on U.S. Highway 69 in the lead, followed by the ambulance with a crew of four and the woman in labor inside, a Winnebago County road grader and the SUV driven by the patient's father. The goal was to make it to the Miller turnoff, where Iowa Department of Transportation vehicles were to take over as the ambulance escort. O'Rourke said his truck busted through so many drifts that his windshield wipers froze. "It was awful," he said. When the vehicles got close to the Miller turnoff, the ambulance got stuck in a drift. Marcus Jensen, the road grader driver, was able to pull it out. MASON CITY | A Georgia man was arrested for defrauding a Mason City woman by claiming to be a "United Nations courier" and stealing $3,000. Imonije Nathaniel Emuobosa, 41, of Jonesboro, Georgia, was charged with felony second degree theft. Sometime between Feb. 1 and Feb. 2, 2018, Emuobosa allegedly deprived and defrauded a woman of $3,000. Emuobosa portrayed himself as an agent from the United Nations diplomatic courier service and promised to deliver a box in exchange for the $3,000, Mason City Police noted in the criminal complaint. According to court documents, the money was deposited into Emuobosa's bank account and bank records show that woman's money was put into his account. The criminal complaint was filed and a nationwide warrant was issued June 7. Emuobosa was arrested and booked in Cerro Gordo County Jail. He posted $5,000 following his initial court appearance Feb. 21. He is scheduled to appear Friday in Cerro Gordo County District Court. North Iowa's mugshots of 2018 Contact Courtney at 641-421-0534 or on Twitter @CourtneyFiorini. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 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. CLEAR LAKE - A Clear Lake man was arrested for threatening to beat a man over a money disagreement. Emmanuel Israel Wilson, 32, was charged with misdemeanor second degree harassment following an incident at a mobile home park on the 2400 block of South Shore Drive. After 9 p.m. Feb. 21, Wilson allegedly told a man that he was going to harm him and "beat his a--. The victim was worried a fight would break out by (Wilsons) words and behavior and contacted law enforcement to diffuse the situation, Clear Lake Police said in the criminal complaint. According to court documents, Wilson admitted to saying he was going to "beat his a--" to the man because he said the man owed him money. Wilson was arrested and booked into Cerro Gordo County Jail and was later released on his own recognizance following his initial court appearance Feb. 22. He is scheduled to appear March 14 in Cerro Gordo County District Court. North Iowa's mugshots of 2018 Contact Courtney at 641-421-0534 or on Twitter @CourtneyFiorini. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 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. Cerro Gordo County is entering into a mental health advocate sharing agreement with Mitchell County after the board of supervisors voted unanimously to approve the plan. Under the guidelines of the deal, current Cerro Gordo County Mental Health Advocate Angela Nasstrom will split time between the two counties. According to Cerro Gordo County Director of Administrative Services Tom Meyer, there isn't a concern about under-staffing with Cerro Gordo County's Social Services when Nasstrom is working in Mitchell County. Such work is scheduled in advance so alternative plans can be made, he said. Meyer also said there isn't a concern about overworking because Nasstrom, who has been the mental health advocate for Cerro Gordo County since September 2018, currently works about 20 hours for the county. "It will not be a significant increase in hours," Meyer said. "Ms. Nasstrom manages her schedule and has done a very good job since she was hired." The sharing agreement isn't the first move toward consolidation in mental health services that Cerro Gordo County has made in the past year. MASON CITY | Cerro Gordo County's three-person board supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday morning to approve an ATV and off-road utility vehicle ordinance that designates the streets and portions of roadways where those modes of transit can operate. For the past month of county board meetings, supervisors Casey Callanan, Tim Latham and Chris Watts read the language of proposed ordinance 64 which is more focused on when, where and how citizens can't ride ATVs and UTVs within county limits. Just a few items that constitute "unlawful operation" as spelled out in Section 3 of the ordinance: Operating at a speed above 35 mph Operating on a "hard surface roadway with a speed limit of 55 mph" Operating on "any land under the control of the Cerro Gordo County Conservation Board" Operating on any "Grade Level B" minimum maintenance road where vehicular travel is not ordinarily permitted or on any "Grade level C Roadway or dirt road" Operating without a "lighted white light to the front and lighted red light to the rear Cerro Gordo County Director of Administrative Services Tom Meyer said that the initial impetus for the ordinance came from repeated questions by residents about operating ATVs and UTVs in non-incorporated areas. A 15-year-old high school student uses a vaping device near her schools campus in this Associated Press file photo. El Paso Countys Board of Health has declared teen vaping a public health crisis, following an executive order signed in November by former Gov. John Hickenlooper, and because teen use of electronic smoking devices is more than two times the national average, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Complex Astronomical and Astrological Systems Detailed on Ancient Assyrian Tablets Archaeologists studying a group of five unique stone tablets dating to the first millennium in Babylonia and Assyria have announced that they reveal a hitherto unknown level of astronomical understanding. Events and appearances in the night sky have been recorded for thousands of years. Following the solar and lunar cycles allowed people to predict seasonal change which enhanced outdoor survival. But in Ancient Mesopotamia, however, new evidence proves that sky watching was taken to a whole new level of complexity. It has been found that both observational astronomy and interpretive astrology were central practices not only in time keeping, but also in religious practices and the structure of ritual and ceremonial calendars. This collection of tablets is providing scientists with what is being called "the earliest prose descriptions of the celestial constellations ." According to a report in Yale News , all of these tablets are currently being studied in the Yale University Babylonian Collection. "Three of them [tablets] were discovered in the sacred city of Uruk in southern Iraq and four of the tablets are newly discovered" and all were written in cuneiform script and in the Babylonian language. Detailed images, copies and translations of these astronomical tablets have been assembled in a new book called The Cuneiform Uranology Texts: Drawing the Constellations, co-authored by Frahm, Paul-Alain Beaulieu, Wayne Horowitz, and John Steele. The name "Uranology" is the word used by the ancient Greeks to describe the study of the sky. What Do the Tablets Tell Us About Ancient Sky Watching? Yale Assyriologist Eckart Frahm said stars and other heavenly bodies were worshipped as deities and "The ancient stargazers were so intrigued by the mechanics of the heavens - and the possibility of being able to make predictions from what they saw in the night sky - that, from the 8th century to the 1st century BC, they observed very closely on a daily basis the movements of the stars to determine what exactly was happening in the sky, and documented these observations on clay tablets." The ancient Babylonians studied the night skies for at least seven centuries, which Frahm claims is the longest lasting scholarly science project that ever existed and added that "no other civilization had ever done anything like it." The contents of the tablet are described as a "unique juxtaposition of heaven and earth". On one side are detailed descriptions of celestial constellations such as "Cancer, Pisces, Pegasus, Perseus, and many others" describing their parts and relating them to animals, fish, vehicles and tools. On the other side is the topography of Uruk with all its "temples, canals, enclosure walls, and other features." In a culture where the stars and planets were associated with events on earth, being able to precisely predict events such as lunar or solar eclipses was thought of as being a matter of life and death. Eclipses in particular were thought to be especially problematic and they became archetypal for the presence of evil. Because seventh century Mesopotamians held such strong beliefs in the power of astrological omens, a special ritual was performed on lunar eclipses known as the "substitute king". According to Frahm, "The real-life king actually stepped down for up to 100 days pretending to be a farmer." During this time a "substitute king" became ruler in the king's absence. In a cruel twist of fate, rather than celebrating having been chosen to be the substitute king, the destiny of the poor puppet was to be sacrificed on the return of the real king. Two of the three Yale "Uranology" tablets are being displayed in the forthcoming exhibition opening on April 6 titled Ancient Mesopotamia Speaks: Highlights from the Yale Babylonian Collection " at the Yale Peabody Museum, 170 Whitney Ave. Shizuko Ina was ill, near the end of her life when daughter Satsuki saw a tattered quilt on her bed and suggested a fresh replacement. Lets get you a new blanket, Satsuki said, taking hold of the quilt. This is kind of raggedy. Shizuko quickly grabbed the quilt. No, she told her daughter. It was a quiet afternoon in a San Francisco apartment, but soon Shizuko returned with her daughter to a dark day of injustice in American history. With her hand on the precious, tattered quilt that never could be replaced, Shizuko told this story: In the spring of 1942, a pregnant Shizuko and her husband, Itaru, were forcibly removed from their home in San Francisco after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Both were American citizens, born in the United States. After President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9606, the couple was removed anyway. Shizuko spent her first years in rural Washington state but after her mothers death was sent to Japan so her grandmother could care for her. She returned to Washington at 16 with virtually no English skills and was placed in a first-grade class. Embracing determination, she rapidly learned to speak and write English and graduated from high school two years later. After being removed from their home, Shizuko and Itaru were sent to the Tanforan Racetrack, where, in better days, Seabiscuit sprinted to celebrity-horse status. Shizuko and Itaru slept in smelly stables recently used for horses. More than 8,000 Japanese-American prisoners slept at the racetrack. Some in stables. Some in the grandstands. All bewildered and uncomfortable. It was a trying pregnancy for Shizuko, made more difficult by the betrayal of the American government and the silence of the American people. Shizuko could see crowds, living their normal lives, walking past the racetrack. She wondered if anyone cared. The American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization, regularly visited Tanforan, where members tossed fresh fruit and vegetables over the fence. A Quaker woman noticed Shizuko and could tell she was pregnant. She tossed an intricately woven quilt, dominated by red, black and gold patterns, over the fence. I hope this helps, the Quaker woman said. In December 1942, Shizuko gave birth to her first child, a son named Kiyoshi, at a detention/prison camp in Topaz, Utah. Two years later, Satsuki was born in the detention/prison camp at Tule Lake, Texas. For decades, Shizuko and Itaru talked little of their imprisonment. Satsuki said she, as a college student, heard her mother tell the origin of the quilt, but the story didnt sink into her mind. It didnt have that much impact on me, she said. I didnt understand. I knew they were in camp. I knew there were some hardships. I knew it was a difficult time for my parents. But I was raised not to ask too many questions. As her mother told the quilt story, Satsuki understood the despair and horror. She finally grasped the power of the quilt. Why is this so important to you, Satsuki asked her mother as they held the quilt. Her mother spoke slowly, wanting her daughter to understand. This blanket always helped me remember that somebody outside cared, Shizuko said. Satsuki told the quilt story in February during a Day of Remembrance at Denvers Colorado History Museum. When she finished talking about Shizuko and the precious, tattered quilt, the audience of 300 gasped. The story inspires Satsuki, too. Shes retired after earning a Ph.D. and serving as professor at Cal State-Sacramento. She plans to lead a march March 30 to Dilley, Texas to protest the incarceration of Central American refugees. She will first visit Crystal City, where she was held while separated from her father, and then join dozens on a 50-mile bus ride to the South Texas Detention Center. There, she will protest injustice. Racism and hysteria, she said, have not departed American life. She often thinks of the quilt and what it meant to her mother. Its a reminder of what I can do today, she says. I can stand up today for people who are being targeted. News India adds 45,951 new coronavirus cases, 817 deaths It is for the third time in over two and half months that the COVID-19 toll has come below the 1,000-mark and the 12th consecutive day in the last two months when the toll has been below the 2,000-mark, according to data released by the Health Ministry. Colorado Springs, CO (80903) Today Mixed clouds and sun this morning. Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 74F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 56F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Pakistan says it has shot down two India Air Force jets over the disputed region of Kashmir and captured one pilot on the ground. The Pakistani military said the country's air force shot down the warplanes on February 27 after they had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) that serves as a de facto border in Kashmir. Spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said that one of the planes crashed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the other went down in the Indian-controlled part of the Himalayan region. The statement came as Indian officials were quoted as saying that Pakistani fighter jets had crossed the Line of Control, but were forced back. Reports from India also said that an Indian Air Force plane had crashed in India-controlled Kashmir. An unidentified police officer said that two pilots and a civilian were killed in the crash, the Reuters news agency reported. Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal confirmed that the Pakistan Air Force undertook strikes across the LoC from Pakistani airspace." "Sole purpose of this action was to demonstrate our right, will, and capability for self defense, he said, adding: We do not wish to escalate but are fully prepared if forced into that paradigm. Also on February 27, Pakistani police said that Indian troops fired mortar shells across the Line of Control, killing six civilians. The developments come a day after Indian warplanes carried out an air strike in northeastern Pakistan on what New Delhi said was a militant training camp. India said the strike killed "a very large number" of militants. Pakistan denied there had been casualties, but has warned that it will respond to what it called Indian aggression. Tensions have been high between Islamabad and New Delhi since a February 14 suicide attack that killed at least 41 soldiers in the India-controlled part of Kashmir. The Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant group claimed responsibility. India says its neighbor had a "direct hand" in the attack and accuses it of providing sanctuary to the militants. Islamabad denies involvement. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called on India and Pakistan to avoid further military activity. In the February 26 statement, Pompeo said he had spoken with his Indian and Pakistani counterparts. "I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost. I also encouraged both ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity," he said. The European Union and China, a Pakistani ally, have also urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint after the Indian air strike in Pakistani territory. Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought two of their three full-fledged wars over the Himalayan territory since their partition during independence from Britain in 1947. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa, and RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal Pakistan and India say they have shot down each other's warplanes in a dramatic escalation of their conflict over the disputed region of Kashmir. The Pakistani military initially said on February 27 that the country's air force had downed two India Air Force jets in its airspace and captured two pilots on the ground in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir. But a spokesman later tweeted that there was "only one pilot under Pakistan Armys custody." India confirmed the loss of one of its fighter jets and said a pilot was missing while it foiled an attack by Pakistan jets over the Himalayan region. It also said that it had shot down a Pakistani jet. Amid the escalation, Pakistan closed its airspace to commercial flights until further notice," while airports were shut in India and a vast area of airspace north of New Delhi was closed to civilian flights. The developments come a day after Indian warplanes carried out an air strike in northeastern Pakistan on what New Delhi said was a militant training camp. The aerial attack was the first launched across the Line of Control (LoC) that serves as a de facto border in Kashmir since a war between the two neighbors in 1971. Tensions have been high between Islamabad and New Delhi since a February 14 suicide attack that killed at least 41 Indian troops in Muslim-majority Kashmir, which is claimed by both countries. In an address to the nation, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on February 27 called for talks with India and expressed hope that "better sense" will prevail to deescalate the situation. "History tells us that wars are full of miscalculation. My question is that given the weapons we have, can we afford miscalculation?" Khan said. "We should sit down and talk." Earlier in the day, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said that his country "does not wish to see further escalation. India will continue to act with responsibility and restraint," Swaraj said during a visit to China. Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought two of their three full-fledged wars over the Himalayan territory since their partition during independence from Britain in 1947. In a separate incident on February 27, a helicopter crashed and exploded into flames outside the main city of Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing three people, local officials said. The cause of the crash was unknown. The day also saw shelling across the LoC that killed six civilians on the Pakistani side, authorities said. India said its air strike early on February 26 killed "a very large number" of militants. Pakistan denied there had been casualties but warned that it would respond to what it called Indian aggression. The Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant group claimed responsibility for the February 14 attack on Indian security forces. India said its neighbor had a "direct hand" in the attack and accused it of providing sanctuary to the militants. Islamabad denies involvement. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement on February 27 that India and Pakistan should show the "utmost restraint." "This has the potential to lead to serious and dangerous consequences for the two countries and the wider region," Mogherini said. "We expect both countries to now exercise utmost restraint and avoid any further escalation of the situation," she added, urging the two sides to resume diplomatic contacts to defuse the crisis. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called on India and Pakistan to avoid further military activity. In a February 26 statement, Pompeo said he had spoken with his Indian and Pakistani counterparts. "I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost. I also encouraged both ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity," he said. Russia and China, a Pakistan ally, have also urged calm. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa, and RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal A Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper will be held from 4:30-7 p.m. March 5 at St. Johns Lutheran Church, 821 Denver St., in Schuyler. All-you-can-eat pancakes, breakfast sausage and scrambled eggs will be served. Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for children ages 6-12 and free for ages 5 and under. Tickets will be available at the door. St. Johns is handicap accessible. The pancake supper will benefit the Christian education program at St. Johns Lutheran Church. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Leading Chinese pharmaceutical company to dramatically increase production and fulfilment by leveraging the industrys most advanced warehouse management system SHANGHAI, China and ATLANTA, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Yunnan Baiyao Group, one of Chinas largest pharmaceutical and health care companies, has selected Manhattan Associates Inc.s (MANH) warehouse management system (WMS) to transform its digital supply chain and power the next phase of its growth strategy. Manhattans WMS will help the manufacturer optimise its distribution operations and meet rising demand for its products across the globe, whilst ensuring compliance with stringent production and traceability regulations. Founded in 1971, Yunnan Baiyao has established itself as one of Chinas most important pharmaceutical companies, selling a broad range of medicinal and personal care products. Thanks to its unique ability to combine traditional Chinese medicine with new product innovations, the company has doubled revenues over the last five years to CNY24.3 billion (US$3.5 billion) in 2017. With its sights firmly fixed on continuing this trend, it recently set out to modernise its manufacturing and distribution operations. The pharmaceutical giant selected Manhattans industry-leading Warehouse Management for Open Systems (WMOS) solution to help it optimise fulfilment and throughput. The company will initially deploy Manhattans technology in a new distribution centre (DC) adjacent to its toothpaste factory in the Kunming, Yunnan province in southwest China. Yunnan Baiyaos toothpaste is its most important health care product and the market-leading toothpaste brand in China. Manhattans solution will play a key role in Yunnan Baiyao significantly increasing its toothpaste production to fulfil the growing market demand. Xia Feng, General Manager of Yunnan Baiyaos Engineering System Centre, said, Manhattan WMOS will ensure on-time replenishment of our production line, accelerate the shipment of finished goods to our wholesale customers, drive efficiency improvements across our warehouse and factory floor and provide us with the scalability we need for growth. It will also provide real-time visibility of all inventory flows, ensuring we are fully compliant with the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and Good Supply Practice (GSP) codes governing the traceability requirements of pharmaceutical products. Story continues Stone Chen, General Manager of Manhattan Associates, Greater China, said, Yunnan Baiyao is taking the lead in the pharmaceutical sector to replace its legacy systems with state-of-the-art technology that improves the productivity, efficiency and competitiveness of its manufacturing and supply chain functions. Manhattans WMS solution will play a pivotal role in Yunnan Baiyaos digital transformation and provide it with the scalable fulfilment platform it needs to be able to fully capitalise on the growth opportunities presented by rising global demand for traditional Chinese medicine. About Yunnan Baiyao Group Yunnan Baiyao Group is engaged in the manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing of traditional Chinese medicine, western medicine and personal care products. The company was founded by Mr. Qu Huan Zhang in June 1971 and has since grown to become one of Chinas most important pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in the Kunming, Yunnan province in China, Yunnan Baiyao Group is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit http://www.yunnanbaiyao.com.cn . About Manhattan Associates Manhattan Associates is a technology leader in supply chain and omnichannel commerce. We unite information across the enterprise, converging front-end sales with back-end supply chain execution. Our software, platform technology and unmatched experience help drive both top-line growth and bottom-line profitability for our customers. Manhattan Associates designs, builds and delivers leading edge cloud and on-premises solutions so that across the store, through your network or from your fulfilment centre, you are ready to reap the rewards of the omnichannel marketplace. For more information, please visit https://www.manh.com/zh-cn . * VietJet firms up order to buy 100 737 MAX planes worth $12.7 bln * Bamboo to buy 10 wide-bodied 787 planes worth $2.9 bln * Trump hails deals to reduce Vietnam trade surplus with U.S. * Vietnam trade surplus grew to $35 bln last year (Adds detail on orders, comment from VietJet CEO) By Jeff Mason and Khanh Vu HANOI, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Vietnamese carriers VietJet and Bamboo Airways formally announced on Wednesday deals with Boeing Co to buy 110 planes worth more than $15 billion as the fast-growing companies look to expand their operations in Asia and beyond. On the sidelines of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, VietJet showcased a recent order to purchase 100 737 MAX planes worth $12.7 billion. The deal was provisionally announced in July 2018 and firmed up later that year, without a public announcement until now. Boeing said the VietJet purchase, which was previously on its order books as an unidentified order, took the Vietnamese carrier's MAX orders to 200 jets and included 80 of its latest 737 MAX 10 model. VietJet CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao told Reuters the first four aircraft ordered as part of a previous 100-plane deal, announced in 2016 when President Barack Obama visited Vietnam, would be delivered later this year. Bamboo announced a firm deal with Boeing to purchase 10 wide-bodied 787 planes worth $2.9 billion. Boeing said this deal too was already on its order book as an undisclosed customer. Bamboo, owned by property and leisure company FLC Group , is also in talks to buy 25 narrow-bodied Boeing 737 planes, Chairman Trinh Van Quyet told Reuters. Bamboo, which made its first flights in January, had placed a provisional order last year for 20 Boeing 787 widebody jets worth $5.6 billion at list prices, and Wednesday's deal is not part of that. "The purchases are part of our strategy to expand our operations on the international market, including flying to the United States and Europe," Quyet said. Story continues Bamboo plans to launch its first international flights in second quarter this year, with initial destinations in Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore, he added, ahead of non-stop flights to the United States late this year or early next. Earlier this month, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration declared Vietnam complied with international aviation standards, allowing Vietnamese carriers to fly to the United States for the first time and codeshare with U.S. airlines. VietJet also finalised a $5.3 billion long-term engine support agreement with General Electric for the LEAP-1B engines in its fleet. The White House put the total value of the deals at more than $21 billion. "These deals will support more than 83,000 American jobs and provide increased safety and reliability for Vietnamese International travelers," a senior White House official said. Trump and Kim Jong Un meet in Hanoi on Wednesday for their second summit, with Trump holding out Vietnam as a model of economic success that isolated North Korea could follow. Trump hailed the Boeing deals at a lunch with Vietnamese officials. "We appreciate very much that you're reducing the trade deficit with the United States, which was very substantial before I got here, and now where we're bringing it down with great orders like the orders that you made today," Trump said. Vietnam ran a trade surplus of $34.8 billion with the United States last year, widening from a surplus of $32.2 billion a year earlier, according to Vietnamese customs data. (Reporting by Khanh Vu and Jeff Mason in HANOI. Additional reporting by Mai Nguyen in HANOI; Editing by Lincoln Feast) A 57-year-old man in Jamaica, Queens, was fatally shot while answering his front door on Tuesday evening, the NYPD confirmed to Gothamist. When Mohammed Rizwan went to answer a knock at the door, someone shot him in the chest, then ran away. His family heard the clamor from upstairs, and then called the cops around 5:46 p.m., according to ABC News. When police arrived at the scene, they found Rizwan with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A neighbor of Rizwan's, speaking to the New York Daily News, said that he ran a boarding house out of the property and that people would come to Rizwan's door to see if their rooms were ready. People came regularly saying they wanted their money, they told the Daily News. Last week two guys were trying to kick down the door to get in. This pregnant woman came again and again, but her room was never ready. The investigation is ongoing and the NYPD has made no arrests thus far. (Fixes typo) Feb 26 (Reuters) - Cheniere Energy Inc, the largest U.S. liquefied natural gas exporter, said on Tuesday it sued its former chairman and chief executive, Charif Souki, alleging he conspired to help finance a joint venture that led to the formation of LNG rival Tellurian Inc. Cheniere is seeking repayment of a $46 million loan to Parallax Enterprises in 2015 that Souki helped arrange, plus unspecified damages, according to a case filed in Texas state court on Feb. 15. Cheniere loaned money to Parallax to develop two liquefaction plants in Louisiana. In its civil lawsuit, filed in Harris County, Texas, Cheniere alleged Souki and Parallax's owner Martin Houston put a plan together in December 2015 to close Parallax, without repaying Cheniere, but continue its operations through a new company that became Tellurian. Souki and Houston did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Cheniere and Tellurian declined to comment. Cheniere's board voted to remove Souki as the company's CEO and chairman on Dec. 12, 2015 due to disagreements over his expansion plans, under pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn. In February 2016 he also resigned as a director. Souki and Houston formed Tellurian less than two weeks later. Souki is now chairman of Tellurian, which is developing an LNG export plant in Louisiana called Driftwood. Cheniere claimed Driftwood is materially the same project as one of the plants Parallax was developing with money from Cheniere, but Tellurian has said it is not the same. There are dozens of LNG export projects under development in North America. Many analysts expect Driftwood to be one of the few that will get built over the next several years. Cheniere filed suit against Parallax in federal court in Texas in February 2016 to recover the money it loaned. Parallax, meanwhile, sued Cheniere in a Louisiana state court in March 2016 for breach of contract to develop the plants. The claims in those and other lawsuits ended up in a Texas state court. That case is currently set to begin in June. Story continues Both Tellurian and Cheniere have said in federal filings that they do not expect resolution of the litigation will have a material effect on their financial results. The Cheniere case against Souki is Cheniere Energy et al v. Charif Souki, Harris County District Court, No. 2019-11529. (Reporting by Debroop Roy in Bengaluru and Scott DiSavino in New York; editing by Shailesh Kuber and Phil Berlowitz) U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer testifies before House Ways and Means Committee hearing on "U.S.-China Trade on Capitol Hill in Washington U.S., February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will need to maintain the threat of tariffs on Chinese goods for years even if Washington and Beijing strike a deal to end a costly tariff war, President Donald Trump's chief trade negotiator told lawmakers on Wednesday. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer cautioned that much work was still needed to nail down a U.S.-China trade agreement, including working out how it will be enforced. "If we can complete this effort - and again I say if ... we might be able to have an agreement that helps us turn the corner in our economic relationship with China," Lighthizer said in testimony to the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee. The two countries have imposed tit-for-tat tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of each others' goods, roiling financial markets, disrupting manufacturing supply chains and shrinking U.S. farm exports. Lighthizer said USTR was taking legal steps to implement Trump's decision on Sunday to delay a tariff increase on more than $200 billion worth of Chinese goods that had been scheduled for Friday. But USTR later clarified in a statement that it was not abandoning the threat of increasing the tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent. It said a Federal Register notice would be published this week that would suspend the increase "until further notice." Lighthizer detailed a long road ahead to resolve U.S. China trade issues, and said that tariffs would remain an important tool to push China to make structural policy changes sought by Trump and lawmakers. "The reality is this is a challenge that will go on for a long, long time," Lighthizer said. He earlier said he "is not foolish enough" to believe that a single negotiation will change the increasingly sour bilateral trade relationship. "If there is disagreement at my level, the U.S. would expect to act proportionately but unilaterally," Lighthizer added. A perennial threat of tariffs would be disappointing news for industry, which is hoping to see an end to the trade war uncertainty that has paralysed China investment decisions. Story continues Lighthizer's cautious comments about a China deal prospects sent U.S. stocks lower in morning trade, but Wall Street steadied somewhat after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told a separate hearing that the Fed would stop shrinking its $4 trillion balance sheet later this year. 'MOST SEVERE CHALLENGE' The issues that the United States faces with China are "too serious" to be resolved by promises to purchase more U.S. goods and structural change by China is needed, Lighthizer said. China has offered to purchase an additional $1.2 trillion of U.S. products over six years, people familiar with the talks have said, which would be welcome relief to farmers and businesses hit hard by Beijing's retaliatory tariffs. But lawmakers have urged the Trump administration not to allow potential big-ticket purchases to distract him from pursuing an end to what the United States alleges are unfair trade practices. China represents the "most severe challenge" ever faced by U.S. trade policy makers and congressional support has been "critical in persuading China" to take Washington's concerns more seriously, Lighthizer said on Wednesday. The United States has accused Beijing of forcing U.S. companies doing business in China to share their technology with local partners and hand over intellectual property secrets. China denies it engages in such practices. Trump administration officials also object to non-tariff barriers in China, including industrial subsidies, regulations, business licensing procedures, product standards reviews and other practices that they say keep U.S. goods out of China or give an unfair advantage to domestic firms. Lighthizer on Wednesday said that while some progress has been made in the talks, the United States needs to be able to take unilateral action to enforce any agreement. "I dont believe this is going to solve all the problems between the United States and China," Lighthizer said. "We're going to be back here and working our way through problems, always with one eye toward the future." The United States is seeking monthly meetings for lower-level officials, quarterly meetings for vice ministers and semiannual meetings at the ministerial level for the enforcement process, Lighthizer said. Reuters first reported in January that the U.S. side was demanding such reviews of China's progress on pledged trade reforms. Lighthizer also said the United States is seeking to prevent China from competitive devaluation of its yuan as part of a currency deal in the talks. He told lawmakers that the negotiations are to settle China's violations of Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and therefore were executive actions that did not require Congress' approval. The China talks have had more in common with a sanctions-monitoring regime than a traditional trade pact, focused on corrective actions by Beijing. 'SUBSTANTIAL' PURCHASES While lawmakers from major agricultural states broadly shared their support for a deal that addresses these core issues, they sounded the alarm about the impact of tariffs. U.S. farmers have been among the hardest hit by retaliation from China, the top market for many of their products. Lighthizer said Trump's team is pushing China to promise to make "substantial" new purchases of U.S. products, including soybeans, corn, ethanol and cotton. The purchase plan is designed to secure future demand as well, he said. "Our hope is if you increase those agriculture sales, you would create new customers and results that go out years and years and years and years," Lighthizer said. (Reporting by David Lawder in Washington and Chris Prentice in New York; Additional reporting by Alexandra Alper in Washington and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Writing by Chris Prentice; Editing by Simon Webb, Susan Thomas and James Dalgleish) A long-awaited bill to protect the tenants of illegal lofts in New York City is running up against a sudden change from state senator Julia Salazar, who originally supported the proposal but now says it would hurt manufacturers in her North Brooklyn district. Like the original loft law passed by the state legislature in 1982, the latest bill provides a path toward legal residence and rent stabilization for tenants living in manufacturing spaces. Known as the Loft Law Clean-Up Bill, the legislation seeks to expand the years of eligibility to residents of buildings with three or more families who lived in illegal lofts for 12 consecutive months during 2015 or 2016; the current law only applies to tenants who were housed in lofts in 2009 and earlier. After seeing the bill blocked two years in a row by Republican opposition in the state senate, loft tenants were hopeful that it would finally pass this year under a Democratic-controlled legislature. The group has already secured the support of Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council. Just last week, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, who had previously sponsored the legislation, reintroduced the bill into the state assembly. But in an unexpected reversal, Salazar, a first-year senator whose district includes Bushwick and Williamsburg, went from sponsoring the loft law bill in the Senate to adding an amendment that would exclude the North Brooklyn Industrial Zone, which was carved out of parts of Greenpoint, East Williamsburg, and Bushwick to support manufacturing businesses. Yes. We need to protect loft tenants while also protecting the ~20,000 currently existing manufacturing jobs within the IBZ and protecting the local community. Its challenging, but doing the right thing often is! https://t.co/Dhjj4okuG5 State Senator Julia Salazar (@SalazarSenate) February 26, 2019 In her tweet, Salazar cited roughly 20,000 manufacturing jobs. Her office said the statistic was taken from a city Planning report called "The North Brooklyn Industry and Innovation Plan". However, the report refers to 19,500 as the total number of jobs in the area, of which 77 percent or roughly 15,000 are in industrial sectors. Of that 15,000, only about 3,000 are manufacturing jobs. Weve been negotiating the bill for three years and she went behind our backs to put in amendments, Zefrey Throwell, an organizer with the New York Loft Tenants, told Gothamist. "At the 11th hour, she has buckled to manufacturing pressure and is essentially evicting tenants." Loft tenant activists estimate that Salazar's amendment would affect several hundred loft residents in North Brooklyn, though no solid data exists on how many illegal renters live in the area. They have warned that time is of the essence because loft tenants face ongoing evictions. Salazar could not be reached for comment by publication time. But in an interview published on Monday at Politico Pro, she said, My understanding of the potential impact of the legislation has changed really recently. She went on to say that she realized that the interests of tenants and manufacturing workers are actually at odds. On Monday, Throwell and other loft tenant advocates showed up at Salazars district office in Brooklyn to protest her amendment of the loft law bill. Seeking a meeting with the senator, the group got into a heated exchange with Salazars chief of staff, Boris Santos. A former community organizer, Santos appeared to question the financial plight of loft tenants. In one moment, captured by one of the protesters on video, Santos says, I know a loft tenant who pays $2,000. He could afford to live in many places. The group then boos. The asking median monthly rent in Bushwick was $2,500 in January, according to Streeteasys latest report. Later on in the video, Santos waves his hands dismissively at the protesters and says "Vito Lopez machine," a reference to the late former assemblymember and Brooklyn Democratic party boss who resigned in 2013 after sexual harassment accusations. In 2010, Lopez had sponsored a successful bill to protect loft tenants in his district over the objections of manufacturers and then-mayor Michael Bloomberg. In another exchange captured on tape, Santos says, I want to be able to work with people who are willing to work with each other, as opposed to people that are sleazeballs, to be honest. Afterward, Throwell accused Santos of being disrespectful to constituents. He demanded an apology from Salazar. Reached for comment, Santos noted that the video had been edited, but he also acknowledged getting angry and calling Throwell a sleazeball. "Part of the tension was that there was a lot of misinformation about who we are," he said. "We were called the 'new machine,' the equivalent of Vito Lopez. Thats completely misguided because we ran a campaign that was grass roots and based on small donors." He added, "Our intention was never to escalate the situation, but rather to think in a way that we can move forward. And it was hard to do at the time." Santos said that prior to trying to amend the bill, he had asked Throwell to provide Salazar's office with data on loft tenants living in North Brooklyn, in hopes of carving out specific buildings for residential protections, rather than including the entire industrial business zone. He argued that over the years, no one has surveyed how many loft tenants there are and what their demographics are. Salazars change of heart comes as North Brooklyn manufacturing interests have ramped up their lobbying against the loft bill, claiming it threatens 15,000 industrial jobs currently in the area. An expanded loft law imperils our ability to keep high-quality working-class jobs in our community, Leah Archibald, executive director of Evergreen, a local development corporation representing North Brooklyn businesses, told Gothamist. Archibald added that when permitted to inhabit the same spaces, residential and industrial users inevitably collide, and that it's the latter that wind up being pushed out. On Tuesday, City Councilmember Antonio Reynoso, who represents North Brooklyn, also made that argument in a press release opposing the legalization of residential lofts. When residential and industrial uses are placed in such close proximity, clashes inevitably erupt and we have seen that industry almost always losesbusinesses are displaced and their workers are left without stable employment to support the ever increasing cost of living in New York City," he said. Reynoso added: Furthermore, since four out of five workers in the industrial sector are people of color, the loss of these jobs means the loss of our communitys diversity and the displacement of our long-term residents, a phenomenon we have become all too familiar with in North Brooklyn in recent years. Throwell accused Reynoso and manufacturers of using race to divide the community over loft tenants, with the underlying assumption that loft tenants are predominately white. He pointed out that the loft bill does not directly displace manufacturers, but simply protects existing residential tenants. Moreover, he asserted that loft tenants are a diverse community, with many of them live/work inhabitants who work in manufacturing themselves. Joe Fattorusso, 33, a loft tenant in Bushwick, said that the roughly 80 residents in his building represent a "mixed community." "Im part Indian," he said. "My neighbor is African American. We are women, we are children, we are immigrants." He said he had invited Salazar to visit his building but she has yet to come. "There is a complete lack of interest to seek out the true and real information of who are the real occupants, and more interest in supporting those in the real estate industry," he said. Fattorusso and his neighbors, some of whom say they have lived in the building for 20 years, are collectively fighting to gain legal status under the current loft law, as they were residents there in the 2008-09 period. Their application is currently pending before the city's Loft Board. The passage of the current bill would significantly help their case, he said. In the wake of Salazar's opposition and her effort to amend the bill, loft tenants are now urging senate majority leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins to instead pass the original bill, which is still working its way through the Assembly in unamended form. Fattorusso, who was among the protesters on Monday, said he and others in his building had supported Salazar based on her platform of expanding affordable housing and installing rent protections. We didnt receive this kind of betrayal from Republicans, he said. All that would require would be a closer look and understanding of the bill and its effects. China supports the reunification of North and South Korea as it would be "morally wrong" not to due to Beijing's desire to reunite with Taiwan. However, China worries about South Korea's security alliance with the U.S., said Yun Sun, director of the China program at Stimson Center. China supports the reunification of North Korea and South Korea , but Beijing is deeply worried about Seoul security alliance with the United States according to one analyst. Although North and South Korea are still far away from any sort of reunification, both nations have said that remains an ultimate goal. Such a move is hardly on the table for this week's summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Vietnam capital of Hanoi. Still, any draw down in tensions would be a step toward reunification. China's opinion on North Korea's affairs is important because Beijing is the primary economic and political benefactor of Pyongyang. "The Chinese have always argued that they actually support the reunification of the Korean Peninsula because when they look at their own case (of) the Taiwan Straits and the reunification that China is trying to achieve, to obstruct the reunification of the Korean Peninsula is almost morally unacceptable and is morally wrong for China to take that position," Yun Sun, director of the China program at Washington think tank the Stimson Center, said Wednesday. "What the Chinese have always conveyed to the Americans and to the South Koreans is that 'we don't have problems with the reunification, but we have concerns about the future of the U.S.-South Korea alliance,'" Sun added. Should some form of inter-Korean reunion eventually happen, the big concerns for China would be: "Does the alliance still exist? Will the U.S. have troops basically going north to the Chinese border?" Sun told CNBC. Beijing will want answers from the U.S. and South Korea on that front, she added. Story continues U.S. troops have been stationed in South Korea since the 1950s. There were more than 26,000 American military personnel in the country at the end of 2018, according to data from the U.S. Defense Department. "Without an acceptable arrangement or a grand bargain, if you will, on that front, I don't think China will be particularly supportive of reunification," Sun said. Sun's comments come on the back of reports that the United States and North Korea could agree to declare the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War during this week's summit. Officially, Beijing said it was "pleased" with dialogue taking place between the U.S. and China. "China's proposition on the Korean Peninsula issue mainly comprises two aspects: first, to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula; second, to achieve and maintain the lasting peace and stability on the Peninsula and then in Northeast Asia," Lu Kang, a spokesman at the Chinese foreign ministry, said at a scheduled press conference on Tuesday . Beijing is "pleased to see that the situation is developing in the direction that China has advocated and hoped for. This is the role that China has always played, and we will continue to play such a role," Lu said. Importantly, the near-term removal of North Korea's nuclear arsenal appears to have slid off the agenda, as Trump said earlier this month he was "in no rush" on the matter. That will sit well with Beijing, which prefers a "gradual, incremental and slow process" in the denuclearization of the reclusive North, said Sun, as that will be a "manageable process" for China. The world's second-largest economy has long said it supports a nuclear-free peninsula, but strategists say its greatest priority is preventing a North Korean regime collapse if the rogue state falls under the weight of sanctions, that could send a flood of citizens to China. On the other hand, ending the U.S. military presence in South Korea a major requirement from Kim's administration before it would relinquish nuclear weapons would boost China's goal of minimizing America's influence in Asia. Nyshka Chandran and CNBC's Weizhen Tan contributed to this report. More From CNBC Univision Television journalist Jorge Ramos is home in Miami Tuesday after being detained at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela by the regime of embattled President Nicolas Maduro. Ramos was detained Monday night because the dictator Maduro didnt like his line of questioning. Now, before you say, This was just that reporter, that is always trying to be combative for attention and, I do believe, we have seen a few instances of that in his past. Hey, we all have our own style but, look, when you're interviewing a dictator that is trying to reinterpret truth? Things get heated. Ramos confronted Maduro with hard evidence of people eating out of garbage cans and Maduro clearly lost it. Look, theyre trying to sell an alternate reality. Consider when Maduros Vice President Delcy Rodriguez appeared on this program recently. I actually had high hopes for a meaningful back-and-forth. I mean, shes a Chavista and Im a freedom-loving American capitalist, so I knew it wasnt going to be a meeting of the minds. But Ill tell you, I did not expect this. Fake news, thats what she calls anything that doesnt fit her version of reality, the socialists narrative. No. Ill tell you what fake news is: having the audacity to sit in Caracas and say Venezuela is the most just country in the world when you lock up reporters who tell the truth, when you jail and torture political rivals and when you hold five Americans hostage for nearly a year and a half, as a bargaining chip. No, Delcy, its not fake news, and Venezuela is not a model of justice. I hope it one day will be. My thoughts go out to Jorge and his family tonight. Im so glad hes home safe in the USA. Related Articles Sudbury, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 27, 2019) - Transition Metals Corp (TSXV: XTM) ("Transition", "the Company") is pleased to announce that it has staked additional gold targets effectively doubling the size of its Highland Gold project in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The staking covers targets within areas interpreted to be structurally and geologically similar to mineralized zones elsewhere on the Highland property, including the Main Zone which returned 9.14m @ 23.22 g/t Au from recent drilling (see Transition news release dated January 14, 2019). Company geologists surmise the new staking may cover the sources of unexplained anomalous gold detected in regional stream sediment and till data. These are similar to the anomalies which led to the initial discovery of the Main Zone and other mineralized zones on the Highland property. Transition CEO Scott McLean commented "The eastern coast of North America is becoming a highly prospective district for gold exploration. In particular, the Avalon terrane hosts significant gold deposits and mines in the Carolinas, New Brunswick and Newfoundland. Transition is one of the first companies in Cape Breton to secure a camp scale land position covering what it considers to be some of the most promising geology in the region." Initial exploration in the region during the 1980's was sparked by the identification of anomalous gold in stream sediment samples from several drainages along the eastern portion of the project area. Subsequent prospecting identified a cluster of gold showings along the MacMillan Road access at the core of the Highland property. A review of detailed topography and glacial transport directional data has led Company geologists to conclude that known zones of mineralization are unlikely to have shed gold-bearing material into drainage systems that highlight new target areas depicted in Figure 1 described in more detail below: Story continues North Block: Covers a two kilometre long north-south trend of anomalous gold in till in the northern portion of the property coincident with historic, anomalous stream sediment sampling including a sample that returned 22.5 g/t Au. West Block: The area is interpreted to be the source of anomalous stream sediments that returned a 3.1 g/t Au sample in a historic program. South Block: The area is interpreted to underlie the source of a cluster of gold occurrences associated with angular quartz boulders yielding up to 8.4 g/t gold and high gold in stream sediment values. "Significant amounts of gold are being shed into constrained drainage systems in this part of Cape Breton", comments McLean. "This gold is coming from a limited number of potential source locations which we have now secured." PDAC 2019 The Company cordially invites you to visit with Company representatives from Sunday, March 3rd to Wednesday, March 6th at Booth #2126 within the Investors Exchange at the 2019 Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention to be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Transition Metals looks forward to updating shareholders and conference attendees on its exploration plans for 2019. The Highland Gold Property The Highland Gold property covers an extensive cluster of high-grade gold occurrences in an area that has seen very limited exploration. The property is located approximately 60 kilometres northwest of the city of Sydney, Nova Scotia in the Cape Breton Highlands. The expanded property now consists of approximately Cannot view this image? Visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2766/43093_4bc830b5b476db15_002.jpg Figure 1. Additional staking to acquire new target at Highland To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2766/43093_4bc830b5b476db15_002full.jpg 107 square kilometres of staked and optioned mining licenses on crown land located in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The property can be easily reached by a major road (Highland Road) and a network of logging roads. Rocks of similar age and formation are known to host significant gold deposits in the Carolinas, Newfoundland and the British Isles. The regional geologic framework in Cape Breton is interpreted by Transition to be similar to that hosting First Mining Gold's Hope Brook deposit in Newfoundland (844,000 ounces of gold grading 4.77 g/t gold in the Indicated Resource category and 110,000 ounces grading 4.11 g/t gold in the Inferred Resource category) and Oceana Gold's Haile Mine in South Carolina (3.32 million ounces grading 1.77 g/t gold in the Measured and Indicated Resource category and 0.6 million ounces grading 1.4 g/t gold in the Inferred Resource category). Source: DP ME 135, Version 2, 2006, Geochemical Analyses of Bulk Stream Sediment and Water Samples by the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources over northern Nova Scotia, 1986-1987 Source: Slauenwhite, D. M. 1986: Exploration Program during 1986 on the Cape Breton Highlands, N.T.S. 11K/7, 11K/8, 11K/10; Inco for Scominex; Nova Scotia Department of Mines and Energy, Assessment Report 86-145. Source: First Mining Gold Website - https://firstmininggold.com/projects/newfoundland/hope-brook-project/ Source: Oceana Gold Media Release dated March 29, 2018 Qualified Person The technical elements of this press release have been approved by Mr. Greg Collins, P.Geo. (APGO, APGNS), a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Historical assay results cited above have not been verified by the Qualified Person. Transition Metals Corp Transition Metals Corp (TSXV: XTM) is a Canadian-based, multi-commodity project generator that specializes in converting new exploration ideas into discoveries. The award-winning team of geoscientists has extensive exploration experience which actively develops and tests new ideas for discovering mineralization in places that others have not looked, often allowing the company to acquire properties inexpensively. Joint venture partners earn an interest in the projects by funding a portion of higher-risk drilling and exploration, allowing Transition to conserve capital and minimize shareholder's equity dilution. Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Information Except for statements of historical fact contained herein, the information in this news release constitutes "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities law. Such forward-looking information may be identified by words such as "plans", "proposes", "estimates", "intends", "expects", "believes", "may", "will" and include without limitation, statements regarding estimated capital and operating costs, expected production timeline, benefits of updated development plans, foreign exchange assumptions and regulatory approvals. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could differ materially from such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others, metal prices, competition, risks inherent in the mining industry, and regulatory risks. Most of these factors are outside the control of the Company. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as otherwise required by applicable securities statutes or regulation, the Company expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Further information is available at www.transitionmetalscorp.com or by contacting: Scott McLean President and CEO Transition Metals Corp. Tel: (705) 669-1777 Corporate Logo To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/43093 FILE PHOTO: The logo of broadband and telecommunications provider UPC Schweiz is seen at its headquarters in Wallisellen, Switzerland February 6, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann (Reuters) - Sunrise Communications Group AG has agreed to buy Liberty Global PLC's Swiss business UPC Switzerland in a 6.3 billion Swiss francs ($6.29 billion) deal, the mobile phone and internet services company said on Wednesday. The purchase strengthens Sunrise's position as Switzerland's second largest telecoms company, and is another European sale by Liberty Global which divested its Austrian business to T-Mobile Austria last year. Sunrise will pay Liberty Global 2.6 billion Swiss francs in cash, and assume 3.6 billion Swiss francs of UPC's debt, the company said in a statement. Analysts have said a tie-up makes sense, given that Sunrise and UPC's fixed and mobile services would make the combined entity a stronger rival to the dominance of state-controlled Swisscom. Zurich-based Sunrise confirmed earlier this month it was negotiating to buy the UPC business which has 1.1 million TV customers, amid falling subscriptions, and 138,000 mobile phone clients in Switzerland. Liberty Global, set up by U.S. cable pioneer John Malone, has been selling off its assets in the last year. The U.S. listed company is also awaiting European Union approval for its sale of its assets in Germany and eastern Europe to Vodafone for $21.8 billion. In December, Liberty Global said it would sell its DTH satellite TV operations, which serves four eastern European markets, to M7 Group for a total enterprise value of about 180 million euros ($206.41 million) The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2019 and add to Sunrise's equity free cash flow per share from the first year after that. Credit Suisse, JPMorgan and LionTree served as financial advisers to Liberty Global, while Deutsche Bank, UBS and Morgan Stanley advised Sunrise. ($1 = 1.0014 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru and John Revill in Zurich; editing by Grant McCool) FILE PHOTO: People pass by the logo of Standard Chartered plc at the SIBOS banking and financial conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren By Sumeet Chatterjee and Lawrence White HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) - Standard Chartered PLC has unveiled plans to double returns and dividends in three years by cutting $700 million in costs and boosting income, even though the bank missed its previous targets in tough market conditions. Chief Executive Bill Winters now aims to achieve a return on tangible equity (RoTE) of at least 10 percent by 2021 despite only reaching 5.1 percent last year, short of the 8 percent by 2018 goal he set himself three years ago. StanChart, which makes most of its revenue in Asia, has seen its fortunes slump as restructuring under Winters repaired a balance sheet hit by excessive lending in the previous decade, but left the bank struggling to lift profit. The 150-year-old group's latest plans coincide with a risk of a slowdown in its core emerging markets due to the China-U.S. trade war as well as economic uncertainties in China and Britain, two of its main markets. Winters on Tuesday said selling low-returning business such as ship leasing and private equity, and growing income in markets such as India and Korea, would help StanChart hit the new goals despite tougher global economic conditions. "We've transformed the bank over the last three years and we're going to transform it again," Winters said after the bank published full-year results. StanChart shares fell 1.2 percent in London following the results, as analysts were disappointed by the bank's full-year profit of $2.5 billion. RESTRUCTURING The bank also said its 45 percent stake in Indonesia's PT Bank Permata Tbk, valued at around $835 million, was "no longer core", indicating a potential move towards a sale. StanChart did not elaborate on divestment plans. Top investors in the bank signaled a willingness to back Winters' plan to tweak rather than completely overhaul StanChart's strategy, despite the failure to hit previous goals. "Never a quick fix," said Hugh Young, managing director for Asia Pacific at Aberdeen Standard Investments, StanChart's third largest shareholder. Story continues "The combination of cost containment , tidying (Permata) and revenue growth could (and hopefully will) get them back to that double digit RoTE," he said. StanChart said it aimed to improve returns in India, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia, four large markets that have been a drag on its financials, accounting for 21 percent of costs but just 13 percent of profit. Winters ruled out selling any of those four businesses, saying the bank would try to win more affluent customers and partner with financial technology firms to increase market share. StanChart shares have fallen 40 percent since Winters, a former JPMorgan Chase & Co banker, took over in June 2015. Total returns to shareholders have fallen 35 percent. Winters was paid 5.95 million pounds ($7.82 million) in 2018, up 27 percent from the previous year as long-term incentives vested for the first time since he joined the bank. Last year, the bank's London shares dropped 22 percent compared with a 15.6 percent fall for rival HSBC Holdings. Winters, in addition to cutting risky lending, has also worked to improve senior bankers' accountability and exit some businesses. COST TARGETS To stimulate growth, StanChart has invested in retail banking and wealth management technology platforms in the last couple of years, which increased costs but has yet to yield significant return. Chief Financial Officer Andy Halford told staff in October the bank had made "virtually no progress" in meeting cost targets and urged managers to consider cutting jobs, paring back travel expenses and freezing recruitment. The bank's costs rose 2 percent in 2018 to $10.1 billion. But it said continued cost discipline would enable sustained investments, as well as the potential doubling of full-year dividend by 2021 from 15 cents per share last year. The bank reported a 5.5 percent rise in 2018 pre-tax profit to $2.55 billion, hit by $900 million in provisions to cover any impact from regulatory investigations in the United States and Britain. StanChart last week said the provision related to the potential resolution of U.S. investigations into alleged sanctions violations and foreign exchange trades. (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee in HONG KONG and Lawrence White in LONDON; Additional reporting by Alun John; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Jane Merriman) Three people were killed and at least seven more were injured when a vehicle on the LIRR tracks was struck by two trains near the Westbury station last night, about 30 miles east of Manhattan. The three fatalities were reportedly inside the vehicle, which investigators say was driven around lowered crossing gates onto the tracks, moments before being struck by an eastbound train around 7:20 p.m. Authorities said the driver was trying to "beat the gate" at a grade crossing near the station. The impact from the first collision sent the vehicle onto the westbound tracks, where it was struck again by a westbound train, derailing the first two cars. Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said, The train then leaves the track and takes out the platform and then hits the north side of the platform and takes off about 30 yards of concrete, which goes through the train." Sad news about @LIRR fatalities 3 dead people shock. Praying for families of victims. On Train to #Westbury pic.twitter.com/tKhubOep9G Luis Rojas (@LuisERojasJR) February 27, 2019 The damage to the vehicle was so severe that first responders could not immediately say what type of vehicle it was. The deceased have not been identified. The two trains were carrying over 900 passengers between them. Eastbound passenger Michelle Asprer told the Times, "It was like a bad movie. It was so scary." Asperer said the westbound train struck the last car of her train during the crash, setting it on fire: "The people from the last car were running up, saying Move up, move up because the last car is on fire." Not good. Lotsa platform damage and train derailment. pic.twitter.com/UpNNqblEfo Christian Mercadante (@merc550aex) February 27, 2019 "I was sitting on the left side and all of a sudden the train really started rocking hard. Flames flared up on my side," westbound train passenger April Frazier told Newsday. "I heard the conductor yell Brake, brake! Thats when I saw the flames. Thats when it got real. Im still shaken up. You dont know. You think you might die. Im thinking to myself It might be my last day. The seven injuries sustained by people aboard the trains were minor, Newsday reports. Its amazing more werent injured. pic.twitter.com/Gngh8xzH0E Kimmyk90 (@KimmyKossmann) February 27, 2019 The crash suspended LIRR evening service to Ronkonkoma and Huntington/Port Jefferson in both directions. Officials said the impact caused "significant damage" to roughly 200 feet of third rail. Major damage to this portion of @LIRR train that was headed west and after striking vehicle then derailed partially and struck platform #1010wins pic.twitter.com/fbKMeWKOOj glenn schuck (@glennschuck) February 27, 2019 LIRR president Philip Eng said last night that the eastbound train was traveling at full speed when it struck the vehicle. "The gates were down, the lights were flashing. We've confirmed that they were functioning," he told reporters. "Witnesses have said the vehicle went around the gates, at which point the train that was leavingheading eastboundand the vehicle, collided." NBC reports that according to federal safety data, Tuesday night's crash "was the fifth incident at the crossing in the last 40 years, and the second involving a train hitting a vehicle. There were 2,115 grade-crossing crashes in the U.S., resulting in 271 deaths. That was the highest yearly grade-crossing death toll in a decade." The investigation is ongoing at the crash site. Governor Andrew Cuomo is calling for a full review by the National Transportation Safety Board. This morning from Hicksville to penn. A packed train going at an extremely slow speed today. #lirrcrash #LIRR pic.twitter.com/hYJGVoHRW1 Kenny (@keeyu2) February 27, 2019 The Westbury crash was the second fatal incident on the LIRR on Tuesday. Hours earlier, a pedestrian was fatally struck by a westbound train on the tracks between stations in Baldwin and Freeport, an LIRR spokesman told the Times. LIRR service remained limited on the Huntington/Port Jefferson & Ronkonkoma lines for this morning's rush hour commute. Check LIRR for more details as the day progresses. Ending the Korean War does not negate the fact that the North "remains as dangerous a threat today as it was on the first day of the Trump administration," said Abraham Denmark, director of the Asia program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. On Monday, South Korea's presidential office said that the U.S. and North Korea could agree to declare the end of the Korean War during their summit this week in Vietnam. There's a possibility that U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un might declare an end to the Korean War at this week's summit but experts warn that the move could have "real political consequences" for the U.S., and South Korea will still have to keep the North in check. Ending the war does not negate the fact that North Korea "remains as dangerous a threat today as it was on the first day of the Trump administration," said Abraham Denmark, director of the Asia program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. South Korea's presidential office said on Monday that the U.S. and North Korea could agree to declare the end of the Korean War when Trump and Kim meet this week for their second face-to face meeting in Vietnam . Seoul and Pyongyang are technically still at war today. The Korean War began in 1950 when the North invaded the South. It ended in 1953 with an armistice not a peace treaty, which means the war has not ended even if fighting has ceased. Since then, the U.S. has maintained a robust military presence in the South, in the form of tens of thousands of troops. Declaring an end to the war "may seem like a positive way to signal American goodwill without risk or cost, (but) a closer examination suggests that such a declaration is unlikely to succeed and could have real political consequences for the United States," Denmark wrote in an online post on the think tank's website on Tuesday. Story continues He warned that North Korea has developed a "significant" military capability with the potential to "devastate" American allies and the homeland itself. "Declaring an end to the Korean War would not change these realities," said Denmark, who added that this is why the U.S. has maintained a strong alliance with South Korea, which includes a military presence ready to defend its allies against North Korea. South Korea's role The American public still perceives North Korea as one of the top threats to the U.S, and experts say that a U.S. alliance with South Korea is still needed. "The public sees the alliance with South Korea both as a desirable means by which to manage the North Korean weapons threat, and as a necessary means of reducing the risk of North Korean aggression against South Korea or against American interests," wrote Scott Snyder, a senior fellow in Korea studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Karl Friedhoff, a fellow in Asia policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in a post on Tuesday. Denmark, too, added that there is a need to maintain a robust U.S. military presence in Korea, Japan and across the Indo-Pacific as long as North Korea represents a threat. The American people, therefore, would likely only support a reduction but not a complete withdrawal of American troops in South Korea, Snyder and Friedhoff said. "Coordination with South Korea remains an essential part of any effort to achieve a peace and denuclearization deal with North Korea," they wrote. More From CNBC OPEC plus, which refers to OPEC and a collection of non-OPEC oil producers working in tandem with the organization, agreed on output cuts totaling 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in order to stem a sinking market and support their own export-dependent economies. The move riled Trump, who wants to keep oil prices low. Much speculation has surrounded whether OPEC plus will decide on deeper production cuts when OPEC members meet again in April. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said OPEC is taking a measured approach to supply cuts, directly responding to comments from President Donald Trump earlier in the week telling the oil producing body to "relax." "We are taking it easy," he told CNBC's Dan Murphy while at an OPEC symposium in Riyadh, when asked about the U.S. president's tweet. "The 25 countries are taking a very slow and measured approach. Just as the second half last year proved, we are interested in market stability first and foremost." On Monday, Trump lobbed the latest of a series of tweets aimed at OPEC's planned production cuts, agreed upon between the cartel's members and non-member allies in December of last year to counter a drop in oil prices and soaring inventories. "Oil prices getting too high. OPEC, please relax and take it easy. World cannot take a price hike - fragile!" the president said. Tweet 1 "We listen to the honorable president, and hear his concern about consumers and assure everybody, whether it's him or developing country leaders, that we are as focused on the interests of the global economy and consumers around the world as we are focused on the interests of producers," al-Falih said. The U.S. became the world's largest oil producer in late 2018. OPEC plus, which refers to OPEC and a collection of non-OPEC oil producers working in tandem with the organization, agreed on output cuts totaling 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in order to stem a sinking market and support their own export-dependent economies. The move riled Trump, who wants to keep oil prices low. Story continues The cuts failed to bring the price of global benchmark Brent crude back up to anywhere near its early October highs of more than $84 a barrel, though it reclaimed losses from a low of just over $50 a barrel at the end of December to a year high of $67.18 last week. Brent fell by 28 cents as the minister spoke on Wednesday, from $65.75 to $65.47, and was trading at $65.57 at 8:35 p.m. London time. Trump's tweets sent prices sliding on Monday, before they steadied Tuesday on signs that OPEC would continue its program of cuts. Saudi Arabia has so far borne the brunt of the cuts, with plans to slash its output to 500,000 bpd below its quota in March . Oil is up about 20 percent since the start of the year. 'Leaning toward' a production cut extension Much speculation has surrounded whether OPEC plus will decide on deeper production cuts when OPEC members meet again in April. But December's production agreement is meant to last until June, by which time al-Falih said an extension of the deal is likely. "We remain flexible, I am leaning toward the likelihood of an extension in the second half (of 2019), but that's not automatic," he said. "If we find out the fundamentals are tightening, by June you can bet that I will be just like we did last year encouraging my colleagues within the OPEC plus to ease the voluntary limits we set on ourselves and to increase supplies to ensure that there is no unnecessary tightening in the market." The jury is out on the trajectory for oil prices in 2019, with many market watchers forecasting the commodity will be pulled down by slowing global growth and demand. Uncertainty from Venezuela and sanctions on Iran are factors that could support prices, depending on the scope of sanctions and waivers from Washington on Tehran and Caracas and on political developments in Latin America. Goldman Sachs in a recent report predicted a wild ride for oil this year, forecasting a rise to as high as $70 to $75 per barrel in the coming months but followed by a drop back to $60 in the second half due to a surge in U.S. shale oil output and rising low-cost production from OPEC plus. "The current levels are not God-given, this is just the best compromise we could reach back in December," al-Falih added, discussing the OPEC plus deal. "So if in June we find out we need to have a different limit, a different target from 1.2 million (barrels), certainly it is open. But the easiest way forward, assuming it is still an oversupply, would be to roll over." More From CNBC This article is written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). Well show how you can use China Cinda Asset Management Co., Ltd.s (HKG:1359) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. China Cinda Asset Management has a price to earnings ratio of 4.64, based on the last twelve months. In other words, at todays prices, investors are paying HK$4.64 for every HK$1 in prior year profit. Check out our latest analysis for China Cinda Asset Management How Do You Calculate China Cinda Asset Managements P/E Ratio? The formula for price to earnings is: Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share (in the reporting currency) Earnings per Share (EPS) Or for China Cinda Asset Management: P/E of 4.64 = CN2.05 (Note: this is the share price in the reporting currency, namely, CNY ) CN0.44 (Based on the year to June 2018.) Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good? A higher P/E ratio means that investors are paying a higher price for each HK$1 of company earnings. That is not a good or a bad thing per se, but a high P/E does imply buyers are optimistic about the future. How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios Earnings growth rates have a big influence on P/E ratios. When earnings grow, the E increases, over time. That means unless the share price increases, the P/E will reduce in a few years. So while a stock may look expensive based on past earnings, it could be cheap based on future earnings. China Cinda Asset Managements earnings per share were pretty steady over the last year. But over the longer term (5 years) earnings per share have increased by 9.9%. How Does China Cinda Asset Managements P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers? The P/E ratio essentially measures market expectations of a company. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (15.7) for companies in the capital markets industry is higher than China Cinda Asset Managements P/E. Story continues SEHK:1359 Price Estimation Relative to Market, February 27th 2019 This suggests that market participants think China Cinda Asset Management will underperform other companies in its industry. Since the market seems unimpressed with China Cinda Asset Management, its quite possible it could surprise on the upside. If you consider the stock interesting, further research is recommended. For example, I often monitor director buying and selling. Remember: P/E Ratios Dont Consider The Balance Sheet The Price in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. In other words, it does not consider any debt or cash that the company may have on the balance sheet. Hypothetically, a company could reduce its future P/E ratio by spending its cash (or taking on debt) to achieve higher earnings. Spending on growth might be good or bad a few years later, but the point is that the P/E ratio does not account for the option (or lack thereof). Is Debt Impacting China Cinda Asset Managements P/E? China Cinda Asset Management has net debt worth a very significant 343% of its market capitalization. If you want to compare its P/E ratio to other companies, you must keep in mind that these debt levels would usually warrant a relatively low P/E. The Verdict On China Cinda Asset Managements P/E Ratio China Cinda Asset Management trades on a P/E ratio of 4.6, which is below the HK market average of 10.9. The meaningful debt load is probably contributing to low expectations, even though it has improved earnings recently. Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. As value investor Benjamin Graham famously said, In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine. So this free report on the analyst consensus forecasts could help you make a master move on this stock. 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. 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. MONTERREY, Mexico, Feb. 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fomento Economico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (FEMSA) (NYSE: FMX; BMV: FEMSAUBD) announced today that its subsidiary Cadena Comercial OXXO, S.A. de C.V. (OXXO) has signed an agreement with Cervezas Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma, S.A. de C.V. (HEINEKEN Mexico), and both companies have agreed to an extension of their existing commercial relationship, with certain important changes. The current successful commercial relationship between OXXO and HEINEKEN Mexico began in 2010 and has been conducted under a ten-year agreement, whereby the only beer brands sold by OXXO have been those of the HEINEKEN Mexico portfolio. Todays announcement represents an early renegotiation of the agreement with HEINEKEN Mexico. Under the terms of the agreement announced today, starting in April of 2019 and following a gradual process, OXXO will also start selling the beer brands of Grupo Modelo in certain regions of Mexico, and will cover the entire Mexican territory by the end of 2022. As an example, the markets where OXXO will start selling both brand portfolios simultaneously during 2019 include Guadalajara and Mexico City. The new commercial agreement will increase the productivity of the beer category within OXXO stores and will contribute to the growth of the beer industry in Mexico. Furthermore, the agreement is consistent with OXXOs permanent efforts to evolve its value proposition, committed to its consumers and offering more and better solutions to their daily needs. The agreement announced today is expected to be formalized through the signing of a definitive contract, which is expected to take place during March of 2019. About FEMSA FEMSA is a leading company that participates in the beverage industry through Coca-Cola FEMSA, the largest franchise bottler of Coca-Cola products in the world by volume; and in the beer industry, through its ownership of the second largest equity stake in Heineken, one of the world's leading brewers with operations in over 70 countries. In the retail industry it participates through FEMSA Comercio, comprising a Proximity Division operating OXXO, a small-format store chain, a Health Division, which includes all drugstores and related operations, and a Fuel Division, which operates the OXXO GAS chain of retail service stations. Additionally, through its Strategic Businesses unit, it provides logistics, point-of-sale refrigeration solutions and plastics solutions to FEMSA's business units and third-party clients. Media Contact (52) 555-249-6843 comunicacion@femsa.com.mx www.femsa.com Investor Contact (52) 818-328-6167 investor@femsa.com.mx www.femsa.com/inversionista It was less than a half hour after the polls closed Tuesday night that the celebration kicked off at Cafe Omar in the Flatbush section of Brooklynspecifically in a neighborhood local Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte called Little Haiti. As chair of Jumaane Williams's Public Advocate campaign, she served as emcee for the evening's speakersa steady stream of union officials, community activists and elected leaders from across the city. They gathered in the same spot where Williams was the night he lost the Lieutenant Governor's race last year. Many of the same supporters were there. But on Tuesday, the Hookah lounge and bar filled with revelers who danced, ate fishcakes and plantains and wanted to see and be seen with the citys ascendent activist turned Public Advocate. Listen to Brigid Bergin discuss Williams' victory on WNYC: Bill Lipton was one of those people in the room last fall and Tuesday night. As New York State Director of the Working Families Party, he said this victory was proof that there was a winning strategy in playing the political long-game. The WFP endorsed Williams in both races. He actually set the stage for another victory, Lipton told WNYC/Gothamist. While Williams entered the race as the odds-on favorite because his was the only name ever to appear on a citywide ballot, the crowded field with 16 other candidates made for an unwieldy and unpredictable race. The field was largely comprised of other Democrats with party labels invented for the special election. One possibility was for those candidates to effectively split each others vote, creating an opening for the one elected Republican on the ballot, City Councilman Eric Ulrich of Queens. While Williams consolidated enough support citywide to overcome that, that is what in effect happened down the ballotgiving Ulrich a second place showing. There was also no model to predict turnout. This was the first citywide special election since the City Charter was changed in 1988. Prognosticators predicted low numbers and they were right. Just over 400,000 registered voters turned out at the polls on Tuesdaymaking turnout just over 8 percent of active registered voters. Of those who did go to the polls, more than a third of them voted for Williams. He won decisively in Brooklyn, where his Council district is located, and in Manhattan, where he was boosted by the endorsement of the widely well-regarded borough president Gale Brewer. Even when Williams lost a borough, he didnt lose it by much. Ulrich took Queens and Staten Island and Assemblyman Michael Blake won the Bronx, but their victories were narrower. Former City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito won her former Council district, which spans parts of Manhattan and the Bronx, as well a few assembly districts in Queens. But she was was unable to win enough votes to take a full borough. The special election was mainly a competition among local elected officials, and the vote results reflect their local bases of support turning out, Steve Romalewski, Director of the CUNY Mapping Service at the Center for Urban Research at The Graduate Center / CUNY said. Despite the overall low turnout, Williams had enough support not just from local voters but beyond, especially across Brooklyn and Manhattan, to secure a big win, Romalewski added. He earned this, said Mark Green, the citys first Public Advocate and an early Williams supporter. He credited Williams's relentless hard-work with scoring The New York Times endorsement and cast doubt on whether any Democrat would seek to challenge him in a primary in June or general election in Novembera process that kicked off on Tuesday, the same day as the special election. Now Williams needs to start doing the job, Green said, by finding talent to help him run the office. Not just club members, although they are not excluded, not just anybody because of identity politics, Green said, he will succeed if he gets people around him, like him: independent, smart, creative, no B.S. and willing to stand up to anybody including and especially, the mayor. Supporters expect that Williams will approach the job with the same activist spirit he brought to his days in the Councilwhether it was advocating from police reform or affordable housing. The nice thing here is his voice, the way he uses it, thats what people are going to expect to hear from his office and thats what he needs to to do, said City Councilman Brad Lander, one of Williams's earliest and most ardent allies, just start doing the job. Brigid Bergin is the City Hall and politics reporter for WNYC. You can follow her on Twitter at @brigidbergin. Drilling rigs are parked up in the Cromarty Firth near Invergordon, Scotland, Britain January 27, 2015. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne/Files By Laila Kearney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil futures rose slightly on Tuesday after news that OPEC planned to continue production cuts despite comments from U.S. President Donald Trump, who criticized the producer group for rising crude prices a day earlier. Prices fell more than 3.5 percent on Monday, their biggest daily percentage drop this year, after Trump said he wanted the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to ease its efforts to boost oil prices. An OPEC source told Reuters on Tuesday OPEC would stick to its agreement and push for more adherence from its members and producer allies to tighten crude supplies regardless of Trump's recent tweet. The OPEC source said the cartel, along with non-member producers, would continue its supply-cut agreement to balance the market until they see inventories fall to their five-year average. "There is no doubt we will continue with our reduction as planned," the OPEC source said. Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, rose 45 cents to settle at $65.21 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 2 cents to settle at $55.50 a barrel. Prices extended gains in post-settlement trade after the industry group American Petroleum Institute reported U.S. crude inventories fell more than expected last week. Crude stocks dropped by 4.2 million barrels in the week ending Feb. 22 to 444.3 million, API data showed. Analysts expected a 2.8 million barrel build. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 2 million barrels. "After yesterday's pullback, the market is trying to stabilize again," said Gene McGillian, vice president of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. "We're basically turning our focus back to expectations of the producer output cuts and also the sanctions on Venezuela continuing to tighten supplies," McGillian said. Oil prices have risen about 20 percent since the start of the year largely on an agreement by OPEC and non-member producers, including Russia, to reduce production. Supplies from Venezuela have been curtailed since U.S. sanctions were imposed to try to oust President Nicolas Maduro. Story continues OPEC+ agreed in December to cut supply by 1.2 million barrels per day from Jan. 1 for six months. Saudi Arabia, OPEC's top producer, recently estimated its supply would fall in March by a half-million more barrels a day than anticipated under the supply-reduction agreement. Libya's internationally recognised government agreed with the state oil company to reopen the country's largest oilfield, El Sharara, according to a statement on Tuesday, weighing on prices. (Reporting by Laila Kearney; Additional reporting by Alex Lawler in London; Koustav Samanta in Singapore and Colin Packham in Sydney; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Tom Brown) (Adds background on gas costs and prices) By Dmitry Zhdannikov LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Russian gas giant Novatek and oil major Shell said on Wednesday Russian gas would remain more competitive in Europe than U.S. gas, as Moscow pursues new mega projects that would be insulated from any new U.S. sanctions. The United States has already imposed numerous sanctions against Russian individuals and companies over Moscow's interference in Ukraine, alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and accusations it was behind a nerve agent attack in Britain. Russia denies the allegations. Washington is mulling new sanctions that could put further strain on Russia's economy and companies. So far, there have been no sanctions affecting conventional or liquefied natural gas (LNG) production in Russia. Novatek's Chief Financial Officer Mark Gyetvay said the company would build all equipment and technology in Russia to protect itself. "We will not hold ourselves hostage to U.S. sanctions," he told the IP Week conference in London. He said Novatek was able to deliver LNG to Europe for $3.15 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) compared to $7-$8 for U.S. producers. That is also well below the average price in Europe that Gazprom expects for its gas this year of at least $230 per 1,000 cubic metres, or $6.4 per mmBtu. Gyetvay said Novatek was extracting gas at a cost of 10 cents per mmBtu versus $3 in the United States, and liquefying gas for 50 cents versus $3 in America. "Russian gas will be very competitive versus the U.S. Gulf coast," he said. Gyetvay appeared to be referring to typical contracts of the dominant U.S. LNG producer Cheniere Energy and its customers, whose main elements are a U.S natural gas futures price plus 15 percent, and a $3 liquefaction fee per mmBtu. But gas prices in U.S. shale regions have been as low as 25 cents per mmBtu and have even been heard to be negative, meaning the producer pays to offload gas. Gas is also flared, as some producers are primarily set up to sell oil. Story continues Energy companies are flooding Europe with U.S. natural gas, establishing a foothold in a market dominated by Russia and seen as a key battleground in Washington's efforts to curb Moscow's energy influence. That influx has helped depress LNG prices, with the Asian spot price heard at about $6.2 per mmBtu last week and European LNG spot prices just below the North West European gas hub price of around $6 per mmBtu. Gyetvay also said Novatek was raising its guidance for the production of sea-borne LNG to 70 million tonnes per year by 2030 from 50-57 million tonnes previously. The biggest producer of LNG in the world, Qatar, currently produces 77 million tonnes per year and plans to reach 110 million by the middle of next decade. Shell, which has a long history of energy cooperation with Russia, said it had created a new 50/50 venture with Russian state giant Gazprom that would use Shell LNG know-how to develop Russia's own technology for supercooling gas. The venture will effectively insulate Russia from any new U.S. sanctions on LNG where technology belongs to only a handful of players - mainly global oil majors such as Shell, Exxon and Total. (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin and Sabina Zawadzki; Editing by Jan Harvey and Mark Potter) ABUJA, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Nigeria's main opposition party on Tuesday demanded an immediate halt to the release of presidential election results by the electoral commission until data on voters who took part was made available to all parties in the race. President Muhammadu Buhari has taken an unassailable lead in the election, a tally by Reuters based on official and provisional results showed. The results showed that his main rival, businessman and former vice president Atiku Abubakar, could no longer catch up. (Reporting by Paul Carsten and James Macharia Editing by Alexis Akwagyiram) Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 27, 2019) - Minera Alamos Inc. (TSXV: MAI) ("Minera" or the "Company") cordially invites you to visit with Company representatives on Sunday, March 3rd and Monday, March 4th at Booth #2423A within the Investors Exchange at the 2019 Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention to be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The Red Cloud 2019 Pre-PDAC Mining Showcase will be held on Friday, March 1 at the Omni King Edward Hotel. Minera will have a company display and will also be meeting with the investment community throughout the day. Minera looks forward to updating shareholders and conference attendees on its exploration and development plans for 2019, following the notice of approval of permits at the La Fortuna gold project, Durango, Mexico and pending permits at the Santana gold project, Sonora, Mexico. For more information and/or to register for the conference please visit: https://www.pdac.ca/convention For Further Information Please Contact: Minera Alamos Inc. Doug Ramshaw, President Tel: 604-600-4423 Email: dramshaw@mineraalamos.com Website: www.mineraalamos.com About Minera Alamos Inc. Minera Alamos is an advanced-stage exploration and development company with a growing portfolio of high-quality Mexican assets, including the La Fortuna open-pit gold project in Durango with positive PEA completed, the Santana open-pit heap-leach development project in Sonora with test mining and processing completed and the Guadalupe de Los Reyes open-pit gold-silver project in Sinaloa with mine planning in progress. The Company's strategy is to develop low capex assets while expanding the project resources and pursue complementary strategic acquisitions. 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. Story continues Corporate Logo To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/43087 City Council Member Jumaane Williams will be New York City's new Public Advocate, the city's second-highest position, after garnering 33 percent of the vote (with 93 percent of scanners of reporting, or 127,276 votes), according to the NYC Board of Elections. Williams, a progressive Brooklyn legislator who "proudly bucks convention and touts his clashes with authorities," earned the support of Brooklyn Democrats and coveted endorsements, after his surprisingly strong primary run for Lieutenant Governor alongside Zephyr Teachout. He bested sixteen other candidates who were vying to fill the position vacated by Letitia James, who was elected as New York State Attorney General last year. Ten years ago at this pollsite PS 269 on Nostrand Ave I Iearned I became a NYC Councilmember. I made it my last stop of the night tonight. Thank you all for everything!! The most you can ask yourself is to do the best that you can. No matter the results tonight#WeDidThat pic.twitter.com/N4ZjI6JaAv Jumaane Williams (@JumaaneWilliams) February 27, 2019 This special election was open to all of NYC's 4,672,301 active voters (PDF). With 365,257 votes counted so far (93 percent of scanners reporting), turnout is at 8.1 percent. The NY Times reports that the Board of Election may be spending up to $15 million on this election. The second highest vote-getter, Council Member Eric Ulrich, a Republican from Queens who was endorsed by the Daily News, has pulled in 19 percent of the vote so far, trailing Williams by more than 50,000 votes. He did a great job, New Yorkers have spoken, they have elected him as the next public advocate of the city of New York and Im going to work closely with him, @eric_ulrich says in concession speech to @JumaaneWilliams #NY1Politics Gloria Pazmino (@GloriaPazmino) February 27, 2019 The former progressive City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito who lucked out with the best ballot position, has just over 11 percent of votes at present. Hello NYC voters! Heres whats facing you at the polls today. pic.twitter.com/iMwX4w2jtT Kate Hinds (@katehinds) February 26, 2019 Because todays contest was merely a special election, Williams is only secure in his position until June 25th, when he will need to win a primary, and then a general election on November 5th. Meaning there will likely be another scramble for Public Advocate. At any rate, the Working Families Party, who supported Williams during last year's primary, claimed victory, with its State Director Bill Lipton issuing a statement: This win is particularly sweet. The WFP has been with Jumaane since the very beginning. Even before he ran for office, Jumaane was an advocate for those in need. Now he can champion a people's agenda of criminal justice reform, police accountability, fair and affordable housing, women's choice, and equality for all from one of New York City's biggest platforms. He's the Public Advocate New Yorkers need and deserve. "This is another big victory for the progressive movement that swept away the corporate Democrats in the IDC and ousted Republicans from the State Senate. Tonight is proof positive that progressives in this state have never been stronger. We won't stop until we've built a New York that works for the many, not the few." The New York Working Families Party is a people powered political party that recruits, trains, and elects the next generation of progressive leaders. In 2009 the WFP and Jumaane teamed up to defeat a longtime incumbent and win Jumaane's first election to the New York City Council. They've been partners ever since. In 2018 the WFP backed his primary challenge against Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, where he won New York City by a commanding margin. AG James also issued her congratulations/passed the baton: Congratulations to @JumaaneWilliams, New York Citys new Public Advocate. This office has the power to make real and lasting change in the lives of New Yorkers and I look forward to working with you to improve our city each and every day. Tish James (@TishJames) February 27, 2019 Mayor Bill de Blasio just issued a statement, "I join all New Yorkers in congratulating Jumaane Williams for being elected New York Citys Public Advocate. As a former Public Advocate, I know firsthand how important this office is to our city. The Public Advocate holds our entire City government accountable and amplifies the voices of all New Yorkers. I look forward to working with Public Advocate Williams to continue making this the fairest big city in America." Williams' running mate during the 2018 primary, Cynthia Nixon, Tweeted her congratulations: Global markets mixed as the Trump/Kim summit begins in Vietnam. Could this be the beginning of an era of economic boom for North Korea? Asian Markets Mostly Higher As The Trump/Kim Summit Begins Asian equity indices were mostly higher in Wednesday trading as traders eye the Trump/Kim Summit in Vietnam. This is the second time the two leaders have met in the last year and hopes are high they will further improve relations between the US and North Korea. On the table is economic relief in the form of reduced sanctions and international aid provided isolated North Korea will denuclearize. Trump says North Korea will see an era of economic boom if Kim agrees to denuclearization. He says there is awesome potential and North Korea could prosper as Vietnam has prospered over the past twenty years. The Japanese Nikkei led the market with a gain of 0.50%. The Nikkeis move was underpinned by strength in Fast Retailing, Japans largest convenience retailer, which advanced 2.67% in the session. The Shanghai Composite posted the next largest advance, about 0.40%. The Australian ASX and Korean Kospi both gained a little more than 0.35%, the Kospi supported by a 5.31% increase in shares of Hyundai Motors. Hyundai Motors rejected a plan for cash-call presented by activist investors. The Hang Seng Index was the only to fall in Wednesday trading posting a loss of -0.05%. Metrobank Leads EU Markets Lower Shares of UK-based Metrobank fell nearly -20% in early Wednesday trading and led the entire market lower. The bank has let slip it may issue a 350 million pound cash-call to investors. The UK FTSE led the indices posting a loss near -0.70% in midday trading. Household goods were the weakest sector in the EU session. The reason is Beiersdorf reported weaker than expected earnings and cut its profit outlook. Air France-KLM was also sharply lower in early Wednesday trading. The Dutch Government says it will be seeking a larger stake in the company. investors fear this spells slower decision-making on key issues. The German DAX was down about -0.40%, the French CAC about -0.12%, on mixed EU economic data. Readings on Business and Consumer Sentiment where as expected or slightly better than expected. The data suggests the economic downturn which began last fall has begun to stabilize. Story continues The US Economy Is Still Healthy US futures are looking at a negative open in early Wednesday trading despite a vote of confidence from Fed Chief Jerome Powell. Powell says the US economy is still healthy despite a slow-down of growth. He says there are risks to the economy in the form of trade relations and Brexit but thinks that, once the hurdles are crossed, global activity will reaccelerate. The major indices were all looking at a loss between -0.25% and -0.30%. In earnings news, this week is important for the retail sector. Yesterday shares of Home Depot plunged on weaker than expected results. Today competitor Lowes reported mixed results with favorable outlook and sent shares up by 5.0% in pre-market action. Discount/Close-out retailer TJ Maxx also reported before the bell. The company beat estimates for top and bottom line results, increased the dividend, issued favorable guidance, and sent shares up 2.5%. L-Brands is scheduled to report after the close of todays session. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Denmark's A.P. Moller Maersk said on Tuesday a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the practices of container shipping companies had closed and the group was released from any obligations. In 2017 the Justice Department ordered top executives from several container shipping lines including Maersk to testify in an antitrust investigation over practices by an industry that is the backbone of world trade. "We are pleased to confirm that the United States Department of Justice has closed its investigation into containerised shipping and has released Maersk from any obligations under the Grand Jury subpoenas issued during the March 2017 meeting of the International Council of Containership Operators," Camilla Jain Holtse, A.P. Moller Maersk's head of competition law & policy, said in a statement. Maersk Line is the world's largest container shipping company. (Reporting by Jonathan Saul; editing by Jason Neely) HANOI, Vietnam (AP) The Latest on the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (all times local): 7:45 a.m. Thursday North Korean state media says leader Kim Jong Un exchanged "sincere and deep opinions" with U.S. President Donald Trump at their dinner meeting. The Korean Central News Agency said Thursday that the leaders celebrated the progress in bilateral relations since their first summit last June in Singapore. State media also says they discussed ways on Wednesday for making "comprehensive and epoch-making results" at their meetings in Hanoi, Vietnam. Kim and Trump will hold more meetings on Thursday on resolving the standoff over Kim's nuclear weapons program and plan to announce a joint statement. ___ 10 p.m. Wednesday President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un (kim jawng oon) feasted on shrimp cocktail, grilled sirloin and chocolate lava cake at their dinner in Hanoi Wednesday. The two leaders held what the White House was calling a "social dinner" at the Metropole Hotel as they kicked off their second summit meeting. On the menu was shrimp cocktail with Thousand Island dressing, marinated grilled sirloin with pear kimchi, hot runny-centered chocolate cake with berries and vanilla ice cream, as well as dried persimmon punch, which the White House described as a traditional beverage sweetened with dried persimmons and honey. Trump and Kim will reconvene on Thursday for formal talks. ___ 9 p.m. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have wrapped up an evening of meetings in Vietnam after just over two hours. Trump departed the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi hotel after concluding a 90-minute dinner with Kim and their top advisers Wednesday. Earlier the pair greeted each other warmly before reporters and held a brief discussion. The White House did not immediately provide more information on what it called a "social dinner," which had restricted press access. Story continues Trump and Kim are scheduled to hold additional meetings with aides on Thursday, before Trump returns to the U.S. It's Trump and Kim's second summit, after one in Singapore in June. Trump wants Kim to agree to dismantle his nuclear sites in a verifiable way. Kim is seeking relief from crushing U.S. sanctions hobbling his economy. ___ 7:45 p.m. The White House is restricting press access to President Donald Trump's summit in Vietnam with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. Four print reporters, including one from The Associated Press, were prohibited from covering the beginning of Trump's dinner with Kim in Hanoi on Wednesday. That came after two of those reporters asked questions of the president during earlier events at the summit. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders released a statement saying that due to the "sensitive nature of the meetings we have limited the pool for dinner to a smaller group." Sanders initially said no reporters would be allowed into the dinner. But after photographers said they would not cover it without an editorial presence, one print reporter and a radio reporter were allowed in. ___ 7:30 p.m. President Donald Trump is praising what he's calling a "very special relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as the two sit down for dinner in Hanoi, Vietnam, ahead of formal talks. Trump struck a hopeful tone Wednesday evening, telling reporters at the Metropole hotel that "a lot of things are going to be solved, I hope" and saying he thinks "it'll lead to a wonderful, really a wonderful situation long term." Trump also says the dinner is likely to be quick because they're expecting "a very busy day" Thursday when they sit down at the negotiating table to try to hash out a deal for the North to denuclearize. Trump and Kim are being joined by senior aides, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (pahm-PAY'-oh) and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. ___ 7 p.m. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are striking a positive tone as they begin their second summit in Vietnam. Trump says, "I thought the first summit was a great success and I think this one, hopefully, will be equal or greater than the first." He says it's an honor to meet with Kim once again. Trump stresses North Korea's "economic potential" as he prepares to encourage Kim to give up his country's nuclear weapons. Speaking through an interpreter, Kim said Wednesday he is "confident of achieving the great results that everyone will welcome" during the summit. ___ 6:35 p.m. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are exchanging greetings as they kick off their second summit in Hanoi, Vietnam. The two leaders exchanged handshakes, laughs and some small talk at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi hotel, where they're scheduled to meet for 20 minutes before sitting down for what the White House has described as a "social dinner." Trump told reporters of the meeting: "We look forward to it, we both do." Asked whether he might formally end the Korean War, he responded: "We'll see." Trump earlier made the case that North Korea could thrive economically like Vietnam if the North ends its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Trump said: "We'll see what happens, but he wants to do something great." ___ 6:20 p.m. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has arrived at a hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, ahead of his planned dinner with U.S. President Donald Trump. Kim is set to have what U.S. officials call a "social dinner" with Trump at Hanoi's Metropole Hotel on Wednesday. The two leaders are to meet again on Thursday for a formal meeting on Kim's advancing nuclear program. They met for the first time in Singapore last June, and that meeting ended with Kim pledging to work toward "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." ___ 6:15 p.m. U.S. President Donald Trump has arrived at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi for his second face-to-face meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump and Kim are scheduled to meet for 20 minutes before sitting down for what the White House has described as a "social dinner" together. They'll sit down again for formal meetings Thursday. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said earlier that Trump would be joined at the Vietnam dinner by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Kim will be joined by Kim Yong Chol, his chief interlocutor with the U.S., and North Korea's minister of foreign affairs Ri Yong Ho. ___ 5 p.m. Less than two hours before he is set to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam, U.S. President Donald Trump is complaining about news coverage of their second summit. In a Wednesday tweet, Trump is criticizing "false reporting (guessing)" about his intentions with respect to North Korea but isn't citing any. He adds: "Kim Jong Un and I will try very hard to work something out on Denuclearization & then making North Korea an Economic Powerhouse." Trump in recent days has signaled there is some flexibility on his previous demands that North Korea denuclearize before it sees some relief from crushing U.S. and international sanctions. Trump and Kim are set to meet for what the White House is calling a "social dinner" on Wednesday and have formal meetings on Thursday. ___ 3:35 p.m. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will meet for what the White House is calling a "social dinner," as they begin their second summit in Vietnam. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says each of the leaders will be joined Wednesday by two of his senior-most aides, as well as interpreters. Trump is to be joined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (pahm-PAY'-oh) and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Kim will bring Kim Yong Chol, his chief interlocutor with the U.S., and North Korea's minister of foreign affairs Ri Yong Ho. They will be dining at Hanoi's Metropole Hotel, which also will host their formal meetings Thursday. ___ 3:25 p.m. U.S. President Donald Trump is continuing to take political shots on foreign soil even as he prepares for a high-stakes meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump is tweeting during downtime at his hotel in Hanoi that he has now "spent more time in Vietnam than Da Nang Dick Blumenthal." Trump was referring to Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who served in the Marine Corps Reserves during the Vietnam War and apologized in 2010 for saying he had served in Vietnam. Trump adds that Blumenthal's "war stories of his heroism in Vietnam were a total fraud." Blumenthal is a Trump critic and has brushed off Trump's attacks in the past, tweeting in 2017 that Trump's "bullying hasn't worked." Trump also is tweeting that he talked about the incident in his meetings with Vietnam's leaders Wednesday. That would be a highly unusual topic of conversation for an American president on the world stage. ___ 3:05 p.m. South Korea's presidential office is apparently lowering the bar for success on the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam. A spokesman of South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday that any progress in Hanoi would be a positive development and downplayed concerns that Trump would fail to get a deal from Kim that meaningfully restricts the North's nuclear weapons capabilities. Spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom says it would be unfair to rate the summit as a failure if it comes short of "big deals," saying "small deals" can be keys that open up bigger agreements later. The spokesman says, "A thousand-mile journey begins with the first step." Moon has tried to maintain an impression that things are moving toward the North's denuclearization in the face of growing skepticism. He is trying to keep Washington hard-liners at bay and create more space for inter-Korean engagement. ___ 1:45 p.m. North Korean officials have toured Vietnam's scenic Halong Bay and a nearby industrial site while leader Kim Jong Un spent his second morning in Hanoi inside a hotel preparing for his meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump. South Korean TV on Wednesday showed a group of North Korean officials, including Ri Su Yong, vice chairman of the North Korean ruling party's central committee, taking a cruise ride along Halong Bay and visiting factories in the port city of Hai Phong. The group also reportedly included O Su Yong, director of economic affairs at the North's ruling party. Experts say O's inclusion in the North's delegation indicates Kim expects to return home with economic rewards, including partial sanctions relief, following nuclear talks with Trump. Kim is expected to meet Trump during a dinner meeting later Wednesday. ___ 11:45 a.m. U.S. President Donald Trump and Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong have presided over a signing ceremony of several commercial trade deals between their two airline industries. U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing signed agreements with VietJet for 100 737 MAX planes and with Bamboo Airways for 10 787 Dreamliners as the two leaders looked on Wednesday. U.S.-based aviation technology company Sabre also inked a deal with Vietnam Airlines. The White House did not immediately provide details on the agreements. Trump is scheduled to sit down with North Korea's Kim Jong Un later Wednesday in Hanoi for a second round of nuclear talks. ___ 11:25 a.m. The mayor of Hanoi, Vietnam, is urging residents to be on their best behavior during the summit between North Korean and U.S. leaders so they can show the world the "civilized, elegant, friendly and hospitable people" of the nation's capital. The statement from Hanoi Mayor Nguyen Duc Chung, posted on the city's website Tuesday, called for residents to "maintain and sustain Hanoians' code of behavior." The mayor also urged residents to dress well and decorate the city with flags and flowers to welcome the visitors here for the summit. An estimated 3,000 journalists are in Hanoi to cover the summit on nuclear disarmament. The mayor says residents should also "refrain from hiking prices of goods and services during the summit." ___ 11:15 a.m. President Donald Trump is calling the relationship between the U.S. and Vietnam an "example" of what can become of North Korea if it gives up its nuclear weapons. Trump paid a courtesy call Wednesday to Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong ahead of his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi. Trump says, "We both felt very good about having this very important summit in Vietnam because you really are an example as to what can happen, with good thinking." The Vietnamese leader says his country has "been making all necessary preparations to ensure the best conditions for the success of this very special meeting." Trump is thanking Vietnam for hosting the summit and for agreeing to new trade deals with American companies, including Boeing. ___ Follow all of AP's summit coverage at https://apnews.com/Trump-KimSummit Capitalizing on public outrage over a billionaires purchase of a $238 million Manhattan penthouse as a part-time pad last month, City Council members are urging the state to pass a pied-a-terre tax, which would levy annual fees on secondary homes worth $5 million and up. Council members Mark Levine and Margaret Chin on Monday said they planned to introduce a council resolution supporting a state bill that was originally introduced by State Senator Brad Hoylman in 2014. The next step is for the City Council to adopt what is known as a home rule provision allowing the state to pass the bill, since it will only affect New York City. Interest in the tax, which has been floated by City Council members over the years, surged almost immediately following hedge fund tycoon Ken Griffins record-breaking purchase at the exclusive luxury building at 220 Central Park South. To deal with the crises around affordable housing, the New York City Housing Authority, and the subway system, there has been increased urgency for the city to create additional revenue streams. On Tuesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio announced their support for another long-sought tax proposal, that of traffic congestion pricing, which would force drivers to pay to enter the busiest parts of Manhattan. The plan would impose a graduated tax starting at 0.5 percent on non-primary residences valued at more than $5 million and increasing to as much as 4 percent on those worth more than $25 million. For example, under the proposed tax, Griffin could be asked to pay $8,890,000 a year to the city for maintaining his part-time residence at 220 Central Park South. City Comptroller Scott Stringer has estimated that a pied-a-terre tax would generate at least $650 million a year. However, an analysis by the citys Independent Budget Office in 2015 resulted in a more conservative figure, putting the tax revenues at well below $380 million. State Assembly member Deborah Glick said in a statement, Affordable housing space is not the only casualty of this real estate trend; public services like our subway system also suffer when non-primary residents purchase homes without contributing toward our local economy as residents do. In the past, state Senate Republicans consistently blocked any efforts to tax second homes in the city. But with Democrats in control of the legislature, the pied-a-terre tax appears to have the clearest path toward approval. The citys real estate industry, although seen as less influential these days, is still expected to oppose the plan. Reached for comment, John Banks, the president of the Real Estate Board of New York, issued the following statement: "New York City has one of the highest transaction tax costs in the country. An additional tax like the one proposed will suppress sales activity and lead to lower tax revenue for the city." Holyman as well as policy experts have dismissed claims that the tax would scare away wealthy investors from New York City. The amount of money is so small compared to the value of the apartment that I dont think [the tax is] going to make an appreciable difference, Hoylman told Curbed. And individuals who use New York City to stash their cash should pay a premium on it. * Cerberus is a major investor in both banks * Open question if both can turn around on their own - source (Updates with analyst, investor comment, shares) By Hans Seidenstuecker and Tom Sims FRANKFURT, Feb 27 (Reuters) - U.S. investor Cerberus, a major shareholder in both Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, is open to a merger between Germany's two biggest lenders, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, raising the chances of a tie-up. Speculation of a merger has heightened under the tenure of Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who has spoken in favour of strong banks. Both banks have been slow to return to sustainable profitability since the global financial crisis. "Cerberus wouldn't stand in the way of a merger," said the person familiar with the thinking of the U.S. buyout firm. Cerberus holds 3 percent of Deutsche Bank shares and 5 percent of Commerzbank shares, and was previously opposed to a merger, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Tuesday. The buyout firm believes there is still room in Germany for two big banks but that it is an open question whether both can turn around their businesses on their own, the person said. Cerberus hasn't yet decided on the need for a merger, the person added. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank declined to comment. Cerberus representatives in New York didn't immediately respond to requests for comment outside of normal business hours. Based on Tuesday's closing prices, a combination of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank would have an equity market value of almost 25 billion euros ($28 billion). Deutsche Bank has more than 20 million personal and business customers, and Commerzbank around 18 million. Cerberus is among the largest shareholders in both banks after buying stakes in 2017. Since its purchase, shares in Deutsche Bank have fallen 51 percent, while those of Commerzbank have lost 39 percent of their value. Early afternoon in Frankfurt, Deutsche Bank shares were flat, while Commerzbank was up 1.2 percent. Story continues Cerberus is the second-largest investor in Commerzbank after the German government, which holds a stake of more than 15 percent after a state bailout. Finance Minister Scholz's team has met frequently with executives of Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank and major shareholders, including Cerberus. A merger between the two banks has appeared more likely since last month when two people with the knowledge of the matter said time was running out for Deutsche Bank to turn itself around on its own. But some major shareholders see no need for a deal. "We do think there's merit in patience," a person familiar with the thinking of one top-10 Deutsche Bank shareholder said on Wednesday. "We are not in the camp of people that say both Commerzbank and Deutsche wouldn't be able to survive on their own." Both banks are in the process of restructuring, and executives at both lenders say privately they would prefer to remain independent to carry out those plans. Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing, who took the helm last year in a sudden management shake-up, has repeatedly said in public that he is focused on the bank's "homework" - returning the bank to profitability. He announced job cuts last year and moved to slim down the sprawling investment bank division. The bank posted a profit in 2018 for the first time in four years. Deutsche Bank's biggest shortcoming is its weakness in its home market, which is different from a Barclays in Britain or a Bank of America in the United States, said Fitch analyst Christian Scarafia. But a merger with Commerzbank wouldn't necessarily solve Deutsche Bank's problems. "Any merger of that size would probably give rise to quite a bit of execution risk in the integration," Scarafia said. ($1 = 0.8778 euros) (Editing by Thomas Seythal and Mark Potter) Republicans in Congress are planning to undermine Michael Cohen's credibility when he launches accusations of criminal conduct by the president during three days of House and Senate testimony this week, as he is reportedly expected to do. House Oversight Committee Republicans are mainly poised to attack Cohen's credibility during his public hearing Wednesday, a congressional aide familiar with the committee's minority tells CNBC. The aide adds that the minority panel wasn't interested in probing new facts from Cohen. "As far as GOP members gleaning new information from Mr. Cohen, he's someone that we don't really trust and we can't really believe anything that he has to say," the aide says. President Donald Trump is in Vietnam to hold nuclear talks with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, so it will be up to his Republican allies on Capitol Hill to defend him in hearings with his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. With Cohen expected to tell lawmakers this week about alleged criminal conduct committed by Trump while in office, GOP lawmakers plan to push back on his claims by attacking Cohen's credibility and trustworthiness. Cohen, 52, is set to head to prison for a three-year sentence starting in May, after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations and criminal tax evasion brought by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, as well as a charge of lying to Congress lodged by special counsel Robert Mueller as part of his ongoing Russia probe. But before his incarceration, Cohen will appear before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday for a public hearing, where he will reportedly share evidence alleging that Trump committed criminal conduct since becoming president. Cohen will also discuss Trump's finances, including Trump's alleged involvement in a hush-money deal brokered by Cohen before the 2016 election to silence porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims she had a brief affair with Trump years earlier, a source with knowledge of Cohen's preparations told NBC News. Trump denies the affair. Story continues Cohen will also testify behind closed doors before the Intelligence Committees of the Senate and House on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. Democrats on the committees are reportedly expected to grill Cohen on a variety of topics over the course of the week, including Mueller's probe of Russian election interference and possible Trump-campaign collusion. That could encompass the scrapped Trump Tower Moscow dealings or the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer. "He's the only person that I know of who has accused this president of a crime," House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said of Cohen. "And so I think it's only fair to the president and to Michael Cohen and to the public that he come forward so that they'll have an opportunity to observe his demeanor, Republicans will be able to ask him questions, just like in a cross examination, and then they can make their own judgments." His committee's Republican members, however, aren't planning on learning much of anything from Cohen. Rather, the panel's GOP members are mainly poised to attack Cohen's credibility during the Wednesday hearing, a congressional aide familiar with the committee's minority told CNBC. Those lawmakers are likely to highlight the Southern District of New York's sentencing memo in Cohen's case, the aide said, in which prosecutors challenged the former Trump Organization executive's defense that he had cooperated extensively with law enforcement and had reformed his outlook. "For all of Cohen's outward rectitude, he has lived a double life," prosecutors argued in that memo. "While Cohen has submitted letters describing his good nature, the evidence collected and witnesses interviewed in this investigation paint a decidedly different picture a picture of someone who was threatening and abusive when he wanted to get his way." The Republicans will further argue that Cohen's presence before the committee in a public hearing among the first such events since Democrats took majority control in January damages the credibility of the panel. "Cummings promised us fact-based oversight, and we're bringing in a convicted felon," the aide said. "It kind of makes us not have as much credibility as we started out with." The aide added that the minority panel wasn't especially interested in probing new facts from Cohen, whom they sought to establish as not credible. "As far as GOP members gleaning new information from Mr. Cohen, he's someone that we don't really trust and we can't really believe anything that he has to say," the aide said. After FBI agents raided Cohen's properties in April, Trump decried the treatment of his once-loyal fixer, tweeting at the time that Cohen was "a fine person with a wonderful family" who "I have always liked & respected." But after Cohen cut a deal with prosecutors, Trump's view of him soured. Trump TWEET If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don't retain the services of Michael Cohen ! In December, Trump tweeted that Cohen was a "Rat" who was "just trying to get his sentence reduced." There were no insults or denunciations from Trump's Twitter account when Cohen arrived on Capitol Hill for his first closed-door testimony Tuesday morning, however. Trump had just arrived in Vietnam for a meeting in Hanoi with Kim. Hopes are high that Trump's second summit with Kim could push the ball forward on denuclearizing the isolated state or possibly lead to a declaration that formally ends the 1950-53 Korean War. Trump TWEET Meeting for breakfast with our Nation's Governors - then off to Vietnam for a very important Summit with Kim Jong Un. With complete Denuclearization, North Korea will rapidly become an Economic Powerhouse. Without it, just more of the same. Chairman Kim will make a wise decision! With Trump himself focused on Kim, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement bashing Cohen before his Senate testimony. "Disgraced felon Michael Cohen is going to prison for lying to Congress and making other false statements. Sadly, he will go before Congress this week and we can expect more of the same," Sanders said in a statement. "It's laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies." The Senate committee's GOP majority echoed that stance ahead of Cohen's hearing. Manu Raju TWEET Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr on what he wants to hear from Michael Cohen, and he said: "The truth." Asked if he could trust Cohen, and Burr noted Cohen's questionable track record. CNBC's Dan Mangan contributed to this report. Investing.com - Gold slipped on Wednesday, as fresh hostilities erupted between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan. Pakistan said it shot down two Indian fighter jets, a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a war in 1971, prompting several world powers to urge both sides to show restraint. "This adds another layer of risks for investors", said Charles St-Arnaud, a strategist at Lombard Odier, although he noted the market moves remained limited for now. Comex gold futures were little changed, down $0.75, or around 0.1%, at $1,327.95 a troy ounce by 8:50AM ET (13:50 GMT). Spot gold was trading at $1,326.22 per ounce, down $2.45, or roughly 0.2%. Markets were paying attention to a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which got under way in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. Investors also looked ahead to a second appearance from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, after comments he made Tuesday reinforced views the central bank has shifted to a more patient approach to monetary policy. "We don't expect Powell's second round of testimony before the U.S. House Financial Committee to change," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenbacks strength against a basket of six major currencies, was little changed near its lowest since early February at 95.85. In other metals trading, silver futures were steady at $15.82 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, palladium futures dipped 0.5% to $1,512.45 an ounce. The metal had scaled a record high of $1,565.10 in the previous session. The autocatalyst metal has climbed 23% so far this year on widening supply tightness in the market. -- Reuters contributed to this report Related Articles Oil Rises as U.S.-China Trade Deal Nears While Supply Tightens OPEC likely to defer output policy decision until June: sources Gold Sinks To 5-Week Low as U.S.-China Trade Hopes Lift Sentiment (Bloomberg) -- Adyen NV reported a 54 percent rise in second-half net revenue, beating analysts estimates as the fintech darling continues to deliver on rapid growth. The Dutch company, which processes payments for Netflix Inc., Gap Inc. and Spotify Technology SA, posted 192.5 million euros ($219 million) in net revenue for the six months ended December. Adyen also said it processed 89 billion euros in payments for the period, an increase of 50 percent on the year before. We saw strong profitable growth in the second half of 2018, largely due to the continued growth of enterprise merchants on our platform, Chief Executive Officer Pieter van der Does and Chief Financial Officer Ingo Uytdehaage said in a letter to shareholders. Shares rose as much as 6.3 percent in early trading in Amsterdam, before falling by 2.8 percent as of 4:45 p.m. The Dutch payments processor has excited investors since the companys debut in June, pushing shares up from its initial listing at 240 euros to as much as 758.90 euros in mid-September. But analysts have warned there is limited upside for the stock, given the expectations of high growth are already baked into the share price. Analysts on average had expected the company to post 182.9 million euros in net revenue, which strips out fees paid to card networks and amounts to the revenue attributable to the firm. The companys results for the second half mean Adyen posted a 60 percent rise in net revenue for the full-year, beating its own guidance of at least a 40 percent increase. "Though a total processed volume of 159 billion euros will be disappointing to the market, the high take-rate and strong cost control positively surprises us," analysts at KBC Securities said in a research note. The Amsterdam-based company reiterated its previous goal to grow net revenue and achieve a growth rate between the mid-twenties and low-thirties in the medium term. It also repeated its aim of boosting annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margin to above 55 percent in the long term, once current investment efforts begin to pare down. The company doesnt define what it perceives as medium or long-term. On Wednesday, it reported a 58 percent Ebitda margin for the second-half. Story continues Adyen said the guidance doesnt account for changes to IFRS accounting standards with regards to leases that took effect in January this year. The changes could result in a marginal increase in the Ebitda margin, the company said. (Updates with guidance impact of IFRS changes, shares.) To contact the reporter on this story: Natalia Drozdiak in Brussels at ndrozdiak1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Giles Turner at gturner35@bloomberg.net, Edwin Chan For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. FRANKFURT, GERMANY / ACCESSWIRE / FEBRUARY 26, 2019 / As part of a series A financing round, ONPEX Holding GmbH has closed a high seven-digit investment with FinLab AG (ISIN: DE0001218063; Ticker: A7A.GR) and several notable business angels. ONPEX will use the growth capital to expand the team and to broaden and market their existing product offering. ONPEX is an award-winning, global cloud-based account and payment solution that combines SEPA and cross-border SWIFT transactions via a white label Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform. Companies can develop and flexibly manage their own banking and payment solutions by simple Application-Programming-Interface (API) integration of the ONPEX solution. ONPEX's BaaS platform enables banks, PSPs and ISOs to accelerate international expansion and optimize services thanks to the platform's greater flexibility, far-reaching scalability, and innovative banking and payment capabilities. The total value of global cross-border B2B transactions is expected to reach approximately $218 trillion by 2022. Focusing on this international and growing market, ONPEX has created a BaaS platform to help companies of all sizes and industries reach their full potential and meet ever-increasing demands by sorting and automating their cash flows. ''With FinLab AG, we are pleased to have gained yet another strong investor who will support us with their network and know-how in the upcoming scaling phase,'' says Christoph Tutsch, founder and CEO of ONPEX. As a professional investment firm, FinLab focuses on new, disruptive business models in the fintech sector. To do so, the firm relies on an experienced team of investors alongside its shareholders, who bring a wealth of knowledge to the table, both in the financial services and technology sectors. Stefan Schutze, Board Member at FinLab, explained the recent investment: ''There is a clear gap in the product offering of traditional banks and other payment service providers. These providers often do not have API-based IBAN accounts and no capabilities to automate payments which are critical to the scalability and growth of companies with digital business models. ONPEX has recognized this gap. ONPEX supports companies with its BaaS solution, providing multi-currency IBAN accounts and a flexible account structure. The BaaS platform's integrated micro-service architecture and cloud-based infrastructure, with its integrated APIs, also enables automation of payment with remarkable benefits that help companies improve their scalability.'' Story continues ''Besides supporting financial institutions such as e-money and payment institutions, ONPEX also helps non-regulated companies, such as marketplaces and corporates, simplify the management of their funds and payments in environments where compliance requirements are increasing. In addition, ONPEX's ability to manage multiple currencies within an account is particularly interesting for multinationals. With ONPEX, we are investing in a team that shares this vision and meanwhile has the know-how to realize such a platform technically , legally and to the highest quality standards. We invest in intelligent platform-technologies; in this way, ONPEX is ideally suited for our investment.'' ONPEX is licensed and supervised as a payment institution by the Luxembourg CSSF and operates in accordance with its regulatory, technical, and reporting requirements. The founder and managing director, Christoph Tutsch, is supported by CFO, Jurgen Schneider, CTO, German Fuentes Capella and the rest of the 39-strong team of experts. With locations in Luxembourg and Munich, ONPEX has also already received numerous awards, including the Fintech Excellence Award. About ONPEX: ONPEX is a provider of cloud-based financial services founded in 2013 by Christoph Tutsch. Located in Luxembourg, Germany, and Hong Kong, ONPEX provides modular, white-label Payment-, Banking-, and Compliance-as-a-Service solutions that optimize payment and banking transactions management. The team currently consists of 39 employees, all with one goal in mind: helping businesses build their own financial services. ONPEX provides multi-currency IBAN accounts and acquiring powered by flexible, API-driven technology to create simple, compliant, and cost-efficient payment and banking solutions. In doing so, the young company relies on its firmly defined values and always has these in mind in its day-to-day activities: Innovation and optimism are just as important to the team as responsibility, efficiency and endurance. Press contact: ONPEX Holding GmbH marketing@onpex.com www.onpex.com Tel: +49 89 41614310 About FinLab AG: Stock market listed company FinLab AG (WKN 121806 / ISIN DE0001218063 / ticker symbol: A7A) is one of the first and largest company builders and investors focused on the Financial Services Technologies (''FinTech'') sector in Europe. FinLab focuses on developing German FinTech start-ups and providing venture capital for their financial needs, whereas in each case the aim is a long-term participation and ongoing support of the investment. FinLab also invests globally, as part of venture rounds, in FinTech companies, primarily in the USA and Asia. Press contact: FinLab AG: investor-relations@finlab.de www.finlab.de Phone: +49 69 719 12 80 0 Additional Links: Visit Onpex SOURCE: FinLab AG View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/537056/FinLab-AG-Participates-Together-With-Existing-Investors-in-a-High-Seven-Digit-Investment-in-ONPEXs-Banking-as-a-Service-BaaS-Platform English French MONTREAL, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd (the Company or Osisko) (TSX & NYSE: OR) is pleased to announce the closing of its previously announced (see press release of June 18, 2018) senior secured silver stream facility (Silver Stream) with reference to up to 100% of the future silver produced from the Horne 5 property (Horne 5 or the Project) located in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec from Falco Resources Ltd. (Falco) (TSXV: FPC). Pursuant to the silver purchase agreement entered into between Osisko and Falco on February 27, 2019, Osisko will purchase up to 100% of the refined silver from the Project. As consideration for the Silver Stream, Osisko will pay to Falco staged upfront cash deposits of up to C$180 million plus ongoing payments equal to 20% of the spot price of silver on the day that refined silver is delivered, to a maximum of US$6 per ounce of refined silver. On closing of the Silver Stream, Osisko has funded the first deposit of C$25,000,000, net of C$23,390,733 representing the C$20,000,000 principal amount of loans from Osisko to Falco entered into in May 2016 and September 2018 and accounts payable by Falco to Osisko, resulting in a cash outlay of C$1,609,267 to Falco. The Silver Stream is secured by the assets of Falco. We are pleased to conclude this important financing with Falco to continue the development of the Horne 5 project. The addition of the silver stream on Horne 5 brings in a new generation of assets that have the potential to become anchor assets within Osiskos royalty and stream portfolio. commented Sean Roosen, Chair and CEO of Osisko. Falco and Osisko have also reached an agreement to settle interest owed under each of the May 2016 and September 2018 loans through the issuance of 5,353,791 common shares of Falco (Falco Common Shares) at a deemed price of C$0.34 per share (the Shares for Debt Settlement). Completion of the Shares for Debt Settlement is subject to Falco obtaining necessary regulatory approvals, including acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Horne 5 Project Horne 5 is a development-stage project located in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. Horne 5 is located in the former Horne mine that was operated by Noranda from 1927 to 1976 and produced 11.6 million ounces of gold and 2.5 billion pounds of copper. Falco completed a feasibility study for the Project in 2017 that demonstrated positive economics, and estimated annual payable gold production of 219,000 ounces at US$399 per gold ounce over a 15 year life of mine. Falco is currently in the permitting process and working on obtaining all third-party approvals to advance project construction. Early Warning Disclosure Immediately prior to the Shares for Debt Settlement, Osisko had beneficial ownership of, or control and direction over, (i) 36,031,449 Falco Common Shares, representing approximately 17.8% of the issued and outstanding Falco Common Shares, and (ii) 6,052,222 warrants each entitling the holder to purchase one Falco Common Share (the Falco Warrants). Immediately following the Shares for Debt Settlement, Osisko will have beneficial ownership of, or control and direction over, 41,385,240 Falco Common Shares, representing approximately 19.9% of the issued and outstanding Falco Common Shares, and (ii) 6,052,222 Falco Warrants. Assuming the exercise of the Falco Warrants, Osisko would have beneficial ownership of, or control and direction over, 47,437,462 Falco Common Shares, representing approximately 22.2% of the Falco Common Shares issued and outstanding. Osisko will acquire the Falco Common Shares issued under the Shares for Debt Settlement for investment purposes and in accordance with applicable securities laws, Osisko may, from time to time and at any time, acquire additional Falco Common Shares and/or other equity, debt or other securities or instruments (collectively, Securities) of Falco in the open market or otherwise, and reserves the right to dispose of any or all of its Securities in the open market or otherwise at any time and from time to time, and to engage in similar transactions with respect to the Securities, the whole depending on market conditions, the business and prospects of Falco and other relevant factors. This news release is issued under the early warning provisions of the Canadian securities legislation. A copy of the early warning report to be filed by Osisko in connection with the Shares for Debt Settlement described above will be available on SEDAR under Falcos profile. To obtain a copy of the early warning report, you may also contact Joseph de la Plante, Vice President, Corporate Development of Osisko at (514) 9400670. Falcos head office is located at 1100 avenue des Canadiens-de-Montreal, Suite 300, Montreal, Quebec, H3B 2S2. Related Party Transactions The Silver Stream is considered a related party transaction for Falco under Regulation 61-101 respecting Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (Regulation 61-101). Osisko understands that Falco is exempt from the requirements to obtain a formal valuation in connection with the Silver Stream, as the shares of Falco are not listed on any of the specified markets. The Silver Stream was subject to receipt of the Disinterested Shareholder Approval of Falco which was obtained on November 29, 2018. The Shares for Debt Settlement is considered to be a "related party transaction" for Falco under Regulation 61101 but Osisko understands that Falco is exempted from the requirements to obtain a formal valuation and to obtain minority approval, as the fair market value of the consideration for the Shares for Debt Settlement does not exceed 25% of Falcos market capitalization. Mr. Guy Desharnais, Ph.D., P.Geo, is the qualified person for this release as defined by Regulation 43101 respecting Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and has reviewed and verified the technical information contained herein. Mr. Guy Desharnais is an employee of Osisko and is non-independent. About Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd is an intermediate precious metal royalty company focused on the Americas. Osisko holds a North American focused portfolio of over 130 royalties, streams and precious metal offtakes. Osiskos portfolio is anchored by its 5% net smelter return royalty on the Canadian Malartic mine, which is the largest gold mine in Canada. Osisko also owns a portfolio of publicly held resource companies, including a 16.7% interest in Osisko Mining Inc., a 32.2% interest in Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd. and a 15.4% interest in Victoria Gold Corp. Osiskos head office is located at 1100 Avenue des Canadiens-de Montreal, Suite 300, Montreal, Quebec, H3B 2S2. For further information please contact, please contact Osisko Gold Royalties: Joseph de la Plante Vice President, Corporate Development Tel. (514) 940-0670 jdelaplante@osiskogr.com Forward-looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may be deemed forwardlooking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. These forwardlooking statements, by their nature, require Osisko to make certain assumptions and necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forwardlooking statements. Forwardlooking statements are not guarantees of performance. These forwardlooking statements, may involve, but are not limited to the terms and conditions of the Silver Stream facility and the amount and terms of deposit payments to be made by Osisko under the Silver Stream facility, the anticipated benefits deriving from the investment and transaction between Osisko and Falco, the receipt of third party consents, TSX Venture Exchange approvals and other regulatory approvals. Words such as may, will, would, could, expect, believe, plan, anticipate, intend, estimate, continue, or the negative or comparable terminology, as well as terms usually used in the future and the conditional, are intended to identify forwardlooking statements. Information contained in forwardlooking statements is based upon certain material assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or projection, including the receipt of regulatory approvals, managements perceptions of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other considerations that are believed to be appropriate in the circumstances. Osisko considers its assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available, but cautions the reader that their assumptions regarding future events, many of which are beyond the control of Osisko, may ultimately prove to be incorrect since they are subject to risks and uncertainties that affect Osisko and its business. For additional information with respect to these and other factors and assumptions underlying the forwardlooking statements made in this press release, see the section entitled Risk Factors in the most recent Annual Information Form of Osisko which is filed with the Canadian securities commissions and available electronically under Osiskos issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and available electronically under Osiskos issuer profile on EDGAR at www.sec.gov. The forward looking information set forth herein reflects Osiskos expectations as at the date of this press release and is subject to change after such date. Osisko disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forwardlooking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. FILE PHOTO: A logo of the Exxon Mobil Corp is seen at the Rio Oil and Gas Expo and Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil September 24, 2018. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes/File Photo By Devika Krishna Kumar and Florence Tan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp has hired veteran crude traders Mitch Rubinstein and Michael Paradise in Houston, to further boost its trading capabilities, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. In a break from its past, Exxon has been building a global cadre of experienced traders and beefing up risk management systems to lift profit. Exxon, the largest U.S. oil company by market capitalization, has historically stood apart from rivals by limiting trading activity out of concerns it would be accused of market manipulation. The oil major has lagged behind rivals BP Plc, Chevron Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which have created trading units that occasionally generate more profit than their refining businesses. Both Rubinstein and Paradise, both of whom will be based in Houston, left commodity trader Noble Group Ltd in 2017. Rubinstein was managing director and global head of crude oil at Noble until 2017, when rival Vitol SA agreed to buy Noble Americas Corp. Noble was once Asia's biggest commodity trader, and has restructured after facing insolvency last year. Before Noble, Paradise was Citigroup Inc's director of oil trading in Houston. Exxon also recently hired Gary Pace, a senior gasoline trader, sources familiar with his move said. Pace was most recently at investment bank Macquarie in Houston and previously worked for Shell's U.S. trading arm, according to his LinkedIn profile. Last year, Exxon hired at least four gasoline market specialists from refiner Phillips 66. In 2018, it also hired former BHP Billiton Plc trader Nelson Lee as an international crude trader. A spokeswoman for Exxon declined to comment. Pace and Rubinstein did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Rubinstein updated his LinkedIn profile to reflect his move to Exxon, but his exact title is not clear. A source familiar with the matter said he has already started at the company. Story continues Exxon has been aiming to expand trading and marketing around more of its growing energy assets to get the best prices for its products and increase earnings. "That is the style of the guys they are hiring," one industry source said. This week, Exxon said its oil and gas reserves rose nearly 23 percent last year, driven mainly by increases from holdings in U.S. shale, offshore Guyana and Brazil. (Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York and Florence Tan in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Steve Orlofsky) Recognition honors those companies who recognize their critical role to influence and drive positive change in the business community and societies around the world. KINGSPORT, Tenn., Feb. 26, 2019 - Eastman (EMN) is proud to be recognized by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as one of the World`s Most Ethical Companies for the sixth consecutive year. The prestigious honor underscores Eastman`s commitment to leading with the highest ethical business standards and focusing its efforts to a foster a zero-incident mindset, including zero incidents of unethical behavior. "We see it as our purpose and responsibility at Eastman to enhance the quality of life in a material way through our innovative technologies, products and people," said Eastman Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer Mark Costa. "We can only be successful in fulfilling that purpose by building trust and confidence with all of our stakeholders, from employees and communities to customers and investors. This award is a testament to our team members and their commitment to operate and conduct business with the highest standards of ethics and integrity." Eastman has policies and initiatives in place that allow its team members to cultivate a culture of integrity and ethical standards. The company`s Office of Global Business Conduct, led by Eastman`s chief legal and sustainability officer, establishes the Code of Business Conduct, which outlines the laws, principles and guidelines all employees follow regarding honesty, integrity and responsible corporate behavior. Regular training on the Code of Business Conduct is required for all employees. Additionally, the Business Conduct Helpline is a confidential, 24-hour-a-day phone service staffed by communications specialists employed by an independent, globally recognized service provider. "Eastman`s commitment to ethical business practices and a zero-incident mindset aligns closely to the company`s focus on continual improvement within the environmental, social and governance (ESG) framework," said Karen Guske, Director of Public Policy and Global Business Conduct. "We recognize the correlation between ESG performance and a company`s financial performance. We`re not only focused on strong governance policies and practices, but on reducing our environmental footprint and collaborating across the value chain to drive social innovation." Story continues "The world is changing. As an innovation-driven materials company, Eastman sees its role in the value chain to deliver innovative solutions that address the complex challenges facing the world," said David A. Golden, Eastman`s Senior Vice President, Chief Legal & Sustainability Officer, and Corporate Secretary. "Through an ESG lens, we are continuously assessing challenges and opportunities to drive our strategy, establish goals, and make a positive impact on society." The full list of the 2019 World`s Most Ethical Companies can be found at https://worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees . About Eastman Eastman is a global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With the purpose of enhancing the quality of life in a material way, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. The company`s innovation-driven growth model takes advantage of world-class technology platforms, deep customer engagement, and differentiated application development to grow its leading positions in attractive end-markets such as transportation, building and construction, and consumables. As a globally inclusive and diverse company, Eastman employs approximately 14,500 people around the world and serves customers in more than 100 countries. The company had 2018 revenues of approximately $10 billion and is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA. For more information, visit www.eastman.com. About the Ethisphere Institute The Ethisphere Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character and measure and improve culture. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World`s Most Ethical Companies recognition program and provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA). More information about Ethisphere can be found at: https://ethisphere.com. # # # Media Contacts Eastman Media Contact Amanda Allman +1 (423) 229-1025 aallman@eastman.com Ethisphere Media Contact Clea Nabozny +1 (480) 397-2658 clea.nabozny@ethisphere.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: Eastman Chemical Company via GlobeNewswire HUG#2236404 Progressive House Democrats on Wednesday introduced a bill to expand Medicare coverage which currently only applies to the elderly to all Americans. The Medicare-for-all bill is sponsored by Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell, boasting support from at least 100 other members of the chamber. It calls for a transition into a single-payer system over the course of two years, expanding the government-run program to cover everything from prescription drugs, dental, vision, abortions to long-term care at virtually no cost to consumers (it would eliminate co-pays, deductibles and premiums). The bill improves and expands the overwhelmingly popular Medicare program so that every person living in the United States has guaranteed access to health care, with comprehensive benefits, Jayapal said in a video message. The proposal would nearly eliminate the role of the private insurance market. According to estimates from the bills supporters, it would save Americans up to 14 percent on health care costs each year. The bill does not include cost estimates or financing strategies, though as reported by Politico Jayapal is expected to release funding proposals, which might include a tax on high earners or required employer contributions. Earlier this year, California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris a 2020 contender announced support for a Medicare-for-all plan that would also potentially eliminate the entire private insurance market. Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders another declared competitor for the presidency in 2020 unveiled his own Medicare-for-all plan in 2017. At the time, Harris, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker all of whom are vying for the 2020 Democratic nomination signed on in support. It was estimated at the time by the Libertarian think tank the Mercatus Center that Sanders proposal could cost $32.6 trillion over the course of ten years. Sanders team, however, claimed it would cost much less. Story continues The Vermont senator is reportedly working on an updated version of his legislation, according to The Washington Post. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP Americans appear somewhat mixed when it comes to their support for Medicare-for-all. According to a recent poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation, 56 percent of survey respondents said they favored a Medicare-for-all plan. However, support for the plan drops when Americans were faced with prospects of paying higher taxes to fund the system and the elimination of private health insurance companies (only 37 percent favorability for each scenario.) When respondents were asked if they would still support the proposal if it threatened the current Medicare program, only 32 percent remained in favor. Related Articles Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 27, 2019) - Currie Rose Resources Inc. (TSXV: CUI) ("Currie Rose" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has extended the expenditure requirements of both Option Agreements that make up the Rossland Gold Project (the "Project") (see press releases dated April 13, 2018 and May 16, 2018) located in central southern British Columbia. The Vendor and the Company have agreed to extend the expenditure period on the Projects by 3 months to July 26th, 2109 to enable drilling and other exploration work to be completed. Michael Griffiths, Currie Rose's President and CEO, commented: "This extension will provide the company with the opportunity to complete our historic data retrieval to make sure that our drilling program is as targeted as possible to achieve our exploration goals for 2019. The Vendor has appreciated our efforts to date and we look forward to our continued good working relationship." About Rossland The Rossland Gold Project is situated 10km west from the Trail Zinc Smelter in south-central British Columbia. The Rossland Mining Camp produced more than 2.7 million ounces of gold, 3.5 million ounces of silver and 71 tonnes of copper between 1894 and 1941 and ranks as the third largest lode gold camp in British Columbia. The Rossland gold camp is situated in the south western part of the Kootenay Arc and locally consists of a sequence carbonaceous siltstone, quartzite and slates of the Mt Roberts Formation which unconformably overlie Lower Jurassic volcanic flows and tuffs of the Rossland Formation (Little 1982). Contemporaneous with the volcanism noted above were intrusive augite porphyry sills and these rocks have been further intruded by the Rossland monzonite and Nelson plutonic suite rocks that are closely associated with the ore deposits in the area. Major structural features include an east-west set of shears steeply dipping to the north and a north-south shear set, dipping steeply east. Story continues FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN RESPECT OF CURRIE ROSE, PLEASE CONTACT: Mike Griffiths, CEO Office: 905-688-9115 Email: info@currierose.com Catherine Beckett, Manager Corporate Affairs Office: 905-688-9115 Email: info@currierose.com About Currie Rose Resources Inc. Currie Rose is a precious metal explorer focused on identifying high value assets in Canada. Our current projects span British Columbia and Ontario with our immediate focus on the recently acquired Rossland Project in BC. Please visit our website located at www.currierose.com Forward Looking Statements 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 may contain forward-looking statements that are based on the Company's expectations, estimates and projections regarding its business and the economic environment in which it operates. Statements about the closing of the transaction, expected terms of the transaction, the number of securities of Currie Rose that may be issued in connection with the transaction, and the parties' ability to satisfy closing conditions and receive necessary approvals are all forward-looking information. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements and readers should not place undue reliance on such statements. Statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update them publicly to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances, unless otherwise required to do so by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/43082 Ipsos in 2018 Transformation and Implementation 2018 revenue: 1,749.5 million Organic growth: +0.7% Revenue growth in final quarter Paris, 27 February 2019 Ipsos revenues for 2018 as a whole totalled 1,749.5 million, representing a decline of 1.7%, at current exchange rates and scope in comparison to the last year. At constant exchange rates and scope, 0.7% growth was recorded. Currency fluctuations in relation to the euro reduced revenue by 4.1%, while positive scope effects of 1.8% were posted. Final quarter revenue was 535.6 million, representing a 4.5% increase in comparison to the last quarter of 2017. The partial consolidation of businesses acquired by Ipsos during the final quarter (GFK Research and Synthesio) contributed to a positive October to December performance. Moreover, although negative currency effects continued (1.3%), their impact was lessened in comparison to the previous quarters. At constant exchange rates and scope, business performance remained steady, while the Company implemented various measures for its new 'Total Understanding' growth project and consolidated GFK Research and Synthesio. PERFORMANCE BY REGION Consolidated revenues by geographical area (in millions of euros) 2018 2017 Change 2018/2017 Organic growth Europe, Middle East and Africa 761.5 767.6 -0.8 % 0 % Americas 653.4 688.5 -5.1 % -0.9 % Asia-Pacific 334.6 324.4 3.2 % 6 % Full-year revenue 1,749.5 1,780.5 -1.7 % 0.7 % The performance by region differs very little from that seen throughout 2018. The Europe, Middle East and Africa zone comprises 44% of Ipsos. It has declined slightly at current scope and exchange rates, due to negative currency effects of 3% which have only been partially balanced out by positive scope effects of 2%. In this vast and diverse region, the Eastern European and UK markets remained buoyant, while Continental Western European markets were not able to raise their performance. The Americas represent 37% of the total activity. It is the only geographical entity to have posted a substantial reduction (of 5.1%, at current scope and exchange rates). The weakening of currencies against the euro averaged 5.7% across the full year. This trend waned in the final quarter with a reduced currency effect of 0.7%. Ipsos business performance in the United States remained steady while it fell in Latin America. Over the region as a whole, organic growth fell by just under 1% for various reasons, including political and social uncertainty following the Brazilian and Mexican elections. Finally, the Asia-Pacific region remained buoyant; Ipsos generated 19% of its revenue there. Total growth was 3.2% and 6% at constant scope and exchange rates. Performance was strong in China, despite an increasingly tentative automotive market. Many other markets, including India, also performed well, with the latter set to become one of our main priorities over future years. The position of emerging countries is particularly noteworthy. In 2018, Ipsos revenues in emerging countries saw a 3.3% drop, despite growth of nearly 4% at constant scope and exchange rate. This was due to reductions in currency values against the euro an average 7.3% decline for Ipsos) with scope effects limited to 0.7%. By way of contrast, in developed countries the drop in performance was far less pronounced at 1%, despite negative organic growth of -0.8%. This was because the currency effects were less severe and only reduced the revenue by 2.6%. This is virtually offset by the consolidation of aquired businesses, contributing 2.4% to revenue. Overall, even if the business share of emerging markets fell slightly from 33% in 2017 to 32% in 2018, Ipsos is still heavily involved in these markets, particularly the major emerging markets such as China and India, where global and local businesses are often in direct competition with one another and many new international companies are launched. Change in the activity by audience In millions of euros 2018 2017 Change 2018/2017 Organic growth Consumers1 1 059.7 61 % -3.9 % -0.3 % Clients and employees2 287.6 16 % -1 % 1.3 % Citizens3 205.9 12 % 8.8 % 7.5 % Doctors and patients4 196.3 11 % -0.8 % -0.9 % Full-year revenue 1,749.5 100 % -1.7 % 0.7 % Breakdown of Service Lines by audience segment: 1Audience Measurement, Brand Health, Clinics & Mobility Labs, Creative Excellence, Innovation, Ipsos UU (excl. pharma), Ipsos MMA, Market Strategy & Understanding, Observer (excl. public sector), Media Development, Social Intelligence Analytics 2Customer Experience, Market Measurement, Mystery Shopping, Quality Measurement, Retail Performance, ERM 3Public Affairs, Corporate Reputation 4Healthcare (quantitative and qualitative) Since 1 July 2018, following its restructuring, Ipsos now intends to operate its business and development plan by audience. In this respect, new breakdowns have not changed from one quarter to the next. Services aimed at individual consumers are undoubtedly under pressure. They need to increase their use value and be both understandable and functional, while providing long-term guidance to businesses in extremely competitive and volatile markets. It is now clear that reducing costs bases is not the be-all and end-all. We need to remain agile, relevant and courageous like numerous other players. It is up to our Ipsos teams to adapt, in order to seize the numerous opportunities to support their own clients in their own transformation. Negative changes in the pharmaceutical sector towards the end of 2018 were purely circumstantial, and should be reversed in 2019. Customer relationship management and social research services have made progress throughout the year. For these services, Ipsos has not only the staff, know-how and technological and operational infrastructures, but also the drive to become a major player in the sector. This choice is also the consequence of the need, for our Company to expand and diversify our client base to look beyond the CPG sector. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE Summarised income statement In millions of euros 2018 2017 Change 2017 / 2016 Revenue 1749,5 1 780,5 - 1,7 % Gross profit 1138,4 1 156,7 -1,6 % Gross margin 65,1 % 65,0 % - Operating margin 172,4 182,3 -5,4 % Operating margin 9,9 % 10,2 % - Other non-operating income and expense (5,3 ) (14,3 ) -63,3 Finance costs (21,3 ) (20,4 ) 4,4 % Income tax (38,5 ) (14,6 ) 163 % Net profit (attrib. to the Group) 107,5 128,5 -16,3 % Adjusted net profit* (attrib. to the Group) 125,2 127,4 -1,7 % *Adjusted net profit is calculated before (i) non-cash items covered by IFRS 2 (share-based payments), (ii) amortisation of intangible assets identified on acquisitions (client relationships), (iii) the net tax effect of other non-operating income and expenses, (iv) the non-cash effect on changes in puts in other financial income and expense and (v) deferred tax liabilities from goodwill, which in some countries can be amortised. Effects of acquisitions On 10 October 2018, Ipsos finalised the acquisition of four GfK global divisions offering personalised survey solutions: "Customer Experience"; "Experience Innovation"; "Health" and "Public Affairs", for an enterprise value of 105 million. The signing of this agreement with GfK was announced on 30 July. Almost 1,000 experts from GfK Research joined Ipsos with the closing of the deal in 26 countries: Germany, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, United States, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, United Kingdom, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine. Given the structuring of this transaction and owing to the transition period required for the continuity and quality of data provided to clients, Ipsos revenue stood at 30 million in 2018; the figure will be 180 million in 2019 and 200 million in 2020 for the full year. On 17 October 2018, the acquisition of Market Pulse International was announced; it is an Asian company specialised in mystery shopping", which strengthens Ipsos's position as global leader of this type of service. Employing some thirty employees in Australia, New Zealand and Thailand, revenue for the full year was 2 million and the acquisition price 0.4 million. Finally, on 30 October, Synthesio was acquired for a cash sum of over 50 million. Established in 2006, Synthesio is the leader in "Social Media Intelligence". Located in New York, Paris, London, Singapore and Brussels, Synthesio's 130 employees have joined Ipsos' social media intelligence team to help clients to better understand social conversations and enable data from social media to be transformed into strategic insights for companies. Expected revenue for the full year is $20 million. Impact on revenue of moving to IFRS 15 standard From 1 January 2018 IFRS 15 replaced standards IAS 18, (Revenues from ordinary activities) and IAS 11, and includes new principles for recognising revenue, particularly with regard to the operative event generating the revenue, identifying performance obligations, calculating variable revenue and allocating the transaction price for contracts with different components. Revenues arising from contracts entered into with Ipsos clients continue to be recognised on the basis of the degree of completion under standard IFRS 15 with evidence provided for the continuous transfer of control for the service provided. Methods that do not reflect the percentage of completion of surveys were abandoned under IFRS 15 in favour of the linear method, insofar as this reliably reflects the percentage of completion. Moreover, Ipsos has opted to apply the retrospective method for simplified transition which involves only reprocessing revenues from contracts affected by the change of standard and still in place at 1 January 2018. The impact of this change is recognised in the opening consolidated equity at 1 January 2018. As such, 2017 presented for the purposes of comparison, has not been reprocessed. In order to calculate organic growth in 2018 and for the purposes of the information provided in the notes to the accounts on the subject of the impact of the change of method, revenue (and other items affected) have continued to be monitored in the Group's internal reporting only, according to the previous standard (IAS 18). As announced at the start of 2018, this change of accounting principles has no significant impact on Ipsos' revenue in IFRS 15 standards. The difference is only +0.2% in 2018 compared with the previous IAS 18 method. Income statement Other Gross profit (which is calculated by deducting external direct variable costs of research projects from revenue) stood at 65.1%, compared with 65.0% in 2017. The slight increase in gross profit ratio is due to the positive effects of the digitalisation of data collection (53.1% of studies were online in 2018, compared with 52.1% in 2017) and the growth of New Services, up 12.7% year-on-year. Concerning operating costs, payroll expenses rose 0.8%, The Group headcount went from 16,000 to more than 18,000, mainly due to acquisitions. Excluding acquisitions, the headcount increased by 1.5% mainly in emerging countries. The cost of variable share-based payments was down slightly at 8.9 million (versus 10.1 million in the previous year). Overhead costs are under control and fell 1.6%, with similar ratios to revenue Other operating income and expenses recorded a net gain. These mainly include the impact of positive transactional currency effects on operating account items (they were negative in 2017). In total, the Groups operating profit stood at 172.4 million, or 9.9% relative to revenue. This decrease of 38 basis points on last year, stemmed mainly from a negative currency effects (accounting for 15 basis points), investments in the central service line teams in charge of product innovation, which were expanded as part of the Total Understanding program and scope effect accounting for 5 basis point. At constant exchange rates and scope, operating profit would have been 10.1%. Below operating profit, the amortisation of intangibles identified on acquisitions concerns the portion of goodwill allocated to client relationships during the 12-month period following an acquisition, recognised in the income statement over several years, in accordance with IFRS. This allocation amounted to 4.4 million, compared with 4.7 million the previous year. The balance of other non-operating and non-recurring income and expenses was -5.3 million, compared with -14.4 million in the previous year. It comprises unusual items not related to operations, and includes acquisition costs, as well as the costs of the restructuring plans. In 2018 in particular, it included net income of 14.8 million following the decision to capitalise internal development expenses from 1 January 2018. The Group had previously only capitalised its external development expenses when the conditions defined in its accounting methods were met. Following the improvement of its internal monitoring system, Ipsos can capitalise its internal development costs, which consist of the payroll expenses of teams working on its platforms and projects under the same conditions. This decision gives a better idea of the total R&D costs that Ipsos incurs. It has led to a change in accounting estimates of the amounts that will now be capitalised. In accordance with IAS 8, the prospective method is applied from 1 January 2018 to record these impacts. In 2018, capitalised payroll expenses totalled 18.7 million and amortisation relating to this capitalisation amounted to 2 million. To avoid creating a distortion in the operating profit by recognising capitalisation income not offset by amortisation during the first years of the implementation of this change in accounting estimates, the positive impacts on the operating profit of this first period of asset recognition were reclassified in other non-operating and non-recurring income and expenses, below operating margin. The same treatment will be applied in future years, until the capitalisation reaches full momentum in 2022, assuming a general depreciation period of five years for this asset category. For more details, please refer to note 5.2 of the consolidated financial statements. Finance costs. Net interest expense amounted to 21.3 million, up 4.4% from 20.4 million in 2017, mainly due to the increase in debt. Taxes. The effective tax rate on the IFRS income statement is 26.2% (corresponding to the weighted average of the tax rates of the countries in which Ipsos operates), compared with 10.2% last year. The 2017 level was exceptionally low as it included a reversal of deferred tax provisions in the United States of 24.5 million, the corporate tax rate in that country having fallen from 35% to 21%. Net profit (attributable to the Group), stood at 107.5 million, compared with 128.5 million in 2017. Adjusted net profit (attributable to the Group), which is the relevant and constant indicator used to measure performance, came to 125.2 million, down 1.7% on 2017, in line with the fall in revenue. Financial structure Free cash flow. Operating cash flow stood at 206.3 million, an improvement of 9.1 million on 2017. The working capital requirement recorded a positive change of 3.4 million due to a reduction in day sales by two days. Current investments in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets consist mainly of IT investments and investments in online panels, and to a lesser extent investments in the refurbishment of various offices. This item was up 31 million due to capitalised payroll expenses of 18.7 million and panel costs of 6.4 million. Overall, free cash flow amounted to 108.1 million, up sharply from 80.8 million euros in 2017. With regard to non-current investments, Ipsos invested 171.2 million in its acquisition programme, which resumed in 2018 with the acquisition of GfK Research, Synthesio and Market Pulse International, and the buyout of minority interests in a US company and in some emerging countries (Vietnam). Shareholders equity totalled 1,035 million at 31 December 2018, as against 966 million at 31 December 2017. At 31 December 2018, Ipsos held 882,924 of its own shares (1.99% of its share capital) allocated to its employee shareholding plans. Net financial liabilities amounted to 574.6 million at 31 December 2018, up from 464.2 million at 31 December 2017, taking into account the financing implemented as part of the acquisitions carried out in 2018. The net gearing is 55.5%, versus 48.0% at 31 December 2017. The leverage ratio is 2.8 times EBITDA, compared with 2.1 at 31 December 2017. Liquidity position. Cash and cash equivalents at year-end stood at 167.8 million, compared with 137.3 million at 31 December 2017, resulting in a solid liquidity position. Ipsos also has more than 400 million in available credit lines. On 17 September 2018, Ipsos refinanced its main 5-year multi-currency bank facility (with an option of a further two years) for 160 million with improved financial terms. On 21 September 2018, following the success of its inaugural 300 million bond issue with a maturity of 7 years (annual coupon of 2.875%), Ipsos was able to extend the maturity of its debt profile and diversify its credit investor base. The net proceeds of this issue were used to cover the companys general requirements, including the refinancing of several existing debts. They also financed the acquisition of the assets of GfK Research and Synthesio. The Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of 28 May 2019 will be asked to approve a dividend of 0.88 per share for 2018, payable on 3 July 2019. This represents an increase of 1.1% and a dividend payout ratio of close to 30%, with adjusted net earnings per share of 2.88. OUTLOOK FOR 2019 The word "transformation" is widely used. And with good reason. All private and public companies and institutions in all countries and markets worldwide are faced with new conditions and must think ahead and adapt to these new conditions. In a recent interview with a French business newspaper daily Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey addressed the changes affecting his company and how they are changing how it operates, sometimes in quite radical ways. What is true of Coca-Cola is true of all companies. The same concepts are used: hyper-competitiveness; increased role of local markets, market porosity, segmented supply, volatility and agility, a multiplication of distribution circuits with, in addition to all that, and although this is not raised in the article, the need for good business and financial discipline so as to maintain a virtuous circle where growth and profitability are not set against each other but arise from the right set of circumstances. Growth drives profitability and a comfortable financial position makes it possible to fund technological, industrial, logistical and commercial innovations which, in turn, assure continued growth. What is true of Coca-Cola is true of Ipsos: we need to be more efficient in our production, more diversified with a wider range of offerings and closer to our clients when developing and implementing specific research programmes and standardised solutions. We know that our clients need more information, information that is more secure, more usable, more aligned with their issues and faster. The challenge lies in our ability to re-adapt to markets where value is not exactly where it was just a few years ago. With the effect of the globalisation and digitalisation of our societies, the research industry can no longer be satisfied with selling data and the basic analysis associated with this. Just twenty years ago, data were rare, expensive, uncertain and difficult to access. Often they were communicated very late, too late. Today, other information - or the same information - is abundant, cheap or even free, easy to access, immediate, available, it is claimed, almost 'at the tip of your fingers'. The reality is less clear and despite advances in artificial intelligence, using free data that is only half-accurate, immediate printouts that are poorly analysed and contextualised, dashboards that are pretty and simple but sometimes contain ratios that are poorly chosen or poorly calculated, has never been the key to good decision-making and guaranteed success. The companies and institutions that are Ipsos' clients, and those of our competitors, know this, and day after day continue to work with the research teams we have put together, trained and organised to offer them - and sell to them - the related information and services they need. And yet, we must be wary not to be satisfied with producing mere data but must also contextualise, connect, integrate and circulate this. And yet, in addition to our technical and operational skills, we must place value on our ability to make this information clear, useful, relevant, accurate, connected, even integrated. And yet, the companies and institutions undergoing transformation must be convinced of the benefit of working with service providers who are able to put in place the teams, technologies and operational resources, in order to confidently get them all of the information required to understand, share and take action. The premise of the "Total Understanding" programme and the organisation that has been put in place, between 1st July and 31st December, is to play on Ipsos's assets so that our company can take the path towards giving its clients full, integrated control of the information they need for a good understanding of markets, society and people. "Total Understanding" is a way of combating the fragmentation of knowledge, the uncertainty of information, the complexity of situations and the division of opinions. In order to succeed, Ipsos has begun a profound programme of transformation: We are improving - even radically altering - the 75 different services we offer our clients, using knowledge of new sciences - those related to behavioural analysis, for example - and new technologies, to move more quickly from one market to another, with more certainty and a greater degree of standardisation. We have created a new organisation dedicated to managing our client relations and to strengthen us in sectors such as media and platforms, which we consider to be growth sectors. We are increasing our presence in key markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and France, but also, indeed especially, in the new major markets of China, India, Russia and Turkey. We are improving our means of accessing the best of science and technology, not to reinvent the wheel but often to better understand, grasp and use everything our clients need. We are also feeding our New Services which, on a comparable basis, have again shown double-digit growth in 2018. Finally, where we are unable to quickly and securely develop the structures and solutions we need, we will not hesitate to get stronger through the acquisition of companies, teams and technologies, as we did in late 2018. The "Total Understanding" programme is our way of adjusting to the needs of our new clients and, consequently, finding faster, more sustained growth. In 2019, Ipsos's revenues, at constant exchange rates, will increase by over 10%. Organic growth should be between 2% and 4%, provided that the macro-political environment does not deteriorate further. The operating profit will be higher than in 2018, even if any increase will be contained by the need to simultaneously finance an enhanced innovation programme in products and solutions and an in-depth reorganisation of operational structures. Appendix Consolidated income statement Consolidated balance sheet Consolidated cash flow statement Statement of changes in consolidated shareholders equity Consolidated income statement For the year ended 31 December 2018 In thousands of euros 2018 2017 Revenue 1 749 494 1 780 453 Direct costs (611 119 ) (623 787 ) Gross profit 1 138 374 1 156 666 Payroll - excluding share based payments (753 464 ) (747 500 ) Payroll - share based payments * (8 937 ) (10 094 ) General operating expenses (207 477 ) (210 865 ) Other operating income and expense 3 922 (5 931 ) Operating margin 172 418 182 275 Amortisation of intangibles identified on acquisitions * (4 380 ) (4 668 ) Other non operating income and expense * (5 273 ) (14 364 ) Income from associates 587 217 Operating profit 163 352 163 460 Finance costs (21 281 ) (20 380 ) Other financial income and expense * 4 980 633 Profit before tax 147 051 143 713 Income tax - excluding deferred tax on goodwill (37 078 ) (39 118 ) Income tax - deferred tax on goodwill * (1 420 ) 24 482 Income tax (38 498 ) (14 636 ) Net profit 108 554 129 076 Attributable to the Group 107 520 128 507 Attributable to Minority interests 1 033 569 Earnings per share (in euros) - Basic 2,48 2,99 Earnings per share (in euros) - Diluted 2,40 2,94 Adjusted net profit * 126 810 128 400 Attributable to the Group 125 237 127 384 Attributable to Minority interests 1 572 1 015 Adjusted earnings per share (in euros) - Basic 2,88 2,96 Adjusted earnings per share (in euros) - Diluted 2,80 2,91 Consolidated balance sheet For the year ended 31 December 2018 In thousands of euros 2018 2017 ASSETS Goodwill 1 291 077 1 159 352 Intangible assets 82 001 59 964 Property. plant and equipment 37 890 32 228 Interests in associates 2 892 916 Other non-current financial assets 35 021 21 425 Deferred tax assets 26 987 21 252 Total non-current assets 1 475 868 1 295 136 Trade receivables 634 941 617 660 Current income tax 16 905 13 517 Other current assets 78 831 75 802 Derivative financial instruments 500 1 462 Cash and cash equivalents 167 834 137 267 Total current assets 899 011 845 708 TOTAL ASSETS 2 374 878 2 140 844 In thousands of euros 2018 2017 LIABILITIES Share capital 11 109 11 109 Share premium 516 038 516 130 Own shares (22 723 ) (35 235 ) Other reserves 526 177 441 212 Currency translation differences (121 475 ) (112 515 ) Net Income attributable to the Group 107 520 128 507 Shareholders' equity - attributable to the Group 1 016 646 949 208 Minority interests 18 314 17 290 Total shareholders' equity 1 034 960 966 498 Borrowings and other long-term financial liabilities 729 180 577 432 Non-current provisions 4 678 8 964 Retirement benefit obligations 29 715 26 918 Deferred tax liabilities 70 934 66 450 Other non-current liabilities 22 040 18 183 Total non-current liabilities 856 547 697 948 Trade payables 276 266 259 432 Short-term portion of borrowings and other financial liabilities 13 713 25 527 Current income tax liabilities 12 153 14 658 Current provisions 4 996 7 189 Other current liabilities 176 244 169 592 Total current liabilities 483 372 476 398 TOTAL LIABILITIES 2 374 878 2 140 844 Consolidated cash flow statement For the year ended 31 December 2018 In thousands of euros 2018 2017 OPERATING ACTIVITIES NET PROFIT 108 554 129 076 Adjustements to reconcile net profit to cash flow Amortisation and depreciation of fixed assets 32 698 24 910 Net profit of equity associated companies - net of dividends received (609 ) (217 ) Losses/(gains) on asset disposals (9 461 ) (43 ) Movement in provisions 4 074 (511 ) Share-based payment expense 8 458 9 549 Other non cash income/(expenses) (1 106 ) (778 ) Acquisitions costs of consolidated companies 3 930 178 Finance costs 21 281 20 380 Income tax expense 38 498 14 636 OPERATING CASH FLOW BEFORE WORKING CAPITAL. FINANCING AND TAX PAID 206 317 197 182 Change in working capital requirement 3 482 (37 771 ) Interest paid (18 385 ) (21 245 ) Income tax paid (39 697 ) (38 975 ) CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES 151 717 99 191 INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES Acquisitions of property. plant. equipment and intangible assets (49 006 ) (17 518 ) Proceeds from disposals of property. plant. equipment and intangible assets 164 285 Acquisition of financial assets 5 216 (1 201 ) Acquisition of consolidated companies and business goodwill (152 479 ) (2 212 ) CASH FLOW FROM INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES (196 105 ) (20 647 ) FINANCING ACTIVITIES Increase/(decrease) in capital - - (Purchase)/proceeds of own shares 1 219 6 399 Increase in long-term borrowings 603 286 700 272 Decrease in long-term borrowings (481 034 ) (753 587 ) Increase/(decrease) in bank overdrafts and short-term debt 567 86 Acquisition of minority interests (9 125 ) (12 785 ) Dividends paid to parent-company shareholders (37 831 ) (36 414 ) Dividends paid to minority shareholders of consolidated companies (857 ) - CASH FLOW FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES 76 225 (96 030 ) NET CASH FLOW 31 837 (17 485 ) Impact of foreign exchange rate movements (1 269 ) (10 140 ) CASH AT BEGINNING OF PERIOD 137 267 164 892 CASH AT END OF PERIOD 167 834 137 267 Consolidated statement of changes in shareholders equity For the year ended 31 December 2018 In thousand euros Share capital Share Premium Own shares Other consolidated reserves Currency translation difference Shareholders' equity Attributable to the Group Minority interests Total 1st January 2017 11 109 516 489 (55 905 ) 492 738 (44 819 ) 919 612 19 805 939 417 - Change in capital - - - - - - - Dividends paid - - - (36 292 ) - (36 292 ) (75 ) (36 367 ) - Impact of acquisitions and commitments of buy out minority interests - - - (10 899 ) - (10 899 ) (1 332 ) (12 231 ) - Delivery of free shares related to 2014 plan - - 13 935 (13 935 ) - - - - - Other movements on own shares - (358 ) 6 735 22 - 6 399 - 6 399 - Share-based payments taken directly to equity - - - 9 543 - 9 543 - 9 543 - Other movements - - - (241 ) - (241 ) 264 22 Transactions with the shareholders - (358 ) 20 670 (51 803 ) - (31 491 ) (1 143 ) (32 634 ) - Net profit - - - 128 507 - 128 507 569 129 075 - Other elements of the Comprehensive income - - - - - - - - Hedges of net investments in a foreign subsidiary - - - - (972 ) (972 ) 540 (432 ) Deferred tax on hedges of net investments in a foreign subsidiary - - - - (1 849 ) (1 849 ) - (1 849 ) Currency translation differences - - - - (64 876 ) (64 876 ) (2 481 ) (67 357 ) Actuarial gains and losses - - - 181 - 181 - 181 Deferred tax on actuarial gains and losses - - - 95 - 95 - 95 - Total of the other elements composing the Comprehensive income - - - 276 (67 697 ) (67 421 ) (1 941 ) (69 362 ) Comprehensive income - - - 128 782 (67 697 ) 61 086 (1 372 ) 59 715 31st December 2017 11 109 516 130 (35 235 ) 569 719 (112 515 ) 949 208 17 290 966 498 1st January 2018 11 109 516 130 (35 235 ) 569 719 (112 515 ) 949 208 17 290 966 498 - Change in capital - - - (6 958 ) - (6 958 ) (41 ) (6 998 ) - Dividends paid - - - (37 484 ) - (37 484 ) (857 ) (38 341 ) - Impact of acquisitions and commitments of buy out minority interests - - - 813 - 813 (296 ) 516 - Delivery of free shares related to 2015 plan - - 10 905 (10 905 ) - - - - - Other movements on own shares - (92 ) 1 607 - - 1 515 - 1 515 - Share-based payments taken directly to equity - - - 8 458 - 8 458 - 8 458 - Other movements - - - 1 706 - 1 702 449 2 151 Transactions with the shareholders - (92 ) 12 512 (37 412 ) - (24 997 ) (704 ) (25 701 ) - Net profit - - - 107 520 - 107 520 1 033 108 554 - Other elements of the Comprehensive income - - - - - - - - Hedges of net investments in a foreign subsidiary - - - - (9 108 ) (9 108 ) (117 ) (9 255 ) Deferred tax on hedges of net investments in a foreign subsidiary - - - - 1 650 1 650 - 1 650 Currency translation differences - - - - (1 503 ) (1 503 ) 854 (649 ) Actuarial gains and losses - - - 834 - 834 - 834 Deferred tax on actuarial gains and losses - - - - - - - - - Total of the other elements composing the Comprehensive income - - - 834 (8 961 ) (8 127 ) 736 (7 391 ) Comprehensive income - - - 108 354 (8 961 ) 99 393 1 769 101 163 31st December 2018 11 109 516 308 (22 723 ) 633 702 (121 476 ) 1 016 646 18 314 1 034 960 The consolidated financial statements to 31 December 2018 are available on the Ipsos website at: https://www.ipsos.com/en/regulated-informations/en?year=2018 The 2018 performance and results presentation will be available from 1 March 2018 at https://www.ipsos.com/en/investors GAME CHANGERS Game Changers is the Ipsos signature. At Ipsos we are passionately curious about people, markets, brands and society. We make our changing world easier and faster to navigate and inspire clients to make smarter decisions. We deliver with security, simplicity, speed and substance. We are Game Changers. Ipsos is listed on Eurolist - NYSE-Euronext. The company is part of the SBF 120 and the Mid-60 index and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD). ISIN code FR0000073298, Reuters ISOS.PA, Bloomberg IPS:FP www.ipsos.com Attachment By Marianna Parraga (Reuters) - U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum Corp is formally cutting ties with its parent, state-run oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela SA, to meet U.S. sanctions imposed on the OPEC country, two people close to the decision told Reuters on Tuesday. Executives at the Houston-based firm set a Feb. 26 deadline to end relationships with PDVSA following sanctions designed to curb oil revenues to socialist President Nicolas Maduro and support the nation's transition government formed by Venezuelan congress head Juan Guaido. The United States, Canada and dozens of other nations have recognized Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate president, but Maduro still controls the military, public institutions and PDVSA, which provides 90 percent of the country's export revenue. Citgo has halted payments to its parent, subscriptions to corporate services, email communications and minimized mentions to PDVSA on marketing materials and its website. Expatriate Venezuelan employees this month returned to Venezuela and a procurement subsidiary operating from Citgo's headquarters, PDVSA Services, was shut, the people familiar with the matter said. A Citgo spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment. The company is trying to free itself of sanctions that have hampered access to financing. It is prioritizing refinancing a revolving credit and term loan by the end of July, the sources said. Credit rating firm Fitch on Monday placed Citgo on rating watch citing heightened refinancing risk due to sanctions. "We have been told that we have to organize the house by Feb. 26 to avoid conflicts with sanctions," one of the sources said. A new Citgo board of directors was appointed this month by the Venezuelan congress under Chairwoman Luisa Palacios, who last week named a management team under Rick Esser, the company's new executive vice president. New boards for PDVSA and subsidiaries, PDV Holding and Citgo Holding, also have been appointed by the Venezuelan National Assembly. Citgo is Venezuela's main foreign asset. It is the eighth largest U.S. refiner, with a 750,000-barrel-per-day refining network capable of supplying 4 percent of the country's fuel through a network of some 5,000 gas stations in 30 states. The Venezuelan congress has been researching the South American nation's assets and bank account around the globe in an effort to gain access to cash and foreign facilities. It is unclear if Citgo's new board has completed a registration process in Delaware to legally take control of the company. The new board could face a legal challenge by PDVSA's current leadership if the board was not legally constituted. (Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Mexico City; Editing by Richard Chang) Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (GOOS) does it again with a spectacular holiday quarter. This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) continues to be one of the top luxury specialty retailers. Canada Goose makes performance luxury apparel, especially warm winter coats. Founded in Toronto, Canada in 1957, it employs 3,400 worldwide and sells through its retail stores, its web site and wholesale. Another Big Beat in the Fiscal Third Quarter of 2019 On Feb 14, Canada Goose reported its fiscal third quarter 2019 results and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 15 cents. Earnings were $0.73 versus the consensus of $0.58. Total revenue rose 50.2% to $399.3 million (all figures in Canadian dollars) from $265.9 million. Direct to Consumer (DTC) revenue rose to $235.3 million from $131.7 million in the year ago quarter due to 5 new retail stores and one new e-commerce site. Wholesale also rose to $164 million from $134.2 million due to higher order values from existing partners along with earlier shipment timing compared to the prior year. Gross profit margin rose to 64.4% from 63.6% a year ago thanks to higher proportion of revenue from DTC where the gross profit margin is 76.1%. Raised Full Year Guidance Given the strength of the first nine months of the fiscal year, Canada Goose raised its full year guidance. It now expects revenue growth in the mid-to-high 30% on a percentage basis compared to prior guidance of at least 30%. The analysts are equally as bullish as they moved to raise both fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2020 earnings estimates. 3 estimates were raised for fiscal 2019 since the report which pushed the Zacks Consensus up to $0.96 versus the prior consensus of $0.94. That is earnings growth of 45% as Canada Goose made just $0.66 in fiscal 2018. The growth isn't expected to slow much in fiscal 2020. 4 estimates have been revised higher in the past month for next year pushing the Zacks Consensus up to $1.24 from $1.21. That's earnings growth of 28.5%. Story continues A Buying Opportunity? Canada Goose went IPO in 2017 and the shares had been red hot until the middle of 2018. Like a lot of stocks, these shares sold off to finish 2018 but have rebounded to start 2019. Shares are still down 3.5% for the last 6 months even though they have spiked 28% in 2019. They haven't yet retaken their all-time highs. Shares are trading at 57x times forward earnings which makes them a little more expensive than luxury retail peers like Lululemon (LULU) which has a forward P/E of 33. But for those investors who love growth stocks with strong brands, Canada Goose is one to keep on the short list. Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. Theyre also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases. Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119% and +164% in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better. See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>> 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 lululemon athletica inc. (LULU) : Free Stock Analysis Report Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (GOOS) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Petrobras Distribuidora SA, the distribution unit of Brazilian state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA, posted a major boost in quarterly net profit on Tuesday thanks to the effective payment of debts it was owed. In a securities filing, the firm posted a fourth-quarter net profit of 1.605 billion reais ($427 million), up some 202.3 percent from the same period a year before and well above the mean estimate of 613 million reais calculated by Refinitiv. In the filing, the firm, which went public in December 2017, said that much of the net profit boost could be attributed to the effective payments of debts that it was owed via the privatization of Centrais Eletricas de Rondonia, Boa Vista Energia and Eletroacre. Those three firms were distribution units of state-run electricity firm Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA, known as Eletrobras. As part of the sale, the buyers were required to settle outstanding debts the firms owed to Petrobras Distribuidora. When stripped of non-recurring items, the firm's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, fell 26.8 percent from the same period last year to 646 million reais. That was below the Refinitiv estimate of 722 million reais. ($1 = 3.76 reais) (Reporting by Gram Slattery Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) * U.N. meeting in Jamaica to work on deep sea mining law * China holds most licences, Belgium has technological edge * DeepGreen has partnership with Denmark's Maersk * DEME unit Global Sea Mineral Resources tests technology By Barbara Lewis LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Belgian group DEME and Canada's DeepGreen are carrying out tests and research to collect nodules containing copper, cobalt and other minerals from the ocean floor, as a race to mine the depths gathers pace. Deep sea mining is often dismissed as unaffordable and environmentally hazardous because of the potential risk to species science has barely begun to understand. But U.N. talks in Jamaica, which began on Monday, are working out regulations on mining in international waters, which may appeal to companies struggling to find new reserves on land and to deal with governments and communities. DEME unit Global Sea Mineral Resources (GSR), is testing nodule collector Patania II, named after the world's fastest caterpillar. The test, in a part of the Clarion Clipperton Zone, which spans 4.5 million square km (1.7 million square miles) between Hawaii and Mexico, follows the trial of Patania I in 2017, which crawled along the ocean bed at a depth of 4,500 metres. Patania II will collect nodules as well as traverse the seabed. A third trial, involving Patania III, expected in 2023, will bring nodules to the surface. China is the leading holder of international deep sea exploration licences, but GSR says decades of dredging and building offshore windfarms that sit on the ocean floor have placed the company at the front of the technological race. Kris van Nijen, general manager of GSR, told Reuters the firm drew on DEME's "140 years of world-leading expertise in marine engineering and environmental remediation". GSR has company. Leading shipper Maersk is "among the front-runners offering marine services for deep sea mineral recovery research," it said in an email. Its unit Maersk Supply Service is providing vessels for DeepGreen's research voyages in the Clarion Clipperton Zone. So far it has completed three and plans another three this year. Story continues The Kingston talks, meanwhile, are working on rules for international waters. So far the body, which will host discussions until March 15 and then throughout July, has regulated on exploration, not exploitation. Campaigners want restrictions or a ban on mining. Non-governmental organisation Pew has said half of all international mining areas should be declared no-mining zones. In national waters, Canadian-listed Nautilus Minerals has sought to go beyond the exploration stage. It has tried to mine underwater mounds off Papua New Guinea, for copper, gold and silver, but it been slowed by funding issues and local opposition. GSR and DeepGreen are focused on nodules, rather than mounds, which they say can be collected with minimal disturbance and contain minerals including nickel, manganese, copper, zinc and cobalt. Cobalt and copper are particularly in demand for electric vehicles. (Editing by Jason Neely) By Lisa Barrington and Davide Barbuscia MANAMA (Reuters) - Bahrain is talking to U.S. oil companies with shale oil expertise about developing a huge oil and gas field discovered last year, and hopes to have an interested company by the end of the year, the oil minister said on Tuesday. Last April Bahrain said it had discovered its largest oil and gas find since 1932 off its west coast, estimated to contain at least 80 billion barrels of tight oil. The first test well is being drilled now, Oil Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa told Reuters in an interview. "We should have it flowing ... maybe by the end of April." Tight oil is a form of light crude oil held in shale deep below the earth's surface that is extracted with hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, using deep horizontal wells. Al Khalifa said the recovery rate for shale deposits is around 5-15 percent of available reserves. He said Bahrain is targeting major U.S. oil companies and independent companies which have "operating capabilities in U.S. shale, because tight oil is very much a U.S. phenomenon now". No deal for the tight oil areas has been signed yet, he said. The small non-OPEC Gulf oil producer, with around 124.6 million barrels of proven reserves, gets its oil revenue from two fields: the onshore Bahrain field, and the offshore Abu Safah field, which is shared jointly with Saudi Arabia. The Bahrain field produced around 50,000 bpd in 2015, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia split annual revenues from the 300,000 bpd Abu Safah field, where production is overseen by Saudi Aramco. Bahrain does not have the vast oil wealth of other Gulf Arab states and its revenue has declined since the 2014 slump in oil prices. Gulf allies Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates agreed a $10 billion aid package in October and Bahrain has embarked on a fiscal reform programme to try to eliminate its budget deficit by 2022. Story continues Al Khalifa also said state-run Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) is "a few weeks away" from financial close on funding for the capacity expansion of its existing Sitra oil refinery. Five export credit agencies from Korea, Spain, Italy and Britain, alongside international and Bahraini banks will provide more than $4 billion in financing, he said. The expansion will increase Bapco's refining capacity to around 400,000 barrels per day, from around 270,000. Around 88 percent of the crude that Babco refines comes from neighbouring Saudi Arabia, and the rest from Bahrain's field. (Editing by David Evans) VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Affinor Growers Inc. (AFI or the Company) (CSE:AFI, OTC:RSSFF, Frankfurt:1AF) is pleased to provide an update on its operations. Over the past four months, the Company has been working on several fronts in order to broaden the Companys operations and build a strong foundation for future success. In doing so, the Company is extremely pleased to announce the development of three new tower designs, two significant agreements, as well as an invitation to the BC Tech Summit 2019 from the BC Ministry of Agriculture in order to showcase our new towers. Technology Development Since October 2018, the Company has been working aggressively with our manufacturing partner, Cobotix Manufacturing Inc. (Cobotix), to develop new tower designs and new technologies. The result of this work is three new tower designs. We have a newly designed vertical farming tower for soiled-based growing, a new hydroponic version of the vertical farming tower and a newly designed vertical farming tower that is a hybrid of hydroponic and aeroponic growing. The new designs allow the Company to increase its footprint in the vertical farming space and gives the Company a product line that, we feel, can compete with other hydroponic and aeroponic growing systems on the market. In addition, the new designs also open up the home and light-duty commercial markets for the Company, markets in which we see great potential for growth. Randy Minhas, President and CEO commented, This is a significant step forward for the Company. As a technology company, it is absolutely crucial that we continue to innovate and develop in order to remain competitive. I am extremely pleased with the new tower designs and look forward to introducing the towers to the market. Agreement with Fundamental Lighting Solutions Corp. (Fundamental Lighting) The Company is pleased to announce that it has reached a four-year, worldwide exclusive, distribution agreement with Fundamental Lighting. Fundamental Lighting is a corporation out of Monroe, Washington and they have developed high-efficiency, white LED lights and coloured LED growing lights to be used for indoor growing operations, including greenhouses. The Company will have the exclusive right to distribute the lights for Agricultural projects and earn a commission on the sale of the lights. In addition, the Company is helping Fundamental Lighting develop cannabis specific growing lights (Cannabis Lights) to compete with the widely used high-pressure sodium lights. The design work and the research for the Cannabis Lights has been completed and the process is moving to the prototype phase. We expect to have eight Cannabis Lights manufactured and ready for testing in the next 6-8 weeks. The design team behind the LED lights and the Cannabis Lights is led by Mr. Wayne Bliesner. Mr. Bliesner is the CEO and Head Scientist at Fundamental Lighting. Mr. Bliesner is in charge of the company direction, choosing executives, scientific research, managing the lab team, and new production R&D. He earned a Masters Degree from the University of Washington in Aeronautical Engineering and spent 20 years at Boeing as a lead engineer, where he has multiple patents there in several technologies. He also spent 16 years as an independent scientist developing ground breaking technologies. He has raised over $10 million for R&D as an independent scientist and is attached to over 100 patents in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia. Mr. Minhas commented This is a very significant agreement for the Company. We are looking forward to working with Mr. Bliesner and his team. The LED growing lights will be a great complement to our new towers. In addition, the development of the Cannabis Lights will be a game changer. Currently, the cannabis market is dominated by high-pressure sodium lights, which emit a significant amount of heat and use a significant amount of electricity. The LED Cannabis Lights will significantly reduce the electricity usage, lower the heat emissions within a grow facility and last considerably longer than the high-pressure sodium lights. Were very excited to get these lights manufactured and tested in the coming months. Agreement with the University of Fraser Valley (UFV) The Company is pleased to announce that we have entered into a two-year agreement with the UFV to complete strawberry grow trials in the newly designed soil-based, vertical growing tower with the use of the LED lights from Fundamental Lighting. The Company will install a total eight towers at the two Surrey Biopod greenhouses, replacing the two larger, first generation, towers from several years ago. The Surrey Biopod facility is a partnership between the University of the Fraser Valley, the John Volken Academy (Volken Academy), and the City of Surrey. The Volken Academy provides life and job skills to addicted youth, and the Biopods offer Volken students the opportunity to learn growing and research skills in an urban greenhouse environment. The grow trial will consist of four towers in each Biopod greenhouse with half of the towers being used to grow strawberries using conventional substrate and the other half growing in organic substrate. In addition, the Company will install white LED lights in one greenhouse and coloured growing LED lights in the second greenhouse. The project will be overseen and managed by Dr. Laila Benkrima. Dr. Benkrima is currently a Horticulture Instructor with the UFV and runs the Surrey Biopod program. Dr. Laila Benkrima holds a Ph.D. in Plant Biology and MSc in Plant Physiology from the University of Paris (France). She has over 25 years of experience in research and development within the horticulture and plant biotechnology industries. She has been responsible for the planning, development and creative problem solving of various projects from plant micropropagation and functional/medicinal crop cultivation to hydroponics and laboratory design. Mr. Minhas commented Were very please to be working with the University of Fraser Valley and Dr. Benkrima. This agreement gives us access to fully operational greenhouses and the ability to test our newly designed soil tower with the LED white lights and coloured growing lights. The data received from these grow trials will greatly enhance our ability to market and sell these towers. This is also a great opportunity for the students at the Volken Academy and at-risk youth to gain hands on experience with vertical farming technology. We are certainly thrilled to be able to participate in the Surrey Biopod project for the next two years and we are pleased to say, we will be donating all eight towers to the Surrey Biopod project at the conclusion of the agreement. BC Tech Summit 2019 The Company is excited to announce that we have been invited to the BC Tech Summit, March 12-13, 2019, at the Vancouver Convention Center by the BC Ministry of Agriculture. The Company will use the BC Tech Summit to launch its new hydroponic growing tower and our hybrid hydroponic/aeroponic tower. In addition, we will also be showcasing the LED white lights and the coloured growing lights as part of our exhibit. The Companys exhibit will be part of the BC Ministry of Agricultures showcase. Mr. Minhas commented We are thrilled to be attending the BC Tech Summit with the BC Ministry of Agriculture and very grateful to have been given this opportunity. It is a great honour to be invited to this event. This will be a great platform to launch our new towers and showcase Fundamental Lightings LED lights. Randy Minhas President and CEO About Affinor Growers Affinor Growers is a publicly traded company on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol ("AFI"). Affinor is focused on developing vertical farming technologies and using those technologies to grow fruits and vegetables in a sustainable manner. Neither 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. This news release may contain assumptions, estimates, and other forward-looking statements regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and are subject to factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control that may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. AFFINOR GROWERS INC. www.affinorgrowers.com Feed tests reveal lower digestibility New seasonal feed quality test results showing the stark differences between wet and dry seasons have underlined the need for end users to measure and know what they are feeding. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Australia's TPG Telecom Ltd can be seen outside their head office in Sydney, Australia, April 12, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo (Reuters) - Australia's TPG Telecom Ltd said on Tuesday it will take A$228 million ($163 million) in writedowns in its first-half results after halting its mobile network rollout due to a ban on the use of equipment from Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. TPG said last month it had abandoned construction of the network because it relied on equipment from China's Huawei that has been banned by Australia's government on security grounds. TPG, which is awaiting regulatory approval for a proposed merger with the Australian arm of Britain's Vodafone Group PLC, said it will reduce the value of its spectrum licenses by A$92 million. It will also reduce the value of its mobile network assets by A$76 million, and take other writedowns to the value of A$60 million. TPG said it expected the spectrum licenses and mobile network assets to complement the Vodafone network, but would take the writedowns as the proposed merger remains subject to approval. The move would not affect its 2019 full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization forecast on a business as usual basis, which it put at A$800 million to A$820 million last September. The company will release its first-half results on March 19. Huawei, the world's biggest telecoms equipment maker, has been under intense scrutiny since the arrest of its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, in Canada. The United States has put pressure on nations to restrict market access to Huawei over allegations that China could use its equipment for espionage. (Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Pullin) * Ruralco board recommends offer from Nutrien * Ruralco shares soar to above-bid price * Deal immediately accretive to Nutrien- CEO (Adds share reaction, Ruralco Chairman comment, Nutrien CEO, analyst comment) By Paulina Duran SYDNEY, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Australian rural services firm Ruralco Holdings Ltd on Wednesday backed a $337 million takeover bid by Canada's Nutrien Ltd, the latest potential tie-up in a sector consolidating in the face of severe drought. Fertilizer giant Nutrien, which owns Landmark, one of the largest agricultural businesses in Australia, offered A$4.40 a share in cash for rival Ruralco, representing a premium of about 44 percent to the company's last close. The deal is likely to face antitrust concerns as it would merge two large rural supply firms to create a sector heavyweight. "Effectively it is about the No. 1 market player buying No. 3," Philip Pepe, senior analyst at Blue Ocean Equities said. "It is a fair price for the Ruralco shareholders and it should attract some synergies if the regulator allows it to go through." Ruralco said in a statement its board unanimously recommended Nutrien's offer in the absence of a superior proposal, sending its shares soaring 47 percent to A$4.50, its highest price in over a decade, before closing at A$4.44, still above the offered price. "There is strong logic in bringing together the trusted businesses of Ruralco and Nutrien's Australian subsidiary Landmark to capture synergies, efficiencies and cost savings in our highly competitive rural markets," Ruralco Chairman, Rick Lee said in a statement. The deal would be immediately accretive for Nutrien, formed by the union of Agrium Inc and Potash Corp of Saskatchewan last year, said President and CEO Chuck Magro. It would represent a strategic threat to rival Elders , which according to researcher IBISWorld is Australia's second largest livestock and agricultural supplies company. BIDDING WAR? Elders, which has in the past expressed interest in growing its business through acquisitions, could potentially launch a rival bid for Ruralco, but a move is far from certain, analysts said. Story continues "Elders have had discussions in the past to buy or merge with Ruralco and agreed to walk away," Pepe said. "I can't see Elders paying a greater premium today, so I'm surprised the share-price has gone above the bid price." Media representatives from Elders did not return requests for comment. The offer comes at a time of heightened global interest in Australia's agriculture sector, with Saputo Inc grabbing Murray Goulburn for $1.0 billion, while GrainCorp Ltd received a A$2.38 billion bid from a privately held asset manager. Ruralco has been grappling with a drop in crop protection product sales as a severe drought grips Australia's east cost, while a regulatory crackdown has hit its live export division. Competition watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, said it was aware of the deal and would commence a public review of the proposed acquisition. Ruralco also declared an interim dividend of up to 10 cents per share, and an additional special dividend of 90 cents a share on or before implementation of the deal that would reduce the bid's cash payment to investors to A$3.50 per share. ($1 = 1.3922 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Paulina Duran in Sydney, additional reporting by Niyati Shetty in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Pullin) Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE:ACB) gained 3.70% in the last trading session to close the day at $7.56 after the company reported that it had agreed to acquire a majority stake in Portuguese company Gaia Pharma Ltd. at an undisclosed sum. The company is planning to establish a medical cannabis production facility as well as for other related products as the company expands its reach to Europe. Aurora Portugal Lda Following the acquisition of the 51% stake, the new company will change its name to Aurora Portugal Lda. On 21 February 2019, the Portuguese Health Ministry through INFARMED approved an application by Gaia Pharma Lda to construct a EUGMP-compliant facility for the cultivation of cannabis. INFARMED is the division of Health Ministry responsible for regulation, authorization, evaluation as well as control of medicines and other products for health protection of humans in Portugal. The move is part of the companys strategy to establish an edge in countries where the cannabis market is still booming. The building of the new facility will occur in phases with the first phase lined up for completion by the Q4 of FY2020. Once the first phase is completed the facility will have a production capacity of over 2,000 kg per year which will double once the second phase gets completed. Growing cannabis market in Portugal With Portugals population of over 10 million, there is potentially an attractive cannabis market in the region. The country is part of Eurozone and has a regulatory framework that is producer-friendly which encourages setting up of a local production facility that could utilize the available affordable labor. In 2015, the country enacted new regulations that allow the distribution of recommended medical cannabis to patients across the country as well as exporting to other countries across Europe where medical cannabis is legal. Terry Booth the CEO of Aurora indicated that they were pleased to enter the European market and they expect to continue working with other joint venture partners to develop a safe and regulated medical cannabis system for the distribution of the products to the patients. Besides Portugal, the company is already active in 24 other countries. The post Aurora Cannabis Takes 51% Stake In Portugals Gaia Pharm Lda appeared first on Market Exclusive. (Bloomberg) -- Theres a wrinkle in plans made by Asias richest man to take on Amazon.com Inc and Walmart Inc on his home turf in India: his telecom and retail businesses cant share data. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd., has outlined how he will marry the might of his groups 9,900-plus retail stores and 280-million strong telecom user base to bolster his e-commerce venture. A senior Reliance executive says that any data sharing on customers between the two, could run into a legal wall. They are different companies so there are data privacy rules, Ashwin Khasgiwala, Reliance Retail Ltd.s chief financial officer said at a conference in Mumbai on Tuesday. Theyre different platforms, he said while declining to elaborate on how the group plans to overcome it. While its brick-and-mortar retail businesses are housed in Reliance Retail, the telecom operations are in a separate legal entity Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. Legal hurdles in sharing information can stymie a variety of lucrative uses of that data to sell more products to customers. Ambani, who calls data the new oil and has warned of data colonization by overseas firms in India, can potentially find workarounds for the legal snarl. One option would be to merge the two Reliance units. Data sharing between two legal entities is going to be very difficult, said Abheek Singhi, head of Boston Consulting Groups consumer practice in India. My view would be at some point in time, at least from a legal entity perspective, it will come together. To contact the reporter on this story: Ari Altstedter in Mumbai at aaltstedter@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: K. Oanh Ha at oha3@bloomberg.net, Bhuma Shrivastava, Candice Zachariahs For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. English French QUEBEC CITY, Quebec, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nemaska Lithium Inc. (the Corporation) (TSX: NMX) (OTCQX: NMKEF) (Frankfurt: N0T) today announced that, further to its update of February 13, 2019 on the evolution of the Whabouchi project, its Board of Directors has appointed a Special Committee to review all strategic alternatives for the Corporation. The Special Committee is comprised of independent members of the Corporations Board of Directors, being Francois Biron, Vanessa Laplante and Paul-Henri Couture, the latter acting as Chairman of the Special Committee. In connection with this review process, Clarksons Platou Securities AS has been engaged as financial advisor to the Corporation and the Board, National Bank Financial and PricewaterhouseCoopers have been engaged as financial advisors to the Special Committee and the Board and McCarthy Tetrault LLP has been engaged as legal advisor to the Special Committee and the Board. The Corporation has, with the assistance of the Special Committee and the engaged advisors, initiated its review process which it intends to complete in a timely fashion including alternatives which may be available to secure the additional funding required to complete the Whabouchi mine and the Shawinigan plant. Management will work closely with the Special Committee to review all alternatives including but not limited to common stock, preference shares, debt instruments permitted under the stream and the senior secured bonds, other sources of funds and M&A alternatives. The Corporation will update the market accordingly at such time as the Board approves a definitive strategic alternative, or otherwise determines that further disclosure on the review process is appropriate. About Nemaska Lithium Nemaska Lithium Inc. is a developing chemical company whose activities will be vertically integrated, from spodumene mining to the commercialization of high-purity lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate. These lithium salts are mainly destined for the fast-growing lithium-ion battery market, which is driven by the increasing demand for electric vehicles and energy storage worldwide. With its products and processes, the Corporation intends to facilitate access to green energy, for the benefit of humanity. The Corporation will be operating the Whabouchi mine in Quebec, Canada, one of the richest lithium spodumene deposits in the world, both in volume and grade. The spodumene concentrate produced at the Whabouchi mine will be processed at the Shawinigan plant using a unique membrane electrolysis process for which the Corporation holds several patents. The Corporation is a member of the S&P/TSX SmallCap Index, S&P/TSX Global Mining Index, S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index, S&P/TSX Equal Weight Global Base Metals Index, and the MSCI Canada Small Cap Index. For more information, visit www.nemaskalithium.com or twitter.com/Nemaska Lithium . Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release including, but not limited to, those relating to the availability of strategic options or alternatives, the implementation of any alternative transactions, obtaining the additional capital required to enable the Corporation to complete construction, the estimated additional costs for completing the construction of the Whabouchi mine and the Shawinigan plant, the ability to meet funding conditions under the streaming agreement and the senior secured bonds, the expected unfolding of construction and commissioning as well as the anticipated start of production at the Whabouchi mine and Shawinigan plant sites, constitute forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of certain securities laws and are based on expectations and projections as of the date of this press release. Certain important assumptions by the Corporation in making forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the obtaining of the additional capital required to fulfill the conditions precedent to receive the remaining proceeds from the project financing being the second tranche payment under the Streaming facility and the Bonds offering proceeds. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, without limitation, those related to (i) the outcome of the review process of all strategic alternatives available to the Corporation (ii) the ability of the Corporation to secure additional funds, including the ability of the Corporation to implement funding solutions to meet the revised budget and deliver the project according to the schedule, (iii) the revised costs which are based on current estimates and may be subject to variations, (iv) construction advancing on schedule at both the Whabouchi mine and the Shawinigan plant, (v) the ability of the Corporation to meet funding conditions under the streaming agreement and the senior secured bonds, (vi) the outcome of the evaluation of several options that would enable existing and new shareholders and project partners to provide funding, (vii) the ability of the Corporation to complete the mine construction in October 2019 and make the first shipment of spodumene concentrate in December 2019 followed by the start of the Shawinigan facility the year after (viii) the interest from users for samples from the Phase 1 Plant, and (ix) generally, the above About Nemaska Lithium paragraph which essentially describes the Corporations outlook. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations, estimates and projections as of the time of this press release. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Corporation as of the time of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. These estimates and assumptions may prove to be incorrect. Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can directly or indirectly affect, and could cause, actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that the Whabouchi mine and/or the electrochemical plant in Shawinigan will be commissioned and will begin production, as future events could differ materially what is currently anticipated by the Corporation. In addition, there can be no assurance that the review process of the Special Committee will result in any financing or other transaction. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions do not reflect future experience. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about managements expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important risk factors and future events could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates, assumptions and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and those made in our other filings with the securities regulators of Canada including, but not limited to, the cautionary statements made in the Risk Factors section of the Corporations Annual Information Form dated October 10, 2018, and the Risk Exposure and Management section of the Corporations quarterly Management Discussion & Analysis. The Corporation cautions that the foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive, and new, unforeseeable risks may arise from time to time. The Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law. Further information regarding Nemaska Lithium is available in the SEDAR database (www.sedar.com) and on the Corporations website at: www.nemaskalithium.com . FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Victor Cantore Investor Relations 514 831-3809 victor.cantore@nemaskalithium.com Wanda Cutler Investor Relations 416 303-6460 wanda.cutler@nemaskalithium.com Snow is seen at Northeast Wasco Street and 24th Avenue on Feb. 27, 2019. (Beth Nakamura/Staff) Flakes flew. Schools closed. Temperatures stayed chilly. But Portlanders mostly weathered a snowy morning commute which featured just enough snow and ice to make some roads treacherous without causing widespread mayhem. That doesn't mean there wasn't trouble, including numerous crashes and a bus sliding off the road. As of late morning, snow continued to fall. And snowflakes remain in the latest National Weather Service forecast. Keep reading to get a primer on the city's recent snow and ongoing, wintry developments. Don't Edit Residents of SE Portlands Mount Scott/Arleta neighborhood awoke to a dusting of perhaps an eighth of an inch of snow on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. In a departure from a similar light snowfall earlier in the week, however, flakes did stick to roads and sidewalks, creating slick conditions for commuters. (Dave Killen/Staff) Snowfall The weather system that brought light snow showers to the Portland area and heavier accumulations to the central Willamette Valley will weaken Wednesday and leave most areas with just an icy dusting of snow. Expect mostly cloudy skies Wednesday with a chance of snow or rain showers and a high of 39. Don't Edit Don't Edit Residents of Southeast Portlands Mount Scott/Arleta neighborhood awoke to a dusting of perhaps an eighth of an inch of snow on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. In a departure from a similar light snowfall earlier in the week, however, flakes did stick to roads and sidewalks, creating slick conditions for commuters. (Dave Killen/Staff) Road conditions Traffic cameras show snow-covered roads across the metro area, from downtown Portland to Washington and Clackamas counties. TriMet said at 10 a.m. Wednesday that its trains were running without problems. One bus route, Line 43, has been canceled. "A growing number of other bus lines are detoured due to icy road conditions," the agency said. Buses on three lines were using traditional chains and could only travel at a maximum of 25 mph. TriMet riders should check the agency's website before heading out. Drivers can monitor road conditions by viewing road cameras and traffic maps on TripCheck.com. The Oregonian/OregonLive has chronicled various crashes here. Don't Edit Kids sled down a snowy hill in this Oregonian/OregonLive file photo. School closures Many Oregon school districts have canceled classes Wednesday, and other schools will open late. Portland Public Schools, Oregons largest district, is among those whose schools are closed. The Beaverton, Parkrose, Tigard-Tualatin, Oregon City and Lake Oswego school districts have also canceled classes. Schools in the Astoria, Seaside and Warrenton-Hammond school districts, among others, will have delayed openings. Keep up to date with all regional school closures and delays here. Don't Edit Don't Edit Residents of SE Portlands Mount Scott/Arleta neighborhood awoke to a dusting of perhaps an eighth of an inch of snow on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. In a departure from a similar light snowfall earlier in the week, however, flakes did stick to roads and sidewalks, creating slick conditions for commuters. (Dave Killen/Staff) Rest of the workweek Thursday also has a chance for snow or rain showers, sometimes mixed, in the Portland area. The high in Portland will warm to 41 degrees. The weather will feel a bit less wintry Friday, which will bring a 30 percent chance of rain showers in the morning, then mostly sunny skies and a high of 46 degrees. Don't Edit Light snow fell overnight, with minimal accumulation in the SE Portland neighborhood of Mount Scott / Arleta, on Feb. 25, 2019. (Dave Killen/Staff) Power outages Pacific Power reports over 3,300 customers are without power in Portland about 11 a.m. Over 1,050 Portland General Electric customers were reportedly without power in the metro area at that point. Don't Edit Snow is seen on Southwest Estuary Drive in west Beaverton on Feb. 25, 2019. (Grant Butler/Staff) View more snow photos below. -- Jim Ryan; jryan@oregonian.com; 503-221-8005; @Jimryan015 Rosemarie Stein and Kale Williams of The Oregonian/OregonLive staff contributed to this report Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. Don't Edit Don't Edit Snow is seen at Northeast Wasco Street and 24th Avenue on Feb. 27, 2019. (Beth Nakamura/Staff) Don't Edit Don't Edit Snow is seen at Northeast Wasco Street and 24th Avenue on Feb. 27, 2019. (Beth Nakamura/Staff) Don't Edit A dusting of snow is shown in the Milwaukie and Oak Grove area on Feb. 27, 2019. (Joel Odom/Staff) Don't Edit Trace amounts of snow are seen on the ground in St. Johns. Snow drifted in places, leaving accumulations of up to a couple of inches. Busier roads were clear early Feb. 27, 2019, while side streets still had a layer of snow. (Elliot Njus/Staff) Don't Edit Trace amounts of snow are seen on the ground in St. Johns. Snow drifted in places, leaving accumulations of up to a couple of inches. Busier roads were clear early Feb. 27, 2019, while side streets still had a layer of snow. (Elliot Njus/Staff) Don't Edit Ducks are seen in Westmoreland Park on Feb. 27, 2019. (Margaret Haberman/Staff) Don't Edit Don't Edit Leaves trapped in ice are seen in Westmoreland Park on Feb. 27, 2019. (Margaret Haberman/Staff) Don't Edit Snow is seen in Milwaukie's Hector Campbell neighborhood on Feb. 27, 2019. (Samantha Swindler/Staff) Don't Edit Snow is seen in Milwaukie's Hector Campbell neighborhood on Feb. 27, 2019. (Samantha Swindler/Staff) Don't Edit A Light dusting of snow is seen at Southwest 162nd Avenue and Baseline Road on Feb. 27, 2019. (Grant Butler/Staff) Don't Edit Snow-covered roads are seen in Portland's Arbor Lodge neighborhood on Feb. 27, 2019. (Andrew Theen/Staff) Don't Edit Don't Edit Snow is seen at Southeast 82nd Avenue and Foster Road on Feb. 27, 2019. (Lizzy Acker) Don't Edit Snow is seen in Northeast Portland's Hollywood District on Feb. 27, 2019. (Kristi Turnquist/Staff) Don't Edit A dusting of less than an inch fell in Portland's west hills, but the snowfall was enough to leave some roads slippery. Oregonian Staff A team of paleontologists led by Virginia Tech's Michelle Stocker and Sterling Nesbitt of the Department of Geosciences have identified fossil fragments of what are thought to be the oldest known frogs in North America. The fossils are composed of several small pieces of hip bone, called an ilium, from Chinle frogs, a distant, long-extinct branch, but not a direct ancestor of, modern frogs. The fragments are packed into rock and are smaller than a pinky nail. They represent the first known and earliest equatorial remains of a salientian -- the group containing living frogs and their most-closely related fossil relatives -- from the Late Triassic, roughly 216 million years ago. The name of the fossil derives from where they were found, the Chinle Formation of Arizona. Stocker, an assistant professor of geosciences in the Virginia Tech College of Science, says the fossils, discovered in May 2018, underscore the importance of microfossil collection and analysis for understanding extinct species whose total length is under three feet in length. "This new find highlights just how much there is still to learn about the Late Triassic ecosystem, and how much we find when we just look a little closer," Stocker said. "We're familiar with the charismatic archosaurs from the Chinle Formation, but we know that based on other ecosystems, they should make up a small percentage of the animals that lived together. With this new focus we're able to fill in a lot of those missing smaller components with new discoveries." Coming from multiple individuals, the hip bones are are long and hollow, with a hip socket offset rather than centered. The bones of the frogs show how tiny they were: Just a bit over half-an-inch long. "The Chinle frog could fit on the end of your finger," Stocker added. Stocker and her team include researchers from Virginia Tech, Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park, and the University of Florida's Museum of Natural History, with the findings published today in the online journal Biology Letters. Even though the fossils are part of the Chinle frog family, they are not yet naming the specific fossils. "We refrain from naming this Chinle frog because we are continuing to process microvertebrate matrix that will likely yield additional skull and postcranial material that has the potential to be even more informative," Stocker added. The Chinle frog shares more features with living frogs and Prosalirus, an Early Jurassic frog found in sediments from the present-day Navajo Nation, than to Triadobatrachus, an Early Triassic frog found in modern day Madagascar in Africa. "These are the oldest frogs from near the equator," Stocker added. "The oldest frogs overall are roughly 250 million years old from Madagascar and Poland, but those specimens are from higher latitudes and not equatorial." Added Nesbitt, also an assistant professor of geosciences, "Now we know that tiny frogs were present approximately 215 million years ago from North America, we may be able to find other members of the modern vertebrate communities in the Triassic Period." (During the Triassic, the separate continents we recognize today formed the single landmass named Pangaea. Present-day Arizona was located roughly 10 degrees north of the equator.) The team added this discovery also marks the first time that frog fossils have been found directly with phytosaurs, and other early dinosaurs. The Virginia Tech team included both undergraduate and graduate students from across the university, using fossils found in the field and dousing additional rock samples repeatedly in water buckets. Further study of the fossils was completed by CT scans. The undergraduates who accompanied Stocker and Nesbitt on the spring 2018 expedition to Arizona included Elizabeth Evans, a major in the School of Performing Arts; Rebecca Hawkins, majoring in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation; and Hector Lopez, majoring in biological sciences. "Through my internship with Drs. Stocker and Nesbitt in Arizona, I learned firsthand the hard work that paleontologists put into finding fossils," said Hawkins, a sophomore in the College of Natural Resources and Environment. "Every day you have to brave long treks, heavy loads, scorching heat, and more. But, with just the right combination of patience and luck, you can find something truly amazing that makes the toil worth it, like a tiny frog hip that tells a big story." "Our development of methods that recover delicate bones from small-bodied vertebrates enabled this exciting discovery," said Ben Kligman, a Ph.D. student in Geosciences from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "Our aim is to use similar techniques in the Chinle Formation to uncover the early history of other small-bodied animals including lizards, salamanders, turtles, and mammals." ### Funding for the study came from the National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Society, the David B. Jones Foundation, the Petrified Forest Museum Association, and the Friends of Petrified Forest National Park The subcortical areas of the brain, situated in its deepest reaches, remain a mystery. Scientists are aware of the critical role they play in motor, emotional and associative activity but do not know precisely how they work. A number of serious diseases are directly linked to these areas, including Parkinson's, Tourette syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD). Existing treatments for regulating and measuring the activity of the subcortical areas are highly invasive, and sometimes work without us really knowing how. Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, and Cologne University (Germany) decided to see whether a non-invasive method - electroencephalography (EEG) - could be employed in tandem with mathematical algorithms to measure this brain activity externally. They proved for the first time that this technique is able to record signals usually only seen by implanting electrodes in the brain. The results, published in Nature Communications, pave the way for new, precision clinical applications. It is very difficult to study and get close to the subcortical areas, which are located in the deepest part of the brain. We know that two key structures in these areas, the thalamus and nucleus accumbens, communicate with each other and the cortex to control motor, emotional and associative activation (higher-level thinking) via electrical oscillations. "A dysfunction in this communication causes very serious diseases in humans, such as Tourette's and OCD, which generally begin in adolescence when the brain's development comes to an end, as well as Parkinson's disease", explains Christoph Michel, a professor in the Department of Basic Neurosciences in UNIGE's Faculty of Medicine. Current treatments, based on deep brain stimulation are highly invasive: implanting electrodes into the centre of the brain, which are stimulated electrically by an external stimulator. "Although this technique has been shown to be effective in Parkinson's, unfortunately it doesn't work so well for OCD and Tourette syndrome," says Martin Seeber, a researcher in the Department of Basic Neurosciences and the study's first author. An established and truly non-invasive analysis technique To improve existing treatments, it has become essential to understand how these subcortical zones function and how they communicate. The diseases mentioned above only affect humans, however, and suffer from insufficient animal models. Since implanting electrodes is an extremely invasive technique, another method was called for to increase the number of subjects studied. "We naturally thought of EEG, which records the electrical activity of the brain using 256 electrodes placed on the scalp," continues Michel. But is it really possible to measure deep brain activity from outside the skull? In collaboration with a team headed by professor Veerle Visser-Vanderwalle, a neurosurgeon at the University of Cologne, the UNIGE researchers were able to measure and record the electrical activity of the subcortical areas of four OCD and Tourette's patients who had been given electrode implants. At the same time, these individuals were equipped with an EEG as the scientists measured the activity of the same areas from the surface. "The mathematical algorithms that we developed meant we could accurately interpret the data provided by the EEG and ascertain where the brain activity was coming from," says Seeber. And the verdict? The results correlated perfectly. "In obtaining highly similar signals as with the implants, we finally proved that surface EEG can be used to see what is happening in the deepest part of the brain without having to go into it directly!" says professor Michel. The door is open to new precision treatments "Now that we know that EEG can be used to analyse the subcortical zones," continues Seeber, "we can try to understand how they communicate with each other and the cortex in the hope that we'll be able to better understand the causes of diseases such as Tourette's and OCD." The scientists are also keen to use the technique to improve current treatment methods, based on rebalancing network interactions using a very slight electric shock. They would also like to apply them to other diseases such as obesity, addiction or Alzheimer's. "Lastly, we hope that in time we'll be able to stimulate the deep brain areas from the surface via an electromagnetic treatment, doing away with electrode implants in the brain once and for all!" concludes professor Michel. ### The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and the Royal College of Art (RCA), United Kingdom, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to confirm their intention to establish the PolyU|RCA Artificial Intelligence Design Laboratory (AIDL). The Laboratory will be the world's first and leading research facility to advance the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the design of products and service. Targeted to uncover knowledge and techniques related to design and scientific principles, new design process and innovative products, AIDL will address industry demands for efficiency, automation and customising products and services in the innovation and technology era. Its research deliverables will support industries including healthcare, manufacturing, hospitality and retail services. The Hon Mrs Carrie LAM CHENG Yuet-ngor, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) attended the ceremony and witnessed the signing of MOU by Prof Philip C. H. CHAN, Interim President and Provost of PolyU and Dr Paul THOMPSON, Vice-Chancellor of RCA. Also joining the ceremony as witnesses were Dr LAM Tai-fai, Council Chairman of PolyU; Ir Prof Alex WAI, Vice President (Research Development); Dr Miranda Lou, Executive Vice President; Prof Naren BARFIELD, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost of the RCA; Prof Juan Cruz, Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities and Ms. Helen PROTHEROE, Director of Development & Alumni Relations of RCA. Addressing in the ceremony, The Hon Mrs Carrie Lam, said, "The opportunity to witness this marriage of design and AI which belongs to the technology portfolio is extremely gratifying. I am sure that the collaborated team of PolyU and RCA will find in Hong Kong the appeal of time-tested legal system, robust intellectual property protection, strong financial sector, and the support for commercialisation of R and D results, as well as the distinctive east meets west culture which sparks creative inspiration." Prof Philip C. H. Chan said, "I am confident that this Laboratory will bring together the strengths of both institutions to lead the world in this new design paradigm, contributing to the innovation and technology development in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area." "Founded 182 years ago, in response to the first industrial revolution, the Royal College of Art (RCA) today stands at the turn of the fourth revolution. The world will witness breakthroughs across design and technology including artificial intelligence - where art and design will meet. As the world's number one art and design university, we have built our capacity to work across disciplines, combining our art and design research expertise with insights from science, technology and engineering. We are delighted to collaborate with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University to bring together unrivalled capabilities," said Dr Paul Thompson Vice-Chancellor of RCA. PolyU will engage researchers and resources from various disciplines including Department of Applied Mathematics, Department of Computing, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Institute of Textiles and Clothing, Department of Mechanical Engineering and School of Design to work together with RCA on a number of theme-based research. Among them, there will be empirical research in Affective Computing and Social Robots that could recognise and analyse human emotions. Other studies will include Intelligent Fashion Design; Intelligent Textile and Apparel Design and Manufacturing; innovating materials of the future that are extremely light, robust and able to detect human bio-metrics for fashion and wearables; creating automatic systems for ergonomic design and human modelling, and using regenerative approach in product design and material development for sustainability in the circular economy, etc. Committed to supporting the HKSAR Government's InnoHK initiative in developing Hong Kong as the hub for global research collaborations, the two institutions has just submitted a proposal to the HKSAR Government under the AIR@InnoHK research cluster initiative. ### In a strategic search, Johns Hopkins scientists created and screened a library of 45,000 new compounds containing chemical elements of widely used immune system suppressants, and say they found one that may prevent reperfusion injury, a tissue-damaging and common complication of surgery, heart attack and stroke. The Johns Hopkins team dubbed its newly discovered compound rapadocin and has filed patents on it and its family of 45,000 chemical cousins. It also has licensed the drug to Baltimore-based biotechnology company Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals, which was co-founded by the study's leader, Jun O. Liu, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacology and oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The researchers caution that any commercialization or clinical use of the drug must await substantial further safety and benefit studies in people. A report on the method used to create and identify rapadocin, as well as laboratory tests of it in mice with reperfusion injuries in their kidneys appeared Dec. 10 in Nature Chemistry. "Reperfusion injuries are a common complication after surgery, especially in the elderly," says Liu who oversees a library of thousands of the world's ever-used medicines banked at the Johns Hopkins Drug Library. The injury occurs when, after surgery, doctors release clamps on blood vessels and a surge of oxygenated blood flows back into tissues that were temporarily starved of it. The wave of blood can shock the tissues causing inflammation and organ damage. The condition can also happen when clogged arteries are opened after heart attacks and strokes. Currently, there are a number of drugs being studied to treat reperfusion injuries, and some treatments, such as blood thinners and anti-inflammatory drugs, can be mildly effective for certain types of the condition. To find the new drug, Liu, who co-directs the Cancer Chemical and Structural Biology Program at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, recalled his postdoctoral training years studying how a drug called rapamycin works. Essentially, it suppresses the immune system and is often prescribed to kidney transplant patients to prevent rejection of their new organs. "I have always thought that rapamycin had interesting qualities," says Liu. "It's very stable and cells can absorb high quantities of it, particularly because of its chemical structure." Chemically, rapamycin and another immunosuppressant drug, called FK506, contain a unique scaffold that forms nearly half of a ring. That half of the ring, called the FKBP-binding domain, is nearly identical between the two drugs, and the other half, the so-called effector domain, is unique to each of them. The FKBP-binding domain of the drugs confers a number of advantages, including stability and greater distribution throughout the body. The effector domain is what makes each drug target a different protein to suppress the immune system or inhibit cancer cell growth. Inspired by the unique chemical architectures of rapamycin and FK506, Liu wondered whether it was possible to build similar ring-shaped molecules by swapping out the effector domain of rapamycin and replacing it with new building blocks to target other proteins involved in human diseases. To do so, Liu and his team made 45,000 combinations of compounds with a FKBP-binding domain and different effector domains. "We could have made many more combinations, but only had a certain amount of resources to work with," recalls Liu. Liu and his team divided the massive pool of 45,000 compounds into 3,000 smaller groups and tested each group for those that blocked a chemical pathway associated with reperfusion injury. That pathway is a pump system called equilibrative nucleoside transporter, or ENT, which transports a molecule called adenosine, an important biological messenger, into the cell. Tissues starved for oxygen produce large quantities of adenosine. Adenosine protects cells from damage by connecting with receptors on the surface of cells. To control how much and how long adenosine connects with its receptor, cells can dampen the activity of adenosine by swallowing it into the cell through the ENT transporter. "So the goal is to keep adenosine outside of the cell longer to treat reperfusion injuries," says Liu. To keep adenosine outside the cell, the scientists looked for the compounds that blocked ENT activity and kept the most adenosine outside the cells to have its tissue-protective effect for as long as possible. One compound rose to the top of their experiments, and they named it rapadocin. In laboratory studies of 25 mice, the scientists injected them with rapadocin, removed one of their kidneys and clamped the other for 45 minutes; 24 hours later, they sampled their blood for levels of creatinine and nitrogen, which are markers of reperfusion injury. The animals given rapadocin had one-third less creatinine (0.4 milligrams per deciliter compared with 0.6 milligrams per deciliter on average) and less than half of nitrogen levels (40 milligrams per deciliter compared with 90 milligrams per deciliter on average) than control mice that were given a drug to cancel the effects of rapadocin. ### Currently, rapadocin is being developed by Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals as a potential treatment for kidney reperfusion injury. Other scientists involved in this research include Zufeng Guo, Sam Y. Hong, Hanjing Peng, Shridhar Bhat, Brandon Peiffer, Chung-Ming Tse and Zhaoli Sun of Johns Hopkins; Jingxin Wang of The Scripps Research Institute; Shahid Rehan and Ville O. Paavilainen of the University of Helsinki, Finland; Wukun Liu of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, China; Manisha Das of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Wei Li of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; Brett R. Ullman of Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals; Zlatina Tarmakova and Imogen Coe of Ryerson University, Toronto; and Cordelia Schiene-Fischer and Gunter Fischer of Martin Luther University, Germany. Under a license agreement between Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals Inc. and The Johns Hopkins University, Drs. Guo, Peng, Bhat, Sun, Liu, and the University are entitled to royalty distributions related to technology described in the study discussed in this publication. Dr. Liu is also a founder of Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals Inc. and a member of its scientific advisory board. This arrangement has been reviewed and approved by The Johns Hopkins University in accordance with its conflict of interest policies. DOI: 10.1038/s41557-018-0187-4 Soils all over the Earth's surface are rigorously tested and managed. But what about soils that are down in the murky depths? Although not traditional soils, underwater soils have value and function. Some scientists are working to get them the recognition and research they deserve. One of these scientists is Mark Stolt from the University of Rhode Island. He and his team are working to sample and map underwater soils. "Considering that nearly half of the United States population lives within coastal counties, these soils impact many of their lives relative to commercial, recreational, and transportation activities," he explains. "Soil maps provide a mechanism to manage these areas and make fundamental use and management decisions that affect people every day. Unlike land, you can't put a price on underwater soils." Underwater soils are affected by human activities such as dredging, aquaculture, and restoration, all of which affects water quality. In dredging, layers of the underwater soil are removed to make room--for example, to allow the bottom of a ship to pass. That soil has to go somewhere. If put on land the effects can be unknown. Aquaculture, raising aquatic plants (for example, nori) or animals (such as oysters), makes use of underwater habitats. In traditional agriculture, farmers are typically concerned about the state of their soil. However, underwater soil is poorly understood. What makes a good or bad soil for aquaculture is uncertain. The underwater soils also face some threats from land activity, adds Stolt. For example, if too much fertilizer is put on a field it can run off into nearby bodies of water. This encourages algae growth. When that algae dies and decomposes, the water--and underwater soils--lose the oxygen fish and plants need. "These soils are the foundation and structure of a myriad of habitats and ecosystems," Stolt says. "For example, submerged aquatic vegetation are rooted plants that derive much of their nutrients from underwater soils. They trap sediment and minimize coastal erosion. They are a huge sink for carbon dioxide that is eventually stored in the soils, and like other plants, they add oxygen. Not to mention provide habitats for the animals that live in them. Their importance goes on and on." By taking measures of the soils, researchers are able to add data to the National Cooperative Soil Survey maps. These provide uniform and rigorous assessments for soil and are used throughout the country. Stolt says soil scientists need to develop faster and better ways to create these maps. Stolt and his team have been able to add new classifications of underwater soils. These classifications lay out the properties of the soil and provide information on how it was formed, and how it can be used and managed. "There is still lots and lots to learn about underwater soils, but some of our experiences suggest these soils are quite resilient," Stolt says. "For example, we tested whether long-term high-production oyster aquaculture (up to 20 years) would have a negative effect on the underwater soil. Although there were some negative effects, the soils essentially remained the same in this particular area." Stolt and his team continue to map underwater soils to help define and understand their value. "I am interested in the application of soils information toward solving environmental issues and problems," he says. "I live in the Ocean State. We are surrounded by estuaries. I want to see them correctly managed and protected for everyone." Stolt presented his research at the International Meeting of the Soil Science Society of America, Jan. 6-9, in San Diego. Studies from this work were funded by NOAA, Rhode Island Sea Grant, NIFA, and USDA-NRCS. ### Every year, the American Ornithological Society presents a range of awards honoring members for their stellar contributions to science and their impactful service to the organization. The 2019 recipients will accept their awards at the annual AOS meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, this June. Their work spans the full breadth of avian science, including contributions to evolution, conservation, systematics, and genetics, as well to the profession of ornithology itself. Awardees represent the broad diversity of our members, who are making major contributions to ornithology and to the Society. "Honoring the achievements of our colleagues is an annual highlight for AOS leadership," says AOS president Kathy Martin. "Under the northern lights of Anchorage, AOS will recognize a stellar array of ornithologists who will receive these prestigious awards for 2019." SENIOR PROFESSIONAL AWARDS The William Brewster Memorial Award is bestowed each year to the author or co-authors of an exceptional body of work on birds of the Western Hemisphere. For the first time this year, the society will present two separate Brewster Medals, one to Helen James and one to Craig Benkman. Dr. James, Curator of Birds at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, has used techniques including traditional morphological analyses, stable isotopes, molecular genetics, and other approaches to produce one of the most detailed bodies of work to date on avian evolutionary processes in island systems, focusing on extinct and extant birds of Hawaii. Dr. Benkman, Robert B. Berry Distinguished Chair in Ecology at the University of Wyoming, is being recognized for his work on selection and adaptive radiation in crossbills, including coevolution between crossbills and lodgepole pine, the influence of drought, fire, and increasing climate variability on this relationship, and the limits of the current and future distribution of crossbills. The 2019 Elliott Coues Achievement Award, recognizing outstanding and innovative contributions to ornithological research, will be presented to Linda Whittingham and Peter Dunn. Dr. Whittingham and Dr. Dunn are a Professor Emeritus and a Distinguished Professor (respectively) at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Together, they have conducted extensive field studies and molecular lab work on Tree Swallows and Common Yellowthroats in North America and cooperatively-breeding birds in Australia, publishing together as a team for more than 25 years. The 2019 Ralph W. Schreiber Conservation Award, recognizing extraordinary scientific contributions to the conservation, restoration, or preservation of birds and their habitats, will be presented to Jose Maria Cardoso da Silva. Originally from Brazil, Dr. Silva is a Professor at the University of Miami. A leading conservation scientist who has achieved prominence on the international stage, his achievements include contributions to science-based conservation initiatives for endemic birds in Brazil's Cerrado, Caatinga, Atlantic forest, and Amazon regions. The 2019 Loye and Alden Miller Research Award, given annually for lifetime achievement in ornithological research, will be presented to A. Townsend Peterson. Dr. "Town" Peterson is a Distinguished Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a Senior Curator with the Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas. His two major areas of research have been the study of the alpha taxonomy of birds, especially the phylogenies of recently radiated avian clades, and the study of the ecology and geography of species distributions. EARLY PROFESSIONAL AWARDS Two James G. Cooper Early Professional Awards and one Ned K. Johnson Early Investigator Award are presented annually to recognize outstanding and promising work by researchers early in their careers. The 2019 James G. Cooper Early Professional Awards will be presented to Karan Odom and Kyle Horton. Both currently postdoctoral fellows at Cornell University, Dr. Odom is studying the overlooked significance of female song to multiple aspects of ornithology, while Dr. Horton's research focuses on using remote sensing data to monitor avian migration across North America. The 2019 Ned K. Johnson Early Investigator Award will be presented to David Toews. Dr. Toews was recently appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Penn State University. His work has taken advantage of rapidly emerging technology to leverage large genomic datasets while asking fundamental questions regarding avian evolution and speciation. SERVICE AWARDS The Marion Jenkinson Service Award and Peter R. Stettenheim Service Award are given to individuals who have performed continued extensive service to AOS. The 2019 Marion Jenkinson Service Award will be presented to Alice Boyle. An Assistant Professor in the Division of Biology at Kansas State University, Dr. Boyle has an impressive record of research achievement in ecology and ornithology and has tirelessly served AOS and the former Cooper Ornithological Society and American Ornithologists' Union in the six years since she became a Kansas State faculty member. She served on the COS Board from 2013 to 2016, simultaneously chairing both their Student Presentations Awards Committee and Publications Committee from 2014 to 2016. In the latter capacity, she became co-chair of the AOU/COS Joint Publications Advisory Committee serving the joint society publications program for The Auk and The Condor. Alice also chaired the committee to identify a new editor for The Auk in 2018. The 2019 Peter R. Stettenheim Service Award will be presented to Mark Hauber and Phil Stouffer for their extraordinary collaboration as editors-in-chief of the AOS journals, The Auk and The Condor. Dr. Stouffer, the Lee F. Mason Professor in the School of Renewable Natural Resources at Louisiana State University, has served as Editor-in-Chief of The Condor since 2013 and will step down from this role in 2019; Dr. Hauber, the Harley Jones Van Cleave Professor of Host-Parasite Interactions in the Department of Animal Biology at the School of Integrative Biology of the University of Illinois, Urbana, was Editor-in-Chief of The Auk from 2013 to 2018. Not only did they each excel at bringing their individual journals to a higher level of impact and scientific professionalism, they deepened and diversified their editorial boards while working tirelessly to advance the goals of AOS' scholarly publications as a whole. PUBLICATIONS AWARDS The 2019 Katma Award, given to the author(s) of a publication in any journal that offers unconventional ideas or innovative approaches in the study of birds, will be presented to Benjamin Winger, Giorgia Auteri, Teresa Pegan, and Brian Weeks for their paper "A long winter for the Red Queen: rethinking the evolution of seasonal migration," published in Biological Reviews in 2018. This paper advances a new view on the evolution of birds' seasonal migration, arguing that the primary adaptive driver of seasonal migration is the maintenance of site fidelity to familiar breeding locations. The 2019 Harry R. Painton Award, given in odd-numbered years to the author of an outstanding paper published in the two preceding years in the AOS journal The Condor: Ornithological Applications, will be presented to Jason Carlisle, Anna Chalfoun, Kurt Smith, and Jeffrey Beck for their 2018 paper "Nontarget effects on songbirds from habitat manipulation for Greater Sage-Grouse: Implications for the umbrella species concept." A strong test of the umbrella species concept in grassland systems, this paper showed that mowing sagebrush to benefit sage-grouse can have unintended negative consequences for Brewer's Sparrows and Sage Thrashers. ### TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Ontario Health Coalition released its preliminary analysis of the new health care omnibus bill today. Health Coalition spokespeople expressed deep concerns about the legislation and the sweeping upheaval to come. The legislation that was made public yesterday is worse than the draft bill in significant ways: it requires even bigger mega-mergers; has less protections; the Ministers new powers appear to be even more sweeping, and; it includes what appear to be unprecedented sweeping powers for Cabinet. The Minister is trying to put a happy face on it by using words like coordination and teams , noted Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition who has served at the leadership level of the Health Coalition for more than 23-years through the Harris-era restructuring, the creation of the LHINs and the Wynne government restructuring. Under her leadership the Health Coalition has won public interest amendments to virtually every piece of health legislation introduced during the last 15 years. But what is actually written in the legislation is that the Minister and the Ford government have given themselves vast new powers to order health service closures, transfers, mega-mergers, and the like, including powers to privatize and to facilitate the for-profit privatization of significant parts of our public and non-profit health care services. The Minister has laid out what she says will happen with the legislation voluntary teams of for-profit and non-profit health service providers will come together and will ultimately cover virtually all health services in the province. Even if that were the case and to be clear, that is not what is articulated in the new law -- it is a real problem, reported Health Coalition Co-Chair Ross Sutherland, M.A., R.N. author and policy expert on laboratory privatization in Canada. Even if the result out of years of mergers and integrations and transfers and so on was that there would be some sort of amalgam of all existing health services, who then oversees these providers in the public interest? No one. There is no public governance and just the far-away Super Agency for oversight. He noted, adding, The majority of the services to be merged are for-profit, dominated by highly-organized chain corporations, so there is real risk that the values and the tenets of the non-profit health system would be lost. It is hard to imagine how the public interest could be protected in such a scenario. Furthermore, he noted, in every case where this type of conglomerate approach has been tried in Ontario, it has failed, citing private laboratories and home care experiments. No one has been consulted on the governments plan to give it and its political appointees that will run the new Super Agency wide reaching new powers virtually without any restrictions, noted Sutherland. Furthermore, said Ms. Mehra, Paltry as they were, virtually all the public interest protections in the LHINs legislation have been dropped along with any remaining democracy and local control in the health system, citing examples such as the decision by the government to take out provisions regarding open Board Meetings, appeals, access to documents, community consultation and so on. The power in the health system to snap up and take over local health care services will go to the large empire-building CEOs and large chain companies that will make proposals across the province to take over health care. The new powers that the government has given itself and its appointees to effect these changes include pressure up to and including hostile takeovers and coercive funding measures that are written into the legislation. There is no recourse to appeal, no public process, no public right to access to information, no public ability to give any meaningful feedback at all on these decisions. The bottom line? This legislation neither directs the health system to meet the populations need for care, nor does it improve any single service. It opens no new hospital beds. It does not make more surgeries happen. It does not provide a single new unit of mental health services, or home care or any other kind of care. It is all about new powers for certain people at the expense of the smaller or even medium-sized services, the care workers who will suffer years of upheaval, the community-based organizations, and the local say over our health care, she concluded. The Health Coalition is planning town hall meetings across Ontario leading into a mass rally on April 30 at noon outside the Legislature. They are calling on the Ford government to hold public hearings on the new omnibus health care restructuring bill. The Ontario Health Coalition analysis of the legislation is on the webpage at www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca For more information: Natalie Mehra, executive director, 416-441-2502 (cell); Ross Sutherland 613-532-7846 (cell). Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong welcomes US President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Feb. 27, 2019 Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong and US President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Feb. 27, 2019 Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong meets US President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Feb. 27, 2019 Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong holds talks with US President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Feb. 27, 2019 Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong and US President Donald Trump witness the signing of cooperation agreements MADISON HEIGHTS, MICHIGAN, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- InfuSystem Holdings, Inc. (NYSE MKT: 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, announced that it will hold its 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the 2019 Annual Meeting) on May 15, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. Central Time at the Companys offices at 11130 Strang Line Rd., Lenexa, Kansas 66215. Shareholders of record of InfuSystem common stock at the close of business on March 27, 2019 are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the meeting. The Company expects the notice of the Annual Meeting and Definitive Proxy Statement will be mailed to stockholders on or about April 5, 2019. In addition, the Definitive Proxy Statement and 2018 Annual Report (Form 10-K) will also be available online at www.infusystem.com on the Investors page under the IR Calendar on or after April 5, 2019. Because the expected date of the 2019 Annual Meeting represents a change of more than 30 days from the anniversary of the Companys 2018 annual stockholders meeting, the Company has set a new deadline for the receipt of stockholder proposals submitted pursuant to Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), for inclusion in the Companys proxy materials for the 2019 Annual Meeting. To be considered for inclusion, such proposals must be received in writing by the Company before the close of business on March 11, 2019. 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, our ability to capitalize on the growth opportunity resulting from a competitor's change to its product offerings as described above, 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. HAMILTON, Bermuda, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The picture-perfect winter perks of having a corporate job in Bermuda are the focus of a social-media campaign launched this month by the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA). The campaigndubbed the #ViewFromMyOfficepartnered with Bermudian photographer Meredith Andrews to showcase eye-popping vantage points and corporate spaces of international businesses throughout the island. Included were panoramic perspectives, park views, and waterfront outlooks in Hamilton and St Georges. The idea was to feature work venues with tantalising views that capitalise on Bermudas turquoise waterfronts and lush vegetationattractive prospects in any season, but especially in the depth of winter when onshore colleagues are braving sub-zero conditions, said BDA Head of Communications & Marketing Rosemary Jones. Our message being, not only is Bermuda a world-class financial centre, but also a gorgeous place to live and work year-round. The BDA invites Bermuda-based businesses and employees to participate by liking and sharing the campaigns posts on the agencys Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn channelsand by sharing their own #ViewFromMyOffice and tagging the BDA. When the BDA asked me to photograph some of the islands coolest workspaces, I was excited to collaborate with their teambut, to honest, it was an easy job, said Andrews. Selecting locations, I was spoiled for choice. The interior design of many offices rivals that of overseas destinations, and Bermudas beauty made providing stunning views a straightforward task. Tired of your beige cubical and the polar vortex? Prepare to be jealous! The BDA plans to continue the campaign throughout March. Companies participating to date in the initiative include Bermuda Yacht Services, Challenger Banks, Cox Hallett Wilkinson, Fidelity International, HSBC Bermuda, Liberty Speciality Markets, and The Waterfront Group. MEDIA CONTACT: Rosemary Jones Head of Communications & Marketing rosemary@bda.bm 441 278-6558 441 337-4696 CONNECTING BUSINESS The BDA encourages direct investment and helps companies start up, re-locate or expand their operations in our premier jurisdiction. An independent, public-private partnership, we connect you to industry professionals, regulatory officials, and key contacts in the Bermuda government to assist domicile decisions. Our goal? To make doing business in Bermuda smooth and beneficial. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bd4262d4-c514-4b6a-b1dd-d17faa9436ae Vietjet Air and Boeing ink a contract for 100 new 737 MAX planes Vietjet Air and General Electric sign a trade deal Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong and US President Donald Trump with the signatories to the trade deal between VietjetAir va General Electric Vietjet Air and Boeing ink a contract for 100 new 737 MAX planes Vietjet Air and Boeing ink a contract for 100 new 737 MAX planes Bamboo Airways, Vietnams newest carrier, signs a contract to buy 10 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner wide-body jets Bamboo Airways, Vietnams newest carrier, signs a contract to buy 10 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner wide-body jets Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, US President Donald Trump and the signatories to a strategic cooperation agreement on aviation IT between the two countries Vietnam, the US sign a strategic cooperation agreement on aviation IT Vietnam, the US sign a strategic cooperation agreement on aviation IT Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong and US President Donald Trump TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kuuhubb Inc. ("Kuuhubb" or the "Company") (TSX-V: KUU), a mobile game development, and publishing company, targeting a female audience with bespoke mobile experiences, announces that it has reached an amicable settlement (the "Amicable Settlement") with the shareholders of the Company (the "Dissident Shareholders") that had sent a shareholder requisition (the "Requisition") to the Company on January 9, 2019 and certain current and former directors and other related parties of the Company, namely Arnold Kondrat, Maurice Colson and Finhub Acquisition Inc. (the "Canadian Parties") and Geoffrey Farr. As part of the Amicable Settlement: the Dissident Shareholders have withdrawn the Requisition and have agreed to not solicit proxies, directly or indirectly, in connection with the annual and special meeting of shareholders of the Company scheduled for April 4, 2019 (the " AGM "); "); the Dissident Shareholders have the right to nominate one independent director for election at the AGM and at each annual meeting of shareholders of the Company held during the Standstill Period (as defined below), as long as they continue to collectively own, together with Mr. Kondrat, no less than 10% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company (" Common Shares "); "); to facilitate the transition to the new board of directors of the Company (the " Board "), Arnold Kondrat has agreed to not stand for re-election at the AGM; "), Arnold Kondrat has agreed to not stand for re-election at the AGM; the Canadian Parties and the Dissident Shareholders have all agreed to a standstill covenant for a period of two years (the " Standstill Period ") pursuant to which they shall not, among other things, engage in any solicitation of proxies with respect to the voting of securities of Kuuhubb or seek, alone or in concert with others, to make a bid for or requisition or call a meeting of securityholders of Kuuhubb, to nominate any candidate for election to the Board (other than pursuant to the Amicable Settlement) or to otherwise alter the composition of the Board; ") pursuant to which they shall not, among other things, engage in any solicitation of proxies with respect to the voting of securities of Kuuhubb or seek, alone or in concert with others, to make a bid for or requisition or call a meeting of securityholders of Kuuhubb, to nominate any candidate for election to the Board (other than pursuant to the Amicable Settlement) or to otherwise alter the composition of the Board; the Company has agreed to pay or reimburse all fees, loans and expenses owed to the Dissident Shareholders, the Canadian Parties and Mr. Farr, including by issuing Common Shares to each of Messrs. Colson and Farr at a price per Common Share equal to the market price of the Common Shares (within the meaning of the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) as of the date hereof in satisfaction of $92,300 in aggregate in director fees and other salary owed by the Company to Messrs. Colson and Farr. "We are happy that we were able to reach a settlement and look forward to focusing on developing Kuuhubbs products and creating growth and value for our shareholders", said Jouni Keranen, CEO of Kuuhubb. Notwithstanding the Amicable Settlement and the withdrawal of the Requisition, the AGM is expected to be held as planned on April 4, 2019 to, among other things, elect the directors of the Company. Kuuhubb also announces that Garner Bornstein has been appointed to the Board. Mr. Bornstein is the founder and CEO of Breethe, a meditation lifestyle app, which has grown to several million users. Mr. Bornstein previously co-founded Airborne Mobile, one of North-Americas first mobile content developers and publishers. Airborne was sold in 2005 to Cybird Co. Ltd., a publicly traded Japanese mobile content publisher. About Kuuhubb Kuuhubb is a company active in the digital space that focuses mainly on lifestyle and mobile game applications for the female audience. Its strategy is to create sustainable shareholder value through acquisitions of proven, yet underappreciated, assets with robust long-term growth potential. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Kuuhubb has a global presence with a strong focus on developing U.S. brand collaborations and Asian partnerships. Forward-Looking Statements Certain information set forth in this document is considered forward-looking information, and necessarily involves risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Companys control. Such risks include but are not limited to delays in scheduling and holding the AGM within the time periods contemplated herein. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the forward-looking information and, accordingly, no assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what benefits Kuuhubb will derive therefrom. With respect to forward-looking information contained herein, Kuuhubb has made assumptions regarding the anticipated timing for the AGM. Furthermore, the forward-looking information contained in this document is made as of the date of this document, and Kuuhubb does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be expressly required by applicable securities law. 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. For further information, please contact: Kuuhubb Inc. Jouni Keranen CEO jouni@kuuhubb.com Office: +358 40 590 0919 Bill Mitoulas Investor Relations bill@kuuhubb.com Office: +1 (416) 479-9547 India on Tuesday woke up with the news of Air strike carried out by Indian Airforce in Pakistan IAF launched an air strike across the LOC, destroying Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camps. This attack have filled every Indian with enery and Josh, Now, its seems that Virat Kolhi led Indian team is all set to win the 2nd T-20I against against and are full of energy. 'The boys have played really well' Virender Sehwag lauds IAF for avenging Pulwama terror attack Virat Kohli and his men would look to level the series 1-1 having lost first T-20I in a nail-biting manner. Ahead of the final match in the shortest format, Kohli came up with a thrilling post on Facebook where he shared a picture of the Indian team training with the caption, How's the Josh?. The catchy phrase 'How's the Josh?', movie, 'URI The Surgical Strike' - a dramatised account of the Indian Army's retaliation to the 2016 Uri attack in the valley. Rashid Khan breaks this record Shahid Afridi's in 3rd T20I against Ireland The air strike by IAF comes as a reply to the suicide bomb blast that came a little less than 2 weeks ago by Jaish-e-Mohammed which saw 40 CRPF jawans being martyred in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. Air Force killed more than 300 terrorists with the pre-dawn strike across the border, Kohli's sentiments echoed the India. Alappuzha: Lean days at sea bring hunger to the shores. Pots don't boil if boats return empty. But a bunch of fisherwomen are rewriting this script and getting self-sufficient, setting an example for other women to take up self-employment. The Gath story Gath, a self-employment unit, sells fish products. Four fisherwomen in Padinjare Manakkod, Thuravoor Panchayat, started Gath. Team leader Vinci Sandhyavu is assisted by Sreeja Ratnakumar, Kristina Sansilov and Rehima Majeed. The team sells dried fish and other fish products in neat packages. The small scale unit was started in 2007 under the Fisheries Departments Theeramaithri programme. Today, their products are available in supermarkets and Matsyafed outlets in Ernakulam and Alappuzha. Fish is cut, cleaned, dried in a modern platform dryer and packed. Gath has one of the best dry fish units in state. Prawns, sole fish, mackerel and shark are processed here. Fish pickles and spicy prawn powder are manufactured. Gath is now preparing to get own place and shift from the rented property. Tasty treat Kuttanad Hotel a restaurant near the boat jetty in Kainakary Panchayat is run by women. The Theermaithri project started five years ago has fast become a favourite spot for sea food enthusiasts. The project that started in a panchayat building later shifted to a Rs 3.5-lakh shed on a Rs 200-a-day rented property. Most of the shed and almost all utensils were lost in last years flood. Theermaithri granted an interest-free loan of Rs 50,000. Government compensation has not reached, lament its members Susheela Ajayakumar and Maniyamma Balakrishnan. But they are determined to fight for their unit. The restaurant is crowded from its opening at 4am. Fifty meals are served every afternoon. It gets so busy, the restaurant can close only by 10pm, says Susheela. A similar venture a flour mill run by Shailaja and Ambily at Chenankari, Kainakari, is doing good business. The famous Greenland Fishermen are often paid meagre sums. So some women decided to get together and form Greenland Activity Group to support their families financially. The women behind the restaurant-stationery store unit are PS Jayanti, Thayyil S Saaji, Kuravanpurakkal Radha from Kayakkattil, Kottamuri. Situated near Pranavam Nagar in Thrikkunnapuzha, Greenland serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, apart from selling stationery goods. Open until 8.30pm, it serves meals at Rs 50 and offers special on prior requests. They deliver orders to events, including those hosted by government organisations. Inspired by S Sudhilal, Thrikkunnapuzha Panchayat ward 9 member, Greenland was started a year and a half ago with Rs 1.6 lakh from Matsyafed, Rs 30,000 bank loan and partner shares Rs 10,000 each. The former MGNREGA workers are happy to be busy all year. Greenland provides an income of Rs 500 a day. The team is planning to buy a small plot and expand the enterprise. New Delhi: Around 2.36 lakh women in distress were given monthly financial assistance in 2018-19 against 2.05 lakh women in 2017-18 in the national capital by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, according to the status report of the Outcome Budget. Presented by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to the Assembly on Monday, the Outcome Budget stated that 24 programmes were included comprising 207 output indicators, of which 137 were critical indicators. Under the 'Ladli' scheme, the department received 63,014 applications for fresh enrolment till December against the annual target of 65,000, and 8,241 people were enrolled till December 2018. Under the scheme, 57,844 cases were renewed against 1,05,319 received for renewal up to December 2018, the report stated. According to report, 18,214 maturity cases were proposed against the annual target of 26,577 under the scheme. Around 12.69 lakh children and pregnant women were availing services of nutrition, vaccination and pre-school activities at 10,897 anganwadi centres under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). Washington: General Joseph Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Tuesday spoke to his Pakistani counterpart General Zubair Mahmood Hayat to discuss the "current security environment" in Pakistan, the Pentagon said, amid the spike in Indo-Pak tensions following the Pulwama terror attack. The telephonic talk is the highest level of contact between the two armies a day after India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The strike was the first by the Indian Air Force (IAF) inside Pakistan after the 1971 war. Ramping up the rhetoric, Pakistan has threatened retaliation. "Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph F Dunford, Jr spoke today with Pakistan Chief of Defence Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat. The senior leaders discussed the current security environment in Pakistan," Joint Staff Spokesperson Col. Patrick S. Ryder said in a brief statement. No other details were immediately available. Forty Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based JeM in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in India and global condemnation. Over the years, despite a deterioration in US-Pakistan bilateral ties, Gen Dunford has maintained a good working relationship with both his Pakistani counterpart Gen Hayat and Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. The Mirage 2000 got much deserved media attention throughout Tuesday as the aircraft that avenged the Pulwama suicide bomb attack. The number of Mirage 2000 fighters in Indian Air Force service is less than the number of Su-30MKI and MiG-29 fighters, but the fighter built by Frances Dassault Aviation has earned a reputation for high reliability and advanced capabilities. About a year ago, Agence France Presse (AFP) did a special report on an older French-built fighter, which holds a similar reputation with the Pakistan Air Forcethe Mirage III/V. The AFP report was intended to mark the 50th anniversary of the Mirage III/Vs entry into Pakistani service. The AFP feature specifically covered the upgrade of the Mirage III/V called the retrofit of strike element, or the morbidly romantic acronym, ROSE. Over the past five decades, Pakistan has purchased nearly 150 Mirage III/V fighters. The Mirage III was the first European combat aircraft capable of flying at twice the speed of sound and made its maiden flight in 1956. The Mirage V was a dedicated ground attack variant of the Mirage III, with greater space for fuel, in place of avionics. The only thing these aircraft share in common with the Indian Mirage 2000 is their delta wing design. The Mirage 2000 is a far newer and capable design that uses fly-by-wire technology (flight control by computers) instead of hydraulic controls on the older jets. While Pakistan also operates over 100 Chinese-built J-7 fighters, which are copies of the Soviet MiG-21, these have short range and limited payload. The American-built F-16, of which the Pakistan Air Force is thought to operate around 75 jets, is Pakistans most advanced fighter. But strict US export controls and monitoring has meant Islamabad has been unable to modify the F-16 for long-range attack missions. India's Mirage 2000 This has left the Pakistan Air Force heavily reliant on the Mirage III/V for the stand-off strike role. And Pakistan has virtually trawled the world for used Mirage III/V jets, buying variants from the likes of Australia, Libya, Lebanon, Spain and, of course, France. Since the mid-1990s, Pakistan has upgraded dozens of Mirage-III/Vs with Italian radars and other electronics at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex under the ROSE programme. In addition to improved air-to-air capabilities, Pakistan has modified the Mirage ROSE aircraft with the capability to fire long-range glide bombs developed with South African assistance. The Mirage ROSE was also the launch aircraft on tests of the Raad cruise missile, which has been fired at least seven times since 2007. The Raad has been claimed to have a range of up to 350km and can carry conventional or nuclear warheads. The AFP article from 2018 mentioned that the Pakistan Air Force intended to replace the Mirage ROSE aircraft with the Chinese-designed JF-17 as the French aircraft are becoming difficult to maintain. However, Pakistan officials praised the Mirage ROSE aircraft as being very agile and capable of penetrating deep into enemy territory without being detected. So, while tension rises between India and Pakistan, it is difficult to miss the irony in the fact that two French-designed aircraft play key roles in the two militaries. P.S.: In the mid-1990s, Asif Ali Zardari, husband of then Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was accused of taking a bribe of $200 million from Dassault to facilitate a deal for 32 advanced Mirage 2000 fighters for the Pakistan Air Force. The deal was scuppered when Bhutto's government was dismissed in 1996. (This story was first published in The Week.) New Delhi: Various airlines such as Air India, Jet Airways, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines Wednesday announced they were diverting their flights as Pakistan closed its airspace in the wake of escalating tensions with India. "Inbound and Outbound flights from USA and Europe for Delhi are being re-routed through Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Flights landing into India from USA and Europe are being re-routed via Dubai and Sharjah and will land into India with a delay," Air India tweeted Wednesday evening. The national carrier, however, added "no flights are cancelled and there will only be an increase in the flying time". Pakistan Wednesday closed its airspace for commercial flights and suspended flight operations across major airports, including in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, for an indefinite period in the wake of the escalating tensions with India. Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority made the announcement after the director general of Inter-Services Public Relations, the military's media arm, acknowledged the closure of Pakistan's airspace due to the prevailing security situation. In India, the Jet Airways sought relaxation in flight duty and rest-hour norms from the country's aviation watchdog the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) due to the closure of the Pakistani airspace and subsequent re-routing of the West-bound flights. The dispensation has been sought as the flights, which were earlier using the Pakistani airspace, will now have to be operated over the sea, entailing higher flying time than the regular routes, sources said. "Due to the escalation of tension along the western border, the Pakistani airspace has been closed. In view of this, we have to reroute flights South of Pakistan FIR (flight information region) leading to increase in flight and flight duty times," Jet Airways vice-president for operations Floyd Gracious said in a communication to the airline pilots. An FIR refers to specified airspace where flight information and alerting services are provided. Generally, an FIR can be land and sea territory as well as any international airspace as defined under global norms. "We have requested the DGCA for some special dispensation due to this sudden development keeping in view least discomfort to travelling guests," he said. Both pilots and cabin crew are governed by DGCA-mandated flight duty and time limitation (FDTL) norms, but a special dispensation allow the crew to do additional duties and night landings as well. The Singapore Airlines said due to the airspace closure by Pakistan, two of its Singapore to London flights - SQ308 and SQ318 - will stop for re-fuelling at Dubai and Mumbai, respectively on February 27. It said the Singapore-Frankfurt flight SQ318 will stop at Mumbai for re-fuelling on February 27 "provided it is able to arrive in Frankfurt before the airport's curfew". "All other flights that overfly affected airspace will be rerouted, but are due to operate as scheduled at this point," the airline added. Qatar Airways also stated that it was re-routing its flights due to the airspace closure. "Qatar Airways can confirm that due to the ongoing situation on the India-Pakistan border, its flights to the following airports are currently temporarily suspended: Faisalabad, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar and Sialkot," the airline said. "Other flights routed over India-Pakistan aerospace may also experience delays due to rerouting around the affected area," it said. British Airways said it was closely monitoring the situation and its flight plans varied "frequently" depending on a number of factors. "But our highest and first priority is always the safety of our customers and crew," it said. Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted Wednesday evening, "Reviewed the current airspace restrictions with Member (ANS), AAI in view of the current cross border situation. I assure you that we are working out modalities so that the air passengers are least inconvenienced. All stakeholders were kept informed. @AAI_Official." The Airports Authority of India (AAI) manages over 100 airports across the country. The AAI earlier Wednesday issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM), saying flight operations at the airports in Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Pathankot, Amritsar, Shimla, Kangra, Kullu Manali and Pithoragarh will remain shut from February 27 to May 27. However, the DGCA said operations at these nine airports have resumed "as of now". Kathmandu: Nepal's Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Rabindra Adhikari and six others were killed Wednesday when a private helicopter crashed in eastern Nepal's mountainous Taplejung district, the latest aviation accident in the Himalayan nation. Besides the 39-year-old tourism minister, the Air Dynasty helicopter was carrying Nepal's prominent aviation and hospitality entrepreneur Ang Tsering Sherpa, Prime Minister's personal aide Yubaraj Dahal, two senior Civil Aviation Authority (CAAN) officials and a Nepal Army personnel. Rescue workers retrieved the bodies of Adhikari, the pilot and five other passengers from a hillside in Taplejung district where the Air Dynasty chopper went down. Tourism Ministry spokesperson confirmed that all seven on board the helicopter have been killed in the crash. The helicopter crashed as it hit a hill while Tourism Minister Adhikari was returning to Kathmandu after visiting famous Hindu temple Pathibhara in Eastern Nepal. Earlier, the minister accompanied by the technical team from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Sherpa, managing director of Yeti Airlines, had gone for a feasibility study for an airstrip in Chuhandanda, in Tehrathum district. The helicopter crashed right after it had taken off from the temple, officials said, adding the cause of the crash is being probed. The helicopter burst into flames after it hit Chuchche Dada hill in Taplejung district in the mountain region. There was a huge snowfall in the forest area where the helicopter crashed. Moments after the helicopter was reported missing, local residents in Pathibara area informed the police about a huge flame at the crash site. The chief district officer of Taplejung, Anuj Bhandari quoted the locals as saying they heard a loud bang followed by a sight of smoke and fire in the area. It is the latest aviation accident in Nepal, which has a poor air safety record. In September last year, six people including a Japanese tourist was killed when a helicopter crashed. Nepal has some of the world's most remote and tricky runways, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that pose a challenge for even accomplished pilots. Meanwhile, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Minister has summoned an emergency cabinet meeting at the official residence of the Prime Minister in Baluwatar. Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday claimed that two Indian MiGs crossed the Line of Control and they were shot down, as he offered to defuse tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours and resolve the issues through talks. "Our action was only intended to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same. Two of their MiGs were shot down (in the ensuing action)," Khan said in a live TV address. His comments came minutes after the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said that Pakistan Air Force targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is "missing in action". Noting that all wars are miscalculated, and no one knows where they lead to, Khan said that better sense must prevail and the two sides should act with wisdom. "I ask India: with the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this (situation) escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's," Khan said. "Let's sit together and settle this with talks," he added. Pakistan had earlier claimed that it shot down two Indian military aircraft over Pakistani air space and arrested two pilots. Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said two IAF pilots were arrested. One pilot is injured and has been shifted to a hospital, while another one is unhurt, the spokesman added. The spokesman also showed items and documents of the arrested pilots. Addressing a press conference, he said one of the aircraft crashed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. "This morning PAF (Pakistan Air Force) jets while remaining in Pakistani airspace engaged six targets across the LoC," he said. "Our pilots locked on those six targets and we struck on open places," he said, adding that it was decided that the PAF will not hit military targets. He said some of the targets were in Bhimber galli and Naran area where the supply depots were engaged from a distance. "After the PAF strikes, 2 IAF jets entered Pakistani airspace and the PAF took them on and the two IAF were shot down. The wreckage of one (aircraft) fell inside Pakistan (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) while the second fell inside India," Ghafoor said. "Original targets were military posts and administrative facilities but we did not target those," he said. The spokesman claimed that target engaged by the PAF were changed to avoid any loss of life. "It was not retaliation in the true sense but it was an action to show that we can retaliate. We do not want to push the region to war. We want peace," he said. He also rejected reports that Pakistan used F-16 fighters and one of them was destroyed. "Pakistan does not want to go for war, our message is peace. The international community should also play it role," the spokesman said. "What we did today is in self-defence. We do not want to celebrate it, as war is victory of none as only humanity loses in war," he said. He said war is also a failure of policy. "We do not want to escalate but we want to follow the path to peace," he said, adding that the people of both countries and the region should live in pace. "If you want peace then let us talk. No issue can be resolved through war. India should think about this offer with a cool mind," he added. At least forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) 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. Following the incident, India on Tuesday bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. Wuzhen (China): The Pulwama terror attack is the direct result of the "impunity and cover" provided to the Jaish-e-Muhammed by Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday as she forcefully raised the February 14 strike with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi here. Swaraj's meeting with Wang came a day after India destroyed a major Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) terror training camp in Pakistan. China, a close ally of Pakistan has repeatedly foiled India's attempts to brand JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN. The JeM, founded by Azhar, has already been in the UN's list of banned terror outfits. In 2009, India had moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar. This was followed in 2016 when India moved the proposal with the P3 - the United States, the United Kingdom and France in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the air base in Pathankot in January, 2016. In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, on all occasions China blocked India's proposal. "I am visiting China at a time when there is grief and anger in India. It is the worst terrorist attack directed against our security forces in Jammu and Kashmir," she said in her opening remarks during the meeting held on the sidelines of Russia, India, China Foreign Ministers' meeting. "The attack was carried out by Jaish-e-Muhammed, the Pakistan-based and supported terrorist organisation," she said. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. Stating that the JeM is banned by the UN and other countries, Swaraj told Wang that "this terrorist attack is the direct result of the impunity and cover provided to the JeM and its leaders by the Pakistani side". "After the Pulwama attack the entire UN has spoken with full voice to condemn it," she said. Swaraj, who arrived here early this morning, told Wang that this is their first meeting this year and therefore an opportune time for the two sides to take stock of the bilateral relations and look ahead for cooperation. "This is our first meeting this year. Therefore, an opportune time for us to take stock of our bilateral relations and look ahead for cooperation. The India-China relationship is an important relationship for both of our countries," she said. Referring to the Wuhan summit, between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Swaraj said "we have made substantial progress in relations". "It is important for both sides to make sure the through and effective implementation of the guidance given by the two leaders," she told Wang, adding that both side made efforts and "we should sustain this". "Particularly the decision taken by our leaders to maintain strategic communication between them provided an important foundation for the development of our bilateral relations. This channel of strategic communication between the two of us and between senior officials should always remain open," she said. Wang said last year's Wuhan meeting between Modi and Xi led the bilateral ties into honest and new stage. "Led by the leaders, all aspects of our bilateral relationship are going well. Both nations and the international community are more optimistic of our bilateral relations. In 2019 we are going to keep working on the consensus of the two leaders," he said. China on Tuesday called for restraint between India and Pakistan following India's air strikes against terrorist targets in Pakistan and urged New Delhi to carry out its fight against terrorism through international cooperation. Asked for China's response to India's air strikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told media briefing in Beijing on Tuesday that "we have taken note of relevant reports." "I want to say that India and Pakistan are both important countries in South Asia. A sound relationship and cooperation between the two serves the interests of both the countries and peace and stability in South Asia," he said. "We hope that the parties remain restrained and do more to improve their bilateral relations," he said. On India's assertion that it was a non-military attack directed against camps of the terrorist groups who are carrying out violent acts in India, Lu said "as for India's claim on taking action against terrorism, well fighting terrorism is a global practice". "It needs necessary international cooperation. And India needs to create favourable condition internationally for the same, he said. Lu said that Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Muhammad Qureshi also spoke to Wang on Monday over the tensions related to the Pulwama attack. "During the phone call Wang Yi listened carefully to Pakistan Foreign Minister's notification and proposals on the issues and reaffirmed his opinions that the two sides need to advance their cooperation in the counter terrorism for peace and stability in the region," Lu said. The Pulwama attack and its aftermath as well as Tuesday's air strikes were expected to figure in Swaraj's talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Levrov later in the day. New Delhi: Twenty-one opposition parties Wednesday expressed anguish over what they alleged was "blatant politicisation" of the sacrifices of armed forces and urged the government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity. After a meeting, which lasted over three hours, in the Parliament Library, the leaders of these parties issued a joint statement, expressing concern over the prevailing security situation in the country. "Anguished over blatant politicisation of sacrifices of armed forces by ruling party. Urge government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity, integrity. "National security must transcend narrow political consideration," the joint statement said. The parties also condemned the "dastardly" Pulwama terror attack by "Pakistan-sponsored" terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed on February 14. The leaders paid homage to the soldiers killed in the attack and expressed solidarity with the Armed Forces. The statement also said that the prime minister has "regrettably" not convened an all-party meeting as per established practice. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress leaders A K Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ahmed Patel; Sharad Pawar (NCP); Chandrababu Naidu (TDP); Mamata Banerjee (TMC); Sharad Yadav (LJD); T Shiva (DMK); Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M);Satish Chandra Misra (BSP); Manoj Jha(RJD); Sanjay Singh (AAP); Sudhakar Reddy (CPI); Danish Ali (JD-S); Shibu Soren(JMM); Upendra Kushwaha (RLSP); Ashok Kumar Singh (JVM); Jitin Ram Manjhi (HAM); Kodandaram (TJS) among others participated in the meeting. In the joint statement, the parties lauded the Indian Air Force's strike on the terrorist camp on February 26 but also expressed concern on the emerging security situation. "Post the statement from the MEA regarding targeting of our military installations and loss of one fighter aircraft, the leaders condemned the Pakistani misadventure and expressed their deep concern for the safety of our missing pilot," Rahul Gandhi said while reading out the statement. The Samajwadi Party did not attend the meeting. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah also skipped the meeting. In a tweet, he said he had "requested the opposition to postpone the meeting in light of the developments, especially after the news of our pilot being in Pakistani custody but they felt otherwise. I chose not to attend as a result". The Opposition on Tuesday had decided to drop the formulation of the common minimum programme as the agenda for their meeting on Wednesday in view of the prevailing security situation in the country. Senior leaders in the opposition confirmed that in a discussion with the Congress, the CPI(M) and the CPI said that they will only be part of the meeting if the common minimum programme is off the table. With the change in agenda, Left parties joined the meeting. It was after the February 13 meeting of opposition leaders, the decision to formulate a common minimum programme was mooted, which would act as a roadmap to fight the Lok Sabha elections against the BJP. DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Consolidated-Tomoka Land Co. (NYSE American: CTO) (the Company) today announced the closing of the sale of approximately 9.9 acres (the Unicorp Sale), for approximately $3.3 million, or approximately $333,000 per acre, to Unicorp National Development, Inc. of Orlando, Florida (Unicorp). The land parcel is located on the east side of Interstate 95 at the northeast corner of the intersection of LPGA Boulevard and Williamson Boulevard. Unicorp intends to develop the parcel as a grocery anchored project. The estimated gain on the Unicorp Sale is approximately $2.3 million, or approximately $0.32 per share, after tax. The Company does not intend to utilize the proceeds from the Unicorp Sale in a 1031 like-kind exchange structure. The Company also added two new land contracts, one of which is the reinstatement of a land contract with Unicorp for approximately 13.7 acres in an opportunity zone and located at the southwest corner of LPGA Boulevard and Clyde Morris Boulevard for total potential proceeds of approximately $3.8 million. As a result of the Unicorp Sale and the added contracts, the Companys pipeline of potential land sales represents nearly 1,800 acres of the Companys remaining land holdings, or approximately 33%, with total potential proceeds of approximately $103.3 million, or approximately $58,000 per acre. About Consolidated-Tomoka Land Co. Consolidated-Tomoka Land Co. is a Florida-based publicly traded real estate company, which owns over 2.3 million square feet of income properties in diversified markets in the United States, as well as approximately 5,400 acres of land in the Daytona Beach area. Visit our website at www.ctlc.com . We encourage you to review our most recent investor presentations which are available on our website at www.ctlc.com. SAFE HARBOR Certain statements contained in this press release (other than statements of historical fact) are forward-looking statements. Words such as believe, estimate, expect, intend, anticipate, will, could, may, should, plan, potential, predict, forecast, project, and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify certain of such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates on which they were made, although not all forward-looking statements contain such words. Although forward-looking statements are made based upon managements expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effect upon the Company, a number of factors could cause the Companys actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Such factors may include the completion of 1031 exchange transactions, the availability of investment properties that meet the Companys investment goals and criteria, the modification of terms of certain land sales agreements, uncertainties associated with obtaining required governmental permits and satisfying other closing conditions for planned acquisitions and sales, as well as the uncertainties and risk factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. There can be no assurance that future developments will be in accordance with managements expectations or that the effect of future developments on the Company will be those anticipated by management. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. New Delhi: An IAF pilot was captured by Pakistan after an air combat Wednesday during which the two sides said they shot down each other's warplanes that followed an unsuccessful attempt to target Indian military installations in retaliatory strikes. The aerial engagement between India and Pakistan for the first time since the 1971 war marked a dramatic escalation of confrontation prompting world leaders to urge the two neighbouring countries to exercise "utmost restraint". India said it shot down a F-16 warplane of Pakistan while it lost a MiG 21 during the fierce engagement between the air forces of the two countries along the Line of Control (LoC). Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan sought to defuse the escalating tension by saying war is futile and can lead to unknown consequences while making an oblique reference to the nuclear weapons that both countries possess. "I ask India: with the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this (situation) escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's," Khan said in a live television broadcast, as he offered to hold talks with India to resolve issues. The Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) summoned the acting high commissioner of Pakistan Syed Haider Shah and demanded immediate and safe return of the pilot identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon (401) - Pakistan Air Force. Photo: IANS As per sources, Abhinandan was from Chennai and his father was also with the Air Force. It was also made clear to Pakistan that no harm should be caused to the Indian defence personnel, the ministry said, adding it has conveyed strong objection to the neighbouring country at the "vulgar display" of an injured personnel in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention. In a strongly worded statement, the MEA said the envoy was clearly told that India reserves the right to take "firm and decisive action to protect its national security". Pakistan detained the pilot following the aerial engagement in which a Pakistani jet, stated to be a F-16, was downed by Indian air defence forces in Jammu region's Rajouri sector. The IAF also lost a MiG 21 jet in the engagement, an Indian official said. Pakistan has denied losing a jet. The Pakistan Army retracted its earlier statement that two IAF pilots were arrested and in the evening said it had "only one" pilot in its custody. "There is only one pilot under Pakistan Army's custody. Wing Comd Abhi Nandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics," Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said in the evening. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was given an update on the latest security situation by the chiefs of the three armed forces following violation of Indian airspace by Pakistani fighter jets in Jammu and Kashmir and the capture of the Indian pilot across the LoC, sources said. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, senior officials of the Indian Navy, Army and the Air Force and other security officials also had a meeting to discuss the current security situation, they said. A day after India bombed Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp in Pakistan, it was a day of hectic developments moving with dizzying rapidity. Three Pakistani fighter jets entered Indian air space at 9:58am to target key military installations in Rajouri and Naushera in Jammu and Kashmir, as part of the retaliatory strike, official sources said. Though three Pakistani jets violated Indian air space, the package of the aircraft deployed by Pakistan Air Force (PAF) for the operation was "significantly large" as it comprised a fleet of JF-17 and F-16 combat aircraft, the sources said. The sources said the Pakistani jets targeted Indian army's bases in Krishna Ghati and Nangi Tekri and an ammunition point in Narian. However, the bombs dropped by the Pakistani jets fell in uninhabited areas. Minutes after Pakistani jets violated Indian air space, the IAF's Combat Air Patrol (CAP), comprising MiG-21 and other jets engaged with the enemy aircraft, successfully thwarting their attempts to bomb a number of key military installations in Naushera and Rajouri, they said. Islamabad claimed it hit back at India by bringing down two Indian military aircraft, one of which crashed in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. "This morning PAF (Pakistan Air Force) jets while remaining in Pakistani airspace engaged six targets across the LoC," Major General Asif Ghafoor told reporters in Islamabad. "Our pilots locked on those six targets and we struck on open places," he said, adding that it was decided that the PAF will not hit the military targets. He said some of the targets were in Bhimber galli and Naran area where the supply depots were engaged from a distance. "After the PAF strikes, 2 IAF jets entered Pakistani airspace and the PAF took them on and the two IAF were shot down. The wreckage of one (aircraft) fell inside Pakistan (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) while the second fell inside India." "Original targets were military posts and administrative facilities but we did not target those," he said. The spokesman claimed that targets engaged by the PAF were changed to avoid any loss of life. "It was not retaliation in the true sense but it was an action to show that we can retaliate. We do not want to push the region to war. We want peace." As tension mounted, the entire airspace north of New Delhi was briefly "vacated". Nine airports in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab were closed for civilian traffic for some part of the morning but opened later in the day. Jammu and Kashmir was the centre of much of the action on a day of escalating tensions between the two neighbours. There was also night-long heavy firing and shelling on forward and civilian areas from across the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch with the Army and the Border Security Force(BSF) being put on the highest degree of alertness. All residents of the border areas were asked to remain inside their homes and not venture outside. In a terse press statement earlier in the day, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, accompanied by Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor, said, "Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistan's attempts were foiled successfully." He said the Pakistan Air Force activity was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. "In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. "In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action...." Expressing concern over the well-being of the IAF pilot, leaders of various parties said Pakistan should abide by Geneva Convention and ensure his safe return home. EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini called on India and Pakistan to show the "utmost restraint" in their escalating confrontation. British Prime Minister Theresa May also urged both the countries to exercise restraint to avoid further escalation. Srinagar: Two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM)militants were killed on Wednesday in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Meemendar area of Shopian following information about the presence of militants, officials said. They said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants opened fire towards the security forces, who retaliated. The two militants were killed in the ensuing gunfight. The officials said the slain militants were affiliated with proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammad. Arms and ammunition were recovered from the scene of the encounter, he said, adding further details are awaited. The encounter comes a day after India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC), killing a 'very large number' of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The strike was the first by the Indian Air Force (IAF) inside Pakistan after the 1971 war. Jammu: The Indian Army destroyed five Pakistani posts along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday night in a befitting retaliation to firing from across the border, resulting in a 'number of casualties' to Pak troops, a defence official said. "The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focused fire resulted in severe destruction to five posts and number of casualties to Pak army (along LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts)", the defence PRO said. From 6:30 pm on Tuesday, the Pakistani army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with heavy calibre weaponry along the LoC out of frustration, he said. The Pak troops were also seen firing mortars and missiles from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields. However, the Indian Army targeted the Pak posts away from civilian areas, the PRO said, adding that this resulted in a 'number of casualties' to Pak troopers. In exchange of fire, five soldiers of the Indian Army suffered minor injuries, out of which two of them were shifted to a military hospital for medical treatment; they are stable. The exchange of fire comes a day after India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC), killing a 'very large number' of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The strike was the first by the Indian Air Force (IAF) inside Pakistan after the 1971 war. Read more: Latest India news Srinagar: An IAF helicopter crashed in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir Wednesday, killing both its pilots and four others onboard besides a local resident, officials said. The helicopter crashed in an open field near Garend Kalaan village in Budgam around 10:05am, they said, adding seven bodies have been recovered from the scene. Besides the pilots, an operator and three other crew members lost their lives in the crash, the officials said. The local resident has been identified as Kifayat Hussain Ganaie, they said. Officials in New Delhi said it was an Mi-17 helicopter. Indian soldiers stand next to the wreckage of the crashed helicopter. Photo: REUTERS/Danish Ismail Earlier, officials in Srinagar had described the downed aircraft as a jet. They said the aircraft broke into two and caught fire immediately. Earlier in the day, Pakistan's fighter jets violated India's airspace in Nowshera sector on Wednesday. IAF fighter jets had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and destroyed a vast terror camp within Pakistan in a pre-dawn strike on Tuesday. Kannur: In a move likely with ulterior motives, the police have failed to formally record a crucial information the family members of accused Peethambaran had made soon after the shocking double murder at Periya in Kerala's Kasaragod district a fortnight ago. The kin of M Peethambaran, a CPM local committee member who was expelled from the party soon after his arrest, had said before TV cameras he would not attempt a crime without the knowledge of the party, but he would have owned up for someone else's act. However, the police have chosen to omit this in the charge-sheet. Two Youth Congress activists Kripesh and Sharathlal were hacked to death while returning home after attending a function at Periya on February 17. Peethambarans wifes reported account could prove his whereabouts before and after the act. His mobile phone location during the murder is also decisive. By taking into the family's declarations, the investigators can verify if the murder was conspired at home or whether he used his phone for it . Only the family can give definitive answers on Peethambaran's location at the time of murders and also about the people whom he had contacted then. Peethambarans wife Manju had hinted at partys role in the murders. She stopped talking to the media after CPM district leaders met her soon after her first response. In order to prove the conspiracy angle it is essential the police investigate the circumstances under which she made such an allegation. The houses of the victims and Peethambaran are within a kilometre radius. Reacting to the allegations raised by Peethambaran's family, CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had earlier said the party had no role in the murders of two Youth Congress workers. Kodiyeri had also said that Peethambaran's family may be thinking on those lines but it is not true. The family would have made such a statement after he was arrested in the case. However, that statements could not be taken as ultimate truth, he had added. Crime Branch takes over The Crime Branch has started investigating the murders of Kripesh and Sharathlal. Ernakulam Crime Branch SP VM Muhammed Rafeeq and team reached the crime scene and collected evidence on Tuesday. Keralite youngster Nikita Hari has attracted international attention by solving an 80-year-old problem in Electrical Engineering. Eight decades ago, a discovery proved that Gallium nitrate could be used instead of Silicon as an electrical conductor, but so far no scientist could find a cost-efficient method to put this idea into practice. But Nikita demonstrated how this could be done. Her experiments showed that by converting this idea into practical use, power loss could be avoided by minimising heat and the size of electrical equipment could be significantly reduced. Nikita, hailing from Kadathanadu region of Kerala she belongs to Valiyapurayil House, Pazhankavu in Vadakara completed the research which led to this discovery with a Rs 2 crore scholarship at the Energy Department of Cambridge University. Four years ago, Nikita was selected to conduct research in Electrical Engineering at the Cambridge University under the head of the Energy Department with a Rs 50 lakh scholarship. She was the first student from India to win the scholarship. While engaged in this research, Nikita was also chosen as one among the UKs Top-50 women engineers. Another honour that came Nikitas way was the British Power Electronics Councils Award, which she won three times consecutively. Most recently, the youngster has been selected for the post-doctoral fellowship for carrying out research in Oxford University. This fellowship carries an amount of Rs 50 lakh. She has also been invited to the Buckingham Palace, after being chosen as the Global Ambassador of the British Monarchs Queen Elizabeth Prize in Engineering. With Nikitas discovery, the size of many electrical equipment now in use could be reduced to that of a matchbox. This is a major milestone as scientists around the world are searching for ways to tackle global warming. When electrical equipment are used, up to 10 % of the power is lost owing to heat. Nikitas research suggests a method to solve this problem. Nikita had done her plus-two from Rani Public School in Vadakara and pursued her BTech in Electronic Instrumentation from CUSAT, securing the second rank. She followed it up with a first rank with gold medal in MTech Power Electronics from SRM College in Chennai. She later resigned her job at NIT, Kozhikode to take up the research offer from Cambridge. Haridas, Nikitas father, is the owner of Nikita Polymer Index Electronics. Nikitas mother is Geetha and brother Arun Hari. The family resides at Malikadavu. Nikita will now leave for further research to the UK on March 1 on a one-year project. New Delhi: Priceless royal jewels which once adorned some of the most powerful Hyderabad Nizams, bear testimony to the sheer grandeur of the Asaf Jahi dynasty rulers. Open in Delhi third time now, a public exhibition has displayed 173 dazzling pieces of jewellery, including one of the world's biggest diamonds the Jacob Diamond. 'Jewels of India: The Nizam's Jewellery Collection', a temporary exhibition at the National Museum, has the Jacob (or Imperial) Diamond as its centerpiece, amid panels of richly-studded crown jewels, 'sarpechs' headbands, waistbands, necklaces, rings, earrings and other jewellery. The collection of jewels has come to the museum after 2001 and 2007. They were purchased in 1995 by the Indian government for Rs 218 crore from the last Nizam's trusts, the National Museum said. The Jacob Diamond is deemed as the seventh largest in the world, it said. Mined from South Africa in the late 1800s, the oval diamond was cut and polished to its present weight of 184.5 carats. As the legend goes, jeweler Alexander Malcolm Jacob, after whom the invaluable stone is named, sold it to the sixth Nizam, Mahboob Ali Khan a deal which ended up in a criminal lawsuit. Having brought much conflict to the Nizam, the diamond was tossed in an old rag. It was found stashed in an old slipper and used as a paperweight by the last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, who continued to rule Hyderabad till he signed the Instrument of Accession in 1948. The state merged with the Union of India after over 200 years of rule by a single dynasty. Such was the splendour of the Nizams that jewellery worn by royal men and women now represent some of the finest jewels and cultural heritage globally. Now temporarily housed in a highly-protected chamber of the Museum, the studded rubies, emeralds, diamonds and pearls dating back to 18th-20th centuries, glitter in dim light. As one walks through the chamber wowed, the fine 'navratna' bracelets or exceptionally large turban ornaments only add to the surprise. "These are not just examples of opulence, but of the fine artistry and rich craftsmanship we've had since the very beginning. It's a matter of pride that India's rich heritage is being displayed," a US-based IT professional Sridhara Sen, who was visiting with her mother, told IANS. A work to particularly look for is the 'Padak Almas Kanval', a 95-gram gold and silver pendant set with diamonds and rubies. Styled as a large diamond surrounded by smaller ones, the pendant has two parrot-like bird motifs with ruby-diamond beaks perched atop. A mesmerising 'Kanthi' necklace, comprising three rows of around 57 pearls and as many diamonds is also on display. What also interests visitors is early photographs of the royal Nizam families, posing with their fine jewellery and costumes, that we see replicated in films, television and theatre. The people are long gone after the last Nizam died in 1967, but have left a rich legacy for the country. On view till May 5 here, the precious exhibits tell tales about rich Indian artistry and a lifestyle unmatched. Kolkata: Even before the much-touted 'Mahagatbandhan' could take shape ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in the country, cracks came out in the open in the 'grand alliance' with the Congress declaring in West Bengal that it will face the polls alone rather than bowing to the adamant attitude of the Left Front. Reason for the Congress' latest U-turn is allegedly due to the CPM-led Left Front's dictatorial way of distributing seats to the allies. The Congress will take a final call on the matter after a meeting of its election committee to be held late on Wednesday, state Congress leaders said. According to party sources, the Congress has already sought bio-data of prospective candidates for all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. We are now preparing to contest the Lok Sabha polls alone in the state. The CPM and Left Front seem to be adamant on some of the seats. The talks don't appear to be moving forward. So it's better to contest alone, a senior state Congress leader privy to the developments said on Tuesday. The development comes a day after the CPM managed to bring along two of its allies the RSP and the CPI on board on making an alliance with the Congress in the state. The leaders of both the parties claimed that the CPMs decision to enter into a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress in West Bengal in the 2016 Assembly elections was detrimental to the electoral interests of the Left Front. West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee However, another Left Front constituent Forward Bloc is not ready to toe the line, as the party is keen on contesting Purulia, Coochbehar and Barasat Lok Sabha seats in which the Congress also wants to field its candidates. I really cannot understand why the CPM thinks that it will be able to counter the BJP and the TMC in Bengal by joining hands with the Congress when all these parties are responsible for the sorry state of the state. The CPM should not join hands with one corrupt party to counter the other corrupted parties, a senior Forward Bloc leader told Onmanorama. Apart from the three seats, Raiganj and Murshidabad seats continue to be the bone of contention. Plus, we want to contest at least 18 seats. But the CPM is ready to give us only 12. So it's better to go it alone, another senior state Congress leader said. Priyanka Gandhi officially made the political plunge earlier this year. Represented by the CPM, Raiganj and Murshidabad are the only two Lok Sabha seats that the Left has in West Bengal, its erstwhile stronghold. These two places, however, are known as the bastions of Congress now. The Left Front, which has to distribute seats among its constituents, is keen on fielding candidates in at least 31-32 seats. Meanwhile, senior CPM leader Biman Basu, who was earlier in favour of working out a permanent mechanism with the Congress, on Tuesday said the Left Front is not keen to go for the alliance as the Mahagatbandhan might cost their vote share. The hard core Communists will never vote on the alliance and we might lose out a major vote share. So we will not go for an alliance with the Congress, said Basu. Md. Salim, Politburo member, is still backing the permanent alliance with the Congress. However, amid speculation about the future of their alliance in West Bengal after the humiliating assembly poll defeat, a few leaders from the Left Front and the Congress are still divided over the issue of an alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. The Congress had won four seats in 2014 general elections. Of the four winners, Mausam Benazir Noor, MP from Malda North, defected to the ruling Trinamool Congress in January. The TMC had won 34 Lok Sabha seats out of 42 in the 2014 elections. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. In the 2016 assembly polls, the CPM managed to win only 26 seats while RSP won three and Forward Bloc got two. The CPI managed to bag only one seat. The TMC got an absolute majority by winning 211 out of the 294 assembly seats in Bengal. The move to forge a CPM-Congress alliance for the LS polls in West Bengal was a keenly watched issue in Kerala. The two parties are locked in a no-holds-barred battle in the southern state. CPM and Congress workers in Kerala were unhappy with the Bengal decision as this would have handed the BJP, the sworn enemy of both the parties, an easy weapon to target the ruling Left and the Opposition Congress in the southern state. The saffron party has been making fun of the two parties in Kerala saying that the two rival parties are fighting it together in the rest of the country. Kolkota: The West Bengal Congress has given an ultimatum to the Left Front to take a call on seat sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections by Sunday. Miffed with the Left Front and its allied parties in West Bengal, the Congress on Wednesday said there will be no seat sharing with the CPI(M) by compromising on the partys dignity. It also said the Left Front should take a call on a tie-up for the upcoming general election by this Sunday. The decision came after a meeting of its state election committee, which was chaired by Congress in-charge of Bengal Gaurav Gogoi, to decide on the strategy for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. According to state Congress sources, chairman of the state co-ordination committee Pradip Bhattacharya and Leader of Opposition in Assembly Abdul Mannan will convey the message to the CPI(M) leadership. We can't wait till eternity for CPI(M). They have our list of seats. Now, it is for them to take a call on the matter on what they want. We will not compromise with our dignity for the sake of seat sharing. We have prepared our candidates list and have decided to field candidates for all the 42 seats, said a senior state Congress leader. Apart from Raiganj and Murshidabad, the Congress is keen on at least 15 other constituencies which includes Purulia. Represented by the CPI(M), Raiganj and Murshidabad are the only two Lok Sabha seats that the Left won in West Bengal in 2014. These two constituencies are, however, considered strongholds of Congress. The Purulia Lok Sabha seat is presently with the ruling Trinamool Congress, but after the violent political clashes during the local body polls, there is deep resentment against it. The BJP is trying to feed on this resentment. Left Front constituent Forward Bloc is not ready to swap the Purulia seat with Congress, as it had been fighting from that constituency for several decades. Raiganj, which was a pocket borough of Congress stalwart Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, elected CPI(M)'s Mohammad Salim in 2014. He defeated Priya Ranjans wife and Congress nominee Deepa Dasmunshi by less than 2,000 votes. Murshidabad was bagged by Badarroza Khan of CPI(M), who defeated Congress Abdul Mannan Hossain by about 18,000 votes. Hossain, however, had won this seat in 2009, ousting the Left Front candidate Anisur Rahman. Apart from these three seats we want to contest at least 15 other seats. But the CPI(M) is ready to give us only 12. So if CPI(M) doesnt agree it is better to fight alone rather than compromising with our dignity, said another senior state Congress leader present at the partys closed door election committee meet on Wednesday. Simmering discontent Meanwhile, a section of Congress workers staged a protest against senior party leaders Abdul Mannan and Pradip Bhattacharya over proposed seat sharing with the CPI(M) for the Lok Sabha polls, party sources said. Mannan, who is Leader of Opposition in West Bengal state Assembly and Bhattacharya, a party MP and chairman of state coordination committee, faced protests as a section of the state Congress workers shouted slogans against them. The party activists charged them with trying to compromise interests of the party by forging a seat sharing deal with CPI(M). Everyone is favour of fighting the election individually, but these are only people who wants to compromise with the Left and is trying to give them an upper hand, said the source. Bhattacharya hit back at the protestors saying they were acting against the interests of the party. After being in Congress for last four decades, I dont need a lecture from you on what is in favour of the party and what is against it, Bhattacharya reportedly told protestors. Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president Somen Mitra had hinted that his party was ready to align with the Left for the general elections. However, the Left Front is also not keen to align with the Congress as it feels it can win more seats by contesting on its own. After the huge turnout at the Lefts Brigade rally on February 3, a section of young voters felt the Left was in a position to make gains in the 2021 assembly elections, if it can reach out more to the grassroot-level workers and strengthen its organizational machinery. The Left is in a fix after earlier allying with the Congress to fight the Trinamool. The Trinamool is also part of the broader opposition being stitched against the BJP. Unperturbed by the growing speculation over Congress-Left Front alliance in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress leaders said that as long as the Opposition votes get divided, the ruling party will not be challenged at all. This will also keep BJP at bay as the combination of Congress and Left Front votes will push BJP to the third position. A three-cornered contest will only ensure that our vote share remains intact, said a senior TMC leader. Bhopal: Like in Kerala where murder of two Youth Congress workers kicked up a storm ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, abduction and killing of 6-year-old twin brothers at Chitrakoot in Madhya Pradesh's Satna district is fast taking a political colour with the ruling Congress and Opposition BJP trading charges. Ten days after they were kidnapped, the bodies of twin brothers Shreyansh and Priyansh Rawat, sons of herbal oil businessman Brijesh Rawat (a resident of Sitapur under Karbi police station on the Uttar Pradesh side of Chitrakoot) were found in Yamuna river in Uttar Pradesh's Banda district on February 23. The children were kindergarten students of Sadguru Public Higher Secondary School at Chitrakoot. The police have arrested a gang of six persons involved in the crime and the prime accused is allegedly linked to the BJP. Immediately after the arrests, it was the turn of politicians. The mastermind of the murders was identified as Padam Shukla. After they were arrested, photographs of vehicles used by the gang were circulated in social media. Of the four motorcycles, two had no number plates. An SUV seized from them carried the flag of BJP. Showing the photographs, the Congress blamed the saffron party for harbouring criminals. According to Congress, the mastermind of the murders was identified as Padam Shukla, a native of Chitrakoot. He was photographed with several senior BJP leaders. Padam is the son of Sanskrit University employee Ramsharan Shukla. Motorcycles used by the abductors. Padam Shukla was considered close to BJP leaders and the vehicle used by the abductors had a BJP flag, alleged state Congress media in-charge Shobha Oza. Padams younger brother is district convenor of Bajrang Dal, she added. She alleged that during its 15-year rule in MP, a large number of criminals and goons have not only joined BJP, but were given protection by the senior party leaders of the party. The SUV seized from the gang members. Even as the news of the kidnappings came out, former BJP chief minister of MP Shivraj Singh Chouhan had slammed the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. He tweeted, when I was CM, I had declared that either the dacoits will live in the state or I. Congress spokesperson Narendra Saluja retaliated by Tweeting some data. In the regime of the ex-CM, 23,000 children were kidnapped, the Congress government is trying to wash the taint, tweeted Saluja. Madhya Pradesh Congress media in-charge Shobha Oza. Gruesome crime The school bus was taking 28 children from the Janki Kund campus in Nayagaon police area of Chitrakoot to their homes on February 12 when two armed men, their faces covered with saffron stoles, stopped the vehicle just outside the school. The duo held conductor Ram Kumar, driver Rinku and two women attendants at gunpoint. They caught hold of the twins at 12:40pm and fled the spot on a motorcycle. When the duo came to know that they were being chased by the school bus, they left the main road and took a narrow lane and escaped. BJP leaders during a protest march. The gang called the Rawat family several times and demanded a ransom of Rs 2 crore. Meantime, Madhya Pradesh government announced Rs 50,000 reward for information about the accused and began a combing operation in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Ten days passed with no trace of the kids. While the search was on, the gang used mobiles of passers-by to call the family and demanded the ransom. The family sought help of friends, relatives and neighbours and collected Rs 20 lakh and handed it over to the kidnappers in small amounts. However, police claimed that they were not informed about it then. On February 23 evening, Madhya Pradesh's Satna police received information from Baberu village in neighbouring Banda district of Uttar Pradesh that bodies of two children were lying on the banks of Yamuna. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath By the time cops reached the spot, video and photographs of the twins' bodies in yellow T-shirts were posted on social media. Six persons were immediately arrested for murder, abduction and conspiracy. Five of them were from UP and one from MP. SP of Satna Santosh Singh Gaur told mediapersons that vehicles used for the crime were also seized. Initial investigations suggested that the kidnappers strangulated the twin brothers on February 21, fearing that they won't be able to get more money from the family and the twins could reveal their identities. Former BJP chief minister of MP Shivraj Singh Chouhan Politics over murders This was the first major crisis Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath had to face after taking over the reins of the state in November 2018. Condemning the incident, the CM said, I spoke to the victims father. The politics behind it will also be uncovered. Whose flag was there on the vehicle in which the gang was travelling, the police is exposing all that. Soon after the bodies were fished out of Yamuna, opposition BJP demanded the resignation of home minister Bala Bachchan for the government's failure to rescue the twins. MP Home Minister Bala Bachchan. Leader of Opposition in the assembly Gopal Bhargav shot off a letter to Kamal Nath, seeking a judicial probe into the case, resignation of Home Minister Bala Bachchan and suspension of Satna SP. Adding fuel to the political blame game, Chitrakoot town witnessed violent protests over the kids' murder, forcing district administration to clamp Section 144 of the CrPC. Hundreds of local people staged protests against the polices inaction and Sadguru Seva Trust, which runs the school. Chitrakoot observed a bandh on Monday. A silent rally was also held in the town which was attended by former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union minister of state for food processing industries Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti. The two leaders also met the family members. Chouhan said, the government should decide whether there must be a CBI or judicial inquiry. Surprised that the state home minister was saying BJP was behind this, who stopped you from taking action? What did you do for 13 days? Criminals don't have a party or religion. Once a Congress stronghold, MPs Vindhya region was in BJP's grip during the past 15 years. In 2014 general elections, the Congress was unable to wrest a single Lok Sabha seat from the BJP in Vindhya regions four parliamentary seats of Sidhi, Rewa, Shahdol and Satna. The region comprises Rewa, Satna, Singrauli, Sidhi, Anuppur and Shahdol districts comprising 30 Assembly seats. This is the only region in the state where the BJP managed to save its face in the November 2018 Assembly elections. The Congress could win just six seats out of 30. In 2013 polls, the Congress party had won 12 seats. The Satna Lok seat is currently held by BJPs Ganesh Singh. In another development, the Sanskrit University has terminated services of Ramsharan Shukla, father of the mastermind Padam Shukla. Tampa, FL, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new Fisher House in the Tampa Bay area was dedicated today by Department of Veterans Affairs Chief of Staff Pamela Powers, Chairman and CEO of Fisher House Foundation, Ken Fisher, and Mr. Joe Battle, Director of the JamesA. Haley Veterans Hospital. This is the second Fisher House at the VA Hospital in Tampa, a Level One Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center that provides intensive specialized and comprehensive rehabilitation care for military and veterans. This home will provide lodging for an additional 16 families of veterans and military at no cost, allowing them to be close to their loved ones at the most stressful time during their hospitalization at James A. Haley Veterans Hospital. This will bring the total number of available nights of lodging in Tampa Bay up to 36 a night. Thanks to the Fisher House program, this will mean a savings to military and veterans families of more than $1.7 million a year. A Fisher House creates an instant community for its residents, united by their common mission of supporting a sick or injured loved one, but also provides each individual with a secure and private refuge after a long day at the hospital to rest and recharge. Fisher Houses are built on partnerships. And partnerships begin with community, said Fisher. Its what we do together that makes the biggest impact and I am so proud to partner with the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital. Together, we ensure that not only our military and veterans are cared for, but also their families can be nearby and recuperate in a safe and welcoming home. The new 16-suite, 12,000+ sq.-ft.comfort home joins the original Fisher House opened in 2007. Like the first one, this Fisher House will be gifted to VA as part of todays ceremony.Each bedroom suite comes equipped with a private, handicapped-accessible bathroom. Common areas include a spacious kitchen, large communal living, dining and family rooms, laundry room and patio. We are so grateful to the Fisher House Foundation for nurturing our families in their healing process. This second Fisher House gives a tremendous amount of support to families who want and need to be near the Veteran at such a crucial time. The resource of an accommodating and beautiful place to stay gives comfort and strengthens loved ones so that they can carry on and be supportive in the healing process. This haven alleviates the stress of traveling from their hotel to the Hospital and eases the burden of financing a short or long-term stay, said Battle. When you go to a Fisher House, they are more of an extended family to help Veterans and their Families through the most difficult of circumstances, said Powers. That is what makes them so extraordinary, and why their partnership with the VA is so critical. Construction of this Fisher House was supported by: Wohlers Family Foundation, Newmans Own Foundation, The USAA Foundation, Inc. and USAA Bank, Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation, Holiday House Distributing, Motorola Solutions Foundation, Team Fisher House Fundraisers, Vehicles for Veterans,and the many gifts of a grateful nation. ### About Fisher House Fisher House Foundation is best known for a network of comfort homes where military and veterans families can stay at no cost while a loved one is receiving treatment. These homes are located at major military and VA medical centers nationwide, and in Europe, close to the medical center or hospital it serves. Fisher Houses have up to 21 suites, with private bedrooms and baths. Families share a common kitchen, laundry facilities, a warm dining room and an inviting living room. Fisher House Foundation ensures that there is never a lodging fee. Since inception, the program has saved military and veterans families an estimated $400+ million in out of pocket costs for lodging and transportation. Fisher House Foundation also operates the Hero Miles Program, using donated frequent flyer miles to bring family members to the bedside of injured service members as well as the Hotels for Heroes program using donated hotel points to allow family members to stay at hotels near medical centers without charge. The Foundation also manages a grant program that supports other military charities and scholarship funds for military children, spouses and children of fallen and disabled veterans. www.fisherhouse.org About James A. Haley Veterans Hospital James A. Haley Veterans Hospital and Clinics (JAHVH) in Tampa, FL is a clinical referral, complex level 1A health care system with an annual budget exceeding $1 billion. The facility has more than 5,200 full-time employees and sees more than 97,000 unique patients annually. As one of the largest VA teaching facilities, JAHVH is affiliated with the University of South Florida and in fiscal year 2018, trained over 1,500 trainees including medical students, residents and fellows. The 499-operating bed medical center includes hospital medical-surgical, acute psychiatry, community living center, hospice and palliative care, spinal cord injury, level 1 polytrauma center, pain/rehab along with multiple outpatient primary and specialty care services and an off-site domiciliary. JAHVH also operates a Primary Care Annex near the main hospital and four community clinics all offering primary and mental health care, including the New Port Richey OPC, Brooksville CBOC, Lakeland CBOC and Zephyrhills CBOC with a brand-new clinic opening in South Hillsborough County in Spring 2019. https://www.tampa.va.gov/ HI RES EVENT PHOTOS AVAILABLE AT:https://www.flickr.com/photos/fisherhousefoundation/sets. Attachments For the first time, the political theatre of Tamil Nadu is moving into elections without two key players DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi and AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa. The electoral activities of the respective parties right from seat-sharing to campaigning to candidate selection had been, for years, meticulously guided by Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa. Election observers feel their absence is often felt in the closed rooms where seat-sharing talks take place. The grapevine is that the personality void is prompting some traditional allies to think of moving out to other camps. Early-bird advantage The AIADMK seems to have the early bird advantage with the party forging an alliance with the BJP. The other parties in the alliance are: Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), which may get seven seats; Puthiya Tamizhagam and Puthiya Neethi Katchi (one seat each likely). The AIADMK and PMK announce an alliance for the Lok Sabha polls. Regional call Big-B BJPs national-level arm-twisting tactics had little or no effect in the Dravidian heartland as the party had to contend with just five seats. Party insiders privy to the parleys said it had taken upon itself the task of assigning seats to smaller parties. Then, the talks were reaching nowhere and the BJP leaders approached the AIADMK to sort it out. With the ball in its court, the AIADMK allotted five to the BJP. While AIADMK formed an alliance with BJP, the DMK roped in the Congress. Notably, the AIADMK alliance has no Muslim or minority representation. This has caused quite a consternation among the ranks. AIADMK MP A Anwhar Raajha had openly stated after the alliance announcement that it will not be a minority welfare-oriented set up. Anwhar Raajha, notably, is AIADMKs first candidate to secure 4.05 lakh votes. The AIADMKs win of all but two seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections was attributed to two things: its consolidation of the OBC, Dalit and tribal votes and the hair-splitting community-wise allocation of seats. The DMK offered the Congress nine seats in Tamil Nadu. The party gained significantly in the Kallar-dominated Kaveri delta region, the Thevar-dominated south and the Gounder-dominated Kongu region. DMK alliance The DMK has roped in the Congress with an offer of nine seats in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry. The others in the alliance are the Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi (VCK), a Dalit party led by Thol Thirumavalavan; the CPI and the CPM; the Indian Union Muslim League; the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi; and the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), led by Vaiko. Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) leader Vaiko. Alliance patterns The key partners could give an indication of the types of alliances forged by the two main parties. The AIADMK's bid to cash in on the BJP wave and its aspersions to stay close to a power centre are evident in its tie-up. Political observers say the traditional two-leaf voters may not vote for BJP, especially in the absence of Jaya. DMK scion Stalin Vote share In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP secured a five per cent vote share, emerging third after the AIADMK (44%) and DMK (23%). The party could get only one seat (Pon Radhakrishnan won from Kanyakumari). Non-linear numbers The party leaders are not counting on the previous LS poll numbers as they know the figures never play out in a linear manner. In the 2011 TN Assembly elections, the BJPs vote share was just 2.22 per cent. It increased by 0.6 percentage points to touch 2.8 per cent in the 2016 Assembly polls. That the AIADMK cared little of the miniscule vote-share while forging the current alliance is a curious fact. This is especially so because the opposition DMK's main alliance partner, the Congress, could single-handedly manage a vote share of 6.4 per cent in the 2016 Assembly polls. Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), led by actor Kamal Haasan, is being touted as a game-changer. More trouble for AIADMK The DMK's quiet but significant Left-of-Centre stance, projected from the times of Karunanidhi, has kept it close to the Muslim population. The Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) and the IUML could possibly garner as much votes as the BJP could with their 0.5 and 0.7 per cent vote share respectively in the 2016 Assembly elections. New entrants The entry of the Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), led by actor Kamal Haasan, is being touted as a game-changer. The party makes no tall claims. The mandate given to every candidate is to get the deposit back and to be an influencer in the constituency. The party has an appeal among the young and educated, with Kamal Hasan making nuanced and studied statements. He took the fight straight to DMK bastion and Karunanidhis constituency Tiruvarur on MNMs first anniversary. He said his intention was to shift the peoples mindsets out of dynasty politics. Many observers say the urban votes could swing in favour of MNM and create an AAP-like vote bank for the party. Notably, Kamal has also said that youngsters would get preference in candidate selection. DMDK leader Vijayakanth and wife Premalatha. A strain of virulence It is to be seen as to how the vitriolic Vijayakanth takes his party, the DMDK, to. Both the AIADMK and the DMK are reluctant to take in the virulent actor. DMK scion knows the script is not conclusive with the Kalaingar absent this time. However, he can be happy that the party is pitted against an all-time weak enemy, the AIADMK without its Amma. The BJP is waiting in the wings to whisk P J Joseph away if he walks out of Kerala Congress (Mani). Though the party will consider it a big bonus if Joseph falls in its lap, the BJP leadership will not proactively attempt to poach a disgruntled Joseph. Reason: the BJP reckons the Joseph affair to be a mere storm in a tea cup. "The issue will be sorted out in a matter of days," a top BJP leader said. "Joseph is seriously worried that his men are being sidelined in the party but we cannot underestimate the influence Muslim League has on the UDF affairs. Mani will eventually heed Kunhalikutty's words," he said. Things came to a head in the Kerala Congress when Jose K Mani started a statewide 'yatra' without consulting Joseph, the party's working chairman. This was seen as the junior Mani's attempt to take full control of the party from his father. (From Left) K M Mani, P J Joseph and Jose K Mani. Mani's pregnant silence At the moment, the BJP assessment is that the Kerala Congress crisis would blow over. The UDF, as its leaders have been consistently saying, would give the KC(M) just the Kottayam seat and Mani will have no choice but to offer it to Joseph. K M Mani's silence right through the controversy is also very telling. We see this as a sign that Mani, too, is not keen to see the back of Joseph, at least for now, the BJP leader said. KM Mani had praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There is also a feeling in the BJP that P J Joseph is more ideologically rigid than Mani. Mani had earlier given enough hints that he was fine with the BJP. Note the manner in which he had praised prime minister Narendra Modi and Arun Jaitley. We had very nearly got Mani to our side but a host of issues like the bar bribery probe had compelled Mani to opt for either the LDF or UDF. But Joseph has never really shown an inclination for the BJP. He generally stuck to pseudo-secular Leftist positions, which did not seem much of a contradiction when he defected to the UDF camp, the leader said. It was through P C Thomas that the NDA had its first MP from Kerala. Christian votes matter Nonetheless, the BJP is aware that it needs strong Christian backing to make some inroads into Kerala. Christians and Muslims constitute nearly 50 per cent of the state's population. Nearly 45 per cent of people in both Idukki and Kottayam districts are Christians; no other community has such a high concentration in any other district. P C George As of now, the party has the backing of P C Thomas, who has some influence in Idukki though it has considerably waned over the years, and Kerala Congress (Nationalist), a breakaway Kerala Congress faction that managed to secure 14 per cent votes in Kottayam in the 2014 elections. Incidentally, it was through Thomas that the NDA had its first MP from Kerala Thomas had won by a narrow margin from the then Muvattupuzha constituency in 2004 Lok Sabha polls. Joseph and his men are far more influential in the Idukki and Kottayam belts. Even a known Joseph-baiter like P C George said Joseph could easily wrest the Idukki seat from the Left independent Joice George. However, sources said P C Thomas, the party's Christian face, is dead against the entry of P J Joseph. Amit Shah Shah's word of caution During BJP national president Amit Shah's recent visit to Kerala, he had inquired about the alliances that the party had managed to strike. He was especially critical of the wobbly alliance it has with Bharathiya Dharma Jana Sena. He had wanted to know why the SNDP and the BDJS were on opposing sides. Given Kerala's unique demographic, Shah had also asked the party honchos to rope in more minority leaders. But he asked us to do a thorough assessment before even holding back room discussions, a BJP leader said. He didn't want the BJP to look too desperate to forge alliances, he added. With the doyen of Indian art house cinema Kumar Shahani in charge, the 49th State Film Awards should not have come as a surprise. Except for the hugely loved 'Sudani From Nigeria', none of the talked-about films of 2018 has found favour with the Shahani-led jury. The films of masters, Shaji N Karun and T V Chandran, were mercilessly spurned, so were the films of superstars Mohanlal and Mammootty. However, the man who consistently came tantalisingly close to an award finally made the big prize his own. Jayasurya, who won a clutch of special mentions at the state and national levels, won for his transgender turn in 'Njan Marykutty'. He will share the honour with Soubin Shahir, whom many critics now say is emerging as one of the country's finest. The cream of the awards were bagged by two debutants (Zakariya and Sheriff C), a new-age maverick (Sanal Kumar Sasidharan) and a veteran (Syamaprasad). Besides 'Sudani From Nigeria', the other three films the jury had flattered the most were unheard of till the awards were announced on Wednesday. Sheriff's 'Kanthan The Lover of Colour' was adjudged the best feature film. The journalists had to ask minister for culture A K Balan to repeat the names of both the film and its maker. Sheriff is also the producer of the film. Syamaprasad won his fifth best director award for 'Oru Njayarazcha', a film not even listed on his Wikipedia page. Both these films have not yet been released. 'Chola', which won Sasidharan a special jury mention for direction and sound design and also Nimisha Sajayan a best actor prize, has also not been released. 'Sudani From Nigeria' walked away with the most number of awards that mattered (best actor for Soubin Shahir, best character actor female shared by the two scene-stealing grandmothers in the film, Savithri Sreedahran and Sarasa Balussery, the best script for Zakariya and Mohsin Parari, best debut director award for Zakariya, and the film was also the popular film with aesthetic appeal.) Critically acclaimed films like Anjali Menon's 'Koode', Amal Neerad's 'Varathan', and Ajith Kumar's 'Eada' were not considered even for less glamorous categories like sound mixing or dubbing. Interestingly, none of these three made it to the final 20. Same was the fate of other critically popular films like 'Poomaram' and 'Sleeplessly Yours'. Interestingly, Syamaprasad's 'Hey Jude' did not find a place in the top 20. (The 104 entries were whittled down to 20 after a preliminary screening process.) The sleeper hit 'Joseph' had only a 'best character actor' prize for Joju George. Mammootty and Mohanlal films were conspicuous by their absence. It was not a complete washout for the stars though; 'Uncle' won Joy Mathew the best story award, and Shammi Thilakan won for his dubbing work in 'Odiyan'. However, it would be the haul of Venu's 'Carbon' that could trigger some controversy. The film won six awards, including the best cinematography award for K U Mohanan, and best composer for Vishal Bharadwaj. A conflict of interest charge was earlier brought up to prevent the film from competing. The film-maker' wife, Beena Paul, is the vice-chairperson of the Chalachithra Academy, which constitutes the jury. The argument was brushed aside. There is nothing to be suspicious about these awards, minister A K Balan said when asked about the large award haul of 'Carbon'. On the whole, the Shahani-led jury was unimpressed. "A large majority of the films had taken a very lazy approach to filmmaking and had not bothered to take advantage of the medium's aesthetic possibilities," the jury said in its report. The jury had also found that songs were a big drag on the development of the story. Actor Joju George who won the Kerala state award for the best supporting actor is excited. Expressing happiness, the actor told Onmanorama that there is nothing better than getting nominated from among big names. When I came to know that my name was there in the final list, I was overjoyed because this is something that I had never expected. And achieving this award is equal to winning 10 Oscars for me, said Joju. The actor won the award for the portrayal of his role in the movies 'Joseph' directed by Padmakumar and 'Chola' directed by Sanal Kumar Sasidharan. Interestingly, Joju celebrated 100 days of the release of 'Joseph' on Monday along with the film crew. The movie was an important one in his career as he played the lead actor for the first time. 'Chola', on the other hand, had Nimisha Sajayan and Joy Mathew along with Joju in pivotal roles. The movie revolved around power politics and feminine identity. Kadakkal: Kollam rural police have arrested three people including the husband of a 40-year-old woman who was murdered on Sunday night. The arrested include Shaji, 45, who is the husband of the victim Ramla Beevi, and his two friends. Shaji, who had been separated from Ramla Beevi for years, had attacked her with the help of his friends, according to the police. Ramla had earlier approached the court against Shaji regarding a property dispute. Ramla and children were living in a house at Ganapathinada following a court order in this case, said the police. Ramla was stabbed and her head hit the wall amid a scuffle with a gang in which even chilly powder was thrown on her. The neighbours who came running hearing the screams of the children had taken Ramla to the hospital, but by that time she had died. Following this, Shaji was taken into police custody. The police had conducted search operations in Thiruvananthapuram district also, tracking the number of the motor bike that the gang had used. The number was revealed from CCTV footage. Shaji had later revealed the names of his friends who were part of the group that assaulted Ramla. Both his friends, who belong to Chadayamangalam in Kollam district, were taken into custody following Shajis revelations. The three arrested are being cross examined. The inquiry is being conducted by the police team led by Rural SP K.G. Simon, DySP Satheesh Kumar and CI V S Pradeep Kumar. Shaji is a resident of Rafi Manzil, Chappath, Ganapathinada, Pangalukad in Kollam district. Ramla's mortal remains were laid to rest after post mortem at Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram. The couple's children are Muhammed Rafi and Muhammed Rifan. New Delhi: Tata Motors on Monday said it plans to launch a premium hatchback model named Altroz in the middle of 2019. The production version of the Altroz, which was showcased as the 45X Concept at the Auto Expo 2018, will be unveiled at the upcoming Geneva Motors Show 2019, Tata Motors said in a statement. The model will compete with the likes of Maruti Suzuki India's Baleno, Hyundai i20 and Honda Jazz among others which are priced between Rs 5.45 lakh and Rs 9.34 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The upcoming model will redefine the premium hatchback segment for the industry, Tata Motors president, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit Mayank Pareek said. "We are excited to introduce this product to our customers and are gearing up for its commercial launch in mid-2019," he added. The Altroz will be an amalgamation of futuristic design, advanced technology, class leading connectivity, thrilling performance and smart packaging, Pareek claimed. Inspired by the magnificent bird 'Albatross', the Altroz will be the first product to be engineered on its new ALFA (Agile Light Flexible Advanced) architecture, Tata Motors said. "With lightweight, modular and flexible characteristics, the ALFA architecture has the ability to evolve into a range of modern and youthful vehicles within a short development cycle," the company said. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting the service chiefs at his residence in New Delhi after Pakistan shot down an Indian Air Force fighter jet this morning during an aerial encounter, capturing the pilot. The government has said it expected the immediate and safe return of the pilot in Pakistans custody. In a demarche, India also lodged a strong protest at what it called an unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan, saying its jets targeted military installations in India. In the worst escalation of hostilities between the countries in decades, a day after Indias air strike to target a terror camp in Balakot, fighter jets of both sides engaged in direct battle. Pakistan later put out a video of the Indian Air Force pilot whose MiG-21 jet had crashed after shooting down a Pakistani aircraft. India also strongly objected to Pakistans vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention. It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody, said New Delhi in its demarche. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump met in Vietnam on Wednesday for a second summit that the United States hopes will persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for promises of peace and development, Trend reports referring to Reuters. Kim and Trump shook hands and smiled briefly in front of a row of their national flags at the Metropole hotel in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, before heading to dinner together. Trump told reporters he thought the talks would be very successful, and asked if he was walking back on denuclearization, said no. At their historic first summit in Singapore last June, Trump and Kim pledged to work toward denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean peninsula but little progress has been made. Kim said they had overcome obstacles to hold their second summit and praised Trump for his courageous decision to begin a dialogue. Now that were meeting here again like this, Im confident that there will be an excellent outcome that everyone welcomes, and Ill do my best to make it happen, Kim said. Trump and Kim held a 20-minute, one-on-one chat before sitting down to dinner with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Trumps acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Kims top envoy, Kim Yong Chol, and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho. On Thursday, the two leaders will hold a series of meetings, the White House said. The venue has not been announced. Were going to have a very busy day tomorrow ... Probably a very quick dinner, said a smiling, relaxed looking Trump, seated beside Kim at a round table with the other four officials and two interpreters. Our relationship is a very special relationship. Kim also appeared at ease. Well have a very interesting dialogue, he told Trump. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: A cargo plane of Turkish Airlines was forced to return due to strained relations between India and Pakistan, Trend reports via Turkish media. The plane flying from Istanbul to Chennai, due to the closure of Pakistan's airspace, returned to Istanbul. Reports also noted that currently a number of flights from Istanbul to Pakistan have been canceled. The Pakistani authorities completely closed the country's airspace on Feb. 27 against the background of aggravated relations with India. On Feb. 26 morning, Indian Air Force fighter jets attacked a big training camp of the Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistani part of Kashmir. As a result of the air raid, many militants were eliminated, their vehicles, weapons and ammunition were completely destroyed. Indian First Deputy Foreign Minister Vijay Gokhale said that a preemptive strike was "absolutely necessary" because the group was preparing suicide attacks in various parts of India. Moreover, according to New Delhis opinion, Pakistan has not yet taken any practical steps to eliminate the infrastructure of terrorists on its territory. Acting foreign secretary of Pakistan summoned Charge d'Affaires of the embassy of India in Islamabad and stressed that Indias aggression poses a threat to peace and stability in the region and Islamabad will give an adequate response to it at its convenience. The crisis in relations between India and Pakistan sharply worsened after Feb. 14, when a suicide bomber blew himself up near paramilitary policemen in Jammu and Kashmir in northern India. Forty-five people were killed as a result of the attack. According to New Delhi, responsibility for the attack was claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammed. India accused Pakistan of supporting terrorist groups. Islamabad dismissed the allegations as unsubstantiated, suggesting New Delhi to conduct joint investigation into the incident. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: Turkey is ready to become a mediator between Pakistan and India, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, Trend reports via Turkish media. Cavusoglu noted that Turkey is concerned about the exacerbation of the situation between the two countries. The minister added that Turkey calls on the parties to decrease tensions. On Feb. 26 morning, Indian Air Force fighter jets attacked a big training camp of the Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistani part of Kashmir. As a result of the air raid, many militants were eliminated, their vehicles, weapons and ammunition were completely destroyed. Indian First Deputy Foreign Minister Vijay Gokhale said that a preemptive strike was "absolutely necessary" because the group was preparing suicide attacks in various parts of India. Moreover, according to New Delhis opinion, Pakistan has not yet taken any practical steps to eliminate the infrastructure of terrorists on its territory. The crisis in relations between India and Pakistan sharply worsened after Feb. 14, when a suicide bomber blew himself up near paramilitary policemen in Jammu and Kashmir in northern India. Forty-five people were killed as a result of the attack. According to New Delhi, responsibility for the attack was claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammed. India accused Pakistan of supporting terrorist groups. Islamabad dismissed the allegations as unsubstantiated, suggesting New Delhi to conduct joint investigation into the incident. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu English French MONTREAL, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Valener Inc. (Valener) (TSX: VNR) (TSX: VNR.PR.A), the public investment vehicle in Energir, L.P., will hold its annual meeting of shareholders on March 21, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) at Energir, L.P.s head office, 1717 du Havre Street, Montreal (Quebec). The annual meeting agenda includes the election of directors and appointment of the independent external auditor. Shareholders, media and other interested parties who are unable to attend the meeting are invited to listen to a live webcast on Valeners website in the Investors section under Events and presentations . The webcast will be available on Valeners website for 365 days following the meeting. For a recap of Valener and Energir, L.P.s 2018 performance, visit our 2018 Highlights . Overview of Valener Valener is a public company held entirely by its shareholders and serves as the investment vehicle in Energir, L.P. Through its investment in Energir, L.P., Valener offers its shareholders a solid investment in a diversified and largely regulated energy portfolio in Quebec and Vermont. As a strategic partner, Valener, on the one hand, contributes to the growth of Energir, L.P., and on the other, invests in wind power production in Quebec alongside Energir, L.P. Valener favours energy sources and uses that are innovative, clean, competitive and profitable. Valeners common and preferred shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the VNR symbol for common shares and the VNR.PR.A symbol for Series A preferred shares. www.valener.com Overview of Energir, L.P. With more than $7 billion in assets, Energir, L.P. is a diversified energy company whose mission is to meet the energy needs of approximately 520,000 customers and the communities it serves in an increasingly sustainable way. Energir, L.P. is the largest natural gas distribution company in Quebec; through its subsidiaries, it also generates electricity from wind power. In the United States, through its subsidiaries, the company operates in nearly fifteen states, where it generates electricity from hydraulic, wind and solar sources; it is also the largest electricity distributor and the sole natural gas distributor in the State of Vermont. Energir, L.P. values energy efficiency and invests both resources and efforts in innovative energy projects such as renewable natural gas and liquefied and compressed natural gas. Through its subsidiaries, it also provides a variety of energy services. Energir, L.P. strives to become the partner of choice for those seeking a better energy future. www.energir.com Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: Turkey calls on India and Pakistan to solve the problems which arose between the countries through diplomacy, Deputy Chairman of the Turkish Justice and Development Party Numan Kurtulmus said. The international community must also have the necessary impact on New Delhi and Islamabad to solve the problem through diplomacy, Kurtulmus added, Trend reports referring to the Turkish media on Feb. 27. He stressed that the interests of such world powers as China and the US collide in this region. On Feb. 26 morning, Indian Air Force fighter jets attacked a big training camp of the Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistans part of Kashmir. As a result of the air raid, many militants were eliminated, their vehicles, weapons and ammunition were completely destroyed. Indian First Deputy Foreign Minister Vijay Gokhale said that a preemptive strike was "absolutely necessary" because the group was preparing suicide attacks in various parts of India. Moreover, according to New Delhi, Pakistan has not yet taken any practical steps to eliminate the infrastructure of terrorists on its territory. Acting foreign secretary of Pakistans Foreign Ministry summoned Charge d'Affaires of the embassy of India in Islamabad and stressed that Indias aggression poses a threat to peace and stability in the region and Islamabad will give an adequate response to it at its convenience. The crisis in relations between India and Pakistan sharply worsened after February 14, when a suicide bomber blew himself up near paramilitary policemen in Jammu and Kashmir state in northern India. Forty five people were killed as a result of the attack. According to New Delhi, responsibility for the attack claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammed and headed by Masood Azhar, is based in Pakistan. India accused Pakistan of supporting terrorist groups. Islamabad dismissed the allegations as unsubstantiated, suggesting New Delhi to conduct joint investigation into the incident. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: Turkey has launched naval drills in the Aegean Sea, which are held under the name Mavi Vatan, Trend reports with reference to local media. It is reported that the naval exercises began at 05:00 (GMT +3). It is reported that such countries as Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, Germany and Italy also take part in the naval exercises. In general, 251 servicemen from 15 countries will take part in the military exercises. Earlier, military exercises were also held in Turkeys Kars province with the participation of a number of countries, including Azerbaijan. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus invitation to come to Jerusalem for the opening of the monument to the victims of the Siege of Leningrad, Trend reports referring to TASS. "We will unveil a special monument dedicated to the victims of the Siege of Leningrad and we will be very glad to see you, Mr President, at the unveiling of this monument," Netanyahu addressed the Russian leader. "Thanks, Ill come," the Russian state leader accepted the invitation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has expressed hope for the de-escalation of the situation in relations between India and Pakistan, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on Wednesday after a meeting between the Russian top diplomat and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj in Chinas Wuzhen on the sidelines of the Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Russia, India and China, Trend reports referring to TASS. "The Russian side expressed hope for the de-escalation of the situation between India and Pakistan," the ministry highlighted. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the sides also discussed the current issues on the bilateral agenda and the current international and regional problems with focus on cooperation in the RIC, SCO and BRICS and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the fight against international terrorism. The reason for the tensions in relations between India and Pakistan was an attack over an Indian military car convoy on February 14 in the Jammu and Kashmir state. Forty people were killed in the attack. The group Jaish-e-Mohammed (The Army of Muhammad) claimed responsibility for the attack. On Tuesday, India carried out an air strike on this groups camp in the part of Kashmir that is controlled by Pakistan. On Wednesday, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) responded with strikes on military facilities in Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi and Islamabad also stated that they downed each others planes during the air fight. Moscow expects the second meeting between the leaders of the United States and North Korea to produce positive results, Russian Federation Council (the upper house of parliament) Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said, commenting on the Hanoi summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, Trend reports referring to TASS. "The second round of talks is very important. We very much hope that there will be positive results. Russia like nobody else is interested in that, because our country is partially situated in this region. We are interested in easing tensions," she pointed out. The Russian senate speaker added that she considered the meeting to be a positive sign as the first summit had helped reduce tensions. "I think it is only possible to achieve positive results if there is dialogue and the parties take each others opinions into consideration, expressing readiness to meet each other half way," Matviyenko noted. She emphasized that North Korea had taken serious steps to ease tensions following the first Kim-Trump meeting, dismantling a nuclear test site, suspending nuclear and missile tests and launching talks with South Korea, but "unfortunately, there have been no similar steps on the part of the US." "If ensuring the complete denuclearization of North Korea remains the only goal of these talks, with no actions taken to lift sanctions, then as a sovereign state, North Korea is unlikely to take further unilateral steps," Matviyenko noted. The second meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is taking place in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi on Wednesday. The two leaders are expected to agree on specific steps aimed at resolving the situation on the Korean Peninsula during their Hanoi meeting. Trump and Kim held their first historic meeting in Singapore on June 12, 2018. The parties signed a joint document, in which Pyongyang committed to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula in return for US security guarantees. The foreign ministers of Russia, India and China are concerned about the outbreak of trade wars and increased protectionism in world trade, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday at a joint press conference following talks with colleagues from India and China, Trend reports referring to TASS. "We expressed concern over the continuing dangerous imbalance of the multilateral trading system, strengthening of protectionist measures, outbreak of trade wars, expansion of illegitimate unilateral economic sanctions practice in circumvention of the UN Security Council," he said. " We believe that all states should have equal opportunities and equally participate in global economic activity," Lavrov added. India and Pakistan both said they shot down each others fighter jets on Wednesday, with Pakistan capturing an Indian pilot a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a 1971 war, prompting world powers to urge restraint, Trend reports referring to Reuters. Both countries have ordered air strikes over the last two days, the first time in history that two nuclear-armed powers have done so, while ground forces have exchanged fire in more than a dozen locations. Tension has been running high since a suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police on Feb. 14, but the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base. A senior Indian government source said that 300 militants were killed in Tuesdays strike. Pakistan says no one was killed. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called for talks with India and hoped better sense would prevail so that both sides could de-escalate. History tells us that wars are full of miscalculation. My question is that, given the weapons we have, can we afford miscalculation, Khan said during a brief televised broadcast to the nation. We should sit down and talk. Pakistans authorities on Wednesday closed its airspace against the backdrop of an aggravation of relations with India, as follows from a statement by the international system of notifications for air personnel (NOtice TO AirMen), Trend reports referring to TASS. According to the NOTAM notification, the air space will stay closed till 02:59 of February 28. A similar notification has been issued by Karachi international airport. On Tuesday, India declared it had delivered an airstrike against a camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed group in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir. Pakistans Air Force on Wednesday said in response that it had rocketed military facilities in Indias northern state of Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi and Islamabad added that each others fighter planes had been shot down. The airspace over northern India has been temporarily closed for security reasons. Many civil flights are canceled. The Pakistan Air Force has downed two Indian aircraft whish, according to Islamabad, violated the countrys airspace, Pakistan Army Spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Twitter on Wednesday, Trend reports referring to TASS. "In response to PAF [Pakistan Air Force] strikes this morning as released by the MoFA [Ministry of Foreign Affairs], the IAF [Indian Air Force] crossed the LOC [Line of Control]. PAF shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistan airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K [Azad Jammu and Kashmir], while the other fell inside the IOK [Indian-Occupied Kashmir]. One Indian pilot was arrested by troops on the ground," the tweet reads. Pakistans Foreign Ministry issued a statement earlier in the day, saying that the "Pakistan Air Force undertook strikes across Line of Control from within Pakistani airspace." "This was not a retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. Pakistan has therefore, taken strikes at non-military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. Sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self-defense. We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we undertook the action with clear warning and in broad daylight," the statement added. Meanwhile, Indias Asian News International (ANI) news agency said that Pakistani jets had reportedly violated the Indian airspace in Jammu and Kashmir, "dropping bombs on their way out." The incident took place after the Indian Air Force had targeted a militant camp belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammed group near the Pakistani town of Balakot. According to New Delhi, the operation involved 12 Mirage-2000 fighter jets, which dropped laser-guided bombs on the camp, completely destroying it and killing up to 300 militants. The Jaish-e-Mohammed group, which aims at separating Kashmir from India and bringing it under Pakistans control, claimed responsibility for the February 14 attack on an Indian paramilitary convoy, which had killed 45. Travelers will soon be able to connect with Nantes, France as British easyJet announced it will launch flights from Tel Aviv, beginning in April, Trend reports referring to The Jerusalem Post. In Tuesday's announcement, the company said that it will operate thrice-weekly flights, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. "The new route is expected to carry more than 48,000 passengers this year and is likely to be popular amongst those looking to enjoy a cultural feast in Frances sixth largest city, including visits to the stunning medieval Chateau des ducs de Bretagne and the historic 19th century shopping mall Passage Pommeraye," the company said in a statement. Ali Gaywald, easyJet's UK Country Manager, said that the company was "delighted" to launch the route. Were delighted to announce this new route to Nantes from Tel Aviv, which allows us to offer our customers an even wider range of exiting destinations to visit this year," she said. Dallas, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SRS Real Estate Partners is pleased to welcome three new team members to their newest office located in Detroit. Michael Carter and Frank Rogers have joined as first vice presidents, with Joseph Simon joining as an associate. As part of SRS National Net Lease Group, they specialize in the acquisition and disposition of single-tenant and multi-tenant investment properties. The trio are the latest additions to the National Net Lease Groups explosive rate of growth which saw the addition of 16 team members, three new office locations, and the introduction of Debt & Equity services in 2018. SRS National Net Lease Group successfully completed more than 300 sales in 2018, and has more than $1.1 billion in assets currently listed for sale across more than 40 states. The newest team members and their physical presence in a new market for SRS further expands the National Net Lease Groups reach and broadens their range of knowledge and experience. Michael Carter joins SRS with seven years of net lease experience, most recently with Fortis Net Lease, a local boutique firm in Detroit, where he served as a senior director. Michael's deep understanding of the net lease industry and constantly growing market knowledge has earned him several opportunities to work with national and regional developers, publicly traded REITs, and private investors. His success is, in large part, thanks to his ability to cultivate strong client relationships and his entrepreneurial drive. Frank Rogers joins SRS with more than five years of experience, most recently with Fortis Net Lease, a local boutique firm in Detroit, as a senior advisor. Frank was responsible for the management of his clients' real estate portfolios across the nation, for which he advised them on the best course of action for their investments. Since his inception into net lease investment sales, Frank has leveraged his comprehensive expertise of construction, leadership background, and market knowledge to become an emerging leader in the realm of investment real estate. Joseph Simon joins SRS after spending a year as an investment advisor. Joseph represents both the buyers and sellers of single-tenant and multi-tenant net-leased properties, and in his previous role at a local boutique firm in Detroit, was responsible for underwriting, property evaluation, and market analysis of properties nationwide. We are thrilled to welcome Michael, Frank, and Joe and look forward to working with them to broaden our market share and exposure to clients in the Midwest and east of the Mississippi, said Matthew Mousavi, managing principal of the National Net Lease Group. Michigan as a whole has rebounded successfully from the great recession and transaction velocity in the state and region provides SRS with tremendous growth opportunities. We will continue to grow the new office with leasing and tenant representation services as well, said Patrick Luther, managing principal of the National Net Lease Group. About SRS Real Estate Partners SRS Real Estate Partners is the largest real estate company in North America exclusively dedicated to retail services. Headquartered in Dallas with more than 20 offices worldwide, SRS strong reach and international presence provide the company with unparalleled knowledge both globally and domestically. As a result, clients of SRS have a competitive edge through a full range of offerings including brokerage services, corporate services, development services, and investment services. Since its inception in 1986, SRS has built a strong foundation in the retail real estate world and grown into one of the industrys most influential and respected leaders. Our success is measured in the achievement of our clients objectives, satisfaction and trust. For more information, please visit www.srsre.com. SRS National Net Lease Group is a unified platform of seasoned net lease professionals located and transacting nationally with all underwriting and marketing efforts strategically located in Southern California. In 2018, the group completed more than 300 sales across more than 40 states. From proactive sales to targeted acquisitions and tailored debt and equity solutions, SRS National Net Lease Group offers comprehensive services to net lease owners and investors. Superior speed-to-market, world-class marketing materials, a deep investor database, and unparalleled retail submarket intelligence from the entire SRS platform allow SRS National Net Lease Group to deliver the best possible returns. For more information, please visit srsnnlg.com. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that the European Union would only agree to extend the Brexit deadline beyond March 29 if Britain justified a delay with a clear objective and new choices, Trend reports citing Reuters. The United Kingdom is due to leave in 30 days but Prime Minister Theresa May has so far failed to get parliament to ratify the deal she agreed in November, so on Tuesday she opened up the possibility of a delay until the end of June. European leaders want to avoid a disorderly no-deal Brexit that would send shockwaves through the $16 trillion economy of the EU 27, though they are also exasperated at Britains labyrinthine divorce crisis and want to move on. If the British need more time, we would support an extension request if it was justified by new choices from the British, Macron told a joint news briefing with Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris. But we would in no way accept an extension without a clear view on the objective pursued, he added. As our negotiator Michel Barnier said, we dont need more time, we need decisions. French officials have said Paris would only agree to delay Brexit if that came with a credible solution, for example if Britain called an election, held a second referendum, or presented a new plan that was acceptable to all sides but needed more time to be finalised. Merkel said she was totally on the same line as Macron but appeared more willing to show flexibility. If Britain needs some more time, we wont refuse but we are striving for an orderly solution i.e. an orderly exit of Britain from the European Union, she said. We regret this step but it is reality and we must now find a good solution. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that if Britain needed more time to sort out its departure from the European Union, she would not refuse, Trend reports referring to Reuters. If Britain needs some more time, we wont refuse but we are striving for an orderly solution, Merkel said during a joint news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday paved the way for a delay to Brexit until June from its planned date of March 29 if she loses the latest vote on her divorce deal next month. The German cabinet gave the green light on Wednesday for Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann to extend his term for another eight years, a government source said, Trend reports referring to Reuters. Weidmanns first term expires at the end of April and the cabinets decision paves the way for him to stay for a second term. The extension would in theory keep Weidmann in the mix as a possible successor to ECB chief Mario Draghi, whose job will become available at the end of October, though Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau is seen as frontrunner. OPEC and its partners are taking it easy, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Wednesday in an interview with CNBC, in response to a tweet from US President Donald Trump requesting oil producers ease their efforts to boost oil prices, Trend reports referring to Al Arabiya. We are taking it easy. The 25 countries are taking a very slow and measured approach. Just as the second half last year proved, we are interested in market stability first and foremost, Falih said in Riyadh when asked to comment on Trump's tweet this week, CNBC reported. Falih said current analysis indicated OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, may need to extend their agreement to curb output until the end of 2019. All the outlooks that we have seen tell us that we will need to continue to moderate production in the second half of this year but you never know, those forecasts are based on certain assumptions, Falih said. After OPEC and non-OPEC members had agreed in early December to trim production by 1.2 million barrels a day from January 1, al-Falih said it is difficult to predict an OPEC+ supply cut agreement extension now Al-Falih said in a speech that OPEC and non-OPEC members continue to play their role in balancing the oil market, but that sustaining this role requires timely investments, reliable supply, and appropriate spare capacity. Oil and gas will continue to dominate the world energy scene for many decades and overall demand for energy will remain robust, al-Falih said. He added that energy policies of many consuming countries undermine oil and gas development. Additionally, Saudi Aramco is expanding domestic gas supplies and creating a leading international gas business, according to the energy minister, who is also the chairman of Saudi Aramco. The minister added that oil inventories will respond to OPEC+ supply cuts "in due course," stating that they are committed to balancing the market. Lebanons President Michel Aoun has told EU Foreign Policy Chief Frederica Mogherini that Beirut will continue to work for the return of Syrian refugees to safe areas in their war-torn country without waiting for a political solution, Trend reports referring to Al Arabiya. The President added that Lebanon will try to ensure that Syrian returnees are not in danger. Thousands of Syrian refugees returned home from Lebanon last year after government forces captured wide parts of the country. Syrias nearly eight-year conflict has led to the displacement of half the countrys population and created more than five million refugees, who fled mostly to neighboring Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey. Lebanon is home to some one million Syrian refugees, a quarter of the countrys population. An estimated 70 percent of them live in poverty. United Nations humanitarian personnel have gained access to a major food storage facility in the Yemeni port city of Al Hudaydah for the first time since September, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing, Trend reported citing Sputnik. "A team from the World Food Programme (WFP) visited the Red Sea Mills", Dujarric told reporters. "The World Food Programme is hopeful that Tuesdays brief visit will pave the way for more sustained access, allowing it to carry out a full assessment of the conditions of the wheat and the milling facilities themselves". Aid workers had not been able to reach the Red Sea Mills, which holds enough grain supplies to feed 3.7 million people, for several months, because it lies along the front lines of fighting in Al Hudaydah. But earlier this month, Yemen's warring parties began redeploying forces away from the port city as part of an agreement inked in Stokholm last December. Under the so-called Stockholm Agreement, the Yemeni government and rebel Houthi movement pledged to implement a ceasefire, exchange prisoners and open humanitarian corridors in Al Hudaydah. Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces led by President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi and the rebel Houthi movement for several years. A Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015. The conflict has resulted in a massive humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country. According to the United Nations, 24 million people or 80 percent of the population are in need of humanitarian aid and protection in Yemen. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 By Matanat Nasibova Trend: Georgian President Salome Zurabishvilis official visit to Azerbaijan testifies that the strategic partnership between Georgia and Azerbaijan is at a high level, well-known expert Archil Sikharulidze told Trend. Sikharulidze was commenting on the meeting between the Azerbaijani and Georgian presidents in Baku. President Zurabishvili is on an official visit to Azerbaijan. Today both countries have mutual interest in various spheres, he said. "Georgia is interested in ensuring its energy security and in this sphere, Azerbaijan is of particular importance to us. At the same time, our countries continue to cooperate especially in the field of economy and transit of goods through the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. This project opens big opportunities to increase the volume of cargoes which are transported through Azerbaijan and Georgia, he said. The Azerbaijani president also mentioned this fact in Baku." Sikharulidze stressed that Georgia and Azerbaijan are friendly countries that are interested in preserving the stability and security in the region. "I think that the Georgian presidents visit to Baku will further strengthen bilateral ties between Georgia and Azerbaijan, as well as create favorable situation for the implementation of joint, large-scale projects that will bring mutual benefit for our two countries," the expert said. ---- Follow the author on Twitter: @MatanatNasibova Iranian and Russian officials on Wednesday signed a cooperation document in field of road transportation, Trend reports citing IRNA. Manouchehr Salmanzadeh, an official affiliated to Iran's Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization and Tatiana Yugeniuna, an official from the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in field of road transportation. According to the agreement, the two countries would facilitate road transportation between the two countries and would improve the infrastructure in this sector. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 By Elnur Baghishov Trend: The 11th parliamentary elections in Iran will be held on February 21, 2020, said Salman Samani, spokesman for the Iranian Interior Ministry, Trend reports referring to the Iranian Interior Ministry's website. Samani said that, besides the parliamentary elections, there will also be elections held for Irans Assembly of Experts. He added that preparation for the elections has begun. "The Iranian Interior Ministry has sent a letter to the Guardian Council suggesting a date for the elections and a specific date was chosen during the last meeting of the council," he said. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 By Elnur Baghishov Trend: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani did not accept the resignation of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Trend reports referring to the official website of the Iranian government (Dolat.ir). President Rouhani replied to the letter of Mohammad Javad Zarif's resignation: "Mr. Zarif! Iranian Foreign Minister I received your resignation letter dated February 25. You are the person approved by me for preserving the worthy place of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as the highest-ranking official in Iran's foreign policy. I praise your continuous efforts, find your resignation as being contrary to national interests, and do not accept it. The task of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is fulfilling national interests and security, and forming conditions for foreign relations. I have repeatedly instructed for all bodies - state and governmental bodies alike - to fully coordinate their steps in foreign relations with the ministry. I am in full comprehension of the pressure put against the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the government, and even the president. We are forever faithful to our covenant with the people and believe that we shall overcome this difficult stage. Hassan Rouhani, Iranian President THUNDER BAY, Ontario, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The First Nations Housing Conference (FNHC) has evolved over its successful, 17-year operation. From its inception in 2003, the FNHC has blossomed into a leading, national event for First Nation housing professionals, Government, and industry leaders. Thirteen representatives (known as the First Nations Housing Working Group) from Tribal Councils across Ontario have dedicated their time and resources to managing and implementing the FNHC in a First Nations-Led Approach. It has been regarded as the countrys most successful First Nations housing event. This year, the FNHC is presented by the First Nations Housing (FNH) Community a new association and an innovation of the First Nations Housing Working Group. The FNH Community is a holistic approach to support First Nation Communities in managing their housing programs and is designed to bridge the gap between First Nations, Government, and industry. This new, community of practice approach, is an evolution of the FNHC and what it represents: A First Nations-Led Approach to housing independence in First Nation Communities. The FNH Community is expected to work in tandem with any and all other First Nation housing organizations, including Government and industry. By learning collaboratively, and leading with a First Nations perspective, the FNH Community will work together to find viable solutions for any and all housing issues faced by Communities. From occupants, leadership and housing managers to Government agencies and industry leaders, the FNH Community will give each party the chance to discuss challenges, opportunities, and solutions for housing. The goal of the FNH Community is to have everyone working together to empower and educate one another. The core functions of it will include: training and development, community advocacy, expert advice, information sharing, member support and research and communications. This is a huge step for the evolution of the Conference and the Working Group that organizes it. From its humble beginnings as a small event in Sioux Lookout to the National Conference it is now, evolving into a national Housing Community is a big deal. The Working Group is committed to working with First Nations, Government and Industry across Canada to create a new First Nation Led Approach to providing viable housing solutions to First Nations Communities, said Clarence Meekis, a member of the First Nations Housing Working Group and spokesperson for the new association. During the inaugural year, the First Nations Housing Working Group will seek national representation, by region, to help create the Community. The FNH Community is offering a free 1-year membership to all involved in First Nation housing. To join, or get more information, please visit www.firstnationshousingcommunity.com . For more information, contact: Bruno DAngelo, Administrative Support FNH Community info@firstnationshousingcommunity.com | 807-627-9702 Photos accompanying this announcement are available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/72f821e8-1d3a-4ae7-a3f6-aeb52d12d93c http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c45fd27d-45c6-4a13-9908-6447380ce891 A PDF accompanying this announcement is available at http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/9c462814-875f-4de8-82ef-17370dc9083e Sean Gallup/Getty Images(LONDON) -- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for "restraint" after two Indian jets flying in Pakistani territory were shot down Wednesday morning by the Pakistani military. Tensions continue to rise between the two nuclear powers over the disputed region of Kashmir. After speaking to both the Indian and Pakistani ministers for foreign affairs earlier in the day, Pompeo said in a statement that he "expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost. Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, a spokesman for Pakistan's military, confirmed on Twitter that Pakistan Air Force's shot down the jets. One of the aircraft fell inside Pakistani territory and the other was grounded in Indian-controlled territory, Ghafoor said. One Indian pilot was arrested and taken into custody and is "being treated as per norms of military ethics," the military spokesman said. The Indian aircraft entered Pakistani airspace after the Pakistan Air Force undertook strikes across the Line of Control, the border between Pakistani and Indian-controlled Kashmir, according to the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These airstrikes were launched against "non-military" targets, which were mostly empty areas, Asad Ali, a senior analyst for IHS Markit, told ABC News. Mohammad Faisal of the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on Twitter that the sole purpose of this action was to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. Pakistans ministry of information also released a video which appears to show the downed jets and a number of military personnel on the scene. Conflicting reports The escalation in tensions comes after the Indian Air Force said it carried out an airstrike on Jaish-e Mohammad militants in Pakistani territory this week. The Indian government has blamed the militant group for a suicide bomb attack that killed 40 Indian security personnel in Kashmir on Feb. 14. India has accused Pakistan of harboring the militant group, a claim Pakistan denies. In a meeting with the foreign ministers of Russia and China, India's external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, said the airstrike on Monday was carried out in the light of continuing refusal of Pakistan to acknowledge and act against terror groups on its territory. The Pakistan Air Force was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly, the Indian government said in a statement. In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on Pakistan side. In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts. The conflict between the two sides is characterized by contradictory official reports. On Tuesday, India claimed it had killed a very large number of Jaish e-Mohamed militants while the Pakistani military spokesperson said there were no casualties and the jets were successfully scrambled. This kind of misinformation, backed up by each countrys noisy media, is a useful strategy that allows both sides to claim victory, Elizabeth Chatterjee, a lecturer in regional and comparative politics at Queen Mary University in London, told ABC News. This is the first aerial battle between the two nations since their war of 1971. Since then both Pakistan and India have become nuclear powers. Pakistan's minister of finance, Asad Umar, accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "a mad attempt to pitch two nuclear nations in a conflict." "I hope there are no questions left about Pakistan's capability and will to defend itself now," he posted on Twitter. "Hope the sane voices in India will be able to stop narendra modi's mad attempt to pitch two nuclear nations in a conflict that no sane person can want." Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. RTHK: India to avoid more tension, US calls for calm India wants to avoid any "further escalation of the situation" after conducting air strikes against militant camps in Pakistan territory, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday. She stressed during a visit to China that "no military installations were targeted" in the air raid, describing the operation as a "preemptive strike" to prevent another attack in India by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) group. This came as the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for India and Pakistan to "exercise restraint", while urging Islamabad to take action against militants. "We encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost," Pompeo said in a statement after speaking with the foreign ministers of both countries. Pompeo said that in talks with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, he stressed "the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action, and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil." ndia said Tuesday that it launched strikes against militant camps in Pakistan -- New Delhi's first use of air strikes on its neighbor's territory since the two countries went to war in 1971. Pakistan, while confirming the incursion, denied India's claim that the attack had inflicted major damage and casualties on militants. The Tuesday air raid came after India threatened retaliation over the February 14 suicide bombing, claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) group, that killed 40 Indian troops in the Kashmir region. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2019-02-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Feb. 27 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: Chairperson of the Turkmen parliament Gulshat Mammedova received credentials of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Ghana Sayuti Yahaya Iddi, Trend reports Feb. 27 referring to the Turkmen government. At the meeting, the sides underlined Turkmenistans commitment to broad international cooperation, including in the context of currently expanding relations with the African Union, the states of North and West Africa. At the meeting, the parties noted the importance of intensifying the interstate dialogue between the countries both in a bilateral format and as part of authoritative international organizations. The diplomat was also received at the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan, where opportunities for partnership between the two countries in various areas were considered. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Feb. 27 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: A regional seminar entitled Caspian Sea - Sustainable Development and Management is scheduled to be held in Turkmenistans Caspian resort town of Awaza on March 4-15, Trend reports referring to the Turkmenistan State News Agency. The event, organized by the Foreign Ministry and the State Enterprise for Caspian Sea Affairs under the President of Turkmenistan, in cooperation with the International Ocean Institute (IOI), will be attended by experts from the Caspian littoral states. The main objective of the forum, which will be held for the seventh time in Awaza, is to preserve the unique Caspian ecosystem, its rich biodiversity and coastal landscapes. The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland water body, not connected to the oceans and has a climate-forming significance. It is unique in having carried a diverse relict flora and fauna, including the world's largest herd of sturgeon. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Feb. 27 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev discussed water diplomacy issues over phone, Trend reports referring to the Turkmen government. This issue was discussed within the preparation for the consultative meeting of the presidents of Central Asian countries in Tashkent on April 12, 2019. The sides stressed that the preservation and rational use of water resources in the region is one of the most important tasks of the Central Asian countries. The need was stressed to intensify multilateral cooperation on water issues on the basis of the norms and principles of international law, mutual consideration of the interests of all regional countries, as well as cooperation with international organizations. The presidents also exchanged the views on the further development of partnership within the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS). The need was stressed to consolidate the efforts of all interested sides in the preparation of the UN special program for the Aral Sea basin and the implementation of the initiative to create the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Human Security for the Aral region. Turkmenistan borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Afghanistan and uses water resources coming in accordance with agreed quotas from four trans-boundary rivers, namely, Amu Darya, Tejen, Atrek and Murgab. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 By Huseyn Valiyev - Trend: The GSM operator of Azerbaijan Azercell Telecom LLC invested $59.5 million in the development of telecommunications in Azerbaijan last year and more than $1.527 billion over 22 years, Trend reports Feb. 27 with reference to the companys message. Azercell contributed about $880,000 on the development of human resources and more than $266,000 on social projects in 2018. Azercell also paid 94.5 million manats to the state budget in 2018 and 1.732 billion manats over 22 years of its operation. Azercell successfully implemented a number of improvement projects aimed to strengthen the network, expand the coverage and increase internet speed in order to provide high quality communication services to subscribers and be ready to apply the latest digital innovations in the country. Consequently, comparing to 2017 year, the use of mobile internet traffic increased and reached 13 petabyte. During 2018, the number of Azercell LTE users across the country increased three-fold and exceeded 1 million. Azercell installed new 4G stations in 30 cities and regions of the country. In 2018, the total number of Radio Base Stations of Azercell reached 5,889, including 828 4G stations. Azercell expanded the roaming list further and signed agreements with 19 countries last year. Azercell launched 16 Exclusive shops with the new concept. Overall, last year, the number of served customers exceeded six million. The mobile operator covers 99.8 percent of the population and 99.1 percent of the territory (excluding the occupied territories) and with its 49 percent market share, continues to maintain the leading position in telecom industry of the country. The video message of Azercell Telecom LLC CEO, Mr.Vahid Mursaliyev regarding the results of 2018, is available via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yh7Xe7imcY (1 USD = 1.7 AZN on Feb. 27) --- Follow the author on Twitter: @h_veliyev Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Feb. 27 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: The EU and Turkmenistan held their eighteenth meeting of the Joint Committee on Feb. 26, 2019 in Brussels, Trend reports with reference to the EU website. The Joint Committee reviewed the progress made last year between the EU and Turkmenistan, in particular in terms of trade, economic development, bilateral cooperation, political developments and human rights, and reaffirmed the commitment of both parties to strengthen cooperation in a number of areas. The EU and Turkmenistan discussed the macroeconomic situation, bilateral trade and the ongoing reforms in Turkmenistan. Current political and key governance issues in Turkmenistan were reviewed, including the recently adopted program for socio-economic development 2019-2025, the activities of the Ombudsman office and the implementation of the National Human Rights Action Plan. The EU informed Turkmen partners about the preparations for the new EU Strategy on Central Asia, to be adopted soon. The EU thanked Turkmenistan for hosting in July 2018 in Ashgabat the annual EU-Central Asia High-Level Political and Security Dialogue. The meeting assessed the progress of ongoing EU development cooperation projects, with both the EU and Turkmenistan providing updates on their implementation. The EU also provided information on the upcoming set of regional programs worth over 88 million euros, adopted in November 2018, that will support the private sector, trade and investment in the region, as well as help protect the environment, tackle climate change and promote the rule of law. In addition to this, the extension of the EU SWITCH-Asia program to Central Asia in order to promote sustainable production and consumption in the region was also mentioned. Turkmenistan provided an update on domestic energy developments including the progress of the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline and energy efficiency issues. The EU informed Turkmenistan about a conference on renewable energy in Central Asia scheduled for April 12, 2019 in Brussels. The sides assessed the potential for Turkmen gas deliveries to the EU. Updates were also provided on connectivity and transport matters. Water, environmental and climate change issues were discussed as well, in particular in relation to the Aral Sea. The meeting was chaired by Luc Devigne, director for Russia, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia, Regional Cooperation and OSCE countries of the European External Action Service, as the head of the EU delegation. The delegation of Turkmenistan was led by Batyr Bazarov, minister of finance and economy of Turkmenistan. The EU and Turkmenistan are committed to implementing a project designed to bring Turkmen hydrocarbon energy carriers to European markets. The negotiations have been underway since 2011. The project of laying a 300-kilometer gas pipeline along the bottom of the Caspian Sea to the shores of Azerbaijan is optimal for the delivery of Turkmen gas to the European market. Further, the Turkmen gas can be delivered to Turkey, which borders with European countries. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 By Sara Israfilbayova Trend: Azerbaijan exported 5.8 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey in 2018, and this is 2.5 percent more than in 2017, the State Statistics Committee told Trend Feb. 27. In total, the value of exports grew from $955.3 to $1.2 billion. Over 67 percent of Azerbaijans exports to Turkey account for the share of gas. Azerbaijans trade turnover with Turkey amounted to $3.4 billion in 2018, and the Azerbaijani exports accounted for $1.8 billion of this amount, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee. In general, Azerbaijan exported about 8 billion cubic meters of gas worth $1.5 billion last year. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @IsrafilbekovaS Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 By Sara Israfilbayova Trend: In 2018, Azerbaijan exported 2 billion cubic meters of gas to Georgia, or 8.2 percent more than the previous year, the State Statistics Committee of Azerbaijan told Trend. According to the committee, exports increased from $238.3 million to $263.2 million in value terms. Over 54 percent of Azerbaijans exports to Georgia account for gas in value terms. According to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, the trade turnover with Georgia for 2018 amounted to $579.4 million, $485.3 million of which accounted for the Azerbaijani exports. Overall, Azerbaijan exported about 8 billion cubic meters of gas worth $1.5 billion last year. (1 USD = 1.7 AZN on February 27) --- Follow the author on Twitter: @IsrafilbekovaS Great potential available to improve efficiency of transportation via Trans-Caspian International Transport Route Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 Trend: There is great potential to improve the efficiency of transportation via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, Javid Gurbanov, chairman of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC, said. Gurbanov made the remarks in Baku during a bilateral meeting with Chairman of Kazakhstan Railways JSC Sauat Mynbayev, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijan Railways CJSC on Feb. 27. Meanwhile, Gurbanov spoke about the projects being implemented by the Azerbaijan Railways CJSC, upcoming prospective tasks. He also stressed that there is great potential for increasing the efficiency of mutual coordination process via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. The issues of increasing the volume of freight shipping between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan by railway, prospects for the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route were discussed at the meeting. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 By Huseyn Valiyev Trend: The Azerbaijani producer of wine and vodka Az-Granata has shipped the second batch of alcoholic beverages to Russia, director of Az-Granata company Vugar Mikayilov told Trend on Feb. 27. The first export consignment, consisting of wine and brandy, supplied to Russia was fully purchased, he said. "The batch of fruity vodka will be exported to Russia next week, Mikayilov said. Afterwards, we will prepare the third batch for shipment. We have also arranged the export of wine to Ukraine and Germany. Moreover, the negotiations are also underway with Chinese and US importers, he said. The US importers are mainly interested in non-alcoholic products. In general, I think that the export volume of alcoholic beverages in Azerbaijan this year will double." Az-Granata plant, built in 2011 and covering an area of 12.5 hectares, is one of the biggest producers of fruit juices in the South Caucasus region. Along with fruit juices, concentrates and compotes, Az-Granata also produces various wine, liqueurs, cognacs, vodka, brandy and whiskey. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @h_veliyev Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 Trend: The Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) under the Economy Ministry of Azerbaijan held a series of meetings with representatives of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) visiting Azerbaijan, Trend reports Feb. 27 with reference to the Economy Ministry. At a meeting dedicated to state and private sector cooperation, Rina Alzate, international specialist in this field, informed about the models applied regarding this type of cooperation, and shared her opinion on the measures for the regulatory and institutional development of this sphere in Azerbaijan. Also, considering the advanced international experience, recommendations and proposals for organizing the effective work of the Center for the Development of Partnership between the State and Entrepreneurs, which is a part of the Agencys structure, were discussed. At a meeting held with a delegation led by director of the Infrastructure Finance Department at ADBs Private Sector Operations Department in South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia Shantanu Chakraborty, ADB representatives were informed about reforms in the development of SMEs in Azerbaijan, new support mechanisms, as well as activity of the SME Development Agency. At the meeting, where the conditions for possible cooperation of SME development funds and business clusters were discussed, the importance of expanding cooperation with ADB in private sector development was emphasized and an exchange of views was held on the prospects for the development of relations. ATHENS, Greece, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX) (the Company), a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, today announced the commencement of a tender offer to purchase up to 5,178,571 shares, or about 4.9%, of its outstanding common stock using funds available from cash and cash equivalents at a price of $2.80 per share. The tender offer will expire at the end of the day, 5:00 P.M., Eastern Time, on March 27, 2019, unless extended or withdrawn. The Board of Directors determined that it is in the Companys best interest to repurchase shares at this time given Diana Shippings cash position and stock price. The tender offer is not conditioned upon any minimum number of shares being tendered; however, the tender offer is subject to a number of other terms and conditions. Specific instructions and an explanation of the terms and conditions of the tender offer are contained in the Offer to Purchase and related materials that are being mailed to shareholders. Diana Shipping Inc. has retained Computershare Trust Company, N.A. as the depositary for the tender offer and Georgeson LLC as the information agent. Copies of the Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal and the Notice of Guaranteed Delivery are being mailed to the Companys shareholders. Additional copies of the Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal or the Notice of Guaranteed Delivery may be obtained at the Companys expense from the information agent at (800) 248-7690 (toll free). Questions regarding the tender offer should be directed to the information agent at (800) 248-7690 (toll free). 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. Certain Information Regarding the Tender Offer The information in this press release describing Diana Shipping Inc.s tender offer is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell shares of Diana Shipping Inc.s common stock in the tender offer. The tender offer is being made only pursuant to the Offer to Purchase and the related materials that Diana Shipping Inc. is distributing to its shareholders, as they may be amended or supplemented. Shareholders should read such Offer to Purchase and related materials carefully and in their entirety because they contain important information, including the various terms and conditions of the tender offer. Shareholders of Diana Shipping Inc. may obtain a free copy of the Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO, the Offer to Purchase and other documents that Diana Shipping Inc. is filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission from the Securities and Exchange Commissions website at www.sec.gov. Shareholders may also obtain a copy of these documents, without charge, from Georgeson LLC, the information agent for the tender offer, toll free at (800) 248-7690. Shareholders are urged to carefully read all of these materials prior to making any decision with respect to the tender offer. Shareholders and investors who have questions or need assistance may call Georgeson LLC, the information agent for the tender offer, toll free at (800) 248-7690. 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, intends, estimate, forecast, project, plan, potential, 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, Company managements examination of historical operating trends, data contained in the Companys records and other data available from third parties. Although the Company believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies that are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond the Companys control, the Company cannot assure you that it will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in the Companys 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 for dry bulk shipping capacity, changes in the Companys operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for the Companys 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, vessel breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other factors. Please see the Companys filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 By Matanat Nasibova - Trend: Azerbaijan's Zagatala Hazelnut Processing Plant intends to increase exports to the European market, and in particular to Germany, the Director of the company Ramazan Garajaev told Trend. Currently, there is a demand in Germany for the hazelnut products of the plant. "Our company is engaged in the processing of hazelnuts, which is intended mainly for export to foreign markets. Currently, export volumes are stable, but we plan to increase them by the end of this year. Our capabilities allow us to export 1,500 tons of finished products annually, but we will increase these volumes, as there is a steady demand abroad," Garajaev said. The plant's products have a certificate of conformity issued by the State Committee for Standardization, Metrology and Patents of Azerbaijan. The company has a confirmation code, AZE 6231 120, for exporting products to the European Union. The company uses modern equipment made in Turkish. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @MatanatNasibova Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.27 Trend: Azerbaijan and Lithuania are on their way to bind relations in transport area, especially in connecting railways, Valdas Lastauskas, Ambassador of Lithuania to Azerbaijan, told Azernews and Trend. In this regard, he underlined 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 and etc. Speaking of the ways to increase investors' interest in economies of both countries, the ambassador highlighted the 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 business here and that it is supported. "The same happens in our country, when inviting investors from Azerbaijan and showing them that the business 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. 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. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 By Sara Israfilbayova Trend: As of late, it is possible to come across certain websites, forums, and social networks spreading news about the alleged rise in food prices in Azerbaijan. However, monitoring conducted in markets and stores shows that no such changes have occurred. Sellers and buyers surveyed by Trend also pointed out not encountering products with increased prices Shahin Naghiyev, Head of Anti-Monopoly and Advertising Legislation Control Department at the State Service for Antimonopoly Policy and Consumer Rights Protection, told Trend that the government is taking all necessary measures to prevent price manipulation. Employees of the Antimonopoly Service conduct regular in-the-field monitoring in particular. According to Naghiyev, not a single case of price increases has been identified recently. Should such cases be confirmed, the Antimonopoly Service is ready to take legal measures to penalize the perpetrators. For example, as previously reported by the Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev, the price of grain has risen in countries which Azerbaijan imports this product from. This may have been reflected in prices in Azerbaijan; however, after meeting with producers and representatives of retail chains, the government took measures to prevent an increase in the price of bread. Mustafayev then stressed that the relevant state bodies daily monitor the prices of food products in the country, and no price manipulations have been detected. The data of the State Statistics Committee also confirms this. For example, in January, the cost of food, beverages and tobacco products in the country rose by only 0.7 percent in annual terms. Moreover, according to statistics, prices (all in annual terms) fell by 0.3 percent for bakery products, by 1 percent for meat products, by 6.6 percent for fruits , and by 0.3 percent for sugar, honey, candy and chocolate. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 By Vugar Imanov - Trend: The finals of the 6th Mind Games Festival, one of the biggest intellectual projects in Azerbaijan organized by the Khazar Intellectual Youth Club, was held at Dubai International Hotel in Baku, Trend reports. The event took place with the support of the Azerbaijan Youth Foundation. Thirty teams representing ten cities competed at the final stage of the two-day festival. What? Where? When?, an intellectual competition, was held on the first day of the festival. Santa-Clara team from Baku won the competition, leaving behind Kidderminister (Baku) and Marxal Resort (Sheki) teams. Representatives of the team from Sheki city also won the Cup of regions held as part of the Mind Games Festival. On the second day of the festival, eight teams competed at the Khamsa national intellectual game. Marxal Resort team ranked first at the competition, followed by Kidderminister, Santa-Clara and Ismayilli club of intellectual games. The winners were awarded cups, diplomas and medals. The main goal of the intellectual game is to arrange the effective leisure of the young people, ensure their intellectual development and embrace the entire country with intellectual games movement. Information support Trend.az Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 Trend: Rector of Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) Elmar Gasimov held a meeting with Niccolo Heilpern, Head of Kinetics Technology Branch Office in Azerbaijan representing Italian company Maire Tecnimont Group. It was attended by teachers of the BHOS Chemical Engineering department, Head of Research and Development Department in Maire Tecnimont Barbara Picutti and Laboratory group leader Marco Bianchi. The Rector told that long-term cooperation between the Higher School and Maire Tecnimont Group brought positive and tangible results. The BHOS undergraduates participate in the company internship programs, several alumni are currently employed by Maire Tecnimont branch in the country and the company experts conduct training courses and master classes for the students, he said. In the words of Head of Kinetics Technology office in Azerbaijan Niccolo Heilpern, the company management considers cooperation with the Higher School as a strategic partnership developed within its Corporate Social Responsibility projects. Head of the Research and Development Department Barbara Picutti made a presentation entitled Research, innovations and development at Maire Tecnimont Group. The meeting participants discussed prospects of bilateral cooperation in the field of scientific and research work including establishment of a modern laboratory at BHOS, which would help to enrich the students learning experience through practical lessons and scientific activities. It was agreed that Maire Tecnimont Group would set up and equip a new laboratory at the BHOS Chemical Engineering Department aimed at training the students in the field of Polymer Engineering. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 Trend: AtaBank provided for the use of customers a fully updated site. Along with getting information about all services provided to corporate and individuals clients also can order card and loan, reference to embassy, pay bills and make credit payment through new site. Additionally, the site contains reports required by the Central Bank and the Financial Market Supervisory Authority, the I-Map, and the financial indicators of the bank. In contrast to the previous version on the updated site users can easily get access to AtaNet internet and mobile banking, and also find information about the nearest branch or ATM of AtaBank. Finally, and most importantly it is possible to immediately contact the bank via whatsApp, telegram, as well as the sites messenger and any social network. According to Director of the Marketing and Communications Department Oruj Ibrahimov, official site is fully updated taking into account all customers' wishes and international standards. Designed in a more modern style, this site is made to be easy to use. Those who want to get acquainted with the bank's new website and take advantage of its opportunities can visit page here www.atabank.com Operating since 1993 AtaBank OJSC is a hi-tech universal Azerbaijani bank with 100 percent domestic capital. The Bank provides a full range of services to corporate and private customers in Baku and regions. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 Trend: First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has met with President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili, who is on an official visit in Azerbaijan. First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva said that she is happy to see Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili in Azerbaijan, and expressed confidence that this visit will contribute to the further expansion of relations between the two friendly countries. Saying she is happy to visit Azerbaijan, President Salome Zurabishvili stressed the importance of meetings held in Baku in terms of developing the bilateral ties. They also exchanged views on cooperation prospects between the two countries in a variety of areas. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 Trend: Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on the sidelines of the 40th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, Trend reports referring to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan. At the meeting the sides exchanged their views on the existing cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Minister Elmar Mammadyarov informed High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet that over 1 million Azerbaijanis were subjected to ethnic cleansing and forcefully expelled from their native lands as a result of occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent regions of Azerbaijan by Armenian armed forces. The necessity of restoring the human rights of internally displaced persons, whose fundamental rights had been violated, was underlined. In this regard, the importance of taking a principled stance and efficient actions by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights was emphasized. Furthermore, the sides discussed various issues of international agenda. High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet expressed her gratitude to Minister Elmar Mammadyarov for voluntary contributions from Azerbaijan last year to support the activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 Trend: President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili, who is on an official visit in Azerbaijan, has visited the Alley of Honors to lay a wreath at the tomb of national leader, founder and architect of modern Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev, Trend reports referring to the press service of the Azerbaijani president. The Georgian president also put flowers at the grave of prominent ophthalmologist, Academician Zarifa Aliyeva. President Zurabishvili has visited the Alley of Martyrs in Baku. A guard of honor was lined up for the Georgian president there. President Zurabishvili paid tribute to Azerbaijani heroes who gave their lives for the country's independence and territorial integrity. She laid a wreath at the Eternal Flame monument. A military orchestra played the national anthems of Georgia and Azerbaijan. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 By Elchin Mehdiyev Trend: A delegation led by president of the Centrist Democratic International Andres Pastrana arrived in Baku upon the invitation of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, Trend reports referring to the ruling party. Pastrana is accompanied by Secretary General of the Centrist Democratic International Antonio Lopez-Isturiz White and General Coordinator for Asia Pacific and Latin America Cesar Rossello. During the visit the delegation members intends to meet with Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Chairman and Executive Secretary of the ruling party Ali Ahmadov. The program of the visit includes a number of official meetings, a meeting with internally displaced people in Azerbaijans Mushfiqabad settlement. The delegation members will also review Bakus historical and cultural monuments. The visit of the delegation will end on February 28. San Jose, Calif., Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dtex Systems, the leader in user behavior intelligence and insider threat detection, today announced that it will host the third annual Dtex 2019 Global Insider Threat Summit during RSA 2019. This year, former NSA Director and Commander of US Cyber Command Admiral (Ret.) Mike Rogers will headline the event. He will discuss why public and private sector organizations should place increased focus on the insider threat and adopt innovations to reduce associated risk. Additional panels will include business leaders, CISOs and other security and risk professionals. These will provide attendees with deep understanding of how modern enterprises and government agencies leverage advanced behavioral intelligence to illuminate network and human behaviors, detect insider threats, and protect privacy. In 2018, we saw the continued growth of insiders as a threat vector and a massive leap in public awareness and discussion around privacy. The overlap of these two critically important topics has forced the public and private sectors to find solutions that secure systems, data and people without violating privacy or trust. Organizations that need to understand how to quickly scale insider threat solutions across vast numbers of users should attend this event to learn: How enterprises reduce risk by transitioning to a Trusted Insider approach How a better understanding of user behavior drives improved security, privacy and agility How new intelligence is elevating cyber security to a board-level discussion How to provide effective security in the face of privacy and regulatory challenges How to deploy and scale insider threat detection solutions across the organization How to gain complete visibility over behaviors and activities taking place on endpoints Summit Participant Quotes: Flex has a strong emphasis on culture and a need to prioritize security to protect company assets, systems, customer information, IP and people. I look for best-of-breed solutions that can ensure security that supports our business and work culture. During the event, I plan to share with my peers how, with the help of Dtex, weve found an innovative way to defend our environment without interfering with how we operate. Friedrich (Fritz) Wetschnig, CISO, Flex Within the next few years, I estimate that cybercrime will cost businesses more than $3 trillion. As organizations scramble to protect their key information assets, they frequently take a whack-a-mole approach to the latest threats, hoping theyve taken the right steps to prevent a data breach. In the process, they often overlook their greatest cyberthreat and resource of all human beings. I am excited to be a part of this event and to have the opportunity to share how a similar lack of oversight destroyed my business and nearly landed me in jail. Protecting the people that interact with critical data on a daily basis isnt just security smart, its a competitive advantage. John Sileo, Cybersecurity Expert and Keynote Speaker We are always adding value to our customers security and risk programs and investments. Our annual insider threat event not only showcases how the public and private sector organizations we serve are successfully dealing with the insider threat, it also provides attendees with deeper knowledge of how to address the problem. We are certainly proud of this ongoing summit, as it provides a vital education to security and risk professionals who are responsible for protecting data and systems. Bahman Mahbod, Dtex Systems CEO Attend Always filled to capacity and with limited seating, this is the only event focused exclusively on the insider threat during the RSA Conference. Details: The Dtex 2019 Global Insider Threat Summit Where: St. Regis Hotel, San Francisco, near the Moscone at 125 3rd Street When: Monday, March 4, 4 PM PST Register: https://dtexsystems.com/2019-global-insider-threat-summit/ Visit the new website: www.dtexsystems.com Follow Dtex on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DtexSystems Join Dtex on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dtex-systems Like Dtex on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dtex-Systems-297181017056254 About Dtex Systems Dtex turns employees, executives, contractors and partners into trusted insiders. The award-winning Dtex Advanced User Behavior Intelligence Platform reduces insider threat risk by providing intelligence about behaviors and activities across massive numbers of distributed users. Dtex combines the largest library of known malicious and negligent behaviors, machine learning and advanced analytics. This gives the platform the power to detect insider threats in near real time, reduce false positives, and free security and risk professionals from having to spend time analyzing overwhelming volumes of data and logs. Dtex is scalable and deploys quickly. It only collects light-weight data needed to identify risky behaviors, which never slows network, endpoint or user performance. Patented anonymization capabilities protect privacy and ensure compliance. Investors include Wing Venture Capital and Norwest Venture partners. Customers include the worlds leading banks, manufacturers, healthcare organizations, government agencies, and law firms. The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), Williams Formula 1 Racing, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer are among customers using Dtex to reduce insider threat risk. https://www.dtexsystems.com/ Attachments Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 Trend: The heads of the diplomatic corps accredited in Azerbaijan visited the countrys Aghdam district and Naftalan city to review the socio-economic development, tourism potential, as well as the services being rendered in Azerbaijans districts, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. The two-day-visit of about 70 representatives of the diplomatic corps was organized by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. During the visit, the diplomats will review museums, enterprises and centers operating in the Aghdam district, including a carpet weaving enterprise, a horse breeding complex, the Mugham Center, the State Flag Museum and other enterprises. On the next day the diplomats will review the tourism potential of Naftalan city. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 Trend: Following the one-on-one meeting, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili were joined by their delegations for a meeting in an expanded format. The presidents made speeches at the meeting. We attach great importance to your visit, President Aliyev said. I have congratulated Madam President on her victory in the presidential election. I am very pleased that after a short time, madam president is visiting Azerbaijan. This is an excellent indicator. In a one-on-one meeting today, we discussed many issues, he said. We discussed regional problems, our bilateral and multilateral cooperation. We were once again convinced that our positions overlap on all the issues. I am sure that this visit will be an important step for the development of Georgian-Azerbaijani relations. So far we have resolved many issues together, President Aliyev added. Georgia and Azerbaijan are close friends and fraternal countries. We have lived in the atmosphere of good neighbourliness for centuries and are successfully developing today. The projects we are jointly implementing are important for our countries, for the continent and for the whole world. So we have managed to create a very successful format of cooperation. I am convinced that our cooperation will deepen and expand even more in all areas in the coming years, he said. This is necessitated by our political will. I am sure that we will always be next to each other on all matters, will support each other just as we have always done in all matters before. We have discussed foreign policy issues, the situation in the region and the implementation of our transport and energy projects today, President Aliyev said. Of course, we will now discuss these issues in an expanded format, in a wider form. I am convinced that the results of the visit will be very positive and make a new contribution to our cooperation. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 Trend: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Dominican Republic Danilo Medina. On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I congratulate you and the people of your country on the occasion of Independence Day of the Dominican Republic, President Aliyev said. On this remarkable day, I extend my best regards to you, and wish the friendly people of your country everlasting peace and prosperity, he added. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 Trend: An official welcome ceremony has been held for President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili, who is on an official visit in Azerbaijan. A guard of honor was arranged for the Georgian president in the square decorated with the national flags of the two countries. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev welcomed Salome Zurabishvili. The chief of the guard of honor reported to the Georgian president. President Ilham Aliyev and President Salome Zurabishvili reviewed the guard of honor. The Georgian president saluted the Azerbaijani soldiers. The state anthems of Georgia and Azerbaijan were played. State and government officials of Azerbaijan were introduced to Salome Zurabishvili, and members of the Georgian delegation were introduced to Ilham Aliyev. The guard of honor marched in front of the heads of state to the accompaniment of a military march. The presidents then posed for official photos. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 Trend: Montenegro President Milo Dukanovic will visit Baku, Azerbaijan, in March, Trend reports on Feb. 27. Dukanovic will take part in the 7th Global Baku Forum on March 14-16, to be organized by the Nizami Ganjavi International Center. Dukanovic will give a speech at the forum and hold a series of meetings. The Nizami Ganjavi International Center closely cooperates with all the Balkan countries, including Montenegro. The former president of this country, Filip Vujanovic, is a member of the Board of the Center, and participated in the 4th and 5th Global Baku Forum. Meanwhile, 450 guests from more than 70 countries are expected to attend the 7th Global Baku Forum. The theme of the forum this year will be "New Global Foreign Policy". Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 Trend: Statement by the Armenian defense minister on the acquisition of weapons on the day when his country carried out the genocide of the peaceful population of Azerbaijans Khojaly town 27 years ago, serves as an obvious indicator of clearly aggressive policy, Trend reports with reference to the statement by the press service of Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry. The ministry was commenting on the statements of the Armenian defense minister voiced by him on the public TV. Its impossible to scare Azerbaijan with such cheap statements of propaganda, the statement reads. The Armenian minister should know that now its not the first years of Azerbaijans independence, when in the early 1990s, taking advantage of the fact that Azerbaijan was plunged into internal feuds, Armenia seized Azerbaijani lands. Today, Azerbaijan under the leadership of the president of the country, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, has patriotic Armed Forces that are strong enough, professional, determined and able to liberate the occupied lands. The statement emphasizes that the strong economy of Azerbaijan, successful domestic and foreign policy have turned it into an unconditional regional leader. We would like to remind that at a time when in the beginning of 2016 there was a discussion of concrete plans in connection with the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it was namely the Armenian side that adopted a new military doctrine of offensive nature and on April 2, along the contact line of troops, subjected to heavy shelling the areas of dense population by targeting different places including schools, hospitals and places of worship, which led to the well-known April events, reads the statement. This statement by the Armenian defense minister clearly shows the international community who really wants peace, and who, by pursuing a policy of aggression, acquires offensive weapons, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said. 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. 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 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 Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Details added (first version posted on Feb. 26 at 19:55) Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26 Trend: Those who committed the Khojaly genocide ruled Armenia for years, Azerbaijani Presidents Assistant for Public and Political Affairs, Professor Ali Hasanov said in an interview with Turkey's Anadolu Agency on the 27th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, Trend reports. On the night of Feb. 25-26, Armenians, with the support of Soviet tanks and the 366th motor rifle regiment of the former Soviet Union, launched an offensive on the town of Khojaly, he said. In one night Khojaly was wiped off the map, 613 people were brutally killed, including children and old people. Hundreds of residents were taken hostage. The fate of more than 150 of them is still unknown. The Armenians committed a terrible genocide in the town where the civilian population lived. Those who perpetrated the Khojaly genocide subsequently ruled Armenia for years by holding posts of prime minister and president. Even the former President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, strongly justifying the Khojaly genocide, recognized all committed that night. Hasanov stressed that the Khojaly tragedy committed 27 years ago is one of the genocides committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis over the past 200 years. Ali Hasanov noted that the main reason for this is the policy of ethnic cleansing pursued by Armenians to consolidate in the Caucasus. He said that the Armenians have implemented this policy with the support of their patrons. Historical facts show that the Azerbaijanis were constantly subjected to the policy of ethnic cleansing, genocide and aggression pursued by Armenian nationalists, were expelled from their historical lands, became refugees and IDPs, he added. Armenians living by a dream of Greater Armenia to achieve their goals in different times committed genocides with the help of foreign patrons. Only in the 20th century Azerbaijanis were subjected to genocide and ethnic cleansing four times - in 1905-1906, 1918-1920, 1948-1953 and 1988-1993. In 1915-1918, Armenians committed in Baku, Guba and other Azerbaijani districts massacres even bloodier than the Khojaly genocide, and their death tolls were bigger. He said that at that time Armenians killed about 20,000 people in Baku. Later, in 1948-1953, the Soviet Union deported 150,000 Azerbaijanis from Armenia, he noted. Thus, a big step was taken in Armenia towards the achievement of goals related to the expulsion of every single Turkic and Muslim people, he added. Ali Hasanov said that from 1988 until the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenians openly put forward land claims against Azerbaijanis. He stressed that as a result of the occupation policy in 1988-1994, the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the surrounding areas were subjected to continuous attacks. Ali Hasanov added that as a result of the occupation, more than a million Azerbaijanis became IDPs, the settlements were wiped off the map and mass genocides committed. He noted that the Khojaly genocide is the bloodiest tragedy among them. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 Trend: As part of his working visit to Geneva, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with Retno Marsudi, minister for foreign affairs of Indonesia, Trend reports with reference to Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry. At the meeting the sides discussed the cooperation relations between the two countries and expressed their satisfaction over the current level of political relations. Furthermore, the sides discussed the cooperation issues within the international organizations, in particular the UN. At the meeting the sides also exchanged their views on the issues of mutual interest. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 Trend: The resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is dependent on a constant dialogue between Azerbaijani and Armenian officials, said Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Trend reports citing Iranian media. Ayatollah Khamenei also reiterated Irans long-held position that the Islamic Republic is ready to help resolve the conflict between Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. 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. 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 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 Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Details added (first version posted on 17:01) Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 By Samir Ali - Trend: Trial on the criminal case of an Armenian saboteur Karen Kazaryan, who was detained while trying to commit sabotage in Azerbaijan, has ended in the Ganja Court on Grave Crimes, Trend reports Feb. 27. During the trial process conducted under the chairmanship of Judge Karamat Aliyev, a verdict was read out to the accused person. By a court decision, Kazaryan was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment with strict detention regime. Armenian saboteur Karen Kazaryan was found guilty of committing crimes against human life and health, namely under articles 120.2.12, 120.2.7, 120.2.11, 120.2.5, 120.2.1 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan; crimes against economic activity under Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan; crimes against public safety under articles 214.2.1, 228.1; crimes against the foundations of the constitutional order of state and security under articles 282.1, 276; crimes against the management procedure under article 318.2 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. On the morning of July 15, 2018, an Armenian reconnaissance and sabotage group attempted to cross the line of contact between the troops of Azerbaijan and Armenia on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border in the direction of Gazakh district. As a result of vigilance of the units of the Azerbaijani army, the sabotage attempt was thwarted. One of the members of the group, which suffered great losses and was forced to retreat, Karen Kazaryan (born in 1984) was taken hostage. 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. TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Platinex Inc. (CSE: PTX) announces the resignations of Mr. Walter Henry as President, CEO and director and Mr. Tom Hussey as director with immediate effect. Mr. James R. Trusler, Chairman and director of the Company has assumed the role of interim CEO. Mr. Trusler stated, I would like to thank Mr. Henry and Mr. Hussey for their service to the Company over several years and in particular for moving the Companys cannabis investment strategy forward to the next level. James R. Trusler, Chairman and Interim CEO Tel: (416) 565-5616 Email: jtrusler@platinex.com Web: www.platinex.com About Platinex Inc. Platinex is currently focusing efforts on developing various strategies to capitalize on the lucrative growth of the cannabis sector in North America. At the same time Platinex has been focusing its mining business efforts in assembling a very large property in the Shining Tree gold camp, which has received little modern exploration compared to other gold camps in the Abitibi greenstone Belt. Shares of Platinex are listed for trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol "PTX". To receive Company press releases, please email lparadis@platinex.com and mention Platinex press release on the subject line. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release may contain forward-looking statements and information based on current expectations. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. Such statements include submission of the relevant documentation within the required timeframe and to the satisfaction of the relevant regulators, completing the acquisition of the applicable assets and raising sufficient financing to complete the Company's business strategy. There is no certainty that any of these events will occur. Although such statements are based on management's reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be correct. We assume no responsibility to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Investing into early stage companies, inherently carries a high degree of risk and investment into securities of the Company shall be considered highly speculative. Furthermore, the Company seeks to enter the cannabis market in the United States, where some states have legalized cannabis for medical or adult recreational use, while cannabis remain illegal under United States Federal law. As such, the Company may become subject to additional government regulation and legal uncertainties that could restrict the demand for its services or increase its cost of doing business, thereby adversely affecting its financial results. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any province in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities issued, or to be issued, under the Private Placement have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. The Canadian Securities Exchange has not passed upon the merits of the Private Placement and has not approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 By Samir Ali - Trend: Trial on the criminal case of an Armenian saboteur Karen Kazaryan, who was detained while trying to commit sabotage in Azerbaijan, has ended in the Ganja Court on Grave Crimes, Trend reports Feb. 27. During the trial process conducted under the chairmanship of Judge Karamat Aliyev, a verdict was read out to the accused person. By a court decision, Kazaryan was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment with strict detention regime. Armenian saboteur Karen Kazaryan was found guilty of committing crimes against human life and health, namely under articles 120.2.12, 120.2.7, 120.2.11, 120.2.5, 120.2.1 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan; crimes against economic activity under Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan; crimes against public safety under articles 214.2.1, 228.1; crimes against the foundations of the constitutional order of state and security under articles 282.1, 276; crimes against the management procedure under article 318.2 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. On the morning of July 15, 2018, an Armenian reconnaissance and sabotage group attempted to cross the line of contact between the troops of Azerbaijan and Armenia on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border in the direction of Gazakh district. As a result of vigilance of the units of the Azerbaijani army, the sabotage attempt was thwarted. One of the members of the group, which suffered great losses and was forced to retreat, Karen Kazaryan (born in 1984) was taken hostage. 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. 27 Trend: The ceasefire monitoring at the contact line between the troops of Azerbaijan and Armenia, in the territory of Aghdam district, held in accordance with the mandate of Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Feb. 27, ended without any incidents, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. The Personal Representative's field assistants Mihail Olaru and Martin Schuster carried out the monitoring on the territory of Azerbaijan. The Personal Representative's field assistants Ghenadie Petrica, Ognjen Jovic and Simon Tiller carried out the monitoring on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan occupied and controlled by the armed forces of Armenia. 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. 27 Trend: Armenian Defense Minister David Tonoyan, speaking on Armenian public television, said that Yerevan has changed its military strategy from defensive to offensive, the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan told Trend. As stated, Tonoyan is a civilian and does not have a complete understanding of the military strategy - or rather, of what makes a defense and an offense. "During the clashes of April 2016, when he was the deputy defense minister, and also during the Gunnut operation in Nakhchivan, when he was already the defense minister of Armenia, we witnessed how the Armenian army retreated from the battlefield, intending to "go on the offensive. Considering his amateurish approach to the military sphere, we note that such populist appeals are intended only for an internal audience, and have no value from a military point of view," the Defense Ministry says. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry remarked that Tonoyan himself admitted to Azerbaijani army surpassing the Armenian army in all spheres, and their capabilities are incomparable. The ministry concluded that the Armenian army not only will not surpass the Azerbaijani army in the foreseeable future, but has no prospects for comparison with the Azerbaijani army overall. Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: Armenias aggression against Azerbaijan will be discussed at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries, the OIC told Trend Feb. 27. It was noted that, along with this, the Syrian crisis and the situation in Yemen and Afghanistan will also be put on the agenda. The issue of strengthening economic and political relations between the OIC member countries will also be discussed. The meeting of foreign ministers will be held March 1-2 this year in Abu Dhabi, and will be the 46th in a row. 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 Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27 Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have 29 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Feb. 27, Trend reports. The Armenian armed forces were using heavy machine guns. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. A spokesman for the Afghan Taliban has said the group is close to reaching an agreement with the United States on the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Spokesman Suhail Shaheen made the comment in Doha, Qatar, following the second day of negotiations with U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad on February 26. "If we do not reach a solution in this round of talks, then we will in the next round of talks," he told AP. Khalilzad's past rounds of talks with the Taliban focused on U.S. troop withdrawal in exchange for guarantees of no attacks against the United States, but it was unclear how close he was on a deal on those issues. He said that in exchange for a U.S. withdrawal, the Taliban would offer guarantees that Afghanistan would not be used as a staging area for anti-American attacks. Shaheen said it was very important that Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was in Doha for the talks, saying it showed "how much importance we are giving to these talks and how [high] expectations are." Khalilzad did not comment on the February 26 round, but he posted on Twitter on February 25 that this round of talks could be "a significant moment" in the process of winding down the 17-year U.S. war in Afghanistan. In the past, Khalilzad has tried to pressure the Taliban to hold direct talks with the government of Afghanistan, which the Taliban considers a U.S. puppet. Earlier on February 26, the Afghan government said that nine members of a government-back militia had been mistakenly killed in an air strike in the eastern province of Ghazni. Based on reporting by AP, dpa, and TOLOnews President Hassan Rouhani has criticized lack of supervision on the performance and accountability of poorly-privatized companies. Rouhani has been sarcastically warned previously by many, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, that Rouhani should ask himself why such problems exist. The poorly-privatized companies, known as "khosoulati" [a combination of the Persian words Khosousi meaning private, and Dolati meaning government-owned], are the companies the government has often partly sold or transferred to state-affiliated institutions, banks and well-connected individuals. Addressing Labor Ministry officials on Monday February 25, Rouhani said "No one dares to supervise and audit these companies." He also called the partly state-owned businesses as part of the worst kind of economy, mindless of the fact that he is in charge of the country's economy. Ironically, the Labor Ministry owns several of these companies including major airlines and shipping companies that should be supervised by the administration. Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) quoted Rouhani as saying that "these are independent companies, neither the government, nor the people know anything about them." The Islamic Republic confiscated or took over hundreds of private firms and factories early after the 1979 revolution. This created an economic system, which was only partly based on private ownership. But the bulging public sector became increasingly inefficient forcing the government to sell many enterprises in the last two decades. But this was not genuine privatization as often state-connected entities or powerful insiders bought the privatized companies. In August 2018, some 38 Iranian economists wrote a letter to Rouhani, calling on him to pay attention to the critical situation of these companies and to bring about reforms in the way they are being run. Some of these companies are backed or partly or wholly owned by powerful institutions such as the holy shrine in Mashad, several foundations under the umbrella of Khamenei's office, as well as military forces. The institutions and the military, are said to get concessions from the government for these companies without giving a share of the benefits back to the government. As if that is not enough, they also get hefty budgets from the government to run their finances. Rouhani has been frequently speaking against the military's role in the economy, yet last week, one of his own cabinet ministers invited the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) to take control of profitable mobile phone companies. Also recently, the Iranian army was criticized for being involved in importing meat. In September, a reform leader under house arrest, Mehdi Karroubi, called on the government to seek Khamenei's views about these companies as well as about military involvement of organizations in economic activities including oil sales. He also called for auditing the accounts of the companies and foundations operating under the aegis of Khamenei's office. During the past two years Rouhani has been going back and forth between criticizing and supporting the economic activities of Iran's military forces. His criticism of IRGC's economic activities elicited harsh reactions by revolutionary guards commanders including Aerospace Force Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh who criticized Rouhani and his top managers for "preventing the country's progress" and accused them of being under Western influence. At various points during the Presidency of Presidents Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani they complained about errors in privatization, while economists warned that these companies either make a profit and do not return the government's share and refuse to pay taxes, or they incur losses creating more problems for the government by leaving workers without a job, or unpaid for several months. KYIV. Feb 27 (Interfax-Ukraine) If showman and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky had made it to the second round of Ukraine's presidential elections, he would have had good chances of beating his potential competitors. That is according to the results of a survey conducted by Ukrainian Institute for Social Research named after Oleksandr Yaremenko, which took place from February 16 to February 23, 2019. According to the poll, a second round match between Zelensky and Civil Position Party leader Anatoliy Hrytsenko would result in the former's victory, 33.1% to 26.9%, and with Batkivschyna Party leader Yulia Tymoshenko, 34.2% to 22.1%. In a match up with incumbent President Petro Poroshenko, Zelensky would prevail 38.1% to 20.5%, according to the survey. As of today, Tymoshenko would beat Poroshenko in a run-off, receiving 26.1% to 21.6%. Hrytsenko, however, would beat Tymoshenko, receiving 27.6% to 23.1%, as well as Poroshenko, receiving 27.7% to 20.1%. According to the poll, 14.6% of respondents would like to see Zelensky and Hrytsenko in the second round, Zelensky-Tymoshenko 13.2%, Zelensky-Poroshenko 11.8%, Hrytsenko-Poroshenko 10.5%, Poroshenko-Tymoshenko 10.1%, and Hrytsenko-Tymoshenko 8.8%. Some 50.9% of respondents said there should be a single candidate from the democratic opposition, while 18.1% disagreed and 31% had difficulty answering the question. Some 23% of Ukrainians think that Hrytsenko should be "a single candidate in the presidential elections from the democratic opposition to the current president," 14.5% of the pollees speak up for Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovy, 2.2% for politician and diplomat, former Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Roman Bezsmertny, and 1.9% for leader of the People's Control Party, MP Dmytro Dobrodomov. If Sadovy supported Hrytsenko, 15.6% would vote for the latter, 15.6% would support Zelensky, 9% Tymoshenko, 8.4% Poroshenko, 5.3% Opposition Platform For Life candidate Yuriy Boiko, and 3.1% Radical Party leader Oleh Liashko. Some 2,047 people took part in the poll, which was conducted by personal interview in all Ukrainian regions, except occupied Crimea and Russia-occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The margin of error is 2.2%. On Wednesday, February 27, at 16.30, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a press conference titled "Interior Ministry wants to Bug, Monitor Election Headquarters." Participants include lawyer, managing partner of the lawyer association "OK" Mykola Orekhovsky, Chairman of the District Election Commission No. 223 at the 2014 elections Vitaliy Kolomiyets (8/5a Reitarska Street). Registration requires press accreditation. The Kazka musical group, which ranked third in the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, has refused to further participate in the contest. "We would like and would consider it an honor to represent Ukraine at Eurovision. We invested a lot of effort, energy, and time in this desire. We took part in the national selection for this purpose. But we don't need victory at any cost. Our mission is to unite people with our music, but not to sow discord. Therefore, we do have a clear answer to the PJSC National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC) proposal: we will not go to Eurovision in 2019," the group said on its Instagram account on Wednesday. "We are ready to represent Ukraine at the competition next year, if we are chosen. In the meantime, we move ahead and wait for all of you at our concerts," the group said. As it is known, the fourth and fifth places in the national selection were taken by Brunettes Shoot Blondes and Yuko, respectively. TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corporation (hereinafter, The Company) (TSX: TNX) (NYSE MKT:TRX) is pleased to announce new assay results from its recently commenced infill reverse circulation (RC) drill program at the Buckreef Main prospect at its Buckreef Project, aimed at upgrading the known Mineral resources from Inferred to Indicated and Indicated to Measured categories within the open pit that is the basis for the June 2018 Pre-Feasibility 43-101 Technical Report. Significant intercepts reported from the first completed drill-hole PBR010 include two mineralized zones: 8m grading 2.32 g/t Au from 47m depth, 11m grading 3.06 g/t Au from 74m depth. The upper mineralization zone comprises intensely altered basaltic schist with >20% vein quartz chips while the lower intercept also comprises altered basaltic schist but with <20% vein quartz chips. The target area is being in-filled to confirm mineralization extension at near surface depth (1st intercept) and also testing the depth continuation of the main mineralized zone within the defined main pit outline (2nd intercept). The intersection reported here is a down-hole length and may not represent true width but the true width is estimated to be 50 60%. Mr. Ulli Rath, Technical Director (TRX) commented, We are pleased that the drilling campaign is now well underway. The first hole encountered some near surface mineralization that our models did not predict and has also encountered old underground mined out levels that we had expected. As the drilling progresses, we will be able to get a much more comprehensive data base that will then be used for an eventual update of all in-pit Resources and Reserves. In tandem with this first phase of drilling we have finalized a diamond core drilling program to test possible extensions of key in-pit mineralized zones to significant depths below the bottom of the open pit. We expect the diamond drill rig to commence this initial phase of deep drilling towards the end of the first week on March 2019." Sample Protocol and QA/QC The sample chain of custody is managed by the Buckreef technical team under the supervision of Anthony Minde. Gold analyses reported in this release were performed by standard fire assay using a 50-gram charge with atomic absorption finish (0.01ppm LLD) and a gravimetric finish for assays greater than 10 grams per tonne. All assays were performed by Nesch Mintech Laboratory in Mwanza. Sampling and analytical procedures are subject to a comprehensive quality assurance and quality control program. The QAQC program includes duplicate samples, blanks and analytical standards. Intervals of core to be analyzed are split in half with a mechanized core cutter, with one half sent to the Laboratory for geochemical analysis and the remaining half kept in storage for future reference and uses. Nesch Mintech Laboratory is ISO 90001 and 17025 accredited and employs a Laboratory Information Management System for sample tracking, quality control and reporting. Qualified Person The Companys Qualified Person, Mr. Peter Zizhou, has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release. Mr. Zizhou has a Master of Science (Exploration Geology) degree from the University of Zimbabwe (2000) and is a registered professional natural scientist with SACNASP (Reg. No. 400028/08). Respectfully Submitted, James E. Sinclair, Executive Chairman Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corporation For further information, please contact Michael Martin, Investor Relations at 860-248-0999, email m.martin@tanzanianroyalty.com ABOUT TANZANIAN ROYALTY EXPLORATION CORPORATION: Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corporation is a mineral resource company, which engages in the acquisition, exploration and extraction of gold and other natural resources in the United Republic of Tanzania, Africa. The Company, after successfully exploring for Gold has identified three development projects, Buckreef, Kigosi, and Itetemia. In early 2016 in conjunction with our first gold pour, the Company was deemed a commercial gold producer by the Tanzanian Government. The Company is presently focused on its Buckreef Gold Project located in North central Tanzania. Further information can be found in the Company's 43-101 reports, which can be viewed together with other reports and updates on the Company homepage at: www.TanzanianRoyalty.com The Toronto Stock Exchange and NYSE AmexEquities have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this letter. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements Certain of the statements made herein may contain forward-looking statements or information within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements and forward-looking information can be identified using words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negatives thereof or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements or information herein include, but are not limited to the Positive Feasibility Study on Buckreef, the timing and the results of the proposed drilling program. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information by their nature are based on assumptions and 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 such forward-looking statements or information. We have made certain assumptions about the forward-looking statements and information and even though our management believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements or information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statement or information will prove to be accurate. Furthermore, should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements or information. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others, the following: gold price volatility; discrepancies between actual and estimated production, mineral reserves and resources and metallurgical recoveries; mining operational and development risk; litigation risks; regulatory restrictions, including environmental regulatory restrictions and liability; risks of sovereign investment; currency fluctuations; speculative nature of gold exploration; global economic climate; dilution; share price volatility; competition; loss of key employees; additional funding requirements; and defective title to mineral claims or property, as well as those factors discussed in the sections entitled "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 20-F Annual Report dated November 29, 2018. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements or information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements or information contained herein. Except as required by law, we do not expect to update forward-looking statements and information continually as conditions change and you are referred to the full discussion of the Company's business contained in the Company's reports filed with the securitys regulatory authorities in Canada and the U.S. Cautionary Note Regarding Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources The terms "Mineral Reserve", "Proven Mineral Reserve" and "Probable Mineral Reserve" used in this release are Canadian mining terms as defined in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects under the guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (the "CIM") Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council on August 20, 2000 as may be amended from time to time by the CIM. These definitions differ from the definitions in the United States Securities Exchange Commission ("SEC") Guide 7. In the United States, a mineral reserve is defined as a part of a mineral deposit which could be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time the mineral reserve determination is made. The terms "Mineral Resource", "Measured Mineral Resource", "Indicated Mineral Resource", "Inferred Mineral Resource" used in this release are Canadian mining terms as defined in accordance with National Instruction 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects under the guidelines set out in the CIM Standards. Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. For a detailed discussion of Buckreef resource and reserve estimates and related matters see the Company's reports, including the Form 20-F Annual Report dated November 29, 2018 and technical reports filed under the Company's name at our website at: www.tanzanianroyalty.com . Cautionary Note to US Investors Concerning Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resources Note to U.S. Investors. While the terms "mineral resource", "measured mineral resource," "indicated mineral resource", and "inferred mineral resource" are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, they are not defined terms under standards in the United States and normally are not permitted to be used in reports and registration statements filed with the SEC. As such, information contained in this report concerning descriptions of mineralization and resources under Canadian standards may not be comparable to similar information made public by U.S companies in SEC filings. With respect to "indicated mineral resource" and "inferred mineral resource" there is a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and a great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an "indicated mineral resource" or "inferred mineral resource" will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into reserves. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) informs that the detectives of the Bureau have entered the information in the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations and started a pretrial investigation on the grounds of misappropriation, waste of property or seizing it by abusing their official position based on the analysis of information set out in the journalistic investigation of corruption in the defense sector. "According to the analysis of information presented in the journalistic investigation by Lesia Ivanova about the facts of corruption in the defense sphere, it was established that some of the described events are already being investigated in the framework of pretrial investigations carried out by the detectives of the National Bureau. As for other facts about the possible seizure of funds of state enterprises and the state budget of Ukraine perpetrated by an organized group on a large scale, on February 26, 2019 NABU detectives introduced information into Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations and began pretrial investigations on the grounds of a criminal offense under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," the NABU press service said on Wednesday. Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine says about appropriation, embezzlement of property or its seizure by abuse of official position. Part 5 of the article says that the actions of seizing funds committed in especially large amounts or by an organized group shall be punished with imprisonment for a term from seven to 12 years with deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or engage in certain activities for up to three years and with confiscation of property. As earlier reported, Ihor Hladkovsky, together with Zhukov and Rohoza, through fictitious firms, reportedly delivered contraband Russian spare parts or parts from Ukrainian military units to Ukrainian defense enterprises at prices inflated two to four times higher than the purchase price, journalists from the Kyiv-based Bihus.info said. In a video uploaded to the Internet on February 25, investigative journalists from Nashi Groshi said during 2018 they received an anonymous letter with an electronic archive of correspondence between participants in the deals. The journalists checked the information and concluded the leaked information was genuine. The journalists said the amount of embezzled funds totals at least UAH 250 million, perhaps double that amount. The investigative journalists say that Oleh Hladkovsky, who formerly was a business partner of incumbent President Petro Poroshenko, the ex-head of Ukrspecexport and head of Ukroboronprom Palvo Bukin, as well as directors and other officials of the state-owned defense concern were involved. The investigation says the suspect deals was organized using three main fictitious firms, and that one of them included the Kuznya on Rybalsky Shipbuilding Plant, which was then owned by Poroshenko. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine has ruled unconstitutional the article of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on illicit enrichment of officials, as its provisions violate presumption of innocence. A source in the Constitutional Court told Interfax-Ukraine that the court ruled unconstitutional Article 368-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, as its provisions are not in line with the principles of the rule of law and presumption of innocence. "This conclusion is explained by the fact that the requirements of criminal legislation should be clear and unambiguous, because as a result of criminal prosecution the freedom of a person and his or her other constitutional rights and freedoms can be restricted," the Constitutional Court said. The Constitutional Court said that the legislative structure of Article 368-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine "permits accusations based on assumptions." In addition, it includes the provisions regulating the process of evidence, although this is related to the criminal procedure law. In addition, the Constitutional Court said that the legislative definition of "illegal enrichment" as a crime makes it possible to shift this responsibility from the prosecution to the defense. "At the same time, the suspect or the accused person should not prove the legitimacy of the grounds for acquiring the relevant assets. They can provide evidence of their innocence only on their own will or not provide them at all," the Constitutional Court said. The Constitutional Court said that presumption of innocence requires the state to prove the guilt of the accused person and relieves the accused from the burden of proving his innocence. "The essence of presumption of innocence is that the determining factor is the innocence of a person. Therefore, a person cannot be force to prove his innocence and the existence of circumstances precluding criminal liability," the Constitutional Court said. The duty to provide evidence of the guilt of a person, as well as the refutation of evidence of his innocence is placed on the prosecution. Whereas, in the opinion of the Constitutional Court, in Article 368-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine the burden of proving innocence is placed on the person himself, securing him the legal obligation to confirm with evidence of the legitimacy of the grounds for becoming the owner of the assets. Russia's hybrid military forces mounted 11 attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas over the past day, with four Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action (WIA), the press centre of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) has reported. "On February 26, the Russian occupation troops opened fire 11 times at the positions of our troops. At the same time, weapons banned by the Minsk agreements were used nine times. Russian-occupation troops also fired at the positions of the JFO from infantry fighting vehicles, grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms, with four Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded," the JFO staff said on Facebook on Wednesday morning. In the action zone of the operational-tactical grouping Vostok (East) and Sever (North), Russian occupation forces opened fire from 120mm and 82mm mortars, weapons of infantry fighting vehicles, grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and small arms, attacking the defenders of Popasna, Verkhniotoretske, Lebedynske, Novoluhanske, Khutir Vilny, Malynove, Lobacheve, and Krymske. Nine invaders were killed in past 24 hours, intelligence reports say. "Since Wednesday midnight, Russian-led forces have attacked Ukrainian positions twice in the action zone of the operational-tactical grouping Vostok (East), using 120mm mortars and hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher near the village of Vodiane, as well as small arms and sniper weapons near the village of Hnutove," the staff said. The Russian Federation should immediately release Ukrainian POW sailors, Kurt Volker, the Special Representative of the U.S. Department of State for Ukraine Negotiations has said. There are no legal grounds for Russia to hold these sailors. They must be returned home to their families immediately, he told reporters during the International Forum "Occupied Crimea: Five Years of Resistance" in Kyiv on Tuesday. Volker also noted that the Russian Federation must comply with the Minsk agreements. He said it is very important for Russia to begin fulfilling the Minsk agreements in the east of Ukraine, including conditions that it does not fulfill, a cease-fire regime, the withdrawal of heavy weapons, the disbandment of illegal military formations, the withdrawal of foreign military groups, the provision of access to receive humanitarian aid and unhindered access to observers of the OSCE Special Mission, so that they could work in this territory, and so on and so forth. According to Volker, Ukraine should hold elections in due time and grant special status to Donbas under the Ukrainian Constitution, as well as conduct an amnesty for the crimes that were committed "during the conflict." The special envoy of the U.S. Department of State for Ukraine said that now we are faced with a situation where Russia denies its involvement in the conflict. The war continues and we cannot end it, he said. We continue to negotiate with Russia. I hope that progress on these basic security issues will be achieved during our communication with the Russian side, and through the Normandy format as well, Volker added. TIU Canada plans to complete construction of two solar power plants with a total capacity of some 31 MW in Lymansky district of Odesa region this summer, TIU Canada in Ukraine Manager Valentyna Beliakova has said in an interview with Reform.Energy portal. Commenting on plans to expand the solar power plants portfolio to 100 MW, she said that the company will return to them after the adoption of the law on green auctions. According to the forecast of Beliakova, the market for the construction of solar power plants in 2020 after the introduction of auctions will definitely begin to fall. "Until the auction system will be adjusted, until investors will understand how to work on it, and until they will allocate quotas... the volume that is planned to be provided to all renewable energy facilities now and the numbers of 500-700 MW per year are voiced is small," she said. Commenting on the fact of the high tariff for the purchase of electricity from the solar power plants in Ukraine, Beliakova said that in Germany, one of the first to introduce this mechanism of support for renewable energy, the tariff was valid for 10-15 years at a fairly high level. In Ukraine, less time has passed since the establishment of the feed-in tariff, moreover, in 2015-2016, it was reduced. "In addition, how are auctions held in Germany? The winner is provided with land parcels, technical conditions for connection. This significantly reduces the cost of the project. The investor can only install equipment. They have clearly defined territories, free capacity and connection conditions," the head of TIU Canada in Ukraine said, noting that in view of this it is incorrect to compare the tariff of 15 eurocents per kWh in Ukraine with the tariff of 4-6 eurocents in Germany. According to Beliakova, the stimulation of green energy, of course, should be only until its share reaches a certain level. "However, Ukraine does not yet follow the schedule for renewable energy facilities outlined in the Energy Strategy," the head of TIU Canada in Ukraine said, recalling that the share of alternative sources of Ukraine's overall generation remains low less than 2%. As reported, TIU Canada began its activity in Ukraine in June 2017. Its owner is the investment company Refraction Asset Management (Calgary, Canada). The company has already built a solar power plant with a capacity of 10.5 MW in Nikopol and is building another one in Mykolaiv region with a capacity of 13.5 MW. Swedbank accounts in Lithuania could be used to transfer money to Yanukovych Some funds, which Ukrainian law enforcement agencies consider belonging to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, arrived to him through an account in the Lithuanian branch of Swedbank, the 15min.lt news portal reported on Wednesday. According to the portal, data collected by the news portal and Swedish SVT TV channel show that an offshore company affiliated with Yanukovych had an account in Swedbank in Lithuanian from 2004 through 2014. It is reported that suspicious payments are associated with a million retainer, which the Ukrainian president allegedly received for the publication of his book giving rise to a lot of doubts. The amount that Ukrainian officials are interested in is EUR 3.7 million. However, according to the portal, this is only a small part of the funds that went through the account of the offshore company that used Swedbank's account in Lithuania. "We will assist the Swedish and Estonian oversight agencies in conducting an investigation related to Swedbank, therefore we cannot comment on information about individual companies or individuals so as not to harm the investigation itself," Director of the Bank of Lithuania Supervision Service Vytautas Valvonis told BNS, commenting on the information on Yanukovych. Lithuanian Swedbank does not comment on this information either, noting that its parent bank hired the Forensic Risk Alliance analytical consulting center to investigate possible cases of money laundering. "At the moment we are not able to disclose any specific information that would be part of this investigation. The bank has pledged to comply with the requirements of confidentiality," Saulius Abraskevicius, representative of the Lithuanian Swedbank for public relations, told BNS. He said that the bank's activities in preventing money laundering are guided by the criteria of suspicion and typologies of criminal schemes established by the Lithuanian Financial Crime Investigation Service (FCIS). "Additional information is required to confirm or refute the allegations, communication with the client is under way. If the suspicions remain, the information is transmitted to the FCIS. Cooperation between the bank and the FCIS is regulated by law, the facts are classified," Abraskevicius said. According to media reports, Swedbank may be involved in large-scale money laundering operations involving the Baltic branches of Danske Bank, the largest bank in Denmark. SVT on February 19 reported that the total amount of transfers between suspicious accounts in Swedbank and Danske branches in the Baltic countries is estimated at no less than SEK 40 billion (EUR 3.8 billion). Money transfers, allegedly used for money laundering, were made in the period 2007-2015. Deputy Prime Minister, Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Economy Minister Hennadiy Zubko after a meeting with the head of the European Parliament's delegation in the Parliamentary Association Committee (PAC) for Ukraine and the European Union (EU) Dariusz Rosati in Brussels noted the importance of the EU support of Ukraine in infrastructure projects in the Azov and Black Sea region, the press service of the deputy prime minister has reported. "Ukraine counts on EU support for the development of the Azov and Black Sea region, which were selected for the near future. This is a solution to the issue of the infrastructure gap between the region and the rest of the country, the issue of environment, support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), education, economic development, civil security and governance," Zubko said. He said that the Azov and Black Sea region is directly affected by the conflict with the Russian Federation and accepts the largest number of internally displaced persons (IDPs), while the Azov and Black Sea region remains a kind of economic and service hub for people from the territory not controlled by Ukraine. "Therefore, we must strengthen the existing infrastructure and implement reforms, which are being implemented there with the support of the EU," Zubko said. The deputy prime minister also informed MEPs on the progress of reforms in Ukraine, in particular decentralization, energy efficiency, judicial reforms and reforms in fighting corruption. "Our priorities are the final adoption of amendments to the Constitution regarding the integration of Ukraine into the EU and NATO, cooperation with the IMF, the implementation of the conditions of the fourth EU macrofinancial assistance program and the completion of the decentralization reform," he said. Zubko also asked the European parliamentarians with a request to approve the "Azov sanctions package" against the Russian Federation as soon as possible, which will help to deter further the Russian aggression in the Azov Sea and Kerch Strait water area and release Ukrainian sailors from captivity. The sanctions concern both sectoral and personal restrictive measures. The Coronavirus-Related Situation in Armenia International aviation: Council greenlights signing of major agreements with four countries With UCOMs level up tariff plans subscribers have unlimited access to Netflix, Duolingo and Zoom Armenia: Statement by the Spokesperson on the early parliamentary elections Google Ad 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 Google Ad 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 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 DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- L2 Aviation, a recognized leader in avionics modifications and installations, has been awarded an amended Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for a major US Carrier to install an Iridium Satcom system for worldwide SATVOICE safety Services in compliance with AC 20-150B. The upgrade will begin with 15 of the airlines fleet of 757-200 aircraft. This project expanded upon L2s existing STC ST10938SC to add the latest available avionics equipment for SATVOICE and integrating a new Gables Engineering TouchDU multifunction touchscreen display. This is a landmark technology upgrade for L2 as it provides full integration of ATS Safety Voice on a 757 aircraft, said Kevin Paul, L2 Vice President, Engineering Value Stream. L2 makes it a practice to focus on providing the latest technological and safety advances for its customers. This project reinforces our pursuit. We remain ready to offer this STC to the many other global airlines that continue to see value in the B757 platform. The installation of the Gables TouchDU replaces the previously installed ACARS Data Link Control Panel (DLC-800) as a dedicated touchscreen display for ARINC 739 subsystems ACARS, CPDLC, and SATCOM. The program was awarded to L2 by a major US Carrier to provide certification, design engineering, on-site engineering support, kit manufacturing and overall project management for this upgrade project. In August of 2018, L2 announced an STC for the Collins Aerospace Iridium Satcom on the A330-200/-300 aircraft, which included Iridium installation with ATS Safety Voice service. The ATS Safety Voice service provides aircraft operators with an alternative to one existing HF radio or enhancing dispatch capability with an additional secure satellite-based option for long-range communications. L2 STC Service Bulletin (SB) upgrades for SATVOICE are also available for the B777 and B757 now, with the B737 and B767 SB approvals scheduled for April. About L2 L2 Consulting Services, Inc. ( www.L2aviation.com ) provides avionics engineering, integration and installation services (FAA CRS L2ZR265X) for the global air transport industry. Since 1997, the company has been performing integration of digital avionics systems into analog and digital aircraft. Additionally, L2 offers full installation and support capabilities. L2 specializes in Satcom, EFB, e-Enabled, Flat Panels, ACARS/DataLink, RAAS, TAWS, Terminal and Cabin Wireless, Flight Data and FMS among other avionics systems. L2 Contact: Brian Carrasco +1-512-894-3414 Brian.Carrasco@L2Aviation.com Ginsburg also noted that the concept of prohibiting excessive fines dates to the Magna Carta, which required economic sanctions be proportioned to the wrong and not be so large as to deprive [an offender] of his livelihood. Wesley Hottot, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, who argued the case on behalf of Timbs before the court in November, said the ruling should go a long way to curtailing what is often called policing for profit where police and prosecutors employ forfeiture to take someones property then sell it, and keep the profits to fund their departments. This gives them a direct financial incentive to abuse this power and impose excessive fines. Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch concurred with the courts conclusion but quibbled on how the Constitution should be interpreted to reach that conclusion. Thomas concurring opinion said the case has nothing to do with due process but rather strikes to the core protection afforded by the 14th Amendment, which protects privileges and immunities. Authorities have said Zambada is a leader of the Sinaloa cartel, which has smuggled billions of dollars worth of cocaine, heroin, meth and marijuana into the United States. Earlier this month, a jury convicted Guzman, another Sinaloa cartel leader, of various federal crimes, including engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to launder drug proceeds and international drug distribution. His lawyers have said he will seek a new trial following a Vice News report alleging juror misconduct during the case. The allegations implicating one of the Wyoming restaurants were reported by the Star-Tribune in January. The report drew from responses to a sealed civil complaint filed in November. In their responses, defendants laid out some of the governments allegations, including that bank accounts belonging to Hilario Montejano-Aleman, the owner of Rodolfos Mexican Grill in Cheyenne, were used in drug money laundering. ELKO The Bureau of Land Management is considering offering up to 49 parcels, comprising about 75,006 acres of land in northeastern Nevada within the Elko District, at its June 2019 quarterly oil and gas online lease sale at www.energynet.com. The public comment period on associated environmental documents will end on March 23. The BLM has said that the offering of these parcels is in keeping with the administrations goal of promoting American energy independence. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} The oil and gas industry on public lands in Nevada contributed $3.1 million in total economic output in fiscal year 2018. Continuous exploration, development and site restoration is required to sustain production rates, jobs, income and royalties. Responsible energy development includes consideration of parcels nominated for leasing as well as potential resource impacts of decisions to lease. An additional environmental review will take place during processing of an Application for Permit to Drill, when site-specific Conditions of Approval will be placed on the permit in addition to the stipulations attached to the lease. ELKO Noted Reno artist Eric Holland and a selection of local artists are coming together in a plea to save the Ruby Mountains. Duncan LittleCreek Gallery will host a Sierra Club show composed of Nevada mountain imagery beginning March 16. The National Sierra Club put out to the Toiyabe Chapter of the Sierra Club that they had concerns about fracking in the Rubies, Holland said. The Rubies have become a place that is known not only throughout Nevada, but throughout the country. Holland said he enjoys visiting the Rubies and has painted them a number of times. According to Holland, the Sierra Club perceives the Ruby Mountains as a spectacular wilderness area worthy of national park status. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} According to a 2018 article published at biologicaldiversity.org, the Trump administration plans to lease 54,000 acres in the Ruby Mountains for oil and gas development. the U.S. Forest Service plans to auction public land for drilling and fracking that includes crucial winter habitat for mule deer, priority habitat for greater sage grouse and creeks harboring the threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout. We had people in here from Germany and Russia recently, Adeline said. Finley is exhibiting her photographic and painted works. One painting is of a weathered boat located near the coast of Oregon. Its a boat that I have photographed since the 80s, Finley said. It had gotten up into the Rogue River and got stuck up there and stayed. Its storytelling in a way. It speaks of where it is at this point in time. She worked on the painting for much of the past year. I love hearing about the process and what goes into making the work, Adeline said. Finley teaches a watercolor class on Wednesdays at the art club gallery. I enjoy the group, Finley said. We bounce ideas off of each other all of the time. Its exciting to feature local artists, Adeline said. There is a beautiful collection of work that we have right here at home. Being able to hang these up and know that these artists are here is super exhilarating. The community should be excited about it. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. As part of the official visit to the People's Republic of China by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defence, ACWA Power signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with two renowned Chinese entities. The agreements with the Silk Road Fund and Huawei will lay the ground for collaboration in further investments and in technological advancements of power generation and desalinated water production plants that ACWA Power develops and operates. On this occasion, Mohammad Abdullah Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power, said, "Our growing relationships with major Chinese entities is a reflection of the strong and friendly ties between Saudi Arabia and China. As a leading developer of power and water assets in the region committed to reducing cost and investing in several countries within the Belt and Road initiative corridor, ACWA Power has the unique position of being able to support the economic transformation envisioned by both; the ambitious and collaborative Belt and Road initiative as well as Saudi Arabia's forward-looking and iconic Vision 2030. We look forward to playing a vital role in both these national agendas which complement each other." In the presence of HRH Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Vice Premier of State Council of China Han Zheng, Mohammad Abdullah Abunayyan from ACWA Power signed a MoU with Mr. Wang Yanzhi, CEO from the Silk Road Fund. Under the agreement, the Silk Road Fund will partner with the company to invest in ACWA Power Renewable Energy Holding Ltd in Belt and Road countries including South Africa, UAE, Jordan and Egypt. Following the first signing, at the Saudi China Investment and Cooperation Forum (Future Forward Partnerships), ACWA Power also entered into an agreement with Huawei, a leading global ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and energy network solutions provider. The two companies will be collaborating on utilising ICT to increase efficiency and improve performance of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy projects owned and operated by ACWA Power including the Sakaka PV IPP, the first utility scale solar plant in Saudi Arabia. The collaboration also extends to digitalisation of power plant management. Paddy Padmanathan, President of ACWA Power further commented, saying: "Over the last few years we have been privileged to work with an increasing number of Chinese investors, financial service providers, technology providers and EPC contractors on our rapidly expanding portfolio and we are eager to nurture and expand these very successful collaborations. The synergies created through these agreements will allow us to maintain our cost leadership reputation creating immense value to the ultimate beneficiaries of the electricity and desalinated water we provide - the people of the countries we invest in." ACWA Power already has well-established relationships with several Chinese companies. ACWA Power rolled out of a centralized control and monitoring pilot project that implemented Huawei's Fusion Solar solution for enhanced plant management, monitoring and control, last January. Yura is WiTricity's first Tier 1 licensee located in South Korea and is one of the largest Asian producers of EV and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle components for both domestic use and export. Global automakers are investing in the development and production of wireless charging technology recognizing that a key driver of EV adoption is making charging a simple, efficient and hands-free experience. WiTricity's DRIVE 11 system delivers 11 kW of power at efficiency and speed that matches or exceeds most conventional plug-in EV chargers. WiTricity is actively involved in defining global wireless EV charging standards, critical for large-scale deployment and interoperability of EV wireless charging. "WiTricity offers the most experience and know-how in the EV wireless charging market. We will rely on their advanced offering to help us build wireless charging system in the future," said Yong Kyu Roh, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Yura. "The global demand for EVs is advancing rapidly. South Korea is an important market for EV development and production. Yura's selection of WiTricity is a testament to our sophisticated technology and progress in driving global standards," said Alex Gruzen, CEO, WiTricity. "We look forward to a strong partnership with Yura and contributing to EV adoption on a global basis through efficient and convenient wireless charging." About Yura Corporation Yura Corporation specializes in designing, developing and manufacturing automotive parts including wiring harnesses and electronics modules. Yura Corporation is a technology-oriented company with a long history in the Korean automotive market. With technical knowledge dating back to 1970, Yura has continued development in these core technologies. Yura Corporation's launch into the Chinese market in 2002 began the company's globalization including the Asian, European and North American automotive markets. Today, with a network of 20 corporations and 46 business sites in 14 countries, the company has solidified its position as a global specialist in the automotive components market. Today, Yura Corporation's capabilities have expanded into the eco-friendly automotive market to include high voltage connectors, high voltage junction blocks and charging couplers. In preparation for the fourth Industrial Revolution, Yura Corporation is accelerating development of key technologies needed for eco-friendly (electric), autonomous and connected automobiles to become a leader in the market. About WiTricity WiTricity develops wireless power solutions using its patented magnetic resonance technology. WiTricity works with top global automakers and Tier 1 suppliers to deploy EV wireless charging, helping realize a future of transportation that is electrified, shared and autonomous. See how WiTricity makes EV charging easy, transparent and hands-free. Get to know WiTricity. Following WiTricity's recent acquisition of the Qualcomm Halo IP portfolio, the company is now uniquely positioned to license EV wireless charging intellectual property. Licenses have been announced with Toyota, Aptiv (formerly Delphi), Mahle, TDK, IHI, Shindengen, Daihen, BRUSA, Anjie Wireless and Yura. Global corporate investors now include Qualcomm, Toyota, Intel Capital, Delta Electronics Capital, Foxconn and Schlumberger. WiTricity is also collaborating directly with leading carmakers to drive global standards for wireless charging systems. Standards initiatives include the SAE International, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), STILLE, China Automotive Technology & Research Center (CATARC), China Electricity Council and the Chinese Electric Power Research Institute (CEPRI). eMotorWerks, a subsidiary of the Enel Group's new advanced energy services business line Enel X, announced it will be supporting Platte River Power Authority (Platte River), a not-for-profit wholesale electricity generation and transmission provider in Colorado, with the electricity provider's first electric vehicle (EV) distributed charging study by supplying its smart charging equipment and technology. The study will explore flexible charging services in support of Platte River's broader energy diversification goals in the electricity and transportation sectors. Platte River's study will be the first large-scale residential smart EV charging initiative in Colorado, serving communities in the municipalities of Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland. Participating EV drivers can schedule preferred charging periods taking into consideration the most cost-effective times of use and monitor charging remotely via eMotorWerks' JuiceNet app. Powered by JuiceNet, the leading smart EV charging software platform, eMotorWerks' JuiceBox charging station will be available for purchase via Platte River's EfficiencyWorks store with a $200 instant rebate provided by Platte River, and the first 100 JuiceBox participants will receive an additional instant manufacturer discount. With JuiceNet, users may program EV charging times, which can benefit utility customers on time-of-day rates and can also save drivers and their utility money and precious electricity resources by delaying charging to non-peak times of use. "As demand for renewable energy grows significantly to power EVs, valuing and procuring EV flexibility services in the form of smart charging is critically important within the process of decarbonizing the electricity and transportation sectors economically," said Preston Roper, General Manager, North America, Enel X e-Mobility. "We are looking forward to helping more Colorado communities go electric with the state's first smart EV charging program." With an initial target of 250 participating EVs, eMotorWerks and Platte River are deploying a demand response-enabled system in the service territory, which could reduce electricity costs and boost renewable penetration. As an industry leader in networked EV supply equipment (EVSE) and vehicle-grid integration, eMotorWerks has proven smart charging capabilities at scale in California and beyond via JuiceNet, which collectively acts as a virtual battery for the grid. JuiceNet can delay or reduce charging schedules across that portfolio of EV charging, based on signals from utilities or grid operators, while prioritizing individual driver mobility requirements and preferences, as well as compensating drivers for their flexibility. "Smart EV charging aligns well with Platte River's core pillars of providing reliable, environmentally responsible and financially sustainable electricity and services to our owner communities," said Jason Frisbie, general manager and CEO of Platte River. "As our renewable portfolio continues to expand, a better understanding of EV owner consumption patterns will provide valuable insight and allow consumers to participate in our energy future." Currently, eMotorWerks is the only EV charging provider to participate in wholesale day-ahead and real-time markets, dynamically managing charging loads to balance grid demand, reduce wholesale energy procurement costs and mitigate the intermittency of renewables. By delivering smart EV charging services to electricity grids, environmental and social benefits arising from sustainable mobility can be achieved and magnified as EV adoption grows. Furthermore, smart charging enables drivers to conveniently charge during non-peak periods, if available from the local electric utility. According to a recent report from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, smart EV charging can exert downward pressure on electricity rates over time by achieving higher and more even utilization of existing grids, avoiding costly investments in new grid infrastructure. More efficient use of power infrastructure can enable greater savings for all relevant parties involved from EV drivers to utilities. About eMotorWerks: eMotorWerks, a subsidiary of the Enel Group's new advanced energy services business line Enel X, is revolutionizing the EV charging market with its JuiceNet-enabled smart charging solutions. With more than 40,000 charging stations sold around the world, eMotorWerks is the only EVSE participating in wholesale energy markets. Unlike other charging station providers, eMotorWerks' JuiceNet platform allows customers to control and manage their EVs' charging schedule, electricity costs and renewable energy mix. By offering EV drivers, utilities, automakers and businesses a complete line of interoperable, hardware agnostic, smart-grid charging solutions, eMotorWerks is enabling the EV industry to scale sustainably. For more information on eMotorWerks, please visit www.emotorwerks.com, and follow us on Twitter (@eMotorWerks), LinkedIn and Facebook. About Platte River Power Authority: Platte River Power Authority is a not-for-profit wholesale electricity generation and transmission provider that delivers safe, reliable, environmentally responsible and financially sustainable energy and services to its owner communities of Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland, Colorado for delivery to their utility customers. Platte River is governed by an eight-person board that includes the mayor of each owner community and an appointee from each of the four owner communities. More information can be found at https://www.prpa.org/. CREC operates as a non-profit entity organized primarily to support educational agencies (currently 35 school districts and 36 towns), and to promote cost-saving opportunities to all school districts and towns in Connecticut through its cooperative purchasing programs. Connecticut school districts and towns can benefit from Tradition Energy's experience helping more than 350 local government and non-profit organizations nationwide reduce and control their energy expenditures. The CREC members will receive the most competitive energy procurement pricing available by utilizing Tradition's current contract with OMNIA Partners, Public Sector (subsidiary U.S. Communities), the nation's largest cooperative purchasing organization dedicated to public sector procurement. Tradition Energy is the exclusive energy consulting and management supplier to participants of OMNIA Partners, Public Sector. "We are thrilled to be providing our services to Connecticut schools and towns supported by CREC," said Alan Kurzer, CEO, Tradition Energy. "Reducing and stabilizing operating costs like electricity and natural gas can go a long way in helping CREC members use more of their financial resources to meet the educational needs of children and adults," Mr. Kurzer added. About Tradition Energy Tradition Energy is the nation's largest and most experienced independent energy risk management and procurement advisor, serving more than 1,300 commercial, industrial and governmental clients ranging from Fortune 500 global companies to medium-sized businesses to local municipalities. Tradition Energy is part of the Tradition Group, a leading global institutional broker of financial and commodity products. Tradition employs over 2,300 people in 28 countries around the world and is publicly listed on the Swiss stock exchange (CFT). www.TraditionEnergy.com About OMNIA Partners, Public Sector OMNIA Partners, Public Sector is the nation's largest and most experienced cooperative purchasing organization dedicated to public sector procurement. Our immense purchasing power and world-class suppliers have produced a comprehensive portfolio of cooperative contracts and partnerships, making OMNIA Partners the most valued and trusted resource for organizations nationwide. www.omniapartners.com/publicsector VISTA, Calif., Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- McCain Inc., a leader in the supply of intelligent transportation solutions for safety and mobility and a member of the global SWARCO family, today announced it was chosen by the City of San Jose, CA to update its downtown wayfinding system. Using parking garage data provided by SKIDATA, an international leader in parking access solutions and management, McCain will provide 13 wayfinding signs to minimize congestion by helping the driving public locate available parking. This smart city solution for San Jose will be one of the most comprehensive wayfinding systems in the United States, with the capability of directing travelers to more than 6,200 spaces in eight parking garages throughout the metropolitan area. Utilizing SKIDATA parking access revenue control systems (PARCS), customers can also check availability and reserve parking online and from their smartphone. San Jose currently has a legacy parking system which pushes availability to static signs with LED inserts that display basic alpha-numeric data. Upgrading these signs to McCains Variable Message Signs (VMS) opens the door to many new means of communicating with the public. The full-color VMS can display any combination of text, graphics, and images. Best of all, as an established leader in transportation, McCain VMS comply with U.S. traffic communications standards (NTCIP), providing options to integrate parking and variable message signs with traffic and other mobility operations. This is an exceptional project that addresses the impact of parking on the communitys roadways, said Niko Stieldorf, project lead and a driving force behind McCains OPTIPARK Parking Guidance System . People searching for parking is widely accepted to be a significant factor in urban area congestion. By posting availability on signs throughout the city and directing drivers to available garages, San Jose will minimize that congestion and reduce overall harmful greenhouse gas emissions. We are excited to help cities deploy these type of smart city solutions and leverage our rich experience in transportation. We plan to pioneer innovative ways to integrate data between parking facilities and traffic management systems to create an enhanced and connected driver experience. Like McCain, SKIDATA is committed to improving the travel experience through advanced technology. We are thrilled to be a part of this comprehensive project, said Kevin Austin, SKIDATAs director of business development for Northern California. Together with SWARCO [McCains parent company], we have successfully deployed many similar systems across Europe. Combining that worldwide experience with McCains local presence, we are confident that we can deliver an enjoyable and unique parking experience to benefit the entire San Jose community. McCains Variable Message Signs are powered by SWARCOs innovative precision-optic technology, developed and proven in Europe and across the globe, and recently certified in the U.S. market. The signs are incredibly energy efficient, requiring less power than it takes to run a personal hairdryer and drawing a tenth of the power of competing signs. Combined with the longest meantime between failures (MTBF), McCain signs have the lowest total cost of ownership, making them an ideal long-term solution for any community concerned with overall cost and efficiency. Were excited to work with the City of San Jose and SKIDATA on this project, said Greg McKhann, chief operating officer for McCain. Parking availability is a critical lifestyle issue and part of the big picture of creating comprehensive smart city solutions. McCain views parking as a key area of growth for the company and our executive team is committed to expanding our operations in this space. About McCain Inc. McCain Inc. creates intelligent transportation solutions and traffic control equipment to promote safer, more mobile and livable communities. A wholly-owned subsidiary of the SWARCO Group, the San Diego-based transportation technology firm provides high-quality products and services to optimize signalized intersections, improving safety and quality of life for all road users. McCains innovative solutions are paving the way to the future by creating the next generation of smart city solutions and helping to prepare the infrastructure for connected and autonomous vehicles. For more information, visit www.mccain-inc.com or Twitter @mccain_inc . About SWARCO SWARCO is a global transportation technology leader dedicated to making the travel experience safer, quicker, more convenient and environmentally sound. Headquartered in Austria, the SWARCO family celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2019, honoring its expansive portfolio of urban and interurban traffic control, parking, public transport and street lighting. SWARCOs livable and smart city solutions include cooperative systems, infrastructure-to-vehicle communications, electromobility, and integrated software solutions. With solutions in 70 countries and more than 3,700 team members, SWARCO is leading the effort to shift conventional transportation management into the digital age. For more information visit www.swarco.com or Twitter @SWARCO_AG . About SKIDATA SKIDATA is an international leader in the field of access solutions and their management. Almost 10,000 SKIDATA installations worldwide in ski resorts, stadiums, airports, shopping malls, cities, spa & wellness facilities, trade fairs and amusement parks provide secure and reliable access and entry control for people and vehicles. SKIDATA places great value in providing solutions that are intuitive, easy to use, and secure. The integrated concepts of SKIDATA solutions help clients optimize performance and maximize profits. SKIDATA Group ( www.skidata.com ) belongs to the publicly traded Swiss Kudelski Group ( www.nagra.com ), a leading provider of digital security solutions. Media Contact Trisha Tunilla Director of Marketing PH 760-734-5086 FX 760-734-5082 http://www.mccain-inc.com Wipro has been a strategic partner to innogy SE since 2013 and has been providing datacenter services, applications development and applications support services to the company. Nils Scheller, Head of IT Infrastructure Services, innogy SE, said, "We are pleased that Wipro was awarded the innogy supplier award in the international category. I think this is a fair reflection of the outstanding performance of Wipro as our IT partner in the data center and cloud area." N S Bala, President - Energy, Natural Resources, Utilities & Construction, Wipro Limited, said, "We are excited to receive the Quality Global Supplier' award from innogy SE. This acknowledgement validates the value we have delivered to the client in a short span of time. We will continue to invest in our domain capabilities, IT infrastructure services and digital-led innovations in the utilities segment to support innogy's business plans." Wipro has been present in Germany, Austria and Switzerland since 2002 and today, has 23 offices and project delivery centers in the DACH region, with German speaking staff. The company works with customers across industry sectors such as financial services, retail, automotive, telecom, healthcare, energy and utilities in the DACH region, and offers a broad range of consulting, applications, IT infrastructure management services and digital design, strategy and operations services to its European customers. About Wipro Limited Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO) is a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company. We harness the power of cognitive computing, hyper-automation, robotics, cloud, analytics and emerging technologies to help our clients adapt to the digital world and make them successful. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, strong commitment to sustainability and good corporate citizenship, we have over 170,000 dedicated employees serving clients across six continents. Together, we discover ideas and connect the dots to build a better and a bold new future. Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property, and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf. This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For over 14 years and 30,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going. Ukraine sees 5.7% decline in new housing in 2018 Some 103,141 new apartments were commissioned last year. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Poroshenko predicts IT sector's share may increase to almost 7% of Ukraine's GDP The president is convinced that the IT sector is a priority industry, ensuring Ukraine's competitive advantages in the world. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Ukraine's energy minister: Coal bought from Belarus not of occupied Donbas origin This may be re-export from Russia, the official said. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Ukraine imports cars worth over US$309 mln in Jan Germany, Lithuania, and Poland were major suppliers of passenger cars to Ukraine. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Ukraine slides to 13th place in WSA's steelmakers rating in Jan All the 64 countries ranked by the WSA increased steel output by 1% in the first month of 2019 y-o-y, to 146.7 million tonnes. If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Watchful US Secret Service agents protect President Trump in Hanoi U.S. Secret Service agents keep a lookout on all sides as President Trump waves and gets into the presidential state car nicknamed "The Beast." An agent guards Trumps car as the President meets with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Wednesday. The Secret Service agents, equipped with advanced weapons, have collaborated with the local security team to come up with plans to ensure the U.S. President is always safe. A security officer deploys a Secret Service dog to check cars parked near the area that the President will pass through. Another Secret Service dog checks reporters equipment before Trumps Air Force One lands in Hanoi Tuesday evening. Two security officers scan the surrounding area with binoculars from a height at the Noi Bai International Airport. The U.S. security agents came to Hanoi in a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III that flew from the American military base in Japan. An agent stands guard at the JW Marriott Hotel in Hanoim where President Trump and his entourage are lodged during his Feb 27-28 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Ngoc Thanh, Vo Hai SAVANNAH, GA, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smoke Cartel, Inc. (OTC: SMKC) is a high-tech, multi-vertical cannabis accessory company. The company has announced plans to attend CHAMPS Las Vegas, a leading B2B smoke shop trade show featuring over 1,100 vendors from February 27th to March 1st. Smoke Cartel Wholesale , formerly Glassheads Distribution, will promote its competitive new wholesale and dropshipping services. The company now offers an Open-Ended Exchange Policy that allows retailers to experiment with new products and exchange those that dont sell; a Price Match Guarantee, even retroactively matching competitor prices; and a Broken Product Guarantee for 50% off replacements for all customer-broken Sesh Supply and UPC pipes. We cant wait to reconnect with old friends and build new business relationships at this weekends CHAMPS trade show, says Smoke Cartel, Inc. CEO, Darby Cox. Our companys wholesale division now serves over one thousand brick-and-mortar and online storefronts with seven of our own exclusive branded product lines. Weve come a long way since our first CHAMPS event! Retailers will be able to inquire about wholesale services for Sesh Supply glass bongs, Roll Uh Bowl travel bongs, The China Glass water pipe vases, Kraken grinders , Cinderwitch torches, HeadyPet pet apparel, Grav Labs and Leafly pipes. Browse Smoke Cartels full 2019 Wholesale Catalog . About Smoke Cartel, Inc. Smoke Cartel, Inc. (OTC: SMKC) is a high-tech, multi-vertical product platform. The recently public company is internationally known for delivering top shelf cannabis accessories to 125,000+ retail customers in 50+ countries and an additional 1,000+ wholesale customers. Launched in 2013, Smoke Cartel owns a growing number of exclusive branded product lines available via SmokeCartel.com and Smoke Cartel Wholesale . Retailers and individual consumers can now find Smoke Cartels signature quality and customer service at SmokeCartel.com, MindCBD.com , MEDePen.com , AskVape.com , ClubLifted.com , and HeadyPet.com . Built on a foundation of organic online traffic rankings, Smoke Cartel is able to reverse engineer cannabis consumer needs across multiple verticals while nurturing long-lasting customer relationships with 24/7 assistance and one-of-a-kind proprietary warehouse management technology. (Certain matters discussed in this press release may contain statements, estimates and projections that involve risks and uncertainties in Smoke Cartel, Inc.s (the Company) business that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by the statements made herein. Such statements, estimates and projections constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Smoke Cartel undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. The recipient of this information is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. No representations or warranties are made as to the accuracy of such forward-looking statements or whether any of the projections included herein will be realized.) Contact at Smoke Cartel: Samantha Kramer Investor Relations Coordinator Phone: (912) 314-6746 samantha@smokecartel.com Vietnam tourism hopes to make hay while the summit sun shines A woman welcomes Kim Jong-un's car with flags of North Korea, Vietnam and the U.S. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Du Hoang Nhan Chinh, general secretary of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board, said: "Vietnam has spent millions of dollars to promote tourism but this event could create an even bigger impact. The benefit Vietnam will derive from this event is immeasurable." Quang Binh Province in the central region has offered all journalists covering the event free tourism services. Quang Binh is one of the most popular travel destinations in Vietnam and home to the worlds largest cave Son Doong and Phong Nha Cave. Ha Van Sieu, deputy chairman of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said at a press conference Monday that exhibition areas have been set up at the International Media Center to showcase Vietnams famous travel destinations to journalists. Of around 3,000 journalists who will come to Hanoi to cover the summit, "over half are from the U.S., South Korea, Japan, and China, which account for over 50 percent of Vietnams foreign tourists," Sieu said. He added that the VNAT has made plans with North Korea to promote tourism in that country. "Vietnam will likely be a transit point for tourists to travel to North Korea." The VNAT is also working with U.S. cable TV channel CNN to promote Vietnamese tourism before, during and after the summit. Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, Vu The Binh, said the best chefs from the Vietnam Chef Association have been chosen to cook traditional foods for journalists at the media center, including 3,000 cups of egg coffee. Free tours are available at the front desk for journalists who are interested. They could take a coffee tour, a photography tour or a tour to Ha Long and other famous destinations in the north. Many hotels in the northern Ninh Binh Province and the famous Ha Long Bay are also offering free accommodation to international journalists, Binh said. The Hanoi Tourism Department offers them a free city tour on the red double-decker buses. They can hop on a bus every 15 minutes at the media center to travel to the citys most iconic places such as the St. Joseph Cathedral and the Temple of Literature. Traditional gifts such as Dong Ho paintings and conical hats have been readied for the journalists. Hanoi businesses are also taking the opportunity to promote their brands. A bar on Tran Vu Street has already gained a lot of attention with a kimchi-flavored craft beer named Kim Jong Ale. A pizzeria has been offering free pizzas to people with names similar to that of Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump, and a restaurant in the old quarter has hogged some attention with hamburgers named after the two leaders: "Durty Donald" and "Kim Jong Yum." Durty Donald and Kim Jong Yum burgers served at a restaurant in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Anh Tu A salon on De La Thanh street is offering free Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump haircuts, while a small shop on Hang Bong street has been operating at full capacity selling T-shirts with a design that says peace and carries pictures of both leaders. Sieu added that the tourism promotion would not stop here. His organization has plans for long-term promotion after the summit, starting with a series of events in the U.S., Russia, South Korea, and Japan. The main message of those events would be "Vietnam has successfully hosted the second Trump-Kim summit," he said. "The Trump-Kim summit is a historic opportunity for Vietnam because it is now the focus of international media. Vietnam needs to promote its image as a beautiful, peaceful, safe, and friendly country." Vietnamese tourism has seen robust growth in recent years. In 2015-18 alone twice the number of international tourists came to Vietnam as in the previous 55 years, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. In 2018 there were 15.5 million international and 80 million domestic visitors, up 19.9 percent and 9.3 percent from 2017 respectively. Vietnam hopes the numbers will rise to 18 million and 85 million this year. Dat Nguyen Vietnam takeaway for North Korea: how to take calculated risks Sesto Vecchi, lawyer North Korea is wary of foreigners, exercises tight control, is confronted by a vocal American government, has an impoverished population, and its foreign reserves are near zero. While this describes North Korea today, it also describes Vietnam in 1986 when Vietnam began to peek out from behind the Iron Curtain. The world has dramatically changed in these 30 years, but North Korea has remained relatively isolated and wary. But, as was the case with Vietnam, there are many countries that would welcome change in North Korea, and, on the right terms, rush to help. Firstly, there is South Korea which has often tried and often failed to establish a solid, long term, mutually beneficial, commercial relationship. While I dont pretend to know what the current American administration will do, I believe that in the right circumstances, it will help North Korea to modernize. Almost certainly, North Korea could expect overseas development assistance (ODA) from Europe and Japan. The World Bank will be an eager and substantial source of help. Many smaller countries will provide encouragement and material help. These are the same circumstances that existed just before Vietnam emerged, and before it began to benefit so dramatically from countries and people prepared to help. North Korea and Vietnam were longtime cold war allies. North Korea provided material support during the American War. On this visit, North Koreas leadership should talk with its former ally, and should look at how, since the days of Doi moi reform, Vietnam has so completely transformed itself, with the willing, often enthusiastic, help of others. It has quickly moved from a backward, underperforming economy to one of the darlings of the developing world. By almost every economic measure, Vietnams changes have been explosive: GDP at or near 6.8 percent in the past five years, robust two way trade of over $480 billion in 2018; foreign exchange reserves that topped $65 billion in 2018. Its poverty rate has dropped to 5.4 percent. It is urbanizing, but its agricultural production is increasing. Education has improved. Healthcare now reaches many more people. If North Korea fears that its political system will collapse in the face of all of this prosperity, it should again look at Vietnam. Yes, there has been a change in governance in Vietnam. We start with the broad observation, that in Vietnam, the population does not fear the government whatever their disagreements. I dont know if this can be said equally of North Koreas citizens. Vietnams government has delivered prosperity in an unprecedented way with new highways, housing, an improved standard of living and much more. It is open to foreigners, and it embraces change. Public services are evolving. The public is invited to comment in a meaningful way on new laws, before they are enacted. The newspapers are filled each day with tales of legal redress of corruption or maladministration as political persons, bureaucrats and commercial people are called to account. But, in fact, and despite changes in the political system, the manner of selection of countrys leadership remains constant. Acts designed to overthrow the government are prohibited. That is to say, significant economic changes have occurred in Vietnam but without massive political change. It is clearly also in Vietnams own interest to help North Korea to modernize. By being proactive, Vietnam would certainly further polish its image as an emerging and responsible actor. Any level of soft leadership which it provides will be applauded by its neighbors and by countries of all political colors. So North Koreas leadership should carefully look around during this summit meeting. The evidence of transformation is everywhere. It will see the significant changes that that have occurred and recognize that change began at a point comparable to where North Korea is today. It should ponder the possibilities, and it should take comfort that the risks are manageable. If North Korea wishes to take a prudent economic and political path to the modern world, Vietnam is a perfect model. *Sesto Vecchi is managing partner of Ho Chi Minh City-based Russin & Vecchi law firm. The opinions expressed are his own. Sesto Vecchi US seeks increased trade, investment ties with Vietnam: Trump U.S. President Donald Trump meets Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on February 27, 2019 in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh The U.S. President emphasized at the meeting that he strongly supports trade between the two countries. He said the two countries should promote existing cooperation mechanisms like the the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement and the Trade and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFA) to boost bilateral trade. Vietnam and the U.S. should also continue to discuss the possibility of upgrading the framework of trade and investment relations, in line with development of the economic relations of the two countries, he added. 2018 was a landmark year with bilateral trade topping $60 billion. Vietnam was one of U.S.s fastest growing export markets with export value increasing by 46 percent over 2017. On the sidelines of the second North Korea-U.S summit in Hanoi, PM Phuc also met with representatives of some U.S. aviation and financial giants. He told Kevin McAllister, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, that he was "very impressed" with the deal that Vietnamese carriers have signed with Boeing. Several major aviation deals worth about $21 billion were signed Wednesday. McAllister said that he was looking for opportunities to manufacture plane parts in Vietnam and that Boeing wanted to partner with Vietnam in maintaining and managing its airports. Phuc said: "The possibility of partnership between the two sides is very high, not just in purchasing airplanes but also in manufacturing plane parts." He asked Boeing to help Vietnamese carriers in maintaining airplanes and increasing aviation safety. The U.S. was Vietnams largest export market last year, accounting for 19.5 percent of Vietnams export value, according to Vietnam Customs. Vietnam exported $47.53 billion worth of goods to the U.S. last year, up 14.27 percent from 2017. Anh Minh US corporation to invest $170 million in aircraft components factory The Da Nang People's Committees office has said that US-based Universal Alloy Corporation Asia Pte. Ltd. (UAC) will manufacture aircraft components and parts at a new factory in the central citys high-tech park. A project certificate for the $170 million factory will be granted to UAC by the Da Nang government on March 1. When operational, the factory will produce 4,000 of five million parts used in all types of aircraft. These will be exported to North America and EU markets. This project aims at exports of $25 million by 2021, $85 million a year later and $180 million annually from 2026 onwards. UAC plans to recruit 1,200 highly skilled workers of mechanics, electricity and automation. It will also hire 2,000 people to develop supporting industrial production chains. UAC Group is a leading global manufacturer of aircraft components, often producing them under long-term supply contracts for Boeing and Airbus. Vietnam opened its first airplane parts factory, invested in by South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, in December last year. The factory, Hanwha Aero Engines, located in the capital citys Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park, began making aircraft engine components for export in January. Anh Minh Trumps flight to Hanoi for second summit costs $3mln The Air Force One carrying U.S. President Donald Trump lands at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, February 26, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh This estimate is based on data compiled by the National Taxpayers Union (NTU). Donald Trump flew from the Andrews Air Force Base in Washington D.C at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday and arrived in Hanoi at approximately 9 p.m., which means the flight took approximately 21 hours, the Global News reported. An hour in air on Air Force One was estimated to cost around $140,000 in 2017, covering fuel, reparation and maintenance costs, according to the NTU. Therefore, the Washington D.C-Hanoi flight of the Air Force One Tuesday would have cost approximately $3 million. Air Force One is the name designated to any aircraft used to carry a president of the United States, to avoid confusion with other aircrafts. The current Air Force One is model VC-25A, a special version developed from the Boeing 747-200B. It has two floors, with a total floor area of 370 square meters, including conference rooms, offices and medical rooms. The president of the United States would rest in the VC-25As first compartment, nicknamed the "White House," fully equipped with bedroom and bathrooms. The VC-25A can carry 76 passengers and 26 crew members. It can reach speeds up to 1,015kph at an altitude of 13km. Trump is in Hanoi for his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The two-day summit starts Wednesday. Staff reporters Trump links N. Korea economic prospects with denuclearizing, says could thrive like Vietnam U.S. President Donald Trump waves at Hanoi's Presidential Palace after having a meeting with Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Phu Trong, February 27, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh On Wednesday morning, ahead of his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, he said on Twitter: "Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting!" U.S. President Donald Trump has dangled a big carrot for North Korea to denuclearize. Trump and Kim will meet on Wednesday and Thursday. Kim arrived in the Vietnamese capital Tuesday morning in his armored train while Trump landed Tuesday night in his Air Force One. The former is staying at the Melia Hotel and the latter at the JW Marriott Hotel. The two are expected to meet at Hanois French-colonial-era Metropole Hotel at 6:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) Wednesday and have a 20-minute one-on-one conversation before a dinner scheduled to last just over an hour and a half, the White House said. The two-day summit is expected to discuss ways to improve the bilateral relationship, establishing long-term peace on the Korean Peninsula and returning the remains of U.S. soldiers killed during the Korean War. Phan Anh Trump and Kim to meet for dinner at colonial-era Hanoi hotel U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at Noi Bai Airport for the US-DPRK summit in Hanoi, Vietnam February 26, 2019. U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at Noi Bai Airport for the US-DPRK summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, February 26, 2019. Photo by Reuters/Kham The White House said Trump would meet Kim at Hanois French-colonial-era Metropole Hotel at 6:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) and have a 20-minute one-on-one conversation before a dinner scheduled to last just over an hour and a half. Trump flew into Hanoi on Air Force One late on Tuesday. "Just arrived in Vietnam," he wrote in a Twitter post. "Thank you to all of the people for the great reception in Hanoi. Tremendous crowds, and so much love!" Kim arrived by train early in the day after a three-day, 3,000-km (1,850-mile) trip from his capital, Pyongyang, through China. He completed the last stretch from a border station to Hanoi by car. The two leaders, who seemed to strike up a surprisingly warm relationship at their first summit in Singapore last June, will be accompanied at dinner by two aides and interpreters, the White House said, before they meet again on Thursday. Their talks come eight months after the historic summit in Singapore, the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader, with the U.S. side seeking tangible steps by North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. While much of that first meeting was about breaking the ice after decades of bitter animosity between their two countries, this time there will be pressure to move beyond a vaguely worded commitment by Kim to work toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Trumps critics at home have warned him against cutting a deal that would do little to curb North Koreas nuclear ambitions, urging specific, verifiable North Korean action to abandon the nuclear weapons that threaten the United States. In return, Kim would expect significant U.S. concessions such as relief from punishing sanctions and a declaration that the 1950-53 Korean War is at last formally over. Trump, landing in darkness, waved as he disembarked Air Force One and was met by senior Vietnamese and U.S. officials. His motorcade passed crowds waving the flags of Vietnam, the United States and North Korea on its way to the JW Marriott Hotel, his accommodation for the two-day summit. Earlier, Vietnamese officials greeted Kim at the station in Dong Dang town after he crossed the border from China by train. He got a red-carpet welcome with honor guard, military band and fluttering North Korean and Vietnamese flags. Kim was accompanied by his sister, Kim Yo Jong, an important aide. About a dozen bodyguards briefly ran alongside his limousine as he began the two-hour journey to Hanoi. Roads were closed with security forces in armored personnel carriers guarding the route to the Melia hotel, where Kim is staying. North Korean officials engaged in working-level talks for the summit briefed Kim after he arrived, the Norths state news agency, KCNA, said on Wednesday. At the Melia hotel, Kim "heard concrete details on the pattern of engagement between working-level delegations," KCNA said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. Visiting the North Korean embassy in Vietnam, Kim urged staff there to strengthen two-way ties in line with the needs of the times, KCNA added. Kim "will reunite with U.S. President Donald J. Trump from February 27 to 28 and conduct the historic second DPRK-U.S. summit," before embarking on a goodwill visit to Vietnam on March 1 and 2, the agency said. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also arrived on Tuesday and met Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh for talks. Tremendous Trump said before leaving Washington it would be "a very tremendous summit" and stressed the benefits to North Korea if it gave up its nuclear weapons. "With complete denuclearization, North Korea will rapidly become an economic powerhouse," he said. "Without it, just more of the same. Chairman Kim will make a wise decision!" In a speech on Sunday, however, Trump appeared to play down the possibility of a major breakthrough, saying he would be happy as long as North Korea maintained its pause on weapons testing. "Im not in a rush," he said. "I just dont want testing. As long as theres no testing, were happy." North Korea has not held a nuclear or missile test since 2017, but analysts say the two leaders have to move beyond summit symbolism. "The most basic, yet urgent, task is to come to a shared understanding of what denuclearization would entail," said Gi-Wook Shin, director of Stanfords Asia-Pacific Research Center. "The ambiguity and obscurity of the term denuclearization only exacerbates the skepticism about both the U.S. and North Korean commitments to denuclearization." While the United States is demanding North Korea give up all of its nuclear and missile programs, the North wants to see the removal of a U.S. nuclear umbrella for South Korea. Trumps departure from Washington comes at a time of increased pressure at home, and he is keen to show progress on a foreign policy issue that has confounded multiple predecessors. Some analysts fear that may lead him to pull his punches. "The main concern is whether the president, besieged by domestic distractions, will give away too much, and take a bad deal that leaves the United States less secure," said Victor Cha, a former White House official who took part in North Korea talks under previous Republican administrations. While Trump is in Hanoi, his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen is testifying before U.S. congressional committees, with the presidents business practices the main focus. Anticipation has also been rising about the impending release of Special Counsel Robert Muellers report on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, though a senior U.S. Justice Department official said on Friday it would not come this week. A South Korean presidential spokesman told reporters in Seoul the two sides might be able to agree to a formal end of the Korean War, a move long sought by North Korea, as the war concluded with an armistice, rather than a peace treaty. Reuters School, university students welcome US-North Korea summit delegates A group of school students are all smiles as they wave Vietnamese and American flags to welcome U.S. President Donald Trump on his way to meet with Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong at the Presidential Palace Wednesday morning. Another group of students strike a pose at the Presidential Palace. Boys and girls wave flags as the car carrying U.S. President Donald Trump passes them. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc holds an American flag and U.S. President Donald Trump holds a Vietnamese flag as they walk past cheering school children at the Presidential Palace Wednesday noon, after Trump's meeting with President Trong. Students from the Hanoi Law University wait in anticipation for Donald Trump's convoy to pass by. Student volunteers from several Hanoi universities parade around Hanoi on bikes Tuesday morning with flags of all there countries before North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reached the capital city. All the bicycles carry Vietnamese, North Korean and U.S. flags. High school students, some of them wearing the traditional ao dai stand ready to welcome North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the northern province of Lang Son Tuesday morning. The students holding North Korean and Vietnamese flags wore jackets in the chilly weather that prevailed Tuesday in the northern highlands province. Ngoc Thanh President Trump invites Vietnamese counterpart Trong to visit US U.S. President Donald Trump and Vietnam's Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, February 27, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh Trump announced the invitation during a meeting with Trong at Hanois Presidential Palace Wednesday morning, according to a press release by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Trump said he was impressed by the hospitality of the Vietnamese people and Vietnams growth. He thanked Vietnam for hosting the second North Korea-U.S. summit despite limited time. The U.S. would continue to boost its comprehensive partnership with Vietnam in the future, he added. Trong said Vietnam consistently practices an independent, multilateral foreign policy of active international integration on the principle of respecting the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations. Vietnam values strengthening its comprehensive partnership with the U.S., he added. During the meeting, Trong and Trump discussed international and regional issues of mutual interest, including the East Sea (internationally known as South China Sea) disputes. Trong also said Vietnam supports dialogue aimed at denuclearization and building long-term peace on the Korean Peninsula. Trump affirmed that the U.S. would continue to play an active role in the Indo-Pacific region to maintain order based on existing laws while pushing for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region. The two leaders also saw several economic cooperation agreements worth over $21 billion signed at the meeting. Khanh Lynh Old Vietnamese students remember a North Korea the world has forgotten Le Ngoc Tuc (right) and his wife look for the photos taken in North Korea at their home in Thanh Hoa Province. Photo by VnExpress/Hanh Pham Cheerful chatter and laughter filled the Hang Co train station in Hanoi on an early summer morning in 1965. More than 100 young men and women between 18-20 years of age were eagerly waiting to board a train to China en route Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. The youth were most outstanding high school students picked from all over northern provinces to study at North Korean universities. The students were seen off by some North Korean embassy officials. "We couldnt prepare much for you guys now, but when you get there, you will be taken care of thoroughly, for sure," the officials told the students. Among the 1965 overseas students group were Nguyen Quang Thuyet, 18 and Le Ngoc Tuc, 21. Thuyet hails from Thai Binh Province, 105km south of Hanoi, while Tucs hometown is central Thanh Hoa Province. The two later became classmates in polymeric chemistry major at the Hamheung University of Chemical Industry, two hours from Pyongyang by train. "In 1964, the American War in Vietnam had entered a fierce period, but the Party Central Committee believed that victory was imminent and the country would soon need manpower to serve post-war reconstruction," Thuyet told VnExpress. "I just wanted to go to the battlefield, so I secretly enrolled in the army, but my high school principal found out and confiscated my army job offer," said Thuyet, 72 years old now, recalling the revolutionary fervor that year. From the 1960s until the 1980s, socialist countries like the Soviet Union, Cuba, Romania, China and North Korea received thousands of Vietnamese students every year to attend universities in these countries. "So we were extremely favored by international friends," Thuyet said. When VnExpress reached Le Ngoc Tucs home in Thanh Hoa, he was teaching Korean to a young man about to migrate to South Korea for work. At 76, Tuc has difficulty walking due to war wounds sustained at Vietnams southwest border in 1979. Tuc was obviously happy as he rediscovered one photo after another of his time in North Korea between the pages of a huge pile of books. "It took a week to arrive at Sinuiju station, which is close to the North Korea-China border," said Tuc. When the Vietnamese students got off the train, a group of young North Korean men and women rushed to welcome them with singing and dancing. "We were very shy when we met girls in our own hometown, so when the Korean girls held our hands and danced with us, we were nervous. There were some boys so timid they just stood in a corner." Le Ngoc Tuc shows photographs taken in North Korea from 1965 to 1971. Photo by VnExpress/Hanh Pham Tuc recalled being dazzled by the tall buildings and wide streets in the country. For a few days in the capital, the Vietnamese students experienced for the first time the luxury of being in a fully-equipped hotel room with soap, toothpaste, pen and even sewing needles. "I dont mean to exaggerate, but in my hometown, I was sleeping on a pile of straw, and only got to know what a spring mattress was when I got there," Tuc said. The students had been advised before their departure that if they see anything good and beautiful abroad, they should try to learn it so that they can use it for their country later. Tuc was particularly impressed with the water system with 0.5m-diameter pipes leading straight from the mountain. "At that time, I only had water ditches at home." Education was one of North Korea's advantages, Tuc said, adding the government made special investments in children. "All the best of society was reserved for young children." He said every kindergarten had a piano, the teachers were highly skilled in playing the instrument and could dance well, too. "Mothers could leave their children at daycare for as long as they wanted, even for a week. Everything was covered by the state. "We were not only studying for free, but we also got free meals and decent places to sleep," Tuc said. After a year of language study, the students were sent to different universities. Two people lived in a fully-equipped room. Students got new clothes every season, and the tailors went to each room to get students' measurements. The students are not exaggerating. According to a report by economist Joseph Sang-hoon Chung published by the University of California, from 1954 to 1956, North Korea embarked on rebuilding the country and increased its national income by 220 percent and industrial production by 280 percent. "North Korea's economic growth during this period had no rivals in the world," the report said. By 1960, gross national income had skyrocketed by 680 percent compared to 14 years earlier. The report viewed the capital and technological progress in socialist countries as "the main material in the reconstruction process". Statistics show that North Korea's per capita income in 1967 was $222, 1.2 times larger than previous five years and 1.6 times that of South Korea. They really cared Tuc said that once he went to the hospital to have his tonsils removed. When the doctor saw how small and skinny he was, they asked him to stay in the hospital for further checkups and nourishment. "A friend visited me in the hospital and jokingly asked in Korean: 'Tuc, youre not dead yet?', The doctor was standing right there and overheard it. He rolled his eyes and scolded my friend [for the joke]," Tuc chuckled. "Thats how I saw they really cared about me. How much they really loved me." In addition to their major subjects, the Vietnamese students also studied political subjects like the history of the North Korean Labor Party, the revolutionary history of President Kim Il-sung and his family. Nguyen Quang Thuyet holds a poetry book in his hand containing original compositions inspired by all the memories he made in North Korea. Photo by VnExpress/Hanh Pham. "Time spent in North Korea was a beautiful time of youth," said Tuc and Thuyen. Both said they were "country boys who were obedient and cowardly and only focused on studying and did not dare to think about love," but they gossiped about love stories between Vietnamese students and North Korean girls, though citizens of the two countries were not yet allowed to be together then. Tuc talked about a Korean girl who was so madly in love with his roommate that every week she took a train from Pyongyang to Sinuiju station, about 300km away, to meet her boyfriend. "After that, I think the Vietnamese embassy almost begged her to keep the diplomatic principle between the two countries," Tuc said. The youthful vibrations remain though Thuyet and Tuc are their 70s. In 1970, before graduation, Thuyet and Tuc were assigned to do internships at a metallurgical factory. Thuyet still has a notebook of poems he penned about a Korean girl he was in love with. Nguyen Quang Thuyet shows a poem he wrote in North Korea called "Visiting the homeland of Kim Il-sung." Photo by VnExpress/Hanh Pham. "My life was transformed because of North Korea," Thuyet told VnExpress in his spacious home of over 100 square meters, a high-class apartment building in the heart of Hanoi. In 1989, just a few years after Vietnam opened its doors to the world, Thuyet worked as an interpreter for South Korean garment processing enterprises, besides his main job as a chemical engineer. "At that time, $250 per month was a huge sum," Thuyet said. Later, he was promoted as manager in a South Korean factory with a monthly salary of several thousand dollars, supervised 5,000 workers. "Thanks to North Korea, now that Im old, I can not only take care of myself but also help my children", he said. "I have two homelands. North Korea is my second home. Their affection for us was very deep," Tuc said. Reacting to the Trump-Kim summit frenzy, he said, "seeing that the two countries are getting closer and closer to peace, I feel really happy." English French Press Release Roissy, February 27, 2019 Air France-KLM Group's position following share acquisition of the Dutch state Following a meeting on 27 February 2019, the Air France-KLM Group Board of Directors acknowledges that the Dutch state has acquired a 12.68% stake in the share capital of the Air France-KLM Group, without any consultation. This acquisition occurs after discussions with all stakeholders including the Dutch state, and the unanimous approval by the Group of the managerial organization under the leadership of Group CEO Benjamin Smith, in a spirit of open dialogue and discussion. The Group was also ready to confirm to the Dutch government commitments to continue strengthening Schiphol's development as a European hub and to support KLM's development. The Board of Directors will closely monitor the consequences of this new participation on the Group, its employees, its governance structure and its market value. The Board will ensure that this initiative will not negatively impact the new working dynamic of the Group and its companies, recently initiated by the Group CEO. The Air France-KLM Board calls for all managers and staff to focus on commercial developments and operational improvements to help position the Air France-KLM Group as the leading air transport group in Europe. Press +33 1 41 56 56 00 Website: www.airfranceklm.com North Korean delegation visits VinFast factory in Hai Phong VinFast, the car manufacturing unit of Vietnams largest private conglomerate Vingroup, is Vietnams first full-fledged carmaker. The North Korean delegation of more than 20 members included three deputy chairmen of the Korean Worker's Party, Ri Su-yong, Kim Pyong-hee, and O Su-yong; Minister of the People's Armed Forces No Kwang-chol, and Gangwon Provincial Party Secretary Park Yong-nam. They were accorded a warm welcome at the factory gate by VinFast trainees lined up in two rows, waving North Korean and Vietnamese flags. VinFast trainees line up to welcome the North Korean delegation. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa At the ceremony, the North Korean delegation listened to representatives of Vingroup presenting the business and operation models of carmaker VinFast, telecommunication equipment producer Vinsmart and agriculture production company VinEco. The North Korean delegation listens to a presentation on Vingroups business models. Photo by VnExpress/Anh Tu The delegation also visited a VinFast factory making auto chassis and electric motorcycles. The North Korean delegation visits facilities for producing auto chassis. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa Before returning to Hanoi, North Korean leaders were to visit the hi-tech agricultural zone in Vinh Bao District, northern Hai Phong City. VinFast showed off its first two car models, a sedan and an SUV, at the Paris Motor Show in France last October, just a year after the companys incorporation, grabbing the attention of the local and international media. The automaker plans to test its first vehicle for safety parameters in Europe on March 6. This announcement came after VinFasts Hai Phong factory successfully manufactured the first body shell of the Lux A2.0, a sedan. Anh Tu Major aviation deals inked as US, Vietnam presidents meet A Vietjet aircraft takes off from the Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo by Shutterstock/Kittikun Yoksap Budget airline Vietjet signed with U.S. airplane manufacturer Boeing Company a deal to buy 100 new narrow-body 737 MAX airplanes worth $12.7 billion, according to the manufacturers list prices. "The deal is an important move for us to meet our international flight network expansion plan with a higher capacity," Vietjet president and CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao said. Vietjet also finalised a $5.3 billion long-term engine support agreement with General Electric for the LEAP-1B engines in its fleet. New airline Bamboo Airways also inked a deal with Boeing for 10 wide-body 787-9 Dreamliners worth almost $3 billion. The carrier, owned by property and leisure company FLC Group, had placed a provisional order last year for 20 Boeing 787 jets worth $5.6 billion at list prices. The new deal brings the total number of Boeing 787 that Bamboo Airways has ordered to 30, worth total value of almost $8.6 billion. First aircraft are expected to be delivered in the third quarter of next year. Bamboo Airways is preparing to launch flights to the U.S. from late 2019 or early 2020, after Vietnam earlier this month received a Category 1 rating from the U.S, allowing local airlines to operate direct flights to the U.S. "Direct flights between the two countries will not only push tourism activities, but also further facilitate bilateral trade and investment," FLC president Trinh Van Quyet said in a statement. Bamboo Airways is also considering the purchase of 25 narrow-body Boeing 737 MAX worth $2.5 billion, the statement said. Vietnam Airlines signed a $300-million for strategic partnership deal in aviation information technology with U.S.-based technology company Sabre Corporation. The deal is expected to help the state-owned Vietnamese airline increase IT applications in flight management and passenger service. Sabre has been cooperating with Vietnam airlines for over 20 years. Last year, they had signed a $400-million aviation technology application deal. Vietnams aviation sector has been booming in recent years. Local airlines served almost 50 million passengers last year, up 10.1 percent from 2017, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam. Dat Nguyen Kim Jong-un visit to boost Vietnam-North Korea trade and investment ties Vietnam and North Korean flags are hung on a bridge in northern city of Hai Phong. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Chinh Pham Tien Van, former Vietnamese Counselor in North Korea, and former Vietnamese Ambassador to South Korea, said Vietnam can promote export of consumer goods and food to North Korea if North Korea improves relations with the U.S. and opens its market. Pyongyang, in return, could export minerals to Hanoi and the two sides can also start barter exchanges, he told VnExpress. Vietnamese private enterprises can participate in infrastructure construction projects, real estate construction and tourism services, contribute capital to consumer goods factories, generating employment in North Korea. The two countries also have the prospect of developing tourism by establishing a train line running from Vietnam to China and North Korea, or even a direct flight route, he said. Speaking about the official visit to Vietnam by Kim Jong-un, Van said believes the North Korean leader will boost relations with Vietnam, and changes will take place in bilateral political and economic cooperation. "When Pyongyang needs to expand foreign relations with countries, it will be very important to strengthen cooperation with Hanoi, a traditional friend." Vietnam can share with North Korea its experience in innovation, opening up the market, and attracting investment. From its perspective, Vietnams support for North Korea will be part of its desire to contribute to the peace process on the Korean Peninsula. "I think leaders of the two countries (Vietnam and North Korea) will express their desire to preserve and develop traditional relations, will strengthen exchanges of high-level delegations, and sign some more legal agreements. The two sides will also discuss the potential for cooperation and market research, but there will be no breakthrough in economic cooperation at this point in time," Van said. Meetings between the top leaders of the both countries will form a basis for developing good relations, and more favorable relations between ministries, branches and localities will stem from this. Specific cooperation will depend on the international context, when sanctions against North Korea are removed, Van said. He also said he was optimistic about the outcome of the second North Korea-U.S. summit which will take place in Hanoi on Wednesday and Thursday, with both leaders from the two countries determined to resolve the nuclear problem on the Korean Peninsula. U.S. President Trump has great incentive to solve the North Korean problem, when his predecessors failed. "The fact that Trump will directly meet Kim Jong-un makes me believe he would go to the end," Van said. North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un, on the other hand, will use this opportunity to leverage the results of his nuclear program to negotiate with related parties. "Through discussion with the North Koreans, I understand that their nuclear program over the past few decades is not to compete strategically with the U.S. and other countries, but to ensure the security of their institutions and ensure economic development. "I think that North Korea will neither develop its nuclear program, nor implement a policy of austerity forever," he added. Khanh Lynh Kim Jong-un changes hairstyle on train to Vietnam Kim Jong-un's hairstyle has changed before (L) and after (R) coming to Vietnam. Photo by Reuters and VnExpress/Giang Huy When he boarded a train in Pyongyang three days earlier, Korean Central Television showed him with his hair parted in the middle. His hairstyle remained unchanged at Nanning station in China in TBS News photos. But when he arrived in Vietnam, his hair was combed backward and gelled neatly. Kim has always appeared in public with undercut hair called paeki in Korean. Experts say he wants to look like his grandfather and the founder of North Korea, Kim Il-sung. Kim's hairstyle is very popular in North Korea among both young and middle-aged people. Men are encouraged to pay homage to the leader by copying his hairstyle, Chosun Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper, claimed. Kim became his country's leader at a young age and so North Korean youths want to copy his style just like other young people around the world, who imitate the looks of celebrities they idolize, Kang Dong-wan, a professor at Dong Ah University in Busan, South Korea, said. Anh Ngoc Obama, Trudeau, Turnbull and Prince William are among celebrities drawn to streetside eateries and cafes in Vietnam. Photo by mgift Coffee One afternoon in November 2017, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Vy Cafe on Le Thanh Ton Street in HCMCs District 1 and had a coffee and a chat with Nguyen Cong Hiep, a former employee of the Canadian consulate. Trudeau wore a white shirt with sleeves casually rolled up. At the cafe, he ordered a moka robusta that cost VND30,000 ($1.29) a cup. He sat on a small folding chair on the sidewalk with a plastic stool for a table like any regular Saigon coffee drinker. Trudeaus visit made the shop hugely popular. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy In November 2016, Britains Prince William was spotted in a cafe very similar to Vy on a sidewalk in Hanois Pho Bac Street during his first trip to Vietnam. He was with pop star Hong Nhung (pink outfit), popular musician Thanh Bui and actor Xuan Bac, who were ambassadors for a wildlife protection campaign in Vietnam. After their coffee date, Prince William walked to the famous Ngoc Son Temple, Hanois most visited temple on a small island on the Sword Lake in the heart of the capital city. Photo by VnExpress/Dac Thanh Banh mi When Vietnam hosted the APEC summit in Da Nang in November 2017, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull bought a $0.43 banh mi from a street vendor. Banh mi is a baguette stuffed with anything from grilled pork, chicken, cold cuts, and cucumber slices, to cilantro, pickled carrots, liver pate, and a swipe of mayonnaise and chili sauce. He and chef Luke Nguyen, an Australian of Vietnamese origin, bought the sandwich while taking a stroll. They ate the banh mi sitting on a sidewalk stool. Photo by VnExpress/Dac Thanh Before leaving the shop, Turnbull shook hands with other banh mi eaters and locals and posed for several photos with them. Photo courtesy of Anthony Bourdais Facebook Page. Bun cha In May 2016, despite his tight schedule, U.S. President Obama took time off for a relaxed dinner with the late chef Anthony Bourdain. They ordered a combo of a bun cha portion, a seafood fried roll and a Hanoi beer in a restaurant on Le Van Huu Street in Hai Ba Trung District. A bun cha is a big bowl of savory, sweet and sour fish sauce with meatballs and thick pork slices served with a plate of white vermicelli. Photo by Reuters Before leaving the restaurant, Obama shared a moment with the shop owners and fellow eaters and flashed a thumbs-up. Obama and Bourdains visit put the restaurant on the tourist map and drew massive interest in the dish they had. The owners even named the combo after Obama. Photo by VnExpress/Huong Chi The restaurant has been around for more than 20 years. The bun cha here is famous for its distinct soft and thick nature and aroma. Bun cha is typically served with seafood spring rolls, crab spring rolls and grilled skewers. Photo courtesy of TripAdvisor Pho Bill Clintons historic visit to Vietnam in 2000 was spiced up with pho, Vietnams best known noodle dish. The occasion marked the former US President and his wifes first visit to Vietnam, 25 years after the Vietnam War. The Clinton family visited the Pho Co restaurant near the Temple of Literature in Ba Dinh District. When the couple visited Saigon, they went to a pho shop near Ben Thanh Market in District 1. According to the restaurant owner, Clinton was genial and relaxed and took pictures with the staff. U.S. President Donald Trump met with Vietnamese leaders during his trip for the second summit with Chairman Kim Jong-un in Hanoi Wednesday, when he called Vietnam a "good example" for North Korea. Trump held talks with Vietnam's Party chief and President Nguyen Phu Trong, and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, praising the "tremendous progress" Vietnam has made since his last visit in late 2017. He thanked Vietnam for hosting the second summit between him and North Korean leader Kim. "It's a very important summit in Vietnam because you're really are an example of what can happen with good thinking," he said, suggesting that North Korea can enjoy the same growth as Vietnam if it denuclearizes and achieves peace with the United States. Both sides also witnessed the signing of major aviation deals. President Trump arrived in Hanoi Tuesday night for his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who came in Vietnam after a more than 60-hour train journey in the morning. He is set to have a one-on-one conversation and dinner with Chairman Kim later on Wednesday. This is Trump's second visit to Vietnam after November 2017, when he attended the APEC Summit in Da Nang and paid a state visit to Hanoi. Experts observing the summit said Trump and Kim were trying to show that they are getting along. They knew the whole world was watching as Trump walked towards Kim and the two leaders clasped and turned in sync to face the cameras. "They are both making an effort to show their relationship has improved since the last time," Allan Pease, an Australian body language expert, told Reuters. "The mirroring between them is quite strong," she said, adding that it was in contrast with their first meeting when they sought to project a sense of command with "alpha male" handshakes. Singapore-based body language expert Karen Leong told Reuters that Kim looked far more confident compared to Singapore, while Trump welcomed Kim in a more open, conciliatory approach. "Trump wants the rapport. He is not here to become the bully, he is here to win Kim," she said. English French MONTREAL, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OPUS ONE Resources Inc. (the Company or OPUS ONE) (TSX Venture Exchange: OOR), is pleased to announce that the till Survey carried out in the summer and fall of 2018 returned three gold targets, including two that are located in portions of the property that were not known to hosts gold showings. Overall, the survey indicates that the entire southern portion of the property host anomalous gold in the till. Nevertheless, three anomalous areas stand out from assay results as well as gold counts. The westernmost anomaly is found in an area previously known to host gold showings in trenches and drilling. The Survey confirms the importance of this sector as a potential target for gold mineralization. Two anomalous areas were also discovered in the southeastern portion of the property where no gold was ever reported. This is a very exciting development on our Fecteau property . These anomalies are of the same level (in ppbs Au) as anomalies found down ice at Monster Lake or Eleonore, according to Remi Charbonneau, Ph.D., P. Geo, who carried out the survey and interpreted the results. The best till result returned 1920 ppb Au which is a very high value for this type of sample treatment. Anomalies are defined by areas exhibiting multiple results above 150 ppb Au. Typically, in this sector of the Abitibi, sources of gold anomalies are located up ice a few kilometres to the northeast of the anomalies. The property is large enough to host these potential gold bearing structures. The company intends to extend its till sampling coverage on the property as well as complete a program of boulder tracing in order to define the sources of these anomalies and propose trenching and eventually drilling programs. Orogenic gold is known to occur in the district, including on the Fecteau property, in the form of gold bearing quartz veins. The most promising project of this very prospective district is Windfall where a significant gold deposit is being outlined by Osisko Mining. For the management of the company, results of the till sampling program were very satisfying and justify additional field work for the coming summer. The objective of Opus One is to be able to define drill targets for the winter of 2019-20. In other news, the company has decided to abandon two of its options in the Abitibi, the WinWin and Grizzly projects. After two years of exploration, it was decided that results and market conditions did not justify paying for coming commitments on these projects. The company intends to continue its effort to find quality acquisitions in Quebec as well as in Latin America where its team possesses extensive experience. Mr. Louis Morin, CEO, states: "Opus One remained active through the course of 2018, although it was a challenging year for mining exploration companies. We took a very careful approach in order to maximize the efficiency of the companys resources while avoiding dilution in a difficult market. On a cost-reward basis, we took decisions not to continue our work commitment for two properties we had optioned as results obtained did not justify spending more of our money. Results generated by till Survey program on our Fecteau Property took a while to obtain as this is a painstaking sampling / assay / compilation work plan. Nevertheless, it was worth the wait as 3 totally new and significant gold targets have been outlined. The Fecteau Property is well located within Urban-Barry gold camp, one of the busiest mining districts in Canada. Opus One is actually reviewing different projects located in Latin America countries that are mining friendly and where geo-political risk is minimal." OPUS ONE RESOURCES will exhibit in Toronto at Booth 2125 during PDAC 2019 convention from March 3rd till March 6th in Toronto Convention Center. You are welcome to visit our booth and meet with our team for an update about the ongoing and upcoming activities. About OPUS ONE Resources Inc. Opus One Resources Inc. is a mining exploration company focused on discovering high quality gold and base metals deposits within strategically located properties in proven mining camps, sometimes close to existing mines in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, north-western Quebec and north-eastern Ontario - one of the most prolific gold mining areas in the world. Opus One holds assets in Val-d'Or, Matagami and Chibougamau areas. Bachelor Extension property is adjacent to Bonterra Resources Inc.- Bachelor Gold Mine, Vezza Extension and Vezza North are located few kilometers West and North of Nottaway Resources Vezza Mine. Courvillle property is located east of Val DOr. Opus One has also optioned Fecteau property, easily accessible by a broad network of all-season roads: Fecteau property, located in the Urban-Barry greenstone belt, east of Osisko Minings Windfall Lake deposit, currently one of the most active exploration areas in Canada. Pierre ODowd, P. Geo, acts as a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information may include, among others, statements regarding the future plans, costs, objectives or performance of OPUS ONE, or the assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. In this news release, words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "likely", "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "plan", "estimate" and similar words and the negative form thereof are used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether, or the times at or by which, such future performance will be achieved. No assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur, including the development of the Fecteau Property, or if any of them do so, what benefits OPUS ONE will derive. Forward-looking information are based on information available at the time and/or management's good-faith belief with respect to future events and are subject to known or unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond OPUS ONE Resources Inc.' control. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to, those described under "Risk Factors in OPUS ONEs management discussion and analysis for the year ended August 31, 2018, a copy of which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com , and could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements. OPUS ONE does not intend, nor does OPUS ONE undertake any obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking information contained in this news release to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except if required by applicable laws. Neither the 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. For more information, please contact: Louis Morin, CEO & Director T (514) 591-3988 Info@OpusOneResources.com Michael W. Kinley, CPA, CA President, CFO & Director T (902) 826-1579 F (902) 826-2550 C (902) 402-0388 mkinley@winassoc.biz Visit Opus Ones website: www.OpusOneResources.com Photos accompanying this announcement are available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5858bf65-1b50-4640-9c83-459efa4c82de http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e58869bd-a068-4b88-864a-a14bf6074fbb Out on the hustings, Democratic candidates who pay attention to the voters are learning quickly that Trump, Putin and Mueller aren't as pressing for them that they are for MSNBC hosts. As Alexi McCammond explained at Axious yesterday, what the presidential candidates want to hear about are issues that impact them day to day, "most often health care, climate and immigration." At the Iowa town halls with candidates there were lots of "hard-hitting questions about biofuels, money in politics, taxing the wealthy, preventive health care, arts in education, immigration reform, the environment, abolishing the filibuster rule in the Senate, and foreign policy." McCammond believes that "at least in the first caucus state, the most active Democrats don't seem to be driven by personalities, polls or media portrayals." Monday progressive Democrat Audrey Denney launched her campaign for Congress in northeast California, a very rural and small town corner of a state everyone assumes to be universally blue. They're wrong. This district has a PVI of R+11 and Hillary scored a miserable 36.5% of the vote in 2016. Last year, a first time candidate with ZERO help from the DCCC or any of their affiliates, did a lot better, holding entrenched Trump puppet Doug LaMalfa to a 160,046 (54.9%) 131,548 (45.1%) win, the best any Democrat has very done against LaMalfa. Denney also won the biggest and third biggest of the 11 counties in the district, Butte and Nevada counties, while giving LaMalfa a close call in Siskiyou. I asked her what voters in the district want to talk with her about when she goes from town to town. Unsurprisingly, she told me that "the voters in my district are the most concerned with issues that directly impact their lives. Rural healthcare, forest health and fire prevention, and protecting Social Security are of major concern. We talk a lot about Career and Technical Education as a path to better lives and better jobs for many people. Im often asked about solutions to our challenging infrastructure issues--dangerous rural roads and rural broadband. There are large swaths of my district where people dont have cell phone or internet access. Eight percent of the population of CA-01 are veterans, twice the national average. Im often asked how we can improve services, care, and opportunities for our servicemen and women. People are concerned about the real, practical, challenging issues that they see in their everyday lives." Progressive Democrat Eva Putzova is running for Congress in a vast district that includes part or all of almost every region of Arizona. It is very rural with Flagstaff as a population hub and with lots of small towns. The district has a PVI of R+2 and Trump edged Hillary by just one point in 2016. I asked Eva the same question-- what do voters in the district want to talk with her about when she goes from town to town to introduce herself. "When I visit with Arizonans in their living rooms," she said, "the conversations vary but two issues tend to rise to the top-- healthcare and climate change. Just today, a father shared with me how his 25-year old daughter will be getting off his family health insurance plan and can't afford to pay for her own plan. Or a grandmother expressed her worries over the future of her newly born grand daughter in the world where effects of climate change lead to frequent natural disasters and displacement of large populations of people. Even when we talk about big challenges, people don't despair. Instead, they see a great opportunity and demand political courage to invest in the future of the next generations. And that's what Medicare for All and the Green New Deal are for Arizonans I meet: great investments worthy to pursue and champion." Kara Eastman nearly beat Trump-puppet Don Bacon in the Nebraska district that encompasses Omaha and suburbs and small towns around it. This swing district has a PVI of R+4 and in recent elections it was won by Obama, Romney and Trump. Last year, a first time candidate with no real help from the DCCC or any of their affiliates, Kara did a lot better than Hillary's 46.0%, holding Bacon to a 51-49% win, just 5,000 votes separating them. She actually out-right won the Omaha part of the district but struggled in some of the rural parts of Sarpy County. Again, I asked her what voters in the district want to talk with her about when she goes from neighborhood to neighborhood, town to town. "Voters here in the Nebraska Second," she said, "talk about healthcare-- rising premiums and having to choose between medical care and putting food on the table. Education and student debt is also a big topic at the doors. In general, people tell me they are looking for someone who will stand up to the corruption they see in our current system. They are looking for someone to bring government back to the people." Down in Texas Mike Siegel has had similar experiences running for Congress in a very gerrymandered district that incongruously goes from north Austin through a very rural part of Texas into the Houston suburbs. The district has a PVI of R+9 and Trump beat Hillary 52.3% to 43.2% in 2016. Mike did better than Hillary (47%)-- holding McCaul down to a bare 51.1% win. When I asked Mike what voters in the district want to talk with him about he said "the leading issues are as diverse as the constituents. On the Houston side of the district, in towns like Cypress and Katy that were hard-hit by Hurricane Harvey, a big concern is that the federal government has bungled the disaster relief program. So even though Congress authorized several billion in aid to help folks rebuild their homes, the Ben Carson-led Department of Housing and Urban Development has not published rules for the relief program, and had to to announce they won't be ready until May at the earliest. This incompetence affects thousands of families in the District. "In more rural areas, like Waller County, the concerns range from needing good jobs to needing the Postal Service to assign a zip code. The latter issue sounds completely mundane, until you realize that the lack of a zip code in the town of Prairie View means that students at the historically-black college, Prairie View A&M can't get on-campus mail delivery, which in turn makes it hard to register to vote, and which in turn disenfranchises a huge portion of the 9,000 student voters. "The TX-10 Indivisible chapter recently held a town hall, on February 16, 2019, that the incumbent was invited to, but of course McCaul did not attend. All to the better. I took questions from 36 participants, ranging from concerns about the emergency declaration, family separation policies, and the Mueller investigation, to several Green New Deal questions, concerns about the Border Wall disrupting fragile ecosystems, and a pointed question about a person who committed suicide while in Waller County jail-- the same place where Sandra Bland tragically died in custody. "My goal is to keep getting deeper into each community. On one hand, this puts more pressure on me to be prepared on a wide range of issues, but on the other, this is what representation looks like, and this is what it takes to flip a district that was drawn to give the Republican a 20 point advantage." I'm sure it isn't lost on anyone that no one mentioned Trump and no one mentioned Putin or Mueller or Ivanka or Jared or Roger Stone. 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. LINN COUNTY SHERIFF Good Samaritan 7:10 a.m. Monday, 31000 block Bellinger Scale Road, Lebanon. A deputy assisted a man who had stopped to help jump-start a vehicle stuck in snow and then ran out of fuel. The responding deputy provided 5 gallons of gasoline. Stolen sheeting 11:09 a.m. Monday, 5800 NE Tuscan Loop, Millersburg. A Cascade Homes representative reported that 60 sheets of Oregon Strand Board had been stolen from a yard. The sheeting was valued at $670. Ignored signs 12:29 p.m. Monday, 45000 block Quartzville Road. A deputy found four vehicles whose drivers said they'd ignored road-closure signs to play in the snow. They were warned that ignoring closures could result in a $265 fine. They were also warned about pulling a snowboarder behind a pickup. Phone scam 12:39 p.m. 41000 block Highway 226, Scio. A caller reported being a victim of a telephone scam, losing $600. Fraudulent account 1:10 p.m. Monday, 800 block Erica Way, Harrisburg. A caller reported the opening of a fraudulent Verizon Wireless account. The company advised the caller to file a police report. November 29, 1926 February 4, 2019 Velma Kirkpatrick, loving wife and mother of two sons, passed away peacefully at Synergy Foster Home in Tigard, Oregon, at 92 years of age. Velma was born in Oregon City, Oregon to Adolph Deininger and Dollie Ragsdale Deininger. She grew up on their family farm in Redland, Oregon, graduated from Oregon City High School and soon after worked at the Milwaukee First State Bank, where she met her future husband Edward Kirkpatrick. They were married for 59 years. A few years later they made Albany their permanent home. Velma volunteered at Grand Prairie Grade School as a room mother through her sons grade school years and later worked at Periwinkle Grade School. She enjoyed traveling in their camp trailer, square dancing and card games with family and many friends. Velma was a sweet, caring, loving person and will be greatly missed by all. She is survived by her two sons, James Kirkpatrick and Debra, and Dean Kirkpatrick and Jackie; grandson, Matthew Cowan and Carina; great granddaughter, Kieran; and cousin, Gertrude Deininger Thompson. We would like to express our deepest appreciation to Synergy Foster Home for their loving care of our mother. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on March 5 at the Albany United Presbyterian Church, 330 SW 5th Ave., Albany, Oregon. June 13, 1925 August 28, 2018 Quitman Earon Mac McKee left this earth to go be with Jesus and his Sweetie on August 28, 2018. He died at Regency Park Place in Corvallis after a decline in health since his wife, Veda, had passed away in February. He was 93 years old. Mac was born on June 13, 1925, in Moxie, Arkansas. He left Arkansas on a train to California as soon as he came of age. He enjoyed working on the Los Angeles trolley system as one of his first jobs in California. Mac met the love of his life while working at the Norwalk La Mirada School District and married for a second time on August 13, 1966. It was a marriage that would last 53 years. Mac had three daughters by his previous marriage, Sue, Glenda, and Charlotte, and he was like a father to Vedas two daughters, Kathy and Carol. When Mac and Veda retired from their jobs in California they moved to Wren, Oregon. Mac wasnt retired for long when he took a job as an electrician for the Corvallis School District. Firefighters from Albany, Tangent, Philomath, Jefferson and Corvallis responded to a two-alarm fire at Novaks Hungarian Restaurant, 208 Second Ave. SW in Albany, at 8:06 a.m. Wednesday. Although the cause of the fire was unknown Wednesday afternoon, Fire Department spokeswoman Sandy Roberts said the fire is believed to have started in the basement of the building. Restaurant owner Karen Novak said an investigator told her he thought the fire was electrical in nature. "They're going to be looking into it further," she said. Novak said that in a best-case scenario, her family's eatery could reopen in two or three weeks. "The restaurant is still standing. We're only missing a chunk of floor. There's definitely room for improvement, but things could have been a whole lot worse," she added. "There was a lot of smoke. It's really stinky in here," Novak said. Roberts said the second alarm was called after the source of the fire could not be located immediately. We got here and there was a lot of smoke, Roberts said. It was full of smoke. We also had to work in Margin Coffee to make sure the smoke wasnt coming from there. An Amtrak train stranded for roughly 36 hours about 40 miles outside of Eugene en route from Seattle to Los Angeles pulled into the Albany station Tuesday afternoon with little fanfare. About a half-dozen riders debarked in Albany, including Tyler and Ana McCourt, who were on their way to San Jose, Calif., before the train struck a tree near Oakridge on Sunday night, stranding the 183 passengers aboard train 11 on the Coast Starlight route. It was long but amazing, Tyler said, calling the incident more like camping. The staff had a positive attitude and kept everyone talking and really positive, Ana added. A winter storm on Monday dumped record snowfall in the area, subsequently causing power outages and stretching the trains stay in Oakridge to 36 hours. Passengers were kept onboard with Amtrak citing food and supplies readily available on the train. Passengers varied on when they would reach California. The McCourts planned to spend the night with Tylers family, who moved to Albany after being affected by California's Camp Fire last summer. They hoped to fly from Portland to San Jose on Wednesday. Fellow passenger Diane Stutack hoped to make it to Martinez, Calif., by plane after spending time with family in Newport. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Mayor Sharon Konopa on Monday vetoed an ordinance that would have brought the city into compliance with a state law requiring cities allow accessory dwelling units in residential, single-family zones. To this day, I have not heard one substantial reason to lessen our existing rules for ADUs. I base my decision by the citizens who actually live in our neighborhoods and not by who has a financial gain in this matter, the mayors veto read. The city council can attempt to override the veto during Wednesday nights council meeting. The current vote count has four councilors in support of altering city code to allow ADUs up to 900 square feet and two councilors against the ordinance. Five votes are needed to override the veto. Konopa warned councilors that she would be vetoing the ordinance for the second time during the Feb. 13 council meeting. Monday night, Councilor Bessie Johnson challenged the validity of the veto that did not include the ordinance number or date when it was submitted. City attorney Sean Kidd said the ordinance number did not have to be included for the veto to be valid. NEW YORK, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Levi & Korsinsky announces it has commenced an investigation of NiSource Inc. (NiSource or the Company) (NYSE: NI) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws. On September 13, 2018, dozens of gas explosions destroyed homes in Andover, North Andover, and Lawrence, Massachusetts, killing one person and injuring more than a dozen. Andover's Fire Chief subsequently announced that investigators suspected over-pressurization of a gas main belonging to Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, a unit of NiSource. Then on February 11, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission notified NiSource that it is conducting an investigation related to disclosures made prior to the incident. To obtain additional information, go to: https://www.zlk.com/pslra-1/nisource-inc-loss-form or contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. either via email at jlevi@levikorsinsky.com or by telephone at (212) 363-7500, toll-free: (877) 363-5972. Levi & Korsinsky is a national firm with offices in New York, California, Connecticut and Washington D.C. The firms attorneys have extensive expertise in prosecuting securities litigation involving financial fraud, representing investors throughout the nation in securities and shareholder lawsuits. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Bill Chizek/iStock(WASHINGTON) -- The Supreme Court wrestled vigorously Wednesday with how to decide when religious symbols can be placed on public land and maintained by government resources. The justices seemed inclined to preserve a 40-foot, 16-ton Latin cross in Bladensburg, Maryland, erected as a memorial to fallen World War I soldiers. At the same time, they appeared hesitant to establish a sweeping new test for the constitutionality of public religious displays. Do you want all of them taken down? Which ones to you think can stand? Justice Samuel Alito asked the lawyers representing the American Humanist Association, which is challenging the Bladensburg cross. Do totem poles need to be torn down? They have spiritual and religious significance similar to a Star of David or a cross," said Chief Justice John Roberts. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment says that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion" but the exact meaning and intent of the phrase are still widely debated. The Supreme Court's years of decisions on the matter have been highly fact-based, varied and inconsistent. The case heard Wednesday centers on a cross-shaped memorial erected in 1925 to honor 49 Americans who fought in WWI. It was first built on private property using private funds, but in 1961, the Maryland Park Commission took possession of the land and memorial and has since used state money to maintain them. Three local residents filed suit in federal court in 2014 seeking to have the monument removed from public property or modified into a non-religious memorial. Two lower courts split on whether the display improperly promotes Christianity. Does the constitution only prohibit religious displays that "coerce" obedience to a religion, or those that simply "promote" or "endorse" one religion over another? What amounts to "excessive entanglement" between government and a particular religion? The justices grappled with those questions. Monica Miller, representing the plaintiffs opposing the Bladensburg cross, conceded that some symbols can be stripped of religious context and serve a secular purpose. She pointed to a display of the Ten Commandments in the Supreme Court's own chamber as an example, saying that -- in context -- it was a permissible "symbol of law." But, she argued, there is no history of anyone using a Latin crosses to commemorate Jews, Muslims and atheists." Neal Katyal, a former solicitor general for the Obama administration, and Jeffrey Wall, acting solicitor general in the Trump administration, both defended the cross, arguing the memorial should stand both because it serves a "secular purpose" of memorializing American war dead and because its shape is consistent with "tradition and history." The easiest way to resolve this case is to say, in the wake of World War I, crosses like this one have an independent secular meaning," said Katyal. It is the preeminent symbol of Christianity, interjected Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We dont disagree, said Katyal, "but crosses have a second meaning and thats what makes it constitutional. What the nine justices decide could have a sweeping impact on communities nationwide, where historic war memorials and government buildings bearing religious imagery are commonplace. The big question, constitutional scholars say, is what reasoning the court will give and how broadly they rule. The First Amendment religious freedom case is the first of its kind in 15 years -- one of the highest-profile on the court's docket this term. It has drawn intense media attention and protests given the stakes. Minutes before oral arguments began, a protester inside the court building was tackled by police as he rushed the stairs to the chamber screaming about the justices: "Thus says the lord. If they support abortion, they will burn in hell for eternity." A decision in the case is expected by the end of June. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Tamil Nadu: Seeks Centre's intervention for release of 3 fishermen detained in Iran February 27,2019 | Source: Devdiscourse The Tamil Nadu government Tuesday sought the Centre's intervention for the release of three fishermen from the state detained in Iran last month. Chief Minister K Palaniswami wrote to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, seeking her intervention in the matter. It was reported that the three fishermen from Kanniyakumari district were employed as fishing labourers in a mechanised fishing boat belonging to a Saudi Arabian national, he said. "They (fishermen) seemed to have ventured for fishing from Tharine fishing base of Saudi Arabia on January 2, 2019. While fishing in the sea, they were reportedly abducted by smugglers, who abandoned them off the coast of Busher in Iran on January 7," he said. The abandoned fishermen were rescued by the Iranian Coast Guard and 'detained' in Busher, he said. "I request you to direct the Embassies of India in Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to ensure the immediate release and repatriation of these poor innocent Indian fishermen to India," Palaniswami told Swaraj. He also called for steps to ensure that the fishermen received their just and due wages from the Saudi owner. Pakistan: Local fishermen get possession of sea fisheries in Badin, Thatta, PA told by Tahir Siddiqui February 27,2019 | Source: Dawn The Sindh Assembly was on Monday informed that possession of the sea fisheries at the zero points of Thatta and Badin had been handed over to the local fishermen. Furnishing a statement and replying to the written and oral queries of the lawmakers from opposition benches during the assemblys Question Hour, Livestock and Fisheries Minister Abdul Bari Pitafi said that the provincial government got the area withdrawn from the occupants to hand it over to the local fishermen. To a supplementary question, he said that 450 million tonnes fish was exported last year. He said that almost entire catch from the sea and other inland fisheries was exported. He stressed upon the need of promoting inland fishing and said that the target of the department was to bring scientific and artificial ways of enhancing fishing. The minister also urged the need to decrease fish trawling in the sea and said that marine life should be preserved. We want fish trawling to be decreased so as to ensure controlled fishing from the sea as well as facilitating our local fishermen, he added. He said that the department was taking measures to revive marine life in lakes, informing that 800,000 and 600,000 fish were released in Manchhar and Keenjhar lakes, respectively. No livestock census conducted since 2006 Replying to a question from Arif Mustafa Jatoi of the Grand Democratic Alliance, the minister said there was no contract system in vogue for freshwater fishing across the province. We have a licence system and only the bona fide fishermen receive the licences under the Sindh Fisheries Rules 1983 and Sindh Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2011, he said. Mr Pitafi said that the fisheries department earned over Rs1m against the fee for licences during the past six months. To another question by Mr Jatoi, he said that the last livestock census was conducted in 2006, while the next census was scheduled to be held in 2016 but could not be held due to multiple reasons, including the devolution of powers under the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. He explained that conducting the census was the responsibility of the federal government as livestock was in the federal domain before the constitutional amendment. The minister also mentioned financial constraints in this regard and added that efforts were, however, under way to computerise the livestock data. Livestock population stands at 22.7m in 2018 The minister said that the estimated population of livestock animals was 15,417,883 in 2008, and the number was estimated to be 22,769,419 in 2018. He said that the estimated numbers of cows and buffaloes in 2018 were 11,703,622 and 11,065,797, respectively. The minister also informed the assembly that Tharparkar topped in the number of livestock in the province. To a supplementary question, he said that he did not have the number of sheep and goats in the province. However, he said that he would furnish the figures soon. He has been cited by Rush Limbaugh, quoted in the New York Times, featured at Real Clear Politics and Lucianne.com and interviewed on radio, TV and in social media. For many years he served as a Lecturer in Corporate Communication at Penn State University. A former President of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association (PPRA) he has lectured at Rowan University, Temple University, The College of New Jersey and Arcadia University. He has conducted workshops on public relations for thousands of participants throughout the nation and has taught countless others the art of public speaking. He has also advised numerous lawyers, judges, public officials and political candidates. Cirucci is a prolific writer and his op-ed pieces have appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Courier-Post and other publications. A native of Camden NJ, Cirucci is a former President of the Philadelphia chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. Cirucci served as Associate Executive Director of the Philadelphia Bar Association for nearly 30 years. He served as Chair of Penn State University's Professional Advisory Board for the Corporate Communication major at Penn State Abington and on the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Judicial Selection Commission. He received his MA degree from Rowan University and his BA from Villanova University. He has been named a Distinguished Alumnus of Rowan's public relations program and was inducted into the Philadelphia Public Relations Hall of Fame. He received the E. A. "Wally" Richter Leadership Award from the National Association of Bar Executives' Communications Section. The Award is the Section's highest honor. He has also been honored by numerous other local, state and national groups. Cirucci's passions include politics, the popular culture, books and authors, art, communication, music, theatre, movies, dining and travel. In his hometown of Camden, Cirucci taught fifth grade at the Ulysses Wiggins Elementary School named for the founder of the Camden NAACP. He later served as editor of a local weekly newspaper, as Assistant to the Township Manager of Cherry Hill Township and as Associate Director of Communications at the New Jersey State Bar Association. He's Dan Cirucci, the founder and editor-in chief of the Dan Cirucci Blog and one of the most widely honored public relations professionals in his field. He's also a public relations consultant to numerous organizations and individuals and the host of The Advocates on RVN-TV. At one end of the Centene Center were going to have some tables and things set up, Landrum said. Were going to have a full continental breakfast and weve gotten a lot of participation from local businesses 12 West, Panera, CiCis Pizza, ColJac, RaeColes, Prairie Farms, Wise Grounds Coffee theyre all donating breakfast items for us that morning. Walmart donated some gift cards that were going to use to buy fruit. People can come in and have a nice breakfast and then the room will be filled with vendors along with all kinds of products that women like. Well have essential oils, jewelry, natural skin care, clothing just a wide variety of things women will want to purchase. Each of the vendors coming will be donating a door prize of at least $25 in value, so about every 10 minutes or so, well be giving away a door prize. We just thought it would be a fun event for women. They can come in anytime they want between 9 and noon. Come with their friends and eat some breakfast, shop and just have a good time. We know the community will go out of its way to support us again as we seek to feed college students and families. The $10 is a donation, but we feel like everyone will be getting a lot in return for it. Holding a state funeral would honor not only the surviving Medal of Honor recipient of WWII, but the more than 16 million courageous Americans that served our country during the war, the delegation wrote. Time is of the essence for this endeavor. With each passing day, more and more of the World War II generation passes away to live on only in our national memory. As all four remaining WWII Medal of Honor recipients are in their nineties, this designation would need to be made as soon as possible. They and those that have gone before them answered the nations call to serve and ensured the survival of liberty. As their heirs, we see a state funeral as a fitting way for our country to both honor their service and pay tribute to the warriors of the Greatest Generation. A relationship that started with taunts and threats of all out nuclear war has morphed into the signature foreign policy achievement for Donald Trump's administration.'The rhetoric was unbelievably harsh at the beginning', President Trump told a rally in September.'We were going to war with North Korea, that was what was going to happen.'I was being really tough and we were going back and forth.'And then we fell in love.'The story drew laughs from the crowd assembled in West Virginia that night, but the President's feelings towards North Korea and it's rogue leader Kim Jong-un are now much closer to love than hate.Since their first summit in Singapore, Chairman Kim (formally 'little rocket man' to the President) has kept up correspondence through 'beautiful letters' and kept up his promise to end nuclear testing on the peninsula.'As long as there's no testing, we're happy', the President told US Governors before leaving for Hanoi.This is crucial for Donald Trump's standings in America and around the world.In America, critics of the President painted him as a foreign policy novice, particularly compared to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.But by doing what no President has done before and meeting face-to-face with a North Korean leader, Donald Trump muted the attacks.If he can maintain peace on the peninsula, or even begin a denuclearisation process, that perceived foreign policy weakness could become a strength for the President as he eyes a long list of young democrats in the 2020 election.Around the world, nuclear tests in 2017 caused huge concern in South Korea and Japan, crucial allies for the United States.The tests cast doubt on the President's 'fire and fury' approach to dealing with Pyongyang at a time when the diplomatic community was being upended by Donald Trump's apparent disdain for the United Nations, NATO and the G7.No testing gives the President something to point to when negotiating with allies in Seoul and Tokyo, while enhancing his reputations with old allies in the west.No testing gives the President another shot at the Nobel Prize he talks and tweets about regularly.No testing also means one fewer potential flashpoints with China.However relying on an unpredictable dictator in charge of the most unpredictable country in the world remains fraught with danger.Inconsistencies at the highest level of the Trump administration this week prove how delicate the prospect is.On Sunday Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said North Korea is a nuclear threat, he echoed CIA director Gina Haspel, both directly contradicting the President.'There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea', President Trump tweeted after the summit in Singapore.At best this is embarrassing to the administration, at worst it's a dangerous divide on national security.But it is also temporary, and a successful summit in Vietnam will steady the ship.What success looks like is open to interpretation, as is, it seems, what constitutes denuclearisation.That's why the President made it clear that 'as long as there's no testing' he's happy.Once again, the world is watching. 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 NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NOVA LEAP HEALTH CORP. (TSXV: NLH) ("Nova Leap" or the Company), is pleased to announce that it executed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) on February 7, 2019 to acquire a home care services company (the Target) located in Eastern Canada. The Target reported unaudited revenues of approximately $1.82 million and had adjusted EBITDA of $0.127 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. All amounts are in United States Dollars (USD) unless otherwise specified. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive. Upon closing of the acquisition, which is targeted towards the end of April 2019, Nova Leaps annualized recurring revenue is expected to increase by approximately 11%. Under the terms of the LOI, the acquisition is to be made for total consideration of $564,000 of which $188,000 is payable with cash on closing and $376,000 is by way of a promissory note repayable over a five-year period. Closing the acquisition is subject to a definitive asset purchase agreement and final due diligence. We are looking forward to working with this well-established agency, said Chris Dobbin, President & CEO of Nova Leap. We remain committed to our expansion plans in the U.S. and Canada and continue to be attracted to management teams who share our mission in home care. Appointment of Corporate Secretary Effective March 31, 2019, Nova Leap announces that Megan Spidle has been appointed as Corporate Secretary of the Company, in addition to her role as Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Spidle will replace Glenn Jessome, who will be resigning to focus his efforts on other corporate clients and his public venture capital practice. I would like to thank Glenn for his contribution to Nova Leap since the early days of our journey, said Chris Dobbin, President & CEO of Nova Leap Health Corp. Glenn remains a shareholder in Nova Leap and we will continue to lean on him for advice. The change also reflects our appreciation for the significant contribution Megan has made to the Company and our confidence in her as a leader going forward. Announcement of Annual General Meeting (AGM) Nova Leaps AGM is scheduled to be held on April 26, 2019 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Notice has been filed on SEDAR. About Nova Leap The Home Care Providers industry is becoming one of the fastest growing healthcare industries in the United States and Canada. Home care saves patients billions of dollars every year by treating them in their own homes instead of in hospitals. An aging population, the prevalence of chronic disease, growing physician acceptance of home care, medical advancements and a movement toward cost-efficient treatment options from public and private payers have all fostered industry growth. Nova Leap is focused on a highly fragmented market of small privately-held companies providing patients one on one care in their homes. Nova Leap's post acquisition organic growth strategy is to increase annual revenue per location through a combination of increased employee investment, including training, focused sales and marketing efforts, billing rate increases, expansion of geographical coverage, and improved referral sources. NON-GAAP MEASURE: Adjusted Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), is calculated as the net income before amortization and depreciation, interest expense, net of interest income and income tax expense. Annualized recurring revenue run rate is the expected annualized recurring revenue based on the most recent months actual revenue for current operations multiplied by 12. For acquisitions that closed subsequent to the reporting period or are expected to close and have been disclosed in a press release as material information, annual recurring revenue run rate is the expected annualized recurring revenue based on the most recent months revenue for current operations multiplied by 12 plus the annual revenue based on the most recent financial information available for the newly acquired operations or operations which are expected to close and have been disclosed in a press release as material information. FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION: Certain information in this press release may contain forward-looking statements. This information is based on current expectations that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward looking-statements unless and until required by securities laws applicable to the Company. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in the Company's filings with the Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com . For further information: Christopher Dobbin, CPA, CA, Director, President and CEO Nova Leap Health Corp., T: 902 401 9480 F: 902 482 5177 cdobbin@novaleaphealth.com CAUTIONARY STATEMENT: 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. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has struck against Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot of Pakistan occupied Kashmir in the pre-dawn hours of 26th February 2019. The Mirage-2000 fighter jets were used to drop explosives on these training camps. A dozen Mirage-2000 fighter jets used to carry out the attack were escorted by four Sukhoi Su-30 aircraft. Phalcon Airborne Warning and Control System of Israel and the indigenous Netra Airborne Early Warning and Control System Aircraft (AEW&C) aircraft were deployed to monitor the mission. Highlights of the statement by the Ministry of External Affairs A suicide terror attack was conducted by a Pakistan-based terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) lead to the martyrdom of 40 brave jawans of the CRPF. The terrorist organisation JeM has been active in Pakistan for the last two decades and is led by Masood Azhar with its headquarters in Bahawalpur. JeM has been proscribed by the UN, has been responsible for a series of terrorist attacks including on the Indian Parliament in December 2001 and the Pathankot airbase in January 2016. Even though India provided the location of training camps in Pakistan from time to time, Pakistan continued to deny their existence and Pakistan has taken no concrete actions to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism on its soil. The existence of such massive training facilities capable of training hundreds of jihadis could not have functioned without the knowledge of Pakistan authorities. India has struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot. A large number of JeM terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action were eliminated. This facility at Balakot was headed by Maulana Yousuf Azhar (alias Ustad Ghouri), the brother-in-law of Masood Azhar, chief of JeM. Committed to taking all necessary measures to fight the menace of terrorism, India undertook this non-military pre-emptive action was specifically targeted at the JeM camp. India has remained Pakistan of its commitment in January 2004 not to allow its soil or territory under its control to be used for terrorism against India and has urged Pakistan to live up to its public commitment by taking the follow-up actions to dismantle all JeM and other camps and hold the terrorists accountable for the actions. The Swedish Health Minister Lena Hallengren after the meeting with Union Health Minister J P Nadda announced that Anti-microbial resistance (AMR) is really dangerous and India and Sweden intend to boost cooperation to tackle it. Cooperation to tackle Anti-Microbial Resistance India and Sweden have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate in the field of various issues, including AMR, communicable diseases and public health On February 24, 2009. AMR work is an ongoing cooperation between India and Sweden. There would be bilateral cooperation between companies, between agencies, between universities, institutions. Sweden hoped that India would join the Alliance of Champions, which is a creation between many countries globally to face and to fight AMR. Alliance of Champions The Alliance of Champions was launched by then Swedish Health Minister Gabriel Wikstrom at the 2015 World Health Assembly. Alliance of Champions consisted of health ministers of 14 countries aimed to promote political awareness, engagement and leadership on AMR. Dear Editor: Over the past few months re-elected Gov. Tom Wolf has made the news with commitments to address climate change in Pennsylvania. At this time, when clean air and clean water progress is all but absent from the federal government, hearing state-level progress is heartening. In December, Gov. Wolf joined eight other states in the region in a plan to tackle transportation emissions, the largest source of dangerous climate emissions in the country, region and state. In Carlisle, Cumberland County, transportation hub of the mid-Atlantic, we are plagued with fine particulate matter air pollution from the thousands of 18-wheelers passing through here daily. Our doctors claim increased numbers of respiratory disturbances in young children and at one time even placed a full-page ad in the local newspaper to draw attention to the problem. The Clean Air Board of Central Pennsylvania works with the Carlisle Area School District on a flag program to warn parents when levels of pollution are higher. Some children get no outdoor play on these days. Overdose deaths were down nearly 40 percent from 86 in 2016 to 52 in 2018, according to Cumberland County Coroner Charley Hall. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} It is too early to know what role the Opioid Intervention Court played in that decline, but one thing is certain: The people in the program are still alive. None of the people who entered the program, whether they successfully completed it or not, died from a drug overdose. In fact, none have overdosed and needed revived, Brewbaker said in January. I want to thank all of you for putting in the hard work, Brewbaker said to a crowd of participants Tuesday morning inside her courtroom at the Cumberland County Courthouse. Eighty-five of you entered and 85 of you are still alive. Participants are screened shortly after charging. If it is determined they have opioid use disorder and receive approval from the court and the district attorneys office, they are given the option to enter the court. The court is voluntary, but anyone who enters it is required to complete the program or their bail can be revoked. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} In 2016, Mechanicsburg initiated a contract with DecisionInsite to update the districts enrollment projections annually. According to the latest predictions by DecisionInsite, enrollment at the high school is expected to reach 1,436 by 2024-25 and continue to expand to 1,603 by 2026-27. At the middle school, enrollment is predicted to jump to more than 1,200 by 2024-25 and, like the high school, will continue to grow at least through 2027-28. So when do we start thinking about our secondary grades? The answer is now, Leidy told the school board. Leidy asked school board members to consider approving an update to the districts 2015-16 feasibility study next month. If approved, a committee that could comprise district administrators, staff, school board directors and other members of the community would meet to discuss projection figures and provide recommendations for consideration by the school board. School board members appeared receptive to Leidys proposal. Our population is growing, but our revenue doesnt match it, school director Joshua Rhodes said. Its very frustrating. We as a board have to come up with a way for all of this to make sense. Leidy said hed like to see committee recommendations forwarded to the school board by this fall as part of a very aggressive timeline for the matter. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Welcome We are so thrilled to have you join us. We are many of the authors from Harlequin's Christian-fiction Love Inspired Imprints. We've been putting Christian romances in your hands since 1997. If you're looking for friends, family, faith, and fiction then settle back, get to know us and our books, and basically join in and have a good time. Kinky Friedman, Cousin Nancy (Nancy Parker-Simons) and Tony Simons founded Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch in '98. Friends Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, Spike Gillespie, Richard Pryor, Jerry Jeff Walker, Molly Ivins, Dwight Yoakam support the ranch. We primarily rescued dogs. Nancy, author of "The Road to Utopia: How Kinky, Tony & I Saved More Animals Than Noah" by UT Press '06 utopiarescue.com. cousin nancy blog 2021 by Cousin Nancy All rights reserved. New Delhi, 26th February 2019: SEMrush, the online visibility management, and content marketing SaaS platform and Colliers International unveiled the exclusive joint study 'Digital Real Estate - Winning the Indian Market with Data' in an event held at Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi on 26th February 2019. The mega event organized by SEMrush also marked announcement of the top 20 most searched Real Estate players of India and top 10 most searched cities for Real Estate properties in India. The joint report by SEMrush and Colliers International revealed the first ever 'Digital Real Estate Insights' with data collected for demographics, investment, property prices, commercial and residential buyer trends by Colliers International and digitally analyzed by SEMrush. The keynote speaker at the event Mr. Fernando Angulo from SEMrush stressed on the fact that first-of-its-kind digital real estate study for India can help builders, brokers, and aggregators to assess and reframe their online marketing and branding strategies for optimum profits and business growth. The affordability factor and the changing profile of home buyers have become the market fundamentals in the present real estate market. The detailed study highlighted Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Bangalore as the top 10 cities, where people are searching for flats, houses, and offices. The study also showcased that the search volumes are higher for 1BHK and 2BHK properties in comparison to others. The online visibility management and SaaS platform also highlighted the revival of Indian Real Estate Market with increasing interest of People residing outside India (NRIs) in property investment. The study recorded most of the search traffic coming from Singapore, the USA, and the UAE in 2018. Marking the success of the mega event, Mr. Fernando Angulo, Corporate Speaker, SEMrush, said, "The Indian real estate market is expected to touch US$ 180 billion by 2020. The Housing sector is expected to contribute around 11% to India's GDP by 2020 and that poses a huge potential for existing and new market players in the India real estate. Our detailed study from January to December - 2018 showcases that over 1 lakh people are searching monthly for buying and renting houses/flats around India and more than 9 billion pages cater to these searches. Competition in the property market is getting fierce with every passing day. In the new consumer-driven digital economy, industry players such as builders, brokers, and aggregators must rely on data and analytics if they hope to capture a greater market share." Mr. Sanjay Chatrath, Executive Director (North), Colliers International India said "These are very exciting times for real estate sector in India as it continues to grow at a quick pace. Increasing incomes, urbanization and economic growth are driving high demand in the real estate sector. The overall foreign investment inflow in the real estate sector increased by 55% (currently at $ 6.5 billion) compared to 2017, overall absorption of commercial office space grew by 20% in 2018. Affordable and student housing and co-living are gathering steam amongst investors and developers. Real estate sector in India is all set to reach a market size of US$ 1 trillion by 2030 from US$ 120 billion in 2017". The report also established the fact that 51% of the website traffic comes through organic search. SEMrush as the leading online visibility management platform can help real estate players by providing traffic analytics with keyword search, find relevant and related keywords with an online matrix, Google ads cost and CPC trends, competition comparison, backlink analysis, on-site SEO, site audits, and search engine marketing strategies. About SEMrush SEMrush is an online visibility management platform ensuring businesses get measurable results from online marketing. Trusted by over 3,000,000 marketers worldwide, SEMrush offers solutions for SEO, PPC, content, social media and competitive research. Source: SEMrush Bengaluru Century Real Estate Holdings is in talks with Piramal Ivanhoe Residential Equity Fund to raise funds for an upcoming residential project in a deal valued at Rs250 crore. The Bengaluru-headquartered developer plans to build a high-end residential project on a 10-acre land parcel it owns in the central business district in the city. "The deal is likely to be a structured transaction where the fund will pick up equity at the project level. The funding is expected to conclude by April," a person with direct knowledge of the deal said on the condition of anonymity. Ravindra Pai, Managing Director, Century Real Estate Holdings refused to comment on the deal while Khushru Jijina, Managing Director, Piramal Capital & Housing Finance could not be reached. Piramal Capital & Housing Finance has a co-investment fund with Ivanhoe Cambridge, a real estate subsidiary of Canada's Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec (CDPQ), to provide long-term equity to builders across five metros. Ivanhoe Cambridge has already committed $250 million to the fund. The Century transaction will be the second for the joint fund. In February this year, Piramal and Ivanhoe announced an equity investment of Rs.500 crore, from the Piramal Ivanhoe Residential Equity Fund, in Palava, a smart city being developed by the Lodha Group in the Mumbai metropolitan region. If the deal goes through, this will be the second round of funding for the Bengaluru-headquartered fund from Piramal Enterprises. In 2015, Piramal and Clearwater Capital had invested Rs.725 crore as structured debt in a portfolio of projects being developed by the builder. Sobia Khan, Economic Times, Bengaluru WEDNESDAY, Feb. 27, 2019 (American Heart Association News) -- On Feb. 1, 1961, twins Debbie and Donna Horst arrived at the White House to fanfare. The 6-year-olds, decked out in fancy dresses and satin sashes, found themselves surrounded by a pressing crowd and a sea of blinding flashbulbs as they made their way to see Jacqueline Kennedy. The girls -- both born with holes in their aortas -- were meeting with the first lady to kick off a national campaign to raise awareness about congenital heart defects. "There were hundreds of reporters because this was Jacqueline Kennedy' first public act as first lady," Debbie said. She recalls being startled when the reporters asked Mrs. Kennedy if they could move in closer. "It was frightening because they all jumped at us at once." The Pennsylvania twins, just a few weeks from turning 7, were among the first "Heart Fund Sweethearts" in the campaign to raise money as well as awareness. The month before, they'd met up with Micki and Patricia Gane, also of Pennsylvania, and Jackie and Jeri Pelletieri of New Jersey, at the U.S. Capitol Building. All but one of the six were born with a hole in their heart at the time, a devastating diagnosis. More than 50 years later, the four surviving Sweethearts share their unforgettable childhood stories. Debbie and Donna When Debbie and Donna were born in 1954 in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, they experienced seizures and turned blue, leading doctors to conclude they each had a hole in their aortas. The hole is supposed to close before birth. Otherwise, getting enough oxygen to the blood is a problem. The condition could be repaired with surgery at age 5. "Sixty years ago, it was major surgery," Debbie said. "We didn't go to kindergarten, because of a risk of infection from the other kids." After their surgeries in 1959, the girls' parents were asked if the girls could be "poster sweethearts" for an American Heart Association campaign about congenital heart defects. Fast-forward to that February day in 1961. President John F. Kennedy' inauguration was just 12 days before, and the press was clamoring to capture the first lady' first public act. Debbie and Donna remember being escorted into her office amid the chaos. "She was so soft-spoken and kind," Debbie recalled. "She asked my mom how to tell us apart, and she told Mrs. Kennedy the story of me cutting my own hair in the front, so mine was a little shorter than Donna'." The girls gave the first lady a gift of heart-shaped flowers and dolls wearing the same dresses they wore baby blue with red hearts to give to her daughter, Caroline. Kennedy gave Debbie and Donna heart charms with her initials and their initials. "I still have that charm today on my charm bracelet," Debbie said. Today, Debbie' a medical receptionist in Yardley, Pennsylvania, and is married to her high school sweetheart, John Deeney. They have three children and five grandchildren. Donna eventually married, and she and her husband, Lenny Jachimowicz, had two children, Nicole and Raymond. The family lived in Virginia when Donna died from cardiac arrest in 1998 at age 44. It wasn't related to her congenital heart defect, but it was rooted in an undiagnosed heart problem, Debbie said. "When I lost Donna, it was like I lost my right arm," Debbie said. "But I have a lot of faith in God." Patricia and Micki Patricia, whose last name is now Olekszyk, was the only one of the six Sweethearts with a normally functioning heart. But she was very involved in the world of heart disease. "When your sibling, especially a twin, is going through something this impactful, you feel it almost as much," Patricia said. Micki had surgery at age 5. The hospital stay was long four months. But when she got out, she had energy to spare, jumping fearlessly in piles of leaves, Patricia recalled. While only Debbie and Donna met Jacqueline Kennedy, all six girls visited the U.S. Capitol and met then-Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. "He saw what all of these little girls were going through, and what their families were going through, and I guess he just couldn't let it go overlooked," Patricia said. Today, Patricia is married with a 29-year-old son. She teaches karate and self-defense and is the Delaware state champion for powerlifting and bench press for her age group. Micki eventually married Jim Gaffney. She was a fan of Scottish country dancing and raising funds for projects she cared about, such as heart health. But Micki struggled with health problems. She suffered from chronic pain after a car accident and died in her sleep in 2016. "I miss her, but at the same time, I feel like she never left," Patricia said. Jackie and Jeri Jackie and Jeri were well-known in their town of Milton, New Jersey, even before they went to Washington. In addition to all the concerns about their condition and the upcoming surgery, their family was trying to rally their hometown to make sure they had enough blood for the procedure. They needed 48 pints of rare O-negative. Ads were placed in the local newspaper. One headline proclaimed, "100 donors helped twins facing knife." Their mom' reaction matched the headline' drama she was terrified. So, she told the 5-year-old girls they were just getting their tonsils out. The girls survived the lie, the surgery and long stints cooped up at the hospital and home. From their kitchen cots, Jackie and Jeri "operated" on their dolls, crayoning scars down the plastic chests. When they went to Washington in 1961, they too met Johnson. A photo famously shows all the Sweethearts circling him while he clutched a large heart made of flowers. They recall his kindness and the letters he sent afterward; he said meeting them had been good for his heart. Just a few years later, in 1964, Johnson would issue the first-ever national proclamation declaring February as American Heart Month to raise national awareness about heart disease. The tradition has continued ever since. Today the sisters both live in Milton. Jackie Meller is retired after many years of waitressing. She has been married 23 years and has three children and five grandchildren. Jeri Wyse is a board assembler for Hubble, where she' worked for 40 years. The family has seen some health scares. Twelve years ago, Jeri needed a stent. Eight years later, a quivering heartbeat required treatment. More recently, a cousin' young son had surgery for a hole in his heart. His hospital stay was a few days, and Jeri couldn't help but to note how much less fuss and drama there was compared to her day. "It' amazing what they can do for your heart today," Jeri said. WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a press release issued earlier today under the same headline, a person's name appeared incorrectly. The Social Void member should be Chip Cooley, not Chris. The corrected release appears below. The new e-novel PANIC is an uplifting tale of a young man navigating the emotional peaks and valleys of panic disorder. Yet according to its Washington, DC-based author Warren Getler, PANIC is as much a story about this era what he calls the Great Anxiety as it is about one teens battle to overcome debilitating mental health challenges. Growing up on New Yorks Upper East Side in the 1990s, the novels protagonist Johnny D. Saster lives a privileged childhood. But when it comes to personal freedom, he enjoys very little under the thumb of his demanding, overbearing parents. Pushed by his mother and father to over-achieve, Johnny suffers an extreme panic attack during his SATs, leaves the test room in a daze and walks right into oncoming traffic on Fifth Avenue. Panic and anxiety disorders afflict millions young and old alike around the world. A desire to explore the reasons behind this led Getler, a former journalist with The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News and Discovery Channel, to write PANIC, now available via Apple Books/iTunes, Google Play and Kobo. I wanted to illuminate how teenagers today face unceasing pressure to be perfect in the eyes of others, said Getler. This collides head-on with their absolute need to protect their individuality. While the novel is humorous in parts, readers will also feel the raw emotion in this highly imaginative, wildly fanciful coming-of-age story, set in and around Manhattan landmarks such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Central Park. As a bonus, a musical soundtrack from the lyrical band, Social Void (whose bandmember Chip Cooley suffered from panic disorder) is embedded in the e-book. The novels theme is reinforced by a new study from the Pew Research Center, which finds that 70% of American teenagers see depression and anxiety as the leading major problem among their peers. Getler co-wrote the non-fiction Rebel Gold, One Mans Quest to Crack the Code Behind the Hidden Treasure of the Confederacy (2004, Simon & Schuster), which served as the backdrop to Disneys National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Cheese and milk were good and plenty on Tuesday at the Ramada Hotel & Rivers Edge Convention Center in Columbus. The samples were available for all who attended the Nebraska State Dairy Association's 134th annual convention, which has been held in Columbus the past five years. Executive Director Rod Johnson said the organization planned on about 200 people being in attendance. The goal of the conference is to update dairy producers on the current state of the industry, both on a national and state levels, while building enthusiasm among the association's members. Its a networking opportunity for the dairy industry, Johnson said. The purpose of the conference is to really bring people together. It all fits into the package of networking and working with each other in the industry. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} The conference featured panels on nutrition, farm management and hosted a presentation on national policy from the National Milk Producers Federation. The event featured a networking event for women in the industry hosted by The Dairy Girl Network. The NSDA held elections for seats on its board at the event and awards were also given out during an evening banquet. The 2019 Dairy Princess was also crowned as part of the festivities. With the end of February comes the end of our annual Columbus Area Chamber membership drive. While the Chamber now brings in more than half of its annual income through projects and other non-dues sources, membership is still the life-blood of any Chamber of Commerce. We fully recognize this impact goes beyond dollars. In terms of volunteers and influence, there's no question that membership is now, and will always be, the key to a thriving organization. Perhaps that sounds like a no-brainer since the Chamber is a membership organization, but I think members forget that from time to time and dont fully recognize the value of their membership. Again this year, the team of Admirals, Commodores, and Board members has been out all month telling businesses about the value of membership. The Chamber staff and leadership are very appreciative of this hard work put forward by more than volunteers. At the hearing on these two proposals, I look forward to making the case for property tax relief this session. The Legislature has its work cut out for it on this issue. Past Legislatures tried a number of approaches, but have not been able to tackle the nuts and bolts of structural reform needed to change our property tax system. Many previous attempts have focused on raising other taxes in the name of property tax relief. Because these efforts did not cut or control property taxes, they continue to grow today. It is important we get something done this year that actually cuts taxes and reforms our property tax code. Here is another idea that can help. Senator Steve Erdman of Bayard has a bill to change the way agricultural land is valued for property tax purposes. Currently, ag land is valued based on market sales, which means a few high priced land sales can drive up everyones property valuations and consequently their taxes, too, pretty quickly even if your land hasnt sold in years. Senator Erdman is proposing to move to an income potential valuation system, which considers how much income you can earn off the land you own. Ag states with this system include North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. This system is much fairer, more standard, and would help make Nebraska more competitive. Being crowned on the final day, Valdez said she was pretty surprised. Shed been pretty anxious for the duration of the pageant. It was pretty nerve-racking because the stage wasnt set up super well, so it was kind of uneven and on carpet, she said. So when I was walking up there I was like, Oh gosh, dont fall. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Valdez said she will retain her title until the next competition is hosted by the pageant sponsor in 2020. With the Omaha competition in the rear view, all of her attention is on preparing for Orlando this summer. There will be roughly about 60 people, they take one (winner) from each state in her teen division and then they all compete against each other, said Aerianas mother, Pamela Valdez. Valdez said she knows she has some things to work on - like not being so stiff with her arms while posing and perhaps wearing some brighter outfits to catch judges eyes. More importantly, though, she and her family are in the process of raising funds for the trip, which is expected to be about $4,000. Heading into the Omaha competition, Valdez and her mother garnered support from about a dozen local sponsors offsetting some of the expense. Hows it going in Russia? That was Donald Trumps question, asked at least a half dozen times of his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, while on the campaign trail in 2016, according to prepared testimony Cohen plans to deliver to a House committee today . The presidents oft-repeated question referred to negotiations over a Moscow Tower project that Cohen said continued during the 2016 campaign. In his remarks, Cohen also calls Trump racist and a conman, and says that he played a role in helping Trump cover up details ranging from the presidents Vietnam deferments and SAT scores to his extramarital affair with an adult actress. House committee members will likely be most interested in Cohens claims that Trump was aware that Roger Stone, an adviser to the campaign, was in touch with WikiLeaks in an effort to obtain hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee. Cohen also said he does not know of any direct evidence that Trump or his campaign had colluded with Russia. But, I have my suspicions, he said in his statement. Read Cohens full testimony below: ### TESTIMONY OF MICHAEL D. COHEN COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND REFORM U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 27, 2019 Chairman Cummings, Ranking Member Jordan, and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today. I have asked this Committee to ensure that my family be protected from Presidential threats, and that the Committee be sensitive to the questions pertaining to ongoing investigations. Thank you for your help and for your understanding. I am here under oath to correct the record, to answer the Committees questions truthfully, and to offer the American people what I know about President Trump. I recognize that some of you may doubt and attack me on my credibility. It is for this reason that I have incorporated into this opening statement documents that are irrefutable, and demonstrate that the information you will hear is accurate and truthful. Never in a million years did I imagine, when I accepted a job in 2007 to work for Donald Trump, that he would one day run for President, launch a campaign on a platform of hate and intolerance, and actually win. I regret the day I said yes to Mr. Trump. I regret all the help and support I gave him along the way. I am ashamed of my own failings, and I publicly accepted responsibility for them by pleading guilty in the Southern District of New York. I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat. He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails. I will explain each in a few moments. I am providing the Committee today with several documents. These include: A copy of a check Mr. Trump wrote from his personal bank account after he became president to reimburse me for the hush money payments I made to cover up his affair with an adult film star and prevent damage to his campaign; Copies of financial statements for 2011 2013 that he gave to such institutions as Deutsche Bank; A copy of an article with Mr. Trumps handwriting on it that reported on the auction of a portrait of himself he arranged for the bidder ahead of time and then reimbursed the bidder from the account of his non-profit charitable foundation, with the picture now hanging in one of his country clubs; and Copies of letters I wrote at Mr. Trumps direction that threatened his high school, colleges, and the College Board not to release his grades or SAT scores. I hope my appearance here today, my guilty plea, and my work with law enforcement agencies are steps along a path of redemption that will restore faith in me and help this country understand our president better. Before going further, I want to apologize to each of you and to Congress as a whole. The last time I appeared before Congress, I came to protect Mr. Trump. Today, Im here to tell the truth about Mr. Trump. I lied to Congress about when Mr. Trump stopped negotiating the Moscow Tower project in Russia. I stated that we stopped negotiating in January 2016. That was false our negotiations continued for months later during the campaign. Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. Thats not how he operates. In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie. There were at least a half-dozen times between the Iowa Caucus in January 2016 and the end of June when he would ask me Hows it going in Russia? referring to the Moscow Tower project. You need to know that Mr. Trumps personal lawyers reviewed and edited my statement to Congress about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations before I gave it. To be clear: Mr. Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it. He lied about it because he never expected to win the election. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project. And so I lied about it, too because Mr. Trump had made clear to me, through his personal statements to me that we both knew were false and through his lies to the country, that he wanted me to lie. And he made it clear to me because his personal attorneys reviewed my statement before I gave it to Congress. Over the past two years, I have been smeared as a rat by the President of the United States. The truth is much different, and let me take a brief moment to introduce myself. My name is Michael Dean Cohen. I am a blessed husband of 24 years and a father to an incredible daughter and son. When I married my wife, I promised her that I would love her, cherish her, and protect her. As my father said countless times throughout my childhood, you my wife, and you my children, are the air that I breathe. To my Laura, my Sami, and my Jake, there is nothing I wouldnt do to protect you. I have always tried to live a life of loyalty, friendship, generosity, and compassion qualities my parents ingrained in my siblings and me since childhood. My father survived the Holocaust thanks to the compassion and selfless acts of others. He was helped by many who put themselves in harms way to do what they knew was right. That is why my first instinct has always been to help those in need. Mom and Dad I am sorry that I let you down. As many people that know me best would say, I am the person they would call at 3 a.m. if they needed help. I proudly remember being the emergency contact for many of my childrens friends when they were growing up because their parents knew that I would drop everything and care for them as if they were my own. Yet, last fall I pled guilty in federal court to felonies for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in coordination with Individual #1. For the record: Individual #1 is President Donald J. Trump. It is painful to admit that I was motivated by ambition at times. It is even more painful to admit that many times I ignored my conscience and acted loyal to a man when I should not have. Sitting here today, it seems unbelievable that I was so mesmerized by Donald Trump that I was willing to do things for him that I knew were absolutely wrong. For that reason, I have come here to apologize to my family, to the government, and to the American people. Accordingly, let me now tell you about Mr. Trump. I got to know him very well, working very closely with him for more than 10 years, as his Executive Vice President and Special Counsel and then personal attorney when he became President. When I first met Mr. Trump, he was a successful entrepreneur, a real estate giant, and an icon. Being around Mr. Trump was intoxicating. When you were in his presence, you felt like you were involved in something greater than yourself that you were somehow changing the world. I wound up touting the Trump narrative for over a decade. That was my job. Always stay on message. Always defend. It monopolized my life. At first, I worked mostly on real estate developments and other business transactions. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Trump brought me into his personal life and private dealings. Over time, I saw his true character revealed. Mr. Trump is an enigma. He is complicated, as am I. He has both good and bad, as do we all. But the bad far outweighs the good, and since taking office, he has become the worst version of himself. He is capable of behaving kindly, but he is not kind. He is capable of committing acts of generosity, but he is not generous. He is capable of being loyal, but he is fundamentally disloyal. Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great. He had no desire or intention to lead this nation only to market himself and to build his wealth and power. Mr. Trump would often say, this campaign was going to be the greatest infomercial in political history. He never expected to win the primary. He never expected to win the general election. The campaign for him was always a marketing opportunity. I knew early on in my work for Mr. Trump that he would direct me to lie to further his business interests. I am ashamed to say, that when it was for a real estate mogul in the private sector, I considered it trivial. As the President, I consider it significant and dangerous. But in the mix, lying for Mr. Trump was normalized, and no one around him questioned it. In fairness, no one around him today questions it, either. A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr. Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time. The answer is yes. As I earlier stated, Mr. Trump knew from Roger Stone in advance about the WikiLeaks drop of emails. In July 2016, days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trumps office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign. Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of wouldnt that be great. Mr. Trump is a racist. The country has seen Mr. Trump court white supremacists and bigots. You have heard him call poorer countries shitholes. In private, he is even worse. He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasnt a shithole. This was when Barack Obama was President of the United States. While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. And yet I continued to work for him. Mr. Trump is a cheat. As previously stated, Im giving the Committee today three years of President Trumps financial statements, from 2011-2013, which he gave to Deutsche Bank to inquire about a loan to buy the Buffalo Bills and to Forbes. These are Exhibits 1a, 1b, and 1c to my testimony. It was my experience that Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes. I am sharing with you two newspaper articles, side by side, that are examples of Mr. Trump inflating and deflating his assets, as I said, to suit his financial interests. These are Exhibit 2 to my testimony. As I noted, Im giving the Committee today an article he wrote on, and sent me, that reported on an auction of a portrait of Mr. Trump. This is Exhibit 3A to my testimony. Mr. Trump directed me to find a straw bidder to purchase a portrait of him that was being auctioned at an Art Hamptons Event. The objective was to ensure that his portrait, which was going to be auctioned last, would go for the highest price of any portrait that afternoon. The portrait was purchased by the fake bidder for $60,000. Mr. Trump directed the Trump Foundation, which is supposed to be a charitable organization, to repay the fake bidder, despite keeping the art for himself. Please see Exhibit 3B to my testimony. And it should come as no surprise that one of my more common responsibilities was that Mr. Trump directed me to call business owners, many of whom were small businesses, that were owed money for their services and told them no payment or a reduced payment would be coming. When I advised Mr. Trump of my success, he actually reveled in it. And yet, I continued to work for him. Mr. Trump is a conman. He asked me to pay off an adult film star with whom he had an affair, and to lie to his wife about it, which I did. Lying to the First Lady is one of my biggest regrets. She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly and she did not deserve that. I am giving the Committee today a copy of the $130,000 wire transfer from me to Ms. Cliffords attorney during the closing days of the presidential campaign that was demanded by Ms. Clifford to maintain her silence about her affair with Mr. Trump. This is Exhibit 4 to my testimony. Mr. Trump directed me to use my own personal funds from a Home Equity Line of Credit to avoid any money being traced back to him that could negatively impact his campaign. I did that, too without bothering to consider whether that was improper, much less whether it was the right thing to do or how it would impact me, my family, or the public. I am going to jail in part because of my decision to help Mr. Trump hide that payment from the American people before they voted a few days later. As Exhibit 5 to my testimony shows, I am providing a copy of a $35,000 check that President Trump personally signed from his personal bank account on August 1, 2017 when he was President of the United States pursuant to the cover-up, which was the basis of my guilty plea, to reimburse me the word used by Mr. Trumps TV lawyer for the illegal hush money I paid on his behalf. This $35,000 check was one of 11 check installments that was paid throughout the year while he was President. The President of the United States thus wrote a personal check for the payment of hush money as part of a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws. You can find the details of that scheme, directed by Mr. Trump, in the pleadings in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. So picture this scene in February 2017, one month into his presidency, Im visiting President Trump in the Oval Office for the first time. Its truly awe-inspiring, hes showing me around and pointing to different paintings, and he says to me something to the effect of Dont worry, Michael, your January and February reimbursement checks are coming. They were FedExed from New York and it takes a while for that to get through the White House system. As he promised, I received the first check for the reimbursement of $70,000 not long thereafter. When I say conman, Im talking about a man who declares himself brilliant but directed me to threaten his high school, his colleges, and the College Board to never release his grades or SAT scores. As I mentioned, Im giving the Committee today copies of a letter I sent at Mr. Trumps direction threatening these schools with civil and criminal actions if Mr. Trumps grades or SAT scores were ever disclosed without his permission. These are Exhibit 6. The irony wasnt lost on me at the time that Mr. Trump in 2011 had strongly criticized President Obama for not releasing his grades. As you can see in Exhibit 7, Mr. Trump declared Let him show his records after calling President Obama a terrible student. The sad fact is that I never heard Mr. Trump say anything in private that led me to believe he loved our nation or wanted to make it better. In fact, he did the opposite. When telling me in 2008 that he was cutting employees salaries in half including mine he showed me what he claimed was a $10 million IRS tax refund, and he said that he could not believe how stupid the government was for giving someone like him that much money back. During the campaign, Mr. Trump said he did not consider Vietnam Veteran, and Prisoner of War, Senator John McCain to be a hero because he likes people who werent captured. At the same time, Mr. Trump tasked me to handle the negative press surrounding his medical deferment from the Vietnam draft. Mr. Trump claimed it was because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery. He told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment. He finished the conversation with the following comment. You think Im stupid, I wasnt going to Vietnam. I find it ironic, President Trump, that you are in Vietnam right now. And yet, I continued to work for him. Questions have been raised about whether I know of direct evidence that Mr. Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia. I do not. I want to be clear. But, I have my suspicions. Sometime in the summer of 2017, I read all over the media that there had been a meeting in Trump Tower in June 2016 involving Don Jr. and others from the campaign with Russians, including a representative of the Russian government, and an email setting up the meeting with the subject line, Dirt on Hillary Clinton. Something clicked in my mind. I remember being in the room with Mr. Trump, probably in early June 2016, when something peculiar happened. Don Jr. came into the room and walked behind his fathers desk which in itself was unusual. People didnt just walk behind Mr. Trumps desk to talk to him. I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: The meeting is all set. I remember Mr. Trump saying, Ok good let me know. What struck me as I looked back and thought about that exchange between Don Jr. and his father was, first, that Mr. Trump had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the world. And also, that Don Jr. would never set up any meeting of any significance alone and certainly not without checking with his father. I also knew that nothing went on in Trump world, especially the campaign, without Mr. Trumps knowledge and approval. So, I concluded that Don Jr. was referring to that June 2016 Trump Tower meeting about dirt on Hillary with the Russian representative when he walked behind his dads desk that day and that Mr. Trump knew that was the meeting Don Jr. was talking about when he said, Thats good let me know. Over the past year or so, I have done some real soul searching. I see now that my ambition and the intoxication of Trump power had much to do with the bad decisions I made. To you, Chairman Cummings, Ranking Member Jordan, the other members of this Committee, and the other members of the House and Senate, I am sorry for my lies and for lying to Congress. To our nation, I am sorry for actively working to hide from you the truth about Mr. Trump when you needed it most. For those who question my motives for being here today, I understand. I have lied, but I am not a liar. I have done bad things, but I am not a bad man. I have fixed things, but I am no longer your fixer, Mr. Trump. I am going to prison and have shattered the safety and security that I tried so hard to provide for my family. My testimony certainly does not diminish the pain I caused my family and friends nothing can do that. And I have never asked for, nor would I accept, a pardon from President Trump. And, by coming today, I have caused my family to be the target of personal, scurrilous attacks by the President and his lawyer trying to intimidate me from appearing before this panel. Mr. Trump called me a rat for choosing to tell the truth much like a mobster would do when one of his men decides to cooperate with the government. As Exhibit 8 shows, I have provided the Committee with copies of Tweets that Mr. Trump posted, attacking me and my family only someone burying his head in the sand would not recognize them for what they are: encouragement to someone to do harm to me and my family. I never imagined that he would engage in vicious, false attacks on my family and unleash his TV-lawyer to do the same. I hope this committee and all members of Congress on both sides of the aisle will make it clear: As a nation, we should not tolerate attempts to intimidate witnesses before congress and attacks on family are out of bounds and not acceptable. I wish to especially thank Speaker Pelosi for her statements in Exhibit 9 to protect this institution and me, and the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Adam Schiff and Chairman Cummings for likewise defending this institution and my family against the attacks by Mr. Trump, and also the many Republicans who have admonished the President as well. I am not a perfect man. I have done things I am not proud of, and I will live with the consequences of my actions for the rest of my life. But today, I get to decide the example I set for my children and how I attempt to change how history will remember me. I may not be able to change the past, but I can do right by the American people here today. Thank you for your attention. I am happy to answer the Committees questions. When Robert Caldwell launched Caldwell Cigar Company in 2014, he went to market with three lines known as the Caldwell Collection. These lines consisted of Eastern Standard, The King is Dead, and Long Live the King. As the Caldwell portfolio grew, these lines have begun to emerge as full brands within the Caldwell portfolio. The 2018 IPCPR Trade Show saw Eastern Standard release its fourth line with the Eastern Standard Habano and Long Live the King release its third line with the Long Live the King MAD MOFO. As the MAD in the name indicates, this would add a maduro offering under the Long Live the King line. It was originally launched as the MF, but was changed later to MOFO (you can guess what that means). Today we take a closer look at the Long Live the King MAD MF in the Corona size. As we noted, there are three blends under the Long Live the King line. The original Long Live the King line is known for being a Dominican Corojo-centric blend. The second release came in 2016 with Savages, a more limited offering highlighted by a Habano wrapper featuring an entirely different blend. With the Long Live the King MAD MOFO, it also isnt simply a Long Live the King blend with a maduro wrapper, but one that also uses a very different mix. Without further ado, lets break down the Long Live the King MAD MOFO Corona and see what this cigar brings to the table. SPECIFICATIONS Blend and Origin The blend to the Long Live the King MAD MOFO is a five-country multi-national blend. The cigar is highlighted by the use of a San Andres Mexican maduro wrapper. In addition, the blend uses a binder from Indonesia and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Pennsylvania. As with the offerings that fall under the Caldwell Collection umbrella, production is handled out of the Tabacalera William Ventura factory in the Dominican Republic. Wrapper: San Andres Mexican Binder: Indonesian Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan, U.S.A Pennsylvania Country of Origin: Dominican Republic Factory: Tabacalera William Ventura Vitolas Offered Long Live the King MAD MOFO is presented in ten-count boxes (the original Long Live the King line was packaged in 27-count boxes). The cigars are available in four sizes. The line is described as a limited production. Corona: 5 3/4 x 43 Belicoso: 5 1/2.x 52 Toro: 6 x 54 Magnum: 6 x 60 Appearance The San Andres wrapper of the Long Live the King MAD MOFO Corona had a dark chocolate color. There was a light sheen of oil on it. The wrapper had a slight ruggedness that is often seen on San Andres wrappers. There were some visible wrapper seams and some thin visible veins present. The cigar itself was finished with a tiny pig-tail on the head. There are two bands on the Long Live the King MAD MOFO. The primary band is a variation of the original Long Live the King band. It features the sketch of a young man with a large gold-colored crown on his head on an ivory-colored background. The sketch is surrounded by a blue frame with the text CALDWELL on the right side of the frame in gold font. The left and right side of the band has an ivory background with gold adornments above and below it. On the ivory-colored background is the text Long Live and the King in blue cursive font on the left and right side respectively. The band itself is finished with blue trim. The secondary band rests just below the primary band. It is blue with gold pinstripes on the top and bottom. The sample we smoked still had the old t MAD MF name in a gold cursive font, but it has since changed. PERFORMANCE Pre-Light Draw As opposed to trying to pull off the small pig-tail cap of the Long Live the King MAD MOFO Corona, a straight cut was used to commence the cigar experience. This removed both the cap and pig-tail simultaneously. At this point, it was time to transition to the pre-light draw. The dry draw of cigar delivered a mix of earth, cedar, and a slightly bittersweet chocolate note. I found this to be a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, it was time to light up the Long Live the King MAD MF Corona and move on to the smoking phase. Tasting Notes The Long Live the King MAD MOFO Corona started out with a quick spurt of red pepper. This gave way to earth, cedar, and mineral notes. Shortly afterward a slight bittersweet cocoa note surfaced. As the Long Live the King MAD MOFO Corona moved through the early stages, the earth notes took a slight edge. The earth notes had somewhat of a musty component to it, which I found worked in favor of the .end.. Meanwhile the cocoa, cedar, mineral, and red pepper notes settled in the background. There was an extra layer of red pepper on the retro-hale. Later in the first third of the Long Live the King MAD MOFO Corona, the cocoa notes began to increase in intensity. At the same time, a slight dried fruit note emerged in the background. These would join the musty earth note in the forefront. By the midway point, the cocoa became the primary flavor. Meanwhile, the musty earth, dried fruit, cedar, mineral, and red pepper remained in the background. Toward the latter part of the second third, the musty earth notes returned to the forefront, joining the cocoa notes. Meanwhile, there was a slight increase in intensity from the pepper, but these notes didnt reach the forefront. There still were subtle notes of dried fruit, cedar, and mineral present. This is the way the Long Live the King MAD MOFO Corona came to a close. There resulting nub was slightly soft to the touch and cool in temperature. Burn In terms of the performance of the burn, the Long Live the King MAD MOFO Corona performed quite well. This was a cigar that had no trouble maintaining a straight burn path. While there was some minor jaggedness from time to time on the burn line, this was cosmetic and the cigar did not require much in the way of additional touch-ups. The resulting ash had a light gray color. This wasnt an overly firm ash, but it was far from loose and flaky. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal. Draw The draw to the Caldwell Long Live the King MAD MOFO Corona performed quite well. It had a pleasant touch of resistance to it. At the same time, this was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavor from and it still produced a decent amount of smoke. Strength and Body While the original Long Live the King was one of the bolder cigars in the Caldwell Collection, the MAD MOFO Corona is actually somewhat dialed back. This cigar was in the medium strength, medium-bodied range from start to finish. There was a slight increase in the intensity of both attributes along the way, but in the end, the strength and body remained in the medium range of the spectrum. In terms of strength versus body, both attributes balanced each other with neither attribute overshadowing the other. OVERALL ASSESSMENT Final Thoughts The Caldwell Long Live the King MAD MOFO Corona delivered a very good smoking experience. Its a cigar that performed well on flavor, complexity, and construction. While sometimes I think smaller ring gauge cigars are overrated compared to their larger counterparts, I did find the Corona size of the Long Live the King MAD MOFO was one of the better ones. This is a cigar I could recommend to a novice or experienced cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is a cigar I would smoke again and its one that certainly garners box worthy consideration. Summary Key Flavors: Cocoa, Musty Earth, Cedar, Mineral, Red Pepper, Dried Fruit Burn: Excellent Draw: Excellent Complexity: Medium to High Strength: Medium Body: Medium Finish Very Good Rating Value: Box Worthy Consideration Score: 91 References News: Caldwell Cigar Company Launches Long Live the King MAD MF at 2018 IPCPR Price: $10.40 Source: Purchased Brand Reference: Caldwell Cigar Co Photo Credits: Cigar Coop Update (2/28/19): We have updated the name to Long Live the King MAD MOFO from Long Live the King MAD MF Humans are simply imperfect people. We are going to sin, we are going to stuff up and there is just nothing you can do about it. You dont have to have been a Christian to have heard that saying before and, while all humans have sinned, is it really true for those who have professed to have a new nature that we are never going to sin again? Bible or human experience? As Christians we need to look to the Bible as our ultimate source of authority on this matter. Lets read Pauls second letter to the Corinthians in chapter 5 verses 17 to verse 21. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting peoples sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christs ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christs behalf: be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (NIV) That means we are new creations, the old sinful past you had is not who you are anymore, but people love to trust their own human experiences more than Gods word. In my work as a Pastor I was speaking to a lady about this truth. Now this is a lady who graduated from Bible school before my Dad was even born and she said to me: I see what you are saying Ben but that has not been my experience. So, you doubt Gods word just because of your human experience? And then she pointed me to Romans chapter seven, where Paul says: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in Gods law, but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. (Romans chapter 7 verse 22 to 23) The verse is frequently taken out of context because Paul has an answerJesus Christ our Lord delivers me from this body that is subject to death (Romans chapter 7 verse 25). If Jesus Christ can rescue you from your sinful self, why are we holding onto the old nature? Are we teaching it right? There is a big difference between saying you dont have to and you will. When I was growing up, I was taught that even as a believer you are not perfect and you are going to stuff up and make mistakes and I just accepted that fact and as a result I did exactly that, I stuffed up and I made mistakes (I still do). Its only recently that I realised that my old nature has been put to death on the Cross. Jesus did not come to make bad people good, or to take away the bad part of you, he came to give you life and life abundantly (John chapter 10 verse 10). He gave you a new nature, a nature that is Christ living on the inside of you. Christ does not make mistakes and if he is living on the inside of you and you are guided by the Spirit, the Spirit will not lead you to sin or make mistakes. Yet we do and I think one of the most empowering things you can say to a new believer or any believer for that matter isyour old self is put to death. You may sin and you more than likely will make mistakes but you dont have to. That does not have to be your future, you can live 100% in the righteousness of God. I think if we firmly grabbed hold of this truth, our lives would never be the same again. This is not to say that you will never make a mistake or stumble and I do believe the Holy Spirit is there to make us aware of sin, but you dont have to sin anymore. Ben Kruzins is the Campus Pastor of The Hub Baptist Church in Ocean Shores on the North Coast of New South Wales. He is also a Journalism graduate who has written articles in The Canberra Times and The Sydney Morning Herald. Photo - Oscar the pet dog In a Sydney Morning Herald article some years ago by Rick Gladstone taken from the New York Times, we hear that Pope Francis when comforting a little boy after his beloved pet dog died, assured him he was in heaven. This opened the flood gates of excited discussion by animal lovers around the world and it raises some interesting questions of Papal exhortations on this very subject, as various Pope's have contradicted each other. In this SMH article the following Papal quotes are cited: Pope Pius IX (tenure 1846-1878) the longest serving Pope, strongly supported the doctrine that dogs and other animals have no consciousness. He even sought to thwart the founding of an Italian chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It was this Pius IX who declared Papal infallibility in 1854. Pope John Paul II contradicted Pius in 1990 when he proclaimed that animals do have souls and are "as near to God as men are." Oops! On the infallibility issue! But - John Paul's successor, Benedict, seemed to emphatically reject his view in a 2008 sermon in which he asserted that when an animal dies, it "just means the end of existence on earth." Now Pope Francis has reversed it again. Nothing like a good theological issue to get the chattering classes going and going they are. This article has it all. There are quotes from - Christine Gutleben, senior director of faith outreach at the Humane Society, the largest animal protection group in the United States. Charles Camosy, an author and professor of Christian ethics at Fordham University. Reverend James Martin, a Jesuit priest and editor at large of America, the Catholic magazine. Sarah Withrow King, director of Christian outreach and engagement at PETA, one of the most activist anti-slaughterhouse groups. Dave Warner, a spokesman for the National Pork Producers Council. Laura Hobgood-Oster, professor of religion and environmental studies at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. Photo - What about our amazing Kangaroos A dog's breakfast I think that Laura Hobgood-Oster has touched a nerve here: "Historically, the Catholic Church has never been clear on this question; it's all over the place, because it begs so many other questions. Where do mosquitoes go, for God's sake?" There you have it. Papal infallibility out the window. Popes disagreeing with each other. The animal rights world having a field day. Theologians betwixt and between. So now it's my turn. As a daily columnist I get to read a great deal and what springs to mind is that John Wesley said our pets go to heaven and so far be from me, to disagree with such a luminary. Those who live and work with animals day in and day out experience a great deal more of animal behaviour, temperament, character and personality than most of us. My father was born and raised as a man of the land. He was allotted a selection at Crediton (Eungella a west of Mackay on the great dividing range) where he cleared the land and developed his own dairy herd in the mid to late 30's before WWII. His diary can be read here. He spoke to his cows and they understood. He knew how to speak into the ear of a horse who likewise understood. My late father had this unusual bond with his animals that many a man of the land enjoys. One or two of his cows would be difficult to herd into the bails, he took counter measures and spoke to them, and they got the message. Horses would be frightened and he'd calm them with a whisper. His cattle dogs were like eager beavers just waiting for a whistle (various whistles my father utilised) and his working dogs went at the task at hand knowing exactly what sound was associated with what task. The dogs loved to be at work, being useful, doing what they were born to do! Our favourite characters Some years ago a vet visited us and was staying a couple of days. For whatever reason this person had never seen Mr Ed. I tell you, this vet missed out on a wonderful aspect of their childhood in not celebrating with Wilber the many bits and pieces of wisdom Mr Ed gave out. It just so happened, while staying with us, Mr Ed the talking horse program appeared on the television. I tell you no lie, it was impossible to drag this vet away from the television screen. What was of such fascination, was how the lips of the horse moved. Non-horse people may not be aware that horses communicate visually by the minimal movement of their large lips. This is why, it's said that children with autism communicate so well with horses as their head-facial movement is in effect 'stationary' a dog to a lesser extent, a dog's mouth opens and closes frequently and it's tail wags with more movement than a horse. I'm with John Wesley. My previous hilarious article on our dog Oscar speaks more of this. Photo - What about Kookaburras Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children. Dr Tronson writes a daily article for Christian Today Australia (since 2008) and in November 2016 established Christian Today New Zealand. Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html Evers plan, however, would align Wisconsin with a handful of other states where independent commissions draw the lines. The proposal is similar to those in previous Democratic bills to establish nonpartisan redistricting in the state. It comes after a Marquette Law School Poll released in January found 72 percent of Wisconsin voters support nonpartisan redistricting. Evers proposal would give responsibility for drawing political boundaries to an existing state agency, the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau, at the direction of a new nonpartisan Redistricting Advisory Commission. The bill would appropriate an additional $10,000 over the two-year budget cycle to the LRB. The state Legislature would still vote on the redistricting bill the LRB produces but would be restricted in the changes it could make. The commission would consist of five members. The leader of each party in either house would get an appointment, and then the four appointees would together select a fifth member who would serve as the chairperson. MADISON, Wis. Gov. Tony Evers first budget, to be unveiled this week, will surely please his Democratic supporters by fulfilling campaign promises to legalize medical marijuana, expand Medicaid and spend more money on public education. But theres one big problem. Many of the ideas will be dead on arrival in the Republican-controlled Legislature, or face little chance of passing without significant changes. Add to the mix huge issues upon which even Republicans cant agree and it seems a stalemate is inevitable. Republicans have made clear their opposition to Evers proposals to accept federal money to expand Medicaid , legalize medical marijuana and decriminalize small amounts of recreational pot and freeze enrollment in private voucher schools. Even in areas where there appears to be common ground such as cutting middle class taxes Evers and Republicans have been unable to compromise to get it done. Former Gov. Scott Walker didnt sign the last budget until late September, after Republicans struggled with how to fund roads and ultimately decided to punt and borrow more money rather than raise taxes or fees. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via OTC PR WIRE -- Choom (CSE: CHOO) (OTCQB: CHOOF) (the "Company" or "Choom") an emerging adult use cannabis company that has secured one of the largest national retail networks in Canada, is pleased to announce has entered a definitive agreement ("Purchase Agreement") with Clarity Cannabis MD Holdings ("Clarity") and its shareholders, to acquire 30 retail locations, three of which are licensed with the Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis Commission ("AGLC"). Clarity has successfully progressed through AGLC licensing and is operating the following three stores in the legal adult use cannabis market in Alberta and is awaiting licences for the following seven cannabis retail stores. CANNABIS RETAIL STORES OPENED High River, AB Cold Lake, AB Red Deer, AB CANNABIS RETAIL STORES COMPLETED Cold Lake #2, AB awaiting licensing Lloydminster, AB awaiting licensing Drumheller, AB awaiting licensing Brooks, AB awaiting licensing Medicine Hat, AB awaiting licensing Westlock, AB awaiting licensing Camrose, AB awaiting licensing Camrose #2, AB awaiting licensing Lethbridge, AB awaiting licensing In addition to the three licensed cannabis retail stores, the acquisition includes all 30 leases secured and applications submitted to the AGLC by Clarity. Clarity currently has 11 development permits awaiting construction, with 6 stores to commence construction, and 9 stores completed construction. Choom expects the licenses for the remaining completed stores to be granted soon after the AGLC starts to grant additional retail licenses. Upon approval from the AGLC, all of the Clarity retail stores and retail opportunities will be re-branded under the "Choom Cannabis Co." name. The completion of the acquisitions of the retail stores and retail opportunities will be dependent on the timing of the receipt of all necessary provincial and municipal approvals. The Purchase Agreement has been structured to permit Choom to acquire Clarity itself or all of the thirty retail stores and retail opportunities on a location-by-location basis, to provide flexibility to obtain timely receipt of necessary provincial and municipal approvals on a location-by-location basis or through the acquisition of Clarity itself. We are thrilled to welcome Clarity into the Choom brands portfolio through this acquisition, states Chris Bogart, President & CEO of Choom. Clarity has been successfully operating in Alberta since December and has submitted applications across the province. This transaction gives us a strong foothold in the Alberta retail landscape. Moving forward we will be working diligently to maximize our retail footprint Canada wide, and this transaction helps us to achieve that goal. Purchase Terms Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, among other things, Choom will pay $2,000,000 to the principal shareholder of Clarity (the Principal) and issue 6,000,000 Choom Shares to all of the shareholders of Clarity, subject to escrow release over two years; pay $500,000 to the Principal and issue 2,500,000 Choom Shares to all of the shareholders of Clarity, subject to escrow release over two years, once Choom acquires Clarity or acquires one of the Clarity retail stores; and issue 2,500,000 Choom Shares to all of the shareholders of Clarity, subject to escrow release over two years, once the AGLC approves Choom to either acquire one of the Clarity retail stores or to operate any cannabis retail store in Alberta. Choom will issue 6,650,250 Choom Shares and pay $2.5 million to the Principal in connection with the acquisition. As the Principal is also a director of Choom, the acquisition constitutes a related party transaction within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 (MI 61-101), however, the transaction will be exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 as the fair market value of the consideration and the transaction will not exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization. A material change report in relation to this transaction will be filed less than 21 days before the issue of the majority of the Choom Shares and cash consideration in accordance with the terms of the Purchase Agreement but at least 21 days prior to closing. SAY HELLO TO CHOOMTM Choom is an emerging adult use cannabis company that has secured one of the largest retail networks in Canada. The Choom brand is inspired by Hawaii's Choom Ganga group of buddies in Honolulu during the 1970's who loved to smoke weedor as the locals called it, Choom. Evoking the spirit of the original Choom Gang, our brand caters to the Canadian adult use market with the ethos of cultivating Good Times with Good Friends. Choom is focused on delivering an elevated customer experience through our curated retail environments, offering a diversity of brands for Canadians across a national retail network. Chris Bogart President & CEO Contact: Choom Holdings Inc. Chris Bogart President & CEO T: 604.683.2509 F: 604.683.2506 E: chris@choom.ca Alex Porporo Investor Relations T: 604.683.2509 Ext. 231 F: 604.683.2506 E: alex@choom.ca Cautionary Statement: NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. Forward-looking information This news release contains forward-looking information relating to the Company's proposed activities and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking information relates to management's future outlook and anticipated events or results, and include statements or information regarding the future plans or prospects of the Company. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. These factors include risks and uncertainties associated with the results of diligence investigations, developments in the cannabis sector, delays resulting from or inability to obtain required regulatory approvals and ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, reliance on key personnel, regulatory risks and delays and other risks and uncertainties discussed in the management discussion and analysis section of the Company's interim and most recent annual financial statement or other reports and filings, including the Companys Listing Statement, made with the applicable Canadian securities regulators. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. With a snow event at least once a week for the past four weeks, Plant Services colleagues at HSHS St. Josephs Hospital often are burning the midnight oil to make sure parking lots, sidewalks, exit doors and even roofs are clear of snow for safety. Tim Bresina and John Oliver, who have been with the hospital for 31 and 14 years, respectively, are dubbed snow-removal specialists. Although thats not their official title, colleagues at the hospital honor them as such. As soon as the National Weather Service starts talking about a winter weather event, Bresina and Oliver are planning plotting. HSHS St. Josephs Hospital is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and every day of the year to take care of patients. For Bresina, Oliver and other Plant Services colleagues called to snow-removal duty, that means making sure patients are able to get to the hospital doors safely. It also means being vigilant about medical staff being able to park and walk into the hospital in a hurry. Pat DeLong, plant services facilitator at the hospital, said Bresina and Oliver take that task very seriously. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} This blog is in violation of Blogger's Terms of Service and is open to authors only If you are an author of this blog, tell us who you are! Sign in using your Account. Cape Cod's own Alicia Mathewson will hold a special concert at the Harwich Cultural Center in June, and is in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign that will allow her to start a new recording company. Contributed Photo Kickstarter Campaign Will Help Create New Recording Company HARWICH Cape songstress Alicia Mathewson has been on a journey and is looking forward to sharing it with the world, with a special nod to her beloved Cape Cod community, which she invites to support her Kickstarter campaign and attend a special concert in June. For some time, Mathewson has been diligently composing songs for her upcoming album. Titled 12 Rebirth Mathewson said the songs, while inspired by the loss of her mother Ellen in 2007, have a greater purpose. For me it's about one of the things my mom used to say, which was 'Rejoice regardless,' Mathewson said. How do you stay in love and joy and celebration even in the face of things we deal with as humans, whether it's death, depression, divorce, loss of a job, or looking at the world and wondering what's happening? These songs for me are an offering to myself first, and then everybody, to say rejoice regardless. Just to be in the human body is a victory. Just to be alive is enough. Mathewson is also hosting a Kickstarter campaign not only to raise funds in support of the new album, but also to create her own recording studio, Queen City Records. The name, she said, was inspired by meeting spiritual author Vivienne Gerard of Cincinnati, Ohio, and finding out that Cincinnati is known as Queen City. That was part of the inspiration for the new business, with Mathewson also drawing upon her own spirituality regarding the records aspect. It's more of a consciousness and a platform than a brand, she said, adding that she derived further inspiration from the Akashic Records. I think of being a record keeper, telling the stories of our time. Queen City is about me looking for the record keepers and amplifying the messages that I want more of. It's about taking responsibility and becoming an amplifier for love, peace, truth, right conduct, and non-violence. While the new company will allow Mathewson to more deeply explore her own musical horizons, she will also be looking for other musicians to work with. Queen City Records...will help support me in my music, but I'll also be looking for 11 other artists who align with the mission of Queen City Records, which is to awaken love, peace, truth, right conduct, and non-violence in themselves and in others. Mathewson hopes to infuse her June 1 concert at the Harwich Cultural Center with each of those elements, while also making it a welcoming, uplifting experience for her audience. What I hope is that it will have an intimate feel but also kind of feel like a rock concert, Mathewson said. It will feel exciting. It's Cape Cod. I would love every person that's ever heard me sing to come to that show so I can honor them all. I want everybody in that room to have some connection to me or to the songs. Mathewson will perform songs from 12 Rebirth, and noted that she invited a number of Cape people to work on the album, including Chatham's Catie Flynn. Her goal with the show, and ultimately with her record label, is to fill the world with positive energy through soulful music that reminds people of their own uniqueness. I think we live in a time where we've been so conditioned, me included, to think we need things outside of ourselves to be happy, to be OK, Mathewson said. For me, this album and this whole process is about saying that I am unlimited. I have everything I need, and so do you. To support Alicia Mathewson's Kickstarter campaign click here, or visit: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/12rebirth/12-rebirth-a-new-album-and-vision-from-alicia-math?ref=user_menu. For more information about the upcoming concert click here or visit aliciamathewson.com. This house between Main Street and Queen Anne Road prompted questions about the allowable scale of residential dwellings. Selectmen have asked the planning board to investigate a zoning bylaw to control the size of houses. TIM WOOD PHOTO CHATHAM With growing concern over the loss of historic homes and the replacement of modest houses with buildings several times larger, the planning board is diving into the process of finding a way to limit the scale of residential structures. Developing a zoning bylaw to accomplish that goal is likely to require study and analysis, perhaps with assistance from the Cape Cod Commission, said Planning Board Chair Kathryn Halpern. Essentially what we may need to decide is what is the standard, historical residential massing that is the ideal that we want to structure the design standards to create for future development and redevelopment, she said during a discussion at the Feb. 19 board meeting. Back in January, the board of selectmen adopted a goal to encourage residential development in keeping with the town's historic nature and requested that the planning board consider a zoning bylaw change to limit the scale of residential structures. The board noted concerns for continued tear-downs of historic homes, construction of large residential structures on small lots and the need to provide tighter direction to the town's regulatory boards. Currently, Chatham's zoning bylaw includes limits on lot coverage but does not restrict the square footage of a home. One element driving the price of land in town, Planning Board member Tom Geagan said, is the ability of a developer to tear down a small home and build something in a price range that allows a profit. Restricting that could potentially have a profound effect on land values, he said, and is likely to elicit pushback from developers and builders, he said. The town is getting tighter and tighter in terms of the amount of land we have, Geagan said, adding that the planning board does not have the authority at present to review site plans for individual residential lots. Lot coverage ranged from 17 percent for smaller lots to 10 percent for larger lots, said Robert Dubis. The bigger the lot the less you can cover, he said; further limiting how big homes could be could penalize those with larger lots. This is going to have to pass town meeting, which I think might be a tough sell unless you can come up with some unique ideas, Dubis said. It might have been easier 20 or 30 years ago, when there was more land available, but with tear-downs the chief form of residential development, it's going to be a tough sell. A bylaw would have to have limited relief valves to be effective, said Art Spruch. Otherwise, what are we achieving out of this? The zoning board of appeals has to be part of the dialog, he suggested. Peter Farber agreed, saying most mansionized homes that involved tear-downs were approved by the ZBA; selectmen might be better off appointing people to the zoning board who share their goal. Until you get people on the board of appeals who take this seriously, we're not going to accomplish anything, Farber said. Halpern said she envisions the process taking two tacks. One involves developing guidelines for West Chatham neighborhood centers, which will call on information developed during a Cape Cod Commission study of the Route 28 corridor, the other consideration of a more general town-wide scale limitation. It does seem we need some information and analysis first, she said, agreeing to check with the board of selectmen to determine if there are funds available to help with a study of residential massing. Geagan suggested asking the zoning board for a liaison to work with the planning board on the issue. Chatham residents want the type of controls that the board is talking about, resident Gloria Freeman said. Residents are getting tired of seeing bloated eyesores on inappropriately sized lots that are really an assault on our traditions and legacy, she said, adding several Massachusetts towns, including Truro, impose limits on the scale of residential structures. We're all concerned about what happens to working families, Freeman told the board. But our lack of regulations and weak zoning bylaw in this respect encourages gentrification and big houses, many of which are only used for a few weeks out of the year. By limiting house sizes, the board will stand up for young, working families as well as the environment, she said. The discussion was continued until the board's meeting on March 12. 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. . ..Honest Reporting..26 February '19..Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade of Gaza since Hamas seized control of the Strip in 2007.Often overlooked, forgotten or taken for granted in media coverage and public discussion is the reason for the blockade: the threat of Hamas weapons smuggling.Egypt captured Gaza during the 1948 Israeli War of Independence. The Strip would remain under Egyptian military occupation until the Six-Day War of 1967. Israels administration allowed Jews to settle in the Strip. (The Jewish Virtual Library expands on historical Jewish ties to Gaza). When Israel unilaterally disengaged from Gaza in 2005, 8,000 settlers were evacuated from 21 settlements. The Fatah-led Palestinian Authority managed Gazas affairs until 2007, when Hamas violently seized control of the Strip, killing and expelling Fatah personnel.The Hamas takeover destroyed international agreements between Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Egypt over Gazas border crossings. PA personnel and European monitors manning the crossings fled the violence.Since Hamas seized power, Israel has fought three wars in Gaza (Operation Cast Lead in 2008-09, Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, and Operation Protective Edge in 2014). The IDF has foiled a number of attempts to smuggle Iranian arms to Gaza. Egypt has also has also periodically moved against Gaza-Sinai smuggling tunnels. Hamas has an up-and-down relationship with jihadist insurgents in the Sinai fighting the Egyptian military. 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. . ..Fathom Journal..February '19..to Point of No Return (CB-D):Spies of No Country(MF): The book follows four of Israels first spies through the 1948 War of Independence. The main characters are young men on the margins of the Zionist project who are recruited by a small, ad-hoc intelligence outfit within the Palmach called the Arab Section, which encourages Arabic-speaking Jews to cross enemy lines and gather intelligence in the Arab world. They actually dont call themselves agents, but Mistarvim, which means ones who become like Arabs and its a term used today, made famous by the TV hit Fauda. At its height at the onset of the war, the section was no more than 20 agents, only half of whom survive. Their mission expanded to attempted assassinations of Arab leaders, and in Haifa they carried out a pre-emptive attack on a garage where the Arab militia was preparing a car bomb in the spring of 1948. And then when Haifa fell to the Haganah in 1948 and the Arabs begun to flee, the people in charge of the Arab Section realised that they have an opportunity to insert their agents into the Arab world by disguising them as refugees. They ran away to Lebanon and spent the first two years of Israels existence as Palestinian refugees, so the way they experienced the birth of the state is radically different to most of the stories people have heard about at that time.For many years, I have had the feeling that the stories we tell about Israel no longer explain the country; nor are they useful as a map for navigating the country in 2019. Israel has always told its story in a very European way, about socialism, Theodor Herzl, the Holocaust, the Kibbutzim. That is very important if you want to understand how the country was founded, but it doesnt explain the society that we live in. So I was looking for other stories that would explain the state of now, particularly from the Middle Eastern perspective, which reflects the fact that half of Israelis today actually come from the Islamic world rather than from Europe. In 2011 I met a 90-year-old former spy, Isaac Shoshan, who lives in a small working class suburb of Tel Aviv with whom I had a series of fascinating conversations. Isaac told me a story about the founding of the state that I hadnt heard before. He experienced 1948 as a Palestinian refugee, which was his job as part of the very small, embryonic intelligence outfit that as part of the Jewish military underground and that story struck me as worth telling. [Gantzs] new party is expected to win 36 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, according to polls by Israels Channel 12 and 13 news. The two networks predicted Netanyahus Likud party would secure just 30 and 26 respectively. There were discussions of Israel finally embracing a centrist agenda. The word progressive was even bandied about. It is true that Netanyahu, his party and his people were quick to scaremonger the largely right-wing Israeli electorate, criticising Gantz-Lapid for being left wing and pro-Arab. But how much of this is actually the case? While it is unlikely the pair will peddle the same fervent nationalist and populist line that Bibi has sculpted into his own brand, dont expect a major break from the norm. Lt Gen Gantzs first campaign video was a disturbing rolling body count of the Palestinians killed by his soldiers during the 2014 war on Gaza that he oversaw. The advert, layered over footage of funerals and destroyed civilian neighbourhoods, concluded by saying that Gantz was responsible for killing 1,364 Gaza militants in the seven-week military campaign. The problem is that this militant body count is even higher than Israels agreed numbers and nearly double the United Nations figures. The video effectively glorifies the killing of civilians. By Parisa Hafezi and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rejected his foreign minister's resignation as "against national interests" on Wednesday, bolstering a moderate ally who has long been targeted by hardliners in factional struggles over the 2015 nuclear deal with the West. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, a U.S.-educated veteran diplomat, announced his resignation on Monday in what an aide said was anger at being excluded from meetings that day with Syria's president, who was visiting Tehran. Two days later, he was back with his position strengthened by the president's endorsement as well as a chorus of support from moderate lawmakers, a senior Revolutionary Guards commander and, implicitly, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. In a letter published by state news agency IRNA, Rouhani told Zarif: "As the Supreme Leader has described you as a 'trustworthy, brave and religious' person in the forefront of resistance against widespread U.S. pressures, I consider accepting your resignation against national interests and reject it." Senior Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani said Zarif, who helped craft the pact that curbed Iran's nuclear program in return for sanctions relief, was the main person in charge of foreign policy and he was supported by Khamenei. The support came at a time when the clerical establishment is in a vulnerable position amid growing pressure from the United States, and so in need of promoting unity and keeping the reform wing on its side. Iranian leaders reached the conclusion that Washington wants regime change after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in May last year. In many of his speeches at the time Khamenei stressed that unity is paramount, and that remains his position as Tehran faces reimposed sanctions. PROTESTS Discontent with sky-rocketing inflation and unemployment exacerbated by sanctions have triggered waves of protests. Iranians who were hoping the nuclear deal would bring relief are now calling for Rouhani and clerical leaders to step down. Zarifs sudden resignation after months of pressure from hardliners was prompted by his indignation of being excluded from meetings in Tehran between top Iranian officials and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an aide said. Soleimani, who was present at both meetings, said Zarif's absence was the result of a "bureaucratic" mistake, and there was no intention to exclude him. A regional official with knowledge of Iranian affairs said that the foreign ministry and the Quds Force - the extraterritorial branch of the Revolutionary Guards that Soleimani commands - had conflicts of opinion over Syria. The Quds Force focused heavily on Syria, the official said. "This is why Qassem Soleimani is the one in direct relationship with Bashar al-Assad while Zarif came only once to Syria during the seven years of crisis." However, apparently to ease the tensions with Zarif, Assad invited him to visit Damascus, according to IRNA, and Zarif spoke with his Syrian counterpart Walid Mouallem by phone to follow up on Assad's trip to Tehran, Syrian state news agency SANA said on Wednesday. Zarif also spoke on phone with his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and offered mediation between India and Pakistan, after rising tensions between the two countries. "Zarif wanted to resign for a long time and actually he tried several times in the past. But for many reasons, including lack of a replacement, his attempts failed," said a senior official. "I believe that is why Zarif decided to go public and resign. It was a cry for help. To tell officials and people that his hands were tied." Zarif's departure would have deprived Iran of its most skilled diplomat, a patient negotiator able to strike a landmark deal with often hostile Western powers. Hardliners also need him to work with countries such as India and China to find sways to ease the impact of sanctions. "Zarif is too valuable for the Iranian system to let him go at a time when his diplomatic skills are needed more than ever," said Ali Vaez, director of the Iran project at Crisis Group. The foreign minister's knowledge of the West - gained during years of studying in the United States and then representing Iran at the United Nations - helped him build a rapport with American officials despite decades of animosity between Washington and Tehran. But after Trump abandoned the nuclear deal and reimposed U.S. sanctions, he came under heavy criticism from opponents who accused him of selling out his country. POLITICAL AMMUNITION It was unclear whether Zarif's resignation announcement, and the expressions of support which followed, were orchestrated. But allies said the last two days' events would give him political ammunition against hardliners. "There is no one to replace Zarif as the foreign minister. And the establishment knows that," said Zarif's ally, speaking on condition of anonymity. Khamenei, who stays out of day to day politics, has not publicly commented on Zarif's resignation. But it is almost certain that Rouhani would have needed a green light from the man with ultimate authority in Iran. Zarif's move thrust the schism between Iran's hardliners and moderates into the open, effectively challenging Khamenei to pick a side. Zarif gave no specific reasons for his resignation. But allies said he had quit after coming under increasing pressure over the nuclear deal and other issues. On Wednesday, Zarif thanked Iranians for their support. "As a modest servant I have never had any concern but elevating the foreign policy and the status of the foreign ministry," he said in an Instagram post. (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Parisa Hafezi, additional reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh in Geneva, Laila Bassam in Beirut, Nadia El Gowely in Cairo; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Frances Kerry) Jody Wilson-Raybould wrote to the chair of the justice committee Tuesday evening to say that while she will agree to give testimony before MPs on Wednesday, she will not be able to speak freely because of constraints that still exist around what she can and can't talk about. The former justice minister had obtained a broad waiver from the Prime Minister's Office that allows her to disclose details of her conversations with government officials about the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, a Montreal-based global engineering and construction company. In an Order in Council (OIC) posted online Monday, the government said Wilson-Raybould "and any persons who directly participated in discussions with her relating to the exercise of her authority under the Director of Public Prosecutions Act respecting the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin" can report to the committee and to the federal ethics commissioner any cabinet confidences "in any information or communications that were directly discussed with her respecting the exercise of that authority while she held that office." But in the letter to Anthony Housefather, Wilson-Raybould said those parameters will not allow her to "speak freely." "The OIC addresses only my time as attorney general of Canada and therefore does nothing to release me from any restrictions that apply to communications while I served as minister of veterans affairs and in relation to my resignation from that post or my presentation to cabinet after I had resigned," she said in the letter. "I mention this simply to alert the committee to the fact that the Order in Council leaves in place whatever restraints there are on my ability to speak freely about matters that occurred after I left the post of attorney general." On Monday, Wilson-Raybould wrote the committee saying she is "anxious" to appear, and sought permission to deliver a 30-minute opening statement instead of the usual five to 10 minutes, a request which has been granted by the committee. Story continues After the letter to Housefather was made public, a PMO official told CBC News that the core issue of the case revolves around whether or not Wilson-Raybould was pressured while attorney general of Canada on SNC-Lavalin. The PMO's position is that the order in council is broad enough for the former minister to deal with the issue in full. Earlier, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he's "pleased" that Wilson-Raybould will be able to "share her perspectives" on the SNC-Lavalin affair. "It's important that people get an opportunity to testify, or share their point of view, at committee," Trudeau told reporters as he headed into the weekly Liberal cabinet meeting. "As we said, waiving privilege, waiving cabinet confidentiality is something that we had to take very seriously, but I'm pleased that Ms. Wilson-Raybould is going to be able to share her perspectives." The OIC waived cabinet confidence and solicitor-client privilege for Wilson-Raybould in her conversations with the justice committee and the ethics commissioner. The waiver does not cover communications between Wilson-Raybould and the director of public prosecutions a limit imposed to "uphold the integrity of any criminal or civil proceedings," according to the text of the order. Justice Minister and Attorney General David Lametti said the order achieves two objectives. "What we were doing is establishing a process that's fair and open and allows transparency but still protects the very principles that we want to protect in the legal system, as well as not interfering with ongoing litigation," he said. Lametti confirmed there were "contacts" between lawyers, but would not say whether he was talking about discussions between government lawyers and Wilson-Raybould's counsel retired Supreme Court justice Thomas Cromwell. The justice committee is examining the growing controversy touched off by a Feb. 7 Globe and Mail report that said Trudeau's aides attempted to press Wilson-Raybould to intervene in the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin to help the company avoid criminal prosecution on bribery charges related to contracts in Libya. Wilson-Raybould resigned from cabinet on Feb. 12, and has remained silent on the matter, insisting she's still bound by solicitor-client confidentiality from her time as attorney general. "I understand fully that Canadians want to know the truth and want transparency," she told the House of Commons last week. "Privilege and confidentiality are not mine to waive, and I hope that I have the opportunity to speak my truth." Housefather said he believes all of Wilson-Raybould's previous concerns have now been addressed and she will now have the opportunity to give her account of events. "I think she now can tell her side of the story. With 30 minutes, I think she'll have ample time to do so and I look forward to hearing from her, as I know the other committee members do," he said. Why did she resign? Conservative justice critic and deputy leader Lisa Raitt will press Wilson-Raybould on what happened in various meetings and whether she engaged in any discussions that were, in her opinion, inappropriate. But she said the big unanswered question is what prompted Wilson-Raybould to resign. "What was it either in what Mr. Lametti said, or in what the prime minister said, that caused her to realize she didn't have the confidence of the cabinet any longer and she had to remove herself from cabinet solidarity?" Raitt said. "Because that's what she did and it's a big deal." NDP MP Nathan Cullen said Wilson-Raybould's testimony will be "pivotal" and the committee probe must expand to call on testimony from officials in the PMO, including Trudeau's chief of staff Katie Telford and his former principal secretary Gerry Butts. "It's a typical scandal. First they deny anything's here, then they admit the thing happened but the thing's not important. Then one by one the accusations become verified, and we need to hear from the principal actors," he said. CEO discusses access to institutional investors, increased transparency, and best practice corporate governance Baltimore, MD, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Greater Cannabis Company, Inc. (OTC: GCAN) (the Company), a biopharmaceutical company focused on development and commercialization of innovative delivery systems for the Cannabis market, today announced that shares of its common stock were approved for quotation on the OTCQB Venture Market. To qualify for this market, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, demonstrate compliance with U.S. securities laws and be current in their disclosure. The Company believes that the move to the OTCQB will provide enhanced investor benefits including higher reporting standards, greater access to analyst coverage and news services, and more comprehensive compliance requirements. The OTCQB is considered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an established public market for the purpose of determining the public market price when registering securities for resale with the SEC. The OTCQB dramatically increases transparency, reporting standards, management certification and compliance requirements. The majority of broker dealers trade stocks on the OTCQB. Historically this has resulted in greater liquidity and awareness for companies that reach the OTCQB tier. "Since going public we have focused on enhancing transparency and implementing best practice corporate governance. Upgrading from the Pink Market Tier to the OTCQB is the next logical step in our strategy as we work to unlock and maximize shareholder value, stated Aitan Zacharin, CEO of Greater Cannabis. Our decision to move to the OTCQB Venture Market reflects the building interest in our story and will allow us to increase our exposure to the investment community, both in the US and internationally. We anticipate that trading on the OTCQB will not only help in increasing our shareholder base, but will also raise visibility with institutional investors, which historically do not invest in Pink Sheet companies. We are excited to increase liquidity and transparency for our shareholders through an established and respected platform. To learn more, visit OTCQB. U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the Company on www.otcmarkets.com. About The Greater Cannabis Company: The Greater Cannabis is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative cannabinoid delivery systems. Greater Cannabis deploys its patented technology platform for use in the cannabis industry. The Companys conveyance platform can be utilized to deliver cannabinoids without the harmful side effects found with other routes of cannabinoid administration. The technology is versatile in that for the first-time patients can receive lower dosing, enhanced bioavailability, and controlled rapid and delayed release using a fully dissolvable, non-irritant oral eluting patch. Greater Cannabis mission is to bring our technology to the global market through partnerships with leading cannabis and pharmaceutical companies, for the benefit of patients and consumers. More information on the Greater Cannabis Company and its technology can be found on the Companys website, www.gcanrx.com. Forward Looking Statements and Disclaimer: Statements made in this press release that express the Company or management's intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations or predictions of future events, are forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "will" and similar expressions are intended to further identify such forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Those statements are based on many assumptions and are subject to many known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the Company's actual activities, results or performance to differ materially from those anticipated or projected in such forward-looking statements. The Company cannot guarantee future financial results; levels of activity, performance or achievements and investors should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. No information contained in this press release should be construed as any indication whatsoever of the Company's future financial performance, future revenues or its future stock price. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgment of the Company as of the date of this press release, and the Company expressly disclaims any intent, obligation or undertaking to update or revise such forward-looking statements to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based. No information in this press release should be construed as any indication whatsoever of the Company's future revenues or results of operations. Additional risks and uncertainties are set forth in the Company's Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2017, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov. People with complex mental health issues can sometimes fall through the cracks of the health system. A new team of health professionals is being set up in eight Saskatchewan communities to help these people get the help they need, the province says. The Saskatchewan government is putting $4.2 million into funding Community Recovery Teams (CRTs) in Regina, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, North Battleford, Swift Current, Weyburn, Yorkton and Saskatoon. The CRTs will include a team lead, two community mental health nurses, a social worker and an occupational therapist. The teams will provide intensive supports to clients who need it on a daily basis to help them avoid hospitalisation. CBC "We can offer that team approach to hopefully manage these clients in the community so that they stay well," said Candice Massier, a community mental health nurse on the Regina CRT. "So that they aren't utilizing our crisis- or emergency-based services and exhausting that. "If we can help alleviate some of that load. I think that we've been able to help them." Massier said there are people with mental health issues that have exhausted services currently in the system and have nowhere else to turn. "If we can help these people, these individuals, live well in the community, then we've established our goals right there and it is through that intensive based service that we will be able to do that." Corrections and Policing Minister and Regina Wascana Plains MLA Christine Tell said mental health and addictions have increased in the province and services haven't kept pace. "We're taking those steps to move us closer to where we need to be to help people and there's more work to do," Tell said. CRTs will be able to go out to meet patients in the community and respond to issues as soon as they arrive. For example, if there's a problem with medication a nurses on staff will be able to assess and contact a psychiatrist that works with a team to adjust medication in real time rather than waiting a week or two when things get worse. Funding comes from the Canada-Saskatchewan Bilateral Funding Agreement. The federal government is providing Saskatchewan with about $350 million over 10 years for targeted investments in home and community care and mental health and addiction services. The 4,500-kilometre rail journey from Pyongyang to Hanoi says much about North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un. A flight to meetings in Vietnam's capital with U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday and Thursday to address North Korea's nuclear weapons program would have been easier of course. But years of international sanctions have left the country's air fleet like its economy short on parts. Besides, Kim is following a generations-old playbook written when his father and grandfather ruled, preferring old ways of doing things in transportation and negotiation. Indeed, the trip parallels this whole denuclearization process. Plodding and drawn out, it is being done on Kim's terms so far at least preserving his nuclear arsenal and protecting his regime, much like the bulletproof train he uses for transportation. Trump who arrived Tuesday in Hanoi via Air Force One may have declared there was "no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea" after last year's talks with Kim in Singapore, but there's plenty of disagreement on that front. CIA director Gina Haspel told U.S. Congress last month that her spy agency is convinced North Korea is still "committed to developing a long-range nuclear armed missile that would pose a direct threat to the United States." There is evidence the North's weapons program has continued, despite Kim's pledge to work toward denuclearization at the Singapore summit and Pyongyang's widely publicized destruction of some testing facilities. 'We fell in love' Researchers at Stanford University estimate North Korea has increased its arsenal of nuclear weapons from 30 to up to 37 in the past year. The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a U.S. think-tank, said it has identified 20 undeclared North Korean missile sites. Commercially available satellite imagery suggests Pyongyang's main nuclear reactor at Yongbyon may be churning out weapons-grade plutonium even as Trump and Kim talk this week. Story continues Minoru Iwasaki/Kyodo News via Associated Press It's not surprising that even the U.S. administration's main point of contact with Kim over the past year, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, told CNN on Sunday the North remains a nuclear threat. None of this seems to dissuade Trump, who is putting his faith in his own skills as a deal-maker, and in a budding bromance with "terrific" Kim. "He wrote me beautiful letters, and they're great letters," Trump told supporters at a rally last fall. "We fell in love." Fears of complacency Before leaving for Hanoi, Trump added, "We'll see what that means, but he's never had a relationship with anybody from this country and hasn't had lots of relationships anywhere." It's an improvement from threats of "fire and fury" hurled across the Pacific by Trump when North Korea was firing test missiles and vowing to "rain destruction" on the United States. But what worries experts like Victor Cha is Trump is mistaking smiles and handshakes for progress in denuclearization, prompting the U.S. president to give up significant American assets for trinkets perhaps offers to inspect facilities that are no longer used or needed by the North. Minh Hoang/Associated Press At the Singapore summit, Trump surprised everyone by offering to halt long-standing joint military exercises between U.S. and South Korean forces for nothing more than promises to continue negotiations. "The president's unpredictability, his impulsiveness, his inclination not to prepare for meetings could get us into trouble," said Cha, the former director for Asian affairs in the White House's National Security Council and now a professor at Georgetown University. So could the president's complacency. On Sunday, Trump said he's "not in a rush" for an agreement with Kim that North Korea would get rid of its nuclear weapons. "I just don't want testing," he said. "As long as there's no testing, we're happy." That plays right into Kim's hands, said Robert Kelly, a Korea expert who teaches political science at Pusan National University in South Korea. "The North Koreans are experts at hair splitting and dragging things out for a long time," said Kelly. "We're now 14 months into this detente process which started in January 2018, and there's not a whole lot to show for it." All the while, Pyongyang has continued building weapons, according to Stanford researchers. 'Worst nightmare' The two sides still haven't even agreed on the meaning of denuclearization, which Pompeo insists will be "real, demonstrable and verifiable," but which most experts said is unlikely to lead to disarmament as in North Korea giving up its nuclear weapons capability. And certainly not at this summit. So, what might be possible? Kelly said the "most important" thing Trump could get from North Korea would be an inventory of exactly how many weapons it has. "If the North Koreans are serious about denuclearization, they have to tell us what they have and then we can start to bargain." Andrew Harnik/Associated Press Anything less than that, Kelly said, and it will be clear Kim isn't serious about negotiating and Trump is "just being taken for a ride." Trump's answer is his campaign of "maximum pressure," a set of strict sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the United Nations, will continue until there is a real deal. The economic impact of these on North Korea denying it fuel and other essential supplies, and denying its leaders foreign luxury goods, probably did push Kim to negotiate, according to analysts. But there is growing evidence that sanctions enforcement has already eased, especially by China, North Korea's biggest trading partner by far. Meanwhile, U.S. allies in the region fear something even more dangerous than a summit that achieves nothing. South Korea and Japan worry that in a bout of dealmaking, Trump will compromise their security for an agreement that saves the U.S. from the threat of North Korea's intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles (ICBMs). Cheon Seong Whun is a former secretary to South Korea's National Security Council and now an analyst at the Asian Institute for Policy Studies, based in Seoul. His office lies less than 70 kilometres from the nearest North Korean weapons bases. "What happens if North Korea agrees to cut back ICBMs while keeping an arsenal of nuclear warheads on short- and medium-range missiles pointed at us?" he asks. "That's my worst nightmare." It was a diplomatic mission unlike any other: an attempt by the government of Canada to win consular access to a Toronto-area pastor held in a prison in North Korea, a country with which it had no diplomatic ties. Now, CBC News has confirmed that Ottawa used its December 2016 diplomatic mission to Pyongyang to press North Korea to abandon its quest for a nuclear arsenal at a time when even official Washington believed there was no chance for real dialogue with the rogue nuclear state. South Korea Defence Ministry/Associated Press Before now, little was known outside diplomatic circles about the highly-secretive Canadian mission which laid the groundwork for Toronto-area pastor Hyeon Soo Lim's release eight months later. At the time, the state-run Korean Central News Agency published a three-sentence story noting that a delegation from Ottawa was in the North Korean capital but Ottawa itself has shared very little with the public about the trip. But documents obtained by CBC News through a years-old Access to Information request reveal that talks conducted during the mission went far beyond the consular case that was on the public agenda and offer a glimpse of Canada's delicate diplomatic dance with the Hermit Kingdom and its dictator, Kim Jong-un, at a time of high tensions over its quest for a nuclear arsenal. The four-person delegation was led by Sarah Taylor, director general for North Asia and Oceania at Global Affairs Canada, the federal official responsible for tracking political, trade and development matters in the Korean Peninsula. She was joined by Victoria Fuller, who managed consular cases for the department, and two diplomats from the Canadian embassy in Seoul: Patrick Hebert and Anna Song. Chris Young/THE CANADIAN PRESS Over three days, the Canadians quietly held meetings with veteran diplomats in the Kim regime, including Han Song Ryol, then the country's vice-minister of foreign affairs, and Choe Son Hui, a director general in the foreign ministry currently running negotiations with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump over the North Korean nuclear program. Story continues The primary focus of the trip was to win consular access to Pastor Lim a point Canada "clearly indicated" repeatedly to the North Koreans (according to Global Affairs' post-mission report) because of Ottawa's 2010 policy decision to tightly limit the circumstances in which Canada could engage with the North Koreans. A window of opportunity But merely being allowed into Pyongyang opened a window for Canada that wasn't open to the United States at the time, allowing Canadian diplomats to express in person "strong concerns" about the threat posed by North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile tests. The diplomatic mission took place at a time of extraordinary tension between between Kim and the rest of the world. North Korea had been making strides in its nuclear weapons program and launched some 20 missiles in 2016 alone. The team arrived just two weeks after the UN Security Council voted unanimously to further tighten sanctions on Pyongyang in response to North Korea's detonation of a nuclear device on Sept. 9, 2016. The documents obtained by CBC News show that Taylor used the meetings to urge North Korea to return to the table for the so-called 'six-party' talks between China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States aimed at dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear program. At the time, there hadn't been any official dialogue between the U.S. government under President Barack Obama and North Korea since Kim had assumed power following his father's death five years earlier. President Donald Trump is in Vietnam this week for his second summit meeting with Kim; Trump has claimed that his "very special bond" with the dictator will lead to a breakthrough in nuclear talks. Kim Kwang Hyon/The Associated Press "At any opportunity we have, if we have interaction with the North Koreans, we raise our concerns both on the proliferation-disarmament side and on the human rights side," Taylor told the Commons committee on national defence nine months after her visit. "One of the messages we have been trying to put across is that it's not just the Americans who don't like what they're doing and who are pushing for sanctions. It is the international community as a whole." In fact, CBC News has learned that Ottawa was alarmed enough by the "accelerated pace" of North Korea's nuclear and missile tests to activate its crisis response centre, which alerted the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Communications Security Establishment, the Canadian Armed Forces, the Privy Council Office, Public Safety Canada and Global Affairs Canada about North Korea's missile tests. CBC News reported in 2017 that concern over the nuclear threat also drove federal officials to review and revise a series of critical contingency plans, including one that would involve evacuating the federal cabinet to a bunker on a secure military base in the event of Ottawa becoming "unviable." The mission report originally classified as "secret" also shows Taylor spoke to the North Koreans about "Canada's ... decision not to establish a nuclear weapons programme after the Second World War, despite having the technical skills and the resources to do it." Offering Canada as a non-nuclear paragon It's a line Canada has echoed for four decades, ever since a 1978 speech to the United Nations by then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau describing Canada as the "first country in the world with the capability to produce nuclear weapons that chose not to do so." Canada recognizes North Korea but describes it as "an authoritarian state" with a "highly repressive regime." Diplomatic ties between the countries were established in 2001 but were short-lived; no embassies were built before ties were severed in 2010. Canada is represented in North Korea by Sweden, as are the United States and Australia. Canada had an advantage in engaging with Kim's officials, having provided over $33 million in aid to North Korea (officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea) since 2005, putting it among the top five donors. (Canada doesn't provide funding directly; instead, money is funneled through the World Food Programme, UNICEF and other major international organizations.) The Canadian officials also spoke to the North Koreans about the success of the Canada-DPRK Knowledge Partnership Program, a one-of-a-kind academic exchange at the University of British Columbia that has been bringing groups of North Korean professors to Canada for six months at a time since 2011. They take courses in business, finance, economics and trade alongside UBC students, while improving their English and giving them a taste of Canadian culture. "Despite the serious concerns of Canada regarding the DPRK's nuclear weapons programme and human rights violations, and the ongoing challenges around our consular case, there was a number of positive stories in the bilateral relations," noted the mission report. A 'friendly country' It's not clear what Pyongyang thought of the Canadians' visit details were fully redacted from the documents CBC News obtained but the North Koreans did host an "informal dinner" for the diplomats on their second day in the capital. "Certainly I would attest that they have told us they see us a friendly country, including in direct discussions I've had with North Korean counterparts," Global Affairs Canada's Taylor told parliamentarians after her visit. "We're obviously happy that we're not seen by the North Koreans as an enemy or a threat." Canadian bureaucrats have quietly hosted high-level officials from North Korea for backroom talks in recent months another low-profile effort to convince the state to respect human rights and abandon its quest for a nuclear arsenal. Canadian diplomats were granted consular access to Pastor Lim during the December 2016 trip his first consular visit by Ottawa officials in the two years since the Toronto-area Presbyterian minister was imprisoned while travelling to North Korea on a humanitarian mission. He was accused by the North Koreans of plotting to overthrow the regime and sentenced to a lifetime of hard labour. Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters Taylor "expressed [Canada's] appreciation" to North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for releasing at least five letters, hand-written by Lim in Korean, to his family and his congregation at Light Presbyterian Church in Mississauga, Ont. Eight months after the first mission, Lim was released on humanitarian grounds in August 2017 when a second, more high-profile Canadian team travelled to Pyongyang. They were led by Daniel Jean, then the national security and intelligence adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Jean praised Taylor and the initial Global Affairs Canada delegation after Lim came home. "Just returned this AM and witnessed emotional return with his family," Jean wrote in an email two hours after touching down in Canada. "Needless to say Sarah [Taylor] that you have laid great foundations for this to happen." Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe. Photo: Reuters Whatever happens in the coming weeks and months, French economy minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday, Ireland can count on Frances support when it comes to Brexit. Much has been made of European Union solidarity in the face of an intractable UK. Even then, the majority of the UKs political class has been treating this whole thing like a traditional negotiation mainly because they dont grasp that the backstop isnt a malicious gambit, and the EU really does care about peace on the island of Ireland. So, even though were 30 days out from Brexit, it would be fanciful to think that some member state is going to break ranks in any meaningful sense. But while it is correct to say that EU support of Ireland is unconditional, that does not mean that Ireland hasnt had to bend in other ways. READ MORE: Ireland is supportive of OECD review of international tax system Tuesdays visit by Le Maire to Dublin is a case in point. Le Maire, Emmanuel Macrons staunchly pro-EU finance chief, has spent months serenading his EU counterparts in the hopes that they will support his digital tax proposals. He meets US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin on Wednesday. The proposals would see digital giants like Google and Facebook taxed on three broad sources of income: data, advertising revenue, and digital sales. This would involve the introduction of a temporary 3% levy on digital turnover, which would remain in place until the OECD works out a more comprehensive global framework for taxing technology companies. Though Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Finland have also voiced opposition to the plan, Ireland is in a tricky situation for a number of reasons. First, it is home to the European headquarters of many of these digital giants. Irelands low 12.5% corporate tax rate and predictable taxation regime has played a big role in that. READ MORE: Effective corporate tax rate in 15 EU countries lower than Ireland Second, though Ireland has consistently rebuffed demands to raise its corporate tax rate, it cant exactly give the could shoulder to the very countries who have so staunchly supported its Brexit position. Story continues As such, instead of flatly rejecting Frances taxation overture like it has done in the past, Ireland on Tuesday said it was willing to compromise. Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe told Le Maire that the country was willing to work on a joint position on digital tax at an OECD level. The taxation of digital companies needs to change we have to find models that ensure that companies within the digital economy pay their fair share of taxation, said Donohoe. Though this wont exactly have been music to Frances ears, it still represents a climbdown of sorts. Calling it a new position and good news, Le Maire welcomed Donohoes commitment at an address to the Institute of International and European Affairs on Tuesday evening. The commitment may also just be the kind of move that solidifies EU support for Ireland. Let me be clear, said Le Marie. France and the EU have stood by Ireland over the last couple of years. You can continue to count on our full support and full solidarity. Natur, Europes technically savvy, Farm-to-Functional, consumer goods company, announces swift pursuit of highly demanded functional foods. Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Natur International Corp., (OTC: NTRU) today announces an expanded Vision and Mission to broaden its business and product lines to encompass a range of exciting and innovative new initiatives. A Broadened Company Vision Natur is committing to meet the demands of the burgeoning market for healthy food & beverage products beyond our award-winning fruit and vegetable juices and snacks. The Company is preparing for launch of a wider range of foods and beverages that are effectively functional. With consumers in increasing numbers eating more frequently, eating socially and being focused on the wellness derived from their choices, Natur is offering choices that can boost their immune system, support a sense of equilibrium in a stressful life, help to resist foods that are not healthy, and more. A Mission to Excel in Consumer Health and Wellness Natur brings the forces of nature, existing naturally and organically, as functional supplements in our branded foods and beverages. The first of natures superfoods to join our line is Hemp. We are preparing for launch in the Spring of our line of juices infused with cannabidiol (CBD) that are intended to offer improvement in quality of life. The human bodys endo-cannabinoid system is starved for sources of external cannabinoids. When fed, this system fires up the forces of immunity, pain management, heart health, a sense of equilibrium and much more. The Forces of Nature, from the industrial hemp plant, in their purest form, provide the best source for these important cannabinoids. CBD is the non-psychoactive cannabinoid in the hemp plant that, in increasing numbers, is gain consumer fans for its potential role in treating many common health issues, including pain, inflammation, anxiety, depression, acne and heart disease. Natur is developing collaborations in Hemp cultivation, extraction and innovation with growers, greenhouses, research and development scientists driving new products in the fields of medical cannabis, CBD edibles and beverages, human and animal CBD topicals and wellness products. About Natur International Corp. Natur pioneers the most advanced and emerging hi-tech health methodologies as it markets nutritious, delicious, fresh tasting products. Applying innovative technologies from farm to fridge, Natur ensures the peak of freshness and supplies nutrient density superior to competing products. This approach uniquely delivers value to retailers and consumers. Innovation is a cornerstone and Naturs robust new product development strategies for instance by bringing functional properties to its consumers, with an eye on relevant snackification trends with distribution channels including Europes leading retailers, foodservice partners, direct to consumer ecommerce. The company was established & funded by well-known investors and entrepreneurs. Natur personalizes nutrition and strives to enhance ones quality of life utilizing the forces of nature. This can be experienced first-hand by visiting the website at www.int.natur.eu . To Contact Media Relations Natur International Corp. 011.31.20.578.7700 ir@natur.eu Forward-Looking Statements All statements in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. While management has based any forward-looking statements included in this release on its current expectations, the information on which such expectations were based may change. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, as a result of various factors including those risks and uncertainties, some of which are described in the Risk Factors and in Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which can be found on the SECs website at www.sec.gov. We urge you to consider those risks and uncertainties in evaluating our forward-looking statements. We caution readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as otherwise required by the federal securities laws, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein (or elsewhere) to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Olympic Swimmer Nathan Adrian Discusses Testicular Cancer Diagnosis Trending News: Olympian Nathan Adrian Returns to Training a Month After Cancer Diagnosis Even a life-changing diagnosis wont keep Olympic swimmer Nathan Adrian out of the pool. The five-time gold medalist is back to training for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo just a month after being told he has testicular cancer. Im feeling great. All things considered, where we were a month ago, Im back in the water, Im training, Adrian, 30, told Today on Tuesday, February 26. My doctors lifted all the restrictions, so its about getting back on track where we need to be. RELATED: How to Check Yourself for Lumps Down There (in One Minute) Getty Images The swimmer recounted what it was like when he first noticed things were off down south.. To be honest, it was down there, something was swollen, it was hard, he said. It was then that Adrian decided to give his doctor a call and received the bad news.. From the moment he was diagnosed, Adrian claims hes been relying on the support from his new wife, Hallie Ivester. Its been such an awesome melding of two lives into one, he told Today. When this came it was certainly this moment of, how are we going to defeat this together? And from that moment on I was like, this is it. In January, Adrian took to social media, making his illness public knowledge. Life, like swimming the 100 free, can come at you hard and fast as you cant always see who, or what, may be chasing you down, he wrote in an Instagram post on January 24. Recently, I went to the doctor as something didnt seem quite right. At the very least, I still needed to get my flu shot so it couldnt hurt. After a few tests and visits with a specialist, I unfortunately learned that I have testicular cancer. Adrian pointed out that since he caught it early, doctors expected him to be back training in no time. They turned out to be right. Along the way, I hope to share my journey in an effort to help break the stigma of discussing mens health issues, he added in his post. Ive realized that too often we tend to avoid these important topics, ignore the potential warning signs, and put off getting the medical help that we may need. As I told my family, Ill be putting my public health degree to work a little sooner than I planned! But in all seriousness, I am keeping a positive attitude as cases such as mine are curable. I am extremely grateful for my family and friends, especially my wife, for their love and support. Adrian, who won gold medals in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics, explained on Tuesday that he decided to tell the world about his diagnosis because of how common testicular cancer is. One of the reasons I decided to say hey and open about this and be public about it is one-third of Americans are going to sit down with their doctor and theyre going to say Hey, we got your test results back and theyre not what you hoped. And thats hard, he told Today. Thats not something they prepare you for in school and you feel so alone and so isolated. But the more I looked into it there are so many people that go through it, too. If you suspect anything might be wrong down there, go see a doctor. Heres how to check on your own, too. You Might Also Dig: Opinion / Columnist The best opportunity was presented after the demise of Robert Mugabe. This was a golden opportunity to start afresh and bring a semblance of democracy and simultaneously revive the economy. November, 2017! Then some of us had hope that the current president was genuine when he hinted at reversing Mugabe's ills. Nothing changed. It is not known whether ED has failed to implement his programme or has been stopped by Dr Chiwenga and company.Had ED listened to the voices of wisdom, he would have opted for a National Transitional Authority model. This would have allowed all the stakeholders to come together for the sake of paving a meaningful way forward for Zimbabwe. For a moment, our intelligence sources suggested that he was pondering on this option but we all know what happened. It got rebranded as a Zanu internal matter, a shedding of the snake's kin. True to form, this is what happened literally. The same beast reared its ugly head again and again in as seen in the August shooting of civilians and more recently with the national riots.Yet again another opportunity presented itself in the form of an election in August 2018. A fair and credible election was on the cards, only for ED and Zanu colleagues to scupper the opportunity by declaring themselves winners of both parliamentary and presidential elections. Another missed opportunity for Zimbabwe. Had Chamisa become president the situation would be better and redeemable. For some reason, Zanu cannot be seen to lose elections. It is below them, embarrassing and insulting to them hence the inotonga igotonga mantra imi muchingowukura. Sadly Zanu offers no solution to the plight of the many in Zimbabwe and those stranded outside its borders.After trying to jig the economy and failing, ED has decided to enter dialogue with some opposition leaders. This is an opportunity about to be missed again. Not because Chamisa is not buying the ruse but because ED and Zanu are not prepared to negotiate in good faith. If only they were genuine in their endeavours for national dialogue. If only they prepared to offer meaningful roles to other stakeholders including technocrats with some backbone not just the likes of Mntulis who seem happy singing for their supper.The likes of on-off Themba Mliswa could be put to some good use and persuaded to be at least consistent. Perhaps business tycoons like Strive Masiyiwa could be roped in to contribute more openly and transparently both in business and political terms. His rural business schemes are promising (Watch the space). Some of the progressive leaders from the much overlooked Matabeleland could at least be consulted (The stone that the builders refused could be the proverbial head corner stone).When Zimbabwe faced protracted white supremacy rule, Matabeleland put its head above the parapet not once but thrice hence toady Zimbabwe is independent. We face a similar threat with the dearth of visionary political leadership and a declining economy as a result of a refusal to apply economic principles combined with corruption. I pose the question, could salvation come from Matabeleland again where there is proof we have less greedy politicians. News / National by Israel Dube Former President, Robert Mugabe must first recognise Matabeleland genocide, confess and apologise unconditionally before he masquerades as a holier than though defender for human rights.Furthermore, for us to forgive and take him seriously he must publicly support Matabeleland restoration cause and MLO campaign to force the government of Zimbabwe to pay US$ 100 billion as compensation for Matabeleland genocidecommitted between 1980 and 1988, the loss of property, marginalisation, loss of dignity, trauma and dispersal across the globe as economic refugees. All being inhuman events that happened under his leadership.In a statement made at his birthday bash held at the glittering Blue Roof, Mugabe attacked Mnangagwa for using the army to kill civilians.But it is not the first time for Zimbabwe National Army to be released from the barracks to kill unarmed civilians. It came out in the 1980s to murder more than 100 000 Matabele civilians, rape more than 100 000 Matabele women, burn more than 100 000 homes and displace more than a million Matabeles. The case has since been classified as genocide and the soldiers were unleashed by him Mugabe, with a command to wipe out Matabeles out of the face of earth.In 2002 and 2008 the army commanders under Chiwenga's leadership came out of the barracks to say they will never salute a civilian president without war credentials thereby meddling in political matters. Mugabe loved it because it suited him.Enter 2017 the year of political drama in Zimbabwe, again the soldiers came out in their big numbers. This time released by his protege, Chiwenga, to depose him through a coup, see who is crying more than victims of his 37 year oppressive rule. Inja ingaqhoba ithambo iyajwayela angithi?Now that the cruel dictator is being tormented by the monster that he created he now knows that the army should not meddle in political matters. He now knows that the army belongs to the barracks.We know that Mugabe holds a special place in the hearts of majority shonas because during his many terms as President, he did not only kill Matabeles but also implement tribaly biased policies that promoted shonas over Matabeles. If there is any shona that died during his 37 year rule, it was purely by accident.That is the reason why so many shona people are busy lying that "even though Mugabe was cruel he never sent the army to kill people". What hogwash! We ask again, are Matabeles not people? Yes we are not taken as human beings in Mashonaland the very reason why we want out of Zimbabwe.One of them is none other than Chamisa who said, "we are also aware of the targeting of many leaders across the country, targeting of lawyers, doctors for human rights which is quite disturbing because even Mugabe at his worst was not this rabid. With Mugabe at his worst, we never saw attack and persecution on lawyers and human rights defenders". Where did Chamisa grow up? In Mashonaland of cause, where most of those who live in denial of Matabeleland genocide come from. In that part of the world Mugabe's only known sin is that of mismanaging the economy.But the truth is Mugabe is a cold hearted genocidist in the league of Idi Amin Dada " the butcher" of Uganda, AL Bashir of Sudan and Kambanda of Rwanda just to name a few.The new bunch of murderers hiding behind the so called "new dispensation" must not celebrate at all as this is not PR meant to defend their blood letting tendencies.There is no justification for sending the army to slaughter civilians in a country that supposedly got its independence 38 years ago. When you see a government turn its country into a war zone by shooting its own citizens you know that unelectable leaders have stolen power and are using the gun to compensate for their unpopularity.Zanupf changed the leader through a military coup but it remains the same blood thirsty beast that would charge at innocent masses and kill without mercy.Its leaders are all political graduates of Robert Mugabe school of dirty politics that is associated with genocide, brutality , corruption, DNA of theft, tribal discrimination and failure to run the economy.We remind them today that the people of Matabeleland are longer want to be called Zimbabweans. We are not Zimbabweans whatever the hell that is, we no longer want to be part of it.The people of Matabeleland cannot, and will not stand the trauma brought unto them by the everyday blood spilling and human slaughter. With MLO leading Matabeles will march to their independence.Finally there is glimmer of light at the end of the dark tunnel.Izenzo Kungemazwi!Israel DubeMLO Secretary for Information and Public Affairs News / National by Mandla Ndlovu President Emmerson Mnangagwa does not lack legitimacy but his problem is confidence, a political analysist Fidelis Fengu of Fidelis Fengu and Associates a Harare based political Think-tank has said."The burden of legitimacy really lies with those who voted for Emmerson Mnangagwa. Those who voted for ED should always be ready to stand and back the choice they made in the ballot booth. Legitimacy can be defined as the ability to be defended with logic or justification; validity." Fengu said in a statement on Tuesday."In my view, ED's problem is confidence. Confidence can be defined as the feeling or belief that one can have faith in or rely on someone or somethingConfidence is a different ball game altogether. Confidence will be measured by the State of the economy.When our neighbors have confidence in us they will bail us out, when the world has confidence in us they will come to the table and dine with us. Locally when the markets have confidence the numbers will show."Fengu encouraged MDC members to shift focus on legitimacy to confidence in their quest for talks with President Mnangagwa."My question to MDCA members though it might sound like semantics, should the issue be on legitimacy or confidence?"The talks are not and cannot be about legitimacy. The talks are about confidence. Should they not be based on restoring or increasing the confidence quotient locally and globally?"Increased global confidence in Brand Zimbabwe is what we need right now. Bullet Trains won't build themselves neither will Trump's $15 billion fall like manna without CONFIDENCE."Fengu further said the MDC risks losing out if the market begins to gain confidence on Mnangagwa."Sad news is that if the MDCA misses this train come tobacco season forex rolling in, markets stabilizing, rates at a healthy and steady pace, there just might be no sun left to shine on the MDCA's turf." News / National by Staff reporter PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa, using the Presidential (Temporary Measures) Powers Act, introduced a virtual currency, the real-time gross settlement systems (RTGS) dollar, which will remain legal tender for six months if it's not made substantive through an Act of Parliament.The Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) allow the President to introduce legally binding laws in an emergency without going through parliamentary processes, with the law only holding for six months.Statutory Instrument (SI) 33 of 2019 also gave powers to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to issue an electronic currency for local use, which will trade as the RTGS dollar."In addition to its powers to issue bank notes and coins in terms of this Act and subject to subsection 3, the bank shall have the sole power to issue or cause to be issued electronic currency in Zimbabwe," the Statutory instrument read.Former Finance minister Tendai Biti said according to the law gazetted last Friday, Zimbabwe did not have a currency, but virtual money that only existed as factious figures."It is not real money. It's an electronic currency if you read the law; it is factious money, just figures in the bank which is still at par with the USD," Biti said.The SI reads: "That the Reserve Bank has, with effect from the effective date, issued an electronic currency called the RTGS dollar. That the real time gross settlement system balances expressed in USD, immediately before effective date shall, from effective date, be deemed to be opening balances in RTGS dollars at par with the US dollar and that such currency shall be legal tender within Zimbabwe from effective date."Economist John Robertson said if the currency could be maintained stable for a month or two, it could be declared a new currency and could build for the eventual return of the Zimdollar."It is going to be a new currency if we can make it stable and make it acceptable to the nation. There is a little bit of a gap now developing and we have to see how quickly the currency can become stable. At the moment, it's trading at the banks at 2,5:1, but out on the streets, there are still people saying we can still make a profit because it's hard to get for the buyers, so a market exists," he said. News / National by Staff reporter Former Finance minister Tendai Biti has balsted as 'unconstitutional' a move by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to gazette monetary policy through presidential decree.Biti said it was illegal for Mnangagwa to gazette monetary policy through presidential powers saying he was usurping the power of Parliament.More to follow... News / National by Staff reporter OPPOSITION MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has, in a no-holds-barred interview with international media, accused his political nemesis President Emmerson Mnangagwa of being out of touch with reality and misleading the world about the state of the country.Chamisa on Monday told French broadcaster, France 24, that unless there is sincere, honest political dialogue between the two parties, the country's crisis would take long to end."Clearly, what Mr Mnangagwa is saying is an indication of how out of touch with the reality of what is happening in the country, he has chosen to institutionalise deceiving the world, deceiving the people and deceiving himself," Chamisa said.This came after Mnangagwa recently told the same news agency that Chamisa, with backing of some foreign agencies, triggered last month's countrywide protests as part of their regime change agenda.But Chamisa dismissed the allegations."Those are accusations by misplaced appreciation of the facts in Zimbabwe. We are very clear, we do not subscribe to violence," he said.The MDC leader said the crisis in Zimbabwe was caused by poor leadership, theft of elections and increase of fuel prices by over 150%."The clarity, when we have looked at this issue, is that the problem in Zimbabwe, which we have seen, is occasioned by the deficits and omissions by government, particularly the price hikes of fuel by 150%, which was instituted by Mr Mnangagwa, is what then triggered action by citizens in a non-violent manner. Of course, we had incidents of violence, which we condemned, which we do not subscribe to," Chamisa said.The government has in the past few weeks arrested over 1 000 suspects, among them MDC legislators and civil society leaders in connection with last month's skirmishes. Chamisa said he was shocked that Mnangagwa's government was after the MDC when even the State-linked Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission had produced a report condemning government's heavy handedness in quelling the unrest."Why Mr Mnangagwa chooses to look at the MDC and picks on the MDC baffles the mind. We are not working with any foreign power. We are not working with any international organisation. If anything, the struggle for change in Zimbabwe, the struggle of freedom and democracy is underwritten by the people of Zimbabwe without the support of anyone, but of course, we welcome the solidarity of the international community and the people of the world who feel that the people of Zimbabwe need total freedom and total change," he said.Turning to the socio-economic problems, which the MDC has said are underpinned by the contestation around the July 30 2018 general elections, Chamisa called on Mnangagwa to stop blaming him and instead solve the crisis."Great leaders are supposed to solve problems not explain problems. Mr Mnangagwa is explaining the problems, he is not solving the problems. This is why we have said come to your senses, come to the party and let us reason together and let us resolve the problem affecting Zimbabwe, instead of finger-pointing," he said.The opposition leader also demanded an investigation into the extrajudicial killings of 17 people last month to ensure that those who pulled the trigger are brought to book.Mnangagwa has since demanded evidence, including names of the 17 people killed during the violent protests accusing instead, non-governmental organisations and the MDC of stage-managing the deaths, torture and allegations of rape against the police and army.Chamisa said Mnangagwa had unwittingly let the cat out of the bag when, in Mwenezi, he publicly acknowledged that he had unleased the military on the people and demanded that he takes responsibility for the killings and violence against unarmed civilians."If he is claiming to be in charge of the affairs of the State, he must also account for the affairs, developments and actions of the State. We have 17 people whose names are known, if there is a genuine desire to get to the bottom of this matter, let there be an investigation. That investigation has not be called for to hold the people to account, including himself, because what happened was extra constitutional, it's not allowed the taking away of life, even if people turn violent, there are ways of dealing with violent people," he said.Chamisa noted that even former President Robert Mugabe, who himself was accused of severe repression during his time in power, has strongly criticised Mnangagwa's crackdown. The opposition leader called Mugabe's remarks "confirmation" that the current president had "crossed the line".Chamisa said he was ready "anytime" for "a credible and genuine" dialogue with Mnangagwa, but insisted that it should be done through international mediation, citing SouthAfrica, the inter-governmental Sadc or the African Union as "ideal" go-betweens.This comes as State media yesterday reported that Zimbabwe had, alongside Kenya, Liberia and Rwanda, been considered as "largest improvers" on the continent in the last 10 years despite a worsening social and political fabric in the country.On Saturday last week, Mnangagwa vowed to track down human rights doctors and lawyers, who treated the injured and represented them in courts respectively. News / National by Staff reporter A MUTARE-BASED Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) official was arrested on Sunday after he allegedly attempted to facilitate the smuggling of a truckload of chrome ore to Mozambique.Gerald Kadira (28) yesterday appeared before magistrate Perseverance Makhala facing criminal abuse of office charges and contravening section 174 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.Kadira was granted $200 bail and the matter was remanded to March 11 for trial.Prosecutor Fletcher Karombe told the court that on February 24, the accused, who was deployed at Forbes Border Post, facilitated the smuggling of chrome ore to Mozambique after issuing a bill of entry and a Zimbabwe Mining and Smelting Company commercial invoice to a truck that does not belong to the company.Karombe said the accused, who was assigned to carry out export duties on the day, was linked to the crime by issuing a fraudulent bill of entry.The truck was intercepted at the border post while attempting to cross with the forged documents. News / National by Staff reporter THE Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) is set to impose a ban on the use of energy-guzzling appliances, a move that could leave many families without their most treasured household electrical gadgets.Zera is government's energy regulator.Speaking during a stakeholders' workshop in Bulawayo yesterday, engineer Samuel Zaranyika said the ban of heavy energy consuming appliances would save the country about 377 megawatts."The main benefit is that there will be reduction in energy use. People are just using appliances which are not efficient and, after this has been enforced, we expect people to use appliances that are energy efficient," he said."Why have we actually developed these regulations? There are no efficiency appliances flooding the market. You and I all know it. There is need for great investment in the electricity generation, so by using energy-efficient appliances, we can actually create a virtual power station through using the energy-efficient appliances."If we make a saving of 200MW, through the use of energy-efficient appliances, it's actually cheaper than putting up a 200MW power station; and we don't have the money."Targeted appliances include air conditioners, audio and video equipment, dishwashers, electric ovens, refrigerators and freezers; tumble dryers, washer-dryer combinations, washing machines as well as induction cook stoves.Currently, Zera is doing consultations across the country with the intention of implementing the regulations on or before next year."Why these regulations? We want to increase the energy efficiency of appliances, and we are going to set the minimum performance standards," he said.Zaranyika said the regulations were being used by countries such as Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, Kenya and Ghana, among others."We want to increase the energy efficiency of the appliances and eliminate less efficient models currently on the market. We want to harmonise with other countries' standards like South Africa and Japan so that we prohibit imports of inefficient products," he said.But there were concerns from other stakeholders who felt the move would deprive many citizens.Some suggested that Zera should invest more in energy production than restricting people from using it, thereby losing revenue in the process.There were also suggestions that the authority should make sure that all energy-efficient appliances were made affordable to encourage uptake.According to the proposed Electricity (Energy Efficiency of Electrical Appliances) Regulations 2018, the regulations will apply to electricity mains operated appliances manufactured, imported and donated for use in the country.No person shall import, manufacture, store, offer for sale, sell, distribute, receive as a donation, or otherwise dispose of non-efficient appliance, unless it complies with the minimum energy efficiency standard and the energy performance requirement.Any person who contravenes the provisions of the regulations shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level five, or in default of payment, imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months or both such fine and such imprisonment. WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Business.com, a comprehensive resource for small and medium-sized businesses who want to start, run or grow their business, announced the appointment of key management to the companys rapidly growing team. Digital media industry veteran Wayne Silverman has joined as Chief Revenue Officer and UI leader Mylene Hendrick will serve as Vice President, Product and User Experience. They join newly appointed Chief Technology Officer, Roy Hwang along with Chief Operating Officer, Aaron Bailey and Chief Executive Officer, Doug Llewellyn who collectively will evolve the brand and provide new resources to small and medium businesses via the Business.com platform. To learn more visit our site or to join our growing team see our latest openings on LinkedIn . Backed by a community of experts, Business.com is designed to connect small and medium business owners and industry experts through a wide array of services, tools, and insights. Following the sale of Purch Group Incs Consumer portfolio in 2018, Business.com became an independent operation dedicated to building a trusted brand relationship with those operating as and catering to small and medium-sized businesses. Unlike competitors that are struggling to bridge consumer and SMB audiences in the face of a rapidly commoditized digital advertising model, Business.com has instead steadfastly focused on maintaining the companys recurring predictable revenue and expanding growth opportunities among the nations 28 million small businesses. Proven Leaders Bring Depth and Breadth of Expertise As Chief Revenue Officer, Wayne Silverman brings more than 20 years of relationship building and strategic business development for big data and digital marketing solutions to Business.com. A seasoned executive who has driven growth at brand name organizations including CBS Interactive, Dun & Bradstreet, and IDG, Wayne is known for successfully mapping solutions to market demands. At Business.com, he will leverage his expertise to drive revenue growth throughout the customer lifecycle and help to build a comprehensive suite of products and services for sales and marketing professionals looking to connect with business leaders. My passion has always been about helping business grow and connecting the right people to the right opportunity to make that a reality, said Silverman. I am thrilled to join the Business.com team as it not only gives me a chance to do what I love but work with a community of experts who share the same goal - building opportunities to foster and support small and medium business growth. With a laser focus on the customer and a propensity for deeply understanding what makes an audience tick, Mylene Hendrick has spent her career developing impactful user experiences that generate lasting relationships and profitable business partnerships. As the Vice President of Product and User Experience at Business.com, Mylene will leverage her expertise to evolve the Business.com brand balancing customer demands with business outcomes. A natural leader, she has also held positions at Fidelity, TJX and Target. Balancing customer needs and the needs of the business can often feel at odds, noted Hendrick. Business.com has a unique business model and a strong financial footing which is counter to much of what is happening in the digital publishing industry today. This enables our team to be creative and innovative in our approach, allowing us to marry both sides of the business equation for mutual benefit, profit, and value. Silverman and Hendrick will work closely with newly named Chief Technology Officer, Roy Hwang to improve the Business.com platform. With 15 years of experience building data platforms that have produced double-digit revenue and profit growth for startups and Fortune 100 companies alike, Hwang heads up all engineering, IT, and data operations at Business.com. A Duke University graduate, he previously served as CIO of Arkadium, a gaming and interactive content company. Following the Purch Group Inc., consumer transaction in 2018 Business.com has continued to round out our leadership team by putting in place the right people with the right expertise, energy and new ideas to help the organization grow, noted Doug Llewellyn, Chief Executive Officer, Business.com. I am excited about the opportunity ahead of us and look forward to expanding our offerings to the ever-growing SMB market. Business.com is actively hiring across multiple disciplines including engineering and product development. To learn more about us visit our site or to join our team see our openings on LinkedIn . About Business.com Business.com is a comprehensive resource for small and medium-sized businesses who want to start, run or grow their business. Backed by a community of experts, our platform is designed to connect small business owners, industry experts, and vendors through a wide array of services, tools, and insights. Featuring relevant content and proven strategies, Business.com provides information you can trust. Our company is privately held and headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. To learn more about us or to join our growing community visit www.Business.com . Media contact: Julie Crotty Attune Communications 978-877-0053 News / National by Staff reporter KIRAN HOSPITAL, one of India's top specialist and health research centres, is seeking to construct a 550-bed sanatorium in Zimbabwe, which will serve local patients and those from other African countries.In an exclusive interview, Australian-Indian foreign investment consultant Mr Satishkumar Gandhi said the hospital will bring convenience to patients who have had to fly to India for specialist, quality healthcare.Representatives from Samast Patidar Aarogya Trust, the owners of Kiran Hospital, which specialises in cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery, endocrinology, laparoscopic surgery, nuclear medicine, neurosurgery, gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery, nephrology and bariatric surgery, are expected in the country next month. Mr Gandhi said: "The owners of Kiran Hospital are sending people to Zimbabwe in March."The purpose of the trip is to see if they can build a specialist hospital in the country. Kiran Hospital is one of the biggest hospitals in India, it is a 550-bed hospital. It has everything, all the facilities needed to meet all types of health emergencies are there."The idea of building a specialist hospital in Zimbabwe came about after the realisation that many people from Africa seek specialist healthcare such as heart surgery and kidney transplant in India. "So the plan is to bring that facility to Africa and Zimbabwe has been identified as the ideal location of the hospital. So they will be here in March, let them come and explore and ask questions."Mr Gandhi also revealed that the Samast Patidar Aarogya Trust representatives will also be accompanied by potential investors who are interested in mining and buying Zimbabwe's diamonds."The same delegation will include investors who are interested in diamonds, some want to mine, others want to be buyers."The invitation has already been sent to all of them. In that invitation I made it clear that contrary to what the international media reports, Zimbabwe is a safe destination for investment and for visit."There are very nice people here, I have been here for a week and I have not faced any challenges. The people are very educated and peaceful."I have been taking walks at night and I have not been mugged or harassed, not even once. Yes, something happened in January but that happens now and then in every country. It's nothing to worry about," he said.The Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Raj Modi, said he extended an invitation to Kiran Hospital last year when he was in India on official duty."They are coming to Zimbabwe because one of the briefs I had from the Government was to tell India that Zimbabwe is open for all forms of investment."An invitation was sent to them and they are looking forward to landing in Zimbabwe."They have indicated that they are willing to build a specialist hospital that will be the best in Southern Africa if not Africa."This hospital will see patients no longer going to India for complex surgeries," said Modi.Kiran Hospital is a non-profit infirmary built on a 17 000 square foot plot and is 13-storeys high, 59 metres tall, making it Surat's tallest building. It is a 550-bed facility which can be expanded to 750 in future.The facility has 15 intensive care unit (ICU) beds, 33 medical departments, 11 emergency wards, and 28 operation theatres. It also has a nursing college, boarding and lodging facility for relatives of patients and special luxurious rooms for VVIPs.A helipad is atop the building and is connected to the operation theatre on the 12th floor.There is a pneumatic tube system in the hospital which connects each nurse station, ICU, Operation Theatre, laboratory and blood bank to one another.This system transfers blood and medicine immediately to any of over 40 desired locations within the hospital. If a blood test is needed in the operation theatre, the blood sample will be sent via a tube to the laboratory in 20 seconds.The report from the laboratory will be sent back through the same tube system directly to the operation theatre in equal speed. The hospital also has a research and development department among other impressive facilities. News / National by Staff reporter MIDLANDS provincial magistrate, Charity Maphosa yesterday dismissed an application by MDC national organising secretary, Amos Chibaya to have his passport released by the court so that he travels abroad on parliamentary business.The Mkoba legislator's passport is being held at the courts as part of his bail conditions in a case where he is accused of subverting a constitutionally-elected government.Charges emanate from an interview he allegedly granted to Daily News and was quoted as having said: " 2019 is the year that we are going to send [President Emmerson] Mnangagwa packing We are not going to go on the streets to toyi-toyi, but go straight to State House, because that is where there is the person who stole the elections."He denies the charge.Through his lawyer, Tonderai Chitere, Chibaya applied for the release of his passport so that he can travel to Doha, Qatar, on Parliament business. However, Maphosa dismissed the application saying she needed consent from the Prosecutor-General, Kumbirai Hodzi to grant an order for release of the travel document."At law I am not allowed to accede to the application without the personal consent of the Prosecutor-General, because the accused is facing a third schedule offence. Section 116 of the Criminal Law and Codification Act is clear that where an accused is facing a third schedule offence, a magistrate cannot relax bail conditions set already without a personal consent for the same coming from the PG. Accordingly, the application for release of the passport is dismissed," she said.Earlier on, public prosecutor Namatirai Chipere told the court that the State's hands were tied on whether or not to accede to the application by Chibaya, citing the same requirement of consent by the PG.After the proceedings, Chibaya's lawyer said he will be taking the application to the High Court, adding that there is no reason why his client should be denied access to the passport when he has proven he wants to use it on Parliament business. News / National by Staff reporter FINANCE minister Mthuli Ncube says the process of modifying 99-year leases to be bankable instruments needs to be brought to finality so as to unlock funding to the agriculture sector and make it more productive.In Zimbabwe, all farming land is owned by the State, which issues farmers with 99-year leases, but banks in the southern African country have refused to recognise the instruments as security, mainly because they are not tradable.The situation has resulted in vast tracts of arable land becoming idle as farmers cannot access funding on the basis of the leases from the banks.Ncube told a business meeting that the current structure of the leases was inhibiting productivity on the farms."In agriculture, we have created a dead asset in terms of the land. One of the issues that has to be dealt with is the 99-year leases. There is still some work to be done to close that hole. That needs to be sorted out because we have to create enough comfort in terms of property rights for the banks to extend credit to the farmers on the back of those 99-year leases," he said."Last time I checked, the ball was in the court of the bankers rather than government. They were still looking at one of the clauses and needed to come back to us."Ncube added that government was also working on completing an audit to determine the amount due for compensation to farmers who were displaced during the land reform programme."There is another bigger issue, which is farmer compensation. We, as government, have made a lot of progress. First of all, the farmers themselves have also made progress. They have a figure of what they want to be compensated, I know the figure, but I cannot tell you," he said."On our side as government, we have done valuations for nine provinces. We know the values of the provinces, we are using the same methodology as the farmers. What is left is Mashonaland East. I think in that province, we are at about 70% and we are left with 30% of the work. So we should be able to conclude by March, then government will have a figure which we can start negotiating with the farmers and come to some agreement"Fewer than 400 white commercial farmers are still operating in the investment-hungry nation after former President Robert Mugabe's government evicted more than 4 000 under an often violent and chaotic land reform programme in 2000. News / National by Staff reporter A RESIDENT of Nkulumane in Bulawayo escaped death by a whisker after being hit with an iron bar by burglars as he entered his house in the early hours of yesterday morning.According to a police memorandum in Southern Eye's possession, Nkulumane 5 resident, Blessed Chimuti (31) and his younger brother Marshal (29), were raided by the robbers at their house on February 25 who assaulted them with iron bars, demanding money from them.Chimuti, according to the memorandum, arrived at his home at about 1:30am and used the backdoor to enter the house."At the time he was closing the door after entering the house, four men armed with a knobkerrie, iron bar and an object that seemed like a pistol forced entry into his house," read the memorandum."The robbers attacked Chimuti all over the body, demanding cash."The complainant reportedly fought with the robbers and screamed to alert his younger brother, Marshall.The police document stated that Marshall came over to assist his brother who had been assaulted with an iron bar on the head, and in the end managed to escape and sought refuge from neighbours."The young brother managed to escape too, but sustained a right knee injury. The two brothers were taken to Mpilo Central Hospital," read the police memorandum.The Criminal Investigations Department Homicide, who attended the crime scene, discovered blood stains on the walls and on a metre-long iron bar.Contacted for comment, Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Chief Inspector Precious Simango yesterday said she had not yet received details of the case."I have not yet received any information about the incident," Simango said.The memorandum stated that the suspects were still at large and that the police were still looking for leads in order to track the burglars. News / National by Staff reporter High Court judge Justice Nicholas Mathonsi has dismissed an application to rescind a judgment compelling Meikles to pay over $3,6 million owed to the Infrastructural Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ).According to the court papers, in 2016 Meikles Limited consented to an order being made in IDBZ's favour for the payment of the debt, but later Meikles said it realised it had a defence to offer in the claim, hence it wanted a rescission of the same judgment.The listed conglomerate argued that government, which is indebted to Meikles, should settle the company's debt to the IDBZ.The government debt, which is in the region of $42 million, arose after it assumed all the debts of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), including one owed to Meikles after the central bank raided individual and corporate foreign currency accounts to finance the numerous farmer-support schemes the bank embarked on during the tenure of former governor Gideon Gono.But the court said IDBZ was a distinct separate personality from the government of Zimbabwe in that it had a total of ten shareholders, including foreign companies like the Finnish Fund for Industrial Co-operation, the German Investment and Development Company, the Netherlands Development Finance Company and the European Investment Bank.In his judgment, Justice Mathonsi castigated the conglomerate for its application, saying its proposed defence of indemnity "appears to be a pie in the sky"."Does the applicant have a leg to stand on regarding the indemnity argument as to motivate a rescission of the order? I think not," he said."In my view, this is a case in which the applicant (Meikles) ought to have known that there was absolutely no merit in the application, even before the making of it."It is such a frivolous and, indeed, vexatious application as to amount to an abuse of process. This is particularly so, regard being heard that after consenting to judgment, the applicant only waited until the day of execution to engage in this misadventure, thereby frustrating the pursuit of a legitimate claim while buying time. The fruit of such a misadventure is an award of costs on an adverse scale. In the result, the application is dismissed with costs on a legal practitioner and client scale.""Therefore, by the time the applicant was issued in HC9880/15 and later consented to judgment, all the facts that it proposes to rely upon in its newly found defence already existed. They are facts which it reasonably was expected to be aware of, especially as the respondent is a statutory corporation. This is not a case in which I can exercise my discretion in favour of the applicant," Justice Mathonsi said before dismissing Meikles's matter. News / National by newzimbabwe FOLLOWING the recent unrest in Zimbabwe, MDC leader Nelson Chamisa spoke to FRANCE 24.He rejected claims by President Emmerson Mnangagwa that the MDC had attempted "regime change" with foreign backing by organising mass protests in January.Chamisa went on to say he was willing to take part in "a credible and genuine dialogue" with the president.Speaking to FRANCE 24's Marc Perelman from Harare, Chamisa said the recent protests were ignited by fuel price hikes and led by trade unions, not by his party."We are not working with any foreign power," he added.The opposition leader accused the government of serious crimes in the ensuing crackdown on the protests including alleged extrajudicial killings and said that Mnangagwa should be held to account."The constitution does not allow the taking away of life," he told FRANCE 24.Chamisa noted that even former president Robert Mugabe, who himself was accused of severe repression during his time in power, has strongly criticised Mnangagwa's crackdown. The opposition leader called Mugabe's remarks "confirmation" that the current president had "crossed the line".Chamisa said he was ready "anytime" for "a credible and genuine" dialogue with Mnangagwa but insisted that it should be done through international mediation, citing South Africa, the inter-governmental Southern African Development Community or the African Union as "ideal" go-betweens.WATCH interview below; News / National by Staff reporter BOTSWANA is extending $600 million in two major facilities to Zimbabwe's private sector and diamond industry that will give relations between the two country a huge lift.Zimbabwe this week hosts Botswana for a Bi-National Commission which will result in the signing of the agreements by Presidents Mnangagwa and Mokgweetsi Masisi on Thursday.Preparatory meetings for the event began yesterday and Zimbabwe's Foreign Affairs and International Trade permanent secretary, Ambassador James Manzou, who opened the two-day meeting pitting officials from both countries, revealed the details."Zimbabwe welcomes with much appreciation that Botswana proposed a BWP1 billion (approximately US$94,5 million) credit facility, in support of the Zimbabwe private sector. I would like to encourage all of us as officials to fully utilise our two working days to synthesise the remaining issues that will lead to the operationalisation of this facility."Zimbabwe is also appreciative of the US$500 million diamond facility offered by Botswana. I also urge this meeting of officials to work in earnest to ensure that all outstanding issues relating to this facility are finalised," Ambassador Manzou said.He also thanked Botswana for supporting Zimbabwe's efforts to turn around the fortunes of its economy, especially the Transitional Stabilisation Programme."I wish to express my gratitude for the support extended to Zimbabwe by Botswana as our country embarks on a fresh development trajectory under the new dispensation. "That support has not only come in the unyielding commitment towards enhancement of relations through the BNC but also in programmes that will support our economic recovery in line with Zimbabwe's Second Republic's seminal blueprint, the Transitional Stabilisation Programme," he said.Ambassador Manzou said at least three Memoranda of Understanding in Diplomatic Consultations and Rules of Procedure (meant to operationalise the BNC) and that of Agriculture and Mining were ready for signing saying the latter two were at the heart of driving the two countries' respective economies."We should speedily activate the Joint Technical Committees in the two sectors to ensure actionable programmes take off immediately. In the mining sector, Zimbabwe is especially keen to emulate how Botswana managed to harness its diamond resources giving it a critical role in transforming the country into one of the most prosperous on the continent," he added.In his remarks Botswana's permanent secretary for International Affairs and Cooperation Mr Gaeimelwe Goitsemang said the BNC should further improve ties between the two countries."It's my hope that the outcomes of this BNC will improve the bilateral relations between the two countries with economic diplomacy taking centre stage," he said."I hope this new arrangement (the BNC) will improve coordination of our activities. The BNC is a strong expression of the good relations between our two nations."Zimbabwe and Botswana upgraded their relations to a BNC last year following President Mnangagwa's visit to that country.President Mnangagwa and his Botswana counterpart Mokgweetsi Masisi will head the BNC when it sits on Thursday. News / National by Staff reporter PRESIDENT Mnangagwa will continue travelling abroad as part of his re-engagement efforts and his trips must not be assessed from a cost perspective, but from benefits accrued, his office has said.In an interview with Star FM last night, Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Mr George Charamba said diplomacy does not come cheap. Mr Charamba is the presidential spokesperson. He was responding to queries from some quarters on the essence of President Mnangagwa's foreign trips."There are certain costs which we have to incur. In any case, let us not forget that diplomacy does not come cheap," said Mr Charamba.He said some costs were not avoidable and it was about time Zimbabweans realised it."(They) will continue to gobble for the simple reason that when the President is taking on an assignment like engagement and re-engagement, promoting Zimbabwe as an investment destination, that is a spending item. Let us not make any qualms about it. Money will be spent to make sure we sell Zimbabwe as an investment destination, to make sure we present Zimbabwe's case in respect of turning its mineral resources into exploitable resources that can lift the livelihoods of Zimbabweans. So when we talk austerity measures we do not close Zimbabwe as a shop," said Mr Charamba.On why the President hires a plane when travelling abroad, Mr Charamba said "precisely because we have an ailing Air Zimbabwe".He, however, said efforts were being made to resuscitate Air Zimbabwe."If you were following reports you will be aware we have taken receipt of planes from Malaysia and there are two planes that are on their way to Zimbabwe. Then when the President was in Ethiopia just recently, there is promise of an agreement Ethiopian Airlines and Air Zimbabwe to try and improve the Air Zimbabwe fleet level. There are lots of things that are happening except we are dealing with the policy of engagement and re-engagement which cannot wait. There are certain costs which we have to incur. In any case let us not forget that diplomacy does not come cheap," he added.Mr Charamba said it was wrong to concentrate on costs of the President's foreign trips instead of benefits accrued."I think the misconception is the template that we concentrate on the costs and do not play up the benefits which are accruing to the economy. I will give you an example of the Eurasia trip by President. I can assure you in the next few months, the public transport system is going to change in a very dramatic way, thanks to that particular trip. Buses will come which will decongest our roads to ensure that there is safe travel and is also better productivity on the part of the workforce," he said."You will see the Darwendale platinum project will soon start in the process creating several jobs, several hundreds of jobs. That is creation of employment. You will see mega investment along the Zambezi River of an agricultural nature including agro-processing."You will see a picking up of tempo by way of mining activities in the country which is why we had Minister (Winston) Chitando as part of President's delegation. That is also why we had Minister (Perrance) Shiri representing the agriculture sector as part of the President's delegation." News / National by Staff reporter MDC violence against State media journalists reared its ugly head on Sunday when the party's leader Nelson Chamisa's security team beat up a ZBC senior staffer (name withheld) at a rally at Mkoba Stadium in Gweru.The security team assaulted the journalist and attempted to drag him out of the stadium, accusing ZBC of reporting negatively on their party."You do not belong here, you report lies about us," shouted one of the security team's members.Mr Chamisa had to intervene and rescue the reporter as the hooligans bayed for his blood. Another group of MDC youths swarmed the ZBC vehicle and threatened to beat up the news crew that was covering the rally, resulting in the reporters leaving the event in a haste.This is not the first time that MDC hooligans have harassed a ZBC news crew. Addressing reporters, Mr Chamisa could not hide his dislike of the public broadcaster, saying it needed to be reformed."We do not want them to have a monopoly over television broadcasting. We want more television stations in this country. Let ZBC be reformed and we have independent radio stations, not to have a single television channel for 39 years," he said.Mr Chamisa inadvertently confirmed that he was holding the country to ransom and would source money from America if President Mnangagwa bows down to his demands.The MDC youths once manhandled ZBC reporters at the same venue last year, accusing the public broadcaster of reporting "negatively and falsehoods" about their party.In March last year, Herald Senior Reporter Zvamaida Murwira and freelance journalist Anna Chibamu were also attacked at Harvest House while covering a Press conference to confirm Mr Chamisa as the leader of the party.Herald photographer Tawanda Mudimu was manhandled by MDC thugs in May last year while covering a demonstration by activists that were protesting against imposition of candidates ahead of the harmonised elections.In 2016, MDC youths also burnt a vehicle belonging to the State broadcaster during protests organised by the party's youth wing.In 2013, the late MDC leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai's aides manhandled Chronicle senior reporter Mashudu Netsianda before confiscating his notebook and deleting recordings from his mobile phone while covering a meeting of the party's former leader and the Bulawayo business community.Private media journalists have also not been spared, with former Zimbabwe Independent reporter Herbert Moyo severely assaulted by MDC-T security personnel at Harvest House while covering a demonstration by party activists. News / National by Staff reporter One of the alleged masterminds of violent protests that rocked the country last month, Rashid Mahiya who is the chairperson of Crisis Coalition in Zimbabwe, yesterday handed himself over to police and was charged with subversion.South African-based Blessing Vava, who is Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition regional coordinator confirmed the arrest of Mahiya, saying contrary to earlier reports that he had skipped the country, the activist has been in the country.Vava said: "Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers charged Mahiya, the Director of Heal Zimbabwe Trust with subverting a constitutional Government in Section 22 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act."Mahiya reported at Harare Central Police Station accompanied by his lawyer Tonderai Bhatasara of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights after he became aware that ZRP officers were keen on questioning him."He is expected to appear in court today. Mahiya was fingered in the planning of violent disturbances that rocked the country from January 14 to 16 involving MDC-Alliance, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and other civil society organisations.Intelligence gleaned before the disturbances which left a trail of destruction worth millions of dollars and six deaths, showed that Mahiya was involved in workshops in Harare that also hosted foreign nationals that were key in coordinating and funding the upheaval meant to upend the constitutional order in Zimbabwe. From December 3 to 7 last year, Mahiya and a committee member, Mr Pride Mukono facilitated the workshop under the theme: "The Crisis of Legitimacy in Zimbabwe."The workshop is said to have been attended by over 80 people from 40 civic organisations affiliated to CCiZ. The six regime change strategists from the United States, Germany, Spain and Switzerland facilitated the workshop at which the NGOs were promised more funding "if they show maturity in organising their programmes as one entity", said a source who refused to be identified for security reasons.Foreigners who attended the meeting include Ms Nora Rafaeil, an American, Gerald Ordway (Spain) and Martina Zapf (Switzerland).In early January, a further workshop was organised in Belvedere, Harare, which also involved foreigners before the launch of the violent disturbances under the moniker of "shutdown".During the orgy of violence, protesters blocked roads, prevented free movement of people and vehicles by barricading roads, burning cars as well as Government installations such as police stations. They also burnt Government cars and buses while they looted shops and vandalised property.Seventy-eight police officers were injured in the line of duty, while one was killed. Security services quelled the disturbances, arresting over a thousand participants, many of whom were caught looting. The culprits have appeared in court. English Latvian The consolidated unaudited financial statements of the JSC Latvijas Gaze for the year 2018 have been released, with the groups audited financial statements to be published on April 10, 2019. According to the consolidated unaudited financial statements for the year 2018, the Latvijas Gaze groups net turnover of 352.3 million EUR was 6.5% higher than the year before, while EBITDA increased by 2.6% in comparison to 2017, reaching 37.4 million EUR. The net profit of the Latvijas Gaze group in 2018 amounted to 25.2 million EUR. In 2018, the Latvijas Gaze group supplied natural gas to more than 400 thousand customers in Latvia and further expanded its presence in the natural gas wholesale segment and natural gas trading abroad. The total natural gas sales in 2018 amounted to 1,231 million m3 (12,969 GWh). As in previous years, during August and September the JSC Latvijas Gaze injected significant volumes of natural gas into the IUGS in order to ensure security of supply for its customers during the winter season 2018/2019. In 2018 the Latvijas Gaze group invested 10.34 million EUR in the maintenance and security of the distribution system and IT systems. That is a 14.6% increase compared to last year. The year 2018 was the first full year with the new Latvijas Gaze group structure in place. As is known, the Joint Stock Company Gaso was founded on November 22, 2017 by spinning off the distribution system operations from the Joint Stock Company Latvijas Gaze to meet the European Union and national requirements for the independence of the natural gas distribution system. Hence, the Latvijas Gaze group currently consists of two segments: the natural gas sales & trading segment operated by the JSC Latvijas Gaze and the distribution segment operated by the 100% subsidiary of the JSC Latvijas Gaze the JSCGaso. For the future the Latvijas Gaze group remains fully committed to retaining its position as the most reliable natural gas supplier for market customers and households alike and to expanding its sales activities in the Baltic region. Madara Pundure + 371 67 369 281 Madara.Pundure@lg.lv Attachment News / National by newzimbabwe OPPOSITION MDC secretary general Douglas Mwonzora is not ruling out a challenge for party presidency at an elective congress which is now set for May this year.Reports have linked Mwonzora, along with co-vice president Elias Mudzuri, with a possible bid to take on charismatic party leader Nelson Chamisa.In an interview with NewZimbabwe.com Monday, Mwonzora was coy about the prospect, saying indicatively that one's wish alone was not enough."I am eligible for the presidency for sure and I am sure I qualify," he said."I am full member of the MDC and have full rights in terms of its constitution including the right to contest any position."However, I am waiting for the nomination process to see where I will be nominated."He continued; "What will happen is that there will be a process of nomination, so we will have to wait for this process."In other words, one's desire is not enough as one has to be nominated by at least one provincial assembly."I will only know tomorrow (Tuesday) exactly what people are saying. I will do what the MDC people ask me to do."The MDC will hold its congress between 12-14 May this year.Addressing party supporters in Gweru at the weekend, Chamisa said all party positions were open for contestation.However, key party organs including the main wing, the youths and the women's assembly were emphatic that Chamisa's must not be challenged.The widely popular 41-year-old grabbed power in controversial and violent circumstances last year following the death founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai.He has since consolidated his position and looks untouchable after a solid performance in the disputed July 30 elections.Said youth leader Love more Chinoputsa at the Gweru rally; "A person who amassed 2,6 million votes must not be contested at the congress."As the youth assembly we are reaffirming our support for you president Chamisa."But Mwonzora has outsmarted Chamisa when the latter was a runaway favourite in previous contests.At the party's 2014 congress, Mwonzora pulled a surprise when he defeated the then Kuwadzana East Member of Parliament to land the powerful secretary general's post.And perhaps harkening back to that stunning upset, Mwonzora told NewZimbabwe.com on Monday that; "I have dealt with a few things."I believe that Zimbabwean problems require the correct temperament and unquestionable understanding of what democracy entails." Bowalley Road Rules The blogosphere tends to be a very noisy, and all-too-often a very abusive, place. I intend Bowalley Road to be a much quieter, and certainly a more respectful, place. So, if you wish your comments to survive the moderation process, you will have to follow the Bowalley Road Rules. These are based on two very simple principles: Courtesy and Respect. Comments which are defamatory, vituperative, snide or hurtful will be removed, and the commentators responsible permanently banned. Anonymous comments will not be published. Real names are preferred. If this is not possible, however, commentators are asked to use a consistent pseudonym. Comments which are thoughtful, witty, creative and stimulating will be most welcome, becoming a permanent part of the Bowalley Road discourse. However, I do add this warning. If the blog seems in danger of being over-run by the usual far-Right suspects, I reserve the right to simply disable the Comments function, and will keep it that way until the perpetrators find somewhere more appropriate to vent their collective spleen. Intended as a discussion group, the blog has evolved to be more of a reading list of current issues affecting our county, its government and people. All reasonable comments and submissions welcomed. Email us at: bill.pysson@gmail.com REMEMBER: To view our sister blog for education issues: www.district100watchdog.blogspot.com On Sunday in Bensheim, Germany, two children spotted a rat stuck in the vent of a manhole cover. Animal welfare organization Berufstierrettung Rhein-Neckar sent out two rescue workers who were unable to free the rodent. From Smithsonian: That's when things get surreal. The 8-member Auerbach volunteer fire brigade soon arrived on the scene wearing their firefighting gear and began a 25-minute rescue operation posted on YouTube. First they subdued the rat around the neck using a pole with a restraining loop at the end. Then, using large, black professional-looking wedges they popped up the heavy manhole cover and animal rescuer Michael Sehr was able to wiggle and work the portly little nibbler loose before releasing him back into the sewer The children who first found the rat also thanked the firefighters with a handmade, rat-themed thank you card. A 76-year-old-man was carrying an original Picasso in a large shopping bag while traveling by train in Germany. He tucked it under his seat, but when he changed trains he forgot all about it, leaving it behind. The 10-inch-high piece was a ceramic vase that was part of Picasso's "Owl" series made in the South of France in 1953. It's worth at least $11,000. According to CNN: Carrying his precious cargo in a large shopping bag, the 76-year-old man was traveling from Kassel in central Germany to the western city of Dusseldorf on February 15 According to German police, the owner contacted the crew immediately after departing the train. But despite a search, the vase was nowhere to be seen. Police described the incident as a case of "monumental forgetfulness" and said the vase had been pinched by an "unknown culprit." They called on witnesses to come forward. The Yellow Vest movement, like a lot of anti-establishment movements, is a complex phenomenon, filled with both right- and left-wing elements, changing character from place to place and even day to day. You have German Yellow Vests decorating their outfits with neofascist slogans and Qanon memes, Irish Yellow Vests protesting corruption and demanding legal weed; and more, from Baghdad to Alberta (the largest Yellow Group protest to date was in Taipei!). On Opendemocracy, Rob May, a doctoral candidate from Sheffield University who studies the far right, chronicles the right wing elements of the Yellow Vest movement, and analyzes how existing far right movements are colonizing and co-opting Yellow Vests, and just how contested the Yellow Vest symbol has become. Supporters of the English Defence League (EDL), an Islamophobic organisation founded by Robinson, have also made themselves visible at rallies. Speakers have addressed crowds to call for Britons to fight for Christianity against foreign cultures and religions. Some demonstrators have decorated their yellow vests with aggressive and offensive slogans or messages. For example, 'F**k the Police F**k the Government F**k the EU', 'Left-wing scum: Merkel, May Macron, Corbyn Go To Hell' and presumably in reference to Asian grooming gangs 'protecting our children does not make us far right. It makes us just right.' At present, each rally is attracting numbers in the low hundreds. Unsurprisingly, clashes have occurred between the radical right 'yellow vests' and both the police and the left-wing 'yellow vests'. The future of the 'yellow vest' movements is difficult to predict. If the 'yellow vests' in France continue to protest in vast numbers 2 February marked the twelfth consecutive weekend of demonstrations when between 10,000 and 13,800 people protested in Paris, with thousands more in Tours, Valence, Marseille, Bordeaux, Toulouse, and other French cities and therefore sustain the interest of the mass media, the 'yellow vests' are likely to continue in other countries, and the radical right will continue to adopt the uniform for its own purposes. iv> The Yellow Vest phenomenon and the radical right [Rob May/Opendemocracy] (via Naked Capitalism) (Image: kriss_toff, CC-BY) In the midst of celebrating LGBTQ Pride the U.S. Supreme Court rained on our virtual parade by ruling in favor of the Catholic Social Serv... Ninety years ago Benito Mussolini, the founder of Italian fascism, stood at the pinnacle of power and prestige. In February 1929, he struck an unprecedented agreement with the Catholic Church on its role in the Italian society, the Lateran Treaty. Yet Mussolini, always remembered as bloodthirsty dictator associated with Hitler, diplomatically settled a dispute of more than 50 years between the Kingdom of Italy and Holy See that dated to the 19th century era of Italian unification. To the horror of anti-clerical fascists led by Minister of Education Giovanni Gentile, the Church recognized the Italian State and withdrew all its political and territorial claims; and Mussolini, by his turn, recognized the Papacys sovereignty over Vatican City, legalized Catholic associations, and gave the Church great power in matters of morality and education. Who was Mussolini?. Andre Brissaud asks at the beginning of his biography on the founder of the Fascism. For some, an anti-communist reactionary, a Chaplinesque dictator, a carnival caesar, of no historical importance, an insignificant parentage in the history of Italy () For others, a bold reformer, an out of state man, a reincarnation of Rome, a human and heroic guide, perhaps a martyr or a saint. And after opening this dichotomous analysis, the author advances to a synthetic answer: The reality is that this son of the land of Romagna, who began as a far-left revolutionary socialist, invented fascism, a historical truth that must be accepted. And for 23 years, he was the Duce (leader) of Italy, who turned it into a European power. He was one of the most important personages of the international scene from 1920 to 1945. If I were an Italian, I would be with you, I would be Fascist, Winston Churchill told Mussolini in Rome. Look at an old photograph or watch an old film, listen to a speech from the epoch, and you begin to understand the charismatic, popular character of this man who, in December 1944, four months before his death and defeat, despite the appalling sufferings and harshness of war, misery, and bombardment, still gathered 100,000 people in his last public speech in Milan during the civil war between the anti-fascist resistance and the Mussolinis Republic of Salo. What a figure! said with ironic tenderness Rachelle, Mussolinis wife, when, in 1922, she learned that the king had called her husband to lead a new government. With a reputation as a subversive and revolutionary, teacher Mussolini only gets a place in the primary school of Piave de Saliceto, a village of Gualtieri, Italys oldest commune. After some time, however, he decides to leave Italy and go to Switzerland, living the typical life of many immigrants and emigres: starvation, humiliation, resentment, dreams of greatness and revenge. Mussolini worked as a bricklayer, butcher, and as a messenger in a chocolate factory. He was arrested for vagrancy, slept under bridges, his clothes in tatters, exhibiting willful behavior (as seen in portraits, at age 20), with a Karl Marx medal around his neck that didnt give a good impression to the Swiss police. Sorels Influence In Lausanne, Mussolini was assisted by Vilfredo Pareto, and in the local library he read Blanqui, Kropotkine, discovered the writings of Le Bon and, above all, the work of George Sorel. Sorel meant a whole new world to the young revolutionary. Sorel with his ethical socialism, his syndicalist metaphysics, his primacy of the myth about utopia, the centrality of the revolutionary vanguards in the dynamics of history. Sorel was heterodox, voluntarist, aristocratic Marxist, showing the young Mussolini a whole new philosophy and theory of action. In Sorels writing, Mussolini learned the power of violence to fulfill the revolutions goal. It was this master of syndicalism who, through his rude theories about revolutionary tactics, contributed more to forming the discipline, energy, and power of fascist legions, Mussolini said, in an exhilarated and romanticized way, retrospectively, in 1922. As Europe marched into the period that the German historian Ernst Nolt called the European Civil War (1914 1989), Mussolini wrote this political analysis: The central empires, attacking Serbia, attack France and England, a general conflagration is then inevitable, and I am convinced that the German Socialists will follow the lead of their Kaiser, and the International Socialist will be torn to pieces. The French socialists will find excellent reasons in Marxist doctrine to think that such a war is the aggression of a feudal military power against a democracy which, though bourgeois, is nonetheless progressive. They may thus become soldiers of the homeland without the slightest crisis of conscience. I cannot condemn them. No abyss opens beneath them, between the imperatives of reality and their socialist conscience. This insight by the future Italian dictator shows a young man with a strong political instincts, making it easy to understand his sudden rise in a political party full of skillful minds. Mussolini, by his own intellectual formation, could show that he was not an orthodox Marxist, but something more. Looking into the nationalism across Europe, Mussolini proved to be both a radical intellectual and a talented politician. Intellectual-Political Synthesis Mussolini was the only leaders who made history during World War II to fully attained intellectual status. Churchill was more a historian than a man of ideas; Lenin and Stalin wrote books and influenced the Marxist doctrine; Hitler was a frustrated artist, but he had no intellectual ambitions. Mussolini was the only one who went one step further and created something entirely new. Hitler did not create the National Socialism, nor did Stalin and Lenin, the Communism. Although it was Giovanni Gentile who established the philosophical framework of the fascist movement, Mussolini was the creator and most important ideologue of the Fascism. According to the historian of fascism A. James Gregor, Mussolini did not have an intellectual body of work like Gentile, Sergio Panunzio, or Ugo Spirito, but he was equally intelligent and cultivated. In Mussolini, the intellectual and the political are blended, being impossible to distinguish where one began and the other ends. It was through the rise of nationalist passions that Mussolini led the socialist dissent that opposed to the Socialist Party pacifist line. He united nationalists, dissident socialists and radical unionists under the umbrella of a single political movement the Fascist Associations. The ties that united these sectors, which in the period before World War I walked on separate paths, were forged by the fire of the war and the battles on the fronts. When the 1918 armistice was signed, Mussolini still did not know what his political future would be. But it was the recklessness of the socialists, animated by the sparks generated by the Russian revolution, in trying to establish soviets across Italy, which gave Mussolini what he most needed at that moment: an internal enemy. He posited his nationalist socialism dialectically as the synthesis of the conflict between bourgeois forces and Marxist socialism animated by the Russian Revolution and as the only chance to save an Italy that was imploding from within. The fascist congress in Rome, in November 1920, allowed Mussolini to turn the fascist movement into a political party and to write the platform of the new party. He proposed an opening to the right, building an alliance with conservatives and liberals. Less than one year later, his movement that preached authoritarianism and modernization reached the power. There was no revolution in Italy in 1922, and Mussolini avoided political radicalization, all because of the eclectic character of both fascist ideology and its founder. As Mussolinis biographer Renzo de Felice wrote, these early years were the structures of governments years of accommodation, the formation of a political consensus among different parties and consolidation of power. A Non-liberal Capitalism James Gregor notes that in the early years of his rule, Mussolini took a 180-degree turn in relation to the Marxist convictions of his youth and in tune with the pragmatic approach as prime minister. If, as a young man, he saw capitalism as the root of all evil, he would see it now as the only modernization tool for Italy. Mussolini even affirmed the full compatibility between the free-market regime and the Fascist doctrine. His position alienated the more radical sectors of the National Fascist Party, and it was due, mainly, to the influence of Pareto and the alliance with the more conservative segments of politics. This state of affairs would last until 1925 when an internal political crisis made Mussolini harden the regime and take more interventionist economic measures. Such a social-political arrangement is unthinkable in a totalitarian government; Mussolini and his regime were far away from this concept. Mussolini consolidated his power on the basis of the agreements and solving the problems as they arose. Grandiloquence and radicalism were confined to Il Duces speeches and rhetoric. Fascist-Nazi Clash Mussolini did not immediately understand the meaning of the rise of Adolf Hitler. From the perspective of the Italian prime minister, the German chancellor was one more chess piece in his intricate game of realpolitik. With his radical opposition to the treaty of Versailles and clamor for revision of the established borders, Hitler had become a useful tool to put in check the French, Britons, and Russians. The Nazis were the storm that Mussolini was waiting for. The Italian leader did not look favorably on the rise of his German counterpart, despite having been a financial patron of the Nazi party over the years. Of the two outstanding leaders who took power in 1933, the one who caught the attention of the Duce and excited his imagination was not Hitler, but Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Mussolini immediately sought to establish relations with the US president and was duly reciprocated by FDR and his inner circle. The criticism that many American members of the Old Right (Alfred Jay Nock and H. L. Mencken, for example) had about the New Deal pointing to its fascist origins was not unfounded. FDR was a sincere admirer of Mussolini. It is worth noting that the Fascists across Europe did not see Hitler as an automatic ideological ally. Early on, Mussolini showed little interest in Hitler and after a meeting was not at all impressed by the new German chancellor who lectured him on the superiority of the Aryan race and the dangers of the Jewish people. Ricardo de la Cierva, biographer of Spanish military dictator Francisco Franco, and Jaime Nogueira Pinto, biographer of corporatist Antonio de Oliveira Salazar of Portugal, along with Stanley Pine, historian of fascism, and Renzo de Felice, agree that Mussolini saw Hitler with contempt and as a boring figure. Hitler, by his turn, could not hide his admiration for the Italian leader. Mussolinis hostility towards Hitler was beyond the dimension of personal relationship. It is also defined as a clash between two distinct political and ideological movements. While Italian Fascism was a kind of radicalized nationalism that sought to build an authoritarian and corporatist state, Nazism was much more radical in proposing the construction of a new society and a new kind of human being. Pseudo-scientific racism was virtually exclusive to Nazism, with no equivalent in other fascist movements. Mussolini, De Felicci writes, was much more pragmatic on political issues and always sought to establish a consensus between his allies and his antagonists. On the other hand, Hitler was more fanatical and attached to the idea of politicizing and indoctrinating all layers of society. On many levels, Hitler was much more a version of a nationalist Bolshevik, a Germanic counterpart of Stalin than he was an equivalent of the Italian Duce. For no other reason, when Hannah Arendt was writing about totalitarianism, it is Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia she had in mind. Hitler is Stalins diametrical counterpart. Both created regimes based on the same premises of total domination of the individual and liquidation of the bourgeois society. Making things even more complicated for their relationship, Mussolini opposed Hitlers desire to annex Austria. It was the Duce who led the resistance to the Nazi expansionist ambitions of the 1930s in Central Europe. When Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss, a conservative Catholic, was assassinated during an attempted Nazi coup in 1934, Mussolini moved 40,000 troops to the border with Austria and ensured the countrys independence. A pagan Savonarola It is also true that fascism and Nazism had many similarities; Benito Mussolini was not a conservative attached to the preservation of a present social order. He looked to a past that no longer existed, the Rome of the Caesars, as the foundation for an eschatological future. In this sense, fascism is as revolutionary as Marxism. The view that the Fascist state was a historical product resulting from the overcoming of social contradictions and that the Duce represented this whole process in flesh and blood is proof of this Messianic and Hegelian nature of his fascism. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that one of the leading ideologues of fascism, Gentile, was the prominent Hegelian philosopher in Italy. Mussolini himself does not cease to be a product of the many internal contradictions of the movement he helped to create. He was a conciliatory pragmatist with a spirit of a revolutionary prophet, a kind of pagan Savonarola. Like all Marxist intellectuals, Mussolini placed both dimensions of his personality to work dialectically, with the conciliator acting to advance the ideals of the revolutionary and often using his revolutionary side to cover up his pragmatic movements. This sui generis character of the fascist doctrine is shared by the equally sui generis character of Mussolini. Whatever the delusions of megalomania present in any speech, his political action underlies a strong sense of realism and pragmatism. If it is clear that Mussolini was a narcissist, it is equally clear to his biographers and contemporaries that he was not some sort of sociopath. When he interviewed the Duce in the 1930s, the Jewish writer Emil Ludwig found him a charming figure of seduction. When Ludwig wrote an introduction to his book of interviews with the Duce in 1949, he argued that there was nothing to indicate a possible alignment with Hitler or that the events both that preceded and followed the 1939 Pact of Steel were somehow unavoidable. Other contemporary Jews also fell under the spell of Mussolinis personality, and many of them were members of the National Fascist Party. The Zionist movement saw the Duce as a man of Providence for the cause of international Judaism. The alignment with Nazism sealed the fate of Mussolini. Moved by a mixture of fear and opportunism, the man who had made a brilliant political career by outsmarting his rivals was finally dragged into an unwanted alliance with Hitler. Eventually murdered by the Italian Communists in 1945, Europes last Caesar ended up as a dead body swinging from a rope, tied by the feet, at a gas station. Everything that goes into history cannot be erased, Mussolini stated at the beginning of March 1945, when in the agonizing last days of the Italian Social Republic he presided with no illusions approaching the end of everything, including his existence serves as a motto to the lens through which the Duce understood the world and himself. Homepage picture credit WikiCommons Legislators didnt take any action on his request, instead waiting for the revenue forecast before acting. If they are confident they can fund the library they must add it as an amendment to a bill. Burgum has been working hard lining up support for the library and promoting it everywhere. Sen. Ray Holmberg, R-Grand Forks, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, calls the library a "heavy lift" as legislators consider funding other priorities. The library could be a test of Burgums ability to persuade the Legislature to approve a project he considers important to his agenda The March forecast could show the revenue side looks promising as revenues are trending better than when Burgum created his budget several months ago. That could result in a discussion on how to prioritize excess revenue expenditures rather than whether or not the revenue is available. This could be a more difficult position to be in than deciding what cuts must be made of necessity. It will be interesting to see how the Legislature deals with a number of other bills. Will the Senate follow the Houses lead and repeal the blue law that keeps some stores closed from midnight to noon on Sundays? The Tribune favors repeal through House Bill 1097. Dublin, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Catalyst Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Raw Material (Metal, Chemical Compounds), By Product (Heterogeneous, Homogeneous), By Application (Polymers & Petrochemicals, Environmental), And Segment Forecasts, 2019 - 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global catalyst market size is expected to reach USD 34.06 billion by 2025, ascending at a CAGR of 4.5% Rising demand for petrochemicals from various end-use industries is expected to be a prime factor driving the market growth. Inclusion of high-grade polymers in manufacturing commodities for domestic as well as export oriented industry is anticipated to surge the product demand in future. Moreover, demand for clean and green fuels has shifted the trend of energy generation from conventional to clean resources. Cobalt, iron, and nickel catalysts are the key components used for clean energy generation processes, such as the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Rapidly expanding polymer and chemical manufacturing sectors is also anticipated to play an important role in the growth of the catalysts market. In addition, supportive regulations regarding the production and usage of catalysts are expected to augment market growth over the next eight years. Emission regulations are the biggest drivers for a wide range of application sectors and the usage of catalysts for environmental and chemical applications are anticipated to have the highest market growth. Heterogeneous product segment led the market on account of wide product usage in the polymer industry. It is also used in the form of vanadium oxide for the production of sulfuric acid, which is growing on account of increasing demand of this acid in oil refining, wastewater processing, and chemical synthesis. This is also expected to fuel the demand for heterogeneous catalyst in the near future. Further key findings from the study suggest: Environmental was the largest application segment in the catalyst market and accounted for 29.6% of the overall volume share in 2016 In terms of raw materials chemical compounds segment is expected to attain the highest market share over the forecast period The petroleum refining application segment is expected to register a CAGR of 3.4% over the forecast period This application includes the use of catalyst in cracking of feedstock components that increase the yield of high-quality products MEA is expected to be the second fastest-growing regional market during the forecast years Key industry participants include BASF SE, Akzo Nobel N.V., Clariant International Ltd., Zeolyst International, Inc., and Chevron Corporation Key competitive strategies adopted by these companies include capacity expansion, geographical expansion, technology licensing, and mergers & acquisitions For instance, recently, BASF started a new chemical catalysts manufacturing plant in Caojing, China to cater to growing demand in Asia Pacific Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1 Methodology And Scope 1.1 Research Methodology 1.2 Research Scope & Assumptions 1.3 List of Data Sources 1.4 List of Abbreviations Chapter 2 Executive Summary 2.1 Catalyst market - Industry summary and key buying criteria, 2014 - 2025 Chapter 3 Catalyst Industry Outlook 3.1 Catalyst market segmentation 3.2 Catalyst market size & growth prospects, 2014 - 2025 3.3 Catalyst market value chain analysis 3.3.1 Vendor landscape 3.4 Technology overview 3.5 Regulatory Framework 3.5.1 REACH 3.6 Catalyst market dynamics 3.6.1 Market driver analysis 3.6.1.1 Favorable environmental regulations 3.6.1.2 Increase in chemical manufacturing 3.6.1.3 Increasing demand for polymers 3.6.1.4 Increasing refinery output 3.6.2 Market restraint analysis 3.6.2.1 Fluctuating raw material prices 3.7 Catalyst market Porter's analysis 3.8 Catalyst market key opportunities prioritized 3.9 Catalyst company market share, 2016 3.10 Catalyst market PESTEL analysis Chapter 4 Catalyst Market: Raw Material Estimates & Trend Analysis 4.1 Catalyst market: Raw material movement analysis 4.2 Zeolite 4.2.1 Market estimates and forecast, 2014 - 2025 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million) 4.2.2 Market demand estimates and forecast, by region, 2014 - 2025 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million) 4.3 Metal 4.3.1 Market estimates and forecast, 2014 - 2025 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million) 4.3.2 Market demand estimates and forecast, by region, 2014 - 2025 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million) 4.3.3 Base Metals 4.3.4 Precious Metals 4.4 Chemical compounds 4.4.3 Peroxide 4.4.4 Acid 4.4.5 Amines & Others 4.5 Other catalysts Chapter 5 Catalyst Market: Product Estimates & Trend Analysis 5.1 Catalyst market: Product movement analysis 5.2 Heterogeneous 5.3 Homogenous Chapter 6 Catalyst Market: Application Estimates & Trend Analysis 6.1 Catalyst market: Application movement analysis 6.2 Petroleum refining 6.2.1 Market demand in petroleum refining, 2014 - 2025 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million) 6.2.2 Market demand estimates and forecast in petroleum refining, by region, 2014 - 2025 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million) 6.2.3 Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) 6.2.4 Alkylation Catalysts 6.2.5 Hydrotreating catalyst 6.2.6 Hydrocracking catalyst 6.2.7 Catalytic Reforming 6.2.8 Others 6.3 Chemical synthesis 6.3.1 Market demand in chemical synthesis, 2014 - 2025 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million) 6.3.2 Market demand estimates and forecast in chemical synthesis, by region, 2014 - 2025 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million) 6.3.3 Polyolefins 6.3.4 Adsorbents 6.3.5 Chemical Catalyst 6.3.6 Other Chemicals 6.4 Petrochemicals & Polymer Catalyst 6.4.1 Market demand in petrochemicals & polymer catalyst, 2014 - 2025 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million) 6.4.2 Market demand estimates and forecast in petrochemicals & polymer catalyst, by region, 2014 - 2025 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million) 6.4.3 Ziegler-Natta 6.4.4 Reaction Initiator 6.4.5 Urethane 6.4.6 Chromium 6.4.7 Single-site 6.4.8 Other Chemicals 6.5 Environmental Catalyst 6.5.1 Market demand as environmental catalyst, 2014 - 2025 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million) 6.5.2 Market demand estimates and forecast as environmental catalyst, by region, 2014 - 2025 (Kilo Tons) (USD Million) 6.5.3 Light Duty Vehicles 6.5.4 Heavy Duty Vehicles 6.5.5 Motorcycles 6.5.6 Others Companies Mentioned Clariant International Ltd. Arkema Group Zeolyst International Inc. BASF SE Chevron Corporation Ineos Group Limited Johnson Matthey ExxonMobil For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/jvx3bz/global_catalyst?w=12 Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Eighteen-year-old Naomi Hegwood, who is passionate about science and art, played countless rounds of pinochle growing up. She says she firmly believes life is like a game of cards you dont get to choose your hand, but you get to choose how you play the cards. The Bismarck High School senior says she grew up in a trailer court and was always poor. When she was 13 years old, her father, who only came around every now and then, was caught with a bunch of meth in southeast North Dakota. Two years later Sept. 2015 he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. I didnt get to choose my hand. To be honest, compared to other peoples lives, mines not the greatest. Whose fathers in prison, you know? she said. I grew up poor. Sometimes, we go to the food pantry. I use a lot of my paychecks to help pay rent and keep a roof over our heads. Hegwood, who lives with her mother, Nanette, and works part time at Target, recognizes her life could be a lot worse and says she wouldnt trade her mom who she loves to death or her life for the world. Bismarck restaurateurs say the session brings an added bump to their establishments about 10 percent to the Blarney Stone Pub, anecdotally speaking, said co-owner Jim Poolman, a former lawmaker. The Blarney Stone sends invitations to legislators at the beginning of the session and sees a "positive" impact, Poolman said. But it's hard to say who's all here for the session. "We don't tag them with a legislative label when they walk in the door," Poolman said. Dale Zimmerman, owner of Peacock Alley and 40 Steak & Seafood, said his restaurants have been a place of tradition among legislators, lobbyists and politicians to "break bread and discuss the politics of the day." Monday through Thursday dinners increased about 20 percent from the session, according to Zimmerman. Now "it's all gone," which he attributes to passage of Measure 1, which added anti-corruption language to the state Constitution, restricting lobbyists and gifts, among other anti-corruption aims. Even though Measure 1's gift prohibition isn't effective until January 2021, Zimmerman said the fall in business has been "devastating." Thank you, city council members voting no on the One Big Sky issue at the Feb. 11 meeting. Why the rush, and why did the owner of the existing convention center on Midland Road suddenly cancel plans to reconstruct a larger center at this proven site? What will the financial effect be on Billings' property owners when SD2 loses funds for students attending the new Lockwood High School? Billings is already a major regional medical center, offering patients three outstanding health care systems. Providers are now fulfilling community desire for safe, conveniently located medical sites providing surface parking without having to navigate downtown. What relevance were the Wisconsin and Pennsylvania junkets? The drawing power of those areas is about 25 and 50 million people within 500 miles respectively compared to our maybe 1 million potential! We now have adequate convention facilities. Being a small-business owner, I am appalled by Sen. Tom Richmond's SB278. It is unbelievable that our legislature is close to giving NorthWestern Energy a blank check that Montana businesses and other ratepayers would have to sign, no matter what! SB278 takes the "regulated" out of "regulated monopoly" by allowing NorthWestern to pass on all of its costs associated with owning and operating the Colstrip power plant to its customers no matter how imprudent those costs are. If NorthWestern wants to build a new transmission system, we get the bill, no questions asked. If they want to invest billions in carbon sequestration, same deal, we pay for it no matter how much it increases our bills. By bypassing our Public Service Commission, ratepayers will have no say whatsoever. This bill gets rid of all regulations! Possibly more outrageous, if NWE buys more of the plant from other out-of-state owners, they get to pass off all the costs of clean up that would have been borne by out-of-state customers and shareholders who have been using the power for 30 years right back to us, Montana ratepayers. Not only does this impact businesses like mine, but think of the impact to people with fixed incomes, who may only get by on a Social Security check. How can anyone think this is a good idea? Debra Bonogofsky Billings Love 8 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 A bill before the Montana Legislature would allow more cow elk tags per hunter for the so-called shoulder seasons and also allow party hunting. Hunters opposed the bill, but guess who came in for it the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association and the Montana Stockgrowers Association and Farm Bureau. Shoulder seasons when hunters can pursue pregnant cows as late as Feb. 15 in deep snow are only needed because of a lack of access during the rifle season in October and November. Thats when we should be hunting elk under ethical standards. Later seasons should only be for game damage and used sparingly. The outfitters have tied up 6.5 million acres of private land so they can sell trophy bull elk hunts. That doesnt include the public land that is cut off from the public by these exclusive leases. But once the trophy hunt is over and they cant sell elk, these landowners go to Montana FWP and blame them for all those pesky cow elk munching on their grass. Montana hunters better wake up and see whats going on here. These outfitters want seasons tailor made to their operations, and theyll go to the Legislature to make them permanent. That means five weeks when you can pay, and half day hunts over a haystack to kill cow elk for the rest of us. Everyone knows what a fossil is the remains, traces or imprints of a previously living animal or plant preserved on or in the earths crust (Paleontological Resources Preservation Act Federal Public Law 111-011, 2009). The Montana State Legislature knows, too establishing the Montana State Fossil in 1985, the dinosaur Maiasaura peeblesorum, suggested by a Livingston middle school classroom. But Montana law is unclear, contradictory and without a definition of fossils. And into that void stepped the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court to decide that Montanas fossils are minerals. Fossil remains (shells, bones, teeth, etc.) are composed of minerals deposited by organic processes during the organisms life like our own bones and teeth. After death and burial, these minerals may get altered to other minerals, but the original organic form remains. That is, it still looks like a shell or bone or other life form. This preserved (fossilized) organic shape is what defines a fossil it is how fossils are recognized and classified. The mineral content of a fossil is irrelevant to its being a fossil. In contrast, minerals formed without an organic association are inorganic minerals deposited by inorganic processes, and their shape does not reflect a pre-existing life form. Bad as those ideas are, the second section of SB 278 is worse. NorthWestern Energy now owns 30 percent of Colstrip Unit 4. SB278 would allow the utility to acquire a larger ownership share of Colstrip plants "at the nominal transfer price of $1." Such a transaction would cost ratepayers much more than $1 because SB278 says rates "shall be set to allow the full recovery of all costs incurred." Shifting risk NWE had the opportunity to purchase interest in Colstrip Units 1 and 2 in 2013 when it was negotiating the $900 million purchase of hydroelectric dams from PPL. At the time, NWE leaders refused to take on the liability of those coal-fired units. In 2013, NorthWestern attached a negative value to the Colstrip plants, worried that any buyer eventually would have to shut down the plants and bear the cost of remediating the sites. Back in 1997, the Montana Legislature and Gov. Marc Racicot bowed to the demands of the Montana Power Co. and allowed it to be deregulated with the promise that Montanans would have new choices for power suppliers and that power would be less expensive. At the time of deregulation, MPC customers benefited from some of the lowest power rates in the nation. There will be no changes to the carte blanche given to bounty hunters in Montana after a proposal to bring them under Department of Labor and Industry oversight was tabled Tuesday. Sen. Diane Sands, D-Missoula, the bill's own sponsor, said there were still kinks to work out in how to separate regulation of bounty hunters from their bail bondsman associates, who are already licensed, including under the state insurance agency. Sands' bill would have brought bounty hunters under the same regulatory DLI board as private investigators; as of now, they answer to no one. Sands asked the committee to table the bill. "There's still some confusion because there are two different agencies regulating bail bonds," Sands told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. Although Sands said the bill's intent could still be accomplished, she would simply need more time to hammer out the details. She vowed to bring the measure again in two years. "It will be back again next session," Sands vowed. The bill tabled on Monday to bring residential teen treatment programs under the state health department got new life on Tuesday after a brief reconsideration at the sponsor's request. Senate Bill 267, carried by Sen. Diane Sands, D-Missoula, re-emerged and will go to the Senate floor for debate after a 7-3 vote following reconsideration on Tuesday. The bill was tabled on Monday after a 6-6 vote in the committee. The bill had garnered support from virtually everyone involved and saw no opponents last week during its first reading in the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee. Sen. Al Olszewski, R-Kalispell, however, said Monday he didn't believe the Department of Public Health and Human Services could handle any more workload. Sands' bill would terminate the existing industry-led oversight board and move the programs under the DPHHS Quality Assurance Division, which currently inspects 300 similar facilities, 72 of which cater to youth, such as Shodair Children's Hospital in Helena and Boys and Girls Clubs around the state. Yellowstone County saw its criminal caseload climb again last year, part of a steady increase in felony filings since 2010. Felony criminal charges rose 18 percent in 2018, while individual district court cases rose 5 percent, according to statistics released Friday by the Yellowstone County Attorneys Office. The difference in numbers is due to the fact that one case can include multiple charges. Last years uptick is part of a broader increase in the offices caseload: prosecutors in 2018 filed 51 percent more cases than they did five years before, and more than double the number of cases they filed in 2010, the earliest year included in Fridays data. More than a quarter of all felonies filed in Yellowstone County District Court in 2018 were for drug possession. Factoring in other drug crimes, the tally climbs to more than a third of last years felony charges (849 of 2,427). Thats including possession with intent to distribute (105), drug distribution (31) and drug production or manufacturing (4). Charges for crimes related to domestic violence rose last year, as well. Fort Lauderdale, FL, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Veritas Farms, Inc. (the Company) (OTCQB: VFRM), a vertically integrated agribusiness focused on the production of full spectrum hemp extracts with naturally occurring cannabinoids, has entered into an exclusive formulation and manufacturing agreement with PurWell, LLC (PurWell), an affiliate of VirtuOx, Inc. (VirtuOx), the nations largest home respiratory and sleep diagnostics provider with over 30,000 new patients each month. Under the Agreement, Veritas Farms will manufacture a custom formulated line of hemp extract products for PurWell to be sold under the PurWell brand. The products will include PurSlep, a full spectrum hemp oil combined with a proprietary blend of holistic natural supplements widely known to promote effective sleep. Alexander M. Salgado, CEO and co-founder of Veritas Farms, Inc., commented, As an affiliate of the nations largest home respiratory and sleep diagnostics provider, we are excited to work with PurWell as exclusive formulation and manufacturing partner for PurSlep and the PurWell brand that was recently launched online and at select healthcare providers across the country. We look forward to providing them a consistent and dependable supply of our best-in-class full spectrum hemp oil products and being an important part of their long-term success. Formulated and manufactured at the Veritas Farms grow, processing, and production facilities in Pueblo, Colorado, without the use of any pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides, each batch of PurSlep and the entire PurWell line of products will be laboratory tested for purity and potency. PurSleps formulation includes full spectrum hemp oil, GABA, hops flower extract, valerian root, chamomile flower extract, l-tryptophan, melatonin, MCT oil, and organic essential oil. PurSlep is vegan, sugar-free, gluten free, and alcohol-free, and it contains no artificial colors or flavors. PurSlep is available online now at www.purwell.com and at select physicians offices, pharmacies, and medical equipment retailer locations. About VirtuOx, Inc. and PurWell, LLC VirtuOx, Inc. (www.virtuox.net) is the nations largest home respiratory and sleep diagnostics provider, testing 30,000+ new patients each month for conditions such as sleep apnea, insomnia, and cardiac arrythmias. VirtuOx Inc. has received full accreditation by The Joint Commission as an Ambulatory Care Sleep Diagnostic Center. PurWell, LLC. (www.purwell.com) is dedicated to making high quality, reliable Full Spectrum Hemp Oil products for the healthcare marketplace. PurWell offers physicians and other healthcare professionals the ability to sell Full Spectrum Hemp Oil products through the industrys only zero cost-of-entry sales model. For more information, send inquiries to info@purwell.com. About Veritas Farms, Inc. Veritas Farms, Inc. (OTCQB: VFRM) is a vertically integrated agribusiness focused on producing superior quality, whole plant, full spectrum hemp oils and extracts containing naturally occurring cannabinoids. The Company currently operates a 140-acre farm and production facilities in Pueblo, Colorado, and is registered with the Colorado Department of Agriculture to grow industrial hemp. The Company markets and sells products under its Veritas Farms brand and manufactures private label products for a number of leading distributors and retailers. Veritas Farms brand full spectrum hemp extract products include vegan capsules, tinctures, formulations for sublingual applications and infused edibles, lotions, salves, and oral syringes in a variety of size formats and flavors. All Veritas Farms brand products are third-party laboratory tested for strength and purity. The Company files periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be viewed at www.sec.gov. For additional information and online product purchase, visit www.theveritasfarms.com. Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, including those with respect to the Companys mission statement and growth strategy, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company's management believes that such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that such expectations are, or will be, correct. These forward-looking statements involve many risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Companys future results to differ materially from those anticipated. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, general economic conditions and conditions affecting the industries in which the Company operates; the uncertainty of regulatory requirements and approvals; and the ability to obtain necessary financing on acceptable terms or at all. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in the Companys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update any of the information contained or referenced in this press release. In an effort to spur the downtown community to host art-centered events on the first Friday of each month, Yellowstone Art Museum will be hosting "First Fridays," a free night at the museum with artistic activities monthly, starting March 1. Bryan Knicely, executive director of the YAM, said such an event is important for the cultural community and for Billings, and consistency is important to build awareness and participation. He hopes to grow the event in collaboration with other arts organizations. "The concept of 'First Fridays' is bigger than any one organization or business," Knicely said. "It expands the great work of Artwalk across the entire downtown region to be open every first Friday. We all win from that consistency and messaging." Each "First Friday" will be different, some running in conjunction with ArtWalk, and featuring an artist, musician, film, lecture, a musician, or other art-centered activity. The March 1 event will feature a family night, where groups can come together to make art with YAM education staff and staff from ZooMontana. Participants are invited to join anytime between 5-7 p.m. The event is $8 per child, and adults can participate for free. Non-member pricing is $5 per adult and $10 per child. In the past few weeks, prominent Democrats have endorsed infanticide; admitted to dressing in blackface; called for an end to fossil fuels, airplanes and farting cows; and trafficked in open anti-Semitism. None of this is a serious problem for many in the media. For members of the media, the real story is that Republicans keep pouncing.Two weeks ago, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam stated in an interview that he favors legislation that would allow a woman to abort a baby at the point of dilation and then added that in certain cases in which a baby would be born alive, the baby would be keptwhile parents and doctors decide what to do with it. This seems rather radical. Here was The Washington Post's take, as said in a headline:The positions, you see, are ackshually mainstream. It's just that Republicans seized on them and painted them as radical.Last week, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., released a Green New Deal backgrounder and FAQ on her website - and her staff sent the six-page document to a variety of media outlets. The document happens to be fully insane. It calls for America to be carbon emissions-free within 10 years without use of nuclear power. It suggests that every building in the country be either replaced or retrofitted. It calls for universal health care, free college education, replacement of airplanes with high-speed trains, replacement ofgovernment-provided jobs, abolition of "farting cows" and, best of all, total "economic security" for anyone "unwilling to work." The proposal is so farcical that even Democrats ran from it screaming. AOC took it down from her website and then deployed campaign aides to state that the document wasreleased as anUnsurprisingly, no revised draft has been posted.Here is The New York Times' headline:This week, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., engaged in open anti-Semitism, suggesting that American support for Israel isand then doubling down on that comment by blaming the American Israel Public Affairs Committee for America's pro-Zionist attitude. This follows years of overtly anti-Semitic content from Omar, as well as from Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who suggested back in January that Americans who like Israel suffer from dual loyalty andPolitico tweeted:Now, pouncing is never a story. Ever. It is a simple fact of politics that when people screw up, their political opponents react with alacrity. Highlighting that response rather than the underlying screw-up is the equivalent of a headline that readsYet that's what the media do ... whenever Democrats screw up. Republican gaffes are a story in and of themselves. Democratic gaffes aren't a story; Republican nastiness is.All of which demonstrates that a huge swath of the media is inseparable from the Democratic Party. If your first response to Democratic nut-jobbery is to get defensive about Republican blowback, you're no longer a journalist. You're merely a hack. You are, as President Trump would put it,- an activist masquerading as a journalist.I suppose this means I'm pouncing on the media, though. Willis J. Berry, 83, loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his adoring family in Albuquerque, NM on Friday, February 15th, 2019. Willis was born at home near Dustin and Stuart, Nebraska on May 10, 1935. He was a proud veteran of the United States Army and spent a 40-year career with Farm Credit associations in Nebraska, Iowa and Georgia. He will be remembered as a strong and loving family man, as a man of faith and for his integrity, honesty, good humor, generosity and service towards others. Survivors: wife, Karen; son, Richard Berry (Maria); daughter, Laura Stevenson (Jonathan); grandsons, Scott and Mitchell Stevenson, Jacob Berry. Preceded in death by his father and mother, Rollo and Ethel Berry and infant brother, Roland. A Memorial Service was held on Wednesday, February 20, 2019 at FRENCH Lomas in Albuquerque, N.M. Funeral Services will be held on Monday, March 4, 2019, 10:30 a.m. at Valparaiso United Methodist Church (Valparaiso, NE) followed by interment at the Valparaiso Cemetery. Reception to immediately follow. To celebrate the life of Willis Berry, in lieu of flowers, the family asks that you donate to a charity of your choice in his name. Please visit our online guestbook for Willis at: www.FrenchFunerals.com One school, two schools, Stoddard School, Lincoln School. This week, both elementary schools are celebrating Read Across America and Dr. Seuss birthday with different themed days and activities. On Tuesday, Lincoln students did Put me in the Zoo by bringing a favorite stuffed animal to school, and Stoddard students did The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by wearing hats. Kevin Janssen, the principal for both schools, said the different themes were chosen between the schools to accommodate for the different grade levels. The staff got together and they collaborated to come up with what they thought would be fun activities for the students to do, Janssen said. The kids seem to be really enjoying it. On Friday, both schools will have a birthday celebration for Dr. Seuss by wearing something red or white, like Huskers apparel. Janssen said surprise guests will be coming to read to students throughout the week. I know a lot of teachers are reading a lot of Dr. Seuss books amongst others, Janssen said. The kids always enjoy when adults come in. Make your birthday special - by brewing a beer originally made on that date. For a mere 25 euros, I'll create a bespoke recipe for any day of the year you like. As well as the recipe, there's a few hundred words of text describing the beer and its historical context and an image of the original brewing record. Just click on the button below. Gas is expensive and driving clients into town or to community activities, especially if activities cost money on their own, can cost a significant amount and is easier to let go than another employee, Attridge said. I dont think it is good, but were running so lean that we can stretch further and much better than we used to be able to so its hard to say what our breaking point, Attridge said. Eventually if we stay at this rate we will go out of business. Enter Allen and her bill that would provide $1,684,700 of short-term funding to disabled care providers in the Flagstaff area. The bill passed the State Senate on Feb. 14, but has not yet been assigned to a committee in the State House of Representatives and Allen said she hopes it will be included when the legislature takes up the state budget. The bill has received support from service providers like Hozhoni and Quality Connections, as well as from the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce. The bill has also seen some push back from members of Allens own party. Although it passed the senate, four Republicans voted against the measure and Allen said she is concerned about the bill's prospects in the house. SAN DIEGONaughty America has entered into an exclusive arrangement with TrafficHaus and DigiRegs to provide content to tube sites in exchange for advertising, using the Traffichaus.com and DigiRegs copyright protectionand reports are, the partnership generated thousands in ad revenues in just one week. Naughty America is offering thousands of videos from 15 minutes up to 30 minutes in exchange for a unique Ad Unit and workflow created by TrafficHaus. Under the deal, tube sites get fresh new exclusive content, and content producers make money off the advertising shareand the companies are making the YouTube revenue share model available to everyone. Instead of spending money removing content and fighting piracy, Naughty America has decided to embrace it while keeping its recent exclusive content off the website(s). TrafficHaus COO Morten Due said, We are excited that we can utilize our partner program to distribute additional high-quality content to video streaming sites, allowing the content producers to generate additional revenue from their older content and provide our publishers and strategic partners with fresh legal content. This has proven to be beneficial even to sites that have content partner channels. "The process is simple: When we locate the content of our customers on some of the partner sites, they have the option to choose whether they want the content to be simply removed or replaced with an official brand trailer. Or even leave the content and earn a share of the revenue generated from that video. This new Tube Content Monetization leads the customer in full control of where its content is, and what it is doing. "Our goal is to unite the content producers and work together to eliminate the large-scale, malicious piracy that is occurring within the industry, to protect and empower creators to take back control of their content," said Anton Bilobrov, CTO and co-founder of DigiRegs. The tube monetization revenue share program will be one of the topics the companies are bringing to The European Summit in Lisbon on March 1-4. To schedule a meeting with the TrafficHaus/DigiRegs team, click here. People who are not already a publisher and want to have this mutually beneficial relationship with not just Naughty America, but other content producers, may contact their sales rep today. Content producers who want to make more money off of their content may contact a sales representative or email [email protected] or [email protected]. BUDAPEST, HungaryAccording to a press release sent by Dan Leal of Immoral Productions, "Brill Babes, the largest agency in Europe, based in Budapest, Hungary would first and foremost like to thank the producers, agents, and talent from all over Europe for coming together during our current shutdown. "This is the first positive HIV case in the adult industry in Europe and thus has proved to be challenging, yet something positive always happens out of something negative and we are confident the adult industry in Europe will be a much safer and better place going forward. "In short, here is a summation of what everyone can expect going forward: * Filming in Hungary can start again on the 14th of March. * Tests must be from 14th of March or later. * We have added a PCR HIV test to the full test, and our performers will not accept tests that do not have both PCR and "Generation 4 Combo" HIV tests. * Tests are valid for 14 days, not 21. The test is valid on day 14 and expires/invalid on day 15. * Prices of the 1st and 2nd new full tests with PCR will be 110 each, the 3rd (and consecutive) full test prices will change to 90 each. * Address for testing has changed to G1 Clinic, Budapest, Lajos u. 74-76, 1036. * Performers can be tested Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 15:30 p.m. * If tested before 11:00 a.m., results will be ready the same day by 14:00 p.m. * You can pick up the test personally and/or also receive results via email from the clinic in pdf format. * If you have the appropriate equivalent tests from another legitimate lab, they will be accepted. Please contact us if you wish for us to authorize your lab. "Again, we want to thank the Alliance of Hungarian Adult Industry for putting aside their past differences and are very excited and optimistic about what the future holds." Albany, New York, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a new market research report on the construction robots market , published by Transparency Market Research the global construction robots market is expected to reach value of US$ 470.61 Mn by 2026, expanding at a CAGR of 10.4% from 2018 to 2026. Asia Pacific is likely to continue to lead the global market, with the market in the region expanding at a CAGR of 12.4% between 2018 and 2026. Construction companies welcoming their new robot workers are driving the global construction robots market Earlier, the construction industry was one of the most unfamiliar R&D fields for the robotics & automation community, despite the fact that the industry is one of the oldest and the largest economic sectors. However, in recent years, the construction industry has become one of the most important research areas in the field of service robotics. The key difficulty with robotics & automation in construction (RAC) is related to nature of the work environment, which is highly unstructured. Automation is changing the face of nearly every industry across the world, whereas the construction industry may pave the way for robots. In the construction industry, robots can carry out 80% of the work, which is more repetitive, more dangerous, and more monotonous. Request a PDF Sample - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=56457 Global Construction Robots Market: Scope of Report The global construction robots market has been broadly segmented in terms of automation, function, application, and geography. In terms of automation, the market has been classified into fully autonomous robots and semi-autonomous robots. Among these, the semi-autonomous robots segment accounted for a major market share of around 74% in 2017. The segment is expected to expand at a significant CAGR of 11.0% during the forecast period. The need for broader and more efficient infrastructure and improved monitoring of infrastructure for predictive and corrective maintenance are factors driving the segment. Based on function, the construction robots market has been divided into 3D-printing robots, demolition robots, bricklaying robot, and others. The combination of 3D-printing and industrial robots is some of the most promising automation technologies in the construction industry. In terms of application, the construction robots market has been classified into commercial buildings, residential buildings, public infrastructure, and others. In 2017, the public infrastructure segment accounted for a prominent market share. The segment is estimated to expand at a significant CAGR of 10.9% during the forecast period. Get a PDF Brochure - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=56457 Based on region, the global construction robots market has been segregated into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South America. Asia Pacific dominated the global market in 2017. The region has abundant natural reserves distributed across various countries. Mining and construction are among the top industries in Australia, China, India, Malaysia, and Vietnam. With growing urbanization and wide availability of natural resources in the region, mining and construction companies have started using automated equipment, operating software, and communication systems to connect and operate on site. Europe held a major share of the global construction robots market in 2017. This can be attributed to extensive facilities of various companies for the development and production of construction and demolition robots, and increasing need for residential and non-residential construction projects in the region. Request a Custom Report at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=CR&rep_id=56457 Global Construction Robots Market: Competition Dynamics The research study includes profiles of leading companies operating in the global construction robots market. Market players have been profiled in terms of attributes such as company overview, financial overview, business strategies, and recent developments. Key players operating in the global construction robots market are Brokk AB, TopTec Spezialmaschinen GmbH, Construction Robotics, Komatsu, Ekso Bionics, Fujita, Fastbrick Robotics, Autonomous Solutions, Giant Hydraulic Tech, Yingchuang Building Technique Co. (WinSun), Alpine Sales and Rental, and Beijing Borui Intelligent Control Technology. Companies are focusing on expanding their business through acquisitions and strategic partnerships. The global construction robots market has been segmented as follows: Global Construction Robots Market, by Automation Fully Autonomous Robots Semi-autonomous Robots Global Construction Robots Market, by Function 3D-printing Robots Demolition Robots Bricklaying Robot Others Global Construction Robots Market, by Application Commercial Buildings Residential Buildings Public Infrastructure Others Global Construction Robots Market, by Region North America U.S Canada Rest of North America Europe Germany U.K France Rest of Europe Asia Pacific China Japan Rest of Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa GCC South Africa Rest of Middle East & Africa South America Brazil Rest of South America Popular Research Reports by TMR: Smart Commercial Drone Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/smart-commercial-drone-market.html - 3D Printed Medical Devices Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/3d-printed-medical-devices-market.html Logging Cable Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/logging-cable-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 ad hoc 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 Us Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Senators on Tuesday described the testimony of Michael Cohen, the presidents former personal attorney and fixer, as an extensive grilling, but refrained from divulging details about the first of three highly anticipated congressional hearings this week. "Cohen was serious," Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., told reporters. "Focused, at least initially, on a number of things that Mr. Cohen had said that turned out not to be true. There were lots of questions to be asked." Another Republican on the panel, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, characterized Tuesdays hearing as an "extensive grilling" and described Cohen as a "very different guy." Departing after more than nine hours of closed-door testimony, Cohen ignored reporters questions, but offered gratitude for the opportunity to speak his piece. "At this point in time I really appreciate the opportunity to clear the record and tell the truth," Cohen told reporters Tuesday night. "I look forward to tomorrow -- let American people decide exactly who's telling the truth." Cohens truth could carry dire implications for President Donald Trump, a man he worked alongside for more than a decade. Emerging from the interview room, the top Democrat on the committee, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., expressed alarm at what Cohen told the panel. "Two years ago when this investigation started, I said it may be the most important thing Im involved in in my public life in the senate and nothing I have heard today dissuades me from that view," Warner said. The timing of Cohens arrival on Capitol Hill coincided with the timing of another high-stakes event taking place on the other side of the globe. Trump touched down in Hanoi for his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Tuesday morning just moments before Cohen was seen entering the committee room for his closed testimony. The White House on Tuesday slammed congressional Democrats as "pathetic" for allowing Cohen to testify. "Disgraced felon Michael Cohen is going to prison for lying to Congress and making other false statements," a statement from White House press secretary Sarah Sanders read. "Sadly, he will go before Congress this week and we can expect more of the same. It's laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies." Cohens testimony on Tuesday marked the first of three highly anticipated hearings this week. After his closed hearing to the Senate panel on Tuesday, Cohen will make his way across Capitol Hill to the House of Representatives on Wednesday, where he will testify in public for the first time before the House Oversight Committee. ABC News reported Tuesday that when Cohen takes the stand Wednesday, he will for the first time publicly accuse President Donald Trump of potentially committing a crime while in office, according to a source familiar with his intended testimony. The accusation, according to the source, is related to Trump's alleged repayment of money to Cohen for a hush money deal with Stormy Daniels, the adult film actress and director who claims to have had an affair with Trump. Trump has denied Daniels' claim but has admitted to the reimbursement. Asked Tuesday morning whether she had a reaction to news that Cohen expects to implicate the president in possible criminal activity, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said, "We'll see what he says tomorrow." Cohen will finish his trio of congressional hearings on Thursday before the House Intelligence Committee in another closed door hearing. The longtime fixer for Trump pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress about a Trump Tower project in Moscow that the president's real estate company was pursuing at the same time he was running for president in 2016. In statements to the House and Senate Intelligence committees, Cohen testified the project ended in January 2016. He later said it continued well into the campaign, at least until June of that year. Cohen is scheduled to report to prison in early May for a three-year sentence. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. AUBURN With so many different organizations invested in protecting the health of Owasco Lake, the Owasco Watershed Lake Association decided one of the best things to dedicate the group's 2019 efforts on is supporting the "tremendous amount of work being done already," OWLA President Ken Kudla said Tuesday. Speaking at the Owasco Watershed Management Council Meeting Tuesday, Kudla outlined OWLA's plans for 2019, including providing grant writing support to other groups and continuing a program of sampling for Harmful Algal Blooms. Over a series of committee meetings, OWLA's members assessed what impact their work in 2018 had and what they wanted to achieve in 2019. Supporting the continued collaboration of the various lake associations, government agencies, nonprofit groups and more quickly became a priority, Kudla said. "For me, that's the greatest thing that's been going on, is how closely everybody's working together for the common good of the lake," Kudla said. Much of the cooperative work with other agencies would address the notion of capability and capacity, Kudla said. For example, OWLA volunteers plan to continue assisting the Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District staff with grant writing, freeing them up to perform vital field work, Kudla said. "I'd just like to apologize to the court and the victims and take full responsibility for my actions," LaClair said Tuesday. For his charge of third-degree robbery, a class D felony, Fandrich sentenced LaClair to two to four years in prison and put orders of protection in place for the victims. The maximum sentence for his crimes is up to seven years in prison. LaClair was also ordered to pay $346.50 in restitution. An Auburn man will spend time in prison for violating his probation. Shane Andrews, 20, was sentenced to six months in the county jail followed by five years of post-release supervision in October for attempting to rob a 75-year-old man at knifepoint in June. Auburn teen sentenced for attempted knifepoint robbery of 75-year-old man AUBURN A 19-year-old Auburn man was sentenced to jail and a term of shock probation for at At the time of his original sentencing, Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann described the crime as "very dangerous" and "concerning," saying it happened after Andrews had been using drugs for five straight days. Tuesday, Fandrich said Andrews had failed to report to probation and failed to report a change in address when he relocated. For violating his probation, Fandrich sentenced Andrews to one to three years in prison with a shock camp order. An Auburn man pleaded guilty to, and was sentenced for, a domestic incident from last summer. AUBURN An Auburn man charged with drug-related felonies was sentenced on Tuesday to six years in prison. Johnnie Sease Jr., of 2 Capitol St., was arrested in June after law enforcement executed a search warrant of his home. Drugs, weapons, cash and other items were uncovered by the Finger Lakes Drug Task Force. Sease, 58, pleaded guilty to three felonies in December to satisfy his original 18-charge indictment. He pleaded guilty to two class B felonies of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and third-degree criminal possession of a narcotic drug as well as third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a class D felony. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} At the time, Sease admitted possessing about 15 grams of crack cocaine and selling cocaine to another individual. He also admitted possessing a Taurus Judge revolver while dealing drugs. "I would like to express remorse," Sease said in Cayuga County Court Tuesday morning. "I take full responsibility for my actions, and I hope God will see me through these trying times." While Sease could have faced up to 15 years in prison, Judge Mark Fandrich sentenced him to six years in prison plus three years post-release supervision for each of his drug felonies and three to six years for possessing a weapon. All his sentences will run concurrently. Sease was also ordered to pay $320 to the Finger Lakes Drug Task Force. 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 1 Sad 1 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. I had always planned to home-school. As a kid, school felt cold and I never wanted to go. In sixth grade alone, I missed 30 days of school because I was sick. And I was. I was homesick. Before I became a mother, I swore Id never send my own kids to school. I envisioned them in their jammies, reading in bed with hot cocoa until whenever. Wed go on educational excursions whenever a curious itch needed to be scratched. The kids would drive their own learning, and I would simply provide the vehicle. And then I met my children. They dont stop talking, and they make huge messes. I couldnt wait to get back to work. But I still wanted them home-schooled; I just didnt want to be the one who had to do it. Montessori School of the Finger Lakes is like home school, where kids work at their own pace, often on goals of their design; where a child gets to draw from the gifts of younger and older classmates; where learning is relevant, messy and fun. Except that you dont have to do it. And your house stays clean! In the aftermath of Amazon's decision to not open its second headquarters in New York City, an amendment to prevent members of the Public Authorities Control Board from possessing veto power was rejected by the state Senate Tuesday. Senate Republicans proposed altering the voting structure of the state board, which consists of three voting members appointed by the governor. Two of the members represent the state Legislature's majority conferences. Under the board's existing structure, resolutions to approve grants and other financing for projects must receive unanimous approval from the three voting members. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republicans blamed Senate Democrats for Amazon's decision to not advance its "HQ2" project in New York, in part, because Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins recommend her deputy, state Sen. Michael Gianaris, for a seat on the Public Authorities Control Board. Gianaris, D-Queens, represents the district where Amazon planned to open its second headquarters. He was a critic of the $3 billion deal, which mainly consisted of tax credits, to bring Amazon's new campus to New York. Out: One person, one vote. In: One county, one senator. Two upstate Republican lawmakers believe a proposal to overhaul the makeup of the New York State Senate would achieve balance for the state's 19 million residents. State Sen. Joe Griffo and Assemblyman Mark Walczyk are sponsors of a bill that would give each of New York's 62 counties one state senator. This would replace the existing system in which senators represent districts with nearly identical population totals. State Senate districts, especially those outside of New York City, typically contain multiple counties. Griffo, the No. 2 Republican in the state Senate, argued that the model would achieve balance. He highlighted the similarities the state Senate would have with the U.S. Senate, which has 100 members two senators from each state. "I think this is a concept worth exploring," Griffo, R-Rome, said at a press conference in Albany Wednesday. There are legal and legislative hurdles Griffo's bill would need to clear. He acknowledged the state would need to challenge a 1964 Supreme Court decision that determined state legislatures must be redrawn with "roughly equal represented populations" to adhere to the one person, one vote principle. With the exception of a handful of Republicans, most members of New York's House delegation supported a resolution Tuesday to terminate President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration. The House passed the resolution by a 245-182 vote. The measure seeks to block Trump's emergency order to build a wall along portions of the southern border. Twenty-two of New York's 27 House members supported the resolution. The supporters included U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, one of 13 Republicans who voted for the resolution. One reason Stefanik, R-Willsboro, supported the resolution is due to the emergency declaration's impact on military construction funding. Trump's order would divert more than $6 billion, including $3.6 billion in funding for military construction projects. Stefanik's district includes Fort Drum, an Army base in northern New York. Taking funding from military construction projects, Stefanik said in a statement, is "the wrong decision." The wall, Lesko added, is part of the solution. "I support (Trump) in protecting our nation, his number one duty," she said. Democrats who represent border communities disagreed. U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, and now represents the city in Congress. Escobar's family has lived on the U.S.-Mexico border for more than a century. In a floor speech, the Texas Democrat informed her colleagues the border "has never been safer." "I am more worried that people in this chamber are willing to ignore the oath of office that we took on the day we were sworn in," Escobar said. "I am also far more worried that they are willing to divert funding that is going to our U.S. military in favor of a political prop, a monument to xenophobia, a campaign promise." Other Democrats questioned the constitutionality of Trump's declaration. U.S. Rep. Gil Cisneros, a California Democrat, claimed the president is attempting to override Congress with the national emergency order. Sixteen state attorneys general have filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the declaration. Rockville, MD, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Increasing cognizance of infections acquired in hospitals in parallel to the rising cases of surgical-site infections (SSI) is considered significant driver underpinning the growth of the global antiseptic bathing market . According to a recent report published by Fact.MR, the global antiseptic bathing market is projected to surpass a value of US$ 549.3 Mn and a promising CAGR of 2.9% by the end of 2026. There has been a substantial increase in the recommendation of regulatory bodies and healthcare authorities for the utilization of antiseptic bathing products for preoperative skin cleansing. For instance, the regulatory authorities such as Care Bundles and Royal College of Surgeons suggest the utilization of soap for skin cleansing prior to any surgery. In addition to this, the USA Institute of Healthcare Improvement approves of the Chlorhexidine Gluconate (CHG) soap specifically for the preoperative skin cleansing practices. Request For Sample Report- https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=3063 Increasing rate of geriatric population and the pervasiveness of diseases such as cardiovascular, diabetes, cancer, dementia, and osteoporosis is anticipated to increase the number of hospitalizations and trigger the growth of the antiseptic bathing market. In addition to this, prolonged period of hospital stay, recurrent surgeries, and readmissions of the patients is driving the demand for antiseptic bathing at the forefront. As a result, the global antiseptic bathing market is expected to grow at an accelerated pace through the forecast period. CHG Solution to Hold About 58.4% Share in the Global Antiseptic Bathing Market According to the report, the global antiseptic bathing market has been classified into Antiseptic Shampoo Caps, Antiseptic Bathing Solution, Antiseptic Wipes, CHG Solution, and CHG Bath Towels based on the product types. On the whole, CHG Solution is envisaged to be the fastest growing segment in the consolidated antiseptic bathing market with a share of 58.4%, owing to numerous growth drivers. Proliferated adoption of CHG has been witnessed among the hospitals, on the back of its convenience of use. The CHG solution impregnated into the cloths, bath towels, sponges, and cloths can be used without soaking them into water, thereby, turning into a designated solution especially for the bedridden patients. Extensive utilization of CHG solution has been witnessed in the developed countries, owing to its expensiveness and high per bath cost. However, this high cost has a positive impact on the overall valuation of the global antiseptic bathing market. Browse Full Report on Antiseptic Bathing Market with TOC- https://www.factmr.com/report/3063/antiseptic-bathing-market Asia Pacific Remains a Lucrative Region for the Growth of the Antiseptic Bathing Market Asia Pacific remains the most lucrative geography for the expansion of the antiseptic bathing market, which is significantly propelled by the growing number of geriatric population in parallel to the increasing disposable income of the individuals in this region. As a result, demand for quality healthcare procedures has been prevalent in APAC region resulting in the growth of the antiseptic bathing market. Among the other countries of APAC, China is anticipated to maintain a lucrative position for the antiseptic bathing market as a large number of hospitals are concentrated in this region with over 500 beds each. In addition to this, protocols and practices to prevent infections acquired in hospitals have created an imperative demand for antiseptic bathing procedures, which in turn, influences the growth of the antiseptic bathing market. Request Methodology of this Report- https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=RM&rep_id=3063 A Look at the Competitive Landscape of the Global Antiseptic Bathing Market According to the report on the antiseptic bathing market, the competitors transforming existing landscape of antiseptic bathing market are Ecolab Inc., Reyanard Health Supplies, 3M Co., Becton, Clorox Company, Dickinson and Company, Air Liquide, Medline Industries, Molnlycke Health Care AB, Stryker Corporation, Reckitt Benckiser Nigeria, HiCare Health, P&G, Deko Industries Limited, and Tropical Naturals Limited, among others. The leading manufacturers of the antiseptic bathing market have been devising sustainable business strategies to pave the way for their business expansion. Furthermore, they have been entering into strategic mergers and acquisitions to team up with local players and procure a significant amount of market share. To Buy Antiseptic Bathing Market Report, Check- https://www.factmr.com/checkout/3063/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 The heartbroken mother of two boys whose bodies were found in Townsvilles flood-scarred river after going missing, says it feels like she is in a horror movie that she cant get out of. Jhulio and Barak, aged three and five, were found on Tuesday morning in a deep, cutaway section of the Ross River after more than 100 police, SES workers and residents took part in a frantic 12-hour search in the suburb of Cranbrook. Their devastated mother, Leeann Eatts, has led a series of emotional tributes for the boys who insisted on doing everything together. I feel like Im in a horror movie and I cant get out of it yet, The Courier Mail reported Ms Eatts saying. I cant even explain it. Ive had a rough four years but this feeling Ive never felt this type of feeling before, its like a black hole, like somethings missing, like someone ripped a hole out of me. Jhulio (bottom) and Barak (top) were found dead in the Ross River after a overnight search. Source: GoFundMe The boys relatives called police about 6.30pm on Monday after they didnt come home, while their distraught mum took to Facebook, pleading with local residents to keep their eye out for her boys. Friends, family and strangers have continued to post their condolences when news of the discovery broke. Sending our love from Sydney at this painful and difficult time, Jim Oliver wrote on Ms Eatts Facebook page. Queensland Police released CCTV of the boys after they were seen walking towards the Ross River. Source: Qld Police Jodie Healey described the situation as heartbreaking beyond words. My thoughts are with you. May your beautiful boys rest in peace, she wrote. Police are continuing to talk to witnesses, before a report is prepared for the coroner. We have to look at all circumstances at this point before we make any determinations as to whether or not theres anything we should be concerned about, he said on Tuesday. It could be as innocent as harmless play thats had tragic consequences. Thousands raised to send the boys home to Darwin A GoFundMe page has been started to have Barak and Jhulio brought back to Darwin. Source: Facebook/Leeann Eatts A GoFundMe page has since been started to have the boys bodies returned to their hometown of Darwin. I would love to be able to help bring them home with the support and love of our community so we can bring the boys home without putting the family behind, the page reads. Story continues More than $2000 has been raised in the 16 hours since the page was launched. Do you know more or have a story tip? Email: y7newsroom@yahoo7.com.au. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo7s daily newsletter. Sign up here. The family of two young boys who drowned in Townsvilles Ross River on Monday night lost a seven-year-old relative at the exact same spot several years ago, a family spokesperson has revealed. Addressing the media on Wednesday afternoon to announce that a traditional smoking ceremony would be held for the boys on Sunday, Townsville Aboriginal academic Gracelyn Smallwood said the family wanted three memorial crosses erected at the site. She said the crosses would acknowledge brothers Jhulio and Barak, aged three and five, as well as their relative. Jhulio and Barak, aged three and five , went missing on Monday night. Their bodies were found in the Ross River in Townsville the following morning. Source: AAP We lost another little relative who comes from a traditional owner group here and this family have asked if they could put a third cross up for the little darling we lost some years ago in exactly the same spot, Ms Smallwood said. Once these crosses are put up were going to ask the council if we could have three little memorial plaques and three trees planted there. The two boys were found on Tuesday morning in a deep, cutaway section of the Ross River. The search for the two boys ended in tragedy just before 6am on Tuesday when police found their bodies in the Ross River, near Cranbrook Park. Source: Google Maps It came after more than 100 police, SES workers and residents took part in a frantic 12-hour search in the suburb of Cranbrook in a bid to find them. The boys relatives called police about 6.30pm on Monday after they didnt come home. Their devastated mother, Leeann Eatts, took to Facebook during the search. If you live near a park or driving past it take time to have a look they will be cold hungry and tired now. Mum is missing you boys so so much, she wrote. After learning of their fate she described the pain as feeling like someone ripped a hole out of me. The deaths have been met with an outpouring of grief from around the country. Family spokesperson Grace Smallwood, centre, flanked by family members as she addresses the media. Source: 7News Family member Joseph Austral has established a fundraiser to help take the boys bodies to Darwin. The boys are from Darwin and I would love to be able to help bring them home with the support and love of our community so we can bring the boys home without putting the family behind, he wrote on the GoFundMe page. Story continues By Wednesday night, 123 people had donated more than $4500 to the fund. I can not even begin to imagine the pain you mob are going through right now. Sending love, light and strength during this trying time, Danielle Seden wrote. Belinda Kamp said: The whole country is thinking of you and your family. Pls stay strong for your other children. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The boys were happy little people The boys were happy little people, like all little five and three year old children like all children they were fearless, Ms Smallwood said. Thats how they want them to be remembered. The family is planning to hold a traditional smoking ceremony for the boys on Sunday, which Ms Smallwood said will send their spirits safely back to the Dreamtime. Police are continuing to talk to witnesses, before a report is prepared for the coroner. A fund has been set up with the Aboriginal Housing Society to help the family take the boys bodies back to their home country of Darwin to be laid to rest. The boys were seen on CCTV walking along Brett Street towards the Ross River before their mother posted a frantic message on social media. Source: Qld Police Ms Smallwood said the family wanted to thank the community for their love and support during a sad, traumatic time. We thank the community who came out in support of looking for our babies, but also to the people who couldnt make it, not just from Australia but around the world, she said. It was just amazing how people came from different backgrounds to show their condolences, love and support to the two precious little souls that we unfortunately lost a few days ago. With AAP Do you have a story tip? Email: y7newsroom@yahoo7.com.au. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo7s daily newsletter. Sign up here. A baby girl reportedly suffered serious head injuries when a flight attendant dropped her capsule down the steps of a budget aircraft and she fell out. The five-month-old fell from her portable cradle as she was carried down the steps of a plane in Surgut, Russia, and was immediately taken to hospital, according to local reports. The infant was treated for a broken nose and suffered internal bruising that led to concussion, The Mirror reported. A baby girl reportedly suffered head injuries when a flight attendant dropped her down the steps of a Pobeda budget aircraft in Russia. Source: Getty, file The baby was reportedly travelling with her mother from Makhachkala on the Caspian Sea to Serbia on a Pobeda flight a low-cost operator owned by airline Aeroflot. The airline confirmed the incident, with a spokesperson issuing an apology, adding that it happened on the planes steps in subzero temperatures after landing. The air carrier will fully compensate all the expenses associated with the treatment of the child, the spokesperson told The Mirror. The spokesperson said a very careful investigation was underway. It is believed the male flight attendant was trying to help the childs mother who was overloaded with bags, but didnt realise the baby was not properly strapped in to the capsule before the she fell out. An anonymous airline source told the news outlet the crew member had tried to visit the baby in hospital to check on her condition, but was denied access for privacy reasons. Do you have a story tip? Email: y7newsroom@yahoo7.com.au. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo7s daily newsletter. Sign up here. More kava products are coming to Australia. Images: Getty The worlds first listed kava company, Fiji Kava has signed an exclusive $3.5 million deal with an Australian distributor to bring more kava products to Australians shelves. Fiji Kava (ASX:FIJ) made the announcement to the ASX today that it would work with Pathway International to bring kava to the complementary medicine industries in Australia and New Zealand. The three year deal is expected to generate revenue of $3.5 million and will see Pathway International distribute Fiji Kava kava extract to customers including Blackmores, Swisse, Sanofi and Vitaco. Kava is a South Pacific plant with heart-shaped leaves and calming properties. Its extract is made from the powdered root of the plant. Fiji Kava CEO Zane Yoshida said the agreement highlights the popularity of the calming extract. [This] reflects the growing acceptance and demand for kava as a natural alternative to prescription medications in the treatment of anxiety and other disorders. We are pleased to be perfectly positioned to capitalise on the emerging market, he said. The CEO of Pathway International, Wayne Coote added that he was pleased to provide Pathway clients with quality extracts. Already, we have had strong indications of demand from many of our existing customers who are interested in this product and the therapeutic benefits it can offer to a broad consumer base. He said kava is definitely becoming widely recognised within the pharmaceutical industry as an alternative to a wide range of stress, anxiety and sleep medicines. Sounds great, but I dont want to wait. Can I already buy kava? Currently, kava is a restricted import due to fears the abuse of kava was leading to negative outcomes in some indigenous communities. It was introduced into some communities in the 1980s as a substitute to alcohol. Long-term concentrated kava use can lead to skin ulcers, liver damage but small doses are associated with muscle relaxation, feelings of wellbeing and sleepiness. Its dangerous for pregnant and breastfeeding women, those operating heavy machinery and those already taking pharmaceutical medicine. Story continues However, Australians are allowed to bring in up to 2 kilograms in root or dried form outside of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Firms can also import kava for medicinal or scientific uses. Australians can buy health products using kava extract online and at some Chemist Warehouses. Make your money work with Yahoo Finances daily newsletter. Sign up here and stay on top of the latest money, news and tech news. Now read: The welfare program leading single parents into poverty Now read: Banks have serious concerns about small business change Now read: Why a second passport is the new must have item for the worlds richest people English French MONTREAL, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MOBI724 Global Solutions Inc. (MOBI724 or the Company) (TSX-V:MOS) (OTCQB:MOBIF), a global Fintech company offering a fully integrated suite of multiple Card-Linked Offers and Rewards (CLO&R), Digital Marketing and Business Intelligence (DMBI) and Payment Solutions (Payment) announces that it has retained Hayden IR, LLC. (Hayden) to provide investor relations and financial communication services. Hayden will assist MOBI724 with its overall investor relations strategy and broaden the awareness of the Company within the investor and financial community. Under the terms of the agreement with Hayden (the "Agreement"), MOBI724 will pay Hayden US$5,000 per month, for a 12 month period with a minimum period of three (3) months (for an anticipated minimal cost of US$15,000). The coming into force of the Agreement is subject to the conditional approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Cameron Donahue, Partner at Hayden IR said We are very excited to introduce Mobi724 Global Solutions, an emerging growth company, to our extensive network of investment professionals. In our assessment, the company is undervalued and presents a compelling opportunity. First Canadian Capital Corp. (First Canadian), which has been carrying out investor relations for MOBI724 since Q2 2018, will continue to assist MOBI724. The appointment of Hayden will serve as a complement to First Canadians efforts. About Hayden IR, LLC. Hayden IR is a highly regarded investor relations consulting firm. Leveraging decades of cumulative experience, Hayden IR develops strategies to help clients effectively communicate with the investment community. Over time, Hayden IR helps its clients to secure a reasonable valuation by broadening their audience and expanding institutional ownership; and ensures clear, consistent communication with the public ( http://haydenir.com ). About Mobi724 Global Solutions Inc. We enable smart transactions anywhere. MOBI724, a global Fintech company, offers a fully integrated suite of multiple Card-Linked Offers and Rewards, Digital Marketing and Business Intelligence and Payment Solutions (including a mobile EMV compliant payment platform), which work with any payment card, on any mobile device and at any Point of Sale. MOBI724 provides turnkey solutions for card associations, card issuers, banks, retailers, manufacturers, offer providers, to create, manage, deliver and track and measure incentive campaigns worldwide in real time. The company captures value from big data to deliver seamless and personalized user experiences for the benefits of all parties in the ecosystem. MOBI724 headquarters are in Montreal, Canada, and the company presently has operations in North and Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia Pacific. Legal Disclaimer Certain statements in this document, including those which express management expectations or estimations with regard to the Companys future performance, constitute forward-looking statements as understood by applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are, of necessity, based on a certain number of estimates and hypotheses; while management considers these to be accurate at the time they are expressed, they are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and risks on the commercial, economic and competitive levels. We advise readers that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other known and unknown factors that 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 in these forward-looking statements. Investors are advised to not rely unduly on the forward-looking statements. This advisory applies to all forward-looking statements, whether expressed orally or in writing, attributed to the Company or to any individual expressing them in the name of the Company. Unless required by law, the Company is under no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events, or other circumstances. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release does not constitute a solicitation to buy or sell any securities in the United States. For further information, please visit www.MOBI724.com or contact: Investor Relations: Mr. George Aizpurua Vice-President, Communications First Canadian Capital Corp. T: 647-500-2389/416-742-5600; E: gaizpurua@firstcanadiancapital.com Ms. Rachel Girard, CPA, CA Chief Financial Officer MOBI724 Global Solutions Inc. T: 514-394-5200; E: IR@mobi724.com Students participate in the 'virtual classroom' at Sonoma school of business SIMON DAVIDSON PORT MORESBY - Last Friday, the dream of virtual learning became reality when two schools of business in Papua New Guinea were connected by video conferencing. The schools at Sonoma Adventist College and Pacific Adventist University adopted video conferencing after Dr Khin Maung Kyi of PAU received funding from the South Pacific Division of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. A donation of more than K250,000 was provided to purchase equipment and Douglas Rinny, an information technology specialist from PAU, recently came to Sonoma College to install the equipment to enable video conferencing. The launch linking the two business schools occurred in the presence of students and staff with Dr Khin speaking about the opportunities available through modern technology to make learning more accessible and user-friendly. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met with the Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Khamenei in the sidelines of his official visit to Iran. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the office of the Prime Minister of Armenia, Ayatollah Khamenei welcomed the visit of PM Pashinyan to Iran and noted that he has been informed on the results of the talks between Pashinyan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Ayatollah Khamenei expressed support for the development of Armenian-Iranian multidimensional cooperation. He particularly highlighted the expansion and promotion of the Armenian-Iranian economic partnership. Nikol Pashinyan thanked for the reception, emphasizing that Armenia is interested in continuous development and expansion of relations with friendly Iran. During the meeting in warm atmosphere Nikol Pashinyan referred to the political developments in Armenia and the popular revolution. The Supreme leader of Iran noted that he attentive followed the developments in Armenia that were peaceful and in line with democratic rules. During the meeting the interlocutors touched upon various regional issues. Nikol Pashinyan and Ayatollah Khamenei agreed that the comprehensive and lasting settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is possible only through peaceful means. Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. Inecobank CJSC and Blue Orchard Microfinance Fund signed a subordinate debt facility agreement in the amount of 15 million USD with a seven-year maturity period on February 27, ARMENPRESS was informed from Inecobank CJSC. Today Inecobank, as a leading bank in Armenia in attracting funds from foreign institutions, has a highly diversified funding structure both by liabilities and share capital points out Tigran Davtyan, CEO of Inecobank. As reported by the bank, the funds attracted will be directed to financing the bank's overall activities, as well as will contribute to the growth of the bank's credit portfolio, in particular focusing on the SME segment. We highly value our lasting cooperation with Blue Orchard Microfinance Fund, which provides subordinated loan in Armenia for the first time. Such a long-term and productive cooperation with foreign financial institutions comes to testify the high level of trust towards Inecobank, which has been achieved thanks to the Bank's excellent financial performance and the high standards of corporate governance practices at the Bank", sums-up Mr. Davtyan. A subordinated loan is a more flexible tool that enables to manage the Bank's assets and liabilities, mainly increasing the effectiveness of capital management. With the involvement of this subordinated loan, Inecobanks regulatory capital will make up AMD 50 billion, which will improve the position of Inecobank in the market, thus ranking it among the most capitalized banks in Armenia's banking system. CJSC Inecobank CJSC is one of the leading banks in the South Caucasus region, focused on individual customers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations offering a full range of banking services including break through and innovative digital banking solutions. For over 23 years the bank has been providing unmatched convenience in Armenia serving more than 400 000 customers and over 150 000 online users. Inecobank developed and delivered industry-leading digital banking solutions with the purpose of introducing an entirely new culture of banking services. In 2009 the Bank digitalized and fully automated the Point of Sale Loan product, reducing the loan generation time from 3-4 days to a few minutes. In 2012, with the introduction of InecoOnline, the Bank was one of the first to provide 24/7 banking services to its customers. In 2014 the Bank launched InecoMobile, its Mobile banking application, which is the most popular banking application in Armenia with over 100,000 users. In 2017, the Bank was the first to introduce a fully automated consumer lending solution through its mobile and online applications, which generates consumer loans 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In 2018, the Bank was the first banking institution in Armenia to introduce InecoPay, the cashless payments new system. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, who is in Tehran on an official visit, met with Chairman of the Iranian Majlis Ali Larijani. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the office of the Prime Minister of Armenia, Ali Larijani welcomed the visit of the delegation led by Pashinyan to Iran and expressed confidence that it will foster the future development of economic and political relations between the two states. Nikol Pashinyan thanked for the warm reception and noted that the last time he visited the Iranian Majlis was when he was part of an Armenian parliamentary delegation and maintains warm and pleasant memories from that visit. The interlocutors highly assessed the bilateral friendly relations, which continue to develop in an atmosphere of mutual understanding. The sides considered the necessity of continuous strengthening of economic cooperation and highlighted the expansion of ties between the parliaments of the two countries for that. In this regard, the interlocutors underlined the necessity of the development of relations between the parliaments friendship groups, mutual visits, and noted that the cooperation of the legislative bodies also contributes to the further strengthening of Armenian-Iranian relations. Nikol Pashinyan expressed satisfaction with the results of the meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, underlining that the Armenian side is interested in implementing the agreements reached, in particular, in the economic sphere, which will give new impetus to bilateral relations. Ali Larijani stressed that the Iranian parliament is inclined towards expanding relations. According to him, there are great opportunities for developing cooperation both in bilateral and multilateral formats. In this context, the importance of the free trade agreement between EAEU and Iran and the ratification of the document by the parliaments were touched upon. The parties also attached importance to the promotion of cooperation in tourism and culture. Issues related to regional issues were also discussed during the meeting. Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. Armenian leading telecommunications company Ucom has signed a memorandum of cooperation with Iran and Qatar, according to which internet transit channel will be created linking the Gulf and Asian states with Europe. The new channel will be an alternative to the currently operating channel passing through sea. The new one will pass through Armenia, bypassing Turkey and Azerbaijan, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the WCIT 2019. Mr. Alexsander Yesayan, board member of World Information Technology and Service Alliance (WITSA), president of Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises (UATE) and WCIT 2019 IT international congress, has personally re-confirmed the previously extended participation invite during the meeting with Iran's Minister of Communications and Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi. Mr. Yesayan is in Iran within the scope of the Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan's official visit. As announced earlier, the World Congress on Information Technologies will be held in Yerevan, on October 6-9, 2019. The Iranian government representative thanked for the invitation, expressing his interest in participating in the event. Within the scope of the visit, the parties from Armenia, Iran, and Qatar signed an MOU on regional cooperation: According to the document, the largest telecommunication companies of the three countries will cooperate to create an internet transit channel for the region. The document was signed by UCOM co-founder Mr. Alexander Yesayan, CEO of Iranian Telecommunication Company Mr. Majid Sadri and the President of the largest cable network provider the Gulf states, GULF Bridge International Mr. Abdulla Al-Rwaili. This program will create a transit link for Internet provision to connect the Gulf and Asian countries to Europe. By joining such an ambitious project, Armenia once again underlines its position as a regional IT leader. The new channel will become an alternative to the current maritime route, will sidestep Azerbaijan and Turkey and pass through Armenia. By the way, Turkey and Azerbaijan were in intense competition to win the project. This is not simply a matter of business, but it has a strong strategic impact on the telecommunication security- stated the Ucom co-founder Mr. Alexander Yesayan. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. A Yerevan court of general jurisdiction rejected the motion of the lawyers of former MP, General Manvel Grigoryan to release him from jail on bail. Grigoryan will remain in prison, ARMENPRESS reports Grigoryans lawyer Arsen Mkrtchyan told the reporters after the court session. The court rejected the motion, he said. The lawyer did not rule out the possibility of filing another motion. Manvel Grigoryan has been charged for illegal possession of firearms and grand theft. He was remanded into custody on June 16, 2018. Grigoryan was stripped off immunity by the Parliament in June 19. He was released on a 25 million AMD bail on December 21, 2018. But the former lawmaker has been again placed under arrest on January 22, 2019. Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian side has raised concerns over the participation of a group of Russian parliamentarians in an anti-Armenian march in Baku, ARMENPRESS reports Ambassador of Armenia to Russia Vardan Toghanyan told Echo of Moscow. We raise our concerns over the participation of the Russian parliamentarians in the march in Baku, which has an obvious anti-Armenian nature and is aimed at undermining confidence in the region. We are totally unaware of the motivations of the parliamentarians what do they express solidarity with and whats their mission in participating in such events that are part of the propaganda of the authorities of other countries? Like in the past, we are inclined at establishing bridges of friendship, sincere and allied relations and we hope that our Russian partners will give proper assessments to the participation of the parliamentarians in the well-organized anti-Armenian movement aimed at dissemination of misunderstanding and distrust, the Ambassador said. Armenian parliament Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan also referred to the issue in his speech at the plenary session of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. We highly appreciate the role of the Russian Federation as a Minsk Group Co-chair country. I have to record with sorrow that despite the high-level allied relations between our countries, as well as the consistent efforts of the Russian side aimed at the peaceful settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, some of our Russian partners yesterday participated in a strictly anti-Armenian event, which goes against the nature of preserving peace and stability in the region. Moreover, we have justified concerns with that some members of the Armenian-Russian inter-parliamentary commission participated in the event, Mirzoyan said. Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. As a country currently holding the presidency at the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), it is important for Armenia that the EEU-Iran free trade deal is undergoing a ratification process in parliaments of the organization, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan told a news conference after negotiations with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran, Iran. Apparently it [deal] will enter into force during our presidency. This will open new opportunities for enhancing our trade turnover and for the business communities of our countries. And we must encourage our business communities to use these opportunities, the Armenian prime minister said. Pashinyan also attached importance to cooperation of the two countries in the energy sector. The President of Iran mentioned that there is readiness from the Iranian side to enhance the volumes of gas supplies to Armenia. Here, of course, it is important for us to be able to reach a common denominator regarding the price during future discussions and talks. This is a principally important issue in terms of the deals appeal. And we are hopeful that our representatives will conduct productive negotiations in this directions, Pashinyan said. The Armenian premier attached importance to a record noted during the negotiations whereby bilateral relations must be viewed in a broader context and projects that will have regional significance should be implemented. Armenia is ready to conduct transit cooperation with Iran and be a transit country for Iranian gas. The creation of energy corridors has also important significance both bilaterally and regionally, and in a broader sense. For the solution of these issues a political will exists, and we must hope that the process of bringing it into practice in the negotiations will be conducted successfully. The discussions that we have now allow us to say that our visit is proceeding successfully and we mutually note that in our actions we should proceed with the logic of enhancing our friendly relations and their atmosphere, the Armenian PM said. He emphasized that the special nature of the relations between the two countries is also emphasized by the presence of an active Armenian community in Iran. PM Pashinyan expressed gratitude to the Iranian government to the attitude that they have towards Armenians of Iran. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. President of Iran Hassan Rouhani says since Armenias independence they have witnessed friendly relations between the two countries, expressing hope that they will witness the development of these relations during the activities of new Armenian government, reports Armenpress. During the meeting we have reached good agreements at different directions. Since Armenias independence we have witnessed friendly relations between the two countries and we hope to witness the development of these relations during the activities of the new government, Rouhani told reporters following his meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Tehran. During todays meeting we held talks on bilateral, regional relations and various issues taking place in the world. At the meeting with Mr. Prime Minister we have expressed satisfaction over Armenias position towards the sanctions imposed on Iran. The goal of our two countries is to push forward the works in accordance with our interests and not to allow any third country to interfere in these works and cooperation, Rouhani said. The Iranian President added that Armenia and Iran have formed a very good cooperation, there is a high level of political, cultural relations, cooperation in education, tourism and other areas between the two states. We want for the cooperation to be at a high level in the remaining areas as well. There is a great potential for the economic cooperation which must be better used. In the energy sector Armenia and Iran carry out gas for electricity major program. During our talks we also touched upon the issues relating to the Meghri HPP works, the President said. Rouhani said another key topic they talked about relates to the North-South road construction works. The Iranian side expressed readiness to participate in that project. Facilitations in the transportation system, in particular, concerning the trucks, is under our spotlight. We have also touched upon the agriculture sector. The Iranian side is ready to cooperate in this sphere, develop the activity of slaughterhouses in Armenia and etc., Rouhani added. The next topic of discussion related to the IT sector. Given the good cooperation between our countries we express our readiness to develop the ties in this direction. During the talks we have also considered the cooperation at trilateral with Georgia, and quadrilateral with Russia, formats from the perspective of Armenia-Iran cooperation in energy sector. As for the cooperation in the gas sector, we have expressed the readiness of the Iranian side to increase the supply volumes. We are also ready to carry out a trilateral cooperation to export gas to Georgia. Another topic of discussion related to connecting the Persian Gulf with the Black Sea via Armenia. Summing up my remarks, I want to state that the most important point is that both countries have a desire, potential and will to develop the relations. We have given instructions to the responsible officials to discuss all issues before the inter-governmental session, Hassan Rouhani said. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Iran on a two-day official visit on February 27. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held a meeting at the Saadabad Royal Palace in Tehran. The sides held both narrow-format and expanded-format meetings, Pashinyans office said. President Rouhani thanked the Armenian PM for accepting the invitation and visiting Iran. Welcome to Iran. I congratulate you on the changes that took place in Armenia that were demonstrated through a democratic way. Our historic relations have always been friendly and we want to further strengthen and develop them. Iran is always willing to have good relations and continue these relations with neighbors, namely with Armenia. I am sure that your visit to Iran will contribute to further developing the bilateral political, economic and humanitarian relations, Rouhani said. Pashinyan thanked the Iranian president for the invitation and the warm reception, and said: Iran is close to our country not only in terms of geography, but also friendly relations, and weve had numerous occasions to emphasize the importance of these ties. Highly important changes are taking place in Armenia, which are entirely domestic processes, and no foreign power has been involved in our countrys political processes. This is a principled point for understanding the processes that have taken place. I am sure that new opportunities have opened also in terms of our relations, and we have political will to realize them, Pashinyan said. Pashinyan emphasized that this is his third visit to Iran, first as a reporter, second as a lawmaker, and the third and current one as a prime minister. Pashinyan also noted the warm attitude for the Armenian community in Iran. This too strengthens our friendly attitude towards Iran. During our one-on-one meeting we discussed important issues, I hope that we will be able to reach the solution of a part of these issues during this visit, the Armenian PM said. President Rouhani expressed certainty that both sides political will is sufficient in order for the Armenian-Iranian relations to continue strengthening. The sides expressed certainty that not only will Armenia and Iran maintain the high level ties based on mutual trust in the future, but will also enhance and deepen them. Speaking about the bilateral economic agenda, Pashinyan and Rouhani highlighted the construction project of the third 400KW Iran-Armenia power transmission line, which will enable enhancing electricity and gas exchange volumes between the two countries, thus contributing to the development of economic relations and expansion of regional cooperation in this sector. Pashinyan and Rouhani also attached importance to the realization of the Meghri HPP project and agreed to take practical steps in this direction soon. The sides concurred that the bilateral trade turnover volumes arent as high as the level of political relations. They said that both countries should do their best for enhancing bilateral trade volumes and boosting mutual investments. In this context, Pashinyan spoke about the Armenian governments actions that are aimed at making the investment climate more favorable and attractive. In terms of boosting bilateral and regional commercial ties, the sides attached importance to the ratification of the Eurasian Economic Union-Iran agreement by parliaments. Pashinyan and Rouhani expressed conviction that this deal will create new opportunities for maximally boosting trade-economic relations between Armenia and Iran. They said it would be useful to conduct exhibition fairs of Armenian and Iranian products and organize business forums in Tehran and Yerevan after the agreement enters into force completely. The development of international transportation corridors was highlighted as an important sector of cooperation, as well as the possible participation of the Iranian side in the construction of individual sections of the North-South Road Corridor in Armenia. During the expanded-format meeting the energy and transportation ministers of the two countries presented details over discussions aimed at developing cooperation. Pashinyan and Rouhani also attached importance to the active work of the Armenian-Iranian inter-governmental commission and agreed to conduct the next session of the commission in the upcoming summer. They also spoke about opportunities for boosting partnership in agriculture and enhancing volumes of meat exports from Armenia to Iran. Opportunities for enhancing cooperation in IT, healthcare, tourism, nature protection and humanitarian sectors were also discussed. Pashinyan emphasized that the Armenian-Iranian cooperation is contributing to strengthening of regional peace and stability and added that Armenia appreciates Irans balanced stance in the NK conflict settlement issue. The Armenian prime minister and the Iranian president concurred that a comprehensive and long-lasting settlement of the NK conflict is possible exclusively through a peaceful way, in the format of the OSCE Minsk Group the only internationally recognized structure dealing with the conflict resolution. In this context, the sides also exchanged views on other issues of regional significance. At the end of the meeting the Armenian and Iranian leaders tasked their Cabinet members to continue active discussions in accordance to sectors in order to have concrete agreements until the upcoming inter-governmental sitting. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan Company enters its 4th year exhibiting at the nation's largest natural products trade show, offering natural health retailers show specials, one-on-one education, and a wide selection of product offerings. LAS VEGAS, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CV Sciences, Inc. (OTCQB:CVSI) (the Company, CV Sciences, our, us or we), a preeminent supplier and manufacturer of industry-dominating hemp CBD brand, PlusCBD Oil, today announced that the Company will be exhibiting at Natural Products Expo West on March 5-9, 2019, in Anaheim, California. Produced by New Hope Network , Natural Products Expo West is the leading trade show in the natural, organic and healthy products industry, attracting over 80,000 industry professionals to the Anaheim Convention Center. CV Sciences PlusCBD Oil is the top-selling brand of hemp-derived CBD in independent retail and ranked second in sales overall in the independent natural products retailer channel when combining all supplement categories, according to SPINS, the leading provider of data and insights for the natural, organic and specialty products industry. The Companys natural product retail channel includes more than 2,000 locations nationwide. NATURAL PRODUCTS HEMP & CBD SUMMIT: CV Sciences is sponsoring and participating in the Natural Products Hemp & CBD Summit, held on Tuesday, March 5th from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM in the Anaheim Marriott, Grand Ballroom F, for Expo attendees interested in learning about the opportunities and challenges facing the hemp market in the United States. CV Sciences Chief Executive Officer, Joseph Dowling, will be presenting from 1:05 1:15 PM, discussing the Companys brand evolution and strategy. For more information, please visit The Hemp & CBD Summit homepage . VISIT BOOTH 4079 -- SUPPLEMENTS: Attendees are invited to visit Booth #4079 in Hall D, the Supplements section, where CV Sciences will feature PlusCBD Oil bulk and finished products. Learn more about the company, its brand, and products from any of the CV Sciences' highly educated staff, who will be providing one-on-one education to retailers interested in carrying PlusCBD Oil products. Visitors can enjoy playing booth activities for prizes and giveaways. In addition, a Hemp Happy Hour will be held at the booth on Thursday, March 7th from 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM. VENDOR PRESENTATION: Join the CV Sciences team for an interactive presentation. Stuart Tomc, Vice President of Human Nutrition, will present "The Hemp CBD Metamorphosis: From Fear to Fever," on Friday, March 8th at 12:30 PM in the Marriott, Platinum Ballroom 1. Anyone with an Expo West badge can attend the lecture. A super pass/conference badge is not required. SHOW DEALS: CV Sciences offers exclusive trade show specials and opening order deals to retailers placing orders at the show. Please see a CV Sciences associate for more information. NEXTY AWARDS - CONSUMER CHOICE FINALIST: PlusCBD Oil 2oz Gold Peppermint Drops have been nominated for the Expos NEXTY Award out of hundreds of products shown at the Expo West. The single winner in each of the three NEXTY Consumer Choice categories will be announced on the show floor in Anaheim between 3 PM and 5 PM on Thursday, March 7th. About CV Sciences, Inc. CV Sciences, Inc. (OTCQB:CVSI) operates two distinct business segments: a consumer product division focused on manufacturing, marketing and selling plant-based CBD products to a range of market sectors; and a drug development division focused on developing and commercializing novel therapeutics utilizing synthetic CBD. The Companys Plus CBD Oil is the top-selling brand of hemp-derived CBD on the market, according to SPINS, the leading provider of syndicated data and insights for the natural, organic and specialty products industry. CV Sciences, Inc. has primary offices and facilities in San Diego, California and Las Vegas, Nevada. Additional information is available from OTCMarkets.com or by visiting www.cvsciences.com . FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties. CONTACT INFORMATION: Investor Contact: ICR Scott Van Winkle 617-956-6736 scott.vanwinkle@icrinc.com Media Contact: ICR Cory Ziskind 646-277-1232 cory.ziskind@icrinc.com YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is committed to the exclusively peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship taking into account the current realities in the region and based on the fundamental principles of the international law, in particular, the peoples right to self-determination, Speaker of Parliament Ararat Mirzoyan said in his remarks at the plenary session of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly in Moscow, reports Armenpress. We highly appreciate Russias role as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair country. I have to state with regret that despite the current high-level allied relations between our countries, as well as the consistent efforts of the Russian side for the peaceful settlement of the NK conflict, some of our Russian partners yesterday literally participated in an accentuated anti-Armenian campaign in Baku which contradicts the spirit of preserving peace and stability in the region. Moreover, the participation of some members of the Armenian-Russian inter-parliamentary commission to that campaign creates a fair concern, he said. The Speaker noted that one of the key directions of the Armenian-Russian cooperation is to ensure peace and maintain stability in the world in general and the South Caucasian region in particular. We oppose the attempts of solving the conflicts through military means and welcome the initiatives aimed at peace and stability in our universe, he said. In this regard the Speaker of Parliament highlighted Armenias step on sending a humanitarian group of specialists to Syria. Ararat Mirzoyan thanked the Russian side for assisting Armenia in recent years to deliver a humanitarian aid to Syria. Touching upon the Armenian-Russian relations, the Speaker said they are of a unique nature. Strengthening our relations and overcoming all possible obstacles on this path are among our foreign policy priorities. This concept has also been reflected in the Armenian governments 5-year Action Plan adopted by the Parliament recently, which is the vivid proof of the above mentioned, Ararat Mirzoyan said. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. Iranian investors can discuss their future plans with their Armenian counterparts and relevant organizations, and Armenias state agencies stand ready to provide assistance, if necessary, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview to IRNA news agency, in response to the question whether Iran and Armenia can cooperate in mechanical engineering or other industries, reports Armenpress. I must state that the Government of Armenia appreciates the implementation of foreign investment projects, including the Iranian investment programs. Armenia has the necessary technical, economic and professional potential for cooperation in these areas. Recently, in December, 2018, an Armenian-Iranian joint venture for the production of gas cylinders on plastic basis was opened in Vanadzor, Armenia. The founders of the plant assure that the production will start in the near future, Pashinyan said. Commenting on the Armenian-Iranian cooperation prospects in tourism, PM Pashinyan noted that each country is represented by its history, culture, traditions. Obviously, tourism helps our peoples to get acquainted with each others history, culture, traditions, spiritual and religious values, scientific and technological achievements. Tourism development is one of our countrys priorities, and we are making great efforts to make our country attractive to tourists. Following the visa abolition arrangement in 2016, the number of Iranian tourists visiting Armenia has considerably increased, especially in the days of the Iranian New Year - Novruz. Special events are being held in these days for ensuring the security of Iranian tourists; 911 services are available in Persian. I think that tourism is a promising field, and the indicators tend to grow in that area, Pashinyan said. Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Iran on an official visit on February 27. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. On February 27, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh, the OSCE Mission conducted a planned monitoring of the ceasefire regime on the border of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, on the Akna-Barda road section, Artsakhs foreign ministry told Armenpress. From the positions of the Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistants to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (CiO) Ghenadie Petrica (Moldova) and Ognjen Jovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), as well as Personal Assistant to the CiO Personal Representative Simon Tiller (Great Britain). From the opposite side of the border, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistant to the Personal Representative of the OSCE CiO Mihail Olaru (Moldova) and staff member of the Office of the CiO Personal Representative Martin Schuster (Germany). The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule. From the Artsakh side, the monitoring mission was accompanied by representatives of the ministries of defense and foreign affairs. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is following all the developments around Iran because that country is one of Armenias important partners, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview to the Iranian IRNA news agency, asked what is Armenias position on the US sanctions against Iran, reports Armenpress. Pashinyan reminded that Armenia was among the first countries to welcome the adoption of Irans nuclear program in 2015, because Armenia proceeded from the vision of the opportunities that might open up in terms of regional stabilization and regional cooperation. Iran is one of Armenias important partners. We, of course, are following all the developments around Iran. Naturally, we are worried about the recent developments around Iran. Under these conditions, Armenia continues to work closely with the Iranian side and other parties involved in this process based on open dialogue. We clearly represent all issues of concern and our stance on them. We are convinced that Armenias constructive approach can be a positive factor in finding solutions to emerging issues, PM Pashinyan said. Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Iran on an official visit on February 27. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. MP Peter Osusky, the OSCE observer mission leader in the 2018 December 9 general election in Armenia, has spoken about the polls during the OSCE PAs winter session, describing it as the victory of the Armenian people, Armenian delegation head Hayk Konjoryan told a news conference. According to him, Osusky has noted that fair and transparent elections took place in Armenia. The key issue for Armenia was the report about the 2018 December 9 parliamentary election. Peter Osusky, who was the OSCE observer mission leader in Armenia for the election, delivered the report. He emphasized that the election was conducted in conformity with fundamental rights of democracy and human rights and freedoms. He noted that the absence for important electoral violations that were taking place in the past, namely the absence of vote buying, created great opportunity for truly fair and transparent elections to be held in Armenia, Konjoryan said. According to him, Osusky described the election in Armenia as an Armenian wonder. He said that Osusky noted the victory of the election to be the peoples victory, and not any political force. Osusky has mentioned that the 2018 December 9 election in Armenia was the most impressing election for him in the past 20 years. The winter session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly took place in Vienna. The Armenian parliamentary delegation included MP Hayk Konjoryan, MP Ani Samsonyan, MP Tigran Urikhanyan, MP Maria Karapetyan and MP Hamazasp Danielyan. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Iran on an official visit today. Upon his arrival Pashinyan gave an interview to IRNA, speaking about bilateral relations. Below is the full interview as reported by IRNA: -This year marks the 28th anniversary of establishment of Iran-Armenia diplomatic relations. How do you assess the current level of relationship between the two friendly countries? -Definitely positive. Moreover, the centuries-old friendship between our peoples is a good example of intercultural dialogue and coexistence between different religions and civilizations, which is also an important factor promoting peace and stability in the region. Our centuries-old strong ties are based on mutual understanding and mutually beneficial cooperation. The strong ties of friendship and partnership with Iran are part of our foreign policy, and we are committed to further developing our good-neighborly relations. At the same time, it should be noted that there is still huge untapped potential, especially as regards our trade and economic exchanges. I am convinced that contacts and dialogue at different levels will help outline the steps to take ahead in order to tap the existing opportunities. -What is the most important issue on the agenda of your upcoming visit to Tehran? Will there be any memorandum signed between the two countries during the visit? -The Armenian-Iranian relations boast a comprehensive and hectic agenda, and the purpose of my visit is to promote it. The upcoming visit can be considered as another round of regular dialogue between our two countries during which we will discuss the whole range of issues of mutual interest. Concerning the keynote agenda items, I should state that a new component has emerged in our relations. I mean the EAEU-Iran free trade agreement, which will open up new prospects for trade and investment between participating countries. As you may know, it has reached the stage of ratification. I hope that the legal formalities will be completed in the near future, and the practical results will not keep us waiting for a long time. As regards the documents to be signed, the parties are currently working on a number of documents in order to prepare them for signing during my visit. At the same time I would like to mention that the Armenian-Iranian multi-dimensional relations are governed by more than 180 instruments already signed. That is, we boast a solid legal framework as a platform for developing bilateral cooperation. -What are the main spheres where even stronger and more comprehensive ties (economic, cultural, industrial, political, etc) can be built between Armenia and Iran? -I see great potential in all spheres of cooperation that should be used with maximum efficiency. In particular, we need to take steps to develop trade and economic interaction, increase the volume of commodity turnover, and in general, tap the opportunities available in that sphere. Indeed, the energy sector, too, has a great potential for development. In this area we have serious joint projects, such as gas / electricity exchange, construction of the third high-voltage power transmission line Armenia-Iran. Negotiations are underway on the Meghri HPP project, which has recently been ratified by the Iranian [Parliament]. A number of other projects are also being discussed. As I already mentioned, the EAEU-Iran Free Trade Agreement creates new opportunities for trade and economic cooperation. In the coming months, serious preparations are needed. As an important area, I would like to highlight the cooperation in the cultural sphere. Relevant ministries of both countries are focusing on issues such as publishing, film production, restoration and preservation of historical and cultural monuments, museum and library work. We are also cooperating in the framework of UNESCO. As you may know, due to Irans efforts, the St. Thaddeus and St. Stephen monastic complexes have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Armenia has prepared a complete package to submit the Yerevan Blue Mosque for the UNESCO World Heritage List. Joint work is underway with the Iranian side, and it will be properly presented after some adjustments. Another key cultural event was the Iranian National Museum-hosted exhibition, entitled Armenia and Iran: Land Memory, where unique exhibits from the History Museum of Armenia were exhibited. You know that the Golden Apricot International Film Festival is held in Armenia, and I am pleased to note that films by Iranian filmmakers Abbas Kiarostami, Asghar Farhad and others are represented on a regular basis. By the way, the latter chaired the refereeing group of the 15th Golden Apricot Festival and his film Divorce Naderi and Simin was recognized as the winner in the International Feature Film nomination. The aforementioned and similar programs are a good opportunity for Armenian and Iranian peoples to get acquainted and interact with each others cultures. -Iran is exporting machinery, engineering services and other industrial products to some countries in the region. Similarly, there are several machine-building joint projects with some countries in the region. Do you think Iran and Armenia can cooperate in mechanical engineering or other industries? -I must state that the Government of Armenia appreciates the implementation of foreign investment projects, including the Iranian investment programs. Armenia has the necessary technical, economic and professional potential for cooperation in these areas. Recently, in December, 2018, an Armenian-Iranian joint venture for the production of gas cylinders on plastic basis was opened in Vanadzor, Armenia. The founders of the plant assure that the production will start in the near future. Iranian investors can discuss their future plans with their Armenian counterparts and relevant organizations, and Armenias state agencies stand ready to provide assistance, if necessary. -How do you assess the future of bilateral cooperation in tourism? -You know, each country is represented by its history, culture, traditions. Obviously, tourism helps our peoples to get acquainted with each others history, culture, traditions, spiritual and religious values, scientific and technological achievements. Tourism development is one of our countrys priorities, and we are making great efforts to make our country attractive to tourists. Following the visa abolition arrangement in 2016, the number of Iranian tourists visiting Armenia has considerably increased, especially in the days of the Iranian New Year - Novruz. Special events are being held in these days for ensuring the security of Iranian tourists; 911 services are available in Persian. I think that tourism is a promising field, and the indicators tend to grow in that area. -A large number of Armenians live in different cities in Iran and enjoy equal rights as citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran. How do you assess the attitude of the Government of the Islamic Republic towards the Armenian community? -You know, a strong and vibrant Diaspora is one of the pillars of Armenias development. Armenian communities living in different parts of the world and becoming an indivisible part of countrys life are a kind of bridge for the strengthening of bilateral relations. The centuries-old Iranian-Armenian community is not an exception in this regard. It has made a practical contribution in terms of developing Irans social, economic and cultural wealth. It has been a serious factor in promoting our bilateral relations from the very beginning of restoration of Armenias independence. We highly appreciate the warm and caring attitude of the Iranian authorities towards the Iranian-Armenian community. I want to emphasize the Iranian authorities caring attitude towards Armenian cultural values. -What is the Armenian governments position on US sanctions against Iran? -Iran is one of Armenias important partners. We, of course, are following all the developments around Iran. As you may know, Armenia was among the first countries to welcome the adoption of Irans nuclear program in 2015, because Armenia proceeded from the vision of the opportunities that might open up in terms of regional stabilization and regional cooperation. Naturally, we are worried about the recent developments around Iran. Under these conditions, Armenia continues to work closely with the Iranian side and other parties involved in this process based on open dialogue. We clearly represent all issues of concern and our stance on them. We are convinced that Armenias constructive approach can be a positive factor in finding solutions to emerging issues. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. The traffic department of the German infrastructure ministry told Armenias ministry of transport, communication and information technologies that on February 27, 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 27, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan on February 26 received Rafik Mansour, Charge dAffaires, a.i. of the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, Armenia, the deputy PMs Office told Armenpress. Mher Grigoryan introduced the guest on the governments priorities and upcoming actions aimed at the countrys economic development. Rafik Mansour thanked for the reception and congratulated the deputy PM on re-appointment. At the meeting the officials discussed a number of issues relating to the Armenian-American relations, as well as exchanged views on the further development of the bilateral partnership. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. The second summit of US President Donald Trump and North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un will begin today in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, TASS reports. The two leaders have already arrived in Hanoi. Their private meeting will start at 18:40 local time (15:40 Yerevan time) and will end at 19:00 (16:00 Yerevan time). Nearly 3.500 reporters arrived in Vietnam to cover the Trump-Kim second summit. On his way to Hanoi Trump said on Twitter that he is expecting a very productive summit. The first Trump-Kim summit took place on June 12, 2018 in Singapore. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of emergency situations informs that on February 27, as of 08:00, some roads are difficult to pass in Armenia. Saravan-Zanger highway, Vardenyats Pass and Meghri Sar section are difficult to pass due to snowstorm. Sotk-Karvachar highway is difficult to pass only for trucks due to clear ice. Snowfalls are reported in a number of towns of several provinces. The ministry urges the drivers 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 MONTREAL, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dinatrum/Alumifuel Power Corporation ("Dinatrum" or the "Company") (OTC Markets: AFPW), Mr. Pedro Villagran-Garcia, President & CEO, is pleased to announce that the company has started a Social Media Program on various internet websites proven to assist on the presentation of Real Estate Investment Opportunities. Awareness will focus on the development of the companys Sonora projects, within our Pristine Beach within the Las Perlas development in Rocky Point, Mexico. Our website shows the exact location of such development http://bit.ly/2ToI6Li The Companys name change, and new trading symbol will be effective in the over-the-counter markets when FINRA has completed its review of the Companys application for the name change. DINATRUM, INC./ALUMIFUEL POWER CORPORATION DINATRUM is a Real Estate Investment Trust with projects within North America. On behalf of the Board, Pedro Villagran-Garcia Pedro Villagran-Garcia, President & CEO Dinatrum For further information, please contact the company at 1-971-285-4570 or by email at info@dinatrum.com 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, including, but not limited to, certain delays beyond the company's control with respect to its plans or operations. 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. There may be other factors not mentioned above or included in the Company's SEC filings that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement. 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. A group of diverse but like-minded individuals, the members of ARC have come together in their common desire to fight hatred, bigotry, intolerance and violence because of the harm these antisocial behaviors cause to our society. In that effort, we will not use or sanction the use of illegal actions (such as violence or intimidation) in pursuit of our desired aims and if we learn of anyone who does use these unethical methods we will report those individuals to the authorities. Instead, we will use the guarantees found in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that ensure freedom of legal speech and expression. DNA Detectives Home ancestry tests are rewriting Ann Arborites' family trees - sometimes in startling ways. by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds From the February, 2019 issue Four years ago, a routine blood test revealed that a twenty-nine-year-old U-M grad had high levels of liver enzymes. When follow-up tests confirmed it, his doctor referred him to a hematologist. At the young man's first consultation with the specialist, he noticed a perplexed look on the doctor's face. "Is something wrong?" he asked. "Well, not many people with this disorder look like you." The man is African American. The diagnosis was hemochromatosis (iron overload), a rare hereditary blood condition most common in Scandinavia. Because it's recessive, both his parents, Oveta Fuller and Jerry Caldwell, must have carried the mutated gene. "Other than Africa," the young man protested, "the only other ethnic background I've heard about is Cherokee." Worried that the condition might affect his ability to get medical insurance, he asked that his name not be published. But he and his family explained how they solved the mystery--with DNA testing. --- The family is one of millions around the world who've used home DNA tests to retrace their genetic history. After her son's diagnosis, Oveta Fuller turned to the extensive records her brother Efram and a cousin had amassed. Her husband, Jerry Caldwell, turned to 23andme.com. Census records identified Caldwell's paternal grandparents as "mulatto," but "at that time, 'mulatto' could mean black and white or black and Native American," Caldwell explains. "I was curious about whether a clue to the hemochromatosis would appear in my DNA analysis. It did!" Based on a saliva sample, 23andme categorized his DNA as 88 percent sub-Saharan African and 10 percent western and northern European. Efram Fuller took several DNA tests. "Based on family stories and records, I started an Excel spreadsheet for 128 ancestors before I took the DNA test," he says. "I had to modify it when I got those results!" As he expected, the test showed their ancestry to be three-quarters African--but only a smidgen of Native American. More than 20 percent of their DNA was European, ...continued below... including 3 percent from Scandinavia.As they redrew their family tree, they found multiple connections to European ancestors--including North Carolina plantation owner Thomas Jefferson Womack (1831-1889). Though Womack was married to the daughter of a prominent white politician, he also fathered two daughters with his enslaved housekeeper, Lilly Belle Graves.The Fullers have since traced their European roots back to tenth-century aristocrats. But "at some point, the written records disappear for our African American ancestors," Efram says. "There are no ship manifests for enslaved Africans."---"I didn't know anything about DNA testing before I was contacted by someone who said she was my sister," Kathy Clark says.Born in 1943, Clark grew up thinking she was one of four children on her mother's side and nine on her father's--he had five children from a prior marriage. When she was six years old, her father was extradited from Kentucky to Michigan and jailed for failure to support his first family.Her mother placed Kathy and her sister Pat in a Baptist orphanage. Their brother Jack and baby sister Caryl went into foster care. Their mother promised to bring them home as soon as she could. Clark didn't see her again for forty-seven years.A Detroit couple with a Chelsea summer home adopted Kathy when she was seven, loved her, and raised her with their son Eric. "But I never forgot I was adopted," Clark says. "It worried me to think my family gave me up, though I always knew I was better off with the Salsburgs.""I must have met my half-sisters and brothers before I was sent to the Baptist home," she says. "I made up a rhyme to help me remember all my siblings' names. I knew my father's name was John, but I didn't know my mother's name--just 'Mommy'."In her teenage years, she worried that she might inadvertently date a brother--"I always asked for names and birthdates before I agreed to go out with anyone, because adopted children sometimes have their names changed." Later, after marriage and the birth of two sons, she tried to locate her biological family the old-fashioned way--with letters and phone calls--but without luck.Although her brother Eric was wonderful to her, Clark explains, she "worried that my kids were growing up without aunts and uncles or cousins on my side."In 1997, out of the blue, she heard from a half-sister, Marilyn. "She told me that my mother was furious that she was snooping," Clark says. "But Marilyn kept inquiring at the Baptist home where Pat and I were placed."Through Marilyn's efforts, Clark was reunited with her birth mother and three half-siblings. She learned their mother had given birth again after giving up her first four children. He was the only child she raised, and she never told him about his brothers and sisters. "My mother was very mysterious about her story," Clark says.She'd also kept one more secret. Last September, Clark got a call from a woman named Bonnie--who said that she, too, was her sister.Adopted at birth, Bonnie took a DNA test after her parents died. The test linked her to Clark, her birth mother, and other relatives. Bonnie told Clark that she had sent pictures to their mother, but she'd refused to meet her--and told her not to get in touch with anyone else in the family.Bonnie ignored her. By the time she met Clark, Pat, and Marilyn this past December, she was already immersed in her birth families' genealogy, combining her newfound sisters' information with what Ancestry.com had provided."Like me, Bonnie knows she was better off with her adopted family, but that wasn't enough," Clark says. "Adopted children have things they long to know."---Jean Canavan was also adopted. All her adoptive parents knew about her background was that she was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1961, to a twenty-three-year-old woman "of good stock."So starting in 2016, Canavan took DNA tests from Ancestry.com MyHeritage.com , and 23andme. The results, combined with the GEDmatch genealogical database, Facebook, Internet searches, and the 1940 Census, finally led her to a first cousin once removed.She learned that her birth mother had died--and that none of her surviving relatives had any idea Canavan existed. One uncle said he knew his sister had been pregnant, but was told the baby died. Another uncle said he had suspected a pregnancy. Both tried to help fill in the details of her past."The story was like the movie" Canavan says, "but without the same ending."She learned that her mother grew up near the Navy base in Pensacola, Florida, where she met a handsome pilot. By the time she knew she was pregnant, he was on his way to Vietnam. "That made marriage unlikely, even though he offered," Canavan says. "Times were very different then. Unwed mothers were not allowed to keep their babies." Canavan was given up for adoption at birth.None of her maternal family members knew her father's name. But the DNA test results led her to a cousin who knew his birth year (1935), and that he had been raised in Rhode Island. That was enough for Canavan to identify him.He had died decades before, but Canavan was able to visit his remaining family and page through his yearbooks. "My son is almost identical to his high school photographs," she says with obvious pleasure. She also attributes the artistic abilities she and her daughters share to her mother, a graphic designer."Because of archaic laws that restrict adoptees from the original birth certificates, DNA was the only way I could find out answers about my identity," Canavan says. "It allowed me to find out my genetic history--who I look like and where I come from, information non-adoptees take for granted. I cherish the connections I've made."---"My story begins long before DNA tests became available," says Jane Smith (not her real name), a retired Ann Arbor psychotherapist.Born in England in 1947, she and her brother, Barry, were raised in a loving family. It was only after their father died that their mother told them they were conceived via artificial insemination--"basically, the gynecologist used a turkey baster-type instrument to insert semen."Smith was born only eight years after the first animal, a rabbit, was conceived by artificial insemination. There was no legal framework for using it in humans. But the gynecologist who assisted Smith's parents had practiced medicine in India, where she'd seen childless women treated as outcasts, even when the problem was their husbands' infertility. "Her initial impetus was to help those women," Smith says.Smith's mother told them that the doctor warned her patients that telling their children about their origins would "make them emotionally disturbed for life." No one dreamed that future DNA tests would make the secret impossible to keep."I'm forever grateful to my mother for telling us," Smith says. "Barry and I were shocked and very surprised, but Mother told us in such a loving way, it wasn't painful and it didn't change our feelings about our father."Smith emigrated to the U.S. and her brother to Canada. They did nothing with the revelation until 1999, when her physician asked about medical history, and Smith had to confess, "I only have half my information."She and her brother started their research with only the names of the gynecologist and clinic. When DNA testing became available, they sent blood samples to numerous English labs, hoping to find a connection.The gynecologist had told their mother that the same donor fathered both of her children. The tests revealed that wasn't true: Smith's donor was a medical school friend of the gynecologist, while her brother's was the gynecologist's husband. "His participation in his wife's clinic is not surprising, since artificial insemination was outlawed at the time, and the work was kept secret," Smith points out.To date, Smith has met four half-sisters and three half-brothers, while Barry has twenty-eight half-siblings. "It's fascinating to see the similarities my half-siblings and I share," Smith says. "Some of us look alike. All of us are well-educated, very curious, active, and intelligent people. All but one earned degrees in psychology or English, and all of us have worked in the mental health field. I understand our artistic bent comes from the grandparents' level--we all sculpt, paint, and/or play music."Her two sons closely resemble her donor. "It's been wonderful to see my life enriched in my middle years," she say. "I have been welcomed wholeheartedly into a family I never knew existed."She adds, however, that the English relatives face some fears. "Our donors probably sired several hundred children each, never dreaming that their blood lines would be revealed. Because of the class system in England and the fact that artificial insemination was expensive and not available to all levels of society, it is possible, even likely, that half-siblings might have married one another. Incest has possibly already occurred. That's the shocking part of this situation."---Genetic counselors warn against relying on consumer tests for medical information and strongly recommend the more expensive and comprehensive genetic workups provided by doctors. And they caution that sensitive customer data can end up being shared, sometimes indiscriminately.Some people decide not to be tested for other reasons. Elaine Klein refuses to take a DNA test because of what it may tell her about distant--or not-so-distant--relatives. "I'm a German thoroughbred. My family's names are Schiller, Schubert, and Eichman," she says. "My grandparents came to America immediately before and right after World War II."I've visited concentration camps. I've seen victims' claw marks on the walls of gas chambers. It would kill me to know that I'm related to anyone even remotely connected to those atrocities."Darryl Geller knows he was adopted, and is content with that. "I was adopted by loving parents who gave me a wonderful childhood and set me on the path to a good life," he says. "Several members of my biological family have reached out to me, but I've told them I'm not interested."Others welcome the connection. In the 1960s, Sue Major's aunt became pregnant by a coworker. She was forty, and the man was married. She gave the baby up for adoption, and died before DNA tests became available."We thought of that baby often over the years and wondered what her life was like," Major says. "A DNA test finally answered our questions. We're very happy to welcome her back to the family."Others, too, are grateful for the clarity DNA tests provide. "I always felt there was a huge hole in my life and soul and heart because I didn't know about my family," says Kathy Clark. "Now that hole is filled." [Originally published in February, 2019.] This looks like bad news. Irans foreign minister, Javad Zarif, hass resigned. Apparently he has previously tried to resign several times, but President Rouhani refused to accept it. This time Zarif did it very publicly on Instagram, ah, the uses of social media. Anyway, apparently there is a chance he might still be talked into staying, but probably not. It seems that he has lost the favor of Supreme Leader Khamenei, and that effectively somebody lse is handling foreign policy now, almost certainly hardliners, perhaps from the Revolutionary Guards. The most obvious sign of this is that yesterday Syrias leader, Bashar al-Assad visited Tehran, and Zarif was not at the meeting with other top Iranian leaders. His reignation came later in the day after the meeting. We do not know the details, but pretty clearly Zarif is out because of the US withdrawing from the JCPOA nuclear deal and imposing strong economic sanctions that have seriously impacted the Iranian economy, despite all other signatory nations have pledged to support the agreement and offset the sanctions. But the ability of the US to pressure compainies to withdraw from deaaling with Iran out of the threat of having no access to the US market, as well as pushing some nations to switch from importing oil from Iran, has had its impact. The upshot has been that all the hardliners in Iran who doubted the wisdom of negotiating the JCPOA that led to Iran giving up most of its potential nuclear weapons capability have come out to sneer and criticize the Rouhani government as a bunch of suckers. Foreign Minister Zarif was the point man in the negotiations, and so it appears that he is the scapegoat for now for all the trouble Iran is suffering as a result of Trumps actions. In any case, anybodyin the US who thinks this is a good development is very fooliish. Barkley Rosser Ten finalists have been chosen for the second annual Lyfebulb-Helsinn Innovation Summit & Awards in Oncology The Award recognizes Patient Entrepreneurs innovations for cancer and cancer supportive care using therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices or healthcare IT tools MONACO, PRINCIPALITY OF MONACO and NEW YORK, NY, FEBRUARY 27 2019: Lyfebulb, a patient empowerment platform that connects patients, industry and investors to support user-driven innovation toward solutions in chronic disease, and Helsinn, a Swiss pharmaceutical group focused on building quality cancer care, today announce the names of the ten Patient Entrepreneurs chosen as finalists for the Lyfebulb-Helsinn Innovation Summit & Awards in Oncology. The following inspirational finalists will compete at the Lyfebulb-Helsinn Innovation Summit, on March 18 and 19, 2019, for two $25,000 grants: Karl Blohm, PhD of SafeHeal SAS Matt De Silva of Notable Labs Carlos Garcia of Welwaze Medical Inc. Philippe Halfon MD, PhD, PharmD of Genoscience Pharma David Hysong of Shepherd Therapeutics Pierluigi Paracchi of Genenta Science Florence Sejourne of Da Volterra Mihir Shah of UE LifeSciences Inc. Ira Spector, PhD of SFA Therapeutics Inc. Maria Zannes of bioAffinity Technologies The Awards will recognize outstanding Patient Entrepreneurs building groundbreaking companies to advance the prevention, diagnosis, management or care of cancer patients. The finalists represent companies that have been founded by cancer patients, cancer survivors or those with loved ones affected by cancer. A pitch session will be held at the summit, where a jury of experts will select the ultimate winners. At Lyfebulb, we believe individuals living with a chronic disease have not only unique insights, but also solutions to address needs they identify in their daily lives. We thank and salute each and every Patient Entrepreneur who applied to our Challenge, and we look forward to the highly collaborative two days we will spend with our teams, jury and finalists, who each bring their unique strategy to reducing the burden of living with cancer, said Dr. Karin Hehenberger, CEO and Founder of Lyfebulb. Riccardo Braglia, Helsinn Group Vice Chairman and CEO, added, So many of us are affected by cancer, and bringing new and advanced solutions to the marketplace is at the heart of what the Helsinn Group does. Helsinn and the Helsinn Investment Fund are committed to positively impacting the patient community by mentoring, partnering, investing in or connecting these innovators as they pursue their entrepreneurial journey and we are delighted to be working with Lyfebulb on this summit and awards for a second year. About Lyfebulb Lyfebulb is a chronic disease-focused, patient empowerment platform that connects patients, industry (manufacturers and payers) and investors to support user-driven innovation. Lyfebulb promotes a healthy, take-charge lifestyle for those affected by chronic disease. Grounded with its strong foundation in diabetes, the company has expanded disease states covered into cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis. See www.lyfebulb.com , Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , Lyfebulb LinkedIn , and Karin Hehenberger LinkedIn . About Helsinn International Services sarl Helsinn International Services sarl is the Helsinn subsidiary which provides a range of advisory services and strategic activities to the Group and its specific companies. In particular, it acts as the advisory company to Helsinn Investment Fund. About Helsinn Investment Fund S.A., SICAR The Helsinn Investment Fund is focused on early-stage investments in areas of high unmet patient need. Backed by the Helsinn Group, and guided by Helsinns core values of quality, integrity and respect, Helsinn Investment Fund aims to help companies with innovative technologies to transform new ideas into commercial solutions with the potential to impact health-related quality of life of patients. Drawing on Helsinns over 40 years of investment into research and development and commercial expertise, the investment fund selects companies with technologies in a range of areas including cancer therapeutics and diagnostics, cancer supportive care, metabolic and gastrointestinal disorders, and dermatology conditions. For more information, visit www.helsinninvestmentfund.com About the Helsinn Group Helsinn is a privately owned pharmaceutical group with an extensive portfolio of marketed cancer care products and a robust drug development pipeline. Since 1976, Helsinn has been improving the everyday lives of patients, guided by core family values of respect, integrity and quality. The Group works across pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices and nutritional supplements and has expertise in research, development, manufacture and the commercialization of therapeutic and supportive care products for cancer, pain and inflammation and gastroenterology. In 2016, Helsinn created the Helsinn Investment Fund to support early-stage investment opportunities in areas of unmet patient need. The company is headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland, with operating subsidiaries in Switzerland, Ireland, the U.S., Monaco and China, as well as a product presence in approximately 190 countries globally. To learn more about Helsinn Group please visit www.helsinn.com For more information: Helsinn Group Media Contact Paola Bonvicini Group Head of Communication Lugano, Switzerland Tel: +41 (0) 91 985 21 21 Info-hhc@helsinn.com For more information, please follow us on Twitter , LinkedIn and Vimeo . Press Contact for Lyfebulb: Karin Hehenberger, MD, PhD CEO & Founder, Lyfebulb, Phone: + 00 1 917-575-0210 Email: karin@lyfebulb.com English Norwegian 27 February 2019: Kvaerner has been awarded a contract for installation of new equipment for the production line B at Hydros aluminium plant in Husnes, Norway. The assignment from Hydro marks a key step in Kvaerners strategy to grow in markets also outside the oil industry. The new contract is worth approximately NOK 200 million and the work will be completed in 2020. The plant at Husnes in Western Norway is currently producing in one out of two production line, since the closing of production line B was closed during the global financial downturn in 2009. This part of the facility will now get back in operation, following a replacement of electrolyte cells and other equipment. In the new project, Kvaerner will first contribute in the dismantling of parts of the existing facilities, Next step will be maintenance of some of the systems. Finally, Kvaerner will install new equipment, including electrolyte cells for the potline, and realign the electric busbars. At peak, Kvaerner will have approximately 60 people involved in the project. The work starts immediately, with a compact project management and a multidiscipline organisation to perform the mechanical work and the installation of new facilities. In the Husnes scope, Kvaerner will install around 1.5 million separate parts. With a potline of 200 electrolyte cells, several of the components to be installed are relatively similar. For the execution of the contract, Kvaerner plans to leverage its expertise from oil and gas developments regarding industrialisation of work processes, thereby achieving a high degree of productivity in the performance of the aluminium project. Kvaerner has a solid position for delivery of oil and gas projects both offshore and onshore to oil companies. We have a strategy to expand our business to markets outside the oil industry, including support to customers owning onshore process plants. We see several opportunities to leverage our expertise within HSSE, project management, multidiscipline capabilities, budget control, and not the least quality for the completed facility. It is vital for us to get a first contract like this from Hydro, as a leading operator says Karl-Petter Lken, Kvaerners president and CEO. In 2018, approximately 10 percent of Kvaerners revenues were from business in targeted growth segments. The ambition is to increase this share during the next years. For further information, please contact: Media: Torbjrn Andersen, Head of Communications, Kvaerner: Mob: +47 928 85 542, email: torbjorn.andersen@kvaerner.com Odd Naustdal, Head of Communications, West Norway, Kvaerner: Tel.: +47 905 76 079, email: odd.naustdal@kvaerner.com Investor Relations: Idar Eikrem, EVP & CFO, Kvaerner, +Mob: +47 950 28 363, email: ir@kvaerner.com About Kvaerner: Kvaerner is a leading provider of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and delivers offshore installations and onshore around the world. Kvrner ASA, through its subsidiaries and affiliates (Kvaerner), is an international contractor and preferred partner for oil and gas operators and other engineering and fabrication contractors. Kvaerner and its approximately 2 700 HSSE-focused and experienced employees are recognised for delivering some of the worlds most amazing and demanding projects. In 2018, Kvaerners Field Development segment had consolidated annual revenues of NOK 7.2 billion and the company reported an order backlog at 31 December 2018 of NOK 10.6 billion. Kvaerner is publicly listed with the ticker "KVAER" at the Oslo Stock Exchange. For further information, please visit www.kvaerner.com . ANCHORAGE, AK, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sabrewing Aircraft Company, Inc . and the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island (ACSPI), the Unangan (Aleut) Tribe of Native Alaskans, located on St. Paul and St. George, Pribilof Islands, jointly announced today that they have signed a history-making agreement for Sabrewing to provide a mix of up to ten aircraft featuring both the 800-pound-payload Rhaegal and the 4400-pound-payload Wyvern aircraft. Both aircrafts will be tested in a new test range that was created by ACSPI following the ratification of the FAA Reauthorization Bill by Congress last fall. The ACSPI is creating the largest aircraft test range both manned and unmanned on the Bering Sea, centered about St. Paul Island. We currently test small drones under the FAA rules on our island. Under the H.R. 302, the FAA Reauthorization Act signed in October of 2018, our community is able to establish its own test range, allowing us to serve the flight test needs of the Department of Defense and industry as well, stated Amos Philemonoff, Tribal Council President, Aleut Community of St. Paul Island. Under the agreement, Sabrewing will provide equipment and training to allow the ACSPI community to initiate and operate a complete test range complex, known as the St. Paul eXperimental Test Range (SPxTR) Complex (Spectre Complex). St. Paul Island is located approximately 230 miles to the north of Unalaska-Dutch Harbor and 770 miles west of Anchorage. Centered in the Bering Sea, St. Paul Island and the SPxTR Complex, will be one of the largest aircraft test ranges in North America. Also as part of this agreement, Sabrewing will use the SPxTR Complex to conduct research and development on its aircraft designs, and to conduct FAA certification of its aircraft as well. Its the best large UAV test range that Ive ever seen in the 31 years that Ive been testing and certifying aircraft, said Ed De Reyes, CEO of Sabrewing Aircraft Company. Not only will Sabrewing be testing in the SPxTR Complex, they will also provide the test equipment, telemetry and other equipment to allow the ACSPI to operate the test complex for other customers besides Sabrewing. Sabrewing is also providing portable, remote operations and telemetry stations to the ACSPI to use in aircraft testing. According to John Nevada Nevadomsky, former Flight Test Manager for Northrop Grumman and former Director of the Pan Pacific UAV Test Range Complex, and now the Director of Research, Development, Test and Evaluation for Sabrewing, The SPxTR Complex has the capability of testing any aircraft over the Bering Sea with more space and capability than any test range that Im familiar with. In addition to the aircraft and test range, Sabrewing and ACSPI are creating a joint venture corporation to provide UAV pilot training, maintenance and dispatcher training, and aircraft replacement and spare parts. The joint venture provides a vehicle for military and governmental contracting. Under this agreement, Sabrewing will build and sell (or lease) its cargo aircraft to commercial customers, and the joint venture will train the aircrafts remote operators, mechanics and dispatchers. Weve been discussing the possibility of using pilots trained by the University of Alaska Anchorage to train new pilots to a Commercial/Instrument-pilot level of competency, after which we would them train them to operate our aircraft. This would help the new pilot to build hours towards an Air Transport Pilot rating and also help alleviate the current pilot shortage as well. In discussions with the FAA, theyve been very open to ways to train pilots to help reduce the shortage, said CEO De Reyes. He also stated that their remote pilots follow all the current procedures that on-board pilots follow, including flying instrument approaches and taking directions from air traffic control (ATC). Following published procedures and maneuvering the aircraft under ATC command is one of the most critical tasks that a pilot must perform. Sabrewing and ACSPI have also agreed to jointly bid on Department of Defense and Federal contracts as well. This agreement fits nicely with our plan to build and test the aircraft in Anchorage, Alaska for both commercial and DoD customers continued De Reyes, Its a perfect combination of two entities: the ACSPI who is already testing, flying and training operators of small drones and is leading from the front on modernizing their community and us, who provide an aircraft that can not only bring much needed supplies to their community in any weather, day or night. This is a convergence of two innovative entities, stated De Reyes. St. Paul Island is located about 250 air miles to the west of the western shore of Alaska, almost directly in the center of the Bering Sea. The island community of about 500 inhabitants has steadily led their population forward in both education and technology even teaching classes in both Anchorage and St. Paul is drone pilot licensing, software development and conservation. St. Paul has also kept their native traditions alive by teaching their language in school to make sure that it will always be a part of their culture. When we first saw St. Paul Island, we fell in love with the quiet serenity of the location, the ability to test our aircraft in a location with hundreds of thousands of square miles of test range, and the friendly, family-like attitude of the people there. Were looking forward to starting our testing there as soon as were able, said De Reyes. For more information on Sabrewing Aircraft, contact inquiries@sabrewingaircraft.com or visit Sabrewing Aircraft Companys https://www.sabrewingaircraft.com/ . About Sabrewing Aircraft Company Sabrewing Aircraft Company is a manufacturer of unmanned heavy-lift commercial cargo air vehicles. The company is the creator of a new generation of heavy-lift, unmanned commercial cargo transport air vehicles that can lift 2 metric tons of cargo, take off and land vertically in austere locations, in any weather, up to 1500 nautical miles away. Our technologies and products will help grow our customers businesses and transform the way the world ships air-cargo. Headquartered in Camarillo, California, USA, and with offices in Tokyo, Japan, Sabrewing designs and develops cutting-edge technology at its Dragonworks Lab in the Silicon Valley to develop the future of unmanned cargo aircraft. About Aleut Community of St. Paul Island Aleut Community of St. Paul Island (ACSPI) is the federally designated name used to identify the community of Unangan, also known as Aleuts, residing on St. Paul Island of the Pribilof Islands of Alaska. Further, the name Aleut Community of St. Paul Island is a title by which the federal government of the United States of America formally recognizes the tribe, which is the group of people of the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island, as having a time-honored common bond of living together; a nation born, living, and self-governing before the United States of America was conceived. Membership in the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island provides access to services due federally recognized tribes as governed by the laws of the United States of America. Media Contacts: Angela Crawford 201-445-0996 acrawford@lamppartners.com Key Highlights: 2019 drill program to consist of approximately 8,000 metres in two phases at the Pen Gold Project; Initiated the 2019 Phase 1 drill program consisting of approximately 4,000 metres in 13-15 drill holes testing six new targets in the Reeves, Jehann, Deerfoot and Slate Rock regions (See Figure 2 and 3); Complete further regional till sampling with the objective to infill areas where gold anomalies have been outlined and to evaluate other gold-bearing corridors where no till sampling has been completed; Conduct a 50-line-kilometre IP survey over the new Jehann region where many significant gold-in-till anomalies have been identified in an area that hosts multiple splays of the Destor-Porcupine Fault Zone (DPFZ); and 2018 Drill Results: Initial six holes released while the remaining 13 holes are pending assays and expected to be announced in March 2019. SASKATOON, Saskatchewan, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GFG Resources Inc. (TSX-V: GFG) (OTCQB: GFGSF) (GFG or the Company) announces that it has started the first phase of its 8,000 metre 2019 drill program at its 100% owned district scale Pen Gold Project located 20 kilometres west of the Timmins West gold complex in Ontario (See Figure 1). The Phase 1 drill program will consist of approximately 4,000 metres testing six new targets in the Reeves, Jehann, Deerfoot and Slate Rock regions (See Figures 2-3). The Phase 2 drill program of approximately 4,000 metres is anticipated to begin in the third quarter. In addition to the 2019 drill programs, the Company will conduct additional regional till sampling, ground geophysics, prospecting and mapping on its 475-square-kilometre Pen Gold Project. Brian Skanderbeg, President and CEO commented, We had a very productive and successful 2018 that included developing a new district model, identifying and confirming highly prospective target corridors and intersecting high-grade gold results from our inaugural drill program. In 2019, we will build off this success and are excited to be able to dedicate more resources into drilling with the overall objective of testing a broad spectrum of district-scale targets. Our 2019 Phase 1 drill program is designed to test six targets that are located on important regional structures and have all the geological hallmarks that host the multi-million-ounce gold deposits in the Timmins gold district. 2019 will be a very exciting and catalyst-rich year as we execute aggressive drill programs at both the Pen Gold Project and the Rattlesnake Hills Gold Project, each having the potential to yield gold discoveries. 2019 Drill Program In 2019, the Company plans to drill approximately 8,000 metres in two phases at the Pen Gold Project, located west of the prolific Timmins gold district. The Phase 1 drill program will consist of approximately 4,000 metres in 13-15 holes ranging in length from 150 to 300 metres with the objective to test six highly prospective targets in the Reeves, Jehann, Deerfoot and Slate Rock regions (See Figures 2-3). The six drill targets have seen no historic drilling and have been generated from the Companys 2018 systematic integration of geological, geochemical, structural and geophysical datasets. The Phase 1 drill program has started and is expected to be completed in April. The Phase 2 drill program will consist of approximately 4,000 metres of drilling and is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2019. Phase 1 Drill Targets Jehann Region The Company plans to test three targets in the 20-square-kilometre Jehann region during the first phase of the 2019 drill program. This geologically complex area contains multiple east-west trending shear zones, interpreted to be splays off the DPFZ (See Figure 2). Drilling will begin in the eastern Jehann area, where regional till samples returned 122 gold grains, of which >94% were pristine-shaped, indicating the gold was likely transported less than one kilometre from the bedrock source. (See news release: GFG Outlines 5 Priority Targets from Regional Till Sampling Program at the Pen Gold Project Near Timmins, ON). The second target to be tested within the Jehann region is located five kilometres to the west, where historic grab samples of quartz-carbonate veining in diorite and sediments returned values of up to 4.7 grams of gold per tonne (g/t Au). The veining occurs in highly-strained, sulphidized rocks displaying intense carbonate and silica alteration in an east to northeast-trending shear zone. No historic drilling has been documented in this area. The third target occurs where north-trending altered mafic and ultramafic rocks are dragged into a first-order east-trending shear zone that dissects the Reeves Ultramafic Complex. Resistivity anomalies in this area are indicative of diorite or felsic porphyry intrusions which provide potential competency contrasts, increasing the likelihood of gold accumulation. Drilling in this area will target the flanks of interpreted porphyry bodies at the intersection of north and east trending shear zones. Reeves Region The Company plans to test two targets within the Reeves region where extensive cover has hindered historic exploration (See Figure 2). The two targets are located on two distinct northeast to east-trending structural corridors that contain quartz-feldspar porphyry intrusions and deformed polymictic conglomerate horizons that are interpreted to be analogous to Timiskaming conglomerates that mark important mineralizing structures within the central Timmins gold camp. The northern corridor contains shear zones that flank a large deformed quartz-feldspar porphyry intrusion displaying intense carbonate and local tourmaline alteration. The productivity of this structure is confirmed by historic surface grab samples which returned gold values up to 4.4 g/t Au. The planned drill holes will test the eastern limit of the porphyry body where it is disrupted by northwest trending structures and terminates in an area of no exposure. Within the southern corridor, intensely carbonate-altered ultramafic horizons with elevated gold contents occur west of the Reeves Ultramafic Complex and adjacent to altered mafic-volcanic and conglomerate horizons. The prospectivity of this area is exemplified by historic surface grab samples at the Nib-Yellowknife showing which returned gold values up to 13.6 g/t Au and 37.6 g/t Au from north-east trending quartz-carbonate shears and east-northeast extensional veins. Drilling in this area will focus on fold-nose and shear zone intersection models, and coincident chargeable and resistive features identified in the recently completed 110-line-kilometre IP survey. Slate Rock Region Geologically, the Slate Rock region consists of a package of sedimentary and felsic-mafic volcanic rocks intruded by numerous quartz-feldspar porphyry bodies, the largest of which can be traced in outcrop and as a magnetic high for over five kilometres in the western portion of the Pen Gold Project. Much of the area is covered by overburden and has seen limited to no drilling. Elevated gold values (up to 1.0 g/t Au) occur in outcropping porphyry where it is sheared, veined and carbonate-sericite altered. Accompanying anomalous contents of bismuth, tellurium and tungsten in the gold mineralized samples are consistent with porphyry-related mineralization. Historic samples of glacially transported boulders returned up to 18 g/t Au. Till samples collected in 2018 confirm the regional prospectivity returning high percentages (up to 70%) of pristine shaped gold grains (up to 66 grains). Drilling in this area will focus on the southern contact of the main porphyry body where magnetic and IP data indicate structural complexity and alteration, and where the porphyry attenuates in areas of high strain (See Figure 3). Deerfoot Region The Deerfoot region is centered on a four-kilometre trend of the interpreted westward extension of the DPFZ and associated second-order fault splays that has seen limited historic drilling (See Figure 2). The stratigraphy, structure and nature of mineralization are analogous to that which hosts the Timmins West, Thunder Creek and the 144 Gap gold deposits currently being mined or developed by Pan American Silver Corp. 15 kilometres to the northeast. To date, two high grade gold prospects occur within the Deerfoot region: HGM and Sewell. Recent drilling by the Company at the Sewell prospect confirmed the high-grade gold nature of the mineralization in this area returning intercepts of 33.8 g/t Au over 1.05 metres and 12.1 g/t Au over 0.85 metres in deformed pyroxenite horizons within the Sewell intrusive complex (See news release: GFG Drills 33.77 g/t Gold over 1.05 Metres at Pen Gold Project West of Timmins, ON). At the HGM prospect, in central Deerfoot, historic drill assays returned up to 43.0 g/t Au over 1.50 metres in sulphidized carbonate-altered mafic volcanic rocks within a shear zone. Drilling will focus between the HGM and Sewell prospects where new geophysical data has revealed several drill targets along the two-kilometre trend with no historic drilling and where overburden has hindered historic prospecting efforts. Surface Exploration Programs In addition to the 2019 drill programs, the Company will conduct additional regional till sampling, ground geophysics, prospecting and mapping. Following a successful regional till sampling program in 2018, the Company will conduct a Phase 3 program designed to increase sample density in the anomalous areas and to expand regional coverage over other priority areas where no sampling has been completed. The 2019 exploration program will also involve intensive prospecting of extensions to known mineralized trends and in particular along prospective structures that are coincident with newly identified and underexplored regional till targets on the Pen Gold Project. An IP survey will be conducted over the newly outlined Jehann region where till sampling results have returned highly pristine gold grain counts. The Jehann targets fit with the Companys geological model of the district and are located along major structural corridors including along the DPFZ, which hosts the majority of the gold deposits in the Timmins gold district. Granting of Incentive Stock Options Pursuant to the Companys executive compensation program the Company announced that it had granted stock options to officers, employees and senior consultants to purchase up to an aggregate of 830,630 common shares of the Company. These stock options vest over three years and are exercisable for a period of five years at a price of $0.195 per common share. The Company is also pleased to announce that the Companys President and CEO and its Board of Directors will maintain their reduced annual cash compensation in a continued effort to maximize the Companys in-the-ground exploration expenditures. In lieu of the reduced cash compensation, the Company will grant the President and CEO and its Board of Directors stock options to purchase up to an aggregate of 602,500 common shares of the Company. These stock options vest over three quarters and are exercisable for a period of five years at a price of $0.195 per common share. The incentive stock options were granted in accordance with the Companys Stock Option Plan. Figure 1: Pen and Dore Gold Project Location Map Figure 2: Phase 1 Drill Target Map: Reeves, Jehann and Deerfoot Figure 3: Phase 1 Drill Target Map: Slate Rock Qualified Persons Brian Skanderbeg, P.Geo. and M.Sc., President and CEO, is the Qualified Person for the information contained in this press release and is a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Skanderbeg has reviewed the sampling and QA/QC procedures and results thereof as verification of the sampling data disclosed above and has approved the information contained in this news release. Sampling and Quality Control Surface grab and drill core samples are being analyzed by Bureau Veritas Commodities Canada Ltd. Preparation of a 1-kilogram pulp and gold assay of a 50-gram aliquot by Pb collection fire assay with an Atomic Absorption Spectrometry finish (Package FA450) are being done in Timmins, Ontario. Samples assaying above 3 ppm Au are being routinely re-run using gravimetric finish (Package FA550). Mineralized zones containing visible gold will also be analyzed by screen metallic fire assay. Multi-element analysis for 59 other elements using a four-acid digestion and an ICP-MS finish (Package MA250) is being done in Vancouver, British Columbia. Quality control and assurance measures include the monitoring of results for inserted certified reference materials, coarse blanks and preparation duplicates of drill core. Sampling protocols, quality control and assurance measures and geochemical results related to historic till, rock grab, and drill core samples quoted in this news release have not been verified by the Qualified Person and therefore must be regarded as estimates. About GFG Resources Inc. GFG Resources is a North American precious metals exploration company focused on district scale gold projects in tier one mining jurisdictions, Ontario and Wyoming. In Ontario, the Company owns 100% of the Pen and Dore gold projects, two large and highly prospective gold properties west of the prolific gold district of Timmins, Ontario, Canada. The Pen and the Dore gold projects have the same geological setting that hosts most of the gold deposits found in the Timmins Gold Camp which have produced over 70 million ounces of gold. In Wyoming, the Company has partnered with Newcrest Mining Ltd. through an option and earn-in agreement to advance the Rattlesnake Hills Gold Project. The geologic setting, alteration and mineralization seen in the Rattlesnake Hills are similar to other gold deposits of the Rocky Mountain alkaline province which, collectively, have produced over 50 million ounces of gold. CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws and forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (referred to herein as forward-looking statements). Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the future price of gold, success of exploration activities and metallurgical test work, permitting time lines, currency exchange rate fluctuations, requirements for additional capital, government regulation of exploration work, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, title disputes or claims and limitations on insurance coverage. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as plans, expects or does not expect, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates or does not anticipate or believes, or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results, may, could, would, will, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved or the negative connotation thereof. All forward-looking statements are based on various assumptions, including, without limitation, the expectations and beliefs of management, the assumed long-term price of gold, that the Company will receive required permits and access to surface rights, that the Company can access financing, appropriate equipment and sufficient labour, and that the political environment within Canada and the United States will continue to support the development of mining projects in Canada and the United States. In addition, the similarity or proximity of other gold deposits to the Rattlesnake Hill Gold Project, the Pen Gold Project and the Dore Gold Project is not necessary indicative of the geological setting, alteration and mineralization of the Rattlesnake Hills Gold Project, the Pen Gold Project and the Dore Gold Project. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of GFG to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: actual results of current exploration activities; environmental risks; future prices of gold; operating risks; accidents, labour issues and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining government approvals or financing; and other risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties are not, and should not be construed as being, exhaustive. Although GFG has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. 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. In addition, forward-looking statements are provided solely for the purpose of providing information about managements current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of our operating environment. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date hereof and GFG assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws. For further information, please contact: Brian Skanderbeg, President & CEO Phone: (306) 931-0930 or Marc Lepage, Vice President, Business Development Phone: (306) 931-0930 Email: info@gfgresources.com Website: www.gfgresources.com Stay Connected with Us Twitter: @GFGResources LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gfgresources/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GFGResourcesInc/ Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d5fa1d96-4576-4d43-bf15-fe72f703bd74 http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b981ed78-1775-4235-aa40-15137e2b22b9 http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ab8464d3-b3d5-4d10-845d-dd5f2fb8478e Toronto, ON, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MaRS Innovation announced today the concurrent launch of two new LAB150 projects. These projects build on breakthroughs in disease-focused scientific research by prominent teams at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and the University of Toronto, both of which are Members of MaRS Innovation. LAB150 is a partnership between MaRS Innovation and Evotec AG with the goal of accelerating academic research towards commercial outcomes by providing funding and access to pharmaceutically validated platforms and expertise. The SickKids project aims to develop novel therapeutics to treat cystic fibrosis (CF), a debilitating and life-shortening rare disorder caused by mutations in a single gene, termed the CF Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR). The project arose from the extensive decade-long research program at SickKids involving Canadian and international CF patient populations. Led by SickKids senior scientists, Drs. Lisa Strug, Johanna Rommens and Roman Melnyk, and in collaboration with Evotec, the project aims to identify and advance modulators of key CF modifier targets. The relatively recent development of powerful CFTR modulating drugs has been a boon to patients. However, these drugs cannot be used in some, or show limited efficacy in others. Targeting key CF modifiers, instead of or in addition to modulating CFTR itself, is an exciting complementary approach to restore physiological function and improve health outcomes. We are dedicated to identifying therapies that can improve the lives of individuals living with cystic fibrosis and other obstructive lung diseases, says Dr. Strug. Through this project we hope to find targeted treatments that could benefit many patients and their families. The second breakthrough comes from the University of Toronto. The goal of this project is to develop new therapeutics for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). RSV is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections in infants and young children. 4-5 million children under four years of age acquire an RSV infection, and more than 125,000 are hospitalized in the United States annually. RSV has multiple mechanisms for immune system evasion, and lack of protective immunity after infection are major hurdles for vaccine and therapeutic development. RSV has become a world health concern and there is a need for other medical tools to combat this virus. Dr. Richard Hegele and his team at the University of Toronto have identified an RSV receptor, nucleolin, which is expressed on human lung cells and is used by the virus to cause infection. Targeting cell surface nucleolin provides an approach to block interaction with the RSV fusion protein, which will avoid viral escape mechanisms and can be applied both prophylactically and therapeutically. According to Dr. Hegele, Our discovery and validation of nucleolin as a target for RSV infection opens up an entirely new approach for RSV treatment and prevention. We are very excited to be working with MaRS Innovation and Evotec through LAB150 to develop potent nucleolin-targeting compounds for clinical use in RSV infections. This brings the total to four projects currently underway within the LAB150 program. To learn more about the previous projects, please see www.lab150.com We are thrilled to be working with these exceptional scientific teams to tackle major unmet needs in both cystic fibrosis and RSV infection treatment, says Rafi Hofstein, Co-Founder of LAB150 and President and CEO of MaRS Innovation. With four projects funded and more to come, LAB150 is now well established as a major mechanism to advance Canadian drug discovery projects. About MaRS Innovation MaRS Innovation is a leading provider of commercialization services, early-stage funding, and deal-brokering with industry and private investors. As a member-based organization made up of 15 Member institutions, MaRS Innovations mandate is to drive the commercialization of their most promising research breakthroughs. MaRS Innovations portfolio consists of early-stage assets and companies, and we leverage our deep expertise and experience to mature this portfolio via important global and strategic partnerships. With an active portfolio of more than 40 companies which have raised in excess of $250M from global investors, and with the creation of more than 400 direct jobs, MaRS Innovation is truly a leader in the commercialization field. For more information please visit www.marsinnovation.com and follow us on Twitter @marsinnovation Dublin, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Recovered Carbon Black (rCB) Market by Application (Tire application, Non-Tire Rubber application, Plastics application, Coatings application, and Inks application), and Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, RoW) - Global Forecast to 2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The recovered carbon black market size is estimated at USD 55 million in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 491 million by 2023, at a CAGR of 55.0% between 2018 and 2023. The recovered carbon black market is driven by various factors, such as increasing use of recovered carbon black in various applications, such as tires, non-tire rubber, plastics, coatings, and inks; abundant availability of end-of-life tires; and low and fixed cost of recovered carbon black. Tire application to witness the highest CAGR in overall recovered carbon black market during the forecast period. The market in the tire application is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period. The growing automotive industry and rising need for environmentally-friendly and sustainable products in this industry are expected to increase the demand for green tires across the globe. This is expected to drive the consumption of recovered carbon black for the production of green tires in the automobile industry. Non-tire rubber application is the second-fastest growing application in the overall recovered carbon black. North America estimated to account for largest share of recovered carbon black market during the forecast period. North America is estimated to account for the largest share of the recovered carbon black market in 2018, with the US estimated to be the biggest market in North America. Canada and Mexico are the other major countries contributing to the growth of the recovered carbon black market in this region. The increasing demand for environmentally-friendly products from applications such as tire, non-tire rubber, plastics, and coatings is expected to drive the recovered carbon black market in these countries. Europe is the second-largest market for recovered carbon black. Market Dynamics Drivers Abundant availability of ELTs, the raw material for RCB production Low and fixed price of RCB Opportunities Need for green alternatives to reduce carbon footprints Growing demand for tire and rubber products Challenges Fear of using RCB as an alternative to virgin carbon black Providing consistent quality of RCB Companies Mentioned Alpha Carbone Black Bear Carbon Bolder Industries Delta-Energy Group Dron Industries DVA Renewable Energy JSC Enrestec Integrated Resource Recovery (Irr) Klean Industries Pyrolyx Radhe Group Of Energy Scandinavian Enviro Systems Ab (Enviro) SR2O Holdings For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/q9zkg2/global_recovered?w=12 Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. TanyaRozhnovskaya/iStock(WASHINGTON) -- With President Donald Trump in Vietnam this week, advocates are continuing calls for his administration to fully reverse moves to deport refugees who came to the U.S. in the wake of the Vietnam War. The issue has left many in a state of uncertainty over the possibility of deportation and lawmakers joined activists on Capitol Hill Wednesday calling on the administration to stop what they call a targeting of Asian American immigrants. The administration is clearly trying to deport as many immigrants as possible, Democratic Rep. Judy Chu of California told ABC News. The issue centers on the Trump administrations reconsideration of a 2008 bilateral agreement between American and Vietnam that effectively stopped deportation orders for Vietnamese nationals who arrived in the U.S. prior to 1995. Immigration court removal orders for Vietnamese nationals steadily declined throughout most of the Obama administration and have leveled off in recent years. A lawsuit from the nonprofit advocacy group Asian Americans Advancing Justice revealed the administration's wavering posture last year. The court challenge, brought against the Department of Homeland Security, relies in part on a 2001 Supreme Court ruling that prevents extended detention for immigrants whose country of origin will not accept their return. Its part of a larger practice and pattern that we have seen with this administration," said Phi Nguyen, one of the lawyers who brought the class action lawsuit. "Theres a lot of, I think, abuse of power. In court documents from April of last year, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official acknowledged the agencys efforts to remove Vietnamese nationals who had previous orders of removal. But in September, the same official said senior ICE officials had met with the Vietnamese government and determined they could not carry out the removals. ICE has no arrests policy specific to particular nationalities, ICE spokesperson Brendan Raedy said in response to questions from ABC News. ICE remains committed to directing its enforcement resources to those aliens posing the greatest risk to the safety and security of the United States. Concern over deportation orders has prompted action from within Vietnamese communities across the country. In recent months, Vietnamese Americans rallied in Seattle, New Orleans and Orange County, California. Our families came to America as war-torn refugees, after narrowly escaping the horrors of the Vietnam War, said Matt Nguyen, a local community activist who participated in the Orange County rally and formerly worked on refugee rights for the U.S. State Department. Trumps new policy reopens old wounds and inflicts incredible pain on our community, he said. The Vietnam embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The continuing battles pose additional strain for Trump's Republican Party after the traditionally conservative voting patterns of the Vietnamese American community were disrupted in the 2018 midterm elections. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Sunnyvale, Calif., Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New Platinum-level support tier offers industry-leading 48-hour SLA for security vulnerability fixes Full Java Flight Recorder functionality is now supported in Zulu builds of OpenJDK 8 onward Zulu Misson Control, a supported build of the OpenJDK Mission Control project, provides monitoring and management capabilities of Zulu builds of OpenJDK 8 and OpenJDK 11 Verified Zulu Enterprise builds undergo license non-contamination certification and provide broad indemnification against IP contamination issues Azul Systems (Azul), the award-winning leader in Java runtime solutions, today announced a high-impact series of updates to its Zulu Enterprise OpenJDK support offerings. Zulu Enterprise now features the industrys best SLA for security vulnerability fixes, the first availability of Java Flight Recorder support in an OpenJDK 8 based build, and the first commercial support offering for the OpenJDK Mission Control project. In addition, with Zulu Enterprise Azul provides the industrys only certification against non-contamination when running on OpenJDK-based builds, as well as broad indemnification against IP contamination issues. Background There have been a number of changes in the Java SE ecosystem, including most recently changes to the release cadence and the end of Oracles public updates for Java 8, the most prevalent version of Java SE in use today. These shifts in the Java ecosystem are causing new challenges for organizations relying on Java to power their infrastructure. To learn more about these changes and options for how to manage them, read www.azul.com/updated-choices-for-java-updates. Extending Zulu Enterprise Monitoring and Management Features and Support Plans Azul is enhancing its Zulu Enterprise offerings with a new Platinum support tier, new monitoring and management capabilities for Java applications, new protections against license contamination and broader indemnification. Industry-leading 48-hour SLA for security vulnerability Zulu Enterprises new Platinum support tier provides for updates to be released within 48 hours from the availability in the OpenJDK project for all security fixes that have an identified CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures). Zulu Enterprise provides timely backports of security updates from newer Java releases to older supported versions, regardless of the delivery or progress made by the associated version of the OpenJDK project. These unique aspects of Zulu Enterprise give enterprises confidence, knowing they are running the most secure, stable and up-to-date versions of OpenJDK available. Zulu Enterprises new Platinum support tier provides for updates to be released within 48 hours from the availability in the OpenJDK project for all security fixes that have an identified CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures). Zulu Enterprise provides timely backports of security updates from newer Java releases to older supported versions, regardless of the delivery or progress made by the associated version of the OpenJDK project. These unique aspects of Zulu Enterprise give enterprises confidence, knowing they are running the most secure, stable and up-to-date versions of OpenJDK available. The first availability of Java Flight Recorder functionality in an OpenJDK 8 based build. Zulu builds of OpenJDK 8 now include full support for Java Flight Recorder. This represents the first (and currently only) freely available, and free for use in production, Java Flight Recorder implementation on a Java SE 8 platform. It allows for continuous monitoring, low-overhead profiling, black box analysis and other unique debugging capabilities that were previously only available under commercial license from Oracle. Zulu builds of OpenJDK 8 now include full support for Java Flight Recorder. This represents the first (and currently only) freely available, and free for use in production, Java Flight Recorder implementation on a Java SE 8 platform. It allows for continuous monitoring, low-overhead profiling, black box analysis and other unique debugging capabilities that were previously only available under commercial license from Oracle. Introducing Zulu Mission Control. With Zulu Mission Control, Zulu Enterprise adds commercial support for the OpenJDK Mission Control project, providing monitoring and management capabilities for the Java Flight Recorder functionality in Zulu builds of OpenJDK 8 and OpenJDK 11, as well as future versions of Java, and other JDKs that include JFR capabilities. With Zulu Mission Control, Zulu Enterprise adds commercial support for the OpenJDK Mission Control project, providing monitoring and management capabilities for the Java Flight Recorder functionality in Zulu builds of OpenJDK 8 and OpenJDK 11, as well as future versions of Java, and other JDKs that include JFR capabilities. Non-Contamination Certification and Indemnification. Zulu Enterprise now provides verified builds of OpenJDK that undergo detailed license topology analysis and certification to ensure non-contamination. Users are assured that running their software on Zulu Enterprise builds of OpenJDK will not incur a risk of license contamination or apply copyleft provisions to their code. Azul provides indemnification against such contamination, as well as indemnification from third-party intellectual property claims. Putting todays announcements in perspective Once Java security updates are released, they reveal vulnerabilities that expose existing, not-yet-updated Java deployments and can be weaponized quickly, said Gil Tene, Azul Systems CTO. In the past, security updates for Java SE 8 and Java SE 11 have been readily available, allowing even free users of Oracle JDKs to deploy security updates rapidly as needed, following established best practices. However, with free Oracle JDK updates for Java SE 8 and Java SE 11 no longer available, users need to establish alternative means of receiving timely security updates necessary for secure operations. Zulu Enterprise customers can sleep well, secure in the knowledge that critical security updates, in forms suitable for low-risk rapid deployment, will be available in time to keep their Java-based infrastructure stable and secure. Java SE 8 is by far the most widely deployed version of Java in use today, and one of the goals of Zulu Enterprise is to extend the capabilities of Java 8 while continuing to deliver a fully-supported and secure open source Java platform, said Scott Sellers, Azul Systems president and CEO. Today with Zulu Enterprise were bringing powerful new capabilities like Flight Recorder and Zulu Mission Control to Java 8 users, enhancing the capabilities of the platform, while simultaneously offering the industrys best SLA for security vulnerability fixes and unique protection against open source license contamination. To download free Zulu builds of OpenJDK, visit www.azul.com/downloads/zulu. Early Access builds of Zulu Mission Control can be downloaded from www.azul.com/products/zulu-mission-control. For further information regarding specific Zulu Enterprise product features and pricing visit www.azul.com/products/zulu-enterprise. About Azul Systems Twitter: @azulsystems Azul Systems, the industrys only company exclusively focused on Java and the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), builds fully supported, certified standards-compliant Java runtime solutions that bring the power of Java to the enterprise, cloud, and embedded/IoT. Zing is a JVM designed for enterprise Java applications and workloads that require any combination of low latency, high transaction rates, large working memory, and/or consistent response times. Zulu is Azuls certified, freely available open source build of OpenJDK with a variety of flexible support options, available in configurations for the enterprise, cloud, as well as custom and embedded/IoT devices. For additional information, visit https://www.azul.com. ZuluFX is a trademark, and Azul Systems, the Azul Systems logo, Zulu, Zing, and ReadyNow! are registered trademarks of Azul Systems. Java and OpenJDK are trademarks of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliated companies in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders. WATERLOO, Ontario, Feb. 27, 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 Wednesday, February 27, the Ontario Federation of Labour and the Waterloo Regional Labour Council are hosting a Regional Activation Meeting in Kitchener. We are inviting all labour and community activists and leaders across the Waterloo Region, including Guelph and Stratford. I encourage everyone to get active in protecting Ontario from the reckless cuts and privatization agenda this government is planning to ram down our throats, said OFL President Chris Buckley. Weve proven in the past that we know how to win, now we will ensure every Ontarian can access well-funded public services, education, and decent work. 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. What: Kitchener - Waterloo Regional Activation Meeting When: February 27, 2019 at 5:30pm - 8:30pm Where: ETFO Waterloo, 610 Wabanaki Dr, Kitchener, ON N2C 2K4 Speakers will include: Chris Buckley, President, Ontario Federation of Labour The Waterloo 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 Ontario Federation of Labour 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, please contact: Rob Halpin, Executive Director Ontario Federation of Labour rhalpin@ofl.ca l 416-707-9014 cope343 Dublin, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Glamping Market in the US - Industry Outlook and Forecast 2019-2024" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The glamping market in US is projected to reach a revenue of around $1 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of over 15% during 2018-2024. Several top luxury tent vendors that are offering generic units that are easy and quick to install, thereby driving the demand for mid-range products in the US market. The increasing focus on customization and structural innovations will contribute to the transformation of the market over the next few years. The US glamping market is driven by advertisement and marketing through online articles and social media posts. The vendors are offering experimental locations, trialing new products, services, and amenities to attract consumers in the US market. The market research report provides in-depth market analysis and segmental analysis of the US glamping market by accommodation type, end-user groups, area, and land ownership. Glamping Market in the US - Dynamics The wellness industry is thus fueled by these burned-out Americans looking to unwind in healthy ways, ways that include tending to ones well-being mental, physical, or spiritual. They are consequently looking out for vacations that are restorative and go above and beyond to help them feel better. Cuing in outdoor adventure has created the perfect recipe for that holistic experience that can essentially reset them. A large majority of these festivals are located on grounds/hills/deserts that are too far from an urban setting, necessitating the setup of temporary shelters. Thus, camping tents have found their way into the live music culture. But amidst the constant stream of people, mud and muck, the conventional camping debacle has been a mess. Festival organizers are building off their packages to further create tiers that may include furnished tents, hot showers, breakfast, shuttle service, comfy couches, 24-hour security, separate food and drink station, and concierge service among others. Glamping is a step up to camping, providing access to the outdoors without destroying or overdeveloping them and is thereby incredibly low impact. It is meet the key principles and needs of eco tourism. Unlike traditional camping which relies on outdoor gear made from unsustainable materials and a good proportion of these equipment (such as tents) have a relatively short life, most businesses in the glamping market build their accommodation sustainably. Glamping Market in the US - Segmentation This market research report includes a detailed segmentation of the market by accommodation type, end-user groups, area, and land ownership. The US glamping market by accommodation type is segmented into cabins, safari tents, yurts, tree houses, tipi's, and others. Cabins segmented dominated more than 1/3rd of the total market share in 2018, growing at a CAGR of more than 14% during the forecast period. The increasing popularity of cabin dug out in the woods to experience the outdoor charm and experience to live close to nature is driving the growth of this segment in the US market. Safari tents are categorized as ultra-luxury products and are in demand due to their versatility and lower degree of permanency in the US market. The players are developing yurts in modern styles and exotic features to boost their profitability in the market. The introduction of luxury multi-storey tree houses with premium amenities will revolutionize the US glamping market. The end-user groups in the US glamping market are divided into consumers and events. Events are the fastest growing end-user segment in the US market, at a CAGR of over 16% during the forecast period. The growing demand for striking spots for a fancy yet rural experience, it is being used for both personal and professional events is driving the growth of this segment in the US market. The growing demand from millennial and baby boomer couples is encouraging a larger number of vendors to introduce romantic getaways with adults-only luxury camping offerings in the US market. Weekend getaways are emerging as the popular choice for individual consumers in the US glamping market. The US glamping market by area is categorized into the urban and rural area. Rural area segment occupied more than three-fourths of the total market share in 2018, growing at a CAGR of around 15% during the forecast period. The increasing lure of the spare spaces in countryside and wilderness within the natural environment is fueling the growth of this segment in the US market. The increasing uptake of Airstream trailers as hotel rooms will boost revenues in this market segment. The vendors are offering discovery and exploration of certain areas of cities that have been overlooked to providing stellar views of the city's skyline, to watching the sunrise off the coast of the ocean to gain a larger US glamping market share. The land ownership segment in the US glamping market is classified into private and public land. Private land is the fastest growing segment in the US market, at a CAGR of approximately 17% during the forecast period. The increasing number of consumers renting out high-end accommodations on private lands is fueling the growth of this segment in the US market. States such as Wisconsin, Washington, and Alabama are investing in the development of public lands to attract more consumers in the market. The new campsites at or near National Parks enable vendors to create expeditions and adventure packages in the US glamping market. Key Vendor Analysis The US glamping market is highly fragmented with the presence of private and public OHP providers. The leading vendors operate multiple locations across the US with each site offering a unique rural experience to sustain the intense competition in the market. The top player's area is revising their business models to maintain their US market share. The companies are taking the opportunity of turning their existing property into campsites to boost their profitability in the US glamping market. The major vendors in the US glamping market are: The Resort at Paws Up Under Canvas Collective Retreats Tentrr Key Topics Covered: 1 Research Methodology 2 Research Objectives 3 Research Process 4 Report Coverage 4.1 Market Definition 4.2 Base Year 4.3 Scope of Study 5 Report Assumptions and Caveats 5.1 Key Caveats 5.2 Inclusions 5.3 Exclusions 5.4 Currency Conversion 5.5 Market Derivation 6 Market at a Glance 7 Introduction 7.1 Overview 7.2 State of the US Economy 7.3 Boutique and Luxury Hotel Sectors 7.3.1 Profile of a luxury traveller 7.4 Camping and Campers in US 7.4.1 Camper Insights 7.4.2 A Camping Destination 7.5 Glamping: An Overview 7.5.1 The American Glamping Association 8 Market Dynamics 8.1 Market Growth Enablers 8.1.1 Rise of Staycations 8.1.2 Upcoming Wellness Tourism Industry 8.1.3 Diversifying Camping Audience 8.1.4 Glamping de rigueur at Music Festivals 8.1.5 Advances in Off-grid Technology 8.2 Market Growth Restraints 8.2.1 Business Cycle Dictated by Seasonality 8.2.2 Expensive Builds 8.2.3 Perception: Glamping not Camping 8.2.4 Lack of Knowledge 8.2.5 Competition from RVs 8.3 Market Opportunities and Trends 8.3.1 Green Travel Choices follow an Upward Trajectory 8.3.2 Glamping Enters the Second Wave 8.3.3 Diversity in Habitat Styles and Levels of Luxury 8.3.4 Luxury Expeditions take off in New Ways 9 Glamping Market in The US 9.1 Market Size & Forecast 9.2 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 10 By Accommodation Type 10.1 Market Overview 10.2 Cabins 10.3 Safari Tents 10.4 Yurts 10.5 Treehouses 10.6 Tipis 10.7 Others 11 By End-User Groups 11.1 Market Overview 11.2 Consumers 11.3 Events 12 By Land Ownership 12.1 Market Overview 12.2 Public Land 12.3 Glamping market in US by Private Land 13 By Area 13.1 Market Overview 13.2 Rural Areas 13.3 Urban Areas 14 Competitive Landscape 14.1.1 How to get started 15 Market Vendor Analysis 15.1 Market Ranking Analysis 16 Key Company Profiles 16.1 The Resort At Paws Up 16.2 Under Canvas 16.3 Collective Retreats 16.4 Tentrr 17 Other Prominent Vendors 17.1 Asheville Glamping 17.2 AutoCamp 17.3 Capitol Reef Resort 17.4 Camp'd Out 17.5 Conestoga Ranch 17.6 El Cosmico 17.7 El Capitan Canyon 17.8 EXP Journeys 17.9 Fireside Resort 17.10 Hoot Owl Hill 17.11 Kestrel Camp 17.12 Minam River Lodge 17.13 Nomadics Tipi Makers 17.14 Sandy Pines Campground 17.15 Sinya 17.16 Terra Glamping 17.17 Ventana Big Sur 17.18 Walden Retreats 17.19 Wigwam Motel For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/q5rkth/united_states?w=12 Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Annapolis, MD, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Addiction Policy Forum , a leading addiction nonprofit, is releasing the Maryland Innovations to Address the Opioid Epidemic: 6 Innovative Solutions that are Transforming Addiction Prevention and Treatment , spotlighting innovative programs that address addiction and provide support for families and communities. Maryland knows firsthand how destructive addiction is to families and communities. The Innovation Now initiative recognizes innovators and leaders in Maryland committed to solving the opioid epidemic, leaders who are creating solutions and driving change, says Jessica Hulsey Nickel, founder of the Addiction Policy Forum. On February 27, 2019 at the Blackwall Hitch in Annapolis from 12:00-1:30PM Addiction Policy Forum with keynote speaker Steve Schuh, executive director of Marylands Opioid Operational Command Center, will honor eleven innovators for their hard work and dedication to saving lives. Honorees include: Derrick Hunt, Jeff Long and Lisa Parker with the Baltimore City Community Risk Reduction Services (CRRS), Julie Wood Merchant wit Kids Like Us, Marla Oros with Mosaic Fast Track, Chief Allan Graves and Jennifer Corbin with Safe Stations Anne Arundel County, Chief J. Thomas Manger, Assistant Chief Dave Anderson, and Lieutenant Jennifer McNeil with Stop, Triage, Engage, Educate and Rehabilitate (STEER), and Jennifer Tuerke with Voices of Hope. As a Maryland resident for over twenty years, I have seen firsthand how the disease of addiction is devastating our community, says Mark OBrien, Executive Vice President of Programs and Education for Addiction Policy Forum. Our Maryland Innovation Now report highlights programs that help our residents impacted by addiction. These programs give us great hope and save lives. # # # About Addiction Policy Forum Addiction Policy Forum is a nationwide nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating addiction as a major health problem. Our national headquarters are located in Washington, DC with resources and services in every state. New virtual cloud data center in Germany further enables organizations in Europe to quickly and reliably deliver applications to customers Investment builds on companys strong growth and momentum in EMEA region in 2018 New regional sales and marketing vice presidents add depth to local leadership team BERLIN, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sauce Labs, Inc. , provider of the worlds most comprehensive and trusted continuous testing cloud, today announced the launch of a new virtual cloud data center in Germany, as the company continues to deepen its investment in Europe. Based in Frankfurt, the new data center delivers enhanced performance, reliability and scale for organizations throughout Europe leveraging the Sauce Labs Continuous Testing Cloud to drive their digital transformation initiatives. The announcement follows a year of strong growth and momentum for Sauce Labs in the EMEA region. The company nearly doubled the size of its European workforce, has more than 100 local enterprise customers, and achieved nearly 60 percent year-over-year annual recurring revenue growth in the region fueled by increasing industry demand for real device testing. The growing urgency of organizations digital transformation initiatives continues to drive Sauce Labs emergence as a continuous testing leader in Europe. According to IDC , digital transformation has become so significant that more than 80% of CEOs across Europe have it at the center of their corporate agendas.1 As digitally driven organizations emphasize rapid delivery of flawless applications and digital experiences to their customers, development teams are increasingly prioritizing continuous testing as the foundation of their software delivery chain. Since establishing itself in Europe more than two years ago with the acquisition of TestObject, Sauce Labs has continually made strong investments in the region, and todays announcement is just the latest example of our commitment to customers in EMEA, said Hannes Lenke, Vice President of New Ventures and General Manager, Germany, Sauce Labs. Now anchored by our new data center in Frankfurt, Sauce Labs continues to be at the forefront of empowering organizations in Europe to quickly and reliably scale both the volume and velocity of their tests, enabling them to successfully move forward with their digital initiatives while meeting mounting compliance requirements. The new virtual cloud data center complements the companys existing real device data center in Europe. With the combination of the two, Sauce Labs can further help organizations run tests more quickly and deliver both web and mobile applications to customers more confidently, while ensuring teams adhere to local data security and compliance requirements. Sauce Labs has long been a vital resource helping us drive delivery of our web and mobile applications. With their wide selection of browser versions and devices, we can easily perform cross-browser and cross-platform testing on multiple environments, said Sajnikanth Suriyanarayanan, Lead Quality Engineer, Albeli. With their new data center in Germany, were able to take things to an even higher level, cutting our testing time in half and always receiving fast support. We are excited to move our entire testing solution to the new local data center as we grow our relationship with Sauce Labs. In addition to the new virtual cloud data center, Sauce Labs has also deepened its investment in Europe with the appointment of two key leaders, including Joe Pynadath, who recently joined the company as vice president of sales for the EMEA region, and Karolin Beck, newly named vice president of EMEA marketing. To learn more about key Sauce Labs initiatives in Europe, including the new data center, please register for the companys upcoming webinar . Helpful Links Sauce Labs Website SauceCon Website Sauce Labs on Twitter Sauce Labs Blog About Sauce Labs Sauce Labs ensures the worlds leading apps and websites work flawlessly on every browser, OS and device. Its award-winning Continuous Testing Cloud provides development and quality teams with instant access to the test coverage, scalability, and analytics they need to deliver a flawless digital experience. Sauce Labs is a privately held company funded by Toba Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Centerview Capital Technology, IVP and Adams Street Partners. For more information, please visit https://saucelabs.com . Media Contact Scott Desiere scott.desiere@saucelabs.com (619) 952-3758 Twitter: @ScottDesiere 1 IDC European Digital Transformation Strategies Program, 2019 Dublin, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "2019 Future of Rosacea R&D Pipeline Drugs and Companies- Analysis of Global Rosacea Pipeline Compounds, Phases, Mechanism of Action, Clinical Trials and Developments" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global demand for Rosacea treatment options is emerging rapidly driven by consumption in major emerging markets. As more growth opportunities will turn up over the medium to long term future, a large number of companies are working on Rosacea pipeline. Companies quickly adapting to the change and moving their products to advanced phases will evolve as top performers. However, challenges of completing clinical trials on schedules and inadequate financial support are holding some of the Rosacea pipeline companies from advancing their products into Phase 3 or Phase 4. Rosacea Report Description The pipeline review report on Rosacea pipeline is a comprehensive study on the candidates in development across different phases worldwide. This research study evaluates each of the pipeline products in terms of their current status, regulatory progress and expected phase completion date. Focusing on the factors driving and challenging pipeline drug development, this strategic analysis review presents detailed analysis on all active Rosacea pipeline compounds. The Rosacea pipeline guide presents information on all active drugs currently being developed for Rosacea. The research work provides details of active therapeutic candidates in different phases including discovery, research, pre-clinical, phase I, Phase II, Phase III and pre-registration phases. Details of current status, R&D progress and latest developments for every Rosacea pipeline candidate are analyzed. Further, current phase of development, mechanism of drug action, special designations such as orphan drug status, fast track designation, grants awarded, etc are presented for all Rosacea drug candidates. Drug development companies, collaborators, originating companies, license providers and universities participating in the Rosacea product pipeline are provided. Company overview, snapshot and developments are provided for all participating companies. The report assists in identifying potential upcoming companies and drugs in Rosacea pipeline market along with progress of each drug. It also enables users to formulate effective strategies to stay ahead of competition. Scope of Rosacea pipeline report includes An overview of Rosacea disease including symptoms, causes, diagnosis and available treatment options is provided. Snapshot of pipeline detailing number of active compounds, mergers and acquisitions, phase wise compounds, target areas, mechanism of action, trials etc Phase wise count of pipeline compounds Company wise list of pipeline compounds Mechanism of Action wise pipeline compounds For each pipeline product, the following details are provided Snapshot (Drug, Mechanism of Action, Phase, Co Developer, Originator, Synonym, Orphan Drug Status, New Molecular Entity, Area) Current status of development Drug overview Mechanism of Action Pre-clinical and Clinical Trials Reasons to Buy The report is designed to help industry executives promote the success and continued growth of their organizations Get clear understanding of the entire Rosacea pipeline, with details on active projects Stay ahead of the competition through comprehensive knowledge of Rosacea pipeline progress Get in detail information of each product with updated information on each project along with key milestones Gain clear insights into the market through in-depth strategic analysis review Know the list of companies participating in global Rosacea pipeline along with progress of each of the company's products and information on associations/collaborations/licensing data Get trial information for each pipeline product under development Understand the pipeline structure in terms of mechanism of Action, phase and company Key Topics Covered: 1. List of Tables & Figures 2. Global Rosacea Pipeline Overview 2.1 Key Findings, 2019 2.2 Disease Overview 2.3 Report Guide and Research Methodology 3. Executive Summary 3.1 Rosacea Drugs under active development, H1-2019 3.2 Pipeline Drugs in Early Stage of Development (Pre-clinical, Discovery, Phase 1 and Phase 2) 3.3 Pipeline Drugs in Advanced Stage of Development (Phase 3, Pre-registration) 3.4 Companies involved in Rosacea pipeline, H1-2019 3.5 Mechanism of Action wise Rosacea Pipeline Candidates 4. Accuitis Rosacea Pipeline Details 4.1 Accuitis Business Profile 4.2 Accuitis Rosacea Drug Details 4.2.1 Drug Snapshot 4.2.1.1 Originator 4.2.1.2 Collaborator/Co-Developer 4.2.1.3 Route of Administration 4.2.1.4 Orphan Drug/Fast Track/Special Designation 4.2.1.5 Area 4.2.1.6 Type of Molecular Entity 4.3 Current Status 4.4 Drug Overview 4.5 Drug Mechanism of Action 4.6 Clinical/Pre-clinical Trial Details 4.7 Latest Drug Developments 5. Accuitis Pharmaceuticals Inc Rosacea Pipeline Details 6. Afecta Pharmaceuticals Inc Rosacea Pipeline Details 7. AOBiome LLC Rosacea Pipeline Details 8. BioPharmX Inc Rosacea Pipeline Details 9. Cellix Bio Pvt Ltd Rosacea Pipeline Details 10. Cutanea Life Sciences Inc Rosacea Pipeline Details 11. Dermata Therapeutics LLC Rosacea Pipeline Details 12. Emeriti Pharma AB Rosacea Pipeline Details 13. Foamix Pharmaceuticals Ltd Rosacea Pipeline Details 14. Hovione Rosacea Pipeline Details 15. Matrisys Bioscience Inc Rosacea Pipeline Details 16. PHI Therapeutics Inc Rosacea Pipeline Details 17. Promius Pharma LLC Rosacea Pipeline Details 18. Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd Rosacea Pipeline Details 19. Sunny Pharmtech Inc Rosacea Pipeline Details 20. TWi Biotechnology Inc Rosacea Pipeline Details 20. Latest Rosacea Drug Pipeline Developments, 2019 21. Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/r2n352/rosacea_randd?w=12 Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2019 -- VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) today highlighted innovations that can help communications services providers (CSPs) capture the 5G opportunity and break into the cloud economy. Additionally, the company announced expanded relationships with AT&T and Vodafone, along with an expanded alliance with Ericsson and a new partnership with T-Systems, illustrating that VMware is a proven and strategic partner of choice for telco cloud transformation. Communication service providers must transition to a virtualized telco cloud spanning network and IT to maximize 5G upside while containing risks. VMware offers the industrys only comprehensive 5G Telco Cloud platform. The VMware Telco Cloud platform is optimized for both 4G and 5G a single architecture that supports both networks which helps communication service providers get to 5G-Ready faster. 5G is at a massive inflection point, and planning decisions made today will have far reaching financial and operational ramifications for CSPs going forward, said Shekar Ayyar, executive vice president, strategy and corporate development and general manager, Telco NFV Group, VMware. By moving away from the inflexible, hardware-defined architectures of the past, and rolling out 5G as a fully-virtualized architecture right out of the gate, telcos will be able to beat competitors to market with new value-added services and improve the performance and operational efficiencies of their networks. VMware today provides the best foundation for the 5G-ready telco cloud. Customer and Partner Momentum across VMwares Networking and Cloud Portfolio Organizations worldwide, customers and partners alike, are turning to VMwares portfolio. With new engagements from CSP adoption designed to unify networks, to partner deployment of VMwares SD-WAN solutions, VMware is emerging as a leader in the telco space. Details on new customers and partners include: AT&T Selects VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud for WAN of 5G Service : AT&T is working with VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud to implement 5G capabilities into our SD-WAN to give businesses new levels of network control. This transformative combination could be an ideal solution for businesses looking to use SD-WAN with a high-speed, low-latency 5G network as their primary or secondary WAN connection type in combination with other transport connections. AT&T is working with VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud to implement 5G capabilities into our SD-WAN to give businesses new levels of network control. This transformative combination could be an ideal solution for businesses looking to use SD-WAN with a high-speed, low-latency 5G network as their primary or secondary WAN connection type in combination with other transport connections. Ericsson Teams with VMware On Network Transformation : Ericsson and VMware have signed a global alliance agreement that will simplify deploying and running a combination of Ericsson applications and VMwares vCloud NFV platform for CSPs. The alliance agreement solidifies the close cooperation between the two companies, ongoing since 2012, and enables CSPs to accelerate time to revenue for new telco-grade services. Ericsson and VMware have signed a global alliance agreement that will simplify deploying and running a combination of Ericsson applications and VMwares vCloud NFV platform for CSPs. The alliance agreement solidifies the close cooperation between the two companies, ongoing since 2012, and enables CSPs to accelerate time to revenue for new telco-grade services. T-Systems Selects VMware Cloud on AWS for Hybrid Cloud Services : T-Systems is providing customers with a managed services offering for VMware Cloud on AWS. Together with its long-standing partner, VMware, the Deutsche Telekom IT service provider is connecting clients private clouds with VMware Cloud on AWS. T-Systems is providing customers with a managed services offering for VMware Cloud on AWS. Together with its long-standing partner, VMware, the Deutsche Telekom IT service provider is connecting clients private clouds with VMware Cloud on AWS. Vodafone and VMware Expand Deployment : VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) today announced that Vodafone has expanded its footprint of VMwares cloud infrastructure to power its network and to capture operational agility and cost efficiency at scale. VMware is Vodafones primary strategic partner for telco cloud infrastructure services. VMwares services are used across Vodafones operating markets around the world; they are live in 15 countries, in more than 50 sites, carrying increasing amounts of subscriber traffic on more than 300 core network functions. New Telco Portfolio Innovations to Ease 5G Migration VMware announced new and enhanced solutions spanning the companys telco portfolio that help ease migration to 5G without sacrificing performance or monetization of existing networks. These innovations, focused on service assurance and network virtualization, represent VMwares commitment to 5G readiness and to helping customers harness the telco cloud. Unveiling VMware Smart Assurance: VMware Smart Assurance 10 will provide full integration with VMware vCloud NFV, VMwares NFV Infrastructure (NFVI) platform, along with new carrier-oriented advancements in VMware NSX-T Data Center . These advancements will give CSPs a strong foundational NFV platform with advanced networking features, accelerated data plane performance, intent-based assurance and support for a broad set of certified VNF applications to deliver multiple services and applications today and bridge the gap to tomorrows 5G networks. VMware Smart Assurance 10 will provide full integration with VMware vCloud NFV, VMwares NFV Infrastructure (NFVI) platform, along with . These advancements will give CSPs a strong foundational NFV platform with advanced networking features, accelerated data plane performance, intent-based assurance and support for a broad set of certified VNF applications to deliver multiple services and applications today and bridge the gap to tomorrows 5G networks. Evolution of Networking in vCloud NFV: VMware NSX-T Data Center is a core component of vCloud NFV that provides a software network overlay across the complete NFV infrastructure and supports multiple telco use cases. The new VMware NSX-T 2.4 release delivers even higher levels of cloud-scale, operational simplicity, resiliency, and performance. This includes IPv6 support, near line-rate speed, high availability, and scalability to tens-of-thousands of unique networks per NSX-T Data Center instance. With Network Service Header (NSH)-based service chaining, service providers can deliver new services faster while significantly reducing CapEx and OpEx. VMware NSX-T Data Center is a core component of vCloud NFV that provides a software network overlay across the complete NFV infrastructure and supports multiple telco use cases. The new VMware NSX-T 2.4 release delivers even higher levels of cloud-scale, operational simplicity, resiliency, and performance. This includes IPv6 support, near line-rate speed, high availability, and scalability to tens-of-thousands of unique networks per NSX-T Data Center instance. With Network Service Header (NSH)-based service chaining, service providers can deliver new services faster while significantly reducing CapEx and OpEx. Expanding VMware Ready for NFV Certification Program: VMware continues to increase the number of partners that have been certified within the VMware Ready for NFV Certification program. This program provides CSPs with the commitment that VMware partner VNF solutions will seamlessly and effectively deploy, run and interoperate with VMware vCloud NFV. VMware now has certified more than 105 Virtual Network Functions from 85 vendors worldwide. VMwares broad ecosystem of certified partners creates a true marketplace that helps CSPs remove barriers to successful NFV implementations. VMware continues to increase the number of partners that have been certified within the VMware Ready for NFV Certification program. This program provides CSPs with the commitment that VMware partner VNF solutions will seamlessly and effectively deploy, run and interoperate with VMware vCloud NFV. VMware now has certified more than 105 Virtual Network Functions from 85 vendors worldwide. VMwares broad ecosystem of certified partners creates a true marketplace that helps CSPs remove barriers to successful NFV implementations. VMware HCX Enables Seamless Migration and Multi-Cloud Mobility for the 5G-Ready Telco Cloud: VMware HCX enables CSPs to build hybrid highways interconnecting heritage infrastructure and 5G environments on which commercial OpenStack ecosystem workloads can be migrated to the new distributed, multi-cloud architecture. VMware HCX delivers migration capabilities that can be integrated into Day 1 and Day 2 operations, helping CSPs seamlessly mobilize the applications to 5G with minimum downtime. VMware integrated OpenStack (VIO), with VMwares support for Kubernetes orchestration capabilities complement VMware HCX in delivering easy migration and multi-cloud connectivity. Momentum with Service Providers for VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud SD-WAN is a critical technology for enterprises right now due to its edge-to-edge, cloud-delivered connectivity and ability to scale. 5G will only enhance SD-WAN capabilities and services for both enterprises and CSPs, bringing the benefits of 5G to bear with unprecedented speed and agility. VMware is continuing to grow its technology integration collaborations to align with the digital needs of tomorrows highly agile enterprises. To facilitate interoperability between current and future technologies, the scalable framework of VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud enables customers to integrate the preferred security, cloud infrastructure and network management technology. New and expanded collaborations announced today aim to provide enterprises and service providers with easy deployment of services and applications and improve visibility across their entire networks. Leading Communication Service Providers Select VMware Workspace ONE as Preferred Unified Endpoint EUC VMware partners with many of todays largest Communication Service Providers to offer a range of enterprise solutions, including mobility and workspace management services for customers at all stages of the digital workspace journey. VMware Workspace ONE, for instance, enables management and security of all customer devices SIM-based devices sold by the operator to business organizations (corporate-owned), employee-owned (BYO) devices, and (non-SIM) endpoints like MacBooks and PCs. Today at Mobile World Congress, VMware announced recent partnerships with Samsung SDS and T-Systems that will make Workspace ONE available to their customers. VMware Pulse IoT Center: Building a Strong Optimized Foundation for Edge and IoT Solutions Organizations implementing new technologies like Internet of Things (IoT) can benefit by building on top of open industry standard components. Organizations implementing new technologies like Internet of Things (IoT) can benefit by building on top of open industry standard components. Project Photon has released Photon OS 3.0, a minimal lightweight Linux operating system (OS), that provides an open, flexible, and stable foundation for edge, IoT, and modern application environments. New today , VMware Pulse IoT Center and Photon OS can now support multiple IoT use cases across the value chain of any organization with a consistent, secure and scalable infrastructure. Running the VMware Pulse IoT Center agent with Photon OS on IoT devices enhances the security of these otherwise highly vulnerable devices with certificate, DNS, and security token services. Additionally, VMware Pulse IoT Centers over-the-air update capabilities can deliver security patches and BIOS updates to IoT devices as well as updates to the Photon OS running on edge devices. VMware Pulse IoT Center and Photon OS also support the implementation of containerized applications such as data analytics and data filtering, among others, close to the point of data origination in IoT use cases. Visit VMware in the VMware and Dell Technologies Booth Hall 3, Stand 3M11. About VMware Telco Cloud Communication Service Providers must transition to a virtualized telco cloud spanning network and IT to maximize 5G upside while containing risks. VMware offers the industrys only comprehensive 5G Telco Cloud platform. The VMware Telco Cloud platform a single architecture optimized for both 4G and 5G networks helps communication service providers to become 5G ready faster. About VMware VMware software powers the worlds complex digital infrastructure. The companys compute, cloud, mobility, networking and security offerings provide a dynamic and efficient digital foundation to over 500,000 customers globally, aided by an ecosystem of 75,000 partners. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, this year VMware celebrates twenty years of breakthrough innovation benefiting business and society. For more information, please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html. Media Contact: Megan Lane VMware Global Communications Phone: +1-650-690-6867 lanem@vmware.com VMware, VMware SD-WAN, VeloCloud, vCloud, vCloud NFV, VMware Cloud, VMware Smart Assurance, NSX-T, NSX-T Data Center, VMware Ready, Workspace ONE, Pulse, Pulse IoT Center, Photon, and Photon OS are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions. BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2019 VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) today announced a significant expansion of its telco NFV portfolio that provides communications service providers (CSPs) with unprecedented network operations transparency and seamless transition to multi-cloud and 5G. Through assurance and automation capabilities that span physical and virtual networks, VMware will give carriers what they need to make the most of todays networks while moving toward 5G. CSPs continue the rollout of network functions virtualization (NFV) to improve network and operational efficiency, support new and more tailored services, prepare for 5G and implement cloud strategies. VMwares latest advancements in service assurance give CSPs a strong foundational NFV platform with advanced networking features, accelerated data plane performance, intent-based assurance and support for a broad set of certified VNF applications to deliver multiple services and applications today and bridge the gap to tomorrows 5G networks. With the current demands placed on carrier networks reaching new levels, and 5G on the horizon, theres no room for error when it comes to network infrastructure. Near real-time solutions are the key to identifying and fixing issues in order to keep networks operating. Networks need unified monitoring, automation and assurance across physical and virtualized networks to deliver the highest levels of performance, scalability and resiliency, said Gabriele Di Piazza, vice president products and solutions, Telco NFV Group, VMware. Integration of VMware Smart Assurance with carrier-proven solutions such as VMware vCloud NFV and VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud will give our customers the firepower needed to make the most of network resources. Unified Service Assurance Across Physical & Virtual Environments with VMware Smart Assurance 10 Critical to 5G rollout and telco transformation is the ability to treat hybrid physical and virtual networks as a single network entity and assure services across both environments. VMware Smart Assurance 10 will provide assurance capabilities to deliver service impact and root-cause analysis with visibility across physical and virtual networks, as well as multi-cloud environments. This will help identify how resources are being consumed and whether service level agreements are being met. VMware Smart Assurance will automate discovery of more than 4,000 physical and virtual devices across telco networks, accelerating time to visibility across the network. With VMware Smart Assurance, CSPs will gain an automated approach to operational intelligence to reduce service impact and operational expenses. The solutions automation capabilities maintain a stable configuration to prevent network incidents while proactively detecting abnormal patterns, providing a high-quality subscriber quality of experience. This new release of VMware Smart Assurance will also deliver support for: NSX SD-WAN by VeloCloud, a new Mobile Core model able to manage and monitor virtual IMS (vIMS) applications, and tight integration with NSX-T Data Center. It will also integrate with VMware Integrated OpenStack and VMware vRealize Operations (vROps), leveraging vROps Machine Learning technology for performance management and dynamic thresholding analysis. VMware Smart Experience with Real-Time Network Insights VMware Smart Experience will provide CSPs real-time network insights and enables new revenue streams. A real-time streaming analytics solution providing CSPs the ability to generate actionable insights from their access and core network data, VMware Smart Experience will improve customer experience, optimizing resources and creating new revenue streams. VMware Smart Experience ingests, manages and enriches high-speed streaming data from various mobile network elements and correlates it with configuration, network, subscriber and other details for comprehensive insights a key value proposition for future 5G networks and edge computing. As we re-architect MetTels network services into a cloud native model, we will use the VMware Telco NFV reference architecture with vCloud NFV at the core and VMware SD-WAN at the edge. This will allow MetTel to provide global services more efficiently and effectively at a scale that meets the current customer volumes, allowing us to be more profitable as we grow, said Edward J. Fox III, chief technology officer, MetTel. The VMware solution permits MetTel to provide our enterprise customers a truly unique solution that brings unmatched performance, operability and security to the art of end-to-end networking. Automated, Scalable, Secure Virtual Cloud Networking with VMware NSX-T Data Center VMware NSX-T Data Center is a core component of vCloud NFV that provides a software network overlay across the complete NFV infrastructure and supports multiple telco use cases. VMware NSX-T Data Center provides native full-stack networking and security for containerized workloads, consistent granular policy on a per-container basis, and integration across apps, platforms, hypervisors, sites, and clouds. The new VMware NSX-T Data Center 2.4 release delivers even higher levels of cloud-scale, operational simplicity, resiliency, and performance. This includes IPv6 support, near line-rate speed, high availability, and scalability to tens-of-thousands of unique networks per NSX-T Data Center instance. With Network Service Header (NSH)-based service chaining, service providers can deliver new services faster while significantly reducing CapEx and OpEx. Seamless Migration and Multi-Cloud Mobility for the 5G-Ready Telco Cloud CSPs are delivering innovation at a rapid scale as they deploy applications and services today for 4G networks, deploy services at the edge and then seamlessly migrate networks and services to 5G. The release of VMware vCloud NFV 3.0 with support for vCloud Director 9.5 provides several transformative capabilities essential to modern telco networks such as control and user plane separation (CUPS) for distributed 5G architectures, hybrid execution environment supporting VMs and containers, acceleration for data-plane workloads, multi-vendor VNF onboarding and rapid service delivery, and use of open source technologies for interoperability and rapid innovation. Key capabilities in vCloud NFV 3.0 include securing multitenant cloud networks, efficient multi-site deployments, carrier-class performance, advanced networking and operations management. VMware HCX enables application mobility and infrastructure agility to prepare telco cloud environments for 5G. VMware HCX builds a hybrid highway interconnecting heritage infrastructure, modern SDDCs, cloud CSPs and multi-VIM providers such as vSphere, VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), VMware Integrated OpenStack (VIO), vCloud Director, and Commercial non-vSphere OpenStack offerings to enable true hybrid virtual infrastructure mobility. HCX enables seamless and flexible application and VNF migrations with operations automation that will help CSPs rapidly modernize, transform, and mobilize their cloud infrastructure. VMware HCX brings telco infrastructure to the multi-cloud world. VMware Expands Ready for NFV Certification Program VMware continues to increase the number of partners that have been certified within the VMware Ready for NFV Certification program. This program provides CSPs with the commitment that VMware partner VNF solutions will seamlessly and effectively deploy, run, and interoperate with VMware vCloud NFV. VMware now has certified more than 105 Virtual Network Functions from 85 vendors worldwide. VMwares broad ecosystem of certified partners creates a true marketplace that helps CSPs remove barriers to successful NFV implementations. The complete list of VMware Ready for NFV certified solutions is available at: https://www.vmware.com/solutions/industry/telco-technology-partners.html Visit VMware in the VMware and Dell Technologies Booth Hall 3, Stand 3M11. Additional Information Click here for more details on VMware Smart Assurance 10. for more details on VMware Smart Assurance 10. Click here for more details on VMware vCloud NFV 3.0. for more details on VMware vCloud NFV 3.0. VMware has launched its Digital Telco Badge for NFV at Mobile World Congress 2019. Click here for more information. About VMware Telco Cloud Communication Service Providers must transition to a virtualized telco cloud spanning network and IT to maximize 5G upside while containing risks. VMware offers the industrys only comprehensive 5G Telco Cloud platform. The VMware Telco Cloud platform a single architecture optimized for both 4G and 5G networks helps communication service providers to become 5G ready faster. About VMware VMware software powers the worlds complex digital infrastructure. The companys compute, cloud, mobility, networking and security offerings provide a dynamic and efficient digital foundation to over 500,000 customers globally, aided by an ecosystem of 75,000 partners. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, this year VMware celebrates twenty years of breakthrough innovation benefiting business and society. For more information, please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html. Media Contact: Megan Lane VMware Global Communications Phone: +1-650-690-6867 lanem@vmware.com VMware, VMware Smart Assurance, vCloud, vCloud NFV, VMware SD-WAN, VeloCloud, NSX, NSX-T, NSX-T Data Center, vRealize, vRealize Operations, VMware HCX, and VMware Ready are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions. BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2019 VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) today announced that Vodafone has expanded its footprint of VMwares cloud infrastructure to power its network and to capture operational agility and cost efficiency at scale. VMware is Vodafones primary strategic partner for telco cloud infrastructure services. VMwares services are used across Vodafones operating markets around the world; they are live in 15 countries, in more than 50 sites, carrying increasing amounts of subscriber traffic on more than 300 core network functions. Vodafone, which operates mobile and fixed networks globally, is bringing uniformity to its operations and management with a software-defined cloud infrastructure. This software-defined approach streamlines cost and increases agility for deployment and management of services. With 5G on the horizon, Vodafone has focused on building an underlying cloud infrastructure foundation that speeds up deployment of current 4G services while introducing 5G readiness, without requiring disruptive and expensive re-platforming. The ability to be flexible and agile as we continue to automate our network operations and management could only be achieved through a software-defined infrastructure, said Johan Wibergh, Chief Technology Officer, Vodafone Group. We have been pleased with the accelerated time-to-market and associated economic benefits of our transition to NFV and, increasingly, a telco cloud infrastructure. Weve teamed up with VMware based not only on its technology leadership and innovation, but the ability to get operational deployments up and running within our requirements. VMwares telco cloud infrastructure provides a hybrid cloud architecture, openness of APIs, OpenStack and Kubernetes compatibility, network-based micro-segmentation and service assurance. With a certification program that is designed to help VNF vendors simplify onboarding to the telco cloud platform, VMwares ecosystem of VNF partners assists in the speed of operationalizing new service deployments. We are delighted to see this rapid progress in our engagement with Vodafone as we continue to expand our impact with the global telco market, said Shekar Ayyar, executive vice president, strategy and corporate development and general manager, Telco NFV Group, VMware. Our expertise lies in serving up the benefits of virtualizationsimplification, reliability, cost efficiency and agilityin even the most complex telco environments. Multi-cloud is the future of telco, and Vodafone is an innovator when it comes to leveraging the telco cloud for next-generation networks. Vodafone and VMware will be at Mobile World Congress 2019. About Telco Cloud Communication Service Providers must transition to a virtualized telco cloud spanning network and IT to maximize 5G upside while containing risks. VMware offers the industrys only comprehensive 5G Telco Cloud platform. The VMware Telco Cloud platform a single architecture optimized for both 4G and 5G networks helps communication service providers to become 5G ready faster. About VMware VMware software powers the worlds complex digital infrastructure. The companys compute, cloud, mobility, networking and security offerings provide a dynamic and efficient digital foundation to over 500,000 customers globally, aided by an ecosystem of 75,000 partners. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, this year VMware celebrates twenty years of breakthrough innovation benefiting business and society. For more information, please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html . Media Contacts: Megan Lane VMware Global Communications Phone: +1-650-690-6867 lanem@vmware.com Nano CBD Flavored Water Company US Based Portfolio Clients Growing VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Redfund Capital Corp (CSE: LOAN) (Frankfurt: O3X4) (OTC: PNNRF) (Redfund or the Company) has signed a term sheet and has agreed to fund CANNAKI BEVERAGE INC. a nano CBD flavored water company. CANAKI BEVERAGE COMPANY, INC., http://cannaki.com more commonly known as CANNAKI, manufactures natural and organic functional beverages. Based in Las Vegas, USA, the Nevada companys core products are still and carbonated beverages and specialize in Nano CBD infused flavored water. Their CBD is farm-direct and ISO certified to contain Zero THC. CANNAKI also manufactures and sells other organic, kosher and vegan products and soon launching a new line of Hemp and Guayusa beverages in April 2018. Their mission is to make great tasting beverages without sacrificing quality. To blend botanical nutrition with KI natural goodness. To create a world of beverages with integrity and transparency with no limits on taste, quality, geography or imagination. CANNAKIS core values guide them in their quest. Global bottled water market was valued at $198.4 million in 2017, and is expected to reach $307.3 million by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 6.4% during the forecast period 2024 End. Bottled water is packaged drinking water that is purified and free from contamination. It is available in plastic and glass water bottles, and is the most convenient way for the body to fulfill its hydration needs being easily available in nearby retail stores and supermarkets. ( https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/rd/110114577/Bottled-Water-Market ) Redfund Capital has signed a convertible note term sheet with Cannaki Beverage Company for USD $1,000,000 at a rate of 14% interest with a term of 2 years. Redfund and Cannaki will be finalizing a promissory note and security document in the next week and will disclose details of the completed transaction at that time. Partnering with a water company with a strong footprint is a tremendous opportunity for Redfund. Cannaki has one of the largest varieties of water based SKUS in the marketplace and is continuing to increase their varieties. Cannaki has still, sparkling, flavored, plus Pet water, and a global presence as well. Redfund has filed an OTCQB listing application in order to continue to build our US presence. stated Meris Kott, CEO. About Redfund Capital Redfund intends to provide debt and equity funding in the mid-to-late stages of a target companys development, or in technologies that are developed and validated by revenues. The present focus of the merchant bank is on medical cannabis, hemp and CBD-related, healthcare-related target companies. For further information please visit www.redfundcapital.com For more information on Redfund Capital contact Meris Kott CEO 604.484.8989 0r info@redfundcapital.com Further information about the Company is available on www.SEDAR.com under the Companys profile. 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. Certain statements contained in this release may constitute forwardlooking statements or forward-looking information (collectively forward-looking information) as those terms are used in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words could, intend, expect, believe, will, projected, estimated, anticipates and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Companys current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to the business of the Company, the Property, financing and certain corporate changes. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein. CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- West High Yield (W.H.Y.) Resources Ltd. ("West High Yield" or the "Company") (TSXV: WHY) announces that it proposes to complete a non-brokered private placement of Units ("Units). Each Unit will consist of one Common Share in the capital of the Company (a "Common Share") and one-third of one Common Share purchase Warrant (a "Warrant"). Each whole Warrant would entitle the holder to purchase one additional Common Share at an exercise price of $0.55 for a period of one year from the date of issuance of the Warrant. There is no minimum subscription for this offering and a maximum of 5,714,285 Units will be issued at a price of $0.35 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $2,000,000. The Company may pay finders fees on all or a portion of the private placement to eligible persons seeking subscribers to the financing, all in accordance with applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange"). The proposed private placement is subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals including the approval of the Exchange. The Company confirms that, as of the date of this press release, there is no "material fact" or "material change" (as those terms are defined under applicable securities laws) related to the Company which has not been generally disclosed. Assuming the maximum offering is completed, approximately $1,500,000 of the net proceeds are expected to be used for the environmental base line study, environmental assessment study and mine plan and permit application and Industrial Mineral Mine Permit application for the Company's Record Ridge deposit near Rossland, British Columbia and the balance of the net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes. If the offering is not fully subscribed, the Company will apply the proceeds to the above uses in priority and in such proportions as the board of directors and management of the Company determine is in the best interests of the Company. Although the Company intends to use the proceeds of the offering as described above, the actual allocation of proceeds may vary from the uses set out above, depending upon future operations, events or opportunities. The Company will be exhibiting in Booth IE2923, at this year's Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) 2019 Convention in Toronto, Ontario, March 3- 6, 2019. About West High Yield West High Yield is a publicly traded junior mining exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral resource properties in Canada with a primary objective to locate and develop economic gold, nickel and magnesium properties. For further information please contact: Frank Marasco President and Chief Executive Officer West High Yield (W.H.Y.) Resources Ltd. Telephone: (403) 660-3488 Facsimile: (403) 206-7159 Email: frank@whyresources.com Dwayne Vinck Chief Financial Officer West High Yield (W.H.Y.) Resources Ltd. Telephone: (403) 257-2637 Facsimile: (403) 206-7159 Email: vinck@shaw.ca Reader Advisory This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", "plans", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information or statements. More particularly and without limitation, this press release contains forward looking statements and information concerning the terms of the proposed non-brokered private placement of Units, the proposed use of proceeds and the Company's business plans. The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward looking statements and information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking information is 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 anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions in Canada and globally; industry conditions, including governmental regulation; failure to obtain industry partner and other third party consents and approvals, if and when required; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility; competition for, among other things, skilled personnel and supplies; changes in tax laws; and the other factors. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is given as of the date hereof, and to not use such forward-looking information for anything other than its intended purpose. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Not for distribution in the United States. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States. The securities of the Company 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. English French Expanded Singapore Service Centre will be the largest OEM-owned business aviation maintenance facility in Asia Investment is the next step in a major global expansion to drive customers to Bring Your Jets Home with new maintenance and refurbishment options The Singapore Service Centre will quadruple its existing footprint, adding a paint facility and parts depot, and expanding its full service interior finishing shop Additional hangars are expected to be fully operational in the second half of 2020 Expanded Singapore Service Centre will support more than 2,000 visits annually MONTREAL, Feb. 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bombardier today announced the next major investment in enhancing its global customer service experience with a significant expansion in the growing Asia-Pacific region. The award-winning Singapore Service Centre will more than quadruple its current footprint, transforming the facility into a high-capacity, one-stop-shop super centre, offering its customers a full gamut of maintenance, refurbishment and modification services required throughout an aircrafts life, directly on site. Our high-capacity, optimized Singapore Service Centre will bring industry-leading aircraft availability, faster turnarounds and greater convenience and peace of mind to Bombardiers growing customer base in Asia, said Jean-Christophe Gallagher, Vice President and General Manager, Customer Experience. Customers will enjoy access to the complete range of OEM customer service and support right on their doorstep, 24/7, 365 days a year. This expansion is another key building block in our drive to enhance the accessibility of our OEM expertise for customers worldwide and to solidify our position as a leader in aftermarket services in the Asia-Pacific region, a pivotal growing part of our global network. This expansion is another testament to the robust ties that bind our two countries together, said the Honourable Jim Carr, Minister of International Trade Diversification. This important Canadian investment in Singapore is a platform that will create new opportunities for Canadian business in the region, and further diversify Canadas export markets. The Singapore Service Centre announcement follows the October 3, 2018, news that Bombardier is growing its North American maintenance capabilities with the construction of an expanded service centre at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. This facility will be inaugurated in 2020 and will more than double the current customer service footprint in Florida. These major investments and expansions are the next steps in providing worldwide customers with new, enhanced maintenance and refurbishment options. Located at Seletar Aerospace Park, the Singapore Service Centre, which opened in 2014, will more than quadruple its current footprint from 100,000 sq. ft. (9,260 m2) to approximately 430,000 sq. ft. (40,000 m2) by 2020. The expansion will introduce exceptional new customer facilities, a full-service 37,000 sq. ft. (3,500 m2) paint facility, advanced interior finishing capabilities, with key support functions, such as training, sales and customer support and an expanded portfolio of component, repair and overhaul (CR&O) services. It will also offer heavy structural and composite repair capabilities, in addition to a 10,000 sq.ft. (929 m2) integrated parts depot. The new expanded Singapore Service Centre will be capable of supporting more than 2,000 visits annually. The groundbreaking of the expansion will occur on February 27, 2019, with the facility being operational in 2020. The Singapore Service Centre currently employs more than 150 staff, including 100 licensed engineers and technicians, and has received more than 20 certifications and authorizations from international regulators to service the full range of Bombardier Global, Challenger and Learjet aircraft including the largest, most luxurious and longest range business jet ever built, the flagship Global 7500 aircraft. In addition to offering scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and aircraft on ground (AOG) support, the Singapore Service Centre is recognized as a centre of excellence for complex retrofit work, including avionics and Ka-band installations. Bombardiers decision to establish a full suite of aftermarket capabilities at its Singapore Service Centre will add to the vibrancy of activities at Seletar Aerospace Park, said Tan Kong Hwee, Executive Director, Capital Goods, Singapore Economic Development Board. Bombardiers expansion in Singapore is testament to our attractiveness as an aerospace hub, and our ability to capture growth opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region. We look forward to forging stronger ties with companies like Bombardier, to grow the sector and create more good jobs for Singaporeans. With its industry-defining craftsmanship and design, market-leading deliveries and largest backlog in the industry, Bombardier Business Aircraft is the preeminent brand in business jets worldwide. Bombardier Business Aircraft currently has an extensive footprint in the Asia-Pacific region, with more than 320 aircraft of its industry-wide fleet of 1,025 aircraft operating there. In total, Bombardier has more than 4,800 business aircraft operating around the world. Bombardier estimates industry-wide deliveries in the region between now and 2027 to be 950 aircraft for a forecasted sales revenue of US$37 billion. The most popular growth area are the Global aircraft, and the expanded Singapore Service Centre will be instrumental in supporting the growing fleet, including the Global 7500 aircraft, the industrys largest and most luxurious business jet. 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 . Notes to Editors To receive our press releases, please visit the RSS Feed section. Bombardier, Challenger, Global, Global 7500 and Learjet are trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries. For Information Matt Nicholls Bombardier Business Aircraft + 1 514-243-8214 matthew.nicholls@aero.bombardier.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/be2bcef3-8d2f-43da-8aff-3631f54f3f15 PRINT | EMAIL | PERMALINK Letters American People Are Not Stupid! Dear Editor, I am not stupid and neither are most people I know. However, numerous politicians, pundits and officials seem to think we are stupid. The Green New Deal created and detailed by New York district Representative Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez, a Congresswoman in office a little over one month, is an attempt to fundamentally change our culture, economy and way of life in the name of the supposedly deteriorating environment due to carbon emissions. The plan calls for ending use of oil and natural gas for any applications and to substitute solar and wind power, converting all transportation, businesses, homes and buildings to meet those requirements. As a bonus the Green New Deal allows government to fund and control health, education, industry and welfare for those unable or unwilling to work with a 70 percent tax rate collected by the federal government from those workers willing to work. Ordinarily such nonsense would be the laughing stock but not so now. At Ocasio-Cortez's announcement Democrats lined up behind her grinning and nodding their heads, "yes". Any time in Congress or anywhere spent debating this baloney is what is stupid not those of us who see this as balderdash. It is also not stupid to support a border wall to stop millions of migrants marching thousands of miles to bust over our border into our country. These migrants are illegals seeking unlawful entry into our country utilizing a bogus statement of asylum. Criticizers of a border wall say we are a country of immigrants. That is true however immigrants who came to this country in the early 1900s, who helped build this country came in legally, were vetted and turned away if unhealthy or with no local support. Since then immigrants have waited in line for years to enter legally. What we have today is an invasion of lawless individuals including those who are criminals, drug carriers and human traffickers. Stupid is to deny this condition is a national emergency and to limit any and every method, walls, drones, electronics, troops and border patrol, to curb this assault and criminal elements. Stupid is Governor Grisham's political move to withdraw National Guard troops from our border. Politicians are forewarned that the American people are not stupid. Cringy As Hell Dear Alibi, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is in a viral video! The governor of New Mexico filmed a video in which she literally smashes through walls as a way to protest against President Donald Trump's proposed border wall for the southern border. The video is cringy as hell comparable to US Senator Elizabeth Warren's home video of her and her husband in their kitchen. It was simply another attempt by an insulated politician to feel more relatable with younger Americans and it failed miserably (or maybe it succeeded, it went viral after all). I don't understand how smashing through literal walls translates to good public policy in a television ad. Don't these politicians have marketers and social media coordinators to help with their public image? My advice to Governor Lujan Grisham: Whoever came up with the idea to smash through some walls in a TV ad, fire that person immediately. If you want to appear more relatable to votersmore down-to-earth toward lower class Americansit's very simple, just record yourself in your office doing something real, maybe signing or vetoing a bill from the state Congress. You don't need a script, a camera crew or an editor, you just need a camera and yourself. Dateline: France Lightsaber dueling has been officially recognized as a sport by the French Fencing Federation. The Washington Post reports the federation now considers lightsaber dueling on par with the more traditional disciplines of epee, foil and saber. The weapons used in the sport are non-lethal replicas of those used in the Star Wars film franchise that are made from a rigid polycarbonate and outfitted with LED lights and sound effects. Organized lightsaber dueling tournaments have become more popular in recent years, bringing the sport to the attention of the French Fencing Federation and world media. During a duel, participants attempt to strike each other for pointsa strike to the head receives five points while those to the limbs receive three. The first duelist to score 15 points, or whoever has the highest score at the end of 3 minutes, is the winner. To make the duels appear more like the ones seen in the Star Wars films, fighters are required to point the tips of their lightsabers behind them before attempting a strike. The International Fencing Federation, a worldwide governing organization for the sport, told reporters that it would be closely watching the trend and its developments. Authorities with the French Fencing Federation say they hope the new sport will attract young people and encourage them to be more active. Dateline: South Carolina A man came home last week to find a stranger and her two children had moved into his house. According to Fox Carolina, Kent Foster attempted to enter his Union, S.C., home last week, but was blocked by an object that had been pushed against the door. He told police that he managed to get the door opened and heard people inside before calling 911. When authorities arrived at the house, they allegedly found Savannah Rhinehart and her two children, one of whom was not wearing pants. According to police she claimed to be the owner of the home. Foster said the woman and her children were wearing his family's clothes. When she opens the door, the first thing she says is, 'Can I help you?' he told reporters. Yeah, the first thing you can do is leave my house. A witness told police they had seen one of the children outside with no clothes on earlier. Foster reportedly discovered that someone had used their bathtub and eaten his family's food. Police were unable to ascertain Rhinehart's reason for breaking into the home, and she was taken to a hospital to be evaluated for mental illness. The state's Department of Social Services placed her two children in protective custody. She has been charged with child neglect, burglary and petit larceny. Dateline: China Researchers have created a rat cyborg that people can control with their minds. Discover Magazine reports a group of scientists from Zhejiang University in China published a paper in the journal Scientific Reports earlier this month titled Human Mind Control of Rat Cyborgs Continuous Locomotion with Wireless Brain-to-Brain Interface. According to the paper, the researchers surgically implanted two microelectrodes into the brains of rats for virtual reward stimulation and instruction of forward motion. Two more microelectodes were implanted into the sides of the rats' heads to stimulate turning cues. The rats were then trained to react to instructions given through wireless signals sent directly to a microstimulator mounted on the rats back with a computer program. Once the rats had been sufficiently trained, their microstimulators were set to receive signals from a noninvasive EEG-based brain-machine interface (BMI) that was attached externally to human subjects. The humans could then control the rats with wireless instructions thinking about moving the right or left arm would send the rats moving in the corresponding direction, while blinking would direct the rats to move forward. Using the interface, human controllers were able to successfully direct a number of rats through a series of increasingly difficult mazes. Researchers said two of the rat cyborgs performed flawlessly. Dateline: Pennsylvania A group of real estate investors barely avoided physical harm last month when they discovered an elaborate booby trap in an abandoned Philadelphia home. According to NBC News, a team of real estate investors were walking a distressed property they had purchased when they reportedly came across what appeared to be a trap laid by the previous owner. Ekrem Uysaler told reporters he was one of five people who made the terrifying discovery. Uysaler's ABC Capital Investments purchases abandoned and foreclosed homes, renovates them and places them on the market again. He told reporters that while he's found homes in serious disrepair, this was the first time he'd encountered a booby trap. According to reports, a line of string was installed four inches above and parallel to a step on a staircase inside the home. If triggered the string would have released a crutch with a knife attached to one end that would have swung down and stabbed a victim in the face. Whoever did this was a genius, like Stewie, Uysaler told reporters, referring to a character from Family Guy. No one was harmed during the incident. ABC Capital Investments has confirmed that it will be going forward with renovations on the house. The booby trap has presumably been removed. Eric Williams Photography Can Burque be like Vanuatu? While February brought urban snow thrills to town, that all seemed to melt away in the heat of moment, as the excitement of the idea of banning single-use plastic bags came to the fore. Several dozen citizens turned out to the Feb. 20 City Council meeting to voice opinions about a ban on single-use plastics such as bags, cutlery, cups and to-go containers. Paradise Calling! Toss that straw and it could add to the at least 8 million pieces of plastic added daily to the global ocean to make up the estimated 269,000 tons of mini, micro, small and large clumps of plastics in our oceans. So bad is it that the United Nations has declared a war on marine litter saying it wreaks havoc and is causing death on our precious marine life and pollutes our food chain. In response, last summer, the South Pacific paradise nation of Vanuatu banned single use plastic bags, straws and Styrofoam food containers, with hefty fines of between $175 and $900 per incident. Things went so well that now the Vanuatu government is taking the ban a bit further by adding a bunch more plastic items that will take forever to breakdown, such as disposable diapers, cutlery, netting, clam shell cases and other types of plastics. The paradise island nation says it hopes to set an example for the entire world. Fifty-four countries have some type of plastics ban in place with about 32 countries charging per bag. California and Hawaii have statewide bans on single-use plastic stuff as do American cities Santa Fe, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. Others like Washington, D.C., New York, Portland and Boulder have plastic bag fees. What Say You, Burque? While we are not an ocean community, our fragile desert landscape is filling up with plastics just as fast. At their Feb. 20 meeting Albuquerque City Councilors balked at passing Albuquerques Clean and Green Retail Ordinance. It was deferred for 60 days pending an economic analysis. So there is still time to let the Council know what you want them to do. The proposed measure would ban retailers and restaurants from using single-use plastic bags and non-recyclable carryout containers. Turtle-choking single-use straws would be limited as well. The ordinance says that according to the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States generates 4 million tons of plastic bags, sacks, wraps, straws and polystyrene containers with only 13 percent of that recycled. A number of large retail companies such as Kroger, Starbucks, McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts have said they plan to end the use of single polystyrene cups, containers and straws. Our Future Now US Rep. Deb Haaland stopped in to the meeting and gave her support for the pro-Earth measure. She said she was happy to be among all the young people speaking out. I want to urge every single person in the room to think about the environment and the legacy we are leaving to the children who are sitting behind me, Haaland said. You have the support from me if all of you want to be bold and make that stand. More than a couple dozen young people showed up to let the Council know they not only supported banning single-use plasticthey pretty much demanded it. One of the many young members of the Mountain Mahogany Community Schools Global Warming Express after school club said their future right now looks like burned trees and plastic waste everywhere. As expected, the local Chamber of Commerce folks and a couple of businesses showed up to let the Council know the change would be expensive for them. Dan Garcia, from Garcias Kitchen said they want to be environmentally friendly. But he stressed that the change would cost his familys New Mexican food dynasty about $250,000 a year. He also said he did not think paper containers or bags work well with transporting liquid red or green chile. Thats quite a conundrum for us New Mexicans; what should be conveniently accessible, a veritable luxury food item or this planets survival? Paul Gessing from the Rio Grande Foundation said his organization was against the ban, saying it would negatively impact small businesses. He said plastics might be more environmentally friendly as it takes less water to make plastic than paper. He opined about the multi-uses of plastic bags and wished the Council good luck picking up steaming hot dog poop with a paper bag. But several speakers said they would pay extra for, and would choose, to go to a restaurant that uses environmentally safe products. One elementary school age citizen named Suki spoke about the idea that Albuquerque businesses were too poor to not use plastics, telling gathered citizens and leaders, Maybe you are worried that Albuquerque cant afford to ban single-use plastic, here are some places, including some very poor countries that have already passed laws restricting single use plastic Cambodia, India, Panama, Somalia, South Africa, Uganda, Bangladesh, Puerto Rico. Now and Later Because of the wide ranging and incredibly important nature of the civic discussion on banning one-use plastic items in Albuquerque, Councilors postponed many items from both of Februarys meetings, including changes to the Police Oversight Ordinance and changes to the Commission on American Indian and Alaska Native Affairs. Some of the items approved in February include the appointments of Leticia Bernal to the Central Avenue Business Advisory Board; Anthony B. Gallegos, Marie L. Lobo and Fred J. DeGuio to the Airport Advisory Board; Lynn L. Anker and Meggin Lorino to the Area Agency on Aging/Older Americans Act Advisory Council; Brandon M. Rodriguez and Jennifer N. Swartz to the Veterans and Military Affairs Advisory Board. The reappointment of Chantal M. Galloway and Valerie St. John to the Police Oversight Board and the appointments of Lamont Davis, Christopher Sedillo and Tara Armijo-Prewitt to that same board were also enacted. Image courtesy of Dave Dewitt Have yall seen that video of the Danish National Chamber Orchestra eating the hottest chile pepper in the world and then trying to play? It goes pretty much how youd expect. The musicians manage to hold it together for about the first minute before the song starts unraveling. Tears ensue. Since humankind started harvesting chiles there has been a subset of enthusiastic, arguably masochistic eaters who are fanatical about spicy food. Though I couldnt really count myself amongst the ranks of the more extreme of them, I definitely appreciate a little heattheres a half-empty jar of homemade habanero hot sauce in my fridge that proves my point. For those who do count themselves among the spicy food faithful, though, theres a place to gather where you can be among your own kind: the Fiery Foods Show. This weekend, the 31st annual National Fiery Foods and Barbecue Show is coming to Sandia Resort and Casino. March 1 through 3, visitors can come to sample upwards of 1,000 different products from 200 different exhibitors. Products for sample include salsas and hot sauces, of course, but also more interesting variations on the theme like spicy desserts, jerky and everything in between. Dave Dewitt, the founding producer of the Fiery Foods Show and author of The Complete Chile Pepper Book and 1,001 Best Hot and Spicy Recipes, says that he founded the show over 30 years ago knowing that it was an idea whose time had come. He was working as a freelance writer covering the food beat in Las Cruces at the time, and had always been a spicy foods fan himself. After covering a chile pepper festival in the area, he came away thinking about all the other products that chile peppers go into that didnt make an appearance. I remember thinking: Its an over billion dollar industry without a trade showthats odd, he says. In a previous life he had worked as a show producer, mainly producing car shows, antique shows and flea markets. He knew he had the skills and the connections to make a spicy foods trade show happen, and the gears started turning. He enlisted his wife to sell booths over the phone (And damn if she didnt do a great job, he remarks) and booked a space in a hotel lobby for the first years show. We only had 47 exhibitors at that first show. We made a $100 profit! he says, laughing. Its not much of a profit to reportbut for an event in its first year, simply not going into the negative is an impressive feat. He was encouraged, and decided to do it again the next year. We moved to the convention center one year, then into a 30,000 square foot space, then a 60,000 space, and then Sandia offered us 3 years free rent to hold the event there, Dewitt says. Accepting the offer was a no-brainer, and attendance went up 40 percent after the move. He suspects the show will stay at Sandia Resort and Casino for as long as hes around to host it. A couple of Dewitts favorite returning exhibitors are Byron Bay Chilli Co., a hot sauce manufacturer from Byron Bay, Australia, and the grower of the world-famous Carolina Reaper peppers, now acknowledged as the hottest pepper in the world. You have to taste that hot sauce on the end of a toothpick, he says. Larger doses of the stuff have been known to cause unfortunate and uncontrollable reactions among tasters. On Saturday and Sunday, the main events will be three 505 Food Fights, when three chefs from New Mexico restaurants will battle in a Chopped-style showdown to make the best dish by popular vote. The finale, which will pit the two winners from the previous battles against each other, is Sunday at 1:30pm. That said, Dewitt recommends coming to the show on Friday evening if you want to avoid the big crowds. The doors are open 4 to 8pm on Friday, and the aisles will be a little less packed thengood for those handicapped and in wheelchairs, says Dewitt. On Saturday the show is open from 11am to 7pm, and on Sunday from 10am to 6pm. Tickets for the National Fiery Foods and Barbecue Show are $15.50 per day of the show and available for purchase at fieryfoodsshow.com. Tickets for children 11 to 18 are $5 and only available at the door, and children 10 or under get in free. The show involves as many free samples as you can stomach, and all the products are available for purchase as well. PRINT | EMAIL | PERMALINK Reel World Work Hard, Play Hard This Friday is Employee Appreciation Day. The New Mexico Natural History Museum Foundation and the Albuquerque Film + Music Experience are celebrating this unofficial holiday by pairing up and screening a workplace comedy fave. This Friday, March 1, starting at 7pm, the NMMNHs DynaTheater shows off the hit 1980 comedy 9 to 5. Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton star as a trio of secretaries who decide to get revenge against their sexist pig of a boss (Dabney Coleman). Attendees can check out coffee samplings from Sol Rio Coffee, and organizers will be giving away an autographed script from the film! Tickets are $10 general admission or $7.50 for NMFE sponsors and Museum Foundation members. The DynaTheater is located at 1801 Mountain Rd. NW. For more info go to abqfilmx. com/ afmx- film- series- 2019. View in Alibi calendar Catch COLORES! Albuquerques Special Collections Library (423 Central Ave. NE) offers up a free, public screening of two PBS COLORES! documentaries on Saturday, March 2. Starting at 2pm, audiences are invited to watch the locally produced docs Sleeping Monsters, Sacred Fires: Volcanoes of New Mexico and High Desert Troutcovering our states geological history and the mystique of fly-fishing, respectively. View in Alibi calendar Heal the Sick New Mexico PBS and the Institute of American Indian Arts present a free, pop-up film screening this Sunday, March 3. From 6 to 8pm, the IAIA Auditorium in the schools Library and Technology Center features a preview of the PBS documentary The Providers. Set against the backdrop of the physician shortage as well as the opioid crisis in rural America, this locally lensed documentary follows three country doctors as they struggle to help patients at low-to-no-cost clinics throughout New Mexico. Following the screening is a post-film panel discussion about health care options and access in New Mexico. Food provided by Cafe Bon Appetit. IAIA is located at 83 A Van Nu Po Road in Santa Fe. View in Alibi calendar WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Terrance Woodbury, a millennial researcher and Senior Analyst at Brilliant Corners Research and Strategies who conducts focus groups and public opinion polls to study the perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors of millennial voters and consumers, has issued the following opinion editorial: There were two prevailing themes of the 91st Academy Awards diversity and politicization. Recovering from years of #OscarSoWhite controversy and recognizing the intensity of our political discourse, the Oscar producers and The Academy seem to have made a calculated decision to celebrate diversity and the winners and presenters of the night took center stage to politicize it. We witnessed first-time wins for women and minorities in categories ranging from set design to animation. Three of the top four best actor/supporting actor winners were non-white. And they showcased the most diverse cast of presenters in Oscar history. As important as who won Sunday night are the actual stories behind the honored films. Stories of personal identity, sexual orientation, and classism in Mexico. Stories that recognized the challenges of segregation, and the benefits of immigration. However, what many found most noteworthy were the messages delivered from the stage. Javier Bardem condemned the erection of walls and barriers that further divide us. Jose Andres, who has worked to offset the impacts of the Trump administration, declared the necessity for uplifting women and immigrants. Rep. John Lewis, the Civil Rights icon, highlighted the parallels between the tumultuous fight for freedom and our current political environment. And Spike Lee charged celebrities and influencers assembled in the Dolby Theater to make a moral choice between love and hate and to Do The Right Thing in the 2020 election prompting the twitter condemnation of President Trump. The diversity and politicization of the Oscars reflect a broader trend taking place with musicians, actors, and athletes to engage politics more explicitly. In the face of a president made famous through pop culture - literally through a reality show - pop culture icons are using their platforms to advance very political agendas. As pop culture more deliberately engages politics, one cannot help but wonder when politics will finally engage pop culture? Candidates for the 2020 election cycle have already begun hitting the campaign trail carrying messages packed with policy proposals that reflect their priorities and values. But few, if any, have pivoted to express their positions on issues that dominate pop culture. Weighing in on these issues represents a rare opportunity to connect with politically unengaged voters on important issues. These conversations would allow candidates to demonstrate their authenticity, connect popular matters to their values, and show how in touch they are with every day Americans and our everyday pop culture. For example, immigration debates in the last few weeks absolutely should discuss the impact of asylum seekers at the border, but it should also include the implications of #free21savage. Discussions of sexual assault should still reference the Kavanaugh hearings, but it should also explore the publics blind eye to accusations against R. Kelly for decades before #MeToo movement. Politicians talking about reforming the education system should reference the innovative learning environment that LeBron James built in his hometown. Far too often, politicians make political calculations about the risks involved with alienating audiences that might disagree with their opinions about a celebrity or pop culture event. But this risk aversion does not take into account the overwhelming benefit of capturing the attention of more than 100 million eligible voters that did not vote in the 2018 election and have less of an appetite for news and current events. We recently conducted a series of focus groups with millennial voters that voted for Obama but have not voted in subsequent elections. The characteristics these voters are seeking the most in a candidate are authenticity and willingness to stand for their beliefs. In Obama, they found a President that would host a beer summit after the racial profiling of Henry Luis Gates, declare his support for Colin Kaepernick's right to peacefully protest, and call Kanye West an asshole for taking a mic from Taylor Swift. And once he captured their attention with popular issues that mattered to them, they were willing to listen and support the political issues that mattered to him. We have witnessed a President that was the product of pop culture inject his opinion back into pop culture in ways that advance his political agenda. He has defended his base against accusations made by Jussie Smollett, mobilized his base around the divisive language of Rosanne Barr, and stoked outrage in his core supporters over perceived disrespect of the national anthem. Until progressive candidates lean into the pop culture issues that everyday Americans discuss every day, half of Americans will continue not to hear them at all. For More Information Contact: Taroue Brooks taroue.brooks@yahoo.com 202-431-1119 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5a0cc3bc-9864-46dc-9901-e544f5bd3b96 Thursday 28 Awakening in Taos: The Mabel Dodge Luhan Story (KNME-5 7pm) Academy Award nominee (and New Mexico resident) Ali MacGraw narrates this locally produced documentary about New Mexico legend Mabel Dodge Luhan. The ahead-of-her-time heiress moved from Greenwich Village (where she palled around with Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso) to Taos, N.M., in 1917. There, she fell in love with and married full-blooded Tiwa Indian Antonio Luhan. She went on to befriend artists such as Georgia OKeefe, Ansel Adams and D.H. Lawrence. Over the years she became known as a writer, a salon hostess, an art patroness and a passionate defender of Native American and womens rights. Friday 1 Northern Rescue (Netflix streaming anytime) Netflix imports this Canadian drama starring second-tier Baldwin brother William. Described as a family adventure series, the show follows a widowed father who uproots his kids from the big city so he can run a search and rescue service back in his woodsy hometown. The Widow (Amazon streaming anytime) Kate Beckinsale stars in this mystery thriller about a woman whose husband dies in a mysterious plane crash in the Congolese jungle. Three years later, still haunted by the incident, she travels to Africa to find out the truth. Saturday 2 Just Add Romance (Hallmark 6pm) On Hallmark when a guy and a gal cross paths at random (here, theyre competing against one another in a televised cooking show), theres romance in the offing. The Killer Downstairs (Lifetime 6pm) On Lifetime when a guy and a gal cross paths at random (here, she rents her downstairs apartment to him), theres attempted murder in the offing. Sunday 3 Leaving Neverland (HBO 6pm) HBO finally airs this controversial two-part documentary about the criminal sexual allegations against Michael Jackson. Or not. The Jackson family is suing to prevent this from being aired. Divide and Conquer: The Roger Ailes Story (A&E 7pm) Domineering media mogul (and former Fox News executive) Roger Ailes gets roasted in this documentary examining the life of the millionaire misogynistfrom his days advising Richard Nixon to his ouster from Fox for sexual harassment. Monday 4 Paranormal 911 (Travel 7pm) A group of firefighters, EMS workers and police officers service as supernatural first responders in this otherwise standard ghost hunting show. Inside My Heart (Starz 7pm) This documentary follows a microcosmic handful of the 68 million refugees who have been forced to flee war-torn Syria and Afghanistan, seeking safe harbor on foreign shores. Tuesday 5 The Toe Bro (A&E 8:01pm) If you like the medically disgusting adventures of Dr. Sandra Lee on the show Dr. Pimple Popper, then youll love Jonathan Tomines as he helps people with their grody ingrown toenails. Also, what the hell is your major malfunction that youd actually be watching this stuff? Wednesday 6 Riverdale (KWBQ-19 7pm) Tonights episode is titled Fire Walk With Mewhich tells you just how far out this teen soap, based on an 80-year-old kids comic, has strayed from its roots. Vaguely recognizable TV boyfriend Scott Foley (Dawsons Creek, Felicity, Scrubs, The Unit, Greys Anatomy, True Blood, Scandal) teams up with British- but- it- don t- show actress Lauren Cohan (currently leading the mass exodus from AMCs The Walking Dead) for ABCs much-hyped midseason replacement series Whiskey Cavalier. Already the butt of late-night talk show monologue jokes for its goofball title, the action comedy is exactly what youd get if you crammed a bunch of Moonlighting scripts and a couple of Roger Moore era James Bond movies into a blender and filmed the slurry that plopped out after a quick puree. Foley stars as upstanding FBI agent Will Chase. Everybody prefers to call him by his super cool codename Whiskey Cavalierwhich sounds just as cartoony in practice as it does in print. You can tell hes one of the good guys, because hes variously referred to as Captain America and Boy Scout. His job is to jet around the world and kill off various evil terrorists. (Despite the fact that the real FBI is a domestic organization.) While on assignment in Russia (in a Ferrari, because thats how the FBI rolls), he stumbles across sexy CIA agent Frankie Trowbridge (whose codename is the even goofier Fiery Tribune). In this universe FBI agents and CIA agents are constantly at war with one another, backstabbing, kidnapping and occasionally shooting one another in their battle to capture suspects. (In the real world, the CIA has no law enforcement authority.) Seems Will and Frankie are both after the same traitor, a wisecracking, fast-talking computer hacker named Edgar (Tyler James Williams, former star of Everybody Hates Chris, who cant really be blamed for the fact that writers were really dreaming of Chris Rock in the wisecracking, fast-talking sidekick role). What follows is the exact sort of squabbling, fighting, shooting, running, racing, superspy shenanigans underscored by will- they- or- won t- they romance you were expecting. Whiskey, you see, is known for his high emotional intelligence. (Thats a term someone actually uses.) That means hes a tough spy, but a romantic wuss. As the show starts, hes just broken up with his fiancee (a French girl named Gigi, for gods sake). Hes drowning his sorrows in booze, romantic comedies and Bonnie Tyler CDs. The shows idea of a well-constructed joke is to have our brokenhearted hero run into people getting engaged or having a wedding ceremony on just about every street corner. Fiery gets just about as deep a backstory, summed up by a hotshot FBI profiler in all of 20 seconds: Her parents were killed by terrorists. She blames herself, making her incredibly dedicated, but emotionally distant and with a pronounced inability to trust other people. Oh, this sounds like a love-hate match made in Heaven (or a SoCal junior college scriptwriting course). Naturally, by the pilots end, FBI agent Chase and CIA agent Trowbridge are stuck together on a top-secret joint task force dedicated to rooting out rampant corruption and conspiracy in both agencies. This is the sort of show that only works if you watch it with half your brain switched offwhich is how most people use the Idiot Box anyway. Fast-paced, pretty-looking, comfortingly familiar and ridiculous as hell, Whiskey Cavalier probably has the exact elements necessary to make it a big fat TV hit. Rob M. The Roundhouse is splitting at the seams with cannabis-related Legislature this year. Count them: 13 bills are on the table relating to marijuana or hemp. Let's take a run at the most pertinent pieces of legislation. Legalization Two bills are seeking to legalize recreational cannabis for adults over the age of 21. Both have been structured to leave the state's Medical Cannabis Program intact. HB 356, the Cannabis Regulation Act, would allow adults to possess up to 2 ounces of cannabis or 16 grams of cannabis extract. Residents can also apply for a personal production license (up to two licensees per household) and grow cannabis at home as long as it's for personal use. The bill, sponsored by six DemocratsReps. Javier Martinez, Antonio Maestas, Daymon Ely, Deborah Armstrong and Angelica Rubiowill introduce a nine percent excise tax for all cannabis products to be added to the already existing sales tax. Cities and municipalities will also be given the option of adding their own excise tax of up to three percent. Under this law licensed marijuana producers will be required to keep a portion of their inventory dedicated to the medical program. SB 577, the bipartisan Cannabis Regulation Act, would legalize the possession of up to one half ounce of cannabis or four grams of cannabis extract for adults and would make it legal to display, purchase, obtain, transport or be under its influence. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Mark Moores, Craig Brandt and Cliff Pirtle, would set up a state-run recreational market by creating the Cannabis Control Commission, an agency that would oversee production and sales. Taxes from sales would go to state, county and city governments with some of it earmarked for police training and substance abuse treatment. On top of normal sales tax, the bill would impose an excise tax of four percent on all cannabis products and allow cities and municipalities to add their own tax on top of that (which cannot exceed four percent). Unlike House Bill 356, Senate Bill 577 will not allow individuals to grow cannabis at home for their own use. Language was included in the bill that will protect the rights of employers to enforce a drug-free workplace. Decriminalization A notable alternative to legalization has been introduced by Sen. Joseph Cervantes: SB 323, Decrease Marijuana Penalties, will decriminalize first-time marijuana offenses involving less than half an ounce if passedinstead of jail time, offenders will be subject to a fine of $50 and issued a penalty assessment which will not be considered a criminal conviction. First-time offenders with more than half an ounce but less than an ounce will be found guilty of a misdemeanor and punished with a fine of not less than $50 and not more than $100 or by imprisonment of no more than 15 days. First-time offenders with more than an ounce but less than eight ounces will be found guilty of a misdemeanor and punished with a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment of less than a year. Anything more than that will be a fourth degree felony under this law. Meanwhile SB 408, Drug Possession as a Misdemeanor, would reduce the penalty of possession to a misdemeanor charge while retaining the threat of imprisonment. It's sponsored by Sen. Jacob Candelaria and Rep. Andrea Romero. Hemp Three bills pertaining to the research and production of industrial hemp were introduced by lawmakers this session. HB 63, Study Industrial Hemp Production and Sales, which would have allocated $100,000 to the state's agriculture department for the study of hemp production and sales, was passed over by the House Agriculture and Water Resources Committee. HB 566, Hemp Research, would authorize and regulate research into hemp production with the goal of developing plant varieties with increased productivity or that are adapted to the state's diverse ecosystem. The act is sponsored by Reps. Rodolpho Martinez, Raymundo Lara, Nathan Small, Anthony Allison and Joanne Ferrary. HB 581, the Hemp Manufacturing Act, Sponsored by Rep. Derrick Lente, would create regulations ensuring that licensed hemp producers have an avenue to send their product to hemp manufacturers. Medical Program Expansion A number of bills this year are aimed at making changes to the state's Medical Cannabis Program. SB 404, 3-Year Medical Marijuana Certification, will extend renewal requirements for patient registration with the program from one year to three. SB 477, Medical Cannabis and Removal of Children, will bar parents' enrollment in the medical program from being grounds for interference by the state's family social services. SB 299, Medical Cannabis and Indian Nations, is an act with an emergency clause allowing for intergovernmental agreements between the state of New Mexico and any Native tribes and nations who wish to participate in the state's medical program. And SB 406, Medical Marijuana Changes, sponsored by Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, encompasses some aspects of the above bills while creating a new advisory board, establishing new qualifying medical conditions, protecting patients in need of organ transplants, allows primary caregivers to cultivate plants, removes medical cannabis use as a violation for parole or probation and allows medical practitioners to recommend medical cannabis to any patient whom they believe can benefit from cannabis therapy. When youre writing about a writer as deft and decorated as Albuquerques Jennifer Givhan, the most sensible thing to do is to throw 10 ingredient words at her, and ask her to cook you something to put in the paper. List of ingredients: home, entropy, headlessness, bravery, quantum, landscape, intersectionality, love, faith and doom. What she made us: Youve asked if everything tends [toward] entropy if in my head[lessness] my mothered faith[lessness] home breaks [open] a cactus-flower jeweled & seeded split in its center [to be loved] by bats & other night creatures one night per year where [we] feast where [we] doom our deserted landscape. Yes. At the quantum of us we are [ghosts]. We flash at the intersection[ality] with all the final[ity] of dying [stars]. Still. Be brave. The only end is end[lessness]. So, now you see why this (local? how?) author of three poetry books and three chapbooks has assembled the following staggering list of accolades: a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry; the Pleiades Editors Prize; a PEN/Rosenthal Emerging Voices Fellowship; the Frost Place Latin@ Scholarship; the Lascaux Review Poetry Prize; and the Pinch Poetry Prize; the Dash Poetry Prize. You see why poets poets such as Patricia Smith, Rigoberto Gonzalez, Ada Limon and Monica Youn have swooned reading Givhans wordsmithery, why, while so many other poets prose-scream their mud-bound words at brewery walls, this one, this poet, this Mexican American mama from the Imperial Valley, with roots in the Laguna Pueblo, is star-falling her stratopheric words into the pages of Ploughshares, Poetry, TriQuarterly, Crazyhorse, Blackbird, Kenyon Review, Best New Poets, AGNI and Best of the Net. All while being a mom to two kids. All while preparing to release two new books this year. Two. The first of these is Rosas Einstein, which her publisher, the University of Arizona Press, describes as a Latinx retelling of the Brothers Grimms Snow-White and Rose-Red, reevaluating border, identity, and immigration narratives through the unlikely amalgamation of physics and fairy tale. It will be out in April. The second is Trinity Sight, due in October, a novel the publisher, Blackstone Publishing, describes as being rooted in indigenous oral-history traditions and contemporary apocalypse fiction, that asks readers to consider science versus faith and personal identity versus ancestral connection. There are flashier poets in town. Ones who perform and dress up and shake hands and become household names in all those households whose inhabitants believe in poetry. And then there is Givhan, who, with her MFA in Poetry from Warren Wilson College, and her masters in English from California State University Fulerton (where she got the Graduate Equity Fellowship) is much too much too busy writing and writing and writing, and raising children, and being Jenn Givhan, who says poetry as X-ray vision, looking at our insides through muscle and skin, tracing bone with pen. courtesy of the artist In my experience, there are really only two kinds of artists in the word. There are those mediocre practitioners who strut through life, exerting a sort of precious choreographed outrageousness upon the world. And then there are the humble gifted, like Vicente Tellesdriven creators who, no matter how successful they become, never seem to believe or understand why anyone noticed them at all. Telles, 35, is a visionary; an exceptionally talented painter with a little studio above Brixens bar and grill on Central, Downtown. A rising star in the national post-modern Chicano art scene, his work is currently being featured in a show at La Bodega Gallery, ranked the best art gallery in San Diego, Calif. His pieces there are selling out, but youd never know this from talking to him. Telles is soft-spoken, quick to listen and loathe to brag, a man whose every word and gesture betray his working-class roots in Albuquerques South Valley. When you call him an artist, in fact, he seems surprised that anyone would place this word upon him, even though he makes a good living doing nothing but painting. I dont think Im an artist, really, he says. I just like to paint. Exactly. When Telles first began to paint, he says, he hid this fact from his parents. I knew it wasnt something theyd support or understand, he says. When you grow up in the South Valley, or poor minority communities like that, youre inundated with messages about all the things you can never be. Every message we got, from the mainstream culture and from this city, was about how worthless we were. A lot of people internalize that, and even start to think of their limitations as their identity. My parents were cool with college and a job, but they would have thought art was pointless and weird. Telles went to the University of New Mexico, for a while. But after hearing a Chicano studies professor joke in class that were not all santeros, everything changed. I didnt know what a santero was, says Telles. Too shy to ask, he looked it up later, and found out santeros were practitioners of a Spanish colonial art form, who made retablos, icons of saints painted on wood. Here were all these incredible works of art, paintings of saints done on wood, and this long history here in New Mexico of this tradition just being passed down, generation to generation, the focus being on the spirituality of it, the tradition, the community. It was art made for the people, to give the people hope and meaning, not for the glorification of the artist. That resonates with me. Telles dropped out of college to secretly become an artist, he says, because it was time to do something for me. After a brief move to Los Angeles, where he worked building sculptures for a commercial producer, Telles returned to New Mexico and began to apprentice with established santeros. It was great to live elsewhere, to learn about the different Latino cultures out there, but this place is my home. My muse lives here. Soon, Telles began displaying and selling his own retablos at Spanish Market in Santa Fe. He is now regarded as one of the top santeros in New Mexico. In recent years, Telles has begun to branch out into more self-expression, through his own paintings. Driven by anger at the discrimination and injustices suffered by undocumented immigrants in the United States, his work seeks to describe their experience as a parallel to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. An example of this is a painting of a plastic water bottle against a colorful backdrop of a sarape blanket, with the bottle slumped to one side the way Jesus is in many depictions of him upon the cross, and the bottle slashed and bleeding. This is my way of describing my outrage at the way border patrol destroy or dump out bottles of water left for migrants by religious groups, says Telles. There is just this incredible lack of empathy in our society right now that is dangerous. I feel a need to tell that story. Telles keeps the two sides of his artistry separate. When he paints retablos, he does so with the utmost respect for the tradition. When he paints for self-expression, it is with a nod to the traditions. This is absolutely natural for a man who describes his identity as pure New Mexican, one foot in the deep history of this place, and another in the contemporary world in which he lives. Moving forward, Telles is starting to cobble together a group of artists of color with the idea of growing a more powerful cross-cultural local space for them all to gather and show their work and educate others. As it is, he says, the art of Native Americans, Latinos and African Americans in Albuquerque is still just very siloed by an outside establishment that likes to put us in these convenient categories so they can understand us. We need to break those barriers down, and share dialogues and narratives and spaces, and help nurture young artists from working class backgrounds, on our own terms. Thank's for the fish. -- Douglas Adams Come back again sometime. Thank you for visiting. Constitutional Court ruled an article of a Criminal Code on the illicit enrichment of public officials unconstitutional upon the pretext that the provisions of the article violate the presumption of innocence Yuriy Lutsenko, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine The Verkhovna Rada Ukraine's Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko supported the initiative of Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, to legislate actual responsibility for illicit enrichment after reviewing the decision of the Constitutional Court, which ruled Article 368-2 of the Criminal Code on "illicit enrichment" unconstitutional, as Interfax-Ukraine reported. "The decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine was not a big surprise, law experts know that our fantastic anti-corruption committee under the Verkhovna Rada had prepared the text of the law, which did not meet legal realities," Lutsenko said. Earlier, Constitutional Court of Ukraine ruled an article of a Criminal Code on the illicit enrichment of public officials unconstitutional, as the provisions of the presumption of innocence is violated. The Constitutional Court said that the legislative structure of Article 368-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine "permits accusations based on assumptions." In addition, it includes the provisions regulating the process of evidence, although this is related to the criminal procedure law. In addition, the Constitutional Court said that the legislative definition of "illegal enrichment" as a crime makes it possible to shift this responsibility from the prosecution to the defense. Poroshenko's Leninska Kuznia business entity was one of the straw companies for smuggling spare parts from the Russian Federation with kickbacks and prices inflated 2-4 times Protest near house of the son of First Deputy Secretary of National Security and Defence Council Igor Gladovsky Open source On Tuesday, February 26, the supporters of far-right National Corps political party carried out a rally near the house of the son of First Deputy Secretary of National Security and Defence Council Igor Gladovsky, who has been suspected of organizing corruption schemes on the supply of smuggles spare parts for the Ukroboronprom state concern ((association of multi-product enterprises in various sectors of the defense industry of Ukraine). The protesters spilled red paint and scattered fake banknotes near a luxury house in Kozyn village, Kyiv region to show that each stolen Ukrainian hryvnia is a bloody crime. The rally lasted for around one hour. Then, the protesters left and promised to monitor the situation. Open source Protest near house of the son of First Deputy Secretary of National Security and Defence Council Igor Gladovsky Open source Protest near house of the son of First Deputy Secretary of National Security and Defence Council Igor Gladovsky Later, the far-right representatives have appealed to the law enforcement agencies and the current authorities to take immediate measures concerning people involved in the corruption scandal. In particular, on their official Facebook page, they urged to: - carry out an immediate investigation of the facts which testify to the involvement of First Deputy Secretary of National Security and Defence Council Oleg Gladkovsky and his son in the corruption scheme on embezzlement of funds of Ukroboronprom. - if these facts are confirmed, to bring Oleg Gladkovsky and other participants of the scheme to justice. - put all the participants of the corruption scheme under arrest to prevent their escape or pressure on the witnesses. - arrest property and accounts of all the participants of the corruption scheme along with the enterprises which were involved in this. - deprive Igor Gradgovsky of the mandate of an honorary consul in the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Seychelles in Kyiv. February 25, journalist investigations Bihus.Info, Nashi Hroshi program alleged that Igor Gladkovsky, the son of close Poroshenko ally Oleh Gladkovsky, deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, organized a corruption scheme to smuggle spare military-equipment parts from Russia in 2015. State defense facilities purchased the smuggled spare parts from private companies linked to Hladkovsky and his friends at highly inflated prices. Ukroboronprom state concern, which supervises defense industry production facilities, knew the origin of the smuggled parts but agreed to purchase them. Igor Gladkovsky, along with Vitaliy Zhukov (former advisor of Ukroboronprom Director, the member of supervisory council of Meridian company till 2013, former assistant of Yuriy Tereshchenko, ex-Head of State Service of export control, Oleg Gladkovskys friend, - ed.) and Andriy Rogoza (CEO of Inter Steel Ltd., - ed.) were supplying smuggled Russian components and components from the Ukrainian military units through straw companies at prices 2-4 times higher than market ones. On February 25, First Deputy Secretary of National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) of Ukraine Oleg Gladkovsky appealed to the law enforcement agencies asking to check the information published in the journalist investigation Bihus.Info. That information contains facts about illegal deals in purchasing in the army. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko supported this demand and suspended Gladkovsky. Ukrainian presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko has initiated impeachment proceedings against Poroshenko, as his company was involved as a straw company. Ukroboronprom called the investigation of the journalists on the embezzlements by concerns officials manipulations. Yuriy Lutsenko, Ukraines Prosecutor General, said that Valeriy Dubil was not deprived of the parliamentary immunity, he could come to the questioning on a voluntary basis Valeriy Dubil, member of the Ukrainian Parliament from Fatherland faction hvylya.net Thursday, February 28, Ukraines Investigation Bureau will summon a member of the Ukrainian Parliament from Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna faction Valeriy Dubil for questioning on the case of bribing voters, as Yuriy Lutsenko, Ukraines Prosecutor General, said at the briefing, broadcasted by 112 Ukraine. I can confirm that the State Bureau of Investigation summons member of Parliament Dubil for questioning tomorrow. He is not deprived of the parliamentary immunity, he can come to the questioning on a voluntary basis. The questions the investigator has to ask him are obvious for everyone, he noted. The representatives of the Prosecutor General Office stated that the case in which Dubil is involved surprises with the amounts of funding, allegedly it is about hundreds of millions of hryvnias. There are some complaints for Dubil, as it was him who, according to our evidence, including audio files recorded by SBU in a legal way, who coordinated and organized payment for the technologists, from Russian in particular, who were organizing a network for the elections, which was funded0from beyond of campaign fund. The sums of funding are impressive. It is about hundreds of millions of hryvnias, Lutsenko said. At the same time, February 25, President Poroshenko announced that Ukraines retirees with the lowest pensions would get a 90 USD one-time payment before elections in March or in April of 2019. 1,8 million out of Ukraines 11,5 million pensioners are promised to get the money. An average pension in Ukraine amounts to nearly 100 USD, but there are some pensioners who receive 55 USD a month. Ukraine's law enforcers do not interpret Poroshenko's step as bribing the voters in the run-up to the presidential election. LOS ANGELES, Feb. 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP (GPM) announces an investigation on behalf of Dollarama, Inc. (Dollarama or the Company) (OTCMKTS: DLMAF ) investors concerning the Company and its officers possible violations of federal securities laws. If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate. The investigation concerns whether Dollarama and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. On October 31, 2018, Spruce Point Capital Management published a report alleging "[q]uestionable accounting and governance practices [that] cast doubt on management and the underlying health of the business." Specifically, the report claimed that "[t]he Rossy family's tight control over management has led to the appearance of nepotism [and] questionable related-party real estate transactions"; that Dollarama's executive compensation structure "encourag[es] aggressive accounting and inefficient capital allocation that flatters the income statement"; and that "[m]anagement appears to use aggressive FX hedges and an off-balance-sheet relationship with a Central American retail affiliate to boost margins in a non-transparent way." On this news, shares of Dollarama fell $2.02 per share, or 7%, to close at $27.08 on October 31, 2018, thereby investors. Follow us for updates on Twitter: twitter.com/GPM_LLP . If you purchased Dollarama, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Lesley Portnoy, Esquire, of GPM, 1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100, Los Angeles, California 90067 at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, by email to shareholders@glancylaw.com , or visit our website at www.glancylaw.com . If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number and number of shares purchased. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. Some of the events described by the journalists are the subjects of the investigation Open source The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) has begun the pretrial investigation of the facts published by the journalists of Nashi Groshi (Our Money) show on the investigation of the embezzlements in the purchases in the defense sphere, as the NABU reported. It is reported that the detectives have put information to the Unified register of pretrial investigations on February 26 and has begun the investigation on the signs of the commitment of the criminal proceeding due to the appropriation or embezzlement by an official. The NABU also noted that some of the events described by the journalists are the subjects of the investigation. February 25, journalist investigations Bihus.Info, Nashi Hroshi program alleged that Igor Gladkovsky, the son of close Poroshenko ally Oleh Gladkovsky, deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, organized a corruption scheme to smuggle spare military-equipment parts from Russia in 2015. State defense facilities purchased the smuggled spare parts from private companies linked to Hladkovsky and his friends at highly inflated prices. Ukroboronprom state concern, which supervises defense industry production facilities, knew the origin of the smuggled parts but agreed to purchase them. Igor Gladkovsky, along with Vitaliy Zhukov (former advisor of Ukroboronprom Director, the member of supervisory council of Meridian company till 2013, former assistant of Yuriy Tereshchenko, ex-Head of State Service of export control, Oleg Gladkovskys friend, - ed.) and Andriy Rogoza (CEO of Inter Steel Ltd., - ed.) were supplying smuggled Russian components and components from the Ukrainian military units through straw companies at prices 2-4 times higher than market ones. The same day, First Deputy Secretary of National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) of Ukraine Oleg Gladkovsky appealed to the law enforcement agencies asking to check the information published in the journalist investigation Bihus.Info. That information contains facts about illegal deals in purchasing in the army. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko supported this demand and suspended Gladkovsky. Ukrainian presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko has initiated impeachment proceedings against Poroshenko, as his company was involved as a straw company. Ukroboronprom called the investigation of the journalists of Nashi Groshi (Our Money) show on the embezzlements by concerns officials manipulations. The turnover of dual-use production is under special control, according to Peskov Kremlin commented on the scandal with smuggling of military equipment to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Pesov claimed this to be absurd, as such equipment is under special control, as Unian reports. Frankly speaking, I had no clue about this scandal at all, as our journalists do not work in Ukraine and we cannot obtain the objective information from there, unfortunately, I do not know all the scandal details, although it sounds ridiculous, Peskov said and asked to tell him more about the scandal. At the clarification, whether the dual-use production could be smuggled from the Russian Federation, the press secretary of the Russian president claimed it was impossible. No, the whole turnover of dual-use production is under special control. This special control is conducted in order to prevent uncontrolled transporting of this production, this special equipment, - Peskov emphasized. February 25, journalist investigations Bihus.Info, Nashi Hroshi program alleged that Igor Gladkovsky, the son of close Poroshenko ally Oleh Gladkovsky, deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, organized a corruption scheme to smuggle spare military-equipment parts from Russia in 2015. State defense facilities purchased the smuggled spare parts from private companies linked to Hladkovsky and his friends at highly inflated prices. Ukroboronprom state concern, which supervises defense industry production facilities, knew the origin of the smuggled parts but agreed to purchase them. Igor Gladkovsky, along with Vitaliy Zhukov (former advisor of Ukroboronprom Director, the member of supervisory council of Meridian company till 2013, former assistant of Yuriy Tereshchenko, ex-Head of State Service of export control, Oleg Gladkovskys friend, - ed.) and Andriy Rogoza (CEO of Inter Steel Ltd., - ed.) were supplying smuggled Russian components and components from the Ukrainian military units through straw companies at prices 2-4 times higher than market ones. The new draft law provides sanction for the Russian financial institutes, Russian politicians and oligarchs Open source The U.S. published new draft law, which provides the imposing of the additional sanctions against Russia, as U.S. Congress reported. The new draft law was announced on February 13. It is supposed to impose the ban for deals with the Russian Federation due to the debts of the Federation. Besides, it is supposed to impose restrictive measures against the shipbuilding sector of Russia. After six months as the law comes into force, sanctions against Russian political figures, oligarchs, and other persons that facilitate illicit and corrupt activities, directly or indirectly, on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. The intelligence should provide the report on personal fortune and assets of Vladimir Putin. It is also offered to impose the restrictive measures against the shipbuilding sector of Russia as the response to the Russian actions in Ukraine. The senators also offer to exclude the possibility of the U.S. withdrawal from NATO without the approval of the Senate. The draft law also establishes that the technology companies, particularly social media companies, share responsibility for ensuring that their platforms are free of disinformation sponsored by the Government of the Russian Federation and other foreign governments. As we reported, the U.S. bipartisan group of senators presented a Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act (DASKA) of 2019 to the Senate aimed at enhancement of economic, political and diplomatic pressure upon Russia. Besides, it was reported that the U.S. sanctions against the Russian Federation will remain in place until Moscow completely abides by the Minsk agreements and gives Crimea back to Ukraine. The message states that during the meeting the parties "reached a full understanding on all issues." Kurt Volker, U.S. Ambassador Yovanovitch meet with showman Zelensky 112 Agency U.S. Special Representative of Department of State for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker and U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch met with Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian presidential candidate, showman, The Ze Team reported on their official Facebook page. "Yesterday we met with Kurt Volker, the special representative of the U.S. Department of State for Ukraine Negotiations. Kurt is a brilliant diplomat and a friend of Ukraine. The meeting was important and informative. I was also glad to see Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, with whom I have met several times before," the Zelensky team said on Facebook on Wednesday. The message states that during the meeting the parties "reached a full understanding on all issues." 112 Agency Kurt Volker, U.S. Ambassador Yovanovitch meet with showman Zelensky 112 Agency Kurt Volker, U.S. Ambassador Yovanovitch meet with showman Zelensky 112 Agency Kurt Volker, U.S. Ambassador Yovanovitch meet with showman Zelensky 112 Agency Kurt Volker, U.S. Ambassador Yovanovitch meet with showman Zelensky 112 Agency Kurt Volker, U.S. Ambassador Yovanovitch meet with showman Zelensky Volodymyr Zelensky is a 41-year-old showman, actor, screenwriter, producer, and director of Kvartal 95. He was nominated by comes from "Servant of the People" political party. Zelensky was born in Kryvy Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region, currently lives in the suburbs of Kyiv. He graduated from the Kryvy Rih Economic Institute (law department). He is married, has a son and a daughter. According to the 2017 declaration, Zelenskys total revenues amounted to 172,000 USD. His wife has earned 29,000 USD. The family stores 727,500 USD, 50,100 EUR, and 1,4 million UAH (50,000 USD). In total, Zelensky owns a house and a land plot in the suburbs of Kyiv, three apartments and three parking places in Kyiv and in occupied Crimea. The showman drives 2016 Land Rovere, his wife has 2014 Mercedes-Benz. The exception should be made for the country-aggressor; this issue can be discussed after the return of Crimea and Donbas Pavlo Klimkin, the Foreign Minister of Ukraine near U.S. destroyer Donald Cook Ukrainian Information Service, Odesa The status of dual citizenship should be legitimized in Ukraine, as UNIAN reported citing Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin. I think that it is necessary to allow dual citizenship. Yes, we need it. However, there should be no dual citizenship with the country-aggressor under no circumstances. It will be discussed only when they return us Donbas and Crimea, Klimkin stated during his speech near the moored U.S. destroyer Donald Cook in Odesa. The Foreign Minister specified that dual citizenship will allow involving foreign specialists for the work. So many good specialists can come from other countries to help us in the reforms. Look, even the situation with Ulyana Suprun tells a lot to us. We should come to it but clearly determine who can apply for it, Klimkin said. Earlier, Ukrinfrom published a video where a few Ukrainians receive Hungarian passports and owe allegiance to Hungry in the Consulate in Berehove, Zakarpattia region. The Hungarian diplomat recommended not to inform the Ukrainian authorities about receiving the new documents. Yuriy Lutsenko, Prosecutor General, claimed that Ukraine's Security Service investigates this case; however, the service denied this. Tamas Menczer, Hungarys Foreign Minister Spokesperson, later reported that Hungary did not intend to withdraw its consul from Berehove due to the scandalous video about the issuance of Hungarian passports to the Ukrainians. In its turn, Ukraine claimed that in case, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary does not withdraw their consul from Berehove, and then Ukraine will offer him to abandon the territory. The pretext is that the provisions of the article violate the presumption of innocence Open source Constitutional Court of Ukraine ruled unconstitutional an article of a Criminal Code on the illicit enrichment of public officials upon the pretext that the provisions of the article violate the presumption of innocence, Interfax reports, citing their source in the Constitutional Court. "This conclusion is explained by the fact that the requirements of criminal legislation should be clear and unambiguous because as a result of criminal prosecution the freedom of a person and his or her other constitutional rights and freedoms can be restricted," the Constitutional Court said. The Constitutional Court said that the legislative structure of Article 368-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine "permits accusations based on assumptions." In addition, it includes the provisions regulating the process of evidence, although this is related to the criminal procedure law. In addition, the Constitutional Court said that the legislative definition of "illegal enrichment" as a crime makes it possible to shift this responsibility from the prosecution to the defense. "At the same time, the suspect or the accused person should not prove the legitimacy of the grounds for acquiring the relevant assets. They can provide evidence of their innocence only on their own will or not provide them at all," the Constitutional Court said. The Constitutional Court said that presumption of innocence requires the state to prove the guilt of the accused person and relieves the accused from the burden of proving his innocence. "The essence of the presumption of innocence is that the determining factor is the innocence of a person. Therefore, a person cannot be forced to prove his innocence and the existence of circumstances precluding criminal liability," the Constitutional Court said. The duty to provide evidence of the guilt of a person, as well as the refutation of evidence of his innocence is placed on the prosecution. Whereas, in the opinion of the Constitutional Court, Article 368-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine places the burden of proving innocence on the person, securing her the legal obligation to confirm the legitimacy of the grounds for becoming the owner of the assets. Earlier, Poroshenko stated he would suggest a new bill on illegal enrichment to the Verkhovna Rada, as soon as the court would make a decision Open source February 27, The Constitutional Court of Ukraine decided to recognize illicit enrichment of officials as an unconstitutional article of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. This decision is posted on the website. According to the decision, the court recognized article 368-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illicit enrichment) as the article which does not comply with the Constitution of Ukraine. "The Constitutional Court of Ukraine came to the conclusion that article 368-2 of the Criminal Code does not meet the requirements of clarity, accuracy, and unambiguousness, and therefore contradicts legal certainty as an integral part of the rule of law principle, stated in article 8 of the Constitution of Ukraine," the report said. It is noted that the abovementioned article is not in line with the constitutional principle of presumption of innocence and with the constitutional precept on the inadmissibility of bringing a person to responsibility for refusal to testify against themselves, their family or close relatives. The Constitutional Court considers that article 368-2 is formulated in such a way that all the doubts concerning the legality of the assets acquiring by a person can be interpreted not in their favor, but can be regarded as the confirmation of their illicit enrichment, although according to part 3 of article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, "all the doubts concerning proving a persons guilt should be interpreted in her favor. Thus, by the decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, article 368-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine has been declared unconstitutional one and it loses its validity from February 26, 2019. "The decision of the Constitutional Court is obligatory one, it is also the final decision, which cannot be appealed," the report said. Representatives of the international organizations shared their common stand on the launch of green auctions mechanism instead of green tariff and change legislation Open source European Union, European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, World Bank and Energy Community strongly support the necessity of transit from the existing green tariff, acting in Ukrainian legislation, to the competitive system based on the green auctions. A joint letter of the representatives of these organizations states that, UNIAN reports. The letter is addressed to Oleksandr Dombrovsky, the chairman of the relevant committee, Andriy Paruby, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, and the Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman. The signatories comment on the preparation of the bill No. 8449-d on amendments to the laws of Ukraine on providing competitive circumstances for generation of electricity from alternative sources. European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and International Financial Corporation (IFC) believe that the current system is no longer suitable for the long-run development of the sector, though it was useful for its launch. As the result, EBRD will not be able to finance new projects in Ukraine, depending on the green tariff, with exception of those already in the stage of development, unless the law will be adopted to guarantee the long term of the sectors economic stability to facilitate the necessary comfort for investors and sponsors, reads the message. The representatives of the international organizations shared their common stand on the launch of "green" auctions mechanism. According to them the major changes to be taken into account while developing the bill 8449-d are the following: - the schemes supporting auctions shall come into effect after the new legislation comes into its force; - the green tariff shall not be expanded for all technologies; - the maximum possible duration of the support mechanism is offered to introduce in order to get the most affordable electricity for the customers and the country; - not to support regional quotas in order to provide effectiveness, competitiveness, and transparency of the process; - Ukraines Ministry of Energy and Coal Mining shall make public long-term goals to develop renewable energy and 1-year and 5-year quota forecasts to provide the necessary long-term vision for investors; - an electronic platform shall be used to support the auction process, the platform is cost-effective, transparent and technically compatible; - payoff/demand rate shall not exceed 0.8 to guarantee the competitiveness of the process; - Banking guarantee for participating in the auction shall make at least 15 000 EURO per 1 MW of total capacity in order to prevent speculative and frivolous applications. We appeal to Ukrainian authorities to adopt the law as soon as possible in accordance to the comments and suggestions in order to prevent loss of momentum and potential investment bust into the sector in case the introduction of the auctions will be postponed, the letter states. Earlier, Ukrainian MP Yury Chyzhmar said that the Ukrainian Parliament is blocking of the process of making a decision on the bill 8449-d in the second reading. According to the MP, energy oligarchs and DTEK, Ukraine's largest energy holding company, obstruct, together with other big energy companies. DTEK and other big energy companies are not interested in implementing an auction system in green energetics, which will significantly cut the fees because it means they will lose profitability. Apart from that, DTEK is interested in the continuing existing of the dirty energy industry of coal thermal power stations, which provide 28% of electricity and get 47% of funds of the energy market, the MP noted. Headquarters of the Joint Forces Operation does not confirm information about Ukrainian soldier, who was allegedly caught near Zolote city in Luhansk region Open source Headquarters of the Joint Forces Operation does not confirm information about the capture of the Ukrainian soldier, as Liga.net reported The press service found the information about the capture of the Ukrainian soldier, who was caught near Zolote city in Luhansk region false. Despite the fact that such information from the side of the Ukrainian soldiers was not received, it is still checked. I think that it is fake but we specify it, the officer of the headquarters said. As we reported, representative of Luhansk Peoples Republic Andrey Marochko stated that the militants captured Ukrainian soldier, who supposedly tried to enter occupied territory of Zolote city as a member of the group consisted of ten people. The occupants stated that the militants shelled them and the saboteurs retreated. As a result of the attack, one Ukrainian soldier became disoriented due to the concussion and was captured by the militants. As we reported earlier, Ukrainian soldiers eliminated the enemys snipers in the Joint Forces Operation zone. A minibus with civilians hit a mine in the Donbas conflict zone. Two people died on the spot, three were injured. Opinion polls show Ukrainians do not see improvements from reforms, and, as a result, these changes are not supported Open source Opinion polls show that Ukrainians do not see improvements from reforms, and, as a result, they are not supported. On the eve of the elections, the government is trying to demonstrate the results, but seem to be concentrated simply on Poroshenkos pre-election campaign language, faith, army, and a pinch of decentralization. Experts still highlight positive changes for business, but against the background of general disappointment, does not look impressive. Back in 2017, President Poroshenko said that 144 reforms were carried out in Ukraine. The list of reforms, of course, was not attached, but it was assumed that the guarantor assesses them as successful. Obviously, some changes were called "reforms," although, most likely, they cannot be considered as such. When asked, which reforms out of these 144 ones could you name, at best, Ukrainians will call a few, which they are directly related to pension, healthcare, police, decentralization. On the one hand, Ukrainians feel the need for reform. According to a survey conducted in September 2018 by the Rating sociological group, 64% of respondents believe that Ukraine needs radical changes, and only 12% of Ukrainians are in favor of keeping everything as it is. On the other hand, Ukrainians perceive reforms, but only those that give quick and clear results (positive, of course). Longer-term reforms could be also perceived, but the reaction to them is often more negative. As a result, for many reasons, Ukrainians do not share the optimism of the authorities in terms of assessing the success of the reforms. According to the results of the May 2018 poll conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation together with the Razumkov Center, almost 61% of respondents do not believe in the success of reforms, but 38% still have certain expectations. The respondents named the oligarchs, the bureaucracy and the officials, the Cabinet of Ministers, the president and the majority party in the Rada as an impediment for the reforms in the country. Also, 62% of respondents indicated that they are not willing to endure material difficulties due to the reforms. At that time, the respondents named anti-corruption (58%), medical (47%), pension, and social protection (44%), law enforcement (32%), officials' lustration (29%), and army reform (22%) as top-priority changes in Ukraine According to the survey conducted by the Democratic Initiatives Foundation and Kyiv International Institute of Sociology in the fall of 2017, reform of law enforcement agencies, changes in electoral legislation, anti-corruption reform, decentralization, and government reform were among the high priorities. Causes of radical response There are several objective reasons why Ukrainians rather negatively assess the results of the reforms, but many of them are rooted in a persons psychology. Firstly, this is a high gap between the incomes of an ordinary Ukrainian and the official, it results in a justified sense of total social injustice. Secondly, this is the reluctance of the Ukrainians themselves to change something, because there are uncertainty and a fear of change. Reforms are a change in the functioning of certain mechanisms and procedures. If society does not begin to live according to new procedures, there is no point in such reforms. Another problem is the information component. Opinion polls show that the public has small or incomprehensible information. Healthcare and pension reforms were widely covered, but information resistance of those opposed to these reforms was strong as well. But it cannot be said that other reforms were covered as widely and easily. There is an eternal battle between the TV (sweet promises) and the refrigerator (harsh reality) and the last usually wins. For example, land reform rests not only on reluctance but also on the time constraints; none of the current government will dare to speak for opening the land market, which is not supported by about 75% of Ukrainians. At the same time, the healthcare reform is carried, regardless of the opinion of the population. Successful reforms The opinion poll, conducted in the autumn of 2017, showed that 11% of respondents fully support the educational reform, 8% of the respondents laud the changes in healthcare and pension systems, and 39% of the respondents support some provisions. In addition, 41% totally do not support the healthcare reform, 39% of respondents hate the pension reform. Education reform is not supported by 29% of respondents. Only the pension reform (9%), the education reform (5%) and the army reform (5%) were recognized as relatively successful. Not a single successful reform was indicated by 77% of the population. That is two of the most important reforms judicial and anti-corruption reform have been failed completely. The introduction of the ProZorro system is often attributed to fairly successful reforms, although dishonest businessmen have already learned how to bypass regulatory requirements for public procurement, the system is constantly being improved. For example, February 25, Nashi Hroshi program alleged that Ihor Hladkovsky, the son of close Poroshenko ally Oleh Hladkovsky, deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, organized a corruption scheme to smuggle spare military-equipment parts from Russia in 2015. State defense facilities purchased the smuggled spare parts from private companies linked to Hladkovsky and his friends at highly inflated prices. Ukroboronprom state concern, which supervises defense industry production facilities, knew the origin of the smuggled parts but agreed to purchase them. Read the original text at 112.ua. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A.I.S. Resources Limited (TSX-V AIS, OTCQB: AISSF) (the Company or AIS) is pleased to announce that it has completed the sale of 12,622,222 units ("Units") at $0.05625 per unit for gross proceeds of $710,000, (the "Private Placement"). The proceeds will be used for exploration on the Guayatayoc property and for general working capital purposes. Each unit consists of one common share and one transferrable share purchase warrant. Each warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one additional common share for a period of 12 months from the closing date of the offering at a price of $0.12 per common share provided that if the closing price of the common shares of the Company on any stock exchange or quotation system on which the common shares are then listed or quoted is equal to or greater than $0.20 for a period of fifteen (15) consecutive trading days, the Company will have the right to accelerate the expiry of the warrants to a date that is not less than ten (10) business days from the date notice is given. The Company will pay finders fees totaling $600 and issue 8,000 finders warrants. The Common Shares issued pursuant to the Private Placement and the exercise of the Warrants will be subject to a hold period of four months and one day from the closing date of the Private Placement, in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. Closing is subject to final acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. About A.I.S. Resources A.I.S. Resources Ltd. is a TSX-V listed investment issuer, was established in 1967 and is managed by experienced, highly qualified professionals who have a long track record of success in lithium exploration, production and capital markets. Through their extensive business and scientific networks, they identify and develop projects worldwide that have strong potential for growth with the objective of providing significant returns for shareholders. The Companys current activities are focused on the exploration and development of lithium brine projects in northern Argentina. On Behalf of the Board of Directors, A.I.S. Resources Limited Phillip Thomas President and CEO Contact Phillip Thomas - President and CEO E: pthomas@aisresources.com Website: www.aisresources.com Martyn Element Chairman T: 604 687-6820 E: melement@aisresources.com ADVISORY: This press release contains forward-looking statements. More particularly, this press release contains statements concerning the anticipated use of the proceeds of the Private Placement. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Corporation can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. The intended use of the proceeds of the Private Placement by the Corporation might change if the board of directors of the Corporation determines that it would be in the best interests of the Corporation to deploy the proceeds for some other purpose. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Corporation undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. Neither 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. Un barbat isi cauta sotia disparuta de la domiciliu O femeie, din Rovinari, disparuta de acasa in urma cu doua saptamani este cautata de sot. Politisti din cadrul Politiei Orasului Rovinari au fost sesizati ieri de un barbat de 45 de ani, din orasul Rovinari, cu privire la faptul ca sotia sa, Oprisor Mihaela, de 44 de ani a plecat voluntar [citeste mai departe] Yes you can transfer your domain to any registrar or hosting company once you have purchased it. Since domain transfers are a manual process, it can take up to 48 hours to transfer the domain. Once you have received access to your account with the domain's current registrar you will be able to move the domain to any registrar of your choosing. * When a domain is purchased on a payment plan, a registrar-lock is placed on the domain until all payments have been made. This registrar-lock prevents transfers. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 06:12:27|Editor: WX Video Player Close GAZA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Israeli war jets attacked on Wednesday night, with air-to-ground missiles, military posts belong to the Islamic Hamas movement's military wing east of the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis, security sources said. The sources said that several missiles were fired at Hamas military facility, adding that several explosions were heard in the area and the facility was destroyed, but no injuries were reported. The Israeli airstrike on Hamas military facility came shortly after Gaza activists released several arson balloons carrying explosives from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, the Israeli army said in a press statement. The statement said that one of the balloons exploded over one of the houses in southern Israeli area of Ashkol, causing damage to the house's windows, no injuries were reported. Meanwhile, the politburo chief of Hamas movement Ismail Haniyeh returned to the Gaza Strip earlier on Wednesday after Haniyeh and a senior Hamas delegation spent in Egypt for 24 days. Khalil al-Hayyah, a senior Hamas leader, said "the visit to Cairo was fruitful," adding that Hamas expressed hope that Israel would be committed to the Egyptian-brokered calm understanding and end 12 years of blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 06:07:26|Editor: yan Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Johannesburg-based carrier Comair has taken delivery of the first 737 MAX 8, making it the first airline in South Africa to operate the new fuel-efficient jet, U.S. aircraft giant Boeing Company said. Boeing said late Tuesday the delivery was the first of eight 737 MAX 8 aircraft ordered by the airline to expand its existing all-Boeing fleet, which includes 18 Next-Generation 737NG and seven 737 Classic airplanes. Comair operates its aircraft on domestic routes under the franchise of British Airways to provide low-cost services to customers on a growing market for air travel in Africa. A Boeing market forecast report said Africa will need about 1,200 new jets in the next 20 years. "The arrival of the MAX 8 aircraft is a continuation of our fleet renewal program and builds on the most modern and efficient fleet in South Africa," said Wrenelle Stander, executive director at Comair's Airline Division. The new 737 MAX 8 will allow Comair to save 14 percent more fuel with lower emissions and greater flying distance, Boeing said. Boeing has received over 5,000 orders for the 737 MAX family jets from more than 100 countries and regions across the world, according to the company. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 06:02:23|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Wednesday asked for international efforts to address the root causes of conflicts in Africa by scaling up assistance for Africa's socio-economic development. International partners should increase their contributions to Africa in such priority areas as agriculture, health care, education, economics and trade, and connectivity and other infrastructure sectors, and actively help African countries achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, said Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations. He also asked for efforts to help regional countries reduce poverty, develop the economy and improve people's livelihoods, and to help enhance the capacity of African countries in achieving sustainable development. At the same time, the international community must pay close attention to such issues as youth, women and children in Africa, refugees and employment, Wu told the UN Security Council in a debate on silencing the guns in Africa. He asked the international community to provide humanitarian assistance in line with the needs of the African Union and African countries. The United Nations should provide constructive assistance by fully utilizing the UN Development Programme, the Peacebuilding Commission and other mechanisms, said Wu. A child receives treatment at a malnutrition care center in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 19, 2019. (Xinhua/Mohammed Mohammed) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Inspectors of the World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday awaited results of tests on grain -- some of it already infested -- from the Red Sea mills in Yemen's Hodeidah port, before approving it for distribution, a UN spokesman said. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the assessment team that gained access Tuesday -- the first since September -- "sent samples of the wheat to labs to test the quality and is awaiting the results." "Some of the wheat is infected, which is something that was anticipated," Dujarric said. "WFP will need to fumigate the wheat. But they do not see any evidence of water damage to the wheat, which is in itself a very good sign." Tuesday's visit was "a great first step but WFP needs sustained access to the mills in order to fumigate the wheat and then start milling it," Dujarric said. "To do that, we need safe unconditional passage to the mills for humanitarian staff and the mill workers. This will take weeks of sustained access to the mills to get the facility up and running again." A shaky cease-fire between government forces and Houthi rebels has been in place since December allowing for the access. Negotiations have been taking place to establish demilitarized zones in the region to allow humanitarian aid to reach starving Yemenis. When intense fighting broke out in Yemen's key West Coast city of Hodeidah in September, WFP lost access to the Red Sea mills, the food agency said. "The mills contained 51,000 metric tons or a quarter of the agency's in-country stock, enough wheat to feed 3.7 million people for one month." The UN's food agency said that properly stored wheat can last in silos for over a year. The long-running Yemeni conflict has caused the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Currently, some 24 million Yemenis, or 80 percent of the entire population, need humanitarian assistance, the United Nations has said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 05:52:22|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Wednesday called for international support for Africa's capacity building in the areas of peace and security. The peace and security operations led by the African Union (AU) are becoming an important means of responding to crises in Africa, and complement the UN peacekeeping operations in important ways, said Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations. The United Nations should actively assist the AU and other regional and subregional organizations in bolstering their peacebuilding capacities and support African countries in resolving African issues in the African way, Wu told the Security Council in a debate on silencing the guns in Africa. China supports the United Nations in providing sustainable and predictable financial support to the AU's peace and security operations, and in working with the AU to overcome funding issues concerning the AU's peace and security operations, he said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 05:47:21|Editor: WX Video Player Close Workers unload aids provided by the World Food Programme (WFP) to a storehouse in Sanaa, Yemen, on Feb. 27, 2019. Representatives of the UN food agency briefly visited some Red Sea mills of Yemen on Tuesday but were unable to determine if the wheat in storage was all fit for feeding starving Yemenis, a UN spokesman said. The spokesman said the agency has been using other in-country wheat stocks as well as importing more wheat, both by sea and overland from Oman, to cover food needs for nearly 10 million people in Yemen. (Xinhua/Mohammed Mohammed) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Inspectors of the World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday awaited results of tests on grain -- some of it already infested -- from the Red Sea mills in Yemen's Hodeidah port, before approving it for distribution, a UN spokesman said. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the assessment team that gained access Tuesday -- the first since September -- "sent samples of the wheat to labs to test the quality and is awaiting the results." "Some of the wheat is infected, which is something that was anticipated," Dujarric said. "WFP will need to fumigate the wheat. But they do not see any evidence of water damage to the wheat, which is in itself a very good sign." Tuesday's visit was "a great first step but WFP needs sustained access to the mills in order to fumigate the wheat and then start milling it," Dujarric said. "To do that, we need safe unconditional passage to the mills for humanitarian staff and the mill workers. This will take weeks of sustained access to the mills to get the facility up and running again." A shaky cease-fire between government forces and Houthi rebels has been in place since December allowing for the access. Negotiations have been taking place to establish demilitarized zones in the region to allow humanitarian aid to reach starving Yemenis. When intense fighting broke out in Yemen's key West Coast city of Hodeidah in September, WFP lost access to the Red Sea mills, the food agency said. "The mills contained 51,000 metric tons or a quarter of the agency's in-country stock, enough wheat to feed 3.7 million people for one month." The UN's food agency said that properly stored wheat can last in silos for over a year. The long-running Yemeni conflict has caused the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Currently, some 24 million Yemenis, or 80 percent of the entire population, need humanitarian assistance, the United Nations has said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 04:52:07|Editor: yan Video Player Close TRIPOLI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Wednesday said it held training sessions for dozens of Libyan security personnel from different parts of the country. "Over the course of three weeks, IOM organized training sessions on Humanitarian Border Management for 77 Libyan border guards and border security officers from Ghadames, Ras Jedir, and Msaed," IOM said in a statement. "The training is meant to strengthen and build on skills of the Libyan authorities, while also identifying and addressing vulnerable migrants who needed humanitarian support," the statement added. Libyan security services struggle to train and equip their personnel, as the country suffers insecurity and chaos as well as domination of armed groups and militias that operate independently from the authorities. Thousands of illegal immigrants choose to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Europe, due to the state of insecurity that followed the fall of the late leader Gaddafi's regime in 2011. File Photo: Robert Mueller testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on "Current and Projected National Security Threats to the United States" on Capitol Hill in Washington March 12, 2013. (Xinhua/REUTERS) WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- More than two-thirds of American voters think the forthcoming report prepared by Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigating alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia should be released to the public, a new poll showed Wednesday. The POLITICO/Morning Consult poll showed that 68 percent of the surveyed support the release of Mueller's findings, while 10 percent say the contrary and 22 percent are undecided. Voters of both parties show significant interest to see the results of the Mueller probe, with 79 percent among Democrat voters supporting the release of the report and 59 percent among Republican voters saying so. Overall, 49 percent of the respondents believe that the Trump administration should not be allowed to redact anything in the Mueller report before its public release, while 28 percent said the administration does have the right to censor parts of the report. Supporters of both parties were split on the issue, with 52 percent among Republican voters saying the Trump administration had the right while 11 percent among Democratic voters saying the same. Mueller, who was appointed in May 2017, is looking into the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and any potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow, among other matters that may arise from the investigation. Trump has repeatedly dismissed any collusion between his campaign and the Russians while slamming the Russia probe as a "hoax" or "witch hunt." The poll surveyed 1,994 registered voters on Feb. 22-24 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 04:06:57|Editor: yan Video Player Close VILNIUS, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Lithuania decided not to reach a settlement with a citizen of Saudi Arabia in a case of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding the secret CIA prison, Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis said on Wednesday. "We do not have any tangible or reasonable evidence that the person in question could have been in Lithuania. There is absolutely nothing," Skvernelis told reporters. According to the government, the Strasbourg-based court is currently examining a petition submitted against Lithuania by Saudi Arabian citizen Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi who claimed that he was unlawfully detained in the alleged secret CIA prison in the Baltic country. The ECHR has submitted a proposal to the Lithuanian government for a settlement agreement with the applicant. In the absence of such an agreement, the government will have 6 weeks to reply to the questions put to the parties. "We will not conclude the settlement agreement," the PM stated. According to the Lithuanian government, Al-Hawsawi earlier had submitted a complaint at the ECHR against Poland due to allegedly illegal detention in this country. However, declassification of more CIA documents revealed that the applicant was detained in Afghanistan at that time. Therefore, the case has been removed from the ECHR case list, the government said. "There were precedents where it has also been confirmed that these (al-Hawsawi's) claims to other countries were unjustified," Skvernelis said. Al-Hawsawi, 50, who was detained in 2003, is currently imprisoned at U.S. Guantanamo detention camp. He is alleged to have acted as one of many financial facilitators of the September 11 attacks in the U.S. In his complaint, al-Hawsawi stated that he was detained in a secret CIA prison in Lithuania in 2005-2006. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 04:01:56|Editor: yan Video Player Close PRAIA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese ambassador to Cape Verde Du Xiaocong handed over school supplies on Wednesday to a Castelo Branco primary school in Praia Baixo, one of the poorest communities in the municipality of Sao Domingos, on the island of Santiago. At this occasion, the delegate of the Ministry of Education of Sao Domingos, Wilson Moreno, thanked the Chinese embassy for this initiative, which he hoped would help strengthen the bonds of friendship and cooperation for the benefit of students. "We chose this school, because it is located in the poorest communities of this municipality. About 80% of these schools are located in rural areas where families have low socioeconomic status and live in extreme poverty," he said. Wilson Moreno said he had no doubt that this donation from the Chinese embassy will improve the conditions of education and learning of students. For his part, Du said he expected the students to make good use of these school materials, because education is a very important factor for the development of Cape Verde. Du said he found that the school's educational conditions were deficient and was impressed by the commitment and determination of the teachers to make every effort to enable students to study and learn, even if the school didn't have the minimum teaching conditions. "I hope that, thanks to this type of donation, we will be able to further strengthen friendship and bilateral cooperation between the peoples of the two countries," he said, adding that the cooperation between China and Cape Verde has been magnificent and very fruitful, especially in the field of education. The Chinese ambassador promised to visit other schools in this municipality to find out what difficulties each of them had and to see how the embassy could help. The national director of education, Sofia Figueiredo, thanked the Chinese diplomat for the commitment of his embassy in the education sector, which brought students closer to new technologies and new challenges. According to her, the Ministry of Education is working on the rehabilitation and construction of schools throughout the country with the support of the Chinese embassy in Cape Verde, but unfortunately many schools are in "horrible and degraded" situations. "That's why we decided to give maximum priority to schools that were in much worse conditions than those with a falling roof, no doors or windows," said the director, who acknowledged that many schools did not offer the minimum teaching and learning conditions. File Photo: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press briefing in Washington D.C., the United States, Feb. 1, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and keep from taking more actions that would escalate their current tension. In a statement issued by the State Department, Pompeo, who is now in Hanoi, Vietnam, said that he has earlier spoken with Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi about India's latest confrontation with Pakistan. Pompeo also noted that the United States encourages India and Pakistan "to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost." "I also encouraged both ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity," said the U.S. top diplomat. The ties between the two Asian neighbors have grown tense following the Feb. 14 suicide attack on the Indian police in the Indian-controlled Kashmir that had killed over 40 policemen. The Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) group, which was banned in Pakistan in 2002, had claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in the town of Pulwama. In a latest phone conversation with Qureshi, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China supports Pakistan and India to resolve the issue through dialogue as soon as possible and avoid an escalation of the situation. Wang called on both sides to collaborate on fighting terrorism and jointly safeguarding the security and stability of South Asia. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 00:56:12|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close People watch a televised speech of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Karachi, Pakistan, on Feb. 27, 2019. Imran Khan on Wednesday invited India for dialogue to counter terrorism and reduce tensions between the two neighbors. (Xinhua) ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday invited India for dialogue to counter terrorism and reduce tensions between the two neighbors. The Pakistani prime minister was addressing the nation amid tensions between the two countries following a recent suicide attack on the Indian police in Indian-controlled Kashmir. "Both countries cannot afford miscalculation because of the weapons we have. Pakistan is ready for dialogue to counter terrorism. Let's sit on the table to find out solution to the problems," Khan said after Pakistan army said its air force shot down two Indian fighter jets along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir region. Confirming downing of the Indian fighter jets, the prime minister said, "Pakistan responded in compulsion" after the Indian aircraft had entered the Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. "We hold two Indian pilots," said Prime Minister Khan who reminded India that there had been miscalculations in the previous wars so there was a need to use logic and sagacity. Pakistan denied any involvement in the suicide attack and the prime minister promised investigation if India shared any actionable and credible evidence. Khan again offered cooperation to help India investigate the tragedy and hoped "better sense" will prevail and both countries need to resolve issues through talks. On the same day, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said Indian forces fired along the LoC on Tuesday in Nikial and Khuiratta sectors in Pakistani side of the LoC, leaving four civilians dead. Meanwhile, Indian acting High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to lodge a formal protest and condemn the "unprovoked ceasefire violations" by the Indian forces. The Pakistan military said on Wednesday that it did not want to escalate the tension with India and urged New Delhi to accept its "offer of peace." Tensions grew between the two neighbors after India claimed to have carried out air strikes in the Pakistani side of LoC on Tuesday, and Pakistan said it shot down two Indian fighter jets inside Pakistani airspace earlier on Wednesday. India confirmed that Pakistan downed one of its fighter jets MiG-21 and the pilot had gone missing, which Pakistan claimed that he was in its custody. India also summoned Pakistan's Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah in New Delhi and appealed for the safety and safe return of the Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot, identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, at the earliest date. "It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return," said an official communication given by India to the Pakistan acting high commissioner. Major General Asif Ghafoor, director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistan army's media wing, told a press conference that "India should accept our offer of peace." He urged the international community to play its role to defuse the current soaring situation to save peace in the region as Pakistan did not want to push the region towards war. Ghafoor was briefing the media about Wednesday's situation in which Pakistan army said its air force shot down two Indian fighter jets inside the Pakistani airspace and ground troops arrested two pilots of the destroyed aircraft. Earlier Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said in a statement that "Pakistan has, therefore, taken strikes at the non-military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. Sole purpose (is) being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self-defense." Pakistan's military also denied Indian media's reports that Indian forces shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet. India claimed that its air force targeted a camp of the Jaish-e-Muhammad group in Tuesday's airstrikes, which was blamed for the Feb. 14 suicide bombing on Indian paramilitary troopers in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed some 40 people. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman said, "We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we undertook the action with a clear warning and in broad daylight." Latvian army soldiers attend the NATO enhanced Forward Presence battle group military drill Integrated Capstone Exercise 2019/1 in Adazi, Latvia February 26, 2019. (REUTERS) MOSCOW, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Russia has to respond to the military buildup of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Europe near its borders, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday. "We are forced to respond adequately, combining strategic deterrence measures with a planned increase in the combat capabilities of the formations and military units," Shoigu said at a meeting of defense officials. He said competition between world centers of power has led to increased uncertainty, instability and violence in different regions, including in "areas of Russia's traditional interests." According to Shoigu, the United States is seeking to retain the position of the superpower, manipulate international law and change the existing conventional arms control regimes in Europe in its favor. He said NATO is developing its forward-based system in areas close to the Russian borders, namely in the Baltic states, Eastern and Southern Europe. Within this process, more than 200 crews from 13 countries of the alliance have acquired the skills of flying over the territory of the Baltic countries and the Baltic Sea, Shoigu said. Of late, the scale and intensity of NATO's military exercises has more than doubled with the participation of Ukraine and Georgia, which are not members of the bloc, he said, adding that such actions will destroy the security system in the world. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 00:46:10|Editor: yan Video Player Close BUDAPEST, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The European Union's bureaucrats are taking revenge against Hungary and Poland, Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said Wednesday at a joint press conference with his Polish counterpart Jacek Czaputowicz. "The pro-migration bureaucracy from Brussels is pursuing a vengeance against Hungary and Poland, but the two countries will be always able to count on each other," Szijjarto told journalists following talks with Czaputowicz. "Both Hungary and Poland protect their national interests, express a straight and honest stance in the international debates, and also stand for the need to protect the Christian heritage of Europe," Szijjarto said. "The objective of these two countries is a strong Europe, based on strong Member States," he added. Szijjarto claimed that the attacks of Brussels do not have a real base, but are founded on political motivation, because Hungary and Poland do not want to become an immigrant country and go against the immigration policy of Brussels. He explained that Hungary and Poland were the first two European countries to reject the UN's Global Migration Compact, and now they have joined forces in order to resist any further efforts aimed at "pushing down the compact bits by bits down the throats of each country". "Hungary and Poland also agreed on border protection issues and consider that border protection was and should remain an exclusive national competence and a state duty," Szijjarto said. For his part, Czaputowicz said that the EU was going through an important period, will soon be electing a new European Parliament, new institutions will be set up, new budget frameworks will be established, so it was important to strengthen Hungarian-Polish cooperation. "A strong, democratic and efficient EU is needed and reforms are inevitable," he added. He said that Hungary and Poland had similar views on migration, and were working closely within the Visegrad Group (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia) to effectively represent their opinions in the EU. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 00:46:10|Editor: yan Video Player Close SOFIA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian health officials voiced concern here on Wednesday about the number of confirmed cases of measles in the country and called on those who have not received vaccination to do it urgently. Dr. Angel Kunchev, chief state health inspector, said at a press conference here that 51 cases of measles have already been confirmed in Bulgaria. "Out of these 51 cases, only three have incomplete immunization, and the rest are not immunized," Kunchev said, adding "Currently we are at war." The virus of the highly contagious disease that spreads through the air has been circulating in the country and it was also imported from abroad, Kunchev said. A single person suffering from measles who meets 100 individuals not immunized against the disease would make 95 of them ill, he said, recalling that vaccination against measles is mandatory and free of charge in Bulgaria. Prof. Todor Kantardjiev, director of the National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, said that in normal circumstances the measles mortality rate was one in 1,000 cases. However, neighboring Romania registered 11,000 measles cases in 2017 with 59 deaths. "This scares us," Kantardjiev said. In 2017 and 2018, Bulgaria registered 165 and 13 confirmed measles cases, respectively. In 2016 there was only one case, and zero in 2014 and 2015. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 00:46:10|Editor: yan Video Player Close JUBA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Local staff of Co-operative Bank of Kenya in South Sudan on Wednesday went on strike demanding pay rise and medical insurance. Two of the bank's four branches across the country have been closed, and the over 130 South Sudanese employees have vowed not to return to work unless their demands are met. The staff are demanding a 150 percent pay increase, medical insurance and early pension payment in a bid to avert the devaluation of the South Sudan pounds which has plummeted in value since 2015. "The reason for this peaceful strike is not to harm anybody. Not to destroy anything, but we need our management to come and listen to us. When we raise our issues and they are not addressed, we feel being undermined," a male staff said. "With the crisis, the salary can no longer sustain the local staff. We need some of these issues addressed because the salary cannot support the family," another striking staff added. Elijah Wamalwa, managing director of Co-operative Bank in South Sudan said the lender is looking at the grievances of its staff. "The issues of salary and medical insurance covers have been comprehensively addressed. The bank is willing to pay the pension should the staff want the early payment as a way to protect them from devaluation," Wamlawa said in a statement. The Co-operative Bank, which is one of Kenya's leading lenders opened its doors in the world's youngest nation in September 2013, taking a 51 percent stake and the rest being held by the South Sudanese government. Juma Youne Kebi, undersecretary for labor at the Ministry of Labor and Public Service said the Co-operative Bank informed them about the dispute with its local employees, and that authorities are working to address the matter. People and Indian army gather near the wreckage of an Indian aircraft after it crashed about 34 km south of Srinagar city, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Feb. 27, 2019. (Xinhua) MOSCOW, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Russia on Wednesday urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint following fighter downing over the Kashmir region. "We call on both sides to show restraint and step up efforts to resolve existing problems by political and diplomatic means," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. The ministry said it is ready to further assist in strengthening the counterterrorism potential of New Delhi and Islamabad. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the Kremlin was closely monitoring the situation and expected the parties to exercise restraint. Earlier in the day, Pakistan said its air force had shot down two Indian fighter jets inside its airspace and captured an Indian pilot. India confirmed that Pakistan destroyed one of its MiG-21 aircraft and that the pilot is missing. Meanwhile, India added it had downed one Pakistani fighter, which Islamabad denied. Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 00:31:06|Editor: yan Video Player Close JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's sugar industry has lost profit and jobs after the implementation of sugar tax which is threatening to shrink the sector's stability, said experts on Wednesday. Priya Seetal, Nutrition Manager at South African Sugar Association, told Xinhua that sugar tax's impact is huge. "It has resulted in a 30 percent decrease in the amount of sugar that we've been selling to the beverage sector. Because of the problems with imports, we have inefficient tariffs protection, it's difficult to export sugar into the world market because the world market sugar prices are low," she said. Since the Health Promotion Levy known as sugar tax came into effect in 2018, volumes of refined sugar sales have declined, reducing the industry's revenue by R1 billion (71.7 million US dollars). The Food and Allied Workers Union General Secretary Katishi Masemola told Xinhua that the union is concerned about job cuts. "From our side, we do see job losses beginning to happen in the plantation and some jobs in the milling and refining sectors. What is worrisome is the fact that 10,000 jobs are to be lost if the sugar tax remains," he said. Masemola said it's been notified about looming job cuts. "As we speak, Coca cola which uses sugar has proposed to retrench over 1,000 workers and they say this is a direct link to sugar tax. Other small manufacturing beverages are also laying off workers," he said. He suggested that the government should "place a moratorium on sugar tax until we engage on obesity issues." With high levels of obesity in South Africa and in a bid to tackle it, the government introduced the sugar tax. It is aimed at forcing the sugar industry to cut sugar in its products. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 00:21:04|Editor: WX Video Player Close BAGHDAD, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Two villagers were killed and four wounded Wednesday in a mortar shelling on a village in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a provincial police source said. A barrage of mortar rounds landed on houses in al-Jadida Village in south of the provincial capital Baquba, which is located some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, Major Alaa al-Saadi, from Diyala's police command, told Xinhua. The shelling resulted in severe damages in the houses, leaving two villagers killed and four others injured, al-Saadi said. Iraqi security forces launched a search campaign looking for the attackers who fled their positions immediately after the attack, he added. In December 2017, Iraq declared full liberation from the IS after the security forces and the paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, recaptured all areas once seized by the extremist group. However, IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged areas as safe havens, carrying out guerilla attacks from time to time against the security forces and civilians. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 00:16:02|Editor: yan Video Player Close KIGALI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Rwandan president Paul Kagame on Wednesday urged African countries to open up airspace to make it easy for travelers, businesses and operators to move across the continent. "Protectionism of airspace among ourselves is a short-sighted policy, which only serves to keep our continental market fragmented, inefficient, and expensive, thereby reducing opportunities for African firms," Kagame said at the opening of the 4th Aviation Africa Summit and Exhibition in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda. It is important to attract more African countries to join the Single African Air Transport Market, and to fully implement its provisions in order to reduce the cost of travel and doing business in Africa, he said. Sixteen countries in Africa are landlocked, which is almost one-third of Africa, according to him. Liberalization of airspace means many more high-quality jobs for African pilots, engineers and service personnel, he said. Protectionism, which has been sustaining local carriers, has impeded the growth of the aviation industry in Africa, Adefunke Adeyemi, Regional Director for Member and External Relations of the International Air Transportation Association (IATA), said that in Africa, air transport supports 6.2 million jobs and 55.8 billion U.S. dollars of GDP, but these figures can be much bigger if African countries liberalize their airspace. Air service liberalization leads to increased air service levels and lower fares, which in turn stimulates air travels, tourism and overall economic growth, she added. The two-day summit brings together about 800 participants including airline executives, government officials, policymakers, civil aviation authorities, and business aviation and support industries from across Africa and beyond. It seeks to find a common a ground towards addressing issues surrounding safety and professionalism of aviation sector in Africa. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 00:16:01|Editor: yan Video Player Close By Xinhua writers Fei Liena, Tao Jun HANOI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A motorcade carrying U.S. President Donald Trump arrived at Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel in Hanoi late Wednesday afternoon. Not very long later, another motorcade arrived, bringing Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) top leader Kim Jong Un. At 18:28 local time (11:28 GMT) at the hotel, Trump and Kim, both in dark suits, shook hands in front of 12 intertwined national flags, six of the DPRK and six of the United States, raising the curtain for their second summit. A banner hanging above the flags reads "Hanoi Summit" both in English and Korean. In just some eight months, the two leaders made a reunion here in Vietnam to discuss such possibilities as a roadmap for denuclearization, the easing of sanctions and a war-ending declaration. After shaking hands and posing for photo opportunities as usual, the two leaders talked with each other for a few minutes in a pretty relaxed manner. When asked by pool reporters what he thinks about the upcoming summit, Trump said he thinks it will be "very successful"; When asked whether he has rolled back on his calls from a full denuclearization by the DPRK, he replied: "No." Asked if he would declare a formal end to the Korean War, Trump said: "We'll see." Then the two leaders sat down for a brief conversation. Kim said there have been "a lot of efforts and patience" since their first meeting in Singapore. "As I see you today, I hope we can make fruitful achievements that many people are waiting for, and I will try my best," Kim said. For his part, Trump said: "We had a very successful first summit ... Hopefully this one will be equal or even greater than the first." "We have made a lot of progress, I think the greatest progress was our relationship, is really a good one," he said. "I think that your country has tremendous economic potential, unbelievable, unlimited," Trump said to Kim. "And I think you will have a tremendous future with your country and be a great leader." He expressed willingness to help the DPRK "make it happen." Then the two shook hands again and smiled. After the brief meeting, Kim and Trump attended a social dinner at the hotel, with Trump accompanied by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, and Kim by his top envoy, Kim Yong Chol, and Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho. On Thursday, the two leaders will hold a series of meetings and discussions with their respective delegates. And according to Trump, there will be a press conference after the meeting. Kim and Trump had their historic handshakes on June 12, 2018 in Singapore after over 60 years of hostility and mistrust, the first summit between two sitting leaders of the DPRK and the United States. The two sides signed a joint statement after the Singapore summit, agreeing to explore various things, including new DPRK-U.S. relations, complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a lasting peace regime on the peninsula and returning the remains of U.S. soldiers killed during the Korean War. However, little progress has been made since the first summit due to differences between the DPRK and the United States on the concept, ways and steps of denuclearization. Therefore, this time, the two sides were widely expected to reach some concrete steps on the denuclearization issue of the Korean Peninsula and reciprocal measures from the U.S. side to ease sanctions against the DPRK. An official declaration of ending the Korean War, which ended in 1953 with an armistice, is also hot on the discussion agenda. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 00:15:59|Editor: yan Video Player Close KATHMANDU, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Nepal urged India and Pakistan on Wednesday to ease their escalating tensions and normalize the situation through dialogue and peaceful means. The call was made amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following a recent suicide attack on a security convoy in Indian-controlled Kashmir Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the government is concerned about escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. "As the current Chair of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), Nepal, while underlining the importance of peace and stability in South Asia, calls on both sides to exercise utmost restraint and not engage in actions that would threaten peace and security in the region," said the statement. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 00:10:57|Editor: yan Video Player Close JUBA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan's peace monitors on Wednesday said that fidelity to the rule of law and good governance are key to achieving durable peace in the country. Augostino Njoroge, interim chairperson of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, said at a forum in Juba that a review of security laws in the country can play a crucial role in ending more than five years of conflict. He said representatives from different institutions who attended the forum discussed the Sudan People's Liberation Act, 2019, the National Security Service Act, 2014, the Police Service Act, 2009, the Prisons Service Act, 2011 and the wildlife Service Act, 2011. Njoroge applauded the approach by the National Constitution Amendment Committee to involve as many stakeholders as possible and encourage participation in the process of the amendment and review of the security laws. "I acknowledge and appreciate the level of interest that you have all shown during this process as we work together towards the strengthening of the legal framework that will ensure a successful transition to the rule of law and lasting peace in this country," said Njoroge. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-28 00:05:53|Editor: yan Video Player Close LONDON, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming has reiterated mutual respect and trust in China-UK relations, slamming a certain British politician's recent hyping up of the "China threat". In a signed article entitled "Gunboat diplomacy can only harm Britain's relationship with China" published in Guardian on Tuesday, Liu compared the China-UK relationship to a symphony, saying its success would depend on close coordination between the two countries and a firm resistance to interruptions and noises. "In this symphony, China and the UK rely on mutual respect and trust to keep us in tune, and keep out the noise of enmity and confrontation," he wrote. This year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of a China-UK diplomatic relationship at the level of charge d'affaires. In the past 65 years, Liu said, when there was mutual respect and equality, the bilateral relationship leapt forward. "Otherwise, the relationship has had to battle against strong headwinds, or even back-pedal. In an age when hot and cold wars should be long gone, resurrecting the cold war and gunboat diplomacy from the grave, as this politician did, was anachronistic and risks disrupting the progress of China-UK relations," he noted. Liu said the symphony of China-UK relations should also play a rising crescendo of mutual learning and cooperation, and reject the chaotic disruption of rigidity and narrow-mindedness. "China and the UK have the strategic vision, political wisdom and creative spirit to seize opportunities, resist disruptions and create a China-UK golden era: a symphony both beautiful and harmonious," he added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 23:50:48|Editor: yan Video Player Close THE HAGUE, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Dutch police have arrested a 48-year-old man suspected of preparing a terrorist crime, the Dutch public prosecutor announced on Wednesday. During the arrest made one and a half week ago in De Lutte, a village in the northeast of the Netherlands, police seized a firearm and munition, mobile phones, some documents and a laptop. The police also investigated the man's residence in the northern province of Groningen. The criminal investigation started on Feb. 15. According to the Dutch general intelligence and security service AIVD, the man is not only suspected of preparing a terrorist crime, but also of supporting ISIS. The suspect has remained silent until now. The court in Rotterdam decided on Tuesday that he would stay in detention for at least 90 more days. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 23:45:46|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIRUT, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Kuwaiti Ambassador to Lebanon Abdul-Aal al-Kinai said Wednesday that Kuwait aims to activate agreements signed between his country and Lebanon, the National News Agency reported. "We aim at activating agreements between two countries in addition to following up on projects that were about to start between the two countries but have not been completed yet," al-Kinai said during his meeting with Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab. Al-Kinai said that Kuwait is planning to contribute to building a new military hospital in Lebanon and help the Lebanese Army. The two also discussed the current developments in Lebanon and the region. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 23:30:43|Editor: yan Video Player Close RAMALLAH, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA) caretaker government Rami Hamdallah announced on Wednesday that the PA returned the tax revenues to Israel after the latter deducted it. According to agreements signed between Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel in 1994, Israel collects taxes from the Palestinian trade and commercial movement and pays it back to the PA treasury. Hamdallah said to Palestine TV, during his visit to the southern West Bank city of Hebron, that the Palestinian side returned the money of the tax revenues to the Israeli side after deducting 41.8 million Israeli shekels (11.5 million U.S dollars). "The Palestinian decision not to take the deducted tax revenues and return it back to the Israeli side was decided in the last cabinet meeting held in Ramallah," Hamdallah said. He said that the Palestinian leadership will be responsible for the prisoners in Israeli jails and the families of the Palestinians killed by Israel, adding "it is our duty." Israel had decided two weeks ago to deduct the tax revenues it collects on behalf of the PA, saying that the money which was deducted was paid to families of Palestinians who carried out "terrorist acts" against Israel. Hamdallah said that the political and financial siege imposed on the Palestinians is tightened amid a decline of international funds. The Palestinian prime minister slammed Israel for its measures taken against the Palestinians, including "land confiscation, expansion of settlements, isolating Jerusalem and tightening the siege on the Gaza Strip." "It is an organized war that Israel is practicing against the Palestinians to undermine the PA and foil any attempt to enable the Palestinians gain their legitimate rights and establish their stare with East Jerusalem as its capital," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 23:25:38|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese lawmakers have met at a bimonthly legislative session to discuss a research report on poverty relief, and brainstormed methods to seal the country's victory against poverty. The report was based on the investigation led by three National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee vice chairpersons into poverty alleviation efforts in 16 provinces and regions last year. It was reviewed at the two-day committee session, which ended Wednesday. Delivered at the session by Wu Weihua, vice chairperson of the NPC Standing Committee, the report said that "decisive progress" had been made in the anti-poverty fight but circumstances remained challenging. Support for extremely impoverished regions should be continuously strengthened, according to Li Yuefeng, a member of the standing committee, who said that areas in abject poverty still posed the most difficult tasks in the battle against poverty, and called for consistent efforts to make sure they did not lag behind. Fellow lawmaker Liu Yuankun believes the problems for extremely poor areas are rooted in their economy and society, and suggested poverty relief in such areas be integrated with local economic and social development. "As soon as transportation works, everything will work," he said, stressing the construction of infrastructure, which allows funds, talent and industries to flow into impoverished areas. Another member Zheng Gongcheng said that only by building inner faith and hope could the endogenous power to defeat poverty be long-lasting, and suggested prioritizing efforts in education and employment to enhance the capacity of people in poverty. In 2018, China lifted 13.86 million people in rural areas out of poverty, with the number of impoverished rural residents dropping from 98.99 million in late 2012 to 16.6 million by the end of last year. The number is still high, however, and many of the impoverished are long suffering from illnesses, disabled, or elderly people with no family, according to the report. "A long-term and effective mechanism to prevent people from falling back into poverty due to illness is significant," said Li Xueyong, a member of the NPC Standing Committee, who asked for more measures to cut major illnesses at the root. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 23:25:37|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close People watch a TV live broadcast about top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 27, 2019. Kim and Trump met Wednesday night in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi for their second summit to discuss concrete ways for peace on and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu) HANOI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump met Wednesday night in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi for their second summit to discuss concrete ways for peace on and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Kim and Trump shook hands and smiled in their first encounter at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, where the two leaders were slated to briefly sit down one-on-one before having a social dinner, opening their two-day summit. The handshaking was made with flags of the DPRK and the United States standing behind them. A banner hanging above the flags read "Hanoi Summit" both in English and Korean. The summit came about eight months after the first Kim-Trump meeting in Singapore in June last year, where Trump pledged to provide security guarantees to the DPRK while Kim reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The two leaders stood around for a moment for a photo opportunity, before sitting down at the same place for a brief one-on-one chat. Noting "efforts and patience" were needed more than ever in the period that had passed, Kim said he was convinced that they can create an "outcome that everybody will welcome" in his second meeting with Trump. There was some mistrust and misunderstanding standing in the way of the two leaders, Kim said, but they overcame the obstacles to meet again in Hanoi in 260 days or so. Trump said he hoped his meeting with the DPRK leader would be "equal or greater" than their first summit. The U.S. president said he had a "successful" first meeting with Kim, they had made "a lot of progress" and the greatest one was his good relationship with Kim. He added that the DPRK has tremendous, unbelievable and unlimited economic potential. After the short appearance in front of journalists, Kim and Trump had a 20-minute one-on-one closed-door dialogue, before having a social dinner with their aides and translators present. Trump was joined at the dinner by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. Accompanying Kim were Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the DPRK's ruling Workers Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee, and Ri Yong Ho, member of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee and foreign minister. The two leaders were expected to try to hammer out a deal for the peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. They were slated to sit down again Thursday at a negotiating table for concrete ways to achieve the goal. "As key parties (of the Korean Peninsula issue), the DPRK and the U.S. should take measures on the basis of mutual respect and meet each other halfway, taking into account and accommodating the reasonable concerns of each other," Lu Kang, a spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, said at a daily briefing Tuesday. Lu said China had been playing and would continue to play its role, repeating China's main position on the peninsula issue -- to achieve denuclearization of the peninsula, and to achieve and safeguard lasting peace and stability of the peninsula and Northeast Asia. Kim arrived first in Vietnam on Tuesday morning by a train that departed Pyongyang, the DPRK's capital, Saturday and cut across southern China to a Vietnamese border town. Then, he transferred to a limousine bound for Hanoi. He became the first sitting DPRK leader in 55 years to make an official visit to the Southeast Asian country. Trump landed in Hanoi on Tuesday night, staying in the J. W. Marriott Hotel in the Vietnamese capital. Kim's lodging is the Melia hotel, some minutes' drive from Trump's hotel. Security was tightened near the hotels, surrounded by armed police and soldiers as well as international journalists and spectators hoping to catch a glimpse of the two leaders. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 23:25:37|Editor: yan Video Player Close ULAN BATOR, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Mongolian Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh on Wednesday approved the appointment of Sainbuyan Amarsaikhan as the new mayor of capital city Ulan Bator. Amarsaikhan, head of the Citizen's Representative Council of Ulan Bator, was appointed by 25 deputies in the 45-seat council in a secret ballot on Tuesday. The 46-year-old is a member of the ruling Mongolian People's Party (MPP). A deputy of the Citizens' Representative Council, Samdannyam Munkhchuluun, was the only contender against Amarsaikhan. Sundui Batbold, the former mayor of Ulan Bator, announced his resignation in late November after Khurelsukh accused him of not fulfilling his duties. Amarsaikhan has pledged to step up efforts to address the pressing issues in the city, including air and soil pollution. Ulan Bator is home to more than half of the country's population of 3.2 million. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 23:10:27|Editor: yan Video Player Close KIEV, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The United States is interested in the continuation of talks with Russia over the situation in Ukraine, local media reported Wednesday, citing visiting U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker. "We are interested in further negotiations with the Russian Federation on the restoration of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. As for now, we are talking, first of all, about Donbas," Volker was quoted as saying by Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform. The United States will continue supporting Ukraine until the humanitarian situation in the region is improved and the territorial integrity of Ukraine is restored, Volker said. Since April 2014, an armed conflict between government troops and pro-independence insurgents has been underway in Ukraine's eastern region of Donbas. Kiev has long accused Russia of aiding the insurgents and sending troops to combat areas there, while Moscow has repeatedly dismissed the claims, saying Ukraine has offered no evidence of Russia's alleged involvement in the conflict. Volker arrived in Ukraine on Tuesday for a working visit. File Photo: Michael Cohen (C) walks out of a court building in New York, the United States, Dec. 12, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Michael Cohen, a former lawyer of U.S. President Donald Trump, will provide the House of Representatives with documents that could unveil alleged "illicit acts" by Trump, according to a prepared testimony released online late Tuesday. The testimony, first released by U.S. media Politico, says Cohen will give the House Oversight Committee a copy of a check Trump allegedly wrote Cohen after becoming president to reimburse Cohen for the hush money payments he had made to cover up Trump's alleged affair with an adult film star. Other documents Cohen said he would give up include copies of financial statements for 2011 -- 2013 that Trump allegedly gave to such institutions as Deutsche Bank, copies of letters Cohen wrote at Trump's direction that threatened his high school, colleges, and the college board not to release his grades or SAT test scores, and a copy of an article with Trump's handwriting on it that reported on the auction of a portrait of himself. Cohen is scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee Wednesday. Cohen, 52, is expected to begin his three-year prison sentence in March after pleading guilty in December to campaign finance-related crimes in which he implicated the president. He is also a person of interest in the ongoing Russia inquiry led by special counsel Robert Mueller, whose investigation focuses on alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow. Trump has slammed Cohen as "a weak person" and the Russia probe as a "witch hunt." Cohen previously served as a vice-president of the Trump Organization and special counsel to Trump. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 22:55:21|Editor: yan Video Player Close President of Xinhua News Agency Cai Mingzhao (2nd L) introduces the Xinhua All-Media Service to Director General of Russia's Tass News Agency Sergey Mikhaylov (2nd R) at Xinhua News Agency in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 27, 2019. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- President of Xinhua News Agency Cai Mingzhao met with director general of Russia's Tass news agency Sergey Mikhaylov on Wednesday, and the two sides pledged to enhance ties. Cai said that Xinhua has always been committed to playing its media role in the development of Sino-Russian relations, and regards Tass as a close partner. As this year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, Cai said he expected the two news agencies to work to consolidate friendly exchanges, earnestly plan and organize a series of activities for this year, in efforts to make new contributions to the development of China-Russian relations. Mikhaylov, who was on a visit to Xinhua, said that the two news agencies shared traditional friendship, and the two sides' cooperation had played a model role in promoting the development of bilateral relations. He said Tass was ready to take the opportunity of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and China to enhance mutual visits and media cooperation between the two news agencies. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 22:35:54|Editor: ZX Video Player Close The bride's family perform ritual to worship ancestors and gets ready to set off early in the morning in Xingwen County, southwest China's Sichuan province, Feb. 26, 2019. Yang Yuqiao and Han Yujie, an ethnic Miao couple, tied the knot in traditional Miao style in Wenxing County, southwest China's Sichuan province, Feb. 24-26, 2019. Yang Yuqiao, the 25 year-old groom, works as a tour guide in Xingwen UNESCO Global Geopark, and Han Yujie, the 23 year-old bride, works as a PE teacher in Dahe Miao Township in Xingwen County. During the volunteering work of Huashan Festival for the Miao ethnic group, they got to know each other and fell in love, and later registered their marriage by the end of 2018. The newlyweds' parents decided to organize a three-day wedding following traditional Miao custom. On Feb. 24, the matchmaker was invited to Han's home to settle marriage-related issues. On Feb. 25, friends and relatives helped Yang to decorate the wedding room, make arrangements, and prepare wedding feast, etc. In the evening, respected patriarchs hosted an ancestor worship ceremony. The groom put on new clothes, received presents and kowtowed as courtesy. The bride side's family organized ancestor worship ceremony as well and arranged feast for guests. At about 1 o'clock next morning, the groom's family set off from Gusong Township to the bride's family in Daba Miao Township. At about 3 o'clock, the bride enjoyed a meal with all female members inside the bride's house while male members and the groom's family had a meal outside the house. Covered by red bridal veil, Han was led by her mother out of the room and kowtowed to honor ancestors. Her brother helped her to step upon the bench and throw back a bunch of chopsticks to an apron held by her father. This is called "caidou". After Han's brother carried her on the back to the outside, Han's parents started to cry and chant, a tradition expressing their sentiment and good wish for their daughter. Accompanied by uncles and aunts, the bride walked ahead of the crowds, followed by bridesmaids with red umbrella and relatives and next came by the groom's family. As the crowds moved, they worshiped gods of the Miao ethnic group, which called "dasheng". At about 6 o'clock in the morning, the crowds arrived near the groom's family house and had a rest, during which the bridesmaids circled Han who refined makeup, washed feet and changed clothes. In the groom's home, families from the two sides chatted, congratulated and toasted till noon, and all attendees enjoyed a grand feast. The groom's parents invited a couple living a decent married life to make bed for the newlyweds in the afternoon. Before they were ready to return, the bride's family enjoyed the last meal prepared by the two families. The whole wedding ended with happiness. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing) Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 22:30:16|Editor: yan Video Player Close NAIROBI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Kenya should tap into innovations from the youth to revitalize progress towards attainment of universal health coverage, campaigners said on Wednesday. Githinji Gitahi, chief executive officer of Amref Health Africa, said that inclusion of youth in strategic areas like grassroots advocacy is key to realizing universal health coverage that is part of Kenya's Big Four Agenda. "The youth of this country represents a formidable demographic that should be engaged fully in promotion of universal health coverage," said Gitahi. "We therefore need to build the capacity of the youth to undertake advocacy aimed at re-orienting our policy and funding goals towards universal access to quality and affordable healthcare," he added. Gitahi spoke in Nairobi during the launch of a road caravan that will traverse Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda to raise awareness on the critical role of universal health coverage in the boarder sustainability agenda. Amref Health Africa and partners launched the road caravan ahead of the Africa Health Agency International Conference that will be held in the Rwandese capital Kigali from March 3 to 4 where over 300 youths from the continent will lobby for their inclusion in the universal health care agenda. Gitahi said that hundreds of youths who will participate in the caravan will engage communities and opinion leaders to inject fresh momentum towards realization of health for all goal. "Countries in the region have an opportunity to rally young people towards achievement of universal health agenda that is key to spark prosperity," said Gitahi. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta earlier this year launched universal health coverage pilot programs in four counties grappling with a heavy burden of vector borne and non-communicable diseases. The rollout of universal health coverage program across the country is expected to address capacity, infrastructural and funding gaps that have undermined access to quality healthcare services. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 22:30:15|Editor: yan Video Player Close CAIRO, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian cabinet accepted on Wednesday the resignation of Transport Minister Hesham Arafat over the deadly train fire that killed at least 20 people, the Egyptian state TV reported. Cabinet spokesman Nader Saad said that Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly accepted Arafat's resignation, according to the report. Earlier on Wednesday, a train locomotive crashed into the buffer stop at the end of rail tracks at the main railway station near Ramses square downtown the capital Cairo, causing a massive fire and leaving numerous casualties, according to the Egyptian railway authority. A security source said that the heavy crash caused explosion of the train fuel tank and led to the blaze. Doctors told Xinhua that most of the wounded are in critical conditions, sustaining second-or third-degree burns, while eyewitnesses at a hospital said the bodies were completely charred by the fire. Madbouly went earlier to the crash scene accompanied by the then transport minister, as well as Health Minister Hala Zayed and Social Solidarity Minister Ghada Wali. "There will be no leniency or complacency in holding those responsible for the accident accountable," Madbouly said at the station, stressing that "the era of keeping silent on those who fail to do their duties toward the Egyptian citizens is over." The cabinet also ordered financial compensation of 80,000 Egyptian pounds (about 4,570 U.S. dollars) for each family of dead passengers and 25,000 pounds for each seriously wounded passenger with a consequent disability. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 22:25:14|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Li Zhanshu (C), chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, presides over the closing of the bimonthly session of the 13th NPC Standing Committee in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 27, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator has called for concerted efforts towards holding a successful annual legislative session in March. Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, made the call at the closing of the committee's bimonthly session on Wednesday. Li said the committee's work report had been deliberated on and endorsed in principle at the session. The report is now expected to be submitted to second session of the 13th NPC for review. The top legislator also spoke about the two reports that had been deliberated on at the session -- one on the battle to control pollution and the other on the fight against poverty. Lawmakers have taken note of progress made on both fronts, Li said, calling for more efforts to help improve the environment and advance poverty alleviation. Li said the upcoming second session of the 13th NPC was a key meeting and would help bring people's mind and action in line with the decisions and plans made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and rally people to work together to accomplish various tasks of the year to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China with great achievements. Li stressed the spirit of democracy, unity, result-seeking and striving for the progress of the annual legislative session. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 22:25:13|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close HARARE, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Legal watchdog Veritas Zimbabwe has launched an Interactive Women's Platform which will provide information on the rights and status of women in Zimbabwe. The platform will also provide information on where to turn and what legal options are available if women feel their rights are being violated or ignored, the organization said Wednesday. In a statement, Veritas said women who interact on the platform will become more knowledgeable on the Constitution and other rights enshrined in the country's laws. Major areas of concern include sharing of matrimonial property in the event of the husband's death and early marriages sanctioned by the girl child's parents. "Veritas Women will work as a resource, providing information about service provisions by the State, legal aid clinics, labor advice centers, and other women's rights oriented civil society organizations," the organization said. It said although the forum was specifically meant for women and girls, it was open to all who had women's rights at heart. "It will provide a safe platform for women and girls to discuss their rights and the problems they encounter in claiming their rights using the county's main languages of English, Ndebele and Shona. It added that all questions and queries would be answered in the shortest time possible while a lawyer would be online during office hours for an email or WhatsApp chats. It encouraged those having difficulties in claiming their rights or faced challenges at home, in the workplace and society at large, to share their experiences with other women. It added that it had become more and more important for women to harness their collective power by creating a safe platform where they could collaborate, share and empower each other in one unified and secure space. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 22:25:13|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close A Lebanese girl shows her name card in Chinese at the Confucius Institute of Saint Joseph University in Beirut, Lebanon, Feb. 27, 2019. The increasing trade ties between Lebanon and China have encouraged more Lebanese to be involved in the Chinese culture and traditions. Young Lebanese students are developing an intellectual curiosity to learn Chinese. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) by Dana Halawi BEIRUT, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The increasing trade ties between Lebanon and China have encouraged more Lebanese to be involved in the Chinese culture and traditions. One way to gain increased awareness about the Chinese culture is to learn China's rich language, and young Lebanese students are developing an intellectual curiosity to learn Chinese. "I love Chinese," said Nadim Sheety, a 7-year-old student studying at Lycee Fronco-Libanais in Beirut. Sheety told Xinhua that his teacher at school taught students about China and the Forbidden City, a palace complex in central Beijing. "The teacher gave us a project about China and since then I realized how interesting the culture is. It is a completely new world for me," said Sheety, who is learning Chinese at Confucius Institute, a Chinese language and cultural center at Saint Joseph University in Lebanon. Sheety's mom expressed how happy she is that her son is learning Chinese. However, she said there should be more awareness in Lebanon about the places that teach the Chinese language. "It took me a long time to find out that Saint Joseph University has such courses," she said. Adam Eid, a 7-year-old student studying Chinese at Confucius Institute as well, told Xinhua that he traveled around five times to China because his father is doing business with the country. "I loved it. I decided right away that I want to learn Chinese. I wish I can live in China for some time to get to know more about the culture and practice the language," he said. Growing number of university students also learn about the importance of Chinese which adds value to their careers. "Learning Chinese has given me the chance to work with big companies that deal with China," said Gacia Dekermejian, a Lebanese University graduate with a bachelor degree in Chinese language. Dekermejian helps companies in marketing their products in China by translating their stories online from Arabic and English to Chinese. She also works for Elie Saab, a Lebanese fashion designer, by marketing his products online in Chinese. Likewise, Caren Chemali, who also graduated with a bachelor degree in the Chinese language from the Lebanese University, said her university studies were of great importance and advantage to her career. "I am proud to be a university teacher of Chinese language at the age of 21," she said. Chemali, who teaches at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, also gives private lessons for people who are interested in the language. Liu Li, former vice-director at Confucius Institute, said that some of the institute's students were employed by Chinese companies in Dubai while others have majored in translation and they succeeded in finding jobs in the field. Liu said that most of the teenagers who are learning the language have parents who are doing business with China. He also noted that most of the Institute's students say that Chinese language will give them an opportunity to have a great future. "Teenagers are not forced to learn the language. They are very devoted and they love it," he said. The Lebanese University is the only educational establishment in Lebanon to offer a bachelor degree in Chinese language. Other universities such as Saint Joseph University and the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik offer selective courses to their students. While learning Chinese is gaining more and more momentum among the Lebanese, Liu believe that there is still a long way to go before the language gets well spread in Lebanon. Liu stated that by the end of last year, students registered at Confucius Institute reached 302 for the two semesters while they have been increasing at the annual rate of 10 percent for the past five years. Liu said that 10 students from all over Lebanon got scholarships to study in a university in China in partnership with Confucius Institute. "Every year, we host a summer camp in China. Last year we had 19 students who went for summer camps and spent 10 days learning the Chinese language and culture with another four days touring in Beijing," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 22:20:12|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close BANGKOK, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Constitutional Court is scheduled to rule on March 7 whether a brand-new political party be dissolved for an alleged violation of relevant rule or not. According to a statement issued by the court on Wednesday, it will judge the case of Thai Raksa Chart Party dissolution as petitioned by the Election Commission (EC) for the alleged wrongdoing viewed as "antagonistic to democratic rule with the monarch as head of state" in accordance with the constitution's organic law pertaining to political parties. The court has obtained evidence filed by the EC in support of its accusations against the party alongside an affidavit of the party, thus it will need no hearing from either side ahead of the March 7 ruling, according to the statement. If found guilty as charged, the party would not only be dissolved but all members of its executive board be banned from politics for a given period of time. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 22:20:12|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close BARCELONA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei on Wednesday unveiled its next generation data center interconnect (DCI) solution at MWC 2019 (formerly Mobile World Congress), which is being held here until Thursday. The company explains that the solution aims to build an ultra-broadband, simplified and intelligent DCI network by leveraging a single-wavelength 600G network, optical cross-connect all-optical switching and Network Cloud Engine technologies. Huawei said it expects to lead "DCI networks into an ultra-broadband, simplified, and intelligent AI (artificial intelligence) era," and that "single-wavelength 600G will enable ultra high-speed cloud interconnection to activate the value of ultra-broadband connection." Chen Wenbo, vice president of Huawei Enterprise Transmission Product Line, explained that "Huawei attaches paramount importance to DCI in next-generation networks and continuously accelerates technological innovation." "We will work with customers and partners, such as cloud service providers, MTDCs (multi-tenant data centers) and IXPs (internet exchange points) to continuously build an ultra-broadband, non-blocking, and flexible DCI network," he said at the presentation. WINNING BIG AT MWC 2019 AWARDS Wednesday's presentation came after Tuesday saw an excellent night for Huawei at the annual Glomo Awards (GSMA's Global Mobile Awards), presented at the annual MWC events. The company won five separate awards, including for Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough (awarded to companies with an annual global revenue exceeding 10 million U.S. dollars) for its 5G radio access network innovation. The Breakthrough was awarded to companies with an annual global revenue exceeding 10 million U.S. dollars. "It is a great honor for Huawei to win this award. How to improve the coverage at the early stage of 5G deployment is a common problem for the industry. To promote industry development, to improve consumer experience and to help carriers better deploy network and services is the driving force behind Huawei's continuous innovation in wireless technologies, especially 5G technologies," said Zhou Yuefeng, chief marketing officer for Huawei Wireless Solution, at the ceremony. Huawei and Swiss telecommunications company Sunrise jointly received the Best Mobile Operator Service for Consumers Award for their 5G fixed wireless access service, while the Gaoqing government and Huawei jointly won the award for Best Mobile Innovation for Smart Cities. Huawei also claimed the Best Mobile Innovation for Automotive Award for its C-V2X (cellular vehicle-to-everything) solution. The prestigious Judges Choice -- Best Smartphone Award went to the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. Mark Wilson/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer, will testify publicly for the first time Wednesday about his experience in the Trump orbit before the House Oversight Committee, and is expected to paint an unflattering portrait of the president as an unscrupulous businessman who may have committed a crime while in office. Cohen, according to a copy of his intended remarks obtained by ABC News, also plans to divulge that Trump, as a candidate, knew his longtime confidant Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about WikiLeaks' revealing of emails from the Democratic National Committee. As he left his hotel Wednesday morning, staff and hotel guests greeted and wished him well, some hugging him and people saying God bless you. Im going to do the right thing, Cohen said. He also called it the craziest day of his life. Cohen, who spent a decade at Trump's side at the Trump Organization, will testify before House lawmakers at 10 a.m. Wednesday as President Trump wraps up his first day of meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam. Cohen is scheduled to begin a three-year prison sentence in May and has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress as well as financial crimes including bank and tax fraud. Cohen also pleaded guilty to campaign finance violation for payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. The White House, along with Republicans on Capitol Hill, have sought to discredit Cohen ahead of his appearance. "Disgraced felon Michael Cohen is going to prison for lying to Congress and making other false statements," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Tuesday in a statement. "Sadly, he will go before Congress this week and we can expect more of the same. It's laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies." Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a staunch Trump ally, also tweeted Tuesday that the hearing could reveal alleged details about Cohen's romantic life, prompting outrage from Democrats and ethics experts. The stakes are also high for Democrats in the House, who have vowed to investigate the president and conduct oversight of the administration amid accusations of overreach from Republicans. House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., suggested the hearing "may very well be a turning point in our country's history." "He's the only person that I know of who has accused this president of a crime," he told reporters on Monday. Cohen is prepared to provide lawmakers with documents to support his claims that Trump allegedly inflated and deflated his net worth for personal professional gain, and to avoid paying property taxes, according to a source familiar with his intended testimony. He will also share personal anecdotes from his time with Trump to accuse him of making racist comments, lying and cheating as a businessman. The president's former fixer is also expected to explain why he lied to Congress in 2017 about discussions he had during the presidential campaign about proposed the Trump Tower Moscow. His specific allegation of criminal wrongdoing relates to Trump's reimbursement to Cohen for the payment to adult film actress and director Stormy Daniels, who alleged an affair with Trump, according to the source familiar with Cohen's planned testimony. Trump has denied the affair alleged by Daniels and another accusation from former Playboy model Karen McDougal and has previously said the payment amounted to nothing more than a "simple private transaction," and that they do not qualify as campaign finance violations. Cohen will appear before the House Oversight and Reform Committee after postponing an initial hearing date, citing "threats" to his family by Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani. On Tuesday he spent hours behind closed doors with the Senate Intelligence Committee and will meet with the House Intelligence Committee in private on Thursday. "Two years ago when this investigation started, I said it may be the most important thing I'm involved in my public life in the Senate," Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democrat on the panel, told reporters after the panel questioned Cohen. "Nothing I have heard today dissuades me from that view." Democrats are carefully coordinating their questioning for Wednesday's hearing after consulting with the office of the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and the Justice Department to make sure the public hearing doesn't broach topics under investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, according to committee aides. Republicans on the panel plan to question Cohen's truthfulness before Congress in light of his recent guilty plea for lying to lawmakers, and they have accused Democrats of bringing him to testify publicly to justify launching an impeachment investigation against the president. "We will call out the Democrats' charade for what it is -- a partisan circus meant to destroy President Trump," Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said in a USA Today editorial. At Cohen's sentencing hearing in December, special counsel Robert Mueller's team said Cohen had cooperated with their investigation. Lawmakers are expected to question Cohen on Wednesday in five-minute intervals, alternating between Democrats and Republicans in at least one round of questioning that could span several hours, according to committee aides. The marquee hearing may stop briefly for lunch or any House floor votes. Ahead of the hearing, during his day with the Senate Intelligence Committee, Cohen was officially disbarred as a lawyer in New York, according to a decision from the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court expected after his November guilty plea. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 22:10:10|Editor: ZX Video Player Close VIENNA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Austria's national railway company OBB is constantly striving for international business opportunities, and China is one of its most important growing logistics markets, said the CEO of the company. "OBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) is currently working in 18 countries with a clear focus on shuttle services from and to international harbours that are already part of the Silk Road," said Andreas Mattha, the CEO, during an exclusive interview with Xinhua. RCG, the freight transport division of OBB, is the second biggest rail freight company in Europe, after Germany's DB Group, with a turnover of 2.2 billion euros (about 2.51 billion U.S. dollars), more than half of which coming outside of Austria, according to its website. With the booming rail transport to and from Asia via the new Silk Road, RCG has been intensifying its transport operations on the Sino-European axis since 2017, offering end-to-end logistics services between the two continents, the company's website read. "In 2017 we had only 16 trains between Europe and China, while in 2018 we had 400 trains, mainly departing from Chengdu, Chongqing, Shenyang, Hefei and Shenzhen," Thomas Kargl, board member of RCG, told Xinhua. RCG is currently operating 600 trains to and from China per year, and planning to considerably increase this amount within the coming years, noted Mattha, CEO of OBB. The first train from China to Austria was sent on its way from Chongqing in southwest China on April 12, 2017, crossed Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia and arrived in Vienna in 14 days and two hours. Current transit time from China to Europe is still 14 to 16 days, but the goal is 10 days or less with the support of digitalization, so that it would be more or less the same as air transportation timewise but much cheaper, said Kargl. The goods transported by these trains are various, from graphite to textile to high-tech products such as laptops, hard disks and automobile spare parts, he said. In the future, with better temperature control, these trains are expected to transport frozen food and other farm products. "We see a lot of growth opportunities in both directions, from China to Europe and vice versa," said Kargl. "What's fascinating for me is that China is going with very high speed in attracting business, and Chinese business people create strategy, pack it into a plan and follow the plan in very straightforward way," he added. "There are two mentalities clashing in the middle, not in the negative way," he noted. "Here in Europe the EU (European Union) has been discussing for many years about how things might or might not be, while in China for example immediately 30 percent of every production is Ecar." Different from the Europeans, who tend to follow the old way, Chinese people are always eager to find the faster way, the cheaper way and the better way, and both sides have to learn to find the golden middle, he said. RCG is planning to open operational offices in China in the near future, he said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 22:05:07|Editor: ZX Video Player Close KIEV, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Six observers from the special monitoring mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) came under small arms fire in eastern Ukraine that brought no casualties, local media reported on Wednesday, citing an OSCE report. The incident occurred on Tuesday morning near the Zolote disengagement area in Lugansk region, when the OSCE patrol was monitoring the security situation in the area to enable repair works to water pipes. The monitors heard about five shots of small arms fire, followed by the sound of bullets flying about 10 meters over their heads. It remains unclear who was responsible for the incident. The OSCE, of which Ukraine is a member, sent its special observer mission to the country in March 2014, following a request from the Ukrainian government. Currently, more than 800 unarmed OSCE observers are deployed in Ukraine, with the majority of them monitoring the cease-fire between government troops and armed groups in Donbas. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 22:05:06|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong (R) holds talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 27, 2019. (Xinhua/VNA) HANOI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's top leader Nguyen Phu Trong and U.S. President Donald Trump said during their talks here on Wednesday that they attach importance to developing the comprehensive partnership between the two countries. General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President Trong highly appreciated U.S. cooperation in such fields as economy, trade, education and dealing with war aftermaths, especially dioxin detoxification, and proposed that the two countries should continue foster cooperation in other fields, including bomb and mine clearance, and assisting victims of Agent Orange, the Vietnam News Agency reported. Thanking Vietnam for its careful preparation for the ongoing 2nd DPRK-U.S. summit despite of short notice, Trump said the United States would continue to cooperate with Vietnam to promote their comprehensive partnership in a more pragmatic and effective manner, and invited Trong to visit the United States this year. The two leaders agreed to strengthen economy, trade and investment ties, and stated that the two countries should maintain contacts and exchanges of high-level delegations, and reinforce existing dialogue mechanisms. They also supported continued cooperation on overcoming war consequences. Also on Wednesday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met with Trump. The U.S. president is in Hanoi for his 2nd summit with Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), after their first summit in Singapore in June 2018. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 21:50:02|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close TOKYO, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A new report compiled by a panel of experts indicated that officials at Japan's labor ministry were responsible for the erroneous complication of key jobs and wages data that has plagued the ministry, sources here said Wednesday. The panel, comprising statistical experts and lawyers, compiled the report based on interviews held with around 60 officials at the labor ministry and found that numerous officials including high-ranking members, were responsible for the flawed compilation of data. The report also intimated that a climate of ambivalence existed within the labor ministry towards the gravity and importance of public statistics. "We will make efforts to regain public trust and ensure a similar case does not happen again," Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Takumi Nemoto was quoted as saying upon receiving the report. Along with the officials responsible for the compilation of flawed data, opposition parties have taken aim at the Japanese government, accusing it of deliberately releasing faulty data in an attempt to overly qualify the success of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "Abenomics" brand of economic policies. The opposition camp has also accused Abe of ordering the alteration to the data himself. According to calls from the opposition camp, the labor ministry may have come under pressure to ensure that the data it was collecting and compiling reflected the success of the prime minister's "Abenomics" economics package. While admitting that he knew that the wage growth statistics for June 2015 were affected by the changing of samples, Abe said that he himself had not issued any changes to the sampling methodology. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 21:44:58|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close COLOMBO, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lanka Navy on Wednesday arrested two people attempting to smuggle drugs into the island country through the sea north of Point Pedro, in northern Sri Lanka, the navy media unit said. The navy said the two suspects were arrested for possessing 86.4 kg of Kerala cannabis, a type of illegal drug, during a routine patrol carried out by naval officers in the northern seas. Naval officers had initially spotted a suspicious boat movement in the northern seas and upon inspection had recovered the drugs from the boat. "The stock of cannabis had been packed into two parcels and it is believed that the suspects have attempted to smuggle them into the country from India," the navy said in a statement. The arrested suspects, cannabis and the boat were handed over to the Kankesanthurai Police, in the north for onward legal action. The navy said that so far this year, naval officers had seized 442.2 kg of Kerala cannabis on six separate occasions, during special operations conducted in northern seas. "Going in parallel with the government's initiatives for the prevention of drug abuse, the navy has introduced a wide range of tactical missions in the seas around the island that has paved the way to seize large hauls of narcotics this year," the navy said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 21:44:58|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close DUBAI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will donate 500 million dollars to Yemen in 2019, a UAE minister said at a conference called "Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen," which is organized by the United Nations. The UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy said Wednesday that "we are committed to rebuilding the Yemeni economy and recovering the society in Yemen." The conference hopes to drum up 4 billion dollars for Yemen, a war-battered country facing the world's worst humanitarian crisis. "With the first signs of hope to achieve sustainable peace, let's work together toward achievement of prosperity for the people of Yemen," she added. Some 24 million Yemenis, or 80 percent of the population, are in need for aid, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Saudi Arabia also announced a donation of 500 million dollars. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 21:24:51|Editor: ZX Video Player Close Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (C), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj hold the 16th meeting of the foreign ministers of China, Russia and India in Wuzhen of east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 27, 2019. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang) HANGZHOU, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- China, Russia and India on Wednesday agreed to enhance coordination and cooperation, firmly uphold multilateralism and jointly fight against terrorism. The agreement came as Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held the 16th meeting of the foreign ministers of China, Russia and India in Wuzhen, eastern China's Zhejiang Province. Noting that the world today is undergoing unprecedented changes that have not been seen in the past 100 years, Wang said China, Russia and India, as influential major powers and important emerging economies, should enhance coordination, converge consensus, cement cooperation and jointly promote world peace and stability. Wang said leaders of the three countries successfully held a meeting in Argentina last November, which pointed out the direction for and provided a strong impetus to trilateral cooperation. He suggested that the three countries should firmly safeguard the international system with the United Nations (UN) as the core, and adhere to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and deepen counter-terrorism and security cooperation. It is necessary to resolutely oppose unilateralism and protectionism, continually push forward the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment and promote the construction of an open world economy, said Wang, adding that all of the three countries have proposed their initiatives of connectivity, and they should cooperate with each other and jointly promote the process of regional integration. Lavrov and Swaraj said the international community should observe the principle of the UN Charter and comply with the norms of international laws and relations. They called on the three countries to give full play of multilateral platforms including the UN to further strengthen coordination and cooperation and make joint contributions to properly handle international and regional hotspot issues and tackle challenges facing humanity. After the meeting, the three countries released a joint communique. The three foreign ministers also attended a joint press conference and conducted in-depth exchanges of views regarding the current international situation and trilateral cooperation. The three sides agreed to jointly combat all forms of terrorism, enhance communication over counter-terrorism policy and practical cooperation and will especially make efforts to eradicate terrorism and extremism. On the Venezuela issue, they said it should be settled by Venezuelan people through constructive dialogue rather than resorting to violence, and military intervention is opposed. The three sides also agreed to constantly consolidate and expand trilateral practical cooperation, and work on setting up a meeting mechanism among their defense ministers in an appropriate time. China also proposed to discuss "China, Russia, India plus" cooperation, so as to improve global influence of the trilateral cooperation. The next meeting between three foreign ministers will be held in Russia, Wang said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 21:19:49|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close ARUSHA, Tanzania, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Two people died and eight others were hospitalized following an anthrax outbreak in northern Tanzania's district of Moshi, authorities confirmed on Wednesday. Anna Mghwira, Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner said eight people were receiving treatment in two different hospitals. Five were admitted at Kilema Mission Hospital in the district and three others were referred to the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi Municipality. She said that the victims were believed to have eaten the meat of a dead cow, which died of anthrax. The regional commissioner said that the affected districts include Moshi, Rombo and Siha. Best Magoma, Kilimanjaro Regional Medical Officer, described the anthrax outbreak, as a highly infectious, fatal bacterial disease of mammals, especially cattle and sheep. When transmitted to humans it causes skin ulcers or a form of pneumonia. He cautioned the public to be extra careful when buying and consuming meat following the outbreak of anthrax in the region and other parts of the country. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 20:59:44|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close Workers sort parcels at the transit center of an express delivery company in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, Nov. 14, 2018. Three major Chinese express delivery companies posted steady revenue growth last year on the back of booming e-commerce in the world's most populous country. SF Holding Wednesday announced that its revenues rose 27.6 percent year-on-year to 90.9 billion yuan (13.6 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018 thanks to fast growth in traditional and new businesses better catered to meet customer demands. Smaller rivals STO Express and Yunda Holding saw revenues up 34.4 percent and 38.5 percent to 17 billion yuan and 13.8 billion yuan, respectively, according to their preliminary financial results for 2018 filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The steady rise came amid a stable growth in e-commerce, the major source of business for the express delivery industry, said Chen Zhaolin, an analyst with Southwest Securities. The industry is expected to handle 20 percent more parcels in each of the next two years, Chen said. (Xinhua/Peng Zhaozhi) SHANGHAI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Three major Chinese express delivery companies posted steady revenue growth last year on the back of booming e-commerce in the world's most populous country. SF Holding Wednesday announced that its revenues rose 27.6 percent year-on-year to 90.9 billion yuan (13.6 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018 thanks to fast growth in traditional and new businesses better catered to meet customer demands. Smaller rivals STO Express and Yunda Holding saw revenues up 34.4 percent and 38.5 percent to 17 billion yuan and 13.8 billion yuan, respectively, according to their preliminary financial results for 2018 filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The steady rise came amid a stable growth in e-commerce, the major source of business for the express delivery industry, said Chen Zhaolin, an analyst with Southwest Securities. The industry is expected to handle 20 percent more parcels in each of the next two years, Chen said. The increasing penetration of courier services in less-developed central and western regions could provide further impetus to the industry, according to Essence Securities. China's express delivery sector handled 50.7 billion parcels, an annual increase of 26.6 percent, according to the State Post Bureau. Meanwhile, the sector generated 603.8 billion yuan of revenue, up 21.8 percent. Online retail sales of physical goods in China grew 25.4 percent year-on-year to 7 trillion yuan last year, according the National Bureau of Statistics. Courier services like STO Express and Yunda Holding that rely more on business from online shopping platforms saw faster business growth and will continue to post more robust earnings in a certain period of time, said Shenwan Hongyuan Securities in a research note. SF Holding, a leader in the middle and high-end courier service market, said its net profits attributable to its shareholders for 2018 fell 4.57 percent from the previous year to 4.56 billion yuan on rising costs and new business expansion. Meanwhile, STO Express said its 2018 net profits rose 37.5 percent to 2.05 billion yuan and Yunda Holding announced its 2018 net profits rose 67.3 percent to 2.66 billion yuan. SF Holding has been diversifying from express delivery service to be a comprehensive logistic service provider through acquisitions, and this raises higher demand for corporate management and operations, Sinolink Securities said. The express delivery industry is facing common challenges, including fierce market competition and rising labor and transportation costs, according to Sinolink Securities. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 20:59:44|Editor: ZX Video Player Close HONG KONG, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) departed Wednesday for Thailand to unveil the HKSAR's third economic and trade office in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Chief Executive Carrie Lam is scheduled to officiate at the opening ceremony on Thursday of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (ETO) in Bangkok, another ETO in ASEAN cities after Jakarta and Singapore. The opening of the new ETO will further enable Hong Kong to explore the ASEAN market, especially after a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the HKSAR and ASEAN was signed in 2017, Lam told media at the Hong Kong International Airport before her departure Wednesday afternoon. In the HKSAR government's 2019-2020 budget delivered Wednesday morning, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said that the government will further expand Hong Kong's market coverage by enlarging its FTA and ETO networks, so as to create more business opportunities for enterprises. According to the HKSAR government's Information Services Department, during her visit to Bangkok, Lam will also meet with senior officials of the Thai government, address a business seminar co-hosted by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand, and officiate at the opening ceremony of collaboration activities of a Hong Kong arts group and the Bangkok Art and Culture Center. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 20:59:44|Editor: ZX Video Player Close WELLINGTON, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The implementation of a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) between New Zealand and China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) will bring significant benefits to New Zealand exporters, a New Zealand customs official said on Wednesday. The MRA between Hong Kong and New Zealand that was signed in June 2018 came into effect on Friday, following a ceremonial announcement in Hong Kong. "MRAs are formal arrangements between customs agencies with similar supply chain security standards," Acting Comptroller of Customs Bill Perry said in a statement. The Hong Kong SAR and New Zealand are well aligned in this regard, and this arrangement will enable smoother trade for both New Zealand and Hong Kong importers and exporters, Perry said. "Members of our Secure Export Scheme receive front-of-line priority and are able to move their goods more quickly and effectively through streamlined customs procedures," he said, adding the implementation of this arrangement is another important step in strengthening cooperation between New Zealand and Hong Kong customs agencies. Hong Kong is New Zealand's ninth largest goods export market. In 2018, two-way trade between New Zealand and Hong Kong was valued at more than 2 billion NZ dollars (1.4 billion U.S. dollars). Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 20:54:43|Editor: ZX Video Player Close SHANGHAI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Twenty smugglers were caught and over 530 containers of LCD screens, weighing more than 10,000 tonnes and worth up to 1.65 billion yuan (about 247 million U.S. dollars), were seized in a joint operation early Wednesday morning, Shanghai Customs said. Deployed by the General Administration of Customs, 220 anti-smuggling police officers raided the LCD trafficking gang on Wednesday in several cities including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Yueyang and Chongqing. More than 90 related bank accounts were frozen, with about 302 million yuan of tax evasion involved in the case, according to customs officials. Investigations found that between August 2016 and June 2018, the suspects imported high-end LCD screens from China's Hong Kong and attempted to ship the screens out of the country, replacing them with defective ones. In this way, they evaded a large amount of import duties and only paid small service fees for customs clearance. Shanghai Customs has been tracing the smuggled LCD screens since last June with the help of Shenzhen Customs officers. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 20:44:37|Editor: ZX Video Player Close BARCELONA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A report published on Wednesday by GSMA, the organization representing the worldwide mobile communications industry, sheds light on how Chinese mobile operators and manufacturers are driving the adoption of remote SIM (subscriber identity module) provisioning and eSIM technologies. eSIM is a global specification by the GSMA, which enables remote SIM provisioning of any mobile device. It allows users to store multiple operator profiles on a device simultaneously, and switch between them remotely. The report, entitled "eSIM in China: the road ahead", was prepared by GSMA Intelligence in partnership with the Telecommunication Terminal Industry Forum Association (TAF) and uses information obtained from China's three mobile operators: China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom, along with other Chinese companies, such as Huawei. In the press release accompanying the report, which was published during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019, currently being held in Barcelona, GSMA's Chief Technology Officer Alex Sinclair said that "in China and around the world, the huge adoption of eSIM technologies has been underpinned by the GSMA's common and interoperable specification." "We are seeing a diverse array of products hitting the market utilizing the benefits of connectivity and bringing consumers choice," he said. The report "highlights the role of industry-wide collaboration in driving eSIM developments in China involving operators, government and regulatory bodies," with China's service providers launching cellular M2M (machine to machine) and IoT (Internet of Things) eSIM platforms. According to the report, China's eSIM market is still in an "early phase of development," but after a transitional period the market will mature. "China has a unique mobile market, both in terms of size and revenue growth, and leadership in mobile developments and tech innovation has reached unprecedented levels. China is increasingly demonstrating its technological innovation and is emerging as a leading global market to test and implement new technologies," said Xie Yi, chairman of TAF. "Promoting the steady development of eSIM in China will help support developments in both the consumer and industrial markets. Based on the premise of national conditions, TAF has been committed to all parties in the joint industrial chain and cooperation with the GSMA to make the best efforts to this end," the chairman added. The report recommends that the government encourage the trials of eSIM services, especially in the IoT, to promote an open eSIM ecosystem. File photo shows Zambian student returnees from China perform during the ceremony at the National Museum in Lusaka, Zambia, Aug. 25, 2017. (Xinhua/Peng Lijun) CHINGOLA, Zambia, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Zambia and China can strengthen their bilateral ties by concentrating on training young people in high-tech jobs, an education expert said on Wednesday. Lamech Mbise, president of Funzeleo, a non-governmental organization aiming to inspire and prepare youth for high-demand science and math-based careers, said training young people in high-tech job was vital in ensuring sustainability of Zambia's economic growth. He said Zambia, as well as the rest of the African continent, was blessed with a high population of young people below the age of 30, who should be trained in high-tech jobs. "The over 50 years of bilateral relationships between China and Zambia should be of benefit to both countries," he said. "China should consider training the educated Zambian youths in various high technology jobs, as a way of sustaining the cooperation between the two peoples." China, he said, was endowed with skills and high technology which could be transferred to Zambia trough training of young people. The expert is in Zambia for a projects training workshop for secondary teachers in science and mathematics. Since last year, about 30 teachers have been trained on various science and mathematics projects. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 20:29:31|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close HANOI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump met Wednesday night in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi for their second summit to discuss concrete ways for peace on and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Kim and Trump shook hands and smiled in their first encounter at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, where the two leaders were slated to briefly sit down one-on-one before having a social dinner, opening their two-day summit. The handshaking was made with flags of the DPRK and the United States standing behind them. A banner hanging above the flags read "Hanoi Summit" both in English and Korean. The summit came about eight months after the first Kim-Trump meeting in Singapore in June last year. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 20:24:30|Editor: ZX Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has called for more technology innovation and proper utilization of new media in China's media development. Huang Kunming, head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, on Tuesday visited a 5G media lab set up by the China Media Group (CMG) that was formed last year by merging China Central Television, China National Radio and China Radio International. Huang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, demanded efforts to further promote media convergence. Having watched 4K HD live videos transmitted via the 5G network and other innovative products using the 5G technology, Huang said the 5G media lab, in line with the current technological revolution, enjoys "promising prospects." He urged the CMG to ensure that their 5G-related products are well-tested, perform stably and meet the public's demand for high-quality TV programs and a better visual experience. The CMG has succeeded in trials of live transmission via the 5G network in 12 cities. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 20:24:29|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close CAIRO, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Wednesday warned against the attempts to marginalize the Palestinian cause, reaffirming its continued support for the Palestinians to restore their legitimate rights. Khaled Radi, head of the Palestinian directorate at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, said the Palestinians seek to achieve their legitimate rights of establishing an independent state despite "huge challenges." He made the remarks at the opening of an annual meeting of the board of trustees of Yasser Arafat Foundation named after the Palestinian late former president. Radi also highlighted Egypt's consistent keenness to reach comprehensive and just peace as the only way for peace and development. Meanwhile, Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit pointed out the inequality in the Israeli-Palestinian struggle which has existed from the beginning. Israel is practising occupation with support of international military force while the Palestinian side has no other means but to preserve its existence, Aboul-Gheit noted. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 20:19:29|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Troops of India and Pakistan Wednesday exchanged heavy fire and targeted each other's positions on Line of Control (LoC) dividing the disputed Kashmir region, officials said. A local government official said the exchange lasted for a couple of hours. "We have a plan for evacuation in case the need arises," the official said. So far there are no reports of any damage on either side. Officials said a similar exchange was reported Tuesday evening at several locations on the LoC, and the intermittent exchange went on throughout the night. On Wednesday India confirmed that Pakistan shot down one of its fighter jets MiG-21 and that the pilot had gone missing, while Pakistan claimed that he was in its custody. The incident came a day after the Pakistani army said Indian fighter jets violated the LoC Tuesday morning and released payloads in the Pakistani side. India claimed that its air force had targeted a camp of Jaish-e-Muhammad group in Tuesday's attack. The group was blamed for the Feb. 14 suicide bombing on Indian paramilitary troopers in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed some 40 people. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 20:19:27|Editor: ZX Video Player Close KAMPALA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Isimba Hydropower Plant constructed by Chinese companies in eastern Uganda awaits official commissioning next month after it passed tests from engineers, environmentalists and conservationists. After commissioning of all the units, the Isimba power plant will generate the installed capacity of 183 MW, which is currently about 19 percent of the country's power generated. The country generates up to 974.84 MW, which experts say is inadequate and expensive. Constructed along the Nile, the world's longest river, the power plant comes in time to save the country from the thermal-generated electricity of high tariff. At the peak of the power crisis in 2014, Uganda's government resorted to using diesel generators to power the country's economy, which raised the cost of power. According to Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited, a state-run agency, the cost of thermal power per unit then ranged from 25.28 U.S. cents to 27.08 cents. The cost for hydropower was 12 cents per kWh. The rising of the electricity costs forced some of the manufacturers to increase the prices of their products. The intermittent power supply also forced some manufacturers to run their own diesel generators, which also increased their cost of production and later rendered their products not competitive because of the high price. Economists warned that the inadequate power supply was a key bottleneck to unlocking the country's economic potential. Uganda's government then resolved to increase hydropower generation in a bid to increase power supply and also reduce its cost. The construction of the 568-million-dollar power plant started in 2015, after the east African country secured a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China. This was one of the key green energy projects that China undertook to help Uganda fast-track its development. Another Chinese funded key green energy project is the 600 MW Karuma Hydropower Plant, also constructed along the Nile in northern Uganda. The government anticipates that both the Isimba and Karuma power plants will address the country's power shortage. Before construction of Isimba in 2015, the contractor China International Water and Electric Corporation (CWE) was tasked by the government's environmental watchdog, National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), to do an environmental impact assessment. After wide consultations from responsible government departments, environmentalists, conservationists, academicians and the community that was going to be affected by the project, CWE was given a go-ahead. "This study was relevant because we had to look at the possible impacts that the project would have on the environment, and social impact as well, and also come up with the mitigation measures before the implementation," Nancy Allimadi, a NEMA official, told Xinhua in a recent interview. Throughout the construction period, a government multisectoral task force subjected the project to tests and monitoring on a quarterly basis. "We are going towards the commissioning of the project and we have not had any major environmental damage," she added. Allimadi said CWE worked with the committee to address any concerns that came up, adding that working with CWE showed that Chinese contractors are putting into consideration environmental concerns in their projects. "We are pleased that the contractor was listening, we never had any challenging time," said Allimadi, noting that in case any concerns came up they would sit together and devise solutions. As Isimba nears commissioning, CWE requested Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), a state-run conservation agency, to relocate the wildlife that was going to be affected. Bashir Hangi, UWA's spokesperson, told Xinhua recently that a total of 109 wild animals categorized in nine different species, which among others included snakes and monkeys, were safely rescued and released to a new habitat at neighboring Mabira Forest. "It was important to relocate the said wildlife species for their protection as their safety could not be guaranteed anymore. We want energy, and developers undertook a detailed environmental and social impact assessment. This assessment usually has proposed measure to mitigate against the impacts of the project. As for wildlife, we relocated the species that were there," Hangi said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 20:19:26|Editor: ZX Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The chairman and vice chairpersons of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) met Wednesday afternoon to discuss the committee's work report in 2018. Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the meeting. They decided to submit the work report, along with other documents, for a vote at the closing meeting of the current NPC Standing Committee session, according to a statement released after the chairpersons' meeting. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 20:19:25|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- At least three militants affiliated to Islamic State (IS) outfit have been confirmed dead as fighting aircraft targeted the hardliner group's hideout in Achin district of Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province, said an army statement on Wednesday. No civilians have been harmed during the raids, the statement added, without providing more details. Militants loyal to IS group that are active in parts of Nangarhar province are yet to make comment. File photo taken on Sept. 30, 2018,shows people view a whale during annual Hermanus Whale Festival in Hermanus, Western Cape, South Africa. (Xinhua/Chen Cheng) JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The South African Minister of Tourism Derek Hanekom on Tuesday said the tourism sector is talking with relevant departments to ease the visa regulation. He made the remarks while addressing the media in Johannesburg at Meetings Africa 2019. Derek pointed out that they want to remove hurdles which prevent people from visiting South Africa. "We are in robust conversation with the Department of Home Affairs regarding visa regulations. We want to make it easier for people to attain visas to visit South Africa," he said. The Tourism Business Council of South Africa CEO Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa said they would like to work with government to improve the sector and double the tourist arrivals into the country to 21 million by 2030. "We are projecting huge investment into the tourism industry in order to meet our 2030 tourism goal. This includes the private sector where hotel groups are investing heavily in Africa. We discussed visa waivers with government for earmarked countries to promote tourism," said Tshivhenga. One of the suggestions they did to government was to remove barriers to tourists like change in visa regime and demands for children visiting the country. Tshivhenga said they also proposed the e-visa which they hope will be implemented this year. "We are targeting China, India and Africa which have a huge potential for our tourism. We will also defend our traditional tourism markets by innovation and use of new technology and attract new tourists," Tshivenga said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 19:49:09|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close CHIKWAWA, Malawi, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A 14-year-old girl from Malawi's southern district of Chikwawa is admitted to a local hospital after a gang of 12 men descended on her and allegedly abused her on Tuesday evening. Police spokesperson for the district, Foster Benjamin, confirmed the case on Wednesday saying it occurred in a remote village when the girl was coming from a grocery shop, where her grandmother had sent her to buy some stuff. Benjamin said 6 of the 12 suspected criminals have been arrested while the rest are on the run. He told the local media that the criminals left the girl weak and unconscious and that when she regained conscious she crawled back to the road where well-wishers took her home. The matter was reported to the village head who mobilized members of the community who hunted the suspects down and managed to apprehend 6 of them. The girl has sustained serious injuries in her genital area and, according to Benjamin, she would require serious counseling as she is psychologically affected. Meanwhile, the police have assured the general public that they will net and bring to book the remaining six suspects. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 19:44:07|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close NAIROBI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday congratulated Muhammadu Buhari on his re-election after winning Nigeria's presidential polls. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria announced early Wednesday that incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, also the candidate of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) party, topped the poll with 55.6 percent of the total valid votes in the presidential election. In his message, Kenyatta said Buhari's election victory is a clear demonstration of the trust and confidence the people of Nigeria have in his ability to lead the West African nation to greater heights of progress. "Kenya and Nigeria enjoy longstanding cordial relations and a strong cooperation in many areas," Kenyatta said in his message. "I look forward to continuing working closely with Your Excellency to in consolidating these mutually beneficial areas of cooperation for the greater good of our two countries," he added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 19:39:06|Editor: ZX Video Player Close Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 27, 2019. Swaraj is in Wuzhen to attend a meeting of the foreign ministers of China, Russia and India. (Xinhua/Weng Xinyang) HANGZHOU, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday met with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Wuzhen of east China's Zhejiang Province. Swaraj is in Wuzhen to attend a meeting of the foreign ministers of China, Russia and India. The leaders of China and India held a successful informal meeting last year in the city of Wuhan, leading bilateral relations into a new stage of mature and stable development, Wang said. In the new year, China and India should implement the important consensus reached by their leaders, plan for the celebration activities marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties and promote stable and further development of bilateral relations, he said. Wang said China is concerned about the current tension in South Asia. As a friend of both India and Pakistan, China urges restraint from the two sides to avoid escalation of the situation. China expects the two countries to find out the truth of the relevant incident through dialogue and jointly safeguard regional peace, he said. Swaraj said India and China should work together to safeguard peace and tranquility of their border regions and push forward the stable development of bilateral relations. India maintains that the international community should work in solidarity and coordination to combat terrorism, Swaraj added, noting that India will deal with relevant issues in a responsible and restrained manner. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 19:39:05|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close MOSCOW, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Federation Council, or the upper parliament house, said Wednesday it regards the illegitimate use of armed force against Venezuela by states supporting the opposition as aggression. The use of force will also pose a threat to international peace and security, the Federation Council said in a statement, condemning foreign attempts to interfere in Venezuela's internal affairs. Russia respects Venezuela's sovereignty and will continue to work with the country's legitimate authorities, it read. The Council said the Venezuelans can resolve the crisis on their own. It said Russia has consistently called for the issue to be resolved through international law and the country's own legislative means. The Russian Federation Council called on the United Nations, foreign parliaments and inter-parliamentary organizations to support peaceful dialogue in the Latin American country. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 19:34:03|Editor: ZX Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Horizon Robotics, one of China's leading designers of AI chips announced Wednesday that it had raised 600 million U.S. dollars in its latest funding round, with the company valued at 3 billion U.S. dollars. Following 100 million U.S. dollars of financing led by Intel Capital in late 2017, this round of investment was led by SK China, SK Hynix and several top carmakers. "The key strategic partners and resources introduced in this financing round will further accelerate the pace of research and development and commercialization for the company," said Yu Kai, founder and CEO of Horizon Robotics. The company said it would increase its investments in the fields of AI and edge computing. The Beijing-based company was established in 2015. Focusing on edge AI processors and autonomous driving computing platforms, Horizon Robotics have established cooperation with automobile manufacturers including Audi, Bosch, Chang'an and BYD. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 19:34:02|Editor: ZX Video Player Close CHINGOLA, Zambia, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Zambia and China can strengthen their bilateral ties by concentrating on training young people in high-tech jobs, an education expert said on Wednesday. Lamech Mbise, president of Funzeleo, a United States-based non-governmental organization aiming to inspire and prepare youth for high-demand science and math-based careers, said training young people in high-tech job was vital in ensuring sustainability of Zambia's economic growth. He said Zambia, as well as the rest of the African continent, was blessed with a high population of young people below the age of 30, who should be trained in high-tech jobs. "The over 50 years of bilateral relationships between China and Zambia should be of benefit to both countries," he said. "China should consider training the educated Zambian youths in various high technology jobs, as a way of sustaining the cooperation between the two peoples." China, he said, was endowed with skills and high technology which could be transferred to Zambia trough training of young people. The expert is in Zambia for a projects training workshop for secondary teachers in science and mathematics. Since last year, about 30 teachers have been trained on various science and mathematics projects. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 19:18:58|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close GABORONE, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The President of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi will travel to Harare, Zimbabwe on Wednesday to attend the Inaugural Session of Botswana and Zimbabwe Bi-National Commission (BNC). A press release from the Ministry of International Affairs and Cooperation on Tuesday stated that BNC is a high level platform that replaced the Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation and the Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security between the two countries through an agreement signed on the margins of the 38th Southern African Development Community Summit held August last year in Namibia. "The Inaugural Bi-National Commission is therefore, expected to exchange views on bilateral and international issues of mutual interest and further discuss the state of bilateral cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, agriculture, tourism, energy as well as defense and security," the release said. Six ministers and senior government officials will accompany Masisi. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 19:13:56|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close ABUJA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's President re-elected Muhammadu Buhari faces a challenge from his main rival in the election race after the electoral body declared him the winner of the Saturday election. Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the main opposition People's Democratic Party, announced on Twitter Wednesday he rejects the result of the election and will be challenging it in court. Abubakar said with regards to the presidential election, it is clear that there were "manifest and premeditated malpractices in many states which negate the results announced." Source Xinhua| 2019-02-27 18:58:32|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close Photo taken on Feb. 26, 2019 shows the United Nations Security Council holding a meeting on the humanitarian situation in Syria, at the UN headquarters in New York. (Xinhua/Li Muzi) Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 19:15:03|Editor: ZX Video Player Close Mediation volunteers talk with a worker while visiting a factory in Zhili Town in Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 27, 2019. The mediators, who are all female entrepreneurs, began three years ago to help resolve disputes between employees and employers in Zhilin Town. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 18:48:44|Editor: ZX Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson Wednesday denounced the practices by some politicians in Taiwan to instigate hostility between the mainland and Taiwan to build up cross-Strait tensions for their own election interests. An Fengshan, a spokesperson with the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, criticized recent provocative statements made by some "big shots" on the island. "They are grifting for their own pathetic election interests, periling the cross-Strait peace and the welfare of Taiwan compatriots," An said. The spokesperson said the mainland is always firm in maintaining and promoting the welfare of Taiwan compatriots and helping them achieve greater and better development, while the Democratic Progressive Party authority is doing exactly the opposite. "We resolutely oppose and deter 'Taiwan independence' forces, in a bid to safeguard the common interests of all Chinese people, including the 23 million Taiwan compatriots," he said, noting that "Taiwan independence" is the biggest threat to cross-Strait peace and stability and the biggest detriment to the interests of the people on both sides of the Strait. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 18:43:42|Editor: ZX Video Player Close ZHENGZHOU, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Archaeologists have found a settlement of early humans dating back between 30,000 and 40,000 years in central China's Henan Province, local authorities said Wednesday. Four fireplaces left by ancient humans have been discovered at the Longquandong excavation site in Luanchuan County in the city of Luoyang. Three of them were found encircled by stones, according to Gu Xuejun, leading archaeologist of the excavation project. Gu said his team conducted experiments on the stone-encircled fireplaces and found they can be reignited after the flames have died for some time. "It shows humans had already mastered the technique of controlling fire more than 30,000 years ago," he said. The project, launched in 2014, has also seen the excavation of more than 23,000 pieces of stone tools, bone tools and animal fossils. "The period between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago was a critical stage in the evolution of humans," said Shi Jiazhen, director of Luoyang City Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute. "Longquandong excavation site provides precious materials for the study of the evolution of early humans and changes in the natural environment of the period." Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 18:38:41|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- India on Wednesday confirmed that Pakistan shot down one of its fighter jets MiG-21 and that the pilot had gone missing, while Pakistan claimed that he was in its custody. Briefing the media in New Delhi, Indian external affairs ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said that in an aerial engagement between India and Pakistan on Wednesday, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by the Indian Air Force. "The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG-21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," said the spokesman. Pakistan has denied that India shot down its fighter jet. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 18:33:39|Editor: ZX Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday congratulated Muhammadu Buhari on his re-election as President of Nigeria. Nigeria is China's important strategic partner of cooperation in Africa, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a daily press briefing. China always attaches high importance to bilateral ties and stands ready to work with the new Nigerian government to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in various fields and bring more benefits to the two peoples, Lu said. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria announced early Wednesday that incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, also the candidate of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) party, topped the poll with 55.6 percent of the total valid votes in the presidential election. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 18:33:39|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close Rescuers work at a fire site at a train station in Cairo, Egypt, Feb. 27, 2019. At least 20 people were killed and more than 40 others wounded when a fire erupted inside the main train station in the city center of Egypt's capital Cairo on Wednesday, state-run Nile TV reported. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) CAIRO, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 people were killed and more than 40 others wounded when a fire erupted inside the main train station in the city center of Egypt's capital Cairo on Wednesday, state-run Nile TV reported. The blaze broke out as a train crashed onto the pavement, the report said. According to the advisor to the Egyptian transport minister, the train in Ramsis Station hit the concrete barriers at the end of the pavement. Meanwhile, a security source told state-run Ahram news website that the heavy crash caused explosion of the fuel tank before the fire broke out. "The explosion was horrible. I saw two men flying out of the train's windows with their bodies on fire," Ali Kamal, a passenger from the site told Xinhua. It was difficult to rescue anyone, he added. Dozens of ambulances and firefighters had rushed to the scene. Eyewitnesses at a hospital said the corpses were completely burned. Doctors told Xinhua that most of the wounded are of second or third degree of burn and in critical conditions. The train movement to and from Cairo has been suspended. Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly is following the repercussions of the incident with the transport minister, according to Nile TV. Egypt top prosecutor ordered urgent investigations into the incident. "The era of keeping silent on those making mistakes has ended," Madbouly said. "No easiness in dealing with those responsible for the train blaze," he added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 17:48:28|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close LILONGWE, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Military leaders across Africa gathered in Malawi's capital Lilongwe to share best practices on how soldiers can serve communities without breaking the law. During his opening speech at the 6th Africa Accountability Colloquium on Tuesday, Malawi Defense Force Commander General Sipuni Phiri described the meeting as the best forum for African forces to share experiences. "Where we are operating, like in our case (Malawi) we are in Democratic Republic of Congo where we do several operations involving civilians; so we really need to understand the rules of engagement, the rule of law, so that we operate within the confines of the law," said Sipuni Phiri. U.S. Ambassador to Malawi Virginia Palmer, who officially opened the conference, said the military needs to be open and serve communities in times of need and not infringe on people's rights. "People should not run away from military, they should run towards them to seek protection," explained Palmer. She said the military should remain professional when exercising their duties no matter in what circumstances. The meeting which is hosted by U.S. Africa Command has brought together military commanders, chief of staffs and their legal advisers from countries across Africa. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 17:43:24|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Global diabetes care giant Novo Nordisk sees China as a top market as its graying population and hastened medical reforms entail expanding treatment to a huge patient population with unmet needs. Chinese people are getting richer thanks to the rapid progress of urbanization, but an aging population and unbalanced lifestyles also pose a rising challenge in diabetes growth, said Maziar Mike Doustdar, executive vice president of international operations at Novo Nordisk. The number of Chinese people with diabetes has topped 110 million, according to the International Diabetes Federation. China is Novo Nordisk's largest market outside the United States, expanding about 8 percent year on year in 2018, a "healthy growth rate" for the market with the world's largest diabetes population, according to Doustdar. Since setting up its first China office in Beijing 25 years ago, Novo Nordisk has been steadily expanding its local presence, opening a manufacturing plant in Tianjin in 1995, and a research and development (R&D) center in Beijing in 1997, the first multinational pharmaceuticals firm to launch an R&D center in China. The company has also included five Chinese cities, the largest number by one nation, in its "Cities Changing Diabetes" program, a global initiative designed to reverse the high prevalence of diabetes in cities by working together with partners including the government, health care professionals, and academics, to promote medical education and healthy lifestyles, according to Christine Zhou, president of Novo Nordisk China. "Chinese governments at all levels attach great importance to diabetes treatment and education. Public awareness is rising, but there is still much work to do given the size of the potential patients," Zhou added. Doustdar said he is impressed by the Chinese government's emphasis on quality and innovation and has seen faster approval of new drugs such as its new generation ultra-long duration basal insulin thanks to accelerating medical reforms. "China is good at thinking long-term, as evidenced by the 'Healthy China 2030' blueprint. We love this as it makes it easier for pharmaceuticals to develop according to plans and be partners to achieve win-win outcomes and benefit patients," Doustdar said. The intellectual property rights protection has also been improved, and Novo Nordisk is excited to work with local partners as China is one of the globe's most vibrant biotech markets with growing capital and R&D investment, he added. The company's R&D center in Beijing is establishing an open innovation platform to support drug R&D collaboration to upgrade the firm's innovation model in China. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 17:13:19|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close TEHRAN, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday officially refused to accept the resignation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and affirmed "full authority" of Foreign Ministry in conducting the country's foreign affairs, official IRNA news agency reported. "Your appeal for resignation is against the country's expediency," Rouhani said in response to an earlier resignation letter by Zarif. "Therefore, I do not accept it," he added. In his Instagram message released on Monday, Zarif hinted at his resignation, saying "thanks for the great and brave Iranians and my colleagues, but I apologize for my failure to serve you and some flaws in my work." Rouhani described Zarif as a "trustable, brave and pious" person and an official who has always been at the "frontline of resistance against the U.S. pressures." On Tuesday, Iranian media revealed that the resignation of Zarif is related to "devaluation" of Iran's foreign ministry's role in conducting some foreign affairs. "My decision to resign was only (a reaction) to defend the dignity and status of (Iran's) foreign ministry in leading foreign affairs," Zarif was quoted as saying by Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) on Tuesday. "As a foreign minister, and in order to protect the national interests and the power of the country, I was duty-bound to react to devaluation of the status of the foreign ministry," he added. Meanwhile, media releases showed the Monday visit of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had not been coordinated with Iran's Foreign Ministry and Zarif was absent when Assad met with the Iranian supreme leader and Rouhani in the capital Tehran. Some 160 Iranian lawmakers on Tuesday urged Rouhani not to approve the resignation of Zarif as Foreign Minister, Ali Najafi Khoshroudi, spokesman for the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, told official IRNA news agency. On Wednesday, Rouhani reaffirmed Zarif's demand for the recognition of the role of Foreign Ministry in the country's foreign affairs. "Foreign Ministry is responsible for foreign relations and the protector of national security and interests," Rouhani said. "Therefore, all the administrative and establishment institutions should operate within the authority of this Ministry over foreign affairs," he added. Rouhani lauded what he called the recent "achievements" of the Iranian Foreign Ministry in a number of international conferences. "The fact that the enemies of this country, like the Zionists (Israel), were happy about your (Zarif's) resignation is the proof for your success as the Foreign Minister of the Islamic republic," the Iranian president noted. Zarif was named the Foreign Minister of Iran when Rouhani took office in 2013. He led the Iranian diplomatic mission to sign a historic deal with the world powers in 2015, putting an end to the decade-long dispute over the nuclear program of the Islamic republic. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 17:13:18|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close KATHMANDU, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A helicopter carrying at least six people including Nepal's Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Rabindra Adhikari went missing in eastern Nepal Wednesday afternoon, local media reported quoting a government official. Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs Prem Kumar Rai confirmed with local media that the helicopter carrying Minister Adhikari and five others has gone missing. It was reported that under secretary of the Prime Minister's Office Yubaraj Dahal and Ang Tshiring Sherpa of Air Dynasty were also onboard. Minister Adhikari and his team were on an inspection visit of a domestic airport. The incident comes at a time when the snowfall has affected various parts of the country's hilly region since Tuesday. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 17:08:14|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close Passengers are stranded at the airport in Jammu, the winter capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, Feb. 27, 2019. Indian authorities Wednesday ordered closure of airports for civilian aeroplanes in Indian-controlled Kashmir and Amritsar of Punjab state in wake of the growing tension with neighboring Pakistan. (Xinhua/Stringer) NEW DELHI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Indian authorities Wednesday ordered closure of airports for civilian aeroplanes in Indian-controlled Kashmir and Amritsar of Punjab state in wake of the growing tension with neighboring Pakistan, officials said. "The air traffic of civilian flights in all the airports here including Srinagar and Jammu have been suspended," an official in Srinagar said, adding that "the civilian aeroplanes that are parked here will not be allowed to take off until further orders." Earlier on Wednesday a pilot and a co-pilot of Indian Air Force (IAF) were reported to be killed after an Mi-17 jet crashed in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan army said its air force shot down two Indian fighter jets inside Pakistani airspace, adding one of the aircraft fell inside Pakistan-administered Kashmir while the other fell inside Indian-controlled Kashmir. On Tuesday, Pakistani army said Indian fighter jets violated the Line of Control (LoC) and released payloads in the Pakistani side. India claimed that its air force had targeted a camp of Jaish-e-Muhammad group in Tuesday's attack. The group was blamed for the Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed some 40 Indian paramilitary troopers. Private airlines have issued statements about cancellation of flights after the decision to shutdown the airports. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 16:53:12|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close HANOI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong and U.S. President Donald Trump witnessed here on Wednesday the signing of several business deals, including two on the sales of Boeing jets to VietJet Air and Bamboo Airways. Under a deal, budget carrier VietJet Air will buy 100 Boeing 737 Max jets totaling 12.7 billion U.S. dollars at list prices, the local airline said on Wednesday, noting that it also inked with U.S. firm General Electric a contract on aircraft engine maintenance worth 5.3 billion U.S. dollars at list prices. Under another aircraft deal, newly-established carrier Bamboo Airways will purchase 10 Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes totaling 3 billion U.S. dollars. According to Vietnam's Transport Ministry, the local aviation market will annually grow 16 percent from now to 2020, and 8 percent in the 2020-2030 period. Vietnamese carriers are expected to serve 64 million passengers by 2020 and 131 million passengers by 2030. Vietnam's aviation industry served 48.9 million passengers in 2018, up 11.2 percent year-on-year, and transported 405,000 tons of cargoes, up 22.1 percent, said the country's General Statistics Office. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 16:07:59|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close SUVA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Fiji's Ministry of Fisheries said Wednesday the ban on the harvesting of sea turtles will continue this year, extending the 10-year moratorium that expired at the beginning of this year. The ministry said it will continue to prohibit the sale, possession and transportation of turtles. Fiji's Fisheries Minister Semi Koroilavesau said the ban will strengthen the conservation, management and protection of the turtles, adding that Fijian communities have come to realize and understand the importance of protecting turtles. People who are caught harvesting turtles in Fiji can face a fine of 10,000 Fijian dollars (about 4,721 U.S. dollars) or 12 months imprisonment. Turtles are the living fossils of the modern era according to Wildlife International. They first appeared about 215 million years ago, making them one of the oldest reptile groups. The waters of Fiji boast five of the seven living species of sea turtles: green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, and olive ridley. Turtles nest in Fiji from October to April annually. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 16:07:59|Editor: ZX Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's economic growth with fluctuations in a narrow range in the past four years shows the economy's "great stability and resilience," an official has said. In the past 16 consecutive quarters, China's GDP growth stayed in a range of 6.4 percent to 7 percent. "This kind of moderate fluctuation has not been easy," Sheng Laiyun, deputy head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said in an interview with Economic Daily. "Theoretically speaking, China's economy succeeded in shifting gear from the previous high speed to current medium-high rate after the past eight years, with the growth approaching a lower potential rate," Sheng was quoted as saying in the interview carried in the newspaper Wednesday. As China managed to turn the service sector and consumption its main growth drivers, its economy has shown notably higher stability and sustainability. "This is the natural result from economic restructuring and upgrading," he said. In 2018, the service sector's value added accounted for 52.2 percent of the GDP, and the sector's growth contributed 59.7 percent to the country's economic growth. The contribution of final consumption expenditure to economic growth rose to 76.2 percent, up 18.6 percentage points from the previous year, NBS data showed. At the same time, China's economic growth was in line with other major economic indicators in the same period, according to Sheng. "Without economic growth of more than 6 percent, annual job creation would not have exceeded 13 million," Sheng said. Last year, the country's GDP growth was 6.6 percent, power consumption expanded 8.2 percent, railway freight volume rose 9.1 percent, and 13.61 million jobs were created, the NBS data showed. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 15:57:56|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Chinese Vice Education Minister Tian Xuejun (L) awards a certificate to a local student who has excelled in Chinese language proficiency test at an unveiling ceremony of University College Dublin (UCD) Model Confucius Institute in Dublin, Ireland, Feb. 26, 2019. The unveiling ceremony of UCD Model Confucius Institute was held here on Tuesday. (Xinhua) DUBLIN, Feb.27 (Xinhua) -- The Confucius Institute run by University College Dublin (UCD) in collaboration with its Chinese partner was awarded "Model Confucius Institute" on Tuesday at an unveiling ceremony in its new teaching building. Chinese Vice Education Minister Tian Xuejun and President of UCD Andrew J. Deeks jointly unveiled the Model Confucius Institute title at the newly completed state-of-the-art teaching building of UCD Confucius Institute with the company of Chinese Ambassador to Ireland Yue Xiaoyong and UCD Confucius Institute Director Wang Liming. Over 100 people including students and faculty staff of UCD Confucius Institute attended the ceremony. Established with the Beijing-based Renmin University of China in 2006, UCD Confucius Institute is the one of the earliest Confucius Institutes and also among the first group of Model Confucius Institutes, said Tian. He also praised the unique role played by the institute in building the friendship between China and Ireland. Tian said that currently there are 548 Confucius Institutes in 154 countries and regions, aiming to help people from all over the world learn the Chinese language, understand China and promote communication and friendship between the Chinese people and people of other countries, said Tian. The teaching building of UCD Confucius Institute where the unveiling ceremony was held is a symbol of the collaboration between UCD and China as well as the support that UCD Confucius Institute has received from the Irish and Chinese governments, said UCD President Andrew J. Deeks. 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic ties between China and Ireland. As an important part of the bilateral relations, the educational exchanges and cooperation between the two countries have witnessed a strong growing momentum in recent years, said Chinese Ambassador to Ireland Yue Xiaoyong at the ceremony. Tian visited Ireland with a delegation from the Chinese Ministry of Education to hold the 5th Meeting of the China-Ireland Joint Working Group on Education with the Irish Department of Education and Skills. During its stay in Ireland, the delegation will also sign a cooperation agreement with National University Ireland Galway on setting up a third Confucius Institute in the country. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 15:47:50|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Sinlavong Khoutphaythoune (4th L), member of the Political Bureau of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and mayor of Vientiane, attends the completion ceremony of a water supply project built by Chinese firm in Vientiane, capital of Laos, Feb. 27, 2019. A water supply project, built by the China North Industries Group Corporation Limited (NORINCO), has been completed and handed over to the owner in Lao capital Vientiane Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Jianhua) VIENTIANE, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A water supply project, built by the China North Industries Group Corporation Limited (NORINCO), has been completed and handed over to the owner in Lao capital Vientiane Wednewday. The handover ceremony for water pipe system extension project of Sandin Water Supply Plant and replacing of old water pipe for Nampapa Nakhnone Luang (Vientiane Water Supply Enterprise) is held at the outskirts of Vientiane, with attendance of Sinlavong Khoutphaythoune, member of the Political Bureau of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and mayor of Vientiane. Dong Jifeng, the assistant general manager of NORINCO International, the business sector of its parent company NORINCO, said at a ceremony on Wednesday, that the Vientiane municipal water supply project is an important strategic task related to the Lao people's livelihood. The NORINCO always adhered to the principle of "quality first" and the project was jointly supervised by a team of experts from the owner, the supervision company and the designer regarding quality, said Dong, adding their work has been fully recognized by the Lao side, Dong said. General Manager of Vientiane Water Supply Enterprise, Khampheuy Vongsakhamphoui addressed the ceremony that the project is an important livelihood project as a part of the company's development plan. Khampheuy said, after it is put into operation, the project will help achieve the target of the tap water coverage in Vientiane not less than 95 percent population by 2020, and will help Vientiane develop into a modernized city. The project, completed in 21 months, will supply 30,000 cubic meters of healthy and sanitary water per day to nearly 23,000 households in the Lao capital. Moreover, the project will install the water supply supervisory control and data acquisition system to help reduce the water leakage and improve the management efficiency. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 15:42:47|Editor: ZX Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- China will launch a new round of crackdown on online pornography, illegal publications for children and fake news organizations. The crackdown, initiated by the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications, will run from March to November this year. The anti-porn campaign will target the spreading of pornographic and vulgar content through literary websites, WeChat, Weibo, online forums and live-streaming platforms, as well as those who sell pornographic videos online, said the office. The authorities will strengthen the fight against illegal publications for children. Books, card games and other cultural products sold to minors near schools will be put under careful scrutiny. Meanwhile, efforts will be made to eliminate pornography, vulgarity, violence and other harmful information that is spread on Internet applications for children. Regulators will also be tasked with fighting fake news organizations and journalists, as well as misconduct such as news blackmailing, said the office. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 15:32:44|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close SUVA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A new partnership between ANZ Bank and Ola Fou was launched in Fiji on Wednesday where youths will be given the opportunity to take part in MoneyMinded and Business Basics in ANZ's financial literacy program. Ola Fou aims to empowers young Pacific leaders to work for positive change in their communities. ANZ Fiji Country Head Saud Minam said as part of their initial three-year partnerships, ANZ will provide Ola Fou with training and accreditation to deliver both MoneyMinded and Business Basics. Minam said the program had been successful in improving financial literacy and will add value to the work that Ola Fou is already doing in Fiji's communities. Around 12,000 people in Fiji have taken part in the MoneyMinded program. Ola Fou Fiji Chairman Geoffrey Nainoca said they are pleased to partner with ANZ to deliver MoneyMinded in the villages and settlements that they support. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 14:36:31|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and keep from taking more actions that would escalate their current tension. In a statement issued by the State Department, Pompeo, who is now in Hanoi, Vietnam, said that he has earlier spoken with Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi about India's latest confrontation with Pakistan. Pompeo also noted that the United States encourages India and Pakistan "to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost." "I also encouraged both ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity," said the U.S. top diplomat. The ties between the two Asian neighbors have grown tense following the Feb. 14 suicide attack on the Indian police in the Indian-controlled Kashmir that had killed over 40 policemen. The Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) group, which was banned in Pakistan in 2002, had claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in the town of Pulwama. In a latest phone conversation with Qureshi, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China supports Pakistan and India to resolve the issue through dialogue as soon as possible and avoid an escalation of the situation. Wang called on both sides to collaborate on fighting terrorism and jointly safeguarding the security and stability of South Asia. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 14:16:26|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Security Council on Tuesday debated over the political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, with different opinions on how to resolve the Venezuelan impasse. Jorge Arreaza, Venezuela's Minister of the People's Power for Foreign Affairs, called upon the council to adopt a resolution rejecting the use of force, or the threat of such use, against his country, during a meeting attended by nearly 40 member states of the UN. The Under Secretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, said in her briefing to the council that the situation in Venezuela has been "an alarming escalation of tensions," and the humanitarian crisis is scaling up. "Venezuelan actors across the political spectrum have the responsibility to put the interests of the Venezuelan people at the center of their actions at this most critical time," DiCarlo said. Elliott Abrams, the special representative for Venezuela of the United States, whose delegation requested the meeting, said that the United States and many other countries call for humanitarian assistance for Venezuelans. "The people of Venezuela need our solidarity and help," he said. A U.S.-backed drive to deliver "humanitarian aid" to Venezuela through border crossings on Feb. 23 met strong resistance from the Venezuelan government as President Nicolas Maduro believed the aid, mainly from the United States, is a smokescreen for a military invasion. The Venezuelan government has closed borders with Brazil and Colombia and some air and sea routes. Russian representative Vassily Nebenzia said Venezuela's people must resolve their own problems through solutions based on respect for national sovereignty. What occurred on the Colombian border on Feb. 23 was not an attempt to deliver aid, but to breach the frontier of an independent State, he said. According to DiCarlo, on Feb. 23 the Venezuelan authorities blocked entry of trucks which led by Juan Guaido, head of the Venezuelan National Assembly, on borders with Brazil and Colombia. Arreaza said it is fitting for the council to address the international aggression faced by his country's people. "Without a doubt, such aggression threatens regional and international peace and stability," he added. He also criticized DiCarlo's briefing as biased. Venezuela's government is now waiting to sit down with the opposition to decide the country's future without interference from anyone, most of all the United States, he added, expressing hope that the White House will give Guaido its approval to begin talks. Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the UN, said that China opposes military intervention in Venezuela. "China opposes using the issue of so-called humanitarian assistance for political purposes to create disability or even turbulence inside Venezuela and in the neighboring region," said Ma. The governments which tried to deliver humanitarian aid are the same ones exerting pressure for regime change, said Cuba's representative Ana Silvia Rodriguez. Reaffirming Cuba's support for Maduro, she stressed that peace and security in Latin America must be defended and upheld. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 14:01:19|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A South Korean fighter jet crashed in the country's western waters on Wednesday afternoon for an unidentified reason, according to local press reports. The two-seat KF-16D fighter jet of the South Korean air force crashed into western waters at about 12:13 pm local time (0313 GMT), 13 minutes after taking off for a flight training from an air base in Gunsan, around 270 km south of the capital Seoul. Two pilots aboard the jet ejected right before the crash, and were in a good condition of health. It marked the first incident in about 10 months since April last year when a F-15K warplane crashed while coming back to an air base in southeast of South Korea after a flight training. The exact cause of the accident was not known yet. The air force planned to form a task force to figure out why it happened. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 13:46:17|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Tuesday called on the United Nations to scale up assistance in cash and in kind to the people in Syria. The international community needs to actively support the Syrian government and its people in socio-economic reconstruction to create conditions for the return of refugees and displaced persons, Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said at the Security Council meeting on the Middle East situation. Steady progress in reconstruction can give hope to the Syrian people and underwrite the long-term stability of the war-stricken country, Wu said, noting that the return of Syrian refugees can also ease the pressure on host nations. He also urged the Syrian parties to put the country's future and the well-being of its people first by complying with relevant council resolutions, implementing agreements reached and advancing the political process. The future of Syria can only be decided upon by the Syrian people without outside interference, the Chinese envoy said, adding that the international community should respect the Syrian government and people's efforts to safeguard national security and stability. According to Reena Ghelani, director for operations and advocacy of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs, an estimated 11.7 million people will require humanitarian assistance across the country in 2019. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 13:46:16|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan security forces have taken complete control of Sangin district from the Taliban militants in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand, a military source said Wednesday. Scores of militants including several Taliban subordinate commanders have been killed and several rounds of landmines and roadside bombs have been recovered and defused during the ongoing operation launched by Afghan National Army that resulted in the full control of the restive district on Tuesday, a media official of army Corps 215 Maywand told Xinhua. The strategic district has been the scene of heavy clashes between security forces and Taliban for long. The official gave no details about possible casualties of civilians or security forces during the skirmishes. The Taliban militant group has not commented on the report yet. Afghan troops have intensified their offensive against the Taliban and other insurgent groups within past months, as the Taliban militants have been attempting to take territory and consolidate their positions during the winter in the mountainous country. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 13:06:03|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Attorney General's Office of U.S. Midwest state of Nebraska on Tuesday subpoenaed more than 400 catholic churches, schools and other institutions to hand over their sexual abuse records. The subpoenas demanded "all records or information related to any child sexual assault or abuse that has occurred by those employed or associated with each church or institution, whether previously reported or not," the Attorney General's Office of the state said. Local media reported that law enforcement officers fanned out across the state to hand-deliver the papers beginning Tuesday morning. "We are cooperating with the attorney general's office," the archdiocese of Omaha said in response to the subpoena. "While we don't believe subpoenas were necessary, we will continue to share information with the Nebraska Attorney General's Office to bring this investigation to a conclusion," the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Island said. The move came as an escalation from state Attorney General Doug Peterson's decision last year to ask the state's three Roman Catholic bishops to voluntarily give up their sex abuse records for the past 40 years. It also came after Vatican wrapped up an unprecedented summit Sunday on combating sexual abuse by clergy. While the bishops mostly complied with Peterson's request last year, the Attorney General's Office said it felt there is a need for subpoenas. The office said in a statement that it "believes that subpoenas are necessary in order to ensure all reports of impropriety have been submitted to the appropriate authorities." "It is our goal that all reports of abuse are subject to complete law enforcement review and investigation as warranted," it said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 13:01:02|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen will provide the U.S. House of Representatives with documents that could unveil "illicit acts" by U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a prepared testimony released online late Tuesday. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 12:40:58|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- "The growth of Chinese tourists visiting Spain could be described as spectacular," Dario Polo Rodriguez, tourism counselor of the Spanish Embassy in China, told Xinhua in a recent interview. In 2018, China overtook Japan to become Spain's largest source of Asian tourists, and consolidated itself as a strategic market, according to Polo. "Despite the delay in recognizing the potential of the Chinese market, Spain has been redoubling efforts to offer a pleasant experience to the growing number of Chinese visitors to the country," Polo said. During the Lunar New Year holidays, many Chinese chose to travel abroad, and Spain was among the most popular destinations. Spain was the number one destination in Europe visited by the Chinese during the Spring Festival holiday season, followed by Italy, according to a report issued by Dragon Trail, a travel marketing consultant firm. In 2018, 649,032 Chinese tourists visited Spain, representing accumulated growth of 128 percent over three years, according to official statistics from Spain. With an average spend per person of 2,563 euros, Chinese travelers contributed over 1.66 billion euros a year to Spain's tourist industry. However, of over 82.6 million international tourists that Spain received in 2018, those from China only represented 0.8 percent. "The Spanish tourism sector has come with certain delay to recognizing the importance and potential of the Chinese source market," said Polo, who stressed that the situation had changed notably in recent years. Although it has come late to the party, Spain welcomes the opportunity that the Chinese market has provided and looks to expand participation of the Chinese in its foreign tourist industry. "China is soon to become the world's leading tourism source market. Spain recognizes this potential and will therefore redouble its efforts to capture a more significant market share," the counselor said. Since 2015, China has been designated a "strategic market" by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism of Spain, as increasing Chinese tourist flows bring important business opportunities to the country. Take the air transport sector as an example: At the end of 2015 there were only two direct connections between China and Spain, operated by one single airline with seven flights per week. Currently, the number of direct flights has grown to 10, operated by seven different airlines at a weekly frequency of 41 flights. Chinese tourists also pay visits that are much more constant throughout the year compared to those from European countries who arrive mainly in summer, according to Polo. The high peaks for Chinese outbound tourism take place around the Chinese New Year, which usually falls in late January or early February, and the National Day holidays in October, which forms a positive complement to the low seasons in Spain, Polo noted. At the International Tourism Fair that took place in Madrid at the end of last month, the sector showed greater interest in the Chinese market, according to Polo. The private players of the industry have been immersed in making the necessary adaptations for the Chinese tourists to enjoy an even more pleasant stay, he said. Starting January, the Cervantes Institute, a Spanish organization that promotes the culture of the Spanish-speaking world, launched a series of activities to present the tourist attractions of twelve Ibero-American countries, one every month. "The purpose is to inspire more Chinese tourists to explore these less common destinations," said Zhu Fangfang with the Tourism Office of the Spanish Embassy in Beijing. Similarly, AENA, a public-private venture that manages all airports in Spain, has updated all the information boards in the airports to include a version in Chinese since two years ago, according to Polo. "The private sector has joined these initiatives to make the necessary adaptations to its offers that will make the Chinese tourists feel more comfortable when traveling through our country," he said. Polo however noted that it would take some time for the Chinese market to grow mature. "But with the designation of China as a strategic market, Spain seeks to reverse this situation in the near future." "In addition to the official strategy, the private sector will join hands with the Spanish government to place China in the rightful position among its major tourist source markets," he added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 12:35:54|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close PYONGYANG, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Kim Jong Un, the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), will pay a two-day "official goodwill visit" to Vietnam starting Friday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Wednesday. Kim arrived in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, on Tuesday and visited the DPRK embassy later in the day. He asked the embassy staff to further consolidate the deep-rooted friendly and cooperative relations between the two parties and two countries, the KCNA said. He was also briefed on the preparation for the DPRK-U.S. summit to be held in Hanoi on Wednesday and Thursday, the report said. It is the second summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump after the two leaders met in Singapore in June last year. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 12:35:53|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Two militants were killed Wednesday in a fierce gunfight with troops in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said. The gunfight erupted at village Meemmandar of Shopian district, about 57 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. "Two militants were killed today morning in a gunfight with government forces in Meemmandar here," a senior police official posted in Shopian told Xinhua. "The identity of slain militants is being ascertained." The police official said the village was cordoned off early morning following specific intelligence information suggesting the presence of militants. Authorities have suspended mobile internet service in the district and closed all the roads leading to gunfight site. According to officials, Indian army or police have not suffered any damage in the stand-off. On Sunday, three militants, a senior police officer and a trooper were killed, while two troopers wounded in a similar gunfight in the region. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 12:20:50|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Feb.26 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has received thousands of complaints of sexual abuse against unaccompanied minors in government custody, according to a document made public Tuesday. The document showed that from Oct. 2014 to July 2018, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), a unit of the Department of Health and Human Services, received 4,556 complaints regarding sexual abuse against Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) in government custody. In a breakdown, 514 complaints were received in the second quarter of 2018, the highest among all three-month periods. In the same time span the Department of Justice received 1,303 complaints, including at least 197 cases in which the perpetrators were allegedly adults. According to the document, staff members were accused of misdeeds ranging from showing pornographic videos to minors to forcibly touching minors' genitals. U.S. news and information website Axios first reported on the document after receiving it from Representative Ted Deutch's office. "Together, these documents detail an environment of systemic sexual assaults by staff on unaccompanied children," Deutch said at a House hearing. The Department of Health and Human Services said after the document was made public that the safety of minors was its top concern in carrying out the unaccompanied alien children program and that allegations of abuse, sexual abuse or neglect "are taken seriously" and swiftly investigated. "These are vulnerable children in difficult circumstances, and ORR fully understands its responsibility to ensure that each child is treated with the utmost care," the department's spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley said in a statement. The UACs are children unaccompanied by adults and were apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security for illegally entering the United States. While some UACs were traveling on their own, others fell into the category after they were apprehended at the border and separated from their parents. ORR said on its website that the UACs have "multiple, interrelated" reasons to travel to the United States. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 12:15:49|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close YANGON, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar government has vowed to take steps to decentralize tourism sector by forming three committees at different levels, according to the National Tourism Development Central Committee (NTDCC) on Wednesday. Vice President U Henry Van Thio, who chaired the first NTDCC meeting in Nay Pyi Taw on Tuesday, said the old tourism law, enacted in 1993, allowed only the government to manage hotels and tourism services. The new tourism law, promulgated in September 2018, allows the private sector to operate hotels and tourism services, giving regions and states including the Nay Pyi Taw Council Area, power to manage the sector's services. The newly-formed NTDCC comprises of several intellectuals and private sector representatives. U Henry Van Thio called for greater cooperation and coordination between the government departments and the private sector for the development of tourism. Myanmar has been granting visa exemption to visitors from Japan and South Korea as well as visa-on-arrival to those from China and India. The vice president said tourist arrivals in Myanmar in 2018 exceeded 3.55 million, an increase of 3.5 percent compared with 2017 when it showed 3.44 million. The vice president also urged the regional and state authorities to promote community-based tourism, ensure sustainable development of existing tourist attraction, explore more travel destinations, invite more local and foreign investment into the sector, lay down and promote traditional food and healthcare and security. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 12:15:46|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close CANBERRA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Defense Minister Christopher Pyne on Wednesday announced a 40 million Australian dollar (28.7 million U.S. dollar) investment in a fleet of unmanned drones. Pyne made the announcement at the Avalon aerospace trade show outside Melbourne while unveiling a prototype of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), currently known as "Loyal Wingman," which was developed by aerospace giant Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It marks the first time a combat aircraft has been designed and developed in Australia in more than 50 years. The drones are approximately the same size as traditional jet fighters and will be deployed to support Australia's Joint Strike Fighters (JSFs) by providing surveillance and protection from hostile fire. On the underside of the prototype is a payload capable of carrying sensors or electronic warfare equipment that could be adapted to carry deadly weapons. Designed to fly several thousand kilometers, the drones, which are a significantly cheaper option than manned aircraft, will be primarily used to conduct electronic warfare and reconnaissance missions. In a statement, Boeing said that the design could become part of an international program similar to the JSF, which has nine partner countries and even more customers. The government did not provide a timeline for the project, but the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that production could be underway by the mid-2020s if the design is approved. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 11:25:32|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday voted to block the national emergency declared by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding border security. The lower chamber of Congress voted by 245-182 for the one page resolution that would terminate Trump's emergency declaration, preventing him from building a border wall by tapping into funds allocated for other purposes. The Democratic party voted unanimously for the bill, also picking up 13 Republican votes. The tally fell short of the number needed to overturn a presidential veto. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the resolution in the coming weeks. With the Republican party in control, it is unclear if the chamber would clear the bill. The move marks the first time that the U.S. Congress tried to block such a measure since it codified national emergencies in 1976. The center of the debate lies on whether there is a "crisis" on the U.S. southwest border with Mexico. The Trump administration argued that the porous land border allowed illegal immigrants and criminals alike to enter the United States, driving up criminal rates. The Republican party has by and large stood alongside with Trump on the issue. Representative Adam Kinzinger, a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, said Sunday he backed Trump's declaration after a recent two-week long deployment to the southwest border. "I think if this was just an issue of immigration it wouldn't constitute a national emergency, but what I saw was really disturbing," Kinzinger told local media. In the Senate, a handful of Republican lawmakers have expressed reservations on the emergency declaration, citing concerns that it would set a bad precedent for future Democratic presidents. The Democratic party cited official figures as saying that the number of illegal immigrants have been on steady decline in recent years and any physical barrier would unlikely to serve its purpose. "If it were truly an emergency, we'd all be there with the president," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday before the vote. Trump, currently on a trip to Vietnam, declared the national emergency on Feb. 15 after Congress passed a spending bill with less money for the border wall than he had demanded. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 11:15:25|Editor: WX Video Player Close CANBERRA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Australia's consumer watchdog has issued a warning to companies engaging in misconduct, saying new penalties could cause share prices to fall. Rod Sims, chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), said that new consumer laws introduced in 2018 could see courts fines companies more than 100 million Australian dollars. He said that the substantial fines would force investors and directors to take notice, saying that companies saw fines of up to 10 million Australian dollars as "loose change." "We need penalties that mean that when the penalty is announced, the share price takes a dip. At the moment, the share price doesn't take a dip, it doesn't get affected at all," Sims said. The new laws allow courts to impose fines of 10 million Australian dollars or 10 percent of annual turnover depending on which is greater. "I am not for a second saying there is anyone on the company board that wants to break the law," Sims said in a speech to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia on Tuesday night. "The question is how much does it matter to them to make sure they don't, because the incentives are all the other way. We have to make it matter enough. "I am not someone who is here to talk about corporate culture. I am someone who is going to talk about punishment that will move the culture. We are into punishment." Sims set out his agenda for 2019, saying that advertising services on digital media platforms were in the ACCC's sights. He was also critical of Australia's courts, which he said were making it difficult to prove that consumers would be worse-off as a result of corporate mergers. "We are increasingly concerned that the bar for establishing a likely substantial lessening of competition is being raised to a height that is failing to protect competition and ultimately consumers," Sims said. "The law prohibits mergers and agreements likely to substantially lessen competition. "These prohibitions are there to protect the competitive process in our markets. "It is important that they can be effectively enforced." Constructors work at the site of the first cast-in-place continuous beam of the China-Laos railway at the under-construction Nathon Station Double-track Super Major Bridge, some 360 km north of Vientiane, capital of Laos, Jan. 18, 2019. (Xinhua/Huang Zongwen) by Zhang Jianhua, Wang Shan VANG VIENG, Laos, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The China-Laos railway is gradually revealing its first signs of true glory, as the bridge and roadbed are taking shape and vehicles loaded with equipment are continuously entering and exiting the tunnel. The construction of the China-Laos railway has offered more than 5,000 jobs to local people and changed the lives of local villagers whose dreams have now come true. Bounma Chalernsak, 38, works as a driver for the railway project, and his wife, 33, works as a cleaner. They have two children in middle school and elementary school respectively. Education requires a lot of financial support and prior to working on the project, they were barely making ends meet. "Now, my income is higher than before, and is paid on time. In addition, my wife and I can work together," Bounma said. He used to drive before working on the China-Laos railway project, and his wife planted rice, corn and potatoes in the westernmost province of Laos. "I hope that someday I can send my children to study in China and contribute to the increasingly close cooperation and exchange between China and Laos," Bounma said, who holds great expectations for his children and hopes they will be proud of their parents' participation in the railway construction. The China-Laos railway starts from northern Laos bordering China, and ends in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. It is more than 400km long and its construction has adopted Chinese technical standards and used Chinese equipment. The construction started in December 2016 and swung into full gear in mid-2017. It is scheduled to be completed and opened to traffic in December 2021, hence this year is a crucial one ahead of the successful completion of the railway. Bounma and his Chinese colleagues have already made history in Laos. The Ban Somsanook No. 2 Tunnel, which was built by the PowerChina Sino-hydro Corporation Engineering Bureau 15 Co. Ltd., was successfully completed on Dec. 12, 2017. It became the first tunnel bored along the China-Laos railway and the first modern traffic tunnel in Lao history. "The villages along the railway have changed a lot and developed rapidly. Villagers often come to see the construction," Lien Vongphuk, deputy village chief of Phonthong Village near the railway tunnel told Xinhua. "The villagers here used to make their living from farming and agriculture. Now, however, the railway project has increased the employment and income of the villagers in remote areas, and improved their living standards," he said. More fruit trees will be planted and more livestock will be fed in the village after the completion of the railway. The project is really a win-win situation for everybody, he added. Somechai Xayyavong, 34, joined the China-Laos railway project because of his dream of working in technology. He used to work for local firms building hydro-power plants. When the railway project was launched, he was eager to be employed by PowerChina Sino-hydro Corporation Engineering Bureau 15 Co. Ltd. "The salary is higher and the working environment is better than my previous job," Somechai said. "But the point for me is the equipment used by Lao survey teams is not as advanced, so I have learned and gained more know-how about to use more advanced apparatuses and equipment since I started working here," Somechai said. At the just-concluded China-Laos Railway Construction Working Conference 2019, Somechai Xayyavong was awarded the honorary title of "Railway Craftsman" of the China-Laos Railway in 2018. "The railway construction in Laos has just begun. In the future, the railway will run through the whole country from north to south," Somechai said. He said that he had always hoped to work with the Chinese to build railways and to accumulate enough experience and technology to open his own surveying and mapping company in the future so as to be able to further cooperate with the Chinese. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 10:40:12|Editor: WX Video Player Close SANTIAGO, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chile's Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications Gloria Hutt on Tuesday presented the first double-decker electric buses to run in the capital Santiago in a pilot program. The environmentally friendly buses, which look like London's iconic red double-deckers, were manufactured by German company Kaufmann. "The fact that companies want to test their vehicles in our (transportation) system is a reflection of Chile's stability and of how the bidding process we promote is viewed abroad as serious, which could attract important global operators," Hutt said. The buses feature air conditioning, WiFi and USB connections, a folding ramp, cushioned seats, quiet cabin and a low floor for universal access. They are also designed to allow passengers to exit easily in case of an emergency. Alexander Kohler, general manager of Kaufmann, expressed hope that the passengers will enjoy riding in "such innovative" buses, and that the units will become iconic to Santiago. The electric buses are also much cleaner than conventional fossil fuel vehicles, he said. "One hundred of these buses are going to pollute less than five of the old buses," he said. The switch to electric buses is part of the government's "Third Millenium Transportation" program to upgrade mass transit in the capital and other major cities. Chile has acquired a fleet of some 200 electric buses manufactured by Chinese companies Yutong and BYD. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera unveiled 100 BYD-made electric buses in Santiago in December last year, which were the first electric public transit vehicles to operate in the capital city. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 10:35:09|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close Zhang Haidi (3rd R), chairperson of China Disabled Persons' Federation and president of Rehabilitation International, speaks at a meeting titled "Leave no one behind: the key role of the Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities," a side event to the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), in Geneva, Switzerland, on Feb. 26, 2019. For the first time within the UNHRC framework, China and the European Union co-hosted the meeting on the sidelines of the ongoing UNHRC's 40th session. China attaches great importance to undertakings for persons with disabilities, and will not leave behind a single one of them while building a moderately prosperous society, a senior Chinese diplomat said at the meeting on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Xu Jinquan) GENEVA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- China attaches great importance to undertakings for persons with disabilities, and will not leave behind a single one of them while building a moderately prosperous society, a senior Chinese diplomat said at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session in Geneva on Tuesday. For the first time within the UNHRC framework, China and the European Union co-hosted a meeting, titled "Leave no one behind: the key role of the Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities," at the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG) on Tuesday, on the sidelines of the ongoing UNHRC's 40th session. Yu Jianhua, head of the Chinese mission to UNOG, said at the meeting that safeguarding the rights of persons with disabilities has become a general consensus of the international community, and the Chinese government has attached great importance to undertakings for them. "China will have eliminated absolute poverty by 2020, when the 85 million people with disabilities in the country, together with the rest Chinese, will see the coming of a well-off society," Yu said, emphasizing that no one is to be left behind. The Chinese envoy underlined that the meeting is of great significance for China and Europe to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the field of human rights. Faced with rising unilateralism and anti-globalization sentiments across the globe, China and the European Union (EU) "should strengthen dialogue and cooperation, jointly promote and practice multilateralism, and safeguard the international order and system based on the United Nations framework, so as to join hands in addressing global challenges," Yu said. "China is willing to work with the EU to promote the UN Human Rights Council as a bridge across different civilizations and a platform for exchanging human rights protection experience," he said. Ambassador Walter Stevens, head of the EU delegation to UNOG, said that China and the EU, as two of the world's major economies, both have a long and splendid civilization and are facing many global challenges. The EU is willing to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with China in areas including those of promoting undertakings for persons with disabilities worldwide. Also at the meeting, Zhang Haidi, chairperson of China Disabled Persons' Federation and president of Rehabilitation International, expounded on the undertakings for persons with disabilities in China, including the measures and achievements in promoting their social security, poverty alleviation, rehabilitation, education and employment in recent years. Speaking highly of the achievements, participants at the meeting, including representatives from more than 40 countries, international organizations and non-governmental organizations, agreed that China's experience in promoting the undertakings for persons with disabilities has set a valuable example. They hope the Chinese wisdom could continue to be shared with the rest of the world. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 10:15:01|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close Passengers buy tickets at the Dar Es Salaam station of Tanzania-Zambia Railway in Dar Es Salaam, capital of Tanzania, Feb. 14, 2019. (Xinhua/Lyu Shuai) DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese-built Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA) started operation in 1976 and has become an economic catalyst for eastern and southern African nations, which also turns into a symbol of friendship between the peoples of China and Africa. Some 40 years on, the China-funded Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is serving as a new engine of Kenya's economic growth and makes the whole eastern African region more dynamic. The two railways not only transformed people's lives, but also witnessed the development of China-Africa cooperation. FRIENDSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT Benedict Henry Mkanyago, a 69-year-old Tanzanian who retired from TAZARA in 2002, has witnessed changes brought by the railway, for the country and also for himself. Mkanyago was born in the region of Mbeya in southwestern Tanzania. Before TAZARA passed through, the landlocked town was impoverished and poorly accessible. However, upon the completion of TAZARA, the small town began to attract farming migrants and entrepreneurs and became a regional business hub in a few years. Mbeya City is now a growing metropolis and business center for Tanzania's southern regions and the neighboring countries of Malawi and Zambia. "The railway also changed my life," said Mkanyago, who joined the TAZARA construction team in 1970 in his early 20s, where he made friends with his Chinese counterparts and got trained in different positions. Benefiting from his rich working experience, Mkanyago was later promoted to chief of the Mbeya station. According to official statistics, TAZARA has transported more than 30 million tons of cargo and more than 40 million passengers since operation began. Former Tanzanian Minister of Communication and Transport Mark Mwandosya said: "Those of us who are fortunate enough to have witnessed the construction of TAZARA will forever be grateful to China." In April last year, Tanzania's Minister of Foreign Affairs Augustine Mahiga said the construction of TAZARA formed a solid foundation of friendship and cooperation between Tanzania and China. He made the remarks at a commemoration event to salute the loss of more than 60 Chinese workers and technicians who died during the construction of TAZARA. TAZARA was constructed as a turnkey project between 1970 and 1975 through an interest-free loan from China, with commercial operations starting in July 1976, covering 1,860 km from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to New Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia. DEEPENING REGIONAL INTEGRATION Kenya's SGR launched operation in May 2017, becoming the newest addition to the list of Chinese-built railways in Africa. The 480-km railway cuts the journey from Kenya's capital to the Mombasa Port, the biggest port in East Africa, from 12 hours to just over four hours. While the railway brings about much-awaited convenience and efficiency, it also succeeds in accommodating wildlife movement needs, thus causing minimal interference to animals. The China-funded modern railway is estimated to have boosted the African country's GDP by 1.5 percent and has provided 46,000 jobs to locals. About 300 domestic enterprises were subcontracted during its construction, according to official figures. Raphael Tuju, secretary general of the ruling Jubilee Party, said in an interview with Xinhua that Kenya and other African countries regard China as a strategic partner in their quest to boost trade and infrastructure development. "If you ask any Kenyan about China, the first thing that crosses their mind is the standard gauge railway linking Mombasa and Nairobi, and Guangzhou, where Kenyans go to buy clothes and other items," Tuju said. Kenya's budding entrepreneurs agreed that the SGR has not only promoted China's image in the country but has also been instrumental to transforming regional commerce. Shadrack Kimeu, a 30-year-old owner of a hardware shop, said his revenue streams have expanded thanks to faster, cheaper and more efficient means of transportation for construction materials guaranteed by the SGR. Lilian Awinja, executive director of the East African Business Council, said traders from Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and northern Tanzania are now able to import and export goods without a hitch thanks to the SGR. "The SGR has reduced the travel time for imports and exports out of the East African region," said Awinja at a recent business roundtable in Nairobi. The SGR has improved logistics while reducing the cost of transporting bulk goods in the region, she added. The mega infrastructure project, which was implemented by China Road and Bridge Corporation, affiliated with China Communications Construction Company, is also deemed as an early result of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative aiming to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road routes. Gerishon Ikiara, an international economics lecturer at the University of Nairobi, said the modern commuter and cargo trains will promote growth, prosperity and cohesion in the larger eastern African region. (Video reporter: Xie Han, Liu Ruijuan; Video editor: Zhao Xiaoqing) Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 10:14:59|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists are exploring the possibility of setting up a space-based solar power station, which is expected to reduce pollution back on Earth and mitigate energy shortfalls, local media reported Wednesday. Researchers have begun designs on a testing facility in Chongqing's Bishan district, Wednesday's China Daily reported, citing Xie Gengxin, deputy head of the Chongqing Collaborative Innovation Research Institute for Civil-Military Integration. The facility will be used to test the theoretical viability of the solar power station. The test facility will occupy 13.3 hectares and demonstrate space transmission technologies while studying the effect of microwaves beamed back to Earth on living organisms, according to the paper. The initial investment of 100 million yuan ( about 15 million U.S. dollars) will be made by the Bishan district government. The construction of the base will take one to two years and once it begins operation, scientists and engineers will build tethered balloons equipped with solar panels and use them to verify microwave transmission technologies. The balloons will collect sunlight and convert solar energy to microwave before beaming it back to Earth. Receiving stations on the ground will convert such microwaves to electricity and distribute it to a grid. The size and weight of such a station have yet to be determined because the research is still in a preliminary stage, the paper said. If everything goes well, a Chinese solar power station will be put into orbit about 36,000 km above Earth and start generating power before 2040, the newspaper quoted Xie as saying. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 09:59:51|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close by Pablo Giuliano SAO PAULO, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian wine producers have set their sights on gaining a larger share of China's consumer market. To that end, the wine sector and government of the South American country have joined forces to develop a strategy that will help expand the distribution of their products, especially sparkling wines and grape juice. "In Asia, our market is more directed at China, where we take part in four annual fairs, initially seeking distributors in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou," said Diego Bertolini, manager of promotion at the Brazilian Wine Institute (Ibravin) based in Bento Goncalves, Brazil's leading wine-making region, in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. One of the main goals of the producers and the state-run export promotion agency APEX is to boost their products' presence on Hema, a network of online and brick-and-mortar supermarkets operated by China's e-commerce giant Alibaba. Brazil's wine industry, known for its sparkling wines, began with the arrival of Italian immigrants. "The Miolo brand is a premium wine that is already in seven stores in China," said Bertolini, adding that another brand Aurora has employees in China and has invested in distribution of its products. "The companies clearly know that they have to patiently build up a market in China," he said. "China imports high-quality wines from many countries, but Brazil has distinct products for the Chinese palate, such as a sparkling Moscatel, aromatic, with 8 percent alcohol content and greater residual grape sugar," said Bertolini. Organic grape juice producers in the country are also optimistic about exploring the Chinese market. "Organic grape juice represents Brazil's tropical image and healthy eating. Brazilian grape juice doesn't have added water or preservatives," Bertolini said. Brazil's exports to Asia go mainly to China, Japan and Singapore, according to the industry expert. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 09:54:49|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close JAKARTA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- At least one gold miner was killed, 13 others wounded and dozens others still trapped after an illegal gold mine collapsed in North Sulawesi province of central Indonesia on Tuesday night, spokesman of national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told Xinhua in a text message Wednesday. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 09:44:37|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close MEXICO CITY, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Mexican immigration and refugee aid agencies on Tuesday signed an agreement to improve the attention given to foreigners who seek asylum here, the Interior Ministry said. The agreement basically calls for the agencies to coordinate their efforts to protect asylum seekers and expand their range of services, including offering humanitarian aid, first aid and orientation. The head of the National Immigration Institute (INM), Tonatiuh Guillen, and head of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid (Comar), Andres Ramirez, signed the document. Asylum applications have skyrocketed in Mexico since 2014, mainly due to the growing number of Central American migrants from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala who tried to cross Mexico to reach the United States, which has cracked down on undocumented migrants. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 09:39:36|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The cooperation between the United States and China in conserving giant pandas has yielded "amazing successes," a U.S. zoo chief said in a recent interview with Xinhua. "Working together with our Chinese colleagues, we learned so much from them and we shared our knowledge with them as well," said Steven Monfort, director of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. "Together we were able to understand how to best manage and care for this precious species," he said. The zoo has sheltered giant pandas since 1972 when Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing were given by the Chinese government as a gift to commemorate the groundbreaking progress made with the U.S. side in terms of their ties that year. Their presence at the zoo, followed by that of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, its second pair of giant pandas, and three cubs born there, has not only drawn countless visitors from both home and abroad but also given the institute an unparalleled opportunity to study the species. Monfort said the zoo, part of the world-renowned museum and research complex Smithsonian Institution, has been cooperating with its Chinese partners for decades on "creating new knowledge about the giant panda biology and ecology, working ultimately to help save pandas from extinction." He said the Smithsonian Institution is proud of being a scientific organization as it's doing "a lot of work on understanding the basic biology of a different species, including the giant panda," about their reproduction, nutrition, and behavior, among others. Besides Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, at the U.S. national zoo's David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat also lives their three-year-old son, Bei Bei, whose elder brother, Tai Shan, and his elder sister, Bao Bao, moved to China, respectively in 2010 and 2017. According to the zoo, almost 80 percent of visitors to the zoo come to visit giant pandas. "In my view, giant pandas are the most popular animal on the planet and at the national zoo they certainly are iconic species," Monfort said. "They are true rock star." The director also described the zoo's giant pandas as "an ambassador for conservation globally" and "a very important symbol of partnership and collaboration." "I have many colleagues and friends that I've had for decades now working in China and together we've done amazing successes in helping to save pandas," he noted. "We're very proud of the history of our partnership." Partly thanks to that, the endangered status of giant pandas has been further eased. The latest census in 2014 found there were 1,864 giant pandas alive in the wild, up from 1,114 decades ago. The number of pandas bred in captivity reached 548 globally as of last November, according to China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration. Monfort said the next step, which is ongoing, is to understand how to reintroduce giant pandas back into the wild so that "we can support both the captive population but also the population in nature." He added that the zoo will begin new discussions this year on expanding its collaboration with the Chinese side and looks forward to "having a much, much longer partnership that will carry well on into the future." Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 08:49:25|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close YAOUNDE, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon's Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute on Tuesday said there is "urgent" need for the country to enhance social justice in a bid to achieve peace and sustainable development. Ngute made the remarks at the 100th anniversary of the International Labour Organization (ILO) held in Cameroon's capital Yaounde, saying that "this vision is in line with ILO goals. We long for more dense, fruitful and mutually beneficial relations with ILO." "We are pleased that we have made strides in achieving decent work and social justice in Cameroon. But there are still challenges. The labour market, influenced by new technology, is changing fully. We have to look at the new horizon with optimism and determination." Ngute said. He added that in the next seven years, Cameroon intends to reform its social security system and work towards improving working conditions for all, by creating more jobs, tackling poverty, and reducing inequality. Labour unions expressed the need for a legally-binding convention that will protect workers, enhance capacity building, increase investment on labour market, and promote decent work in the country. "We have asked the government to ensure that all owners of enterprises should sign this convention that obliges them to respect and protect the workers' rights. This is something that, if executed, will significantly help the president of the republic achieve his goal to make Cameroon an emerging nation by 2035," Jean Abessala, a trade unionist, told Xinhua. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 08:19:17|Editor: WX Video Player Close AC Milan's Tiemoue Bakayoko (R) vies with Lazio's Ciro Immobile during the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinal soccer match between Lazio and AC Milan in Rome, Italy, Feb. 26, 2019. The match ended in a 0-0 draw. (Xinhua/Alberto Lingria) ROME, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Lazio and Milan drew 0-0 in the first leg of their Italy Cup semifinal at Rome's Olimpico Stadium on Tuesday. A total of 30,000 fans turned out, 5,000 of whom traveled from Milan to support their team, according to RAI public television. Milan keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma stopped Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's long shot in the 66th minute, and Lazio striker Ciro Immobile hit the post at the 80th minute before a late offside flag went up. "Three whistles and no goals at the Olimpico: we'll see you in two months for the return," Lazio tweeted. "The Olimpico draw leaves it all to be played for in the second leg," tweeted AC Milan. The return match is set for April 24, while Fiorentina face Atalanta at home in the first leg of the other semifinal on Wednesday. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 07:08:58|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Representatives of the UN food agency briefly visited the Red Sea mills of Yemen on Tuesday but were unable to determine if the wheat in storage was all fit for feeding starving Yemenis, a UN spokesman said. "A team from the World Food Program (WFP) visited the Red Sea mills," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general. "This visit was the first by WFP to these vital wheat stores since September of 2018." The WFP has been appealing for access to the mills for the past few months. Access was cut off by fighting in the area in Hodeidah, home to the crucial mills and as a key port handling some 70 percent of imports into Yemen. "WFP is hopeful that Tuesday's brief visit will pave the way for more sustained access, allowing it to carry out a full assessment of the conditions of the wheat and the milling facilities themselves," Dujarric said. While the mills hold enough wheat to feed 3.7 million people for at least a month, the spokesman said, adding that the WFP is unable to confirm how much of it is still fit for human consumption. He said the agency has been using other in-country wheat stocks as well as importing more wheat, both by sea and overland from Oman, to cover food needs for nearly 10 million people in Yemen. Also on Tuesday, a pledging conference for Yemen humanitarian aid in Geneva raised donation assurances of 2.6 billion U.S. dollars, up from 2 billion dollars in 2018. Most of the increase over the 2018 pledges came from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who chaired the conference. The long-running Yemeni conflict has caused the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Currently, some 24 million Yemenis, or 80 percent of the entire population, need humanitarian aid and protection, with some 20 million requiring help to secure food, the United Nations has said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 05:33:36|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close Palestinian Ambassador to the European Union (EU) Abdul Rahim al-Farra speaks during an interview in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Feb. 25, 2019. The ambassador said that the League of Arab States (LAS)-EU Summit is a new beginning for an effective and more influential European role in the Palestinian cause. Speaking to Xinhua during the LAS-EU Summit, which concluded on Monday in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh city, al-Farra said that European leaders now have an important and active role in the Palestinian cause. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) by Ahmed Shafiq SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Ambassador to the European Union (EU) Abdul Rahim al-Farra said that the League of Arab States (LAS)-EU Summit is a new beginning for an effective and more influential European role in the Palestinian cause. Speaking to Xinhua during the LAS-EU Summit, which concluded on Monday in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh city, al-Farra said that European leaders now have an important and active role in the Palestinian cause, adding that they have to play this role because of the historical and geographical ties linking both sides. He pointed out that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas put the credibility of Europe at stake, adding that the Palestinian president's speech at the summit was "very strong." Addressing the LAS-EU Summit, Abbas called on the EU member states to take practical steps to achieve peace, beginning with confronting the Israeli settlement projects in the occupied land and consolidating the vision of a two-state solution with irreversible political and legal steps, including recognition by the EU member states of the State of Palestine. The Palestinian diplomat noted that Abbas's speech found great resonance among the Europeans, adding that a number of European diplomats confirmed that the Palestinian president pushed the European leaders to the corner. "We have had condemnations of Israeli policies from various European countries ... time has come for these condemnations to be translated into actions on the ground," al-Farra said. The diplomat said that Europe must play its role as a key player in the Middle East peace process. "Otherwise, there is no need for Europe to even call for a two-state solution." Al-Farra added that the United States cannot have full control over the process alone. He stressed that it is time for holding an international peace conference that would be organized by Arab and European countries and that would come out with a new international mechanism to be established to sponsor the peace process. The Palestinian diplomat stressed that the U.S. has become virtually unable to find a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, noting that "the U.S. has dominated the Middle East peace process for years and did nothing." "We are not demanding that Europe be an alternative to the U.S. but these EU member states must play their real role and use their influence and weight in the international community by calling for an international conference involving the EU and all the countries of the world," he added. He pointed out that "Europe specifically has a great historical responsibility towards the Palestinian issue and should not abandon its responsibilities now and leave the file to the U.S. administration, which is no longer an honest broker." The ambassador said that the final declaration of the LAS-EU Summit contained an important part on the Palestinian issue including focused and straightforward articles that are used for the first time by the European side. "This is an important development in the European positions on Jerusalem, settlement, and ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories seized by Israel in 1967," he pointed out. In the summit's declaration, European and Arab leaders reaffirmed their common positions on the peace process, the status of Jerusalem, and the illegality under the international law of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. "We reiterated our commitment to reaching a two-state solution on the basis of all relevant UN resolutions, as the only realistic way to end the occupation that began in 1967, including of East Jerusalem, and to achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians through direct negotiations," the declaration said. More than 50 European and Arab countries participated in the summit, which was co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and and President of the European Council Donald Tusk. During the summit, leaders from both sides discussed ways to strengthen ties and address a wide range of issues and common challenges, such as multilateralism, trade, investment, migration, security and regional situation. The summit also provided an opportunity for leaders to discuss the latest developments in the region, such as the Middle East peace process and the situations in Yemen, Libya and Syria. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 05:18:32|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Staggering levels of humanitarian need persist throughout Syria and an estimated 11.7 million people will require humanitarian assistance across the country in 2019, said a UN official on Tuesday. Reena Ghelani, director for operations and advocacy of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs (OCHA) told the Security Council that an estimated 2.7 million men, women and children remain in need of humanitarian assistance across northwestern Syria. Some 40 percent of children are out of school, while 2 million residents rely on water trucking for most of their clean water. "Ensuring sustained humanitarian access is therefore critical," she said, on behalf of the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock. On the plight of civilians in Idlib and surrounding areas in northwest Syria, Ghelani said that they "simply have nowhere else to flee should there be a full-scale military incursion into the area." While the September agreement between Turkey and Russia to establish a demilitarized zone staved off an immediate military escalation, the last few weeks witnessed an increase in fighting, with dozens of civilians reportedly killed and dozens injured, she added. Up to 36,000 people are reported to have been displaced due to intensified shelling, many of them having moved northward and are now residing in camps on the border with Turkey, Ghelani said. "I reiterate today that the risk of military escalation, and of potentially catastrophic humanitarian consequences, persists," said Ghelani, adding that it is critical to sustain and fully implement the Russia-Turkey agreement. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-27 03:58:10|Editor: yan Video Player Close ALGIERS, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Two "terrorists" on Monday surrendered to the military authorities in the southernmost region of Algeria, Defense Ministry said on Tuesday in a statement. The two terrorists were identified as Mustapha. I, alias Zakaria, and Lahcen. D, alias Abu Youcef, who joined terrorist groups in 2015 and 2016 respectively, specified the statement. Algeria has opened safe routes along its southern border to encourage Algerian militants who joined terrorist fiefs in the Sahel to lay down arms in exchange of fair trials. The North African nation has deployed tens of thousands of troops on the southern and eastern borderline, in a bid to thwart the intrusion of terrorists and arms, amid instability in neighboring Mali and Libya. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-26 22:51:21|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), talks with a staff member of Tianjin Sea-gull Watch company in north China's Tianjin, Feb. 25, 2019. Zhao Leji made an investigation and research tour in Tianjin from Monday to Tuesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling) TIANJIN, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- A senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official has stressed efforts to follow through the principles and requirements in exercising full and strict governance over the Party. Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, made the remarks during his investigation and research tour in Tianjin from Monday to Tuesday. Zhao called for concrete measures to carry out all kinds of tasks regarding improving Party conduct, enforcing Party discipline and fighting against corruption to secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society. He called on disciplinary inspection and supervisory agencies at all levels to respond to public expectations, diligently perform their duties under the leadership of Party committees and make greater efforts in ensuring the implementation of policies that benefit the people, fighting corruption in fields related to poverty alleviation and public wellbeing, and uprooting the "protective umbrellas" behind organized crime. While meeting with disciplinary inspectors and supervisory officials in Tianjin, Zhao asked them to deepen their efforts in "sifting out problems and shortcomings in their work" and fixing them. He also called for perseverance in their work. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-26 22:36:10|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, presides over the 16th chairman and vice chairpersons' meeting of the 13th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 26, 2019. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wang Yang on Tuesday called for improved and more effective consultative work by members of committees of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at all levels. Wang, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, made the remarks while presiding over the 16th chairman and vice-chairpersons' meeting of the 13th CPPCC National Committee. Wang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said an evaluation on the consultation and deliberation could be used to encourage political advisors to better fulfill their duties. Political advisors should be guided to improve their ability to research, investigate, communicate with the people and cooperate with others, he added. The meeting approved a pilot guideline on improving the consultation and deliberation and a pilot working plan on evaluating the consultative work. Attendees also heard a report on preparations for the second annual session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee in March. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-26 22:31:08|Editor: yan Video Player Close BAGHDAD, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) strongly condemned Tuesday violent attacks against health workers in Iraq, calling on the Iraqi authorities to ensure safety of health workers. A statement by WHO was issued after a health worker was physically assaulted while providing medical care for an ill female patient in her 70s in Azadi Teaching Hospital in Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk. "WHO calls on the authorities in Iraq to ensure the safety of health workers, health facilities, and the sanctity of health care," the statement quoted Adham Rashad Ismail, acting WHO representative in Iraq, as saying. "Such attacks constitute a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law and deprive the most vulnerable population of children, women, and the elderly of their rights to essential health services," Ismail said. In 2018, about 42 attacks against healthcare workers were registered by WHO in Iraq, among which 40 percent were against medical practitioners, according to the statement. "It is imperative that the government of Iraq ensures that health workers are allowed to work at all times without risk, regardless of location, and patients and health facilities are protected," it added. The Iraqi Health Ministry said on its website that its minister Alaa al-Din al-Alwan received in his office the physician who was attacked in Kirkuk and confirmed his "full support to the health and administrative personnel in all the health institutions against any assault while they are performing their humanitarian duty." People are seen at the booth of Chinese tech company Huawei at the 2019 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 25, 2019. The four-day 2019 MWC opened on Monday in Barcelona. (Xinhua/Guo Qiuda) BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Huawei Rotating Chairman Guo Ping reiterated that his company does not "do bad things" when he took the stage at MWC 2019 (formerly Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona on Tuesday. Guo Ping spoke during a debate on cyber security against the backdrop of mounting pressure from the U.S. on Western governments not to use the Chinese telecomms company's technology in the construction of their upcoming 5G networks. 5G and the ultra-high connection speeds it offers will be vital for the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), the digital economy and autonomous and connected cars. Speaking at MWC 2019, Guo Ping sought to calm security fears. "To build a system that we all can trust, we need aligned responsibility, unified standards and clear regulations," he said. "We can proudly say that 5G is safer than 4G. As a vendor, we don't operate carriers' networks and we don't own carrier data." He flatly rejected claims from the U.S. government that Huawei had broken intellectual property rules or was involved in espionage. "What we promise is that we don't do anything bad: we don't do bad things," Guo Ping insisted. The U.S. government is reportedly seeking to ban Huawei from supplying infrastructure for its 5G networks, but Guo Ping had a clear message for other countries considering making the same decision. "Let me say this as clear as possible: Huawei has not and will never plant backdoors. And we will never allow anyone to do so in our equipment. We take this responsibility very seriously," Guo said. "The U.S. security accusation on our 5G has no evidence -- nothing. ... So, for the best technology and greater security, choose Huawei. Please choose Huawei, thank you," he concluded. Vincent Pang, president of Huawei's Western Europe region, also spoke to the press about the security issue, arguing that his company "hasn't had a single security incident in the 15 years we have been in Europe". He said the Chinese government had "never" asked for Huawei to "install backdoors" into its technology, and stressed that the company knows that "the 5G rollout requires the highest levels of confidence, but it is a technical challenge, not a political one". File photo shows workers go about their work at a construction site in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, March 6, 2017. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde) ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese firm Beijing Urban Construction Group has started construction of a 70 million U.S. dollars asphalt road project in southern Ethiopia, an Ethiopian official said on Monday. In a press statement, Samson Wondimu, communication director of the Ethiopian Roads Authority said the asphalt road project located in Ethiopia's Southern regional state is 73 km long, with the project cost to be fully covered by the Ethiopian government. Wondimu said the project is expected to be completed in four years and connect the agriculturally fertile areas of southern Ethiopia to the country's heartland. He also said the area is home to several tourist attractions, and the road is expected to boost foreign tourist flows to Ethiopia. Beijing Urban Construction Group is already constructing several other road projects in Ethiopia including a 69 km asphalt road project in northern Ethiopia. Chinese companies, as pioneers in Ethiopia's road infrastructure development sector, have so far realized remarkable road projects ranging from the 85 km Addis Ababa-Adama toll expressway to the 223 km Dire Dawa-Dewele asphalt concrete road project connecting landlocked Ethiopia to Djiboutian ports. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-26 17:54:14|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close LUSAKA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government on Tuesday appealed for increased funding from humanitarian and development donor countries to support the refugee operations across the country in 2019. While revealing that there has been no major influx of refugees coming into the country, Abdon Mwere, Commissioner for Refugees in the Ministry of Home Affairs said the numbers have gone up in the last two years, with the number of new arrivals average 700 asylum seekers per month. He said more funding was required to provide critical humanitarian assistance to the refugees as well as the host communities, adding that critical needs range from food, shelter, infrastructure, as well social services in various refugee camps dotted across the southern African nation. In January alone, a total of 1, 162 refugees and asylum seekers have been received in Zambia, with 1, 056 from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), he said in a release. He added that the country received a total of 9,371 refugees in 2018, with the majority from the DRC. Zambia currently hosts 77,370 persons of concerns, with 51,371 being refugees, 3,173 being asylum seekers while 22, 826 are former refugees. Source: Xinhua| 2019-02-26 09:46:48|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close Lee Tae-hyun (R), a trainman and tour guide, registers a passenger's information onboard a DMZ train, South Korea, Feb. 20, 2019. Created in 1953 when the three-year Korean War ended with armistice, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) has long been a symbol of both confrontation and peace as tensions or rapprochement across the inter-Korean border can be felt firsthand in the 250-km-long strip of no-man's land. The DMZ Train departed Seoul Station for Dorasan Station, the northernmost station of the ROK just about 50 km north of Seoul and only 700 meters south of the southern boundary of the 4-km-wide DMZ. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang) by Yoo Seungki SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Xinhua ) -- Bustling and crowded, Seoul Station in the Republic of Korea's capital Seoul was as busy as usual. Tens of passengers, including some foreign tourists, stood on a platform waiting for the DMZ Train, a special line which runs once a day from Wednesday to Sunday carrying those who would like to have a firsthand look at the division of the two Koreas. With a round-trip ticket in their hands, the passengers got on the three-car train at 10:15 a.m. (01:15 GMT) on Feb. 20, exactly a week before the planned second summit between Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and U.S. President Donald Trump. The Kim-Trump summit in Vietnam, the second one after the first in Singapore in June, raised further hope for peace on the Korean Peninsula that has been divided for decades. Created in 1953 when the three-year Korean War ended with armistice, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) has long been a symbol of both confrontation and peace as tensions or rapprochement across the inter-Korean border can be felt firsthand in the 250-km-long strip of no-man's land. The DMZ Train departed Seoul Station for Dorasan Station, the northernmost station of the ROK just about 50 km north of Seoul and only 700 meters south of the southern boundary of the 4-km-wide DMZ. Among the passengers aboard the train were a couple from Finland, accompanied by their 25-year-old son who stayed in Seoul for seven months to study in a university. Elemeri Helander told Xinhua on the running train that his parents picked a DMZ tour as there remains no place like it in the world. He said they heard about a peace process on the peninsula through news media. During his stay in Seoul, Helander felt that the situation on the peninsula got rapidly better though he had little knowledge about the region's geopolitics before coming to the ROK. The Finnish expressed hope that Kim and Trump would make good deals in Vietnam as the second meeting itself is a good sign, saying the DPRK was expected to open itself to more foreigners and do business with the outside world. Provided by the Korean National Railroad (KORAIL), the DMZ tour package includes visits to a peace park and an observatory near the Dorasan Station. Lee Tae-hyun, a trainman and tour guide, told Xinhua that the number of visitors has increased since the first summit between the leaders of the two Koreas was held in April last year. Even before the summit, many old ROK residents who have long-lost relatives in the DPRK joined the tour program to glance at the DPRK soil at a closer distance. The separated families have been banned from entering the DPRK territory for the past decades as no peace treaty has been signed after the Korean War. During the interview with Xinhua, the trainman mentioned a granny in her 80s who had left her family in the DPRK. He found her shedding tears and watching northward near an observatory while he was looking for her. Lee said he hopes that the day would come soon when the separated families could freely cross the border to visit their hometowns and meet their relatives whenever they want. The divided Korean Peninsula may not be unusual to ordinary ROK residents who have no family left behind in the DPRK. They might have been accustomed to the division since it has lasted for decades. Instead, the peace mood on the peninsula seemed fresher to them. Chang Yong-chul, a Korean American who had lived in the United States for nearly 40 years, may be one of them. Chang said he decided to go on the DMZ tour in the hope that the heavily armed buffer zone would disappear in the near future. Bae Byung-hoon, a 43-year-old ROK resident, joined the DMZ tour program with his son and daughter for the first time to show his children the situation of the divided peninsula. Bae expressed his hope for peace to come on the peninsula through the Kim-Trump summit, saying that he wished his children could tour the DPRK sometime in the future. The train ran on the tracks for just over an hour, stopping at Imjingang Station where soldiers conducted security checks and the check of identification cards and passports. After the checks, the train left for Dorasan Station. Jeon Hyeon-jong, chief of the Imjingang Station, told Xinhua that the train route between Seoul and Dorasan Station was launched as a commuter line in 2002 and was altered into the tour route in 2014. The station master said the DMZ Train is a symbol of peace as it runs under the theme of transforming the war-scarred land of the DMZ into a land of peace and harmony. Near Imjingang Station is Imjingak Nuri Peace Park, some 7 km south of the military demarcation line. The park just outside the ROK side of the DMZ is a relatively easy place to experience the divided peninsula, as no security checks are required. The park was quiet and desolate on a dreary winter day. On weekends, lots of visitors would come, said a sales clerk at a gift shop inside the tourist spot. The number of tourists recently rose as inter-Korean relations had been improving, she added. What was visibly different from the past was the atmosphere surrounding the park, around which armed soldiers almost disappeared and tensions were alleviated significantly, said the shop assistant who declined to be identified. The clerk, who has worked at the shop for about six years and has lived near the park, said situations on the peninsula were expected to get better through the upcoming DPRK-U.S. summit, though it could take time. The gift shop stands right beside the gateway to Freedom Bridge, a barricaded bridge through which a number of prisoners returned home at the end of the Korean War. On the way to the bridge sits a war-ravaged steam locomotive that was derailed by bombs during the Korean War. Along the barbed wire to the bridge hangs strips of cloth with messages hoping for peace and reunification between the two Koreas. A signpost explaining the steam locomotive reads, "Let me, the steel horse, travel freely along the tracks." The DMZ Train ran again to return to Seoul on the tracks, which were currently delinked from the DPRK but will hopefully be reconnected across the inter-Korean border. Two Florida lawmakers have filed bills related to legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana in the state. House Bill 1117 is sponsored by Miami Beach Rep. Michael Grieco (Democrat) and Orlando Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (Democrat). Grieco also proposed House Bill 1119, which would impose an excise tax on recreational marijuana. The bill regarding the legalization of recreational marijuana would allow people 21 and older to purchase and use limited amounts of marijuana in their homes or other private places. Adults 21 and up would be able to purchase no more than 2.5 ounces of the drug at a time. If someone were to smoke the drug in public, they would face a $100 penalty, according to the bill. RELATED The bill regarding the taxing of recreational marijuana would create an excise tax of $50 per ounce, which the cultivation facility would pay, on the sale or transfer of marijuana from a marijuana cultivation facility to a retail marijuana store or marijuana product manufacturing facility. An applicant for a marijuana establishment license would have to pay an application fee that would not exceed $5,000. "The recreational use of cannabis is currently legal in 10 states, New Jersey soon to be the 11th, with those to be included in the 22 states that have decriminalized small amounts of marijuana" according to a press release from Rep. Michael Grieco's office. COLQUITT COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) Now to an unusual charge filed in connection to an on-going Colquitt County murder case. A juror who served in the June 2017 murder trial is now charged with perjury. Anyone who has been called for jury duty knows you go through a pretrial process in which the judge and lawyers try to decide who is fit to serve. We spoke with Georgia Bureau of Investigations and the District Attorney who reviewed this case. They said it was during this phase of the 2017 murder trial of Jaquan Willis that juror Tambrest Keyes-Jones did not disclose that she knew a witness who was testifying. Information about that eventually made its way to the District Attorney, who asked the GBI to open an investigation on the juror in January 2018. Investigators reviewed transcripts and eventually, a perjury warrant was issued. Keyes-Jones turned herself into the Colquitt County jail last week. You may remember this case, it was a high profile one. Willis is accused of killing Fatisha Clark in the Ryce Community Center parking lot after getting into a fight with six others. His trial ended with a hung jury. To this date, Willis has yet to be retried. Back in 2017, Clark's mother told us she hoped Willis would not face another trial on the murder charge. "They charged him with the gun, but the murder charge I didn't want him to have. He didn't really murder her. It was shooting and it was a big accident," said Bobby Jean Smith. There has been no word yet on when Keyes-Jones might go to trial. Willis was 16 at the time that Clark was shot and 17 during the 2017 trial. GRADY COUNTY, Ga. (WTXL) A woman has been arrested for embezzling thousands of dollars from a local county during her three year stint as the county clerk. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has arrested Carrie Croy, who was previously employed as the Grady County Clerk. She is accused of stealing approximately $5,800 between April 2015 and April 2018 from Grady County while she was employed. They say Croy, 52, turned herself into the local jail for one count of theft by taking. The GBI was initially began a criminal investigation into the accusations in November 2018 by request of South Georgia Circuit District Attorney Joe Mulholland. GBI officials say once the case is complete, it will be turned over to DA Mulholland. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) According to the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence, 1 in 6 women in Florida will suffer a sexual assault during their lives. That's why nurses from around the state are training this week to be the first responders for women who've gone through the unthinkable. Michelle Lavey along with 11 other nurses are training to be a certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners also known as "SANE," through the Florida Council against Sexual Violence. "It is very much a women issue, and so this is a way for me to with my flexibility and time to just be able to help out," said Lavey. Being a SANE nurse is intense and sometimes traumatic, but Lavey, a retired Air Force Nurse Practitioner thinks her military background can help. "My military background of being able to think on your feet, being able to expect the unexpected," said Lavey. According to the Florida Council against Sexual Violence there are only three certified SANE nurses in Leon County and about 40 across the state. "Most of these individuals are nurses and have other jobs so this in an extra job for them taking calls at all hours of the day and night," said Chris-Tena Albers, Director of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program. Albers is thankful there are people like Lavey want to take the training to help increase the number of SANE nurses in Florida. "It's not about the money as much as I still have something contribute," said Lavey. After the 12 nurses finish training this week they will need to spend 300 hours shadowing another SANE nurse before becoming fully certified. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (The News Service of Florida) With a commitment to addressing the impacts of climate change, Noah Valenstein was approved Tuesday by the Florida Cabinet to remain as the state's top environmental official. The unanimous vote by the Cabinet supported Governor Ron DeSantis' recommendation to keep Valenstein as secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Valenstein says the state has faced many issues during the past couple of years such as toxic algae blooms in waterways in Southeast Florida and Southwest Florida. "It is abundantly clear how important the environment is to the foundation of Florida's economy and way of life here," said Valenstein. By remaining in the role, Valenstein will help oversee a wide-ranging environmental plan DeSantis rolled out days after taking office. The governor's proposal calls for including $625 million in the 2019-2020 budget and $2.5 billion over the next four years for Everglades restoration and water resource protection. SATELLITE BEACH, Fla. (AP) A Florida man is accused of felony cruelty to animals for an attack on a service dog that resulted in the amputation of its tail. Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in a Facebook post that he personally walked James Cordell Doughy Suthann into jail following his arrest Monday. He was accompanied by Satellite Beach police Chief Jeff Pearson. The incident occurred Feb. 6 at a grooming salon where Suthann worked. Ivey says Suthann was angry that an 8-year-old German Shepherd service dog wouldn't stand during the grooming appointment. Video captured him grabbing the dog's tail while swinging the animal off the ground and twisting the tail. Emergency surgery was required. Ivey says the video is so graphic he won't post it. The dog is owned by a disabled veteran. Sculptor and university lecturer to launch latest exhibition this week This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Feb 27th, 2019 A new exhibition by a university lecturer and respected sculptor launches this week at the Williamson Art Gallery, Birkenhead. Born in Liverpool, Stephen Hitchin studied sculpture at Liverpool and Manchester Art Colleges. Since graduating he has taught at various institutions including Kings College Wimbledon, Wirral Art School and since 2012 Wrexham Glyndwr University, also as being a visiting lecturer at School of the Art Institute, Chicago and Brigham Young University Utah. Over the years Stephen has exhibited extensively including, on several occasions, the RA Summer Show. His work is held in public and private collections in the UK, Sweden, Switzerland, Israel and USA. More recently his recent projects and commissioned work can be found throughout the UK in various corporate and public collections in Manchester, London, Coventry, St Helens, Ellesmere, Portsmouth, Street, Wigton and Liverpool. Stephen cites the extreme environment of the maritime world as the main inspiration for his work. He said: It is the energy and the continually changing environment which I find inspiring for my practice. Artists have been captivated by the sea for centuries: romance, tragedy, myths, exploration, trade and communication have all been facilitated by the sea. Navigation was traditionally based on plotting your course by Shooting the Sun. The term refers to measuring the altitude of the sun in order to determine latitude, essential in locating your true position at sea. The work for this exhibition is principally made of marble and concerned with three dimensional space, form and line. The sculptures offer as much importance to space and shadows as to the solidity of material. Each work changes with light and viewpoint reflecting the environment that inspired them. Stephens studio faces directly on to the River Mersey, adjacent to the Woodside Ferry Terminal with the whole area closely linked to the maritime environment. Cammell Laird shipyard and the Tranmere Oil Terminal are close and add to the overall sense of movement and change that takes place on a daily basis. His latest exhibition, Shooting the Sun, opens with a private viewing on Friday March 1st at the Williamson Art Gallery, Birkenhead and is open to the public from Saturday March 2nd Sunday April 14th. The gallery is closed on Monday and Tuesday each week. Stephen has taught at Wrexham Glyndwr University since 2012 where he is a Senior Lecturer in Fine Art. He also has links with its forerunner, NEWI, with his connections stretching back to 1987. The Dean of Wrexham Glyndwr Universitys Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology, Professor Alec Shepley, will be opening Stephens exhibition and paid tribute to him as both artist and lecturer. Professor Shepley said: Students who study Fine Art with Steve at Wrexham Glyndwr University know that they are working with an expert in their field. The quality of his teaching speaks for itself as does the quality of his work. Weve been discussing this exhibition for quite some time and I am really excited to be opening the show and to see the exhibition itself. Shooting the Sun runs at the Williamson Art Gallery, Slatey Road Birkenhead between March 2 and April 14. More information can be found on the Williamson Art Gallery website. More information out more about Wrexham Glyndwr Universitys BA (Hons) in Fine Art can be found here. Please understand that womenofchina.cn,a non-profit, information-communication website, cannot reach every writer before using articles and images. For copyright issues, please contact us by emailing: website@womenofchina.cn. The articles published and opinions expressed on this website represent the opinions of writers and are not necessarily shared by womenofchina.cn. President Xi Jinping on Monday called for efforts to create a favorable legal environment for China's reform, development and stability. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the statement when presiding over and addressing the second meeting of the Commission for Overall Law-based Governance of the CPC Central Committee. Xi is the head of the commission. Members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and deputy heads of the commission Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu and Wang Huning also attended the meeting. Documents including a report on the commission's work in 2018, as well as the main points of the commission's work in 2019 were adopted at the meeting. According to a vision laid out at the 19th CPC National Congress, rule of law for the country, government and society will basically be in place in China by 2035. The meeting called for solid efforts to advance the rule of law and let it play its role as the guarantee for consolidating foundations, stabilizing expectations and bringing long-term benefits. The meeting emphasized the need to improve the Chinese socialist system of laws, at the heart of which is the Constitution, and work to put in place a sound system of intra-Party rules and regulations. The meeting stressed efforts to maintain and promote sustained and sound economic growth with the high-quality development of legislation. Unified fundamental laws regarding foreign capital must be formulated, early arrangements must be made for the legal authorization for areas designated as reform and opening-up pilot zones, and a comprehensive and coordinated approach must be adopted in making laws regarding intellectual property right protection, bio-safety, land system reform and ecological civilization. The meeting pointed out that building a government based on the rule of law was a major task, which would lead the building of a country and a society based on the rule of law. An urgent need for law-based governance, according to the meeting, is to ensure procedure-based decision-making regarding major administrative issues. The rule of law is the most favorable environment for business, the meeting stressed, calling for equal protection of the property rights and legitimate interests of all market entities, and efforts to train more legal professionals and develop more services for foreign-related legal affairs, in order to maintain and support the country's high-level opening-up. (Source: Xinhua) Top spots for Witsies Wits students win the countrys premier budget speech competition for the second consecutive year. Winners of the Nedbank Old Mutual Budget Speech Competition were announced at a gala dinner following the 2019 national budget speech by Minister Tito Mboweni. Masters student Baneng Naape was crowned winner of the postgraduate walking away with R150 000 while fellow Witsie Cayleigh Brink snatched third place and a cash prize of R50 000. The highly competitive competition draws entries from students registered for an economics course at any recognised South African institution for higher learning, including the Military Academy and the Universities of Technology. As in previous years, students from the Wits School of Economic and Business Sciences dominated the postgraduate category with five Witsies among the 10 finalists. Penning an award winning economic essay came with a lot of research says Naape who aspires to be the best public sector economists in South Africa. I read as many articles as possible related to fiscal credibility, then had an idea of what fiscal credibility entails. I paid attention to structure, content and arguments and displayed unique creativity, says Naape. This same formula and a high dose of current affairs served him well in preparation for the panel interview in Cape Town with competition organisers and experts from various sectors. Brink who is an intern at Deloitte says she was shocked to be placed in the top among so many talented contenders. Speaking about her experience Brink said the opportunity was invaluable. I think this competition really pushes you out of your comfort zone and teaches you a variety of new skills, from speaking in front of cameras and the media, to networking with high profile individuals. It is an experience I will never forget and I recommend that all economics students take a chance and enter. During the three day trip to Cape Town finalists had the opportunity to go to parliament and watch the Finance Minister deliver his speech. The gala dinner was attended by, amongst others, the Deputy Finance of Minister, the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Members of Parliament, Trevor Manuel, Maria Ramos and executives from both Nedbank and Old Mutual as well as captains of industry. 2019 entries are now open and close on 25 June. Drew Angerer/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer, testifed publicly for the first time Wednesday about his experience in the Trump orbit before the House Oversight Committee, painting a harsh portrait of the president as an unscrupulous businessman who may have committed a crime while in office. Cohen also repeated what he said in a copy of his prepared remarks obtained by ABC News, claiming that Trump, as a candidate, knew his longtime confidant Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about WikiLeaks' possibly revealing emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee. In a statement to ABC News on Wednesday morning, Stone denied Cohen's allegation. Julian Assange attorney Barry Pollack, in a statement, said, Roger Stone did not have the telephone call Michael Cohen described." Here is how the hearing is unfolding: 5:20 p.m. Committee chairman in closing remarks: We are better than this In a fiery and impassioned speech to close out Wednesdays blockbuster hearing after more than seven hours, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., called on members of his committee to be better as he sympathized with Cohens position. We are better than this. We are so muchwe really are. We are so much better than this, Cummings said, adding, when we are dancing with the angels, the question will be asked: in 2019 what did we do? Cummings sentiment drew an emotional response from Cohen, who appeared to be holding back tears when the chairman invoked the harm Cohens actions has caused his family. When he finished, Cummings pounded his gavel and adjourned the hearing more than seven hours after gaveling it in. 5:05 p.m. Cohen: If Trump loses 2020 election, 'I fear' there wont be a peaceful transition of power In a dramatic statement at the conclusion of Wednesdays hearing, Michael Cohen made a startling prediction: If President Trump fails to win a reelection bid in 2020, he may not give up his grip on power. Given my experience working for President Trump I fear that if he loses the election in 2020 that there will never be a peaceful transition of power, Cohen said. This is why I agreed to appear before you today. Cohen then called on President Trump to cease attacks on the media, Gold Star families, and others. You don't vilify people based on the god they pray to and you don't cuddle up to our adversaries at the expense of our allies, Cohen said. You don't shut down to appease your base. This behavior the office of the president and it simply is un-American. 4:55 p.m. Democrat accuses GOP committee member of 'racist act' Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., accused a Republican colleague of using a black woman as a prop during Wednesdays testimony, sparking uproar from Republicans on the committee and calls for her comments to be stricken from the record. Tlaibs statement came in response to Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., inviting Lynne Patton, a current Department of Housing and Urban Development official and former longtime Trump Organization employee, to Wednesdays hearing. Meadows asked to include Pattons statement defending Trump against accusations that he is a racist into the record. Patton is a black woman. Meadows took issue with Tlaibs remarks, offering an emotional rebuttal and defending his record of advocating civil rights for racial minorities. Tlaib clarified that she does not believe Meadows is a racist but accused him of a racist act. 4:45 p.m. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez questions Cohen over Trump golf courses In a line of questioning by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Michael Cohen described how he said Donald Trump sought to garner tax deductions by reducing the value of his golf properties. Asked how the president did so, Cohen said, you deflate the value of the asset and put in a request to the tax department for a deduction. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez cited a lengthy New York Times article published in October describing dubious tax schemes Trump engaged in during the 1990s. 4:27 p.m. Hearing resumes after lengthy recess After a nearly two hour break -- an hour longer than stated -- members of the committee and Michael Cohen have returned to their seats for the final leg of questioning. Overall, Cohen seems to have fended off most Republican attacks on him so far by taking a non-combative approach and repeatedly asserting that while he's lied previously, he's telling the truth now. 2:30 p.m. Stormy Daniels weighs in: Michael, Im proud of you Shortly before the committee took what was expected to about an hour break for lunch, the adult film actress at the heart of presidents hush money payments controversy released a statement during Cohens testimony, saying shes proud of Cohen for finally beginning to tell the truth about what you did. Stormy Daniels, whose name has been repeatedly invoked over the course of Wednesdays hearing for her role as the recipient of a hush money payment, appeared moved by Cohens testimony. I can hear the pain and regret you feel for betraying your family and your country, she said. Thank you for having the courage, at long last, to begin to tell the truth. Cohen executed the $130,000 payment to Daniels prior to the 2016 election. President Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels. 2:10 p.m. Cohen describes plans to have Trump visit Russia during campaign Michael Cohen described negotiations he said he conducted with Trump campaign manager Cory Lewandowski early on in the campaign to have Trump visit Russia to take a look at the Trump Tower in Moscow project. Cohen and Lewandowski discussed the possibility of which dates that Mr. Trump would have availability if, in fact, that we were going to go over to Russia to take a look at the project. In November, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about whether Trump and his company had pursued the Moscow real estate project while Trump was securing the GOP nomination in 2016. Cohen said the visit never came to fruition because we were never successful in getting ownership or control over a piece of property. 1:45 p.m. Cohen contradicts Steele dossier, says he has never been to Prague Michael Cohen insisted under oath on Wednesday that he has never been to Prague or the Czech Republic, a central allegation in the dossier former MI-6 agent Christopher Steele compiled as opposition research. The dossier describes an incident in August 2016 in which Cohen allegedly traveled to Prague to meet with Russians. Buzzfeed News posted the dossier in January 2017. Cohen has denied this claim in the past, including during an interview with ABC News. Ive never actually walked the land in Prague, Cohen told ABC News. And last August I was not in Prague. 1:25 p.m. Cohen says Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushners attorney reviewed his letter to Congress, too Abbe Lowell, the attorney who represents the president's daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, also reviewed Michael Cohens letter to Congress in 2017 that ultimately became the basis for charges Cohen lied to Congress, Cohen said Wednesday. They were not immediately available for comment. Cohen said earlier that Jay Sekulow, one of President Trumps lawyers, made changes and additions to Cohen's statement, and mentioned that others may have, too. Late Wednesday afternoon, Sekulow issued a statement saying, Todays testimony by Michael Cohen that attorneys for the President edited or changed his statement to Congress to alter the duration of the Trump Tower Moscow negotiations is completely false." In his opening statement on Wednesday, Cohen said one of Mr. Trumps personal lawyers reviewed and edited my statement to Congress about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations before I gave it. Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress about whether Trump and his company had pursued the Moscow real estate project while Trump was securing the GOP nomination in 2016. 1:20 p.m. Cohen says Trump called him to coordinate messaging on hush money payments Michael Cohen said during testimony on Wednesday that President Trump sought to coordinate public messaging about hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal in February 2018. The women claim to have had affairs with Trump that he has denied. Trump instructed Cohen to say he was not knowledgeable of the reimbursements and he wasn't knowledgeable of my actions, Cohen said, referring to the hush money payments. Trump publicly denied knowledge of the payments before his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, confirmed later in May 2018 that Trump reimbursed Cohen for the $130,000 payment to Daniels. 1:00 p.m. Cohen says Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow made changes to his false statement to Congress Michael Cohen said one of President Trumps lawyers, Jay Sekulow, made changes and additions to Cohen's statement to Congress in 2017 that ultimately became the basis for charges Cohen lied to Congress. In his opening statement on Wednesday, Cohen said one of Mr. Trumps personal lawyers reviewed and edited my statement to Congress about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations before I gave it. He later identified that lawyer as Sekulow, who he said made several changes including how we were going to handle that message which was the message, of course, being the length of time that the Trump Tower Moscow project stayed and remained alive. Sekulow has not addressed Cohen's claim. Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress about whether Trump and his company had pursued the Moscow real estate project while Trump was securing the GOP nomination in 2016. 12:40 p.m. Cohen: Aware of another 'illegal act' Trump has committed, says SDNY investigating Michael Cohen teased another wrongdoing or illegal act he claimed President Trump has committed, but said he could not give details because of an ongoing investigation headed by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. Asked by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., whether there is any other wrongdoing or illegal act that you are aware of regarding Donald Trump that we haven't yet discussed today, Cohen replied he was aware. Yes, he said, and again, those are part of the investigation that's currently being looked at by the Southern District of New York. Cohen added that he is in constant contact with the Southern District of New York regarding ongoing investigations. Outside the hearing room, SDNY had no comment. 12:30 p.m. Cohen to GOP: Not one question so far has been about Mr. Trump In response to questions from Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Cohen called out Republicans on the panel for asking only about him and not President Trump. I just find it interesting, sir, that between yourself and your colleagues, not one question so far since I'm here has been asked about President Trump, Cohen said. That's actually why I thought I was coming today not to confess the mistakes that I've made. I've already done that. The American people don't care about my taxes, Cohen said. They want to know what it is that I know about Mr. Trump, and not one question so far has been asked about Mr. Trump." 12:10 p.m. Cohen describes 'several factors' that led him to turn on Trump Asked what caused him to turn on his longtime boss and effectively testify against him, Michael Cohen dramatically ticked off a list of Trump's actions and statements that led him to speak out. Helsinki, Charlottesville, watching the daily destruction of our civility to one another, putting up with silly things like this, Cohen said. Its really unbecoming of Congress. Cohen said he used to protect Trump the way Republican members of the House Oversight Committee are protecting the president at Wednesdays hearing. I'm responsible for your silliness because I did the same thing that you're doing now for ten years, Cohen said. I protected Mr. Trump for ten years I can only warn people the more people that follow Mr. Trump, as I did blindly, are going to suffer the same consequences that I'm suffering. 12:02 p.m. Cohen rejects accusation hes trying to get a reduction in sentence Michael Cohen denied a claim that his appearance is part of an effort to earn a reduction in his prison sentence. Asked by Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., whether his testimony could result in a reduction in his three-year sentence, Cohen said its a possibility, but rejected the notion that it is his purpose for testifying publicly before the House Oversight Committee. I'm not sure how my appearance here today is providing substantial information that the Southern District can use for the creation of a case, Cohen said, before joking, Now if there is something that this group can do for me, I would gladly welcome it. Cohen is scheduled to report to prison on May 6. 12:00 p.m. Cohen describes Trumps involvement in Trump Tower Moscow project Shortly before Michael Cohen asked for a break, he described what he said was the extent of Trumps involvement in the Trump Tower Moscow negotiations during the campaign. After each communication that I had [about the Trump Tower Moscow project], I would report back to [Trump] and our goal was to get this project, Cohen said. We were interested in building what would have been the largest building in all of Europe. In his opening statement, Cohen said Trump remained directly involved in negotiations and often asked Cohen, Hows it going in Russia? In November, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about whether Trump and his company had pursued a Moscow real estate project while he was securing the GOP nomination in 2016. 11:45 a.m. Cohen pressed on his claim Trump is 'a racist' Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., invited a guest to appear during his questioning of Cohen. Lynne Patton, a current Department of Housing and Urban Development official and former longtime Trump Organization employee, stood behind Meadows as he questioned Cohen about his allegation that Trump is a racist. Meadows put a statement from Patton defending Trump into the record and asked Cohen to reconcile his claim with her defense of Trump as an African-American woman and the daughter of a man who grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. Cohen shot back by pointing out that he stands by his testimony as the son of a Holocaust survivor, prompting audible "oohs" from onlookers inside the hearing room. 11:30 a.m. Cohen hits back: 'Shame on you, Mr. Jordan' Cohen, who once called himself Donald Trumps attack dog, unleashed a heated rebuke of the ranking Republican on the committee, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, during a debate over whether Cohen accepted his guilt. Jordan read a quote the December indictment of Cohen written by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. It said Cohens consciousness of wrongdoing is fleeting, his instinct to blame others is strong, and accused Cohen of failing to appropriately show remorse for his actions. Cohen took issue with that characterization. Shame on you, Mr. Jordan, Cohen said. That's not what I said. What I said is, I took responsibility and I take responsibility I am remorseful and I am going to prison." Cohen is scheduled to report to prison on May 6 to serve a three-year sentence. 11:12 a.m. Cohen says Trump and his children were compromised by Russia During a line of questioning about WikiLeaks release of internal Democrat National Committee and Hillary Clinton campaign emails, Cohen said he believes President Trump and his children may have been conflicted or compromised by Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign. He stopped short of characterizing the campaigns alleged knowledge of the impending release of hacked Democrats emails as collusion, but said there was something odd. "As I stated in my testimony, I wouldn't use the word colluding," Cohen said. Was there something odd about the back and forth praise with President Putin? Yes. But I'm not really sure that I can answer that question in terms of collusion." In his opening statement, Cohen claimed that Trump, as a candidate, knew his longtime political confidant Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about WikiLeaks' revealing of emails from prominent Democrats. 11:05 a.m. Cohen denies any desire to work in the White House Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the ranking Republican on the committee and first to question Cohen, accused Cohen of acting in defiance of President Trump because he was upset at not getting a position in the White House after Trumps election. Cohen categorically denied the allegation. Mr. Jordan, all I wanted was what I got, to be personal attorney to the president, Cohen said. Cohen described an incident in which Trump "reamed out" former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus because Cohen hadn't gotten a job in the White House Counsel's office. 10:55 a.m. Questioning begins with an inquiry into hush money payments After Cohens 30-minute opening statement, the questioning portion of Wednesdays hearing is underway. Rep. Cummings, as committee chairman, began with a line of questioning about the hush money payments Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, and his reimbursement by Trump. The president said he knew nothing of these favors, Cummings said. Based on your conversations with him, is there any doubt in your mind that President Trump knew exactly what he was paying for? There is no doubt in my mind and I truly believe there is no doubt in the people of the United States of America, Cohen said. Cohen presented a copy of a check Trump allegedly wrote, after taking office, to reimburse Cohen for the hush-money payment. Outside the hearing room, the Trump Organization responded that Donald Trump Jr. had "no concept/idea" that he was signing a check to reimburse Cohen for the Stormy Daniels hush money payment. Donald Trump Jr. signed the $35,000 check as a trustee of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust. President Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels. 10:42 a.m. Michael Cohen shares regrets, shame for a decade of work for Trump And yet I continued working for him. Thats the refrain Michael Cohen is repeating after each damning anecdote he offers about President Trump. Cohens opening statement included repeated mentions of how "ashamed" he feels now about his work for Trump. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is, Cohen said. Cohen described with remorse the threatening letters he wrote on Trumps behalf and the bidding he did for a man he called a racist, a conman, and a cheat. I am not a perfect man, Cohen said. I have done things I am not proud of, and I will live with the consequences of my actions for the rest of my life. 10:30 a.m. Cohen paints damning picture of Trump in opening statement Michael Cohen tore into President Trumps character and business acumen in a scathing opening statement, calling him "a racist," "a con man" and "a cheat." ABC News reported details of Cohens intended testimony earlier on Wednesday. Cohen divulged that Trump, as a candidate, knew Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about WikiLeaks' revealing of emails from the Democratic National Committee. 10:25 a.m. Cohen sworn in, gives opening statement Michael Cohen began his opening statement after rising, raising his right hand, and being sworn in. "Chairman Cummings, Ranking Member Jordan, and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today, Cohen said. I am here under oath to correct the record, to answer the Committees questions truthfully, and to offer the American people what I know about President Trump. 10:18 a.m. Ranking Republican slams Cohen, Democrats in opening statement The ranking Republican on the Oversight Committee launched an early attack on Michael Cohens credibility and Democrats willingness to hear the former fixers testimony on Wednesday. The first announced witness for the 116th Congress is a guy who is going to prison in two months for lying to Congress, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said in his opening comments. Jordan criticized Cummings for offering a convicted felon a forum to tell stories and lie about the president of the United States so they can all start their impeachment process. They just want to use you, Mr. Cohen, Jordan said. You're their patsy today. 10:12 a.m. Chairman Rep. Cummings warns Cohen not to lie In his opening statement, the committees chairman, Rep. Elijah Cummings, warned Cohen against lying to his panel. I have made it abundantly clear to Mr. Cohen that if he comes here today and he does not tell us the truth, I will be the first one to refer those untruthful statements to DOJ (the Department of Justice), Cummings said. Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in December charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. Cummings added that its hearing today and moving forward reflect a new era of Democratic oversight. The days of this committee protecting the president at all costs are over, he said. 10:07 a.m. Republicans move to postpone Cohens hearing A top Republican leveled an early effort to stop Cohens testimony, demanding the hearing be delayed. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., raised a procedural tactic to delay the hearing, citing the short notice of the committees receipt of Cohens testimony and evidence he plans to present. The committee voted down Rep. Meadows point of order and the hearing continued. 10 a.m. Cohen takes witness chair, hearing begins Michael Cohen entered the committee at 10 a.m on the dot and took the witness chair for what promised to be dramatic testimony about his former boss Donald Trump before the House Oversight Committee. The panel's chairman, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., gaveled in the hearing shortly thereafter. The man who once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump is poised to excoriate his longtime former boss with more than a decade of anecdotes. In his opening statement, Cohen is expected to characterize Trump as a racist and a conman. 9:55 a.m. Committee members gathering inside hearing room Members of the House Oversight Committee are gathering in the committees hearing room with just minutes until Michael Cohen is expected to take his seat. Democrats met this morning in committee chambers before congregating in the hearing room. Republicans on the panel have set up large posters with Cohens past comments flattering the president. Cohen had no comment as he arrived on Capitol Hill. As he left his hotel Wednesday morning, staff and hotel guests greeted and wished him well, some hugging him and people saying God bless you. Im going to do the right thing, Cohen said. He also called it the craziest day of his life. Cohen, who spent a decade at Trump's side at the Trump Organization, will testify before House lawmakers at 10 a.m. Wednesday as President Trump wraps up his first day of meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam. Cohen is scheduled to begin a three-year prison sentence in May and has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress as well as financial crimes including bank and tax fraud. Cohen also pleaded guilty to campaign finance violation for payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. The White House, along with Republicans on Capitol Hill, sought to discredit Cohen ahead of his appearance. "Disgraced felon Michael Cohen is going to prison for lying to Congress and making other false statements," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Tuesday in a statement. "Sadly, he will go before Congress this week and we can expect more of the same. It's laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies." Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a staunch Trump ally, also tweeted Tuesday that the hearing could reveal alleged details about Cohen's romantic life, prompting outrage from Democrats and ethics experts. The stakes were also high for Democrats in the House, who have vowed to investigate the president and conduct oversight of the administration amid accusations of overreach from Republicans. House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., suggested the hearing "may very well be a turning point in our country's history." "He's the only person that I know of who has accused this president of a crime," he told reporters on Monday. Cohen was prepared to provide lawmakers with documents to support his claims that Trump allegedly inflated and deflated his net worth for personal and professional gain, and to avoid paying property taxes, according to a source familiar with his intended testimony. The president's former fixer was also expected to explain why he lied to Congress in 2017 about discussions he had during the presidential campaign about the proposed Trump Tower Moscow. His specific allegation of criminal wrongdoing relates to Trump's reimbursement to Cohen for the payment to adult film actress and director Stormy Daniels, who alleged an affair with Trump, according to the source familiar with Cohen's planned testimony. Trump has denied the affair alleged by Daniels and another accusation from former Playboy model Karen McDougal and has previously said the payment amounted to nothing more than a "simple private transaction," and that they do not qualify as campaign finance violations. Cohen appeared before the House Oversight and Reform Committee after postponing an initial hearing date, citing "threats" to his family by Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani. On Tuesday he spent hours behind closed doors with the Senate Intelligence Committee and will meet with the House Intelligence Committee in private on Thursday. "Two years ago when this investigation started, I said it may be the most important thing I'm involved in my public life in the Senate," Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democrat on the panel, told reporters after the panel questioned Cohen. "Nothing I have heard today dissuades me from that view." "We will call out the Democrats' charade for what it is -- a partisan circus meant to destroy President Trump," Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said in a USA Today editorial. At Cohen's sentencing hearing in December, special counsel Robert Mueller's team said Cohen had cooperated with their investigation. Ahead of the House hearing, during his day with the Senate Intelligence Committee, Cohen was officially disbarred as a lawyer in New York, according to a decision from the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court expected after his November guilty plea. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Washington, D.C. U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $1,422,591 for West Virginia through the Federal Emergency Management Agencys (FEMA) public assistance grant program. Funding will assist the West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) with repairs to roadways in Wetzel County that was damaged as a result of storms in April 2018. I am grateful that the WV Division of Highways has received this funding. Senator Manchin said. In recent years, our state has endured multiple weather-related disasters that continue to impact our roadways across West Virginia. The funding provided by FEMA to WVDOH will help repair and clear roadways that have been damaged by severe storms, flooding, mudslides, and landslides for safer travel. As a member of the Appropriations committee, I will continue to fight for the funding that West Virginia needs. South Fulton City Manager Arrested By West Kentucky Star Staff UNION CITY - South Fultons city manager was arrested and jailed in Obion County on Monday, after two alleged attempts to pass a counterfeit bill this past weekend.KYTN reports that Union City Police Chief Perry Barfield said that 34-year-old James Denton Gray, of Union City, was taken into custody on charges of felony criminal simulation.Barfield said the charges were issued after Gray reportedly attempted to pass a bogus $100 bill for merchandise at Big Lots in Union City.After clerks at Big Lots informed Gray that the bill was counterfeit, Chief Barfield said he then attempted to use it again at Wal-Mart in Union City.Wal-Mart officials contacted police concerning the bogus bill, with Gray reportedly telling different stories of how he obtained it.Gray recently resigned his position as city manager with the City of Hickman, and had been in the South Fulton position for about two weeks.He also serves as an elected county commissioner in Obion County. House OKs Bill to Ban Abortions Based on Gender By The Associated Press FRANKFORT - Abortion opponents in Kentucky notched a new legislative victory Tuesday when the state House passed a bill that would ban the procedure for women seeking to end their pregnancies because of the gender, race or disability of the fetus. The measure cleared the chamber on a 67-25 vote that sends it to the Senate. It's part of an aggressive agenda by the Republican-dominated legislatures in Kentucky and several other states to restrict abortion. The Kentucky bill that advanced Tuesday would ban abortions based on the fetus' sex, race, color, national origin or diagnosis or potential diagnosis of the congenital condition Down syndrome or any other disability. Republican Rep. Melinda Gibbons Prunty, the bill's lead sponsor, said the measure recognizes that "all human life has intrinsic value." Rep. Nancy Tate said that terminating a pregnancy due to an unborn baby's disability "suggests that someone with a disability is a lesser human being." "We should be strongly communicating that a child should be loved and cared for irrespective of what they look like, how they will behave or their abilities," said Tate. The Republican was among the bill's three dozen co-sponsors. Speaking against the bill, Democratic Rep. Maria Sorolis said it is "incredibly presumptuous" for lawmakers to "decide the burdens another family must bear" when prenatal screenings determine that a pregnancy will result in the delivery of a child who is profoundly disabled. "It is easy to tell others how they should live when we do not have to shoulder the burdens that they bear," she said. "We do not have to endure their pain and heartache at seeing their children racked with pain every day. We are not sent here to pontificate to others when we have not walked in their shoes." Sorolis said she has friends and family who have raised profoundly disabled children, calling them her "personal heroes." In those situations, the families were fortunate enough to have good health insurance coverage to ensure the needed level of care, she said. "What becomes of the children who aren't fortunate enough to be born into families with great private insurance?" she asked. Other opponents said the bill would intrude into doctor-patient relationships by forcing physicians to report a patient's motivations for seeking an abortion. "Doctors should not be placed in the position of interrogating their patients," said Democratic Rep. Lisa Willner. The bill would require doctors performing abortions in Kentucky to certify in writing that, to their knowledge, their patient did not want to end her pregnancy because of concern over her unborn child's sex, race, color, national origin or disability. Doctors violating the measure would face felony prosecution and the loss of their medical license. Any clinic where a violation occurred would lose its license. Pregnant women would not face penalties. Kentucky has one abortion clinic, located in Louisville. Republican lawmakers in Kentucky have aggressively pushed to restrict abortion since the GOP took total control of the legislature in 2017 The highest-profile bill being considered this year would ban most abortions in Kentucky once a fetal heartbeat is detected. Another would ban most abortions in the state if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized the procedure nationwide. The state already is defending three abortion-related laws in federal court ___ The legislation passed by the House on Tuesday is House Bill 5. Michael Cohen Testifies Before U.S. Congress By The Associated Press WASHINGTON - Shaking off criticism from House Republicans, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer declared under oath Wednesday that Trump knew ahead of time and embraced the news when told that WikiLeaks had emails damaging to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Michael Cohen also testified that Trump is a "racist," a "conman" and a "cheat."Cohen, called to testify by Democrats over the objections of Republicans, suggested that Trump also implicitly told him to lie about a Moscow real estate project. Cohen has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the project, which he says Trump knew about as Cohen was negotiating with Russia during the 2016 election campaign.The hearing was producing the most damning depiction to date of Trump's campaign and business operations from a onetime member of his inner circle. It was the latest step in Cohen's evolution from legal fixer for the president he once boasted he'd "take a bullet" for Trump to a foe who has implicated him in federal campaign finance violations."I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty, of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him," Cohen said. "I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is."Democrats asked Cohen about details of his accusations against Trump, while Republicans on the House Oversight and Reform Committee focused on assailing him and his credibility.Accused at length by one GOP lawmaker of being a pathological liar, Cohen responded, "Sir, are you referring to me or the president?"Cohen's claims that Trump had advance knowledge of the emails contradict the president's assertions that he was in the dark, but it was not clear what evidence Cohen had to support the allegation or even how legally problematic it would be for Trump. Special counsel Robert Mueller has not suggested that mere awareness of WikiLeaks' plans, as Trump confidant Roger Stone is purported to have had, is by itself a crime.Underscoring the deeply partisan nature of the proceedings, Democrats on the committee lifted an earlier restriction that the hearing not delve into Russia, while Republicans tried unsuccessfully to block the hearing as it got underway, on grounds that Cohen had not provided his opening statement long enough in advance.The committee's top Republican, Rep. Jim Jordan, of Ohio, sought early on to undermine Cohen's credibility by calling him a "fraudster, cheat" and "a convicted felon.""Certainly it's the first time a convicted perjurer has been brought back to be a star witness at a hearing," Jordan said.Cohen said Trump did not directly tell him to lie, but "he would look me in the eye and tell me there's no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing."Cohen said that "in his way, he was telling me to lie." He added that lawyers for Trump had "reviewed and edited" the statement in which Cohen falsely said a proposal for a Trump Tower in Moscow had been abandoned in January 2016. Cohen has since said he continued pursuing the project for Trump for months after that.Trump, at a Vietnam hotel before a planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and unable to ignore the drama playing out thousands of miles away, lashed out at Cohen on Twitter, saying his lawyer "did bad things unrelated to Trump" and "is lying in order to reduce his prison time."A judge already has set Cohen's sentence, and Cohen's cooperation will have no bearing on that term. Cohen, ahead of his appearance, said Tuesday that the American people could decide "exactly who is telling the truth" when he testified before the House committee.On WikiLeaks, Cohen said in the prepared testimony that he was in Trump's office in July 2016 when longtime adviser Roger Stone telephoned Trump. Trump put Stone on speakerphone and Stone told him that he had communicated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that "within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign," according to Cohen.Trump responded by saying "wouldn't that be great," Cohen said.That month, WikiLeaks released thousands of emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee's server."A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr. Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time," Cohen said in the prepared testimony. "The answer is yes."Cohen said he does not have direct evidence that Trump colluded with the Russian government during the election, but that he has "suspicions." Of a meeting in Trump Tower between campaign advisers, including Trump's oldest son, and a Russian lawyer, Cohen said that Trump had frequently told him that Donald Trump Jr. "had the worst judgment of anyone in the world" and he "would never set up any meeting of any significance alone and certainly not without checking with his father."Cohen, once Trump's loyal attorney, has turned on his former boss and cooperated with Mueller's Russia investigation. He begins a three-year prison sentence in May after pleading guilty to lying to Congress in 2017 and committing campaign finance violations while working for Trump.He met with the Senate intelligence committee for more than nine hours behind closed doors on Tuesday. Cohen said afterward that he appreciated the opportunity to "clear the record and tell the truth" to the panel after acknowledging he lied to the committee in 2017.It was the first of three days of congressional appearances for Cohen. After the public hearing, he will appear privately before the House intelligence panel Thursday.Republicans were expected to aggressively attempt to discredit Cohen, given that he has acknowledged lying previously. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Tuesday it was "laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies."One Republican House member did more than just question Cohen's credibility. Florida Republican Matt Gaetz tweeted Tuesday that the world is "about to learn a lot" about Cohen and suggested he knew of disparaging information that could come out during the hearing. Gaetz later apologized and said he was deleting the tweet.Gaetz, a Trump ally who talks to the president frequently, is not a member of the committee that was questioning Cohen.Democrats have been alternately suspicious of Cohen and eager to hear what he has to say. Sen. Mark Warner, the intelligence panel's top Democrat, suggested after Tuesday's interview that Cohen had provided important information."Two years ago when this investigation started I said it may be the most important thing I am involved in in my public life in the Senate, and nothing I've heard today dissuades me from that view," Warner said.In addition to lying to Congress, Cohen pleaded guilty last year to campaign finance violations for his involvement in payments to two women who allege they had affairs with Trump.Federal prosecutors in New York have said Trump directed Cohen to arrange the payments to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in the run-up to the 2016 campaign. Cohen told a judge that he agreed to cover up Trump's "dirty deeds" out of "blind loyalty."Cohen also said he will present the committee with a copy of the check Trump wrote from his personal bank account after he became president to reimburse him for the hush money payments. He claimed he has other exhibits as well, including some financial statements.On the matter of racism, Cohen said the president made racist comments "disparaging African-Americans, saying at one point that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid." Sandbags keeping the floodwater off of US 60 at Smithland during the 2011 flood. PHOTO:Keith Todd, KYTC US 60 Now Expected to Stay Open By West Kentucky Star Staff SMITHLAND - The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said the section of US 60 in Livingston County that was expected to close Thursday, will likely stay open for the time being.Floodwaters did not rise as much as overnight as indicated by Wednesdays river forecast, so US 60 will continue to be open with Water Over Road signs posted near the KY 137/River Road intersection between Burna and Smithland.Livingston County Emergency Management will continue to carefully monitor river levels and provide timely updates. Tip Leads to Arrest of Five on Drug, Other Charges By West Kentucky Star Staff MAYFIELD - Five people were arrested Tuesday afternoon in Mayfield on fugitive and drug charges.The Graves County Sheriffs Office says detectives responded to the South 6th Street home of 59-year-old Naomi Cecil and 48-year-old Robert Burton, after getting information about alleged illegal drug activity and a possible fugitive there.Deputies said when they arrived they saw 30-year-old Heather Hughes, who had an active warrant for a parole violation, standing in the laundry room of the home. They said they also found 34-year-old Lisa Taylor, who also had a parole violation warrant, hiding in a bedroom.During a search of the home, deputies reportedly found counterfeit hundred-dollar bills, methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.As deputies were leaving the home, they recognized 30-year-old Edwin Bautista standing in the front yard. Bautista was wanted on a Graves County Warrant.All five suspects were arrested and booked into the Graves County Jail. Hughes is charged with violation of conditions of release, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Taylor is charges with a parole violation, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and two counts of criminal possession of Forged instrument. Burton faces charges of second-degree hindering apprehension, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Cecil is charged with first-degree possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Bautista is charged with second-degree bail jumping. IL Governor Visits Cairo, Metropolis Flooding By The Associated Press METROPOLIS - Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state Emergency Management Agency Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau met on Tuesday with local authorities in Massac and Alexander counties, as local residents battle Mississippi and Ohio river floodwaters.Pritzer stopped short of declaring an official state of emergency for Illinois river counties, but said that the state Emergency Operations Center in Springfield will be monitoring flooding in southern Illinois and will prepare to deploy assistance should local officials request it.A crew from the Illinois Department of Corrections' Shawnee Correctional Center is placing sandbags to hold back water in Alexander County. Sandbags have been deployed to Massac County and pumps to both areas.The American Red Cross is also working in the area to assist residents and supporting volunteers.State officials offer tips for safety and preparedness at Ready.Illinois.gov (see link below).On the Net: Commission Approves Strategic Plan, TIF Resolution By West Kentucky Star Staff The ordinance passed on a 3-2 vote, with Commissioner Gerald Watkins and Mayor Pro Tem Richard Abraham voting against the ordinance. In other business, the Commission approved a resolution in support of a partnership with McCracken County to pursue the creation of a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District in the downtown riverfront area. The McCracken County Fiscal Court approved a similar resolution at its February 25th meeting. They also approved a resolution authorizing FEMA disaster assistance, approved an emergency ordinance for the demolition of the Kresge Building, heard an update from Barkely Regional Airport Manager Richard Roof, approved four municipal orders, and made board appointments. PADUCAH - The Paducah Board of Commissioners approved an ordinance Tuesday evening, for a contract with Innovations Branding House for community engagement initiatives, regarding the Strategic Plan including print materials, social media content, a website, and videos City Wants Input from Groups for Parks Master Plan By West Kentucky Star Staff PADUCAH - The City of Paducah Parks & Recreation Department is seeking input from local interest groups who would like to contribute their experience and ideas to the development of the Paducah Parks & Recreation Master Plan.The professional consultants gather community input will be available to meet with local interest groups on: Monday, March 11 from 2 until 8 pm. Tuesday, March 12 from 10 am until 7 pm. Wednesday, March 13 from 10 am until 3 pm.Call the Paducah Parks & Recreation Department at 270-444-8508 to schedule your groups appointment.Parks & Recreation Department Director Mark Thompson said, We want to hear from local groups interested in the future of Paducahs parks, facilities, recreation programs, community events, and open spaces. When complete, this comprehensive parks plan will provide a vision to guide the growth, development, operations, and programs of the citys parks, facilities, and programming for years to come.There are online survey options to gather community input at https://paducahparks.mindmixer.com/ and www.surveymonkey.com/r/PaducahParks (see links below).The Master Plan process, which will take several months, includes the creation of a citizen steering committee and meetings with stakeholder groups, interactive public workshops, surveys, online engagement tools, and public presentations. The process also involves a review of previous studies and similar parks systems and the analysis of organizational structure, policies, and funding options.In October 2018, the Paducah Board of Commissioners approved a professional services agreement with Bacon, Farmer, and Workman Engineering & Testing (BFW) for the development of a Parks & Recreation Master Plan. BFW is developing the plan with the assistance of Peck Flannery Gream Warren, Inc. of Paducah in addition to Brandstetter/Carroll of Lexington, the company that completed the 2002 Master Plan for the Parks Department which was updated in 2008.On the Net: If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit The Steering Committee administering the WCO Customs Capacity Building project for the East and Southern Africa (ESA) region, funded by the Finnish Government, held its first meeting of the year from 19 to 21 February 2019 in Kasane, Botswana. The project which was launched in 2017, is designed to assist developing countries in the ESA region make effective progress on trade facilitation, using the WCOs international tools and instruments. The objective of the meeting was to monitor progress made with the Projects implementation and to develop an action plan for the first half of 2019. The meeting was moderated by the Vice-Chair of the ESA region, Mr. Dicksons Kateshumbwa, Commissioner of Customs, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA). The WCO was represented by its Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Ricardo Trevino Chapa, who is overseeing the WCO Capacity Building Directorate pending the election of a new Director at the upcoming Council Sessions. The Steering Committee meeting was also attended by Mr. Happias Kuzvinzwa, Commissioner of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, Mr. Philiso P. Valashia, Commissioner of the Botswana Unified Revenue Service, Mr. Antti Hartikainen, Director General of Finnish Customs and Mr. Jan Koivu, Desk Officer, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. Participants were welcomed by Mr. Machana Ronald Shamukuni, Assistant Minister of Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration who, in his opening speech, expressed his appreciation to the WCO for the support given to the region. The WCO Deputy Secretary General took the floor to highlight the actions to be taken to review and update the WCO Capacity Building Directorates current strategy, which has been in place since 2003. The new Capacity Building Strategy, to be discussed at the next Capacity Building Committee, will emphasize the role of the WCOs regional structures and aim to standardize training delivery methods and expand the Organizations network of experts and donors. The Deputy Secretary General also expressed his appreciation to the host country for its warm welcome and to the Delegates of the Finnish Government for agreeing to extend the Project for a further year. During the presentation of the Project progress report, it was announced that, by the end of December 2018, the following 12 of the 14 countries taking part in the Project had benefited from activities falling under the Mercator Programme, the WCOs initiative aimed at assisting governments worldwide in implementing the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Comoros, Ethiopia, Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland), Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Such activities relate, among other things, to the implementation of Time Release Studies, the deployment of a Single Window and the application of Human Resource Management, together with general support for regional autonomy. Representatives from the ESA Regional Office for Capacity Building (ROCB) also gave presentations on the regions progress towards aligning itself with the trade facilitation agenda. Finnish Customs then presented best practices for border management and a case study of tangible results stemming from the Project. Over the course of the meeting, the Steering Committee approved the estimated budget for the rest of financial year 2018-2019 along with a detailed action plan in line with the ESA Regional Strategic Plan. The next meeting of the Steering Committee will take place in Brussels during the WCO Council Session week in June 2019. Normal, IL (61790) Today Thunderstorms likely. Rainfall will be locally heavy at times. High 77F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Variable clouds with showers and scattered thunderstorms. Storms more numerous this evening. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. Supervisors sentiments reflected the arguments of county residents on both sides of a debate thats raged for more than a year in public forums and government meetings. Supporters saw the apartments as a way to provide affordable housing in a county thats lacking it, while opponents targeted the apartments fiscal impact, school impact and perceived threat to the countys rural character. Harris has not been charged with a crime and has denied knowledge of any illegal practices by those involved with his campaign. But he, too, could come under scrutiny. During last week's board hearing, he admitted writing personal checks to Dowless in 2017, a potential violation if the payments weren't reported. Wyoming Bee College in Cheyenne March 22-24 The coordinator of the March bee conference in Cheyenne has a few buzzwords about the multiday event. Get your bee on at the Wyoming Bee College conference, open to the world, three days of all things bees and beekeeping, says Catherine Wissner, University of Wyoming Extension horticulture educator in Laramie County. More than 28 workshops and three keynote speakers are featured at Laramie County Community College Friday-Sunday, March 22-24, with four preconference workshops Friday. Registration is $125 for the preconference workshops, $85 for the bee college or $195 for both. Children ages 7-15 are free with a paying adult. Cost includes lunches, snacks, beverages and Saturday dinner. For more information, including a complete agenda and workshop descriptions, or to register, visit www.wyomingbeecollege.org. The preconference workshops Friday allow a choice of four all-day sessions: MN Bee Squad, Raising Queen Bees, Apitherapy and Bees Wax Alchemy. Hilary Kearney, of San Diego, Calif., begins the conference Saturday with How to add 30,000 bees and have close neighbors who may have a hard time wrapping their head around your new hobby. Positive relations. She is the author of Queen Spotting and Beekeeping Like a Girl blog, and the creator of Girl Next Door Honey, a beekeeping business that provides educational opportunities to new beekeepers. Saturday has five track sessions, including the option of an all-day session, I think, I want to become a beekeeper. The other tracks are: Learning Curves, Staying Alive, Money and More and For the Bees, Build a Better World. The Saturday evening keynote speaker is Tammy Horn Potter, author of Bees in America: How the Honey Bee Shaped a Nation and Beeconomy: What Women and Bees Can Teach Us about Local Trade and the Global Market. There are eight sessions from which to choose Sunday, and they build upon what is learned Saturday. Sundays sessions include hive inspections; finding and installing packages of bees; honey extraction; beekeeping in schools; bees for pollination service; and preventing and dealing with swarms. Timothy Baker, head teacher at Charlton Manor Primary School in Greenwich, England, who introduced a bee curriculum and a successful after-school program, will address conference attendees. Following Sunday lunch, Albert Chubak, Joe Carson and Michael Jordan lead a panel discussion to provide insight from beekeeping around the world. Instructors for the conference are beekeepers with many years of experience, researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and/or from universities, Wissner says. UW Studies How Cover Crops, High Rates of Compost Affect Soil Health Working on the UW cover crop project near Albin are, from left, former graduate student Erin Rooney; laboratory manager Leann Naughton; Emad Aboukila, visiting scholar from Egypt; and former UW researcher Calvin Strom, on tractor. (UW Photo) A long-term experiment by the University of Wyoming near Lingle is studying if dryland wheat farmers can become organically certified through use of compost and cover crops to improve soil health. Starting in 2015, researchers from the ecosystem science and management, and plant sciences departments in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources looked into how soil health and wheat are affected by applying a high rate of compost once every 10 years -- as many as 18 tons per acre -- followed with cover crops. The study is at the James C. Hageman Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Center (SAREC) and collaborating farms. The purpose of planting the cover crops is attenuating nitrogen through the cover crop biomass and perhaps creating additional benefits to winter wheat by returning cover crop organic matter to the soil, says Urszula Norton, an associate professor of agroecology in the Department of Plant Sciences. The cover crops are: -- Pure stand of Lacy phacelia. -- Cold-season nitrogen-fixer mix of spring pea, vetch, lentils, chick peas and oats. -- A mycorrhizal mix of vetch, bean, oats, barley and flax. -- Cool-season soil-builder mix of barley, oats, spring pea, lentil and sunflower. The cover crops are expected to provide many benefits. A combination of the nitrogen taken up by the plants from soil as a nutrient, and atmospheric nitrogen fixed by the leguminous plant species in the cover crop mixture (peas, lentils), all eventually converted into cover crop biomass, will break down and decompose in the soil. This provides winter wheat a more useable form of plant nutrients. Weed Control Organic producers cant use conventional weed control to retain certification and have to devise other methods. How the use of cover crops will compete with weeds is part of this project, Norton says. Cover crops planted shortly following compost may smother weeds, due to the rapid growth of the cover crops and biomass production before weeds emerge. Inadequate soil moisture for the subsequent winter wheat planting and precipitation in the early stage of wheat growth are the biggest concerns for using cover crops in an area with low precipitation. Cover crops need to be killed early but allow enough time to establish enough biomass to smother the weeds. Soil water content within the first year of the project showed reduced weed biomass and weed species diversity that would normally be present in the bare fallow stage, according to Norton. Also, in the first and second year of monitoring, we observed a reduced population of weeds in the winter wheat, Norton says. So, I think its kind of a win-win situation. So far, water stress on winter wheat has not been reported; however, it is still a question of how many years this can be sustained before water stress becomes an issue. Plant Performance and Soil Indices To track the soil indices, the researchers are looking at trace gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. These indices are sensitive to change. Too much compost might cause a high amount of mineralization, creating more carbon dioxide and other gases. Planting cover crops following high rates of manure application will allow incorporation of all the nitrogen from compost into the biomass, improve soil health and increase sustainability of the system. Collaborating Farmers While some components of this project are at SAREC, some collaborating farmers are growing cover crops and allowing researchers to collect additional variables. Some farmers are looking at the benefits of cover crops by planting in skipped rows to see if more soil moisture can be retained. They also are looking at different seed mixtures to determine which cover crop is best suited for the environment. Norton says her team will monitor growth and performance of winter wheat following the cover crop. Next Phase Norton says the project will continue monitoring soil health and moisture content over the next several years to determine which cover crop is most suited for the environment, the best times to plant that crop, and at what point the crop should be killed to allow enough biomass to smother the weeds but conserve soil moisture. UW Planetarium Schedule Explores Constellations Across Cultures March brings the first day of spring (although it may not yet feel like it in Wyoming), also called the vernal equinox. It is a day of equal parts day and night across the globe. This image depicts the equinox from space, looking down on the United States. The line between day and night lies vertically between the North and South poles of the Earth. (UW Planetarium Photo) Like the weather this time of year, programs at the University of Wyoming Harry C. Vaughan Planetarium during March will run warm and cold. Like the month of March is split between winter and spring, shows at the UW planetarium follow two themes. First, to remind us all of the warmth our sun will soon bring, we celebrate the Earths closest star and the life cycle of all stars in our universe, says Samantha Ogden, the planetariums coordinator. Then, celebrate astronomy across the globe as Constellations Across Cultures series parts 1 and 2 will be brought to you this month, but more still is left to uncover as we journey across the globe to explore how different cultures celebrate the stars. Winter hours continue, with Friday night shows starting at 7 p.m. and STAR Observatory tours running from 8-9:30 p.m. Kid-themed planetarium shows are Saturdays at 11 a.m. The month also includes four Tuesday night shows; they begin at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $3 for students and $4 for nonstudents, and can be purchased at the Department of Physics and Astronomy main office, located in Room 204 of the Physical Sciences Building, Monday through Thursday, from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., and Friday from 8 a.m.-noon. Tickets also can be purchased by going online at www.uwyo.edu/physics/ and clicking on Planetarium Schedule. Doors open 20 minutes before each show, where tickets will be sold if available. The planetarium, which seats 58, is located in the basement of the Physical Sciences Building. The planetarium will be closed Friday, March 8, for World Languages Day. To celebrate spring break, the planetarium will be open to the public Wednesday, March 20, at 11 a.m. The March planetarium schedule is as follows: -- Youre a Star, Friday, March 1, 7 p.m. This program tracks energy and matter throughout all space and time. Along the way, visitors will discover how and why they are stars. The STAR Observatory on the rooftop of the Physical Sciences Building will be open to the public 8-9:30 p.m. Weather permitting, telescopes will be set up to peer into the evening sky. -- This Months Sky, Tuesday, March 5, 7 p.m. This program looks at constellations, meteor showers and visible planets. -- Good Morning, Sun, Saturday, March 9, 11 a.m. This program explores everything about Earths closest star. Visitors can stay after the program to participate in a dry ice cream activity. -- Full-Dome Movie Double Feature: The Dark Matter Mystery: Exploring a Cosmic Secret and Phantom of the Universe: The Hunt for Dark Matter, Tuesday, March 12, 7 p.m. The Dark Matter Mystery will look at why dark matter exists, and how this search is one of the most challenging and exciting science has to offer. Phantom of the Universe reveals the first hints of dark matters existence through the eyes of Fritz Zwicky, the scientist who coined the term "dark matter." -- Dust, Light, Dust, Friday, March 15, 7 p.m. This program looks at the science behind the formation of stars, the various forms they take and their life cycle. The STAR Observatory on the rooftop of the Physical Sciences Building will be open to the public 8-9:30 p.m. Weather permitting, telescopes will be set up to peer into the evening sky. -- Full-Dome Movie Double Feature: The Dark Matter Mystery: Exploring a Cosmic Secret and Phantom of the Universe: The Hunt for Dark Matter, Tuesday, March 19, 7 p.m. The Dark Matter Mystery will look at why dark matter exists, and how this search is one of the most challenging and exciting science has to offer. Phantom of the Universe reveals the first hints of dark matters existence through the eyes of Fritz Zwicky, the scientist who coined the term "dark matter." -- Two Small Pieces of Glass, Wednesday, March 20, 11 a.m. Galileo did not invent the telescope, but he was the first person to use the newly invented device to observe the sky. His two small pieces of glass revealed a universe that was far more complex than previously assumed. This program shares the way telescope development has helped us understand our place in space. -- Constellations Across Cultures: Part 1, Friday, March 22, 7 p.m. Orion, the zodiac and other ancient Greek constellations are familiar. But the ancient Greeks were not the only culture to find science and stories from the stars. This program invites visitors to travel around the world, exploring the cultural and scientific significance of the night sky to the people of the Incan Empire and the Bedouin people of the Middle East. -- Two Small Pieces of Glass, Saturday, March 23, 11 a.m. Galileo did not invent the telescope, but he was the first person to use the newly invented device to observe the sky. His two small pieces of glass revealed a universe that was far more complex than previously assumed. This program shares the way telescope development has helped us understand our place in space. -- Full-Dome Movie Double Feature: Seeing and Cosmic Origin Spectrograph, Tuesday, March 26, 7 p.m. During Seeing, ride a photon from its creation and journey across the galaxy to your mind's eye. From there, witness the conversion to an electro-chemical impulse that travels the neural pathways of the brain to create the image your brain sees. Cosmic Origin Spectrograph highlights the current research aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. Cosmic Origin Spectrograph allows an unprecedented view into the vast spaces between galaxies, which surround the Milky Way. -- Constellations Across Cultures: Part 2, Friday, March 29, 7 p.m. Orion, the zodiac and other ancient Greek constellations are familiar. But the ancient Greeks were not the only culture to find science and stories from the stars. This program invites visitors to travel around the world, exploring Hawaiian, Chinese and Nordic constellations. For more detailed descriptions of these programs, go to www.wyomingspacegrant.org/planetarium/shows/. UW Landman Student Wins National Outstanding Graduate Honor For the second year in a row, a student in the University of Wyomings Professional Land Management Program has been named outstanding graduate by the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL). Jared Adams, of Lyons, Colo., was selected by the trustees of AAPL as the top graduate among nominees from all accredited professional land management programs nationwide. He will graduate this year and already has a job lined up with Anadarko Petroleum Corp. A 2018 UW graduate, Sam Mallory, of Cheyenne, received the honor last year. The energy industry recognizes that the faculty and staff at UW have put together a world-class educational program, and Jareds accomplishments are helping to shine this spotlight on it, says Mallory, now a land representative with Shell Oil Co. Despite being one of the smallest, UWs Professional Land Management Program is being recognized as the best, and the industry wants to hire graduates from it. Adams says the programs courses provide a fantastic foundation of difficult concepts often found within energy disciplines. The feedback our program continually receives from industry is that our students and graduates are capable of contributing in meaningful ways due to the knowledge gained from our curriculum, he says. Among AAPL-accredited programs, Im thankful that I attended the program here at UW. I look forward to applying the topics we've learned in the classroom toward real-world and dynamic projects of the modern energy industry. The UW program, launched in 2012 by the School of Energy Resources (SER), is among 12 such programs accredited across North America. Others are located at the University of Oklahoma, Texas Tech University, West Virginia University and the University of Texas-Austin, among others. SER developed the program, in partnership with the Wyoming Association of Professional Landmen and the energy industry, in part to meet an increasing demand for well-trained land professionals with specific knowledge of Western land issues, culture, heritage and environment. The program includes coursework in business, geology, law, engineering and math, with opportunities for practical application. It emphasizes direct industry experience through internships, collaborations with practicing professional landmen and attorneys, field trips and other interactions with the energy sector. Another strong element of our program is the close connection that we maintain with industry, Adams says. We regularly have industry professionals visit campus to provide educational discussions, as well as recruit for jobs and internships. In my case, an on-campus interview for a summer internship ultimately led to a full-time position upon graduation. The most important thing the University of Wyomings program offered me was a skill set that was directly applicable to my postgraduate career, Mallory says. The multidisciplinary, integrated coursework in business, law, negotiation, GIS, geology, finance, engineering, economics, risk analysis and project management gave me the critical-thinking skills necessary to face todays energy challenges. The extracurricular activities with research teams, industry professionals and student groups provided me with the leadership skills, communication skills and a network to develop a career. The University of Wyoming provided me with a truly holistic educational experience and gave me the opportunity to enter the energy industry as a professional. Landmen have a vital role in maintaining sound stewardship of energy and mineral resources. They determine land ownership and availability for mineral leasing; negotiate agreements with landowners for drilling and production rights; draft and administer contracts with the assistance of corporate counsel; coordinate workflow with geologists and engineers; and ensure compliance with government regulations. UW Adventurer Mark Jenkins to Present Latest Tour Discussions UW adventurer Mark Jenkins will discuss 4,000-year-old paintings found in Brandberg, Namibias highest mountain, as part of the World to Wyoming Tour. Jenkins will discuss A Journey into the Ancient Namib Desert: Rock Paintings, a Vanished People and Water Scarcity in six Wyoming communities in March. (Ken Driese Photo) Mark Jenkins, the Wyoming Excellence Writer in Residence, will discuss his latest adventure -- 4,000-year-old hidden paintings in the mountains in Namibia -- with a series of March talks in six Wyoming communities. Jenkins residency is based in the University of Wyomings Center for Global Studies. He will present A Journey into the Ancient Namib Desert: Rock Paintings, a Vanished People and Water Scarcity as part of the World to Wyoming Tour in Cody, Gillette, Jackson, Laramie, Powell and Sheridan March 12-25. The UW Office of Engagement and Outreach sponsors the World to Wyoming Tour program. Brandberg, Namibias highest mountain, conceals the greatest collection of rock paintings on Earth. Hidden in the shade beneath granite boulders -- where an extinct tribe once escaped the scorching heat of the Namib Desert -- 4,000-year-old paintings depict a lost world of giraffes and elephants, snakes and springbok, bowhunters and community celebrations. On assignment for National Geographic as a writer in 2015, Jenkins climbed Brandberg in 120-degree heat to explore this alfresco art museum and reflect on the challenges of water scarcity then and now. His six Wyoming discussions are free and open to the public. Jenkins presentations are: -- Tuesday, March 12: Sheridan College, 7 p.m., Whitney Center for the Arts Concert Hall. -- Wednesday, March 13: Gillette College, 7 p.m., Presentation Hall. -- Tuesday, March 19: Northwest College, Powell, 7 p.m., Yellowstone Conference Center. -- Wednesday, March 20: Cody, 7 p.m., Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Coe Auditorium. -- Thursday, March 21: Jackson, 7 p.m., National Museum of Wildlife Art. -- Monday, March 25: Laramie, noon, UW College of Education auditorium. About Mark Jenkins A critically acclaimed author and internationally recognized journalist, Jenkins covers geopolitics and adventure. Among hundreds of his stories, Jenkins has written about land mines in Cambodia, the war in Eastern Congo, the loss of koalas in Australia, ethnic cleansing in Burma, climbing Mount Everest in Nepal and the vanishing ski culture of the Tuvan people in the Altai Mountains of Central Asia. Jenkins has won numerous writing awards, including the Overseas Press Club Ross Award in 2013 for The Healing Fields, a story about landmines in Cambodia; and a National Magazine Award with colleague Brint Stirton for Who Murdered the Mountain Gorillas in 2009. Both projects provided the basis for statewide presentations at Wyomings community colleges as part of the World to Wyoming outreach series. Jenkins has a bachelors degree in philosophy and a masters degree in geography, both from UW. About the Office of Engagement and Outreach UW opened the Office of Engagement and Outreach (OEO) in January 2019, with Jean Garrison selected as director. Goal 3 of UWs strategic plan, Breaking Through: 2017-2022, focuses on impacting communities, and OEO serves as a portal to UW for Wyoming residents (and beyond) and coordinates and streamlines engagement and outreach efforts. OEO creates an environment of engaged education; student opportunities; scholarship and service; faculty and staff development at UW; and builds collaboration between UW and constituents to address complex economic and social challenges and opportunities facing UW and Wyoming. In this capacity, OEO provides institutional leadership in shaping, supporting and pursuing UWs goals for advancing community engagement and relationships with its partners. OEO partners include UWs Office of Academic Affairs and Center for Global Studies, Rocky Mountain Power Foundation, Homer A. and Mildred S. Scott Foundation, Sheridan College, Gillette College, Northwest College in Powell, Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, InterConnections21 and the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson. For more information, call the OEO at (307) 766-6119 or email engage@uwyo.edu. Pizza and Perspectives on the Union Thursday at UW Pizza and Perspectives on the Union will take place Thursday, Feb. 28, starting at 7 p.m. in the Wyoming Union West Ballroom at the University of Wyoming. The Union Vision Study Group is seeking input from students, staff and faculty to explore the vision for the Wyoming Union. This study is designed to anticipate future needs of the building, and input is needed from those who use the facility. This interactive session will be facilitated by Mackey Mitchell Architects, and pizza will be provided. As an integral part of the university's educational mission, the Wyoming Union fosters a sense of community by providing quality programs, services and facilities that promote development, embrace diversity and cultivate loyalty to the university, the unions mission statement says. The Wyoming Union provides a nurturing environment within which students are encouraged to pursue excellence, to develop leadership and to realize their potential. Individuals needing assistance to attend this event should call the Wyoming Union Events Office at 766-3161. (Feb. 27, 2019) -- What has become a staple within the UTSA community, the third annual First-Gen Fest brings excitement, anticipation, and a profound sense of belonging for UTSAs growing first-generation student population. The festival takes places Monday, March 4 to Friday, March 8 at the Main and Downtown Campuses and includes a series of events for students, faculty and staff that supports, empowers and celebrates first-generation students. With nearly half (45 percent) of UTSA undergraduates the first in their family to earn a bachelors degree, the First-Gen Fest has grown from a one day program in 2017 to a week long experience this year. >> Learn how UTSA supports first-generation students. UTSA school psychology graduate student Jonathan Casas, a first-gen student himself, serves as a peer mentor for the First to Go and Graduate (F2GG) program. The First-Gen Fest help students understand there is a community of support for them, said Casas. Often, students can feel that they are not noticed at the larger level. First-Gen Fest offers students an opportunity to be seen and lets them know the university is here to help them be successful. First-generation staff member and alumna Crystal Martinez 17 is eager to kick-off First-Gen Fest to celebrate with students, faculty and staff. She serves as the program coordinator for the First-Generation and Transfer Student Center. I am looking forward to seeing all the collaboration and getting students, faculty and staff excited, said Martinez. I also appreciate bringing speakers like Roy Juarez Jr. He has gone through many trials and tribulations but is succeeding. The hope is that some first-generation students will relate to his story and also succeed. New this year, is the First-Gen Creative Activity and Research Symposium, which offers a platform to undergraduate and graduate first-generation students to share the work they do alongside UTSA faculty. First-Gen Fest schedule of events: First-Gen Takeover Monday, March 4 Student, faculty and staff are encouraged to wear their first-gen t-shirts. First-Gen Fest Kick-Off Monday, March 4, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Central Plaza and Sombrilla, Main Campus Join the first-generation Roadrunner community and celebrate with music, food, fun and swag. First-Gen Progressive Celebration Tuesday, March 5, 12 p.m. to 3p.m, various locations, Downtown Campus Learn about the UTSA Downtown Campus and all that it has to offer by participating in this progressive style celebration at the Campus Rec, Frio St. Commons, Library, One Stop and Tomas Rivera Center. First-Gen Creative Activity and Research Symposium Tuesday, March 5, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m, Durango Building Riverwalk Room (DBB 1.124), Downtown Campus Wednesday, March 6, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Student Union Denman Room (SU 2.01.28), Main Campus First-generation students brings many assets to a college community. See them exhibit their research or creative activity. Undergraduate and graduate students need to register to participate. First-Gen Platica Wednesday, March 6, 1 p.m to 2 p.m., H-E-B Student Union Travis Room (HSU 2.202), Main Campus Join the Platica and share your own first-gen experiences, why college is important to you, and what it means to be a first-generation student. First-Gen Mix and Mingle Thursday, March 7, 5 p.m to 6 p.m., Student Union Denman Room (SU 2.01.28), Main Campus Prior to Roy Juarez Jr.s lecture series, join other first-gen student for conversation, connections and a nacho bar. Homeless By Choice: Featuring Roy Juarez Jr. Thursday, March 7, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Student Union Denman Room (SU 2.01.28), Main Campus Motivational speaker Roy Juarez Jr. will share his story to motivate, inspire and empower students to chase their dream even during times of struggle. First-Gen Institute Friday, March 8, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Student Union Denman Room (SU 2.01.28), Main Campus The First-Gen Institute is a free, one-day institute for UTSA faculty, staff and graduate students featuring keynotes by Roy Juarez Jr., Victoria Black, director of peer mentorship at Texas State University and youth activities. Registration is recommended. 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. Published: February 27, 2019 Poet Mario Chard to Give Reading at UT March 6 On Wednesday, March 6, The University of Tampa will welcome poet Mario Chard, who will read from his debut collection, Land of Fire. The event, part of the Universitys Honors Program symposia series, begins at 4 p.m. in the Trustees Board Room on the ninth floor of the Vaughn Center and is free and open to the public. Chards poetry collection, Land of Fire, follows three entangled strands a contemporary immigrant story, echoes of the Fall in Paradise Lost and meditations on fatherhood in the shadow of Abrahams command to sacrifice a son. The collection won the 2016 Dorset Prize from Tupelo Press and was named A 2018 Notable Debut by Poets & Writers Magazine. His recent poems have appeared in The New Yorker, Poetry and the Boston Review. Chard is the winner of the Discovery/Boston Review Poetry Prize and a former Wallace Stegner Poetry Fellow at Stanford University. Chard currently teaches in Atlanta, GA, and within the last year has traveled around Spain, Germany and the U.S. to read his poetry. For more information contact co-directors of the Honors Program Kacy Tillman, associate professor of English, at ktillman@ut.edu, or Ryan Cragun, associate professor of sociology, at rcragun@ut.edu. Union Springs, AL (36089) Today Partly to mostly cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms. High 87F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. 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 Assam:Jailed activist accuses NIA of ruining his life 30 Jun 2021 | 6:39 PM Guwahati, Jun 30 (UNI) Jailed activist Akhil Gogoi has alleged that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is hatching a conspiracy with the union government to ruin his life. see more.. Mamata launches student Credit Card scheme 30 Jun 2021 | 6:27 PM Kolkata, Jun 30 (UNI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday launched Student Credit Card scheme that provides a soft loan of up to Rs 10 lakh to the students for educational purposes. see more.. Monsoon Watch: Capital, other areas receive light rainfall 30 Jun 2021 | 6:17 PM Ranchi, Jun 30 (UNI) The state capital and other areas on Wednesday reported light rainfall coupled with lightning and thundering. see more.. Couple practicing exorcism murdered in Bihar's Aurangabad 30 Jun 2021 | 6:17 PM Aurangabad, June 30 ( UNI) Some anti social elements laced with lethal weapons killed a couple practicing exorcism at Jammuain village under Madanpur police station area here today. see more.. Syria still suffering staggering levels of humanitarian need United Nations, Feb 27 (UNI) Staggering levels of humanitarian need persist throughout Syria, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has told Security Council members. Speaking on behalf of UN emergency relief chief Mark Lowcock, Reena Ghelani, OCHAs Director for Operations and Advocacy, on Tuesday said that this year, an estimated 11.7 million people will require life-saving humanitarian assistance across the country. Nearly eight years on since mass-protests first began against the Syrian Government in 2011, she painted a picture of what life is like for some 41,000 displaced mainly women and children in Rukban camp, near the Syria-Jordan border, calling it a dire humanitarian situation where people struggled for survival, face hunger and lacked the most basic necessities. Bangladesh to honour Indians for their contribution in 1971 liberation war Dhaka, Feb 26 (UNI) Bangladeshi Liberation War affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque told parliament that a total of 1,700 foreigners will be honoured for their contribution in liberation war in 1971. He said 339 foreign personalities, including former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi, have already been honoured so far. The minister, in reply to a question of Major (retd) Rafiqul Islam MP (Chandpur-5 constituency) during Sundays sitting, informed the matter to the Parliament. AKM Mozammel Haque also said Bangladesh government honours foreigners with three awards Swadhinata Sommanona, Muktijuddho Sommanona and Muktijuddho Moitri Sommanona. While there is some disagreement on just how much, there is significant growth coming to the Oregon School District that will affect the dis If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Go to form Walker will be missed in Imlay City Dana Walker has been a familiar name and face around the Imlay City area for quite some time. As Chamber Director, there was no doubt that Dana was enthusiastic about the opportunity to promote member businesses, and toot the horn for all things Imlay City. When she was chosen to head up the Downtown Development Authority, that enthusiasm seemed to go into overdrive, as Dana used her considerable communication skills and creativity to foster growth and economic development in the downtown district, as well as encourage all residents to embrace the idea of community. The idea that what happens to one, happens to all, and that our youth are just as important as our elders. Named a Friend of Youth by the Imlay City School district, Walker often partnered with the schools for community-related eventsa partnership that worked because kids have parents and grandparents and uncles and aunts, etc., all eager to participate in downtown activities. It is no surprise that Walker has been chosen to lead the Michigan Downtown Association. A champion of Imlay City, Walker will now become a cheerleader for downtowns across the state. Downtowns keep community alive, and make life better for residents by offering opportunities to shop, work and play right in their own backyards. Walkers last day on the job here is Thursday, February 28. We know many of your join us in extending a heartfelt thank you and farewell to Walker as she embarks on her new endeavor, and kudos for a job well done in Imlay City. SEC Names Kothari as Chief Economist and Director of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that S.P. Kothari has been named Chief Economist and Director of the agencys Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA). Dr. Chyhe Becker, who has served as DERAs Acting Director while the SEC completed its search, will continue to serve both as Deputy Director and Associate Director of Litigation Economics. Mr. Kothari joins the SEC from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he is a professor of accounting and finance and recently ended a six-year term as Deputy Dean of MIT Sloan School of Management. S.P. brings with him wide-reaching insight from his decades spent as a leader in applying sophisticated research to the operation of our financial markets, including firsthand experience from his time in the private sector, said SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. His leadership will guide DERA well in the research and analysis it provides in support of the Commissions work on behalf of Main Street investors. I also want to thank Chyhe for her exemplary leadership as Acting Director of the division over the last year. I am delighted to welcome S.P. to DERA. His warm and thoughtful leadership is an excellent fit for the division and will serve us well in our role in providing economic analysis to help the Commission fulfill its mission, said Dr. Becker. I am honored to join the SECs team of dedicated economists, whose work is well-known and respected throughout the discipline, said Mr. Kothari. I look forward to working with the staff and the Commission to explore the important economic issues affecting investors and our markets. Mr. Kothari has spent nearly two decades at MIT, both as a professor and as an administrator. He has also been Co-Chair of the Board of Governors Asia School of Business, Kuala Lumpur, faculty director of the MIT-India Program, and editor of the academic publication Journal of Accounting & Economics. In 2008, he served as global head of equity research for Barclays Global Investors, where he was responsible for research supporting the firms active equity strategies and for managing a team of approximately 50 PhDs based around the world. Mr. Kothari earned his B.S in Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science and his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management. He completed his PhD from the University of Iowa. For more information on related topics, visit the following channels: Cleartrip, a leading mobile and online travel company in the Middle East, has announced the integration of Apple Pay into its mobile application in Saudi Arabia. Cleartrip has become one of the first travel companies to enable the payment platform in the kingdom. With the integration of the digital wallet, Cleartrips customers in the country will benefit from simpler and faster checkout on the companys mobile app while making payments for travel booking. Apple Pay is easy to set up and supports all devices running iOS 11 and works with iPhone SE, iPhone 6 and later, and Apple Watch. Commenting on the new feature, Sameer Bagul, executive vice president and managing director, Cleartrip Middle East, said: Thanks to its high rates of internet and smartphone penetration, Saudi Arabia has become one of the leading markets in the region for technology adoption. The integration of Apple Pay into Cleartrips iPhone app represents our commitment to pioneering innovative travel solutions to cater to the evolving needs of our tech-savvy customers in the Kingdom. We remain committed to seeking new ways to further enhance our offerings to make travel easier and effortless, thereby offering our travellers unforgettable experiences. Stuart Crighton, founder and CEO, Cleartrip, said: We are delighted to become one of the first travel companies in Saudi Arabia to enable Apple Pay for the kingdoms discerning travellers. This achievement not only represents another milestone in our journey but also reflects our relenting commitment to accelerating the development of a robust digital infrastructure in the country to support its transformation, a key pillar to the Saudi Vision 2030. We are confident that the integration of the payment solution will catalyse the adoption of mobile booking and transactions, thereby driving growth in the countrys digital economy. With 88 per cent of smartphone ownership and over 95 per cent internet penetration, Saudi Arabia has seen a sharp increase in the uptake of travel booking on mobile devices. During the first half of 2018, the kingdom witnessed a 218 per cent growth in mobile reservations, which represents 29 per cent of all bookings, according to the H1 & Summer 2018 Travel Insights Report by Cleartrip and Flyin. The country has also seen a massive 536 per cent increase in debit card transactions during the same period. Saudi Arabia is the second country in the region where Cleartrip has supported Apples payment platform. The company enabled Apple Pay for its mobile app users in the UAE in October 2017 when the iPhone maker rolled out the service in the country. - TradeArabia News Service APM Terminals Bahrain, the exclusive operator of the kingdom's Khalifa Bin Salman Port, said the board of directors have proposed distribution of dividends worth BD9.8 million ($25.8 million) for the year ended December 31, 2018. The proposed dividend is 109 per cent of the companys capital, (approximately 109 fils per share). This achieves a dividend yield of approximately 16.5 per cent on the initial offer price of 660 fils, said a statement from APM Terminals Bahrain. The announcement came as the newly convened board of the directors for APM Terminals Bahrain met formally for the first time this week. The new board members are David Skov (Chairman); Fawzi Ahmed Kanoo (Vice Chairman); Soren Sjostrand Jakobsen (Executive Director); Jesper Kjaedegaard (Non-executive director); Mohamed bin Ebrahim Juma Alshoorgi and Nadhem Saleh Al Saleh (both Independent directors). Chairing the inaugural board meeting, Skov said: "This is a proud moment in the timeline of APM Terminals Bahrain and Khalifa Bin Salman Port. Our strong financial performance coupled with recommendation of distribution of a dividend and last years highly successful IPO, is testament to the progress we have made in recent years." "Our new board brings together some of the most experienced and highly respected professionals from across the industry and region, to help lead and guide the continued business growth and development," stated Skov. "We look forward to continued success and deliver the very best experience for our customers and business partners with the support of all our employees and shareholders," he added.-TradeArabia News Service Leading government authorities such as Saudi Customs and Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) and major Saudi firms will share significant insights on how strategies under the Saudi Vision 2030 will deliver the desired transformation, at an upcoming event in Riyadh. Companies such as Bahri and Saudi Aramco Marine Department, which play a key role in the implementation of the latest development initiatives across Saudi Arabia, will attend the Second Saudi Maritime Congress, to be held on March 11 and 12, at Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh at Kingdom Centre, Riyadh. The event expects the attendance of more than 2,000 maritime professionals, and will provide numerous opportunities to network, do business, strengthen local presence and establish new business relationships in the field. Ahmed Alhakbani, governor - General Customs Authority, said: Saudi Customs play a crucial role in driving national transformation as trade is a vital sector in development. The authority continues to build on its strengths to ensure that policies are moving towards a more efficient and faster customs processes in accordance with existing national laws and international regulations, he said. The shipping sector is an essential partner for Saudi Customs to implement its goal and we are keen to be an essential contributor in providing insights regarding recent developments and upcoming initiatives, which aims to improve the trade process and thereby contribute to national and international economic growth, he added. Engineer Abdullah Aldubaikhi, chief executive officer, Bahri, said: Our commitment to steering Saudi Arabias shipping sector towards new levels of growth and development is anchored on the nations transformation plan. Our business strategies are fully aligned with the goals set out in Saudi Vision 2030, while also extending our global reach in the maritime industry. We will continue to build on our existing services and solutions to contribute to the enhancement of the kingdoms shipping and logistics sector, he said. Our participation in this major event will further strengthen our resolve to establish the kingdom as one of the worlds leading logistics and transportation hubs, he added. The recently launched National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP), one of the 13 Vision Realization Programs under Saudi Vision 2030 that aims to make the country into a leading global player in logistical services, will pave way for the growth of four key sectors: industry, mining, energy and logistics, and contribute up to SR1.2 trillion ($319.9 billion) to Saudi Arabias gross domestic product (GDP). A total of 330 logistics initiatives are being developed under the programme and stimulate up to SR 1.7 trillion ($453.31 billion) of investments. The oil and gas sector is also primed to increase business growth from the local market by up to 75 per cent by 2030 from 40 per cent in 2015. Some of these initiatives are being led by Saudi Aramco, which aims to develop a more competitive local supply chain by requiring suppliers them to secure 70 per cent of the content of their products from local sources. Meanwhile, leading shipping company Bahri has stepped its business strategies, aligning them to the countrys diversification plans through expansion of its multi-purpose fleet, adding five very large crude-oil carriers (VLCCs) as well as adopting new technologies to boost its operations capabilities. Among the latest measures relevant to the shipping sector are reforms under the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) in collaboration with the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, which are soon to allow foreign shipping agencies to hold 100 per cent ownership of their companies and operate independently under a foreign investment license. The license will have to be secured from Saudi Ports Authority and will be valid for five years. Previously, shipping agents could operate only as a fully owned Saudi company or under partnership with local investors. Chris Hayman, chairman of Seatrade, said: The huge development plans across Saudi Arabia are opening massive opportunities for vital sectors such as the shipping and logistics industry to take part in the implementation of the countrys national agenda. The Second Saudi Maritime Congress will gather local and international economic leaders and major sector players from the shipping, ports, ship construction and offshore marine industry to further discuss how new policies and business agenda can align their efforts towards achieving the nations goals, he added. TradeArabia News Service Saudi Arabias auto services and spare parts market is estimated to grow 6 per cent annually over the next five years, it was revealed at the Automechanika Jeddah 2019. More than 80 exhibitors from 15 countries are showcasing their latest offerings at the leading auto aftermarket trade fair, being held at the Jeddah Hilton Hotel, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The fair will conclude today (February 27). The organisers of the event include Ace Group and the Automechanika brand sub-licensor Messe Frankfurt Middle East. Mazen Batterjee, vice president of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, opened the show. It highlighted new government policies and a significant boost in car parc (vehicles in operation) fuel rising demand for related auto aftermarket supplies a services. Initiatives such as allowing women to drive in 2018 coupled with a concerted shift toward implementing cleaner technologies is having a positive impact on the market, as is ongoing infrastructure development, it said. According to global research company Aranca, Saudis car parc stood at 7.7 million in 2018, with 350,000 new passenger cars and 115,000 new commercial vehicles sold for the year. Around 10.5 million vehicles will ply Saudi roads by 2023, including 6.85 million passenger vehicles and 3.65 million commercial vehicles. The upshot will be felt keenly by industry professionals in Saudis spare parts and related auto services market, which is expected to be worth $10.15 billion in 2023 says Aranca, compared to $7.6 billion in 2018. Tyres contributed the most to the kingdoms spare parts market revenue in 2018, with a 30 per cent share ($2.28 billion). Thats followed by lubricants ($1.44 billion), batteries ($380 million), and other electronics, accessories, and components ($3.49 billion). Mahmut Gazi Bilikozen, Automechanika Jeddahs show director, said: The event arrives as the Saudi automotive sector undergoes a sizeable transformation. One of the big developments in recent months has of course been the lifting of the ban of women driving, and as a result, since June 2018, more than 40,000 driving licences have been issued to women across the kingdom, he said. Reports also indicate that 20 per cent of the female population, or three million drivers, are expected to be added to Saudi roads by 2020, and so not surprisingly, vehicle parc will also grow. With this new customer segment, the flow-on effect will be felt in the aftermarket, not only in terms of rising demand for spare parts, but also in related auto services, he added. Bilkozen continued: We strive to present an unrivalled platform for global suppliers to tap into emerging opportunities in the kingdom, and in Automechanika Jeddah, we are offering thousands of Saudi trade buyers and professionals an important information source with the latest products and solutions from the global aftermarket. Hadi Al Harith, chief executive officer, Ace Group, said: The Automechanika brand has established itself as the leading and only exhibition catering to the automobile aftermarket providing a singular opportunity to this industrial cluster supporting the indispensable and expanding requirements of Saudi Arabia. The increasing infrastructure projects, the annual pilgrimage and the new segment of female drivers to the market all portend a strong and continuous business for the international and Saudi stakeholders and to the specialist visitors a vast investment potential, he added. The event is expected to attract a large audience of Saudi trade visitors, as they seek solutions across six product groups of parts and components, electronics and systems, repair and maintenance, tyres and batteries, car wash, care and reconditioning, and accessories and customising. Among the many exhibitors shining the spotlight on their latest innovations this this week is American-headquartered Armolan, which is launching its IR Ultimate window tints that effectively block up to 99 per cent of UV rays and reduce heat by as much as 90 per cent in hot Middle East climes. Tetyana Bianchino, managing director of Armolan Middle East, said: That change (allowing women to drive) was so important for our business and our Saudi sales records have improved almost 60 per cent since that time (June 2018). Customer satisfaction is our highest priority, and thats why were doing our best to reach our customers by attending Automechanika Jeddah. Saudi Arabia is full of opportunity, and the best way to improve sales performance is to participate in these types of shows to inform and educate the market about our products and solutions, Bianchino added. Meanwhile, UAE Company National Paints is a debut exhibitor at Automechanika Jeddah, and is launching its Numix car refinishing paint system specifically designed to suit all brands of vehicles with an infinite variety of colours. Automechanika Jeddah 2019 returns with its popular Truck Competence initiative for products dedicated to the entire value chain in the truck sector, while the global presence is underlined by five country pavilions from Turkey, Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Also returning is the Automechanika Academy in partnership with Autolink and Institute of the Motor Industry, where C-Level Recruitment in the auto industry and developments in Electric and Hybrid Vehicles are among the key topics discussed by industry experts. Automechanika Jeddah is one of 17 instalments of Automechanika worldwide, the most successful automotive aftermarket trade fair brand in the world. It will alternate between the Messe Frankfurt-licensed Automechanika Riyadh, which will next take place in 2020. TradeArabia News Service Oman's Public Establishment for Industrial Estates, Madayn, recently organised a lecture on the role of standardisation in support of national industries at the Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM). Targeting business owners, companies and factories based in Rusayl Industrial City, the lecture was delivered by John Walter, president of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) who briefed the audience on the organisation, its system, partners and benefits of standards, said a statement from the organisation. Walter pointed out that ISO is an independent, non-governmental organisation with a global network of national standards bodies with one member per country. He added: Our job is to make international standards. We are coordinated by a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland. Moreover, we are not for profit; selling our standards allows us to finance their development in a neutral environment, to maintain them and to make new ones. In fact, ISO provides a platform for developing practical tools through common understanding and cooperation with all stakeholders, he said. Walter added that ISO comprises 163 members and enjoys more than 22,000 international standards and more than 300 technical committees. He emphasised that standards play a significant role in facilitating trade and access to markets; quality, safety, environment and health; interoperability; optimisation of infrastructures; and evaluation and demonstration of conformity. He also underscored the associated emerging areas which include Internet of Things (IoT), Smart cities, smart manufacturing, climate change, blockchain technology, and aging societies. It should be noted that Madayn has recently earned the ISO 9001:2015 Certification for its quality management system. Madayn officials have emphasised on the significance of implementing the requirements of the internationally-recognised quality management system through using advanced management methods, which consequently contributes to enhancing the quality of the services offered to Madayns investors and clients, and emphasises on its objective in attracting foreign investments and localising the national capital, it stated. TradeArabia News Service Leading technology giant GE said it has signed an agreement with the Iraqi Ministry of Electricitys (MoE) to provide an advanced 9E gas turbine to its Al Qudus Power Plant. As per the deal, GE is installing the new gas turbine at the site and it is expected to generate up to an additional 125 megawatts (MW) of electricity. The service agreement will enhance the reliability of operations at the plant, helping to maintain a stable supply of up to 875 megawatts (MW) of power over the course of the coming year, said a statement from GE. In addition, the company has also agreed to provide services for up to seven GE 9E gas turbines at the facility throughout this year, including maintenance, supply of parts and rehabilitation, it added. Mussab Al Mudarris, the director of the Media Department of the MoE said: "We made a promise to the people of Iraq to bring efficient power online as soon as possible. One of the fastest ways to deliver on this promise is to enhance the productivity of existing power generation facilities." "GE, with its large installed base of power generation equipment across Iraq, can help us meet this objective. The delivery of a new gas turbine at Al Qudus Power Plant and our new services agreement with GE will help deliver much-needed power to the national grid reliably within a short timeframe," he noted. GEs 9E technology is capable of running on more than 50 different kinds of fuel. This allows the ministry the flexibility it needs to operate the unit on the most economical source available and to keep generating power using liquid fuels when gas is unavailable, he added. Joseph Anis, President and CEO of GEs Power Services business in Africa, South Asia and the Middle East, said: "It is essential to bring quick, proven and efficient solutions to help the Ministry of Electricity strengthen the countrys power infrastructure." This announcement builds on GEs strong legacy of over 50 years of contributions to the development of Iraqs power sector. In the north, GEs teams have been powering liberated areas with the rehabilitation of Mosuls Al Qayara Power Plant. In central Iraq, the company is helping to set up the countrys largest combined cycle power plant the 3 gigawatts Basmaya Power Station which will also be Iraqs first digital power plant. "Since 2011, GE has brought more than 14 gigawatts of power online across the country, and we remain committed to delivering the power technologies of the future to keep supporting the progress of the Iraqi people," he added.-TradeArabia News Service Piper VanOrd, of Allegheny Outfitters out of Warren, gives the keynote address of the Oil Region Alliances kick-off event for their 2019 Business Contest on Thursday. Pakistan carried out airstrikes and shot down two Indian jets on Wednesday, Pakistani officials said, a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a war in 1971, prompting leading powers to urge both sides to show restraint. Both countries have ordered airstrikes over the last two days, the first time in history that two nuclear armed powers have done so, while ground forces have exchanged fire in more than a dozen locations. Tensions have been elevated since a suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police on Feb. 14, but the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base. The attack targeted the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the group that claimed credit for the suicide attack. India said a large number of JeM fighters had been killed, but Pakistani officials said the strike was a failure and inflicted no casualties. Indian air force planes strayed into Pakistani airspace on Wednesday after Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Indian-occupied Kashmir, said Major General Asif Ghafoor, a spokesman for the Pakistan armed forces. "PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace," he said in a tweet. One of the aircraft fell on India\s side of Kashmir, while the second came down in Pakistani-held territory and its pilot was captured, he added. In a statement, Pakistan\s foreign ministry said it had hit a "non-military" target inside Indian-controlled Kashmir, but that it had avoided human loss and collateral damage. "If India is striking at so called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan," the statement said. A spokesman for India\s defense ministry was not immediately available for comment. Police officials in Indian-occupied Kashmir said that two Indian pilots and a civilian had died after an Indian air force plane crashed in Kashmir, but did not confirm if the plane had been shot down by Pakistani forces. [nL3N20M2EG] Indian officials said three Pakistani jets had also entered Indian airspace, before being intercepted and forced turned back. The Indian air force has ordered Kashmir\s main airport in Srinagar along with at least three others in neighboring states to close because of the two incidents, an official said. The latest exchanges hit stock markets in both countries. Pakistani stocks fell sharply during morning trade with the benchmark KSE 100 Index down 3.34 percent and the narrower KMI 30 index down 3.6 percent in Karachi. The Indian stock market was down around 0.5 percent. On Tuesday evening, Pakistan began shelling using heavy caliber weapons in 12 to 15 places along the de facto border in Kashmir, known as the Line of Control (LoC), a spokesman for the Indian defense forces said. "The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focused fire resulted in severe destruction to five posts and number of casualties," the spokesman said. Five Indian soldiers suffered minor wounds in the shelling that ended on Wednesday morning, he added. "So far there are no (civilian) casualties but there is panic among people," said Rahul Yadav, the deputy commissioner of the Poonch district where some of the shelling took place. "We have an evacuation plan in place and if need arises we will evacuate people to safer areas, he said. Officials on the Pakistani side said at least four people had been killed and seven wounded, though it was unclear if the casualties were civilian or military. India has also continued its crackdown on suspected militants operating in Kashmir, a mountainous region that both countries claim in full but rule in part. On Wednesday, security forces killed two Jaish militants in a gun battle, Indian police said. HEIGHTENED SECURITY Pakistan and India have fought three wars since independence from British colonial rule in 1947 and went to the brink a fourth in 2002 after a Pakistani militant attack on India\s parliament. In Mumbai, India\s financial capital, there was a visible increase in security levels for a city that has suffered numerous militant attacks in the past. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke separately with the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan and urged them to avoid "further military activity" following Tuesday\s airstrike. "I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost," Pompeo said in a statement on Wednesday. "I also encouraged both ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity," he said. Both China and the European Union have also called for restraint. On Wednesday New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters also voiced concern over the escalation in tension. In Afghanistan, the Taliban urged both sides to mediate via talks, and that further escalation could impact the Afghan peace process. [nL5N20M15T] "India should not carry any further violence in Pakistan because its continuation will affect regional security also the continuation of such conflict will cost a lot for India," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement. SOURCE: REUTERS French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday asked the Dutch government to clarify why it bought more than 12 percent of shares in the holding company for the Air France-KLM alliance without first advising Paris. French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire called the move "incomprehensible" and said his Dutch counterpart would come to Paris in coming days to clarify the situation. France\s strong response to the Dutch purchase a day after it was announced underscores the tensions surrounding the alliance between the two airlines. Speaking at a news conference in Paris, Macron said the French government hadn\t been informed ahead of time of the Dutch move, and stressed the alliance\s interests must be "preserved." French news media reported that the board of Air France-KLM was meeting Wednesday. A stern Le Maire told reporters that the Dutch decision to buy shares was "incomprehensible and unexpected." The best way is to clarify the move, he said, was in person. Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra who announced the shares purchase Tuesday will be in Paris "in the coming days," Le Maire said. Hoekstra announced the Dutch government\s purchase of 12.68 percent of shares in Air France-KLM S.A. for 680 million euros ($775 million) with plans to build up its stake to around 14 percent. The French government\s stake is 14.3 percent. The Dutch state already owns a 5.9-percent stake in KLM, the Dutch national airline. Hoekstra said the shares purchased will allow the government to exert greater influence in strategic decisions about the alliance. French national carrier Air France and KLM reached a deal last week on tightening ties after fears of a power struggle alarmed the Dutch government, airline employees and shareholders. KLM has cut jobs and costs but is more profitable than Air France, which has faced extended labor disputes in recent years. Air France-KLM CEO Benjamin Smith met Dutch government ministers in The Hague this month to discuss the airlines\ future. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte declined at the time to give details of those talks, but stressed what was at stake. "It is unbelievably important for the Dutch economy that KLM functions well," he said. For Le Maire, the objective must be a "collective success" in the "extremely competitive" air transport sector. SOURCE: Associated Press North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump met in Vietnam on Wednesday for a second summit that the United States hopes will persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for promises of peace and development. Kim and Trump shook hands and smiled briefly in front of a row of their national flags at the Metropole hotel in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, before heading to dinner together. Trump told reporters he thought the talks would be very successful, and asked if he was "walking back" on denuclearization, said "no". At their historic first summit in Singapore last June, Trump and Kim pledged to work toward denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean peninsula but little progress has been made. Kim said they had overcome obstacles to hold their second summit and praised Trump for his "courageous decision" to begin a dialogue. "Now that we\re meeting here again like this, I\m confident that there will be an excellent outcome that everyone welcomes, and I\ll do my best to make it happen," Kim said. Trump and Kim held a 20-minute, one-on-one chat before sitting down to dinner with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Trump\s acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Kim\s top envoy, Kim Yong Chol, and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho. On Thursday, the two leaders will hold a series of meetings, the White House said. The venue has not been announced. "Were going to have a very busy day tomorrow, said a smiling, relaxed-looking Trump, seated beside Kim at a round table with the other four officials and two interpreters. "Our relationship is a very special relationship." Experts said the pair were at pains to show their relationship had improved since their first meeting, with their body language closely mirroring each other. GOOD RELATIONS Trump said late last year he and Kim "fell in love", but whether the bonhomie can move them beyond summit pageantry to substantive progress on eliminating Pyongyang\s nuclear arsenal that threatens the United States is the question that will dominate the talks. Trump and Kim\s Singapore summit, the first meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader, ended with great fanfare but little substance over how to dismantle North Korea\s nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. In the run-up to this summit, Trump has indicated a more flexible stance, saying he was in no rush to secure North Korea\s denuclearization. He repeated that on Wednesday, saying while some people believed the talks should be moving more quickly, he was satisfied. He has also said he would be happy as long as North Korea, which has not tested a nuclear weapon or intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017, maintained that freeze. Some critics have said Trump appeared to be wavering on a long-standing U.S. demand for complete and irreversible denuclearization by North Korea, and risked squandering leverage if he gave away too much, too quickly. Asked if he would declare a formal end to the Korean War, which North Korea has long called for, Trump said: Well see. North and South Korea have been technically at war since their 1950-53 conflict, with the Americans backing the South, ended in a truce, not a treaty. Evans Revere, a former U.S. negotiator with North Korea, said Trump was under pressure, given the criticism and other domestic problems, and Kim might try to use that. "Kim may be tempted to push Trump even harder for concessions, knowing how much the president wants and needs that testing pause," Revere said. \AWESOME\ POTENTIAL U.S. intelligence officials have said there is no sign North Korea will ever give up its entire arsenal of nuclear weapons, which it sees as its guarantee of national security. Analysts say it won\t commit to significant disarmament unless punishing U.S.-led economic sanctions are eased. The two sides have discussed specific and verifiable denuclearization measures, such as allowing inspectors to observe the dismantlement of North Korea\s Yongbyon nuclear reactor, U.S. and South Korean officials say. U.S. concessions could include opening liaison offices or clearing the way for inter-Korean projects. Despite little progress on his goal of ridding North Korea of its weapons programs, Trump appeared to be betting on his personal relationship with Kim, and the economic incentive after 70 years of hostility between their countries. "Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize," Trump said on Twitter ahead of the meeting. "The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon Very Interesting!" For Trump, a deal that eases the North Korean threat could hand him a big foreign-policy achievement in the midst of domestic troubles. While he is in Hanoi, his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen is testifying before U.S. congressional committees, with the president\s business practices the main focus. Cohen, in wide-ranging testimony he is due to deliver on Wednesday, refers to a comment Trump made to him about avoiding the U.S. military draft for the Vietnam War on medical grounds: "\You think I\m stupid, I wasn\t going to Vietnam\," Cohen cited Trump as saying. "I find it ironic, President Trump, that you are in Vietnam right now," Cohen said in a draft statement seen by Reuters. Trump, responding to the statement on Twitter, said Cohen was lying to reduce his prison time. He declined to respond when a reporter asked him about Cohen later. SOURCE: REUTERS ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- Republican lawmakers came out swinging Tuesday against President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen, accusing the one-time "fixer" of being an attention-seeking "pathological liar" who was looking to land a book deal. The GOP lawmakers depicted the hearing as a circus orchestrated by Hillary Clinton's allies, and at one point even invited an administration official who is African American to stand behind Rep. Mark Meadows as he questioned Cohen's assertion that Trump was "racist." Donald Trump Jr. even compared Cohen's testimony to that of a jilted lover. "This sounds like a breakup letter... and Im keeping your sweatshirt," Trump Jr. tweeted. The tactics were aimed at blunting the impact of Cohen's testimony, which could be deeply damaging to the president's brand. Cohen, who has been disbarred as a lawyer, described with remorse writing threatening letters on Trumps behalf and spending much of a decade devoted to protecting a conman and a cheat. Conservatives though said they weren't buying it and noted repeatedly that Cohen had been convicted for lying to Congress. "Liar, liar, pants on fire," said. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz. "No one should ever listen to you and give you credibility. It's sad." Quipped Ohio Republican Jim Jordan: "It's certainly is the first time a convicted perjurer has been brought back to be a star witness in a hearing." Ahead of the testimony, GOP leaders circulated talking points that documented in detail every time Cohen had been caught making a misstatement and noted that even prosecutors had at one point noted, "his instinct to blame others is strong." They also invoked Clinton's presence: Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, is closely tied to the former Democratic presidential candidate. "Cohen is going to prison for lying under oath to Congress and no one should believe a word he says in his testimony this week," according to "messaging" provided Republican members on Tuesday. "Democrats have scheduled this weeks meetings as a way to distract Americans from the historic achievements happening in this Administration." Trump himself helped to set the tone ahead of the hearing, noting in a tweet that Cohen was "using Crookeds lawyer!" - an apparent reference to his nickname for Clinton during the campaign. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., pressed Cohen on the allegation that Trump is "racist" and referenced Lynne Patton, a Trump administration official who is an African-American woman, as an apparent attempt at rebutting Cohen's claim. "She says that as a daughter of a man born in Birmingham, Alabama, that there is no way that she would work for an individual who was racist," said Meadows. "How do you reconcile the two of those?" Cohen's response: "And neither should I as the son of a Holocaust survivor." But while Republicans came out swinging, they also had to walk a tightrope under House ethics rules. One Democrat has asked the House Ethics Committee to investigate a tweet from Republican congressman Matt Gaetz that appeared to threaten Cohen. Gaetz later apologized and deleted the tweet. Hey @MichaelCohen212 - Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if shell remain faithful when youre in prison. Shes about to learn a lot... tweeted Gaetz. Gaetz attended the hearing with the hopes of being able to question Cohen, he told ABC News, although he was not allowed. Republicans tried early on to block the testimony. Meadows demanded that the testimony be postponed until Republicans had an opportunity to review evidence submitted at the last minute. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Feeding the hungry Golden Harvest came down today to help us feed the displaced, the hungry and the elderly, Mary Bennett said. The women of the Sisters Offering Service organization (SOS) made up of Bennett, Pat Steele and Lea Gerlach, feed approximately 70 people every Monday and Wednesday and whenever they get food.... CNA celebrates four decades of employment Beginning her employment with the Keysville Nursing Home and Rehab in 1981, 67-year-old Betty Streetman has worked at the facility since before her boss was born. Administrator Tiffany Reese has nothing but praise for the certified nursing assistant, her elder by almost three decades. She has the hardest job in... Another civil suit addresses legality of Augusta Judicial split Black Lives Voters Matter Fund Incorporated filed a lawsuit June 14 in the Superior Court of Richmond County claiming the Augusta Judicial Circuit split violates the Georgia Constitution. The complaint names Governor Brian Kemp and Richmond, Burke and Columbia Counties as the defendants. Black Lives Voters Matter contend the enactment... Public given chance to weigh-in on redrawing districts Government officials are giving citizens the chance to weigh-in on defining district boundaries. The law requires that states redraw their congressional and legislative district boundaries after every 10-year U.S. Census. The intention behind the mandated move is to accommodate population shifts that may cause districts to become unequal. The House... Recover your password. A password will be e-mailed to you. 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. Montreal, CA (H4T1V6) Today Cloudy this morning with thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 28C. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Thunderstorms this evening with a few showers possible overnight. Low 18C. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. On Feb. 15, in an effort to regain political clout with his own base, President Donald Trump declared the crisis along the southern border a national emergency. The announcement came at a time when presidential hopefuls on the Democratic side have ramped up their campaign efforts for the 2020 election. With no border to stand on, its clear that Trumps decision was for political expediency. For Trump, declaring a national emergency was all he had left. With his initial efforts to gain $25 billion in funding from his Republican Congress floundering this time last year, Trump has sought to bypass Congress for a sum of much less. Seventeen billion dollars less. Nonetheless, the declared emergency moves him one step closer, at the very least, to starting his long-promised border wall. The only problem is that the means in no way justify the ends, and by the end of all of this, Trump will have not only put Conservatives in a tight position but himself as well. The announced national emergency has already set a dangerous precedent. Though the funding has not been approved, its mere declaration is a sign to future presidents that bypassing Congress for political gain is acceptable. This is not to say that national emergencies without congressional approval have never been done. But using funds without the consent of Congress has never been done without military necessity. As Peter Baker of The New York Times states, White House officials cited only two times that such emergency declarations were used by presidents to spend money without legislative approval once by President George Bush in 1990 during the run-up to the Persian Gulf war, and again by his son, President George W. Bush, in 2001 after the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. Trump has ushered in a new era of politics where the most pressing issue is the one that the president decides. Actions like this should worry Conservatives because just hours after Trump made his announcement regarding the emergency, Democratic representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota pointed out on Twitter, Our next President should declare a #NationalEmergency on day 1 to address the existential threat to all life on the planet posed by Climate Change. As a person who is fervently supportive of a big beautiful wall along the southern border, there are still other ways to fund the wall. This is not one of them. Second, this decision will not help the president in 2020. Trumps promises throughout the 2016 campaign were that he was going to have Mexico pay for the wall, that the wall was going to be made out of concrete, and that it would subsequently grow 10 feet taller every time Democrats criticized it. Now, not only is the wall yet to be built, but it will have to be made of steel slats if it is. Personally, I couldnt care less what the material is, but its clear that the campaign wall rhetoric will have to come down significantly as compared to years past. +2 Opinion: Trump is right to call out birthright citizenship One week ago, President Donald Trump made this statement to Axios reporter Jonathan Swan: W By backtracking on the wall in a number of ways and with no wall actually built, Trump will face his biggest test with Independent voters. There is little doubt that his base will support him to the end, but Independents will be the deciding factor for reelection. With a majority of Independents supporting him in swing states in 2016, Trump now faces the task of regaining their trust after his recent decision. With all of the snafus that have occurred under his watch these past three years, Trump may have placed himself behind the eight ball. Other than energizing his base, Trumps national emergency is at its very least problematic. It simultaneously grants too much power to the president while hurting his chances in the 2020 race. If Trump really wanted his wall, he should have fought harder for it a year ago. @joshbya opinion-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu UTA alumna Esmeralda Sutton said during her two years as a nursing student she would greet her classmates with a smile and tell them her name. Then she would add, By the way, I have cancer. It was easier to get that information out of the way during introductions so she wouldnt need to explain later, she said. Two days after starting nursing school, Esmeralda Sutton was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She said the diagnosis didnt surprise her because of the number of health problems she had experienced throughout life. It didnt really impact me because I never really accepted that I had the cancer, Esmeralda Sutton said. Her husband John Sutton, Arlington Police Department patrol officer said it was hard to accept that his wife had cancer. We were both in denial for quite a while, he said. It was frustrating watching her continue medical school, John Sutton said. Most of their family wanted her to take a break and focus on getting well. After being diagnosed, Esmeralda Sutton underwent laparoscopic surgery to have her right ovary removed before the cancer could spread to the rest of her body. The minimally invasive surgery left 10 scars on her abdomen from the incisions. She said now she undergoes routine scans every six months for the rest of her life to ensure that the cancer doesnt return. Clinical assistant professor Sara Washington met Sutton early in her academic nursing career. Washington helped her plan her schedule and coordinate school time with doctors appointments. She saw Esmeralda Suttons commitment to her goals and her constant efforts to achieve them. Im not going to call her an overachiever, Washington said. Shes [an] overcomer. Kennith Thompson attended UTA with Esmeralda Sutton and graduated with her December 2018. He said it was inspiring to see her work hard and attend all her doctors appointments but still make time for the people she cared about. She really kept everyone else as a priority, Thompson said. He said shed try to keep her friends uplifted, leaving them sticky notes with messages like thank you and I appreciate you. Shawn Tindell, undergraduate clinical facilities program manager, said it was very characteristic of Esmeralda Sutton to look after the people around her and smile in the face of adversity. Whenever I think of Esmeralda, I think of this big smile, these big brown eyes, Tindell said. There is so much life in that young person. She said shes known Esmeralda Sutton since she was accepted into the accelerated nursing program and was immediately taken by her passion and excitement to begin nursing school. She is a bundle of energy, Tindell said. She has a passion, and you can just see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice. Esmeralda Sutton is passionate about everything she does and sees every obstacle or setback as a chance to improve, she said. Tindell said Esmeralda Sutton finds opportunities not only for herself but for others as well. When she was president of the Arlington Nursing Students Association, Esmeralda Sutton would constantly look for ways to grow the organization and create leadership opportunities for others, Tindell said. She looked out for every member and tried to help them get through their struggles even though she had her own, a trait that will serve her well as a nurse, Tindell said. She is the epitome of what you would want a nurse to be, she said. Esmeralda Sutton said her biggest disappointment is not being able to bear children. They bring her joy and shes always wanted to raise her own. Since they havent been able to get pregnant, John Sutton said their two pet dogs, Scotty and Whiskey, help bring life to their household. Theyre a constant annoyance, but theyre worth it all, John Sutton said. They help keep us entertained and happy. The house would be really quiet without them. Even though her time in school might have been difficult, Esmeralda Sutton said she looks forward to the future. She started her job as an operating room nurse resident at UT Southwestern Medical Center on Feb. 25. Sutton said shes looking forward to introducing herself as a cancer survivor to her new coworkers. I want to make my reality better, she said. I want to improve on my reality. @CecilLenzen +3 UTA student organization holds baby blanket donation drive Arlington Nursing Students Association is hosting a donation drive, collecting blankets for news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu Salem, MO (65560) Today Scattered thunderstorms this morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. High 84F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. James Lloyd Helms: 1946-2021 James Lloyd Helms of Longview, Wash., passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by loved ones at 74 years of age on June 5, 2021. James was born on October 23, 1946, in Hot Springs, Ark., to Volney Duane Rogers: 1937-2021 Volney Duane (Von) Rogers was born November 27, 1937, to Milton H. and Agnes E. (Bakke) Rogers in Vancouver, Washington. Von was a member of the Meadow Glade Seventh-Day Adventist Ed Huffman: 1943-2021 H. Edward (Ed) Huffman passed away on Thursday June 17, 2021. He is survived by his wife of over 50 years, Sherry; and his children, Jeff, Jennifer, Jenell, Morgan, and Adam. Ed was a loving Natalie Gray It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Natalie Kristin Gray. She died unexpectedly on Monday, June 14, 2021 in Portland, Ore., at the age of 20. Natalie will be dearly missed by her The Real Jackie Kennedy Her style and grace were legendary, and her image came to define the 1960s. She captured the hearts of world leaders, fashion icons and people all over the planet, who knew her as Jackie Kennedy, Jacqueline Onassis, or simply Jackie O. But who was the real Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis? Take our quiz and find out. Take The Quiz Elizabethtown, KY (42701) Today Cloudy skies this morning followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High near 85F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. 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 The organisation's Facebook page is filled with complaints about sinks overflowing with raw sewage, collapsed ceilings, exploding ovens and boilers, broken heating, vermin infestations and lack of accommodation security.One video shows a student at Chesterman Hall unable to enter their building with their key fob.Goldsmiths Student Union Housing Officer Louise Warberg said the university has a duty of care to its students. "Weve heard really atrocious stories, not only about squalid living conditions, but also about the way students are dismissed when they make complaints to the University. "Goldsmiths has a duty of care towards its students, yet these living conditions have negatively impacted our mental healths in substantial ways." Despite the alleged poor quality of student halls, rents have increased significantly in the last decade. Rent in halls such as Surrey House has risen from 111 per week in 2013/14, to 162 per week in 2018/19. In Chesterman House, rent cost 133 per week in 2013-2014 but now costs 187 per week.Jacob Roberts, a member of GHA, complained that the replacement of affordable student housing with potentially 'luxury' flats is a worry. "Weve heard news that Batavia Mews, which is currently the cheapest hall at 118 per week, will be unavailable in the next academic year. "Given the precedents set by other universities we strongly suspect it will be replaced with luxury flats, which will continue price poorer students out of accommodation." GHA argues that many of the issues around high rents and poor living conditions have been exacerbated by the increasing privatisation of student accommodation. AIn 2015, three Goldsmiths halls were sold off to private student accommodation company Campus Living Villages (CLV). In the academic year of 2016/17, CLV was forced to pay out thousands of pounds in compensation to students after breaching student contract accommodation standards. Despite this, the company continue to run multiple student halls at Goldsmiths. GHA has pledged to continue to taking action against the university until rent in student halls is cut to 50% of the average London maintenance loan and the university immediately respond to urgent repairs and compensate students affected by poor housing conditions. A spokesperson for Goldsmiths, University of London said: We understand housing in London can be a real issue which is why we offer some of the most affordable halls accommodation in London with rooms starting at 118 a week inclusive of bills, contents insurance and WiFi. Nine out of ten rooms are below the average price for London student accommodation. Without the agreement with CLV these halls would not have been extended and extensively refurbished to meet the needs of students. CLV has spent 12m on this work since 2016, money that the College does not have at its disposal. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons from Jack Dykinga , U.S. Department of Agriculture These indigenous tribes have lived for centuries - with their survival intrinsically connected to the bison, their nomadic life style was dominated by the migration of the animal. However, it took less than a few decades for the landscape of America to dramatically change. White settlers encroached onto Native American territory and what subsequently followed was theof the native population. It had a disastrous impact on the environment and crippling consequences for an ecosystem that had remained unchanged for thousands of years. Columbus arrived 400 years before white settlers began to head west, fuelled by their Protestant, Christian beliefs with a mission to 'civilise' and 'save' the Indigenous people who had lived on the land for centuries. The growing problems lead the government to wage a war against the native population. The bison were deemed the best and most effective means to devastate the Native tribes, which were entirely dependent on the animal. In 1902, there remained only ainafter years of state-funded hunting and slaughter. Yellow Stone, one of America's most impressive natural wonders, which stretches over the three states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, fortunately provided an oasis for this nearly-extinct population. The park is now at the epicentre and the key to restoring genetically-pure bison populations. The effort of conservationists in the last century has been so successful that now 4,000 bison roam freely. Yellow Stone National Park/ Image Credit: Mila Zinkova from Wikimedia Commons In Montana,working directly with various institutions and groups. However, it has not been an easy journey as it is known that Yellowstone bison carry the disease brucellosis, which is thought to be extremely harmful to commercial cattle herds. The fear of the disease is so prolific, that cattle ranchers have pushed for hundreds of bison in Yellowstone to be slaughtered each year, to prevent the animals roaming outside of the park and mixing with cattle. Therefore, the tribe has had to battle anti-bison legislation in Montana, as well as powerful lobbyists.The experiment 'used Yellowstone bison, with the goal of providing disease-free, genetically pure bison to start new conservation herds elsewhere in Montana'. In 2012 the first bison from Yellowstone arrived in Fort Peck.. Other reservations in Montana are also receiving bison, including the Blackfeet reservation. The effort to conserve and re-establish genetically-pure bison herds was fortified in 2014 when a 13 tribal nations from across US and Canada signed the . The Great Plains will never look as they once did, however it is hoped that in 50 years time there will be ten bison herds 1,000-strong, which would be the minimum needed for theWhat is certain is the key role that the Native American tribes will play in re-establishing the conservation of the bison in the land once again. Lead Image: Salida, CO (81201) Today Some sunshine with a thunderstorm or two possible this afternoon. High 77F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 53F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Shirley Dwight leaves legacy Long time business owner, former educator, and centenarian Shirley Hood Dwight has died. She turned 100 years old on June 5, 2021. Miss Shirley and her husband, William Samuel Dwight,... Fireworks show set for July 3 Signs of normalcy abound throughout the community as we begin venturing outside once more. Numbers of Covid cases continue to plummet while numbers of vaccinated persons continue to rise. Shuttered... Cates offers classic southern cuisine The Cafe On Cotton has been a Millen staple over fifteen years and for many, the only place for lunch. Amber Cates purchased the restaurant in 2013 after working most... Partners in Crime The Jenkins County Library summer reading participants were treated to a K-9 demonstration by Chief Deputy Wesley Aaron with the Jenkins County Sheriffs Office and K-9 Officer Dax, a five-year-old... By Bacchus Barua and Steven Globerman It seems quite clear that the current Liberal administration wants the federal government to become the public insurer for prescription drugs, in part to contain drug costs. Its a wrongheaded plan. In 2017, the government proposed changes to the way it limits drug prices in Canada. While lower drug prices may seem like a good thing, theres a catch. The changes, which were scheduled to come into effect last month but have been delayed, focus almost exclusively on containing costs of new drugs, not increasing access to new drugs for Canadians In fact, the changes are likely to reduce access to new life-improving prescription drugs in Canada. Currently, maximum allowable prices for all patented drugs in Canada reimbursed by the government or private insurers or paid directly by patients are set by a review board. That board uses prices in other countries to help set prices in Canada. The countries used for international comparisons include countries that maintain relatively high prices such as the United States and Switzerland and countries with a lower price such as Italy. The governments proposed changes would drop the U.S. and Switzerland in favour of a new set of countries that typically have lower-than-average prices for patented drugs and limited access to new drugs compared to Canada. Therefore, while the new countries used for comparisons have cheaper drugs, they also have older drugs. The government also wants to use cost-efficiency evaluations, which compare the expected social benefits of a drug to its social cost to determine prices. Federal bureaucrats will determine when additional benefits of a new drug merit paying higher prices. Unfortunately, the conventional application of the technique often underestimates the social benefits of new drug therapies, particularly biologics and other personalized drug treatments. Furthermore, drug companies retain the right to pull their drugs from the Canadian market if they view regulated prices as too low. Pricing decisions by the governments review board apply to all purchasers of prescription drugs in Canada. Therefore, even if private insurers or individuals value an innovative drug more than the maximum allowable price set by a review board, they would be legally prohibited from paying a price higher than that maximum. Beyond the vital issue of access, why do drug prices matter to Canadian patients? Discovering, developing and testing new drugs costs a lot of money. Recent estimates suggest that research and development costs for new therapies average between $2.9 billion and $5 billion per drug. Meanwhile, the initial developers of the drug therapy enjoy only a few years of exclusivity through patent protections before other manufacturers (who incurred no development costs) can enter the market and sell biosimilar or generic copies. Consequently, new drug therapies sell at substantially higher prices than older drugs for the few years following their launch, so companies can recoup the massive investment. So indirect price controls by governments on new drugs could discourage the research needed to find new and better cures. The growing emphasis of governments of wealthy countries on containing new drug prices could reduce the cost of medications in domestic markets. But such efforts risk harming patients by delaying or indefinitely postponing the introduction of new drugs if the maximum allowable price is unacceptably low to manufacturers. Such government actions will also reduce the viability of biotech companies that develop innovative (and expensive) drugs to address difficult to treat or previously incurable medical conditions. To be sure, limiting Canadian expenditures on new drugs will not significantly weaken the incentives of multinational drug companies to spend more money on research and development. But it might well delay or postpone access to new drugs in Canada. The federal governments plan to drive down new drug prices will also exacerbate a worldwide free-riding problem, whereby Americans pay a disproportionate share of new drug development costs. The administration of President Donald Trump has indicated that the U.S. may no longer bear this disproportionate burden. As an international leader in solving problems that require collective action by national governments, Canada should take the lead in ensuring that rich developed countries share appropriately in the cost of developing drugs. A collective effort to stimulate research and development by biopharmaceutical companies is crucial to mitigate the coming tsunami of higher medical expenses associated with aging populations, especially in the wealthiest countries. Bacchus Barua and Steven Globerman are analysts at the Fraser Institute. 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 LEIF R JANSSON/AFP/Getty Images Ten years ago, the royal world got a thrill when Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden officially announced her engagement to her long-time beau, Daniel Westling. Heres a look back at the jewels she wore during their engagement press conference. Patrik Osterberg-Pool/Getty Images On February 24, 2009, Victoria and Daniel appeared before the press in the Royal Palace in Stockholm, where they announced that they were planning to marry in the summer of 2010. The couple began dating in 2002; Daniel was her personal trainer before he became her boyfriend. Patrik Osterberg-Pool/Getty Images To underscore the importance of their marriage the union of a future queen regnant and her prince consort the couple sat beneath a portrait of the first Bernadotte king as they explained their future plans to the gathered media. Patrik Osterberg-Pool/Getty Images Victoria chose subtle jewels for the press conference, including a pair of amethyst stud earrings (very appropriate for February, and perfectly coordinated with the color of her dress) and a petite, diamond-studded wild rose brooch. Patrik Osterberg-Pool/Getty Images She also wore a pair of bracelets on her left wrist. (Unfortunately, although the angle of this image suggests otherwise, Daniel did not wear a golden crown to the press conference.) Patrik Osterberg-Pool/Getty Images Of course, though, everyones attention was on the engagement ring. Daniel and Victoria broke from Swedish engagement ring tradition, in which the bride and groom exchanged slim gold bands to mark their engagement. Instead, they shifted toward popular Western tradition, with Daniel offering Victoria a diamond solitaire ring. Patrik Osterberg-Pool/Getty Images The sparkling diamond was set in a ring made of white gold. Victoria also wore another silver-toned ring on her right hand during the press conference. Linda Brostrom, The Royal Court of Sweden This weekend, the Swedish royal court released a new portrait of a smiling, relaxed Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel to mark the anniversary of their engagement. Ten years on, the couple have two children, Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar, and seem just as happy together as the day they married. 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. SUBSCRIBER E-EDITION AND ONLINE LOGIN DIRECTIONS Current print subscribers: click "Get Started" below and use your subscription account number (Found on the top left of your newspaper mailing label) to activate your FREE access to the e-Edition and online stories. Log in with the username and password you registered on this website. Arab, AL (35016) Today Mostly sunny. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. Luka Banda/iStock(WASHINGTON) -- The House will vote Tuesday on a resolution to terminate President Donald Trump's national emergency proclamation to build the border wall, presenting their opening salvo in a battle that's expected to drag into the next presidential campaign, both in the courts and on Capitol Hill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Monday evening at the Capitol that Trump's "power grab usurps" the legislative branch's constitutional responsibilities and "fundamentally violates the balance of power envisioned by our founders." "We would be delinquent in our duties if we did not resist, if we did not fight back to overturn the president's declaration. To not do that would be to abandon our own responsibilities. We do not intend to do that," said Pelosi, D-Calif. "What the president is saying about the border is mythology. It's not reality, but this is not about the wall. Whatever you think about the wall, think about the Constitution of the United States." Even Senate Republicans have been questioning the president's authority in declaring a national emergency. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell described what he called a "robust and vigorous" discussion during a private lunch on Tuesday with Vice President Mike Pence and a Department of Justice lawyer who briefed Senate Republicans on the president's emergency declaration. "I haven't reached a total conclusion," McConnell said when he was asked if he considered the president's move to be a legal one. "What is not in doubt is we have a serious crisis at the border, and our colleagues across the aisle are in denial. At least three Republican senators -- Susan Collins of Maine, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska -- have said they will vote in favor of the resolution. Many Republicans have expressed their concerns about the presidents ability, under the declaration, to move funds that have already been appropriated by Congress. They've also said they are concerned about the precedent it could send should a Democrat become president. In a Washington Post op-ed, Tillis announced he would vote in support of the joint resolution. "As a U.S. senator, I cannot justify providing the executive with more ways to bypass Congress. As a conservative, I cannot endorse a precedent that I know future left-wing presidents will exploit to advance radical policies that will erode economic and individual freedoms," Tillis wrote. "These are the reasons I would vote in favor of the resolution disapproving of the president's national-emergency declaration, if and when it comes before the Senate." Murkowski said Trump is "overstepping into the legislative prerogative." "We as legislators need to be concerned about that separation," she said. "We need to be concerned about preserving those clear lanes that are outlined within the Constitution. This is not about whether or not I support President Trump." Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border on Feb. 15, taking executive action to obtain billions of dollars for his border wall on top of $1.4 billion Congress sent him earlier this month for border fencing. "We do have an emergency," Trump told a gathering of governors at the White House on Monday. "We have an emergency of people pouring into our country that we don't want -- criminals, smugglers. We have drugs pouring into our country. We can't have it." Democrats still aren't buying it. "There is no crisis at the border," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., insisted. "The issue [Tuesday] will be whether there is a crisis of our constitutional adherence, whether there is a crisis because there is a lack of conscience and courage among the members of the House of Representatives and subsequently the United States Senate to stand up for what the Founding Fathers wanted. They did not want King George." The resolution to terminate the national emergency is expected to pass the House before the Senate considers the measure in the coming weeks. The showdown sets up a potential presidential veto if the measure clears both chambers. So far there doesn't seem to be enough support on Capitol Hill -- two-thirds majorities in both chambers -- to override a veto. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Ryan Vasconcellos, a fourth-year studying communication media, performs as Emcee in Cabaret in Stewart Theatre on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019. Cabaret will be showing in Stewart Theatre from Feb. 20-23 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 24 at 2:00 p.m. Thank you for Reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and Purchase a Subscription to continue reading. This page no longer exists or may have been moved.If you believe this is a mistake please email Schools out for summer With school out for summer children and adults are looking for a fun place to stay cool in the Iowa heat. That place is the Tama-Toledo Aquatic ... 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. Influenza has hit local schools hard, officials say. Public school administrators say they're fighting high percentages of absenteeism due, in large part, to influenza, but none say it's so bad that they're considering shutting their doors. It just seems to be moving from one grade to the other, said Alan Drew, principal at South Knox Elementary School. We've had a lot of staff out, too, which is worrisome. But I don't think it's anything overly serious, at least not at this point. Schools are required by state law to report to the local health department when 20 percent or more of students are out sick. They aren't, however, required to close their doors. As of Feb. 16 the last week for which there is influenza-related data through the state Department of Health there have been two such school outbreaks since flu season officially began last fall. Drew said he had 8 percent of students out Monday, which is about 50 youngsters. It's a sizable number, he said, but when you have 700 kids, total, we're still at about 92 percent. We usually run at 96 percent. So right now we're just emphasizing to the kids to wash their hands often. That's one of the best methods to prevent the spread of the virus. And our custodial staff is doing extra cleaning, things like sanitizing desk tops and door knobs. Many of the teachers are doing those things, too. State health officials are still reporting widespread influenza activity. As of Feb. 16, just over 4 percent of patients visiting physicians' offices were seeking treatment for influenza-like symptoms. There have been 41 deaths so far this flu season, and Good Samaritan Hospital reported its first influenza-related death last week. So far, only one Indiana school has closed due to flu; Southwestern Elementary School in Hanover shuttered its doors for a few days in January because absenteeism rates were so high. Scott Sturgeon, principal of the North Knox Primary School in Bicknell, said, on average, he had 40 kids out per day last week. One class, he said, had just 13 of 27 students. He had 42 out sick on Tuesday, he said, but he would need to reach 65 out before having to alert local authorities. We've been pretty constant at about 40 students out sick, Sturgeon said. So we're using a hospital-grade cleaner, an aerosol that you basically mist around the room to kill germs. And we're scrubbing our floors every morning. It's Clorox wipes out the wazoo, he joked. Don Osburn, principal at North Knox Intermediate School near Bruceville, said he, too, has a student body riddled with flu. He reported 50 students out sick on Tuesday alone. But for us, that magic (reporting) number is 77. That's our 20 percent threshold, he said. So it could definitely be worse. Greg Parsley, superintendent of the Vincennes Community School Corp., said at least one of his buildings has already met or exceeded that 20 percent threshold. Last week, James Whitcomb Riley Elementary School had one day with more than 20 percent of the student body out, so he alerted officials at the county health department. Another day, he said, absenteeism was at 18 percent. Benjamin Franklin Elementary School has taken that top spot this week, he said, as the number of students out sick there is inching ever closer to that 20 percent mark. We've seen some larger numbers at (George Rogers Clark Middle School) and at (Lincoln High School), but nothing that alarming, he said. For us, it seems to just be moving from building to building at the elementary school level. So, yes, the flu has finally hit. But Parsley said he isn't inclined shut the corporation down just yet. Given that there are 2,700 students VCSC-wide, they're nowhere close to that 20 percent mark overall. For now, he said, they will stay the course. Our facilities folks are spending more time cleaning buildings and getting things wiped down, he said. But I see no benefit to closing right now. Now, the BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) has taken the world stage as a tool for those fighting for Palestinian rights to pressure the state of Israel to end its illegal occupation of Palestine and allow Palestinians the right to return and self-determination. Again, like clockwork, accusations and a flood of claims of anti-Semitism, BDS is a tool to fight a government behavior not a religion. Roach said hes never been to the Parkland school and has not met anyone who lost family members in the massacre. He said he was acting out of a sense of outrage at the idea that Peterson was getting pension money from the taxpayers when he failed miserably at his job. A bill was introduced on Tuesday that would strip former Broward County Sheriffs Deputy Scot Peterson of his retirement benefits from the Florida Retirement system. The bill, HB 1091 filed by Rep. Spencer Roach, R-North Fort Myers, accuses Peterson of neglect for not entering Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland during the Feb. 14, 2018 massacre of 17 students and faculty members. Lets see what happens when the bills fully implemented before we make a decision to blow up a bill thats never been implemented, he said. That said, I do think there are concerns that weve seen emerge over the last two years. There will be follow-up legislation that will be looking to address those concerns. But, as far as wholesale changes, I think it would be premature to assume thats whats going to happen. The law is already causing confusion for families that want their children to be able to get their medicine at school. The Palm Beach County School District was sued earlier this month by a Royal Palm Beach couple that said they need their school, H.L. Johnson Elementary, to give their epileptic son his marijuana pills. Peterson had an idea what to expect from Pollacks attorneys he was in the same Broward courtroom on Monday watching lawyers question former school watchman Andrew Medina, a co-defendant in the negligence suit Pollack filed last year. Others named in the suit include Cruz, who is awaiting trial for murder; James and Kimberly Snead, who took Cruz into their home in the two months leading up to the shooting; and Henderson Behavioral Health Inc., which provided mental health services to Cruz. The agents, along with nonprofit agencies, can earn $3,000 if they sell any of the housing available as part of the countys workforce program, designed to be affordable to middle-class employees such as teachers and police officers. There are 131 units currently on the market in Boynton Beach, Lake Worth and West Palm Beach. Nora Rupert is the only other board member who has publicly said she would fire Runcie. She said that view was reaffirmed after attending a public forum on school safety Tuesday where hundreds of Runcie supporters many of whom arrived on buses from black churches in the area cheered loudly for the superintendent and booed and heckled speakers who were critical of him. At the end of a documentary about Demons on YouTube, Demons and his friends are described as the targets of a drive-by shooting in Miami. On the day Demons turned himself in to a jail in Fort Lauderdale, he wrote on Instagram how he lost my two brothers by violence and now the system want to find justice... Weve opened up lots of new spots, so weve been able to pretty much do away with the waitlist, says Noa Bauer, Birthright Israels vice president of Global Marketing. And now they also have so many choices, she adds. They can go with students from their school or on special-interest trips with kids from all over. Such specialty trips range from archaeology, the culinary arts, hiking, professional development, the LGBTQ community and artists, as well as those for young adults with disabilities, including spectrum disorders, which require having more professional support on hand. We offer whatever it takes to make sure every young Jew can experience Israel, adds Bauer. (Note: To qualify for a Birthright trip, you need to have at least one Jewish parent.) Despite this bump in their relationship, Jazz said, Im really touched that Ahmir is willing to stand up to his mother but its really scary to think that, you know, just being in a relationship with me could cause him to not even have a home. In 2018, the U.S. and Canadian governments issued three travel warnings for The Bahamas. Those prompted Royal Caribbean to issue its own warning to passengers last year, but the cruise line later removed references to specific locations following complaints by the nations ministry of tourism. Other cruise lines that go to The Bahamas from South Florida are Norwegian, Carnival, Disney Cruise Line and Bahamas Paradise. But in a statement released to the news media in January, he said: Mr. Shapiro settled the SEC action without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint. He is happy to have put this behind him to allow all remaining resources to be focused on obtaining maximum recovery for the benefit of the Woodbridge estate." 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. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 In August, retired truck driver Herman Lee White, 75, learned that his apartment was among the approximately 200 public housing structures in Wellston proposed to be demolished by HUD. Legal Services of Eastern Missouri is pressuring HUD to allow Wellston time to find developers or buyers willing to invest in the community. Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American How do you feel about the government's new attitude toward UFOs? The Truth is out there. Glad they finally admit it. I'm not buying it. It's a distraction. I wonder if aliens believe WE exist? View Results Ashtabula, OH (44004) Today Partly to mostly cloudy with isolated thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 79F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, overcast overnight with occasional rain likely. Low 67F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Milton, PA (17847) Today Mixed clouds and sun this morning. Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 92F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy with showers and a few thunderstorms. Low 69F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. The event, which takes place in Lanarkshire and Ayrshire from Friday 7th June to Sunday 9th June, will see young people with an interest in the breed converge from all points of the British Isles, explains Texel Sheep Society YDP coordinator Ailish Ross. The Five Nations Event takes place every two years in a different country, with Scotland hosting for the first time this year. Giving young people in the breed a chance to come together to share experiences and build friendships and business relationships, the weekend is one not be missed, she explained. On the Friday participants will visit the Gray familys Scrogtonhead flock, before moving on to the Clark familys Garngour, Teiglum and Clarks flocks. Both of these well established flocks are part of larger farming businesses and have been at the forefront of the breed for a number of years. The Scrogtonhead flock is noted for producing high quality pedigree and commercial shearling rams, regularly being among the top prices at Kelso Ram Sales. Meanwhile, the Clark familys flocks have, in recent years, been among the top sellers at the breeds showcase Scottish National Sale, Lanark, selling to a top of 70,000gns for Teiglum Young Gun. Founded by the late Jim Clark from the original imports in 1974, the flocks today are managed by Jims sons Alan, Andrew and David in partnership with their mother, Helen. Both of these visits are sure to be of interest to young breeders, adds Miss Ross. Saturday will see another high profile flock visit, with young breeders heading to the Auldhouseburn flock of Hugh and Alan Blackwood. English26/02/2019 FORMING COUNCIL OF MINISTERS DEPENDS ONLY ON SDA SARAJEVO, February 26 /SRNA/ - Nebojsa Radmanovic, Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, believes that the formation of the Council of Ministers depends solely on the Party of Democratic Action /SDA/ and that the time it will be finished is debatable, but that the matter should not be brought in connection with BiHs NATO path. "If it had been up to me, we could have finished the job back in December. Since the matter now depends solely on the SDA, the issue of when it will be done is dubious. The SNSD and HDZ, who are winners of the elections chosen by the Serbs and Croats, are ready to constitute the Council of Ministers, but for that to happen, it is necessary to get the winner from the third people, Radmanovic told the BiH edition of Vecernji List. Radmanovic stated that stronger pressure had been put on the country to join NATO since 2005 and that around that time, the Law on Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina was passed and the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, where the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats /SNSD/ was not the majority, adopted a declaration obliging everyone to vote in favour of NATO. Under such circumstances, according to Radmanovic, the SNDS acted in accordance with the declaration, as did he himself, then a member of the BiH Presidency from Republika Srpska. "In the meantime, forces in Republika Srpska who said they opposed BiHs NATO path have grown stronger, noted Radmanovic, recalling that last year, the National Assembly adopted a declaration declaring Republika Srpskas neutrality, the reason why the SNSD changed its view on the matter. He believes the stance of politicians from Republika Srpska will not automatically change if Serbia changed its mind about joining the Alliance. Radmanovic adds that Serbia changing its stance would be a huge step that could influence Republika Srpskas stance too. /end/ds 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 Pakistan envoy says US 'emboldened' India Washington, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 Pakistan's ambassador to Washington voiced regret Wednesday that the United States has not condemned India's air incursion, saying the stance "emboldened" New Delhi. With the nuclear-armed rivals shooting down each other's warplanes in their worst crisis in years, Pakistani Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan said the United States should have pinned blame on India. "It is construed and understood as an endorsement of the Indian position and that is what emboldened them even more," Khan told reporters when asked about the US statement. But Khan said that Pakistan -- which has an increasingly close relationship with China and rising friction with Washington -- was eager for greater US diplomacy between Islamabad and New Delhi. "There is perhaps no other country better placed than the United States to be able to play some role," he said, pointing to the US relationship with both countries. India said on Tuesday its air force conducted strikes on a militant camp inside Pakistan -- the first time since 1971 it hit territory beyond divided Kashmir -- after a Pakistan-based Islamist extremist group claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on the Indian side of Kashmir that killed 40 troops. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a statement after talking to his counterparts in both countries, described the Indian strikes as "counter-terrorism actions." While urging both sides to avoid escalation, he urged Pakistan to take "meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil." President Donald Trump's administration last year cut off $300 million in military aid to Pakistan, saying Islamabad had not done enough to fight extremists at home or close safe havens for militants in neighboring Afghanistan. Mozambique president, Renamo leader resume peace talks Maputo, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 Mozambique's president and leader of the main opposition Renamo held peace talks on Wednesday, reviewing efforts to integrate former rebels into the police and army, the presidency said. It was the first meeting in eight months between President Filipe Nyusi and Ossufo Momade, who was named the group's leader in January after the death of the party's veteran head Afonso Dhlakama. The pair met "to review progress made in the implementation of the memorandum of understanding on military matters and set out the next steps to speed up the process," the presidency said in a statement. In the mid-1970s, Renamo fought a brutal 16-year civil war against the Frelimo government that left one million people dead before the fighting stopped in 1992. The group has since transformed into a political party but it retains an armed wing, with fresh clashes erupting in 2013 between Renamo rebels and government troops. The fighting lasted three years, with peace talks beginning in 2016 between Nyusi and Dhlakama. The last time they met in July, Nyusi and Momade made progress on key sticking points -- the disarmament and integration of former Renamo rebels into the police and army. And at Wednesday's talks, the two hailed "effective" progress. "The two leaders reaffirmed their determination to continue and maintain dialogue at the highest level.. and agreed to sign a peace agreement marking the ultimate cessation of hostilities as early as possible," the presidency said. Mozambique goes to the polls in October to pick a president, members of parliament, provincial governors and provincial lawmakers. Pakistan, India say shot down each other's warplanes Islamabad, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 Pakistan and India said Wednesday they had shot down each other's warplanes, in a dramatically escalating confrontation that has fuelled concerns of an all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals. Calling for talks with India to defuse the situation, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan warned of the potentially catastrophic consequences should "better sense" not prevail. "Can we afford any miscalculation with the kind of weapons that we have and you have?" he said in a televised statement. While both sides have sought to play down the threat of war, the rare aerial engagement over the divided and disputed territory of Kashmir significantly raises the stakes in a standoff sparked by a suicide attack on the Indian-controlled side earlier this month. Pakistan initially said it downed two Indian jets in its airspace and captured two pilots, but later its military spokesman tweeted that there was "only one pilot" in Pakistani custody. India's foreign ministry demanded the "immediate and safe return" of the pilot, calling on Pakistan to ensure no harm comes to him. The pilot "gives Islamabad a key bargaining chip that may affect just how muscular Delhi's next move could be," tweeted US analyst Michael Kugelman. New Delhi also confirmed the loss of one of its planes and said it had shot down a Pakistani fighter jet. In a sign of the deepening crisis, Pakistan closed its airspace "until further notice". At least six airports were shuttered in India, and a vast area north of New Delhi was closed to civilian flights. "We do not want to go towards war," Pakistan's military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor told a press conference. Ghafoor said the jets had been shot down after Pakistani planes earlier flew across the Line of Control, the de facto border in Kashmir, to the Indian side in a show of strength, hitting non-military targets including supply depots. Afterwards, he said, the two Indian planes crossed the LoC into Pakistani airspace. One fell into Pakistani-held Kashmir, while the second crashed on the other side, he said. He denied initial reports that a Pakistan plane had been shot down, saying accounts an F-16 had been lost were incorrect. - 'Unfortunate loss' - Later, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Rajeesh Kumar said a Pakistani jet was hit as it took part in an operation "to target military installations on the Indian side". He said the Indian plane flown by the captured pilot -- a Mig-21 -- was lost in that operation. Pakistan state media published a video purportedly showing the captured pilot being interrogated. It shows a blindfolded man in an Indian Air Force uniform, his face bloodied, with his hands tied behind him, giving his name, rank and serial number as a soldier interrogates him. The military later released a second video showing the man without a blindfold and drinking a cup of tea. The incidents are the latest in a dangerous sequence of events between the two countries, whose ties have been under intense strain since the February 14 suicide bombing in Indian Kashmir that killed 40 troops. New Delhi had promised to act, and on Tuesday its warplanes flew into Pakistani airspace and struck what it said was a camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the militant group that claimed the Kashmir bombing. It was India's first air strike on Pakistani soil since the neighbours fought a war in 1971 -- when neither had nuclear weapons. Islamabad, while denying the Indian strike caused any major damage or casualties, quickly vowed to retaliate, fuelling fears of a disastrous confrontation in South Asia. - Appeal against 'escalation' - Earlier Wednesday, India's foreign minister sought to ease the situation by downplaying Tuesday's strike, repeating Indian claims that it had been a pre-emptive attack on JeM. "India does not wish to see further escalation of this situation," Sushma Swaraj said during a visit to China. The US, along with China, Britain, Germany and the European Union, have called for cooler heads to prevail. "We encourage India and Pakistan to ... avoid escalation at any cost," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. China Wednesday again urged the two sides to "exercise restraint". Britain said it was "deeply concerned" and working with partners including the UN Security Council to defuse tensions. - Crisis for Khan - The confrontation represents the first major foreign policy crisis for Pakistan's leader, who is believed to be close to the powerful military and who came to power last year vowing to seek dialogue with New Delhi. Pakistan has denied involvement in the Kashmir bombing on February 14. While India has consistently accused its neighbour of supporting extremist groups, Pakistan has equally vehemently denied any role in attacks in India and its only Muslim-majority state, Kashmir. The Himalayan region has been divided between India and Pakistan since independence in 1947. They have fought two of their three wars over the territory. Previously, the US and other members of the international community have acted to defuse tensions. "If I were Washington, I'd be in overdrive making phone calls and signalling that it wants tensions to be de-escalated now," said Moeed Yusuf, an expert at the US Institute of Peace in Washington. "The risks of letting this play out are too great." burs-st/rox EU's Mogherini urges 'utmost restraint' in India-Pakistan crisis Brussels, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini on Wednesday called on India and Pakistan to show the "utmost restraint" in their worsening confrontation as fears grow of all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals. After New Delhi and Islamabad said they had shot down each other's warplanes in a dramatic intensification of a standoff triggered by a suicide attack on the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir earlier this month, Mogherini warned of the dangers of further escalation. "This has the potential to lead to serious and dangerous consequences for the two countries and the wider region," she said in a statement. "We expect both countries to now exercise utmost restraint and avoid any further escalation of the situation," she added, urging the two sides to resume diplomatic contacts to defuse the crisis. Earlier, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called for talks, warning of potentially catastrophic consequences should "better sense" not prevail. While both sides have sought to play down the threat of war, the rare aerial engagement over the divided and disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir significantly raises the stakes between arch-rivals who have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947. Pakistan says it has downed two Indian jets and taken one pilot into custody, while New Delhi confirmed the loss of one of its planes and said it had shot down a Pakistani fighter jet. Dissidents detained in Hanoi as Trump-Kim summit opens Hanoi, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 Several dissidents were detained in Hanoi on Wednesday as North Korea's Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump kicked off their second summit in the Vietnamese capital. Vietnam, a one-party state with little tolerance for dissent, is working hard to control every aspect of the closely-watched meeting to avoid even the most minor embarrassment on the world stage. At least three dissidents were hauled off by police Wednesday as they tried to catch a glimpse of the leaders' motorcades in the streets of Hanoi. "We were just taking photos then seven (plainclothes) men jumped into us and brought us here to the station," said Le Dung, livestreaming from a police post in Hanoi. He was locked in a room with two other activists, he said, adding: "We are now guarded by only one militiaman, who knows nothing." His live feed suddenly died late Wednesday and he could not be reached on his mobile phone. Other dissidents said they were closely followed by plainclothes police or kept under de-facto house arrest with officers standing guard outside their homes. "They are stationed outside my house and follow me whenever I go out," said Nguyen Chi Tuyen, an activist better known by his online nickname Anh Chi. "For activists like me, the summit just means more trouble." Vietnam routinely locks up its critics, and has seen a spike in arrests since a hardline administration came to power in 2016. Amnesty International called on Trump to press Kim on North Korea's dismal rights record at the summit. The US president's "silence in the face of relentless and grave human rights violations has been deafening", said Francisco Bencosme, advocacy manager for Asia-Pacific at Amnesty's US branch. Hanoi authorities deported Kim impersonator Howard X earlier this week after he appeared in public with Trump lookalike Russell White. On Wednesday another Kim doppelganger, Thai Uthen Lueangsaengthong, was put on a plane home after he went on a walkabout in Hanoi, Thai press reported. Netanyahu talks Iran with Putin in Moscow Moscow, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing security in the Middle East with a focus on Iran. During the talks at the Kremlin, the two leaders were also set to discuss how to coordinate and avoid military clashes on Syrian territory, where Israel is taking action against Iran. "The biggest threat to stability and security of the region is Iran, and we will do everything to prevent this threat," Netanyahu said in opening remarks translated into Russian before closed-door negotiations. Iran, Hezbollah and Russia are allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Netanyahu has stressed that he will not let Israel's arch-foe Iran use Syrian territory as a base for its military. Prior to his Moscow visit, Netanyahu said the talks will focus on "preventing Iran from entrenching in Syria, the entrenchment of a country which explicitly says that its goal is to wipe us out." He is accompanied in Moscow by his national security advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat and head of military intelligence Tamir Heiman. On Sunday, the Israeli prime minister said talks with Putin will be "very important" to ensure Israel's freedom to act against Iran and Hezbollah in Syria while avoiding frictions with Russian forces. Wednesday's talks, which Israel postponed by several days, is the first extended face-to-face meeting since September 17, when Syria's air defence systems took down a Russian plane by mistake during an Israeli airforce operation. The resultant deaths of 15 Russian troops caused serious tensions between Israel and Russia. Netanyahu and Putin have spoken several times since the incident, and had a brief encounter in Paris in November. Netanyahu said his primary goal in Moscow was "to ensure that the Russian military and the IDF (Israel Defense Force) coordinate in such a manner so as to prevent friction and clashes between us," he said Wednesday. Myanmar holds rare rally to call for constitution reform Yangon, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 Hundreds gathered Wednesday in downtown Yangon for a rally urging reform of Myanmar's controversial constitution gifting the army sweeping powers, a move Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government will discuss ahead of 2020 elections. The event follows the formation of a committee last week to discuss amending the military-scripted constitution, an unprecedented move as debates over it are highly sensitive. Authored by the junta in 2008, the charter allows the military control over security ministries, and gifts them with a quarter of parliamentary seats -- effectively allowing them to veto any constitutional change proposed. The committee's formation -- voted in by a parliament dominated by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party (NLD) -- pits her in open opposition against the powerful army, with which she has been in an uneasy power-sharing agreement since the 2015 elections. Wednesday's rally, featuring a band and speeches from pro-reform activists, drew hundreds to the iconic Sule Pagoda sporting red headbands -- NLD's signature colours -- and T-shirts saying "#WeWantChanges". "We cannot accept the constitution as it was not written by the representatives of the people," Mya Aye, a prominent pro-democracy leader, told the crowd. The intent of the charter was clear to attendants, as it also bans anyone married to a foreigner from becoming president -- a clause analysts believe was aimed at Suu Kyi, whose late husband was British. "The current constitution is for the junta to maintain power, and not allow state counsellor (Aung San Suu Kyi) to be president," said Thein Myint Tun, 58. However, he feared "it is too late" for the document to be changed with only a year until the next election. Than Than Win, 61, called it a "one-sided draft for the protection of the generals," adding she was "very worried" about how the military would react. Military officials over the weekend issued a sharp rebuke in a rare press conference after the committee was formed, saying they would oppose any changes to the "essence of the constitution". Academic Melissa Crouch told AFP this "core essence" was always meant to include the military playing "a leading role" as it continues to fight ethnic armed groups in border regions. "They have made very clear that until the ethnic armed organisations are no longer active, the military still sees it as a necessity to be involved," said the associate law professor from University of New South Wales, an expert on the Myanmar constitution. She added the NLD-majority committee should make the deliberation process "more transparent" and allow for public participation. Rally attendant Myint Soe agreed. "This committee is not for NLD, not for the government, and not for the MPs in parliament, but for all the people of Myanmar," the 46-year-old told AFP. Pakistan, India say shot down each other's warplanes Islamabad, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 Pakistan and India said Wednesday they had shot down each other's warplanes, in a dramatically escalating confrontation that has fuelled concerns of an all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals. Calling for talks with India to defuse the situation, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan warned of the potentially catastrophic consequences should "better sense" not prevail. "Can we afford any miscalculation with the kind of weapons that we have and you have?" he said in a televised statement. While both sides have sought to play down the threat of war, the rare aerial engagement over the divided and disputed territory of Kashmir significantly raises the stakes in a standoff sparked by a suicide attack on the Indian-controlled side earlier this month. Pakistan said it downed two Indian jets in its airspace and captured two pilots, while India confirmed the loss of one of its planes and said it had shot down a Pakistani fighter jet. In a sign of the deepening crisis, Pakistan closed its airspace "until further notice". At least six airports were shuttered in India, and a vast area north of New Delhi was closed to civilian flights. A Pakistani military spokesman said one of the downed Indian planes had fallen in Pakistani-held Kashmir, while the other came down on the Indian side of the heavily militarised de facto border dividing the Himalayan territory. "We do not want escalation, we do not want to go towards war," Major General Asif Ghafoor told a press conference. One of the captured pilots was in custody and the other was in hospital, he said. Ghafoor said the jets had been shot down after Pakistani planes earlier flew across the Line of Control, the de facto border in Kashmir, to the Indian side in a show of strength, hitting non-military targets including supply depots. Afterwards, he said, the two Indian planes crossed the LoC into Pakistani airspace. He denied initial reports that a Pakistan plane had been shot down, saying accounts an F-16 had been lost were incorrect as none were used in the action. - 'Unfortunate loss' - Later, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Rajeesh Kumar said a Pakistani jet was hit as it took part in an operation "to target military installations on the Indian side". "In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one Mig-21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody." Pakistan state media released a video purportedly showing a captured Indian fighter pilot being interrogated. It shows a blindfolded man in an Indian Air Force uniform, his face bloodied, with his hands tied behind him, giving his name, rank and serial number as a soldier interrogates him. The incidents are the latest in a dangerous sequence of events between the two countries, whose ties have been under intense strain since the February 14 suicide bombing in Indian Kashmir that killed 40 troops. New Delhi had promised to act, and on Tuesday its warplanes flew into Pakistani airspace and struck what it said was a camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the militant group that claimed the Kashmir bombing. It was India's first air strike on Pakistani soil since the neighbours fought a war in 1971 -- when neither had nuclear weapons. Islamabad, while denying the Indian strike caused any major damage or casualties, quickly vowed to retaliate, fuelling fears of a disastrous confrontation in South Asia. - Appeal against 'escalation' - Earlier Wednesday, India's foreign minister sought to ease the situation by downplaying Tuesday's strike, repeating Indian claims that it had been a pre-emptive attack on JeM as the group planned further assaults. "India does not wish to see further escalation of this situation. India will continue to act with responsibility and restraint," Sushma Swaraj said during talks in China with her counterparts from Beijing and Moscow. The US, along with China and the European Union, have called for cooler heads to prevail. "We encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said after speaking with his counterparts from both countries. China Wednesday again urged the two sides to "exercise restraint" and seek dialogue. - Crisis for Khan - The confrontation represents the first major foreign policy crisis for Pakistan's leader, who is believed to be close to the powerful military and who came to power last year vowing to seek dialogue with New Delhi. Pakistan has denied involvement in the Kashmir bombing on February 14. While India has consistently accused its neighbour of supporting extremist groups, Pakistan has equally vehemently denied any role in attacks in India and its only Muslim-majority state, Kashmir. The Himalayan region has been divided between India and Pakistan since independence in 1947. They have fought two of their three wars over the territory. Previously, the US and other members of the international community have acted to defuse tensions. "If I were Washington, I'd be in overdrive making phone calls and signalling that it wants tensions to be de-escalated now," said Moeed Yusuf, an expert at the US Institute of Peace in Washington. "The risks of letting this play out are too great." burs-st/mtp/tom Flights axed, diverted as India-Pakistan tensions soar Islamabad, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 Numerous flights were cancelled or diverted Wednesday after Pakistan closed its airspace and India shut airports, as soaring tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals stoked fears of a full-blown conflict. The closures came after Pakistan said it had shot down two Indian Air Force planes in its airspace over disputed Kashmir. India said its forces shot down a Pakistani fighter jet, but also lost one of its own planes. The air traffic disruption was affecting routes passing through the region that are popular with Western holidaymakers, with an industry body saying that a huge number of flights to Southeast Asia may have to be diverted. Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority and the military said the country's entire airspace had been closed, with a CAA source telling AFP that all airlines had been notified to "suspend their operations in Pakistan until further notice". Pakistan International Airlines, the country's flag carrier, warned that "flights may be affected due to closure of Pakistan commercial air space". In India, at least six airports were shut -- Srinagar, Jammu and Leh in Kashmir and Amritsar, Chandigarh and Dehradun, and a vast area of airspace north of New Delhi was closed to civilian flights. Scores of flights were cancelled and many between Asia and Europe that would normally fly over Kashmir have been diverted, aviation company officials said on condition of anonymity. The Aviation Authority of India did not respond to requests for comment. A map of live air traffic in the area by monitoring group Flight Radar showed almost no flights over Pakistan or in a strip of land across the border on the Indian side. "International flights that transit between Indian and Pakistani airspace now being affected," the group said on Twitter. "Some flights returning to origin, while others appear to be seeking alternate routing." A spokesman for the International Air Transport Association, an industry group representing many of the world's airlines, did not immediately have details about all the affected flights. But he said about 220 flights usually pass through Pakistani airspace each day between Europe and Southeast Asia. "Alternative routes are available for the flights impacted by the closure of Pakistan airspace," he said. India and Pakistan's ties have been under intense strain since a February 14 suicide bombing in Indian Kashmir that killed 40 troops. India says Pakistan fighter jet shot down, one India jet lost New Delhi, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 Indian forces shot down a Pakistani fighter jet but one of its own warplanes was also shot down in air battles on Wednesday, a foreign ministry spokesman said. The Pakistani fighter jet was hit as it took part in an operation "to target military installations on the Indian side", spokesman Rajeesh Kumar told a briefing, adding that the attack was "foiled". The action marked a new escalation a day after Indian jets hit a militant camp inside Pakistan territory. "The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side," Kumar added. "In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one Mig-21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody." The spokesman did not say where the battles took place, but media reports said Pakistan jets entered Indian Kashmir airspace early Wednesday. Many civilian airports in the region were closed for several hours after. Pakistan had vowed to retaliate for an attack Tuesday at Balakot which India said was to hit a Jaish-e-Mohammed militant camp. The group claimed responsibility for a February 14 suicide attack in Indian Kashmir in which 40 Indian paramilitaries were killed. "Pakistan has responded this morning by using its air force to target military installations on the Indian side," said Kumar. He said the Pakistani jet was shot down in an "aerial engagement" by an MiG 21 Bison. Pakistan said earlier it had shot down two Indian planes. Netanyahu to talk Iran with Putin in Moscow Moscow, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday was set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss how to prevent Iran from "entrenching in Syria". "From our point-of-view, the focus of the talks will be preventing Iran from entrenching in Syria, the entrenchment of a country which explicitly says that its goal is to wipe us out," Netanyahu said before his trip, according to his press-service. Iran, Hezbollah and Russia are allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Netanyahu has stressed that he will not let Israel's arch-foe Iran use Syrian territory as a base for its military. Accompanied by his national security advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat and head of military intelligence Tamir Heiman, Netanyahu is expected in the Kremlin on Wednesday afternoon. On Sunday, the Israeli prime minister said talks with Putin will be "very important" to ensure Israel's freedom to act against Iran and Hezbollah in Syria while avoiding frictions with Russian forces. The meeting, which Israel postponed by several days, will be the first extended face-to-face meeting since September 17, when Syria's air defence systems took down a Russian plane by mistake during an Israeli airforce operation. The resultant deaths of 15 Russian troops caused serious tensions between Israel and Russia. Netanyahu and Putin have spoken several times since the incident, and had a brief encounter in Paris in November. Netanyahu said his primary goal in Moscow was "to ensure that the Russian military and the IDF (Israel Defence Force) coordinate in such a manner so as to prevent friction and clashes between us," he said Wednesday. Trump offers 'friend' Kim 'AWESOME' future ahead of nuclear talks Hanoi, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 US President Donald Trump touted North Korea's "AWESOME" future if his "friend" Kim Jong Un, whom he meets for a high-stakes dinner later Wednesday, agrees to give up his nuclear arsenal. Trump's upbeat message came in a tweet hours before a second summit in Hanoi to build on the pair's first meeting in Singapore in June. The president risked being distracted by scandal back in Washington, where his former lawyer Michael Cohen was set to describe him as a "con man" in testimony to Congress scheduled for shortly after Trump's dinner ends. Trump, seeking a big foreign policy win to push back against domestic troubles, believes his unique brand of personal diplomacy and business acumen can make history. His goal is to persuade Kim to dismantle his nuclear weapons and resolve a stand-off with the totalitarian state that has bedevilled US leaders since the end of the Korean war in 1953. To lure Kim into radical change, Trump is believed to be considering offering a formal peace declaration -- though not a treaty -- to draw a line under the technically still unfinished war. But Washington faces mounting pressure to extract significant concessions from Kim, who has so far shown little desire to ditch the nuclear capability. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday the Hanoi meeting could be "an important step towards advancing the denuclearisation" of the Korean peninsula. While the Singapore summit ended with a statement promising to work "towards" denuclearisation, Washington and Pyongyang disagree on what that even means. And while North Korea has now gone more than a year without conducting missile and nuclear tests, it has done nothing to roll back the weapons already built. - Businessman's big pitch - Trump, a former real estate tycoon who often boasts of being one of the world's best negotiators, is pitching a vision of North Korea as a new Asian economic tiger if it surrenders its nuclear status. He said the country could one day emulate Vietnam -- a communist state once locked in devastating conflict with the United States, but now a thriving trade partner. And he has invested himself personally in the relationship with Kim, creating the diplomatic equivalent of a Hollywood odd-couple bromance. Before Singapore, they were slinging bizarre insults -- Trump calling Kim "rocket man" and Kim calling him a "dotard." With North Korea then busily testing missiles and conducting underground nuclear tests, analysts feared the duo were egging each other on towards a catastrophic confrontation. Now, Trump talks of "love" and claims that his ground-breaking policies defused the threat posed by Kim. The Hanoi summit is more elaborate than the Singapore occasion. The White House said Trump and Kim will hold a 10-minute meeting before an approximately 20-minute session without aides, followed by dinner lasting around 90 minutes. On Thursday they are due to meet again, although no details have been released, adding to the impression that much is being decided at the last minute. - Domestic woes - Even going half-way around the world, however, has not been enough to free Trump from his mounting domestic woes. In explosive testimony, Cohen is expected to testify under oath that Trump was repeatedly dishonest, including lying that he had no business dealings in Russia, when in reality he pursued a property deal during his successful 2016 presidential campaign. The subject risks complicating any post-summit press conference for Trump, who responded Wednesday that Cohen "did bad things" and is "lying". In another indication Trump's mind was not entirely on the complex task of handling Kim, he also found time Wednesday to joke on Twitter about an opposition senator's past false claims to have served in Vietnam. The issue is something of an obsession for Trump, who mercilessly ribs Senator Richard Blumenthal, despite himself also managing to avoid being sent to fight in the war. - Foreign policy gambit - Critics warn Trump is so keen to score a deal with Kim that he could give away too much, too quickly, endangering US allies South Korea and Japan. In Singapore, Trump took his own generals by surprise when he announced a suspension of military exercises with the South -- something the North badly wanted. Washington would ideally like Kim to dismantle a key nuclear facility at Yongbyon, allow in international inspectors, or even hand over a list of all his nuclear assets -- something the North Koreans have categorically refused to do. In return, Trump is believed to be considering dangling relief from tough international sanctions. Opening diplomatic liaison offices is another possible US concession. Another possibility is a joint declaration to end the Korean War, which closed with a ceasefire but no peace treaty. Some analysts fear this hugely symbolic gesture would upset the delicate power balance in a region where the US and China are already struggling for influence. Harry Kazianis, director of Korean Studies at the Washington-based Center for National Interest think-tank, said a peace declaration might be the "big deliverable coming out of the summit." "If President Trump is willing to trade what amounts to a piece of paper for some plutonium -- and possibly much more -- then I think history can be made." China says Trump-Kim summit 'important step' towards denuclearisation Wuzhen, China, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 China's foreign minister said Wednesday the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un can be an "important step" towards advancing denuclearisation and peace on the Korean Peninsula. Beijing is North Korea's sole major ally and Kim travelled for more than two days by train across China on his way to Hanoi. The North Korean leader met with Chinese President Xi Jinping for a fourth time in January, showing that Beijing retains a key role in the diplomatic shuffle. "In this Hanoi meeting, we can not only increase the hard-won warming up of the situation, but we can also take an important step towards advancing the denuclearisation of the peninsula and establishing a peace mechanism," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said after talks with his Russian and Indian counterparts in the eastern Chinese city of Wuzhen. Trump was due to meet Kim for dinner later Wednesday and meet again on Thursday. Following a historic first meeting in Singapore in June that produced a vaguely worded statement about denuclearisation, analysts say the second summit in Vietnam's capital Hanoi must this time put substance ahead of bonhomie. Pakistan does not want to go 'towards war' with India: military spokesman Islamabad, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 Pakistan does "not want to go towards war" with India, its military spokesman said Wednesday, hours after Islamabad said it shot down two Indian warplanes in its airspace, igniting fears of an all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours. "We do not want escalation, we do not want to go towards war," Major General Asif Ghafoor told a press conference in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, calling for talks with New Delhi. He added that two Indian pilots had been captured, with one in custody and one in hospital. Ghafoor said the jets had been shot down after Pakistani planes earlier Wednesday flew across the Line of Control, the de facto border in disputed Kashmir, to the Indian side in a show of strength, hitting non-military targets including supply depots. Afterwards, he said, the two Indian planes crossed the LoC into Pakistani airspace. "The Pakistan Air Force was ready, they took them on, there was an engagement. As a result both the Indian planes were shot down and the wreckage of one fell on our side while the wreckage of the other fell on their side," he said. Indian sources confirmed Pakistani fighter jets had violated airspace over Indian Kashmir, but said they were forced back over the LoC, and there was no immediate response to the claim the planes had been shot down. The incident is the latest in a dangerous sequence of events between the two countries, whose ties have been under intense strain since a February 14 suicide bombing in Indian Kashmir that killed 40 troops. Pakistan says shoots down Indian jets, sending tensions soaring Islamabad, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 Pakistan said Wednesday it shot down two Indian warplanes in its airspace over disputed Kashmir, in a dramatic escalation of a confrontation that has ignited fears of an all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours. One Indian pilot was captured, a Pakistani military spokesman said, adding that one aircraft had fallen in Pakistani-held Kashmir, while the other fell on the Indian side of the heavily militarised de facto border dividing the Himalayan territory. Indian sources confirmed Pakistani fighter jets had violated airspace over Indian Kashmir, but said they were forced back over the LoC, and there was no immediate response to the claim the planes had been shot down. The incident is the latest in a dangerous sequence of events between the two countries, whose ties have been under intense strain since a February 14 suicide bombing in Indian Kashmir that killed 40 troops. New Delhi had promised to act, and on Tuesday its warplanes flew into Pakistani airspace and struck what it said was a camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the militant group that claimed the Kashmir bombing. It was India's first air strike on Pakistani soil since the neighbours fought a war in 1971 -- when neither had nuclear weapons. Islamabad, while denying the Indian strike caused any major damage or casualties, quickly vowed to retaliate, fuelling fears of a disastrous confrontation in South Asia. "PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace," military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor tweeted Wednesday. "One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area," he added, without elaborating. The Pakistani foreign office also released a statement saying that the air force "undertook strikes" Wednesday -- but said they were across the border, known as the Line of Control (LoC), in Indian Kashmir. The foreign office did not elaborate on what it meant by "strikes" and did not mention shooting down planes. It said the strikes were aimed at a "non military target", adding: "We have no intention of escalation". - Appeal against 'escalation' - Earlier Wednesday, the Indian foreign minister sought to ease the situation by downplaying Tuesday's strike, repeating Indian claims that it had been a pre-emptive attack on JeM as the group planned further assaults. "India does not wish to see further escalation of this situation. India will continue to act with responsibility and restraint," Sushma Swaraj said during talks in China with her counterparts from Beijing and Moscow. The US, along with China and the European Union, have called for cooler heads to prevail. "We encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said after speaking with his counterparts from both countries. Pompeo added that he stressed to Pakistan's foreign minister "the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action, and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil." India had been vague over the exact location of Tuesday's strike, with analysts suggesting it was signalling to Pakistan that it does not want an all-out conflict. Both sides have said that Indian warplanes penetrated as far as Balakot, a heavily forested region in northwestern Pakistan near the border with Pakistani-administered Kashmir. Balakot residents told AFP they heard explosions in the night, and that one person received minor injuries while no buildings were destroyed. An AFP journalist who visited the site where the military and residents said the payload was dropped could see a large crater and trees snapped in half, and three mud houses, one with a collapsed wall, nearby. - Crisis for Khan - The confrontation represents the first major foreign policy crisis for Pakistani premier Imran Khan, who is believed to be close to the powerful military and who came to power last year vowing to seek dialogue with New Delhi. In a sign of how quickly the situation could spiral, Pakistan's military spokesman alluded to its nuclear arsenal Tuesday, saying that Khan had also convened a meeting Wednesday of the National Command Authority, the body which oversees its nuclear weapons. Pakistan has denied involvement in the Kashmir bombing on February 14. While India has consistently accused its neighbour of supporting extremist groups, Pakistan has equally vehemently denied any role in attacks in India and its only Muslim-majority state, Kashmir. The Himalayan region has been divided between India and Pakistan since independence in 1947. They have fought two of their three wars over the territory. Previously, the US and other members of the international community have acted to defuse tensions. "If I were Washington, I'd be in overdrive making phone calls and signalling that it wants tensions to be de-escalated now," said Moeed Yusuf, an expert at the US Institute of Peace in Washington. "The risks of letting this play out are too great." burs-st/sls Five courses -- and that's not even Trump's main meal of the day Hanoi, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 US President Donald Trump says he's looking forward to "a very big dinner" Wednesday with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. First, though, he's got to get through lunch. The menu for Trump's midday meal with his host in Hanoi, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, spreads to five courses covering the varied delights of Vietnam's cuisine. According to the White House, things start light: "Fresh shredded green mango salad with scallops, mint leaves and cashew nuts served in a sweet vinaigrette dressing." If that doesn't do much for the famously heavy eating US president, he won't have long to wait. Course two features deep-fried spring rolls, course three stars king crab meat and spinach in a light seafood-based broth, and course four is guaranteed to get the presidential seal of approval: "Grilled cod fish 'cha ca'; roasted Wagyu beef medallions with foie gras and a semi-sweet fermented black rice sauce; sauteed 'su su' vegetables with garlic (crispy green chayote stems and leaves); steamed sticky glutinous rice with shrimp wrapped in a lotus leaf." If he has any room left, Trump will be treated to dessert "consisting of lotus seeds, longans, and white wood-ear mushrooms served warm and in a light sugary syrup". Then he can wonder what -- apart from trying to persuade Kim to give up North Korea's nuclear weapons -- will be for dinner. During a previous visit to Vietnam, shark's fin was on an early version of a menu due to be served to Trump but was reportedly left off the table after causing a stir online. Key steps in North Korea's weapons development Hanoi, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday for a second summit with US President Donald Trump on the nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles Pyongyang has spent decades developing. Here are the key steps in Pyongyang's banned military programmes, that have seen multiple sets of sanctions imposed on the regime. - The beginnings, 1970s - North Korea starts working in the late 1970s on a version of the Soviet Scud-B missile with a range of around 300 kilometres (200 miles), carrying out a first test in 1984. Between 1987 and 1992, it begins developing longer-range missiles, including the Taepodong-1 (2,500 km) and Taepodong-2 (6,700 km). The Taepodong-1 is test-fired over Japan in 1998 but the following year, Pyongyang declares a moratorium on such tests as ties with the United States improve. - First nuclear test in 2006 - It ends the moratorium in 2005, blaming the Bush administration's "hostile" policy, and carries out its first nuclear test on October 9, 2006. In May 2009, there is a second underground nuclear test, several times more powerful than the first. Kim Jong Un succeeds his father Kim Jong Il -- who dies in December 2011 -- and oversees a third nuclear test in 2013. - 2016, Japanese waters reached - Pyongyang carries out its fourth and fifth nuclear tests in January and September 2016. In between, it test-fires a submarine-launched ballistic missile and launches a ballistic missile directly into Japanese-controlled waters for the first time. - 2017, missiles and threats - The North carries out a series of missile launches, with progressively longer ranges and some falling into the Sea of Japan. On July 4 it tests an ICBM capable of reaching Alaska, calling it an independence day gift for "American bastards". Hours after US President Donald Trump threatens Pyongyang on August 8 with "fire and fury", the North says it is considering launches towards US strategic military installations in Guam. - Biggest blast yet - On September 3, North Korea conducts its sixth and by far its largest nuclear test. Estimates of the yield vary with some ranging as high as 250 kilotons, 16 times the size of the 15-kiloton US bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in 1945. On November 20, Washington declares North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism, a day before hitting the isolated regime with fresh sanctions. The same month, the North launches a new Hwasong-15 ICBM, which analysts agree is capable of reaching the whole US mainland, although they voice scepticism that Pyongyang has mastered the advanced technology needed to allow the warhead to survive re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. - 2018 Olympic detente triggers thaw - In his New Year speech in 2018, Kim says the North has completed the development of its nuclear force. South Korean President Moon Jae-in uses the Winter Olympics in his country to catalyse a rapid diplomatic thaw on the peninsula. At a party meeting on April 20, Pyongyang declares a moratorium on nuclear blasts and ICBM launches and says the atomic test site at Punggye-ri is no longer needed and will be dismantled. In May the North invites a handful of foreign media to see the site's entrances blown up. - Singapore swing - At his landmark summit with the US president in Singapore on June 12 last year, Kim signs a vague deal on the "denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula". But in the following months both sides disagree about what the term means. After a summit between Moon and Kim in Pyongyang in September, the South Korean leader says the North has offered to dismantle a key nuclear complex in Yongbyon -- if the US takes "corresponding measures". A 2019 report by the Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation says Pyongyang has continued to produce nuclear material, estimating its arsenal at 35 to 37 atomic bombs. Trump promises North Korea 'AWESOME' future ahead of nuclear talks Hanoi, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 US President Donald Trump touted North Korea's "AWESOME" future if his "friend" Kim Jong Un, whom he meets for a high-stakes dinner later Wednesday, agrees to give up his nuclear arsenal. Trump's enthusiastic tweet came hours before a second summit in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi to build on the pair's historic first meeting in Singapore in June. He was encapsulating his belief that only his personal brand of diplomacy and business acumen can break a stand-off with the isolated, nuclear-armed state that has bedevilled US leaders since the end of the Korean war in 1953. Trump, who has previously spoken of "love" between him and the North Korean strongman, predicted that by abandoning nuclear weapons the country will go on to emulate Vietnam -- a communist state once locked in devastating conflict with the United States, but now a thriving trade partner. "The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity," Trump tweeted. At a meeting with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong, Trump described how construction he'd seen from his motorcade as he drove from Air Force One to his Hanoi hotel late Tuesday underlined that "you really are an example of what can happen". Trump has torn up the script by embracing Kim and a regime long seen by Washington as the most repressive on the planet. But pressure is intensifying on the president to bring back concrete results. For all the drama, the Singapore summit ended with a vague statement promising to work "towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula". Since then, Washington and Pyongyang have disagreed even on what denuclearisation means. And while North Korea has now gone more than a year without conducting missile and nuclear tests, it has done nothing to roll back the arsenal already built. That leaves Trump facing growing criticism that he is being played by the younger man. On the defensive, Trump said in another tweet Wednesday that opponents in the Democratic Party should "stop talking about what I should do with North Korea and ask themselves instead why they didn't do 'it'". - Dinner date - The Kim-Trump relationship has turned into the diplomatic equivalent of a Hollywood odd-couple bromance. Before Singapore, they were slinging bizarre insults -- Trump calling Kim "rocket man" and Kim calling him a "dotard" in response. With North Korea then busily testing missiles and conducting earth-shaking underground nuclear tests, analysts feared the duo were egging each other on towards a catastrophic confrontation. Now Trump promotes himself as someone who, by daring to do things differently, defused what he said was a near-war situation inherited on taking over the White House. "He's never had a relationship with anybody from this country, and hasn't had lots of relationships anywhere," Trump said of Kim before leaving Washington. The Hanoi summit is more elaborate than the brief first occasion. The White House said Trump and Kim will hold a 10-minute meeting before an approximately 20-minute session without aides, followed by dinner lasting around 90 minutes. On Thursday they are due to meet again, although no details have been released, adding to the impression that much is being decided at the last minute. - How much to give? - With Trump's disgraced former lawyer giving lurid testimony to Congress about alleged illegal activities, and lawmakers trying to stop the president's controversial use of executive power to fund the construction of a US-Mexican border wall, Trump would dearly like to change the news narrative by proclaiming a dramatic win. In fact, critics warn he is so keen to deal with Kim that he could give away too much, too quickly, endangering US allies South Korea and Japan. In Singapore, Trump took his own generals by surprise when he announced a suspension of military exercises with the South -- something the North badly wanted. Washington would ideally like Kim to dismantle a key nuclear facility at Yongbyon, allow in international inspectors, or even hand over a list of all his nuclear assets -- something the North Koreans have categorically refused to do. In return, Trump is believed to be considering dangling relief from tough international sanctions. Opening diplomatic liaison offices is another possible US concession. And Trump could well go further by making a joint declaration that the 1950-53 Korean War, which closed with a ceasefire but no peace treaty, is now over. Some analysts fear this hugely symbolic gesture would open the door to a cascade of real-world consequences, upsetting the delicate balance in a region where the US and China are already struggling for influence. But Harry Kazianis, director of Korean Studies at the Washington-based Center for National Interest think-tank, told AFP the gambit might just work. "I think we will see a peace declaration to end the Korean War as the big deliverable coming out of the summit," he said. "There is no way the Kim regime is going to go down the road of handing over its nuclear weapons to what it considers its mortal enemy. If President Trump is willing to trade what amounts to a piece of paper for some plutonium -- and possibly much more -- then I think history can be made." Pakistani fighter jets violate Indian Kashmir airspace: sources New Delhi, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 Pakistani fighter jets violated airspace over Indian Kashmir on Wednesday but were forced back over the de facto border of the disputed territory, sources and media reports said. The incursion over the heavily militarised Line of Control comes a day after Indian warplanes carried out a strike in Pakistan on what New Delhi said was a militant training camp, in retaliation for a February 14 suicide bombing in Kashmir that killed 40 Indian troops. A top government official in Indian-administered Kashmir told AFP the Pakistani jets briefly crossed the frontier but were pushed back by the Indian Air Force. The Press Trust of India reported that Pakistani fighter planes crossed at Poonch and Nowshera, two locations on the Indian side of the de facto border, but were repelled. PTI said the Pakistani jets dropped bombs while returning but that there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Tensions have dramatically escalated between the nuclear-armed rivals since Indian warplanes flew into Pakistani airspace and struck what New Delhi said was a camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the group that claimed the Kashmir bombing. Islamabad, while denying the Indian strike caused any major damage or casualties, has vowed to retaliate -- fuelling fears of a dangerous confrontation in South Asia. Trump promises North Korea 'AWESOME' future ahead of nuclear talks Hanoi, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 US President Donald Trump touted North Korea's "AWESOME" future if his "friend" Kim Jong Un, whom he meets for a high-stakes dinner later Wednesday, agrees to give up his nuclear arsenal. Trump's enthusiastic tweet came hours before a second summit in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi to build on their historic first meeting in Singapore last June. In just a few words, Trump encapsulated his fervent belief that only his uniquely personal brand of diplomacy and business acumen can break a stand-off with the isolated, nuclear-armed state that has bedevilled US leaders ever since the end of the Korean war in 1953. Trump, who has previously spoken of the "love" between him and the North Korean strongman, said that by abandoning nuclear weapons the country would very quickly emulate Vietnam -- a communist country once locked in conflict with the United States, but now a thriving trade partner. "The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting!" Trump tweeted. Trump has torn up the script by bringing Kim out of the cold, giving him a legitimacy once considered unthinkable in Washington, which has long seen North Korea as the world's most repressive state. But now there is intense pressure for results. The Singapore summit ended only with a vague statement promising to work "towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula". Since then Washington and Pyongyang have disagreed even on what this means. And while North Korea has now gone more than a year without conducting missile and nuclear tests, it has done nothing to roll back the arsenal already built. That leaves Trump, who claimed after Singapore that North Korea is "no longer a nuclear threat," scrambling to get something concrete out of Kim in Hanoi -- or face growing criticism that he is being played by the man about half his age. On the defensive, Trump said in another tweet Wednesday that opponents in the Democratic Party should "stop talking about what I should do with North Korea and ask themselves instead why they didn't do 'it' during eight years of the (Barack) Obama Administration?" - Dinner date - The Kim-Trump relationship, bringing together two leaders fond of showmanship, has turned into the diplomatic equivalent of a Hollywood odd-couple bromance. Before the Singapore get-together they were slinging bizarre insults -- Trump calling Kim "rocket man" and Kim calling him a "dotard" in response. With North Korea then busily testing missiles and conducting earth-shaking underground nuclear tests, analysts feared that the duo were egging each other on toward a catastrophic confrontation. Now Trump promotes himself as someone who by daring to do things differently actually defused what he said was a near-war situation inherited on taking over the White House. "He's never had a relationship with anybody from this country, and hasn't had lots of relationships anywhere," Trump said of Kim before leaving Washington. The Hanoi summit is more elaborate than the brief first occasion. The White House said Trump and Kim will hold a 10-minute meeting, before going off for an approximately 20-minute session without aides, followed by dinner lasting around 90 minutes. On Thursday they are due to meet again, although no details have been released, adding to the impression that much of the occasion is being decided at the last minute. - How much to give? - With Congress back home investigating Trump for alleged illegal activities and also trying to stop his controversial use of executive power to fund the construction of a US-Mexican border wall, the president would dearly like to change the news narrative by proclaiming a dramatic win. Critics warn he is so keen to deal with Kim that he could give away too much in his desire to make headlines, endangering rock-solid US allies South Korea and Japan. In Singapore, Trump took his own generals by surprise when he announced a suspension of military exercises with the South -- something the North badly wanted. Washington would ideally like Kim to dismantle a key nuclear facility at Yongbyon, allow in international inspectors, or even hand over a full list of all the country's nuclear assets -- something the North Koreans have categorically refused to do. In return, Trump is believed to be considering dangling relief from tough international sanctions. Opening diplomatic liaison offices is another possible US concession. Trump could go further by making a joint declaration that the 1950-53 Korean War is over, after hostilities ended with a ceasefire but no peace treaty. Although that would be seemingly a mostly symbolic gesture, many analysts caution that it could open the door to a cascade of real-world consequences upsetting a region where the US and China are already in a growing struggle for influence. Military desertion of Maduro slow but hopes high Caracas, Feb 27 (AFP) Feb 27, 2019 The more than 300 soldiers to have deserted Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro since Saturday may be only a drop in the ocean but little by little the foundations of the socialist regime are coming apart, analysts say. Emboldened by opposition leader Juan Guaido's attempts to force in humanitarian aid through the borders with Colombia and Brazil, hundreds of military personnel took the chance to flee a country wracked by poverty and recession. Some 326 members of the military and police crossed into Colombia with another seven heading to Brazil to get away from the chronic shortages of food and medicine that have made daily life a struggle for millions. That may sound like a small number among the 365,000 members of the armed forces and almost two million civilian militia, but analyst Luis Salamanca says a drip can quickly turn into a flood. "Maduro's military power is subject to that same erosive dynamic that his popular support suffered from," Salamanca told AFP. "The desertions are part of a process of attrition, an undermining of the foundations." The military is Maduro's most potent backer, which is why Guaido, recognized as Venezuela's interim president by 50 countries, is so keen to turn their heads. He's even offered an amnesty to anyone turning their back on Maduro. Although Guaido's efforts to bring in humanitarian aid, as he'd promised to do on Saturday, floundered against a blockade by a determined military that remains loyal to Maduro, he did score some smaller victories. The initial trickle of defecting soldiers has increased exponentially, while Guaido managed to break his own government-imposed travel ban and head to Colombia thanks to help, he said, from members of the armed forces. "It's a process that you don't see often, and that people don't much like because it's slow, but it can accelerate when the military and civilians see that the government could fall apart," added Salamanca. Guaido's main backer, the United States, has ramped up the pressure on the regime with sanctions against top officials, and the promise to exempt those who recognize Guaido as their true leader. - Military enrichment - The problem is that the military is firmly entrenched in the echelons of power and wealth. Of Venezuela's 32 ministries, nine are in the hands of the military including strategic portfolios such as defense, interior, agriculture, food and the state oil company PDVSA -- the country's beating heart that is responsible for 96 percent of its revenue. As Maduro's unpopularity increased, Venezuela's military top brass found itself in control of a state bank, television, construction, mining and gas companies. So far, only lower or medium level military personnel have deserted, the high command remains steadfast in support of Maduro. "The desertion of the rank and file isn't going to break Maduro's system by itself," Christopher Sabatini, professor of international relations at Columbia University, told AFP. "They need to move onto the next level: admirals, captains, colonels and generals." Desertions, though, make it difficult for the "security apparatus to defend strategic areas," said Diego Moya-Ocampos, from London-based global information provider, IHS Markit. The cracks haven't led to decisive shifts in the power balance, but they have become more visible. Some 180 military personnel were arrested in 2018, charged with conspiracy, according to the non-governmental organization Control Ciudadano. Two generals were amongst those arrested over an alleged assassination attempt on Maduro in August using explosives-laden drones. - Pressure mounting - Add to that, 4,300 soldiers deserted the National Guard in 2018 and 10,000 have asked to be discharged since 2015, Control Ciudadano said. "What is happening is the most convincing demonstration of the breaking down of the armed forces' fundamental pillars," said military expert Sebastiana Barraez. "These are soldiers who can no longer resist the pressure, who are forced to take part in actions, who reject their superiors." Last month, 27 soldiers rebelled two days before Guaido proclaimed himself acting president. Some posted videos to social media complaining about their barracks conditions. Carlos Eduardo Zapata, a sergeant who defected to Brazil, spoke about the conditions in barracks. "There's no food, there are no mattresses, us National Guard sergeants are sleeping on the floor," he said. "We don't have enough to buy a liter (one quart) of milk for our children, the children are skinny." Rocio San Miguel, president of the Control Ciudadano rights group, said "There's a lot of concern about the situation." "This week there is expected to be an announcement about an increase in armed forces salaries as an incentive to loyalty," she said. However, she added, "the military abandonment of Maduro will continue and only those compromised by serious human rights abuses will continue to support him." US lawmakers kick off debate over online privacy Washington, Feb 26 (AFP) Feb 26, 2019 US lawmakers opened a debate Tuesday over privacy legislation in the first step by Congress toward regulation addressing a series of troublesome data protection abuses by tech firms. Most companies have said they would accept new federal legislation in the wake of bombshell revelations about Facebook and other online platforms' mishandling of users' personal data. Lawmakers face several key choices, including whether to adopt the model in the European Union's data protection rules, and whether to pre-empt the strict privacy rules adopted by California. A House of Representatives committee hearing on Tuesday is to be followed by a Senate panel Wednesday where industry and interest groups will make recommendations on US legislation. Legislators are likely to find broad agreement on the need for greater transparency regarding the collection and sharing of data, and on tougher enforcement for violations. Beyond that, sharp differences exist on how tightly tech firms should be reined in. "A federal law must include basic rights for individuals to access, correct, delete and port their personal data," said Nuala O'Connor, president of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a digital rights group, in testimony prepared for the House Energy and Commerce panel. O'Connor said any bill must also enshrine the right to know how and with whom personal data is shared, and go beyond the confusing "notice and consent" currently offered by many internet firms. Roslyn Layton, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said the US should steer clear of Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) model, claiming that it created complex compliance mechanisms that benefit the largest online firms. "To do business in the EU today, the average firm of 500 employees must spend about $3 million to comply with the GDPR," Layton said in her prepared remarks. "Thousands of US firms have decided it is not worthwhile and have exited." Layton said GDPR has done little to increase trust in the online ecosystem or help consumers better understand how their data is used. "The US does not need to copy the European Union on data protection," she said. "It can fundamentally improve on the GDPR by making a policy that actually works -- promoting privacy without destroying prosperity." - Ad targeting in focus - Dave Grimaldi, executive vice president of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, cautioned against legislation that would ban any form of targeted online marketing. Grimaldi said that in Europe, "programmatic advertising," the most common ad system used by online platforms, has dropped between 25 and 40 percent following the implementation of GDPR. "The GDPR has also directly led to consumers losing access to online resources, with more than 1,000 US-based publishers blocking European consumers from access to online material in part because of the inability to profitably run advertising," he said in his testimony. "Congress should look to a new paradigm for digital privacy that will not threaten the goods and services that consumers seek on the internet." The Electronic Frontier Foundation said in a statement that Congress should designate large internet firms as "information fiduciaries" in charge of protecting user data and giving consumers a right to sue for breaches. "Laws that impose legal duties on large technology companies that monetize consumer data, coupled with strong enforcement such as a private right of action, will give users back control," EFF's India McKinney and Katharine Trendacosta wrote. Wednesday's hearing is to be chaired by Senator Roger Wicker of the Commerce Committee, who was criticized for failing to include consumer groups in the session. Wicker said in a statement he is seeking "to develop a federal privacy standard to protect consumers without stifling innovation, investment, or competition." The two hearings are part of a process expected to result in bills drafted in both chambers, which could face hurdles in winning passage and reconciliation, if separate bills differ. rl/ft Medford, NJ (08055) Today Plentiful sunshine. Near record high temperatures. High 98F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 73F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) -- The mother of a man who was found dead in a Democratic donor's apartment nearly two years ago has now filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the donor and city officials in Los Angeles. Gemmel Moore was found dead in the apartment of Ed Buck on July 27, 2017. Moore's mother, Latisha Nixon, is suing Buck along with the Los Angeles County District Attorney and the county's assistant head deputy district attorney. Moore was the first of two men who were found dead in Buck's apartment. The second man, later identified as Timothy Dean, died this January. His death prompted the Los Angeles sheriff's department to investigate as well as revisit the investigation into Moore's death. The Los Angeles sheriff's office said in January that Buck, who has a history of donating to Democratic causes, was at the apartment when both men died. In addition to wrongful death, Nixon's suit goes on to list 10 additional causes of action, including sexual battery, assault, battery, hate violence, drug dealer liability, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil rights violations. The attorney for Buck, Seymour Amster, issued a statement Wednesday maintaining his innocence. "On behalf of Mr. Buck we categorically deny all allegations of wrongdoing and look forward to litigating this matter in a court of law," Amster told ABC News. Amster told KABC in January that Dean's death was "a situation where Mr. Buck has had longtime friends who unfortunately do not handle their life well." The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office declined to comment. Moore's death was originally ruled an accidental methamphetamine overdose when the sheriff's department investigated Moore's death in 2017. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department confirmed to ABC News that the investigation into both Dean's and Moore's deaths is ongoing. According to Nixon's lawsuit, Moore "died after being injected with a lethal dose of crystal methamphetamine at the hands of Edward Buck, a wealthy older white man who has a well-documented history of isolating black men for predatory sexual encounters during which he injects them with crystal methamphetamine in the confines of a drug den in his West Hollywood apartment." Buck's apartment was described in Moores autopsy report as "littered with multiple syringes with brown residue, a scale, several lighters and torches, a straw with white residue, glass pipes with white residue and burn marks, plastic bags with white powdery residue and a clear plastic bag containing a crystal-like substance," the suit says. "Mr. Buck had previously solicited sex from Mr. Moore on numerous occasions. During previous encounters, Mr. Buck would insist upon injecting Mr. Moore with crystal methamphetamine," the suit states. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Nancy Madsen has written for newspapers in Watertown, N.Y., and Mankato, as well as for PolitiFact Virginia at the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Richmond, Va. Nancy is a graduate of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., and Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y. You are the owner of this article. Give Me Shelter is a three-part series on the issue of youth homelessness in Northfield. The first story focused on the reality and prevalence Enterprise, AL (36331) Today Thunderstorms likely. High 82F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Cloudy. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Originally marketed by Sothebys with a $47.5 million price tag back in 2012, the asking price for Woodhaven Manor which was built in 1988 and includes a 12,000-square-foot main home, a 1,200-square-foot carriage house and a 1,000-square-foot guest house on over 3 acres of land at 700 Kings Mountain Road down in Woodside was subsequently reduced and the estate was listed anew for $28.888 million in 2015. Reduced a few more times over the past couple of years, to as low as $15.99 million in late 2017, the property went to auction this past December in Hong Kong, in hopes of securing a Chinese-based buyer. From the auction site: Nestled in an extremely desirable and exclusive region of the United States, Woodside maintains its small-town sensibility despite its proximity to Silicon Valley and San Francisco. Horses are a part of the everyday culture here, with a plentitude of horse trails just outside your gates to indulge your inner-equestrian. A leisurely stroll into the village for dinner will find you at legendary Bucks Woodside, where you can spy Silicon Valley deals being inked over a bottle of Chateau Lafite. And the winning bid for 700 Kings Mountain Road was $8.2 million. But with a required buyers premium of 15 percent, well call it an effective sale price of $9.4 million. No official word as to the provenance of the buyer. Posted Tuesday, February 26, 2019 5:04:17 AM Veteran actor Morgan Woodward, who played Phillip Colville on Days of our Lives and Punk Anderson on Dallas, passed away on February 22 at his home in the Hollywood Hills. The star was 93. The Arlington, Texas, native began his acting career at Arlington State College, where he majored in music and drama. He later returned to school and obtained a degree in corporate finance from the University of Texas in 1948. Though his career began in music, he moved to Hollywood in 1955 with dreams of breaking into the acting world via musicals. His hopes became a reality, and he appeared in films like Walt Disney's The Great Locomotive Chase and Westward Ho, the Wagons! Woodward's career blossomed with roles on various Western television series like Gunsmoke, Cheyenne, Buckskin, Wagon Train, How the West Was Won, and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. So, it was an easy transition for him to join the 1980s Western soap Dallas, where he played the role of Marvin "Punk" Anderson from 1980 to 1987. As viewers of the soap may recall, Punk was a longtime family friend of the Ewing family, including parents Miss Ellie and Jock and their sons J.R. and Bobby. Shortly after leaving Dallas, Woodward joined the cast of Days of our Lives as Phillip Colville, a role he played from 1987 to 1988. His Salem adventures were short-lived, but fans likely remember him because Phillip was father to Genie Francis' Diana Colville. Woodward's additional credits include a role opposite Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke and notable appearances on Star Trek. After hanging his hat in the daytime genre in the late 80s, the actor went on to appear in series like Murder, She Wrote, 21 Jump Street, Matlock, and The X-Files. His final credit is playing the Iron Lung Man on Millenium in 1997. Woodward, who served in World War II in the Army Air Corps and in the Korean War in the Military Air Transport Command, was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. He was also awarded the Golden Boot Award from the Hollywood Motion Picture and Television Fund in August 1988. Wirtz, VA (24184) Today Sunny to partly cloudy. Hot. High 93F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. Low near 70F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28: 29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951 /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffb05f170)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffb09fd60)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffb05f170)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffb09fd60)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffb020548)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffb09fd60)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffb09fd60)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffa734010)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbffb02b218)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbffb02b218)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951 /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffb65c920)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffb4ee368)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffb65c920)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffb4ee368)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffb65d728)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffb4ee368)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffb4ee368)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffa7348b0)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbffb0616e0)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbffb0616e0)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951 /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffb068528)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffb0014f0)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffb068528)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffb0014f0)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffb042220)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffb0014f0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffb0014f0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffa733db8)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbffb05fcd8)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbffb05fcd8)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951 /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffaf43e48)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffb061428)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffaf43e48)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffb061428)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffb06c908)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffb061428)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffb061428)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffa5af260)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbffaed4e10)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbffaed4e10)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951 /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffb046b58)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffaf83180)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffb046b58)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffaf83180)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffaf40b08)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffaf83180)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffaf83180)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffa734e00)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbffb082810)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbffb082810)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951 /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffacb1fc8)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbfface6648)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffacb1fc8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbfface6648)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7fbffac966e0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbfface6648)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbfface6648)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7fbffa734010)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbffb217d30)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7fbffb217d30)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0 : France is working on a proposal to ban chief of the UN-proscribed Jaish-e Muhammad Masood Azhar and could move it in the Sanctions Committee after it assumes the Presidency of the powerful UN Security Council in March, sources said. The rotating monthly Presidency of the 15-nation UN Security Council will go from Equatorial Guinea to France on March 1. France, a permanent member of the Council with veto powers, is working on the proposal (to ban Azhar) and it should be ready soon, informed sources told PTI, adding that the proposal against the JeM chief could perhaps be moved in the Sanctions Committee under the French presidency. There were reports in the media that the Telugu remake of 96 is under trouble as the producer wasnt happy with the director's decision of retaining music composer Govind Vasantha. But when asked, sources close to the team vehemently denied it as rumors. Prem Kumar who directed the original Tamil version is helming the remake and he has retained Govind Vasantha for the Telugu version. Govind has actually recently delivered tunes for the Telugu version. We also hear that Prem has also finalized the two teen actors to play Sharwananth and Samanthas school portions. According to sources, the lending major will meet Jet Airways' Chairman Naresh Goyal and Tony Douglas, Chief Executive Officer Etihad Airways, which is another key stakeholder in the airline on Wednesday. Mumbai: Lending major State Bank of India (SBI) will meet key stakeholders of the beleaguered Jet Airways to take the proposal to convert a part of the company's loans into shares forward and iron-out any difference over the plan, sources said on Tuesday. Other lenders in the consortium are also expected to be a part of the meeting which is to be held at bank's headquarters here. On February 25, in a joint statement both Goyal and Douglas said: "Jet Airways, its principal shareholders including Etihad Airways, and key financial stakeholders are working towards the finalisation and subsequent implementation of the Bank-led Provisional Resolution Plan (BLPRP), to ensure that the carrier emerges as a financially strong and resilient airline." "As we move forward, we are confident that once the BLPRP is finalised and implemented, Jet Airways will reemerge as a viable and robust airline to reclaim its rightful place as airline of first choice for its customers." Last week, Jet Airways' shareholders had approved a the BLPRP. As part of this, public sector lenders will become the largest equity owners of the airline, virtually making it a nationalised carrier. The proposal, an attempt to relieve the financial strain on the passenger carrier, was put forth to the shareholders at the Extraordinary General Meeting held here on last Thursday. The shareholders' approval came after Jet Airways Board approved the BLPRP on February 14. "The BLPRP currently estimates a funding gap of Rs 8,500 crore (including proposed repayment of aircraft debt of Rs 1,700 crore) to be met by appropriate mix of equity infusion, debt restructuring, sale or sale and leaseback or refinancing of aircraft, among other things," the company said in a regulatory filing to the BSE on February 14. As part of a provisional resolution plan, the airline's Board has agreed to allot 11.4 crore shares at an aggregate value of Re 1 to the lenders' consortium led by the State Bank of India, according to the airline. Recently, Jet Airways reported Rs 587.7 crore as standalone net loss for the third quarter ended December 31, 2018. It had reported a net profit of Rs 165.25 crore during the year-ago period. The private carrier on January 1 defaulted in paying interest and instalments on loan repayments due to banks, following which rating agency ICRA downgraded both short and long-term credit facilities of the airline. New housing development could be accelerated by removing local councils from much of the post-consenting process and privatising quality assurance, says Steve Evans, chief executive of Fletcher Buildings residential division. The time it takes to consents and the uncertainty of the consenting process are two major obstacles to housing development, he says. Speaking after joining a panel presentation at a conference in Auckland on residential development, Evans says the process needs to incentivise developers to build, but at the moment they almost penalise it. For example, he said high-density housing developments within Auckland, such as at Fletchers Three Kings quarry development, create less demand for new infrastructure than a free-standing house on the city outskirts such as Drury. Yet high-density developers face exactly the same infrastructure growth charges and development contributions on a per unit basis, he says. The 45 apartments Fletchers has just completed at Three Kings required 45 development contributions. Evans says a current problem is that councils are the last man standing when residential building projects go wrong, as happened with the leaky building crisis. The general consensus is that the liability issue thats a noose around the councils necks should be addressed sooner rather than later, he says. Evans believes New Zealand should adopt similar reforms to those in Britain, with the inspection process privatised and an insurance process in place to protect the end-housing purchaser. That would help make the process cheaper. Its not going to be for everyone in the UK, the costs vary, depending on the scale and quality of developments, he says. But if a development is of high quality, then the cost of insurance should go down. If you get reputable companies delivering and having a good quality control system, then you shouldnt need as many inspections, so you should be able to deliver cheaper and faster. Insurance companies would very quickly sort out which kinds of developments would need more inspections, he says. Fletcher Residential has never had a leaky building claim against it, but if there are any problems, buyers are protected by Fletcher Buildings balance sheet so they never reach the council. However, Fletcher Residential gets no benefit from having such a strong parent, Evans says. There is a view that things need to change. We as residential builders need to speak consistently together to get some of these messages back to local and national government. Fletcher's residential and development arm had revenue of $251 million in the six months through December, 6 percent more than a year earlier. Earnings before interest and tax fell 9 percent to $43 million, due to lower earnings and land development and a higher proportion of sales in the lower-margin Christchurch market. (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: General Capital Limited (NZX: GEN) Releases 2021 Annual Report 30th June 2021 Morning Report 29th June 2021 Morning Report Kathmandu Holdings Limited (NZX: KMD) Trading Update Rua Bioscience Limited (NZX: RUA) Eyes Slice of $2.5b Cannabis Testing Industry Wellington Drive Technologies Limited (NZX: WDT) Raises 2021 Guidance 28th June 2021 Morning Report 25th June 2021 Morning Report Westpac Banking Corporation (NZX: WBC) Confirms It Is Retaining Westpac New Zealand Ltd 24th June 2021 Morning Report New Zealand's aquaculture industry is not getting the support it needs from a government that says it wants to switch to forms of farming that have less impact on the environment, New Zealand King Salmon says. "The government says it wants things to be more green - agriculture, aquaculture - and say they want to address climate change," chief executive Grant Rosewarne told BusinessDesk. "Well, we're desperate around climate change. It's already happening to us and we need that support. So far, we're not getting it." Rosewarne was speaking after the company announced a reduced half-year net profit because high sea temperatures last summer caused a high death rate among its farmed king salmon in the Marlborough Sounds. "We think we represent everything this new government is asking for from an industry, but we are disproportionately affected by climate change." The company has been waiting since before the change of government for a decision on its application to move several Marlborough Sounds farms to sites with higher tidal flows. Within 10 years, it hopes to be farming fish in deep water at offshore sites. It is currently testing sea conditions at 13 sites from Cook Strait to Stewart Island. The first data from a site six kilometres north of Port Gore, in Cook Strait, was "encouraging", Rosewarne said. In the six months to Dec. 31, the company achieved similar revenue to the prior comparable period at $87.7 million, thanks to improved pricing and a favourable exchange rate. But increased costs and lower fish volumes, both caused by the higher-than-usual fish deaths in the 2017/18 summer, saw net profit after tax pinned back to $15.1 million, compared to $15.7 million in the first half of the 2018 financial year. Sea temperatures so far this year have been "slightly above longer-term averages, but below temperatures recorded during the FY18 summer," the company said in presentation slides lodged with the NZX. It noted that February and March are critical months for fish survival rates and there will be an update to the market "at the conclusion of summer". Sales volumes in the New Zealand market - representing 48 percent of the company's total revenues - were down 17 percent on the first half of 2018. Revenue was down only 6 percent, with the increasing availability of imported Atlantic salmon - the most commonly bred fish globally - underpinning growing New Zealand consumption of salmon generally, the company said. Salmon sold in all markets totalled 3,824 tonnes, down 13 percent from the first half of the 2018 financial year. "Increasing demand, improved pricing mix, export markets expansion and a favourable exchange rate," helped maintain revenue near year-earlier levels, the company said. Operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were $17.3 million, compared with $19.5 million in the earlier half. The company announced a fully imputed interim dividend of 2 cents per share. King Salmon's experiment with 'Ora King Tyee' - a very large breed of salmon that the company has been seeking to foster a market for - is a commercially positive concept but "scalability has yet to be proven". Rosewarne said international chefs loved working with Tyee. Consumers had also proven they would pay a premium for such a large fish and the company believed there was a global market of perhaps 1,500 tonnes a year for Tyee. However, the fish took longer to grow, meaning the company could not pursue the opportunity until it had more sea-space, which is proving its largest headache. North America - the firm's second-largest market by revenue at 33 percent - showed a 1 percent increase in sales volume against the previous comparable period, at 1,173 tonnes. "Sales for the six-month period set new value and volume records." Sales to the Japanese market dived from 310 tonnes in the first half of the previous year to 117 tonnes in the year under review. Australian sales fell to 291 tonnes from 349 tonnes, while sales in Europe and Asia, excluding Japan, showed growth. Across all export markets, the firm's New Zealand dollar price per kilogram of salmon rose from $21.70 to $23.49 between the two periods. The company expects the production dip caused by the ongoing impact of the high 2017/18 mortality rates to hold total full-year production to around 8,000 tonnes, unchanged from 2017/18. However, it is forecasting a 9,500-tonne harvest by the year to June 2021 as fish stocks replenish and the company slowly ramps up higher-flow sites where it does have permission to operate. Directors reaffirmed previous operating earnings guidance for the 2019 financial year of between $25 million and $28.5 million. King Salmon shares last traded at $2.17 and have risen about 9 percent in the past year. (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: General Capital Limited (NZX: GEN) Releases 2021 Annual Report 30th June 2021 Morning Report 29th June 2021 Morning Report Kathmandu Holdings Limited (NZX: KMD) Trading Update Rua Bioscience Limited (NZX: RUA) Eyes Slice of $2.5b Cannabis Testing Industry Wellington Drive Technologies Limited (NZX: WDT) Raises 2021 Guidance 28th June 2021 Morning Report 25th June 2021 Morning Report Westpac Banking Corporation (NZX: WBC) Confirms It Is Retaining Westpac New Zealand Ltd 24th June 2021 Morning Report Company directors, insurance companies, liquidators and litigation funders will likely be running a fine tooth comb over Tuesdays Mainzeal decision from the High Court - regardless of whether or not theres an appeal. In a decisive victory for the Mainzeal liquidators, Justice Francis Cooke ordered the directors of the failed construction company, including former prime minister Jenny Shipley, to pay $36 million to creditors. While many think an appeal is likely, Institute of Directors chief executive Kirsten Patterson says theres food for thought aplenty for directors in Justice Cookes clearly-argued judgment. Particularly around corporate governance. The decision highlights the importance of directors focusing on the complex risks they may be facing and making sure they are spending adequate time in the boardroom mitigating that risk, Patterson says. It highlights the complexity of some of these operational environments and the responsibility that comes with some of these governance roles. At the heart of the Mainzeal failure, Justice Cooke ruled, was that the directors allowed the company to trade for years while balance sheet insolvent. Although Mainzeal chair Jenny Shipley and her fellow directors argued that millions of dollars of debt to Chinese parent company Richina Pacific was an asset on the books, it became increasingly unlikely that any money would be forthcoming from China. So when expensive leaky buildings claims, a $22 million loss on the Vector Arena project, and a bitter battle with German industrial conglomerate Siemens produced significant losses, the company could no longer pay its bills. The failure cost subcontractors $45.5 million; overall creditors lost $110 million. The directors should have been aware the risk was high, Justice Cooke said. But corporate governance was poor. The directors had no formal procedures for addressing risk, Justice Cooke says in his decision. There was no audit and risk committee, and the board was too small to have one. Neither was there any formal risk register. By itself, that would not matter if risks were otherwise appropriately addressed. But... they were not. Instead, operational matters dominated boardroom discussion - contracts won and lost, cashflow and profit forecasts. The more significant structural and governance risks were not given the same attention, Cooke said. The board operated more as a management committee. Henri Eliot is a corporate governance expert and chief executive of consultancy Board Dynamics. He says lack of industry knowledge, and commercial or financial inexperience can be a problem on some New Zealand boards. The judgment will definitely impact on directors being better informed and having the right skill set and experience, Eliot says. Corporate governance in NZ is maturing and the wild west of the past will have to change. Otherwise, we will see more cases like this in the court system." Directors can also expect to be in the firing line more often. The case brought by the Mainzeal liquidators was funded by LPF, a so-called litigation funder. Litigation funding involves a third party stepping in to pay for a case which otherwise probably wouldn't go to trial because of the high cost. Overseas, it is often used to allow a bunch of smaller plaintiffs to take on a big organisation. The litigation funder takes a cut - often a substantial one - of any award. The success of litigation funding in this case, and in another recent LPF case - the action by kiwifruit growers against the Ministry for Primary Industries over the kiwifruit disease PSI - is likely to see an increase in class action-type cases in New Zealand, Patterson says. Particularly given the high-profile nature of this case involving the former prime minister. Its an international trend that is starting to play out in New Zealand, though its not common at the moment, Patterson says. She says she wouldnt want to see a litigation-happy environment develop in New Zealand, as it has done in the US. However, its important that directors are held to account when necessary. Its important people have access to justice; this is part of a directors responsibility. Meanwhile, directors will be looking carefully at their directors and officers - D&O - liability insurance cover. Patterson says the Institute of Directors/ASBs 2018 Director Sentiment Survey found only 76 percent of directors have D&O insurance. We think thats too low. Its not only about ensuring cover for the individual directors, but its important for the market that creditors have that assurance. The growth of class actions and litigation funding, to a lesser extent in New Zealand but more importantly in Australia, has already seen D&O insurance premiums rise. The four Mainzeal directors involved in the reckless trading case have $20 million in D&O insurance between them - just over half of what is required. Its not clear, however, how that $20 million is allocated. Out of the total compensation of $36 million, Shipley and two other directors - Peter Gomm and Clive Tilby - should pay up to $6 million each, Justice Cooke said. The rest, $18 million, must be made up by Richina founder and boss Richard Yan. David Friar, a partner in the litigation department of law firm Bell Gully, says Cooke took a novel approach to establishing a figure for damages in the Mainzeal case. Traditionally judges have looked at the deterioration in the companys financial position between the date of the breach and the date of liquidation, Friar says. But in this case, Justice Cooke took as his starting point the total amount the creditors were owed - $110 million. Then he adjusted this figure on the basis of discretionary factors such as the duration of the breach and the directors culpability. It remains to be seen if this novel approach will be accepted by the higher courts if this case goes to appeal. Friar says he wont be surprised if there is an appeal - either in relation to the damages award, or the main reckless trading finding. Directors have 20 working days to appeal. (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: General Capital Limited (NZX: GEN) Releases 2021 Annual Report 30th June 2021 Morning Report 29th June 2021 Morning Report Kathmandu Holdings Limited (NZX: KMD) Trading Update Rua Bioscience Limited (NZX: RUA) Eyes Slice of $2.5b Cannabis Testing Industry Wellington Drive Technologies Limited (NZX: WDT) Raises 2021 Guidance 28th June 2021 Morning Report 25th June 2021 Morning Report Westpac Banking Corporation (NZX: WBC) Confirms It Is Retaining Westpac New Zealand Ltd 24th June 2021 Morning Report Genesis Energy says it is rapidly progressing work on the Waverley wind farm with Tilt Renewables and is hoping to pursue other projects together. Chief financial officer Chris Jewell said the partners are hoping to be in a position to make a final investment decision on the 100 MW development on the southern Taranaki coast within three to six months. He said he was excited by the partnership and had enjoyed working with the Melbourne-based developer. Were hoping that there will be more things to do with them over time so the conversation is broader than just Waverley, Jewell told journalists and analysts yesterday. Genesis is the biggest power retailer in Taranaki and also operates the countrys biggest coal- and gas-fired power plants at Huntly. It has three hydro schemes and a small wind farm and is keen to increase the renewables contribution within its generation portfolio. Tilt, split out of Trustpower in 2016, also has consent for a 240 MW wind development at Kaiwera Downs near Gore and a 160 MW expansion of its Mahinerangi wind farm west of Dunedin. It may also look to repower the 20-year-old first stage of its Tararua wind farm near Palmerston North. Genesis has consent for an 860 MW wind farm at Castle Hill south-east of Pahiatua. Those consents lapse in 2023. Chief executive Marc England said the power price jump late last year when hydro storage was declining and gas supplies were tight - demonstrated the strategic value of the firms multiple fuel types. Its planned investment at Waverley, and its recent decision to join the countrys hydrogen association, reflects the companys long-term drive toward a lower-carbon future, he said. Short-term, Genesis is focused on ensuring security of supply in a predominately renewable power market with relatively little hydro shortage. Longer-term electricity prices have risen during the past nine months, potentially a signal that underlying demand growth may require additional generation capacity in coming years. While a structural tightening of the market may be underway, England cautioned that gas supplies will have to return to a more steady state before anyone can tell whether the firmer prices are a blip or part of a long-term trend. Genesis also owns 46 percent of the Kupe oil and gas field and is preparing for a $30 million, two-year investment in onshore compression to increase production. Jewell said the venture partners are aiming to make a final investment decision in the September quarter. That would maintain daily gas deliveries at 77 terajoules but would improve oil recoveries. England said gas remains key to New Zealand maintaining reliable electricity supplies when the hydro lakes are low or the wind isnt blowing. What has become very clear in the electricity market over the last few months is its dependence on gas supplies and how a shortage of gas and water results in more coal burn, he said. Thats the inconvenient truth that comes from having an 85 percent renewable market that is so dependent on volatile hydro storage. (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: General Capital Limited (NZX: GEN) Releases 2021 Annual Report 30th June 2021 Morning Report 29th June 2021 Morning Report Kathmandu Holdings Limited (NZX: KMD) Trading Update Rua Bioscience Limited (NZX: RUA) Eyes Slice of $2.5b Cannabis Testing Industry Wellington Drive Technologies Limited (NZX: WDT) Raises 2021 Guidance 28th June 2021 Morning Report 25th June 2021 Morning Report Westpac Banking Corporation (NZX: WBC) Confirms It Is Retaining Westpac New Zealand Ltd 24th June 2021 Morning Report The countrys major electricity generators have been cleared of tacit collusion during last years electricity price spikes but may yet be subject to investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The Electricity Authority says it found no evidence of anti-competitive behaviour in the market during a period of sustained high prices from late September through November. Nor did it believe Contact Energy and Genesis Energy as major gas buyers during the period - had any major information advantage over other participants in the market. The investigation found that there was information asymmetry with regard to gas outage information, but it was small and often non-material, and the best available information was still uncertain, the authority says in a 90-page report. The investigation also found that the perception of information asymmetry was larger than the actual asymmetry. We think this was largely caused by difficulty in accessing information regarding gas outages and other indicators of the gas supply situation. The authority noted that its investigation was limited to a claim that the price spikes and the collapse of market-making in the ASX-operated New Zealand electricity futures market during the period constituted an undesirable trading situation or UTS. It did find indications of some behaviour that may require further examination to determine whether other aspects of the electricity industry code or other laws have been broken. Our compliance team and the UTS investigation team are liaising regarding alleged non-compliance with information disclosure obligations in the code. We have referred allegations relating to Australian securities law to ASIC, and will provide further assistance as necessary. Small-scale retailers Flick Electric, Pulse Energy, Vocus Group and Electric Kiwi, and Auckland lines company Vector complained to the authority in November that wholesale power prices had been atypically high even allowing for declining hydro storage and reduced gas supplies from the Pohokura field. They alleged a failure of market-making in the futures market and said the failure of timely disclosure about fuel supplies and generator availability by Contact and Genesis had also disadvantaged them and shaken their confidence in the market. Power prices jumped in late September as South Island lake levels fell and Shell shut production from the offshore part of the Pohokura gas field due to a fault on the production platform. Those factors, combined with very weak wind production some days, a planned, five-week shutdown of Genesis E3p plant and other temporary generation outages, saw average wholesale prices exceed $500/MWh on some days in October the highest in seven years. While the power market has seen high prices before, what was most damaging was their sustained nature. Average prices exceeded $200/MWh for about a month from Oct. 8 and then again for some days in mid-November. For many days they were above $400. Many independent retailers had to stop taking new customers, while Dunedin-based Payless Energy got out of the market, selling its customer book to Pioneer Energy. For the authority to act on a UTS, it must be satisfied that the event complained of posed a serious risk to the integrity of the market, or confidence in it. There must also be no other mechanism to address the issue. There have been eight UTS claims in the past decade. Only one of those has been upheld, which was in March 2011 when prices jumped to $20,000/MWh in parts of the North Island after planned transmission work reduced power available to Auckland. Authority chief executive James Stevenson-Wallace said there is no dispute that prices were unusually high. But that doesnt mean there was collusion, and nor does it mean the futures market didnt work as it should have. We didnt find any evidence of anti-competitive behaviour. We have absolute confidence in the wholesale market, he said in a statement. In its report, the authority found that the futures market did work as expected, albeit in a market that can suffer from a lack of liquidity. Parties who hedged before spot prices began to rise had little concern with managing their spot price risk. Nonetheless, we are aware of issues with liquidity in the hedge market. Our investigation highlighted these issues again. We indicated in 2018 that we will look at these in our 2019/20 work programme. (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: General Capital Limited (NZX: GEN) Releases 2021 Annual Report 30th June 2021 Morning Report 29th June 2021 Morning Report Kathmandu Holdings Limited (NZX: KMD) Trading Update Rua Bioscience Limited (NZX: RUA) Eyes Slice of $2.5b Cannabis Testing Industry Wellington Drive Technologies Limited (NZX: WDT) Raises 2021 Guidance 28th June 2021 Morning Report 25th June 2021 Morning Report Westpac Banking Corporation (NZX: WBC) Confirms It Is Retaining Westpac New Zealand Ltd 24th June 2021 Morning Report The government has confirmed the first auction of 5G spectrum with be the 3.5 GHz band and will be held early in 2020. We are on track and keeping pace with other countries: with the spectrum being progressively allocated, companies can start rolling out 5G from 2020, Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Minister Kris Faafoi said in a statement. While spectrum allocations occur, we will concurrently be working with Maori to address the radio spectrum-related Treaty of Waitangi issues, Faafoi says. Until this work has been completed, we will not be able to provide details of the 3.5 GHz spectrum that will be available for auction, he says. National spectrum rights in the 3.5 GHz band will be available to use from November 2022 when the existing rights to this spectrum expire, although an operator might be able to use its rights earlier with the agreement of the existing rights holder. Spectrum in this band will also be available to regional wireless broadband service providers. In the future, national spectrum rights will open the door to higher connection speeds and greater network capacity, Faafoi says. He expects to announce allocation details of regional spectrum rights later this year. The governments next priority is allocation of other segments of the spectrum for 5G in the millimetre wave bands and details on that will be shared later this year, Faafoi says. Phone company Spark New Zealand wants to be a front-runner in rolling out 5G. Earlier this month it said the government needs to keep its next radio spectrum auction on schedule if it is to have its 5G network up and running by July 2020. Spark says 5G will enhance the prospect of wireless broadband grabbing market share it is already taking on telephone lines company Chorus by bypassing its copper and fibre networks to deliver wireless broadband. Spark wants to have its 5G mobile network up and running in time for Emirates Team New Zealand to use it as part of its preparation to defend the 2021 Americas Cup. (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: General Capital Limited (NZX: GEN) Releases 2021 Annual Report 30th June 2021 Morning Report 29th June 2021 Morning Report Kathmandu Holdings Limited (NZX: KMD) Trading Update Rua Bioscience Limited (NZX: RUA) Eyes Slice of $2.5b Cannabis Testing Industry Wellington Drive Technologies Limited (NZX: WDT) Raises 2021 Guidance 28th June 2021 Morning Report 25th June 2021 Morning Report Westpac Banking Corporation (NZX: WBC) Confirms It Is Retaining Westpac New Zealand Ltd 24th June 2021 Morning Report An analysis conducted for POLITICO by Guardians.ai found evidence that a relatively small cluster of accounts and a broader group of accounts that amplify them drove a disproportionate amount of the Twitter conversation about the four candidates [Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Beto O'Rourke] over a recent 30-day period. Using proprietary tools that measured the discussion surrounding the candidates in the Democratic field, Guardians.ai identified a cohort of roughly 200 accounts including both unwitting real accounts and other 'suspicious' and automated accounts that coordinate to spread their messages that pumped out negative or extreme themes designed to damage the candidates. This is the same core group of accounts the company first identified last year in a study as anchoring a wide-scale influence campaign in the 2018 elections. The goal is to have 2020 campaigns agree to forego illicit online campaign tactics like those used against Democrats in the 2016 presidential campaign, including the use of fake social media accounts, the spread of disinformation, hacking, and the use of hacked materials. There's also discussion about candidates calling out supporters for taking part in that activity. I grade you all an F on this and that's being kind. I'm not trying to be a jackass, but it's been a very slow roll by all of you in tech to pay attention to this. Why do you think that is? I think it is because many of the people who made Twitter never ever felt unsafe. #karajack February 12, 2019 Compulsory Code of Ethics for tech companies overseen by independent regulator Regulator given powers to launch legal action against companies breaching code Government to reform current electoral communications laws and rules on overseas involvement in UK elections Social media companies obliged to take down known sources of harmful content, including proven sources of disinformation In light of the role that disinformation, particularly on social media, played in the U.S. 2016 presidential election, I thought it would be prudent to start a semi-regular roundup of news items related to disinformation and social media as we look toward 2020.Natasha Korecki athas written an important piece on the disinformation campaign that's already ongoing against 2020 Democratic candidates. From the article:The broader goal, per the article, is to "sow discord and chaos within the Democratic presidential primary." This group seems to operate by manufacturing a viral negative response about Democrats through the use of synthetic accounts operated by real people and those that amplify authentic users who are already tweeting a desired message.The article also notes that the researchers analyzing this activity cannot conclude whether these accounts are coordinated by domestic or foreign actors, but that it bears signs of previous foreign attacks.Given that social media companies, the U.S. government, and the political candidates themselves have not yet been able (and/or willing) to adequately address these issues, users of platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are left to navigate this activity with basically the same tools we have to deal with trolls and harassers: block, mute, unfollow, and report.With the way that Facebook and Twitter were initially centered around a model that privileges "free speech" over user safety, what is a structural problem that threatens our democratic processes is thus largely treated as though it's a personal problem for individual users to figure out.State Democratic Party Chairs in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada have written a letter to state party chairs across the country urging collaboration in battling disinformation on social media:That second part is especially key. Certain high-profile campaign surrogates need to be held accountable by their preferred candidates in spreading disinformation about the difference between an outcome that is rigged versus a legitimate outcome with which they simply aren't happy, for instance.[Content Note: Trauma; violence; bigotry] Others have written about this topic before , including me , but Casey Newton athas written an in-depth piece on the trauma experienced by Facebook content moderators.In the piece, Newton interviews employees of a company called Cognizant, who work as content moderators for Facebook. What is notable from their accounts is not just the trauma these contractors experience, complete with PTSD symptoms, due to viewing content that Facebook users try to post, but that their own worldviews sometimes start to shift, with them sometimes adopting fringe, non-reality-based viewpoints, such as 9/11 trutherism and Holocaust revisionism.Also interesting is that Facebook seems to have an extreme focus on moderating content "accurately" while giving their moderators an ever-changing rulebook forto moderate that makes consistency and accuracy extremely challenging. The article cites multiple sources of authoritative policy that content moderators are supposed to use when making decisions, which they're also supposed to do quickly: Facebook's community guidelines, longer internal guidelines, a 15,000 word Known Questions document, moderator discussions among each other, and ongoing incremental guidance.I understand that content moderation can be challenging, particularly when a platform is hosting massive amounts of content. That, it seems, is an argument to build such processes into a platform at the time of their initial rollouts. That ship has sailed, in many cases, but these challenges, as well as the traumas moderators endure, also strike me as an argument to keep content moderation services in-house, rather than outsource them to relatively low-paid contractors doing what is treated as low-tier work for the company.Another thing I wonder is whether moderators who regularly view extremely traumatic content, such as depictions of murder, gradually become inured to less extreme content and if that factors into some of their on-the-fly moderating decisions, such that gradually, over time, all users of the platform become more "used to" aggression, incivility, and violence.I suspect that we will be grappling with these failures and tech's normalization of traumatic content and disinformation, individually and socially, for a very long time.If you've never listened to Kara Swisher interview someone in the tech industry, I highly recommend it if you're able.A couple weeks ago, she interviewed Jack Dorsey, on his own platform . In it, she really presses him on what, specifically, Twitter has done to address user safety and Dorsey acknowledges that the company has put most of the burden on victims of abuse.Which, yes. I'm not sure there's a prominent woman on Twitter who would disagree with that.Last week in the UK, a parliamentary committee released a 108-page report on disinformation and social media . Finding democracy to be at risk due to the spread of disinformation and tech company failures, the report calls for:You know, something I see a lot on Twitter is snarking about how the spread of disinformation, particularly by Russia, isn't real. That gaslighting, itself, is abusive disinformation. Press Release February 27, 2019 Statement of reelectionist Sen. JV Ejercito on the occasion of the groundbreaking ceremony today of the Metro Manila Subway project in Bgy. Ugong, Valenzuela City One of the reasons why I support President Duterte is because he is the only President in the recent years to commit and spend P3 trillion for infrastructures in the next six years. We have a growing population, now stands at 105 million; and 30,000 new vehicles are added to our streets every month- that's around one million vehicles in the next three years. Congratulations to DOTr Sec. Tugade for really pushing for our railway projects, particularly the PNR-North, PNR- South, Mindanao railways system, and this time, what used to be like a dream is becoming a reality now- the Metro Manila Subway System. I know we really need this because this will stimulate economic growth. We will never realize full economic growth for the Philippines if we do not invest in infrastructure. For me, railway is the only way. I'm glad that the President has the political will to really push for this. He has the political will to bite the bullet kahit medyo maghihirap muna tayo, konting trapik, pero dapat nating gawin. The only way we can spread out development to the countryside and, at the same time, decongest Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao, is through infrastructure development and transport modernization. I think the Philippines is 30 years behind in terms of infrastructure development. We have a lot of catching up to do. And the DOTR has been moving and I would like to commend Sec. Tugade and it's a pleasure to have defended the budget of DOTr in recent years. I will always support the "Build, Build, Build" program of the Duterte administration. This is the only way for us to achieve full economic growth. We will be able to spread the development and we can create growth development areas in all provinces. Kung gusto natin ng tunay na hanapbuhay, if we want genuine exclusive growth, we really have to invest in infrastructure and transport modernization. Press Release February 27, 2019 Dispatch from Crame No. 475: Sen. Leila M. de Lima on the death threats vs. bishops and priests 2/27/19 The Catholic Church cannot possibly trust Duterte when he says that bishops and priests should not be harmed, and that those who harm them will have to deal with him. In the first place, he is the one who threatened bishops with murder, when he asked "tambays" to rob their bishops because they are rich, and to kill them if they resist. In fact, the Catholic clergy was never threatened with harm by anybody until Duterte said that they are better off dead. No one in this Catholic country, whether politician or ordinary citizen, ever had in his agenda the killing of bishops and priests, until Duterte started it. Only Duterte, among all the inhabitants of this country, said that the bishops deserve to be robbed and killed. The death threat came from him. His warning now that they should not be harmed can only be addressed to him. Strange as it may seem, the President telling himself not to carry out his threat to kill bishops is not entirely unexpected. Once again, Duterte is toying with officials of the Catholic Church with his sick jokes that can only come from a sick mind. What is worrying is that Duterte's jokes can be taken seriously by his executioners who have already reiterated the same death threats to several clergymen. Duterte is not fooling anyone with his Pontius Pilate act. As it is for the victims of the drug war, when men of the cloth become the targets of Duterte's assassins, it will be no joking matter. The blood of murdered priests and bishops will still be on his hands. The real tragedy here is not that more people will die, but that we did not stop the madman even after he started going after the leaders of our church. Press Release February 27, 2019 ANGARA TO COLLEGE DROPOUTS: RETURN TO SCHOOL, AVAIL OF FREE TERTIARY EDUCATION It's never too late to earn a college degree. This was the advice of reelectionist Senator Sonny Angara to over 360,000 unemployed university dropouts, as well as high school graduates but did not proceed to college, as he urged them to return to school and take advantage of the government's free tertiary education. "Ngayon ang pinakamagandang pagkakataon para bumalik sa kolehiyo dahil libre na ang tuition sa mga pampublikong pamantasan at kolehiyo," said Angara, one of the authors of Republic Act 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, which guarantees free tuition and other miscellaneous fees in state universities and colleges (SUCs). The senator, who is running under the platform "Alagang Angara," encouraged these jobless college dropouts and high school graduates to enroll since they were still eligible for free higher education in 112 SUCs across the country. "This is their chance to complete their college degrees and create a brighter future for themselves and their families," said the senator. In 2018 there were around 2.3 million jobless Filipinos, according to the Labor Force Survey conducted by the Department of Labor and Employment, and 16 percent of this number or roughly 368,000 were college undergraduates. Angara, who strongly believes that education is the great socioeconomic equalizer and a stepping stone to something higher, said that finishing college means being able to pursue employment opportunities that were unavailable without a degree. "College education could ensure that all children of any class have a shot at success," he said, noting that good jobs that do exist require higher education. For those who dropped out of college but are already working, Angara encouraged them to continue their studies and earn a degree. "We've heard a lot of stories of college dropouts who want to finish their degree to set an example for their own children. For some, it means being able to finally apply for that promotion at work." Aside from free tuition and miscellaneous fees in SUCs, another important component of RA 10931 was the Tertiary Education Subsidy or TES, a grants-in-aid program that provides funding for students from the poorest-of-the-poor households enrolled in public and private higher education institutions (HEIs). As vice chairman of the Senate finance committee, Angara sponsored the 2019 budget of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) which includes an allocation of P46 billion for the implementation of RA 10931, making it the biggest budget for free college education in Philippine history. Even with free tuition in public universities and colleges, Angara said students enrolled in private HEIs will continue to receive scholarship grants from government. Free education--from kindergarten to college--is one of Angara's advocacies. His father, the late Senate President Edgardo Angara, was the author of the Free High School Act that ensured secondary education even for the poorest. "Alam natin na mahalaga ang makapag-aral para makapag-hanapbuhay. Mas madali ngang magkatrabaho kapag nakapagtapos," Angara said. Angara is also the author of the Universal Kindergarten Education Act of 2012, when he was a member of the House of Representatives, representing the lone district of Aurora province. A University of Michigan (U-M) student project facilitating easier insertion of contraceptive implants in third-world countries will compete in both the Michigan Business Challenge (MBC) and the challenge's "impact track" semi-finals on March 15. MBC is a business plan competition, organized through U-M's Zell Lurie Institute (ZLI), where undergraduate and graduate student teams can win cash prizes and receive feedback from business leaders in the community. Competition participants complete key entrepreneurial steps, such as creating a strong pitch, conducting a marketing and financial assessment, and writing a business plan. In addition to the main MBC track, there is also the Seigle Impact Track, where businesses with social or environmental considerations can compete. ZLI managing director Sarika Gupta says the impact track was created a few years ago due to the large interest teams had in creating businesses that helped the community. Eight student teams were selected for this year's MBC semi-finals, and four student teams were selected for the impact track semi-finals. SubQ Assist, presented by MBA candidate Vinayak Gokhale, is the only team to compete in both tracks. SubQ Assist is a device that simplifies the administration of contraceptive implants. This device minimizes the likelihood of complications during removal and allows minimally trained healthcare workers to provide safe access to contraceptive implants in rural areas where physicians may be scarce or nonexistent. The SubQ Assist team designed their device in collaboration with Ethiopian healthcare providers. Gokhale says participating in MBC has come at a good time for the SubQ Assist team since they are finishing a clinical trial and will be looking for investors and distributors soon. "We are trying to gain visibility with investors, and MBC has given us a great background to do that, especially if we reach the finals," Gokhale says. Gupta says SubQ Assist advanced far in both tracks due to its detailed business plan and future expansion plans. "There is a clear impact, and they were able to exploit their business model and show how to scale up," Gupta says. "That's what sets them apart." The semi-final and final rounds are on March 15. Teams will present business plans and answer questions from judges. Four teams will then be chosen to advance to the final round later that day where teams will discuss their businesses with judges during a 25-minute round table session. Emily Benda is a freelance writer based in Ann Arbor. You can contact her at emily@emilybenda.com. Photos courtesy of Zell Lurie Institute. President Donald Trumps State of the Union address made domestic infrastructure once again a hot topic and the Shifting Trade conference the week prior to Trumps speech hosted by the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), Washington D.C. based insiders on various panels stressed that infrastructure is one topic that both political parties could agree on. Even though much of the investment, if it happens, will be centered on landside transportation, there are obvious spill-over impacts on the maritime sector. An executive from the Ports America-run Port Newark Container Terminal bemoaned the massive amounts of lorry congestion. When discussing possible staging areas outside the actual port, he said We dont see our terminal ending at the gate. The Marine Highways and the US Maritime Administration (MARAD)s Short Sea Shipping initiatives were mentioned here, in a discussion of putting lorry traffic onto barges; there have been baby steps taken already around the Port of New York, with a barge linking Port Newark with the Brooklyn waterfront. Read more: What the US mid-term election results mean for shipping The Coalition for Americas Gateways and Trade Corridors (CAGTC), whose members include ports, local governments and surface carriers, said, following the State of the Union speech, The state of our unions infrastructure is unacceptable. The CAGTCs executive director, Elaine Nessle, said in a prepared statement, There needs to be a commitment to driving an [infrastructure] investment plan at the Federal level. Citing oversubscribed Federal programs, she added: international trading partners are outpacing our investments at a rapid clip. The CAGTC offered a four point program crystallizing what it hopes to see in working with Congress and the Trump Administration (Executive Branch): A national strategy that guides long term planning Dedicated, sustainable and flexible funding Merit-based criteria for funding allocations Partnership with the private sector As both Congress and the Executive Branch are under some pressures to work together, there is fertile ground for such cooperation on the infrastructure front. Fourteen cruise orders We achieved great commercial success by receiving orders for the impressive number of 27 new vessels, 14 of which are cruise and were ordered by eight different clients,' Fincantieri CEO Giuseppe Bono said. The group also began a new partnership with TUI Cruises, the joint venture between TUI Group and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. 'Together with Carnival group, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and MSC Cruises, it enriches our client portfolio that now includes all four of the largest operators worldwide,' Bono added. Record 34bn backlog The total backlog numbers 116 ships and reached the record level of 34bn. Bono noted backlog is secured since the orders are fully financed. Further, the company delivered 35 vessels from 15 yards. The 33.8bn backlog at the end of 2018 was 29% higher than in 2017 and split between 25.5bn of backlog and 8.3bn of soft backlog (options), with deliveries extending to 2027. In 2018, Fincantieri delivered seven cruise ships and acquired orders for 14 more, including ocean-going and expedition vessels which total a current backlog of 41 vessels. The group is scheduled to deliver eight ships in 2019, seven in 2020 (including two ordered in 2018), nine in 2021 (three ordered in 2018), six in 2022 (three last year) and four in 2023 (two in 2018) with an additional six scheduled after 2023, including four ordered in 2018. 'The 2017 soft backlog has been substantially converted into new orders in 2018, demonstrating the group capabilities,' Fincantieri CFO Giuseppe Dado said. Windstar ship lengthenings In the equipment, systems and service segment, the group signed a contract to lengthen three Windstar Cruises shipsin the 2019-2020 period. Revenues increased almost 10%, to 5.5bn, with EBIDTA and adjusted net income up more than 20%. In the shipbuilding segment revenues rose 9.6% year over year, with cruise ship revenues up 6.4%. Revenues from the cruise ship business area accounted for 54% of the groups revenues. The cruise business was also the main driving factor for higher revenues in the equipment, systems and service segment, thanks to ihigher volumes of cabins and public areas built within the group, mainly through the marine interiors subsidiary. EBIDTA reached 414m, a 21% increase, while EBIDTA margin stood at 7.6%, compared to 6.8% in 2017, with a strong performance in shipbuilding, buoyed by cruise projects and higher volumes in equipment, systems and services. As we continue to add new orders to our cruise business at an extraordinary pace, our focus is now on the roll-out of the backlog. For this reason, we have launched several initiatives to secure a smooth and efficient execution, widening the network of suppliers, laying out a detailed plan for new hires, increasing quality and process control,' Fincantieri general manager Alberto Maestrini said. A key organizational move to enhance the overall group performance has been the delisting of Fincantieri's Vard subsidiary from the Singapore Stock Exchange. After that, Vard's activities were fully integrated into the group's Italian operations. Fincantieri has established an autonomous Cruise Business Unit in Vard, which includes all the activities related to expedition cruise shipbuilding, coordination, production supervision of public areas and procurement, as well as the Romanian and Norwegian yards (including Langsten, Soviknes, Tulcea and Braila) dedicated to cruise ship outfitting. This new business unit is now part of the groups shipbuilding segment, reporting directly to the Merchant Ships Business Unit. To meet new production scenarios based on an increasing order backlog, Fincantieri has upgraded facilities at some Italian shipyards as well as Vard Tulcea in Romania to support the construction of cruise ship hulls for Norway and the multi-year program to build prefabricated sections for cruise ships in the Fincantieri production network. Chantiers de l'Atlantique Focus continues on strategic initiatives like the share purchase agreement with the French government for the acquisition of 50% (plus 1% lent) of Chantiers de lAtlantique. Since France and Germany referred the deal to the EU Commission antitrust authority, 'We will work with the EU to set the competitive framework for the acquisition in order to speed up the process, which we are confident will have a positive outcome,' Bono said. Maestrini argued the transaction 'does not reduce competition in our market since new competitors enter the market. In addition, it does not have any significant impact on the end market.' 2019 outlook Fincantieri expects 2019 results to be in line with 2018 and consistent with the economic and financial forecast within the 2018-2022 business plan guidelines. Revenues will continue their growth trend with an EBITDA margin in line with the one recorded in 2018. In the shipbuilding segment, in 2019 the group expects to deliver 11 ships including eight cruise ships. Viking Jupiter, the sixth unit built for Viking Cruises, was delivered Feb. 7. Next up: Costa Venezia, designed for the Chinese market, will be handed over this week. Higher volumes of production cabins and public areas will contribute to 2019 results, Bono added. Bumblee_Dee/iStock(WASHINGTON) -- Transgender service members and top Pentagon officials head to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to testify about the Trump administration's transgender service policy. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Blake Dremann, Army Capt. Alivia Stehlik, Army Capt. Jennifer Peace, Army Staff Sgt. Patricia King, and Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Akira Wyatt will be the first-ever active-duty transgender service members to testify before Congress. Their appearance before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel comes one month after the Supreme Court granted the Trump administration's request to begin enforcing a ban -- with some exceptions -- on transgender military service members while legal appeals continue. But the Pentagon has yet to enforce the ban because one nationwide injunction against it remains in place. The ban was first set in motion in July 2017 when President Donald Trump tweeted that he would no longer "accept or allow" transgender individuals to serve in the military, prompting the Pentagon to scramble to revise its policy and triggering legal challenges from critics who called the move discriminatory and unconstitutional. In the aftermath of the Supreme Court's decision last month, a Defense Department spokesperson said the Pentagon was consulting with the Department of Justice on its next steps with the litigation, but they "look forward to continuing to press our case in the courts." In the statement, the spokesperson added, "Because it is critical that the department be permitted to formulate personnel policies that it determines are necessary to ensure the most lethal and combat effective fighting force in the world, the department welcomes the Supreme Court's action." However, the four service chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps have testified in Congress that the presence of transgender service members has had no effect on unit cohesion, discipline or morale. Several of the service members testifying on Wednesday have deployed to war zones and served more than a decade in the military. Dremann, who joined the Navy in 2006, is a supply officer who deployed for a year in Afghanistan. King has served in the Army for 19 years, completing three tours of Afghanistan and becoming a vocal advocate for transgender service members. Following the service members, James Stewart, performing the duties of Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, and Vice Adm. Raquel Bono, the director of the Defense Health Agency, will also testify. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. RTHK: Trump sees 'awesome' future for North Korea US President Donald Trump on Wednesday touted an "awesome" future for North Korea ahead of a high-stakes dinner with its leader Kim Jong-un if his "friend" agrees to give up his nuclear arsenal. The Trump tweet, sporting his familiar use of capital letters for emphasis, said the opportunities for a denuclearised North Korea were "like almost none other in history". Trump and Kim are due to meet for one-on-one talks, then dinner, in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, followed by more talks on Thursday. He described Kim as "my friend," a far cry from when the two leaders were slinging personal insults and threats of destruction at each other at the height of tensions over the North's weapons programmes. Trump also lashed out at his domestic opponents for their criticism of his engagement with the isolated regime. "The Democrats should stop talking about what I should do with North Korea and ask themselves instead why they didn't do 'it' during eight years of the Obama Administration?" said Trump, referring to his predecessor in the White House. The two days of talks aim to put some flesh on the bones of a vague declaration issued after their first historic meeting in June in Singapore. Then, Kim committed to work "towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula", but diplomatic progress has since stalled due to disagreements over what that means. Trump has appeared to lower US expectations for the summit, saying that he would be happy if Pyongyang's pause in nuclear and missile testing continued. The president is believed to be considering dangling relief from tough international sanctions. Opening of diplomatic liaison offices is another possible US concession. In return, Washington hopes to get Kim to dismantle the key nuclear facility at Yongbyon, allow in international inspectors, or even hand over a full list of all the country's nuclear assets something the North Koreans have categorically refused to do. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2019-02-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. NASA has released new images taken by the Juno probe of Jupiter, featuring giant storms and swirling clouds in the gas giants atmosphere. Juno launched in August 2011 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and arrived in orbit around Jupiter in July 2016. The robotic spacecraft is in a polar orbit around the gas giant, and the majority of each orbit is spent well away from the planet. But, once every 53 days, Junos trajectory approaches Jupiter from above its north pole, where it begins a 2-hr transit from pole to pole flying north to south. During these flybys, the orbiter is probing beneath the obscuring cloud cover of the giant planet and studying its auroras to learn more about its origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere. On February 12, 2019, Juno successfully performed its 18th flyby of over Jupiters mysterious cloud tops. All of the probes science instruments and its JunoCam, a visible-light camera designed to capture remarkable pictures of Jupiter, were operating during the flyby to collect data. One of the new images shows swirling clouds that surround a circular feature within a jet stream region called Jet N6. The other photos show Jupiters most distinctive feature the Great Red Spot, a spinning, cyclone-like storm just south of the gas giants equator. Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- Yacht shell door, installed on the lower side of any vessel or recreational yacht, is a platform or a door with sophisticated aesthetics used for loading goods or deployment of a life boat, life rafts, or any special cargo to be carried or stored on the yacht. Yacht shell doors are available with various type of opening, such as downward opening, simple hinged upward opening, pantograph side hinged, and roto-translating hinged upward opening. Yacht shell doors are usually made of stainless steel, steel, or aluminum. Yacht shell doors can be hydraulically or electrically driven. Yacht shell doors offer additional possibilities to the vessel, such as recreational activities, tender storage, and others. Yacht shell doors are very reliable under uncertain weather conditions (high tides). Hence, these factors are expected to drive the demand for yacht shell doors and replace the need of hatches. Yacht Shell Doors: Market Drivers and Challenges The global yacht shell doors market grows lateral to the shipbuilding or marine industry. The global fleet of vessels has been estimated around 1.8 billion by the end of FY2016, and it is expected to grow at a healthy rate, which in turn, will boost the demand for yacht shell doors over the forecast period. Also, Expansion of sales and distribution channels in developing countries intending to open doors for private companies is anticipated to create opportunities for the yacht shell door in coming years. Increasing government and private spending on tourism and recreational activities will significantly increase the fleet size, thereby, augmenting the need for new units of yacht shell doors, especially in developed countries. Further, employment of stringent regulations, concerning passenger's safety, the adoption rate of yacht shell doors is expected to increase significantly during the forecast period. Request Sample Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-8865 On the flip side, high cost of yacht shell doors, especially electrically driven yacht shell doors, and need of constant maintenance could restrict growth of the market to some extent. Yacht Shell Doors: Market Segmentation On the basis of opening type, the global yacht shell doors market can be segmented into the following: Downward Opening Simple Hinged Upward Opening Pantograph Side Hinged Roto-Translating Hinged Upward Opening On the basis of type, the global yacht shell doors market can be segmented into the following: Electric Hydraulic On the basis of yacht type, the global yacht shell doors market can be segmented into the following: Cruise Ship Mega Yacht Research Vessels Naval Vessels Ferries Offshore Yacht Shell Doors: Regional Market Outlook In recent past, Asia pacific excluding Japan has witnessed a significant growth in terms of tourism arrivals, particularly in Thailand, Australia, and Malaysia, thus it is stipulated that the region will hold a significant share of the global yacht shell door market over the forecast period. Additionally, the 'one belt, one road' ongoing project will revive the tourism industry in China, making it a hub of investment for tourism development and promotion. Western Europe is the hub of shipbuilding industry, thus, this extensive presence of manufacturers is expected to drive the demand for yacht shell doors in the region. Further, North America is anticipated to contribute undoubtedly in the global volume growth of the yacht shell doors market as a result of regions inclination toward recreational activities. Furthermore, the Middle East and Africa is expected to hold moderate share in the yacht shell doors market, due to limited presence of shipbuilding manufacturers and sea tourism. However, the rising trade and tourism activities in Gulf Countries is expected to propel the yacht shell doors market growth over the projected period. Rest of the regions, including Latin America and Japan, are expected witness moderate growth in the global yacht shell doors market during the forecasted time period. Request to View TOC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-8865 Yacht Shell Doors: Key Market Players Examples of some of the market participants in the global yacht shell doors market identified across the value chain include: Ocean Group Sea Power Fassmer GmbH & Co. KG Cramm SeaNet SA Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- According to a new research report on the unmanned marine vehicle market, published by Transparency Market Research the global unmanned marine vehicle market is expected to reach value of US$ 1270.89 Mn by 2026, expanding at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2018 to 2026. According to the report, the market is likely to continue to be influenced by a range of macroeconomic and market-specific factors during the forecast period. In terms of demand, Europe is anticipated to be the leading market for unmanned marine vehicles, expanding at a CAGR of 5.6% between 2018 and 2026. This is primarily due to increasing demand for maritime security in coastal areas in Europe. Obtain Report Details @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/unmanned-marine-vehicle-market.html Rising Security-related Threats in Maritime and Coastal Areas Driving the Global Unmanned Marine Vehicle Market The global unmanned marine vehicle market has witnessed strong growth over the last decade. The primary factor driving the market is rising threats in coastal areas across the globe. The defense sector is facing maritime security-related threats including anti-ship and anti-submarine missiles, seabed mines, and submarine warfare. These threats are forcing the defense sector to deploy unmanned marine systems i.e. either underwater or surface vehicles to counter these threats and minimize the human risk. Unmanned marine vehicles are capable to collect data from the ocean floor while keeping humans out of harm's way. These vehicles are able to conduct survey of the ocean and perform different tasks such as ship hull inspection, mine hunting, scientific exploration, and data gathering. These features of unmanned marine vehicles are likely to drive the global unmanned marine vehicle market in the next few years. In addition, defense forces of the U.S., the U.K., France, Russia, and China are investing large amounts in research, development and engineering activities to develop unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) with the latest technologies, which is likely to propel the global market during the forecast period. Request a Sample- https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=59697 The global unmanned marine vehicle market has been broadly segmented in terms of type, application, and region. Based on type, the market has been categorized into unmanned surface vehicle (USV) and unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV). The unmanned surface vehicle segment dominated the global market, holding 81.15% of the market share, in terms of revenue, in 2017. It is expected to expand at a significant CAGR of 5.3% during the forecast period. This is primarily attributable to growing utilization of unmanned surface vehicles in off-shore discoveries and surveys. In terms of application, the global unmanned marine vehicle market has been divided into oceanographic survey, hydrographic survey, environmental monitoring, marine security & defense, marine patrolling, offshore mining, and others. The marine security & defense segment dominated the global market, accounting for a leading i.e. 26.31% share of the market in 2017. The segment is expected to expand at a high CAGR of 5.6% from 2018 to 2026, due to rising concerns about maritime security. Rockville, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- Tubing Heads Market Introduction Tubing heads are the equipment attached to the casing tool which is used to hang the smallest casing string called tubing. It further seals the structure between the tubing and casing. With the help of tubing heads, it is possible to suspend several tubing strings and install blowout prevention equipment. The tubing heads help in well fracturing and allows the completion of the well using a variety of tubing adapters and tubing head hangers. The tubing heads are available in different sizes and shapes compared to the other heads in the conventional wellhead system. The use of tubing heads in the wellhead system is gaining significance owing to the uses of the tubing heads. The tubing heads provide means to test and support the blowout preventers while they complete the well. These attributes make it a necessary component of the wellhead system when it comes to the drilling and completing the well. Get Free Exclusive Sample Copy of This Report @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=2604 Tubing Heads Market Dynamics The need for tubing heads for well completion and drilling is expected to grow significantly in the assessment period. The demand growth would contribute to the profit of manufacturers in the tubing heads market. The alliances and partnerships between major oil companies and the tubing heads market players is expected to boost the market of tubing heads. The market is expected to showcase tremendous growth potential with the strategic moves implemented by the tubing heads market players. The increasing application of tubing heads in the oil and gas industry is gaining momentum lately, owing to which the tubing heads market is expected to grow significantly. Tubing Heads Market Segmentation The tubing heads market report provides a segmentation analysis of the market to showcase the key segments of the tubing heads market. By studying the segment, the readers and market players can attain necessary inputs that help evaluate the most profitable segment. The tubing heads market is segmented on the basis of type and application. On the basis of type, the tubing heads market is segmented into TC-ET, TCM-ET, and TC-60-ET. The tubing heads market is broken down in two segments when it comes to segmentation on the basis of application, including oil and gas and others. With the major demand from the oil and gas industry, the tubing heads market report covers the application segment to evaluate the scope of the segment. Tubing Heads Market: Geographical Overview The regional analysis of the tubing heads market helps to assess the geographical spread of the market. The analysis further assists in recognizing the promising regional segments to give an overview of the profitable and emerging regions in the future. The report on tubing heads market covers the analysis with respect to the production and consumption of tubing heads in the global market. On the basis of production, the report provides key inputs for regions including China, United States, Japan, Europe, and others. Request for table of content (TOC) on this report visit: https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=T&rep_id=2604 The consumption scenario of tubing heads is, however, evaluated by the report with the inclusion of regions and countries such as North America, Canada, United States, Mexico, China, Asia-Pacific, India, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, Thailand, Philippines, Germany, Europe, France, Russia, Turkey, Central & South America, Italy, UK, Middle East & Africa, GCC Countries, South Africa, Egypt, rest of Europe, rest of South America, and rest of Middle East & Africa. Tubing Heads Market: Major Players in the Market The key participants in the tubing heads market are involved in various strategic actions to outgrow their business. The research report on tubing heads market discusses the activities of the major players in the market. The report highlights the key developments of the tubing heads market players. The report includes the major players in the market such as TechnipFMC, CCSC, Worldwide Oilfield Machine, Wellhead Solutions Ltd, Kingsa Industries, SNLEE, Weir Group, Integrated Equipment, Shanghai Jefa Machinery, Delta Corporation, Tiger Valve Company, and GE Oil & Gas. For more information on this report, please visit: https://www.factmr.com/report/2604/tubing-heads-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 FactMR 11140 Rockville Pike Suite 400 Rockville, MD 20852 United States Email: sales@factmr.com Web: www.factmr.com/ Read Industrial News : http://insiderstribune.com/ Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- Smart Classroom Market - Snapshot Smart classrooms are technologically advanced classrooms that provide opportunities for smart learning and teaching by integrating advanced solutions and products, such as specialized learning and teaching software, assistive listening devices, student response management solutions, etc. Rapid developments in the field of IT and communication are opening up cost-effective and simpler ways to deliver education. Moreover, advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and cloud computing has introduced new avenues for educational institutions to teach and engage their students. Rising smart city initiatives by governments is also compelling educational institutes to adopt digital solutions to provide enhanced education to students. Get THe Sample Report : https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=55122 smart classroom industry The global smart classroom market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 8.5 % during the forecast period 2018-2026. The market is expected to reach 109,660.3 Mn in 2026. The smart classroom market is primarily driven by government initiatives to offer digital education to students. Governments of several countries are increasingly engaging in providing digital education in schools and other educational institutions. Besides providing broadband facilities, governments are also encouraging educational institutions to offer e-learning courses. For instance, FutureSchools@Singapore, an initiative by the government of Singapore, provides high-end technology and digital content to schools of Singapore. Furthermore, as per the 2018 budget, the government of Singapore plans to spend about US$ 12.8 Bn in 2018 on the education sector in order to provide better quality education to students. Thus, rise in investments in the education sector and increase in number of government initiatives supporting digital education are some of the factors driving the smart classroom market globally. The smart classroom market is segmented by component, end-use, and region. By component, the market has been segmented into hardware, software, and services. Based on hardware, the market has been bifurcated into Interactive Whiteboard (IWB)/flat panel, digital display, smart projector, and others. Digital display segment and IWB/flat panel segment are expected to hold more than 50% of the total market share. Smart projector segment is further divided into ultra-short throw projectors, short throw projectors, and standard throw projectors. On the basis of software, the global smart classroom market is segmented into learning management software, student response software, classroom management & assessment software, distance learning software, and others. Learning management software segment is expected to have higher adoption rate among end-users during the forecast period. Services segment is further bifurcated into professional services and managed/outsourced services. Based on end-use, the market has been segmented into early education, K-12 education, higher education, language education, and vocational education. Revenue data is estimated for all the above mentioned segments. The smart classroom market is also bifurcated on the basis of various regions into North America, Europe, South America, Middle East & Africa, and Asia Pacific. North America is projected to hold the dominant share in the global smart classroom market during the forecast period.This is majorly due to presence of leading players in this region. Middle East & Africa and South America are witnessing limited adoption of smart classrooms as compared to other regions. However, growing investments of governments to offer smart education is expected to offer healthy growth to the market during the long term forecast period. Companies are majorly focusing on increasing their customer base by providing services in untapped markets. Governments that have stringent policies and regulations regarding digital educationare helping the market players by providing them an opportunity to offer their products and solutions. This in turn will strengthen the market share globally.Trend of leading players acquiring technology start-ups is also seen in the market. Merger and acquisition strategy will help companies to enhance their customer base and generate new revenue streams. The global smart classroom market comprises large number of multinational companies providing a range of comprehensive services and solutions to end-users. These companies include Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, Microsoft Corporation, Dell Inc., Fujitsu Ltd, and IBM Corporation. Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- Supercapacitors (also known as ultracapacitors), a type of capacitor, are energy storing components which have advanced features in comparison to conventional capacitors (electrolytic and ceramic capacitors), such as high energy density, faster charging and discharging, high power density, etc. A supercapacitor is made of electrodes, covered with a layer of activated carbon for increasing its surface area, and an electrolyte which acts as the separator or the dielectric, when compared to a convectional supercapacitor. Technological advancements have led to the introduction of two more types of supercapacitors, i.e. pseudo-capacitors and hybrid capacitors. Since their inception, due to the mixed features of a Li-ion battery and a supercapacitor, a high demand for hybrid capacitors is being witnessed in the market. Supercapacitors have applications across various industry verticals, especially in electronics, automotive and transportation, and energy and power. In addition to this, continuous research and development is under process for further enhancing the features of the product. Owing to this, graphene-based supercapacitors have also been launched in the market, which possess higher charge holding capacity when compared to hybrid capacitors. The market has witnessed considerable traction in the past, and is further expected to witness a boom during the forecast period. The global supercapacitors market is expected to grow from US$ 908.1 Mn in 2018 to US$ 5,529.2 Mn by 2028, expanding at a CAGR of 19.8% in terms of revenue during the forecast period (2018-2028). In this report, the global supercapacitors market is tracked in terms of value, and is calibrated to obtain the market revenue estimates. However, the high costs associated with the product and lack of awareness and resources in some countries, globally, and a higher preference for Li-ion batteries across some industry verticals are some of the major challenges that hamper the growth of the supercapacitors market. To understand and assess the demand and opportunities in this market, the report is categorically split into four major sections, namely, market analysis by type, by application, by vertical, and by region. Get Sample Copy of Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1293 On the basis of type, the market is segmented into electrical double layer capacitors (EDLC), pseudo-capacitors, and hybrid capacitors. The EDLC segment is expected to dominate the market throughout the forecast period, and enjoy a market share of 74.9% and 67.0% in 2018 and 2028, respectively. On the basis of application, the market is segmented into consumer electronic devices, automobiles, grid stabilization, trains, locomotive systems (cranes and elevators), aircraft, and others. Consumer electronics is expected to dominate the market in the majority duration of the forecast period. The automobiles segment is expected to overtake the consumer electronics segment in the latter half of the forecast period, owing to the high CAGR associated with it. The automobiles segment is expected to grow from US$ 199.4 Mn in 2018 to US$ 1,673.2 in 2028. On the basis of vertical, the market is segmented into automotive and transportation, industrial, electronics, energy and power, military and defense, aerospace and aviation, and others. The automotive and transportation segment is expected to dominate the market throughout the forecast period, and enjoy a market share of 29.0% and 39.1% in 2018 and 2028, respectively. The section market analysis by region, includes an in-depth country level analysis of all global regions, namely, North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, SEA and Others in Asia Pacific, Japan, China, and MEA, by product type, by printing technology, by industry, and by country; and provides market data in terms of value for 2018-2028. In 2017, the market in North America dominated the overall global supercapacitors market (given Asia Pacific is considered separately as three regions, i.e. China, Japan, and SEA and Others of APAC), while the fastest growing region in the market is China. North America is further expected to hold a majority of the market share in 2028 as well. The key players reported in this study on the global supercapacitors market are Maxwell Technologies, KEMET Corporation, Eaton, AVX Corporation, CAP-XX, Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Nippon Chemi-Con, Ioxus Inc, Panasonic Corporation, Blue Solutions, YUNASKO, VINATech Co., Ltd., FastCAP, LS Mtron, and Tecate Group In January 2017, Maxwell Technologies signed an agreement with CRRC-SRI for localizing its ultracapacitor manufacturing in China, for the energy bus market. This partnership enabled the company to compete more effectively in the Chinese bus market. Need more information about Report Methodology ? @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-1293 In April 2017, KEMET Corporation acquired NEC TOKIN Corporation, to add two additional manufacturing sites in Thailand and Japan, and a production center in Japan. In addition to this, the company added an additional product in its product portfolio, i.e. electric double layer capacitors (supercapacitors). In April 2018, CAP-XX launched thin 3V supercapacitors for enhancing the data collection and transmission process, and for replacing batteries facing issues in delivering the power required for the same. Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- Smart Pill Technologies is the use of advanced methods for the preparation of prescription pills which has revolutionized patient monitoring, diagnosis of diseases and improved drug delivery. Smart pill technologies is the converging link between digital technology and healthcare industries. These smart pills have many benefits other than providing signals and alerts when consumed. By programming the pill accordingly, it can trigger a reminder according to the remainder time whenever the pill needs to be consumed. It can alert the physician, patient, medical staff or the caretaker when the medicine has been consumed which will help in accurate documentation of patient compliance or adherence. It can also provide alerts if the pill hasn't been consumed on a timely routine since multiple medications need to be taken by a large number of patients. Physicians do a good job of triangulating medications with their patients, since new additions/OTC medications are not routinely documented. So with the use of smart pill technology, the data collected can further be of assistance by identifying potential drug-drug interactions, errors in dosage, schedule errors and help identify/prevent adverse events. Pills can also turn to be useful in sending alert signals when medicines are past their expiry date.Patients on medications such as antibiotics can be monitored and alerted to complete their course to ensure that drug resistance is not encountered. Smart Pill Technologies Market: Drivers and Restraints The Smart pill technologies market is a flourishing market and has tremendous opportunities in future. The market has a wide scope in the monitoring and diagnosis of diseases. The rising prevalence of Gastro-intestinal diseases is acting as the major driver in the market. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2015, it is currently estimated that about 1 1.3 Mn people suffer from IBD in the United States. Prevalence of Crohn's disease is 201 per 100,000 adults and Ulcerative colitis is 238 per 100,000 adults. Also the changing lifestyle related syndromes and disorders will further boost this market. Likewise the increasing disposable income to avail the evolving innovative technologies in the market will further help in penetration of the developed as well as developing countries. Request Sample Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1151 The rising geriatric population will also act as a driver since this segment of population is more prone to IBD, Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that by 2050 world's geriatric population count will reach around 2 Bn which will definitely contribute to the rapid growth of this market. The chronic therapy monitoring can help in curtailing health care costs as well. To illustrate: the smart pill technology combination of an ambulatory monitoring with anti-thrombolytic drug can reduce the number of physicians visits and ensure that anti-thrombolytic therapy is adjusted remotely while ensuring compliance. Even so, all technological advancements of this segment come with some caveats. Barriers to technology such as age, cost and utility, pose challenges which the manufacturers should attempt to overcome. While customizability is the feature of smart pill market, it can also prove to be a hindrance and can be very cumbersome since it would be difficult to manufacture according to individual consumer needs. Furthermore, adaptability is also a point of concern and these parameters can thus act as a restraint in the market. Smart Pill Technologies Market: Segmentation The Smart pill technologies market is classified on the basis of application, disease indication and geography. Based on application, the global smart pill technologies market is segmented into the following: Capsule Endoscopy Small Bowel Video Capsule Endoscopy Colon Capsule Endoscopy OMOM Capsule Endoscopy Platform Small Bowel Capsule Endoscopy Controllable Capsule Endoscopy Storable Capsule Endoscope Colon Capsule Endoscope pH Capsule Wireless Monitoring System ImpedancepH Monitoring System MiroCam Upgraded MiroCam and Advanced Capsule Endoscope The ANKON MCE System CapsoCam Drug Delivery Patient monitoring of cancer Based on disease indication, the global smart pill technologies market is segmented into the following: Occult GI Bleeding Crohn's Disease Small Bowel Tumors Celiac Disease Inherited Polyposis Syndromes Smart Pill Technologies Market: Overview The smart pill technologies has recently entered the market and is rapidly penetrating the developed as well as developing countries. The growing demand and escalating adoption rate for monitoring and treating diseases by newly advanced technologies has given an impetus to the global smart pill technologies market. In the last few years the market has seen high percentage of acceptance towards usage due to non-invasiveness, better patient accessibility and thorough monitoring. Capsule endoscopy accounted for the highest revenue in 2014. The first capsule endoscope model, which is now regarded as a first-line tool for the detection of abnormalities of the small bowel, was the PillCam SB. It was approved in Japan in April 2007. GI monitoring application segment is expected to register fastest growth in the forecast period, amongst all other segments. In the coming years, global smart pill technologies market will witness significant developments in innovation of a wide range of new products that will require novel marketing approaches. The smart pill technologies market is currently underpenetrated and in its nascent stage of development. Although the maximum revenues are generated by the developed countries, it is also observed that CAGR in the developing countries are high. The reason for the growth in the CAGR can be attributed to the increasing awareness in the latest innovative testing methods and the continuously improving economic conditions. Smart Pill Technologies Market: Region-wise Outlook On the basis of geography, Global Smart pill technologies market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. North America and Europe collectively accounted for the largest market share in the overall smart pills technology market, in 2014. North America accounted for about half the share of market revenue in 2014. The growth in this region is primarily attributed to the early adoption of novel technologies, a large patient population, high disposable incomes and the fresh marketing and commercializing of smart pill products. Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a remarkable CAGR for smart pills technologies market due to increasing healthcare awareness. Request to View TOC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-1151 Smart Pill Technologies Market: Key Players Key players in the global Nucleic Acid Testing market include CapsoVision, Inc., Given Imaging, Inc., Medimetrics S.A. de C.V., Olympus Corporation, and Bio-Images Research Limited, IntroMedic Inc., Chongqing Jinshan Science & Technology Group Co. Ltd., Proteus Digital Health Inc., Novartis AG, and Philips Healthcare. Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/27/2019 -- Allergies is the most common reason for sinus problems. Another common cause of sinusitis is that of dry nose. Dry nose leads to congestion, thickened mucus and worsened sinusitis. Some of the common causes for excessive mucus formation in the upper respiratory tract include, allergies, infection and excessive heat leading to dry nose, sinusitis and other similar problems. One of the earliest records for the use of sinus irrigation systems is found in the ancient Hindu practice of Ayurveda. It was customary to perform jala-neti daily for maintain nasal hygiene. Sinus irrigation can effectively relive symptoms of both chronic and acute sinusitis caused by upper respiratory tract infections such as cold and allergic rhinitis. Sinus irrigation systems are used for flushing the nasal cavity to sooth inflamed tissue and remove allergens and mucous. The Neti pot is the most common type of sinus irrigation systems. It relies on gravity and the head position for the rinsing of the sinus cavity. The Neti pot type of sinus irrigation systems have a long spout attached near the bottom with a handle on the other end. A number of squeeze bottle type of sinus irrigation systems are also available. Similarly, bulb syringe type of sinus irrigation systems are available and are popularly used for infants and children. Some of the latest designs of sinus irrigation systems are motorized and are driven either by electricity or may be battery powered. Request Sample Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-7684 However there are a number of precautions that is required during the use of sinus irrigation systems. For an instance, the water used for sinus irrigation must be distilled, sterile or boiled. Another important factor that may negatively impact the use of sinus irrigation systems is not properly cleaning the device regularly. Unsafe water and unclean pots and devices may lead to increasing infections and result in worsening the sinusitis symptoms. Sinus Irrigation Systems Market: Drivers and Restraints- Sinus Irrigation Systems market witnessing the maximum growth in near future owing to increase in patient pool globally. The increased number of allergy cases and the rise in flu and common cold are the major drivers for the growth of the sinus irrigation systems. Low cost and easy portability of Sinus Irrigation Systems make it most suitable to be used in homecare settings. The availability of electric units that make it easier to use in clinics as well as home setting further allows the market to have potential growth during the forecast period. Sinus Irrigation Systems Market: Segmentation On the basis of type of product, Sinus Irrigation Systems market can be segmented as: Manual Sinus Irrigation Systems Neti Pots Squeeze Bottles Bulb Syringes Electric Sinus Irrigation Systems Battery Powered Sinus Irrigation Systems On the basis of the end user, the Sinus Irrigation Systems market can be segmented as: Hospitals ENT clinics Homecare Settings Sinus Irrigation Systems Market: Overview Global Sinus Irrigation Systems market is expected to gain significant growth rate over the forecast period. Sinus Irrigation Systems is expected to gain high demand in forecast periods due to increasing in patient pool. The increasing patient pool worldwide is mainly due to rising cases of allergy related inflammation and sinus issues that is driving the growth of global Sinus Irrigation Systems market. However the risk of infections is high and may overall hinder the growth of the Sinus Irrigation Systems market. Sinus Irrigation Systems Market: Region-wise Outlook In terms of geography, Sinus Irrigation Systems 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 Sinus Irrigation Systems market due to the rise in per capita expenditure on healthcare and technological advancement. Western European countries such as Germany, France, and the U.K. are top revenue contributing courtiers in Western Europe. The Asia Pacific excluding China and Japan Sinus Irrigation Systems market is expected to expand at fastest growth rate over the forecast period due to increasing local players and fast and increasing adoption of sinus irrigation practice. China is the one of the important revenue contributing country in global Sinus Irrigation Systems market due to the availability of cost-effective Sinus Irrigation Systems and large patient pool in the region. Request to View TOC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-7684 Sinus Irrigation Systems Market: Key Market Participants Example of some market players participants in global Sinus Irrigation Systems market identify across the value chain are Neilmed Pharmaceuticals Inc., Medtronic Plc., Air Liquide Medical Systems, Medstar Co. Ltd., Sinh2ox Health & Care, Heal Force, Bremed Ltd., CHAMMED, RhinoSystem, Inc., WelbuTech, among others. Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- Global Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs Market: Overview This report on the rheumatoid arthritis drugs market analyzes the current and future scenario of the global market. Rise in geriatric population, high prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis, and increase in patient preference for biological origin drugs are major drivers of the global rheumatoid arthritis drugs market. The rheumatoid arthritis drugs market report comprises an executive summary, which includes a market synopsis that provides information about various segments of the market. It also provides information and data analysis of the global market with respect to the segments based on drug type, distribution channel, and geography. A detailed qualitative analysis of drivers and restraints of the market and opportunities has been provided in the market overview section. Additionally, the section comprises competitive matrix and company profiles with business overview in order to understand the competitive landscape in the market. This section of the report also provides market attractiveness analysis, in terms of geography, and market share analysis by key players, thus presenting a thorough analysis of the overall competitive scenario in the global rheumatoid arthritis drugs market. Request A Sample Copy @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=2011 Global Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs Market: Key Segments The global rheumatoid arthritis drugs market can be segmented based on rheumatoid arthritis drug type, distribution channel, and geography. Furthermore, in terms of drug type, the market can be divided into disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, and biologic response modifiers (Biologics). The biologics segment is likely to account for a leading share of the global rheumatoid arthritis market during the forecast period, owing to wide usage of these drugs in moderate to severe disease condition. Based on distribution channel, the market can be segmented into hospital pharmacy, retail pharmacy, and online pharmacy. The market size and forecast for each of these segments have been provided for the period from 2017 to 2026, along with their respective CAGRs for the forecast period from 2018 to 2026, considering 2017 as the base year. Global Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs Market: Regional Outlook Based on geography, the global rheumatoid arthritis drugs market has been categorized into five major regions, and the key countries in the respective region are: North America (U.S. and Canada), Europe (U.K., Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Rest of Europe), Asia Pacific (India, China, Japan, Australia & New Zealand, and Rest of Asia Pacific), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, and Rest of Latin America) and Middle East & Africa (South Africa, GCC countries, and Rest of Middle East & Africa). The market size and forecast for each of these regions and the mentioned countries have been provided for the period from 2018 to 2026, along with their respective CAGRs for the forecast period from 2018 to 2026, considering 2017 as the base year. The research study also covers the competitive scenario in these regions. Request Brochure @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=2011 Companies Mentioned in Report The report also profiles major players in the global rheumatoid arthritis drugs market based on various attributes such as company overview, financial overview, product portfolio, business strategies, and recent developments. Major players operating in the global rheumatoid arthritis drugs market include Pfizer, Inc., Novartis AG, Sanofi S.A., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Merck & Co., Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, and Eli Lilly and Company. 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 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 Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/27/2019 -- Real-Time Bioprocess Raman Analyzer is a vibrational spectroscopic technique used to analyze the crystal structure and molecular vibrations. Real-time Bioprocess Raman analyzers are used to measure metabolic and nutrient concentration in bioprocess in real-time by using the single probe. Raman spectroscopy is most promising real-time process analytical technologies in biopharmaceutical production. It allows measuring both quantity and quality of chemical compounds in the liquid where conventional methods fail to measure. Real-time bioprocess Raman analyzers are used to measure gas, liquid, solids substance and provide real-time quantification measurement for glutamine, glucose, lactate, glutamate, ammonium, viable cell density, osmolality, total cell density and cell viability. Real-time bioprocess Raman analyzers consist of following components: light source, fibre optical Raman probe, spectrograph, detector, optical fibre cable and others. Real-time bioprocess Raman analyzers allow the usage of the optical fibre to measure the distance and immersion probe helps to analyze the liquid medium. This makes real-time bioprocess Raman analyzer more superior in analyzing bioprocess components and concentration changes than MIR and NIR. Request Sample Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-6912 Real-Time Bioprocess Raman Analyzer Market: Drivers and Restraints Raman spectroscopy is used to provide the molecular fingerprint of bioprocessing and biomedical analysis. Along with this, rapid advancement of technologies enabled the usage of Raman spectroscopy in analyzing chemical compounds in biopharmaceutical companies. Other factors like changing government regulations to improve the quality of pharmaceuticals has led to the positive growth of real-time bioprocess Raman analyzers. For example, FDA launched a PAT initiative to encourage the biopharmaceutical manufacturers to adopt the new technologies. Real-time bioprocess Raman analyzers are used to monitor multiple components in cell culture medium and help in the simultaneous prediction of culture parameters. Simultaneous measurement of chemical components in bioprocess solutions, has lead to an increase in the adoption of Raman spectroscopy by the manufacturers. All these factors act as a potential driver in burgeoning growth of real-time bioprocess Raman analyzer market. A huge cost is incurred in enabling Raman spectroscopy and it has restrained the growth of real-time bioprocess Raman analyzer market. Real-Time Bioprocess Raman Analyzer Market: Segmentation Segmentation based on End User Biopharmaceutical Companies Contract Manufacturing Organizations Research Organizations Others Real-Time Bioprocess Raman Analyzer Market: Market Overview Global Real-Time Bioprocess Raman Analyzer market has witnessed a robust growth due to increasing demand for Raman spectroscopy in providing real-time data. Real-Time Bioprocess Raman Analyzer market has a presence of a few players which have a huge market share in developed countries operating at the country level. There are huge opportunities for the untapped markets across the world due to potential benefits of real-time bioprocess Raman analyzer. The key players in the Real-Time Bioprocess Raman Analyzer market are mainly focused on R&D to accelerate the development due to a limited number of manufactures. The future of Real-Time Bioprocess Raman Analyzer market anticipated with double CAGR during forecasting period. Real-Time Bioprocess Raman Analyzer Market: Region-Wise Overview Global Real-Time Bioprocess Raman Analyzer market is segmented into the following regions - North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific Excluding China & Japan, China, Japan and the Middle East & Africa. North America is dominant in the global real-time bioprocess Raman analyzer market mainly due to the high penetration. In North America, particularly the USA is dominating due to the supportive government regulations. Economic conditions in the APAC region are set to drive the real-time bioprocess Raman analyzer market to new heights. European real-time bioprocess Raman analyzer market is fastest growing region due to high R&D investment in the biopharmaceutical sector. Growth in the Middle East and African region is considerably less when compared to the other regions. However, North America would maintain its position in the real-time bioprocess Raman analyzer market, though, we are anticipating developed economies such as Australia to have the highest growth rate in Real-Time Bioprocess Raman Analyzer market. Request to View TOC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-6912 Real-Time Bioprocess Raman Analyzer Market: Key Participants The key participants in the Real-Time Bioprocess Raman Analyzer market mainly include Kaiser Optical Systems, Inc., Resolution Spectra Systems Inc. and others. Companies are mainly focused on R&D to strengthen product development. Edison , NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- The study covers a detailed analysis segmented by key business segments i.e. by type (Thin Film, Crystalline Silicon and Others) , by application (Residential, Commercial and Utility-Scale) and major geographies. Research Analyst at AMA predicts that Japanese and Chinese Manufacturers will contribute to the maximum growth of Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel market throughout the predicted period. This market research report looks into and analyzes the Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel 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 Photovoltaic Solar Panel Market Report: https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/sample-report/71153-global-photovoltaic-solar-panel-market-1 Major Key Players in This Report Include, Kaneka Corporation (Japan), Kyocera Corporation (Japan), Panasonic Corporation (Japan), Suntech Power Holding Co. Ltd. (China), Sun Power Corporation (United States), First Solar Inc. (United States), Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (China), Canadian Solar Inc. (Canada), Sharp Corporation (Japan), Solar World Ag (Germany) The competition is expected to become even more intense in the coming years with the entry of several new players in the market. To help clients improve their revenue shares in the market, this research study provides an in-depth analysis of the market's competitive landscape and offers information on the products offered by various leading companies. Additionally, this Photovoltaic Solar Panel market analysis report suggests strategies Manufacturers can follow and recommends key areas they should focus on, in order to take maximum benefits of growth opportunities. The regional analysis of Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel 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. For Early Buyers | Get Up to 20% Discount on This Premium Report: https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/request-discount/71153-global-photovoltaic-solar-panel-market-1 The Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel 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. 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 Solar Photovoltaic Panel among Residential Applications 3.2.2. Increase in Government Initiatives and Support 3.3. Market Challenges 3.3.1. Lacking Grid Capacity Posing Hurdle for Set Up of New Plants 3.4. Market Trends 3.4.1. Rising Demand for Double-Sided Solar Panels 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 Photovoltaic Solar Panel, by Type, Application, Grid and Region (value, volume and price) (2013-2018) Get More Information: https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/enquiry-before-buy/71153-global-photovoltaic-solar-panel-market-1 Queensland, Australia -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- Paradise Tours is a renowned tour guiding agency in Australia. It is made up of a passionate team whose goal is to take the tours and vacations experience to the next level. The team offers a number of packages, each having its own unique attributes. This makes every tour package a special one. It also gives their guests a wide range of options to choose from. One only needs to book a reservation once they pick the tour they are interested in. The team takes over from there. On how Paradise Tours has managed to stand strong in the fiercely competitive industry, the spokesperson said, "We not only work towards making our tours a magical experience for our guests. We also work towards making them flexible. This has been our trend from the word go. This helps the guests get comfortable and enjoy the tour experience to the fullest. Our guests know that they can count on us. That is why we go as far as customizing the tour in terms of the duration and activities involved suiting our guests' needs. For instance, in our Lamington national park walks, we have an array of activities where one can opt in or out of any of them." Paradise Tours seems to bring out the fun in their trips in a very outstanding way. They lay out an outline of the activities to be undertaken at a particular tour in good time. They also state clearly the requirements of every tour in particular. Such requirements include age restrictions, the number of guests to undertake a particular tour as well as the places and features to be viewed such as the Mount Tamborine waterfall and other outstanding features. This seems to be a very attractive culture to their guests. This is because they are able to make decisions in good time as well as choose a tour that they are fully comfortable with. The spokesperson further said, "Earning our guests trust has played a big role in getting us to stand strong in this industry. We have earned this trust by always being professional in how we handle all our guests. All of them are important and are part of our family for as long as they are staying with us. This is important as it is reassuring to the gusts that they can rely on us. Finally we always make sure to give our guests good value for their money. This we do by always ensuring that we surpass their expectation by offering even more than we had advertised. That way they never feel as if they never got enough of what they had paid for. This is the case not only with guests who visit Gold Coast, but with all our guests." Paradise Tours seems to be the ideal tour guiding partners for all guests. Their tours seem to be all round. This in terms of what guests get to experience. The agency is not only interested in the fees charged to the guests but also on their welfare as a whole. This is well exemplified by the new forest meditation tour that they are launching. The aim of the tour is to reconnect the guests with nature. It is also meant to create awareness on the tools of nature that can improve their overall health and well-being. About Paradise Tours Paradise Tours is a tour guiding agency which seeks to connect its guests with the real world of tourism. The agency has a number of tours from which a guest can pick from. Every tour is uniquely designed to achieve a particular aim. Contact Details Company : Paradise Tours Address: 5 Lochinvar Ct, Highland Park QLD 4211, Australia. Tel: 061 0429 805 045 Email: info@paradisetours.com.au Website: https://www.paradisetours.com.au Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- Organoids is one of the in-vitro derived 3D cell culture models derived majorly from stem cell or tissue proficient of self-regeneration and simultaneously exhibit organ functionality. Organoids are used in the research of multiple organs and tissue additionally, Organoids derived from self-unifying stem cells which can recapitulate the in-vivo functionally, architecture and genetic markup of original tissue. The application of Organoids in the fields of exploring organogenesis, stem cell biology and human pathologies have further advanced the research and development in the 3D cell culture fields. Some disease causing bacteria are rationally difficult to cultivate in the laboratory, limiting the study potential. For example C. difficile bacteria requires anaerobic conditions, but can survive in an intestine Organoids. Organoids derive from biopsies are allowing scientist to differentiate between the cancer development in various individuals. The presented advancement in market, Organoids an exhilarating new tool for scantiest and researchers. Evidently the prime focus is on the intestine and stomach, nevertheless the procedure is rapidly expanding to other tissue such as brain, breast, liver and gastrointestinal. The advancement in Organoids is anticipated to transform the traditional methods of conducting research, starting from basic understanding to drug discovery and personalized treatments Organoids Market: Drivers and Restraints Simultaneous research on 3D cell culture and Organoids following with increasing research activity in application of Organoids. Is anticipated to fuel the market. Additionally increasing investment from the major firms and research organization and funding, is symbolizing the growth of the Organoids market. The upsurge in the demand for organ transplantation is categorized as the driving factor for growth of the Organoids market owning to the advancement in the stem cell research. Which is estimated to perform as a significant factor backing the demand for Organoids. The utilization of livestock in research and clinical trials is always been a subject of criticism and holds against the animal cruelty policy, nevertheless Organoids tends to hold the prospective to replace an animals utilized in clinical trials and research. The probable advantage of Organoids over lifestock is estimated to play a vital role in impelling the demand for Organoids market. Growing adaptations in biotechnology and laboratories for 3D cell culture technique is directly affecting the growth of the Organoids market. However, high cost associated with development of Organoids culture and requirements of numerous favorable factors is anticipate the restraint the growth of the Organoids market. Request Sample Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-8106 Organoids Market: Segmentation Based on product type, the Organoids market is segmented into: Gut Organoid Hepatic Organoid Neural Organoid Pulmonary Organoid Based on application, the Organoids market is segmented into: Drug Designing Bio-banking Developmental Biology and Toxicology Testing Disease Pathology Others Based on components, the Organoids market is segmented into: Media Reagents Platform Organoids Market: Overview The manufacturers in the Organoids market are primarily focused on extensive research of new treatment regiments involving the utilization of Organoids. The global Organoids market is witnessing a concrete growth reasoning to rising awareness among the researches for the application of Organoids and high attention towards 3D cell culture research. The upsurge in demand of Organoids is primarily rising from developed regions such as North America and Europe due to intensive research on cell cultures and government aids for the research programs. The manufacturers in the Organoids is focused on potential tie us and mergers coupled with growth in development new application for the Organoids. The advantage of Organoids in targeted stem cell research is estimated to offer manufactures a prime advantage to grip on the market competition. Organoids Market: Region-Wise Overview The global Organoids market is segmented into the following regions - North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific Excluding China & Japan, China, Japan and the Middle East & Africa. North America is the leading regional market for Organoids due to growing research on the various cell culture Medias with Organoids in the region. In North America, the U.S. is the dominating Organoids market owing to increasing number healthcare research and bulging research budgets of manufacturers in the country. Europe Organoids market is anticipated to grow considerably owing to inclination towards research associated with organ regeneration. Japan and China is a growing at fast pace due to increasing investment from the manufacturers and availability of resources for the Organoids research. Growth in the Latin America and the Middle East and Africa is considerably low due to lack of research initiatives and technological parity in terms of funding's. Request to View TOC @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-8106 Organoids Market: Key Participants Examples of some of the key participants in the Organoids market are Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Becton Dickinson and Company, Corning Incorporated, and Sigma-Aldrich Corporation., 3D Biomatrix, Inc., 3D Biotek LLC, Reinnervate Ltd, InSphero AG, Global Cell Solutions, Inc., and Lonza Group among others. Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/27/2019 -- The report is prepared with the sole aim of equipping players with industry-best analysis and useful recommendations for securing a top position in the global Omega 3 Gummies market. You can discover high-growth opportunities in the global Omega 3 Gummies market with our exclusive research and assess risk factors to stay prepared for any market challenges beforehand. Our deep segmentation study will enable you to focus on key segments of the global Omega 3 Gummies market and devise effective strategies to take advantage of the growth prospects they create. The report includes a study on Omega 3 Gummies market size by value and volume and gives out critical market figures such as CAGR, market share, Y-o-Y growth, production, consumption, and revenue. The regional analysis provided in the research study offers a complete study on the growth of the global Omega 3 Gummies market in different regions and countries. Readers are also provided with comprehensive competitive analysis, which includes detailed profiling of leading players operating in the global Omega 3 Gummies market. The report has a dedicated section for market dynamics where market influence factors, Omega 3 Gummies market growth drivers, restraints, challenges, trends, and opportunities are broadly discussed. The statistical information provided in the report serves as a powerful tool to get a clear and quick understanding of the Omega 3 Gummies market progress in the past few and coming years. Get PDF template of this report: https://www.qyresearch.com/sample-form/form/1004016/global-omega-gummies-forecast-amp-opportunities Study of Competitive Landscape It starts with an overview of the vendor landscape followed by industry concentration analysis and ranking of key players of the global Omega 3 Gummies market. Under the competitive scenario, our analysts shed light upon the following subjects. - Merges and acquisitions - Investments and expansions - Contracts and agreements - New product launches Major Companies Participated in the Omega 3 Gummies Market Nature's Way Renew Life Rainbow Light Jamieson Nordic Naturals Rexall Sundown Olly Smarty Pants Omega 3 Gummies Market Segmentation by Type Kids Adult Omega 3 Gummies Market Segmentation by Application Digestive Support Immune Support Get Complete Report in your Inbox within 24 hours: https://www.qyresearch.com/request-discount/form/1004016/global-omega-gummies-forecast-amp-opportunities Omega 3 Gummies Market Analysis by Regions and Countries The Middle East and Africa (GCC Countries and Egypt.) North America (the United States, Mexico, and Canada.) South America (Brazil etc.) Europe (Turkey, Germany, Russia UK, Italy, France, etc.) Asia-Pacific (Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Australia.) Objectives of the Research Study - Comprehensively analyzing core competencies and market rankings of key players in the Omega 3 Gummies market - Providing error-free company profiles of key players - Analyzing competitive developments in the global Omega 3 Gummies market - Accurately forecasting the growth of the global and regional markets - Identifying Omega 3 Gummies market opportunities for players as well as stakeholders - Studying the market growth of different segments in terms of Omega 3 Gummies market share, individual growth trends, and other vital factors Table of Contents Overview: The report begins with an overview of the global Omega 3 Gummies market where the authors discuss the scope of products, type and application segments, and regional markets. This section also gives highlights of the Omega 3 Gummies market sizing analysis. Competition by Manufacturers: Here, the analysts provide Omega 3 Gummies production share, revenue share, and average price by manufacturers for the review period 2014-2019. Readers are also provided with details about products, areas served, and production sites of manufacturers. There is another chapter included in this section that brings to light various competitive situations and trends. Production Share by Region: In this section, the gross margin, price, production, and revenue of all of the regional markets studied in the report. Key Players: Each player profiled in the report is assessed for its market growth on the basis of markets served, main business, price, revenue, Omega 3 Gummies market gross margin, production, production sites, areas served, and other factors. Manufacturing Cost Analysis: It includes key raw material analysis, study of manufacturing cost structure, Omega 3 Gummies manufacturing process analysis, and industrial chain analysis. Market Forecast: It includes price and trend forecast, revenue and growth rate forecast, and Omega 3 Gummies production growth rate forecast of the global and regional markets for the forecast period 2019-2025. Important Questions Answered - Are there any growth opportunities for new entrants in Omega 3 Gummies market? - Which players are expected to lead the global Omega 3 Gummies market? - Which segment is anticipated to offer the most number of opportunities? - What are the upcoming applications of Omega 3 Gummies? - How will the Omega 3 Gummies industry develop in the mid to long term? 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 the 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 a brand of quality assurance in the consulting industry. Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- Nanocrystalline cellulose is one of the most emerging renewable nanomaterial which is expected to make huge impact on various end-user industries. Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) or cellulose nanocrystal is extracted from wood biomass and is treated into gel, liquid and solid forms. Raw materials used in the manufacture of nanocrystalline cellulose include pulp, bacteria, wood, potato and sugar beet among others. Acid treatment is the prominent method to used to manufacture nanocrystalline cellulose. However, acetylation and esterification are an alternatives method to achieve the production Cellulose nanocrystal has diameter of approximately 3-5 nm and length of 100-600 nm. Crystallinity in nanocrystalline cellulose is up to or greater than 90%. Nanocrystalline cellulose possesses unique properties such as high aspect ratio, controlled release, good water uptake and up-hold, film formation, strong fiber networks, rheology modifier and biodegradable among others. Moreover, nanocrystalline cellulose has unique electrical optical and magnetic properties. NCC has higher reinforcement potential and has higher tensile strength than glass, aramid and Kevlar. Read Report Overview @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/nanocrystalline-cellulose-market.html The market for nanocrystalline cellulose is expected to be mainly driven by end-user industries such as automotive, drilling fluids, paper processing and paints & coatings among others. In automotive industry, nanocrystalline cellulose based composites can be used in the production of accessories such as cushions, headliners and headlamps. Paper processing is another major outlet for nanocrystalline cellulose. Nanocrystalline cellulose is expected to enhance the fiber bond strength with higher reinforcement on paper materials. Moreover, nanocrystalline cellulose will add higher filler content and better optical properties. In oil & gas industry, nanocrystalline cellulose can be used as viscosifier, rheloogy modifier and thickener in drilling muds. In paints & coatings industry, nanocrystalline cellulose can be used as functional additives to alter rheological properties as well as emulsifier. It can be also used as a stabilizer and thickener in industries such as cosmetics, food and pharmaceutical among others. Due to higher tensile strength nanocrystalline, cellulose can be used in the manufacture of strong and lightweight composites, which can be used in construction, packaging and aerospace industry. In electronic industry, NCC can be used in electronic displays, panels and security papers. In spite of so many applications, threat from substitutes such as microcrystalline cellulose and cellulose ethers coupled with environmental regulations is likely to hinder the market growth over the next few years. North America and Europe are expected to dominate the demand for nanocrystalline cellulose over the forecast period. The U.S. is leading the demand for nanocrystalline cellulose in North America. However, Canada with its forest reserves can have major impact on the nanocrystalline cellulose market in North America. Western Europe is likely to dominate the demand for NCC in Europe owing to demand from paper processing and plastic industry. Northern Europe is expected to be the major producer of NCC in Europe with Finland as the major manufacturing country. Asia Pacific is anticipated to be the major market for nanocrystalline cellulose in upcoming years. China and Japan are projected to drive the demand and production trends in Asia Pacific region. However, India and other Oceanic countries are proposed to show potential opportunities for NCC in near future. Rest of the World is expected to show stable demand for nanocrystalline cellulose. South Africa and South American countries such as Brazil and Argentina are likely to be major producers in RoW region. Request to view Sample Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=6844 Some of the key manufacturers in the nanocrystalline cellulose market are Asahi Kasei Corporation, Borregaard Chemcel, Kemira Oyj, CelluForce Inc. and Daicel Corporation among others. Pune, Maharashtra -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- About the Report The Fact.MR study is a seamless presentation of unique insights on how the knitted fabrics market will expand across the globe during 2018-2027. The utmost objective of Fact.MR report on knitted fabrics market is to provide compelling insights on the demand generating factors, dynamic aspects, key product developments in the market, and overall market scenario of the knitted fabrics market. The report includes the ultimate predictions about growth of the knitted fabrics market in terms of market size (US$ million) and market volume (tons) during the assessment period. Market Structure The Fact.MR report divides the knitted fabrics market into its four broad sub-segments construction type, fabrics type, applications, and regions. Based on the construction types of knitted fabrics, the knitted fabrics market is segmented into two main categories weft knitted fabrics, and wrap knitted fabrics. Based on the fabric types, the knitted fabrics market is segmented into flat/jersey, purl fabric, rib stitch, and interlock. According to the applications of knitted fabrics, the knitted fabrics market is segmented into Agrotech, Buildtech, Indutech, Sportech, Packtech, Meditech, Clothtech, and Geotech. Based on geographical regions, the knitted fabrics market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Japan, Asia Pacific region excluding Japan (APEJ), and the Middle East & Africa (MEA). Request Sample Report @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=2886 Definition Knitted fabrics is a type of elastic textiles that are manufactured by interlocking yarns with the help of a pair of needles. Knitted fabrics can be manufactured by two principal methods weft knitting and warp knitting. Knitted fabrics are generally comfortable, lightweight, and can be made more easily and quickly that woven fabrics, with which they are often used interchangeably. Nearly 50% Market Shares Held by Emerging Players With burgeoning demand for knitted fabrics in the global clothing and textile industry, a mounting number of manufacturers are entering the market to capitalize on lucrative business opportunities. These new market entrants and emerging players collectively account for 45-50% share of the knitted fabrics market. On the other hand, knitted fabrics market leaders are aiming to gain momentum in the clothing and textile industry by enhancing their value chains on two fronts automation and nearshoring. Stagnation in Western markets has consequentially resulted in new players entering the developing markets for knitted fabrics. A mounting number of start-ups in the knitted fabrics market are adopting advanced technologies to introduce innovative fabrics and gain an edge in the knitted fabrics market. In addition, small scale producers in the knitted fabrics market in developing countries are also benefitting from favorable regulations and low labor costs, making their way through the highly-competitive knitted fabrics market. Browse Full Report @ https://www.factmr.com/report/2865/knitted-fabrics-market Notable developments in the knitted fabrics market: A leading Italy-based manufacturer of high-quality knitted fabrics, Luxury Jersey recently announced the launch of two new fabrics for the luxury segment, in partnership with partner Fulgar an Italian producer of man-made fibers. The company used Evo by Fulgar, which is a yarn made from castor oil, in combination with GOTS-certified organic cotton to manufacture these new fabrics. The company also announced that the two new fabrics offer a strong sustainable component in the knitted fabrics market, and can be ideal for women's outwear and sportswear. In February 2018, scientists at Texinov Medical Textiles a French manufacturer of warp-knitted textiles, developed a knitted fabric using laser technology that can be used in treatments for skin diseases such as actinic keratosis, psoriasis, and acne with light. Zaha Hadid Architects and researchers from ETH Zurich a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics University based in Zurich, Switzerland developed double-curved concrete shelled pavilion was made with the help of KnitCrete a 3D-knitted formwork. This framework is claimed to have helped in saving material, waste, and labor for construction by simplifying the construction process for complex shapes. The report provides information about knitted fabrics market structure, key financials, recent competitive developments, and financial share analysis of leading stakeholders in the knitted fabrics market. The companies featured in the report include Guilford Mills, Gehring Tricot Corporation, Rebtex Inc., Macra Lace Company, Clover Knits, SAS Textiles, Damodar Menon International Pvt Ltd., Krishna Overseas, Jason Mills LLC, and William J Dixon Inc. Speak To Research Analyst for Detailed Insights @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=AE&rep_id=2886 State-of-the-Art Technologies Sought-after among Digitization-driven Knitted Fabrics Manufacturers Increasing growth of the textile industry has resulted in creating more lucrative opportunities, thereby attracting new players to enter the industry. This is leading to intensifying the competition in the knitted fabrics market. Leading manufacturers are launching more innovative and high-quality products using next-generation manufacturing technologies to bring a new dynamic to the knitted fabrics market. Increasing adoption of state-of-the-art technologies to bolster manufacturing of custom seamless knitwear apparels is becoming increasingly palpable in the knitted fabrics market. Market leaders are completely digitizing their entire production processes to further enhance their business productivity and efficiency. Technological assets, such as physical simulation software, 3D printing technology, and 3D design software, are likely to prevail over traditional manufacturing processes soon in the knitted fabrics market. Vulnerability to Damages Prevailing Cost-intensive Concern for Knitted Fabrics Market Players Knitted fabrics have been deemed more prone to damage than their woven alternatives, thereby compromising the utilization efficiency of of the fabric in various applications. Needle malfunction, mismanagement of machinery, or improper care during the fabric dyeing processes, are some of the aspects that increase the risk of damage during knitted fabrics construction In addition, improper manual handling of knitted fabrics and inspection cuts lead to forcing manufacturers to keep an extra buffer for such damages. This is one of the leading causes behind high overall fabric costs, which is ultimately creating challenges for stakeholders to mitigate production costs. Thereby, unavoidable spending on knitted fabric management and machine maintenance prove to be costly challenges for knitted fabrics market players to tackle with. Increasing use of high-tech medical textiles in healthcare applications is creating numerous lucrative opportunities for manufacturers in the knitted fabrics market. Leading market players are likely to adopt next-generation manufacturing technologies to offer knitted medical textiles that can suit various requirements of medical applications in the upcoming years. Knitted Fabric Sales Spur as Manufacturers Emphasize Technical Performance Owing to their soft hand-feel and characteristics to offer a perfect fit to the clothing, knitted fabrics find more demand and maximum applications in nightwear and lingerie collections. Manufacturers in the knitted fabrics market are adopting advanced printing technologies to further enhance the texture and flexibility of knitted fabrics to suit the modern requirements in the nightwear clothing segment. Apart from the offering knitted fabrics with rich feel, leading players in the knitted fabrics market are concentrating on improving performance characteristics of knitted fabrics. Manufacturers are likely to alter their manufacturing processes to offer better performance characteristics of knitted fabrics, such as resistance to washing and rubbing, functional comfort, and significant saving on energy and greenhouse emissions, to expand the scope of knitted fabric applications beyond lingerie and nightwear segment. Additional Questions Answered The Fact.MR report presented the latest information on knitted fabrics market, which can help market players to get the hang of prominent growth prospects of the market. The information compiled in the knitted fabrics market report can serve as a highly credible source for the readers, which can help them to understand historical and forecast data of the knitted fabrics market. The report on knitted fabrics market also addresses some additional market-related questions about the growth trajectory of knitted fabrics market, which can help readers to make value-based decisions and gain a competitive edge in the knitted fabrics market space. The report also helps reading by answering queries about growth prospects of the knitted fabrics market, which can help them to plan appropriate strategies for future while entering the knitted fabrics market. Some of the important questions about the knitted fabrics market that are focused on in the report include What are the most common strategies adopted by leading manufacturers in the knitted fabrics market in developed regions? What is the impact of statistics of the global textile industry on growth of the knitted fabrics market? Which technologies are being used by most manufacturers in the knitted fabrics market? Which factors are driving market players to invest heavily in the knitted fabrics market in the Asia Pacific region? What are the challenges and restraints that are influencing growth prospects of the knitted fabrics market? Research Methodology The Fact.MR report provides readers with exclusive predictions about the historic and recent development in the knitted fabrics market for the period 2018-2027. A unique methodology is followed while conducting a thorough research about the knitted fabrics market to conclude the growth prospects of the market. The information featured in the Fact.MR report is acquired by following a unique and in-depth secondary and primary market research on growth parameters of the knitted fabrics market. Secondary research on the knitted fabrics elucidates the historical industry-validated data, facts and information about the knitted fabrics market. Primary research is carried out to assess growth prospects of the knitted fabrics market, where market players, including manufacturers, industry experts, distributors, suppliers, and investors, in the knitted fabrics market are interviewed. The insights on knitted fabrics market included in the research study have been subjected to authentication and validation of data by seasonal experts and industry giants. The unique research methodology followed in the knitted fabrics market report represents a robust approach to gauge the parameters portraying growth aspects of knitted fabrics market over the forecast time period. 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/ Read Industry News at https://theswisstimes.com 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/ Read Industry News at - https://theswisstimes.com Harrisburg, NC -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/27/2019 -- GLOBAL Lime MARKET SIZE, STATUS AND FORECAST 2019-2025 studies the latest industry trends, market development aspects, market gains, and industry scenario during the forecast period. The report provides the details related to fundamental overview, development status, latest advancements, market dominance and market dynamics. Global Lime Market Analysis Report includes top Manufacturers- CARMEUSE, United States Lime & Minerals, CHENEY LIME & CEMENT COMPANY, Lhoist, Linwood Mining & Minerals, Pete Lien & Sons, Mississippi Lime Company, Valley Minerals, Graymont Limited along with their company profile, growth aspects, opportunities, and threats to the market development. This report presents the industry analysis for the forecast timescale. An up-to-date industry details related to industry events, import/export scenario, market share is covered in this report. Inquire for free sample copy at https://www.marketinsightsreports.com/reports/02201101623/global-lime-market-insights-forecast-to-2025/inquiry?source=releasewire&Mode=3 GLOBAL Lime MARKET CATEGORISED ON BASIS OF TYPES, APPLICATIONS AND REGIONS Global Lime Market: Type Segment Analysis Quick Lime Hydrated Lime Global Lime Market: Applications Segment Analysis Cement Manufacturing Metal Manufacturing Water Treatment Flue Gas Treatment Fertilizer Pulp & Paper Others REGIONAL ANALYSIS FOR Lime MARKET: For comprehensive understanding of market dynamics, the global Lime market is analyzed across key geographies namely: United States, Europe, China, Japan, Other Regions. Each of these regions is analyzed on basis of market findings across major countries in these regions for a macro-level understanding of the market. We Offer 15% Customization on the Report covering additional 3 countries or 3 Companies in the report + We also offer FREE POST SALES SUPPORT FOR 6 MONTHS from the date of Purchase of the report The report has 119 tables and figures browse the report description and TOC: https://www.marketinsightsreports.com/reports/02201101623/global-lime-market-insights-forecast-to-2025?source=releasewire&Mode=3 PIVOTAL BENEFITS OF Lime MARKET REPORT The Lime report provides an in-depth evaluation of market driving factors and the growth limitations. Individual market revenue of main territories in every region is portrayed in this report. It consists of a comprehensive analysis of recent research and technological and clinical developments occur in the market. Leading players of Lime market and their commercial growth in recent years is conferred in the report. AVAILABLE CUSTOMIZATIONS Customize given market data, according to the companys specific needs. Data information by region, company, type and application Detailed analysis and profiles of additional market players. Regional and country-level analysis of the Lime market, by end-use Connect to Our Sales Team at (sales@marketinsightsreports.com) About MarketInsightsReports MarketInsightsReports provides syndicated market research on industry verticals including Healthcare, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Technology and Media, Chemicals, Materials, Energy, Heavy Industry, etc. MarketInsightsReports provides global and regional market intelligence coverage, a 360-degree market view which includes statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations. Contact Us: Irfan Tamboli (Head of Sales) - Market Insights Reports Phone: + 1704 266 3234 | +91-750-707-8687 sales@marketinsightsreports.com | irfan@marketinsightsreports.com Sellbyville, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/27/2019 -- The LATAM Frozen Bakery Market will surpass USD 5.7 billion by 2024; according to a new research report by Global Market Insights, Inc. Rising economic growth resulting in an expansion of disposable income of the Colombian population has resulted in a vast increase in modern retail space across the country. This would further augment the demand for frozen bakery products in the coming years. The expansion of restaurant chains and fast food outlets are a key component of the sector's growth. According to the Colombian Chamber of Commerce, there were 32,000 restaurants registered in Bogota in 2016, the majority of which were fast-food outlets like Subway, Burger King, and McDonald's. This growth would further increase the demand for frozen dough as the products is widely used in these outlets. Request for sample copy of this Report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2962 Increased fluctuations in the energy costs could hinder the LATAM frozen bakery market growth during the forecast timeframe. Most of the edible items are perishable and requires preservation for long duration storage. Minimal temperatures reduce biological activity from bacteria and other microorganisms which are responsible for food decaying. Freezing is the only solution for storage of perishable edible products in longer run. As major fuel consumption takes place in freezing, storage, and cryogenic logistical requirements, fluctuations in energy cost would significantly affect the frozen bakery operations. In terms of volume, bread segment will be accounted for more than 63% of the overall LATAM frozen bakery market by 2024 owing to the increasing consumption of bread in the region. Significant consumption of bread across in all bakery products will positively influence the LATAM frozen bakery market. On the basis of product, ready-to-prove products will show the decent growth of more than 3% in forecast timeframe. This is all owing to surge in the usage of ready-to-prove products by artisan bakers in Mexico and Colombia. Rising number of artisanal bakers in the region will increase the consumption of ready to prove products in next seven years down the line. Hotels, restaurants, and catering (HORECA) captured close to 20% volume share of end-user base in 2017. Government initiatives to promote Mexico as a tourist destination has also led to an increase in the number of restaurants and hotels in the country. These restaurants sell a variety of bakery products include cakes, pastries, snacks, etc. Thus, developments in the restaurant industry in the country will drive product demand for use in HORECA during the forecast period. Based on country, Colombia will show the positive growth with more than 6% CAGR in forecast period. Advancement in different retail channels across the country will be crucial factor behind the frozen bakery market growth in Colombia. The increasing number of restaurants and hotels in the country has also led to sharp increase in the consumption of bakery products such as pastries, cakes, etc. These trends will propel the Colombia frozen bakery market by 2024. Inquiry before buying @ https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2962 The major LATAM frozen bakery industry players are General Mills, Groupo Bimbo, BredenMaster, and Europastry. The industry ecosystem of LATAM frozen bakery witnesses strong supply chain of frozen dough supply to key end-users. Additionally, strategic mergers & acquisitions and new product development plays a key role across the industry's value chain. Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/27/2019 -- ResearchMoz include new market research report "Global Coil Coating Market Insights, Forecast to 2025" to its huge collection of research reports. Coil Coating is a high performance liquid coating applied to metal strip. It contains base material, Cross linking agent, pigment filled agent, additives and volatile component. Generally, it can be divided into primer coat, back paint and top coat. Coil Coating industry belongs to a part of the chemical field and it also new type of chemical fields, so the industry was offered the state policy and financial support. It needs much more research on the Coil Coating product, the performance of the product abroad is better than the developing countries. Request For sample Copy of this research to evaluate more: https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=2126184 Currently, many companies in the world can produce coil coating product, mainly concentrating in Europe and USA. The main market players in USA are AkzoNobel, PPG Industries, Valspar, etc. The sales of coil coating will increase from 200 K MT in 2013 to 243 K MT in 2017, with an average growth rate of 4.4% This report researches the worldwide Coil Coating 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 Coil Coating 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. The following manufacturers are covered in this report: AkzoNobel PPG Industries Valspar NIPSEA Group Beckers KCC Actega(Altana) Axalta Dura Coat Products Daikin Titan Coating KelCoatings Srisol Unicheminc Shanghai Huayi Fine Chemical Henkel Get more information from Table of Content: https://www.researchmoz.us/global-coil-coating-market-insights-forecast-to-2025-report.html/toc Coil Coating Breakdown Data by Type Polyester Coil Coating Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) Coil Coating Polyurethane (PU) Coil Coating Plastisol Coil Coating Others Coil Coating Breakdown Data by Application Coated Steel Metallic Coated Steel Aluminum Products Coil Coating Production Breakdown Data by Region United States Europe China Japan Other Regions Make An Enquiry @ https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=2126184 The study objectives are: To analyze and research the global Coil Coating capacity, production, value, consumption, status and forecast; To focus on the key Coil Coating manufacturers and study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in next few years. To focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis. To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region. To analyze 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 analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments. To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the market. To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market. To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies. For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2018 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered. About ResearchMoz 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. For More Information Kindly Contact: ResearchMoz Mr. Nachiket Ghumare, Tel: +1-518-621-2074 USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948 Email: sales@researchmoz.us Follow us on LinkedIn @ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Blog: https://newmarketsize.blogspot.com Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/27/2019 -- A new business intelligence report released by HTF MI with title "Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Global Market Research and Forecast, 2015-2025" has abilities to raise as the most significant market worldwide as it has remained playing a remarkable role in establishing progressive impacts on the universal economy. The Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Global Market Report offers energetic visions to conclude and study market size, market hopes, and competitive surroundings. The research is derived through primary and secondary statistics sources and it comprises both qualitative and quantitative detailing. Some of the key players profiled in the study are Google(US), Apple(US), HERE Maps(FI), Aisle411(US), Broadcom(US), IndoorAtals(FI), Senion(SE), Acuity Brands(ByteLight)(US), Wifarer(CA), Microsoft(US), Cisco Systems(US), Skyhook(TruePosition)(US), Insiteo(US), Shopkick(US), Ekahau(US), Ericsson(SE), Point Inside(US), Qualcomm(US), Zonith(DK), Navizon/Accuware(US), Locata Corporation(AU), Ubisense(UK), Meridian(US), Sensewhere(UK), TRX Systems(US), Rtmap(CN), URadio Systems(CN), Huace Optical-communications(CN). Free Sample Report + All Related Graphs & Charts @ : https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/1647707-indoor-location-by-positioning-systems-global-market Market Overview of Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Global If you are involved in the Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Global industry or aim to be, then this study will provide you inclusive point of view. It's vital you keep your market knowledge up to date segmented by Applications [Offices and Commercial Buildings, Government, Public Safety and Urban Security, Healthcare, Travel and Hospitality, Aviation, Academia and Education, Oil, Gas and Mining, Manufacturing, Distribution and Logistics], Product Types [Network-Based Positioning System, Independent Positioning System, Hybrid Positioning System] and major players. If you have a different set of players/manufacturers according to geography or needs regional or country segmented reports we can provide customization according to your requirement. This study mainly helps understand which market segments or Region or Country they should focus in coming years to channelize their efforts and investments to maximize growth and profitability. The report presents the market competitive landscape and a consistent in depth analysis of the major vendor/key players in the market. Furthermore, the years considered for the study are as follows: Historical year 2013-2017 Base year 2018 Forecast period** 2018 to 2023 [** unless otherwise stated] **Moreover, it will also include the opportunities available in micro markets for stakeholders to invest, detailed analysis of competitive landscape and product services of key players. The titled segments and sub-section of the market are illuminated below: The Study Explore the Product Types of Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Market: Network-Based Positioning System, Independent Positioning System, Hybrid Positioning System Key Applications/end-users of Indoor Location by Positioning Systems Global Market: Offices and Commercial Buildings, Government, Public Safety and Urban Security, Healthcare, Travel and Hospitality, Aviation, Academia and Education, Oil, Gas and Mining, Manufacturing, Distribution and Logistics Top Players in the Market are: Google(US), Apple(US), HERE Maps(FI), Aisle411(US), Broadcom(US), IndoorAtals(FI), Senion(SE), Acuity Brands(ByteLight)(US), Wifarer(CA), Microsoft(US), Cisco Systems(US), Skyhook(TruePosition)(US), Insiteo(US), Shopkick(US), Ekahau(US), Ericsson(SE), Point Inside(US), Qualcomm(US), Zonith(DK), Navizon/Accuware(US), Locata Corporation(AU), Ubisense(UK), Meridian(US), Sensewhere(UK), TRX Systems(US), Rtmap(CN), URadio Systems(CN), Huace Optical-communications(CN) Region Included are: US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Russia, France, Rest of Europe, China, Japan, India, Korea, Australia, Southeast Asia, Rest of Asia & Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa Enquire for customization in Report @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/1647707-indoor-location-by-positioning-systems-global-market Important Features that are under offering & key highlights of the report: Detailed overview of Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - market Changing market dynamics of the industry In-depth market segmentation by Type, Application etc Historical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and value Recent industry trends and developments Competitive landscape of Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - market Strategies of key players and product offerings Potential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growth A neutral perspective towards Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - market performance Must-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprint Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/1647707-indoor-location-by-positioning-systems-global-market Major Highlights of TOC: Chapter One: Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Global Market Industry Overview 1.1 Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Industry 1.1.1 Overview 1.1.2 Products of Major Companies 1.2 Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Market Segment 1.2.1 Industry Chain 1.2.2 Consumer Distribution 1.3 Price & Cost Overview Chapter Two: Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Global Market Demand 2.1 Segment Overview 2.1.1 APPLICATION 1 2.1.2 APPLICATION 2 2.1.3 Other 2.2 Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Global Market Size by Demand 2.3 Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Global Market Forecast by Demand Chapter Three: Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Global Market by Type 3.1 By Type 3.1.1 TYPE 1 3.1.2 TYPE 2 3.2 Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Market Size by Type 3.3 Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Market Forecast by Type Chapter Four: Major Region of Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Market 4.1 Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Global Sales 4.2 Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Global Revenue & market share Chapter Five: Major Companies List Chapter Six: Conclusion Buy the Latest Detailed Report @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=1647707 Key questions answered - Who are the Leading key players and what are their Key Business plans in the Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Global market? - What are the key concerns of the five forces analysis of the Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Global market? - What are different prospects and threats faced by the dealers in the Indoor Location by Positioning Systems - Global market? - What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors? Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia. Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- Transparency Market Research (TMR) delivers key insights on the global pharmaceutical cartridges market in its published report, titled "Global Pharmaceutical Cartridges: Global Industry Opportunity Assessment, 2018 - 2026". In terms of revenue, the global pharmaceutical cartridges market is estimated to expand at a CAGR of 3.2% during the forecast period, owing to numerous factors, about which TMR offers thorough insights and forecasts in this report. The global market for pharmaceutical cartridges is segmented by material type and capacity type. On the basis of material type, the global pharmaceutical cartridges market is segmented into glass and plastic. The glass segment is further segmented into Type I, Type II, and Type III glass type. The plastic segment is segmented into cyclic olefin copolymer (COC), cyclic olefin polymer (COP), polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). pharmaceutical cartridges market Request a Sample of Pharmaceutical Cartridges Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=39854 On the basis of capacity type, the global pharmaceutical cartridges market is segmented into below 5ml, 5-50ml, 50-250ml and above 250ml capacity. This report assesses trends driving the growth of each market segment on the global level and offers potential takeaways that could prove substantially useful for value chain business partners looking to enter the Pharmaceutical Glass Packaging market. The North America pharmaceutical cartridges market includes country-level analysis for the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. pharmaceutical cartridges market is projected to witness a growth of 1.2x over the forecast period. The Latin America pharmaceutical cartridges market includes country-level analysis for Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Rest of Latin America. The Brazil pharmaceutical cartridges market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 4.3% by the 2026 end. The Mexico pharmaceutical cartridges market is anticipated to represent highest incremental $ increase during the forecast period. The Middle East and Africa (MEA) pharmaceutical cartridges market includes country-level analysis for GCC, South Africa, North Africa and Rest of MEA pharmaceutical cartridges market. The growth of the MEA region is particularly expected to be driven due to increasing number of pharmaceutical companies in the region. The government in various the African nation are majorly focusing on pharmaceutical industry. They have imposed various norms that restricts the import of pharmaceutical drugs from other region of world. This factor encourages global pharmaceutical drug manufacturers to expand their footprints and establish their plant in the region and also results in creating demand for the pharmaceutical packaging products. The pharmaceutical industry in the Africa region is expected to be more than US$ 35 billion in the year 2019, and is expected to create demand for the pharmaceutical packaging products in the region. Get The Sample of This Report : https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=39854 The APEJ pharmaceutical cartridges market includes country-level analysis for China, India, Japan, ASEAN, South Korea, Australia & New Zealand and Rest of APEJ. The APEJ pharmaceutical cartridges market represents the most lucrative geographic region. In the region, China leads in terms of both production and consumption of pharmaceutical cartridges. Also, India and ASEAN countries represent substantial total incremental opportunity during the forecast period. The global manufacturers are capitalizing on increasing healthcare expenditure in the Asia Pacific region. In this report, we have discussed individual strategies followed by companies in terms of enhancing their product portfolio, creating new marketing techniques, mergers and acquisitions. The 'Competitive Landscape' is included to provide report audiences with a dashboard view and company share collectively. Key players operating in the global market for pharmaceutical cartridges include Schott AG, Gerresheimer AG, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Stevanato Group, SGD Pharma, Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, Pierrel group and Transcoject Gmb Rockville Pike, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- According to the latest study by Fact.MR, over 360 kilotons of glyoxal will be consumed in 2019 globally with a projected annual growth of 3.8% over 2018. Overall growth of the glyoxal market can be attributed to, Glyoxal to be used as an aldehyde substitute across end-user industries Development of biodegradable glyoxal formulations in tandem with the sustainability trend Versatility of glyoxal and its extensive application in multiple end-user industries ranging from textile to oil & gas "Due to glyoxal's divergent properties, the chemical compound is highly explored as a crosslinking agent in wood, textile and paper industries; as a sulfur scavenger and biocide in oil and gas applications and as an effective co-biocide agent in disinfection applications used in veterinary and health sectors. As glyoxal fits well in the sustainability trend, it is likely to become an important chemical intermediate for end-user industries in the future," says Fact.MR. Request For Sample Report- https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=880 Textile Industry Accounted for Over 51% of Glyoxal Consumption in 2018 According to the study, buoyancy in the textile industry will be beneficial for glyoxal market wherein over 51% of the global glyoxal is consumed by the textile industry. With the rapidly expanding urbanization and urban consumers spending more on high-standard clothing, the textile industry profitability is projected in the future. With consumers demanding non-woven, soft and wrinkle-free clothing, utilization of glyoxal in the textile and apparel sectors is likely to increase in the coming years. However, with the advent of synthetic fibers, in the long run, application of glyoxal in the textile industry is estimated to decline. Nearly 27% of the glyoxal consumption was held by the paper & packaging industry in 2018. Glyoxal finds an extensive application as a crosslinker in the paper & packaging industry. Glyoxal is readily biodegradable and according to Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and the U.S. FDA, glyoxal is categorized as an accredited chemical substance which can be used in paper for food packaging applications. Browse Full Report on Glyoxal Market with in-depth TOC- https://www.factmr.com/report/880/glyoxal-market The study finds that the utilization of glyoxal in the personal care industry remains considerably lower. Glyoxal has been traditionally used as a synthetic preservative in the personal care ingredients and cosmetics. However, formaldehyde-releasing chemical compounds have been assessed for their harmful effects on skin and have been categorized as a carcinogen. Despite the use of glyoxal as an alternative to formaldehyde, the personal care and cosmetic industry's increasing preference for natural ingredients is likely to reduce glyoxal utilization in the industry. Oil and gas industry is another important end user landscape for glyoxal market wherein glyoxal is increasingly used in the oil extraction and enhanced oil recovery processes. Also, glyoxal is used as a sulfur scavenger in the gas sweetening applications. The oil production activities are growing in developed and developing countries, thereby providing opportunities for glyoxal manufacturers. Ask Our Industry Expert for more details on this report- https://www.factmr.com/report/880/glyoxal-market Nearly 80% of Glyoxal to be Consumed as a Crosslinking Agent in 2019 Application of glyoxal as a crosslinking agent has remained traditional across multiple end-user industries and the status-quo is expected to continue in the future. According to the study, nearly 80% of the global glyoxal was consumed as a crosslinking agent. Glyoxal provides a comprehensive crosslinking solution for a wide range of polymers such as starch, polyacrylamide, cellulose, proteinaceous material and polyvinyl alcohols. As manufacturers continue to invest more in R&D for the development of biodegradable glyoxal, its application as a crosslinking is likely to grow in the future. The study opines that Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) accounted for over half the global glyoxal consumption in 2018 and the status-quo is expected to continue in the future with a 5.2% y-o-y growth in 2019. Of the regional consumption, China consumes over half the glyoxal, especially East China. The Pearl River Delta (PRD) region is known for the production of glyoxal from the oxidation of aromatics. North America and Europe registered the second largest consumption of glyoxal and collectively they consumed over one third of the global glyoxal in 2018. The Fact.MR study provides a comprehensive analysis of the growth prospects and developments in the glyoxal market during the period 2018-2027. The glyoxal market is projected to grow at 4.2% volume CAGR through 2027. To Buy Glyoxal Market Report, Check- https://www.factmr.com/checkout/880/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 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 - https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/27/2019 -- The demand within the global market for surgical mesh has been rising on account of key developments in the field of medical surgery. Surgical meshes have been used in the field of surgery and invasive treatments for several decades. However, recent advancements in the manufacture of surgical meshes has led to the development of unique and improved devices. Hence, the contemporary-day market for surgical mesh is projected to expand at a boisterous rate in the years to come. Furthermore, the advent of new and improved practices within medical surgery has also played the part of propelling market demand. The aggrandized disposition of the medical fraternity is expected to generate huge-scale revenues in the medical sector. This factor shall in turn aid the growth of the global market for surgical mesh. There is also a possibility of surgeons deeming surgical meshes as an indispensable part of surgical procedures. A report added by Research Moz (Rmoz) on the global market for surgical mesh is a descriptive account of the trends, opportunities, and restraints pertaining to this market. The title of the report is "Surgical Mesh - Medical Devices Pipeline Assessment, 2019". Get a Sample PDF: https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=2100111 Surgical meshes support body organs during surgeries and invasive treatments, and these meshes are made up of biological as well as inorganic materials. The utility of surgical meshes are the primary reason behind the growth of the global market. Furthermore, the surgical department across medical facilities is allocated the highest amount of funds which also enhances the prospects of market growth. There is an onus upon surgeons to inform the medical centers about the most apt and essential surgical tools and instruments. Since surgical meshes are approved and acclaimed by medical professionals, the demand within the global market for surgical mesh is projected to increase in the years to come. The report on the global market for surgical mesh exemplified several drivers of market demand. It creates a basis to understand the factors that have opened avenues for market growth. A regional analysis of the global market for surgical mesh sheds value on the prominent trends pertaining to this market. On the basis of geography, the global market for surgical mesh is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. The market for surgical mesh in North America is projected to expand at a stellar rate as better surgical procedures become popular across the US and Canada. Some of the key vendors in the global market for surgical mesh are making ardent efforts to foster growth. There is also a possibility of multiple alliances being formed in the global surgical mesh. These vendors have become immensely driven towards establishing their strongholds in the global market. About ResearchMoz ResearchMoz is the world's fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMoz's service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators. Contact Us: Mr. Nachiket Albany NY - 12207 United States Tel: +1-518-621-2074 Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free) Email: sales@researchmoz.us Rockville, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- Automotive cabin insulation highly relies on noise, vibration and harness (NVH) design of an automobile. The overall automotive cabin insulation is precisely intended for making the ride quality smooth for the occupants of the automobile. The automotive cabin insulation and refinement is part of the NVH design quality. The automotive cabin can be made silent by close analysis of the NVH transfer paths. The cabin refinement and the engine capacity are the major design elements considered for Cabin Insulation Market. Request Brochure of this Report- https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=B&rep_id=2425 Automotive Cabin Insulation Market: Dynamics The key driving factor the global automotive cabin insulation market include constantly growing populations, which have resulted in increased demand for premium, as well as non-premium vehicles, and SUVs across all major developing economies. The macroeconomic factors, such as growing urbanization & industrial activities coupled with up gradation of living lifestyle and an increase in demand for luxury and comfort vehicles in many countries, is further augmenting the sales of automotive cabin insulation. The significant increase in sales of hybrid, as well as electric vehicle owing to the rise in the awareness, regarding carbon footprint reduction is highly anticipated to drive the global automotive cabin insulation market. Moreover, considerable growth in the Asian & European automotive sector and technological advancement in traditional automotive cabin insulation will create a significant opportunity for the global automotive cabin insulation market. Furthermore, the upsurge in the quality of insulation material utilized for the automobile is highly anticipated to boost the demand for automotive cabin insulation. As automotive cabin insulation is designed to minimize the noise & vibration and provide ideal comfort for the occupant, automotive cabin insulation is gaining huge recognition across all regions. All the above mentioned major influencing factors are highly anticipated to drive the global automotive cabin insulation market over the forecast period. The key restraining factor, such as high cost of insulation material may hinder the global automotive cabin insulation market growth over the forecast period. To know more about the Automotive Cabin Insulation Market Visit the link- https://www.factmr.com/report/2425/automotive-cabin-insulation-market Polyurethane automotive cabin insulation material is estimated to account for a significant market share over the forecast period. The prime advantages associated with polyurethane is high tensile strength, superior abrasion and bearing resistance, water and oil resistance, short production lead time, and noise captivation, making polyurethane an ideal choice for manufacturing automotive cabin insulation. On the other hand, among vehicle type segment, the passenger cars are anticipated to see rapid market growth over the forecast period, attributed to increasing vehicle production along with growing demand for premium vehicles. Automotive Cabin Insulation Market: Regional Outlook Based on geographies, the global automotive cabin insulation market is segmented into seven regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, CIS & Russia, Japan, APEJ (the Asia Pacific excluding Japan) and MEA. Among the above-mentioned countries, APEJ is estimated to account for a significant market share due to increased production of passenger cars and electric vehicles in countries, such as China, India, Indonesia and Australia. Europe is anticipated to witness a high growth in the global automotive cabin insulation market owing to the presence of top automobile manufacturing companies. Moreover, Middle East & Africa is projected to showcase steady growth in the global automotive cabin insulation market due to the rise in the sale of premium cars along with a boost in the standard of living across the region. North America is one of the key maturing regions that will generate generous opportunity in the global automotive cabin insulation market over the forecast period due to the rise in electric and hybrid vehicles. Automotive Cabin Insulation Market: Prominent players Prominent players for the global automotive cabin insulation market are BASF SE, The Dow Chemical Company, 3M, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Covestro AG, DuPont, Toray Industries, Inc. Huntsman International LLC, Sika AG, LyondellBasell and other key market players. The automotive cabin insulation market consists of well-diversified global and regional players with the global vendors ruling the market. The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the automotive cabin insulation 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 automotive cabin insulation market report provides analysis and information according to market segments such as geographies, application and industry. Request TOC of this Report- https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=T&rep_id=2425 About FactMR FactMR 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 Us FactMR 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 - https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/27/2019 -- Persistence Market Research (PMR) has published a new research report titled "FoodService Packaging Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2017 2025." The report states that food service packaging is expected to witness an increment in it demand owing to the growing number of fast food chains across the globe and the inclination of consumers towards quick food services. An upsurge in the overall consumption of products across the globe has factored the price hikes on packaged goods. Diversity in demand for packaging solutions comes to play a key role for classifying the products on the basis of their function in protecting the goods and their appearance-enhancing attributes. The global packaging industry remains at the cusp of miscellany with a wide range of packaging formats congregated across multiple applications. Owing to this, the global food service packaging market is expected to witness a CAGR of 5.3% over the course of the forecast period. A sample of this report is available upon request @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/22354 Concern over Hygiene and Consumer Convenience to be Core Driving Factors Influencing Market Growth Consumers across the globe are gradually concerned about the hygiene related to the packaging of their food and are opting for food products that are convenient to carry. A large chunk of foodservice disposables are a one-time use and recyclable. As these products are mainly made of plastic and foam, they help reduce food contamination and also maintain food hygiene. Furthermore, these are most cost effective as compared to non-disposable foodservice products. The aforementioned properties are boosting the adoption of foodservice disposables by food service operators. Disposable foodservice products are lightweight and can hold both hot and cold beverages and food, which is further expected to fuel market growth. Asia Pacific to Surge Ahead of all Regions Owing to the growing number of food chains in the region, the demand for food service packaging is also expected to rise at a substantial rate. The growth of the market in the region can also be attributed to the growing disposable income of people in the region and also their inclination towards fast food services. The sedentary and hectic lifestyle of people in the region has also impacted their eating habits, thus impelling them to order food online or order a takeaway from restaurants. As a result, the demand for food service packaging has risen substantially and is expected to stay the same in the coming years. Companies Look Forward to Product Quality Enhancement The companies operating in the market are focusing on product differentiation and quality enhancement in order to retain their consumer base. The run to make the products attractive and hygienic is impelling manufacturers to invest in structured R&D initiatives. Some of the companies operating in the global foodservice packaging market are Dart Container Corporation, Georgia-Pacific LLC, Anchor Packaging Inc., D&W Fine Pack LLC, Gold Plast SpA, Berry Global Group Inc., and DOpla S.p.A. To view TOC of this report is available upon request @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/methodology/22354 Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- Transparency Market Research (TMR) has published a new report titled, "Fertility Testing Devices Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 20182026". According to the report, the global fertility testing devices market was valued at US$ 420 Mn in 2017, and it is projected to expand at a CAGR of more than 5% from 2018 to 2026. Rise in awareness toward fertility testing and increase in infertility rates are projected to drive the global market during the forecast period. North America and Europe are anticipated to dominate the global fertility testing devices market in the next few years owing to the rise in obesity, improvement in technology, and rise in trends of POC testing. The fertility testing devices market in Asia Pacific is expected to expand at a rapid pace from 2018 to 2026. This is attributed to the increase in population, increase in awareness about fertility testing, and high usage of the testing devices in developed countries such as Japan and Australia. The market in Asia Pacific is projected to expand at a CAGR of between 5% to 6% from 2018 to 2026. Increase in infertility rate to drive global market Increase in infertility rate across the globe is a major factor that is estimated to fuel the global fertility testing devices market during the forecast period. Rise in obesity and fertility-related problems such as PCOS is expected to propel the global market during the forecast period. Furthermore, delayed child bearing due to financial instability, technological advancements in fertility testing devices, and increase in awareness toward fertility testing primarily in developing countries are other factors that are likely to drive the market during the forecast period. However, ever-increasing cost of fertility testing devices, reluctance to undergo fertility testing in several developing countries, and lack of awareness are some factors that are likely to restrain the global fertility testing devices market during the forecast period. Request a Sample of Fertility Testing Devices Market: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=18689 Ovulation prediction kit segment to dominate global fertility testing devices market The report offers detailed segmentation of the global fertility testing devices market based on product type, gender, distribution channel, and region. In terms of product type, the fertility testing devices market has been segmented into ovulation prediction kits, male fertility testing kits, fertility monitors, and others. The fertility monitors segment has been further sub-segmented into saliva-based monitors and urine-based monitors. The ovulation prediction kits segment is expected to account for a leading share of the global market during the forecast period. Higher share held by the segment is attributed to easy availability of the kits via OTC and online sales. Based on gender, the global market has been classified into female and male fertility monitoring devices. The female monitoring devices segment is expected to expand at a rapid pace during the forecast period, owing to increase in fertility related problems in females. Based on distribution channel, the global market has been segregated into drug stores and pharmacy, gynecology and fertility clinics, e-commerce, and others. The drug stores & pharmacy segment dominated the global market, accounting for more than 40% share in 2017, due to the rise in OTC sales, and trending POC testing of fertility. Asia Pacific market to expand rapidly In terms of region, the global fertility testing devices market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America held a major share of the global market, in terms of value, in 2017. It is projected to dominate the market during the forecast period. The market in the region is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of between 4% to 5% from 2018 to 2026. Rise in awareness about fertility testing, increase in rate of infertility, and easy usage of the systems are likely to drive the market in the region during the forecast period. Europe is projected to follow North America, in terms of share of the global fertility testing devices market, by 2026. The market in the region is anticipated to expand at a significant CAGR from 2018 to 2026. Rise in infertility rates and high health care spending are expected to fuel the market during the forecast period. Request Brochure of Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=18689 The fertility testing devices market in Asia Pacific is anticipated to expand at a rapid pace from 2018 to 2026. The market in the region is likely to expand at a CAGR of more than 5% during the forecast period. Increase in population, rise in prevalence of fertility-related problems such as PCOS, increase in awareness toward fertility testing, and rise in rates of invitro-fertilization are expected to boost the market in the region. Australia, Japan, India, and China are highly lucrative markets for fertility testing in Asia Pacific. The market in China is expected to expand at a notable CAGR during the forecast period due to rise in population and availability of inexpensive prediction kits in the country. The fertility testing devices market in Latin America is projected to expand at a steady pace from 2018 to 2026. Investment by major players is anticipated to propel the market in the region. Key players Key players in the global market are adopting strategies such as mergers and acquisitions, technological developments, and geographic expansion in order to capture significant market position. Major players operating in the global fertility testing devices market include Church & Dwight Co., Inc., bioZhena Corporation, Geratherm Medical AG, SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH, Emay (HK) Limited, Alfa Scientific Designs, Inc., Piramal Enterprises Ltd, Ava Science Inc., and Hilin Life Products. About Transparency Market Research Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a U.S.-based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMR's global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations. Contact us: Transparency Market Research 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany NY - 12207 United States Tel: +1-518-618-1030 USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453 Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com Website: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- Chemisorption analyzers are automated laboratory equipments with the ability to conduct precise chemical adsorption and temperature programmed reaction l Reaction studies. The chemisorption analyzers are used to reveal the information about the surface construction and the chemistry of the catalytic material. The chemisorption analyzers selectively estimate the active surface of the elements where molecules are proficient for generating a chemical bond with the adsorptive gas. The volume of the gas, also with the understanding of the reaction stoichiometry, is used for calculating the metal dispersion, size of crystallites, active surface area, and the surface acidity. There is increasing demand for the chemisorption analyzer owing to the information that it provides for better understanding of the chemical performance of the catalyst. This information found by the chemisorption analyzer is useful in improving and enhancing the production and the design of the material. High need for characterization of catalyst is boosting the growth of the market The demand of the chemisorption analyzers is increasing rapidly as the chemisorption analyzers allows the scientists to determine, characterize the catalyst. Along with that, the physical properties of the catalyst support a variety of other materials which are used in synthetic chemical reactions. Also, with the help of chemisorption analyzer, the investigators can investigate active metal surface acidity, surface area, strength and distribution of active sites, BET surface area, and others. Also, there is increasing demand for the chemisorption analyzers for determination of the fuel quantity and in the energy industries. Get Sample Copy of Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-8976 Increasing need for determination of enzymes is boosting the growth of chemisorption analyzer market The demand for clean and green fuels is increasing rapidly, and the nickel, Cobalt, and iron catalysts are the crucial components used for clean energy generation processes. Thus, for determination of the physical and the chemical properties of the enzyme, the chemisorption analyzers are widely used all over the globe. Along with that, the catalysts are used in various applications from the production of customer merchandises to the protection of the environment. Efficient utilization and optimal design of catalysts require a throughout information of the surface chemistry and surface structure of the active material. These factors are efficiently contributing to the growth of the chemisorption analyzers market during the forecast period. Chemisorption Analyzer Market: Segmentation The global chemisorption analyzer market has been segmented on the basis of product type, end use, and region. The segmentation on the basis of product type: Dynamic flow chemisorption analyzer High pressure chemisorption analyzer The segmentation on the basis of end use: Chemical Industry Research and Development Chemisorption Analyzer Market: Company Landscape Some of the prominent key players in the global chemisorption analyzer market are Micromeritics Instrument Corporation, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Kunash Instruments Pvt. Ltd., Quantachrome Instruments., IEEE GlobalSpec, Poretech, Quantachrome Instruments, and GatScientific Sdn Bhd. Request to Browse Full Table of Content, figure and Tables @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-8976 Chemisorption Analyzer Market: Regional Overview On the basis of geography, North America is expected to capture significant share in chemisorption analyzer market. Owing to the developments of science and the technology in the region, increasing industrial developments, also the availability of the raw materials. Thus, the growth of in North America is expected to witness at high CAGR during the forecast period. The major share of North America is followed by Europe, here countries such as Germany, UK contribute significantly to it. Europe is estimated to hold a significant share in the chemisorption analyzer market, due to the increasing economic stability and the research facilities, developments in the chemical industries in the region. The Asia Pacific Excluding Japan is also expected to grow during the forecast period in chemisorption analyzer market. The countries in the Asia Pacific Excluding Japan such as China and India are emerging countries which are major producers of chemicals. Japan and Middle East Africa are expected to grow at moderate CAGR during the forecast period. Some of these factors are efficiently fuelling the growth of the chemisorption analyzer market across the globe. New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/27/2019 -- A new market assessment report on Cast Polymers market provides a comprehensive overview of Cast Polymers industry for the forecast period 2018 - 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 Cast Polymers market for the forecast period, 2018 - 2026. Request for Sample Copy of Cast Polymers Market Report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/sample-enquiry-form/10557 Scope of the Report: This industry assessment for the forecast period, 2018 - 2026 incorporates projections pertaining to the investment feasibility, gross margin, profits, consumption volume, production capability and major market vendors. Likewise, statistics associated with the competitive landscape, shifting consumer behaviour and spending power is showcased and well-explained with the help of treasured resources such as charts, graphs and graphic images, which can be easily incorporated in the business or corporate presentations. Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers: Cosentino, DuPont, Caesarstone, Cambria, Compac, VICOSTONE, Santa Margherita, Hanwha L&C, LG Hausys, Lotte Advanced Materials, Wilsonart Engineered Surfaces, Formica, Cimstone, Kuraray, Diresco, Aristech Surfaces, Agglonord, Stone Italiana, Technistone, EOS Surfaces, California Crafted Marble, Central Marble Products, US Marble, Lehigh Surfaces, Aurora Stone, AGCO, Chuanqi Compound Stone, Bitto, CXUN, MEGANITE Market split by Type, can be divided into: - Solid Surface - Engineered Stone - Engineered Composites Market split by Application, can be divided into: - Kitchen Countertops - Facades - Flooring - Bathroom - Others Major Regions play vital role in Cast Polymers market are: - North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) - Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Spain etc.) - Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and Southeast Asia etc.) - South America Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Chile etc.) - Middle East & Africa (South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia etc.) Buy Cast Polymers Market Report@ https://www.marketexpertz.com/checkout-form/10557 Subject matter experts conducting the study also take a closer look at the products at their development stage and in the pipeline to help business owners conclude on the business strategies that can lower their cost and promise great returns or profits. Strong emphasis on new launches, acquisition and mergers, collaboration, import and export status and supply chain management empowers the business evangelists, manufacturers and business owners build a robust strategy when it comes to making an investment. 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. Extensive data on market segmentation: The Cast Polymers Market report divides the market of potential buyers into different groups, or segments/sub segments, based on various characteristics. The segments and sub segments identified contain buyer who are expected to respond or react similarly to certain products and services. The report further finds out consumers who share traits including similar expectations, interests, geography and needs. The segmentation sheds light on how some customers are likely to purchase a product or service than others to enable marketers allocate their focus as well as resource. Estimating the potential size of the Cast Polymers industry Industry experts conducting the study further estimate the potential of the Cast Polymers 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 Cast Polymers market for a particular product or a service for the forecast period, 2018 to 2026 covered in the report makes it valuable. This information reveals the upper limit of the Cast Polymers industry for a specific product or service. The research provides answers to the following key questions: - What is the estimated growth rate and market share and size of the Cast Polymers market for the forecast period 2018 - 2026? - What are the driving forces in the Cast Polymers market for the forecast period 2018 - 2026? - Who are the prominent market players and how have they gained a competitive edge over other competitors? - What are the market trends influencing the progress of the Cast Polymers industry worldwide? - What are the major challenges and threats restricting the progress of the industry? - What opportunities does the market hold for the prominent market players? Read More @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/industry-overview/cast-polymers-market There are 10 Chapters to deeply display the Cast Polymers market. Chapter 1 covers the Cast Polymers Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force; Chapter 2 talks about the top manufacturers and analyses their sales, revenue and pricing decisions for the duration 2018 and 2026; Chapter 3 displays the competitive nature of the market by discussing the competition among the top manufacturers. It dissects the market using sales, revenue and market share data for 2018 and 2026; Chapter 4, shows the global market by regions and the proportionate size of each market region based on sales, revenue and market share of Cast Polymers, for the period 2018- 2026; 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 New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/27/2019 -- The latest report Atomizing Copper Powder Market discusses everything a business owner needs to know about the Atomizing Copper Powder market for the forecast period, 2018 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 Atomizing Copper Powder Market Report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/sample-enquiry-form/12470 Scope of the Report: The research methodologies used for evaluating the Atomizing Copper Powder 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 Atomizing Copper Powder market are: Kymera International, Pometon, Fukuda Metal Foil & Powder, Gripm Advanced Materials, Chemet, Pound Met, GGP Metal Powder, SCHLENK, Shanghai CNPC Enterprise, Changsung Corporation, Tongling Guochuan Electronic Material, Anhui Xujing Powder New-material, Mitsui Kinzoku, SMM Group, SAFINA Materials Market split by Type, can be divided into: - <100 Mesh - 100-200 Mesh - 200-300 Mesh - 300-400 Mesh - >400 Mesh Market split by Application, can be divided into: - Metallurgy Industry - Chemical Industry - Electronic Materials - Diamond Tools Market segment by Region/Country including: - North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) - Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Spain etc.) - Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and Southeast Asia etc.) - South America Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Chile etc.) - Middle East & Africa (South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia etc.) Buy Atomizing Copper Powder Market Research Report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/checkout-form/12470 Estimating the potential size of the Atomizing Copper Powder industry: Industry experts conducting the study further estimate the potential of the Atomizing Copper Powder 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 Atomizing Copper Powder market for a particular product or a service for the forecast period, 2018 to 2026 covered in the report makes it valuable. This information reveals the upper limit of the Atomizing Copper Powder industry for a specific product or service. 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 Atomizing Copper Powder market for the forecast period 2018 - 2026? What will be the market share and size of the industry during the estimated period? - What are prime factors expected to drive the Atomizing Copper Powder 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 Atomizing Copper Powder market? - What are the key challenges expected to restrict the progress of the industry for the forecast period, 2018 - 2026? - What the opportunities product owners can bank on to generate high profits? There are 10 Chapters to deeply display the global Atomizing Copper Powder market. - 1 Atomizing Copper Powder Market Overview - 2 Global Atomizing Copper Powder Market Competition by Manufacturers - 3 Global Atomizing Copper Powder Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018) - 4 Global Atomizing Copper Powder Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2018) - 5 Global Atomizing Copper Powder Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type - 6 Global Atomizing Copper Powder Market Analysis by Application - Continue Read More @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/industry-overview/atomizing-copper-powder-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 Rockville Pike, MD -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- Airlines are adopting aircraft cleaning chemicals to keep aircrafts' surface clean, and free from dust and other unwanted particles. Aircraft cleaning chemicals are widely available in the market today, in the form of specialty solvents, detergents, surfactants, degreaser, aircraft washes, polishes, and varied paint strippers, and have gained traction in recent time, owing to the growing awareness about the importance of cleaner surroundings. To get a free Sample Copy of Report, Visit @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=2990 Green Product Development & Operation Cost-Cutting - Core Strategy Adopted By Manufacturers To capitalize on the growing demand for aircraft cleaning chemicals, companies are expanding their manufacturing facilities, while collaborating with local companies to gain a competitive edge. The participants in the aircraft cleaning chemical market are also investing heavily in the development of innovative products that meet the stringent regulations. Development of greener cleaning chemicals has gained traction as the core strategy being followed by companies to diversify business capabilities and increase market share. Manufacturers are offering novel and greener chemicals, including a range of VOC-free, safe aircraft cleaning chemicals, while providing an increased cleaning value to the end users. Market participants are also focused on enhancing operations to curtail operational costs and thereby, increase profit margins. The constant tussle to offer eco-friendly chemicals at competitive prices is allowing manufacturers at all levels to attract extensive consumer base, which is constantly seeking greener products. Also, aircraft cleaning chemical manufacturers are diversifying business capabilities to get a hold on increased market share, while they focus on enhancing operations to cut operational expenses and increase profit margins. Several companies are investing globally to diversify their presence, particularly in the developing countries, including China, Middle East, India, and ASEAN, which are brimming with potential opportunities. Some of the notable development in aircraft cleaning chemicals, include: In 2016, sensing the potential benefits of expansion, Arrow Solutions, extended its global presence by growing its network of distributors, as it invested US$ 1.2 Mn to increase its foothold in the Middle East. Growing popularity of online shopping prompted a leading aircraft cleaning chemicals' manufacturer, PPG Industries, Inc, to adopt the online sales channel to increase their customer outreach. In October 2017, the PPG Industries, Inc. launched an online store to streamline and optimize the buying experience for its customers based in the U.S. Some of the leading manufacturers mentioned in the Fact.MR study on the global aircraft cleaning chemical market, include Velocity Chemicals Ltd., Frasers Aerospace, Callington Haven Pty Ltd., Aero-Sense, Chempace Corporation, NUVITE Chemical Compounds, Chemco Industries, Inc., Sil-Mid Limited, Socomore, W.W. Grainger, Chemetall GmbH, Wesco Aircraft Hardware Corp., PPG Industries, Inc., Mcgean-Rohco Inc., Rx Marine International, Arrow Solutions, Roovel Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Illinois Tool Works Inc., Alglas UK, and Ecosterile Environmental Technologies Pvt. Ltd. To View complete report about, Click @ https://www.factmr.com/report/2990/aircraft-cleaning-chemical-market Rising Incomes in Tandem with Attractive Air Travel Offers Remain Significant For Market Growth Air passenger traffic is increasing on the back of rising disposable income and rapidly accelerating middle class population. This is further pushed by several other factors, including the growing affordability, increasing per capita income, and tendency to travel, which will thereby fuel the need for more aircrafts, which in turn will augment the sales of aircraft cleaning chemicals. Further, several other factors, such as flourishing tourism industry, growing international travel, competitive air travel pricing by airline carriers and lucrative amenities offered during air travel, will significantly contribute to increasing consumer preference for air travel, positively impacting the demand for aircraft cleaning chemical market during the foreseeable period. Adoption of Greener Chemicals Remains A Paramount Trend Amid the growing green revolution to curtail impact of hazardous chemicals on environment, end users are gravitating towards greener alternatives to VOC emitting degreaser and cleaning products, prompting manufacturers to bring changes in chemical production processes. Mughal manufacturers in the aircraft cleaning chemical market have shifted their focus on the development of greener, safe, durable, affordable and non-hazardous bio-based and water based aircraft cleaning chemicals. Production of non-hazardous and non-toxic aircraft cleaning products, which are free from substances, including Perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene (TCE), and other chemicals, remain a key strategy to widen consumer base, while driving sales. North America Leads in Sales, While Manufacturers Tap on Lucrative Middle East and SEAP On the verge of losing a hefty share to the Chinese aircraft cleaning chemical market, North America still manages to dominate global aircraft cleaning market. Whereas, in recent past, the growing tourist destinations in SEAP has considerably increased the number of tourists in ASEAN countries, with the trend expected to grow in the forthcoming years. In order to offer better travelling services to tourists, companies are focused on introducing better travelling services through expansion and revamp of their old infrastructure. Also, constant government initiatives to develop new airports are creating substantial opportunities for aircraft cleaning chemical manufacturers. Place an Inquire before purchase "Report" @ https://www.factmr.com/checkout/2990/S About Fact.MR Fact.MR 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 Us 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 - https://theswisstimes.com Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2019 -- Aerosols are primarily used in paints, perfumes, room fresheners, medical products deodorants in order to hold liquid droplets in pressurized form. Moreover, increasing demand for household and personal care products is expected to fuel the demand for aerosols during forecast period. The market has been segmented by application type into household products, personal care products, medical products and paint among others. The global aerosol market is expected to witness positive growth over the forecast period due to growing application of aerosols in paints, medical products, food, adhesives and automotive. Rising demand for air care products along with personal care products such as shaving and depilatories, hair care products, skin care products and deodorants are expected to create positive impact on the market for aerosols. For More Industrial Insights Get PDF Brochure: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=9527 Personal care is the largest application segment of aerosols globally, followed by household application segment. Increasing disposable income along with rising standard of living is fueling the usage of personal care and household products for better living. Increasing demand for household and personal care products is expected to have a positive impact on the aerosols market. Furthermore, another application area of aerosol as spray paints in construction and automobile industry. Moreover, asthma inhalers are one of the application areas for aerosols, but the presence of fluorocarbons named hydrofluoroalkanes (HFA) is expected to restrain the demand. Europe dominated the aerosols market in 2014 in terms of volume followed by North America and Asia Pacific. Growing demand for personal care products is expected to contribute in the growing popularity of aerosols in UK, Germany, Spain and France across Europe. U.S. is leading the aerosols market in North America. Furthermore, Asia pacific is the fastest growing market for aerosols. Lenient regulatory scenario coupled with growing demand for personal and household products are driving the market for aerosols across Asia Pacific. Growing consciousness towards personal care and hygiene, aerosol market is expected to witness positive growth over the forecast period in China and India. Furthermore, stringent environmental rules and regulations by European Commission and Environmental Protection Agency towards restricting the application of HCFC, CFC and HFC components is one of the prime reasons behind the anticipated reduction in market share of Europe and North America by 2021. Increasing automobile production in Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Germany and China is expected to create a positive impact on the demand for aerosol. Urbanization coupled with technological development is boosting the use of aerosol in household and personal care products across Middle East. For More Industrial Insights Get Customized Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=CR&rep_id=9527 Some of the major players of aerosol market invest in research and development for better product quality. Furthermore, manufacturers focus on innovation and products development in the household and personal care product segments. Some of the key players operating in the aerosol market are Proctor & Gamble, Unilever PLC, Henkel AG, Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc., Thymes, LLC, Crabtree & Evelyn, Ltd. and AkzoNobel N.V. among others. Mergers and acquisitions are also one of the business strategies of major companies in order to strengthen their foothold in the industry. Celebrating women in craft beer can be a delicate dance. Breweries run the risk of seeming too girly (remember glitter beer?) or alternatively, not focusing enough on inclusivity to appeal to a growing (but still minority) demographic. But every March 8 for International Womens Day (IWD), breweries from across the country participate in a slew of women-centric beer events to promote the increasing roles of women in the industry. Two of the biggest movements include International Womens Collaboration Brew Day (IWCBD) and Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day. Both campaigns allow breweries to create their own recipes around a loose theme; this year, IWCBDs theme is Forage with individual breweries donating to a charity of their choice. Pink Boots Society asked participants to create any style of beer using an exclusive hop blend from Yakima Chief Hops with proceeds going toward scholarships, education and programming. This year, Second Chance Beer Company decided to turn a feminine stereotype on its head for Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day and embrace the rose trend. Dubbed Women Everyday Rose, the dry blonde ale with fresh citrus, Semillon grapes and rose petals was collaboratively created by women working in all facets of beer, including public relations, designers, and, of course, brewers. Women Everyday Rose was collaboratively created by women working in all facets of beer, including public relations, designers, and, of course, brewers. (Nancee E. Lewis ) Advertisement The beer industry historically has been portrayed by hairy men in flannels, said Virginia Morrison, CEO/co-founder of Second Chance. We brought together a rainbow of San Diego women busting ceilings in our local, independent craft beer community and beyond. Women Everyday Rose can be enjoyed with girlfriends, boyfriends and family of all colors and genders, identity be damned! We believe thats what true community and love should be. Profits from Women Everyday Rose will go in part to benefit Pink Boots scholarship program for women aspiring to advance in the brewing industry. So many women across many industries traditionally male-predominate are change-makers, Morrison said. I want to draw attention to that fact and show how our indie beer community can bring us together for a great cause and fantastic beer! Beers brewed during International Womens Day are generally available a few weeks afterward, so check your favorite brewerys social media for upcoming #IWCBD and #pinkbootsbrew releases. Second Chance Beer Company decided to turn a feminine stereotype on its head for Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day and embrace the rose trend (Nancee E. Lewis ) Whos brewin? Check the Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day 2019 map for participating breweries. Additional local breweries joining IWCBD include, but arent limited to: 2Kids Brewing Company Amplified Ale Works Boochcraft Chula Vista Brewery Coronado Brewing Company Culture Brewing Company, Solana Beach Duck Foot Brewing Company Eppig Brewing Fall Brewing Company Fourpenny House Hodads Brewing Home Brewing Company Karl Strauss Brewing Company Mikkeller San Diego North Park Beer Company Pizza Port, Bressi Ranch Societe Brewing Company Stone Brewing Thr3e Punk Ales Brewing Company Viewpoint Brewing Company White Labs Beth Demmon is a San Diego-based craft beer writer whose work has appeared in BeerAdvocate, Playboy, Thrillist, MUNCHIES, Tales of the Cocktail, and more. Email her at beth@bethdemmon.com. I actually see stark similarities between Michael Cohen, and Watergate stars, Charles Colson and John Dean. By Michael Cohens actions, he seems to be attempting to modify his legacy in life from taking a bullet for Trump and continuing to lie, all the way to prison to coming clean: to himself, his country, his family, and his religion. One can read the Wikipedia piece on Charles Colson, and realize immediately, that the late Charles Colson, transformed his own life, completely, following Watergate and his stint in prison. John Dean was a Nixon cover-up apologist too, until he saw the writing on the wall early. So, I truly believe that Michael Cohen is striving, with a courageous spirit, to leave a legacy for himself, that wont relegate his name to the worst scoundrels, that aided and abetted our worst, laziest, most untruthful, and most corrupt president in modern U.S. history. Gerald Lance Johannsen Advertisement Carlsbad Shame on the Democrats for holding this public hearing during the presidents historic meetings with the North Koreans in his attempt to reduce the threat of nuclear war. George Morgan Coronado From almost day one of the Trump presidency I have been telling anyone who would listen that Donald Trump is a criminal. I believe that he has been laundering money for years and by his own admission he is guilty of sexual assault. In addition he is a serial, and pathological liar. Incredibly our government can not remove him from office by inditing him. The congress will not impeach him due to partisan divide. That means we will have a active criminal in the White House until his term ends.! What a country. Les Braund Mira Mesa Advertisement Im deeply disappointed in the Democrats in the House of Representatives. They deliberately chose to schedule the public hearing of ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohenon the eve (February 27) of our presidents critical negotiations with North Korea dictator Kim Jong Un. The Democrats so easily could have waited a week to hold the hearing. Sadly, this demonstrates clearly the short-sighted motives of the Democratsto try to undermine and discredit President Trump while he seeks the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, something very much in our national interest and in the interest of world peace. Most disturbing is what this petty action tells us about the leader of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is just two beating hearts away from the presidency of the United States. Howard Killion Oceanside Re Thank you for speaking with us Mr. Cohen (Feb. 27): It is outrageous that the U-T would print this. Micheal Cohen is finally telling the truth about what he did for the Trump organization, offering the country valuable insights into the lack of morality, ethics and honesty of this President. Advertisement He should be celebrated as a hero, not a rat. Steve Breen and the U-T should get on the right side of history. Neil Meyer Escondido Michael Cohens testimony before congress that he was forced to lie and do dirty deeds for Trump fell on deaf ears. He tried to paint himself as a victim of emotional abuse who was manipulated by a tyrant and was innocent of all wrongdoing. Considering he is a seasoned attorney who is now disbarred, convicted of lying, and headed to jail, he has no credibility. So whoever tried to use him as a pawn to bring down the president has struck out yet again. Advertisement Carl Tovsrud San Marcos Isnt it a really sad that we are arguing over who is the bigger liar, the president of the United States or his lawyer Ron Johnson Advertisement Bankers Hill Trumps congressional supporters have threatened the very existence of our constitutional republic by ignoring their oaths of office, to support and defend our Constitution, not the president . His diehard, spineless Republican congressional supporters are complicit in condoning Trumps illegal actions by abdicating their official duties and responsibilities, and remaining silent, while Trump attacks and shows his total disdain and indifference to our free press, independent judiciary, and the separation of powers guaranteed in our Constitution. This must change now or we will lose our Constitutionally guaranteed American freedoms, and will be living under a dictatorship like the Russians under Putin. Advertisement D.J. Miller Carlsbad February 27, 2019 should go down in history as the day the Democratic Party ceased to exist as a bastion of American Democracy. The pathetic charade played out in Washington, D.C. with the Judas, Michael Cohen trying to bring down the president of the United States was completely overshadowed by the efforts of the President to establish a peaceful Korea and an opportunity for our former enemy to become a thriving nation for its people. Advertisement Add to that the Democrats voting for infanticide earlier in the week should sound the knell of the Democratic Partys death throes. Paul Sims Solana Beach The Michael Cohen congressional hearings are are joke. All these hearings prove is that partisan politics are worsening. Both parties are grand standing. Both parties exemplify a if youre for it, I am against you attitude. Its sickening. Advertisement Its time we demand more from our elected officials. Do what is right for America, and not to push your extreme idealism. Both parties should be ashamed of themselves! Greg Wehrman San Carlos Yesterday, Micheal Cohen reminded us of the saying from Biblical times What a man will do for you, he will do to you. Advertisement The president is now getting the treatment he paid Michael Cohen to give others. Peter Q. Davis La Jolla 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. Trolley wont attract riders unless its done right Re Fletcher explains push for drop in driving (Feb 25): In regards to the latest article touting the wonders of trolley ridership, have any of these policymakers spent any amount of time on the trolley? Until there is controlled access at all trolley stations insuring that riders pay actual money or use a pass to get on the trolley, it is a virtual freak show in the passenger cars (with the exception of the infrequent influx of riders going to a large downtown event). Why should one subject themselves to this smelly, frightening, slow-to-get-anywhere form of transportation? Advertisement Why cant San Diego have station gates that prevent freeloaders with antisocial intentions from riding? Julie Kohlenberg El Cajon Easy for Fletcher to tell us to drive less Re Q&A: Supervisor Nathan Fletcher explains why San Diegans need to drive less (Feb. 24): Nathan Fletcher is the worst kind of politician, the kind who likes to spend other peoples money. Does he ride his bike to the office every day? I doubt it. The more crazy stuff he says, the more I think about moving to another state. Jim Brannen Point Loma Advertisement The reporter failed to ask Nathan Fletcher if he has given up driving, as he is attempting to force others to do. I suspect the answers is no; hes just another elitist hypocrite. Ray Dunakin University City 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 California Public Records Act is a hugely valuable law whose worth has been shown over and over again as it is used to expose government problems, lapses and corruption and just to shine light on public documents and activity. It can also be a big headache for government officials, such as those in the city of San Diego who receive thousands of requests for records each year, not only from journalists but from members of the public or law firms. This backdrop is crucial to understanding Senate Bill 615, which Sen. Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, introduced Friday at the request of San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott. It would require that individuals or entities seeking records meet and confer with representatives of the agencies to discuss exactly what records they hope to obtain before suing to obtain them. It would also require that to win such a lawsuit, the litigant must prove an agency knowingly, willfully and without substantial justification failed to respond to a request for records. A Hueso aide said the measure would speed up, not slow down, processing of record requests. But as media attorneys interviewed by Voice of San Diego noted, the bill would add a new hurdle to obtaining public records and sets a high bar, weakening the only punishment agencies face for stonewalling record requests. That latter fact overwhelms any argument in favor of the bill. Government agencies and officials need to realize they are stewards of the public trust. Handling public records requests and releasing public information is a part of public service. There are numerous examples of governments delaying or refusing to release records. That bad behavior shouldnt be incentivized. If there are ways to streamline the records request process that dont empower government cover-ups, bring them on. But in its present form, this bill from Hueso and Elliott cant die soon enough. Advertisement Twitter: @sdutIdeas Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion The San Diego Sheriffs Department is facing another allegation of sexual misconduct by one of its deputies, this time involving a Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility jailer who is accused of propositioning an inmate who was nine months pregnant. The woman, whose name is being withheld by The San Diego Union-Tribune, was being transported to a Sorrento Valley health clinic for a prenatal examination in late August when Deputy Juan Pascua began making sexually explicit remarks, the claim alleges. The deputy allegedly discussed drug use by his girlfriend and asked the pregnant woman what kind of drugs she liked, the claim states. He also accompanied the woman into an exam room, where she was shackled to a bed, wearing an examination gown. While waiting for the doctor, with (the inmate) only able to see Dep. Pascua through her peripheral vision, he asked her Do you want me to rub your stomach? the claim said. Simultaneously, Dep. Pascua stood up and began moving toward her, saying I bet youre really swollen down there. Advertisement The sheriffs department declined to comment on the claim, which must be filed with the county ahead of any civil lawsuit. The Union-Tribune tried to contact Pascua through email, telephone and the departments media relations office and received no response. The complaint says the deputy continued to sexually harassed the woman on the way back to jail, telling her, for example, that as a transportation officer he got a lot of offers from the inmates he transported, and asked (the inmate) if she would make any offers. The woman reported the incidents soon afterword and sought mental-health treatment for her anxiety, according to the claim. The sheriffs department opened an internal-affairs investigation as a result of the report, the claim says,but the claim does not specify what became of the internal review. Sheriff department officials did not respond to questions about an internal review of the allegations. After the woman reported the harassment, she was transferred to the Vista Detention Facility, where Pascua also had been assigned, the claim said. During her entire detention in Vista, (the claimant) reasonably believed she had been relocated there to punish her for reporting Dep. Pascuas conduct, the claim said, and she lived in pervasive fear that Dep. Pascua would find her and exact his revenge. The woman was subsequently released from jail. She delivered a healthy baby girl in September and now resides with her mother in San Diego County. The sheriffs department has been targeted by multiple sexual-misconduct allegations in recent months. Advertisement Former deputy Timothy Nathaniel Wilson Jr. was convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl last year while the two were in line at a fast-food restaurant. Wilson, who was seen on videotape grabbing the girls backside, was sentenced to one year in jail. Another former deputy, Richard Fischer, is facing trial later this year on 20 counts of sexual assault and other alleged crimes against 16 women. jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonald Gov. Gavin Newsom highlighted a highly significant but less visible power of his office in his first State of the State speech earlier this month: selecting appointees who can reshape California government in his image and help deliver on his ambitious policy agenda. After condemning the lackluster oversight of a $77-billion California bullet train plagued with cost overruns, Newsom punctuated the call for change by announcing he was appointing one of his top economic advisers to take the helm of the High-Speed Rail Authority. For the record: A previous version of this article identified former Gov. Gray Davis appointments secretary as David Yamaki. His first name is Michael. The Democratic governor also picked a new chairman, Joaquin Esquivel, a former assistant secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency, for the Water Resources Control Board to bring balance to state water policy, which has been hamstrung by conflicts among farmers, cities and environmentalists. Over the next four years, Newsom will have the opportunity to appoint more than 3,000 people to 32 government entities. Advertisement That includes 12 of the 14 voting members of the state Air Resources Board, the bulwark for Californias tough vehicle emission standards. And six members of the University of Californias 25-member Board of Regents. Newsom can also replace nearly half of the High-Speed Rail Authority, a third of the voting members of the California Coastal Commission and the entire state parole board. (Swetha Kannan / Los Angeles Times) Most appointees toil away on boards that rarely pique public interest. But that can change quickly: If drought and wildfire strike or college tuition and gasoline prices spike, boards tasked with overseeing those issues are thrust into the spotlight. Only in times of crisis do most people realize how critically important these appointments are, said Richard Frank, director of the California Environmental Law and Policy Center at UC Davis. Newsom declared in his State of the State address that his economic development director, Lenny Mendonca, was being appointed to the High-Speed Rail Authority and was his pick for the next chair. He was later unanimously approved by the nine voting members of the board as chairman. The move came eight years after Gov. Jerry Brown, also in an effort to have the board get its act together, appointed the authoritys former chairman, Dan Richard, who resigned from the board last week. The power of a governors decision-making on appointments became clear during Californias recent five-year drought, when the State Water Resources Control Board imposed stringent water-use restrictions on urban suppliers and farmers throughout the state. Newsom also made his mark on the water board by removing Felicia Marcus as chair. Advertisement A former regional director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, Marcus clashed with San Joaquin Valley irrigation districts and Northern California water authorities in December when the board voted to curtail river diversions to help restore the states struggling rivers and fish populations. Mike Wade, executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition, said it was difficult and disappointing to have a board that appeared to shun local water users, including both cities and farmers. He praised Newsoms decision to appoint Esquivel, a current board member, as the new chairman. Laurel Firestone of Sacramento, co-director of the Community Water Center and an advocate for environmental justice, also was appointed to the board by Newsom. This affects 40 million people around the state. They can affect entire regional economies, Wade said. Advertisement A Pacific Gas & Electric lineman works to repair a power line in fire-ravaged Paradise, Calif., in November. Gov. Gavin Newsom will have the authority to appoint a majority of the members of the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates utilities. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Construction of Californias high-speed rail project in Fresno. Newsom, who had criticized the projects cost overruns, appointed a new leader of the High-Speed Rail Authority. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Among the most scrutinized of Newsoms appointments will be those to the five-member California Public Utilities Commission, which oversees utilities and approves rate increases. The agency has been criticized for failing to adequately address the thousands of wildfires ignited by power lines in recent years. The recent bankruptcy filing of Californias biggest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric, will also fall into the commissions lap. The utility filed for bankruptcy in January following the deadly wildfire that decimated the Northern California town of Paradise, opening PG&E up to billions of dollars in potential legal liability. The commission will need to approve any reorganization plan that involves raising electricity rates, authority critical to protecting the interests of Californians. Advertisement In January, Newsom appointed former Agricultural Labor Relations Board Chairwoman Genevieve Shiroma to the board. And hell have the opportunity to appoint a board majority when the terms of two other members, including PUC President Michael Picker, expire in 2021. Newsom also has a powerful tool in his appointments to the state Board of Parole Hearings, which could allow him to fulfill his promise to refocus the state corrections system on rehabilitation and, as he said in his inaugural address in January, to continue the fight against over-incarceration and overcrowding in our prisons. The 14-member parole board is poised to reclaim power it hasnt had in more than a generation. Proposition 57, approved by voters in 2016, will give sweeping new authority to state officials to release prisoners before theyve served their full sentences. For years, parole board members would often deny prisoners early release based on the severity of a criminal offense rather than whether they would pose a safety risk if set free. Lenore Anderson, executive director of the Californians for Safety and Justice, wants to see Newsom appoint members to the Board of Parole Hearings who have expertise in mental health, drug treatment and helping inmates reenter society. Advertisement We used to be a state with mandatory sentences and warehouse prisons, where punishment was the only focus, Anderson said. Were in an era of change. The public wants rehabilitation. They want to know that people are being prepared for release. Most of Newsoms executive appointments and his selections for critical regulatory boards require confirmation by the state Senate. Along with agency secretaries and other top executives, there are dozens of state boards and commissions with openings most positions are unpaid but a few come with lucrative salaries attached. According to the California state Controllers office, members of the Public Utilities Commission were paid nearly $146,000 each in 2017 and commissioners on the Board of Parole Hearings received $144,000 both are full-time jobs. In contrast, members of the California Coastal Commission, which meets 11 times a year, are paid $100 for every day they work, plus travel expenses. Advertisement Newsom announced shortly after taking office that he would ensure his appointments reflected the diversity of California in regard to geography, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, professional experience and disability status. California Women Lead, a group that advocates for women to be appointed in state government, offered advice to former Gov. Jerry Brown when he chose many of his appointees, collecting and sorting through resumes to find good candidates, according to the organizations former executive director, Rachel Michelin. Youve got a lot of progressive groups looking at California, thinking they can have an impact on progressive policies, Michelin said. Especially with healthcare reform being such a big topic. He can put people on all those boards. Michelin, an appointee to the state Board of Optometry, said most Californians have no idea how much influence the panels have. Advertisement We pass regulations and policy all the time, and no one pays attention to what were doing, she said. Los Angeles attorney Michael Yamaki, who was the appointments secretary for former Gov. Gray Davis, said the highly paid appointments have always been the most coveted including by deposed elected officials looking for a paycheck. That happens when politicians get termed out or voted out of office, Yamaki said. They come begging to the governor: I need a job. Yamaki said serving as a governors appointments secretary can be a tricky, sometimes perilous job. Advertisement Even appointments to the dental board can generate controversy, he said. Yamaki said he dealt with a rift between holistic dentists who opposed the use of amalgam fillings because they included mercury and traditional dentists, who at the time favored those fillings because they were affordable to patients and were covered by insurance. There was a big fight over that, he recalled. So I had to pick people that were not so polarized that they couldnt cooperate. Not only are appointment secretaries and their bosses heavily lobbied by special interest groups, but they must be careful to pick appointees who havent done something in the past or wont do something in the future that makes the governor look bad. Advertisement Dont do anything to embarrass us, Yamaki said he told those selected. Sometimes, however, an appointees tenure lasts longer than that of the governor who selected him or her, making it hard to manage the potential for embarrassment Consumer groups protested loudly in 2002 when then Gov. Gray Davis nominated Michael Peevey, a former Southern California Edison president who made millions of dollars during the states failed deregulation effort, to the PUC in an attempt to make the five-member commission more moderate. Groups including the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights in Santa Monica accused Davis of putting the interests of the power industry ahead of consumers. California voters recalled Davis from office the next year, in part because of the states electricity shortages in 2000 and 2001. Advertisement Peevey, who stayed on the PUC another decade after he was reappointed by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, stepped down from the board in 2013 after the state launched an investigation into allegations of improper back-channel communications between him and PG&E officials. At the time, the utility was under scrutiny for a San Bruno pipeline explosion in 2010 that left eight people dead. phil.willon@latimes.com Twitter: @philwillon Lengthy stays in cells. A lack of access to doctors, counselors and legal aid. Few bilingual staffers who can explain rules or services. Limited opportunities to call or see friends and family. On Tuesday, Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra released findings from the first state inspection of Californias immigrant detention centers, designed to provide a deeper look into the conditions inside the system as the Trump administration takes a more aggressive approach to confining people who are in the country illegally. California is one of the first states to examine everyday operations at the facilities. Over the last three years, more than 74,000 immigrant detainees from over 150 countries have been held at Californias 10 public and private detention centers, all inspected by the attorney generals office. Immigrants spent more than 50 days confined on average, with one person staying in a facility for more than four years. Conducted over the last year, the audit found conditions varied widely by center. But almost all facilities detained people in cells for long periods of time sometimes up to 22 hours a day without any breaks, according to the report. Immigrants faced significant language barriers and challenges in accessing medical and mental healthcare and legal counsel, state investigators found. Detainees were allowed only minimal contact with friends and family. Advertisement At a news conference Tuesday in San Francisco, Becerra emphasized that people confined inside the centers are civilian detainees who are awaiting determinations on their deportation status, not criminals. We hope that other states are watching because everyone in this country has constitutional rights and everyone at the end of the day child and adult deserves to be treated in a humane way, Becerra said. He said the failings at some facilities appeared to result from a ramp-up of immigration detention at the federal level that didnt allow inspectors to properly vet procedures and conditions. Some detention centers have already begun taking steps to improve conditions based on the review, he added, saying it was more a matter of knowing where they could do things differently. But the attorney general said that he is prepared to take legal action against those that fail to comply with his offices recommendations. Lori Haley, a spokeswoman with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, declined to answer questions about the audit, but said in a statement that the agency is committed to ensuring all detainees are treated humanely. The safety, rights and health of detainees in ICEs care are of paramount concern and all ICE detention facilities are subject to stringent, regular inspections, she said. Lawyers with the attorney generals office spent at least a day at each detention center, including multiple days at one youth facility in Yolo County, where federal officials have been criticized over disclosures indicating they improperly identified some children as gang members. The in-depth look at the states detention system is the result of legislation passed in 2017, when lawmakers sought to increase oversight of those facilities and protections for immigrants amid Trumps calls for increased deportations. Other state efforts from that year prevented detention centers from adding more beds, and pledged $1 million in spending to ensure proper access to food, medical care and lawyers. Advertisement The attorney generals report coincides with a separate state audit released Tuesday that examined three private detention centers that hold detainees for cities and four counties that detain immigrants for ICE. In that report, spanning fiscal years 2013 to 2017, inspectors found that counties failed to ensure ICE fully paid them, while cities used federal funds from ICE to pay subcontractors without performing any meaningful oversight. The state lacks complete information about how much it costs and what conditions the detainees face, the report said. Also unclear are how many detainees are being held throughout California, where they are being held, and for how long. Becerras inspection confirmed many of conditions reported by federal inspectors. Marisol Leon, a deputy state attorney general with the civil rights and enforcement division, called the stories of detainees, particularly of youth at the Yolo facility, soul crushing. Attorneys heard of women at other centers who did not receive proper medication, and a story of a baby ripped from a parents arms, she said. Advertisement They hear that youth are coming, crossing multiple borders, fleeing violence, persecution and a lot of trauma and being retraumatized in many ways in the center, she said. In their report, state attorneys called attention to previous findings by federal inspectors last year on conditions at Adelanto, a facility in San Bernardino County that housed 10,000 detainees from June 2017 to October 2018. They detailed nooses found in detainee cells, improper and overly restrictive segregation practices, and untimely and inadequate detainee medical care. The state attorney generals report also noted the long history of issues with medical and mental health care at Otay Mesa Detention Center near the San Diego-Tijuana border. In recent years, several pregnant women there have said they werent given adequate care. In Yolo County, which receives about $5.7 million annually from its detention contract and houses up to 24 juveniles in its facility at a time, inspectors from Becerras office met in August with 19 juveniles, all but one from Central American countries. The four-day inspection found that while staff was well-intentioned, minors were at times housed together with boys doing time for criminal charges in county juvenile detention, many in two-story dormitories in small cells with few outside windows. Advertisement Inspectors found force had been used against the detainees 27 times in the eight months prior to their visit and was a common method of control. In at least four instances reviewed on video, the use of force violated policies, with guards in one instance tackling a juvenile detainee while he sat at a table, the report said. Nine of the detained juveniles told inspectors they had attempted to kill themselves or self-harmed while in the facility, and inspectors noted signs of cutting on some boys. One told investigators he tried to strangle himself with blankets. Another said, I will stop trying to kill myself when I get out of here. Still, the center one of only two high-security placements in the nation for immigrant youth in the custody of federal agencies had inadequate mental health care available to detainees, an extremely high level of psychiatric medication use in a detention facility and failed to properly conduct suicide watches. At the Yuba County Jail in Marysville, state investigators noted that women and men detained on ICE immigration holds were not separated from the general jail population, something cited last month when dozens of detainees there went on a six-day hunger strike to demand better conditions. Advertisement It is not a good place to be, said Carlos Montes-Ponce, a Sacramento immigration activist. There is always tension because [the detainees] are mixed with the general population. California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra speaks during a news conference in February. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) For immigrant rights groups, some activists and lawyers said, the report has validated their work. The report confirms and reinforces what we have documented that California immigrant jails and prisons are rife with abuse and have led to a toxic culture of impunity fueled by taxpayer money at the expense of thousands of lives, said Liz Martinez of Freedom for Immigrants. Advertisement But she and others said it also fell short of expectations. Becerra said a lack of resources allowed a deeper review of only three facilities operated by local governments: Yolo County Juvenile Detention Facility, Theo Lacy Facility in Orange County and West County Detention Facility in Contra Costa County. Some said more pressure should be placed on centers run by private prison companies, including the Adelanto Detention Facility, which is owned and operated by the GEO Group, a company that runs dozens of private prisons and detention centers around the country. Others said the report also failed to demand full transparency because ICE and prison operators were informed of visits ahead of time. If we want to know whats truly happening inside detention, we shouldnt be giving them a pass by telling them when to be on their best behavior, Martinez said. The attorney general has the power to go in whenever he or his office wants. He should use that power. Advertisement San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Kate Morrissey contributed to this report. More stories from Jazmine Ulloa jazmine.ulloa@latimes.com Twitter: @jazmineulloa The Houses approval Tuesday of a resolution to override President Trumps emergency declaration at the southern border sets up a difficult vote for Senate Republicans. Three Republican senators have said they plan to support the resolution, just one shy of the four GOP votes needed to pass it out of Congress, assuming all Senate Democrats vote yes. It easily cleared the Democratic-controlled House on Tuesday evening by a vote of 245 to 182. Passage in the Republican-controlled Senate would be exceptionally embarrassing for Trump. He has vowed to veto the resolution if it reaches his desk, and it is unlikely there will be enough votes in either chamber to override him. Advertisement The three GOP senators who say they will vote to rescind Trumps emergency order are Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and several others said Tuesday they were still undecided. I dont think its a good way to run government to run government by emergency, Paul said. The National Emergencies Act allows Congress to rescind an emergency declaration by the president. The same law now requires the Senate to vote on the resolution within 18 days, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the chamber would probably use most of that time. I personally couldnt handicap the outcome at this point, but we will certainly be voting on it, McConnell said. The White House campaign to persuade other Republicans not to buck the president continued Tuesday with Vice President Mike Pence and the counsel for the Justice Department attending a weekly party lunch. Senators leaving the lunch said they discussed the cost of wall construction, where to pull money from and the legality of Trumps declaration. Even McConnell said afterward that I havent reached a total conclusion about whether its legal. Congress explicitly declined to fund Trumps border wall when it 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 acknowledged when issuing the emergency order that he was doing so because it was a faster way to get money for a wall, a key campaign promise. Democrats argue that Trumps order is an end run around lawmakers and must be rescinded to protect Congress constitutionally granted power to determine how taxpayer dollars are spent. They have focused on positioning the resolution as a fight over the separation of powers granted to the three branches of government, not a partisan fight over the wall. Advertisement This isnt about the border, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said Monday night. This is about the Constitution of the United States. This is not about politics. Its not about partisanship. Its about patriotism. Some Republicans worry that if they give this president leeway to go around Congress and its hold on the nations purse strings future Democratic presidents will issue emergency declarations for things like climate change or gun violence. But many GOP lawmakers are holding their cards close on how they will vote. Defections are likely to be low. Although dozens of conservative appropriators and defense hawks have said they are skeptical of the presidents tactics, only 13 Republicans joined House Democrats on Tuesday in supporting the resolution. Advertisement They have largely cited concerns about which military construction projects Trump plans to tap for the billions the president wants for his wall. The Pentagon emphasizes that it does not plan to touch housing projects on military bases, but hundreds of other projects are still being weighed. Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, whose district backed Trump by more than 35 percentage points, said that he agrees there is a crisis at the border, but that its not an emergency when Congress doesnt do what the president wants. Its a difficult vote in terms of voting against something that would allow him to achieve one of his priorities, but I think the way you do it is as important as what you do when youre following the Constitution, said Massie, who voted with Democrats to rescind Trumps declaration. Democrats hoped a higher number of House Republican yes votes would have smoothed the way for Senate Republicans to join them. But generally the House GOP caucus stuck together. Advertisement Several Senate Republicans said this week that the president is within his rights to declare a national emergency, and reallocate military funds, to protect the country. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said that past presidents had used emergency declarations dozens of times and that the president is acting within the powers Congress has given him. I also happen to believe we do have a national emergency at the border, so I will vote to support the presidents decision, Kennedy said. House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said Trumps emergency declaration is different. This is the only one the only one that has been used to get around a Congress refusal to appropriate money for a particular objective, Hoyer said. And I would hope that we will get substantial Republican support. If they vote their conscience and the Constitution, we will. If they vote party and politics, we wont. Advertisement The latest from Washington More stories from Sarah D. Wire Cohen delivers warning to GOP lawmakers now attacking him: Dont blindly follow Trump It wasnt that long ago that Michael Cohen and congressional Republicans were on the same side. In 2017, President Trumps former personal attorney was on Capitol Hill to defend his boss, in testimony he now admits contained lies. Since then, in the wake of what Cohen called the daily destruction of our civility to one another, the former fixer flipped on the president and pleaded guilty to lying to Congress, tax evasion and other criminal activity. On Wednesday, in a packed congressional hearing room, Cohen issued a blunt warning to the Republican lawmakers trying to discredit and rattle him in defense of the president. Advertisement Read the full story >> 4:10 p.m. | Jennifer Haberkorn Michael Cohens hearing: Breaking down the lines of questioning (Kyle Kim) Read the full story>> I fear if he loses the election in 2020, there will never be a peaceful transition of power Michael Cohen at hearing conclusion Ocasio-Cortez lays groundwork for demanding additional testimony Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) used her questions to elicit several new leads for congressional investigators to follow. Advertisement She asked Michael Cohen whether Trump ever provided inflated values of his assets to insurance companies. Cohen said yes, which could be insurance fraud. She also asked whether Trump had submitted lower estimates for the value of his golf courses. Cohen said yes. Asked why, Cohen said Trumps goal was to reduce the property taxes he owed. The questions laid the groundwork for seeking additional financial documents from the Trump Organization as well as potentially issuing a subpoena to Allen Weisselberg, the companys chief financial officer. She also asked Cohen about a trove of documents in the possession of the National Enquirer that might contain derogatory information about Trump. Asked who might have information about those documents, Cohen named David Pecker, the chief executive of the tabloids parent company, laying the groundwork for calling him to testify, as well. Advertisement Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) asked Michael Cohen about a treasure trove of documents related to so-called catch-and-kill deals at the National Enquirer, and whether Trump ever provided inflated values of his assets to insurance companies Cohen knocks down a number of colorful accusations Although Michael Cohen faced hostile questions from Trumps Republican allies in Congress, he testified that he had not seen proof of collusion between Trump and Russia or other foreign governments. He also knocked down several provocative accusations of misconduct surrounding his former boss. Was there something odd about his back-and-forth praise with President Putin? Yes. But Im not really sure I can answer that question on collusion, Cohen said, regarding Trump. Theres just so many dots that all seem to lead in the same direction. Among the rumors Cohen disputed: He said he investigated but found no evidence that Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock. He knocked down a persistent rumor about a videotape that purportedly showed Trump hitting First Lady Melania Trump in an elevator. He also said he did not believe a tape exists showing Trump engaged in sexual activities with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel, a report that first surfaced in the widely circulated Christopher Steele dossier of reports about Trump. Advertisement Cohen said he had chased down rumors of all three. Cohen also said Trump never directly told him to lie to Congress. But he said the president clearly indicated to him that he should do so. Chris Christie: What would send a chill up my spin at the White House Chris Christie on Michael Cohen testimony: "The words that he said today that would send a chill up my spine at the White House would be, 'I am in constant constant with the southern district.'" https://t.co/UsLPM0G5qK pic.twitter.com/tcvXdVnLYH ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 27, 2019 Opinion: Michael Cohens testimony is a political threat to Trump, but not really a legal one Before Michael Cohens public testimony to a congressional committee, the question on most minds was whether Donald Trumps former fixer would place Trump in greater jeopardy of impeachment by implicating him in crimes, either actual violations of law or the high crimes and misdemeanors for which a president can be impeached. Not so much. Advertisement Read more>> 1 / 13 Michael Cohen, President Donald Trumps former personal lawyer, is sworn in to testify on Capitol Hill in Washington. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) 2 / 13 Michael Cohen speaks before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill. (Olivier Douliery / Abaca Press) 3 / 13 Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) questions Michael Cohen as he testifies before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) 4 / 13 House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) makes closing remarks after testimony from Michael Cohen. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) 5 / 13 Michael Cohen, former attorney to President Donald J. Trump, becomes emotional while listening to the closing remarks of House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) (Michael Reynolds / EPA / Shutterstock) 6 / 13 At one point, Republican critics hung a banner in the hearing room that read, Liar, liar, pants on fire. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press) 7 / 13 Michael Cohen speaks before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) 8 / 13 Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, (D-N.Y.) questions Michael Cohen as he testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) 9 / 13 An image of a check signed by President Trump, that was allegedly used for hush money, is displayed on a screen as Michael Cohen makes his opening statement before the House Oversight Committee. (JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/REX / JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/REX) 10 / 13 A quote about Michael Cohen, attributed to the U.S. Attorneys Office, is put on display during testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill February 27, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong / Getty Images) 11 / 13 Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) questions Michael Cohen as he testifies before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) 12 / 13 Michael Cohen listens to questions before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill. (Jim Lo Scalzo/ EPA / Shutterstock) 13 / 13 Michael Cohen arrives to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) Cohen hints at other possible Trump criminal conduct not yet made public At todays hearing, Michael Cohen told a House committee he was aware of other possible criminal conduct involving President Trump which he could not talk about it because its under investigation by the Southern District of New York. Specifically, he wouldnt answer a question about the last time he spoke with Trump or one of his representatives. Unfortunately this topic is something thats currently being investigated right now by the Southern District of New York, Cohen said when Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) asked about his last conversation with Trump. Advertisement Cohen said he hopes his assistance to federal prosecutors will eventually allow him to apply for a reduction in his three-year prison sentence, which he is scheduled to begin on May 6. Cohen says Trump asked him to threaten someone 500 times Rep. Speier asks how many times Trump asked him to threaten someone. "50 times?" "More." "100 times?" "More." "200 times?" "More." They settled around 500 times. Chris Megerian (@ChrisMegerian) February 27, 2019 Cohen says his previous prepared testimony was altered by Trumps lawyers Michael Cohen said President Trumps lawyers made several changes to testimony that he prepared for congressional hearings in August 2017. Among the changes was the length of time that the Trump Tower Moscow project stayed and remained alive. Advertisement Its a key issue because Cohen later pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about how long the proposal for a luxury skyscraper in Moscow was in play. He originally said it ended before the Iowa caucuses in January 2016, but it had continued until after Trump secured the Republican presidential nomination months later. Cohens comments implicate the presidents lawyers in altering his testimony to make it less accurate. Trump made his expectations known subtly, Cohen testifies Cohen said that Trump never overtly asked him to lie to Congress. His communications were more subtle than that, Cohen said, and the longtime Trump lawyer knew exactly what his boss wanted him to say. He wanted me to cooperate, Cohen said, describing a meeting he had with Trump and one of his lawyers, Jay Sekulow. He wanted to make sure, There is no Russia. There is no collusion. There is no deal. He goes, Its all a witch hunt. This stuff has to end. Advertisement Hed been saying that to them for many, many months. At the end of the day, I knew exactly what he wanted me to say He doesnt tell you what he wants. Again, Michael, there is no Russia, no collusion. I know what it means because Ive been around him so long. Stay on point, the party line that he created. Trump often inflated his total assets, Cohen says In his testimony, Michael Cohen provided a glimpse of what could become a significant area of legal liability for President Trump with some of the internal records he brought to the House committee. Among the documents were financial statements that Cohen said were provided to Forbes magazine in an effort to show that Trump should be listed higher in the magazines annual feature on the nations wealthiest people. Cohen said those same statements were provided to Deutsche Bank when Trump was interested in buying the Buffalo Bills football team. Advertisement Cohen said Trump often inflated his total assets when it served his purposes. The implication was that Trump might have misstated his assets when trying to obtain loans, the kind of action that potentially could constitute fraud. A former Trump event planner defends the president against racism claims Rep. Mark Meadows, a Republican and close Trump ally, sought to defend the president against Cohens accusation of racism, introducing a character witness of his own Lynne Patton, a former Trump family event planner who is now an official at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Patton, who is African American, did not testify but stood up, just over Meadows shoulder, as the lawmaker said she disagreed with Cohens statements and pressed Cohen for proof of his assertion that Trump was a racist who had made derogatory comments about African Americans. She says that as the daughter of a man born in Birmingham, Ala., that she would never work for an individual who was a racist, Meadows asserted. Advertisement As neither should I have, as a son of a Holocaust survivor, Cohen replied. Meadows said he had talked to Trump more than 300 times and had never heard him make a racist comment. He asked if Cohen had documentation or tape recordings that would back up his allegations. Cohen said he didnt but pointed out that the Trump Organization did not have any high-level black employees. Ask Ms. Patton how many people who are black are executives at the Trump Organization, and the answer is zero, he said. Patton had at least some previous experience of allegations that Trump made racist statements. In August, CBS published a tape recording released by Trumps former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman in which she, Katrina Pearson and Patton discussed Trumps use of the N-word. Advertisement In Michael Cohens hearing, Republicans have pursued a repeated line of attack on Cohen: Blast his credibility. Again and again, they raised his convictions on bank and tax fraud charges and lying to Congress. And they pressed him to admit that some of his crimes were not committed on behalf of Trump. Mr. Cohen, you called Donald Trump a cheat in your opening testimony. What would you call yourself? asked Rep. James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky. A fool, said Cohen. No comment on that, the lawmaker replied, before adding that he didnt think Michael Cohen is capable of telling the truth. Advertisement If we have the opportunity to subpoena witnesses, we should subpoena witnesses who are not recently disbarred, not a convicted felon and witnesses who have not committed bank fraud and tax fraud, he said. Presidents ex-lawyer declines to say Trump colluded to win presidency Cohen was pushed by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) but declined to say whether Trump colluded with Russia to win the presidency. I wouldnt use the word colluding, Cohen said, adding that he didnt have enough information to know whether there was concerted cooperation between the campaign and a foreign country. Was there something odd about his back and forth praise with President Putin? Yes. But Im not really sure I can answer that question on collusion, Cohen said. Theres just so many dots that all seem to lead in the same direction. Advertisement Cohen did say he believed Trump would be willing to work with a foreign adversary: Mr. Trump is all about winning. He will do what is necessary. Republicans suggest Cohen bitter over White House job snub The senior Republican on the Oversight Committee, Rep. Jim Jordan, used his opening round of questions to outline a line of attack on Cohen, suggesting the witness had turned on Trump because he didnt get a job in the White House. Thats the point isnt it? You didnt get brought to the dance, Jordan said. Cohen denied that. Advertisement I did not want to go to the White House, Cohen said, noting that the president needs a personal lawyer who is not on the White House staff because government employees cannot assert attorney-client privilege the way a private lawyer can. He said Trump wanted him to take a job at the White House and had complained to Reince Priebus, his first chief of staff, that Cohen didnt join the administration. A very important witness comes to light Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organizations chief financial officer, is likely to be a very important witness in future proceedings, Cohens testimony made clear. Cohen testified that Weisselberg was in a meeting in 2016 where they hashed out how to pay $130,000 in hush money to an adult film actress who was alleging she had an affair with Trump. Those payments to Cohen, including a $35,000 check from Trumps personal account when he was president, took a year. Weisselberg is reportedly cooperating with federal prosecutors who are investigating violations of campaign finance laws in connection with payments to Daniels and to a former Playboy model who also alleged an affair with Trump. Advertisement Trump might have known in advance about Trump Tower meeting, Cohen claims I do not know of direct evidence that Trump colluded with Russia, Cohen testified. But, he said, he believes that Trump knew in advance about the infamous Trump Tower meeting attended by his son, Don Jr., his son-in-law, Jarred Kushner, and Paul Manafort along with Russians who had offered dirt on Clinton. He described Don. Jr. slipping into his fathers office in the days before that get-together and whispering in Trumps ear. The meeting is all set. Trump replied: OK, good. Let me know, Cohen said. Advertisement Looking back, Cohen said, I concluded that Don Jr. was referring to that June 2016 Trump Tower meeting about dirt on Hillary with the Russian representative when he walked behind his dads desk that day and that Mr. Trump knew that was the meeting Don Jr. was talking about. Cohen showcases check he says Trump wrote for Stormy hush money Cohen implicated Trump directly in the payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels. In August 2017, Trump wrote a check to Cohen for $35,000, he testified, submitting a copy of one of the checks into evidence. Read more>> Trump allegedly knew about Wikileaks dump ahead of release Cohen said Trump knew in advance that Wikileaks was going to release emails stolen from the DNC and Clintons campaign chairman, John Podesta. Days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trumps office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign. Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect wouldnt that be great. Advertisement He also portrayed Trump as an outright racist: While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. Cohen: Trump lied about Moscow project during campaign because he didnt expect to win Cohen said Trump did not directly tell him to lie to Congress: Thats not how he operates, he said. Instead Trump, made clear that he wanted him to lie. During the campaign, as Cohen was working to secure a business deal in Moscow for the Trump Organization, Trump would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing, Cohen said. That was Trumps way of telling him to lie about the negotiations, Cohen testified. At least half a dozen times during the campaign, Trump directly asked Cohen how the deal for a Trump Tower in Moscow was progressing, Cohen said.Hows it going in Russia? the candidate asked, according to Cohen. Trumps personal lawyers reviewed his testimony in which he lied to Congress about the negotiations, Cohen testified. Why did Trump lie during the campaign? Cohen has a theory that others have previously suggested: Trump never expected to win, and he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project. Advertisement A search for truth, or a sham? Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the chairman of the Oversight Committee, and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the ranking Republican member, offered starkly different assessments of Cohens testimony. Cummings called the hearing a search for the truth, saying what Cohen planned to say was deeply disturbing and should be troubling to all Americans. We are in the search of truth, Cummings said. Jordan called the hearing a sham exercise used to find dirt on the president. He noted that Cohen had pleaded guilty to lying to Congress and would report to prison in just two months. He called Cohen a fraud and a cheat. Cohen declares Trump a racist, conman and cheat After initial skirmishing over the rules, the House Oversight Committee hearing with Michael Cohen has begun. After being sworn in, Cohen declared in his opening statement that his former boss, the president, is a racist. He is a conman. And he is a cheat. He also has brought documentation, including a copy of a personal check that Trump wrote him while he was president to reimburse him for the hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels, the adult-film actress, to prevent damage to his campaign. The documents also included financial statements that Trump provided to Deutsche Bank from 2011 to 2013 and copies of letters to Trumps high school, colleges and the College Board threatening legal action if they released his transcripts or standardized test scores. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist, he is a conman and he is a cheat. Michael Cohen, on President Trump Advertisement Michael Cohen will reportedly testify that conman Trump knew of WikiLeaks plot Michael Cohen, President Trumps former lawyer, will tell Congress on Wednesday that Trump knew that his longtime advisor Roger Stone was communicating with WikiLeaks about publishing stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee, according to the text of Cohens prepared opening statement published by multiple news organizations. Read the full story 11:05 p.m. | Tim Elfrink Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz tweets at Michael Cohen about girlfriends on eve of testimony Rep. Matt Gaetz appeared to openly intimidate President Donald Trumps former personal lawyer Michael Cohen less than 24 hours before Cohen publicly testifies against his old boss before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Advertisement Hey @MichaelCohen212 Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if shell remain faithful when youre in prison. Shes about to learn a lot the Florida Republican tweeted Tuesday afternoon. Read the full story 9:00 p.m. | Associated Press Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., speaks during a House Judiciary Committee at Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 6, 2019. (Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press) Advertisement The definitive Michael Cohen explainer Michael Cohen spent more than a decade as Donald Trumps lawyer, fixer and attack dog. Now hes been cooperating with prosecutors and is testifying publicly before Congress for the first time Wednesday. Here is everything you need to know. Read the full story>> 5:00 p.m. | Chris Megerian and Kyle Kim (Kyle Kim / Los Angeles Times) In a damning depiction of Donald Trump, the presidents former lawyer on Wednesday cast him as a racist and a con man who used his inner circle to cover up politically damaging allegations about sex, and who lied throughout the 2016 election campaign about his business interests in Russia. Michael Cohen, who previously pleaded guilty to lying to Congress, told lawmakers that Trump had advance knowledge and embraced the news that emails damaging to Hillary Clinton would be released during the campaign. But he also said he had no direct evidence that Trump or his aides colluded with Russia to get him elected, the primary question of special counsel Robert Muellers investigation. Cohen, shaking off incessant criticism from Republicans anxious to paint him as a felon and liar, became the first Trump insider to pull back the curtain on a version of the inner workings of Trumps political and business operations. He likened the president to a mobster who demanded blind loyalty from underlings and expected them to lie on his behalf to conceal information and protect him even if it meant breaking the law. I am not protecting Mr. Trump anymore, Cohen declared. Advertisement My loyalty to Mr. Trump has cost me everything: my familys happiness, friendships, my law license, my company, my livelihood, my honor, my reputation, and soon my freedom, Cohen said. I will not sit back say nothing and allow him to do the same to the country. Cohens matter-of-fact testimony about secret payments and lies unfolded as Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. At a Vietnam hotel and unable to ignore the drama thousands of miles away, Trump lashed out on Twitter, saying Cohen did bad things unrelated to Trump and is lying in order to reduce his prison time. In testimony that cut to the heart of federal investigations encircling the White House, Cohen said he arranged a hush money payment to a porn actress at the presidents behest and agreed to lie about it to the public and the first lady. He said he had lied by claiming that Trump was not knowledgeable about the transaction even though the president had directly arranged for his reimbursement. And he said he was left with the unmistakable impression Trump wanted him to lie to Congress about a Moscow real estate project, though the president never directly told him so. In one revelation, Cohen said prosecutors in New York were investigating conversations Trump or his advisers had with him after his office and hotel room were raided by the FBI last April. Cohen said he could not discuss that conversation, the last contact he said he has had with the president or anyone acting on his behalf, because it remains under investigation. The appearance marked the latest step in Cohens evolution from legal fixer for the president he once boasted hed take a bullet for Trump to a foe who has implicated him in federal campaign finance violations. The hearing proceeded along parallel tracks, with Democrats focusing on allegations against Trump while Republicans sought to undermine Cohens credibility and the proceeding itself. As Republicans blasted him as a convicted liar, a mostly unrattled Cohen sought to blunt the attacks by repeatedly acknowledging his own failings. He called himself a fool, warned lawmakers of the perils of blind loyalty to a leader undeserving of it and pronounced himself ashamed of what hed done to protect Trump. Cohen is due to begin a three-year prison sentence in May, and described himself as cooperative with multiple investigations in hopes of reducing his time behind bars. He is seen as a vital witness for federal prosecutors because of his proximity to the president during key episodes under investigation and their decade-long professional relationship. The first of six Trump aides charged in the Trump-Russia investigation to testify publicly about crimes committed during the 2016 campaign and in the months that followed, Cohen also delivered biting personal commentary on a president he said never expected to win in the first place. Advertisement He never expected to win the primary. He never expected to win the general election, Cohen said. The campaign for him was always a marketing opportunity. He recounted how Trump made him threaten schools he attended to not release his grades and SAT scores and denigrated blacks as too stupid to vote for him. He said Trump once confided to him that, despite his public explanation of a medical deferment from the Vietnam War because of bone spurs, he never had any intention of fighting there. I find it ironic, President Trump, that you are in Vietnam right now, Cohen said. Cohen gave lawmakers his first-person account of how he arranged to buy the silence of a porn actress and a Playboy model who said they had sex with Trump. He described a February 2017 conversation with Trump in the Oval Office in which the president reassured him that reimbursement checks sent through Federal Express were coming but would take some time to get through the White House system. Advertisement He said the president spoke to him a year later to discuss the public messaging around the transaction, and had even once put his wife, Melania, on the phone so that Cohen could lie to her. Lying to the first lady is one of my biggest regrets, Cohen said. She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly, and she did not deserve that. In an allegation relating to Muellers probe, Cohen said he overheard Trump confidant Roger Stone telling the candidate in the summer of 2016 that WikiLeaks would dump damaging information about Clinton. Trump put Stone on speakerphone as Stone relayed that he had communicated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign, Cohen said. Damaging emails U.S. officials say were hacked by Russia were later released by WikiLeaks. Advertisement Trump responded by saying wouldnt that be great, Cohen said. Stone disputed that account Wednesday, and Barry Pollack, a lawyer for Assange, said Stone and Assange did not have the telephone call that Cohen described. Cohens claims that Trump had advance knowledge of the emails contradict the presidents assertions that he was in the dark, and it is not clear how legally problematic that could be for Trump anyway. Mueller has not suggested that mere awareness of WikiLeaks plans, as Stone is purported to have had, is by itself a crime. Cohen also suggested Trump implicitly told him to lie about a Moscow real estate project. Cohen has admitted lying about the project, which he says Trump knew about as Cohen was negotiating with Russia during the campaign. Cohen said Trump did not directly tell him to lie, but he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. Advertisement Cohen said he does not have direct evidence that Trump colluded with the Russian government during the election, but that he has suspicions, including after a June 2016 meeting between the presidents oldest son and a Kremlin-connected lawyer. I wouldnt use the word colluding. Was there something odd about the back-and-forth praise with President Putin? Cohen said. Yes, but Im not really sure I can answer that question in terms of collusion. Federal prosecutors in New York have said Trump directed Cohen to arrange payments to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in the run-up to the 2016 campaign. Cohen has said he acted out of blind loyalty. He said he was presenting the committee with a copy of a check Trump wrote from his personal bank account after he became president to reimburse Cohen for the hush money payments. He offered up other exhibits as well, including examples of financial statements he said Trump had drawn up to show he was wealthier than he really was. Advertisement ___ Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman, Lisa Mascaro, Chad Day, Michael Balsamo and Colleen Long contributed to this report. ___ Follow all of APs Trump Investigations coverage at https://apnews.com/TrumpInvestigations Advertisement Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Michael Cohen is spilling all the beans on his old boss. The prison-bound ex-lawyer testified before Congress on Wednesday that President Trump is a racist conman who has committed crimes while in office, cheated himself out of paying his fair share of taxes and lied to the American public on several occasions about his various connections to Russia. Cohen, who worked as Trumps personal lawyer and all-around fixer for a decade, described the man he once said hed take a bullet for as a serial cheat and a power-hungry autocrat who doesnt hesitate to engage in criminal activity in order to get his way and win. Everybodys job at the Trump Organization was to protect Mr. Trump. Every day, most of us knew we were coming in and we were going to lie for him on something, Cohen testified before the House Oversight Committee about his time at the Presidents namesake company. Advertisement And that has become the norm. Thats exactly whats happening right now in this country. Its exactly whats happening here in government. Cohen backed up some of his stunning testimony with documentation that implicates Trump in criminal wrongdoing, including a copy of a $35,000 sent to Cohen on Aug. 1, 2017. The check, which is signed by Trump and issued from his personal account, was one of several reimbursing Cohen for a $130,000 hush payment he issued on the Presidents behalf to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election a payoff that violated campaign finance laws. Cohen, whos set to start serving a three-year prison sentence on May 6, confessed in his guilty plea last year that the illegal payment was issued at Trumps direction to keep Daniels from speaking publicly about allegedly having sex with the President in 2006. Trumps signature on the reimbursement check suggests he was fully aware of the payoff and the payback, both of which were illegal since the President didnt list them in his sworn financial disclosure forms in 2017. Cohen even recalled Trump telling him in the Oval Office in February 2017 that his reimbursement cash was coming. Dont worry, Michael, your January and February reimbursement checks are coming, Trump said, according to Cohen. Cohen also provided the committee with financial statements he said Trump gave to Deutsche Bank and other financial institutions in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Advertisement The statements had inflated Trumps net worth in an illegal effort to more easily obtain bank loans, Cohen said. He also testified the President at other times deflated the value of his assets to reduce his real estate taxes. Both of those alleged acts are illegal and would amount to bank and tax fraud. In addition to documented allegations, Cohens made explosive claims about Trump and his campaign connections to Russia a topic under investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller and several congressional committees. Advertisement Cohen testified Trump knew his longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone was in contact with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during the 2016 campaign something both Trump and Stone have long denied. Cohen, 52, says he specifically recalled a July 2016 phone call between Trump and Stone. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign, Cohen will say. Trump, according to Cohen, responded, Wouldnt that be great. Advertisement In yet another stunning twist, Cohen testified Trump likely knew of the infamous June 2016 Trump Tower meeting that his son, Donald Trump Jr., hosted in hope of obtaining dirt on Hillary Clinton from a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer. A few weeks before the high-stakes sit-down, Cohen recalled sitting in Trumps office when Trump Jr. came into the room and walked behind his fathers desk which in itself was unusual. I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: The meeting is all set, Cohen said. I remember Mr. Trump saying, OK goodlet me know. The President maintains he had no knowledge of the meeting, which was also attended by former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner. Advertisement Trump, whos in Vietnam for his second summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, excoriated Cohen in a tweet ahead of the testimony and zeroed in on the disgraced lawyer having been disbarred by a New York court one day prior. Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately), Trump posted. He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Erica Ollmann Saphire, a biologist who rose to fame at Scripps Research for her efforts to battle the Ebola virus and other deadly diseases, has been recruited by one of the institutes chief competitors. Saphire is moving her lab to the La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), which is located just a couple of miles away from Scripps Research. LJI just represented an opportunity I couldnt refuse, Saphire told the Union-Tribune. New colleagues, new ideas, new opportunities, total focus on immunology and human disease. They really impressed me. I cant wait! Advertisement LJI is significantly smaller than Scripps Research, but is regarded as one of the nations premiere centers for the study of immunology. It works in affiliation with UC San Diego. Saphire earned a doctorate in molecular biology at Scripps Research in 2000 and soon joined the faculty, becoming a full professor in 2012. She has spent significant time on field research, including a visit to west Africa, where she stalked rodents to learn how they spread viral hermorrahagic fever diseases such as Ebola and Lassa. In the laboratory, Saphire figured out the structure of a key protein that allows Ebola to invade cells a discovery that proved useful to drug makers. Saphire and her colleagues expanded on that work, helping San Diegos Mapp Biopharmaceutial to develop a drug that has shown promise in fighting Ebola. She also generated a lot of attention in 2014 for turning to crowdfunding to raise money for scientific equipment to help an international team of scientists battle Ebola in west Africa. Saphires departure is seen as a big loss at Scripps Research. While we are sad to see Erica go, we know she will continue to advance the field of immunology with the renowned team at La Jolla Institute for Immunology, said Jamie Williamson, executive vice president of research at Scripps. Science is a collaborative effort across the Torrey Pines Mesa and we look forward to continuing our relationship with Erica and La Jolla Institute for Immunology through her ongoing collaboration with Scripps Research as an adjunct faculty member following her transition. Advertisement Such star recruitments are common in La Jolla, one of the largest centers for science, engineering and medicine in the U.S. In December, UC San Diego recruited renowned microbiome researcher Jack Gilbert from the University of Chicago. He was brought in to collaborate with Rob Knight, another top scientist, who was recruited from the University of Colorado in 2015. ICYMI UCSD excludes men as presenters during part of a science conference to highlight the achievements of women researchers Scripps Oceanography gets research vessel to explore coastal waters Advertisement UCSD students will try to launch rocket 6 miles into the atmosphere Famed UCSD oceanographer Walter Munk dies at 101 A person who reported hearing gunshots at Southwestern College in Chula Vista apparently mistook construction noise for gunfire, police said Tuesday. Officers raced to the campus on Otay Lakes Road but found no shooter, no victim and no one in distress, police Sgt. Jim Horst said. The college library was evacuated and the campus was put on a brief lockdown, according to a tweet from the college. The 911 call came in regarding possible shots fired at the Library Resource Center about 1:20 p.m. It took officers about 10 minutes to conclude that there was no shooter on campus, Horst said. Advertisement School officials tweeted that college police investigated, with city police, the report that the gunfire may have been on the librarys third floor. The all-clear was given by about 1:40 p.m. Horst said there is construction going on in the area, and officers at the scene believe some loud noise by workers sounded like gunfire to the caller. However, officers assisted by a San Diego police helicopter searched the school further just to make sure were not missing something, Horst said. We have to take these things seriously. Advertisement pauline.repard@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @pdrepard A head-on crash on a Poway road Wednesday morning sent four people to the hospital with complaints of pain, officials said. The crash was reported on Espola Road near Poway Road shortly before 9 a.m. involving a Toyota Corolla and a Ford minivan, said San Diego County sheriffs Lt. Dave Perkins. NBC 7 San Diego reported that the vans driver was trapped in the vehicle when medics arrived, and that firefighters cut the door open to extract the driver. The man driving the Toyota was treated at the scene for minor injuries while the four women riding in the minivan were taken to the hospital to be evaluated after complaining of pain, Perkins said. Advertisement The road was closed for about an hour as officers investigated the crash. Twitter: @karenkucher (619) 293-1350 karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com A father suffered significant burns and one of his children sustained smoke-inhalation injuries in a fire at a Carmel Valley apartment on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said. The blaze apparently started when a gust of wind ignited some of the fathers smoking materials about 4:30 p.m. in a second-floor unit at The Club Torrey Pines Apartments on Torrey Bluff Drive, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Battalion Chief David Connor told San Diego News Video. It was unclear what kind of smoking materials the man had in the dwelling, Connor said. When firefighters arrived to the building located near the corner of Carmel Country Road and McGuire Drive, across from a shopping center and south of Del Mar Heights Road they saw smoke coming from the second-floor apartment and raced to fight the flames, Connor said. Advertisement As firefighters went up the stairs, the burned man and his child were coming down, the battalion chief said. Fire and medic crews assessed the pairs injuries, treated them briefly at the scene and then sent them in ambulances to the specialized burn unit at UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest, Connor said. Firefighters went into the apartment, where they discovered a very small fire in one of the bedrooms, Connor said. The flames were knocked down by 4:52 p.m., Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Alec Phillipp said. The fire displaced the family of five that lived in the apartment, including the injured mans wife and two other children, who were not home at the time of the blaze. They planned to stay with friends or family and declined help from the Red Cross. Even though the injured father told fire crews it was smoking materials that started the blaze, arson investigators were sent to the home Tuesday evening to determine the exact cause of the flames, Connor said. We dont know what it was were not saying it was legal or illegal we dont know yet, Connor told San Diego News Video. Thats what were investigating now. The extent of the injuries to the man and his child were not immediately known, though Connor said the man suffered significant burns, and Phillipp said both patients were taken to the hospital with injuries considered acute or traumatic. Advertisement No cost estimate of the damage to the apartment was available Tuesday night. Twitter: @Alex_Riggins Advertisement (619) 293-1710 alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com UPDATES: 9:15 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details. Advertisement This article was originally published at 5:25 p.m. Residents of San Diegos beach communities say they are facing a public safety and sanitation crisis because city officials have stopped enforcing a 35-year-old law that made it illegal for people to live inside vehicles. They say the number of unsheltered people living in cars near the beach has exploded since the city stopped enforcing the law six months ago, when a federal judge declared it too vague. The City Council voted unanimously to repeal the law earlier this month and finalized that repeal with a second vote Monday, frustrating residents who said some sort of replacement law should have been adopted before the repeal. While we understand there may have been some rationale for repealing the law from a constitutional point of view, it was a terrible blow to the beach communities, resident Glen Volk told the council Monday. Advertisement If you allow people to sleep in their vehicles, you will eventually have open camping all along our view corridors, such as Sunset Cliffs, Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach and La Jolla, Volk said. We have witnessed people urinating and defecating in our streets, alleys and city parks. Council members said they empathize with the residents, but they essentially had no legal choice but to repeal the law after the judges strongly worded declaration that it was unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Anthony Battaglia said the law doesnt indicate specifically what turns a vehicle into a persons home or living quarters, noting that people have gotten tickets under the law for reading a book inside their vehicle. The injunction ordered by Battaglia came in response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of disabled homeless people who prefer to live in vehicles because they dont function well in traditional homeless shelters. Councilman Chris Ward said it would be foolish to engage in a lengthy legal fight that would most likely waste city money that could be used instead to help solve the citys homelessness problem with more housing and support services. Im not going to spend millions of dollars, he said. Councilwoman Dr. Jennifer Campbell, whose district includes the citys beach areas except La Jolla, said the residents need to understand the plight faced by those forced to live in cars. These homeless people that have a vehicle but no home are faced with a situation where theyre either going to sleep on the sidewalk or sleep in a vehicle. Advertisement She said the problems in the beach communities should serve as an impetus for the city to create more safe parking lots where homeless people can park overnight, something Mayor Kevin Faulconer has promised to do. The residents, however, said most of the people who have recently started living in cars near city beaches are not the traditional homeless, but they would be better described as vagrants and transients. They are not typically the homeless people that we want to help in our city, said Willis Allen, longtime owner of the Crystal Pier Hotel in Pacific Beach. Theyre typically transient people that come in for various periods of time, cause a lot of problems and then leave. Brian White, president of the Pacific Beach Town Council, predicted the problem could have severe consequences similar to the citys 2017 hepatitis A outbreak. Advertisement We are opening the floodgates to a public safety and sanitation crisis in our neighborhoods, he said. Greg Block, a spokesman for Mayor Faulconer, said city officials are keenly aware of the situation. We understand and share the communitys concerns, particularly about trash and dangerous or unsanitary activities, and we are working with the city attorneys office to ensure we preserve safety and cleanliness in our communities, he said. Block also said the city will focus on enforcing other laws, such as those prohibiting parking of recreational vehicles on city streets overnight, noise statutes and anti-dumping regulations. Advertisement Councilman Scott Sherman hinted that there are other possible remedies but the ongoing lawsuit is preventing city officials from publicly discussing them. Our hands are kinda tied the best we can say is stand by, Sherman said. I have a feeling we are working on something. Volk, one of the residents, suggested the city could limit living in cars to commercial areas, to keep the problem away from residential areas with children. I didnt work hard to own a home and succeed in the United States of America to have people camping around my home, Volk said. Advertisement david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick Federal prosecutors in New York are investigating President Trump for crimes that have not yet been publicly discussed, Michael Cohen suggested during his long-awaited congressional testimony Wednesday. Appearing before the House Oversight Committee, the former personal attorney to Trump slipped out the potentially explosive detail while dodging questions from Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) about when he last spoke to the President. Cohen finally confessed he talked with Trump about two months after the FBI raided his Manhattan home and office in April 2018 but refused to say what the conversation was about. Unfortunately, this topic is actually something that is being investigated right now by the Southern District of New York, and Ive been asked by them not to discuss, and not to talk about these issues, Cohen said. Advertisement Krishnamoorthi, seemingly content with the answer, asked, Is there any other wrongdoing or illegal act that you are aware of regarding Donald Trump that we havent yet discussed today? Cohen responded, Yes, and again, those are part of the investigation that is currently being looked at by the Southern District of New York. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys office in Manhattan, which is also known as the Southern District of New York, declined to comment. It is publicly known SDNY prosecutors are investigating pre-2016 election hush payments issued to women who had threatened to go public with allegations they had sex with Trump years ago. Cohen discussed those payments in exhaustive detail during his oversight panel testimony so it appears unlikely thats what he was referencing in declining to answer Krishnamoorthis questions. Its also known that SDNY is investigating Trumps inaugural committee for corruption as it relates to a possible pay-to-play scheme offered to deep-pocketed donors. The inaugural committee probe did not come up during Cohens Wednesday testimony, so it is possible thats the ongoing investigation he referenced. However, its unclear how the Trump conversation Cohen mentioned would pertain in any way to the inaugural committee. Advertisement Cohens testimony before lawmakers delved deep into his time working as Trumps personal fixer for a decade. He described Trump as a cheat, a conman and a racist and testified Trump has committed crimes since winning the 2016 election. In sworn testimony before Congress on Wednesday, President Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen accused his ex-boss of being a virulent racist and backed up his claim with a story from Chicago. While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way, Cohen said in prepared remarks he read before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. And he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid, Cohen added. And yet I continued to work for him. Cohens remarks are similar to ones he made to Vanity Fair last November. In that interview, he provided more details about Trumps alleged comments. Advertisement Cohen recounted a conversation he had with Trump in the late 2000s, while they were traveling to Chicago for a Trump International Hotel board meeting, the magazine reported, quoting Cohen as saying, We were going from the airport to the hotel, and we drove through what looked like a rougher neighborhood. Trump made a comment to me, saying that only the blacks could live like this. Cohen brought up that conversation in his testimony before Congress to illustrate how racist he believes Trump is. Mr. Trump is a racist, he said in his prepared remarks. The country has seen Mr. Trump court white supremacists and bigots. You have heard him call poorer countries shitholes. In private, he is even worse. He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasnt a shithole, Cohen said. This was when Barack Obama was president of the United States. Cohen also claimed in prepared remarks that Trump knew ahead of time that WikiLeaks had emails damaging to Hillary Clintons presidential campaign, and Cohen said that Trump is a conman and a cheat. In a statement sent to the Washington Post earlier Wednesday, Rudy Giuliani, Trumps personal attorney, questioned Cohens truthfulness. Its pathetic. This is a lawyer who (taped) his own client when he claimed he was being loyal. If you believe him, you are a fool, Giuliani said. He bragged he was connected to Russian organized crime and he may be. His father-in-law who gave him millions to (invest) was convicted of tax fraud in a money-laundering operation. Lets see if these Democrats want to ask about his many crimes having nothing to do with anyone but his coterie of business associates with questionable connections. Advertisement David Axelrod, director of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago and a longtime Democratic strategist, said the takeaways from Cohens testimony will fall on partisan lines. A lot of what hes saying is gratuitous and unprovable, he said, pointing specifically to conversations Cohen and Trump had. Whats likely to happen here is that those inclined to support the president and maybe even the president will dismiss it as lies. Those who dont support the president will give it credibility. He (Cohen) was the presidents fixer, his right hand man. Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a Moscow real estate deal and campaign finance violations in November. He is now cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation of Russian election meddling, and will serve several years in federal prison starting later this year. Wednesday was the second of three consecutive days of congressional appearances for Cohen. He will also appear before the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday, speaking in private. Chicago Tribunes Lisa Donovan contributed. Constantin Bakala and his family have survived kidnapping, torture, rape, poison and a shipwreck. Now, faced with the complexities of the U.S. immigration system, they may be on the verge of defeat. Bakala, 48, and his family fled their home in the Democratic Republic of Congo in late 2016 after they were targeted for Bakalas participation in an opposition party that promoted democracy in the country, according to his wife. After traveling through more than 10 countries, the family arrived at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in November 2017. Bakala was separated from his wife and seven children and sent to an immigration detention center in Georgia while they were released to live in the San Diego area, a common practice at the time. He hasnt seen them since. Advertisement Because they were separated physically, their cases were also handled separately in immigration court. Since the federal government prioritizes detained cases, Bakalas finished before the familys even began, according to their attorney. Unable to find an attorney to represent him at the detention center in rural Georgia and with little money to even pay for phone calls to the outside world to try to get help, Bakala faced by himself an immigration court known for being tough on asylum seekers. Judge Michael Baird, who heard his case, granted 11 of the 152 asylum cases that he decided between fiscal 2013 and 2018, records show. Bakala lost. He tried to appeal the case by himself and was denied that as well, according to court records. Now the family, with the help of a San Diego church, has found an attorney to help him, but it may be too late. He is convinced that if he returns to the Democratic Republic of Congo, he will be murdered by his own government. Bakalas party membership card shows he was part of the Rassemblement des Congolais Democrates et Nationalistes, or RCDN, which opposed former president Joseph Kabilas maneuvers to stay in power past his term limit. When Bakala wasnt at his job at the Ministry of Health, he worked with the partys youth and advised them on how to demonstrate peacefully against the ruling party, his wife Annie Bwetu Kapongo said. Bwetu Kapongo tells their story slowly, haltingly, sometimes with painful detail and sometimes in circles, a symptom of the trauma she carries from what happened. She remembers when her husband first told her about getting threatened, and she remembers the day he went missing in 2016. Advertisement When she went to the police to ask for help finding him, she was locked in a room that reeked of urine. Later, three policemen came in, beat her and raped her. She tried to stop them and pointed out that she was pregnant. The men didnt care, she said. She ended up losing the baby. When she was eventually able to return home, her husband was still missing. The two stores she owned, one that sold fish and one that sold cakes and juice, were broken into and robbed by people looking for her husband, who had by this point escaped where he had been imprisoned and tortured, according to his attorney. One night, Bwetu Kapongo woke up to the family dogs aggressive barking before hearing it abruptly stop. They found the dog dead the next day. Advertisement Another night, she and the children got sick. Their heads were spinning, and they were vomiting. Eventually, they found a tool someone had used to release poison into the house, she said. Finally, one night she heard a knock on her window. It was her husband. Aided by people hed brought to help the family, they scooped the children out of their beds while they were sleeping and fled in a boat down a river to the Republic of Congo, where the people helping them paid for their hotel, Bwetu Kapongo said. They waited a couple of months there until they had travel documents to get to Brazil and left in early 2017 to begin a grueling journey to the U.S. border. Advertisement We came because America respects the law, and they know how to protect people, Bwetu Kapongo said through a translator. In each of the countries they passed through, officials told them that they could not stay, she added. They were sent from Panama back to Colombia when they tried to get across the border by boat and ended up having to make the grueling 6- to 7-day walk through the jungle to Costa Rica. In Costa Rica, they found a boat that would take them to Nicaragua. After theyd been on it for about 45 minutes, Bwetu Kapongo heard shots fired at them. She told her children to lay down. Then, the boat broke, she said, and it began to sink. All of a sudden, her youngest child Joseph, who is now 5, was no longer in her arms. Advertisement She started to drown. Is this a nightmare? Is this real? Is this happening? she recalled asking the darkness that surrounded her. She felt other bodies in the water, hands pushing her head down as they tried desperately to reach the surface. She felt someone clutch her neck. It was David, her 12-year-old son. When a rescue boat pulled her to safety, she found her 17-year-old daughter Marie Louise. Bwetu Kapongo began to pray, crying out the names of her five other children and asking God to find them. Her husband was soon rescued from the water and prayed with her. Advertisement When rescuers noticed bubbles moving in the water, they found Joseph along with 8-year-old Moses and 10-year-old Augustine clinging to a rope and pulled them to safety. Emmanuel, her 15-year-old son, had been carried further away into the water with 14-year-old Daniel. They found a life preserver that had been thrown into the water and clung to it, bringing with them two girls from another family who were also nearly drowning. When Emmanuel used the last of his strength to cry out, rescuers found them, Bwetu Kapongo said. Two people who had been on the boat died, one adult and one child. Though the family survived, all of the documents and photos that could have been used as evidence were lost in the water. Advertisement They would have to journey by boat two more times between Costa Rica and Nicaragua before successfully making it the rest of the way up to the U.S. border. Constantin Bakala and wife Annie Bwetu Kapongo while the family was in Brazil (Emmanuel Bakala) Bwetu Kapongo said she expected to receive protection and respect when they arrived. Instead, her husband was quickly taken away. It is only when she reaches this point in the story that she begins to cry. Advertisement She wouldnt hear from him for about a month. He told her that he didnt know how to find her, that it took that long for officials to give him information about where she was. The familys attorney Julie Hartle said the familys story is horrific but not unusual. Other attorneys she knows have had similar cases. This family meets every criteria. They were persecuted for being democracy activists, kidnapped and tortured by their own government, Hartle said. It meets the exact definition of asylum for political persecution. It shouldve been straightforward. They were able to use the detention system against them. Bakala had to fill out his asylum application in English, a language he does not speak well. Though he told the judge verbally about three times he was taken by police, how he was beaten, interrogated and held without food, he only put information about one of the incidents in his application. Advertisement That sounds like a pretty bad event, the judge said in his ruling of one of the incidents Bakala described. Unfortunately, it is never mentioned anywhere in the respondents application for asylum. The evidence that Bakala was able to gather and present including a notice from his political party about his disappearance, another notice that the ruling party was looking for him, his voter ID card and party membership card was not translated into English, so the judge said he couldnt consider it, according to court records. He found Bakalas story not credible. The Executive Office for Immigration Review said it does not comment on judges decisions. Neither Immigration and Customs Enforcement nor Customs and Border Protection were able to respond to request for comment in time for publication. Advertisement As immigration officials prepared to deport Bakala, attorneys filed emergency motions to temporarily keep him in the U.S. to try to reopen his case with new evidence. Last week, the 11th Circuit granted him a stay until Friday. In the meantime, members of the church helping the family here in San Diego are planning a protest outside of the federal building at noon on Thursday in support of Bakala. Bwetu Kapongo said the most important thing for her is protection for her children. He sacrificed his life to protect his kids, she said in French. If we hadnt done what we did, they would already be dead. Advertisement Beyond that, she wishes for her husbands return. She tries to hide her exhaustion and her tears from her children, but she doesnt think she can raise them alone. After the mountain I went through, Ive got no more strength, she said. Advertisement Immigration Videos On Now New developments in family separation case 9:53 On Now A San Diego woman volunteered as a medic in Texas helping migrant families 2:35 On Now Immigration policy protests in Carlsbad nearly cancelled after permit issue 1:38 On Now When children are separated from their parents at the border, here is where they go next On Now Prospects of a deal for 'Dreamers' may hinge on separating Trump from hard-liners on his staff On Now What is DACA? On Now Border wall prototype contractors selected On Now Video: Ukrainian boxer wins asylum in U.S. On Now 30 apprehended after Border Patrol agents discover tunnel On Now Video: Kurdish diaspora prepare to vote on independence Follow me on Facebook for live updates about immigration news kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com, @bgirledukate on Twitter Gary Butterfield and David Patterson of Veterans for Peace do not think they can end homelessness. They have, however, made cold nights more bearable for thousands of people who otherwise would have been huddled outdoors under a thin blanket or bundled in a jacket, if they even had one. Our charter is not to solve the homeless problem, said Butterfield, an Army veteran who served from 1967 to 1969. We provide a small measure of relief and some emotional, physical contact and recognition to people. The San Diego chapter of Veterans for Peace includes only about 65 dues-paying members and has just four teams that distribute sleeping bags, but their efforts have added up. The sleeping bag project started in 2010, and the group expects to hand out its 4,000th sleeping bag next month, an impressive number considering there are about 5,000 unsheltered homeless people in the county. Advertisement Getting the sleeping bags to people who need them can seem a Sisyphean task at times. During a distribution in downtown San Diego on Monday, several homeless people said they appreciated getting a new one, because their last one had been stolen. People run off with your stuff, said Richard Morse, 64, who has been in San Diego since 1969 and homeless since the 1980s. Morse was happy to see Butterfield and Patterson pull up to the sidewalk where he and other homeless people were huddled. Its been cold, he said, thanking them for the sleeping bag. So cold you cant sleep. The sleeping bag project started with Veterans for Peace member Jan Ruhman, who had been working with homeless veterans at the time. Patterson, an Air Force veteran who served from 1971 to 1975, said volunteers quickly saw an ethical problem with the plan to provide sleeping bags to homeless veterans whlie passing by people who were not veterans but also cold. While not exclusively serving veterans, the organization is still following its mission statement by raising awareness of the costs of war, Butterfield said. If Mayor Faulconer cant find the money locally to take care of the homeless problem, why dont we just not have one extra F-35 this year? Butterfield said, referring to a stealth fighter jet that has a current reported cost of $85 million each. Its all our citizens money were spending. Were not taking care of our people. Advertisement Veterans for Peace teams distribute duffel bags with socks and sleeping bags around downtown and as far north as Escondido and Oceanside. Patterson and Butterfield prefer to focus on streets that do not have large encampments, and instead seek out loners and women with children. Popeye, they call me, said Kim McCloud, 64, introducing himself to Patterson and Butterfield on the Second Avenue bridge over Interstate 5. Homeless since 1990, McCloud said he had recently been given a sleeping bag, but it was stolen before he got to use it. It means a lot that somebody is looking out for me, he said. Advertisement Patterson and Butterfield met Carl Russell, 73, and David Leonhardt, 63, outside the Gary and Mary West Senior Center on Fourth Avenue. Russell, homeless since his wife died in 2015, was happy to receive the bag. Leonhardt declined, saying he wouldnt be allowed to take it into the senior center the next day. It would have been awesome a couple of nights ago when it was freezing, but Id have nowhere to put it when I go in there, he said. Sooner or later, somebody is going to jack it. Butterfield said participating in the distribution has changed his view of homelessness. Advertisement I think my opinion was that they should pull themselves up by their bootstraps, he said. To me the big lesson is, I cant condemn people, but show them compassion because we dont know their circumstances. Teams often to go out with a third person to share the experience. Kate Beckwith, one of the team members who distribute bags once or twice a month, got her first experience in a ride-along in 2015. In an report she wrote after her first night, she recalled a woman in her 20s who asked how she could find Beckwith the next day to return the sleeping bag. When I replied, No, its yours to keep, we were both tearing up, Beckwith wrote. Advertisement Butterfield said one of his more moving experiences was when he gave a sleeping bag to a young man near Petco Park. He said, I appreciate the sleeping bag, but the biggest part of this interaction is that you recognize me as a person, he said. I cant tell you how many people walk by me as a homeless person, turn away, look through me, look over me. Patterson said donations to the program are tax-deductible and can be made online at sdvfp.org or by mailing checks to 4767 Agora Way, Oceanside, CA, 92056. 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 Advertisement UPDATES: 2 p.m. March 1, 2019 A previous version of this story gave an incorrect mailing address to make donations to the Veterans for Peace Compassion Campaign. The address has been corrected. Elected officials throughout the San Diego region are ramping up efforts to form a public alternative to San Diego Gas & Electric, with the city of San Diego leading the way and even the county Board of Supervisors now looking at signing up. Californias three large investor-owned utilities have since 2010 seen more than 8 million customers defect to so-called community choice aggregation programs, from Humboldt to Los Angeles to Solana Beach. However, SDG&E is now facing the largest displacement of a utilitys customer base in the state raising question about everything from grid reliability to whether the public alternative can deliver more renewable energy as promised. Its potentially a very big experiment, said Matthew Freedman, staff attorney with The Utility Reform Network. Advertisement The people who have been pushing for (community choice) in the San Diego area are genuinely looking to create a better model and push for superior environmental results, he added. But the reality is difficult. You need to do a lot of long-term contracting. Weve see a disconnect in some cases between the desires of the local activists and the performance of the (program) once its been created. When elected officials vote to form a community-choice program, the local investor-owned utility continues to operate the poles and wires needed to deliver energy. However, a publicly controlled agency takes over buying and selling power for a jurisdiction. Customers can opt out of the program if they would rather receive the utilitys rates. After several years of indecision throughout the San Diego region, momentum has in recent months shifted quickly in favor of adopting community choice. In February 2017, county elected officials declined to study the issue of forming a government-run alternative to SDG&E. The utilitys parent company, Sempra Energy, had just started a lobbying blitz to raise doubts about the idea, and Faulconer had yet to make up his mind. Today that lobbying effort has been disbanded, and the city of San Diego is spearheading an effort to form a joint powers authority that would buy and sell electricity in collaboration with other cities. The movement got its latest boost on Tuesday when the San Diego Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to draft a blueprint for joining the regional community choice effort. Many of these (programs) have been able to offer highly competitive rates compared to the big utilities, said Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who championed the idea a year ago. The program brings choice and competition to the energy market pure and simple. It allows communities to band together to buy and sell electricity and opens the door to competition. Advertisement Supervisors Jim Desmond and Kristin Gaspar voted to draft the plan but expressed skepticism about whether it should ultimately be adopted. Despite extensive research, (community choice programs) have left me with more questions than I have answers because this is an ever-evolving construct, said Gaspar, who was opposed to studying the issue a year ago. I support clean energy, she added. I support lower prices, but what I cant support is getting into the energy business without a plan. Desmond said he was concerned about the countys ability to purchase electricity in the most cost-effective manner. Advertisement Government is not always the most efficient implementor when it comes to business decisions, he said. You know the post office and DMV, even filling potholes is sometimes a challenge. Im just wondering if this could be contracted out to a separate entity that would be part of the (joint powers authority) that wouldnt have to have county employees or maybe just limited county employees. However, with vocal support from newly elected Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, the county is now committed to delivering a blueprint for community choice by October, with updates to the public every two months. We have a mountain of data and evidence that this works, that it provides greater choice, that it has the potential to lower utility rates, Fletcher said at Tuesdays meeting. SDG&E officials said they would back the countys efforts. Advertisement Our highly trained experts stand ready to support the county should you decide to move forward, SDG&E spokesman Joe Gabaldon said at the hearing. At the same time, formal negotiations between a number of cities are in the works. The San Diego City Council voted on Monday to kick off talks with places such as Solana Beach, Chula Vista, La Mesa, Del Mar, Encinitas, Carlsbad, and Oceanside. Officials said the Port of San Diego, the San Diego International Airport, and the County Water Authority, as well as cities in Orange County that are within SDG&Es service territory have also expressed interest. Such a community choice program could capture more than 70 percent of SDG&Es electrical sales, according to utility officials. Advertisement Im so excited about the prospect of this, said Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear of recent developments in favor of community choice. Its a sea change. The perspective is 100 percent different. The political landscape around community choice shifted in October when Faulconer announced his support despite the ongoing opposition campaign funded by SDG&E shareholders, which included many of the Republican Mayors traditional allies. Faulconer touted the government-run program as the best way to ensure the citys pledge to run on all green power by 2035, and said it would lower customer bills. The councils liberal majority was instantly on board. By January SDG&E had seemed to accept that at least 40 percent of its customers would be enrolled in a publicly run electricity program. The utility said the change wouldnt hurt its bottom line as long as a few technical issues were squared away. Advertisement Utility officials have even started talking about getting out of the business of buying and selling energy altogether. While it will likely continue to operate the electrical grid that services San Diegans, utility executives have approached energy regulators and the Legislature about the somewhat radical idea. Under the current rules, investor-owned utilities are the provider of last resort, meaning they keep the lights on in the event a community choice program fails. SDG&E has been in talks with officials in Sacramento about having the state take over that burden. Advertisement Twitter: @jemersmith Phone: (619) 293-2234 Advertisement Email: joshua.smith@sduniontribune.com An atmospheric river rainstorm pounded Northern California on Tuesday, and officials are saying the Russian River will hit flood stage. The National Weather Service said the new storm produced more than a foot of rain in the hills above Healdsburg in Sonoma County. Sonoma County officials have ordered people living in about two dozen areas near the river to evacuate, noting that the river is forecast to exceed flood stage 32 feet at 6 p.m. Its expected to crest at 46.1 feet at 10 p.m. Wednesday. Evacuate now, the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office said in an alert shortly before 4 p.m. Advertisement Authorities were opening shelters at the following locations: Sebastopol Center for the Arts at 282 S. High St. in Sebastopol. Sonoma County Fairgrounds Grace Pavilion at 1350 Bennett Valley Road in Santa Rosa. Evacuees can take a free shuttle from the Guerneville Veterans War Memorial at 16320 Church St. in Guerneville. Areal Flood Warning has been extended through 5 PM this evening. #cawx #caflood pic.twitter.com/EiRdvtAzvJ NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) February 26, 2019 As of Tuesday morning, the storm had drenched Sacramento with 1.26 inches of rain in 24 hours. Venado, a community in Sonoma County, had received more than 9.5 inches in the same period, with more on the way. With so much rain, Sonoma County sheriffs officials have warned residents of the potential for flooding from the Russian River near Guerneville. Heavy rain is expected to continue across the area for the next 24 hours. Expect localized flooding on roads and waterways. #cawx pic.twitter.com/w3OpNL6uJw NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) February 26, 2019 The storm also is expected to drop 2 to 8 feet of snow on the Sierra Nevada through Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service. This comes amid what has already been a snowy period for ski resorts. At Mammoth Mountain, one ski area reported getting as much as 24 feet of fresh powder in the last month. Russian River in Healdsburg courtesy Heather Danielle Stewart. #abc7now Its coming down like crazy, she says. #abc7now pic.twitter.com/cUzOesAanJ Wayne Freedman (@WayneFreedman) February 26, 2019 Advertisement Officials plan to close a portion of Highway 1 in Big Sur at 5 p.m. Tuesday in advance of the storm. The California Department of Transportation closes the roads most vulnerable slide areas when significant storms are predicted to hit the region. Closures will be in effect at Pauls Slide and Mud Creek, near the border of Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, until the rain ends and crews can inspect for damage. An estimated 2,000 homes and other buildings along the Russian River in Sonoma County have flooded after days of torrential rain sent water spilling over its banks and inundated nearby communities, authorities said late Wednesday. By Wednesday night, rescuers had saved about 40 people who were stuck in floodwaters and authorities had closed 89 roads as the river swelled to about 45 feet 13 feet above flood stage, said Sonoma County spokeswoman Hannah Euser. No injuries were reported. The water was expected to start receding in the early morning hours Thursday. People living in about two dozen areas near the river were ordered to evacuate by Sonoma County officials Tuesday in preparation for possibly the regions worst flood in over 20 years. Officials staffed extra deputies and dispatchers to help with evacuations and field emergency calls, while two boats were deployed to the lower Russian River to get people out. Advertisement As of early Wednesday, a rain gauge northwest of the town of Guerneville had received nearly 20.5 inches of rain in 48 hours, according to the National Weather Service. The area is known for its steep coastal mountains and creeks lined by redwoods, which can rapidly funnel deluges from Pacific storms into the shallow Russian River. The river first exceeded flood stage 32 feet Tuesday evening. By early Wednesday, it had swollen to 40.5 feet, essentially turning Guerneville into an island, and continued to rise. Forecasters predicted it woule reach its highest level at 46.1 feet more than 14 feet above flood stage late Wednesday. People leaving their homes watched as rising water swallowed cars and flooded major roads into and out of the community. Officials said those who chose to stay in their homes could be stuck there for days. At midday Wednesday, residents could be seen using canoes to traverse parts of River Road. Catherine Bartolomei, co-owner of the Farmhouse Inn in Forestville, lamented the natural disasters that had befallen the region over the last couple of years, starting with devastating wildfires in Sonoma County in fall 2017. Between the fires and everything else, its flipping killing us, she said. Dane Pitcher, 70, watched from the third-story window of his bed and breakfast, the Raford Inn, in Healdsburg as rising water pooled to create a 100-acre lake in front of his property. The substantial water, which swallowed up five rows of grapevines on his property, didnt faze Pitcher. Hes seen the Russian River flood several times over the years. He joked that he had all the necessities wine and mostly breakfast foods, given his business to sustain him and his wife for a few days. We have waterfront property now, he said lightheartedly. Were marooned for all intents and purposes, but thats OK. Advertisement For us, were veterans so its fascinating to watch, to a degree, he added. Were not being inconvenienced like many people who are convinced this cant happen or just move here and arent prepared. Locals like us know what to expect. The pounding rain had stopped in Sonoma County before the sun rose Wednesday after a low-pressure system shifted the atmospheric river-fueled storm out of the region. The storm, which lingered in the area for days, created the heaviest rainfall the region had received all winter, said Roger Gass, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in the Bay Area. The atmospheric river was a hose of really deep moisture pointed right at Northern California that settled over Sonoma County, he said. Its created a lot of problems. Some areas north of the river got nearly 10 inches of rain over the course of two days. Venado, a community north of Guerneville, had received nearly 2 feet of rain in 48 hours by Tuesday. Advertisement A lot of the rainfall in that basin flows right into the Russian River, Gass said. This will cause the waterway, which cuts through several Sonoma County communities, to rise over the next several hours before reaching its peak and then slowly receding on Thursday. The Russian River has seen numerous serious floods during wet years, but this inundation is poised to be the worst since 1995, when the river crested in Guerneville at about 48 feet, exactly 16 feet above flood stage. That flood caught a number of people in the community off-guard. They fled the region in small boats, floating past debris as they sought higher ground, while others boarded huge National Guard transport trucks that drove through the floodwater to rescue people from homes. When the river flooded more recently in Healdsburg, in 2016, Pitcher placed a sign in front of his property to show how high the water rose. The river crested at 13.22 feet that January. Advertisement I looked out there this morning, he said, and that sign is completely underwater. hannah.fry@latimes.com liam.dillon@latimes.com Police are investigating reports that a 1-year-old infant was thrown from a two-story apartment building in Upland on Tuesday. Residents of the apartment building on the 600 block of Wedgewood Avenue heard crying, saw a woman throw her baby off a second-story landing and called police about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, said Capt. Marcelo Blanco, a spokesman for the Upland Police Department. When officers arrived, they saw the baby boy on the concrete outside the building. As they were investigating the scene, the infants mother jumped off the same landing, Blanco said. Officers went inside the womans apartment and found a female infant who was unresponsive and not breathing. Advertisement Upon arrival at the hospital, both infants were breathing and somewhat responsive, Blanco said. The baby boy was in stable condition; the status of the baby girl is unknown. The mother had injuries on her face, Blanco said. alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com Twitter: @r_valejandra A former Anglican priest was charged with sexual battery for performing sexual acts on two men when he was vicar of a Fresno church, according to the Fresno County district attorneys office and church officials. Jesus Antonio Castaneda Serna, 51, who once led the Nuestra Senora De Guadalupe church in Fresno, was arrested Sunday after police served a search warrant. Fresno police have spoken to three alleged victims and believe there may have been a total of 22 victims, said Fresno Police Department Chief Jerry Dyer. He used his position as a religious leader to convince these victims that what he was doing to them had to occur in order for them to be right with God, Dyer said in a news conference. Advertisement According to court documents, Castaneda Serna touched the men, who were unconscious of the nature of the act because the defendant fraudulently represented that the touching served a professional purpose. Dyer said the priest convinced his followers that they had sinned or were cursed, and that they could only be cured by being rubbed with a sacred oil. Castaneda Serna told his victims that this was a special ritual he learned while in India and that their semen needed to be examined before they could be healed, Dyer said. Bishop Eric Menees of the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin received reports that Castaneda Serna committed sexual misconduct against adults in the diocese in October 2017, according to a news release from the diocese. The diocese alerted authorities and hired independent investigators to look into the accusations. On Nov. 24, 2017, Castaneda informed the bishop he would not contest the accusations, the diocese said in the news release. He was stripped of his duties the same day. Since Bishop Menees first learned of the accusations against Castaneda, the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin has made pastoral and clinical counseling available to all victims who have already, or who may still, come forward, the diocese said. Police said Castaneda Serna targeted immigrants in the country illegally because they would be less likely to go to law enforcement officials. Dyer encouraged victims who are undocumented to come forward and assured them that they could apply for a U-visa, which if granted would prevent them from being deported if they agreed to cooperate with law enforcement on the case. Advertisement alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com Twitter: @r_valejandra Already, three terrible long weeks had passed without answers and the family of Fernanda Gonzalez Serrano could not let another day go by without the truth. Gonzalez, 32, who grew up in San Diego and Tijuana, was dedicated to her family and would never ignore them or willfully take off, they insisted. She was missing without any clues as to her whereabouts. Thats why, on Sunday, her father disregarded the advice of police and brought a pick ax and a shovel to his daughters Tijuana home to begin digging holes in the yard. He eventually found her body buried in the courtyard a Volkswagen Beetle had been parked on top of her makeshift grave. Family members reported Gonzalez missing to Tijuana authorities in early February. Advertisement She stopped responding to WhatsApp messages on Feb. 3, said Erika Serrano Gonzalez, the victims sister who lives in Chula Vista. My sister never turns her phone off. She always answers, said Erika Gonzalez, about how she knew something was wrong. A couple days later, on Feb. 5, her family learned Fernandas husband, Baudelio Juarez, was being treated at UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest for a gunshot wound. I told the police I was scared for my sisters life, said Erika Gonzalez. Tijuana prosecutor Jorge Alvarez said San Diego law enforcement took a statement from Juarez about how he sustained gunshot injuries in Tijuana, but ended up in San Diego for treatment. He initially indicated it was some type of home robbery that took an ugly turn, Alvarez said. The prosecutor declined to specify which San Diego agency took the statement. Advertisement Juarez works in San Diego, where his adult children live, and he crosses the border frequently, according to police and family. Fernanda Gonzalez had a visa for most of her life, and attended school in San Diego through the tenth grade. She continued to visit the United States, after moving to Tijuana. Reached by phone Tuesday, Juarez said he was unable to answer questions about the investigation at the moment. For weeks, Fernanda Gonzalezs family searched for answers about her disappearance, widely publishing information and pictures on social media and displaying large canvases with her face in Tijuana. Erika Gonzalez said her family became increasingly dissatisfied with how Tijuana investigators were handling the case. Advertisement They kept telling me that my sister could have gone with a boyfriend or someone else, said Erika Gonzalez. But, I know my sister and I know she would call. Every day that goes by, we got more scared. Last week, Erika Gonzalez said she received phone calls from people who had seen the social media postings about Fernandas disappearance. The tipsters told Erika her sisters body was buried on her own property. She said she turned the information over to investigators on her sisters missing persons case, but they were slow to act. Finally, she said the family decided they needed answers and they felt certain those answers would be inside the couples home on Sinaloa street in the Aeropuerto neighborhood in Tijuana. Advertisement My dad couldnt sleep. He called me. Lets just look for her in the backyard, she recalled him saying. They broke into the home and searched it for the better part of the day before they thought to move the parked Volkswagen Beetle and noticed freshly disturbed earth. Born in Tijuana, but raised on both sides of the border, Fernanda Gonzalez attended Southwest High in south San Diego and married Juarez in San Diego. Married for about 14 years, the couple spent time with Juarez three children from a previous marriage on weekends. Advertisement Neighbors say Gonzalez was dedicated to fitness and her dogs, walking them and running with them daily. She was just an excellent person. She spoke very sweetly and cared for her dogs, loved them. She was a wonderful neighbor, said Elisabeth Lozano, who added she never heard yelling or fighting from her next door neighbors. Alvarez would not give details on how Fernanda Gonzalez died, saying it was an ongoing homicide investigation. He declined to give any indication on how long her body was buried at the property. From the very first date, it was presumed this was a missing girl, and all the femicides are initiated under a protocol, he said. Advertisement The deputy Attorney General added homicide investigators are working long hours to establish exactly when different reports and phone calls were made in relation to activity at the home. The victims white Jeep Grand Cherokee remains missing. It was last seen with California plates 6VXP431, and could be on either side of the border. Anyone with information about the vehicle is asked to call local police in San Diego or Tijuana. President Trump has declared a national emergency along the border with Mexico, but here in Texas Rio Grande Valley, theres little sign of a government springing into action. Earlier this week, two contractors surveyed a 150-foot-wide, half-mile-long stretch of land that had been cleared of brush so crews could build the first new border barrier of Trumps presidency. But a large excavator nearby sat idle in the dirt. Half a dozen lawsuits and constraints contained in the spending bill Congress passed earlier this month have combined to throw the planned construction into confusion and doubt. Officials from Customs and Border Protection, the agency charged with building Trumps border barrier, arent clear on what happens next. Advertisement Were just waiting to hear from Washington, said Jason Montemayor, acting supervisor of the Border Patrols self-described wall team here. Theres nothing going on right now. In Washington on Tuesday, the House passed a resolution to overturn Trumps declaration of a national emergency, with 13 Republicans joining the chambers Democrats in voting against Trump. The disapproval resolution stands a good chance of passing the Senate in March, although even if that happens, the 182 Republicans who voted with Trump in the House on Tuesday would be more than enough to sustain the veto that the president has promised. No construction for Trumps wall has begun anywhere, although officials have started or completed fence replacement projects in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Trump, who made building a border wall a central promise of his campaign, declared the emergency on Feb. 15 to bypass Congress and shift up to $6.6 billion, mostly from the Pentagon budget, to build or rebuild 234 miles of fencing. The entrance to a levee next to Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, where Border Patrol contractors have been clearing brush for a border fence, is marked with No trespassing signs, making it difficult for locals to see whether construction has begun. Trump acted after Congress had appropriated only $1.375 billion for 55 miles of border barrier in the Rio Grande Valley, far less than he wanted. Advertisement But the 1,169-page appropriations bill Trump signed into law when he issued his emergency declaration also contained restrictions on construction in specific towns, parks and wildlife reserves along about 150 miles of the border in the Rio Grande Valley, which is the administrations top priority for building new barriers. The restrictions have thwarted Trumps efforts to build a wall there, at least for now. An aide to Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), who helped negotiate the restrictions, said its not clear if the terms of the spending bill would override the emergency declaration, or vice versa, leaving landowners and town officials in limbo. The legislation bars federal funding for fencing in the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, La Lomita Historical Park, the National Butterfly Center and part of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. It also spares a SpaceX-owned facility and a tiny Catholic chapel. The bill additionally limits spending for barriers in five border towns: Roma, Rio Grande City, Escobares, La Grulla and Salineno. Homeland Security officials are supposed to try to reach an agreement with those towns on the design and placement of any new barrier. Construction cannot begin before Sept. 30 unless they reach an agreement earlier. What happens if local and federal officials dont reach an agreement remains uncertain. Advertisement The Border Patrol has yet to hold public meetings with landowners or post updated maps on where the new fences would be built. Communities are divided, with some landowners willing to sell their land and allow surveyors in and others insisting they will resist. On Sunday, more than 60 people packed the Casa del Rio, a historic building in Roma, to seek answers from leaders of local legal and environmental groups. The questions came quickly. Why were Border Patrol surveyors visiting local properties? Can residents refuse them entry? If the government offers to buy land, how much is just compensation? And above all, as 90-year-old Elvira Canales asked after seeing surveyors on her land, Where are they going to build the fence? Where? Advertisement Noel Benavides, who said Border Patrol officials tried to survey his property, went to federal court last week and succeeded in having his case continued to May. When he met with Border Patrol officials last week, he said they showed him out-of-date maps. Scott Nicol, co-chairman of the Sierra Clubs Borderlands Team, used a screen to project maps of the fence passing through Roma that he said he had obtained from construction contracts and photos of the brush-clearing in Mission. This is coming. Theyre trying to do it, he said. The good news is, it is possible to stop these things. Figure out how youre going to push back on this if you want to stop these walls from coming through here, he added. Advertisement The crowd applauded. Teresa Ramirez, whose late husband worked for the Border Patrol, said she had received a letter notifying her the fence will be built on her land. I dont want to have that in my backyard, she said. Although Texas shares 1,254 miles of border with Mexico, the most of any state along the 2,000-mile border, it has the fewest miles of fencing. Thats in large part because most of the land is privately owned. (Sources: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, ESRI, Nextzen, OpenStreetMap, Department of Homeland Security) Advertisement Efren Olivares, a lawyer with the Texas Civil Rights Project, a nonprofit advocacy organization, told the crowd that landowners dont have to sell their land. But he said that if they refuse, the federal government may sue to take it under eminent domain. Some in the room gasped. Homeland Security has offered some landowners $36,200 for small parcels of land along the Rio Grande. Olivares urged them to negotiate, noting that during the last major fence-building project in 2006, some owners were paid millions of dollars. I encourage you not to take the first offer, because its likely not going to be fair, he said. Theres a reason the government isnt here, and they come see you one by one. Adding to local concerns is a 1996 law that allows federal authorities to waive environmental and public-notice laws for border security. The Trump administration has cited the waiver six times in two years, more than any other president, and may do so again. Advertisement Members of Congress have introduced several measures that would rescind the waiver authority and block the government from seizing private land. The border wall threatens the rights of landowners all along our southern border, Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas) said in a statement introducing his bill. Its unclear how the waiver authority and the national emergency declaration stack up against the appropriations bill. They pit Congress constitutional power of the purse against the presidents broad emergency and national security authority. This is not a question thats ever come up before, said Dinah Bear, an environmental lawyer who worked for 25 years for Republican and Democratic administrations. Advertisement She noted that the Trump administration has yet to order the bulldozers to move in any of the areas singled out for protection by Congress in the spending legislation. I dont expect them to move in those areas, she added. In the end, they have to deal with appropriations committees for the entirety of their institutional lives. Men between the ages of 18 and 25 must still register with Selective Service, even though a federal judge just ruled that the all-male draft system into the armed services is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller decided that because women are now eligible to serve in combat roles in the military, excluding them from registering for the draft is discriminatory. But because the judge did not issue an injunction, the ruling does not immediately impact existing law. Miller said he ruled against granting an injunction because the plaintiffs had not filed a brief supporting the request. A lawyer representing the plaintiffs a San Diego-based mens right group and two young men said he is considering filing another motion for an injunction, to try to force the federal governments hand. Advertisement The government needs to act fast, in my opinion, said Marc E. Angelucci, based in Los Angeles. They cant just sit on it. When we require only men (to register) but not women thats sex discrimination. The case is likely to have national ramifications. Experts say it could result in women registering with Selective Service, like men, or it could end the Selective Service System. Angelucci said the judge is sending a message through his ruling: With equal rights, comes equal responsibility. Angelucci is representing the plaintiffs, the National Coalition for Men, a mens rights organization in San Diego that brought suit in 2013 on behalf of Texas resident James Lesmeister. Lesmeister, who lives in Houston, had to register for Selective Service after he turned 18. San Diego resident Anthony Davis, who also had to register, was added as a plaintiff later. They argued in court that requiring men to register for the draft, but not women, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution, especially now that women are serving throughout the military. Until 1973, the U.S. military had drafted only men in every major conflict, from the Revolutionary War to Vietnam. But after 1.8 million American men were drafted to fight in Vietnam, touching off years of national protests against the war, the draft was ended and the military moved to an all-volunteer force. Advertisement The requirement for young men age 18-25 to register with Selective Service did not change. Men who dont register become ineligible for government services, such as financial aid for college, and they risk up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The federal government argued in court that in 1981 the Supreme Court upheld the exclusion of women from Selective Service because, at the time, women were excluded from many military jobs, including those in direct combat, such as the infantry. But Judge Miller recently said subsequent decisions changed that rationale. In 2013 the Defense Department lifted exclusions against women in combat, and in 2015 all military jobs were officially opened to women. Now women make up about 16 percent of active duty and reserve military, according to a 2017 Defense Department report Advertisement Kate Germano, a retired Marine, told the New York Times Sunday that the judges ruling was a natural result of lifting the ban on women in combat. It would be an advantage to the country, and also for men, who ... bore the preponderance of the burden since the draft was established, she said. Government attorneys also had argued in court that any change to the Selective Service should come from Congress, noting that a commission is expected to deliver recommendations in 2020. Congress created the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service in 2017 to make recommendations on how to inspire Americans to participate in public service, such as the military. In an interim report released in January, the commission said it is considering whether to recommend that the Selective Service be expanded to include women. Advertisement On the other hand, it also is considering recommending to abolish the Selective Service altogether. Judge Miller said he does not think it appropriate to wait on the commission. The Commission is under no obligation to recommend certain outcomes to Congress, he said in his ruling, and Congress is under no obligation to follow or act on those recommendations. Commission Chairman Joe Heck said in a statement Monday that with Millers ruling, change is inevitable. Advertisement The Commission is studying a wide range of possible changes, including ... whether the nation even needs a registration system, Heck said. The district courts opinion means change is inevitable and the status quo is untenable. The two people named as plaintiffs, James Lesmeister and Anthnoy Davis, did not comment on their lawsuit. Davis, the San Diego plaintiff, could not be reached through his attorney. James Lesmeister, a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Houston, did not want to comment, said his father, Mark Lesmeister, who also is a member of the mens group. Advertisement The elder Lesmeister said he hopes the government acts quickly on the ruling, but he did not say if he prefers that the draft be opened to women or done away with entirely. Weve always said were not taking a position on doing away with registration, he said. We should defer to the Department of Defense for that. The National Coalition for Men, a group better known for suing womens groups for excluding men from meetings and defending men accused of sexual assault in college, plans to continue fighting the all-male draft, Angelucci said. We have to see whether Selective Service appeals, he said. If they do, we will fight it. Advertisement It is unclear if the federal government will appeal the judges ruling. The U.S. Justice Department, which is handling the legal case, declined to comment. Jacob Daniels, the legislative liaison for the Selective Service System, said his agencys hands are tied for now. As an executive agency, our job is to enforce the law, Daniels said. Were unable to make changes unilaterally. Until were given a direct order from a court or legislation from Congress, were in a position where we adhere to the law as its currently written. Contact Andrew Dyer via email or Twitter. Go: Kairoa Brewing Company Know: Want a taste of New Zealand? Travel to University Heights, where Kairoas co-owner Shanan Spearing and head brewer Joe Peach are among the Kiwi natives on staff. Maori-inspired imagery adorns the two-story brewpub, while N.Z. ingredients (lamb, mussels, sausage, roasted beet hummus) enliven the dishes and the beers, which highlight fruity hops from the ANZAC region. Glow: The lamb barbacoa New Zealand Hot Chips ($11) was an unexpected delight, a bowl of fries topped with queso fresco, garlic aioli, shallots, mint chimichurri and a mound of tender, lean, shredded lamb. Other winners include the beer-battered fish and chips with New Zealand-style slaw ($16); the New Zealand pilsner green lip mussels ($18), served in a broth chunky with pork belly and chopped fingerling potatoes; and the fried chook sandwich ($15), a meaty chicken breast fried in a salt-and-vinegar batter. Mo: Next time, well aim to try the savory meat or veggie pies ($9) and the fried shrimp butties ($14), a Down Under sort of slider. Advertisement Kairoa Brewing Company (Elizabeth Zaranka) Flow: When PACIFIC visited, six house-brewed beers were on tap (the menu lists 10). Of the five we sampled, Southern Sky IPA ($7 a pint), an unfiltered ale with lip-smacking mango and orange notes, soared. Not a beer fan? Kairoa offers 15 wines, $8 to $14 a glass. No: Cheeky Buggah ($6), while billed as a Belgian-style blonde, tasted like a West Coast pilsner. Were the traditional Belgian spices held up in customs? Expect Joe Peach, a veteran with brewing experience at Poways Lightning and San Diegos Bitter Brothers, to refine his recipes as he gets accustomed to the 10-barrel brewhouse. Pro: Since its late-January opening, Kairoa has been packed. Even on weeknights, seats in the downstairs dining room are hard to come by. Arrive early or consider ascending to the rooftop bar. San Diego nights can be chilly in March, but the upstairs heating elements may transport you to the Southern Hemisphere, where these are the balmy days of summer. In the know: No desserts were on the menu when PACIFIC visited, but our waitress tipped us to an unlisted gem: the ANZAC Biscuit ($9), oatmeal cookies wrapped around chocolate ganache and served with berries and green tea ice cream. Kairoa Brewing Company: 4601 Park Blvd., University Heights, 619.295.1355, kairoa.com The pick: Korean-inspired sauces from KPOP Why they rate: Theo Lee and Mike Kim met while in business school at UCLA. Late-night forays with friends to eat Korean barbecue sparked the idea to develop a sauce based on a secret recipe from Lees Korean grandmother. The recipe was for gochujang, a sweet and spicy fermented chile paste. The duo says countless hours of experimenting and tasting led to their first bottle of KPOP Sauce. The creators recommend the sauce to elevate egg dishes and Chinese takeout. Now, in addition to the original sauce, KPOP has two other condiments. Lee and Kim teamed with celebrity chef Chris Oh for KPOP XXX Sauce, described as everything you love about our original KPOP Sauce, with an extra kick, and KPOP Kimchi Mayo Sauce, a rich combination of chile peppers, garlic, lemon and vinegar in a mayonaise base. The hot sauce is recommended for everything from tacos to ramen, while the spicy mayo is a great condiment for subs and burgers or a versatile dip for fries and chicken nuggets. Info: A 10.4-ounce bottle of KPOP Sauce is $6.99; a 10.4-ounce bottle of KPOP XXX Sauce is $8.99, and a 7.6-ounce bottle of KPOP Kimchi Mayo Sauce is $8.99. Order them online at www.kpopfoods.com or amazon.com. Claudette Zepeda-Wilkins, the chef at the groundbreaking, 7-month-old restaurant El Jardin, was named a semifinalist for a James Beard foundation award Wednesday, a nomination akin to an Oscar nod. Zepeda-Wilkins the Union-Tribunes 2018 Best Chef and San Diego Countys only representative on the prestigious James Beard award list will compete against 21 other chefs in the category of Best Chef: West. Its a Mexican Cinderella story, and Im just amazed to be on the radar of the committee, Zepeda-Wilkins said through tears Wednesday morning. Its overwhelming, its a huge responsibility for myself, for my team, for Mexico, and I feel theres so much more work to do. And even if I dont win, its just another affirmation that Im doing what it is Im supposed to be doing. Her fellow nominees include such nationally known culinary figures as Michael Cimarusti (Providence, L.A.), Jessica Koslow (Sqirl, L.A.), Niki Nakayama (n/naka, L.A.), Joshua Skenes (Saison, San Francisco), Travis Lett (Gjelina, Venice) and Carlos Salgado (Taco Maria, Costa Mesa). Advertisement Were grouped in with L.A., which is full of crazy talent, but there is enough sun for everyone to shine. And I just want San Diego to be recognized for the talent we have here, Zepeda-Wilkins said. The fact that Im on that list is amazing. Its like the Oscars it really is an honor just to be nominated. Its like being on a roster with Meryl Streep. I cant see the win right now, but Im telling myself, Man, just enjoy the ride, because tomorrow, you could put up a quesadilla that sucks. The category finalists will be announced on March 27. The winners will be unveiled at the annual James Beard Award gala on May 6 in Chicago. Since El Jardin opening at Liberty Station last June, Zepeda-Wilkins has earned widespread acclaim for her gutsy, modern interpretation of regional Mexican cuisine and, in particular, her celebration of the women who drive that cooking. The Top Chef and Top Chef Mexico alum is believed to be San Diegos first female James Beard nominee, an honor that has previously gone to Addisons William Bradley and Carl Schroeder of Market. While no San Diego chef or restaurant has won a James Beard award since the competition began in 1991, Zepeda-Wilkins has savored its accolades before. She was chef Javier Plascencias chef de cuisine the second-in-command when Little Italys short-lived Bracero earned a semifinalist nomination for Best New Restaurant in 2016. Zepeda-Wilkins called Wednesdays nomination a validation of her teams hard work and of the people who have supported her over the years, as she went from being a single mom of two kids at 21 to executive chef of a celebrated restaurant. While this isnt a win, it is for people who share my story and share my struggle, the way I have, she said. Advertisement For me its always been overcome, overcome, overcome. By the time my son was 9, we had lived in 10 apartments because I was constantly trying to make life better we would go from a studio to a one bedroom with three beds in it, to a bigger place, Zepeda-Wilkins said. Or I being told Im an awful cook, or being told I was hired to do the administrative work because I was a woman. This industry is not for the faint of heart. But Im not a victim, Im a fighter, Im a survivor. People doubting me, being told I cant do something, that for me has been my fire. Though most associated with the finest of fine-dining establishments in the country, the Beard nomination is also an acknowledgement of the simple authenticity she brings to the table. This is what were craving now were craving food with soul, the food we cook at home, she said. For all her technique and training, the bottom line, she said, is: Im a good cook. I make really good beans. Advertisement michele.parente@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @sdeditgirl Chula Vista residents are getting late payment notices on their sewer bills because of an accounting error from 2017. The citys finance director, David Bilby, apologized for the error during a City Council meeting Tuesday and assured the council that the city wont charge anyone late fees. So what is happening with the sewer bills? In 2017, Chula Vista forgot to send more than 12,500 sewer bills to residents for about six months. To correct the mistake and get back on a normal billing schedule, Chula Vista decided to bill residents on a monthly basis instead of bi-monthly. Advertisement Chula Vista staff and City Council members have received hundreds of phone calls and emails over the last several weeks from confused residents who have late payment notices or outstanding balances on their sewage bills. Thats because the monthly bills come before customers have a chance to pay the previous month, Bilby explained. And they have not yet become accustomed to the new billing period. They received one bill and before they even had a chance to pay it, they got another bill and it showed a current balance on that bill, Bilby said. That was just because of the technical issues related to trying to get caught up and the system could not generate anything but a current balance. Additionally, the city increased its sewage fees in December. Therefore, residents were also caught off-guard by the higher bills. Some of them got hit with the perfect storm where they had an adjustment to their sewer bill from the prior year and then they got multiple bills in the mail, Bilby added. In addition to not charging anyone late fees, Chula Vista is also offering interest-free payment plans to residents unable to pay the monthly bills. The city expects to return to its normal bi-monthly billing cycle in April, Bilby added. Mayor Mary Casillas Salas said she was confused about her own sewer bill and has received a lot of calls and emails about the issue from constituents. Advertisement She asked the public for patience as the city resolves the issue. I want to thank the public for being patient, she said. Im one of those who was thoroughly confused by my sewer bill but we will work with you to make sure we make it as easy for the consumer as possible. The 2017 error of not billing 12,500 residents happened because of the combination of unusually high turnover and the citys switch to a new accounting system, city officials previously told the San Diego Union-Tribune. Three employees at the citys Revenue and Recovery division either retired or were promoted between June 2017 and August 2017. Those three positions accounted for 60 percent of that divisions staff. During that time, Chula Vista implemented a new computerized financial system that required hours of training. Advertisement Those two factors put too much stress on the billing department and sewer bills fell through the cracks. Contact Gustavo Solis via Email or Twitter Of all the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust, no name is better known than that of Anne Frank, whose famous diaries chronicled her familys two years in hiding from the Nazis before they were betrayed and sent to concentration camps. Anne was 15 when she died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany in February 1945. But what if she had survived? Eva Schloss, 89, said that in many ways her story represents the continuation of Anne Franks tragically short life. A 1929 photograph of Eva Schloss as a baby with her mother, Elfreide Geiringer, in their native Austria. (Courtesy photo) She and Anne, born one month apart, had moved with their families to Amsterdam from the Germany/Austria region before the war to escape Nazi persecution. From the ages of 11 to 13, the girls played together in the courtyard of their shared apartment complex. When the war began, both families went into hiding but were discovered in mid-1944 and sent to camps in Germany and Poland. Advertisement Anne, her mother and her sister Margot Frank were dead from illness by February 1945. Evas father and brother, Heinz, were dead by spring. Schloss and her mother were liberated from the Birkenau camp in January 1945 by Russian soldiers and not a moment too soon. We were starving. If they hadnt come we wouldnt have lasted another month, she said. After the war, Annes father Otto and Evas mother, Elfriede Geiringer, both returned to Amsterdam where they fell in love and married in 1953, making Eva Annes stepsister. Schloss, a widowed mother of three who has lived in London since 1951, now travels extensively around the world sharing her familys story. At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, shell make her first-ever San Diego County appearance at Chabad of Poway. She said her message is one of optimism and triumph over tragedy. When I was young I had horrible experiences and I saw the worst of what people can do to each other. But Ive had a long life, Ive met a lot of amazing people and found theres a lot of good in the world, she said in a recent phone interview from a tour stop in Puerto Rico. Schlosss visit is part of Chabad of Poways spring lecture series, organized by Rabbi Mendel Goldstein. He particularly likes booking speakers who can offer a first-hand historical perspective on the Holocaust since that generation of survivors is rapidly shrinking. He said her message of hope and resilience against prejudice is one that todays Jews embrace. Obviously, there were hard times and dark history we went through, but were focusing now on what we can do in the future, Mendel said. Well be stronger. No matter how much they want to bring darkness into the world, well bring more light. Schloss said the trauma of her experience had psychological repercussions on her life for many years. And when Otto Frank published his daughters diaries to international acclaim in 1952, she was resentful. Advertisement There were times I was quite annoyed being introduced as the stepsister of Anne, because Im a person in my own right and I survived, Schloss said. But whenever I got upset Id say, look, I have a husband and three wonderful daughters. How can I object to giving a bit of attention to somebody whose life was finished when she was 15. Once I got over my jealousy, I was a much happier person. Schloss said The Diary of Anne Frank was the right book at the right time for a world recovering from a brutal war. In the early 1950s, people didnt want to read about the horrors of the Holocaust so Annes book was a more palatable discussion-starter. Its not a book about the Holocaust; its a book about hiding and how much wisdom she had for a 13-year-old girl, Schloss said. After the war, Schloss went to college and then moved to London to study photography. Thats where she met and married her husband, Zvi Schloss, in 1952. He passed away in 2016 after 64 years of marriage. Advertisement After raising her daughters and running a London antiques shop for 25 years, Schloss refocused her energies on Holocaust education in the mid-1980s. She became a trustee of the Anne Frank Educational Trust U.K. and published three books, including Evas Story in 1988 and After Auschwitz in 2014. She has also collaborated on plays and educational exhibitions about the Holocaust. She spends 10 to 12 weeks a year on speaking tours. Despite her age and the toll the travel takes on her body, Schloss has no intention of giving up the speaking series. Shell do it as long as shes able because young people today need to know their history. Schloss said shes disappointed but not surprised by the rising tide of anti-Semitism in the world today. As bad as it may be now, its nothing like it was in Germany during World War II because at that time the persecution, restriction and murder of Jews was government-sanctioned, she said. Of course, its unpleasant, but I personally think there has always been and always will be anti-Semitism, she said. We can never say we havent spoken enough about it. Advertisement An Historic Evening with Ann Franks Stepsister Eva Schloss When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 5 Where: Chabad of Poway, 16034 Chabad Way, Poway Tickets: $36 at the door (VIP sponsorship packages from $180) Phone: (858) 451-0455 Advertisement Online: chabadpoway.com/annefrank pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com The county Board of Supervisors on Wednesday took the first step toward easing parking concerns along state Route 67 in Ramona near Mount Woodson and the popular Potato Chip Rock trail. Supervisors unanimously voted to buy 84 acres of land west of the highway for $1.7 million. The property, which is owned by the Taylor Family Trust, will allow the county to build a parking lot and add about 75 acres of open space to the area. The county is expected to make the purchase official on March 27. The acquisition has been talked about for two years, which is when county officials began to seriously look at ways to get the cars off the shoulder of the highway and nearby surrounding streets. Advertisement Every day, dozens and sometimes hundred of hikers park their vehicles along the shoulder as motorists traveling at highway speeds drive by. Roughly a decade ago, social media popularized the Potato Chip Rock hike. At times, there will be so many people that they have to wait 30 minutes or longer just to stand on the thin outcropping. There are two trails to get to the summit of Mount Woodson. The more difficult hike starts at the Lake Poway parking lot on the west side of the mountain and involves a 7.5-mile round-trip trek. The City of Poway increased the parking at its park to handle the crowds a few years ago and charges non-residents a parking fee on weekends. The other way to visit the natural attraction is from the east, where hikers park dangerously, but for free, and then hike up a utility road owned by the City of San Diego. Thats a 4-mile round trip. Neighbors in the area and law enforcement officials have maintained for years the existing parking situation is very dangerous and has led to many accidents and near tragedies. For instance, sometimes hikers looking for a parking spot will stop on the highway in order to back up into spots along the shoulder. A parking lot has not yet been designed or approved, but the deal was done with that in mind. Supervisors were told in a staff report the entire project, including land acquisition, design and construction costs would run about $3.5 million. Advertisement A couple weeks ago, Supervisor Dianne Jacob said she was excited about the land purchase and a future parking lot. Its been a long time in coming and been a very complicated negotiation, but were finally here and Im hopeful there will be support to allocate the money to purchase this property, she said. This affects the entire region because people all over San Diego enjoy Potato Chip Rock and this is the easiest access point. The county has discussed the possibility of a partnership with the City of San Diego, which owns the utility road hikers use to climb the mountain. The proposal would be for the city to operate and maintain the parking lot owned by the county, if the county elects to build it. The city has not committed to operate and maintain the parking lot yet. Advertisement jharry.jones@sduniontribune.com; 760/529-4931; Twitter: @jharryjones A jury trial in Qualcomms lawsuit accusing Apple of handing over its confidential software code to rival Intel has been scheduled for Feb. 7, 2020 in San Diego Superior Court. Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Stern last week scheduled the trial for February on the roughly 30 trade secrets currently at issue in the case. Qualcomm sought an October trial date, while Apple lobbied for August 2020, according to court documents. Qualcomm is seeking unspecified damages, the return of its intellectual property and possible injunctions. Advertisement Qualcomm sued Apple in November 2017 on accusations of violating strict confidentiality agreements surrounding software source code and testing tools that it supplied to Apple to help it integrate Qualcomm chips into iPhones starting in 2011. Qualcomm contends Apple provided its confidential trade secrets to Intel engineers to help them improve the performance of cellular radio chips so they could catch up with Qualcomms chips. Apple denies the claims, arguing in part that information Qualcomm deems as trade secrets is commercially available and that Intel and Apple improved chips independently of Qualcomms software and tools, according to court documents. Apple began buying Intel chips in 2016 for about half of its iPhones models. Today, Intel has replaced Qualcomm as the sole modem supplier for all new iPhones. Meanwhile, a jury trial in a separate patent infringement lawsuit that Qualcomm has brought against Apple is slated to begin Monday in San Diego Federal Court. The case involves three patents related to power saving techniques, faster boot up of devices and graphics processing. Apple argues that the patents are invalid and that iPhones dont infringe, among other things. The trial is expected to last through March 15. These two cases are part of a wide-ranging global legal war between Apple and Qualcomm centered on patent licensing. Advertisement Apple sued Qualcomm in January 2017, alleging the San Diego company has concocted a scheme that enables it to overcharge smartphone makers for its cellular patents in violation of anti-trust and other laws. Around the same time, contract manufacturers in Asia that assemble iPhones stopped making patent royalty payments to Qualcomm, which has counter-sued Apple and the contract manufacturers for breach of contract. A jury trial in that lawsuit -- a key milestone in the battle between the two companies -- is expected to begin April 15 in San Diego Federal Court. Apples allegations against Qualcomm largely mirror those made by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which sued the company two years ago for violating competition laws. Advertisement A bench trial in the FTC case was held in January in San Jose. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh has yet to issue a verdict. In addition, Qualcomm has filed patent infringement lawsuits against Apple in the U.S., China and Germany, including seeking to ban the imports of infringing iPhones. While Apple has been found to infringe on some Qualcomm patents in all three countries, it has mostly sidestepped sales bans. In the trade secrets case, Qualcomm contends Apple demanded unprecedented access to Qualcomms source code and other information to design Qualcomms chips into iPhones. The companies entered into agreements that strictly limited access to the tools and software code, which Qualcomm alleged Apple ignored. Advertisement Apple has sought to block the suit by claiming Qualcomms trade secret allegations are not specific enough under the law. But the court found earlier this month found that Qualcomm had met the legal threshold for the case to proceed. Business Advertisement mike.freeman@sduniontribune.com; Twitter:@TechDiego 760-529-4973 HANOI, Vietnam (AP) The White House restricted press access Wednesday to portions of President Donald Trump's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam. Four print reporters, including one from The Associated Press, were barred from a press availability as Trump sat down for dinner with Kim, the leader of a country where there is no press freedom. That came after two of those reporters asked questions of the president during earlier events at the summit, including one query about upcoming congressional testimony from Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, that was critical of the president. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders released a statement saying that due to the "sensitive nature of the meetings we have limited the pool for dinner to a smaller group." The decision to bar reporters Wednesday was an abrupt change of plans. The White House had previously said that access would be granted to the usual 13-person group of reporters, known as the traveling press pool, who follow the president to every event. AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton said the company "decries such efforts by the White House to restrict access to the president. It is critically important that any president uphold American press freedom standards, not only at home but especially while abroad." White House Correspondents' Association president Olivier Knox said in a statement that the organization "strenuously objects" to the restrictions. "This summit provides an opportunity for the American presidency to display its strength by facing vigorous questioning from a free and independent news media, not telegraph weakness by retreating behind arbitrary last-minute restrictions on coverage," said Knox. "We call on the White House to not allow a diminution of the previously agreed-to press complement for the remainder of the summit." Trump has a complex relationship with the press, routinely maligning news stories, outlets and reporters he doesn't like as "fake news," while at the same time taking questions more frequently than some of his predecessors. Earlier in the week, the White House press corps was ousted from its workspace at the hotel where Kim was staying after Kim apparently objected to the setup. The decision was announced by the Vietnamese government. The entire press pool was permitted to cover the first two events that Trump and Kim held at the Metropole hotel in Hanoi on Wednesday: a formal greeting and the opening of a sit-down meeting. At the first of those events, reporters asked three questions of Trump about the negotiations. He answered all three. At the second event with Kim, an Associated Press reporter asked Trump a question about Cohen, who was due to testify hours later in Washington. In written testimony released in advance of the appearance, the president's former lawyer and fixer called Trump a "racist" and a "conman" and claimed Trump knew ahead of time that WikiLeaks had emails damaging to Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's campaign. Trump did not answer the Cohen question, instead shaking his head and frowning. A short time later, Sanders told the press pool that no reporters would be allowed into the dinner. But after photographers said they would not cover the event without an editorial presence, one print reporter and radio reporter were allowed in. Reporters from the three wire services and one other print reporter, however, were barred. No questions were asked of Trump at the dinner. It wasn't the first time that the White House has excluded specific reporters. Last year, a CNN correspondent was barred from attending an open press event because, she said, White House officials deemed her questions "inappropriate." The White House disputed that characterization. MUZAFARABAD, Pakistan (AP) Pakistan's military said Wednesday it shot down two Indian warplanes in the disputed region of Kashmir and captured a pilot, answering an airstrike a day earlier by Indian fighter jets inside Pakistan and raising tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals to a level unseen in two decades. Within hours Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan went on television urging peace talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying both countries needed to step back from the brink and warning that "miscalculations" could drag their two countries into a war that neither side would benefit from. "Let's sit together to talk to find a solution," Khan said. There was no reply from Modi, but India acknowledged one of its air force planes was "lost" in skirmishes with Pakistan and that its pilot was "missing in action." Pakistan's military later circulated a video of a man with a mustache who identified himself as the Indian pilot, sipping tea and responding to questions, mostly by saying, "You know I can't answer that." He appeared in good health as he was questioned about his hometown, his aircraft and his mission. The downing of the Indian aircraft came on a chaotic day that also saw mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier dividing the two sectors of Kashmir kill six civilians and wound several others. A helicopter crash in the region also killed six Indian air force officials and a civilian on the ground. Pakistan responded by shutting down its civilian airspace. The Indian warplanes went down Wednesday morning in Kashmir, a mountainous region claimed by both India and Pakistan since almost immediately after their creation in 1947. One of the downed planes crashed in Pakistan's part of Kashmir while the other went down in an Indian-controlled section of the Himalayan region, Pakistan's army spokesman Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor said. He said Pakistani troops on the ground captured the Indian pilot. He had said earlier that two pilots were captured, but did not explain the discrepancy. "We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm," Ghafoor said. India's External Affairs Ministry spokesman, Raveesh Kumar, said one of India's MiG-21 fighter aircraft was missing and India was still "ascertaining" whether its pilot was in Pakistan's custody. He said one Pakistani aircraft was shot down, something Pakistan denied. Meanwhile, Indian police said officials recovered seven bodies from the wreckage of the Indian air force chopper that crashed in an Indian-controlled sector of Kashmir, including six Indian airmen and a civilian on the ground. They gave no cause for the crash. Senior police officer Munir Ahmed Khan said the chopper crashed close to an airport in the Budgam area, on the outskirts of the region's main city of Srinagar. The Srinagar airport, which was shut along with two other airports for civilian flights in the region, is also an air force station. Witnesses said soldiers fired in the air to keep residents away from the crash site. Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad said the country's air force was carrying out airstrikes Wednesday from within Pakistani airspace across the disputed Kashmir boundary but that this was not in "retaliation to continued Indian belligerence." Ghafoor, the Pakistani military spokesman, said the strikes were aimed at "avoiding human loss and collateral damage." The shelling earlier Wednesday by India hit the village of Kotli in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, killing six civilians, including children, local police official Mohammad Altaf said. Kashmir is split between Pakistan and India and claimed by both in its entirety. Though Pakistani and Indian troops in Kashmir often trade fire, the latest casualties came a day after tensions escalated sharply following a pre-dawn airstrike and incursion by India that New Delhi said targeted a terrorist training camp in northwestern Pakistan. The strike Tuesday was India's first inside Pakistan since the two nations' 1971 war over territory that later became Bangladesh. Pakistan said Indian warplanes dropped bombs near the Pakistani town of Balakot but there were no casualties. The violence Wednesday marked the most serious escalation of the long-simmering conflict since 1999, when Pakistan's military sent a ground force into Indian-controlled Kashmir at Kargil. That year also saw an Indian fighter jet shoot down a Pakistani naval aircraft, killing all 16 on board. Residents on both sides of the de-facto frontier, the so-called Line of Control, said there were exchanges of fire between the two sides through the night into Wednesday morning. Hundreds of villagers fled border towns in both India and Pakistan. In New Delhi, Indian officials said Wednesday at least five of their soldiers were wounded in firing by Pakistani troops along the volatile frontier. Lt. Col. Devender Anand, an Indian army spokesman, said Pakistani soldiers targeted dozens of Indian military positions across the Line of Control throughout the night. An Indian military statement said that "out of anger and frustration," Pakistan initiated an "unprovoked cease-fire violation." The statement said Indian troops "retaliated for effect" and claimed to have destroyed five Pakistani posts. It accused Pakistani soldiers of firing mortars and missiles "from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields." On Wednesday, Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, told state-run Pakistan Television he was in touch with his counterparts across the world about the "Indian aggression," adding that New Delhi had endangered peace in the region by Tuesday's airstrike inside Pakistan. India's external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, said Wednesday her country does not wish to see further escalation of the situation with Pakistan and that it will continue to act with responsibility and restraint. She said the limited objective of India's pre-emptive strike inside Pakistan on a terrorist training camp Tuesday was to prevent another terror attack inside India by the Jaish-e-Mohammad extremist group. The latest wave of tensions between Pakistan and India first erupted after Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for a Feb. 14 suicide bombing on Indian paramilitary forces on the Indian side of Kashmir that killed more than 40 troops. India long has accused Pakistan of cultivating such militant groups to attack it. Pakistan has said it was not involved in that attack and was ready to help New Delhi in the investigations. Australia Award Graduates of 2018 were officially congratulated during a morning tea reception on Wednesday hosted by the High Commissioner, Sara Moriarty, and joined by the Government of Samoa Secretary of the Scholarship Committee, Tagaloa Sharon Potoi. The High Commission is pleased to be able to host this event to acknowledge the graduates successes of studying hard and graduating with vital prerequisites in their specialised fields, Ms. Moriarty said. It takes a lot of bravery, sacrifices and commitmentnot only from you but also your families, your community and more importantly your countryto live abroad and stay the course. The Government of Australia invests approximately A4.5 million each year towards scholarships. Through its bilateral partnership with the Government of Samoa, Australia is committed to developing a skilled and knowledgeable workforce in Samoa, especially in key priority areas such as education, health, governance, economic growth, gender and disability. Australia continues to support the Government of Samoas vision in offering quality and continued education while enhancing our bilateral relationship and facilitating a range of professional networking activities between both countries, Ms. Moriarty said. The annual scholarship opportunities for Samoan citizens is a reflection of Australias desire for greater people-centered partnership that will support Samoa to achieve better livelihoods and quality of life for its citizens, Ms. Moriarty extended heartfelt welcome to the graduates who will now become part of the Australian Alumni family. I would like to welcome you all to be part of the Australian Alumni family which is an opportunity to expand your professional networks and build lifelong friendships. I hope your experience in Australia has brought you positive memories that will last long after your scholarship has ended. I wish you all the best in your future endeavours. Samoa has signed a memorandum of understanding for the Regional Aerial Surveillance Programme with the Forum Fisheries Agency (F.F.A.). The signing took place at Taumeasina Island Resort on Tuesday between Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi and the Forum Fisheries Agencies Director General, Dr. Manu Tupou-Roosen. Fisheries resources are central to the economic development and food security of our countries, so every effort must be made to strengthen mechanisms to protect our fisheries resources, Tuilaepa said. In this regard, Pacific Islands Forum Leaders agreed at our meeting in Nauru last September to support the F.F.A. Regional Aerial Surveillance Programme and the development of MOUs with the F.F.A. on its implementation. Prime Minister Tuilaepa acknowledged the support of Australia to strengthen the surveillance capabilities of participating members through the Pacific Maritime Security Programme. This will enable the F.F.A. to assist our Pacific Island Countries in further addressing maritime surveillance needs and enforcement operations. The surveillance programme, in conjunction with the Pacific Patrol Boat Programme, will provide targeted maritime patrolling and enhance the ability of our Pacific Island countries to defend against regional maritime security threats such as illegal fishing and transnational crime. Tuilaepa also announced that Samoa and Vanuatu will be used as bases of operation for the surveillance aircrafts to support the facilitation of the Regional Aerial Surveillance Programme. Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi says there is no more room for excuses when it comes to efforts to address domestic violence. Tuilaepa made the comment during the Samoa launch of the European Union-United Nations Spotlight Initiative on Tuesday. Held at Taumeasina Island Resort, the $148 million tala project aims to eliminate violence against women and girls. Tuilaepa made reference to two studies carried out on Family Safety and Family Violence by the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development the Ombudsmans Office which reported high prevalence of violence in the family and in particular against women and children. The Family violence report by the NHRI was the first of its kind for Samoa and the Pacific Region. The report put a spotlight on gender-based violence through its wide consultation process, which included village consultations, public and closed hearings and written submissions, he said. The sad and alarming findings leave no more room for excuses. It is time to focus on action. That is why this Spotlight event and initiative is timely. It should help continue to lift the veil of silence hiding the realities of family violence and keep the spotlight on Gender based violence. Tuilaepa again called upon political leaders, traditional and religious leaders, fathers, and families to step up. Enough is enough! he said. Gender-based violence violates the core principles and values of faaaloalo (courtesy), va tapuia (respect), and alofa (love) among others, which are the essence of our Faasamoa and Faith. For Samoa, we need a whole of country approach to address the issue with more proactive leadership by us the Government, village councils and church leaders; and strong partnerships with all relevant stakeholders and listening to the voices of the survivors. The Prime Minister also acknowledged the work done by the European Union, United Nations, development partners and civil society organizations to address the issue. I congratulate and commend the EU and the UN for this significant programme that will support countries around the world, including our Pacific nations, to further reinforce existing measures and interventions to end all forms of violence against women and girls. Samoa reaffirms its commitment to the promotion efforts to address discrimination against women. The socio-economic wellbeing of our people remains at the core of Samoas development initiatives. We continue to strive towards equality and inclusion, to ensure that all Samoans particularly our women and girls, children and persons with disabilities, benefit equitably from economic and social progress. We also continue to commit efforts to combating all forms of violence against women and children by promoting safe families and communities. The success of the Spotlight Initiative in the Pacific depends on our commitment as leaders, the support of our partners and the engagement of our communities. As leaders of the Pacific, the change must always begin with us. The Governments formulation of Samoas next National ICT Policy should consider the shortcomings of its predecessor and aim to do better. That is the view of Misa Vicky Lepou, who is the Head of the Media and Communication Department and a journalism lecturer at the National University of Samoa (NUS). Presenting the findings of a research paper yesterday titled National ICT Policy 2012-2017 in Samoa: Challenges, Achievements and Way Forward, Misa said the Government has provided the motorway through the previous policy but it was now up to Samoans to join the traffic. The Government [did] an excellent job in providing the National Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) Policy 2012-2017 in Samoa but its just a matter of how each consumer implements each goal and making sure that its been achieved within the time frame. What was noted, observed and found, is that there are still challenges. For example, people not having full access to the internet in the rural and urban areas. Also some challenges like having being able to contextualize the information given to the public. And things like a tele-sensor project that was established by the government for people to have access to the use of ICT but were not being fully utilized so its still a long way for the government to go, she said. Misa said the findings of her research should help steer the oversight stakeholder, which is the Ministry of Communications Infrastructure and Technology, and compel it to look at and design the next five-year National ICT Policy. There needs to be further research which will also be a huge undertaking to talk to other stakeholders but the idea of this research was to give what was presented, by using research tools that were available at the time and also by talking to them face to face, she added. The Government has done a good job putting together the findings of her research, Ms. Lepou added, but the digital divide in Samoa should continue to be bridged. The policy was set up to make sure we bridge the digital divide and the Government has done an excellent job, after putting together the findings. I felt that the Government has already made progress: the motorway is already there, its just a matter of each stakeholders, organizations and individuals to ensure that services provided is being utilized, she added, while emphasizing that that was the gist of her research. To conclude her presentation, she emphasized the importance of the role of the media in connection with the discussions on the documents. As the media I think we have a role to play in helping and an important role to ensure that the document is being publicized. Its important for us to deliver messages to the public and all the talk about Its a must, its a part of globalization; ICT is a globalization process that Samoa should join the rest of the world, she said. The Ministry of Police has launched an investigation into the former Electoral Commissioner, Papalii Malietau Malietoa. This was confirmed by members of the Police force who are not allowed to speak with the media. Papalii Malietau Malietoa was removed following an investigation by the Public Service Commission in 2015. The investigation is being carried out by the Criminal Investigation Division. When contacted for a comment, Malietau was shocked. I was not informed of an investigation and only heard it first from you; natural justice dictates that I be informed of an investigation being undertaken and the scope of that investigation, said Malietau. He added the timing is unusual. It was 2015 I was terminated but I will defend myself via the lawful process. I would not be surprised given my vocal opposition against the dam being built in Alaoa, he said. He told the Samoa Observer that his lawyer will be contacted, although he did not share the identity of his lawyer. The Samoa Observer contacted the Attorney General for comments. As of press time, the Attorney General has not responded to email and texts messages seeking comment in relation to the issue. Emails to the Police Commissioner Fuiavailiili Egon Keil for comments as to why the matter is now being investigated were not responded to at the time of going to press. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- This is episode 6 of "The Dropout," a six-episode ABC Radio podcast about the fall of Elizabeth Holmes' startup Theranos. If you haven't listened to episode 1, episode 2, episode 3, episode 4 and episode 5, we advise that you do so first. By September 2018, Elizabeth Holmes's company Theranos had dissolved and the once-celebrated Silicon Valley wunderkind had pleaded not guilty to federal criminal fraud charges. A trial date has not been set yet, but if convicted, she could face decades in prison. The news of Holmes' downfall ricocheted throughout the tight-knit community in Houston -- a place the Holmes family once called home. "We knew her, and the shock and sadness of watching it all play out has just been huge for the community," Megan Long, a former classmate of Holmes, told ABC News' Rebecca Jarvis on "The Dropout" podcast. Long first met Holmes in 1995 when they started sixth grade together at St. John's School, a private school in Houston where some of the wealthiest families in Texas send their children. "[People were saying], 'Oh my god did you hear about Elizabeth?' 'Oh my God. Her company is dissolving.' 'Oh my gosh, she's facing criminal charges.' 'Oh my God, I feel so bad for Elizabeth," Long recalled. Long reached out to Jarvis after listening to the first episode of "The Dropout." She said she wanted people to hear about the polite, engaging Holmes she knew growing up. Of all her memories of Holmes, Long said there was one that really stood out. The girls were on the track team -- Long a sprinter and Holmes a distance runner. To this day, Long said she still remembers who would always come in last place during races. "Everyone would finish the race, and then all of a sudden you hear the announcer say, 'Don't cross the track, there's still a runner on the track.' That runner was Elizabeth," Long said. "But sure enough she was not deterred by people laughing or people crossing the field, she was going to run that race and finish it, and she was determined to do it no matter what anybody said." Holmes' determination as a student seemed to mirror the perseverance she would later exhibit creating and leading Theranos. Long said that "the bully" some former employees have described Holmes as "is not the Elizabeth that I knew growing up." St. John's School opened its doors in 1946 and has a longstanding reputation for excellence and producing high achievers. Holmes was no exception. Long said that throughout high school, Holmes always appeared to move through life with a purpose, less interested in socializing, more "intent on doing her work." Holmes opted to not attend school dances or interact with friends during free periods, Long said. "She was always very disconnected from the larger group of girls or just kind of in her own world," Long said. "Elizabeth was either working on her dissertation or maybe she was learning her Mandarin or she was learning to program. ... But she was always very intently pursuing something else." Long said that the Holmes family kept to themselves. She remembers Holmes' mother Noel as "pleasant and charming." She recalled rarely seeing Holmes' father, Christian Holmes, at any school functions or community events. But Long said Holmes shared one fact about her family tree. "The only thing Elizabeth told me about her family is that ... [actor] Lorenzo Lamas was her step-uncle because her grandfather married his mother, who was a Hollywood actress," she said. After high school, Long says that she didn't hear from Holmes, that Holmes wouldn't go back to Houston for any of the "mini-reunions" their class would have nor keep in touch with classmates. It wasn't until Holmes appeared on the cover of Forbes Magazine in 2014 that her high school class learned of her accomplishments. "That was the first time that anybody had heard anything about Elizabeth since graduation. ... I was so proud because, you know, this is Elizabeth that I grew up with. And I was shocked, because I was like, 'Where have you been? Like we haven't heard from you, we haven't seen you.'" It wasn't the only new thing that Long learned about Holmes. She said she was surprised by Holmes' voice during the interviews she saw. "[In high school] her voice was always going up and down in terms of the pitch, of high and low. So it was very nasally and it would vacillate with high and low, so when she would talk to you it would go up and down," Long said. "It wasn't a very clear pitch as to whether it was distinctly high or distinctly low. So when I've seen videos of her, her voice was really low. I was like, 'Wow her voice got really deep.'" According to Long, in high school, Holmes was nice and reserved, somewhat detached, with a family connection to the soap star Lorenzo Lamas -- not the person Long said is the woman the public knows today. "It's a very big shock to the St. John's Community and big sadness in our hearts that this is how it all played out," she said. Clinical and performance psychologist Dr. Jonathan Fader, who frequently works with CEOs, professional athletes and entrepreneurs, said when people fall into stressful situations it's possible for people to do things that would be considered out of their character. "It's not impossible that, in my mind, any of us when exposed to certain situations could make poor choices," he told Jarvis. "I'll say it's unlikely that someone who doesn't have the wiring to do it at all would make those poor choices, but I'm sure it is possible." Fader has not evaluated Holmes but said sometimes successful leaders can be blinded by their ambitions and lack self-awareness. "One of the things that we see in leaders is they tend to be in some way somewhat narcissistic," Fader said. "An excellent leader is someone who's able to really have a high level of self-confidence, and there is a very thin line between self-confidence and arrogance." "It's a fine line for being able to ignore things that are important to other people, like feelings or consequences," he added, versus "doing it so much that you're putting yourself or other people at risk." Fader says sometimes success at a young age does breed confidence but can also hinder someone from developing other leadership skills, such as "empathy, social skills, the ability to be self-aware and self regulate." Long said it's still difficult to make sense of how her former childhood classmate got this far and now could be going to prison. "Sometimes people have to learn lessons in life, and it's hard if those lessons are really difficult," Long said. "This is how her cards have been dealt, and I wish her the best and I hope that it all works out." Holmes is charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud. According to the indictment from the U.S. Department of Justice, the charges are a result of allegations that Holmes engaged in a multi-million-dollar scheme to defraud investors, and a separate scheme to defraud doctors and patients. If convicted, Holmes could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each count of wire fraud and for each conspiracy count. "I think depending on how the trial goes and depending on how strong the evidence is and depending on whether or not she testifies, I would be surprised if she got less than 10 years, but I've seen in cases like this that are very substantial," Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and host of NPR's "Stay Tuned with Preet," told Jarvis. Bharara has researched the Holmes case and spent years litigating high profile criminal and civil cases. He says that the proof against her "seems overwhelming." "I think she will be convicted, and I think her best bet is to plead, given what I know about the case, and how she might be perceived by the jury," Bharara said. Bharara said that it will be important for Holmes to show that she was trying to make the Theranos technology work as she promised. "Unlike some other fraudsters that my office prosecuted, like Bernie Madoff for example, Bernie Madoff was a fraud through and through ... there was never a thought in his head that later I'll make some money back another way and I'll pay everyone back. It was a true Ponzi scheme. I'm not saying that carries the day for her at all, but she's in a slightly different circumstance," Bharara said. But Bharara doesn't necessarily think that alone will be enough for Holmes to beat the prosecution. He said if she can show positive intent to accomplish something revolutionary it will only be a "minor point in her favor." "You usually don't make precise and specific allegations of the type in this indictment unless you can back it up," he said. "People forget this, motive is not really relevant to guilt. ... You have to prove that the person intended to do it, but doesn't matter if the reason was power or fame or greed. It doesn't matter." And while Holmes may have had noble intentions, Bharara said he expects she will be held accountable. "You really can't toy with people and their health and their emotions that way," he said. "You can see jurors becoming very angry at how she raised people's hopes falsely." Former Theranos president and COO Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, who also was Holmes's boyfriend of many years, is facing the same federal criminal charges, but Bharara said he could be in a better position than Holmes. Balwani's lawyer Jeff Coopersmith told Jarvis on "The Dropout" that Balwani does not feel that he was "duped by Elizabeth Holmes" but rather "believed in Elizabeth Holmes and her vision for the company. He tried to execute that plan with her to make it a success." Coopersmith said Theranos was a "business failure" and "not fraud." But Bharara said it isn't uncommon to see people change their defense. "Even though right now Sunny and Elizabeth Holmes seem to be in sync with each other, that can change," he said. "Former boyfriends and girlfriends flip on each other." Throughout her deposition with the Securities and Exchange Commission, one federal entity bringing charges against Holmes and Balwani, Holmes claimed ignorance to the ongoings at Theranos. She said "don't know" or "can't remember" more than 660 times. Bharara said that type of defense for a CEO can be "problematic." Holmes presented herself as knowledgeable and sophisticated. She was also the only person who regularly spoke on behalf of the company publicly. "She was involved deeply, strategically, substantively in every aspect of the business and how the prototypes worked or didn't work," Bharara said. "She personally sought out the investors, she personally sought out people who would be on the board ... for her, being incredibly smart and being incredibly educated and incredibly sophisticated is harmful." Bharara said he would advise Holmes to plead guilty. "The good lawyer says, 'Look, you're still a fairly young person. You have a whole life ahead of you. Everyone gets a second chance in America, hopefully. And you want to minimize the amount of time that you were denied your freedom, and here's how powerful their case is, here are the defenses we could make,'" he said. "I think you have to have a conversation like that because trials are tough." If convicted, Bharara believes it's highly likely Holmes will face significant prison time. "Elizabeth Holmes and her erstwhile boyfriend, Sunny, are only guilty if you can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they intended to lie, that they intended to mislead," he said. The legal fate of Holmes and Balwani will not be known in the imminent future. There are more than 16 million pages of documents in the case, and processing those was delayed earlier this year because of the federal government shutdown. Both Holmes and Balwani are scheduled to appear in court in San Francisco on April 22 for a status hearing. In the meantime, Holmes has been living in San Francisco. Former Theranos senior software engineer Michael Craig says he crossed paths with her over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend this year while he and he wife were having cocktails at a bar in Sausalito, California. Craig said that it was "surreal" because he never thought that he would run into his former boss again. "She was dressed in like a dark hoodie and jeans and didn't look to have any makeup on," he said. "She looked very young and a little bit slight, her posture was a little slumped over and she was staring right at us. And then she got up and came over, and we stood up, and I was completely taken by surprise." The last time Craig had spoken to Holmes was in 2017, his final day at Theranos. He'd been let go as part of a company restructuring. "She came over and gave us both a big hug and started asking about us and introduced her friend as her fiance and we shook hands, and it was just really weird," he said. Holmes's fiance is an MIT graduate whose family owns a successful hospitality company. He studied economics and works in technology in San Francisco. He's eight years younger than Holmes. "He reminded me a lot of the Duke boys that were at Theranos," Craig said. "Short cropped hair, handsome guy, pretty, you know, outgoing." Craig said he was caught off guard, when he said Holmes brought up Theranos casually, ignoring the fact that she was facing federal charges. He said she never acknowledged that she was facing possible prison time nor that she had allegedly lied to so many people, including him. "There was no apology or anything like that," Craig said. "There was no stability extended in anything she said. I just thought that was upsetting that this is somebody who claimed to have integrity and to be promoting transparency and the reality is, neither one of those is true was true." He felt that the leader he once revered was gone. "This is the woman who had been on all these magazine covers -- she used to walk around with such an air of confidence and certainty -- she seemed a little bit worn down but she didn't seem like somebody who had done anything wrong," Craig said. Craig said he and his wife made an excuse to leave and that he was shaken from the encounter. He'd dedicated five years to Theranos and fully believed in Holmes and the mission of the company. Seeing Holmes again brought up a lot of emotions. "This is someone I almost worshiped here as like a guru of technology and business, and then to have that glass shatter of that illusion held up of her was traumatic," Craig said. "I just started to realize that there's a lot of stuff I haven't dealt with in terms of the impact that that whole experience has had on me." Craig said if he could ask Holmes one question he would want to know whether "it was intentional" or did she "just screw it up." He said he suspects both are true to some degree. "It is wanting something so badly that you're just going to do whatever means necessary. Take whatever actions you needed ... because you're so convinced you're going to get there in the long run," he said. Questions still linger for many of the people who got caught up in Holmes' world, like Ana Arriola, the product designer who left Steve Jobs' Apple to work at Theranos in the early days of the company. "Steve [Jobs] really coined 'the reality of the distortion field'" she said. "That's when said individual believes implicitly that what they are saying is emphatically the truth, that everyone else believes it to be the truth." Avie Tevanian, Steve Jobs' former right hand at Apple who originally invested $1.5 million into Theranos and for a time served on its board, wonders if they all fell, just a little bit, into Holmes's distortion field along the way. "We had a situation here that created what's called FOMO, fear of missing out," Tevanian said. "Everybody before you has bet on this ... and then you combine that with this incredibly compelling story. You've got this really smart female CEO ... who's going to make herself super rich and who's going to do a wonderful thing for the world. Right? It is a great story. You want it to work. We all want that to work." "It's almost a legitimate strategy to invest behind other successful investors just because they'll have the momentum," he said. According to clinical and performance psychologist Dr. Jonathan Fader, a groupthink mentality is even part of human nature. "We'll do anything that we can to get away from uncertainty. ... And this is evolutionary," Fader said. "We're relieved when we have a narrative or a story that we can buy ... the best leaders can take even a poor message and turn around and massage it and dress it up in a way that really speaks to people." This is especially true, he said, when the person selling that story appears to be as remarkable as Holmes. "If you have a compelling, charismatic person who can talk in a way that can pull at the underlying values that people have and can make them feel safe and that we're headed in the right direction," he said. "Even a message that lacks data or is somewhat flawed can be accepted." Many of Theranos' high-profile investors and board members were dazzled by Holmes' narrative, accepting "trade secrets" for lack of evidence or concrete proof that Theranos technology actually worked and existed the way it was being sold to them. Only when a then-25-year-old whistleblower, Tyler Shultz, started to raise concerns, ask questions and ultimately take action by filing a complaint and speaking to a Wall Street Journal reporter did Theranos' seemingly revolutionary claims start to fall apart. Shultz, whose grandfather, George Shultz was on Theranos' board of directors and a mentor to Holmes, said he risked his career and family relationships to speak out because of his concern for people's lives. When Tyler Shultz came forward in 2015, he said his grandfather, a former secretary of state, sided with Holmes and asked him to back down, but he refused. "I think that at the end of the day, everyone was concerned that we were not giving people the right results," Shultz said in a 2017 deposition for a lawsuit filed against Theranos by investors, obtained by ABC News and featured on "The Dropout." Tyler Shultz, who left Theranos in 2013, has since co-founded his own medical device company, Flux Biosciences, in San Francisco. His grandfather eventually changed his opinion. In a statement to ABC News regarding this report, George Shultz said: "The members of our family work to be loyal and supportive to one another and to the best of America's values. Most have inspired others to listen to their better angels; and some have shown tremendous courage and integrity when faced with difficult decisions or situations. Tyler's handling of the troubling practices he identified at Theranos is an example. He did not shrink from what he saw as his responsibility to the truth and patient safety, even when he felt personally threatened and believed that I had placed allegiance to the company over allegiance to higher values and our family. I have learned -- from my experiences beginning in World War II, in private industry, and in the various public service positions, I have been privileged to fill -- that the people in the field are closest to the issues and are the best sources of wisdom whenever a problem arises. That was certainly the case here. Tyler navigated a very complex situation in ways that made me proud. He has been an example for the entire family, for which all of us are grateful. I want to recognize and congratulate Tyler for his great moral character." Erika Cheung, a former Theranos employee, filed the complaint with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services about the problems with quality control and proficiency testing she witnessed at the company, which ultimately led to Theranos' labs being shut down. She has also moved on with her life. She now works for a venture capital private equity firm in Hong Kong and said she's committed to growing the entrepreneurial ecosystem. "I hope that people don't get completely discouraged and think that everyone who is in the healthcare industry and the biotech industry is somehow out to get them and to hurt them. There are a lot of good people in this industry that really, really want to do good," Cheung told Jarvis on "The Dropout." She also encourages people "to be a little bit skeptical, a little bit critical of things that are really hyped up." It's exactly how Stanford Professor Dr. Phyllis Gardner was when Holmes originally approached her about an idea for a microfluidic patch when she was a freshman. Gardner became one of the earliest skeptics of Holmes. "I was not impressed with her knowledge, nor her ability to grasp complex information, [even though] a lot of people thought that she was brilliant," Gardner told Jarvis. Gardner, who continues to teach medicine at Stanford, hopes future generations of students will focus their energy on learning over monetary gain. "Without sounding too critical, it would be better if students would focus on service, humanities, arts and other things to broaden their minds rather than just focusing on becoming a multimillionaire by starting your company," she said. Gardner, like so many other women, said she was disappointed that Holmes, a rising female entrepreneur, seemed like someone other young women could have looked up to. "It bothers me that a woman was not successful. It bothers me that the women wanted to idolize her and that she fell. It bothers me that students thought she was great, and it bothers me about the patients. So I get disturbed," Gardner said. One of those women also disappointed by Holmes is Arriola, who was one of Theranos' early employees but left before the company moved into commercial blood testing. She has since moved on to become a general manager and partner at Microsoft but echoed Gardner's sentiment. "It hurts me to know that so many women, some of the female entrepreneurs, in the world believed in her and saw her as this world-changing individual, and all along I knew she was ethically corrupt," Arriola said on "The Dropout." "Was Elizabeth a sociopath? I think history speaks for itself." But Arriola hasn't given up hope that there will groundbreaking blood testing technology in the future. "Someday it will become reality -- just not with Elizabeth," she said. Joseph Fuisz, an inventor, entrepreneur and lawyer, was a Holmes family neighbor when they lived in Washington, D.C., during the late '80s and early '90s. He thinks there's a particularly sad irony to the fact that Gardner, whom he regards as one of the most brilliant scientists of our time, is in some ways the very groundbreaking female healthcare pioneer that he said Holmes just pretended to be. "Phyllis, while having kids and practicing medicine, was [a] chief scientific officer of ALZA [once a pharmaceutical and medical systems company], which was bought by Johnson & Johnson for $9 billion. They basically did all the original time-release technology. I mean, if you take a time-release tablet today, [there is a] very good chance it's from the technology that Phyllis Gardner worked on," Fuisz said. Fuisz thinks that Holmes was the type of person that the public wanted. "The press wanted youth and they wanted this sort of blonde hair, et cetera. And so they elevated Elizabeth. And Phyllis right away saw through the fallacy of what she was attempting to do with the technology ... but I always found it ironic and sad in a way, because to me, in a way, the press is building up Elizabeth for trying to be what Phyllis actually was," he said. To this day, neither Holmes, Balwani nor Theranos have admitted any wrongdoing. Holmes and her counsel did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Reid Kathrein, who represented investors in a lawsuit against Theranos, said Theranos should be held responsible for what he calls egregious misdeeds. "This is not a little thing," he said. "Not only did they fool the investors, they fooled the media, they fooled patients they fooled doctors." Coopersmith, Balwani's attorney, is optimistic about the upcoming trial. "I'm very confident that when the jury hears the whole story, you're going to see an acquittal -- in this case acquittals," Coopersmith told Jarvis. He also said that Balwani is focused on the future. "He's a very energetic, really brilliant person who has plans and dreams like all of us. He wants to continue to develop software," Coopersmith said. "I don't know whether it be in health care. He wants to continue the entrepreneurship that he's shown in the past." These days, Holmes is living in San Francisco and often seen walking her dog, Balto, a Siberian Husky she named after a famous sled dog who transported life-saving medicine across Alaska during a diphtheria outbreak in the 1920s. She may again be the last runner on the track, refusing to quit. According to sources, she's already planning a new company. It might even resemble Theranos. As she told a packed house at a Forbes conference three-and-a-half years ago: "You will get knocked down over and over and over and over again, and you win by getting back up. ... I would start this company over 10,000 times if I had to." "The Dropout" is a six-part series on the rise and fall of former Silicon Valley darling Elizabeth Holmes and her company Theranos. It is written and produced by Jarvis, Taylor Dunn and Victoria Thompson. Listen to "The Dropout" for free on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, the ABC News app, or your favorite podcast player. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Eighteen families who were ordered by the Land and Titles Court in December last year to vacate land at Leauvaa, which they occupied for years, are appealing the decision. One of the families involved, Tevaga Vailua said an appeal has been filed against the decision of the Land and Titles Court. I cannot discuss the matter as we have filed an appeal, Tevaga told the Samoa Observer yesterday. It is a very sensitive matter for us involved and Im sorry I cannot say anything further about it. The Ministry of Justice, Courts and Administration has received the appeal application and are processing the application. The L.T.C. decision for the eighteen families of Leauvaa to vacate the lands was delivered December 18, 2018 following a hearing of just over a week long. The decision stated the eighteen families are given six months to vacate the land (from the day of decision) and are ordered to leave before June 18, 2019. According to the Land and Titles Court decision LC. 9480P15-P16, villagers of Afega made an application to return the land which is rightfully theirs, that is occupied by the villagers of Leauvaa. The reason for this is because the village population of Afega is growing hence the need of the disputed land to be returned. The land is needed for plantation purposes. There are also other village developments that need implementation such as construction of school and others. Afega also claimed the 723 acres of land has already been allocated in 1911. However, the request was only for 100 acres of land. (Ua maea to le 723 eka ile 1911 tainane na ole 100 eka na talosagaina). From evidence that went before the Court for its deliberation, the two villages involved have met and agreed to set up a committee, with 10 representatives from each village. The village of Afega claimed they had waited for Leauvaa but it was clear Leauvaa has opposed the plan to have a committee and decided to take the matter to Court. However, the argument presented by Leauvaa is the application from Alii and Faipule of Afega is unlawful. The judgement LC 9480P1-P14, maintains the Alii and Faipule of Leauvaa can occupy the lands in Leauvaa. The judgement is no longer subject to an appeal (res-judi-cata). The village of Leauvaa also denies claim of an appointed committee of 10 representatives from the villages. According to the decision, Leauvaa argued that the claim from Afega is untrue because the village has not met - it is divided. Leauvaa maintained the families in Leauvaa have the right to occupy the lands. Leauvaa is mainly made up of families who had to leave Savaii when their village was affected by the Mt. Matavanu lava that erupted in 1905, and were later settled in the village of Leauvaa. Over the years, the Leauvaa village council fought for their rights to the land. However, several Court decisions ruled in favour of Afega as the rightful owner of the disputed land. The eighteen families who are told to leave include: Fiti Pauga, Tau Naime, Togiai Alisi, Lemalu Ioane, Tuala Enele, Tui Seu, Faatoafe Faiga, Lemalu Paulo, Tuala Maleko, Muagututia Koloko, Malia Pulou, Kose Seve, Kia Viliamu, Lave Sipoloa, Tuala Sogi, Tevaga Vailua, Siaosi Sagote Malo, and Tuala Ake Malo residing on Leualesi or Vaialia Leauvaa. Heres the good news. The fight to end violence against women in Samoa and throughout the Pacific region has just received a multi-million-tala injection thanks to the European Union and the United Nations Spotlight Initiative, launched in Samoa this week. Amidst a number of high-level events, which took place at Taumeasina Island Resort, the launch of Spotlight was of particular importance given the pressing need to promote different ways to end the scourge of domestic violence on our women and girls. Spotlight by the way is a project whereby the European Union and United Nations have committed 50 million (T$148 million) to the cause in the Pacific. Its a noble gesture, no doubt about it. We cannot fulfill the sustainable development goals and the Pacific Forum Leaders vision for a region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion and economic prosperity, unless we end gender inequality and violence against women, said UN Population Fund Executive Director, Dr. Natalia Kanem, at the launch. EU Commissioner, Neven Mimica, said domestic and sexual violence is a worldwide phenomenon, a human rights violation, a story we see every day and we cannot continue to look away. It is the stories of survivors. Collectively, all of us here today are here to help break this silence because the scourge of domestic violence will not be stopped by one person, one organisation or one country. Here in Samoa, this is something we can identify with. In fact, we dont need to tell you how bad it is. Suffice to say, the findings of the National Public Inquiry on Family Violence in Samoa, chaired by the Ombudsman, Maiava Iulai Toma, were quite grim. For instance, the report found that domestic violence affects almost all families in Samoa, with nine out of 10 women experiencing physical or emotional violence in the hands of family members. Further, six out of 10 women experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime. These figures are shocking, they should not be ignored. At the launch of the report last year, Loukinikini Vili, the Director of Human Rights at the Office of the Ombudsman, made a very telling point. Throughout the Inquiry it became increasingly apparent that family violence in some form has become an accepted part of life for most people in society, she said. It is something which is inevitable, tolerated or simply goes unnoticed. This in itself is a significant barrier to both reporting family violence and contributes to an ever worsening cycle of violence at a societal level. Ombudsman Maiava went further, saying: One of the key themes that emerged from testimonies is that family violence thrives because it is kept behind closed doors, where perpetrators are allowed to continue under no threat of having to face up to their responsibility. It is about time that we openly talk about these issues, front up and allow the right thing to be done. We couldnt agree more. The question is, where do we begin? And how do we go about ensuring that we do the right thing? We say this because we have been talking about domestic violence for so long now and yet it appears to be getting worse. We dont have to look far for victims. Perpetrators of domestic violence do not differentiate between women and girls. In Samoa today, we have many victims who are high profile women with wonderful jobs and qualifications. The sad trend goes right down to the village level where we suspect it is probably worse, given the few cases that are reported. Now the question is, with Spotlight offering a lot of money to the region and Samoa will get a fair share how will that help address the problem? Spotlights built on your ongoing efforts to address the root causes of violence against women and girls, to fill the legislative and policy gaps, to provide quality service for providers and their families and to change deep rooted stigma and attitudes forever, said Mr. Mimica. Thats great to hear. But can all this money stop domestic violence? The answer is no. Solving domestic violence is not going to happen overnight. We are dealing with attitudes and mindsets that have been nurtured and protected over many generations. We need to continue to chip away at it, bit by bit, believing that we are investing in the young boys and girls of today. In other words, projects like Spotlight and so many other wonderful projects that are being carried out, are properly too late for thousands of women who are abused physically and sexually every day. But we cannot give up. Weve got to believe that as a society, we are investing in the future, nurturing boys who will grow up to reflect the amount of effort that the global and the local community are putting into this issue, in a bid to one day get rid of it once and for all. Some will say that this is a silly dream but hey, no matter how bad a situation is, weve got to be able to dream otherwise we should all just give up and wither away. Which is what we do not want. So lets acknowledge the source of this wonderful funding and make sure the results are translated and reflected upon the lives that matter the most the protection of our women and girls. Have a wonderful Thursday Samoa, God bless! SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Over 8,000 marijuana-related convictions were erased or reduced using a technological approach that prosecutors nationwide should adopt to address a growing backlog of criminal cases eligible for modification, San Francisco's district attorney announced Monday. San Francisco is the first California county to announce full compliance with the state's broad legalization of marijuana that also made an estimated 200,000 past pot convictions eligible for erasure or reduction. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon credited the nonprofit technology organization Code for America for solving the biggest hurdle to identifying eligible cases dating back decades. When voters passed Proposition 64 in 2016 to allow adult use of marijuana, they also eliminated several pot-related crimes. The proposition also applied retroactively, but provided no mechanism or guidance on how those eligible could erase their convictions or have felonies reduced to misdemeanors. A few hundred people hired attorneys, paid court fees and filed petitions to modify their records since November 2016, but the vast majority of convictions still remain untouched. Many district attorneys throughout the state said they lack the resources to sift through and review decades' worth of criminal cases to identify eligible convictions. In January 2018, Gascon announced his office would take on the time-consuming task of sifting through many thousands of criminal cases to identify eligible marijuana convictions. Until then, only 23 people who hired lawyers and paid court fees took advantage of the new law in San Francisco. In May, when Gascon announced a partnership with Code for America, his office managed to identify and dismiss a little more 1,000 eligible misdemeanor cases. Since then, an additional 8,132 cases have been identified. Gascon said a total of 9,300 cases dating back to 1975 will be dropped or reduced without cost, active participation and, in many cases, the knowledge of the defendants. "We don't have to do it," Gascon said Monday. "It was just a matter of dignity." Code for America is a San Francisco-based nonprofit group that seeks to use technology to make government more efficient. Director Jennifer Pahlka said coders developed a "light weight" and simple computer-based algorithm dubbed "Clear My Record" to quickly identify eligible cases. The program automatically fills out forms to be filed with the courts. Pahlka said Monday that Code for America was working with several other California district attorneys to identify eligible marijuana cases in their counties. In December, Michigan became the latest state to broadly legalize marijuana, eliminate pot crimes and allow past convictions to be erased or reduced. Meanwhile, prosecutors in Baltimore, Seattle, Chicago and multiple others across the country followed Gascon's lead and announced their intentions to clear eligible marijuana convictions in their jurisdictions. Gascon and Pahlka called on prosecutors across the country to adopt Code for America's technology. "I want to continue to evangelize, if you will, to get others around the country and the state to do the same things and push the envelope to continue to reduce the impacts of criminal convictions when we can," he said. The American Samoa tuna industry wants to recruit 200 qualified guest workers from Samoa to work as fish Cleaners. Under the American territorys guest worker permit program, only those of Samoan ancestry from Samoa are hired under this program, which was reactivated last month due to a labour shortage crisis. The public notice, which was issued recently by Starkist, says the candidates should be honest, skilled, able-bodied and hard working. Early this month, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi welcomed the American Samoa Governments decision to reactivate the guest worker permit program. He said the relationship between Samoa and the American territory is mutual and the partnership between the two governments will always benefit the two neighbours. There are times American Samoa needs us and vice versa and also American Samoa is fortunate enough to have the United States of America, the richest country in the world, he said. The notice, which targets Samoa citizens, says that a guest worker is a person of Samoan ancestry born in Samoa who is granted authorization to enter and remain in American Samoa for purposes of employment at the fish canneries only. They are required to have a valid passport minimum with a 1 year before expiry; birth certificate (certified copy); Samoa Police clearance (original); Samoa Medical Clearance (original); ASG LBJ Medical Clearance; ASG Court Clearance; local host affidavit (as required by law) process; and be between the ages of 19-45. Furthermore, local residents willing to become a host for the guest worker are asked coordinate and provide the above documentation to the Starkist Samoa human resources office for review and verification. Starkist Samoa will review and verify the documentation, and forward to the ASG Immigration Office for proper vetting. Once approved by the ASG Immigration Office, Starkist will schedule an in-person interview in Apia on a date and time to be scheduled, on an appointment-only basis. The recruitment process will be limited to the first 300 applicants received. Final initial selection will be for 200 guest workers. No Phone calls will be accepted and Starkist Samoa said reserves the right to reject any application received for this program. A cruise ship that has crew also made up of Samoans is due to hit our shores next month in a first for the country. The vessel MSC Magnifica which is a Musica-class cruise ship operated by MSC Cruises based in Geneva arrives in Samoa on March 4. Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi said it is the first time for the cruise ship to visit Samoa and 14 similar vessels are scheduled to visit Samoa this year. It will be the first time Samoa will host such a cruise ship and that 14 similar ships will be coming our way this year. This cruise ship has 20 Samoans working on board, he said during his weekly media programme. The Prime Minister said the recruitment of the Samoan crew by the European cruise ship company, is a demonstration of the success of the National University of Samoas Maritime School. He said the Maritime Schools facilities, which was funded by the Chinese government, has enabled its graduates to find employment abroad. These are some of the projects the Samoa Government, Cabinet and the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) are pushing for to ensure our children attained well paid jobs. To date we have 426 Samoan Sailors scattered all over the world, and 140 plus that have recently graduated and they are now waiting for employment opportunities which is facilitated by the Samoa Shipping Services, Tuilaepa said. The Prime Minister said the Maritime school will be adding more courses to their program to ensure their students become certified officers, engineers and captains. Currently, the Maritime School training program offers students training in nautical skills, navigational science and marine engineering, coupled with an emphasis on safety at sea. According to Tuilaepa some of the students are working on fishing boats in American Samoa. The European Union (EU) is committed to maintaining the unique partnership that exists with the Pacific ACP group of states post-2020. So says EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica. The Commissioner, who was present at the Pacific ACP EU high level political dialogue on the post-Cotonou agreement yesterday, said the input and outcome from the dialogue will assist the ACP central negotiating group to wrap up the post Cotonou framework. The dialogue provided a platform for leaders from the Pacific to exchange views on issues of priority and concerns to the region, which will help the negotiations in the formulation of a new treaty with the EU when the Cotonou agreement ends in 2020. For the EU, the main goal of a future post-Cotonou arrangement is to preserve, to strengthen the unique role, the unique partnership, negotiating partner role of the ACP group of countries, he said. Keeping, preserving the integrity of the ACP Group, for us, is to be reflective and to be strengthened by our future post-Cotonou agreement." We (EU) would like our future agreement to be based on the common foundation of our contractual relations, but also to strengthen the regional components of the Pacific Caribbean pillars of our cooperation. Mr. Mimica said this approach with the regional protocols and pillars will not fragment the ACP group but is an attempt to give flesh and muscles to the bone and skeleton of our true partnership with ACP countries. This is about strengthening and focusing on the more concrete and more specific regional interests, priorities, challenges that are to be translated into very political and contextual text of the future agreement. ACP lead negotiator, Pro. Robert Dussey said within the post-Cotonou, there will be possibly three specific partnerships linking each ACP region with the European Union. The other important innovation in the current negotiation lies in the latitude for each of the ACP regions to take charge of the negotiations on its pillar, Prof. Dussey said. On the current negotiation, the ACP countries have adopted the principle of decentralisation of distribution of responsibilities, in order to bring the process in line with the regional and continental research for development. He added the negotiation files a conclusion of a new economic, political and strategic partnership agreement between the ACP groups and the EU. Three families who were featured in Samoa Observers Village Voice were the recipients of boots donated by Australian policewoman, Jo Mikarna. The Australian previously handed over to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) 4000 boots and 500 pairs of work trousers from her police unit in Melbourne and every department across the state with the hope it would also be distributed to vulnerable and low-income Samoan farmers. One of the recipients of the boots was 35-year-old father of four, Ronny Tamaese from Falefa, whose familys plight was featured in the Village Voice. As a farmer, these boots will be used to assist with carrying out my work in the plantation; words fail to express how thankful I am. I pray that God will continue to bless those that made these gifts possible, not every day you get the chance to have brand new boots. And judging by the looks of it, the cost for these must be expensive, I also acknowledge the work Samoa Observer does in being the voice of the people in need, he said. Mr. Tamasese said due to his familys struggle with financial support, they would never afford such boots. Another receiver of the boots was 50-year-old Pupualii Lufia, who also sought assistance for his family through Village Voice. On behalf of my family especially I Tuapi Leota and my wife Nika Lauano, who received three pairs of boots combined, I thank everyone that contributed in making this possible. I never dreamed of ever getting something like this, accepting brand new shoes has somewhat lifted my spirits despite the hardships we face. I have been a farmer for as long as I can remember, passed down from generations, but I do admit I still face the need of help with farm supplies, he said. The family of Manua Fetineiai from Falevao was also given a pair of boots for 16-year-old Faaivivi Visesio, to assist the family with chores at their plantation. A total of 12 pairs of boots from two boxes were given by MAF in order to conduct the distribution, compelling Ms. Mikarna to delay her return to Australia so she can be part of the delivery. There were four other pairs of boots given to local farmers but due to bad weather conditions, three pairs of boots were left behind from the delivery and were returned to MAF, which confirmed that a list is being compiled for Cabinets approval before giving any out. Re: Seasonal workers remittances contributing to economy Why do the government and related entities always try to downplay our overseas Samoans contribution to our economy? Year in year out remittances has been one of the highest revenue sources for the government. Remittances received is spent on domestically produced and imported goods increasing the tax base, which in turn increases revenues for the government from sales taxes, value-added taxes, and import duties. My take is any monetary injection into our economy should be much appreciated. Lets face it our Tourism and Export sector is not exactly raking in hundreds of millions a year and the international financial sector, well any information on how much the government earns from SIFA and foreign investments is under lock and key. But have a look at our total visitors for Jan - March 2018 which was 40,290 visitors. Out of that total, 52% where here to visit family and friends. And only 27.6% were on holiday and vacation. This info is found in Samoa Bureau of Statistics website. So on top of remittances sent home more than half of our inbound visitors are overseas family members returning home to spend and inject more money into the Samoan economy. And this is nothing new it has been going on for yonks. Im really happy for our seasonal workers and their financial contributions to their families and our economy. Yes their remittances is a bonus to the Samoan economy just as much as our diaspora communities. But by comparison how can 1,690 (2016/2017) seasonal workers stack up to tens of thousands Samoans sending money home? This amount is from the Samoa Strong website, showing 1,690 Samoan seasonal workers in NZ for 2016/2017. The numbers could be higher for the 2017/2018 period. And there is also seasonal workers in Australia but numbers unknown. Most of the information on these websites is old and not updated frequently. The biggest threat to remittances is that some bright spark might whisper into Tuilaepas ear to tax it as income. Thinking this would keep the overseas Samoans from criticizing the government. I wouldnt be surprised at all knowing how desperate this government is for money, it has even taxed the Faifeau and brag that government revenue has gone up. But, I hope Tuilaepa has the foresight to see this as a bad idea because if the diaspora communities stop sending remittances back home to Samoa, well Id hate to think of what would happen to our economy. Leaders who dont listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say. Soifua, Oisole Dear Editor Re: Church reps meet with the P.M. In the true faasamoa, EFKS Fono Tele negotiates with the Parliament of Samoa on issues that relate to Sovereign Foundation of Samoa. The most dangerous mistake at the moment is the unwise growth of Government Power and foolish pretensions of Modern Politics to become the Ruling Power in the General Life of Samoa. This is the Political Science of some Societies of the Modern World, but not Samoa. The rejection by the EFKS FONO TELE of the Government Law on Taxation relating to Church Ministers is two fold. It is against Government Illegal or unconstitutional interference in the traditional Sovereignty of the Christian Church according to the faasamoa. And it is also against Parliament Laws that allow unconstitutional Government proposed Laws through Parliament. The Parliament of Samoa should reflect the Sovereign Authority of Modern Samoa now Founded in God, and this is the Real FAA-SAMOA in the Life of Samoa in Villages and in General. This means the negotiations between the EFKS and the Prime Minister has room in some contexts especially for the Prime Minister as the Leader of the Government. But its the wrong context for an official negotiation from he Government side in relation to the Official Letter or any Official Correspondence from the E F K S General Assembly. Issues that relate to Foundations of Samoa and Sovereign Institutions in the Life of Samoa- Samoan Culture, Samoan Christian Church, and Samoan Government must be handled in the most appropriate and respectable ways. Danny Ioka External Affairs Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar Amid escalating tensions after the IAF bombed the JeM's biggest training camp, India on Wednesday shot down a Pakistani jet and said one of its MiG-21 pilots was "missing in action" and reportedly in Pakistani custody. The External Affairs Ministry accused Pakistan of targeting Indian military installations in response to Tuesday's counter-terrorism action targeted at the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) that had claimed responsibility for suicide bombing of 40 CRPF troopers in Kashmir. "Against this counter terrorism action, Pakistan has responded this morning by using its air force to target military installations on the Indian side," Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar told the media in the presence of an Air Vice Marshal. He said the Indian Air Force (IAF) responded instantly and a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) aircraft was shot down by a MiG-21 Bison. "The Pakistani aircraft was seen by the ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side," he said. The statement did not say which Pakistani fighter jet was shot down although previous reports had suggested it was an F-16. The aircraft reportredly fell three kilometres inside Pakistan. "In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG-21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," said the spokesman. Earlier, the IAF scrambled and pushed back Pakistani fighter jets which intruded into the Nowshera sector in Jammu and Kashmir. An Indian military aircraft, however, crashed in Badgam in Jammu and Kashmir, 7 kilometres from the Srinagar International Airport, police said. This and the Pakistani action led to the suspension of commercial flights across at least eight cities including Leh, Pathankot, Jammu, Srinagar and Amritsar. But the operations were ordered resumed within hours. Indian Air Defence Systems have been on maximum alert since Tuesday. Simultaneously, Indian and Pakistani troops traded heavy fire using mortars and small arms in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri sector, Defence Ministry sources said. The clash occurred in Kamalkote area. Intermittent heavy firing was also reported at 40 places on the LoC including Poonch, Rajouri and Jammu districts since Tuesday night. The Indian attack on the JeM training camp came 12 days after a suicide bomber killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers in the worst terror strike in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy hit the state in 1989. India-Pakistan tensions persisted on Wednesday as the IAF chased away intruding Pakistani fighter jets in Jammu and Kashmir's Nowshera sector with India shooting down a Pakistani F-16 which fell on the Pakistani side. An Indian military aircraft, however, crashed in Badgam in Jammu and Kashmir, 7 kilometres from the Srinagar International Airport, police said, leading to the suspension of commercial flights across at least eight cities including Leh, Pathankot, Jammu, Srinagar and Amritsar. India shot down one of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-16s that had come close to the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowshera sector. The aircraft fell three kilometres in Pakistani-administered Kashmir. As the PAF jets approached the LoC, the Indian Air Force (IAF) scrambled fighters. Retaliatory fire from the ground force forced the F-16s to return but not before one took a hit and went down. The incident occurred a day after IAF jets bombed the biggest training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit in Balakot. "The jets entered the Indian air space over Nowshera in Rajouri district this morning," a police officer said, adding that the Indian fighter jets on air patrol immediately scrambled and pushed them back beyond the LoC. Indian Air Defence Systems have been on maximum alert since Tuesday. Simultaneously, Indian and Pakistani troops traded heavy fire using mortars and small arms in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri sector, Defence Ministry sources said. The clash occurred in Kamalkote area. Heavy firing was also continuing intermittently at 40 places on the LoC including Poonch, Rajouri and Jammu districts since Tuesday night. The Indian attack on the JeM training camp came 12 days after a suicide bomber killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers in the worst terror strike in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy hit the state in 1989. The attack was claimed by the Pakistan-based JeM. Dhamar tribes reject normalization with Israeli entity, disown Saudi aggression-backed traitors [27/February/2019] DHAMAR, Feb. 27 (Saba) Tribesmen and sheikhs of Maifah Ans district of Dahmar province held on Wednesday a protest rally to disown traitors backed by Saudi aggression and reject the normalization with Israeli entity. At the rally, Dhamar governor Mohammed Hussein al-Maqdashi praised the role of residents of the province in confront the aggression and thwart its plans that target Yemen. Al-Maqdashi stressed the importance of concerting efforts to preserve the internal unity to enhance security and stability in the province. The participants affirmed that the rallies of the Yemenis are a message to foil the aggression and reject all forms of normalization with the Zionist entity. The rally talked about continuing to support the battle fronts with fighters and food convoys to deter the aggression. saba Humanitarian interventions of the Italian InterSos organization in Ibb discussed [27/February/2019] IBB, Feb. 27 (Saba) - Governor of Ibb Abdel Wahed Salah discussed on Tuesday with the Secretary General of the Italian Intersos the humanitarian interventions of the organization in the province. In the meeting, which included the Director of the Office of the InterSos in Yemen, the governor praised humanitarian work of the organization, especially in the field of health and relief and childhood. The Governor of Ibb praised the organization's keenness to expand its humanitarian activities in the province and recently opened a branch in Ibb city. He pointed out that the Ibb provinces suffers from a humanitarian situation which is disastrous due to the aggression and blockade and its urgent need for many urgent assistance in various fields. He pointed out that Ibb receives all the people of the homeland referring to more than one million displaced people from various provinces, affected by the US-saudi-backed aggression coalition on Yemen, who displaced to Ibb. The Governor stressed the importance of the Organization's projects to be sustainable to achieve the desired goal in the near and long term .. He expressed the readiness of the local authority to provide all facilities and support to the success of its projects. For her part, the Director of InterSos in Yemen reviewed the most important projects implemented in Ibb, stressing the organization's intention to expand its activities and humanitarian activities during the current year to include several additional districts to provide their services in proportion to the needs of each region, explaining that the organization is implementing a project to support the health sector for a full year in a number of areas of Ibb, pointing out that the budget of the Organization during the current year was allocated a large part for the benefit of Ibb which become a province of importance and incubator for all displaced people of Yemen. AA Saba McLaren enjoyed a positive day of running overall at the start of the second week of testing in Barcelona, although the team also admitted that its reliability isn't where it needs to be. Lando Norris racked up 80 laps at the Circuit de Catalunya on Tuesday, before putting in a flyer late in the day that saw him pop to the top of the timesheet, with the help of a set of soft Pirelli C4 tyres. However, the late surge in performance was immediately followed by the MCL34's second break-down of the day. Norris was left stranded on the side of the track in the morning session, halted by a hydraulic pressure issue while McLaren had yet to determine the cause of the cat's second failure. "On the whole today was a good day, although we didnt get to do quite as much running as we wanted," said a frustrated Norris. "Weve improved the car slightly since last week, especially on the longer runs, so were going in the right direction, which is positive. Its important that we keep doing that. "Overall, Im feeling more prepared. I now have one last session in the car on Thursday, to finalise everything before Australia." McLaren sporting director Gil de Ferran also lamented the team's lack of running on Tuesday. "Unfortunately, we didnt complete as many miles as we had on the programme today, due to some small issues," added de Ferrarn. "Nevertheless, on balance, it was a positive day. "We were again able to complete some important work in preparation for Australia, with regards to the development and our understanding of the car, as well as getting Lando ready for his debut grand prix." Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. Riga, Latvia -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/27/2019 --Live electronic music festival Kontaktor will return for its second edition on May 31, 2019, brought to you by Latvian synthesizer manufacturer Erica Synths. The festival will take place at a former cotton warehouse in the main building of the Riga Commercial Port. The performance program will include Detroit's electro pioneers AUX 88, experimental electronics duo Emptyset and the aggressive techno punk T.Raumschmiere, among others. The program will celebrate forward-pushing live electronic music ranging from left-field techno, seminal electro, to nonconformist industrial, bizarre noise, adventurous dance music and everything in between. The second edition of KONTAKTOR aims to bring together music and artists including global stars and the boldest local talents that we believe are making unique, performative and at times playful contributions to the current EDM scene, which is undergoing a dramatic shift in the way it is created and perceived. The program includes music that can and should be listened and danced to, but also experienced in a way that creates an adventure of utopian enjoyment of the participant reminding us of the meaning and excitement of a rave culture. This year, the festival will feature both legendary artists and music tech industry professionals alike, including people from (or formerly of) Teenage Engineering, Touel Skouarn, Bastl & Korg each of whom will share their experiences within the educational activities of the program. The main evening of the festival will take place in the Riga Commercial Port, which will open its doors to the general public for the very first time. The building is located nearby Riga's city center, in close proximity to the notorious Andrejsala and river Daugava. The second night of the festival will take place at the industrial and metal music club Melna? Piektdiena. More information of the festival program and participants will be forthcoming. Festival participants (so far) in alphabetical sequence: Arma Agharta (Lithuania) asterisk untitled (Latvia) AUX88 (USA) Banyek (Hungary) Baseck & Felisha Ledesma as Cruel World II (USA) Br-Laser (Austria) Coast2c (USA) Echochorus (Latvia) Emptyset (United Kingdom) KODEK (Latvia) Metapattern (Australia) Multilux (Latvia) Nene H. (Germany) MonoB vs Noroe (France) OGJ (Czech Republic) SKD (Latvia) Tatsuja Takahas?i (Japan) Tobiass Fon Hofstens (Sweden) T.Raumscmiere (Germany) Wickiss (Latvia) Festival partners and supporters: Erica Synths, Goethe Institut in Riga, FACT Magazine, T-Studio, Aristi?ds, Club Melna? Piektdiena WEB: https://kontaktor.lv/ Tickets: https://ej.uz/KONTAKTOR Facebook RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/335849123928609/ Resident Advisor: https://www.residentadvisor.net/events/1224917 About Erica Synths Erica Synths team of visionaries, engineers and musicians have been working hard to bring you modules and instruments that will set your modular system apart from mass in terms of how it sounds, looks and functions. Greenville, NC (27833) Today Areas of patchy fog early. Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. High 91F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy. Low 73F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Russian court upholds dismissal of Rub 4.4B claim of Mutual Success Corp against ex-banker RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 10:51 27/02/2019 MOSCOW, February 27 (RAPSI) The Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of Mutual Success Corporation Ltd. claim seeking to include a 4,4 billion rubles (about $67 million) debt of ex-head of a banking group Anatoly Motylev in the creditors list, the court documents read. Mutual Success was challenging in appellation a decision of the Moscow Commercial Court of December 26, 2018. Earlier, the court dismissed a similar 2.3 billion rubles claim of the company against the ex-banker. This January the court dismissed some other claims of the company demanding to include in the Motylevs creditors list 6.7 billion rubles (about $102 million at the current exchange rate). In February 2018, the Moscow Commercial Court declared Motylev bankrupt. In January 2018, the court granted claims filed by two companies and a number of persons asking to include 15 billion rubles (about $229 million) in creditors demands list against Motylev. On February 6, 2017, the court initiated debt restructuring process against Motylev on the request of Flowery Development Limited. The businessman owes the company 974 million rubles ($15 million). On July 22, 2016, Flowery Development filed the bankruptcy claim against Motylev but it was not reviewed by the court because of lack of provided evidence. The court accepted the claim after all violations were lifted. Motylev is the former owner of several Russian banks including Russian credit, M-Bank and Tulsky Industrialist. In the summer of 2015, the Central Bank of Russia withdrew the licenses of those banks. All four banks were declared bankrupt. According to business media, Motylev is a defendant in a large-scale fraud case reportedly related to alleged embezzlement at M-Bank. In May 2016, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow seized Motylevs property including land plots and apartments in the Moscow Region. If you are not redirected automatically, please follow this link Join Us In Celebrating Our 39th Anniversary! We are celebrating the Queens Gazettes 39th anniversary but unlike Jack Benny who was eternally 39, we look forward to hitting 40, and many,... We Are So Excited To Begin Summertime! We are looking forward to that bohemian, sensual existence, being out in the sunshine, at the parks and beaches, and also dining outside because we... The Borough of Queens was well-represented last Saturday at the Womens March in New York City protesting the inauguration of President Trump. The Queens contingent met at the Roosevelt Avenue station for the No. 7 train in Jackson Heights and traveled into Manhattan for the march from the United Nations to Trump Tower. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: "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 Przepraszamy! Ogoszenie na stanowisku: Regular Java Developer wygaso z dniem 2019-03-15 Ta propozycja bya zozona przez Luxoft Mozliwe przyczyny wygasniecia ogoszenia to: oferta zozona przez pracodawce zostaa usunieta z naszych zasobow firma zakonczya proces rekrutacji uzyskujac odpowiednia ilosc osob ogoszeniodawca zmodyfikowa tresc zlecenia i jest ono dostepne pod innym adresem url dostawca tresci usuna ogoszenie z bazy danych nieprawidowy adres WWW ogoszenia Jezeli poszukujesz pracy w branzy Informatyka / Telekomunikacja, zajrzyj tutaj: Praca Informatyka / Telekomunikacja Jezeli poszukujesz pracy na stanowisku Regular Java Developer, zajrzyj tutaj: Praca Regular Java Developer Jezeli poszukujesz pracy w miescie: Wroclaw, zajrzyj tutaj: Praca Wroclaw Pamietaj, ze mozesz takze rozpoczac poszukiwanie pracy od strony gownej, kliknij tutaj. Inne ogoszenia, ktore mogy byc w kregu Twoich zainteresowan: The Crew Dragon that will launch early Saturday is designed to operate as close as possible to a crewed spacecraft without a living, breathing human aboard. There is at least one seat in the capsule, carrying an anthropomorphic test device (ATD) in a SpaceX spacesuit, outfitted with sensors to measure the forces astronauts will endure when they ride in Crew Dragon for real. The vehicle will also have dosimeters aboard to measure radiation levels. Since Crew Dragon is headed to the ISS, NASA went ahead and packed it with about 181 kilograms (400 pounds) of cargo. That's much less than a typical cargo flight, but the shipment will include some extra hardware and supplies, and the station astronauts will send some cold storage samples back to Earth when Dragon departs. Here are the official objectives of the test flight. NASA informally posted them on its commercial crew blog, so I asked them for a formal list and received this: Demonstrate on-orbit operation of the avionics system, docking system, communications/telemetry systems, environmental control systems (pressure, thermal, humidity, etc.), solar arrays and electrical power systems and the propulsion systems Demonstrate performance of the Guidance, Navigation and Control systems of the Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon through ascent, on-orbit, and entry Determine acoustic and vibration levels, and loads across the Crew Dragon exterior and interior Demonstrate launch escape trigger monitoring Demonstrate end-to-end operations performance Launch The launch procedure is nearly identical to a standard Falcon 9 countdown, using SpaceX's accelerated "load-and-go" propellant filling procedure. There are a scant 35 minutes between the start of fuel loading (both RP-1 propellant and liquid oxygen) and the moment of ignition. The ascent trajectory will be aggressive enough and the fuel load large enough that Falcon 9's first stage will not be able to return to the Space Coast; it will land on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You. Crew Dragon separates from the second stage about 11 minutes after liftoff. Just 1 minute later, it opens its articulating nose cone, which protects the vehicle's docking hardware during launch and reentry. There are no fold-out solar panels to deploy; Crew Dragon's solar cells are built in to the vehicles unpressurized trunk. It doesnt need those larger solar panels because Crew Dragons power budget is smaller than Cargo Dragon, SpaceXs Hans Koenigsmann said last week. If the launch is scrubbed or delayed, there are 2 backup windows at 3-day intervals; after that, NASA and SpaceX may have to stand down for the Expedition 59 Soyuz launch on 14 March. The reason for those 3-day intervals are some extra launch window constraints. First, NASA and SpaceX want Crew Dragon to reach the station in about 24 hours, due to a known issue with the vehicle's Draco thrusters where a portion of a thruster can yikes break loose. The temporary fix is to keep the propellant warm in sunlight with some fancy flying. (A permanent fix will be added before the crewed mission, NASAs Bill Gerstenmaier said last week.) Another constraint is that Crew Dragon needs to splash down during the day so that ground-based cameras can evaluate the performance of the vehicles parachutes. Here's the full launch schedule, cobbled together from NASA press releases and email exchanges: History: Pine Island FISH (Fellow Islanders Sending Help) was established as a formal organization in January 1987 to provide rides to fellow islanders that did not have any other means of transportation. Since that time, our services have expanded and in January 2019 we celebrated more than 32 years of serving the residents of Greater Pine Island. Our service calls have increased from 349 in 1988 to MORE THAN 1300 in 2018 and are on track to answer about the same number in 2019. Mission & Services Provided: FISH is a nonprofit (501c3), nonprofessional association of volunteers, organized for the purpose of making available and rendering the fullest possible range of neighborly, caring, unpaid and nonprofessional assistance to those persons who request help. Current services provided by the organization are outlined below: Non-emergency transportation: to medical facilities, grocery store, pharmacy, bank, etc. to individuals with no other access to transportation. Mobility Equipment to lend: Wheelchairs, walkers, etc. Special Needs: emergency financial assistance to qualified clients for rent, utilities, medical, etc. Respite: Relief to non-paid, primary caregivers for approximately 4 hours, once a week. In-Touch: Contact with homebound individuals either by phone or home visits. Lead Agency in the Pine Island Basket Brigade Program. Christmas Basket Brigade was established in 1991 and provides gifts to children/seniors and food gift cards to families School Clothes for Kids was established in 2000 and provides new clothes and shoes for first 2 days of school Partner with PILOT (Pine Island Leaders of Tomorrow) for after school and summer camp food programs Organization Structure: The FISH organization has approximately 55 active volunteer members; there are no paid employees. We maintain no physical presence and all members work out of their homes. There is never a fee for our services; all transportation costs are borne by the drivers and we lend our equipment and services for free. FISH does no active fund raising of its own and relies solely on the generosity of island/area individuals, organizations, foundations and churches to provide the funding that we have shared with fellow islanders in need over these many years. All monies received by the organization are directed back to the betterment of the residents of greater Pine Island. 2018 Accomplishments: Answered and assisted more than 1,300 calls Provided more than $30,700 in emergency financial assistance to 97 clients: Rent assistance for 43 clients Utility bill assistance for 25 clients Prescription/other necessary bills assistance for 29 clients Loaned people in need over 400 pieces of mobility equipment Our volunteers logged many hours providing non-emergency transportation for island residents for doctors visits and essential shopping/errands. Matched donors with clients for specialized equipment such as hospital beds and scooters Lead agency for Basket Brigades; spending more than $21,032 for in-need Families/Seniors/Children: Partner with PILOT (Pine Island Leaders of Tomorrow) after school and summer camp food programs New school clothes for 160 children Provided Winn-Dixie gift cards at Christmas New toys for 80 families with 207 children at Christmas Christmas Baskets for 6 seniors/singles/couples (assisted by the Matlacha Hookers) Partner with Pine Island Elemen-tary for field trip transportation/fees Additional Community Contributions in 2018: In 2018, we have expanded our partnerships to include assistance with the PIE school field trips, PILOT summer camp field trips, Pine Island Food Pantry personal supplies program, and PILOT after school and summer camp food programs. In addition, we provided 160 children with new school clothes/shoes for the first 2 days of school. The Pine Island FISH organization looks forward to continuing its service to area residents in 2019 and beyond. We plan to do that with the help of our valued volunteers and the generosity our area individuals, organizations, foundations and churches. Should you like to become a volunteer, you can download an application from our website www.pineislandfish.org or attend one of our monthly member meetings on the first Thursday of the month at 3 pm in the Pine Island United Methodist Church. If you would like to donate to our island services, you can forward funds to Pine Island FISH, Inc., P.O. Box 357, Matlacha, FL 33993 or call 239-283-4442. Diane Higgins is president of Pine Island FISH Pine Island firefighters will take to the 4-way intersection on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 1, 2 and 3, to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Southwest Florida. Our entire department participates over the three days to raise this money, Fire Chief Ben Mickuleit said. Last year our Pine Island department raised $12,973.23 thats more than the year before. Whether its pocket change or more, every little bit helps, firefighters union rep Bobby Barr said. All of the money raised goes to MDA to fund the research for new treatments, to support MDA care centers and to send kids to MDA summer camp. The summer camp program is very special, Barr said. The camp offers a most amazing week for youths from 8 to 18 because the camp is completely wheelchair accessible. The campers can go on a zip line, rope courses and swim. It also gives parents a break. The muscular dystrophies are a group of diseases that cause weakness and degeneration of the skeletal muscles. The Fill the Boot campaign began in 1954 by the International Association of Fire Fighters after they decided to partner with the Muscular Dystrophy Association to raise money until a cure was found. Since 1954 the funds raised by IAFF boot drives has resulted in several new drugs for neuromuscular diseases that have been recently approved, and more are expected in the next five years than in the past five decades. Last year more than 100,000 firefighters in more than 1,500 IAFF Unions raised over $24 million for MDA, Mickuleit said. Were proud to be a part of this great tradition and I hope Pine Islanders will support this wonderful effort. Until a cure is found we will be filling those boots together. Steve MacNaull/The Daily Courier Okanagan Colleges 36th annual Spaghetti Bridge Building Contest is Friday at the Kelowna campus. Last year at the competition, James Dessert, then 17, from Charles Bloom Secondary School in Lumby, finished second in the heavyweight division with a bridge weighing 887.7 grams that held 159.39 kilograms. The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, has indicted the Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress, Sammy Gyamfi, for leaking secret tapes which have gone viral to his friends in the ruling party. In a meeting held at the party's headquarters, the National Chairman of the opposition party, Hon. Samuel Ofosu Ampofo was heard admitting that his party bussed the Azorka Boys to cause mayhem during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election. Mr Ofosu-Ampofo is also heard, amongst other things, encouraging his party members to unleash venom on Mrs Jean Mensa, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission. In the same audio, the elder of the Church of Pentecost can be audibly heard urging the party's communicators to descend heavily on the Chairman of the Peace Council. The voice tapes which have since gone viral are giving the NDC headache. Tongues have started wagging as to who recorded the voices and leaked same to the NPP. But Mr. Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, also known as Chairman Wontumi has sworn that Sammy Gyamfi, stabbed the NDC in the back by releasing the recordings to his friends. According to Chairman Wontumi, Sammy has not hidden his displeasure with the appointment of a Communications Director in the person of Kakra Essamuah who, Sammy believes, has been brought to take over the running of his office". The Communications Officer's dalliance with some key figures within government circles is an open secret. It is alleged that he leaked the audio to a close pal of his in government. "Leaked NDC Press Statement" Chairman Wontumi continued that Sammy Gyamfi, it could be recalled, was accused of having leaked the statement of a planned press event of the party to a friend journalist in the NPP. He further claimed that the top echelons of the NDC were livid at Sammy Gyamfi's action and were planning to deal with him ruthlessly. 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 The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has invited the National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo to assist in investigations. According to a statement signed by the Deputy Director-General for the Director-General, ACP George Tweneboah, "The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has intercepted an audio message circulating in both traditional and social media on Wednesda, 27th February, 2019, in which you are alleged to have made some comments that have some security implications." Mr. Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo is therefore requested to report to the CID Headquarters on Thursday, 28th February, 2019 at 10am. Background A leaked audio circulating on social media and purported to be the voice of NDCs National Chairman, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo is creating fear and panic ahead of the 2020 General elections. The leaked tape which is believed to be from a meeting held at the NDCs headquarters days after the infamous Ayawso West Wuogon by-election violence, captures leading members of the opposition party allegedly planning strategies the NDC will use to regain power in 2020. National Chairman, Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo, who could be heard speaking to some party members without equivocation, noted the NDC will target lives of NPP members in 2020 since state security cannot protect them. According to him, another delicate aspect to win the 2020 election is targeting the EC Chairperson, Madam Jean Mensa. We must wage a relentless war on this EC Chair, me she doesnt want to see my face . . . he told the party gathering. 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 Former Member of Parliament [MP] for Bantama constituency, Henry Kwabena Kokofu has said that politicians are the brain behind violent eruptions in their own countries. According to him, nobody can be held responsible for confusions created in countries other than the politicians in those countries, because they in one way or the other generate the misunderstanding which smokes to become fire in public. Henry Kokofu admitted that there will be no riot in Ghana if all political parties decide to disband political vigilantes and as well disown any of such groups in their party. Speaking on the proceedings of the Justice Emile Shorts Commission on UTVs Adekye Nsroma show, Henry Kokofu indicated that Sam George, MP for Ningo-Prampram Constituency is a big liar to now confess that no one died during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-elections violence, when he at the scene reported that one died without any doctors examination. Why didnt Sam George send the bullet casings to the police headquarters as evidence, when members of the minority left parliament and marched to the police headquarters on the day Lydia Seyram Alhassan, Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon by-elections was sworn in parliament, claiming they were going to submit their report of what happened at the Bawaleshie polling station . . . Indeed Sam George is a liar and should never be taken serious, he noted. 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 Mr. Afenyo-Markin, the Member of Parliament for the Efutu Constituency, in the Central Region has suggested for consideration, Mr. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle as the running mate for the NDC in the 2020 polls. He made the suggestion, in a point of order as Mr. Buah was contributing to a motion moved by Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister for Information for the House to thank President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo for delivering the message on the State of the Nation. As Mr. Buah, was contributing to the debate, Mr. Afenyo-Markin rose up on point of order, to challenge aspects of the contribution of Mr. Buah, and in a tease, bantered at Mr Buah, who was praising the former Mills-Mahama Administrations for successes in the energy and petroleum sectors, asking whether it was because he was being considered to be chosen as the running mate of the NDC for Election 2020. When the Ghana News Agency (GNA) sampled views of members on the tease on the floor of Parliament, most of the respondents said it could be a good guess as Mr. Buah could be a veritable running mate for flagbearer Mahama. The explanation was that Mr. Buah who served as Minister for Petroleum from 2013 to 2016, and Deputy Minister for Energy from 2009-2013, contributed immensely to the solution of the electricity crisis under the Administration of former President Mahama. Furthermore, the respondents believed there was the need for the NDC to go to another Region, apart from the Central Region, to pick the running mate, to complete a North-South team for a presidency under President Mahama as he hails from Northern Region. From 1992 to date, three running mates of the NDC had come from the Central Region, namely; late Kow Nkesen Arkaah, late Vice President John Evans Atta Mills and late Vice President Kwesi Amissah- Arthur. Some names that have also come up for consideration for the running mate slot are; Mrs. Marietta Brew Appiah Opong, a former Attorney General, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, Ghanas former Agriculture Minister and Minister and High Commissioner to South Africa, Dr Johnson Asiama, a former Bank of Ghana Deputy Governor; Mr Julius Debrah, a former Minister and the immediate-past Chief of Staff; Hannah S. Tetteh, a former Foreign Minister now U.N top Diplomat, and Prof Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast and Education Minister, Mrs Zita Benson, former Minister for Information, and Tourism. Others include; Dr. Kwesi Botchwey who was Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission under Mahama and Dr. Zanetor Rawlings, MP, and daughter of the Former President Jerry Rawlings. 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 Founder of Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), Akua Donkor, says she regrets and feels ashamed spending her energy and resources over the years to campaign and defend ex-President Mahama whom she describes as wicked. Madam Akua Donkor who until now, had always referred to the ex-President as her son, denounced Mr Mahama claiming the latter is a dishonest person and urged Ghanaians not to put their trust in him. The maverick politician cum farmer on Kasapa News stated she has had a change of mind about Mr Mahama after he denied her access to a house at Sakumono which she supported him to build for her. I told John Mahama that I dont have money to buy land at Sakumono so when he started building the flats which at the moment is twelve floors complete at Sakumono, I gave him gold in exchange of a house within the flats. He later asked some persons to lead me to the flat and show me on which floor Ill be staying and I later told the whole world that Mahama had given me a house. I stay in a hotel whenever I come to Accra so a few days ago, I decided to move into the house at Sakumono, but Mahama sent some people to stop me and turned round to tell me that President Akufo-Addo doesnt want me to stay in that building. That day I had to sleep on the compound of the MPs flat till the next day. Ive suffered a lot because of John Mahama, Ive gone through hell because of my support for him. But now hes stabbed me in the back and I regret ever campaigning for him. I feel so bad that I just cant forgive myself. In 2016, Madam Akua Donkor told the world that then-President John Dramani Mahama gave her two Pajero vehicles and a three bedroom house. 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 IT HAS emerged that several National Democratic Congress (NDC) delegates in the Ashanti Region refused to vote during the partys presidential polls on Saturday. Reports emanating from the corridors of the largest opposition political party indicated that about 11,000 delegates failed to cast their ballot in the region. The huge absenteeism was said to have happened in virtually all the 47 constituencies in the Ashanti Region, which is the largest in the country. The delegates are alleged to be angry about the appalling manner the party is being managed in the region, for which reason they refused to vote. According to other pieces of information making rounds, the NDC in the Ashanti Region is yet to fully recover from the embarrassing defeat it suffered during the 2016 election. Because of that, most of the partys members, including even ardent members, have not been active in the activities of the party for the past two years. Also, reports indicated that most of the NDC members dont have hope that their party can win the 2020 elections, hence their decision to stay away from the polls. Asked about what led to the huge absenteeism, Kwame Zu, the Ashanti Regional NDC Secretary, insisted that the party was still strong in the region. Kwame Zu stated that the Ashanti Regional NDC polls were held in a peaceful atmosphere, adding that the patronage was also very good. 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 THE NEW Patriotic Party has congratulated former President John Mahama for winning the presidential primaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). The NDC Presidential Primaries was held on Saturday, February 23, 2019. Mr. Mahama defeated six other contenders after he pulled 95.24 percent of the votes. But the NPP whilst congratulating the former President, condemned his party for allegedly plotting violence in the country. The NPP has also urged Mr. Mahama to change his political philosophy of boot for boot. At a press conference in Accra today, the Communications Director of the NPP, Yaw Boabeng Asamoah condemned the party and its National Chairman, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo for plotting violence and denting the image of Ghana. That was after a leaked tape recording allegedly of the NDC National Chairman, Ofosu Ampofo. In the over two hours tape available to DGN Online, the NDC Chairman could be heard calling for a relentless war against the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa. NPP described the day it congratulated the former president on his victory and condemned the violence the NDC intends to unleash on the country in the coming days as a bittersweet day. In the tape, the NDC Chairman called on his party to target people for assassination, carried out kidnapping, among others. According to Mr. Asamoah, the revelation has broken public trust in the NDC. He said the NDC and Mr. Mahama appear greedy for power, and are doing everything desperately to capture power in 2020 regardless of the danger it poses to the nation. He could not fathom why the NDC Chairman, who is a Church of Pentecost Elder could call for murder, kidnappings, among others. Referring to the tape, he said until we get to the bottom of this matter, this nation is not safe. He said that what has happened is bad and ugly. 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 THE NATIONAL Democratic Congress (NDC) has alleged that personnel of the Ghana Police Service are unhappy with President Nana Akufo-Addos administration for giving them bad reputation. NDC Chairman, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo made the claims in a leaked audio recording available to DGN Online. The recording is believed to have been taken at a meeting ahead of the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency by-election held on January 31, 2019. He appeared to have suggested that the alleged recruitments of untrained political militias of the NPP into the Service was not going down well with several police officers. The Police are not happy; they have been trained to protect, according to him. He accused the government of picking people off the streets and putting them in uniforms to give the police a bad name. He said, so you see, it is also shifting the support of the police back to us. 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 Ambassador Daniel Ohene Agyekum, the 2020 Campaign Manager for the former President John Dramani Mahama has shot down suggestions of being a possible running mate. He said he has no ambition to become vice president and is very content as a career diplomat, a role he wants to enjoy than being a full time politician. He was responding to a question by host of Asempa FM if he would accept to become a running mate of the former President after serving him as the campaign manager. When I went to school, I learnt so many things but I always wanted to be a career diplomat. I have never had any vice president ambition. I have never dreamt of it. If Mahama should call me today and tell me to be his running mate, I wont he said. The NDC on Saturday overwhelmingly elected Ex-President Mahama to lead the party for the second time in four years after he failed to win power in 2016. He polled 213,000 votes representing more than 95% of votes cast. There are suggestions the Ex-President may turn his attention to the selection of Running Mate after that resounding victory at the primaries. But Ambassador Agyekum who claimed to have politely rejected a Chief of Staff appointment from late Atta Mills for an ambassadorial position does not want to be associated with that vacant position. Source: Asempa FM 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 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has released a statement rejecting the 2019 presidential result. According to him, the election was marred by electoral fraud in many states. He said this is why he has not called President Buhari to congratulate him. ''If I had lost in a free and fair election, I would have called the victor within seconds of my being aware of his victory to offer not just my congratulations, but my services to help unite Nigeria by being a bridge between the North and the South. However, in my democratic struggles for the past three decades, I have never seen our democracy so debased as it was on Saturday, February 23, 2019. 2007 was a challenge, but President YarAdua was remorseful. In 2019, it is sad to see those who trampled on democracy thumping their noses down on the Nigerian people. Consequently, I hereby reject the result of the February 23, 2019 sham election and will be challenging it in court. the statement in part reads. Read the full statement below- I thank the Nigerian people who trooped out in their millions to perform their civic duty this past Saturday. The patriotism of Nigerians is heartwarming and affirms my oft-repeated statement that we are brothers and sisters born from the womb of one mother Nigeria. With regards to the Presidential elections that took place on February 23, 2019, it is clear that there were manifest and premeditated malpractices in many states which negate the results announced. One obvious red flag is the statistical impossibility of states ravaged by the war on terror generating much higher voter turnouts than peaceful states. The suppressed votes in my strongholds are so apparent and amateurish, that I am ashamed as a Nigerian that such could be allowed to happen. How can total votes in Akwa-Ibom, for instance, be 50% less than what they were in 2015? Another glaring anomaly is the disruption of voting in strongholds of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos, Akwa-Ibom, Rivers and diverse other states, with the authorities doing little or nothing and in some cases facilitating these unfortunate situations. (See attached links to documentary evidences). The militarization of the electoral process is a disservice to our democracy and a throwback to the jackboot era of military dictatorship. In some areas of the country, such as, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Imo states, troops deployed for the elections turned their guns on the very citizens they were meant to protect. This is condemnable and should not be associated with our electoral process in the future. I am a democrat and there are democratic avenues available to present the truth to the nation and the watching world. Already, many international observers have given their verdicts, which corroborate our observations. I am sure more will come in the coming hours and days. If I had lost in a free and fair election, I would have called the victor within seconds of my being aware of his victory to offer not just my congratulations, but my services to help unite Nigeria by being a bridge between the North and the South. However, in my democratic struggles for the past three decades, I have never seen our democracy so debased as it was on Saturday, February 23, 2019. 2007 was a challenge, but President YarAdua was remorseful. In 2019, it is sad to see those who trampled on democracy thumping their noses down on the Nigerian people. Consequently, I hereby reject the result of the February 23, 2019 sham election and will be challenging it in court. I want to assure my supporters and the entire Nigerian people that together, we will not allow democracy to be emasculated. I hope and pray Nigerians will someday summon the courage to defend democracy. That is the only way we can move away from being the world headquarters for extreme poverty. Signed: Waziri Atiku Abubakar 27th February 2019 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 Minority in Parliament has threatened to file a vote of censure against the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Alan Kyerematen for disrespecting parliament. Mr Kyerematen was expected to appear before the house on Tuesday, 26 February 2019 to answer some questions but did not show up for the third consecutive time. Mr Kyerematens absence irked the Minority caucus with that sides Chief Whip, Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak describing the minister's action as deliberate and disrespectful to the house. He, thus, threatened to initiate a vote of censure against the minister. I must say this is worrying. In February alone, the Minister for Trade and Industry has written three times for his question to be deferred. Mr Speaker, theres some deliberateness because when the president was here to read the state of the nation address, all of them found time to be here. They prioritise coming to sit here so that the president will see them in parliament, Mr Mubarak said in his address on the floor of parliament on Tuesday. Mr Speaker, for a minister, in a space of just one month, to have sought permission for his question to be postponed three times, three times! Mr Speaker, I just want to serve notice I will come with a motion of censure because the minister doesnt want to be a minister because he doesnt respect this house, he doesnt want to come and answer to the people, he added. The Deputy Majority Leader, Sarah Adwoa Safo, however, informed the house that the minister has written to parliament seeking permission to travel to the UK with Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for an economic summit. According to her, since the minister is out of the jurisdiction, the question should be rescheduled to Friday, 1 March 2019. Source: Class News 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 MINISTER OF Gender, Children and Social Protection, Cynthia Morrison, has appealed to the business community in Ghana to lend helping hands to street kids across the country. Mrs. Morrison made the appeal recently as she delivered an address at the 2019 edition of the Ghana Trade & Commence Awards. The 2019 Ghana Trade & & Commerce Awards was organised by the Business Executive Limited and had 30 delineated sectors. Some firms awarded on the night included Accra City Hotel, which emerged the best hospitality firm of the year; Jobberman, the best human resource firm of the year, among others. The minister urged businesses to consider devoting parts of their corporate social responsibility spendings towards empowering street kids and getting them off the streets. Speaking under the theme for the awards: Using Trade To Promote Economic, she warned that the business community and the larger Ghanaian society should consider it a risk ignoring kids on the streets who could become wayward and pose threat to security. It was her opinion that kids on the streets could probably be friends to children of businessmen and women, and not supporting them to acquire proper training and education could have an adverse impact. The Ghana Trade & Commerce Awards ceremony is held annually to recognise companies and individuals who are excelling in their respective industries. Aside the 30 sectors awards, there were six lifetime achievement awards presented to some individuals who have contributed immensely to the development of trade in Ghana. Ghana has a large population of street kids, with several interventions in the past at the state level to get them off the streets. 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 The Zimbabwean Department of Immigration last Tuesday detained Kwasi Adu Amankwah, former Secretary-General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) upon his arrival in Harare. The intervention of the Zimbabwean President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, aka Crocodile, however reserved what could have been the deportation of the veteran trade unionist. Mr. Adu Amankwah was in the Southern African country for an official engagement with the International Trade Union Congress (ITUC), whose affiliate is the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU). He is said to have been picked up by local immigration officials as soon as he checked into his hotel in the city and held in a holding centre before being returned to the Robert Mugabe International Airport. It was thought that preparations were on for his deportation to Accra until an intervention by the president. The presidents intervention followed a correspondence from the ITUC. Circumstances leading to his arrest are not known in a country where the government is jittery about such international engagements. The Ghanaians to-do-list include meeting with the Employers Confederation of Zimbabwe and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Part of the correspondence to the Zimbabwean President and authored by the Deputy Secretary General of the ITUC, Adrian Akouete read, This is to bring to your attention that Adu Amankwah, a Ghanaian, has been taken from a local hotel where he checked in upon his arrivalwe fear that he is being processed for deportation. We nevertheless hope that will not be the case. The correspondence continued we ask that your government takes the necessary steps to ensure that Adu Amankwah is released and allow him to continue with his mission. The least appropriate thing will be that the Zimbabwean Department of Immigration will tender an unreserved apology for this action and make genuine efforts to prevent reoccurrence. Comrade Kwasi Adu Amankwah is said to have been cleared to carry on with his mission in Zimbabwe. 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 Thirteen newly recruited medical doctors posted to the Central Region failed to report for duty last year. The Central Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Alexis Nang-Beifubah, who disclosed this in Cape Coast yesterday, attributed their refusal to report to the lack of incentive packages for doctors, a proper health management system, low economic activities in the area, among others. He, therefore, underscored the need for practical strategies among stakeholders to address the canker to avoid a time bomb which could explode, embarrassingly, in our faces one day. The region currently has less than 40 medical doctors manning the 429 health facilities in the area. Event Dr. Nang-Beifubah was addressing the 2018 Central Regional Health Sector Annual Performance Review meeting on the theme: Achieving universal health coverage: The role of stakeholders. The three-day meeting is to enable stakeholders in the health sector to discuss their performance, examine indicators, identify gaps and develop consensus on priority issues needed to improve performance. Efforts According to Dr. Nang-Beifubah, the directorate, with support from metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) in the region, had proposed and designed some incentive packages for doctors who would accept posting to the area to help address the acute shortage of doctors in the region. If we are to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) as a country and as a region, we need to pay closer attention to how we train human resource in the health sector, how we deploy them and how we remunerate them to ensure that we achieve equity in the distribution of personnel, he added. The director also expressed concern over delays in the reimbursement of National Health Insurance claims to health facilities in the region. If we are to truly eliminate finance as a barrier to the achievement of UHC, the authority must rethink its financing arrangements and ensure that facilities are reimbursed timeously to enable them to procure medicines and other logistics needed to provide quality essential services for the people, he said. He added that the current situation where the government was not providing funds for service delivery was also hampering effective healthcare services in the region. Inadequate health facilities Dr. Nang-Beifubah said currently there were eight districts without hospitals, while 10 clinics built were yet to be inaugurated. The other critical issues that warrant the attention of our stakeholders for concerted action include the escalating cost of utility tariffs and the incessant pressure being put on our health facilities to pay upfront for these utility costs, notwithstanding governments policy on the issue, he said. For his part, the Director of Human Resource of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Margaret Chebere, said one of the challenges facing the health sector was poor leadership, particularly at the district level. She said the service would, from this year, start a training programme for all personnel to build their capacities. The Paramount Chief of the Owirenkyiman Traditional Area, Ehunabobrim Nana Prah Agyensaim VI, commended health personnel, particularly those who worked in remote parts of the region, for their sacrifice and commitment to duty. Source: Graphic.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 Two persons who were arrested with seven Russian hand grenades at Kwashieman in January 2018 on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to charges of possessing explosives and firearms. Ismaila Ali Musah 31, and Abdul Karim Yakubu 30 denied the charges when they appeared before an Accra High Court presided over by Mr. Justice Charles Ekow Baiden. The two suspects are expected to be given a jury trial made of seven jurors following their committal to stand trial at the High Court by a Magistrate court. The court, Prosecution and defense counsels are expected to hold a case management conference after which the trial would commence with the prosecution calling six witnesses. The matter has been adjourned to March 18. The prosecution is led by Mrs. Sefakor Batsa, a Senior State Attorney whiles the accused persons would be represented by Mr. Bernard Shaw. The case of the state is that Musah was domiciled in Libya whilst Yakubu was his childhood friend and that on January 15, last year, the Police arrested Yakubu with a bag containing the grenades. The state said according to Yakubu, the said grenades were given to him by Musah who had just returned from Libya. The Prosecution said Musah also stated that it was Yakubu who asked him to purchase the grenades and some pistols for him and so managed to transport the items through the Togo-Ghana border. The state said Yakubu confirmed to the Police that it was he who asked Musah to purchase the grenades and pistols for him. The Prosecution said Yakubu told investigators that he procured the items for one Tanko and Amadu who live in Bimbilla. Prosecution said although Yakubu paid for the pistols he, however, could not afford to pay for the seven grenades. She said on his way to deliver the hand grenades in Accra, Yakubu was picked up by the Police. The prosecution said a technical report on the seven grenades indicated that they originated from Russia and they could kill or injure people when its strip were mistakenly or intentionally removed. 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 POWER Distribution Services (PDS) take-over of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has been shifted to March 1, 2019. The take-over was expected to have happened on February 1, 2019, but postponed to February 27. However, a new date has been announced by the ECG and PDS for the take-over. It is unclear whether come March 1, 2019, the take-over would happen. A statement jointly signed by the Managing Director of ECG, Ign. Samuel Boakye-Appiah, and Chairman of PDS, Philip Ayesu, however, insists that the take-over would be effective. On August 5, 2014, the government of Ghana executed the second Millennium Challenge Compact with the US government with the objective of, inter alia, increasing private sector investment and the productivity and profitability of micro, small, medium and large scale businesses. Among the six projects within the second compact is the ECG Financial and Operational Turnaround Project (EFOT), which seeks to introduce a orivate sector oarticipant in the management and operations of ECG. According to the statement, consequently, the GoG, under the auspices of the Millennium Development Authority, embarked upon a competitive procurement process which resulted in the selection of an acceptable partner to manage, operate and invest in ECGs operations for 20 years. The Meralco-led Consortium was declared the winning bidder on April 20, 2018. Meralco has partnered AEnergia SA, an Angolan company, and three Ghanaian companiesTG Energy Solutions Ghana Limited, Santa Power Limited and GTS Power Limited to form Power Distribution Services Ghana Limited, the statement indicated. PDS is 51 percent Ghanaian-owned as required by the government of Ghana. The concessionaire, PDS, is expected to strengthen the governance, management and operations of ECG and improve the delivery of power to end users to support socio-economic growth in Ghana, according to the statement. It added that the general public and customers of ECG are, hereby, informed that effective 1st March, 2019, PDS will be the electricity service provider in all of ECGs operational areas in the southern distribution zone of Ghana. The ECG will continue to operate as a bulk energy trader and the asset owners. 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 BANK OF GHANA (BOG) MEASURES TO SAVE CEDI DEPRECIATION ILL-INTENTIONED, DESPERATE AND MEANT TO VICTIMISE FX DEALERS In a desperate attempt to stem the free fall of the cedi against major currencies in recent times, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) on February 25 announced some measures to streamline trading of dollars and other major foreign currencies in the country. According to the Central bank, the objectives of the new measures are; 1. To more clearly regulate the conduct of interbank foreign exchange (FX) business in the Ghanaian financial market. 2. To establish standards of practice expected of market participants to help ensure an efficient and effective FX market. 3. To help develop and deepen the foreign exchange market in Ghana. It is instructive to note that these command and control measures come at a time when the cedi is the worst performing currency among a basket of more than 140 currencies worldwide. It is, therefore, understandable that BoG, which virtually is an extension of the Ministry of Finance will attempt to employ such command and control measures, which are shortsighted in form and flawed in totality, seeking to address a problem that is clearly a loss of faith in the economic policies and management credentials of the Akufo-Addo and Bawumia-led administration. Fortunately, we have presented in clear terms simple, pragmatic and results-oriented solutions below, which, when followed, will help reverse the situation and save traders, importers and the business community of the pinch that the policy distortion, steeply receding confidence in the economy and BoGs regulatory tyranny is taking them through. In general, while one can broadly agree with measures to deepen Ghanas interbank market, it is clear that the recent measures are meant to victimise and vilify forex traders and shift the central bank and indeed the governments irresponsibility and ineptitude to players in the FX market. The timing of the announcement of the new rules is also inappropriate and signify a desperate attempt by an institution and a government drowning in its own ineptitude to hold onto straw. Conservatively, the BoGs approach and the measures thereof are counter-productive, will dampen confidence and spike the panic in the system and altogether create friction that will further worsen the plight of the cedi against its foreign counterparts. Of grave concern is the tendency of the hurriedly developed and announced measures to facilitate the activities of the Black Market and distort the FX market further. We also find it strange that the BoG is now impugning unethical practice by forex dealers who are seasoned and senior staff of treasury departments of banks in Ghana and have been in that business under the very own eyes of the same BoG for years. Is the BoG all of a sudden saying that these market participants do not conduct their activities ethically, transparently and professionally and hence causing the sharp depreciation of the cedi? Are we saying they do not act in an honest and fair manner when dealing with clients and other participants? The measures give the unfortunate impression that dealers have been doing something fishy in their trading rooms and that has contributed to the historic fall in the value of the cedi. But these are staff of banks that are well governed, to quote the Governor of the Bank of Ghana on his recent armchair assessment and its findings. We also see the measures as an attempt to micro-manage and control dealers in line with the regulatory tyranny that we have variously raised concerns about. Please note that this tyranny, which started last year ensured that banks were afraid to quote realistic market rates for the cedi, calling into question the BoGs long held rule of operating a liberal FX market. If the idea is to improve regulation and the conduct of interbank FX business in the Ghanaian financial market, then best practices show that implementing such reforms when the market itself is experiencing unprecedented volatility is unwise and could be counter-productive. What is even more disturbing is the fact that these measures announced by BoG are nothing new but virtually a copycat and an unethical revision of previously announced and suggested measures. It is instructive to note those portions of these measures were suggested by the ACI Financial Markets Association (Ghana) since 2015. Also, parts of these measures, particularly those bothering on trading band, have already been implemented and have proved to be ineffective. As stated earlier, one consequence of these measures will be a booming black-market activity in the coming days and months, and the market premium will certainly exceed the 10 percent threshold to signal the policy distortion. Therefore, we want to plead with the Governor to resist the temptation to make the gross mistake of sending soldiers after the black-market operators, operators who will be aiming to profit from a jaundice measure by the central bank itself. Such command and control measures never work and will not work. While the BoG is shoving its measures on the FX market, the government is also heard telling hotels to stop charging room rates in dollars. Interestingly, these were the very measures that the Eminent Economist, Dr Bawumia opposed in 2015 when he was desperately seeking a way into the Flag Staff House. But when the cedi is changing value hourly, do you expect hotels to be changing their room prices every hour? And if a customer presents a dollar bill to them, you say they shouldn't take it? Rather than extending the regulatory tyranny, government should improve supply of forex, cut down on useless imports and coordinate monetary and fiscal policy better. The BoG should be more proactive and spot-on with its interventions in the market to help smoothen out blips but while doing that it should be conscious of the countrys weakening net international reserves position so as not to deepen the vulnerability of the central bank in the long term. The government should also tighten the deliberately loosened screws that allow dirty money to enjoy passage into and within the economy, resulting in the European Commission giving Ghana that disdainful tag of a country with lax anti-money laundering and counter-terrorists financing regimes. These are as simple as counting a,b and c, but if the government is unable to implement these measures, we are available to show them if only they ask. In conclusion, let us sound a word of caution that an even more dangerous development is the so-called Ghana Cedi Reference rate, purportedly to guide exchange rate determination. This is a reckless policy decision because our net international reserves in relation to net short term external liabilities (e.g. net short-term capital inflows) is not looking good at all. In other words, we will not be able to avert a financial crisis if there is a sudden portfolio flow reversal on a massive scale. Remember that we are already seeing signs of this phenomenon as evident in the January 2018 developments as published by Bloomberg News. How then would a government adopt such a fatal policy measure that is closer to an exchange rate soft peg? Dont we remember what caused the East Asian Financial Crisis? A soft peg in the context of declining net international reserves (amid large stock of short-term external liabilities) and capital mobility is a dangerous cocktail indeed. Let me end by asking Is the weakness of the fundamentals of Ghanas economy being exposed by the cedi? .Signed. James Klutse Avedzi-MP Deputy Minority Leader 27th February 2019 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 Concert hall holds open day before its renovation By:Wang Jiaye | From:english.eastday.com | 2019-02-27 15:54 Visitors line up to pose for photos behind a big photo frame that says "parting makes a better reunion". Shanghai Concert Hall held an open day event on Feb 24, 2019, before the 89-year-old landmark is closed for renovation from Mar 1 to the year-end. Some areas including the stage, dressing rooms and recording studios were open to visitors for the first time. The Shanghai Concert Hall ahead of renovation A recording studio opened for the first time A luxury dressing room opened for the first time The tour was highly popular as the appointment slots were filled shortly after the opening of reservation. Visitors write what they want to say to the concert hall on a message wall. Auditorium Built in March 1930, Shanghai Concert Hall is the original concert hall in China. It was listed in 1991 as one of the city's excellent historic architectures in modern times and as a cultural relic conservation unit. It has operated for 15 years since it underwent a parallel movement and renovation in 2004. A visitor takes selfies holding a little prop in a dressing room. A dressing room opened for the first time The concert hall will be enhanced in both facilities and services, with its entire architectural style unchanged. It is set to be reopened on Jan 1, 2020, the 90th anniversary of the building. A staff member explains to the visitors the stories behind the building and its renovation details. A close-up photo of the seats The second floor of the concert hall Iran's President Rejects Resignation Of 'Trustworthy' Foreign Minister Zarif 02/27/19 Source: RFE/RL The Iranian president has rejected Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's resignation, saying it was "against the country's interests." "You are trusted by me and the whole Islamic establishment, particularly the supreme leader," President Hassan Rohani wrote in a letter to Zarif that was posted on the government's official website on February 27. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif "I think your resignation is against the country's interests and I do not accept it," said Rohani, who called on his foreign minister to continue his work with "strength" and "courage." Zarif, who offered to resign in a message posted on Instagram late on February 25, had not given specific reasons for his resignation. But his announcement had come amid mounting pressure from hard-line conservatives who have criticized his role in negotiating a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The United States pulled out of the deal in May 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran, fueling a deepening economic crisis and political infighting in the country. In another show of confidence, General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the powerful Quds Force within the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), said that Zarif had the backing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "Zarif is in charge of foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and he has been always supported by top officials, including the supreme leader," the IRGC website quoted Soleimani as saying on February 27. In an interview published in the Jomhuri Eslami newspaper on February 26, Zarif was quoted as saying that infighting between parties and factions in Iran was a "deadly poison" undermining foreign policy, suggesting he may have offered to quit over pressure from hard-liners. On February 27, Zarif attended a ceremony to welcome Armenia's prime minister to Tehran, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported. Zarif greets Armenian Prime Minister (photo by ISNA) In an Instagram post, the minister thanked Iranian officials and the nation for their support, saying he has always been committed to serving the country. "As a modest servant, I have never had any concern but elevating the foreign policy and the status of the foreign ministry," he wrote. Meanwhile, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, another moderate ally of Rohani, on February 27 denied reports that he had also resigned, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported. With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP Iran, Armenia sign two economic cooperation agreements during PM visit to Tehran 02/27/19 Source: Press TV Tehran and Yerevan have signed two economic cooperation agreements during a visit by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to the Iranian capital. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani welcomes Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Tehran on February 27, 2019. (Photo by ISNA) Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and Pashinyan held talks on Wednesday and later attended a ceremony during which the two officials oversaw the inking of the agreements between the Armenian Ministry of Economic Development and Investments, and the Iranian National Standards Organization and the Supreme Council of Iran's Free Trade, Industrial and Special Economic Zone. Speaking at a press conference following the ceremony, both officials stressed the need for promoting Tehran-Yerevan relations in all fields. Rouhani hailed close bilateral ties and expressed hope that more agreements would be signed under the new Armenian government. He also voiced his satisfaction with the position adopted by Armenia regarding the "illegal and illegitimate sanctions" imposed by the US against the Islamic Republic. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani holds talks with Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan in Tehran on February 27, 2019. (Photo by ISNA) The Iranian and Armenian officials, Rouhani added, are determined to keep up mutual cooperation and to allow "no third country to meddle in our relations." Rouhani further noted that Iran and Armenia enjoy good political, cultural, tourism and scientific relations, but in the economic field, there is still more ground for cooperation. In turn, Pashinyan hailed the cordial relations between the two neighborly nations. He said Armenia was willing to enhance ties with Iran in various areas, including economy, agriculture, culture, communications and tourism. Iran's Intelligence Ministry Denies Labor Activists Qoliyan and Bakhshi Medical Treatment 02/27/19 Source: Center for Human Rights in Iran Detainees Remain in Custody of Same Agency They Had Accused of Committing Torture Labor activist Esmail Bakhshi and freelance reporter Sepideh Qoliyan are being denied medical treatment in the Intelligence Ministry's detention center in the Iranian city of Shush, Khuzestan Province, according to the Telegram app channel of the Haft Tappeh sugar mill workers' union. "My client is under such intense pressure that he lost consciousness in front of his family during a visit today [February 24, 2019], and for a moment they thought he had died but fortunately he regained consciousness," attorney Farzaneh Zilabi told the union. The union reported that Qoliyan, who is currently in solitary confinement, is also being denied crucial treatment: "Her condition has become so bad that she needs to be quickly taken to a medical center. But the prosecutor and the Intelligence Ministry authorities in Shush are keeping her in solitary confinement in order to put more pressure on her and her family. They are putting her under the maximum amount of physical and mental pressure while she is sick and weak." Political prisoners in Iran are singled out for harsh treatment, which often includes denial of medical care. Zilabi also criticized the judiciary for allowing the two detainees to be in the custody of the Intelligence Ministry when they had accused its agents of torturing Bakhshi. "What kind of judicial independence is this when the person who has filed a complaint against Intelligence Ministry agents is being held by the people he is complaining about?" said Ziladi. Bakhshi, a Haft Tappeh worker and union representative, and Qoliyan, also a peaceful advocate of workers' rights in Iran, were initially arrested on November 18, 2018, and detained for roughly a month in an Intelligence Ministry-run detention center in Ahvaz. Freelance reporter Sepideh Qoliyan (L) and Esmail Bakhshi Independent unions are not allowed to operate in Iran, strikers often lose their jobs and risk arrest, and labor leaders who attempt to organize workers and bargain collectively are prosecuted under national security charges and sentenced to long prison sentences. After they were released on bail, they both stated that Bakhshi had been tortured and posted statements online that were later confirmed by eyewitnesses. Qoliyan collaborated Bakhshi's statements made via Instagram by tweeting on January 9: "During Esmail Bakhshi's arrest, I witnessed him being brutally beaten and when he was interrogated I saw him being humiliated. On several occasions I saw him forced into insulting himself. I'm ready to give testimony about myself and Esmail Bakhshi in any fair trial." On January 20, two weeks after the publication of their social media statements, Bakhshi and Qoliyan were rearrested by agents of the Intelligence Ministry. Their families have meanwhile been pressured by intelligence agents to refrain from speaking publicly about their cases or face prosecution. On January 22, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) called on the Iranian authorities to release Bakhshi and Qoliyan, ensure their protection, and re-open an independent and impartial investigation into their alleged torture. CHRI has also called on all relevant UN human rights bodies as well as EU countries with which Iran maintains relations to take coordinated action to call for the activists' immediate release and demand a full and impartial investigation into their alleged torture. On February 11, the Haft Tappeh workers' union called on individuals and international organizations to demand Bakhshi and Qoliyan's release. "We are aware that in the past few days, and at the time of their arrest, they were asked to lie and confess against their will in front of a camera that torture was never carried out and that the whole story was dictated to them by so-called adversaries and anti-revolutionary media outlets," said the union in a post on Telegram. "We are aware that they are under intense pressure to express remorse and write statements against themselves," it added. Paxton, IL (60957) Today Scattered thunderstorms during the morning becoming more widespread this afternoon. High 77F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Thunderstorms this evening will give way to steady rain overnight. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Paris, TN (38242) Today Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High around 85F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Cloudy skies early with scattered thunderstorms developing late. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. First village nursing institution opens in Minhang By:Zheng Qian | From:english.eastday.com | 2019-02-27 10:21 For the aged in Chinese rural areas, being unwilling to move away from their hometown and sensitive to nursing prices are two priorities when choosing a nursing service. Thankfully, as village nursing comes into being, these problems will be solved. For instance, in Minhang District of Shanghai, the first village nursing institution has been put into operation. With altogether 26 beds in single and double rooms and a public space for reading and playing chess on each floor, the quaint three-floor nursing home has the same facilities as the community nursing houses in Shanghais downtown. Grandma Huang is the first dweller of the nursing house, which is only a three-minute distance from her home. Being close to her hometown and her relatives are the biggest advantages for her.My offspring was out for work and I was left at home alone (before I come here). Here we have many people who are all my neighbors so we can communicate easily, said Mrs Huang. According to the person in charge of the Meilong Township which the nursing home belongs to, it is due to the nursing habit of the rural old people that they had decided to build elderly care institutions in the rural regions and construct the houses in line with the style of village houses. Wu Ziming, the secretary of Yonglian Village, one village of Meilong Town, explained that to practice the village nursing mode, the village had rented the vacant houses of the villagers and then made interior renovations and the nursing home will be run in co-operation with a professional third party. Since the property rights of the houses belong to the village, dwellers who are usually the villagers only need to pay 2,800 yuan a month to enjoy not only the basic services but also meals and medication safety ensured by the scientific care from the nursing home. Kayla Dillard via Storyful(GREENVILLE, S.C.) -- He was hailed a hero when he bought out a South Carolina Girl Scout cookie stand so two young troop members didn't have to stay out in the cold selling thin mints and do-si-dos. But, now federal drug agents are portraying Detric Lee McGowan as a cookie monster. Just days after the seemingly feel-good story went viral on social media along with a photo posted by one of the grateful Girl Scouts' mothers of him posing with two girls and a silver crucifix dangling from his neck McGowan is now in custody, named in a federal drug-trafficking indictment. McGowan was arrested on Tuesday after a federal grand jury in Greenville, South Carolina, indicted him and 10 others on Feb. 19 for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to import and distribute heroin, cocaine and the powerful pharmaceutical drug fentanyl. While authorities said the dough McGowan used to buy the Girl Scout cookies were likely drug money, they said publicity over his good Samaritan move did not prompt his arrest. "One thing that I can say, and it's been a pretty big question, is the Girl Scout cookie story had nothing to do with this guy being picked up by us," Special Agent Chuvalo Truesdell, a spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, told ABC News on Wednesday. "We had already been investigating him. It was just a mere coincidence that that happened. Unfortunately, not good timing for him." On Friday, two members of Girl Scouts Troop 1574 were selling cookies from a table they set up outside a Bi-Lo grocery store in Mauldin, South Carolina, when McGowan stopped by and purchased seven boxes, leaving the girls $40 for the $28 worth of cookies, Kayla Dillard, the troop's cookie manager, told ABC News. After noticing one of the girls was shivering in the cold, McGowan pulled his car up to the stand and gave the Girl Scouts $540 for all 129 boxes they had on hand, said Shannen Ludwig, the mother of one of the scouts. "The gentleman pulled back up in his car and said, 'load up all your cookies, that little girl is cold,'" Ludwig told ABC News. "He said, 'load em all up, I'm gonna buy them all." Dillard said that "after the initial shock wore off, our hearts were full, and we were very thankful." But, the Girl Scouts and their parents got an even bigger shock when 46-year-old McGowan was arrested just days later. "Nobody was hurt. Nobody was threatened. We had no reason to believe that this man was anything other than one of our valuable customers that is helping Girl Scouts power awesome experiences through the Girl Scout Cookie Program," Karen Kelly, spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts of South Carolina, said in a statement following McGowan's arrest. "This is now in the hands of law enforcement and of course we will cooperate with authorities," Kelly said. McGowan, who according to the indictment goes by the nickname "Fat," allegedly conspired with others to import drugs from Mexico and distribute them throughout South Carolina, North Carolina and elsewhere. According to one of the incidents included in the 22-count indictment unsealed on Tuesday, McGowan and three others conspired in October 2018 to smuggle more than $1 million in cash from South Carolina to Mexico in exchange for drugs. "As the opioid epidemic tightens its grip on families across America, we will continue to join with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to aggressively prosecute individuals who are peddling these dangerous and deadly drugs into our communities," U.S. Attorney Sherri A. Lyndon said in a statement. McGowan's attorney did not return a message from ABC News requesting comment. If convicted, McGowan faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, authorities said. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Paris, TN (38242) Today Cloudy skies this morning followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High near 85F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Variably cloudy with scattered thunderstorms. Low 71F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. When Zoe Kravitz arrived at the Vanity Fair Oscars after party on Sunday wearing a Tiffany & Co. 18k gold bra, the Internet suddenly found itself gasping for air. She managed to effortlessly attract the red carpet spotlight, which she shared with Lady Gaga who casually stunted the 128.54 carat Tiffany's yellow diamond necklace last seen on Audrey Hepburn in a Breakfast at Tiffany's shoot. Donning a smirk of I know you know, the Big Little Lies actress effervescently floated from one end of the red carpet to another in her $24,000 bra. Kravitz' ensemble was a part of the Elsa Peretti Mesh collection, first introduced in the '70s. The former model and jewelry designer was inspired to make the bustier after visiting Jaipur, which her close friend Halston then premiered on his runway. Upon receiving critical acclaim, Peretti began designing an entire line of gold mesh bras for Tiffany's. A spokesperson for the company explained that the garment is created by weaving fine gold to "flow like water and drape like fabric around the body's contours." The actress paired Peretti's creation with a full-length Saint Laurent skirt and a purse to match. However, Kravitz isn't the only celebrity who has championed a loose interpretation of jewelry. Cate Blanchett's 2007 Oscars ensemble was adorned with thousands of Swarovski crystals, and never forget Lupita Nyong'o wore a Calvin Klein gown embellished with 6,000 pearls to the 2015 Oscars. For those red carpet headliners who reject demureness and embrace maximalist grandeur, gold, pearled or even diamond decorated dresses will instantly stir the sartorial pot. Cate Blanchett, 2007 Photos via Getty It's only the second time that Ottolinger has shown on the official Paris Fashion Week calendar, but already, the label is becoming a classic for its updated take on distressed, sporty pieces. Swiss design duo Christa Bosch and Cosima Gadient are based in Berlin but show in Paris, and that mix of cultures and aesthetics seems to show through in their work too. The inspiration behind the collection this season was the Chinese book and novel Three Body Problem. Here's everything you need to know about the fall 2019 show. Related | Welcome to Place Jacquemus Glitchy Plaids The collection opened up with several plaid pieces but these weren't your mother's tartans. Edges were raw and other pieces of fabric were patched together alongside glitchy plaid prints. Diagonal Cuts Ottolinger created dynamic silhouettes by cutting pieces to be diagonal rather than in conventional shapes. Jackets and unzipped dresses looked like they had gone slightly askew with these twists. Exposed Zips Exposed almost threadbare zippers in various colors were shown on coats, hanging off pants and lining knee-high leggings. Vinyl In brilliant lime green and classic black, fabrics which mimicked vinyl made a debut. Paired with granny reading glasses, the look was all about contrasts. Distressed Silks Toward the end of the collection, a couple of distressed silky outfits were on display. With exposed zippers and misplaced folds, the wrinkle effect was a chic textural end note. Saint Laurent's fall 2019 show was attended by a litany of celebs. Luxury queen Salma Hayek (her husband is Francois-Henri Pinault, chairman and chief executive of luxury conglomerate Kering, which owns labels including Saint Laurent, Gucci, and Balenciaga), Kate Moss, Ezra Miller, and Charlotte Gainsbourg all sat front row. Even the legendary Bianca Jagger popped up. But there was one guest we were particularly excited about: Lindsay Lohan, who hit the show alongside her sister, Aliana. Lindsay and Aliana Lohan at Saint Laurent's fall 2019 show Lohan, once a front row fixture, hasn't attended as many fashion shows in recent seasons. Last season's Saint Laurent show, which she attended with model brother Dakota, was her first since Gareth Pugh's spring 2016 offering. She seemed excited to be at Saint Laurent with her sister, and wore a cute outfit: a sheer black shirt with a textured mini skirt and ankle boots. She posted a happy video of Aliana singing at Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello's after party. "I've realized, you just have to smile and wave," Lohan said in a recent interview with PAPER. "'Smile and wave boys, smile and wave.' I always tell my sister: Just smile and wave." If you haven't heard, Ariana Grande's latest, and arguably most iconic, body of work, thank u, next, dropped earlier this month. Ever since promotion for the album began last year, the Internet has been at work finding ways to ingrain the album into everyday vernacular, using visuals and lyrics from the videos for both "thank you, next" and "7 rings" in memes and thirst traps as far as the finger can click. Leading up to the album drop, Grande took to Twitter to spill all the tea about her new material. One of the most highly anticipated songs, "NASA," was speculated to be about former fiance Pete Davidson, after fans unearthed a picture of the two in which Davidson sported a NASA T-shirt. Grande quickly confirmed that the song had nothing to do with the t-shirt but rather the concept of needing space, alluding to her longtime love affair with the galaxy. As it turns out, Grande and space go together perfectly. Remember when she set her music video for "Break Free" on a distant Star Trek-esque planet? Or how she is constantly tweeting random moon emojis? When "NASA" dropped, NASA (yes, the actual National Aeronautics and Space Agency) tweeted their support of her new album, sending everyone into outer space. However, Grande has recently taken a new project under her wings and is now advocating for the planets. Being a NASA fanatic, Grande took to Twitter this week to call for more cosmic emojis. Requesting new solar additions alongside the Earth, sun, and moon options, she expressed her desire for "more planet emojis next update please," naming Saturn as a top choice. Since they first became part of our digital lexicon, people have been petitioning emoji creators to launch a larger variety of emojis pertaining not only to objects, but also identity structures spanning hair types, skin colors, religious representation and disabilities. While Grande's plea for more planets is a far stretch from the discussion of inclusion on the emoji platform, her tweet highlights that emojis must continue adapt to the culture. And if there is anything we have learned from thank u, next, it is that what Grande wants, she gets. So, emoji creators: please listen to the current queen of pop music or risk pissing off Saturn right before it goes into retrograde on April 30. Stream Ariana Grande's "NASA," below. Photo via Instagram VPK Packaging to Acquire Corenso's Businesses in Europe and China Corenso's European and Chinese businesses consist of two coreboard mills located in Finland and France, together with a network of 10 core and tube winding plants in Europe and 3 in China. Feb. 27, 2019 - VPK Packaging Group on Feb. 21 announced that it has reached an agreement with NPAC International Inc. to acquire the European and Chinese businesses of Corenso. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Corenso is an international manufacturer of high performance coreboard and cores with operations in North America, Europe and China and its products are used in a broad range of demanding industrial applications. Corenso businesses in North America will continue to be owned by NPAC and will continue to operate under the Corenso brand. Corenso's European and Chinese businesses consist of two coreboard mills located in Finland and France, together with a network of 10 core and tube winding plants in Europe and 3 in China. Combined turnover is 170 million euros and the businesses have 850 employees in Europe and China. VPK's core and tube division is marketed under the Corex brand and has 14 sites for the production of industrial cores and tubes for winding paper, foil, textiles and metal. In addition, Corex also produces composite cans used for packing food, snacks, spices, cosmetics and spirits. Following completion of the acquisition, the core and tube division will represent 260 million euros or 16% of VPK's group turnover, with a total conversion capacity of 285,000 tons. Total production capacity of coreboard corresponds to 300,000 tons. The acquisition of Corenso broadens the geographical spread to regions where VPK has not been active to date. Important new markets are Finland, Spain and China. VPK Packaging Group CEO, Pierre Macharis, said, Corex and Corenso have made an impressive journey over the last decade. We are delighted to join forces to provide a wider geographical coverage while making optimum use of the network and the expertise of VPK. Our customers can rely on unique quality and service offered by Corex and Corenso. By integrating two additional paper mills, we also provide a strategic, geographical axis for raw material supply from Finland via Belgium to the south of France. The agreement remains subject to customary conditions and is expected to be completed in second quarter of 2019. With headquarters in Belgium, VPK Packaging Group produces a wide range of tailor-made solutions for corrugated board and solid board packaging, cores and edge protectors. To learn more, please visit: www.vpkgroup.com SOURCE: VPK Packaging Group Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The first Arab-European summit, hosted in the Egyptian city of Charm el-Cheikh, ended on Monday with the adoption of a final declaration, underlining the need to preserve the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Libya, Syria and Yemen, and to conform to the efforts made by the UN in that regard Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) Nigeria's main opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP), whose candidate lost Saturday's presidential election to President Muhammadu Buhari by a large margin, has rejected the results saying they were manipulated Final Thoughts: True Detective Wraps Up With Too Much Exposition and Shade at the True Crime Genre and Us? By Roxana Hadadi | TV | February 27, 2019 | We got in an heated discussion on the Pajiba Slack the other day about whether the first season finale of True Detective was good. I say yes: Although it was weirdly earnest, we had seen throughout the preceding episodes that Rust Cohle hated humanity but still wanted to believe in the inherent goodness of the universe. Why else try to keep the bad men from the door? But Dustin and Mike disagreed, and Dustin even did this thing where he called me Roxana in a very Dad tone, and it sent me into a spiral! Maybe the first season finale was too slow? Maybe it had too much exposition? Maybe the characters made undeserved swerves? Maybe the whole supernatural element fell apart too easily? But now, after having watched third season finale Now Am Foundwhich shares many of those elements that I listed with the first season finale, I stand by this: Form and Void was pretty good, and Now Am Found was fine, bordering on eh. By the end of the episode, we know what happened to everyone: Hoyts daughter Isabel kidnapped Julie as a replacement for her own dead child and kept her captive with years of lithium and Mr. Watts by her side; Will was accidentally killed by Isabel during the kidnapping; Julie escaped after being held in captivity for years; and then she faked her own death and married that nice boy Mike who was so upset all those years ago when she disappeared, and now they have a daughter. Surface-level, that is the conclusion of this story. A girl was lost, and now she is found. But how this was presented to uswith so much exposition and so many flashbacks and just these long stretches of uninterrupted talkingthis is where I think Now Am Found faltered. The pacing was off, wasnt it? And this isnt to say that I demand plot twists, but I look over my notes for this season finale and they are a fraction the length of my notes from preceding episodes. Most everything is tidily resolved in a way we would expect, and some of the mysteries were never really mysteries at all, and overall it feels like Nic Pizzolatto telling us, You wanted some season one shit? Youre not getting any of that season one shit. Is the entire season Pizzolattos rebuke of the true crime genre, of people searching his show for clues, of viewers like us? Honestly, it kind of feels like it! Elisas true crime documentary was used as a framing device and then thoroughly abandoned; we never see or hear from her again in the finale, and theres no explanation of whether her production will ever be released. Think of those blogs that she shows to Wayne; think of his sneering disdain at the idea that people would spend so much time trying to unravel a mystery. But that is also exactly what Pizzolatto has his characters do, for us! Its a weird juxtaposition of things, but it feels like Pizzolatto dangling candy in front of uscandy that he has trained us to expectand then throwing it down a sewer for Pennywise to eat. Why else recreate so many elements of season onean uncomfortable altercation between police officers and the black community on the wrong side of town, creepy objects like the chaff dolls, the household knowledge only an older black woman, a former domestic, can provideand then undercut them? Those choices seemed lazy to me, and now they feel disingenuous, like Pizzolatto wanted to admonish us for expecting something that he had delivered us in the first place. Maybe this all sounds like Im discrediting the phenomenal acting that went into this season, and I dont want to do that. Now two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali is goddamn riveting in every moment of every episode of this season, and I will think about his varying explorations of Wayne Hays for a long time. In 1980, the outright anger he spits at Carmen Ejogos Amelia for disrupting the tiny world he has cultivated for himself, his comparison of her to a pretty bird flying around shitting on peoples heads, his accusations that she wasnt black enougha reminder of the racism that permeated every corner of West Finger, Arkansas, that even affected the black man who was affected by that racism, too. In 1990, his beseeching appeal to her that they leave everything about the Purcell case behind them in order to save their marriage, even as he refuses to be fully honest with her about what happened with the case (I walk away, you walk away, and lets put this thing down. Its not ours. And like you said, were past the beginning). And in 2015, the way he holds his bodyhunched, rigid, wearythe blank look on his face when he becomes lost in time, and the genuine smiles he reserves for his family and for Roland West, the partner whose trust he regained, the bond between them remade, the future before them. But Ali was met, phenomenally so, by Stephen Dorff, who blew me away. I expected greatness from Ali, and he delivered it; I did not know Dorff could hold this much depth, my god. The two of them elevated this material above the cliches in which it sometimes became miredoh, this police detective saunters into a Nazi biker bar, picks a fight with five dudes, and gets the shit beaten out of him because hes sad his friend is dead? Yeah, thats some Sons of Anarchy shit. But the cathartic release of tears when Roland West opens his arms to that stray dog, the gingerness with which he holds that dog and the gentleness with which he pets him, even as he weepsthat was a tragedy in and of itself. And think of West, leaning on his cane, in the police station in 1980, when Hays tells him theyll grab a beer or see a gamewords West spits back to Hays years later, when they are reunited, when its clear they never did those things. Pizzolatto claimed in an Instagram comment that West isnt gay, but I dont buy that for a second. I think the presentation of this character was a man who followed all the typical rules of masculinity and heteronormativity and found them lacking, found them broken, and hence allowed himself to break, too. When he tells Wayne that hes going to start sleeping over at his home, its the two men taking care of each other, realizing that the years they spent as partners were some of the most formative of their lives. The big secret that Wayne never shared with Amelia is what he lived with Roland, and that experience is one that will haunt them, but that theyll recognize in each other, for however many years they each live. Consider the last few scenes of the show, though: Theyre devoted to Wayne Hays, and to two chapters of his life. First, at the VFW, when he opens himself up enough to Amelia to admit that he never considered love, that he never thought he would get married, that the blame he laid upon her for using his complaints about the investigation to begin her writing career in the town newspaper were tied up in his feelings about loving her and wanting to marry her. Its a confession from a man who clearly wasnt used to giving them, and so when they walk together to that illuminated exitwhen Roland reaches his hand back for Ameliasits an attempt to leave behind that isolated part of his life. But as we know from 1990 and 2015, people dont change very easily. The fights Amelia and Wayne had were circular. Their marriage was always about the Purcell case, about who they were and who they were pretending to be, and although we see Amelia and Wayne smile at each other in that University of Arkansas timeline between 1990 and 2015, its Amelias figure who haunts Wayne in 2015. Its love, but its also guilt and regret, everything tied together, impossible to untangle. And then theres the final scene: Purple Hays, in the Vietnamese jungle, wide-eyed, solitary, indistinguishable from the area around him. As much a part of this place of violence as anything else that naturally occurs there, able to slip in and out of it, the hunter personified, the figure that Roland West alternately bragged about and threatened suspects with. Why end True Detective with Wayne as the person he was in the 1970s? Because time is a flat circle, and because ending with the start is what Pizzolatto wanted to achieve this entire season. If only he hadnt tried to shade us for wanting more, this would be an effective ending for what was otherwise a finale that leaned too hard on telling us instead of showing us what happened to little Julie Purcell, the case Wayne Hays never stopped thinking about. Finally, some odds and ends: + This finale begins in the same way, almost identically, as the first season finale: As T Bone Burnetts foreboding score plays, we revisit some of the most important locations of this narrative, from Shoepick Lane to the tower where Tom Purcell is killed to the public school the Purcells attended. An effective reminder for where weve been as we end up where were going. + Waynes attempt to threaten Hoyt with his Maybe one day Ill come see you. Try having this talk again, reminded me very much of Rust Cohles threats to mega-church leader Rev. Billy Lee Tuttle, and as you may recall, Cohle does eventually break into Tuttles house and steal from it the videotape that proves that little Marie Fontenot was kidnapped and raped by all these powerful, evil men. via GIPHY + I didnt exactly love the scene where Wayne and Roland end up in the pink room and realize the full scope of Julies kidnapping. The scene lacked impact for me, maybe because it was what weve expected for so long, and maybe also because the dialogue, with Wayne talking about his family and Roland remarking, Now, that must be nice, was so repetitive to what weve heard in preceding episodes. Either way, it didnt quite land. + I have to start using some of Roland Wests descriptions for people I dont like: butt-faced human pieces of garbage and hunks-of-shit people are both pretty good! Also, yes, I smirked at cyclops motherfucker. + Pizzolatto really laid it on thick with his This season was all about storytelling, DO YOU GET IT? dialogue this episode, from Amelia comparing her and Waynes marriage to writing (You write a story, you get past the start, its important to know how you want it to end) to Rolands discomfort with how the investigation ended (We got an ending, I guess, but, I dont, uh, hmm. Do you feel like any kinda closure? I dont). And then that whole thing with ghost Amelia telling Wayne, like, everything that happened with Julie Purcell after he miraculously opens her book to just the right page? What if theres another story? What if something went unbroken? All this life, all this loss. What if it was really one long story that just kept going and going until it healed itself? Wouldnt that be a story worth telling? Wouldnt that be a story worth hearing? It was just too much. + Also reminiscent of season one: Remember when Rust Cohle told that woman with Munchausen by proxy that prison is very, very hard on people who hurt kids. If you get the opportunity, you should kill yourself? I was reminded very much of that when Mr. Junius Watts begs Wayne and Roland to kill him, only to have West disgustedly reply, while gesturing to his cupboard of guns, You dont wanna live with it? Fucking dont. + Anyone else think grown-up Mike Ardoin kind of looked like a hot Scoot McNairy? Sorry, I have a type, and Nathan Wetherington fits it. + I understand that this fits with the character, but of course Wayne would hate working in an office full of women. + Becca lives! And it seems like she just stays away from home because of her fathers increasingly worse dementia. Although I do think it was kind of harsh to say in front of him, I miss you right now? + OK yes I did get teary at Rolands and Waynes final Real glad to see you and Glad to see you too, pal, and how they patted each other on the shoulder. Just two old dudes, being friends, someone please hand me a tissue. Where is our spinoff where Roland and Wayne just go around with their old badges investigating crimes? I know that Pizzolatto was trying to say that this desire is exactly what is wrong with our current true crime fascination but I dont care, I would still watch. What Is Demisexuality? | Will There Be a Season 4 of 'Lethal Weapon'? Roxana Hadadi is a Senior Editor for Pajiba. You can follow her on Twitter. Image sources (in order of posting): HBO Media Relations, HBO Media Relations, HBO Media Relations, HBO Media Relations, HBO Go/True Detective, HBO Go/True Detective, HBO Go/True Detective, HBO Go/True Detective "The leaders of the North and the U.S. are going to have a meeting in the morning, a lunch, another meeting in the afternoon, and a press conference on Thursday," the official told reporters, and Moon and Trump will highly likely talk afterwards. President Moon Jae-in is expected to talk with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on the phone on Thursday evening, after Trump's second day of meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, a Cheong Wa Dae official said Tuesday. Moon is also considering flying to Washington for a summit with Trump. Moon and Trump agreed in principle in a telephone conversation on Feb. 19 to meet after the second U.S.-North Korea summit. "On Feb. 19, President Trump said he had a lot to talk about, which convinced me that the two leaders will meet soon," another Cheong Wa Dae official said. Moon is more likely to fly to Washington for that. On Tuesday, Moon exchanged opinions about the U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi over lunch with his staff, including national security adviser Chung Eui-yong. But Cheong Wa Dae made no detailed comment on the agenda and concluding statement of the summit. "We can only hope that there will be progress towards complete denuclearization," Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said. He's Strive Masiyiwa and here are his Top 10 Rules for Success: Strive Masiyiwa's Top 10 Rules For Success He has won numerous accolades and gained international recognition for his business expertise and philanthropy, and is considered one of Africa's most generous humanitarians.He was born in the African country of Zimbabwe in 1961. He attended primary school in Zambia.He returned to his native Zimbabwe in 1984 after a 17-year absence.He quit his job and set up his own company with the equivalent of US$75.In five years, he had emerged as one of the country's leading industrialists.The emergence of mobile cellular telephony led him to diversify into telecoms.In March 2000, Masiyiwa left Zimbabwe, never to return to the country, and moved first to South Africa.In 2014 CNN's Fortune Magazine named Masiyiwa one of the 50 most influential business leaders in the world.He has used his wealth to provide scholarships to over 100,000 young Africans over the past 20 years.He serves on the boards of some global organisations, including The Rockefeller Foundation.He also sits on two United Nations Advisory Panels. 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. Maha Syed, above, is one of five performers who will take on issues of culture, politics and society with high school and college students as part of "Beyond Sacred: Voices of Muslim Identity " presented by Artswego We may have different opinions in things, and religion often has very sharp edges, but we can do that within the limits of civility, Musri said. We are still friends and were still sharing the same community. When we worked to outlaw cockfighting in 2002 by ballot initiative in Oklahoma one of the last hold-out states state authorities estimated there were 42 cockfighting arenas and 3.5 million fighting birds. The economic arguments there which should have been more compelling because the numbers are so much larger than Puerto Ricos were thoroughly unpersuasive to voters. Lawmakers in New Mexico and Louisiana did the right thing, recognizing that the continued presence of legal cockfighting was a stigma to their states and threatened economic development and progress. Speaker, I want to get the truth too, Gaetz wrote. While it is important [to] create context around the testimony of liars like Michael Cohen, it was NOT my intent to threaten, as some believe I did. Im deleting the tweet & I should have chosen words that better showed my intent. Im sorry. The environment ministers of Korea and China have finally agreed to cooperate to tackle toxic smog that is regularly blown into Korea from the mainland. Environment Minister Cho Myung-rae and his Chinese counterpart Li Ganjie signed an agreement in Beijing on Tuesday to share air pollution forecasts and relevant technologies. They also agreed to publish a report detailing the causes and sources of long-range air pollution in Northeast Asia. The report will be unveiled ahead of an annual environment ministers' meeting between Korea, China and Japan in November. What theyre doing is something that is very sensible. Theyre not transforming their sheriffs departments into an immigration agency, DeSantis said. But when you have somebody who is in their custody who has done something that theyre going to be held accounted for and theyre not here legally, it makes sense to be able to seamlessly work with the federal authority. Democrats have charged that Trump, his subordinates and Republicans have been trying to silence Cohen as he has turned on his former boss. On Tuesday, Gaetz took to the House floor to question if Cohen even "lies to his own family," saying his "web of lies are not to be believed." Wayne Harrod owns what is considered one of the most beautiful pieces of property in Orange County. It's an undeveloped piece of land -- about 30 acres -- that straddles the Little Econlockhatchee River in east Orange County. He is now asking Orange County to purchase the property to save it from development and for future generations to use to go kayaking and hiking. She reminded foes of the 100-acre range property that the owners could open fire on their land legally every day, all day with almost no restrictions under Florida law as long as the owners werent running a commercial enterprise on the site. She said trust members could shoot anytime they like and could even invite over friends with guns, too. Good is remembered for being part of a political coalition in the early 1990s that tried to put the brakes on expensive, runaway growth. At the time, Good, who also held a masters degree in education from the University of Florida, was elected to a County Commission seat in 1994 with 54 percent of the vote. It was the first time since 1966 a Democrat had won a commission race. No Democrat has won one since. At a morning news conference at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, the governor endorsed a bill by state Sen. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, that would reward patients who shop around for health care by allowing them to share in the savings with their insurance company. The governor praised Memorials web-based system, which allows patients to easily and quickly look up the total cost and the out-of-pocket cost of various procedures, both with and without insurance. Clay County deputies say Negron threw a punch at a man in the bars parking lot. The man tried to punch Negron back, but slipped on a a trucks nerf bar. The man was run over by the truck, sustaining serious injuries, authorities said. Strawn drove to Seminole County where he booked a hotel room intent on having sex with the girl, agents said. The girl alerted authorities and he was arrested on charges of traveling to meet a minor, harmful material to a minor, solicitation of a minor and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. India says it has carried out pre dawn airstrikes in Pakistan on a camp of the Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad, which claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb that killed 40 paramilitary troops in Indian Kashmir nearly two weeks ago. The airstrikes, which India says killed many militants, will escalate military tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals. Pakistan claims the strikes caused no damage or casualties. In a brief statement, Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale called it a "preemptive strike" prompted by credible intelligence that the Jaish-e-Mohammed was planning another suicide terror attack in the country. He said India struck the group's biggest training facility located at Balakot in Pakistan. "In this operation a very large number of Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis, who were being trained for fidayeen action had been eliminated," he added. India had taken care to avoid civilian casualties, according to Gokhale. "The facility is located in thick forest on a hilltop far away from any civilian presence," he said. In Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan called an emergency meeting of his national security committee Tuesday. His office after released a statement after the meeting. "Once again [the] Indian government has resorted to a self-serving, reckless and fictitious claim," said the statement. "This action has been done for domestic consumption being in [an] election environment, putting regional peace and stability at grave risk. The claimed area of strike is open for the world to see the facts on ground. For this domestic and international media is being taken to the impact site." Major General Asif Ghafoor, a spokesman for Pakistan's military, has disputed India's version of the attack. In a tweet Tuesday, he said, "Indian aircrafts intruded from Muzafarabad sector. Facing timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force released payload in haste while escaping which fell near Balakot. No casualties or damage." Firefighters got a 911 call about a fire in the home, 2924 Keystone Heights St. outside Apopka, about 2:06 a.m. Wednesday, said Mike Jachles, a spokesman for Orange County Fire-Rescue. When they got there the fire had reached about a third of the home, Jachles said. In the early hours of Feb. 19, the camera captured video of a man walking around the girls bed, then exposing himself and masturbating at the foot of the bed, the affidavit states. The mother said she could tell it was Negron based on the shorts he was wearing. Federal officials are investigating why a Southwest Airlines plane made three chaotic landing attempts at Bradley International Airport in high winds Monday night that, according to one report, caused the tip of one wing to scrape the runway and left dozens of frightened passengers vomiting from the severe turbulence. A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday an investigation of the incident is underway. Southwest confirmed the aircraft, which was ultimately diverted to T. F. Green Airport in Warwick, R.I., had suffered damage on the right wing. The airline said it will conduct its own internal review of the flight, apologizing to passengers and offering ticket refunds and vouchers for a future flight. Southwest flight 2169, which had flown out of Orlando International Airport, landed at Green at about 7:30 p.m., carrying 146 passengers and a crew of five. So, with each descent that we experienced, there was horrible turbulence that was making a good portion of the people on plane vomit. Christine Orlovsky-Lascano, passenger, Southwest Airlines Flight 2169 Passenger Christine Orlovsky-Lascano of Trumbull, who was returning from a trip to Disney World with her mother and three young sons Tuesday, described the harrowing, chaotic scene inside the cabin. With each fail they would go back up, circle and then descend again to try and land, Orlovsky-Lascano said. So, with each descent that we experienced, there was horrible turbulence that was making a good portion of the people on the plane vomit. Southbury 8 year old died after Mount Southington ski accident Orlovsky-Lascano said her sons, ages 3, 8 and 10, were frightened. My 3-year-old vomited twice, my older two boys were in a scared state of shock, Orlovsky-Lascano said. "My 10--year-old asked if what happened to planes on 9/11 was going to happen to this plane. Mondays powerful gusts of wind brought down trees and power lines across Connecticut, cutting electricity to thousands of homes and businesses. According to federal aviation regulations, the pilot is the final authority in the operation of the aircraft. But the FAA may require a written report defending actions taken in the operation of a plane. The harrowing flight on the Boeing 737 into Bradley comes as Southwest struggles with mounting flight cancellations tied to a maintenance backlog on its fleet. USA Today reported that Southwest canceled 131 Monday flights, or 3 percent of its scheduled flights, citing flight tracker FlightAware. More than 400 flights were delayed, USA Today reported. Aviation Herald, an industry publication, reported that one of the landing attempts at Bradley resulted in a wing striking the runway. In a statement, Southwest said there were no reported injuries on the flight. Light, fluffy snow will start falling early Wednesday evening: Heres how much to expect We are reaching out to our customers on the flight to offer our apologies, refund their ticket and extend a gesture of a goodwill flight voucher for a future trip on Southwest, Brandy King, an airline spokeswoman, said in the statement. The airline did not immediately respond to an inquiry about Southwest investigating the incident. Once the plane had landed at Green, Orlovsky-Lascano said she rented a car to drive to Trumbull, arriving home at about 10:45 p.m. On Tuesday, she said she remained shaken. To be honest, Im not ready to think about flying anytime soon, Orlovsky-Lascano said. Safe to say as we exited the plane, every other row had used barf bags. Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com. Video of the operation shows the firefighters surrounded the manhole and briefly struggling with the cover before inserting wedges beneath the lid and forcing it open. Sehr can then be seen sticking his hand inside the sewer and pushing the rat free from underneath. According to the latest proposed settlement with Whittaker, the university agreed to pay him $600,000 and to provide legal defense and indemnify Whittaker for any costs incurred in defending any claims from former university employees who were terminated while Whittaker was president. Four high-level administrators are facing termination for their involvement in the universitys misuse of state money. None of them have filed lawsuits against the university. Changing school start times could be expensive, depending on the schedules adopted. Most local school districts now stagger school start times, with high schools opening earliest, then elementary schools and then middle schools, because that is the most cost-effective plan, allowing districts to get the most use out of its fleet of school buses and drivers. The appearance before the three congressional committees come months after Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of tax fraud, lying to prosecutors and campaign finance violations. As an LGBTQ+ person, I thought about running for mayor when no other LGBTQ+ person had ever made the ballot for mayor in this city. And as a mayoral candidate, I traveled across the city and saw people who looked like me and families like mine who were struggling in every neighborhood, Lightfoot said. Im not here despite these hardships, despite the odds. Im here because my personal and professional experiences have prepared me to lead with compassion, integrity and persistence. Of the four, only BehaviorMe was invited to pitch at the main stage, with the other three qualifying as alternates. According to the investigation, Culotta said he saved some of the images on his thumb drive, which agents searched as well. There, a forensic examiner found images of child pornography, including young children. Culotta said hed been viewing those types of images as long as hed had his personal laptop, and that hed connected the thumb drive to his NASA laptop and viewed the images at work. British Prime Minister Theresa May said Tuesday she would allow lawmakers to vote on whether to leave the European Union without a deal or pursue a delay in Britain's withdrawal from the 28-nation bloc. Parliament is scheduled to vote on May's deal on March 14, two weeks before Britain's scheduled March 29 departure from the EU. The government, however, has been unable to win Parliament's support for its separation agreement with the bloc. As a result, the U.K. is confronted with the prospect of leaving the EU without a deal, a development that could disrupt business and individuals throughout Europe. Corvallis, OR (97331) Today Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. High 78F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 59F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. The Oregon State University Department of Public Safety is asking for information related to a reported incident of attempted filming in a Memorial Union bathroom. On Tuesday, at approximately 2 p.m., an unidentified person sought to record video of the occupant of a men's bathroom stall on the first floor of the MU, according to a public safety alert email. "The suspect attempting to video record was identified by a witness to be a male of Asian descent, 5 feet 6 inches tall, of slight build and was reportedly wearing a black puff coat, black pants, and black shoes with white stripes," the alert said. The university asks anyone with information about the incident to call the Department of Public Safety at 541-737-3010. The alert email stated OSU is currently reviewing bathrooms on campus to determine if changes are necessary for increased security. A university employee was arraigned in January on one felony charge of the first-degree invasion of privacy and two misdemeanor charges of second-degree invasion of privacy, after allegedly making a small hole in a mens bathroom stall in The Valley Library and filming a man in the stall without consent. It is not yet known if the two incidents are related. The Barometer will provide updates as more information becomes available. Foreign direct investment in Korea is decreasing sharply. Net FDI in Korea, which is the amount of FDI that came into Korea minus the amount of FDI that left the country, dropped from US$9.25 billion in 2004 to $6.31 billion in 2005, $3.59 billion in 2006 and $1.58 billion in 2007, marking three straight years of decline. During the first three months of this year in particular, the amount of FDI that left Korea was $670 million, higher than the amount that came in. In other words, the amount of money foreign companies withdrew from Korea as they pulled out of the country outnumbered the amount of money they invested here. This shows that multinational companies are branding Korea as a country unfit for investment. Included in every survey of foreign businesses in Korea are complaints about troublesome labor unions, excessive government regulations, expensive housing and living costs and problems finding schools for children. According to the latest figures compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Korea was the only country among the 30 member nations of the OECD to see FDI shrink for the past three years until 2007. Korea's ranking in terms of FDI fell from 16th place in 2004 to 23rd in 2005, 28th in 2006 and 29th in 2007, which is almost at the bottom. None of the BRICs countries -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- or ASEAN member nations, such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, saw FDI drop between 2004 and 2007. Vietnam saw FDI rise more than eight-fold, from $2.1 billion to $17.9 billion over that period, while India saw a six-fold rise in FDI, from $2.6 billion to $15.7 billion. Most of those countries saw FDI double or triple. In the global war to attract FDI, Korea is the only country to regress and fall. Nowadays, not only is it tough to get foreign businesses to invest in Korea, but those that have been here are packing up and leaving. Over the past few years, we have been seeing a continuation of foreign businesses withdrawing their investments in Korea. Nokia transferred parts of its facilities in Masan, South Gyeongsang Province to China and India, while Motorola moved its plant in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province to China. Philips pulled its investments out of a joint venture with LG, while Wal-Mart and Carrefour sold all of their stores in Korea and left. The only place left for Korea and its workers, spurned by multinational companies, is economic slowdown and rising unemployment. 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. HANGZHOU, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday that China appreciated the unremitting efforts of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States to promote the political settlement of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. After the meeting of the foreign ministers of China, Russia and India held in Wuzhen of eastern China's Zhejiang Province, Wang told the press that the upcoming summit between DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump would mark a major event in the DPRK-U.S. relationship and draw the world's attention. He said the "double suspension" was realized on the peninsula since the first DPRK-U.S. summit held in Singapore in June last year, and China expected the upcoming summit in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, would mark an important step in promoting the denuclearization and building the peace mechanism on the peninsula by using the dual-track approach. "We hope both the DPRK and the United States can show sincerity, release goodwill, clear up contradictions and foster trust," Wang said. He said China would continue to safeguard the peace and stability on the peninsula, promote dialogues and peace talks, and contribute to long-term stability. China, Russia, India and the international community would also make their respective contributions to promoting the proper resolution of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, Wang said. Stillwater, OK (74078) Today Partly cloudy early followed by scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. High around 85F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies this evening followed by thunderstorms late. Low 72F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Cohens main antagonists, Reps. Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan, couldnt have put it better. They usually go about their daily work off-camera but you could see Jordan sweating under the hot lights of live TV as he raised his arm up in the air to point to a large print of what prosecutors had to say about Cohens honesty before he decided to fully cooperate. By Yin Hang and Ouyang Hao Xu Qiliang (R), vice-chairman of Chinas Central Military Commission (CMC), meets with visiting General Hun Manet, Cambodian deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Armed Forces (RCAF) and commander of RCAF Army, in Beijing on the morning of February 26. (Photo by Li Xiaowei) BEIJING, Feb. 27 (ChinaMil) -- Xu Qiliang, vice-chairman of Chinas Central Military Commission (CMC), and General Wei Fenghe, Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister, met with visiting General Hun Manet, Cambodian deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Armed Forces (RCAF) and commander of RCAF Army. Xu Qiliang said that China and Cambodia are friendly neighbors and genuine die-hard friends for many generations. In recent years, China-Cambodia relations have maintained high-level development under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, and the co-building of the Belt and Road has been increasingly deepened. As an important part of the bilateral relations, the exchanges and cooperation between the Chinese and Cambodian militaries have also maintained a rapid growing momentum. China firmly supports Cambodias national defense and military building. Both sides share a view that the two countries will contribute more to the development of China-Cambodia comprehensive strategic partnership. China is willing to work with Cambodia to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, to maintain high-level exchanges between the two militaries, and to deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields such as joint exercise and training, college education, etc. General Hun Manet said that the traditional and long-lasting friendship was fostered by the older generations of leaders on both sides. The Cambodian side thanks China for its support and assistance to the country and its military building. Cambodia is willing to maintain strategic coordination with China, to deepen pragmatic cooperation, to further consolidate the foundation of friendship, and to promote the sustained, in-depth development of the bilateral military ties. Wei Fenghe said at the meeting that China and Cambodia are traditionally friendly neighbors and brothers. The profound friendship between the two countries has stood the test of time and emerged even stronger despite the changeable international situation. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen reached an important consensus on deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership in order to chart the course for the development of China-Cambodia relations in the new era. China is willing to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Cambodia at all levels and in various fields and to constantly explore new areas and ways of cooperation, so as to forge a strong bilateral military relationship as an important support for the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, and jointly safeguard the fundamental interests of both sides as well as regional security and stability. General Hun Manet said that the relationship between Cambodia and China reaches its best level with the promotion of leaders of the two countries. The Cambodian side is ready to work with China to further enhance the level of cooperation and promote the continuous development of bilateral relations. General Han Weiguo, Commander of the PLA Army, participated in relevant activities. But why? Why is Cohen suddenly believable? Because hes likely going to say things we like and intuitively believe. Hes likely going to say that the President directed him to pay off two women he had affairs with before the campaign, after he insisted he didnt. Hes likely going to implicate Trump in the Trump Tower Russia meetings, after saying he wasnt aware of them. Hes likely going to say all sorts of things that we want to believe are true. Predictably, the DOE missed its 30-day deadline but promised to hire temporary staff to address the backlog. Mayor de Blasio said, Those payments need to be made right away. In a follow-up story, the department claimed to be all caught up. But Brigitte, Elaine and others they know have yet to be paid for most of their students. New Yorkers were outraged when the recent government shutdown left workers without pay for weeks. These teachers and therapists have worked for six months without pay. In other words, these institutions are doing exactly what Sullivan warns against: denying unpopular defendants basic due process rights. And now, some of these institutions are sending a powerful message that even assisting those unpopular defendants may have serious consequences. In addition to the goings-on at Harvard, Plymouth State University recently penalized two of its faculty members for assisting in the defense of a Kristie Torbick, a local high school guidance counselor accused of sexual assault. One of the professors, who sent a letter to Torbicks attorney attesting to her progress in therapy, was explicitly informed by the university that she would not be rehired based on the current situation surrounding the letter you submitted to the court in the Kristie Torbick case. Cohens testimony is also valuable in that it provides further evidence of Trumps direct participation and direction of Cohens campaign finance law violations. In particular, the reimbursement checks that Trump gave to Cohen in 2017 while Trump was a sitting President provides further evidence that Trump who is the Individual 1 described in the Cohen indictment is as guilty as Cohen in violating the campaign finance laws. When Trump urged Cohen to use his own equity line of credit to pay hush money to the two women that Trump wished to silence, at least until after the 2016 election was over, his clear intention was to influence the election without publicly reporting the payments as campaign contributions. This full-circle concept could be the start of something monumental, as there remains the issue of a disconnect between Africans and African-Americans. Perhaps, in the spirit of Killmonger, this can be addressed in the form of state-sponsored heritage trips. Much in the way that Israel offers free trips to Jewish people within the diaspora, certain African countries can and should do the same for African people in America. (The premise is slightly different, but the act of goodwill is the same.) Rosedale: Re your editorial No returns (Feb. 22) and the way you keep trashing those who came out against the Amazon tax breaks: You need to go back into your archives and read your own newspaper. Over the years you have exposed numerous times those companies who got tax breaks based on their pie-in-the-sky promises to make life better in New York City yet failed to deliver and got to keep the tax breaks anyway. How many times do we have to give away the store without getting the benefits? Without a written guarantee and some kind of meaningful enforcement action built into the deal, I dont believe Amazon is any different from any of those other companies. The speed with which Amazon left tells me they had no intention of delivering on their promises. Louise Walton The unidentified tot, born in Tokyo, was so tiny he could fit in a pair of hands at birth, reported The Japan Times on Tuesday. He was delivered through Cesarean section after his body size failed to increase after 24 weeks of gestation. Fearing the boys life was jeopardized, doctors decided to ensure his immediate birth. Pierpoint said he feels quite disgusted by the incident, according to reports. These are people who have been lying at rest for years and years and to have them desecrated in such a sacrilegious way is so distressing and disturbing, he said, adding that hell probably have to close the facility for some time. Everybody's job at the Trump Organization was to protect Mr. Trump, Cohen said. Every day, most of us knew we were coming in and we were going to lie for him on something, and that has become the norm. That's exactly what's happening right now in this country. It's exactly what's happening here in government. The public advocate, the peoples advocate, is a role that I am incredibly excited to fill and one that is crucial to our city. I know there are some who have sought to get rid of it, and now Im sure that there are probably people who want it gone even more, Williams said in a victory speech at Cafe Omar in Brooklyn. A Chinese army advisor (C) puts rank on Cambodian army graduates during a graduation ceremony at Army Institute in Kampong Speu province March 12, 2015. REUTERS/Samrang Pring Source: khmertimeskh.com The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army has described ties between China and Cambodia as a brotherly relationship, a press release issued yesterday said. The PLA statement said its commander General Han Weiguo praised both countries strong relationship while welcoming Lieutenant General Hun Manet, Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Army Commander, who led a delegation to China for a five-day visit on Monday. The RCAF delegation is visiting China at the invitation of the Chinas Ministry of Defence with a purpose to strengthen the relationship and cooperation between both countries armies. According to the press release, Gen Han said he was delighted to welcome Lt Gen Manet and the RCAF delegation because of the strong ties between the two countries. I hope China and Cambodia will continue to strengthen relations and cooperation under the strategic direction of President Xi Jinping and Samdech Techo Hun Sen to ensure the development of comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, he said. In response, Lt Gen Manet thanked Gen Han for the warm welcome he and his delegation received. This visit will strengthen the relationship and cooperation of the two countries armies, he said. Lt Gen Manet also thanked the Chinese government and people of China for actively supporting development in Cambodia. Army spokesman Brigadier General Mao Phalla yesterday said that Lt Gen Manets visit to China is to focus on the relationship and cooperation between the two armies. The visit is to strengthen the relationship between the two armies and seek continued assistance from China, Gen Phalla said. He noted that Gen Manet will also discuss more joint military exercises with China ahead of next months exercises. Next months joint Cambodia-China Golden Dragon 2019 military exercises will be carried out on a larger scale than ever in Kampot provinces Chol Kiri district. The 15-day joint military drill will focus on counter-terrorism and humanitarian rescue, engineering and natural disaster response. There are reasonable disagreements and policy discussions among any political party, but I would hope that no one is trying to divide us or sow discord, she said. With an anti-New York administration in Washington, and major issues facing our state, it is essential that Democrats stand united. It has come to my attention that several media outlets have asked for the release of my clients records, Cohens May 5, 2015 letter read. In the event any of his records are released or otherwise disclosed without his prior written consent, we will hold your institution liable to the fullest extent of the law including damages and criminality. What are we going to do in 2019 and 2020 when were facing even more turnout and theres a potential for more folks to not have their voter history recorded, Myrie, the chairman of the Senate election committee, told the Daily News. The fact that this has not been updated, if in fact thats what it is, just an updating issue, to me is pretty troubling. "There have been efforts, whether out of hostility or not, to block the path that we intend to take," he said. "But we have overcome all these and walked toward each other again and we've now reached Hanoi after 261 days" since their first meeting in Singapore. Due to the sensitive nature of the meetings we have limited the pool for the dinner to a smaller group, Sanders said in a statement. We are continuing to negotiate aspects of this historic summit and will always work to make sure the U.S. media has as much access as possible. Short started the essay by mocking posters raising awareness to Safer Sex Week that were presumably seen around campus; by disagreeing with a statement by Whoopi Goldberg saying that AIDS was a disease that any can get; and by using a much publicized HIV announcement as a way to solidify his position that AIDS was a disease that mostly affected certain segments of the population. Perhaps the incident that most shocked the world into believing that everyone is prone to infection was Magic Johnsons announcement that he had contracted the AIDS virus. This tragic incident soon turned into a sad comedy when he was lauded by journalists as a hero for his admission. In August, Trump defended the sit-down and its subject matter with a tweet: Fake news reporting, a complete fabrication, that I am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son, Donald, had in Trump Tower. This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics and it went nowhere. I did not know about it! Well, Im glad you acknowledged that because you made some very demeaning comments about the President that Ms. Patton doesnt agree with. In fact, it has to do with your claim of racism. She says that as a daughter of a man born in Birmingham, Alabama, that there is no way she would work for an individual who was racist. How do you reconcile those? Im just really happy, said Campbell back in 2011, after learning he had been duped. Its a big deal for myself and my family and I can maybe help them out and take care of them. Im a little overwhelmed a lot overwhelmed. The tragedy was first reported by Outside Magazine, which said at least 10 people lost their lives at the park last year, including another man who slipped near Nevada Falls. Clearly, the deaths of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean could have been avoided. The reality is that (Buck) was a person that people had complained about directly to the West Hollywood sheriff's station, Nixons lawyer Nana Gyamfi told The News on Wednesday. When one of the deputies took her up on the offer, she bit him hard enough to break the skin and draw blood. The 5-foot-7, 235-pound Bogomolsky grabbed for the other officers gun before he was subdued, officials said. She went up to him and went to do it again, kind of hit him, so somebody called the cops, he said. They tried escorting her out, (and) when she was walking out she tried going after him again. "The house is under construction right now so we believe that the individuals who did this broke into the rear of the property and staged this robbery, and it turned into a homicide," Philadelphia Police Captain Ray Evers told ABC affiliate WPVI at the scene. An article that appeared on WWD last year cited multiple sources who said that the changes implemented by Nathan Coyle started to really affect the staff, the story reads. One of his first moves was to end a system at Out that had been in place since at least 2012, wherein editorial employees were paid not by then-parent company Here Publishing, like noneditorial staff, but through a separate company, Grand Editorial, owned and operated by former editor in chief Aaron Hicklin. R.M.A.s petition alleges he is a member of a protected class, he was discriminated against in the use of a public accommodation, his status as a member of a protected class was the basis for the discrimination he suffered, and he sustained damages, as required by section 213.065, the court said. "At this stage of the proceedings, that is all that is required of R.M.A; therefore, the circuit court should have overruled Defendants motion to dismiss." Solis said otherwise, accusing Morrow of having brainwashed the family. According to a statement by Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuers, Lopezs case underscores the serious health and safety risks of taking medical advice from someone who lacks a license and the proper training that goes with it. Stiber testified that when he tried to explain the situation to Won, the officer dismissed his claim, saying that he had been doing this for 30 years. I am an independent reform candidate, she told the Chicago Tribune Wednesday. I do not represent the past. I am not tied to the broken political machine, and I did not aspire to climb the ranks of the Cook County Democratic Party to be the party boss. All too often here we have been treated as curiosities rather than a people here, Arikara tribal official Pete Coffey told CBS News. They could very well be my own great, great, great, great grandfather, or grandmother, you know, that had been I characterize it as being ripped out of the Earth, you know. Anemic galaxy reveals deficiencies in ultra-diffuse galaxy formation theory Maunakea, Hawaii - A team of astronomers led by the University of California Observatories (UCO) have studied in great detail a galaxy so faint and in such pristine condition it has acted as a time capsule, sealed shortly after the dawn of our universe only to be opened by the newest technology at W. M. Keck Observatory. Using the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI), the team discovered a bizarre, solitary ultra-diffuse galaxy (UDG). This transparent, ghost-like galaxy, named DGSAT I, contradicts the current theory on the formation of UDGs. All previously studied UDGs have been in galaxy clusters, which informed the basis for the theory that they were once "normal" galaxies, but with time have been blasted into a fluffy mess due to violent events within the cluster. "There seemed to be a relatively tidy picture of the origins of galaxies, from spirals to ellipticals, and from giants to dwarfs," said lead author Ignacio Martin-Navarro, a postdoctoral scholar at UCO. "However, the recent discovery of UDGs raised new questions about how complete this picture is. All of the UDGs that have been studied in detail so far were within galaxy clusters: dense regions of violent interaction where the galaxies' characteristics at birth have been scrambled up by a difficult adolescence." The team's results will be published in the April 11, 2019 issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and is now available online. Because DGSAT I is a rare exception of an UDG found away from a cluster, it can provide a clearer window into the past. There has not been much activity around it that could taint its composition and evolution. In order to find out what caused this galaxy to be so sparse in starlight, the team used KCWI to map the composition of the galaxy. "The chemical composition of a galaxy provides a record of the ambient conditions when it was formed, like the way that trace elements in the human body can reveal a lifetime of eating habits and exposure to pollutants," said co-author Aaron Romanowsky, a UCO astronomer and Associate Professor of the Physics and Astronomy Department at San Jose State University. DGSAT I surprised researchers with its chemical makeup. Today's galaxies typically have more heavy elements in them, like iron and magnesium, compared to ancient galaxies born just after the Big Bang. But KCWI revealed that DGSAT I appears to be anemic; the galaxy's iron content is remarkably low, as if it formed from a nearly pristine gas cloud that was unpolluted by the supernova death of previous stars. And yet DGSAT I's magnesium levels are normal, consistent with what astronomers expect to find in modern galaxies. This is strange because both of these elements are released in supernova events; you typically don't find one without the other. "We don't understand this combination of pollutants, but one of our ideas is that extreme blasts of supernovae caused the galaxy to pulsate in size during its adolescence, in a way that retains magnesium preferentially to iron," said Romanowsky. UDGs are a relatively new class of galaxies that were first discovered in 2015. They are as large as the Milky Way but have between 100 to 1000 times fewer stars than our own galaxy, making them barely visible and difficult to study. KCWI is designed to overcome that obstacle with its extreme sensitivity and ability to capture high-resolution spectra of the faintest and farthest objects in our universe like UDGs. "There is only one other instrument in the world with the capabilities of KCWI that allows us to measure the chemical composition of low surface brightness galaxies," said co-author Jean Brodie, Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at UCO. "But that one is in the Southern hemisphere where we don't have a good view of DGSAT I, which lies in the North." KCWI performs a type of observation called integral field spectroscopy, which captures data in 3-D instead of 2-D. Traditionally, there were two ways for astronomers to study celestial objects, either through imaging or through spectroscopy. This instrument breaks the barrier between the two. In a single observation, KCWI captures both the image, as well as the spectrum of each pixel in the image, which reveals the object's physical properties such as composition, temperature, velocity, and more. "It's these kinds of observations that we built KCWI for; to continue pushing the frontier of getting the most information out of the faintest objects," said John O'Meara, chief scientist at Keck Observatory. "We're very excited to see how many more objects like DGSAT I we can study with Keck and continue to transform our understanding of how galaxies form and change with time." The researchers plan to use KCWI again, this time to conduct a deeper observation of another UDG similar to DGSAT I; they plan to tease out its composition in greater detail in hopes of unraveling more data that could help astronomers zero in on the origin of UDGs. "Various ideas have been presented, from the mundane to the exotic. One intriguing possibility is that some of these ghostly galaxies are living fossils from the dawn of the universe when stars and galaxies emerged in a much different environment than today," said Romanowsky. "Their birth is truly a fascinating mystery that our team is working on solving." ### ABOUT KCWI The Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI) is designed to provide visible band, integral field spectroscopy with moderate to high spectral resolution formats and excellent sky-subtraction. The astronomical seeing and large aperture of the telescope will enable studies of the connection between galaxies and the gas in their dark matter halos, stellar relics, star clusters, and lensed galaxies. Support for this project was provided by The Heising-Simons Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Mt. Cuba Astronomical Foundation, and other Friends of Keck Observatory. ABOUT W. M. KECK OBSERVATORY The W. M. Keck Observatory telescopes are the most scientifically productive on Earth. The two, 10-meter optical/infrared telescopes atop Maunakea on the Island of Hawaii feature a suite of advanced instruments including imagers, multi-object spectrographs, high-resolution spectrographs, integral-field spectrometers, and world-leading laser guide star adaptive optics systems. The data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation. The authors recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role that the summit of Maunakea has always had within the Native Hawaiian community. We are most fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct observations from this mountain. This story has been published on: 2019-02-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. "It's an extremely serious offense to threaten a United States senator," Federal Magistrate Judge Robert Krask said in court Tuesday, according to the Daily Press. "We live in an age when it would be foolish to ignore threats like this." Shana Decree, the mother of victims Naa'Irah Smith and Damon Decree Jr., told cops that everyone in the apartment was "talking about suicide." She said that Campbell, one of the victims, had actually killed Naa'Irah Smith and one of the three youths. Campbell was then killed by Dominique Decree, according to Shana Decree. "This man purchased seven packs of cookies. Gave the girls $40, told them to keep the change," Dillard posted on Facebook on Friday night. "Then he came back to the table and said, 'Pack up all of your cookies. I'm taking them all so y'all can get out of this cold' $540 he spent on cookies. What an amazing soul!!!!" Dyer recalled the agony that followed, the burning in her eyes, the inability at first to open them, and how cleaning them out a procedure which likely saved her vision was even more painful than the attack itself. People came regularly saying they wanted their money, the neighbor said. Last week two guys were trying to kick down the door to get in. This pregnant woman came again and again, but her room was never ready. The train engineer and conductor were also hospitalized, Eng said. I know the engineer was very shaken up, but I understand he was able to walk to the ambulance, he said. The conductor was shaken up but in much better shape than the engineer. Roadarmel, who has 29 years on the job, said he interviewed Covlin and relatives of the victim the day Shele was found lifeless in the bathroom of her W. 68th St. apartment. Hayes, a pathologist, said he knew that something was off about the 47-year-olds death and took his suspicions to the citys then-head medical examiner, Dr. Charles Hirsch, when her family said they didnt want an autopsy. Wilson, 67, is now the plaintiff in a multi-million dollar federal lawsuit against the City University of New York that was filed after an intense battle to clear his name. Wilson alleges in his suit that CUNY scooped up decades worth of his black history research, books and personal papers as part of its initial investigation into his finances and didnt properly document or track it. There could be no clearer sign of his commitment than the fact that he has brought the mayor into his tent and it is the governors tent. The advocates implored him to build the tent and the governor built the tent. Hes bringing in his junior rival to share the responsibility and share the planning and share the glory and I think there is going to be a lot of glory. Under the ambitious plan, first outlined in 2015 by the mayor, 75% of city high school students were to have access to at least five AP classes by fall 2018 and all city high school students will have access to at least one AP class by fall 2021. I also had grave concerns for the federal corrections officers who were asked to manage a large inmate population in a poorly lit facility that lacked basic services. Given the significant public safety and human rights implications of this incident, it is critical that every effort be taken to understand why this happened in order to ensure accountability and avoid similar incidents in the future. Absolutely, in a heartbeat, she told The News. When I first left One Day at a Time, when it first was over, I wanted to do TV movies. (It was like), Well, she does comedy, can she be dramatic? And then I did so many TV movies, by the time comedies came up, theyre like, Well, shes so dramatic, can she be funny? Give him his money back and get him the f--k out. I dont deal with that s--t at my shows, he said, adding that he has to deal with that enough. I am well aware that centuries of entitlement to womens bodies whether they like it or not is not going to change overnight. Or in a year. But I am also aware that if people who have spoken out like me do not take this sort of a stand then things are very unlikely to change at anything like the pace required to protect my daughters generation. Rome, GA (30161) Today Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 92F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight A few clouds. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Cedartown, GA (30125) Today A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 90F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Some clouds. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. 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. Summer camp signups are under way. Registration started Monday at 8 a.m. for the Lee County Parks & Recreation Summer Camp program, which is expected to draw thousands of youngsters to programs, outings and activities at the departments traditional, teen and specialty camps. Summer camps run for eight weeks from June 10 through Aug. 2. It is $75 per week per child and includes lunch and snack and the cost of field trips. Parents are encouraged to sign up early. Each year, the allotted spaces at Wa-Ke Hatchee, Lakes Park and Estero Recreation Center fill up well before school ends. In recent years, that has left the camp at the North Fort Myers Recreation Center and Veterans Park in Lehigh Acres as the only other options. However, those locations have become more crowded, as well. This year the max at North will likely be 90 for traditional camp (for children kindergarten through fifth grade) and 40 for teen camp (for sixth- to eighth-graders). Last year North set the limit at 105, with an average of about 100 per day. Lisa Weaver, supervisor at the North Fort Myers rec center, said promoting school grades is new to the camp program. Some kids are held back by age, but they want to be with more of their friends. We are promoting it by grade so it gives them some wiggle room on which camp they go to, Weaver said. Weaver also said as opposed to the larger camps in Estero and Fort Myers, their camp demographics are a little different. People here find it difficult to pay for eight weeks of camp for three kids. Parents will usually get their tax refunds and pay for one week at a time, Weaver said. We are finding people are signing up earlier, so I think well fill up before camp starts. Camp registration is ongoing where space is available. Registration for swimming lessons and other aquatics programs begins Tuesday, April 2. If you plan to register for camp at one of the four large recreation centers at Wa-Ke Hatchee, Estero, North Fort Myers or Veterans Park in Lehigh Acres, you need to obtain a membership first. North campers will be taking trips to the new community pool, to the new library (provided it opens before the end of camp), guest speakers and large trips to Sky Zone, Sun & Fun Lagoon and more. A household account at www.webtrac.leegov.com is needed if you want to register online. All campers will receive a specially designed Lee County Parks & Recreation T-shirt. Camp sites will participate in countywide initiatives, such as service, learning projects, fitness and wellness programs, and National Park and Recreation Month. The 2019 theme for the National Recreation and Park Association is Game On and encourages the importance of play for all ages. For more information about Lee County Parks & Recreation locations, camps, amenities, and other special events, visit www.leeparks.org, call 239-533-7275 or email leeparks@leegov.com. Cybertheft is a problem that everyone is vulnerable to, especially as thieves become savvier and more sophisticated. That means we all need to become savvier as well, the Lee County Sheriffs Office said Thursday at a cybertheft seminar held at the North Fort Myers Recreation Center. Michelle Sargis, crime prevention practitioner with the LCSO, said the ways cyberthieves can scam people are endless, and it is older individual who are the ones most often targeted. Its sad that the senior population is the one being targeted, preying on their trustworthiness of others and going after their assets, Sargis said. Some of the scams are still easy to spot. Phone and mail scams still exist, although not to the extent as before, and the lottery scams and other e-mail ones can be easy to spot if you know what to look for. But most peoples lives now center on the internet and social media. People shop, bank and share pictures online and so we have become victims of our own technology, Sargis said. We share too much of ourselves on social media, and those are the means cyberthieves use to try to get into peoples lives and get as much information as they can, Sargis said. That leaves people open to becoming victims. People tend to be most vulnerable when it comes to money. If they see a chance to win a large sum of money, that is one of the best ways to become a victim, and scammers know that. Who doesnt want to be a winner, to have an extra $1,000? Thats a problem, especially with people on a fixed income who are hard on their luck, Sargis said. People always want to have that one big win. What they dont realize is that its too good to be true. Fake websites are also a problem, and todays scammers can make a fake site look almost identical to a real one. You need to be careful when you Google search because you might land on the wrong site. The best way we can defend ourselves is constant vigilance, looking out for clues, and always use your credit card, not the debit card. The latter way is most important. Debit cards have an attachment to your checking account. Many people have overdraft protection through their savings account. So, if the debit card number is hacked, all the money could be drained from their checking and savings account, Sargis said. Banks will investigate it, but you may go months without seeing that money. Other things people can do is strengthen their passwords, stay off public Wi-Fi and be careful of even legit sites like online dating, because there may be scammers on those sites. Many of those who attended the seminar have been targeted, but are keenly aware of the traps and do their best to avoid them. James Bing, of Fort Myers, said he was educated about some things he was not aware of before. We dont always educate ourselves to whats going on outside our own sphere. I havent been a victim, but you protect yourself as much as possible, Bing said, adding that he does not use Facebook. I see the mistakes that I and people around me have made and theyve been victimized. Opposition political parties under the aegis of the Coalition of United Political Parties have vowed not to recognise President Muhammad... Opposition political parties under the aegis of the Coalition of United Political Parties have vowed not to recognise President Muhammadu Buhari as Nigerias President beyond May 29, 2019. They said they would ensure, within civil means, that Buhari did not enjoy what they called a stolen mandate based on his declaration as the winner of last Saturdays presidential election. The coalitions national spokesman, Imo Ugochinyere, made the political parties position known in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday. Ugochinyere urged Nigerians to continue to support opposition parties in their quest to retrieve the mandate for the rightful owner. He said, The opposition rejects the cooked and panel beaten figures and will not recognise General Muhammadu Buhari as the carrier of legitimate mandate beyond May 29, 2019. Describing Buharis victory as pyrrhic, Ugochinyere claimed that there is evidence nationwide that the 2019 presidential election was a clear departure from the electoral gains made in 2015. The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, an elections observer group, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INE... The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, an elections observer group, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide clarification on why over one million votes were cancelled in the presidential and national assembly elections. Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, on Tuesday declared President Muhammadu Buhari winner of Saturdays presidential election with 15,191,847 votes. However, in its fourth interim statement which assessed the credibility and fairness of the electoral process, the Situation Room said: There is a lack of clarity in the rationale for cancellation of polls. We have recorded 1,084,358 cancelled votes across 1175 polling units in 18 States. The pattern of this cancellation requires some close interrogation to show fairness and objectivity. It was reported that over-voting, card reader malfunction and violence are reasons provided for the cancelled votes. Situation Room demands that INEC provide clarification on rationale and compliance with its guidelines regarding cancellation of polls, it said. The organisation, which comprise of over 70 CSOs working in support of credible and transparent elections in Nigeria, rated the February 23 election as worse than 2015 owing to the violence and other logistical problems. A careful look at some of the figures of accredited voters and the total number of votes show discrepancies. As at 6:47pm Tuesday 26th February, the discrepancy was a total of 513,214, in 27 states including Nasarawa, Kogi, Adamawa, Edo States and the FCT. Situation Room calls on INEC to transparently address this confusion before the completion of result tabulation, the statement further read. Situation Room calls on INEC to address the discrepancies in the vote tally and provide cogent explanations for the rejected votes and clearly clarify what amounts to cancelled votes. Our observers were denied access to 10 Ward Collation Centres in Abia State, 7 in Lagos State and 5 in Akwa Ibom and Ogun States respectively. Other reports received indicate that there was no collation in some Wards; rather, polling unit results were directly collated at Local Government level, raising questions about violation of the collation process. In 2015, 844, 519 were rejected out of the 29,432,083 votes cast. Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano state, says those questioning the votes cast for President Muhammadu Buhari in Kano, are unserious... Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano state, says those questioning the votes cast for President Muhammadu Buhari in Kano, are unserious and ignorant of the states politics. Ganduje spoke when he visited Buhari at the presidential villa in Abuja on Wednesday. Buhari, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), polled 1,464,768 votes in Kano ahead of Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 391,593 votes. Buhari got his highest votes from Kano. Ganduje had promised to deliver 5 million votes for the president. The governor said the low turnout of voters was the reason he could not deliver on his promise. However, Kano could not have given Buhari 5 million votes. An analysis done by TheCable showed that Kano had 5,457,747 registered voters but only 4,696,747 collected their biometric cards First of all they are not serious people, they are people who are anti-democracy. If you have seen how the election was conducted, I think everybody will agree that INEC tried very well, Ganduje said. Even though there was low turn out of voters because we were expecting to get much more than that, but the election was fair and free. Those who say we couldnt have got that much are ignorant of the politics of Kano. On his five million votes promise, he said: Well, I told you is because of the low turn out of voters but I promise You next timelets look towards the governorship election. On his chances of winning the March 9 gubernatorial election, Ganduje said he is heading for success. According to him, the result of the presidential and the national assembly has put the APC in the good stead to win the election. My chances are very high and you can see the beginning of it with the presidential elections, he said. We gave Mr. President the highest number votes, all the three senators are back, 24 House of Representatives members out of 24 have succeeded. What else are you expecting? That is the foundation. Another thing is that Mr. President has done a lot of work in Nigeria and in Kano and as a government we have done a lot in Kano State. If there was negative reaction, we would have seen it from the presidential election. That is why I say we are heading for a huge success in Kano both in the gubernatorial and state house of assembly elections. We are forging ahead in terms of getting the right thing done in Nigeria. So, Im here to congratulate him personally before we come as a group from Kano to congratulate him. One hundred and twenty people involved in various electoral offences were arrested by the Nigeria Police Force during the February 23, 2... One hundred and twenty people involved in various electoral offences were arrested by the Nigeria Police Force during the February 23, 2019, Presidential and National Assembly elections across the country. ACP Frank Mbah, the Force Public Relations Officer, disclosed this on Wednesday in a live radio programme, Police Diary monitored in Enugu; noting that 38 various Improvised Explosive Device IED-making materials were equally recovered during the polls. According to Mba, recovery of those weapons largely helped the police to control the security across the country during the election. ACP Mbah explained that the recovered IED-making materials were reasons explosions were not experienced anywhere in the South-West, South-South, South-East and North Central parts of Nigeria. That massive interception by Delta State Police Command actually help us to nip in the bud, various dangerous things that could have occurred, probably we would have had a lot of problems on our hands during the elections; but thankfully that interception was made, he said. While he said that investigation had commenced to unravel the circumstances or individuals behind the development, ACP Mbah assured that the police would ensure that all those who violated the electoral act would be diligently prosecuted. What I want to assure Nigerians this time around is that they will see clear cases of diligent prosecution of electoral offenders. We need to begin to take measures and take actions that will send a strong message out there that election offences are serious offences and that when you commit electoral offences you will not go scot-free. That is the only way we can begin to stamp out impunity gradually, he promised. We had cases where very senior police officers were attacked amounting to serious assault and we also want to send a very strong message out there that you can not attack a police officer or any other law enforcement agent for that matter and go free. Nigerians need to support us in this regard if we must continue to defend Nigeria. Nigerians owe us a duty to also defend us and everyone that participated in that condemnable act involving the attack on a very senior police officer in Bayelsa State will be held to account. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has presented certificate of return to President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-Presi... The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has presented certificate of return to President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo. The president, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), won a second term bid after polling over 15 million votes to defeat Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who secured over 12 million votes in Saturdays general election. Osinbajo receives certificate of return from INEC chairman, Yakubu Mahmud Atiku has since rejected the result and said he is going to challenge the outcome of the polls in court. Top government officials were present at the at the International Conference Centre (ICC) where Buhari and Osinbajo were presented with their certificates. More to follow The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday refused to sign the result sheet of the Presidential election which was announced by th... The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday refused to sign the result sheet of the Presidential election which was announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja. INEC declared President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) re-elected, having won the highest votes of 15,191, 847 to defeat his closest rival, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP who polled 11,262,978 votes. Buhari won in 19 states while Atiku won in 17 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the PDP Agent, Mr Osita Chidoka, left the hall at the National Collation Centre when the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu started calling on party agents to come forward to sign the result sheet. Chidoka, who was a former Minister of Aviation, in an interview with journalists on his way out, said that the party does not accept the election result as representing the valid votes of Nigerians, due to three issues it earlier raised by the party. He said that the party expected that INEC would have projected the result of the Smart Card Readers used for accreditation of voters. The second one is the issues we raised about the number of registered vis-a-vis if what the chairman now calls collated voters means that 1.6 million people are missing in the voter register. We think that the issue is substantial enough to require a resolution. We also believed that difference between the accredited voters and the total votes cast which came to about 750,000 votes, requires an issue to be looked at. Finally, we believe that INEC needs to look at the cancellations that took place in the election impacting 2.7 million. So, in our view, this election needs to looked at again and possibly we would have had a re-run, more importantly. We think that INEC should have looked consciously to the use of the card reader, the absence of card reader is a major violation in the elections, it renders that election null and void, and that is what the chairman promised us. So, for us in the PDP, we believe that this is a new law in Nigerias electoral history. Chidoka, however, said that the PDP remained a very lawful party, saying we believe in the law, we believe in the constitution of Nigeria. We are committed democrats. The PDP is a party that entrenched democracy in Nigeria. The PDP is the party that made it possible for Nigeria to enjoy the fruit and dividend of democracy. We will continue to support democracy in Nigeria, we will continue to promote democracy in Nigeria but we have a good message for Nigerians. We want them to remain peaceful, we will explore all our options, including the believe that the legal process in Nigeria is one of the ways to resolve issues. Chidoka had earlier raised a concern about the not usage of card readers for the election in some places, while calling on INEC to provide the details of number of accredited voters with card readers. He also expressed concern in disparity in the number of registered voters for states, while also calling on INEC to restore votes of the party alleged to have been cancelled. Meanwhile, Yakubu, responding before the announcement of the result said that the difference in the valid votes and cancellation were insignificant to impact on the general outcome of the election. He said that observations raised by party agents would be useful for the future, elections, including those of 2023. Yakubu said that while the commission noticed that the figures of accredited voters in relation to the votes cast were not adding up in one or two instances, preliminary investigation revealed that the disparity cumulatively was actually less than two per cent. Secondly, we also very strongly believe that the widespread incidents of ballot box snatching, particularly in many areas after voting means that you have data on the smart card reader but not backed up by actual ballot because the ballot was either hijacked, burnt down or destroyed. Therefore the information on the smart card reader is slightly to be higher than the actual ballot, meaning the vote cast but this is only by way of preliminary investigation. Yes, we believed that there have been cancellations; however in the case of presidential election the cancellations do not affected the conclusion of the process, he said. Yakubu added that disparity in the figure of did not also affect the total number of thousands who voted in the election, as they are well below the number of PVCs collected. The voter turnout for the 2019 general elections from the analysis we just concluded is 35.66 per cent, he said. Former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has promised to challenge his loss in the February 23 National Assembly elect... Former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has promised to challenge his loss in the February 23 National Assembly elections. The Independent National Electoral Commission, on Tuesday, had declared Dr Chris Ekpenyong of the Peoples Democratic Party as the winner of the senatorial election in the Ikot-Ekpene Senatorial District of Akwa Ibom State. According to the result declared by the INEC Returning Officer, Prof. Peter Ogbang, Ekpenyong, who is a former deputy governor, scored 118,215 votes to defeat the incumbent senator, Akpabio of the All Progressives Congress, who secured 83,158 votes. The result was announced at the INEC headquarters in Uyo instead of Ikot-Ekpene because of alleged security threats in the area. But Akpabio, who spoke on The Verdict, a live programme of Channels Television, on Wednesday, vowed to challenge the collation of the results, adding that he could not lose the election. The senator said, I won. Its a temporary setback. That is why there are processes. For instance, if you feel that you were cheated or there was wrong collation, you have recourse to the courts. I did not fail; I cant fail. I believe strongly that there must have been some wrong collation somewhere. Those things will be corrected. We have processes in the election. Its from one stage; we have to do registration, vote and collate. Hundred of social miscreants, popularly known as Area Boys have attacked Igbo traders on Lagos Island for not voting for President Muh... Hundred of social miscreants, popularly known as Area Boys have attacked Igbo traders on Lagos Island for not voting for President Muhammadu Buhari in the last Saturday election. The miscreants, who were armed with dangerous weapons like cutlasses, broken bottles, wood and knives struck at about 9.am at Oluwole, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Tinubu, Bamgbose and Alli Streets. Some Igbo traders who were just opening their respectful shops for business were beaten with the instruction that all their shops should remain locked. Armed hoodlums were seen parading the Streets, shouting Igbo should go back to their States to do business. This is Lagos. We campaign for them to vote for Buhari, but they refused and voted for Atiku. They cannot come here to do business again. They must follow us to vote whoever we ask them to vote for. This is just a sample for them if they ever vote for PDP again, that will be their end, the hoodlums threatened. This threats made the Igbo traders to quickly close their respectful shops and stood nearby to witness what was going to happen to their shops. Some Yoruba men in the areas were also seen challenging the hoodlums not to cause a problem because the Igbos have the right to vote for the candidate of their choice. Chris Onyekachi, President, Amalgamated Computer Stationery and Allied Trader Association of Nigeria, said he got a call this morning that hoodlums had attacked Igbo traders on Lagos Island because they voted for Atiku Abubakar. He said the hoodlums locked their shops and destroyed goods worth millions of naira and even beat up some Igbo traders for daring to vote for Atiku. Onyekachi condemned the act, describing it as lawlessness, saying that it was a breach of their fundamental human rights as they had the right to live anywhere and vote for whom they chose to vote for. He added that the arrival of the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in the area saved the day as the police restored normalcy. Also, policemen were drafted to the areas on the order of the Area A Commander, Bode Ojajuni who was informed about the situation. President Muhammadu Buhari has pleaded with his supporters not to humiliate the opposition over his victory in the election. Making... President Muhammadu Buhari has pleaded with his supporters not to humiliate the opposition over his victory in the election. Making the plea in a thread on his official Twitter handle, Buhari said his supporters should see his victory as a reward for their efforts. I would like to make a special appeal to my supporters not to gloat or humiliate the opposition. Victory is enough reward for your efforts, the tweet read. I would like to make a special appeal to my supporters not to gloat or humiliate the opposition. Victory is enough reward for your efforts. Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) February 27, 2019 With his victory, Buhari will remain Nigerias number one citizen for another four years. The president, who competed on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled a total of 15,191,847 million votes to beat Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who secured 11,262,978 million votes. Atiku has described the election as sham, vowing to challenge it in court. Buba Galadima, a national leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been released from custody. Galadima was arrested by su... Buba Galadima, a national leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been released from custody. Galadima was arrested by suspected security operatives during the presidential election on Saturday. The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation had before then alleged he was plotting to announce Atiku Abubakar of the PDP winner of the election. The PDP had raised the alarm over his arrest but Galadima was spotted at the press conference addressed by Atiku in Abuja on Wednesday. Galadima was seen after the result of the presidential election was announced. Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP spokesman, had said Galadima was kidnapped by masked security operatives. He tweeted: Nigerians and the world over should know this Alhaji Buba Galadima has just been kidnapped by masked security operatives, his whereabouts is unknown. Buhari/APC are hell bent on destroying our hard earned democracy. We will never be cowed, the will of the people must prevail, The PDP called for his release on Tuesday, accusing the current administration of carrying out a clamp down of the opposition. INEC chairman Prof. Yakub has declared president Muhammadu Buhari winner of the 2019 presidential election having certified the require... That Muhammadu Buhari of the APC, having satisfied the requirement of the law and scored the highest number of votes is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected. #NigeriaDecides2019 Result pic.twitter.com/oz89PAz1QM February 27, 2019 FINAL RESULTS FROM THE STATES Osun State (WINNER) APC: 347,634 _______________________________________________________________________________ Ekiti State (WINNER) APC: 219,231 _______________________________________________________________________________ FCT Abuja (WINNER) PDP: 259,997 _______________________________________________________________________________ Kwara State (WINNER) APC: 308,984 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) APC: 289,903 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) APC: 285,894 _______________________________________________________________________________ Gombe state (WINNER) APC: 402,961 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) PDP: 275,901 _______________________________________________________________________________ Abia State: (WINNER) PDP: 219,698 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) APC: 497,914 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) PDP: 355,553 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) PDP: 258,573 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) APC: 612,371 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) APC: 794,738 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) APC: 993,445 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) PDP: 524,738 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) PDP: 366,690 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) PDP: 410,266 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) APC: 281,762 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) APC: 580,825 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) APC: 798,428 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) PDP: 275,691 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) PDP: 356,817 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) PDP: 334,923 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) PDP: 548,665 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) APC:1,464,768 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) APC: 1,232,133 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) PDP: 374,743 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) PDP: 295,737 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) PDP: 395,832 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) APC: 836,496 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) PDP: 473,971 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) APC: 438,682 _______________________________________________________________________________ (WINNER) APC: 581,552 At the end of collation on Tuesday night, President Buhari crossed the 15 million mark in votes scored in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.He polledvotes, winning in 19 of the states.His main challenger Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party scoredvotes and won 17 states and Abuja.Buhari also satisfied the constitutional requirement of making 25 per cent in 34 states and the FCT.According to the constitution, a presidential candidate must have nothing less than 25 per cent of votes cast in at least two-thirds or 24 states of the federation. The candidate should also have majority votes in the election.With the figure released by INEC at the national collation centre in Abuja on Wednesday morning, the incumbent President has more than 25 per cent of the election in over 24 states.He also defeated his closest rival with 3,928,869 votes.Atiku also had 25 per cent of the total votes cast in over 24 states but lost the poll when the simple majority rule condition is applied.While President Buhari won in 19 states, Atiku won in 17 states and the FCT.The states Buhari won areandAtiku won inand thePDP: 337,377Total No: Reg Voters: 1,674,729Total No: of Accredited: 732,984Total Votes Cast: 731,882Total Valid Votes: 714,682Rejected Votes: 17200PDP: 154,032Total No: Reg Voters: 899,919Total No: of Accredited: 395,741Total Votes Cast: 393,709Total Valid Votes: 381,132Rejected Votes: 12,577APC: 152,224Total No: Reg Voters: 1,335,015Total No: of Accredited: 467,784Total Votes Cast: 451,408Total Valid Votes: 423,951Rejected Votes: 27,457PDP: 138,184Total No: Reg Voters: 1,401 895Total No: of Accredited: 489,482Total Votes Cast: 486,254Total Valid Votes: 459,676Rejected Votes: 26,578PDP: 283,847Total No: Reg Voters: 1,509,481Total No: of Accredited: 613,720Total Votes Cast: 599,399Total Valid Votes: 580,778Rejected Votes: 18,621ADC: 4,369PDP: 218,207SDP: 2,226Total No: Reg Voters: 1,640,449Total No: of Accredited: 570,773Total Votes Cast: 553,496Total Valid Votes: 521,016Rejected Votes: 32,480PDP: 138,484Total No: Reg Voters: 1,385,191Total No: of Accredited: 604,240Total Votes Cast: 580,649Total Valid Votes: 554,203Rejected Votes: 26,446AAC: 4,414ADC: 6,296APC: 241,769Total No: Reg Voters: 1,812,567Total No: of Accredited: 598,586Total Votes Cast: 586,827Total Valid Votes: 555,994Rejected Votes: 30,833APC: 85,058Total No: Reg Voters: 1,793,861Total No: of Accredited: 361,561Total Votes Cast: 344,471Total Valid Votes: 323,291Rejected Votes: 21,180PDP: 50,763Total No: Reg Voters: 1,365,913Total No: of Accredited: 601,059Total Votes Cast: 586,137Total Valid Votes: 559,365Rejected Votes: 26,772APC: 54,423Total No: Reg Voters: 1,935,168Total No: of Accredited: 452,765Total Votes Cast: 451,063Total Valid Votes: 421,014Rejected Votes: 30,049APC: 90,726Total No: Reg Voters: 1,392,931Total No: of Accredited: 391,747Total Votes Cast: 379,394Total Valid Votes: 359,131Rejected Votes: 20,263ADP: 2,582PDP: 218,052Total No: Reg Voters: 2,375,568Total No: of Accredited: 911,964Total Votes Cast: 896,976Total Valid Votes: 851,937Rejected Votes:45,039PDP: 289,895SDP: 5,011Total No: Reg Voters: 2,104,889Total No: of Accredited: 1,171,801Total Votes Cast: 1,149,922Total Valid Votes: 1,106,244Rejected Votes: 43,678PDP: 649,612Total No: Reg Voters: 3,861,033Total No: of Accredited: 1,757,868Total Votes Cast: 1,709,005Total Valid Votes: 1,663,603Rejected Votes: 45,402APC: 33,298Total No: Reg Voters: 2,389,332Total No: of Accredited: 675,273Total Votes Cast: 625,035Total Valid Votes:605,734Rejected Votes:19,301ADC: 40,830ADP: 25,384APC: 365,229Total No: Reg Voters: 2,796,542Total No: of Accredited: 905,007Total Votes Cast: 891,080Total Valid Votes: 836,531Rejected Votes: 54,549APC: 378,078Total No: Reg Voters: 1,959,322Total No: of Accredited:874,920Total Votes Cast:860,756Total Valid Votes:811,534Rejected Votes:49,222ADC: 25,283ADP: 7,705PDP: 194,655Total No: Reg Voters: 2,336,887Total No: of Accredited: 613,397Total Votes Cast: 605,938Total Valid Votes: 564,256Rejected Votes: 41,682AAC: 8,910PDP: 448,015Total No: Reg Voters: 6,313,507Total No: of Accredited: 1,196,490Total Votes Cast: 1,156,590Total Valid Votes: 1,089,567Rejected Votes: 67,023PDP: 209,313Total No: Reg Voters:2,453,512Total No: of Accredited:1,075,330Total Votes Cast:1,061,955Total Valid Votes:1,024,307Rejected Votes:37,648APC: 267,842Total No: Reg Voters: 2,150,127Total No: of Accredited: 604,915Total Votes Cast: 599,228Total Valid Votes: 560,711Rejected Votes: 38,517APC: 347,668SDP: 4,927Total No: Reg Voters: 2,391,276Total No: of Accredited: 786,069Total Votes Cast: 763,872Total Valid Votes: 728,912Rejected Votes: 34,960APC: 140,463Total No: Reg Voters: 2,037,569Total No: of Accredited: 585,741Total Votes Cast: 542,777Total Valid Votes: 511,586Rejected Votes: 31,191APC: 468,555Total No: Reg Voters:2,423,381Total No: of Accredited:1,074,042Total Votes Cast:1,062,862Total Valid Votes:1,034,853Rejected Votes:28,009PDP: 391,593Total No: Reg Voters:5,391,581Total No: of Accredited:2,006,410Total Votes Cast:1,964,751Total Valid Votes:1,891,134Rejected Votes:73,617PDP: 308,056Total No: Reg Voters:3,210,422Total No: of Accredited:1,628,865Total Votes Cast:1,619,185Total Valid Votes:1,555,473Rejected Votes:63,712APC: 324,906Total No: Reg Voters:1,777,105Total No: of Accredited: 756,111Total Votes Cast: 741,564Total Valid Votes: 712,877Rejected Votes: 28,687APC: 117,302SDP: 1,395Total No: Reg Voters: 1,512,915Total No: of Accredited: 461,033Total Votes Cast: 446,046Total Valid Votes: 421,901Rejected Votes: 24,145APC: 175,429Total No: Reg Voters: 2,119,727Total No: of Accredited: 695,677Total Votes Cast: 605,140Total Valid Votes: 578,775Rejected Votes: 26,365APC: 221,292PDP: 594,068Total No: Reg Voters: 2,719,313Total No: of Accredited: 891,647Total Votes Cast: 882,254Total Valid Votes: 829,762Rejected Votes: 52,492PDP: 71,788Total No: Reg Voters: 2,319,434Total No: of Accredited: 987,290Total Votes Cast: 955,205Total Valid Votes: 919,786Rejected Votes: 35,419APC: 150,710SDP: 1,244Total No: Reg Voters:3,215,273Total No: of Accredited:678,167Total Votes Cast:666,585Total Valid Votes:642,165Rejected Votes: 24,420PDP: 125,423Total No: Reg Voters: 1,717,128Total No: of Accredited: 616,168Total Votes Cast: 597,224Total Valid Votes: 578,439Rejected Votes: 18,785PDP: 154,282SDP: 2,376Total No: Reg Voters: 1,802,697Total No: of Accredited: 835,238Total Votes Cast:803,755Total Valid Votes:756,605Rejected Votes:47,150 Some of Nopcsa's fossils are now part of the Museum collections, including three of his Transylvanian dinosaurs - the hadrosaur Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus, the sauropod Magyarosaurus dacus and the ankylosaur Struthiosaurus transsylvanicus. The collection also contains a fossil turtle from his collection, called Kallokibotion bajazidi, which was named after his boyfriend's bottom. The Museum also holds a number of letters from Nopcsa to the then Keeper of Palaeontology. The life of a rock star Nopcsa's interests were broad. In addition to dinosaurs he studied other reptiles such as turtles and lizards, and published geological maps of Eastern Europe. He was also significantly interested in Albania and carried out ethnographic studies there. 'He was a specialist on the people and language - he was very much a fan of Albania and often used to wear Albanian national dress. At one stage he even offered to be King of Albania,' explains Paul. 'He knew the area very well, and during World War One he spied for the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in the Balkans.' Traditional work didn't appear to suit Nopcsa. He became head of Hungary's Geological Survey in 1925 but quit three years later, embarking instead on a motorcycle journey across Europe with his secretary and lover, Bajazid Doda. 'He was an openly and flamboyantly gay man at a time when it would have been totally socially unacceptable,' says Paul. 'He probably only got away with it because he was an aristocrat. He would have been allowed certain foibles that would have been easier to discriminate against if he didn't have his own money and a certain social position.' Have an opinion on a recent story or event around the University of Cincinnati? Let us know what you think! If you're interested in submitting a Letter to the Editor, click the button below to email Anne Simendinger, editor-in-chief. For news tips or story ideas, contact one of our editors. Email the editor 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. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has welcomed the Government of the United Kingdoms designation of Hizbollah in all its forms as a proscribed terrorist organisation. The ministry affirmed that the decision was an important step in the effort to combat terrorism on the regional and the international levels, as Hizbollah imposes a real threat to international peace and security. The ministry expressed its appreciation for the tremendous efforts and the strategic decisions of the United Kingdom, adding that such decisions reflect the keenness of the United Kingdom to combat terrorism in all its forms and to confront terrorist groups and extreme ideologies. The ministry also stressed the need for the international community to follow such steps, as well as to enhance mutual co-operation and joint co-ordination to eradicate violence, extremism and terrorism. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the Kingdoms firm stance in rejecting terrorism in all its forms and calls for concerted efforts to combat it. Britain will ban Hizbollah under anti-terror laws, the home secretary has announced. The Lebanon-based groups military wing is already outlawed, but the ban will be extended to its political arm. Sajid Javid said: Hizbollah is continuing in its attempts to destabilise the fragile situation in the Middle East - and we are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party. Because of this, I have taken the decision to proscribe the group in its entirety. The move, to be ratified on Friday, brings Britain in line with allies including the US, where President Donald Trump has made isolating Iran - Hizbollahs sponsor - a central part of his Middle East policy. It means anyone convicted of being a member of, or drumming up support for the group could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail. Even wearing or carrying something which could provoke a reasonable suspicion of being a member would be an offence and lead to a six-month sentence. Up to this point, the UK had resisted banning the group in its entirety because it provides social and political functions in Lebanon and has formed part of the countrys government. Its external security organisation was banned in 2001 and its military wing was proscribed seven years later. 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. Fairbanks, AK (99707) Today Partly to mostly cloudy. High near 75F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low around 55F. Winds light and variable. (Newser) The political operative accused of absentee ballot fraud in a North Carolina congressional race that's now getting a do-over has been indicted. McCrae Dowless, who was arrested Wednesday, faces charges over the collection of absentee ballots in the 2016 and 2018 elections, the Charlotte Observer reports. Republican Mark Harris led the 9th District race last fall by 905 votes, but the state elections board never certified the election and last week ordered a new one. Dowless worked on the Harris campaign. He faces three felony charges of obstruction of justice, two charges of conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice, and two charges of possession of absentee ballots. His lawyer's office had no comment on the indictment. story continues below Dowless did not speak at the elections board hearing last week. But his employees testified that he paid them to collect absentee ballots, and one said the workers sometimes completed them, per WRAL. She said Dowless knew that she'd forged her mother's signature as a witness on ballots. It's illegal in North Carolina for anyone other than the voter or a close relative to handle a mail-in ballot, per PBS. Four people Dowless is accused of paying to collect ballots from voters also were charged. A date has not been set for the new election, but Harris says it won't include him. The criminal investigation isn't over, per the Observer. The elections board will send its findings to the State Bureau of Investigations next. (Florida faced suspicions of election fraud, too.) (Newser) Some reporters, abruptly evicted from a work area at a Hanoi hotel on Tuesday, were barred from covering President Trump's dinner with Kim Jong Un on Wednesday. Though the White House called it a "social dinner," press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the press pool would be limited due to the "sensitive nature of the meetings" at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel. She barred all reporters at first, then granted access to "one print reporter and a radio reporter" after photojournalists refused to cover the event without a reporter present, reports the AP. story continues below The outlet notes two of four journalists kept away had asked questions of Trump as he met with Kim earlier in the day. Reporters were heard asking about Michael Cohen shortly before the president signaled an end to questions. Trump did address photojournalists at the dinner, requesting that they send photos so he could share them with the North Korean leader, per Politico. One photographer and one cameraman from North Korea also covered the 90-minute dinner, which finished around 9pm local time. Trump is to meet again with Kim and advisers on Thursday. (More on the summit here.) (Newser) In November 2017, Michigan teen Mujey Dumbuya said that Quinn James, 43, had raped her multiple times starting when she was 15. He was arrested and charged with criminal sexual conduct, released on bond days later, and ordered to have no contact with Dumbuya. On Jan. 24 of the following year, the 16-year-old went missing; she was found dead four days later. James is charged with her murder. Per WWMT, Dumbuya's guidance counselor testified Tuesday the teen "was afraid" when reporting the rapes to police, and that afterward, she told the counselor that James, who once worked as a groundskeeper for her school district, knew where her bus stop was and that she feared "something would happen to her." Dumbuya had been scheduled to testify against James in the rape trial when she disappeared, CBS News reports. story continues below James was convicted on four counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct in October, after her death. He's now on trial for her murder. Dumbuya, who went to East Kentwood High School near Grand Rapids, was found dead 50 miles or so away in the woods in Kalamazoo; her partially clothed body had been strangled and soaked in bleach. Earlier this week, prosecutors played jailhouse calls in which James talked about Dumbuya after he was arrested on the rape charges: "You know what's crazy? That if she didn't show up then the whole thing will be over, if she doesn't show up," he allegedly said to his fiancee (whose nephew Dumbuya was dating). Prosecutors say he kidnapped her from her bus stop, as she'd feared, to keep her from testifying. In another call after her deathas he was jailed for another rape casehe allegedly asked his fiancee to write down his whereabouts the day Dumbuya vanished. (Woman found dead in a suitcase feared "someone" would kill her.) (Newser) Once a childhood friend of Sarah Stern, Liam McAtasney was on Tuesday found guilty of strangling the New Jersey 19-year-old to death to steal her inheritance money, then dumping her body in an attempt to stage it as suicide. The Monmouth County court found McAtasney, 21, guilty of murder, robbery, desecration of human remains, conspiracy to desecrate human remains, tampering with evidence and hindering apprehension, reports NJ.com. McAtasney strangled Stern for more than half an hour on Dec. 2, 2016, then put her body in the passenger seat of her own car before chucking her body over a nearby bridge, per People. A secret video recording shows McAtasney explaining to a friend how he had to put the body back in the car as three cars drove past, before dragging it back out again. He faces life behind bars. story continues below Stern's former prom date, Preston Taylor, testified that he helped McAtasney throw her body off the bridge. Taylor then drove McAtasney home, leaving Sterns car behind as supposed evidence of a suicide. McAtasney said in the video he had been planning the murder and robbery for months, knowing she had inheritance money from her mother's death in a safe deposit box, which she accessed on the day of her murder, as well as in a safe in her room that Taylor and McAtasney buried; Taylor led detectives to it. McAtasney said in the video that he watched Stern die, having set a timer while he strangled her. The trio were once inseparable, according to a former classmate, and Sterns family and friends couldnt understand how the two men turned against her. After the robbery, McAtasney quit his job as a waiter and joined the search for Sterns body across the New Jersey shore. Sterns body has still never been found; an expert testified it could have drifted seven miles out to sea within 24 hours. (Read more sarah stern stories.) (Newser) Michael Cohen's expected testimony in front of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday was released late Tuesday, and USA Today reports that President Trump responded in the middle of the night due to the time difference with Hanoi, Vietnam, where he's opening his second summit with Kim Jong Un. "Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately)," Trump tweeted at around 4am Eastern time. "He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud." Trump then continued to discredit his former "fixer," adding, "He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crooked's lawyer!" story continues below That final reference is likely about Lanny Davis, Cohen's attorney who represented former President Clinton on multiple occasions in the '90s. Trump also noted another topic he's supposedly been discussing "with Vietnamese leaders": Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal. "I have now spent more time in Vietnam than Da Nang Dick Blumenthal, the third rate Senator from Connecticut (how is Connecticut doing?)," Trump tweeted shortly before his Cohen tweet. "His war stories of his heroism in Vietnam were a total fraud - he was never even there." (Read more of Cohen's "explosive" opening remarks here.) (Newser) Pakistan's military said Wednesday it shot down two Indian warplanes in the disputed region of Kashmir and captured a pilot, raising tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals to a level unseen in the last two decades. The military's spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, originally said two pilots were captured; he did not explain what caused the confusion. India acknowledged one of its air force planes was "lost" in skirmishes with Pakistan and that its pilot was "missing in action" on a chaotic day, which also saw mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier dividing the two sectors of Kashmir kill six civilians. Pakistan responded by shutting down its civilian airspace as Prime Minister Imran Khan called for negotiations with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, to ensure "better sense can prevail." There was no immediate reaction from Modi. More from the AP (Newser) President Trump is in Vietnamand he is not going to have a good morning after he sees the explosive testimony Michael Cohen is going to deliver to the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. Cohen, Trump's personal lawyer for more than a decade, describes his former boss as a racist, a conman, and a cheat in prepared remarks released to the New York Times. In his opening statement, Cohen also describes Trump as a "presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails." He says in July 2016, he overheard Stone tell Trump he had heard from Assange that there would soon be a big email dump that would damage Hillary Clinton, and Trump responded: "Wouldn't that be great." Other highlights: Regrets, he has a lot. Cohen says he is deeply ashamed of his "weakness and misplaced loyalty" and of "concealing Mr. Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience." "I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is," he says. "He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat." story continues below Proof of those illicit acts . The documents Cohen will provide to the House committee include a check Trump allegedly gave him as reimbursement for a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, Politico reports. Cohen says the hush money was part of "a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws." . The documents Cohen will provide to the House committee include a check Trump allegedly gave him as reimbursement for a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, Politico reports. Cohen says the hush money was part of "a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws." Trump Tower Moscow . Cohen, who has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about talks over a Trump Tower in Russia, says Trump lied about it, too. "To be clear: Mr. Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it," Cohen says. "He lied about it because he never expected to win the election," and because he expected to make hundreds of millions of dollars from the project, Cohen says. . Cohen, who has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about talks over a Trump Tower in Russia, says Trump lied about it, too. "To be clear: Mr. Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it," Cohen says. "He lied about it because he never expected to win the election," and because he expected to make hundreds of millions of dollars from the project, Cohen says. 'The worst version of himself.' Cohen says Trump is an "enigma," but over years working for him, he came to see his true character. "The bad far outweighs the good, and since taking office, he has become the worst version of himself," he says. "He is capable of behaving kindly, but he is not kind. He is capable of committing acts of generosity, but he is not generous. He is capable of being loyal, but he is fundamentally disloyal." Cohen says Trump is an "enigma," but over years working for him, he came to see his true character. "The bad far outweighs the good, and since taking office, he has become the worst version of himself," he says. "He is capable of behaving kindly, but he is not kind. He is capable of committing acts of generosity, but he is not generous. He is capable of being loyal, but he is fundamentally disloyal." Trump 'never expected to win.' Trump saw the campaign as a "marketing opportunity" and he never expected to win the primary, let alone the election, Cohen says. He "ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great. He had no desire or intention to lead this nationonly to market himself and to build his wealth and power. Mr. Trump would often say, this campaign was going to be the 'greatest infomercial in political history.'" Racism . Trump is a racist who has publicly courted white supremacists and bigots, Cohen saysand "in private, he is even worse. While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way," he says. "And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid." . Trump is a racist who has publicly courted white supremacists and bigots, Cohen saysand "in private, he is even worse. While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way," he says. "And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid." Threats to his former schools. While describing ways in which Trump is a "cheat" and a "conman," Cohen says Trump directed him to "threaten his high school, his colleges, and the College Board to never release his grades or SAT scores." He says he will give the committee copies of a letter sent at Trump's direction threatening legal action if the grades were released. While describing ways in which Trump is a "cheat" and a "conman," Cohen says Trump directed him to "threaten his high school, his colleges, and the College Board to never release his grades or SAT scores." He says he will give the committee copies of a letter sent at Trump's direction threatening legal action if the grades were released. No bone spurs . Cohen says that when Trump put him in charge of dealing with questions over the Vietnam draft deferment he claimed was because of a bone spur, "I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery." "He finished the conversation with the following comment: 'You think Im stupid, I wasn't going to Vietnam,'" Cohen says. . Cohen says that when Trump put him in charge of dealing with questions over the Vietnam draft deferment he claimed was because of a bone spur, "I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery." "He finished the conversation with the following comment: 'You think Im stupid, I wasn't going to Vietnam,'" Cohen says. Russia collusion . Cohen says he has no direct evidence that Trump and his campaign colluded with Russia, though he certainly has suspicions. He recalls that around the time of Donald Trump Jr.'s infamous Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer, he recalled Trump Jr. telling Trump that the "meeting was all set," which struck Cohen as odd because Trump "had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the world." . Cohen says he has no direct evidence that Trump and his campaign colluded with Russia, though he certainly has suspicions. He recalls that around the time of Donald Trump Jr.'s infamous Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer, he recalled Trump Jr. telling Trump that the "meeting was all set," which struck Cohen as odd because Trump "had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the world." An apology. Cohen, who says he hasn't asked for a pardon from Trump and would never accept one, apologizes to the nation for hiding the truth about the president for so long. "But today, I get to decide the example I set for my children and how I attempt to change how history will remember me," he says. "I may not be able to change the past, but I can do right by the American people here today." Cohen, who says he hasn't asked for a pardon from Trump and would never accept one, apologizes to the nation for hiding the truth about the president for so long. "But today, I get to decide the example I set for my children and how I attempt to change how history will remember me," he says. "I may not be able to change the past, but I can do right by the American people here today." Cohen's full opening statement can be seen here. (Read more Michael Cohen stories.) (Newser) Two women will face each other in a runoff to become Chicago's first African-American female mayor, reports the AP. Former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot, a political outsider as well as the first openly gay woman to run for Chicago mayor, and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle were the top two vote-getters among 14 candidates Tuesday, but neither received more than the 50% needed to avoid an April 2 runoff. The winner will succeed Mayor Rahm Emanuel to lead the nation's third-largest city, still struggling to shed its reputation for corruption, police brutality, and street violence. Emanuel did not seek re-election. Among those defeated was William Daley, a former US Commerce secretary who, like Emanuel, served as White House chief of staff to former President Obama. His father, Richard J. Daley, and brother, Richard M. Daley, held the city's top job for nearly 43 years of a 55-year span before Emanuel took the oath in 2011. story continues below "What do you think of us now?" Lightfoot said Tuesday night to a crowd of her supporters. "This is what change looks like." Lightfoot has been critical of efforts to reform the Chicago Police Department in the wake of the 2014 fatal shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald by a white police officer. Preckwinkle, who leads the county's Democratic Party (all candidates were attached to it in some way), also made a campaign issue out of McDonald's shooting. "We may not be at the finish line. But, we should acknowledge that history is being made," said Preckwinkle, who previously served 19 years on the City Council and was a Chicago Public Schools teacher. Businessman Willie Wilson, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza and activist Amara Enyia, who received financial support from Kanye West and Chance the Rapper, rounded out the top vote-getters. By late afternoon, turnout stood at around 27% of registered voters. (Read more Chicago stories.) (Newser) Nigeria's president was declared the clear winner of a second term in Africa's largest democracy early Wednesday, after a campaign in which he urged voters to give him another chance to tackle corruption, widespread insecurity, and an economy limping back from a recession. While many frustrated Nigerians had said they wanted to give someone new a try, President Muhammadu Buhari, a former military dictator, profited from his upright reputation in an oil-rich nation weary of politicians enriching themselves instead of the people, the AP reports. Election authorities say he defeated opposition challenger Atiku Abubakar, a billionaire former vice president who made sweeping campaign promises to "make Nigeria work again." story continues below Buhari received 15.1 million votes, or 55%, the electoral commission said in making its official declaration. Abubakar received 11.2 million, or 41%. The election, once described as too close to call, suffered from a surprise weeklong postponement and significant delays in the opening of polling stations. While election observers called the process generally peaceful, at least 53 people were killed in violence including an attack claimed by the Islamic State West Africa Province extremist group, analysis unit SBM Intelligence says. CNN reports that Abubakar's party has rejected the result and demanded new elections in at least four of Nigeria's 36 states. (Last year, Buhari strongly denied being a clone.) (Newser) A private organization that wants to preserve thousands of old Jewish cemeteries in Europe is using aerial drones to map burial sites in countries where the Holocaust decimated Jewish populations that existed before World War II. The European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative said Tuesday that teams of drone operators plan to survey 1,500 endangered Jewish cemeteries in Slovakia, Greece, Moldova, Lithuania, and Ukraine this year. Once the boundaries are recorded, the sites will be enclosed and cleaned. The EU is funding the effort with a $911,100 grant, reports the AP. The chief executive of the initiative, Philip Carmel, said walls fitted with locking gates will be erected around the graveyards both to protect them and to re-establish a physical presence, "so people know there's a Jewish cemetery." story continues below Many of the cemeteries to be surveyed and enclosed this year had to be found before they could be protected. Local residents helped the organization's researchers find some, abandoned and grown over since World War II. Pre-1918 maps and aerial photos that Germany's Luftwaffe used to pinpoint targets for aerial bombing missions helped reveal more. There are about 10,000 known Jewish burial sites in 46 European countries, according to the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative. "It is vital, especially, that the next generation of Europeans learns about Jewish existence to combat rising anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial," Carmel said. "The cemeteries are so often the last physical proof of centuries of Jewish life in the towns and villages of Europe, which were wiped out in the Shoah. There is no better proof to deny Holocaust denial." (Nearly 100 Jewish graves were recently desecrated in France.) (Newser) In what's said to be the largest fine ever levied by the Nevada Gaming Commission, Wynn Resorts has been hit with a $20 million bill, almost four times the previous record, the New York Times reports. The massive fine comes on the heels of multiple sexual misconduct allegations against company founder Steve Wynn, 77, who stepped down last year from his role as CEO and chairman. The Wall Street Journal, which originally broke the Wynn allegations, reports that the agency's 4-0 vote came about after the gaming agency's board published a complaint last month against the Wynn property, verifying much of what the Journal had originally reported. The board also noted that many upper-level Wynn Resorts execs looked the other way on Wynn's alleged behavior. story continues below The Times notes that while companies are often forced into settlements in sexual misconduct cases, regulatory fines aren't so common. The fine "demonstrates a recognition that papering over sexual harassment and assault is a form of corporate corruption that is within the scope of regulators' jurisdiction," a rep for the National Women's Law Center says. Wynn Resorts says it has since cleaned housein a statement, it claims that any employees who knew about Wynn's alleged behavior have since been axedand "refreshed its culture," including by making sure that women now make up almost 50% of its board. CNN notes the fine is part of a larger settlement between the commission and Wynn Resorts, which is now scrambling to salvage its reputation and its stocks, which have fallen by 35% since the Wynn news broke. (Read more Wynn Resorts stories.) (Newser) Democrats ignored a veto threat and rammed legislation through the House Tuesday that would stymie President Trump's bid for billions of extra dollars for his border wall, escalating a clash over whether he was abusing his powers to advance his paramount campaign pledge. The House's 245-182 vote to block Trump's national emergency declaration throws the political hot potato to the Republican-run Senate, where there were already enough GOP defections to edge it to the cusp of passage, the AP reports. Vice President Mike Pence used a lunch with Republican senators at the Capitol to try keeping them aboard, citing a dangerous crisis at the border, but there were no signs he'd succeeded. "I personally couldn't handicap the outcome at this point," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who's planning a vote within the next three weeks. He even said Republicans remained uncertain about the legality of Trump's move, telling reporters, "We're in the process of weighing that." story continues below Senate passage would force Trump's first veto, which Congress would surely lack the votes to override. Underscoring their desire to avoid a tally suggesting that Trump's hold on lawmakers was weakening, House Republican leaders worked to keep the number of GOP supporters well below 53. That's how many would be needed to reach a two-thirds majority of 288 votes, assuming all Democrats vote "yes," the margin required for a veto override. Thirteen House Republicans joined all voting Democrats Tuesday to support the Democratic resolution. In the Senate, three Republicans have said they will back Democrats' drive to block the emergency declaration: Maine's Susan Collins, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski and North Carolina's Thom Tillis. One more GOP defection would provide enough votes to approve the Democratic measure, assuming all Democrats and their independent allies back it. (More on Pence's meeting with Republican senators here.) (Newser) It was a collection "unlike anything we'd ever seen." That's how the head of the FBI's art crime unit describes some 42,000 artifacts discovered in the rural Indiana home of Don Miller during a 2014 raid. Almost five years later, Tim Carpenter of the FBI explains it wasn't just weapons, ceramics, and jewelry "from every corner of the globe" that sparked agents' interest. They also discovered 2,000 bones, which "represent about 500 human beings," Carpenter tells CBS News. "It's very staggering." The bones are believed to have been taken from Native American burial sites, including of the Arikara tribe. "They could very well be my own great, great, great, great grandfather, or grandmother, you know, that had beenI characterize it as being ripped out of the earth," says tribal official Pete Coffey, who is working with the FBI to have the remains returned. story continues below Carpenter says Miller admitted to carrying out illegal digs in the US and abroad before his death in March 2015 at age 91. ArtNet News at the time noted he'd boasted of taking artifacts from 200 countries, perhaps before antiquities laws went into effect. But "I think he felt compelled to try and do the right thing and return these home," says Carpenter, noting Miller agreed that 5,000 items in his collection should be repatriated. Some have already been sent to Canada, Mexico, Cambodia, and Colombia. Nearly 400 items are to be claimed by a Chinese delegation on Thursday, reports the Indianapolis Star. Some of the Native American itemswhich made up roughly half of the collection, according to Carpenterhave also been returned to tribes in South Dakota. Per CBS, "a large-scale repatriation of remains to other tribes" is expected soon. (Miller said he helped build the atomic bomb.) She Says It Was Assault. MLB Star Says It Was 'Rough' Sex agenda. The Southern African Development Community (Sadc) has reiterated its call for Western countries to lift sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, saying the embargo was limiting private sector investment and hindering the countrys reformagenda. The call was made by Sadc executive secretary Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax when she met the US Charge d Affairs in Botswana, Ms Kali Jones, on Monday. The call, which comes a few days after Sadc Chairman and Namibian President Hage Geingob threw the regions weight behind President Mnangagwas administration, flies in the face of MDC-Alliance leader Mr Nelson Chamisa, who is reportedly out of the country on a so-called diplomatic offensive to sensitise the continent on the situation in Zimbabwe. The opposition leader and his adjuncts in the non-governmental organisation (NGO) sector have been, without success, calling for the vilification and isolation of Zimbabwe by Sadc, the African Union (AU) and entire global community for alleged human rights violations. Dr Tax said the illegal embargo was inhibiting Zimbabwe from accessing financial assistance from multilateral institutions. Great meeting with the USA, she posted on her Twitter handle. Reiterated Sadc call to the international community to lift economic sanctions to Zimbabwe, which deny Zimbabwe access to finance from Multilateral & Private Institutions, and affect the countrys development. Details of the meeting were also outlined on the Sadc website. It says: H.E. Dr Tax reiterated Sadcs call for the international community to lift socio-economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, which she said continue to deny Zimbabwe access to finance from Multilateral Financial Institutions and Private Financed Institutions and Capital Markets to support the countrys development agenda. On this point, H.E. Dr Tax added that the economic sanctions have led to limited private sector investment into the country. The Sadc Executive Secretary was accompanied by the Sadc Deputy Executive Secretary for Corporate Affairs, Ambassador Joseph Nourrice, Mr Habib Kambanga, Head of Regional Early Warning Centre (REWC), Representing the Director of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Affairs. The Charge d Affairs was accompanied by Ms Elizabeth ORourke, Political Officer at the US Embassy in Botswana. Recently, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta called for the removal of the sanctions against Harare for economic development to take place. In a statement last week, SADC Chairperson and Namibian President Hage Geingob said: The Consultative Meeting of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) heads of State and Government, held on 9 February 2019, received a briefing from His Excellency, Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, on the current political and socio-economic developments in the country. The SADC Heads of State and Government noticed that since coming to power, the new Government of Zimbabwe has continued with concerted efforts to address socio-economic challenges and transform the economy, particularly through the Zimbabwe Transitional Stabilisation Programme (2018-2020), and to consolidate unity and peace in the country. Sandia spiking tool improves artificially intelligent devices ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Whetstone, a software tool that sharpens the output of artificial neurons, has enabled neural computer networks to process information up to a hundred times more efficiently than the current industry standard, say the Sandia National Laboratories researchers who developed it. The aptly named software, which greatly reduces the amount of circuitry needed to perform autonomous tasks, is expected to increase the penetration of artificial intelligence into markets for mobile phones, self-driving cars and automated interpretation of images. "Instead of sending out endless energy dribbles of information," Sandia neuroscientist Brad Aimone said, "artificial neurons trained by Whetstone release energy in spikes, much like human neurons do." The largest artificial intelligence companies have produced spiking tools for their own products, but none are as fast or efficient as Whetstone, says Sandia mathematician William Severa. "Large companies are aware of this process and have built similar systems, but often theirs work only for their own designs. Whetstone will work on many neural platforms." The open-source code was recently featured in a technical article in Nature Machine Intelligence and has been proposed by Sandia for a patent. How to sharpen neurons Artificial neurons are basically capacitors that absorb and sum electrical charges they then release in tiny bursts of electricity. Computer chips, termed "neuromorphic systems," assemble neural networks into large groupings that mimic the human brain by sending electrical stimuli to neurons firing in no predictable order. This contrasts with a more lock-step procedure used by desktop computers with their pre-set electronic processes. Because of their haphazard firing, neuromorphic systems often are slower than conventional computers but also require far less energy to operate. They also require a different approach to programming because otherwise their artificial neurons fire too often or not often enough, which has been a problem in bringing them online commercially. Whetstone, which functions as a supplemental computer code tacked on to more conventional software training programs, trains and sharpens artificial neurons by leveraging those that spike only when a sufficient amount of energy -- read, information --has been collected. The training has proved effective in improving standard neural networks and is in process of being evaluated for the emerging technology of neuromorphic systems. Catherine Schuman, a neural network researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratories, said, "Whetstone is an important tool for the neuromorphic community. It provides a standardized way to train traditional neural networks that are amenable for deployment on neuromorphic systems, which had previously been done in an ad hoc manner." The strict teacher The Whetstone process, Aimone said, can be visualized as controlling a class of talkative elementary school students who are tasked with identifying an object on their teacher's desk. Prior to Whetstone, the students sent a continuous stream of sensor input to their formerly overwhelmed teacher, who had to listen to all of it -- every bump and giggle, so to speak -- before passing a decision into the neural system. This huge amount of information often requires cloud-based computation to process, or the addition of more local computing equipment combined with a sharp increase in electrical power. Both options increase the time and cost of commercial artificial intelligence products, lessen their security and privacy and make their acceptance less likely. Under Whetstone, their newly strict teacher only pays attention to a simple "yes" or "no" measurement of each student -- when they raise their hands with a solution, rather than to everything they are saying. Suppose, for example, the intent is to identify whether a piece of green fruit on the teacher's desk is an apple. Each student is a sensor that may respond to a different quality of what may be an apple: Does it have the correct quality of smell, taste, texture and so on? And while the student who looks for red may vote "no" the other student who looks for green would vote "yes." When the number of answers, either yay or nay, is electrically high enough to trigger the neuron's capacity to fire, that simple result, instead of endless waffling, enters the overall neural system. While Whetstone simplifications could potentially increase errors, the overwhelming number of participating neurons -- often over a million -- provide information that statistically make up for the inaccuracies introduced by the data simplification, Severa said, responsible for the mathematics of the program. "Combining overly detailed internal information with the huge number of neurons reporting in is a kind of double booking," he says. "It's unnecessary. Our results tell us the classical way -- calculating everything without simplifying -- is wasteful. That is why we can save energy and do it well." Patched programs work best The software program works best when patched in to programs meant to train new artificial-intelligence equipment, so Whetstone doesn't have to overcome learned patterns with already established energy minimums. The work is a continuation of a Sandia project called Hardware Acceleration of Adaptive Neural Algorithms, which explored neural platforms in work supported by Sandia's Laboratory Directed Research and Development office. The current work is supported by the Department of Energy's Advanced Simulation and Computing Program. ### Paper authors in addition to Aimone and Severa are Sandia researchers Craig Vineyard, Ryan Dellana and Stephen Verzi. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. Sandia Labs has major research and development responsibilities in nuclear deterrence, global security, defense, energy technologies and economic competitiveness, with main facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Livermore, California. This story has been published on: 2019-02-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Councilman refuses to resign; another censured Following the hearing of evidence and statements made by the involved parties, and after deliberation in executive session, the Washington City Council Ethics Committee officially asked Councilman Nathaniel Cullars to... Cullars resigns employment but will still run in November Resulting at least in part from public outcry after the ethics complaint filed against him, Washington City Councilman Nathaniel Cullars has resigned his position with Stuckey Management. I was told... Georgia will cut unemployment benefits to 278,000 starting Sat. Georgia is about to join 25 other mostly Republican-led states in cutting off supplemental federal unemployment benefits before the Biden administration ends the program in September. On June 26, the... Support local journalism Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please support us by making a contribution. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Scattered thunderstorms during the morning becoming more widespread this afternoon. High 79F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Thunderstorms early, overcast overnight with occasional rain. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. By PTI WASHINGTON: Deeply concerned over the growing confrontation between India and Pakistan, the US Wednesday urged the nuclear-armed neighbours to take immediate steps to de-escalate tensions, warning that the potential risks associated with further military action by either side are unacceptably high for both the countries. Tensions between India and Pakistan rose following the February 14 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group claimed responsibility for the attack. "The United States is deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan and calls on both sides to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation," said an official of the National Security Council (NSC) of the White House. "The potential risks associated with further military action by either side are unacceptably high for both countries, their neighbours, and the international community," the NSC official told PTI on the condition of anonymity. The official was responding to a question on Pakistan's claim that it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani air space and arrested a pilot. Following the Pulwama terror attack, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. On Wednesday, Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani air space and arrested a pilot. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan tried to defuse the tension by saying war is futile and can lead to unknown consequences while making an oblique reference to the nuclear weapons that both countries possess. "United States officials expressed their strong solidarity with India following the Pulwama attack," the official said. The official declined to comment on direct communication between the national security advisors of the two countries. "We decline to comment on specific discussions; however, reports that India coordinated its military response with the United States are inaccurate," the official said. A day earlier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke over the phone with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi seeking a de-escalation of tensions. "Following Indian counter-terrorism actions on February 26, I spoke with Indian Minister of External Affairs Swaraj to emphasise our close security partnership and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region," Pompeo said in a statement. Pompeo is currently in Vietnam to attend the second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. "I also spoke to Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi to underscore the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action, and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil," Pompeo said. "I expressed to both Ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid escalation at any cost. I also encouraged both ministers to prioritise direct communication and avoid further military activity," he said. Last week, US National Security Adviser John Bolton told his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval that America supports India's right to self-defence as both sides vowed to work together to ensure that Pakistan ceases to be a safe heaven for JeM and other terror groups. By PTI WASHINGTON: Author Fatima Bhutto, the granddaughter of former Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Wednesday asked the Imran Khan government to release an Indian Air Force pilot captured after air combat. Pilot Abhinandan Varthaman was captured on Wednesday after he ejected safely from his MiG-21 Bison aircraft but landed across the Line of Control. India has demanded the immediate and safe return of the Wing Commander Varthaman, who was and was taken into custody by Pakistani army following a fierce engagement between air forces of the two sides along the Line of Control. "I and many other young Pakistanis have called upon our country to release the captured Indian pilot as a gesture of our commitment to peace, humanity and dignity," Bhutto, 36, wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times. "We have spent a lifetime at war. I do not want to see Pakistani soldiers die. I do not want to see Indian soldiers die. We cannot be a subcontinent of orphans," said Bhutto, a writer who is also the niece of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. ALSO READ: Request to 'not share videos' of Wing Commander Abhinandan goes viral on social media "My generation of Pakistanis have fought for the right to speak, and we are not afraid to lend our voices to that most righteous cause: peace," said the daughter of Murtaza Bhutto, son of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. She said Pakistan's recent history was bloody and no one has suffered more violence than its own citizens. "But our long history with military dictatorships and experience of terrorism and uncertainty means that my generation of Pakistanis have no tolerance, no appetite, for jingoism or war," she said. Bhutto said like her, a large section of the population was against the escalation of tensions. "I have never seen my country at peace with its neighbour. But never before have I seen a war played out between two nuclear-armed states with Twitter accounts," Bhutto said. In the afternoon on Wednesday, #saynotowar hashtag began to trend in Pakistan, before hitting the worldwide number 1 spot on Twitter. Tensions between India and Pakistan rose following the February 14 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district in which 40 CRPF soldiers were killed. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group claimed responsibility for the attack. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. On Wednesday, Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani air space and arrested the pilot. By PTI COLOMBO: Sri Lanka said on Wednesday that it was deeply concerned about the increasing tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pulwama attack and asked the two nations to act in a manner that ensures the security, peace and stability of the entire region. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it has unequivocally condemned this terrorist attack in Pulwama and stands firmly in the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) 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. ALSO READ | Pakistan suspends flight operations in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. Sri Lanka requests India and Pakistan to act in a manner that ensures the security, peace and stability of the entire region, it said. "Sri Lanka strongly supports peace and stability ion the South Asia region and all endeavours towards the diffusion of tensions including the resolution of bilateral problems through dialogue and building confidence," the statement added. By PTI ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday claimed that two Indian pilots were detained after their MIGs were shot down, as he cautioned against any "miscalculation" in case of an escalation between the two nuclear-armed countries and offered to defuse tensions through talks. "Our action was only intended to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same. Two of their MiGs were shot down (in the ensuing action) and their pilots are with us," Khan said in an address to the nation which was telecast live. His comments came minutes after the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said that Pakistan Air Force targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is "missing in action". WATCH: Surgical Strike 2: Pak Foreign Minister on what happened at Balakot Khan said all wars have been started on miscalculations on the time and the human cost of war. This was the same with the World War I, with the World War II and the war on terror, he added. He said no one knows where the wars lead to. Khan said that better sense must prevail and the two sides should act with wisdom. "I ask India: with the weapons (nuclear) you have and the weapons (nuclear) we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this (situation) escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's," Khan said. "Let's sit together and settle this with talks," he added. ALSO READ | Pakistan Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad says next 72 hours crucial Khan said that when India stuck Tuesday morning, he spoke with the army chief and Pakistan did not respond in haste. He said Pakistan offered India its cooperation in the investigation after the Pulwama terror attack. "We know how the families of those killed in Pulwama incident must have felt. We have been the victims of war for decades. Since the beginning we have asked India to share actionable evidence with us. It is nowhere in the interest of Pakistan for it to be used as a base for militancy," he said. "But I had a hunch that India would escalate, and that is why I had said that if India escalates, we will retaliate," he said, adding that Pakistan simply wanted to show its capability. "The sole purpose of our action (on Wednesday) was to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same," Khan added. ALSO READ | Official Pakistan view: Why PAF struck across LoC Noting that all wars are miscalculated, and no one knows where they lead to, Khan said that better sense must prevail and the two sides should act with wisdom. "I ask India: with the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this (situation) escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's," Khan said. "Let's sit together and settle this with talks," he added. By PTI ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday threatened to boycott a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) scheduled for next month in the UAE if India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj participates in it. Swaraj has been invited as a "guest of honour" at the inaugural session of the foreign ministers' conclave in Abu Dhabi on March 1-2. "I have no reservations with the OIC or any other Islamic country. My reservations are with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj's attendance at the OIC meeting," Qureshi told Geo News. "If Swaraj attends the meeting then I will not participate in it," Qureshi said. FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES: India confirms one IAF pilot missing in action He said shared that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu telephoned him. "We believe India has committed aggression against a brother Islamic country and attacked a founding member of the OIC," Qureshi quoted Cavusoglu as saying. "The Turkish foreign minister said there is no reason for Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj to attend the meeting of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) and Turkey will fully oppose her invitation and opportunity to address," he added. WATCH: Surgical Strike 2: Pak Foreign Minister on what happened at Balakot Last night, Qureshi said he spoke to his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan expressed his reservations over invitation to Swaraj. "Under the current circumstances, it will not be possible for me to attend OIC meeting where Swaraj is present," he said. Meanwhile, the OIC on Tuesday "condemned" India's "incursion and aerial violation" in Pakistan. It urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid any steps that would endanger peace and security in the region. ALSO READ | IAF chopper crashes in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, five dead It called upon both parties to act responsibly and encouraged them to seek peaceful solution to current crisis without resort to use of force. It also called on them to embrace dialogue and work towards de-escalation of current situation as a matter of priority. The OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir held an emergency meeting at the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah and expressed deep concern over the heightened tension in the region and called for immediate de-escalation. The OIC is an international organization founded in 1969, consisting of 57 member states, with 40 countries being Muslim Majority countries. By Bloomberg So far, Donald Trump has had remarkably good luck: His administration has avoided a major international crisis not of its own creation. That luck has run out, however, with a deadly dispute between India and Pakistan. In previous showdowns on the subcontinent, the U.S. played a critical role in preventing tensions between nuclear-armed rivals from getting out of control. We are about to find out whether an erratic, hollowed-out Trump administration is capable of a similar performance. India-Pakistan tensions over the disputed area of Kashmir have persisted since the birth of the two nations in 1948. The current crisis broke when Pakistani militants carried out the suicide bombing of an Indian security convoy, killing more than 40 Indian troops. After more than a week of threats and counter-threats, Indian planes have bombed suspected militant camps on the Pakistani side of the so-called Line of Control the first time Indian forces had carried out strikes on the Pakistani side in decades. Although the amount of damage caused is unclear, the bombings raised concerns that Pakistan will feel compelled to respond militarily. The potential escalatory implications are severe both countries have nuclear weapons, and Pakistani doctrine reportedly emphasizes using them early in a war with India due to its conventional military disadvantages. Given the grave dangers of an India-Pakistan war as well as recent Pakistani threats that it might respond to an Indian assault by derailing the peace talks in Afghanistan the U.S. has a clear interest in calming things down. In prior confrontations, in fact, American diplomacy has been vital to walking India and Pakistan back from the brink. During the Kargil War a limited but fierce military conflict high in the mountains over Kashmir in 1999 President Bill Clinton used personal diplomacy to convince Pakistani leaders to pull their fighters back from confrontation with Indian troops. As Bruce Riedel, a senior National Security Council official present at the talks, recalled, We could all too easily imagine the two parties beginning to mobilize for war, seeking third party support (Pakistan from China and the Arabs, India from Russia and Israel) and a deadly descent into full scale conflict with a danger of nuclear cataclysm. Similarly, after Pakistani militants attacked Indias parliament in December 2001, leading both countries to move troops to the border, Secretary of State Colin Powell and other U.S. diplomats swung into action. They pushed Pakistan to visibly distance itself from jihadist groups in Kashmir, while also calling on India to show restraint. When the crisis flared again after an attack in Kashmir that killed 31 people in May 2002, Powell worked tirelessly to prevent Indian military retribution. This sort of de-escalatory diplomacy one that does not condone Pakistans perpetually bad behavior, but nonetheless reduces the potential of war is again necessary. The question is whether Washington is up to the task. In some ways, the job is harder because the U.S. has less leverage with Pakistan than it did in 2001-02, as a result of the Trump administrations slashing of aid and a longer-running American shift toward alignment with India. (By the same token, Washington has more leverage with India than it did two decades ago.) The deeper problem, though, is that this administration has so far struggled to perform the sort of deft diplomacy the situation demands. Disciplined messaging with carefully calibrated pressure has not been this presidents forte. The tendency on key issues such as North Korea has been shoot-from-the-hip presidential diplomacy that leaves allies confused and Trumps own aides scrambling to keep up. On top of that, key mid- and upper-level positions are unfilled across the foreign policy bureaucracy, including the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, and many offices and agencies are operating at far less than full strength. While all eyes are on Venezuela and Trumps summit with Kim Jong Un this week, the India-Pakistan crisis could actually be the acid test for Trumps foreign policy. It may show whether an understaffed administration with a penchant for chaos is capable of executing smart and steady diplomacy when it is needed most. By PTI LAHORE: Four Indian passengers are stranded at the Lahore airport after Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) closed its airspace on Wednesday in the wake of tensions with India. "The PIA's PK-270 Lahore to Delhi was to leave for its destination on Wednesday but due to the suspension of flight operations the four Indian passengers are stranded at Allama Iqbal International Airport," an official of CAA told PTI. "The India passengers requested the authorities concerned to shift them to a hotel till the resumption of the flight operations. However, they were not allowed to leave the airport till filing of this report," he said. Meanwhile, the CAA tweeted: "North East & North Western airspace remains closed until further notice." Hundreds of international and domestic flights to and from Pakistan were cancelled on Wednesday. According to a source, the flight operations will likely to be restored partially from Thursday evening. By Associated Press WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer told Congress on Wednesday that Trump knew ahead of time that WikiLeaks had emails damaging to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, and he testified that Trump is a "racist," a "conman" and a "cheat." Michael Cohen suggested in prepared testimony obtained by The Associated Press that Trump also implicitly told him to lie about a Moscow real estate project. Cohen has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the project, which he says Trump knew about as Cohen was negotiating with Russia during the 2016 election campaign. The hearing was expected to provide the most damning depiction to date of Trump's campaign and business operations from a onetime member of the president's inner circle. It is the latest step in Cohen's evolution from legal fixer for the president he once boasted that he'd "take a bullet" for Trump to a foe who has implicated him in federal campaign finance violations. ALSO READ | 'Chilling' testimony promised from Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen Cohen's claims that Trump had advance knowledge of the emails contradict the president's assertions that he was in the dark, but it was not clear what evidence Cohen had to support the allegation or even how legally problematic it would be for Trump. Special counsel Robert Mueller has not suggested that mere awareness of WikiLeaks' plans, as Trump confidant Roger Stone is purported to have had, is by itself a crime. Cohen arrived in the hearing room just before the session was to start. An earlier restriction that the hearing was not to delve into Russia would not be followed, said House Reform and Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings of Maryland. Republicans on the committee tried to block the hearing as it got underway, on grounds that Cohen had not provided his opening statement long enough in advance. Democrats rejected the effort to postpone the proceedings. Cohen said Trump did not directly tell him to lie, but "he would look me in the eye and tell me there's no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing." Cohen said that "in his way, he was telling me to lie." He added that lawyers for Trump had "reviewed and edited" the statement in which Cohen falsely said a proposal for a Trump Tower in Moscow had been abandoned in January 2016. Cohen has since said he continued pursuing the project for Trump for months after that. In the prepared testimony, Cohen apologised for his actions. "I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience," he said. ALSO READ | Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen subpoenaed by Senate Intelligence Committee Trump, at a Vietnam hotel before a planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and unable to ignore the drama playing out thousands of miles away, lashed out at Cohen on Twitter, saying that his lawyer "did bad things unrelated to Trump" and "is lying in order to reduce his prison time." A judge already has set Cohen's sentence, and Cohen's cooperation before Congress will have no bearing on that term. Cohen, ahead of his appearance, said Tuesday that the American people could decide "exactly who is telling the truth" when he testified before the House committee, setting the stage for an explosive public hearing that threatened to overshadow Trump's summit in Vietnam with Kim. On WikiLeaks, Cohen said in the prepared testimony that he was in Trump's office in July 2016 when longtime adviser Roger Stone telephoned Trump. Trump put Stone on speakerphone and Stone told him that he had communicated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that "within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign," according to Cohen. Trump responded by saying "wouldn't that be great," Cohen said. That month, WikiLeaks released thousands of emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee's server. "A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time," Cohen said in the prepared testimony. "The answer is yes." Cohen said he does not have direct evidence that Trump colluded with the Russian government during the election, but that he has "suspicions." Of a meeting in Trump Tower between campaign advisers, including Trump's oldest son, and a Russian lawyer, Cohen said that Trump had frequently told him that Donald Trump Jr "had the worst judgment of anyone in the world" and he "would never set up any meeting of any significance alone and certainly not without checking with his father." Cohen, once Trump's loyal attorney, has turned on his former boss and cooperated with special counsel Mueller's Russia investigation. He begins a three-year prison sentence in May after pleading guilty to lying to Congress in 2017 and committing campaign finance violations while he was working for Trump. He met with the Senate intelligence committee for more than nine hours behind closed doors on Tuesday. Cohen said in brief remarks afterward that he appreciated the opportunity to "clear the record and tell the truth" to the panel after acknowledging he lied to the committee in 2017. By PTI HANOI: US President Donald Trump shook hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the start of their second summit Wednesday, saying the totalitarian state could enjoy a brilliant future if it gives up nuclear weapons. Trump predicted a "very successful" summit as the pair prepared for dinner at the luxury Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi to follow up on their initial historic meeting in Singapore in June. In a brief sit-down ahead of one-on-one talks, Trump repeated his view that North Korea had "tremendous" economic potential. President Donald Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, in Hanoi. (Photo | AP) For his part, Kim pledged to do his "best" to achieve an outcome that "will be welcomed by all people." They were due to open with about 20 minutes of head-to-head talks before sitting around a table with only a handful of top advisers. All false reporting (guessing) on my intentions with respect to North Korea. Kim Jong Un and I will try very hard to work something out on Denuclearization & then making North Korea an Economic Powerhouse. I believe that China, Russia, Japan & South Korea will be very helpful! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2019 Negotiations were then scheduled to resume on Thursday. Earlier, Trump sent a tweet touting North Korea's "AWESOME" potential if his "friend" Kim agrees to relinquish his weapons. The president risks being distracted by scandal back in Washington, where his former lawyer Michael Cohen was set to describe him as a "conman" in bombshell testimony to Congress scheduled for shortly after the summit dinner ends on the other side of the world. But Trump, seeking a big foreign policy win to push back against domestic troubles, believes he can make history with North Korea -- and claims Japan's prime minister has already nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize. His goal is to persuade Kim to dismantle his nuclear weapons and resolve a stand-off with the totalitarian state that has bedevilled US leaders since the end of the Korean war in 1953. To lure Kim into radical change, Trump is believed to be considering offering a formal peace declaration -- though perhaps not a formal treaty -- to draw a line under the technically still unfinished war. At the same time, Washington faces mounting pressure to extract significant concessions from Kim, who has so far shown little desire to ditch his nuclear capability. ALSO READ | China says Trump-Kim summit 'important step' towards denuclearisation China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday the Hanoi meeting could be "an important step towards advancing the denuclearisation" of the Korean peninsula. However, Washington and Pyongyang disagree even on what denuclearisation means precisely. And while North Korea has now gone more than a year without conducting missile and nuclear tests, it has done nothing to roll back the weapons already built. A former real estate tycoon who often boasts he is one of the world's best negotiators, Trump is pitching a vision of North Korea as a new Asian economic tiger if it surrenders its nuclear status. He said the country could quickly emulate the summit's host, Vietnam -- a communist state once locked in devastating conflict with the United States, but now a thriving trade partner. And he has invested himself personally in the relationship with Kim, creating the diplomatic equivalent of a Hollywood odd-couple bromance. Before Singapore, they were slinging bizarre insults -- Trump calling Kim "rocket man" and Kim calling him a "dotard." With North Korea then busily testing missiles and conducting underground nuclear tests, analysts feared the duo were egging each other on towards a catastrophic confrontation. Now, Trump talks of "love" and claims that his ground-breaking policies defused the threat posed by Kim. Critics warn Trump is so keen to score a deal that he could give away too much, too quickly, endangering US allies South Korea and Japan. President Donald Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, in Hanoi. (Photo | AP) In Singapore, Trump took his own generals by surprise when he announced a suspension of military exercises with the South -- something the North badly wanted. Washington would ideally like Kim to dismantle a key nuclear facility at Yongbyon, allow in international inspectors, or even hand over a list of all his nuclear assets -- something the North Koreans have categorically refused to do. In return, Trump is believed to be considering dangling relief from tough international sanctions. Opening diplomatic liaison offices is another possible US concession. Another possibility is a joint declaration to end the Korean War, which closed with a ceasefire but no peace treaty Some analysts fear this hugely symbolic gesture would upset the delicate power balance in a region where the US and China are already struggling for influence. Those pushing for a scaled-back US foreign policy footprint around the world would welcome the gambit. "If you get an end of war declaration, I think that's really important symbolically because it starts to change the mentality," Daniel Davis, at the conservative Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank, told AFP. And Trump deserves credit, he said. "You just can't ignore the fact that he's the only one of the last nine American presidents that has even gotten to this point. No one else has even had the conversations, no one else has had these summits." By PTI LONDON: Britain is deeply concerned over rising tensions between India and Pakistan, Prime Minister Theresa May said Wednesday, urging both the nuclear-armed nations to exercise restraint to avoid further escalation. Tensions between India and Pakistan rose Wednesday after Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani air space and arrested a pilot. The Pakistani claim came a day after Indian Air Force carried out a pre-dawn air strike on a terror training camp inside Pakistan. The strike was the first by the IAF inside Pakistan after the 1971 war. "The UK is deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan and urgently calls for restraint on both sides to avoid further escalation. We are in regular contact with both countries, urging dialogue and diplomatic solutions to ensure regional stability," prime minister May said. In response to an urgent question on "The situation in Jammu & Kashmir" tabled during the weekly Prime Minister's Questions session, May told the House of Commons that the UK remained in regular contact with both countries and was working towards de-escalating tensions. "We are working closely with international partners, including through the UN Security Council, to de-escalate tensions and are monitoring developments closely and considering implications for British nationals," she said. The "security and humanitarian situation in Kashmir" was later raised with UK Foreign Office minister Mark Field during the House of Commons session by Opposition Labour Party MP Debbie Abrahams as chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Kashmir. In an apparent reference to the upcoming general elections in India being among the factors to consider, the minister said while the polls may be "irrelevant" to the situation, it is a factor of concern. "We all know that we are in a pre-election period within India and that is one of the factors that obviously is a concern. It is one of the reasons we want to see a de-escalation at the earliest possible opportunity," he said. Field told MPs that he will be leaving for a three-day pre-scheduled visit to India on Thursday, where he will continue to monitor the situation from the ground. "Understandably, there has been huge interest in this rapidly developing situation. This House will understand it will not be appropriate for me to comment in detail on reportage at this time as the situation evolves," he said. Stressing that India and Pakistan are "nuclear nations" which makes the situation an urgent one to be addressed at the UN level, Field noted: "It is all the more important that we dial down some of the rhetoric, and some of the actions we have seen in recent days". "The UK will continue to support a listing of Jaish-e-Mohammed and its leader Masood Azhar under the UN Security Council Resolution 1267. But it is very pre-mature to start making categorical statements about any involvement by Pakistan in this issue," he said. Laying out the background to the situation before Parliament, the UK minister referred to the February 14 Pulwama attack which killed 40 CRPF soldiers. India-Pakistan tensions, already at a high level, rose significantly following that attack and both countries publicly exchanged heated rhetoric, the minister said. "There have been reports of ceasefire violations across the Line of Control overnight and the situation remains unclear, but fast developing," he said, reiterating that UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt had spoken to his counterparts in India and Pakistan on Monday and that Britain remains in "regular contact at senior levels". The Foreign Office minister said he was also scheduled for talks with Indian High Commissioner to the UK Ruchi Ghanashyam and Pakistani High Commissioner Mohammad Nafees Zakaria later on Wednesday to encourage a dialogue. Describing both countries as "important and long-standing friends of the United Kingdom", the minister said the UK government's position on Kashmir remains unchanged in that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution to the situation. "It isn't for the UK to prescribe, to intervene or to interfere with a solution or to act as a mediator," he said. During the lengthy Commons sessions, Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry called on the government to urge both countries to think "first and foremost of the innocent people in Kashmir, literally caught in the middle of this cross-fire". By PTI JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's ruling African National Congress said on Tuesday that two-party spokesmen would step down just three months before elections over separate sexual misconduct allegations. In December ANC spokesman Pule Mabe was accused by his former assistant of being emotionally abusive and cutting her monthly salary substantially to USD 1,082 after she rejected his alleged sexual advances. Last week allegations of rape surfaced against Zizi Kodwa, who was acting spokesman while Mabe's case was being investigated. Speaking at the party headquarters in Johannesburg, ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule told journalists that the two senior party members had chosen to step down while the claims were investigated. "The ANC has therefore accepted their request to voluntarily step aside while dealing with the matters," the party said in a statement. "The ANC is committed to fighting gender-based violence wherever it occurs and takes allegations against any person with the seriousness it deserves." Although internal investigations cleared Mabe of any wrongdoing earlier this month, his accuser is understood to have made a criminal complaint to police. Both men deny any wrongdoing. The party is no stranger to sex scandals. Before taking office, former president Jacob Zuma was put on trial for rape in 2016 in a case that dismayed many South Africans. Zuma said the sex with the 31-year-old family friend was consensual and he was subsequently acquitted. Both Mabe and Kodwa, high-profile figures in the party of Nelson Mandela, will remain members of the National Executive Committee (NEC), the body responsible for day-to-day decision-making. By Express News Service CHENNAI: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday congratulated the Indian Air Force for successfully eliminating terrorist camps. In his message, the CM said air strikes were part of the courageous steps being taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in rooting out terrorism, which threatens the world. BJP State president Tamilisai Soundararajan, in a statement said, We salute the courageous act of Indian Air Force which destroyed the terrorist camps. India has once again proved that it would not tolerate terrorism. Todays air strikes have confirmed that the country is safe under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. AMMK deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran said, The terrorists paid the price for the martyrdom of those CRPF personnel. As Indians, let us stand united against terrorism. Political parties of the State also hailed the Indian Air Force for executing Tuesdays pre-dawn surgical strike. Hemant Kumar Rout By Express News Service BHUBANESHWAR: Hours after Indian Air Force carried out strikes across the LoC destroying terror camps in Pakistan, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Tuesday successfully test-fired two rounds of Quick Reach Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) from a defence base off Odisha coast indicating preparedness to counter any kind of retaliation. The next-generation sleek short-range weapon system was fired from a canister mounted on a rotatable truck-based launch unit positioned at the launching complex-III of the Integrated Test Range (ITR). The indigenously developed canister-based sophisticated high-speed missile is capable of destroying aerial targets, fighter aircraft, short range and cruise missiles. With cent percent kill probability the missile can deceive enemy radars making it difficult to be detected. Defence sources said the twin tests were conducted to check various parameters including propulsion performance of the weapon system and its killing capabilities at different altitudes and conditions. The tests were conducted on guided mode and the missile successfully demonstrated robust control, aerodynamics, propulsion, structural performance and high maneuvering capabilities proving the design configuration, a defence official told 'The New Indian Express'. After a smooth release from the canister, the missile on both the occasions travelled along the predesignated trajectory and zeroed in on the target. Radars, electro-optical systems, telemetry and other tracking systems tracked the missiles and monitored through the entire flights. The missile system has radars with search on move capability and functions on search and kill principle. The mission was fantastic as all objectives have been met, the official confirmed. The missile is a highly mobile air defence system which can destroy multiple targets at a distance upto 30 km. Sanctioned in 2014, the missile was first tested in 2017 and its two developmental trials were conducted last year. Once inducted, it will be deployed at the border and is expected to supplement surface-to-air missile Akash. The technology that QRSAM incorporates is a fresh development by the DRDO. With necessary electronic countermeasures against aircraft jammers, it employs dual thrust propulsion stage using high-energy solid propellant. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman congratulated DRDO and the defence industry for the successful test-firing of QRSAM twice. She conveyed her appreciation to the team on achieving all mission objectives. By Express News Service KOCHI: Though the wildfire in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve has been contained, the fire that spread to Mudumalai National Park has reached within 4 km range of the Wayanad wildlife sanctuary, creating concern among the tribal people and forest officers in the district. Meanwhile, Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF-wildlife northern region) B N Anjan Kumar, who visited the border areas and held discussions with officers in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, expressed confidence that the fire would be contained by Wednesday evening. The wildfire has reached around 4 km close to Wayanad forest and we are putting all efforts to douse it before it reaches the state border. We have deployed a team of forest watchers who are working in tandem with staff from Bandipur and Mudumalai forest divisions to douse the fire. We have also mobilised some volunteers from Wayanad and Kozhikode who are trained in disaster management. A team of 10 tribal people from the settlement colony in Wayanad have also joined the team. The fire will be doused by Wednesday evening or Thursday and we are confident of stopping it before it reaches within 2 km range of the Wayanad forest, he told Express. A team of forest officers from Bandipur led by Moolehole Range Officer has gone to Mudumalai to help the Tamil Nadu Forest staff. Karnataka is providing logistic support to Tamil Nadu officers supplying food, water and glucose to the fire-fighters. Tamil Nadu has not revealed its strategy but I have communicated with the Mudumalai Deputy Director Senbagapriya who has promised to share all relevant information. The fire in Bandipur forest has been contained and the area bordering Kerala is 100 per cent safe, said Anjan Kumar. By Express News Service BENGALURU: After the Indian Air Force (IAF) destroyed terror camps inside Pakistan, defence establishments across the state, including IAF, Army units and the Karwar Naval Base are on high alert and in a state of readiness. Meanwhile, Army personnel who are on leave, have been directed to report back to duty immediately. As a precautionary measure, the entire police force in the state is on alert. However, there is no specific alert sent for any establishment or place, said Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Kamal Pant. According to sources, the number of police personnel deployed at sensitive areas has been increased to keep extra vigil at airports and railway stations. Apart from IAF, Indian Navy and Army units, a number of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) facilities are located in the state. While these establishments are protected by Central forces, police too have been asked to take special precautions and increase security at several places. Most of these establishments were in a state of alert after the terror attack on CRPF personnel in Pulwama, and the same will continue, said a source.At the naval base in Karwar, high alert State-1 has been announced where check-ups will be conducted in and around the base. Navy personnel have been conducting thorough checks on civilians entering the base for civil works. Apart from a few selected gates of the naval base, all alternative gates have been closed and a large number of security personnel with arms is on either side of the road inside the base. President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisis recent meeting with a delegation of trainee African journalists brought to mind the leading role Egypt used to play on the African continent, in the main based on components set out below. The first component of this role was Egypts broadcasting network addressing the African continent. This began in 1953 with a programme specially made for transmission to Africa and continued after July 1954 on a regular basis. Over the last 50 years, this network should have further developed further and extended beyond a single station even if this now transmits for 19 hours a day to East and West African in languages including Hausa, Swahili, Zulu, Afar, Somali, Fulani, Tigrinya and Amharic. The service needs to be brought up to date with current developments in the field brought about by the technological revolution. The second component takes the form of the media offices in Egyptian embassies on the African continent. These have managed to interact effectively with the African media, including the press, radio and TV. Yet, although it has long been necessary to activate the role of Egypts cultural centres and media offices in the African countries and increase their number, especially in the Nile Basin and Horn of Africa, no steps have been taken in this regard. There are now only seven Egyptian media offices remaining in Africa in Khartoum, Addis Ababa, Abuja, Kampala, Pretoria, Algeria and Rabat. Unfortunately, even these now risk being shut down, and such short-sighted policies may also lead to the shutting down of the Egyptian State Information Service (SIS) offices abroad. The third component by which Egypt has been able to deepen its relations with Africa in the media field has been through broadcasting Egyptian television through Nilesat and Arabsat. This has been in addition to plans to launch an African satellite TV channel from Cairo, an initiative proposed by former president Hosni Mubarak during the Fifth African Summit held in the Libyan city of Sirte in July 2005. The channels headquarters were planned to be based in Egypt, and Egypt would have offered all the required technical facilities, including the use of its satellites. The channel was due to transmit programmes in the most widely-spoken African languages. In November 2015, Egypt hosted a meeting to discuss the details of this proposed African satellite TV channel. The meeting was attended by chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) Alpha Oumar Konare, media experts from AU countries, and representatives of African civil-society organisations. It was intended that the meeting should define the organisational and legal steps necessary for the establishment of the new channel, as well as the engineering and technical aspects. It was also agreed that a report including the expert committees recommendations should be presented to the next African Summit due to be held in Khartoum in January 2006. The then Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Abul-Gheit, said that the initiative, which had the approval of the African countries, would aim to showcase the African continent as a whole with all its peoples and cultures. Konare was notably enthusiastic about it. Abul-Gheit stressed the necessity of launching a satellite TV channel that would speak on behalf of Africa and reflect the social and cultural mix of the African countries. The channel would act as a kind of melting pot, he said, in which all African TV programmes would melt together. It would also play a major role in increasing the African peoples awareness of pressing African issues, for example in healthcare, and would help to convey a positive image of Africa to the outside world. The channel was not the only Egyptian media initiative of this sort, as there was also the idea of transmitting the Nile TV International channel to the African countries. The project, however, did not see the light of day, owing to a lack of production in terms of news programmes, talk shows, dramas, and music or variety programmes that would suit the entire African audience. It all ended when the question of financing was broached. This Egyptian ambition to reach all parts of the African continent thus turned into a disappointment, having been emptied of its content at the hands of the enemies of success that have negatively acted throughout the ages. New Opportunities Egypt wasted a golden opportunity to launch an African satellite TV channel in 2006, when the ministries of information and foreign affairs disagreed on which ministry would finance a conference of African information ministers. In the end, the conference was held in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, where the idea was pushed aside. However, during his recent meeting with African media figures, President Al-Sisi made clear that Egypt was more committed than ever to a policy of openness when dealing with the African countries. This is based on principles such as the non-interference in the African countries affairs, the respect of their sovereignty, the exertion of efforts to promote cooperation and development, and the presentation of African issues in different international organisations. Egypts current membership of the UN Security Council, the AU Peace and Security Council, and the UN Human Rights Council make it ideally suited to play this role. Al-Sisi noted that Egypt had been keen in the past to support the liberation of the African countries and their peoples right to self-determination. Egypt was still keen on backing comprehensive and sustainable development in Africa, he said, and on promoting social and economic progress for all the continents peoples. Al-Sisi also stressed his willingness to participate in all AU summits in order to activate cooperation on a continental level and to pay bilateral visits to brotherly African states. There are various issues that await decisive steps by Egypt, including the countrys political and economic relations with the Nile Basin countries. This necessitates taking certain positive steps regarding such countries through increasing the number of scholarships offered to African students by Al-Azhar or other Egyptian universities. The SIS should also conduct training courses for African journalists and media workers at Egyptian institutions and organise visits to Egypt. Such steps will support efforts to create a deeper Egyptian-African rapprochement in future. The programmes offered by the Egyptian African Media Training Institute should also be developed. Since 1977, the institute has offered training courses in English and French to nearly 4,000 African trainees. The same should be done at the African Journalists Union that Egypt has been hosting since November 1974 with the membership of 12 African journalist unions. Egypt should develop greater links with the African countries in the field of media, including by providing greater space for African issues on Egyptian TV, including the issue of the Niles water and the proper management of the Nile Basin. A weekly radio programme has been transmitted to Africa for years, but this is not enough today. Apart from the Nile News channel that broadcasts a weekly programme on Africa, Egyptian television does little or nothing else. The role of the Egyptian Radio and Television Union should not be limited to organising training courses for African journalists. There should also be a special channel addressing the African continent. The 23 media agreements between Egypt and the African countries should also be activated to help deepen the strategic relations between Egypt and the African continent. * The writer is a veteran professor of journalism. *A version of this article appears in print in the 28 February, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: African media in the information age Short link: By Express News Service MANDYA: Kalavati, the wife of CRPF constable H Guru, who was among the 40 personnel killed in the terror attack at Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir recently, has hailed the air strike conducted by Indian Air Force on the Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp at Balakot in Pakistan, killing hundreds of terrorists. Kalavati, who could not control her emotions, saluted the armed forces and said, None should be spared and everybody involved in the terror attack should be finished. The army should be given all necessary support. Gurus father Honnaiah, who also spoke on similar lines, said, My son will rest in peace only when the terrorists are annihilated. There is no time for peace talks and the country should avenge the loss of the soldiers. The bereaved family members, who later gathered at Mellahalli village, where the mortal remains of Guru were cremated, performed the rituals associated with the 11th day ceremony on Tuesday. Both Gurus father Honnaiah and his siblings, who were inconsolable, performed the rituals. A huge portrait of Guru in the backdrop of the site was decorated with flowers as a mark of respect. Lunch was arranged for over 1,000 people. Transport Minister D C Thammanna, who is learnt to have taken care of the arrangements for the day, also congratulated the IAF personnel. Ramu Patil By Express News Service BENGALURU: By deploying Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets to strike terror camps deep inside Pakistan, India has sent a strong message enough is enough! that it will no longer be mere exchanges of terror dossiers, but that the country will also deliver laser-guided bombs to destroy terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir or even in Pakistan, say veteran pilots. According to former IAF pilots who have seen action during India-Pakistan wars and Indian Peace Keeping Force missions in Sri Lanka, the IAF brings in an element of surprise as Pakistan would have been prepared for land-based surgical strikes by army, which was conducted on them on September 28, 2016. This was expected. Ever since Pulwama terror attack, some kind of retaliatory response was in the offing. Since we have used land surgical strikes the last time, the other side was prepared for that sort of an attack and that may be the reason for using the Indian Air Force to have some kind of element of surprise, said Air Marshal (retired) Philip Rajkumar, a veteran fighter pilot who had flown a number of fighter aircraft. As a young IAF pilot, he had flown Mystere 4A ground attack aircraft in Lahore and Sialkot sectors during the 1965 India-Pakistan war. Assessment of damage caused by the air strikes is very important, he said. Earlier, the Air Force used to send photo reconnaissance aircraft that photographed the area and those were used to assess the damage. Now, the IAF uses satellite imagery and human intelligence to gather details to assess the damage caused by air strikes. We have to wait for details to be released by the government, he said. Wing Commander (retd) V M Raghunath, who had flown helicopters fitted with Anti-Tank Guided Missiles during the IPKF mission in Sri Lanka from 1987-89, says India kept quiet for too long and there was a need to send out a strong message. Surgical strike by the Army was a major step, but we needed to send a very strong message. For the first time, in a non-war-like situation, the IAF jets were sent inside enemy airspace and struck terror camps, he said. By Express News Service ELURU: The stolen mobile phone of Dharani Sri, who was killed at Guntupalli Buddhist caves, has reportedly led the police to her killer. The suspect, P Raju, and two of his relatives are being questioned for their alleged involvement in the attack on the victim and her boyfriend T Naveen Kumar. According to sources, Raju hails from Mylavaram of Krishna district and was visiting his in-laws house at G Kothapalli in Dwaraka Tirumala. Police investigation revealed that Raju was previously involved in attacking and robbing couples at isolated locations. However, no case was filed against him yet. He also loved to hunt birds and small animals. On Sunday, the suspect went to the caves from his sisters place at Kamavarapukota. The police said: Raju may have attacked Naveen Kumar first from the back. After he fell unconscious, he sexually assaulted the girl and then smashed her head to a boulder, leading to her death. The cops explained Raju took away the couples mobile phones. Later, he damaged Naveens while Dharanis phone was still with him. Using the phones network, Raju was traced. They added his two brother-in-laws might also be present when the murder took place. The trio are being interrogated at an undisclosed location. Meanwhile, the police are investigating whether this is the first case involving Raju or if he was involved in similar cases. In a related development, the functioning of security staff at the caves is also under the scanner with locals leveling allegations that they are hand in glove with miscreants who target lovers who come to the caves. They alleged that some staff alert the miscreants who take photographs of the lovers, and blackmail and rob them of their valuables. There was no way the killing of 40 CRPF jawans could have gone without a strike back. If there was a tipping point, Pulwama was one. Pakistan and its proxies had tempted fate far too often, pushing common Indians to the limits of endurance. The precision air strike carried out by the Indian Air Force is, therefore, loaded with as much symbolic value as it was with military value. For one, it shed a big tabooof not entering airspace under Pakistani control. And two, the IAF, using 12 Mirage 2000s freighted with 1,000 kg munitions, struck deep into the heart of Jaish-e-Mohammeds terror complexa sprawling terror training camp atop a hill in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, away from any civilian casualties. Thats just about 64 km from Abbottabad, not far from the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakol. Abbottabad is where the US stealth operation took out Osama bin Laden in his hideout. Pakistans policy of a thousand cuts, made on India via an expanding army of proxies, would now have to factor in this kind of a response. India has tried everything a responsible power could do to contain Pakistans low-intensity war through strategic non-state actors, essentially cheap human fodder. After the Parliament attack of 2001, the eye-to-eye build-up on the border by the Vajpayee government was eased under international pressure: The nuclear factor was uppermost on the worlds mind. After 26/11, the Manmohan Singh government again stopped short of direct retaliation, choosing instead sustained international pressureand supplied a dossier full of facts to Pakistan to take action against the perpetrators. But Islamabad simply refused to mend its ways. This time, its a different message. And barring China, all other P-5 nations have acquiesced to Indias right to self-defence. The foreign secretary chose the calm description of non-military strike for self-defence. For, there still remain red lines no one wants to cross. Air Marshal R K Sharma By Tuesdays strike is the kind of deep offensive strike which the Air Force practises every day. What happened in the wee hours of Tuesday is not a big thingwe practise this during times of peace. The aerobatic displays that we see the Air Force perform during events such as Gagan Shakti and Vayu Shakti are the off- beat events. Deep penetration strikes are in fact the bread and butter of the Air Force. Anybody who wants to gain an understanding of this can do so by taking a look at the log book of pilots. This was a clean operation as the pilots smoothly performed the task that was assigned to them. The way the operation was conducted shows the sophisticated functioning and nuanced skills of the pilots of the Air Force. The only difference this time was that this was a real action and every pilot waits for such an opportunity. On a live mission, the one thing we have to be always ready for is to execute it successfully and ensure it does not fail. Every personnel internalises this rule. In fact, we can escalate the number of aircraft depending on the target. Our skilled pilots are trained to handle formations as big as that of even 40 aircraft, depending on the mission assigned to them. The planning starts accordingly when one enters the enemy territory. The Enemy Order of Battle is taken into consideration; electronic intelligence, enemy radars and enemy combat air patrol aircraft are taken into account during any such operation. Next, the planning to hit the target is set, including the way in and the way out after hitting the target. There always remains a high possibility of enemy retaliation and we dont plan missions without factoring in retaliation. These boys train day in, day out, day and night. They are known for their flexibility, surprise, speed and accuracy. This is what the world saw in todays operation the ingrained quality of the characteristics of air power. However, the biggest concern is one needs to have accurate intelligence. One cannot be bombing where there is nobody. Thus the nature of Air Force operations is risky. This very reason has made people hesitant of using air power in the last several years. An analysis of operations that took place in recent history will show how important air power is. In the past 20 years, none of the operations have started without air strikes. You do not force your troop to man-to-man contact. Whether non-state or otherwise, air power certainly brings to the table a wide consideration. I am glad the government used it. People may say it can be escalatory but the nation needs to be prepared. The application of air power sets the intent of the government. The governments decision to strike the terror camps shows its resolve to root out terrorism from its soil. This pre-emptive strike is also a show of strength and decisiveness on the part of the government. The success of the strike is a reflection of the governments broader intent to address the issue of terrorism. It was nice to see every political leader praising this action of our Air Force. In a non-military confrontation, we have exercised the choice of pre-emptive strike. The message is that India would not tolerate violence beyond a point and opening the envelope of strikes goes two ways. These matters are handled in militaristic and diplomatic terms. This is what happened on the ground on Tuesdaythe execution of a non-military strike which was required to be accomplished. We have attacked the terrorists command headquarters, including their terror camps. India has made the choice of defending itself and has been considerate not to damage any innocent life. This strike is also a classic example of how smoothly the intelligence agencies functionedhats off to the agencies which toiled to provide real-time actionable intelligence and inputs for this exercise. This incident is also exemplary of how strong teamwork can change the ballgamewhere inputs from all have been incorporated to carry out a clean operation. However, only time will tell what has been the effect of the operation on Pakistan and its intentions to curb terrorism on its soil. As time passes, we will know if Pakistan cooperates to put an end to its terror camps. India in the past has repeatedly talked to Pakistan and tried to open a dialogue on terrorism. It has told Pakistan time and again to act on the terrorist outfits urgently and to dismantle the terror camps. In fact, our government has been giving dossiers to Pakistan containing precise information about the location of the terror training camps operating from their territory. But the latter has paid no heed and things always came back to square one. But now the time is up. If we find terror camps which Pakistan refuses to acknowledge and act on, we will take action and not allow chaos to reign in India. Certainly, it is the government which will take the final call on when it is required to take action and decide the future course. After all, what is the countrys service meant for? It is for defending the nation. Air Marshal R K Sharma (retd) Former Vice Chief of the Air Staff Email: sharmaravikant@hotmail.com Harpreet Bajwa By Express News Service CHANDIGARH: The 31-year old Squadron leader Siddharth Vashisht was killed in the helicopter crash at Garend Kalaan village in Budgam in Jammu and Kashmir today morning was a fourth generation member from the family in the defence services and his wife is also a serving Squadron leader in the Indian Airforce (IAF). Siddharth who had studied from Shivalik Public School and DAV College from the city was commissioned in the IAF in 2010 and last month he was given commendation for his role in the rescue operations during the Kerala floods. In July last year, he was posted to Srinagar and his wife Arti was also posted there. Before that he was posted in Coimbatore. "My son was flying this helicopter as he was the main pilot. He was inspired to join the IAF as his uncle Vineet Bharatwaj was a fighter pilot, so he also wanted to follow his footsteps, his uncle had also died in the crash seventeen years ago, says Jagdish Kasal father of the deceased. ALSO READ | Cyclone Okhi: Families hopes for the safe return of missing fishermen Controlling his emotions Jagdish had served in the army and then joined the Punjab National Bank and got retired from their was talking to each and everyone who was visiting their house to pay the condolences for his sons demise. "My son for married in 2013 and has a two-year-old son Angad, his Arti who is also a Squadron leader in IAF and posted in Srinagar along with my son was on leave for a month as she was in Gurugram, the authorities had told her that her leave now stands cancelled and she had to report back for duty and this news came that my son is no more, now Arti is coming here for the last rites. The IAF officers posted in Srinagar informed me in the afternoon that my son died in the crash, he says. "Siddarth was youngest in the family as she had three elder sisters and his great grandfather and grand father besides his father had also served in the defence forces. Last Monday he had come for two hours to meet his father, mother and sisters as he was on his way to Srinagar from Delhi, said a close relative. The family which now lives in Chandigarh hails from Naraingarh in Haryana, there was lines of relatives friends and politicians visiting them. Also another IAF personnel, Vikrant Sehrawat who died in the helicopter crash this morning, belonged to Badhani village in Jhajjar. A pall of gloom descended on the village as soon as tragic news of Vikrants demise reached there. He is survived by his wife and two children. By Express News Service Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistan on Tuesday, will be released Thursday as a 'peace gesture', Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has confirmed. Abhinandan hails from Chennai. He is the son of Air Marshal Simhakutty Varthaman (retired), who played a crucial role in the upgradation of Mirage-2000, the aircraft which was used in the offensive against Jaish-e-Mohammed targets in Pakistan on Tuesday. Simhakutty Varthaman has been advocating the need to upgrade the fighter squadrons and weapon systems. He has also been recommending the creation of Chief of Defence Staff post to coordinate war-efforts as well as with the civilian administration. ALSO READ: Wing Commander Abhinandan to be released on Friday, scores assemble at Wagah border to welcome IAF pilot Abhinandan, the Mig-21 Bison pilot, trained at the Tambaram airbase and hails from Selaiyyur. He is married and has one kid. "Abhinandan has one kid. His family isn't staying here currently," a maternal relative said. Ironically, Air Marshal Varthaman also worked as a consultant for Mani Ratnams movie 'Kaatru Veliyidai' where the pilot hero, played by Tamil actor Karthi was captured by Pakistan. Air Marshal Varthaman, an alumnus of the Sainik School at Amaravathinagar in Tamil Nadu, coordinated the upgradation of the Mirage-2000 aircraft in Gwalior during the 1999 Kargil conflict. ALSO READ: Request to 'not share videos' of Wing Commander Abhinandan goes viral on social media He is also part of a high-powered panel appointed by the defence ministry to examine different aspects of the multi-billion dollar fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) project which is being co-developed with Russia. Abhinandans relatives had wanted the Indian government to intervene and secure his release from Pakistan. By PTI NEW DELHI: Rajeev Saxena, who was arrested in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland money-laundering case, Wednesday moved a Delhi court to become an approver in the case. Special Judge Arvind Kumar sought the Enforcement Directorate's response on Saxena's plea to become an approver. The court has posted the matter for hearing tomorrow. Saxena, a director of two Dubai-based firms - UHY Saxena and Matrix Holdings - is one of the accused named in the charge sheet filed by ED in the AgustaWestland case. By Express News Service CHANDIGARH/SRINAGAR: The 2900-km Indo-Pakistan border from Kutch to Kashmir seemed to have suddenly come alive on Tuesday, soon after the Indian Air Force (IAF) struck home deep across the LoC to take out terror camps embedded in pakistan. Sonic booms of Pakistans fighters had made for sleepless nights along Poonch in Jammu and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan with eye-ball to eye-ball confrontation along the Kashmir Valley getting tense since February 14. The Valley is agog post the strike and tension is rising along border villages. Irshad Ahmad of Silikote, the last village on the LoC in Uri, said tension is sky high. While none have left the village, the common prayer is there should be no war. Well be swept away should the two nations clash. We are the front, he said, even as he and others await the next administrative step. Would it be evacuation, he wonders. Abdul Khaliq, sarpanch said, People are very scared. And frightened. There is apprehension of war Along Punjab, the unease is visible. The administration could ask us at any time to evacuate, as in 2016. We have to be ready, said Surjit Singh Bhura, vice president of Punjab Border Kisan Union. In some 220 border villages, people mill around asking each other what to do. The government has put the border districts on high alert with CM Capt Amarinder Singh reviewing the states preparedness. As a confidence-building step, Amarinder will himself be visiting the border areas along Pathankot to Ferozepur by road tomorrow and is in touch with the union home and defence ministries on the situation, said Raveen Thukral, CMs advisor Aishik Chanda By Express News Service KOLKATA: In a direct fallout of the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan on the Jammu and Kashmir frontier and the recent killing of a 50-year-old Pakistani inmate in Jaipur Central Prison in Rajasthan, 14 Pakistani inmates accused in high-profile terror cases in West Bengal have been segregated from Indian inmates and lodged in high-security cells in Presidency and Dumdum Correctional Homes in Kolkata. Speaking to TNIE, West Bengal Prison Minister Ujjal Biswas said, "There are televisions in the prisons in which the inmates watch the developments along the border and we never know what might happen as a result of that. We already saw an incident of a Pakistani inmate being killed in Rajasthan. So, as precautionary measures, some 14 Pakistani inmates accused in several high-profile cases such as American Centre Attack and Khadims' owner kidnapping have been segregated from Indians. Being high-profile convicts, the Pakistani inmates were already lodged in high-security cells." Of the 14 Pakistani inmates, four are lodged at Presidency Correctional Home and the other 10 are at Dumdum Correctional Home, sources revealed. The high-profile convicts are lodged at three-layered secure cells in the prisons. The Pakistani inmates will now not be allowed to move out of sensitive zones or to interact with Indian inmates. Also, a close watch is being kept on the prisoners round-the-clock, sources revealed. Pakistani prisoner Shakarullah was stoned to death by three Indian inmates after a quarrel at Jaipur Central Prison on February 20, six days after the Pulwama suicide attack. 2002 American Centre attack mastermind Aftab Ansari, who was arrested from Dubai the same year with a Pakistani passport and travel documents and deported to India, requested for a transfer to a different cell in Alipore Correctional Home in February last year after allegedly being threatened by another inmate. However, two smartphones and eight SIM cards were found from the terror operative once close to Jaish-e-Mohammad leader Omar Saeed Sheikh in August last year. West Bengal's first homegrown ISIS recruit Abu Musa had slashed a guard's neck and shouted Jihadi slogans before being overpowered by other guards at Alipore Prison in December 2017. The future of the Arab-Euro relationship, following the first EU-Arab League summit, will boil down to whether both sides see the Mediterranean as a bridge or a barrier between them. Bridge means enhanced trading, legislative and regulatory coordination, new thinking about migration across the Mediterranean, and security arrangements based on both averting the threats of radicalism and militancy, as well as increasing understanding of each others value systems (and how often they are different from the other). The ultimate objective here would be bringing the Mediterranean shores together into a truly integrative economic neighbourhood. Barrier means transactional relationships, seeing the other through the lens of a fraught history, clinging to old suspicions but coating them with vague political correctness, and cooperating against radicalism and militancy, but from vastly different perspectives. The destination here is calculated interactions based on short-term interests, after which each side retreats to its shores. Lets start with the Arab calculus. Here, the case for a bridge rests on three points. - Many in political Arab circles believe they have transcended the grave threats that emerged in the region in the past years, have shielded their societies from the chaos that has engulfed others, and have contributed to (relatively) stabilising the wider Middle East and North Africa. In this view, they now enter a stage where they must effect transformative changes in their countries socio-economic landscapes without which, the security they brought would be vulnerable to the social and economic ills from which their countries suffer. In this view, these transformative changes will only materialise through lasting linkages to the advanced world. And so, here, Europe represents the closest neighbour in that advanced world. - Those Arab political circles believe they have a case that Europe must appreciate. In their view, the stability they have brought spills over to Europe. Without that stability, Europe would be scrambling to confront acute dangers that will always be drawn to its riches. And so, a serious partnership between the two shores of the Mediterranean is not transactional, but, in this view, grounded in an unescapable connection between Europe and the Arab world, and a meeting of minds on a hugely important long-term objective. - Beneath the official rhetoric, there is a recognition, at the highest level of Arab leadership, that the solutions to the socio-economic ills in the Arab world necessitate much more than direct investments, developmental programmes, fiscal support and technological transfers. Theres a recognition that Arab societies need to resuscitate the old modernisation projects of the first half of the 20th century, when large sections of Arab elites looked to Europe, not as the other, but as a role model, at least as an inspiration. But, along with these factors, there is an Arab suspicion that augurs well for the Mediterranean being a barrier rather than a bridge. This suspicion is that many in Europe aim to impose their view of political systems and social development on the Arab world whether because of failure to understand the region or because of a condescending view of its modern history. This suspicion gives rise to apprehension, within key Arab political circles, of Europes long-term objectives in the region, and so to a guarded approach to cooperation. In Europe, the case for a bridge rests on two factors. The first, similar to one in the Arab argument, is based on inescapability. The idea goes something like this: If we [in Europe] cannot, realistically, detach ourselves from the threats coming to us from the Arab world, we must engage with it in ways that ensure that our investments in it are sustainable, and would lead to meaningful and lasting positive changes. These changes would not eradicate, but will lessen, the socio-economic problems there, and so will dilute the dangers that would come to us through the Mediterranean. This view leads to a long-term, ambitious, and deep commitment, which is step one in seeing beyond the dangers, in reflecting on the wider scene, which contains, along with the perils, major promise. The second originates from a more humble realisation. Europe understands that many of its views and conceptions of the Arab world, including after the wave of Arab uprisings in 2011, have proven wrong. Some in Europe cling to the idea that Europe sided with the forces of good in the Arab world and sought a transformation in the region similar to that which took place in Central and Eastern Europe in the early 1990s after the fall of the Berlin Wall. But, within many decision circles in Europe, the view is different and more realistic. That view realises that any serious engagement with the Arab world must stem from respecting its own history, interpretations of global politics in the past half century, and the dominant streams in its own cultures and not from a haughty view that wants the Arab world to evolve to Europeanism. On the other side, the case in Europe for the barrier is bottom up. All European leaders know that at the heart of the rise of the far-right across the continent are acute feelings against immigration, especially from the Islamic world. And so, in this view, European efforts, aside from politically correct rhetoric and diplomatic gestures, must cater to the feelings of the voters. Meaning: European efforts must engage with the Arab world so as to keep its people, ideas and cultures away. The tragedy here is that most of the factors for barrier are old, or stem from domestic anxieties that give rise to images of the other that have nothing to do with reality on the other shore of the Mediterranean. Working on these anxieties necessitates open, honest dialogues. And this is the real value of this first EU-Arab League summit. It inaugurated a discussion, without which misperceptions and blindfolded views will transform the Mediterranean (one of the most illustrious conduits of ideas in human history) into a moat. The writer is the author, most recently, of Islamism: A History of Political Islam (Yale, 2017) and the writer and presenter of several BBC documentaries on the Arab and Islamic worlds. *A version of this article appears in print in the 28 February, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: The Mediterranean: Bridge or barrier? Short link: By PTI SRINAGAR: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should suspend all his political activities till the missing Indian Air Force pilot returns home safely. India Wednesday said the pilot went missing after the IAF foiled Pakistan Air Force's attack on military installations in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan claims the pilot is its custody. ALSO READ | Praying for safety of IAF pilot Abhinandan: Arvind Kejriwal "PM Modi must suspend his political activities until #WingCommanderAbhinandan is returned safely. It can't be business as usual with him crisscrossing the country at taxpayer expense making political speeches while our pilot is a Pakistani captive," Abdullah said in a series of tweets. For the record its not just unsolicited advice to the PM, I had requested the opposition to postpone the meeting in light of the developments, especially after the news of our pilot being in Pakistani custody but they felt otherwise. I chose not to attend as a result. pic.twitter.com/kxRhSfYdRG Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 27, 2019 The former chief minister also appealed to Pakistan to treat the Indian Air Force pilot well. ALSO READ | India, Pakistan must de-escalate tensions: Farooq Abdullah "In the meantime, Pakistan please treat him as you would have us treat one of your men in uniform should he be unfortunate enough to be captured on this side of the border," he said. "Thoughts with the family, friends & colleagues of #WingCommanderAbhinandan. Prayers for his early & safe return home to all those eagerly waiting for him," he added. By Online Desk Pakistani fighter jets on Wednesday violated Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Nowshera sectors but were pushed back by Indian aircraft, senior Indian officials said. The Pakistani jets dropped bombs while returning, these officials said. There are unconfirmed reports that a Pakistan F16 was shot down. Below is the press release from Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the incursion by the Pakistan Air Force: Pakistan Air Force undertook strikes across Line of Control from within Pakistani airspace. This was not a retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. Pakistan has therefore, taken strikes at non-military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage. Sole purpose being to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we undertook the action with clear warning and in broad daylight. For the last few years, India has been trying to establish what they call a new normal a thinly veiled term for doing acts of aggression at whatever pretext they wish on a given day. If India is striking at so-called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan. We do not wish to go to that route and wish that India gives peace a chance and to resolve issues like a mature democratic nation. Earlier, Major Gen Asif Ghafoor, the official PR person of the Pakistan Armed Forces claimed that two India aircraft were shot down and one India pilot had been held by Pakistan troop. By PTI SRINAGAR: Two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants were killed on Wednesday in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Meemendar area of Shopian following information about presence of militants there, the officials said. They said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants opened fire towards the security forces, who retaliated. The two militants were killed in the ensuing gunfight. The officials said the slain militants were affiliated with proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammad. Arms and ammunition were recovered from the scene of the encounter, he said, adding further details are awaited. Sana Shakil By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) training complex in Balakot, which was struck by the Air Force on Tuesday, is where the February 14 Pulwama terror attack was planned. According to intelligence sources, JeM recruits were planning more suicide attacks from this facility. The terror complex, home to 200-300 terror recruits at any given time and said to be the biggest training camp of JeM, had six barracks with further construction underway to strengthen it. Rasheed Ghazi, the mastermind behind the Pulwama attack, who was killed in an encounter four days after the attack, was also trained at this complex, sources said. Suicide bomber Adil Dar, who rammed his explosive laden vehicle into the CRPF convoy in the Pulwama attack, was trained by Ghazi. Located about 20 km from the Balakot town, the terror complex has existed for more than three decades and has been a training ground for not just JeM terrorists but also operatives belonging to other terror outfits like Hizbul Mujahideen. The complex had several structures to accommodate terrorist trainees and facilities to train them, sources said. They added that the complex had even more than the usual number of operatives on Tuesday as many terrorists from camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) were shifted to Balakot, fearing retaliation from India in PoK areas. Beginning November 17, last year, 60 JeM recruits underwent three-month advance training, including training for suicide attacks. The terror complex was being run by fugitive Yusuf Azhar, who is one of the terrorists involved in the hijack of Indian Airline flight IC 814 in 1999, and also happens to be the brother-in-law of JeM chief Masood Azhar. In December 2017, Abdullah, the son of JeM founder, underwent advanced training here. Later, he did a 10-day refresher training at the camp, sources said. Sources in government said that the terror complex was used for battle inoculation and its trainers were retired officers of the Pakistan Army. The Balakot complex is one of the camps where Border Action Teams (BAT) conducts cross-border operations and raids across the LoC. The BATs include commandos from the Pakistan Army and terrorists. Its these teams that have carried out the beheading of Indian soldiers along the Line of Control in the past. By PTI JAMMU: The cross-LoC trade between J&K and PoK continued Wednesday amid the escalating Indo-Pak tension with 50 goods trucks crossing the Line of Control a day after the IAF jet fighters bombed a JeM terror facility at Balakot in Pakistan, said officials. The cross-LoC trade via Chakan-da-Bagh Wednesday saw 50 goods laden trucks crossing the LoC, custodian Fareed Kohli of the LoC trade centre at Poonch told PTI. He said while 34 Indian goods trucks went to PoK, 16 trucks arrived here from the other side. ALSO READ | Official Pakistan view: Why PAF struck across LoC The cross-LoC trade takes place between the two sides four days a week from Tuesday to Friday. A similar number of goods trucks, 35 Indian and 15 of PoK, had crossed the LoC Tuesday when the weekly trade resumed. A Pakistan Air Force F-16 fighter jet was shot down by Indian air defence forces in Rajouri sector of Jammu region on Wednesday morning after it violated the Indian air space and dropped bombs at a few places near the LoC. ALSO READ | Villages along the LoC put on alert The PAF fighter jet breached Indian air space after intense shelling all along the LoC in the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri along with parts of Jammu on late Tuesday. While five Pakistani posts were damaged in retaliatory action by the Indian Army, whose five personnel were injured in Akhnoor sector of Jammu district in skirmishes. The intense shelling caused scare among the border residents who have been directed by authorities to stay back at their homes. The people at some places, including Mandi in Poonch district, however, were seen moving to safer places amid the rising tension which also forced authorities to close down all educational institutions within five kilometer from the LoC as a precautionary measure, officials said. ALSO READ | Tension along LoC: 14 Pakistani prisoners segregated from Indians in Kolkata The weekly bus-service between Poonch and Rawalakot (PoK), which had been suspended on February 18 following the Pulwama terror attack on February 14, had also resumed Monday with 17 passengers availing the facility. Billed as the biggest confidence-building measure, the bus service had been started on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route in Kashmir region on April 7, 2005 and the Poonch-Rawalakot route in Jammu region on June 20, 2006, to facilitate easier trade and travel between divided families of Jammu and Kashmir and the PoK. The trade, which works on the barter system between the divided parts of the state had started in October 2008. By IANS NEW DELHI: India, having sent its message with Tuesday's air strike, should now refrain from any escalation and tread carefully keeping all diplomatic channels open as a Wing Commander of the Indian Air Force (IAF) was in Pakistan's custody, former IAF officers said on Wednesday. After an aerial engagement in Jammu and Kashmir's Nowshera sector on Wednesday, in which the IAF shot down an F-16 of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Pakistan claimed that it has captured one Indian pilot, who was identified as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, a MiG 21 Bison pilot. The Indian government has acknowledged that Varthaman has been captured by the Pakistani forces and said that it expects his immediate and safe return. "India should keep all the diplomatic channels open. The situation would not have gone this bad had there been a dialogue. These politicians think they can eradicate terrorism. Even the United States has been trying to do the same since the 9/11 attacks, but it has not been able to do so," Air Marshal (retd) Ashok Goel said. "We need to tread very carefully and judiciously now. We don't know what kind of harm Pakistan may cause to the captured officer. There should not be an escalation from our side at least. The priority should be to get our man back," he said. Another former Air Marshal advised India to try to get the captured officer back with both the parties having achieved their objectives. "India achieved its aim by destroying their terror camp. Pakistan also saved its face by doing some sort of attack in which both nations lost an aircraft each. Unfortunately, one of our men was captured. We should make all efforts to retrieve our pilot," former IAF Chief P.V. Naik said. Former Air Marshal M. Matheswaran said that while bringing back our man should be the priority, India must extort some action from Pakistan against terrorism before it fully engages in a dialogue. "Of course, we must bring him back... But it's something that happens in an escalation. Our plane drifted into their territory and got captured... it is part of the conflict situation. We have to deal with it. "But Pakistan needs to show some action. It needs to stop supporting the terror outfits and eliminate them," he said. The already strained relations between India and Pakistan have been tested since Tuesday when the IAF, retaliating against the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF troopers, bombed the biggest training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed at Balakot in Pakistan. Tilak Devasher By Express News Service Let me preface this by saying that what has been achieved in todays airstrikes is something very fundamental and its a very major achievement. Because whatever restraints that we had put on ourselves of not reacting for fear of escalating it to the nuclear level, those shackles have been broken down by India conclusively. Pakistan will have now have to rethink its entire strategy of using non-state actors against us. So far Pakistans strategy was that under a nuclear overhang they could do whatever they liked and India would not dare to attack. That has been demolished totally. Thats the first point. Where do we go from here? Pakistan will have to react for the sake of its own prestige domestically in the country. Their dilemma is going to be that there are no terrorist camps in India. So what do they retaliate against? They will either have to retaliate against a military target, or against our civilian population, or an economic target. Each of these is very escalatory or a direct declaration of war. So I am not sure whether Pakistan or its Ministry of Defence would advise any of these steps or whether it is even prepared for a war. So what they are likely to use? An easy option for them would be to galvanise some of the terrorist sleeper modules within the country. They may try to do that so we need to be very careful and remain on watch, internally. But this will not be satisfactory enough for the Pakistani army or the Pakistani public itself. Because they will say that if we have to take revenge, the Pakistan army will have to do something. So its a difficult situation for them and it will be interesting to see how they will react. React they will, but how they do so we will have to just wait and see. Everyone knows that the Pakistani army needs India as an enemy to justify its own sweeping powers. Cumulatively, these steps will demolish the mystique of the Pakistani Army. It is the institution of the last resort, which is supposed the protect the Pakistani people. But a strike like this will dent its reputation. The people will ask why even after using 30 per cent of the countrys budget and the defence forces enjoying all the privileges, the country cannot defend itself when it comes to the crunch. So once the mystique of the Pakistan army gets demolished, or at least dented if not demolished, automatically you will find that the civil government will start asserting itself more. Once the civil government understands the insecurity that the Pakistan army suffers from, it may be possible that in the next 10 to 15 years or so, we might have normal relations. I wont say good relations with Pakistan. That is in case the civil government in power is strengthened and doesnt perceive India to be a threat. So now the ball is totally in Pakistans court. We have given a clear cut message and demolished a major terrorist training camp. So now lets see how Pakistan reacts. But the message has gone across to them very strongly that the next time they do something like this, India will enter their house and hit them. By Online Desk India has demanded the immediate return of Wing Commander Abhinandan who was captured by Pakistan earlier on Wednesday. The MEA summoned the acting high commissioner of Pakistan and conveyed its strong objection to Pakistan's 'vulgar display' of an injured IAF officer in violation of all international norms. Meanwhile, with the situation along the border threatening to spiral out of control, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has offered to settle the crisis with talks. "If this escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in Narendra Modi's," he said. The MEA spokesperson said at a press briefing that Pakistan's attempts to target India's military installations on Wednesday were foiled successfully. One Pakistani F-16 was shot down by an Indian Air Force Mig-21 Bison, he said, adding that the aircraft was seen by ground forces falling on the Pakistan side. "In this engagement, we have lost one MiG 21 and one pilot is missing in action. Pakistan claims he is in their custody. We are still ascertaining the facts," he added. Tensions had escalated after Pakistan said it struck across the LoC in response to India's Balakot airstrike on Tuesday. Pakistan said the strikes had been conducted from within its territory. This was followed by further claims that it had shot down two IAF jets. Pakistan released a video of one 'Indian pilot' in support of its claims. On the other hand, Britain's foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt Wednesday held talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi to prevent a further escalation of tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. "I've been in touch with foreign minister Swaraj of India and foreign minister Qureshi of Pakistan. I've spoken to both of them about the situation. We are urging restraint on all sides," Hunt said in a statement issued by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). "The UK is very concerned about rising tensions in Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Both countries are good friends of the UK," he said. Here are the key highlights: A Sharadhaa By Express News Service Even as Rishab Shetty is still basking in the success of his latest film, Bell Bottom, the actor is getting ready to don yet another interesting role in his upcoming film, Nathuram. The film will mark the silver screen debut of director Vinu Balanja, who is a known name on small screen. The team was in search for a heroine, and after many auditions, they have found the right face in Ganavi Laxman. The talented dancer and artiste from Chikmagalur, who has become a household name with TN Seetharams teleserial, Magalu Janaki, will simultaneously make her transition to the silver screen. While Rishab is said to be getting a new image with his role -a follower of Gandhian principles in Nathuram, another powerful role is that of Kasturi which will be played by Ganavi. Apparently, her previous performances is what caught the attention of the makers, who chose to cast her in the film. An official announcement to this effect will be made by the production house soon, which plans to begin shoot sometime in the first week of March. The film, produced by HK Prakash, under the banner Shreedevi production, also features Anant Nag, Kishore, Shivamani and Achyuth Kumar in pivotal roles. With Pragathi Shetty doing the costume designing, the films dialogues are written by Masthi. Britain will write to the European Union to try to secure guarantees on citizens' rights in the event of a no-deal Brexit, Brexit minister Stephen Barclay said on Wednesday, part of government efforts to take the sting out of a series of votes. "I'm happy to confirm ... that we will write to the EU institutions and that this will be done in the coming days," Barclay told parliament, after a lawmaker in his party gathered widespread support for a proposal calling on the government to do more on citizens' rights. He also said the government would accept an opposition lawmaker's amendment to put in writing Prime Minister Theresa May's pledge to give parliament a vote on a no deal Brexit and whether to delay Britain's departure if her deal fails to pass. Short link: By Express News Service CHENNAI: The Government of Bangladesh has decided to set aside three Special Economic Zones exclusively for Indian enterprises to set up their businesses, said the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India during his visit to the City on Tuesday. Factors like non-availability of soft loans and cumbersome process to select developers, have slowed down the progress of Bangladesh setting up country specific economic zones. But considerable increase in foreign investment in the past year will speed up this initiative, said H E Syed Muazzem Ali, the High Commissioner, speaking at a session hosted by the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI). The SEZs will be set up in three locations including Mongla, Bheramara and Shoronkhola. By opening country specific economic zones, the exportable base for foreign investment will broaden. Recently, the Indian government has invested five billion USD in Bangladesh for economic and technical development, he said. Also, plans to set up a Deputy High Commission in Chennai, is getting delayed as the Bangladesh government is waiting for clearance from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, said Ali. Bangladesh has a strong connection with southern India as many come to undergo treatment and advanced medical procedures, and to seek employment in the IT, automobile and garment sector. A Deputy High Commission will act as a catalyst in such a situation, said the High Commissioner. President of SICCI, M Ganapathi noted that in the last one year, there has been a sharp increase in import of goods from Bangladesh and in terms of general trade between the two countries. Nine hundred USD worth ready-made garments have been imported from Bangladesh. There has been a 113 percent increase in trade between the two countries since July 2017. India also has exported nearly two hundred thousand tons of raw cotton from AP and Telangana to Bangladesh, which is the second largest producer of ready- made garments, said Ganapathi. By Express News Service CHENNAI: Latvia has backed India for taking non-military pre-emptive action against armed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) after 12 Indian Air Force Mirage-2000 jets crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and bombed terror camps in Balakot in Pakistan on Tuesday morning. Latvia Ambassador Artis Bertulis said the Indian authorities had sovereign power of exercising their right to attack. Any form of terror is a crime and should be punished. We are watching the developments with concern and those guilty should be punished. We are analysing the situation, said Bertulis, who was here in Chennai for an interaction meeting organised by the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Bertulis also urged India to open an embassy in Latvia to provide consular assistance to 1,233 Indian students who are studying there. The Ambassador also thanked India for its teaching of non-violent form of protest which had helped in liberation of the country (Latvia) from the then Soviet Union about 30 years ago. He said Riga Technical University had also signed a memorandum of understanding with Anna University, adding that he was also looking forward to a free trade agreement with India. Lativia is wooing Indian students in engineering and medicine as it helps the Indian students practise in the European Union countries after graduating from Riga, the capital of Latvia. The advantage is You dont have to pay capitation fee which makes medical and engineering degrees cheaper, said Narayanaswamy Ramachandran, honorary Consul of Latvia. Newfound Landing Newfound's John Lellos chosen as Social Studies Teacher of the Year in NH by Donna Rhodes write the author Newfound Regional High School faculty member John Lellos was recently named New Hampshire's 2020 Social Studies Teacher of the Year. (Photo by Donna Rhodes) (click for larger version) BRISTOL Principal Paul Hoiiris of Newfound Regional High School said that one of the best parts of his job is celebrating the accomplishments of not only his students, but his faculty and staff, and he was pleased to announce last week that teacher John Lellos has been named the state's 2020 Social Studies Teacher of the Year. "We at Newfound are truly lucky to have a teacher that engages and inspires others. Fortunately, the State of New Hampshire's Council for Social Studies agrees with us," he said in his announcement. Lellos, an alumni of NRHS, has taught at the school for the past five years, serving as his department's chair for four of those years. His leadership has brought a number of electives and rigorous opportunities to the students, Hoiiris said, that engage them in the subject. Through his role at the school, Lellos has worked with community partners such as Tapply-Thompson Community Center, the New Hampshire Bar Association and the VFW, and facilitated school-wide events like Constitution Day and Voice of Democracy. Besides teaching in the classroom, Lellos also mentors students through Bridge Academy, a summer program to introduce incoming freshmen to the school, and Fit Club. On a broader spectrum, he is actively involved in his professional social studies association and is helping to rewrite the standards of the subject on a state level. Lellos has made presentations at professional development conferences and is currently working with Gov. Chris Sununu and Commissioner of Education Frank Edelblut on a state-wide economics challenge for New Hampshire high school students. "Most importantly is Mr. Lellos' connection with students and staff at Newfound," said Hoiiris. Amy Yeakel, Extended Learning Opportunities coordinator at NRHS, had praise for her co-worker as well. She said, "Mr. Lellos arrives game ready, ready to work, be busy, innovative, pitch in and cover a gap." And while Lellos' curriculum is rigorous, students consistently rise to the challenge, are engaged and successful, stated fellow social studies instructor Daniel Champagne. Former student Emma Howe weighed in by saying, "I have never had a teacher that has transformed my experience in the classroom as Mr. Lellos," while current student Deanna Martin wrote that Lellos did more than help her find the desire to learn. He has also taught her the value in learning and has inspired her to pursue a future in Economics. BRISTOL Principal Paul Hoiiris of Newfound Regional High School said that one of the best parts of his job is celebrating the accomplishments of not only his students, but his faculty and staff, and he was pleased to announce last week that teacher John Lellos has been named the state's 2020 Social Studies Teacher of the Year."We at Newfound are truly lucky to have a teacher that engages and inspires others. Fortunately, the State of New Hampshire's Council for Social Studies agrees with us," he said in his announcement.Lellos, an alumni of NRHS, has taught at the school for the past five years, serving as his department's chair for four of those years. His leadership has brought a number of electives and rigorous opportunities to the students, Hoiiris said, that engage them in the subject. Through his role at the school, Lellos has worked with community partners such as Tapply-Thompson Community Center, the New Hampshire Bar Association and the VFW, and facilitated school-wide events like Constitution Day and Voice of Democracy.Besides teaching in the classroom, Lellos also mentors students through Bridge Academy, a summer program to introduce incoming freshmen to the school, and Fit Club. On a broader spectrum, he is actively involved in his professional social studies association and is helping to rewrite the standards of the subject on a state level.Lellos has made presentations at professional development conferences and is currently working with Gov. Chris Sununu and Commissioner of Education Frank Edelblut on a state-wide economics challenge for New Hampshire high school students."Most importantly is Mr. Lellos' connection with students and staff at Newfound," said Hoiiris.Amy Yeakel, Extended Learning Opportunities coordinator at NRHS, had praise for her co-worker as well.She said, "Mr. Lellos arrives game ready, ready to work, be busy, innovative, pitch in and cover a gap."And while Lellos' curriculum is rigorous, students consistently rise to the challenge, are engaged and successful, stated fellow social studies instructor Daniel Champagne.Former student Emma Howe weighed in by saying, "I have never had a teacher that has transformed my experience in the classroom as Mr. Lellos," while current student Deanna Martin wrote that Lellos did more than help her find the desire to learn. He has also taught her the value in learning and has inspired her to pursue a future in Economics. Littleton Courier Hassan praises Schilling Brewing Co.'s charitable efforts by Justin Roshak Sen. Maggie Hassan, Stuart Cozzens, John Lenzini, and Jeff Cozzens enjoy a half-pour of Schilling beer last Tuesday, Feb. 19. (Photo by Justin Roshak) (click for larger version) LITTLETONNew Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan visited Schilling Brewing Co. last Tuesday to congratulate them on their charitable efforts, and hear their concerns about the state of the craft beer industry. She praised Schilling for temporarily releasing its trademark on the label "Resilience IPA" so that it could be used for a nation-wide fire relief charity project by Chico, California-based Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman visited Littleton in December to promote the project. "These guys made a huge contribution," said Hassan, who named them Granite States of the Month last December for their efforts. Schilling CEO Jeff Cozzens said that local investments in infrastructure, and community enagagement, had been key to his firm's success. He said his firm employs some 50 people at the moment, and as many as seventy during the summer rush. "There's some exciting entrepreneurs in the area," observed Head Brewer John Lenzini, who mentioned new businesses such as Crumb Bar, the Freehouse Taproom, and the Inkwell Coffee House. The two agreed that attracting quality employees was a priority. Lenzini acknowledged that craft brewing called for a specialized skill set, while Cozzens emphasized the importance of the sciences to his firm, and added that the craft beer industry was adding hundreds of millions of dollars to the New Hampshire economy. "We need the help of Concord and Washington to streamline some things for us," Cozzens said. He said the process for certifying beer labels, an essential part of the production process, is "tremendously inefficient." During the government shutdown, "It was a huge problem for us" because beer was delayed getting to market. "We had several new beers during this shutdown," Cozzens explained. "Without labels, we can't export across state lines." Expanding sales to Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont is a major strategic goal for Schilling. Lenzini added that while their firm was able to manage during the shutdown, other breweries had large quantities of beer sitting in their tanks. Cozzens argued for a system where breweries could scan their labels into a database, and have assumed authorization to proceed unless federal regulators object (a system of "certified until proven guilty," which would reduce the power of federal regulators). Cozzens could not resist asking Hassan for her thoughts on the Democratic primary, which is quickly shaping up to be one of the most crowded and competition in recent memory. "I think it's important for Democrats to focus on overriding vision," she said, and urged her colleagues (none of whom she has yet endorsed) to "listen to New Hampshire residents" if they wish to succeed in the nation's first primary. LITTLETONNew Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan visited Schilling Brewing Co. last Tuesday to congratulate them on their charitable efforts, and hear their concerns about the state of the craft beer industry.She praised Schilling for temporarily releasing its trademark on the label "Resilience IPA" so that it could be used for a nation-wide fire relief charity project by Chico, California-based Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman visited Littleton in December to promote the project."These guys made a huge contribution," said Hassan, who named them Granite States of the Month last December for their efforts.Schilling CEO Jeff Cozzens said that local investments in infrastructure, and community enagagement, had been key to his firm's success. He said his firm employs some 50 people at the moment, and as many as seventy during the summer rush."There's some exciting entrepreneurs in the area," observed Head Brewer John Lenzini, who mentioned new businesses such as Crumb Bar, the Freehouse Taproom, and the Inkwell Coffee House.The two agreed that attracting quality employees was a priority. Lenzini acknowledged that craft brewing called for a specialized skill set, while Cozzens emphasized the importance of the sciences to his firm, and added that the craft beer industry was adding hundreds of millions of dollars to the New Hampshire economy."We need the help of Concord and Washington to streamline some things for us," Cozzens said. He said the process for certifying beer labels, an essential part of the production process, is "tremendously inefficient." During the government shutdown, "It was a huge problem for us" because beer was delayed getting to market."We had several new beers during this shutdown," Cozzens explained. "Without labels, we can't export across state lines."Expanding sales to Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont is a major strategic goal for Schilling.Lenzini added that while their firm was able to manage during the shutdown, other breweries had large quantities of beer sitting in their tanks.Cozzens argued for a system where breweries could scan their labels into a database, and have assumed authorization to proceed unless federal regulators object (a system of "certified until proven guilty," which would reduce the power of federal regulators).Cozzens could not resist asking Hassan for her thoughts on the Democratic primary, which is quickly shaping up to be one of the most crowded and competition in recent memory."I think it's important for Democrats to focus on overriding vision," she said, and urged her colleagues (none of whom she has yet endorsed) to "listen to New Hampshire residents" if they wish to succeed in the nation's first primary. Littleton Courier Firefighters battle second blaze at Rotobec Wireless LINC under new ownership, upgrades underway Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.com Gilford Steamer GHS' Moreau named Special Education Teacher of the Year by Erin Pummer Jean Moreau with her flowers in the lobby of the school. (Photo by Erin Plummer) (click for larger version) A longtime Gilford High School educator received the award for New Hampshire Education Teacher of the Year. On Friday afternoon, case manager Jean Moreau received the award for New Hampshire Special Education Teacher of the Year. The announcement was made right before the Winter Carnival gym events. A team of administrators, district and school board representatives, and others came together in front of the students and announced Moreau's award. Moreau received the award after an extensive review and and interview process. The award is presented by the New Hampshire Excellence in Education Awards (EDies) and the Council for Exceptional Children, an international organization to support special education professionals. A nominating committee met with Moreau, interviewed her and her colleagues, and came to the school to see her in action. Moreau said the nomination process involved answering a lot of questions. She said her colleagues really contributed to this process such as administrators, classroom teachers, and case managers. "My colleagues have been great; the administrators, the teachers supported me through this process," Moreau said. She said she feels exceedingly grateful to all the people who worked hard to make this award possible. Moreau has been working as a case manager at GHS since 1999, entering her 20th year at the school. "It's fun to see the kids growing up and transitioning to what they do post high school," Moreau said. Principal Anthony Sperazzo said this was a well deserved award. "It's great recognition for her and all she does to support our learners," Sperazzo said. Sperazzo said in her 20 years here she has put in a lot of work for the district. He said the committee had the chance to see what she does throughout the day. Moreau will be honored with other EDies winners during an awards banquet in August in Manchester. A longtime Gilford High School educator received the award for New Hampshire Education Teacher of the Year.On Friday afternoon, case manager Jean Moreau received the award for New Hampshire Special Education Teacher of the Year. The announcement was made right before the Winter Carnival gym events. A team of administrators, district and school board representatives, and others came together in front of the students and announced Moreau's award.Moreau received the award after an extensive review and and interview process.The award is presented by the New Hampshire Excellence in Education Awards (EDies) and the Council for Exceptional Children, an international organization to support special education professionals.A nominating committee met with Moreau, interviewed her and her colleagues, and came to the school to see her in action. Moreau said the nomination process involved answering a lot of questions.She said her colleagues really contributed to this process such as administrators, classroom teachers, and case managers."My colleagues have been great; the administrators, the teachers supported me through this process," Moreau said.She said she feels exceedingly grateful to all the people who worked hard to make this award possible.Moreau has been working as a case manager at GHS since 1999, entering her 20th year at the school."It's fun to see the kids growing up and transitioning to what they do post high school," Moreau said.Principal Anthony Sperazzo said this was a well deserved award."It's great recognition for her and all she does to support our learners," Sperazzo said.Sperazzo said in her 20 years here she has put in a lot of work for the district.He said the committee had the chance to see what she does throughout the day.Moreau will be honored with other EDies winners during an awards banquet in August in Manchester. Gilford Steamer Gilford still facing beach staff shortage Town discussing traffic safety options for Scenic Drive Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.com Berlin Reporter New exhibit at St. Kieran's spotlights work of Judi Calhoun by Steve Bissonnette Judi Calhoun of Berlin will be featured beginning March 1 at St. Kieran's Community Center for the Arts. (click for larger version) BERLIN Art is a doorway connecting us to the beauty within, and St. Kieran's Community Center for the Arts is holding that door open for everyone. Their vision is 'To be a beacon of light for Berlin and the North Country region by offering quality cultural activity as a Community Arts Center.' One of the many ways they accomplish this is with an ongoing exhibit of local artwork. The next exhibit, slated to open March 1, will feature local author, artist, illustrator, and teacher - Judi Calhoun. She says there is no specific theme to the approximately 20 pieces she will be exhibiting, but a look at her work assures us that it will be a great show. Calhoun, who recently celebrated her 50th Wedding Anniversary to husband Ed Calhoun, studied Art and English at Palomar College in San Marcos, California. She isn't a fan of self-promotion, but with over 60 published stories and hundreds of artworks sold, Calhoun has plenty to brag about. She was the winner of the 2009 Artist Innovation Award given by Art Works, NH, and was twice commissioned to create a cancellation stamp by the US Postal Service. Additionally she teaches art to students ranging from Kindergarten age, to 92 years young. Calhoun works in nearly every medium, pencil, acrylic, ink, and pastel. "Except oil," she said. When asked how she decides what artwork to create, she responded that she paints things she finds interesting, fun, or unusual. "The subjects pick me I get lost in the work. I can't go to bed, or eat, until it's done," she said. One of Calhoun's current projects is working on portraits of 1920's gangsters, including mugshots. Through her portrait work, Judi captures images that go beyond the mundane images of famous people we all recognize. "I did a portrait of Charlie Chaplin, without the mustache everyone recognizes him with the mustache, but they made him wear that," she explained. Art has been a lifelong passion for Calhoun, "When I was eight my mother saw me drawing and gave me a picture of an ice skater to draw, that was a hard picture. I did it exactly right, so she bought me a sketch book. I've been constantly sketching since then." Calhoun sold her first painting at age nine, "Art not only benefits the creator," she said, "it benefits the looker. It moves us, reminds us of who we are. It's been called 'beautiful torture' because the artist leaves a piece of themselves on the canvas." Be sure to go see the exhibit. Calhoun's skillful passion for her work is sure to move you. St. Kieran's Community Center is located at 155 Emery Street in Berlin. For information on this exhibit, upcoming events, or if you'd like to know how you can help the Community Center you can call 752-1028. Or visit them online at https://stkieranarts.org/. BERLIN Art is a doorway connecting us to the beauty within, and St. Kieran's Community Center for the Arts is holding that door open for everyone. Their vision is 'To be a beacon of light for Berlin and the North Country region by offering quality cultural activity as a Community Arts Center.' One of the many ways they accomplish this is with an ongoing exhibit of local artwork.The next exhibit, slated to open March 1, will feature local author, artist, illustrator, and teacher - Judi Calhoun. She says there is no specific theme to the approximately 20 pieces she will be exhibiting, but a look at her work assures us that it will be a great show.Calhoun, who recently celebrated her 50th Wedding Anniversary to husband Ed Calhoun, studied Art and English at Palomar College in San Marcos, California. She isn't a fan of self-promotion, but with over 60 published stories and hundreds of artworks sold, Calhoun has plenty to brag about. She was the winner of the 2009 Artist Innovation Award given by Art Works, NH, and was twice commissioned to create a cancellation stamp by the US Postal Service. Additionally she teaches art to students ranging from Kindergarten age, to 92 years young.Calhoun works in nearly every medium, pencil, acrylic, ink, and pastel."Except oil," she said.When asked how she decides what artwork to create, she responded that she paints things she finds interesting, fun, or unusual."The subjects pick me I get lost in the work. I can't go to bed, or eat, until it's done," she said.One of Calhoun's current projects is working on portraits of 1920's gangsters, including mugshots. Through her portrait work, Judi captures images that go beyond the mundane images of famous people we all recognize."I did a portrait of Charlie Chaplin, without the mustache everyone recognizes him with the mustache, but they made him wear that," she explained.Art has been a lifelong passion for Calhoun, "When I was eight my mother saw me drawing and gave me a picture of an ice skater to draw, that was a hard picture. I did it exactly right, so she bought me a sketch book. I've been constantly sketching since then."Calhoun sold her first painting at age nine, "Art not only benefits the creator," she said, "it benefits the looker. It moves us, reminds us of who we are. It's been called 'beautiful torture' because the artist leaves a piece of themselves on the canvas."Be sure to go see the exhibit. Calhoun's skillful passion for her work is sure to move you. St. Kieran's Community Center is located at 155 Emery Street in Berlin. For information on this exhibit, upcoming events, or if you'd like to know how you can help the Community Center you can call 752-1028. Or visit them online at https://stkieranarts.org/. Berlin Reporter BMHS recognizes college-bound graduates Exciting things are happening at Berlin Public Library! Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.com All 50 states have legislation requiring specified vaccines for students. Although exemptions vary from state to state, all school immunization laws grant exemptions to children for medical reasons. There are 44 states and Washington D.C. that grant religious exemptions for people who have religious objections to immunizations. Currently, 15 states allow philosophical exemptions for children whose parents object to immunizations because of personal, moral or other beliefs. Many states align their vaccine requirements with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. At this time, no state requires children to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for school entry. Below this map are examples of enacted legislation related to school immunization requirements for the last several years. Source: Adapted from the LexisNexis StateNet Database and the Immunization Action Coalition, May 2019. * The existing statute in Minnesota and Louisiana does not explicitly recognize religion as a reason for claiming an exemption, however, as a practical matter, the non-medical exemption may encompass religious beliefs. **In Virginia, parents can receive a personal exemption only for the HPV vaccine. ***Missouris personal belief exemption does not apply to public schools, only child care facilities. Enacted Legislation 2021 Connecticut House Bill 6423 removes the religious exemption for vaccine requirement for children in grade 12 or below. Enacted Legislation 2020 Colorado Senate Bill 163 requires a person seeking a nonmedical exemption (either religious or personal belief) to submit a certificate of completion of an online educational module or a certificate of nonmedical exemption. It establishes an immunization goal of 95% of each school's student population and requires schools to publish its immunization and exemption rates on a document that is distributed to parents, guardians and students. Virginia House Bill 1090 provides that the Board of Health's Regulations for the Immunization of School Children shall be consistent with the Immunization Schedule developed and published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. Enacted Legislation 2019 Arkansas House Bill 1786 requires a public or private school to create and maintain a report that provides certain information regarding the number and percentage of students who have an exemption from the requirement to obtain vaccinations. Maine House Bill 586 removes personal and religious belief exemptions for public school immunization requirements. New York Senate Bill 2994 removes the religious exemption for public school immunization requirements. Washington House Bill 1638 removes the personal belief exemption for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine requirement for public schools, private schools and day care centers. Enacted Legislation 2018 Illinois Senate Bill 2866 provides for the distribution of written information about the link between HPV and certain types of cancers to all students entering sixth grade and their parents or legal guardians. Louisiana House Bill 176 requires students who are entering eleventh grade or who are 16 and entering any grade to provide satisfactory evidence of current immunization against meningococcal disease as a condition of school entry, and provides for exceptions. Enacted Legislation 2017 Indiana House Bill 1069 adds meningitis to the required immunizations a student enrolling in a residential campus of an approved postsecondary educational institution must be immunized against. Utah House Bill 308 requires the Department of Health to create an online education module regarding certain preventable diseases; amends the grounds for exemptions from required vaccines; requires the renewal of a student's vaccination exemption under certain conditions; create a new vaccination exemption form; allows for the vaccination exemption form to be completed online in conjunction with the education module and discontinues the practice of allowing local health departments to vaccinate students and recover costs. Religious exemption indicates that there is a provision in the statute that allows parents to exempt their children from vaccination if it contradicts their sincere religious beliefs. Philosophical exemption indicates that the statutory language does not restrict the exemption to purely religious or spiritual beliefs. For example, Maine allows restrictions based on "moral, philosophical or other personal beliefs," and Minnesota allows objections based on conscientiously held beliefs of the parent or guardian. *Missouri's philosophical exemption only applies to day care centers. Sources: Chart adapted from Immunization Action Coalition, "Exemptions Permitted for State Immunization Requirements," 2017; LexisNexis; StateNet 2017 Note: List may not be comprehensive, but is representative of state laws that exist. NCSL appreciates additions and corrections. NCSL Resources: Immunization Policy Issues Overview | NCSL Webpage Kindergarten Immunization Coverage Rates 2018-19: Mumps, Measles and Rubella Vaccine | NCSL Postcard HPV Vaccine: State Legislation and Regulation | NCSL Webpage Preventing and Mitigating the Flu | NCSL LegisBrief Vaccination Policies: Requirements and Exemptions for Entering Schools | NCSL LegisBrief State juvenile justice legislation in 2018 focused on broad, sweeping reform measures, restoring juvenile court jurisdiction, diversion, truancy, addressing due process and rights of juveniles, and limiting shackling in the courtroom. Many of the laws enacted in 2018 fell under the policies and principles laid out in NCSLs publication Principles of Effective Juvenile Justice Policy . Comprehensive Reform Massachusetts passed a sweeping juvenile justice reform bill in 2018. The new law changed the lower age of jurisdiction to 12 years old. Prior to this change, children over age 6 could be charged with a crime in juvenile court. The law also created opportunities for expungement of misdemeanors and some felony offenses committed before the age of 21 if it was the young persons first offense. Additionally, the law created a parent-child privilege where neither party can be legally compelled to testify against the other. The law also gives judges the authority to divert youth from court prior to arraignment and decriminalized some school-based offenses. Tennessee also passed reform in 2018, committing $4.5 million per year for ongoing improvements to the juvenile justice system and expansion of community-based resources, especially in underserved counties. Additionally, the allows law enforcement to issue citations to juveniles for misdemeanor offenses, prohibits the use of seclusion (solitary confinement) for punitive purposes in a detention setting and establishes criteria aimed at reducing a young persons length of stay in custody. The law also requires school personnel who file petition with juvenile court to provide information on efforts made to address problems in school before petitioning the court and facts showing the need for court intervention. Finally, the law establishes performance-based metrics, oversight for providers, requires that a plan for comprehensive, and accurate data collection procedures. In Nebraska, beginning July 1, 2019, children under the age of 12 cannot be placed in detention under any circumstances and older juveniles cannot be detained unless the physical safety of persons in the community would be seriously threatened or detention is necessary to secure the presence of the juvenile at the next hearing. Additionally, Nebraskas law provides state grant funding to create shelters as alternatives to juvenile detention. Diversion In 2018, Delaware and Florida enacted laws related to diverting appropriate youth from formal court processing. Delaware repealed the sunset provision on its Juvenile Civil Program to provide law enforcement officers with the discretion to refer to the civil citation program any juvenile charged with any misdemeanor-level behavior for the first time. Through that program, the young person can be required to participate in counseling, treatment, community service, or any other appropriate intervention. Florida also passed legislation on pre-arrest diversion for youth in the state. The law outlined the implementation of a pre-arrest diversion program and made legislative findings that the widespread use of civil citation and similar prearrest diversion programs has a positive effect on the criminal justice system and contributes to an overall reduction in the crime rate and recidivism in the state. The Legislature encourages but does not mandate that counties, municipalities, and public or private educational institutions participate in a civil citation or similar prearrest diversion program created by their judicial circuit under this section. Restoring Jurisdiction to the Juvenile Justice System Transfer, Waiver In 2018, Arizona, California, Missouri and Washington amended their laws to expand jurisdiction of the juvenile court. In Arizona, the juvenile court is allowed to retain juvenile jurisdiction for some cases up to age 19. California now prohibits the transfer of all children younger than 16 to the adult criminal justice system. Missouri lawmakers raised the age of juvenile court jurisdiction to 18, with the law going into effect Jan. 1, 2021. Washington adopted measures prohibiting automatic transfer to adult court for 16- and 17-year-olds who commit certain crimes, such as robbery. Distinguishing Juveniles from Adult Offenders Delaware enacted legislation that requires juveniles younger than 18 who are charged as adults to remain in juvenile facilities before trial. The state also passed legislation eliminating or reducing mandatory minimums in Delaware Family Court, which gives the judge more discretion to develop juvenile dispositions. Due Process Rights and Defense Reform Colorado and Oklahoma enacted laws that increase due process protections by clarifying competency procedures for juveniles and providing access to quality defense counsel. Colorado clarified the procedures for establishing incompetency as well as restoration of competency and created juvenile-specific definitions of developmental disability, mental disability and mental capacity. The law allows prosecutors, defense counsel, parents, guardians ad litem, probation officers or the court on its own to raise the question of competency. Oklahoma now requires a youthful offender or child to be represented by counsel at every hearing or review through completion or dismissal of the case. Conditions of Confinement for Juveniles Two states, Oklahoma and Louisiana, put restrictions on when a young person can be restrained. Oklahoma created the presumption that no restraints of any kind shall be used on a pregnant prisoner, detainee or juvenile during any phase of labor unless otherwise directed by the physician in charge. Even prior to labor, abdominal restraints, four-point restraints, leg or ankle restraints or a chain restraint that links to another inmate is now prohibited. Louisiana limited the circumstances under which juveniles are required to wear restraints, including use of shackles in the courtroom. The law only allows for restraints to be used if there has been an individualized determination they are necessary to prevent young people from injuring themselves or others or to prevent flight from the courtroom. The court must determine that there are no less restrictive alternative measures in order to require a child to wear shackles in the courtroom. Truancy At least four states enacted laws in 2018 related to juveniles and school truancy. Colorado amended its Childrens Code to state that truancy and habitual truancy are not considered delinquent acts, and that a student who is habitually truant may be subject to sanctions by the court but cannot be placed in a juvenile detention facility for truancy. Additionally, the court may not issue a warrant to take a juvenile into temporary custody for a truancy action. Utah enacted a similar law in 2018. No minor may be ordered or placed in secure detention for a contempt charge or a violation of a court order when the underlying offense is habitual truancy. The same law also provides that appropriations for the Enhancement for At-Risk Students Program may be used for truancy prevention. Maryland enacted legislation related to the parents of truant students. Any person with legal custody or care and control of a child who is age 5 or older and younger than 16, who fails to see that the child attends school, is guilty of a misdemeanor. The penalties include a $150 fine for the first offense or community service. Washington passed a measure in 2018 that aims to create more data on how truancy cases are handled in the state. The superintendent of public instruction is required to collect truancy data from the school districts. The data must include the number of petitions filed with the juvenile court by a school district and whether the petition results in referral to a community truancy board, another intervention, a hearing in juvenile court or any other less restrictive disposition. Also required in the reporting is each instance of a young person detained for failure to comply with a court order, with a statement of the reasons for each instance of detention. Appendix: List of 2018 Laws by State Comprehensive Legislation Massachusetts SB 2371, Tennessee HB 2271 and Nebraska LB 670 Diversion Delaware HB 442 and Florida SB 1392 Raising the Age of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction Arizona HB 2356, California SB 1391, Missouri SB 793, Washington SB 6160, Delaware HB 339 and Delaware HB 307 Due Process and Defense Reform Colorado HB 1050 and Oklahoma SB 224 Conditions of Confinement for Juveniles Oklahoma HB 3393 and Louisiana HB 187 Truancy By Allison Hilz The debate surrounding public-sector retirement systemswhat kind and for how muchis not new. The discussion, which NCSL tracks at length, reaches into both the public and private sectors, raising questions about the viability, cost-effectiveness, and sensitivity to market volatility of defined benefit plans versus defined contribution plans, such as 401(k)s. Teachers pensions have been, and remain relevant, to this debate. A new report from the National Institute on Retirement Security and UC Berkeley Labor Center, Teacher Pensions vs. 401(k)s in Six States: Connecticut, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Texas, argues that traditional criticisms of defined benefit teacher pensions are misguided. According to the authors, studies that point to high attrition rates do not distinguish between new hires and longer-term teachers, leading to results that fail to represent the full scope of the teaching profession. For this study, researchers looked at six states and narrowed the focus to the current teaching force in full, including turnover and years of service, rather than a single cohort, such as teachers with less than five years of service. Then, they compared benefits under existing pension structures to a hypothetical 401(k), using the same contribution rate for each. They found that, across all six states, eight out of 10 teachers fare better with current pension plans that provide a greater, more secure retirement income when compared to the idealized 401(k) plan, which assumes the same contribution rate and average target date fund investment returns. In Connecticut, for example, 84 percent of teachers are better off with their existing pensions. The remaining 2 in 10 includes teachers who leave prior to vesting and those who vest but leave before they reach eligibility requirements for retirement. Furthermore, for teachers to realize the same retirement income via 401(k), total contribution rates need to increase from 20 percent in Georgia to 116 percent, in Texas. For lawmakers facing teacher shortages in their states, understanding how pensions affect retention may help in crafting legislation to address the issue. According to the report, two-thirds of teachers will work in the same state for at least two decades and, although turnover is high in the first five years, will typically serve for 25 years. That said, striking a balance between short and long-term teachers (i.e. portability options, such as service credit purchases or reciprocity) may be of significance when evaluating policy options. Allison Hiltz is a policy associate in the Employment, Labor and Retirement Program. Madison v. Alabama provides clarity rather than makes new law. In this case the Supreme Court held 5-3 that the Eighth Amendment prohibits a person who lacks a rational understanding due to mental illness for why the death penalty has been imposed to be put to death regardless of what mental illness the person is suffering from. Continue > French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that there could only be an agreement for an extension to the Brexit Article 50 negotiation period if justified by Britain and if there were clear objectives. "We would support an extension request only if it was justified by a new choice of the British," Macron said at a joint news briefing held with German leader Angela Merkel. "But we would in no way accept an extension without a clear objective," he added. Short link: New Castle, PA (16103) Today Cloudy skies this morning followed by thunderstorms during the afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 82F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Thunderstorms this evening, then cloudy with rain likely overnight. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Some Middle East states have shown interest in the sea variant of the Pantsir-ME air defense missile/gun system, Viktor Kladov, director for international cooperation and regional policy of the State Corporation Rostec, told TASS. Some Middle East states have shown interest in the sea variant of the Pantsir-ME air defense missile/gun system, Viktor Kladov, director for international cooperation and regional policy of the State Corporation Rostec, told TASS. The sea variant of the Pantsir-ME on display at IDEX 2019, UAE (Picture source : Navy Recognition) "We can see that some countries, including the Middle East States, are showing enormous interest in this product. We are sure that Pantsir-ME, which is an adapted sea version of the famous Pantsir-S1 system, will have great market perspectives. As for today, it would be too early to speak about any agreements. The system was demonstrated just a few days ago," Kladov went on to say. Pantsir-ME was first demonstrated abroad at the IDEX-2019 International Defense Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi. Earlier, a source from the High Precision Systems ("Vysokotochnye Kompleksy") holding company, an affiliate of Rostec, told TASS that Pantsir-ME could be mounted on any type of ships - from a missile boat with a displacement of 500 tons to an aircraft carrier. Copyright 2019 TASS. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. State Naga leaders reiterate demand for immediate solution DIMAPUR: | Publish Date: 2/27/2019 12:00:00 AM IST Seeking global intervention on the long-pending Naga political issue, several imminent Naga leaders, at the press conference organized by Naga Students Union Delhi (NSUD) on February 25 at the Press Club of India, New Delhi, reiterated the demand for immediate solution to the Naga political issue, which is honourable and acceptable to the Nagas. In a press statement, NSUD president said that the press conference was organized as an immediate follow-up activity to the Global Mass Naga Rally held on February 23 at Delhi. The meet was attended by advisor Naga Mothers Association (NMA), Dr. Rosemary Dzuvichii; chairman ADC, Ukhrul, Dr. Yaronsho Ngalung; secretary general, NPMHR, Neingulo Krome; joint secretary NMA, Leyri; department of History, Nagaland University, professor N. Venuh and president NSUD, Luikang Bruce as panellists. According to NSUD, the Global Naga calls focus on the following primary objectives- to reach out to the global communities for support in resolving Indo-Naga political conflict, give pressure on the Indian government for an early political solution, fulfil the promises of a solution made by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, interlocutor RN Ravi, and North East BJP in-charge, Ram Madhav in the last five years. Dr. Dzuvichii maintained that the strong display of passion for the Naga issue and desires for immediate solution reflects the strength of young Naga generation. She also raised concern that not only oppressive laws such as AFSPA has been imposed in the Naga areas but the government of India is introducing repressive laws such as CAB and PRC in the Naga region, besides giving further assurance of immunity upon Assam Rifles. According to Dr. Dzuvichii, the situation was nothing less than an undeclared secret war upon the Nagas. Leyri said that Nagas have witnessed too many times of pains and tears; mothers are tired of carrying too many dead bodies of Naga compatriots. Therefore, Leyri said both Nagalim and India should realise the lost caused due to the conflict and arrive at amicable solution at the earliest in this opportune time. Dr. Ngalung said that Global Nagas call for an immediate political solution came at the right time as the centre government has failed to deliver its promises. Professor, Venuh reminded that the history of the Nagas movement did not began after the Indian independence, and that it has nothing against the Indian. He also cited the memorandum submitted to the Simon Commission to leave the Nagas alone in 1929. He said that even during the British colonial period, the Nagas were under the excluded areas from their administration. Therefore, Venuh said that Nagas have lost their trust as nothing could materialized even after more than 70 years of negotiation with the Indian leadership for resolving the conflict. Neingulo Krome substantiated that ever since the second ceasefire was signed between India and the Nagas, NPMHR put every effort to bring all the sections to support the peace talks. However, Krome said that the assurance made by prime minister Narendra Modi on solution was not different from the promises made by the other leaders. The moderator of the session Lakpachui Siro said that political solution was equally important and beneficial to both Nagas and India, if Indian subcontinent has to become economic powers, and that Naga holds a great gateway towards economic growth. In conclusion, the Naga leaders have appealed to all the media fraternity to reach out to the world community with the message that Nagas want support for an immediate political solution. WALLINGFORD A longtime volunteer firefighter is being remembered as someone dedicated to serving the community. Michael Cyganik died Thursday at the Smilow Cancer Hospital in New Haven after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 55. A lifelong town resident, Cyganik was also a chief lineman at Eversource Energy for 21 years and previously worked as a lineman for the Wallingford Electric Division for 11 years. Cyganik became a member of the East Wallingford Volunteer Fire Department Station 8 in 1981, according to Volunteer Fire Chief Bill Celata. Celata became friends with Cyganik early on and considered him family. He was very active and would do anything for anybody, Celata said. The volunteer fire department acknowledged Cyganiks death in a Facebook post. Mikes selflessness, firm handshake, and contagious laugh are legendary on the Eastside, the post read. His loss is a hard hit to the members, especially to those of us who came up in the fire service with or around him. Fire Chief Richard Heidgard said he met Cyganik in the 1980s. Mike was always a capable person mechanically, Heidgard said. Hes one of those very talented individuals who was always willing to roll up his sleeves to get involved in the community. Celata said Cyganik was willing to help the fire department and community in any way he could. In the 1990s, Cyganik stopped responding to fire calls but continued to work on the departments social functions and fundraisers, including its annual flower sale. He was always there if someone needed anything, Celata said. Celata said Cyganik was diagnosed with cancer about a year ago. The volunteer department will be considering ways to honor his memory. Cyganik was also a member of the Wallingford Elks Lodge for 38 years and a parishioner at the Church of the Resurrection. He is survived by his wife Tammy, sister and brother-in-law, Cheryl and Dean Perry, his mother-in-law, Gloria Coitrone, and many nieces and nephews. jroman@record-journal.com 203-317-2420 Twitter: @JenieceRoman WALLINGFORD Construction of a paved trail from the Senior Center on Washington Street to the Community Lake area is expected to begin in April. Trail construction will be rolled into streetscape improvements along Hall Avenue. At a Town Council meeting Tuesday, Town Engineer Rob Baltramaitis said that the total project cost, including contingencies, is estimated at $1.7 million, 80 percent of which is slated to be reimbursed through a federal grant. The town will pay the remaining 20 percent of costs, estimated to be $300,000. We anticipate beginning (construction) by April 1, Baltramaitis said in a memo to Town Comptroller Jim Bowes. The Town Council accepted a $45,000 donation from Eversource Energy on Tuesday, made under a state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection consent order after PCB pollution was discovered at the utilitys Berlin headquarters. The donation reduces the town share of the trail project costs to about $255,000, Baltramaitis said. Past plans were to connect the senior center to the Quinnipiac River Linear Trail by going either up Oak Street or behind White Way dry cleaners onto the Hall Avenue sidewalk. Ultimately, wed like to have a trail that goes all the way around, Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. said Tuesday. The sole dissenting vote on accepting the Eversource donation was Councilor John LeTourneau. He said he votes against anything having to do with the linear trail, which he sees as a terrible waste of money. He said it was a mistake for Dickinson to tie the Hall Avenue streetscape improvements in with the senior center trail. He also said he was worried about the federal money not coming through to reimburse the town for the trail project, and about the future costs associated with linear trail maintenance. Eversource made the donation in addition to paying environmental penalties to DEEP, according to a consent order from December 2018. In October 2012, Eversource notified DEEP of contamination in a stormwater settlement basin after the company documented PCBs at up to 550 parts per million earlier that year. In September 2015, the company submitted a cleanup plan to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that documented PCBs in sediments at up to 770 parts per million. For polluting state waters, DEEP issued a civil penalty of $70,000, payable in $25,000 to DEEP and $45,000 to Wallingfords recreational trail as a supplemental environmental project. Mitch Gross, Eversource Connecticut spokesperson, said Tuesday that the company is happy to support these community projects in Wallingford. We have already put into place aggressive cleanup procedures, as DEEP has acknowledged, Gross said, and are committed to making sure these types of incidents do not happen again. Baltramaitis was approached by Eversource about a cash donation for a town project, which he saw as an opportunity to offset our town share of the (trail) project. LTakores@record-journal.com 203-317-2212 Twitter: @LCTakores WATERBURY Gusty winds peppered Gov. Ned Lamont with dust and occasional snow flurries Monday as he stood beneath the mixmaster, the outmoded I-84 and Route 8 interchange undergoing a $152.9 million rehabilitation that will buy Connecticut time putting off a far more expensive and disruptive replacement for another 25 years. Looming above him like a prehistoric, if badly rusting, octopus, the mixmaster provided a telegenic backdrop for the easiest part of Lamonts campaign to win approval of electronic highway tolls: Demonstrating how desperate is the need for the modernization of an interstate highway system conceived in the 1950s. The harder part is answering the many questions that so far have stymied the new administration, among them: Where precisely would the overhead tolling gantries go up? What would the tolls costs local commuters? How much of a discount could the state offer locals without provoking a court challenge from the interstate trucking industry? No state has attempted what Connecticut is now in the early stages of promoting: Devising a plan to install tolling on existing highways throughout the state, as opposed to placing tolls on a single road, bridge or tunnel. I think this is new territory for all of us, said Cynthia L. Essenmacher, the tolling program manager at the Federal Highway Administrations Center for Innovative Finance Support. Retro-fitting an old interstate highway system with tolls is a complex undertaking, especially when most of the system was constructed with federal funds. The Lamont administration would like to install tolls on its three major interstates: 84, 91 and 95, plus the cars-only Merritt Parkway. Essenmacher said in a telephone interview that Connecticut is not the only state exploring using electronic tolls to finance the reconstruction, modernization or expansion of highways on a regional scale, but none has come forward with a detailed, statewide plan for review by the federal government. Federal law generally prohibits adding tolls to existing interstate highways, but Connecticut is one of 13 states in the Federal Highway Administrations Value Pricing Pilot Program, which requires congestion pricing to encourage commuters to drive at off-peak times. Federal law also allows tolls to pay for the reconstruction of highways. Based on Lamonts comments Monday, Connecticut has considerable work to do. His predecessor, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, arranged for the Bond Commission to approve $10 million in planning funds for a tolling system, but Lamont has yet to sign off on going ahead with the expenditure and seems disinclined to do so until the legislature signals its supports for tolls. Lamont has presented lawmakers with two options: electronic tolling on all motor vehicles or just trucks, as he proposed during the campaign. But the first option clearly is Lamonts choice, as his administration now concedes that trucks-only tolls would raise too little revenue to make a difference and would be vulnerable to legal challenge. There is a chicken-and-egg aspect to the tolls issue: Lamont wants legislative endorsement to spend more money, but some legislators want more details that could require further study. CDM Smith, a consultant for the state Department of Transportation, produced an evaluation last year of various tolling options for a system far more extensive than Lamont now wants lawmakers to consider. In addition to the Merritt and interstates 84, 91 and 95, that evaluation assumed tolls on Routes, 2, 8 and 9, the states busiest highways, and secondary intestates like 291, 395 and 691. Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said the Smith study is of limited use, given that Lamonts proposal is different than the potential system evaluated by the consultant. He wants the governor to consider a Republican infrastructure plan that would rely on the states existing borrowing capacity, but set transportation as a priority. Im looking forward to having a conversation with the governor, Fasano said. Im sure we will be having a conversation. But Fasano, as well as the construction industry, has criticized Lamonts budget proposal for diverting some spending from transportation in the near-term. Lamont was unable to say Monday what projects might be delayed due to the near-term cut. The governor, a Democrat, invoked an unlikely ally, the Trump administration, in his call for tolls. Lamont said Vice President Mike Pence encouraged governors to think about transportation when he addressed the National Governors Association over the weekend. He brought up the fact that the number one priority of this administration is get an infrastructure bill passed, and passed in this session right now nothing more important, Republicans and Democrats, labor and business, keep our folks working, get our states moving again, Lamont said. I think that is going to happen and when that happens I want to make sure Connecticut is at the front of the line. This story originally appeared on the website of The Connecticut Mirror, www.ctmirror.org. MERIDEN Tacos Mi Nacho is one step closer to expanding on Broad Street after a City Council subcommittee voted last week to approve the sale of a vacant city-owned parcel to the Mexican restaurant. The councils Economic Development, Housing & Zoning Committee approved the sale of 562 Broad St. to Luis Librado Lemus-Aceves and Claudia Sanchez-Lopez, who have been looking to expand their eatery for years. The property would be sold to Lemus-Aceves for $25,000 under the proposed deal, according to meeting minutes. The parcel at 562 Broad St. is one house away from Tacos Mi Nachos current restaurant in a small plaza at 550 Broad St. Lemus-Aceves has a purchase agreement with the owner of the adjacent home at 554 Broad St. Plans call for Lemus-Aceves to raze the multi-family home to add to the .16-acre city-owned lot and come back to the city with a site plan application. The idea is that the restaurant will use the two parcels to build a bigger location with parking. The lot was appraised by the city in 2017 at $83,200, according to land records. The city acquired the lot in 2005 and to date, Lemus-Aceves is the only one with interest in purchasing it, according to a city official. The sale was approved under the conditions that the parcels at 562 and 554 Broad St. be merged and that the purchasers show substanial progress toward marketability within 18 months of the property purchase. Council Majority Leader David Lowell, who chairs the Economic Development, Housing & Zoning Committee, said the restaurants expansion is a positive sign for the city. I certainly like to see business growth, and they have looked for the better part of a year and a half or two years at opportunities to expand, Lowell said. The committee also voted last week to approve changing a zoning regulation that prohibits restaurants and hotels that serve liquor from opening within 1,500 feet of each other. City Planner Renata Bertotti, who proposed the change, believes the regulation, which applies city-wide except in the Transit-Oriented Development zone downtown, restricts the city's development opportunities. Lowell agreed that the regulation is restricting Meridens growth, calling it outdated. I think by removing the 1,500-foot distance requirement, were able to attract mainstream, larger-seating restaurants, Lowell said. Many national chain restaurants hire employees to review local municipal zoning regulation when scouting out new locations to expand, Lowell added. Often times those groups have people look up what zoning regulations are, and we very well could have been disqualified by a simple look-up on a website, Lowell said. City officials couldnt say why or when the regulation was originally put in. The full City Council is expected to vote on the committees recommendation for the sale to Tacos Mi Nacho and the regulation change Monday. The committee approved both proposals unanimously. mzabierek@record-journal.com 203-317-2279 Twitter: @MatthewZabierek BERLIN Republican Gennaro Bizzarro won a special election to fill the vacancy in the 6th Senate district, capturing a seat vacated by Democrat Terry Gerratanas resignation in January. I told everybody that this was a special opportunity that voters of the sixth district had to be heard on the governors budget, Bizzarro told a crowded room of supporters in The Avenue, a Berlin restaurant. I told you this was a referendum on tolls and taxes and we did not disappoint. The district covers Berlin, Farmington and New Britain. Bizzarro was up against Democrat Rick Lopes, a state representative from the 24th house district in New Britain. The special election was one of five after Gov. Ned Lamont picked members of the General Assembly to join his administration. Lamont picked Gerratana to become an advisor in the Office of Health Strategy. Lopes said he called Bizzarro to congratulate him on his victory Tuesday night. We ran a good campaign and were very proud of it, he said. Unofficial vote totals on the Secretary of States website show Bizzaro received 3,878 votes, or 53.01 percent, to Lopes 3,196 votes on the Republican line and 241 votes on the Working Families line. In central Connecticut, the issue of tolls is a big deal for voters, Bizzaro said. New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart echoed that, saying residents voted against the prospect of any new taxes. It goes to show that this is a referendum on taxes, on tolls and on working class families and that's what we heard while we were campaigning door to door, said Stewart, a Republican. J.R. Romano, chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party, said Bizzarros election gives the party another chance to work towards reduced spending. I think Republicans are offering an alternative and a path where we have to get government to tighten its belt versus raising taxes, he said. When he is sworn into the Senate, Bizzarro said he will bring that message to Hartford. I'm going to do everything in my power to act as a firewall and try to stop the inevitability of tolls under a Democratic legislature, he said. dleithyessian@record-journal.com 203-317-2317 Twitter: @leith_yessian Palestinians, led by Jerusalem clerics, succeeded in opening the Umayyad prayer area at the eastern Bab Al-Rahma (Mercy) Gate at Al-Aqsa Mosque, despite a decision by the Israeli occupation to barricade it 16 years ago. Worshippers celebrated the reopening of the prayer area in throngs outside, chanting God is Great, With our blood and souls we martyr ourselves for Al-Aqsa and This is our mosque. Khalil Al-Tafakji, director of the maps and geographic information systems department at Orient House in Jerusalem, said that Al-Rahma Gate is holy for Jews, since radical Jews believe the Messiah will enter through it when he appears at the End of Days. Al-Tafakji said Israel is probing Palestinian reactions, and plans to maintain an Israeli presence there. It has plans to build a synagogue in that area, which is common and public knowledge, he said. Al-Tafakji predicted the dispute will continue because Zionist scheming is determined to rebuild the Temple Mount on Al-Aqsa Mosque, warning that we have entered a standoff to see who will blink first, especially after the formation of a joint Palestinian-Jordanian Council, called the Supreme Islamic Council, which unified all efforts to address the issue. He continued that Israel is carrying out massive arrests every day and pressuring the Islamic Council to block opening Bab Al-Rahma. Members of Jerusalems Religious Endowments Council entered the building and prayed there, and later the director general of endowments was taken in for questioning, and the police closed the entrances to the building. There is also international pressure and Israeli elections are drawing near, which both have a great impact on the situation, especially after Palestinians blocked an Israeli plan to install security gates at the entrance leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque in 2017. Resilience and strikes by Jerusalem residents forced the occupation to remove the gates after they were installed. Again, last week, prayers and protests were held around Al-Aqsa. The police, meanwhile, raided dozens of homes in East Jerusalem and arrested around 60 locals in the early hours of Friday, most of them youth who frequently visit the mosque. The detainees were released a few hours later and given orders banning them from the mosque. The police also arrested three senior Palestinian activists on suspicion of being involved in storming Al-Rahma building. Khaled Al-Zabarqa, a lawyer who accompanied the detainees, said that senior diplomatic sources in Jordan contacted Israeli and international officials demanding the release of detainees. The detentions demonstrate Israels hysteria which has crossed many red lines, said Al-Zabarqa. Hossam Badran, a member of Hamass politburo, said that occupation forces will not admit defeat on the Bab Al-Rahma issue, and therefore arrest senior officials from Religious Endowments after a wave of arrests of youth. Israel also decided to ban Sheikh Raed Daana, the imam of Beit Hanina (one of the Jerusalem imams), from Al-Aqsa Mosque for six months after he was arrested in Bab Al-Amud (one of the gates of the Old City in Jerusalem that leads to Al-Aqsa Mosque), because he led worshippers in noon prayers at Bab Al-Rahma inside Al-Aqsa Mosque at the beginning of the crisis. Israeli forces took Daana to a police station for interrogation. Palestines Chief of Justice and Presidential Adviser on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud Al-Habash, condemned Israels kidnapping of the Chairman of the Awqaf Council in Jerusalem Sheikh Abdel-Azim Salhab, and Deputy Director of Jerusalem Awqaf Sheikh Nageh Bokayrat, who were banned from Al-Aqsa Mosque. The kidnapping and arrest of religious figures in Jerusalem, and the many activists who played a prominent role in the battle over security gates and Bab Al-Rahma, is evidence that the radical right-wing government of the occupation is moving ahead with its plot of Judaicisation of Jerusalem, declared Al-Habash. But there is legendary resistance and steel determination by Jerusalem residents and our Palestinian people at Al-Aqsa, led by Religious Endowments, Muslim and Christian clerics there, spearheaded by Sheikh Salhab and his steadfast brothers. The chief justice continued that, arrests, intimidation and harassment of Jerusalem leaders will not deter our resolve and determination to defend our holy places and our Al-Aqsa Mosque, no matter the price, pressure and challenges. Jerusalem will remain a Palestinian, Arab and Muslim city, and the jewel in the crown of Muslims. It will always be our eternal capital in the independent state of Palestine. Al-Habash said that banning Jerusalems religious leaders from Al-Aqsa Mosque is a serious warning of what the occupation state is plotting in the dark against the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, by banishing the witnesses of truth and defenders of our Jerusalem and our Al-Aqsa Mosque. He called on the world community to be alert to the situation the occupation is embroiling us in through organised terrorism of the radical right-wing government which sponsored the vicious attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the land and the people. Al-Habash added: Everyone must heed the alarm bells about what is happening in Jerusalem, including arrests, intimidation, restrictions on freedom of worship and violations of holy sites. Our Palestinian people reject these actions, as do their leaders, all free people and Muslims of the world. During the Crusades, Bab Al-Rahma was opened once a year on Easter because Christians believe that Jesus entered the area through this gate. When the Ayyubids came to power, they bolted the gate and it became a Muslim prayer spot called Bab Al-Rahma prayer area. Under the Ottomans, the gate was completely blocked with rocks while renovating the walls of Jerusalem. In the 1980s, the gate was used by the Muslim Religious Endowments until the Islamic Heritage Committee used the gate as an office between 1992-2002. In 2003, two employees of the Islamic Heritage Committee discovered Israeli digging sites next to the gate. Soon, the committee was dismantled and Bab Al-Rahma was closed permanently under the pretext that it houses an illegal institution. The occupation positioned a police checkpoint on top of the gate and has since renewed the closure annually. In 2018, a decree banned the presence of Jerusalem residents around the gate, which triggered anger among locals especially since settlers said they want to remove the gate altogether from Al-Aqsa Mosque and divide the area among Muslims and Jews, and take control of Bab Al-Rahma tomb. On 17 February, the newly elected Islamic Religious Endowments Council decided to hold noon prayers in the prayer area and inspect its condition, which antagonised the occupation who responded by barricading the gate with iron chains. Jerusalem residents were furious and decided the status quo cannot continue and that the area should be reopened for prayer. Bab Al-Rahma is on the eastern wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque which is also part of the Jerusalem Wall, and is the oldest gate of the existing city and appears in the Madaba map, the oldest map of Jerusalem which was discovered during excavation works in 1897 as a floor mosaic in a church built in the Sixth Century in the city of Madaba in eastern Jordan. Since the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in 1967, assaults on Islamic sites have not ceased. Recently, there has been Israeli incitement by officials, parties and religious leaders, including daily raids by settlers. Israels plot of aggression is both obvious and violates the current legal status of Jerusalem and its holy sites. This is part of an assault not only on Al-Aqsa Mosque, but also other mosques in the occupied West Bank. These include Al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron; annexing Bilal bin Rabah Mosque in Bethlehem under the pretext it is the tomb of Rachel, the wife of the prophet Jacob; confiscating Youssefs shrine in Nablus, which was previously an Islamic mosque housing the mausoleum of Sheikh Youssef Dwaikat from the town of Balata, and converting it into a Jewish holy site after the 1967 invasion. This in addition to scores of Palestinian mosques in territories occupied in 1948 being violated and converted into restaurants, bars and dance clubs. *A version of this article appears in print in the 28 February, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: New battle in Jerusalem Short link: BERLIN The Town Council recently filled a vacancy on the Police Commission by appointing local business owner David Rogan. Rogan, a Republican, is a former member of the Inland Wetland and Water Courses Commission and is owner of Rogan Enterprises, a local tree removal company. He replaces Robert Peters, also a Republican, who resigned earlier this year in the wake of a media report that he was recorded making racist statements to other residents about police training. Police Commission Chairperson Paul Eshoo said Rogans character and experience on the IWWCC made him stand out among possible replacements. Eshoo said they wanted someone that would be honest, that would work hard to keep the name of the commission good. Rogans term ends in November. He did not return a request for comment. Peters resigned in January after a New Britain Herald article reported on a recording that appeared to include Peters telling other residents that Berlins police officers are taught to use deadly force toward African Americans. According to the Heralds report, he also used inflammatory language while talking about homosexuals and immigrants. Peters denied making the comments. The Record-Journal has not independently confirmed the existence of the recording or its authenticity. Eshoo said he does not believe the recording was of Peters. Even if Mr. Peters said something out of character you dont disgrace a person like that for all the years hes given, he said. Mayor Mark Kaczynski said the council largely left it up to the Police Commission to make a recommendation and he believes they made a good selection. As far as I know, interacting with Dave (Rogan), he's a pretty even keeled guy, he said. I think he should be a good addition. dleithyessian@record-journal.com 203-317-2317 Twitter: @leith_yessian 2 people dead, four others battling for ... Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflikas decision to seek a fifth term as president has triggered a wave of protests in the Algerian capital Algiers and elsewhere in the country, with some observers saying that the protests, which erupted on Friday and continued over the weekend, could bring the North African nation to the threshold of its own Arab Spring. They foresee scenarios ranging from the postponement of the elections, scheduled for 19 April, to a transition from the system of government that has prevailed in the country since Algeria won its independence from France in July 1962. After Friday prayers, hundreds of citizens, the majority of them young, assembled in Algiers and other parts of the country to express demands of a political nature, the official Algeria Press Service (APS) reported. It said that the demonstrators had proceeded to march, in the midst of an intensive security presence, carrying Algerian flags and placards saying Yes to Justice, Peaceful Protest, and Change and Reform, and demanding that Bouteflika retract his decision to seek another term. The APS report said that marches and demonstrations are prohibited in Algiers in accordance with an executive decree of June 2001. Several other regions experienced similar marches and rallies without incident, it added, listing the cities of Annaba, Constantine, Bejaia, Batna, Skikda and Oum Al-Bouaghi to the east and Tizi-Ouzou, Bouira, Boumerdes and Tebaza in the centre of the country. In the west of the country, hundreds of citizens took part in peaceful marches in Oran, Tiaret, Mostaganem and Relizane, the report said, adding that these had passed off in a calm atmosphere with no excesses. There were also marches in southern towns and cities such as Ouargla, Laghouat, Hassi Messaoud, Adrar and Al-Oued, where peaceful rallies and marches were organised in the main streets, APS said. The coverage of the demonstrations, reminiscent of those that have rocked Sudan over the last two months, was striking, as if the Algerian news outlet was appearing to encourage the popular rejection of a fifth mandate for Bouteflika, in contrast to other domestic media. According to the APS, the police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators in the capital to keep them from reaching the Presidential Palace. However, it said that the police had avoided actions that might provoke the demonstrators and had taken preemptive measures by arresting many activists. When Bouteflika announced his decision to run for another term as president on 10 February, he vowed to institute radical reforms if he won. However, many have questioned the feasibility of this pledge, not least because the 81-year-old politician spent 80 days in a Paris hospital in 2013 after suffering a stroke and he continues to require regular tests abroad. A recent statement from the presidents office in Algiers said that Bouteflika will travel to Geneva on 24 February in order to conduct periodic medical examinations. The statement was released on 21 February and was perhaps deliberately timed to coincide with one of his few appearances in public since 2013. Bouteflika was seen on national television attending the swearing-in ceremony of Tayeb Belaiz as president of Algerias Constitutional Council to succeed Mourad Medelci who died end of January. On 2 February, the ruling coalition government in Algiers released a statement nominating Bouteflika for a fifth term in office following a meeting of its component parties, the National Liberation Front (FLN), the majority party headed by Bouteflika, the National Rally for Democracy (RND) headed by Ahmed Ouyahia, the current prime minister, the Algerian Popular Movement (MPA) headed by Ammara Benyounes and the Rally of Hope of Algeria (TAJ) headed by Amar Ghoul. In an early reaction to the protests, TAJ leader Amar Ghoul commended the peaceful and civilised nature of the marches calling for profound reforms. He also lauded the professional response of the security agencies to the marches and the wisdom of the media in its handling of them without hyperbole or sensationalism. Ghoul said there was a need to pay more attention to the countrys young people and to furnish them with the frameworks needed to contribute to national development. It was essential that they not be left as prey to parasites, violence and foreign agendas, he said, adding that there was a need for responsible, serious and constructive dialogue between all parties in Algeria with a view to addressing current issues and concerns wisely and rationally in the national interest. Other coalition members reiterated the call for a national dialogue to be held after the presidential elections. On Sunday, the four parties released a statement appealing to all citizens to safeguard the gains that Algeria has won, foremost among them being security, stability and development and the national reconciliation achieved in the era of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The statement stressed the need to prepare for the elections in a calm and comfortable climate, adding that the electoral process was the sole means to attain power. The parties told their supporters to prepare themselves against any provocation that might undermine the smooth conduct of the electoral process. Opposition party the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) headed by Mohcine Belabbas called for the resignation of Bouteflika and his government, the formation of a national-salvation government, and the cancellation of the elections. In a statement released on Saturday, the RCD asked supporters of the fifth term for the president to draw conclusions from the popular referendum [the nationwide demonstrations] of 22 February the end of the regime that has lingered on since 1962. Now is not the time to vote. Now is the time to offset a disaster that could engulf Algeria, the RCD said. The RCD is a secularist party with its support base in the Kabylie region of Algeria. In its statement it said that the most urgent need at present is to calmly and clearly search for the most appropriate ways to restore health to the political scene. Once the rules and mechanisms for the restitution of the sovereignty of the people are defined and accepted, the moment for electoral competition will naturally follow. Despite the universal acknowledgement of the peaceful nature of the protests and the appeals for dialogue and restraint from across the political spectrum, the continuation of the demonstrations in Algeria this week nevertheless carry with them the threat of escalation. *A version of this article appears in print in the 28 February, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Contested candidacy in Algeria Short link: Welcome to Morningstar.co.uk! You have been redirected here from Hemscott.com as we are merging our websites to provide you with a one-stop shop for all your investment research needs.To search for a security, type the name or ticker in the search box at the top of the page and select from the dropdown results.Registered Hemscott users can log in to Morningstar using the same login details. Similarly, if you are a Hemscott Premium user, you now have a Morningstar Premium account which you can access using the same login details. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing security in the Middle East with a focus on Iran. During the talks at the Kremlin, the two leaders were also set to discuss how to coordinate and avoid military clashes on Syrian territory, where Israel is taking action against Iran. "The biggest threat to stability and security of the region is Iran, and we will do everything to prevent this threat," Netanyahu said in opening remarks translated into Russian before closed-door negotiations. Iran, Hezbollah and Russia are allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Netanyahu has stressed that he will not let Israel's arch-foe Iran use Syrian territory as a base for its military. Prior to his Moscow visit, Netanyahu said the talks will focus on "preventing Iran from entrenching in Syria, the entrenchment of a country which explicitly says that its goal is to wipe us out." He is accompanied in Moscow by his national security advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat and head of military intelligence Tamir Heiman. On Sunday, the Israeli prime minister said talks with Putin will be "very important" to ensure Israel's freedom to act against Iran and Hezbollah in Syria while avoiding frictions with Russian forces. Wednesday's talks, which Israel postponed by several days, is the first extended face-to-face meeting since September 17, when Syria's air defence systems took down a Russian plane by mistake during an Israeli airforce operation. The resultant deaths of 15 Russian troops caused serious tensions between Israel and Russia. Netanyahu and Putin have spoken several times since the incident, and had a brief encounter in Paris in November. Netanyahu said his primary goal in Moscow was "to ensure that the Russian military and the IDF (Israel Defense Force) coordinate in such a manner so as to prevent friction and clashes between us," he said Wednesday. Short link: Sayre, PA (18840) Today Scattered thunderstorms during the morning becoming more widespread this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 87F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms this evening. A steady rain arriving overnight. Low 67F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Skunk cabbage hoods poke up through the Schuylkill Center's forest floor. The hood on the right shows the nob tucked inside with small yellow flowers growing out of it the first flowers of spring. Lansdale, PA (19446) Today Sunny. Near record high temperatures. High 96F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms, especially during the evening. Low 71F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi discussed with his Albanian counterpart Ilir Meta in Cairo on Wednesday ways to boost Egyptian-Albanian bilateral relations, the Egyptian presidency announced. The two presidents also discussed a number of regional and international issues of mutual interest including the war on terrorism and irregular migration. President Meta expressed his happiness to be visiting Egypt and thanked the Egyptian people for their warm reception and hospitality. He added that his country is keen to boost bilateral ties with Egypt, which he said is one of the pillars of stability and security in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. During a press conference held at the Egyptian Presidential Palace in Heliopolis, the Albanian president offered his condolence to the Egyptian people for the deadly train crash that took place in Cairo's Ramses railway station earlier on Wednesday. This is President Meta's first visit to Cairo. Short link: A water-splitting catalyst unlike any other Electricity can be generated by renewable sources such as sunlight, wind Electricity can then be used to split water, which makes hydrogen as a fuel for emerging energy devices such as fuel cells. Because hydrogen is a clean fuel, researchers in the world are putting a lot of effort in developing water-splitting catalysts, which are essential for the reaction's energy efficiency. The focus is mostly on the so-called oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which is arguably the most challenging process in water splitting. After many years of intense research, nickel-iron oxide is now established as the go-to catalyst for OER in alkaline conditions due to its high activity and earth-abundant composition, and also because it has the highest activity per reaction-site among all metal oxides. About three years ago, scientists with the lab of Xile Hu at EPFL discovered another catalyst that was significantly more active than nickel-iron oxide, even though it had a similar composition. Still, it was robust, easy to synthesize, and open to industrial applications. The discovery was led by Fang Song, a postdoc in Hu's group who has since joined the faculty at Shanghai Jiaotong University in China. Recognizing its technological potential, Hu, Song, and their colleague Elitsa Petkucheva filed an international patent application. They also got funding from the European Research Council to test the catalyst in a proof-of-concept project. The catalyst proved to enable an efficient electrolyzer that could work under industrial conditions while requiring 200 mV less voltage. They are now seeking industrial partners to transfer the technology. But the new catalyst was also unconventional in terms of chemistry. "We didn't have a clue why the catalyst would be so active," says Hu. So, his team turned to the group of Clemence Corminboeuf at EPFL for help. Working with her postdoc, Michael Busch, and supported by NCCR MARVEL (Centre on Computational Design and Discovery of Novel Materials), Corminboeuf used density functional theory (DFT) computations to search for possible theoretical explanations. DFT is a computational, quantum mechanical method that models and studies the structure of many-body systems, e.g. atoms, and molecules. The result was radical: The high activity of the new catalyst originates from a cooperative action of two phase-separated components of iron and nickel oxides, which overcame a previously identified limitation of conventional metal oxides where the reaction occurred locally on only a single metal site. They called it the "bifunctional mechanism". While the DFT-derived mechanism was hypothetical, it guided experimental studies on the activity and properties of the catalyst with Benedikt Lassalle-Kaiser at Synchrotron SOLEIL in France. Using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), the work uncovered found evidence of two phase-separated iron and nickel oxides in the catalyst. But because catalysts can undergo compositional and structural changes during catalysis, it became necessary to study the catalyst "in operation" with XAS. To do this, the researchers established a long-term collaboration program with the group of Professor Hao Ming Chen in National Taiwan University. In a comprehensive operando XAS study, Chen and his graduate student, Chia-Shuo Hsu, revealed a unique structure of the catalyst: that it is made of nanoclusters of -FeOOH covalently linked to a -NiOOH support - which makes it an iron-nickel oxide catalyst, as opposed to the conventional nickel-iron oxide. Although not a direct proof, this structure is compatible with the DFT-proposed bifunctional mechanism. "This is a truly interdisciplinary study involving many fruitful collaborations," says Hu. "The fundamental studies not only provide insights into the structure and activity of this unconventional catalyst, but also lead to a thought-provoking mechanistic hypothesis". ### Other contributors Shanghai Jiao Tong University Synchrotron SOLEIL National Taiwan University Acad. E. Budevski Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems (IEES) EPFL Institute of Environmental Engineering Reference Fang Song, Michael M. Busch, Benedikt Lassalle-Kaiser, Chia-Shuo Hsu, Elitsa Petkucheva, Michael Bensimon, Hao Ming Chen, Clemence Corminboeuf, Xile Hu. An unconventional iron nickel catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction. ACS Central Science 26 February 2019. DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.9b00053 This story has been published on: 2019-02-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. UM ceramic artist Brady Monk in in his third year of the ceramics program in the School of Art, but his journey to get there was harder than many of us can imagine. In 2011, Brady was shot in the head during a home invasion. He survived, but his entire left side was paralyzed. His long recov When the world shut down just over a year ago, I had no idea what my photo team would work on in the future. I was just over two months into my new job as multimedia editor, and though the future was uncertain, we still had a job to do. The summit which brought together leaders of the Arab League, formerly the League of Arab States, and the European Union (EU) in Sharm El-Sheikh this week felt more like a team-building event than a traditional summit. Although the huge conference room meant that leaders could not see the other end of the table, pictures outside the main conference hall showed one-on-one discussions between the world leaders. President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi stressed the importance of understanding the different priorities of Arab and European countries. Speaking at a press conference at the end of the two-day summit, Al-Sisi said: The priority in Europe is achieving and maintaining well-being for its people. Our priority is preserving our countries and stopping them from collapse, destruction and ruin, as you see in many surrounding states. President of the European Council Donald Tusk said it was time to get real about the partnership between the Arab world and Europe. We are confronted by many of the same challenges, in a geo-political context that has become even more dangerous and unstable, Tusk told the press conference. He added that EU and Arab leaders were committed to developing a positive cooperation agenda beyond managing crises and conflict. We want to develop common projects from energy security to technology, to tourism and trade that will encourage the investment and sustainable growth that our peoples need, he said. Terrorism, inevitably, was high on the conference agenda, and Al-Sisi underlined the importance of halting terrorist organisations access to advanced technologies. The summit addressed Arab-European cooperation on the political, security and economic fronts under the banner Investing in Stability. In closed sessions 50 Arab and European leaders discussed the crises in Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Palestine, alongside efforts at fighting terrorism, illegal immigration, refugees and climate change. In his address to the summit Al-Sisi underscored the importance of the summit as a platform for direct and constructive dialogue on regional and international issues and threats. Tusk, meanwhile, identified many of the fields in which the EU was keen to develop cooperation, including education, employment creation, investment and trade. Illegal migration a major challenge confronting both Arab and European countries, according to president of the EU, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis was one issue over which participating leaders saw eye-to-eye. Tusk called for action to be taken against the smugglers who push people into undertaking dangerous journeys, and to address the root causes of illegal migration, facilitate returns, readmission and reintegration and to protect the rights of refugees. President of EU Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said although there were differences of views we have to cooperate to face different challenges. We want to help Arab countries open up new horizons to provide young people with hope, said Juncker. The summit ended with the Sharm El-Sheikh Summit Declaration. Arab and European leaders agreed to hold Arab League-EU summits regularly, alternating between Arab and European states. The next summit is scheduled to take place in Brussels in 2022. The declaration underlined the importance of strengthening regional cooperation between EU and Arab countries. The participating leaders expressed their determination to promote peace, stability and prosperity, guarantee security, foster economic, social and technological development and create mutual opportunities. They agreed to strengthen cooperation over security, conflict resolution and socio-economic development and expand cooperative enterprises in the fields of trade, energy, science, research, technology, tourism, fisheries, agriculture and other mutually beneficial areas. The participants also affirmed their shared position on the Middle East peace process, including on the status of Jerusalem and the illegal status of Israeli settlements built on occupied Palestinian territory, and reiterated their commitment to reaching a two-state solution. *A version of this article appears in print in the 28 February, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Setting priorities straight Short link: [February 27, 2019] CNOC Applauds the Government on its Proposed Direction to the CRTC to Promote Competition, Affordability, Consumer Interests, and Innovation TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2019 /CNW/ - Canadian Network Operators Consortium Inc. (CNOC) applauds the government and the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada for taking leadership to provide Canadians with greater affordability and innovation in telecom services. Today, it was announced that ISED has issued a new proposed policy direction to the CRTC aimed at romoting competition, affordability, consumer interests, and innovation. The policy direction, as set out, will provide Canadian consumers with increased choice and greater affordability by bolstering the competitive market for both wireless and wireline services. CNOC has consistently advocated for fair access to the wholesale wireline and wireless services of the large telephone, cable, and national wireless carriers. This access is critical to enable competitors to provide Canadians with the breadth of options they demand when they shop for telecommunication services. "CNOC is strongly in support of the proposed policy direction. The announcement of a new policy direction sets out an important path to ensuring that all Canadians have access to innovative and affordable telecommunications services. We are grateful for Minister Bain's continued leadership to advance the interests of Canadians and competition in the telecommunication market," said Matt Stein, CNOC's Chair and CEO of Distributel. About CNOC CNOC is comprised of over 30 competitive telecommunications providers that operate wireline and/or wireless networks in many regions of Canada. CNOC's mission is to increase the level of competitive choice and innovation in the delivery of communications services to Canadians. SOURCE Canadian Network Operators Consortium Inc. [ Back To www.mobilitytechzone.com\LTE's Homepage ] [February 26, 2019] Eventbrite Expands into Asia with Launch in Singapore SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eventbrite (NYSE: EB), a global ticketing and event technology platform that powers millions of events, today announced its expansion into Asia with the launch of its first localized platform in the Asian market. The launch in Singapore is the companys first foray into Asias booming events market and follows sizeable organic growth and adoption of Eventbrite in the Asia Pacific region. The localized platform at eventbrite.sg will empower Singaporean event creators with innovative solutions to help them create experiences and sell even more tickets including curated local content, seamless native checkout and payment processing in Singapore Dollars (SGD). To date, Eventbrite has experienced strong growth in Singapore, powering more than 90,000 events in the country since the platforms inception. The success of the platform in-market points to: A rich and growing events industry: More than 4.9 million tickets have been transacted on Eventbrite in Singapore since the platforms inception. A deeply passionate community of event creators: With over 17,000 Singaporean event creators already using the Eventbrite platform, it appears that that locals love hosting live experiences. A country of diverse tastes: Eventbrite has seen strong organic growth in community, education, and food and wine events in Singapore, with events such as the Pinot Palooza pinot noir festival, Saturday Kids childrens education workshops and performances at The Singapore American School. Eventbrites opportunity in Singapore is fueled by the nations growing appetite for live experiences. Research released today conducted by Roy Morgan in conjunction with Eventbrite shows that 95% of Singaporeans attended an event in the past 12 months; with almost half (44%) of those surveyed stating they intend to increase the number of events they attend in the next year. This research into Singapore's growing experience economy also found: On average, Singaporeans reported that they spent a total of S$429 on live experiences from November 2017 to November 2018, while 13% of those surveyed reported that they spent more than S$1000 in that same period. The majority of Singaporeans (79%) would rather spend their money on an experience versus a tangible item. Close to two-thirds of Singaporean millennials (aged 18-34) attend live events to have something to share on social media (57%). Mature Singaporeans are seeking new skills: 59% of those aged 45+ attended an education class or workshop in the past year. Phil Silverstone, General Manager, Asia Pacific, said Eventbrites launch into Asia comes at a time of immense opportunity. "Singapore is a nation where live experiences are deeply woven into the cultural fabric. From its dynamic arts festivals to its world-famous food scene, there's always something new and exciting to do in the Lion City; and it's a market we view as strategic to Eventbrites long-term success in the Asia Pacific region," he said. Weve been closely tracking the events market in Singapore and are excited about the quality and breadth of events taking place. Following strong organic growth of our platform in-market, were pleased to deliver a localized offering that will help Singaporean event creators be even more successful and look forward to deepening our understanding of the local market to best serve their needs now, and into the future." About Eventbrite Eventbrite is a global ticketing and event technology platform that provides creators of all shapes and sizes with tools and resources to seamlessly plan, promote, and produce live experiences around the world. Eventbrites powerful platform, which can be accessed online or via mobile apps, scales from basic registration and ticketing to a fully featured event management platform. Eventbrite was founded by Julia Hartz, Kevin Hartz, and Renaud Visage and launched operations in 2006. The company has more than 1,000 employees in 14 offices around the world. Learn more at www.eventbrite.com. Eventbrite Press press@eventbrite.com [ Back To www.mobilitytechzone.com\LTE's Homepage ] [February 26, 2019] Mobi chooses BillRun! as its BSS solution for its expansion to the U.S. mainland HONOLULU and TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobi, the largest wireless provider based in Hawai?i, announced today that it has selected BillRun! as its BSS platform for its expansion to the mainland United States. Mobi launched in 2005 as the only wireless provider dedicated to providing affordable and reliable wireless service across Hawai?i. The company plans to launch no contract, no credit check wireless service with a new, straightforward plan and simple, low cost pricing throughout the mainland United States later this year. "When we made the decision to grow the Mobi brand to the mainland, we knew that having a modern billing and customer care solution was critical to delivering a great experience for our customers both here in Hawai?i and throughout the U.S.," said usten Burdette, chief executive officer of Mobi. "As an open source platform, BillRun! provides us tremendous flexibility and scalability, backed by their extensive product, engineering, and operations expertise. Their success in tailoring the BillRun! suite to meet the unique needs of a number of both established and disruptive telecom providers around the world speaks for itself, and we're excited to be the first wireless provider in the U.S. to leverage their innovative technology and deep experience." "As an established regional wireless provider, Mobi recognized that the need for a flexible and scalable billing system was key to the success of their expansion strategy," said Ofer Cohen, chief executive officer of BillRun. "We are proud to have developed an integrated suite of billing, CRM, and a modern customer self-care portal to support innovative wireless providers like Mobi. The BillRun! customer onboarding and engagement process makes the customer experience easy, simple, and fully automated. Customers onboard themselves, without any manual intervention, and can complete the entire sales process within a couple of minutes. The customer portal includes self-care for the digital era, which enables the customer to manage their account and mobile service with a click of a button, using their desktop or smartphone." Mobi will utilize the BillRun! platform to enable its industry-first, app-based customer onboarding, including a simple three-step "Switch to Mobi" tool powered by digital wallets like Apple Pay and eSIM provisioning for compatible devices like the iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max, iPhone X?. "As our first wireless project in the United States," Cohen added. "We have worked closely with Mobi and others in the industry to understand the unique needs of MNOs and MVNOs in this market. We believe there's a significant opportunity to bring a disruptive BSS solution to wireless providers in North America that enable greater flexibility and cost savings than the monolithic legacy systems that dominate the industry today." About BillRun! Technologies Ltd. BillRun, based in Tel Aviv, has revolutionized the telecommunications industry with its flexible, reliable, and cost-effective open source billing and CRM solutions. BillRun! specializes in providing scalable and modern solutions for telecommunications companies of all sizes, including MNOs, MVNOs, and IoT connectivity providers. Learn more at billrun.com or follow us on Twitter at @BillRun_Billing. About Mobi, Inc. Mobi has helped connect families, friends, and colleagues since 2005 as the largest wireless provider based in Hawai?i. The company was the first to offer no contract, credit check, no nonsense plans and pricing throughout the Islands. Mobi is a member of the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA), the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC), the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), and the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Learn more at mobi.com or follow us on Twitter at @Mobi. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mobi-chooses-billrun-as-its-bss-solution-for-its-expansion-to-the-us-mainland-300802686.html SOURCE Mobi [ Back To www.mobilitytechzone.com\broadband-stimulus's Homepage ] Burley, ID (83318) Today Mostly sunny. Near record high temperatures. High 93F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. Low 64F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. The first two-day European Union-Arab League summit saw tens of presidents, kings, prime ministers and ministers gather on 24 February in Sharm El-Sheikh. The US, Russia, Turkey, Iran and Israel were absent it was an Arab-EU summit after all, and their absence was part of what the gathering was about. In his opening remarks President of the European Council Donald Tusk declared that the Arab world should not leave its security prey to outside powers. There was no need to mention names. The catastrophic consequences for the region of foreign interventions are there for everyone to see, from Iraq to Syria. The host, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, painted a picture of a region beset by wars and terrorism and appealed for greater cooperation in ending the conflicts. In his opening speech Al-Sisi appealed for a resolution to the decades-old Palestinian-Israeli conflict and of more recent wars in Libya, Yemen and Syria. The picture is bleak at present, said Al-Sisi. He called for greater Arab and EU economic cooperation and warned of mounting risks and challenges, including terrorism and migration. The migration crisis is one reason Europe is keen to forge new alliances with its southern Arab neighbours. As the closest major block to the Arab region Europe has paid a heavy price on the security, political and economic fronts for the turmoil that has ravaged the Arab world for decades. That 24 of the EUs 28 heads of government attended the summit was testimony to the importance Europe attaches to its relations across the Mediterranean. Europe does not trust the current US administration to do the right thing in the region, a British source told Al-Ahram Weekly. There are major differences between the EU and the Trump administration, including on Syria and Washingtons Middle East Peace plan. Iran is another bone of contention. We took the initiative in 2015 in response to a migration crisis that was a direct result of US policies in the region, especially in Iraq and Syria, says another British source. Then we were villainised and ridiculed as naive, hasty and reckless by the Trump administration. The clash with the US was a wake-up call. We need to shape an independent foreign policy based on our own values and interests and we think there is an appetite in the region for that. But it takes two to tango, and for the EU-Arab summit to become a regular fixture on the diplomatic calendar a great deal must still be done. It is important that, in the face of the challenges extremism, terrorism and migration confronting the Arab world and the EU, these sorts of summits, where heads of governments interact as they try to find solutions to crises in Syria, Yemen, Libya and elsewhere, are held regularly, Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, told the Weekly. As Washington disengages from the region China is increasing trade and has established a military base in Djibouti. Russia is also upping its influence. But the vacuum left by the US could still benefit EU plans. I think the EUs actions are very important because of the withdrawal of the United States from its traditional role in the region. The US is pulling its forces from Syria and is no longer funding UN bodies dealing with Palestine and some other areas. The EU must step in. It is vital that the EU, its leaders, plus the UK whether inside or outside the EU, takes action and cooperates with Arab countries over issues of concern to both blocs, says Doyle. Not that anyone in Europe expects the road ahead to be easy. As a British source admitted to the Weekly, playing an instrumental role in the region has always been difficult because of the US overwhelming leverage and immense political, economic and strategic interests. But the problem is not simply one of US dominance. The EU has its own shortcomings. The biggest challenge for the EU is to develop a common foreign policy towards the Middle East. Within the EU we see examples of governments like that under Viktor Orban in Hungary which have adopted anti-immigrant positions very different from the German government. There are divisions over Syria, Yemen and Saudi Arabia and internal differences over the rise of the far-right parties. These divisions within the EU effect its ability to develop a cohesive strategy, says Doyle. But there is no question about the EU needing to try to address the crises in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and indeed Palestine. And they must do it in a way that is sustainable and address the causes. Federica Mogherini, high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy, stressed during the summit the importance of ending the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, explaining that the EU remained committed to a Palestinian state being established that can exist alongside Israel.Both states could have Jerusalem as their capital, she said. The latter qualification represents an attempt, by both the EU and the Arab League, to distance themselves from the US administrations position signalled when President Donald Trump ordered the US Embassy in Israel to move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The biggest elephant in the room, however, was Iran. The EU has a vast economic, political and strategic stake in seeing the Iran nuclear deal upheld. EU countries opposed Washingtons withdrawal from and re-imposition of sanctions against Iran. Many Arab countries, however, particularly in the Gulf, acted as cheerleaders for Trumps withdrawal from the deal. Tensions between countries in the region, Arab states and others and Iran, must be resolved. If we allow them to continue the worst will happen. It is a cold war that has been going on for years and the tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, or Israel, play out on many battlefields, as we witnessed in Syria and as we are seeing now in Yemen, says Doyle. Tusk, president of the European Council which organises summits for EU countries, acknowledged there are differences between us, but said close neighbours had more at stake in resolving regional conflicts than distant powers. Mogherini sounded a more optimistic note, saying we agree on 90 to 95 per cent of issues. The EU needs to change its role in the Middle East from being a major donor to a power that has positive political influence, says Doyle. It will take some time for the EU to construct a coherent regional policy, and involve more than providing donations to rebuild decimated societies in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. What is needed is a political process to address the underlying causes of the conflicts. I very much hope this is not a one-off summit. There are issues such as human rights and progress in terms of political reform that concern the EU, but the process also has to address Arab states interests. We have to have cooperative relationships, where each party listens to the other. *A version of this article appears in print in the 28 February, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Building on stability Short link: 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. Earlier this month, Dutch historian Rutger Bregman, author of Utopia For Realists, was interviewed by the high-profile Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson. During a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos in Janary, Bregman had bluntly told billionaires that they should stop avoiding taxes and pay their fair share: We gotta be talking about taxes. Thats it. Taxes, taxes, taxes. All the rest is bullshit, in my opinion. His comments went viral which, in turn, led to him being invited on to Carlsons television show. Its safe to say that the interview did not go as the right-wing host would have liked. In fact, Fox News decided not to air the segment. However, it was captured on mobile phone footage in the Amsterdam studio where Bregman was doing the interview and it was later distributed via Twitter. He told Carlson: The vast majority of Americans, for years and years now, according to the polls including Fox News viewers and including Republicans are in favour of higher taxes on the rich. Higher inheritance taxes, higher top marginal tax rates, higher wealth taxes, its all really mainstream. But no ones saying that at Davos, just as no ones saying it on Fox News, right? And I think the explanation for that is quite simple, is that most of the people in Davos, but also here on this channel, have been bought by the billionaire class. You know? Youre not meant to say these things. So I just went there, and I thought, you know what, Im just going to say it, just as Im saying it right here on this channel. Carlson was happy enough at this point. Indeed, he praised Bregman for what hed said in Davos: That was one of the great moments maybe the great moment in Davos history. Carlson added: If I was wearing a hat, Id take it off to you. The Dutch historian continued: America is still pretty much the most powerful country in the world, right? So if it really would want to, it could easily crack down on tax paradises. But the thing is, you guys have brought into power a president who doesnt even want to share his own tax returns. I mean, who knows how many billions he has hidden in the Cayman Islands or in Bermuda. So I think the issue really is one of corruption and of people being bribed, and of not being, not talking about the real issues. What the familywhat the Murdochs [owners of Fox News] basically want you to do is to scapegoat immigrants instead of talking about tax avoidance. By this point, it was clear that Carlson was unhappy with how the interview was going: And Im taking orders from the Murdochs, thats what youre saying? Bregman responded reasonably: No, I mean, it doesnt work that directly. But I mean, youve been part of the [right-wing libertarian think tank] Cato Institute, right? Youve been a senior fellow there for years. The Fox News presenter interjected aggressively, seemingly rattled: Well how does it work? Bregman replied: Well, it works by you taking their dirty money. Theyre funded by Koch billionaires, you know? Its as easy as that. I mean, you are a millionaire, funded by billionaires, thats what you are. And Im glad you now finally jumped the bandwagon of people like Bernie Sanders and AOC [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a newly elected Democrat politician in New York], but youre not part of the solution, Mr. Carlson. Youre part of the problem, actually. All the anchors, all the anchors of Fox By this point, Carlson had lost it: You would have to be a moron, you would have to be Bregman carried on speaking: Theyre all millionaires. How is this possible? Well its very easy, youre just not talking about certain things. You are a millionaire funded by billionaires, thats what you are Youre part of the problem. Bregman then correctly predicted: youre probably not going to air this on your show. He added: But I went to Davos to speak truth to power and Im doing exactly the same thing right now. You might not like it, but youre a millionaire funded by billionaires and thats the reason youre not talking about these issues. Carlson: But I am talking about these issues. Bregman replied: Yeah, only now. Come on, you jumped the bandwagon. Youre all like, oh, Im against the globalist elite, blah blah blah. Its not very convincing to be honest. That was too much for Carlson who exploded: I wanna say to you why dont you go fuck yourself you tiny brain. And I hope this gets picked up because youre a moron. I tried to give you a hearing, but you were too fucking annoying Unflustered, Bregman interjected with a smile: You cant handle the criticism, can you? Afterwards, Bregman shared the clip on his Twitter feed: Heres the interview that @TuckerCarlson and Fox News didnt want you to see. I chose to release it, because I think we should keep talking about the corrupting influence of money in politics. It also shows how angry elites can get if you do that. As predicted, Fox News did not air the segment. No doubt prompted by Bregman releasing the exchange into the public domain, Carlson addressed it on his show: Things went fine for the first few minutes and then Bregman launched into an attack on Fox News. Its not clear that Bregman has ever seen Fox. But he wanted to make his point. Fine. But then he claimed that [adopts a fierce voice] my corporate masters tell me what to say on the show, and that was too much. Carlson continued: Whatever my faults or those of this channel, nobody in management has ever told us what positions to take on the air never not one time. We have total freedom here and we are grateful for that. I have hosted shows on both the other cable channels so I know first-hand how rare that freedom is. On this show, thanks to Fox, we get to say exactly what we think is true, for better or worse. But there was no convincing Bregman of that, he knew what he knew. So I did what I try hard never to do on this show, and I was rude. I called him a moron and then I modified that word with a vulgar Anglo-Saxon term that is also intelligible in Dutch. In my defence, I would say that was entirely accurate. But youre not allowed to use that word on television. So, once Id said it out loud, there was no airing the segment. Carlson then pointed out that Bregman had released the exchange and that you could find it online: There is some profanity, and I apologize for that. On the other hand, it was genuinely heartfelt and I meant it with total sincerity. It was a far from convincing explanation for why Fox News had not aired the segment. After all, a simple bleep could have overridden any profanity: a standard procedure used in television. Note that we are not claiming that everything Carlson says can be dismissed as kow-towing to his corporate masters. Last year, for example, he admirably challenged the establishment consensus on Syria. That expression of dissent may well have boosted his ratings: always a welcome factor for a media outlet. Our point is that there is no freedom to say exactly what we think on a corporate outlet. As Herman and Chomsky explained in Manufacturing Consent, there are structural limits in the mainstream media: the societal purpose of the media is to inculcate and defend the economic, social and political agenda of privileged groups that dominate the domestic society and the state. The media serve this purpose in many ways: through selection of topics, distribution of concerns, framing of issues, filtering of information, emphasis and tone, and by keeping debate within the bounds of acceptable premises. (Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent, Vintage, 1998/2004, p. 298) That phrase, keeping debate within the bounds of acceptable premises, is crucial. Thus, for instance, a Fox News presenter who looked critically at the ownership and advertising behind that network would not last long; indeed, would likely never have been promoted into that trusted position in the first place. You Say What You Like, Because They Like What You Say What was perhaps most interesting in Carlsons riposte to Bregman was his defence of Fox News: nobody in management has ever told us what positions to take on the air never not one time. We have total freedom here and we are grateful for that. I have hosted shows on both the other cable channels so I know first-hand how rare that freedom is. On this show, thanks to Fox, we get to say exactly what we think is true, for better or worse. Even former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger understood the absurdity of this response. In 2000, he told one of us in an interview: If you ask anybody who works in newspapers, they will quite rightly say, Rupert Murdoch, or whoever, never tells me what to write, which is beside the point: they dont have to be told what to write Its understood. In fact, Bregman had already noted when he released the exchange: I stand behind what I said, but theres one thing I should have done better. When Carlson asked me how hes being influenced by Big Business and tax-avoiding billionaires, I should have quoted Noam Chomsky. He expanded: Years ago, when he was asked a similar question, Chomsky replied: Im sure you believe everything youre saying. But what Im saying is that if you believe something different, you wouldnt be sitting where youre sitting. Long-time readers of Media Lens will recall this example very well. It came up in a BBC2 programme in 1995 called The Big Idea when Andrew Marr then of the Independent and now with BBC News interviewed Chomsky about the propaganda model of the media. The quote in question comes when Marr is struggling to grasp the propaganda system that filters for obedient, power-serving journalists who are able to carve out a successful career in the mainstream. Marr: Im just interested in this because I was brought up like a lot of people, probably post-Watergate film and so on, to believe that journalism was a crusading craft and there were a lot of disputatious, stroppy, difficult people in journalism. And I have to say, I think I know some of them. Chomsky: Well, I know some of the best, and best-known, investigative reporters in the United States I wont mention names whose attitude towards the media is much more cynical than mine. In fact, they regard the media as a sham. And they know, and they consciously talk about how they try to play it like a violin. If they see a little opening, theyll try to squeeze something in that ordinarily wouldnt make it through. And its perfectly true that the majority Im sure youre speaking for the majority of journalists who are trained have it driven into their heads, that this is a crusading profession, adversarial, we stand up against power. A very self-serving view. On the other hand, in my opinion, I hate to make a value judgement but, the better journalists and, in fact, the ones who are often regarded as the best journalists have quite a different picture. And I think a very realistic one. Marr: How can you know that Im self-censoring? How can you know that journalists are Chomsky: Im not saying youre self-censoring. Im sure you believe everything youre saying. But what Im saying is that if you believe something different, you wouldnt be sitting where youre sitting. Chomskys phrase, if you believe something different, you wouldnt be sitting where youre sitting sums up the propaganda system of the corporate media. What Tucker Carlson appears not to understand is that he has total freedom to say what he likes on Fox News because he has shown that he can be trusted to remain within acceptable limits. He has obviously never heard Noam Chomsky explain how it works. Nor does he seem to be familiar with US critic Michael Parenti whose riposte to the proud boast by many a corporate journalist that nobody tells me what to say or write was: You say what you like, because they like what you say. Parenti expanded on the theme during a talk titled Inventing Reality in 1993: And, you know, the minute you move too far and you have no sensation of a restraint on your freedom. I mean, you dont know youre wearing a leash if you sit by the peg all day. Its only if you then begin to wander to a prohibited perimeter that you feel the tug, you see. So youre free because your ideological perspective is congruent with that of your boss. So, you have no sensation of being at odds with your boss. Perhaps the Pulitzer Prize-winning US author Upton Sinclair put it most succinctly when he wrote: It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. Obviously, the same applies to a woman. Indeed, Deborah Haynes, then defence editor at The Times and now foreign affairs editor at Sky News, tweeted proudly last year: No one tells me what to think. Orla Guerin, a veteran BBC News journalist currently reporting from Venezuela, believes herself to be scrupulously impartial and neutral: Thank you for watching, but we dont do propaganda. We call it they [sic] way we see it, even if that does not suit the pre-conceived idea/ ideals that some have. Jeremy Bowen, the BBC News Middle East editor, opined: We are the best source of decent, impartial reportage anywhere in the world. At first glance, the claims made by Guerin and Bowen sound plausible. After all, the BBC is widely admired and lauded around the world. In reality, the BBC is structurally and institutionally incapable of reporting fully and honestly the crimes of the West and its allies. It has never told even a fraction of the truth about US-UK crimes in Serbia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Palestine, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere. It has never properly reported these crimes or placed them in an accurate historical context, showing how the West has consistently attacked independent national movements abroad to ensure that local tyrants, armed and supported by us, suppress local people to the benefit of Western corporate interests. This framework of understanding is considered completely beyond the pale in polite BBC discourse; it is not even thinkable for them. Moreover, the BBC exactly reverses this apologetic stance in its endless channelling and hyping of condemnatory Western government claims, often fabricated, against Official Enemies such as Iraq, Libya, Syria; thus preparing the way for Western sanctions and other forms of intervention, including full-scale invasion. BBC reporting on Venezuela is a current ugly example. Because the US, UK and its allies are the worlds leading human rights violators, and because senior BBC News journalists and editors cannot even conceive of this possibility, BBC output must be considered propaganda on every issue relating to international and, indeed, often domestic affairs. Our media alerts and books are chock-full of examples and analysis that show this in great detail. To take just one recent example: if Bowens absurd claim about the BBC were true, it would have reported extensively on former FBI Director Andrew McCabe quoting Donald Trump: I dont understand why were not looking at Venezuela. Why were not a war with Venezuela? They have all the oil and theyre in our back door. But you will never see this become the lead item on BBC News at Ten. Why not? Because that would sink the story were supposed to believe: that the US is acting out of humanitarian concern for Venezuelans. In a sane media, McCabes account of a meeting with Trump would have been central to countless news stories and discussion about Venezuela. BBC News, ITV News and Channel 4 News would all be leading with this on their news bulletins. The newspapers would have it on their front pages. In fact, our database searches show that not a single mainstream UK newspaper has reported the remarks. The left-wing Morning Star is the only national newspaper to have covered the story. Likewise, mainstream news media seem supremely disinterested in similar remarks from the notorious US neocon hawk, John Bolton, resurrected from the war crimes of the Iraq invasion, and now anointed as the US National Security Advisor. He made crystal-clear the realpolitik considerations driving US policy towards Venezuela: Itll make a big difference to the United States if we could have American oil companies invest in and produce the oil capabilities in Venezuela. Imagine if Putin had made similar remarks threatening war on Venezuela, and been entirely open that the objective was the vast oil reserves there. There would be no end to the headlines devoted to his monstrous intentions and the perfidy of Russian imperial ambitions. We challenged Paul Royall, the editor of BBC News at Six and News at Ten, about not reporting the former FBI director citing Trumps desire for war on Venezuela: Hello @paulroyall. You are the editor of @BBCNews at Six and Ten. Why is *this* not front and centre in your news reports on #Venezuela? Why have you instead *buried* a crucial factor that helps to explain US policy towards #Venezuela? As ever, Royall who follows us on Twitter remained silent. Similar challenges to Orla Guerin and Andrew Roy, BBC News foreign editor, also blew past like the proverbial desert tumbleweed. Likewise, an earlier tweet of ours was ignored: Your news reports present a highly partial, US-friendly view of #Venezuela. By omitting crucial facts, you are misleading your audiences As the veteran journalist John Pilger has long pointed out, this phenomenon is called lying by omission. It is a major factor in enabling senior journalists at major mainstream news organisations to claim wrongly, as Orla Guerin did, that: We dont do propaganda. This is a deadly myth. Deadly, because it masks the fact that corporate media, especially BBC News, are responsible for propaganda that pushes more Western intervention, more war, more stolen natural resources, more mass deaths of innocent civilians, more refugees, more corporate profits, more fossil-fuel burning, more species loss and, ultimately, more planetary destruction; perhaps even human extinction in an era of climate chaos. DC and DE Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has expressed his condolences to the families of the victims of a major train accident in a downtown Cairo railway station, which has killed 20 people and injured 40 others. Ahead of a press conference with his Albanian counterpart Ilir Meta, El-Sisi said "I have instructed the government to immediately go to the scene of the incident and to hold those responsible accountable after conducting the necessary investigations." The president has also instructed the ministers to make all the necessary arrangements to care for the injured. Meanwhile, the Egyptian prosecution said in a statement that it has ordered an immediate investigation into the incident. Short link: Governments certainly shouldnt be erecting crosses on new buildings or monuments, or including them on new logos. That goes for putting up nativities at Christmas, too. We know better now; it sends the wrong message. Our forefathers who used crosses on government property and logos should have thought better of it. They dont belong there. He is capable of behaving kindly, but he is not kind. He is capable of committing acts of generosity, but he is not generous. He is capable of being loyal, but he is fundamentally disloyal. Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great. He had no desire or intention to lead this nation only to market himself and to build his wealth and power. Mr. Trump would often say, this campaign was going to be the greatest infomercial in political history. Katelin Hernandez was home alone with two young children when Pena entered the home with what she believed was a gun. He forced her to take him to where the money in the home was and then fled with $1,500. On Wednesday, three investigators testified in Northampton County Court to their efforts to find Lockhart, which have stretched as far as West Virginia, where they heard she may have gone. The hearing came as Raymonds lawyer is seeking to have the charges against his client thrown out, arguing that delays by prosecutors have violated his right to a speedy trial. Aument and other state legislators are floating a proposal to subsidize the state's nuclear power plants to keep them from closing. A 2004 state law requires utilities to buy a percentage of their power from renewable and alternative sources; as part of the potential rescue plan, these lawmakers want nuclear power to be counted in the same categories. This would provide financial help needed for Three Mile Island to hold off its planned October closure. The lawmakers say another one of the state's plants will otherwise shutter in 2021. That high rate has shifted the political debate, too. A majority of voters now embrace Obamacare, polls show, and Democrats used those sentiments to help take control of the U.S. House in the 2018 election. But President Donald Trump remains opposed to the law. So stay tuned for the 2020 election. McClay said he is concerned about the borough officers and detectives in there, processing the scene, picking up 9-year-olds, as well as local children hearing of the deaths. Twins Imani and Erika Allen were found on the floor of the bedroom apartment, and were killed along with their mother Jamilla Campbell, 42, police said. Security sources told Ahram Online that the train driver left the train unattended after getting into a row with a colleague. Police have arrested the train driver believed to be responsible for the accident after he had fled the scene and returned to his hometown in Minoufiya governorate north of Cairo. CCTV video circulated online shows that the locomotive was left unattended at a train yard after its driver jumped out to speak with the conductor of another train that crashed into the first locomotive. The locomotive then sped off towards the railway station as its motor was left running when it was abandoned by the driver. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly accepted the resignation of Minister of Transportation Hisham Arafat shortly after the accident, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported. Madbouly has delegated Minister of Electricity Mohamed Shaker to take charge of the Ministry of Transportation after the resignation of Minister Arafat. One of the wounded has suffered massive injuries, and others are in critical condition, said Health Minister Hala Zayed, adding that most of the deceased have not yet been identified. Medical sources at the scene told Ahram Online that many of the injured are in critical condition, having sustained severe burns. The Red Crescent has dispatched ambulances to the station where people can donate blood. All the injured have been transferred to the Railway Hospital, Shubra Hospital and Al-Helal Hospital near the station. The Railway Authority has said in a statement that the fire broke out after a train collided with concrete barriers at the station. Prime Minister Madbouly said in a brief statement that the reason behind the train collision is still unknown. Surveillance footage from the station shows that the accident took place at 9:26 am on platform 6 when a train collided with a concrete barrier and immediately exploded. The footage shows people being engulfed in flames and bystanders attempting to put them out. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi told reporters that he has instructed the government to "immediately go to the scene of the incident and to hold those responsible accountable after conducting the necessary investigation." The office of the country's top prosecutor said in a statement that it has ordered an immediate investigation into the incident. "Everyone has to know that the life of every Egyptian is valuable to me and to the Egyptian state, and we will not rest until we hold accountable anyone found to be neglectful in their job," the prime minister stressed. Madbouly said that Health Minister Zayed is closely following the treatment of the injured. Security officials have partially closed entrances to the train station. Egypt's Railway Authority has said in an official statement that all train traffic, with the exception of the railway where the incident took place, is back to normal after being suspended following the accident. PM Madbouly, Transport Minister Arafat, and Social Solidarity Minister Ghada Wali have visited the site of the incident. Minister Wali has ordered for EGP 80,000 to be payed to each of the families of those killed and EGP 20,000 to the injured. The Egyptian Red Crescent has started a campaign asking travellers to donate blood for those injured in the incident. In July 2018, Minister of Transportation Arafat said that EGP 55 billion had been allocated to develop Egypts railway infrastructure in a five-year overhaul programme. In the same year, the Ministry of Transport obtained a loan for importing and manufacturing 100 locomotives from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development at EGP 5.8 bn. In the past two decades, Egypt's railways saw a record number of deadly train accidents. The deadliest train accident was in February 2002, when a train packed to double capacity caught fire and killed 373 in Al-Ayyat. Short link: Congressional Democrats have had their heads in the sand and refused to heed the pleas of our border security professionals to give them the resources they need. As a result, the president was forced to act, said Republican Rep. Dan Meuser, whose 9th District includes Schuylkill and Carbon counties. He used his constitutional authority to invoke a national emergency to address the crisis. The thought that Congress should stand in the way of that authority is wrong. While many frustrated Nigerians had said they wanted to give someone new a try, President Muhammadu Buhari, a former military dictator, had the numbers for victory, his campaign said. The official declaration, set for 3 a.m. Wednesday, follows a troubled election in the oil-rich nation weary of politicians enriching themselves instead of the people. Kiln 1 West was selected for rehabilitation in 2016 because of its visibility and relative lack of damage. The hope was that the preservation efforts would inspire private donors to step forward and attract more federal money. But that aspiration, two years later, has failed to produce meaningful results, shrouding the future of the towering structures in uncertainty. The future use of that drill hall was not part of the proposal for the armory in 2017 when the project received zoning variances paving the way for 70 apartments on the property at 345 Second Ave. A new four-story structure would include 64 of the apartments, and six more would be developed at the 1938 and 1968 additions to the armory. In a passionate opening statement, the lawyer for an Allentown man accused of firing the fatal shots in a 2017 home invasion robbery that ended with a man being killed in front of his 8-year-old daughter, conceded that his client was in the victims home with three accused robbers but said he did not pull the trigger. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) studies and careers are becoming increasingly important in order to prepare students to evelop innovative solutions to solve challenges in diverse sectors. General Electric (GE) and Young Scientists Kenya hosted a workshop to sensitize male and female secondary school students on the benefits of taking up STEM careers, not just for themselves but also for the development of the society as a whole. STEM is important today with technology and innovation continuously expanding into every aspect of our lives. At GE, we find it vital to expose students to our facilities and teams working in STEM related roles across our Healthcare, Power and Aviation businesses. This gives them an opportunity to develop a passion for innovation whether in employment or entrepreneurship, said Brenda Mbathi, Director, Government Affairs & Policy and GE Womens Network Leader for East Africa. According to statistics from the Bureau of Labour, 58% of all new jobs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) are in computing. Yet in Africa, less than 2% of students, under 18, finish school with vital STEM skills. The gap is even greater among underserved and underrepresented communities more so among young girls. According to UNESCO, only 28 percent of women globally are currently working in science and technology related fields. In Kenya, only 9% of Kenyan women are registered engineers. Through the platform created by Young Scientists of Kenya (YSK), students from across the country are encouraged to explore careers in STEM. In 2018, YSKs inaugural National Science and Technology Exhibition took place, from which 22 projects providing solutions in energy, infrastructure, agriculture, social issues, and more were selected. These projects are potential small micro enterprises that could grow to large-scale industries to provide employment to young people in the country. Partnerships are critical in promoting STEM initiatives among young people. As we continue to develop STEM communities of practice through partnerships with the Government, academia and private sector, we hope to see more STEM related subjects entrenched in institutions of learning across the country, said Michael Waiyaki, Acting National Programmes & Partnerships Director, Young Scientists of Kenya. The workshop consisted of a tour of the GE Healthcare Training Institute, a panel discussion with GE senior business leaders where they shared career advice as well as one-on-one mentorship sessions for the students. As part of its ongoing commitment to increase gender representation in technical programs, General Electric launched GE Girls initiative, designed to encourage girls to explore the world of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and STEM-based careers. In Kenya GE has had initiatives with Starehe Girls, SHOFCO, Kabuku, Kinoo, Safe Spaces, Young Scientists Kenya, among other institutions to date. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 1 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn The bail for a female university student of Hebei province, whose parents killed her harasser during an attack in August, has been withdrawn, meaning she is not guilty, Beijing News reported on Tuesday. Her parents remain in custody. An announcement by Laiyuan Public Security Bureau said the student with the alias Wang Xiaoyu shouldn't be subject to criminal charges in line with the law. "It means she is not guilty," defense lawyer Wang Wenguang was quoted as saying. Wang Xiaoyu and her parents were detained in July for killing a man surnamed Wang who invaded their home at night in a village in Laiyuan with an extendable baton and a fruit knife and had physical conflict with them, according to local police. A report by China Central Television said the man sexually assaulted Wang on April 29 last year, the day after she refused his romantic overtures. The two met each other in February at a restaurant in Beijing, where Wang worked with her mother during winter vacation. After the rejection, the man frequently harassed Wang and her family by coming to her home or university and demanding to meet her, the report said. During his last harassment attempt on July 11, Wang and his parents were attacked by the man and wounded, and the harasser was struck with a kitchen knife, a wooden stick and a spade, according to an investigation by local police. "After the man fell to the ground, Wang's mother Zhao Yinzhi struck his neck with a kitchen knife," the investigation concluded, adding the man died of a hemorrhagic shock after a craniocerebral injury. Wang and his parents were detained the next day and she was later released on bail pending trial. In August, her parents were arrested on suspicion of intentional homicide under the approval of the People's Procuratorate of Laiyuan county. Heated discussion was triggered online about whether the case was justifiable self-defense after the harasser started trespassing and attacking. Some of them argued that the parents' protection should get more support. "I can't accept that they were detained because they had done nothing wrong to protect themselves," Weibo user Jianzhang2019_30189 said. Marysville, KS (66508) Today Areas of patchy fog early. Cloudy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 83F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Gold and Silver Prepare For A Momentum Rally Today we warn of a potential downside price rotation in precious metals that may last 3~5+ weeks as metals set up for a massive breakout rally which we believe will start in late April or early May. Our custom indicators are suggesting that precious metals, and the general US stock markets, may be setting up for a bit of a reprieve rotation after a very impressive recovery. Be patient as we believe this pullback in prices will provide an excellent buying opportunity for the eventual momentum rally setting up in about 30+ days. Lets start by looking at our Custom Market Volatility indicators. The Weekly chart below highlights the recent recovery in the US stock market since the December 24th, 2018 lows and also shows that the current recovery level is sitting right at a 61.8% Fibonacci level. It is our belief that a period of general price weakness will begin to unfold over the next 10~15+ days in the US stock market. This rotation is very healthy for the next leg higher the momentum rally we have been suggesting will take place in the near future. We believe the downside rotation in the US stock market will be the result of renewed calm from expectations that the global economy may begin a recovery process as the US/China trade issues and other geopolitical issues seem to become more resolved. We believe the recent upside move in the US stock markets were a flight to safety for many foreign investors fearing that US/China trade issues would result in very harsh outcomes near March 1. If the trade issues appear to be close to a resolution, this flight to safety trade may wane a bit over the next 10~20+ days as emerging markets may see a dramatic upside bounce in valuations. How does this relate to Gold and Silver? It is very likely that the upside pricing pressure in precious metals will stall a bit as the global equities markets take center stage. If our analysis is correct, the developed markets will contract while the emerging markets take focus. This falls right into line with our analysis that the US stock markets will pause/rotate over the next 10~20+ days in preparation for a larger upside price swing. Our custom Gold/Silver Index is showing that precious metals are trading in a sideways Pennant/Flag formation near levels that have historically been resistance. We still believe the upside in the precious metals market over the long term is substantial, yet we believe the news of a US/China trade resolution and the resulting rally in the emerging markets will remove much of the upside pricing pressure in the precious metals markets for about 15+ days before momentum support is found. Our researchers believe the timing of this move is right for a short term swing trade. Be prepared for rotation in nearly all the global markets and be prepared for emerging markets to see an upside price rally as a result of positive news from the US and China over the next 2+ weeks. Are you ready for these moves? Do you value the research we share with you and the insight we provide? Please take a minute to visit www.TheTechnicalTraders.com to learn how we can help you find and execute better trades. Support our work become a member. We dedicate our efforts to providing you with more detailed and intuitive market research available anywhere else. Isnt it time you invested in a team that can really help you make 2019 a great success? Just look at our most recent trades this month! 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. Support Local Journalism The Malibu community needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free. Please help keep us in print by making a contribution. Niu Shiyu writes to thank contributors on Thursday. CHINA DAILY Police officer Niu Weilong was able to raise the 300,000 yuan ($45,000) needed for his young daughter's medical treatment in just one day. The heartwarming fundraising frenzy happened after Niu, who works in Artux, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, posted an appeal on an online platform this month. "The donors hail from different ethnic groups in Xinjiang and all parts of China, and some are even living and working overseas," the 42-year-old said. "A simple 'thanks' cannot express my gratitude to these people, who didn't even know me. I wish them good luck all their lives." In January, Niu's only daughter, Shiyu, was diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma and needed chemotherapy. "My girl suffered a lot during the treatments, and I told her to be strong because she's the child of a policeman," Niu said. "But the stronger she is, the more pain I feel in my heart. After all, she's only 7." He was also worried that Shiyu's medical checkups and primary treatment were quickly wiping out the family's savings. Niu's wife, Xiao Ping, works at a property management company. Before their daughter fell ill, the couple had already paid for medical treatment for Niu's mother and father, who were diagnosed with cancer in 2008 and 2012. They couldn't find more money for Shiyu's treatment. At the suggestion of colleagues at the police station in Artux, Niu wrote a letter on behalf of his daughter early on the morning of Feb 20, asking for help, and posted it on crowdsourcing platform Shuidichou, which means water-drop fundraising. Niu's friends testified for him, as people raising funds online need to prove their cause is authentic. Zhao Wei, Niu's boss, donated 1,000 yuan. Niu started receiving telephone calls from people in Xinjiang and other provinces and regions of China only a few minutes after the letter was posted. All said they wanted to lend a hand in helping Shiyu fight her disease. More people got involved in the campaign that day, with many leaving messages on the site. "As a police officer and public servant, you must have helped and served a lot of people at work. Now it's people's turn to help you out," one said. At 2 pm that day, when Niu arrived at his daughter's ward, his wife told him: "Our daughter will be saved. Only a few minutes before you came, the money people donated online amounted to 300,000 yuan!" Niu said he believed he received the money so quickly because of people's respect for police officers in Xinjiang. "They recognize police officers' efforts in Xinjiang to protect people of all ethnic groups and maintain a peaceful living environment," he said. He said he also believed it was payback for his previous good deeds, including working voluntarily at a local organization to help lift people out of poverty. The funds raised online are allowing Shiyu to receive chemotherapy. Niu said he will help more people in need to return the goodness his family has seen. Exton, PA (19341) Today Abundant sunshine. Near record high temperatures. High around 95F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms, especially during the evening. Low 71F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Magnolia, AR (71754) Today Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 92F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy. Low 74F. Winds light and variable. Properties / Homes If youre eyeing some personal investment, then the country of Moldova punches well above its weight with its all-new Citizenship by Investment programme. Feb 27, 2019 | By Joe Lim This is the second part of How to Upgrade Your Citizenship featured in PALACE Magazine #22. There is no denying that globalisation has made our world smaller and wealthier. For a variety of reasons, today more than ever individuals are looking to change their nationality or become a national of multiple countries. From far-flung islands in the Caribbean to members of the European Union, countries are inviting foreign investment in exchange for citizenship. The global leaders in this industry are Henley & Partners who have over 20 years of experience in residence and citizenship planning. We speak with Henley & Partners Head of Southeast Asia Dominic Volek on the latest country offering a Citizenship by Investment programme Moldova. What is the primary advantage of Moldovas Citizenship-by-Investment programme over other countries similar offerings? The Moldova Citizenship-by-Investment (MCBI) programme has a number of highly appealing features. It provides visa-free access to 122 destinations, including Russia, Turkey, and the countries in Europes Schengen Area; it allows for permanent residence in a uniquely positioned country at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia; and it allows citizenship to be transferred to future generations without restrictions. However, the most significant advantage offered by the programme is its genuine affordability and accessibility, which makes it probably the most cost-efficient programme in the world to date. How long does it take to become a citizen? Under the MCBI programme, the issuance of a Moldovan passport takes approximately three months from the date on which the complete application is submitted, provided that due diligence is carried out without difficulties. Once all the requirements have been satisfied and the final payments have been made, biometric data is collected, and the applicant pledges an oath of allegiance. Citizenship is granted, and the passport issued thereafter. What requirements does the investor need to meet? To qualify for citizenship, the main applicant must be over 18 years of age, meet the application requirements, and make the requisite qualifying contribution. It is absolutely essential that main applicants and their dependents have entirely clean personal backgrounds and no criminal records. In order to ensure this, the MCBI programme employs a four-tier due diligence system, considered to be the most rigorous in the world. In addition to the usual personal documentation, such as passport copies and birth certificates, the applicant is required to supply a number of additional supporting documents, including a police certificate confirming that he or she has no criminal record. Before the application is submitted to the government, all the information provided must have been verified by one or more specialised due diligence service providers. All fees must also have been received, and the source of all funds must have been verified. Can investors move there with their family if they desire? Absolutely! Dependent children up to 29 years of age and parents (of either the main applicant or the spouse) from 55 years of age can be included. Moreover, as I mentioned, citizenship is transferable to future generations without restrictions and at no additional charge. What are the costs involved? The MCBI programmes highly competitive pricing structure requires applicants to make a minimum non-refundable contribution to the governments Public Investment Fund. The breakdown of costs is as follows: EUR 100,000 (USD 113,666) for a single applicant EUR 115,000 (USD 130,715) for a couple EUR 145,000 (USD 164,815) for a family of four EUR 155,000 (USD 176,181) for a family of five or more Government service provider and licensed agent fees amount to EUR 35,000 (USD 39,783) per application. Applicants are also required to pay government fees of EUR 5,000 (USD 5,683) for the main applicant, EUR 2,500 (USD 2,841) for a spouse, EUR 1,000 for a child aged 0 to 15 years, EUR 2,500 for a dependent child aged 16 to 29 years, and EUR 5,000 for a dependent parent who is 55 years of age or older. Due diligence fees are EUR 6,000 (USD 6,819) for the main applicant and EUR 5,000 for a spouse, dependent children older than 16 years, and/or dependent parents. Finally, biometric passport fees amount to EUR 300 (USD 340) per individual. How can Henley & Partners assist with the entire process? Henley & Partners fulfils a number of important roles at every level of the process. As well as providing technical and marketing support to the Moldovan Government, we advise on best-in-class due diligence and know-your-client procedures. From our clients point of view, Henley & Partners assists in the same way as it does for any other programme it endorses by employing our extensive experience and insight to provide a seamless service at every stage of the application process, ensuring that all necessary tasks have been completed and correct paperwork has been submitted. Which region do you expect to see most of the investors originate from? The MCBI programme is still in its infancy, so we are waiting to see what patterns emerge in terms of where most interest comes from. We are, however, expecting to draw a lot of attention from investors in Pakistan, Lebanon, Jordan, across Southeast Asia, Africa, Russia, and China. Any words of advice for someone looking to invest in a Citizenship-by-Investment programme? The advantages of CBI programmes for investors are self-evident: greater travel freedom, access to new markets, and the sense of safety that comes with having a Plan B. As obviously attractive as these programmes are, the decision to invest in a second passport is not something that should be undertaken without a great deal of thought and exploration of options. Do lots of research to make sure that you invest in the passport that is right for you. There are many agencies out there purporting to assist you with obtaining a second passport, and the barriers for entering the industry are still very low. Therefore, my advice would be not to cut corners, to seek out a reputable agent with plenty of expertise and experience, and to consider all of your options before making an investment. As the global leader in residence and citizenship planning, Henley & Partners is well-placed to assist investors in taking this incredibly significant step. After adopting various measures to combat air pollution, Beijing reduced its annual average density of PM2.5 particles by 42.7 percent from 89.5 micrograms per cubic meter in 2013 to 51 micrograms per cubic meter in 2018. The measures include removing or renovating coal-fired boilers, taking environmentally hazardous cars off roads, promoting clean energy vehicles, closing down polluting companies, and popularizing coal-free heating in its plain areas. Such measures the city took in the past five years to clean up its air surpassed the sum of the previous 10 years, according to Yu Jianhua, deputy head of the Beijing Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau. People in the Chinese capital became more aware of its heavy air pollution in January 2013 and witnessed 58 days marked with heavy air pollution that year. The city also began to monitor the density of PM2.5 particles that year by setting up 35 monitoring stations across the city, while implementing a new air quality standard. In September 2013, Beijing released its 2013-2017 clean air action plan, setting out to cut its annual average density of PM2.5 by 25 percent by 2017. The plan entailed 84 tasks in six aspects including coal burning, motor vehicles, and industrial dust. The total number of automobiles and the joint prevention and control of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region became subjected to air pollution measures for the first time, and the concentration of PM2.5 also became a measurement of the government's work performance for the first time. On Jan. 1, 2015, a newly revised environmental protection law, said to be the strictest in the city's history, went into effect. With the legal measures in place, the annual average concentration of PM2.5 in Beijing in 2015 decreased to 80.6 micrograms per cubic meter, down 6.2 percent year on year, and dropped to a new low of 73 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016, and 51 micrograms per cubic meter in 2018. Li Xiang has been working in the Beijing Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau for nearly 16 years. Responding to doubts that favorable meteorological conditions brought along the continuous improvements, she said, "In the short term, meteorological fluctuations may play a dominant role, but in the long run, it is impossible for the air quality to improve if there were no measures to reduce emissions and cut the total amount of air pollution." In 2017, Beijing released its new urban master plan, which specifies that the city aims to reduce its annual average concentration of PM2.5 to 56 micrograms per cubic meter by 2020, and improve its air quality fundamentally by 2035. Li said heavy pollution may still recur in autumn and winter, but the pollution may be less heavy and last for a shorter duration. With much progress already made, Li said the city's environmental authority is determined and confident in the city's air quality improvement. 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 Parents are invited to attend a marijuana use prevention seminar, hosted by the School District of Lee County to provide education regarding the myths and facts of the drug. School District of Lee County prevention specialist Sara Thompson said this year the district has an objective to hold monthly seminars on various prevention topics which, so far, have included bullying, tobacco and vaping. This month the district decided to focus on marijuana prevention because February is national Marijuana Awareness Month. Thompson said they do have students in the district who have been arrested for marijuana possession. Officials have also seen the drug in the schools. Based on the Florida Youth Survey students are admitting to using marijuana and vaping marijuana, she said. According to the 2018 Florida Youth Survey 22.5 percent of students 10 to 17 years old have tried marijuana at least once, and 10 percent have used the drug in the last 30 days. There is one seminar remaining. The school district will hold the last of three marijuana seminars from 6 to 7 p.m. Monday, March 4, at Varsity Lakes Middle School, 801 Gunnery Road North. Thompson said the seminars are typically held in the media centers or, on occasion, in the cafeterias. Handouts and material are provided for those who attend the seminar. We give the presentation and allow for questions, she said. With the media sharing a lot of information about marijuana, Thompson said this months seminar will focus on the myths and facts of the drug. That will help them when they talk to their children about this topic and hopefully help their child understand that this is not something they want to be doing, she said. Thompson said 30 percent of those who use have marijuana dependency. They will share with parents what symptoms might indicate dependency of marijuana and that it could lead to more serious addictions. Another topic will include how marijuana affects the teen brain. Thompson said the human brain is not fully developed until the mid 20s. Addiction is a learning process, a chemical learning process in the brain, she said. The brain starts to learn I need that chemical to behave a new way. Although there has been attendance at each of the seminars, Thompson said they would like to see more parent involvement. We would like to see parents look for these seminars every month, Thompson said, adding that March will focus on social media awareness, followed by alcohol in April. We want to educate parents about some of the different issues that their children may be exposed to and try to use. Our goal is to try to keep them from getting involved in some of these behaviors. The hope is parents will take the information they learned and work with their children. Its all about education, Thompson said. A public hearing set for Feb. 20 on Lee Plan amendments in reference to limerock mining has been rescheduled by the Board of County Commissioners. The hearing was to review the countys Mining Comp Plan Amendment and consider a proposal to streamline the approval process for new mines by eliminating the requirement of a needs analysis before new mines are approved. A memo from Lee County Community Development stated that public comments and media reports following Local Planning Agency hearings indicated confusion regarding the proposed companion LDC amendments. In response, the county decided to reschedule the transmittal hearing until after the LDC amendments are reviewed by committees in late March. According to those against the proposed amendment, the rescheduling of the public hearing is a tactic to undermine public input. My two cents is that the public hearing was delayed due to a lack of votes. They need three board votes to get this special-interest amendment passed, said Greg Stuart from Stuart and Associates. Stuart, along with other local businesses and community members, formed the No Mine on 82 initiative in response to the proposed Troyer Brother mine. I hope the county actually sees the light and keeps this process democratic by holding public workshops. This amendment is just one example of an anti-democratic government. People should be very alarmed at whats going on in Lee County government, Stuart said. I was the countys expert planner for almost a decade. My testimony has been accepted in Lee County and Collier County, as well as other parts of the US. Presently I represent Sekata Seed, but I also have a professional interest and believe in a transparent government. According to those against the proposed amendment, the Lee Plan would allow for more lime rock mining in the county, which they say could threaten the water supply and environment; put more trucks on busy roadways such as SR 82 and affect water quality. This type of disruption to natural aquifers and the environment can be very bad for the general public but great if youre mining company, said Stuart. Stuart also mentioned the timeliness of this issue when Southwest Florida is still recovering from a slump in tourism due to water quality issues from Lake Okeechobee releases. Its funny how the county made a big issue about the state allowing the run-off from Lake Okeechobee to ruin our water estuary and hurt the tourism economy, but they are all for polluting the local head waters. The main head water, Flint Pen Strand, ties into all the local water estuaries and thats where these mines will be situated, said Stuart. In addition to streamlining future mining projects, this proposal will facilitate two new mining projects currently pending with the county; Troyer Mines or Old Corkscrew Plantation, said Stuart. Old Corkscrew Plantation Mine encompasses 4,204 acres with 1,727 acres of mine pits. Troyer Brothers is 1,732 total acres with 682 acres mine pits. Critics say that while the current Lee Plan is not perfect, it was carefully drafted as a thoughtful compromise to balance conflicting land uses. In addition, a report commissioned by Estero Village Council reviewed analyses of future limerock demand and supply. The Waldrop study (commissioned by the County in 2016), does not support its conclusion that more mines will be needed in Lee County to meet regional demand through 2040. Troyer Brothers, which cites a record of environmental responsibility, has disputed much of the criticisms and has pointed to job creation. Interested residents can either attend the Lee County Commission Board meeting or email the commissioners. Email addresses: John Manning: dist1@leegov.com Cecil Pendergrass: dist2@leegov.com Larry Kiker: dist3@leegov.com Brian Hamman: dist4@leegov.com Frank Mann: dist5@leegov.com Faced with public protest and confusion, the city of Cape Coral will postpone its citywide rezoning initiative while more information is provided and additional input is sought. Cape Coral City Council decided Monday that rather than hold its second public hearing on zoning changes most people dont understand, the city will do a reset so people can ask questions and better understand the changes that could affect 9,800 total acres of various sized parcels throughout the city. Instead of early March, the city will seek to hold these public hearings later in the spring. Mondays workshop meeting was held to discuss the methodologies and techniques used by the citys Planning Department to determine its recommended zoning changes and overall plan. Many members of the Northwest Neighborhood Association came to express their objections to the changes, which they say could result in unwanted commercial entities coming to Old Burnt Store Road. John Jacobs, president of the NWNA, expressed his displeasure, fearing these changes would cause property values to plummet. Wyatt Daltry and city staff spent the next hour talking about the changes they propose to accommodate population growth and city needs. Robert Pederson, city planner, said the idea is for zoning and land use to be fast, fair and predictable. Essentially, high-density multi-family areas would be designated in high-density areas such as Seven Islands, Pine Island Road, the South Cape and Bimini Basin. The presentations, though, failed to provide a comfort level in either those attending the workshop or among the elected board itself. After the presentations, Councilmember Rick Williams asked those in the crowd to raise their hands if they understood the staff explanations. Nobody raised their hands and neither did Williams. Im displeased that someone can just plop a 7-Eleven in a residential neighborhood, Williams said. We need to slow down and eliminate these hiccups. Principal Planner Chad Boyko then gave a presentation outlining the 25 main areas where the main changes would take place. That, too, failed to provide a comfort level. Councilmember David Stokes expressed unhappiness that there were no street names on the maps from Daltrys presentation. Councilmember John Gunter said the need for more businesses was not adequately addressed. City Manager John Szerlag said he wanted to get going on the zoning in the South Cape, Bimini Basin and Seven Islands, but he also wanted Council and residents to be comfortable. We could take as long as it takes to give you a sense of comfort through transparency and public input, Szerlag said. City Attorney Dolores Menendez cautioned that they didnt want to start over after three years of effort especially if the city were to hold 10 hearings and then hear 10 different things. Council decided to slow things down and allow people more time to understand what everything means. Jacobs said he, for one, was pleased. Im greatly encouraged. They listened to the community and are slowing this thing down to where its most logical, Jacobs said. This will determine the future of how the city will be built out. The Four Corners neighborhood is not included in the zoning, as everything will be done there in separate ordinances. People visit the Capital Museum in Beijing on Feb 24, 2019. [Photo/Chinanews.com] An ongoing exhibition at the Capital Museum in Beijing showcases a fine collection of art and handicrafts from the National Museum in Wrocaw, Poland, through March 24, taking visitors down the memory lane to the glorious Baroque period. Exhibition Silesia Rediviva: The Baroque period in Silesia - Collection of Art and Handicrafts from the National Museum in Wrocaw, Poland, features nearly 80 exhibits created in the second half of the 17th century, a period during which Silesia made a great effort at rebuilding its artistic potential. Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in what is now the southwestern part of Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Silesia endured being a battlefield for forces fighting against each other over its rich natural resources. Nevertheless, the wars and changes of regimes benefited Silesia to celebrate multinational exchanges and integration on cultures and arts. The exhibition is presenting historical artifacts from the Baroque Silesia to help visitors to appreciate both the common life of people there and the creativity of artists back then. Adrian Fielder, assistant dean of instruction at Colorado Mountain College Spring Valley at Glenwood Springs, fuels up at the colleges electric vehicle charging station at CMC Carbondale. The college has 10 charging stations paid for through a grant from the Colorado Energy Office. If you already subscribe to our eEdition edition, sign up for FREE access to our online edition. Thanks for reading the El Campo Leader News. President Trumps second summit with Kim Jong Un was cut short Thursday with no agreement on rolling back North Koreas nuclear program, a setback to Trumps high-profile diplomatic outreach to the reclusive nation. Ending their meetings early without even the symbolic concessions that had been expected, Trump and Kim scrapped a working lunch and canceled a ceremony at which they had been due to sign a joint statement. Trumps motorcade departed Hanois Metropole hotel about 1:25 p.m., more than an hour earlier than originally scheduled. We had some options, but at this time we decided not to do any of the options. Sometimes you have to walk, Trump said at a news conference a short time later. Advertisement No agreement was reached at this time, but their respective teams look forward to meeting in the future, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. She described the meeting in Hanoi as very good and constructive. The abrupt cancellations were surprising given the conciliatory remarks made by both leaders in brief public comments Thursday morning at the Metropole, where they were holding their second summit in eight months. Trump said he was in no rush to denuclearize North Korea, even as Kim suggested that he might be ready to shed his nuclear program. If Im not willing to [denuclearize, I] wouldnt be here right now, the North Korean leader said in response to a reporters question. Asked if he was willing to take concrete steps to do so something he has been unwilling to do in the past Kim replied, Thats what were talking about now. Trump said the two sides were having very, very productive discussions. The relationship is as good as its ever been, I think better. Expectations were higher for concrete concessions from North Korea after the leaders first summit in Singapore last June produced only vague commitments from Kim to denuclearize, with no details or a timetable. Kim Jong Un was also thought to be seeking at least partial relief from economic sanctions choking North Koreas economy. But the meetings ended without even an agreement on symbolic issues, such as declaring an end to the Korean War or opening a U.S. liaison office in Pyongyang, where the United States does not have an embassy. Advertisement At dinner the night before, as the two leaders shared grilled sirloin and chocolate cake at the Metropole, the high-wattage summit stagecraft was upstaged by a dramatic congressional hearing in Washington, where Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen denounced the president as a racist and a con man and said he had skirted or violated banking, tax and campaign finance laws. The explosive testimony clearly rattled the president in Hanoi. He lashed out at Cohen on Twitter, accusing him of doing bad things unrelated to Trump and lying in order to reduce a three-year prison sentence for crimes that included arranging payments during the 2016 election to silence women who claimed affairs with Trump. Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately). He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crookeds lawyer! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2019 Aides to the president, already nervous that Trump would offer concessions to Kim, acknowledged that Cohens harsh testimony and Trumps reaction to it are additional wild cards in the high-stakes summitry. Advertisement Although Kim is the authoritarian ruler of one of the most repressive nations, Trump called him a good friend in a tweet and praised him when they met Wednesday. The two leaders issued a vague statement in Singapore calling for denuclearization. But they did not produce a timetable or require any specific actions, and working-level negotiations have largely stalled since then. U.S. intelligence officials say North Korea has continued to produce fissile fuel for nuclear weapons over the last eight months. The second summit began shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday. Trump and Kim, who have developed a personal chemistry, greeted each other warmly, shaking hands, smiling and posing for photos in front of a display of U.S. and North Korean flags. In brief remarks, Kim praised Trumps courageous decision to begin a dialogue, and Trump promised to help develop North Koreas economy if he denuclearizes. Advertisement Your country has tremendous economic potential, unbelievable, unlimited, Trump said. I look forward to watching it happen and to helping it to happen, and we will help it to happen. In response to a question, Trump signaled that he had not backed away from his demand for full and verifiable denuclearization. He also confirmed reports that a declaration to end the Korean War was under consideration. When a reporter asked about Cohens testimony, the president pursed his lips but did not answer. Afterward, Sanders informed the small pool of reporters who had been allowed into the room that they would no longer be allowed access to the next event, a social dinner, because their questions during the photo op had apparently upset the participants. Kim was not asked a question. Advertisement Two of the six reporters in the pool were eventually allowed into the dinner but those who asked the questions were barred. In a statement, Sanders cited the sensitive nature of the event but media organizations cried foul. Previous administrations have often intervened to protect press access when foreign leaders have tried to limit coverage of presidential meetings abroad, said Norman Pearlstine, editor of the Los Angeles Times. The fact that this White House has done the opposite and excluded members of the press provides another sad example of its failure to uphold the American publics right to see and be informed about President Trumps activities. President Trump and North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un meet for dinner at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi on Feb. 27, 2019. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images) While Trump bristled over reporters questions, he relished the attention of photographers snapping away before him. He singled out a New York Times photographer, asking him to send his photos to the White House so he could share them with Kim. Advertisement The dictator, who does not allow a free press in his country, appeared to laugh. It was the second time the White House limited access for reporters covering the nuclear summit. A day earlier, the White House abruptly relocated a media work space it had established in a hotel ballroom to accommodate hundreds of journalists, apparently after the North Korean delegation, which was staying at the same hotel, raised objections. Trump and Kim were joined at the dinner by Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo; Trumps acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney; Kim Yong Chol, a top aide to Kim; North Koreas foreign minister, Ri Yong Ho; and their interpreters. Advertisement The White House said that Trump would hold a news conference Thursday after his meetings end with Kim, and that he would then leave for Washington. Prior to the summit, U.S. negotiators had sought detailed commitments from Pyongyang to dismantle at least part of its nuclear weapons facilities, while Kim wanted relief from punishing economic sanctions and a declaration to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War. Earlier Wednesday, Trump held multiple meetings with Vietnamese government officials, enjoying a red-carpet welcome at Hanois historic presidential palace and office of government. He also announced Vietnamese investment in U.S. aerospace, pointing to the host countrys thriving economy as an example of the growth possible for North Korea should it take steps to denuclearize. Advertisement In addition to tweeting about Cohen, Trump took a shot at Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who has acknowledged misrepresenting his military service during the Vietnam War. Blumenthal had claimed he fought in Vietnam, when he actually served in the Marine Corps reserves and was not deployed overseas. Trump resurfaced a favorite nickname, tweeting that he had now spent more time in Vietnam than Da Nang Dick Blumenthal, adding, His war stories of his heroism in Vietnam were a total fraud he was never even there. We talked about it today with Vietnamese leaders! A White House readout of Trumps meetings with the Vietnamese did not mention them discussing Blumenthal. Trump never served in uniform and avoided Vietnam by receiving five draft deferments, including one for bone spurs in his heels. Advertisement Cohen told the House Oversight Committee that Trump once acknowledged to him that the bone spurs were just an excuse, telling him he avoided Vietnam because he wasnt stupid. When the hearings began in Washington, administration officials were ending the long day in Hanoi in the hotel bar. Cohens testimony played silently on a big screen just feet from their table. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called for talks with India and warned of miscalculations that could lead to war in a national television address Wednesday, hours after his nations air force claimed to have shot down two Indian warplanes and captured a pilot. The overture came amid two days of flaring tensions between the nuclear-armed nations that started Tuesday when the Indian air force made what was believed to be its first incursion over Pakistani territory in decades to bomb a militant training camp. India said the camp belonged to a terrorist group responsible for killing 40 Indian paramilitary troops in the disputed Kashmir region two weeks ago. After promising to retaliate for the incursion, Pakistan said it downed two Indian military planes that crossed the so-called Line of Control, the de facto border in Kashmir, into Pakistani airspace Wednesday. One of the aircraft fell into Indian-controlled territory while the other crashed on the Pakistani side, where the pilot was captured. Purported video of the airman bloodied, blindfolded and with his hands tied behind his back has been shared online. Pakistan identified him as Wing Cmdr. Abhi Nandan; Indian news media gave his name as Abhinandan Varthaman. We waited and today we took action, Khan said in a short address. It was our plan to not cause any collateral damage and not to cause any casualties. We simply wanted to show our capability. Advertisement India disputed Pakistans account of the confrontation. Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said Pakistan instigated the clash when its air force attacked Indian military installations. He said the strike was foiled and a Pakistani military plane was shot down over its own territory. Gokhale said India lost one warplane in the exchange and declared the pilot missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody, Gokhale said in a news conference. We are ascertaining the facts. In a separate account, prominent Indian defense analyst Ajai Shukla said in a tweet that two Indian air force jets were shot down by ground fire after they were lured toward the air defenses by Pakistani planes returning home from a bombing run. Indias foreign ministry released a statement after Khans speech describing Pakistans attacks Wednesday as an unprovoked act of aggression. The ministry also objected to the way images of the captured pilot were being disseminated. India reserves the right to take firm and decisive action to protect its national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity against any act of aggression or cross-border terrorism, the statement said. The ministry made no mention of earlier remarks by Khan, who implored India to help de-escalate the situation between the historical enemies. I ask India: With the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? he said. If this escalates, he added, it will no longer be in my control or that of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Advertisement Khan closed his speech by saying, Lets sit together and settle this with talks. Accepting the overture will be anything but easy for Modi, who is banking on support from Hindu nationalists in upcoming general elections this spring. The last thing the Indian government would want, just weeks before an election and so soon after an attack that killed more than 40 Indian security personnel, is to be perceived as going soft on Pakistan and caving in to a Pakistani request for de-escalation, said Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert with the Wilson Center. But Jonah Blank, a senior political scientist at the Rand Corp., said Modi was far enough ahead in the polls to absorb any political blowback from accepting Pakistans olive branch. Advertisement The Pakistani military needed a face-saving way out, Blank said. They could not simply do nothing. They managed to create a way out for themselves. They not only shot down an Indian [warplane], but they captured a pilot. And that will let them, if they choose, portray this as a victory. The airstrike Tuesday was seen as a move to answer growing calls in India to punish Pakistan for not doing enough to stop Jaish-e-Mohammed the terrorist group responsible for the suicide attack on Indian security personnel Feb. 14 in Pulwama, a district in Kashmir. Khan said in his speech Pakistan had asked India for actionable evidence about the terrorist group and said it wasnt in his countrys interest to harbor militants. That contradicted what Gokhale said Tuesday about India repeatedly providing Pakistan with information about the location of Jaish-e-Mohammeds camp, adding that Pakistani officials continued to deny its existence. Advertisement The existence of such massive training facilities capable of training hundreds of jihadis could not have functioned without the knowledge of Pakistan authorities, Gokhale said. Experts said the international community needs to step in to help India and Pakistan reduce tensions. It is possible this may not lead to conflict. But the possibility of a further escalation does exist, and that is precisely why the U.S. and other countries need to step up with more active diplomacy to help de-escalate, said Alyssa Ayers, an expert on South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations. Given the stakes, I hope we never have to contemplate open conflict. Times staff writer Pierson reported from Singapore and special correspondent Sahi from Islamabad. Irans president rejected the resignation of his foreign minister Wednesday, throwing his full support behind the diplomat who negotiated the countrys nuclear deal with world powers as both men face growing pressure from hard-liners as the accord unravels under American pressure. President Hassan Rouhani earlier gave a speech praising Mohammad Javad Zarif after the foreign ministers sudden resignation shocked the Islamic Republic late Monday night. His rejection of the resignation, reported by the state-run IRNA news agency, continued that praise. Since I consider you in the front line of resistance against broad pressures by the U.S., I consider acceptance of your resignation against the expedience of the country and I do not agree with it, Rouhani reportedly told Zarif. Zarif responded the same way he offered his shock resignation: via Instagram. Advertisement I hope that the Foreign Ministry, with coordination of all and supervision of the supreme leader and the president, will be able to carry out its responsibilities rigorously in the framework of constitution, law and general policies of the system, Zarif wrote in a caption overlaid on a waving Iranian flag. He later was shown on state television at an event with visiting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, signaling his return to work. It remains unclear what sparked Zarifs resignation. However, it came after Zarif was not present for a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday. Assad was warmly received by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as well as Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of an elite unit of the Revolutionary Guard. The guards website later quoted Soleimani as offering his support to the foreign minister. Iran arrests demographers, the latest target amid an escalating crackdown on academics and activists Definitely, Zarif is in charge of foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and he has been always supported by top officials including the supreme leader, Soleimani reportedly said. Analysts say Rouhani faces growing political pressure from hard-liners within the government as the nuclear deal unravels. Iranian presidents typically see their popularity erode during their second four-year term, but analysts say Rouhani is particularly vulnerable because of the economic crisis assailing the rial, which has hurt ordinary Iranians and emboldened critics to openly call for his ouster. The son of a wealthy family, Zarif overcame hard-line objections and Western suspicions to strike the accord with world powers that saw Iran limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions. Advertisement But the deal was later challenged by the Trump administration, which pulled the U.S. out of the accord and reinstated sanctions. In doing so, President Trump also fueled Iranian suspicions about the nations intentions dating back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Zarif had faced withering criticism at home after he shook hands with President Obama. On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, long a critic of Iran, welcomed his departure. Zarif is gone, good riddance. As long as I am here Iran will not get nuclear weapons, he wrote in Hebrew on Twitter. Iran has always said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, and U.N. inspectors say it is still complying with the 2015 nuclear accord. Rouhani cited that Israeli response in his support of Zarif. Advertisement The happiness and rejoicing of the real enemies of the people such as the Zionist regime over your resignation is the best indication of success of Mohammad Javad Zarif and the biggest reason for continuation of your activity in the post of foreign minister, Rouhani said. In June in Singapore, he was a young autocrat making his debut on the world stage, about to go face to face with a U.S. president with four decades experience in the media limelight. Kim Jong Un appeared confident and collected as he basked in the attention. Spontaneously strolling about the city and waving to excited crowds like a beauty queen, he dominated the news cycle and in many ways upstaged a president not easily upstaged. Now the North Korean leader once again finds himself in the same city as President Trump and thousands of reporters. He is no longer the newcomer. If Singapore was his introduction to the world, round two of nuclear talks in Hanoi is proof that he has secured himself a recurring role. Advertisement Fewer pundits are questioning the wisdom of a U.S. president sitting down with a murderous dictator and lending him a statesmans legitimacy. The sight of U.S. and North Korean flags side by side is no longer remarkable. Kims extensive motorcade, including his Mercedes stretch limo surrounded by a dozen running bodyguards, now graces TV screens across the world and not just North Korean propaganda broadcasts. What hes trying to do is manipulate the media, said Harry Kazianis, director of Korean studies at the Washington-based Center for the National Interest. He doesnt need bodyguards to run around his motorcade, but it creates a narrative that hes an important world leader who needs to be protected. On Wednesday, Kim and Trump appeared side by side amid the camera flashes. Trump, patting Kim on the shoulder, said meeting the North Korean leader was an honor and praised him as a great leader. On Twitter earlier in the day, he called Kim my friend. Kim told Trump the period since the Singapore summit had required patience and effort and said that the two of them meeting again gave him hope that we will be successful this time. Several analysts said Kims transformation from obscure and isolated dictator to savvy world leader could undermine the U.S. goal of denuclearization in North Korea. It sends the message that he is a respectable head of state who should be allowed to retain his nuclear weapons, they said. Advertisement A summit with the U.S. gives Kim the status boost marginal states crave, political science professors wrote in Foreign Policy magazine, saying Kim now gets to sit at the cool table. Kims rebranding also benefits him at home. Thae Yong Ho, a North Korean diplomat who defected in 2016, has said that Kim was using the summits to suggest that the countrys nuclear capabilities gave him the power to negotiate on equal footing with the United States. Other experts, though, said keeping Kim engaged on the world stage creates an opportunity for progress in the long-stalled negotiations with North Korea on its nuclear program. His getting all that attention, something good can come out of it, said Lami Kim, professor of international security at the University of Hong Kong. I welcome that at least hes talking. Advertisement Former CIA official Andrew Kim, who laid the groundwork for last years summit, said last week that the convergence of Trump and Kims desire for a breakthrough in U.S.-North Korea relations was a rare opportunity where stars have lined up. Even if the dictators true intentions are not yet clear, the U.S needs to continue to engage him directly, Andrew Kim told an audience at Stanford, where he is a fellow in international security. In his talk, he recalled that the North Korean leader, when asked by U.S. officials last year about his willingness to denuclearize, responded that he is a father and husband and he does not want his children to live their lives carrying nuclear weapons on their back. In the first few years of his rule, Kim usually made international headlines for his brutality: ordering the killings of his half brother and his uncle, detaining hundreds of thousands of his citizens in political prisons and tightening social control in North Korea. Advertisement The purges to eliminate any challenge to his power continue to this day, according to a report this month from the South Korea-based think tank North Korea Strategy Center. Much of his recent news coverage has been much more favorable. Kims drawn-out journey to Hanoi, traveling from Pyongyang on an armored train going 35 mph, was covered like a celebrity sighting. South Korean media charted his progress through China on a map, like the Santa Tracker at Christmas. A Japanese broadcaster obtained footage of a rare unguarded moment of Kim taking a smoking break, his sister by his side, with locks of his hair hanging loose rather than slicked back in his normal style. Advertisement Some human rights advocates worry that in the flashy world of international diplomacy, the rights and needs of Kims people are quietly sidelined. Liberty in North Korea, a California-headquartered group that works with North Koreans who have fled Kims rule, published interviews with escapees who said they were watching the summit with trepidation. One escapee was quoted as saying: The more Kim Jong Un develops his image as a normal leader, the quieter the voices calling for human rights for the North Korean people will become. The US House of representatives passed a resolution Tuesday to end the national emergency declared by President Donald Trump. Trump himself has previously made it clear that he will veto the resolution even if it eventually passes both chambers of Congress. Under the National Emergency Act of 1976, US Congress has the power to end a national emergency declared by the President. The latest vote in the House will now send the resolution to the Senate. Unlike most legislative processes, Senate Republicans won't be able to use their majority to keep the resolution from reaching the full chamber. At least three Republican Senators have openly said they will support the Democrat-sponsored resolution, US media reported. That means the resolution needs only one more Republican vote to pass the Senate. Some Republicans see the Trump administration's move as a dangerous precedent that future Democrat presidents could use in the same fashion on issues like gun control and climate change. President Trump declared a national emergency on the southern US border earlier this month, citing drug trafficking and illegal border crossings as threats to national security. Trump's decision was mainly aimed at bypassing Congress to fund a wall along the US-Mexico border. The unconventional move by President Trump has drawn strong opposition from congressional Democrats, while some Republicans have also voiced their concerns. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, called Trump's move an abuse of presidential power. She also sent a letter to lawmakers from both parties urging them to vote to overturn the decision. Last week, 16 states filed a lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of violating the constitution by declaring the national emergency. It is unlikely that Congress will ultimately succeed in blocking the Trump administration from implementing the executive order. If President Trump himself were to use his veto power on the issue, more than two-thirds of the votes in both chambers of Congress would be needed to override his decision. As things stand now, not enough Republican Senators will support that move. In addition to posing for this photo promoting the event, Vincent Price served as honorary chairman for a preholiday art sale sponsored by Friends of the Junior Arts Center at Barnsdall Park where artwork from children in the program was sold. The Dec. 5, 1972, Los Angeles Times reported that about 1,000 people attended the exhibits opening night. They spent about $2,300. The Times article added: One framed etching went for $35, but a host of people bought smaller items and perhaps, in the future, some of those original 30-cent etchings and postcards will be the finds of tomorrow, the childhood efforts of the future Rembrandts, Pollocks, Oldenburgs. Vincent Price, honorary chairman for the event, Mrs. Price and their daughter Victoria, 10, were at the opening. Price walked out with four buys. See more from the Los Angeles Times archives here The Discovery Childrens Museum in Las Vegas is playing host to R2-D2, Iron Man and other cyborgs, androids and robots that hail from Hollywood, all in the name of science. The Alien Worlds and Androids exhibit, opened earlier this month, explores the connection between fictional beings and real-time technology. In the exhibit, the extraterrestrial Xenomorph, from the 1979 sci-fi film Alien, is meant to spark a discussion about whether human beings are alone in the universe. Others subjects touch on artificial intelligence and the use of robots like the Mars Rover in space exploration. The fictional movie cyborg Iron Man in Alien Worlds and Androids helps prompt discussions among kids about whether life exists elsewhere in the universe. (Discovery Childrens Museum) Alien Worlds takes children beyond their own worlds with content taken from Southern Californias Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other branches of NASA. It continues through May 5. Advertisement The museum last Saturday opened Discovery Lab, a permanent space in which kids can craft limitless creations using tools as simple as a needle and thread or as high-tech as a 3-D printer and a laser cutter. Children learn how a laser cutter works in a new, hands-on laboratory at the Discovery Childrens Museum in Las Vegas. (Canico Studios) The lab will recruit local artists, engineers and plain old tinkerers to share their expertise with kids in themed workshops. The downtown museum, housed in the same complex as the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, is open Tuesdays through Sundays until late May, and then daily through the summer. Children can create their own inventions, using everything from clay to a 3-D printer, in the maker space at the new lab. (Canico Studios) Admission costs $14.50 for all ages. Info: Discovery Childrens Museum, (702) 382-3445 travel@latimes.com Advertisement @latimestravel A season of dysfunction melted down into one awkward, uncomfortable scene roughly six minutes into the game. Jonathan Quick and his infamously short fuse skated to the Kings bench, leaned in and vented angrily at coach Willie Desjardins. Quick thought he was run over on the first of six Carolina Hurricanes goals, and Desjardins did not challenge for goalie interference. Quick was livid, adding to the ugliness of a 6-1 loss Tuesday, the Kings ninth in a row, and Desjardins later said he likely should have challenged the goal. Quick didnt go near the bench in the second period. Not even for water. Youve got to appreciate how competitive he is, Desjardins said. He felt that that was the call. Hes battled a lot for this team. Hes an incredible heart-and-soul guy. Hes been with this team for a long time. Advertisement We werent good enough for him tonight, or the last game either. We havent been good enough for him. Its unfair to him it came out like that. Quick was not available to reporters afterward. His teammates stepped up for him off the ice better than they did on it. Sign up for our daily sports newsletter If the rest of us did that, we would have played a little better, defenseman Derek Forbort said. Forbort sat right next to Desjardins when the argument happened. Quick was bowled over when Carolinas Saku Maenalanen pushed Dion Phaneuf into him. Desperately sprawled, Quick crawled back to his crease when Dougie Hamilton fired it into the open net. Desjardins said the interference wasnt definitive. No, it wasnt clear, he said. I think it could have gone the other way. It was just a call that, we didnt think we were going to get the call. It was early. I probably should have challenged it. I think Quickies a pretty smart guy. He felt that there was some contact there, so we probably should have challenged it. Quick was left in goal for the next five goals before Jack Campbell replaced him at the start of the third period. The mess got messier. Advertisement Jeff Carter committed a nasty high-sticking penalty. Forbort and Kyle Clifford received misconducts and were sent to the locker room early. The Kings finished the four-game trip without a win and are 0-6-3 in their last nine, the third-longest losing streak in franchise history. A big thread in that streak is in the inability to help out Quick and Campbell. Tyler Toffoli said it stretches longer than nine games. Thats kind of how weve felt all season long, Toffoli said. I think him and Jack, and Cal [Petersen], when he was here, obviously we havent performed and theyve had to make pretty incredible saves to keep us in games. Dustin Brown scored the only goal for the Kings, on a night at PNC Arena dedicated to former teammate Justin Williams. Advertisement The affable Williams was omnipresent in the pregame show and during the game and he participated in the Hurricanes popular Storm Surge celebration. This time, Hurricanes players skated under an illuminated Bunch Of Jerks sign on the ice, a mocking response to how commentator Don Cherry recently described their celebrations. It couldnt have been further from the vibe in the other locker room. Said Forbort, Were definitely letting the frustration get the best of us right now, and weve got to find a way to stop or its going to be a pretty embarrassing end of the year. curtis.zupke@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @curtiszupke A certified nursing assistant accused of raping a patient at a Glendale care facility for dependent adults is claiming the encounter was consensual, police say. Luis Silverio, a 25-year-old from Inglewood, was arrested by the Glendale Police Department on Feb. 18 on suspicion of raping a person incapable of giving legal consent because of a mental, development or physical disability. According to authorities, the victim is a woman in her 50s who is a patient at the Griffith Park Health Care Center at 201 Allen Ave. Sgt. Dan Suttles, a police spokesman, said the woman is a dependent adult, and the department was first alerted to the incident after she told a doctor about an issue with her private parts. The doctor informed authorities out of concern for the womans well-being. Prior to the incident, Silverio would allegedly allude to the fact that he wanted to have sexual encounters with the woman, according to Suttles. She finally gave into his request a few days prior to his arrest, he said. After his arrest, Silverio allegedly claimed there was no wrongdoing because the woman gave her consent. However, because of the womans status as a dependent adult, Suttles said it was questionable she would be able to give her consent in the first place. He added that it appears to be an isolated incident, and there is no indication there are any other victims. Silverio was eventually released on $50,000 bail, and the case remains under investigation. Its unknown how long Silverio has worked at the center or if he is still an employee following his arrest. An administrator for the healthcare center who declined to give his name said he could not discuss the accusation against Silverio or confirm anything as he was new to the facility. I dont have anything to say, at this point, regarding that, the administrator said. According to the California Department of Health a man by the name of Tito Eugene is listed as the centers administrator, holding the position since May 2017, but its unknown if hes still the administrator. In the past five years, the center has received seven complaints of patient sexual abuse, according to state records. Of those, only two complaints were found to have sufficient evidence that an abuse had occurred. Both were lodged in June 2017 within days of each other. andy.nguyen@latimes.com Twitter: @Andy_Truc Now more than just elevation separates La Crescentas middle and high schools from other schools in Glendale Unified. Rosemont Middle School, along with Clark Magnet and Crescenta Valley highs three of the districts nine secondary schools were lauded as 2019 California Distinguished Schools programs. A total of 162 middle and high schools statewide were honored, along with 18 school districts. The state program recognizes outstanding educational programs and practices. Secondary schools are honored for exceptional student performance for two consecutive years or for closing the achievement gap between the past two years. I would like to commend these schools for fighting for a better future for our students, closing achievement gaps and improving academic performance, said Tony Thurmond, the new California State Supt. of Public Instruction, in a statement Monday afternoon. Different standards are set for middle and high schools. Rosemont passed all four qualifications in the Exceptional Student Performance category, which utilizes a color grading system. Red and orange are listed on the lower end of the spectrum, indicating under-performance, while yellow is in the middle and green and blue are the top two colors, highlighting best practices. An Exceptional Student Performance requires a green/blue color for English and math programs for the 2017 and 2018 fall semesters, a green/blue mark for low suspension rates during the 2017-18 school year, a green/blue rating for low absenteeism during the 2017-18 school year and 95% participation rate in English and math during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years. The award was the first for Rosemont in 12 years, said the schools principal, Scott Anderle. Were ecstatic to win this, and Im proud of the teachers, the staff and the students who make this possible, Anderle said. He pointed to his schools Rosemont ROCKS program that calls on the school community, including parents, to follow principles of respect, ownership, cooperation, kindness and safety. Anderle said his students have thrived because Rosemont has dedicated time to helping them cope with stress and anxiety. Students promoted from Rosemont almost always end up at either Crescenta Valley or Clark Magnet highs, two schools also honored by the state this year. The high school Exceptional Student Performance requirements also calls on green/blue marks in English and mathematics and low suspension rates, along with 95% participation in English and math. Those standards also call for two more green/blue requirements in graduation rates and college/career indicators. This award means a lot to me, Clark principal Lena Kortoshian said. Were so proud, and I just want to say this award is more than just me and assistant principal [Brian] Landisis hard work. Its the hard work of our students, high achievers were so happy for, and for our dedicated and caring teachers. The 2019 California Distinguished Schools honors are awards presented in alternating years, and theyre back after the state used the California Gold Ribbon Schools program in 2015 and 2017. andrew.campa@latimes.com Twitter @campadresports Air traffic is nothing unusual around John Wayne Airport unless it includes 22 Blackhawk and Apache helicopters. Thats the sight commuters and nearby residents got Tuesday as military aircraft stopped in Orange County for refueling during 25th Combat Aviation Brigade training exercises. The helicopters made stops at JWA between 8 a.m. and 1:15 p.m., according to the airport. The Army unit was traveling from Fort Irwin in San Bernardino County to San Diego, the airport said. A Burbank firefighter suffered minor injuries early Saturday night after falling off a ladder while responding to a house fire that caused an estimated $200,000 in damage. The Burbank Fire Department received word of a structure fire in the 4300 block of Chandler Boulevard at about 5:25 p.m. When a fire crew arrived, they reported seeing heavy smoke billowing from the attic of the home. Battalion Chief John Owings, a department spokesman, said firefighters were able to extinguish the flames by 5:51 p.m. Although the homes residents were unharmed, Owings said the injured firefighter had to be transported to a local hospital. He was released later that night. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. andy.nguyen@latimes.com Twitter: @Andy_Truc The long-awaited Avion project, which is proposed to be a combination of light-industrial buildings, multiple office campuses and a hotel, is one step closer to receiving the green light from Burbank officials. The Burbank Planning Board unanimously voted on Monday to recommend the City Council approve the development. Developer Overton Moore Properties plans to build on the 61-acre area, known as the B-6 site, located just north of the Hollywood Burbank Airport on Hollywood Way. The project is proposed to have six industrial buildings, nine two-story office buildings, two retail or restaurant spaces and a six-story, 150-room hotel. The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, which sold the site to Overton Moore in November 2015 for $72.5 million, is in the works to construct a 14-gate replacement terminal next to the B-6 site. The Avion project, if approved by the City Council during a future meeting, would be the first major development to be built in Burbanks Golden State District an area near the airport focused on being a technology and media industry hub in the city. Timur Tecimer, chief executive of Overton Moore, said on Tuesday that the developer is eager to start construction this year, and company officials hope they can break ground in August. In order for the project to be constructed, Overton Moore had to request a zoning change for a portion of the property that is currently designated for airport use. Additionally, a few components of the projects environmental impact report, specifically air quality and traffic, require a statement of overriding considerations because they cannot be mitigated, said Scott Plambaeck, a deputy city planner for Burbank. He said nitrogen-oxide levels around the project site would significantly increase because of additional vehiclar traffic and having industrial facilities on the site. Plambaeck added that there would be unavoidable negative impacts to traffic when the project is complete, particularly on Hollywood Way, Buena Vista Street and San Fernando Boulevard. Although air quality is expected to decrease and traffic is projected to increase if Avion is built, Plambaeck said the developer is hoping that those who work in the business park will take advantage of public-transportation options there are Metrolink lines located north and south of the project as well as protected bicycle lanes. One way the developer plans to incentivize people to use public transportation, especially Metrolink, is by dedicating 60 public parking spaces on the site for those who choose to travel via railways. Despite the air-quality and traffic issues, Planning Board members were in full support of the project because of its potential as a modern campus for new and existing technology, media and aerospace companies. Additionally, the project is expected to provide the city with up to $23.5 million in public benefits, which would include helping the city build a new electric substation, maintenance of the Metrolinks north station, the 60 public parking spaces and maintenance of the right-of-way within and adjacent to the site. Congratulations on bringing such a fine project to our city, Christopher Rizzotti, planning board chair, said. anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com Twitter: @acocarpio Its official: At least one bold but quixotic Republican will run against President Trump in next years GOP presidential primaries. Former Massachusetts Gov. William F. Weld says hes running, no matter how bad his chances look. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan may jump in. Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich could be available as well. None appears likely to topple the president not under current circumstances, at least. Trump is wildly popular among GOP voters, with approval ratings above 80%. If history is a guide, he shouldnt face a serious challenge. So why would anyone run? Advertisement Simple. Trump may be more vulnerable a year from now. If special counsel Robert S. Mueller III turns in a damning report, or if the economy tips into recession, the presidents hold could weaken. Secondly, even some Trump supporters say theyd like a choice. In an ABC News/Washington Post poll last month, almost one-third of Republican voters said they hope the GOP nominates someone else. That suggests an opening, if not a clear path. Still, challenging a president requires not just poll numbers, but passion usually stemming from serious division in the presidents party, plus the challengers conviction that the incumbent is dangerously wrong for the country. Thats what drove Eugene McCarthy to challenge President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968; Ronald Reagan to challenge Gerald R. Ford in 1976; Edward M. Kennedy to challenge Jimmy Carter in 1980; and Patrick J. Buchanan to challenge George H.W. Bush in 1992. None of those challengers won the nomination then. But none of those incumbents won a second term, either. It might seem odd to accuse Weld, Hogan and Kasich of passion; all three are relatively moderate in tone and policy. As governors, they won support from Democratic voters and struck deals across the aisle. But thats what theyre passionate about. They all miss the days when the Republican Party tried to make itself a bigger tent, championed compromise and sound management, and didnt focus only on mobilizing an increasingly conservative base. The Republican Party has been hijacked, Kasich said recently in New Hampshire, home to the first-in-the-nation primary. When you lose young people, minorities, women, college-educated people, as a party, youve got a problem. Advertisement I dont like the tone that the president uses, Hogan said in a TV interview last week. There are times when he acts irrationally and does things in a way that arent great for the Republican Party and for the country. We cannot sit passively as our precious democracy slips quietly into darkness, Weld said at a breakfast in New Hampshire on Feb. 15. Weld seems least likely to hinder Trump. Hes not much of a Republican: He endorsed Barack Obama for president in 2008, and ran for vice president as a Libertarian in 2016. Plus, he supports abortion rights and gun control. Hes probably not the Republican Partys future; hes barely part of its recent past. Advertisement But Weld is well-known in New Hampshire, where Republicans are more moderate than elsewhere, and where independents can vote in any partys primary. Some might want to rebuke Trump by casting a defiant vote for Weld. Weld has a steep hill to climb; a recent poll of New Hampshire Republicans found him trailing Trump 82% to 18%. But his campaign could show other candidates whether Trump is vulnerable. If so, Hogan might prove a tougher competitor. Hes more conservative than Weld, but he won reelection last year in Maryland, a solidly Democratic state, thanks to good fiscal management and a gritty populist touch. Hes criticized Trumps immigration policy as divisive and his declaration of a state of emergency on the southern border as unwarranted. He also has a rebellious lineage. His father, Larry Hogan Sr., was the first member of the House Judiciary Committee to call for Richard M. Nixons impeachment in 1974. Hogan recalled the episode in his inaugural address last month, saying: No man, not even the president of the United States, is above the law. Advertisement Kasich could be the most formidable of the three, if only because he has the most national experience and is the best known. He ran for the GOP nomination in 2016 and finished third in the delegate count, behind Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Kasich is a fiscal conservative, too, but hes broken with party leaders on several issues, including climate change. In 2016, he refused to endorse Trump in the general election and still speaks of the president with barely-concealed distaste. Bill Kristol, a prominent Trump critic in the GOP, has been urging would-be challengers to emulate Reagans challenge to Ford in 1976. Reagan lost, but he planted a flag and four years later he was the nominee, Kristol told me. Running a good race and establishing yourself as a leader of the party is not a kamikaze mission. Advertisement I hope they all run. Not because I think a primary challenge would doom Trump; no one knows that. But democracy is about choices, and many Republican voters say they want a choice even if theyre still likely to vote for Trump in the general election. If the three challengers run, it will be a triumph of passion over calculation. They will face a storm of Trump-driven nastiness because they think their party has lost its way. Theres patriotism in that even, perhaps, nobility. Greater love hath no politician. Michael Cohen, once among President Trumps most ardent defenders, fiercely turned on him Wednesday, describing a culture of rampant criminality and nonstop lying around Trump involving payoffs to his alleged mistresses, inflated personal wealth and secret efforts to build Europes tallest skyscraper in Moscow. Cohen, who worked as Trumps personal lawyer and New York fixer for more than a decade, suggested in a congressional hearing that Trump had skirted or violated federal banking, tax and campaign finance laws, and he indicated that some of those actions already are under criminal investigation. The explosive daylong testimony to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform provided riveting political theater, with the now-disbarred lawyer and convicted felon repeatedly saying he was ashamed of his actions at times fighting back tears even as he held his ground against fierce attacks on his credibility by Republicans. Cohen provided fresh details on scandals that already have come to light most notably displaying a $35,000 check signed by the president in August 2017 to reimburse Cohen for a hush-money payment and he provided House Democrats with new clues for their inquiries into a president he described as a racist, a con man and a cheat. Advertisement I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience, Cohen said. Asked about his most recent conversation with the president, which occurred last year, Cohen said he couldnt discuss it because it was currently being investigated right now by federal prosecutors in Manhattan. He added that he is in constant contact with the U.S. attorneys office there. Whether the accusations will hurt Trump politically as he gears up for his reelection campaign is less clear given the baked-in attitudes of both his Republican base and those determined to defeat him. But it clearly raised the ante as special counsel Robert S. Mueller III prepares to deliver his final report. Cohen, 52, flashed wit occasionally, even joking about whether a hostile Republican who asked about his legal fees was offering to help pay them. But he mostly spoke morosely and methodically, his face drooping around his red-rimmed eyes, a far cry from the feisty factotum once known for his slavish displays of loyalty to the man he still calls only Mr. Trump. As the nationally televised hearing drew to a close, Cohen shared a dark warning about the president and the countrys future. Given my experience working for Mr. Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020 there will never be a peaceful transition of power, he said. The president has called Cohen a rat and a liar, and Trumps Republican allies on the committee took turns challenging Cohens credibility, pointing out again and again that he has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress. Advertisement House Democrats intend to use Cohens testimony to flesh out other investigations into Trump and his associates. Two hundred years from now, people will be reading about this moment, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), the committees chairman, said after the hearing. He added, I think there are a number of shoes left to drop. (Kyle Kim) Cohen suggested that Trump had provided inaccurate financial statements to Deutsche Bank when he was seeking financing to possibly purchase the Buffalo Bills franchise in the National Football League. Advertisement And he said Trump indirectly encouraged him to lie about his pursuit of a Trump Tower in Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign. At the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me, Theres no business in Russia, and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing, Cohen said. In his way, he was telling me to lie. Trump repeatedly asked about the negotiations in Moscow during the campaign, Cohen said. He said Trump pushed the project which was never built because it would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars and because he didnt think he would beat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Cohen said Trump routinely inflated the value of his assets to stay on the Forbes list of the nations most wealthy individuals even as he reveled in stiffing small-business vendors at his casinos and other properties. Advertisement And he said Trump had directed him to threaten the universities Trump attended to not release any records showing his grades or his SAT scores. Cohen shed no light on any direct coordination or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, the focus of the special counsel investigation. Was there something odd about the back and forth praise with President Putin? Yes, Cohen said when asked about possible collusion. But Im not really sure I can answer the question. However, Cohen said he overheard a conversation between Trump and Roger Stone, a longtime political advisor and Republican operative who is also under indictment for lying to Congress. Advertisement Cohen said he listened on a speakerphone when Stone told Trump before the Democratic National Convention in July 2016 that WikiLeaks was going to release thousands of emails damaging to Clintons campaign. The emails had been hacked by Russian operatives. Trump responded by saying something like wouldnt that be great, Cohen recalled. Stone denied the conversation took place. Mr. Cohens statement is not true, he said in a text message Wednesday. 1 / 13 Michael Cohen, President Donald Trumps former personal lawyer, is sworn in to testify on Capitol Hill in Washington. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) 2 / 13 Michael Cohen speaks before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill. (Olivier Douliery / Abaca Press) 3 / 13 Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) questions Michael Cohen as he testifies before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) 4 / 13 House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) makes closing remarks after testimony from Michael Cohen. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) 5 / 13 Michael Cohen, former attorney to President Donald J. Trump, becomes emotional while listening to the closing remarks of House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) (Michael Reynolds / EPA / Shutterstock) 6 / 13 At one point, Republican critics hung a banner in the hearing room that read, Liar, liar, pants on fire. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press) 7 / 13 Michael Cohen speaks before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) 8 / 13 Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, (D-N.Y.) questions Michael Cohen as he testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) 9 / 13 An image of a check signed by President Trump, that was allegedly used for hush money, is displayed on a screen as Michael Cohen makes his opening statement before the House Oversight Committee. (JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/REX / JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/REX) 10 / 13 A quote about Michael Cohen, attributed to the U.S. Attorneys Office, is put on display during testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill February 27, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong / Getty Images) 11 / 13 Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) questions Michael Cohen as he testifies before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) 12 / 13 Michael Cohen listens to questions before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill. (Jim Lo Scalzo/ EPA / Shutterstock) 13 / 13 Michael Cohen arrives to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) Advertisement After Trump won the election, Cohen said, lawyers for the president and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, changed his prepared testimony about the Trump Tower Moscow project for congressional committees investigating Russian interference in the election. In a statement, one of Trumps lawyers, Jay Sekulow, called the accusation completely false. Cohen later pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about how long he had pursued the Moscow project. In all he has pleaded guilty to nine criminal charges, including bank fraud and tax evasion. He is scheduled to start serving a three-year prison sentence on May 6, but he hopes to reduce his time behind bars by continuing to cooperate with prosecutors. Advertisement Although Cohen spoke briefly in court last year, the hearing marked his first opportunity to share his account with the public. He also testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday and will do the same on Thursday to the House Intelligence Committee. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the committees top Republican, blasted Democrats for turning a convicted perjurer into a star witness. He also accused Cohen of turning on Trump because he didnt get a job in the White House. Thats the point isnt it? You didnt get brought to the dance, Jordan said. Cohen denied that, saying he was happy to be the presidents personal lawyer. He said he changed his mind after Trump appeared to back white separatists involved in violence in August 2017 in Charlottesville, Va., and after Trump sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin over his own intelligence agencies last year in Helsinki, Finland. Advertisement During the campaign, Cohen said he helped Trump cover up two alleged affairs with hush money. He arranged a $150,000 payment from the National Enquirer to Karen McDougal, a former Playboy playmate, and personally paid $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, a porn star. Cohen said Trump asked him to make the payment out of his own pocket using his home equity line of credit to cover his tracks. Cohen was later reimbursed through the Trump Organization. Although Trump later denied knowing about the scheme, Cohen said, he knew about everything. Cohen even gave the committee a copy of a check for $35,000 signed by the president on Aug. 1, 2017, one of a dozen payments that Cohen said was to reimburse him for paying the women to keep silent during the campaign. Advertisement He has pleaded guilty to two campaign finance violations because the money was intended to influence the election and was not properly disclosed. Cohen described his former boss as a vain and self-centered man, saying he ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great. He recalled being asked to find a straw buyer to purchase a portrait of Trump during an auction Trump wanted to ensure the painting fetched the highest price of any item there. Once the portrait was purchased for $60,000, Trump used his charitable foundation to reimburse the straw buyer. Trump also told Cohen to tell reporters that he received a medical deferment to avoid serving in the Vietnam War even though he provided his lawyer with no evidence that he actually had bone spurs in his feet. Advertisement You think Im stupid? I wasnt going to Vietnam, Cohen recalled Trump saying. Although Cohen presented fresh accusations about Trump, he also batted down several colorful allegations that have circulated. He said he does not believe a tape exists of Trump engaging in sexual activities with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel, an allegation that surfaced in the dossier compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele. And Cohen said he is convinced no video exists of Trump hitting First Lady Melania Trump in an elevator, and repeatedly said he does not believe Trump would strike his wife. Nor, he said in response to a question, does he believe Trump has a love child born out of wedlock. Advertisement The definitive Michael Cohen explainer Republicans hammered Cohens credibility, citing his criminal record that includes guilty pleas for tax evasion and bank fraud, crimes unrelated to his work for Trump. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) called Cohen a pathological liar. Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) said he was a fake witness and his presence here is a travesty. Cohen chided Republicans for focusing more on him than the president. Advertisement I did the same thing that youre doing now for 10 years. I protected Mr. Trump for 10 years, he said. Cohen added: The more people follow Mr. Trump as I did blindly are going to suffer the same consequences that Im suffering. Times staff writers David Willman and Sarah D. Wire contributed to this report. (Photo/Chinanews) The satellite night light index, which measu res light intensity and provides an indication of electricity usage, issued by Chinas State Information Center, rose by 15.4 percent in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region between 2013 and 2018. To be more specific, compared with 2013, the index in all three locations increased by 15.4 percent, 7.5 percent and 18.3 percent respectively in 2018. According to big data analysis from the State Information Center, the index in the region of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province showcases robust economic growth and coordinated development in all three areas. Over the past five years, China has moved non-capital functions out of Beijing. A total of 2,648 general manufacturing companies have been moved out of Beijing, and 581 markets and 106 logistics centers have also been relocated. Nearly 7,500 companies in the Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park have established branches in Tianjin and Hebei Province. The region's economic structure has been optimizing over recent years. The service sector in Beijing accounted for 81 percent of its GDP in 2018. Value added by the high-tech manufacturing industry and emerging strategic industry in Tianjin increased by 4.4 and 3.1 percent respectively in the same year. Heibei Province has reduced the production capacity of steel, iron, cement, and glass by 82.2 million tons, 75.3 million tons, 73.7 million tons and 79.8 million weight boxes, respectively, since 2014. The State Information Center also noted that compared with 2013, patches of light in the three locations saw a growth of 13.18, 18.30 and 34.57 percent in 2018. Crop residue burning is a major contributor to air pollution in South Asia While fossil fuel emissions in New Delhi account for 80 percent of the air pollution plume during the summer, emissions from biomass burning (such as crop residue burning) in neighboring regions rival those from fossil fuels during the fall and winter. "Black carbon aerosols are damaging to human health and their levels are higher in New Delhi than in many other megacities. During fall and winter, the levels of polluting air particles in New Delhi can reach ten times the limit recommended by the World Health Organization. To determine the environmental effects of black carbon in this highly populated city, it is crucial to quantify the contributions from the key emissions sources," says August Andersson, Researcher at the Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University and co-author of the study. The researchers collected air samples from New Delhi during 2011 and analyzed their black carbon content by creating carbon isotope signature profiles of each of the samples to identify the source of the particles. Different sources of carbon give their own unique isotopic fingerprints. When they compared the relative amounts of the black carbon particles from the different sources over the course of a year they discovered a strong seasonal variation. The relative contribution from fossil fuel combustion peaked during rainy summers and the contribution from biomass burning (for example wood and straw burning) peaked during the dry fall and winter months. In addition, the scientists found that the sources of the high biomass emissions were regional rather than local and urban, for example, burning of residual crops by farmers living approximately 200 km away from New Delhi. In India, crop residue burning occurs after harvest, which typically occurs in October/November for wheat, and in April/May for rice. "Our findings contradict the widespread notion that the emission flux between cities and the countryside is mainly one-way. No other study has conclusively reported such high amounts of black carbon from biomass burning in the middle of a megacity, where the main source is expected to be traffic. The wintertime regional influx of black carbon into New Delhi suggests that to efficiently combat severe air pollution, it is necessary to not only mitigate the urban emissions, but also regional-scale biomass emissions, including agricultural crop residue burning," says August Andersson. He continues: "Air pollution in the Indo-Gangetic region, which includes eastern Pakistan, northern India and Bangladesh, is a regional problem, potentially affecting nearly 1 billion people." ### Contact information August Andersson, co-author Tel: +46 (0) 727 078 984 E-mail: august.andersson@aces.su.se Orjan Gustafsson, co-author Tel: +46 (0) 703 247 317 E-mail: orjan.gustafsson@aces.su.se This story has been published on: 2019-02-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. After two guilty pleas, nine criminal charges and a pile of other court filings, weve learned a lot about Michael Cohen and his work for President Trump. But several unanswered questions have remained. Did Trump tell Cohen to lie to Congress about the Trump Tower Moscow proposal? Cohens response: In his opening statement, Cohen said Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. Thats not how he operates. However, he described a series of winks and nods that led him to mislead lawmakers in August 2017, a crime for which he later pleaded guilty. Referring to Trump, he said: At the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. Advertisement In his way, he was telling me to lie. Cohen said the president wanted me to lie. He also said Trumps lawyers reviewed his false testimony before he delivered it to Congress. The issue: When Cohen testified on Capitol Hill in August 2017, he said that plans for a Trump Tower Moscow were abandoned before the Iowa caucuses in January 2016. In fact, the proposal remained on the table until after Trump secured the Republican presidential nomination. Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress. BuzzFeed News reported earlier this year that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has evidence that Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress. If true, that would be a potentially seismic development because it would implicate the president directly in commissioning a crime while in office. A spokesman for the special counsel, however, disputed the report, and no other news outlets were able to confirm its accuracy. Cohens prepared statement went partway toward clearing up this issue. Was the Trump Tower Moscow project connected to the campaign? Cohens response: Cohen said Trump would routinely ask about progress on the Moscow project during the campaign. He lied about it because he never expected to win the election, he said. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project. Advertisement Cohen did not address in his opening statement whether the project was connected to Trumps public praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin during the campaign. He does not have direct evidence that Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia, he said. The issue: While Cohen was working on the proposal for a luxury condominium and hotel complex in Moscow, Trump was publicly praising Putin on the campaign trail. That was an unusual approach for a Republican candidate. Did Cohen talk with Trump about this, and did the future president see the platform his candidacy provided as a way to improve his companys chances of landing a lucrative deal? Building a Trump Tower Moscow would have required Russian government approval. Advertisement Did Cohen go to Prague during the campaign? Cohens response: Cohen said he has never been to Prague or the Czech Republic. His statement, made under oath, knocks down an allegation from the infamous dossier prepared by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele. The issue: When Steele compiled the allegations involving Trump, he wrote that Cohen went to Prague, Czech Republic, during the campaign to meet with Russian agents. Cohen has repeatedly denied making the trip, and no court filings have surfaced to suggest its true. But Cohen had never addressed this issue in public and under oath. The answer could put to rest a story that has circulated for more than two years and damages the credibility of at least that portion of the dossier. Advertisement 1 / 13 Michael Cohen, President Donald Trumps former personal lawyer, is sworn in to testify on Capitol Hill in Washington. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) 2 / 13 Michael Cohen speaks before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill. (Olivier Douliery / Abaca Press) 3 / 13 Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) questions Michael Cohen as he testifies before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) 4 / 13 House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) makes closing remarks after testimony from Michael Cohen. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) 5 / 13 Michael Cohen, former attorney to President Donald J. Trump, becomes emotional while listening to the closing remarks of House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) (Michael Reynolds / EPA / Shutterstock) 6 / 13 At one point, Republican critics hung a banner in the hearing room that read, Liar, liar, pants on fire. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press) 7 / 13 Michael Cohen speaks before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) 8 / 13 Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, (D-N.Y.) questions Michael Cohen as he testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) 9 / 13 An image of a check signed by President Trump, that was allegedly used for hush money, is displayed on a screen as Michael Cohen makes his opening statement before the House Oversight Committee. (JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/REX / JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/REX) 10 / 13 A quote about Michael Cohen, attributed to the U.S. Attorneys Office, is put on display during testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill February 27, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong / Getty Images) 11 / 13 Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) questions Michael Cohen as he testifies before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) 12 / 13 Michael Cohen listens to questions before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill. (Jim Lo Scalzo/ EPA / Shutterstock) 13 / 13 Michael Cohen arrives to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) What did Trump tell Cohen about hush-money payments, and did he know the payments were a crime? Cohens response: Cohen added significant new detail to the hush-money scheme that has already been exposed. For starters, he said Trump asked him to use his home-equity line of credit to pay porn star Stormy Daniels to avoid any money being traced back to him that could negatively impact his campaign. Advertisement I am going to jail in part because of my decision to help Mr. Trump hide that payment from the American people before they voted a few days later, he said. Cohen, however, did not address in his opening statement whether Trump knew the payments would be campaign finance violations, a key legal issue. The issue: Shortly before the election, Cohen arranged $280,000 in hush-money payments to Karen McDougal and Daniels, two women who said they had affairs with Trump years before. He later pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations. Prosecutors say Trump directed the scheme himself, but details on his direct involvement have been scarce. Advertisement Its also unclear whether Trump knew the payments would be a crime, a key issue if prosecutors ever wanted to pursue a case against him. The Justice Departments position for decades has been that a sitting president cant be indicted, but the statute of limitations on campaign finance violations would not run out until after the next election, so Trump could still face legal jeopardy if he did know. How was Cohen reimbursed for the hush-money payments? Cohens response: Cohen told the committee that one of his reimbursement checks was personally signed by Trump, and he presented a copy to the committee. He said he discussed the payments with Trump when he visited him in the Oval Office for the first time in February 2017, a month after the inauguration. Advertisement Hes showing me around and pointing to different paintings, and he says to me something to the effect of, Dont worry, Michael, your January and February reimbursement checks are coming, Cohen said in his opening statement. The issue: The $150,000 payment to McDougal, a former Playboy playmate, came from the National Enquirer, which is published by a Trump ally. But Cohen personally paid the $130,000 to Daniels using his home-equity line of credit. Previous reports have said Cohen was reimbursed with monthly payments and received a bonus for his work. What role did Trump play in the reimbursement? And who else in the Trump Organization was involved? How did Cohen handle his brief career as a consultant? Cohens response: Advertisement Lawmakers did not ask Cohen extensively about his work as a consultant. However, Republicans suggested that some of his required disclosures might have been inaccurate, and they described Cohen as more interested in making money than anything else. The issue: After Trump was elected, Cohen tried to monetize his relationship with the new president. Big companies such as Novartis AG and AT&T hired him as a consultant, and he earned millions of dollars even though prosecutors later said his promises of insight and access proved essentially hollow. Did Cohen talk to Trump about his clients? And what did the president know about his lawyers attempts to make money off their relationship? (Kyle Kim) To the editor: I heard time and again from House Republicans on Wednesday that Michael Cohen, President Trumps formal personal attorney, is a liar and therefore his testimony to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is not to be believed. If two people commit a crime and are caught in the act, we know both are guilty. If one says I am guilty and the other denies guilt despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, we must assume both are criminals. Cohen is not the one alleged to have had an affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Trump is, but it is Cohen who arranged the hush-money payment to her just before the 2016 election, and he produced evidence that Trump signed a reimbursement check. Why are the Republicans insisting that Cohen is not to be believed because he is an admitted felon? The real horror is that Republicans continue to defend Trump, who may be the biggest liar to ever be president. This shows just how much trouble our country is in right now. Advertisement Leonard A. Zivitz, Fullerton .. To the editor: I have a few questions to ask about Cohen. One, who is paying Cohens attorney bills? Lanny Davis, Cohens lawyer, is a longtime confidant of Bill and Hillary Clinton. Two, what does this have to do with collusion with Russia? Cohen does not have much to say about collusion. Three, why is Congress asking a man who is going to prison for lying to Congress, to testify in Congress? Nathan Post, Santa Barbara .. Advertisement To the editor: Cohen has testified about his contacts with Trump. He is telling the American public about his experiences with the president. How do the Republicans respond? By trying to make a liar out of Cohen. Cohen admitted before the committee that he has lied to benefit himself and that he has lied to benefit Trump. The Republicans are frustrated by their inability to humiliate a man who has already been humiliated and sentenced for his illegal behavior. Do the Republicans believe they can hurt Cohen more than he has already hurt himself? Advertisement Esther Cole, Ventura Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook. Tax time is Goldilocks guesswork time are you paying too little in taxes, too much or just right? And, theres always someone whos hiding porridge profits under the bed. The ides of April have to be the least pleasant day on the national calendar, and our longest-running joke material. The actual tax code is not a joking matter; it actually runs only into a very few thousand pages, not the hundreds of thousands of comedy and legend but within those pages is a revealing and sometimes contradictory character sketch of what the government encourages us to do, what it rewards and what it doesnt. Anne Alstott is a Yale professor whose expertise is tax and social policy, and she is co-author of the forthcoming book The Public Option. She studies just how all those carrots and sticks work together. Click here for the full archive of "Patt Morrison Asks" podcasts Can it be said that if you understand the American tax code, you understand what America values and what it doesn't value? Absolutely. The tax code can seem dry, but in fact, once you realize what's in there, you see that it's very much a statement of what we value. Our country began in part because of a rebellion against taxes by the British crown the cry of taxation without representation. But now we have taxation with representation and people don't seem any happier. Well, I think there are a couple of reasons. One is, it's just human nature that you're not going to like taxes. Maybe our higher selves understand that it's the price we pay for civilization as [Supreme Court] Justice [Oliver Wendell] Holmes said. But at the everyday level, it's not a lot of fun to see your hard-earned money going out the door. I think, too, that politicians to some large degree have demonized the tax system, and often unfairly. Its an easy target. It's something that a lot of people don't understand and maybe are afraid of. And yet it really does reflect our values in a lot of important ways, not always good. But often it really implements important public policy. What, on the whole, does our tax system value and reward? Our tax system at the moment basically does two big things: It supports the Social Security and Medicare systems. When you make that connection and say, Hey, you know what? Taxes fund Social Security. That makes people feel better about it, because people love Social Security. They love it. The second thing that it does is, it funds the rest of our government. And the values that are implicit in that are contributions in proportion to your income. We can debate how progressive the tax system ought to be there's some interesting proposals right now to make it more progressive but right now we do have an income tax that is progressive, that protects the lowest-income people and that asks the richest people to pay more. Go back to the origins of the income tax more than 100 years ago. Who carried the tax burden a hundred or so years ago, and how has that changed? There's just been an absolute revolution in the role of the federal government over that time. In 1913, when the federal income tax was introduced, it was a very small tax. It was 1% of income only on very rich people. And it wasn't intended to raise a lot of revenue because the federal government really wasn't very big. It didn't do very much. But it was a Progressive Era move to express values, to say, if you're doing really, really well, then we want you to disclose to the government that you're doing well and to contribute something. It wasn't actually until World War II and the years after World War II that most people became taxpayers. From 1913 through the 20s, through the 30s, it was a tax only on the very rich. But after World War II and not coincidentally that's when the role of the federal government started to get really big with the G.I. bill, financing the war of course, but also postwar social programs it became a thing that ordinary workers paid. I was just looking this morning at historical top marginal tax rates. That is the money that you earn above a certain level that gets taxed differently, is that right? Exactly right. The Congress sets some income level and above that level you pay the highest progressive tax rate. Right now, the highest rate that anybody pays to the federal government on their income is 37%. And as you know, [Rep.] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has proposed to really increase that top rate to 70%, but it would apply only to people with annual incomes over $10 million. When you first hear 70%, that might really sound outrageous, but in fact, historically we've had a 70% or more [marginal] tax rate for decades, absolutely decades. If you look back in the teens, in the 20s, 30s, we had a top rate as high as 94%. If you look at the Eisenhower era, the Republican 50s, its peacetime, its growth time, and through the 1950s until 1963, the top tax rate is 91%. And society just lived peacefully with that the idea that the very richest people would give back some of what they've gotten from society by paying those high taxes. But now with it at 37% that's what some middle-class earners pay, isnt it? Well, the 37% kicks in roughly at $500,000. More middle-class people certainly do pay tax rates in the low 30s. What's happened is that the tax rate schedule has gotten less progressive. A middle-class family might pay 28% or 31%, whereas the super-rich are going to pay 37%. There's not that big spread anymore that there once was. And I think what's really tough about that is it's happening at the same time that most ordinary people are really struggling to pay the ordinary costs of life. We hear, for example, about a marriage penalty. What kind of society is our tax system meant to reward? That's the darker side to it, right? Sometimes the values that are expressed are good values, they're transparent values, values that I think most people would endorse. The marriage penalty is an interesting one. We actually have much less of a marriage penalty than we once had. The Trump tax legislation in 2017 reduced the marriage penalty. But there's a hidden kick to that, which is that the 2017 legislation also increased the tax bonus to one-earner couples. And that's a way of life: a one-earner couple, a stay-at-home mom. Sure, some people still do that. And it's certainly a choice that people make. But it's no longer the way of life that most people pursue. Most mothers are in the workforce now, most women are in the workforce. And so the idea that the tax code would reward that particular choice is just an odd one. And at the same time, it does very little for single parents, who are really among the most hard-pressed. They are the only earner in their household and they get relatively little tax relief. I think theres still an old message, a conservative message, that a stay-at-home mom, a traditional family, is better than the working family. What about tax credits for daycare? The child care tax credit right now maxes out at much less than the actual cost of daycare. The top credit is roughly $1,000, so you might get $1,000 off on your taxes. But just the average [cost] nationwide is on the order of $10,000. Thats for one infant in an ordinary child care center. So the idea that our tax credits are going to give us about $1,000? Hey, it's better than nothing, but I don't think it really expresses the value that ordinary working people should be able to put their kids in safe, decent childcare. You've also studied the fact that people are living longer and the effect that that has on income and taxes and inheritance. There's a stunning fact: A baby born today will on average live to be 100 years old. On average 50% of them will live more, 50% less. What should public policy look like, what should the tax system look like, what should Social Security look like when an average person lives to a hundred? We're not prepared for this. The tax law tends to lag. On the other end of that lifespan, students are undertaking tremendous burdens of college loans. What does the tax code do to them, for them, with them? Although there is a value expressed in the tax code that more people should be able to get a college education and afford it, the fact is that the code provisions are pretty small and they don't reliably cover all the people who need the assistance. It's one of these cases where the politicians have been able to say that we do something for education, but they haven't really put the money behind the agenda. You mention economic inequality. To what extent does the tax code ossify that, or try to break it up? The theme of our conversation is that the tax law both contains progressive values and undermines progressive values. I think the progressive income tax itself is intended to require richer people to pay a larger share to reflect the fact that what they earn is a function of the shared cooperative economy that lets them earn that money public colleges, public roads, infrastructure, and really the cooperation of everybody. We don't have riots in the street. We have a very peaceable, good country in that way. And good markets, very free markets that allow some people to really, really prosper. But there are features of the tax code that do tend to ossify economic inequality, and these tend to be hidden. Its the rare politician, even on the right, who will stand up and say, Hey, you know what? Im for tax shelters for rich people. I'm for structures that really ossify the opportunity structure. One of the things that I try to show my students is that there's a hidden tax code, and the hidden tax code is well-known to experts, well-known to elites, and it tends to advantage people who were already rich over people who were trying to make their way. It definitely advantages investors over working people. Given that these advantages are in the hidden law, you basically have to have a tax lawyer to figure them out. And who is it who's going to have tax lawyers? Its rich people. The tax system is really set up to allow people that make their living from investing money to pay very, very low tax rates. Warren Buffett famously said that his secretary had a higher tax rate than he did because she works and he gets his money from investments. How does this keep going when it looks so unfair on the face of it? I think there are two answers. One is that politicians are clever in hiding these advantages so that their wealthy constituents who benefit will know about them. But there's a second reason I think is maybe just as powerful or more powerful: You mentioned that there's a famously anti-tax culture in the United States. It's a very libertarian culture, and I think that some politicians from the right have consistently and very successfully played on a general libertarian theme: It's my money. Keep the government's hands off. And they haven't been straightforward that that kind of philosophy benefits by definition people who are the richest and yet are paying the lowest tax. We saw that when Republicans labeled the estate tax the death tax. We all die, but not all of us have estates. That's one of the greatest political victories for what was really a very falsely portrayed agenda. The estate tax only applied in living memory to the top 2% of estates. Yet the politicians were able to kind of smear the tax, smear it as, Oh, theyre gonna take your family home when you die, your children won't get grandmas china, the government's going to make you sell your small business. And in fact those things really were not happening, but it was a very clever smear campaign. The importance of the tax refund in many people's lives they look upon it as an ad hoc savings account. So rather than get this money spread out over 12 months, they may get it in a lump when they file their returns and get a refund. Is that any way to do business? A lot of economists would say, people really need the money in their paychecks, and that way they could more reliably pay their rent, maybe put less money on credit cards, pay that child care bill and stuff like that. But people love the refund. And I think it's for exactly the reason you said, that it's forced savings, and the forced savings the fact you didn't get your tax money throughout the year creates this lump sum. Because it's a lump sum, it just kind of feels like Christmas to people: Wow, I love that moment when I have that money in my checking account. But the second thing is that the forced saving is functional for people. One of the most touching statistics is that for children that go to school in cold climates, when it starts to be February, starts to be March, and parents are getting their Earned Income Tax Credit refunds or just their tax refunds, the teachers notice that the kids show up in warm coats that they didnt have before. It's that forced savings that means you can buy that kid that nice winter coat that maybe you couldn't have afforded back in December, or buy a refrigerator something big, something that takes some savings. What's more troubling is the people who do rack up a lot of credit card debt and then have to use their earned income tax credit or their tax refund simply to pay off the credit card debt. That is a much bigger problem. The whole idea of taxes is so horrible that people have to laugh at it. Comedians make jokes. Even if you say something like, remember the Tax Reform Act of 1986, people will start laughing. Do you have favorite tax jokes? I was actually at a dinner last night with a bunch of tax professors, which sounds deadly dull, but we really had the very best time because we can make jokes that [we each] understand! It's funny because the tax bill is so complicated, and it seems to have been, quote unquote, reformed so many times that I understand why people laugh. Much has been made of President Trump not revealing his taxes. Why do you think he hasnt? I think we have to assume that there's something there, that if there were nothing there, he would abide by the long-standing norm, which is for presidents to disclose their tax return every year. Nobody knows what it is. But I think we can speculate: real estate, his industry, is one of the industries that is absolutely rife with hidden tax breaks that allow people who are doing very well economically to look very poor for tax purposes. And I think if that's what his returns show, you can see why this particular president would not want to take the heat for that. Do you do your own taxes? I hate doing my taxes. As much as I think taxes are a good thing, I really dislike the process, so I just use TurboTax. Support our journalism Already a subscriber? Thank you for your support. If you are not, please consider subscribing today. Get full access to our signature journalism for just 99 cents for the first four weeks. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook. MORE PATT MORRISON ASKS: Guess what? The rich really are different from everyone else and it aint pretty Have tech companies like Facebook tricked us into abandoning our humanity? Ken Burns on making his Vietnam War documentary: 'I was humiliated by what I didn't know' The extreme weather of the last year has been so terrifying, and so very extreme, that it is tempting to look at the string of disasters around the world and think: Climate change is here. Certainly thats what Jerry Brown meant when he described the wildfires ravaging California in the fall as the new abnormal. It will only get more so. We have already exited the environmental conditions that allowed the human animal to evolve in the first place, in an unplanned bet on just what we can endure. By the end of the century, if warming continues unabated, wildfires could burn 64 times as much land in California as they did last year, which was more than a million acres. But climate change isnt binary, and this is one of the five major misapprehensions even engaged liberals have about warming. Its not a question of whether it will happen or not, or whether it will be like the 2018 wildfire season or 64 times worse. Climate change is a function that will get worse over time as long as we continue to emit greenhouse gas. No matter how bad it gets, it will always be the case that the following decade could bring more suffering or less. And believe it or not, the amount will always be up to us. Climate change may seem intimidatingly large, but the responsibility is entirely ours. Advertisement If warming continues unabated, by the end of even this century, no life will remain untouched. We dont see it clearly because our judgment is clouded by other misconceptions. The second has to do with speed. Climate change is not happening slowly, as we were once told, but terrifyingly fast. We tend to think of global warming as a legacy of the Industrial Revolution. In fact, according to my research, more than half of the carbon exhaled into the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels has come in the last 30 years. That is, since Al Gore published his first book on climate, and since the premiere of Seinfeld. The United Nations established its Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 1988, signaling to all the world a scientific consensus about the problem. Since then, we have done more damage, knowingly, than we did over preceding centuries, in ignorance. The third misunderstanding is about scope. So much of what we know to fear about global warming concerns sea level rise; if we dont live right on the coast, we tend to think, we should be OK. In fact, if warming continues unabated, by the end of even this century, no life will remain untouched. Agricultural yields could fall by half. Warfare could double, since every half-degree of warming is likely to bring 10% to 20% more armed conflict. Global GDP could fall by as much as a third; the impact would be twice as deep as the Great Depression, and permanent. Overall, according to my calculations, the damage could reach $600 trillion, or more wealth than exists in the world today. The fourth delusion is about severity. For decades, scientists have defined two degrees as the threshold of climate catastrophe, and many of us have treated that level of warming as a worst-case scenario. In fact, it is a best-case scenario that, at this point, will be almost impossible to achieve. With an increase of two degrees, many cities in India and the Middle East would become literally unlivable because of heat, and several ice sheets would begin an irreversible collapse. If we lost all Arctic and Antarctic ice, sea levels could, over centuries, rise by 200 feet. Or more. Advertisement But these are just the direct repercussions, and the fifth major misapprehension is that science is even capable of containing and describing the sum total of the assaults. In fact, the indirect effects may be even more profound: on our psychology, our culture, our sense of place in nature and history, our relationship to technology and to capitalism. Not to mention our geopolitics. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute The arrival of roughly 2 million Syrians in Europe unleashed a global wave of populism; some experts believe warming will produce a hundred times as many refugees. What will a migration crisis of that scale do to global affairs? Meanwhile, what will it mean for the way we eat to see carbon-free food advertised in the supermarket, or the way we travel and do business to see carbon budgets made central to any new trade deal? As real life becomes more and more apocalyptic, what will become of science fiction? Advertisement Just as the end of the last century was dominated by globalization, and the century before it by modernity, this century will be dominated by warming. We need a new humanities of climate change to guide us through the dilemmas and paradoxes that it will bring. We have reshaped the worlds climate. The question is: How will climate change reshape us? David Wallace-Wells is the deputy editor of New York Magazine and the author of The Uninhabitable Earth. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook In 1984, Meir Kahane, the renegade, openly racist American rabbi who had immigrated to Israel, won a seat in the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament. His fiery rhetoric and anti-Arab proposals so enraged his fellow lawmakers that nearly all of them walked out whenever he rose to the podium to speak. Among them was the prime minister at the time, Yitzhak Shamir of the right-wing Likud party, who denounced Kahane as dangerous. Kahanes continued provocations and attempted assaults on Israeli democracy finally led the Knesset to change its own rules to bar him and any other member of a racist party from a seat in government. Kahane was assassinated in 1990, but the spirit of his outlawed party lives on in the far-right party Otzma Yehudit, or Jewish Power, which was founded in 2012. Last week, Israels prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, invited the fervently anti-Arab party into the mainstream, engineering a merger between Otzma Yehudit and a religious Zionist party to be part of his coalition in the run-up to Israels national elections in April. For the first time, even mainstream organizations are criticizing Netanyahus desperate maneuvering to hold onto office. Advertisement This dramatic development should mark the breaking point in Netanyahus already battered relationship with a majority of American Jews. And the question will be whether those Jews can maintain a genuine connection to the state of Israel while denouncing and distancing themselves from its leader. In recent years, Netanyahus steady shift to ethno-nationalist politics, his denunciation of President Obama and the Iran nuclear deal (both popular among American Jews,) his embrace of anti-Semitic European autocrats, his refusal to seriously negotiate with Palestinians, and his utter disdain for American Jews pluralistic religious practices had already made him a loathed figure in many quarters. But until now he has been able to draw standing ovations in some powerful U.S. venues, and has maintained enviable relations with the White House and the white Christian evangelicals who help direct Middle East foreign policy. His latest move could change that. For the first time, even mainstream organizations are criticizing Netanyahus desperate maneuvering to hold onto office. Challenged by an unusually strong coalition of centrist candidates and awaiting possible corruption charges, Netanyahu was driven by desperation in arranging for Otzma Yehudit to merge with the religious Zionist party known as Jewish Home, a key member of his governing coalition. But hes gone too far. Otzma Yehudit entirely rejects the formation of a Palestinian state, calls for the expulsion of Arabs from Israel, and advocates Jewish control of the Temple Mount, now overseen by Muslim clerics under Jordanian supervision. The outrage from American Jews was swift, stunning and entirely justified. Even mainstream establishment organizations voiced strong objections. On Thursday, the American Jewish Committee, which rarely weighs in on Israeli election politics, called Otzma Yehudits views reprehensible. Later the following day, the powerhouse lobby group American Israel Public Affairs Committee published a 20-word tweet agreeing with AJC. AIPAC never criticizes the Israeli government. Its just wrong, completely wrong, Democratic pollster Mark Mellman said of the new alliance. And it makes our job much harder. The job he referred to is his role leading the newly formed Democratic Majority for Israel, an attempt to solidify his partys support for the Jewish state at a time when there is much more willingness to criticize its half-century occupation of the Palestinian territories and the steadily rightward tilt of its leadership. Advertisement In that context, Netanyahus alliance with Otzma Yehudit could not come at a worse time. As a 2016 presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) slightly opened the door to a more critical conversation about Israel in some progressive circles. Netanyahu just made it easier to walk right in. And because the Jewish Home party represents a strain of religious Zionism with many adherents in the U.S., the new alliance has cracked open another door: criticism of Netanyahu from orthodox rabbis here. So far, they have not gone as far as one of their leaders in Jerusalem, Rabbi Benny Lau, who over the weekend publicly excoriated the merger by comparing Kahanism to Nazism. But on Monday, nearly 90 modern Orthodox rabbis signed a letter denouncing Netanyahu. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute Advertisement The prime minister has a legitimate desire to win victory for his bloc in a hotly contested election, they wrote in a public statement. However, in this case, the ends do not justify the means. This deal with a detestable group to get them into the Knesset will give a black eye to Israel and its standing in the world as a moral and democratic state. This is truly a lamentable failure on the part of a leader who has focused his life on Israels security and on strengthening its international standing. Ironically, in 1988, Shamir was also facing a hotly contested election, and accepting Kahane into his coalition might have given him the seats necessary to prevail. He, however, refused. Netanyahus unforgivable decision, coming at a time when Israel is immeasurably stronger and more secure, could end up costing him his most trusted and advantageous partner: American Jews. Jane Eisner is writer-at-large for the Forward and the Koeppel Fellow in Journalism at Wesleyan University. In California and across the country, voters of all stripes are asking elected leaders to focus on crime prevention and treatment and stop overcrowding prisons with poor, vulnerable people who pose little safety threat to our communities. At the forefront of this fight are locally elected prosecutors who have the power to implement critical criminal justice reforms. In Los Angeles County, voters heartily supported measures to decriminalize marijuana, reduce draconian sentences for low-level offenses such as shoplifting, and increase parole opportunities for people who commit certain nonviolent offenses. These are common-sense policies that make the justice system more fair and humane, while keeping Californians safe. With such widespread support, its disheartening that Los Angeles Countys top prosecutor, Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, hasnt embraced some criminal justice reforms.Take the incarceration rate of Los Angeles County. We have about 618 people in prison per 100,000 residents, which is significantly higher than Californias overall rate of 496 per 100,000 residents and more than four times higher than San Franciscos rate. Black residents are incarcerated at four times the rate of white residents. Its disheartening that Los Angeles Countys top prosecutor, Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, hasnt embraced some criminal justice reforms. Advertisement Yet Lacey has opposed key reforms, such as ending cash bail, that could bring that rate down. Criminal justice is supposed to be about safety, not wealth. But thats not how our bail system operates. Wealthy people can raise bail for their loved ones; poor people often cant. This often means that a person who is wealthy and charged with a serious offense can purchase his or her freedom while people who struggle to make ends meet are locked in jail on comparatively minor charges. Elected prosecutors in Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, and St. Louis have recently implemented or supported bail reform in their offices. In San Francisco, Dist. Atty. George Gascon called cash bail inherently unfair and archaic. Another issue on which Lacey has fallen short is addressing violence by police. In communities nationwide, reform-minded district attorneys are appointing independent prosecutors within their offices to investigate police shootings, which disproportionately affect people of color. An impartial investigation helps ensure justice is served and police are held accountable. Lacey has not taken this route. Moreover, the D.A.s office has repeatedly declined to charge police officers in fatal shootings of unarmed black people, including in one case in which then-Los Angeles police chief Charlie Beck said the officer should be criminally prosecuted. Lacey has been out of step with voters in the county on other key criminal justice measures as well. She opposed Proposition 57 (supported by 67% of L.A. voters), which increased parole chances for certain people convicted of nonviolent crimes who posed no ongoing threat to their communities. She also opposed Proposition 64, which legalized recreational marijuana, again placing her out of step with the 59.5% of Los Angeles voters who supported the measure. Though Los Angeles voters twice voted to replace the death penalty with life-without-parole sentences, the D.A.s office, according to data aggregated from annual reports from the Death Penalty Information Center, has sent more people to death row over the last five years than any other prosecutors office in the U.S., except Republican Dist. Atty. Mike Hestrin in Riverside County, and more than the states of Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia combined. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute Thats why Mayor Eric Garcettis endorsement of Lacey this month for a new term as the countys top cop was so surprising. Garcetti called Lacey a proven leader who always puts the mission of advancing justice for all above everything else. Lacey still has a long way to go to earn such praise from our mayor. As the city, state and nation seek wholesale change in our criminal justice system, its crucial that locally elected prosecutors reflect the will of the people they serve and are working to enact pragmatic reforms. We expect more from Lacey and from all of L.A.s leaders. Advertisement There is finally widespread support across the political spectrum for changing the criminal-justice system in meaningful ways. Now we just need key public officials, including Lacey, to get on board. Patrisse Cullors is co-founder of Black Lives Matter, founder of Dignity and Power Now and chair of Reform L.A. Jails. As President Trump meets with North Koreas Kim Jong Un in Vietnam, there are ample reasons for concern, a lot of them stemming from Trumps failings as a leader and as a human being. But there is also reason for guarded optimism about the summit and the larger engagement between the United States and North Korea. The president who likes to portray himself as a hardheaded deal-maker has proved distressingly susceptible to flattery from the dictator on whom he once threatened to rain fire and fury. It was hard not to cringe when Trump told a rally last year that Kim wrote me beautiful letters and theyre great letters. We fell in love. Trump also has absurdly exaggerated what his courtship of Kim has accomplished, tweeting inaccurately after their first meeting last June, There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea, and unloading on his intelligence advisors after they told Congress that North Korea is unlikely to give up all of its nuclear weapons and production capabilities. As long as Trumps actions in engaging North Korea are prudent and in the national interest, they deserve support. Advertisement Given Trumps vanity and hunger for adulation, its reasonable to worry that he might impulsively make concessions that damage this country and our ally South Korea. Some fear that he might incautiously or precipitously commit the U.S. to withdrawing the 28,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea or reducing their number, although Trump said in a television interview this month that he has no plans to do so. The apprehension is real, but it must be tempered by the fact that Trumps closest advisors take a less sanguine view than he does of the nuclear threat still posed by North Korea. For example, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday reinterpreted Trumps boast about the elimination of the nuclear threat, saying Trump meant that the commitment Kim made at the last summit may have substantially taken down the risk to the American people. Its also important to recognize that the Trump-Kim negotiations are rooted not only in Trumps longing for a diplomatic success, but also in South Koreans desire for a less antagonistic relationship with Pyongyang. South Korean President Moon Jae-in has made rapprochement with the North the signature policy of his administration. Finally, its undeniable that tensions on the Korean peninsula have eased. Even the intelligence report that angered Trump acknowledged that Pyongyang has not conducted any nuclear-capable missile or nuclear tests in more than a year, has declared its support for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and has reversibly dismantled portions of its WMD infrastructure. It makes sense for the United States, in concert with South Korea, to capitalize on this progress in the hopes that it will lead to the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea that remains the stated objective of the Trump administration. The question is whether the U.S. should offer incentives to the North without an ironclad commitment to denuclearization by Kim. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute Trump has apparently decided on such an incremental approach. The president is considering agreeing as part of the summit to declare a formal conclusion to the Korean War, which ended in 1953 with a cease-fire but no peace treaty. Such a gesture would accommodate a long-standing North Korean demand, but the idea also has support in South Korea. South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has suggested that a declaration would give the North a sense of safety that would make it likelier to denuclearize. Precipitously withdrawing U.S. troops from South Korea or relaxing economic sanctions without an agreement by the North to place additional limits on its nuclear weapons program would be a mistake. But if a peace declaration would induce North Korea to make further concessions and ease tensions on the Korean peninsula, it would be justified. Advertisement We would be more comfortable if someone other than Trump were leading the U.S. delegation in Hanoi. But this country has only one president at a time. Its probably too much to expect Trump to be careful in what he says about this or any other subject. But as long as his actions in engaging North Korea are prudent and in the national interest, they deserve support. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook The six-day teachers strike in January brought Los Angeles public schools to the forefront of the civic conversation. Struggling, overburdened teachers; underperforming, underfunded schools; low-income students and students of color seeking a decent education in the face of seemingly insuperable obstacles suddenly these issues were back on the table after years of neglect. The strike was bitter and divisive. But it also presented an opportunity for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Here in California, per-pupil spending is half what it is in the best-funded states; at L.A. Unified, almost 70% of the districts students are not proficient in math and about 60% are not proficient in English. District leaders quickly realized that it would be foolish to miss this moment in the public eye. Thats why, even though the timing is tight and too few voters will show up, the school board is seriously considering placing a parcel tax on the ballot at a special election in June. Its a smart if opportunistic move; momentum and support can dissipate with frightening speed. At the moment, the wording of the proposal calls for the parcel tax to continue in perpetuity with no sunset clause. Advertisement As discussed by the board on Tuesday, homeowners and businesses would be charged 12 to 16 cents per square foot of improved property the exact amount will probably be set at a board meeting Thursday raising $340 million to $500 million each year. At 16 cents, the owner of an 1,800-square-foot house would pay $288 a year. The tax would come close to closing the districts structural deficit and providing the smaller class sizes and additional nurses and counselors that were agreed upon in the strike settlement. A poll commissioned by the district in the wake of the walkout showed that more than 70% of likely voters would be willing to pay a parcel tax of 16 cents, even after they heard arguments against it. Were still waiting to see the full and final language of the proposal before taking a position on it; only a summary was released at Tuesdays board meeting. The details matter including, especially, what mechanisms will be put in place to ensure the money is spent responsibly and effectively. It is important to remember both that the money needs to be well spent, and that even well-spent money wont solve all the problems at L.A. Unified. Still, there is no denying the abysmal shortage of funding for public schools in general and L.A. Unified in particular. California used to be the most generous in the nation at funding its schools; now, just a generation later, it hovers close to the bottom of the rankings, when the funding is adjusted for cost of living. During the years that California has been cutting back its education spending, the needs of its students have grown. There are far more low-income students, foster kids and immigrant children who are not fluent in English. Only three states have bigger student-to-teacher ratios. L.A.s schools need to attract more qualified math and science teachers. They need to provide a measure of help with physical and mental health. They need laboratories and computers and access to vocational training. This isnt the stuff of luxury. These are the basics of a modern public education. Even if the parcel tax passes and even if further help comes in the form of a statewide ballot measure for schools per-pupil funding still wont come close to what New York and New Jersey spend. In fact, the parcel tax wont cover the burgeoning costs of healthcare and pension benefits for teachers over the coming decades. The draft language discussed Tuesday includes some important elements. Parcel taxes are regressive by nature, but because this tax would be based on square footage of improved property, rather than charging a flat rate for each parcel, it mitigates that. The elderly and disabled would be exempt. Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute Advertisement There is a suggestion in the language that the district will establish a citizen oversight committee and hold annual audits to make sure the money is being spent wisely and effectively. Thats important. The oversight committee should be given strong powers, and audits should not be just financial statements but independent qualitative analyses, similar to what the Government Accountability Office performs at the federal level. Thats critical not just for winning public support, but for good governance. At the moment, the wording of the proposal calls for the parcel tax to continue in perpetuity with no sunset clause. That would be a serious mistake and outside the norm for a school parcel tax. One study found that 80% of California parcel taxes sunset within five to 10 years. Thats an essential element of oversight. Schools Supt. Austin Beutner said the language of the tax could still be amended to include an endpoint. A sunset provision of 10 years or less should be added so that voters can have a chance to reconsider whether their money is being well spent and whether student achievement and outcomes are at last improving. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook A House Republican taunted President Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen ahead of a congressional hearing, suggesting in a tweet that the public appearance will expose damaging personal information about Cohen. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) tweeted on Tuesday without offering any evidence that the world is about to learn a lot about Cohen and that Cohen should talk to his wife ahead of his testimony Wednesday. Gaetz, a Trump ally, is not a member of the committee questioning Cohen. Still, the tweet was extraordinary because his remarks appeared to be threatening or intimidating a witness on the eve of a highly anticipated public hearing. Cohen is due to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee about payments to buy the silence of women who allege they had affairs with Trump before the 2016 election. His testimony is expected to be sharply critical of Trump, alleging lying, cheating and criminal behavior. Advertisement We will not respond to Mr. Gaetzs despicable lies and personal smears, except to say we trust that his colleagues in the House, both Republicans and Democrats, will repudiate his words and his conduct, Cohens lawyer, Lanny Davis, said in a statement. Asked whether his tweet to Cohen should be perceived as a threat, Gaetz responded, Absolutely not. Were witness testing, not witness tampering, and when witnesses come before Congress their truthfulness and veracity are in question, and we have the opportunity to test them, he told reporters outside his office. A spokesman for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Trumps fixer-turned-foe was testifying to the Senate intelligence committee behind closed doors on Tuesday when Gaetz fired off his tweet. Hey @MichaelCohen212 - Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if shell remain faithful when youre in prison. Shes about to learn a lot... the tweet said. It was unclear what prompted the allegation. Gaetzs tweet drew immediate criticism from fellow lawmakers. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.J.) called on the House Ethics Committee to launch an investigation for what he called a grossly unethical and probably illegal attempt to intimidate a witness. Advertisement Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) in a tweet on Tuesday evening urged the Ethics Committee to vigilantly monitor House members comments made on social media or in the press [that] can adversely affect the ability of House committees to obtain the truthful and complete information necessary to fulfill their duties. Cohen had previously delayed his public testimony, blaming threats from Trump and the presidents attorney-spokesman, Rudolph W. Giuliani, and citing his ongoing cooperation in special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs Russia investigation. Cohen, who was a key power player in the Trump Organization for more than a decade and a fixture in Trumps political life, is a central figure in the Mueller investigation into possible coordination between Russia and Trumps campaign. He also played a pivotal role in buying the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal, who both alleged they had sex with Trump. The president has denied their claims. Cohen has pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations connected to the payments and lying to Congress. Federal prosecutors have said Trump directed Cohen to make the payments during the campaign. Advertisement Cohen is scheduled to begin a three-year prison sentence in May. The political operative at the center of an election fraud scandal that has engulfed a North Carolina congressional race was arrested Wednesday on charges of illegal ballot handling and conspiracy. Four people working for him were also charged. Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr., 63, was accused of directing workers to collect and mail in other peoples absentee ballots during the 2018 Republican congressional primary and the 2016 general election. It is against the law in North Carolina for anyone other than the voter or a close relative to handle a mail-in ballot, a measure aimed at guarding against manipulation. Prosecutors are still investigating evidence of ballot tampering by Dowless and others working on behalf of Republican candidate Mark Harris during last falls congressional election in the mostly rural 9th District, which includes part of Charlotte and extends eastward across several counties. The indictment represents the first charges in a scandal that has cast doubt on election integrity and will leave a congressional seat unfilled for months. Advertisement These indictments should serve as a stern warning to anyone trying to defraud elections in North Carolina, state elections director Kim Westbrook Strach said. Dowless was arrested less than a week after the state elections board decided that his work for Harris, starting with the primary, tainted the Republicans apparent victory in November. The board ordered a new election but hasnt set a date. Harris is not running in the do-over election; his Democratic opponent from November, Dan McCready, is. Harris has not been charged and has denied knowledge of any illegal practices by those involved in his campaign. But he too could come under scrutiny. During last weeks board hearing, he admitted writing personal checks to Dowless in 2017, a potential violation if the payments werent reported. Dowless has denied wrongdoing and did not respond to phone and text messages Wednesday. A woman hung up on a call to Dowless attorney. Dowless was charged with illegal possession of absentee ballots, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice. He was booked into a Raleigh jail. The four others were charged with illegal possession of an absentee ballot and conspiracy to obstruct justice. The four others were paid by Dowless to collect ballots during the spring of 2018, when Dowless and his team were on the Harris campaign payroll, and during the 2016 general election, when Dowless himself successfully ran for a local soil and water conservation post, prosecutors said. The crimes served to undermine the integrity of the absentee ballot process and the publics confidence in the outcome of the electoral process, the indictment said. Advertisement Dowless was accused of directing his workers to mail the absentee ballot in such a manner to conceal the fact that the voter had not personally mailed it himself an act the indictment said constituted obstruction of justice. In last falls congressional election, Harris led McCready by 905 votes out of about 280,000 cast, but the state elections board refused to certify Harris as the winner because of the fraud suspicions. Last week, Harris abruptly dropped his bid to be declared the winner and called for a new election, and the board agreed. Wake County Dist. Atty. Lorrin Freeman, who pursued the charges announced Wednesday, is still looking into evidence of irregularities in November. She indicated it could be weeks before any decisions were made on charges. According to evidence at the elections board hearing, Dowless and his assistants illegally gathered up absentee ballots from voters by offering to put them in the mail, and in some cases forged signatures and filled in votes for local candidates. Advertisement Dowless refused to testify before the board without immunity from prosecution. Dowless is a political junkie with felony convictions for perjury and insurance fraud which led to a prison sentence in the 1990s and several worthless-check offenses. He came to Harris attention because he was known to produce votes. Harris said he wanted to sign Dowless onto his 2018 campaign after noting the Bladen County mans work resulted in one of Harris Republican rivals scoring an incredible 98% of the mail-in ballots in the 2016 primary. Harris hired Dowless despite repeated warnings from the candidates son, now a federal prosecutor in Raleigh, that Dowless was probably resorting to illegal methods. Advertisement In fact, Dowless had been on the radar of state elections investigators since 2010, when he was suspected of vote-buying but never charged. That was one of at least half a dozen instances over the last nine years that prosecutors and election officials received complaints of serious irregularities in Bladen County. North Carolinas top elections official in January 2017 issued an urgent plea for the Trump administration to file criminal charges against Dowless. Strach warned in a letter that those involved in illegally harvesting absentee ballots in rural Bladen County would likely do it again if they werent prosecuted. At the time, there was only an acting U.S. attorney in office. Later in 2017, Trumps appointee arrived but took no action to prosecute the matter. Instead, he assigned his staff to focus on a different priority prosecuting a handful of noncitizens who had allegedly voted. NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A pilot and a co-pilot of Indian Air Force (IAF) were killed after a Mi-17 jet crashed Wednesday in Indian-controlled Kashmir, Indian officials said. The jet crashed at village Garend Kalan of Budgam, about 34 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. "The IAF aircraft crashed here today in an open field. Two bodies have been found at crash site and most probably they are pilot and co-pilot," senior local government official Sehrish Asgar told Xinhua over phone, adding that "the aircraft was on a routine sortie in the area." According to officials, police and IAF teams have rushed to the spot to ascertain the cause of the crash. Locals said the aircraft broke into two and caught fire after it crashed. A large crowd of people gathered at the spot following the crash, eyewitnesses said. "We heard an huge explosion and suddenly flames and smoke rose from an open field," said a local, Muddasir Ahmad, adding that "when we rushed to the spot, we found the fighter jet broken and in flames." Meanwhile, Pakistan army said on Wednesday the Pakistan Air Force has shot down two Indian fighter jets inside Pakistani airspace and ground troops arrested one pilot of the destroyed jet, according to a military statement. Director General of Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army's media wing, Major General Asif Ghafoor said one of the aircraft fell inside Pakistan-administered Kashmir while the other fell inside Indian-controlled Kashmir. The military said the Indian fighter jets were intercepted and destroyed by the Pakistani side when they entered into Pakistani airspace on Wednesday morning, after "Pakistan Air Force undertook strikes across Line of Control (LoC) from within Pakistani airspace." The incident came a day after the Pakistani army said Indian fighter jets violated the LoC on Tuesday and released payloads in the Pakistani side. India claimed that its air force had targeted a camp of Jaish-e-Muhammad group in Tuesday's attack. The group was blamed for the Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed some 40 Indian paramilitary troopers. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman said "we have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we undertook the action with a clear warning and in broad daylight." A Coast Guard officer accused of being a white supremacist who compiled a hit list of prominent Democrats has been indicted on firearms and drug charges. A federal grand jury in Maryland indicted Christopher Paul Hasson, 49, on charges of illegal possession of firearm silencers; possession of firearms by a drug addict and unlawful user; and possession of a controlled substance. Hasson has been detained since federal agents arrested him on related charges on Feb. 15. Hasson has espoused extremist views for years and drafted an email in which he said he was dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth, prosecutors said in a court filing. Prosecutors also say Hasson drew up what appeared to be a computer spreadsheet hit list that included prominent Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco; Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York; and presidential hopefuls Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California. Several network TV journalists MSNBCs Chris Hayes and Joe Scarborough and CNNs Chris Cuomo and Van Jones also were mentioned. Advertisement Investigators found 15 firearms, including seven rifles, and over 1,000 rounds of ammunition when they searched Hassons basement apartment in Silver Spring, Md., according to prosecutors. The indictment also accuses Hasson of illegal possession of tramadol, an opioid painkiller. Hasson hasnt been charged with any terrorism-related offenses. U.S. Atty. Robert Hur said in a statement Wednesday that authorities were still gathering evidence. Hassons arraignment wasnt immediately scheduled. Elizabeth Genevieve Oyer, a public defender assigned to represent Hasson, didnt immediately respond to a phone call or email seeking comment. During a hearing last Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Day agreed to keep Hasson behind bars but said he was willing to revisit his decision in 14 days if prosecutors havent brought more serious charges by then. Hasson, a former Marine, worked at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington on a program to acquire advanced new cutters for the agency. Heavy rains are poised to cause the worst flooding along the Russian River in Guerneville in Northern California in more than 20 years. Here is what you need to know: Q: What is the outlook? About 4,000 people living in about two dozen areas near the river were ordered to evacuate Tuesday as the river started to flood. Its expected to crest at 46.1 feet more than 14 feet above flood stage Wednesday night. Some areas north of the river got nearly 10 inches of rain as of Tuesday. The National Weather Service said the new storm produced more than a foot of rain in the hills above Healdsburg. Advertisement Localized flooding was reported Tuesday night along some creeks and rivers in Sonoma County. But the situation is expected to get worse Wednesday. #RussianRiver at #Guerneville forecast to peak at 46.1 feet late Wednesday evening (major flood). This would be the sixth highest level on the Russian River in Guerneville, and the highest since 1995. #CAwx #CAflood #CAstorm pic.twitter.com/9zFQyyBXjT NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) February 27, 2019 Q: What are the dangers? Authorities warned residents to be vigilant to cracks in the roads, leaning trees and the sound of trees cracking. Roads may become impassable, and people who dont leave immediately could be trapped, they said. Officials staffed extra deputies and dispatchers to help with evacuations and field emergency calls. Two boats were deployed to the lower Russian River to help people get out. Q: What does history show? The Russian River has seen numerous serious floods during wet years. One of the worst in Guerneville was in 1995. That year, the river crested at about 48 feet, 16 feet above flood stage. The Times reported then that there were mass rescues: Many of those forced to flee Guerneville said they were caught off guard by the rivers rapid rise. Some left by small craft, floating past debris as they sought higher ground. Others boarded 2-ton National Guard transport trucks that drove through the floodwaters. One even hitched a ride on a trash bin floating by. Russian River at #Guerneville could crest nearly 14 ft above flood stage...Note at 45.9 thats near the level where downtown would flood. Expected to go flood stage later today, crest would be Wed night/Thu AM. Hydrograph forecasts are being continuously updated, Stay tuned... pic.twitter.com/kLeoOn7VNx Rob Mayeda (@RobMayeda) February 26, 2019 Q: How about burn areas? Sonoma County was hit by devastating wildfires in 2017 that burned thousands of homes and charred many hillsides and canyons. Advertisement Officials say they are also concerned about mudslides, especially in the hillside neighborhoods along the river and areas ravaged by recent wildfires. One debris flow sloshed across a roadway in the Monte Rio area on Tuesday evening, but no one was injured. A mural that depicts a Grim Reaper wearing a cloak covered with Stars of David, holding what appears to be a dead baby and a missile, was blasted by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcettis office as a shameful act of anti-Semitism. The mayor learned of the mural on Tuesday through posts on social media, said his spokesman, Alex Comisar. Imagery like this should have no place in our city, Comisar said. Mayor Garcetti was incredibly upset by it. Were looking into the recourse that we have to have it taken down. The mural is painted on a brick building thats home to the Vortex, a 400-person event space in downtown Los Angeles. Advertisement The Vortex said in a statement on Facebook that the mural was created several years ago to acknowledge the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as part of the L.A. vs. War art show. This mural at the Vortex in LA crosses a line. We call for its removal. For a venue that purports to welcome the community, the Vortex should join us in condemning hateful imagery that invokes anti-Semitic canards conflating Jews with death, snakes, bombs, and killing babies. pic.twitter.com/aMqt4hQDn3 ADL Los Angeles (@LA_ADL) February 26, 2019 The company said it stands for free expression and that the artist did not intend to express an anti-Semitic message. It said it planned to host a public discussion about the controversy at the Olympic Boulevard event space. We believe his intent deserves considerable weight, the Vortex said about the artist. We invite those who feel otherwise to paint another mural next to it. The Anti-Defamation League on Tuesday called for the murals removal. For a venue that purports to welcome the community, the Vortex should join us in condemning hateful imagery that invokes anti-Semitic canards conflating Jews with death, snakes, bombs and killing babies, the organization said in a statement. alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com Twitter: @AleneTchek A 47-year-old San Francisco man has been charged with torturing and murdering a 23-year-old before putting the dead mans body into a suitcase and tossing it into the San Francisco Bay this month, authorities said. Gerald William Rowe was arrested last week after the body, later identified as San Francisco resident George Randall Saldivar, was found floating in the bay near Pier 39 on Feb. 18, according to court records. San Francisco Police Department homicide inspectors received information that led them to a room at a hotel on Market Street that was registered to Rowe, according to court records. Police recovered video from the room that shows Rowe, Saldivar and another person referred to by prosecutors as an unnamed co-conspirator engaged in consensual sexual activity around Feb. 3, according to a motion filed Monday by the San Francisco district attorneys office. Advertisement The video shows Saldivar sitting in a chair as the unnamed third person ties his hands behind his back. Rowe and the third person then make a noose and put it over Saldivars neck, according to a description of the video in court records. The rope is elevated, and Rowe and the third person pull on it before placing a bag over Saldivars head, according to court records. The third person uses a syringe to inject Saldivar with a drug, possibly fentanyl, according to the description. Saldivar then appears to collapse. Rowe and the third person place Saldivar on a bed and slap the victim before stuffing Saldivar into a suitcase and sealing it with plastic, according to court records. The video then shows Rowe eating junk food and playing a guitar over the suitcase before pushing the suitcase into the corner of the room, where it sits for a day. On Feb. 5 about 2:30 a.m., Rowe and the third person roll the suitcase containing Saldivars body out of the room and down Market Street. The body was discovered 13 days later. Besides murder, Rowe has also been charged with conspiracy, torture, kidnapping, battery with serious bodily injury, false imprisonment, possession of a firearm by a felon and drug offenses, according to court records. Rowe is set to be arraigned Wednesday, according to the district attorneys office. The San Francisco medical examiners office has not yet determined the cause of death for Saldivar. Advertisement javier.panzar@latimes.com @jpanzar On the other side of the world, family and friends in their homeland whispered about the huge bodyguard entourage shielding the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, as he arrived for his summit this week with President Trump in Hanoi. But in Orange Countys Little Saigon, the largest Vietnamese business and cultural district outside Vietnam, the locals did not speak in hushed voices. Instead, hundreds took to the streets on a cold Tuesday evening to loudly denounce the communist government as oppressors and demand human rights for their countrymen. Fifteen time zones across the Pacific, in the Vietnamese capital, the second Trump-Kim meeting is underway amid maximum fanfare and mixed expectations about whether the talks will produce concrete results. In Little Saigon, residents hope to use the presidents visit as long-distance leverage, pressuring him to dig into the necessary issues facing one of the most beautiful yet difficult places to live, according to organizers. Protest leaders want to steer the eyes of the world toward the urgent need for democracy and reform and for a regime change, said Chi Charlie Nguyen, a Westminster councilman. We could not lose this moment to speak up and speak out. Advertisement A groundswell of support came from nearly 30 Vietnamese American groups, including the Youth Coalition Demanding Human Rights and Democracy for Vietnam who joined forces to launch the gathering, graced by a candlelight vigil. And, as has occurred with demonstrations before in the immigrant community, emails flew back and forth before the protest, with advice on using the cloth and paper flags of South Vietnam provided by the organizing committee. Moreover, organizers sent a letter to Trump on Feb. 18, highlighting their grave concerns about the harassment, intimidation, assaults and imprisonment of rights defenders in their homeland. Protesters came from as far away as the Netherlands and Canada, easily mixing with fellow Vietnamese from Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, New York and Texas. Sacramento resident Vuong Nguyen, seeing their determined faces, quickly set up his camera for a Facebook livestream. Then he jumped into the frame and, like a conductor, led the marchers in singing patriotic tunes. This is to lift the spirits of our people, said Nguyen, 65, a former South Vietnamese army lieutenant. I hope all the Vietnamese overseas will continue to put Vietnam first so that our democratic dreams, one day, will be realized. Vuong Nguyen leads a group of protesters in song. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) As the Vietnamese in Hanoi prepared to roll out the red carpet for Kim and Trump, Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) took advantage of the timing to lead a bipartisan group to appeal for the presidents help in freeing a Vietnamese American man from Orange who has been jailed for almost eight months in Ho Chi Minh City. Porter sent a letter to the Trump administration, signed by the Orange County congressional delegation and other colleagues, pushing for the release of Michael Phuong Minh Nguyen, locked up by Vietnamese authorities without being charged on July 7. Demonstrators totaling more than 400 by dinnertime cited Nguyens case and pleaded for the release of hundreds of political prisoners suffering behind bars in their country. Innocent people should not be jailed. We call on Vietnam to release all the prisoners of conscience who are punished just because they express their beliefs, said Diep Bui, a nanny from San Jose, wearing a tunic bearing the face of Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, a blogger and democracy activist who has spent more than 10 birthdays behind bars. Advertisement Bui, 55, skipped work for two days in order to participate. I want the younger generation to see us and to learn from us that they deserve to be able to share their demands, she added, as crowd members lined up to drink fresh cups of soybean milk to ease their thirst before resuming their shouting. My wish is that this effort will push the U.S. government to pay more attention to political and religious abuses in Vietnam, said Westminster Mayor Tri Ta, an organizer. All of us here this is our passion, to fight for rights and we will never stop. Others warned that abuses in Kims own country shouldnt be ignored. North Korea is arguably the worst human-rights-abusing government in the world today, so any dialogue with Kim Jong Un should not leave rights off the table, said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch. Pyongyang wants to be brought in from the cold by the international community, but there can be no glossing over its widespread use of forced and child labor, systemic suppression of free expression and civil society, and gulags holding tens of thousands in the mountains, he said. Advertisement Overall, around the globe where humans are suffering, especially in Vietnam, my hope is that the world would come to our rescue, said Sang Vo, 43, a produce seller from Sacramento. Freedom is not free. We must work toward it. anh.do@latimes.com Twitter: @newsterrier The mother of a gay black man who died in the West Hollywood home of Ed Buck has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the longtime Democratic donor, alleging he was a drug dealer who injected her son with a fatal dose of crystal methamphetamine. The lawsuit filed Tuesday by LaTisha Nixon, whose 26-year-old son, Gemmel Moore, died in Bucks apartment, also accuses Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey and Deputy Dist. Atty. Craig Hum of failing to prosecute Buck, 64, because he is white. For the record: An earlier version of this article referred to attorney Nana Gyamfi as Nana Gymafi. Lacey and Hums unconstitutional failure to act is reprehensible, and their misapplication of criminal justice has consistently failed the black community, Hussain Turk, an attorney for Nixon, said in a statement. If the dead body of a blond-haired, blue-eyed white man was found in the home of an older black man, hed be lucky to even make it to the police station alive, Turk said. Advertisement Bucks attorney, Seymour Amster, said in an email that he and his client categorically deny each and every allegation and look forward to litigating this matter in court. Amster previously told The Times that critics have unfairly used race to blame Buck for the deaths, saying some people who all of a sudden have media attention are trying to divide the races. Moore died of an methamphetamine overdose in Bucks Laurel Avenue apartment in July 2017. Another gay black man, 55-year-old Timothy Dean, died in Bucks home in January. Buck was present for both deaths, authorities said. Deans cause of death has not been released, and law enforcement officials have put a security hold on Deans autopsy. Amster said he died of an apparent overdose after ingesting a substance at another location. While the deaths have prompted homicide investigations by the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, Buck has not been arrested in either case. Prosecutors last summer declined to file charges in Moores death, citing insufficient admissible evidence. In the lawsuit, Nixon said that Buck preyed on black men and that he had solicited her son for sex numerous times. During the encounters, she alleged, Buck insisted on injecting Moore with crystal methamphetamine and then forced him to watch pornography and perform sex acts while intoxicated. LaTisha Nixon, with a photo of her son, Gemmel Moore, behind her, cries during a news conference announcing a petition with 30,000 signatures calling for the prosecution of Ed Buck. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) Multiple black men reported similar drug-fueled encounters with Buck, Nixon alleged. Advertisement Each of these young black men, many of whom were strangers to one another, independently described ... being forcibly injected with crystal methamphetamine by Mr. Buck, whom they alleged had a predatory and injurious system of soliciting black men and watching them cling to life while battling symptoms of methamphetamine toxicity, the lawsuit says. According to a Los Angeles County coroners report, investigators found multiple sex toys, syringes and clear plastic bags with suspected methamphetamine in a cabinet in Bucks living room after Moores death. Nixon alleged Buck was culpable for her sons death because he was a drug dealer who illegally supplied, marketed and distributed crystal methamphetamine to her son. The lawsuit accuses Buck of wrongful death, sexual battery, assault, hate violence and other crimes. Advertisement It accuses Lacey and Hum of violating Moores civil rights for not prosecuting Buck. The district attorney violated Moores 14th Amendment rights by failing and refusing to impartially prosecute white men, like Mr. Buck, who commit felonious crimes of narcotics possession and physical violence against black men, including Mr. Moore, the lawsuit states. Lacey is the countys first black district attorney. Critics some of them black activists who say she has failed them have called on her to take a tougher stance in prosecuting police officers who use force against civilians, particularly African Americans. Ed Buck can never fully compensate Gemmels mother and his family for hurting and killing Gemmel as we have alleged, but as a wealthy donor, it is only fitting that he take the funds he uses to influence politicians like Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey to atone for his crimes against Gemmel, Nana Gyamfi, an attorney for Nixon, said in a statement. The district attorneys office declined to comment on the lawsuit. Advertisement Since 2009, Buck has donated more than $520,000 for dozens of local, state and federal campaigns, including Laceys campaign for district attorney. Activists have questioned whether Bucks donations to primarily Democratic elected officials have protected him from arrest and charges. Nixon filed her lawsuit on the same day Color of Change, an online racial justice group, delivered a petition with 30,000 signatures to Laceys office. The petition called on her to help keep black LGBTQ communities safe in Los Angeles County by prosecuting Ed Buck. hailey.branson@latimes.com Twitter: @haileybranson Violence at times erupts with little warning inside Los Angeles Countys juvenile detention halls and camps. Thats what happened one February night two years ago as Edgar Arrondo then a senior guard at a sprawling facility in Sylmar walked a teenage detainee to a mental health evaluation. A rival gang member charged at the teen, ignoring Arrondos verbal warnings. The youths collided. A fight ensued. Without backup, Arrondo tried to break it up without using pepper spray because one juvenile might have been taking psychotropic medicine. He absorbed heavy punches. When a third youth joined the fracas, Arrondos head got slammed into a wall and then the floor, landing him in the emergency room with a concussion. He ultimately retired early from Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall. Advertisement I loved going to work and working with the kids, said Arrondo, who started with the countys Probation Department in 1990. But no job is worth me losing the ability to work and being so injured. Such reports have become increasingly common among the roughly 1,800 detention officers working inside the nations largest juvenile probation operation. As use of pepper spray has spiked in recent years, prompting recent calls for reform, so too have youth-on-staff assaults, newly released records show. Overall, the rate of assaults on guards more than doubled between 2015 and 2018, though slowed slightly in the past year, according to an analysis of data released by the Probation Department under the California Public Records Act. At both halls and camps, the assault rate per 100 juveniles rose by more than 120%. The findings validate concerns frequently raised by detention officers and their union leaders, who say tense and violent situations with juveniles have become more common one of the drivers, they say, of the rise in pepper-spray use that has prompted scrutiny from county leaders. The increase in assaults on staff, which Probation Department officials havent acknowledged publicly with statistics until now, occurred across numerous detention facilities that hold roughly 900 youths facing court proceedings or serving time after sentencing. This spike occurred even as the average population of detained youths declined significantly during that time and as the number of detention officers remained relatively constant, records show. The trend was driven by a large increase inside juvenile halls, the pre-adjudication facilities that house youths who have been recently arrested. The countys three densely populated facilities resemble jails and can be volatile places, where rival gang members at times encounter one another in tight quarters. Advertisement (Los Angeles Times) Between 2015 and 2018, the raw number of assaults on officers in juvenile halls jumped from 98 to 296. Taking into account the declining population of detainees, that translates into a rate increase of 254%. The rate of assaults inside the departments longer-term housing units, known as juvenile camps, climbed 59% from 2015 to 2018, according to county records. The eight camps, which house youths serving three- to nine-month sentences, have more of a barracks-style setting with programming for education, treatment and rehabilitation. The reason for the uptick in violence against detention officers isnt immediately clear. But the trend corresponds with a similar spike in incidents in which guards have doused youths with pepper spray, which is supposed to be a last-resort solution to halt trouble. Advertisement Last week,the Board of Supervisors voted to phase in a ban of pepper spray, prompting public comments by several officers about the conditions inside the facilities, where access by outsiders is strictly controlled. The officers said they needed the spray which advocacy groups say is inhumane for subduing unruly juvenile detainees. Over the past three years, Ive noticed an increase in violence, said Ricardo Garcia, a detention service officer with the county for a decade. Ive been assaulted six times in the last two years, including a few in the last four months. Two weeks ago, I actually got bit in the ear by one of our youth. The officers testimony was intended to convince the board that the department needed pepper spray to keep the facilities safe. Were overwhelmed, said Thomas Holland, another detention officer. We need help, and pepper spray needs to stay. Advertisement The pleas didnt work. After hearing from youth justice groups, the board asked Probation Department officials to craft a plan to phase out the spray as numerous other states have done by the end of the year, and to develop ideas for new disciplinary solutions. (Los Angeles Times) A recent report by the countys Office of Inspector General found that some officers have relied too heavily on the spray in recent years, using it as a primary option to restore order. The report also said that detainees who were sprayed werent allowed to properly or immediately decontaminate their eyes and skin, exacerbating their discomfort. Advertisement Use of the spray, as well as taunts and threats from guards, has contributed to an increase in tensions between officers and youths in county detention facilities, the report said. Sheila Mitchell, the chief deputy probation officer who oversees the departments juvenile division, said the department is writing a plan to stop relying on the spray with, she pledged, input from worried officers. In order to phase it out completely, we have to be very strategic in our approach, she said. Its about training. Its about having the staffing that we need. Mitchell noted that youth-on-staff assaults at halls and camps declined more than 9% from 2017 to 2018. Department officials also noted that most of those incidents didnt result in injury, and some involved inadvertent contact with staff during fights between detainees. Advertisement But to explain the uptick in violence in general, Mitchell said the departments efforts to divert more youths from detention facilities to supervision in outside residential settings has left a greater concentration of detainees with complex challenges, including a history of trauma and involvement in the child welfare system. RELATED: Dysfunction at juvenile detention centers is bigger than pepper spray, investigation finds Comprehensive statistics about the demographics and criminal histories of the hundreds youths inside the county facilities arent readily available. But a 2015 study by USC and Cal State Los Angeles said that about a third of the detainees had been arrested for a violent crime and many have had previous arrests. Serious incidents involving guards and youths typically prompt an official report detailing the event. Such records, which can be placed in a detainees file, generally are confidential. But The Times obtained one such report, detailing an incident on the evening of Feb. 14 at the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall. Advertisement A minor who had refused to take his medication grabbed a chair. After the youth ignored a warning, the officer moved to spray him, leading to a struggle over the canister, which fell to the ground, according to the report, which the department declined to discuss. In a separate report, another officer wrote that the youth choked the officer who had tried to use the spray. The incident ultimately involved the officers using physical force before tensions cooled. I provided my hand to [the juvenile] and helped him stand up. I informed [the juvenile] that everything was going to be OK and to remain calm, a guard wrote. No pepper spray was deployed. No handcuffs were applied. The detainee received medical treatment, but his condition was unclear. The report also doesnt state whether the youth faced consequences for placing his hands on the officers neck, as alleged in the report. Advertisement The incident is similar to the one that led to the early end to Arrondos career. The retired guard said the youths alleged defiance of authority on that night, as described in the incident report, exemplifies one of the biggest challenges faced by detention officers. That is especially true, he said, since the Board of Supervisors ended the ability to put unruly juveniles in solitary confinement three years ago. The minors would tell you, Theres nothing you can do to me, Arrondo said. They knew that there werent any negative repercussions for their behavior. In the latest round of a 25-year battle to save the California desert, House lawmakers approved a sweeping conservation bill Tuesday that designates more terrain for wildlife and off-roaders alike and sets the stage for a final signature by President Trump. The California Desert Protection and Recreation Act, which does not come with funding, completed efforts that Sen. Dianne Feinstein started in 1994 to resolve conflicts among conservationists, off-road vehicle riders, miners, cattle ranchers, hunters, military training grounds and renewable energy interests. The act, which was part of a package of conservation bills affecting states nationwide, creates 375,000 acres of new wilderness areas including rugged mountains, Joshua tree forests, dry lake beds and petroglyphs. It also designates 75 miles of waterways including White Water Creek in the San Bernardino Mountains as wild and scenic rivers. If signed by the president, the law would add 35,292 acres to Death Valley National Park and 4,543 acres to Joshua Tree National Park. It would also establish an 18,600-acre Alabama Hills National Scenic Area on the east side of the Sierra Nevada and an 81,800-acre Vinagre Wash Special Management Area in Imperial County. Advertisement A burro roams Death Valley National Park in an area that federal map makers have dubbed the bowling alley. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) These lands embrace overlapping ecological zones that are home to hundreds of plants and animals despite scant rainfall, withering heat and decades of mining, ranching and off-roading. Among the species that populate these lands are bighorn sheep, fringe-toed lizards, the desert tortoise and the federally endangered Amargosa vole, one of the rarest vertebrates on Earth. The act also makes permanent six existing off-highway vehicle, or OHV, sites covering more than 200,000 acres. The first national network of off-highway vehicle recreation areas includes Dumont Dunes, El Mirage, Rasor, Stoddard Valley, Johnson Valley and Spangler Hills. Plans call for expanding the boundaries of some of those areas. The Spangler Hills area east of the city of Ridgecrest, about 154 miles north of Los Angeles, for example, will grow by 30,260 acres, or about 49%. Ive been fighting for this for so long it seems almost too good to be true, said Randy Banis, a longtime advocate of the off-roading community. The overall health of the desert will improve, and codified OHV recreation will be more sustainable going forward. An off-roader rides in the Spangler Hills. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Those benefits came as a bittersweet surprise for some off-roaders in the rough and rocky Spangler Hills one of the few places left in the California desert where they can run free anywhere, anytime. Bill Stratman, 51, of Paso Robles, whose family and friends camp in the area on weekends before the summers heat bakes the earth, shook his head in disbelief and said, Youve got to be kidding me. Advertisement Its been sad over the years to see more and more signs going up across the desert that warn, Not for use by off-road vehicles, he said. So, this is incredibly good news. The act was co-sponsored by Sens. Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), and Reps. Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley), Juan Vargas (D-San Diego), Raul Ruiz (D-Palm Desert) and Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) and is the result of years of often contentious negotiations among elected officials, environmental organizations, business owners, veterans, faith leaders, historians, off-highway and RV organizations, rock hounds and tribal leaders. Feinstein took up the desert cause immediately after she joined the Senate in 1992. It was a time when critics said the Bureau of Land Management had, in many ways, failed to plan a balanced and sustainable future for more than 12 million acres of desert. Death Valley National Park ranger Jeremy Stoltzfus walks along Owl Hole Spring in the bowling alley, a narrow strip of land between the park and Ft. Irwin in the Owlshead Mountains. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Advertisement Concern over the potential for the permanent loss of wildlife habitat and wilderness spurred her California Desert Protection Act of 1994, which elevated Death Valley and Joshua Tree to national park status and created the 1.5-million acre Mojave National Preserve. In 2016, at Feinsteins request, President Obama broke through a logjam in Congress by acting unilaterally to create three new national monuments that expanded federal protection to 1.8 million acres of desert landscape: Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow and Castle Mountains. The California Desert and Recreation Protection Act required new rounds of negotiations and compromises, stakeholders involved in the process said. Off-roading advocate Randy Banis is pleased with the legislation. Ive been fighting for this for so long it seems almost too good to be true, he says. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Advertisement Ryan Henson, policy director of the California Wilderness Coalition, said the most painful compromise was the removal of wilderness study area protections from 126,000 acres of land in the Mojave Deserts Cady Mountains. (Los Angeles Times) Now, that land could be designated for possible uses including off-roading, Henson said. The word national was excluded from the titles of the six new OHV recreation areas to resolve complaints that it suggested the creation of a new layer of federal government authority. Also omitted were strict groundwater management policies and a study of the effects of climate change on fragile desert landscapes. Advertisement The language in Feinsteins proposal to protect the Alabama Hills was taken from a separate bill introduced in the House in 2014 by Cook as part of an effort to increase bipartisan support and improve its chances for passage. As a conservative Republican, I have significant differences with Sen. Feinstein on many issues, Cook said, and when I began working on the desert legislation five years ago, we were miles apart on what should be in this bill. However, political differences arent an excuse to quit, he added. Elected officials have a responsibility to govern, and we seized upon common ground between the two of us and worked outward from there. Motorcyclists ride in the Spangler Hills. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Advertisement The act drew mixed reactions from Virginia Cramer, spokeswoman for the Sierra Club. (Los Angeles Times) Overall, this is a massive net conservation gain born out of bipartisan compromise which in this Congress is as rare as it gets, she said. Of course, we will continue to be opposed to the use of off-road vehicles in sensitive wilderness areas. The new lands being absorbed by Joshua Tree National Park, which include 1,600 acres donated by the nonprofit Mojave Desert Land Trust and a forbidding strip of desert about 2 miles wide and 30 miles long at Death Valley National Parks southern boundary, cover dense forests of Joshua tree, desolate basins, sand dunes and year-round springs framed by serrated ridges. Advertisement Wildlife such as bighorn sheep come to the Death Valley region for its life-giving Amargosa River flood plain and migratory corridors linking the park with wilderness areas and Joshua Tree National Park, more than 200 miles to the south. Spring brings a dazzling riot of life to the Amargosa flood plain, said David Lamfrom, director of California desert and wildlife programs for the National Parks Conservation Assn. It becomes a sea of purple sand verbena flowers and minty scents buzzing with insects. On a recent cool, crisp morning, Jeremy Stoltzfus white SUV was the only vehicle in sight along a dirt road lined with creosote bushes and curious feral burros in the Death Valley area that federal map makers have dubbed the bowling alley. The road streaked between the barren flanks of the desolate Owlshead Mountains and the U.S. Armys sprawling desert training center at Ft. Irwin. Advertisement This is one of the most remote and least visited areas in all of Death Valley, Stoltzfus said as he brought his vehicle to an abrupt stop near a murky spring at the base of a hill that bristled with the remnants of a World War II-era manganese mine. Hiking out here means youre likely to be the only human being within a radius of 15 miles or more, he said. And thats what I love most about this place. A view of the expansion area from the Spangler Hills. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Louis.Sahagun@latimes.com Advertisement @LouisSahagun For her fall and winter 2019 womens ready-to-wear collection for Dior, artistic/creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri did a 180-degree pirouette away from last seasons soft, sea-of-beige, ultra-feminine apres-danse vibe, filling the runway with clothes that had a rebellious, subversive edge. Chiuri cited Teddy Girls the female counterpoint to the Teddy Boys (a British subculture of the post-WWII 1950s) as a specific inspirational starting point, describing them in the show notes as queens of a ravaged landscape impertinent characters with wild quiffs who wore Edwardian-style mens jackets with velvet scarves, ample skirts and black leather jackets. She also name-checked Princess Margaret as her rebel muse, noting that, in 1951, the royal opted for a dress by Dior instead of one by a British dressmaker for her official 21st birthday portrait photographed by Cecil Beaton. The resulting collection was dominated by a focus-pulling buffalo plaid that was used on jackets, belted blanket coats, fringe-hemmed mini-dresses, hooded pullovers and bucket hats that felt more street than runway. (Actually and maybe this is our New England roots showing the first thing that came to mind when that plethora of black-and-red checks came down the catwalk was hunting season.) The silhouettes were nearly all riffs on the wasp-waisted, round-shouldered, full-skirted Bar suit (a.k.a. the New Look) that earned Christian Dior wide recognition in the 50s, updated with a more accessible streetwear feel. Standout examples include a black, diamond-pattern-quilted skirt paired with a simple, strapless top of twisted tartan and a high-waisted skirt in menswear-suiting gray paired with this seasons manifesto T-shirt silkscreened with Sisterhood is Global in homage to the work of feminist poet Robin Morgan. (You may remember that Chiuris been serving up slogan tees since the dio(r)evolution and We should all be feminists T-shirts of her debut collection for the house.) Advertisement Looks from the Dior fall and winter 2019 runway collection presented during Paris Fashion Week. (Ian Langsdon /EPA / Shutterstock (left and second from left; Christophe Ena / Associated Press) Also keying into the subculture theme was a trio of black leather biker jackets. That may feel like a distinctly American symbol of rebellion, but Chiuri traces its inclusion here back to a version by Yves Saint Laurent for Dior, which had, in turn, been inspired by the French blousons noir, an underground culture here in the 50s and 60s. Adding to the casual, streetwear feel of the collection were the bucket hats accessorized every look. Some were served up in the aforementioned buffalo plaid (green-and-black as well as red-and-black), while others were done in denim or black leather or leopard spots. Some were embellished with wispy black veil, which gave them an elegant feel. One part of the collection that didnt seem to tie into the Teddy Girl / 50s subcultures inspiration at all but is worth mentioning nonetheless was a palm-tree Toile de Jouy design that gave a soupcon of aloha to wool jackets, short-sleeve button-front tops, denim skirts, red sequined skirts and diaphanous dresses. The buffalo plaid pattern was also deployed across a range of gauzy tulle dresses and skirts to surprising effect. It was as if, by redeploying patterns traditionally associated with heavy-duty, hard-wearing garments onto barely there, light-as-air fabrics, Chiuri has achieved a bit of the alchemy she often refers to in her show notes. Turning pedestrian plaids and Teddy Girl trappings into covetable luxury might not exactly be turning lead into gold but its darn close. adam.tschorn@latimes.com For more musings on all things fashion and style, follow me at @ARTschorn Southern Californias newest art museum? The Benton. Pomona College on Wednesday is expected to announce the Benton Museum of Art, which has a target opening of fall 2020. Designed by Machado Silvetti and Gensler, the $44-million museum was made possible with a $15-million gift from Janet Inskeep Benton, a 1979 graduate of the school. The college plans to begin relocating its Pomona College Museum of Art collection into the new building this fall. The original 1950s PCMA building, which will exhibit art through May 2020, has a small storage vault and would be difficult to renovate and make environmentally friendly, museum director Kathleen Howe said. We ultimately decided to create a purpose-built museum that would encompass all the programs that an academic museum provides to both the campus and the community, and the best way to do that was to start from scratch, she said. Advertisement The museum has a varied 14,000-object collection with deep holdings in a number of areas, Howe said, including Native American art, Italian Renaissance panel paintings and American photography from the late 19th century to the present. It doesnt collect in areas that are niches for its sister museums at other Claremont Colleges. So, for example, it doesnt collect ceramics or Asian art, which Scripps Colleges Williamson Gallery exhibits. Pomonas primary focus is contemporary art with an edge, Howe said, adding that James Turrell, Helen Pashgian, Peter Shelton and the late artists Marcia Hafif and Chris Burden are all alumni whose work is in the collection. James Turrells Skyspace, Dividing the Light (2007), on view at Pomona College. (Pomona College) The 33,000-square-foot Benton, which broke ground in late 2017, is on the edge of the Pomona College campus, adjacent to Claremont Village and near a Metrolink train station. The U-shaped museum will include a courtyard for events. This is a really exciting way for us to bring art to teaching and to students and to families, Pomona College President G. Gabrielle Starr said. It will truly serve not just the college community but the communities around here, the city of Pomona and areas all around Claremont, and that has us thrilled. Starr added that being on the edge of Los Angeles County speaks to the art museums long-held mission of existing on the fringes, of collecting and exhibiting boundary-pushing Southern California contemporary artists. Its really about art on the edge of whats possible, Starr said. And being on the edge of what it means to be responsible stewards of objects we have been given or will be given. A rendering of Pomona Colleges Benton Museum of Art, which will be on the edge of campus, adjacent to Claremont Village. (Pomona College) Advertisement Howe, who has been at the museum for 15 years, will retire in September. The museum will begin a national search for her replacement in a month, she said. Benton said her desire to help bring the new museum to life is deeply personal. Art is a passion of mine as an adult, something I didnt explore fully as a student, and selfishly Id love kids today to have more of an opportunity, she said. I think museums should be social centers on campus where students gather, talk, see visually interesting things, ask questions, compare notes. Its a mind-broadening experience in a very safe, accessible, not-intimidating environment. Thats my hope and dream. Screenshots of the original character and the superimposed one in the clip A classic Chinese drama clip whose heroins face was changed with that of another actress has gone viral, stirring a heated debate on AI-based image synthesis technology and the possible backlash it may face in the film industry. The changed actress face acts naturally in the clip, making it appear as if the performance was done by a different actress. The video was uploaded to Bilibili, a popular Chinese video sharing website. On Weibo, a popular Chinese social media platform, discussions regarding the video have attracted over 120 million views and more than 12,000 comments. Many people, though amused by the trick, saw it as a form of disrespect to the original actress, while others said that it violated her personality rights and maybe even invaded her privacy. I meant no malicious will against any actresses and I never expected that the clip would create such a heated discussion on social media. It was simply for technical exchange, not money, the clips producer, surnamed Xiao, told The Beijing News. Xiaos videos were inaccessible in Bilibili by press time. He posted an apology on his homepage for making the morphed videos, adding that he wants more people to be aware about how AI can change things such as faces before the technology brings more damage to public figures, should it be used for negative reasons. Though this was not the first time that such face-changing tricks have occurred in Chinese audiences sight, it is not a novel technique that comes out of nowhere. Deepfake, an AI deep learning technology, has long aroused international attention and criticism. In one instance, it was used to superimpose Gal Gadots face onto a porn film character, which created malicious hoaxes toward her acting career. The technology has also been used to misrepresent politicians, including Donald Trump, on some video websites. Major overseas social media sites such as Twitter have said that they will delete Deepfake content and block the publishers. Actor-comedian Rhys Darby, whos best known for his role in Flight of the Conchords, is ready to fly the coop in Studio City. His East Coast-inspired estate is up for grabs at $2.199 million. Thats around $300,000 more than he paid for it four years ago; records show he snatched it shortly after a remodel brought the 1940s home into the 21st century. Found in Colfax Meadows, a longtime favorite for Hollywood homebuyers, the two-story residence features coffered ceilings, light hardwood floors and paneled walls across 3,100 square feet. Advertisement On the main level, theres a foyer, a formal dining room, a living room with a glass-encased wine display and a center-island kitchen splashed with Calacatta marble. Five bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms round out the floor plan. Vaulted ceilings and a chandelier top the spacious master suite, which expands to a writers nook, a sleek bathroom and a wraparound balcony. A handful of outdoor spaces dot the landscaped grounds. A cozy porch overlooks a grassy yard in the front, and out back, a covered cabana and patio adjoin a swimming pool and spa. Michael Bergin of Compass holds the listing. A native of New Zealand, Darby began acting in the mid-2000s. In addition to Flight of the Conchords, in which he plays the bands manager, his film credits include Yes Man, What We Do in the Shadows and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. jack.flemming@latimes.com | Twitter: @jflem94 Highlighting the bipartisan pressure on President Trump in his trade dealings with China, lawmakers challenged Trumps top trade official Wednesday about the presidents tactics on tariffs and his authority to enact an agreement reached with China without congressional approval. During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said that the U.S. side is making real progress in talks with China, and he insisted that Trump had the executive power to implement a final deal on his own. We have no intention of submitting it to Congress, Lighthizer told Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), who took exception to that plan. Although there is bipartisan support for the administrations efforts to halt Chinas unfair trade practices, lawmakers have been divided about the increasing authority seized by the president on matters of trade. Some have expressed concerns about Trumps aggressive and shifting use of tariffs, while others have questioned the presidents resoluteness on his trade goals. Advertisement Lighthizer defended Trumps tariff strategy, saying that it had provided leverage to confront the Chinese as never before on its state-run discriminatory practices, including appropriating U.S. intellectual property and forcing firms to give up their trade secrets. Without revealing specifics, Lighthizer indicated that the administration was committed to securing major concessions from Beijing that are specific, measurable and enforceable by all levels of the Chinese government. Lighthizers appearance on the Hill came just three days after the conclusion of the latest round of high-level talks with the Chinese. Trump tweeted Sunday that U.S. negotiators made substantial progress on important structural issues, and announced he was putting on hold indefinitely his plan to escalate tariffs if no deal was reached by Friday. Trump said that he expected to meet with Chinas President Xi Jinping to conclude an agreement. But neither side provided details, fueling speculation that Trump may be so eager to cut a deal with China that he was prepared to act against the advice of his most trusted strategist on trade and walk away with only modest gains for the United States. On Wednesday, Lighthizer pushed back against that thinking. Even as he has advocated applying tough pressure on Beijing, Lighthizers remarks sought to dispel views of growing daylight between him and the president. Yet analysts and those close to the administration say it is difficult to know what Trumps endgame is with China. Although Trump has long talked tough on trade to the cheers of his working-class base of supporters, more recently he has appeared impatient about the pace of progress and has spoken about how he and Xi will have to get together to close a deal, probably next month at Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, he said. In the Oval Office on Friday, Trump publicly chided Lighthizer in front of Chinas trade delegation, complaining that he did not like the fact that Lighthizer was working on a memorandum of understanding with China, a common deal that is short of a formal binding agreement. Trump insisted that the two sides strike a contract, and Lighthizer quickly backed down and said he would seek a trade agreement, which may or may not require congressional approval. At the same time, Trump has shown little appetite for following through on his threat to raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports to 25% from 10%. Many economists and business analysts say such a hike in duties would probably be met with retaliation from the Chinese, escalating the trade war and risking a severe hit to investors, U.S. farmers and other key political constituents that are hurting after both sides imposed tariff increases last year. Advertisement Muddling the outlook further, Trump suggested he could cut some kind of arrangement on Chinese telecom giant Huawei, which is facing charges of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran, as part of a final trade deal with China. Trump may see Huaweis vulnerability as a bargaining chip, but there are legal processes involved in that case. Lighthizer and other Trump administration officials previously have stated that Huaweis problems are a separate matter unrelated to the trade negotiations. Lawmakers on Wednesday frowned on the possibility of Trump giving leniency to Huawei in exchange for concessions and a final trade deal. Lighthizer declined to comment on that prospect, saying such legal processes were beyond his expertise and purview. The latest from Washington More stories from Don Lee A second television journalist working for a U.S. media outlet was abducted and detained for several hours Tuesday in Caracas, Venezuela. The correspondent, Daniel Garrido, was later released. Garrido is the Venezuela correspondent for Telemundo, the Spanish-language network owned by media giant NBCUniversal. Telemundo said Tuesday that Garrido was grabbed by unidentified gunmen and driven to an undisclosed location. He was held for about six hours. The incident followed the Venezuelan governments detention of high-profile journalist Jorge Ramos and his Univision News camera crew for three hours Monday night. Ramos and his team arrived in Venezuela over the weekend, after securing an interview with embattled President Nicolas Maduro at the presidential palace. Midway through the interview, Maduro apparently objected to the interview tactics of Ramos, who is lead anchor for the Spanish-language network Univision. Ramos was deported and returned to Miami on Tuesday. His detention made headlines in the U.S., and Garrido was covering that story. Garrido approached the Hotel Cayena in the La Castellana section of Caracas on Tuesday about 7 a.m. Caracas time. Advertisement A group of unidentified armed men forced him into a vehicle and covered his head with a hood, Telemundo News said in a statement. After questioning him for six hours and seizing his equipment, the kidnappers freed him without explanation and without returning his equipment. Telemundo said it verified Garridos abduction with his family early Tuesday and began a search process. The Press Workers Union of Venezuela and the Committee to Protect Journalists denounced Garridos disappearance. Hours later, Garrido was released. He emailed the Telemundo News team in Miami to let them know that he was OK. Telemundo called him to verify his safety. It is not the first time that Daniel has been harassed during the exercise of his journalistic work, Telemundo said. On previous occasions, he has been a victim of physical harassment and his equipment has been stolen. The U.S. State Department became involved in the detention of Ramos, who is a U.S. citizen. On Tuesday, Ramos credited the U.S. government for its swift intervention. I really want to thank the U.S. State Department and the American Embassy in Caracas for making sure that we were protected and safe in Venezuela, Ramos wrote on Twitter. Their help was instrumental in our safe departure today from Caracas after being detained yesterday by the Maduro regime. Telemundo, for its part, decried this type of harassment that threatens freedom of expression and human rights. The company called on the Venezuelan government to guarantee the safety of journalists in Venezuela. meg.james@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @MegJamesLAT From the moment that President Trump nominated David Bernhardt to the No. 2 job at the Interior Department, it was clear that Bernhardt would come trailing clouds of conflicts of interest. Now Trump has nominated Bernhardt to be the top guy at Interior, succeeding the ethically-challenged former Secretary Ryan Zinke. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Wednesday shot off letters to the agencys ethics officers demanding an investigation of allegations that Bernhardt has lived down to his critics expectations of favors done for his former law clients. Its a timely demand; Bernhardts confirmation hearing hasnt yet been scheduled, but its imminent. Hes been serving as acting secretary since last month. As the acting head of a major government agency, it is incumbent upon Mr. Bernhardt to be held to the highest standards of ethical conduct. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal Advertisement The senators cited, among other things, Bernhardts opportunity to oversee Interior policies that directly affected his former clients, who paid his firm millions to lobby on their behalf. Among those clients is the vast Westlands Water District in Californias Central Valley. As my colleague Bettina Boxall reported way back in May 2017, Bernhardt sued Interior four times on behalf of Westlands Water District, the nations largest irrigation district personally arguing one appeals case challenging endangered species protections for imperiled California salmon. After taking office as deputy secretary, Bernhardt set right in with attempts to undermine the Endangered Species Act, as we reported in August. Shortly after his confirmation in 2017, Bernhardt submitted a list of 22 individuals and entities on whose cases he would have to recuse himself at Interior through mid-2018, typically because they were former clients at his former law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, which represents companies in the oil, gas, mining and agriculture industries. Yet environmentalists in the Midwest have alleged in a lawsuit that many of these former clients began receiving sudden and dramatic windfalls only months since his swearing-in as deputy. One former client is Cadiz Inc., the developer of a putative water storage project in the Mojave Desert that paid the Brownstein firm $2.75 million in lobbying fees and 200,000 shares of stock while Bernhardt was at the firm; Scott Slater, a Brownstein attorney, currently serves as the Cadiz CEO. Within months of Bernhardts confirmation, Interior withdrew legal rulings adverse to Cadiz, giving the water project a new lease on life despite years of findings that its essentially useless and environmentally damaging. The Independent Petroleum Assn. of America, another outfit on Bernhardts list, benefited when Interior took steps to revise government agreements protecting the sage grouse. Did Bernhardt have a hand in this action? The IPAA certainly seems to think so. In March it joined nine other oil and gas industry groups to thank Bernhardt personally. Then theres the Shasta Dam project. The Trump administration has been pushing hard for an enlargement of the Northern California dam despite the opposition of state officials and state law prohibiting the project. The expansion would come under the jurisdiction of the federal Bureau of Reclamation, which is part of Interior and therefore within Bernhardts authority. Who would this project benefit? Big water districts, notably Bernhardts former client, Westlands. Advertisement In their letter to Mary Kendall, the deputy inspector general at Interior, Warren and Blumenthal asked for an internal investigation of the role Bernhardt played in decisions affecting Westlands and whether he has complied with government rules on ethical conflicts in connection with the water district or any other ex-clients. They sent a similar letter to Scott de la Vega, Interiors designated ethics official, asking for copies of ethics determinations the agency has made about Bernhardts activities and for information about waivers he received allowing him to participate in meetings on topics that should be covered by his recusals. In both letters, the senators noted that as the acting head of a major government agency, it is incumbent upon Mr. Bernhardt to be held to the highest standards of ethical conduct and to avoid any appearance of impropriety. Obviously, this is all information the public needs to know. Even more, the Senate needs to know before it votes on Bernhardts appointment. As weve observed, the Trump Cabinet has been filling up on industry lobbyists appointed to oversee their former clients. Bringing all these connections into the open is long overdue, and Bernhardts tenure at Interior is a good place to start. 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. Addressing the Annual High-level Panel Discussion on Human Rights Mainstreaming on 25 February 2019, Sri Lanka said that having actively engaged in a number of inter-governmental processes and observing the overwhelming desire of the stakeholders to build consensus and collective outcomes over the last several years, it believed that the picture is not entirely bleak, and there is still hope that multilateralism can deliver despite challenges. Sri Lanka's Deputy Permanent Representative in Geneva Mrs. Samantha Jayasuriya stated so, speaking on the theme Human Rights in the light of multilateralism: opportunities, challenges and the way forward, during the ongoing 40th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Making further comments, Mrs. Samantha Jayasuriya said the high-level panel discussion came at a time when there were broader concerns on whether the UN multilateral system was able to respond effectively, to a rapidly changing global peace, security and development architecture. She noted that in the recent years, the multilateral outcomes reached through the Paris Climate Change Summit, the Marrakech Global Migration Compact, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to name a few, had taken a human centric approach, integrating human rights and transforming them into actionable commitments. She stressed, however, that it was time to take a critical look on how and what more could be done to improve UN multilateral processes. "The core principles and purposes enshrined in the UN Charter such as sovereign equality, non-discrimination and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms remained the guiding light in achieving international cooperation and addressing global socio-economic and cultural issues," she said, stressing further that the multilateral endeavors sould be; effective and timely in delivering responses; fair and objective in approach; enabling and equitable in impact or outcome. Mrs. Jayasuriya also referred to the Global Compact on Migration (GCM), noting that an instrument of a voluntary nature, the implementation of its elements largely rested in the hands of each sovereign Government. She further commented that given many of the contemporary issues that the world was grappling with being trans-boundary in nature, solutions to them also needed to be global, based on shared responsibility, exchanging experiences and best practices, technical know-how. She drew the attention of the high level panel to the proposed Global Knowledge Hub, the start-up fund, and the connection hub of the capacity building mechanism of the GCM, indicating they could only be effective if there was international support forthcoming in the interest of ensuring safe, orderly and regular migration. The proposed quadrennial voluntary reporting at the International Migration Review Panel of the UN General Assembly provided, in her view, a platform to gauge the collective progress in respecting the rights of all migrants irrespective of their legal status. Focusing on another key area in which multilatarism had played a pivotal role, she said "the panel focused on- climate change and its close nexus on protecting the human rights of affected people, she said when key stakeholders responsible for much of the carbon emission, stayed outside the climate regime, maintaining the less than 1.5 degrees temperature rise target had become a real challenge, and the full and effective enjoyment of human rights was at stake. Given that the negative impacts of climate change had risen in its magnitude and frequency, often reversing the hard gained socio-economic developments, Sri Lankas senior diplomat asked the Council on further measures that it could take to support countries, for their mitigation and adaptation efforts. She further inquired how the Rulebook for implementation of the Paris climate agreement, as endorsed at the COP 24 could make meaningful change in protecting the rights of the affected? Ms. Jayasuriya also referred to the presentation on new digital technologies and how it could help integrate human rights effectively, while agreeing that digital technologies could yield positive impact for the betterment of the mankind, bringing the world much closer- into one global village- through state-of-art technologies. She noted that interpersonal relations were taking different shape and dimension in the digital age. The Deputy Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka, highlighting the importance of ethical and rule-based use of digital technologies, particularly in an era that Artificial Intelligence (AI) was emerging to dominate every aspect of human life, with implications for human rights and international humanitarian law, posed a question to panelists on what form of control that humanity needed to have over Artificial Intelligence. The High-Level Panel was Chaired by H.E. Mr. Coly Seck, President of the Human Rights Council and comprised with three panellists; namely Ms. Deborah Greenfield, Deputy Director-General for Policy of the International Labour Organization, Ms. Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and Mr. Amandeep Singh Gill, Executive Director of the Secretariat of the Secretary-Generals High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation. H.E. Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, President of the 72nd session of the General Assembly, and Ms. Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and H.E. Ms. Laya Joneydi, Vice-President for Legal Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran made opening statements at the High-Level Panel. Full Statement Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka Geneva 26 February 2019 Photo via People's Daily With growing experience in overseas business operations, Chinese companies are not only marching overseas with their financial and technological muscles, but are serving as a key boost to the world economy. Last month in January, Chinese domestic investors conducted non-financial investments for 973 international enterprises in 137 countries and regions, totaling $9.19 billion. At the same time, Chinese enterprises implemented 30 cross-border merger projects, with actual gross merchandise volume topping $1.372 billion. More recently, on Feb. 13, Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturer BYD Group inked a $689 million contract with the local government of Brazils Bahia State to build the worlds first cross-sea rail in Salvador, the fourth largest city in Brazil. The rail transit project, which is expected to stretch for 20 kilometers, must meet a number of stringent technical goals. The track will provide the people of El Salvador with a low carbon and convenient and intelligent travel experience. It is also an important step for BYD to promote the revolution in global transportation, said Li Tie, manager of BYDs Brazil branch. In recent years, overseas mergers and acquisitions by Chinese companies have become more and more focused. In early January, Sinochem International, a subsidiary of Sinochem, successfully conducted an acquisition of special engineering plastics manufacturer Elix Polymers, a European manufacturer of customized ABS and ABS alloy materials for products like automotive, health care, consumer goods, and electronics. The acquisition is believed to help enlarge technology reserves and enrich the industrial chain for Sinochem. Today, Chinese companies are paying more attention to the invisible champions when they conduct overseas mergers and acquisitions, that is, those companies whose overall reputation is small but are in a leading position in their respective industries and have leading-edge technology advantages, said Cui Fan, a professor from the University of International Business and Economics. As more Chinese enterprises continue their efforts, the countrys Ministry of Commerce has said that it will continue to guide and encourage strong corporations with a good reputation to spread overseas so as to realize mutual benefits on the basis of market principles and international principles. With liberty, greatness can occur. As our president said, No force has done more to advance the human condition than American freedom. This freedom has allowed for innovation raising the standard of living throughout the world with advances in technology, health care, food production and communications. Although no one invented the internet, its first decades of development were here in the United States. With their freedom, our Founding Fathers developed new ideas of government, including a federalism with admission of new states on equal footing as prior ones and full freedom of religion (church and state were united elsewhere). Greatness of a country must include some sense of common purpose and ability to work together. Our politicians have been able to set aside differences to pass some consequential legislation. President Trump cited some of these. The First Step Act passed with strong bipartisan support, as did the 2019 farm bill, allocating $847 billion for American agriculture, major Veterans Affairs reforms, and a far-reaching legislative package combating the opioid crisis. Politicians set aside their differences in accomplishing the above measures. Surely each of us can do something concrete as well. Try something simple: At an unrelated event, change the subject from politics and focus on the people around you. He argues that our only choice is power-grabbing capitalism where the top 1 percent have more wealth than the bottom 90 percent. Many Americans do not share Trumps view. Seventy-four percent support a wealth tax and 70 percent support Medicare for all. Only 19 percent of young Americans identify as capitalists. Nordic countries have figured out how to have a healthcare system with higher life expectancy, much less poverty, and significantly higher overall life satisfaction. They have higher levels of entrepreneurship, because people know they wont lose their healthcare or plunge into poverty if they fail. Americans support a market economy, but with extreme hardship limited by a strong social safety net and abject poverty limited by progressive taxation. Trump may call this socialism, but the rest of the world calls this social democracy, as it tempers the excesses of runaway capitalism. Around 60 percent of Americas wealth is now inherited. As rich boomers expire over the next three decades, nearly $30 trillion will go to their children. After a few generations of this, almost all of the nations wealth will be in the hands of a few thousand non-working families. Meanwhile, most Americans are working harder, but getting nowhere and have less security than ever. The city of Lake Geneva and its citizens have had a love affair with the Riviera since the iconic structure was built in 1932. For several months, the City Council has been working on a plan to repair and reinvent the Riviera. The roof leaks. The bathrooms need to be handicapped accessible, and there are dozens of little fixes that are in need of some loving care. But this is an opportunity to do something more, something more ambitious, something special, too. The Riviera has gone through several reinventions over its lifetime from a venue for big bands during the 30s to a lively tavern that many current residents remember fondly. But now it often lies empty, save for weekend weddings and occasional civic events. Its discouraging to think that so many citizens have not even been in the Riviera. Its seen by too many as a structure thats only to be enjoyed by the few. Thats not how we want it. So, what can it be? Youll play a big part in deciding that. We want your ideas and we want your memories how you danced with your future wife or husband, for instance because those memories can also assist us in this re-visioning. In addition to owning an extensive library and a large collection of Lincolniana, Burton had another obsession. He possessed an extensive coin collection, which was considered by many numismatists to be the largest and most valuable coin collection in the United States. Burton had begun collecting coins in 1854 when he was only seven years old, and he continued to collect coins, most of which were rare and valuable, throughout his working life. Unfortunately, at the onset of the 20th century, Burton was forced to sell all of the books in his impressive library, his substantial collection of Lincolniana, and his superb coin collection in order to cover the devastating financial losses that he had incurred as an investor. Fortunately for posteritys sake, some of Burtons collection of Lincolniana was eventually purchased by the University of Chicago. Today it can be found in the Special Collections Department of the University of Chicagos Regenstein Library. Ironically, although his financial investments had made him a multi-millionaire many times over, at the end of his career, he was destitute and virtually penniless. He and his wife, Lucretia, were compelled to move from their mansion at the northwest corner of Madison and Wisconsin streets a block west to 224 Warren St., the home of their daughter, Bonnie Burton Denison, and her husband, the renowned educator, E.D. Denison. Its a character-driven play based on real events. Radium Girls follows Grace Fryer, played by sophomore Katie Monroe, a watch-dial painter who knows she is dying, as she fights for her day in court in 1926. Around her flows the lives of other girls as they deal with their own illnesses, as well as the local press, lawyers, crusaders and the owners of the U.S. Radium Corp. who are intent on proving that radium is not poisonous. There is no clear-cut villain here. The president of U.S. Radium, Arthur Roeder, played by junior Dan Rees, is not evil he is just naive and perhaps willfully ignorant. Dunlap said he saw the play performed at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater about three years ago. He said he went to the universitys theater department for tips on the stage design. As adviser, Dunlap said his job is to provide assistance to the drama club members, when needed. Essentially, the adviser keeps things organized, he said. Otherwise, the students select the play, run the auditions, work as stage crew, run the auditions and direct. Under Als guidance, the Dial-a-Ride program really took off. When the program began in early 2017, the combined ridership of both of our programs stood at 54 rides per day. This past October, that figure had risen to 145 rides per day. Al retired last year, and my assistant, Nicole Hill, currently serves as our mobility manager. One issue that she is studying is whether the program could be expanded by providing service on Sunday. Our transportation programs do not currently provide rides on Sunday. This issue was brought to the TCCs attention by a resident who was concerned about the ability of senior and disabled folks to get to church and other events on Sundays. While the idea certainly has merit, I urged the TCC to study the issue carefully before making a decision. Given the rapid increase in Monday-through-Saturday service, we need to be careful not to overwhelm the program. As a first step, we will be reaching out to area churches to discern the needs of their members and find out what some of them are already doing to transport their congregants. We will be soliciting written feedback, but I would also like to invite folks who may be interested in this topic to our April 1 Transportation Coordinating Committee meeting that will be held at the Government Center at 1:30 pm. Shore path: Walworth County Historical Society program on the Geneva Lake shore path, 3 p.m., Feb. 28, at Heritage Hall, 103 E. Rockwell St., Elkhorn. Free admission. Email walcohistory@tds.net or visit www.walcohistory.org. Blood drive: 1 to 6 p.m. March 1, Lake Geneva United Methodist Church, 912 Geneva St., Lake Geneva. Scholarship gala: Buckys Scholarship Gala, 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., March 1, Ridge Hotel, W4240 Highway 50. Cost $80 per person or $700 for a table of eight. Tickets at Badger High School main office or visit www.eventbrite.com. Solo and ensemble: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., March 2, Lake Geneva Middle School, solo and ensemble music festival featuring performances from students across the Lake Geneva region. Free and open to the public. Jazz Night: Badger High School Jazz Night 7 p.m., March 2 at Badger High School auditorium. The event will feature the Badger Jazz Ensemble and Chicago musician Bob Larks. Special guest will be drummer Duffy Jackson. Tickets are $5 per person. Registration is underway for La Jolla Presbyterian Churchs inaugural mental health summit, themed Sunrise of Hope, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 9 on the church grounds at 7715 Draper Ave. The event will feature keynote speakers, breakout topics with professionals, food and more. The keynote speaker is Saddleback Church co-founder Kay Warren, a Christian author and advocate for those living with mental illness. As a mother who has dealt with depression and suicide in her own family, Warren will share her experiences and insights during two presentations. Attendees will also have an opportunity to select a professional-led breakout session. Topics to choose from include depression; anxiety; suicide prevention training; mental health for children, adolescents and parents; addiction; mental health; two PTSD panels, one is traumatic stress and the other diagnoses and treatment in military vets; rendering aid; schizophrenia; postpartum depression; and bi-polar disorder. Created by La Jolla Presbyterian Church Pastor Scott Mitchell and his wife Laura, the summit will be rooted in faith-based practices and speakers, but is open to the entire community. While the idea for the event was crystallized three years ago, for the Mitchells, the concept of mental health awareness goes way back. Laura explained: Our children have both struggled with different things: one was in elementary school and struggled with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome; and the other was in their freshman year of high school and struggled with depression and has since been diagnosed as bi-polar. Watching their daughter overcome her struggles and become a voice for others, Laura said, was inspiring. She was so open and real and raw, it gave us the permission to do that as well. As a pastors family, you live in a fishbowl and you want to protect your family, but you have to be vulnerable and share what youre going through. People relate to those going through the journey. Bringing this background to the forefront, Laura said God spoke to her three years ago about how she could take her experiences and use them to help others. I had this vision, she told La Jolla Light. Every detail of a one-day summit on mental health was so clear. And one particular detail that was strikingly clear was having speaker Kay Warren participate. She lost her son to suicide a few years ago and has a huge following, Scott said. So right away, we knew we needed to get her. We went up to a three-day event in Orange County that Warren organized, and the people speaking were dealing with issues such as schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder. These people were dealing with these illnesses and yet they were succeeding. It was a hopeful realization. You can grow and live well! We hope that at our summit, she will convey how to live with these issues and live victoriously. He added it took a year-and-a-half to coordinate schedules to get Warren as the speaker. From there, the Mitchells found experts nearly all of whom are faith-based on a variety of topics for the breakout sessions. Weve had speakers on mental health at different events, and by and large, they spent the lions share of the time speaking from a clinical perspective, Scott said. One man addressed faith in a very approachable way. Anyone who attends this summit is going to find a host of things to help them ... its not going to be evangelizing, we want to give hope. One of the speakers is a San Diego County medical officer. It is not just for those struggling, but those whose loved ones are struggling, Laura added. As a mama of a daughter (with mental illness), it can be difficult to see your loved ones going through pain. But were trying to reach both sets of people anyone and everyone is welcome. A GoFundMe page has gone live to raise an additional $500,000 to fund The Map installation in La Jolla Shores. As of Tuesday morning, the crowd-sourcing page had raised $2,325 toward its goal. The original pricetag was $275,000 and was jointly funded by the Walter Munk Foundation for the Oceans and Friends of La Jolla Shores. The additional cost comes after plans were announced to expand the original Map project and rename it The Map of the Grand Canyons of La Jolla Educational Plaza. Some of the new features include a plaza with The Map, a 3-D bronze casting depicting the underwater topography of the so-called Grand Canyons of La Jolla (off the coast of La Jolla Shores), interpretive panels, landscaping, fencing and a newly paved walkway. The location will be within Kellogg Park in La Jolla Shores. The Map was intended to be constructed and installed by spring of this year, but was postponed in light of oceanographer Walter Munks passing earlier this year. Part of the reason Friends of La Jolla Shores wanted to install The Map in spring was so Walter could see it, Friends of La Jolla Shores member Terry Kraszewski told the La Jolla Shores Association in February. Now that that sense of urgency is not there, there are some additional educational components we would like to include, and push the installation to fall of this year. Using the LithoMosaic process artist Robin Brailsford invented, The Map includes small tiles pieced together to create mosaics of the marine life found out at sea off the coast of La Jolla Shores as an educational display, and uses different shades of blue to represent the different ocean depths. In total, there are almost 450,000 tiles that make up the entire installation. This is Walters legacy, Kraszewski told La Jolla Light. He was really so (enthusiastic) about this project. It depicts what he spent his life looking at, starting when he first came to Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It was so important for him to have people learn what is under the water and why this area is so special. This is his Foundation and this is the first of many projects that the Foundation will carry out that reflects his interests. According to the GoFundMe page, partners in the project include the San Diego Parks & Recreation Department, California Coastal Commission, Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists and researchers, Birch Aquarium Education Department, Ocean Discovery Institute, Kumeyaay Bands, Marine Protected Area representatives, lifeguards, surfers, scuba divers, and local merchants among others. Donations of $500 and above will be acknowledged on site. For more information, click here Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (Photo/People's Daily Online) GUIYANG, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- China plans to help control desertification along artery roads in eight Central Asian and African countries, a senior forestry official said Tuesday. Discussions are underway as China expects the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to apply for the Chinese investment of about 2 million U.S. dollars within the country's fund to support South-South cooperation, said Zhang Jianlong, director of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. China is also compiling a list of desertification technologies and demands for Belt and Road countries as part of its efforts to promote international prevention and treatment of desertification, Zhang said at a UNCCD meeting held in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province. China has achieved remarkable progress in desertification control over the years by launching major ecological projects, including the Three North Shelterbelt Project (or Sanbei Shelter-forest Project) and the project of turning marginal farmland into forests. A recent NASA research shows that China and India account for one-third of the Earth's greening during the past two decades, an area equivalent to the Amazon rainforest. "The economic loss due to land degradation is estimated at 1.3 billion dollars a day. Every minute, 23 hectares of land are being degraded," said UNCCD's Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw, calling for worldwide efforts to conquer the "cancer of the Earth" that is affecting more than 1.5 billion people worldwide. Established in 1994, the UNCCD aims to improve the living conditions for people in dryland and achieve a land-degradation-neutral world consistent with the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. A whopping 14 candidates three current trustees running for reelection and 11 new hopefuls are running to fill 10 La Jolla Community Planning Association (LJCPA) seats up for grabs in the upcoming election, 3-7 p.m. Thursday March 7 at the La Jolla Rec Center, 615 Prospect St. Six are three-year terms, one is a two-year term, and three are one-year terms. The dozen-plus had the opportunity to introduce themselves and their priorities during the Feb. 7 LJCPA meeting. Biographies will be posted on lajollacpa.org Here is an abridged version of the candidate statements given (in alphabetical order): Eamon Callahan: Im fairly new to La Jolla (my wife and I) moved here from Rancho Santa Fe. At that time, I was on the Rancho Santa Fe Association board of directors, basically doing the same thing as this committee. I have a good background, but admit Im not as qualified as some of the other people running, but I have a new look on things. There are a lot of similar problems, between Rancho Santa Fe and La Jolla; the biggest problem we had was billionaires who wanted to do whatever they wanted to do. Michael Costello (running for re-election): I started coming to these meetings in 1989. Ever since, Ive done more and more with the organization. ... In 2006, I started on Development Permit Review Committee and it was a very good experience. The nice thing about these organizations is we have a La Jolla Community Plan, and my heart is in keeping with compliance to the Community Plan and the Citys Municipal Code. When there is some sort of conflict between the neighbors and the (building permit) applicant, these meetings provide the perfect forum for taking away that rub and smoothing it out. Thats where these organizations really shine. Dan Courtney (running for re-election): I ve been on the CPA for 10 years. 20 years ago, I got involved with La Jolla Shores Association and was chair for one year and I was on the La Jolla Town Council for four years. What I try to do is look at things with a sharp eye, try to look out for the interests of the community. We have a beautiful place and we need to be careful to protect it. Tony Crisafi: My experience with the community groups is 22 years as a member of either La Jolla Shores Permit Review Committee or La Jolla Development Permit Review committee. I chaired one or the other for 14 years. I would offer, as an architect and member of these sub-committees, my background in architecture to view land use and land-use issues brought from the City to LJCPA. I believe as trustees we should have knowledge of the Citys general plan and the La Jolla Community Plan and apply related policies evenly to those items before the community groups. Dolores (Dede) Donovan: I think Im second for the longest time in La Jolla, at 61 years. I am running for my second term on LJCPA. I have been on La Jolla Shores Association since 2011 (with the exception of one year), I serve on the La Jolla Shores Advisory Board, and have served on the Permit Review Committee, so I am very familiar with the planning rules and regulations. My role on the CPA would be one that fosters civility because I dislike some of the warfare people engage in ... Id make sure the CPA is conscious of considerations of maintaining existing neighborhood character. Jim Fitzgerald: I am a 30-year resident of La Jolla and a retired businessman. Im running because I know from past experience how important and what impact land-use decisions can have on the quality of life in the community. I served previously as a trustee and as chair of the Planned District Ordinance committee. Ive demonstrated the ability to be balanced in my judgements; I respect the integrity, the process and the rules by which we govern, and Ive always tried to see that those rules were applied equitably and fairly, without impartiality to anyone that has come before this body. John Fremding: I might be the newest guy here, I moved to La Jolla four-and-a-half years ago. I have a degree in environmental design and had a design studio in Pasadena for 30 years and did a lot of historic preservation. What I would like to see preserved here, is the best of the best, and the best of the new. In Bird Rock, I have witnessed the 50-percent rule and it is a joke. It is totally misunderstood, so I would like to work on that. Down the line, I would like to see La Jolla become a separate City. Ted Haas: Im a La Jolla resident of 67 years and practiced law, especially aviation law, so I am sensitive to the airplane noise issues we are now experiencing. I do some volunteering (as a docent on the USS Midway and delivering Meals On Wheels), so I have some community experience, not this kind, but I look forward to having a chance to serve in this capacity. Cindy Hazuka: I moved here from the Bay Area seven years ago. I have an engineering undergrad and Ph.D. in biology, and spent about 15 years as a research scientist. Ive never been involved in a community planning group before, but Ive been coming to these meetings for six months. Ive learned how decisions are made here and how they impact the community. Id love to get involved and make sure decisions that are made are the right ones for the right reasons. I have a steep learning curve, but Im up to the challenge. Dave Ish: Im concerned about La Jollas residential and commercial neighborhoods and how theyve been impacted by out-of-scale development that stretches, in my opinion, past the intent of the Community Plan, and against what the citizens want. We need to put planning back in the Community Planning Association, along with the very important project review process. I would listen to residents and business owners most impacted by development. Their rights, along with the Community Plan, would determine my vote. (One of) the issues Id like to see resolved is clarification of the 50-percent rule. Greg Jackson: Unlike everyone else who has spoken, Im a relatively new La Jolla resident. The purpose of the LJCPA, I think, is about conflict management and goals. In focusing on decisions one by one, its easy to lose sight of goals and principles. So we need to strike a balance between long-term thinking and the endless series of problems to be solved and decisions to be made. Tensions between long-term and ad-hoc approaches, difficulty agreeing on principles, the risk that exceptions become policy and constant negotiations, are all things Ive dealt throughout my career and I think will serve this committee well. Nancy Manno was not in attendance, but a statement was read for her: Nancy Manno is a La Jolla resident since 1974, a member of the La Jolla Historical Society and former member of LJCPA for six years. She has administrative experience and was often an evening voice on what happened at LJCPA. She is committed to serving the community. Kathleen Neil: La Jolla is my home and I love it. I walk around almost every day. I started attending LJCPA meetings in the mid-1990s and have attended regularly since then, Ive also attended City Council meetings. Like other trustees, I believe individuals have a responsibility to their communities and to their families, I believe in volunteerism and community involvement. If I am chosen, I will focus on adding my efforts to keeping La Jolla an open and vibrant community. Glen Rasmussen (running for re-election): Im a native San Diegan and La Jollan since 1972, Im a practicing attorney and most of my practice is in the area of property law. I learn a lot about land use while Im here because I listen to what everybody has to say. There are excellent candidates on the slate this year, and you cant go wrong voting for any of them. I do my best to make the best decision for the community. Two cases of assault reported in La Jolla Police are reporting two unrelated cases of assault that have taken place in recent weeks: one in the UC San Diego area and the other near The Childrens School. The first involved a male suspect attempting to stab paramedics with medical shears while being transported to a hospital at 2:21 p.m. on Feb. 15 on the 8200 block of Gilman Drive. During the struggle, the suspect spat on the paramedics and also attempted to bite them, said San Diego Police communications officer Billy Hernandez. Once at the hospital, the suspect also became physically uncooperative with officers and resisted arrest. He was booked into San Diego County Jail for assault, battery on emergency personal and resisting arrest. Three days later, at around 11 a.m. on the 2300 block of Torrey Pines Road, a victim was shoved for stopping traffic to help a car back out of a driveway. Hernandez said: The victim stopped traffic while the vehicle backed up. A driver of one of the (stopped) vehicles got inpatient and began cursing at the victim. The suspect approached the victim and pushed him, causing him to fall and injure his wrist. The suspect fled the scene prior to police arriving. Police Blotter Feb. 11 Residential burglary, 7900 block Via Capri, noon Feb. 13 Residential burglary, 7900 block Costebelle Way, 6:52 p.m. Feb. 14 Residential burglary, 5200 block Ocean Breeze Court, 5 p.m. Vehicle break-in/theft, 3200 block Caminito Eastbluff, 6 p.m. Feb. 17 Misdemeanor vandalism, 8600 block Villa La Jolla Drive, 12:54 a.m. Grand theft (over $950), 8600 block Villa La Jolla Drive, 2 a.m. Shoplifting, 7500 block Eads Ave., 8 p.m. Vandalism (less than $400), 9300 block La Jolla Shores Drive, 8 p.m. Feb. 18 Manufacture of controlled substances without license, 2000 block Avila Court, 10:14 p.m. Feb. 20 Vehicle break-in/theft, 8500 block La Jolla Shores Drive, 11:30 a.m. Fraud, 3300 block Via Alicante, 1 p.m. Fraud, 700 block Sapphire Street, 5:30 p.m. Feb. 21 Vandalism ($400 or more) 7500 block Eads Ave., 1:37 a.m. Vehicle break-in/theft, 8800 block Villa La Jolla Drive, 5 p.m. Feb. 22 Vandalism ($400 or more), 6000 block La Jolla Blvd., 8 p.m. Feb. 23 Petty theft, 7100 block Eads Ave., 1:40 p.m. Vandalism ($400 or more), 5400 block La Jolla Blvd., 11 p.m. Feb. 24 Disorderly conduct: Alcohol, 1000 block Turquoise St., 3:18 a.m. Compiled by Ashley Mackin-Solomon from San Diego Police Department reports More than 30 volunteers from Casa de Manana half of whom were residents, half employees picked up trash left south of Seal Rock on Friday, Feb. 22. It was part of the retirement communitys first joint cleanup effort with the San Diego Coastkeeper outreach organization. We brought Coastkeeper in last year to talk about what they do, said Casa de Manana executive director Justin Weber. Beach cleanups came up and I told them we had been wanting to organize an official one for some time. Some staff and residents come out on a daily basis to pick up trash, Weber explained, but this is the first time were doing it in an official way. At 3:30 p.m., the Casa crew gathered in front of the Childrens Pool flag and set out with trash-grabbers, rubber gloves and plastic trash bags provided by Coastkeeper. (The bags were not biodegradable but, according to Coastkeeper, are provided by a local apparel company and reused several times each.) Sometimes I get so upset about the plastic situation killing our animals, said 91-year-old Casa resident Billie Sieg. They find whales full of trash and its terrible because we are so accustomed to using plastic. Like most residents, Sieg chose not to descend the stairs to the beach, keeping to the bluff and trails above. Still, all found the garbage-picking plentiful. According to Coastkeeper, 50 pounds was collected during the 90-minute event. Actually, theres a little more than I thought there would be, said resident Ellen Mason, 76, as she opened her bag to reveal an empty Lunchables container, several cigarette butts and a plastic hygiene product. The beach shouldnt be sending all this crap out to have the fish eat and die or what have you, said Dudley Hartong, 88, as he glanced inside Masons bag. Coastkeeper conducts twice-monthly cleanups at different spots along the San Diego coast. In 2018, according to the organization, 8,864 of its volunteers removed 164,868 items of trash (weighing 11,530 pounds) during these events. The most common item found by the Casa crew lines up with the most common one found by San Diego Coastkeeper last year: cigarette butts. Theyre not only a litter issue, but a water-quality issue, said San Diego Coastkeeper programs director Kristin Kuhn. Once the plastic filters get out into the water, they reverse-leach a lot the material trapped inside them. Research conducted in 2009 by San Diego State University Public Health professor Rick Gersberg showed that one cigarette butt in a liter of seawater will kill all fish in that water within 96 hours. When one Casa resident wondered why people should enjoy smoking so much on the beach in this day and age, it was explained to her that these butts made their way there through storm drains after the recent rainstorms. If you throw a cigarette butt out of your car three miles from the coast, Kuhn said, it gets here. Weber said he hopes to make the joint cleanup a regular event. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, Mayor Eric Garcetti and councilmembers Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Curren Price gathered at the California African American Museum last week to discuss a new report on homelessness among black people. The study said that although African-American people comprise just 9% of the population of Los Angeles County, they make up one-third of the homeless population. In this Feb. 23, 2019 file photo, Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari leaves after casting his vote in his hometown of Daura, in northern Nigeria. AP People burn firecrackers to celebrate after Indian authorities said their jets conducted air strikes on militant camps in Pakistani territory, in New Delhi, India, February 26, 2019. Reuters US President Donald J. Trump (L) talks with Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China Liu He (R) during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 22 January 2019. EPA-Yonhap By Catherine Wong Washington and Beijing remain divided over the U.S.'s demand that China make structural changes to its economy, analysts say, despite the trade war truce's being extended. U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday that "substantial progress" had been made on intellectual property protection, technology transfer, agriculture, services and currency, after negotiators wrapped up two days of extended talks in Washington. Trump also said he would push back the March 1 deadline for a boost in US tariffs on more than US$200 billion of Chinese goods, and that he would soon meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida "to conclude an agreement". China also offered to buy an additional 10 million metric tonnes of American soybeans during the latest round of talks, according to US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. Trump's upbeat assessment of the trade war negotiations was echoed by China's official news agency Xinhua, which also reported "substantial progress" in the talks but said in a commentary that the two countries remained at odds over some issues and that new uncertainties could emerge. US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China Liu He participate in a US-China trade talk meeting in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 21 January 2019. EPA-Yonhap Brock Silvers, managing director of Kaiyuan Capital, said despite the truce extension, the US would be unlikely to stop pushing for structural changes to China's economy. "Those issues have always been at the core of US demands," he said. "Yet the ongoing difficulties therein can't obscure that the [two] parties have made progress on a variety of issues. Trump has reasonably decided that such progress warrants a ceasefire extension." Silvers also said it was "surely no coincidence that the extension was announced just prior to important talks in Hanoi between Trump and North Korea's Kim [Jong-un], in which the US would greatly benefit from Chinese cooperation". "After the US-North Korea summit, look for China and the US to re-engage in difficult discussions over still unresolved structural trade issues," Silvers said, referring to the second summit between Trump and Kim held in Hanoi this week. In one of his tweets on Sunday, Trump not only called the trade talks in Washington "productive" but also said the Chinese president "has been very helpful" over his upcoming meeting with the North Korean leader. A man and a woman walk past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. Most Asian share benchmarks are lower as a rally spurred by the Trump administration's decision to hold off on increasing tariffs on imported Chinese goods fades. AP-Yonhap By Nam Hyun-woo New Korea Trading Corp. CEO Hong Kwang-hee will lead the Korea Importers Association (KOIMA) as its new chairman, the association said Wednesday. During its regular meeting in Nonhyeon-dong, KOIMA appointed Hong, 55, as its 21st chairman, replacing Shin Myoung-jin. Hong had served as vice chairman under the outgoing chairman and his predecessor. He also headed KOIMA's trade and foreign investment research centers. "I would like to express my admiration for the achievements of KOIMA in the past five decades and will do my utmost to nurture trade specialists who can pave the way for Korean importers in the next 50 years," Hong was quoted as saying to KOIMA officials. KOIMA was established in 1970 to represent traders importing various goods to Korea. It has 8,000 members and also works as a platform linking overseas exporters to Korean buyers. Rangers strek through snow to save wildlife. (Photo: Zadoi County government) Carrying a bundle of straw on his back and trekking through knee-and even waist-high-deep snow, Karma and other local rangers brought fodder to starving wildlife in Zadoi County, one of the worst blizzard-hit areas in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest Chinas Qinghai Province. The blizzard affected one city and five counties in Yushu. No casualties have been reported, but more than 21,000 livestock are reported dead. Wild animals in the Sanjiangyuan (Three-River-Source) area, such as white-lipped deer and bharal, also known as Himalayan blue sheep, are also threatened. Despite their own difficulties, the locals didnt forget about the wildlife. The local government has earmarked 300,000 yuan (around $44,400) to buy and transport feed for rare animals living in the region, Li Xiaonan, director of the Administration for the National Park of Sanjiangyuan, told Xinhua. The administration has set up 17 fodder sites spanning over 40 km along the roads frequented by wildlife in the county. Around five tons of fodder are sent to the sites every day. On his way up the mountain, Karma came across a white-lipped deer trapped under heavy snow and unable to move. Karma and his team quickly came to its rescue, digging the deer out of the snow and feeding it with grass. The deer slowly stood up and regained its strength. The administration has organized 65 times of rescue work in 18 days so far, placing over 6,000 bales of fodder. The rangers have rescued over 400 bharals, 150 deer, and 20 Tibetan gazelles. Hyundai Motor CEO Lee Won-hee, left, poses with other executives during the launching event of the Genesis G90 sedan at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, Nov. 27, 2018. Yonhap By Nam Hyun-woo Hyundai Motor will invest 45.3 trillion won ($40.53 billion) in research and development for new cars and future mobility technologies over the next five years, the automotive giant said Wednesday. The company also set a goal of reaching 7 percent in operating margin and 9 percent in return on equity by then, marking the first time that the company has suggested a tangible operating goal to investors. In a presentation to investors and analysts on Yeouido, Wednesday, Hyundai Motor CEO & President Lee Won-hee announced the company's mid- and long-term investment plan containing such details. "We will continue making efforts to maintain our stable financial structure and recover our competitiveness and profitability," Lee said. Under the plan, the carmaker will earmark 30.6 trillion won for its R&D. Of them 20.3 trillion won will be used for developing new cars and 10.3 trillion won will be improving its manufacturing facilities. Most of the new car budget will be used for SUVs and luxury cars. With the investment, the company plans to increase the number of Hyundai Motor and Genesis SUV models from four in 2017 to eight next year. Also, the company seeks to raise its Genesis brand's U.S. market share to 4.8 percent this year, up from 1.6 percent last year. For future mobility technology, the company will invest 14.7 trillion won. Of that, car sharing and smart mobility sectors will occupy 6.4 trillion won, vehicle electrification will take 3.3 trillion won and autonomous driving will receive 2.5 trillion won. The remainder will be used for other research fields. By doing so, Hyundai Motor said it will enhance its existing partnerships with mobility service firms across the world and seek other innovative business opportunities, which can bring synergy between manufacturer and service provider. The company will debut an electric vehicle platform next year which can be used for various electric vehicles and operate a pilot project of robot-taxi in Korea by 2021. "The car industry is now facing the first paradigm shift in a century, and it is time to seek fundamental improvements at the very root of the business," a Hyundai Motor official said. Lee expected the investment will allow the company to reach its goal of operating margin and return on equity standing at 7 percent and 9 percent, respectively, by 2022. Hyundai Motor's return on equity has been declining from 18.6 percent in 2013 to 1.9 percent last year. Lee also pledged that the company will continue efforts to improve shareholder value. Hyundai Motor posted disappointing earnings last year, but kept its dividends the same as 2017 at 4,000 won per share. Following that, the company share's payout ratio rose to 70.7 percent last year to 26.8 percent in 2017. "By expanding investments, we will build the fundamental for sustainable growth," Lee said. "Also, we will enhance shareholder value through various measures, to achieve those goals early." KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu, left, shakes hands with Saudi Telecom Company (STC) Group CEO Nasser Al Nasser after signing a memorandum of understanding during the Mobile World Congress trade fair in Barcelona, Wednesday. / Courtesy of KT By Baek Byung-yeul KT has teamed up with Saudi Telecom Company (STC) to improve telecommunications infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and co-develop new technologies, a move designed to expand its reach in the Middle East market, the firm said Wednesday. The two firms signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) trade fair in Barcelona. KT said its Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu and Nasser Al Nasser, CEO of STC Group, attended the ceremony. With the partnership, KT and STC will cooperate to upgrade fixed-line and mobile networks in Saudi Arabia and collaborate to launch smart city, smart media and next-generation telecom services. Collaborating with STC, KT plans to export its information and communications technology (ICT)-based services such as GiGA Wire high-speed internet service, GiGAeyes visual security service, fifth-generation (5G) network service, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) services and big data service to the Middle East region. STC is the state-run telecom firm. As the largest telecom operator, it had 3.17 million fixed-line subscribers and 20.5 million mobile subscribers as of 2017. The firm also has been providing wireless services in other countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait and Turkey. Hwang said cooperation with STC would help the Korean firm secure new markets. "Through the cooperation between the two companies, we will be able to create new markets, increase customer convenience and lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution and innovation," he said. The CEO of STC Group said he hopes cooperation between the two firms will expand not only in Saudi Arabia but across the Middle East. KT said it is hoping to export its GiGA Wire service to the Middle East as the high-speed internet service has been recognized around the world. KT has exported the service to many countries including the United States, Turkey, Malaysia and Botswana. The GiGA Wire service is a technology that can provide internet connection speeds up to 1 Gpbs (gigabits per second) with a copper telephone line. KT said it is low-cost and suitable for environments where optical fiber cannot be deployed as the service doesn't require additional optical cables. Using the service, KT is trying to forge alliances with many countries. Last October, the firm successfully demonstrated its GiGA Wire service in Cairo, Egypt. By Choi Sung-jin Friday marks the 100th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement. A century ago that day, millions of Koreans, men and women of all ages, began to shout hurray for the independence of their country from the Japanese colonial rule. In retaliation the colonialists killed more than 5,000 and wounded 10 times as many, according to official records. The nationwide protest showed the world that Koreans wanted to run their own country, in contrast to the Japanese propaganda. It led to the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai on April 11, 1919, and served as the catalyst for anti-imperialist uprisings throughout the world, including the May 4 Movement in China the same year. This year's celebration of March 1 will likely carry additional significance. Not only because it is the centennial anniversary but because it comes as the relationship between South Korea and Japan is the worst it's been since the two neighbors normalized relations in 1965. Ostensibly, the bilateral ties have kept aggravating because of a recent series of diplomatic disputes, including the Supreme Court's ruling on wartime forced labor and the confrontation between a South Korean warship and a Japanese patrol plane in the East Sea. Underneath all these, however, are antipathy and emotional hostility against each other rooted deeply among Koreans and the Japanese. As Koreans see it, the Japanese are brazen and unrepentant people who would not recognize their historical wrongs and seek to return to their militarist past under all pretexts. For Japanese, Koreans do not abide by international treaties and demand Japan's apologies almost perennially. Some diplomatic watchers find a reason in the different ideological traits of their leaders liberal South Korean President Moon Jae-in vs. conservative Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Considering the bilateral relationship was not good even under the conservative former President Park Geun-hye, however, South Korea and Japan appear destined to bicker with each other for the foreseeable future. Some historians also try to find the cause in the different national characters of Koreans and Japanese. They say while the Japanese people try to stick to promises or agreements, even wrong ones, Koreans seek justice, or logic, and try to change even the existing accords until they think justice is done sufficiently. How long should Koreans and Japanese remain like oil and water that don't mix, however? If so, who will be the biggest beneficiary? What does it say that Chinese warplanes intruded into the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) no fewer than eight times last year? Was China demonstrating the operational boundary of its air force? Against this backdrop, U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are now having their second summit in Hanoi. If the denuclearization talks proceed smoothly leading to the declaration of the end of the Korean War and the consequent withdrawal of the U.S. forces from South Korea, this country could be sandwiched between increasingly hegemonic China, rearmed Japan, and still militarily threatening North Korea. The situation will likely get even direr for Seoul if Washington turns less intervening in regional affairs and leaves the role of checking Beijing to Tokyo. All this stresses the need for Seoul to take the peace initiative in this part of the world. The Moon Jae-in administration is right to seek peace and reconciliation with North Korea. The two Koreas should compete and cooperate in the economic arena, not the military one. Seoul also needs to move closer toward Tokyo by taking the need in setting up a joint foundation, funded by both governments and corporate beneficiaries of the two countries, in compensating wartime victims of sex slavery and forced labor. Leaders in both capitals should stop igniting nationalistic emotions for political purposes and instead facilitate economic and cultural exchanges between the two countries. As seen by Brexit and the appearance of an isolationist leader in the world's most powerful country, this planet is shifting from globalism to populism led by extreme rightists. Korea, even if it is reunified, is a small country that can hardly swim against global trends. The Korean Peninsula is too sensitive geographically to side with one country or bloc. It would be best for this peninsula to remain a permanently neutral country or the center of a collective security system. The Korean Declaration of Independence a century ago also sought the nation's independence not just for Korea's sake but for ensuring regional and global peace. It is this spirit of restoring peace on this planet that we should keep in mind on the centennial of the historic event. The declaration also emphasized "open nationalism," rather than a closed or exclusive one, embracing historical adversaries. I hope President Moon's speech on Friday will include a gesture of historical reconciliation with Japan for a broader cause of regional and global peace and prosperity. For Korea, the past century was tainted by humiliation and subordination and desperate attempts to overcome its shameful history. The forthcoming one should be, and can be, more promising and positive, depending on how Koreans prepare for it. Choi Sung-jin is a Korea Times columnist. Contact him at choisj1955@naver.com. Trump, Kim should go all-out to make big deal U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are holding their second summit in Hanoi. They appear to be determined to strike a deal, big or small, over how to denuclearize the isolated country. Yet no one knows whether the historic summit can produce successful results as both sides are still in a tug of war over the terms of nuclear disarmament. Now Trump and Kim should realize they have to make meaningful and substantive progress this time because their second meeting, following the June 2018 Singapore summit, will decide the future course of a peace settlement on the Korean Peninsula. If their summitry ends in an anticlimax, they may risk going back to square one where confrontation prevails over dialogue as seen in 2017. Most of all, the two leaders are required to find a middle ground by narrowing their differences over the nuclear issue. For this, they need to make a compromise. Washington has so far demanded that Pyongyang dismantle its nuclear arsenal completely and verifiably before getting any sanctions relief. On the other hand, the Kim regime wants the U.S. to help ease the international sanctions and take other corresponding measures simultaneously in return for phased steps toward nuclear disarmament. Of course, it is understandable that Kim finds it difficult to give up his nuclear and missile development program without any U.S. assurance about a quid pro quo. Under these circumstances, experts are raising the possibility that Kim may agree to dismantle the Yongbyon nuclear complex and some other plutonium and uranium enrichment facilities in exchange for a declaration of a formal end to the Korean War and security guarantees for his regime. Kim and Trump might also agree on opening a liaison office in each other's capitals as well as initiating discussions on how to establish a peace regime on the peninsula. Still at stake is the North's call for sanctions relief. This issue is one of the most difficult parts of the negotiations. However, it is not impossible for the U.S. to accommodate this demand as long as Kim takes some meaningful and concrete steps toward denuclearization. Trump has begun to take a flexible attitude in this regard. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has already hinted at conditional sanctions relief. One viable option is to allow South Korea to resume the operation of the now-closed Gaeseong Industrial Complex and restart the Mount Geumgang tourism project. This option, if taken, can reduce the risk of the weakening of international sanctions as the U.S. can keep them in place. To persuade Trump to ease sanctions against the North, Kim must present a detailed timetable and roadmap of what the U.S. calls a final, fully verified denuclearization. Kim should also promise to allow international inspections and verification. He should not try to fizzle out with a freeze on nuclear and missile testing. It remains to be seen whether Trump and Kim can strike a big deal on the final day of their meeting. We hope they will work out a history-making Hanoi Declaration that can end the nuclear crisis successfully. It is time to take a new path to peace and prosperity. In the two years since the fake-news problem on Facebook and other major social media networks burst into the spotlight, the companies have taken one dramatic action after another to try to rid themselves of disinformation. At Facebook, for example, the company deleted more than 2.8 billion bogus accounts from Oct. 1, 2017, to Sept. 30, 2018; those accounts are the frequent launching pads for spam, scams and fake news. Twitter periodically announced similar crackdowns, such as its takedown of more than 10,000 accounts in late 2018 that spread false information to try to deter Democrats from voting in the midterm elections. The task seems Sisyphean, however. As Facebook dryly noted in its latest community standards enforcement report, although it removed more fake accounts in the first half of 2018 than in the previous six months, "the increase did not have any effect on prevalence of fake accounts on Facebook overall." Those continue to represent 1 out of every 25 to 33 sign-ups. The number is so high, the company explained, because "bad actors try to create fake accounts in large volumes automatically using scripts or bots." In other words, these platforms continue to be gamed to spread disinformation and manipulate their users. That's why it was encouraging to see Pinterest, a social scrapbooking site online, take a dramatic step to combat another damaging form of misinformation online: the spread of debunked or outright false health claims. Instead of trying to stop people from expressing potentially harmful views, it's trying to stop itself from spreading them. Pinterest's action focuses on the "pins" that is, pictures or graphics copied from other Pinterest users' pages or other sites, accompanied often by comments that discourage childhood vaccinations or promote fake cures for terminal or chronic diseases. The company actually barred users from posting that sort of content in 2017, but vaccine myths and fake cures kept making their way onto the site. Last week, the company revealed that it has taken an extra step, disabling searches related to these topics. Now, searching on Pinterest for "vaccine harms" will return a blank page with the explanation, "Pins about this topic often violate our community guidelines, so we're currently unable to show search results." The same happens on a search for "diabetes cures," for example. The change acknowledges how hard it is to keep a site free of potentially harmful material when the site relies on users to supply the content. Given that reality, it makes sense to try to limit what gets found and shared. There's a trade-off, though: Simply disabling searches to cut off misleading information can also hide factual and useful content. When Pinterest has gone this route before, on searches for pins related to suicide, eating disorders and self-harm, it redirected users to pages offering support for those who need help. The company is moving in that direction on the newly filtered searches, but that's a work in progress. Meanwhile, blocking search results tees up a never-ending game of whack-a-mole, as the barred search terms ("vaccine harms," for example) get replaced by alternatives that are not ("vaccine risks"). That's a problem not just for Pinterest, but for any platform trying to weed out content that violates its rules. Pinterest is still looking for better ways to stop its platform from being used to distribute fake health news. Part of the answer lies in developing algorithms that don't unwittingly promote that sort of thing just because it's in high demand among a portion of the site's users again, a challenge common to social networks in general. Another part is to enlist other sites that are rife in health misinformation in the effort to weed it out too. Anti-vaxxers may bristle at the censorship Pinterest is imposing and complain that their speech rights are being infringed. But as a private company, Pinterest has the right to enforce its own rules for what gets shared on its site, and to define the line between idle chatter and harmful misinformation. We welcome its efforts on the health front, and hope it blazes a trail for other social networks to follow. The above editorial appeared in the Los Angeles Times. It was distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un became the first leader of his isolated country to travel to Vietnam since his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, visited in 1964, when he arrived on Tuesday (February 26) for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. Kim's train arrived at the Vietnamese border station of Dong Dang early on Tuesday, where he disembarked to travel the 170 km (105 miles) to Hanoi by car. Top Vietnamese officials were on hand to receive him at the station with a red-carpet including a guard of honour and numerous North Korean and Vietnamese flags decking out the station. Kim's close aide, Kim Chang Son, who has been in Hanoi for several days preparing for the summit, was spotted at the station before Kim's arrival. His sister, who has emerged as an important aide to Kim and travelled with him from Pyongyang, was spotted getting off the train before he disembarked. (Reuters) Vice Minister of Employment and Labor Lim Seo-jung announces the government's final version on the minimum wage decision-making process reform at the Government Complex Sejong, Wednesday. / Yonhap By Kim Hyun-bin The government has decided to divide the minimum wage decision process into two, as part of reform plans to strengthen the decision-making process and minimize clashes between labor and management. The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced the final version of the reform plan for the Minimum Wage Commission, Wednesday, following discussions and online surveys since disclosing the draft Jan. 7. The commission consists of business, labor, and government representatives as well as experts, and is in charge of deciding the following year's hourly minimum pay. Under the reform measure, the commission will be split into two sub-bodies the range determination body which sets the upper and lower thresholds of a minimum wage hike, and the decision-making body that decides on the increase within the range. The range determination body will consist of nine representatives. Labor, management and the government will recommend five members each for a total of 15, and they will trim down the number to nine by eliminating less-qualified ones. The decision-making body will have 21 members, consisting of seven representatives each recommended by labor, management and the public sector. Among the seven recommended by the public sector, four will be selected by the National Assembly and three by the government; while currently the government recommends all the public sector representatives. The draft initially stated the decisive factors of the minimum wage would include employers' ability pay. But the final version excluded it and instead the commission will consider the expected impact of the minimum wage hike economic and employment situations. It followed criticism during experts' discussions on the issue that employers' payment ability was too subjective. The labor sector also opposed it, saying the clause would make incapable employers' to face difficulties matching the minimum wage for their workers. "For the last month, the government garnered various opinions on the change of the commission structure," Vice Minister of Employment and Labor Lim Seo-jung said at the Government Complex Sejong. "In a public survey, 77.4 percent agreed on splitting the commission into two sub-bodies, and 78 percent called for fine-turning of the decisive factors." Based on the reform plan, the National Assembly will revise the Minimum Wage Act. To have the new system applied from next year's minimum wage, the revision needs to be made by the middle of March, because the commission's review must start before March 31 according to the relevant law. Setting a minimum wage has always been a bone of contention between the management and labor, and often drawn political disputes. Representatives from the labor and management in the commission have always clashed over the hike level, failing to make a decision by the deadline almost every year. The Moon Jae-in administration initially promised to increase the hourly minimum wage to 10,000 won ($8.9) by 2020. However, the rapid increase from 2017 to 2019 double-digit hikes for two consecutive years sparked a strong backlash from businesses, especially from small and mid-sized companies, which claim the hike will negatively affect their livelihoods. By Kim Yoo-chul, Lee Min-hyung HANOI Washington is ready to help Pyongyang develop its economy, U.S. President Donald Trump told North Korean leader Kim Jong-un when they met Wednesday at the start of their two-day summit in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. "I think that your country has tremendous economic potential, unbelievable, unlimited," Trump said. "And I think that you will have a tremendous future with your country, a great leader. I look forward to watching it happen and helping it to happen. And we will help it to happen." Asked by a reporter if the two sides might formally end the Korean War, Trump said, "We will see." Kim said he was sure they would produce a "great outcome which everyone welcomes" in Hanoi. The leaders then had a one-on-one meeting for 20 minutes before dining together. They will have extended summit talks today and possibly adopt a joint statement that may include a roadmap for the North's denuclearization. Prior to this, Kim and Trump shook hands and posed in front of each of their national flags smiling as journalists took photos. Trump said he looked forward to a very successful summit. "We had a very successful first summit. Some people wanted to see it go quicker but I was very happy with how we are doing," he said. Kim said, "There's a look of distrust and misunderstanding which hindered our journey to the destination. Hostile things tried to block the pathway that we want to go further. But we have been able to overcome all such obstacles and we meet again in Hanoi." In this image from video, U.S. President Donald Trump has dinner with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, Wednesday night. AP-Yonhap Amid high intrigue, the two leaders arrived at dusk at the hotel in separate motorcades. At around 8:20 p.m., Trump's motorcade and Vietnamese police passed through hundreds of citizens and journalists crowded near the hotel waiting the start of the summit. The Vietnamese government installed steel barriers around the hotel to control traffic, with local police marshaling the crowd to keep them from getting in the way of Trump's route to the venue for the meeting with Kim. After briefly chatting, the two leaders huddled in a room in their first face-to-face meeting since their summit in Singapore eight months ago. Only interpreters were present. The dinner started at 8:40 p.m. and lasted for two hours. Trump was accompanied by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Kim was accompanied by his chief of staff Kim Yong-chol and Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho. The latest encounter comes after the two embarked on another round of high-stakes nuclear diplomacy. "We're going to have a very busy day on February 28. Our relationship is a very special relationship," Trump joked during the dinner with Kim as a limited pool of photographers took pictures. The motorcade of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un leaves following his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump during the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, February 27, 2019. Reuters-Yonhap Before his departure to attend the dinner, the North Korean leader stayed in the presidential suite on the 22nd floor of the Hanoi Melia Hotel. Senior North Korean officials returned to the hotel late Wednesday after traveling to the northern industrial city of Haiphong and UNESCO-listed Ha Long Bay. The North's state-run Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) did not detail Kim's travel route before his dinner with Trump. But it did say that Kim would make an official "friendly visit" to Vietnam for two days from Friday, a day after he wraps up the two-day summit with Trump. Taking into account his days-long post-summit itinerary, Kim intentionally didn't have any plans for Wednesday, according to sources. The KCNA said the North Korean leader received reports at his hotel from the regime's working-level pre-summit delegation, Tuesday. A Vietnamese traffic police salutes at a motorcade transporting US President Donald Trump leaving the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi on February 27, 2019, after a dinner with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. AFP-Yonhap Shuichi Adachi By Park Ji-won A series of historic rulings ordering Japanese firms to compensate Korean forced laborers during Japanese colonial rule have been made from the end of last year. Shuichi Adachi, a 60-year-old Japanese human rights lawyer and head of the group of Korean and Japanese lawyers who worked together to represent the victims since 1994, contributed to winning those cases. Honoring the dedication of Adachi and his colleagues, a South Korean reporters' club in the law field gave the Korea-Japan lawyer alliance this year's prize for best people in law in January. The club thought highly of the defense counsel's years of contributions to human rights issues such as wartime sex slavery, forced laborers, victims of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and ethnic Koreans' education subsidies in Japan. Adachi remained humble about his achievements but strongly urged Japanese society to admit the illegality of its colonial rule of Korea to overcome conflicts between Korea and Japan. "The lawyer alliance between Japan and Korea was able to be formed. And it took 19 years to win the case of the forced labor issue in Korea. I am extremely happy about it, and winning the prize. But Japanese society continues to criticize and bash the situation, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as their leader," Adachi told The Korea Times in an email interview conducted after the award. "This is based on the problem with the vague description of Japan's illegal colonization of Korea in the 1965 treaty. Unless Japanese society recognizes the illegality of the occupation, I think the gap between the two countries will not be narrowed." Takagi Kenichi, Adachi's longtime colleague who has worked since 1973 for victims of the 1910-45 colonial rule such as Koreans in Sakhalin, gave an acceptance speech in Seoul. Kenichi echoed Adachi's view. He criticized the Japanese leader and foreign minister for criticizing the South Korean court ruling on the forced labor issue, saying individuals outside of Japan should also have the right to claim compensation, which the Japanese government admitted to earlier, as there is no law preventing them from making claims from other countries. To win the suit in Seoul took 13 years. His team partially won the case in the appellate court in 2005 and the Supreme Court in 2007 in Japan for 40 South Korean forced laborers who returned to Korea after liberation who had been victims of the Hiroshima atomic bombing while working for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The Japanese government didn't admit the forced laborers' rights as victims of the bombing as they now live outside of Japan. They won compensation by the Japanese government for those victims even though the case didn't admit the responsibility of the company. The case played a big role to win compensation for other similar victims living outside Japan. Maybe he didn't know he would work for so many South Korean victims for this long. But it was simple in the beginning. Adachi took over his first Korea-related case after one of his friends asked him to do so in 1994. Those cases are not profitable in a monetary sense and are also against the government stance, which makes them challenging for lawyers. Surprisingly, he hasn't faced any threats from far-right activists because of what he is doing for victims. Presumably, he would have had a hard time persuading victims to take legal action, gathering evidence and strategizing in court. However he simply said, "Difficult experiences are left in the past when we achieve a good result." However, it appears he has been discriminated against by the government to some extent. He said an online comment he made on Foreign Minister Taro Kono's post about the South Korean court's rulings on Nippon Steel in favor of the victims, was erased without notice. The fact that Japanese society was not able to pay back the "debt" from its colonization and the unjustifiable suffering of the victims are his two driving forces. He suggested it would be helpful to set up a two-plus-two foundation between the two countries, which would be participated in by firms and governments from both countries. "If you think about the case of the Memory, Responsibility and Future Foundation in Germany, compensation was paid to individuals first and then it led to building the foundation. But considering the fact that there are not many remaining survivors here, meaning there is not enough time for them, we should seriously discuss making a compromise for them." Even though diplomatic relations between South Korea and Japan are getting worse as their leaders are exchanging barbs against each other over the ruling and other disputes such as sex slavery, he expressed hope that the disputes will be settled as long as there are exchanges between peoples of the two countries. "It appears the relations between Japan and South Korea are getting worse," he said. "I think it will be resolved as long as there is a people-to-people exchange between the two countries. I don't think the Abe administration will last forever. I want to learn from Korean people who were able to change their country." A Vietnamese policeman patrols near the Hanoi Metropole Hotel, a location thought to be the venue for the second United States-North Korea summit, Feb. 27. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk NK leader to stay in Vietnam until Saturday By Kim Yoo-chul HANOI North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will stay in Vietnam until Saturday, according to North Korea's state media and Vietnamese government officials, Wednesday. The Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim Jong-un will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump for their historic second summit on Feb. 27 and 28 and stay in Vietnam until March 2. No information was available on Kim's itinerary during his stay, but sources here told The Korea Times he plans to visit factories and popular local attractions to get a glimpse of Vietnam's economic development. In many ways, Kim's visit to Vietnam will be similar to his trip to Singapore last summer. The first Trump-Kim meeting failed to produce substantial results, but the summit was also an opportunity for the North Korean leadership to get an impression of Singaporean capitalism. A man walks past a TV screen showing U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in a news program in Tokyo, Feb. 27. AP-Yonhap Economic advisers to Kim and senior North Korean government officials visited a plant operated by Vietnamese vehicle startup Vinfast in Haiphong, Wednesday afternoon, and were the guests at a dinner banquet with their Vietnamese counterparts, a source who with direct knowledge of the issue said. The region is home to many booming Vietnamese firms started with financial assistance and support from foreign capital. "The visit to the company by the North Korean delegation was led by Oh Soo-yong, who handles economic policies for North Korea," said the source, adding Vinfast was the first Vietnamese car manufacturer that did not rely on foreign capital. The delegation left the Melia Hanoi Hotel at around 10 a.m. (KST), Wednesday, and first headed to Ha Long Bay. Vietnam was one of the poorest countries in the world after being devastated by a long war that ended in 1975. After the war, the country was isolated from the world with very little access to global markets and international financial support. But 1986 marked a huge turning point as the country successfully embarked on "Doi Moi" (renovation) reforms. The government loosened its grip on the economy gradually through deregulation and opening up to foreign trade. A child, wearing Vietnam and North Korea's flag stickers on her cheeks, waits outside the Vietnam-North Korea Friendship Kindergarten in Hanoi, Wednesday. AFP-Yonhap Damascus, Syria (Photo/China Daily) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Tuesday called on the United Nations to scale up assistance in cash and in kind to the people in Syria. The international community needs to actively support the Syrian government and its people in socio-economic reconstruction to create conditions for the return of refugees and displaced persons, Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said at the Security Council meeting on the Middle East situation. Steady progress in reconstruction can give hope to the Syrian people and underwrite the long-term stability of the war-stricken country, Wu said, noting that the return of Syrian refugees can also ease the pressure on host nations. He also urged the Syrian parties to put the country's future and the well-being of its people first by complying with relevant council resolutions, implementing agreements reached and advancing the political process. The future of Syria can only be decided upon by the Syrian people without outside interference, the Chinese envoy said, adding that the international community should respect the Syrian government and people's efforts to safeguard national security and stability. According to Reena Ghelani, director for operations and advocacy of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs, an estimated 11.7 million people will require humanitarian assistance across the country in 2019. President Moon Jae-in and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi walk toward the venue of a welcoming event for the crown prince at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. The welcoming ceremony was followed by a summit where the two leaders vowed to expand economic cooperation. Yonhap By Kim Bo-eun President Moon Jae-in and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi vowed to boost and diversify bilateral economic cooperation, at a summit held at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. The meeting took place on the second day of a two-day official visit to Seoul by the de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Crown Prince Mohammed is also the deputy supreme commander of the UAE's Armed Forces. They spoke about cooperation in the energy, construction and defense industries that have been key to the development of bilateral relations thus far and shared hopes to expand this to other fields, according to Cheong Wa Dae pool reports. "I wish to expand the countries' cooperation to new technologies and new industrial sectors that will prepare the countries for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as 5G, information-communication technology, artificial intelligence, robots, semiconductors, renewable energy and smart farms," Moon said. The President referred to the ongoing summit between North Korea and the U.S. in Hanoi and highly evaluated Pope Francis' visit to the UAE earlier this month. "As the crown prince sent a message of harmony and coexistence to the world, by enabling the visit of a Catholic pope to a country on the Arabian Peninsula for the first time earlier this month, we hope the crown prince's visit to South Korea will spread a spirit of lasting peace and co-prosperity on the Korean Peninsula," Moon said. Crown Prince Mohammed said "The U.S.-North Korea summit in Vietnam is also a very important event for the UAE, and will hold great significance for the Middle East." The meeting took place after an official welcoming ceremony was held for the crown prince at Cheong Wa Dae. After the summit, Moon held a luncheon for the crown prince, which was attended by the chiefs of leading conglomerates including Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and GS Group Chairman Huh Chang-soo. A day earlier, the crown prince visited a Samsung Electronics production facility and attended a dinner reception with Moon at Cheong Wa Dae. The visit by Crown Prince Mohammed took place after Moon made an official visit to the UAE in March last year. It is the fifth official visit to Korea by the crown prince. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the regime's embassy in Hanoi, Tuesday, as part of his official schedule in Vietnam. Kim is there for a two-day summit from Wednesday with U.S. President Donald Trump. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk By Lee Min-hyung HANOI Expectations are high that U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will reach an agreement to open liaison offices in Washington and Pyongyang during their second summit as the first step in establishing bilateral diplomatic relations. The need to establish the offices has surfaced in recent months, after the two failed to make progress in denuclearization talks due in part to the lack of a direct and real-time communication channel. This has raised the possibility for Trump and Kim to reach a consensus in opening the offices during their two-day summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, which ends today. Once joint liaison offices are established, they will serve as de facto embassies. Even if they hold limited authority compared to actual diplomatic missions, their opening will be the first step in building normal diplomatic relations. North Korea has a dire need to normalize ties with the U.S. at a time when the regime is seeking to attract foreign investment to realize its vision of economic prosperity. For the U.S., the offices will also play a crucial role to continue driving the North's nuclear disarmament. By Kim Bo-eun Presidential security adviser Moon Chung-in said it would be difficult to produce a timeline for North Korea's denuclearization, adding it would be more realistic to make a timeline for nuclear disarmament negotiations. "Making a roadmap for negotiations will be much more realistic than making a roadmap for denuclearization itself," the special adviser for unification, diplomacy and national security affairs said in an interview with RFA in Washington, D.C., Tuesday (local time). Moon said Pyongyang does not have concrete plans for denuclearization, and that the ongoing negotiations between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump and follow-up discussions should address this. He said if Pyongyang dismantles its Yongbyon nuclear facility and other sites and facilities including centifuges for enriching uranium in a verifiable way, the U.S. would make "considerably great concessions." Statues of independence fighters Lee Hyo-jung and Park Jin-hong from Dongduk Girls' High School are inside a women's cell at Seodaemun Prison History Hall in northwestern Seoul, Friday / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul This is the final in a three-part series on historic sites in Seoul related to the March 1 Independence Movement in 1919 and other activities for Korea's independence during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule. By Lee Suh-yoon With the centennial anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement taking place Friday, Seodaemun Prison in northwestern Seoul is bustling with activity. "We're getting weekend-volume visitors on weekdays now," Lee Seung-yun, a curator at Seodaemun Prison History Hall, told The Korea Times during a visit last Friday. Young children, students, and a group of military servicemen milled about the stark grounds and wandered by the cold brick cells of the former prison, now a walk-through museum symbolizing Japanese brutality during its 1910-45 occupation of Korea. Three thousand and seventy people were imprisoned here in 1919 for their participation in the March 1 Independence Movement. They were mostly charged with violating security laws and given sentences of up to 12 years imprisonment. A man passes outside Seodaemun Prison which will host various events for the centennial anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement, Friday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul The sudden influx of political prisoners overcrowded cells and taxed prison resources and personnel. Prison guards could not silence the sudden collective outbursts of "manse!" (short for "Long live an independent Korea") from the activists packed behind the bars, according to records. "In a new movie on activist Yu Gwan-sun, she organizes a one-year anniversary manse rally inside Seodaemun Prison on March 1, 1920," Lee said, waving her hand at cell 8, where Yu stayed inside the women's prison building located near the main entrance. "But it wasn't actually the first such rally. Several manse rallies took place inside the prison then the Japanese simply could not keep all the jailed activists under control." An undated outline of a Korean chessboard is engraved in the floor at one of the cells of Seodaemun Prison, probably used by its past inmates to pass the time. Seodaemun Prison was renamed Seoul Detention Center after Korea's independence from Japan. In 1987, the prison facilities were relocated to Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul The Korea Times' vernacular sister paper the Hankook Ilbo recently unearthed the lyrics of a song Yu sang with other female prisoners while continuing their struggle behind bars. It goes as follows: Whenever the seven knelt to pray to the Lord wearing mud-colored uniforms. Whenever they were thrown two plates with a half-bean rice ball through the window. They prayed with tears of blood. They prayed with tears of blood. Korea lives. Korea lives. Mountains are moved. The sea boils. Korea lives. Korea lives. On April 28, 1920 the day of Crown Prince Yi Un's arranged marriage to Japanese Princess Masako Nashimoto over 2,150 political prisoners were freed from Seodaemun Prison on a special pardon while others had their jail terms reduced. A mirror-panel room is filled with portraits of female independence activists inside Seodaemun Prison. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul A young visitor looks around a temporary exhibition at Seodaemun Prison. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul "It was a very strategic move by Japan painting a symbolic union of the two countries under the Japanese Empire on one hand while easing the unmanageable situation inside the prison on the other," Lee explained. But the royal pardons came too late. Records show dozens of March 1 activists perished within the prison walls from torture, the winter cold and infectious diseases. A multi-purpose prison Seodaemun Prison housed both convicted and yet-to-be convicted political prisoners. For the latter, police questioning and court hearings all took place within the prison walls. Dispatched police officers carried out interrogations in underground chambers that doubled as torture rooms. Today, mannequins and medieval-looking instruments produce a "It was a very strategic move by Japan painting a symbolic union of the two countries under the Japanese Empire on one hand while easing the unmanageable situation inside the prison on the other," Lee explained.But the royal pardons came too late. Records show dozens of March 1 activists perished within the prison walls from torture, the winter cold and infectious diseases.Seodaemun Prison housed both convicted and yet-to-be convicted political prisoners. For the latter, police questioning and court hearings all took place within the prison walls. Dispatched police officers carried out interrogations in underground chambers that doubled as torture rooms. Today, mannequins and medieval-looking instruments produce a vivid rerun of the suffering that took place there. An interrogation room inside Seodaemun Prison / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul A self-sufficient facility, the prison subjected its prisoners to forced labor. Prisoners spent most of their time at one of the 12 textile and clothing factories built alongside the prison buildings. All were taken down now used as adjacent parking lots except for one building preserved along the northern edge. Female and male prisoners slept and worked in separate quarters. In the middle of the grounds stands Gyeokbyeokjang, an enclosed fan-shaped "exercise yard" partitioned with rows of brick walls that prevented prisoners in different cells from talking to each other during brief sun-basking sessions. Gyeokbyeokjang, an enclosed "exercise yard" partitioned with rows of brick walls / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul A grassroots movement The preserved demographic data of the political prisoners taken into Seodaemun Prison in 1919 provides new historical insight for the March 1 Independence Movement. On Monday, Seodaemun-gu Office and Seodaemun Prison jointly published surviving records of 1,014 out of the 3,070 political prisoners who passed through its gates in the wake of the 1919 movement. The three-volume compilation of prisoner registration cards carrying mug shots, date of birth, and profession strips down the popular belief that the movement was led mostly by students and intellectuals. Of the recorded prisoners, 54 percent were farmers. Students, religious leaders and teachers together made up 26 percent. The prisoners came from all corners of society, totaling 80 professions including factory workers, nurses, district officials, police officers, money lenders and even carriage drivers. A three-volume compilation of the remaining 1,014 prisoner registration cards for independence activists held at Seodaemun Prison / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul "Schools and religious circles acted as command centers during the initial planning stages of the March 1 Independence Movement," Lee said. "But what brought about the movement's dramatic expansion afterward was grassroots activism based on regional and familial ties." People in their 20s made up almost 40 percent of these recorded prisoners. Only 33 of the 1,014 prisoners with remaining records were women, as female activists usually supported the rallies from the back rather than the frontlines which were more vulnerable to arrest. Around 230 were arrested for participating in rallies in regions that are now parts of North Korea. Yu Gwan-sun (1902-1920). Student at Ewha Girls' School. Sentenced in July 1919. Died in jail in September 1920. Kim Kyung-hwa (1901-unknown). Student at Paiwha Girls' School. Sentenced to one year in April 1920. Released the same month on a suspended sentence. Twenty-four of the 33 female political prisoners with surviving records are from Paiwha Girls' School. Kim Kyo-young (1858-unknown). Farmer from Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province. Sentenced to 18 months in June 1919. Released in April 1920 on a special pardon. Kim Sang-jin (1897-unknown). District office clerk at a town in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. Sentenced to one year in April 1919. Released in April 1920. Kim Wan-soo (1889-unknown). Carriage driver from Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Sentenced to one year in September 1919. Released on special pardon in April 1920. Kim Soon-ho (1902-unknown). Nurse trainee at Namdaemun Severance Hospital Medical School. Sentenced to six months in December 1919. Released on special pardon in April 1920. Min Gui-deuk (1893-unknown). Factory worker in Seoul. Sentenced to six months in September 1919. Released on parole in February 1920. Yoo Yeo-dae (1878-1937). Presbyterian pastor and one of the 33 religious leaders who drafted the March 1 Proclamation of Independence. Organized "manse" rallies at his hometown in Uiju, North Pyongan Province, currently in North Korea. Arrested in March 1919. Sentenced to two years in October 1919. Released in November 1921. Chun Chang-yeo (1888-unknown). Small business owner from North Jeolla Province. Sentenced to eight months in May 1919. Released in January 1920. Chung Ho-suk (1886-unknown). Police officer at Deoksu Palace Police Station. Sentenced to one year in February 1920. Released in May 1920. Cha Jae-nam (1849-unknown). Horse driver from Hwanghae Province and oldest political prisoner on record. Sentenced to 15 months in November 1920. Release date missing. Han Yong-un (1879-1944). Buddhist monk, poet and one of the 33 religious leaders who drafted the March 1 Proclamation of Independence. Arrested in March 1919. Sentenced to three years in October 1920. Released on parole in December 1921. A South Korean fighter jet crashed into the West Sea on Wednesday, with the two pilots safely rescued, the Air Force said. The two-seat KF-16D warplane fell into the sea for an unidentified reason at 12:13 p.m., 13 minutes after departing from an air base in Gunsan, 274 kilometers south of Seoul, it said in a text message sent to reporters. The pilots immediately ejected and were rescued. "The two pilots are currently returning to their base, and their condition is confirmed to be good," it said. The Air Force formed a task force to verify the exact cause of the crash. The KF-16D was delivered to the Air Force in the late 1990s. (Yonhap) Korea's human rights watchdog said Wednesday it was time for the country to discuss policy on same-sex marriage and come up with a social consensus on the issue. / Korea Times photo by Hong In-kee By Kim Jae-heun Korea's human rights watchdog said Wednesday it was time for the country to discuss policy on same-sex marriage and come up with a social consensus on the issue. The stance is likely to bring fresh debate to the issue in Korea which is still conservative with regard to homosexuality The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said that it had to dismiss a petition filed by a gay couple who were married in the U.K. and had requested the commission acknowledge their marital status here. The NHRCK emphasized it dismissed the petition because of the limitations of the current law, saying the move didn't mean the commission opposed same-sex marriage. "We dismissed it after concluding the nation needs a policy review on the issue," the commission said. "Korean courts do not recognize the marital status of same-sex couples under civil law. Thus, to give the foreign partner a qualification to stay here on a marriage visa, we need a legal change to the current definition of marriage as between a husband (man) and wife (woman), as well as a social consensus on the issue." The couple Englishman Simon Hunter-Williams and an unidentified Korean man tied the knot at Hunter-Williams' U.K. hometown of Birmingham in 2015 under the law there, and received a marriage certificate. Two years later, the couple returned to Korea, where they first met, and the Englishman applied for an F-6 spousal visa. Although he had other options to earn his residency here, he insisted on the F-6 visa to claim his right to live here legally as a married person. Last year, Hunter-Williams sent a petition to President Moon Jae-in requesting eligibility for international gay couples to apply for F-6 visas, but the Ministry of Justice issued a reply turning the request down. He then appealed to the commission. "We don't have an official policy on gay marriage yet, but it is our basic stance that people should not be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation," the commission said. The NHRCK has been participating in the Seoul Queer Culture Festival in recent years. Frank William Schofield, the late Canadian missionary to Korea, is seen with a Republic of Korea Medal of National Foundation awarded by the government in 1968 in recognition for his contribution to the country. / Korea Times file By Yi Whan-woo Many remember Frank William Schofield, the late Canadian missionary to Korea, as "the 34th patriot" from the West, in reference to the 33 Korean activists who led the March 1 Independence Movement against Japanese colonial rule in 1919. But his grandson, Dean, says remembering his grandfather as a mere historical figure can get in the way of learning about his grandfather's real interest in Korea love, care and commitment for the needy. Dean, 57, said this is probably why he continues to hear accounts from countless Koreans who say they owe their lives to his grandfather, on the 100th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement. "I've always felt that Dr. Schofield felt for Korea in a loving paternalistic way, as you would feel for your own child," Dean told The Korea Times. "The facts about what my grandfather accomplished are astounding on their own, but it's the stories of how he changed people's lives and gave inspiration that are so special to our family." Dean is staying in Korea from Feb. 25 to March 2, and is scheduled to attend various events aimed at highlighting his grandfather's legacy. This is his third visit to Korea. His grandfather first came to Korea in 1916 as a medical professor and Christian missionary. Schofield translated the March 1 Declaration of Independence signed by 33 religious leaders. He also disclosed Japan's brutal 1910-45 colonial rule to the rest of the world by photographing the March 1 Movement and writing an extensive report about massacres in Jeam-ri and Suchon-ri in April 1919. He was forced to leave Korea in 1920. He returned in 1958 and dedicated the rest of his life to Koreans, especially poor students and orphans, before he died in 1970 at the age of 81. He was the first foreigner to be buried at a national cemetery. Dean Schofield, left, the grandson of the late Canadian missionary to Korea Frank William Schofield, joins a ceremony at Seoul Citizens Hall, Feb. 26, for a special exhibition about Canadians who supported Korean independence against Japanese colonial rule. / Korea Times photo by Yi Whan-woo Dean brought up three accounts related to his grandfather. They were about the granddaughter of a woman who was imprisoned for participating in the March 1 Independence Movement, about an orphan after the Korean War and about a government-sponsored dinner. "'I wouldn't exist if it weren't for your grandfather' was how the conversation started," Dean said of the first case. "She was very guilty as she put it, and most certainly would have been executed were it not for Dr. Schofield convincing the warden that they had made a mistake and that she was a much-needed nurse in his employ." Citing the orphan in the second case, Dean said he was dressed in rags and had not bathed in months. But his grandfather still picked him up, gave him "a great big hug" and cared for him for two years. "When he passed away I was worried, but then I realized he had taught me everything I needed to know in order to survive," the orphan was quoted as saying by Dean. In 1958, Schofield was asked to bring a guest to a government-sponsored dinner upon his return to Korea. "And wanting to point out the inequality he saw in society at that time, he picked up a homeless person as a dinner companion," Dean said. Because of his grandfather, Dean said Korea has also begun to feel like his second home, and that his family will do "anything to keep his memory alive" and "a little jet lag in exchange for a conversation like that is a small price to pay." Dean defined the Schofield spirit as "indomitable will, giving, not being afraid to point out injustice and compassion." Commenting on inter-Korean reconciliation, the grandson said, if his grandfather were alive, he may have offered advice as he did concerning the normalization talks between Korea and Japan in the 1960s. "If you want to defeat your enemy, make him your friend. A country, even more than an individual, must have friends. I think he would certainly temper some of the tough rhetoric coming from both sides," Dean said. On Feb. 26, Dean joined a ceremony in Seoul for a special exhibition aimed at remembering the five Canadians who helped Korea's independence movement Schofield, Robert Grierson, Archibald Barker, Stanley Martin and Frederick McKenzie. Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, Canadian Ambassador to Korea Michael Danagher and former Prime Minister and Tiger Schofield Memorial Foundation Honorary Chairman Chung Un-chan were also at the ceremony. South Korean President Moon Jae-in, right-center, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, left-center, engage in the bilateral summit at Cheong Wa Dae, Feb. 27. Photo from Hankook Ilbo The leaders of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed Wednesday to further develop the countries' relationship and expand their economic cooperation to agriculture, clean energy and information and communication technology. In a summit held at South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, President Moon Jae-in and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan noted that the countries' bilateral relations have steadily improved since they established a special strategic partnership last year. The de facto UAE leader arrived here Tuesday on a two-day official visit. His trip began with a brief visit to a production facility of Samsung Electronics, followed by a social dinner hosted by President Moon at Cheong Wa Dae. "I am pleased to see cooperation between the two countries expanding to various areas since we two leaders agreed to upgrade the countries' relationship into a special strategic partnership in March last year," President Moon said at the start of their bilateral summit, according to Cheong Wa Dae pool reports. South Korean President Moon Jae-in, right, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan head for the summit from Cheong Wa Dae, Feb. 27. Yonhap "As a result, the UAE became the largest destination of our exports, construction projects and the most frequently visited nation in the Middle East last year," the president added. Moon called for efforts to further expand the countries' bilateral cooperation to nonconventional areas. "I wish to expand the countries' cooperation to new technologies and new industrial sectors that will prepare the countries for the fourth industrial revolution, such as 5G, information-communication technology, artificial intelligence, robots, semiconductors, renewable energy and smart farms," he said. The crown prince of Abu Dhabi said South Korea was already a strong partner. "I came here today to seek ways to further strengthen the already special relationship between the two countries and promote further cooperation," the UAE leader told Moon through his interpreter. South Korean honor guards, with some dressed in Korean traditional garments, address the South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan at Cheong Wa Dae, Feb. 27. Yonhap President Donald Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, in Hanoi. AP-Yonhap North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump kicked off their second summit Wednesday, expressing hope and confidence that this week's talks will be successful. Sitting briefly together with Trump at a French colonial-era hotel in Hanoi, Kim said he would do his best to produce a "great outcome" to be welcomed by all people. Kim praised Trump for his "courageous decision" to initiate the summit process. For his own part, Kim said more efforts and patience were needed than at any other time to make the summit happen. U.S. President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un following a meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi on February 27, 2019. AFP-Yonhap Trump said his previous talks with Kim in Singapore eight months ago were a great success and the Hanoi meeting will "hopefully be equal or greater than the first." This video footage released by North Korea's state-run Korean Central Television (KCTV) on Jan. 11 shows North Korea's Premier of the Cabinet Pak Pong-ju, whispering to the country's leader Kim Jong-un during a welcoming ceremony for Kim, who made his sixth trip to China to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. KCTV-Yonhap By Jung Da-min North Korea's Premier of the Cabinet Pak Pong-ju made a field survey of a pump factory and insulation factory in Anju, a city in South Pyongan Province, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Tuesday. Pak is also a member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and vice-chairman of the State Affairs Commission. While the country's leader Kim Jong-un is on his longest trip abroad for the second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi and an official goodwill visit to Vietnam, three top officials including Kim Yong-nam, Choe Ryong-hae and Pak Pong-ju, members of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the WPK, remained in the North to look after domestic affairs. According to the KCNA report, Pak also visited the Mirae Science and Technology Center and the Education and Science Exhibition Hall of Kim Chaek University of Technology in Pyongyang and the Namhung Youth Chemical Complex in Anju and met students and young workers. The ruling party organ Rodong Sinmun on Wednesday also carried Pak's field survey to Anju, saying the workers and engineers in the factories are making all-out efforts to realize modernization of the production process, in an effort to carry out the country's five-year strategy for economic development running till 2020. North Korean media have been reporting Pak's field surveys to various factories and production sites around the country, implying that Pak has the full confidence of Kim Jong-un for conducting the country's economic strategies. Pak, 79, is a veteran economic strategist who won confidence from late leader Kim Jong-il and the current leader Kim Jong-un for his innovative economic strategies that expanded autonomy of factories and workers for higher productivity. Unlike other high-profile officials from "good" parentage, he is from a normal family without linkage to Kim Il-sung's family. He graduated from Tokchon University of Technology in South Pyongan Province, not one of the top universities in the North like Kim Il Sung University or Kim Chaek University of Technology in Pyongyang. Meanwhile, North Korea's economic issues are expected to be discussed during the second North Korea-U.S. summit between Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump. On Wednesday, Trump that North Korea has a great potential to become an economic power and the potential could be realized through the country's decision to denuclearize. "Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize," read the tweet. "The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong-un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting!" Russia to launch seven spacecraft to ISS this year Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft (Photo/People's Daily Online) MOSCOW, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Russia plans to launch seven spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) this year, the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos said Tuesday. It said in a statement that the Soyuz MS-12 manned spacecraft will carry Russian cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin and U.S. astronauts Christina Koch and Nick Haig on March 14. Then the Soyuz MS-13 will take Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, Italian astronaut Luka Parmitano and U.S. astronaut Andrew Morgan to the ISS on July 6. The following manned flight is scheduled for Sept. 25, that of the Soyuz MS-15 with a crew of a Russian astronaut, a U.S. astronaut and an astronaut from the United Arab Emirates. On Aug. 22, the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft will be launched by the Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket in an unmanned regime. Three cargo ships of the Progress type will be launched on April 4, July 31 and Dec. 20 respectively, Roscosmos said. Rep. Na Kyung-won, floor leader of the Liberty Korea Party, attends a general meeting of lawmakers at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap By Jung Min-ho South Korea's main opposition party leader has voiced her objection to the possibility that the leaders of the United States and North Korea will sign a declaration during their Hanoi summit to end the Korean War (1950-53). Rep. Na Kyung-won, floor leader of the Liberty Korea Party, said Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un should not proclaim the end of the war during their summit (Feb. 27-28) without South Korean President Moon Jae-in. "We will never accept it," she said during a general meeting of Assembly members. "Ending the war without the confirmation of the North's complete denuclearization will only weaken the South Korea-U.S. alliance and likely lead to the pull-out of U.S. forces here." Her remarks came after presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom mentioned such a scenario, saying Cheong Wa Dae would "welcome any form" of declaration, even if Moon is left out. The spokesman said Seoul would be fine because Moon and Kim signed a military agreement that was "virtually a declaration to end the war" last September. Na claimed what the Kim regime is trying to achieve through an end-of-war declaration is to undermine South Korea's military defense against the North. "North Korea is hiding its intention in the guise of peace," she said. The spokesman said the war-ending declaration may be on the summit's agenda. During their first summit in Singapore in June, Trump and Kim agreed to build new relations between their countries and work together for the "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," but the agreement was short on details. Peace declaration supporters say it would pave the way for better U.S.-North Korea relations and therefore the faster denuclearization of the regime. The two have remained technically at war since the Korean War was halted in a truce in 1953. North Korea has long claimed that it had no choice but to develop nuclear weapons to fend off invasions from the United States, which still keeps 28,000 troops in South Korea. Meanwhile, a group of 20 U.S. House Democrats has introduced a resolution that would call for an end to the war but also keep U.S. troops in South Korea. The resolution, introduced a day before the summit, urges the U.S. government to provide a "clear roadmap for achieving a permanent peace regime and the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." "Historic engagement between South and North Korea has created a once-in-a-generation opportunity to formally end this war," House Armed Services Committee member Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said. "President Trump must not squander this rare chance for peace. He should work hand in hand with our ally, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, to bring the war to a close and advance toward the denuclearization of the peninsula." Vietnamese soldiers and an armored vehicle are stationed at the Melia Hanoi Hotel in the city's Tran Hung Dao district, where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is staying after arriving in the city Tuesday for his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump that starts Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk Bodyguards stand in protective formation around a Mercedes-Benz carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, just before he gets out in front of the North Korean embassy building in Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk By Lee Suh-yoon Human-shielded Mercedes-Benzes and bomb-proof Cadillacs rolled out onto Hanoi's streets, Wednesday, as the second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump kicked off in Vietnam's capital city. The two leaders arrived in their separate armored vehicles the day before. Kim arrived on an armor-plated train at Dong Dang railway station at the Vietnamese border at 9:15 a.m. on Tuesday. Trump arrived in his Air Force One later that evening. Kim's armored Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman Guard limousine made brief appearances on Hanoi's streets on Tuesday and Wednesday. The most striking part of Kim's motorcade was the V-shaped human formation sheathing Kim's Mercedes-Benz just before he got out or boarded. The 12 bodyguards all sporting crew cuts with and black suits were the subject of much media frenzy in Kim's previous summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at Panmunjeom in April and with Trump in Singapore last June. The guards are North Korea's top elite unit, selected for their good physique and physical strength but also for demonstrating loyalty to the regime. They learn bodyguard techniques through years of intensive training. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gets back inside his Mercedes-Benz after visiting the North Korean embassy in Hanoi, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk Kim Jong-un and his 12 bodyguards head back to the Melia Hotel after his visit to the North Korean embassy in Hanoi, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk Trump may lack the free-moving human entourage but his "bomb-proof" Cadillac limo nicknamed "The Beast" shields him from any imaginable attack. Since Tuesday, it ferried Trump between the airport, his hotel, the Vietnamese Presidential Palace and finally to his dinner with Kim at Metropole Hotel on Wednesday evening. Apart from the military-grade armor and multi-layered bullet-proof glass, the Beast has its own oxygen supply and complete "seal-off" doors in case of chemical attack. Anti-explosion plates and foam encase the fuel tank while the wheels contain steel rims, allowing the car to escape at speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour even with a flat tire. It's also equipped with tear gas cannons, a shotgun and its own satellite communication system. Trump showed off the inside of his heavily armored vehicle to Kim last June during their first summit in Singapore. U.S. President Donald Trump leaves Hanoi Noi Bai International Airport in his armored Cadillac limo, Tuesday evening. Yonhap Armed Vietnamese military personnel stand on guard on top of Sofitel Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Monday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk U.S. President Donald Trump meets Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong (not pictured) at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, Wednesday. Reuters-Yonhap By Kim Ji-soo With the leaders of the U.S. and North Korea in place in Hanoi, the host country has shown a big hearty welcome with a jolt of pride alongside a high level of security. Young North Korean leader Kim Jong-un received a lot of attention when he arrived in Hanoi, Tuesday. When he left his hotel in the afternoon to visit officials at the North Korean Embassy, the crowd outside cheered. Children at a kindergarten, founded in 1978 with assistance from the North, were seen with North Korean flags painted on their cheeks to welcome the leader. On Wednesday morning, Kim stayed in the hotel while senior officials visited the tourist destination Ha Long Bay, and the major industrial city of HaiPhong. U.S. President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Tuesday. AFP-Yonhap Trump arrived late Tuesday on Air Force One, and his motorcade was greeted by streets decorated with American, North Korean and Vietnamese flags, and people crowding in windows to capture his arrival on cellphones. Students from Nguyen Du secondary school wave the U.S. and Vietnamese flags in Hanoi, Wednesday. Reuters-Yonhap U.S. security personnel outside the Presidential Palace scan the crowd Wednesday. AP-Yonhap "Tremendous crowds, and so much love!" the U.S. president tweeted. In many respects, the host country is a safe ground where North Korea could claim its desire to emulate the "Doi Moi" style economic reforms and further strengthen a relationship forged when Kim's grandfather, Kim Il-sung, visited twice some 50 years ago. For the United States, Vietnam is also an illustration of how much a communist nation can achieve through normal ties with the world's superpower. Vietnam's economy is regarded to have taken off in earnest with its normalization of ties with the United States in 1995. Trump iterated in his Wednesday meeting with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong that Vietnam is a good example for North Korea to follow in developing its economy. Vietnamese policemen sit on stools near the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Wednesday. APF-Yonhap Kim Jong-un waves after arriving at Dong Dang Railway Station on Tuesday to start his visit to Vietnam for the U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi. During his stay that continues through March 2, the younger Kim is expected to mimic aspects of his grandfather's trip by traveling to some of the locations the elder Kim visited. AFP U.S. President Donald Trump and Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong make their way to a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, February 27, 2019. Reuters-Yonhap President Donald Trump was received by Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong at the Presidential Palace before a bilateral meeting between the two countries, his first formal meeting during the two-day U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi. During the meeting, Trump praised Vietnam as "an example as to what can happen" if North Korea fosters peace with the United States, stating that this is the reason why it was selected as the venue for their second summit. "Vietnam is thriving and, very importantly, we have a very big dinner tonight, as you know, and meetings with North Korea, chairman Kim (Jong Un), and we both felt very good about having this very important summit in Vietnam because you really are an example as to what can happen with good thinking," he said. Trump also said he was "very proud" of Vietnam and how much it has improved economically in the year since he last visited. US President Donald Trump (C L) speaks during a meeting with Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (C R) at the Government Office in Hanoi on February 27, 2019, ahead of the second US-North Korea summit. AFP-Yonhap By Jung Min-ho Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has offered rare praise for U.S. President Donald Trump for his efforts to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula. Ahead of Trump's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi on Wednesday and Thursday, the 2020 Democratic primary hopeful said at a town hall Monday night (local time) that he supports Trump's decision to meet Kim. "Now, after all of the nasty things I said about Trump, let me say a good thing here," Sanders said. "Look, nuclear weapons in the hands of a brutal, irresponsible dictator is a bad idea, and if Trump can succeed, in fact, through face-to-face meetings with Kim Jong-un and rid that country of nuclear weapons, that is a very good thing." Sanders, whose insurgent 2016 presidential campaign reshaped Democratic politics, has long been a critic of Trump. "So I think that the idea of going and meeting face-to-face with your adversaries is a good idea," Sanders said. "I would like the president of the United States to bring Iran and Saudi Arabia together, to bring the Palestinians and the Israelis together, all right? "So I wish the president the best of luck." Vietnamese police on duty outside the French colonial-era Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel in Hanoi before the North Korea-U.S. summit. Reuters By Park Si-soo The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi the main venue for the make-or-break summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is a silent but sturdy witness of Vietnam's painful, conflict-prone modern history. Opened in 1901 in the heart of Hanoi, the hotel looked down on Vietnamese people struggling with grief and pain under France's decades-long colonial rule. Following Vietnamese independence in 1945, it was renamed the Thong Nhat Hotel (Reunification Hotel) by the Communist government. It survived numerous U.S. Air Force raids during the 1955-75 Vietnam War. Having a bomb shelter built in the 1960s in its compound corroborates the hard times Vietnam faced during the war. A stairway leads to the Vietnam War bomb shelter entrance at the French colonial-era Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel in Hanoi. Reuters The Vietnam War-era bomb shelter at Hanoi's Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel. Reuters The derelict bomb shelter at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel. Reuters In the post-war era, the hotel served as a location for high-stakes talks aimed at healing past pain and troubles. In June 1997, ranking diplomats and military officials from the U.S. and Vietnam had a four-day meeting there to discuss a "world without war." International figures who have checked in to the hotel include British actor/filmmaker Charles Chaplin, American actress Jane Fonda, former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and former French presidents Francois Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac . Now the history-rich hotel is set to add a new line to its resume. By Jung Min-ho North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will stay in Vietnam for two extra days for a goodwill visit after his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, according to the North's state media, KCNA, Wednesday. "Kim will meet with Trump for their historic second summit on Feb. 27-28. And then he will conduct a goodwill visit to Vietnam on March 1-2," KCNA said. The KCNA previously reported that Kim was planning to pay an official visit to North Korea's critical Southeast Asian ally, where the "leaders of the two countries will have a meeting and talks." During his visit to the North Korean embassy in Hanoi Tuesday, Kim told staff to strengthen bilateral ties. North Korea and Vietnam established formal diplomatic relations in 1950. During the Vietnam War, North Korea provided military supplies and deployed its air force to North Vietnam, which was led by Ho Chi Minh. Since then, relations have had their ups and downs. The two countries have become closer since Kim came to power, with some analysts speculating that he has Vietnam's reform model in mind to develop North Korea's economy. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet at Hanoi's Metropole Hotel before dining at an undisclosed restaurant. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk By Park Si-soo Detailed schedules for U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's first day of their two-day summit in Hanoi have been released. The leaders' first get-together Wednesday will be a "brief one-on-one" meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, starting at 6:30 p.m. (local time) 8:30 p.m. (Korea time). Trump is scheduled to leave his hotel, the JW Marriott, at 5:55 p.m. for the meeting. The first 10 minutes will be an ice-breaking session. The two will then discuss the main agenda until 7 p.m., according to the White House. Saihanba Forest Farm in Hebei province. (Photo/Xinhua) China is the source of a quarter of global increase in green leaf area between 2000 and 2017, ranking the first in the world regarding the contribution rate, said a recent study by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In recent 20 years, Chinas forest area and stock volume kept growing, making China a country of the worlds largest increase in forest resources, according to the countrys National Forestry and Grassland Administration. China forest area stands at 208 million hectares and the forest stock volume 15.137 billion cubic meters. 21.63 percent of the countrys territory is covered by forests, according to the eighth national investigation on forest inventory. China saw a rapid rise of forests and grasslands in the recent two decades. It thoroughly implemented key projects, conducted voluntary tree-planting campaign among the citizens, promoted forestation in both governmental departments and the society, and enhanced efforts in grassland ecological protection. As a result, the coverage of Chinas man-made forest has reached 786,667 square kilometers, topping other countries around the world. In addition, China has nearly 4 million square kilometers of natural grasslands, with a grassland comprehensive vegetation coverage reaching 55.3 percent. Key forestation projects played a significant role in making China greener. China has created 298,000 square kilometers of forest since the Grain for Green Program was launched in 1999, raising the forest coverage rate in project areas by 3.6 percentage points. In addition, 1.296 million square kilometers of natural forests were well preserved in the past 20 years thanks to the Natural Forest Protection Project. China has launched a series of major projects to restore ecology, including the treatment project of desertification in the source area of the sand and dust endangering Beijing and Tianjin, and wetland restoration programs. By doing so, forest coverage in those areas steadily increased and desertification was effectively curbed, and ecological situation substantially improved. The coverage of Chinas desertification and sandy land showed a descending trend over three consecutive monitoring periods. In late 1990s, Chinas total sandy land was expanding by 3,436 square kilometers on a yearly basis, but now it is shrinking by an average of 1,980 square kilometers per year. It is a historical change from sand advancing and people retreating to green advancing and sand retreating. To date, China has built more than 11,000 natural protection areas including nature reserves, forest parks, wetland parks, scenic spots, geological parks and special marine protection areas or marine parks, protecting 90 percent of terrestrial ecosystem types, 85 percent of wildlife species, 65 percent of higher plant communities and 50.3 percent of natural wetlands. The White House. gettyimagesbank By Jung Min-ho Ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's two-day summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, the White House said in a statement that Trump is fully committed to achieving a "bright and secure future" for everyone on the Korean Peninsula and across the world. Here is the full text of the statement: President Trump Is Committed to Achieving Transformational Peace for the United States, the Korean Peninsula, and the World "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 People's 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. A solitary cell at the Seodaemun Prison History Hall in Seoul / Korea Times photos by Jung Min-ho Prison museum traces Koreans who suffered under Japanese rule By Jung Min-ho The issue of sex slaves has long been a source of animosity between Korea and Japan, but it is certainly not the only one. For 35 years of Japanese occupation (1910-45), many Koreans were senselessly tortured and killed. Seodaemun Prison History Hall in western Seoul provides a vivid image of this painful past. There, visitors can see horrendous torture devices that Korean independence fighters had to endure in many cases to the death. For those who survived, this is a living memory they can never forget. With their photos, video testimonies and background information of how they ended up in the infamous prison, their stories are very personal. For those who want to understand more about the animosity between the two nations from the victim's perspective, this is the place to go. The Japanese government built the prison in 1908 as part of a larger system to hold Korean independence activists from across the country. Started with a capacity of 500 people, the place was expanded to hold more than 3,000 by the end of 1919 as an increasing number of people joined independence movements. This information can be found on the first and second floors of the Exhibition Hall, in which visitors can explore the prison's overall history from its birth to 1987, listing some of the important events and key figures during the critical times. Yu Gwan-sun, a female independence activist and key organizer of the March 1 Movement for the nation's independence, is one of the best-known prisoners who died there. Due to complications from torture and beatings, she perished at the age of 17. At the Memorial Hall, visitors can see portraits of thousands of people who lost their lives during their struggle for independence. By Park Hyong-ki KEB Hana Bank CEO Ham Young-joo / Korea Times file photo The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is coming under criticism for intervening in Hana Financial Group in an apparent move to block it from reappointing Ham Young-joo as KEB Hana Bank chief executive. The regulator did not deny that it approached three outside directors of Hana Financial who are part of a committee that reviews and recommends candidates for the bank's top job for shareholders' approval. The FSS said Wednesday that it has simply reminded the directors of their responsibility in keeping the group in check, while expressing concerns over Hana's governance if Ham is reappointed. This is because Ham is facing a court trial over KEB Hana Bank's alleged hiring irregularities. And his possible reappointment could increase the group's governance risk, which the FSS is trying to prevent from happening, it added. Financial Supervisory Service Governor Yoon Suk-heun / Yonhap By Lee Kyung-min Two of Korea's major insurance companies are showing keen interest in joining the ongoing competition to operate the country's third internet-only bank, in a move to capitalize on new opportunities created by the new digital entity. The move pursued mostly in the form of equity investment is part of efforts to find new subscribers in their 20s and 30s through the digital platform, to diversify the source of profits amid a market currently nearing saturation. Kyobo Life Insuance is the second-largest life insurer and Hyundai Marine and Fire Insurance is the third-largest non-life insurer. "We are open to various ways to expand the firm's business including buying shares in a consortium that has already declared a bid to seek preliminary approval with the financial authorities," a Kyobo official said. "Nothing has been determined yet. More specifics and particulars will be made public later." Similarly, Hyundai is mulling joining the consortium led by Shinhan Financial Group. Shinhan said Feb. 11 that it will form a consortium with Viva Republica, the operator of Toss, a popular mobile transfer app. "We are considering whether to join the consortium," a Hyundai official said. "We cannot comment further until directed otherwise," he added. The latest move is intensifying competition to create the country's third internet-only bank. Korea's two existing internet-only banks are Kakao Bank, operated by mobile messaging service provider Kakao Corp., and K bank, operated by telecommunications firm KT. Hana Financial, the nation's fourth-largest financial group by total assets, formed a consortium with SK Telecom, the country's largest mobile carrier, and Kiwoom Securities, an online brokerage services provider. KB Financial has a 10 percent stake in Kakao Bank, established by Korea Investment Holding and Kakao Corp. Woori Financial has a 13.79 percent stake in K bank, established by KT, the second-largest mobile carrier. According to data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the net income of insurers was 7.27 trillion won ($6.49 billion) in 2018, a 7.4 drop from a year earlier. By contrast, the asset of internet-only banks stood at 12.7 trillion won, nearly double that from a year earlier. While they have yet to report net income, the rapid increase in assets only about a year after their launch in 2017 is boosting hopes that they will become profitable in the coming years. Kim Jong-un, top leader of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), arrives at the DPRK embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam on Feb 26, 2019. [Photo by Liao Yanxiong/China Daily] Democratic People's Republic of Korea top leader Kim Jong-un and United States President Donald Trump have arrived in Hanoi one day ahead of their second summit, with high expectations that the two leaders can flesh out specific steps both sides will take to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Kim's train, green and adorned with yellow stripes, made a stop at Dong Dang Station near the Vietnamese border with China on Tuesday morning. A welcoming ceremony was held at the station. Kim waved and smiled as he was greeted by Vietnamese officials and residents. Trump arrived at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport on Tuesday evening. He has expressed optimism about his upcoming talks with Kim, and tweeted aboard Air Force One, "Heading over to Vietnam Looking forward to a very productive Summit!" According to the White House, the two leaders are scheduled to kick off the two-day event with a brief one-on-one conversation and a social dinner on Wednesday. Trump arrived at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport on Tuesday evening. (Photo from Global Times) The Hanoi talks come eight months after their historic summit in Singapore, the first between a sitting US president and a DPRK leader. No schedule for the second day has been released yet, but experts believed that Kim and Trump will have follow-up talks in a bid to realize the details of their June 12 declaration in Singapore, in which they agreed to work together for "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula, a transformation of DPRK-US ties, and peace on the peninsula. Whether the two will hold a joint news conference after the talkswhich experts believe will occur if the two leaders reach a satisfactory dealis a possibility being keenly monitored by international media outlets. On Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China welcomes the second Kim-Trump summit and hopes substantive outcomes will be achieved. China is a keen promoter of a denuclearized, peaceful and stable Korean Peninsula, but the goals cannot be achieved without joint efforts from the DPRK and the US, he said. Shi Yuanhua, a professor of Korean Peninsula Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said holding a second summit is a positive signal that US-DPRK ties have improved. Although the two countries' relations have not always been smooth, the overall trend has been upward since the two leaders' first summit, he said. "And what comes next after those ice-breaking gestures will be the real bargaining process between the two." The second summit should be a suitable time for the two to discuss how to reach a consensus on a phased, synchronized approach to denuclearization, and to formulate a comprehensive and detailed road map within a short time frame will be challenging for the two sides, he said. Koo Kab-woo, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said he did not anticipate the Hanoi summit to end with a deal that sees the DPRK immediately abandon its nuclear weapons, but he urged Washington to be open to taking interim steps for any agreement to be possible. Koo said the talks in Hanoi will see Washington give Pyongyang some concessions on the political, military and economic fronts, but he also warned against ending the summit in the same "vague" manner as the Singapore summit. Gateway will use the $1.2 million gift to fund the college foundations student emergency fund, manufacturing program support and the Gateway Promise tuition-free college program. They were really sincere and dear friends, and they wanted to help fulfill the mission of Gateway and make sure that youth had the opportunity to use education as a pathway to prosperity, Albrecht said. They were both very humble in their giving, very kind and very optimistic about the future, especially for people who could have skills and work with their hands. Albrecht said the couple was also dedicated to supporting youth programs in Mexico through their church. Otto Tarnowski died in December 2012 at the age of 86. A World War II veteran, he was a sheet metal craftsman at a Racine manufacturer until his retirement. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Beverly Tarnowski worked for a telephone company when she was younger, then managed the couples hobby farm in Caledonia. The couple, who had no children, were frugal and invested their money wisely, said Jennifer Charpentier, executive director of the Gateway Foundation. Helping other people A Baltimore man is in custody after being charged with a series of sex crimes for an online relationship that came to light after a Twin Lakes girl stabbed her father. David Schuman, 21, was taken into custody in Baltimore Tuesday after a search warrant was executed on his home. He is awaiting extradition to Kenosha County, said Twin Lakes Police Chief Adam Grosz. He is facing some very serious charges, Grosz said. Schuman was charged Tuesday with sexual exploitation of a child, causing a child to listen to or view sexual activity, exposing a child to harmful material, and possession of child pornography, all of the charges tied to sexually explicit videos and photos he shared online with a Twin Lakes girl when she was 13 and 14 years old. Along with the charges, a $300,000 warrant was issued for his arrest. The girl, now 14, is alleged to have stabbed her father with a butcher knife on Jan. 13. The stabbing occurred after her parents confronted the girl when they learned of her online relationship with a man she called Dave and said was her fiance. U.S. President Donald Trump arrived at the Noi Bai International Airport of Hanoi Tuesday evening for the second summit with Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). After disembarking from Air Force One, Trump shook hands and talked with officials who were at the airport to greet him, before heading for his hotel. Kim arrived in Hanoi earlier on Tuesday morning. Trump and Kim are expected to meet first on Wednesday night and have dinner together, then hold discussion on Thursday joined by their respective delegates. Issues such as a roadmap for denuclearization, the easing of sanctions against the DPRK and whether to issue a war-ending declaration are expected to be high on the agenda. The first DPRK-U.S. summit, held in June 2018 in Singapore, resulted in improved bilateral ties. In a joint statement signed after their meeting, Trump pledged to provide security guarantees to the DPRK while Kim reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. During his stay, Trump will also meet with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Wednesday, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. RTHK: Horrific train crash at Cairo's main station A train crashed and caught fire in Cairo's Ramses station on Wednesday, killing at least 20 people and injuring dozens more, in the latest disaster to strike Egypt's rundown railways. The country's transport minister resigned hours after the accident. The train's locomotive appeared to have slammed into the buffers at the end of the track at high speed and burst into flames. Firefighters were seen hosing down the charred wreckage of the locomotive as security forces guarded the site. Twenty people were killed and 40 injured, the health ministry said. Ahmed Ibrahim, a jewellery salesman, said he was on his way to work when he heard a loud explosion. "I ran to see a lot of people injured. I had to carry a young girl with my own hands," he said, apparently still in shock. Footage circulating online showed the locomotive smashing into the barrier without slowing down. People walking on the platform were enveloped by smoke. Separate footage filmed inside the station showed a fire engulfing the train and a nearby platform and people rushing to help the casualties. Egyptians have long complained that the government has failed to deal with chronic transport problems in the country, where roads are as poorly maintained as railway lines. Officials often blame the rail network's poor maintenance on decades of negligence and a lack of funds. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2019-02-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. 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 On the west side of Watson Library on Tuesday afternoon, Interim Provost Carl Lejuez updated the campus community on the roll-out of the new budget model during the first budget conversation of the semester. Earlier conversations with Lejuez said he was hoping to have a budget conversation every month, but no budget conversation was scheduled for the month of January. At the previous conversation, Lejuez announced to those in attendance nearly 60 positions were eliminated since July 2018 due to the Universitys budget cut. I want to be really clear. Its been really hard for higher education. Were tens of millions of dollars behind where our budget needs to be, and where we want our state to be investing in our university, and not on the back of students, Lejuez said. Lejuez said the information presented about the budget cut would not be new, but updates on previously presented budget information. Lejuez started by showing a breakdown of the held-back faculty positions. He said that many were as a result of faculty retirements, and that he wasnt sure how many would be refilled. He also said people were not being let go, no new positions have been lost and no one has been furloughed. "Its hard when you lose faculty. As I said before, weve had cases where weve had previous reductions, and they add up. Were doing things with fewer faculty, Lejuez said. Lejuez was then interrupted by the Graduate Teaching Assistants Coalition, who expressed their concerns about low salaries and lack of summer health insurance, among other issues. Lejuez said he would address GTACs concerns during the question and answer portion of the discussion, but members left the library. Lejuez went back to discussing the budget reduction, saying one of the main takeaways should be that the cash rescissions for fiscal year 2019 are complete, and that there are no new cuts. "We believe we can manage it. If there was another option, we would have taken it," Lejuez said about the cut. Graduate students interrupt budget conversation, request more answers from Interim Provost After a group of students staged a walk-out from a campus budget conversation with the provost, students and faculty continue to vent their frustrations about stagnant graduate teaching assistant salaries and benefits. Lejuez said that, throughout the rest of this year, they will measure the performance of units within their goals. Then, administrators will evaluate in January and February of 2020, and work toward proposing and finalizing the 2021 budget, with the new budget taking effect in July 2020. The most that we can have everyone prepare, the better this will be, Lejuez said. The first year for the new budget model will be a shadow year for the University to gather information and make improvements before the fiscal year 2021 budget. We have time to ease into it, Lejuez said. Were measuring progress now, so by the next year, the budget model can actually kick in. The new budget model, which was outlined in an email sent to all students on Monday, includes three categories: one for foundational priorities, one for institutional strategic priorities and a third for unit-level allocations. "We don't just want to cut, we want to ensure that we're going to be fiscally healthy in the future," Lejuez said. African and African-American studies professor Shawn Leigh Alexander asked Lejuez about his salary during the question and answer portion of the conversation. I believe that we have to pay what is consistent with bringing the best people into our roles I understand people will not be happy with that, but changing my salary or changing one or two other salaries is not going to have an impact on anything meaningful that our people are feeling, Lejuez said. If its symbolic, I understand that, but this, Ill be really frank, this is not something Im willing to do. Lejuez If its symbolic, I understand that, but this, Ill be really frank, this is not something Im willing to do. Math professor Satya Mandal was the last to speak at the conversation. Mandal told Lejuez that the University should stop national searches for administrators, and search internally instead, because internal hires are less expensive. He proposed all salaries be capped at $250,000. I suggest we cut ourselves off from this tumor, Mandal said, referring to national searches. We cannot afford it. Correction A previous version of this article misstated younger faculty would compensate for the loss of older faculty. Lecturers and adjuncts who arent tenured would be, according to GTAC communications member Hannah Bailey. The article has been updated to reflect this. As Interim Provost Carl Lejuez gave the campus updates on the latest budget conversation, about 15 graduate students stood up, wearing the same blue T-shirt to represent the Universitys Graduate Teaching Assistants Coalition (GTAC) on Feb. 26 in Watson Library. While the $20 million budget cut has been underway, and Lejuez has hosted the campus budget conversations, graduate teaching assistants have consistently asked the provost about financial support for graduate students. Theyve asked how administrators at the University are able to retain six-figure salaries while graduate students have earned about $16,000 per year, as said during a budget conversation in December. Members of GTAC on campus chanted, Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Overpaid admins have got to go! The posters they held advocated for more funding to be allocated toward educators. With buyouts being offered to faculty members, GTAC communications committee member Hannah Bailey said the administration has made it clear they are going to depend more heavily on lecturers and adjuncts who aren't tenured to compensate for the loss. We are going to continue to be a presence in the conversations of what the University is prioritizing in terms of where it spends its money, Bailey said in an interview with the Kansan following the budget conversation. Thats part of the reason why we wanted to take the action we did today to make more of a statement about our concerns. The Kansan previously reported Lejuez was allotted $410,000 by Chancellor Douglas Girod when he was hired as the interim provost for the University. Graduate students said they were upset by the high salaries earned by administrators when many of the graduate students were struggling to find a substantial amount of financial resources. Shortly after, those in attendance from GTAC filed out of the meeting, stating in part they didnt believe Lejuez would answer their questions or implement anything different from previous budget conversations. Nothing new is going to happen here, one of the graduate students said as the group walked out of Watson library. Lejuez said later in the meeting, following the walk-out by the graduate students, he wants to push for more conversations between graduate students and administrators. I was a graduate student. Many of us in this room were graduate students, Lejuez said. I certainly dont feel comfortable with where those salaries are, but if we want to change any of those things, we have to be clear with what we want to stop doing, and Im open to have those conversations, but I need help with that. Lejuez said graduate students are the most vulnerable, but hes not sure how to fix the problems the graduate students spoke out about. However, administration is currently planning on having a meeting with the graduate student advisory board. Theyre not wrong that not having health insurance in the summer is an enormous problem. Theyre not wrong that the salaries that we pay are just not high enough, Lejuez said near the end of the meeting. We will try to get better, and well need your help with that. +2 Interim Provost gives new timeline for budget model at budget conversation After Interim Provost Carl Lejuez held a campus budget conversation on Tuesday, students and faculty discussed solutions to continuing budget cuts in light of seemingly ever-increasing administrative salaries. African and African-American studies professor and Faculty Senate President-Elect Shawn Leigh Alexander was at the conversation in support of the graduate students. I stand with the students, whether thats the undergraduate students or the grad students, Alexander said in an interview with the Kansan following the meeting. We struggle at this university to recruit and support both undergrads and graduates, and in particular as the former graduate director of my unit, I have always struggled funding graduate students. Bailey said GTAC was concerned they would get the same answers theyve traditionally received from administration, so they walked out, but theyd be open to having meetings with the provost in the future. We think that the undergraduate students we teach are paying a lot of money to come to KU and that its preposterous that we wouldnt be paid a living wage to provide the service that the University exists to do, Bailey said. Subscribe to our podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you get podcasts. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday vowed to enhance strategic communication and promote cooperation within the meeting of the foreign ministers of China, Russia and India (RIC). Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on February 26, 2019. [Photo: fmprc.gov.cn] The ministers made the remarks during their meeting on the sidelines of the 16th trilateral meeting of RIC foreign ministers in Wuzhen of east China's Zhejiang Province. Noting that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Russia, Wang said the two countries should further deepen strategic communication and make new contributions to world peace and development. It is of great significance for China, Russia and India to enhance communication, coordinate positions and deepen cooperation for the region and the world, Wang said. China is willing to work together with Russia and India to strive for substantial outcomes in the meeting of RIC foreign ministers, he added. Echoing Wang's remarks, Lavrov said it was necessary for Russia and China to jointly safeguard the basic norms of multilateralism and international relations. The 16th meeting of the foreign ministers of China, Russia and India will be held in Wuzhen on Wednesday. If you already subscribe to our print edition, sign up for FREE access to our online edition. Thanks for reading the Wharton Journal Spectator. As Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Jong Un made his way to Vietnam, China provided traffic support along the way, said the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Tuesday. Lu Kang, a spokesperson of the ministry, made this remark at a regular press conference, a day ahead of the highly-participated summit between Trump and Kim in Vietnamese capital city of Hanoi. [Photo: CGTN] Kim arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday, after journeying aboard his personal train through China. After deliberations and talks, Beijing offered Kim Jong Un a secure stopover in China before he headed to Hanoi for the second Kim-Trump summit, Lu said. China hopes to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and achieve lasting peace and stability in this region, said Lu to reporters. China called on the DPRK and the U.S. to meet each other halfway to make efforts to reach the goals, said Lu. The Vietnamese government and people have put in a lot of effort, and we hope that the meeting will live up to this preparation, added Lu. Donate Now As a public service during this pandemic, the Jewish News is providing free, unlimited access to all articles. Jewish News is a nonprofit publication that is owned by the community and relies on community support. ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani officials Tuesday confirmed that Indian fighter jets violated the Line of Control (LoC) in the Kashmir region and dropped a "payload" hastily, but rejected New Delhi's claim of killing over 300 people by striking a militant camp in its northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. In a meeting chaired by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in the wake of the incident, Pakistani officials said the area where the payload was dropped is open for the world to see the facts on the ground. "Indian government has resorted to a self serving, reckless and fictitious claim. This action has been done for domestic consumption being in election environment, putting regional peace and stability at grave risk," the prime minister office said after the National Security Committee meeting, attended by civil and military leadership including chiefs of armed forces, ministers of defense and foreign affairs and others. "India has committed uncalled for aggression to which Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing," the meeting decided. The prime minister also directed elements of national power including the army and the public to remain prepared for all eventualities and told officials to engage with global leaders to expose irresponsible Indian policy in the region. Confirming the airstrikes, Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Keshav Gokhale said a terror camp of the JeM was the lone target of the "non-military pre-emptive action" by India in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. Indian media claimed that Indian Air Force fighter jets entered Pakistani territory up to the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province at 3:00 a.m. Tuesday Pakistan time (2200 GMT Monday), killing 300 militants of Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), the group which New Delhi blamed to have killed 40 paramilitary troopers in an attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir earlier this month. Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistani army's media wing, said the Indian aircraft were chased away from the country by timely action. ISPR chief and military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said the fleeing Indian aircraft released payload in haste while escaping. He also posted the pictures of the shards of metal scattered in an isolated forest area. The ISPR chief refuted Indian media's claims of IAF planes hitting into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, saying the intrusion "across LoC in Muzaffarabad Sector within AJK (Azad Jammu and Kashmir, located in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir) was 3-4 miles." Whether its in a suburban neighborhood or a university campus, autonomous delivery robots are starting to crop up more frequently. FedEx on Wednesday officially announced its own delivery robot today. Its called the SameDay Bot, and its designed to make the last mile of a delivery a bit easier. The delivery robot has a max speed of 10 mph, and its batter powered to keep trucking along out there in the wild. Utilizing a combination of LIDAR sensors, the SameDay Bot can navigate around traffic and pedestrians. FedEx plans on deploying the SameDay bot in a limited trial of sorts. It will send out the delivery robots from its headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee, as long as it gets approval from the local government to do so. If everything goes according to plan, FedEx plans on offering the same-day delivery robot to other companies as well to handle their deliveries. Those companies include AutoZone, Target, Pizza Hut, Lowes, Walmart, Walgreens, and others. According to FedExs announcement, some 60 percent of customers to these retailers live within three miles of a store. That would be just about perfect for the SameDay Bot to handle deliveries. You can check out a video of the SameDay Bot below: Amazon is already in this game, as it debuted its own autonomous delivery robot, the Amazon Scout, earlier this year. That is being tested in the state of Washington now, but Amazon obviously plans on expanding availability at some point in the future. And on the George Mason University campus, Starship Technologies is delivering food and snacks to students with its own autonomous robot. What do you think of this delivery type? [via FedEx Opinion Policies Editorials are longer opinion pieces that are written by a group of community members recruited across campus who address relevant issues on a local, national and international level. Editorials are research-based. The purpose of the Editorial Board is to promote discussion concerning relevant issues in the community while advising on possible solutions. Topics are chosen via relevancy and interests of the members, which are then discussed by the Editorial Board in order to reach a general consensus concerning the topic or issue. Feedback policy If you have a grievance concerning the content or argument of the Editorial Board, please contact either Opinion Editor Peyton Hamel (peyton.hamel@iowastatedaily.com) or the Editorial Board as a whole (editorialboard@iowastatedaily.com). Those wanting to respond to editorials can also submit a letter to the editor through the Iowa State Daily website or by emailing the letter to Opinion Editor Peyton Hamel (peyton.hamel@iowastatedaily.com) or Editor-in-Chief Sage Smith (sage.smith@iowastatedaily.com). Column Policy Columns are hyper-specific to opinion and are written by only columnists employed by the Iowa State Daily. Columnists are unique because they have a specific writing day and only publish on those writing days. Each column undergoes a thorough editing process ensuring the integrity of the writer, and their claim is maintained while remaining research-based and respectful. Columns may be submitted from community members. These are labelled as Guest Columns. These contain similar research-based content and need to be at least 400 words in length. The following requirements should be met: first and last name, email and relation or position to Iowa State. Emails must be tied to the submitted guest column or it will not be accepted or published. Pseudonyms are prohibited and the writer will be banned from submissions. Read our full Opinion Policies here. Updated on 10/7/2020 Junior in political Benjamin Whittington answers a question. Whittingtons campaign is Bridging the Divide. The Iowa State Student Government Presidential Debate was held in the Campanile Room of Memorial Union on Feb. 26. Robin DiAngelo, who received her PhD in Multicultural Education from the University of Washington and is currently a member of their faculty, came to Iowa State on Feb. 26 to speak to a crowd about her book "White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism". Megan Petzold/ Iowa State Daily BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chief Engineer of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Zhang Feng, on Tuesday called on countries worldwide to work together to maintain a fair, impartial and transparent environment for the development of the information and communications technology (ICT) industry. "With sound industrial competition based on market principles and international rules, we can jointly create an enabling environment for global mobile communication industry," Zhang said. Speaking at the 2019 Mobile World Congress (MWC19) held in Barcelona, Zhang said that in the era of economic globalization, the 5G industry has become a ly interlinked industrial ecosystem. A diversified 5G industrial chain, Zhang said, could facilitate adequate competition, providing operators with more market options and users with better services. "Network security and user privacy protection constitute the basis for industrial development, and it is our common goal to build a globally trusted 5G security system. We should give play to our complementary advantages for mutual benefits and win-win outcomes," he said. By establishing a globalized 5G industrial chain, countries could secure network infrastructure and promote the integrated development and application of ICT, so as to continuously boost world's economic growth, the engineer argued. Zhang emphasized that governments and the industry worldwide should deepen international consensus and advance multi-level international cooperation in terms of technology, standard, frequency, industry and application in the spirit of equality, cooperation and sharing. "In this process, we should jointly strive to maintain a fair and transparent environment for development," he said. Zhang also said that the Chinese government has attached great importance to promoting the development and application of ICT. Following a path of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development, China has actively abided by its WTO commitments by pushing forward the opening up and international cooperation of the telecom industry, which in turn contributes to the industry's sound and lasting development, he said. The Chinese government will continue opening up and cooperation, and strive to foster a favorable environment for the industrial development. Along with global mobile operators, industrial partners, and international organizations, China is committed to jointly promoting the innovative development of 5G for a better future of the global mobile communication industry, Zhang added. MWC is the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry. For this exhibition more than 2400 companies and 100,000 industrial representatives from more than 200 countries and regions attended the event. In recent years, the number of Chinese companies participating in the event has been increasing -- over 360 companies this year, accounting for 15 percent of the total. Chinese companies such as Huawei, ZTE, Xiaomi and OPPO have all released their 5G-related new products during MWC19. Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in last Saturdays election, Atiku Abubakar, has given many reasons, why he has decided to contest president Muhammadu Buharis victory. In the result announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Buhari, polled 15,191,847, while the former vice president scored 11,262,978 votes. At a press conference, by the PDP presidential candidate on Wednesday, he described the last Saturdays election as grand theft, while he gave facts on how the election was rigged in PDP strongholds. Read full address below Dear citizens of Nigeria, Let me start by thanking you for choosing democracy as the settled system of government for our great nation. Democracy is a government of the people by the people, only when the peoples choice prevails. That did not happen on Saturday, February 23, 2019. On Election Day, we saw the implementation of grand theft of the peoples will. I am not one for hyperbole so I will just let the facts speak for themselves. In Akwa Ibom for instance, the results showed a statistical impossibility of a 62% drop in voter numbers from the 2015 elections even where voter registration and PVC collection rates were much higher than in 2015. This pattern was repeated in strongholds of the Peoples Democratic Party, including in Delta, Rivers, Abia and Benue states. As this was occurring, we saw another statistical impossibility wherein voter turnout and numbers increased astronomically in Borno State by an almost miraculous 82% in the midst of increased insecurity. This pattern was also repeated in other strongholds of the All Progressive Congress. One begins to ask if insecurity is conducive to higher voter turnouts and security is antithetical to high voter turnout. It is further curious that the Peoples Democratic Partys margin of victory in states outside the Southeast and South-south were extremely slim across the board. That again is a statistical impossibility. The fact is that when you calmly look at the numbers declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission as results of the February 23, 2019 elections, they do not add up. Let me say that I am not speaking as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party. I am speaking as a Nigerian when I say that the electoral fraud perpetrated by the Buhari administration this past Saturday cannot produce a government of the people for the simple reason that it does not reflect the will of the Nigerian people. It is for this reason that I, Atiku Abubakar, reject the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission declaring Muhammadu Buhari as duly returned by the majority of lawful votes. I am conferring with not just my party, but also with the Nigerian people, on next steps, which will be revealed to the public shortly. For my fellow Nigerians who feel angry, disillusioned, and let down by the process, I appeal to you to remain calm and steadfast. Rome was not built in a day. We have the real figures, we have the facts that were spoken so loudly on Saturday, February 23, 2019. This is a long journey, but I am confident of victory. All hope is not lost. Stay strong, by the grace of God we shall triumph. And to investors and friends of Nigeria now pulling out of Nigeria, I urge you to be patient and keep faith with the Nigerian people. Your quarrel is not with the Nigerian people. Your quarrel is with those who stole their mandate. Please do not punish the people by divesting from Nigeria. Thank you all and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nigerians have taken to social media to call on Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to pick up his phone and congratulate the incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari. Their reaction came after Buhari opened an almost 4 million lead over his main opponent, Atiku, with less than 10 states to be declared. Reactions: Right now I think Athiefku should make that call #AtikuMakeThatCall NOW. Field Marshal The Godfather (@Ayourb) February 26, 2019 As things stand the only thing that can ease tension and show Atiku is truly democratic is for him to put a call through to the president elect. #AtikuMakeThatCall Kemisola Adekunle (@KemisolaAdekun1) February 26, 2019 https://twitter.com/sidramatics/status/1100448602600681474 Now that President Muhammadu Buhari has won last Saturdays presidential election to retain his seat, the All Progressives Congress, APC, has taken to social media to ask Nigerians to suggest things, they want to see Buhari do, in his new term. Using the hashtag #BuhariShould on Twitter, Nigerians have made many suggestions on how the president can make life better for every Nigerian in the next four years. See what Nigerians want from Buhari in the next four years Dollar to Naira rate https://twitter.com/ameenu_muhd/status/1100714009374920706?s=19 Infrastructure #BuhariShould improve on infrastructure and power supply to enable our economy attract foreign investors to improve our employment rate under his admin. #NextLevel @APCNigeria @MBuhari Adams owolabi (@paipa24) February 27, 2019 Constant electricity #BuhariShould make electricity supply the highest in Nigeria history it will also help the economy, create more jobs, find a way of eradicating insurgency. Lanreqozeem (@Qozeem20) February 27, 2019 Make food affordable #BuhariShould improve more on economy and employ more technocrat in ds aspect. Food generally should be subsidize to d affordability of all Kamil Abiodun (@kamil_abiodun) February 27, 2019 More media chats #BuhariShould address the nation more frequently and carry people along. All he has to provide leadership within his party. 2 many intra-party crisis. Malik (@malsky007) February 27, 2019 Fix things one step at a time #BuhariShould Focus on one section of the country at a time, if he wanna fix power he should go out for it in full force, if it's education, he should do the same, but most of all the countries GDP is low and our level of production is poor. Businesses are closing down. Ebrahim Aweda (@boxzeey) February 27, 2019 Reshuffle cabinet https://twitter.com/Abkr_Maikudi/status/1100754428880130048?s=19 Continue fight against corruption I think #BuhariShould make his fight against corruption not look one sided, discipline even those in your party, you have nothing to loose sir. Erusiafe Aghogho (@ErusiafeA) February 27, 2019 #buharishould continue fighting insurgency, corruption and makes the economy better. Also, we need electricity for us to develop e.g in the area of science and tech. jr_ternko10 (@AbeTernkoJnr) February 27, 2019 Obey court orders https://twitter.com/EddyTalentMoney/status/1100723733155721216?s=19 Address insecurity #BuhariShould please address the killings in Nigeria and do something about the economy. There is so much poverty. Ihsan Jibril (@ihsanjibril) February 27, 2019 Look into government agencies These elections have shown #BuhariShould needs to take a new look at Identity Management in Nigeria. What is currently on ground, @nimc_ng, needs to be improved and some level of priority given to them to make them function better. #BuhariShould BetDude (@bet_dude) February 27, 2019 More empowerment programs Vanguard The two arms of the National AssemblySenate and House of Representatives yesterday adjourned till March 12 due to their inability to form a quorum. The Sun President Muhammadu Buhari has thanked Nigerians for re-electing him into office for another four years. Daily Times The Deputy Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Imo State, Hon. Gerald Ironna has accused the state Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha of trying to force himself in the senate (Red Chamber) against the will of the people. Leadership At exactly 4.39am today, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, declared incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the 2019 presidential election held last Saturday. Daily Trust The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, failed in its bid to stop the declaration of President Muhammadu Buhari as the president-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC The Nation The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the result of the Presidential election. Tribune The chairman Senate Committe on Culture and Tourism, Senator Fatimat Raji-Rasaki says her conviction in the potency of tourism as a vibrant alternative source of revenue actuated her motion in the Senate calling for the demerging of the Ministry for Culture and Tourism from the Ministry of Information and national Orientation. Controversial Nollywood actor, Uche Maduagwu, has slammed her colleague, Daniella Okeke, for saying that she does not understand how a reasonable person would vote for President Muhammadu Buhari. Uche did not only fault her comment, but he also said that if the main opposition (PDP) spent 16 years in power and couldnt fix Nigeria then how would Buhari work magic in just four years. What he said: https://www.instagram.com/p/BuZcl7BhuM8/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet https://www.instagram.com/p/BuZcl7BhuM8/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet https://www.instagram.com/p/BuZcl7BhuM8/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet https://www.instagram.com/p/BuZcl7BhuM8/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet https://www.instagram.com/p/BuZcl7BhuM8/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet Nollywood actress, Danielle Okeke, has taken to her Instagram page today, 26th of February, to reveal that she is seriously searching for a husband. She added that she is tired of Nigerian suitors and as such wants a white man as a husband. She wrote: https://www.instagram.com/p/BuUKkQhhOpA/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet VANG VIENG, Laos, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The China-Laos railway is gradually revealing its first signs of true glory, as the bridge and roadbed are taking shape and vehicles loaded with equipment are continuously entering and exiting the tunnel. The construction of the China-Laos railway has offered more than 5,000 jobs to local people and changed the lives of local villagers whose dreams have now come true. Bounma Chalernsak, 38, works as a driver for the railway project, and his wife, 33, works as a cleaner. They have two children in middle school and elementary school respectively. Education requires a lot of financial support and prior to working on the project, they were barely making ends meet. "Now, my income is higher than before, and is paid on time. In addition, my wife and I can work together," Bounma said. He used to drive before working on the China-Laos railway project, and his wife planted rice, corn and potatoes in the westernmost province of Laos. "I hope that someday I can send my children to study in China and contribute to the increasingly close cooperation and exchange between China and Laos," Bounma said, who holds great expectations for his children and hopes they will be proud of their parents' participation in the railway construction. The China-Laos railway starts from northern Laos bordering China, and ends in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. It is more than 400km long and its construction has adopted Chinese technical standards and used Chinese equipment. The construction started in December 2016 and swung into full gear in mid-2017. It is scheduled to be completed and opened to traffic in December 2021, hence this year is a crucial one ahead of the successful completion of the railway. Bounma and his Chinese colleagues have already made history in Laos. The Ban Somsanook No. 2 Tunnel, which was built by the PowerChina Sino-hydro Corporation Engineering Bureau 15 Co. Ltd., was successfully completed on Dec. 12, 2017. It became the first tunnel bored along the China-Laos railway and the first modern traffic tunnel in Lao history. "The villages along the railway have changed a lot and developed rapidly. Villagers often come to see the construction," Lien Vongphuk, deputy village chief of Phonthong Village near the railway tunnel told Xinhua. "The villagers here used to make their living from farming and agriculture. Now, however, the railway project has increased the employment and income of the villagers in remote areas, and improved their living standards," he said. More fruit trees will be planted and more livestock will be fed in the village after the completion of the railway. The project is really a win-win situation for everybody, he added. Somechai Xayyavong, 34, joined the China-Laos railway project because of his dream of working in technology. He used to work for local firms building hydro-power plants. When the railway project was launched, he was eager to be employed by PowerChina Sino-hydro Corporation Engineering Bureau 15 Co. Ltd. "The salary is higher and the working environment is better than my previous job," Somechai said. "But the point for me is the equipment used by Lao survey teams is not as advanced, so I have learned and gained more know-how about to use more advanced apparatuses and equipment since I started working here," Somechai said. At the just-concluded China-Laos Railway Construction Working Conference 2019, Somechai Xayyavong was awarded the honorary title of "Railway Craftsman" of the China-Laos Railway in 2018. "The railway construction in Laos has just begun. In the future, the railway will run through the whole country from north to south," Somechai said. He said that he had always hoped to work with the Chinese to build railways and to accumulate enough experience and technology to open his own surveying and mapping company in the future so as to be able to further cooperate with the Chinese. Many African presidents have hailed president Muhammadu Buhari on his victory at the 2019 presidential election, which was held on Saturday, 23rd February 2019. The president of Ghana, Nana Akudo-Addo, Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, and the president of Zimbabwe, are the earliest to congratulate Buhari on winning his reelection bid. Buhari had thrashed his strongest contender, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP with well over 4 million votes to retain his seat. See their messages The Ghanaian people, their government and I extend warm congratulations to His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) on his re-election, for a second successive term, as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in the elections of Saturday 23rd February, 2019. pic.twitter.com/azLV2nhatq Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) February 27, 2019 https://twitter.com/UKenyatta/status/1100646063772450817?s=19 The Empire: Now or Never By Fred Reed February 26, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Many people I talk to seem to think American foreign policy has something to do with democracy, human rights, national security, or maybe terrorism or freedom, or niceness, or something. It is a curious belief, Washington being interested in all of them. Other people are simply puzzled, seeing no pattern in Americas international behavior. Really, the explanation is simple. The reason of course is empire, the desire for which is an ancient and innate part of mankinds cerebral package. Parthian, Roman, Aztec, Hapsburg, British. It never stops. When the Soviet Empire collapsed, America appeared poised to establish the first truly world empire. The developed countries were American vassals in effect if not in name, many of them occupied by American troops: Among others, Europe, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Latin America, Saudi Arabia, and Australia. The US had by far the dominant economy and the biggest military, controlled the IMF, NATO, the dollar, SWIFT, and enjoyed technological superiority.. Russia was in chaos, China a distant smudge on the horizon. Powerful groups in Washington, such as PNAC, began angling towed aggrandizement, but the real lunge came with the attack on Iraq. Current foreign policy openly focuses on dominating the planet. The astonishing thing is that some people dont notice. The world runs on oil. Controlling the supply conveys almost absolute power over those countries that do not have their own. (For example, the Japanese would soon be eating each other if their oil were cut off.) Saudi Arabia is an American protectorate, and, having seen what happened to Iraq, knows that it can be conquered in short order if it gets out of line. The U. S. Navy could easily block tanker traffic from Hormuz to any or all countries. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter A major purpose of the destruction of Iraq was to get control of its oil and put American forces on the border of Iran, another oil power. The current attempt to starve the Iranians aims at installing a American puppet government. The ongoing coup in Venezuela seeks control of another vast oil reserve. It will also serve to intimidate the rest of Latin America by showing what can happen to any country that defies Washington. Why are American troops in Nigeria? Guess what Nigeria has. Note that Iraq and Iran, in addition to their oil, are geostrategically vital to a world empire. Further, the immensely powerful Jewish presence in the US supports the Mid-East wars for its own purposes. So, of course, does the arms industry. All Gods chillun love the Empire. For the Greater Empire to prevail, Russia and China, the latter a surprise contender, must be neutralized. Thus the campaign to crush Russia by economic sanctions. At the same time Washington pushes NATO, its sepoy militia, ever eastward, wants to station US forces in Poland, plans a Space Command whose only purpose is to intimidate or bankrupt Russia, drops out of the INF Treaty for the same reasons, and seeks to prevent commercial relations between Russia and the European vassals (e.g., Nordstream II). China of course is the key obstacle to expanding the Empire. Ergo the trade war. America has to stop Chinas economic and technological progress, and stop it now, as It will not get another chance. The present moment is an Imperial crunch point. America cannot compete with China commercially or, increasingly, in technology. Washington knows it. Beijings advantages are too great: A huge and growing domestic market, a far larger population of very bright people, a for-profit economy that allows heavy investment both internally and abroad, a stable government that can plan well into the future. America? Its power is more fragile than it may seem. The United States once dominated economically by making better products at better prices, ran a large trade surplus, and barely had competitors. Today it has deindustrialized, runs a trade deficit with almost everybody, carries an astronomical and uncontrolled national debt, and makes few things that the world cant get elsewhere, often at lower cost. Increasingly Americas commercial power is as a consumer, not a producer. Washington tells other countries, If you dont do as we say, we wont buy your stuff. The indispensable country is an indispensable market. With few and diminishing (though important) exceptions, if it stopped selling things to China, China would barely notice, but if it stopped buying, the Chinese economy would wither. Tariffs, note, are just a way of not buying Chinas stuff. Since the profligate American market is vital to other countries, they often do as ordered. But Asian markets grow. So do Asian industries. As Americas competitiveness declines, Washington resorts to strong-arm tactics. It has no choice. A prime example is the 5G internet, a Very Big Deal, in which Huawei holds the lead. Unable to provide a better product at a better price, Washington forbids the vassals to deal with Huaweion pain of not buying their stuff. In what appears to be desperation, the Exceptional Nation has actually made a servile Canada arrest the daughter of Huaweis founder. The tide runs against the Empire. A couple of decades ago, the idea that China could compete technologically with America would have seemed preposterous. Today China advances at startling speed. It is neck and neck with the US in supercomputers, launches moonlanders, leads in 5G internet, does leading work in genetics, designs world-class chipsets (e.g., the Kirin 980 and 920) and smartphones. Another decade or two of this and America will be at the trailing edge. The American decline is largely self-inflicted. The US chooses its government by popularity contests among provincial lawyers rather than by competence. American education deteriorates under assault by social-justice faddists. Washington spends on the military instead of infrastructure and the economy. It is politically chaotic, its policies changing with every new administration. The first rule of empire is, Dont let your enemies unite. Instead, Washington has pushed Russia, China, and Iran into a coalition against the Empire. It might have been brighter to have integrated Iran tightly into the Euro-American econosphere, but Israel would not have let America do this. The same approach would have worked with Russia, racially closer to Europe than China and acutely aware of having vast empty Siberia bordering an overpopulated China. By imposing sanctions of adversaries and allies alike, Washington promotes dedollarization and recognition that America is not an ally but a master. It is now or never. If Americas great but declining power does not subjugate the rest of the world quickly, the rising powers of Asia will swamp it. Even India grows. Either sanctions subdue the world, or Washington starts a world war. Or America becomes just another country. To paraphrase a great political thinker, Its the Empire, Stupid. Fred's Biography - As He Tells It - Fred, a keyboard mercenary with a disorganized past, has worked on staff for Army Times, The Washingtonian, Soldier of Fortune, Federal Computer Week, and The Washington Times. His website - www.fredoneverything.org February 26, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - A dry statistic emerged from the UN yesterday reporting that close to 4,000 civilians were killed in Afghanistan last year. It estimated how many were victims of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and then attributed 951 casualties to the U.S. [1] These are civilians we killed, and it isn't even news. What is news and what isn't continues to mystify. It seems when we are the victims, its news; when they are it isn't. Seventeen children were killed in the Parkland shooting. The US media had a blockbuster run on that story featuring it 7,900 times [2] Nine people were killed in the Charleston church shooting and the story was wall-to-wall 24-7. [3][4] But America's Afghan killing spree? Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter No way. These were not terrorists or militants, by the way, or any of the familiar categories we use to distance ourselves from our actions. These were regular, men, women, children, grandparents, aunt's, uncles, and cousins who succumbed to American bullets and bombs. And there are surely many more than these, uncounted and generally unmentioned, in Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Chad, Niger, Somalia, Libya; [5] the current list of America's killing fields. Instead CNN seems utterly obsessed these days with getting U.S. humanitarian aid to hungry Venezuelansstarving mainly because U.S. sanctions are kind of starving them. Strangely enough, liberal leftie, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, fully supports America's war of liberation in Venezuela singing the same tune as right-winger John Bolton. How amazing that Democrats and Republicans hold hands on overthrowing a sovereign country, which legally holds a seat at the UN, and both enthusiastically support wannabe leader, Juan Guaido for President while the majority of Venezuelans never heard of the guy. [6] I wonder what mysterious hunger brings Debbie and John to the same feeding trough? Could it be that Venezuela possesses the largest oil reserves in the world? [7] Even more amazing, though, is how other pieces of news have trouble penetrating the fusillade of mainstream media propaganda. Those 951 innocents may not ever get their due, but the corporate media will do everything in its power to urge you to try a large Papa Johns pizza and give Geico 15 minutes of your time. Venezuela set for more false flags US puppet Guaido better watch his back By Finian Cunningham February 26, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - The much-hyped aid weekend involving a US Trojan Horse fell at the first hurdle. Venezuelan government forces averted the provocation intended by US aid convoys from Colombia and Brazil. However, increasing frustration in Washington beckons more false flags. Something shocking is needed in order to jolt world opinion into acquiescing to Washingtons criminal agenda of all options. In the fiendish mind of American imperialism, it is also prudent to consider all options as meaning more than military aggression. The foulest moves. The torching of trucks purportedly ferrying US food and medicines across the border from Colombia was patently a planned provocation. Credible video footage and witnesses attested to the arson being carried out by supporters of the US-backed opposition figure Juan Guaido. The vehicles never even made it to the crossing point where Venezuelan national guards were deployed. Yet, at the Lima Group summit held no coincidence in the Colombian capital, Bogota on Monday, Guaido and US Vice President Mike Pence brazenly spouted lies that the sadistic Venezuelan military under President Nicolas Maduro had caused the destruction of vital aid supplies intended for suffering people. It seems obvious the whole scenario of delivering US aid into Venezuela from neighboring countries was really intended as a pretext for military intervention by Washington. The government in Caracas had warned of such a contingency in advance, as had Russia, which is allied to President Maduros administration. Moscows experience in Syria has no doubt given a lot of valuable insights into the American playbook of using false flags for justifying military aggression. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter The timing of the Lima Group summit 12 Latin American states along with the US and Canada was meant to capitalize on the false-flag incident over aid, as well as other deadly clashes at the weekend that resulted in dozens of casualties. However, the provocation did not go to plan, despite Pence and Guaidos grandstanding assertions. The other downside for the US regime-change objective in Venezuela is that the Lima Group has for the moment broken ranks over the military option. Pence and Guaido stepped up the rhetoric calling for all options on the table meaning military intervention. But the Lima Group, including US allies Colombia, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, issued a statement after the summit Monday rejecting any military action. They are still functioning as lackeys by calling for a peaceful transition to democracy and are in favor of the dubious US-anointed opposition figure Guaido, recognizing him as the interim president of Venezuela, in accordance with Washingtons desires. Nevertheless, repudiation of the military option by Washingtons regional allies will be seen as a damper to the momentum for using American force to overthrow the Maduro government. Brazils Vice President Hamilton Mourao repeatedly said in interviews that his government would not allow a US military incursion into Venezuela from its territory. The European Union also said it was opposed to any military force being used by the US against Venezuela. The emerging situation therefore puts the regime-change planners in Washington in a quandary. Their sanctions pressure for blackmailing defections in the Venezuelan political and military leadership has failed. So too has the much-vaunted spectacle of delivering US aid. Growing frustration on the US side was evident from the obscene posting of snuff movies by Florida Senator Marco Rubio, comparing the bloody fate of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi with what might happen to Maduro. Rubio has become something of an unofficial envoy for regime change in Venezuela on behalf of the Trump administration, in the same way the late Senator John McCain performed his role in helping prompt a coup detat in Ukraine back in 2014. As well as conveying death threats to Maduro concerning Gaddafi, who was brutally lynched by NATO-backed jihadists in October 2011, Rubio also posted images of former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega. Noriega was captured by US forces after they bombed and invaded his country in 1989. The criminality of Rubio and other senior US officials, including President Trump, openly calling for regime change against Maduro is a sign of how manic Washington has become in getting its hands on the countrys vast oil wealth. There isnt even a hint of coyness about the criminality. The desperation for regime change in Venezuela by Washington has only become more frenzied as its machinations appear to be coming unstuck. Therefore, it can be anticipated, Washington needs a game-changing event badly in order to shift its lackey Lima Group, the EU and the United Nations to accepting its agenda for a military option. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has strongly appealed for no violence in the stand-off between the US and Venezuela. Significantly, the UN has declined to get involved in delivering US aid to the South American country, as such involvement would be viewed as taking sides. Voice of America quotes Dany Bahar, a Venezuela expert at the DC think-tank the Brookings Institution, as saying that the next steps for Washington in its pressure campaign on the Maduro regime is to try to get the United Nations on board, which has not happened yet. Ominously, the Lima Group has issued a statement claiming to have credible evidence that Juan Guaidos life is seriously threatened by Venezuelan state security. Pence also warned that Maduro would be held responsible for Guaido and his familys safety. Last month, Guaido made claims that his wifes family was menaced by state agents who allegedly visited their home. It was an unconfirmed claim , which the Venezuelan authorities denied. Guaido defied a travel ban to attend the summit in Bogota earlier this week. It is not clear if he will return to Venezuela as he is liable to be arrested on charges of inciting sedition and civil unrest. Indeed, Washingtons game plan does not seem to be going well. Through a series of miscalculations and foolish over-reach, the gambit in Venezuela is at risk of becoming a debacle. That very situation, however, could tempt a desperate throw of the dice by the Trump administration to salvage its losses so far. A major, shocking event is needed, it may be calculated, in order to get the Latin American and European lackeys into line on regime-change policy, specifically the military option. As the Brookings Institute pundit said, to get the United Nations on board. Because so far, the majority of the UN members, including Russia and China, key UN Security Council veto powers, are not complying with Washingtons dictate of delegitimizing President Maduro and recognizing the US-backed puppet figure Guaido. What could such a shocking event entail? Somebody is telling the Lima Group that Guaido and his family are in grave danger of being assassinated. Guaidos Popular Will party is known to engage in violent subversion and allegedly has links to the American CIA, as reported by Abby Martin and others. Pence threatens war in Venezuela at Colombia summit: There is no turning back By Eric London February 26, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - US Vice President Mike Pence delivered a bellicose speech before representatives of 14 Latin American countries at a meeting of the Lima Group in Bogota, Colombia, yesterday. The remarks were timed to coincide with the US-orchestrated provocations at the Venezuelan border over the weekend, resulting in clashes that left several people dead. Pence rehashed phrases plagiarized from speeches given by George W. Bush in the run-up to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, combining them with denunciations of socialism. There is no turning back, Pence said. All options are on the table. A new day is coming in Latin America, he continued. In Venezuela and across the Western hemisphere, socialism is dying and liberty, prosperity and democracy are being reborn before our eyes. Pence issued an ultimatum to the Venezuelan military, threatening that if it did not overthrow Maduro, You will find no safe harbor, no easy exit, no way out. You will lose everything. Pence announced that the US would place added sanctions on officials in the Venezuelan government and called on the right-wing governments of Latin America to transfer ownership of Venezuelan assets in your country to the government of US puppet Juan Guaido. In other words, the US is conducting cross-hemispheric highway robbery. In his speech, Pence gave several justifications for intensifying US war threats against Venezuela. Venezuela exploits indigenous tribes, damages the environment through oil exploration and impoverishes its population, Pence said. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter These claims would be laughable were it not for the seriousness of the threats. The United States is the worlds worst offender in each of these departments. Particularly disgusting was Pences attack on Venezuela for refusing shelter for those displaced immigrants along its border. The Washington Post wrote that Pence embraced a sobbing elderly man, an immigrant waiting to enter Venezuela. The Post reporters, tears welling in their eyes, wrote that Pence told the man in English, We are with you. The Post report made no mention of the thousands of immigrants currently sleeping on the streets in Mexican cities along the US-Mexico border after the US barred them from entering the country to apply for asylum. Simultaneous with this weekends planned confrontation, the US military escalated its war plans. CNN reported that the US military has flown an increased number of reconnaissance flights in international airspace off the coast of Venezuela during the last several days to gather classified intelligence in possible preparation for a military intervention. On Saturday, Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rossello reported that the Venezuelan military threatened to open fire on an American ship that entered Venezuelan territorial waters without permission. Though the ship was registered in Vanuatu, it was flying under a US flag in violation of international maritime law. US officials claim the ship was carrying 200 tons of humanitarian aid. Venezuelan officials allege that US humanitarian aid includes weapons shipments to Colombia. Last Wednesday, Colombian armed forces leader Maj. Gen. Luis Navarro Jimenez traveled to Florida, where he met with leaders of US Southern Command. The Washington Post wrote yesterday that behind the scenes in Bogota, Guaido sought assurances that the United States could use force if necessary. Venezuelan right-wing opposition leader Julio Borges tweeted Sunday that the opposition will urge for an escalation of diplomatic pressure and the use of force against the dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro. President Trump has long privately expressed his interest in waging war on Venezuela. In his recently published book, former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe reports that Trump once brought up Venezuela in his presence, saying, Thats the country we should be going to war with. They have all that oil and theyre right on our back door. The bellicose mood in Washington was exemplified by a reckless Washington Post opinion article published yesterday by Francisco Toro, who leads the think tank Group of 50, founded by a former World Bank official with the backing of the imperialist Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Despite the articles title, With US military action, Venezuela could become the Libya of the Caribbean, Toro makes the case for pushing the region to the brink of war. Last weekends border confrontation moved military action to dislodge the Venezuelan regime from fringe speculation to serious policy discussion, Toro writes. The Venezuelan military, he continues, is unlikely to rebel against Maduro unless they calculate US military action is genuinely imminent The best solution now, then, is a strategy designed to convince Venezuelas generals that, unless they topple Maduro in short order, theyll be bombed out of existencea message that should be delivered by people who understand actually bombing them out of existence would be a disaster. What the United States needs to do, in other words, is bluff, by taking further steps that raise Venezuelan generals perception of a threat. The article concludes: God help us all. This incendiary strategy has the bipartisan support of the US political establishment. As former Bush administration official Jose Cardenas wrote in Foreign Policy : US policy toward Venezuela has enjoyed a bipartisan consensus in Congress through successive administrations. Democrats such as Sen. Bob Menendez, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Rep. Eliot Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, have been active critics of the breakdown in Venezuelan democracy over the years. It is not certain, however, that the US will be able to line up its allies behind its threats of military intervention. The increased threats of war have deepened divisions between Washington and its allies in the region and in Europe. While the Lima Group declaration called for the immediate resignation of Maduro, it also noted that the transition to democracy should be conducted by the Venezuelans themselves peacefully by political and diplomatic means, without the use of force. Brazils vice president, Hamilton Mourao, said Monday from Bogota that a military option was never an option for Brazil, and that we advocate for no intervention. The foreign minister of Spain, Josep Borrell, told the Efe news agency on Sunday, We have clearly warned that we would not supportand would roundly condemnany foreign military intervention. Despite support from the governments of the region and in Europe for the US regime-change operation, these statements reflect concerns that the US is proceeding with a degree of recklessness that risks throwing the entire hemisphere into an unprecedented level of chaos. The Trump administration has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, now scheduled for Tuesday. The US will likely use the opportunity to denounce Russia and China, which are likely to exercise their veto power as permanent members to block a pseudo-legal international fig leaf to US imperialisms machinations in South America. This article was originally published by " WSWS" - Copyright 1998-2019 World Socialist Web Site Victory For The Chagos Islanders By John Pilger February 26, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - The International Court of Justice in The Hague has handed down a momentous judgement that says Britain's colonial authority over the Chagos Islands is no longer legal. John Pilger, whose 2004 film, Stealing a Nation, alerted much of the world to the plight of the islanders, tells their story here. You can watch Stealing a Nation here . There are times when one tragedy tells us how a whole system works behind its democratic facade and helps us understand how much of the world is run for the benefit of the powerful and how governments often justify their actions with lies. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the British Government of Harold Wilson expelled the entire population of the Chagos Islands, a British crown colony in the Indian Ocean, to make way for an American military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island. In high secrecy, the Americans offered a discounted Polaris nuclear submarine as payment for use of the islands. The truth of this conspiracy did not emerge for another 20 years when secret official files were unearthed at the Public Record Office, in London, by lawyers acting for the former inhabitants of the coral archipelago. Historian Mark Curtis described the enforced depopulation in Web of Deceit, his 2003 book about Britain's post-war foreign policy. The British media all but ignored it; the Washington Post called it a 'mass kidnapping'. I first heard of the plight of the Chagossians in 1982, during the Falklands War. Britain had sent a fleet to the aid of 2,000 Falkland Islanders at the other end of the world while another 2,000 British citizens from islands in the Indian Ocean had been expelled by British governments and hardly anyone knew. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter The difference was that the Falkland Islanders were white and the Chagossians were black and, crucially, the United States wanted the islands - especially Diego Garcia - as a major military base from which to command the Indian Ocean. The Chagos Islands were a natural paradise. The 1,500 islanders were self-sufficient with an abundance of natural produce, and extreme weather was rare. There were thriving villages, a school, a hospital, a church, a railway and an undisturbed way of life - until a secret 1961 Anglo-American survey of Diego Garcia led to the deportation of the entire population. The expulsions began in 1965. People were herded into the hold of a rusting ship, the women and children forced to sleep on a cargo of bird fertiliser. They were dumped in the Seychelles, where they were held in prison cells, then shipped on to Mauritius, where they were taken to a derelict housing estate with no water or electricity. Twenty-six families died here in brutal poverty, there were nine suicides; and girls were forced into prostitution to survive. I interviewed many of them. One woman recalled how she and her husband took their baby to Mauritius for medical treatment and were told they could not return. The shock was so great that her husband suffered a stroke and died. Others described how the British and Americans gassed their dogs - beloved pets to the islanders - as an intimidation to pack up and leave. Lizette Talate told me how her children had 'died of sadness'. She herself has since died. The depopulation of the archipelago was completed within 10 years and Diego Garcia became home to one of the United States' biggest bases, with more than 2,000 troops, two bomber runways, 30 warships, facilities for nuclear-armed submarines and a satellite spy station. Iraq and Afghanistan were bombed from the former paradise. Following 9/11, America's perceived enemies were 'rendered' here and there is evidence they were tortured. All the while, the Chagos remained a British possession and its people a British responsibility. After demonstrating on the streets of Mauritius in 1982, the exiled islanders were given the derisory compensation of less than 3,000 each by the British government. When declassified British Foreign Office files were discovered, the full sordid story was laid bare. One file was headed, 'Maintaining the Fiction' and instructed British officials to lie that the islanders were itinerant workers, not a stable indigenous population. Secretly, British officials recognised they were open to 'charges of dishonesty' because they were planning to 'cook the books' - lie. In 2000, the High Court in London ruled the expulsions illegal. In response, the Labour government of Tony Blair invoked the Royal Prerogative, an archaic power invested in the Queen's 'Privy Council' that allows the government to bypass Parliament and the courts. In this way, the government hoped, the islanders could be prevented from ever returning home. The High Court again ruled that the Chagossians were entitled to return and in 2008, the Foreign Office appealed to the Supreme Court. Although based on no new evidence, the appeal was successful. I was in Parliament - where the highest court then sat in the House of Lords - on the day of the judgement. I have never seen such shame-faced judges in what was clearly a political decision. In 2010, the British government sought to reinforce this by establishing a marine nature reserve around the Chagos Islands. The ruse was exposed by WikiLeaks, which published a US Embassy diplomatic cable from 2009 that read, 'Establishing a marine reserve might indeed, as the FCO's [Colin] Roberts stated, be the most effective long-term way to prevent any of the Chagos Islands' former inhabitants or descendants from resettling.' Now the International Court of Justice has decided that the British government of the day had no right in law to separate the Chagos Islands from Mauritius when it granted Mauritius independence. The Court, whose powers are advisory, has said Britain must end its authority over the islands. By extension, that almost certainly makes the US base illegal. Of course, the indefatigable campaign of the Chagossians and their supporters will not stop there: not until the first islander goes home. Follow John Pilger on twitter @johnpilger - Visit his website http://johnpilger.com Dhaka, Feb 27 (IBNS): The Biman Bangladesh flight, which was 'hijacked' by a person last week, will resume flights within 10 days, officials said. Talking to The Daily Star, Bangladesh Civil Aviation Secretary Mohibul Haque said the Boeing 737-800 sustained two bullet hits and a damaged switchboard during the hijacking. "The switchboard replacement has been brought already, he said. "Prospects are, the plane will be added to the fleet of the national flag carrier within eight to 10 days," Secretary Mohibul told The Daily Star. The Bangladeshi person, who allegedly tried to hijack a Bimans BG-147 flight on Sunday in Chittagong, was buried in Narayanganj on Tuesday, media reports said. The deceased person was identified as Polash Ahmed. He was buried at Dudhghata Graveyard in Dudhghata, Sonargaon upazila around 9:45am,reported The Daily Star newspaper of Bangladesh. The deceased person allegedly attempted to hijack a Biman Bangladesh Airlines in Chittagong's Shah Amanat International Airport. The 148 passengers and crew members were safely evacuated from the flight after it made an emergency landing in Chittagong airport. The suspected hijacker, who was identified as Polash Ahmed, was killed during a commando operation. Kathmandu, Feb 27 (IBNS): All seven on board a helicopter, which was carrying country's tourism minister Rabindra Adhikari, were killed after it crashed in Nepal's Taplejung district on Wednesday, media reports said. Travelling with Minister Adhikari were the pilot of the helicopter Captain Prabhakar KC, tourism entrepreneur Ang Tshiring Sherpa, security personnel Arjun Ghimire, Under-Secretary at the Prime Ministers office Yubaraj Dahal, Deputy Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) Birendra Shrestha, and CAAN Engineer Dhruba Das Bhochhibhaya, reported The Himalayan Times. The Chief District Officer of Taplejung, Anuj Bhandari quoted the locals as saying they heard a loud bang followed by a sight of smoke and fire in the area, reported the newspaper. The mishap reportedly occurred when the minister and others on board were en route to Pathibhara Temple after attending a programme at Chuhan Danda in Panchthar to observe the under-construction airport. Rescue operation is currently going on. The Himalayan Times reported two helicopters are already present at the incident site while two more helicopters of Nepal Army are flying to the area. Image: Rabindra Adhikari Twitter page Shopian, Feb 27 (IBNS): Two Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists were killed during an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian area on Wednesday, officials said. Arms and ammunition were recovered from the spot, police said. "#Shopian #encounter update: 02 #JeMterrorists killed in the ongoing operation. #Arms & ammunition recovered. Searches in the area are going on. Further details shall follow. @JmuKmrPolice," Kashmir Police Zone tweeted. #Shopian #encounter update: 02 #JeMterrorists killed in the ongoing operation. #Arms & ammunition recovered. Searches in the area are going on. Further details shall follow. @JmuKmrPolice Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) February 27, 2019 The encounter took place just a day after India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp in Balakot, about 80 km from the Line of Control (LoC). On Feb 14, 40 Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers were killed in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama area. Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists were behind the attack. The incident triggered massive protests and condemnation across the nation. India blamed Pakistan for the incident. The hospital accommodates 1,200 beds, 400 more than the initial plan, with total investment capital of nearly VND1.1 trillion (US$47.3 million) sourced from Government bonds. This is the largest and most modern hospital in the Central Highlands at present with 38 departments, which have been equipped with many advanced medical checkup and treatment facilities. In preparation for the hospitals operations, over the last five years, the Dak Lak provincial Health Department has sent a team of doctors for further training to improve their capabilities. The hospital has been implementing 50 highly technical services in 13 specialist departments. Meanwhile, the province is currently investing more than VND100 billion (US$4.3 million) to purchase modern equipment in service of the medical examination and treatment demand of the people in the Central Highlands provinces and those from Laos and Cambodia. Doctors at the Central Highlands general hospital are examining and treating patients. Nguyen Dai Phong, director of the hospital, said that the hospital will pay attention to developing specialist departments of interventional cardiology, open-heart surgery, oncology, kidney & urology, aiming to provide timely treatment for patients instead of having to take them to Ho Chi Minh City. The inauguration of the general hospital for the Central Highlands region offers a chance for the people in Dak Lak in particular, and those in the Central Highlands as a whole, to enjoy the applications of modern medical techniques right in their localities, while working to reduce the state of referral, save travelling, accommodation and treatment costs for patients, and reduce overload for hospitals at the central level. Index-Journal Careers PART-TIME POSITION available in our packaging area. 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. Councilor Melissa Mazzeo shows examples of biodegradable plastic bags that she'd like to see be available. Pittsfield Council Stalls Plastic Bag Ban Vote Attorney Rinaldo Del Gallo first filed the petition nearly six years ago. PITTSFIELD, Mass. A potential ban on single-use plastic bags was again delayed Tuesday night after the City Council appeared gridlocked on a few details. The proposal to eliminate the bags primarily used at the grocery store checkout has been nearly six years in the making since attorney Rinaldo Del Gallo first petitioned for it in conjunction with a ban on styrofoam. The two were uncoupled and in 2015 the City Council passed a ban on Styrofoam food containers. The bag ban, meanwhile, worked its way through the Green Commission and council subcommittee meetings -- including sitting unaddressed on the subcommittee level for some time -- until earlier this month when it received the endorsement from Ordinance and Rules. At the latest crack at getting a vote on it, the City Council debated for about an hour before opting to table a vote until the next meeting. The major point of contention Tuesday was a provision added at the end of the subcommittee meeting to require stores to charge 5 cents for non-reusable bags such as paper or a biodegradable plastic. A vote to remove that provision failed with a 5-5 vote -- with City Council President Peter Marchetti absent. Councilor at Large Melissa Mazzeo sat on the subcommittee and pushed and won an agreement to include a provision allowing biodegradable plastic bags. But she still disagreed with forcing stores to charge for the use of those or for paper bags. Mazzeo received support from Councilors Anthony Simonelli, Kevin Morandi, Christopher Connell, and Donna Todd Rivers but it wasn't enough votes to eliminate the nickel charge. Ward 4 Councilor Connell said the city shouldn't be telling businesses what to do in that way. "Are we really being big brother to our businesses now?" Connell rhetorically asked. Those in favor said the charge is to further discourage people from using single-use bags in an effort to promote reusable bags. Councilor at Large Earl Persip urged the council to increase the charge. He said the intent isn't to have people simply use paper bags but to move to the more sturdy and reusable fabric bags and that the nickel charge provides the incentive to do so. He added that the large chain stores could afford to give the more expensive paper bags away while the smaller local businesses would be forced to charge -- thus putting them at a competitive disadvantage. Persip said all stores should be on an even playing field. Chairwoman of the Morningside Initiative Kate Lauzon is already prepared to help get reusable bags into residents' hands. She has been in touch with those who run bag-share programs elsewhere and is ready to roll out a program in April at the Tyler Street Lab to give reusable bags to residents. Mazzeo pushed a provision to allow biodegradable plastic bags and praised them as a middle ground toward helping the environment without burdening residents too much. Last March, a representative from GXT Green , a bag manufacturer, presented the product to the council urging for an exception from the ban. The company believes paper bags ultimately are worse for the environment because of the cutting of trees, increased weight and volume in shipping causing more fuel to be used, and in their production. The biodegradable plastic was pitched as a lower cost option for businesses but also more environmentally friendly than the traditional thin plastic bags. "Recyclable paper bags aren't actually good for the environment," Mazzeo said, adding that they aren't useful in the rain and tear easily. Mazzeo focused on the practical uses of the current grocery bags. She said residents do reuse them in a number of ways like emptying cat litter boxes or as garbage bags. She said plastic bags such as the ones for newspaper delivery or produce aren't used multiple times and aren't covered by the ban. Connell added that people re-using the grocery bags for other purposes means they aren't buying more plastic bags. "They are re-used immensely," Mazzeo said, and the biodegradable plastic bags can serve those uses. Supporters of the ban, however, say the plastic bags pitched as biodegradable aren't as environmentally sound as the companies make them seem. Councilor at Large Peter White said they break into microplastics that still pollute the environment. "We are trying to encourage people to use real reusable bags," White said, later adding, "those still break down into micro-plastics." Overall, Connell's biggest question was, why ban bags when the city's trash is incinerated? The biggest concerns with plastic bags are that they end up in the environment, in landfills and waterways, and don't biodegrade. Connell said those issues are of less concern in Pittsfield because of the incineration process. What is the gain if a bag-ban cost is pushed on to the consumer? "The biggest question from the people saying no is why do we need this?" Connell said. "Do we really need this now since we don't have our waste going to the landfill?" Resident Judy Gitelson spoke at the open microphone period of the meeting and said burning plastic bags is causing a health concern because of what is being released into the air. "In Pittsfield, it seems like they are doing a lot of harm to human beings because we are burning them in our incinerator," she said. But resident Terry Kinnas disagreed with that, saying the equipment at Covanta prevents release of harmful chemicals into the air. Kinnas said he doesn't believe the ban is needed because of the incineration process and that the ban would just discourage people from coming to Pittsfield. "Because Lenox does something or Adams does something, doesn't mean it is right," Kinnas said. "You give reasons for people not to come here." Lenox and Adams are two of a number of Berkshire County towns with plastic bag bans. In total there are 93 or so cities and towns in Massachusetts with plastic bag bans in place including many towns in Berkshire County. Others in the Berkshires include Dalton, Great Barrington, Lanesborough, Lee, Stockbridge, and Williamstown. The bans hadn't faced much opposition in the county's towns but have struggled to gain support in the two cities. Both Pittsfield and North Adams continue to debate the question. Meanwhile, enough towns statewide have adopted bans to lead Big Y to get rid of plastic bags companywide rather than operating differently in different pockets of the state. On Beacon Hill, lawmakers are undertaking a question of a statewide ban. Mazzeo also took aim at the start date for Pittsfield. Ordinance and Rules implemented a date in September but Mazzeo said that wasn't enough time for companies to make a decision. The council unanimously agreed to push that to Jan. 1, 2020. The 5-5 split vote earlier, however, raised some cause for alarm that the bill wouldn't pass for petitioner Del Gallo. Eventually, Connell suggested tabling the vote until the full council was on hand. Del Gallo has been following the bill since he first filed it. He had a count in his head on how the councilors would vote -- a unanimous vote at the subcommittee level made him confident. He said the petitioners compromised on a number of points with Mazzeo and he felt the bill would receive support from the majority of the council. Mazzeo did vocally recognize that she was able to get some of her particular concerns addressed and voted against tabling it. But that 5-5 vote made Del Gallo wonder if Mazzeo would still be in favor of the bill. Del Gallo still feels that the petition has a better chance of passing with a full council. "I just think most of the council is environmentally friendly ... I think we have the votes," Del Gallo said. "It's been a five and a half year battle. I just want something passed." This was the first visit to Cambodia by Vietnamese top leader in his role as General Secretary and State President. It was an important political event, contributing to bringing the relationship of good neighbourliness, traditional friendship and comprehensive, sustainable and long-term cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia into a new development to meet the aspirations of the two peoples. Following the visit, the two countries issued a joint statement which noted that the two leaders shared the view that the safeguarding, preserving and development of the sound neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and long-term sustainability, on the basis of the principles stated in the joint statement, are the common responsibilities of both nations and peoples, towards the two countries sustainable development and bright future, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world. Experiencing the ups and downs of history and events of the times, the good neighbourliness and traditional friendship between Vietnam and Cambodia, constantly nurtured by generations of leaders and people from the two countries, has been more steadfast, becoming an invaluable asset for the two nations. The State visit to Cambodia by Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed that Vietnam always attaches great importance and gives high priority to consolidating and strengthening Vietnam Cambodia friendship and comprehensive cooperation in a deeper, more stable and sustainable manner as well as enhancing the trust and attachment between the Vietnamese Party and the Cambodian People's Party (CPP). During his stay in Cambodia, Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong held talks with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and visited Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk.He also had separate meetings with President of the Cambodian Senate Samdech Say Chhum, President of the country's National Assembly Samdech Heng Samrin and Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, who is also President of the CPP. He also visited Great Supreme Patriarch Tep Vong and Supreme Patriarch of the Dhammayuttika Nikaya order Bour Kry. Cambodian leaders and people gave a respectful and thoughtful reception to the Vietnamese top leader and high-ranking delegation, showing a deep solidarity and attachment between the two nations. In the atmosphere of friendship, mutual understanding and trustduring their talks and meetings, leaders of the two countries informed each other of the situations in each country, deeply discussed issues of bilateral cooperation, and shared ideas on the regional and international issues of mutual concern. Looking back at the development of the two countries relations over the past 50 years, the leaders expressed their pleasure to see that the Vietnam Cambodia friendship and solidarity has been nurtured by the generations of leaders and peoples from the two nations, overcoming all challenges and gaining comprehensive andimportant achievements. Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni expressed his deep gratitudeto the great and comprehensive support from Vietnamese Party, State and people to Cambodian people during the struggle for national liberation and escape from the disaster of genocide as well as in the period of national reconstruction and development. He also emphasised that the Vietnamese people are great, reliable friends of Cambodians, while affirming his determination to continue to nurture and promote the close-knit relations between the two nations. For his part, Vietnamese Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong extended his sincere thanks to King Norodom Sihamoni and late King Norodom Sihanouk, as well as generations of Cambodian leaders and people, for their valuable support to Vietnamese people during the fight for national independence and unification. The two leaders agreed that the protection, preservation and development of the Vietnam Cambodia relationship are the common responsibilities of the two States and peoples, particularly younger generations. The State visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia by Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong has successfully wrapped up, writing new pages in the relations between the two countries. With a rich history of solidarity, attachment, support and sharing, it can be believed that the relationship of good neighbourliness, traditional friendship and comprehensive, sustainable and long-term cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia will continue to achieve new developments, meeting the legitimate aspirations and interests of the two peoples for peace, stability, cooperation and development in Southeast Asia and the world. Anna d'Entremont of PCG, left, and Stamford School Board Chairwoman Cynthia Lamore give a brief overview of the interstate school district study on Monday at Stamford School. Presentation on Interstate School District Study Expected in May STAMFORD, Vt. The towns of Stamford and Clarksburg, Mass., hope to have their questions about a merged school district answered by May. Representatives from Public Consulting Group, hired to crunch data, research educational, governance and legislative factors, and lay out possible pathways to an interstate elementary school district, anticipate a joint meeting on May 15 to present what they've learned. "What we're here to do is see if it's even something that's possible, that's feasible," said Anna d'Entremont, PCG senior consultant and team leader. "We don't know yet. ... Our job is to really help facilitate a process that will by the end of the school year provide some answers and clarity." Should the towns pursue a joining, it would likely happen no earlier than 2021 because any collaboration will require both state legislative and congressional approval. On Monday, some three dozen residents and school and town officials from both towns gathered at Stamford School despite the windy and snowy weather to speak about their hopes and fears. There were far more hopeful comments than concerns, with members from both communities believing a merged or shared district would provide more opportunities for their children and, possibly, savings for the towns. "My hope as a parent is we go back to individual classes," said parent Katie Sarkis of Stamford. The small school often has combined grades and joining with the larger Clarksburg School could make that possible as well as expanding programming. "We could really benefit as a town having our kids under the Massachusetts curriculum before they go to high school." One of the expectations in merging the two K-8 elementary districts will be that the students will take the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests rather than the Vermont standardized tests. Stamford students attend high schools in Massachusetts, mostly Drury High School and McCann Technical School in North Adams. Most Clarksburg students attend these schools as well. Students have to pass the MCAS to graduate, which can put the Vermont students at a disadvantage in 10th grade. School Board members said only one student in the past several years had opted to attend a Vermont high school and another had tried but ended up transferring to a Massachusetts school. Several people agreed separate classrooms for grades would be a benefit. A Clarksburg parent noted that Stamford has a preschool, something that Clarksburg has been unable to find space for. "I think it's unique our schools are so close," she said. "Any commute I don't think will be a barrier." The towns will look at three options: doing nothing, becoming a joined district but maintaining the schools as is, or fully merging to take full advantage of both school buildings. "It strikes me that Clarksburg needs more space and Stamford needs more students," said another woman. Clarksburg School Principal Tara Barnes noted that the recent feasibility study of her school had determined it was undersized and did not have the space needed for certain activities, such as special education services. "There are space constraints," she said. "That's why we were trying to have a renovation/addition ... If we need any special education services, we have to find ways for it to happen. ... "And it would be nice to have a preschool offering." Clarksburg had attempted a school renovation but the $19 million project was shot down. The 60-year-old building needs some significant updates of its envelope and security and accessibility issues. Stamford, too, has an aging school. "I'm concerned about the facility in Clarksburg whether that's going to have an impact on Stamford taxes if we have to pick that up," said one Stamford resident. "We are 100 percent needing to align with Massachusetts ... but that we as taxpayers have the assurance we have a sustainable school." At the same time, he said, residents have invested in their homes and the lack of a school -- or having to bus children far away -- would also have a tax impact by making Stamford less attractive. "I think one of the main concerns is the tax rate," said School Board member Barbara Malinowski. "In both towns, there's a lot of older people on fixed incomes. That's what I've heard from both towns." D'Entremont said the financial aspect had not come up during conversations with residents and officials on Monday but it has come up before. One member of the team is focusing solely on the financial impacts and should be able to provide the towns with some information to base a decision on. But it will not be definitive, she cautioned. "We can answer here there are cost savings and here there might be additional costs," she said. "The buildings are a big question ... that's something we'll spend time looking at." The team is also looking at how teacher licensing, contract agreements, seniority and retirement will be affected. "We want to make sure they don't get hurt," D'Entremont said. "We want to make sure there's a seamless transition." The proposed merger is largely being driven by Vermont's Act 46, which seeks to streamline educational needs by consolidation. Stamford was being pushed to join with towns farther north but, at the invitation of Clarksburg officials, began to look at a cross-border option. Two years ago, the Interstate School District Committee comprised of members from each town began to pursue the possibility. Asked if Stamford would be pressured by Vermont to conform with Act 46, School Board Chairwoman Cynthia Lamore said exploration of the interstate project has been cleared by the state and supported by the town's state representatives. "The Agency of Education took many towns with loose plans that didn't fit the criteria and they merged them," she said. "By us being granted additional time, they've left us alone ... they could have forced a merge on us." This was PCG's second trip to the towns to speak with stakeholders and the second public meeting it has held to update residents and gain input. Monday had been spent in Stamford and Tuesday would be in Clarksburg. The team will be back in March to present a "summary of findings" and would meet with the Interstate School District Committee in late April to refine the findings ahead of May's joint meeting that would layout recommendations and a roadmap. "It's never been done in Massachusetts before," D'Entremont said of the proposed interstate district. "There's a lot of planning involved. ... Our strong recommendation is it's something that needs to be thought out and planned." The meeting was recorded for airing on Northern Berkshire Community Television in North Adams and Clarksburg. No esta claro si Delta-plus es mas transmisible que la variante Delta original, altamente transmisible. A falta de mas investigaciones, todavia no deberia ser motivo de alarma, dicen los expertos. Weather Alert .An airmass high in moisture content is currently in place over extreme southeast Kansas and the Missouri Ozarks. A slow moving cold front will interact with this airmass to produce numerous showers and thunderstorms with high rainfall rates beginning today and continuing through Thursday afternoon. Any thunderstorms that train over areas for an extended period of time will have the potential to produce flash flooding. ...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM NOON CDT TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING... The National Weather Service in Springfield has issued a * Flash Flood Watch for Portions of southeast Kansas, including the following areas, Bourbon, Cherokee and Crawford. Portions of Missouri, including the following areas, Barry, Barton, Benton, Camden, Cedar, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Dent, Douglas, Greene, Hickory, Howell, Jasper, Laclede, Lawrence, Maries, McDonald, Miller, Morgan, Newton, Ozark, Phelps, Polk, Pulaski, St. Clair, Stone, Taney, Texas, Vernon, Webster and Wright. * From Noon CDT today through Thursday evening. * Widespread rainfall is expected with embedded pockets of excessive rainfall that could lead to flash flooding. While widespread amounts are expected to range from 1 to 2 inches, localized areas of 3 to 5 inches will be possible through Thursday afternoon. * High rainfall rates cold lead to rapid rises of small creeks, streams and rivers. Low water crossings and low lying roads could become impassable. Low lying campgrounds next to rivers and creeks could also experience rapid rises in water levels through Thursday afternoon. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... You should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to take action should Flash Flood Warnings be issued. && The selection of Laos and Cambodia as destinations for his first visit in his position as new General Secretary and President of Vietnam is to affirm the consistent policy of the Vietnamese Party and State in the relations with the two nations. The visits are very successful as the sides reached important agreements, according to Quan. They affirmed the high appreciation and determination of the three countries leaders in constantly strengthening special political trust; and fostering solidarity, friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos and Cambodia. Talks, meetings, as well as the joint statements deeply reflected the long-term strategic vision and high determination to make the Vietnam-Laos and Vietnam-Cambodia relations become more dynamic, practical and effective. Vietnamese and Lao leaders agreed to promote comprehensive cooperation, while giving priority to each other in accordance with the nature of the special relations and great friendship between the two nations. Many measures and major orientations were proposed for each field of cooperation. The two sides leaders emphasised the need to economic, trade and investment cooperation, as well as their connection in transportation, electricity and telecommunications development. Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong (L) and Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni (Photo: VNA) Meanwhile, Vietnamese and Cambodian leaders of the countries agreed to continue strengthening political trust between the two parties and the two countries through regular meetings and contacts in various forms; coordinating to maintain and improve the effectiveness and practicality of bilateral cooperation mechanisms. They attached great importance to promoting the connection between the two economies towards sustainable and long-term development on the principle of mutual assistance and benefit. The two sides pledged to continue cooperating closely and effectively in defense-security, considering this an important pillar in their bilateral cooperation. They agreed to finalise the signing of legal documents to record the completion of 84% of their demarcation and border marker planting workload on land, seek solutions in accordance with international law and practice to soon complete the remaining work, and work closely to fight arguments and actions to take advantage of border issues to undermine the Vietnam-Cambodia relations. Leaders of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia discussed substantially to promote common perceptions on the need to exchange information, closely coordinate and provide mutual support in international and regional issues at multilateral forums, especially within the framework of ASEAN, the UN and the Mekong Sub-regional cooperation mechanisms. They emphasised the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security and safety in the East Sea, and supported ASEAN's role and principles. They agreed to promote the settlement of disputes in the sea by peaceful measures based on international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and work with relevant parties to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and soon reach a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). Both Laos and Cambodia support Vietnams candidacy as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 tenure and the chair of ASEAN Chair in 2020, Quan said. This is Nguyen Phu Trongs first official foreign friendship visit in his role as both General Secretary and President, as well as his first foreign trip in 2019. General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trongs visit is a significant political event to affirm Vietnams consistent foreign policy of attaching importance and giving priority to strengthening the special solidarity, reliable and comprehensive cooperation relationship between the two Parties, States and people of Vietnam and Laos. General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong brings to Laos the friendship and solidarity of the Vietnamese people, affirming the Vietnamese Party, State and peoples full support for Laos reform, national construction and defence, especially the successful realisation of the targets set by the 10th Congress and the thorough preparation for the 11th Congress of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. The Vietnamese people sincerely congratulate the Lao people on their significant achievements in domestic affairs and external relations after three years of implementing the 10th Congresss resolution. Specifically, Laoss GDP in 2018 grew by 6.5% and its income per capita reached US$2,599, while external relations and international integration were expanded. As two close neighbouring countries, Vietnam and Laos have long been bonded together. The close ties, time-honoured and faithful solidarity, and the special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, States and peoples of Vietnam and Laos, nurtured by President Ho Chi Minh, President Kaysone Phomvihane, and the two Parties and peoples, have been growing strongly and have reached new heights. They are invaluable assets accumulated through blood, sweat and an enormous sacrifice, and are the pride of the Vietnamese and Lao people. Such invaluable assets will definitely continue to be safeguarded by the two Parties, States and peoples, and handed over to the later generations as an important guarantee for Vietnam and Laos to accomplish significant achievements in the new revolutionary period, for the prosperity of each countrys people. We are pleased to witness that the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos continue to be strengthened and become more substantive, making important contributions to maintaining political stability and fostering socio-economic development in each country. The two sides have proactively and actively worked together to effectively implement the agreements between the two Politburos and governments, and agencies of the two countries. Vietnam and Laos are also actively looking for measures to remove any obstacles in their cooperation in order to promote the implementation of the agreed contents. In early January 2019, the two sides successfully held the 41st meeting of the Vietnam-Laos Intergovernmental Committee on bilateral cooperation. All areas of cooperation between the two countries, from politics, security, defence, trade and investment to education, agriculture, culture and tourism have been promoted in an effective and substantive manner. Of which the political relationship has become ever stronger and more reliable, serving as the foundation and guidance for the overall bilateral relationship. The two sides actively share information, work closely and support each other at regional and international forums, whilst continuing to strengthen cooperation with other ASEAN member countries in order to join hands in building the ASEAN Community and maintaining solidarity and consensus within ASEAN. Once again we extend our sincere thanks to the Party, State and people of Laos for their valuable and good-hearted support for our people in the struggle for national independence in the past as well as the cause of national construction and defence at present. It is strongly believed that General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trongs official friendship visit to Laos will be a great success, helping to cement the political trust between the two countries high-ranking leaders, while continuing to further strengthen the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos, thus making the bilateral relationship evergreen and sustainable, for the sake of each countrys people, and for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world at large. The decision is believed to be a response to concerns that, by having private companies compete against non-bankruptable public enterprises in the social and health care sector, the reform could violate the state aid rules in the European Union. THE GOVERNMENT of Prime Minister Juha Sipila (Centre) has agreed to submit a notification of key parts of the social, health care and regional government reform to the European Commission. The government assured today that the notification procedure will neither become an obstacle to approving the bills nor change the timetable for implementing the laws, adding the procedure is a continuation of its earlier, informal communication with the European Commission. Juha Raitio, a professor of European law at the University of Helsinki, told Uusi Suomi last Friday that a notification of the long-discussed reform bills must be issued following the determination of the Parliaments Constitutional Law Committee. The notification procedure, he added, entails a three-month standstill period, during which the country will not be able to adopt the bills in question. The notification obligation is a so-called standstill obligation. The laws cant be adopted until the notification procedure has been completed, he reminded. Paivi Nerg, the government official in charge of the massive reform, disagrees. Nerg stated to Uusi Suomi on Wednesday the notification is a so-called notification for legal certainty, which does not entail the standstill obligation. CORRECTION: The professor interviewed by Uusi Suomi is Juha Raitio, a professor of European law at the University of Helsinki. Aleksi Teivainen HT Source: Uusi Suomi The Parliament in October approved unanimously a proposal that the fund retain its independence and direct its funds to housing-related projects. THE FINNISH GOVERNMENT has come under criticism for proposing in its supplementary budget draft that 73 million euros be transferred from the Housing Fund of Finland (VAR) to Suomen Rata, a special-purpose company established recently to develop the railway infrastructure in Finland. This supplementary budget proposal contains a major shocker, Antti Lindtman, the chairperson of the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group, stated in the Finnish Parliament on Tuesday. The major shocker is that the government is dipping into the pockets of low and middle-income people and makes one last trip to pillage over 70 million euros from the Housing Fund of Finland, contradicting what has been decided by the Parliament. Were talking about money contributed by low and middle-income tenants. Whats going on, Minister [of Finance] Petteri Orpo (NCP)? asked Lindtman. His interpretation was rejected as inexplicable by Orpo. Orpo argued that setting aside funding for the development of the railway infrastructure would not inhibit but rather support the effort to promote the production of reasonably priced residential units. All of us here have a common desire to promote rail transport and combat climate change, he said. You know what? When we increase the amount of land thats suitable for housing production, we can expand employment areas. This is a perfectly simple equation. Were talking about the comprehensive planning of land use, housing and transport, he stated. Aleksi Teivainen HT Source: Uusi Suomi UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Tuesday called on the United Nations to scale up assistance in cash and in kind to the people in Syria. The international community needs to actively support the Syrian government and its people in socio-economic reconstruction to create conditions for the return of refugees and displaced persons, Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said at the Security Council meeting on the Middle East situation. Steady progress in reconstruction can give hope to the Syrian people and underwrite the long-term stability of the war-stricken country, Wu said, noting that the return of Syrian refugees can also ease the pressure on host nations. He also urged the Syrian parties to put the country's future and the well-being of its people first by complying with relevant council resolutions, implementing agreements reached and advancing the political process. The future of Syria can only be decided upon by the Syrian people without outside interference, the Chinese envoy said, adding that the international community should respect the Syrian government and people's efforts to safeguard national security and stability. According to Reena Ghelani, director for operations and advocacy of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs, an estimated 11.7 million people will require humanitarian assistance across the country in 2019. [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] RTHK: Khan calls for talks with India after jets clash The Pakistani Prime Minister has made a televised address calling for dialogue with India, after both sides claimed to have shot down each other's warplanes, escalating a confrontation that has fuelled concerns of all-out conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals. Calling for talks to defuse the situation, Imran Khan warned of the potentially catastrophic consequences should "better sense" not prevail, and called for talks. "Can we afford any miscalculation with the kind of weapons that we have and you have?" he said. However a spokesman for India's ruling BJP party before any talks can start, Pakistan must first admit that terrorist operations are being carried out from its territory, and to promise to take action against such terrorist groups. While both sides have sought to play down the threat of war, the rare aerial engagement over the divided and disputed territory of Kashmir significantly raises the stakes in a standoff sparked by a suicide attack on the Indian-controlled side earlier this month. Pakistan initially said it downed two Indian jets in its airspace and captured two pilots, but later its military spokesman tweeted that there was "only one pilot" in Pakistani custody. India's foreign ministry demanded the "immediate and safe return" of the pilot, calling on Pakistan to ensure no harm comes to him. New Delhi confirmed the loss of one of its planes and said it had shot down a Pakistani fighter jet. In a sign of the deepening crisis, Pakistan closed its airspace "until further notice". At least six airports were shuttered in India, and a vast area north of New Delhi was closed to civilian flights. The incidents are the latest in a dangerous sequence of events between the two countries, whose ties have been under intense strain since a February 14 suicide bombing in Indian Kashmir that killed 40 troops. New Delhi had promised to act, and on Tuesday its warplanes flew into Pakistani airspace and struck what it said was a camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed, the militant group that claimed the Kashmir bombing. It was India's first air strike on Pakistani soil since the neighbours fought a war in 1971. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2019-02-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. 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. Photo taken on Feb. 9, 2019 shows a view of Zhongshan Station, a Chinese research base in Antarctica. The Zhongshan Station, set up on Feb. 26, 1989, was the second of four scientific research bases on the Antarctic ice sheet built by China since 1964. Today it remains a logistical transit hub for inland expedition on the icy continent. Over the past 30 years, the Zhongshan Station has grown into a modern "scientific town" in Antarctica and can provide logistical services for fixed-wing aircraft, according to the Chinese expedition team. (Xinhua/Liu Shiping) ABOARD XUELONG, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's research base Zhongshan Station in Antarctica will play a bigger role in exploring, protecting and tapping the continent's potential, Chinese researchers said as the station celebrates its 30th anniversary on Tuesday. The development of Zhongshan Station and the progress of China's scientific expedition in Antarctica are the result of several generations of polar researchers, said Hu Hongqiao, the leader of China's 35th research mission to Antarctica, aboard Chinese icebreaker Xuelong on its voyage back home. The Zhongshan Station, set up on Feb. 26, 1989, was the second of four scientific research bases on the Antarctic ice sheet built by China since 1964. Today it remains a logistical transit hub for inland expedition on the icy continent. Over the past 30 years, the Zhongshan Station has grown into a modern "scientific town" in Antarctica and can provide logistical services for fixed-wing aircraft, according to the Chinese expedition team. 5 1 [ Editor: WPY ] IGAD Making A Choice For Conflict Over Renegotiating R-ARCSS "PDM calls upon the AU, IGAD, UN and TROIKA countries to sanction President Salva Kiir for the crimes and atrocities he continues to commit against the people of Equatoria in Yei, who have been forced to flee their villages into refuge and fresh IDP camps." IGAD Making A Choice For Conflict Over Renegotiating R-ARCSS Press Statement for Immediate Release February 26th 2019 PDM is dismayed that IGAD has made a choice for conflict and is not in favour of renegotiating R-ARCSS to include legitimate demands of the non-signatories. The IGAD Special Envoy is asking non-signatories to join implementation of R-ARCSS only, but not to discuss where amendments of the non-signatories could be incorporated to make it inclusive by power-sharing between the peoples of Equatoria, Bahr al Ghazal and Upper `Nile regions. The consultation held on 25th February 2019 by IGAD special envoy for South Sudan with Lt General Thomas Cirilo in Addis Ababa about stopping the war in Yei is misplaced, because IGAD knows well who started it. It wasn't NAS who violated the 21st December 2017 CoHA. The talks about stopping the war in Yei should be with President Salva Kiir in Juba and not in Addis Ababa. The TGoNU headed by President Salva Kiir is the other un-named party to the conflict in Yei as came in IGADs statement. The talks for reviewing R-ARCSS to amend the flawed agreement are welcome and that is what IGAD needs to do, but not calling for joining implementation of the flawed R-ARCSS by the non-signatories in its current form. The IGAD well knows the position of the non-signatories on joining implementation of R-ARCSS in its current form that they opposed and did not approve of it as a basis for a just and sustainable peace in the country. It has to be pointed out that IGAD mediation principles are flawed, imposing a high cost for a further transition to maintain impunity and dictatorial rule. IGAD are letting the Jieng Council of Elders Juba regime to commit atrocities in Equatoria to coerce opposition into submission to R-ARCSS. The IGAD and Juba JCE regime are in cahoots, as IGAD is silent about sanctioning President Salva Kiir for waging war in Equatoria and causing the flight of 5000 more civilians into refuge and 8000 more displaced. Who are the other parties to the conflict in IGADs statement without their proper names? The joint statement by Christian Church and Moslem leaders in Yei, clearly indicted the Kiir's government and are holding it responsible for burning villages, destroying means of livelihoods for civilians and causing their displacement with impunity. It's a scorch earth and deliberate policy to harm and cause maximum damage to the civilian population as punishment for presence of armed opposition groups in Yei territories. IGAD is unwilling to issue condemnation of the party that is burning down villages in Yei and destroying their properties to force them into refuge or displacement camps away from their villages, crimes for which Salva Kiirs government must be held accountable. PDM calls upon the AU, IGAD, UN and TROIKA countries to sanction President Salva Kiir for the crimes and atrocities he continues to commit against the people of Equatoria in Yei, who have been forced to flee their villages into refuge and fresh IDP camps. PDM calls upon the AU, IGAD, UN and TROIKA to recognize the urgency and need for a Peoples based alternative SSNDA [1] NADAFA [2] government for our country, which puts the human rights, peoples rights and the rule of law first, for a just and lasting peace to be established and nurtured by all the people of South Sudan. Dr. Hakim Dario, Chair, Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) [1] South Sudan National Democratic Alliance [2] National Alliance for Democracy And Freedom Action Leontis dining room. Photo: Jemma Hinkly/New York Magazine Like a Montrachet or a Sagrantino, a truly great Upper West Side restaurant must have deep roots in its terroir. It is not an offshoot or a clone, and so no matter how wonderful the Mermaid Inn or the Ribbon, for instance, might be, for these purposes, they are hors concours. Here, the very best restaurants on the Upper West Side. The Absolute Best 1. Leonti 103 W. 77th St., nr. Columbus Ave; 212-362-3800 Leontis chicken in pastella. Photo: Melissa Hom In a well-appointed ground-floor dining room that used to be John Frasers Dovetail, longtime Marc Vetri protege Adam Leonti delivers his Northern Italian cuisine in what looks like an Art Deco/Pop Art/Salon del Mobile installation (the design was heavily influenced by Ettore Sottsasss famous 1980s Memphis Group). The neighborhood synergy makes sense. Bergamo, where the young Leonti once lived, is the Upper West Side of Italy: plush, lush, and opulent. As is the food. Beef-bone broth arrives in a delicate Ginori porcelain cup. Bechamel replaces red sauce in a Roman artichoke lasagna, basically an artichoke in a pasta costume. A tortellini pie veal meatballs, bolognese, mortadella-stuffed tortellini is equal parts Medieval Times and GBBO. Though theres no red sauce here, the sourdough-battered chicken in pastella may just be the best fried chicken in the city. Its impossible to leave un-full or unsatisfied. 2. Oxbow Tavern 240 Columbus Ave., nr. 71st St.; 646-490-4075 Photo: Liz Clayman When Tom Valenti closed Ouest in 2016, hair shirts were donned and laments rose to the heavens. The neighborhood bistro was no more. Cue the renaissance tune. Valenti is back with a bistro he calls the Oxbow Tavern. But hes not fooling anyone. This is more Paul Cezanne than Thomas Cole. During happy hour, he does brisk business in gaufrettes and gougeres at the bar, incidentally the longest zinc bar in Manhattan, And the menu is AP Bistro. A coq au vin is offered as dark as night, the chicken-liver mousse as light as air. Valenti gussies up a normcore frisee salad with plump moules. He dusts porcini on cod, and is generous with the lobster that studs his gnocchi. And if theres any chance that duck gizzards and braised tripe can make it on the Upper West Side, this is their best shot. 3. Shun Lee West 43 W. 65th St., nr. Columbus Ave.; 212-595-8895 Its been close to 40 years since Michael Tong opened this Lincoln Center offshoot of his upscale East Side Chinese restaurant, Shun Lee Palace (and thats long enough for us to make an exception to this lists no-spinoffs policy). The sense of time is both seductive and deceiving. There can be little doubt that the restaurant with its bow-tied and vested waitstaff, glowing dragons, and elaborately folded napkins speaks to another era, when knowledge of Chinese regional cuisine was limited by the fact that most Americans werent aware China had regions. At the same time, even in 1981, Tong was channeling the ancient flavors of Yangzhou, Sichuan, and Shanghai, and those delicate balances found in the push-pull of hot-and-sour soup, for instance, or the mellow sweetness of red-cooked short ribs, Hangzhoustyle. 4. Awadh 2588 Broadway, nr. 98th St.; 646-861-3604 Photo: Liz Clayman Lucknow, the capital of Awadh, the state in Uttar Pradesh from whence Gaurav Anand draws culinary inspiration, is renowned for its transcendent taste. In the 18th century, Lucknow was the seat of the Nawabs, an aristocratic bunch whose love of luxury was so great they lost all of their teeth, which good news for us resulted in the development of the galouti kebab, a patty of leg of lamb, minced six times and then tenderized with papaya and mixed with masala. At Awadh, Anands bi-level restaurant on Broadway, the lamb is as tender as the night, manna for the toothless. Among the other revelations at Awadh is dum pukht, a genre of cooking wherein the protein is sealed under a layer of naan, immersed in clarified butter, and cooked slowly. What goes on under there is alchemy, as dishes like Sufiana murgh biryani, a mixture of creamy chicken and aromatic basmati rice, handily prove. 5. Cafe Luxembourg 200 W. 70th St., nr. Amsterdam Ave.; 212-873-7411 Photo: Liz Clayman Balletomanes and boldface names (and Bob and Barbara and everyone else you know) meet at Lynn Wagenknechts excellent bistro. Cafe Lux, to regulars, belongs to the proud lineage of West Side French spots like La Caravelle and Le Poulailler (and Le Quercy and too many too long gone to name). The 90-seat restaurant, on 70th, buzzes with a 1980s New York energy extruded through 1920s Paris. The menu reads like a Sondheim revue of bistro classics, but the greatest hits here are truly great: a perfectly executed steak-frites with an exoskeleton of char, a silky au poivre sauce, and salty fries; garlicky moules marinieres; and a crock of French onion soup that, like the aproned waiters, has a warm heart under a crusty exterior. 6. Boulud Sud 20 W. 64th St., nr. Broadway; 212-595-1313 Photo: Liz Clayman The Lyonnaise chef Daniel Boulud is a shape-shifter: stuffy on the Upper East, transactional in midtown, and here, in the Upper West Side, pure comfort. The space at Boulud Sud gently curved ceiling, colorful banquettes in harlequin stripes, white tablecloths radiates monied calm. The menu, which spans from Arabic flatbread to Iberico ham, is like a Carnival Cruise calling on all Mediterranean ports. And the kitchen is as at ease with the muscular flavors of octopus a la plancha as it is with balancing the subtle flavors of a spring-pea risotto with Maine lobster and lemon verbena. 7. Absolute Bagels 2788 Broadway, nr. 108th St.; 212-932-2052 And then theres Absolute Bagels, the only bagel store worth the line. Let the fancies have Black Seed and Sadelles. Absolute Bagels is a filthy little store with sublime bagels. Owned by Sam Thongkrieng, who emigrated from Bangkok in the 1980s, Absolute channels the recipes of yesteryear (Thongkrieng learned his craft at Ess-a-Bagel) to form bagels of both ineffable softness and satisfying crunch. Their outsides are substantial but ultimately yielding. Their interiors are soft and voluptuous. As for the coffee the Abbott to a bagel places Costello it is widely understood as a waste of time. Go with a Thai iced tea and a fresh egg bagel. 8. Fine & Schapiro 138 W. 72nd St., nr. Columbus Ave.; 212-877-2874 Delicatessen, the art of making tough meat tender, is alive and well at this sliver of a kosher restaurant on West 72nd Street. Though often unjustly overlooked in the mourners kaddish frequently recited over Great New York Delicatessens, this 90-year-old institution quietly doles out towering pastrami sandwiches, tender kreplach, and the elusive tongue polonaise (tongue with a sweet-and-sour raisin sauce) in a no-nonsense dining room where walkers more often than not crowd the linoleum floor. 9. The Milling Room 446 Columbus Ave., nr. 82nd St.; 212-595-0380 Easy to miss until you walk through the narrow hallway and the world opens up to you, the Milling Room is a giant, overlooked jewel of the Upper West. The restaurant, which opened in 2014, occupies the former Palm Room of the Endicott Hotel, a soaring, skylit space thats easier to fill with light than with people. But Im not sure how many patrons know about the almost ridiculous pedigree of chef Phillip Kirschen-Clark (Ducasse, Dufresne, Liebrandt). His studied hand, however, makes itself felt in quietly bold choices that enliven the modern American menu: wild mushroom risotto dusted with cotija and drizzled with balsamic vinegar; a cameo of pickled ramps atop a silken celery-root soup; spicy vongole bucatini with Thai chile and miso. 10. 108 Food Dried Hot Pot 2794 Broadway, nr. 108th St.; 917-675-6878 Like at a Just Salad for the ballsy, diners approach the counter at this Sichuan-by-way-of-Flushing fast-casual joint to contemplate an array of options. Will it be pigs ear, sliced into ribbons like meat fettuccine? Or thin slices of fatty beef? Perhaps shrimp balls or squid balls or duck feet? The spread is astonishing. Choose a number from 1100 (20 is mild; 40 is spicy; 60 is hot; 100 is insane). Weighed in a bowl, these ingredients are then whisked into a kitchen in the back and emerge, mere minutes later, as a delicious dried hot pot. The restaurant no relation to Rene Redzepis 108 is the first one devoted specifically to the Chongqing municipality in the city. It wisely opened near Columbia, where the highest percentage of international students are from China. On a recent afternoon, the bric-a-brac space was full of students staring at their phones, slurping glassine noodles, and thinking of home. 11. Mamas Too! 2750 Broadway, nr. 108th St.; 212-510-7256 Photo: Melissa Hom Much hay has rightly been made of the square pepperoni slice at Mamas Too!, the offshoot of Mamas, a mainstay of slice culture a few blocks south. And rightfully so: That slice crust hard; inside tender, airy and open is like a Clint Eastwood character. The joy is in the physics of heat and meat. The thick-cut slices of pepperoni turn into little cups that hold drops of precious grease, glistening like pork nectar. Little amaryllis of meat, said a friend, who works at a nearby flower shop. But theres more slices at Mamas Too!, and if you cant wait in the pepperoni-slice-only line, youll want to avail yourself of these. Among them are the house slice, grated post-oven with two-year-old parmesan and sprinkled with a greenhouses worth of basil, and the Angry Nonna, made spicy with Calabrian chile oil and soppressata, and sweet with honey. 12. Sushi Kaito 244 W. 72nd St., nr. West End Ave.; 212-799-1278 During the three nightly seatings at this tiny, crazily affordable sushi-ya owned by Yoko Hasegawa, there are but 12 people and then the rest of the world. The menu, a choice between a 12- and a 16-course omakase, leans heavily on nigiri, a sushi high-wire act. Fish. Rice. Basta cosi. With little room to maneuver, Hasegawa et al. rely on virtuosically prepared product, from silvery iwashi (Japanese sardines) and tuna otoro, to ikura (roe) cured in-house and a tangle of uni tongues from Hokkaido. These small bites are often accompanied by only a touch of homemade soy sauce or exotic salt. And, after a long dry spell, sake is now available. 13. Barney Greengrass 541 Amsterdam Ave., nr. 87th St.; 212-724-4707 Photo: Melissa Hom Munificent and nebbishy, a portrait of Barney Greengrass, the original Sturgeon King, keeps watch as a brisk trade is done in Jewish appetizing: silken sheets of nova, sturgeon, chubs, whitefish, sable. Thus has it been for the last century at this Upper West Side institution. No less august a man of letters than Philip Roth extolled the virtues of the lox, eggs, and onion, which the writer called more American than apple pie. That holy trinity fish, allium, zygote has, for years, been an icon of the old Upper West Side, a beacon to which the madding crowd draws every weekend morning for the click-clatter of an old New York brunch. 14. Murrays Sturgeon 2429 Broadway, nr. 89th St.; 212-724-2650 Remus had Aventine; Romulus had Palatine; Barney has Amsterdam; and Murray has Broadway. So the great sturgeon wars of the Upper West Side have panned out. Smaller than Greengrass, Murrays Sturgeon is strictly a takeaway operation, but no less a marvel of mid-century Jewry. In this narrow shop, the walls are ancient tile and the clock works, but, nonetheless, seems stuck in the 1960s. The sturgeon, however, is golden, the schmaltz herring properly cured, and the salmon as silken as a lullaby. Now on its third owner, a guy named Ira, Murrays continues to shine, smaller but no less brilliant. 15. 74th Street Cafe & Steakhouse 2121 Broadway, nr. 74th St.; 212-595-1888 Culinarians in the know may be familiar with Daniel Bouluds Skybox, a four-top tucked above the kitchen at his flagship, Daniel. More democratic but no less a wonder is the 74th Street Cafe & Steakhouse, an anomalous oasis of calm and extremely satisfying chicken-salad sandwiches on the second floor of Fairway. Since it opened in the early aughts, the cafe has drawn from the shelves during the day (silver dollar pancakes, tuna melts) and the meat counter at night (skirt steak Toscana, beef Wellington with foie gras, a panoply of burgers). Like a swan, it glides above the furious action (and jostling old ladies) of the supermarket below. 16. Grays Papaya 2090 Broadway, nr. 72nd St.; 212-799-0243 Photo: Oliver Morris/Getty Images With its garish colors and hard surfaces, the corner that houses Grays Papaya may seem like strange shelter from the storm. But for 40 years, for 24 hours a day, among the snappy hot dogs and frothy papaya drinks, Grays Papaya has given New Yorkers (and temporary New Yorkers) a place to stand and watch life go by. Though future scholars may debate the true victor of the hot dog wars an argument can be made that Papaya King reigns supreme Grays famous Recession Special (now two hot dogs and a drink for $6.45), first introduced in the 1980s, is as delicious as it is sadly eternally timely. 17. Celeste 502 Amsterdam Ave., nr. 84th St.; 212-874-4559 Geodes form in small spaces. They often appear as ordinary rocks, yet, broken open, reveal true beauty. The neighborhood Italian restaurants that dot the Upper West Side Bettolona, Pizzeria Sirenetta, Bella Luna, to name a few are geodic in this regard, perhaps none more so than Celeste. For over ten years, the unfussy Neapolitan spot has been presided over by owner Carmine Mitroni, a man as incandescent as a chandelier. Anything that comes out of the fryer is golden: carciofi, fritto misto, ricotta balls. In a pizza-mad city, these pies rival anything eaten in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. And the tables, though hard to come by, turn often. 18. Ayurveda Cafe 706 Amsterdam Ave., nr. 94th St.; 212-932-2400 Before there were juice bars and millennial cleanse joints like, waaay before there was Ayurveda, an ancient Hindu medicinal system. At the Ayurveda Cafe, owned by legit Indian movie star Tirlok Malik, fully vegetarian set meals called thali, in which each element is calibrated to interact according to Ayurvedic principles, are served to local vegetarians, Buddhists, Jubus, hippies, and the hungry. A typical meal might include banana pakoras, mung daal, alu gobi, fresh pappadam, and broken wheat kheer. The space is akin to a more enlightened Shopsins: handmade, idiosyncratic, with lots of handwritten notes, but perhaps a few more sculptures of Ganesh. *This post has been updated. Alarm bells have rung in global capitals as the grave situation has escalated in the Indian subcontinent after Pakistan's attempted strike on Indian military installations. India has called Islamabad's action as an "unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan". Several countries have issued statements asking for restraint between India and Pakistan. The European Union called for restraint and to avoid any further escalation of the situation. The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, in a statement said, "This has the potential to lead to serious and dangerous consequences for the two countries and the wider region." The EU also asked Islamabad to address the issue of terrorism which include, "clear and targeted actions related to all forms of terrorist activity." The UK said it is working with international partners - also through the UN Security Council - to de-escalate tensions. UK PM Theresa May said her country is "deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan" and urged "dialogue and diplomatic solutions to ensure regional stability." The French foreign minister said it is closely monitoring the situation and called Pakistan and India to de-escalate. The Russian government also expressed its "serious concern" about the "aggravation of the situation" and called on both "sides to show restraint" and "step up efforts to resolve existing problems by political and diplomatic means." Moscow said it is willing to assist in strengthening New Delhi and Islamabad's counter-terrorism potential. China reiterated what it had said on Tuesday and called India and Pakistan to "bear in mind the peace and stability in the region" and "exercise restraint." South Asian countries have also called India and Pakistan to show restraint. Nepal, which is the current chair of SAARC, called on both sides to "exercise restraint and not engage in actions that would threaten peace and security in the region" Sri Lankan foriegn ministry in a statement said it strongly supports "peace and stability" in the South Asia region and all endeavours towards the "diffusion of tensions". It urged India and Pakistan to act in a manner that "ensures the security, peace and stability of the entire region." Malaysia asked both countries to "exercise maximum restraint" and "re-engage in dialogue and negotiations.". It also advised Malaysians to postpone all non-essential travel, particularly to the areas directly affected. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said, "Tehran's deep concern over the risks posed by the growing border tensions" between India and Pakistan and "the two sides' military lineup against each other." Iran called on India and Pakistan to show "self-restraint" and make "optimal use of all diplomatic mechanisms in order to resolve their disputes peacefully." WASHINGTON: In a stinging rebuke to President Donald Trump, the House of Representatives on Tuesday brushed aside veto threats and passed legislation to terminate the emergency he declared at the U.S.-Mexico border in order to build a wall there. By a vote of 245-182, the House passed the resolution, setting up a vote in the Republican-controlled Senate where the resolution`s chances were slimmer, but seemed to be improving. While passage was a victory for Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the tally was short of what she would likely need to override a possible veto by Republican Trump. Only 13 Republicans supported the move to stop the president`s declaration. During floor debate, Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro, the main sponsor of the controversial legislation, said, "There is no emergency at the border," adding, "Border crossings are at a four-decades low." Democrats and some Republicans worry that with the emergency declaration unilaterally funding his border wall without lawmakers` approval, Trump was presenting a dangerous challenge to the constitutional balance of powers between Congress and the executive branch of government. Hours before the House vote, Republican Senator John Barrasso, a member of the Senate`s leadership, told MSNBC in an interview that the legislation "may actually pass the Senate." Following a closed meeting of Republican senators and Vice President Mike Pence, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to predict the outcome, including whether senators ultimately could override a Trump veto. McConnell said Republican senators and Pence held a "robust, vigorous discussion" and that he had not "reached a total conclusion" over whether Trump`s emergency proclamation was legal. Meanwhile, the White House formally notified Congress, as expected, that if the measure passes Congress, Trump`s advisers would recommend that he veto it in order to maintain the power he activated on Feb. 15 as a way of circumventing Congress. Trump argues he has the power to proclaim a national emergency to unilaterally direct existing money for building a border wall that Congress has refused to fully fund. "The current situation at the southern border presents a humanitarian and security crisis that threatens core national security interests and constitutes a national emergency," the White House statement said. A Trump veto would be the first of his presidency and the first since Republicans lost majority control of the House in last November`s congressional elections. Overriding such a veto in Congress would require two-thirds majorities in both chambers, making it highly unlikely, said lawmakers. The battle in Congress is the latest chapter in a long-running war between Trump and Democrats over border security, immigration policy and the "great, great wall" that Trump has pledged to build since becoming a presidential candidate. He originally promised that Mexico would pay for it, but after Mexico refused, he asked U.S. taxpayers to foot the bill for a project Democrats say is unneeded and will not be effective. In his first two years in office, Trump`s Republicans controlled both chambers of Congress, which under the U.S. Constitution holds the national purse strings. During that time they failed to appropriate all the money Trump was seeking to build a wall. This year, with Democrats in control of the House, Congress refused Trump`s demand for $5.7 billion in wall funding. Instead, he got $1.37 billion for border barriers this fiscal year. Angry over that decision, Trump declared the emergency and vowed to divert funds toward the wall from accounts already committed by Congress for other purposes. On a separate track from Congress, the future of Trump`s emergency declaration is also likely to be litigated in the courts. A coalition of 16 U.S. states led by California has already sued Trump and top members of his administration to block his emergency declaration. Writing on Twitter on Monday, Trump, who says the wall is needed to stop illegal immigration and drugs, warned Republicans not to "fall into the Democrats `trap` of Open Borders and Crime!" Republican Representative Justin Amash was the lone Republican co-sponsoring the resolution in the House. "The same congressional Republicans who joined me in blasting Pres. Obamas executive overreach now cry out for a king to usurp legislative powers," Amash wrote on Twitter. The White House was working to limit Republican support for the measure, especially in the Senate. Nevertheless, Republican Senator Thom Tillis, in an opinion article published in the Washington Post, said he backed Trump on border security, but would vote for the resolution because he "cannot justify providing the executive with more ways to bypass Congress." Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski on Tuesday told reporters she would back the resolution. Previously, her Republican colleague, Susan Collins had said she likely would support the measure, too. For it to pass the Senate, at least one more Republican vote would be needed, assuming all Democrats and two independents back it. STOCKHOLM: A suspected Russian spy has been arrested in Stockholm, the Swedish Security Police said on Wednesday. The suspect, who was arrested late Tuesday, is believed to have been engaged in criminal activity since at least 2017, the Security Police said. They declined to provide either a name or a gender for the suspect. "It is a person who is suspected of being recruited as an agent by a Russian intelligence officer who worked under diplomatic cover in Sweden," Daniel Stenling, head of counter-espionage at the Security Police, said in a statement. The arrested person works in the Swedish high-tech industry and has information of interest to foreign intelligence services, the Security Police said. Russia`s SVR foreign intelligence service declined to comment on the episode, the RIA news agency reported. Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday called a meeting of the top decision-making body on nuclear issues after India targeted terrorist camp in the country. The National Command Authority controls policy formulation, exercises, deployment, research and development, employment and operational command and control of the country's nuclear arsenals. The decision to call the NCA meeting was taken on Tuesday during the meeting of National Security Committee - a civil-military top level body that discussed the situation after the Indian attack. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) 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. Following the incident, India on Tuesday bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a 'large number' of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The joint session of Parliament has been called today to discuss the tension with India and formulate a national response. The parliamentary leaders will also be given an in-camera briefing by the government on the situation after India's strikes. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi alleged that the Indian government is issuing threatening statements in the aftermath of Pulwama incident on the pretext of terrorism just to divert the world opinion from rights violations in Kashmir. Qureshi said that Pakistan reserves the right to take appropriate action in self-defence. Islamabad/Dubai: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday threatened to boycott a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) scheduled for this week in the UAE if India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj participates in the event. Swaraj has been invited as a "guest of honour" at the inaugural session of the OIC foreign ministers' conclave in Abu Dhabi on March 1-2. "I have no reservations with the OIC or any other Islamic country. My reservations are with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj's attendance at the OIC meeting," Qureshi was quoted as saying by the Geo News. "If Swaraj attends the meeting then I will not participate in it," he said. He said he spoke with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. "We believe India has committed aggression against a brother Islamic country and attacked a founding member of the OIC," Qureshi quoted Cavusoglu as saying. "The Turkish foreign minister said there is no reason for Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj to attend the meeting of the OIC and Turkey will fully oppose her invitation and opportunity to address," Qureshi claimed. On Tuesday night, Qureshi said he spoke to his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan expressed his reservations over invitation to Swaraj. "Under the current circumstances, it will not be possible for me to attend OIC meeting where Swaraj is present," he said. Meanwhile, the OIC on Tuesday "condemned" India's "incursion and aerial violation" in Pakistan. It urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid any steps that would endanger peace and security in the region. It called upon both parties to act responsibly and encouraged them to seek peaceful solution to current crisis without resort to use of force. It also called on them to embrace dialogue and work towards de-escalation of current situation as a matter of priority. The OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir held an emergency meeting at the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah and expressed deep concern over the heightened tension in the region and called for immediate de-escalation. The OIC is an international organization founded in 1969, consisting of 57 member states, with 40 countries being Muslim Majority countries. United Nations: France is working on a proposal to ban the chief of the UN-proscribed Jaish-e Muhammad (JeM) Masood Azhar and could move it in the Sanctions Committee after it assumes the Presidency of the powerful UN Security Council next month, sources said. The rotating monthly Presidency of the 15-nation UN Security Council (UNSC) will go from Equatorial Guinea to France on March 1. France, a permanent member of the Council with veto powers, is working on the proposal (to ban Azhar) and it should be ready soon, informed sources told PTI, adding that the proposal against the JeM chief could perhaps be moved in the Sanctions Committee under the French presidency."France is focussed on bringing individual listing requests of JeM terrorists to the 1267 Sanctions Committee soon," they said. The Pakistan-based JeM claimed the responsibility of the heinous suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14 in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed, sparking outrage in India. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control early on Tuesday, killing a 'large number' of terrorists, trainers, senior commanders and groups of jihadis who were being trained for fidayeen action. The facility at Balakot was headed by Yousuf Azhar, the brother-in-law of the JeM chief. The proposal, when moved, will be the fourth such bid at the UN in the last 10 years to list Azhar as a global terrorist. In 2009, India had moved a proposal by itself to designate Azhar. This was followed in 2016 when India moved the proposal with the P3 - the United States, the United Kingdom and France - in the UN's 1267 Sanctions Committee to ban Azhar, also the mastermind of the attack on the airbase in Pathankot in January, 2016. In 2017, the P3 nations moved a similar proposal again. However, on all occasions China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UNSC, blocked the proposal from being adopted by the Sanctions Committee. It remains to be seen how China will vote on the proposal this time, following a crucial bilateral meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wuzhen, where she is participating in the Russia, India, China (RIC) Foreign Ministers meeting. Swaraj on Wednesday raised the Pulwama suicide attack in her meeting with her Chinese counterpart, a day after India destroyed a major JeM terror training camp in Pakistan. Stating that the JeM is banned by the UN and other countries, Swaraj told Wang that "this terrorist attack is the direct result of the impunity and cover provided to the JeM and its leaders by the Pakistani side". She added "after the Pulwama attack the entire UN has spoken with full voice to condemn it." The French Presidency of the UNSC comes after the 15-nation UN organ under the presidency of Equatorial Guinea had issued a highly significant press statement strongly condemning the Pulwama terror attack. China had to sign off on the February 21 UNSC press statement that "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". On the UNSC press statement condemning the Pulwama attack, a UN diplomat here said that what moved the Security Council was that "this is an issue that all the members speak with one voice in the fight against terrorism. Whenever there is an act of terrorism, anywhere no matter who perpetrates it, it receives the condemnation of not only of the Security Council but of all the international community." The UNSC press statement was seen not only as a strong condemnation of terror against India but also of international solidarity with New Delhi on its fight against terrorism. China's lone opposition in the UNSC to any mention of terrorism resulted in a delay of nearly one week in issuance of the press statement by the powerful body on the dastardly Pulwama terror attack, official sources had said. However, the US assiduously worked as "pen holder" making various adjustments to get the approval by all other members of the Council, they said. In a statement issued by the acting spokesperson of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of France following the air strikes by the Indian Air Force on the JeM training camp in Pakistan, France said it "stands by India in the fight against terrorism in all its forms" and "is fully engaged in mobilizing the international community to sanction the terrorists responsible for this attack and freezing their financing networks." Hours after India carried out the air strikes against the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres reiterated his "urgent appeal to both the Government of India and the Government of Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure that the situation does not further deteriorate." His spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters at the daily press briefing that the UN Chief is "obviously following this situation very closely." By Dan Knutson Fernando Alonso created quite a bit of excitement when he showed up in the paddock of the Circuit de Catalunya on the first day of the second preseason test. The Spaniard was not there to drive but to observe and to visit with the McLaren team. Lando Norris, meanwhile, turned the fastest lap time of the day in his McLaren. The rookie driver completed 80 laps and stopped twice on the track with mechanical problems. "On the whole today was a good day, although we didn't get to do quite as much running as we wanted," Norris said. "We've improved the car slightly since last week, especially on the longer runs, so we're going in the right direction, which is positive. It's important that we keep doing that. Overall, I'm feeling more prepared. I now have one last session in the car on Thursday, to finalize everything before Australia." Pierre Gasly did 136 laps - more than any other driver during the day - and ended up second in his Red Bull. "We pushed a little more today," he said, "but really it's all about understanding how the car works. There were a lot of aero tests and a lot of items to evaluate for the team today, and that's good for me as it helps me get more comfortable with the car. Lap after lap it's getting better, but of course there's still work to do. The pace was good, but we just have to focus on ourselves and work through the program we've defined for each day." Racing Point had its smoothest day of testing so far, and Lance Stroll completed 82 laps. "The car felt good so I think we are heading in the right direction," said Stroll who was third on the scoring monitors. "These days are about building confidence and getting to grips with the new car, but also getting used to this new environment. I am getting on really well with the crew in the garage. They're great people and everyone is working so hard. We ran on a mix of different tires today and tried a lot of test items." Sebastian Vettel took fourth place in his Ferrari. "We are still trying to understand the car, trying various set-ups," he said. "This afternoon, we also had a first go with the super soft compound, just to get some more information. The next couple of days will be important for us." Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi completed 99 laps in car number 99 and rounded out the top five. "We have concluded another constructive day and started the second week of testing on a positive note," he said. After a delayed and slow start to the first preseason test, things went much better for the Williams team on the first day of the second test session. George Russell completed 119 laps in the new Williams. By comparison, the team had completed a total of just 88 laps in the first test. "I was great to get some laps on the car, just understand a bit of low fuel, high fuel, what the car's doing, and gives us an indication of what to do the rest of the week," said the rookie driver. "What was important was we got laps and had no problem with the car. We would like some more laps! But that was our main priority really. We need laps on the car to understand the issues and that's what we've done." "It certainly has not made up for (missing two and a half days of testing) last week as everybody else at this stage are fine tuning the balance (of their cars) whereas we are needing to understand the car," Russell added. "But I feel we're at a good spot, the car isn't in the perfect window right now but I feel like it's definitely got the potential and we've still got three days ahead of us to do that." Preseason Test 2 Day 1 lap times Lando Norris (McLaren) - 1m17.709s - (C4) compound - 80 laps Pierre Gasly (Red Bull) - 1m17.715s - (C3) compound - 136 laps Lance Stroll (Racing Point) - 1m17.824s - C5 compound - 82 laps Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) - 1m17.925s - (C3) compound - 81 laps Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) - 1m18.589s - (C4) compound - 99 laps Alexander Albon (Toro Rosso) - 1m18.649s - (C4) compound - 103 laps Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 1m18.651s - (C3) compound - 29 laps Kevin Magnussen (Haas) - 1m18.769s - (C4) compound - 131 laps George Russell (Williams) - 1m19.662s - C5 compound - 119 laps Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) - 1m20.107s - (C3) compound - 77 laps Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) - 1m20.167s - (C2) compound - 7 laps Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - 1m20.332s - (C2) compound - 83 laps Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) - 1m20.348s - (C3) compound - 80 laps (Pirelli has five different compounds of slick tires which range from the hardest C1 to the softest C5.) Shillong: The rescuers of Navy and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Wednesday pulled out another body from the 370-feet deep flooded coal mine in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district where 13 miners remain trapped since December 13, 2018. News agency ANI said one more unidentified body was recovered from the mine at Ksan near Lytein River in East Jaintia Hills where 13 miners were trapped since December 13. A body had been recovered last month as well, it said. Meghalaya: One more unidentified body recovered from the mine at Ksan near Lytein River in East Jaintia Hills where 13 miners were trapped since December 13. A body had been recovered last month as well. pic.twitter.com/xbptWF5skh ANI (@ANI) 27 February 2019 A member of the rescue team said that the second body was detected on Wednesday evening with the help of a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) at a depth of 230 feet. The highly decomposed and unidentified body was pulled to the water surface by the Navy's underwater remotely operated vehicle (UROV) and then taken out in a bucket-type container to the higher grounds at 1.20 PM, the official said. This is the second body to be pulled out of the coal mine nearly 77 days after 15 coal miners were trapped inside the rat-hole coal pit - by the Navy divers after they retrieved the first body, which was identified as that of Amir Hussain from Assam's Chirang district on January 23. He said the body has been handed over to the Meghalaya Police and is now being taken to Khliehriat hospital for autopsy. Fifteen miners were trapped after water gushed into the illegal coal mine located in Ksan village, about 130 km from here, after the miners are believed to have punctured into another wall of another coal mine. The tragedy came to light after five miners escaped from the coal pit. The coal pit disaster took place despite an interim ban on rat-hole coal mining in the state by the National Green Tribunal since April 17, 2014. The Supreme Court, which is monitoring the rescue operations, has told the government that the trapped miners must be taken out of the mine, "dead" or "alive". JAMMU: In the wake of escalating tensions between India and Pakistan over Tuesday's raids by the Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets on terror camps of Jaish-e-Mohammed in Balakot, the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday cautioned the general public to stay away from rumours being spread on various social media platforms. Urging people to stay away from such rumours on its Twitter handle, the Jammu and Kashmir Police issued helpline numbers for people to report such incidents. In its tweet, the J&K Police said, ''Stay away from #rumors. Certain #socialmedia platforms indulging in rumour mongering shall be dealt with strictly. For any assistance #Dail100 or 01942451515.'' The J&K Police warned that those people indulging and spreading rumours will be dealt with strictly. In another tweet, it previously said, ''It has come to notice that some rumour mongers are spreading rumours of Band Call and Curfew in Jammu. People are requested not to pay any heed to rumours. The situation in Jammu is peaceful and there is no such Band Call or Curfew planned by the administration.'' Here are the helpline numbers issued by the J&K Police for the general public to report such incidents or contact the local police in case they need any assistance: 100 or 01942451515. The warning from the J&K Police came at a time when Indian forces shot down a Pakistani jet but one of its MiG-21 pilots went "missing". Pakistan claimed that it was in its custody. The External Affairs Ministry accused Pakistan of targeting Indian military installations in response to Tuesday's counter-terrorism action targeted at the JeM that had claimed responsibility for the recent suicide bombing of 40 CRPF troopers in Kashmir. "Against this counter-terrorism action, Pakistan has responded this morning by using its air force to target military installations on the Indian side," MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar told the media in the presence of an Air Vice Marshal. He said the Indian Air Force (IAF) responded instantly and a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) aircraft was shot down by a MiG-21 Bison. "The Pakistani aircraft was seen by the ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side," he said. The statement did not say which Pakistani fighter jet was shot down although previous reports had suggested it was an F-16. The aircraft reportedly fell three kilometres inside Pakistan. "In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG-21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," said the MEA spokesman. Earlier, the IAF fighters scrambled and pushed back Pakistani fighter jets which intruded into the Nowshera sector in Jammu and Kashmir. An Indian military aircraft, however, crashed in Badgam in Jammu and Kashmir, 7 kilometres from the Srinagar International Airport, police said. This and the Pakistani action led to the brief suspension of commercial flights across at least eight cities including Leh, Pathankot, Jammu, Srinagar and Amritsar. The flight operations were ordered resumed within hours. Indian Air Defence Systems have been on maximum alert since Tuesday. Simultaneously, Indian and Pakistani troops traded heavy fire using mortars and small arms in Jammu and Kashmir`s Uri sector, Defence Ministry sources said. The clash occurred in Kamalkote area. Intermittent heavy firing was also reported at 40 places on the LoC including Poonch, Rajouri and Jammu districts since Tuesday night. The Indian attack on the JeM training camp came 11 days after a suicide bomber killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers in the worst terror strike in Jammu and Kashmir since terrorism-hit the state in 1989. (With Agency inputs) Srinagar: National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah Wednesday called for de-escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan and asked both the countries to maintain "maximum restraint" for the "greater good of humanity". "History bears testimony to the fact that war did not help both the neighbours resolve their long pending issues. It is in the interest of our region if both the countries shun war rhetoric," Abdullah said in a statement issued by the party. "I urge both the countries to shun violence for the greater good of people living in both the countries especially for the people of Jammu and Kashmir," he added. The former chief minister said it was the people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially those living on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) or the International Border (IB), who have to face the brunt of skirmishes between the two countries. "Let the war belong to tragic past in the history. It should find no place on our agenda. Let me remind the two nations that war is a plague that will have far-reaching consequences on the growth and development of the two nations," he said. The NC chief urged India and Pakistan to maintain "maximum restraint" as war, he said, was a little word of few letters but its effects were always harmful. "It brings destruction which cannot be compensated for many years. No peaceful mind wants war. I urge the peace loving people in both the countries to come forth and help de-escalate the situation," he said. "I am pretty sure that the number of people who want peace far exceeds the hawkish people numerically, it is right time for the doves to come forward," he added. Chachwal village, J&K: India is building more than 14,000 bunkers suitable for families living along its border with Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, hoping to keep them safe near their homes instead of evacuating them as artillery shells scream over. On Tuesday evening, Pakistan used heavy calibre weapons to shell 12 to 15 places along the Line of Control (LoC), a spokesman for the Indian defence forces said. The Indian army retaliated with its own shelling of the Pakistani side, he said. That had created "panic among people", said Rahul Yadav, the deputy commissioner of the Poonch district, a remote area of the Indian state that faced some of the attacks. The new shelters, which were planned before this week's spike in tensions, are supposed to reduce that fear and prevent people from having to flee when the shelling begins. There have been frequent exchanges of fire along the LoC but Tuesday's firing marked a major escalation after India carried out an air strike on a training camp run by JeM in Pakistan. India was responding to a suicide car bombing claimed by a member of the group that killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force in Jammu and Kashmir almost two weeks ago. As well as the shelling, Pakistan retaliated on Wednesday by carrying out airstrikes on the Indian side of the border. India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. STEEL AND CONCRETE Villagers on the Indian side of the border said they were tired of fleeing their homes when outbreaks of firing erupt. Some have seen family members killed and the cost of leaving behind their cattle and crops is too heavy for many poor farmers. Tanattar Singh, a frail 75-year-old man from Chachwal village, said his daughter was killed in 2002 when she was hit by a bullet just outside their house, which is surrounded by wheat fields near a watch tower. "Firing could happen again and we know there are risks of living so close to the border," Singh said, as he and other elders watched earth being dug out for the construction of a bunker for one of the village`s 400 families. "But what can we do? We can`t leave the village for good like some rich people do." Government engineers said work on the underground steel and concrete structures, which could cost a total of $60 million, began in June last year as relations between the nuclear-armed rivals worsened. State government officials and contractors said hundreds of underground bunkers, with their walls and roofs three times the thickness of a regular house and consuming 10 times as much steel, have already been built. Reuters visited nearly a dozen such bunkers, some waterlogged and constructed on farm land or next to people`s houses. "These can withstand simple shelling," said an engineer with the Jammu and Kashmir public works department tasked with building the bunkers. The engineer declined to be named citing government rules. WASHINGTON: In a big diplomatic victory for India, the US on Wednesday asked Pakistan to take "meaningful action" against terrorist groups operating on its soil and take measures aimed at de-escalating tension with India after Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets bombed Jaish-e-Mohammad's terrorist camp in Pakistan on Tuesday. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a suicide attack carried out a suicide bomber owing allegiance to JeM in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, leading to massive outrage across India. India retaliated on Tuesday by raining bombs at JeM's biggest training camp at Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The site of the attack is located about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC). The government later confirmed that a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders were killed in the swift and precise airstrikes carried out by IAF. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talked to Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on phone and asked him to avoid military action against India. Pompeo also called Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and emphasised the close security partnership between the US and India. "Following Indian counter-terrorism actions on February 26, I spoke with Indian Minister of External Affairs Swaraj to emphasize our close security partnership and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region," Pompeo said in a statement. "I also spoke to Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi to underscore the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action, and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil," he added. The US Secretary of State said that he had asked both India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost. "I also encouraged both ministers to prioritise direct communication and avoid further military activity," Pompeo noted. (with PTI inputs) Mercedes had heads turning in Barcelona as the final days of winter testing before the 2019 season began. The reigning champions, reportedly outpaced so far by Ferrari and Red Bull-Honda, emerged on track with a major aerodynamic upgrade for its new car. Sources said the team has been working on the changes - including a new nose and front wing - since January, but it comes after speculation Mercedes was contemplating a wholesale re-think of its concept for the new regulations. "We wanted to get our Melbourne specification ready as late as possible, but still early enough to test it," a source told Auto Motor und Sport. "Compared to the presentation model, every aerodynamic surface has changed." Lewis Hamilton said: "It was an improvement from last week which is a good step." The Ferrari and Red Bull-Honda cars did not feature such radical bodywork changes as the test resumed at the Circuit de Catalunya on Tuesday. Less clear is the pecking order below the top three teams. "Sooner or later, the truth will come to light," Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg said. "I have never been good at reading coffee grounds." However, it is rumoured Renault is concerned that Alfa Romeo, the closely Ferrari-aligned team formerly known as Sauber, may have overtaken as the fourth force. "Alfa Romeo looks strong, but also Haas and Racing Point," Hulkenberg said. He said Renault has definitely improved its engine compared to 2018: "Even with the new rear wing, the extra power is noticeable," said the German. On Tuesday, it was McLaren's Lando Norris with the fastest time. "I hope that some of those who did fast laps today are not able to go much faster," Haas driver Kevin Magnussen told Ekstra Bladet newspaper. "Otherwise they are really fast. But right now I'm not so worried. "Last year it was a little clearer where everyone was, but I think a better picture will emerge over the next few days," the Dane added. (GMM) NEW DELHI: Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday announced a new railway zone for Andhra Pradesh, days after a delegation of BJP lawmakers from the state met the minister demanding the same. The new railway zone - Southern Coast Railway - will be headquartered in Visakhapatnam, Goyal said, adding that it will be the 18th zone in the country. "As per item 8 of Schedule 13 (Infrastructure) of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014, the Indian Railways was required to examine establishing a new railway zone in the successor state of Andhra Pradesh," the Minister said. "The matter has been examined in detail in consultation with the stakeholders and it has been decided to go ahead with the creation of a new zone with its headquarter in Visakhapatnam," he told reporters. In a memorandum submitted to Goyal, the BJP delegation had said that the north Andhra region, comprising Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts, is "very backward and needs an impetus for development". The new zone will comprise the existing Guntakal, Guntur and Vijayawada divisions that currently fall under the South Central Railway. The South Central Railway will then consist of the Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Nanded divisions, Goyal said. Waltair division, one of the three divisions of the East Coast Railway Zone, covering the northern districts of Andhra Pradesh, parts of Chhattisgarh and Odisha, having its headquarter in Visakhapatnam, will be split into two, he said. While one part will be incorporated in the new zone and merged with the neighbouring VijVijayawadavision, the remaining portion will be converted into a new division headquartered at Rayagada under the East Coast Railway (ECoR). The decision of a new zone comes despite internal reports of the Railways that questioned the need for a separate zone and remarked that it was not "feasible". Indian Railways' operations are currently divided into 17 zones, which are further sub-divided into divisions, each having a divisional headquarter. There are a total of 73 divisions at present. In 2002-2003, seven new zones and eight new divisions were created and the Salem division was added in 2007. During 2009-2013, 92 requests for new zones and 45 new divisions were received. These were examined by a committee formed in 2012. The committee in its report had said that "none of the requests was justified". The cost of creating infrastructure for a new zone, according to an internal assessment of the Railways, is around Rs. 205 crore. These figures exclude extra costs relating to creation or upgradation of posts, transfers, posting of staff and other costs. JAMMU: The Army on Tuesday said at least five soldiers got injured after Pakistan Army violated the ceasefire on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu by resorting to shelling with heavy calibre weapons. Army sources said that unprovoked ceasefire violation was initiated by Pakistani Army in 12 to 15 places all along the LoC. Two out of five injured soldiers were taken to a military hospital for treatment and are stable. Indian Army retaliated to ceasefire violation within no time and destroyed five posts of Pakistan Army. Army sources said Pakistani troops were also using civilian houses to fire mortars and missiles at Indian posts. Earlier, the Jammu-based Army spokesman had said that Pakistan had violated the ceasefire along the LoC in Akhnoor, Nowshera, Krishna Ghati Sector. PTI reported that the Pakistan Army resorted to heavy mortar shelling on forward areas in Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch districts on Tuesday. The Pakistani Army targeted civilian homes and forward posts from 5:30pm on Tuesday evening. They used small, automatic and heavy weaponry to fire at Indian forward posts in Krishna Gati, Balakote, Khari Karmara, Mankote, Tarkundi (Poonch district), Kalal, Baba Khori, Kalsian, Laam and Jhangar areas (Rajouri) and Pallanwala and Laleali (Jammu). An Army officer that there was no injury or loss of life in the ceasefire violations, PTI reported. (with PTI inputs) ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday summoned India's Acting High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia and condemned the alleged "unprovoked ceasefire violations" by the Indian security forces along the Line of Control which resulted in the killing of four civilians. Director General (South Asia and SAARC) Mohammad Faisal, who is also the foreign ministry spokesman, summoned Ahluwalia and "condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian forces along the Line of Control," the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement. The firing on February 26 in Nikial and Khuiratta sectors resulted in the killing of four civilians, including three women. The firing also injured six others, the FO said. The Indian forces along the LoC and the Working boundary are "continuously targeting civilian populated areas with heavy weapons", it said. "This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1970 ceasefire violation," it alleged. "The deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws. The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation," the statement said. Faisal urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 Ceasefire arrangement; investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations; instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the Working Boundary, the statement said. He also said that the Indian side should permit UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions. India maintains that UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the LoC. NEW DELHI: India rejected all claims of Pakistan shooting down aircraft of Indian Air Force on Wednesday. Islamabad claimed to shoot down two Indian Air Force aircraft and arrest an Indian pilot minutes after IAF chased out three Pakistani Air Force (PAF) jets from Indian territory Wednesday morning. Pakistan Major General A Ghafoor said that the PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts which had entered the Pakistani airspace. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area, he tweeted. In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area. Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 27, 2019 Catch the live coverage on India-Pakistan standoff here: Taking to Twitter, Pakistan's MoFA spokesperson Mohammad Faisal, "PAF undertook strikes across LoC from Pakistani airspace. Sole purpose of this action was to demonstrate our right, will and capability for self defence. We do not wish to escalate but are fully prepared if forced into that paradigm." "Pakistan has taken strikes at non military target, avoiding human loss and collateral damage," said another statement from Pakistan Foreign Office as reported by Dawn news. "For the last few years, India has been trying to establish what they call 'a new normal', a thinly veiled term for doing acts of aggression at whatever pretext they wish on a given day. "If India is striking at so-called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan. We do not wish to go to that route and wish that India gives peace a chance and to resolve issues like a mature democratic nation," the statement added. Three Pakistani Air Force jets Wednesday violated the Indian air space and crossed the Line of Control to enter Jammu and Kashmir. According to senior officials, the jets entered Poonch and Nowshera sectors but were pushed back by Indian Air Force aircraft patrolling the area. The aircraft reportedly entered up to two kilometres inside the Indian territory but fled after they were intercepted by the IAF fighters. The Pakistani jets also dropped bombs while fleeing but there is no report of any casualty or damage to property, officials told news agency PTI. India also shot down PAF's F-16 aircraft in the Lam valley, Nowshera sector. According to emerging reports, a parachute seen as Pakistan Air Force's F-16 was going down, the condition of the pilot is unknown, reported news agency ANI. Follow the live latest updates here NEW DELHI: After falsely claiming to strike down Indian aircraft, Pakistani media aired fake footage of IAF jets being shot down. Several TV channels ran old crash footage of a MiG and a Hawk aircraft going down as exclusive content. The IAF Hawk jet had gone down near Subarnarekha River at Odisha-Jharkhand border in March 2018 while the MiG-27 fighter aircraft had crashed in a residential area in Rajasthan's Jodhpur in 2016. Another channel aired a video clip of an IAF pilot who survived the twin crash of the Suryakiran aerobatics display team in Bengaluru on February 19. Several people took to social media to report about it. The fake footage went viral after the Pakistan government claimed to strike down two IAF jets and arrest one pilot earlier in the day. Soon after, India rejected these claims and said that no aircraft of the Indian Air Force was shot down. "No reports of any IAF jet suffering damage in action by India's adversaries," said defence sources as reported by PTI. Three Pakistan Air Force aircraft violated and crossed into the Indian air space in a retaliatory fire at the Line of Control (LoC). IAF shot down a Pakistan Air Force's F-16 jet in the Lam valley of Jammu and Kashmir's Nowshera sector. A parachute was seen dropping from the F-16 aircraft which was going down. The condition of the pilot is unknown, reported news agency ANI. The aircraft reportedly entered up to two kilometres inside the Indian territory but fled after they were intercepted by the IAF fighters. The Pakistani jets also dropped bombs while fleeing but there is no report of any casualty or damage to property, officials told news agency PTI. Just a day earlier on Tuesday, the IAF had carried out multiple aerial strikes targeting terror launch pads in Pakistan, completely destroying them, including control rooms of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group. The terror camps in Balakot, Chakothi and Muzaffarabad were struck by 12 Mirage 2000 jets with 1000 kg of explosives at around 3:30 am. India's response came 12 days after a CRPF convoy was attacked by a suicide bomber in Jammu and Kashmir`s Pulwama, in which 40 security personnel were killed. Hours after the IAF airstrikes, a high alert was sounded at several places across the country. The IAF had put all air defence systems along the International Border and Line of Control (LoC) on alert to respond to any possible strike back by Pakistan Air Force. Sources said that the IAF bases along the borders have been fully geared up to deal with any eventuality. Air defence systems including airborne radars have been activated to deal with any intruders along the International Border and the LoC. Fernando Alonso spent Tuesday at the Circuit de Catalunya. The arrival of the former F1 driver at the final winter test followed speculation he might even drive the 2019 McLaren. He was wearing McLaren team gear, and according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Alonso even has his helmet in his luggage. Alonso was accompanied by his manager Luis Garcia Abad, and amid ongoing rumours that he might mount a 2020 return to F1, he even spent time with his former Ferrari team. He said: "My focus is on preparing for the Indy 500. Next week I'm flying to the US to work on a simulator. "I spent 18 years in formula one, and for now I just want to enjoy time in the paddock," the 37-year-old added. McLaren team boss Zak Brown would not shed light on whether Alonso will be testing, but sources indicated that there are no such plans. "Fernando just can't stay at home anymore," Brown smiled, according to El Confidencial. "He's going from place to place and saw the cars on the track in the afternoon." Alonso said he is willing to help McLaren. "We were in the meeting room talking about how to solve the problems of the tyres. I told them they need to understand the problem in five laps," he joked. (GMM) BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Huawei Rotating Chairman Guo Ping reiterated that his company does not "do bad things" when he took the stage at MWC 2019, or Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona on Tuesday. "As vendors, we don't operate carrier networks, and we don't own carrier data ... What we promise, is that we don't do anything bad: we don't do bad things," Guo said in a keynote speech at the information industry's highest-profile gathering. REAFFIRMING COMMITMENT Huawei, based in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, is a leading international vendor of telecoms equipments, which are procured by carriers that provide fixed and mobile connections for consumers and businesses. There was mounting pressure from the U.S. on Western governments not to use the Chinese telecoms company's technology in the construction of their upcoming 5G networks. "For technology providers, our responsibility is to comply with standards and build secure equipment. With 5G, we have made a lot of progress over 4G, and we can proudly say that 5G is safer than 4G," Guo said. 5G and the ultra-high connection speeds it offers will be vital for the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), the digital economy and autonomous and connected cars. "To build a system that we all can trust, we need aligned responsibility, unified standards and clear regulations," he said. He flatly rejected claims from the U.S. government that Huawei had broken intellectual property rules or was involved in espionage. The U.S. government is reportedly seeking to ban Huawei from supplying infrastructure for its 5G networks, but Guo Ping had a clear message for other countries considering making the same decision. "Let me say this as clear as possible: Huawei has not and will never plant backdoors. And we will never allow anyone to do so in our equipment. We take this responsibility very seriously," Guo said. "The U.S. security accusation on our 5G has no evidence -- nothing. ... So, for the best technology and greater security, choose Huawei. Please choose Huawei, thank you," he said. 3RD-PARTY ASSURANCE TO CYBER SECURITY Guo also called for unified standards and aligned responsibilities in terms of security. NESAS "is a very good idea", Guo said, referring to the Network Equipment Security Assurance Scheme, a voluntary scheme defined for the mobile industry. NESAS is jointly defined by 3GPP, which results from collaboration between groups of telecoms standard associations, and GSMA, a body representing global carriers and host of the MWC expo. "In fact, 3GPP's security standards were created with the support of many government security agencies. These agencies have strong capabilities to verify 5G security," Guo said, adding that "I would recommend extending NESAS to the world. Let the experts decide whether networks are safe or not." Vincent Pang, president of Huawei's Western Europe region, also spoke to the press about the security issue, arguing that his company "hasn't had a single security incident in the 15 years we have been in Europe". He said the Chinese government had "never" asked for Huawei to "install backdoors" into its technology, and stressed that the company knows that "the 5G rollout requires the highest levels of confidence, but it is a technical challenge, not a political one". [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] New Delhi: In the wake of escalating tension between te nuclear-armed neighbours, Pakistan on Tuesday asserted that the country doesn't want to go to war but wants peace. Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor appealed the Indian government for dialogue so that peace is restored between them. "If you want peace then let us talk. No issue can be resolved through war. India should think about this offer with a cool mind," Ghafoor was quoted as saying by PTI. "Pakistan does not want to go for war, our message is peace. The international community should also play it role," the spokesman said. "What we did today is in self-defence. We do not want to celebrate it, as war is a victory of none as only humanity loses in war," he said. Ghafoor also added that war is also a failure of policy. Earlier in the day, three Pakistani Air Force jets violated the Indian air space and crossed the Line of Control (LoC) to enter Jammu and Kashmir. According to senior officials, the jets entered Poonch and Nowshera sectors but were pushed back by Indian Air Force aircraft patrolling the area. The Pakistani jets also dropped bombs before fleeing; however, there were no reports of any casualty or damage of properties, Indian officials told PTI. Speaking about it, the Pakistani military spokesperson said, "It was not retaliation in the true sense but it was an action to show that we can retaliate. We do not want to push the region to war. We want peace." In the meantime, nine airports, including the ones in Srinagar and Jammu, were shut down by the administration for civilian air traffic amid escalating tension with Pakistan, officials said. Airports at Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Pathankot, Amritsar, Shimla, Kangra, Kullu Manali, Pithoragarh were among those closed, they said. While the official did not specify the nature of the emergency, it is believed the step was taken in view of an IAF jet crashing in Budgam district this morning. Airports at Chandigarh, Pathankot, Halwara are Bathinda have been put on high alert. Punjab's six border districts of Fazilka, Ferozepur, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Amritsar are on high alert since Tuesday. Deputy Commissioners and SSPs of border areas have been asked to put in place all contingency plans to ensure protection and safety of citizens, officials said. Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the security situation in the country, especially along the border with Pakistan. During the meeting, attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval among others, a detailed presentation was given about the security situation in the country and steps taken to ensure peace in all sensitive places. In a pinpointed and swift air strike that lasted less than two minutes, India pounded Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Pakistan early Tuesday, killing up to 350 terrorists and trainers who were moved there for their protection after the Pulwama attack, officials said. The pre-dawn operation described as 'non-military' and 'preemptive' struck a five-star resort-style camp on a hilltop forest that provided a dozen Mirage 2000 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force(IAF) with a "sitting duck target" and caught the terrorists in their sleep, sources said. The strike is the first by the IAF inside Pakistan after the 1971 war. (With Agency inputs) NEW DELHI: Leading opposition parties on Wednesday lauded the ''pre-dawn, pre-emptive and non-military airstrikes'' carried out by the Mirage 2000 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force on a terror camp run by Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistan's Balakot in which ''a large number of terrorists were eliminated.'' The leaders of at least 21 political parties, which met this evening, expressed "deep anguish" over the "blatant politicisation of sacrifices" made by the Indian military and attacked the ruling BJP for not consulting them regarding the fast-paced developments involving Pakistan in last few days. "National security must transcend narrow political considerations," the leaders of 21 opposition parties said in a joint statement issued at a meeting. The opposition sought to know as to why an all-party meeting was not conducted by the government to discuss all issues related to national security. The joint statement issued by the opposition parties condemned the dastardly Pulwama terror attack by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed on February 14. Congress President Rahul Gandhi after opposition meeting: The meeting of leaders of 21 political parties condemned the dastardly Pulwama attack by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed on 14th February 2019 and lauded the action taken by our armed forces pic.twitter.com/XaGeQXJGTg ANI (@ANI) 27 February 2019 The opposition leaders also paid homage to the CRPF martyrs and expressed solidarity with the armed forces in crushing the menace of terrorism. The opposition leaders, however, expressed concerns over the present security situation and the safety of one MiG 21 pilot who went missing after the IAF fighter jets chased and reportedly shot down one of Pakistani aircraft, which violated India's airspace and made an unsuccessful attempt to target Indian military installations. A joint statement issued by the opposition parties said, ''The meeting of leaders of 21 political parties condemned the dastardly Pulwama terror attack by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed on 14th February 2019. The meeting paid homage to our martyrs and expressed solidarity with our Armed Forces in crushing the menace of terrorism.'' Congress President Rahul Gandhi after opposition meeting: Leaders condemned Pakistani misadventure & expressed deep concern for safety of our missing pilot. Leaders urged govt to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity & integrity. pic.twitter.com/v5RYquSz0w ANI (@ANI) 27 February 2019 ''The meeting lauded the action taken by the Indian Air Force against the terrorist camp on 26th February 2019 and praised our Armed Forces for their valour and bravery. The meeting of 21 parties expressed their deep anguish over the blatant politicisation of the sacrifices made by our Armed Forces by leaders of the ruling party. National security must transcend narrow political considerations. The leaders observed that the Prime Minister has, regrettably, not convened an-all party meeting as per the established practice in our democracy,'' the joint statement said. ''The leaders expressed concern on the emerging security situation. Post the statement from the MEA regarding targeting of our military installations and loss of one fighter aircraft, the leaders condemned the Pakistani misadventure and expressed their deep concern for the safety of our missing pilot. Leaders urged the Government to take the nation into confidence on all measures to protect India's sovereignty, unity and integrity,'' it said. The joint statement was read out by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi after the conclusion of the meeting. The statement from the opposition parties came after MEA accused Pakistan of using its Air Force to target military installations in India in response to IAF's counter-terrorism operations. ''Their attempts were foiled successfully,'' the External Affairs Ministry said on Wednesday. In a very brief press statement, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, accompanied by Air Vice Marshal RGK Kapoor, also said details are being ascertained about Pakistan's claim of having captured one Indian pilot. The statement follows fresh confrontation a day after Indian Air Force launched a counter-terrorism action against a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan based on credible evidence that JeM intended to launch more attacks. "Against this Counter Terrorism Action, Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistan's attempts were foiled successfully," Kumar said. He said the Pakistan Air Force was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. "In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. "In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," he said. New Delhi: In a stern message to Pakistan in the wake of escalating tension between the two nuclear-power countries, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said that 'Kashmir belongs to India and will remain a part of the country. Hailing the Indian soldiers for giving a befitting reply to Pakistan forces, Singh said, "Our soldiers went on the land of terror factory and delivered a substantial answer to them. The world has now recognised India as a powerful nation. Pakistan allows its soil to be used by terror groups to carry out terror-related activities against India, and Pakistan Prime Minister has no answer to it." "And now, Pakistan has begun approaching other nations accusing India of troubling it. But it is Pakistan, who has always given shelters to terrorists," Rajnath said during an address in Bilaspur today. In a clear message to the neighbouring country, Rajnath stated that "Kashmir belonged to India and will continue to remain a part of the country." Earlier in the day, Singh reviewed the security situation in the country, especially along the border with Pakistan, a day after Indian fighter jets bombed the biggest camp of terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad in that country, officials said. During the meeting, attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval among others, a detailed presentation was given about the security situation in the country and steps taken to ensure peace in all sensitive places. Singh directed the officials to ensure the Border Security Force, which guards the India-Pakistan border continues to remain on the highest level of alertness so that any misadventure from across the border could be foiled, a home ministry official said. Those who attended the meeting include Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and Intelligence Bureau Director Rajiv Jain. In a pinpointed and swift air strike that lasted less than two minutes, India pounded Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Pakistan early Tuesday, killing up to 350 terrorists and trainers who were moved there for their protection after the Pulwama attack, officials said. The pre-dawn operation described as "non-military" and "preemptive" struck a five-star resort style camp on a hilltop forest that provided a dozen Mirage 2000 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force(IAF) with a "sitting duck target" and caught the terrorists in their sleep, sources said. The strike is the first by the IAF inside Pakistan after the 1971 war. (With PTI inputs) Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar on Tuesday confirmed that the air strikes took place at the terror camp of JeM at Balakot. Azhar, however, tried to save Pakistan's face by claiming that air strikes didn't cause any damage to his cadre or family members. Key JeM terrorists were targetted in the air strike carried out by the Indian Air Force on their training camp in Balakot in a daring pre-dawn operation on Tuesday. ANI reported that Maulana Ammar, Maulana Talha Saif, Mufti Azhar Khan Kashmiri and Ibrahim Azhar were among the 300 terrorists who were targetted by the IAF in the strike. The report, however, did not confirm that all these senior JeM figures were killed in the strike or not. Talha Saif is Maulana Masood Azhar's brother and is said to be the head of the preparation wing. Ammar is believed to be responsible for several attacks in Kashmir and Afghanistan. Ibrahim Azhar is the elder brother of Masood Azhar and was involved in IC-814 hijacking in 1999, while Mufti Azhar Khan Kashmiri is believed to be the head of Kashmir operations of the Pakistan-based terror group. In a swift and precise airstrike, dubbed by many as Surgical Strike 2.0, 12 Mirage 2000's fighter jets of IAF bombed and destroyed Jaish's biggest training camp in Balakot, eliminating several terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. Giving details of the operation at a press conference in New Delhi, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said credible intelligence was received that the JeM was planning to carry out other suicide attacks in India after the Pulwama bombing. "Credible intelligence was received that JeM was attempting another suicide terror attack in various parts of the country, and the fidayeen jihadis were being trained for this purpose. In the face of imminent danger, a preemptive strike became absolutely necessary," Gokhale remarked. Gokhale also said India had been providing to Islamabad the "location of terrorist training camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir" from time to time. But Pakistan kept denying their existence. He said that such 'massive training facilities capable of training hundreds of jehadis could not have functioned without the knowledge of Pakistani authorities.' NEW DELHI: Indian Air Force (IAF) shot down a Pakistan Air Force's F-16 jet on Wednesday in in Lam valley of Jammu and Kashmir's Nowshera sector. Three aircraft had violated and crossed into the Indian air space in a retaliatory fire at the Line of Control (LoC). According to emerging reports, a parachute was seen dropping from the F-16 aircraft which was going down. The condition of the pilot is unknown, reported news agency ANI. Catch the live coverage on India-Pakistan standoff here: Meanwhile, Pakistan has claimed to have arrested an Indian pilot after shooting down two aircraft of Indian Air Force. Pakistan Major General A Ghafoor said that the PAF shot down two Indian aircraft which had entered the Pakistani airspace. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area, he tweeted. The three jets violated the Indian air space and crossed the Line of Control to enter Jammu and Kashmir. According to senior officials, the jets entered Poonch and Nowshera sectors but were pushed back by Indian Air Force aircraft patrolling the area. The aircraft reportedly entered up to two kilometres inside the Indian territory but fled after they were intercepted by the IAF fighters. The Pakistani jets also dropped bombs while fleeing but there is no report of any casualty or damage to property, officials told news agency PTI. NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday rejected Pakistan's claim and said that no aircraft of the Indian Air Force was shot down. "No reports of any IAF jet suffering damage in action by India's adversaries," said defence sources as reported by PTI. Pakistan had earlier claimed to shoot down two Indian Air Force aircraft and arrest an Indian pilot minutes after IAF chased out three Pakistani Air Force (PAF) jets from Indian territory Wednesday morning. Pakistan Major General A Ghafoor said that the PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts which had entered the Pakistani airspace. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area, he tweeted. Indian Air Force (IAF) shot down a Pakistan Air Force's F-16 jet on Wednesday in Lam valley of Jammu and Kashmir's Nowshera sector. Three aircraft had violated and crossed into the Indian air space in a retaliatory fire at the Line of Control (LoC). According to emerging reports, a parachute was seen dropping from the F-16 aircraft which was going down. The condition of the pilot is unknown, reported news agency ANI. New Delhi: India's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it had asked Pakistan's acting high commissioner that New Delhi expects the immediate and safe return of the military pilot held captive by Pakistan. "It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "India also strongly objected to Pakistans vulgar display of injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention," it added. Ghafoor had earlier claimed that two IAF pilots were arrested by the Pakistan armed forces. "One pilot is injured and has been shifted to a hospital, while another one is unhurt", he had said, showing documents of the arrested pilots but identifying only one. Earlier in the day, during a brief press statement, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar admitted that one IAF pilot was missing in action after a MiG 21 Bison was lost, adding that details are being ascertained about Pakistan's claim of having captured the Indian pilot. "Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistan's attempts were foiled successfully," Kumar said. He said the Pakistan Air Force activity was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. "In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. "In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," he said. The fresh confrontation came a day after Indian Air Force launched a counter-terrorism action against a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan, based on credible evidence that the UN-proscribed terror group intended to launch terror attacks. The JeM had taken the responsibility of the terror strike in Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. (TNS) Aversion among some state lawmakers to government intervention in the private economy has been an obstacle to raising the decade-old minimum wage in Texas. But another issue fear of robots now might be a close second.Several members of a House committee voiced concerns Monday about greater reliance on automation and artificial intelligence by Texas businesses, and the potential for job cuts that could result, if the state's mandated minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is raised for the first time since 2009. The federal minimum wage has also remained at that level since 2009."This is one of the things we have to be worried about when we have computers and other methods (of performing certain job functions) we could cut out employment for some folks," said state Rep. John Raney, R-College Station.He made the comments during public testimony on two proposals to increase hourly minimum pay for Texas workers. House Bill 194, sponsored by state Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, would raise minimum hourly pay in the state to $15 on Sept. 1, while House Bill 290, sponsored by state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, would raise it to $10.10 in stages over four years.Raney and some others on the House Committee on International Relations and Economic Development cited the prevalence of self-serve checkout kiosks at retailers and the increased use of automation at fast-food restaurants as potential risks to low-skill workers if the mandated minimum pay rate is increased.But backers of the bills said other states have raised their minimum wages without spurring job losses."I wasn't prepared to talk about automation and robots," Rene Lara, the Texas AFL-CIO's legislative director, said at one point in the hearing. But he went on to call fears about an imminent wipe-out of low-skill jobs because of automation overblown.The so-called "living wage" in Texas -- meaning the amount a person must earn to support themselves and their family -- currently sits at $11.48 an hour for a single adult and at $23.42 a hour for a single adult with a child, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In Austin, the figures are even higher, coming in at $12.56 an hour for a single adult and $25.13 an hour for a single adult with a child."There are people who are working and not making enough money (to support themselves), and they're holding down a full-time job," Thompson said during the hearing. "We have to do something."Thompson, who has sponsored similar legislation in the past that was unsuccessful, also couched her proposal as a good business decision for the state. "What happens when people make more money? The money goes right back into the economy," she said.But Annie Spilman, Texas state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, voiced opposition to both bills, saying wages in Texas have been climbing without an increase to the required minimum wage because of competition for workers amid what has been a record low unemployment rate.Businesses "understand that they have to provide competitive wages and competitive benefits," Spilman said.Still, she said many also operate on "very thin margins," and warned that a state mandated increase to their expenses could result in fewer work hours for employees, delayed hiring for open positions or even job cuts.In response to a question during the hearing, however, Spilman said her organization might be willing to support an increase in the state's minimum wage if it included exemptions or other protections for small businesses. On a day when Pakistani Air Force jets entered Indian air space in a bid to target military installations along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, Imran Khan once again appealed for dialogue between the two countries while making no mention of terrorists and terror network in his country. PAF jets were thwarted by IAF fighter planes on Tuesday morning. One fighter jet was lost by each side, confirmed the Ministry of External Affairs. This incursion into Indian airspace came a day after India fighter jets had conducted raids to target terror camps in Muzaffarabad and Chakoti in Pakistan occupied Kashmir as well as Balakot in Khyber-Pakthunkhwa province of Pakistan. In an address to his nation, Imran Khan once again made no reference to terrorists operating from Pakistan and instead feigned bravado. "Our operation today was to show that if you can cross the LoC, so can we. If this (situation) escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in the control of Narendra Modi," he said. "Better sense must prevail. Let's settle this with talks." Imran also said that two IAF jets were shot down on Tuesday although India's Ministry of External Affairs has said that only one MiG-21 was lost. The Pakistani PM also said that he would investigate the Pulwama attack if credible evidence is given, although he steered clear of home-grown terror which is actively supported by the army and ISI. Imran's appeal for peace comes at a time when the international community has repeatedly urged Pakistan to crack down on home-grown terror. India has adopted a tough stance, especially after the dastardly attack on a CRPF convoy on February 14 in which 40 troopers lost their lives. Even though the attack was claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammed which is based in Pakistan, Islamabad remains in denial mode. The Indian government on Tuesday strongly objected to the 'vulgar display' of an injured Indian Air Force personnel in Pakistan and said that it is in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention. Demanding that the pilot be returned immediately and safely, India even summoned Pakistan's deputy high commissioner in New Delhi to lodge a protest. Earlier in the day, the Ministry of External Affairs had said that a Mig-21 had been lost while a pilot was missing after Indian forces engaged with intruding Pakistan Air Force jets, shooting one down. There is outrage in India over how the pilot who went missing has been treated in Pakistan. India has said it is a clear violation of Geneva Convention. What is Geneva Convention exactly? A series of treaties concluded in Geneva between 1864 and 1949 are together called Genva Convention and has the following objectives: * Immunity from capture and destruction of all establishments for the treatment of wounded and sick soldiers and their personnel * Impartial reception and treatment of all combatants, * Protection of civilians providing aid to the wounded, and * Recognition of the Red Cross symbol as a means of identifying persons and equipment covered by the agreement. All major countries in the world - including India and Pakistan - are signatories of the Geneva convention which advocates the humane treatment of soldiers and/or civilians captured. While this is usually in times of declared war, and India and Pakistan are currently not in a state of war even if tensions are high, the third Geneva Convention states that it is applicable even during armed conflict. The Geneva Convention also says that PoW status to a combatant should ensure that he/she is protected, especially from acts of violence, intimidation and insults and public curiosity. Significantly, it highlights that PoWs must be handed back to their home country without delay. (Note: The objectives of the Geneva Convention mentioned above have been taken, as is, from redcross.org) NEW DELHI: Hours after the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out multiple aerial strikes at terror launch pads at various places in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Tuesday killing several terrorists, a high alert was sounded at several places across the country. The IAF put all air defence systems along the international border and Line of Control (LoC) on alert to respond to any possible strike back by Pakistan Air Force. Sources said that the IAF bases along the borders have been fully geared up to deal with any eventuality. Air defence systems including airborne radars have been activated to deal with any intruders along the International Border and the LoC. The Western Naval Command also sounded a "high alert and announced that it is fully prepared" 24/7 to tackle any reaction from Pakistan. Security in several states sharing the border with Pakistan has also been beefed up. Police in Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra issued a "high alert" following the air strikes. Punjab shares a 553-km long international border with Pakistan which is barbed wire fenced inside Indian territory. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh ordered several measures as part of the state`s preparedness to deal with any contingency in view of the latest developments at the LoC. Border districts were put on high alert on Tuesday following the air strikes by the Indian Air Force (IAF) across the Line of Control, undertaken by India as a retaliatory measure for the February 14 Pulwama terror attack. Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) of the border areas have been asked to put in place all contingency plans to ensure the protection and safety of the citizens. The Chief Minister is also expected to visit the border areas from Pathankot to Ferozepur by road on Wednesday, an official spokesperson announced after a high-level law and order review meeting, chaired by Amarinder Singh. In Maharashtra, the state government asked the office bearers of the School & Cooperative Bus Owners Association to ensure the safety of school children keeping the prevailing situation in mind. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis informed that security has been tightened across the Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, and appealed to people not to panic. Intelligence agencies have already asked Mumbai police to be on alert, and increase the vigilance and CCTV surveillance in public places, airport, railway stations, and other key locations. Mumbai has been one of the most preferred targets for terrorist organisations and has witnessed several terror attacks, including explosions in Mumbai suburban trains in July 2006, and the unprecedented attacks of 26 November 2008, when two prime hotels, a landmark train station, and a Jewish Chabad house were attacked. Gujarat, which shares both land and sea border with the neighbouring country, was also put on high alert across the state after India's air strikes. The Indian Army shot down a Pakistani spy drone in Gujarat's Kutch, hours after the IAF's air strike on Tuesday. The drone was shot down in Ambasa village, bordering Pakistan. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani chaired a high-level meeting to review the security situation in the state after IAF's air strikes on terror camps Pakistan as the state shares both land and sea border with the neighbouring country. Post the pre-dawn air strikes, orders were issued to step up vigil at public places and important sites like the Somnath Temple and the Statue of Unity, he said. The Army, IAF, BSF, Coast Guard, local police and all security establishments are coordinating things. They are on vigil and all arrangements have been made (for security)," said Rupani. "In view of the action on terrorists across the border by IAF, all establishments have been put on high alert," a message from DGP's office to the district headquarters said. In Rajasthan, joint security forces - including the Border Security Force (BSF), Army and IAF are patrolling border areas. "The IAF fighter combats are patrolling western borders of the state. The border cities of Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bikaner and Shri Ganganagar have been kept on high alert," an official said, adding that a strict vigil has been being kept on activities in border villages. Himachal Pradesh issued alert warnings to all district SPs, asking them to ensure the safety of vital installations and also to keep sharp vigil in their respective districts, state police spokesperson and SP (Law and Order) Khushhal Sharma said. It has also been advised to pay more attention in communally sensitive localities and to ensure safety and security of Kashmiri people living in Himachal Pradesh, he said. The Indian Air Force, in the early hours of Tuesday, carried out multiple aerial strikes at terror launch pads at various places in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), completely destroying them, including control rooms of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group. The terror camps in Balakot, Chakothi and Muzaffarabad were struck by 12 Mirage 2000 jets with 1000 kg of explosives at around 3:30 am, IAF sources told ANI. India`s response came 12 days after a CRPF convoy was attacked by a suicide bomber in Jammu and Kashmir`s Pulwama, in which 40 security personnel were killed. New Delhi: The Defence Ministry on Wednesday evening confirmed that all six occupants of an ill-fated Mi-17 V5 helicopter which crashed earlier in the day in J&K's Budgam had died. The helicopter crashed at around 1010 hours near Budgam. There were six IAF personnel on board and they received fatal injuries when the helicopter crashed in an open field near Garend Kalaan village. According to local residents, the helicopter crashed and broke into two, catching fire immediately. A court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the reason for the crash. IAF has suffered a spate of crashes in the recent past with two Surya Kiran aircraft collided with each other a day before the Aero India 2019 show in Bengaluru. Prior to this, a Mirage 2000 trainer fighter aircraft had crashed in Bengaluru as well. NEW DELHI: Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, the three service chiefs met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hours after Pakistani aircraft violated the Indian airspace and were chased by the Indian Air Force in which one of its pilots went missing and later captured alive by Pakistan. It is understood that the three services chiefs apprised the PM about the countrys preparedness to deal with any possible retaliatory action by Islamabad. The three services chiefs met PM Modi at his 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence. Delhi: Meeting of the three Service Chiefs with PM Narendra Modi at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg ends pic.twitter.com/MKV9g1Cy2L ANI (@ANI) 27 February 2019 The meeting lasted for an hour, according to media reports. The three services chiefs had met the PM and NSA Ajit Doval on Tuesday and discussed the situation in the wake of IAF action against terror camps run by Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistan's Balakot. The meeting came hours after India on Wednesday said that Pakistan has committed "unprovoked act of aggression" by targeting Indian military posts with its air force and sought immediate and safe return of an Indian pilot in its custody. The Government of India issued a demarche to Pakistan objecting to "vulgar display" of an injured person of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms and said Islamabad must ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. The External Affairs Ministry earlier summoned Pakistan`s Acting High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah and lodged a strong protest at "the unprovoked act of aggression by Pakistan against India earlier today, including by violation of the Indian air space by Pakistan Air Force and targeting of Indian military posts". It also gave Pakistan a dossier with specific details of Jaish-e-Mohammed`s complicity in Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed earlier this month. "India also strongly objected to Pakistan`s vulgar display of an injured personnel of the Indian Air Force in violation of all norms of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Convention. It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. "India also expects his immediate and safe return," the statement said. India had earlier in the day accused Pakistan of targeting the country`s military installations in response to its counter-terrorism action a day earlier and said an Indian MiG-21 Bison pilot was "missing in action". It said that Pakistan has used its air force to target military installations on the Indian side and in the aerial engagement, one PAF fighter aircraft was shot down but a MiG-21 aircraft was also lost. New Delhi: Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday asked opposition parties against making irresponsible statements that could show India in a bad light and could, possibly, be used by Pakistan at a time when relations between the two neighbouring countries are tense. Jaitley said that the entire country stands united and opposition parties need to introspect. "Cross border terror attack in Pulwama was a reality. Balakot Operation was Indias anti- terror preemptive strike to defend its sovereignty. Whole nation has spoken in one voice. Why then is India's opposition alleging that the government is politicising our anti-terror operations?" he told news agency ANI. "Let the country speak in one voice. Please introspect - your ill-advised statement is being used by Pakistan to bolster its case." Jaitley's statement came shortly after 21 opposition parties, in a joint statement, said that the government is politicising the sacrifices of Indian armed forces. While expressing concern over a missing IAF pilot, the statement also condemned the Pulwama attack and paid homage to CRPF troopers martyred. (Read full report here) In response to the Pulwama attack, Indian Air Force jets had conducted raids against terror camps across the LoC in the wee hours of Tuesday. Pakistan Air Force, on Tuesday morning, crossed into Indian air space before being forced to retreat by IAF jets. Both sides lost one fighter jet each. The tension between India and Pakistan remains even as the two countries remain on high alert. New Delhi: Amid mounting tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama terror attack and Indian Air Force strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed's training camp in Pakistan's Balakot, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday warned the neighbouring country saying if American can kill Osama bin Laden then why can't India we do it. "I recall how the United States seals took away Osama bin Laden from inside Abbottabad in Pakistan. We would think why can't we do it? That was the thought. In the current situation, we know we can do it," Jaitley said in the national capital today. Catch the live coverage on India-Pakistan standoff here: In the meantime, several reports claimed that Pakistan Energy Minister called an emergency meeting to discuss the shortage of oil supplies for its defence forces. Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Mujtaba Baig told PTI that flight operations in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces have been suspended for an indefinite period. He said the flight operations from and to Lahore, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Multan and Rawalpindi/Islamabad airports have been suspended. The planes which had left from foreign destinations for these airports have been diverted to the safer airports, he said. At least 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers 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. Following the incident, India on Tuesday bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. Earlier today, three Pakistani Air Force jets Wednesday violated the Indian air space and crossed the Line of Control to enter Jammu and Kashmir. According to senior officials, the jets entered Poonch and Nowshera sectors but were pushed back by Indian Air Force aircraft patrolling the area. The jets reportedly entered up to two kilometres inside the Indian territory but fled after they were intercepted by the IAF fighters. The Pakistani jets also dropped bombs while fleeing but there is no report of any casualty or damage to property, officials told news agency PTI. "The jets entered Indian air space over Nowshera and Poonch sectors this morning," officials said. The Army and BSF have been put on the highest degree of alertness along the border here after air space violations by the neighbouring country and the night-long heavy firing and shelling by Pakistani troops on forward and civilians areas across the LoC which stopped on Wednesday. Authorities have ordered temporary closure of educational institutions in a 5-km radius along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri and Poonch districts on Wednesday All residents of the border areas have been asked to remain inside their homes and not venture outside. (With Agency inputs) (TNS) The state attorney general is aiming to give more teeth to a new data privacy law before it takes effect next year by expanding his and Californians right to sue companies for damages.Under SB561, unveiled Monday by Attorney General Xavier Becerra and state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), consumers would be able to take a business to court for sharing or selling their personal information without permission. The attorney generals office also would be allowed to take action against a company without first giving it a chance to correct violations of the data privacy law.Becerra said the proposed changes were based on concerns he raised last year as the original bill was being drafted that it was not enforceable.Were giving Californians control of their data, he said at a news conference. I cant be out there to represent 40 million people on their one particular concern based on a violation by one particular company. But thats important for that one individual.Lawmakers passed legislation last summer to give customers more power over the personal data that businesses collect about them and more opportunity to seek compensation when those data are breached But they also immediately began talking about amending the law, which was hastily passed before a deadline for proponents of a more far-reaching voter initiative to pull their measure from the ballot. Legislators have introduced more than a dozen bills this session to further the goals of the law or provide exemptions to certain industries. It does not take effect until January 2020, and the state Justice Department is still writing regulations.The data privacy law requires that businesses disclose to customers what personal data they are collecting and, upon request, to stop selling the information to third parties or even delete it altogether. If a company fails to follow reasonable security measures and personal data are breached, consumers can sue for up to $750 per person per breach.Lawsuits are limited, however, by a provision requiring that people give a company written notice to fix the problem before seeking damages. If the company does so within 30 days, a suit cannot proceed.SB561 would eliminate that provision for the attorney general. Becerra said giving companies a chance to address violations of the law before they can be held accountable is a get-out-of-jail-free pass.Consumers also would be able to sue for more than just a data breach under SB561. Justice Department officials said customers could sue if, for example, a company didnt provide a link on its website where customers could opt out of having their data sold.The measure would eliminate another requirement that the attorney general provide an opinion to businesses that seek guidance about how to comply with the data privacy law. Becerra said his office does not give out free legal advice. Instead, it would be allowed to publish general guidelines.SB561 strikes at the very core of opposition to the data privacy law, which Internet, technology, retail and other business groups lobbied against last year. The California Chamber of Commerce said the goal appears to be lawsuits and attorneys fees.The Internet Association, an organization of tech giants including Google, Facebook and Amazon, said in a statement that it was strongly opposed to the new bill. Kevin McKinley, the groups director of California government affairs, said it would unwind a key piece of the deal that was struck last year ... to make the law workable for companies both big and small.Jackson defended her bill as a way to deter bad behavior rather than to punish it: If you dont violate the law, you dont get sued, she said. New Delhi: Amid escalating tensions between the two countries, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday summoned Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner to protest against the alleged violation of the country's airspace by the Pakistani Air Force this morning. News agency ANI confirmed that Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah was summoned by the MEA and asked to report to the South Block office. Delhi: Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah summoned by Ministry of External Affairs pic.twitter.com/sXnJQvhMpz ANI (@ANI) 27 February 2019 The MEA action came after Pakistan summoned India's Acting High Commissioner Gaurav Ahluwalia and condemned the alleged "unprovoked ceasefire violations" by the Indian security forces along the Line of Control which resulted in the killing of four civilians. Director General (South Asia and SAARC) Mohammad Faisal, who is also the Foreign Ministry spokesman, summoned Ahluwalia and "condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian forces along the Line of Control," the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement. The firing on February 26 in Nikial and Khuiratta sectors resulted in the killing of four civilians, including three women. The firing also injured six others, the FO said. The Indian forces along the LoC and the Working boundary are "continuously targeting civilian populated areas with heavy weapons", it said. "This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1970 ceasefire violation," it alleged. "The deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws. The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation," the statement said. Faisal urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 Ceasefire arrangement; investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations; instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the Working Boundary, the statement said. He also said that the Indian side should permit UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions. India maintains that UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the LoC. (With PTI Inputs) The Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camp at Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan, which was completely destroyed by Indian Air Force's Mirage 2000 fighter jets in a daring pre-dawn operation on Tuesday, was the biggest training camp of JeM. The terror camp located on a hilltop amidst thick forest was an advanced training centre where suicide bombers were trained. Intelligence sources said that Balakot was an important training center for JeM and other Pakistan-based terror groups. Spread over an area of around 6 acre, the terror camp had several structures to accommodate terrorist trainees and facilities. JeM and other terror groups used this camp for battle inoculation. Sources added that before the inception of JeM under the leadership of Maulana Masood Azhar, the camp in Balakot was also used by banned terror group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. Azhar and other senior terrorists used to visit this terror camp regularly to deliver inspirational lectures to new recruits. Since the camp was situated on Kunhar river, it was a perfect place for the terrorists to undertake aquatic training. At least 300 terrorists were present inside the camp when IAF's Mirage 2000 dropped bombs on it. Most of the trainers were ex-army personnel, said sources. Also read: Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar admits IAF airstrikes targeted terror camp in Balakot ANI reported that at this camp terrorists were given the advanced Daura e Khaas training in weapons, explosives and field tactics, tactics for attacking security forces convoys, planting and making IEDs, preparations for suicide bombing, rigging vehicles for suicide attacks and survival tactics in high altitudes and extreme-stress situations. JeM specialises in suicide attacks and the primary focus of this terror group is religious indoctrination and ideological brainwashing of its recruits. Some close relatives of Masood Azhar were trained at Balakot in advanced weapons and tactics. The IAF carried out multiple airstrikes at the terror camp on Tuesday, decimating JeM's control rooms, an ammunition depot and some other infrastructure. A suicide bomber owing allegiance to JeM was involved in February 14's terror attack, which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel. The ghastly attack had led to outrage across the country and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had vowed to punish those involved in the attack. (with ANI inputs) NEW DELHI: Indian airline Vistara said on Wednesday flights to and from four cities in northern India are on hold as tensions between nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan escalate. "Due to airspace restrictions, flights to and from Amritsar, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Jammu are currently on hold," Vistara, a joint venture between India's Tata Sons Limited and Singapore Airlines Limited informed in a tweet. India said its warplanes struck a militant training camp inside Pakistan on Tuesday, raising the risk of conflict between the two countries. New Delhi: Barely hours after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan offered to diffuse tension with India through talks, the Pakistani armed forces violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control in Uri sector in Jammu and Kashmir. Uri in Baramulla district is close to the Line of Control (LoC) and locals reported shelling from across the border. Earlier in the day, Two Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists were gunned down by security forces during an encounter in Memander area of Shopain district The encounter comes a day after India carried out air strikes at a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) camp in Balakot in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. In the meantime, The Army and Border Security Force (BSF) have been put on the highest degree of alertness along the border here after air space violations by the neighbouring country and the night-long heavy firing and shelling by Pakistani troops on forward and civilians areas across the LoC which stopped on Wednesday. Authorities have ordered temporary closure of educational institutions in a 5-km radius along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri and Poonch districts on Wednesday amid mounting tensions between the two countries. All residents of the border areas have been asked to remain inside their homes and not venture outside. "There was night long-heavy firing and mortar shelling along the LoC in most of areas in Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch districts. However there was no firing and shelling from across the border on Wednesday," officials said. "Army and BSF troops have been put on highest alert along the LoC and International Border (IB) in view of the high degree of tension in wake of air space violations," they said. Indian officials said Pakistani fighter jets on Wednesday violated Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Nowshera sectors but were pushed back by Indian aircraft. On Tuesday night, the Indian Army destroyed five Pakistani posts along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir in a befitting retaliation to firing from across the border, resulting in a "number of casualties" to Pak troops, a defence official had said. (With PTI inputs) Barcelona: Telecom regulator Trai will stick to its recommended price for spectrum including that for 5G services, its Chairman R S Sharma said after leading telecom operators complained about high base prices for the sale of frequencies. Trai Chairman R S Sharma said that the regulator, however, has recommended various measures to lower levies on the sector to help improve the financial health of stressed operators. "We have given reserve price recommendation and we stand by that. In fact, we have reduced prices of 700 MHz band," Sharma told reporters here. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have said that spectrum prices for proposed auction are too high and companies will be unable to participate if radio waves are sold at prices recommended by Trai. The auction is key to start the rollout of 5G services. Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal on Tuesday said that the government needs to extend support to the industry for early 5G rollout by pricing spectrum at a reasonable level. "This is for the government to basically figure out when to auction. It is not our domain," Sharma said. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recommended auction of about 8,644 MHz of telecom frequencies, including those for 5G services, at an estimated total base price of Rs 4.9 lakh crore. Sharma said that the Department of Telecom has not asked any major question around spectrum pricing. "I think the government has also sent us one query about some arithmetical layer that has been relied on. Very minor clerical. It was not about pricing but about a small amount of spectrum available in Tamil Nadu. That we have responded. Now there is no question," Sharma said. He said that Trai has not yet received any further reference from DoT to explore prices for other spectrum band identified by high level panel for 5G services. Talking about low level of tariffs, Sharma said telecom services rates are under forbearance and it is telecom operators who fix tariffs. "We don't fix tariff. In fact there was suggestion from telcos sometime back that tariffs are going to rock bottom so you do something around it. They said fix a floor tariff. We did a meeting with operators for about two-and-a-half hours, everybody started asking us not to get into it. If I can't do floor price then I can't do. It is for the industry to take a call," Sharma said. Trai chairman rejected argument around low tariffs resulting in a loss to government revenue. "With regard to government revenue going down, that's not a great argument to give. It is not public policy imperative of government that consumer should pay higher so that government will get higher revenue," Sharma said. New Delhi: The RBI Tuesday lifted lending curbs on two more public sector banks (PSBs), Allahabad Bank and Corporation Bank, by taking them out of the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) Framework. Private sector Dhanlaxmi Bank too has been taken out of the PCA Framework. The PCA framework kicks in when banks breach any of the three key regulatory trigger points -- namely capital to risk weighted assets ratio, non-performing assets (NPA) and return on assets (RoA). The Board for Financial Supervision (BFS), in its meeting held on February 26 reviewed the performance of banks under PCA and noted that the government has infused fresh capital on February 21, into various banks including some of the banks currently under the PCA framework. Of these banks, the BFS noted that Allahabad Bank and Corporation Bank had received Rs 6,896 crore and Rs 9,086 crore respectively. This has shored up their capital funds and also increased their loan loss provision to ensure that the PCA parameters were complied with, RBI said in a statement. The two banks have also made the necessary disclosures to the Stock Exchange that post infusion of capital, the CRAR, CET1, Net NPA and Leverage Ratios are no longer in breach of the PCA thresholds, the apex bank said. The banks also apprised RBI of the structural and systemic improvements put in place to maintain these numbers. Accordingly, based on the principles adopted by the BFS in its earlier meeting dated January 31, 2019, it was decided in the meeting held on February 26, 2019 that Allahabad Bank and Corporation Bank be taken out of the PCA Framework subject to certain conditions and continuous monitoring. It has also been decided to take Dhanlaxmi Bank out of the PCA Framework, subject to certain conditions and continuous monitoring, as the bank is found to be not breaching any of the Risk Thresholds of the PCA Framework, RBI statement said. New Delhi: Veteran industrialist Ratan Tata and M&M Chairman Anand Mahindra hailed the Indian Air Force (IAF) for carrying out strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammed's terror camp in Pakistan. "We congratulate the PM and the IAF for the successful air strikes on the terrorist training camps which Pakistan has claimed never existed! India is proud of the firm action taken in retaliation to the suicide attack on our soldiers a few days ago," Ratan Tata said in a tweet. We congratulate the PM and the IAF for the successful air strikes on the terrorist training camps which Pakistan has claimed never existed! India is proud of the firm action taken in retaliation to the suicide attack on our soldiers a few days ago. @narendramodi Ratan N. Tata (@RNTata2000) February 26, 2019 And they returned safely... which is a feat in itself. Let us pray for the continued safety of those who protect us, Anand Mahindra, tweeted. And they returned safely... which is a feat in itself. Let us pray for the continued safety of those who protect us... https://t.co/DU4iq1hc36 anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) February 26, 2019 On Tuesday India bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC), killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The air strikes came 12 days after the JeM carried out a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. A presidential staffer and secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Mr. Charles Cromwell Bissue, has been pointed as the foremost disloyal person against efforts by President Akufo-Addo to weed out illegal mining in the country. Bissue emerges as a facilitator for a company seeking to outwit laid down processes to be given clearance for its mining operations. Bissue would be exposed in the latest undercover work of ace investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his Tiger Eye PI group, today, February 27, 2019. Presidential staffer uncovered in galamsey expose Charles Bissue (Source: Graphic.com.gh) Source: UGC READ ALSO: Samuel Ofosu Ampofo confirms party deployed Azorka Boys during AWW by-election According to Graphic Online reports, he was captured in a secretly-recorded video receiving wads of cash to facilitate the speedy clearance of a mining company in order that it could begin mining as soon as possible. He was also heard in the video instructing his subordinates over the phone to fast track the processing of the companys documents. Several others connected to the work of the IMCIM, otherwise known as the Presidential Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, are seen in the video playing "facilitating" roles at negotiated fees. Charles Bissue caught with stacks of cash Source: Graphic.com.gh Source: UGC READ ALSO: 'Racist' Mahatma Gandhi statue finds new home In March 2017, President Akufo-Addo commissioned various committees to sanitise small-scale mining in the country as well as develop a road-map towards lifting an indefinite ban on small scale mining that lasted about 21 months. It was suggested at the time that if nothing was done to reverse the devastation, Ghana was soon going to have to import potable water as the countrys rivers risked imminent death. However, allegations have been rife in recent times of the suspected complicity of some government appointees in facilitating the clandestine operations of illegal mining firms much against the national effort to clean-up the space. READ ALSO: Ghanaians incensed by rubbished that occupied frontage of Jubilee House and Army Officers Mess Those allegations have, as expected, been met with vehement rebuttals usually by those accused of complicity, or their associates. But with the latest development as captured in Part One of Anas Galamsey Fraud, it appears government has more on its hands to do to achieve that national objective. Yenkasa: Should Corporal Punishment be Abolished? | #Yencomgh: Do you have a story to share with us? Inbox us on our Facebook page and we could feature your story. Source: Yen Available to all Application process (TNS) Linear Labs came to downtown Akron to work on proprietary artificial intelligence software.The startup, not even a year old, is one of four software companies that won a funding contest last fall that allowed them to take part in a four-month program in the city's Bounce Innovation Hub off South Main Street. Linear Lab's software is intended to provide real-time market research and consumer insights to businesses that sell packaged goods."We're still refining," said Ted Troxell, the company's 28-year-old co-founder. He's happy with the progress being made Linear's first "minimum viable product" will be out by mid-April.Like Linear Labs and the other small businesses inside, Bounce continues to refine itself on the Canal Place campus. The business incubator and accelerator right now uses about half of its 307,000-square-foot, nine-story building on the site of the former B.F. Goodrich complex.Today, Bounce will show off its under-renovation "generator" some 27,000 square feet of publicly available space that will officially open for business in May."We're 300,000 square feet in an old tire factory building focused on innovation, acceleration and working with companies in the building, and programs we're fostering to help entrepreneurship," said Doug Weintraub, who celebrates his first anniversary as chief executive officer of Bounce in March. The work is a continuation of the transformation of what had once been called the Akron Global Business Accelerator."The first floor that we're opening in May is really an open innovation hub," Weintraub said. "It's a big space. It's our entire first floor."That hub will be open to anyone, Weintraub said. It will include co-working spaces, event space, maker space and open offices.Opening the first floor will allow for "collisions and opportunities" among entrepreneurs, investors and people with ideas, Weintraub said.The open co-working area will feel familiar to anyone who goes to a coffee shop to do work. People will be able to rent desks and offices there, too. The maker space eventually will be expanded to the second floor and include heavy-duty CNC (computer numerical control) machines, welding equipment and more."We do have people lined up," said Jeanine Black, chief marketing officer for Bounce.There's no place else in the area that consolidates all of the Bounce first-floor features under the same roof, Weintraub said."It's a unique opportunity to repurpose a building, and really enhance the ability of bringing in the community right into innovation and entrepreneurship," Weintraub said. "Even if you are not necessarily a tenant of the building, there will be programs and opportunities to come in."While the first floor won't open for a few more months, elsewhere in Bounce there are about 50 businesses in various stages of growth that pay low rent to be there, Weintraub said. The low rent helps companies reinvest capital into their businesses."Most of them are technology focused," Weintraub said. Industries include health care, biotech, software, advanced materials and polymers, he said.To be eligible to use Bounce's space and services, people need an idea and to determine who will buy the product or service. Then they can apply to Bounce."You go through a process to see if you qualify to come into the building," Weintraub said.Linear Labs and three other software startups got into Bounce by winning the third annual "Shark Tank-like" FUEL Akron competition. Winners got as much as $15,000 apiece and joined the organization's Bit Factory product accelerator for four months.The Bounce product accelerator is for early-stage businesses that may simply have a good idea or have written just basic software code, said Ed Buchholz, managing director of the accelerator."They really need to refine and develop that," he said.The four winning software startups get free mentoring and other services. Exercises include having the business owners develop and refine their "elevator pitch" how to quickly explain their business or product to someone as if they were riding an elevator together, Buchholz said.With the FUEL Akron winners two months into this year's program, the focus now is pretty much on finishing their products, Buchholz said.It's been a lot of hard work, said Linear Lab's Troxell, whose background includes experience in machine learning and data. He and Adam Miclot created Linear Labs on Aug. 23, 2018."This is the first company I've ever started," Troxell said. "I knew I was going to work hard. I didn't know I was going to work 90 hours a week. ... I enjoy what I do. I like doing this kind of stuff."2019 the Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The word slay queen has become one of the most used phrases in Ghana due to the activities of some women on social media. Slay queen is used to describe ladies who often show off on social media because of the way they dress. Slay queen is not a bad word like many people consider it. The real brain behind slay queen is to describe beautiful ladies who dazzle on Instagram with their beautiful pictures. In Ghana, there are some photo models who are regarded as slay queens due to their 'hot' photos and showing cleavages. READ ALSO: Princess Shyngle slammed by social media user for wearing waist trainers They are either receiving accolades for their body figure or people are liking the dress they wore. Here, YEN.com.gh brings to you eight most popular slay queens in Ghana. 1. Jjorm Jjorm is one of the top slay queens on Instagram. On her Instagram page, Jjorm wrote that she is an entrepreneur, actress, musician, commercial model, brand ambassador and humanitarian. Jjorm, however, do not get attention because of all the professions she listed in her bio. Instead, Jjorm is noted for posting very attractive photos of Instagram. The 'slay queen' receives a lot of likes and comments because in almost all her pictures, Jjorm reveals some cleavages. Since she has a beautiful figure, her pictures receives a lot of attention, making her one of the top slay queens on Instagram. Jjorm owns a wine shop aside slaying. 2. Mi Lady Afia Afia is one of the most sought after slay queens on Instagram. Day in day out, she posts very attractive pictures that receive a lot of likes and comments. Afia good sense of fashion, revealing cleavages and her body figure are the elements that gives her a lot of attention on Instagram. Afia has been featured in some few music videos depicting that soon she will become a video vixen. 3. Nana Ama Dee Nana Ama Doreen is one of the most loved slay queen on Instagram because of her good body looks. Almost all the time, Nana Ama is seen posting very beautiful photos on Instagram for which she receives a lot of likes and comments. On her Instagram, Nana Ama Dee describes herself as a photo model. With over 15,000 followers on Instagram, Nana Ama Dee seems to grab a lot of attention with her 'tundra.' READ ALSO: Shatta Wale shakes KNUST with impressive performance in latest video 4. Eyram Eyram is a top Instagram slay queen due to her beautiful photos that she posts often. Eyram on her Instagram page describes herself as a brand influencer, brand ambassador and a photo model. Her photos receive a lot of attention because Eyram is fond of wearing fashionable dresses in quest to advertise them. As the face of Sultan Drink Ghana, Eyram has advertised and modeled for a lot of brands in Ghana. 5. Afia Ansah Her bubbly body is always the center of attraction on Instagram, making her one of the top slay queens in Ghana. Afia Ansah who often posts beautiful pictures on her Instagram page receives a lot of likes and comments since she reveals some cleavages. Her thick figure is one that is often talked about as well as her ardent support for popular rapper, Sarkodie makes her popular. With over 36,000 followers on Instagram, Afia Ansah describes herself as a fashion and lifestyle personnel. 6. Prissy Otubea Prissy Otubea is one of the known slay queens on Instagram due to the 'hot' photos and videos that she normally posts on Instagram. Describing herself and as a photo and commercial model, Prissy receives a lot of attention because of her thick figure. With over 17,000 followers, Prissy is gradually becoming one of the top Instagram stars. 7. Brenda Kuffour Brenda Kuffuor is a Ghanaian photo model and one of the top slay queens in Ghana. With very 'hot' photos on Instagram, Brenda often gets tongues wagging because of her beautiful figure. All photos that Brenda posts on Instagram receives a lot of likes and comments making her photos trend often. With over 60,000 followers on Instagram, she interest her followers with her good curvy looks. 8. Zea Zea Bee is a Ghanaian fashion blogger based in California, USA. Zea is one of the top queens on Instagram who slay a lot and for such reason she attracts a lot of likes and comments. With over 270,000 followers, Zea has become one of the most popular Instagram slay queens who wow her followers with her curvy body. READ ALSO: Hajia4reall shows off fresh Lamborghini Huracan worth $200,000 Ghana News Today: Anas drops another expose / Mahama wins NDC presidential primaries | #Yencomgh Source: Yen Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. Yuma News Yuma, Arizona - The search to replace retiring Yuma Police Chief John Lekan has been narrowed to three. Yuma residents will have a chance to meet the candidates this Wednesday, when they will be in town for interviews. A meet-and-greet session with the candidates will take place at 3 p.m. Wednesday in City Hall room 190. It will be open to the public. It will last approximately one hour. The finalists are, in alphabetical order by last name: Patrick Melvin, retired Chief of Police from City of Port Arthur Texas. Melvin has held the position of chief previously in Arizona with the Salt River Police Department and the City of Maricopa. Melvin holds a bachelors degree in criminal justice/political science and a masters degree in education. Michael Parra, Commander with the City of Phoenix Police Department, where he has been employed as a sworn officer since 1983. Parra holds a bachelors degree in criminal justice and a masters degree in education. Susan Smith, Deputy Police Chief with the City of Yuma, where she has been employed as a sworn officer in different ranks since 1995. Smith holds a bachelors degree in business administration/management and an associates degree in criminal justice. The candidates are seeking to replace Lekan, who announced his plans to retire in late March. Lekan has served with YPD for 33 years and has been YPD chief since 2012. Yuma News Yuma, Arizona - City of Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls invites Yuma residents and friends to come together for a volunteer community clean-up alongside local leaders on Saturday, March 16. Day of Unity III will kick off at 8 a.m. at Kennedy Park (2251 S. Kennedy Lane), aiming to beautify and cleanup areas while bridging gaps in the community. The event will run through approximately noon, and finish with a community art project. This is the third Day of Unity under Nicholls' leadership, and will be a blend of clean-up efforts in various locations throughout the community that need major assistance. Mayor Nicholls will kick-off the event at 8 a.m. by speaking alongside Chief of Police John Lekan and several other community leaders to highlight the importance of bridging gaps and helping others. How to participate: Volunteers may participate on their own or as a team, by attending Day of Unity III at 8 a.m. on Mar. 16, at Kennedy Park. Individuals will be matched with a group while those with their own teams will have areas designated to them. After the kick-off event at Kennedy, all will go out to designated areas in the community to cleanup trash/debris, graffiti, etc. Volunteers are asked to please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to ensure we have materials and clean-up areas for all who want to participate. to ensure we have materials and clean-up areas for all who want to participate. Volunteers will be given a free breakfast burrito, and the mayor would like to ensure there is enough. Those unable to attend may also help by spreading the word about the community effort to others who may be interested/available. Details are available on www.unitedforyuma.com. The idea for Day of Unity III arose in the fall of 2018, after the Yuma community came together to want to help eradicate graffiti, vandalism and hate speech on a local art mural which was once-vandalized at the corner of 4th Avenue and 3rd Street. The mural, which is part of the Mural-A-Month Program, was restored the same day. Mayor Nicholls wants to show the Yuma community's giving nature in wanting to make our community a better place. "Immediately after it happened, the Yuma community responded by wanting to help and to fix it," Mayor Nicholls said of the vandalism. "It showed not only that this type of crime is not tolerated in the community, but that Yumans are so big-hearted in wanting to help those in need... I hope this third Day of Unity brings the public a chance to help in that same way, and to take care of a diverse range of neighborhoods." The City of Yuma has an anti-graffiti program in place, which have been engaged in discussions. The graffiti abatement team works to remove graffiti as soon as it is reported, and this Day of Unity will be separate and distinct from those efforts. Volunteers will have the opportunity to assist hands-on to show that Yuma stands behind having a community that is taken care of and that we can all be proud of. Additionally, some other areas will be available for clean-up depending on the amount of volunteers. Once the clean-up is complete, volunteers will regroup for an art project. The project will aim to capture the message of unity, by having each volunteer have their handprint set on a mural. There is no cost to participate. Residents under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. (TNS) Three Republicans have introduced their own net neutrality bills, and they sent a letter to House Democrats asking them to collaborate on a bipartisan bill that would finally end the net neutrality debate.We write to urge you to work with us on a bipartisan legislation to ensure that Americans access to an open Internet will be permanently protected, the Republicans wrote.The letter writers, which include representatives Robert Latta (R-Ohio), Cathy Morris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Greg Walden (R-Ore.), introduced their own net neutrality bills at the beginning of February.The three bills address three of the most important aspects of net neutrality by banning Internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking, paid prioritization (or fast lanes) and throttling.While the text of Rodgers and Waldens bills are not available yet, Lattas specifically prohibits the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from impos[ing] regulations on broadband Internet access service or any component thereof under Title II.This is significant because the Obama administrations FCC used Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 as the basis for its 2015 net neutrality rules, which encompassed much more than just banning blocking, paid prioritization and throttling. While those are often the three most discussed aspects of net neutrality, the 2015 rules were far more comprehensive , covering things like privacy and zero rating.As a result, many net neutrality advocates think the Republicans bills are far too weak. Public Knowledge issued a statement saying the bills fall short of ensuring the FCC has the necessary oversight authority over broadband providers to protect consumers, promote competition, and close the digital divide.According to Public Knowledges Vice President Chris Lewis, We cannot accept trading one essential protection for another. Congress must act to fully protect net neutrality while preserving the power of the FCC as an expert agency to protect consumers, and the simplest way to do that is to reaffirm the classification of broadband as a Title II telecommunications service.The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) also slammed the Republican net neutrality bills in a Feb. 20 blog post , fearing they are too incomplete to adequately protect consumers and encourage competition.For example, the 2015 rules included a ban on zero rating and also prompted a set of privacy rules for ISPs to protect consumers data (which were subsequently repealed by Congress).[Zero-rating] can be used to drive Internet users to the ISPs own content or favored partners, squelching competition, EFF Legislative Counsel Ernesto Falcon wrote . A recent Epicenter.works multi-year study on zero-rating practices in the EU has found that countries that allow zero-rating plans have more expensive wireless services than countries that do not. It also found that when ISPs engage in zero-rating practices, only large companies are able to maintain the market relationships needed to be zero-rated.Then there are the privacy concerns. The 2015 net neutrality rules classified the Internet as a telecommunications service subject to Title II regulation, and thus imposed a duty on your ISP to protect your personal information.Since the the Trump administrations FCC reclassified the Internet as an information service and reversed the net neutrality rules, the FCC cant force ISPs to respect your privacy and protect your data. (Currently only California has privacy rules for ISPs, under its recently passed California Consumer Privacy Act.)At the time, net neutrality advocates feared the net neutrality repeal would embolden ISPs to share or sell user data, and as the EFF and Public Knowledge pointed out, its still a concern. Some ISPs, including Comcast, insist they do not sell user data, browser history, or any similar data.But tech experts disagree over whether the U.S. should have net neutrality rules based on a decades-old law and whether all the provisions included in the 2015 net neutrality rules are really necessary in a bipartisan law.For example, some argue the 2015 rules only benefit edge providers like Facebook and Google by transferring market power from the ISPs to edge providers, which doesnt help consumers at all. (Ironically, the edge providers are the ones sharing and selling user data.)Republicans fear Trump wont sign a net neutrality bill based on Title II, which is why, as they state in the letter, they hope they can reach a compromise with Democrats.[We can] protect consumers without the heavy hand of Title II, which would give the government unbridled power to tax the Internet, institute costly fees, set prices and terms of plans and even take control of assets, they wrote in the Feb. 21 letter. These powers will not provide more protections for consumers, but would punish consumers through higher costs, fewer choices and less innovation. Arizona News Phoenix, Arizona - Monday, Giordano Jackson, 40, of Teesto, Arizona, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Diane J. Humetewa to life imprisonment for the murder of the victim. Jackson was convicted at a jury trial in November 2018 on all charges, including first degree murder, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and kidnapping. In addition to life imprisonment for the murder, Judge Humetewa also sentenced Jackson to ten years prison for every other count for which he was convicted. Jackson, a violent criminal with multiple felony assault convictions in his past, had a history of committing domestic violence against the victim. In July 2017, Jackson beat the victim and dragged her by her hair with enough force to pull chunks of hair out of her head. Then, in September 2017, Jackson brutally beat the victim to death outside his house in Teesto. When Navajo Nation Police Officers arrived to investigate, Jackson was lying in wait and assaulted two of the officers with a machete. Both Jackson and the victim are members of the Navajo Nation, as are the responding police officers that Jackson assaulted, and the crimes all occurred on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation. At the sentencing hearing, the victim was described as a beloved mother, daughter, and friend and a cherished member of her community. Judge Humetewa noted that the victim had endured the most brutal death that one can imagine and concluded: There comes a time when a person forfeits his right to walk among society. Mr. Jackson, your time has come. The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys William G. Voit and Sharon K. Sexton, District of Arizona, Phoenix. Venice, FL (34285) Today Thunderstorms likely. High 82F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms during the evening, with mostly cloudy skies after midnight. Low 72F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Vacancy rates jumped in the Gold Coast and inner Brisbane in December, marking a contrast from Queenslands mostly steady rental market. The Gold Coasts vacancy rate drastically jumped from 1.7% to 4.8% over the period. This is due to the projects that were finished and added to the rental pool. Inner Brisbanes vacancies, meanwhile, were up from 2.1% to 4%. However, this is usual for this market in the December quarter since renters pull away from the area during Christmas season to early January. Vacancy rates are expected to fall by the March quarter. Redlands, meanwhile, tightened from 4.8% to 1.6%, signifying that it is back to its usual level of around 2% vacancies. Rental conditions of other markets in the state remained steady, according to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ). Brisbanes middle ring was stable at 2% from September to the December quarter, while Brisbane local government areas rose by 0.5%, from a tight 2% closer to a healthy ranking of 2.5%. Over the past year, rental in Brisbane LGA tightened a little as the more affordable middle ring pulled away tenants away from the central suburbs. However, it is likely that the market will tighten during the coming year, provided the supply to the inner city apartment market slows. The Greater Brisbane region, similarly, tightened from 2.4% to 2.3%. Outer Brisbane, including Ipswich, Logan, Moreton Bay and Redland, tracked the similar directiondown from 2.8% to 2%. Ipswich tightened from 2.4% to 1.8%. This was driven by investors who are wary about the ongoing state government review of the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act. In addition, the population grew from 166,904 in 2011 to 193,733 which will increase the strain on rental accommodation. Logans vacancy rate slid from 3.5% to 2. 4% as a result of the citys population growth. From 2011 to 2016, the population of Logan rose by more than 25,000, or the equivalent of more than 5,000 people a year. Moreton Bay kept its vacancy rate at 2%, suggesting that the regions supply and demand are well balanced. The Sunshine Coast SD (Sunshine Coast LGA and Noosa Shire combined) is now firmly classified a tight rental market. The vacancy rate has declined from 2.4% to 1.8%. The tightened conditions will continue to push prices up, and it is possible that rents will change if these conditions continue. MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - June (Mattson) Norblom, 77, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 after a courageous battle with cancer. She was born June 27, 1941 in Ironwood, Mich. to Clarence and Helen Mattson. She is preceded in death by her parents and sister, Jane. She will be dearly missed by her beloved husband of 55 years, Roger; children, Pam (Marc) Throne, Jeff (Sandy) and Paul (Tove); grandchildren, Kelly (Jocelyn), Mats, Nick, Jessica, Sanna, and Tyler; great-grandchildren, Kaiden and Maisie; sister, Shirley; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, family and friends. June was a nurse for 24 years at the VA Hospital specializing in kidney dialysis. She also volunteered at many community organizations, especially Hope Lutheran Church. She will be greatly missed. Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m., Friday, March 15, at Henry W. Anderson Mortuary, 3640 23rd Ave. S., Minneapolis. The memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, March 16, with a visitation one hour before at Hope Ev. Lutheran Church, 5728 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis. The family wishes to thank the U of M Hospital staff, especially Unit 7-D Oncology and niece, Jennifer and Keiana. Memorials are preferred to the University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital. RESEARCHERS GATHER data on a deer as part of study on Chronic Wasting Disease in the Upper Peninsula. By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] Ironwood Township - Researchers visited Little Girl's Point in recent weeks, collecting data on the area's deer population as part of ongoing research into chronic wasting disease. The work was part of a partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry. "The primary goal of this study is to examine deer movements in relations to seasonal migration, juvenile dispersal, and breeding and exploratory movements to better understand the potential risk of Chronic Wasting Disease entering and spreading across Michigan's Upper Peninsula," said Tyler Petroelje, a researcher who works with the project. CWD is a fatal brain disease affecting deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer and moose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is no known cure once animals are infected, and symptoms include weight loss, stumbling, drooling and aggression. There are no reported cases of humans being infected with CWD. The disease has been present in Wisconsin since 2002, and the first U.P. case was reported in Dickinson County in October. "It is important to to gather information on how deer move across the U.P. before the disease becomes established which can help managers decided where to focus resources and management actions to stop or slow the disease," Petroelje said. Researchers captured deer in box traps loaded with bait, according to Petroelje, allowing them to be examined during a brief work-up. The researchers are targeting both adult and fawns as well as both male and female deer. Each deer was handled for between 8 and 15 minutes, Petroelje said. "During this time we collect ... measurements about each deer's body size, ... estimate body condition, collect a hair sample, administer an antibiotic and apply ear tags and a GPS collar," he said. The GPS collars send back information, allowing researchers to track the animal's movements or find it if it died. Little Girl's Point was one of several wintering locations in the Western U.P. researchers worked at; with deer also captured around Lake Gogebic, the East Middle Branch of the Ontonagon River, west Iron County and Dickinson County. "This study started in January 2018 and we hope to continue it across the U.P. to best prepare for CWD," Petroelje said. "We have already seen long-distance movements from deer within each of the wintering complexes studied, ranging from 15 to over 50 miles between summer and winter range. (with) some of these crossing the Michigan-Wisconsin border." There has also been some evidence of deer also moving between management units, which Petroelje said may mean these boundaries aren't the best to focus management efforts in. A total of 155 deer have been captured, according to Petroelje, and researchers have collared 87 of those animals. Along with the capture program, he said researchers are conducting a camera survey to estimate the density of deer populations, with over 250,000 images collected this past summer. More information on the study can be found at campfirewildlife.com/projects/deer-movement or facebook.com/campfirewildlife. YORK The case against Robert Marti, 34, of Lincoln which involved the alleged possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person and possession of a controlled substance has been dismissed. York County Attorney Christopher Johnson informed the court this week that he would be moving to dismiss the matter. There were no indications as to why the case was dismissed. Marti had earlier pleaded not guilty to the felonies. The case began when the York Police Department received a report that a man was very nervous, dancing around and constantly itching like he was high on methamphetamine at Wal-Mart. It was also noted that the man was trying return items but was denied because he had been flagged as a fraud risk from past return issues. When police arrived, they noted that Marti was constantly scratching and moving rapidly as if he was dancing in place in a very odd manner. When they asked him about the nature of his issues, they also discovered that there was a non-extradition warrant for Marti out of Oregon for marijuana charges. HOW IT WOULD WORK E-books or audio books downloaded from Amazon and Audible Music purchased from Spotify and iTunes Video games Digital photos, newspapers and magazines Eliminated taxes: Franchise fees of 5 percent on cable TV revenue Franchise fees of 3 percent on landline phones Sales taxes of at least 7 percent on landline phones, cellphones and broadband equipment (TNS) Your Netflix and other streaming video services are safe from state taxes, at least for now.Georgia lawmakers have removed an unpopular proposal to impose sales taxes on streaming services.Instead, members of the state House are moving forward with legislation to create a 4 percent tax on most other online products, including e-books, iTunes music and video games. House Bill 428 would also eliminate various fees and taxes on existing phone and cable TV services.Without the so-called Netflix tax, the legislation wont achieve one of its primary goals bringing in tax money to subsidize Internet lines in rural Georgia. Now, legislators say the bill isnt a tax increase and it wont generate any additional money.The bills sponsor, House Industry and Labor Chairman Bill Werkheiser , said lawmakers listened to customers.People didnt like what has become known as the Netflix tax, so we took that off, said Werkheiser, a Republican from Glennville. The effort initially was to help fund broadband. It wont do that without the Netflix or streaming services tax.That leaves no funding to build Internet lines to the 16 percent of Georgia households that lack access to Internet with speeds of at least 25 megabits per seconds.Legislators representing rural Georgia said Internet expansion is essential for their communities survival. Residents and businesses need reliable Internet for economic growth, education and health care, state Rep. Patty Bentley said.Are we really helping rural Georgia? asked Bentley, a Democrat from Butler, southwest of Macon. Im a Netflix subscriber, and I was prepared to pay extra to support rural Georgia. Without the money, I dont know how its really helping.About 65 percent of Georgians oppose the idea of taxing Internet, TV and phone services to raise money for rural Internet, according to a statewide poll conducted last month forIf streaming services were taxed, the proposed 4 percent digital services tax would have generated $48 million in 2021, growing to $310 million by 2024, according to state estimates. The current version of the bill is revenue-neutral, Werkheiser said.The bill is still important because it will tax new technologies more fairly, he said. Currently, books and CDs bought in a store are subject to sales taxes, but downloaded e-books and mp3s are tax-free.Money for rural Internet expansion would have to come from the states general treasury or federal grants. Theres no money in Georgias proposed state budget to fund rural Internet lines. House Rules Chairman Jay Powell , who wanted a 4 percent sales tax on digital and communication services, said the bill in its current form still helps modernize Georgias tax structure, even though it leaves out streaming services.Its like taxing half a glass of water over no glass, said Powell, a Republican from Camilla. I was hoping we could also finance rural broadband. Thats more of the icing on the cake.Georgia imposed sales taxes on products sold online starting Jan. 1 , but electronic goods remain untaxed.Both Gov. Brian Kemp and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan have expressed reservations about the digital services tax. Werkheiser said he hopes Kemp and Duncan will support the legislation, since it isnt a tax increase.My first inclination is not to look at tax increases to pay for this, Kemp said in an interview last month with Georgia Public Broadcasting. If were going to have some sort of offset, Id be open to looking at that. I dont know that raising taxes is the answer for me.Along with the tax on digital products, HB 428 would eliminate a 5 percent franchise fee on cable TV revenue, a 3 percent franchise fee on landline phones, and state and local sales taxes on phones and broadband equipment. Lobbyists for AT&T, the cable industry and others whose clients would benefit from the bill crowded a House Ways and Means subcommittee meeting Monday on HB 428 to show their support.A proposed 4 percent tax on digital, phone and TV services would replace a variety of existing sales taxes and franchise fees currently charged on cable TV revenue and phone subscriptions. The communication services tax would cover Internet downloads that currently arent taxable.New taxes: YORK A million dreams for the world were gonna make, sang York Public Elementary students -- with some help from some big kids from York Middle School and York High School. However big, however small, the children sang. Let me be part of it all. York Elementary School Principal Kris Friesen has been there for many of those dreams big and small. It was those dreamers who helped sing Friesens praises, as the Nebraska Association of Elementary School Principals (NeAESP) recently named Friesen Nebraskas 2018 National Distinguished Principal. Friesen will represent Nebraska at the two-day 2019 National Distinguished Principal (NDP) celebration in Washington, D.C., where she and her fellow NDP honorees will have the opportunity to share knowledge and ideas. York Elementary School hosted a crowd of YES students, teachers, staff and other special guests for the celebration. Students, colleagues and family members congratulated Friesen and shared memories about her in a video montage. Friesen later led her students in a York Dukes cheer, bringing the kids to their feet. Friesen also gave out plenty of hugs and high-fives to her students and a few grownups. The Israeli Air Forces launched an attack on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday night after a balloon tied to an explosive device caused damage to a house in southern Israel earlier today. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter The IAF hit two Hamas positions in central and southern Gaza, striking at least one position of the terror organization's military wing. File Photo Earlier, an explosive device tied to a cluster of balloons landed in the Eshkol Regional Council in southern Israel, causing damage to the windows of a house there. No casualties were reported in the incident. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said the balloons were dispatched from southern Gaza and that it appears the device exploded in midair. Following the incident, head of the Eshkol Regional Council Gadi Yarkoni said: "The airborne incendiary and explosive devices tied to balloons are terrorism to all intents and purposes, and today this terrorism is stepping up. Eshkol residents have shown incredible patience, allowing the decision-makers and the Israel Defense Forces to exhaust all options to eradicate the terror striking our communities. But we wont accept this reality and expect an immediate solution ensuring long-term calm." Former head of the Eshkol Regional Council, Yesh Atid MK Haim Jelin, said that consistently ignoring the devices sent from Gaza had led to intensified attacks, culminating in explosive devices being tied to balloons. Lashing out at the prime minister he said, "Netanyahu, you failed. Israeli communities near the Gaza border are not safe. The only thing you have left is empty slogans. Explosive balloons should be viewed with the same severity as Qassam missiles." Following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara met on Wednesday with Russian Jewish Community Leaders in Moscow. "It is no small thing that the State of Israel has such good ties with one of the strongest powers in the world. But we are not concerned just for ourselves. We are concerned for Jews everywhere. We know, of course, that we need to struggle together against displays of anti-Semitism. Yesterday I spoke with the Chief Rabbi of Buenos Aires. We see what is happening in parts of Europe and in North America as well. There is one answer to anti-Semitism first of all, a strong State of Israel," Netanyahu said. An explosive device tied to a cluster of balloons landed Wednesday in Eshkol Regional Council in southern Israel, causing damage to the windows of a house there. No casualties were reported in the incident. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said the balloons were dispatched from southern Gaza and that it appears the device exploded in midair. File Photo Following the incident, head of the Eshkol Regional Council Gadi Yarkoni said: "The airborne incendiary and explosive devices tied to balloons are terrorism to all intents and purposes, and today this terrorism is stepping up. Eshkol residents have shown incredible patience, allowing the decision-makers and the Israel Defense Forces to exhaust all options to eradicate the terror striking our communities. But we wont accept this reality and expect an immediate solution ensuring long-term calm." Former head of the Eshkol Regional Council, Yesh Atid MK Haim Jelin, said that consistently ignoring the devices sent from Gaza had led to intensified attacks, culminating in explosive devices being tied to balloons. House damaged in Eshkol Regional Council Lashing out at the prime minister he said, "Netanyahu, you failed. Israeli communities near the Gaza border are not safe. The only thing you have left is empty slogans. Explosive balloons should be viewed with the same severity as Qassam missiles." Last week, two fires broke out in the Kissufim forest in the Eshkol Regional Council due to an incendiary airborne device tied to a balloon that was launched from Gaza. In addition, an incendiary device attached to a balloon landed in Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council in the Gaza border communities and was neutralized by a police sapper. In January, an explosive device tied to balloons was found in the Gezer Field, near the Ramat Negev Regional Council. The police neutralized the device and no casualties were reported. In December, a cluster of 10 balloons attached to a miniature explosive device landed near a kindergarten yard in moshav Kfar Maimon in the Sdot Negev Regional Council and an additional balloon attached to an incendiary device landed in the southern moshav of Zru'a. In both incidents there were no casualties reported. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit will on Thursday release his recommendations on indictments for the corruption investigations of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israels evening news programs reported Wednesday. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter The prime minister is being investigated in three separate cases: Case 1000 concerns illicit gifts Netanyahu allegedly received from business moguls Arnon Milchan and James Packer. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: AFP) Case 2000 concerns alleged discussions Netanyahu and Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes had over a quid pro quo of positive media for the prime minister in return for Netanyahu weakening Yedioth's main rival newspaper Israel Hayom. Case 4000 involves an alleged plan to ease regulations for telecommunications mogul and Bezeq chief Shaul Elovitch in return for positive coverage on his Walla! news website. According to the reports, Mandelblit will recommend that Netanyahu face bribery charges in Case 4000, pending a hearing. In Case 1000, the reports said, Mandelblit will recommend charges of breach of trust. In Case 2000, the attorney general will reportedly recommend lesser charges, most likely fraud and breach of trust. Mozes, the reports said, may face bribery charges, pending a hearing. Netanyahus camp said in response that, the accusations of bribery are ridiculous. Prime Minister Netanyahu never received anything from not gave anything to Elovitch. The coverage on Walla! was negative and intensified due to the elections. Every decision regarding Bezeq was approved by the responsible regulators and the prime minister acted flawlessly, as determined by the justice ministry in an official document. The prime minister has previously argued against recommendations being made by the attorney general in the run up to the April 9 elections, claiming it would have an adverse effect on his re-election chances. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the United States an untrustworthy and warmongering country on Wednesday, and urged neighbouring Armenia to expand ties with Tehran despite US pressures. Iran is struggling with the sanctions imposed by Washington after US President Donald Trump pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers last year, calling it deeply flawed. Pakistan's diplomatic envoy to Washington on Wednesday called on the United States to play a greater role in easing tensions between the India and Pakistan. "We would certainly like to have more, and would certainly like to see more active involvement of the United States," said Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Asad Khan. A senior Israeli official said Wednesday that the crisis that began after Syria accidentally downed a Russian plane during an Israeli aerial assault in the war-battered country last September, has come to its end, with both sides willing to put the incident behind them. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter The Russian Defense Ministry presented the findings of its investigation into the incident in September, holding Israel responsible for the downing of the Ilyushin IL-20 plane that killed 15 people on board. PM Netanyahu and Russia's Putin (Photo: AFP) The official's remarks came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, which was their first working meeting since the downing of the plane. During Netanyahu and Putin's three-hour meeting, IDF's Head of Military Intelligence Major General Tamir Heiman provided the Russian president with intelligence evidence that Iran is attempting to entrench itself in Syria and outlined the measures Israel is employing to prevent it. In addition, Minister Ze'ev Elkin, National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat, Netanyahu's Chief of Staff Yoav Horowitz and political advisor Reuven Ezer attended the meeting. Following the meeting, Netanyahu told reporters that the talks went very well and mainly focused on IDF activity in the region and the Iranian entrenchment in Syria. "We presented examples of Iran's entrenchment attempts and the steps we are taking to counter them," Netanyahu said. "I think President Putin showed understanding of Israel's security needs and concluded our talks were very productive. The (Israeli-Russian) relations, which everyone said are experiencing difficulties, are back on the track of cooperation. Netanyahu confirmed he and Putin discussed the matter of the downing of the plane, in addition to Israel's concern over that fact Moscow is providing Syria with the S-300 anti-missile system. "We have made our position very clear. I told Putin that Israel will continue protecting itself from any Iranian aggression coming from Syrian soil," he said. "(Our intentions) were made absolutely clear, while stressing Israel will continue its military coordination with Russia to avoid unnecessarily frictions and dangers. We discussed all aspects of that matter. As this visit concludes, which both I and President Putin defined as very productive, I can say we held a frank, open and very direct discussion while touching on matters that concerns us," Netanyahu said. The prime minister told reporters that pushing Iranian forces out of Syria is Russia and Israel's common goal, adding that he and Putin agreed on setting up a joint team to implement that goal. In addition, the two leaders discussed Iranian presence on the Syrian Golan Heights near the Israeli border, which contradicts Russia's past commitment to prevent such a situation. "We spoke in detail about the Iran's presence and its proxy Hezbollah, about their attempts to use Syria (to achieve their goals)," Netanyahu said. Asked whether Putin demanded Israel halt its attacks in Syria, Netanyahu replied: "I'm not coming back with restrictions, but with clear policy we will continue operate (in Syria)." Despite Russian unsuccessful mediation attempts to broker an agreement between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas that rules Gaza, the Palestinian issue was not discussed during Netanyahu and Putin's meeting. Surprise! A GAO report on a FEMA disaster recovery (public assistance) with no recommendations. See U.S. Virgin Islands Recovery: If you have not had a presidentially declared disaster of late, you might be interested in the information below on the "Public Assistance alternative procedures program. What follows is an extract from the GAO report linked above."FEMA and the USVI are transitioning from using the standard Public Assistance program in the territory to using the Public Assistance alternative procedures program. Unlike in the standard Public Assistance program where FEMA will fund the actual cost of a project, the alternative procedures allow awards to be made on the basis of fixed-cost estimates to provide financial incentives for the timely and cost-effective completion of permanent work projects. FEMA and USVI officials stated that the alternative procedures will give the USVI more flexibility in determining when and how to fund projects and provide an opportunity to repair and rebuild the USVI's critical services infrastructuresuch as its education system and electrical gridso it meets industry standards without regard to pre-disaster condition. As of November 2018, FEMA and USVI officials were discussing the process for developing projects under the Public Assistance alternative procedures. GAO will continue to monitor the USVI's plans for using the alternative procedures as part of its broader review assessing the USVI's disaster recovery efforts and will issue a follow-on report later this year."Anyone who has done FEMA Public Assistance knows that the projects and process can go on forever. What interests me in particular is the "without regard to pre-disaster conditions," which has many times been a real sticking point in resolving what would be eligible for funding.I expect that the GAO will be back in a few years to look at what was done and the efficacy of the process.Claire Rubin, Senior Researcher, shared the GAO link above. White House adviser Jared Kushner arrived in Turkey on Wednesday for talks with President Tayyip Erdogan that are expected to focus on a US peace plan for the Middle East. Kushner, who has responsibility for Washington's Israel-Palestinian policy, has said the plan will address final-status issues of the conflict, including establishing borders. Israel's Central Elections Committee will discuss a petition to disqualify the candidates of the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) Party from running in the April 9 elections after one third of the panel's members signed off on the request. The committee, which is Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Following an investigative report earlier this week, which uncovered former MK and Otzma Yehudit member Michael Ben-Ari's ties to an NGO on the US terror blacklist, MK Stav Shaffir (Labor) submitted a petition to the committee asking to prevent him from running to the 21st Knesset. Three other parties in the current Knesset Meretz, Joint List and Yesh Atid lent their support to the request. Labor MK Stav Shaffir; Otzma Yehudit member Michael Ben-Ari (Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch, Shaul Golan) Otzma Yehudit said in response: "The cat's out of the bag and it now transpires that (Blue and White leader Benny) Gantz is seeking to form a government with the help of the terrorists' representatives in the Knesset." The hostility toward Oztma Yehudit led to an exchange of barbs Tuesday between New Right leader Naftali Bennett and National Union leader Bezalel Smotrich, who were both part of the Jewish Home Party before the elections. During an interview with Israel Radio, Bennett was asked whether he thought it was appropriate for people who consider Rabbi Meir Kahane to be a role model to serve in the Israeli parliament. "No," he replied. "Anyone who undermines Israel's existence as a Jewish and democratic state is unworthy." The Otzma Yehudit Party, including (L-R): Itamar Ben-Gvir, Michael Ben-Ari, Benzi Gopstein and Baruch Marzel (Photo: Avi Mualem) Smotrich, whose National Union Party, along with Jewish Home, has agreed to run for the Knesset with Otzma Yehudit, hit back, tweeting: "Some act with responsibility, and others seriously suffer from credibility issues." He backed his claim with a screenshot of a tweet Bennett posted earlier this month, in which he said it was "essential for Smotrich to unite with Otzma Yehudit." The Otzma Yehudit Party is the latest incarnation of the Jewish National Front, a party that was established ahead of the 2006 elections, but its roots are in the Kach movement, which Kahane established in the 1970s. Kach was a radical and racist right-wing movement with fascist characteristics; it called to expel Arab citizens from Israeli territory and promoted racist legislation against all non-Jews. It also believed in making Israel a Halachah state (ruled by Jewish law) and in annexing all parts of Greater Israel. Kahane managed to get elected to the Knesset in 1984. In response, all of the parliament's factions came together to pass a law forbidding parties that incite to racism from running in the elections. The Kach Party and Kahane found themselves out of the Knesset, but different movements based on their ideology continued operating. Even with a forensic examination of Palestinian discourse, from newspapers to social media, it is difficult to find a significant voice that doesn't completely reject US President Trump's "deal of the century." The Palestinians don't even know what they're rejecting so passionately, as the contents of the Trump administration's peace plan remain vagueeven after the TV interview with Jared Kushner earlier this week. Us Israelis, meanwhile, are so used to the Palestinian intransigence that we don't even stop to ask: Why? Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Even if you take into account the overt pro-Israeli leanings of the American administrationwhich reached new heights with the move of the US Embassy to Jerusalemit's hard to understand how a people, who are at one of the lowest points in their history and essentially living off hand-outs, summarily dismiss the opportunity to hear a proposal that might significantly improve their condition, even if it's only for tactical reasons. This is of course not the first time the Palestinians have said "no," but one would at least expect some form of serious discussion about the matter, given their situation. The Palestinian people have been chronically divided for almost 12 years; the two demi-statesrun by Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bankare weak, poor, drifting apart, and both, in one form or another, have agreements of "calm for money" with Israel. US President Trump; Palestinian President Abbas (Photo: Reuter, AP) The Palestinian issueonce at the heart of Arab political discourse in our regionhas been pushed to the margins. Mahmoud Abbas might still be able to extract a promise out of the elderly Saudi king not to go "behind the Palestinians' backs," but the entire world knows about the business his son conducts with Israel. The Arab world has a hard time understanding what the Palestinians want, and why they allow themselves to continue managing their affairs in such a failed manner. "If you want to free all of Palestineahlan wasahlan ('welcome'), but you need to unite. If you want a state alongside Israel, why do you keep saying 'no' again and again when offered one?" one Egyptian TV anchor wondered. Since automatic Palestinian refusal is a given, what exactly motivates Jared Kushner, Trump's point man on the peace process? Is he still hoping the Palestinians change their minds when they learn the details of the plan? Probably not. He didn't even bother giving an interview to a Palestinian media outlet, and instead directed his comments to the Arab world, mostly the Gulf nations (Sky Arabic, to which he gave the interview, is funded by the United Arab Emirates). In other words: he's thinking about the day after the Palestinian "no," when Arab countries could come to them and say: "You once again rejected a generous proposal, we won't remain hostages to your intransigence." It seems farfetched, but work preparing the Arab street for relations with Israel that could be defined as "on the scale of normalization" has been going on for a few years. "If the Palestinian leadership used the money donated by the Arabs since 1948 for Palestine, it would've already built 50 cities like Tel Aviv, 40 cities like Dubai and 30 cities like Riyadh," tweeted an Iraqi journalist this week and got a shower of likes. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan calls for talks to de-escalate rising tensions with India over Kashmir. Two Israeli organizations went head-to-head this week at the European Union's headquarters in Brussels over a photo exhibition about Israel's "occupation" of the Palestinians. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter The left-wing NGO Breaking the Silence, which collects testimonies from IDF soldiers about what they say are war crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinian population in the West Bank, was invited by the EU to organize a photo exhibition about the "damages of the occupation and of controlling another people." The exhibition marks the 25th anniversary of the massacre carried out by Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein in Hebron on February 25, 1994, when he opened fire at the Ibrahim mosque in the Old City, murdering 29 Palestinians, including children. The Breaking the Silence photo exhibition at the EU headquarters in Brussels (Photo: Breaking the Silence) The NGO Reservists on Duty , which engages in public relations activity presenting the IDF as a moral army, went to the Belgian capital to fight back. On Tuesday, the IDF reservists met with EU lawmakers to present their narrative. "We decided to show them a different side to the story, one they don't know," said Maj. (res.) Amit Deri, the founder and head of Reservists on Duty. "We told them the IDF sent text messages to Gaza residents to warn them ahead of bombings, because we're a moral army. The parliament members seemed surprised; they got used to hearing that Israel is allegedly committing war crimes." Members of Reservists on Duty at the EU headquarters in Brussels (Photo: Reservists on Duty) Deri said the Breaking the Silence exhibition doesn't mention Palestinian terrorism or the Israeli casualties of these attacks. "There was a large crowd there that had no idea, and they were applauding (Breaking the Silence)," he said. "I felt shame and sorrow. Where are the testimonies about (Hamas's) use of the Palestinian population as human shields? The testimonies they bring to the European Union are not representative of the IDF. They are making a cynical and anonymous use of IDF soldiers to promote a political agenda." "The European Union must rethink the funding it provides Israeli and Palestinian organizations involved in incitement and brainwashing, which lead to the murder of Israelis," Deri said. Noy Leyb , another member of Reservists on Duty, said that he "witnessed instances in which Hamas sent minors armed with a knife to cross the border fence. These are not innocent protests. In most cases, it's terrorism." Breaking the Silence Executive Director Avner Gvaryahu , meanwhile, said that "While (Prime Minister) Netanyahu continues paving the way to the Knesset for Goldstein's friends , and the Israeli government and the settlers are doing everything to promote an international lobby to annex the West Bank, every Israeli citizen who wishes an end to the occupation and a democratic Israel should join us for the fight against the occupation and annexationboth in Israel and abroad." Egypt rebuked Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday after he criticised European leaders for attending a summit hosted by Cairo days after nine men were executed. Erdogan and his foreign minister accused European Union leaders of hypocrisy for telling Turkey reinstating the death penalty would end hopes of joining the bloc yet attending a summit hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. "Turkish President Erdogan once again speaks to us about Egypt and its political leadership, clearly showing hatred and furthermore expressing his continued embrace of the terrorist Brotherhood group," Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez said in a statement Renowned Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt has resigned her local synagogue membership, after the Young Israel Movement to which it belongs defended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's efforts to strike a deal between the Jewish Home party and the extreme-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Might) party. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter "I cannot be associated with an organization that gives such racism, celebration of violence, and immoral policies a heksher' (kosher certification)," Lipstadt wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday. Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt (Photo: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)) "At this time of rising antisemitism, Jew hatred, and prejudice of all kinds, each of us and not just our spiritual leaders must speak out and act individually and collectively. And so I speak out with deep sadness that such a despicable action is given cover by people who claim to walk in the ways of the Kadosh Baruch Hu, Lipstadt wrote. Citing the need to harness as many right-wing votes as possible in the April 9 elections, Netanyahu personally pushed for the Jewish Home agreement with Otzma Yehudit, a party co-founded by a former member of the Kach movement, which was classified as "a right wing terrorist group" by the FBI in 2001. Lipstadt's announcement of her resignation from the synagogue came after the Young Israel Movement was quoted by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency as saying that Netanyahu "acted to get right-wing parties to merge in order to meet the threshold necessary to secure a victory in the election." "We understand what Prime Minister Netanyahu did, and he did it to have ministers of the national religious and National Union parties in his coalition, said the statement from the Orthodox organization for which Lipstadt's former Toco Hills, Atlanta congregation is named. A statement from the rabbi of Lipstadts synagogue, Adam Starr, condemning the Young Israel support for Netanyahu was not enought to persuade the Holocaust historian to remain. "This is a party that has racist views, Lipstadt told the JTA. This is a party that condones murder. This is a party that condones the man who committed the largest mass murder in Israel by a Jew. Those are all things that I find despicable, and to say its just politics is really bad. Lipstadt was referring to the support of Otzma Yehudit member Itamar Ben-Gvir for Baruch Goldstein, the Jewish settler who murdered 29 Palestinians in a massacre in Hebron in 1994. Speaking to JTA. Lipstadt also criticized Netanyahu for wooing nationalist leaders in Europe, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. It happened on the night between Monday and Tuesday this week, at 2am, in Bueno Aires' Once (Balvanera) neighborhood, known as the Jewish Quarter of the Argentine capital, where almost 10,000 Jews live in an area of one square kilometer. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Some 150 meters away from the Yeshiva Jofetz Jaim (Chofetz Chaim), in a two-story building on the corner of San Luis and Azcuenaga, lives Rabbi Gabriel Davidovich, the head rabbi of AMIAthe Jewish community's main organization in Argentina. He serves as a prominent member of the organization and as the chief secretary of the rabbinical court. While he is not Argentina's chief rabbi, and there are more senior Jewish religious officials in the country, Davidovich is nevertheless a well-known and well-respected figure in the community. Rabbi Gabriel Davidovich (Photo: AP) The 60-year-old rabbi, a father of seven, went to sleep an hour and a half earlier. What happened next was like a scene from a horror movie. "I woke up in a fright to the sound of noises from the bathroom adjacent to my bedroom," the rabbi said. "I went to the bathroom, and there I found myself facing a man who came through the bathroom's narrow window, which overlooks the street. "I tried to fight him. I ran to the entrance of the home, opened the door and yelled 'Help!' At that moment, the rest of the gang came into the house, seven in total. They put me face-down on the floor. I begged them to let me breathe. They covered my head and started stepping on me and kicking me. This is when I lost consciousness." The next thing the rabbi remembers is waking up at the hospital. After Davidovich passed out, the assailants moved on to his wife, tied her up and demanded she showed them all of the jewelry in the house. They told her: "We know he's the head rabbi, and that you have a jewelry store. Where's the money?" While they were at it, they swore at her, but none of the swear words was anti-Semitic in nature. The burglars also did not physically harm her. The robbers rummaged through all of the closets and took all of the jewelry, and then left the apartment. The rabbi's home in Buenos Aires Outside the building were two Brazilian tourists who witnessed the robbery and called the police. The police officers who arrived at the scene found the rabbi lying on the floor. The attackers left him in serious condition with nine fractured ribs, a punctured lung, and injuries to his face and legs. He has since undergone surgery and is now in moderate condition. Rabbi Davidovich doesn't rule out that the attack could have been anti-Semitic in nature, but still urges to await the results of the police investigation. "I have no idea who is behind the attack," he said. "I want to thank the people of Israel for the Jewish embrace I received." In a phone call with President Reuven Rivlin, the rabbi said Tuesday: "When such things happen, it's awful. My wife is afraid to go home. The safety of Jews here is threatened. But we shouldn't stop our work." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also called the rabbi to wish his a speedy recovery. Aryeh Leib Davidovich, the rabbi's son, said his father "is in pain but out of danger, thank G-d. What we think is that they wanted to steal. They said he was the head rabbi, and that he must have money. But the community thinks it is anti-Semitism, because the rabbi was beaten until he passed out, and they only asked for money from his wife." The Buenos Aires Police believes the incident may be criminal after all . They believe the assailants had prior intelligence on the house, knowing the bathroom window would be left open. Another possible motive is that the attack was an act of revenge of a husband angry over a ruling of the Buenos Aires Rabbinical Court, of which the rabbi is a member. (TNS) Mexico Beach recently received its first federal reimbursement check for Hurricane Michael cleanup spending.The rest of Bay County is apparently still waiting.Al Cathey, mayor of Mexico Beach, said his city recently got $2.4 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency the first government in the county to get any reimbursement money from the agency in the nearly five months since the disaster. According to FEMA, money hasn't been sent to any other county governments yet because of the complexities of the applicants' different projects, but it's working with area officials to move the process as quickly as possible.Cathey said his city received its first FEMA check earlier this month and the money has already been spent."Oh Lord yes," Cathey said with a laugh. "We've used it on cleaning up debris."Mexico Beach was the hardest hit area in the Panhandle, losing many of its homes and buildings after taking a direct hit from the Category 4 storm."Our whole city is demolished," Cathey said.As such, the city has already submitted its second FEMA request for about $9 million in reimbursement for debris cleanup, Cathey said."We expect it expeditiously," he said.On top of FEMA money, the city received $2.8 million last week from the Florida Department of Transportation for recovery through help from Gov. Ron DeSantis, Cathey said."When he came here to visit, he promised he was going to see how he could help," Cathey said.Other governments in the county are still just waiting for federal aid.In a Tuesday email, Lenisha Smith, spokeswoman for FEMA, wrote that the agency was still working with numerous applicants on projects related to Hurricane Michael recovery and reimbursement."The timeline for other projects being obligated depends on the complexity of the projects, collection of supporting documentation, environmental and historical laws and regulations and other concerns," Smith wrote. "The applicant drives the priorities for document collection, schedules and inspections ... that being said, it's understandable why the process can take time."Smith noted that like other applicants, Mexico Beach was thorough and aggressive in preparing documentation and answering necessary questions.FEMA will typically reimburse up to 75 percent of disaster-related costs incurred by local governments, including debris cleanup and infrastructure repair.Philip Griffitts, chairman of the Bay County Commission, said the county was still waiting for money from FEMA."We haven't received anything yet and they don't tell us when we'll get that money," Griffitts said.The county took out a $50 million loan last year to help pay for cleanup costs. The commission agreed to borrow another $100 million earlier this month to cover more debris removal."As soon as we get that FEMA money though, we're going to pay off those loans we've been borrowing," Griffitts said.Cathey said his city hasn't borrowed money for the disaster and has no plan to do so."Our ability to pay any loans back is not very high," Cathey said. "And we can't recover when the city looks like a bomb has gone off ... we've got to continue to push for that money from FEMA."2019 The News Herald (Panama City, Fla.)Visit The News Herald (Panama City, Fla.) at www.newsherald.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rejected on Wednesday the resignation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, standing by a moderate ally long targeted by hardliners in internal factional struggles over a 2015 nuclear deal with the West. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Zarif, the US-educated veteran diplomat who served as the architect of the pact which curbed Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, announced it on Instagram on Monday. "As the Supreme Leader has described you a 'trustworthy, brave and religious' person in the forefront of resistance against widespread US pressures, I consider accepting your resignation against national interests and reject it," Rouhani said in a letter published on state news agency IRNA. Iran's Foreign Minister Zarif and President Rouhani (Photo: AFP) On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, welcomed Zarif's departure. "Zarif is gone, good riddance. As long as I am here Iran will not get nuclear weapons," he wrote in Hebrew on Twitter. Rouhani cited that Israeli response in his support of Zarif. "The happiness and rejoicing of the real enemies of the people such as the Zionist regime over your resignation is the best indication of success of Mohammad Javad Zarif and the biggest reason for continuation of your activity in the post of foreign minister," Rouhani said. In another show of confidence, senior Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani said Zarif was the main person in charge of Iranian foreign policy and he was supported by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. On Wednesday, Zarif thanked Iranians for their support. "As a modest servant I have never had any concern but elevating the foreign policy and the status of the foreign ministry," he added in an Instagram post. After Rouhani's announcement, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported that Zarif had attended a ceremony to welcome Armenia's prime minister to Tehran. Zarif gave no reason for his decision to quit. One of his allies said his resignation was motivated by criticism of the nuclear agreement, which has come under increasingly intense fire in Iran since the United States abandoned it last year. Zarif's resignation announcement on Instagram "There were closed-door meetings every week, where top officials were bombarding him with questions about the deal and what will happen next and so on," a Zarif ally told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "He and his boss (Rouhani) were under a huge amount of pressure." Since the United States walked out of the nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions last year, Rouhani has had to explain why Iran has continued to abide by its restrictions while reaping virtually none of the foreseen economic benefits. On Tuesday, Rouhani signalled his support for Zarif by saying he had been at the forefront of the fight against America, in comments reported by state news agency IRNA. Lawmakers representing the majority moderate faction sent Rouhani a letter asking him to keep Zarif on, IRNA reported. Rouhani's chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi said Rouhani stood by Zarif. The president's praise was "a clear sign of the satisfaction of the representative of the people of Iran about the wise and effective positions and work of Dr Zarif," Vaezi wrote on Instagram. Iran's Foreign Minister Zarif (Photo: Reuters) The schism between hardliners and moderates over the nuclear deal shows the tension in Iran between the two factions, and between the elected government which runs the country on a day-to-day basis and a clerical establishment with ultimate power. Rouhani won landslide elections in 2013 and 2017 on promises of reform, while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in power since 1989, is seen as above factional fighting but sympathetic to the hardliners. Although Rouhani is responsible for choosing ministers, Khamenei traditionally has the last say. "If he (Khamenei) publicly backs Zarif and Rouhani, this crisis will be over in a good way and it will narrow the gap between different political camps in the country," said an official. The political uncertainty comes at a difficult time for Iran's leaders as the newly reimposed US sanctions have dashed hopes of an economic breakthrough. Rouhani has warned that the country is facing the worst economic crisis in 40 years. Hardships have triggered waves of nation-wide protests, with calls for both Rouhani and clerical leaders to step down. Pakistan carried out airstrikes and shot down two Indian jets on Wednesday, Pakistani officials said, a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a war in 1971, prompting leading powers to urge both sides to show restraint. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Both countries have ordered airstrikes over the last two days, the first time in history that two nuclear armed powers have done so, while ground forces have exchanged fire in more than a dozen locations. The Indian plane downed by Pakistan X Tensions have been elevated since a suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police on Feb. 14, but the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base. An Indian Air-Force jet in action (Photo: AFP) The attack targeted the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the group that claimed credit for the suicide attack. India said a large number of JeM fighters had been killed, but Pakistani officials said the strike was a failure and inflicted no casualties. Meanwhile, Indian defense sources reportedly told the local media that Israeli-made smart bombs were used in the airstrikes on the militant camp inside Pakistan. According to the reports, the Indian air force used SPICE 2000 precision-guided bombs, made by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd, an Israeli munitions company formerly part of the country's Defense Ministry. Indian air force planes strayed into Pakistani airspace on Wednesday after Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Indian-occupied Kashmir, said Major General Asif Ghafoor, a spokesman for the Pakistan armed forces. "PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace," he said in a tweet. The site of the Indian plane crash, downed by Pakistani forces One of the aircraft fell on India's side of Kashmir, while the second came down in Pakistani-held territory and its pilot was captured, he added. In a statement, Pakistan's foreign ministry said it had hit a "non-military" target inside Indian-controlled Kashmir, but that it had avoided human loss and collateral damage. "If India is striking at so called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan," the statement said. A spokesman for India's defence ministry was not immediately available for comment. Police officials in Indian-occupied Kashmir said that two Indian pilots and a civilian had died after an Indian air force plane crashed in Kashmir, but did not confirm if the plane had been shot down by Pakistani forces. Indian officials said three Pakistani jets had also entered Indian airspace, before being intercepted and forced turned back. Indian soldiers in Kashmir after the recent terror attack that killed 40 Indian paramilitary police men (Photo: Reuters) The Indian air force has ordered Kashmir's main airport in Srinagar along with at least three others in neighboring states to close because of the two incidents, an official said. The latest exchanges hit stock markets in both countries. Pakistani stocks fell sharply during morning trade with the benchmark KSE 100 Index down 3.34 percent and the narrower KMI 30 index down 3.6 percent in Karachi. The Indian stock market was down around 0.5 percent. On Tuesday evening, Pakistan began shelling using heavy caliber weapons in 12 to 15 places along the de facto border in Kashmir, known as the Line of Control (LoC), a spokesman for the Indian defense forces said. "The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focused fire resulted in severe destruction to five posts and number of casualties," the spokesman said. Five Indian soldiers suffered minor wounds in the shelling that ended on Wednesday morning, he added. A funeral service for one of the 40 casualties of the February 14 terror attack (Photo: Reuters) "So far there are no (civilian) casualties but there is panic among people," said Rahul Yadav, the deputy commissioner of the Poonch district where some of the shelling took place. "We have an evacuation plan in place and if need arises we will evacuate people to safer areas, he said. Officials on the Pakistani side said at least four people had been killed and seven wounded, though it was unclear if the casualties were civilian or military. India has also continued its crackdown on suspected militants operating in Kashmir, a mountainous region that both countries claim in full but rule in part. On Wednesday, security forces killed two Jaish militants in a gun battle, Indian police said. Pakistan and India have fought three wars since independence from British colonial rule in 1947 and went to the brink a fourth in 2002 after a Pakistani militant attack on India's parliament. In Mumbai, India's financial capital, there was a visible increase in security levels for a city that has suffered numerous militant attacks in the past. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke separately with the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan and urged them to avoid "further military activity" following Tuesday's airstrike. Indians trample the Pakistani flag over recent events (Photo: AFP) "I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost," Pompeo said in a statement on Wednesday. "I also encouraged both ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity," he said. Both China and the European Union have also called for restraint. On Wednesday New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters also voiced concern over the escalation in tension. In Afghanistan, the Taliban urged both sides to mediate via talks, and that further escalation could impact the Afghan peace process. "India should not carry any further violence in Pakistan because its continuation will affect regional security also the continuation of such conflict will cost a lot for India," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement. US President Donald Trump hoped for "great things" from his second meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un as he paid a courtesy call Wednesday on his Vietnamese hosts. Kim remained in his locked-down hotel for a large part of the day but was expected to take in some sights before the leaders open their nuclear summit with private talks and a social dinner. Anticipation for what could come out of the summit ran high in Hanoi. But the carnival-like atmosphere in the Vietnamese capital, with street artists painting likenesses of the leaders and vendors hawking T-shirts emblazoned with their faces, stood in contrast to the serious items on the agenda: North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and peace on the Korean Peninsula. "We have a very big meeting planned tonight as you know, with North Korea, Chairman Kim, and I think it may very well turn out to be very successful," Trump told the top leaders of Vietnam. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency says President Hassan Rouhani has rejected the resignation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The report on Wednesday comes after Zarif's sudden resignation late on Monday night. It's unclear what will happen next. Zarif could stop going to work at the Foreign Ministry, forcing Rouhani's hand. But there's no precedent for that in the history of the Islamic Republic. Zarif more than likely will return to work. There was no immediate response from the 59-year-old diplomat. Michael Cohen, the former "fixer" and longtime lawyer for US President Donald Trump, plans to testify Wednesday that Trump knew ahead of time about a leak of emails that would hurt his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter Cohen will also say that Trump directed negotiations for a real estate project in Moscow even as he campaigned for the presidency and publicly stated he had no business interests in Russia, according to a draft of Cohen's planned testimony. US President Donald Trump and former lawyer Michael Cohen (Photo: AP, AFP) In the text of his planned statement before a House of Representatives committee, Cohen calls Trump a "racist," a "conman" and a "cheat," and said he would be handing over documents to support his assertions. Cohen says Trump ordered him to pay $130,000 to an adult film actress known as Stormy Daniels in order to cover up an affair in violation of campaign finance laws, and also told Cohen to lie about it to First Lady Melania Trump. He will try to turn the tables on his former boss in congressional testimony that promises to be a media spectacle with potentially high stakes for the Trump presidency. Cohen plans to offer "granular detail" about Trump allegedly directing the hush-money payments to women in violation of campaign finance law, a person familiar with his testimony said. Cohen pleaded guilty to his role in arranging the payments, and prosecutors in New York said in a December court filing they believed the president ordered the payments to protect his campaign. Trump has repeatedly denied ordering the payments. Trump and Stormy Daniels, who claimed she had had an affair with Trump in 2006 and was paid hush-money by Cohen; Trump's spokespeople have denied the affair and accused Daniels of lying. (Photo: AFP) Cohen, 52, who testified behind closed doors to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday and has another non-public hearing before the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday, said he would use Wednesday's hearing to make the case to the public why it should believe him rather than Trump. The hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform is scheduled to start just as Trump wraps up a dinner with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, and TV networks may show both simultaneously on a split screen. The White House again questioned Cohen's credibility on Tuesday, with presidential spokeswoman Sarah Sanders calling him "a convicted liar." It is not clear whether the hearing will significantly alter the public's perception of Trump's business practices or put him in greater legal peril. "It will be a spectacle. No question about that," said Michael Zeldin, a former federal prosecutor. "But after the midday TV drama is over, we'll see if there is anything that amounts to something from a legal perspective." While Cohen is expected to talk on Wednesday about Trump's interest in the proposed skyscraper project in Moscow long after he secured the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, the bulk of his testimony will be about allegations of wrongdoing by Trump as a businessman and the hush payments, the source said. According to a staff memo seen by Reuters, Democratic lawmakers will ask Cohen about evidence they believe shows Trump's lawyers misled ethics officials about how Cohen was reimbursed for the $130,000 paid to Stormy Daniels. Im old enough to remember less than one yr ago, when Cohen, David Schwartz and others on the right publicly attacked me and called me a liar for months because I insisted that Trump had to know of the NDA agreement and that he had made the reimbursements to Cohen. #Vindicated Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) February 27, 2019 The Republicans on the oversight panel, including ranking member Jim Jordan, are likely to question Cohen's credibility, given his guilty plea for lying to Congress and other crimes. Republican US Representative Matt Gaetz, another staunch Trump ally, who is not on the oversight committee, sparked controversy with a tweet on Tuesday suggesting there was compromising information about Cohen's private life. "I guess tomorrow we will find out if there is anyone who Michael Cohen hasn't lied to," Gaetz said on the House floor amid criticism that his tweet amounted to witness intimidation. Gaetz later apologized and deleted the tweet, after he was rapped by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Speaker, I want to get the truth too. While it is important 2 create context around the testimony of liars like Michael Cohen, it was NOT my intent to threaten, as some believe I did. Im deleting the tweet & I should have chosen words that better showed my intent. Im sorry. https://t.co/Rdbw3sTQJD Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) February 27, 2019 How Cohen handles the Republican assault could determine whether he is perceived as credible and if his congressional testimony ends up having a similar impact to that of John Dean, who helped bring down President Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal of the 1970s. Advocates for Cohen have likened his decision to come clean to federal prosecutors in Manhattan and US Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, to that of Dean. But Dean himself said the significance of Cohen's testimony would depend on what he had to say. He noted that Cohen did not fully cooperate with prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, which is the reason he is due to start a three-year prison sentence in May despite pleading guilty to financial crimes. Dean, former White House counsel to Nixon, told Reuters that he expected the Republicans to hammer at why he did not cooperate fully with Manhattan prosecutors. "It could be historic," Dean, now a frequent commentator on TV, said of Cohen's testimony. "But if he just gets beat up by the Republicans, it won't be." A campaign video by the Likud Party sparked outcry on Tuesday evening after it used a military burial plot as backdrop for one of the scenes. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter The video, which aired on the party's "Likud TV" on Facebook, shows journalist Avishai Ivri attacking former IDF chief Benny Gantz and his Blue and White Party. At the end of the video, Ivri is seen in front of a backdrop of a military cemetery saying "Gantz is part of the left, and the left is dangerous." Ivri at a military cemetery: 'Gantz is part of the left, and the left is dangerous.' (Photo: Likud TV) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who heads the Likud Party, instructed the campaign to immediately delete the video from Facebook, investigate the incidentwhich he described as a "regretful editing error"and to take steps against those responsible. As a result, the staffers responsible for the video, including Ivri, were suspended until further notice. "As a bereaved brother, who over the past 43 years has been visiting his late brother's grave on Mount Herzl, I understand well the pain bereaved families feel," Netanyahu said. At the beginning of the video, Ivri warns of the terror attacks that could come if Gantz becomes prime minister. Behind him are photos from different past attacks, including from the murder of three members of the Salomon family in Halamish, which took place during Netanyahu's tenure in the Prime Minister's Office. "More and more violence, more and more deadthis is what a left-wing government means," Ivri is heard saying. Ivri with a backdrop of images from terror attacks: 'More and more violence, more and more deadthis is what a left-wing government means.' (Photo: Likud TV) Gantz's Blue and White Party slammed the video, saying: "IDF soldiers who fell in battle and the bereaved families could not imagine the prime minister would use them for videos in a political campaign. Go apologize to these families immediately, or this stain will accompany you for the rest of your life. Shame on you, Netanyahu." Former defense minister Moshe Ya'alon, who is part of the Blue and White Party, said that "Netanyahu continues crushing Israel. We must notsimply must notallow the memory of the soldiers who fell in Israel's wars and the respect toward the bereaved familieswhich has always united us allto become a tool in a political campaign, even if Netanyahu's legal and public standing is bad. Netanyahu is destroying stateliness at the altar of survival. We have yet to witness such a disgrace before. It's time for a different leadership." Meretz also came out against the video. "Netanyahu and the right no longer have any boundaries. The one who dropped Kahanists into the Knesset now dares to release a hurrendous video starring a man who just this week justified the murderer (Baruch) Goldstein," the party said in a statement. Labor Party leader Avi Gabbay added to the chorus of criticism, saying: "Enough, Bibi. Don't bring your filth into the military burial plots. Apologize to Gantz and the families." Orly Levy-Abekasis, who heads the Gesher Party, also condemned "the cynical use of fallen IDF soldiers for political propaganda. This is simply repulsive. This isn't the Likud Party I grew up on. There's a limit to everything." Eli Ben Shem, the head of the Yad Labanim (an organization dedicated to commemorating the fallen soldiers in Israels wars and helping the bereaved families), said the video was "horrifying." "I don't know who the psychopath is who came up with the idea of mixing the fallen soldiers with politics. This is a grave blow to the families," he said. "I received dozens of messages from families offended by this video. People don't understand that this reopens the wound, and hurts the fallen and their families." The burial plot in the video is of fighters from the Haganah Convoy of 35 (or the "Lamed He"), who died during Israel's 1948 War of Independence while trying to bring supplies to the blockaded kibbutzim of Gush Etzion. They were spotted before they could reach their target and killed by Arab irregulars and local villagers. Uri Kushnir, who represents the Lamed He families, was outraged to see his brother Tuviya's grave in the video. "Their symbol was and remains the unity of the people. And then comes this spectacle making use of these gravestones and bringing in politics in the most divisive and contentious manner. It simply desecrates their memory. It's outrageous and shameful," he said. Ivri responded to critics on Twitter, saying: "My friends are under these tombstones because of you ... some fell needlessly over your fantasies. If I can save even one soul from falling at the altar of your delusions, it's worth everything." Tensions escalated sharply on the Asian subcontinent Tuesday with nuclear-armed neighbors Pakistan and India trading accusations and warnings after a pre-dawn airstrike by India that New Delhi said targeted a terrorist training camp. Pakistan said there were no casualties, while New Delhi called the attack a pre-emptive strike that hit a terrorist training camp and killed "a very large number" of militants. The airstrike followed a suicide bombing in India's section of the disputed territory of Kashmir on Feb. 14 that killed more than 40 Indian soldiers. Pakistan has denied involvement in the attack but vowed to respond to any Indian military operation against it. Do you remember US President Donald Trump's big plan to cancel the North American trade deal with Canada and the European Union? Well, the new version was the original agreement with just a few minor amendments, which as customary in economic diplomacy would eventually have been carried out anyway. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook STRONG> and Twitter And do you remember Trump's announcement that he was withdrawing roughly 2,000 US troops from Syria? This too is not happening for now. And the Mexican border wall? Not even a tenth of it will ever be built. For Trump kept has his word on barely 5 percent of what he has promised. Donald Trump talking about his wall (Photo: AFP) The Middle East peace "deal of the century" drafted by Trump is expected to share the same fate. The plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians was supposed to be presented in 2018, but was repeatedly postponed, with excuses ranging from "we are still working on it," to "now is not the right time." But the truth is more embarrassing than that. Trump's confidants, who were responsible for wrapping up the deal, lack the creativity, the worldview and the knowledge of historical facts required to carry out this mission. Therefore, they are leaping from one Middle Eastern capital to the other, in hopes of hearing something new and refreshing. The Clinton Parameters, which the Israeli government approved with several reservations but was rejected by the Palestinian Authority in 2000, was the only actual plan to date that was crafted to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Negotiations were held, vague agreements were drawn up and even a unilateral Israeli disengagement from Gaza occurred in 2005, but no new solution to end the 70-year conflict has been put on the table. All paths always lead to Bill Clinton's plan, but these days those guidelines seem much harder to implement. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jared Kushner (Photo: Reuters) The United States is up to its neck in a political civil war, Britain is digging its own Brexit grave and the nationalist populist factions that are gaining strength across Europe could not care less about the Middle East. And to top it all, Russia which has zero interest in witnessing a US-brokered peace agreement is popping up at our borders. It is also worth mentioning that the investigations into Trump and his associates' links to Russian officials might lead to several indictments against his politically inexperienced son-in-law Jared Kushner, who brags about "his" plan being top secret. So secret that I doubt he himself understand its contents. Two different political schools of thought have been clashing in Israel since 1967, with the first claiming the Jewish state is capable of becoming stronger despite its control over the Palestinians, and the second arguing that dominating another nation will eventually ruin the miracle called Israel and lead to an all-out national crisis. Shimon Peres signs the Oslo Accords, watched by Andrei Kozyrev, Yitzhak Rabin, President Bill Clinton, Yasser Arafat, Warren Christopher and Mahmoud Abbas, Washington, D.C., September 13, 1993. (Photo: Avi Ohayon, GPO) Most of Israel's prime ministers (Levi Eshkol, Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin, Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon, and Ehud Olmert) belonged to the second school, and therefore sought to negotiate with the Palestinians, while only a tiny handful (Golda Meir and Yitzhak Shamir) believed Israel could conceivably rule over the Palestinians. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also believes this with every fiber of his being, and it appears that Trump and Kushner share his view, with the proof being their intention to dust off the forgotten term "economic peace." It would be better to regard the "deal of the century" with disillusioned cynicism as just another baseless statement made by an American president who cannot control his own tongue. (TNS) New school buses purchased by the Vigo County School Corp. this year will have some added safety equipment two additional cameras to help capture stop arm violations.We are now going to a four-camera system on our buses. We currently have a two camera system, with the two existing cameras in the bus interior, said Rick Long, VCSC director of facility support and transportation, during Mondays School Board meeting.The two additional cameras, which come at an extra cost, will be placed on the front dash (facing forward) and another on the stop arm (facing backward).The added cost will be less than $1,000 per bus, Long said in an interview, but he added, How do you put a price on it?Stop arm violations are becoming more and more in the news and more prominent. This is a way to document it so you can take those violators to court, he said.If the initiative is successful, in the future, existing buses could be retrofitted to add cameras, Long said.The School Board approved the purchase of 17 school buses through the Central Indiana Educational Service Center cooperative purchasing group.The contract went to Midwest International, the lowest bidder, for eleven 78-passenger conventional buses at $96,520 each and six 54-passenger special needs buses at $107,044 each.The total contract is for $1.7 million. The new buses will arrive in July.The district has about 196 school buses and replaces 1/12 of its bus fleet each year as part of its bus replacement plan, Long said.In other matters, the school board took action to improve wifi capability within the district.The board approved CDW-G as the vendor in a contract that involves purchase and installation of network access equipment, part of the districts ongoing technology plan.The cost is $843,188, but the district expects to get back 80 percent of the cost through the E-rate program, a federal program that provides discounts for telecommunications, Internet access and internal connections to eligible schools and libraries.The project will improve the capacity and coverage of the wireless network to meet current and future needs, according to the VCSC.Technology upgrades was listed as a high priority during recent community meetings and staff surveys, Rob Haworth, superintendent, said in an interview. Greater access to wifi is critical in todays world, he said.In other matters, Kayur Patel of Wellness for Life made a presentation asking the school board to consider adding services related to musculoskeletal care, which would include physical therapy.Wellness for Life already operates the districts health and wellness center, which has been in place for about nine years. It is located at 3250 Maple Ave.Patel said musculoskeletal disease makes up 20 percent of all health care costs in the country. If his proposal is implemented, he guaranteed the district would save 25 percent in costs the first year, or about $375,000, or Ill make up the difference, he said.In 2018, the district spent about $1.5 million on musculoskeletal diseases, he said.The board took no action but will consider the proposal at a future meeting. Board member Joni Wise asked Patel to consider the prevention aspect so that some of these injuries can be prevented.In other matters, the board: It also awarded bids for roofing and related work to Associated Roofing Professionals for $1.2 million and Fort Wayne Roofing for $160,000. The contract total was $1.3 million. The roofing work involves several schools. Haworth said the Bond Steering Committee will conduct its first meeting March 7 to review proposals from architectural firms related to a long-term district facilities plan. The district received results of a request for qualifications Monday and about a dozen showed interest. The committee will review those qualifications and make recommendations to the School Board. Please disable your ad blocker, and refresh the page to view this content. SACRAMENTO, Calif. Information technology leaders descended on the capital city this week to share ideas and strategies during the 2019 California Public Sector CIO Academy.California CIO Amy Tong gave opening remarks at the two-day event and touted the state's IT achievements over the past year, while also looking to the future for change. "2018 was a very productive year," she said. "2019 is going to be another exciting year."During the past 12 months, the CIO noted, the state has seen a number of successes. One was its ranking in the Center for Digital Government's* Digital States Survey, which evaluates states use of IT to deliver services. After 10 years of California receiving a B+ grade in the national survey, the Golden State finally broke through into the A- category this past year. "We're finally getting to the A category," Tong said proudly.Looking ahead, the CIO said that under new Gov. Gavin Newsom, things were likely to further improve for state IT. "He has great, exciting ideas," she said.Among the things Newsom has promised is an Office of Digital Innovation . The office would operate within the Government Operations Agency (GovOps), employ 50 people and command an initial startup budget of $36.2 million. It would have an annual budget of $14.6 million.Similarly, an information security and privacy road map is set to be developed by the Information Security Office during the first quarter of 2019 a win for state residents, Tong said."We need to continue to transform government, and that requires strong leadership from the CIOs, from upcoming CIOs and from everyone of you who is involved in that transformation," she said.The breakout sessions for Monday's event were diverse, but focused on that spirit of innovation everything from enhanced negotiation tactics and unconscious bias training to seminars on the power of emotional intelligence and effective communication.In one session, CIOs discussed the art of the "blameless post mortem" a way for managers to avoid pointing fingers at employees when projects go awry.Subbarao Mupparaju, CIO for the Financial Information System of California (FI$Cal), said during the session that complex IT systems will inevitably have problems, and how leaders choose to handle these crises can have a deep impact on the larger organization.Frequently, when problems arise, managers are unnecessarily punitive with their staff, when they should really be focusing on addressing root causes and crafting improvements, he said.Other sessions were similarly focused on how to see challenges and their potential solutions from fresh vantage points. In a session titled Leading Digital Government Transformation, a panel of CIOs discussed how IT can bring change to the public sector and the states citizens.Gary Buonacorsi, chief technology officer for state and local government at Dell EMC, said government could better its services by transforming how its workers function."Government, overall, state and local, has been slow to adopt the move to a digital workforce," he said, adding that workforce transformation is crucial to making changes to government operations.Scott Gregory, chief of the Office of Digital Innovation in the California Department of Technology, said the way he sees transformation is as a reinvention of how we as government begin to relate to the people that we serve.Matt Schueller, the states chief deputy director for the Health and Human Services Agency's Office of Systems Integration, said that he felt that government had ground to make up in terms of effectively delivering services to the public. Transformation, he said, was how officials could get to the level they needed to be to effectively serve citizens. Jussie Smollett is unlikely to serve time if hes convicted of filing a false police report, which he was charged with last week, Chicago-based defense attorneys and other legal experts told TheWrap. Empire star Smollett is charged with a Class 4 felony count of disorderly conduct/filing a false police report. A Class 4 is the lowest kind of felony, and in Illinois carries a maximum of 1 to 3 years in prison. It could also result in a fine of up to $25,000. Almost nobody would go to prison on a class 4, Andrew Weisberg, a former prosecutor in the Cook County States Attorneys Office who now works as a defense attorney, told TheWrap. I would be surprised if he got [prison] time. Also Read: Fox Removes Jussie Smollett From Final 2 Episodes of 'Empire' Season 5 Following Arrest Weisberg said Smollett is more likely to get probation and be forced to pay restitution to the Chicago police department for time and resources wasted on an investigation. He could also be required to submit to a psychological evaluation and comply with any counseling recommendation, Weisberg added. Another Chicago defense attorney agreed Smollett was unlikely to spend time behind bars. My guess is that he would likely get probation if convicted, said James E. Fabbrini, of Fabbrini Law Group. Smollett surrendered to Chicago police early Thursday morning, hours after he was formally charged. He posted bail and surrendered his passport following a bond hearing in front of State of Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County Judge John Fitzgerald Lykew, and was released Thursday afternoon. Smollett had to post $10,000, 10 percent of his $100,000 bail. His next court date is Thursday, March 14 at 11:30 a.m. Laurie L. Levenson, a criminal law professor at Loyola Law School, said that the bail amount was high for a Class 4 felony, but she believes that Smollett was seen as a flight risk because of several factors: Hes accused of staging his own attack, hes a public figure, and he hasnt admitted any wrongdoing. Story continues You dont typically see bails that high for somebody charged [with] that level of offense, she said. He has all of the risk factors that the court would look at. Also Read: Jussie Smollett 'Feels Betrayed,' Legal System 'Wants to Skip Due Process,' Actor's Reps Say The public nature of this case which was decried by Chicago Police superintendent Eddie Johnson complicates matters for Smollett, but only in the sense that its unlikely he would receive a lighter-than-usual sentence. That usually makes it worse for the defendant, because then prosecutors know that everyone is watching, Weisberg said. They feel they have to be tougher on the defendant. At most, Weisberg speculated, Smollett could get 30 days in a county jail, plus probation, and avoid a longer prison sentence. Levenson said that even though the case has been sensationalized, its still a low-level felony. In the world of criminal offenses, it is not that significant, she continued. Its only significant because of who did it. Also Read: Jussie Smollett Returns to 'Empire' Set After Posting Bail in False Police Report Case Smolletts defense team, which includes high-profile attorney Mark Geragos, along with Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson, said in a statement that the actor has been mistreated. 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, the statement said. 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. Levenson said Smolletts lawyers should tone it down, since Smollett does not have many public supporters right now. They have to find something sympathetic about him to play to the court of public opinion, she said. A week before Smollett reported the attack, Fox received a letter threatening Smollett. During his remarks last Thursday, Johnson said Smollett sent the letter to Fox himself, though he did not provide evidence. Later that same day, Cook County Assistant States Attorney Risa Lanier said that the FBI was conducting forensic analysis on the letter, and that the investigation is still ongoing. Both the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys Northern District of Illinois office declined to comment on the status of the investigation, and whether Smollett would face any further charges. Its possible he could be charged for mail fraud, a felony which carries up to a five-year prison sentence and a maximum fine of $250,000. But its more likely federal prosecutors will let the state go through with its case first, experts told TheWrap. It is hard to say whether the feds would actually pursue charges, Levenson said. Generally, they follow the petite policy and allow the state prosecutors to go first. Petite policy refers to a housekeeping provision of the U.S. Justice Department that following a state prosecution there should be no federal prosecution for the same transaction, in the absence of compelling federal interests. You can always come up with federal charges, although my guess is that they would leave it to the state here, added said USC law professor Susan Estrich. Read original story Why Jussie Smollett Probably Wont Get Prison Time At TheWrap (Reuters) - The Venezuelan opposition's envoy to the United States, Carlos Vecchio, met with U.S. President Donald Trump recently and asked him to increase pressure on socialist President Nicolas Maduro, Vecchio's office said in a statement on Tuesday. Vecchio wrote in a tweet that he met with Trump when the president made a speech in Florida. In the Feb. 18 speech, Trump warned members of Venezuela's military who remain loyal to Maduro that they are risking their future and their lives and urged them to allow humanitarian aid into the country. The United States was among the first countries to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate leader after he swore himself in as president last month, arguing Maduro's May 2018 re-election was a sham. The statement from the opposition's envoy came a day after the United States targeted Venezuela's government with new sanctions and called on allies to freeze the assets of state-owned oil company PDVSA after deadly violence blocked humanitarian aid from the country over the weekend. Maduro denies his oil-rich nation has need for humanitarian aid and accuses Guaido of being a coup-mongering puppet for Trump. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Monday in Bogota that the aid blockage steeled the United States' resolve to support Guaido. (Reporting by Luc Cohen; writing by Meredith Mazzilli; editing by Jonathan Oatis) (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May is considering a plan under which Britain's exit from the European Union would be delayed for up to two months, the Telegraph reported https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/02/24/exclusive-brexit-will-delayed-two-months-plans-considered-theresa on Sunday. UK government officials have drawn up a series of options, which were circulated at the weekend, in a bid to avoid resignations by ministers determined to support a backbench bid to take a "no deal" Brexit off the table this week, according to the Telegraph. Those options include making a formal request to Brussels to delay Brexit if May cannot secure a deal by March 12, the newspaper reported, without citing sources. (Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney) By Andrew Chung WASHINGTON (Reuters) - States cannot execute prisoners who are incapable of rationally understanding the reasons for their punishment, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday, siding with an Alabama man who has suffered strokes and dementia that wiped out his memory of murdering a police officer in 1985. In a 5-3 decision with conservative Chief Justice John Roberts joining the court's four liberals, the justices threw out an Alabama state court ruling that Vernon Madison, 68, was legally eligible to be executed, directing the lower court to reconsider the case. The U.S. Constitution's Eighth Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual punishment, prohibits capital punishment for those who, because of dementia, mental illness or other disorders, cannot understand why they will be put to death, the justices ruled. Madison shot Julius Schulte, a police officer in Mobile, twice in the back of the head as Schulte supervised Madison's move out of his former girlfriend's house, court papers said. Madison suffered several strokes in recent years resulting in brain damage, dementia and retrograde amnesia, court papers said. He is legally blind, cannot walk unassisted and speaks with a slur. Writing for the court's majority, liberal Justice Elena Kagan said a state is not barred from administering the death penalty if a prisoner merely forgets committing a crime. "If Alabama is to execute Madison," Kagan said from the bench, "the Eighth Amendment requires, and the state must find, that he'll understand why." Madison's attorney Bryan Stevenson, of the Montgomery, Alabama-based Equal Justice Initiative legal advocacy group, welcomed the decision. "Prisoners with dementia or severe mental illness are extremely vulnerable, that the court has recognized that they cannot be subject to abusive or cruel treatment under the Eighth Amendment is enormously important if our system is going to function in a humane and just manner," Stevenson said. Story continues Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, a Republican, said he expects the lower court to "once again find that Madison is competent to finally face the justice that he has so far evaded for nearly 34 years." 'A MOCKERY OF OUR RULES' Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissented, saying the majority went too far in ruling for Madison because the question the court had been tasked with deciding was limited to the legality of the death penalty for prisoners who forget their crimes. "What the court has done in this case makes a mockery of our rules," Alito wrote. The case forced the high court to come to grips with the increasingly common problem of elderly prisoners suffering from diseases of old age. Many inmates now spend decades on death row. Madison was sentenced to death in 1994. The Supreme Court had previously imposed some limits on capital punishment for people with intellectual disabilities and mental illnesses. The justices have differed over capital punishment but have shown no indication of taking up the broader question of whether the death penalty itself violates the Constitution. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, an appointee of President Donald Trump, had not yet joined the court when the case was argued last October, and did not participate in the decision. Madison, who is black, was sentenced to death in his third trial. His first two convictions were thrown out on appeal for racial discrimination in jury selection and other prosecutorial misconduct. A federal appeals court ruled in 2017 that Madison cannot be executed, saying the evidence showed he had a serious mental disorder resulting in dementia and believed he did not kill anyone. The justices overturned that ruling, but in 2018 halted his execution and agreed to hear his case. During the litigation, the justices heard from both Alabama and Madison's attorneys that severe cognitive decline could preclude a state from executing inmates who cannot understand what was happening to them. But the two sides disagreed on whether Madison understood the circumstances of his execution, with Alabama saying he did and his lawyers saying he did not. (Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham) Dennis Richardson, the Oregon secretary of state and first Republican elected to the position in three decades, died of brain cancer Tuesday night at age 69.Richardson was at times a divisive figure in Oregon politics, but rose through the ranks to be his party's most successful standard-bearer in more than a generation with his election as secretary of state in 2016, bucking a Democratic wave that swept other Oregon electoral races.He died at his home in the southern Oregon city of Central Point while with family and friends, Leslie Cummings, the deputy secretary of state, said in a statement."Dennis leaves a legacy of always aiming high, expecting excellence, moving fast, and doing what is right for the people," the statement said. "It has been an honor and a privilege to work with such an incredible leader and wonderful friend. He will be greatly missed."Gov. Kate Brown ordered flags lowered to half-staff in recognition of Richardson's death."Regardless of what side of the aisle his colleagues sat on, we all knew Dennis' kind heart guided his career of service to the people of Oregon," Brown said in a statement.Richardson was a devout Mormon, father of nine and grandfather of 31, a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War and attorney by trade.He was first elected to the Oregon House of Representatives and served six terms, where he earned a reputation as a politician fiercely committed to his conservative beliefs, but who nonetheless focused on the details of policy, and budgets in particular.He rose through the ranks of committee assignments to appointment as co-chairman of the Ways and Means Committee in 2011, an important post with control over the state budget. The promotion came during a crucial year when the House membership was tied 30-30 between Democrats and Republicans, an unusual situation that brought an extra dose of politicking to setting the state budget.The assignment helped Richardson develop his negotiating skills, and earned him even greater respect from Republicans in the Legislature."On the Republican side, we really looked to Dennis," said Julie Parrish, a former state representative who joined the House Republican Caucus that year and who later was manager of Richardson's secretary of state campaign."His death will be deeply mourned by all his former colleagues in the Oregon House of Representatives," said House Republican Leader Carl Wilson, R-Grants Pass.Richardson ran for governor in 2014 and easily secured his party's nomination, and lost the general election to incumbent Gov. John Kitzhaber.For a time, Richardson was hesitant to re-enter politics, Parrish said. But she showed him polling that indicated he could have a chance at election as secretary of state, and he declared his candidacy. Richardson was elected in 2016, after a bruising campaign against then-Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian.Richardson hit the ground running once in office. Auditors working for him investigated wasteful health care spending, poorly run child welfare programs, and even Portland Public Schools, among other programs. He also established new policies to reinstate thousands of inactive voters. BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The initiative to use clean energy for winter heating in northern China has been pushed forward in an active yet prudent manner, a government minister said Tuesday. Ecology and Environment Minister Li Ganjie told a bi-monthly legislative session that the initiative was part of the effort to optimize the energy consumption mix to control air pollution in northern China. The minister made the statement before the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress as it began deliberating a State Council feedback report on the government response to the legislature's inspection report and comments. The top legislature made inspecting the enforcement of the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law a priority of its supervision work in 2018. Clean-energy winter heating is key in China's battle for blue skies. Excessive burning of coal, especially by small household furnaces, has been blamed for air pollution in northern China. The State Council report said that governments had only pushed for replacing coal with natural gas for winter heating when the local gas supply was guaranteed. The Ministry of Finance earmarked 13.92 billion yuan (2 billion U.S. dollars) for addressing the issue of small household furnaces in parts of northern China, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and its surrounding areas, the report said. In the meantime, measures have been taken by various government ministries to help residents switch to clean energy. [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] By Nathan Layne, Ginger Gibson and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen will tell lawmakers on Wednesday that Trump asked him several times about a proposed skyscraper project in Moscow long after he secured the Republican presidential nomination, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. As Special Counsel Robert Mueller appears to near the end of his probe into whether Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election in collusion with Trump's campaign, Cohen's assertion that Trump was inquiring about the skyscraper project as late as June 2016, if true, would show Trump remained personally engaged in the venture well into his candidacy. Cohen was set to offer lawmakers new information about Trump's private affairs over three consecutive days of in-depth discussion with congressional committees that began on Tuesday with a closed hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. The focus of the session, which lasted for roughly 9 hours, was mainly on what Cohen knows about Trump's dealings with Russia, as well as about Cohen's previous lies, two congressional sources said. Cohen apologized to the committee for lying to it in 2017, according to CNN. In brief comments to the media after the Senate session ended, Cohen said he was looking forward to Wednesday's open hearing in the House where he plans to make his case for why people should believe him over Trump. "I'm going to let the American people decide exactly who is telling the truth," Cohen said. Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate committee, suggested Cohen's testimony was important to its probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. "Two years ago when this investigation started, I said it may be the most important thing I'm involved in in my public life in the Senate and nothing I have heard today dissuades me from that view," Warner told reporters outside the hearing room. As Cohen testified, Republican U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz, a Trump ally, suggested in a tweet that there was compromising information about Cohen's private life. Gaetz later told the Daily Beast that he was not engaging in witness intimidation. "It is challenging the veracity and character of a witness. We do it everyday," he said. The lawmaker does not sit on the House Oversight Committee, which will be conducting Wednesday's hearing with Cohen, and therefore will not be allowed to ask him questions. Lanny Davis, an attorney for Cohen, said: "We will not respond to Mr. Gaetz's despicable lies and personal smears, except to say we trust that his colleagues in the House, both Republicans and Democrats, will repudiate his words and his conduct." Cohen was one of Trump's closest aides and once said he would "take a bullet" for him. But he turned against his former boss last year and is cooperating with prosecutors after pleading guilty to tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations. Cohen has said Trump directed him to make hush-money payments to two women who said they had sexual relationships with Trump, in violation of campaign finance laws before the 2016 election. Trump called Cohen a "rat" after he turned on him, and the White House again attacked Cohen's credibility on Tuesday. "It's laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. Trump has denied any collusion between his campaign and Moscow. Russia denies U.S. intelligence agencies' assertions that it interfered in the election. Cohen has been disbarred, according to a decision by a New York state appeals court in Manhattan made public on Tuesday. Disbarment is automatic in New York for lawyers convicted of felonies. Michael Monico, a lawyer for Cohen, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 'GRANULAR DETAILS' On Wednesday, in a public session before the House Oversight Committee, Cohen intends to give lawmakers "granular details" about a hush-money payment to adult-film actress Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels, and information about a "money trail" after Trump became president, said the person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified. Cohen will also offer new information on Trump's financial statements that "have never been produced before" relating to how Trump represented the values of his assets in financial transactions and other matters, that person said. Cohen will also offer first-hand anecdotes to illustrate Trump's "lies, racism and cheating" during the decade Cohen worked for the real estate mogul and provide "evidence of criminal conduct" since he became president, the source said. Like Tuesday's hearing, his testimony on Thursday with the House Intelligence Committee will also be behind closed doors. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee plan to question Cohen publicly about Trump's personal finances, including the payments to women, as well as alleged efforts by Trump and his lawyers to intimidate Cohen to try to keep him from testifying. Last November, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress by telling lawmakers in 2017 that all efforts relating to the Moscow project had ceased by January 2016. In fact, Cohen said, those efforts continued until June 2016. (Reporting by By Nathan Layne, Ginger Gibson and Mark Hosenball; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Eric Beech and Timonthy Ahmann in Washington and Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Tomasz Janowski, Alistair Bell, Peter Cooney and Richard Chang) (Reuters) - 0540 GMT: TRUMP SEES AWESOME POTENTIAL FOR "MY FRIEND KIM" U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Twitter message hours before a summit with Kim Jong Un that North Korea had "awesome" potential to thrive if it would denuclearize. Trump is to meet Kim at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi at 6:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) and have a 20-minute one-on-one conversation before a dinner scheduled to last just over an hour and a half. Both men arrived in the Vietnamese capital on Tuesday. "Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize," Trump said in the tweet. "The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon." "He wants to something also," Trump said later. Like North Korea, Vietnam was once an enemy of the United States and Hanoi was relentlessly bombed by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War. They normalized ties in 1995, and Hanoi's "doi moi" reforms have transformed its economy. (Trump shakes hands with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong at a meeting hours ahead of his summit with Kim Jong Un. REUTERS/Leah Millis - https://tmsnrt.rs/2EzCLIC) Morgan Stanley said it estimated the opening up of North Korea's economy, assuming a gradual Vietnam-style liberalization, could bring investment opportunities of up to $9 billion per year and incremental consumption opportunities of $2 billion per year. "North Korea's 18 million working age population would join Asia's production supply chain at an hourly wage cost lower than Vietnam's," the bank said in a research note. "A liberalized North Korea would provide the missing link in improving the trade connectivity of the Korean peninsula to Europe if inter-Korea rail connects to Russia and China." (To see an interactive graphic on the Hanoi summit, click https://tmsnrt.rs/2VkEAP4) 0212 GMT: EXPERTS URGE CAUTION ON PEACE DEAL Analysts however cautioned that a peace deal between the two sides would not end the North's pursuit of nuclear weapons. Officials and experts have said the two leaders are likely to sign a peace declaration to symbolically end the 1950-53 Korean War. Other agreements could be to open liaison offices in each other's countries and adopting denuclearization measures, such as allowing inspectors to observe the dismantlement of North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear reactor, in exchange for a loosening of U.S. economic sanctions against Pyongyang. The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said a peace deal needed to be carefully worked out, otherwise it could lead to regional security risks. "Peace between Washington and Pyongyang might contribute to an untimely withdrawal of U.S. forces from South Korea, encouraging dangerous misconceptions in Pyongyang," it said. Daniel Russel, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia until 2017, said: "A peace treaty that leaves in place the arsenal of North Korean chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons that directly threaten Americans and our allies is not much of a peace treaty. "The path to real peace on the Korean Peninsula begins with irreversible steps by North Korea to eliminate its nuclear weapons program." 0215 GMT: MARKETS QUIET BUT MAY REACT POSITIVELY Singapore's DBS said news about details of denuclearization and the possible easing of North Korea sanctions would be taken positively by markets. Nomura analyst Chetan Seth said in a note: "If we somehow see some progress towards denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, this could be another positive catalyst for Asian equities, particularly Korea." However, Nick Twidale, Sydney-based analyst at Rakuten Securities Australia, said although the summit is expected to be positive with regard to denuclearization, "little is expected in terms of market moving updates". (Graphic: Markets vs North Korea's provocations - https://tmsnrt.rs/2BWJQkN) 0220 GMT: SUMMIT VENUE HOSTED CHAPLIN ON HIS HONEYMOON Trump and Kim will meet on Wednesday at a storied French colonial-era hotel once used by the North Vietnamese government to house foreign guests during the Vietnam War. The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi has hosted dignitaries and celebrities from Charlie Chaplin on his honeymoon in 1936 to "Hanoi Jane" Fonda during her 1970s anti-war campaign and even Trump himself on a recent visit to the Vietnamese capital. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt stayed in the 118-year-old hotel in 2007. The Metropole also hosted Graham Greene, who wrote part of his seminal 1955 work, "The Quiet American" there, and numerous war correspondents during the 20-year-long Vietnam War that ended in 1975. (The Hotel Metropole Hanoi, ahead of the Trump-Kim summit. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon - https://tmsnrt.rs/2VmjrnF) (To see an interactive graphic on inter-Korean relations, click https://tmsnrt.rs/2KdXMcS) Live: North Korea - Reuters social media blog https://www.reuters.com/live/north-korea (Hanoi newsroom, Vidya Ranganathan, Swati Pandey, David Brunnstrom, Karishma Singh, Raju Gopalakrishnan) With the possible impeachment of the president at stake, the leading Democrat and Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform clashed at the start of a hearing with President Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen, each attempting to put his explosive testimony in the best light for their party. The ranking Republican, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, accused the committees chairman, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., of holding the hearing to damage Trump, and denounced Cohen as a fraudster, cheat [and] convicted felon. Cohen has pleaded guilty to numerous charges, stemming in part from his work for Trump over a decade and from his personal financial dealings. Mr. Chairman, your chairmanship will always be identified with this hearing, Jordan said in his opening statement. We all need to understand what this is. This is the Michael Cohen hearing presented by Lanny Davis. Thats right, Lanny Davis choreographed the whole darn thing. Davis, former lawyer to President Bill Clinton, was hired by Cohen to represent him and was seated behind Cohen during Wednesdays hearing. According to Jordan, the hearing itself was Daviss idea. He had to talk Michael Cohen into coming, Jordan said. And most importantly, he had to persuade the chairman to actually have it. Cohen was originally supposed to testify on Feb. 8, but asked for a delay because of what he said were threats against his family by Trump and his associates. He is due to report to federal prison in May. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio (Photos: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images) This might be the first time someone convicted of lying to Congress has appeared again so quickly in front of Congress, Jordan said. Certainly, its the first time a convicted perjurer has been brought back to be a star witness in a hearing. And theres a reason this is a first: because no other committee would do it. Cohen testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee behind closed doors on Tuesday and is scheduled to appear before the House Intelligence Committee, also in secret, on Thursday. Story continues Jordan accused Cummings of limiting the panels subjects to only those you think are going to be harmful to the president of the United States. They gotta find somebody, somewhere, to say something so they can try to remove the president from office, Jordan said. Cummings, in his opening statement, said he agreed there were legitimate questions about Cohens credibility as a witness, but noted that Cohen was bringing documents to back up some of his most damaging testimony. The committee began the day by voting down, on party lines, a Republican motion to delay the hearing. Where I disagree fundamentally with the ranking member involves efforts to prevent the American people from hearing from Mr. Cohen, Cummings said. Mr. Cohens testimony raises grave questions about the legality of President Donald Trumps conduct and the truthfulness of statements while he was president. In a prepared opening statement to the committee, Cohen testified that Trump is a racist, a con man and a cheat who knew ahead of time that WikiLeaks had emails that were damaging to his rival Hillary Clintons presidential campaign. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Life in Vietnams picturesque capital carried on this week as though the eyes of the world werent on it. Even the flags flapping from light posts along its tree-lined streets Vietnams Communist star flanked by the U.S. and North Korea are understated. Not too showy, just large enough to catch the eye with a spot of color while whizzing past on the back of a motorbike. Hanoi is focused squarely on impressing two of its most distinguished guests: President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who met in the city Wednesday night for the start of their second summit geared toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Nearly five decades after it was targeted by a relentless American bombing campaign, Hanoi is a fitting peace-broker: both a symbol of rapprochement and a model of economic renaissance. I think you will have a tremendous future for your country, youre a great leader, Trump told Kim in their first meeting since Singapore as the pair posed for photos before a social dinner. He added that North Korea has tremendous economic potential, and pledged that the U.S. will help it to happen. In talks on Thursday, Trump will try to convince Kim that prosperity awaits if he gives up his nuclear weapons, and Vietnam is a fitting model. The former American enemy is a Communist state that has seen rapid benefits from economic liberalization and diversified security partners. But in a worrying portent for American ally Seoul, Vietnam also achieved what the Kim regime has dreamed of doing for three generations: It absorbed its Western-allied southern half into a unified nation under Communist control. When Trump and Kim met for an initial summit in Singapore last June, the first between the sitting leaders of these longtime foes, they only managed to reach a vague agreement that yielded little progress. Experts say four items are on Trumps agenda this time around: a declaration of peace; returning the remains of more U.S. soldiers missing since the Korean War; establishment of liaison offices between the two countries; and an end to production of fissile materials at North Koreas Yongbyon nuclear facility. Story continues But what does Kim want in return? U.S. Troop Withdrawal A declaration of peace would undermine the argument that U.S. troops are still needed in the South, and he is likely to ask for a reduction of the 28,500 currently based there. Trump may try to meet Kims demand, after he became the first president since Jimmy Carter to suggest withdrawal last May. The U.S. is technically still at war with the North since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace accord. A declaration of peace wouldnt end the war, but it would pave the way for a formal treaty and ultimately dissolve the U.S.-led U.N. Command created to keep the peace. The U.S. also has some 50,000 troops based in Japan. If Trump is smart, he will tie [troop withdrawal] to specific benchmarks, which will require North Korea to meet certain steps, including providing an inventory of their nuclear arms, research, and missiles, says Brett Bruen, a former White House director of global engagement under Barack Obama. The problem with that, he says, is that it is likely to strike fear amongst our allies and reinforce the notion that the U.S. is abandoning its long-held role and guarantor of peace across the Pacific. Holding Onto His Weapons After their summit in Singapore, Trump announced on Twitter that, There is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea, which is false. While no one knows exactly how many weapons of mass destruction North Korea has, it is believed to have dozens of nuclear warheads and the means to deliver them to the continental United States. At the top of Americas wish list in negotiations is an inventory of assets, which experts say is not forthcoming. A full declaration of all nuclear and missile assets is highly unlikely at this point, says Siegfried Hecker, a leading nuclear scientist at Stanford University. Furthermore, such a list would require years to verify. Instead, they may want to start with a declaration for one of the key facilities, such as Yongbyon. The Trump Administration seems to have moved its goalpost from seeking complete, verified, irreversible denuclearization, and now appears willing to accept a piecemeal reduction in North Koreas nuclear capabilities. In light of that, a list of assets is viewed as a minimum ask, though it is unlikely to be met this time around. Bruen, the former White House policy director, says Kim is angling to keep as much of its nuclear arsenal, missiles, and research going as possible. They are betting that Trump wants a deal so badly, he will give in far short of denuclearization, he says. Indeed, they hope to make oversight as minimally intrusive as possible. Sanctions Relief While in Vietnam, Kim is expected to be taken on a guided tour of the wonders of capitalist enterprise, visiting industrial zones where foreign investment flourishes. Among Kims top priorities, experts say, will be getting the U.S. to budge on sanctions that stand in the way of economic projects between North and South Korea. North Korea is among the worlds most economically isolated nations due to crippling sanctions levied by the U.S. and the U.N., and it relies on China as its primary trading partner. Across the border, South Korea has become one of the richest countries in Asia, and Seoul is poised to implement a plan for an integrated Korean economy as soon as restrictions are lifted. Kim is looking for enhanced international status and an end to sanctions in return for a freeze in testing, says Christopher Hill, a former Ambassador to South Korea. While millions of Koreans suffer under impoverished conditions, sanctions remain one of the most powerful incentives at Americas disposal. [Kim] probably senses that Trump really, really wants a deal. This all adds up to a very worrisome situation. A Unified Korea Pyongyangs ultimate aim is to heal the divide of the Korean War by reunifying the peninsula under a single confederation. While South Korea also seeks unity, its still unclear what it would look like. Just as denuclearization doesnt mean the same thing to Pyongyang as it does to Washington, Seoul envisions a very different future than its northern counterpart. In Hanoi, Kim may see more than a model economy. He may see a model for a political future in which the North could eventually overtake the South as the heart of the nation. According to Sung-Yoon Lee, professor of Korean Studies at the Fletcher School of Tufts University, this could potentially be Kims endgame. So long as he maintains his arsenal, Kim has tremendous leverage over his neighbor. Moreover, under the regimes authoritarian rule, the Kim dynasty has the unwavering support of roughly 25 million people. In the democratic South, candidates rarely achieve 45% of votes. With luck, Kim could absorb the South without firing a shot, Lee says. But nukes, chemical, biological weapons and a high pain threshold not to mention the advantage of being dictator in perpetuity impervious to public opinion helps. A Vietnamese police officer stands guard at the North Korea-USA summit's media centre in Hanoi, Vietnam, February 23, 2019 REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha Catherine Killough Security, Asia There are four primary cases in which negotiations didn't have to fail but did. Trump Should Heed the Lessons of past U.S.-North Korea Talks As the second US-North Korea summit nears, President Trump may be within reach of an agreement that could meaningfully advance the denuclearization of North Korea and build a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. If he fails to heed the lessons of his predecessors, however, the opportunity may be fleeting. At this critical juncture, the same challenges that have undermined past negotiations threaten the diplomatic opportunity at hand. Washington demands that North Korea take immediate and unilateral action to denuclearize, while Pyongyang insists that the United States frontload political and security guarantees. The historical and political lessons of past U.S.-North Korea negotiations could help the Trump administration break such an impasse. First, the Trump administration must overcome decades of mistrust if it seeks to compel North Korea to change its security calculus and abandon nuclear weapons. The U.S.-North Korea relationship continues to exist on the basis of the enduring hostilities forged in the 1950-1953 Korean War. American efforts to restrict North Koreas pursuit of nuclear weaponsbeginning only in the 1990shave not sufficiently addressed this larger unresolved conflict. Second, the administration will need to build political space at home to ensure diplomacy can succeed. Partisanship and intraparty infighting have created obstacles to effectively deal with North Korea, while leadership changeoversin both Washington and Pyongyanghave resulted in short-sighted decisions to abandon promising agreements. In the near term, the Trump administration should encourage Congress to support corresponding measures, such as limited sanctions relief, that could advance nuclear talks. The durability of future agreements will depend on mechanisms that foster Congressional buy-in and responsible oversight. Story continues A critical review of the U.S.-North Korea negotiation record calls into question the conventional narrative that diplomacy has been a categorical failure, that North Korea has always cheated, and that denuclearization is unachievable. Every U.S. president since Bill Clinton has attempted to reverse North Koreas nuclear course, and, at times, these efforts have succeeded in slowing the program. Policymaking going forward can and should be guided by this history of partial success and missed opportunities. There are four major missed opportunitiesin both Republican and Democratic administrationsto learn from: The Bill Clinton administration negotiated the Agreed Framework (1994-2003), the first U.S.-North Korea nuclear deal and earliest attempt at dissuading North Korea from building the bomb. It froze North Koreas plutonium production for nearly a decade, and set a precedent for fundamentally improving relations between the enemy states. But instead of supporting the agreement, a newly Republican-controlled Congress hamstrung the implementation process, and the incoming George W. Bush administration used intelligence reports about a suspected uranium enrichment program to scrap the deal. Soon after, Pyongyang announced its withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and reactivated its plutonium program. North Korea now has an estimated twenty to forty kilograms, or four to eight bombs worth, of plutonium. As a follow on to the Agreed Framework, the Clinton administration established an external policy review, known as the Perry Process, which launched negotiations toward a separate North Korea missile agreement. This was the first and last major opportunity to prevent North Korea from developing and proliferating missile technologies. The Clinton administration was close to concluding a deal in 2000, but the incoming Bush administration decided to cancel talks, with no alternative plan to constrain North Koreas missile activities. North Korea has since developed and tested intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States. The Bush administration, convinced of the need to re-enter negotiations as North Koreas plutonium stockpile grew, joined the Chinese-led Six Party Talks in 2003. Two years and several rounds of negotiations later, North Korea pledged to abandon its nuclear programs in exchange for an action-for-action plan that would address its desires for regime security and energy assistance, consistent with the Agreed Framework. But the U.S. Treasury Departmentuncoordinated with the negotiatorsabruptly imposed sanctions that derailed another opportunity for a diplomatic breakthrough. North Korea went on to break its self-imposed missile test moratorium and detonated its first nuclear device in 2006. The last opportunity to engage North Korea emerged under the Obama administration with the Leap Day Deal (2011-2012). In exchange for food aid, North Korea pledged to halt nuclear and missile testing at a time when it was making significant gains toward a credible nuclear deterrent. But the deal closed almost as soon as it opened. North Korea, which had undergone a major leadership transition from Kim Jong-il to Kim Jong-un, announced plans to commemorate the new leader with a satellite launch. The Obama administration then decided to discard the deal rather than renegotiate it to address the risks of dual-use missile technologies. In the years since, North Korea conducted four nuclear tests and over eighty-five missile tests. Reshaping North Korea policy requires an honest reckoning of the successes and shortcomings of these diplomatic precedents. In each case, North Korea demonstrated a willingness to deal on terms that would have slowed, limited, and even reversed its nuclear development. North Korea has also demonstrated a talent for hedging against the United States, as evidenced by its development of a uranium enrichment program. Whether North Korea intended to cheat, or to create more leverage over the United States in moments of diplomatic uncertainty, are questions worth investigating. But it is evident that the United States moved too slowly, and withdrew too quickly, when disputes arose. The Trump administration must now draw on these lessons to ensure that it does not lose yet another opportunity to curb the North Korean nuclear program. Going forward, U.S. policymakers should adopt a comprehensive North Korea strategy that encompasses two points. First, a step-by-step approach to advance simultaneous progress on a peace regime and denuclearization. Second, a roadmap to secure interim actions that would reduce the risk of conflict, including measures to slow down North Koreas nuclear weapons development. The United States stands to gain more when it engages North Korea. Periods of isolation have exacerbated North Koreas siege mentality and accelerated its pursuit of a nuclear deterrent. Absent dialogue, fundamental misunderstandings between Washington and Pyongyang widen, raising the likelihood for miscalculation. The potential consequences of a provocation that could escalate into nuclear conflict are too disastrous to risk. Policymakers across the political spectrum have squandered strategic opportunities to deal with North Korea well before it acquired the nuclear capabilities that challenge the Trump administration today. We must learn from these experiences to ensure we do not make the same mistakes again. This article is adapted from a new report by the author: Begun is Half Done: Prospects for US-North Korea Nuclear Diplomacy. Catherine Killough is the Roger L. Hale Fellow at Ploughshares Fund, a global security foundation. Image: Reuters Read full article By Jeff Mason and Khanh Vu HANOI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un begin their second summit in less than a year in the Vietnamese capital on Wednesday, with the U.S. side seeking tangible steps by North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. The White House said Trump would meet Kim at Hanoi's French-colonial-era Metropole Hotel at 6:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) and have a 20-minute one-on-one conversation before a dinner scheduled to last just over an hour and a half. (Graphic: Vietnam prepares for the Trump-Kim summit - https://tmsnrt.rs/2VkEAP4) (Live coverage of Trump Kim summit preparations - https://www.reuters.com/live/north-korea) Trump flew into Hanoi on Air Force One late on Tuesday. "Just arrived in Vietnam," he wrote in a Twitter post. "Thank you to all of the people for the great reception in Hanoi. Tremendous crowds, and so much love!" Kim arrived by train early in the day after a three-day, 3,000-km (1,850-mile) trip from his capital, Pyongyang, through China. He completed the last stretch from a border station to Hanoi by car. The two leaders, who seemed to strike up a surprisingly warm relationship at their first summit in Singapore last June, will be accompanied at dinner by two aides and interpreters, the White House said, before they meet again on Thursday. Their talks come eight months after the historic summit in Singapore, the first between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader. While much of that first meeting was about breaking the ice after decades of bitter animosity between their two countries, this time there will be pressure to move beyond a vaguely worded commitment by Kim to work toward the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. Trump's critics at home have warned him against cutting a deal that would do little to curb North Korea's nuclear ambitions, urging specific, verifiable North Korean action to abandon the nuclear weapons that threaten the United States. Story continues In return, Kim would expect significant U.S. concessions such as relief from punishing sanctions and a declaration that the 1950-53 Korean War is at last formally over. Trump, landing in darkness, waved as he disembarked Air Force One and was met by senior Vietnamese and U.S. officials. His motorcade passed crowds waving the flags of Vietnam, the United States and North Korea on its way to the JW Marriott Hotel, his accommodation for the two-day summit. Earlier, Vietnamese officials greeted Kim at the station in Dong Dang town after he crossed the border from China by train. He got a red-carpet welcome with honour guard, military band and fluttering North Korean and Vietnamese flags. Kim was accompanied by his sister, Kim Yo Jong, an important aide. About a dozen bodyguards briefly ran alongside his limousine as he began the two-hour journey to Hanoi. Roads were closed with security forces in armoured personnel carriers guarding the route to the Melia hotel, where Kim is staying. North Korean officials engaged in working-level talks for the summit briefed Kim after he arrived, the North's state news agency, KCNA, said on Wednesday. At the Melia hotel, Kim "heard concrete details on the pattern of engagement between working-level delegations," KCNA said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Visiting the North Korean embassy in Vietnam, Kim urged staff there to strengthen two-way ties in line with the needs of the times, KCNA added. Kim "will reunite with U.S. President Donald J. Trump from February 27 to 28 and conduct the historic second DPRK-U.S. summit," before embarking on a goodwill visit to Vietnam on March 1 and 2, the agency said. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also arrived on Tuesday and met Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh for talks. 'TREMENDOUS' Trump said before leaving Washington it would be "a very tremendous summit" and stressed the benefits to North Korea if it gave up its nuclear weapons. "With complete denuclearisation, North Korea will rapidly become an economic powerhouse," he said. "Without it, just more of the same. Chairman Kim will make a wise decision!" In a speech on Sunday, however, Trump appeared to play down the possibility of a major breakthrough, saying he would be happy as long as North Korea maintained its pause on weapons testing. "I'm not in a rush," he said. "I just don't want testing. As long as there's no testing, we're happy." North Korea has not held a nuclear or missile test since 2017, but analysts say the two leaders have to move beyond summit symbolism. "The most basic, yet urgent, task is to come to a shared understanding of what denuclearisation would entail," said Gi-Wook Shin, director of Stanfords Asia-Pacific Research Centre. "The ambiguity and obscurity of the term 'denuclearisation' only exacerbates the scepticism about both the U.S. and North Korean commitments to denuclearisation." While the United States is demanding North Korea give up all of its nuclear and missile programs, the North wants to see the removal of a U.S. nuclear umbrella for South Korea. Trump's departure from Washington comes at a time of increased pressure at home, and he is keen to show progress on a foreign policy issue that has confounded multiple predecessors. Some analysts fear that may lead him to pull his punches. "The main concern is whether the president, besieged by domestic distractions, will give away too much, and take a bad deal that leaves the United States less secure," said Victor Cha, a former White House official who took part in North Korea talks under previous Republican administrations. While Trump is in Hanoi, his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen is testifying before U.S. congressional committees, with the president's business practices the main focus. Anticipation has also been rising about the impending release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, though a senior U.S. Justice Department official said on Friday it would not come this week. A South Korean presidential spokesman told reporters in Seoul the two sides might be able to agree to a formal end of the Korean War, a move long sought by North Korea, as the war concluded with an armistice, rather than a peace treaty. (For live coverage of the summit, click: https://www.reuters.com/live/north-korea; Reporting by Jeff Mason and Khanh Vu; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in WASHINGTON, Mai Nguyen, Hyonhee Shin, Josh Smith and Ebrahim Harris in HANOI and Joyce Lee in SEOUL; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney) Lawmakers and civil rights leaders on Tuesday condemned Harford County Del. Mary Ann Lisanti's use of a racial slur during an after-hours gathering at an Annapolis bar -- and House Speaker Michael Busch stripped her of two leadership assignments.Lisanti, a Democrat in her second term from Havre de Grace, apologized Tuesday morning to the House Democratic Caucus for using the slur and released a statement asking for forgiveness."I deeply apologize to the citizens of my district, people of Maryland, all of my colleagues in the Maryland General Assembly and everyone reading this for my word choice several weeks ago," Lisanti said. "I am sickened that a word that is not in my vocabulary came out of my mouth. It does not represent my belief system, my life's work or what is in my heart."Lisanti reportedly told a white colleague in late January at Annapolis Cigar that when he campaigned last fall in House District 26 in Prince George's County on behalf of a candidate, he was knocking on doors in a "n district."As a result, Busch stripped Lisanti of her posts as chairwoman of a House subcommittee on unemployment insurance and as House chairwoman of a joint committee on unemployment insurance."While I believe her apology was heartfelt, the damage among her colleagues and the public has been done," Busch said in a statement Tuesday. "I met with her this morning and expressed my extreme disappointment and concern over her irresponsible and hurtful actions."But others said tougher punishment is needed. The African American Democratic Clubs of Maryland, including the Harford County chapter, called in a statement for Lisanti's resignation."Delegate Lisanti's choice of language as it pertains to our community is utterly unacceptable," said James Sweeting, director of the clubs. "There is never an appropriate, time, place or circumstance for elected officials and particularly members of the Maryland state House of Delegates, no matter whom their constituency, to refer to communities of color as n communities."Zilpha Smith, president of the Harford County branch of the NAACP, said she was furious."We as an African-American community here in Harford County have supported her overwhelmingly to be elected as a delegate to the General Assembly in Annapolis," Smith said. "This is just appalling. I'm mad. I'm really mad. You never know what people feel in their hearts."Busch said Lisanti agreed to undergo "sensitivity training.""I hope that through the sensitivity training that Delegate Lisanti has agreed to and the help of her colleagues, she will develop a greater understanding of the impact that she has had on her fellow legislators and the entire House of Delegates," Busch said. "Like anyone who has made a mistake, she has the opportunity for redemption -- but it is her responsibility to do so and earn back the trust of her colleagues."Lisanti pledged in her statement to "do everything I can to help heal that pain and regain the trust of my colleagues and constituents. I pray for forgiveness."The situation, first reported by The Washington Post, arose during a legislative season in which the Virginia state government has been rocked by the disclosures that that state's Democratic governor and attorney general had worn blackface.Lisanti, 51, is a former Harford County Council member and Havre de Grace city manager.The Post reported Lisanti also apologized Monday night to the leaders of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, although she also told them she did not recall saying the word on that occasion.Del. Darryl Barnes, who is chairman of the caucus, wrote in a letter Tuesday to Busch that Lisanti's apology was "woefully inadequate.""It is clear that Delegate Lisanti is unsuited to continue in a position of leadership in the Maryland General Assembly," Barnes wrote. "We have been receiving calls for her resignation, removal of subcommittee chairmanship, and to be censured on the house floor. We are asking the speaker to move swiftly in reprimanding her in a disciplinary manner."Del. Jazz Lewis, a Prince George's County Democrat, thanked the caucus for addressing the issue."We cannot tolerate prejudice in any form," he said.Questioned by the Post earlier this month about what happened, Lisanti said: "I don't recall that. ... I don't recall much of that evening."Asked whether she has ever used the slur, she told the paper: "I'm sure I have. ... I'm sure everyone has used it. I've used the f-word. I used the Lord's name in vain."Smith said the Harford County NAACP has had a good relationship with Lisanti over the years and worked with her to fight for things members wanted.Smith intends to meet with NAACP members next week, prior to a black history event, and said Lisanti's comment will be discussed."It's going to leave this community feeling a different way about Mary Ann Lisanti. It will cause an issue with a community who thought very well of her," Smith said. "It's going to change a lot of minds about her. I think it will come to a point where we'll be asking her to step down, we need someone else to take [her] place."The NAACP leader also said she struggled to understand why someone would talk that way about people in another community while representing Harford."What right do you have to make that statement about a place you don't live in? We need to take a stand and all of us in Harford County need to [tell] Mary Ann Lisanti, 'We need to have a conversation with you, we need to understand why you made that statement,'" Smith said. "We have enough issues going on. We would think people of her status -- you can talk like you want around the dinner table -- when you're representing all of us, as citizens of Harford County, I would think you would not have used that kind of language with anybody, white or black."District 26 in Prince George's County, which Lisanti was referring to, is 79 percent African-American. Lisanti's District 34 in Harford County is 65 percent white.County Executive Barry Glassman has known Lisanti a long time, he said, and is disappointed."Those comments are not reflective of the modern Harford County I'm building," said Glassman, a Republican who has been county executive since December 2014.Harford County Councilman Andre Johnson, one of two African-Americans on the council, said he's been trying to reach Lisanti to discuss the allegations made against her. He was unsuccessful as of Tuesday afternoon."If everything is true, I find it very disappointing and she's definitely going to have to answer questions on that and on her views," said Johnson, who represents the Edgewood and Joppatowne areas and is in Lisanti's legislative district.He spent about a year with Lisanti on the campaign trail."I would have never suspected that kind of language to come out of Delegate Lisanti's mouth," Johnson said.The councilman said he didn't want to say too much without talking to Lisanti, but he also wants to "make it perfectly clear that she has some explaining to do to me personally." Train crash kills at least 20 in Egypt originally appeared on abcnews.go.com A rail car crashed into a concrete barrier at Cairos main train station, causing a fire that killed at least 20 people on Wednesday. CCTV footage shows travelers walking on the platform as the speeding rail car derailed. At least 43 bystanders were injured from the crash. There were no passengers on the train. The 163-year-old station is located in one of Cairos busiest neighborhoods. Most of the injured are suffering from burns resulting from the fire, a source from the ambulance authority told ABC News. PHOTO: Policemen stand guard in front of a damaged train inside Ramsis train station in Cairo, Egypt, Feb. 27, 2019. (Nariman El-Mofty/AP) Egypt's public prosecutor said the rail car driver exited the car while the engine was still running to argue with a colleague who was driving in the opposite direction. At the platform, charred shoes belonging to the victims remain at the site of the accident. (MORE: 1 dead, 12 tourists injured in Egypt hot air balloon crash) We were going about our day when we heard a loud explosion. The train crashed near the kiosk of one of our colleagues [who] is now in the hospital, one station worker told ABC news. All platforms, except for the one where the accident took place, are operating normally, the railway authority said in a statement. Egypt's transportation minister, Hesham Arafat, resigned in the wake of the crash. (MORE: At least 7 Coptic Christians killed in attack on buses in Egypt) Egypts most deadly train crash was in 2002, when a train traveling between Cairo and Luxor caught fire, killing 373. With tit-for-tat airstrikes across a cease-fire line in late February, tensions between India and Pakistan rose to their highest point in years. The two nuclear-armed states have long clashed over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir, which each claims as its own. But the situation deteriorated there after a Feb. 14 bombing by a Pakistan-based militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, killed 40 Indian paramilitaries in the Pulwama district of Kashmir. It was the deadliest attack in the insurgency that has raged for 30 years in the contested Himalayan region that borders the two countries. Twelve days later, on Tuesday, India sent jets into Pakistani airspace for the first time since 1971, and bombed what it said was a training camp for Jaish-e-Mohammed for the Feb. 14 attack. (Pakistan denied any such sites were hit.) India and Pakistan last went to war over Kashmir back in 1999, and now, with Indian elections approaching in April and May, Indias retaliation threatens to escalate tensions even further. The situation is more fraught than it has been for decades, analysts say, though both sides have kept open the possibility of de-escalation. At least 40 incidents of violence against Kashmiris were recorded across India in the days following the Feb. 14 attack. Heres what to know. What happened on Tuesday? The two sides gave contesting versions of events on Tuesday. India said that a large number of militants were killed by the Indian air strike, which it said was targeted at a training camp of Jaish-e-Mohammed, the terrorist organization that claimed responsibility for the Feb. 14 suicide bombing. The camp, New Delhi said, was in Balakot an area inside territory that both sides agree to be Pakistan. The Associated Press quoted residents from a village nearby who said they heard explosions. But Pakistan rejected Indias description of the attack, instead saying that the Indian jets were forced into a hasty withdrawal by the Pakistani air force, and that the bombs were dropped onto an open area, causing no casualties. Pakistan released pictures on social media showing what appeared to be a blast site in a forested area. Story continues This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The office of Imran Khan, Pakistans Prime Minister, said India had justified Tuesdays bombing using a fictitious claim. A spokesperson said in a statement, India has committed uncalled for aggression to which Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing. Then what happened? On Wednesday, Pakistan launched strikes of its own. It said it had shot down at least one Indian jet that it claimed had strayed into its airspace on an apparent retaliatory mission, and captured a pilot. The two sides also traded mortar fire across the line of control in Kashmir, and Islamabad said shells killed six Pakistani civilians. On Thursday, Pakistans Prime Minister Imran Khan said the captured Indian air force pilot, named as Abhinandan Varthaman, would be released on Mar. 1: We have an Indian pilot. As a peace gesture we will release him tomorrow, Khan told parliament. Khan also said he attempted to hold a telephone call with Indian PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday night, but did not succeed. How might this affect the upcoming Indian elections? With Indian elections approaching in April and May, the events in Kashmir have taken on a political charge. Analysts say Modi, who is seeking reelection for a second term, stands to benefit from the warlike atmosphere. For Modi, this is an opportunity to do what he likes to do most project the aura of strong leadership, says Sumantra Bose, Professor of International and Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics. This kind of militarized, hyper-nationalist atmosphere pretty much makes it impossible for any opposition party to take a stand that is more sane, or more conducive to peace and dialogue, says Nitasha Kaul, of the University of Westminsters Center for the Study of Democracy. Essentially theres an atmosphere in which there is no political voice that is asking the question that needs to be asked, which is: How does this make anyone more secure? Rahul Gandhi, the leader of Indias main opposition Congress Party, posted one tweet after the air force bombing on Tuesday: I salute the pilots of the IAF [Indian Air Force]. The attack, Kaul says, also looks set to take the wind out of a growing feeling of momentum against the BJP in the runup to the election. The BJP lost in three state elections at the end of last year, and there has been a huge wave of protests by farmers, Kaul says. So there was this pressure on the BJP and this feeling that they might not come to power again. And the events of the last three weeks have undone so much of that momentum. Whats the background to the attack? Kashmir has been a contested region ever since the partition of British India in 1947. The Muslim-majority state is claimed by both India and Pakistan, and has been divided between the two countries by a line of control ever since a 1971 ceasefire agreement. Indias airstrikes on Tuesday marked the first time since the end of that war that India has sent planes over the line of control. An insurgency in Kashmir has been raging since 1989, and violence has escalated since the BJP came to power in 2014, including widespread protests in 2016-17 in which thousands of civilians were injured. Groups calling for Kashmiri independence, or even accession to Pakistan, regularly square off against Indian armed forces, which are often referred to as occupants by Kashmiris. Anyone who has been there should not be in any doubt about the level of alienation, Kaul, who is from Kashmir, says. When there are pitched gun battles between Indian security forces and militants, the villagers come out and pelt stones at the soldiers. Kashmir, which under Indias constitution is granted a special status of more autonomy from central government than other states, has been a used by Prime Minister Modis ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a political symbol for decades. The state has become a byword for Indian national unity and strength against Pakistan, even as its alienated citizens turn out to vote in single-digit turnouts and 41% of adults suffer from depression. The Hindu nationalist BJP believes that the special status of Jammu and Kashmir must be abolished, arguing that Hindu-majority India must not bend its constitutional rules for Muslim-majority Kashmir, and instead follow the principle of one country, one constitution. This approach, tapping into long-running hostility between India and Pakistan and tensions within Indian society between Hindus and Muslims, has historically played well with Hindu nationalists in elections. Accordingly, Modi took a hard line in response to the suicide bombing that caused the deaths of 42 Indians on Feb. 14. The blood of the people is boiling, he said before Tuesdays airstrikes, pledging that Pakistan would pay a heavy price for the attack. The same calculus could inform his next steps, too. So, what could those next steps be? The situation could deteriorate further. But nuclear war, analysts reckon, is still only a fringe possibility. The costs of that mutually assured destruction are prohibitive even if this escalates further, says Bose. Islamabad has said its attacks had purposely avoided military or civilian areas, and Indian political leaders have remained notably tight-lipped. The whole point of nuclear weapons is that theyre meant to be a deterrent, Kaul says, but points out that we wont always know if things are under control. The worst case is another war. But short of the worst case, too, this is not going to make anything better for Kashmir. On Thursday, a spokesperson for the Pakistani military said it would be insane to talk about using nuclear weapons. But even as U.S. and North Korean leaders met in Vietnam to discuss denuclearization, Kashmir provided a reminder that North Korea isnt the worlds only nuclear flashpoint. Millions of children struggle with bed-wetting. As a pediatrician, I understand the stress and frustration that bed-wetting can have on families. For some kids, wetting the bed can be embarrassing and upsetting; they get anxious about sleepovers and special events away from home. On the other hand, some kids don't care they wet, but their parents don't like the mess, the daily cleanup process or the continued expense of diapers. Either way, families often come to my office to find solutions. The first thing I tell families is that it's normal for a child to wet the bed well into elementary school. Trying to train a child to be dry at night when they are too young can cause more frustration, shame and anxiety. For some perspective, about 20 percent of a kindergarten class is still routinely wetting the bed, 7 percent of kids in elementary school wet the bed at least once per week, and 1 in every 100 teens still wets the bed. Letting your child know that there are lots of other kids who also wet the bed can diffuse worry and calm fears. For most kids, bed-wetting is cured with time. [Read: When Are Children's Nightmares Symptoms?] Despite the common suggestions to limit fluids before bed or to drag your sleeping child to the bathroom before you go to bed, these "tricks" avoid dirty laundry without working on the real cause of night wetting. Wetting is caused by an immature brain-bladder connection, which is required to cue your body to wake up and pee. This immature connection is often complicated by the fact that kids' bladders are physically too small to hold the amount of pee their body makes at night, setting them up to leak while sleeping. We also know that bed-wetting is genetic. Often a bed-wetting child has a parent, aunt, uncle or sibling who wet the bed. Bed-wetting can also be caused by stress or change. A new baby, a move or another transition in the family may be enough to see some night accidents. Story continues Before I encourage my families to work on night training, I confirm that three things are true. First, your child should be at least 8 years old, even better if she has had a few dry nights in the past or if the volume of the wetting accidents is starting to decline. Second, your child needs to care about the wetting. If he doesn't care that he wets at night, he will have no motivation for success. Finally, there shouldn't be any signs of medical reasons for the night wetting. Specifically, the child has never had consecutive months of dryness, pain during or after peeing, snoring or increased hunger or thirst. Kids with these symptoms may need lab testing or a specialist referral before working on night dryness. [See: Is it Healthy to Sleep With Your Pets?] Once your child is ready to train, put a good nighttime routine in place. This should include a consistent bedtime. After bath and stories, have your child get out of bed and go to the bathroom. Make sure the path to the bathroom is free of clutter and well lit. Secondly, carefully monitor your child's pooping habits. Constipation is sneaky and can sabotage success. A big poop can place pressure on the bladder, limiting the ability for it to fill adequately. This effectively makes the bladder smaller and more likely to overflow at night. Also, talk about the process. Having your child say, "I have to pee, I have to get up" may sound silly. Verbalizing the plan, however, is a significant first step in triggering the brain-bladder connection that you want to encourage. The most effective means for training the brain-bladder connection involves using a bed-wetting alarm. These inexpensive devices, which rely on a moisture sensor, are placed in the bed or worn in the underwear to alert your child of wetness. As soon as your child leaks urine, the alarm will go off (vibration or sound). That is the trigger to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. For kids who are deep sleepers, this may take additional effort from a parent to assist them in waking when the alarm goes off. Use of this technique is often the quickest route to long-term success, achieving dry nights in the majority of kids over age 7 within 12 weeks. [See: 10 Things Pediatricians Advise That Parents Ignore -- and Really Shouldn't.] The bottom line is that the most common cure for bed-wetting is time. As kids get older, the brain-bladder connection naturally matures. As each year passes, more and more kids will have dry nights without any interventions at all. If you have worries about your child's health or your child is expressing concern about wet nights, please talk with your child's doctor, who I'm sure would be happy to help. Natasha Burgert, M.D., FAAP has been contributing to the U.S. News For Parents blog since 2018. After receiving her medical degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, she completed her pediatric residency at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. She now calls Kansas City, Missouri, home, working as an innovative general pediatrician, while serving as a national spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of the AAP's Counsel of Communications and Media. Her work with patients has been featured in outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Parents magazine. She has also been on NBC Nightly News, CBS This Morning and other local news programs. She is a regular contributor to NBC News' Parent Toolkit and her local NPR affiliate and has been quoted in numerous print and digital articles. She's also been the keynote speak at various health marketing, vaccine advocacy, and physician-led organizations. If she is not in clinic, you will find her regularly sharing evidence-based child health on KCKidsDoc.com, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. BERLIN (AP) Three former executives at German gun-maker Sig Sauer, including one who became CEO of a sister company in the United States, reached a deal with prosecutors over allegations they illegally exported arms to Colombia and likely won't go to prison, a court official in Germany said Wednesday. Defense lawyers, prosecutors and judges agreed on a settlement that envisages suspended sentences and large fines for the men in return for extensive confessions, according to a spokeswoman for the regional court in the city of Kiel. The court still needs to issue a verdict with sentences that spell out precise penalties, but the settlement agreement likely makes the procedure a formality, court spokeswoman Rebekka Kleine told The Associated Press. The trial centered on the shipment of tens of thousands of semi-automatic pistols from Sig Sauer's factory in Germany to its sister company in the U.S. state of New Hampshire between 2009 and 2011. Prosecutors said most of the SP 2022 pistols were subsequently forwarded to Colombia, in breach of an export license Sig Sauer had received from German authorities. Neither Sig Sauer in Germany nor its U.S. affiliate, Sig Sauer Inc., immediately responded to requests for comment. According to the preliminary settlement, the current chief executive of Newington, New Hampshire-based Sig Sauer Inc., Ron Cohen, would receive a suspended prison sentence of between 16 and 22 months and be required to pay a penalty of up to 900,000 euros ($1,024,740). German news agency dpa reported that Cohen's lawyer said the 57-year-old was aware of the final destination of the pistols but hadn't considered this a problem because the sale was part of a U.S. government contract with Colombia. During the time the weapons were sent to Colombia, the South American country's security forces were engaged in a decades-long conflict with guerrilla groups. L&O Holding co-owner Michael Lueke, whose German company owns Sig Sauer and other arms manufacturers, would receive a suspended sentence of 9 to 11 months, a financial penalty of up to 900,000 euros and a separate fine based on his income. Court spokeswoman Kleine said that would likely amount to a "healthy sum." A third defendant, whose name was given only as Robert L., would receive a suspended sentence of 8 to 11 months and a penalty of up to 90,000 euros, Kleine said. German media reported that the man no longer works for the Sig Sauer. Another German court this month gave two former employees of gun-maker Heckler & Koch suspended sentences for their roles in the delivery of thousands of firearms that ended up in troubled areas of Mexico. The court also ordered the confiscation of proceeds from the sales totaling some 3.7 million euros ($4.2 million). For many of last nights big winners, their Oscars marked once-in-a-lifetime moments and a few Academy Awards historical firsts, so what better way to mark the occasion than with something to celebrate those golden hours? Save for a few interesting cases, the guys on the red carpet mostly played to the classics with elegant timepieces that accompanied both traditional and out-there tuxes. Rami Malek wore another Cartier to mark his second big win as Best Actor for Bohemian Rhapsody, Spike Lee played it cool with a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso, but adventurer and director Jimmy Chin appropriately opted for a sporty Panerai. And Ryan Seacrests lustworthy gold Rolex Daytona Ref. 6263 made a follow-up appearance with another aubergine tuxedo after its red carpet debut at The Golden Globes. Here are all the watches on the wrists of Hollywoods leading men. Related stories This One-of-a-Kind Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Will Be Auctioned Off in Las Vegas Next Week Crystal Clear: Checking Out Bovet 1822's Inclined Tourbillon From Every Angle WWII Hero Oskar Schindler's Longines Watch is Up for Sale Rami Malek in a Cartier Tank Americaine Rami Malek Cartier Tank Americaine At The Golden Globes Rami Malek wore a Cartier MC Tank in steel and took home the award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Drama and got to celebrate the films win for Best Motion Picture Drama for Bohemian Rhapsody. He wore another Cartier Tank to last nights Oscar awards, this time he opted for a Cartier Tank Americaine ($5,750) in steel. The Tank proved, once again, to be his good luck charmMalek took home the Best Actor in a Leading Role award for his role as Freddie Mercury. Christian Bale in a Santos de Cartier Christian Bale Santos De Cartier Christian Bale, nominated for Best Actor in Vice for his portrayal of Dick Cheney, lost out to Rami Malek for the awardalthough Cartier wisely had two of the top nominees wearing their timepieces. Bale, who rarely flashes his watches beneath his perennial all-black tuxedos, was apparently wearing this blue dial Santos de Cartier in steel ($6,850). Story continues Michael B. Jordan in a Piaget Polo Tourbillon Michael B. Jordan Piaget Polo Tourbillon Piaget brand ambassador Michael B. Jordan was one of the few leading men that didnt shy away from a little red carpet bling. The actor opted for a Piaget Polo Tourbillon in 18-karat white gold with 113 brilliant-cut princess shaped diamonds (approximately 1.03 carats), 566 white brilliant-cut round shaped diamonds (approximately 4.78 carats), and 1 white truncated round shaped diamond (approximately 0.08 carats). Jordans watch (price upon request, of course) had enough gems to require its own security detail. Funnily enough, Jordan switched out of his black tux and into a double breasted marble patterned grey suit for the Vanity Fair after party that would have gone perfectly with Piagets brand new grey Altiplano Meteorite dial timepiece, but who can blame him for wanting to wear the diamond studded tourbillon instead? Henry Gold in an IWC Portugieser Automatic Henry Golding IWC Portugieser Automatic Both the men and the women of the Crazy Rich Asians cast were among some of the best-dressed of last nights red carpet. The casts leading man Henry Golding off-set his very formal (and very sharp) Ralph Lauren Purple Label velvet peak lapel tuxedo with a simple IWC black dial Portugieser Automatic ($12,700). The watch features a 7-day power reserve indicator with a date display, a Pellaton automatic winding system, a small hacking seconds and an 18-carart gold medallion rotor visible through the case back. Paul Rudd in an IWC Portugieser Automatic Paul Rudd IWC Portugieser Automatic Rudd followed suit with the same IWC Portugieser timepiece as Henry Golding, but with a blue dial ($12,700) to match his navy blue Canali three-piece tuxedo. In a year in which IWC has been focusing heavily on its sportier Pilots watches, both men make a compelling case for IWCs dress watches. Chris Evans in an IWC Portugieser Chronograph Chris Evans IWC Portugieser Chronograph To top off his turquoise velvet tux, Chris Evans chose a slate dial IWC Portugieser Chronograph ($16,600) with vertically aligned subdials. The watch comes with an 18-carat 5N gold case and arabic numerals and has 44 hours of power reserve. Evans wasnt up for an award last nightbut he struck gold on the red carpet. Steel or white gold would seem like the obvious choice for a turquoise tux, but the gold case stood and was ultimately a nice contrast to his bold jacket choice. Jimmy Chin in a Panerai Luminor 1950 GMT Jimmy Chin Panerai Luminor 1950 GMT (alongside wife and co-director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi) Jimmy Chin, along with his wife and co-director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, took home the Oscar for Free Solo. The adrenaline pumping documentary follows free climber Alex Honnolds summit of Yosemite National Parks 3,000-feet-high El Captian mountainsans ropes. Incredibly, Honnold survived the mind boggling feat and Chinalso an accomplished climberwas there to capture it at every altitude. Fittingly, Chin chose a sportier model to wear with his tux. The climber and director wore a Panerai Luminor 1950 GMT ($8,700), which not only allows for a second time zone for the man on-the-go, but also features an Incabloc anti-shock devicein the event that Chin didnt survive his harrowing documentary, his watch likely would have kept on ticking. Spike Lee in a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Spike Lee Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Classic Large Duoface Small Seconds Even though Spike Lees purple suit (a tribute to Prince), his gold Air Jordans, and his gold Love and Hate knuckle rings took center stage last night, its worth pointing out that the acclaimed directorand now first-time Oscar winner as Best Director for BlacKkKlansmanwore a rather classic timepiece. Beneath all of his flashy attire, the director wore a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Classic Large Duoface Small Seconds timepiece ($8,700) in stainless steel. The traditional timepiece comes with a Velvety Clous de Paris guilloche on the dial and also has a second time zone and 24-hour display, so Spike can keep track of his skyrocketing schedule. Nicholas Hoult in a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Nicholas Hoult Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Classic Large Duoface Small Seconds Like Spike Lee, Nicholas Hoult ditched the idea of a traditional tuxedo. In Hoults case, he wore a Dior black tuxedo that had a sash that wrapped from one lapel around his back and waist to hang at one side down his pant leg. It was a surprisingly interesting new take on a tuxedo, but despite his unconventional choice, like Lee, Hoult went for a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso. Hoults came in pink gold ($20,100)an elevated material to match his elevated look. Barry Jenkins in a Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Small Second Barry Jenkins Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Small Second Barry Jenkins, director of If Beale Street Could Talk, kept his whole look classic from head to toe to wrist. He paired his traditional but modern-cut navy tuxedo with a time-only pink gold Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Small Seconds timepiece ($14,300) with elegant and retro-looking Dauphine hands. If Jenkins has permanently pocketed this piece, its one that should last him through many award seasons to come. Ryan Seacrest in a vintage Rolex Daytona Ref. 6263 Ryan Seacrest Rolex Daytona Ref. 6263 Its baaaack. Seacrest stole the show at The Golden Globes with his ultra-covetable yellow gold vintage Rolex Daytona Ref. 6263. He took it out for another stroll at the Oscars, and who can blame him? This timepiece is a highly personal choice and is a collectors favorite. For the man who works the hardest to keep all of these celebritys names in the spotlight, he certainly deserves a crown jewel. His Rolex Ref. 6263, similar to the one from a Phillips auction pictured above that sold for $225,000, is particularly rare in that only 100 were made per year in yellow gold during its production. This time around he broke out an aubergine floral print tux instead of velvet to accent his rare Rollie. Just another award season to prove that Ryan Seacrest still rules the red carpet. Mahershala Ali in a Santos de Cartier Skeleton Mahershala Ali Santos de Cartier Skeleton It was huge night for Mahershala Ali, who won Best Supporting Actor for Green Book. His win marked the first time that a black actor has won two Oscars in that categoryand hes only the fifth black actor to ever win that honor in the Academy Awards 91-year history. To mark the big occasion, Ali chose a standout timepieceCartiers striking Santos de Cartier Skeleton ($26,800). The original Santos Cartier watch was made for another pioneerBrazilian aviator Alberto Santos Dumont in 1904. Thats 25 years before the Oscars came into existence, and a 115 years before Ali would take home his second Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. CHICAGO (AP) -- Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has been nominated for a seat on the board of directors at Boeing Co. The defense contractor and aircraft manufacturer said Tuesday that Haley will stand for election at its annual shareholder meeting on April 29. Haley was previously the governor of South Carolina, and she fought attempts by unions to represent workers at the plant where the Chicago-based company assembles its Boeing 787 jetliners. She said that companies in her state take care of workers, and unions aren't needed. In 2017, Boeing workers in North Charleston voted about 3-to-1 against representation by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, a resounding setback for unions that have long hoped to make inroads in the South. Boeing did not say whether Haley will replace a current director or will expand the board. A spokesman said the company would disclose more details when it files a proxy statement next month. There are currently 13 directors including a former White House chief of staff under President George H.W. Bush, a former U.S. trade representative under President George W. Bush, a former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the younger Bush, and Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to Japan under President Barack Obama. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said Tuesday that the company will benefit from Haley's combination of diplomatic, government and business experience. The 47-year-old Haley was named as ambassador to the UN by President Donald Trump, and served from January 2017 until December 2018. In a prepared statement from the company, she praised Boeing as the world's biggest aerospace company and the largest U.S. exporter. (Adds quote from Harris and more background) By Letitia Stein Feb 26 (Reuters) - North Carolina Republican Mark Harris said on Tuesday that he will not run again for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives after a new election was ordered due to concerns of corruption in the 2018 vote. In an email, Harris cited health concerns as his reason not to seek the seat. He led Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes in the Nov. 6 election, but state officials refused to certify him as the winner because of allegations of irregularities in the vote. RELATED: Voters head to the polls for the 2018 Midterm Elections This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. North Carolina's bipartisan elections board unanimously ordered a new vote last week in the state's 9th Congressional District after hearing evidence that an operative for Harris' campaign had orchestrated a ballot fraud scheme. The move came after Harris, who spent months trying to fend off a rerun, called for a new election and acknowledged that the public had lost confidence in last year's result. "I also owe it to the citizens of the Ninth District to have someone at full strength during the new campaign," Harris said in the email. A date has not yet been set for the new election in the country's last unsettled 2018 congressional contest. The outcome will not change the balance of power in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. (Reporting by Letitia Stein in Tampa, Florida; editing by Jonathan Oatis) Oxygen A Nebraska woman has been sentenced to more than 60 years in prison for several child abuse charges related to sleepovers with friends of her then 11-year-old daughter where she had sex with two boys and handed out marijuana-infused gummy bears. Christina Greer, 38, was sentenced Monday to between 64 and 102 years in prison. She was convicted in March of three counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child involving two boys ages 12 and 13, six counts of felony child abuse and two counts of wi Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of President Donald Trump, testified publicly Wednesday that the President is a racist, a con man and a cheat, in remarks before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is, Cohen said Wednesday in his opening statement. He is a racist. He is a con man. And he is a cheat. He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails. In his dramatic testimony, Cohen accused Trump of indirectly encouraging him to lie to Congress about the timeline for work on a Trump Tower project in Moscow that continued through the 2016 presidential campaign. Mr. Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it, Cohen said. He lied about it because he never expected to win. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project. Cohen presented a personal check for $35,000 signed by Trump in 2017, reimbursing him for the illegal hush money I paid on his behalf. Cohen had previously implicated Trump in the hush money payments to two women, aimed at keeping them quiet about alleged affairs during the final weeks of the 2016 campaign. Ahead of the House hearing, the White House has condemned Cohen and downplayed his longtime connection to the President. In a statement on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called him a disgraced felon. Trump, who is currently in Vietnam for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accused Cohen of lying in order to reduce his prison time. Meanwhile, House Republicans have already questioned whether the testimony will be credible, given that Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress in previous testimony. Story continues This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Read Cohens full opening statement here: Chairman Cummings, Ranking Member Jordan, and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today. I have asked this Committee to ensure that my family be protected from Presidential threats, and that the Committee be sensitive to the questions pertaining to ongoing investigations. I thank you for your help and for your understanding. I am here under oath to correct the record, to answer the Committees questions truthfully, and to offer the American people what I know about President Trump. I recognize that some of you may doubt and attack me on my credibility. It is for this reason that I have incorporated into this opening statement documents that are irrefutable, and demonstrate that the information you will hear is accurate and truthful. Never in a million years did I imagine, when I accepted a job in 2007 to work for Donald Trump, that he would one day run for the presidency, to launch a campaign on a platform of hate and intolerance, and actively win. I regret the day I said yes to Mr. Trump. I regret all the help and support I gave him along the way. I am ashamed of my own failings and publicly accepted responsibility for them by pleading guilty in the Southern District of New York. I am ashamed of my weakness and my misplaced loyalty of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a con man. And he is a cheat. He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails. I will explain each in a few moments. I am providing the Committee today with several documents. These include: A copy of a check Mr. Trump wrote from his personal bank account after he became president to reimburse me for the hush money payments I made to cover up his affair with an adult film star and to prevent damage to his campaign; Copies of financial statements from 2011, 2012 and 2013 that he gave to such institutions as Deutsche Bank; A copy of an article with Mr. Trumps handwriting on it that reported on the auction of a portrait of himself that he arranged for the bidder ahead of time and then reimbursed the bidder from the account of his non-profit charitable foundation, with the picture now hanging in one of his country clubs; and Copies of letters I wrote at Mr. Trumps direction that threatened his high school, colleges, and the College Board not to release his grades or SAT scores. I hope my appearance here today, my guilty plea, and my work with law enforcement agencies are steps along a path of redemption that will restore faith in me and help this country understand our president better. Before going further, I want to apologize to each member and to Congress as a whole. The last time I appeared before Congress, I came to protect Mr. Trump. Today, I am here to tell the truth about Mr. Trump. I lied to Congress [about] when Mr. Trump stopped negotiating the Moscow Tower project in Russia. I stated that we stopped negotiating in January of 2016. That was false. Our negotiations continued for months later during the campaign. Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. Thats not how he operates. In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no Russian business and then go on to lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie. There were at least a half-dozen times between the Iowa Caucus in January 2016 and the end of June when he would ask me, Hows it going in Russia? referring to the Moscow Tower project. You need to know that Mr. Trumps personal lawyers reviewed and edited my statement to Congress about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations before I gave it. So to be clear: Mr. Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it. He lied about it because he never expected to win. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project. And so I lied about it, too because Mr. Trump had made clear to me, through his personal statements to me that we both knew to be false and through his lies to the country, that he wanted me to lie. And he made it clear to me because his personal attorneys reviewed my statement before I gave it to Congress. Over the past two years, I have been smeared as a rat by the President of the United States. The truth is much different, and let me take a brief moment to introduce myself. My name is Michael Dean Cohen. And I am a blessed husband of 24 years and a father to an incredible daughter and son. When I married my wife, I promised her that I would love her, I would cherish her, and I would protect her. As my father said countless times throughout my childhood, you my wife, and you my children, are the air that I breathe. So to my Laura and to my Sami and to my Jake, there is nothing I wouldnt do to protect you. I have always tried to live a life of loyalty, friendship, generosity, and compassion qualities my parents ingrained in my siblings and me since childhood. My father survived the Holocaust thanks to the compassion and selfless acts of others. He was helped by many who put themselves in harms way to do what they knew was right. And that is why my first instinct has always been to help those in need. Mom and Dad, I am sorry I let you down. As many people that know me best would say, I am the person that they call at 3AM if they needed help. I proudly remember being the emergency contact for many of my childrens friends when they were growing up because their parents knew that I would drop everything and care for them as if they were my own. Yet, last fall I pled guilty in federal court to felonies for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in coordination with Individual #1. For the record: Individual #1 is President Donald J. Trump. It is painful to admit that I was motivated by ambition at times. It is even more painful to admit that many times I ignored my conscience and acted loyal to a man when I should not have. Sitting here today, it seems unbelievable that I was so mesmerized by Donald Trump that I was willing to do things for him that I knew were absolutely wrong. For that reason, I have come here to apologize to my family, to my government, and to the American people. Accordingly, let me now tell you about Mr. Trump. I got to know him very well, working very closely with him for more than 10 years, as his Executive Vice President and Special Counsel and then as personal attorney when he became President. When I first met Mr. Trump, he was a successful entrepreneur, a real estate giant, and an icon. Being around Mr. Trump was intoxicating. When you were in his presence, you felt like you were involved in something greater than yourself, that you were somehow changing the world. I wound up touting the Trump narrative for over a decade. That was my job. Always stay on message. Always defend. It monopolized my life. At first, I worked mostly on real estate developments and other business transactions. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Trump brought me into his personal life and private dealings. Over time, I saw his true character revealed. Mr. Trump is an enigma. He is complicated, as am I. He has both good and bad, as do we all. But the bad far outweighs the good, and since taking office, he has become the worst version of himself. He is capable of behaving kindly, but he is not kind. He is capable of committing acts of generosity, but he is not generous. He is capable of being loyal, but he is fundamentally disloyal. Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great. He had no desire or intention to lead this nation only to market himself and to build his wealth and power. Mr. Trump would often say, this campaign was going to be the greatest infomercial in political history. He never expected to win the primary. He never expected to win the general election. The campaign for him was always a marketing opportunity. I knew early on in my work for Mr. Trump that he would direct me to lie to further his business interests. I am ashamed to say, that when it was for a real estate mogul in the private sector, I considered it trivial. As the President, I consider it significant and dangerous. But in the mix, lying for Mr. Trump was normalized, and no one around him questioned it. In fairness, no one around him today questions it, either. A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr. Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time. The answer is yes. As I earlier stated, Mr. Trump knew from Roger Stone in advance about the WikiLeaks drop of emails. In July of 2016, days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trumps office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign. Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect, wouldnt that be great. Mr. Trump is a racist. The country has seen Mr. Trump court white supremacists and bigots. You have heard him call poorer countries shitholes. In private, he is even worse. He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasnt a shithole. This was when Barack Obama was President of the United States. And when we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. And yet I continued to work for him. Mr. Trump is a cheat. As previously stated, Im giving the Committee today three years of President Trumps financial statements, from 2011, 2012 and 2013, which he gave to Deutsche Bank to inquire about a loan to buy the Buffalo Bills and to Forbes. These are Exhibits 1a, 1b, and 1c to my testimony. It was my experience that Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed amongst the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes. I am sharing with you two newspaper articles, side by side, that are examples of Mr. Trump inflating and deflating his assets, as I said, to suit his financial interests. These are Exhibit 2 to my testimony. As I noted, Im giving the Committee today an article he wrote on, and sent me, that reported on an auction of a portrait of Mr. Trump. This is Exhibit 3A to my testimony. Mr. Trump directed me to find a straw bidder to purchase a portrait of him that was being auctioned at an Art Hamptons Event. The objective was to ensure that his portrait, which was going to be auctioned last, would go for the highest price of any portrait that afternoon. The portrait was purchased by the fake bidder for $60,000. Mr. Trump directed the Trump Foundation, which is supposed to be a charitable organization, to repay the fake bidder, despite keeping the art for himself. Please see Exhibit 3B to my testimony. And it should come as no surprise that one of my more common responsibilities was that Mr. Trump directed me to call business owners, many of whom are small businesses, that were owed money for their services and told them no payment or a reduced payment would be coming. When I asked Mr. Trump or told Mr. Trump of my success, he actually reveled in it. And yet, I continued to work for him. Mr. Trump is a con man. He asked me to pay off an adult film star with whom he had an affair, and to lie about it to his wife, which I did. Lying to the First Lady is one of my biggest regrets because she is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly and she did not deserve that. I am giving the Committee today a copy of the $130,000 wire transfer from me to Ms. Cliffords attorney during the closing days of the presidential campaign that was demanded by Ms. Clifford to maintain her silence about her affair with Mr. Trump. And this is Exhibit 4 to my testimony. Mr. Trump directed me to use my own personal funds from a Home Equity Line of Credit to avoid any money being traced back to him that could negatively impact his campaign. I did that, too without bothering to consider whether that was improper, much less whether it was the right thing to do or how it would impact me, my family or the public. And I am going to jail in part because of my decision to help Mr. Trump hide that payment from the American people before they voted a few days later. As Exhibit 5A to my testimony shows, I am providing a copy of a $35,000 check that President Trump personally signed from his personal bank account on August 1, 2017 when he was President of the United States pursuant to the cover-up, which was the basis of my guilty plea, to reimburse me the word used by Mr. Trumps TV lawyer for the illegal hush money I paid on his behalf. This $35,000 check was one of 11 check installments that was paid throughout the year while he was President. Other checks to reimburse me for the hush money payments were signed by Don Jr. and Allen Weisselberg. See, for that example, Exhibit 5B. The President of the United States thus wrote a personal check for the payment of hush money as part of a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws. You can find the details of that scheme, directed by Mr. Trump, in the pleadings in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. So picture this scene in February 2017, one month into his presidency, Im visiting President Trump in the Oval Office for the first time. And its truly awe-inspiring. Hes showing me all around and pointing to different paintings, and he says to me something to the effect of Dont worry, Michael, your January and February reimbursement checks are coming. They were Fed-Exed from New York and it takes a while for that to get through the White House system. As he promised, I received the first check for the reimbursement of $70,000 not long thereafter. When I say con man, Im talking about a man who declares himself brilliant but directed me to threaten his high school, his colleges, and the College Board to never release his grades or SAT scores. As I mentioned, Im giving the Committee today copies of a letter I sent at Mr. Trumps direction threatening these schools with civil and criminal actions if Mr. Trumps grades or SAT scores were ever disclosed without his permission. These are under Exhibit 6. The irony wasnt lost on me at the time that Mr. Trump in 2011 had strongly criticized President Obama for not releasing his grades. As you can see in Exhibit 7, Mr. Trump declared Let him show his records after calling President Obama a terrible student. The sad fact is that I never heard Mr. Trump say anything in private that led me to believe he loved our nation or wanted to make it better. In fact, he did the opposite. When telling me in 2008 or 2009 that he was cutting employees salaries in half including mine he showed me what he claimed was a $10 million IRS tax refund, and he said that he could not believe how stupid the government was for giving someone like him that much money back. During the campaign, Mr. Trump said that he did not consider Vietnam Veteran, and Prisoner of War, Senator John McCain to be a hero because he likes people who werent captured. At the same time, Mr. Trump tasked me to handle the negative press surrounding his medical deferment from the Vietnam draft. Mr. Trump claimed it was because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said that there was no surgery. He told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment. He finished the conversation with the following comment. You think Im stupid, Im not going to Vietnam. I find it ironic, Mr. President, that you are in Vietnam right now. And yet, I continued to work for him. Questions have been raised about whether I know of direct evidence that Mr. Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia. I do not. And I want to be clear. But I have my suspicions. Sometime in the summer of 2017, I read all over the media that there had been a meeting in Trump Tower in June of 2016 involving Don Jr. and others from the campaign with Russians, including a representative of the Russian government, and an email setting up the meeting with the subject line, Dirt on Hillary Clinton. Something clicked in my mind. I remembered being in a room with Mr. Trump, probably in early June 2016, when something peculiar happened. Don Trump Jr. came into the room and walked behind his fathers desk which in and of itself was unusual. People didnt just walk behind Mr. Trumps desk to talk to him. And I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: The meeting is all set. I remember Mr. Trump saying, Ok goodlet me know. What struck me as I looked back and thought about the exchange between Don Jr. and his father was, first, that Mr. Trump had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the world. And also, that Don Jr. would never set up any meeting of significance alone and certainly not without checking with his father. I also knew that nothing went on in Trump world, especially the campaign, without Mr. Trumps knowledge and approval. So, I concluded that Don Jr. was referring to that June 2016 Trump Tower meeting about dirt on Hillary with the Russian representatives when he walked behind his dads desk that day and that Mr. Trump knew that was the meeting Don Jr. was talking about when he said, Thats goodlet me know. Over the past year or so, I have done some real soul searching. I see now that my ambition and the intoxication of Trump power had much to do with the bad decisions, in part, that I made. To you, Chairman Cummings, Ranking Member Jordan, and the other members of this Committee, and the other members of the House and Senate, I am sorry for my lies and for lying to Congress. To our nation, I am sorry for actively working to hide from you the truth about Mr. Trump when you needed it most. For those who question my motives for being here today, I understand. I have lied, but I am not a liar. I have done bad things, but I am not a bad man. I have fixed things, but I am no longer your fixer, Mr. Trump. I am going to prison and have shattered the safety and security that I tried so hard to provide for my family. My testimony certainly does not diminish the pain that I have caused my family and friends nothing can do that. And I have never asked for, nor would I accept, a pardon from President Trump. And, by coming today, I have caused my family to be the target of personal, scurrilous attacks by the President and his lawyer trying to intimidate me from appearing before this panel. Mr. Trump called me a rat for choosing to tell the truth much like a mobster would do when one of his men decides to cooperate with the government. As Exhibit 8 shows, I have provided the Committee with copies of Tweets that Mr. Trump posted, attacking me and my family only someone burying his head in the sand would not recognize them for what they are: encouragement to someone to do harm to me and my family. I never imagined that he would engage in vicious, false attacks on my family and unleash his TV-lawyer to do the same. I hope this committee and all members of Congress on both sides of the aisle make it clear that as a nation, we should not tolerate attempts to intimidate witnesses before Congress and attacks on family are out of bounds and not acceptable. I wish to especially thank Speaker Pelosi for her statements in Exhibit 9 to protect this institution and me, and the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Adam Schiff and you, Chairman Cummings, for likewise defending this institution and my family against the attacks by Mr. Trump, and also the many Republicans who have admonished the President as well. I am not a perfect man. I have done things I am not proud of, and I will live with the consequences of my actions for the rest of my life. But today, I get to decide the example that I set for my children and how I attempt to change how history will remember me. I may not be able to change the past, but I can do right by the American people here today. And I thank you for your attention, and I am happy to answer the Committees questions. With reporting from Alana Abramson. Chicago will elect its first African-American female mayor after former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle won enough votes Tuesday amid a record field of 14 candidates to move on to an April runoff election.Unofficial results showed Lightfoot with 17.5 percent of the vote, Preckwinkle with 16 percent and Bill Daley with 14.8 percent with 95 percent of precincts counted. They were trailed by businessman Willie Wilson with 10 percent, state Comptroller Susana Mendoza with 9 percent, activist and policy consultant Amara Enyia with 8 percent, Southwest Side attorney Jerry Joyce with 7 percent and former CPS board President Gery Chico with 6 percent.The remaining six candidates, former CPS CEO Paul Vallas, former police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, state Rep. LaShawn Ford, former Ald. Bob Fioretti, tech entrepreneur Neal Sales-Griffin and attorney John Kozlar, each had collected less than 6 percent.By late Tuesday night, Lightfoot and Preckwinkle declared they had made the runoff while Daley conceded defeat. Neither of the two winners spoke directly about the historic nature of two African-American women making the runoff, but Preckwinkle hinted at it."We may not yet be at the finish line, but we should acknowledge that history is being made," Preckwinkle told supporters in the raucous ballroom of a Hyde Park hotel. "It's clear we're at a defining moment in our city's history, but the challenges that our city faces are not simply ideological. It's not enough to say Chicago stands at a crossroads. We need to fight to change its course."Lightfoot spoke first, before it was clear whether she'd face Daley or Preckwinkle in the runoff. She took the stage at a River North venue with her arms raised in the air."So what do you think of us now?" a smiling Lightfoot asked a raucous crowd at her campaign party. "This, my friends, is what change looks like!"The 14 candidates vying for the fifth-floor office at City Hall marked the largest field to run for mayor in Chicago's 181-year history. The race to succeed Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who made the surprise announcement after Labor Day that he would not seek a third term, comes at a pivotal time for Chicago and unfolded against the backdrop of an ongoing federal corruption investigation at City Hall.If Lightfoot were to win the runoff, she'd become the city's first openly gay mayor. Both Lighftoot and Preckwinkle are strong advocates for criminal justice and police reform in an era when Chicago politics have been influenced by the fallout of the Laquan McDonald police shooting and the subsequent federal civil rights investigation into the Police Department.But there was little talk of common ground or niceties Tuesday night.Lightfoot positioned her campaign as the true progressive one against the entrenched Chicago political machine. Preckwinkle, chair of the Cook County Democratic Party, sold herself as the candidate with a track record in progressive politics who long had been taking on the city's powerful interests.Preckwinkle, who stayed above the fray for the last six months, wasted no time in attacking Lightfoot, referencing her appointment as the president of the Police Board under Emanuel and as a deputy procurement officer and head of a police investigative agency under former Mayor Richard M. Daley."While my opponent was taking multiple appointments in the Daley and Emanuel administrations, I fought the power elite who have been trying to hold this city back," Preckwinkle said, without mentioning Lightfoot by name.Preckwinkle and Daley largely were expected to be in the mix for the top two, and the limited reliable polling that had emerged before Tuesday showed the two at the front of the race. The surprise of the night was Lightfoot.Lighfoot thanked supporters for having the "courage to stand with our campaign against the machine," and positioned herself clearly as the reform candidate left in the race who had emerged from "a pack of establishment figures.""People said that I had some good ideas but couldn't win," said Lightfoot, who grew up in Massilone, Ohio, and moved to Chicago to practice law after graduating from the University of Michigan. "It's true that not every day a little black girl in a low-income family from a segregated steel town makes the runoff to be the next mayor of the third-largest city in America!"The mood at Daley's election night gathering was much more subdued."I'm here tonight with an outcome none of us wanted. ... I congratulate Toni Preckwinkle and Lori Lightfoot on their victories," Daley said. "One of them will have the honor of being the next mayor of Chicago."Daley supporters will chalk up his defeat to the candidacy of Joyce, who won four wards and cut into Daley's traditional support on the Northwest and Southwest sides.In the city's 18 majority African-American wards, Wilson won 14, though Preckwinkle won the remainder and finished second in those she didn't win. Still, Lightfoot was able to significantly cut into her margins with her showings in those South and West Side wards.In the six lakefront wards that have traditionally skewed more liberal, Lightfoot won four while Daley captured two. Though ostensibly an area of support for Preckwinkle, she finished second in three of those wards.Daley captured nine wards, including his home base 11th Ward, while Joyce took four, including his base in the 19th Ward and the 13th Ward home of House Speaker Michael Madigan. Preckwinkle won five wards, all centered in her South Side base in Hyde Park.Throughout the campaign, many of the candidates vowed to improve policing and drive down crime while pledging to provide relief from a yearslong succession of tax increases. But most also did not lay out comprehensive plans on how they'd deal with the city's pension woes and budget shortfall, instead pointing to hopes for a Chicago casino and a share of revenue from legalized marijuana as panaceas.During the last six months, the mayoral race had been defined by a series of twists and turns.The campaign began with a dozen people declaring they would challenge Emanuel, some with ties to the mayor. Eight of them would make the final ballot -- Lightfoot, McCarthy, Vallas, Wilson, Enyia, Joyce, Sales-Griffin and Kozlar.That group's satisfaction with the mayor's departure from the race in September would be short-lived. The candidates had to recalibrate their largely anti-Emanuel campaigns while seeing their efforts to raise campaign cash and get their message out somewhat choked off by four heavyweight establishment candidates who soon would enter the contest. When he dropped out, Emanuel predicted none of the announced candidates would become the next mayor, saying it took more than a "one-trick pony" to run America's third largest city.Soon, the other political thoroughbreds entered -- Preckwinkle, Daley, Chico and Mendoza. Those four establishment candidates combined to raise $19.1 million -- or more than double the other 10 candidates combined, which also included late entrants Ford and Fioretti.While the financial advantages separated those four, so, too, did the federal corruption investigation at City Hall.Chico, Daley, Preckwinkle and Mendoza each had long-standing ties to Ald. Edward Burke that became readily apparent soon after federal agents raided his City Hall and 14th Ward offices in late November, papered over the windows and hauled out boxes of records and computers. The candidates all quickly offered an array of ethics reforms, including creating term limits, banning outside income for aldermen and ending veto power aldermen hold over permits and projects in their ward.By early January, federal authorities had charged Burke with attempted extortion, alleging he held up permits a restaurant magnate needed in his ward in exchange for property tax appeals business at his law firm and a $10,000 campaign contribution to another politician. The Tribune reported that the contribution had gone to Preckwinkle, which she said she returned.A few weeks later, it became clear that the federal probe had not been limited to Burke, as it was revealed that longtime Ald. Danny Solis had worn a wire on colleagues for a couple of years while facing his own allegations of misconduct. Madigan also was recorded by the FBI seeking business at his law firm from a business owner who needed Solis' approval at City Hall.While Solis and Madigan have not been charged with wrongdoing, the political damage for the establishment candidates was swift.The episode conjured up similar federal probes that took down high-ranking members working in the administration of Daley's brother, Richard M. Daley, when he was mayor. The Daley family also had been political donors to Burke, with whom they'd cut deals at City Hall for decades.Chico was left to "repudiate" his close friend and mentor Burke, who earlier had backed Chico by calling him the most qualified candidate to become mayor. Opponents also were quick to point out how Chico long had lobbied Burke and Solis on behalf of clients seeking deals at City Hall.Mendoza, who was married at Burke's home, also denounced the man who helped get her started in politics on the Southwest Side. She gave $10,000 in Burke campaign donations to charity and did the same with an additional $142,000 tied to Solis.But it was Preckwinkle who bore the brunt of the Burke blowback, tied directly to the scandal by the 50-year alderman's alleged shakedown of a campaign contribution for Preckwinkle.She, too, donated $12,000 in Burke money to charity and vowed to return an additional $116,000 she received at a fundraiser at the alderman's Gage Park compound. Preckwinkle also was left to explain why she hired Burke's son, Ed Burke, Jr., to a six-figure job at the county while he faced sexual harassment allegations in his previous job with the Cook County sheriff.Those scandals piled on top of other Preckwinkle controversies. She misled the public about when she knew about sexual harassment allegations against her chief of staff, whom she fired. She waited months before firing her security chief after evidence surfaced that a county SUV he drove had been used to illegally transport political materials. And just last week, she fired a senior campaign aide after he invoked Nazis to criticize Lightfoot in a social media post.All of it led Preckwinkle to describe the campaign in the race's final days with a single word: "tough." But in the end, she survived all the controversy -- at least for now. Editors note: This interview was conducted in January, several weeks before Rep. Ilhan Omar wrote, in a since-deleted tweet, that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthys threat to punish herself and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib for their criticism of Israel was all about the Benjamins baby. Omar publicly apologized for the tweet, which was widely condemned including by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with whom she appears on Rolling Stones March cover for employing an anti-Semitic trope. She declined a request for a follow-up interview, and responded to only one of a series of emailed questions from Rolling Stone. We have included that response at the end of this piece. As a teen in Minnesota, Ilhan Omar didnt wear a hijab often. I, regretfully, was one of the folks who would only wear it the days I didnt have the time or energy to fix my hair, says Omar, who arrived in the U.S. in 1995 as a refugee of the Somali civil war. Her attitude evolved after September 11th: I knew we had a responsibility to help shape a narrative about our faith that is positive. This year, she became the first woman sworn in to Congress in a head scarf, after negotiating the end to a 181-year-old edict that representatives must remain uncovered while on the House floor. Lifting the ban caused an outcry from some conservatives, but, as an unapologetic progressive, Omar is getting used to that. For now, though, shes trying to stay focused on the agenda she came to Washington to advance, and on advocating for people like herself refugees, immigrants, Muslims, women, Minnesotans. The last two years of dealing with this administration has been the biggest adjustment of my life, she says. I just want to hide. But I cant because I represent people who feel as much pain if not more because they dont have the voice that I have. You came to the U.S. when you were 12. What were your first impressions? We had a layover in New York. I remember seeing homeless people and panhandlers on the streets. There was trash everywhere, and graffiti. I remember turning to my dad and saying, This doesnt look like the America you promised. He said, Girl, you ask too many questions. Were gonna get to our America. Story continues Photograph by Zoey Grossman for Rolling Stone What was it like being a Muslim woman in America after 9/11? You had just become a citizen. You were afraid as an American and you were mourning, [but] you were seen now as a suspect. I remember there was an enormous fear that the community felt. It didnt matter if you were a new citizen or if youd been here all your life, there was a feeling like your existence here could be temporary. I imagine that fear was realized with the Muslim ban in 2017. What was it like? I had just gotten sworn in [to the Minnesota Legislature] two weeks before. There was lots of chaos, people being stopped at the airports. I had a flight scheduled a week after to speak at a human-rights conference in Turkey. I didnt know whether I could go. My father said, I looked at the lineup at this human-rights conference theyre risking everything. You are not gonna sit home. I ended up going. How do you anticipate progressive items, like Medicare for All, will actually get done? Medicare for All is an issue thats supported by the majority of Americans, and so thats where we begin, right? Its not a progressive idea, its not a Democratic Caucus idea, it is an idea that solves one of the greatest problems we have. So now its just figuring out what pieces of the legislation we put forth. Youre on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. How has your experience as a refugee colored your view of, for instance, Trumps decision to pull out of Syria? By principle, Im anti-war because I survived a war. Im also anti-intervention. I dont think it ever makes sense for any country to intervene in a war zone with the fallacy of saving lives when we know they are going to cause more deaths. I also dont believe in forced regime change. Change needs to come from within. Reps. Jahana Hayes, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Ilhan Omar Reps. Jahana Hayes, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Ilhan Omar, photographed in Washington, DC, on January 11th, 2019 by Zoey Grossman. Makeup by Todd Harris and Carrie Lamarca. There have been reports of Saudi-backed news outlets attacking you and Rashida Tlaib, the first Muslim women in Congress. What do you think they are scared of? Our presence terrifies them. These are totalitarian regimes that have retained their power and influence in the West by setting themselves up as the gatekeepers and the ushers of peace for the Muslim community. They are threatened, really, by Muslims who have now come to Congress who have the roots and understanding of the problems and can speak to solutions that do not involve them. You might be asked to vote on impeachment at some point. What are your thoughts about that possibility? I believe that impeachment is inevitable. It also is a terrifying notion. Pence is an ideologue, and the ideology he holds is more terrifying to me and my constituents. And we have not had a full impeachment that removes the president from office. Nations struggle any time [they] overthrow a dictator, and Trump really has the markings of a dictator. In a tweeted apology, you wrote you were grateful to Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating [you] on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes. What do you think you still have to learn about the Jewish faith or Jewish culture to avoid repeating such mistakes? I know what intolerance looks like and one thing that has been painful about this whole process is knowing that I used language that caused hurt to others. My hope is that as much as I hold others accountable and help them learn, that people will also hold me accountable. I work every day to make sure we are living in a more tolerant world. And I hope people understand how deeply I care about creating that world. Thats why one of the first things I did as a member-elect was to speak about the rise of anti-Semitism and one of the first bills I cosponsored as a new member was legislation to elevate the position of a Special Envoy to combat anti-Semitism. Im an organizer at heart. Ive given an earful to others who traffic in bigotry, so I need to listen and learn. Listening and working with communities directly impacted is what will make me a better public servant. Speaker Pelosi has been a mentor throughout this whole process and I look forward to working with her in furthering the peoples agenda. BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) High winds howled through much of the eastern U.S. for a second day Monday, cutting power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, closing schools, and pushing dramatic mounds of ice onto the shores of Lake Erie. Wind gusts of hurricane force 74 mph (119 kph) or higher were reported around the region, including West Virginia and New York. While atop Mount Washington, the Northeast's highest peak of 6,288 feet (1,916 meters) in New Hampshire, a gust of 144 mph (231 kph) was recorded. Toppled trees and power poles, easy targets for strong winds that uprooted them from ground saturated by rain and snowmelt, plunged homes and businesses into darkness, though in most places power was expected back quickly as winds died down by the end of Monday. Hundreds of schools were delayed or canceled in New York alone. The wind peeled off roofs in places. In Syracuse, New York, scaffolding blown off a building knocked down power lines. Wind advisories and warnings were in effect through Monday in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast up to northern New England. In Maine, police say a trucker blamed wind for causing his tractor-trailer loaded with bananas to swerve and overturn on the Maine Turnpike. While in Sandusky, Ohio, a motorist captured video of a tractor-trailer flipping over on a bridge . Giant chunks of ice spilled over the banks of the Niagara River across from Buffalo on Sunday, creating a jagged, frosty barrier between the river and a scenic road. Dramatic footage captured by park police in Ontario showed the massive chunks roiling onto shore. High winds had raised water levels on the eastern end of Lake Erie in a phenomenon known as a seiche and then, according to the New York Power Authority, driven ice over a boom upstream from the river. Ice mounds 25 to 30 feet (8 to 9 meters) high also came ashore farther south, piling up on several lakefront properties in suburban Hamburg. "We've had storms in the past, but nothing like this," resident Dave Schultz told WGRZ. "We've never had the ice pushed up against the walls and right up onto our patios. ... It's in my patio, the neighbor's patio, and the patio after that." A voluntary evacuation for the area was issued Sunday. Empty tractor-trailers and empty tandem trucks have been banned on some highways. Trucks were also banned on some bridges in New York City, where the winds sent litter swirling in the canyons between skyscrapers and rocked sidewalk food carts precariously. French car brand Peugeot (UG-FR) will be making a return to the North American market, parent Groupe PSA announced Tuesday morning, though the exact timing of the relaunch is uncertain and could be pushed out as late as 2026. Peugeot was one of a number of European brands that pulled out of the American market during a severe industry downturn in the early 1990s, a list that included Fiat before it bought Chrysler and French rival Peugeot. The parent company has been exploring ways to return for several years and has already launched several mobility services ventures in the U.S. Groupe PSA had been exploring which of its various marques would spearhead its return and has settled on the flagship Peugeot. "This is another step in a multi-step return to the market," Groupe PSA North America CEO Larry Dominique said in an interview with CNBC. The exact timing for relaunching Peugeot in the U.S. has yet to be determined, Dominique, a former Nissan (7201.T-JP) executive, emphasized, noting that it could stretch out as late as 2026 though it will more likely happen sooner. "This is not about speed. It's about getting things right," Dominique said. "The good news for us is PSA is not dependent on me to sell a single car. The idea is to build the brand the right way." The roots of Groupe PSA stretch back 208 years and the company today has operations in a variety of fields, including culinary goods, watches and bicycles, though automobiles constitute the largest source of its 74 billion euros in revenue in 2018. Groupe PSA sold 4.1 million vehicles in 2018, a 3.8 percent decline, according to the Global Auto Database, positioning it as the world's ninth largest automotive group. The numbers include not only the group's largest brand, Peugeot, but also Citroen, DS and Opel/Vauxhall the latter purchased from General Motors (GM) which has exited the European market. The Paris-based company first signaled plans to return to the U.S. in April 2016, announcing that it would begin a decade-long effort to begin with a push into mobility services. It said it could take several more years to determine which of the various group car brands would then be re-launched in North America. Story continues Several mobility service ventures are already in operation, including the Free2Move Carsharing service launched in Washington, D.C. late last year. The goal is to roll that out in major cities across the U.S. and Canada over the next few years. For the time being Free2Go is offering two Chevrolet products, the Chevrolet Equinox SUV and Chevy Cruze sedan, but the goal is to add Peugeot products over the next few years. That is likely to happen even before PSA re-launches its retail sales network, Dominique previously told CNBC, and would serve as a way to gauge consumer reaction to its products. PSA also is rolling out a service that will allow users of its Free2Move smartphone app to schedule multi-modal travel everything from bicycle rentals to train tickets and car-sharing. And the group now operates parking service at airports in Los Angeles and other cities allowing customers to rent out their own vehicles while traveling, something known as a peer-to-peer car-sharing service. Those operations aim to take advantage of what many analysts see as a dramatic shift in personal transportation likely to take place over the coming decade, some experts predicting that millions of Americans may abandon personal vehicle ownership in favor of car and ride-sharing, as well as mass transit. That could play a major role in shaping the way the Peugeot brand itself comes back to the North American market, said Michelle Krebs, executive automotive analyst with Cox Automotive. But she cautioned that even then, "It will be no cakewalk. The North American market isn't going to grow a lot." Krebs expects that the cars Peugeot brings back to North America will also reflect another major, ongoing shift: the growth of electrification. Most major manufacturers have announced plans to introduce hybrids, plug-ins and pure battery-electric vehicles, or BEVs, to their fleets. Rival Volkswagen AG (VOW3-DE), for example, expects to have more than 50 different BEVs, as well as dozens of hybrids, on sale by 2025. While Dominique wouldn't say precisely what approach PSA will take, it has already begun adding electrified models and they are expected to play at least something of a role in the Peugeot brand's American revival. This week on "Through Her Eyes," Zainab Salbi speaks with environmental activist Erin Brockovich. Brockovich became a household name almost 20 years ago when Julia Roberts brought her legal battle with Pacific Gas and Electric to the big screen, but Brockovich hasn't slowed down since then. She's slamming the Trump administration for rolling back dozens of environment regulations, saying the administration is "playing with with everybody's lives." And she's still taking on old nemesis PG&E, calling them out for using faulty equipment that may have played a role in the recent California wildfires. But Brockovich isn't drawing lines in the sand along party lines. She wants the environment to be a central issue in the 2020 election for both Republicans AND Democrats, and says we shouldn't politicize universal needs like clean water. By Marcelo Rochabrun SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Shareholders of Brazil's Embraer SA approved a deal on Tuesday to sell 80 percent of the company's commercial plane division to Boeing Co, enabling Boeing to compete with Airbus SE in the market for jets with up to 150 seats. About 96.8 of shareholders voted in favor of the deal after Embraer overturned an injunction that had put the shareholder meeting on hold. The transaction must now be approved by antitrust regulators around the world. Embraer shares surged as much as 4.6 percent in Sao Paulo trading. Under the terms of the deal finalized in December, Boeing will pay $4.2 billion to control Embraer's most profitable division, supplying passenger jets to airlines. It positions Boeing to better rival Airbus, which last year bought a controlling stake in Bombardier Inc's CSeries planes - which also have less than 150 seats - putting Airbus in direct competition with Embraer. Embraer shareholders' approval of the Boeing deal caps more than a year of negotiations in Brazil since the companies announced their talks. Behind the scenes it was more than two years since the idea was presented internally to Boeing, a person familiar with the matter said in July. Brazil's government, which holds veto power over important business decisions at Embraer, a former state company, said last month that it would not block the partnership. Once the transaction receives full regulatory approval, Boeing and Embraer will be joint owners of a yet-to-be-named commercial jet company, of which Embraer will own 20 percent, and Boeing, 80 percent. The deal will provide a cash influx that the Brazilian planemaker has defended as crucial to its survival as increased competition between Boeing and Airbus squeezes out smaller rivals. "The potential operation with Boeing will save Embraer," lawyers for the Brazilian planemaker said in July in a court filing as it battled an earlier challenge to the deal. Story continues Embraer executives said earlier this year they would be able to wipe out the company's current debt thanks to Boeing's cash, giving them what they described as a fresh start. But critics say the arrangement will leave Embraer weaker and financially dependent on its two remaining divisions, executive jets and defense, both of which have posted losses in recent quarters. Shareholders also approved a joint venture between the two planemakers to market Embraer's new KC-390 military cargo jet. Embraer will retain ownership of the plane's intellectual property, but hopes Boeing will drum up orders from allies of the United States. (Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun in Sao Paulo; Additional reporting by Gram Slattery in Rio de Janeiro; Editing by Brad Haynes and Bernadette Baum) By Sonali Paul MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic clergyman worldwide to be convicted for child sex offences, on Wednesday returned to court for a sentence plea hearing. Pell - a former top adviser to Pope Francis - was in December found guilty of five charges of child sexual offences committed more than two decades ago against 13-year-old boys. Pell denies the allegations and lawyers have lodged an appeal, which if successful could lead to a retrial. The verdict was made public on Tuesday after prosecutors dropped a second abuse case against Pell. Each of the five offences carries a maximum 10 years in jail. Escorted by police through a gauntlet of people heckling and hurling abuse, Pell arrived at the Melbourne court shortly before his scheduled appearance where the judge is expected to hear arguments around a suitable prison sentence. Pell, who has been out on bail throughout his trial, could be remanded in custody until his sentence is decided. The Catholic church is under mounting pressure to deal with a growing child sexual abuse crisis, following scandals in the United States, Chile, Germany and Australia. The pope ended a conference on sexual abuse on Sunday, calling for an "all out battle" against a crime that should be "erased from the face of the earth". (Reporting by Sonali Paul in Melbourne; Writing by Colin Packham in Sydney; Editing by Howard Goller and Sam Holmes) SPEED READ: Because lawmakers in the state were elected using maps deemed racially discriminatory, a North Carolina Superior Court judge ruled that they lack the power to pass amendments to the state constitution. The ruling is the latest volley in an ongoing battle between North Carolina's judicial and legislative branches. Legislators plan to appeal the decision. North Carolina Legislature vs. the Courts What Happens Next? In recent years, a number of legislators around the country have attacked the independence of the judiciary, arguing that judges have overstepped their authority. In North Carolina last week, one judge returned the fire, ruling that the legislature itself is illegitimate.On Friday, Wake County Superior Court Judge G. Bryan Collins struck down two constitutional amendments that had been approved by voters in November. One regarded voter ID requirements and the other a cap on state income taxes . The amendments had been placed on the ballot by the Republican-controlled legislature.Collins ruled that the lawmakers had no standing to approve constitutional amendments because they were elected using maps that federal courts, up to the U.S. Supreme Court, found to be unconstitutional racial gerrymanders."An illegally constituted General Assembly does not represent the people of North Carolina and is therefore not empowered to pass legislation that would amend the states constitution," he wrote.The case was brought by the North Carolina NAACP and Clean Air Carolina."We are delighted that the acts of the previous majority, which came to power through the use of racially discriminatory maps, have been checked," said T. Anthony Spearman, president of the NAACP state chapter.Legislators vowed to appeal the decision they described as "outrageous" and an "abomination.""We are duty-bound to appeal this absurd decision," said Phil Berger, president pro tempore of the state Senate. "It appears the idea of judicial restraint has completely left the state of North Carolina."North Carolina legislators have lost a number of court cases challenging laws they passed in recent years, including earlier versions of the constitutional amendments in question. Nevertheless, the ruling that the legislature itself lacks authority came as a surprise even to some of its critics, including University of North Carolina political scientist Andrew Reynolds. In a 2016 op-ed , Reynolds wrote that "our state government can no longer be classified as a full democracy," a change he largely blamed on "the abuse of legislative power."In an interview, Reynolds says Collins' ruling goes even further."If anything, the language is a little bit more extreme than my language," Reynolds says. "I just state that North Carolina isn't a fully functioning democracy. The very explicit legal decision that the governance of the state of North Carolina is illegal because it's based on a misrepresentation of popular will -- that to me is pretty unique and pretty extreme, even though I agree with it."North Carolina legislators have had highly active legal dockets in recent years, facing lawsuits -- and losing many of them -- over separation of powers, partisan labeling on ballots, and gerrymandering, among other issues."As the court made clear, the North Carolina constitution states that political power derives from being chosen by voters in fair elections, and that includes fair district maps," says Billy Corriher, a senior researcher with the Institute for Southern Studies, a progressive research center in Durham. "Until now, our legislators haven't felt any real repercussions for the egregious gerrymandering that has kept them in power."Legislative elections were held in November using newly drawn maps. But the legislature that approved the constitutional amendments on that ballot was elected using the maps that were found unconstitutional. (Separately, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case next month regarding the question of whether North Carolina's congressional map represents an illegal partisan gerrymander.)Following years of pushback from the courts, the GOP-dominated legislature passed a law in 2017, over Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto, to shrink the size of the state court of appeals from 15 justices to 12. The state Senate is now considering legislation to reverse that maneuver.Last year, the legislature lost a case brought by Cooper challenging its original slate of constitutional amendments, including one that would have stripped the governor of the ability to fill judicial vacancies. The case led Dallas Woodhouse, the executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party, to threaten impeachment if the state supreme court ruled against legislators.Undeterred by those threats, the court ruled that the proposed amendments were misleading to voters. Legislators met in special session and approved a new set of constitutional amendments. Two were approved by voters. Those are the ones that Collins found invalid."I think this sets up a real battle between the legislature and the judiciary, considering that the courts have trended more Democratic, especially at the state supreme court," says J. Michael Bitzer, a political scientist at Catawba College.If Collins' ruling stands, it raises additional questions about the validity of otherlaws."What other actions of the General Assembly would be void ab initio, should the ruling stand.... Epic can of worms," tweeted Barbara Jackson , a former state supreme court justice.There are good reasons to make sure lawmakers have been legitimately elected. In an article published last year , Corriher, the progressive researcher, noted that during the 19th century, North Carolina courts twice found that local lawmakers were illegal "usurpers" who sought to suppress the political power of African-Americans. In an 1890 case, the state supreme court ruled that an election "unauthorized by law is wholly without legal force."More recently, the North Carolina board of elections refused to certify the results of a congressional election last November due to fraud, including the destruction of absentee ballots. Last Thursday, the board offered a new election. On Wednesday, L. McCrae Dowless Jr., who worked for the GOP congressional candidate in the fall, was arrested on election fraud charges.Some critics of the legislature have embraced Collins' ruling as validation of a point they've been making -- that in North Carolina politics, the gap between people's preferences and political representation has grown too wide. Even with the new maps, last year's elections saw more voters support Democratic state House candidates, but Republicans still held on to a solid majority."My claim, and others', that North Carolina democracy has atrophied has been confirmed," says Reynolds, the UNC professor.Most legal experts are skeptical, however, that Collins' ruling will hold up on appeal. Invalidating the standing of an entire legislature may be a political bridge too far for the courts to cross.Bitzer, the Catawba professor, predicts that the ruling will only exacerbate partisan polarization in the state."Coupled with the various battles between all three branches of state government, it only adds to the partisan intensity," he says.There are bound to be conflicts when the court of appeals hears arguments in this case -- conflicts of interest, that is. One justice, Phil Berger Jr., is the son of the Senate leader who is the lead defendant in the case. Another, Allegra Collins, is married to the Wake County judge who issued the ruling. Sebastien Roblin Security, A peek at the future. Here Comes the Revolution: Why 6th Generation Fighters Could Change Everything Sixth-generation avionic systems not only must be designed for resilience versus electronic and cyber warfarebut may be capable of launching such attacks on adversaries. For example, the Air Force has successfully tested the ability to invade networks and insert data packets (such as viruses), a capability of the Navys fighter-borne Next Generation Jammer. The American development and deployment of Fifth-Generation stealth aircraft like the F-35 Lightning is one of the central stories of todays security zeitgeist. But behind the scenes, several countries are already looking ahead to the design of a Sixth-Generation jet. (This first appeared several months ago and is being reposted due to strong reader interest.) The relentless pace of research is arguably driven less by combat experienceof which there is littleand more by a sober assessment that development of a successor will take multiple decades and is better started sooner rather than later. The Sixth-Generation fighter developers can be divided into two categories: the United States, which has developed and deployed two stealth fighter types, and countries that have skipped or given up on their attempt to build Fifth Generations jets. These latter countries have concluded that doing so is so time-consuming and expensive that it makes more sense to focus on tomorrow's technology than try to catch up with today's. Recommended: Why an F-22 Raptor Would Crush an F-35 in a 'Dogfight' Recommended: Air War: Stealth F-22 Raptor vs. F-14 Tomcat (That Iran Still Flies) Recommended: A New Report Reveals Why There Won't Be Any 'New' F-22 Raptors The latter include France, Germany and the United Kingdom, which are in the preliminary stages of developing sixth-generation FCAS and Tempest fighters; Russia, which has given up on developing its Su-57 stealth fighter for at least a decade, but is talking up a conceptual sixth-generation MiG-41 interceptor; and Japan, which is contemplating a domestic sixth-generation F-3 stealth jet, but may settle for a foreign-inspired fifth generation design. Story continues Currently, the United States has two projects: the Air Force's Penetrating Counter-Air'a long long-range stealth fighter to escort stealth bombersand the Navy's FA-XX. So far, Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, and Northrop-Grumman have unveiled sixth-generation concepts. Furthermore, a third set of countries, notably including India and China, are still refining the technology for the manufacture of fourth and fifth-generation aircraft. Stealth and Beyond-Visual Range Missiles Are Here to Stay The various Sixth-Generation concepts mostly feature many of the same technologies. Two critical characteristics of Fifth-Generation fighters will remain centrally important to the Sixth: stealthy airframes and long-range missiles. As cost-effective ground-based air defense systems like the S-400 can now threaten vast swathes of airspace, stealth aircraft need to be capable of penetrating anti-access/area-denial bubbles and eliminate air defense from a safe distance. Additionally, stealth jets also steeply out-perform non-stealth aircraft in aerial war games. Thus, low radar cross-sections and radar-absorbent materials will be a necessary, but not sufficient, feature of sixth-generation fighters. Some theorists argue that stealthy airframes may eventually be rendered obsolete by advanced sensor technologyand stealthy airframes cant be upgraded as easily as avionics and weapons. Therefore, jamming, electronic warfare, and infrared obscuring defenses will also rise in importance. Beyond-visual-range missiles will remain a key technology. Extent missiles like the AIM-120D can already hit targets over one hundred miles away, but realistically must be fired much closer to have a good chance of a kill against an agile, fighter-sized target. However, new ramjet-powered high-speed air-to-air missiles like the British Meteor and Chinese PL-15 point to why future air warriors may mostly fight at great distances from their adversaries. Awesome X-Ray-Vision Pilot Helmets The F-35 has pioneered sophisticated Helmet Mounted Displays that can see through the airframe for superior situational awareness, display key instrument data, and target missiles via a Helmet Mounted Sight (although that last technology is decades old). Though these helmets currently have significant teething issues, they will likely become a standard feature in future fighters, possibly supplanting cockpit instrument panels. Voice-activated command interfaces may also ease the hefty task-load expected of fighter pilots. Larger Airframes, More Efficient Engines As airbases and carriers become more vulnerable to missile attacks, warplanes will need to be able to fly longer distances, and carry more weapons while doing sowhich is difficult when a stealth jet must rely solely on internal fuel tanks and weapons loads. The natural solution is a larger plane. As air forces expect Within-Visual-Range aerial dogfights to be rare and possibly mutually suicidal, they are showing a greater willingness to tradeoff maneuverability to emphasize high sustainable speeds and a greater payload. These design imperatives may gel well with the development of advanced adaptive g variable-cycle engines that can alter their configurations mid-flight to perform better at high speeds (like a turbojet) or more fuel-efficiently at low speeds (like a high-bypass turbofan). Optionally-Manned For several decades air power theorists have forecast a transition to crewless combat jets which won't have to bear the added weight and risk to life and limb necessitated by a human pilot. However, while drone technology has proliferated by leaps and bounds in that time, navies and air forces have been slow to explore pilotless fighters, both because of the expenses and risks, but also likely for cultural reasons. For example, U.S. Navy pilots successfully lobbied to re-purpose a planned carrier-based stealth attack drone into a tanker to refuel manned aircraft. Sixth Generation concepts are therefore advancing the idea of an optionally-manned aircraft that can fly with or without a pilot onboard. This has the shortcoming of requiring additional design effort to produce an airplane that will still have the downsides and expensive training requirements of a manned airplane. However, optional-manning may help ease the transition to an unmanned fighter force, and on the short term give military leaders the possibility of deploying aircraft on high-risk missions without risking pilots lives. Sensor Fusion with Friendlies on the Ground, Sea, Air and Space One of the F-35's key innovations is its ability to soak up sensor data and share it via datalinks to friendly forces, creating a composite picture.' This could allow a stealth aircraft to ride point and ferret out adversaries, while friendly forces maneuver into advantageous positions and sling missiles from further back without even turning on their radars. Because this tactic promises to be such a force multiplier, fused sensors and cooperative engagement will become a standard feature of sixth-generation jetsand the fusion will likely be deepened by integrating satellite and even drones deployed alongside jet fighters. Cyber Warfare and Cyber Security Sensor fusion and optional-manning, however, imply that sixth generation jets will rely heavily on datalinks and networks which could be disrupted by jamming or even invaded through hacking. Ground-based logistics networks, such as the F-35s ALIS, promise significant improvements in efficiency, but also expose even landed aircraft to potential cyberattack. Thus, sixth-generation avionic systems not only must be designed for resilience versus electronic and cyber warfarebut may be capable of launching such attacks on adversaries. For example, the Air Force has successfully tested the ability to invade networks and insert data packets (such as viruses), a capability of the Navys fighter-borne Next Generation Jammer. Artificial Intelligence One problem is that all of these sensor, communication and weapons systems have become so complex that they threaten to exceed the task-processing ability of the human brainremember, the pilot also has to fly the plane! While some Fourth-generation jets incorporated a back-seat Weapon Systems Officer to help out, Fifth-Generation stealth fighters have all been single-seaters. Thus, air forces are turning to AI to handle more mundane tasks of fighter management and determine which data should be presented to the pilot. Furthermore, AI and machine learning may be used to coordinate drones. Dronesand Drone Swarms In October 2016, two FA-18 Super Hornet deployed 103 Perdix drones in a test over China Lake (you can watch the video here). Animated by an AI hivemind, the drones swarmed down like a cloud of locusts over a designated target point. Kamikaze drones have already been used in action, and it is easy to see how relatively small and cheap drones could become a particularly terrifying weapon. Theorists of future warfare posit that inexpensive and expendable networked drones may prove far more difficult to defend against than a small number of costly and well-protected weapons platforms and missiles. However, sixth-generation fighters will likely also work with larger, faster and fancier drones to serve as sensor-bearing scouts, weapons platforms, and decoys. Directed Energy Weapons Swarms of drones, missiles, and even obsolete jet fighters can threaten to over-saturate an advanced stealth jets offensive and defensive capabilities. One commonly cited countermeasure may be Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs) such as lasers or microwaves, which can be fired quickly, precisely and with a nigh-limitless magazine capacity given sufficient electricity. The U.S. Air Force envisions three categories of airborne DEWs: lower-powered lasers for disrupting or damaging enemy sensors and seekers, a mid-level tier capable of burning incoming air-to-air missiles out of the skies, and high-power class capable of destroying aircraft and ground targets. The air warfare branch plans to test an anti-missile laser turret in the early 2020s which may eventually be installed on bombers and F-35s. Sixth-generation fighter programs remain strictly conceptual today, especially given the enormous expenses and effort devoted to working out the kinks in the Fifth-Generation. Many of the component technologies such as lasers, cooperative engagement, and unmanned piloting, are already in well under development, but integrating them into a single airframe will still prove a significant challenge. At the earliest, sixth-generation fighters may crop up in the 2030s or 2040sby which time concepts in air warfare will likely have evolved yet again. Sebastien Roblin holds a Masters Degree in Conflict Resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. He has also worked in education, editing, and refugee resettlement in France and the United States. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring. Read full article By Guy Faulconbridge LONDON (Reuters) - The West needs to understand that the challenge of China's technological revolution runs much deeper than Huawei's row with the United States over intellectual property theft and state espionage, one of Britain's top spies said. Huawei, the world's biggest producer of telecoms equipment, is under intense scrutiny after the United States told allies not to use its technology because of fears it could be a vehicle for Chinese spy operations. Jeremy Fleming, the head of Britains Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), said the incredible rate of technological change was unleashing unprecedented uncertainty, instability and risk. "The strategic challenge of China's place in the era of globalised technology is much bigger than just one telecommunications equipment company," Fleming, one of Britain's top three spies, said in Singapore. "Its a first order strategic challenge for us all," he said. "We have to understand the opportunities and threats from China's technological offer." GCHQ is Britain's main eavesdropping agency and has a close relationship with the U.S. National Security Agency as well as with the eavesdropping agencies of Australia, Canada and New Zealand in a consortium called "Five Eyes". In what some have compared to the Cold War arms race, the United States is worried that 5G dominance would give any global competitor such as China an advantage Washington is not ready to accept. 5G, which will offer much faster data speeds and become the foundation stone of many industries and networks, is a revolutionary technology, Fleming said. "5G is going to be one of the most important and impactful technologies of this or any era," he said, adding that he wanted a diverse supplier market. "A market consolidated to such an extent that there are only a tiny number of viable options will not make for good cyber security. That's regardless of whether those options are Western, Chinese, or from somewhere else," Fleming said. Story continues Huawei Chairman Guo Ping on Sunday reiterated his company's position that it has never and would never allow any country to spy through its equipment. Guo said the United States did not represent the whole world and called for equipment makers, network operators and governments to work together to devise trustworthy standards to manage cyber security risks. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, Editing by William Maclean) By Eric M. Johnson and Tim Hepher SEATTLE/PARIS (Reuters) - A rocket carrying six satellites built by Airbus SE and partner OneWeb blasted off from French Guiana on Wednesday, the first step in a plan to give millions of people in remote and rural areas high-speed internet beamed down from space. A successful launch could mark a new era in the satellite services industry. Companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX, LeoSat Enterprises, and Canada's Telesat are working to enable data networks with hundreds or even thousands of tiny satellites that orbit closer to Earth than traditional communications satellites, a radical shift made possible by leaps in laser technology and computer chips. The growth in satellites will spur demand for rocket launch services, and a handful of venture-backed rocket companies are developing smaller boosters to deploy the smaller satellites at lower cost. "We are looking in the next five years at potentially 10,000 satellites needing to be launched and we don't have the launch capacity at this moment to do that," aerospace consultancy Teal Group analyst Marco Caceres said. The Arianespace Soyuz rocket lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, at 6.37 p.m. (2137 GMT) carrying satellites made by the Airbus-OneWeb joint venture called OneWeb Satellites in Toulouse, France. The refrigerator-sized satellites were expected to reach an altitude of 1,000 km (620 miles) more than an hour after launch. It could take 24 hours to fully assess the health of the satellites. OneWeb and others aim to expand the availability and speed of satellite-based internet compared to existing providers such as Hughes Network Systems, whose network is in a higher-altitude geostationary orbit. Hughes is also an investor in OneWeb and helping to build out its ground infrastructure. OneWeb has raised more than $2 billion from investors including Airbus, Coca-Cola, Virgin Group, Qualcomm Inc and SoftBank. It aims to have global broadband coverage in 2021 from about 650 satellites. OneWeb plans to begin launching more than 30 satellites at a time every month starting as early as September so its constellation is nearly 25 percent complete by year-end, a person with direct knowledge of the project said. Other firms say they are not far behind. Telesat, backed by Loral Space & Communications Inc, is targeting 2022 for broadband services from nearly 300 satellites. Washington, D.C.-based LeoSat Enterprises says it has already signed more than $1 billion in pre-launch provisional agreements for secure data transfers for global banks, telecoms providers and governments beginning in 2022. FAST ASSEMBLY REQUIRED Reuters reported a major shake-up last year at SpaceX's Starlink project, which Chief Executive Musk has said is critical as a funding source for his broader space transportation ambitions but faces challenges on development and testing. A person with direct knowledge of the program said SpaceX was driving toward a first "production launch" with money-making satellites in mid-2019. SpaceX already has two test satellites in space and plans to launch a new design based on those "soon," said one SpaceX official, who asked not to be named. SpaceX has not chosen a location to manufacture the satellites or made a final decision on how it will build, sell and service the terminals that will link the satellite-based internet to users, people with direct knowledge of the project said. Musk told employees in at least one meeting last year that SpaceX could decide to sell broadband to existing internet providers initially and worry about building out its own network later, according to a person who attended the meeting. SpaceX spokeswoman Eva Behrend declined to comment. A SpaceX official said its initial batch of satellites were currently being manufactured, and its internal launch targets were on track, but the company has not announced a launch date. The OneWeb project has forced Airbus to rethink the way it builds satellites, overhauling a painstaking, bespoke effort to introduce industrial methods and speed using assembly lines and automation. The two companies plan to open what they say is the world's first satellite mass-production factory at Florida's Kennedy Space Center in March for $85 million. Production will ramp up to 15 satellites per week at a cost of $1 million per satellite, executives say. OneWeb Satellites Chief Executive Officer Tony Gingiss told Reuters the goal is to be making two to three satellites a day by early summer. "That's revolutionary in an industry where it costs $50 million to build one satellite and normally takes months and a team of engineers to do," Gingiss said. OneWeb has ground stations in Canada, Italy and Norway that allow the satellites to communicate with Earth, and has signed a partnership with Qualcomm to develop the technology that links the internet from space to different users, such as airlines. (Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Greg Mitchell and Sonya Hepinstall) Starfish Have Been Dying in Record NumbersNow Scientists Think They Know Why In June 2013, a scientist in Washington State observed disturbing things happening to the usually-healthy starfish population at Starfish Point in Olympic National Park. The brightly-colored bodies of sea stars were covered in white lesions, some stars were missing their arms, and others appeared to be disintegrating. That fall, sea star die-offs were reported all along the West Coast, from Orange County, CA to Anchorage. And in 2014, there were more. Called sea star wasting, the disease is not new, but scientists say the outbreak that began in the summer of 2013 is the largest disease epidemic ever observed in wild marine animals. Die offs from the disease have ebbed and flowed since then and have affected more than 20 species. The sunflower sea star, a large species with arms that can span four feet across, has been particularly hard hit. Now, according to research published in the journal Science Advances, researchers are linking the unprecedented demise of sea stars with warmer waters due to climate change. A side-by-side comparison of two photographs taken near Croker Island in British Columbia. At left, thousands of sunflower sea stars swarm Croker Rock on Oct. 9, 2013. At right, the same site, three weeks later, with the sea stars vanished. The heat wave in the oceans a product of increasing atmospheric temperatures is exacerbating the sea star wasting disease, study co-author Drew Harvell, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University said. Its a lethal disease, and when you add a higher temperature to that, it kills faster, causing a bigger impact. In the study, researchers at Cornell and the University of California, Davis, focused on the sunflower sea star. Data gathered from deep-water trawlers and shallow-water divers revealed sea star declines of 80 100 percent across a 3,000-kilometer range. The timing of the declines in nearshore waters coincided with higher sea surface temperatures. The lack of sea stars in deeper waters was especially notable. Many people expected the sunflower stars to be taking refuge in the deep water where we couldnt count them, Steve Lonhart, a researcher with the NOAA, told Science. We hoped they were hiding down there this research shows that hope was naive." Story continues The impact on sea stars themselves isnt the end of the story. Sunflower stars are a major predator of sea urchins, and sea urchins feast on kelp. In California, Washington, and parts of British Columbia, sunflower sea stars keep urchins under control, Joe Gaydos, the science director at the University of California, Davis' SeaDoc Society, said, according to NPR. Without sunflower stars, urchin populations expand and threaten kelp forests and biodiversity. This cascading effect has a really big impact." "If you looked on land, it would almost be akin to clear-cutting a forest," he said. Will sea stars bounce back? 2018 research suggests that some stars might be able to survive and even change their genetic makeup as a result of the disease. According to the New York Times, the sunflower star has not yet returned to the lower 48 states, but last summer, they reappeared on the south coast of Alaska. We dont know where exactly they came from, Brenda Konar, a professor of marine biology at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, told the Times. They were pretty small and we dont know if theyre going to survive. So were really curious about what well see next summer. Related: Meet the Heroes Working To Save Our Oceans: The cult-favorite New York brand is coming back from the dead. The finale of the Hood By Air show in September 2016. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images When Hood by Air announced that it was going "on hiatus" in April 2017, there was no certainty about whether or not it would ever be coming back. Though the New York-based brand had been a cult favorite among the city's downtown cool kids for years, the cancellation of its Paris Fashion Week show that February had sparked rumors that the brand might be struggling financially. Shortly thereafter, Creative Director and co-founder Shayne Oliver released a buzzy capsule collection with Helmut Lang, before going largely dark on fashion's radar. But on Wednesday, Oliver announced that Hood by Air is relaunching in an interview with Canadian e-tailer Ssense. "No one knows how our comeback will be received," Oliver said. "We are all hoping for the best, but we also understand some time has passed." This isn't the first time that Hood by Air has resurrected itself after a multi-year hiatus. Though the brand was initially founded in 2006, it pressed pause from 2009-2012 when Oliver's original co-founder left. During that time, Oliver focused on making music, before relaunching the brand with Leilah Weinraub as CEO in 2012. In the interview, Oliver went on to say that though he never intends to fully leave Hood by Air, "in the long run, [he sees himself] helming another brand," and noted that he'd love to operate outside of the "ridiculous" fashion schedule in the future. For those who remember that the label famously avoided taking on investors in the past, Oliver's hints about the role that outside funding could play seem to signify a shift in mindset. "It's a business and having a store these days, especially as a young designer, is such a privilege, and not many can actually pull it off," he said. "I hope that changes, and investors, or whoever, come through and help garnish [sic] younger talent." If there have been concrete changes made to better support financial viability for the label, the interview doesn't disclose them. It also isn't yet clear when, specifically, we'll get a look at the new product. For now, fans of HBA will just have to hope that whatever snafus the brand ran into before have been worked out. Stay current on the latest trends, news and people shaping the fashion industry. Sign up for our daily newsletter. Netflix, are you out there? Making a Murderer subject Steven Avery was just granted an appeal: Hell have his case re-examined by a Wisconsin circuit courtand that could mean a new trial. (And maybe a third season?) ICYMI, the first season of the docuseries (which opened the floodgates for even more Netflix true crime) followed the case of Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey, who were both found guilty of the rape and murder of photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005. Theyve both maintained their innocence, but have since been serving life sentences. A judge overturned Dasseys conviction in 2016, but an appeals court then reversed the decision and Dasseys lawyers took the case to the Supreme Court. The second season examined the post-conviction process and impact for Avery and Dassey. According to Newsweek, the motion to appeal was filed based on a collection of possible human bones, which was said to be in the possession of the Wisconsin Department of Justice. When Averys lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, filed a motion to have the bones tested for DNA, she found the bones had been returned to Teresa Halbachs family and, according to the state, had never been tested for DNA. What does that all mean, though? Basically, if evidence surrounding the bones can be submitted, Avery could get a second trial and his team would be able to present new evidence thats been discovered since the first trial (i.e., a bullet found in Averys garage or the blood splatter and flakes found in Halbachs Toyota Rav4, as revealed in Netflixs second season). If you need us, well be rewatching seasons one and twoand furiously taking notes. RELATED: Women Are the Primary Consumers of True Crimebut Why? Photo credit: Kevin Mazur - Getty Images From Good Housekeeping Kristen Bell and husband Dax Shepard have launched a line of affordable, plant-based baby products at Walmart called Hello Bello. An ad for Hello Bello, posted on Bell's Instagram, drew criticism from a commenter. The responses that followed debated the online privacy rights of kids. Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, the celebrity couple that's the definition of #ParentGoals, are being their charming, funny selves all over the place to support their brand-new line of baby products, called Hello Bello. They're trying to get word out about the line, which features plant-based products including wipes, lotions, and diapers, available for affordable prices at Walmart. So, of course, they put out a commercial on Bell's Instagram. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. But, since the internet is the internet, of what should just be a few quick jokes about baby poop devolved into a contentious back-and-forth in comments. What about low-priced, plant-based diapers could possibly get people riled up? Well, Bell and Shepard are notoriously private about images of their kids, and yet they dared to include a child, who they referred to as Jordan, in their ad. "So your kids deserve privacy, but you don't mind exploiting other people's children for monetary gain?" one commenter asked. "In my opinion, if a kid doesnt give you the authorization to use his/her image directly knowing the consequences of being on the internet forever, you shouldnt put him/her in a photo/video that ends up in the internet," another wrote. It was vocal enough that Bell herself felt the need to clarify her views on online privacy, pointing out that "Jordan" isn't even the real name for the baby that appears in the ad. "Well, there's a big difference. If we expose our kids faces, there is a real threat of them getting stalked, or of a stranger coming up to them and knowing their name. It's a safety thing," she wrote. Story continues Photo credit: From Instagram She brings up some good points, specifically about how her status as a celebrity makes her kids more of a target, since so much is known about the family already. And, to be fair, most of the responses to that recognized that Jordan's parents were likely consulted and/or compensated for her appearance in the ad. (And also that many, many ads use images of children - did you know that this year's Gerber baby was just unveiled? - and the creators of those brands don't seem to catch the same privacy flak.) But people clearly have strong opinions when it comes to the privacy of children, and the bottom line is that it's up to the parents to figure out what works for each family. ('You Might Also Like',) Jennifer Lawrence is in love and she doesnt care who knows it. The mother! actress recently stepped out at the Christian Dior show at Paris Fashion Week with a killer head-to-toe designer outfitand an extra bauble on that finger to boot. This marks the first time that Lawrence, 28, has shown off the ring in a more official event capacity (she was previously spotted with the gold band on her finger while out to dinner with girlfriends in NYC). The dazzling ring features a gigantic diamond on a thin gold band, and was likely photographed previouslyonly with the diamond turned inward so as to avoid too much speculation. The stone itself is a 4 to 5 carat emerald-cut diamond. Lawrence first flashed the rock while out with fiance Cooke Maroney earlier this month, at popular NYC eatery Raouls. It was a giant rock, an eyewitness told Page Six at the time. They seemed like they were celebrating and people were talking about it. The ring was very noticeable. They were sitting back in a corner. She was wearing a cute black dress with white polka dots. PARIS, FRANCE FEBRUARY 26: Actress Jennifer Lawrence attends the Christian Dior show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2019/2020 on February 26, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images) Lawrence and Maroney, 34, have reportedly been dating since last spring after being introduced by Lawrences pal Laura Simpson. They moved in together after just two months of dating and were spotted jet-setting through Paris and Rome during the summer. A source told People at the time that the pair seemed happy, occasionally holding hands, during their trip to Paris. Secure your ideal wedding vision by starting with The Knots Style Quiz, here. Related Articles LONDON Designer Serafina Sama has decided to hit the pause button on her Isa Arfen brand for fall 2019 in order to rethink its direction. Sama, who founded the brand seven years ago, will not be presenting a fall 2019 collection, either to buyers or to press. I am not shuttering the business, but rather taking a hiatus to refocus and review what the next phase should be for the brand that I have nurtured and grown over the past seven years, Sama said in an interview, adding that the shifting landscape of the industry and its increasingly rapid pace were main reasons behind her decision. Related stories Jaime Perlman, Alex Carl Advocates Sustainability With Designer Showcase Designers Convert Bespoke Designs Into Direct-to-Consumer Fashion at Matches Simone Rocha Brings a Taste of China to London's Carlos Place As a brand, we are always under pressure to produce more collections for an audience with a very short attention span, said Arfen, adding that she wants to take time to review, refocus and reenergize, in order to ensure the brand is less wasteful. I want to look at ways of producing more responsibly. At the end of each season, there are so many samples, canceled styles, leftover fabrics all this stuff that nobody needs. Exploring the direct-to-consumer route further or producing more focused collections with smaller drops or limited runs are among the strategies that Sama is mulling. Maybe the answer is in communicating more closely with the consumer to better understand the demand. But I cant do that without a break, added the designer. We started very small, growth was organic and every decision has been impulsive so far. At this stage, we would either have to take a big investment to continue, or pause to rethink. Isa Arfen is wholly owned by Sama, and the designer said that she is not actively looking for investment at the moment. Story continues Her focus will remain on shifting the brands strategy to keep up with the demanding retail landscape. Buyers are more cautious with prices and less willing to take risks, so the risk is more and more on the shoulders of young brands to produce more collections, added the designer, whose brand has 50 global stockists, including Matchesfashion.com and Mytheresa.com. The brand was already in the process of shifting gears, having chosen not to show as part of London Fashion Week last September. Instead, Sama presented her spring 2019 range via showroom appointments in Paris and hosted an intimate dinner in London in November nearer to the time of the collections launch on the new Isa Arfen e-commerce platform. I wanted to do something a bit more intimate so I could have the chance to chat with people and for everyone to see and enjoy the collection in a more relaxed environment with a drink and some Italian food. I love doing a show, but for a very small brand its very hard when theres so much going on in the fashion calendar, the designer said at the time. The attention span of people is very short these days with social media and its easy for something to be forgotten by the time its in store. So its nice for us to celebrate something that is already available for preorder. Michael Cohen, who served as Donald Trump's goofus consigliere for more than a decade before it all came undone, testified on Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee about his exploits, lawful and otherwise, while in the president's employ. This development was equal parts baffling and upsetting for Republican committee members, who spent two years straining to shield the White House from meaningful oversight, only to watch as a stone-faced co-conspirator set their work on fire on live national television. Democrats spent most of their allotted time asking Cohen about his written testimony. It detailed, among many other things, Trump's supposed disinterest in winning the 2016 race, and his description of his candidacy as "the greatest infomercial in political history," as well as various demonstrations of casual racism and Cohen's Trump-ordered efforts to bar the release of the president's grades and SAT scores. "He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasn't a 'shithole,' " recalled Cohen. "This was when Barack Obama was president of the United States." Republicans, meanwhile, spent their time angrily recounting Cohen's convictions for bank and wire fraud; his purported unfulfilled desire to be Trump's chief of staff; the possibility that he might make money off of a hypothetical book deal; and his admitted complicity in the very misconduct of which he now accuses Trump. In the contest for "most over-the-top performance transparently designed to elicit a fawning @realDonaldTrump tweet," Freedom Caucus wingnut Mark Meadows and noted abuse-tolerator Jim Jordan battled to an embarrassing draw. Jordan, the committee's ranking member, punctuated his opening statement with a truly insane rant about Peter Strzok and the "fake dossier" that Laura Ingraham will surely crib for her monologue tonight. Story continues Reasonable people might find it fair to wonder if a person who literally pleaded guilty to perjuring himself before one legislative committee should be trusted to deliver truthful testimony to a different one a few months later. But if House Republicans set out to publicly undermine the credibility of a man associated with the president, highlighting all the lies he told to cover up the president's alleged criminality was a...strange strategy for doing so. Because it relates to a distinct aspect of the federal investigations into Trumpworld, perhaps the event's most interesting revelation was Cohen's inclusion of the checks by which he was reimbursed for hush-money payments he made to Stormy Daniels. Some of those checks came from the Trump Organization, while others were written by Trump himself. In either case, these receipts complicate the efforts of Rudy Giuliani and company to assert that the presidentwhom prosecutors have already named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a felonycannot himself be culpable for violations of campaign-finance law. Former Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Testifies Before House Oversight Committee Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Cohen also shed light on the extent of Trump's connections to the Kremlin while he was a candidate for president. He claimed, for example, that Trump asked frequently for updates on the proposed Trump Tower Moscow project, even as he publicly denied having any business interests in Russia. Cohen stated he was in the room when Donald Trump and Donald Trump, Jr. discussed a mysterious "meeting" shortly before the infamous "If it's what you say I love it" summit. (The conversation piqued Cohen's attention, he says, because "Mr. Trump had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the world.") And Cohen says he was present when Roger Stone phoned Trump to report that WikiLeaks would soon begin releasing illegally-obtained Clinton emails in order to damage her campaign. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Lastly, he attempted to clear up lingering confusion over an explosive BuzzFeed News report that the president "directed" Cohen to lie to Congress about Trump Tower Moscowa report the special counsel's office, in an unusual move, denied the next day. "Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. Thats not how he operates," Cohen said, explaining the mob-like understanding. Since Trump was out there telling the same lies, and since Cohen says Trump's lawyers reviewed and altered his earlier testimony before he offered it to Congress, he didn't need an explicit order to understand what he was to do. When the boss informs the secretary his dry cleaning is ready, everyone understands that for what it is: an order to pick up the dry cleaning immediately, or else. Whether any of this information is sufficient to support charges of, say, obstructing justice or suborning perjury is a political question for the legislative body to which the Constitution entrusts the power of impeachment. It is also doubtful that anything in Michael Cohen's testimony was new to Robert Mueller or any other relevant law enforcement officials. Today's event was, instead, a prime opportunity for the American people to hear about the depths of their president's corruption straight from a man responsible for facilitating itand to see just how desperate Republicans are to keep it under wraps. Google's plan to build a $600 million data center in the central Minnesota city of Becker is drawing support from both renewable energy advocates and local government officials fretting the impending closure of a large, coal-fired power plant.Google proposes to build the 375,000-square-foot data center on roughly 300 acres owned by Xcel Energy next to the Sherburne County Generating Station, the largest coal-burning plant in the Upper Midwest. Xcel will retire two of Sherco's three generators in the next seven years.Google is working with Xcel to ensure that electricity used to power the data center will come from renewable sources. Meanwhile, Google officials await word on what state and local tax breaks they could get for the project.A test of community support will come soon, with Google's request for Sherburne County and the city of Becker to waive 20 years' worth of future taxes resulting from the site's increased property value after it builds the data center. A community is upset by a message on an Arkansas church sign. (Photo: KNWA) A sign outside a church in a diverse Arkansas city is raising questions from community members for its message on immigration. The Apostolic Faith Church in Springdale, Ark., is upsetting some residents with a marquee that reads, Heaven has strict immigration laws, hell has open borders. When I first passed the sign, I almost wrecked my car because I couldnt really believe that thats what I read, Alice Gachuzo-Colin told Rogers, Ark., news station KNWA. When you put that on a sign in city that is so rich in diversity as Springdale, it is essentially a slap in the face to all the undocumented people that help make Springdale the place it is today. Springdale, the fourth-largest city in Arkansas, boasts a population of 79,599 people with 36.5 percent identifying as Hispanic or Latino, according to the U.S. census. Apostolic Faith Church confirmed to KNWA that the word immigration was taken out of the message however, the community was still not pleased. We still know thats the word that was there. Thats what you mean to say, Gachuzo-Colin said. Some of my best friends are undocumented. These are people that go to school, have a career and are doing a lot of good things in the community, resident Irvin Camacho told the news outlet. People are more than welcome to share whatever message they want to share on their church, thats their right, but just know that the community is going to stand up and be vocal about it. Were not going to stay silent. The church on Monday took to Facebook to write, Jesus loves the little children, ALL THE CHILDREN OF WORLD! Red, & yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves all HIS children of the world. Everyone is welcome to our church we LOVE people from ALL over the WORLD!! When a commenter on the post wrote, Jesus does, but your message is only if they are white and from the U.S. Maybe you should read the Bible yourself, a church member responded in kind. Story continues Sir you are misreading our sign. There are strict rules for Heaven. We must walk in Gods grace and obey his rules in order to enter in, the church members comment read. However Hell is open for anyone who wont. Our church LOVES all the people in the world. This was not put up to offend it was put up as a warning.. Jesus is coming soon we must be ready for his coming.. this means repentance, water baptism in Jesus name and being filled with the Holy Ghost Acts 2:38. Michael Pennington with the Apostolic Faith Church provided the following statement to Yahoo Lifestyle: First, let me start by saying that in no way was this sign intended to be a racial or a political statement. The meaning behind our sign is to inform people that regardless of what some may tell them, Heaven is not going to be as easy to make as people think it is Revelations 21 talks about the walls and gates of Heaven, meaning the only way in is through the gate the sign was no way political or racially motivated, it was all Biblically motivated. He went on to say, The people who started the controversy didnt expect us to receive the outpouring of support that we have received, not only from our local city and area, but tremendous support and encouragement from other states as well. I would say that we are receiving 15 to 20 positives for every one negative. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. A First Look at Sustainable Brand BITEs Fall 2019 Collection BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE BITE Fall 2019 Photo: Suzanne Elvi / Courtesy of BITE On February 15, Stella McCartney threw down the gauntlet regarding sustainability in the fashion industry, telling Vogues Emily Farra: I do need a few more colleagues linking my arm and standing shoulder to shoulder with me, because thats how we can make significant change. By coincidence, the same day, she received a sort of answer to her challenge in the announcement that Nudie Jeans, the Swedish company that has been pioneering in its efforts to make the denim industry more green, had taken a stake in BITE, a two-year-old eco-conscious label that operates between Stockholm and London. Sustainability is the talking point of the Fall season, and many independent designers have taken steps to focus on more responsible fashion. BITEwhose business model was built to support slow fashion that cares for people (everyone in the production process receives a fair wage) and the environment (with the exception of some dead stock, all garments are made in certified natural materials)checks that box; its minimal aesthetic, another. Predictably, the fashion press has lumped BITE in with an ever-expanding army of brands touted as alternatives for Phoebe-philes, which the team takes as a compliment. Nordic isnt an adjective theyd use to describe their company (though others might); they prefer pared back and understated. In BITEs worldview, content is inseparable from form: For us, sustainability and design is really a united process, the team says. BITE is a clinical-sounding acronym for By Independent Thinkers for Environmental Progress. The company was founded in Sweden by William Lundgren and Veronika Kant (who have backgrounds in business and strategic communications, respectively). To begin with, says Lundgren, BITE was a brand with a big vision but few styles, one of which was a vagina-print T-shirt designed by Swedish artist Alexandra Andersson, a piece that they continue to sell and that tacitly indicates that BITE has a feminist agenda as well as a green one. Story continues To start conversations around sustainability in a way that people want to be a part of, Lundgren and Kant started hosting midnight events in abandoned churches and such. One of these featured a performance on the subject of consumerism by author and poet Bob Hansson. It was about putting these important questions in a new progressive context, giving it new meaning, Lundgren explains. The queues to those events were really incredible, demonstrating the need and urge for what we, collectively, were doing. Rounding out the BITE team are Suzanne Elvi, photographer, and Elliot Atkinson, design director, who work together in London. The latter, trained in Scotland, is a hands-on designer who draws on art and sculpture for inspiration. Though not a trend-driven line, the roomy coat, slip dresses, and sleeve treatment are in line with what weve been seeing on the runway. BITE, explains Lundgren, is the sum of our collective voices. We felt this hadnt really been coveredit didnt exist; there was a great need for itso we found each other through our shared principles. BITEs clothing is sustainable in material, production, and concept. In aiming to promote slow consumption by creating keepers (as opposed to disposable clothes), the brand joins many others who are starting to equate quality with sustainability. In attaching value to doing good, the BITE team hasnt forgotten the sensual delight of fashion. Real luxury, suggests Lundgren, is the feel of natural, organic materials against the body. Above and exclusive to Vogue, BITEs Fall 2019 lookbook. Michael Cohen testifies he's aware of another illegal act by Trump originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer, testifed publicly for the first time Wednesday about his experience in the Trump orbit before the House Oversight Committee, painting a harsh portrait of the president as an unscrupulous businessman who may have committed a crime while in office. (MORE: Notable moments from Michael Cohen's testimony about President Donald Trump ) (MORE: Michael Cohen House Testimony: FiveThirtyEight's Live Coverage ) PHOTO: Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of President Donald Trump, arrives to testify at a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Feb. 27, 2019. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) Cohen also repeated what he said in a copy of his prepared remarks obtained by ABC News, claiming that Trump, as a candidate, knew his longtime confidant Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about WikiLeaks' possibly revealing emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. (MORE: Michael Cohen's opening statement: Donald Trump is 'a racist,' 'a con man,' 'a cheat' and knew about DNC email leaks ) In a statement to ABC News on Wednesday morning, Stone denied Cohen's allegation. Julian Assange attorney Barry Pollack, in a statement, said, Roger Stone did not have the telephone call Michael Cohen described." PHOTO: Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of President Donald Trump, is sworn to testify before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Feb. 27, 2019. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) Here is how the hearing unfolded: 5:20 p.m. Committee chairman in closing remarks: We are better than this In a fiery and impassioned speech to close out Wednesdays blockbuster hearing after more than seven hours, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., called on members of his committee to be better as he sympathized with Cohens position. PHOTO: House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Elijah Cummings gives closing remarks as Rep. Jim Jordan, left, listens, following the testimony of Michael Cohen, at the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill, Feb. 27, 2019. (Alex Brandon/AP) We are better than this. We are so muchwe really are. We are so much better than this, Cummings said, adding, when we are dancing with the angels, the question will be asked: in 2019 what did we do? PHOTO: Former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen reacts emotionally to the concluding statement of committee Chairman Rep Elijah Cummings following Cohen's testimony at a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill, Feb. 27, 2019. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) Cummings sentiment drew an emotional response from Cohen, who appeared to be holding back tears when the chairman invoked the harm Cohens actions has caused his family. Story continues When he finished, Cummings pounded his gavel and adjourned the hearing more than seven hours after gaveling it in. 5:05 p.m. Cohen: If Trump loses 2020 election, 'I fear' there wont be a peaceful transition of power In a dramatic statement at the conclusion of Wednesdays hearing, Michael Cohen made a startling prediction: If President Trump fails to win a reelection bid in 2020, he may not give up his grip on power. Given my experience working for President Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020 that there will never be a peaceful transition of power, Cohen said. This is why I agreed to appear before you today. Cohen then called on President Trump to cease attacks on the media, Gold Star families, and others. You don't vilify people based on the god they pray to and you don't cuddle up to our adversaries at the expense of our allies, Cohen said. You don't shut down to appease your base. This behavior the office of the president and it simply is un-American. 4:55 p.m. Democrat accuses GOP committee member of 'racist act' Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., accused a Republican colleague of using a black woman as a prop during Wednesdays testimony, sparking uproar from Republicans on the committee and calls for her comments to be stricken from the record. PHOTO: Rep. Rashida Tlaib questions Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of President Donald Trump, as he testifies before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill, Feb. 27, 2019. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters) Tlaibs statement came in response to Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., inviting Lynne Patton, a current Department of Housing and Urban Development official and former longtime Trump Organization employee, to Wednesdays hearing. Meadows asked to include Pattons statement defending Trump against accusations that he is a racist into the record. Patton is a black woman. Meadows took issue with Tlaibs remarks, offering an emotional rebuttal and defending his record of advocating civil rights for racial minorities. Tlaib clarified that she does not believe Meadows is a racist but accused him of a racist act. 4:45 p.m. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez questions Cohen over Trump golf courses In a line of questioning by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Michael Cohen described how he said Donald Trump sought to garner tax deductions by reducing the value of his golf properties. PHOTO: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Rep. Rashida Tlaib listen to former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen during his testimony at a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill, Feb. 27, 2019. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters) Asked how the president did so, Cohen said, you deflate the value of the asset and put in a request to the tax department for a deduction. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez cited a lengthy New York Times article published in October describing dubious tax schemes Trump engaged in during the 1990s. 4:27 p.m. Hearing resumes after lengthy recess After a nearly two hour break -- an hour longer than stated -- members of the committee and Michael Cohen have returned to their seats for the final leg of questioning. Overall, Cohen seems to have fended off most Republican attacks on him so far by taking a non-combative approach and repeatedly asserting that while he's lied previously, he's telling the truth now. 2:30 p.m. Stormy Daniels weighs in: Michael, Im proud of you Shortly before the committee took what was expected to about an hour break for lunch, the adult film actress at the heart of presidents hush money payments controversy released a statement during Cohens testimony, saying shes proud of Cohen for finally beginning to tell the truth about what you did. Stormy Daniels, whose name has been repeatedly invoked over the course of Wednesdays hearing for her role as the recipient of a hush money payment, appeared moved by Cohens testimony. I can hear the pain and regret you feel for betraying your family and your country, she said. Thank you for having the courage, at long last, to begin to tell the truth. Cohen executed the $130,000 payment to Daniels prior to the 2016 election. President Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels. 2:10 p.m. Cohen describes plans to have Trump visit Russia during campaign Michael Cohen described negotiations he said he conducted with Trump campaign manager Cory Lewandowski early on in the campaign to have Trump visit Russia to take a look at the Trump Tower in Moscow project. Cohen and Lewandowski discussed the possibility of which dates that Mr. Trump would have availability if, in fact, that we were going to go over to Russia to take a look at the project. In November, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about whether Trump and his company had pursued the Moscow real estate project while Trump was securing the GOP nomination in 2016. Cohen said the visit never came to fruition because we were never successful in getting ownership or control over a piece of property. 1:45 p.m. Cohen contradicts Steele dossier, says he has never been to Prague Michael Cohen insisted under oath on Wednesday that he has never been to Prague or the Czech Republic, a central allegation in the dossier former MI-6 agent Christopher Steele compiled as opposition research. The dossier describes an incident in August 2016 in which Cohen allegedly traveled to Prague to meet with Russians. Buzzfeed News posted the dossier in January 2017. Cohen has denied this claim in the past, including during an interview with ABC News. Ive never actually walked the land in Prague, Cohen told ABC News. And last August I was not in Prague. 1:25 p.m. Cohen says Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushners attorney reviewed his letter to Congress, too Abbe Lowell, the attorney who represents the president's daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, also reviewed Michael Cohens letter to Congress in 2017 that ultimately became the basis for charges Cohen lied to Congress, Cohen said Wednesday. They were not immediately available for comment. Cohen said earlier that Jay Sekulow, one of President Trumps lawyers, made changes and additions to Cohen's statement, and mentioned that others may have, too. Late Wednesday afternoon, Sekulow issued a statement saying, Todays testimony by Michael Cohen that attorneys for the President edited or changed his statement to Congress to alter the duration of the Trump Tower Moscow negotiations is completely false." In his opening statement on Wednesday, Cohen said one of Mr. Trumps personal lawyers reviewed and edited my statement to Congress about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations before I gave it. Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress about whether Trump and his company had pursued the Moscow real estate project while Trump was securing the GOP nomination in 2016. 1:20 p.m. Cohen says Trump called him to coordinate messaging -- effectively lie -- about whether he knew about hush money payments Michael Cohen said during testimony on Wednesday that President Trump sought to coordinate public messaging about hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal in February 2018. The women claim to have had affairs with Trump that he has denied. Trump instructed Cohen to say he was not knowledgeable of the reimbursements and he wasn't knowledgeable of my actions, Cohen said, referring to the hush money payments. Trump publicly denied knowledge of the payments before his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, confirmed later in May 2018 that Trump reimbursed Cohen for the $130,000 payment to Daniels. 1:00 p.m. Cohen says Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow made changes to his false statement to Congress Michael Cohen said one of President Trumps lawyers, Jay Sekulow, made changes and additions to Cohen's statement to Congress in 2017 that ultimately became the basis for charges Cohen lied to Congress. In his opening statement on Wednesday, Cohen said one of Mr. Trumps personal lawyers reviewed and edited my statement to Congress about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations before I gave it. He later identified that lawyer as Sekulow, who he said made several changes including how we were going to handle that message which was the message, of course, being the length of time that the Trump Tower Moscow project stayed and remained alive. Sekulow has not addressed Cohen's claim. Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress about whether Trump and his company had pursued the Moscow real estate project while Trump was securing the GOP nomination in 2016. 12:40 p.m. Cohen: Aware of another 'illegal act' Trump has committed, says SDNY investigating Michael Cohen teased another wrongdoing or illegal act he claimed President Trump has committed, but said he could not give details because of an ongoing investigation headed by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. Asked by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., whether there is any other wrongdoing or illegal act that you are aware of regarding Donald Trump that we haven't yet discussed today, Cohen replied he was aware. Yes, he said, and again, those are part of the investigation that's currently being looked at by the Southern District of New York. Cohen added that he is in constant contact with the Southern District of New York regarding ongoing investigations. Outside the hearing room, SDNY had no comment. 12:30 p.m. Cohen to GOP: Not one question so far has been about Mr. Trump In response to questions from Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Cohen called out Republicans on the panel for asking only about him and not President Trump. I just find it interesting, sir, that between yourself and your colleagues, not one question so far since I'm here has been asked about President Trump, Cohen said. That's actually why I thought I was coming today not to confess the mistakes that I've made. I've already done that. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. (MORE: Ready to rumble: GOP lawmakers come out swinging against former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's testimony ) The American people don't care about my taxes, Cohen said. They want to know what it is that I know about Mr. Trump, and not one question so far has been asked about Mr. Trump." 12:10 p.m. Cohen describes 'several factors' that led him to turn on Trump Asked what caused him to turn on his longtime boss and effectively testify against him, Michael Cohen dramatically ticked off a list of Trump's actions and statements that led him to speak out. Helsinki, Charlottesville, watching the daily destruction of our civility to one another, putting up with silly things like this, Cohen said. Its really unbecoming of Congress. (MORE: On Powerhouse Politics podcast, White House is 'hopping mad' about competition of Cohen testimony: Sources ) Cohen said he used to protect Trump the way Republican members of the House Oversight Committee are protecting the president at Wednesdays hearing. I'm responsible for your silliness because I did the same thing that you're doing now for ten years, Cohen said. I protected Mr. Trump for ten years I can only warn people the more people that follow Mr. Trump, as I did blindly, are going to suffer the same consequences that I'm suffering. 12:02 p.m. Cohen rejects accusation hes trying to get a reduction in sentence Michael Cohen denied a claim that his appearance is part of an effort to earn a reduction in his prison sentence. Asked by Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., whether his testimony could result in a reduction in his three-year sentence, Cohen said its a possibility, but rejected the notion that it is his purpose for testifying publicly before the House Oversight Committee. I'm not sure how my appearance here today is providing substantial information that the Southern District can use for the creation of a case, Cohen said, before joking, Now if there is something that this group can do for me, I would gladly welcome it. Cohen is scheduled to report to prison on May 6. 12:00 p.m. Cohen describes Trumps involvement in Trump Tower Moscow project Shortly before Michael Cohen asked for a break, he described what he said was the extent of Trumps involvement in the Trump Tower Moscow negotiations during the campaign. After each communication that I had [about the Trump Tower Moscow project], I would report back to [Trump] and our goal was to get this project, Cohen said. We were interested in building what would have been the largest building in all of Europe. In his opening statement, Cohen said Trump remained directly involved in negotiations and often asked Cohen, Hows it going in Russia? In November, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about whether Trump and his company had pursued a Moscow real estate project while he was securing the GOP nomination in 2016. 11:45 a.m. Cohen pressed on his claim Trump is 'a racist' Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., invited a guest to appear during his questioning of Cohen. PHOTO: Rep. Mark Meadows questions Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, as he testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, on Capitol Hill, Feb. 27, 2019. (Alex Brandon/AP) Lynne Patton, a current Department of Housing and Urban Development official and former longtime Trump Organization employee, stood behind Meadows as he questioned Cohen about his allegation that Trump is a racist. Meadows put a statement from Patton defending Trump into the record and asked Cohen to reconcile his claim with her defense of Trump as an African-American woman and the daughter of a man who grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. Cohen shot back by pointing out that he stands by his testimony as the son of a Holocaust survivor, prompting audible "oohs" from onlookers inside the hearing room. 11:30 a.m. Cohen hits back: 'Shame on you, Mr. Jordan' Cohen, who once called himself Donald Trumps attack dog, unleashed a heated rebuke of the ranking Republican on the committee, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, during a debate over whether Cohen accepted his guilt. Jordan read a quote the December indictment of Cohen written by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. It said Cohens consciousness of wrongdoing is fleeting, his instinct to blame others is strong, and accused Cohen of failing to appropriately show remorse for his actions. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Cohen took issue with that characterization. Shame on you, Mr. Jordan, Cohen said. That's not what I said. What I said is, I took responsibility and I take responsibility I am remorseful and I am going to prison." Cohen is scheduled to report to prison on May 6 to serve a three-year sentence. 11:12 a.m. Cohen says Trump and his children were compromised by Russia During a line of questioning about WikiLeaks release of internal Democrat National Committee and Hillary Clinton campaign emails, Cohen said he believes President Trump and his children may have been conflicted or compromised by Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign. He stopped short of characterizing the campaigns alleged knowledge of the impending release of hacked Democrats emails as collusion, but said there was something odd. "As I stated in my testimony, I wouldn't use the word colluding," Cohen said. Was there something odd about the back and forth praise with President Putin? Yes. But I'm not really sure that I can answer that question in terms of collusion." In his opening statement, Cohen claimed that Trump, as a candidate, knew his longtime political confidant Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about WikiLeaks' revealing of emails from prominent Democrats. (MORE: Testimony by Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, could eclipse US-North Korea summit ) 11:05 a.m. Cohen denies any desire to work in the White House Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the ranking Republican on the committee and first to question Cohen, accused Cohen of acting in defiance of President Trump because he was upset at not getting a position in the White House after Trumps election. PHOTO: House Oversight and Reform Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan questions Michael Cohen during the House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing, Feb. 27, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Jack Gruber/USA Today Network) Cohen categorically denied the allegation. Mr. Jordan, all I wanted was what I got, to be personal attorney to the president, Cohen said. Cohen described an incident in which Trump "reamed out" former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus because Cohen hadn't gotten a job in the White House Counsel's office. 10:55 a.m. Questioning begins with an inquiry into hush money payments After Cohens 30-minute opening statement, the questioning portion of Wednesdays hearing is underway. Rep. Cummings, as committee chairman, began with a line of questioning about the hush money payments Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, and his reimbursement by Trump. The president said he knew nothing of these favors, Cummings said. Based on your conversations with him, is there any doubt in your mind that President Trump knew exactly what he was paying for? There is no doubt in my mind and I truly believe there is no doubt in the people of the United States of America, Cohen said. PHOTO: A $35,000 check signed by President Donald Trump to Michael Cohen, his former personal attorney, is shown on a television monitor inside the hearing room as Cohen testifies in Washington, D.C., Feb. 27, 2019. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) Cohen presented a copy of a check Trump allegedly wrote, after taking office, to reimburse Cohen for the hush-money payment. Outside the hearing room, the Trump Organization responded that Donald Trump Jr. had "no concept/idea" that he was signing a check to reimburse Cohen for the Stormy Daniels hush money payment. Donald Trump Jr. signed the $35,000 check as a trustee of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust. President Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels. 10:42 a.m. Michael Cohen shares regrets, shame for a decade of work for Trump And yet I continued working for him. Thats the refrain Michael Cohen is repeating after each damning anecdote he offers about President Trump. Cohens opening statement included repeated mentions of how "ashamed" he feels now about his work for Trump. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is, Cohen said. Cohen described with remorse the threatening letters he wrote on Trumps behalf and the bidding he did for a man he called a racist, a conman, and a cheat. I am not a perfect man, Cohen said. I have done things I am not proud of, and I will live with the consequences of my actions for the rest of my life. 10:30 a.m. Cohen paints damning picture of Trump in opening statement Michael Cohen tore into President Trumps character and business acumen in a scathing opening statement, calling him "a racist," "a con man" and "a cheat." ABC News reported details of Cohens intended testimony earlier on Wednesday. Cohen divulged that Trump, as a candidate, knew Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about WikiLeaks' revealing of emails from the Democratic National Committee. 10:25 a.m. Cohen sworn in, gives opening statement Michael Cohen began his opening statement after rising, raising his right hand, and being sworn in. "Chairman Cummings, Ranking Member Jordan, and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today, Cohen said. I am here under oath to correct the record, to answer the Committees questions truthfully, and to offer the American people what I know about President Trump. 10:18 a.m. Ranking Republican slams Cohen, Democrats in opening statement The ranking Republican on the Oversight Committee launched an early attack on Michael Cohens credibility and Democrats willingness to hear the former fixers testimony on Wednesday. The first announced witness for the 116th Congress is a guy who is going to prison in two months for lying to Congress, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said in his opening comments. Jordan criticized Cummings for offering a convicted felon a forum to tell stories and lie about the president of the United States so they can all start their impeachment process. They just want to use you, Mr. Cohen, Jordan said. You're their patsy today. PHOTO: President Donald Trumps former attorney Michael Cohen arrives at U.S. Federal Court in New York, Dec. 12, 2018. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images, FILE) 10:12 a.m. Chairman Rep. Cummings warns Cohen not to lie In his opening statement, the committees chairman, Rep. Elijah Cummings, warned Cohen against lying to his panel. I have made it abundantly clear to Mr. Cohen that if he comes here today and he does not tell us the truth, I will be the first one to refer those untruthful statements to DOJ (the Department of Justice), Cummings said. Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in December charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. Cummings added that its hearing today and moving forward reflect a new era of Democratic oversight. The days of this committee protecting the president at all costs are over, he said. 10:07 a.m. Republicans move to postpone Cohens hearing A top Republican leveled an early effort to stop Cohens testimony, demanding the hearing be delayed. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., raised a procedural tactic to delay the hearing, citing the short notice of the committees receipt of Cohens testimony and evidence he plans to present. The committee voted down Rep. Meadows point of order and the hearing continued. 10 a.m. Cohen takes witness chair, hearing begins Michael Cohen entered the committee at 10 a.m on the dot and took the witness chair for what promised to be dramatic testimony about his former boss Donald Trump before the House Oversight Committee. The panel's chairman, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., gaveled in the hearing shortly thereafter. The man who once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump is poised to excoriate his longtime former boss with more than a decade of anecdotes. In his opening statement, Cohen is expected to characterize Trump as a racist and a conman. 9:55 a.m. Committee members gathering inside hearing room Members of the House Oversight Committee are gathering in the committees hearing room with just minutes until Michael Cohen is expected to take his seat. Democrats met this morning in committee chambers before congregating in the hearing room. Republicans on the panel have set up large posters with Cohens past comments flattering the president. Cohen had no comment as he arrived on Capitol Hill. As he left his hotel Wednesday morning, staff and hotel guests greeted and wished him well, some hugging him and people saying God bless you. Im going to do the right thing, Cohen said. He also called it the craziest day of his life. Cohen, who spent a decade at Trump's side at the Trump Organization, will testify before House lawmakers at 10 a.m. Wednesday as President Trump wraps up his first day of meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam. (MORE: Michael Cohen plans to give America a peek into Trump Tower, and it's 'chilling,' says lawyer) Cohen is scheduled to begin a three-year prison sentence in May and has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress as well as financial crimes including bank and tax fraud. Cohen also pleaded guilty to campaign finance violation for payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. (MORE: 10 questions Congress has for Michael Cohen) The White House, along with Republicans on Capitol Hill, sought to discredit Cohen ahead of his appearance. PHOTO: Former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen departs after testifying behind closed doors before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill, Feb. 26, 2019. (Carlos Barria/Reuters) "Disgraced felon Michael Cohen is going to prison for lying to Congress and making other false statements," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Tuesday in a statement. "Sadly, he will go before Congress this week and we can expect more of the same. It's laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies." Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a staunch Trump ally, also tweeted Tuesday that the hearing could reveal alleged details about Cohen's romantic life, prompting outrage from Democrats and ethics experts. The stakes were also high for Democrats in the House, who have vowed to investigate the president and conduct oversight of the administration amid accusations of overreach from Republicans. House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., suggested the hearing "may very well be a turning point in our country's history." "He's the only person that I know of who has accused this president of a crime," he told reporters on Monday. Cohen was prepared to provide lawmakers with documents to support his claims that Trump allegedly inflated and deflated his net worth for personal and professional gain, and to avoid paying property taxes, according to a source familiar with his intended testimony. The president's former fixer was also expected to explain why he lied to Congress in 2017 about discussions he had during the presidential campaign about the proposed Trump Tower Moscow. His specific allegation of criminal wrongdoing relates to Trump's reimbursement to Cohen for the payment to adult film actress and director Stormy Daniels, who alleged an affair with Trump, according to the source familiar with Cohen's planned testimony. Trump has denied the affair alleged by Daniels and another accusation from former Playboy model Karen McDougal and has previously said the payment amounted to nothing more than a "simple private transaction," and that they do not qualify as campaign finance violations. Cohen appeared before the House Oversight and Reform Committee after postponing an initial hearing date, citing "threats" to his family by Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani. On Tuesday he spent hours behind closed doors with the Senate Intelligence Committee and will meet with the House Intelligence Committee in private on Thursday. "Two years ago when this investigation started, I said it may be the most important thing I'm involved in my public life in the Senate," Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democrat on the panel, told reporters after the panel questioned Cohen. "Nothing I have heard today dissuades me from that view." "We will call out the Democrats' charade for what it is -- a partisan circus meant to destroy President Trump," Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said in a USA Today editorial. At Cohen's sentencing hearing in December, special counsel Robert Mueller's team said Cohen had cooperated with their investigation. Ahead of the House hearing, during his day with the Senate Intelligence Committee, Cohen was officially disbarred as a lawyer in New York, according to a decision from the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court expected after his November guilty plea. ABC News' Aaron Katersky, Mary Bruce and Eliana Larramendia contributed to this report. Former Trump campaign staffer Alva Johnson joined All In With Chris Hayes Tuesday night and spoke about the lawsuit she filed against Donald Trump on Monday. In the lawsuit, Johnson alleges that Trump kissed her without consent before a campaign event in August of 2016, and that she was grossly underpaid while working on the campaign. Of the unwanted kiss, Johnson said shed given Trump words of encouragement before the event and that after a brief exchange he went in for a kiss. He just starts getting closer, and then when I realize he was going to kiss my lips, I turn my mouth and he caught me right in the corner of my mouth, and I was just kind of frozen, Johnson said. She went on to call the incident gross and creepy. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders dismissed the claims, as did former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trumps Florida campaign director, Karen Giorno. According to the lawsuit, Bondi and Giorno were present at the time of the incident, but their reactions were as if something positive had just happened. Pam kind of looked at me like (smiles and nods her head), and Karen Giorno, who I reported to at the time, kind of grabbed my elbow, kind of congratulatory, Johnson said, and I didnt feel that way. Johnson said she pushed the incident to the back of her head until several weeks later when the infamous Access Hollywood tape, in which Trump brags to Billy Bush about forcing himself on women, was released. When I heard the audio, I mean, I was like screaming at my car. Like, Oh, my God, thats exactly what he did to me, Johnson said. Like, he literally described exactly what he did to me, minus the grab the P. Johnson never returned to work for the campaign, saying that it was clear what Trumps intentions were and that she was too afraid. Johnson went on to say she regrets helping Trump get elected, citing his reaction to the 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Va., the separation of families at the southern border and his response to the #MeToo movement. Story continues I never signed up for that, an emotional Johnson said. And then you have him mocking women with the #MeToo movement, making fun of them. And for me, Im sitting there and Im like, Thats exactly what you did to me. All In With Chris Hayes airs weeknights at 8 p.m. on MSNBC. Watch clips and full episodes of The Simpsons for free on Yahoo View. Check out why Bernie Sanders wont call Venezuelas Maduro a dictator: Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Kylie Mar, on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. A mother and daughter in Bucks County, Pa., have been arrested in connection with a suspected murder-suicide plot after police found the bodies of five family members in their home, including two 9-year-old girls. Shana Decree, 45, and her daughter Dominique, 19, have been charged with five counts of homicide and one count of conspiracy each for allegedly orchestrating a murder-suicide plot. During interviews with the police, both defendants said that everyone in the apartment wanted to die and that the family frequently talked of suicide. Police were called to the horrifying scene on Monday afternoon, after a building employee let a child welfare worker into the Decrees apartment building in Morrisville, Pa. for an unannounced well-being check. Police found the bodies of two of Decrees children, NaaIrah Smith, 25, and Damon Decree Jr., 13. They also found the bodies of Decrees sister, Jamilla Campbell, 42; and those of her 9-year-old twin daughters, Imani and Erika Allen. (Campbell also has a son, who was not in the apartment at the time and was later found safe.) Shana and Dominique were found in their beds and seemed disoriented, according to a probable cause affidavit. In a press conference, Weintraub declined to comment on whether the case was being treated as a planned murder-suicide. I can certainly comment on the murder aspect of it, because we know that was accomplished tragically, he said. As far as what the two defendants contemplated themselves, that would be purely speculation at this point. That is a potentiality, though. According to the affidavit, both Shana and Dominique initially denied playing any role in the murders, then claimed that three black men, including Campbells boyfriend, were responsible before confessing to killing their family members. Although the women provided two slightly different accounts, both claimed that Jamila Campbell had assisted in killing the children before her death, and both stated that Dominique had choked Jamila. Story continues The affidavit also states that Shana Decree told police that everyone in the apartment, including the 9-year-olds and the 13-year-old, wanted to die and that everyone in the apartment, including the children, were talking about suicide. Dominique, who was found with injuries around her neck, also repeatedly advised her wish to die during her interview with the police. While its unclear what the womens motives may have been, family members speculated that the Decrees involvement in a religious organization may have played a role. Apparently they had dissected into some type of cult that they materialized online. I dont know how or what kind of cult, Damon Decree, Sr., the ex-husband of Shana and father of Damon Decree, Jr. and Dominique, told Philadelphias WPVI-TV Action News, adding that family members had been talking about demons being all around them. When asked during the press conference if the Decrees had a history of mental illness in the family, Weintraub said he was unable to comment. I wish I didnt have to report it. I wish we didnt have to deal with it. But were sworn to do it, so we do, and we will, a visibly moved Weintraub said of the murders during the press conference. Well do our best to get justice for those girls and the other three victims. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal tour of Morocco may be over now, but the sweet moments just keep coming! Following the couple's school visit in Asni over the weekend, a new video has surfaced showing Harry is already a pro at cracking dad jokes. After a woman congratulated the Duchess of Sussex on her pregnancy, the prince hilariously chimed in, asking Meghan, "What, you're pregnant? Is it mine?" OK, Harry's got jokes! Harry and Meghan concluded their three-day tour of Morocco by meeting with King Mohammed VI of Morocco on Monday. The purpose of their trip was to highlight "vital roles that girls' education and youth empowerment are playing in, and shaping, modern Morocco." Judging by all the special moments they shared with kids, I'd say they did just that. Check out Harry and Meghan's funny interaction at the 50-second mark in the clip ahead! Related: Mom-to-Be Meghan Markle Is Positively Glowing During Her Pregnancy This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. UPDATED with closing remarks, Trump campaign response: Given my experience working for Mr. Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020 that there will never be a peaceful transition of power, President Donald Trumps former fixer Michael Cohen said in closing remarks before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday evening. Misplaced loyalty to Trump has cost me everything my familys happiness, my law license, my company, my livelihood, my honor, my reputation and, soon, my freedom, said Cohen, who is going to prison for three years in May after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations and lying under oath to Congress, among other charges. Related stories Late-Night TV Mines Michael Cohen Testimony For Monologue Gold Seth Meyers: Donald Trump Finally Went To Vietnam And Got Killed Back Home By Michael Cohen Florida State Bar Investigating Rep. Matt Gaetz's Tweeted Threat To Michael Cohen - Update Cohen began to weep during committee chair Elijah Cummings closing remarks, when he told Cohen, its painful going to prison and its got to be painful being called a rat. Trump called Cohen a rat in a December tweet after the FBI raided Cohens offices, saying Cohen only became a Rat' after the FBI raid. Were better than that, Cummings insisted Wednesday. On cue, Trumps re-election campaign issued a statement about Cohens appearance before the committee: This is the same Michael Cohen who has admitted that he lied to Congress previously. Why did they even bother to swear him in this time? Michael Cohen is a felon, a disbarred lawyer, and a convicted perjurer, who lied to both Congress and the Special Counsel in a deliberate and premeditated fashion according to the Special Counsels Office. Now he offers what he says is evidence, but the only support for that is his own testimony, which has proven before to be worthless. As noted by the Southern District of New York, Cohens wide array of crimes were marked by a pattern of deception that permeated his professional life and his instinct to blame others is strong. Story continues To which, Cummings remarked outside the hearing room that two years ago, when he said the presidential campaign was not about Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump but a fight for the soul of our democracy. That statement is truer now than it was then, Cummings said, adding, We have strayed so far away from normal in our country and weve got to get back to center, despite zero evidence the Wednesday hearing had taken in any step in that direction. Republicans on the committee, Cummings acknowledged, did not want to hear Cohen talk about Donald Trumps activities. PREVIOUSLY: Republicans on the House Oversight Committee spent much of Wednesdays testimony with their undies in a bunch at the thought President Donald Trumps former fixer getting a movie or TV deal. In one of the wilder moments of Wednesdays wild House Intel Committee hearing, GOP Rep Virginia Foxx demanded Michael Cohen pledge not to accept any movie deal, any TV deal, or any book deal going forward. Cohen declined. Outrage ensued. So you dont commit to changing your ways, basically, because you want to continue to use your background as a liar, a cheater, a convicted liar, to make money. Thats what you want to do, Foxx snarked, congressionally. And thats going to get me a book deal and a movie deal and a spot on television? I dont think so, Cohen replied. Three Republicans so far have used up a good-ish chunk of their previous five minutes of Q&A time to scratch their movie/TV/book deal itch. I ask you, good sir, have you discussed film and book deal with your stated current attorney Lanny Davis? asked Louisianas Rep. Clay Higgins, who himself looked and sounded like something out of central casting. With Mr. Davis, no. But I have been approached by many people who are looking to do book deals, movie deals and so on, Cohen offered, helpfully. That is your right as an American, Higgins conceded reluctantly. But it leads me back to my instinct that compared you to many of the men Ive arrested during the course of my career, he added, as Hollywood writers began mulling ways to work Higgins into their spec scripts. This is an attempt to injure our President, to lay some sort cornerstone for future impeachment proceedings, Higgins blasted. Tennessee Rep. Mark Green had kicked off the movie deal line of grilling, nicknaming Cohen Fake Witness by way of planting his flag in that copyright. During Greens line of questioning he grilled Cohen over a possible book deal. I have no book deal, Cohen said, but acknowledged he had been contacted by people interesting in pursuing a movie or TV project based on Cohens story, adding if you want to tell me who you would like to play you, winning that round. While the Hollywood angle has been thoroughly probed, two and a half hours in, Republicans had asked Cohen not one single question about Trump. Cohen made note of the fact during Rep. Jim Jordans at-bat. Jordan is one of two ardent Trump supporters who had tried to open the hearing by immediately shutting it down earlier in the day, claiming a rule had been violated. I find it interesting, sir, that between yourself and your colleagues that not one question so far since Im here has been asked about President Trump, Cohen scolded. Thats why I thought I was coming today. Not to confess the mistakes that Ive made. Ive already done that, and Ill do it every time you ask me about taxes and mistakes, he added. The American people dont care about my taxes. They want to know what it is I know about Mr. Trump. And not one question so far has been asked about Mr. Trump, he said of the GOP questioning. In other highlights of the House Intel Committee Dems vs GOP Cage Match, during which Cohen came off as the mature one, he got asked why he decided to plead guilty to multiple charges brought against him, assuring he would go to jail, for three years. Trumps behavior in Helsinki with Russian ruler Vladimir Putin, Trumps remarks following the fatal white supremacist march in Charlottesville, and watching the daily destruction of civility in the country, Cohen said. Michael Cohen Testimony . Pointing to a placard Republicans had put up in the room saying Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire with Cohens photo, he added, putting up silly things like this, calling the placards unbecoming of Congress. Im responsible for your silliness, because I did the same things youre doing now. For 10 years, he scolded. I can only warn peoplethat follow Mr. Trump, as I did blindly, who, he said, are going to suffer the same consequences that I am suffering. Look at what happened to me. Im a picture perfect example of what not to do. Asked why he had previously canceled his scheduled appearance before the committee after Trump threatened his family via Twitter, Cohen noted Trump has more than 60 million Twitter followers and had boasted early in his campaign that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose a single one of those supporters. I want to be very clear; hes not joking, hes telling you the truth, Cohen said. So, when Trump more recently took to twitter with a threat that involved his wife and father in law, hes sending out the same messagehopefully something bad will happen to me or my children or my wife, so I will not be here and testify. Thats his hope, Cohen explained. PREVIOUSLY: President Donald Trumps former fixer Michael Cohen came to Washington on Wednesday to call Trump is a racist, a conman and a cheat who knew Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a Wikileaks drop of DNC emails, and reimbursed him while in the White House for hush money paid to a porn star. Over the past two years I have been smeared as a rat by the President of the United States, Cohen said in testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday morning. While Trump was wooing North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Cohen nailed him. For starters, Individual #1 on all those court documents made public, back when Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress and other charges in the Southern District of New York, is President Donald J. Trump, Cohen said for the record. Trump ran for office only to make his brand great, Cohen asserted, as viewers watched on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC Fox News Channel, and C-Span, among many platforms covering. He had no desire or intention to lead this nation only to market himself and to build his wealth and power, he added. Mr. Trump would often say this campaign was going to be the greatest infomercial in politician historyThe campaign, for him, was always a marketing opportunity. Cohens testimony got delayed when two of Trumps most ardent supporters, Rep. Mark Meadows and Rep. Jim Jordan, immediately jumped in to try to block him from speaking by scrubbing the event altogether. They claimed Cohens camp had not gotten the committee information enough hours in advance, violating hearing rules. They pointed out, like they meant it to sting, that CNN got the information before they did. CNNs Jake Tapper, in studio, noted most news outlets got it at same time as CNN. But Trump likes to single out CNN for his Enemy of the People rhetoric when addressing his base and, while hes in North Korea, Meadows and Jordan acted as his surrogates. You made it clear you did not want American people to hear what Mr. Cohen has to say, Oversight Committee chair Rep. Elijah Cummings scoffed. But American people have a right to hear him so were going to proceed. The days of this committee protecting the President at all costs are over. Cohen brought show-and-tell material for the House Oversight and Reform Committee, and millions of TV viewers. They included documents he said showed Trumps involvement in criminal activity to which Cohen pleaded guilty and is on his way to the slammer for three years. Among them, a copy of a check Trump wrote from his personal bank account after he became POTUS, to reimburse Cohen for the hush money payments he made to cover up his affair with Stormy Daniels and prevent damage to his campaign. The $35,000 check was one of 11 Cohen said he was paid throughout a year while Trump was POTUS. Cohen also came armed with financial statements for 2011-2013 that Trump gave to Deutsche Bank, to inquire about a loan to buy the Buffalo Bills. Less legally significant, though maybe more juicy for TV viewers, Cohen brought material about Trumps Vietnam deferment, and about Trumps actual net worth. Then there is the copy of an article with Trumps handwriting on it, reporting on the auction of a portrait of Trump in which Trump had arranged for the bidder ahead of time and reimbursed the bidder from the account of his non-profit charitable foundation. That portrait now hangs in one of his country clubs. Copies of letters Cohen says he wrote at Trumps direction that threatened the high schools and colleges he attended not to release his grades or SAT scores. Cohen said his appearance before three committees this week, his guilty plea ad his work with law enforcement agencies are steps along a path of redemption that will restore faith in me and help this country understand our president better. He acknowledged he had previously lied to Congress under oath about when Trump stopped negotiating the Moscow Tower project in Russia. Back then he said negotiations ended in January of 2016. That was false our negotiations continues for months later during the campaign. Trumps personal lawyers reviewed and edited his statements to Congress about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations before he gave those false statements to Congress, Cohen claimed. Trump knew of, and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it, Cohen said. He lied about it because he never expected to win the election. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project. At least a half- dozen times between the Iowa Caucus in January 2016 and the end of June.he would ask me Hows it going in Russia? referring to the Moscow Tower project, Cohen testified. Trump did not directly tell him to lie to Congress. Thats not how he operates, Cohen told Congress. In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In this way, he was telling me to lie. In one of the more poignant moments in his opening statement, Cohen reiterated what Trump already has said publicly that he did not consider the late Sen. John McCain to be a hero because he likes people who were not captured. Cohen told the committee Trump told him about his own medical deferment from the Vietnam draft, You think Im stupid, I wasnt going to Vietnam. I find it ironic, President Trump, that you are in Vietnam right now, Cohen snarked. WASHINGTON Michael Cohen, President Donald Trumps former lawyer, is testifying today before the House Oversight Committee, but much is already known about what he will say. In his opening remarks, he calls Trump a racist, a conman, and a cheat, and he also suggests that his client instructed him to lie about the timing of negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen does not say Trump directly told him to do that, but that it was made clear that he should. Related stories Michael Cohen: Trump Is a 'Racist,' 'Conman' and 'Cheat' Alfonso Cuaron on His New Oscars, Netflix and if Trump Should Watch 'Roma' Donald Trump, Kim Jong-un Begin Second Summit Meeting In the remarks, Cohen says, I lied about it, too, because Mr. Trump had made clear to me, through his personal statements to me that we both knew were false and through his lies to the country, that he wanted me to lie. He will note that Trumps attorneys reviewed his statements before he gave that congressional testimony in 2017. Cohen has plead guilty to lying to Congress about the timing of the Trump Tower negotiations. He originally downplayed the talks and said they ended in January 2016, when in fact they continued well into that years presidential campaign. Republicans are likely to attack Cohens credibility. He is scheduled to start a prison sentence in May, after pleading guilty to tax and campaign finance charges. In the Rayburn House office building, media and spectators flooded the hallway outside the hearing room. Cohen himself arrived about an hour before its scheduled start. Follow along for updates and watch the live stream above. Democrats reject GOP effort to delay hearing. Republicans start by trying to delay the testimony. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the Oversight Committees ranking member, moved to delay the hearing because members did not get Cohens prepared remarks until just after 10 p.m. on Tuesday night. He said that the rules say that such testimony has to be provided 24 hours beforehand. Story continues But in a vote on a motion to delay, the Democratic majority votes to move forward. Cummings says that Cohen needed to be heard and that the American people could decide Ive made it abundantly clear to Mr. Cohen if he comes here today, and he does not tell the truth, I will be the first to refer those untruthful statements to the DOJ, Cummings says. In his opening statement, Jordan blasts the hearing as a political orchestration of Lanny Davis, one of Cohens lawyers and an associate of Bill and Hillary Clinton. He also said that the committee was actually encouraging Cohen to break attorney-client privilege. Jordan also said that Cohen was a patsy to the Democrats. More on Cohens opening remarks here. The greatest infomercial in political history: While Cohen is testifying about a number of incidents that have legal implications for himself and Trump, hes also attacking his character, and not holding anything back. He says that Trump never expected to win the presidency. Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great, Cohen says. He had no desire or intention to lead this nation, only to market himself and to build his wealth and power. Mr. Trump would often say, this campaign was going to be the greatest infomercial in political history. Mr. Trump is a racist: Cohen cites incidents where he says Trump used racist remarks. He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasnt a shithole. This was when Barack Obama was president of the United States. He also said that once, when they were driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. He says that Trump also told him that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. The Stormy Daniels payments: Cohen is clear that Trump was at the center of the hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, and that the reimbursements to him were masked by the Trump Organization as a legal retainer. The payments were designed to be paid over the course of 12 months, he said. Under questioning from Cummings, he identifies one reimbursement check, from March 2017, as signed by Donald Trump Jr. and Allen Weisselberg,the Trump organizations CFO. The counterattack from Republicans: Jordan questions why Cohen would turn on Trump, in a big way, after being so loyal to him for so many years. If it is that bad, I can see you working for him for 10 days, 10 weeks, maybe even 10 months, Jordan says, but he notes that Cohen worked for him for 10 years. He then suggests that Cohen was upset because he didnt get a job in the White House. All I wanted was what I got, to be the personal attorney for the president, he says. Jordan also brings up the creation of a fake Women for Cohen Twitter account. We were having fun. Thats what it was sir, we were having fun. That was not done to help the president, Cohen says. Jordan asks him whether he created the account to help Trump or to help himself. Im not sure it helped me, sir, Cohen says. Cohen suggests Trump knew of June, 2016 meeting with Russians: Cohen says that he believes that Donald Trump Jr. informed his father of the planned meeting in June, 2016, with a group of Russians promising dirt on Hillary Clinton. When news broke about the meeting in July, 2017, it created a sensation and speculation that it could be evidence of efforts to collude with the Russians, while Trump Jr. has said that the meeting was a bust and inconsequential. I remember being in the room with Mr. Trump, probably in early June 2016, when something peculiar happened. Don Jr. came into the room and walked behind his fathers desk which in itself was unusual. People didnt just walk behind Mr. Trumps desk to talk to him. I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying, The meeting is all set. I remember Mr. Trump saying, OK good.let me know. He says that he has concluded that Trump Jr. was referring to the meeting with the Russians. Cohen says that Trump Jr. would never set up any meeting of any significance alone and certainly not without checking with his father. Republicans question whos paying Cohens legal team: So far, GOP members of the committee are attacking Cohen as a liar, and theyve suggested that the hearing is a Democratic set up. Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) raised the suspicion that billionaire Tom Steyer, who is bankrolling an impeach Trump campaign, is actually paying Davis, one of Cohens lawyers. Cohen says that he is not paying Davis right now, and later says that no one else was paying him. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) later expresses doubts about this claim and asks Cohen why Davis would work for free. I guess he things its important, Cohen says. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Arizona) at one point shouted at Cohen when he tried to clarify a point, admonishing Cohen that it was he who asks the questions. Some Democrats suggest that they are finding Cohen credible. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) says to Cohen that I dont think my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are afraid youre going to lie; theyre afraid youre going to tell the truth. A book deal, a movie deal or a TV deal? Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) grills Cohen on past efforts to get a book deal and queries hes gotten about a movie deal, with the implication being that hes trying to cash in on his fame. She tries to get him to commit to not pursuing such opportunities, but he doesnt do so when it comes to TV commentary or running for political office in New York. That was enough for Foxx to claim that hes trying to use his association with Trump to make some money despite being a liar, a cheater and a convicted felon. And that is going to get me a book deal, a movie deal and a spot on television? I dont think so, Cohen responds. He later refuses to commit to contributing any proceeds from a book or movie deal to charity. Not one question so far: Amid GOP attacks on his credibility, from his disbarment to his tax evasion, Cohen says that none of the Republicans members have asked about his claims about Trump. Not one question so far since Im here has been asked about President Trump, Cohen says. He also lashed out at the GOP members, telling them at one point, Im responsible for your silliness because I did the same thing youre doing now. For ten years I protected Mr. Trump. He warns that those who follow Trump blindly, as he did, are going to suffer the same consequences that Im suffering. More to come: Cohen says that federal prosecutors are looking at further wrongdoing or illegal acts by Trump that have not even been discussed in the hearing. Those are part of the investigation thats currently being looked at by the Southern District of New York, he says. Later, he says that he continues to assist federal prosecutors, and acknowledges that it is for the benefit of seeking a reduction of his sentence. At some points in his testimony, Cohen says that he cant elaborate by request of prosecutors. Cohen Says Trumps Lawyer Edited His Congressional Testimony: Cohen said that in advance of giving his congressional testimony in 2017, he went to the White House and spoke to Trump about it. Among those who was there was Jay Sekulow, a member of Trumps legal team, and made changes to how he was supposed to handle the Trump Tower Moscow project. Later, Cohen says that his prepared testimony was circulated among a number of White House officials as part of a joint defense agreement. The document circulated around, he says later. More catch and kill: Cohen says that there were other unsavory stories about Trump that American Media CEO David Pecker purchased took keep out of the press a practice commonly called catch and kill. Pecker is a longtime friend of Trumps, and AMI already has admitted to its role in buying the rights to Daniels and Karen McDougals stories for the purposes of keeping them out of the press during the presidential campaign. Among the other catch and kill stories was one about Trump having a love child with a Trump Organization employee, Cohen says. He said that Pecker made a $15,000 payment to pay off a source, even though he said that he doesnt believe the child existed. He also doesnt believe there is anything to rumors that an elevator security camera tape of Trump striking his wife Melania, as Trump would never do that. I dont believe Mr. Trump ever struck Mrs. Trump, ever, he says. Still, he said that while working for Trump, they had concerns over what would happen to Peckers trove of information after buying unflattering catch and kill stories. When Pecker eyed moving to Time, they were worried about others getting ahold of the treasure trove of documents. The Trump campaign responds. During a break in Cohens testimony, President Trumps 2020 presidential campaign responded. Michael Cohen is a felon, a disbarred lawyer, and a convicted perjurer, who lied to both Congress and the Special Counsel in a deliberate and premeditated fashion according to the Special Counsels office, Kayleigh McEnany, national press secretary, said in a statement. Now he offers what he says is evidence, but the only support for that is his own testimony, which has proven before to be worthless. Trumps taxes. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump declined to release his tax returns, claiming that it was because was under audit. But Cohen says that he was never able to obtain a copy of the audit, and that he presumes that in fact, Trump is not facing that IRS scrutiny. He said that Trump didnt want to release his returns because he didnt want think tanks to go through the returns and then he would face an audit. Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts! Reggae innovator Lee Scratch Perry will release a new album, Rainford, on May 10th via On-U Sound Records. The songwriter-producer previewed the nine-track set with the woozy new track African Starship, which finds Perry speak-singing over a slowed-down dub groove laced with wah-wah licks, fluttering flute and moaning, muted trumpet. [soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/577269489" params="visual=true&show_artwork=true&maxwidth=500&maxheight=750&dnt=1" width="100%" height="400" iframe="true" /] The 82-year-old Perrybest known for his experimental mixing techniques and collaborations with artists like Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Clash and Beastie Boysrecorded Rainford in Jamaica, Brazil and London with producer Adrian Sherwood, one of his longtime collaborators. Its the most intimate album Lee has ever made, Sherwood said of the project in a statement. But at the same time the musical ideas are very fresh. Im extremely proud of what weve come up as a piece of work. Perry has issued dozens of albums under various names, including several with his early studio band, the Upsetters. Rainford follows 2017s Super Ape Returns to Conquer, a reworking of the 1976 Upsetters LP, Super Ape. He will launch a U.K. tour on March 15th in Kingsbridge, England. Sign up for Rolling Stones Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Representative Mike Simpson (R., Idaho) cast his fellow congressional Republicans as hypocrites on Tuesday for supporting President Trumps national-emergency declaration after repeatedly attacking the Obama administrations executive overreach. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Simpsons comments came ahead of a House vote on a resolution that would block Trumps national-emergency declaration. Simpson has previously criticized Trumps decision to declare a national emergency in response to congressional Democrats refusal to provide the $5.7 he had demanded for a border wall. Its not the way to do it. I can understand why theyre looking at it, Simpson told the Washington Post. I dont like the idea of pulling money out of defense and military construction and the Army Corps of Engineers. Thats not a good option. Simpson has not, however, committed to backing the resolution blocking the emergency declaration. The resolution is expected to pass the House and Senate with the support of Republican representative Justin Amash of Michigan and Republican senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Trump has vowed to veto any attempt by Congress to end the national emergency, at which point congressional Democrats would have to secure two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate to override the veto. A number of other Republican lawmakers, including Senators Ben Sasse of Nebraska, John Cornyn of Texas, and Marco Rubio of Florida, have joined Simpson in criticizing the emergency declaration while refusing to support a resolution that would end it. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have endorsed the national-emergency declaration as an appropriate response to Democratic obstruction. More from National Review Government organizations around the world are experiencing the consequences of plagiarism firsthand. A simple mistake can lead to loss of reputation, loss of trust and even lawsuits. Its important to avoid plagiarism at all costs, and government organizations are held to a particularly high standard. Fortunately, technological solutions such as iThenticate allow government organizations to avoid instances of text plagiarism in an efficient manner. Design fair WAMP will open its gates on Sunday, March 10, in the Millenaris center in District 2, with the upcoming edition focusing on healthy and sustainable living in the spirit of spring, according to the fairs official website, Wamp.hu. The market features more than 100 Hungarian designers and other vendors. The aim of the fair is to present emerging Hungarian designers and showcase their works, but the event is also something of a meeting place for creative and trend-setting young people. WAMP aims to enhance the visual culture of its audience, while promoting Hungarian design products. Click here to visit Wamp Design Fair's website online Several thousand public employees have told their union of their intention to join a national strike on March 14, Erzsebet Boros, the head of the MKKSZ union, said. The strike was called in January in protest against the recently amended labour code which sets stricter overtime rules. The Trade Union of Hungarian Civil Servants and Public Employees is also demanding higher and better working conditions. Boros told a press conference that her union planned the strike in support of the demands of local government and public administration employees alone. However, if talks between social workers and government fail, it will join a strike of the union of social workers (SZAD). Public administration employees can only go on strike lawfully if a union operates and with the support of at least half of the employees, she noted. Boros said she had sent letters to Gergely Gulyas, head of the Prime Ministers Office, Interior Minister Sandor Pinter and a joint letter with the head of SZAD to Attila Fulop, the state secretary for social affairs, informing them that the conditions to hold a strike have been met. They have also requested talks on their demands, but so far only the Human Resources Ministry has responded, scheduling a meeting with union representatives for March 6. Among their demands, MKKSZ is calling for the basic minimum wage to be the starting point for all public service wage systems, while workers with vocational training backgrounds should be paid the minimum wage for skilled workers. A new minimum wage for jobs that require higher education qualifications should also be introduced, the union says. They are also calling for the reinstatement of a basic holiday leave entitlement, a uniform allowance system, flexible working hours, as well as the reinstatement of July 1 as a public holiday. Parliaments economic committee approved the renomination of Gyorgy Matolcsy to head the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) for a second term. The nomination was approved with 10 votes in favour and 5 against. Matolcsy told the session that over the past six years he had been successful in fulfilling the requirements of his mandate and had contributed to Hungarys exceptional growth turnaround. All of Hungarys micro and macroeconomic indicators show a favourable situation, he said. The central banks interest policy has saved the state budget 2,400 billion forints (EUR 7.5bn) in interest payments, Matolcsy said. The prime ministers press chief had said on Feb. 12 that Viktor Orban would nominate Matolcsy for another term as NBH governor. Matolcsys six-year mandate as NBH governor ends on March 3, 2019. There is a two-term limit for NBH governor. MTI Photo: Koszticsak Szilard The Petofi Literary Museum and the Defence Ministry Military History Institute signed a co-operation agreement on Tuesday on exploring the battlefield near Sighisoara in Romania where the poet Sandor Petofi is believed to have died at age 26. Petofi presumably died in battle against Russian forces on July 31, 1849, but his body was never found. Szilard Demeter, head of the Petofi museum, said the question has not yet been explored by means of modern archaeological methods. Results of the research will be presented by the two museums in publications and in exhibitions. MTI Photo: Illyes Tibor Brussels has in effect made a confession that its concepts of migration that the Hungarian government claims would increase migration to Europe do indeed exist, Zoltan Kovacs, the state secretary for international communications and relations, said. The government regards these as dangerous, Kovacs told a press conference, commenting on the European Commissions critical response to the governments campaign on migration. A legal proposal on the compulsory distribution of migrants within the bloc does exist and the European Commission has also confirmed that it is still pushing for the settlement of migrants from outside the EU within this framework, he said. The commission has admitted that migrants staying in Greece receive bank cards, so far costing 110 million euros, he said. It has also confessed to a desire to strengthen border guard units controlled from Brussels, Kovacs added, noting a comment by German Chancellor Angela Merkel that this could only work at the expense of national sovereignty. Also confessed is the European Parliaments adoption of a proposal on migrant visas, the so-called humanitarian visas, and this essentially paves the way for the commission to stand by it, he said. Meanwhile, whereas the commission has not been mentioned in the EC resolution, the EP is intent on increasing funding for NGOs by 570 billion in the next financial cycle, Kovacs said. He said the Hungarian government was determined to inform the public about Brussels plans, and this is why Prime Minister Viktor Orban is sending a letter to all voters. The government wont be dissuaded from communicating plans that it disagrees with, he said. We dont want Hungary to be a country of immigrants while the Brussels bureaucracy is intent on Europe becoming a continent of immigrants. Kovacs argued that the commissions job should be to enforce what the European Council decides rather than implementing migration plans in its preparatory work without a consensus. MTI Photo The government plans to institute new rules with a view to preventing multinational companies from evading Hungarian taxes, a finance ministry official told the daily Magyar Nemzet. State secretary for tax affairs Norbert Izer said the new rules would largely follow European Union provisions, but Hungarian tax experts also will be consulted at a meeting in March held as part of the drafting process. Hungary, he said, was among the best investment destinations, one of the reasons being the 2011 overhaul of the tax system which introduced the 9% corporate tax, now the lowest in the EU. Being investor-friendly, however, does not mean tolerating certain companies withdrawing themselves from their tax obligations, he added. Most companies are unable to fully satisfy the terms of the EUs General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and about one-fifth of firms believe that it is impossible to fully comply with the terms, according to research by Big Four professional services firm EY. EY and the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) asked 550 privacy professionals internationally about their thoughts on the EUs GDPR regulation. Most (76%) know that the GDPR rules apply to their companies as well. However, one-fifth say that it is simply impossible to satisfy the terms of the GDPR. About 44% believe that their companies fully or almost fully comply with GDPR only a year after it came into effect. Hungarys National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (NAIH) said that more than 1,000 investigations in data protection cases were conducted between the GDPRs introduction and the end of October 2018, according to NAIH President Attila Peterfalvi. A fine of HUF 1 million has already been handed out to an unnamed company. "As much as it looks like an impossible mission to fulfill the terms of the regulation, the Union will not stop backing GDPR," says Mihaly Zala, head of EY Hungarys cybersecurity branch. "Companies must comply with regulations, in order to avoid fines. It is worth contacting an external company to complete the remaining tasks for those companies who cannot satisfy the terms." About 79% of companies prepared for compliance through training, 64% appointed data protection officers, and 57% conducted technological developments. A quarter of respondents have already changed suppliers to complete the GDPR requirements, and a further 30% are planning to do so in future. "In many cases, companies only cared about the regulation due to the expectations of their partners," observes Zala. "GDPR prescribes strict requirements regarding contacts with data controllers. Those companies who continuously fail to handle the information of their clients properly should not only expect fines, but they may also fall out of well-operating business networks." Could Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy Be Heading to Xbox Game Pass? The conclusions of a study of Philadelphia's city-government hiring and employment practices issued by the Pew Charitable Trusts last year could hardly have come as a surprise to the city's top officials. After all, they had commissioned the study; they knew they had problems.The researchers compared Philadelphia's practices with those of 29 other large cities. Philadelphia's problems, they found, flow from an outmoded civil service system. "Hiring through the civil service in Philadelphia," the researchers wrote, "has changed little since the system was put in place in 1952." That was the year when a reform mayor replaced patronage with a merit system.One current metric jumped out from the Pew report: The median time from when an applicant applies to getting accepted for a position is 360 days. Some have to wait as long as two years. That contrasts with a recent recommendation from one of the nation's foremost experts on private-sector employment, John Sullivan. For well-qualified applicants, he recommends making an offerThe Pew report highlights a number of other points that should concern Philadelphia's leaders. Its human resources practices are excessively bureaucratic, costly and hurting city government. There is no reason, other than politics, to allow that to continue in any jurisdiction, and there are cities that discarded such antiquated practices years ago.There is one aspect of the Philadelphia report, however, that should be encouraging to those who follow HR practices in government: the study's use of a range of metrics that are widely employed in other sectors to compare Philly's practices with those of other cities. In government, that kind of comparison is the exception. The contrast between the extended wait for a job in Philly and Sullivan's recommendation prompted me to search for information on the use of comparative HR metrics in government. I found virtually nothing. Contacts with several recognized HR thought leaders confirmed that.Last year the International Public Management Association for Human Resources conducted its second survey of the use of HR metrics. Little has changed since the first study, in 2010. Equally troubling, the response rate to the new survey was low and a number of questionnaires were sent back partially completed. Its clear that many of IPMA-HR's members had little to report.The reason for my interest is simple: State and local governments have a combined workforce of 20 million and a payroll that exceeds $80 billion. HR metrics are well suited to simple comparative assessments as well as more sophisticated analyses. Metrics would provide management with the information needed to identify problematic practices, increase productivity and reduce costs.While not all standard HR metrics are relevant to government (an obvious example is "profit per employee") there are at least 15 that are well suited to comparisons across similar public-sector organizations. Examples include not only the "time to fill vacancies" metric used in Pew's Philadelphia analysis but also "training expenses per employee" and "absences per manager."Another metric that is often cited is "HR to employees ratio." In the past, a common goal was to reduce that ratio, but with the growing recognition that HR can play a lead role in raising performance levels , that metric has lost is relevance. And any metrics related to HR staff size have to take into account variations in the function's organization, such as outsourcing benefits administration.There are several metrics, however, that are directly relevant to evaluating HR's effectiveness, regardless of how the function is organized. "Time to fill vacancies" is an obvious one. "Costs per hire" is another. When an employer finds that those values are comparatively high - Philly's leaders should pay attention -- it's a red flag indicating that changes are needed.Beyond HR-specific metrics, there are several indicators of how effectively employees are managed. Those include rates of turnover, absenteeism, grievances and first-year resignations. Comparisons across jurisdictions would be a great way to assess the need for reform. Raising employee engagement levels is a proven way to increase productivity and reduce costs . It starts with HR metrics.For employers like Philadelphia, or any public employer, assembling the data requires an investment, but it is solidly consistent with evidence-based management. The ongoing monitoring of comparative results -- year to year as well as across jurisdictions -- will provide an incentive to change. There is no better basis for developing support for civil service reform.The value is greatest when a group of similar organizations agree to develop comparative databases. Once up and running, such a "competition" would provide participating organizations a reason to drive for improved performance. 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. Charleston, WV (25311) Today Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 83F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Charleston, WV (25301) Today Mixed clouds and sun with scattered thunderstorms. High near 85F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. CLINTON, Miss. (AP) Vicki Van says there was a time when she called the man accused of killing her nephew and three others a friend. Now she's struggling to understand why the 34-year-old nail salon owner would commit such bloodshed during a violent police standoff at a home in Mississippi. "All the customers liked him," Van said of Nam Le, the accused gunman who was also wounded by gunfire and later died after the Feb. 16 hostage standoff. "Something must have triggered him to do stuff like that. We don't know." In interviews with news outlets, Van laid out the relationships between the five people who perished, whose names had previously been released by authorities. Van told the Clarion Ledger she's an aunt of Dr. Phung Minh Le, 28, one of the victims who was a resident in internal medicine at a hospital in Houma, Louisiana. She said his fiancee, 28-year-old Le Thi My Van, was also killed in the standoff. Van Lee said Nam Le's wife, 30-year-old Lan Thi My Van, and a family friend and babysitter, 65-year-old Cho Thi Van, were the two others slain. Two daughters of the accused gunman and his wife, ages 4 and 5, were released unharmed from the home several hours into the standoff. Vicki Van told WJTV-TV the two girls are staying with an uncle. Phung Le was Vicki Van's cousin's son, and per Vietnamese tradition, they called each other nephew and "auntie," she said. On his days off, he drove across state lines to work at Nail Envy, Nam Le's business in Hazlehurst. She said it was a secret he kept from most of his family, afraid his parents would not understand why a doctor spent his free time doing manicures and pedicures. But he just wanted to help and be with his fiancee who worked there. Authorities said the standoff started when shots were fired at officers checking on a domestic call. They said the suspect went back inside the home and refused to come out. Officers fired shots during the standoff, but a statement from Mississippi Public Safety Department spokesman Capt. John Poulos did not say whether Nam Le shot himself or was wounded by officers. Hinds County Coroner Sharon Gresham Stewart said he died at a hospital. JACKSON, Miss. (AP) Police in Mississippi say an officer has crashed their patrol car into a pole. Jackson police tell news outlets that the officer is recovering from minor injuries after the crash early Tuesday. Sgt. Roderick Holmes says the officer's car was the only vehicle involved in the collision. The front of the police cruiser was damaged in the crash. An ambulance took the officer to a hospital. The cause of the crash is being investigated. The wreck happened near an intersection in Jackson where a bank, a strip mall and other businesses are located. JACKSON, Miss. (AP) Mississippi lawmakers are agreeing to an early set of recommendations for a $6.1 billion state budget. More work is coming in the next few weeks. The state House passed bills Tuesday to fund dozens of state programs for the year that begins July 1. The Senate did the same on Wednesday. The two chambers will exchange bills for more work. And, a final round of budget negotiations will happen in late March or early April. During a House debate, Democratic Rep. John Hines of Greenville pushed for pay raises for state employees, but his effort fell flat. Legislators are working on a teacher pay raise plan. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Buck Clarke it's not yet clear if there will be enough money to give raises to other state government workers. CARROLLTON, Miss. (AP) A Mississippi Bureau of Investigation agent says he happened to be in the right place at the right time to carry an older man out of a burning house. Agent Brad Edmonson tells the Greenwood Commonwealth that he was worried about being late for work as he drove through rural Carroll County on Thursday morning. He saw smoke billowing from a home and pulled over. A woman in her 40s ran toward him, screaming that her father was inside. Edmonson ran into the burning house and carried out Mark Williams, who is in his 80s. The agent then called 911. Edmonson says Williams and his daughter, Heather Williams, were treated for smoke inhalation. Carroll County Sheriff Clint Walker says "God had a plan" for Edmonson to be there at that time. ___ Information from: The Greenwood Commonwealth, http://www.gwcommonwealth.com MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Federal prosecutors say the head of a drug ring that worked in parts of Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. Online court records from the U.S. attorney's office in Memphis show Lorenzo Castelo pleaded guilty and was sentenced Thursday on two charges related to the distribution of cocaine and methamphetamine. Castelo, of Memphis, and several other people were charged in an indictment alleging the organization sold marijuana, cocaine and meth in west Tennessee, east Arkansas and north Mississippi. Prosecutors say the case is part of a large investigation the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force, which includes federal, state and local law enforcement. A news release says the task force seeks to "disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets." BROOKHAVEN, Miss. (AP) A judge has set a February 2020 trial for a Mississippi man charged with killing eight people in May 2017. Lincoln County Circuit Judge David Strong on Friday announced the trial date for Willie Cory Godbolt. Strong also said jurors will be chosen from DeSoto County, in far northern Mississippi, and they will be brought south to Lincoln County to hear the case. The two counties are about 250 miles (402 kilometers) apart. Godbolt is accused of killing a Lincoln County sheriff's deputy, and seven others at three houses. He has pleaded not guilty to four counts of capital murder, four counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of kidnapping and one count of armed robbery. Godbolt is jailed without bail. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. COLUMBIA, Miss. (AP) Law enforcement agents are investigating after a burned body was found in a car in south Mississippi. WDAM-TV reports the body was found Friday morning in the Kokomo community of Marion County. Sheriff Berkley Hall says the person was not immediately identified. The remains have been sent to the Mississippi Medical Examiner's Office to determine a cause of death. The State Fire Marshal's Office and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation are assisting in the case. ___ Information from: WDAM-TV, http://www.wdam.com BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) A white Alabama newspaper editor who advocated for the revival of the Ku Klux Klan is turning over control of the small weekly to a black woman. The Democrat-Reporter of Linden, Alabama, announced Friday that Elecia R. Dexter will take over as publisher and editor from Goodloe Sutton, who has run the 140-year-old paper since the 1960s. Dexter, 46, told The Associated Press that Sutton will retain ownership of the newspaper, which has a circulation of about 3,000, "but I will handle everything else." Sutton had a history of publishing racially and ethnically insensitive editorials, and Dexter said she hoped her appointment would let the community know "this is everybody's paper." "I think it can be helpful," she said. The change came the week after Sutton wrote and published an editorial that began: "Time for the Ku Klux Klan to night ride again." The editorial said Democrats and "Democrats in the Republican Party" are plotting to raise taxes, so the Klan should raid their communities. Sutton, in a subsequent interview with the Montgomery Advertiser, suggested lynchings as a way to clean up Washington. Sutton also questioned whether the KKK was violent, claiming America's most feared white supremacist terrorist organization "didn't kill but a few people." Auburn University and the University of Southern Mississippi quickly rescinded previous honors for Sutton, who won praise two decades ago for stories exposing corruption in the sheriff's office. The Alabama Press Association censured Sutton and suspended the Democrat-Reporter's membership. Dexter, whose family is from rural Marengo County, where Linden is located near the Mississippi line, said she began working at the paper earlier this year and has a good working relationship with Goodloe. She added: "I told him there were some different ways you could have made your point." The paper has received emails from those who supported what Sutton wrote and others who were "disgusted" by his statements, she said. The paper dates to 1879 and its editorials are consistently conservative and often critical of Democrats. The use of "Democrat" in its name reflects back to the period when nearly all white conservatives in the South were Democrats. OXFORD, Miss. (WTVA) - A salon worker is accused of stealing money from her employer. Hannah Mason, 24, of Oxford, surrendered herself to police on Tuesday, Feb. 26, for embezzlement. According to police, the owner of La Rousse Salon and Spa saw Mason took money out of a cash register. Store records showed a loss of more than $1,000. Photo taken on Aug. 26, 2018 shows the special stamp set "Yangtze River Economic Belt" in Zaozhuang, east China's Shandong Province. China Post released a set of special stamps on the theme of development achievements of Yangtze River Economic Belt on the same day. China Development Bank (CDB), the world's largest development finance institution, has extended trillions of yuan of loans to support the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. As of December 2018, outstanding loans to 11 provincial-level regions along the belt amounted to 3.85 trillion yuan (about 575 billion U.S. dollars), according to the CDB. New yuan loans to these regions reached 304.5 billion yuan last year, accounting for 48 percent of the bank's total new yuan loans. The funds mainly went to major projects in the fields of ecological protection and restoration, infrastructure connectivity, and industrial transformation and upgrading. The CDB will continue to support ecological protection and green development of the Yangtze River in 2019, said CDB Chairman Zhao Huan. China issued a development plan for the Yangtze River Economic Belt in September 2016 and a guideline for green development of the belt in 2017. The Yangtze River Economic Belt consists of nine provinces and two municipalities that cover roughly one-fifth of China's land. It has a population of 600 million and generates more than 40 percent of the country's GDP. (Xinhua/Sun Zhongzhe) BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- China Development Bank (CDB), the world's largest development finance institution, has extended trillions of yuan of loans to support the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. As of December 2018, outstanding loans to 11 provincial-level regions along the belt amounted to 3.85 trillion yuan (about 575 billion U.S. dollars), according to the CDB. New yuan loans to these regions reached 304.5 billion yuan last year, accounting for 48 percent of the bank's total new yuan loans. The funds mainly went to major projects in the fields of ecological protection and restoration, infrastructure connectivity, and industrial transformation and upgrading. The CDB will continue to support ecological protection and green development of the Yangtze River in 2019, said CDB Chairman Zhao Huan. China issued a development plan for the Yangtze River Economic Belt in September 2016 and a guideline for green development of the belt in 2017. The Yangtze River Economic Belt consists of nine provinces and two municipalities that cover roughly one-fifth of China's land. It has a population of 600 million and generates more than 40 percent of the country's GDP. 8 1 [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - Some people from Vigo County are voicing frustration with the process for a new jail. A member of Citizens for Better Government gave county commissioners a list of questions last week. On Tuesday, the commissioners gave written answers to those questions. Those questions deal with the process and planning for a new facility. Some people felt there's not been transparent communication from the commissioners. They just want to make sure the county is making the best decisions. "We are moving forward. I'm not suggesting we don't need a new facility. The current jail is in horrific shape," Andres Kummerow, from Citizens for Better Government said. MOBILE USERS, CLICK HERE TO SEE FULL DOCUMENT "We're hoping we have the right people in place to build this thing. We felt we had addressed almost all of those issues, we went int a little more depth, a little more detail maybe," Commissioner Judy Anderson said. The 'Better Government' member we spoke with also suggested addressing the justice system as a whole. In the written response, commissioners said they are open to programming to avoid incarceration. NOTE: Marks on this document were made prior to News 10 receiving it When over 100,000 estate workers went on strike last December to demand a 1,000-rupee ($US5.50) daily basic wage, the Planters Association of Ceylon, the representative body of the Sri Lankan plantation companies dismissed the demand, declaring it unaffordable. The plantation companies made this claim amidst soaring profits for the majority of them, according to their latest annual reports. Moreover, the profits of the national tea broking companies, as well as those of the giant global tea companieswhich ultimately manipulate the world marketare on the rise. The tea companies have offered a paltry 20-rupee increase, raising the workers' daily gross wage to just 750 rupees, while scrapping productivity and attendance-based allowances. There are 24 regional plantation companies (RPC) in the country. The following are the latest recorded annual net profits of seven of them, for the 20172018 financial year: * Kotagala Plantations: 255 million rupees ($US1,417,769) * Maskeliya Plantations: 251 million rupees * Bogawantalwa Plantations: 163 million rupees * Kelani Valley Plantations: 160 million rupees * Horana Plantations: 84 million rupees * Watawala Plantations & Hatton Plantations (Sunshine Holdings): 1,200 million rupees * Elpitiya Plantations: 335 million rupees. There are around eight national tea broking companies. These are the recorded annual net profits of two of them, for 2017-2018: * Ceylon Tea Brokers: 100 million rupees ($US556,000) * Asia Siyaka Commodities: 97 million rupees While corporate and individual shareholders are benefiting, the plantation company directors are reaping massive fortunes. The annual remuneration of the three executive directors of Kelani Valley Plantation was 35 million rupees. This means that the monthly income of each director is close to one million rupees. If this is compared to a workers monthly wageafter the proposed increaseand assuming the worker works for 26 days a month, his or her salary will be 19,500 rupees. In other words, the executive director will earn over 50 times more than his or her employees. The largest global tea conglomerate, Unilever Company, based in the United Kingdom, sells tea under the Lipton brand all over the world. The tea is sold by Unilever under the auspices of its refreshment section, along with ice cream. The net profit of this section in 2017 was 6,486 million, with a profit margin of 11.3 percent. Its profit in the previous year was 5,547 million, with a profit margin of 9.8 percent. The second largest global tea brand, Tetley, is owned by Tata Global Beverages, based in India. This transnational company sells tea globally and collected a net profit of 5670 million Indian rupees ($US80 million) for the 20172018 financial year, up from 4,640 million in the previous year. While reaping these huge benefits from the brutal exploitation of plantation workers in countries such as Sri Lanka, Kenya, Vietnam, South Africa, India and China, these international corporations are pretending that they have been addressing the acute social problems facing their employees. Unilevers 201718 annual report declares, By addressing strategic human rights issues and helping the business tackle and prevent endemic abuses in global value chains, it is seeking to deliver a positive social impact alongside business growth. This is a lie. On the contrary, far from delivering a positive social impact, these companies are, in fact, further depressing the wages and social rights of the workers in order to increase their superprofits. Global tea buyers select their choice through the producing countries, on the basis of maintaining their superprofits. The plantation companies seek to serve the buyers by slashing their production costs in order to remain competitive and maintain their markets and profits. Central to this process is their drive to lower labour costs, which means slashing the plantation workers living and working conditions. To this end, the plantation companies are now introducing a so-called revenue sharing model or out-grower program, to ensure higher productivity through ever higher rates of exploitation. One of the clauses in the collective agreement recently signed between the companies and the trade unions deals with the upcoming implementation of the "out-grower" model. According to the Employers Federation of Ceylon, Plantation Services Group Chairman Roshan Rajadurai declared, We are constrained by conditions beyond our control. Over 95 percent of Ceylon Tea is exported, and those prices are determined not by us, but the world market (Daily FT, December 12, 2018). Under this out-grower scheme, a worker will be assigned to tend a plot of land with around 1,000 tea bushes. The company provides the supplies, such as manure, chemicals and equipment, and will expect that the workers entire family will work the land in order to increase production. The tea leaves will be bought by the company and, after deducting for supplies, office maintenance and profit, the remainder will be paid to the worker. In its annual report, Kelani Valley Plantations insisted, Structured along the lines of the out-grower program, the Revenue-share model is a bold new initiative aimed at encouraging workers to increase their plucking average. The companies objective is to scrap the wage model and transform the worker into a modern share-cropper. This system will also be used to break the organised power of the plantation workers. The Bogawantalwa Plantations annual report emphasises that the industry is highly labour intensive, with high bargaining power, low productivity, work stoppages, strikes and these can have a major impact on the profitability and liquidity of the company. In other words, the large international tea-producing companies are using various methods to drive down plantation workers living and social conditions, in order to be competitive on the world market and protect their profits. Thus, the workers in all these countries face a similar international assault, which is part of the broader attack on the working class internationally under conditions of the break-down of world capitalism. Like their international counterparts, the trade unions in Sri Lankas plantations, such as the Ceylon Workers Congress, the Lanka Jathika Estate Workers Union, the Democratic Peoples Front and the National Union of Workers, have fully backed these intensified attacks by the companies, which have had government support. The struggle to defend the democratic and social rights of the working class can only be waged through an international fight against the capitalist profit system. The plantation workers must unite with their international class brothers and sisters in the struggle to end the profit system, and organise production under workers control and a workers and peasants government. The March 17 plantation workers conference, called by the Abbotsleigh Estate Workers Action Committee, with the support of the Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka), will discuss these vital issues for Sri Lankas plantation workers and for the working class as a whole. Click here to participate in the Oakland Rank-and-File Strike Committee Facebook group. The strike of Oakland, California teachers continued on Tuesday as teachers went to their picket lines in the morning before holding a two-mile march from Verdese Carter Park to Roots International Academy in East Oakland. To carry the struggle forward, Oakland teachers have announced the formation of a rank-and-file strike committee, independent of the pro-corporate unions and in opposition to all budget cuts, teacher layoffs, and school closures. A statement announcing the formation of the strike committee declares, Whatever agreement the unions reach behind closed doors will not address the issues for which we are striking. The OEA (Oakland Education Association) has already declared that it accepts the districts insistence that any gain for teachers will be offset by cuts to school programs and school closures. It has refused to make the fight against budget cuts part of the strike. Oakland teachers, the statement continues, must oppose such a sellout and fight back. The rank-and-file strike committee will be completely independent of the unions and will take up the fight for critical issues long abandoned by the unions, including opposing all budget cuts, teacher layoffs and school closings. It will also be independent of both big business parties and fight for the demands that teachers and their students need, including full funding for public education, not what school authorities and the state Democrats claim they can afford. The Oakland Rank-and-File Strike Committee Facebook group can be found here. The need for teachers to take the conduct of the strike into their own hands is underscored by the role of the OEA, which has kept teachers in the dark about negotiations while calling in political figures who bear responsibility for the crisis of education in California to help reach a sellout deal. While a meeting of site representatives and OEA members before the strike overwhelmingly backed a binding motion requiring daily updates on negotiations, including proposals and counterproposals, the OEA bureaucracy has flagrantly violated this mandate. For the second day in a row, the OEAs evening press conference revealed nothing about the ongoing discussions. A critical comment by a teacher on the Facebook stream states, These updates are not updates! What is going on???? An email update sent out Monday included no information about the talks, while just offering empty platitudes, such as Today was the best bargaining support rally we've ever seen! Your chants were DEAFENINGLY loud inside the conference room while we negotiated. So the whole team came downstairs and joined you. We could feel your power! The union treats teachers as nothing more than extras on a movie set whose pickets and marches supposedly strengthen union bargainers at the table. This is the same rhetoric United Teachers Los Angeles President Alex Caputo-Pearl used just before UTLA cut a backroom deal with the school district and Mayor Eric Garcetti, which betrayed the teachers fight for smaller classes, increased staffing and a halt to the expansion of charter schools. Teachers must take this as a warning that OEA will violate the other parts of the above-mentioned mandate, including giving teachers 24 hours to review a proposed contract as well as a guarantee that teachers will not be forced back to work until a tentative agreement is approved by the membership. Just as UTLA did, the union and school district will run roughshod over teachers democratic rights to ram through a sellout if not opposed. The most recent OEA proposal released Saturday calls for a 12 percent pay increase over three years, but on Monday OEA Vice President Ismael Armendariz refused to say whether negotiators were sticking to that demand. A 12 percent increase would still make Oakland teachers the third-lowest paid in the state. The school district has proposed a 7 percent pay raise over the same period and a one-time bonus of 1.5 percent. Teachers are also demanding a reduction in class sizes and more support staff for students. The district is currently planning to vote Wednesday on cutting $21.75 million from its 2019-2020 budget, which would only worsen conditions in the classroom. In addition, teachers are opposing mass school closures, as OUSD plans to shut down as many as 24 schoolsor a third of the totalover the next five years. Tuesdays two-mile march to Roots International Academythe first school slated for closure after a near-unanimous school board vote in Januarywas a symbolic protest against the long distances students would have to travel in the event of mass closures. For many in Oakland, where poverty is widespread, even the cost of daily bus fare can prove prohibitive. Teachers must assimilate the lessons from union sellout deals forced on teachers over the past year in Los Angeles, Denver, West Virginia, and other cities and states across the country. In each case, the unions have isolated educators, prevented joint struggles, and then rammed through contracts without any of the teachers fundamental demands being addressed. In many states, including Oklahoma and Arizona, teachers are pressing for strike action again, just like West Virginia teachers did last week. OEA officials have praised Democratic State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond for overseeing negotiations Monday. Being that it wasnt going anywhere before and talks were ending, clearly his presence is helping, said OEA Vice President Chaz Garcia on Thurmonds role. State Senator Nancy Skinner has also been invited by the unions to take part in the negotiations. In a tweet Monday, Skinner claimed to be addressing teachers concerns over school funding and charter schools, writing, Great to meet today with striking Oakland teachers at the state Capitol. We must increase funding for education in California! And I'm proud to co-author two charter school reform bills in 2019. Despite what the OEA says, Thurmond, Skinner and other Democrats are not friends of teachers and public education. Thurmond voted last year for Assembly Bill 1840, forcing Oakland to close schools to pay off debt. Skinner previously voted for a collective $20 billion in education cuts in the 2008, 2009 and 2010 state budgets, which reduced California to one of the lowest-spending states per pupil in the country. Skinners two proposed reform bills, AB 1505 and AB 1508, are little more than window dressing for California Democrats, who have overseen the building of the largest number of charter schools in the nation. The bills would give more oversight to local authorities granting charters over these for-profit schools, which would supposedly reduce abuses and the negative impacts on communities like Oakland. The statement of the rank-and-file strike committee outlines its demands, including: 1. No cuts, no closures! Full funding for public education by sharply increasing taxation of the giant corporations and the super-rich, and a reduction of taxes on working class families. 2. An immediate 30 percent increase in pay for all teachers and the reduction of class sizes to 18 for elementary school and 26 with an aide for middle and high school. 3. Take profit out of education! We demand a complete end to charter schools, which drain resources and students from traditional public schools, and the conversion of charters back into public schools. The statement concludes by urging teachers to join the Oakland Rank-and-File Strike Committee today to organize the independent strength of teachers, oppose any effort to shut down the struggle without meeting teachers demands, and fight to mobilize the entire working class to defend the social right of students to a free and quality public education. Luis Daniel Prieto, a 34-year-old worker and public opponent of corporate job cuts from the town of Lagos de Moreno in central Mexico, reported to the World Socialist Web Site that thugs sought to break into his home at 1:40 a.m. on February 14. This is not the first time Prieto has been the victim of attacks which he believes were organized by company thugs. Earlier in February, the WSWS reported that two people beat him bloody in 2018 with a metal pipe outside his house and that the inside of his car was later torched. Prieto believes these attacks were in retribution for his efforts to organize protests against job cuts by Sevige, a private security contractor hired by major companies like Nestle and German auto-parts maker Draexlmaier. Now Prieto has come under attack again. The latest provocation comes just 9 days after the WSWS shared his video greetings to the February 9 demonstration in Detroit against GM plant closings. The Socialist Equality Party (US) condemns these attacks and demands the criminal prosecution of those responsible. Luis Daniel indicates that he was watching a movie at the time with his partner when they heard a loud noise, as if a neighbor had fallen upstairs. Prieto told the WSWS, I stood up, checked and saw a hole in the window of the door. I looked through it but didnt go out since someone could be there to beat me up. My impression, given how loud the thump was, is that they tried to break in, but the door didnt yield. He then called 911. Two police officers arrived 40 minutes later and dismissed his concerns that the attacks were politically motivated. Oh, thats normal, people want to beat us up all the time too, Prieto says police told him. There is evidence indicating the break-in was politically motivated. A few hours after the attempted break in, at 6 a.m., a prosecutor, several lawyers and masked police officers paid a provocative visit to the home of a worker who Prieto had helped defend when Sevige fired her without severance pay. Prieto organized protests outside of Nestle after Sevige, Nestles sub-contractor, unjustly fired her. Nearly two years after her case was settled in her favor on April 3, 2017, the company, which Prieto indicates was founded by a former federal police official, Reynaldo Lara, is suddenly ordering her to pay an $8,000 debt that she claims amounts to extortion. The timing of the two attacks, as well as Prietos recent video statement, indicate it was not a random act of criminal violence. The same morning of the two provocations, at about 2 a.m. on February 14, autoworkers at Fisher Dynamics in Matamoros who had also sent a video to the WSWS in support of the February 9 march were attacked by union thugs. Four days later, police violently broke through a picket line of striking workers at Bright Finishing. As threats and reprisals escalate, thousands have been fired in the city since the strike wave began on January 12. Prieto told the WSWS that the attack was a threat against the entire working class. Soon, they will not only be breaking windows. Theyll arrest all who oppose the government. Well be looking for a solution on how to even open ones mouth We need to see reality and not let this happen. Prieto cited the crackdown in Matamoros, the plant closings in Detroit and the recent desecration of Marxs grave in London. US workers who belong to the Steering Committee of the Coalition of Rank-and-File Committees, which organized the February 9 demonstration with the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter, sent statements denouncing the attack against Prieto. Kathy, an autoworker from Detroit, Michigan, said We will and are going to make a stand against the barbaric injustice that has taken place in opposition to the thugs barbaric actions recently leveled towards you. A threat to one IS a threat to all! I was warmed by the video message you sent in support of us on February 9 as well as many other comrades and, as we continue in this international struggle, we are uniting together as united, working-class brothers and sisters of which we will be standing as ONE! We will and can be the worlds MOST POWERFUL force in history! Continue standing proud as we are so very proud of you! Steve, a trucker from New York, said: I extend my support to Luis Daniel Prieto as well as his efforts in taking a stand against the multinational corporations. The North American and world working classthe most powerful force in societywill become aware of this injustice through the WSWS, and workers will not tolerate the thuggish tactics of those in power, for workers know that they will likely face the same situation with the approaching class struggles. Another steering committee member, a Michigan-based auto-parts worker, said: A harm to one is an injury to all. You thugs have attacked our brother, Mr. Luis Daniel Prieto, for his bravery to defend abused brothers and sisters victimized by corporate and union crimes, thinking yourselves immune to accountability from international, working-class justice. How wrong indeed is your fallacy thugs, for we are coming for you! The World Socialist Web Site will continue to carefully monitor the situation and inform our readers of any further threats and reprisals by corporations, their thugs and political and union hirelings against Luis Daniel, who greeted the messages by the steering committee members saying, the support is reciprocal. The strike by tens of thousands of maquiladora workers in Matamoros, Mexico, across the border from Brownsville, Texas, has had a crippling effect on production at major auto assembly plants in the United States and Canada, which are owned by Ford and other automakers. After concealing this fact for more than six weeks after the January 12 strike began, the news media in the US is finally acknowledging the impact of the walkouts by 70,000 Mexican workers at foreign-based companies that supply steering wheels, seat belts and other parts to the Detroit automakers. This impact on production was first reported by the World Socialist Web Site on January 19, based on reports from workers at Fords Flat Rock assembly plant in suburban Detroit. Workers told the WSWS that the company was temporarily suspending production due to a shortage of steering wheels caused by the walkout in Mexico. On Tuesday, the Detroit Free Press, which has very close ties both to the auto companies and the United Auto Workers (UAW), wrote, A labor strike in Mexico forced Ford Motor Co. to build Mustang cars and Explorer SUVs with temporary steering wheels and hold thousands of the vehicles in nearby parking lots awaiting parts, the Free Press has learned. While waiting, Ford sent approximately 3,200 factory workers home for two weeks of unplanned down time at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant south of Detroit, the company confirmed Monday. In addition, workers at the Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario were sent home for three days while waiting for parts to install in the Ford Flex and Lincoln Nautilus. The newspaper reported that the supply of steering wheels had resumed as of Monday and that Ford planned to inform its Flat Rock workers that they would remain on two shifts for two weeks in April to make up for lost production. We had a parts shortage due to a supplier issue, Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker told the Free Press. It affected Flat Rock and Mustang, specifically. The Explorer was affected, and we did continue to build. We did not take down time at the Chicago Assembly Plant. We will be upfitting those vehicles affected by the [parts] shortage, just like Mustang. She added, The situation is resolved. Parts are flowing. While the statement by Ford did not mention the strikes in Mexico, the Free Press said its investigation pointed to Mexico as the culprit. The newspaper pointed to Swedish-based Autoliv, which has plants in Matamoros and produces steering wheels. The two Detroit daily newspapers (the Free Press and the Detroit News), along with the rest of the news media in the US and Canada, conducted a news blackout on the Matamoros strike. The media has been joined by the UAW and the Unifor union in Canada. This was driven by the fear that US and Canadian workers would emulate the actions of the Mexican workers who revolted against the corporate-controlled unions and organized independent strike committees to spread the strike across more than 45 factories. What struck terror in the hearts of the corporate media mouthpieces and union executives most was the fact that the Matamoros workers issued calls for US workers to join their fight against the global automakers. The promotion of the lie that Mexican workers are docile and satisfied with their miserable conditions and are offering themselves up as cheap labor to steal American jobs, has long been the stock-in-trade of the unions, Donald Trump and the Democratic Party. As US and Canadian workers see Mexican workers fighting back, they increasingly understand that the Mexican workers are not their enemies but their class brothers and sisters fighting the same global corporations and pro-company unions. The striving by workers to unify across borders was highlighted by the video sent by striking workers at the Michigan-based Fisher Dynamics plant in Matamoros expressing their solidarity with the February 9 demonstration against GM plant closings organized by the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter and the Steering Committee of the Coalition of Rank-and-File Committees. The Free Press and the Detroit News were silent about the February 9 demonstration, which called for US and Canadian workers to build their own rank-and-file committees, independent of the unions, and explicitly called for the unity of all North American workers in opposition to the anti-Mexican campaign of the UAW and Unifor. Now that several of the strikes have been settled, the media has begun to report on the impact of the strike. At the same time, industry analysts are warning about the dangers of an internationally coordinated struggle against the global automakers, which have long pitted workers against each other in a race to the bottom. These strikes underscore how highly integrated the supply lines are, Harley Shaiken, a professor at the University of California Berkeley, told the Free Press. Most customers prefer steering wheels, so when you get this kind of disruption, it can paralyze production across North America. If you have labor unrest in Mexico, it impacts the U.S. And you have unrest now because youve had suppressed wages for decades. Jeoff Burris, founder of Plymouth-based Advanced Purchasing Dynamics, a supply chain consultant to auto suppliers primarily in North America, told the Free Press, Companies worldwide look to Mexico as a low-cost labor region that can easily and efficiently ship finished components throughout the U.S. and Canada. Burris added, Its not routine for Mexico to have labor disruptions that upset the making of vehicles My concern is the new Mexico administration has kind of unleashed a genie in a bottle. Theyve built a huge amount of expectations. Those expectations are similar to what happened in the US in the 1960s and 70s, when strikes were very prevalent in the automotive industry. Thats the thing I look at. The new administration of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has in fact done everything it can to contain opposition while proposing to expand the number of free trade zones along the border. Obradors promise to double the minimum wage in more expensive communities along the US border to 176.2 pesos, or $9.28 a day, did not affect workers in the Matamoros factories who were already making the minimum wage. This sparked widespread outrage against the unions and corporations and the wave of strikes demanding 20/32, or a 20 percent pay raise and one-time 32,000 pesos ($1,662) bonus. Over the last several weeks, the maquiladora owners, the unions and state authorities have stepped up the repression of strikers, including thug attacks by union bureaucrats and mass layoffs and victimization of strike leaders. This underscores the necessity of US and Canadian autoworkers coming to the defense of Mexican workers and establishing the closest links with them. Two weeks before the Free Press article acknowledging the production slowdown in the US and Canada, a Flat Rock worker told the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter, Astonishing that the walkout in Mexico, and particularly Ford's supplier of steering wheels SHUT THEM DOWN and there is zero coverage in any major media source. Not even the Detroit News/Free Press. Absolutely incredible how much power the worker has when it is exercised, he concluded, expressing his solidarity with the striking workers south of the border. We need to stand united and, like our brave Mexican amigos, be willing to stand up and walk out, he said, referring to the upcoming struggle facing 150,000 GM, Ford and Chrysler workers whose contracts expire this September. Less than a fortnight after fascists vandalised the grave of Karl Marx, New Scotland Yard has revealed that police investigations into both recent attacks are now closed. New Scotland Yard told the World Socialist Web Site yesterday, The investigation, including to establish if there were any CCTV opportunities, were [sic] completed by officers from the [Metropolitan Police] Central North Command Unit. At this stage the investigation has been closed. The closure of the police investigations amounts to state protection for the fascist culprits of the worst attacks on Marxs grave in more than four decades. In the first assault, reported to police on February 4, the graves marble plaque was repeatedly smashed with a hammer, damaging it beyond repair. A second attack on the night of February 15 saw the entire monument defaced by anti-communist slogans daubed in bright-red paint. Marxs grave at Highgate Cemetery is a Grade I listed historical monument, meaning it is regarded as a building or structure of exceptional interest. In England, it is the Secretary of State who grants protected status to historically important buildings. The majoritysome 92 percentare Grade II listed buildings, including Battersea Power Station, BT Tower and Abbey Road Studios. Examples of Grade I listed buildings include The Palace of Westminster, Tower Bridge, York Minster and The Cenotaph. If any of these had been defacedlet alone damaged irreparably as Marxs grave has beenthe vandals would have swiftly been apprehended, with CCTV footage and other evidence carefully analysed to secure convictions. Had any one of the several memorials to Britains wartime prime minister Winston Churchill been attackedhis grave at St. Martins Church in Oxfordshire, or the memorial statue at Parliament Squarethe media outcry would be deafening, with the BBC and tabloid muckrakers demanding that police find and apprehend the culprits. As with every aspect of Marxs life, the state response to the attack on his grave is profoundly political. There can be little doubt that the decision to close police investigations was approved by the relevant ministerin this case, Home Secretary Sajid Javid. As the World Socialist Web Site noted in a statement published on February 19, The attack on Marxs grave isa significant warning of the growing danger to the working class across Europe and internationally from far-right forces that have been deliberately cultivated by the bourgeoisie and given succour by the mass media. The trashing of Marxs grave has coincided with fascist attacks on the graves of socialist leaders in Spain and on Holocaust memorials and Jewish cemeteries in France, Poland, Lithuania and Greece. In Manchester, a Jewish cemetery was targeted on February 8, with fascist hoodlums smashing gravestones, windows and wash basins. The corporate-controlled media hasnt drawn any connection between the attack on Marxs grave and these assaults on Jewish cemeteries. Such comparisons are off-limits because they expose the state campaign against left-wing anti-Semitism. Not a single British journalist or politician has been prepared to tell the truth: that the attack on Marxs grave shows the real source of anti-Semitism is the far-right, promoted and protected by the state. The silence of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and his shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, over the attacks at Highgate Cemetery is politically criminal. The police would have thought twice about closing their investigations if either of these two gentlemen had raised their voices. Disgracefully, it was left to the Conservative parliamentary under-secretary of state for the arts, tourism and heritage, Michael Ellis, to make a public statement on Twitter: This morning I visited @HighgateCemetery to see the shocking impact of vandalism on the memorial to Karl Marx. Whatever ones political views, acts like this on our Listed monuments are an outrage. The Marx Grave Trust issued a statement in the Stalinist Morning Star, headlined, Marx Grave Trust Wishes Public to Respect Marxs Tomb as a Place of Commemoration and Family Grave. It did not mention the word fascist, nor that the police investigation had been closed. The silence of the political establishment stands in stark contrast to the sentiments of workers and young people from around the world who visited Highgate Cemetery last weekend. Ian Dungavell, chief executive at Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust, told the World Socialist Web Site, People have been really horrified. Obviously, theres strongest support from the socialist community as you would expect, but ordinary visitorsare horrified that anyone would do that to a monument. Dungavell said that Highgate Cemetery had received e-mails and messages of support from individuals and organisations from many countries, and these had been passed on to the Marx Grave Trust: We had a special free-entry day for people who live in the immediate neighbourhood on Sunday, and so many people said its terrible what they have done and it will be great to have everything fixed up. They were also heartened by the show of support. There were flowers, and banners and expressions of what Marx has meant to them. Restoration work had already begun, explained Dungavell, Historic England have commissioned a special conservator to write a report on options for cleaning and repairing the monument to make sure that this is done properly and that no damage is inadvertently caused during the cleaning and restoration process. While removing the red paint was a technical issue, damage to the marble tablet bearing the names of Marx and his wife Jenny Westphalen posed more complex problems, and these would require judgement: Some people say take it out and put a facsimile in and other people say that its important that the monument should bear the scars of the attacks on it over the yearsthat we shouldnt forget, and if you erase it, then you forget the attacks that the monument has suffered. Members of the Socialist Equality Party campaigned near Highgate Cemetery on Saturday, visiting Marxs grave and speaking with the many workers and young people from around the world who visited to show their solidarity and support for Marx and his ideas. Ivan, from Croatia, said, I am a student of philosophy and economics at the London School of Economics and I always wanted to see this place and today I got the chance. His work is relevant because, especially nowadays, Europe and the world is facing a rise of right-wing populism, which in my opinion is very dangerous and can have a very dangerous impact on our society. Agustin Sanchez Cotta explained, I am from the South of Spain, Andalucia, and this is the second time Ive honoured the grave of Marx. I am a follower of his doctrine and ideology, of his criticism of capitalism thats found in Capital and other of his texts. I think they are meaningful still. There are a lot of post-Marxist movements that believe capitalism has changed, but I think the system is the same. There is still an opposition between the owners of the means of production and workers. Even if you have poor owners and very rich workers, it is still a fundamental relation. The moment you have a job contract, you are different from the person who has the means of production and the contract, which should say something like you should do an equal part, but it will never be. Because he can get another worker and carry on with his production, but youve only got your labour. I think that analysis still holds. The dynamic of capitalism has changed but the principles are the same. I think the far-right is trying to deal a blow to the left. It is trying in all ways: politically, economically, ideologically. The far-right is trying to mobilise their support base. And this is an international issue. The Socialist Equality Party calls on workers to demand the reopening of the police investigation into the desecration of Marxs grave. A full accounting must be given of what measures have been taken, including what CCTV footage has been viewed. Most importantly, we urge all those workers and young people concerned at the attack on Marxs grave to attend the event being held on Sunday, March 17, at Foyles bookshop in London to launch the English language edition of Why Are They Back? Historical falsification, political conspiracy and the return of fascism. The event will be addressed by Socialist Equality Party (Germany) deputy-leader Christoph Vandreier and World Socialist Web Site international editorial board chairperson David North. The funeral for one of the youngest victims of Legionnaires disease was held Sunday in Flint, Michigan. Jassmine McBride, only 30 years old, contracted the deadly lung disease at the height of the Flint water crisis in 2014. Her death brings the total to 13 people who have died from it. The disease infected at least 90 people. During a routine visit to McLaren Flint Hospital to treat diabetes in August 2014, when Jassmine was just 26 years old, she was diagnosed with Legionnaires disease. According to a local news report at the time, Jassmines mother Jacqueline was devastated and shocked: The hospital called and said, Do we have permission to resuscitate your daughter? I couldnt understand what happened. She just went to get an iron supplement. The bacteria had attacked her lungs, leaving her with very little ability to take in sufficient oxygen to live. At that time, Jassmine spent two months heavily sedated in the intensive care unit. Her life was changed forever. Before contracting Legionnaires, she was a young woman who was active in the band at Central High School, loved to dance and enjoyed singing in her church choir. Although she became unable to physically attend college, she was a determined young woman and began taking online classes to become a medical biller. Before her death, she was permanently tied to an oxygen tank and home-bound. In an interview with a local reporter in May 2018, Jassmine noted that not one trial had taken place for those accused of not alerting the public about the outbreaks of Legionnaires, although many preliminary hearings had been going on in Flint for several months. Addressing those responsible, she said, You messed up someones future. You interfered with someone who wanted to help people, and you have innocent children who wont even be able to experience life. There is hatred, and Im upset because its somebodys life they took. I want to take their life and put them in my shoes to see what Im going through. In October 2018, a report about the survivors of Legionnaires described how Jassmines condition had worsened: She has lesions on her face and neck, tubes coming out of her, and she can barely walk without crutches. She wonders if she will ever lead a normal life. Jassmine was the victim of the largest public health disaster in American history. The poisoning of residents and its cover-up was set into motion by the deliberate policies of Democratic and Republican politicians at all levels of government. With the goal of making money from the new private Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA), the safe Detroit/Lake Huron water source used in Flint for 50 years was switched to the toxic Flint River in April 2014. Corrosion control chemicals were not added to the antiquated water treatment plant. The untreated water not only poisoned the population with lead, but it also contributed to two significant spikes of Legionnaires disease, in June 2014 and May 2015. The failure to properly treat the water created ideal growth conditions for the deadly legionella bacteria. Assessment of Legionnaires disease outbreak in Flint, a study published in 2018 by the National Academy of Sciences, clearly established the link between the deadly disease and the water. The study found: The results indicate that the risk of a Flint resident contracting Legionnaires disease increased 6.3-fold following water supply changes in Flint in 2014. Moreover, decreasing concentrations of free chlorine in the water were associated with increased risk of developing Legionnaires disease; the risk increased by 80 percent per 1 mg/L decrease in free chlorine during the water supply change. The outbreak constitutes one of the largest Legionnaires outbreaks in the United States, and coincided with the water source and treatment changes to the system supplying drinking water to Flint. Florlisa Fowler, a Flint resident who has been active since the beginning of the water crisis, spoke to the World Socialist Web Site. I want to give my condolences to Jassmine McBrides family and friends and our true heartfelt wishes that her voice is carried on, she said. And, I want to reiterate that the lead scenario is only one piece of the problem that was created in Flint. There is still bacteria and unknown chemicals that run through the entire system. There are sewerage issues that have as yet to be addressed. Until we stand up with the working class of the US and internationally and fight to resolve the issue of failing infrastructure, it will continue to worsen. We must press on and let those voices such as Jassmines be heard. She let it be known that her failing health was due to the government failing her. Its almost five years since the water switch, when our government decided to switch from the Detroit water source to the Flint River, yet none of the issues which are affecting our health have been addressed. Now people are starting to pass away, and we ask who will be next? Rick Snyder, governor at the time and other government officials did not acknowledge the Legionnaires outbreaks until January 2016. Florlisa added, If they had warned people, we could have prevented sickness. They covered it up and people suffered and people died. Decades of deindustrialization have left the birthplace of General Motors and the historic sit-down strike littered with closed auto plants and toxic dumps. We are now discovering the sites that General Motors left to Racer Trust are contaminating the ground water and affecting the entire area, Florlisa said. I would be shocked if anyone like Snyder or the emergency managers were brought to trial and held accountable. I dont ever foresee it happening. The crisis still exists. Theres no superman or superwoman coming to save us. Its going to take us, the average workers all over the world. Its not the officials, its us. It remains unclear how many people in Flint actually contracted Legionnaires disease at the height of the Flint water crisis, since the symptoms mirror pneumonia. There was a dramatic increase in pneumonia deaths in Flint after the 2014 switch. A recent PBS Frontline investigation suggests that some of the 119 deaths from pneumonia during the time the city relied on Flint River water should likely be attributed to Legionnaires disease. The tally is based on an extensive review of death records and interviews with epidemiologists and other scientists who are experts in the field of infectious diseases. If the death toll is higher, as the records and interviews suggest, a 15-month delay by state officials in notifying the community about the legionella outbreak may have cost even more lives. The death of Jassmine McBride and the circumstances that led to this tragedy illustrate the conditions that persist in Flint nearly five years since the onset of the water crisis. A social crime has been committed by a financial aristocracy that has spent the past half-century plundering the country and neglecting its social and physical infrastructure while accumulating unimaginable sums of personal wealth. Writing in his 1845 work, The Condition of the Working Class in England, Friedrich Engels condemned the British ruling class for social murder due to the fetid water supplies, cramped housing, and disease that afflicted working-class districts in Manchester and other cities: When society places hundreds of proletarians in such a position that they inevitably meet a too early and an unnatural death, one which is quite as much a death by violence as that by the sword or bullet; when it deprives thousands of the necessaries of life, places them under conditions in which they cannot liveforces them, through the strong arm of the law, to remain in such conditions until that death ensues which is the inevitable consequenceknows that these thousands of victims must perish, and yet permits these conditions to remain, its deed is murder just as surely as the deed of the single individual. On Tuesday, February 19, teachers in Fremont, California, who have been working without a contract for the entire 2018-2019 academic year, staged a sick-out. The wildcat work action, coming just two days before the start of the strike by 3,000 teachers in nearby Oakland, involved 50 out of 92 teachers at Mission San Jose High School. The sick-out has been blacked out in the local media, reflecting the fear within the ruling class and the political establishment that the renewed wave of teachers strikesalready including Los Angeles, Denver, West Virginia and Oaklandwill spread further and escape the control of the pro-corporate trade unions. The only publication to report the work action was the student newspaper at Mission San Jose, the Smoke Signal. The Fremont Unified District Teachers Association (FUDTA) denounced the sick-out, underscoring its role as an instrument of the state to suppress the resistance of educators to the destruction of their living standards and public education itself. FUDTA President Victoria Birbeck posted a notice on the Fremont Teachers Facebook page stating: 2/3 of MSJHS teachers were absent today. This action was not a union-authorized nor union-organized event. Teachers and other school staff have been kept largely in the dark about contract negotiations between the FUDTA and the Fremont Unified School District (FUSD). However, the school board recently posted an update revealing that the district is offering a paltry two percent raise for the 2018-2019 school year, up from an initial offer of 0.51 percent. Starting in 2019-2020, the FUSD proposes to tie any salary increases to increased employee pension costs, reducing future raises to a maximum of 1-2 percent per year. The FUDTA has rejected this offer, but its counteroffer is barely an improvement. FUDTA negotiators have proposed a raise of 4 percent for the current academic year, with future raises tied to a state-calculated cost of living adjustment (COLA), plus an additional one percent. After the most recent bargaining session, on February 12, the two parties have agreed to a fact finding process. The FUDTA is affiliated with the California Teachers Association (CTA), along with almost 1,000 other local associations in the state, including the Oakland Education Association, which is currently on strike. The CTA is part of the National Education Association (NEA), which collects dues from nearly 3 million members throughout the country, making it the largest union in the US. Teachers, private and public, pay well over $1,000 per year in dues to either the NEA or the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). These organizations, however, are instrumental in enabling the two big-business parties to impose cuts in real wages, increased health care costs, increased pension contributions and the systematic undermining of conditions in the public schools. They accept and facilitate the privatization of education and spread of for-profit charter schools. They have served over the past two years of teachers rebellions and strikes to isolate the various struggles, suppress them and impose sellout contracts that fail to meet any of the educators demands. The fact that the FUDTA, the Oakland Education Association and the state and national unions are silent on the Fremont teachers wildcat and are keeping the struggles of teachers in Fremont and nearby Oakland separate underscores the unions treacherous role. The dues that come out of teachers checks every month go to fund the lucrative salaries of presidents Lily Eskelsen (NEA) and Randi Weingarten (AFT), whose total compensation is $416,633 and $497,118, respectively. Forty-eight individuals in the NEA and twenty-eight in the AFT make over $200,000 in total compensation each year. Hundreds more make over $100,000. In the 2018 election cycle, each of these organizations contributed over $20,000,000 to politicians, almost exclusively within the Democratic Party. In Fremont, as in Oakland and Los Angeles, issues such as housing and health care that confront the working class as a whole are even more pronounced. According to Zillow, as of January 31, the median home price in Fremont is $1,137,800an 11.2 percent increase over the past year. As more tech and finance jobs have been created in and around Silicon Valley, there has been little done to build more housing units in order to keep housing affordable, especially for sections of the working class involved in manufacturing, retail or services. Monthly rental costs hover over $3,000, two to three times other areas of the country. The ever-rising cost of housing in the district has led teachers to move many miles away and face long and crowded commutesor leave the profession or region altogether. Noticeably absent from bargaining discussions between the school board and FUDTA representatives is the fact that Fremont teachers do not have health care included in their salary. The lowest-cost health insurance premiums in the district run from bare bones catastrophic coverage plans at $543.19 per month up to $1,131.68 per monthfor an individual. Employees pay the full premium amount. Families can expect to pay $2,000 to $3,000 a month just for monthly premiums and apart from expensive co-pays, co-insurance and $500-$1,000 in annual deductibles. Dental and vision plans cost extra. Classroom sizes are in the 30s, infrastructure is decaying, special education and language support are lacking, and students are regularly committed to psychiatric assistance due to signs of mental illness. Students and parents in every community are aware of these issues. They have continually expressed their support for improving the education system and in each of the teachers strikes, parents and students have joined educators on the picket lines and helped organize the strikes through social media. While Fremont teachers are being told by the FUDTA that their struggle is only about their current contract and the narrow limits of their salary negotiations, there is a need to broaden the struggle to the broader issues of chronic underfunding of public education and to link up with the striking teachers in Oakland and other school districts in California and throughout the country. To conduct such a struggle, Fremont teachers should establish rank-and-file committees independent of the unions and the Democratic Party in the schools, work sites and neighborhoods. Follow WSWS reporters Niles Niemuth and Zac Corrigan on Twitter. A fire rapidly consumed a mobile home in Imlay City, Michigan, an hour north of Detroit, early Tuesday morning tragically claiming the lives of three young children and injuring four others. Keyanna Kelly, 3, Keyondre Kelly, 5, and Keith Kelly, 6, were all pronounced dead after being rushed to an area hospital. Their father, Keith Kelly Sr., 42, and mother, Krystal Whitney, 29, along with their two other children, Keyshawn, 18 months, and Keyairah, one month, are all being treated for burns and smoke inhalation. Firefighters who arrived on the scene around 3 a.m. found Whitney yelling for help to get her family out of the burning home. The front half of the house had been engulfed in flames, impeding rescue efforts by the mother and first responders. All I could hear was this lady screaming, and then this voice shouting which room are they in!? Jonathan, a construction worker who lives 100 feet away in another mobile home, told the WSWS. I looked out my window and this house was just engulfed in flames. I woke up my wife, and we said, Lets get the kids out of here! It was so close to us! It was a scary situation, but we all got outside. Then an ambulance parked right here in my driveway, and they were just bringing kid after kid out of that house. A newborn baby was screaming as they pulled him out of the fire, and officers were carrying a kid and saying, Stay with me, keep breathing! I could see the smoke from my house, Christopher, a high school freshman who lives down the street, noted. I knew the dad because I used to plow their snow. He was really nice to us. I knew the kids because they used to go to Weston Elementary. It was a tinderbox, theres no doubt about it, Imlay City Police Chief Scott Pike told reporters at a press conference Tuesday. It burned immensely fast, and it was very extreme heat. While the cause of the fire is still under investigation, Pike explained that the homes furnace had not been working and that a space heater or another heating source used to compensate likely caused the blaze. The temperature had dropped to 16 degrees Fahrenheit 9 Celsius) Monday night into Tuesday morning. From what I heard, their furnace wasnt working and they just used this small heater, Jonathan said. It feels like its an every-year thing here in this trailer park. But this one is the worst. Last year we had one around the corner that burned, but it was just one room. With nearly half of American adults reporting that they would be unable to afford a $400 emergency expense, it would not have been unusual for the family to turn to a cheaper heating alternative while they saved enough money to get their furnace repaired. There has been an immediate outpouring of support for the Kelly family in the neighborhood and online. A candlelight vigil was held for the victims outside the house Tuesday night. As of this writing, more than $8,000 has been raised on a GoFundMe page to aid the family with medical bills and other expenses. Ive lived here about twelve years. Its a nice community, Jonathan noted. In the summer people are always out and walking around. Everybody knows everybody. They know how many kids you have. The school staff here is amazing. So, when something like this happens, it shocks the community. Imlay City, a small working-class community of approximately 3,500 residents 56 miles north of Detroit and 35 miles east of Flint, is the site of auto parts manufacturing and agricultural processing. Approximately 25 percent of residents lived below the poverty line in 2016, with a median household income of just $31,000. One of the largest employers in the area is Vlasic Pickles, which operates a processing plant that produces more than 150 million jars of pickle products every year. Immediately across the road from the trailer park where the fire broke out is Toyo Seat, an auto parts manufacturer where workers make seats and other parts for Nissan, Mazda and Toyota. Many of those who live in the trailer park work in construction or commute to surrounding areas to work low-wage jobs. My dad works around the area. He works outside and does construction on basements, Christopher explained. He gets about $15 an hour. My mom used to get paid $10.50 an hour for 11 years. They never gave her a raise when she was working in Lapeer at Mold-Masters Engineering. She had a heart attack, and she got removed from her job. Then she worked at a fabric company where she got paid $7.50 an hour. She left that job since there was no heat, and she was breathing smoke in because nothing was in there to [ventilate] the smoke. So far this year, there have been more than 430 home fire fatalities across the United States. More than 2,300 deaths were reported last year. That so many could perish in their homes in the wealthiest country in the world is a damning indictment of the capitalist system. House fires are the outcome not of individual failings. They are a social crime committed against the working class by the ruling elite which dominates society. While American corporations pour hundreds of billions into stock buybacks to enrich their wealthy shareholders, workers are forced to live on poverty wages that compel them and their families to live in substandard conditions. Mobile homes are among the cheapest and deadliest housing options for workers. Constructed out of little more than plywood, plastic siding and insulation, they are tinderboxes for fires in the winter and can be blown to splinters by tornadoes in the spring. I think Imlay City should provide people with heating systems, Christopher said when asked what could have been done to prevent Tuesdays fire. They could have got help from the city. But probably Imlay City wouldnt want to give them help. But they should, so these tragedies dont happen in the winter. I think people should provide heaters and stuff, start an organization to save up money to buy things they need, his cousin Gonzalo, a 6th grade student, added. Because instead of using actual furnaces, people use their stove, and that can potentially catch on fire and blow up. Billionaires get way more money than they even need, Christopher concluded. We should get rights, too. People should get paid not to their abilities but to their needs. If someone gets injured, they should get paid more because theyre going to need money for a doctor or for prescriptions. In an expansion of the auto giants worldwide restructuring and assault on jobs, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) announced Tuesday that it would cut an entire shift from its Belvidere Assembly Plant in northern Illinois, laying off 1,371 workers. The company will reduce production to just two shifts at the factory starting May 6, eliminating the C shift. The Belvidere plant, located approximately 75 miles northwest of Chicago, is one of the largest employers in the economically depressed Rockford area, with 5,131 hourly workers and 333 salaried employees, according to company data. Since 2017, workers there have produced the Jeep Cherokee SUV, which previously was built at FCAs Toledo, Ohio, plant. The company, the media and local politicians have all sought to downplay the cuts. As of this writing, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, which has collaborated with the corporations in destroying hundreds of thousands of jobs over the last 40 years, has maintained a guilty silence on the layoffs, issuing no public statements either at the national or local level. Instead, both the union and media have lauded the companys announcement, also made Tuesday morning, that it plans to invest $4.5 billion in the Detroit area. In a multi-page press release, the company claimed it would expand production at five sites in Detroit; redevelop the idled Mack Avenue Engine Complex into a new assembly plant; retool plants to allow for the eventual production of hybrid and electric models; and add 6,500 jobs. There is ample reason to believe that a substantial portion of the jobs and investments will never be realized. In a lengthy disclaimer at the end of the press release, the company lists numerous caveats, stating their lofty promises are based on the FCA Groups current expectations and projections about future events and, by their nature, are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. They relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur or exist in the future and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on them. However, the UAW predictably responded to the announcement by seeking to promote the maximum illusions in the companys assurances. UAW Vice President for Fiat Chrysler Cindy Estradawidely despised by autoworkers for her role in negotiating backroom deals with companiespraised FCA, while seeking yet again to foment nationalist hatred of foreign workers. At a time when the Detroit area and other communities are seeing auto plants without work and in jeopardy of closing while companies continue to ship vehicles into the US from Mexico, China, Korea and other countries it is exciting to see that we can work with FCA and secure good union jobs here in Michigan. Promoting reactionary American chauvinism and slavish corporatism in equal measure, she continued, I look at todays investment as a reward for the efforts of our membership and a show of confidence that the members of the UAW are the best auto workers in the world. Both the promises of investment in Detroit and the job cuts at Belvidere will be held up by FCA and the UAW as the proverbial carrot and stick in the run-up to the expiration of its contract in September this year. The Big Three and the union alike are looking forward to the contract expirations with dread, fearing a full-blown revolt by autoworkers, who rebelled against the UAWs first attempt to ram through a pro-company agreement at FCA in 2015. They hope to use the threat of job losses or promises of new jobs to extract more wage and benefit concessions, while accelerating their joint effort to rid the plants of higher-paid experienced workers and replace them with a low-paid workforce of largely contingent workers. The layoffs at Belvidere are part of the ongoing global jobs massacre in the auto industry. Following General Motors announcement last November that it planned to close five plants and lay off nearly 15,000, virtually all the top automakers have announced intentions to carry out job cuts, with Ford, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover and Nissan all announcing plant closings or mass layoffs in countries throughout Europe, North and South America in recent weeks. In a terse and cold-blooded statement, FCA claimed the cuts at Belvidere were in response to a softening market. We are aligning production with global demand, said company spokeswoman Jodi Tinson. However, the Jeep Cherokee, the sole vehicle now produced at the plant, sold in record numbers in 2018, up 41 percent from the year before. In 2017, FCA invested $350 million to retool the Belvidere plant for production of the Cherokee, which was moved from the Toledo Jeep plant. In a worthless gesture, Tinson continued that the company would make every effort to place indefinitely laid-off hourly employees in open full-time positions as they become available based on seniority. However, FCA has every intention of permanently forcing out better-paid legacy workers. The production drawdown threatens not only the jobs of workers at FCAs main assembly and stamping plant, but hundreds or more additional jobs at nearby parts suppliers, such as Magna and Yanfeng Automotive Interiors. FCA is awash in cash. The company took in $8.16 billion in pre-tax profits in 2018 and has announced its intentions to issue its first dividend since Chrysler was taken over by Fiat in 2009, planning a 1 billion ($1.13 billion) payout to its shareholders later this year. This would be in addition to a special dividend of 2 billion ($2.3 billion) if the company successfully finalizes the sale of its Italy-based components firm Magneti Marelli. For his part, FCA CEO Mike Manley, who replaced Sergio Marchionne following the latters death last June, is set to be awarded $14 million this year if he meets performance targets. No one should believe that the UAW has been caught by surprise by the announcement of layoffs. Workers at Belvidere have reported rumors swirling for months of the potential shift elimination, many coming from union stewards and officials. The UAWs silence on the job cuts demonstrates once again its criminal collusion with the company and contempt for workers. Since 2017, an unfolding corruption scandal and federal investigation has revealed that FCA executives funneled millions of dollars of bribes to UAW officials in order to secure company friendly agreements. The UAW, like the trade unions more broadly, are hostile to any struggle to defend jobs, wages or the most basic interests of workers. It is a business enterpriserun by executives with six-figure salarieswhose main purpose is to suppress any resistance by workers to the companies demands. Autoworkers at Belvidere should reject with contempt FCAs plans for layoffs. Workers rights to a good-paying job are non-negotiable! Preparations must be made now to organize an opposition independently of the UAW to fight back against the company-union conspiracy for a new round of restructuring and brutal concessions. Autoworkers should form rank-and-file committees to carry out a struggle against plant closings, layoffs and givebacks throughout the auto industry, and establish connections with their brothers and sisters in Mexico, Canada and other countries who face the same fight. Such committees should raise demands that correspond to what workers actually needthe abolition of all tiers, the conversion to full-time of all temporary and part-time workers, a 40 percent wage increase, the rehiring of all laid-off workersinstead of what the companys claim they can afford. On February 9, workers marched in a demonstration outside GM headquarters called by the Steering Committee for the Coalition of Rank-and-File Committees and the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter. The event was the first response of class-conscious workers aimed at mobilizing broad resistance in the working class independently of the unions. It won wide support among workers both in the US and internationally, including among striking auto parts workers just across the border in Matamoros, Mexico. Mass struggles are looming on the horizon. We urge all autoworkers who agree with the need to prepare a leadership for a fight back to contact us today. You can also message us on our Facebook page to chat with us. In a largely party-line vote, the US House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a resolution of disapproval rejecting President Donald Trumps national emergency declaration. Trump signed the declaration on February 15, circumventing Congress and shifting $8 billion previously allocated for other purposes to mobilize the military to build his wall along the US-Mexican border. Some $3.6 billion is to come from the diversion of military construction funds. The declaration is an unprecedented assertion of unilateral, quasi-dictatorial executive powers in violation of the US Constitution, which reserves to Congress the authority to allocate public funds. Never before has a president declared a national emergency to implement a policy that had been explicitly rejected by Congressin this case, its refusal to grant Trumps demand for $5.7 billion to extend existing barriers along the countrys southern border. The declaration, based on the false and fascistic claim of an emergency along the border due to an invasion of criminal aliens, also violates the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars the US military from engaging in law enforcement operations within the borders of the US. It provides a sweeping grant of authority to the Pentagon for the complete militarization of the US-Mexican border. The one paragraph disapproval resolution was sponsored by Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas. It passed by a vote of 245 to 182, with 13 Republicans joining all of the voting Democrats. (The Democratic Party won control of the House in last Novembers midterm election and holds a 235 to 197 majority). Under the terms of the 1976 National Emergencies Act, the Senate must vote on the measure within 18 days and cannot block a floor vote with a filibuster. This means that the Democrats, all of whose 47 senators are expected to vote in favor of the disapproval resolution, have to secure the votes of only four Republicans to pass the measure. Three RepublicansSusan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Thom Tillis of North Carolinahave already said they will support the resolution. However, Trump has declared that he will veto the resolution, and it is all but certain that an attempt to override the veto, requiring a two-thirds vote in each chamber, will fail. In the House, for example, it would require at least 55 Republican defections and a total vote to override of 290 to overturn Trumps veto. There is thus an enormous element of political theaterand cynicismin the Democrats congressional action against Trumps declaration. On Monday, Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said, This isnt about the border. This is about the Constitution of the United States. Yet neither Pelosi nor any other leading Democrat has suggested that Trumps subversion of the Constitution and move toward presidential dictatorship constitutes an impeachable offense. And the last thing they want to do is mobilize popular opposition to Trumps authoritarian measures and attacks on immigrants. In January, when Trump first declared his intention to invoke emergency powers to build the wall, in the midst of the 35-day partial government shutdown precipitated by his ultimatum on funding for the reactionary project, the Democrats and newspapers aligned with the Democratic Party such as the New York Times and the Washington Post indicated either acquiescence or outright support. Now they are basing their opposition largely on the argument that there is no border emergency and the diversion of funds for the wall will weaken the military and jeopardize national security as well as US imperialist foreign policy interests. They are, for example, circulating a list to wavering Republicans of all the possible military construction projects in each district that could lose funding because of money being shifted to construction of the wall. Three days after Trump signed his emergency declaration, a coalition of 16 Democratic Party-controlled states, led by California, filed a lawsuit opposing the measure. The legal complaint centered on the lack of a factual basis for this particular declaration, while avoiding any challenge to the presidents ability to declare a national emergency or allocate money without congressional authorization in general. With this and other suits filed by advocacy groups certain to wind their way through the federal appellate courts and end up in the US Supreme Court, the Democrats are encouraging the courts to issue the narrowest possible rulings, so as not to curtail the emergency powers relied on by the military-intelligence agencies, which the Democratic Party has been relentlessly promoting in its factional warfare with the Trump administration. This unprincipled, cowardly and essentially right-wing approach is also evident in a statement released Monday opposing Trumps declaration and signed by 58 former national security officials, mainly Democrats. The signatories include former secretaries of state Madeleine Albright and John Kerry; former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel; Obama-era CIA directors John Brennan and Leon Panetta; former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper; former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, former UN ambassador Samantha Power and former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Their statement explicitly affirms support for presidential emergency powers in general, but argues against this particular declaration on grounds of US national security and foreign policy aims. It states, for example: Redirecting funds for the claimed national emergency will undermine US national security and foreign policy interests. In the face of a nonexistent threat, redirecting funds for the construction of a wall along the southern border will undermine national security by needlessly pulling resources from Department of Defense programs that are responsible for keeping our troops and our country safe and running effectively. [Emphasis in the original] It goes on to complain that the administrations actions are heightening tensions with Mexico when that countrys support is needed for cooperative efforts to address the growing tensions with Venezuela, i.e., to carry out Washingtons coup to overthrow the elected government of Nicolas Maduro and install the US puppet Juan Guaido. The Cuban government has adopted a new constitution, approved by a referendum on Sunday whose overall outcome was not in doubt, explicitly allowing private property. The constitution enshrines earlier initiatives to more deeply integrate the country into the global economy and dismantle what remains of the radical economic measures taken in an earlier period. Above all, the new constitution signals the preparation for an all-out assault on the Cuban working class and the social welfare measures that distinguish its standard of living from that of other Latin American and Caribbean nations. According to the National Electoral Commission, the constitutional referendum passed with 86.9 percent of voters approving the document. According to official news agencies, turnout for the referendum was at least 7.8 million, or 84.4 percent of eligible voters, following an aggressive campaign by the government to get out the vote and encourage approval. This is less than the 97.8 percent who voted for the previous constitution of 1976. The lower turnout is an expression, though distorted, of dissatisfaction with the Cuban government. The most significant of the changes to the constitution is the explicit recognition of private property in certain means of production by natural or juridical Cubans or foreigners. In other words, the provision goes beyond the sanctification of the small-time operations of most cuentapropistas, or self-employed people. This measure is preparing the ground for the future privatization of state companies and property and the expansion of the activity of foreign corporations on the island. The constitution includes language asserting that socialism is irrevocable, that the socialist economy will regulate and control the market and that private property will play a complementary role in the economy. Aside from the fact that the Cuban Revolution was not a socialist revolution and it never established socialism, similar claims were made by the Stalinist bureaucracies just as they prepared to reintroduce capitalist property and market relations into the Eastern European economies some 30 years ago. Vadim Medvedev, one of the chief ideologists of perestroika in the former Soviet Union, argued that socialist property has many different forms which makes it flexible and capable of responding to different economic conditions in different sectors and regions. Even today, the Chinese Stalinists insist on referring to Chinese capitalism as socialism with Chinese characteristics. The impact of the dissolution of the Soviet Union on the working class was devastating, with life expectancy falling and indices of social misery skyrocketing in the years following 198991. Many of the new provisions in the constitution are aimed at winning the support of Cubas burgeoning middle class, which has seen its wealth grow in recent years from connections abroad that can supply hard currency or goods for business ventures, and which increasingly sees its interests coinciding with those of foreign capital. Though the constitution is clear that the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) will remain the fundamental pillar and leading political force in the country, the government clearly hopes that a mild democratic gloss and legalization of business activities and investment sources will appeal to these layers. Among these new provisions are the introduction of the post of prime minister and the imposition of term limits on the Cuban president who is now allowed two five-year terms, a far cry from Fidel Castros 49 years as head of government. Additionally, provincial assemblies are to be dismantled and replaced by a system of presidentially appointed governors and deputy governors, along with a devolution of responsibilities to municipalities. Several reforms have also been made to the legal system which now, on paper, recognizes the presumption of innocence and habeas corpus in criminal cases, and allows lawsuits against the state for damages and negligence. In deference to considerations of the growth of identity politics among the petty-bourgeoisie, the new constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Earlier plans to explicitly allow same-sex marriage were removed from the final draft after pushback from the Catholic Church and a number of evangelical churches. After having been removed in the draft constitution, the phrase advancing toward a communist society was put back in the final version, apparently due to overwhelming popular feedback, no doubt a reflection of the opposition of Cuban workers to several decades of immense growth in inequality. The government has been sensitive to criticism of the new constitution and has campaigned aggressively for a yes vote, even making support for it tantamount to a blow against Yankee imperialism in Latin America, which is at this moment staging a provocation aimed at regime change against Cubas principal ally, Venezuela. Indeed, the Cuban governments new constitution and drive to de-nationalize industry and expand market relations throughout the country are driven by the recognition that it can no longer rely on deep subsidies from Venezuela or survive another Special Period without a social upheaval. Basing itself not on the international working class, it seeks support from international capital in the hopes of preserving the privileges of the bureaucracy. The developments in Cuba have entirely vindicated the perspective of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), which rejected the claims that the Castro regime had implemented socialism in Cuba, above all by the Pabloite revisionists, who hailed Castro as a natural Marxist, and abandoned the fight for the building of the Fourth International throughout Latin America and the colonial world. The fight against the destruction of what remains of Cubas social welfare system and the growth of social inequality can only be carried out under the leadership of a revolutionary socialist party basing itself on Leon Trotskys theory of permanent revolution. For that reason, the fight to establish socialism in Cuba requires the building of a section of the ICFI. The author also recommends: Castroism and the politics of petty-bourgeois nationalism [7 January 1998] Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn announced Monday evening that he was ready to support a second referendum to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country. The move came after months of pressureintensified since Labours annual conference last Septemberfrom the Blairite wing of the party demanding that the party back remaining in the European Union (EU). Until now Corbyn has maintained, as per the policy agreed at its conference, that Labour intends to implement a soft-Brexitmaintaining tariff-free access to the Single European Market in the national interest, following a general election victory over the Tories. Only if that was not feasible would he back other options, including a Peoples Vote second referendum. The press release stated, One way or another, we will do everything in our power to prevent No Deal and oppose a damaging Tory Brexit based on Theresa Mays overwhelmingly rejected deal. Thats why, in line with our conference policy, we are committed to also putting forward or supporting an amendment in favour of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country. Corbyn has put an amendment forward that will be voted on this evening in parliament, setting out Labours Brexit plan. The failure of this amendment will bring into play, rather than a demand for a general election, support for a second referendum. While Corbyns move doesnt fundamentally alter the balance of political forces in the raging conflict in the ruling class over the outcome of Brexit, it confirms again that he will concede every demand made by the Blairites. The Blairites have made abundantly clear that they are opposed to a general election and want the Conservatives to remain in office. However, even were Labour to table a second referendum vote, there is not at this stage a majority in parliament for such an outcome. Up to 35 Labour MPs would oppose it. Many Labour MPs, including a substantial number in the partys right wing, hold seats in the north of England, which overwhelmingly supported Brexit. Among those on record against a second referendum are at least three shadow cabinet ministers. Moreover, eight shadow ministers were among 17 Labour MPs who either voted against or abstained on an amendment put to parliament last month by Blairite Yvette Cooper that would have authorised extending Article 50 and delaying Brexit. Corbyns latest capitulation came just hours ahead of Prime Minister Theresa Mays statement in parliament, in which she manoeuvred for more time to amend the deal she has reached with the EU. May is seeking to change parts of the withdrawal agreement relating to the post-Brexit border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to make it palatable to her partys hard-Brexit wing and the Democratic Unionist Party, on which, as the head of a minority government, she relies. May said that she would give MPs a meaningful vote on her deal on March 12. If this is voted down, she will hold another vote the following day on whether MPs support a no-deal Brexit on March 29 (the date the UK is set to leave the EU). Voting against a no-deal Brexit will then trigger another vote on March 14 to request a delay in the Article 50 negotiation processbut only until the end of June at the latest. May, appealing to her partys hard-Brexit wing in the European Research Group, said, An extension beyond the end of June would mean the UK taking part in the European Parliament elections. What kind of message would that send to the more than 17 million people who voted to leave the EU nearly three years ago now?... And the House should be clear that a short extensionnot beyond the end of Junewould almost certainly have to be a one-off. May was presented with no option but to kick the can further down the road, given that her present round of negotiations with the EU has failed, with leading EU figures suggesting a two-year delay in Britains exit. This weeks events signify that the Blairites have de facto total control over party policy, just over three years after they were annihilated by Corbyn in the leadership contest. The defection of eight Labour MPs, who were soon joined by three Tories in setting up the pro-EU Independent Group last week, has accelerated this process. Over the weekend, reports were leaked to the pro-Remain press that up to 20 Labour MPs and peers were also considering leaving the party. When the eight defectors left, to be followed by another anti-Corbyn MP, Ian Austin, the main sentiment of Labour members was that this should be followed by the deselection of the rest of the Blairite MPs. Instead, Corbyns response is to once again call for unity with the Blairites. His prostration and that of his shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, left Labours deputy leader, Tom Watson, free to tell the BBCs "Andrew Marr Show" that Corbyn had to unite the party and reshuffle the Shadow Cabinet to give greater weight to MPs with social democratic rather than socialist views. This week, he pledged to convene a group of right-wing MPs who believe in the partys social democratic tradition to develop policies. The refusal to fight the Blairites has devastating consequences for Corbyns supporters, who face an even more ferocious witch hunt based on groundless accusations of anti-Semitism directed against anyone who dares criticise the state of Israel and its repression of the Palestinians. Watson informed Labour MPs this week that all alleged cases of anti-Semitism in the party are now to be forwarded to his office for logging and monitoring This was after he accused Corbyn of ignoring 50 cases of anti-Semitism he had personally seen. Corbyns response was to invite Charles Falconer, former Prime Minister Tony Blairs one-time flatmate, close confidante and a key adviser on 2003s illegal invasion of Iraq, to oversee all allegations of anti-Semitism. A source told the Daily Mail that he would be allowed to see everything and talk to everybody. Blair himself, who remains a Labour member despite being easily the most hated politician in Britain, hailed his proteges who have split to form the Independent Group. He denounced the Labour Partys membership that is in thrall to a populism of the left. Making sure to keep up the anti-Semitism slanders, he declared, The running sore of the past two years has been the row over anti-semitism, with Jewish Labour MPs coming under sustained attack The fightback is under way within the two main parties and outside of them, where last week several MPs defected to form a new political grouping. Even this open support for a political grouping outside the Labour Party is accepted by Corbyn, with Blair escaping any form of censure. These developments expose the lie assiduously promoted by every pseudo-left tendency that Corbyn would refashion Labour as a genuinely socialist party. The exact opposite is the case, with the Blairites asserting their hegemony unchallenged. These developments are leading to a growing recognition in Labours ranks that Corbyn is directly responsible for handing the political initiative to the Blairites and facilitating a dangerous regroupment to the right in official politics. This lays the foundation, based on the continued clarification of the working class by the Socialist Equality Party, for a break with Labour to the left among broad layers of workers and youth. On Monday, the World Socialist Web Site spoke to teachers and students across Oakland as the teachers strike entered its third day. The more than 3,300 striking workers have widespread support from workers across the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as from their own students, hundreds of whom showed up to march and picket on Monday. The WSWS Teachers Newsletter passed out hundreds of copies of this statement, warning teachers that the union was preparing to end the strike in collaboration with Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, who was brought into negotiations by the Oakland Education Association (OEA) over the weekend. Thurmond voted for State Assembly Bill 1840 last year, the bill the Oakland school district is using to impose $60 million in cuts over the next two yearsincluding the closure or consolidation of a third of public schools. Though many teachers retained illusions in the union, almost everyone greeted the WSWSs slogan of a nationwide teachers strike with enthusiasm. Thats what we need! exclaimed many teachers as they took our pamphlet. Teachers interviewed by the WSWS spoke at length about the deteriorating social conditions facing them and their students. Rose, a teacher at Fremont High School, located in Fruitvale, one of the poorest areas of Oakland, said, Many of my students are refugees, many coming from Central America. He added that often, several of my students will ask to be let out early so that they can go and make money. He explained that this was often because they are in debt, eight or nine thousand, to coyotes [human smugglers who bring people across the border], and fear for themselves and their family if they do not pay. Rose showed reporters pictures on his phone of the lunches that he personally makes for his students. Every day, between 15 and 30 students eat lunch that Ive prepared for them in my classroom. Asked if it was because of the quality of food he said, Its not just the cafeteria food quality. Its also these classic American dishesspaghetti, pizzaserved to a school thats 60 percent immigrant, many who have just come here. School lunch programs are coordinated nationally through large food companies trying to sell the cheapest meal plan to a district. A 2017 report by the Brookings Institution found that the quality of school lunches directly impacts test performance and cognitive development, both in the short- and long-term. In the United States, 13 million, or one in six children, go hungry for significant periods of time every year. When asked about charter schools, Rose replied, Its not exactly charter schools that are the problem, its the whole corporate assault and takeover of public education that needs to be stopped. Rose budgets $200 a month for his students, and was also buying and preparing food for teachers during the strike. Ericson, a senior at Fremont, described the strike as really necessary. He explained, If a teacher is not getting well-paid and has to search for another job, or having second thoughts about teaching in Oakland, it impacts the quality of education. A lot of students are showing for the teachers, [because] they feel like OUSD [Oakland Unified School District] is not doing a good job, the school facilities in particular. Ericson, who recently immigrated from Nigeria, said that he felt the strike by teachers was connected to his own future. The education you get at the grassroots level determines where you go in life, he said. We have to start from the beginning to fund us. Elanor, another high school student, came to show her support at the lunchtime rally at Oscar Grant Plaza, in the heart of downtown. She and her fellow students said there was broad support for teachers. Asked about the defunding of the arts, she explained, I think STEM is really important and has a role in opening up paths in lives for students; however, music and art is really great too and should play an important role in our lives as well. The WSWS spoke to Robby, Karin and Laura, three school psychologists who were eager to have their group seen by the press. They rightly fear that their demands will remain untouched in the new contract. The three psychologists explained that the national psychological standards suggest having one school psychologist per 700 students. But, according to Karin, she finds herself being the only psychologist one-and-a-half days a week for a school of over 900 studentswhich works out to one psychologist per 3,000 students. Robby and Laura explained that school psychologists are supposed to be offering genuine psychological support to students, but due to a mixture of being overworked and misused as psychological examiners, they were almost exclusively used to do psychological evaluations of students. After speaking about the Los Angeles strike, Karin explained that she had seen what had happened to the Los Angeles school psychologists (who got nothing in the new contract) and was concerned. Her group had made an effort in the past few days to get noticed and meet with members of the OEA bargaining team. WSWS reporters stressed that the only way forward was to unify across districts and across states. Karin interjected enthusiastically, We need a national strike! Our reporters made the point that Randi Weingarten, who takes in over half a million a year, has been flying state to state to shut down strikes, making sure no two strikes happen at the same time, in an effort to stop expansion of the strikes. Thats a real problem, exclaimed one of them. The WSWS also spoke to Will, a high school senior at Oakland Tech. He and four of his classmates nodded enthusiastically when asked if the student body supported striking teachers. Will said, The strike is not really about teachers payyes, the teachers need to be paid morebut its really about public education as a whole, they are striking for us. Isaac, a physical education teacher in East Oakland, also stressed this point. Every day, he said, my students are faced with a choice: poverty, gangs, drugs or the much more difficult task of getting an education and a job. The WSWS explained that even then many students are faced with immense difficulties, including student debt, and stressed that money had to be taken from the billionaires and multimillionaires of the country to fund education. Isaac agreed. How can we do anything about this, how can we keep people off the streets, if our schools are broke? he said. Multimedia Producer Kara is an Emmy Award-winning digital producer. She is a Cincinnati native and an alumna of the University of South Carolina. She previously worked at WRDW-TV in Augusta, Ga., before moving to Nashville five years ago to work at WSMV-TV. Laos is an Asian nation located in the continent's southeastern region. The Laotian economy is categorized as one of the fastest growing economies globally which can be attributed to several factors such as the utilization of the country's natural resources and the government's ambitious economic reforms. In 2017, according to statistics from the World Bank, the Laotian GDP was the 113th highest at $16.85 billion. The Laotian GDP per capita was the 130th in the world at 2,457 in 2017. Some of the essential natural resources in Laos include arable land, the country's beautiful scenery, and forests. Natural Resources of Laos Forests Statistics from the Laotian government and the World Bank indicated that in 2015, forests covered roughly 81.3% of the country's territory. The data also indicated that from 2005 to 2015 the size of land covered by forests had increased. There are several types of forests in Laos such as monsoon forests, dry evergreen forests, and mixed deciduous forests. The most common variety of forest in Laos is the mixed deciduous forest which covered an area of roughly 363 square miles. Some of the most common trees in Laos include the ironwood, redwood, and pine which are mainly used to produce timber. Forests in Laos are used for a variety of purposes such as providing firewood and timber for building. In 1992, timber was one of Laos' most important exports and it accounted for roughly a third of all the exports from the country. The forests of Laos are also significant because they safeguard the country's watersheds and maintain the quality of water. The Laotian forests are also home to several unique varieties of wildlife. Despite their great economic importance, Laotian forests face several major challenges such as deforestation and the declining quality of the trees. Deforestation was particularly common in the 1990s as farmers used the slash and burn farming method. The Laotian government put in place several laws to prohibit slash and burn agriculture to safeguard the country's hardwoods. The Laotian government has also partnered with international organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund to safeguard the country's forests. One of the villages of Laos that have greatly benefited from the assistance of the World Wildlife Fund is Sobphouan. The organization convinced the farmers in the village to replace traditional farming methods with rattan production to reduce deforestation. Arable Land In 2014, it was estimated that arable land accounted for roughly 6.61% of the total land area in Laos. From 2004 to 2014, the size of arable land in Laos had increased significantly. The increase in the size of arable land in Laos can be attributed to the importance of agriculture to the Laotian economy. In 2017, it was estimated that agriculture contributed roughly 21% of Laos' GDP. The Laotian labor department estimated that in 2012, 73% of the country's labor force was involved in agriculture. Laotian farmers grow a wide variety of crops such as mangos, rice, and coffee. The Laotian agricultural sector faces several challenges such as soil erosion and overreliance on traditional agricultural methods. The government of Laos has encouraged farmers to adopt modern agricultural techniques such as the use of commercial fertilizers and tractors to increase their yield. The Laotian government estimated that from 1980 to 1989, the number of tractors in the country almost doubled. The government has also encouraged farmers to adopt irrigation in areas with limited supplies of water. Small-scale irrigation projects are more common in Laos than large-scale irrigation projects. Rice One of the most important crops grown in Laos is rice which is primarily grown for subsistence. The Laotian government estimated that rice was grown on almost 80% of the country's agricultural land. For most of the 1980s and the 1990s, rice accounted for more than 70% of Laos' agricultural production. During the late 1980s, the number of people working in the rice industry declined by nearly 30% as a result of government policies that favored the growth of cash crops over rice. Experts feared that the government policy would lead to a drastic reduction in the amount of rice produced in the country affecting its food security. Coffee The most important cash crop in Laos is coffee which was introduced to the country by the French during the early 20th century. The soils in Laos are conducive for coffee growing as they have sufficient nutrients. One of the most conducive areas for coffee growing in Laos is the Bolaven Plateau situated in Paksong. The government of Laos estimated that the country was home to roughly 20,000 communities dedicated to coffee growing spread out in approximately 250 villages. Laotian farmers grow both Arabica and Robusta coffee with Robusta being the most common variety. Arabia coffee from Laos is popular because of its unique taste. Laos is one of the top coffee producing nations of the world and the government of Laos is working with farmers to increase the quantity of Arabica Coffee grown in the country. Minerals Some of Laos' most important natural resources are its minerals which include coal, copper, and gold. The mining industry is one of Laos' most important industries as it contributed approximately 7% of the country's GDP in 2012. During the 21st century, the Laotian mining industry has attracted investment from foreign companies leading to the sector's growth. Some of Laos' most important mines include the Sepon mine and the Hongsa mine. The Sepon mine is one of the most important gold mines globally as its gold reserves are estimated to weigh more than 7.6 million ounces. Beautiful Scenery Laos' beautiful scenery is one of its most important natural resources as it attracts vast numbers of tourists to the country. Some of the most beautiful destinations in Laos include the Kuang Si Falls and the Pak Ou Caves. In 2017, it was estimated that close to 3.9 million tourists had visited Laos. Data from the Laotian government indicated that the tourism sector grew faster than any other sector of the country's economy. The government has invested heavily in improving the country's tourism industry mainly through advertising in foreign nations. Challenges Facing The Laotian Economy The Laotian economy faces several challenges such as the movement of skilled workers to other nations in search of better opportunities and the country's high rate of corruption. The government of Laos has invited foreign corporations to invest in various sectors of the country's economy and create employment for the Laotian people. The Laotian government has also taken action to reduce the levels of corruption in the country. Many European countries are regarded as being among the worlds safest and most interesting places to visit. As a result, certain European cities have become major tourist hotspots. Such cities typically boast richness in terms of history, culture, and natural beauty, and feature popular tourist attraction and amenities. Therefore, tourists from every corner of the globe are drawn to these cities. A sample of the common attractions in Europe's five most popular tourist cities is highlighted below, including London, Paris, and Rome. 5. Attractions in Prague, Czech Republic Prague is one of the worlds fastest growing tourist destinations in terms of the number of tourist arrivals. In 2017, it ranked as Europes fifth most visited city, recording 8.55 million international arrivals. For centuries, Prague, which is the capital of the Czech Republic, has been the political, economic, and cultural center of Central Europe. Historically, it also served as the seat of several Holy Roman Emperors, and was involved in major wars and religious reformation movements. Today, Prague is home to numerous cultural and historical attractions. In fact, the historic center of Prague has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many museums, theaters, cinemas, historical exhibits, and art galleries are found throughout the city, making Prague a thriving tourist destination in Europe. 4. Attractions in Istanbul, Turkey With 8.64 million international arrivals in 2017, Istanbul was Europes fourth most visited city. Istanbul is Turkeys capital and largest city, and its popular attractions are linked to its historical status as the former capital of the powerful Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. Some of these attractions include the Topkap Palace, Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Dolmabahce Palace, Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, and Hagia Sophia. Today, Istanbul also draws tourists due to its modern amenities and facilities, like some of the best and biggest shopping malls in Europe. Many cultural and sporting events are also hosted in Istanbul. 3. Attractions in Rome, Italy Rome is the capital of Italy and Europes third most visited city. Its numerous features, including historical, art, and archeological treasures, as well as magnificent panoramic views, make the city a tourist magnet. The numerous palaces, churches, historical buildings, monuments, fountains, and aqueducts scattered throughout the city lend a sense of old-world charm. Rome also has more monuments than any other city in the world. Thus, it is not surprising that Rome had 9.5 million international arrivals in 2017. 2. Attractions in Paris, France Paris is the capital of France and is a dream destination of many travellers around the world. The city's economy is thus heavily reliant on tourism, and recorded 14.26 million international arrivals in 2017. In fact, nearly 20% of salaried workers in Paris are employed in the tourism industry. Most of the city's tourists come from the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and China. Paris has numerous historical and cultural attractions, luxury shopping destinations, fashion streets, and above all, an atmosphere of romance. Some of the major attractions of Paris include the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Louvre Museum, Disneyland Paris, and the Palace of Versailles. The Eiffel Tower is recognized as the symbol of Paris, and is one of the worlds most renowned landmarks. The Arc de Triomphe is a monument that honors fighters of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Disneyland Paris is Europes most popular amusement park, while the Louvres exhibits feature 35,000 pieces of art, including Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. The Seine Rivers waterfront also adds charm to the beautiful city. 1. Attractions in London, England London is the capital of the United Kingdom and one of the leading tourist destinations in the world. In 2017 alone, the city received 19.84 million international arrivals, making it the worlds most visited city. For centuries, London has served as the political and historical heart of the nation, and features numerous attractions that remind visitors of England's rich history and culture. The city has various world-class museums and art galleries, such as the British Museum, National Gallery, Natural History Museum, and the Tate Modern. Palaces in London include the historic Tower of London and Buckingham Palace, which is the current residence of the British royal family. London also has numerous vast green areas that feature fountains, monuments, and benches, the most famous of which is Hyde Park. Other popular tourist destinations in the city include Madame Tussauds, London Dungeon, St Paul's Cathedral, and the London Zoo. Austria is a small central European state which occupies an area of about 32,386 sq miles. Austria has a mountainous terrain with only 32% of its land being below an altitude of 1,640 ft. The highest point in the country is about 12,461 feet above sea level. The two main features of the Austrian terrain are the Danube and the Alps. The Alps occupy over 60% of the total land area in Austria. Some of the longest rivers in Europe like the Danube pass through Austria. All the Austrian rivers flow into either the Black Sea or the North Sea. Longest Rivers in Austrian Danube The Danube is the second-longest river in Europe right after River Volga. The 1,770-miles long Danube River is situated in Eastern and Central Europe. The Danube flows through 10 states, (which is the highest number for any river on earth). It rises in Donaueschingen town, Germany and flows through Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Croatia, Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria before flowing into the Black Sea. The Danube rises at the confluence between the Breg and Brigach rivers. River Danubes drainage basin stretches into nine nations including Albania, Macedonia, Poland, Switzerland, Montenegro, Slovenia, Czech, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Rhine The Rhine River is one of the longest rivers in Central and West Europe that rises from the Graubunden in Switzerland. The Rhine forms part of Liechtenstein-Switzerland, Austria-Switzerland, German-Switzerland, and Germany-France boundaries and then flows through the Rhineland and Holland before emptying into the North Sea. The 760-mile long river was a huge part of the Roman Empires northern inland frontier, and it has been an important navigable river for carrying goods and trade inland. Drava The Drava is the third-longest river in Austria and one of the longest branches of the Danube. River Drava rises from Puster Valley in Italy and then flow eastwards to Styria, Slovenia through Carinthia and East Tirol in Austria. The river turns southeast and passes through Croatia before merging with River Mur (one of its main tributaries). It then forms part of the Hungary-Croatia boundary before joining the Danube. The Drava is one of the worlds most exploited rivers in terms of hydro-power. Inn River Inn is a 322-mile long river that flows through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The source of the River Inn is situated in the Swiss Alps. From its source, the Inn flows through two large lakes (Lake Silvaplana and Lake Sils). It then flows in Austria where it passes through Landeck, Tyrol, and Innsbruck and then stretches into Bavaria. In Bavaria, it merges with its two main tributaries the Salzach and Alz rivers. The Inn forms part of the Austria-Bavaria border before emptying into the Danube. Some of the branches of the Inn include Pitzbach, Hartbach, Rott, and Kieferbach rives among others. Hydropower In Austria Other than providing water for irrigation, the Austrian rivers produce over 65.7% of the countrys national electricity. Austria is home to one of the most exploited rivers in the world when it comes to hydropower. Due to its position in the Alps, the countrys rivers have one of the highest hydropower potentials in Europe. Currently, there are over 5,200 hydropower facilities in Austria with about 2,882 plants feeding the countrys electrical grid. The term prohibition often refers specifically to the prohibition of alcohol, which means a ban on the production, distribution, sale, and consumption of alcoholic beverages. The prohibition of alcohol in Canada occurred in various phases and at different levels of government, including municipal bans in the late 19th century, provincial bans in the early 20th century, and a national ban from 1918 until 1920. Canada enforced a federal ban on alcohol as a temporary wartime measure during the First World War. Most provinces repealed the alcohol bans in the 1920s, except Prince Edward Island, which continued to enforce temperance laws until 1948. Prohibition on alcohol consumption was the result of efforts by social and temperance movements to close taverns and bars, which were considered the source of immorality and misery in society. Prohibition laws were replaced by legislative restrictions on the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors and the introduction of excise taxes. 19th Century Prohibition Various laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol have been enacted in Canada, including the pre-Confederation Canadian Temperance Act of 1864, also referred to as the Dunkin Act, that allowed counties and municipalities to pass liquor laws by popular vote. Temperance forces pushed the government to conduct a national referendum in 1898 to determine the fate of alcohol in Canada. Although 51% voted in favor of prohibition, the vote was non-binding and did not result in new legislation due to low voter turnout and strong opposition from the province of Quebec. Wartime Sacrifice In 1901, alcohol prohibition was enacted at the provincial level in Prince Edward Island. During the First World War, Yukon, Newfoundland, and other provinces followed. The ban on alcohol was considered to be a social sacrifice and patriotic duty. Prohibition was more complicated in Canada than in the United States due to the distinct roles of provincial and federal administrations. While the federal government created laws regarding the production and trade of alcohol, the provinces controlled its sale and consumption. In March 1918, the federal government stopped the importation and manufacture of liquor in territories where alcohol was prohibited. Enforcement of temperance laws was difficult, but drunkenness, civil disorders, and associated crimes declined. However, home-brewed "moonshine" liquor proliferated and filled the streets. Between 1920 and 1933, the production, transportation, and sale of alcohol was forbidden in the United States but legal in Canada. This created situations in which smugglers shipped loads of alcohol to the US under the protection of Canadian laws. Repeal of Alcohol Prohibition Laws Alcohol prohibition in Canada did not last long enough to have a significant impact. Opponents of temperance rallied against laws sighting individual liberty and British traditions. Quebec repealed the laws as early as 1919, and the province became a popular destination for tourists from across Canada and the United States. Liquor manufacturers flocked to major towns in Quebec, creating employment and generating taxes for the province. British Columbia voted to legalize alcohol in 1920, followed by Yukon. Manitoba introduced controlled sales in 1923, followed by Alberta and Saskatchewan (1924), Newfoundland (1925), Ontario and New Brunswick (1927), and Nova Scotia (1930). Prince Edward Island maintained temperance laws until 1948. Woodward, OK (73801) Today Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 84F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Mostly cloudy this evening. Scattered thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 69F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. The US Food and Drug Administration is considering the role of drug therapies to get kids to quit vapes and other nicotine products, with medical organizations and vaping groups weighing in during a public hearing Friday on how to address rising levels of e-cigarette use among youth. A Chicago couple has died after they were dragged from a car, beaten and shot in a gruesome attack caught on video. Show Low, AZ (85901) Today Clouds and some sun this morning with more clouds for this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 79F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Some clouds. Low 58F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Cynthia Koh-Knox Sharp said she bleeds black and gold, with a little Red Devil mixed in for her West Lafayette High School alma mater. She was born and raised in West Lafayette. "I love this community," she said. "I've raised my children I have grandchildren being raised here, I love this area." Sharp is being honored at the 45th annual YWCA Salute to Women event. "I appreciate the recognition for the work here in the community," she said. Sharp is a Clinical Associate Professor as a Doctor of Pharmacy at Purdue. She teaches unique courses such as Complementary and Alternative Medicine; Traditional Chinese Medicine Study Abroad in Shanghai; Beyond ecstasy: treating addiction in front of the counter; and Mindfulness, Intercultural and Global Health Issues. Sharp earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 1997. She said she dedicates her life to two things, one is helping educate the next generation of healthcare professionals. "We have some populations here in this area that need help," she said. "That's why I like to be the healthcare advocate because I like to train our future pharmacists how to take care of these people." Sharp is registered with Tippecanoe County Medical Reserve Corp and has volunteered at Riggs Community Health Clinic and Solutions Beyond Shelter, as part of the Health Advocacy Committee. Her other passion is helping students who are in the same shoes she once was in. "I am a non-traditional student myself," she said. "I was 15 years older than my classmates. I have a certain place in my heart for students who are not traditional." While dealing with classes, exams and all the other stresses that come with being a student, Sharp was also raising two kids, but that didn't stop her. "I integrated well with my classmates, I would have them over to my house and they would interact with my kids," she said. She said her father, who was one of the first Filipino scholars to study in the United States and also taught at Purdue, was a big influence for her. "He always had students around him," she said. She serves as a Purdue Horizons mentor for first generation college students and is Faculty Fellow for 40 students at Shreve Hall. She is faculty advisor to Purdue Student National Community Pharmacists Association and past advisor to Purdue Filipino Association, Dance 2XS, Purdue Pharmacy Families, and Pharmacy Peer Mentoring. Now, its her mission to share the importance of knowlege to those around her. "Socrates has a saying that I always use in my classes that there is one good that is knowledge, and on evil that is ignorance," she said. "I always try to educate my patients, participants, my students because I want them to come up with their own perspective." Sharp is one of seven women being honored at the event, which is being held at The Trails Banquet Facility in West Lafayette on Tuesday, March 5th at 5:30 p.m. Click here to learn more about how to get tickets for the event. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Still don't know where to take that special someone? Maybe a trip to one of the world's most romantic places will do the trick. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. (You can also get "5 Things You Need to Know Today" delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.) 1. Border security deal President Trump said he's "not happy" with the border security deal struck by negotiators in Congress. And he's not the only one frowning on the agreement, which falls far short of the $5.7 billion Trump originally demanded for a border wall. Some of the most conservative and liberal members of Congress have problems with it, too, but they're likely to fall in line because no one wants another government shutdown. And that's exactly what will happen if a bill based on the deal isn't passed into law by the end of the week. All eyes are on Trump right now. The White House says he's weighing all his options. Observers think he'll reluctantly accept the deal, then combine that money with other sources of funding he'll acquire through executive action to build the wall. Update: The President intends to sign the border security deal to avoid another partial government shutdown, according to two sources who have spoke directly with him. 2. Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman There was no visible reaction from drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman as the verdict was read in his federal trial: guilty on all 10 counts. Guzman, who led a lucrative yet bloody criminal empire that reached far beyond his native Mexico, faces spending the rest of his life in prison. He'll be sentenced in June. Despite the conviction, experts say the outcome will have little impact on the operations of Guzman's Sinaloa drug cartel, the world's largest drug trafficking organization. 3. North Korea Since President Trump met last year with Kim Jong Un, North Korea hasn't changed a thing about its military capabilities. This blunt assessment came from Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of US Forces Korea, during a Senate hearing. Abrams said the North's military still has the potential to put the US, South Korea and other allies at risk. Tensions along the DMZ have eased though, the general said. Trump, who has said previously that the nuclear threat from North Korea is over, meets with Kim for a second summit on February 27 and 28 in Vietnam. 4. Economy There are signs out there that the economy may be starting to slow down. But that hasn't affected hiring yet. As a matter of fact, there may be more job openings than ever before. The number of job openings hit 7.3 million at the end of 2018. That's the highest level since the Labor Department started keeping track of this almost two decades ago. Job openings have outpaced hiring since December 2017, creating an environment where employers have a heck of a time finding enough workers. 5. Ultraprocessed foods Want to live longer? Then, you probably need to put down those snacks, desserts and ready-to-eat meals that you love so much. A new study says eating these "ultraprocessed" foods can increase your risk of an early death. The study, published this week in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, says heavy consumption of ultraprocessed foods often leads to obesity, high blood pressure and cancer. There's been some pushback on the study's findings, though, with a Rutgers professor noting that the ultraprocessed food category is a huge one, so that makes it difficult to pinpoint exactly which foods might be doing the most harm. BREAKFAST BROWSE Rare footage Have you seen black panther? No, not the movie but a rare black leopard, photographed for the first time in more than 100 years in Kenya. Diverse dolls New Barbie dolls coming out later this year will feature a doll in a wheelchair and another with a prosthetic leg, because beauty comes in all forms. (Not so) friendly skies Well, this won't boost customer satisfaction ratings: Lufthansa is suing a passenger who skipped a flight. Rapid rescue Somebody heard a newborn baby crying in a storm drain in South Africa. A few hours later, she was rescued. Back from Zamunda Eddie Murphy is reprising his iconic role as Prince Akeem in a "Coming to America" sequel, and we're both excited and scared about it. TODAY'S NUMBER 8% That's how much of its workforce video gaming company Activision Blizzard is laying off. It's just another sign of how Fortnite, the uber-popular multiplayer game put out by rival Epic Games, is crushing the competition. AND FINALLY Wood worker Nick Offerman is a man of many talents: actor, writer, comedian. He also can ID different types of wood just by the smell. Is that really a talent? (Click to view.) SCHENEVUS, NY A recent report from the state comptrollers office lists the Schenevus Central School District as being in "significant financial distress. At Tuesdays school board meeting, school superintendent Theresa Carlin told those in attendance that the school is operating under a $700,000 budget deficit. Parents and taxpayers want to know how this could have happened. We used our fund balance over the last several years and we are at pretty much a zero level balance, said Carlin. Unfortunately the money we used last year to pay for our expenses is no longer there. Its inexcusable on a 9.2 million dollar budget that we voted on last May, to have to borrow that kind of money and use up that much fund balance, said former school board member Tim Green who attended the meeting. Green said the board members who he feels are responsible for the shortfall should step down. He plans on presenting a petition asking for the resignation of those board members at the next school board meeting on March 12. He did not immediately say which board members they were. ROME, N.Y. -- A plane made an emergency landing in Rome following an engine failure on Tuesday. The corporate flight was flying in the vicinity of Griffiss International Airport when it lost an engine shortly after 2 p.m. The pilot issued an Alert 2, signifying an aircraft is experiencing major difficulties. The pilot circled the Hawker twin-engine corporate jet down to about 16,000 feet. After regaining control, he was able to land safely on Hangar Road, according to Commissioner of Aviation, Chad Lawrence. If the engine hadn't been regained, there might have been a much different outcome. "Absolutely, and that's why we're prepared," said Commissioner Lawrence. "Our crews responded. Crash fire rescue crew from Oneida County, as well as Rome Fire and Amcare ambulance. And it landed without incident" NTSB and the FAA will be notified to investigate, but the exact level of their involvement in the landing or whether they will travel to Rome is not yet known. No damage or injuries were reported. Two pilots and three passengers were on board. HERKIMER, N.Y. -- SUNYs Got Your Back is the message Herkimer students are sending to victims of domestic and sexual violence. Students packed comfort bags to be given out at hospitals, domestic violence programs and shelters. They contain personal care items, a stress ball and a wealth of information on resources the survivors can benefit from. Also, the bags include a note from the person who assembled the bag. We like to say that people get a SUNYs Got Your Back on the worst day of their lives. Theyve been through a violent crime. They have gone to law enforcement, to a hospital, to a rape crisis program, and these bags are the start of a road back, said Joseph Storch, with SUNY. A total of 2,000 bags were packed at Herkimer College Tuesday, and 50,000 bags will be donated from SUNY schools across the state this semester. I only buy one kind of stock. 37 of these cash cows are in my portfolio right now... and for every dollar invested in them they are sending us 69 cents in dividends. That's an effective yield of 69% a year-every year. All without leverage, options, or gimmicks. 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 The Coming Psychedelic Boom (Ad) Warning to all investors: There's a coming boom that might make the CBD craze look like an outdated investment. Learn More About The Coming Psychedelic Boom Now! Wall Street analysts have given iShares Russell 2000 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 Russell 2000 ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various personal and commercial banking products and services in Canada and the United States. It operates through three segments: Canadian Retail, U.S. Retail, and Wholesale Banking. The company offers personal deposits, such as chequing, savings, and investment products; financing, investment, cash management, international trade, and day-to-day banking services to businesses; and financing options to customers at point of sale for automotive and recreational vehicle purchases through auto dealer network. It also provides credit cards; real estate secured lending; auto finance; consumer lending; point-of-sale payment solutions for large and small businesses; wealth and asset management products, private banking, investment advisory, and trust services to retail and institutional clients; and property and casualty insurance, as well as life and health insurance products. The company also provides capital markets, and corporate and investment banking services, including underwriting and distribution of new debt and equity issues; advice on strategic acquisitions and divestitures; and trading, funding, and investment services to companies, governments, and institutions. It offers its products and services under the TD Bank and America's Most Convenient Bank brand names. The company operates through a network of 1,085 branches, 3,440 automated teller machines, and 1,223 stores, as well as offers telephone, digital, and mobile banking services. The Toronto-Dominion Bank was founded in 1855 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Read More Thomson Reuters Corporation provides business information services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in five segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax & Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print. The Legal Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on legal research and integrated legal workflow solutions that combine content, tools, and analytics to law firms and governments. The Corporates segment provides a suite of content-enabled technology solutions for legal, tax, regulatory, compliance, and IT professionals. The Tax & Accounting Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on tax offerings and automating tax workflows to tax, accounting, and audit professionals in accounting firms. The Reuters News segment provides business, financial, national, and international news to professionals through desktop terminals, media organizations, and industry events, as well as directly to consumers. The Global Print segment offers legal and tax information primarily in print format to legal and tax professionals, governments, law schools, and corporations. The company was formerly known as The Thomson Corporation and changed its name to Thomson Reuters Corporation in April 2008. The company was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Thomson Reuters Corporation is a subsidiary of The Woodbridge Company Limited. Read More This stock could soar as cannabis beverage sales hit $2.5 billion (Ad) A popular Seattle cannabis manufacturer is now partnering with other companies to produce a new line of cannabis-infused beverages. Its perfect timing. A new report reveals cannabis beverage sales will reach $2.8 billion by 2025, expanding at an annual compounded rate of 17.8%. A huge opportunity! Find out why this could be the #1 penny stock White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides insurance services in the United States. The company operates through four segments: HG Global/BAM, NSM, Kudu, and Other Operations. The HG Global/BAM segment provides insurance on municipal bonds issued to finance public purposes, such as schools, utilities, and transportation facilities, as well as reinsurance protection services. The NSM segment operates as a general underwriting agency and program administrator for specialty property and casualty insurance to various sectors, such as specialty transportation, real estate, social services, and pet. The Kudu segment provides capital solutions to boutique asset and wealth managers for generational ownership transfers, management buyouts, acquisitions, growth finances, and legacy partner liquidity. The Other Operations segment offers insurance solutions to travel industry through broker channel; and manages separate accounts and pooled investment vehicles for insurance-linked securities sectors, including catastrophe bonds, collateralized reinsurance investments, and industry loss warranties of third-party clients. This segment also operates MediaAlpha, a customer acquisition technology platform that facilitates real-time transactions between buyers and sellers of consumer referrals primarily in the property and casualty, health, and life insurance verticals. White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. was incorporated in 1980 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Read More Convoy of the UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths leave the Sanaa International Airport following his arrival in Sanaa, Yemen, on Feb. 26, 2019. UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths arrived on Tuesday in the rebel-held capital Sanaa to push Houthis to withdraw from Hodeidah ports in line with Stockholm Agreement. Griffiths was set to meet Abdulmalik al-Houthi, leader of Houthi group, the rebel-run al-Masirah TV reported. (Xinhua/Mohammed Mohammed) SANAA, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths arrived on Tuesday in the rebel-held capital Sanaa to push Houthis to withdraw from Hodeidah ports in line with Stockholm Agreement. Griffiths was set to meet Abdulmalik al-Houthi, leader of Houthi group, the rebel-run al-Masirah TV reported. Meanwhile, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television cited a Yemeni government official as saying that the Houthi rebels halted the implementation of Stockholm peace deal. This was Griffiths' sixth trip to Sanaa in two months in his attempts to break a stalemate in the implementation of a cease-fire to withdraw warring forces and secure access to grain aid in the country's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah. Griffiths has been shuttling between the Houthi rebels in Sanaa and the exiled government in the Saudi capital of Riyadh to avert an all-out deadly fighting in Hodeidah, the lifeline of the country's most commercial imports and humanitarian aid. On Monday, Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarea said their militias will not withdraw until a date is specified for the withdrawal of their foe Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces from around the port city. "The first phase of the UN plan sets a date of our withdrawal only, while it didn't specify any date for the withdrawal of the other side (government troops)," Sarea told Xinhua by phone, stipulating that the other side should also start to withdraw in the same time. The warring parties reached a peace deal in Stockholm in December last year. They have largely held the cease-fire deal in Hodeidah but failed to withdraw their forces. The deal seeks to save more than 20 million Yemenis from sliding into major starvation. The Houthi rebels continue to fortify themselves inside the city while the government troops have been massing on the southern and eastern outskirts. The four-year-long civil war has killed more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, displaced 3 million others, and pushed the country to the brink of famine. [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] Ad Resource Stock Digest 2,614 Recent Views Could This Be the Biggest US Gold Discovery in Years? See how this tiny, unknown gold company secured a prime land package right next door to the worlds two largest gold producers in Nevadas famed Carlin Trend where 84 Million gold ounces have already been extracted. Best of all, investors can still get in well below US$0.50 per share. Reckitt Benckiser Group plc manufactures, markets, and sells health, hygiene, and home products. The company offers acne treatment creams, facial washes, and cleansing pads; disinfection, hygiene, and first aid products; condoms, sex toys, and lubricants; heartburn and indigestion solutions; and cough and chest congestion, multi-symptom, and sinus remedies for adults and children under the Clearasil, Dettol, Durex, Gaviscon, and Mucinex brands. It also provides analgesics; footcare and footwear products; sore throat medications; and women's beauty products under the Nurofen, Scholl, Strepsils, and Veet brand. In addition, the company offers fragrances and devices; water softeners; home cleaning products; dish washes; toilet bowl cleaners; disinfectants; sprays, baits, and plug-ins for pest control; stain removals; and fabric washing products under the Air Wick, Calgon, Cillit Bang, Finish, Harpic, Lysol, Mortein, Vanish, and Woolite brands, as well as infant and child nutrition products under the Enfamil and Nutramigen brands. It operates in the United States, Canada, Europe, Russia/CIS, Turkey, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, and internationally. The company was founded in 1823 and is headquartered in Slough, the United Kingdom. Read More Scientists Now Saying the Secret to America's Happiness Is THIS (Ad) It's hard to believe But the psychedelic drugs we've demonized for decades are quickly becoming the foundation for a new mental health revolution. By 'micro dosing' scientists have worked what some are calling miracles and now is the time to invest in this burgeoning industry before Wall Street catches on. And today, you could get in on the ground floor Palo Alto Networks, Inc. provides cybersecurity platform solutions worldwide. The company provides firewall appliances and software; Panorama, a security management solution for the control of appliances and software deployed on an end-customer's network as a virtual or a physical appliance; and virtual system upgrades, which are available as extensions to the virtual system capacity that ships with physical appliances. It also offers subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, uniform resource locator filtering, malware and persistent threat, laptop and mobile device protection, and firewall, as well as cyberattacks, threat intelligence, and data loss prevention. In addition, the company provides professional services, including architecture design and planning, configuration, and firewall migration, as well as online and in-classroom education training services, as well as support services. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. sells its products and services through its channel partners, as well as directly to medium to large enterprises, service providers, and government entities operating in various industries, including education, energy, financial services, government entities, healthcare, Internet and media, manufacturing, public sector, and telecommunications. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. Read More Oasis Petroleum Inc., an independent exploration and production company, focuses on the acquisition and development of onshore unconventional oil and natural gas resources in the United States. It operates through Exploration and Production(E&P), and Midstream segments. The E&P segment engages in the acquisition and development of oil and gas properties. The Midstream segment offers midstream services, such as natural gas gathering, compression, processing and, gas lift supply; crude oil gathering, terminaling, and transportation; produced and flowback water gathering, and disposal; and water distribution. As of December 31, 2020, the company had 401,766 net leasehold acres in the Williston Basin; and 24,396 net leasehold acres in the Permian Basin, as well as approximately 152.2 million barrels of oil equivalent of estimated net proved reserves. The company sells its crude oil and natural gas to refiners, marketers, and other purchasers that have access to pipeline and rail facilities. Oasis Petroleum Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Read More Bristol-Myers Squibb Company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, and markets biopharmaceutical products worldwide. The company offers products in hematology, oncology, cardiovascular, and immunology therapeutic classes. Its products include Revlimid, an oral immunomodulatory drug for the treatment of multiple myeloma; Opdivo for anti-cancer indications; Eliquis, an oral inhibitor indicated for the reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in NVAF, and for the treatment of DVT/PE; and Orencia for adult patients with active RA and psoriatic arthritis, as well as reducing signs and symptoms in pediatric patients with active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis. The company also provides Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia; Yervoy for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma; Abraxane, a solvent-free protein-bound chemotherapy product; mpliciti for the treatment of multiple myeloma; and Reblozyl for the treatment of anemia in adult patients with beta thalassemia. In addition, it offers Onureg for the continued treatment of adult patients with AML; Zeposia to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis; Vidaza for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome subtypes; Baraclude, an oral antiviral agent for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B; and Breyanzi, a CD19-directed genetically modified autologous T cell immunotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma. The company sells products to wholesalers, distributors, pharmacies, retailers, hospitals, clinics, and government agencies. It has collaboration agreements with Pfizer, Inc.; Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; Nektar Therapeutics; AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Huyabio; and DarwinHealth, Inc. The company was formerly known as Bristol-Myers Company. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in New York, New York. 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. The following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen Coding GmbH, Allen France SAS, Alpine Automation Limited, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Holdings Inc., Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, AppliChem Inc., Arylux Hungary Elektromechanikus Alkatreszgyarto Kft, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix (Suzhou) Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Holdings Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel (Ireland) Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument, Brooks Instrument (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Buell Industries Inc., CAPMAX Logistica S.A. de C.V., CCI Realty Company, CFC Europe GmbH, CS (Australia) Pty Limited, CS (Finance) Europe S.a.r.l., CS Mexico Holding Company S DE RL DE CV, CSMTS LLC, Calvia Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnosci, Capital Ventures (Australasia) S.a r.l, Capmax Logistica S.A. de C.V., Celeste Industries Corporation, Cetram Pty Limited, Coeur, Coeur (Shanghai) Medical Appliance Trading Co. Ltd, Coeur Asia Limited, Coeur Holding Company, Coeur Inc., Compagnie Hobart, Compagnie de Materiel et d'Equipements Techniques-Comet, Constructions Isothermiques Bontami C.I.B., Crane Carrier Company, Densit Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd, Despatch Industries, Diagraph Corporation Sdn. Bhd, Diagraph ITW Mexico S. de R.L. De C.V., Diagraph Mexico S.A. DE C.V., Dongguan Ark-Les Electric Components Co. Ltd., Dongguan CK Branding Co. Ltd., Dorbyl U.K. (Holdings) Limited, Duo Fast de Espana S.A.U., Duo-Fast Korea Co. Ltd., Duo-Fast LLC, E.C.S. d.o.o., ECS Cable Protection Sp. Zoo, ELRO (Holding) AG, ELRO Grosskuchen GmbH, ELRO-WERKE AG, Elga Skandinavian AS, Elro Group, Eltex-Elektrostatik-Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Envases Multipac S.A. de C.V., Eurotec Srl, FEG Investments L.L.C., Fasver, Filtertek, Filtertek De Mexico Holding Inc., Filtertek De Mexico S.A. de C.V., GC Financement SA, Gamko B.V., Gun Hwa Platech (Taicang) Co. Ltd., HOBART Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hartness International, Hobart (Japan) K.K., Hobart Andina S.A.S., Hobart Brothers International Chile Limitada, Hobart Brothers LLC, Hobart Dayton Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Hobart Food Equipment Co. Ltd., Hobart Foster Belgium, Hobart International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Hobart Korea LLC, Hobart LLC, Hobart Nederland B.V., Hobart Sales & Service Inc., Hobart Scandinavia ApS, Hobart Techniek B.V., Horis, ILC Investments Holdings Inc., ITW (China) Investment Company Limited, ITW (Deutschland) GmbH, ITW (EU) Holdings Ltd., ITW (European) Finance Co. Ltd., ITW (European) Finance II Co. Ltd., ITW (Ningbo) Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Airport Ground Equipment (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ITW Alpha Sarl, ITW Ampang Industries Philippines Inc., ITW Appliance Components EOOD, ITW Appliance Components LLC, ITW Appliance Components S.A. de C.V., ITW Appliance Components S.r.l.a, ITW Appliance Components d.o.o., ITW Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITW Australia Property Holdings Pty Ltd., ITW Australia Pty Ltd, ITW Automotive Components (Chongqing) Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Components (Langfang) Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Japan K.K., ITW Automotive Korea LLC, ITW Automotive Parts (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, ITW Automotive Products GmbH, ITW Automotive Products Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Bailly Comte, ITW Befestigungssysteme GmbH, ITW Belgium, ITW Brazilian Nominee L.L.C., ITW Building Components Group Inc., ITW CER, ITW CP Distribution Center Holland BV, ITW CS (UK) Ltd., ITW Canada Inc., ITW Celeste Inc., ITW Chemical Products Ltda, ITW Chemical Products Scandinavia ApS, ITW Colombia S.A.S., ITW Construction Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Construction Products (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., ITW Construction Products AB, ITW Construction Products AS, ITW Construction Products ApS, ITW Construction Products CZ s.r.o., ITW Construction Products Italy Srl, ITW Construction Products OU, ITW Construction Products OY, ITW Contamination Control (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Contamination Control B.V., ITW Covid Security Group Inc., ITW DS Investments Inc., ITW DelFast do Brasil Ltda., ITW Delta Sarl, ITW Denmark ApS, ITW Dynatec, ITW Dynatec Adhesive Equipment (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Dynatec GmbH, ITW Dynatec Kabushiki Kaisha, ITW EF&C France SAS, ITW EF&C Selb GmbH, ITW Electronic Business Asia Co. Limited, ITW Electronic Components/Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Electronics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Epsilon Sarl, ITW Espana S.A., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Finance Designated Activity Company, ITW Finance Europe S.A., ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW GH LLC, ITW GSE ApS, ITW GSE Inc., ITW Gamma Sarl, ITW German Management LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones, ITW Global Investments II Inc., ITW Global Investments LLC, ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics (Thailand) Ltd., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Italy S.R.L. in liquidazione, ITW Great Britain Investment & Licensing Holding Company, ITW Group France (Luxembourg) S.ar.l., ITW HLP Thailand Co. Ltd., ITW Holding Quimica B.C. S.L. Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings LP, ITW Holdings UK, ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Hungary Finance Beta Kft, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW International Intellectual Property LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Finance Srl, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lombard Holdings Inc., ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW M FILMS II LLC, ITW MH LLC, ITW Marking & Coding (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Medical Group de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. De R.L. de C.V., ITW Mexico Holdings LLC, ITW Morlock GmbH, ITW Mortgage Investments II Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments III Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments IV Inc., ITW Netherlands Beta B.V., ITW Netherlands Finance Alpha BV, ITW New Universal LLC, ITW New Zealand, ITW Novadan Sp. Z.o.o., ITW PPF Brasil Adesivos Ltda., ITW Participations S.a r.l., ITW Pension Funds Trustee Company, ITW Performance Plastic (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Philippines Holdings LLC, ITW Poly Mex S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Polymers Sealants North America Inc., ITW Pronovia s.r.o., ITW Pte. Ltd., ITW Qufu Automotive Cooling Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Real Estate Germany GmbH, ITW Residuals III L.L.C., ITW Residuals IV L.L.C., ITW Rivex, ITW SMPI, ITW SPG Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Simco-Ion (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., ITW Slovakia s.r.o., ITW Spain Holdings S.L., ITW Specialty Film LLC, ITW Specialty Films France, ITW Specialty Materials (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Spraytec, ITW Sverige AB, ITW Sweden Holding AB, ITW Test & Measurement Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, ITW Test & Measurement GmbH, ITW Test and Measurement Italia Srl, ITW Test and Measurement Services Industry and Trade Ltd., ITW Texwipe Philippines Inc., ITW Thermal Films (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW UK, ITW UK Finance Beta Limited, ITW UK Finance Delta Limited, ITW UK Finance Gamma Limited, ITW UK Finance Limited, ITW UK II Limited, ITW Universal II LLC, ITW Welding, ITW Welding AB, ITW Welding GmbH, ITW Welding Products B.V., ITW Welding Products Group FZE, ITW Welding Products Group S. DE R.L. De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Servicios Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., ITW haubold Paslode GmbH, Ideal Molding Technologies LLC, Illinois Tool Works (Chile) Limitada, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Norway AS, Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron (Shanghai) Ltd., Instron (Thailand) Limited, Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Holdings Limited, Instron International Limited, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, International Leasing Company LLC, International Truss Systems Proprietary Limited, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kester Components (M) Sdn. Bhd., Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft Argentina S.A., Krafft S.L., Lock Inspection Systemes France Sarl, Loma Systems (Canada) Inc., Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Luvex - Industria De Equipamentos De Protecao Ltda., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, Magna Industrial Co. Limited, Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, Norden Olje AB, North Star Imaging Europe, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Odesign Inc., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited (Enping), Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Peerless Machinery Corp., Penta Dnepr LLC, Penta Sever OOO, Penta Volga OOO, Polyrey, Premark FEG L.L.C., Premark HII Holdings LLC, Premark International, Premark International LLC, Prolex Sociedad Anonima, QSA Global Inc., Quimica Industrial Mediterranea S.L., Ramset Fasteners (Hong Kong) Ltd., Rapid Cook LLC, Refrigeration France, S.E.E. Sistemas Industria E Comercio Ltda., ST Mexico Holdings LLC, Salter India Limited, Sealant Systems International Inc., Sentinel Asia Yuhan Hoesa, Shanghai ITW Plastic & Metal Co. Ltd, Simco (Nederland) B.V., Simco Japan Inc., Societe de Prospection et dInventions Techniques SPIT, Speedline Holdings I Inc., Speedline Holdings I LLC, Speedline Technologies GmbH, Speedline Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Speedline Technologies Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Stokvis Celix Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Stokvis Danmark ApS, Stokvis Holdings S.A.R.L., Stokvis Promi s.r.o, Stokvis Prostick Tapes Private Limited, Stokvis Tape Group B.V., Stokvis Tapes (Hong Kong) Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Taiwan) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes BVBA, Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, Stokvis Tapes Italia s.r.l., Stokvis Tapes Limited, Stokvis Tapes Limited Liability Company, Stokvis Tapes Norge AS, Stokvis Tapes Oy, Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp Z.O.O., Stokvis Tapes Sverige AB, Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., Tarutin Kester Co. Ltd., Technopack Industria Comercio Consultoria e Representacoes Ltda., Teknek (China) Limited, Teknek (Japan) Limited, Teksaleco Ltd., The Miller Group Ltd, Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligny, Tien Tai Electrode (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode (Qingdao) Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Tregaskiss Welding Products, US Finance Gamma LLC, Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V.B.A., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta (Guangzhou) Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Vesta Global Limited, Viltronics Soltec, Vitronics Soltec B.V., W Packaging Technology (China) Co. Ltd., Wachs Canada Ltd., Wachs Subsea LLC, Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC, Weigh-Tronix UK Limited, Wilsonart International Holdings LLC, Wujiang Advanced Cleaning Co. Ltd., Wynn Oil (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd., Wynn's Automotive France, Wynn's Belgium BVBA, Wynn's Italia Srl, Wynn's Mekuba India Pvt Ltd, ZF TRW (Engineered Fasteners and Components), and Zip-Pak International B.V.. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets life science research and clinical diagnostic products in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. The company offers products and systems to separate complex chemical and biological materials, as well as to identify, analyze, and purify components. It operates in two segments, Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics. The Life Science segment develops, manufactures, and markets a range of reagents, apparatus, and laboratory instruments that are used in research techniques, biopharmaceutical production processes, and food testing regimes. It focuses on selected segments of the life sciences market in proteomics, genomics, biopharmaceutical production, cell biology, and food safety. This segment serves universities and medical schools, industrial research organizations, government agencies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, biotechnology researchers, food producers, and food testing laboratories. The Clinical Diagnostics segment designs, manufactures, sells, and supports test systems, informatics systems, test kits, and specialized quality controls for clinical laboratories in the diagnostics market. This segment offers reagents, instruments, and software, which address specific niches within the in vitro diagnostics test market. It sells its products to reference laboratories, hospital laboratories, state newborn screening facilities, physicians' office laboratories, transfusion laboratories, and insurance and forensic testing laboratories. The company offers its products through its direct sales force, as well as through distributors, agents, brokers, and resellers. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. was founded in 1952 and is headquartered in Hercules, California. Read More Inflation Skyrockets By 300% In 2021 (Ad) Right now, we're seeing the highest inflation rates since 2008. The White House is printing trillions of dollars, devaluing your dollar, and raising prices for everyone. A Surprising Way To Shield Wealth From Inflation Brookfield Asset Management is a leading global alternative asset manager and one of the largest investors in real assets. Our investment focus is on real estate, renewable power, infrastructure and private equity assets. Our objective is to generate attractive long-term risk-adjusted returns for the benefit of our clients and shareholders. We manage a range of public and private investment products and services for institutional and retail clients. We earn asset management income for doing so and align our interests with our clients by investing alongside them. We have an exceptionally strong balance sheet, with over $30 billion of capital invested, primarily in our four listed partnerships: Brookfield Property Partners, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, Brookfield Renewable Partners and Brookfield Business Partners. This access to large-scale capital enables us to make investments in sizeable, premier assets across geographies and asset classes that few managers are able to do. We create value for BAM shareholders in the following ways: As an asset manager A- by investing both our own capital and that of our investors A- this enables us to increase the scale of our operations, and enhances our financial returns through base management fees and performance-based income; as an investor and capital allocator A- we strive to invest at attractive valuations, particularly in value-oriented situations that create opportunities for superior valuation gains and cash flow returns, or by monetizing assets at appropriate times to realize value; and as an owner-operator A- we constantly work to increase the value of the assets within our operating businesses and the cash flows they produce through our operating expertise, development capabilities and effective financing. Read More Six Tech Stocks That Could Double (Ad) 5G blockchain electric vehicles There are enough tech opportunities out there to make your head spin! But which ones should you own for the coming tech boom? Louis Navellier the analyst who found Microsoft at .38 cents just released a new report detailing six tech stocks to own today. Dont miss your chance to get his latest picks ticker symbol and all completely free of charge. Click here to get your free report today. 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.. Finsbury Food Group Plc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells a range of cakes, bread, and bakery snack products in the United Kingdom and internationally. It offers various bread and morning goods, such as rolls, hot cross buns, muffins, artisan breads, and healthy lifestyle and organic breads, as well as baguettes, doughnuts, and morning pastries; and cakes, including sponge cakes, loaf cakes, seasonal cakes, and individually portioned sweet snacks, such as chocolate cake bites, cake slices, cake bars, and mini rolls. The company provides its bakery products to wholesalers and end-user operators, such as hotels, pub and restaurant chains, fast-food outlets, and contract caterers under its food service brand Kara; and bite style cake products and sweet treats to coffee chains and foodservice customers under its food service brand Johnstone's. Its customers also include supermarkets, discounters, convenience stores, and high street chains. The company's licensed brands include Disney, Thorntons, Weight Watchers, Vogel's, Village Bakery, and Cranks. Finsbury Food Group Plc was incorporated in 1925 and is based in Cardiff, the United Kingdom. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of TE Connectivity: 999 Arques Corp., ABB ENTRELEC terminal block business, ACC Telecommunications, ADC Chile Limitada, ADC Communications (SEA) Pte. Ltd., ADC Communications (UK) Holding Ltd., ADC Communications (UK) Ltd., ADC Communications Hong Kong Limited, ADC Telecommunications Equipment (Shanghai) Co., AMP Amermex, AMP Products Pacific Limited, AMP Taiwan B.V., AMP Trading B.V., AMP de Venezuela, Acalon Holdings Limited, Advanced Fiber Products LLC, Advanced Fiber Products Limited, Advanced Tube Technologies, AdvancedCath, AdvancedCath Technologies, Alpha Technics, American Sensor Technologies, Betatherm (R&D) Limited, Brantner Holding Company, Brantner and Associates, Butterfly Management SAS, C.S. Tyco Decisive Inc., C.S. Tyco Dependable Inc., C.S. Tyco Durable Inc., C.S. Tyco Reliance Inc., C.S. Tyco Resolute Inc., C.S. Tyco Responder Inc., CII Guardian International Limited, Cablotec GmbH, Carrier Kheops Bac SAS, Catheter and Disposable Technology, Celis Eletrocomponentes Ltda., Cima de Acuna S.A. de C.V., Clarebury Pty. Ltd., Codenoll Technology Corporation, Communication Expert International Investments Limited, Compagnie Deutsch Distribution SAS, Compagnie Deutsch SAS, Comtec Systeme GmbH, Connecteurs Electriques Deutsch SAS, Corcom, Corcom West Indies Limited, Cotsworks LLC, Creganna, Creganna Captial Holding Ireland Unlimited Company, Creganna Finance (US) LLC, Creganna Finance Ireland Limited, Creganna Luxembourg SARL, Creganna Medical Devices, Creganna Medical Pte. Limited, Creganna Medical Technology Unlimited, Creganna Medical s.r.l., Creganna Regulatory, Creganna Solutions Limited, Creganna Solutions Unlimited Company, Creganna Tactx Singapore Limited, Creganna Unlimited Company, Cregstar Bidco Limited, Critchley Group Limited, Crompton Instruments (South-East Asia) Pte. Ltd., Deutsch, Deutsch Connectors Hong Kong Limited, Deutsch Connectors Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co., Deutsch Connectors Trading (Shanghai) Co., Deutsch Finance SAS, Deutsch GB Limited, Deutsch Group SAS, Deutsch India Power Connectors (Pvt) Ltd, Deutsch Israel Ltd., Deutsch SAS, Deutsch Servicios S. de R.L. De C.V., Deutsch Subco Limited, Deutsch UK, F.A.I. Technology (Hong Kong) Limited, First Sensor, Grangehurst Enterprises Pty. Ltd., Hirschmann Car Communication, Hong Kong Sensors Technologies Limited, Howard A. Schaevitz Technologies, Intercontec Connector System (Shanghai) Co., Intercontec Produkt GmbH, Intercontect Pfeiffer Industrie-Steckverbindungen GmbH, Jaquet North America, Jaquet Technology Group AG, Kemex Holding Company, Kenabell Holding Limited, LADD Distribution LLC, LADD Distribution Limited, LSA, MEAS Asia Limited, MEAS Europe SAS, MEAS France SAS, MEAS Ireland (Betatherm) Limited, MEAS Norway AS, MEAS Shenzhen Limited, MEAS Switzerland S.a r.l., MEAS US Holding, MP&E, Measurement Specialties, Measurement Specialties (Chengdu) Ltd., Measurement Specialties (China) Ltd., Measurement Specialties (China) Ltd. Production Branch, Measurement Specialties Foreign Holdings LLC, Measurement Technology (Chengdu) Ltd., Medical Engineering & Design, MicroGroup, Morlynn Ceramics Pty. Ltd., Nikkiso-Therm Co., PT KRONE Indonesia, PT. Tyco Electronics Indonesia, Pfeiffer GmbH & Co KG, Pfeiffer Verwaltungs GmbH, Polamco, Polamco Limited, Potter & Brumfield de Mexico, Precision Interconnect LLC, Precision Subsea AS, Precision Wire Components, Precision Wire Holding Company, Produxx, RAYCHEM-RPG Private Limited, Raychem (HK) Limited, Raychem (Shanghai) Trading Ltd, Raychem China Limited, Raychem Dominicana S.A., Raychem Industries BVBA, Raychem International LLC, Raychem International Manufacturing LLC, Raychem Juarez, Raychem Limited, Raychem Ltd., Raychem Pacific Corporation, Raychem Saudi Arabia Limited, Raychem Shanghai Cable Accessories Ltd, Raychem Technologies Limited, Rochester Wire and Cable LLC, SEACON Advanced Products LLC, Seacon (Europe) Limited, Seacon Global Production, Seacon Produtos e Servicos Opticos e Eletricos Ltda., Sensitive Object, Servo Interconnect Limited, Shanghai CII Electronics Co., Shenzhen Century Man Communication Equipment Co., Sibas Electronics (Xiamen) Co., TCN Holding (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., TE Connectivity (Barbados) SRL, TE Connectivity (Denmark) ApS, TE Connectivity (HKZ) Holding Limited, TE Connectivity (Kunshan) Company Limited, TE Connectivity (Netherlands) Holding S.a r.l. - Irish Branch, TE Connectivity (Schweiz) Management AG, TE Connectivity (Suzhou) Co., TE Connectivity Argentina S.R.L., TE Connectivity Australia Pty Ltd, TE Connectivity Colombia S.A.S., TE Connectivity Connectors (Suzhou) Co., TE Connectivity Distribution (Thailand) Limited, TE Connectivity EMEA Holding GmbH, TE Connectivity Germany GmbH, TE Connectivity HK Limited, TE Connectivity Holding International II S.a r.l., TE Connectivity Holding International II S.a r.l. Luxembourg (LU) Schaffhausen E-Finance branch, TE Connectivity Holding International II S.a r.l. Luxembourg (LU) Schaffhausen branch, TE Connectivity Holding International II S.a r.l. (Ireland Branch), TE Connectivity Holding International S.A., TE Connectivity Inc., TE Connectivity India Private Limited, TE Connectivity Investments Holding S.A., TE Connectivity Investments Holding S.A. Luxembourg (LU) Schaffhausen branch, TE Connectivity Ireland Limited, TE Connectivity LATAM Holding S.a r.l., TE Connectivity LATAM I S.a r.l., TE Connectivity LATAM II S.a r.l., TE Connectivity Limited, TE Connectivity MOG Europe S.a r.l., TE Connectivity MOG Holding S.a r.l., TE Connectivity MOG Inc., TE Connectivity MOG Sales GmbH, TE Connectivity Manufacturing (Thailand) Company Limited, TE Connectivity Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd., TE Connectivity Morocco SARL, TE Connectivity Nederland B.V., TE Connectivity Netherlands (Poland II) Cooperatief U.A., TE Connectivity Netherlands (Turkey) B.V., TE Connectivity Netherlands Cooperatief U.A., TE Connectivity Phoenix Optix Inc., TE Connectivity Seacon Phoenix Inc., TE Connectivity Sensors Germany GmbH, TE Connectivity Services India Private Limited, TE Connectivity Solutions GmbH, TE Connectivity South Africa Proprietary Limited, TE Connectivity Spain, TE Connectivity SubCom S.L.U., TE Connectivity SubCom Spain Holding S.L.U., TE Connectivity Technology Solutions Limited, TE Connectivity Tunisia Sarl, TE Connectivity ULC, TE Connectivity US Group Holding Inc., TE Connectivity Vietnam Holding Company Limited, TYCO Electronics Polska Sp.z.o.o., TYCO SUBMARINE SYSTEMS INC., TacPro, Tactx Medical, Taicang Speed & Spin Sensors Co., Taliq Taiwan Limited, Tappat Engineering Pty Ltd, TechDevice Costa Rica Limitada, TechDevice Holdings, TechDevice LLC, The Whitaker LLC, Transoceanic Cable Ship Company LLC, TyCom Holdings II SA, TyCom Networks (Peru) S.A., Tyco Electronics (AMP Korea) Malta Limited, Tyco Electronics (Dongguan) Ltd, Tyco Electronics (Gibraltar) Holding Limited, Tyco Electronics (Gibraltar) Limited, Tyco Electronics (Korea) Malta Limited, Tyco Electronics (Kunshan) Ltd, Tyco Electronics (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Tyco Electronics (Qingdao) Ltd., Tyco Electronics (Schweiz) Holding II GmbH, Tyco Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Tyco Electronics (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Tyco Electronics (Suzhou) Ltd., Tyco Electronics (Zhuhai) Ltd, Tyco Electronics AMP Guangdong Ltd, Tyco Electronics AMP Italia Products S.R.L., Tyco Electronics AMP Italia S.R.L., Tyco Electronics AMP Korea Co., Tyco Electronics AMP Manufacturing (S) Pte Ltd, Tyco Electronics AMP Qingdao Ltd., Tyco Electronics AMP Shanghai Ltd., Tyco Electronics Austria GmbH, Tyco Electronics Belgium EC BVBA, Tyco Electronics Brasil Ltda., Tyco Electronics Canada ULC, Tyco Electronics China (Gibraltar) Limited, Tyco Electronics Componentes Electromecanicos Lda., Tyco Electronics Corby Limited, Tyco Electronics Corporation, Tyco Electronics Czech s.r.o., Tyco Electronics Del Peru S.A.C., Tyco Electronics EC Trutnov s.r.o., Tyco Electronics EC Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Tyco Electronics Eta Limited, Tyco Electronics Finance Alpha GmbH, Tyco Electronics Finance S.a r.l., Tyco Electronics Finland Oy, Tyco Electronics France SAS, Tyco Electronics Germany Holdings GmbH, Tyco Electronics Group S.A., Tyco Electronics Group S.A. (French Branch), Tyco Electronics Group S.A. (Ireland Branch), Tyco Electronics H.K. Limited, Tyco Electronics Hellas MEPE, Tyco Electronics Holding Corp., Tyco Electronics Holding France, Tyco Electronics Holding S.a r.l., Tyco Electronics Holdings (Bermuda) No. 7 Limited, Tyco Electronics Holdings (Bermuda) No. 7 Limited Taiwan Branch, Tyco Electronics Hong Kong Holdings No. 1 Limited, Tyco Electronics Hong Kong Holdings No. 2 Limited, Tyco Electronics Hong Kong Holdings No. 3 Limited, Tyco Electronics Hungary Termelo Kft, Tyco Electronics Idento, Tyco Electronics India (Gibraltar) Limited, Tyco Electronics Industrial Y Comercial Chile Limitada, Tyco Electronics Integrated Cable Systems LLC, Tyco Electronics Ireland Limited, Tyco Electronics Israel Ltd., Tyco Electronics Italia Holding S.r.l., Tyco Electronics Japan G.K., Tyco Electronics Lambda, Tyco Electronics Latin America Holding LLC, Tyco Electronics Manufacturing Singapore Pte Ltd, Tyco Electronics Mexico, Tyco Electronics Middle East FZE, Tyco Electronics Motors Ltd, Tyco Electronics NZ Limited, Tyco Electronics Netherlands (Germany Holding) S.a r.l., Tyco Electronics Netherlands (Gibraltar China) Cooperatief U.A., Tyco Electronics Netherlands (Gibraltar India) Cooperatief U.A., Tyco Electronics Netherlands (India) Cooperatief U.A., Tyco Electronics Netherlands Holding B.V., Tyco Electronics Norge AS, Tyco Electronics Philippines, Tyco Electronics Precision Engineering Ltd., Tyco Electronics Printed Circuit Group LP, Tyco Electronics RIMC Holding LLC, Tyco Electronics RUS OOO, Tyco Electronics Raychem GmbH, Tyco Electronics Raychem Korea Limited, Tyco Electronics SIMEL SAS, Tyco Electronics Saudi Arabia Limited, Tyco Electronics Services GmbH, Tyco Electronics Singapore Pte Ltd, Tyco Electronics Subsea Communications LLC, Tyco Electronics Svenska AB, Tyco Electronics Svenska Holdings AB, Tyco Electronics Technology (SIP) Co., Tyco Electronics Technology (SIP) Ltd., Tyco Electronics Tecnologias S. de R.L. de C.V., Tyco Electronics UK Holdings Ltd, Tyco Electronics UK Ltd., Tyco Electronics UK Ltd. (Kenya Branch), Tyco Electronics Ukraine Limited, Tyco Electronics Uruguay S.A., Tyco Electronics Verwaltungs GmbH, Tyco Electronics Wireless Systems B.V., Tyco Electronics de Venezuela, Tyco Elektronik AMP Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Tyco Global Networks Ltd., Tyco Iberia, Tyco International Services GmbH, Tyco Networks (Argentina) S.R.L., Tyco Networks (Italy) Srl, Tyco Networks (Netherlands) B.V., Tyco Networks Iberica, Tyco Submarine Systems, Tyco Submarine Systems C.A., Tyco Submarine Systems de Argentina S.A., Tyco Telecommunications Ltd., Wema Americas LLC, Wema Automotive System Private Limited, Wema Environmental Technologies (Shanghai) Co., Wema Environmental Technologies (Shenzhen) Co., Wema Environmental Technologies Ltd., Wema System AG, Wema System AS, Wema System Hong Kong Limited, Wema System Production and Distribution HK Limited, Xiamen Delixing Electric Equipment Businesss, and motec Montage GmbH. Ad Investing Trends New this week - 136 interested Scientists Now Saying the Secret to America's Happiness Is THIS It's hard to believe But the psychedelic drugs we've demonized for decades are quickly becoming the foundation for a new mental health revolution. By 'micro dosing' scientists have worked what some are calling miracles and now is the time to invest in this burgeoning industry before Wall Street catches on. BASF SE operates as a chemical company worldwide. It operates through six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care, and Agricultural Solutions. The Chemicals segment provides petrochemicals and intermediates. The Materials segment offers advanced materials and their precursors for applications and systems, such as isocyanates and polyamides, as well as inorganic basic products and specialties for plastic and plastic processing industries. The Industrial Solutions segment develops and markets ingredients and additives for industrial applications, such as polymer dispersions, pigments, resins, electronic materials, antioxidants, light stabilizers, oilfield chemicals, mineral processing, and hydrometallurgical chemicals. The Surface Technologies segment offers chemical solutions and automotive OEM which include refinish coatings, surface treatment, catalysts, battery materials, and base metal services for the automotive and chemical industries. The Nutrition & Care segment provides nutrition and care ingredients for food and feed producers, as well as pharmaceutical, cosmetics, detergent, and cleaner industries. The Agricultural Solutions segment offers crop protection products and seeds, such as fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and biological crop production products, as well as seed treatment products. The company has a strategic partnership with IntelliSense.io. BASF SE was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. Read More Ad Investing Trends New this week - 131 interested Scientists Now Saying the Secret to America's Happiness Is THIS It's hard to believe But the psychedelic drugs we've demonized for decades are quickly becoming the foundation for a new mental health revolution. By 'micro dosing' scientists have worked what some are calling miracles and now is the time to invest in this burgeoning industry before Wall Street catches on. CoreLogic, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides property information, insight, analytics, and data-enabled solutions in North America, Western Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Property Intelligence & Risk Management Solutions (PIRM) and Underwriting & Workflow Solutions (UWS). The PIRM segment combines property information, mortgage information, and consumer information to deliver housing market and property-level insights, predictive analytics, and risk management capabilities. It also offers proprietary technology and software platforms to access, automate, or track the information and assist its clients with decision-making and compliance tools in the real estate and insurance industries. This segment primarily serves commercial banks, mortgage lenders and brokers, investment banks, fixed-income investors, real estate agents, MLS companies, property and casualty insurance companies, title insurance companies, government agencies, and government-sponsored enterprises. The UWS segment combines property, mortgage, and consumer information to provide comprehensive mortgage origination and monitoring solutions, including underwriting-related solutions, and data-enabled valuations and appraisals. This segment also provides proprietary technology and software platforms to access, automate, or track the information and assist its clients with vetting and onboarding prospects, and meeting compliance regulations, as well as understanding, evaluating, monitoring property values. It primarily serves mortgage lenders and servicers, mortgage brokers, credit unions, commercial banks, fixed-income investors, government agencies, and property and casualty insurance companies. The company was formerly known as The First American Corporation and changed its name to CoreLogic, Inc. in June 2010. CoreLogic, Inc. was incorporated in 1894 and is headquartered in Irvine, California. Read More Ad Investing Trends New this week - 138 interested Scientists Now Saying the Secret to America's Happiness Is THIS It's hard to believe But the psychedelic drugs we've demonized for decades are quickly becoming the foundation for a new mental health revolution. By 'micro dosing' scientists have worked what some are calling miracles and now is the time to invest in this burgeoning industry before Wall Street catches on. The following companies are subsidiares of American International Group: AGC Life Insurance Company, AIG APAC HOLDINGS PTE. LTD., AIG Advisors S.r.l., AIG Aerospace Insurance Services Inc., AIG Asia Pacific Insurance Pte. Ltd., AIG Asset Management (Europe) Limited, AIG Asset Management (U.S.) LLC, AIG Assurance Company, AIG Australia Limited, AIG Brazil Holding I LLC, AIG CIS Investments LLC, AIG Canada Holdings Inc., AIG Capital Corporation, AIG Capital Services Inc., AIG Claims Inc., AIG Egypt Insurance Company S.A.E., AIG Employee Services Inc., AIG Europe (Services) Limited, AIG Europe Holdings S.a.rl., AIG Europe S.A., AIG Federal Savings Bank, AIG Financial Products Corp., AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd., AIG Global Asset Management Holdings Corp., AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp., AIG Global Reinsurance Operations, AIG Holdings Europe Limited, AIG Insurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited, AIG Insurance Company China Limited, AIG Insurance Company JSC, AIG Insurance Company of Canada, AIG Insurance Company-Puerto Rico, AIG Insurance Hong Kong Limited, AIG Insurance Limited, AIG Insurance Management Services Inc., AIG Insurance New Zealand Limited, AIG International Holdings GmbH, AIG Investments UK Limited, AIG Israel Insurance Company Ltd, AIG Japan Holdings Kabushiki Kaisha, AIG Kenya Insurance Company Limited, AIG Korea Inc., AIG Latin America I.I., AIG Latin America Investments S.L., AIG Lebanon SAL, AIG Life Holdings Inc., AIG Life Insurance Company (Switzerland) Ltd, AIG Life Limited, AIG Life South Africa Limited, AIG Life of Bermuda Ltd., AIG MEA Holdings Limited, AIG MEA Limited, AIG Malaysia Insurance Berhad, AIG Markets Inc., AIG Matched Funding Corp., AIG PC Global Services Inc., AIG Philippines Insurance Inc., AIG Property Casualty Company, AIG Property Casualty Inc., AIG Property Casualty International LLC, AIG Property Casualty U.S. Inc., AIG Re-Takaful (L) Berhad, AIG Resseguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Mexico S.A. de C.V., AIG Shared Services Corporation, AIG South Africa Limited, AIG Specialty Insurance Company, AIG Technologies Inc., AIG Travel Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., AIG Travel Assist Inc., AIG Travel Assist Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., AIG Travel EMEA Limited, AIG Travel Inc., AIG Uganda Limited, AIG Vietnam Insurance Company Limited, AIG WarrantyGuard Inc., AIG-FP Pinestead Holdings Corp., AIG-Metropolitana Cia. de Seguros y Reaseguros S.A., AIGGRE EOLA LLC, AIGGRE Europe Real Estate Fund I GP S.a r.l., AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund I GP LLC, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund I LP, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund II GP LLC, AIU Insurance Company, AM Holdings LLC, Ageas Protect, AlphaCat Managers Ltd., American General Corporation, American General Life Insurance Company, American Home Assurance Co. Ltd., American Home Assurance Company, American Home Assurance Company Escritorio de Representacao no Brasil Ltda., American International Group Inc., American International Group UK Limited, American International Overseas Association, American International Overseas Limited, American International Realty Corp., American International Reinsurance Company Ltd., American International Underwriters del Ecuador-Holding S.A., American Security Life Insurance Company Limited, Arthur J. Glatfelter Agency Inc., Avondhu Limited, Blackboard Customer Care Insurance Services LLC, Blackboard Insurance Company, Blackboard Services LLC, Blackboard Specialty Insurance Company, Blackboard U.S. Holdings Inc., Chartis Takaful Enaya B.S.C. (c), Commerce and Industry Insurance Company, Crop Risk Services Inc., Eaglestone Reinsurance Company, Ellipse, Fortitude Group Holdings LLC, Fortitude Life & Annuity Solutions Inc., Fortitude Reinsurance Company Ltd., Franklin Life Insurance Company, Fuji Fire and Marine, Glatfelter Insurance Group, Globe and Rutgers Insurance Group, Grand Isle SAC Limited, Granite State Insurance Company, Group Risk Services Limited, Group Risk Technologies Limited, Illinois National Insurance Co., Jefferson Eola Venture LLC, Johannesburg Insurance Holdings (Proprietary) Limited, Laya Healthcare Limited, Lexington Insurance Company, MG Reinsurance Limited, Mt. Mansfield Company Inc., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh Pa., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Vermont, New Hampshire Insurance Company, PT AIG Insurance Indonesia, Pine Street Real Estate Holdings Corp., Private Joint-Stock Company AIG Ukraine Insurance Company, Risk Specialists Companies Insurance Agency Inc., SA Affordable Housing LLC, SAFG Retirement Services Inc., Service Net Warranty LLC, Stratford Insurance Company, SunAmerica Affordable Housing Partners Inc., SunAmerica Asset Management LLC, Talbot Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Ltd., Thai CIT Holding Company Limited, The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York, The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company, Travel Guard, Travel Guard Group Canada Inc./Groupe Garde Voyage du Canada Inc., Travel Guard Group Inc., Tudor Insurance Company, VALIC Financial Advisors Inc., Valic Retirement Services Company, Validus Holdings, Validus Holdings (UK) Ltd., Validus Holdings Ltd., Validus Reinsurance (Switzerland) Ltd, Validus Reinsurance Ltd., Validus Ventures Ltd., Volunteer Firemen's Insurance Services Inc., Western World Insurance Company, and Western World Insurance Group Inc.. Report: Smaller, Established Pot Stocks Key to Profits in 2021 (Ad) Cannabis investors have been burned in the past by big name companies that saw their stock values skyrocket overnight, only to plummet back to earth when the challenge of turning a profit proved too difficult. Experts say key to making money with cannabis stocks is to invest in smaller companies with a track record of success. Find Out Why This Seattle Company Be the #1 Stock Data Firm Predicts That Retail Cannabis Will Hit $41 Billion By 2025 (Ad) It's clear that there's a giant "Green Boom Coming." And here's how you can get it on it... Get The Full Report Here Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. The company's personal banking products and services include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, and financial and investment advice services; and commercial banking products and services comprise business deposit accounts, commercial credit cards, business loans and commercial mortgages, cash management solutions, foreign exchange, specialized banking programs, treasury and payment solutions, and risk management products for small business and commercial banking customers. It also offers investment and wealth advisory services; digital investing services; financial services and solutions; and investment management, and trust and custody services to institutional, retail, and high net worth investors. In addition, the company provides life insurance, accident and sickness insurance, and annuity products; creditor and travel insurance to bank customers; and reinsurance solutions. Further, it offers client's debt and equity capital-raising services, as well as loan origination and syndication, balance sheet management, and treasury management; strategic advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and recapitalizations, as well as valuation and fairness opinions; and trade finance, risk mitigation, and other operating services. Additionally, the company provides research and access to markets for institutional, corporate, and retail clients; trading solutions that include debt, foreign exchange, interest rate, credit, equity, securitization and commodities; new product development and origination services, as well as risk management advice and services to hedge against fluctuations; and funding and liquidity management services to its clients. It operates through approximately 1,400 bank branches and 4,800 automated banking machines in Canada and the United States. The company was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. 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The company's marketed products include Tagrisso, Lynparza, Imfinzi, Enhertu, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Equidacent, Zoladex, Faslodex, Iressa, Arimidex, Casodex/Cosudex, and others for oncology diseases; Onglyza, Bydureon, Lokelma, Byetta, Qtern, Symlin, and others for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; and Symbicort, Pulmicort, Fasenra, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir, Tudorza/Eklira, Bevespi, Breztri, Anifrolumab, and others for respiratory and immunology diseases. It also offers other medicines and COVID-19 products, including Synagis, Fluenz Tetra/FluMist Quadrivalent, Seroquel IR/Seroquel XR, Vimovo, Movantik/Moventig, Nexium, Losec/Prilosec, and COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca. The company serves primary care and specialty care physicians through distributors and local representative offices. It has a collaboration agreement with Daiichi Sankyo to develop and commercialize DS-1062 for the treatment of trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (TROP2) tumor; AliveCor, Inc. to develop non-invasive potassium monitoring solutions; Massachusetts General Hospital to accelerate digital health solutions; Sanguina on smartphone application study for hemoglobin management in patients with anemia of chronic kidney disease; Alchemab to enhance prostate cancer research; and Proteros biostructures GmbH to discover and develop novel small molecules for the treatment of various types of cancer. The company was formerly known as Zeneca Group PLC and changed its name to AstraZeneca PLC in April 1999. AstraZeneca PLC was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom. Read More I only buy one kind of stock. 37 of these cash cows are in my portfolio right now... and for every dollar invested in them they are sending us 69 cents in dividends. That's an effective yield of 69% a year-every year. All without leverage, options, or gimmicks. Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the electric utility, banking, and renewable/sustainable infrastructure investment businesses in the state of Hawaii. It operates in three segments: Electric Utility, Bank, and Other. The Electric Utility segment engages in the production, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, and Molokai. Its renewable energy sources and potential sources include wind, solar, photovoltaic, geothermal, wave, hydroelectric, municipal waste, and other biofuels. This segment serves suburban communities, resorts, the United States armed forces installations, and agricultural operations. The Bank segment operates a community bank that offers banking and other financial services to consumers and businesses, including savings and checking accounts; and loans comprising residential and commercial real estate, residential mortgage, construction and development, multifamily residential and commercial real estate, consumer, and commercial loans. This segment operates 42 branches, including 29 branches in Oahu, 6 branches in Maui, 4 branches in Hawaii, 2 branches in Kauai, and 1 branch in Molokai. The Other segment invests in non-regulated renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure in the State of Hawaii. Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. Read More Shark Tank Investor: THIS is My Secret to Getting Rich (Ad) Shark Tank angel investor, Kevin O'Leary, has a word of advice for individual investors: "Always look for solutions with the potential to solve vast problems." And today, the renowned investor believes he might have found just one of these solutions. Discover how you could get in on the ground floor Invest In Psychedelic Therapy? (Ad) Psychedelic Therapy Clinics are popping up all over LA and Arizona. Some of them charge up to $2,000 for a full treatment... this is an emerging trend every investor should consider. Tell Me More About Psychedelic Therapy American Consumer News, LLC dba MarketBeat 2010-2021. All rights reserved. 326 E 8th St #105, Sioux Falls, SD 57103 | U.S. Based Support Team at [email protected] | (844) 978-6257 MarketBeat does not provide personalized financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security. Our Accessibility Statement | Terms of Service | Do Not Sell My Information 2021 Market data provided is at least 10-minutes delayed and hosted by Barchart Solutions. Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice, and is delayed. To see all exchange delays and terms of use please see disclaimer. Fundamental company data provided by Zacks Investment Research. Former Treasury Secretary Sounds Alarm On America's Financial Instability (Ad) He warns that added stimulus "will set off inflationary pressures of a kind we have not seen in a generation. With consequences for the value of the dollar and financial stability." An Unusual Way To Protect Your Wealth This obviously affects our communitys ability to attract and retain a workforce because people may want to live in the same area they work, Wright said. And who want housing close to where they are going to work every day. Starting salary for a full-time certified teacher in the district is $40,241 and the average salary of all district teachers is $50,416. Percentage of district employees regardless of title live in the Sauk Prairie School District boundaries. The teachers salary group is a higher paid salary group than a lot of our other salary groups, Wight said. And if you were to look at the median salary for the whole district, it would be significantly lower than that $51,000, which then puts an average, single-family home out of reach for a pretty large chunk of our workforce. The term workforce housing has changed over time. It doesnt mean low-income housing, its housing our educators need as well, Wright said. So what do we do now to make sure our community has housing that is affordable by the educator workforce, as part of our larger need for workforce housing. Wright said it was important for district administration to be able to share the work they have been doing with regard to employees salary and benefits, and to be able to connect it to this bigger question in the community about how we make sure we are a place that can attract workers, Wright said. And that if people want to work here, they can also afford to live here. Follow Autumn Luedke on Twitter @Apwriter1 or contact at (608) 393-5777 Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly 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. Portage Police Chief Ken Manthey said if a student has something that looks exactly like a gun in their possession, police officers might have only a split-second to react. In a recent juvenile case, a 13-year-old male student at Bartels Middle School was placed in secure juvenile detention at a facility in Stevens Point after Portage police confiscated a toy BB gun from his locker that resembled the handguns carried by Portage police officers. The case remains under investigation. Police would not say how officers became alerted to the facsimile pistol. This causes great concern, Manthey said. It looks like the real thing. Similar incidents have occurred occasionally in the past, and Manthey said the school district, police department and district attorneys office take such incidents very seriously. Portage Police Detective Lt. Dan Garrigan said police always respond to those sorts of incidents the same way and deal with them swiftly. Were going to treat everyone seriously and respond the same, Garrigan said. You never know the difference. WESTFIELD Theres a second helping of lessons available to the adults in the Westfield School District. The same sausage-making course the district offered this winter returns in the spring as leadership also explores community outreach in candy-making, scrapbooking, snacks and appetizers, fitness, small-engine repair and personal technology. Were trying to zero in on what the public wants from its schools, said District Administrator Bob Meicher, who expects the district to eventually offer three or four outreach classes per year. This community has been so good to us, and this is our way of giving back to them. The sausage-making class is led by school board member and sausage expert Oscar Miller. It costs $75 per person for materials and kicks off for the second time March 27. Registration for 12 spots in the class ends March 20, Miller said. Sausage-making lessons started in January and were offered on four nights to eight participants who, by the end of the course, gained skills they could use for a lifetime and took home more than a dozen pounds of meat, said Meicher, a former principal at Portages Bartels Middle School. The Madison Water Utilitys latest tests for toxic chemicals in drinking water found further indications the source of the hazardous material is the nearby Wisconsin Air National Guard base. The tests looked for, and found, additional types of PFAS synthetic chemicals linked to cancers and other serious health problems that have been used in the militarys firefighting foam, the water utility said in a statement Tuesday. PFAS stands for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances. Because firefighting foams contain a mixture of PFAS compounds, we did expect to find some additional PFAS chemicals at low levels when testing was expanded, said Joe Grande, the utilitys water quality manager. Four additional types of PFAS were revealed to be in drinking water from Well 15 on East Washington Avenue. Each of the four was measured at just above the detection limit of 2 parts per trillion. Meanwhile, two of the most common forms of the toxic chemical were found at levels roughly the same as in previous tests. Tests analyzed at two labs averaged 11.4 parts per trillion, which is below a controversial 2016 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency health advisory of 70 parts per trillion for the two compounds, the water utility said. Authorities have released 911 calls from the scene of Wisconsin's worst-ever highway pileup. Andrew Schefelker of Oshkosh was killed in Sunday's 131-vehicle pileup on Interstate 41 near Neenah. Seventy-one others were injured in the chain-reaction crash that happened in the Neenah area amid whiteout conditions during a windy, snowy day. The Winnebago County Sheriff's Office says the "vast majority" of the vehicles are destroyed. Schefelker was a middle school/high school science teacher in the Iola-Scandinavia School District. CAMP DOUGLAS Volk Field Air National Guard Base is looking to new technology to increase capabilities and attract a new generation of military recruits. The Volk Field Community Council, formed in 2018, seeks to advocate for the base and expose young people to the opportunities at the training center. The activity out here has been increasing dramatically, said Juneau County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Terry Whipple, who serves on the council. (We seek) to use the assets that we have out here at the base to get kids interested in (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). As Volk Field grows and its leaders look to the future, the need for new recruits becomes clear. The community council is a big new initiative thats very exciting and is going to be a big part of our future for sure, said Volk Field Commander Col. David May. Building the capacity for people to advocate for us specifically its another voice whether its to elected officials or other business leaders to first of all educate people about us, but also garner additional support. May said increased competition when it comes to cutting-edge technology may be affecting recruiting. The construction of the LaCrosse and Milwaukee Railroad (The Milwaukee Road) in 1856-57 was the most significant event to occur in the early history of Juneau County. Prior to the railroad, most of the population lived their entire lives never or rarely traveling more than 25 miles from home. By 1872, The Baraboo Air Line consolidated with the Chicago and North Western with tracks completed to Elroy. During that time, the West Wisconsin Railroad completed tracks from Camp Douglas to Elroy. Farmers, merchants and the general population benefited immensely from the many daily freight and passenger trains. For the next half century, it would be difficult to find an issue of a local paper that did not include some railroad news. In August 1923, a Missouri man, while riding through New Lisbon in a freight car, was observed throwing pieces of coal at another train, breaking several windows. A special agent for the C.M. & St P. Ry., was riding on the train and observed that man, had him arrested in LaCrosse, brought back to Mauston, taken before Judge M. L. Bunnell. After pleading guilty the Missouri man was sentenced to one year in Waupun State Prison. Columbus High School students wrapped up a busy National FFA Week with a tractor party. Several FFA students drove their tractors, both large and small, to school the morning of Feb. 22. The lineup featured large, newer models from John Deere and Case IH, to smaller classics built by Allis-Chalmers and Massey Ferguson. While lawn-mowing season is still several weeks away, one student was prepared, driving his bright green John Deere lawn tractor to CHS. Other models included a Bobcat and a pedal tractor replicating a classic Farmall. FFA Week featured fun events throughout the week, highlighting the work of Columbus growing FFA chapter, led by ag teacher Glenda Crook. Mark Leroy Fish, born Feb. 19, 1945, died Feb. 21, 2019, after a long battle with heart disease. He was born in Sauk County to Gaby (Wohling) and Arthur L. Fish Sr. Mark was born into a large family eventually having five brothers and eight sisters. During his childhood, he loved hunting and fishing with his dog by his side, many times providing meat for the dinner table. He and his family did many different jobs, including farming, ditching and drainage, blacktop sealing and barn demolition to name a few. Mark may have struggled physically all his life, but he never lost his sense of humor. When Mark died and came back to life, he wrote a book My Walk with Jesus, which chronicles many of his adventures. Mark lived in many different places in Wisconsin, including Reedsburg, Janesville, Rock Springs, Baraboo, Madison, Mauston and lastly Waupun. He was never lonely wherever he lived, and would pull people into his universe with his laugh and smile. He could always be counted on for a great story. You could also count on Mark to get up early and go to McDonalds for coffee, to read his Bible. He came to know many people this way and many people came to hear his story of his experiences in heaven. Kline was hospitalized for about a week and could not take care of himself after the accident. He returned to his mothers home for the first few months, but later returned to the home that he shared with Stedman. He was very depressed, Stedman said. It was hard for him to accept that he could no longer work. Klines prescriptions included Percocet, Dilaudid, and Oxycontin, Stedman said, adding that he was prescribed them for about two years. He didnt get weaned off of the meds, Stedman said. He had withdrawals. He had to quit cold turkey. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Stedman said he began looking elsewhere for pain pills and primarily used the Percocet he was able to purchase from people. Eventually, a friend convinced him to try heroin. Stedman said she could tell when Kline was on the drug. There were multiple times that he attempted to stop using heroin by himself. He realized he couldnt do that, so he did outpatient in July of 2016, Stedman said. It was an eight-week program, and he was clean for up to three months until the time he passed as far as I know. Scientists still havent nailed down exactly what killed the dinosaurs. Volcanoes? Asteroids? Climate change? Too many nights eating Chinese take-out? Experts havent reached consensus. But when we humans die out, the next species to top the food chain will have no doubt about what did us in: Cow farts. Progressives behind the Green New Deal say the cattle industry threatens the planet because of the greenhouse gases it produces. Farmers are on notice that some Democrats want a food system free of noxious emissions. Cant say that I blame them: I wish for the same thing every time I get stuck sitting next to my lactose-intolerant Uncle Milt at Thanksgiving. Here in Wisconsin, where we invite visitors to smell our dairy air, we know cattle farms dont smell like flowerbeds. Its no surprise to us that the cattle industry ranks among the most potent sources of offensive gases this side of the boys locker room. But it raised eyebrows when Bessie became climate change activists Public Enemy No. 1. I dont think the average cheesehead wants to hurt the environment, but anyone calling for the extinction of beef and dairy farming here is in for a fight. Consider a parallel: Just because Id like to put a cork in Uncle Milt every November doesnt mean I want him wiped from the face of the Earth. A Reedsburg woman is facing felony charges after police say she strangled a cat to death with her hands. The Sauk County District Attorneys Office has charged 22-year-old Ashley E. Broadnax with felony mistreatment of an animal resulting in death and bail jumping. According to the criminal complaint, a Reedsburg Police Department officer was called to Broadnaxs apartment on Alexander Avenue on Feb. 18 after someone reported the dead feline. The officer spoke with a man who reported arriving home to find the cat dead on the living room floor. He noted drops of what appeared to be blood on the floor. I spoke with Ashley and asked her what happened with the cat and she stated she killed it, the officer reported in the complaint. I asked Ashley what exactly she did to the cat and she replied she strangled it. Broadnax allegedly told the officer she used both hands. The complaint does not explain what Broadnaxs motive might have been. The two felony charges against her have a combined maximum possible prison sentence of 9 years. She was booked and released on a $750 signature bond and is due to appear in court March 5. Follow Tim Damos on Twitter @timdamos or contact him at 608-745-3513. 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. The homeless organization formed and began searching for a place to take up shop last fall after a warming shelter that was operated out of a different Baraboo church closed. The former shelter could house up to 20 guests and typically was full throughout the winter, according to organizers. They said that shows a continuing need for a shelter in the Baraboo area. Members of the West Baraboo Church of God, located at 150 Shaw St., decided they wanted to find a way to help establish a new shelter and recently announced they would offer up a portion of their space. To think that there are people outside right now that really dont know where to go or what to do, what is it that we can do to help? the Rev. Derick Bacon of the church said Monday night. That is the question that I posed to my board. We responded. This is what we have. Mowers said the shelter groups board has applied for nonprofit status from the Internal Revenue Service, but the process has been delayed due to the recent federal government shutdown. However, he said that should not deter anyone from donating to the organization. He expects the application to be approved, and said donations made prior to the nonprofit designation, if approved, can retroactively be made tax-exempt. The recovery period even after a few minutes in the water can last a while, the group explained, and its crucial to resist the urge to jump into a hot shower because the shocking change in temperatures would be harmful. But theyve developed a routine: A warm car, hot tea, a snack and for Ventura and Ricker, a trip to the YMCA sauna. Dornfeld and Halleck began the practice when they were young, but the other two showed up a month and a half ago after learning about Wim Hof, a Dutch extreme athlete known for his ability to withstand ice and cold. Support Local Journalism Your membership makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} I had been sick for a long time before this period of my life, and when Sarah first told me about it I was like, No, no, no, I dont think my body can handle this, Ricker remembered. Then she sent me the Wim Hof video. Within the first five minutes, I was like, Im doing this. The group says theyve experienced an energy boost and lower stress levels as a product of cold-water immersion, and that it can also help with chronic pain, circulation, muscle inflammation and depression. But does it ever get easier? The needles and knives sensation of the water might sting every time, but their minds are more prepared now. Not even one year into existence, the Winona State University Seed Bank and Library the first of its kind in Minnesota and in the Minnesota MUZAFARABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's military said Wednesday it shot down two Indian warplanes in the disputed region of Kashmir and captured a pilot, answering an airstrike a day earlier by Indian fighter jets inside Pakistan and raising tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals to a level unseen in two decades. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2019 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Pakistani protesters shout anti-Indian slogans in Hyderabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. Pakistan said India launched an airstrike on its territory early Tuesday that caused no casualties, while India said it targeted a terrorist training camp in a pre-emptive strike that killed a "very large number" of militants. (AP Photo/Pervez Masih) MUZAFARABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's military said Wednesday it shot down two Indian warplanes in the disputed region of Kashmir and captured a pilot, answering an airstrike a day earlier by Indian fighter jets inside Pakistan and raising tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals to a level unseen in two decades. Within hours Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan went on television urging peace talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying both countries needed to step back from the brink and warning that "miscalculations" could drag their two countries into a war that neither side would benefit from. "Let's sit together to talk to find a solution," Khan said. There was no reply from Modi, but India acknowledged one of its air force planes was "lost" in skirmishes with Pakistan and that its pilot was "missing in action." Pakistan's military later circulated a video of a man with a moustache who identified himself as the Indian pilot, sipping tea and responding to questions, mostly by saying, "You know I can't answer that." He appeared in good health as he was questioned about his hometown, his aircraft and his mission. The downing of the Indian aircraft came on a chaotic day that also saw mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier dividing the two sectors of Kashmir kill six civilians and wound several others. A helicopter crash in the region also killed six Indian air force officials and a civilian on the ground. Kashmiri villagers gather near the wreckage of an Indian aircraft after it crashed in Budgam area, outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Feb.27, 2019. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan) Pakistan responded by shutting down its civilian airspace. The Indian warplanes went down Wednesday morning in Kashmir, a mountainous region claimed by both India and Pakistan since almost immediately after their creation in 1947. One of the downed planes crashed in Pakistan's part of Kashmir while the other went down in an Indian-controlled section of the Himalayan region, Pakistan's army spokesman Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor said. He said Pakistani troops on the ground captured the Indian pilot. He had said earlier that two pilots were captured, but did not explain the discrepancy. "We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm," Ghafoor said. India's External Affairs Ministry spokesman, Raveesh Kumar, said one of India's MiG-21 fighter aircraft was missing and India was still "ascertaining" whether its pilot was in Pakistan's custody. He said one Pakistani aircraft was shot down, something Pakistan denied. Indian army soldiers stand near the wreckage of an Indian aircraft after it crashed in Budgam area, outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Feb.27, 2019. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan) Meanwhile, Indian police said officials recovered seven bodies from the wreckage of the Indian air force chopper that crashed in an Indian-controlled sector of Kashmir, including six Indian airmen and a civilian on the ground. They gave no cause for the crash. Senior police officer Munir Ahmed Khan said the chopper crashed close to an airport in the Budgam area, on the outskirts of the region's main city of Srinagar. The Srinagar airport, which was shut along with two other airports for civilian flights in the region, is also an air force station. Witnesses said soldiers fired in the air to keep residents away from the crash site. Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad said the country's air force was carrying out airstrikes Wednesday from within Pakistani airspace across the disputed Kashmir boundary but that this was not in "retaliation to continued Indian belligerence." Ghafoor, the Pakistani military spokesman, said the strikes were aimed at "avoiding human loss and collateral damage." Stranded passengers stand outside an airport after it was closed for civilians operations amid tension along the border with Pakistan in Jammu, India, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. Pakistan shot down two Indian warplanes Wednesday in the disputed region of Kashmir and captured their pilots, its military said, raising tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals to a level unseen in 20 years. (AP Photo/Channi Anand) The shelling earlier Wednesday by India hit the village of Kotli in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, killing six civilians, including children, local police official Mohammad Altaf said. Kashmir is split between Pakistan and India and claimed by both in its entirety. Though Pakistani and Indian troops in Kashmir often trade fire, the latest casualties came a day after tensions escalated sharply following a pre-dawn airstrike and incursion by India that New Delhi said targeted a terrorist training camp in northwestern Pakistan. The strike Tuesday was India's first inside Pakistan since the two nations' 1971 war over territory that later became Bangladesh. Pakistan said Indian warplanes dropped bombs near the Pakistani town of Balakot but there were no casualties. The violence Wednesday marked the most serious escalation of the long-simmering conflict since 1999, when Pakistan's military sent a ground force into Indian-controlled Kashmir at Kargil. That year also saw an Indian fighter jet shoot down a Pakistani naval aircraft, killing all 16 on board. Residents on both sides of the de-facto frontier, the so-called Line of Control, said there were exchanges of fire between the two sides through the night into Wednesday morning. Hundreds of villagers fled border towns in both India and Pakistan. In New Delhi, Indian officials said Wednesday at least five of their soldiers were wounded in firing by Pakistani troops along the volatile frontier. Lt. Col. Devender Anand, an Indian army spokesman, said Pakistani soldiers targeted dozens of Indian military positions across the Line of Control throughout the night. An Indian military statement said that "out of anger and frustration," Pakistan initiated an "unprovoked cease-fire violation." The statement said Indian troops "retaliated for effect" and claimed to have destroyed five Pakistani posts. It accused Pakistani soldiers of firing mortars and missiles "from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields." On Wednesday, Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, told state-run Pakistan Television he was in touch with his counterparts across the world about the "Indian aggression," adding that New Delhi had endangered peace in the region by Tuesday's airstrike inside Pakistan. India's external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, said Wednesday her country does not wish to see further escalation of the situation with Pakistan and that it will continue to act with responsibility and restraint. She said the limited objective of India's pre-emptive strike inside Pakistan on a terrorist training camp Tuesday was to prevent another terror attack inside India by the Jaish-e-Mohammad extremist group. The latest wave of tensions between Pakistan and India first erupted after Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for a Feb. 14 suicide bombing on Indian paramilitary forces on the Indian side of Kashmir that killed more than 40 troops. India long has accused Pakistan of cultivating such militant groups to attack it. Pakistan has said it was not involved in that attack and was ready to help New Delhi in the investigations. Hussain reported from Srinagar, India. Associated Press writers Ashok Sharma in New Delhi and Kathy Gannon and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report. HANOI, Vietnam - For his second summit with President Donald Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un opted to go retro riding the rails like his grandfather decades before. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2019 (855 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves upon arrival by train in Dong Dang in Vietnamese border town Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019, ahead of his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Minh Hoang) HANOI, Vietnam - For his second summit with President Donald Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un opted to go retro riding the rails like his grandfather decades before. Kim's decision to take the train all the way across China was probably prompted at least in part by security considerations his train is built like a tank and almost as slow. But it also marks a major attempt at showmanship designed to bring back memories of North Korean "eternal president" Kim Il Sung's many travels by railroad. Kim Jong Un's journey aboard his forest-green train from Pyongyang to the Vietnamese border town of Dong Dang took more than two and a half days. That's longer than it took Trump to fly halfway around the world, even with Air Force One stopping for fuel along the way. But the overland passage was a marked upgrade in optics from Kim's first summit with Trump, in Singapore last June. For that trip, Kim travelled aboard an Air China Boeing 747, meaning the first images from that history-making arrival showed him disembarking from an American-made plane emblazoned with a Chinese flag. This time around, when Kim stepped down early Tuesday from his distinctive yellow-trimmed train, he was greeted with a bouquet of flowers on a patterned red carpet lined with a Vietnamese honour guard and the five-pointed communist-starred flags of North Korea and Vietnam. He then switched to a black limousine for the final drive to Hanoi. That's a much more on-message scene for the North Koreans, who want their home audience to see Kim as the man in charge. But it's also familiar on another level. North Koreans grow up seeing images of Kim's grandfather travelling by train, which he took to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, among other places. Kim Il Sung visited Vietnam in 1958 and 1964, though he used a mix of airplanes and trains on those journeys. A mock-up of a car from the train is on permanent display at the mausoleum where Kim Il Sung and his son, late leader Kim Jong Il, lie in state, along with maps that light up to show the routes he took on his travels. Inside the car is a desk used by the leaders, along with chairs and a sofa. Guides explain that the carriage was used as a mobile office proof, they insist, the leaders worked tirelessly for the people. Kim Jong Il, who was Kim Jong Un's father, was known to have hated flying and travelled by train on several trips to China. He is said to have fitted his train out to accommodate lavish parties and karaoke sessions. During his father's rule, trips abroad were often not reported for days after they were over, if at all. But that appears to be changing, also suggesting the importance in the minds of the North's propagandists of getting their own visuals out quickly to the nation. It took North Korean state media less than half a day from the time his train was spotted crossing the border into China to report that Kim was onboard. Images released by the official Korean Central News Agency showed him inspecting an honour guard in Pyongyang and waving from the train. Kim's exact overseas travel plans are routinely kept secret for security reasons. His train appears to have bypassed the busy Chinese capital, Beijing, and few images have trickled out since The Associated Press and others witnessed it crossing into the Chinese border city of Dandong on Saturday evening. South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported seeing his train in the central Chinese town of Changsha on Monday. A Japanese TV network caught another candid moment early morning shots of Kim, a well-known chain smoker, puffing away while on a stop in Nanning. This story has been corrected to fix details of Kim Il Sung's Vietnam visits in 1958 and 1964. Talmadge is the AP's Pyongyang bureau chief. Schreck is AP's Asia Pacific news director. Follow them on Instagram and Twitter: @EricTalmadge and @adamschreck Follow all of AP's summit coverage: https://apnews.com/Trump-KimSummit WASHINGTON - House Democrats have ignored a veto threat and passed legislation that would stymie President Donald Trump's bid for billions of extra dollars for a U.S.-Mexico border wall. The move has escalated a clash over whether he has abused his powers to advance the signature pledge of his 2016 campaign. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2019 (855 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., accompanied by Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, left, and others, speaks about a resolution to block President Donald Trump's emergency border security declaration on Capitol Hill, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019 in Washington. House Democrats have introduced a resolution to block the national emergency declaration that President Donald Trump issued last week to fund his long-sought wall along the U.S-Mexico border, setting up a fight that could result in Trump's first-ever veto. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) WASHINGTON - House Democrats have ignored a veto threat and passed legislation that would stymie President Donald Trump's bid for billions of extra dollars for a U.S.-Mexico border wall. The move has escalated a clash over whether he has abused his powers to advance the signature pledge of his 2016 campaign. The House's 245-182 vote Tuesday to block Trump's national emergency declaration fell well below the two-thirds majority that would be needed to override what would be the first veto of Trump's presidency. Thirteen Republican backed the Democrats' measure as top Republicans worked to keep defections as low as possible, wanting to avoid a tally suggesting that Trump's hold on lawmakers was weakening. The issue is now before the Republican-run Senate, where there already were enough GOP defections to edge the resolution to the brink of passage. Vice-President Mike Pence used a lunch with Republican senators at the Capitol to try keeping them aboard, citing a crisis at the border, but there were no signs he had succeeded. "I personally couldn't handicap the outcome at this point," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who plans a vote within the next three weeks. He even said Republicans remained uncertain about the legality of Trump's move. The showdown was forcing Republicans to cast uncomfortable votes pitting their support for a president popular with GOP voters against fears that his use of emergency powers would invite future Democratic presidents to do likewise. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., with, from left, Sens. Todd Young, R-In., Roy Blunt, R-Mo., Barasso, John Thune, R-S.D., Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) House Republicans who joined all voting Democrats to support the resolution included moderates from competitive districts such as Fred Upton of Michigan and libertarian-leaning conservatives like Thomas Massie from Kentucky. The White House, in a letter to lawmakers threatening a veto, said blocking the declaration would "undermine the administration's ability to respond effectively to the ongoing crisis" at the border. Republicans said Democrats were driven by politics and a desire to oppose Trump at every turn. They said Trump had authority to declare an emergency to protect the country and they defended his claims of a crisis. "We are at war on the southern border with the drug cartels," said Rep. Pete Olson, R-Texas. Trump has asserted that barriers would stop drugs from Mexico from entering the U.S. In fact, government figures show that 90 per cent of drugs intercepted from Mexico are caught at ports of entry, not remote areas where barriers would be constructed. Democrats said Republicans repeatedly accused former President Barack Obama of flouting the Constitution, which gives Congress control over spending, but are ignoring Trump's effort to do the same. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters he can't say whether the Republican-controlled Senate will approve a resolution to block President Donald Trump's emergency declaration on immigration, during a news conference after a closed-door GOP meeting with Vice President Mike Pence, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. The House later voted to block President Trump's emergency declaration, a measure intended get him billions of extra dollars to build his border wall. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) "Is your oath of office to Donald Trump, or is your oath of office to the Constitution?" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., asked Republicans. Trump's push for the wall reflected a continuation of the anti-immigrant views that helped fuel his election, some Democrats said. "Since when do we call human beings in need a national emergency?" said Mexican-born Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, D-Ill. "Is he running out of insults for people like me?" Democrats said the crisis is a fiction manufactured by Trump to evade Congress' vote this month to provide less than $1.4 billion for barrier construction. That was well below the $5.7 billion Trump demanded as he forced a record-setting 35-day federal shutdown. "The president does not get to override Congress in a raucous temper tantrum over his inability to broker a deal" with lawmakers for more money, said Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, sponsor of the one-sentence measure blocking the declaration, called Trump's move "constitutional vandalism." Trump used a 1976 law to declare a national emergency and ordered the shift of $3.6 billion from military construction projects to wall building. Citing other powers, he intends to shift an additional $3.1 billion from Defence Department anti-drug efforts and a fund that collects seized assets. The money would be used to build steel barriers up to 30 feet tall and other barriers and for "law enforcement efforts," said a White House statement. In the Senate, three Republicans have said they will back Democrats' drive to block the emergency declaration: Maine's Susan Collins, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski and North Carolina's Thom Tillis. One more GOP defection would provide enough votes to approve the Democratic measure, assuming all Democrats and their independent allies back it. Republicans said senators asked Pence numerous questions about which projects Trump would divert to pay for the wall, with Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., saying the discussion was "hearty." Shelby, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which controls spending. said the committee would quickly "backfill" money for military construction with other funds he did not identify. "That issue won't stay alive long," Shelby told reporters. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the chief GOP vote counter, said there may be GOP attempts to amend the House measure, saying Republicans "think they have amendments that would improve it." That suggests that McConnell may try finding a way to add language that could sink the Democratic resolution or, perhaps, make it more palatable for Republicans. The law requires the Senate to vote on a measure within 18 days of receiving it from the House. Though presidents have declared 58 emergencies under the law, this is the first aimed at acquiring money for an item Congress has explicitly refused to finance, according to Elizabeth Goitein, co-director for national security at New York University Law School's Brennan Center for Justice. This is also the first time Congress has cast votes on whether to annul an emergency declaration, she said. Several lawsuits have been filed aimed at blocking the money, including by Democratic state attorneys general, and progressive and environmental groups. Those suits are likely to delay access to those funds for months or years. AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and Associated Press writer Colleen Long contributed. WASHINGTON - Shaking off criticism from House Republicans, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer declared under oath Wednesday that Trump knew ahead of time and embraced the news when told that WikiLeaks had emails damaging to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Michael Cohen also testified that Trump is a "racist," a "conman" and a "cheat." Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/2/2019 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. WASHINGTON - Shaking off criticism from House Republicans, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer declared under oath Wednesday that Trump knew ahead of time and embraced the news when told that WikiLeaks had emails damaging to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Michael Cohen also testified that Trump is a "racist," a "conman" and a "cheat." Cohen, called to testify by Democrats over the objections of Republicans, suggested that Trump also implicitly told him to lie about a Moscow real estate project. Cohen has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the project, which he says Trump knew about as Cohen was negotiating with Russia during the 2016 election campaign. The hearing was producing the most damning depiction to date of Trump's campaign and business operations from a onetime member of his inner circle. It was the latest step in Cohen's evolution from legal fixer for the president he once boasted he'd "take a bullet" for Trump to a foe who has implicated him in federal campaign finance violations. "I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty, of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him," Cohen said. "I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is." Democrats asked Cohen about details of his accusations against Trump, while Republicans on the House Oversight and Reform Committee focused on assailing him and his credibility. "I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty, of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort to protect and promote him. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump's illicit acts rather thanlistening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is." Michael Cohen Accused at length by one GOP lawmaker of being a pathological liar, Cohen responded, "Sir, are you referring to me or the president?" Cohen's claims that Trump had advance knowledge of the emails contradict the president's assertions that he was in the dark, but it was not clear what evidence Cohen had to support the allegation or even how legally problematic it would be for Trump. Special counsel Robert Mueller has not suggested that mere awareness of WikiLeaks' plans, as Trump confidant Roger Stone is purported to have had, is by itself a crime. Michael Cohen, center, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, speaks as he departs after testifying before a closed door hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee accompanied by his lawyers, Lanny Davis, left, of Washington, and Michael Monico of Chicago, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Underscoring the deeply partisan nature of the proceedings, Democrats on the committee lifted an earlier restriction that the hearing not delve into Russia, while Republicans tried unsuccessfully to block the hearing as it got underway, on grounds that Cohen had not provided his opening statement long enough in advance. The committee's top Republican, Rep. Jim Jordan, of Ohio, sought early on to undermine Cohen's credibility by calling him a "fraudster, cheat" and "a convicted felon." "Certainly it's the first time a convicted perjurer has been brought back to be a star witness at a hearing," Jordan said. Cohen said Trump did not directly tell him to lie, but "he would look me in the eye and tell me there's no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing." "A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr. Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time. The answer is yes." Michael Cohen Cohen said that "in his way, he was telling me to lie." He added that lawyers for Trump had "reviewed and edited" the statement in which Cohen falsely said a proposal for a Trump Tower in Moscow had been abandoned in January 2016. Cohen has since said he continued pursuing the project for Trump for months after that. Trump, at a Vietnam hotel before a planned meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and unable to ignore the drama playing out thousands of miles away, lashed out at Cohen on Twitter, saying his lawyer "did bad things unrelated to Trump" and "is lying in order to reduce his prison time." A judge already has set Cohen's sentence, and Cohen's co-operation will have no bearing on that term. Cohen, ahead of his appearance, said Tuesday that the American people could decide "exactly who is telling the truth" when he testified before the House committee. On WikiLeaks, Cohen said in the prepared testimony that he was in Trump's office in July 2016 when longtime adviser Roger Stone telephoned Trump. Trump put Stone on speakerphone and Stone told him that he had communicated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that "within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign," according to Cohen. Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, arrives to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Trump responded by saying "wouldn't that be great," Cohen said. That month, WikiLeaks released thousands of emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee's server. "[It is] laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies." White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders "A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr. Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time," Cohen said in the prepared testimony. "The answer is yes." Cohen said he does not have direct evidence that Trump colluded with the Russian government during the election, but that he has "suspicions." Of a meeting in Trump Tower between campaign advisers, including Trump's oldest son, and a Russian lawyer, Cohen said that Trump had frequently told him that Donald Trump Jr. "had the worst judgment of anyone in the world" and he "would never set up any meeting of any significance alone and certainly not without checking with his father." Cohen, once Trump's loyal attorney, has turned on his former boss and co-operated with Mueller's Russia investigation. He begins a three-year prison sentence in May after pleading guilty to lying to Congress in 2017 and committing campaign finance violations while working for Trump. He met with the Senate intelligence committee for more than nine hours behind closed doors on Tuesday. Cohen said afterward that he appreciated the opportunity to "clear the record and tell the truth" to the panel after acknowledging he lied to the committee in 2017. It was the first of three days of congressional appearances for Cohen. After the public hearing, he will appear privately before the House intelligence panel Thursday. Republicans were expected to aggressively attempt to discredit Cohen, given that he has acknowledged lying previously. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Tuesday it was "laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies." Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) One Republican House member did more than just question Cohen's credibility. Florida Republican Matt Gaetz tweeted Tuesday that the world is "about to learn a lot" about Cohen and suggested he knew of disparaging information that could come out during the hearing. Gaetz later apologized and said he was deleting the tweet. Gaetz, a Trump ally who talks to the president frequently, is not a member of the committee that was questioning Cohen. Democrats have been alternately suspicious of Cohen and eager to hear what he has to say. Sen. Mark Warner, the intelligence panel's top Democrat, suggested after Tuesday's interview that Cohen had provided important information. "Two years ago when this investigation started I said it may be the most important thing I am involved in in my public life in the Senate, and nothing I've heard today dissuades me from that view," Warner said. In addition to lying to Congress, Cohen pleaded guilty last year to campaign finance violations for his involvement in payments to two women who allege they had affairs with Trump. Federal prosecutors in New York have said Trump directed Cohen to arrange the payments to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in the run-up to the 2016 campaign. Cohen told a judge that he agreed to cover up Trump's "dirty deeds" out of "blind loyalty." Cohen also said he will present the committee with a copy of the check Trump wrote from his personal bank account after he became president to reimburse him for the hush money payments. He claimed he has other exhibits as well, including some financial statements. On the matter of racism, Cohen said the president made racist comments "disparaging African-Americans, saying at one point that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid." Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report. Lets be honest here: U.S. President Donald Trump is not driving American policy toward Venezuela these days. Clearly, its U.S. national security adviser John Bolton, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Venezuela point-person Elliott Abrams. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/2/2019 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion Lets be honest here: U.S. President Donald Trump is not driving American policy toward Venezuela these days. Clearly, its U.S. national security adviser John Bolton, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Venezuela point-person Elliott Abrams. We also know that both Bolton and Abrams are proponents of using military force to advance vital U.S. interests in Latin America. Besides absurdly accusing Cuba of developing an offensive biological warfare capability in May 2002, Bolton also worked behind the scenes to precipitate a military coup against Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in April 2002. Abrams, for his part, has lots of blood on his hands for backing repressive military governments in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala during the 1980s all responsible for hundreds of thousands of innocent civilian deaths. Moreover, he was intimately involved in supporting the viciously violent contras in Nicaragua (and was convicted for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal of the mid-1980s) during the years of the Sandinista government. The two men are adamantly opposed to leftist governments of any kind, disciples of settling internal country disputes via a military solution and proud displayers of ideological blinders. With a guiding compass of "the ends justify the means," they will push hard for whatever it takes to remove President Nicolas Maduro from power in Venezuela. So if diplomacy, economic sanctions and international political isolation dont do the trick, they wont hesitate to escalate things to the military level. And I would not put it past them to orchestrate a set of circumstances that could be used as a pretext for U.S. military intervention in Venezuela. When considering the thought process around U.S. policy and the current humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, its always useful to pose two key questions: what is motivating Washingtons involvement, and who actually benefits (and how) from its actions? It may be that the U.S. is looking at economic motives (oil interests, post-Maduro resupplying initiatives and cutting off Cubas trade connections) in its Venezuelan calculations. Its more likely that Bolton, Abrams and Rubio are hoping to send a powerful message to the wider region that is, dont think about ever replicating in your own countries any anti-imperialist and anti-neoliberal posture like that in Chavista Venezuela. Of course, you could probably forgive the Cubans or the Nicaraguans for asking, "Are we next?" But make no mistake about it, using armed force in Venezuela would be an unmitigated disaster. Not only would it have significantly harmful repercussions for Venezuela in the short term, it would also have profoundly negative long-term implications for the U.S. and the overall region itself. It is worth remembering that the U.S. has had an awful history of intervening militarily in the Americas or its so-called "backyard." And the overall record, to put it mildly, has been absolutely horrendous. The list of disasters throughout the 19th and 20th centuries are multi-fold, including the likes of Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Nicaragua, to name only a few. More to the point, there is no disputing the fact that a U.S. military invasion of Venezuela would not be anything like Grenada (October 1983) or Panama (December 1989). While scores of people died during those two interventions, the expected numbers of deaths in a Venezuelan operation would be astronomical. There are plenty of loyal Venezuelan soldiers and armed militias who would fight to the end to defend the countrys independence and Bolivarian revolution. Indeed, it would be Iraq, circa 2003, all over again even facilitating a deadly and costly counter-insurgency that could last for years. Additionally, such an invasion would have the deleterious effect of driving internal Maduro opponents to rally around the beleaguered government. Countries like Mexico, Uruguay and the 15-member Caribbean Community would also scream bloody murder in the UN and the Organization of American States. It might even precipitate outside involvement in Venezuela from friendly major powers such as Russia and China. Furthermore, U.S. prestige and standing in the hemisphere would plummet to its lowest levels in decades. Those countries in South America (Argentina, Brazil and Colombia) now supporting the anti-Maduro coalition would have to consider jumping ship if a U.S. invasion went sideways. Unlike Bolton and company, I actually dont believe that Trump seriously thinks about Venezuela in military terms. But with his poll numbers slumping badly, a Democratic-controlled House investigating him at every turn and a pending Robert Mueller report sure to excoriate him, its hard to know what a desperate and impulsive Trump would do for political reasons. Peter McKenna is professor and chairman of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown. When Winnipeg councillors and department heads sit down later this year to begin laying out the framework for the citys first four-year budget, they should occasionally look to their counterparts in Calgary. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2019 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. When Winnipeg councillors and department heads sit down later this year to begin laying out the framework for the citys first four-year budget, they should occasionally look to their counterparts in Calgary. The City of Calgary has been doing multi-year budgets since 2006, but it was the four-year plan for 2015-18 that has become the cautionary tale for civic politicians. Calgary city hall expected another long, prosperous ride on the oil train when it finalized its 2015-18 budget in November of 2014: continued growth in revenues, expanding services and annual property tax increases for the following four years of 4.5 and 4.7 per cent. Before the ink was even dry, the bottom fell out of the oil industry. To an outsider, it looked as if Calgarys politicians and department heads had to throw the detailed four-year plan out the window and just wing it like most municipalities across the country do every year but councillors and senior administrators reached by the Free Press said they rolled with the changes and made "adjustments." "We certainly had to adjust," said Druh Farrell, councillor for Calgarys Ward 7 and one of the longest-serving members of council. "This was an extraordinary recession for Calgary. We have booms and busts, but this one was exceptional and of longer duration. "Yes, we did have to adjust, but we didnt have to throw out everything. We still have policies and strategies that are long-term. Its very difficult to meet your long-term objectives if youre looking at your budget fresh every single year." According to Calgarys Action Plan, when the economy was booming, the priority of taxpayers was to maintain the prized civic services and they werent too concerned about high property taxes. But by 2018, citizens attitudes had changed, the budget document noted. "This dramatic shift in the economy also brought with it a shift in citizens needs and priorities. With employment increasing and average personal income levels falling, citizens have shown a willingness to accept some reduction in service levels in order to maintain low tax rates." Calgarys plans for annual big tax increases were scaled back. In 2017, there was a property tax freeze. While Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman vowed to cap property tax increases to 2.3 per cent annually for the length of his second four-year term (which started in October 2018), rewriting Calgarys growth budgets to cope with the downturn in the economy would carry a steep price. Calgary administration said limiting tax increases to two per cent would result in a $13-million reduction in service delivery; a freeze on property taxes would mean a $45-million reduction in services. "There are unexpected things that happen," Carla Male, Calgarys acting chief financial officer, told the Free Press. When the economy was booming, the priority was to maintain civic services and taxpayers werent too concerned about high property taxes, but by 2018, citizens attitudes had changed. (Jeff McIntosh / The Canadian Press files) "As a Calgarian, the last number of years have been challenging as a result of natural gas and oil prices (falling), so we naturally had to adjust to a very different resource sector that we saw in the number of years previous to that." Farrell, first elected in 2001, said those four years were challenging, but council was able to keep in mind the original goals and objectives mapped out in 2014 as they grappled with a long economic bust cycle. Gian-Carlo Carra, Calgary councillor for Ward 9, said what the city does would be better described as a long-term plan with a series of budgets to ensure the plan is achieved. The budgets are amended annually, he said, as necessary, to stay as close as possible to the long-term plan. "When you start working on a multi-year process, you can be a lot more strategic and methodical about your longer-term goals," said Carra, who was elected in 2010. He acknowledged the process has been criticized because its considered not responsive enough to changing circumstances, adding that hasnt been the case in Calgary. "The secret is to do both: be multi-year in your planning, but more nimble and responsive on the ground," Carra said. For 2015-18, "we were planning for the explosive growth that we had been experiencing for many years. And as soon as we inked the budget, the downturn in the national price of oil hit Calgary hard and we had to reverse course very quickly," he said. "Thats a classic example of things changing substantially. I dont believe it was a problem." Carra and Farrell said Calgary council does extensive community consultations in the year leading up to the point where a four-year plan and budget is arrived at. Each of councils standing committees works with the departments it oversees in drafting its portion of the budgets, with departments taking input from the community and councillors to develop budgets that reflect the concerns and wants of the community. Farrell said she wouldnt want to return to the pre-2006 days of annual budgets. "Its enticing to think short-term as a politician, but what four-year budget cycles do is force us to think a little bit more medium-term," she said. "It saves time and provides certainty to our departments and civic partners, which allows them to plan their own budgets and hiring. "I see very few drawbacks with it." aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca After shipping out destitute children to help build its colonies in Canada and elsewhere, the government of the United Kingdom is offering payment for harm done to the few still living. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2019 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. After shipping out destitute children to help build its colonies in Canada and elsewhere, the government of the United Kingdom is offering payment for harm done to the few still living. Starting March 1, British Home Children can apply for 20,000 "in recognition of the fundamentally flawed nature of the historic child migration policy," the Child Migrants Trust announced. Between 1868 and the 1930s, more than 100,000 minors in Great Britain were put on ships to Canada -- an estimated two-thirds of whom were under the age of 14. Many were the overflow of London's poor offspring, sent to Canada where there was a shortage of labour. "Child-saving institutions" in Victorian England saw it as a win-win situation. Head taxes were paid to agents by the UK and government of Canada for each child who boarded ships bound for Canada. When they arrived on ships at Canadian harbours, siblings were separated and sent to distribution centres throughout the country. It stopped when the Depression hit in the 1930s and jobs were scarce. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES 10-year-old twins Brian Thomas Sullivan (left) and Kevin James Sullivan from Islington, London, who carry their luggage to the boat train "Rangitoto" as they leave Liverpool Street station in London bound for Auckland. The financial redress announced by the UK in late January is in response to Britain's Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and its report on child migration programs. It called for offering a payment to surviving former British child migrants because they were left in situations that exposed them to the risk of sexual abuse, regardless of whether they suffered abuse. The catch is they have to have been alive on March 1, 2018 for them or their beneficiaries to receive the payment, which is worth roughly $34,288 Cdn. "There's so few of them still alive in Canada," said Winnipeg's Roberta Horrox. Her grandfather, James Towner, was an orphan plucked off the streets of London and sent to Canada in 1900 at age 10. He died in 1984. Horrox said she doesn't know how many British Home Children are still alive in Manitoba. The Child Migrants Trust did not respond Tuesday to Free Press inquiries about the number still living in Canada. "It would be great to get the word out so they can claim their payments," said Horrox. Her grandfather had been taken in by the Barnardo Society in London, one of 50 "child-saving" organizations in Victorian England that sent children to build its colonies in places such as Canada. Who can claim "ex-gratia payment scheme for former British child migrants"? Click to Expand A child migrant who ... - Was sent from the United Kingdom and Crown Dependencies (England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) - Was sent by a church, state, voluntary or other organization to one of the receiving countries (Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Zimbabwe/former Rhodesia) - Must not have been accompanied by an adult family member, or sent to live with a member of their birth family. Each eligible claimant will receive a payment of 20,000. Child Migrants Trust will start accepting applications March 1 and remain open for two years from its launch. Later claims will be considered on a case by case basis and a late claim will not affect eligibility or the amount of the payment. For more see childmigrantstrust.com Source: Child Migrants Trust In Manitoba, at the Barnardo Industrial Farm near Russell, more than 1,660 British kids were trained as agricultural workers from 1888 to 1907. Thousands more were sent to work on Manitoba farms where, in the late 1800s, there was a huge demand for labourers, especially at harvest time. They were identified as "orphans" but only three per cent actually were, the British Home Children Research and Advocacy Association of Canada says. The Free Press has interviewed the descendants of many whose parents couldn't afford to feed them, or had a single mother with no rights or a widowed father who couldn't cope. One was Dick Frost, grandfather of Winnipeg Foundation CEO Rick Frost. In 1908 at age 12, Dick was shipped to Canada from London to work on a farm. His mother died when he was just three and his father hit the bottle and beat him. Dick ended up in London's National Children's Home and Orphanage. When he was 12, he was sent to work a farm in Huntsville, Ont. "In the society of his time, sending my grandfather to Canada was viewed as a charitable act," said Frost, whose grandfather's "early life was not at all easy." He has mixed feelings about the financial redress offered. "In todays context I think the gesture is meaningful but it is also very late since my grandfather died 40 years ago." The Canadian association researching the history of those migrant kids says 65 per cent were abused. "Many of our British Home Children suffered terrible sexual and physical abuse as a result of their migration to Canada and no amount of compensation can make that right," said Lori Oschefski, CEO of the British Home Children Research and Advocacy Association of Canada, based in Barrie, Ont. The group is trying to reach out to surviving UK child migrants and their descendants to alert them. But, with fewer than 100 survivors believed to be alive in Canada, offering compensation now is too little too late, said Oschefski. Library and Archives Canada A boy ploughing at Dr. Barnardo's Industrial Farm in Russell. "It is an insult," said Oschefski, who called out the Canadian government for its complicity in the child migration scheme and its lack of apology or recognition. The trauma that many of the British Home Children experienced was often passed down to the next generation, the research and advocacy association said in a news release. "They have lived with stolen identities, rejected by their country of birth and unwelcome in the country they were deported to," it said. carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca The Red River is not the greatest home for fish and more can be done to make it better, Minnesotas first comprehensive study of river water quality and fish and insect communities says. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/2/2019 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The Red River is not the greatest home for fish and more can be done to make it better, Minnesotas first comprehensive study of river water quality and fish and insect communities says. The study, produced by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, says the Red River, which forms the border between that U.S. state and North Dakota, has places where there is so much sediment in the water, it makes it hard for fish "to find food, detect predators and reproduce in cloudy water." As well, the study found fish cant go into some areas because of high bacteria counts, and levels of both phosphorus and nitrogen are increasing. "Generally speaking, fish and aquatic insect communities are doing reasonably well, but decline as you go downstream," the study says. "The high nutrient levels contribute to the severe algae downstream in Lake Winnipeg on the Canadian side of the basin." Jim Ziegler, the agencys Detroit Lakes regional manager, said Tuesday the main problem is the Red River experiences a huge flow of water in the spring and during rainstorms, but the flow goes to a trickle or not at all during other times of the year. "The water gets to the river very fast," Ziegler said. "We have high flows, which raises the amount of sediment to the river and all the way north to Lake Winnipeg. But then you get low flows between the rain events and that causes problems with fish." Ziegler said the state has created places to store excess water so it can release it after flood and rain events, but it needs even more of them. "Its part of what can be done," he said. "This is one of the most productive farming areas in the world, and we want our farmers to remain productive... our challenge isnt to reduce drainage, but to have drainage, productive farming and water flow." The study looked at the river from Breckenridge, Minn., where the Bois de Sioux River joins the Otter Tail River to create the Red, north to the Manitoba border. Other recommendations include: improving fertilizer and manure management, boosting soil health to help the ground absorb water during heavy rainstorms, investment in waste-water treatment so communities in the basin the Red River drains into can reduce the amount of phosphorus put into the river and flood-mitigation projects to prevent runoff that flushes pollutants from the land and into the river. Nicole Armstrong, Manitoba Sustainable Developments director of water science and watershed management, said shes pleased the report mentions how problems in the Red River lead to problems in Lake Winnipeg. "We recognize 50 per cent of the nutrient-loading to Lake Winnipeg comes from upstream," Armstrong said. "They recognize the impact of their actions and its effect on us... We share many of the same concerns on the Manitoba side. It really supports us working quite collaboratively with Minnesota." Meanwhile, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced it is draining water out of its reservoirs into the Red River in advance of this springs snowmelt. In a statement, the agency said it is in the process of lowering the water level at several places, including Lake Ashtabula, near Valley City, N.D., by 1.5 metres; the level in the Homme Dam, near Park River, N.D., by almost four metres; and Orwell Lake, near Fergus Falls, Minn., by about 2.7 metres. The Corps warns the water release could "degrade" river ice downstream of the reservoirs, thus people should beware in those areas. kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca OTTAWA The federal Liberals are accusing the Manitoba government of leaving millions of dollars of support for housing on the table in the latest dispute over cost-shared projects now amounting to at least $1.6 billion in limbo. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2019 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA The federal Liberals are accusing the Manitoba government of leaving millions of dollars of support for housing on the table in the latest dispute over cost-shared projects now amounting to at least $1.6 billion in limbo. Meanwhile, Premier Brian Pallisters office is disputing claims it is "refusing" anti-poverty cash and is demanding an apology. On Tuesday, federal Families Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said talks are ongoing with Manitoba for its share of the multi-billion-dollar national housing strategy, but he said the province has been exceptionally slow. "We're making substantive progress with all other provinces and territories," Duclos told the Free Press. He said other provinces "might be a bit more agile, but the goals are the same, and we share them with the Manitoban government." Two days prior, Duclos parliamentary secretary, Adam Vaughan, told a national call-in radio show Manitoba was "refusing to take federal dollars," due to a "clash of ideologies" over budgets and debt. On Tuesday, Pallister's spokesman said most provinces hadnt signed Ottawas bilateral agreements on housing. COLIN PERKEL / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Jean-Yves Duclos said Manitoba has been very slow to claim its share of cash from federal coffers. "It seems the MP spoke out of line and did not have the most recent update," wrote David von Meyenfeldt. "He should apologize to Manitobans for his misplaced comments." The Free Press surveyed federal departments on outstanding funding not claimed by the Pallister government, which as of Tuesday amounts to at least $1.6 billion, not including the housing cash. Unclaimed cash Click to Expand OTTAWA The federal Liberals have earmarked the following funds for Manitoba which have not yet been claimed; most allocations span a decade: $546 million: public transit under Phase 2 fund; $451 million: green infrastructure under Phase 2 fund; $61 million: community and cultural centres under Phase 2 fund; $112 million: rural and northern stream of Phase 2 fund; $399.6 million: mental health and home care parts of health accord; $67 million: Low Carbon Economy Fund; estimated $35 million to $163 million: possible share of national housing strategy. The bulk of that comes from the second phase of the Liberals massive infrastructure spend launched last year for the coming decade which spans public transit to flood-mitigation projects to recreational centres. Of a total $1.1 billion for the province, $85 million is earmarked for the fiscal year that starts April 1. The provincial Liberals claimed Tuesday that Manitoba hadnt formally submitted any applications for the Phase 2 funding, but the premiers office said Ottawa has already approved a $8-million project and is reviewing one that costs $160 million. Phase 1 projects, such as the Interlake region flood-prevention channels, have preceded. Meanwhile, none of Manitobas $67-million share of the Low-Carbon Economy Fund has been uncorked; the premiers office said Manitoba had submitted five applications last year. Manitoba is among a handful of provinces that havent signed Ottawas health accord, which means $399.6 million for mental health and home care cant be allocated. The Pallister government spent months rebuffing the health accord before conceding to Ottawa last year, over its plan to slow the rise in health transfers. TREVOR HAGAN / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES The offices of Premier Brian Pallister and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have not seen eye to eye. Pallister told reporters Tuesday negotiations over mental health and home care cash are ongoing, but Ottawa tying that funding to curtailed health transfers is "not the way to have a stronger health-care system." The $1.6 billion in outstanding federal funding for Manitoba does not include the citys funding disputes with the province. It also does not include funding allocations that have proceeded after delays, such as Ottawas "emergency treatment fund" for methamphetamine abuse, which the province agreed to match 10 months after Ottawa offered that cash. As for the housing strategy, Ottawa refused to divulge how much money Manitoba could access because talks are ongoing. The number likely hinges on housing need and existing programs but comparing the per-capita payments for the three provinces whose agreements have been made public, Manitoba could theoretically access between $35 million and $163 million in federal housing dollars. Since Pallister took office three years ago, the Liberals have nudged his government to uncork provincial coffers in order to access federal cash Ottawa has made contingent on having the province, and sometimes cities, match part of the funding. Pallister has stressed hes focused on getting Manitobas debt under control. Vaughan doubled down on his comments about the province lagging behind on its housing cash. "We're having very similar challenges on some other fronts with Manitoba. Some provinces are more interested in picking a fight than solving a problem, and we're here to negotiate," he told the Free Press. Eight months before the federal election, the Liberals are getting worried theyll have little to show in Manitoba after doubling down on federal deficits for infrastructure and anti-poverty programs. The premier suggested the Liberals were facing "a challenge right now getting their own house in order," likely referring to the ongoing SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. scandal. He said talks over housing cash would proceed "in the appropriate way and not on call-in shows." with files from Larry Kusch dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca Laurentian Bank announced it will cut roughly 10 per cent of its workforce over the next 12 months as the Montreal-based lender reported a steep drop in financial first quarter profits. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/2/2019 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The Banque Laurentienne or Laurentian Bank logo is pictured Tuesday, June 21, 2016 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson Laurentian Bank announced it will cut roughly 10 per cent of its workforce over the next 12 months as the Montreal-based lender reported a steep drop in financial first quarter profits. The bank said Wednesday it is "streamlining certain back-office functions," largely related to supporting its retail services operations and expects to cut roughly 350 employees through attrition, early retirement and targeted job reductions over the next 12 months. The move is "consistent with our transformation plan and should be of no surprise to anyone that we're moving towards focusing on advice, and reducing headcount and more administration positions," its chief executive Francois Desjardins told analysts on a conference call Wednesday. The staff cuts, once executed, are expected to save roughly $15 million to $20 million on an annual basis, executives said on the call discussing its latest results. The announcement comes as Laurentian reported a deep drop in first-quarter profits. The bank reported a 33 per cent year-over-year decrease in net income, or 38 per cent on a diluted per share basis. Laurentian's first-quarter net income totalled $40.3 million, down from $59.7 million during the same period a year earlier. Its earnings for the quarter ended Jan. 31 amounted to 88 cents in diluted earnings per share, down from $1.41 one year ago. On an adjusted basis, Laurentian reported net income of $44.7 million or diluted earnings per share of 98 cents, down from $63.2 million or $1.49 per share a year ago. Analysts on average expected adjusted diluted earnings of $1.29 per share, according to those surveyed by Thomson Reuters Eikon. Desjardins said Laurentian's performance this quarter was impacted by "lower capital market revenue." Laurentian is the latest Canadian lender to see their markets-related revenue come under pressure from volatility seen on North American stock markets late last year. Still, he said, the bank remains committed to achieve its mid-term targets. However, its latest earnings marked the third consecutive quarter that it reported a significant earnings miss, said Scott Chan, an analyst with Canaccord Genuity. "We view the results as low quality with revenue down nine per cent, year over year," he said in a note to clients. Laurentian's earnings fell short on multiple fronts, said Robert Sedran, an analyst with CIBC Capital Markets. "It is not often that we overestimate every earnings driver, but that is what happened this quarter," he said in a note to clients. "Each revenue category, total expenses and even the loan loss line (admittedly still strong) created negative variances, with the only positive offset being a lower-than-normal effective tax rate." Desjardins said its expenses as it looks to revamp the organization will weigh on short term results but will abate over time. It is also facing higher regulatory costs and increased costs due to labour relations as the bank negotiates with the labour union representing roughly 1,200 of its 3,700 employees but expects the latter costs to lessen once an agreement is reached. Laurentian has over the years taken steps to streamline its organization, including merging several of its branches. The bank said Wednesday the conversion of its retail branches to advice-only branches is expected to be completed by the end of 2019 as it moves towards its goal of achieving a profitability level similar to other Canadian banks by 2022. The bank has made "significant progress," thus far, said Desjardins. "The road to becoming a better and different bank one that is relevant to today's customers and one that delivers a higher performance than historically is an exciting, challenging, and sometimes bumpy one." OTTAWA - The Canadian government signalled a shift in telecommunications policy on Tuesday, saying the industry's regulator will be required to consider affordability as a high priority when it makes future regulatory decisions. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2019 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, speaks to media following a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019. Canada's minister for telecommunications is proposing a new policy direction for the CRTC, which will be required to consider affordability and consumer interests as high priorities when it makes future regulatory decisions. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA - The Canadian government signalled a shift in telecommunications policy on Tuesday, saying the industry's regulator will be required to consider affordability as a high priority when it makes future regulatory decisions. "Our government is focused on improving the quality, coverage, and most importantly, the price of telecommunications services for Canadians no matter where they live," said Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, who is responsible for telecommunications, in a statement. "We are ensuring that telecommunications policy will be made through a consumer-first lens to ensure Canadians have access to quality services at more affordable prices." The new directive will require the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to consider "competition, affordability, consumer interests, and innovation" when making decisions. CRTC spokeswoman Patricia Valladao said in an email that the commission has taken note of the government's proposed policy direction and will implement it once it comes into force. It wasn't immediately clear how the Trudeau government's directive will be interpreted by the CRTC, consumers or industry players, such as the country's providers of mobile, internet, cable and phone services. Competition is already one of the CRTC's long-standing criteria, as are consumer interests and innovation. However, various studies and consumer anecdotes have said Canadians pay significantly higher prices for many telecommunications services compared with consumers in other countries. "A lot of it sounds the same in terms of innovation and competition and all that," said consumer advocate Laura Tribe of OpenMedia in an interview. "But one of the biggest changes is that it no longer relies on market forces (to determine pricing), so it frees the CRTC up in some cases." Major carriers which include BCE's Bell Canada, Rogers Communications, Telus Communications often point out that they've spent billions to upgrade world-class networks that reach even sparsely populated areas of a large country. Tribe said she thinks that Bains and the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development have removed barriers that restricted the regulator's involvement in prices. "I think, politically, this is a pretty big move from ISED putting the CRTC on notice and reaffirming that (the commissioners) need to be putting customers first ... not Big Telecom." "I think that's the fundamental shift we're seeing here." The CRTC is a semi-autonomous, quasi-judicial body that's supposed to allow its government-appointed commissioners to make highly technical decisions with minimal political interference. However, successive Liberal and Conservative governments have used policy directives to dictate the CRTC's strategic priorities, which are at times at odds with each other. Bains, who has been innovation minister since the Liberals came to power, said the government aims to improve telecommunications services for Canadians a promise that has been made by previous governments. The proposed policy he announced Tuesday says the CRTC will "encourage all forms of competition," "foster affordability and lower prices," and "reduce barriers to competition for new and smaller telecommunications service providers." Tribe said the new directive will likely free the CRTC to support mobile virtual network operators that want greater ability to buy wholesale access to the bigger carriers' wireless networks. "Previously, we've seen the CRTC issue decisions that say (it's) been directed to allow market forces to prevail, which basically reinforces the Big Three's dominance over the field," Tribe said. In a pair of related decisions in 2017, the CRTC took the position that the prevailing policy emphasized the need to encourage investment in "facilities based" services with actual physical infrastructure. Bains later instructed the CRTC to reconsider those decisions because of the need to bring down prices through competition. The CRTC essentially stood by its previous decisions when it responded to Bains in March 2018, but said it would take a broader look at the issue of mobile virtual network operators this year. By David Paddon in Toronto with files from Terry Pedwell in Ottawa TORONTO - Alison Coville, the president of iconic retailer Hudson's Bay, is stepping down. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 26/2/2019 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A women leaves the Hudson Bay Company store in Toronto on November 1, 2017. Hudson's Bay Co. says its president Alison Coville will be stepping down. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette TORONTO - Alison Coville, the president of iconic retailer Hudson's Bay, is stepping down. Hudson's Bay Co., its Toronto-based parent company which also owns Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord and Taylor stores, did not give a reason for Coville's departure. A release from HBC says Coville's exit will be effective Mar. 1 and that the company will be led by key executives until a permanent successor is found. Coville joined HBC in 1999 as a divisional merchandise manager, but eventually rose through the ranks to land the president position in June 2017. Coville also oversaw household goods brand Home Outfitters, which will be shuttering its 37 Home Outfitters stores this year. The company previously said the closure will help it reduce costs, simplify its business and improve overall profitability. Companies in this story: (TSX:HBC) Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version stated that Colville was president of Hudson's Bay Co. An advocacy group for dairy farmers decided to pull one of its new ads after a number of people complained it misled the public, according to letters sent to complainants from the advertising standards body. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/2/2019 (853 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Dairy cows are pictured at a dairy farm in Chilliwack, B.C., Tuesday, June, 10, 2014. An advocacy group for dairy farmers agreed to pull one of its new ads after a number of people complained it misled the public. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward An advocacy group for dairy farmers decided to pull one of its new ads after a number of people complained it misled the public, according to letters sent to complainants from the advertising standards body. The print ad in question is part of the Dairy Farmers of Canada's "Honest. Canadian. Dairy." campaign, which was developed by DDB Canada and launched at the end of January with a planned run until March, according to DDB's website. The ad pictures a man standing in front of a pasture with the words "There are zero growth hormones in milk produced in Canada. Like, none," emblazoned on the sky above his head. A picture of the ad circulated on social media and angered some animal rights activists, including Torontonian Jenny McQueen, a vegan for more than 25 years who volunteers for several animal rights groups. An animal rights group suggested people submit complaints to Ad Standards to say that milk contains a natural growth hormone, she said. The Dairy Farmers of Canada "have been informed of the claims made by the lobby group and the information is incomplete and inaccurate," wrote Lucie Boileau, director of communications for the farmers, in an email. She did not immediately respond to follow-up questions seeking to clarify her response. McQueen sent her complaint to Ad Standards, a national, not-for-profit advertising self-regulatory body, on Feb. 2. She was upset that the advocacy group appeared to be trying to mislead the public, and had concerns over the impact hormones may have on human health. More broadly, she said she dislikes the way the animal protein industry treats animals. McQueen and many other complainants received a response Tuesday to inform them that Ad Standards contacted the advertiser for additional information. "We were informed by the advertiser that, upon receipt of your complaint, the ad has been permanently withdrawn," reads the letter signed by Yamina Bennacer, manager of standards at the organization. Ad Standards will close its file on the matter as a result of this corrective action. "I was very pleased that they had seen that a company is using language that is not true," said McQueen. The national ad campaign is intended to better inform millennials about Canadian dairy and clear up any misconceptions they may have, according to DDB's website, with "an honest, candid approach to share truths about Canadian dairy products and the industry." It shares facts like the average Canadian dairy farm has 89 cows and the corresponding video ad includes a man sharing the names of those 89 cows. Another print ad includes the text, "Real milk comes from real cows. Anything else is nuts," highlighting a growing war of words between dairy farmers and alternative milk producers, such as soy or nut milks. Follow @AleksSagan on Twitter. LONDON - Prime Minister Theresa May insisted Wednesday that Britain will leave the European Union on schedule next month, amid signs that her promise to give Parliament a vote on delaying Brexit was boosting support for her unpopular EU divorce deal. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/2/2019 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A Demonstrator protests at the entrance of the Houses of Parliament in London, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has warned that the Brexit uncertainty that has dogged the British economy over the past couple of years will remain even if lawmakers agree to a withdrawal agreement with the European Union in coming weeks.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein) LONDON - Prime Minister Theresa May insisted Wednesday that Britain will leave the European Union on schedule next month, amid signs that her promise to give Parliament a vote on delaying Brexit was boosting support for her unpopular EU divorce deal. May has bowed to pressure from within her Conservative government and given Parliament the chance to delay Britain's scheduled March 29 departure if lawmakers fail to approve her divorce agreement with the bloc. The change of course was welcomed by pro-EU members of Britain's divided Parliament, who sought further guarantees the government would not try to renege on May's commitment. Lawmakers in the House of Commons voted 502-20 in favour of a symbolic motion underscoring May's promise. British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street in London, to attend Prime Minister's Questions at the Houses of Parliament, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. May insisted Wednesday that Britain will leave the European Union on schedule next month, while the head of a major business organization said May's grudging decision to allow lawmakers to vote to delay Brexit provides an "option on sanity." (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) Some pro-Brexit lawmakers, who fear delaying Brexit day could be used to try to stop Britain's withdrawal altogether, abstained from the vote. On Tuesday, May gave Parliament a greater say over Brexit to forestall a rebellion by pro-EU members of her government, who threatened to quit and vote with the opposition in order to rule out a disruptive "no-deal" Brexit. She said Parliament will get to vote again on her deal with the EU by March 12. If it is rejected, lawmakers will then vote on whether to leave the EU without an agreement or seek to postpone Brexit by up to three months. May stressed that she personally opposes extending the Brexit deadline, and said "the United Kingdom remains on course to leave the European Union with a deal" if lawmakers "hold their nerve." Writing in the Daily Mail, May said talks with the EU about securing changes to the divorce deal to make it more palatable to Parliament have "begun to bear fruit." The House of Commons rejected May's deal with the EU by a huge margin last month largely over concerns about a provision to guarantee an open border between the U.K.'s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland and sent May back to Brussels to get changes. British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street in London, to attend Prime Minister's Questions at the Houses of Parliament, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) The EU is adamant that the legally binding withdrawal agreement can't be changed, though the bloc's negotiators are holding talks with U.K. Attorney General Geoffrey Cox about potential tweaks or additions to reassure pro-Brexit British lawmakers that the border "backstop" is only a temporary measure. May is calculating that the prospect of a delay may persuade pro-Brexit lawmakers to support her deal despite their reservations. Many Brexiteers feel the Irish backstop portion of the deal keeps the U.K. bound closely to EU trade rules, unable to strike new agreements around the world. Brexit-backing Conservative lawmaker Edward Leigh said Wednesday that colleagues should back the agreement because "the choice is no longer perhaps between an imperfect deal and no deal it is between an imperfect deal and no Brexit." Lawmakers rejected a bid Wednesday by the main opposition Labour Party to force the government to embrace its alternative Brexit plan, which calls for retaining close ties with the EU. Labour has said if it can't get its plan through Parliament, it will campaign for a second referendum on Britain's EU membership. Remain in the European Union protesters eat after paying for snacks at a stall run by the campaigners to help pay for they placards and flags outside the Palace of Westminster in London, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. British Prime Minister Theresa May says she will give British lawmakers a choice of approving her divorce agreement, leaving the EU March 29 without a deal or asking to delay Brexit by up to three months. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) The government caved in on a vote it looked set to lose, agreeing to guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in Britain whether or not the U.K. leaves the bloc without a Brexit deal. "That such an amendment is needed is in itself a very sad state of affairs," said Alberto Costa, the Conservative lawmaker behind the motion. He said 3 million EU citizens in Britain and 1 million U.K. citizens in other EU countries "should never have been used as a bargaining chip. British businesses welcomed the prospect of a Brexit delay. They warn that without a deal, Britain risks a chaotic departure that could disrupt trade between the U.K. and the EU, its biggest trading partner. Confederation of British Industry head Carolyn Fairbairn said leaving without a deal would be "a wrecking ball on our economy" and giving the option to delay "feels like an option on sanity." Delaying Brexit would require approval from all 27 other EU countries, whose leaders are annoyed by what they see as the inability of feuding British politicians to agree on what kind of relationship the U.K. wants with the bloc. Chief EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said Wednesday that there must be clarity that extending negotiations wouldn't just prolong the impasse facing both sides. EU politicians say Britain must have a good reason for seeking a pause. French President Emmanuel Macron said any such request would need to be justified by "a clear perspective on the goal." "We don't need time. We need decisions," he said at a joint news conference in Paris with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel said the EU wouldn't refuse Britain "a bit more time." She said "we are aiming for an orderly solution an orderly withdrawal by the British from the European Union." Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Geir Moulson in Berlin and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this story. Follow AP's full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit MONTREAL - More than a thousand passengers were affected after Air Canada partially suspended service to India due to the closure of Pakistani airspace as tensions mount between the two nuclear powers. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/2/2019 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. An Air Canada plane flies underneath dark clouds illuminated by some sun rays above Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, March 2, 2017. Air Canada says it has suspended service to India as tensions mount between that country and Pakistan. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa via AP MONTREAL - More than a thousand passengers were affected after Air Canada partially suspended service to India due to the closure of Pakistani airspace as tensions mount between the two nuclear powers. A flight en route to Delhi Tuesday night turned back over the Atlantic Ocean and returned to Toronto Wednesday, the airline said. A second Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Delhi slated for takeoff Tuesday night was also cancelled, said spokeswoman Isabelle Arthur. Wednesday night flights on the same two routes were cancelled "as there currently are no suitable alternate routings," she said in an email. On both routes, Air Canada flies Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner jets that contain more than 280 seats, meaning up to 1,100 people are likely impacted by the cancellations so far. "We continue to monitor this situation closely and flights to Delhi will operate as soon as operationally feasible," Arthur said. On Wednesday, Pakistan's military said it shot down two Indian warplanes in the disputed region of Kashmir and captured a pilot, responding to an airstrike a day earlier by Indian aircraft inside Pakistan and raising tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals to a level unseen in the last two decades. The downing of the Indian aircraft came on a chaotic day that also saw mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier dividing the two sectors of Kashmir kill six civilians and wound several others. The closure of Pakistani airspace interrupted flights around the globe, as airlines scrambled to reroute planes and arrange refuelling stops. Qatar Airways, Emirates, and Gulf Air were some of the airlines that halted flights to Pakistan on Wednesday. Singapore Airlines, British Airways and others said they had rerouted several flights. Hundreds of international flights a day travel above India and Pakistan, a corridor all the more integral to global air networks because of tight restrictions on flying over neighbouring China. Emergencies military, political and natural ground flights periodically, said Kamran Bokhari, director for strategy and programs at the Centre for Global Policy in Washington D.C. "Recall the Malaysian flight shot down by Ukrainian rebels," he said, referring to a deadly incident near the Russian border in July 2014. "They used one of those anti-aircraft systems and they locked onto it and the entire aircraft perished," he said. Days later, the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority imposed a ban on American flights to Israel amidst Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. Air Canada resumed flights between Toronto and Tel Aviv after two days. While flight bans are typical in times of escalating conflict in Syria in 2015, and across the U.S. after the 9/11 terror attacks, for example "this is a game-changer to the historical policy of restraint by India," Bokhari said. "Both sides are in undiscovered country." In 2017, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain banned Qatari aircraft from flying through their airspace amid a diplomatic crisis precipitated by a blockade by five Middle Eastern states against Qatar, choking Qatar Airways. In 2010, volcanic eruptions in Iceland prompted the cancellation of thousands of flights when officials closed European airspace for five days, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded in one of the largest flight disruptions since the Sept. 11 attacks. Air Canada has implemented a "goodwill policy" for affected customers and is monitoring the situation in order to resume service once it "normalizes," Arthur said. Canada's largest airline operates daily service from Toronto and Vancouver to Delhi and four times weekly between Toronto and Mumbai. It has no aircraft on the ground in India and all flights from India to Canada have returned as scheduled, she said. A flight from Toronto to Mumbai was on track for takeoff Wednesday night, as the route avoids Pakistani airspace. Companies in this story: (TSX:AC) With files from The Associated Press. Winchester, VA (22601) Today Scattered showers and thunderstorms. High 93F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms. Low 69F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Viewed of Take Five - This is your final free article during this 30 day period.Stay in touch with all of the news from Winchester, Frederick and Clarke. Sign up today for complete digital access to The Winchester Star. Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, presides over the 16th chairman and vice chairpersons' meeting of the 13th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 26, 2019. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen) BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wang Yang on Tuesday called for improved and more effective consultative work by members of committees of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at all levels. Wang, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, made the remarks while presiding over the 16th chairman and vice-chairpersons' meeting of the 13th CPPCC National Committee. Wang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said an evaluation on the consultation and deliberation could be used to encourage political advisors to better fulfill their duties. Political advisors should be guided to improve their ability to research, investigate, communicate with the people and cooperate with others, he added. The meeting approved a pilot guideline on improving the consultation and deliberation and a pilot working plan on evaluating the consultative work. Attendees also heard a report on preparations for the second annual session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee in March. [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] Today Mainly cloudy. A few peeks of sunshine possible. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 88F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight Considerable cloudiness. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 70F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow Thunderstorms likely. High 81F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Have any questions? Please give us a call at 701-572-2165 Time Capsule Offers Glimpse Back to 1930s Wyoming County By Paige Cline Ever since it was revealed that there was a We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Submit Prosecutors added three more felonies to the charges against Michael Fitzgerald, who first was arrested in the disappearance of a 14-year-old girl last month. District Attorney Mike Kagay told 13 NEWS information came to light during police interviews of Fitzgerald and examination of a journal that Fitzgerald and the girl wrote in, then passed back and forth. In the journal, the two wrote graphic notes about the sex they wanted to do, a prosecutor said in court. In a Shawnee Co. District Court hearing originally slated to handle a defense request to lower his bond, Charles Kitt, chief of staff of the Shawnee County District Attorney's Office, said the district attorney's office had added charges of: Electronic solicitation of a child 14-16, Indecent liberties with a child, and Indecent solicitation of a child. All counts are tied to the teens disappearance. Fitzgerald also remains charged with the original counts of aggravated interference with parental custody of a 14-year-old girl and contributing to a child's misconduct (sheltering or concealing a runaway), both of which are felonies. If Fitzgerald, who doesn't have a criminal history, were convicted on electronic solicitation of a child, he could face a potential sentence ranging from four years and seven months to five years and one month, according to the Kansas sentencing grid. On Wednesday, defense attorney Cindy Sewell urged the judge to decrease Fitzgerald's bond from $250,000 cash or professional surety to $25,000. Sewell said Fitzgerald has a former wife and two sons who live in Topeka, he is buying a house locally, and he has a history of working in Topeka, including work in information technology, Sewell said. "I don't believe the community would be put at risk" if he were released from jail on bond, Sewell said, but Fitzgerald has lost his job, and the $250,000 bond "is totally unworkable." Kitt said Topeka police Detective Scott Dickey interviewed Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald said he had a "very close relationship" with the 14-year-old, but no sex occurred, Dickey said Fitzgerald told him. On a Facebook link, there was a graphic discussion of the sex acts they had had and acts they wanted to do, Kitt said. From Topeka, Fitzgerald and the girl had fled to Dodge City, then Walsenburg, Colorado, and finally to Cortez in southwest Colorado, where law enforcement officers found Fitzgerald and the girl, Kitt said. The two, both clad in their underwear, were staying in the same motel room, Kitt said. As for the value of Fitzgerald's assets and the question of bond, Kitt said the defendant owns a 2016 pickup truck and a house valued at more than $300,000 in southwest Topeka. The $250,000 bond is too low, Kitt said, and the district attorney's office objected to it being reduced. Shawnee County District Court Judge William Ossmann denied lowering the $250,000 bond. Fitzgerald remains in Shawnee County Jail. Fitzgerald was arrested on January 24th in Cortez, but didn't oppose extradition to be transported to Topeka. Two Topeka news media, including 13 NEWS, had asked a district court judge to open affidavits tied to the investigation. On Monday, Judge Jason Geier sealed the affidavit supporting the arrest warrant of Fitzgerald. The motion to seal the affidavit was filed February 22nd by Chief District Defender Stacey Donovan of the Shawnee County public defender's office. Donovan contended opening the document might endanger the lives and safety of Fitzgerald and the teen. Geier said he found the action was necessary to prevent public disclosure of information that would: Canadas smaller banks and alternative lenders may be more pressured by proposed OSFI rules on liquidity than larger lenders according to Fitch. The ratings firm says that because these lenders are more reliant on brokered deposit funding, their profitability and competitiveness may be affected more than larger lenders. Fitch says that even those smaller/alternative lenders that have elevated levels of liquidity, such as Tangerine and Simplii, the new rules could limit long-term loan asset growth under their current deposit raising strategies. The firms analysis matches that of Moodys and other commentators who say that larger lenders have more room to adjust mortgage rates and other positions to boost competitiveness. The OSFI proposal, which aims to shore up the liquidity of less-stable deposits, would increase the estimated runoff rates, or the percentage of retail deposits vulnerable to withdrawal under a stress scenario. The regulator has been acting to firm-up the ability of financial institutions to cope with potential financial crises following Home Capitals liquidity issues in 2017. Under the proposal, banks would be required to hold liquid assets of up to 40% of high interest savings accounts or deposits sourced from third parties, depending on particular characteristics. Currently, runoff rates for all categories of deposits range between 3% and 10%. In a hypothetical case where a bank held the minimum liquidity coverage, and where estimated runoff rates of deposits rose up to 40% from 10%, the new rule would require the bank to increase its high-quality liquid assets as a percentage of total assets, reducing interest earning assets by an equal amount. All else equal, net interest income would fall in proportion to the re-allocation of earning assets to non-earning, high-quality liquid assets (HQLAs). OSFIs consultation period for comments runs through March. Police say Jose Lopez, 32, of West Haven, created fraudulent customer accounts to obtain promotional devices that he later sold to a third party. (CT State Police) State Police said they are investigating a crash that killed one person on Route 87 in Lebanon on Wednesday morning. (WFSB) At stop lights or freeway on and off ramps, youve probably seen people holding signs and asking for money. It can be tempting to hand over your spare change, but next time you may want to think twice. HARTFORD The State Elections Enforcement Commission will be investigating numerous alleged election issues, including three in Hamden. Secretary of the State Denise Merrill recently referred 18 election problems in many Connecticut towns, and the commission voted last week to look into them. In Hamden, SEEC investigators will probe a long-standing ballot error that caused residents of a section of Paradise Avenue to cast ballots in the wrong state Senate district during four election cycles. They will also investigate whether the towns voter registrars failed to properly staff Election Day registration; and failed to process all applications for voter registration. For the latest political updates, sign up for the CT Politics newsletter. The SEEC will also look into whether the New Haven registrars failed to properly staff Election Day Registration, prompting massive lines, frustration and a court case in Connecticuts second largest city. New Haven alders will discuss the voting issues in their city Thursday. The agency will also examine similar Election Day registration staffing problems in Groton and Mansfield. It will also investigate a redistricting error that caused Derby residents to cast ballots in the wrong House district during multiple state elections. Finally, SEEC will look into whether 10 towns failed to set up voting equipment accessible for the hearing impaired. emunson@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson WESTPORT Superintendent of Schools Colleen Palmer said she plans to testify before the state Legislature on Friday against legislation that would demand the consolidation of Connecticut schools. In Weston, Superintendent of Schools William McKersie urged parents to oppose the proposals, which he said would have a negative impact on the quality of Westons schools and property taxes. He also encouraged school staff and administrators to testify against the bills, either in writing or in person. I am confident that with strong advocacy, wiser minds and ideas will prevail in Hartford, McKersie wrote. We all must stand for careful stewardship of state and local financial resources. We have to do so, however, in ways that advance our excellent school systems and not undermine their critical work of educating all students with rigor, relevance and compassion. We must not let rash leaps to false solutions to financial challenges limit the capacity of our schools to produce well educated future leaders. In Westport, Palmer said also that school consolidation would erode the quality of local schools. The concern that we have is forced regionalization and taking away the autonomy of a community to make decisions about its own educational program, she told the Westport Board of Education at its meeting Monday night. I think that, collectively, superintendents, boards of ed, teachers unions, were all looking for efficiencies, but we want to make sure that we do this in a way that doesnt erode the quality of our educational programs, so I intend to testify this Friday at 5:30. The following day, Gov. Ned Lamont emerged from a closed-door meeting with a dozen Fairfield County municipal leaders saying he is not out to force school regionalization and said his plans are, a carrot, not a stick. As of Wednesday afternoon, Palmer did not respond to request for comment on whether she still plans to testify Friday. svaughan@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2638; @SophieCVaughan1 GREENWICH Julie DesChamps knows that some people think stopping single-use straw usage in Greenwich is a trivial issue. But she and fellow members of the growing grassroots effort Skip the Straw Greenwich see it a little differently. Straws are considered kind of a gateway plastic, said the 17-year resident. Its a simple move most people can take, and it makes people think about all their other habits. On Sunday, March 3, members of Skip the Straw Greenwich will join forces with Surfrider Foundation CT, BYOGreenwich and 12 community partners to hold a beach cleanup at Greenwich Point to help rid the town of straws and plenty of other unwanted waste that washes up on shore. The group invites all concerned residents to join them from 2 to 4:30 p.m. for the cleanup. Last year, a beach cleanup there brought together more than 130 volunteers who collected more than 4,000 pounds of trash. Skip the Straw Greenwich was founded last fall and is supported by BYOGreenwich and the Greenwich Conservation Commission. It kicked off in September with a proclamation from First Selectman Peter Tesei and a presentation by the groups Girl Scout ambassadors. The simple facts about straws can win over doubters, DesChamps said. According to the groups website, a staggering 500 million plastic straws are used daily in the United States. Thats enough to wrap around the earth 2.5 times every day. Plastic straws, which are not recyclable in Greenwich, are among the top 10 litter items found on beaches during the annual International Coastal Cleanup. Skip the Straws efforts are two-fold. First off, the group encourages restaurants in town to serve straws only by request or use an eco-friendly alternative to plastic straws and stirrers. And the restaurants response has been largely positive: Le Fat Poodle and Le Penguin both use paper straws and Back 40 provides reusable stainless-steel straws. Little Pub and Applausi Osteria give out straws by request only. Skip the Straw advises participating restaurants to keep some flexible straws on hand for people with special needs who might require them. Also, the group does not oppose use of straws in hospital situations that require them. Secondly, the group engages residents through educational programming to increase awareness about the impact of single-use plastics on the environment, ecology and economy. In January, STSG teamed with BYOGreenwich to host a screening of the documentary Straws, and presentations at Greenwich Library where students highlighted their efforts to reduce disposable plastics in their schools. We are especially interested in involving youth, DesChamps said. The movement to stop single-use straws came on the heels of last years successful effort to ban the use of single-use plastic bags in town, said Jeanine Behr Getz, one of the founders of BYOGreenwich, which led that drive. Greenwich relit the torch on the importance of plastic source reduction for our states last March, when our RTM passed the first reusable checkout bag ordinance, in Connecticut, since 2008, Getz said. It is our hope that the BYOGreenwich involvement in the Skip the Straw Greenwich community engagements around avoiding the use of plastic straws will influence the next meaningful shift in the way our residents and businesses think about plastic pollution. Part of the work involves changing how consumers think, she said. Many people have come to expect a plastic straw to be served in every drink. A large majority dont even use it, Getz said. Other events have featured local environmental leaders, such as Greenwich Shellfish Commissioner Roger Bowgen and green business consultant/author Andrew Winston. The Shellfish Commission, in conjunction with the University of Connecticut, is studying the impact of microplastics in Long Island Sound and how they affect seafood. DesChamps said she believes more residents have recognized the need for change since the ordinance banning single-use plastic bags went into effect in September. I think people are getting used to it, she said. And that can extend to straws, too. Like the plastic checkout bag, the proliferation plastic straws is another example of unnecessary plastic waste being generated for minimal convenience and by habit at tremendous cost to our environment, human health and municipalities, Getz said. For more information on the Sunday beach cleanup and ongoing efforts by Skip the Straw Greenwich, visit www.skipthestrawgreenwich.com. DERBY A controversial, million-gallon water tank that Ansonia and Derbys fire chiefs say is needed has won approval from the Regional Policy Board of the South Central Connecticut Water Authority. The storage tank, which will serve 13,000 customers in Ansonia, Seymour and Derby and particularly Giffin Hospital is planned for a wooded section at the far end of the Derby High School and Middle School complex near Coon Hollow Road. It would be bordered by the schools, the Public Works facility, the shuttered VARCA building and Osborndale Park. The need for the tank was clearly established by the record and testimony (during the Boards January public hearing), said former Ansonia Mayor Thomas Clifford, III, who chairs the Regional Policy Board. He said the boards unanimous approval addresses public safety concerns raised by fire chiefs and Griffin Hospital regarding low water pressure during peak demand times. But before shovels go into the ground, the Derby Planning and Zoning Commission must sign off on the project. Ted Estwan Jr., the commissions chairman, said Tuesday that officials of the South Central Regional Water Authority told him they will file an application for Planning and Zonings March 19 agenda. If that happens in time for legal notices to go out, Estwan said, a public hearing would begin that night and probably continue into our April meeting. Pressure solution Clifford said his board must consider approval of $5.1 million in bonding for the project. If approved, a final project design would be completed this spring with construction to run until next winter, much of it taking place after school ends in June. Its a good location, said Carmen DiCenso, a former Board of Aldermen president and current economic development consultant to Mayor Richard Dziekan. Its doesnt impact any neighborhood or houses. ... This is well-needed in that area which lacks water pressure. DiCenso recalled a fire in a three-family home nearby where pumpers had to be sent because the hydrants lacked water pressure. Meanwhile, Charles Sampson, who heads Derbys Board of Aldermen, called the Policy Boards approval good news. This is a benefit to the city and the surrounding area, said Sampson, who once served as Derbys fire chief and still volunteers at Hotchkiss Hose. One of the biggest concerns I have had is with the low water pressure in that area, he said. This tank will resolve that. Ansonia Fire Chief Michael Eheman, Derby Fire Chief Robert Laskowski Jr. and Dziekan were among those who urged the 21-member policy board to approve the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authoritys proposal to begin building the tank this year. Considering appearance Mary Motasky, a resident who lives in the 70-unit Summit condominiums on Coon Hollow Road, expressed concerns about aesthetics of the tank. We are going to clear trees around the tank but not the entire parcel, said Ted Norris, who with Rose Gavrilovic, presented the Authoritys proposal to the board in January. He said the tank would be 50 feet tall with a 60-foot diameter. Once completed, the Authority plans to surround it with trees. We do not anticipate blasting, Gavrilovic said. A small portion of rock will have to be removed and well flatten the area. But we dont anticipate blasting. This marks the second time in seven years that the Regional Water Authority sought permission to build a storage tank in Derby. Plans to build a 2 million-gallon tank on Telescope Mountain on Summit Street were withdrawn after city officials and neighbors complained about the impact of blasting and the aesthetics of a water tank in a residential area. The new site was chosen from 105 others because of its wooded location, its proximity to a water main and the lands availability. The Authoritys proposal involves leasing 2.15 acres on the north portion of Nutmeg Avenue from Derby for $1 for 99 years with the option for two 99-year extensions. The Authority also is planning to fund the citys purchase of 1.25 acres of adjacent land owned by St. Peter and St. Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church in Ansonia. The nearby parcel would be used as a construction staging area. Afterward, a portion would be paved for the city to use as a parking lot for the VARCA building. The churchs Board of Directors this week approved a negotiated sale of the land. BRIDGEPORT A local teen was arrested after police said he beat his girlfriend, sexually assaulted her and then set her hair on fire. Reinaldo Ayala, 18, of Bird Street, was charged with first-degree sexual assault, second-degree assault, third-degree strangulation and unlawful restraint. He was held in lieu of $250,000 bond. Early Tuesday morning, police said, officers were dispatched to Bridgeport Hospital, where Ayala had just dropped off an unconscious woman. Police said Ayala told them the woman had been attacked by two black women who were with two black men who had threatened to beat him up too if he interfered. But police continued that officers were suspicious because Ayala kept changing his story and could not give them a description of the assailants other than they were black. Police said they questioned the victim when she became conscious, and that said she told them she and Ayala were driving from her mothers house when he became angry at something she said. Ayala pulled the car over and then began punching the young women numerous times, police said she told them. Police said Ayala ripped the womans clothes off, choked her and sexually assaulted her. He then pulled out a lighter, grabbed the womans hair and set her hair on fire, police said. Police said Ayala drove into a vacant parking lot and ordered the woman, who was naked, out of the car, then he grabbed a stick and began beating her. The woman passed out from the beating and woke up in the hospital, police said. She was treated at the hospital for extensive bruising on her arms and legs and bruises and bite marks on her face and body, police said. When they checked Ayalas car, police said they found a stick and some of the victims burned hair. GREENWICH Transportation-and-logistics specialist XPO Logistics has confirmed that it will offer nearby jobs to all of its hourly employees at a Memphis, Tenn., facility that is scheduled to close in April. The warehouse an iPhone-box processing center that is also the subject of employee allegations of pregnancy discrimination and sexual harassment is closing due to what XPO describes as an overall business model change by the plants customer, which is believed to be Verizon. All of its approximately 375 hourly workers will be able to get new jobs at the same wage levels and without having to apply again at 11 other Memphis-area distribution centers, XPO said. The company is holding special office hours to assure that all employees receive the additional information directly and will make every effort to accommodate employees preferences while transferring them to another position, the company said in a statement. XPO said it is also working to find other jobs in the company for the complexs 60 salaried workers. In addition, XPO plans to hire 80 for a new warehouse scheduled to open in May across the street from the facility that is closing. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters union which does not represent any of the centers workers, but is a vocal critic of XPOs labor practices has described the shutdown as retaliation. XPO said it has a strict no-retaliation policy in place that applies to the company, as well as individuals. We encourage employees to voice concerns including anonymously without any fear of reprisal. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who is helping to lead a Senate investigation of the companys workplace environment, welcomed the jobs guarantee, while still expressing concerns about the closing. I will continue to follow the implementation of XPOs re-employment plan to ensure that this transition does not financially harm its workers or impede the exercise of their rights, Blumenthal said in a statement Tuesday. I remain concerned that the way this particular facility was closed sends a chilling message to workers engaged in organizing and speaking out against unfair and unacceptable labor standards. As the scrutiny of the Memphis facility grew, the company announced in early December a new policy for the care and support of pregnant workers that includes paid family leave, pregnancy and postpartum benefits, and flexible working arrangements. Eligible workers would receive their regular base wages while they used their accommodations and would still qualify for pay increases during that time. Earlier this month, XPO announced a program for U.S. employees and their families that gives them mobile-app access to a network of more than 1,400 health practitioners across 20 specialties, including fertility, lactation, infant sleep, nutrition and mental health. Employees can also sign up with a personal care coordinator to support them during and after pregnancy. Now all eyes are on XPO and its clients like Verizon to confirm it's implementing those policies and creating a safer environment for all its workers, not just shuffling them around, International Brotherhood Teamsters General President James Hoffa said, in part, in a statement. pschott@scni.com; 203-964-2236; twitter: @paulschott A proposed expansion of Connecticuts Paid Family and Medical Leave may be a win for workers, but members of the small business sector are worried where that will leave them if someone calls out because a family member is sick. Its going to cause a lot of administrative problems for small businesses, said Eric Gjede, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, which also expressed its concerns earlier this month when a pair of bills got the go-ahead by the Labor and Public Employees Committee, inching the state closer to establishing a Family Medical Leave Trust Fund. The General Assembly committee approved two identical bills SB 1 and HB 5003 on 9-5 party line votes Feb. 20. Both bills establish up to 12 weeks of annual leave for private sector and some state government employees at 100 percent of their salary, capped at $1,000 per week, for their own or extended family members' illnesses. The state-run program would be funded through an automatic 0.5 percent payroll tax, withheld from employees' after-tax earnings. Employees cannot opt out of the program. Among the bills supporters is state Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, who has said in published reports that she spent a lot of time talking to voters and small business owners about the legislation. What she found was that employees who need the time are going to take it regardless of whether a program is in place. They just simply dont get paid, Kushner said. She also said the bill is a way for small businesses to provide a benefit to their employees that they might not have been able to offer. Critics, however, say the price is too high for worker and small business. You have a lot of folks in the state living paycheck to paycheck who now are going to see less take-home wage if youre looking to employers to make up the difference, Gjede said. In a press release earlier this month, the Connecticut branch of the National Federation of Independent Businesses openly opposed both. Its possible a larger corporation or firms with many employees can fill the void, especially when a couple of people take leave at the same time, but this will become an impossible circumstance for most small businesses, said Andrew Markowski, state director of NFIB in Connecticut, in the release. Connecticut is now surrounded by states that offer some version of paid Family and Medical Leave. Massachusetts and New York, two of the most recent states to adopt paid leave, already are looking to increase the payroll taxes that fund their programs. In 2019, New York increased the payroll tax to 0.153 percent from 0.126 the year prior still far below Connecticut's proposed tax with a maximum employee contribution of $108 while the benefit increased to 55 percent for a maximum of eight weeks up from 50 percent. Gjede has expressed his support for programs closer to those models It is a benefit for employees, no doubt about that, and thats why some businesses particularly larger businesses voluntarily provide this when they can afford to do so, Gjede said. Were just arguing that applying it to such small businesses is going to be a problem for many and what is proposed for the state is financially unsustainable. Jordan.grice@hearstmediact.com FILE - In this March 13, 2007 file photo, Steven Avery listens to testimony in the courtroom at the Calumet County Courthouse in Chilton, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, Pool, File) BOSTON (AP) The first of five drawings for the Massachusetts coronavirus vaccine lottery is scheduled for July 26, state officials announced Friday. Masih Alinejad The Menace of the Mullahs A womans bold fight to unveil Iran 25.02.2019 By Urs Gehriger As a child, she roamed her rural village mischievously poking at beehives. Now, Masih Alinejad pokes a much more dangerous colony the mullah-led government of her native Iran. The object of her crusade is the hijab, the headscarf, without which no woman in Iran is allowed to appear in public. The hijab, says Alinejad, makes the woman a hostage to the Iranian regime. Since childhood, the natural born rebel has bristled at the religious dictates of the bearded men. And she has paid a high price. At just 18 years old, Alinejad was imprisoned. She has lost her job as a top journalist. She has lost her home. She has lost her family. In 2009, US President Barack Obama invited her to the US for an interview. Then, he let her down for fear of provoking the Mullahs. Alinejad did not give up. In exile, she started a revolution from her kitchen. It began with a single picture: Alinejad joyfully running down a London street lined with pink blossomed cherry trees, her wild, chestnut hair tousled by the wind. The photo was accompanied by the caption: Every time I run in a free country and feel the wind through my hair, it reminds me of when my hair was hostage to the Iranian government. She called upon women around the world to share their own secret moments of freedom. Soon, Alinejad was bombarded with photos of women proudly discarding their headscarves. What began as a single image has now grown into a massive online movement against the mandatory hijab called "My Stealthy Freedom" with millions of followers worldwide. Last year, Alinejad published a top selling memoir, The Wind in My Hair. The Mullahs routinely denounce the 42-year-old mother as a "spy and a traitor. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who recently invited her for a one-on-one meeting, praises her "bravery" and "continued dedication" defending human rights in Iran. I meet Masih (as her global sisterhood affectionately refer to their hero) at a cafe in her new home base, Brooklyn, NY. I call it the epicenter of the HaiRevolution. Little do I know that soon I, too, will experience the disconcertingly oppressive power of the hijab. Lets start with recent news from Iran. Media are reporting that Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker of Irans parliament, demanded a nationwide vote on the hijab. What is your reaction? My first reaction was, Yes, we won the battle. Ali Motahari is the son of Ayatollah Motahari who wrote a basic work about hijab. For forty years, the ruling religious elite was using the term Hijab is an order from God. Hijab is part of Sharia Law. So, nobody is allowed to question the order from God. But, now, they question it. My second reaction, which I made public, was, "This is my body and my right to choose what I want to wear. Nobody can make a decision about my body. So, you're putting a referendum about my absolute rights? Instead you have to put the existence of Islamic Republic on a referendum right now, because people are fed up with Islamic Republic. But we won the battle, because we made them talk about this. We won, because women stood up together, and we started our own revolution. You call it a revolution? I really call it a revolution. At the beginning, it was an online movement. It was me publishing the videos and photos of women of themselves holding their headscarf. But, now, its not limited to an online movement. People take to the street, and they practice their civil disobedience. Women write me and say, Through My Stealthy Freedom, I became really brave, and I started to gather women and go to the park, take off our hijab and walk together. What happens to women who dare to take off their veil in public in case they get arrested? If you take off your headscarf while driving a car, you get arrested and fined, and your car gets impounded. If you do it as a protest against compulsory hijab, the punishment is much more severe. Recently, women were sent to prison for two years. One of the women from my campaign was sentenced to twenty years two years in prison and 18 years on bail. That means, if she protests against the hijab again, she is going directly to jail. What do you reply to critics who say, Masih, while you are safe in your Brooklyn home, you are putting people in Iran in danger. My answer is this: This is not me. It is the Islamic Republic of Iran that puts women in danger. Before my campaign was launched in 2014, 3.6 million women were stopped in the streets. They were warned and some sent to court. 3.6 million women? 3.6 million. In only eighth months, 40,000 cars were impounded. Why? Because women were driving with a loose hijab, an inappropriate hijab. Before you even start to protest against hijab, your life is in danger. That is the reason why women are sending their videos to me. They are fed up with religion interfering in their lives. When people say that it is dangerous for them to protest against hijab, I say, Being a woman is dangerous in Iran. How do you feel, personally, when women send you their videos taped in Iran? Do you see them somehow as your daughters? I cry a lot when I hear that they get into trouble. It makes me frustrated. But I cannot give up. What motivates me is when they call my name. They say, Hi, Masih. This is me, and Im being attacked by this cleric. Please be my voice. How many videos do you receive daily? More than thirty per day. But I only publish a handful of them. They give me power. They give me hope. You were forced to leave your country in 2009 after you uncovered a corruption scandal in the Iranian Parliament. How is your personal family? I lost my family. I havent seen them for nine years. Sometimes, I really miss touching my mothers face, or I miss my brothers hand on my shoulder. I miss everything about my family. But I found another family. I found bigger family. When I was growing up in a tiny, poor village, we had a black and white TV. You are talking about Ghomikola in the North of Iran, the village you were born? Yes. We had a black and white TV, and I was the one who had to listen to clerics. Now, I am the one the clerics are listening to through their own TV. Of course, they all know me by my name, with different names. They call me MI6 agent, the CIA agent. They call me ugly duckling. I always say they dont know the end of the story of ugly duckling. [laughter] There is a wonderful anecdote about you in your book. When you were a very young girl, you would take a stick and poke it in the beehive. This seems to be a behavior that is deeply rooted in your nature. Yes. Have you ever asked yourself, Why do I keep stirring up deadly swarms? Im going to tell you how I was raised as a girl. Then, you understand. I grew up in a tiny village. I didnt have books about feminism. I never had a clue about equality. I never had a clue about discrimination. Nothing. Your family was sleeping together in one room? Exactly. All of us. We didnt have running water. We didnt have electricity. You only had an outdoor washroom. You read my book very well. Yes. We didnt have anything. My little brother, Ali, was an example of all of the freedom that I wanted to have. He was free to show his heart. He was free to sing solo. He was free to play with a bow and arrow. He was free to do whatever he wanted to do. I, in contrast, was restricted. I had to nap with my mother after lunch while my brother ran away to the river. You felt treated unfairly? Very early on. I had to wear a veil from an early age, even in the house. My body was like a hostage in the hands of my father, society, the law. I wanted to be as free as Ali. Thats why I started to poke a stick into the beehive. Although my brother was allowed to do everything, he was scared of darkness. This was a problem because, at night, he was scared to go to the outdoor bathroom. Other than my brother, I was really brave. My mother told me that darkness is like a monster. If you let your fear win, then the darkness can devour you, she said. But if you open your eyes as wide as you can and stare into the darkness, then the darkness will disappear. I believed in my mothers words, and it worked. So, I ended up taking my brother to the outdoor bathroom. During the day, he was the king of the village. But every night, he depended on me. You had power over your brother. I did. And I used that power. I saw myself like a leader. I told him, Im not going to take you to the outhouse if you dont take me to the river. The day after, he said, Okay, Im going to teach you how to ride a bicycle so you dont ruin my freedom. This is what the true womens movement in Iran needs. We have to ruin the freedom of the men to make them understand. You want to disturb them in their world? Yes. Disturb them. Let me tell you something. Often I get this from men. They say, We have so many big problems. We have poverty, etc. Why do you care about a small piece of cloth? Thats a very good point. Why are you obsessed with this small piece of fabric? Okay! [Masih grabs a long, white, embroidered scarf from her bag.] Wear this headscarf for half an hour and sit still. Dont dare to take it off! Youll forgive me if I do it only for a minute. No! You have to wear it like a woman. If you dont wear it, youre not allowed to ask another question. [Masih is smiling at her spontaneous experiment.] Remember, if women dont wear it, they are not allowed to go to school, not allowed to live in their country. [Reporter awkwardly puts the headscarf on.] How do you feel? Restricted. Belittled. Thats it! [Masih laughs.] We have to disturb men to make them understand this is not about a small piece of cloth! That leads me to another question. I really... I have to take it off. Why do you have to take it off? [She says chiding the reporter.] I feel restricted and, actually, the minute I put it on, I lost my role of conducting the dialogue. Yes, especially if you are forced to wear it and somebody tells you, This is not the proper way to wear it. You have to wear it like this. [Masih reaches forward and pulls the scarf lower over the reporters brow.] This reminds me of a crucial moment of your biography when you were summoned to face Judge Mortazavi, the infamous prosecutor general of Tehran. He goes by the nickname The Butcher of the Press. The notorious judiciary in Iran who killed Zahra Kazemi, the Iranian-Canadian journalist. He [the judge] humiliated and tortured a lot of journalists. [The reporter touches the headscarf.] Why are you taking off? Dont take it off! [Masih laughs.] Im only adjusting it because I need to at least see. [Masih leans back.] Tell me how you feel. I feel suffocated. Im a freedom loving person. I am Swiss. The Swiss are not a member of any union. Were not even a member of the EU. Yes! [Triumphant, Masih gives the reporter a high five.] The moment when you were facing this frightening judge, he was playing with you, picking his nose, pretending you were not there You can take it off now. I dont want to exhaust you. Thank you. Youre too kind. [The reporter gratefully removes the head covering.] Oh, my God! You look like a totally different person. [Masih laughs. She has filmed the scene. Later she published the clip on her Instagram account. It went viral generating 140 000 likes" within hours.] When you were facing this notorious judge, he falsely claimed you had illegal affairs and committed adultery. He wanted to ruin your reputation to silence your voice. He threatened to sentence you to prison for many years. You had been to prison before. You were thrown out of Parliament. I was kicked out from everywhere. Facing humiliation and massive threats, how do you find the strength to keep on fighting? It was my upbringing. If you are poor, and if you grew up in a village where all men went to war, you have to manage your life, yourself. I used to watch my mother. She expressed herself in a very simple way. She is illiterate. She told me, If you ask your brother for a favor, then you always have to ask him. Think about being independent. Dont be a victim. Be a warrior. I learned from my mother the power of saying No. She never said No to my father. But she taught me to do it. How is your father? My father stopped speaking to me, but I still love him. Do you think he loves you? I strongly believe he loves me. One day, the Iranian government managed to bring my sister on TV. She disowned me publicly. I was watching her, and I was crying. I was nervous that they would bring my father and my mother on TV, too. I couldnt breathe. But they resisted. That shows that they love me. Considering your powerful fight for freedom, one would expect you to demand a total ban of the hijab. But you do not. Why? If you ban people from something without educating them, people will resist. If you give people the free choice and educate them about their bodies, their rights, their dignity, then it gives them the opportunity to make the right decision. Thats my point. But for women like my mother, I dont want to ban it for them. If you ban my mother from wearing her hijab, shell spend the whole time in her room. Because she grew up in this tradition? Yes. But I am for a total ban of the veil for children. Like this, we are making a statement against political Islam. Some people tell me, Youre causing Islamophobia by saying that. Havent they got a point? That, with your prominent voice, you help the powers who hate Islam? No. It is the political Islam, it is the Sharia Law, causing Islamophobia. Across Europe, we see more and more women wearing veils. It is counter to our tradition to wear a veil. Should it be banned across Europa? I think this would be wrong. With a ban, youre inviting a lot on the left, a lot of feminists, to downplay our cause for freedom of choice. When you ban one thing, then our message gets lost. I hate the hypocrisy of those women who condemn the burkini ban in France, but, when it comes to compulsory of hijab in Iran, they keep silent. A lot of female politicians, a lot of feminists, they go to Iran and wear the veil. Claudia Roth the former party chair for the German Greens, several Swedish ministers, and even our Swiss Ambassador to Iran all wore a veil. Your Swiss ambassador to Iran [Livia Leu, now Swiss ambassador to France] I criticized her a lot. She said that she wears the headscarf to respect the culture of Iran. I said, When you call this the culture of Iran, youre insulting Iranian people. Because compulsory hijab has never been part of Iranian culture. What is the legal or religious foundation for obliging women to wear a hijab? Is there anything about this in the Quran? I dont know. Go and ask the religious people. I dont care whether its in the Quran. Even if it is in the Quran, its wrong, and we have to be brave and challenge it. Why? Because its about my body and my rights and my choice. No religion, no culture, and no law can violate my rights. Now, were getting into fundamentals. As you write in your book, the veil is a very strong symbol. Its the most visible symbol of oppression against women. The most visible part, like the tip of the iceberg. Lets look at the whole iceberg: the religious ruling system. Can the suppression of women ever stop as long the religious system is dictating the social life? I love this question. Let me tell you something which is really important. I hate having religion mixed with politics. I want the Islamic Republic to go. Millions of Iranian people want to get rid of Islamic Republic. But we have to be smart and find a path. If you ask people, Come and join me to overthrow the regime, people get scared. The level of oppression is really high in Iran. Instead, we ought to choose a symbol for the people a symbol like Fight for your rights to dance. Fight for your rights to sing. You want to change the system, step by step? Not step by step. People are scared of being engaged in a political movement. We have to be smart to get people involved in a movement which is about their personal rights. When I said, Lets say No to the government, nobody joined me. When I said, Lets feel the wind in our hair, a lot of women followed us. This is the way that I can launch my own revolution. When I talk about the small piece of cloth, a seven-year-old girl can understand. A 90-year-old grandmother joined me. Why? These people, all of them, are fed up with religious interference in their lives. You are not only a nightmare, but a threat to the regime. Yes, we, I, am a threat. Thats why they produce fake news about me on Iranian state TV, every month. Masih is paid by the Israeli government. Masih is paid by MI6. Sometimes, it makes me cry when they put pressure on my family. But, in the end, it means that I made them cry. I made them miserable. Thats why they attack me. How far do you think the regime is willing to go to fight people like you? They cannot go far. Its no longer only me. We have a daily war in Iran, a cultural war. Is there a #MeToo movement in Iran? It is a complicated issue. Our campaign has raised the issue. But, in Iran, accusations of sexual harassment are dangerous to make for women. However, it is happening enough that even the Supreme Leader entered the #MeToo movement. On his Twitter account he said that women in the West are being raped just because they dont wear the hijab, just because they dont know Islam. I said to the women inside Iran, We have to launch our own #MeToo movement to show the Supreme Leader what is happening in Iran, right now. If an Iranian woman gets sexually harassed and goes to court, they are going to say it was the womans fault. The Islamic Republic puts the blame on, us, women. So, I told the women, Use your camera. As evidence? As a weapon. We created a Twitter and Instragram account MyCameraIsMyWeapon. A lot of women are posting films of men who are exposing themselves, harassing women. And the women are saying, This is my power. If the judiciary system doesnt help us and, instead, puts the blame on us, we find our own way to fight for our rights. I strongly believe #MyCameraIsMyWeapon is our version of the #MeToo movement in Iran. One of the videos got two million views on Instagram. Two million? What was it about? Its about a 12-year-old girl that was harassed by a bunch of older men who showed her their genitals. The girl is crying, but she says, Masih, you told us Dont get scared. Just use your camera. She got the camera, and her video went viral. Finally, the police went and arrested the men. This is the only way to make the #MeToo movement work in the Middle East. Create a scandal for the regime. Otherwise, they never respond. After Barack Obama was elected US president in 2008, you wrote a letter to him. To your great surprise, you got a reply. They were preparing an interview for you. Can you believe that? You travelled to the US, but then the interview was cancelled. Was Obama scared to meet you? Yes. His administration told me, Because you are working with the reformist newspaper, and now the editor of your newspaper is one of the presidential challengers, Karroubi, if we give you the interview, then the Green Movement might be labeled as an instrument of the American government. [Note: This was during the Iranian Presidential elections. The opposition was called the Green Movement I was, like, What? I cannot believe that. Obama didnt understand. Whether you help us or not, we are being labeled for years and years. The Green Movement leader is still in prison, today. Once the election was over and President Ahmadinejad was confirmed in power, Obama could have given you an interview without worries. After the election, I didnt ask him because he broke my heart. Obamas name in Persian has a special meaning. O means he. Ba means with. Ma means us. When we translate his name to our language, it means He is with us. People in the street in the Green Movement were chanting Obama! Obama! But he never replied to the call. Thats what Im saying. He broke a lot of peoples hearts because he never replied to the peoples call. The same time when people in the streets of Tehran were calling his name, he sent a secret letter to the Supreme Leader of Iran. The Supreme Leader of Iran was the one who called for the security forces to kill the demonstrators. I was going to say Obama was timid. In fact, he was a coward. You finally met with the US government. You recently were invited by Secretary of State Pompeo. Who initiated this meeting? Its funny, but after it became obvious that the Obama meeting wasnt going to take place, State Department officials suggested, perhaps, I could meet with the then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? Or maybe with one of her deputies? I said, Forget it! Not once was I contacted again by the Obama Team. As far as they were concerned, I was against the Ayatollahs and that was a black mark against me. I was wary of the Trump administration. And, although they had reached out to me a number of times in 2017 and 2018, I didnt feel the time was right. On one occasion, I was invited to a dinner that Secretary Pompeo was hosting in Los Angeles to meet key members of the Iranian community. I declined. Human rights are very important to me, and I didnt want our campaign to be used as a window dressing. However, when I was invited for a one-on-one meeting with Secretary Pompeo, I accepted because this was a chance to explain our campaign. Pompeo thanked you for your bravery. How did you feel? He thanked the Iranian women inside their country who are fighting for their dignity and risking their lives to protest against compulsory hijab. Five years ago, when I launched this campaign, other activists scorned my efforts. The Islamic Republic mocked me. We havent reached the mountaintop, yet, but Iranian women have shown that they are a force to be reckoned with. Secretary Pompeo acknowledged that. Some journalists argue that the Trump administration is exploiting your movement. What do you say? Of course, Im aware of the criticism leveled at the Trump Administration. But has anyone thought that I am the one exploiting the Trump administration? Lets be frank. It was the Obama administration that buried the human rights issue under the nuclear deal. Many activists say that Obama turned a blind eye to the atrocities in Syria so as not to antagonize the Islamic Republic. As a womens rights activist, as a human rights campaigner, I need to have impactful meetings to make sure that human rights, and especially womens rights, are not abandoned in any future negotiations between the US and Iran. I have also had meetings at the European Parliament, at the US Congress with both Republican and Democrat lawmakers. I encourage all activists to meet with the Trump administration and share their views. A look at the scene in Sonora, Ky., where a police pursuit ended after a "major crime" in Elizabethtown. (Photo courtesy: WDRB's Chad Mills) JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio gives his first State of the District address at The Olmsted on Feb. 27, 2019. Pollio said the district was "in crisis" when he took over, but transformation at JCPS is "just beginning." Wilmington, DE (19810) Today Lots of sunshine. Near record high temperatures. High around 95F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Low 73F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Michael Cohen said it's possible that the entire Trump family was compromised by Russia in the months before the 2016 election. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat from Florida, asked if the President's son, daughter and son-in-law were involved in the Trump Tower Moscow project. "Was Ivanka, Jared or Don Jr. still involved in the Russian tower deal at that time?" she asked. "The company was involved in the deal, which meant that the family was involved in the deal," Cohen said. Wasserman Schultz followed up: "If Mr. Trump and his daughter Ivanka and son Donald Jr. are involved in the Russian Trump tower deal, is it possible the whole family is conflicted or compromised with a foreign adversary in the months before the election?" "Yes," Cohen said. House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings asked Michael Cohen about checks he brought as evidence in today's testimony. Cohen said one of the checks which he said was signed by President Trump was made out to him to reimburse him for "illegal hush money I paid on his behalf." "So let me make sure I understand. Donald Trump wrote you a check out of his personal account while he was serving as president of the United States of America to reimburse you for hush money payments to Ms. Clifford. Is that what you are telling the American people today?" Cummings asked. "Yes, Mr. Chairman," Cohen responded. He said he wouldn't accept a pardon from President Trump. "I have never asked for it, nor would I accept a pardon from President Trump," he said. In his opening statement, Cohen apologized again for lying to Congress and the country: "I am sorry for actively working to hide from you the truth about Mr. Trump when you needed it most. For those who question my motives for being here today, I understand. I have lied, but I am not a liar. I have done bad things, but I am not a bad man. I have fixed things, but I am no longer your fixer, Mr. Trump." Cohen went on to claim Trump and his lawyer tried to intimidate him so he wouldn't appear before the committee. In his opening statement, Michael Cohen claimed that President Trump knew about the released of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee before they dropped. Cohen went on to describe Trump's knowledge of the emails: "As I earlier stated, Mr. Trump knew from Roger Stone in advance about the Wikileaks drop of emails. In July of 2016, days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trump's office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that within a couple of days there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign." Trump, he said, responded "wouldn't that be great." In a stunning 20-page statement provided Tuesday night to lawmakers, Cohen details a wide range of allegations against Trump -- from making racist comments about African-Americans to participating during his presidency in an illegal hush-money scheme to keep his alleged extramarital affairs quiet -- as well as suggesting Trump faked a medical condition to get out of serving in the Vietnam War. And Cohen will provide new details saying Trump was engaged in an aggressive pursuit of a major project in Russia in 2016, alleging the President's attorneys edited Cohen's 2017 testimony when he lied to Congress, downplaying the efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. He says Trump never directly ordered him to lie to Congress but he believed he was carrying out an order given his interactions with Trump, who was making public statements about not having any business dealings with Russia. In short, Cohen calls Trump a "racist," a "conman" and a "cheat." In the testimony, Cohen will allege that, in 2016, he witnessed Trump taking a phone call from Stone, who was on speakerphone. "Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign," Cohen will say, according to his prepared testimony. Trump responded, according to Cohen: "Wouldn't that be great." Cohen's allegations, if true, would amount to the first time anyone with direct knowledge has said that the President had advance knowledge of the WikiLeaks dump of Clinton emails. Cohen also said the President's personal lawyers "reviewed and edited" his 2017 statements when Cohen lied to Congress about the Trump Organization's pursuit of a massive project in Moscow. The special counsel indictment of Roger Stone made no mention of direct contact between Stone and Assange. Stone -- who has been indicted on charges of making false statements, witness tampering and obstructing justice -- has denied discussing the matter with Trump or having any such interactions with WikiLeaks. He is fighting his charges in court. Cohen's opening statement also suggests that Trump may have been aware in advance of a 2016 meeting set up by Donald Trump Jr. and Russians at Trump Tower -- something that Trump and his eldest son have long denied. Cohen will tell Congress that he witnessed Trump Jr., in June 2016, tell his father: "The meeting is all set." Cohen acknowledges not knowing for sure that Trump's son's comments were in reference to the meeting with Russians. "I also knew that nothing went on in Trump world, especially the campaign, without Mr. Trump's knowledge and approval," Cohen will say. "So I concluded that Don Jr. was referring to that June 2016 Trump Tower meeting about dirt on Hillary." CNN reported in July 2018 that Cohen was willing to testify to the special counsel that Trump knew in advance about the planned meeting at Trump Tower. The White House has attacked Cohen's credibility, calling him someone who cannot be trusted given he has already pleaded guilty to lying. When asked for comment on Cohen's prepared testimony, the White House referred to press secretary Sarah Sanders' Tuesday statement on Cohen's testimony. "Disgraced felon Michael Cohen is going to prison for lying to Congress and making other false statements," Sanders said in that statement. "Sadly, he will go before Congress this week and we can expect more of the same. It's laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies." According to a copy of the opening statement he prepares to deliver to the House Oversight Committee Wednesday, Cohen says Trump lied repeatedly about a number of matters -- and made a host of racist statements. He also provides new details suggesting Trump was heavily involved in the pursuit of the Trump Tower Moscow project in 2016. "To be clear, Mr. Trump knew of and directed the Trump Tower negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it," Cohen will tell the committee. "He lied about it because he never expected to win the election. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project." Cohen says that Trump did not "directly" tell him to lie to Congress. "That's not how he operates," Cohen says. But he says that Trump would tell him and the public he has "no business" with Russia, even as he was negotiating the Moscow project. "In his way, he was telling me to lie," Cohen says. ANALYSIS: What Michael Cohen needs to answer for Cohen also says he's providing the panel with several documents to back up his allegations, including a check Trump wrote from his bank account to reimburse him for hush money payments to silence Stormy Daniels' story in 2016 about her alleged affair with Trump. Trump denies having an affair with Daniels. But in the testimony, Cohen recounts how he was visiting Trump in February 2017 in the White House when the President assured him his reimbursement checks were coming in the mail. He said Trump made 11 payments of $35,000 each to reimburse him in the hush-money scheme, saying he's providing the House panel with a copy of an August 2017 check signed by the President from his personal bank account. "The President of the United States thus wrote a personal check for the payment of hush money as part of a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws," Cohen will say. Cohen also says he's providing the committee with copies of letters he wrote threatening Trump's high school, college and the College Board not to release his grades or test scores. Moreover, Cohen says he has documentation showing Trump arranging a bidder at an auction to purchase a portrait of himself, which he later reimbursed the bidder for from his charitable organization. And he provides information about Trump's decision to avoid serving in the Vietnam War. Cohen was directed to avoid answering reporters' questions about the matter, he will say. Trump, who has long claimed his deferment was due to a bone spur, had no medical records to provide because there was no surgery, Cohen said. "You think I'm stupid, I wasn't going to Vietnam," Cohen recalls Trump as saying. In jarring testimony, Cohen also says Trump repeatedly made racist comments about African-Americans. While driving through a poor neighborhood in Chicago, Trump allegedly told Cohen that "only black people could live that way." Cohen added that Trump said that African-Americans "would never vote for him because they were too stupid." Gettysburg, PA (17325) Today Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 97F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms. Low 71F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and US President Donald Trump meet in Hanoi on February 27th (Photo: VNA) The Vietnamese Government leader warmly welcomed the US leaders visit to Vietnam for the second DPRK-USA summit and bilateral activities with Vietnam. For his part, President Trump expressed joy to return to Vietnam and meet PM Phuc again, adding that he noticed many changes in Vietnam since arriving on February 26th. He noted the hope that his second meeting with the DPRK leader in Hanoi will be a success, and lauded the Vietnams preparations for the event. This is the second visit of the US President to Vietnam. In November 2017, he made an official visit to the Southeast Asian country and attended the APEC Economic Leaders Week in Da Nang. The day before, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh held talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Hanoi. The two sides agreed to prioritise the promotion of delegation exchanges, especially at high level in 2019, heading to the 25th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations in 2019. They concurred to continue considering economic and investment partnership as a driving force of the Vietnam-US relationship, while further fostering collaboration in education-training, and people-to-people exchange. In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency on February 26th, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that the fact that Vietnam has been chosen for the second DPRK-US summit reflects the rising role and prestige of Vietnam in the region and the world./. Rome: The Vatican has opened an investigation into Cardinal George Pell that could end with his dismissal from the clergy. A Vatican spokesman said the investigation began after Pells guilty verdict in December. The Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) will now handle the case following the procedure and within the time established by the canonical norm, the spokesman said. Cardinal George Pell attends the County Court in Melbourne for a pre-sentencing hearing on Wednesday. Credit:Justin McManus It was reported the Church investigators will use the same evidence presented in the Melbourne court that convicted Pell on two counts of the sexual abuse of children. London: Australia will stand firm on its ban on Huawei from its broadband and 5G networks, even if President Donald Trump softens the US position on the Chinese telecommunications provider, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said. Speaking to reporters at Australia House in London, before her meeting with the UK's Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Senator Payne said the Australian view on Huawei was clear. Foreign Minister Marise Payne has reaffirmed Australia's ban on Huawei from broadband and 5G. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen "Well, we don't want anyone in our communications networks that have an obligation to another government," she said. The British government has commissioned a review, due sometime between March and June, into whether the Chinese provider should be banned from the 5G network, but has sent signals that it is prepared to allow Huawei to continue supplying British networks. EDITOR'S NOTE: The High Court overturned Cardinal George Pell's conviction for historic child sex offences in a judgment handed down April 7, 2020. In a unanimous decision all seven High Court judges found Victoria's Court of Appeal should not have upheld Pell's conviction. It found the evidence could not support a guilty verdict. The Archbishop of Melbourne says George Pell remains a friend and he would visit him in prison if the convicted child sex offender were sentenced to jail. Speaking the day after it was revealed that Pell had been found guilty in December of five counts of child sexual abuse, Archbishop Peter Comensoli said Cardinal George Pell had been a "good teacher" to him. Archbishop of Melbourne Peter Comensoli. Credit:Eddie Jim "Cardinal Pell has been a friend of mine for a number of years, a good teacher to me, so I remain a friend and I don't shy away from that," he told radio station 3AW. Deputy mayor Adrian Schrinner said Brisbane City Council had "urgently sought assurance from Lime that the issue had been dealt with. Lime has assured council the issue has been identified and resolved," he said. Council told Lime on Wednesday they had two weeks to demonstrate the problem was indeed fixed or their permit would not be extended." Cr Schrinner said the state government also had to enforce safety measures, such as helmet use and speed. Unless council is satisfied both Lime and the state have delivered on their respective responsibilities to deliver a safe eScooter service, council will not be extending the permit beyond the current two weeks, he said. Limes director of government affairs and strategy Mitchell Price said the company had recently become aware of the issue of wheels locking up, which had affected scooters in other countries as early as January. Loading "After immediately decommissioning every scooter in Brisbane that was affected, we began an extensive investigation, working with an independent consulting firm to help determine the cause of the problem," he said. "We have deployed a firmware update to resolve the wheel locking issue, and have seen a material reduction in the number of incidents reported of this nature in Brisbane since the update rollout. "Our local operations team are actively performing quality assurance checks on all scooters in Brisbane." A Lime spokeswoman said the company encouraged any rider affected by the glitch to contact its customer support team. Loading Limes liability insurance exceeds state and council requirements, this coverage is there for riders and the public if something goes wrong, she said. In a statement on its website issued on Saturday, Lime said the company had identified a bug in its firmware that under rare circumstances such as riding downhill at high speed, the front brakes might lock up. We have developed a series of updates for the firmware and are confident in their efficacy, the statement said. The company has had its scooter rollout temporarily halted in Auckland and Dunedin while the glitch was investigated. Other areas in New Zealand, including Christchurch and Hutt Valley, still have scooters operating. In Australia, Adelaide is also starting a Lime trial. Mr Vukovic had surgery on his broken arm the day after his accident and had to take three weeks off work. Im still recovering and Ill never get full use of my arm again ... the physio said if Im lucky I might get about 90 per cent [mobility] again, he said. Mr Vukovic said it was not the first time he had experienced the front wheel locking up on the scooter, but never to such a severe degree. Mr Vukovic said he did not lodge an injury claim with Lime, but wants to see the company review its software and Brisbane City Council investigate the scooters safety. Loading I definitely think they should review the safety of them, clearly theres a known safety issue and people are getting hurt so I definitely think the council should look more into it, he said. Another rider, Jordan Madigan, suffered a heel injury after the scooter he was riding locked up. He did lodge a claim with Lime, which a Lime spokeswoman said was being reviewed. Clearly theres a known safety issue and people are getting hurt, I think the council should look more into it, Mr Vukovic said. Brisbane compensation lawyer Travis Schultz, however, said pedestrians could also be vulnerable if Limes public liability insurance did not extend to cover anyone who was struck or injured by a scooter rider. A Lime spokeswoman said the companys $20 million public liability insurance policy was in place for riders and the public if something goes wrong. While on a scooter, riders are responsible to obeying the road rules including wearing a helmet, following the speed limit and only having one person riding at a time, she said. Limes user agreement, available on its website, states the company is not responsible for any damage, liability, claims or injuries, and Lime scooter riders are responsible if their use of the scooters injures others. Mr Schultz suggested scooters could be regulated similarly to car insurance, with a compulsory third party insurance scheme to ensure any passer-by who was injured by a scooter rider was protected. Did you notice that the Morrison government has slashed Australia's Paris climate target in half, a detail that somehow escaped scrutiny in the flurry of climate policies announced this week? No? Well, neither did most of the country. Backing black: Then federal Treasurer Scott Morrison brought a lump of coal to question time in February 2017. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen On paper, Australia remains committed to cutting 2005-level emissions 26 per cent by 2030. According to environment department officials called to Senate estimates last week, that means the nation has to reduce - abate - a total of 695 million tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent in the decade of 2021-2030. 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 public has been invited to attend a meeting on a Syrian integration project in Lismore Co Waterford. The Irish Refugee Protection Programme, administered through the Department of Justice, has chosen Lismore as one of several towns to run a pilot Community Sponsorship Programme to welcome and help to integrate refugees into Ireland. The Lismore Welcome Project (LWP), an independent group of volunteers from the Lismore/Cappoquin area was set up at the end of 2018 to spearhead the community response and to put preparations in place to welcome a Syrian refugee family to Lismore in the summer of 2019, under this programme. Lismore Welcome Project invites you to attend a public meeting at 7.30pm on Monday, March 4 at the Heritage Centre, Lismore, Waterford where this proposal will be presented to the community. The meeting will be chaired by Lynne Glasscoe of the Lismore Welcome Project and the speakers will include Mr. David Stanton, TD, Minister of State for Equality, Migration and Integration; Ms Eibhlin Byrne, Director Community Sponsorship Programme, Department of Justice; Zuhair Al Fakirs, Dunshaughlin; Huda Safa'a Al-Deen, Mullingar. Following contributions from the speakers, there will be a Q&A session. The panel for the Q&A will include all the above speakers as well as representatives from Waterford Leader Partnership and NASC, the Migrant and Refugee Rights Centre, Cork. Up for debate: Live legislation tracker Check out the latest developments on bills pending before state lawmakers in four key topics. Fiat Chrysler to add more than 6,000 jobs in Michigan, lay off nearly 1,400 in Illinois Regional Editor Derek Draplin is a regional editor at The Center Square. He previously worked as an opinion producer at Forbes, and as a reporter at Michigan Capitol Confidential and The Detroit News. Hes also an editor at The Daily Caller. If you already subscribe to our print edition, sign up for FREE to view the newspaper online! Enter all nine digits of your zip code, without a hyphen. Last Name needs to be in all caps. Trusted local news has never been more important, but providing the information you need, information that can change sometimes minute-by-minute, requires a partnership with you, our readers. Please consider making a contribution today to support this vital resource that you and countless others depend on. On Tuesday, Hyten praised those inspections as hugely beneficial to me. He described how the treaty allows inspectors from the United States to land at a port of entry in Russia, declare where they want to go, and look at a nuclear site to verify that the right number and kind of weapons are there. Russias inspectors can do the same in the United States. [This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press.] LONDON, ON February 27, 2019 Canadian developer and publisher Digital Extremes signals today the beginning of Warframe s Nightwave, a new ongoing radio broadcast built on fresh, immediate story-infused gameplay, available today. With Nightwave, players tuning into their Orbiter Scanners can instantly embark on new challenges, collect exclusive rewards, gear, cosmetics and more. And, for the first time in Warframe history, this new content is simultaneously available across all systems -- Steam PC, PlayStation4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch -- for free. Tenno listening to Nightwave will experience the rebellious, smoky smooth allure of host Nora Night, the mysterious character whose rogue radio transmissions kick off the first series today with episode one of The Wolf of Saturn Six. Players will discover new enemies and backstory and earn unique rewards to upgrade their Arsenal as they rise through the Reward Tiers. Nightwave rewards are both exclusive and time sensitive: Players can only get them during the duration of the Series. They range from Power items such as Orokin Catalysts, Wolf Cred (a new currency used to shop through Nightwave Cred Offerings containing former Alert System rewards), sought-after Weapon/Warframe slots and highly coveted Forma Bundles, while exclusive, time-sensitive Cosmetics include an Armor Set, Syandana, and Noggle, among other items. Once the first series The Wolf of Saturn Six reaches its conclusion, a new one will begin, with an all-new storyline, incentives and exclusive rewards specific to it. Check Warframe.com for more details on specific rewards. Get the Wolf of Saturn Six assets now! Watch the video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-6VVwObr3g In a huge bonus specifically for Nintendo Switch players, The Wolf of Saturn Six update will contain even more content! Nintendo Switch players will get the intense boss battle and additional content of Fortuna: The Profit Taker, and well debut TennoGen, the Digital Extremes-approved, community created content players love to own. Nintendo players will receive three TennoGen Bundles in all, including: TENNOGEN SWITCH BUNDLE I Nova Visage Skin Mirage Morgaine Skin Trinity Knightess Skin Ember Graxx Skin Saryn Graxx Skin TENNOGEN SWITCH BUNDLE II Volt Zener Skin Wukong Auman Skin Loki Incubus Skin Excalibur Apex Skin Rhino Mastodon Skin Harrow Graxx Skin TENNOGEN SWITCH BUNDLE III Naru Syandana Mithra Heavy Blade Skin Rhino Teutonic Helmet Loki Ersatz Helmet Loki Rogue Helmet Mesa Falcon Helmet Nova Tachyon Helmet Wukong Xingzhe Helmet Would you like to join the Warframe community? Head to our forums to start a conversation. Check our official website at www.warframe.com . To keep up with the latest updates from the development team, be sure to follow Warframe on Twitch , YouTube , Twitter , Facebook , and Instagram . ABOUT DIGITAL EXTREMES Founded in 1993 by James Schmalz, Digital Extremes ranks as one of the world's top independent video game development studios. Originating with the co-creation of Epic Games' multi-million unit selling Unreal franchise including Unreal, Unreal Tournament and all its iterations Digital Extremes went on to develop Dark Sector, BioShock for the PlayStation3, the BioShock 2 multiplayer campaign, and The Darkness II. The studio has reached its greatest critical and commercial success with the free-to-play action game, Warframe, boasting a global community of more than 38 million registered players on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. For more information about Digital Extremes, visit www.digitalextremes.com . To sign up for Warframe, visit www.warframe.com . # # # MEDIA CONTACT Outrageous PR Danielle Woodyatt & Ami Langton [email protected] Given its proximity to North Korea and the need to cooperate over sanctions, Russia has been a natural player in denuclearization talks for previous U.S. presidents, but Trumps warm rhetoric to Moscow and the countrys interference in the 2016 election have raised concerns in Washington about any role for the Kremlin in the high-stakes negotiations. Michael Cohen is a felon, a disbarred lawyer, and a convicted perjurer, who lied to both Congress and the Special Counsel in a deliberate and premeditated fashion according to the Special Counsels Office, the spokeswoman, Kayleigh McEnany, wrote. Now he offers what he says is evidence, but the only support for that is his own testimony, which has proved before to be worthless. As noted by the Southern District of New York, Cohens wide array of crimes were marked by a pattern of deception that permeated his professional life and his instinct to blame others is strong. Prosecutors said his actions were to ensure that he would profit personally, build his own power, and enhance his level of influence. This is the same Michael Cohen who has admitted that he lied to Congress previously. Why did they even bother to swear him in this time? I ordered my coffee and was about to pay for it and get back to my train, Taher recalled. But God worked His ways and the guy at the cafeteria took too long to get my coffee. In just one second, what happened happened. I could have been out on the platform. The 77-year-old Australian priest, who oversaw the Vaticans finances, was found guilty by a unanimous jury on Dec. 11 of five counts of sexual assault against two 13-year-old choir boys. The verdict was not officially disclosed until Tuesday, when Kidd lifted a suppression order that had failed to stop news from spreading over the Internet and into media outlets. Weve got to help our people, said 18-year-old Yoiner Jalez, an anti-government militant living in a camp in the Colombian border city of Cucuta. Even as opposition leaders called for at least a temporary halt in the effort at breaking Maduros blockade, Jalez said that he and other militant youths were planning an attempt to take a border bridge and clear a corridor for humanitarian aid. All we have now are rocks, molotovs, slingshots and shields, he said. We need arms to continue this. London, England February 27, 2019. Chucklefish LTD. Today we're pleased to announce that Timespinner by Seattle-based developer Bodie Lee of Lunar Ray Games, has just launched an update featuring 7 new languages across PC, PlayStation 4 and PS Vita. Thanks to strong player demand and the fantastic work of Riotloc, the localisation team behind Tearaway, Divinity Original Sin II & Cuphead, Timespinner is now additionally playable in French, German, Spanish, Brazilian-Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese and Japanese! Praise for Timespinner: "Aspiring to one of the best 2D platformers ever made is a noble goal, and Timespinner comes closer to the mark than almost anything I've ever seen. - 9/10, Destructoid About Timespinner Explore an intricate, connected world with beautifully drawn and detailed pixel art environments.Traverse between the barren present and luscious past of Lachiem, collecting elemental magic orbs and combining their power to destroy enemies with blades and spells. Befriend mysterious creatures called Familiars, such as the adorable dream dragon Meyef, and train them to aid you in battle. Test your skills and timing with intense boss battles, and you venture forth to take on the Emperor himself! Available now for 14.99 / 16,99 / $19.99. Review keys available for request! For interview opportunities with developer Bodie Lee of Lunar Ray Games, please contact [email protected] to arrange. French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking in a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said a Brexit delay would need to be justified by new British choices, suggesting that Mays government would need to signal where this is all headed versus asking for more time just because they are stuck. Peskova, who often uses her Frenchified name of Lisa as she documents her luxe life on social media, is among the best known of the Kremlin children. Her Instagram account, with more than 82,000 followers, is a paean to the escapades available to the Russian elite: fittings at exclusive Moscow boutiques; hugs with her father in front of Le Bristol, a Parisian temple to glamour; traditional lezginka dancing and partying alongside Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov in Chechnya, where she also learned how to shoot automatic rifles. Newsbrief: Sources speaking to the South Korean publication Maeil Business Newspaper say that Amazon, Comcast, and Electronic Arts have each submitted initial bids for NXC Corp, the holding firm that houses Nexon. That initial report, spotted by Reuters today, cites investment banking sources for the information, but Reuters notes that all parties involved either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment. If true, that would mean that the three companies join the likes of Netmarble, Tencent, and the private equity fund PBK Partners as parties rumored to be interested in picking up Nexon after the companys founder Kim Jung-ju expressed interest in selling his 98.64 percent controlling stake in the company. Netmarble, in particular, is reportedly after Nexon in part due to concerns about the company falling into the hands of an overseas owner. "We believe that the tangible and intangible value of Nexon is a very important asset for the country," said a statement from Netmarble earlier this year. "If Nexon is sold to an overseas firm, the Korean game industry and ecosystem could be damaged and its competitiveness weakened." British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said that he was very concerned about the rising tensions and that he had spoken with his Indian and Pakistani counterparts about it. Neither side wants to see this escalate further, but this is going to take really critical restraint in the days ahead, he said. Russias Foreign Ministry expressed hope for the de-escalation of the situation. But if Trump is going to go and meet with Kim Jong Un, there is a real question as to whether he is going to bring this up. No one knows if Trump has even heard about this case. Im not sure if people even care, Bailey said before Trumps summit with the North Korean leader in Hanoi this week, adding that he feels powerless. But course corrections usually have to be made, one way or another. And the other Republicans who opposed Trump on Tuesdays wall vote are those trying to point the party in a different direction, one more tolerant of minorities and women that includes a return to a more globally oriented economy than Trumps America First vision. So what is this bill actually going to do? asked Hudson, a leading gun rights proponent. Its going to turn a law-abiding American into a criminal when you loan your shotgun to your buddy to go dove hunting. Its going to make it illegal for a victim of stalking to borrow a gun from a neighbor for protection. . . . Meanwhile, criminals are going to continue to get their firearms, whether its through theft or the black market or on the street. The move came a day after the U.S. press corps was kicked out of its filing center in Hanoi at the request of the North Korean entourage. The White House booked conference facilities at the Melia hotel as a press workspace, paid for by news organizations, but the hotel in the heart of the city also happened to be where Kim and his delegation decided to stay. As Kims motorcade headed toward Hanoi on Tuesday, Vietnamese officials suddenly booted the U.S. media from the hotel and relocated their operations to a separate site sharing space with the international press corps. A significant source of irritation among Republicans upset with Hawley is how the senator injected questions about Raos personal views into a discussion about whether she should be confirmed. Hawley told Axios that he has heard from at least one person who said Rao personally told them she was pro-choice, although Hawley acknowledged in the interview that he was not sure whether that was true. But if there was one thing the two men agreed on, it was that this summit was going to be a success. Disbelief and misunderstandings were everywhere, and old hostile habits were getting in our way, but weve overcome it well, come face to face and walked all the way to Hanoi in 260 days, Kim Jong Un said in the photo op with Trump. I think its been a time period that took me more agony, effort and patience than ever. I am confident a great result will be produced this time to be welcomed by everyone, and I will do my best toward that goal. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions, said the main reason for the separation was that the consultants concluded they were not in sync with the direction the campaign was determined to pursue. Still, questions remain about the specific nature of the disagreement and how welcomed the consultants were in a campaign that is different from last time. Harris has claimed no knowledge of Dowlesss methods and said there were no red flags before he hired him in 2017. However, he was contradicted during last weeks hearings by his son John, an assistant U.S. attorney who testified that he warned his father in conversations and emails in 2017 against hiring Dowless because he suspected the operative had used illegal tactics to win votes in a previous election. Theres no question the Republican House failed, and they failed us in securing the border, but they also failed to make good on the promise to him that we would get that money for the wall, Conway said. They completely lied about that. When you have a friendly witness you get them to tell their story, so by unofficially compartmentalizing the testimonial process, he cant do that, said Lynch, who added that it just does not work well mechanically. Lynch said he will try to follow the rules but argued that were trying to bring some transparency to the process, but while were doing that were also not having a full and open and honest discussion. Speaker Pelosi and the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force are moving strategically, and they are moving thoughtfully, said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun-control advocacy group founded by former New York mayor Michael A. Bloomberg that works closely with Democratic lawmakers. I think its going to be step by step, and I think that what youre going to see is the leadership look at the data look at whats most important from a policy perspective and gauge what the public wants most. Stone was indicted in January as part of the special counsel investigation, charged with seven counts of lying to Congress and obstruction of justice. The special counsel did not allege that Stone spoke to Assange or that he gave Trump advance knowledge of WikiLeaks plans. Cohen said he was not sure how to corroborate his allegation, and he stopped short of accusing Trump of conspiring with Russia to influence the election though he noted Trump was all about winning and will do what is necessary to win. The UK auto industry would have to close, says Kirkegaard. Nor would it be an isolated example, he adds. Supermarkets have already warned that they wont be able to import many fresh fruits and vegetables from the continent. An economic study by the Bank of England estimated that a disorderly no deal could result in as much as a 10 percent drop in the economy (gross domestic product). The pain would be shared with E.U. countries, because the United Kingdom is a large market for their exports. In the days after he submitted his resignation as secretary of defense in December, Jim Mattis told people he hoped to be succeeded by Patrick Shanahan, his deputy. That was two months ago, and Shanahan has remained in limbo since the beginning of the year as acting secretary, perhaps trying to convince President Trumps critics that he will be independent, the way Mattis was, while simultaneously reassuring the White House that he wont. The presidents apparatchiks also gave us an instructive hint as to what an unrestrained Trump might do to the free press. They excluded White House reporters Jonathan Lemire of the Associated Press and Jeff Mason of Reuters from the press pool covering the dinner between Trump and Kim for daring to ask inconvenient questions of our countrys elected leader. This wasnt the work of Kim or Vietnams authoritarian government. It was the imperious action of a man who wishes he could live without the accountability that free government imposes. Moreover, this entire debate isnt really about military preparedness but social engineering changing the way people perceive things so that they can be arranged according to the designs of a relatively very few. Whats missing from all such cultural arrangements is a full appreciation of human nature, which remains essentially the same through most of time. Progressives will twist themselves into balloon poodles trying to codify gender differences, but heaven forbid we should speak of sex differences, not to mention cultural adaptations to better ensure survival of the species. U.S. Embassy allowed to visit jailed American in Moscow: The U.S. Embassy in Moscow said a representative has been allowed to visit jailed fund manager Michael Calvey, detained over fraud allegations. The embassy had previously said that Russia was not allowing access. Calvey, who co-founded the private equity firm Baring Vostok, was detained with five others in Moscow on Feb. 15. Baring Vostok says the fraud allegations spring from a business dispute among shareholders of Russia's Vostochny Bank, in which Baring Vostok holds a controlling stake. Kosolcharoen said the recent infections will not impede Liveyons success. He and Gaveck said the company recently set up its own laboratory, so it wont have to rely on outside manufacturers. They are already aggressively marketing vials being produced by their new lab under the label Liveyon Pure and have increased their asking price by $200 a vial. While some areas could see six inches of rain or more and as much as 12 inches in the mountains the storms intensity will not be enough to cause disastrous mudslides in areas denuded by a string of devastating wildfires, such as Shasta and Lake counties, the Weather Service said. You can cherry pick and find a study that may make an alternative point, but were living in a world that everybody objectively knows is different from the world we were born into, Arroyo testified. We are seeing changes that are much faster and more severe than we had anticipated 30 years ago when I started looking at this. The principal at Madison Trust Elementary School in Loudoun County, Va., sent a letter to parents on Feb. 12 apologizing for a culturally insensitive lesson on the Underground Railroad. Kids, black and white, were supposed to use cooperation and devise strategies to get everyone to freedom. A school spokesman said students were not assigned the role of slaves. The parents of an African American student contacted the president of the Loudoun chapter of the NAACP, however, to say that their son had played a runaway slave. John Rossi knows why he almost fell for the scam: His brain had been tenderized by recent events. Hed been away from home for three weeks on a trip. Hed returned to a burst pipe. And hed just switched from mailing in a check for his electric bill to paying online. When his Caller ID lit up with a call from Pepco, he was primed to believe some bad news. Theres a reason Florida is called the Sunshine State we have more of it than nearly every other state. Sunshine improves our moods and energy, and brings us some much-needed Vitamin D. Clear blue skies also attract tourists, and that keeps our economy churning. But as anyone whos been in the sun too long can tell you, there can be too much of a good thing the pain of a sunburn can be brutal. Humans arent the only ones that can be scorched by Floridas sunshine. Vehicles, boats and RVs also take a beating from the elements, but protecting those assets from the sun isnt as easy as slapping on some sunblock or putting on a hat. RVs are especially susceptible to UV and weather-related damage if theyre stored outdoors for extended periods. Some impacts of prolonged exposure include dried out tires and awnings, cracked vinyl and leather, faded or warped paint, mold growth from pooling water and even insect or rodent infestation. Parking under a tree is not a suitable alternative because tree sap can leave sticky spots, fallen leaves can discolor the exterior and birds can leave their droppings, all of which can ruin paint jobs. Given those impacts and the fact that new Class C RVs generally are sold at $50,000 and above, and premier Class A RVs can top $1 million, some might be surprised that so many RV owners arent adequately protecting an asset that easily costs as much as a three-bedroom house. National data show RV ownership is growing, particularly among Baby Boomers, and manufacturers were expected to ship more than 500,000 new units in 2018, according to the RV Industry Association. The Naples and Fort Myers areas, of course, are seeing an influx of permanent and seasonal residents from that demographic, so its no surprise many RV owners are finding no vacancy signs at covered storage facilities. While youre enjoying your RV on the open highway, theres no way around sun exposure. The key to extending the life of an RV is preventative maintenance, much like a personal vehicle or home, and proper storage. RV owners should study seven factors when considering a storage facility: Location: Is the facility convenient and easy to access? Price: Does the monthly rate fit into your budget and reasonable for the level of services provided? Covered or enclosed: Is a covered space acceptable, or do you require a fully enclosed space? Security: Does the facility limit access and have 24/7 video surveillance systems? Sprinklers: Is the entire facility equipped with a fire sprinkler system for protection? Amenities: Will you have access to electrical connections, a sewer pump-out station, wash bay and air stations? Management: Does the facility have local, on-site management personally vested in the operation? While were fortunate in Southwest Florida that we dont have to worry about winterizing our RVs, we have to summerize them, which means protecting RVs from the very same climate that brought us here. Guy Paparella is owner and developer of Elite RV & Boat Storage, a premier storage facility opening March 1 between Naples and Fort Myers. For more information or reservations, visit EliteRVBoatStorage.com or call 239-768-2225. Shangri La Dr. N., 21800 block, 11:40 a.m. Feb. 20. A woman distracted a female that was exiting a business, and asked the female a question. The woman attempted to snatch the females purse, but when the purse owner resisted, she was sprayed in the face with mace. A 30-year-old woman of no fixed address and her 31-year-old accomplice husband were arrested at a nearby business in the restroom. Each was charged with armed robbery, robbery, second-degree assault, theft and malicious destruction of property. Everybody who comes to this center initially is not coming for housing, she said. Thats fine. But see, for me, you keep coming back and eventually, were going to engage you. Youre going to be the one person who didnt want to tell us your name, but after a while, youre going to get so used to us seeing you, eventually youre going to forget you didnt tell us when I ask, Whats your name again? And thats how we start to turn a corner. Hasson was taken into custody at work this month after a computer program the Coast Guard uses to search for insider threats flagged suspicious activity connected to him, federal authorities said. After executing a search warrant at his Silver Spring home and office, law enforcement uncovered a cache of weapons in the basement apartment Hasson lived in as well as a spreadsheet of traitors and politicians and media personalities he planned to attack, prosecutors said. Some of the states most liberal counties, including Montgomery, have already adopted a $15 wage, however. And several lawmakers who ran on minimum-wage platforms in 2018 were elected, adding to the pressure this year to pass the bill, which has 75 co-sponsors in the 141-member House. Bob Garner, the owner of Glory Days Grill, said the added cost of a wage increase would upend the business model for his seven full-service restaurants. Many of his employees already make more than a $15 hourly wage, he said, but if the wage floor rises, his labor costs will exceed profits. Beach businesses are growing, but residents who live nearby are dealing with the unintended consequences of noise and garbage. At least weeks Fort Myers Beach Town Council meeting, a first hearing was held for an addition to the noise ordinance that could help some residents sleep at night. Doris Grant lives on Crescent Street. She and her husband go to bed early, only to be awakend, they say, by loud music from across the street. We have called the sheriff at least 25 times, and of course they respond, but they never have a decibel reader with them, she told Council during public comment. The current ordinance requires a decibel reading to administer a violation. Originally, this was put into place to keep noise laws consistent across Lee County, according to Town Manager Roger Hernstadt. (It was) so that they didnt have officers responding in one area looking at a different code than another area, he said. But in the event that an officer doesnt respond with a decibel reader, council is looking at an addition to the ordinance that could still allow the noise to be measured. If noise is audible 1000 feet from the property line of the originator, that would be a violation, said Hernstadt. Grant told council she was pleased with this addition, but Councilmember Anita Cereceda had concerns. This to me is so subjective, she said. There are some people who are unhappy with where they happen to live and the imposition of how the neighborhood has changed. This can become a tool used against individuals and businesses, she said. Mayor Tracey Gore disagreed. I think this gives the citizens of the town a tool of their own to be protected, she said. Weve had that house for 50 years, its been in the family. Everything built around us, said Grant. Council requested input from the Lee County Sheriffs Office and scheduled a second hearing of the ordinance for the next regular town council meeting on March 4. Another discussion at the meeting centered around a similar dispute. Nervous Nellies applied for a permit that would waive the conditions of the noise ordinance and authorize consumption of alcohol in Bayside Park, which is town property, for its annual St. Patricks Day event. Regardless of the proposed changes to the noise ordinance, businesses can apply for these special permits if they know an event will be loud and run late. Applying for an exception to the noise ordinance requires prior written notification to all property owners within 500 feet of the businesss property line. But noise wasnt the problem for Manager Tyler Lemmer. Councilmember Bruce Butcher questioned him about complaints from neighbors regarding garbage. Were pretty responsible when it comes to moving garbage from our back door over to the Dumpster area. The particular problem is that we have a neighbor that has the tendency to use you as a weapon against us, he told the council. A neighbor has been sending the town manager and council members photos of garbage left behind the restaurant overnight. Lemmer said they installed a gate around their backdoor to block view of the garbage to passersby, but its not high enough to block the view from the condos across the street. The Dumpster is located in the back of the parking lot next door over at the condos, so we have to physically haul all of our garbage a couple hundred yards, he told council. The employee who closes the restaurant at night doesnt run the last bag of garbage out to the Dumpster for security reasons, but Lemmer told council he would be willing to start doing it now as a compromise for their neighbors. Council approved his permit unanimously. In Other Business: March 2019 was proclaimed Problem Gambling Awareness Month at the request of the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling. Council set a second hearing for changes to the towing ordinance, which would update the rates to reflect Lee Countys current rate structure Hernstadt informed the public that the total grant amount the town has received for the stormwater project in the last two years exceeds $5 million. Council unanimously nominated Tom Babcock for the towns 2019 Citizen of Distinction Award for his work on the islands overflight issues In 2019, we should not have to explain the seriousness of using this epithet, Brown, a former state delegate from Prince Georges and lieutenant governor who lost the governors race to Hogan in 2014, said in a statement. This hateful word was and is still callously used in an effort to dehumanize black Americans. The racism evoked by this word is all too real, and it has no place in anyones vocabulary. Bailey Ct., 400 block, midnight to 1 p.m. Feb. 14. A man entered a female acquaintances residence and when a resident confronted him he took her purse before fleeing. The man returned to the residence later and grabbed and pushed the female and then fled from the area after a brief fight. A 20-year-old Reston man was arrested and charged. No information was available Tuesday about a cause of death or identity. Police said they did not think the victim was killed where he was found. I would almost guarantee that thats true, not only because of the seriousness of purpose that you clearly bring to addressing this but because your county has been scrutinized in a way that none other has, board President Justin M. Hartings said as Goldson and Thornton appeared before the state board. The District is unique among cities in its control of sprawling human-services programs normally administered by states and counties. Those functions make up a substantial part of the citys annual budget of more than $14 billion. The citys management of federal welfare programs, in particular, has been dogged by complaints and controversy over the past several years. Tatum says shes heard similar comments from white parents in one case, someone boasting that a little girl had pointed out a friend on a playground without any mention of the friends race or skin color, even though the most obvious thing about her was that shes the only black girl on the playground, Tatum says. The parents might say that the fact that their daughter didnt mention it means shes colorblind. But it tells me that their daughter is color-silenced. Its not that she didnt notice, but that she somehow learned shes not supposed to mention it. And saying, Shes the black girl on the swing set theres nothing wrong with that. Although many experts doubt that Kim will give up the nuclear weapons he probably sees as his best guarantee of continued rule, there was excitement among many in Hanoi as the final preparations were made for the meeting. After his opening remarks, Cohen, with his weary, hangdog look, affected a penitent air. A man may be practiced at lying and still be a lousy actor; you didnt have the sense on this day that he was performing. Or, conversely, that he has gained much in the way of wisdom. He came across most sincerely as a man who regretted his association with Trump and the impact of his crimes on his family. But thats a long way from someone for whom an audience can feel authentic compassion. In the very best of them Portrait of a Young Woman, Bust Portrait of a Young Man With an Inscription and the portraits of Alessandro Vittoria, Gabriel de la Cueva and Gabriele Albani Moroni seems less concerned with fussing over the light and texture of his subjects accessories than on getting their faces and flesh tones right. And not just getting them right, but using all of his artistry, touch and sense of truth to convey their urgent, unmediated, intelligent, animal presence. Todays Headlines The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Decatur, IL (62521) Today Scattered showers and thunderstorms. High around 80F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely. Low near 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Images Sorry, there are no recent results for popular images. Hells Canyon is the deepest gorge in North America. But until now, no one had defined how, when, and why it formed. Ever since he first visited the canyon on a geology field trip in 2010, Matthew Morriss has wanted to find out. Morriss, now completing his Ph.D. in geology at the a University of Oregon, has discovered that a combination of faulting, river piracy, and the drainage of a giant lake in Idaho are all factors that sculpted Hells Canyon into its present form. His research is funded by the National Science Foundation. People have been sniffing around the idea of a fault defining Hells Canyon for decades, Morris said. But because the river has eroded much of the traditional evidence of a big faultfeatures known as breccia and slickensides-- evidence has been hard to find. Working with a collaborator at University of Washington, Phil Schoettle-Greene, Morriss found that the Columbia River basalts on the Idaho side of the canyon were about 3,000 feet higher than equivalent flows on the Oregon side. Then, when I hiked from Heavens Gate in the Seven Devils down to the Snake River, I could physically document that there were high elevation basalts in the Seven Devils but there were no basalts that were equivalent on the Oregon side, Morriss said. It really seemed to be a normal fault, where the Oregon side had dropped down relative to Idaho and the Seven Devils, he said. Theres other evidence for a fault, toothe strata on the east side of Hells Canyon tilt back a little bit toward the east, which is exactly what youd expect if there is a normal fault where Hells canyon is today. Faults, or breaks in the earths crust where one side has moved relative to the other, generally produce straight-line features. And Hells Canyon, especially from about Copperfield to Pittsburg Landing, is about as straight as any geologic feature can get. Faults are also zones of weakness in the Earths crustand easily eroded. Rivers are notorious for carving their valleys and canyons through these straight-line zones of weak and broken rock. So it makes perfect sense that the Snake River would excavate Hells Canyon along the Hells Canyon fault. How the Snake River began flowing north as it eroded Hells Canyon is another fascinating part of the story. Morris noted that 10 million years ago a much smaller streamperhaps an ancestral version of todays Pine Creek that now runs from Cornucopia to the Snakeflowed north along the same course as todays Snake River. A different stream flowed south from somewhere around Farewell Bend into Lake Idaho-- a very large lake that occupied much of the Boise area and present Snake River Plain. Lake Idaho extended north to Ontario and the Farewell Bend area. Those light-colored sedimentary layers that you see along Interstate 84 as you near Ontario are 4 to 10 million year old Lake Idaho sediments. Because the gradient of the north-flowing stream was steeper, its waters had more erosive power. Four to five million years ago, its canyon may have been a substantial gorge resembling the modern Imnaha Canyon, Morris said. Through a process of stream capture (also known as stream piracy) the powerful northbound creek eroded farther and farther into the drainage of the smaller southbound stream, eventually capturing its channel and tributaries. By about 4 million years ago, the southbound stream had been replaced by a northbound drainage the eventual Snake River. At some point, perhaps 4 to 3.5 million years ago, this ambitious northbound stream tapped into the huge water supply of Lake Idaho. This event probably occurred somewhere around the present location of Oxbow, Oregon. We dont know whether it was sudden event or gradual, or whether the capture of Lake Idaho occurred because of an unusually high lake level, Morriss said. It could have been a catastrophic event like the Ice Age floods. It might have been gradual. Theres no specific evidence either way. With the capture of Lake Idahos waters, the modern Snake River was born. This newly formed river had a huge watershed, from the Tetons in Wyoming to parts of Nevada and most of Idaho. That enormous drainage system and the volume of water that it poured into the Snake fueled the further erosion of the canyon, Morriss said. How rapidly did the newly inaugurated Snake River cut its canyon? To find out, Morriss resorted to both old-fashioned and new-fangled technologies. When I did the big hike from the Seven Devils down to the river, I collected rock samples from the top to the bottom, he said. Those samples will enable Morriss to determine how rapidly the rocks in Hells Canyon were uplifted from depth and reached the surface. The rate of uplift seems rapid. Rocks that are now high on the Idaho side of Hells Canyon were more than a half-mile beneath the earths surface only 8 million years ago, according to uranium + thorium/helium dating of apatite crystals. * (See Sidebar) While the landscape rose, the river cut its canyon. But how fast, and when did serious down cutting begin? For that, Morriss resorted to caving. Caves form at the level of the water table. In Hells Canyon that means river level. During floods, the Snake River would flood the river-level caves, depositing sediments inside the caverns. Then, as the river cut down farther, new caverns would form and the older caves would be left stranded where floodwater would never reach. If Morriss could determine how old the sediments were in the stranded caves, he could tell how long ago the Snake Rivers channel was at that elevation. Ive crawled through more than 50 caves in Hells Canyon, Morriss said. Ive found sediments in two of them above Big Bar, and Ill be exploring more caves this year. How do you figure out how long a cobble or a grain of sand has been hidden in a cave? By using a technique called cosmogenic radionuclide dating which determines how long since that sample was last exposed to sunlight and cosmic rays. Morriss cave samples are presently being analyzed at Purdue University. Morriss research supports the long-held notion that Hells Canyon, and the Snake Rivers present course are relatively young, geologically speaking. The Snake River began flowing along its present course probably about 4 million years ago, aided and abetted by the drainage of Lake Idaho. The Hells Canyon fault, like the Wallowa fault, was probably most active about 14 to about 4 million years ago. Today, both faults seem to offer little threat of earthquakes, although small quakes of magnitude 2 and 3 occur every few years. But the Hells Canyon fault did offer an easy, straight channel for an opportunistic river, and a canyon thats a Wallowa County treasure, if not a national icon. Answer to when a farmer is a farmer State definition makes it almost impossible for farmers to qualify for homestead tax credits Angel investor tax credit could be on its way back to Minnesota Its just a lot of money, he said. SMC will use cash on hand for the purchase. Toline said SMCs operations have been profitable in recent years and the health care organization has been able to set money aside for capital improvements or purchases such as this. He said SMC was in a good financial position right now. In the coming months, SMC staff and board will be working through financial numbers to see what are the possibilities for the property. No decisions have been made yet. We will have to look at that, he said. Specialty clinics, urgent care or other clinic space are some of the possibilities for the building. It gives us some flexibility in thinking creative about we can best provide for our community, Toline said. The goal will be to run performance numbers and analysis that can be presented to the board before any decision is made. Well do some brainstorming and analysis so we can say heres three or four ideas and heres the one that we think is the best, he said. In addition to the building and lots, the negotiated agreement also includes an x-ray machine. Mach said he recently saw similar incidents in a short period of time and reported each one. Three trucks in one day within five hours its ridiculous! said Mach. Mike Terrell, terminal manager for Atomic Transport, said they want to be part of the solution, not the problem. His company has been hauling trash to David City for nine months, and has received only four tickets in that time, he said. You shouldve had tickets for every load you hauled, Supervisor Scott Sukstorf said to Terrell. Stukenholtz said there would definitely be more citations if he had the resources to focus solely on this problem. If I had the personnel to set out on that highway, we would be a boatload of tickets, he said. The main issue is with the tarps that cover the trucks. Sukstorf said they are inadequate for the load that is being hauled. He uses roll tarps in his farming operation that keep the load 100 percent contained, he explained. Eduardo Gonzalez, district manager for Stella Environmental Services, said they looking at ways to fasten the tarps more securely. We are constantly trying to find a solution to fix the problem, he said. ASHLAND One of the perks of being a volunteer on the fire department or rescue squad is being questioned by the Ashland City Council. Mike Meyer was elected fire chief at the beginning of the year, taking over for long-time chief Brian Whitehead who opted not to run for chief again in order to focus on his business and family. As the new chief, Meyer is looking to make some changes that will entice members of both the fire and rescue departments to remain members. That includes allowing members to use the fire station free of charge for small personal events. This is just something Id like to do to retain these people, he said. Meyer spoke to the city council about this issue at the Feb. 21 council meeting. He was accompanied by Ashland Rescue Captain Shannon Fries, who said many other communities allow members free use of the fire station. Its quite common for fire departments, said Fries. Council Member Bruce Wischmann said he is aware of the practice. It does forge a certain amount of camaraderie and togetherness within the department and I think you kind of need that, he said. Because the DEA agent did not know how to change a tire, Brewer was forced to accomplish the task. The DEA agent was the look-out man, but being inexperienced he did not notice a vehicle that came up behind them. Soon they were being fired upon by an insurgent bearing an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade). An RPG came by the right side of me and impacted the vehicle, Brewer said. Brewers right side was riddled with shrapnel as he was catapulted in the air. The DEA agent assumed Brewer had been blown to bits, so he jumped in the vehicle and took off. Bleeding and unable to see out of one eye, Brewer reached for his rifle as he saw the insurgent reloading the RPG. He and I had an exchange of emotions and I won, he said. Brewers only chance at escape was to catch the DEA agent. He ran towards the vehicle. At the same time, the agent saw the gun battle and realized Brewer was alive. He put the Toyota in reverse and headed toward Brewer. In the chaos, the agent actually ran over Brewer, adding to the colonels injuries. They sped to a hospital at nearby Kabul International Airport. There a Belgian guard turned them away because Brewer did not have a pass to enter. Real-life horrors The abortion industry has a hard sell convincing Americans that more than 1 million intentional killings of pre-born humans is something that helps make America great. A recent assist for the abortion industry came from the Motion Picture Association of America, which tossed a wet blanket on the film depiction of the Abby Johnson story. The MPAA gave the movie an R-rating for showing fetal life and bloody images resulting from abortion. The movie Unplanned tells the story of my friend Abbys transition from abortion facility manager in Bryan, Texas, into a dedicated and powerful commitment to defending babies in the womb. The Unplanned team designed the movie to assure a PG-13 rating so teens could see the movie without adult accompaniment. Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman, co-writers and co-directors of Unplanned, objected to the R-rating, stating the MPAA allowed scenes of remarkable graphic sex, violence, degradation, murder and mayhem to have a PG-13 rating, whereas our film, highlighting the grave dangers of abortion in a straightforward manner, is considered dangerous for the American people to view. While disappointed, the movie producers will not appeal. Unplanned is set to open in 800 theaters on March 29. Pro-Life Waco will host a pre-screening of the movie on March 28. While voicing sympathy for all campus personnel, Sen. Nelson, a former teacher, made the case for narrowing the focus of this pay hike to those who we believe [are] the most important factor other than parents in a childs life. While it certainly takes many to educate a child in our schools, teachers more than other personnel are regularly in the trenches, day in and day out. Consider this abridged testimony before the committee by Spring Branch ISD science teacher Gina Disteldorf, offered without tears or anger, just a sense of weary resignation: Ive been teaching science for 29 years, I love my job and I plan to keep teaching for a while. Two years ago I had 125 students and two 52-minute off periods to do everything I needed to do. Last year I ended up with 30 extra students 155 students and the same amount of time to do all my work, but my pay was less due to the increase in insurance, even though my insurance choices didnt change. This year I now have 185 students and only one 52-minute off period to do all my lesson-planning, my translating for my [English Language Learner] kids, my differentiation for my special ed level kids, all my grading, my meetings with parents, my meetings for testing, my meetings for special ed, all the work I do and Im actually getting paid even less. Again, my insurance is the same plan. Ive in the past always taken work home with me, but this year I find Im working even longer hours at school. President Donald Trump has few bigger allies than me when it comes to supporting his vision of 21st-century border security, encompassing a major investment in technology, personnel and infrastructure, including new physical barriers where they will be effective. Its a vision that will take many years and tens of billions of dollars to fully realize, and the president can count on me to help. The president is rightfully frustrated with Congress inaction regarding the humanitarian and security crisis at the nations southern border. Even though Republicans and Democrats spent the past several decades in the halls of Congress and on the campaign trail promising the American people that they would work to secure U.S. borders, some of my colleagues seemingly made a politically calculated decision to block the presidents good-faith efforts to finally get it done. They have regressed to the point where a Democratic presidential contender such as Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and a possible candidate, former congressman Beto ORourke of Texas, are even entertaining the possibility of tearing down existing physical barriers. Although Trump certainly has legitimate grievances over congressional Democrats obstruction of border-security funding, his national emergency declaration on Feb. 15 was not the right answer. Reporters for the three wire services, as well as a second print pooler, were excluded. They included two journalists who had asked Trump questions in the earlier appearances: Jonathan Lemire of the AP and Jeff Mason of Reuters. Also excluded were Justin Sink of Bloomberg and Eli Stokols of the Los Angeles Times. In a statement, Sanders said: Due to the sensitive nature of the meetings we have limited the pool for the dinner to a smaller group, but ensured that representation of photographers, TV, radio and print Poolers are all in the room. We are continuing to negotiate aspects of this historic summit and will always work to make sure the U.S. media has as much access as possible. Sanders did not specify whether the White House was retaliating against journalists who asked questions at the request of Trump or of Kim or the North Korean delegation. Asked by The Washington Post to clarify, Sanders referred to her written statement. Journalists in the pool asked Sanders repeatedly whether North Korea was responsible for the White Houses decision to curb access, but she declined to give a direct answer. I wouldnt say that, she said, according to two people present for the discussions. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied requests Tuesday from Billie Wayne Coble to delay his execution scheduled for Thursday or to reduce his death sentence to a life prison term. Coble, 70, remains scheduled for execution by lethal injection Thursday in Huntsville. Coble was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to die in the 1989 slayings of his brother-in-law, Waco police Sgt. Bobby Vicha, and Vichas parents, Robert and Zelda Vicha, at their homes in Axtell. He has had several stays of execution over the years, but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied his request for another stay of execution last week. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Coble in October, which prompted Waco's 54th State District Judge Matt Johnson to set his execution date. Court officials said they expect a similar outcome should Coble file an 11th-hour request for a stay of execution through the federal court system. . . , 20 . , , , . " ".... The Huntsville/Madison County Chamber put together the Second Chance Job Fair Wednesday to help expose people in the city to all its job opportunities. About 650 job seekers attended as representatives from more than 60 companies lined up to shake hands and take resumes from people anxious to work. Georgina Chapman, Workforce Director at the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber, talks with a job seeker about ASmartPlace.com Georgina Chapman, Workforce Director at the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber, talks with a job seeker about ASmartPlace.com Representatives from Capital Management Services talk with job seekers about available positions Representatives from Capital Management Services talk with job seekers about available positions The event aimed to help everyone looking for work, whether someone dropped out of high school or has a criminal background. Frederick Moseley was laid off from his job more than a year ago and said the event was a perfect opportunity. "It's awesome that people take their time to put together an opportunity like this to help other people out that are looking for a job, he said. If you missed the fair, you can visit the Alabama Career Center, 2535 Sparkman Dr NW, Huntsville. The center will help put you in contact with local businesses looking to hire. Industry leaders and educators met Wednesday to officially open the Advanced Manufacturing Center. The facility will house Calhoun Community College's Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) program going forward. The center is part of the Alabama Robotics Technology Park, which sits across the the Calhoun campus in Decatur annexed Limestone County. Use of the center comes from a partnership between the State of Alabama, AIDT, Toyota and the Alabama Community College System among others. Students in the program gave a tour of the site to business leaders and educators who may want to join in the program, including people from out of state. Dante Thomas, a student in his fifth and final semester in the FAME program, said after trying his hand at electrical engineering, making the switch to FAME was absolutely the right call. "I've put in my time, I'm almost done, and they've taught me a lot of stuff about motor controls, PLC's and how machines actually work. It's mind-blowing," said Thomas. Following the ribbon cutting and tour, guests were able to stay for information sessions as a part of the day's AMT Live! session. That included talks from businesses who have partnered with FAME in Alabama as well as hearing from the students who are going through the course now. To learn more about the FAME program, click here. (CNN) -- A former Trump campaign staffer is suing President Donald Trump and his campaign, alleging that the then-Republican presidential candidate kissed her without her consent during the 2016 race. She's also suing over equal pay -- claiming that she was paid less for her work based on race and gender. Alva Johnson, a former Trump campaign staffer who lives in Alabama, alleges in a lawsuit filed Monday that Trump grabbed her hand and forcibly kissed her without her consent inside an RV in Florida in August 2016. The Washington Post reports Johnson lives in Madison County. The Associated Press reports she lives in Huntsville. While Trump was meeting with volunteers and signing autographs inside the RV, "Ms. Johnson noticed that Defendant Trump was watching her and appeared to be trying to make eye contact with her," the lawsuit alleges. After Trump was alerted by Secret Service that he was due for his next rally, she urged him "to go in there and 'kick ass.'" Trump then allegedly grasped her hand and praised her efforts. "As Defendant Trump spoke, he tightened his grip on Ms. Johnson's hand and leaned towards her. He moved close enough that she could feel his breath on her skin," the lawsuit states. "Ms. Johnson suddenly realized that Defendant Trump was trying to kiss her on the mouth, and attempted to avoid this by turning her head to the right. Defendant Trump kissed her anyway, and the kiss landed on the corner of her mouth." The lawsuit alleges that several witnesses saw incident, including then-Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, then-State Director Karen Giorno, and Regional Directors Earl "Tony" Ledbetter, Mitch Tyner and Nick Corvino. The lawsuit alleges that Bondi smiled when the incident occurred and Giorno "grabbed Ms. Johnson's elbow and gave it an approving tug." After the incident, on her way to the campaign's state headquarters in Sarasota, Florida, the suit claims that "Johnson called her partner, and then her parents, to tell them about what had happened, crying as she recalled the incident." The lawsuit says Giorno had arrived in Sarasota earlier "and was already sharing the details with other Campaign staff." The lawsuit's existence was first reported by The Washington Post. Bondi said in a statement to CNN that the allegations Alva Johnson are making are "false." "As a career prosecutor and Attorney General, had I seen anything improper I would have taken action," Bondi said. "I was with the president in the RV and these allegations are false." Giorno did not respond to CNN's request for comment. Both she and Bondi told the Post that they did not recall the incident in the RV and denied reacting in the manner which Johnson described. Johnson, whose background was in event planning and human resources, voted for Democrats in previous election cycles. "However, she was intrigued by the possibility of working on the campaign of a relatively unknown political outsider like Defendant Trump," the lawsuit states. But prior to being hired, Johnson says she first met Trump in November 2015 at a Birmingham, Alabama, rally. At that first encounter, Johnson alleges that he engaged in inappropriate behavior. When Johnson walked up introduced herself to Trump, he allegedly, "looked her up and down and said, 'Oh, beautiful, beautiful, fantastic.'" Johnson was hired in January 2016, but after the "Access Hollywood" tape was publicized in October 2016, Johnson sought legal counsel for guidance over the RV incident. About a week after the tape's release, Johnson quit the campaign. The lawyer ultimately decide not to take the case, according to the lawsuit. At her former lawyer's arrangement, Johnson saw a therapist. "She continued to feel considerable emotional distress because of the forced kiss, and had nightmares about it," the lawsuit claims. The lawsuit also claims that Johnson did not receive fair compensation, claiming that she was "vastly underpaid" when compared to her former male colleagues. "Ms. Johnson was also underpaid compared to similarly qualified and less qualified male staffers," the lawsuit states. "She did not know this fact until very recently. Ms. Johnson's experience is not isolated indeed, the Campaign engaged in systemic gender discrimination in pay against its female employees." CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. Kayleigh McEnany, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, said in a statement to CNN: "The Trump campaign has never discriminated based on race, ethnicity, gender, or any other basis. Any allegation suggesting otherwise is off base and unfounded." Hassan Zavareei, Johnson's Washington-based attorney, told CNN that Johnson is coming out publicly with her allegation of sexual misconduct against President Trump because she "decided that she couldn't be silent anymore." "She tried to hire a lawyer immediately after the 'Access Hollywood' tape came out ... After the lawyer decided it was basically too big a case for them and they weren't going to take it on, she decided to try to move on with her life," Zavareei said. But after Trump's election, Zavareei said Johnson has been overcome with a "sense of guilt and responsibility" for any role she may have played in helping Trump win the election. Johnson has been particularly upset about the Trump administration's policies affecting migrant families, Zavareei said. "I think the thing that moved her most was seeing the forced separations -- she's a mother and feels very deeply about -- was very emotionally affected, personally affected, by seeing Trump put young children and put them in cages. She decided that she couldn't be silent anymore," he said. Zavareei said his client is only one in a "long line of victims in Donald Trump's predation." "Unlike so many of the other victims, she's the only one with the ability to sue him directly for his sexual misconduct. The other lawsuits have been for defamation or some of the victims haven't been able to bring any lawsuits at all because they've been barred by statute of limitations," he said. "For that reason, I think she's uniquely situated to hold him accountable for an actual act of sexual assault." Zavareei added that with the launch of this lawsuit, Johnson is resigned to the fact that she is likely to be criticized from all sides. "She knows as an African-American woman who worked on the campaign and now coming out against Trump, She's probably going to take it from both sides but she's ready to stand up and take responsibility for what she did," he said. Johnson is now focused on doing "what she can to hold him accountable for his sexist and racist conduct." According to the Post, three months after hiring Zavareei last year, Johnson "moved to seal a years-old court case in which two family members sought a temporary restraining order against her," and was enjoined in the request to seal the records by the family members. On some of the reporting in the Post about her relatives in Georgia, Zavareei said it was a "silly sideshow" and that "everybody's on good terms" now. "It's a private family matter," Zavareei said, adding that is "totally irrelevant" to Johnson's case. Asked why Johnson and her family took this action, Zavareei said through a spokesperson that it was "to protect the privacy of her family." Clean-up is underway in Colbert County, where floodwaters have gone down in some neighborhoods. On Roosevelt Avenue in Muscle Shoals, residents are no longer having to use boats to get to their homes. However, some residents are having to rip out drywall to stop mold from growing in their homes. In some of these houses, the water got up at least a foot tall. Some residents' belongings are piled up along the street. They are hopeful a Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster deceleration will be signed by President Trump. Terry McGregor lives on Roosevelt Avenue and said now that the floodwaters have gone down, he's no longer having to use a boat to get to his house. "It's been kind of a clean-up process ... It was a huge mess in here earlier," he said. McGregor's church family stepped up to help his family rip out drywall and cabinets in their home. "They are putting what's in the bible into action, and it's one thing to talk about it and quote it back, but it's a whole lot of another thing to actually put it into real life, and I am so grateful," he said. While McGregor was cleaning up from the floods, state emergency management officials spent the day in Colbert County surveying flood damage to homes and other places. "We have to show that the impacts are more than the community can do," said Brett Howard, the director of recovery operations with the Alabama EMA. McGregor, who doesn't have flood insurance, hopes the federal government will step in and help the Shoals to recover. "I would hope the president would sign this and that what EMA and different ones are trying to accomplish will be effective and get us some help," he said. Jordan Peele. Photo: Michael Buckner/Variety/REX/Shutterstock/Michael Buckner/Variety/REX/Shu Hollywood is still learning from the success of Jordan Peeles Get Out, a social thriller that quickly became both a cultural phenomenon and the first great movie of the Trump era. (Also, it netted Peele the Best Original Screenplay honor at last years Oscars, making him the first black winner in the categorys history.) Since then, naturally, Peeles had no shortage of buzzy opportunities to replicate Get Outs success, which have included reviving one of the most famous television shows in history and writing and directing yet another big-screen horror outing. But for all the scaredy-cats out there who prefer Key & Peele Peele to Get Out Peele, he also has some non-spooky stuff on the horizon that you may love, too. Whether behind or in front of the camera, heres what to expect from Peele in 2019 and beyond. Television The Twilight Zone Your journey through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind, will come thanks to CBS All Access rebooting the iconic Twilight Zone with Peele executive producing, hosting, and narrating. The network has described Peeles vision as a modern reimagining of some of the shows most seminal episodes such as a Nightmare at 20,000 Feet with the likes of Adam Scott, John Cho, Kumail Nanjiani, Ike Barinholtz, and Ginnifer Goodwin confirmed to star. Rod Serling was an uncompromising visionary who not only shed light on social issues of his time, but prophesied issues of ours, Peele said at the time of the shows announcement. Im honored to carry on his legacy to a new generation of audiences as the gatekeeper of The Twilight Zone. Release date: April 1 The Hunt Peele is executive producing Amazons The Hunt, a ten-episode vengeance drama inspired by true events that follows a group of Nazi hunters who assembled in the 1970s to seek vigilante justice against members of the Reich who fled to the United States and disappeared with the assistance of the government. Al Pacino is making a rare jump from film to television for the lead Hunter role. I immediately knew that we had to be involved, Peele explained last year when Amazon confirmed its involvement. Its cathartic. Its noir. Its frighteningly relevant. Its exactly what I want to see on television. Expected release date: Late 2019 Lovecraft Country With a cast including Michael Kenneth Williams, Courtney B. Vance, and Elizabeth Debicki, Peele is executive producing Lovecraft Country as an HBO mini-series alongside J.J. Abrams. (Its adapted from the novel of the same name by Matt Ruff.) The series follows a young man who teams up with a female friend and his uncle to embark on a road trip across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father, even if that means struggling to survive and overcome the racist terrors of white America and the terrifying monsters that could be ripped from an H.P. Lovecraft paperback. Expected release date: Late 2019 Film Us After teasing viewers for months about what his cinematic follow-up to Get Out would be, Peele finally revealed the trailer and description of Us, another social thriller, over the holidays. Starring Winston Duke and Lupita Nyongo as parents of two children who are seemingly being haunted (and hunted down) by doppelgangers during a beach vacation, the family quickly realizes that they have to kill or be killed. Stories about monsters are one of our best ways of getting at deeper truths and facing our fears as a society, Peele explained during a trailer screening. Us is about something thats become an undeniable fact: The simple truth that we are our own worst enemies. Release date: March 22 Candyman Peele is executive producing Candyman, a spiritual sequel and reimagining of the 1992 horror classic that will return to the neighborhood where the legend began: the now-gentrified section of Chicago where the Cabrini-Green housing projects once stood. The original Candyman dealt with a graduate student in pursuit of a thesis on urban legends, and how she discovered that the titular character was the son of a slave who was murdered by his lovers father. That, and you can also conjure him by reciting his name into a mirror. Release date: June 12, 2020 Wendell and Wild Taking a foray into stop-motion animation for Netflix, Peele is reuniting with his comedy partner Keegan-Michael Key for Wendell and Wild, which is described as a comedy revolving around two scheming demon brothers. (Yup, they voice the bros.) Peele is also executive producing and co-writing the otherwise shrouded-in-secrecy project. Release date: TBD Toy Story 4 Alongside Key, Peele is voicing a stuffed carnival bunny in the hotly anticipated Pixar film. You can hear them both palling around in the above teaser. Release date: June 29 Abruptio Lending his voice to this surrealistic thriller/horror film performed entirely by lifelike puppets, Peele will be a supporting character who helps out the down-on-his-luck lead (James Marsters) who wakes to find an explosive device has been implanted in his neck and has to carry out heinous crimes in order to stay alive while trying to identify the mastermind manipulating the now twisted and strange world around him. Not much else is known about Abruptio which has been in production since 2015 at this time. Release date: TBD Nikol Pashinyan meets with Chairman of Iranian Majlis Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, who is in Tehran on an official visit, met with Chairman of the Iranian Majlis Ali Larijani. As the office of the Prime Minister of Armenia reports, Ali Larijani welcomed the visit of the delegation led by Pashinyan to Iran and expressed confidence that it will foster the future development of economic and political relations between the two states. Nikol Pashinyan thanked for the warm reception and noted that the last time he visited the Iranian Majlis was when he was part of an Armenian parliamentary delegation and maintains warm and pleasant memories from that visit. The interlocutors highly assessed the bilateral friendly relations, which continue to develop in an atmosphere of mutual understanding. The sides considered the necessity of continuous strengthening of economic cooperation and highlighted the expansion of ties between the parliaments of the two countries for that. In this regard, the interlocutors underlined the necessity of the development of relations between the parliaments friendship groups, mutual visits, and noted that the cooperation of the legislative bodies also contributes to the further strengthening of Armenian-Iranian relations. Nikol Pashinyan expressed satisfaction with the results of the meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, underlining that the Armenian side is interested in implementing the agreements reached, in particular, in the economic sphere, which will give new impetus to bilateral relations. Ali Larijani stressed that the Iranian parliament is inclined towards expanding relations. According to him, there are great opportunities for developing cooperation both in bilateral and multilateral formats. In this context, the importance of the free trade agreement between EAEU and Iran and the ratification of the document by the parliaments were touched upon. The parties also attached importance to the promotion of cooperation in tourism and culture. Issues related to regional issues were also discussed during the meeting. Photo: Light In The Attic A few weeks ago, Vampire Weekends Ezra Koenig sat down with NPR to premiere two new songs from their upcoming album, including the dreamy 2021. It featured Jenny Lewis and, unexpectedly, a sample from Japanese electro-pop demiurge, Haruomi Hosono. A legend in his home country thanks to his iconic group Yellow Magic Orchestra, as well as a half-century of trailblazing solo albums, Hosono is only just now getting his due in the West. Yes, Hosono had sought out Van Dyke Parks and Little Feats Lowell George in the early 1970s to produce his first band, Happy End, but most of his music didnt resonate outside of Japan. But there were a series of reissues from the Light in the Attic label late last year, and Mac DeMarco covered his early hit Honey Moon (additionally, hes been sampled by the likes of J. Dilla and Afrika Bambaataa over the years). But the Hosono piece that Koenig honed in on stood apart. He made this music to be played in Muji stores in Japan in the 80s, he said. This music was composed to be kind of ambient tone-setting music for your shopping experience. It was background music, or as the industry and YMO called it, BGM. And while that conjures strains of bland Muzak and inoffensive elevator music in the West, in Japan, such environmental music has a far more curious backstory. Fittingly, the label Light in the Attic released Kankyo Ongaku: Japanese Environmental, Ambient & New Age Music 19801990, a massive survey of such tone-setting music that, aside from its placid surface and gentle tones, reveals its tangled roots in Dadaism, Fluxus, the French New Wave, and Shintoism, as well as corporate largesse and hypercapitalism. So how, exactly, did the cloistered sound of Japanese environmental music become cool in the West? New Age music has been proliferating in cool circles for almost a decade now, whether you dug Animal Collectives sampling Zamfir, the renaissance of original pioneers like Iasos and Laraaji, 21st-century wizards like Oneohtrix Point Never or Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, enjoyed Light in the Attics rehabilitative set I Am the Center: Private Issue New Age Music in America, 19501990. Or maybe you just had a hatha yoga soundtrack linger with you after class. But much of what was happening musically in Japan in the 1980s was closed off to Westerners, or more precisely, Western hipsters. In July of 2010, Portland-based musician Spencer Doran uploaded to music obsessive Root Strata site a mix entitled Fairlights, Mallets and Bamboo. Drawing from this peculiar and under-explored decade of Japanese music, its popularity led to a sequel, as well as one focusing on Japanese environmental music, Music Interiors, with a photograph of esteemed Japanese architect Fumihiko Makis own living room for its cover. Music Interiors was a conscious attempt to examine the ways that ambient/environmental music was interwoven with the corporate sphere in the bubble era, Doran recently told me via email. The social conditions of the time not only helped to support this music financially, but also manifested its necessity, with its use as a tool for lifestyle management under hypercapitalism. Its this latter mix that Doran used as a blueprint to assemble Kankyo Ongaku, the track selection mirrors much of that original mix in terms of artists, if not selections. A photo from the Maki-designed Iwasaki Art Museum adorns the cover. In the wake of Dorans mixes, more and more Americans began to seek out these heretofore-unheard artists. Few if any of them had ever been released in the U.S., and little of this music had been reissued in the subsequent decades in Japan. So the curious turned to YouTube to try to hear more. One of the most revered artists from these mixes was a little-known percussionist named Midori Takada. She had put out but one album in 1983 before disappearing from view. That magical album, Through the Looking Glass, was uploaded to the platform and soon accrued millions of views. So did a mysterious album from an artist called Mariah, full of thundering Japanese percussion and a female vocalist singing in wait, is that Armenian??! The artist behind Mariah, saxophonist Yasuaki Shimizu, had another album, 1982s Kakashi, which also topped 1.2 million views. All three albums have since been reissued, with Takada and Shimizu enjoying revived careers leading to tours in the U.S. and Europe, something all but inconceivable back in 2010. And a cottage industry of labels has seemingly sprung up like mushrooms overnight, from Brooklyns Palto Flats and U.K.-based LAG Records to French imprint WeWantSounds and Switzerlands We Release Whatever the Fuck We Want Records (or WRWTFWW for short). Dorans own imprint Empire of Signs reissued the exquisite Music for Nine Postcards by one of the eras most profound thinkers of such sound, Hiroshi Yoshimura. For reasons not quite clear, the YouTube algorithm began recommending more and more Japanese music of this sort to anyone adventurous enough to let their AutoPlay queue up a few selections. Almost any instance of listening to a rare electronic or jazz album might soon send you to the East. SPINs Andy Cush wrote an essay last year about giving himself over to the algorithm, detailing how his search for an obscure British post-punk album soon sent him down such a rabbit hole. Most times it put him before the feet of a true master like Yoshimura. Now, I listen to Yoshimuras music almost every day, both because I find it tremendously moving and because YouTube wont stop playing it, he said. It led to millions of views on the platform for Yoshimura and rapturous user comments, not to mention astronomical prices for his albums. I think YouTube gets far too much credit in the narrative, Doran said, pointing not to the algorithm but the artistry behind it. Its music of high artistic merit, and that alone is the root reason why people gravitate to it. So much of this music was so internal within the Japanese market until very recently, and I believe that if it had been in global circulation earlier, these musicians would already have been canonized. Which isnt to say that Japanese environmental music isnt informed by the West. As Paul Roquet noted in his 2016 book Ambient Media: Japanese Atmospheres of Self, a paradigm-shifting event in postwar Japan occurred when Louis Malles 1963 film Le Feu Follet opened in the country. Malles somber film featured the contemplative piano music of turn-of-the-century Dadaist composer Erik Satie, including his most famous pieces, the minimal and evocative Gymnopedies and Gnossiennes. By the next decade, critic and early Fluxus member Akiyama Kuniharu staged an Erik Satie concert series in Japan, which featured Saties music played by pianist Aki Takahashi, as well as poetry readings, lectures, and more. It ran for over two years. Soon Saties meditative work infiltrated everything from theater productions and violent cop movies to luxury-car commercials, what the media deemed a Satie boom. Japans Satie boom soon dovetailed with a few other factors. One was the release of Brian Enos ambient-defining Music for Airports, itself informed by Saties notions of furniture music and as the notes stated as ignorable as it is interesting. It was followed a few months on by the introduction of Sonys first Walkman in 1979. Rather than be tethered to home stereos, now any sort of music could conjure entirely intact personal worlds for a listener as they wandered about an urban landscape. Haruomi Hosono was already a superstar in his native Japan thanks to the smash success of Yellow Magic Orchestra, but he found himself dealing with the perils of pop stardom by turning to non-pop. When the Ambient series came out, the music had a very psychological, healing effect on me, sort of like a tranquilizer, he said in an interview. It was incredibly refreshing. With an array of new musical technology at his disposal (like the LinnDrum, MC-4 sequencer, Prophet-5 synthesizer, and early samplers), when YMO went on hiatus Hosono began to create his own ambient music in earnest. Hosono wasnt alone. Kankyo Ongaku shows a generation of Japanese artists attuned to such unobtrusive yet transportive sounds, from progressive rocker turned healing-music impresario Akira Ito to future Studio Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki soundtrack composer Joe Hisaishi. This same time period also coincided with Japans economic miracle, a three-decade-long boom that hit its stratospheric peak in the 1980s. At a period when corporate sponsorship would have been anathema to American artists, Japanese artists welcomed it. The reality of the relationship that corporations had with these artists was that they were often given an unheard amount of creative control because they were so flush with cash, corporations funded the arts in this weird neo-Medicean patronage model, Doran explained. So Yoshimuras 1984 ambient album AIR was sprayed with the latest scent from Shiseido, Yasuaki Shimizu made music for Seiko watches, Takashi Kokubo recorded a dreamy album to be bundled with Sanyos new line of air-conditioning units, and Hosono made shopping music for Muji. These compositions could peddle consumer goods and were themselves a consumer good, providing ready-made environments for its customers. Why that resonates so much now cant quite be pinpointed, but in some aspects, the onrush of new and invasive technologies in Japan during the 80s finds parallel to our modern life, what with never-ending social media, the exhausting gig economy, neoliberal anxiety, and a sense of capitalism run amok. Spend a few hours immersed in Kankyo Ongaku and its hard not to feel a sense of serenity amid such a hectic pace. It is, at the very least, eerily similar to something pianist Aki Takahashi would hear after her Satie performances from strangers on the street in Tokyo: Even when I am tired, when I listen to Satie my mind goes blank, my spirit relaxes, and I can go on working. Photo: Rich Fury/Getty Images On The Late Show With Stephen Colbert last month, Ellen Page blamed Mike Pence and the Trump administration for the rise in hate crimes like the one supposedly perpetrated against Jussie Smollett. Today, in light of the allegations that Smollett planned the attack himself, Page penned an op-ed for The Hollywood Reporter to remind people that anti-LGBTQ+ violence is very prevalent and very real. Page was one of the first to speak out vehemently in support of Smollett when news of the attack first broke, and her heated comments on Colbert were widely shared. Until today, Page had yet to speak out about the Smollett case since revelations that the attack might be fake. Smollett was charged with filing a false police report, and police now claim that he planned the attack himself. In the letter, Page addresses the controversy directly, reminding readers that she had no reason to doubt Jussie. She also addresses what could happen if the Smollett hoax turns out to be true: If this situation was staged, it could make victims even more reluctant to report these crimes. Very real crimes. Page pledged to use her privilege and visibility to continue speaking out and shes been doing so recently. Earlier this month, Page called out Chris Pratt for attending what she called an infamously anti-LGBTQ+ church. (Pratt responded to the accusations with an Instagram Story, claiming his church was all about love.) Just last week, she opened up about Hollywood pressuring her to stay in the closet when she was in her early 20s. U.S. President Donald Trump's former longtime lawyer Michael Cohen told a congressional investigating panel Wednesday that Trump is "a racist... a con man...a cheat." Cohen, at the start of expected hours of testimony, told lawmakers that Trump knew that his campaign adviser Roger Stone was in contact with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange about the release of hacked Democratic National Committee emails damaging to his 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton before WikiLeaks released them to the public. Cohen said Trump also knew about and directed him to lie to Congress about negotiations Trump's company had during the 2016 campaign to build a skyscraper in Moscow, while then-candidate Trump told voters that he had no business dealings in Russia. Cohen said Trump never expected to win the presidency. "Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great," Cohen said. "He had no desire or intention to lead this nation only to market himself and to build his wealth and power. The campaign for him was always a marketing opportunity." Cohen, citing his experiences in working for Trump for more than a decade, concluded, "He is a racist. He is a con man. And he is a cheat." Cohen's testimony is occurring about two months before he is set to report to prison for a three-year term after pleading guilty to financial crimes, campaign finance violations linked to the 2016 election and lying to Congress. Trump, in Vietnam for his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jung Un, assailed his former lawyer on Twitter ahead of his testimony, saying he "was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time." Republican lawmakers on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform disparaged Cohens conduct that led to his guilty pleas for tax fraud and lying to a bank. Congressman Mark Green said, Hes a fake witness. His appearance here is a travesty. Democratic lawmakers zeroed in on Cohens testimony about Trumps actions. Cohen detailed reimbursements to him by Trump for hush money payments Cohen made in the weeks before the 2016 election to keep adult film star Stormy Daniels quiet about an affair she alleges she had with Trump more than a decade ago. Cohen said Trump personally signed 11 checks from his personal bank account while he was president, and provided the committee a copy of one check for $35,000. But Cohen said he did not have direct evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to help Trump win, a key allegation that special counsel Robert Mueller has been investigating for nearly two years. "I have my suspicions," Cohen said. Cohen cited as potential collusion evidence a conversation he witnessed between Trump and his son, Donald Trump Jr. Cohen says he believes the topic was a 2016 meeting that occurred at Trump Tower in New York involving the younger Trump, the president's son-in-law and now senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, his campaign manager Paul Manafort, and a Russian lawyer with ties to the Russian government. That meeting has drawn scrutiny, including from Mueller. President Trump has denied having advance knowledge of the talks, and in August downplayed allegations that his side was there to get potentially harmful information about Clinton, saying such acts are "totally legal and done all the time in politics." Cohen said one time Trump arranged for a fake bidder at an auction to pay $60,000 for a portrait of Trump, then reimbursed the bidder out of funds from Trump's charitable foundation so Trump could hang the painting at one of his country clubs. The lawyer said, Mr. Trump is a cheat. It was my experience that Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes." He called Trump a racist, saying he often disparaged blacks. The country has seen Mr. Trump court white supremacists and bigots, Cohen said. You have heard him call poorer countries 'shitholes.' In private, he is even worse. He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasnt a 'shithole.' This was when Barack Obama was president of the United States. While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid." Cohen is the highest-profile witness since the 1970s Watergate scandal to testify in Congress against a sitting American president. The last time the United States witnessed anything like this was in 1973, when former White House Counsel John Dean delivered a dramatic testimony that implicated President Richard Nixon and others in a cover-up effort in the Watergate affair. A year later Nixon became the first American president in history to resign. Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress once before and will have his work cut out to persuade lawmakers he is telling the truth this time. Facing a lengthy prison sentence, Cohen struck a deal with prosecutors. In August, he pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges, including campaign finance violations in connection with the payments to Daniels and McDougal. In December, he pleaded guilty to one count of lying to Congress about the Trump Organization's efforts to negotiate a deal to construct a Trump Tower in Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign. In return, he received a three-year prison sentence. He's scheduled to report to prison in early May. As part of his plea agreement, Cohen is continuing to cooperate with federal prosecutors in New York who are investigating Trump's business interests and millions of dollars of donations made to his presidential inaugural committee. Cohen was a fundraiser for the committee. US President Donald Trump told reporters "it is an honor" to be with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and that they have "made a lot of progress" in their relationship. Trump spoke at the Metropole hotel in Hanoi, where he is participating in meetings and a private dinner with Kim. GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - The World Food Program is airlifting 36 metric tons of life-saving food to 18,000 people in Zemio, Central African Republic. The WFP reports Zemio, a region 1,000 kilometers east of the capital Bangui, is unreachable by road because of insecurity and transport difficulties. This is the first time in a year that the U.N. World Food Program has launched an airlift of this scale in the Central African Republic. The WFP says the worsening security situation and impossibility of bringing food supplies into Zumio by road has created a food and nutritional crisis in the region. The operation involves eight airlift rotations. WFP has completed six of them. The remaining food supplies are being airlifted to families in Zemio on Wednesday. WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel said the arrival of food by air is coming at a crucial time for thousands of displaced people who are unable to move around freely because of increased violence. He told VOA that WFP will re-evaluate the situation in Zemio in the coming weeks to see whether airlifts should resume. Bangui and Zemio, Central African Republic "Because of the military and the security situation, most of the people are IDPs, are displaced in IDP camps. They have no access to the markets. They have no access either to the field to cultivate. As a result of that, the malnutrition, including for children is important there. But, also in the country," he said. The United Nations reports nearly half of C.A.R.'s population of 4.7 million is short of food. A recent national nutritional survey shows more than seven percent of children aged six to 59 months are suffering from acute malnutrition. Verhoosel said the WFP will continue to scale up emergency aid for vulnerable people in the country. But he said the agency's operation is costly, especially when airlifts are factored in. He said far less than half of the agency's $145 million appeal for this year has been met and that it is critical for this funding gap to be closed. The C.A.R. has been in conflict since a coup in 2013. The current government in Bangui signed a peace agreement in 2017 with several of the warring militias in the country, but it has proved ineffective and in recent months violence has flared up again. GENEVA - Venezuela's foreign minister said on Wednesday the United States was trying to overthrow the government of Nicolas Maduro and suggested talks with U.S. President Donald Trump an idea the Trump administration immediately rejected. Jorge Arreaza, addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council, suggested that Maduro and Trump meet to "try to find common ground and explain their differences." He also said his country had lost $30 billion in assets "confiscated" since November 2017 under sanctions. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence ruled out prospects of talks. "The only thing to discuss with Maduro at this point is the time and date for his departure," Pence said on Twitter. "For democracy to return and for Venezuela to rebuild Maduro must go," Pence said. Dozens of diplomats, mainly from Latin American countries, walked out as Arreaza began to speak, while some European ambassadors boycotted the speech. The United States and dozens of other nations have recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate president, but Maduro still controls the military, state institutions and oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA , which provides 90 percent of the country's export revenue. Maduro also "stands ready for dialogue" with the Venezuelan opposition, Arreaza said. "There is an attempt by external powers to overthrow an elected government, this goes against all rules of international law," Arreaza said. 'Ilegal pillage' The United States targeted Venezuela's government with new sanctions on Monday and called on allies to freeze the assets of state-owned PDVSA after deadly violence blocked humanitarian aid from reaching the country over the weekend. The "blockade" against Caracas amounts to "theft of the assets and gold" of Venezuela, Arreaza said. Some $30 billion in state assets had been confiscated since November 2017, he said, adding: "This is the illegal pillage of the resources of our state oil company in the United States." U.S. refiner Citgo Petroleum Corp is cutting ties with its parent PDVSA to comply with U.S. sanctions imposed on the OPEC country, two people close to the decision told Reuters on Tuesday. The Bank of England has blocked $1.5 billion and Belgium $1.4 billion, Arreaza said. The Bank of England has previously declined to comment on questions about Venezuela's gold, citing client privacy considerations. "The humanitarian crisis is being used as a pretext for foreign intervention in my country," Arreaza said. In weekend clashes at the Colombian border, Venezuelan security forces acted with "proportionality and caution," as humanitarian aid was burned, he said. Earlier, an aide to President Ivan Duque of neighboring Colombia called for action to end Venezuela's humanitarian crisis and bring about a political transition leading to free elections. Bacteria lodged deep in Ella Balasa's lungs were impervious to most antibiotics. At 26, gasping for breath, she sought out a dramatic experiment deliberately inhaling a virus culled from sewage to attack her superbug. "I'm really running out of options," said Balasa, who traveled from her Richmond, Virginia, home to Yale University for the last-resort treatment. "I know it might not have an effect. But I am very hopeful." Pitting one germ against another may sound radical, but it's a sign of a growing global crisis. Increasingly people are dying of infections that once were easy to treat because many common bugs have evolved to withstand multiple antibiotics. Some, dubbed "nightmare bacteria," are untreatable. Now scientists are racing to find novel alternatives to traditional antibiotics, a hunt that is uncovering unusual ways to counter infection, in unusual places. One possible treatment tricks bacteria out of a nutrient they need to survive. Others rev up the immune system to better fend off germs. And viruses called bacteriophages discovered a century ago but largely shelved in the West when easier-to-use antibiotics came along are being tried in a handful of emergency cases. "People's frustration with antibiotic resistance boiled over," said Yale biologist Benjamin Chan, who travels the world collecting phages and receives calls from desperate patients asking to try them. "We're more appreciative of the fact that we need alternatives." Nature's bacterial predator, each phage variety targets a different bacterial strain. Originally used to treat dysentery in the early 20th century, today Chan looks in places like ditches, ponds, and, yes, sewage treatment plants for types that attack a variety of human infections. Yale University researcher Benjamin Chan, who stud Yale University researcher Benjamin Chan, who studies viruses that attack bacteria, prepares a petri dish with mucus from patient Ella Balasa, of Richmond, Va., at Osborn Memorial Laboratories, in New Haven, Conn., Jan. 17, 2019. Yale University researcher Benjamin Chan, who studies viruses that attack bacteria, prepares a petri dish with mucus from patient Ella Balasa, of Richmond, Va., at Osborn Memorial Laboratories, in New Haven, Conn., Jan. 17, 2019. "The best places are often really dirty places, because we're dirty animals," he said. Chan saw hope for Balasa in a lab dish covered in brownish bacterial goo. Balasa has a genetic disease called cystic fibrosis that scars her lungs and traps bacteria inside, including a superbug named Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A daily dose of inhaled antibiotics kept the infection in check until last fall, when the drugs quit working. A last-ditch IV antibiotic wasn't helping much either. Chan grew a sample of Balasa's bacteria from her phlegm. Then came the key test: He dripped several pseudomonas-targeting phages into the grimy dish and clear circles began appearing as the viruses consumed the bugs around them. But would what worked in the lab really help Balasa's lungs? Bugs outpacing drugs At least 23,000 Americans die every year as a direct result of an antibiotic-resistant infection, and many more die from related complications, according to a 2013 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC plans an updated count, but other research has estimated the toll could be seven times higher. And while there are no good counts in much of the world, one often-cited British report said unless solutions are found, by 2050 up to 10 million people globally could be dying from drug-resistant infections, slightly more than die from cancer today. Yet few new antibiotics make it to market, and many major drug companies have ended antibiotic research, seeing little profit in medicines that germs will soon outsmart. A recent report found just 11 traditional antibiotics being studied to treat any of the World Health Organization's list of worst bugs, with no guarantee they'll work. Yale University researcher Benjamin Chan, who stud Yale University researcher Benjamin Chan, who studies viruses that attack bacteria, prepares a petri dish with mucus from patient Ella Balasa, of Richmond, Va., at Osborn Memorial Laboratories, in New Haven, Conn., Jan. 17, 2019. Yale University researcher Benjamin Chan, who studies viruses that attack bacteria, prepares a petri dish with mucus from patient Ella Balasa, of Richmond, Va., at Osborn Memorial Laboratories, in New Haven, Conn., Jan. 17, 2019. And while some people are more at risk those getting surgery, or cancer chemotherapy, for example "antibiotic resistance is a problem essentially for everyone," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, infectious diseases chief at the National Institutes of Health. "Over the next several years, all indicators seem to point to the fact that this is going to get worse and worse," he added. Looking for bugs' weak spots Finding alternatives means "figuring out what the vulnerabilities of infecting bacteria are. What do they need to cause an infection?" said Dr. Pradeep Singh of the University of Washington. Singh and fellow UW lung specialist Dr. Christopher Goss zeroed in on iron, a nutrient vital for bacterial growth. It turns out that bugs can't always tell the difference between iron and a chemically similar metal named gallium. Gallium doesn't nourish and knocks other systems out of whack, Goss said. For two small studies, the researchers recruited cystic fibrosis patients who had antibiotic-resistant pseudomonas in their lungs but weren't openly sick. The patients received a five-day infusion of a gallium-based drug. Over the next few weeks, their lung function improved, enough that next-step studies are being planned. "It just seems like a proactive way of destroying bacteria," said study participant Tre LaRosa, 24, of Cincinnati. His sister died of cystic fibrosis and while his own CF is under control, he worries that one day a resistant infection will flare. "I can't do anything to prevent that. Antibiotic resistance I think is one of the least talked about and most significant concerns." Spurring the immune system Fauci envisions doctors one day vaccinating people a few weeks before, say, a planned knee replacement to guard against catching a staph infection in the hospital. Sixteen experimental vaccines are in development to target various infections, according to a recent presentation to a presidential advisory council on resistant germs. Particularly promising, Fauci says, are lab-engineered "monoclonal antibodies" designed to home in on specific bugs. In one set of studies, researchers are giving experimental antibodies to ventilator patients who have bacteria building up that could trigger pneumonia. Harnessing viruses for the best attack In Virginia, Balasa learned of another cystic fibrosis patient helped by Yale's phage experiments and asked to try, hoping to postpone the last option for CF, a lung transplant. Yale University researcher Benjamin Chan, who stud Yale University researcher Benjamin Chan, who studies viruses that attack bacteria, holds a petri dish containing Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung samples grown from patient Ella Balasa, at Osborne Memorial Laboratories, in New Haven, Conn., Jan. 17, 2019. Yale University researcher Benjamin Chan, who studies viruses that attack bacteria, holds a petri dish containing Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung samples grown from patient Ella Balasa, at Osborne Memorial Laboratories, in New Haven, Conn., Jan. 17, 2019. Phages work very differently than traditional antibiotics. Like a parasite, the virus infiltrates bacterial cells and uses them to copy itself, killing the bug as those copies pop out and search for more bacteria. Once the infection's gone, the virus dies out. Because each phage only recognizes certain bacteria, it shouldn't kill off "good bugs" in the digestive tract like antibiotics do. Bacteria evolve to escape phages just like they escape antibiotics, but they generally make trade-offs to do so such as losing some of their antibiotic resistance, said Yale evolutionary biologist Paul Turner. For example, some phages recognize bacteria by a pump on their surface that deflects antibiotics. As the phages kill those bugs, the bacteria rapidly evolve to get rid of that surface pump meaning survivors should be susceptible to antibiotics again. "It's reviving an arsenal of drugs that are no longer useful," Turner said. Yale's first test case was an 82-year-old man near death from a heart implant teeming with untreatable pseudomonas. Chan purified a phage from a Connecticut lake that he'd matched to the patient's germs, and with emergency permission from the Food and Drug Administration, doctors squirted it into the wound. The man's infection disappeared. Then doctors at the University of California, San Diego, saved a colleague who'd been in a months-long coma, using an IV mixture of several phages that target a superbug named Acinetobacter baumannii. Doctors and families began calling both centers seeking emergency care, even as formal studies are being planned to try to prove phages' value. "There's an incredible opportunity here," said Yale pulmonologist Dr. Jon Koff. "But with that you have to have the appropriate amount of skepticism," with careful testing to tell when it might help. Last month, Balasa became Yale's eighth patient, inhaling billions of phages over seven days. Almost immediately, she was coughing up fewer bacteria. It took a few weeks for her to feel better, though, and during that time she switched briefly to some antibiotics she'd previously given up. Without a formal study it's hard to know, but Chan's tests suggest phages killed much of her predominant pseudomonas strain and made the survivors sensitive again to a course of those antibiotics. Balasa called that "a very big success for me," and was able to quit her antibiotics. She didn't notice additional improvement after a second round of phages, aimed at different strains. "The true test," Balasa said, "is how long I can go without using any antibiotics again." The United States top trade official said Wednesday that a new trade deal with China is not close to being completed. Much still needs to be done before an agreement can be reached, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told a congressional panel in Washington. If we can complete this effort, and again I say if, and if we can reach a resolution on the issue of enforceability, we might have an agreement that enables us to turn the corner in our relationship with China. The United States and China, the worlds two biggest economies, have been negotiating for months on a new agreement, even as they have imposed hefty new tariffs on billions of dollars of each others exports. WATCH: US-China Trade Talks 'Not Close' Lighthizer said the countries negotiators, who have been meeting in Washington and Beijing, are making real progress. President Donald Trump cited that progress Sunday in postponing what would have been a sharp increase in U.S. duties on $200 billion in Chinese imports that would have taken effect Friday. During a news conference Thursday in Hanoi after the abrupt end of his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump said there was a very good chance of reaching agreement with China, crediting the difficulties the tariffs are causing its economy. The most recent U.S. statistics show China last year had a $382 billion trade surplus in deals with the United States through November. Trump is trying to alter trade terms between the two countries to end what the United States, Japan and European countries contend are Chinas unfair trade practices, including state intervention in markets, subsidies of some industries and theft of foreign technology. China has offered to increase its purchase of American farm products and energy as part of a new trade pact. Members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, urged Lighthizer to reach a wide-ranging trade agreement. The U.S. embassy in Haiti has confirmed the arrest of U.S. citizens in Haiti Sunday and told VOA's Creole Service that it is seeking consular access for the detainees as soon as possible. We understand that the Haitian National Police detained a group of individuals, including some U.S. citizens, the statement said. When U.S. citizens are arrested overseas, we seek consular access as soon as possible and provide appropriate consular assistance as provided by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The embassy statement indicated it would not comment further on the case. Haitian National Police spokesman, Michel Ange Lou Haitian National Police spokesman, Michel Ange Louis-Jeune talks to VOA Creole in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Feb. 19, 2019. (Photo: Arthur Jean Pierre) Haitian National Police spokesman, Michel Ange Louis-Jeune talks to VOA Creole in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Feb. 19, 2019. (Photo: Arthur Jean Pierre) In an interview Monday with VOA Creole, Haitian National Police (PNH) spokesperson Michel-Ange Louis-Jeune said the men were arrested during a routine check on Sunday afternoon and that among the detained were a Haitian national, two Serbs and five Americans. In the three vehicles the police confiscated, we found weapons, assault rifles and pistols. The police subsequently arrested them, the spokesman said. He said police are investigating to see who else may be involved. (*See original interview in Creole here) There has been concern among Haitian officials that the group had a plan to be rolled out under the cover of the massive protests and looting that rocked the capital for 10 consecutive days and resulted in at least seven deaths. We dont want to jeopardize the investigation, Louis-Jeune told VOA Creole. So, we are not going to say too much about what we know. The investigation is continuing, and we will make more announcements in the days to come. SpyCloud, an Austin, Texas-based account takeover (ATO) prevention provider, secured $21m in Series B funding. The round was led by M12, Microsofts venture fund, with participation from new investor Altos Ventures and existing investors Silverton Partners and March Capital Partners. The company intends to use the funds to grow its security research team and database of recovered assets, extend R&D and product development to go deeper into specific vertical markets, expand its sales and marketing organization, and increase its international presence. Founded in 2016 by Ted Ross, CEO, SpyCloud helps prevent ATO by identifying exposed employee and customer accounts and passwords as early as possible, then notifying and helping companies proactively remediate those accounts automatedly, all before criminals can commit fraud or cause significant harm to finances, IP, sensitive data and brand reputation. SpyCloud security researchers use multi-tiered underground intelligence gathering techniques and tools to compile the database of exposed credentials and personally identifiable information (PII), currently holding more than 60 billion assets overall. In 2018, the company recovered and analyzed almost 3.5 billion sets of online credentials from nearly 3000 data breaches, combo lists and other dark web sources, with more than 2.6 billion of those sets including a password. The product is used by hundreds of enterprises in sectors like networking, travel and hospitality, financial services, healthcare, retail and higher education. FinSMEs 27/02/2019 GENEVA - The United States and a number of other nations staged a walkout Wednesday at the United Nations Conference on Disarmament as a Venezuelan representative of President Nicolas Maduro was about to speak. They boycotted his presence to protest what they term the immoral policies of Maduro's illegitimate regime. U.S. Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament Robert Wood says the walkout has sent a very powerful message to both the international community and to Venezuelans that what he calls the "former Maduro regime," has no moral or political legitimacy. "The Maduro regime is unacceptable," he said. "We do not recognize it, and therefore, we could not be in that hall sitting in our seats with a representative of that former regime speaking to the chamber. It was a disgrace to the chamber for that representative to be there." The 65-member Conference on Disarmament includes the five nuclear powers. The presidency of the body rotates on a monthly basis in alphabetical order. The United Kingdom currently holds the post until March 15, to be followed by the United States. After the U.S. steps down, it will be Venezuela's turn to assume the presidency. Wood says it would be a travesty to allow the dictatorial former regime of Maduro to hold that chair. "That chair, as I mentioned today, belongs to the people of Venezuela obviously, but specifically to the government of Juan Guaido, the interim president of Venezuela," he said. The work of the Conference on Disarmament has been stalled for more than a decade because of strained relations among key nations. Prior to that time, however, the U.N.body had drafted numerous arms-control agreements. Some of the most important include the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Biological Weapons Convention, the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. A few years ago, Hoda Muthana was a hard-talking 20-something from a religiously conservative Alabama family, with a propensity for aggressive tweets and an affinity for the Islamic State's extremist rhetoric. "Americans wake up!" she posted on March 19, 2015, from her now-defunct @ZumarulJannah account. "Men and women altogether. You have much to do while you live under our greatest enemy, enough of your sleeping! 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 by's + spill all of their blood or rent a big truck n drive all over them. Kill them." Now she's the subject of a tweet by U.S. President Donald Trump, comments by the secretary of state, a federal lawsuit, and a broader debate around the world about how countries will handle extremist group fighters and supporters who want to repatriate. The 24-year-old followed IS rhetoric online from her home state of Alabama, then all the way to the burgeoning caliphate in Syria, where she moved in 2014. But she's changed, she says. She wants to come home to the country where she was born and raised, even if it means facing the legal consequences of joining IS. She wants to bring her nearly 2-year-old son back from the Kurdish-run refugee camp where they are currently being held in Syria. The U.S. government wants nothing to do with her, though. In fact, the Trump administration following paperwork initiated during President Barack Obama's last term says that despite a U.S. birth certificate and two passports, she was never a citizen. "I have instructed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and he fully agrees, not to allow Hoda Muthana back into the Country!" Trump tweeted on Feb. 20, a day before Muthana's father filed a lawsuit to allow his daughter to return. "She's not coming back," Pompeo told Fox News on Sunday, repeating previous comments. He called her a "non-citizen terrorist" with "no legal basis for her claim of U.S. citizenship." U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is interviewed FILE - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is interviewed by Maria Bartiromo during her "Mornings with Maria Bartiromo" program on the Fox Business Network, in New York, Feb. 21, 2019. FILE - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is interviewed by Maria Bartiromo during her "Mornings with Maria Bartiromo" program on the Fox Business Network, in New York, Feb. 21, 2019. Neither the president nor the secretary of state can unilaterally strip someone's citizenship, says Muzaffar Chishti, a lawyer with the Migration Policy Institute. He and other immigration law experts told VOA that Muthana would likely be afforded due process, even if the government wants to assert that she never should have been given citizenship. And that, Chishti says, will have to be played out in court before anyone even the president can officially say she cannot return. "Of all the Western countries, the U.S. has become the most restrictive in allowing government to strip people of citizenship," Chishti said. "(T)his will become an important case." Passport revoked It is hard to quit the United States. Harder than threatening to burn your passport, which Muthana did. Harder than joining a jihadist group that is trying to set up a caliphate in a sovereign country, which Muthana did. Harder than marrying avowed jihadist fighters, which Muthana did, and encouraging violence against your compatriots. Which Muthana did, according to news reports. What she did not do, according to her lawyer Charles Swift, is renounce her citizenship. That's a formal and costly process that, while on the upswing in recent years, remains rare. But the U.S. government says Muthana never was American, despite being issued two passports. According to Swift, and to documents filed in federal court by her father on Feb. 21, 2019, there is no doubt that Muthana was born in New Jersey, or raised in Alabama. Yes, the U.S. government admits, she was even issued valid passports. ?Despite that, the U.S. government has been claiming since 2016 that she was never entitled to U.S. citizenship, or to the passports issued to her. And at least on paper, thus far, the revocation of her citizenship status and passport is unrelated to her IS connection. Instead, the case right now seems to hinge not on Muthana, but on her father, Ahmed Ali Muthana, who in the early 1990s was one of the highest-ranking Yemeni diplomats serving in his country's delegation to the United Nations. Civil war Much like now, Yemen in 1994 was a country divided, literally, by civil war. Ahmed Ali Muthana served as the first secretary to Yemen's U.N. mission in the United States from 1990 to 1994, according to federal court documents filed in his lawsuit against the U.S. government to secure the safe return of his daughter and grandson. Most children born in the U.S. are citizens. The concept of birthright citizenship is enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Children born to diplomats in the U.S. are exceptions, and that's at the crux of the discrepancy between the government account of Hoda Muthana's citizenship, and that of her family and lawyer. According to Hoda Muthana's father, with supporting documents filed in federal court, he was removed from his post at the U.N. shortly after the start of the civil war in Yemen that summer, with an effective termination date of Sept. 1, 1994. On that much, he and the U.S. government are in agreement. Hoda Muthana would be born the following month to a mother who had already applied for her green card. This is where the U.S. splits off, claiming that while the termination date of Ahmed Ali Muthana's employment was indeed Sept. 1, 1994, the "Host Country Affairs Section" of the U.S. Permanent Mission to the United Nations was not officially notified until Feb. 6, 1995 months after Hoda Muthana's birth on Oct. 28, 1994, in Hackensack, New Jersey. The U.S. is claiming, because of that delayed notification to the U.S. mission, her father was still a diplomat when Hoda was born. That determination would mean she was not eligible for citizenship by birth, and never entitled to a U.S. passport. But also included in the court documents is a 2004 letter from the U.S. Mission to the United Nations minister counselor of Host Country Affairs, to the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, that Ahmed Ali Muthana was recognized as a member of Yemen's U.N. mission only until Sept. 1, 1994. A U.S. State Department document revoking Hoda Muthana's passport in 2016, addressed to her home in Alabama, came after she was already living among IS fighters. It makes no mention of her departure from the country, or her connection to the group. She had a right to a hearing at the time, but that expired 60 days after it was delivered. The agency revoked her passport based on a law that allows the government to do so if the passport was obtained "illegally, fraudulently or erroneously." The outcome of Hoda Muthana's case affects not only her citizenship, but that of her son, whose father was a Tunisian IS fighter killed in action. If her U.S. citizenship is upheld, she would confer that status to the toddler. Without that, it is unclear what citizenship, if any, the boy could be granted, given that he was born to two foreigners in Syria, living in IS-controlled territory. Repatriation policies Hoda Muthana's case may set precedents not just about the legal issue of revoking citizenship, but also about how the U.S. handles extremists who want to return. The U.S. State Department on Feb. 4 called on "other nations to repatriate and prosecute their citizens detained by the [Syrian Democratic Forces]." Ahmed Ali Muthana's lawsuit leans on this as proof of a "specific [U.S.] policy position on the repatriation of American citizens who have previously been affiliated with ISIS," an acronym for the militant group. Trump also threatened in a Feb. 16 tweet that if European countries did not repatriate and prosecute its citizens held as foreign fighters in Syria, the U.S. "will be forced to release them." The United States is asking Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back over 800 ISIS fighters that we captured in Syria and put them on trial. The Caliphate is ready to fall. The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them........ Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 17, 2019 The U.S. is not alone in struggling over IS repatriation. The United Kingdom is locked in a similar debate and is likely to fail at barring one woman from returning. Former Prosecutor: Effort to Bar British-Born IS Bride Likely to Fail The British governments effort to revoke the citizenship of a British-born Islamic State bride, currently held in a refugee camp in northeast Syria, risks being overturned on appeal, say some legal experts.A former top British prosecutor, Nazir Afzal, told VOA he thinks it likely that this decision will be held to be unlawful.He says 19-year-old Shamima Begum should be repatriated and placed in a de-radicalization program. The British governments effort to revoke the citizenship of a British-born Islamic State bride, currently held in a refugee camp in northeast Syria, risks being overturned on appeal, say some legal experts.A former top British prosecutor, Nazir Afzal, told VOA he thinks it likely that this decision will be held to be unlawful.He says 19-year-old Shamima Begum should be repatriated and placed in a de-radicalization program. "It's very tempting to say, 'Hey, you know, you went off and joined ISIS. Why should we ever take you back?' Gosh, that's extraordinarily tempting. Banishment is a very old punishment, except it's not constitutional," lawyer Swift told VOA's Urdu service a day after filing a lawsuit against the U.S. government on behalf of Hoda Muthana's father. "The Supreme Court has only permitted the loss of citizenship in extraordinarily limited circumstances that aren't really present here. And it can't be a punishment for your conduct. "The constitution exists to protect the unpopular. It exists to protect those that we are angry with," he added. "If America, with all its resources, cannot handle the risk posed by one young woman who has agreed to stand trial, then our security problems are indeed grave," wrote Daniel Byman, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. That, in turn, could lead to expatriated extremists regrouping abroad. Chishti, the MPI lawyer, agreed. "Even if (Hoda Muthana) were a former ISIS supporter and we are preventing her from returning, it sends the wrong signal, especially if she's our citizen. From a policy point of view, it makes most sense to have a program under which she could come here and be rehabilitated," he said. LONDON - Britain's opposition Labor Party will put forward or support an amendment in favor of a public vote to prevent a damaging Brexit, the party's Brexit spokesman said on Wednesday. British lawmakers voted 323-240 against a Labor proposal for a permanent customs union with the EU. "Disappointed the government has rejected Labor's alternative Brexit deal," Labor Member of Parliament Keir Starmer said. "That's why Labor will put forward or support an amendment in favor of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit." President Donald Trump is threatening to veto two Democratic bills expanding federal background checks on gun purchases, saying they do not sufficiently protect gun owners' Second Amendment rights. The House is expected to vote this week on separate bills requiring background checks for all sales and transfers of firearms and extending the background-check review from three to 10 days. The bills are the first in a series of steps planned by majority House Democrats to tighten gun laws after eight years of Republican control. The White House says in a veto message that the bill expanding background checks would impose unreasonable requirements on gun owners. It says the bill could block someone from borrowing a firearm for self-defense or allowing a neighbor to take care of a gun while traveling. The other bill, extending the review period for a background check, "would unduly impose burdensome delays on individuals seeking to purchase a firearm," the White House said. The bill would close the so-called Charleston loophole used by the shooter in a 2015 massacre at a historic black church to buy a gun. But the White House said allowing the federal government to "restrict firearms purchases through bureaucratic delay would undermine the Second Amendment's guarantee that law-abiding citizens have an individual right to keep and bear arms." Earlier Trump pledge Democrats accused Trump of hypocrisy, noting that Trump advocated for strengthening background checks after 17 people were shot and killed at a Florida high school a year ago. At a meeting with survivors and family members of the shooting in Parkland, Florida, Trump promised to be "very strong on background checks." And he suggested he supported allowing some teachers and other school employees to carry concealed weapons to be ready for intruders. A week later, during a televised meeting with lawmakers at the White House, Trump wagged his finger at a Republican senator and scolded him for being "afraid of the NRA." The president declared that he would stand up to the gun lobby and finally get results in quelling gun violence. Trump's words rattled some Republicans in Congress and sparked hope among gun-control advocates that, unlike after previous mass shootings, tougher regulations would be enacted. But Trump later retreated on those words, expressing support for modest changes to the federal background check system, as well as for arming teachers. 'Empty words' The Democratic National Committee said in a statement Tuesday that Trump's initial pledge to take on the National Rifle Association and address gun violence "were just empty words." Trump "had the opportunity to put his money where his mouth is, and instead said he would veto bipartisan legislation" to expand background checks, the DNC said. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Trump was ignoring the threat of gun violence even as he declared a national emergency so he could siphon billions of dollars from the military to fund his proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. "The gun violence epidemic in the United States of America is an actual national emergency. The days of this House burying its head in the sand are now over," Jeffries said Tuesday. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said the two gun bills to be voted on this week are "something that the overwhelming majority of the American people will want us to support." HANOI - In front of a backdrop of American and North Korean flags as he shook hands with Kim Jong Un at the start of their second summit, U.S. President Donald Trump denied that he has walked back his pledge to denuclearize the Korean peninsula. Asked by a reporter if they would declare a formal end to the Korean War, which was halted with an armistice in 1953, Trump replied: Well see. The North Korean leader and Trump before dinner immediately went into an adjacent room at Hanois Metropole Hotel for a brief meeting with only their interpreters present. WATCH: President Trump Looking for 'Right Deal'; Kim Not Pessimistic A small group of reporters, in the room for the opening moment of the discussion, heard Kim praise Trump for his courageous decision to begin their dialogue, which started last year in Singapore. We made a lot of progress and I think the biggest progress was our relationship which is really a good one, Trump said to Kim, noting that Vietnam had really rolled out the red carpet for their follow-up encounter, adding he hopes this one is equal or greater. WATCH: Trump optimistic about summit results Economic potential Trump, elaborating on comments he had made earlier in the day to their Vietnamese hosts, told Kim that North Korea has unbelievable and unlimited economic potential. I look forward to watching it happen and to helping it to happen and we will help it to happen, said Trump. Joining Trump for the dinner were Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. At the round table with Kim for the meal were Kim Yong Chol, who is vice chairman of the powerful central committee of the Workers Party of Korea and North Koreas foreign minister, Ri Yong Ho. Well have a very interesting dialogue, said the North Korean leader. Our relationship is a very special relationship, Trump said at the start of the dinner, noting the special chemistry he says exists between him and Kim. Trump later tweeted that he had "Great meetings and dinner" with the North Korean leader. Great meetings and dinner tonight in Vietnam with Kim Jong Un of North Korea. Very good dialogue. Resuming tomorrow! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2019 U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leade U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sit down for a dinner during the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam Feb. 27, 2019. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sit down for a dinner during the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam Feb. 27, 2019. Thursday meeting More extensive discussions between the two leaders are expected on Thursday. Trump indicated just prior to the Wednesday evening dinner that he would hold a news conference the next day to discuss the outcome of his talks with the North Korean leader. For the second time in two days the White House press corps found its coverage affected by restrictions apparently demanded by the North Koreas. A day ahead of the summit, the journalists accredited to the White House found themselves evicted from their press filing center at the Melia Hotel where Kim is staying. They were forced to move to an international media center run by the Vietnamese government in the Cultural Friendship Palace, joining more than 3,000 other journalists. The White House offered no explanation for the last-minute change of venue beyond saying there were technical issues. International wire service reporters, who are core members of the pooling coverage, were excluded at the last minute from observing the start of Wednesdays Trump-Kim dinner. Only the newspaper pooler, Vivian Salama of the Wall Street Journal, was permitted to join the photographers along with the CBS TV crew and the designated radio pool reporter from National Public Radio. Originally Sarah Sanders informed us that no print reporters would be allowed in due to sensitivities over shouted questions in the previous sprays. But when our photo colleagues joined us in protest, they decided to allow one print reporter in, noted Salama in a pool report. Due to the sensitive nature of the meetings we have limited the pool for the dinner to a smaller group, but ensured that representation of photographers, TV, radio and print poolers are all in the room, said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders. We are continuing to negotiate aspects of this historic summit and will always work to make sure the U.S. media has as much access as possible. The White House Correspondents Association "strenuously" objected to "the capricious decision to exclude some journalists from a press encounter with President Trump and Chairman Kim." "We call on the White House to not allow a diminution of the previously agreed-to press complement for the remainder of the summit," said WHCA President Oliver Knox. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gestures as he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gestures as he and U.S. President Donald Trump sit down before their one-on-one chat during the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 27, 2019. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gestures as he and U.S. President Donald Trump sit down before their one-on-one chat during the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 27, 2019. Expectations While some U.S. officials have attempted to lower expectations for the outcome of the second summit, Trump is under pressure to extract something beyond the vague commitment made by Kim last June in Singapore on pledging to give up his nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in exchange for a lifting of crushing international sanctions on the impoverished country. The Singapore summit was hailed as a historical event as Washington and Pyongyang have never had diplomatic relations. When Trump took office there were fears of a renewed war with North Korea as the U.S. president threatened to unleash fire and fury like the world has never seen on the northeast Asian country in response to its threats against the United States and its allies. U.S. intelligence officials remain skeptical that Pyongyang intends to follow through on Kim's Singapore pledge to denuclearize. 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." Despite the end to testing, Coats cautioned that 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." CAPITOL HILL - President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, told Congress and the world Wednesday that the president is a "racist, a con man and a cheat." For nearly six hours, Cohen told the story of his decade as Trump's personal attorney during dramatic testimony to a House committee Wednesday. President Donald J. Trump enters the Presidential President Donald J. Trump enters the Presidential Palace to meet with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 27, 2019, ahead of the second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. President Donald J. Trump enters the Presidential Palace to meet with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 27, 2019, ahead of the second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The picture he painted of President Trump was not a flattering portrait. "Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great. He had no desire or intention to lead this nation, only to market himself and to build his wealth and power. ...," Cohen said. "I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump's illicit acts rather than listen to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is." Cohen said nothing happened within the Trump Organization without Trump knowing about it. He told lawmakers Trump knew his campaign adviser, Roger Stone, was in contact with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange about the release of hacked Democratic National Committee emails damaging to his 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton before WikiLeaks released them to the public. Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, testifies before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 27, 2019. Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, testifies before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 27, 2019. Russia negotiations Cohen said Trump secretly directed negotiations for a Moscow real estate deal, while publicly claiming during the campaign that he had no business interests in Russia, which would have posed a conflict. Trump repeatedly lied to voters about not having any business dealings with the Russians because he never expected to win the election and didn't want to pass up landing a lucrative real estate deal in Moscow, according to Cohen. Cohen said that while Trump did not directly tell him to give false testimony to Congress about the Moscow negotiations, the president made clear "that he wanted me to lie." Cohen detailed reimbursements from Trump for hush money Cohen paid weeks before the election to keep adult film star Stormy Daniels quiet about an affair she alleges she had with Trump more than a decade ago. A copy of a check from Donald Trump to Michael Coh A copy of a check from Donald Trump to Michael Cohen, his former personal lawyer, is displayed as he testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 27, 2019. A copy of a check from Donald Trump to Michael Cohen, his former personal lawyer, is displayed as he testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 27, 2019. Cohen provided the committee a copy of one check for $35,000 that he said Trump personally signed from his personal bank account while he was president. He said the check was one of 11 installment checks. Trump is a racist, a con man, and a cheat, Cohen alleged. "The country has seen Mr. Trump court white supremacists and bigots. You have heard him call poorer countries 'shitholes.' In private, he is even worse," Cohen testified. "He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasn't a 'shithole.' This was when Barack Obama was president of the United States. While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid," according to Cohen. Key Comments from Trump's Ex-Attorney Testimony Michael Cohen, U.S. Michael Cohen, U.S. He said Trump once arranged for a fake bidder at an auction to pay $60,000 for a portrait of Trump, then reimbursed the bidder out of funds from Trump's charitable foundation so Trump could hang the painting at one of his country clubs. "It was my experience that Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes," Cohen said. When it came to the question the country wants answered did Trump collude with Russia to turn the 2016 election in is favor, Cohen said he did not have direct evidence but said, "I have my suspicions." He said he witnessed a conversation between Trump and his son, Donald Trump Jr., which Cohen believes was about a 2016 Trump Tower meeting between senior campaign officials and a Russian lawyer tied to the Kremlin. Washington on Edge as Mueller Probe Nears Completion Get ready for some fireworks over the long-awaited Mueller report.Word that special counsel Robert Mueller may wrap up his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and issue his final report in the coming weeks has Washington on edge. Get ready for some fireworks over the long-awaited Mueller report.Word that special counsel Robert Mueller may wrap up his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and issue his final report in the coming weeks has Washington on edge. Prison sentence Cohen's testimony comes about two months before he begins a three-year prison term after pleading guilty to financial crimes, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress. He also has been disbarred and can no longer practice law in the state of New York. Republicans zeroed in on Cohen as someone who cannot be believed because he lied to Congress before and is going to prison for it. They also described Cohen as someone who is angry because he did not get a White House job he allegedly coveted and is interested in the millions of dollars he could collect from book, movie and television deals. They claimed Cohen and the Democrats are out to destroy Trump and that he is seeking a lesser prison sentence for his crimes. FILE - Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's for Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, departs after testifying before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, on Capitol Hill, Feb. 27, 2019, in Washington. Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, departs after testifying before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, on Capitol Hill, Feb. 27, 2019, in Washington. ?Cohen briefly spoke to reporters after the hearing, saying he is "humbled." He thanked House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings "for giving me the opportunity today to tell my truth." Cummings said after hearing Cohen speak, he believes Trump committed a crime while in office, saying Wednesday was the beginning of a process and that Americans want accountability. He dismissed Republican charges that the hearing was a circus and travesty, saying this was all about the checks and balances between the legislative and executive branches members of Congress are constitutionally bound to uphold. Cohen is the highest-profile witness since the 1970s Watergate scandal to testify in Congress against a sitting American president. John Dean III, former White House aide in the Nixo John Dean III, former White House aide in the Nixon Administration, adjusts his eyeglasses as he nears the end of reading his 245-page prepared statement before the Senate Watergate Committee in Washington, D.C., on June 25, 1973. John Dean III, former White House aide in the Nixon Administration, adjusts his eyeglasses as he nears the end of reading his 245-page prepared statement before the Senate Watergate Committee in Washington, D.C., on June 25, 1973. The last time the United States witnessed anything like this was in 1973, when former White House Counsel John Dean delivered a dramatic testimony that implicated President Richard Nixon and others in a cover-up effort in the Watergate affair. A year later Nixon became the first and only American president to resign. Cohen pleaded guilty last year to eight criminal charges, including campaign finance violations in connection with the payments to Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also alleges she had an affair with Trump. He also pleaded guilty to one count of lying to Congress about the Trump Organization's efforts to negotiate a deal to construct a Trump Tower in Moscow. The moment was meant to be a grand diplomatic triumph, a headline-dominating spectacle that could lead to the disarmament of a dangerous nation while delivering a vital political victory. Instead, President Donald Trump's high-stakes summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un in Vietnam on Wednesday was in danger of being upstaged by a monumental betrayal unfolding half a world away in Washington. Hours after Trump sat face-to-face with Kim in Vietnam, his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, sat before Congress and testified that his longtime boss was a conman and a racist who lied about having advanced knowledge of Wikileaks plans to release an opponent's stolen emails. The spectacle was proof the Trump presidency has not yet exhausted its ability to surprise. As the president staged a historic summit abroad, a former confidante delivered testimony, both detailed and taunting, that threatened to humiliate the president and undermine his foreign policy goals. Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, testifies before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 27, 2019. Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, testifies before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 27, 2019. ?The drama drew Trump's attention even amid sensitive denuclearization talks. Even before the hearing began, the president unleashed an attack on his former fixer, who has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress and campaign finance violations and has been sentenced to three years. In a tweet, Trump downplayed Cohen's influence and claimed he was lying in order to reduce his prison time. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leade U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pose before their meeting during the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam Feb. 27, 2019. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pose before their meeting during the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam Feb. 27, 2019. Later, as he sat for a photo with Kim, Trump bristled at reporters' questions about Cohen. After the event, the White House took the extraordinary step of barring four U.S. reporters, including one from The Associated Press, from Trump's dinner with Kim, citing the sensitivities of the meeting. Democrats consider Cohen their star witness as they kick off investigations into Trump's business practices, presidential campaign and embattled charitable foundation, including any payments relating to efforts to influence the 2016 election. He was initially due on Capitol Hill earlier this month, but his appearance was delayed. The president's son Donald Jr. accused Democrats of timing the hearing to interfere with Trump's trip abroad. Cohen's testimony appeared designed to get under Trump's skin. Reading from his prepared remarks, Cohen said Trump instructed him to threaten schools that Trump attended to prevent release of his grades or SAT scores. Cohen also described discussing the Vietnam War with his former boss, who didn't serve because he received a medical deferment for bone spurs. But Cohen says Trump could not provide any medical records and said: You think I'm stupid, I wasn't going to Vietnam. Added Cohen, addressing the president thousands of miles away: I find it ironic, President Trump, that you are in Vietnam right now. Cohen: Trump Is a 'Racist, Con Man, Cheat' Trump's ex-lawyer offers country intimate look at president's business empire, political tactics The hearing began just before midnight in Hanoi. It was not clear whether Trump stayed up late to watch. The president did spend some of the downtime at his hotel before his dinner with Kim watching the coverage of Cohen's prepared testimony, which was released the evening before his Capitol Hill appearance. In the written testimony released in advance of the appearance, the president's former lawyer and fixer acknowledged he organized a cover up of potentially damaging allegations of infidelity, which Trump denies, and listened to Trump's racist remarks. Cohen claimed Trump was told by an associate, Roger Stone, that WikiLeaks had emails damaging to his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's campaign and planned to release them. Trump has previously denied knowing anything about Stone's communications with WikiLeaks. Cohen's testimony on the very day Trump met with Kim is a particularly acute moment of domestic humiliation for a president engaged in foreign diplomacy, but it wasn't the first, said Princeton University history professor Julian Zelizer. Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan, all endured trouble at home that hampered their foreign policy aims. Zelizer noted that Clinton ordered air strikes on Iraq in 1998 as an impeachment vote loomed in the House of Representatives. In that case, critics accused Clinton of staging a distraction a concern that has been raised regarding Trump's moves with North Korea. The presidency doesn't stop, even when scandal hits, said Zelizer. The one thing that's different is that he's tweeting. In `98 the president said, `I'm focused on foreign policy,' and he tried to act presidential. Added Zelizer of Trump: I think he is going to connect the stories himself. A girl plays with American, North Korean, and Viet A girl plays with American, North Korean, and Vietnamese flags in a tourist area near Sword Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 27, 2019. A girl plays with American, North Korean, and Vietnamese flags in a tourist area near Sword Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 27, 2019. The president's two-day summit with Kim in Hanoi began with a highly choreographed greeting and photo-op, followed by a dinner, while the serious negotiating was set for Thursday. But Cohen shadow's reached across the Pacific, as Trump was asked at the summit by an Associated Press reporter if he had any response to Cohen's testimony. The president shook his head and scowled. And a short time later, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders approached the press and said that no reporters would be allowed into the dinner. That was an abrupt change from the initial plan issued by the White House, which had said that access would be granted to the usual 13-person group of reporters, known as the traveling press pool, who follow the president to every event. Hours after Trump's day ended, Cohen remained present. Several White House staffers, including chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, retired to the hotel lobby for a drink. But on the TVs behind them, Cohen's testimony beamed in from thousands of miles away. White House senior advisor Jared Kushner met Tuesday with the Saudi crown prince, the first time they met since the October killing of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The White House said in a statement Wednesday the two discussed a variety of topics in Riyadh, including economic investment in the Middle East and efforts to bring peace to the region. "Building on previous conversations, they discussed increasing cooperation between the United States and Saudi Arabia, and the Trump administration's efforts to facilitate peace between the Israeli's and Palestinians," the statement said. The statement did not mention Khashoggi, whose murder has raised tensions between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. Kushner had cultivated a close relationship with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of the Saudi kingdom. The U.S. intelligence community reportedly concluded the crown prince ordered Khashoggi's killing. Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, is on a seven-day trip to the Middle East, visiting U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states along with U.S. Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt and U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shakes han Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shakes hands with Jared Kushner (L), U.S. President Donald Trump's adviser, prior to their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, Feb. 27, 2019. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shakes hands with Jared Kushner (L), U.S. President Donald Trump's adviser, prior to their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, Feb. 27, 2019. The three visited Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates earlier this week "to get advice from them on what is the best way to proceed" with the Middle East peace process, Kushner said in an interview with Sky News Arabia in Abu Dhabi. Kushner declined to disclose details of the U.S. peace proposal, but he has said both the Israelis and the Palestinians must make concessions. White House officials have said the long-awaited plan could be announced after Israel's April 9 elections that will determine the political future of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On Wednesday, the U.S. delegation visited Turkey, the country in which Khashoggi was murdered. Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist who wrote critically about the Saudi kingdom, was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which sparked global outrage and tarnished the reputation of the crown prince. LIMANI, CAMEROON - The governor of Cameroon's Far North region is denying a report that tens of thousands of Nigerian refugees who fled Boko Haram-related violence will be forced to return home. Aid agency Medicins Sans Frontieres, also called Doctors Without Borders, said Wednesday that Cameroonian and Nigerian authorities have ordered 40,000 refugees to return to northeastern Nigeria. The statement, reported by the Reuters news agency, said MSF had seen people packing their belongings and heading toward the Nigerian city of Rann, which Islamist militant group Boko Haram attacked and burned to the ground in January. Midjiyawa Bakari, governor of the Far North region, told VOA that any returns to Nigeria are voluntary. "We would not want them to settle in unsafe places where they may still be attacked by Boko Haram. I want also to state that Cameroon is a state of law and respects its international commitments and will not force any of the refugees to return, but they must seek refuge in safer localities. Those who agree to voluntarily return will be accompanied back to their country," Bakari said. A Cameroonian police officer stands next to people FILE - A Cameroonian police officer stands next to people waiting for water at the Minawao refugee camp for Nigerians who fled Boko Haram attacks in Minawao, Cameroon, March 15, 2016. FILE - A Cameroonian police officer stands next to people waiting for water at the Minawao refugee camp for Nigerians who fled Boko Haram attacks in Minawao, Cameroon, March 15, 2016. Some 35,000 Nigerians have crossed into Cameroon over the past two months, fleeing attacks by Boko Haram or fighting between the group and government troops. They add to a refugee population in the region that now tops a quarter million. Many of the refugees are children in need of medical care, says refugee spokesperson Elvis Aseto. "We have a population of over 20,000 children here. We are in need of help. The items that were distributed are now [completely used up]. ... We need UNHCR for that support and we are now appealing for help in the name of the Lord," Aseto said. Xavier Bourgois, spokesperson of the U.N. refugee agency in Cameroon, says the agency and its partners have been providing humanitarian aid to the refugees who come in critical condition. Bourgois says because the refugees need urgent assistance, a team of UNHCR staff and its partners, including NGOs, have been paying regular visits to the sites to provide food, water, and health and sanitary needs, and to protect and register the Nigerians flooding into Cameroon. Nigeria has claimed the upper hand in its 10-year fight against Boko Haram, but 2.5 million people remain displaced across the Lake Chad region, including more than 1.8 million inside Nigeria. U.N. agencies appealed for $135 million last month to help the displaced. Similar appeals in the past two years have been funded at 42 percent and 56 percent. ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - American and Afghan Taliban officials have temporally paused ongoing peace talks in Qatar to consult with their respective leaderships before returning to the table on Saturday. A spokesman for the insurgent group said Wednesday, during an uninterrupted debate for two days, the "technical groups" from both sides focused entirely on issues related to "complete withdrawal" of U.S.-led foreign forces from Afghanistan. They also focused on the Taliban giving guarantees that prevent terrorists from using Afghan territory for attacks against other nations in future. 'Break for internal consultations' Without elaborating further, a member of the insurgent negotiations team said the discussions with U.S. interlocutors were "good and they are heading in the right direction." "We now have a break in the dialogue for two days to allow each side to conduct internal consultations and seek advice from their respective leaders before we return here and resume the dialogue," Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwah told a pro-Taliban media outlet Wednesday night after leaving the meeting. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliat Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad approaches the microphone to speak on the prospects for peace, Feb. 8, 2019, at the U.S. Institute of Peace, in Washington. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad approaches the microphone to speak on the prospects for peace, Feb. 8, 2019, at the U.S. Institute of Peace, in Washington. U.S. representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, is leading the American team. Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanekzai is heading an "authoritative" team of Taliban negotiators. The ongoing meeting is the fifth round of talks since late last summer when Washington directly engaged the Taliban in a dialogue that U.S. officials say is primarily aimed at paving the ground for a sustainable intra-Afghan peace process. Both Taliban and U.S. officials announced after their last meeting in Doha a month ago they had agreed "in principle" on a "framework" of discussions on the issues of foreign troop exit and insurgent counterterrorism assurances. Khalilzad repeatedly clarified, however, that any final U.S. troop withdrawal plan would be linked to a Taliban cease-fire and the rebel group's direct talks with the government in Kabul. The insurgent group refuses to engage in talks with the Afghan government, though, insisting any discussions on internal Afghan matters must be decided by Afghans themselves. Baradar joins talks At an informal session Monday hosted by Qatari officials prior to the formal negotiations, Taliban delegates were introduced to American interlocutors by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the newly appointed Taliban's deputy chief of political affairs and head of its Qatar-based office. Baradar arrived in Doha a day before the two sides reconvened for the meeting, and his presence is seen as key to sustaining a productive dialogue with the U.S., according to insurgent officials. The Taliban leader had been in detention in Pakistan since 2010 when a joint operation by local and U.S. intelligence operatives captured him in the city of Karachi while he was traveling through the neighboring country. He was released last October at the request of Khalilzad, meeting a key insurgent demand. Baradar is known as a co-founder of the Taliban, and he is considered a highly respected figure in the rebel group. He is credited for organizing the insurgent campaign after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan 17 years ago ousted the Taliban from power. Baradar continues to maintain influence over Taliban battlefield commanders, particularly in southern Afghan provinces, observers say. Elsa, a San Francisco, CA-based smart AI English pronunciation assistant, secured $7M in Series A funding. The round was led by Gradient Ventures, Googles AI-focused venture fund, with participation from previous investors Monks Hill Ventures and SOSV. In conjunction with the funding, Zachary Bratun-Glennon, Partner at Gradient Ventures, is joining Elsas board. The company inrends to use the funds to expand into new markets, such as Japan, where it will open an office, Indonesia and India, and hire additional AI scientists and engineers to expand its AI and speech recognition capabilities. Founded in 2015 by Stanford alum Ms. Vu Van, and Dr. Xavier Anguera, Elsa is a mobile app that uses artificial intelligence and speech recognition technology to allow language learners to improve their English pronunciation. The company has built its own proprietary speech technology using deep learning and AI to detect peoples pronunciation mistakes with 95%+ accuracy. The app listens to the way language learners pronounce words, sentences or conversations to pinpoint exact errors and provide real-time, accurate feedback on their pronunciation mistakes with specific suggestions on how to improve. Elsa, currently used by 1.5 billion English language learners across the globe, will also introduce new social features to foster community-based learning and build out more advanced AI capabilities to evaluate other speech elements like rhythm and intonation for a more complete evaluation of learners speech. The company also has offices in Portugal and Vietnam. FinSMEs 27/02/2019 WASHINGTON - In an effort to reduce the burden of Islamic State foreign fighters, U.S.-backed Syrian forces have recently handed over more than 300 IS militants, who have been captured in Syria, to the Iraqi government, which will reportedly try them for their actions against Iraqi civilians and security forces. Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) officials have indicated that the move has been made to seek legal avenues outside Syria to try the militants for the crimes they have committed, since the territory under the SDF control is not recognized internationally nor does it have a functioning judicial system in place. French president Emmanuel Macron, right, shakes ha French president Emmanuel Macron, right, shakes hands with Iraqi President Barham Saleh after a press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Feb. 25, 2019. Saleh is on a two-day visit to France. French president Emmanuel Macron, right, shakes hands with Iraqi President Barham Saleh after a press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Feb. 25, 2019. Saleh is on a two-day visit to France. Iraqi President Barham Salih, who is currently visiting France, said that his country is acting within the framework of international law in this respect. "They are accused of having commanded operations against Iraqis and Iraqi installations in Iraq, and they will be tried according to Iraqi law," Salih said on Monday. Iraqi officials said they have taken custody of 13 IS fighters from the SDF, all of which were of French origin. Contacted by VOA, SDF officials refused to comment on the details of the recent transfer of IS foreign fighters to Iraq. Since the beginning of war against IS in 2014, Iraqi authorities have been trying detained suspects inside the country where hundreds of convicted militants have been executed or given long prison terms. There are more than 800 IS militants of foreign origin in the custody of the Kurdish-led SDF, according to local SDF officials. There are also about 2,700 IS family members, including women and children, who have been settled in two heavily guarded refugee camps in northeast Syria, the same sources said. "These people are from 49 countries," said Abdulkarim Omar, co-chair of foreign relations in the Kurdish-led region in Syria. "Iraq, Kazakhstan and Indonesia are the only countries that have so far taken their citizens. But the rest of the world seems indifferent about this issue, which is really disappointing," Omar told VOA. Men wait to be screened by U.S.-backed Syrian Demo Men wait to be screened by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces fighters after being evacuated out of the last territory held by Islamic State militants, near Baghuz, eastern Syria, Feb. 22, 2019. Men wait to be screened by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces fighters after being evacuated out of the last territory held by Islamic State militants, near Baghuz, eastern Syria, Feb. 22, 2019. As SDF fighters are closing in on IS in its last stronghold in eastern Syria, more foreign fighters are expected to be captured. There are an estimated 300 IS fighters trapped inside the town of Baghuz, mostly foreigners. Iraq has been actively seeking to take in an increasing number of IS fighters captured in Syria because of its proximity to areas where IS used to operate in the neighboring country, experts say. "In the Iraq case, it is easy to take Iraqi nationals and others who have committed crimes because Iraq was directly involved in the war on IS," said Khaled Ibrahim, a Kurdish lawyer who closely follows cases of IS foreign fighters in Syria. He said Iraq has proven to be effective in terms of taking in and trying IS fighters. Thousands Evacuate Last Islamic State Hold-Out in Syria The United Nations says in the last three days some 9,000 people have evacuated the final piece of land still held by the Islamic State terror group in Syria.The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Syria (OCHA Syria) said of those fleeing the Syrian village of Baghuz, 99 percent are women and children, and 6,000 civilians have been brought to the nearby al-Hol camp for displaced persons in northeastern Syria.Over the past 72 hours as many as 9,000 people have been evacuated The United Nations says in the last three days some 9,000 people have evacuated the final piece of land still held by the Islamic State terror group in Syria.The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Syria (OCHA Syria) said of those fleeing the Syrian village of Baghuz, 99 percent are women and children, and 6,000 civilians have been brought to the nearby al-Hol camp for displaced persons in northeastern Syria.Over the past 72 hours as many as 9,000 people have been evacuated Deal with the regime? For the SDF, however, to appropriately address the issue of IS foreign fighters, some experts like Joshua Landis, the director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, offers a different approach. "The SDF could make a deal with the Syrian government to try the ISIS members for killing Syrians, just as the SDF has done by turning them over to the Iraqi government, which will try them for killing Iraqis," he told VOA. Kurdish authorities, however, said they have no intention of bringing up this issue with the Syrian regime. "The regime has shown no interest or seriousness in dealing with this matter," Kurdish official Omar said. Washington considers the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as illegitimate for its atrocities against its own people. "It is hard for the U.S. to argue that the Syrian courts would be less just than Iraqi courts," Landis said. "The U.S. knows perfectly well how Iraqi justice is meted out to those that have tried to overthrow the state, especially suspected members of ISIS." President Donald Trump participates in the 2019 Wh President Donald Trump participates in the 2019 White House Business Session with Our Nation's Governors at the White House in Washington, Feb. 25, 2019. President Donald Trump participates in the 2019 White House Business Session with Our Nation's Governors at the White House in Washington, Feb. 25, 2019. While there aren't any official statistics on IS foreign fighters held in Syria, most of them are believed to have come from France, Britain, Germany and other European and Arab countries. U.S. President Donald Trump recently has urged European countries to take back their citizens who have fought with IS in Syria. "The Caliphate is ready to fall," Trump said in a tweet. "The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them." Risks Local Kurdish officials ruled out taking such a measure, but stressed that keeping suspected IS foreign fighters in a volatile region for a long time with no prospect of repatriating them is risky. "Our region is still unstable, so any major turmoil could offer an opportunity for these dangerous individuals to escape prison and pose yet another threat to the entire world," said Omar of the local Kurdish administration. VOA's Kurdish service reporter Saleh Damiger contributed to this report. KHARTOUM - The government of Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir this week issued four new emergency laws forbidding demonstrations and strikes, as well as imposing new economic restrictions. The measures came after Bashir announced a state of emergency Feb. 22, two months after demonstrations erupted across the country demanding regime change. His aim, he said, was to rescue Sudan's political and economic situation. Sudan's constitution enables the president to declare a state of emergency when there are threats to national security such as a war or natural disaster, says Mohamed Awad, a legal expert and activist. But Awad says he does not believe that is the case now. Sudanese protesters take part in an anti-governmen FILE - Sudanese protesters take part in an anti-government demonstration in Khartoum, Feb. 14, 2019. FILE - Sudanese protesters take part in an anti-government demonstration in Khartoum, Feb. 14, 2019. "In the current situation, there is no legal need for imposing the emergency. The solution is 100 percent political. Peaceful transfer of power is the solution," Awad said. The emergency measures include restrictions on transactions involving gold and other national resources, and on money transfers. The new rules are raising questions among rights groups and protesters, such as student Mohamed Omer. "Emergency law has always been practiced on us. The only difference [is] that the authority now has a legal cover under emergency law to do anything, seizing what is left from our freedom," Omer said. Social media is one of the few places where demonstrators can organize protests or share information, but even those spaces are being affected by the new restrictions. The recently announced measures mean that offenses like insulting a government official or sharing news that authorities believe may "put the country in danger" can bring prison sentences of up to 10 years. The restrictions appear to be fueling calls for Bashir, who has ruled Sudan since 1989, to step down. "Freedom isn't something challengeable," said one demonstrator in Khartoum. "When we're told to not do something, we do it. This is why the protests are getting bigger. The president should confess and deliver the power and not make new rules to gain time." Despite the government restrictions, new protests broke out Wednesday at the Ahfad University for Women in Omdurman and at a hospital in Khartoum's Bahri section, where a child died after being hit by a security car. Police pushed back the protest at the university and broke up the one at the hospital. KHARTOUM - Sudan has established emergency prosecutors and courts nationwide, state news agency SUNA said Tuesday, a day after President Omar al-Bashir announced sweeping new security powers to contend with months of unrest. Bashir declared a national state of emergency last Friday and sacked state governors, replacing them with officials from the military and security services. Dozens of doctors staged peaceful protests in the capital Khartoum and other cities Tuesday, chanting slogans in the halls of several public hospitals and demanding that Bashir step down. Hundreds of students also continued protests at Sudan's oldest university for women, in the city of Omdurman. FILE - Sudanese protesters demonstrate against the FILE - Sudanese protesters demonstrate against their government in the capital Khartoum's district of Burri, Feb. 24, 2019. FILE - Sudanese protesters demonstrate against their government in the capital Khartoum's district of Burri, Feb. 24, 2019. Neighboring Egypt and some Western countries including the United States expressed concern about the situation in Sudan, which has been shaken by almost daily demonstrations since December over the rising cost of living and other grievances. As well as having emergency courts set up in every Sudanese state, Bashir also reshuffled some senior military staff on Tuesday. He switched the positions of several members of Sudan's eight-strong military staff council and appointed General Essam al-Din Mubarak as minister of state in the defense ministry. "These are normal, routine changes that happen from time to time," a military spokesman told Reuters. A coalition of opposition lawyers denounced Tuesday's moves as unconstitutional. 'Deep concern' Bashir, who came to power in 1989 in a military coup, issued a raft of edicts Monday banning unlicensed public gatherings and awarding sweeping new powers to police. Security forces were given the power to search any building, restrict movement of people and public transport, arrest individuals suspected of a crime related to the state of emergency, and seize assets or property during investigations. The United States, Britain, Norway and Canada issued a joint statement expressing "deep concern" over the situation. "There remains a clear need for political and economic reform in Sudan that is fully inclusive, and which addresses the legitimate grievances expressed by the protesters," it said. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, speaking to Reuters on Tuesday on the sidelines of a U.N. Human Rights Council conference in Geneva, said Egypt stood ready to help its southern neighbour if required. "We believe that the Sudanese and Egyptian peoples have a common history and a common future, and definitely anything that disrupts the security, stability and prosperity of the Sudanese people is of utmost concern to us," Shoukry said. The University of Missouri is suing a former pharmacy professor from its Kansas City campus, alleging he stole a student's research and sold it to a pharmaceutical company. The suit, first reported in the Kansas City Star, alleges that Professor Ashim Mitra defrauded the university of millions of dollars in potential royalties from the drug. Because the student was employed as a graduate research assistant, the university states, profit from the nanotechnology he developed belongs to the university. The suit comes a few months after the newspaper reported that Mitra exploited international students, including Kishore Cholkar and Kamesh Kuchimanchi, professionally and personally by taking credit for their work and requiring them to run personal errands. The students, all from India, complained to the Star that they feared Mitra had the power to revoke their student visas. Ashim Mitra, right, discovers he was selected for FILE - Ashim Mitra, in an undated photo on right, is seen as he learns he was selected for a Presidents Award. (Photo by Janet Rogers/Strategic Marketing and Communications) FILE - Ashim Mitra, in an undated photo on right, is seen as he learns he was selected for a Presidents Award. (Photo by Janet Rogers/Strategic Marketing and Communications) The Star found that over Mitra's 24 years as a leader in the UMKC School of Pharmacy, the professor compelled his students to act as his personal servants. They hauled equipment and bused tables at his social events. They were expected to tend his lawn, look after his dog and water the house plants, sometimes for weeks at a time when he and his wife were away, the newspaper reported about the investigation. The Star talked to nearly a dozen former students about Mitra's demands. Dozens more declined to go on the record for this story. "The complaint I received earlier this afternoon from the curators of the University of Missouri was unexpected and disappointing," Mitra told the Star. "All of the alleged wrongdoing on the part of myself and my wife can be proven to be false." Without commeting on the controversy, Mitra resigned from the university, effective March 31. SAO PAULO - Brazilians are split on a proposed overhaul of the country's pension system, a poll showed on Tuesday, while most said they approve of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro's performance. In one of the first major surveys since Bolsonaro's Jan. 1 inauguration, 45.6 percent of respondents said they disapprove of the proposed pension reform, while 43.4 percent said they approve. The rest said they did not know or did not respond. It was the first time a poll, conducted by the MDA institute and commissioned by the CNT transportation lobby, directly asked respondents if they approved of pension reform. Other polls in the past year have shown large swings in voter opinion on pension reform, from over two-thirds against to figures in line with the MDA survey. Bolsonaro's proposal to address a widening pension deficit by raising taxes, delaying retirements and creating individual savings accounts is the cornerstone of his economic agenda. Last week, the president delivered his proposal to Congress, aiming to save over 1 trillion reais ($266 billion) in the next decade. Most economists agree the system must be overhauled to shore up public finances and foster growth. On Bolsonaro's popularity, 57.5 percent approved of his performance, while 28.2 percent disapproved and 14.3 percent did not offer an opinion. In the survey, 38.9 percent said Bolsonaro's government was "good" or "excellent," 29 percent said it was "regular" and 19 percent said it was "bad" or "terrible." MDA surveyed 2,002 Brazilians between Feb. 21 and 23. The poll has a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points. TAIPEI - The Philippine government's pick of transitional leadership for a newly formed Muslim autonomous region shows early signs of isolating armed rebel groups that hoped to share power, threatening the region's long-term stability. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte late last week named the chairman of the Muslim rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front as interim chief minister of a transition authority for the region, which will cover about 4.3 million people and get special government funding as well as control over some natural resources. The pick for chairman and the front's majority of seats in the new agency give it a lead over 20 other armed groups that have advocated Muslim autonomy on the southern island of Mindanao. Rebel violence has left about 121,000 people dead in Mindanao since the 1960's, giving the island a bad reputation among tourists and investors.. But analysts fear the exclusion of other groups could lead to rebel-vs-rebel struggles that eventually could hobble the governments goal of using the autonomous region to keep peace. The Moro National Liberation Front -- an organization unrelated to the other front -- complained Sunday when it got just five of the 80 transition authority seats, domestic media reported. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front got 41. With Muslim groups, the main issue is that theyre not necessarily speaking for everyone, and so you now have a situation where you need to deal with complaints about being excluded from the process, said Herman Kraft, political science professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman. I think it goes beyond the idea of what the groups are actually fighting for, Kraft said. Its really more a question of who claims to represent the interests of the Muslims in the Philippines. Presidential mandate Duterte told the chairman, Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, to use democratic values in building up the autonomous zone, called the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed a 2014 peace deal with the government, agreed to disarm and helped officials set up the new region. Always work for the best interest and welfare, not only of the Bangsamoro people but every Filipino who lives in that region, Duterte said, as quoted on the presidential website. In July, Duterte signed a law authorizing the regions formation on 12,536 square kilometers of land. Officials hope the region will offer some of the self-rule that Muslims have sought for some 500 years in the majority Catholic country. That outcome could in turn ease fighting and let Mindanao develop economically via new infrastructure and investment. The key word is build and they will come, said Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist with Banco de Oro UniBank in Metro Manila. If you build infrastructure, businesses will come and eventually youll get to see interested investors. Insiders, outsiders Multiple rebel groups would hope to help steer the autonomous region so they get access to resources and legitimacy for their own stakeholders, who include specific southern Philippine ethnic groups and large families. The Maute Group, for example, drew support from an influential family as it fought a five-month war with troops in 2017. Groups excluded from the autonomous regions leadership will stay intact as new ones form, said Enrico Cau, associate researcher at the Taiwan Center for International Strategic Studies. You will have instability in the region from new splinter groups that are nothing but ammunition of the bigger groups trying to get their things done, Cau said. Mindanaos most internationally known rebel group, Abu Sayyaf, has built connections with the Middle Eastern terrorist sponsor Islamic State since 2016. Abu Sayyaf periodically kidnaps and beheads foreign tourists. It took credit in January for two deadly church bombings in Sulu province, where voters had just rejected joining the autonomous region. Some scholars saw the bombings as an Abu Sayyaf protest against the regions formation. Duterte responded by commanding troops to crush Abu Sayyaf, his office website says. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front will need to reach out effectively to other rebels as well as indigenous populations and Mindanaos Christians who live in the autonomous region, Cau said. The MILF leadership should be expected given that it has been the negotiating party with the government throughout the peace process, said Carl Baker, director of programs with think tank Pacific Forum CSIS in Honolulu. The major problem with MILF leadership will be the lack of experience with governing a diverse region. ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI - Tensions escalated Wednesday between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan amid claims and counter claims of shooting down each other's fighter planes. Pakistan said it downed two Indian planes after they crossed over to its side of the Line of Control, the de-facto border in the disputed Kashmir region, following Pakistan's airstrikes into an "open space" on the Indian side designed to send a message. Pakistan said it captured one Indian pilot. "We planned it such that there would be no collateral damage, no casualties, but only to let India know that if you can come into our territory, we can also carry out strikes on your territory," Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said in an address to the nation Wednesday afternoon. A man watches the speech of the Pakistani Prime Mi A man watches the speech of the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, after Pakistan shot down two Indian planes, in Lahore, Pakistan, Feb. 27, 2019. A man watches the speech of the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, after Pakistan shot down two Indian planes, in Lahore, Pakistan, Feb. 27, 2019. 'Unprovoked act of aggression' India said it shot down a Pakistani fighter plane, a claim denied by Islamabad, and New Delhi protested what it called Pakistan's "unprovoked act of aggression" in targeting Indian military posts and violating its air space. India acknowledged it lost a plane and the Indian pilot was with Pakistan. "Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defense personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return," an Indian external affairs ministry statement read. The Pakistani military's media wing released pictures of the wreckage and a video of the pilot who described himself as Wing Commander Abhinandan. India called the release of the video, and some leaked videos on social media, a violation of the Geneva Convention outlining the international rules of warfare. People stand next to the wreckage of Indian Air Fo People stand next to the wreckage of Indian Air Force's helicopter after it crashed in Budgam district in Kashmir, Feb. 27, 2019. People stand next to the wreckage of Indian Air Force's helicopter after it crashed in Budgam district in Kashmir, Feb. 27, 2019. Growing tension Tension in the region has been steadily growing since a suicide attack earlier this month in Pulwama, in Indian Kashmir, that killed more than 40 security personnel. India accused Pakistan of sheltering the militant group Jaish e Mohammad that claimed the attack and promised a "befitting response." Indian jets entered Pakistani airspace Tuesday, for the first time since 1971 when the two countries went to war, to destroy what they said were JeM's training camps near Balakot in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Social media videos by locals from the area showed the strike hit a sparsely populated wooded area. Prime Minister Khan had earlier warned that if India struck, Pakistan would be forced to respond. Analysts fear public pressure may force the two sides into a cycle of retaliation despite both claiming that they do not want the situation to escalate. The two sides have fought three full-scale wars along with a limited-scale conflict. Khan offered India dialogue again Wednesday, promising to discuss all issues including terrorism. "With the weapons (nuclear) that we own and you own, can we afford a miscalculation?" Khan said, addressing India, then adding, "If the situation escalates, it will be neither in my control nor Narendra Modi's control," he said, referring to India's prime minister. Earlier in the morning, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj told her Chinese and Russian counterparts that the Indian action was conducted in the light of the "continuing refusal of Pakistan to acknowledge and act against terror groups on its territory" but that her country would act with "responsibility and restraint." The night before, the two sides exchanged heavy fire at several points in Kashmir. Gul Hasan, a teacher fleeing the shelling in Chakothi at the Line of Control on the Pakistani side, said he was forced to leave his home with his children in the middle of the night. "People were running from Chakothi. We also ran on foot," he said, saying most of the population in the area also fled. Pakistani Kashmiris flee the town of Chakoti which Pakistani Kashmiris flee the town of Chakoti from the Pakistan-Indian border, following the intense exchange of fire between two countries, Feb. 27, 2019. Pakistani Kashmiris flee the town of Chakoti from the Pakistan-Indian border, following the intense exchange of fire between two countries, Feb. 27, 2019. The two countries have had thousands of incidents of cross-border firing in Kashmir in the last few years. Pakistan closed its airspace to commercial traffic Wednesday, restoring it only partially by the evening. India shut down airports in the north of the country for several hours but later resumed operations. Stranded passengers stand outside an airport after Stranded passengers stand outside an airport after it was closed for civilians operations amid tension along the border with Pakistan in Jammu, India, Feb. 27, 2019. Stranded passengers stand outside an airport after it was closed for civilians operations amid tension along the border with Pakistan in Jammu, India, Feb. 27, 2019. Calls for restraint In light of Wednesday's developments, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang reiterated calls for India and Pakistan to exercise restraint. The U.S. has also expressed concern about the situation. "The United States is deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan and calls on both sides to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation. The potential risks associated with further military action by either side are unacceptably high for both countries, their neighbors, and the international community," a National Security Council official said. A day earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he had talked to both the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers to "encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost." Earlier this week, Federica Mogherini, the European Union's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, talked to Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and "stressed the urgency to de-escalate the situation." Meanwhile, peace activists in both countries have become active on social media. By Wednesday evening, #SayNoToWar was trending in both India and Pakistan. NEW YORK - If two New York City lawmakers get their way, the long, droning siren from police cars, fire trucks and ambulances that has been part of the city's soundtrack for generations WAAAAAhhhhhhh would be replaced by a high-low wail similar to what's heard on the streets of London and Paris WEE-oww-WEE-oww-WEE-oww. Their reasons for the switch: The European-style siren is less shrill and annoying and contributes less to noise pollution. Ive been hearing from constituents complaining that the current sirens in New York are a high-pitched, continuous noise a nuisance, says Helen Rosenthal, an Upper West Side Democrat and one of the sponsors of the proposal. NY Gov. Cuomo Deems Losing 2nd Amazon HQ 'Greatest Tragedy' Cuomo blamed fellow Democrats who control the state Senate for the loss Noise is consistently among the most frequent complaints to the city's hotline, with many calls about the loud sirens that blare 24/7, wake people from their slumber and cause dogs to howl in unison. Europeanizing New York sirens would not change the decibel level still topping out at roughly 118 but would lower the frequency and thus make the sirens less shrill but still ear-catching enough to grab attention. The alternating high-low siren required by this legislation is not as piercing, adds co-sponsor Carlina Rivera, a Manhattan Democrat. If approved in a council vote which has yet to be scheduled the legislation would require sirens on all emergency vehicles to transition within a two-year period. In this Feb. 20, 2019, photo, a police vehicle res In this Feb. 20, 2019, photo, a police vehicle responds in New York. That long, droning police and ambulance siren that has become part of the soundtrack of New York City for generations could be changing. In this Feb. 20, 2019, photo, a police vehicle responds in New York. That long, droning police and ambulance siren that has become part of the soundtrack of New York City for generations could be changing. Buzz about the bill even made it to last week's NBC Saturday Night Live, where a Weekend Update anchor joked that with the European-style siren, You can spend your ride in the ambulance pretending you have universal health care. City council members are looking closely at the experience of the city's Mount Sinai Health System, which already uses the two-tone siren in its 25 ambulances that make about 100,000 trips a year. The switch was made last year after decades of complaints from residents of the Upper East Side home of the hospital complex. At community board meetings, Mount Sinai's Emergency Medical Services Director Joseph Davis played various siren options to find out which one locals preferred. People hated them all, Davis said, but the `high-low' was least intrusive. It didn't have that piercing sound. Davis, a 40-year EMS veteran who suffers from hearing damage that he blames on repeated exposure to sirens, said the change was simple and cost effective: All it took was reprogramming the electronic box in each vehicle, which comes preloaded with seven different sounds with names such as Wail, Yelp and Piercer. In fact, many ambulances, fire trucks and police cars are equipped with alternate sirens and horns that they can employ in certain situations, such as in traffic when cars and pedestrians just won't get out of the way. They include short blips and the Rumbler low-frequency, vibrating siren aimed at motorists who may otherwise be unable to hear higher frequencies. In this Feb. 20, 2019, photo, police vehicles res In this Feb. 20, 2019, photo, police vehicles respond in New York. A pair of city lawmakers has proposed switching to the high-low, European-style wail heard on the streets of London and Paris. In this Feb. 20, 2019, photo, police vehicles respond in New York. A pair of city lawmakers has proposed switching to the high-low, European-style wail heard on the streets of London and Paris. For some Manhattanites, any change in the city's daily siren song would be welcomed. I always have to cover my ears with my hands when a siren-blaring ambulance passes, says Louise Belulovich, a Manhattan attorney. If I'm carrying packages and unable to, then what is an annoying experience becomes a painful one.'' But Linda Sachs, a longtime resident of Manhattan's Upper West Side who lives near one of the Mount Sinai hospitals that uses the new European siren, doesn't think the change is for the good. She prefers the old New York standard. The old sirens never woke me up, but these make me shudder, Sachs says, adding that she understands city lawmakers are attempting to do something about noise pollution. But the old sound wasn't as obnoxious. ABUJA - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday won a second term at the helm of Africa's largest economy and top oil producer, a tally by Reuters based on electoral commission results showed. Buhari faces a daunting to-do list, including reviving an economy still struggling to recover from a 2016 recession and quelling a decade-old Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands of people in the northeast, many of them civilians. Buhari of the All Progressive Congress party proved wrong those who doubted he could survive the blows of recession, militant attacks on oilfields, and Islamist insurgency that blighted his first term. He won by 56 percent compared with 41 percent for the other candidate, businessman and former vice president Atiku Abubakar of the People's Democratic Party. Supporters of Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari Supporters of Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari celebrate at the campaign headquarters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) party in Abuja, Nigeria, Feb. 26, 2019. Supporters of Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari celebrate at the campaign headquarters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) party in Abuja, Nigeria, Feb. 26, 2019. The president won by 3.9 million votes, having garnered 15.2 million to Atiku's 11.3 million. The turnout, based on valid votes, was 33.2 percent. In the 2015 presidential election, turnout was 44 percent. A message posted on Buhari's Twitter feed late on Tuesday showed him smiling and surrounded by applauding staff at his campaign office. "I met the very hardworking members of our team, many of them young people, and was briefed on the performance of our party so far in the Presidential Elections. I am very proud of what has been accomplished," he said on Twitter. Garba Shehu, Buhari's spokesman, said the president's office would have no comment until the electoral commission announces the winner. Earlier, Atiku's party demanded an immediate halt to the release of results by the Independent National Electoral Commission until turnout figures are provided to the competing parties. FILE - Nigerian presidential candidate Atiku Abuba FILE - Nigerian presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar of the People's Democratic Party, speaks to journalists at his residence in Yola, Nigeria, Feb. 16, 2019. FILE - Nigerian presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar of the People's Democratic Party, speaks to journalists at his residence in Yola, Nigeria, Feb. 16, 2019. Atiku's party has rejected the tallies announced so far as "incorrect and unacceptable". Buhari's party has said the opposition was trying to discredit the returns from Saturday's election. The accusations have ratcheted up tensions in a vote marred by delays, logistical glitches and outbreaks of violence. Nigeria's six decades of independence have been marked by long periods of military rule, coups and secessionist wars. Observers from the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union and the United Nations appealed to all parties to await the official results, expected later this week, before filing complaints. The candidate with the most votes nationwide is declared winner as long as they have at least one-quarter of the vote in two-thirds of Nigeria's 36 states and the capital, Abuja. Otherwise there is a second-round run-off. Buhari secured enough votes to meet both requirements. Ex-Military Ruler Buhari, 76, is a former military ruler who took office in 2015 and sought a second term with pledges to fight corruption and overhaul Nigeria's creaking road and rail network. Atiku, 72, had said he would aim to double the size of the economy to $900 billion by 2025, privatize the state oil company and expand the role of the private sector if voted into office. Voting took place on Saturday after a week-long delay which the election commission said was due to its inability to get ballots and results sheets to all parts of the country. A woman cast her votes during the presidential and A woman cast her votes during the presidential and National Assembly elections in Damilu Yola, Nigeria, Feb. 23, 2019. A woman cast her votes during the presidential and National Assembly elections in Damilu Yola, Nigeria, Feb. 23, 2019. The event - Africa's largest democratic exercise - has also been marred by violence in which at least 47 people have been killed since Saturday, according to the Situation Room, a monitoring organization linking various civil society groups. Some of the deaths took place after gangs allied to the leading parties clashed with each other as well as the police over the theft of ballot boxes and allegations of vote fraud. Police have not yet provided official casualty figures. More than 260 people have been killed since the start of the election campaign in October. The toll so far is lower than in earlier elections, but the worst violence occurred previously only after results were announced. MANAGUA, NICARAGUA - A resumption of talks over Nicaragua's political standoff has raised hopes among those who believe it could help resolve the nearly year-old crisis and also caused some division among opponents to Daniel Ortega, with some saying they fear it could give oxygen to the embattled president. The Roman Catholic Bishops' Conference has said it will participate as an observer in the talks that open Wednesday, while the government has yet to say whether Ortega or his wife, the powerful Vice President Rosario Murillo, will take part. FILE - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Vice FILE - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo greet supporters in Managua, Nicaragua, Oct. 13, 2018. FILE - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo greet supporters in Managua, Nicaragua, Oct. 13, 2018. Nor has a time or location been made public, though speculation has centered on the headquarters of the Central American Institute for the Administration of Businesses, about 10 miles (15 kilometers) south of the capital, Managua. It's a school where young people receive business training, and student leaders sought refuge from police there during 2018's deadly protests. We are all going to meet in reconciliation and in affection, Murillo said Monday in one of her frequent appearances on official television. The official website El 19 said the talks would be between the government and the private business sector. Ortega, a 73-year-old former guerrilla, announced last week that negotiations would take place to consolidate peace, and the opposition group Civic Alliance said soon after that its delegation would comprise six businesspeople, two students, two academics, a politician and a feminist lawyer. But that brought criticism from others in the opposition, in part because it did not include a farmworkers' movement that supported the student protests last year. Three of its leaders were given lengthy prison sentences related to their rural protests the same day Ortega announced the talks. UN: Criminalization of Dissent in Nicaragua Worsens Unrest U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet is expressing alarm at growing repression in Nicaragua and warns the increasing criminalization of dissent is promoting political and social instability in the country.Over the past six months, the government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has arrested hundreds of political opponents and activists, allegedly to muzzle them and keep their opinions from being heard.The U.N. U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet is expressing alarm at growing repression in Nicaragua and warns the increasing criminalization of dissent is promoting political and social instability in the country.Over the past six months, the government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has arrested hundreds of political opponents and activists, allegedly to muzzle them and keep their opinions from being heard.The U.N. Other criticisms called for greater participation by students and women the lawyer and one of the students are the only female opposition representatives to the talks, and both of them substitutes. The opposition coalition said it will have four primary demands: the release of some 770 people it considers political prisoners; restoration of media freedoms following a crackdown on journalists and outlets critical of the president; electoral reform and an earlier date for elections now scheduled for 2021; and a plan to seek justice for protesters killed in the government crackdown, who number about 325 according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Those demands are widely shared across the opposition spectrum, but many say they should be preconditions for sitting down with the government rather than points of negotiation. In this July 24, 2018 photo, Vilma Nunez, presiden In this July 24, 2018 photo, Vilma Nunez, president of Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights talks on a phone, at her office in Managua, Nicaragua. In this July 24, 2018 photo, Vilma Nunez, president of Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights talks on a phone, at her office in Managua, Nicaragua. Public freedoms and human rights are nonnegotiable, Vilma Nunez, president of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights and a former official in Ortega's first Sandinista government from 1979 to 1990, told The Associated Press. The government must respect them because they are principles established in the constitution. You have to give the dialogue a chance, but we have our reservations, she continued. I think the Alliance acted hastily by accepting a negotiation, and that creates suspicions. Nunez said she doesn't believe Ortega is approaching the dialogue in good faith and fears he will use the talks to buy time and perpetuate himself in power. In this May 6, 2018 photo, Managua's auxiliary R In this May 6, 2018 photo, Managuas auxiliary Roman Catholic Bishop Silvio Baez delivers his homily during a Sunday Mass at the the Sacred Heart church in Managua, Nicaragua. In this May 6, 2018 photo, Managuas auxiliary Roman Catholic Bishop Silvio Baez delivers his homily during a Sunday Mass at the the Sacred Heart church in Managua, Nicaragua. Unlike in the previous talks, Roman Catholic officials will only be witnesses, and Bishop Silvio Baez, auxiliary bishop in Managua and one of the church's most fervent voices in opposition to Ortega, will not take part. Members of the Committee on Political Prisoners demanded they be allowed representation. Our children must be released before Wednesday. They are not a bargaining chip, said Carlos Silva, the father of a prisoner accused of terrorism for helping during the protests to tear down one of the symbolic trees of life sculptures that Murillo put up across Managua. The protests that spurred the deadly crackdown last year by security forces and armed, pro-Ortega civilian groups have all but died out. But tensions remain, with hundreds of people behind bars, many more in hiding or in exile and government opponents denouncing ongoing persecution. Nicaraguan media reported on Monday that the dead body of Bryan Aburto had been discovered. The 18-year-old student took part in the demonstrations and had fled to neighboring Costa Rica before returning to Nicaragua a week ago. In this May 30, 2018 photo, anti-government protes In this May 30, 2018 photo, anti-government protesters carries letters that form the Spanish word for "Justice" during a march against the government of Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega, and his wife Vice President Rosario Murillo in Managua, Nicaragua. In this May 30, 2018 photo, anti-government protesters carries letters that form the Spanish word for "Justice" during a march against the government of Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega, and his wife Vice President Rosario Murillo in Managua, Nicaragua. Civic Alliance leaders say Ortega is coming to the table weakened and hopes to burnish his image and avoid further sanctions from international organizations at a time when key ally Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela is under pressure from the region and beyond. Ortega and allies in Nicaragua are also under threat of tough financial sanctions from the United States and the European Union. We will accompany you step by step, Luis Carrion, a former Sandinista commander who broke with Ortega, said in an open letter to the Civic Alliance, but we will also ask for accountability and demand that you respond to the confidence we are entrusting with you. WASHINGTON - Former acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker agreed to meet with lawmakers to clarify his testimony, a congressional leader said on Tuesday, referring to an appearance where Whitaker was quizzed about whether President Donald Trump had sought to influence investigations. "I want to thank Mr. Whitaker for volunteering to meet with us to clarify his @HouseJudiciary testimony," Representative Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, tweeted, saying he hoped to schedule Whitaker in the "coming days." Lawmakers have not said what Whitaker will address from his Feb. 8 testimony, which Nadler previously said was "unsatisfactory, incomplete, or contradicted by other evidence." But the most persistent questions then focused on whether Whitaker had contact with Trump about an investigation into hush-money payments to women during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney. The Justice Department, which has already said Whitaker stands by his testimony, had no immediate comment. The brief tenure of Whitaker as head of the Justice Department ended on Feb. 14 when the Senate confirmed Trump's choice of permanent Attorney General William Barr. The Judiciary Committee has obtained possible evidence suggesting that Trump asked Whitaker about possibly changing the prosecutor in charge of the hush-money probe, said a person familiar with the matter. A House Judiciary Committee spokesman and a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office declined to comment. If true, such a request by Trump could bolster Democratic efforts to show that the president has sought to influence law enforcement investigations against him and his associates. FILE - Special counsel Robert Mueller, in charge o FILE - Special counsel Robert Mueller departs Capitol Hill, in Washington, June 21, 2017. FILE - Special counsel Robert Mueller departs Capitol Hill, in Washington, June 21, 2017. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is said to be close to ending a 21-month investigation into whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election to help Trump; whether Trump's campaign colluded with Moscow; and whether Trump has since obstructed justice. Russia has denied meddling. Trump has denied any collusion. The Mueller probe has clouded his presidency for many months. Nadler's panel has information suggesting that Trump asked Whitaker if U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman could take control of an investigation of Cohen by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, said the source who asked not to be identified. Berman is a former law partner of another Trump attorney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Trump dismissed as false a report in the New York Times last week about a similar request to Whitaker. Congressional investigators now have information that such a request was made and that Whitaker provided misleading testimony to the panel while under oath during his contentious Feb. 8 hearing, the source said. In that session, Whitaker testified he had not talked to Trump about the probe and had not interfered with it in any way. He also denied media reports that claimed that Trump had lashed out at Whitaker after he learned Cohen was pleading guilty to lying to Congress about a proposed Trump Tower in Moscow. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler FILE - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler D-N.Y., speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing at Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 6, 2019. FILE - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler D-N.Y., speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing at Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 6, 2019. Nadler said then that media reports contradicted Whitaker's testimony and that "several individuals" had direct knowledge of phone calls Whitaker denied receiving from the White House. Cohen was sentenced in December to three years in prison after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations, including making payments to adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels, and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Cohen said he made those payments at the direction of Trump. Both women have claimed they had affairs with Trump. He has denied having sex with Daniels and denied McDougal's claim. Ex-Lawyer Cohen's Testimony in Congress Poses High Risks for Trump In what promises to be a riveting and historic televised hearing, Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's former longtime personal lawyer, is set to appear before a House oversight panel Wednesday to provide an intimate and potentially damaging look at Trump's business empire, as well as his conduct during and after the 2016 presidential election campaign.In prepared testimony obtained by news organizations ahead of the hearing, Cohen says of Trump: "He is a racist. He is a con man. In what promises to be a riveting and historic televised hearing, Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's former longtime personal lawyer, is set to appear before a House oversight panel Wednesday to provide an intimate and potentially damaging look at Trump's business empire, as well as his conduct during and after the 2016 presidential election campaign.In prepared testimony obtained by news organizations ahead of the hearing, Cohen says of Trump: "He is a racist. He is a con man. Cohen testified behind closed doors to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday. He is expected to testify publicly on Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee. BLANTYRE - Malawi officials say the country has the world's highest rate of cervical cancer, but only two oncologists serving the nation of 17 million people. In an effort to reduce cervical cancer deaths, the government has rolled out a massive vaccine campaign against the human papilloma virus (HPV), which can cause cervical cancer. The immunization project follows a pilot effort in two districts between 2013 and 2015. The campaign is run with funding from the Global Alliance on Vaccines and is expected to reach 1.5 million girls between the ages of 9 and 14 across the country. The U.N. children's agency, UNICEF, is among organizations implementing the project. "The disease starts when you engage in sexual behavior and contract a virus we call human papilloma virus that causes cancer slowly, over time," said Steve Macheso, an immunization specialist for UNICEF in Malawi. "So we are trying to catch the girls early before their sexual debut so that when even they contract human papilloma virus, the virus does not cause cancer when they grow up." Women wait outside the Philippe Maguilen Senghor h FILE - Women wait outside a health center for free breast and cervical cancer screenings, in Yoff, Dakar, Senegal, April 22, 2017. Officials say Malawi has the world's highest rate of cervical cancer. (S. Christensen/VOA) FILE - Women wait outside a health center for free breast and cervical cancer screenings, in Yoff, Dakar, Senegal, April 22, 2017. Officials say Malawi has the world's highest rate of cervical cancer. (S. Christensen/VOA) Other organizations supporting the effort are the World Health Organization and the Clinton Health Access Initiative. Health experts say cervical cancer causes the largest number of cancer deaths among women in Malawi. "For the whole Malawi, we are talking about close to 3,600 new cases every year. And over 2,000 of these women die from this kind of cancer every year. This is the highest number of cervical cancer cases in the world," said Dr. Leo Masamba, one of only two oncologists in Malawi. Masamba says results of the HPV vaccination effort will not be felt for decades. "In between, whilst we are waiting for those 10 to 30 years, there will still be quite a lot of cervical cancer cases coming from people that have already been infected with HPV now. We need to make sure that treatments are still available, and other interventions like palliative care is still available," Masamba said. Loveness Kalanda is happy that her 9-year-old daughter will be vaccinated. "I wish if it was possible, government should have considered vaccination for us older women because this disease is not selective," she said, adding that she wished there were another way to protect older women from the disease. Jonathan Chiwanda, the national cancer coordinator in the Ministry of Health, told reporters in the capital, Lilongwe, that measures are in place to tackle the disease. "All along we have been doing surgeries, we have been offering chemotherapy. We have also been giving antiretroviral drugs with help from remission for the Kaposi sarcoma (type of cancer)," he said. In addition, he said, the government will soon open its first-ever cancer center in Lilongwe, which will be offering radiotherapy and other treatment to patients. Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's former long-time personal attorney, is testifying Wednesday before a congressional panel about his dealings with Trump through the years, during the 2016 presidential campaign and in the first months of his presidency two years ago. His testimony is occurring about two months before he is set to begin a three-year prison term for financial crimes, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress. Trump, in Vietnam for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jung Un, assailed Cohen on Twitter, saying he "was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time." Here are some of Cohen's comments from his prepared statement at the opening of the hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform: "Never in a million years did I imagine, when I accepted a job in 2007 to work for Donald Trump, that he would one day run for president, launch a campaign on a platform of hate and intolerance, and actually win. I regret the day I said 'yes' to Mr. Trump. I regret all the help and support I gave him along the way." "I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr. Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat." Cohen said he was providing the congressional panel with several pieces of evidence to support his account. Cohen described one of them as "a copy of a ($35,000) check Mr. Trump wrote from his personal bank account after he became president - to reimburse me for the hush money payments I made to cover up his affair with an adult film star and prevent damage to his campaign." He also submitted "a copy of an article with Mr. Trump's handwriting on it that reported on the auction of a portrait of himself he arranged for the bidder ahead of time and then reimbursed the bidder from the account of his non-profit charitable foundation, with the picture now hanging in one of his country clubs." Cohen admitted lying to Congress in previous testimony, saying, "I lied to Congress about when Mr. Trump stopped negotiating the Moscow Tower project in Russia. I stated that we stopped negotiating in January 2016. That was false our negotiations continued for months later during the campaign." "In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me there's no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie." "To be clear: Mr. Trump knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it. He lied about it because he never expected to win the election. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project." "Donald Trump is a man who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great. He had no desire or intention to lead this nation only to market himself and to build his wealth and power. Mr. Trump would often say, this campaign was going to be the 'greatest infomercial in political history.' He never expected to win the primary. He never expected to win the general election. The campaign for him was always a marketing opportunity." "A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr. Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time. The answer is yes. Mr. Trump knew from (political adviser) Roger Stone in advance about the WikiLeaks drop of emails. In July 2016, days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trump's office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with (WikiLeaks founder) Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign. Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of "wouldn't that be great.'" "Mr. Trump is a racist. The country has seen Mr. Trump court white supremacists and bigots. You have heard him call poorer countries 'shitholes.' In private, he is even worse. He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasn't a 'shithole.' This was when Barack Obama was president of the United States. While we were once driving through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. And, he told me that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid." "Mr. Trump is a cheat. It was my experience that Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes." "Mr. Trump is a conman. He asked me to pay off an adult film star with whom he had an affair, and to lie to his wife (first lady Melania Trump) about it, which I did. Lying to the first lady is one of my biggest regrets. She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly and she did not deserve that." Trump claimed a bone spur in his foot to avoid serving during the Vietnam War in the 1960s, but Cohen said, "When I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery. He told me not to answer the specific questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received a medical deferment. He finished the conversation with the following comment. 'You think I'm stupid, I wasn't going to Vietnam." "I find it ironic, President Trump, that you are in Vietnam right now. After 10 years of delay, a federal judge has ruled that three former inmates who say they were tortured at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison can go forward with their lawsuit against a military contractor. Arlington-based CACI Premier Technology asked the judge Wednesday to dismiss the lawsuit. The company, which supplied the Army with civilian interrogators, argued that the government's refusal to declassify key facts is making it impossible to defend itself. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema acknowledged CACI's frustration but said the lawsuit can move forward even though the government says certain facts like the identities of the interrogators are state secrets that can't be declassified. Abu Ghraib Payments FILE - Iraqi army soldiers stand guard at the Abu Ghraib prison on the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq, Sept. 2, 2006. FILE - Iraqi army soldiers stand guard at the Abu Ghraib prison on the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq, Sept. 2, 2006. The case is now slated to go to trial in April. While other pretrial matters remain unresolved, Brinkema told both sides that "you should expect if you don't settle this case, it'll go to trial." The lawsuit, first filed in 2008, has previously been tossed out on multiple occasions, but each time the 4th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Richmond has revived the case and ordered the district court to take a closer look. Brinkema said she has interpreted her mandate from the 4th Circuit as one that generally requires her to get the case in front of a jury. The judge did say, though, that she expects to toss one of the four Iraqi plaintiffs from the case because his allegations of abuse largely occurred before CACI interrogators arrived in Iraq in late September 2003. The inmates say they were beaten and tortured by military police officers who were acting at the direction of civilian interrogators who wanted the inmates "softened up" for questioning. Some of the inmates who filed the lawsuit, with assistance from the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, say they suffered abuse mirroring some of the most well-documented incidents that shocked the world's conscience when photos from Abu Ghraib were publicized 15 years ago, including being stacked into naked human pyramids. CACI says none of its interrogators are linked to the abuse suffered by the inmates who are suing. CACI's lawyers have expressed concern that they will be unfairly tarnished in front of the jury by the worst of what occurred at Abu Ghraib when they say it was military police who conducted the worst abuse. John Bolton, U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser, shakes stars-and-stripes maracas as he dreams of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro behind bars in an orange prison suit. "Guantanamero ... Maduro Guantanamero ...," Bolton sings in a caricature by Venezuelan cartoonist Fernando Pinilla a play on both the well-known Cuban song, and the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay. A mounted copy of the cartoon from Miami newspaper Diario Las Americas has joined the trophy wall in Bolton's West Wing office, which until now has been dominated by mementos associated with his signature foreign policy fight: Iran. One cartoon features an ayatollah hearing about Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. The new addition is a sign of how Bolton's hawkish focus has zeroed in on a new target getting Maduro to leave Venezuela. A cartoon caricature of John Bolton, U.S. Presiden A cartoon caricature of John Bolton, U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser, is seen in this image provided by Venezuelan cartoonist Fernando Pinilla that now hangs framed on the wall of Bolton's West Wing office at the White House in Washington, Feb. 27, 2019. A cartoon caricature of John Bolton, U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser, is seen in this image provided by Venezuelan cartoonist Fernando Pinilla that now hangs framed on the wall of Bolton's West Wing office at the White House in Washington, Feb. 27, 2019. It's a battle he has waged on Twitter, where his acid-tongued trolling of the socialist leader has made him one of the Trump administration's fiercest voices on the issue. The United States has led an international effort to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as the legitimate interim president of Venezuela, considering Maduro's 2018 re-election a sham. Since January, Bolton has fired off more than 130 withering missives directed at Maduro, accounting for three quarters of all his Twitter activity in that time and more than a third of all his tweets since Trump named him national security adviser in March 2018. A spokesman for Bolton declined comment on the strategy. Bolton, a veteran neoconservative who critics call a warmonger, has tweeted far more about Venezuela in his time as national security adviser than any other topic, including Iran (34 tweets) or the Middle East and Syria (29 tweets). It was Bolton's most viral Venezuela tweet that was the genesis for the cartoon that now graces his office. "I wish Nicolas Maduro and his top advisors a long, quiet retirement, living on a nice beach somewhere far from Venezuela," Bolton said, a zing that has since been retweeted 19,000 times and liked 39,000 times. The next day, Bolton talked about the tweet with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, and added a threat: "The sooner he takes advantage of that, the sooner he's likely to have a nice, quiet retirement on a pretty beach, rather than being in some other beach area like Guantanamo," Bolton said. In Caracas, Pinilla heard about Bolton's warning and was inspired. "It was easy to imagine that it would be the soundtrack of that arrest, which is our dream," said Pinilla, who said he was surprised and honored when he learned from Reuters that his work was hanging on Bolton's wall. 'I dream of Bolton' Bolton's war of words has rankled his targets. Earlier this month, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza held up his phone at a United Nations press conference, brandishing a Bolton tweet warning countries and companies against buying oil and gold from Maduro's government. "What he's trying to do here is give orders," Arreaza complained to reporters. eiei eee e eiie eie i FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Feb. 14, 2019. FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Feb. 14, 2019. Arreaza follows Bolton on Twitter. Bolton does not follow him back. "Bolton's gangster-style language and threats are proof of the most sublime diplomatic practice. How regrettable that US foreign policy has fallen into the hands of such a gang," Arreaza tweeted last week. While Bolton has far fewer followers than Maduro 543,000 to Maduro's 3.5 million Bolton has stronger stats on "engagement," a measurement of how readers connect with a message, noted Matthias Luefkens, who produces an annual "Twiplomacy" study on how world leaders use Twitter. "His language is very bold, very daring, direct. It's not diplomatic language that he uses," said Luefkens, who works for the public relations firm BCW Global in Geneva. The strategy bypasses the time-sucking layers of approvals needed to release a traditional White House statement and also side-steps the media. "It's the Trump formula of avoiding the gatekeepers," said Philip Seib, who writes about diplomacy and social media at the University of Southern California's School for Communication and Journalism. Bolton's brash style won fans in Caracas among supporters of opposition leader Guaido, like Martha Anez. She gushed about the mustachioed Trump adviser as she welcomed her friends to a crochet circle in her home in a well-to-do district earlier this month. "I dream of Bolton!" Anez quipped. "The first thing I do in the morning, even before my coffee, is check whether or not the gringos have said they will intervene. Here we need a square in honor of Bolton! Because he has helped us," she said. Israel's prime minister vowed to prevent Iran from securing a lasting presence in Syria as he visited Moscow on Wednesday for talks focusing on regional security. For Benjamin Netanyahu, it's the first trip to Moscow since September's downing of a Russian warplane by Syrian forces that were responding to an Israeli airstrike. The incident left 15 Russian crew dead and threatened to derail close security ties between Russia and Israel. Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the start of Wednesday's talks that "it's very important to discuss the situation in the region and security issues." He added that the high-level consultations are essential in view of the evolving situation. Netanyahu began the talks by reaffirming Israel's strong determination to block attempts by Iran to establish a foothold in Syria. Netanyahu Putin Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other members of the delegations attend a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 27, 2019. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other members of the delegations attend a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 27, 2019. "The greatest threat to stability and security in the region comes from Iran and its satellites," he said. "We are determined to continue with our aggressive action against the efforts of Iran, which calls for our destruction, and against its attempts to entrench militarily in Syria." Moscow has played a delicate diplomatic game of maintaining friendly ties with both Israel and Iran. Last summer, Moscow struck a deal with Tehran to keep its fighters away from the Golan Heights to accommodate Israeli concerns about the Iranian presence in Syria. Netanyahu noted that he and Putin had 11 meetings since September 2015 and hailed "the direct, open and true way in which we maintain the relationship between Russia and Israel." "The direct connection between us has been an essential element that has prevented risks and conflicts between our militaries, and that has contributed to regional security and stability," the Israeli leader said. Netanyahu congratulated Putin on the military holiday Russia marked last weekend and invited him to visit Israel to attend the opening of a monument to the Nazi siege of Leningrad during World War II. "We will never forget the role of Russia and the Red Army in the victory over the Nazis," he said. Putin, a native of the city, accepted the offer. Netanyahu praised "excellent bilateral relations," noting "more than one million Russian speakers who have made a great contribution to Israel, have turned into a part of us, and have made Russian culture a part of Israeli culture." BAGHDAD - Iraq could help transfer non-Iraqi Islamic State detainees held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria, Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said on Tuesday. Iraq will either help repatriate those citizens to their home countries, or prosecute on its own those suspected of having committed crimes, he said at his weekly news conference. "Some countries could ask Iraq to help to transfer some of her Daesh citizens to the other country, like France for example," Abdul Mahdi said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. "Iraq might help, would help, helped to transfer those people to their country. It is one battle and Iraq should fulfill its duties and obligations." "Fighters belonging to Daesh from other countries that their states, their countries refuse to receive how should we deal with that?" he asked. "Each case we should study the names, whether they participated in terrorist acts in Iraq. Then they could be judged by Iraqi tribunals." Earlier in the press conference, the prime minister specified that Iraq would not receive from Syria foreign fighters whose home countries refused to take back from Iraq. Iraq's President Barham Salih speaks to the media Iraq's President Barham Salih speaks to the media during a joint news conference with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Ankara, Turkey, Jan. 3, 2019. Iraq's President Barham Salih speaks to the media during a joint news conference with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Ankara, Turkey, Jan. 3, 2019. The comments came one day after Iraqi President Barham Salih said that 13 Islamic State detainees who were transferred to Iraq last week from the Syrian Democratic Forces would be tried in Iraq. Two Iraqi military sources told Reuters on Sunday that the U.S.-backed SDF handed over 14 French and six non-Iraqi Arab Islamic detainees last week. The fate of foreign detainees in SDF custody has become more pressing in recent weeks as U.S.-backed fighters planned an assault to capture the last remnants of the group's self-styled caliphate. The militant group still poses a threat in Iraq and some western officials believe that Islamic State's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, may still be hiding in the area. "We will deal with the case because if we don't, then they can use a 600 km (372.82 miles) border with Syria and infiltrate once again in Iraq. So it's a case that really concerns us, worries us and we have to deal with it," Abdul Mahdi said. TEHRAN - Irans president rejected the resignation of his foreign minister on Wednesday, throwing his full support behind the diplomat who negotiated the countrys nuclear deal with world powers as both men face growing pressure from hard-liners as the accord unravels under American pressure. President Hassan Rouhani earlier gave a speech praising Mohammad Javad Zarif after the foreign ministers sudden resignation shocked the Islamic Republic late on Monday night. His rejection of the resignation, reported by the state-run IRNA news agency, continued that praise. Since I consider you in the front line of resistance against broad pressures by the U.S., I consider acceptance of your resignation against the expedience of the country and I do not agree with it, Rouhani reportedly told Zarif. Zarif responded the same way he offered his shock resignation: Via Instagram. I hope that the Foreign Ministry, with coordination of all and supervision of the supreme leader and the president, will be able to carry out its responsibilities rigorously in the framework of constitution, law and general policies of the system, Zarif wrote in a caption overlaid on a waving Iranian flag. He later was shown on state television at an event with visiting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, signaling his return to work. Iran's Rouhani Stands by Moderate Ally Zarif After Surprise Resignation Zarif - a US-educated veteran diplomat who helped craft the pact that curbed Irans nuclear program in return for sanctions relief - gave no reason for his decision to quit when he announced it on Instagram on Monday It remains unclear what sparked Zarifs resignation. However, it came after Zarif was not present for a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday. Assad was warmly received by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as well as Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of an elite unit of the Revolutionary Guard. The Guards website later quoted Soleimani as offering his support to the foreign minister. Definitely, Zarif is in charge of foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and he has been always supported by top officials including the supreme leader, Soleimani reportedly said. Analysts say Rouhani faces growing political pressure from hard-liners within the government as the nuclear deal unravels. Iranian presidents typically see their popularity erode during their second four-year term, but analysts say Rouhani is particularly vulnerable because of the economic crisis assailing the rial, which has hurt ordinary Iranians and emboldened critics to openly call for his ouster. The son of a wealthy family, Zarif overcame hard-line objections and Western suspicions to strike the accord with world powers that saw Iran limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions. Iran's Foreign Minister Zarif, Architect of Nuclear Deal, Resigns Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the urbane, U.S.-educated architect of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, announced his resignation unexpectedly on Monday on Instagram. "Many thanks for the generosity of the dear and brave people of Iran and its authorities over the past 67 months. I sincerely apologise for the inability to continue serving and for all the shortcomings during my service. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the urbane, U.S.-educated architect of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, announced his resignation unexpectedly on Monday on Instagram. "Many thanks for the generosity of the dear and brave people of Iran and its authorities over the past 67 months. I sincerely apologise for the inability to continue serving and for all the shortcomings during my service. But the deal was later challenged by the administration of President Donald Trump, which pulled America out of the accord. In doing so, Trump also fueled Iranian suspicions about U.S. intentions dating back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Zarif had faced withering criticism at home after he shook hands with President Barack Obama. On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, long a critic of Iran, welcomed his departure. Zarif is gone, good riddance. As long as I am here Iran will not get nuclear weapons, he wrote in Hebrew on Twitter. Iran has always said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, and U.N. inspectors say it is still complying with the 2015 nuclear accord. Rouhani cited that Israeli response in his support of Zarif. The happiness and rejoicing of the real enemies of the people such as the Zionist regime over your resignation is the best indication of success of Mohammad Javad Zarif and the biggest reason for continuation of your activity in the post of foreign minister, Rouhani said. Despite a daily outpouring of bitter criticism against the U.S. trade action, the Chinese leadership seems to be actually learning lessons and taking reform measures it has avoided for years. In recent months, China has initiated new foreign investment and intellectual property protection laws and imposed punishment on local companies forcing their foreign partners to surrender technologies. The government has tried to assuage local sentiment by making it easier for Chinese companies to access finance. China plans to push through the new legislation during its annual meetings of the National Peoples Congress, which begins next week. The moves by the largely rubber stamp legislative body are aimed at trying to quickly resolve the trade dispute with Washington. A couple carries a paper bag containing goods purc A couple carries a paper bag containing goods purchased from American brand Champion past a bench painted with the U.S. flag at the capital city's popular shopping mall in Beijing, Feb. 13, 2019. A couple carries a paper bag containing goods purchased from American brand Champion past a bench painted with the U.S. flag at the capital city's popular shopping mall in Beijing, Feb. 13, 2019. American pressure Analysts said Xi Jinping is using American pressure as an excuse to push through his reform agenda and cut through the resistance he was facing from a section of the Communist Party and state-owned enterprises. Theres pressure that has come at the right time, and this was where the Chinese President Xi wanted to take the Chinese economy to, and it has all come at the same time, Sourabh Gupta, senior fellow at the Institute of China-America Studies in Washington, said. But without the push from Donald Trump and the American administration, we would not be seeing reform happening so fast and so quickly as in the last couple of months, he said. This is ironic because Chinese officials and the official media has been running an intense campaign against the Trump administrations trade actions, calling them a sign of the U.S. Presidents dictatorial ways and American arrogance. U.S. pressure led to fears of losing out on foreign investment in Beijings official circles. The government moved decisively last November, imposing 38 different penalties on Chinese companies that pressure their foreign partners to surrender technologies. China has also promised to bring in a full-fledged law to provide intellectual property protection to foreign investors. In addition, China is bringing in a new foreign investment law that aims to set up and improve the mechanism facilitating foreign investment and to create an open, fair and transparent business environment for foreign companies, the Ministry of Commerce said. Many of the things they are offering are changes they wanted to make anyway, Julian Evans-Pritchard, China Economist at the consulting firm, Capital Economics. Its just the U.S. pressure requires them to speed up some of that legislation. A cleaner wipes window panels near a shop of Ameri A cleaner wipes window panels near a shop of American sportswear brand Champion, at the capital city's popular shopping mall in Beijing, Feb. 13, 2019. A cleaner wipes window panels near a shop of American sportswear brand Champion, at the capital city's popular shopping mall in Beijing, Feb. 13, 2019. Tariffs A recent flash survey by the American Chamber in Commerce found that a majority of its members were in favor of keeping tariffs in place until the two sides hammer out a deal. At a briefing on Tuesday on its annual business survey of the business climate in China, the chamber said that about 10 percent were in favor of raising tariffs from 10 to 25 percent, after March 1. Another 43 percent supported maintaining the tariffs at 10 percent for another 60 days while Beijing and Washington worked out a deal. The survey was conducted before President Donald Trump announced he was delaying the March 1 deadline. In China, there are many who see American demands for restructuring of trade and the industrial policies as an important opportunity to hasten the countrys transition from a heavy reliance on exports to an economy that is dominated by the service and value-added sector. If China does not carry out structural reform, it will be difficult to achieve the China Dream and it will certainly fall into the middle-income trap, said Hu Xingdou, professor of economics at the Beijing Institute of Technology. Sticking point Analysts are asking if the new moves would be implemented on the ground soon enough to show results in a year or so, even if there is a trade agreement between the U.S. and China. The issue with China is not so much winning the negotiations. Its what happens after the negotiations, warns Andrew Hupert, author of The Fragile Bridge: Conflict Management in Chinese Business. In China, the problem is not about regulations, old or new. Its about how they are applied, and how much trouble a foreign investor must go through to obtain official approvals at the local level, Hupert said. The U.S. should not declare victory by getting Chinese signatures on a deal, he said. There are myriad ways in which Chinas provincial governments, bureaucrats and businessmen can bypass new rules meant to protect the interests of foreign investors. You close one loophole and another appears, said Julian Evans-Pritchard, adding that it doesnt seem that they have come to an agreement on how this trade agreement is going to be enforced. So that remains a sticking point. It is not as if U.S. negotiators are unaware about the Chinese practices in rule implementation after decades of American business experience in China. The Americans are breathing down their neck in ensuring that those regulations are written on a pro market basis, Gupta said. Chinese analysts believe there wasnt much that Beijing could do in the midst of the year-long trade war. For China, the trade war is drinking poison to quench ones thirst, Eric Zhang, former chief representative of the Oklahoma FDI Office in China, said. China stands to lose whether or not it accepts U.S. demands for reforms. Accepting the demands will also involve painful readjustment, he said. VOA Mandarin service's Mo Yu contributed to this report from Washington Hundreds of people boarded trucks leaving the last scrap of the Islamic State group's "caliphate" in eastern Syria on Wednesday as U.S.-backed forces prepared to deliver the final blow to holdout jihadists. Several thousand people fighters and their relatives are believed to be cornered in the last pocket of IS-held territory, barely half a square kilometer near the Iraqi border. Nearly five years since IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ascended a pulpit in a Mosul mosque to urge Muslims to join the newly proclaimed "caliphate," the proto-state is only days away from dying in a tiny village that until recently few even in Syria had known existed. Thousands of its last denizens, many of them women and children, have been pouring out of the riverside hamlet of Baghuz in recent days, posing a huge humanitarian challenge for the Kurdish fighters leading the operation. A member of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forc A member of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) searches a woman after she left the IS group's last holdout of Baghuz, in Syria's northern Deir Ezzor province, Feb. 27, 2019. A member of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) searches a woman after she left the IS group's last holdout of Baghuz, in Syria's northern Deir Ezzor province, Feb. 27, 2019. On Wednesday alone, 15 trucks rumbled out of Baghuz, the fifth such evacuation in a week. After being screened, the evacuees are sent on to the Al-Hol camp farther north. The International Rescue Committee said that "the large numbers of arrivals mean there are estimated to be around 2,000 people currently sleeping rough at the arrivals area despite the poor weather conditions." Survivors of the months-old siege who spill out of the double-trailer trucks tell harrowing tales of starvation. Many need immediate medical attention. Lines of black-veiled women holding scruffy children and carrying their scant belongings in bags can be seen walking down from a hill near Baghuz and across the arid plain. Save the Children said many of the surviving children have witnessed horrifying events in recent months and are "showing signs of psychological distress." Human shields An AFP reporter saw that the latest trucks to leave were not as full as in previous days. It was not clear how far this was because fewer people are trapped in the IS-held pocket or because those who remain either cannot leave or want to stay and fight. The men who leave are carefully screened by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who have spearheaded the battle against IS in Syria, with support from a U.S.-led coalition. Men suspected of being Islamic State are searched Men suspected of being Islamic State are searched by a member of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after leaving the IS group's last holdout of Baghuz, in Syria's northern Deir Ezzor province, Feb. 27, 2019. Men suspected of being Islamic State are searched by a member of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after leaving the IS group's last holdout of Baghuz, in Syria's northern Deir Ezzor province, Feb. 27, 2019. Suleiman Mohammad Terbu, a Syrian who walked on crutches because of an injury, said he had been a teacher at an IS-run school. The jihadist group ran schools throughout the territories it controlled, indoctrinating boys into its ideology, but Terbu insisted he only taught the Quran, math and sport. "My family were smuggled out before me, but I couldn't do that because [IS fighters] don't let anyone leave," he said. The remaining diehard jihadists many of them foreigners have also been using civilians as human shields. Footage captured by the BBC from positions held by Iraqi paramilitary forces across the Euphrates River shows an improvised camp where an apparent jihadist can be seen running among makeshift tents. As warplanes fly overhead, a woman is seen collecting water from the river in a plastic jerrycan while men move stealthily among the jumble of minivans and civilian shelters that make any direct airstrike impossible. The SDF launched its final offensive against IS-held territory in September 2018. The operation has been deadly and slow, and one top French officer even published stinging criticism of the coalition's reluctance to fully involve its ground forces. U.S. President Donald Trump late last year announced a complete troop pullout from Syria, leaving the SDF exposed to Turkish military threats. A security vacuum could also see a quick resurgence of IS, which has lost all its strongholds in Syria and Iraq but remains a potent guerrilla force. Men suspected of being Islamic State fighters wait Men suspected of being Islamic State fighters wait to be searched by members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after leaving the IS group's last holdout of Baghuz, in Syria's northern Deir Ezzor province, Feb. 27, 2019. Men suspected of being Islamic State fighters wait to be searched by members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) after leaving the IS group's last holdout of Baghuz, in Syria's northern Deir Ezzor province, Feb. 27, 2019. Even the U.S. military warned that the jihadists could potentially re-establish territorial control in some areas within six months if there were no "sustained counterterrorism pressure." Almost eight years into a multi-faceted conflict that has killed more than 360,000 people, Syria's humanitarian emergency shows no sign of relenting. Traumatized children With aid agencies struggling to provide basic relief to famished civilians evacuated from the remote Baghuz area, Save the Children highlighted the trauma the youngest among them had suffered. The children who fled IS-held areas were "likely to have witnessed acts of brutality and lived under intense bombardment and deprivation," it said. A member of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forc A member of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) holds a toddler during a security check of her and her mother after they left the IS group's last holdout of Baghuz, in Syria's northern Deir Ezzor province, Feb. 27, 2019. A member of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) holds a toddler during a security check of her and her mother after they left the IS group's last holdout of Baghuz, in Syria's northern Deir Ezzor province, Feb. 27, 2019. In a statement, it quoted an 11-year-old saying: "I always tried not to look when there were beheadings. I would hide behind my mum." It called for much greater efforts to help the children. "That includes funding and access for case management and protective services, and for foreign children repatriation to their countries of origin," said Save the Children's Syria response director, Sonia Khush. The local Kurdish administration is struggling to cope with the humanitarian burden and has repeatedly urged the world to step up its aid effort. Detained jihadists' countries of origin are reluctant to repatriate them, fearing a public backlash and security threats. The DOJ said Tuesday it has repatriated $4.5 million in corrupt proceeds by the former Kyrgyz Republic president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, pictured left, and his son Maxim Bakiyev. The stolen money was discovered during banker Eugene Gourevitchs prosecution in New York for insider trading and the court entered a $6 million forfeiture order. After Gourevitchs conviction, the the Kyrgyz government filed a Petition for Remission with the DOJ, saying the funds were traced back to money stolen by Maxim Bakiyev from Kyrgyz state authorities and other banking institutions. The DOJ said in Tuesdays release that the remission petition was granted in October 2018. According to the DOJ, around $4.5 million has been collected and approved for repatriation of the $6 million total that will be repatriated. These funds will be deposited into the account of the Government of the Kyrgyz in the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic. Additional efforts will be made by both the United States and Kyrgyzstan to try to locate and return the remainder of the stolen assets in the forfeiture order, the DOJ said. In a joint statement made by Kyrgyzstan and the U.S. State Department, the recovered money will go to improving the rural health care system and construction of water supply facilities. The Kygyz Republic has also earmarked some of the money towards strengthening institutions responsible for anti-corruption programs. Kurmanbek Bakiyev came to power in 2005 during the Tulip Revolution. He served as the second president of the Central Asian country until 2010, when the opposition stormed government offices and forced Bakiyev to flee the country. It was reported in 2012 that Bakiyev received Belarusian citizenship. Maxim Bakiyev fled to the UK in 2010 after his father lost power. In 2013 Maxim was sentenced in absentia by a Kyrgyz court to 25 years in prison for corruption. In January 2017, an Interpol red notice against Maxim Bakiyev was withdrawn and he was granted political asylum by the UK. ____ Harry Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog. A storied French colonial-era hotel once used by the North Vietnamese government to house foreign guests during the Vietnam War is set to host U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as they meet for a second nuclear summit on Wednesday. The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi has hosted dignitaries and celebrities from Charlie Chaplin on his honeymoon in 1936 to "Hanoi Jane" Fonda during her 1970s anti-war campaign and even Trump himself on a recent visit to the Vietnamese capital. The Metropole could begin a new chapter as a symbol of peace if Trump and Kim, as some officials in Seoul and Washington expect, formally declare an end to the last remaining Cold War conflict after their two-day summit. The United States and North Korea are technically still at war, because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. "We hope Trump and Kim make some progress with their denuclearization and hopefully open North Korea to the outside world," said Stephen Fries, a doctor from Colorado whose long-planned family trip was disrupted by preparations for the summit. He was among two dozen Metropole guests touring an underground air raid bunker at the hotel used during the Vietnam War that was rediscovered by chance in 2011 while the hotel was renovating its poolside Bamboo bar. A stairway leading to a Vietnam war-era bomb bunke A stairway leading to a Vietnam war-era bomb bunker entrance is seen at the French colonial-era Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel, ahead of the North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 26, 2019. A stairway leading to a Vietnam war-era bomb bunker entrance is seen at the French colonial-era Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel, ahead of the North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 26, 2019. Trump and Kim will meet at the Metropole at 6:30 pm (1130 GMT) on Wednesday, where the two will have a 20-minute one-on-one chat followed by a dinner with aides, the White House said. "It's about time there is a deal. Vietnam had been our enemy, now they are kind of a friend. I hope North Korea would become exactly like Vietnam, and maybe use it an example to follow for its own economic development," Fries said. Secrets and Security The elegant interior of the 118-year-old Metropole thronged with security personnel and hotel staff on the summit eve as final preparations were made. Nearby street corners were guarded by armed police, while security staff searched pot plants around the pool. In a letter distributed ahead of the leaders' arrival, the hotel's general manager notified guests of the "very strict security measures" expected in the coming days. A police officer stands outside the Metropole Hano A police officer stands outside the Metropole Hanoi hotel ahead of the North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 25, 2019. A police officer stands outside the Metropole Hanoi hotel ahead of the North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 25, 2019. All but one entrance to hotel will be blocked during the summit and a temporary checkpoint has been installed to screen guests, who need to show copies of their passports to gain access to the hotel. Trump and Kim likely chose Metropole for its ability to keep secrets, Nguyen Dinh Thanh, former head of marketing at Metropole, told Reuters. "When superstars come here, some journalists offered $2,000-$5,000 or more to staff to take a photo of that superstar, but that has never happened," said Thanh. "That shows Metropole has a tradition of keeping secrets as well as knowing how to treat VIP guests." Celebrities and Controversies Heads of state from European kings and British royals to U.S. and South American presidents have all chosen the Metropole as their Hanoi abode. It has attracted celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in 2007, but perhaps its most iconic guest is American actress Jane Fonda, who stayed for two weeks in 1972 when visiting then-enemy territory. A controversial photo of her sitting with North Vietnamese troops atop an anti-aircraft gun used to shoot at American planes earned her the nickname "Hanoi Jane." The Metropole also hosted Graham Greene, who wrote part of his seminal 1955 work, "The Quiet American" there, and numerous war correspondents during the 20-year-long Vietnam War that ended in 1975. FILE - The Metropole hotel is seen ahead of the No FILE - The Metropole hotel is seen ahead of the North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 25, 2019. FILE - The Metropole hotel is seen ahead of the North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 25, 2019. Trump, who stayed in the hotel on his last visit to Vietnam in 2017, has chosen the easier-to-secure JW Marriott hotel this time. Kim is staying at the Melia Hanoi hotel. Despite its long history of hosting VIPs, the Metropole is not an ideal summit venue from a security point of view, said Le Van Cuong, who used to head the strategy institute of the Ministry of Public Security. "Metropole is definitely more tricky to protect the leaders, especially because of the lack of space. In the protection job, space gives us advantages. Metropole sits right in the center of crowded streets, so it's difficult to ensure security," Cuong told Reuters. "Singapore chose an isolated island and protection on such island is much easier, definitely easier than Metropole." Trump and Kim held their first summit at Singapore's Capella hotel, a refurbished British Royal Artillery mess on the resort island of Sentosa. JOHANNESBURG - Manuel Chang is a wanted man, facing extradition requests from both the United States and his native Mozambique. On Tuesday, as a South African magistrate weighed dueling requests involving Chang, the defendant heard from two impassioned legal teams on just how much he is wanted. The U.S. wants Chang for his alleged involvement in a massive case of financial fraud which spans four continents Africa, North America, Europe and Asia (Middle East). Chang is one of several dozen people now implicated on both sides of the Atlantic. He was arrested on a U.S. warrant in December while traveling through South Africa's O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. The indictment, issued by the Eastern District of New York, accuses Chang and several others, some who were not named, of "creat(ing) the maritime projects as fronts to raise money to enrich themselves and intentionally divert(ing) portions of the loan proceeds to pay at least $200 million in bribes and kickbacks to themselves, Mozambican government officials and others." Shortly after the American request went to court last month, Chang's native Mozambique countered with an extradition request of its own. According to South Africa, the Mozambicans did not issue an arrest warrant, so it's not entirely clear why they want him. That secret loan led the coastal nation to suffer a debt crisis so severe it has deprived citizens of the most essential services, like road maintenance and maintained hospitals. The government has arrested more than 18 people over the matter, but critics of the government say they doubt the arrests and prosecutions are meaningful. 'Uncharted waters' As Magistrate William Schutte put it, nothing about the case is straightforward. "It seems as if, legally speaking, we are finding ourselves in uncharted waters," he said. Schutte now must decide whether Chang should be extradited at all and if so, where. Chang's lawyer, Willie Vermeulen, made clear that his client would prefer to go home, and urged the magistrate South Africa does not have jury trials to consider agreeing to that request. He also urged Schutte to evaluate both extradition requests at the same time, not just the American one, which has been formally submitted to court, unlike Mozambique's. "You cannot simply hand down a determination as if only one has been made and then the court is supposed to close its eyes to the second application," he said. He also noted that the nation's international relations minister told local media last week that South Africa would also allow the extradition to Mozambique. That statement prompted an angry outburst from prosecutor JJ du Toit. The justice minister is the executive branch official with authority to rule on extradition requests. "With the greatest respect, the minister's got no authority to make this pronouncement," he said. "She's prejudging the issue, which is not in the interest of justice." While the legal experts attempt to untangle the situation, Chang, who was en route to a family holiday in Dubai when he was arrested, will remain in a South African cell. The court will reconvene March 7. The first Iranian-American woman to win an Oscar, Rayka Zehtabchi, says she wants to build on Sundays triumph of her documentary about menstruation by producing several films with Iran-related themes. Im very interested in telling Iranian stories as well as womens stories, the 25-year-old Los Angeles-based filmmaker told VOA Persian in a Skype interview on Monday. I was raised in Southern California pretty much my whole life, but the older I get, the more I feel like I connect with and learn about my Iranian culture. WATCH: Rayka Zehtabchi discusses being connected to her culture Zehtabchi won the award for best documentary short at Sundays Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood for "Period. End of Sentence." The Netflix-produced film is about women in rural India fighting the stigma surrounding menstruation by manufacturing sanitary pads to enable adolescent girls to stay in school while managing their periods. Los Angeles high school students inspired the film by raising money to buy pad-making machines for the villagers of Hapur district, 90 kilometers east of the Indian capital, New Delhi. Just seeing that there are these young people who care so deeply about this cause that is affecting women all over the world, and being a young woman myself, I felt compelled to jump on board, Zehtabchi said. Zehtabchi directed the film and shared the Oscar with American producer Melissa Berton. Congratulations, Rayka Zehtabchi for being the first Iranian-American woman to win an Oscar! #Oscars #BestDocumentaryShort Nazanin Boniadi (@NazaninBoniadi) February 25, 2019 Iranian-born British-American actress Nazanin Boniadi congratulated Zehtabchi on Twitter for being the first Iranian-American woman to achieve such a feat. Watch: Rayka Zehtabchi, on being first Iranian-American Oscar winner It didnt even cross my mind that Id be the first Iranian-American woman to win an Oscar, but I feel absolutely incredible, said Zehtabchi, the daughter of Iranian immigrants to the United States. My dad passed away three years ago from lung cancer, and I wish he could have been there to see it, because he would have been very proud, she added as her voice filled with emotion. Watch: Rayka Zehtabchi, on her family's journey to U.S. The filmmaker said one of her next productions will be a narrative feature about her familys journey to the United States in the early 1990s. Im very interested in exploring the immigrant experience and how it could be devastating but also hilarious at times, being a foreigner in a new country and having to learn how to assimilate. Zehtabchi said she also is working on feature version of a 2016 short film that marked her directorial debut, "Madaran." Based on a true story about an Iranian mother who must decide whether to end or spare the life of her only son's killer at his execution, the original film qualified for Oscar contention in the Live Action Short category that year. Watch: Rayka Zehtabchi's message to other young Iranian women Asked for her message to other young women of Iranian origin who have cheered her success, she said: You are strong and you are beautiful and you can do anything if you put your mind to it. This article originated in VOAs Persian Service. Fiat Chrysler on Tuesday announced a $4.5 billion investment plan it said would increase its workforce in Detroit and the surrounding suburbs by about 6,500 jobs to build all-new or next-generation SUVs, in a move touted by officials as an uncommon opportunity to revive the regional economy. Under the plan, the company said it would reopen a shuttered engine plant in the city and convert another in the same complex into a future assembly plant for the Jeep Grand Cherokee and a new, three-row, full-size Jeep SUV and plug-in hybrid models for all. The Motor City was once home to about a dozen massive auto production plants, but a rash of closures helped to push Detroit's unemployment rate to a peak of almost 29 percent a decade ago. The new Chrysler plant would be the first to be built in Detroit since 1991 and is expected to add 3,850 jobs. The company said in a news release that it would add another 1,100 new jobs at its Jefferson North Assembly plant in Detroit, and roughly 1,500 new jobs at facilities in the neighboring suburb of Warren. The investment would roughly double FCA's hourly workforce in the city. Speaking at a news conference after the announcement, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan called the deal a "once in a generational chance to change the economic" fortunes of Detroit. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said it has been a long time since Michigan has seen an automotive investment as "big and transformative" as Fiat Chrysler's plan. The investment will also have a ripple effect, boosting the automotive industry and helping other non-auto businesses elsewhere in Michigan and other Midwest states, Whitmer said. Fiat Chrysler said the additional investments are subject to tax incentive packages it was working out with the city and state of Michigan. The automaker would need about 200 acres (80 hectares) of land for the project, most owned by the city, Great Lakes Water Authority, DTE Energy and the Moroun family, which owns significant amounts of city real estate and the Ambassador Bridge that connects Michigan to Ontario, Canada. City officials signed a memorandum of understanding with the automaker, and they were ironing out a deal to assemble land for the project over the next 60 days. If enough land is acquired and the tax incentives approved, construction is expected to start later this year and the first new vehicles could be in production by the end of 2020. The automaker's injection of money and jobs into the Motor City contrasts sharply with news from rival General Motors Co., which announced plans to shutter its Detroit-Hamtramck plant next year and plans to close four others in the U.S. and Canada. City officials insisted they would help bring those 5,000 new jobs to the city without displacing any residents. In the early 1980s, thousands of people were relocated and a black and Polish neighborhood known as Poletown was razed for what became GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant. Fiat Chrysler's massive, multi-layered investment calls to mind online retailer Amazon, which last year had more than 230 municipalities competing for its second headquarters and offering billions of dollars in inducements. Northern Virginia and New York ultimately won the competition, but Amazon recently canceled the New York project and some 25,000 promised jobs after running into fierce opposition to those incentives from lawmakers and political activists on the left. Fiat Chrysler's industrial overture to the Detroit area is not the same, said Kristin Dziczek, of the Center for Automotive Research, an industry think tank in Ann Arbor, Michigan. For the automaker, she said, it's akin to "investing with friends in Michigan they know very well." She noted that the city and state are likely to "come to the table with something good" because they see a realistic return on their investment. The city said it's offering $12 million in tax credits. "You wouldn't find local opposition to this issue like in New York people in Detroit and Michigan want auto jobs," Dziczek said. "[Fiat Chrysler] is not out there waving their dollars around saying, `Who will give us the most incentives?' ... They weren't playing an incentive game. They were looking at a business case, and what makes sense." Company officials said SUVs remain in demand, with strong sales and growth potential in domestic and overseas markets. The company's chief financial officer told investors in June that trucks and SUVs would account for 80 percent of revenue by 2022. Union leaders also praised the announcement. "It is especially exciting because these are good union jobs that have been achieved through collective bargaining," United Auto Workers Vice President Cindy Estrada said in a statement. "We now look forward to working with the city and other community leaders on a community benefits agreement that reimagines our city and empowers our citizens to create sustainable communities with long-term viability." Detroit's history has long been intertwined with the U.S. auto industry, with its attendant peaks and valleys. Historically, Detroit's job losses have been reflected in its plummeting population. About 1.8 million people lived in Detroit in the 1950s and Detroit was the nation's fourth-biggest city in 1960. By 2016, it would rank 21st as the tens of thousands of the middle class fled to the suburbs. More whites moved away following a riot in 1967. The black middle class made a similar exodus in the following decade. About the same time, the car plants that provided jobs and helped keep the city running were hiring fewer people. Around 1970, Detroit's unemployment rate was just over 7 percent. It reached 25 percent by 1990. In 2009, the unemployment rate was close to 29 percent. Today, Detroit has fewer than 700,000 residents. But the city's unemployment rate last fall was down to about 8 percent. Cameroonian police officers, assisted by members of the country's elite corps, seized hundreds of containers of fuel illegally transported from Nigeria by suspected Central African Republic rebels in the northern town of Mbe, Cameroon. Rigobert Ojong, a member of a task force of military, police and civil society members created three weeks ago to stop the illegal fuel trade, said the group received a tip that the fuel was on its way to the C.A.R., where it would be used by rebels fighting the central African state's government. "We have put aside personnel dedicated to this fight, within the framework of this task force, and we have been able to intercept about 1,500 drums of fraudulently imported fuel. If we go by the price in the black market, we are talking about more than 3 billion CFA francs [$5 million] a year," Ojong said. Trucks suspected of transporting fuel illegally to Trucks suspected of transporting fuel illegally to the Central African Republic are seen in the Cameroon border town of Garoua Boulaye, near C.A.R., Feb. 26, 2019. Trucks suspected of transporting fuel illegally to the Central African Republic are seen in the Cameroon border town of Garoua Boulaye, near C.A.R., Feb. 26, 2019. Cameroon's government says an unknown quantity of oil is smuggled from Nigeria through its territory because the border is so porous. The military says it has opened an investigation to track dealers who might be collaborating with rebel groups in the C.A.R. Alleged corruption Businessman Patrice Essola, who supplies fuel to the C.A.R. from Cameroon, says illegal trade with C.A.R. rebels is facilitated by corrupt government officials in both countries. He said the rebels and traffickers work in collaboration with corrupt Cameroonian military officials and C.A.R. border immigration staff to import the fuel from Nigeria. Some of the tankers and trucks that smuggle the fuel are even protected by corrupt officials while in Cameroon and in the C.A.R., Essola added. Kildadi Taguieke Boukar, governor of the Adamawa region that shares a border with the C.A.R., denies corrupt military officials assist rebels and smugglers, but said investigations had been opened. Military personnel check a vehicle suspected of tr Military personnel check a vehicle suspected of transporting fuel in Garoua Boulaye, Cameroon, Feb. 26, 2019. Military personnel check a vehicle suspected of transporting fuel in Garoua Boulaye, Cameroon, Feb. 26, 2019. Each time the traffickers are arrested, they answer charges in courts of law, Boukar said, but added the task is very, very difficult because Cameroon's borders with Nigeria and the C.A.R. are very porous. All of the fuel will be taken to C.A.R. authorities, he said. C.A.R. violence, peace deal In January, Cameroon said 300 of its citizens had been abducted by suspected C.A.R. rebels within the past two years, along with at least 5,000 cattle. Local border communities asked the government to authorize self-defense groups to be equipped with guns to face rebels who they said continued to cross to their villages for supplies. The C.A.R. was plunged into turmoil in 2013 when Muslim rebels known as the Seleka seized power in the majority-Christian country. A band of mostly Christian militias, called the anti-Balaka, rose up to counter the Seleka. Thousands of people have been killed in the violence and more than one million are internally displaced. An estimated 570,000 people have fled to neighboring countries, with about 350,000 in Cameroon. On Feb. 2, the U.N. mission in the C.A.R., known as MINUSCA, and the African Union announced that a peace deal between the C.A.R. government and 14 rebel groups had been reached after sponsored talks in Sudan. They called on the C.A.R.'s neighbors to help bring peace by not allowing their borders to be used for supplies or as a hiding ground for fighters who refuse to respect the deal. U.S. aerospace manufacturer Boeing said on Tuesday it has nominated Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a close ally of President Donald Trump, to join its board of directors at the company's annual shareholders meeting on April 29. If elected by Boeing shareholders, she would help guide the future of America's largest exporter, with a network of suppliers across the United States and the world, as Washington and Beijing have been locked in intense negotiations to end a trade war. Haley's nomination comes as Boeing grapples with a major decision: whether to launch an all-new jetliner known as NMA, a midsize plane that would serve a niche market falling between narrow- and wide-body aircraft. The world's largest planemaker has said it would make a final launch decision in 2020 on the new program, which is expected to define competition with archrival Airbus SE. Viewed as a rising Republican Party star, Haley has often been mentioned as a future presidential candidate. Her counterparts at the United Nations saw her as a voice of clarity in the Trump administration. Haley, 47, is the first female governor of South Carolina and a three-term legislator in the South Carolina House of Representatives. As governor in 2015, Haley was a key opponent of a campaign by Boeing's largest labor union to form a collective bargaining unit at its 787 Dreamliner factory in South Carolina - though the machinists were later successful in forming a small bargaining unit there. FILE - Boeing employees stand near the new Boeing FILE - Boeing employees stand near the new Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner at the company's facility in South Carolina after conducting its first test flight at Charleston International Airport in North Charleston, S.C., March 31, 2017. FILE - Boeing employees stand near the new Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner at the company's facility in South Carolina after conducting its first test flight at Charleston International Airport in North Charleston, S.C., March 31, 2017. Boeing has faced growing scrutiny over its links to the Trump administration after a former senior planemaking executive, Pat Shanahan, was named deputy defense secretary and later acting defense secretary. The 31-year Boeing veteran has recused himself, however, from matters relating to the aerospace company. The U.S. government has been weighing the purchase of an advanced version of the F-15 Boeing fighter. Last year, Boeing's defense side had a series of wins, including the U.S. Air Force's next training jet, which could be worth up to $9.2 billion, as well as a contract to replace UH-1N Huey helicopters worth $2.4 billion over the life of the programs. In a press release, Muilenburg praised Haley's record in government and industry partnership. "Boeing will benefit greatly from her broad perspectives and combined diplomatic, government and business experience to help achieve our aspiration to be the best in aerospace and a global industrial champion," Muilenburg said. Based on total compensation for Boeing's other 13 board members, Haley can expect to earn more than $300,000, well above her salary as U.N. ambassador. Separately on Tuesday, the shareholders of Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA approved a deal to sell 80 percent of the Sao Paulo-based company's commercial jet division to Boeing, a move that could reshape the global market for aircraft of up to 150 seats. Boeing shares were flat at $427.88 a share in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Australian Cardinal George Pell, the Catholic Church's highest-ranking official convicted of child sexual abuse, has been ordered to jail. Cardinal Pell was taken into custody Wednesday during a pre-sentencing hearing in a Melbourne court after the judge revoked his bail. The jury in his trial announced Tuesday that it had found the 77-year-old Pell guilty of five criminal counts involving the sexual assault of two teenage choirboys in the citys St. Patricks Cathedral in 1996 while serving as archbishop of the Melbourne diocese. The jury reached the verdict in December, but the decision had been sealed under a strict gag order imposed by the judge that prevented any details from being released. Pell was facing trial on separate allegations of child sexual abuse dating back to his time as a young priest in his hometown of Ballarat, but prosecutors dropped those charges Tuesday. Pell faces a total of 50 years in prison on the charges. The judge will announce the sentence on March 13. Pell has been serving as the Vaticans treasurer and economic minister since 2014, but has been on leave since 2016 after his indictment. Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti says Pell's five-year-term as economic minister expired sometime this month. Pell has also been removed from a council of close advisors to Pope Francis. One of Pells accusers released a statement Tuesday through his lawyer after the verdicts were announced. Like many survivors I have experienced shame, loneliness, depression and struggle, he wrote. Like many survivors, it has taken me years to understand the impact upon my life. The other victim died in 2014. Another Australian Catholic cleric, Archbishop Philip Wilson, last year became the worlds highest-ranking Catholic cleric convicted of covering up child sexual abuse committed by a fellow priest. He was accused of failing to report the sexual abuse of two altar boys by Father James Fletcher in the 1970s. Fletcher was convicted in 2004 of nine counts of child sexual abuse, and died in prison two years later. Cardinal Pells conviction was announced two days after the pontiff closed a three-day conference at the Vatican to address the global child sexual abuse scandal that has embroiled the church for three decades. Francis vowed to wage an all-out battle against sexual abuse, comparing pedophilia to human sacrifice and calling guilty priests "tools of Satan. Just days before the conference, the pope defrocked former U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, after a Vatican inquiry found him guilty of sexually abusing minors and adult seminarians. CAIRO, EGYPT - Egyptian media say more than 25 people were killed and dozens wounded Wednesday after a passenger train crashed into the platform at Cairo's main rail station. The impact caused a fuel tank on the platform to explode, setting fire to the train. The accident at the Ramsis railway station set off a massive fireball, incinerating the front cars of the train and causing horrific burns to passengers and bystanders on the platform adjacent to the crash. Surveillance cameras captured the incident, showing bystanders on fire and running to escape the inferno. One security camera showed a man, his body on fire, running down a set of stairs before collapsing. Rescue workers reported that many of the casualties were in critical condition, suffering severe burns. Egypt's Railway Authority Chief Resigns Over Fatal Crash Egypt's transport minister said Sunday that he has accepted the railway authority chief's resignation over a deadly train crash near the coastal city of Alexandria that killed 43 people and injured scores. Hesham Arafat announced at a news conference after meeting the prime minister Sunday that he had accepted Medhat Shousha's resignation. The crash took place on Friday when a train coming from Cairo, Egypt's capital, crashed into the rear of another that was waiting at a small station in the Egypt's transport minister said Sunday that he has accepted the railway authority chief's resignation over a deadly train crash near the coastal city of Alexandria that killed 43 people and injured scores. Hesham Arafat announced at a news conference after meeting the prime minister Sunday that he had accepted Medhat Shousha's resignation. The crash took place on Friday when a train coming from Cairo, Egypt's capital, crashed into the rear of another that was waiting at a small station in the Fire and rescue vehicles rushed to the scene during the morning rush hour. Fire crews doused the burning passenger cars, and many people inside the front cars were thought to have been incinerated by the fire and extreme heat of the blaze. Prime Minister Mustapha Madbouli told reporters on the platform, after visiting the crash site, that every effort was being made to determine what happened. He says the era of keeping silent and sweeping things under the rug has come to an end and the government will do its utmost to determine what happened and who was responsible, with a committee investigating the crash. Passenger Train Derails Near Egypt's Giza, Scores Injured A passenger train derailed Friday on a railway track south of Cairo, wounding at least 55 people, Egyptian officials said. The accident took place when three of the trains carriages derailed at a station close to Giza, Egypts railway authority said. It added that lifting tools, cranes and maintenance teams were dispatched to the site. It was not immediately clear what caused the derailment. Ahmed al-Ansari, the ambulance authority head, said as many as 55 people were wounded and taken to hospital A passenger train derailed Friday on a railway track south of Cairo, wounding at least 55 people, Egyptian officials said. The accident took place when three of the trains carriages derailed at a station close to Giza, Egypts railway authority said. It added that lifting tools, cranes and maintenance teams were dispatched to the site. It was not immediately clear what caused the derailment. Ahmed al-Ansari, the ambulance authority head, said as many as 55 people were wounded and taken to hospital Witnesses say the train did not slow down as it approached the station. Egyptian railways are beset with frequent accidents due to brake failure and other incidents related to the antiquated state of signals, tracks, locomotives and passenger cars. The latest disaster led to the resignation of Egypt's transportation minister, Hisham Arafat. Ashraf al Ashri, editor of Cairo's Al Ahram newspaper, told Al Arabiya TV that he believed that "both technical and human error were to blame" and that he suspected that the "brakes of the train may have failed, due to the speed at which the train approached the platform," before crashing. President Mauricio Macri of Argentina is promising to track down and punish those who beat and robbed the country's chief rabbi in his Buenos Aires home. Macri's human rights office says Argentina needs to build a society "where there are no signs of anti-Semitism, and we cannot be indifferent." Assailants broke into Rabbi Gabriel Davidovich's home Monday, badly beating him before running off with money and personal belongings. Davidovich is hospitalized with broken ribs, a damaged lung and other injuries. Argentina's President Mauricio Macri speaks during Argentina's President Mauricio Macri speaks during a meeting with Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro in Brasilia, Brazil, Jan. 16, 2019. Argentina's President Mauricio Macri speaks during a meeting with Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro in Brasilia, Brazil, Jan. 16, 2019. Israeli President Reuven Rivlen telephoned the rabbi to express his disgust. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also strongly condemned the attack. "We must not let anti-Semitism rear its head. I strongly condemn the recent acts of anti-Semitism, and call on the international community to take action against it." Netanyahu was referring to other recent crimes against Jews, including the desecration of tombstones in a Jewish cemetery in France. Argentina, home to one of the world's largest Jewish populations, is also no stranger to anti-Semitism. A suicide bombing on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires killed 29 in 1992, followed two years later by another blast at a Jewish group headquarters, killing 85. Argentina blamed both bombings on Hezbollah militants acting on behalf of Iran. Iran denied responsibility. UNITED NATIONS - A senior U.S. official said Tuesday the Trump administration would impose more sanctions on Venezuela in the coming days. "We announced some sanctions yesterday, there will be more," Special Representative on Venezuela Elliott Abrams told reporters at the United Nations, where he addressed a meeting of the Security Council called by the United States. "There will be more this week. There will be more next week. We will continue to impose sanctions on high-ranking members of the regime and people who handle their financial affairs," he said. Abrams also said Washington would bring a draft resolution before the U.N. Security Council for a vote this week, which would call for the entry of humanitarian aid into the country. Both Washington and Moscow have drafted competing resolutions on the issue but have not advanced them to a vote. Russia, a close ally of disputed President Nicolas Maduro, would likely veto a measure put forward by the United States. FILE - United Nations Security Council meets at U. United Nations Security Council meets at U.N. headquarters to discuss a resolution on Venezuela, Feb. 26, 2019. United Nations Security Council meets at U.N. headquarters to discuss a resolution on Venezuela, Feb. 26, 2019. Asked if the U.S. is preparing military action against the Latin American country, he said it is not. "No. The president has said all options are on the table," Abrams said. "Presidents always say that, and rightly so." Abrams said U.S. policy is to use as much diplomatic, economic and political pressure as possible to support the Venezuelan people's aspirations for democracy. Inside the Security Council, the envoy urged new elections. "The cure to this misery and tyranny is a free, fair and transparent election that embraces all sectors of society and all political parties," Abrams said. He expressed concern for the safety of opposition leader and interim president Juan Guaido, who went to Colombia on Saturday for an international concert supporting humanitarian aid. Maduro has refused to let the aid into Venezuela, calling it the pretext for a U.S. invasion. Venezuela Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza s Venezuela Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza shows picture he said represent opposition members initiating violence, during a meeting on Venezuela in the Security Council at U.N. headquarters, Feb. 26, 2019. Venezuela Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza shows picture he said represent opposition members initiating violence, during a meeting on Venezuela in the Security Council at U.N. headquarters, Feb. 26, 2019. Maduro's foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza, addressed the Security Council for nearly 40 minutes on Tuesday. He urged the council to adopt a resolution rejecting the use of force against Venezuela. "What are we asking for rejection of the threat, or use of force against Venezuela? It may even be enough," Arreaza said. "But in addition to that, based on the U.N. Charter, there should also be a rejection of the blockade and the stealing of our natural resources, which is causing the suffering of our people." U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Venezuelan oppo U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognized as the country's rightful interim ruler, shake hands during a meeting of the Lima Group in Bogota, Colombia, Feb. 25, 2019. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who many nations have recognized as the country's rightful interim ruler, shake hands during a meeting of the Lima Group in Bogota, Colombia, Feb. 25, 2019. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence met with Guaido Monday in Colombia. He also announced sanctions against four Venezuelan state governors who back Maduro. Pence said the U.S. will contribute an additional $56 million in aid to Latin American countries who are taking care of the more than 3.4 million Venezuelans who have fled the country since 2015. A federal indictment unsealed Tuesday charged the president of a Miami-based company and its former sales rep with bribing officials at Venezuelas state energy company to win work and receive payment of past due invoices. Rafael Enrique Pinto Franceschi (Pinto), 40, of Miami, and Franz Herman Muller Huber (Muller), 68, of Weston, Florida, a former sales rep for the same company, were charged in a five-count indictment returned in the Southern District of Texas on February 21. They were each charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to launder money. Theyre accused of bribing three officials of Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. or PDVSA. Two of the three officials they allegedly bribed Jose Camacho and Ivan Guedez, both of Houston have already pleaded guilty in the case and are waiting to be sentenced. According to the DOJ, 21 individuals have now been charged in the PDVSA bribery case and 15 have pleaded guilty. In addition to allegedly bribing PDVSA officials, Pinto and Muller took kickbacks $985,000 went to Pinto and more than $258,000 to Muller, according to the indictment. In exchange for bribes, the PDVSA officials allegedly helped the Miami company win PDVSA contracts. The officials also allegedly revealed inside information to Pinto and Muller and helped them obtain payment on past due invoices. The DOJ said when the Miami company received a payment from PDVSA, three percent would be sent to a Swiss bank account. ____ Richard L. Cassin is editor at large of the FCPA Blog. Two US congressmen have introduced a bipartisan bill to review Cambodias preferential trade treatment over the countrys human rights record. Congressman Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) and Steve Chabot (R-OH) introduced the Cambodia Trade Act, which would require the US government to review Cambodias status under the Generalized System of Preferences, which grants the country exemptions and reductions in tariffs. The legislation would allow the US to withdraw, suspend or limit trade privileges Cambodia enjoys. The regime of Hun Sen has steadily dismantled what was the burgeoning democracy of Southeast Asia, Lowenthal said in a statement. He has undermined the will of the people, subverted the promise of free and fair elections, and wielded power with the iron glove of a dictator. Intimidation, threats, violence, and even murder are the tools of his regime. He and his regime must pay a price for their role in destroying the rule of law and violating the basic freedoms of the Cambodian people. Cambodia has received preferential trade status since 1997. The country exported some $400 million in garments and textile products to the US duty-free last year, according to an industry body. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced a similar legislation to the Senate in early January. The European Union, citing human rights violations by Hun Sens government, has also begun a process to suspend their preferential trading status with Cambodia under the Everything But Arms scheme. As I have said repeatedly in the past, Prime Minister Hun Sen must be held accountable for uprooting democracy in Cambodia, Chabot said. Cambodia continues to receive preferential trade status when dealing with the United States while he continues to trample on the rights of his people. In light of his actions, it is time for us to reevaluate this special treatment. In front of a backdrop of American and North Korean flags as he shook hands with Kim Jong Un at the start of their second summit, U.S. President Donald Trump denied that he has walked back his pledge to denuclearize the Korean peninsula. Asked by a reporter if they would declare a formal end to the Korean War, which was halted with an armistice in 1953, Trump replied: Well see. The North Korean leader and Trump prior to dinner -- immediately went into an adjacent room at Hanois Metropole Hotel for a brief meeting with only their interpreters present. A small group of reporters, in the room for the opening moment of the discussion, heard Kim praise Trump for his courageous decision to begin their dialogue, which started last year in Singapore. We made a lot of progress and I think the biggest progress was our relationship which is really a good one, Trump said to Kim, noting that Vietnam had really rolled out the red carpet for their follow-up encounter, adding he hopes this one is equal or greater. WATCH: Trump optimistic about summit results Economic potential Trump, elaborating on comments he had made earlier in the day to their Vietnamese hosts, told Kim that North Korea has unbelievable and unlimited economic potential. I look forward to watching it happen and to helping it to happen and we will help it to happen, said Trump. Joining Trump for the dinner were Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. At the round table with Kim for the meal were Kim Yong Chol, who is vice chairman of the powerful central committee of the Workers Party of Korea and North Koreas foreign minister, Ri Yong Ho. Well have a very interesting dialogue, said the North Korean leader. Our relationship is a very special relationship, Trump said at the start of the dinner, noting the special chemistry he says exists between him and Kim. Trump later tweeted that he had "Great meetings and dinner" with the North Korean leader. Thursday meeting More extensive discussions between the two leaders are expected on Thursday. Trump indicated just prior to the Wednesday evening dinner that he would hold a news conference the next day to discuss the outcome of his talks with the North Korean leader. For the second time in two days the White House press corps found its coverage affected by restrictions apparently demanded by the North Koreas. A day ahead of the summit, the journalists accredited to the White House found themselves evicted from their press filing center at the Melia Hotel where Kim is staying. They were forced to move to an international media center run by the Vietnamese government in the Cultural Friendship Palace, joining more than 3,000 other journalists. The White House offered no explanation for the last-minute change of venue beyond saying there were technical issues. International wire service reporters, who are core members of the pooling coverage, were excluded at the last minute from observing the start of Wednesdays Trump-Kim dinner. Only the newspaper pooler, Vivian Salama of the Wall Street Journal, was permitted to join the photographers along with the CBS TV crew and the designated radio pool reporter from National Public Radio. Originally Sarah Sanders informed us that no print reporters would be allowed in due to sensitivities over shouted questions in the previous sprays. But when our photo colleagues joined us in protest, they decided to allow one print reporter in, noted Salama in a pool report. Due to the sensitive nature of the meetings we have limited the pool for the dinner to a smaller group, but ensured that representation of photographers, TV, radio and print poolers are all in the room, said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders. We are continuing to negotiate aspects of this historic summit and will always work to make sure the U.S. media has as much access as possible. The White House Correspondents Association "strenuously" objected to "the capricious decision to exclude some journalists from a press encounter with President Trump and Chairman Kim." "We call on the White House to not allow a diminution of the previously agreed-to press complement for the remainder of the summit," said WHCA President Oliver Knox. Expectations While some U.S. officials have attempted to lower expectations for the outcome of the second summit, Trump is under pressure to extract something beyond the vague commitment made by Kim last June in Singapore on pledging to give up his nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in exchange for a lifting of crushing international sanctions on the impoverished country. The Singapore summit was hailed as a historical event as Washington and Pyongyang have never had diplomatic relations. When Trump took office there were fears of a renewed war with North Korea as the U.S. president threatened to unleash fire and fury like the world has never seen on the northeast Asian country in response to its threats against the United States and its allies. U.S. intelligence officials remain skeptical that Pyongyang intends to follow through on Kim's Singapore pledge to denuclearize. 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." Despite the end to testing, Coats cautioned that 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." An award-winning Cambodian-American movie featuring a classic song by Sinn Sisamouth is bringing hope and reviving memories of the pre-Khmer Rouge era in Cambodia. The movie, In the Life of Music, which features the Sisamouth classic Champa Battambang, screened in Virginia on Thursday to a crowded hall of several hundred viewers. Vanny Nen, a Battambang-born Cambodian-American, said she cried when the song played during the movie. The film makes me miss my hometown miserably, but its a good movie and I liked it. Like Nen, Mom Chuon, 60, brought her family along to see the movie. Both of my parents were killed during the Khmer Rouge regime, she said, sobbing. The movie made me miss my parents so much, she added. The movie, shot in Cambodia and produced by a group of Cambodian-American filmmakers in late 2015, uses Sisamouths song to connect experiences across generations by telling the story of a young couple who fell in love over a shared passion for music in the pre-Khmer Rouge period, widely considered the golden age of Cambodian music. Caylee So, one of the directors and producers of the movie, said the song has a big legacy and would help to bring generations together as they watched the film. Almost all of Sinn Sisamouth's songs, theyre just lived on through the people who have listened to it growing up, and even people who passed it on through the love of his music to their children, she said. And I know from the beginning that that was the song because it remains inside of me for so long and I know that my parents knew it and they have just a great love for that, she added. Prach Ly, another producer, said the film was not just about the Khmer Rouge. We explained the period even before the Khmer Rouge time. It's related to other things as well, so only those seeing it will understand what the film is about. The movies protagonist, Hope, is the daughter of the couple at the heart of the film, who seeks to reconnect with her roots by visiting Cambodia in 2007, decades after her parents fled the country for the United States. Several of those in attendance at the screening said they were not aware of how modern Cambodians lived, so seeing contemporary Cambodia depicted in the film was a bit strange, according to Vanny Nens husband, So Nen. When I heard that a group of Cambodian-Americans were interested in Khmer history and wanted to make a movie for the public to know about Cambodia, I came to see it, Sothy Heidt, the wife of the former U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, William Heidt, told VOA Khmer before the screening. Especially, the film is not about something bad in Cambodia, but hope and they want to restore the national music that used to be so famous. The song in the film, Champa Battambang, is my favorite, said Heidt, who also sang the song in Khmer. Channbunmorl Sou, 33, another audience member, said: After watching the movie, I was so excited and determined to go live in Cambodia for some time so that I can know my parents' birthplace, which is in Takeo province's Kirivong [district], because I have never been to Cambodia before, Channbunmorl said. The film makes me proud of our Cambodian people. The movie has been screened across the United States since last year and will be shown at the Cambodian International Film Festival in March. Click here to log in and see all of our other subscription options for the Mesabi Tribune, including online only & auto-renewal subscriptions. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. What should we expect from the upcoming summit? Carlyle Alan Thayer, Emeritus Professor at the University of New South Wales, lecturer at the Australian Defence Force Academy It is obvious that there is an impasse following the first summit [in Singapore]. And, as American diplomats want to say, the president does not travel halfway around the world for a photo op. The fact that the summit is scheduled means that there will be some kind of deliverables. The key issue relates to the extent that the US will be slightly more flexible in rewarding North Korea for actions that it agrees to undertake. UN sanctions have put [Chairman] Kim Jong Un under pressure. Kim is trying to improve his bargaining position with the US by making an end run to both South Korea and China. He wants them to press the US to continue the dialogue and to urge the US to indicate how it will respond to specific North Korean steps to denuclearise. It is likely that some sort of general road map, rather than a detailed agreement, will be adopted that sets out the principles for the process of phased denuclearisation, what steps North Korea will take and how the United States will respond, such as corresponding measures or simultaneous action in parallel with each other. This could include a partial lifting of sanctions in response to North Korean moves to denuclearise. The main principles will be to denuclearise the Korean peninsula under verification by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a formal end to hostilities on the Korean peninsula via a peace treaty, some sort of mutual agreement not to threaten force (mutual security guarantee), mutual recognition of each others security needs, and a moratorium on nuclear and ballistic missile tests. North Korea has indicated once again that it will permanently dismantle the Yongbyon nuclear facility. The first step would be to admit an IAEA inspector, to shut down operations and eventually dismantle the plutonium and uranium enrichment facilities. This process will be a protracted one and will depend on "corresponding measures" by the US such as a partial lifting of economic sanctions. There are some straws in the wind. In January, the UN Security Council agreed to exempt four international organisations from sanctions so they could provide humanitarian aid to North Korea. The US and South Korea are scheduled to conduct military exercises in March; they could be scaled down as in the past or called off altogether. Nguyen Vinh Quang Nguyen Vinh Quang, senior advisor, Centre for Strategic Studies and International Development During the past eight months since the first summit in Singapore, the DPRK has made some concessions like halting nuclear tests and missile launches, returning remains of US soldiers from the Korean War, and dismantling ballistic missile test site facilities. However, they have been quite cautious in laying their cards on the negotiating table because it is difficult for them to revoke whatever concessions they make, for example dismantling nuclear facilities or handing over the list of nuclear facilities or missile test sites. Meanwhile, what the US can offer, like the lifting of sanctions or a suspension of military drills, can be overturned anytime. In fact, as we can see, the US administration has recently revoked some of its international commitments that it had made before. Therefore, the caution of the DPRK is understandable and the public should not view it as too negative. I am quite optimistic about the results of this summit in Hanoi. Initially, the US set a very ambitious goal of achieving the complete and verifiable denuclearisation of the DPRK before meeting any of its demands. Now, they have changed and want to do things step by step. US President Donald Trump has said he was not in a rush to force the DPRK to abandon its nuclear programme. The US has shown some positive signals, especially during negotiations at ministerial levels and lower. I think this time, the US may put some new demands on the table, for example asking the DPRK to hand over the list of their nuclear facilities, nuclear weapons, and missiles that they have been developing. I also hope for some other concrete results like the announcement of an end to the Korean War which can lead to a peace agreement, the lifting of sanctions against the DPRK and an effective inspection of their nuclear facilities. I think the two leaders are both decisive and intelligent, so they may do things that are beyond our expectations. Lee Woong-Hyeon Professor Lee Woong-Hyeon, Division of International Studies, Korean University and President of Korean Geopolitical Research Institute Without much progress since the first summit in Singapore in June 2018, in Hanoi US President Trump and North Korean leader Kim have to deal with further and more concrete issues to implement the Singapore Declaration. For example, specific items such as North Koreas closure of its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon in exchange for partial sanctions relief from the US and a declaration formally ending the 1950-53 Korean War. As we now know, during the last couple of weeks, US [special representative for North Korea] Stephen Biegun and [his counterpart] Kim Hyuk-chul of North Korea discussed and narrowed their differences in the agenda for the next summit. Even though it is alleged that they could not completely resolve the differences between them, I expect the two sides in Hanoi will reach some agreements in those issues, at least on North Koreas proposed timetable of denuclearisation and partial lifting of the economic sanctions of the US towards North Korea. Maybe the biggest hurdle is what should be done first. Which side should carry out its commitments: Kims proposal of the time plan for the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula or Trumps initiative for the relief of the sanctions toward the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea by the UN and international society? For the last several months, this has been a critical issue in the diplomatic negotiations between the two. In Hanoi, the two sides should put out some wise and concrete ideas to solve this problem. The other hurdles are not so important, I think. Carlyle Alan Thayer Why was Hanoi chosen? Carlyle Alan Thayer There are practical, political, and symbolic reasons why Hanoi was chosen. As for practical reasons, Hanoi is in short flying distance from Pyongyang. As Vietnams capital city, both the US and North Korea have embassies there that can provide administrative and logistic support. All the other stakeholders have diplomatic missions so they can easily monitor the summit. Regarding political reasons, North Korea reportedly wanted to hold a summit with the United States in the capital of the ASEAN Chair. That was one reason why Singapore was chosen. Vietnam will become the ASEAN Chair in 2020. The ASEAN has long sought to play a role in facilitating peace on the Korean Peninsula. The ASEAN supports UN sanctions while at the same time promoting dialogue and the non-use or threat of force in interstate relations. The denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula will take many years. Vietnam is positioned to play a facilitating role not only as host of the second summit, but as the ASEAN Chair in 2020 and as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2021. Vietnam is also motivated to boost its international standing as a net contributor to global and regional security and thus gain diplomatic leverage in its relations with the major powers. A decade ago, Vietnam quietly hosted talks between Japan and the DPRK on the family reunion issue. Later, Vietnam played an instrumental role in getting North Korea to join the ASEAN Regional Forum. [US] Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has held up Vietnams model of economic reforms as an example North Korea should study. Kim has also expressed interest in learning about Vietnams reforms. In addition, Vietnams success in negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with the US (the US is now Vietnams second largest export market after the EU) and later raising relations to a comprehensive partnership should be experiences North Korea could learn from. As for symbolic reasons, both Vietnam and Korea were divided during the Cold War. Both experienced armed conflict on their soil with the US. The DPRK was the third communist country after the Peoples Republic of China and the Soviet Union to extend diplomatic recognition to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in January 1950. Hanoi is now the capital of reunified Vietnam. Vietnam and the United States fought a prolonged war against each other and later normalised relations and reconciled. The US contributes to war legacy issues such as Agent Orange (dioxin) remediation, while Vietnam continues to provide support for a full accounting of American service personnel missing-in-action. In sum, there are historical similarities leading to the symbolism that North Korea could turn out be a success story like Vietnam. Professor Lee Woong-Hyeon Hanoi is a nice choice for the summit. Vietnam has good diplomatic relations with the US, North Korea, and South Korea. Hosting a historic summit between the US and the DPRK would be a productive role, because for the US as well as North Korea, Vietnam is a very special country. Hanoi is a city of symbolic and historical importance for the two. For the Americans, the Hanoi summit can be a starting point for improving relations with Vietnam and removing the dark history with Vietnam. And for North Korea, Vietnam can be a good role model for political and economic development. They are now searching for a new development road of the socialist regime. For them, Vietnams trial and policy of doi moi could be a better case study than China and Russias experiences of opening and reforming the state. In this respect, the Hanoi government can give advice to the North Korean leader. Unlike China and Russia, Vietnam can teach North Korea how a socialist country can achieve the status of economic power even without nuclear armaments. The two nations agreed that they will further economic, trade, and investment ties. Firms from Vietnam and the US also seized this occasion to sign a number of co-operation deals. Since I arrived in Vietnam last night, I have seen big changes in your country. I am very proud of Vietnam and how much it has improved economically in the year since I last visited. Today, the whole world is paying attention to you, President Trump said. Vietnam is thriving and, very importantly, we have a very big dinner tonight, as you know, and meetings with North Korea, chairman Kim, and we both felt very good about having this very important summit in Vietnam because you really are an example as to what can happen with good thinking, he said. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had talks with US President Donald Trump President Trump arrived at Hanois Noi Bai International Airport late on February 26 for his second summit with the Democratic Peoples Republic of Koreas (DPRK) Chairman Kim Jong Un, who arrived in Vietnam earlier on the same day. Trump was welcomed by Minister, Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung, Standing Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, Chairman of the Hanoi Peoples Committee Nguyen Duc Chung, Deputy Minister of Public Security Bui Van Nam, Vice Chairman of the Presidents Office Chu Van Yem, and Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc. This is the second time the US President has come to Vietnam. In November 2017, he paid an official visit to Vietnam and attended the APEC Economic Leaders Week in the central coastal city of Danang. A corner of Ha Long Bay - Illustrative image (Source: VNA) The second DPRK-USA Summit is an international event of global concern and thousands of reporters from many news and press agencies around the world have come to Hanoi to cover the meeting and they have seen with their own eyes the citys beauty and attractions, Ha Van Sieu, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA). The successful hosting of the summit will help Vietnam raise its position and prestige in the world arena, and gain more sentiments from foreigners, thereby attracting more international tourists, even those who have not known much about Vietnam, and encouraging them to spend more during their holidays in the country, he said. Vietnam is also expected to draw more direct and indirect investments after the DPRK-USA Summit, Sieu said, adding that increased inflows of investment and foreign visitors will fuel ideas about new tourism products and new tourist destinations. The official mentioned the idea of turning Vietnam into a bridge connecting the world and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) through tourism since Vietnam has built up its brand as a peaceful and friendly nation and more opportunities are created for Vietnamese businesses to invest in the DPRK. To further popularize Vietnams tourism, the VNAT had previously asked culture and tourism establishments in the capital city of Hanoi to ensure environmental sanitation, as well as host and guide international reporters during the two-day summit. It requested Hanoi and other provinces and cities nationwide to increase their inspections of tourism services to ensure the best quality for high-level delegations, international reporters and tourists before, during and after the event. The VNAT also worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to proactively provide information about Vietnams tourism through videos, Vietnam Tour Guide e-publication, tourism website www.vietnam.travel, and the ministrys international press registration site www.dprk-usasummit2019.mofa.gov.vn. The VNAT, in coordination with the Vietnam Tourism Association (VTA), have hung large billboards introducing free tours for reporters which include the Hanoi city tour and trips to Cafe Hanoi, Bat Trang ceramics village, and UNESCO world heritage site Ha Long Bay in northeastern Quang Ninh province arranged by prestigious travel companies Hanoitourist and Saigontourist. After the summit, the VNAT plans to organise a wide range of activities to promote Vietnams tourism in the US, Russia, the Republic of Korea and Japan in a bid to lure more holidaymakers to the Southeast Asian nation. According to the organizers, almost 3,000 reporters from more than 200 media agencies in nearly 40 countries and territories across the world have arrived in Vietnam to cover the summit and they will be able to discover special tourism products and services both in Hanoi and around the country. New coins: Designs of the coins to celebrate Trump-Kim summit to be held in Hanoi on February 27-28. Photo courtesy of the Vietnam Philately Co. The coin is designed with two faces, one face with the image of a dove, a symbol of peace, an olive branch and the flags of the DPRK and the US. The other face has the image of a lotus and the date of the summit, said a representative of Vietnam Philately Co. which is assigned to make the coins. The coins cost VND500,000 ($21.7) each. Our designers and artisans have worked very hard to design and finish to coins image in only one week. We are trying to complete the coins to issue them today to welcome the historic summit, the representative said. Earlier, the US issued 1,000 coins on February 23 to celebrate this second summit, with each worth $100. Last year, the White House announced another coin to mark the first Trump-Kim summit in Singapore. Singapore also issued gold coins to celebrate the summit held last June in the country. There is a rising appetite in Vietnam for Australian table grapes Hort Innovation, an agricultural research firm backed by the Australian government, revealed that over the past four years, Australian table grape exports have grown by 73 per cent. Part of the increase is attributable to higher demand from Vietnam, which is now the world's 7th largest importer of this Australian specialty. "Vietnam is a key exporting country for Australia, and the Australian table grape industry has worked hard to educate and promote Australian grapes to Vietnamese consumers, said Dianne Phan, acting trade lead at Hort Innovation. This week, key growers from Australia's Sunraysia region, representatives from the Australian Table Grapes Association, and a delegation from Austrade will be visiting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to spruik the product. Sunraysia, a farming region in the states of Victoria in New South Wales, is responsible for 99 per cent of grape farming in Australia. The grape season usually starts in November, peaking in March, before ending in May. Australian Table Grapes Association CEO Jeff Scott said several new varieties were coming into production for export this year. The list includes Sweet Nectar, Sweet Sapphire, Pristine Seedless, Long Crimson, Cotton Candy, and Melody Seedless. As an industry, we are seeing year-on-year growth in table grape exports and this is a very pleasing outcome for growers," said Scott. With Vietnam and Australia both part of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement on Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), opportunities for bilateral trade are growing. Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade estimated that Vietnam imported $1.74 billion and exported $3.8 billion worth of fruits in 2018. Tien Thinh brings DH Food Vietnamese spices to Australia The co-operation ceremony between DH Foods and Tien Thinh International Import & Export has marked the official launch of the famous local spice brand in ... Vietnam Airlines and Sabre will work together to turn the former into a digital airline by 2020 The MoU describes Vietnam Airlines intention to significantly expand their existing strategic relationship with Sabre, with a potential value of over $300 million. The scope of the signed MoU includes innovative technology from the Sabre AirVision and AirCenter portfolio that will complement SabreSonic, Vietnam Airlines existing Passenger Service System (PSS), which was recently renewed. Together, once implemented, Sabres solutions will help contribute to the carriers profitability and digital abilities, supporting their objective to become a digital airline by 2020. Leveraging Sabres leading commercial platform, the MoU contemplates that Sabres innovative Sabre In-Flight solution would be the first to be adopted by the airline following todays announcement. The solution, which has driven cost savings of up to 10 per cent of the total catering budget, would also enhance the airlines operational efficiency. Additionally, the MoU contemplates a new, long-term domestic content distribution agreement for Vietnam Airlines through the Sabre Global Distribution System (GDS). A growing domestic subsidiary of the Vietnam Airlines group would also onboard the SabreSonic PSS under the MoU in an effort to enhance the synergy within the group. The deal contemplated by the MoU, which is expected in the coming months, would provide a single integrated passenger technology platform across both airlines. Vietnam Airlines is pleased to build on the existing agreement with Sabre, our trusted, long-term technology provider, to include advanced solutions that will propel our business into the future. Our Digital Transformation programme is essential to our continued success and onboarding these solutions from Sabre directly support our efforts to achieve the Skytrax five-star status, said Duong Tri Thanh, president and CEO of Vietnam Airlines. We are well-prepared for the Industry 4.0 revolution and will soon embark on the ultimate digital journey, providing seamless customer experience and improved operational efficiency, he added. This announcement reaffirms our role as a strategic technology provider to one of the regions leading carriers, Vietnam Airlines. Over the last year, our alliance has evolved both on the content distribution and airline solutions front, and we look forward to working with the carrier to provide a holistic approach to retailing, distribution, and fulfillment, said Dave Shirk, president, Travel Solutions. Todays announcement demonstrates Sabres forward-looking approach, and our ongoing commitment to Asias continued growth and success, he added. This announcement comes within one year of Sabre and Vietnam Airlines announcing an extended agreement for SabreSonic, Sabres Passenger Service System valued at over $400 million, and the renewal of a long-term content distribution agreement through the Sabre Global Distribution System. The MoU expands the relationship between the two industry leaders, and further strengthens the results-driven alliance that has developed between the two corporations for more than 20 years. Sabre Corporation is the leading technology provider to the global travel industry. Sabres software, data, mobile, and distribution solutions are used by hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotel properties to manage critical operations, including passenger and guest reservations, revenue management, flight, network, and crew management. Sabre also operates a leading global travel marketplace, which processes more than $120 billion of global travel spending annually by connecting travel buyers and suppliers. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, the US, Sabre serves customers in more than 160 countries around the world. Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong met US President Donald Trump in Hanoi on Feb. 27 on the occasion of his visit for DPRK-USA summit. Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong meets US President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Feb. 27, 2019 (Photo: VNA) VNA Le Thanh Tung, director of Tien Thinh International Import & Export (left), and Nguyen Trung Dung, director of DH Foods Ltd. Company (right), signing the agreement Taking place in Ho Chi Minh City in February 2019, Tien Thinh officially signed the co-operation agreement providing consultancy and support to export DH Foods signature products of salt sauce, dipping sauce, and natural spices to Australia. These products will later be displayed for sale at food fairs and supermarket system in Australia. The purpose of the agreement is to co-operate and extensively develop brand awareness of DH Foods and Tien Thinh to the public. As a result, both parties are able to enhance the competitiveness of their products in the new market, Australia, to build brand development programmes for both sides in the market and bring optimum benefits to customers. Stemming from the desire to bring authentic Vietnamese products to Australia, Le Thanh Tung, director of Tien Thinh, has participated throughout the consulting process and constantly supported negotiations from the very first step, which includes making a solid business agreement with partners, bringing high-quality products to meet high-standard requirements in Australia, as well as launching marketing campaigns via supermarket chains in Australia. He asserted, I believe that no matter what you do in life, if you truly put all your heart and mind into it, you will eventually see it bear fruit. This is also the endless inspiration that keeps me going on the quest of bringing authentic Vietnamese products to the new market Australia. I hope that Vietnamese products will be promoted, developed, and positively welcomed by foreign customers, particularly the Vietnamese community living abroad. Revealing the upcoming plan, Tung said that he has already come up with a strategy to bring DH Foods signature products of salt sauce, dipping sauce, and natural spices to the shelves of SHL Supermarket 49 Cresent Fairfield NSW 2165 in Sydney, Australia. This promises to provide more options so that customers can be supported on how to use the right spices to create traditional Vietnamese dishes for their daily meals and embark on an Asian culinary journey. Kim Jin-oh, country director of KOICA in Vietnam (seventh from left) and participants at the workshop On February 21, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Ministry of Construction (MoC) jointly organised the Inception Workshop for the project entitled Establishment of the 2021-2030 Comprehensive Social Housing Policy in Vietnam, with the attendance of Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Van Sinh and country director of KOICA in Vietnam, Kim Jin-oh. The Vietnamese government has long been considering housing as a social issue and a priority mission in the national socio-economic development agenda. This includes developing social housing for marginalised groups such as low-income households in urban areas and labourers working at industrial parks, which received great attention from both legislators and the public. Social housing is a pressing need in the context of rapid urbanisation in Vietnam, as big cities are encountering difficulties to provide adequate housing to the increasing population. Sinh addressed the lack of social housing in his opening remarks, saying, Social housing development efforts so far have only achieved 33 per cent of the target of 12.5 square metres per person set by the approved National Housing Development Strategy by 2020 with vision toward 2030. In this context, a comprehensive legal framework which provides guiding principles for social housing provision and management is essential to increase the supply of social housing as well as to ensure access to affordable housing to marginalised groups. It is a field where South Koreas experiences in social housing development could be widely shared. Jin-oh emphasised South Koreas strength in formulating housing policies as well as the willingness of this nations government to support Vietnam to achieve the National Socio-economic Development Strategy and the National Housing Development Strategy. Consultancy makes a presentation on a plan to implement the project The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), as a South Korean government-funded agency, is dedicated to providing grant aid programmes. KOICA currently operates 44 overseas offices in 44 partner countries globally. Established in 1994, the KOICA Vietnam Office aims to develop Vietnam from a middle-income country to a modernised and industrialised nation, and to establish a foundation for sustainable growth by aligning its objectives and priorities with the national socio-economic development strategies and plans. KOICAs priority sectors in the 2016-2020 period in Vietnam include: - Governance (public administration); - Education; - Water management and health; and - Transportation and urban infrastructure. The Comprehensive Social Housing Policy project is financed by the government of South Korea with the total budget of $3 million. The project is implemented from 2018 to 2020 by the South Korean consultancy consortium, including Korea Land and Housing Corporation, Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation, Han-A Urban Research Institute, Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, and Seoul National University. The project aims to study and propose the Vietnam Social Housing Development Strategy during 2021-2030, and contribute to the amendment of Vietnams Law on Housing issued in 2014 in terms of social housing development, focusing on those low-income households in urban areas and labourers working in industrial parks. Five project components are designed to realise these objectives. The first component is focused on the assessment of the current situation of social housing for low-income households in urban areas and labourers working in industrial parks, while the second component will conduct surveys and create a projection of social housing needs for low-income households in urban areas and labourers working in industrial parks in the 2021-2030 period. The third component is about the development of social housing policies applicable for the target groups (low-income households in urban areas and labourers working in industrial parks) by referring to international experiences. While the fourth component is centred on the improvement of the Law on Housing to enable the social housing policy suggested by the project, the fifth component involves a capacity building programme for public officials in the management of social housing development. The inception workshop opened a platform for fruitful discussion on social housing issues among representatives of central ministries and agencies, local governments, research institutes, real estate associations, development partners, as well as domestic and foreign investors in the housing sector. As housing is an important issue in Vietnams development agenda, the effective multi-disciplinary co-ordination among various stakeholders throughout the projects implementation will definitely be the key to success. Oxalis Adventure Tours' photo is fast becoming a symbol for the summit According to the department, this is a golden opportunity to boosting tourism in the province. The representative of the Quang Binh Department of Tourism said, All eyes are on the summit and Vietnam, which is a great chance to broadcast images of the country to the whole world. Quang Binh is an attractive destination, including the iconic Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and Son Doong Cave, which are two of Vietnamese most breathtaking landscapes. Quang Binh will offer reporters attending the summit several tourism products completely free of charge. The department will also enter into co-operation with the Quang Binh Department of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Vietnam Television, and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism to disseminate information to nearly 4,000 reporters attending the summit as well as work with international press agencies to promote tourism. Currently, clips, trailers, and the most impressive images of Quang Binh are posted on the MoFAs official website and are provided to international press agencies. Visitors have been posting photos of holding the three flags of the US, North Korea, and Vietnam up at Son Doong Cave, En Cave, and Tien Cave on Facebook and Twitter. One such picture of a group of visitors captured by Oxalis Adventure Tours on February 15, was used in an Associated Press (AP) article on the summit and was widely shared on social networks. Later on, world-leading press agencies like The Washington Post, ABC News, MSN, and others reposted the article. The Quang Binh Department of Tourism will carry out programmes to promote the province as a tourism destination in Korea, Japan, Australia, and European countries in 2019. The beginning steps of the summit will take place at Metropole Hanoi The White House officially announced that the summit between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) will take place at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, and the two leaders will have a private dinner on February 27. The White House said Trump would meet Kim at Hanoi's French-colonial-era Metropole Hotel at 6.30pm (local time) and have a 20 minute one-on-one conversation before a dinner scheduled to last just over an hour and a half, according to newswire Channel NewsAsia. President Trump arrived to Hanoi on Air Force One late on February 26. He even posted on Twitter: "Just arrived in Vietnam." DPRK Chairman Kim Jong Un arrived by train early on February 26 after a three-day trip from the North Korean capital Pyongyang through China. He completed the last stretch from the Vietnamese border station to Hanoi by car. Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi was first opened at the turn of the 20th century by two private French investors. Operating since 1901, it is Vietnams oldest continuously operating hotel and has hosted a roster of famous guests over the years, including Charlie Chaplin and British writer W. Somerset Maugham. Standing the test of time, the hotel has been recognised as one of Hanois landmarks for its contribution to the history and heritage of city. Metropole Hotel Hanoi is located at 15 Ngo Quyen street, Hanoi. The hotel currently has 364 rooms, according to its website. Metropole has often been chosen as a venue to host large events as well as by visitors to Hanoi for both work and relaxation. Kim Jong Un arriving to Hanoi for the historic summit President Kim Jong Un's delegation will visit Viettel to exchange experiences and discuss co-operation opportunities in the fields of telecommunications, IT, and production research on February 28 during the DPRK-US Hanoi Summit, as stated by newswireICTnews. The summit between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), will take place in Hanoi on February 27-28. This leading international event is central to regional and global peace and has been a critical issue for decades. Through this summit, Vietnam also hopes to strengthen its and the ASEANs role in the international community, wishing to introduce its achievements of comprehensive innovation over the past decades. Viettel is currently the largest enterprise in the field of research and production of tele-communications and IT products and equipment. On February 21, 2019, the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) announced the list of 50 operators in the world that have successfully implemented NarrowBand-IoT (NB-IoT), including Viettel as the only representative from Vietnam. Earlier, at the beginning of December 2018, Viettel successfully activated 30 broadcasting stations as well as the platform providing services using NB-IoT technology in Hanoi. Therefore, Viettel became the first network operator in Vietnam to successfully deploy a commercial IoT network. Viettel's entire infrastructure and foundation for IoT will be ready to serve customers in the first half of 2019. As planned, Viettel will complete the entire NB-IoT coverage in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in the first quarter of 2019 before gradually investing in nationwide coverage and foreign markets. Recently, Viettel has established a network security company. This company is directly assigned to research and implement overall solutions to ensure information security and safety and to meet the challenges of digital transformation, including security solutions for IoT and software, IT applications, as well as smart cloud information security monitoring solutions, which can be deployed on a national scale for large organisations. Former Swedish Academy permanent secretary Sara Danius never flinched from the controversial choice of Bob Dylan for the Nobel Prize in Literature. (AFP/Jonathan NACKSTRAND) The academic's resignation is the latest development in an affair that sprang from the movement to highlight sexual abuse, and forced the Academy to postpone awarding the literature prize in 2018. "I have decided to give up my seat ... once occupied by the first woman elected to the Academy, Selma Lagerloef," Danius, 56, said in a statement. "It has been an honour," she added, without giving a reason for her decision. In April 2018, Danius was forced to step down as the Academy's permanent secretary, the first woman to hold that position, owing to a scandal sparked by Jean-Claude Arnault, an influential figure on Stockholm's cultural scene. He was convicted of raping a young woman in October and December 2011, and the academy was caught up in the affair because Arnault was married to one of its members, Katarina Frostenson, who has also resigned. Arnault, who is French, was accused by 18 women in a statement to respected Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, but has appealed his conviction to Sweden's Supreme Court. The Swedish Academy had generously funded Arnault's Forum club, which was popular among aspiring young authors hoping to make contact with publishers and writers, and he had boasted he was its "19th member." Danius, a scholar at Stockholm University, joined the Academy in 2013 and became its permanent secretary two years later. As such she was the voice of the body that awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature to Belarussian journalist Svetlana Alexievitch, US songwriter Bob Dylan and British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro. Her departure highlights a rift in the Academy between those who seek to revive it and an ageing male-dominated clique alleged to sustain a culture of silence that had protected Arnault. It might paradoxically open the door to more female members, as permanent secretary Anders Olsson said Tuesday that three vacant seats would likely be filled by women. "It is necessary for the Academy's balance of men and women," said Olsson, who is leaving himself because he has reached his position's age limit of 70 years. Madelaine Levy, a critic at the daily Svenska Dagbladet agreed, telling AFP: "There is a problem of male/female balance, but also one of the member's advanced age," which she said was an average of 73 years. With Danius however, the Academy was "losing its most popular member, and one of those best known by the public," Levy noted. The impassioned intellectual is also known for her sense of fashion that brightened up often austere galas in the Scandinavian capital. PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc joined the inauguration ceremony of DKC Petros terminal complex in Nghe An At the meeting with the investor community at the beginning of the 2019 lunar year last weekend, top leaders of Nghe An province granted investment certificates to 13 projects and agreements on investment co-operation to 18 projects valued nearly VND22 trillion ($957 million) in total registered capital. Additionally, four minutes on planning financing were inked at the occasion. Notably, the VND4.649 trillion ($202 million) project of Singaporean textile clothing firm Royal Pagoda Private Limited got its investment certificate to invest in VSIP Nghe An Industrial Park (IP). This is the largest foreign investment project at the IP until present, and also the largest investment project among the projects receiving investment certificates or getting approved investment proposals at the investor conference. Thai Thanh Quy, Chairman of the Nghe An Peoples Committee, reiterated local authorities strong commitment to continue supporting investors in the province, where the success of businesses is also the success of the province. The annual conference saw provincial leaders meet with the business community in the province at the beginning of a new lunar year. Chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the event attracted around 700 participants including Party and state leaders, heads of central and local authorised agencies, business executives, and media representatives. It provided a worthy opportunity for Nghe An to present its potential and advantages in the three major fields of green industry, tourism, and high-tech agriculture, plus appealing incentives applied to investors doing business in the province. Quy said, Right from the start of 2019, provincial state management agencies have embarked on implementing a revolution in attracting investment. First is creating the master plan, setting pivotal economic development zones, developing infrastructure, and building industrial zones. It will go parallel with accelerating the pace of administrative reforms with the application of a one-stop shop mechanism and preferential policies to attract investors. In his words, in the forthcoming time, Nghe An will take drastic measures to ameliorate the local business and investment climate. The measures cover planning, policies and mechanism, investment promotion, and increased support to investors, as well as those to spur development and increasingly perfect the infrastructure system. According to Le Tien Tri, director of the Nghe An Centre for Investment Promotion and Support, the province posted fairly comprehensive growth last year. It achieved all 27 targets, with 11 of them surpassing projections. The provincial GDP grew 8.77 per cent, with annual per capita gross regional domestic product reaching VND38 million ($1,650). During 2014-2018, the integration process and innovation in investment attraction has brought Nghe An practical results. The province has lured 150 projects with the total combined investment value touching VND89.1 trillion ($3.87 billion). A slew of major domestic and foreign investors have set strong footholds in the province, such as privately-held TH Group and Bac A Bank with 24 projects valued at VND29.9 trillion ($1.3 billion) in total registered capital, private conglomerate Vingroup with three projects valued VND7.3 trillion ($317.4 million), Masan Group with four projects worth VND4.7 trillion ($204.3 million), and FLC Group with four projects valued VND11 trillion ($478.3 million), to name a few. Notably, Nghe An has succeeded in courting experienced infrastructure investors such as Singapore-backed VSIP and Hemaraj Group from Thailand with total investment value reaching billions of US dollars. According to Tran Dinh Thien, former director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics, Nghe An has satisfied all conditions to become an attractive venue as it lies in the heart of the north-central region, connects the north and the south, and provides a gateway to the East Sea. Furthermore, it features aboundant natural resources, the 82-kilometre coastline, rich mineral deposits, an abundant workforce, auspicious tourism potential, and much more. Advocating this mindset, Truong Dinh Tuyen, former Minister of Industry and Trade, and head of Nghe An provinces advisory team, said that provincial leaders have applied an innovative approach to development which fits contemporary development requirements. Accordingly, Nghe Ans development will be based on high-tech agriculture and tourism development thanks to its plentiful and distinctive potential. More significantly, 2019 is set to be a transitional year for the province to embrace a revolution in administrative procedure reforms with a view to bringing in breakthroughs in investment attraction. According to the Nghe An Centre for Investment Promotion and Support, the province will prioritise investment into clean and green agriculture employing intensive farming to improve product quality, as well as pharmaceutical products, coffee, rubber, and tea. Besides, priority will also be placed on projects for meat processing and animal feed production; investment into high-tech industries; the supporting industry and mechanical manufacturing; and the production of new materials. US President Donald Trump (left) shakes hands with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un before a meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi on Feb 27, 2019. (Photo: AFP) Kim and Trump shook hands and smiled briefly in front of a row of their countries' flags at the Metropole hotel in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi. Trump told reporters he thought the talks would be very successful, while he was not walking back on denuclearisation". Asked if he would declare a formal end to the Korean War, Trump said: Well see. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sit down before their one-on-one chat during the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis Kim said they had overcome obstacles to hold the summit in Vietnam and had needed patience since their first meeting in Singapore last year. He said he hoped these talks would be successful. "I am certain that a great outcome will be achieved this time that will be welcomed by all people," Kim told Trump. "I will do my best to make that happen." "We came all the way to Hanoi to meet again," Kim said. "When I think about, it was a period where we needed more thought, effort and patience than at any time," apparently referring to the eight months between their two meetings. Trump and Kim are scheduled to hold a 20-minute, one-on-one chat followed by a dinner with aides. Trump will be accompanied by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. Kim will be joined by his top envoy, Kim Yong Chol, and Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho. Kim Jong Un, Donald Trump meet for second US-North Korea summitU.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sit down before their one-on-one chat during the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis On Thursday, the two leaders will hold "a series of back and forth" meetings, the White House said. The venue has not been announced. Despite little progress on his goal of ridding North Korea of its weapons programmes, Trump appeared to be betting on his personal relationship with North Korea's young leader, and the economic incentive after 70 years of hostility between their countries. "Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize," Trump said on Twitter ahead of his meeting with Kim. "The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting!" Trump said late last year he and Kim "fell in love", and on the eve of his departure for the second summit said they had developed "a very, very good relationship". Whether the bonhomie can move them beyond summit pageantry to substantive progress on eliminating Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal that threatens the United States is the question that will dominate the talks. Bystanders wait for the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Ann Wang PRESSURE At their historic first summit in Singapore last June, Trump and Kim pledged to work toward denuclearisation and permanent peace on the Korean peninsula. North and South Korea have been technically at war since their 1950-53 conflict, with the Americans backing the South, ended in a truce, not a treaty. That first meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader ended with great fanfare but little substance over how to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. US intelligence officials have said there is no sign North Korea will ever give up its entire arsenal of nuclear weapons, which it sees as its guarantee of national security. Analysts say it won't commit to significant disarmament unless punishing US-led economic sanctions are eased. In the run-up to the summit, Trump has indicated a more flexible stance, saying he was in no rush to secure North Korea's denuclearisation. He has held out the prospect of easing sanctions if North Korea does something "meaningful". The two sides have discussed specific and verifiable denuclearisation measures, such as allowing inspectors to observe the dismantlement of North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear reactor, US and South Korean officials say. US concessions could include opening liaison offices, ending the war or clearing the way for inter-Korean projects. Any deal will face scrutiny from American lawmakers and other sceptics who doubt North Korea is willing to give up the weapons. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's bodyguards stand around his car as he visits the North Korean embassy in Hanoi on Feb 26, 2019. (Photo: AFP / Ye Aung THU) After an initial historic meeting in Singapore in June that produced only a vague statement about denuclearisation, analysts say the second date must deliver more concrete steps towards dismantling Pyongyang's arsenal. The normally sleepy Vietnamese border station of Dong Dang spruced itself up for Kim's arrival after the young leader's 4,000-kilometre (2,500-mile), two-and-a-half-day odyssey through China aboard his olive green train. A military guard of honour in pristine white uniforms presented arms as Kim strolled down the red carpet waving and grinning, surrounded by a phalanx of aides and security personnel. Local student Nguyen Thu Uyen who handed Kim flowers on his arrival said it was his "most memorable" moment meeting the leader. "Kim Jong Un is very friendly and especially attractive," said Uyen of Kim, the first North Korean leader to visit fellow one-party state Vietnam since his grandfather Kim Il Sung in 1964. Wearing his trademark Mao-style black suit and flanked by his troops of bodyguards, Kim was ushered into a waiting Mercedes-Benz and his motorcade rolled off towards Hanoi, where armoured personnel carriers patrolled the roads amid ultra-tight security. He was greeted in Hanoi by cheering crowds behind barriers near the colonial-era pastel yellow Hanoi Opera House before arriving at the Melia hotel where he was expected to stay this week. After a few hours' rest, he made a 50-minute jaunt to Pyongyang's embassy before returning to his hotel, echoing the summit in Singapore where he took in the sights on an unscheduled sortie. Trump was taking a more conventional route on Air Force One to the meeting and was expected to arrive in Hanoi late Tuesday. He tweeted he was looking forward to a "very productive" second summit. The US president again dangled the carrot of economic progress for North Korea if it gives up its nuclear programme. "With complete Denuclearization, North Korea will rapidly become an Economic Powerhouse," tweeted Trump. "Without it, just more of the same." "Chairman Kim will make a wise decision!" Relations between the two mercurial leaders have undergone a dramatic turnaround, from flinging personal insults and threats of destruction to Trump declaring he had fallen "in love" with Kim through an exchange of letters. But many North Korea watchers dismissed the Singapore summit as political theatre that failed to produce a concrete roadmap to denuclearisation and stressed the Hanoi meeting must deliver more. "The window for diplomatic progress with North Korea will not remain open indefinitely. The second summit... must emphasise substance over pageantry," said Kelsey Davenport from the Arms Control Association. Concrete details about the summit have been thin but White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters aboard Air Force One the two leaders would dine together Wednesday along with close advisers. "NO TESTING, WE'RE HAPPY" Diplomatic progress since Singapore has stalled over the definition of denuclearisation, with Stephen Biegun, the US special representative for North Korea, admitting there was no "shared agreement" of what that means. The United States has repeatedly demanded the North give up its nuclear arsenal in a final, fully verifiable way. But Pyongyang sees denuclearisation more broadly, seeking an end to sanctions and what it sees as US threats - usually taken to include the American military presence in the South, and sometimes in the wider region. In the run-up to the summit, Trump appeared to lower US demands for Pyongyang, repeatedly saying there was no rush to rid the North of its arsenal as long as missile and nuclear tests stopped. "I don't want to rush anybody. I just don't want testing. As long as there's no testing, we're happy," said Trump. He also hinted more summits could follow the Hanoi meeting, reducing expectations of a dramatic breakthrough in the Vietnamese capital. Pyongyang insists it has already taken major steps, by not testing ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons for more than a year, and blowing up the entrances to its atomic test site. The North also wants increased security guarantees, which could come in the form of a declaration of an end to the 1950-53 Korean War - that culminated with an armistice instead of a full peace treaty - or opening liaison offices. Opening liaison offices would signal the first stage of normalising US-North Korean relations, said Go Myong-hyun of the Asan Institute of Policy Studies, and would be an ideal "politically symbolic step" rather than prematurely agreeing to sanctions relief. Harry Kazianis of the Center for the National Interest said: "Nothing would be worse than for either side to come out of the meeting as if it was a waste of time." Vietnams agricultural sector has been attracting many high-tech investments helping it join global value chains - Photo: Le Toan Locally-owned Phuc Sinh Corporation, which exports assorted types of crops such as coffee, pepper, cashews, coconut, and rice, has been exporting its K-Coffee products to the EU and North America. It is the sole coffee product in Vietnam featuring the tagline 100 per cent pure roasted coffee. Last year, the companys revenue growth from K-Coffee for domestic consumption and export reached double digits, and this is expected to remain the case this year. So as to ensure the highest quality coffee, the company has been applying the worlds best standards to production, including UTZ Certified the EU and the US, and Britains BRC Global. The UTZ Certified label is featured on more than 10,000 different product packages in over 116 countries. Meanwhile, BRC Global Standards is a leading brand and consumer protection organisation, used by over 26,000 certificated suppliers over 130 countries. We have been co-operating with farmers for production, and applying these standards to the coffee farms, the companys chairman and general director Pham Minh Thong told VIR. We want Vietnamese coffee to be ranked on top of the world in terms of quality, and establish a firm niche in global value chains (GVCs). Currently, the firm is co-operating with nearly 900 coffee households over 1,000 hectares under UTZ standards, with total annual output of nearly 2,750 tonnes. Phuc Sinhs total export turnover was estimated to be about $280 million last year, far higher than the $200 million in 2017, but lower than the $300 million of the previous year. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the countrys total agro-forestry-fishery export turnover hit $40.02 billion last year, with over $20 billion worth of crop staples, up from nearly $19 billion in 2017. A new trend Vietnam has progressed to become the worlds fifth-largest exporter of agro-food commodities including aquatic products, rice, coffee, tea, cashew, black pepper, rubber, and cassava. In the chase to earn high profits, many domestic and overseas companies have been deploying high-tech agricultural projects in Vietnam in recent years. According to the MARD, the rise in export turnover of farm produce is ascribed to an increase in productivity and output facilitated by more hi-tech methods being applied. Domestic crop products are being exported in higher numbers, with more quality, meaning that they are gradually climbing up GVCs, said Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong. More and more foreign companies want to introduce high technology to the local agricultural sector. David Traub, director of Germanys B.K Smart Agro Company, told VIR that he will visit Vietnam this year to seek partners to supply tech to supervise tractors, sowers, and the quality of plants. In October last year, Traub arrived in the country for the same purpose, and landed contracts with five Vietnamese partners. While overseas, Traub simply uses his mobile phone to directly check how his tractors and sowers are performing on his familys eight-hectare wheat plot in Nurtingen, a town in southern Germany. The land is used by the company to test the technology it creates. This tech can help improve product quality and enable exporters in Vietnam to export high-quality products, and earn more money, he said. In another case Pham Hoang Ngan, co-ordinator in Vietnam of Mekong Agritech Challenge, a programme of the Mekong Business Initiative, said that many foreign firms also want to apply their IT solutions in Vietnams agricultural sector. Firms include Gintel from Taiwan, Chinas GAGO Ltd., Enzootic Ltd. from Hong Kong and Israel, FairAgora from Thailand, Pycno Industries from Australia, and Indias Intello Labs Pvt., Ltd. They offer a raft of platforms in the format of apps, software, and cell transplantation technology, said Ngan, who is helping some of these firms enter Vietnam. Here, local agricultural businesses now tend to use in their production foreign high-tech solutions. This offers big opportunities for these foreign enterprises. Thailands GoodHout BV is seeking coconut processors, coconut husk suppliers, and wood panel and furniture manufacturers. The firms aim is to turn coconut waste into a high-quality bio-based material to sell in the EU. Bumpy road ahead According to the World Bank, Vietnam is among the five leading exporters in terms of volume, and also generally in total value. A report on Vietnamese agriculture recently released by the World Bank says, However, most of Vietnams exports sell at a discount compared to other global leaders. For some commodities, Vietnams particular varieties, for example robusta coffee, and lead market position, for instance 25 per cent broken white rice, generally have a lower unit value than alternatives such as arabica coffee, or jasmine rice. Vietnams average free on board prices, even within these variety categories, tend to be lower than those of peers. For example, Vietnams 25 per cent broken rice is sold at a $30-40 discount per tonne compared to the same product from Thailand. Furthermore, Vietnams robusta coffee exports are sold at a small discount on the LIFFE international price index. Currently, the average unit value for Vietnamese tea ($1,524) is about 40 per cent lower than that of India ($2,688) and Kenya ($2,799). In recent years, there has been some repositioning of the rice trade into higher quality or different variety segments, including for aromatic varieties. But there too, the Vietnamese product earns a lower price than that of peers, said the World Bank report. Much of Vietnams large agro-food trade is virtually invisible to the majority of end-users or consumers abroad, with the less expensive raw materials usually blended with those from elsewhere to obtain a finished product. Vietnams low-cost robusta coffee is blended with arabica coffee from Africa or Latin America to produce different brands of instant coffee in Europe and North America. Vietnams dried cassava is converted into animal feed, starch, and other products, generally in China. The bulk of Vietnams exports of bamboo follow a similar path, along which most of the value-addition occurs overseas. Many of its raw materials are sold in products with labels that confirm it is made with supplies from different countries. Fresh produce may go unlabeled or sometimes even with a label of a different country of origin. Minister Cuong admitted that although Vietnam is strong in agricultural development, 90 per cent of its farm produce exports are raw or initially processed. This means their quality and export prices are clearly lower than similar products in other nations, he said. This will affect the agricultural sector in its process in joining GVCs. According to another World Bank report on Vietnams engagement in the next generation of GVCs, the countrys agricultural sector has done an impressive job of entering and then strengthening its participation in GVCs over the last few decades. However, if the sector is to realise its full potential by 2035, critical challenges must be overcome. To increase opportunities and strengthen participation in GVCs, it will need to continue to foster the absorptive capacity of farmers and agri-processors like Phuc Sinh Corporation, according to the report. To raise local farm produce to a higher niche in GVCs, firms should improve their own competitiveness, and prepare for increased competition as the government proceeds with the reduction and eventual elimination of higher agricultural tariffs under current and potential trade agreements, Thong of Phuc Sinh said. Byron Patching Vietnam today exemplifies the opportunities that can be harnessed by successful distribution. The nations shift from a centrally-planned economy to a market economy has transformed the country into a lower middle-income nation regarded as one of the most dynamic young markets in Southeast Asia. The countrys population reached about 95 million in 2017, up from about 60 million three decades ago, and is expected to expand to 120 million by 2050. Significantly, it is a young population that is increasingly drawn to urban centres. Examples of Vietnams rapid social change can be found in a number of significant indicators. According to the World Bank, in 1993 only 14 per cent of the population used electricity as their main source of lighting in rural areas. By 2016 this grew to 99 per cent. Similarly, in 1993, 36 per cent of the population had access to sanitation facilities. By 2016, it was 77 per cent. Rural access to clean water has also improved dramatically, up from 17 per cent in 1993 to 70 per cent in 2016. Access to these services in urban areas is above 95 per cent today. Now, a united government whose policies are helping drive the nations resurgence, has enabled Vietnamese people to focus their energy in productive and enterprising ways. Vietnams economy is performing well, buoyed by global growth and domestic reforms. Growth after rebuilding The World Bank Market Overview confirms that Vietnams GDP increased by 7.1 per cent year-on-year between 1993 and 2016, from $13.2 billion to $205.3 billion. This growth is in large part due to Vietnams new-found status as a key manufacturing hub in Asia, especially for Chinese, Japanese and South Korean companies. Vietnam has lower manufacturing wages, averaging around $2,900 a year in 2016, with a focus on the hubs of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The solid growth is boosting job creation and income growth, leading to broad-based welfare gains and poverty reduction. The economic growth has sparked the emergence of a growing middle class, characterised by expanding demand for consumer products. Demand has shifted from basic goods to high-end, value-added, and aspirational ones. Vietnamese households are spending their new-found wealth on fridges, tables, chairs, motorbikes, cars, mobile phones, and other consumer goods. Wholesale and retail businesses are the biggest drivers of Vietnams economic growth, with e-commerce undergoing rapid expansion. Consumer demand for value-added goods is most definitely on the rise, but this demand, coupled with Vietnams challenging topography, is driving the need for a world-class supply chain. World-class networks mean greater access to goods throughout the country, rather than focusing on Vietnams major centres. This takes growth pressure off the bigger cities, creating greater economic opportunities across regional areas. The heart of supply chains Vietnam is a long, narrow country with challenging natural topography and features. Its size, together with rising consumer demand, has led to an exponential increase in products moving around the country, not to mention in trade flows. The result is that dramatic supply chain innovation is critical in meeting current distribution demand, as well as forging viable pathways for future growth. Due to the rapid retail expansion in Vietnam, suppliers that once delivered to two or three local stores now need to deliver to hundreds if not thousands of stores spread throughout Vietnam. In addition, there are more and more large-format and mini stores opening every year so the pressure to deliver across the country is increasing. Due to the expansion of the delivery destinations, Vietnam is ready to progress to a national integrated supply chain model. The integrated model features centralised distribution centres for retailers with suppliers delivering to large distribution centres rather than directly to store. Other features of the integrated model are enhanced warehouse and transport systems, and stock replenishment systems. In addition, larger freight vehicles are needed to reduce the number of transport movements whilst increasing the volume of products provided through each delivery. The movement towards integrated supply chains is driving structural shifts in logistics operations related to property, people, system, freight, and supporting infrastructure. Businesses in developed countries have refined their network designs through years of maturation to a system that now affords significant gains over potential competitors and creates substantial cost-savings and revenue opportunities. It is now Vietnams opportunity to bring its logistics network up to international standards. Effective transport and logistics are critical factors to successful nation-building. As retailers open more stores, the growth in the volume of business affords them better buying power with suppliers. This, in turn, enables better efficiencies, driving further expansion either nationally or even across borders to neighbouring markets. Naturally, these businesses are also generally more competitive, enabling them to create more value for customers, and lower prices, whilst expanding their range. As the new generation of consumers becomes more affluent and savvy, retail trends now evolving in developed markets can be expected to also spread in East Asia. These trends smaller order sizes, shorter delivery windows, increasing customer service expectations will make it imperative for organisations wishing to make a successful entry into the Vietnamese market to get their distribution network design just right. Theres an exciting opportunity in Vietnam to learn from these evolutionary steps to quickly move to a centralised system of supply chain and to do so very efficiently. These efficiencies improve profitability and reduce inventory, creating savings that can be passed on to customers and promote competition. World-class expertise with local knowledge Given the obvious benefits of implementing efficient supply chains at the earliest stage in Vietnams new age, it is clear that a world-class understanding of every aspect of supply chain design and optimisation is critical. Equally important is local knowledge of the cultural realities at play. The success of any supply chain strategy in Vietnam depends on achieving a deep understanding of local nuances, commercial strategies, and governmental policy-setting objectives. World-class supply chain expertise applied to the Vietnamese market is critical to enabling retailers, businesses and logistics operators to evolve rapidly. By adopting international best practices coupled with local knowledge, entrants into the Vietnamese market have an opportunity to leapfrog many evolutionary lessons and implement world-class systems from scratch. Vietnam has an opportunity to leapfrog developed market supply chain evolution and head directly to the worlds best practices. One of the problems with improving the performance of a supply chain is the already embedded investment in legacy buildings, infrastructure, and systems. As Vietnam is growing so quickly, there is an opportunity to move straight to the worlds best practices in the areas of industrial property, building fitout, and systems in particular. In addition, there is an opportunity to move to more progressive commercial relationships with suppliers that directly address the integrated supply chain model. By adopting international best practices, coupled with local knowledge, entrants into the Vietnamese market have an opportunity to leapfrog many evolutionary lessons and implement world-class systems from scratch. The three presidents of DPRK visited the facility manufacturing the bodies of automobile and scooters and were welcomed by the VinFast board of directors and hundreds of students of VinFasts vocational training centre, according to newswire Vnexpress.vn. Speaking at the visit, the representative of VinFast introduced the operations and business models of VinFast, Vinsmart, and VinEco. Before returning to Hanoi, the delegation also visited a high-tech industrial park located in Tan Lien commune, Vinh Bao district of Haiphong city. The tour of the VinFast facility On November 20, 2018 VinFast introduced the price list of its cars at the launching ceremony of its vehicles organised at Thong Nhat Park. VinFast breathed life into Vietnams dream of a bright future in the automobile industry, showing that the country can reach farther than simple assembly, if only its corporations can be more proactive and dare to dream bigger. Everyone has heard of Las Vegas. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations, world-renowned for being the casino city. But if it was just for its popularity within the gambling industry, it wouldnt have become so famous. Almost 43 million people visit Southern Nevada every year in search of all the thrills this city offers. Lets take a look at the iconic tourist attractions that actually live up to the hype and a few under-the-radar things that only locals know about. 6. Admire the beauty of Bellagio Fountains It might be one of the simplest things to do in Vegas, but its definitely one of the coolest. The sight of more than 1000 fountains shooting water 500 feet into the air will never get old. The show runs every 15 minutes at night and every 30 minutes during the day accompanied by the music of Tiesto or Frank Sinatra. 5. Gamble at the right casinos Its perfectly normal to want to win a few bucks playing table games while youre in a city famous for gambling. Just keep in mind that casinos arent created all the same. They vary in terms of the minimum stake and wagering requirements. Check a guide before setting foot in any establishment. 4. Visit the Neon Museum The Neon Museum is one of the coolest museums in Vegas to start with. It offers guided tours of old marquees representing the neon history of vintage Vegas. Accompanied by music to match the Vegas experience over the years, the attraction is based more on history-inspired elements than predictable kitsch. Nevertheless, it has a sentimental side which will have you feeling a little more in tune with this city. 3. Explore the culinary traditions of Chinatown Las Vegas has an awesome under-hyped Chinatown thats just a few blocks west of the Strip on Spring Mountain Road. This center of culture and cuisine has even more variety than you ever might expect. Every type of food made in this area is a piece of art from Asian culinary traditions. 2. Drink a Scorpion Shot at Nacho Daddy No, were not joking, this drink has a real pickled scorpion served with your drink. If you want to try a certain type of tequila, we highly recommend the restaurants own house-brand. Theres no need to worry, youre more likely to feel a sting from the alcohol than from the scorpion. Nacho Daddy is located on the Strip, Downtown, and Summerlin which makes it pretty accessible. 1. Ride a zip line between two different hotel towers Vegas has a few different zip lines. One of them is over the Fremont Street Experience and another among the hills of Bootleg Canyon near Lake Mead. But the one that gets the highest score for pure insanity is the VooDoo Zip Line at the Rio. It begins on the 50th floor of the Masquerade Tower and can carry up to two people at a time about 800 feet down to the Ipanema Tower at a top speed of 33 mph. In the middle of freaking out, youll get to check out stunning views of the Strip to the east and Spring Mountains to the west. Vegas is the city in which nothing is impossible. From the gambling and unique architecture to all the exquisite experiences it offers, youll have an unforgettable holiday. Las Vegas favorite music venue and favorite brewery have joined forces for an exclusive beer in honor of Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas 5th anniversary this March. Knockdown Punk Hoppy Lager will debut at Brooklyn Bowls 5th Anniversary CraftHaus Brewery Beer Dinner onThursday, March 7, from 6 8 p.m. Hosted at Brooklyn Bowl, the dinner will kick off with a Silver State welcome beer followed by four courses perfectly paired with signature CraftHaus brews, including a main entree of Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken and Knockdown Punk Hoppy Lager. Price of admission includes a ticket to Grammy-nominated, indie-rock group Band of Horses immediately following the dinner. CraftHaus Brewery was tasked with creating an exclusive beer for Brooklyn Bowls 5th Anniversary crafted to complement their famous fried chicken. The delectably drinkable result, Knockdown Punk Hoppy Lager, is an American take on a Bohemian Pilsner. Utilizing spicy hops for bite and a clean, mineral finish from Lager yeast, Knockdown Punk will keep the crowd rocking all night. 5.0% Abv. Five years in Las Vegas is an exciting milestone for us, so we wanted to celebrate with a special beer, said Chris White, Vice President of Brooklyn Bowl. CraftHaus did a killer job of brewing an incredibly drinkable beer that exemplifies our brand and goes perfectly with a plate of our signature fried chicken and our concert experience. The Coronavirus-Related Situation in Armenia International aviation: Council greenlights signing of major agreements with four countries With UCOMs level up tariff plans subscribers have unlimited access to Netflix, Duolingo and Zoom Armenia: Statement by the Spokesperson on the early parliamentary elections Armenias Parliamentary Elections PRESS STATEMENT COVID19:77 new cases Armenias early parliamentary elections were competitive and well run, but polarized and marred by aggressive rhetoric, international observers say International election observers to Armenias early parliamentary elections held press conference Drop Charges Against Rights Defender Sashik Sultanyan The Coronavirus-Related Situation in Armenia The European Union in Armenia calls all parties to contribute to a peaceful Election Day to celebrate democracy 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 Google Ad 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 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 Hong Kong: Paul Chan attends budget forum Financial Secretary Paul Chan attended a televised forum on the 2019-20 Budget this evening, highlighting his initiatives on diversifying the economy, boosting healthcare services and building a liveable city. He said he gave an analysis in his Budget the global political and economic landscape, and the direction of Hong Kongs economic development amid the uncertain external environment. He also outlined the Governments plan on diversifying the economy by investing in the financial services industry as well as innovation and technology. On healthcare services, Mr Chan noted he will deploy $16 billion to set up a public healthcare stabilisation fund, upgrade medical equipment in public hospitals, increase the salary and allowance of the medical and ward supporting staff, and expand drug subsidy for patients. To make Hong Kong a more liveable city, Mr Chan said he will allocate $600 million to refurbish over 200 public toilets by phases. Another $6 billion will be earmarked for developing new harbourfront promenades, in addition to his proposal of setting up a $200-million Urban Forestry Support Fund, he added. This story has been published on: 2019-02-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Whitfield County Animal Shelter Director Diane Franklin feeds a struggling kitten with a syringe. Franklin said people bring in and leave kittens and puppies on an almost daily basis. She has asked the members of the county Board of Commissioners to pass a law requiring pet owners to spay or neuter their animals to reduce the unwanted pet problem. When President Vistasp Karbhari convened a search committee for a new dean of the College of Health of Nursing and Health Innovation, he gave the members one charge: find the nations best next dean for the College. Elizabeth Merwin That turned out to be Elizabeth Merwin, an accomplished nursing and health services researcher and executive vice dean of Duke Universitys School of Nursing, where she was also the schools Ann Henshaw Gardiner Professor of Nursing and a professor in the School of Medicine. Merwin, who assumed office at UTA on Feb. 1, was feted at a welcome reception at UTAs College Park Center Tuesday evening. She has the background, she has done the research and she has taught, Karbhari said, noting that the college has grown not only in size but in reputation. The college has approximately 21,000 students. It is the largest producer of baccalaureate-prepared nurses in the state of Texas and the nations largest nursing program at a public university. Its undergraduate and graduate nursing programs are regularly ranked among the nations best by such evaluators as U.S. News & World Report. UTA Provost Teik Lim said Merwin has already hit the ground running since coming on board. On her first day on the job, he said, she spent six hours with a prospective donor. Merwin said she was impressed with both UTA and the college when she came to town to interview. I am so much more impressed now after being here, she said. I am impressed by the commitment of the faculty and staff to figure out what the community needs, what the state of Texas needs and to think of the next opportunity and how to make it happen. She singled out the work of faculty colleagues in kinesiology, including one whose developmental coordination disorder lab that helps children improve their motor skills is said to be the only one of its kind in the world. Another researcher has a longstanding relationship with Arlington school district and whose strategies for helping students lose weight includes ballroom dancing. Merwin is thrilled by the amount of creativity in the college. One of my goals will be to stimulate that creativity and passion, she said. One thing I will be spending a lot of time on is how to support teams within the college. She said she is also looking forward to working with colleagues from other programs at UTA and building strong ties with the community. Thank you welcoming me and supporting me and thank you for taking me into your community, she said. -- written by Lekan Oguntoyinbo (@ChaudhryMAli88) The United States is calling on Moscow and Damascus to facilitate a new humanitarian convoy to the Rukban refugee camp before the end of next month, US Deputy Representative to the United Nations Jonathan Cohen told the Security Council on Tuesday WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2019) The United States is calling on Moscow and Damascus to facilitate a new humanitarian convoy to the Rukban refugee camp before the end of next month, US Deputy Representative to the United Nations Jonathan Cohen told the Security Council on Tuesday. "The United States is urging the Assad regime and the Russian Federation to facilitate a new UN - Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) humanitarian convoy to Rukban before the end of March," Cohen said. The envoy praised the recent delivery of humanitarian aid to the Rukban camp but stressed that the delivery would only sustain the population for about 30 days. Over 100 trucks took part in the humanitarian aid delivery to Rukban in early February. However, the Russian and Syrian Joint Coordination Committees on repatriation of Syrian refugees said that the US-controlled militants could have gained most goods from the humanitarian convoy. The situation in the Rukban camp, which is situated within the US-controlled zone surrounding its military base in At-Tanf, has become increasingly dire as refugees residing there have not been regularly receiving sufficient amounts of humanitarian aid. Switzerland sold weapons worth 510 million Swiss francs (some $500 million) in 2018, a report by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) revealed Tuesday GENEVA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2019) Switzerland sold weapons worth 510 million Swiss francs (some $500 million ) in 2018 , a report by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) revealed Tuesday. Germany ranks first among the buyers, acquiring various ammunition, armored personnel carriers, explosives and toxic substances, as well as electronics, worth 118 million francs in total, the report said. Denmark spent 73.5 million francs on Swiss weapons, while the United States acquired arms and equipment for almost 52 million. Romania and Italy spent 22.5 million and 19.6 million Swiss francs, respectively. The SECO noted that Switzerland sold twice as much armament to European states in 2018 than in 2017. At the same time, arms sales to Asia and Africa have significantly decreased. February 27 2019 DTA architects have tabled proposals to build 11 flats on the site of an existing detached home at Carlisle Road, Hamilton, part of a densification of land use for the South Lanarkshire town. Superceding an earlier approval with a more contemporary design the latest proposals employ a palette of brick but has drawn criticism as an overdevelopment of the suburban site. One objector remarked: The number of flats proposed is an overdevelopment of the site. The appearance of the proposed building as shown is not in keeping with the type of residential properties in the surrounding area. Particularly flat roofing and balconies. The number and proposed size of the balconies facing directly onto Carlisle Road look excessive and would detract from the surrounding area. Premier Inn is to build a new 96-bedroom hotel and restaurant further along the A72. Eugene Ferrell Roe, born in 1938 and raised in Spencer, W. Va., and resided in the Parkersburg, W. Va. area for many years and in 2005 made Milledgeville, Ga. his home with his wife of 42 years, Martha Rector Roe. Gene graduated from Marshall University in 1961 with a bachelor's in civil eng The Greater Manchesters Boys and Girls Club kicked off its summer fun activities at Camp Foster in Bedford this week. We wonder how many of the kids enjoying it know how much they (and their parents) owe to one of the individuals who did so much to make it happen. Sterling, VA (20165) Today A good deal of sunshine. Hot. High 96F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Low around 70F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. THE OTHER DAY I mentioned to a guy I know that some Buddhist monks in Nepal are fans of my song Slow Days of Summer, according to their ESL teacher Jennifer who stopped me on the street to tell me, and I said (which is the truth) that I felt enormously honored, whereupon the guy said that May the 4th Be With You festival returns from 3rd 5th May 2019 to celebrate the Star Wars Universe in Kerry and Donegal Following the success of Failte Irelands first May the 4th Be With You festival in May 2018, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin, today announced that the festival will take place again this year, with events along the Wild Atlantic Way in both Kerry and Donegal. Kicking off on May the 3rd in the Kerry village of Portmagee and for the first time, across Donegals Inishowen Peninsula, the three-day festival will include a host of fun activities for all-ages to celebrate May the 4th, the day when fans across the globe commemorate the Star Wars Universe. Announcing this years May the 4th Be With You festival, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin said: Last year, we marked May the 4th with a wonderful celebration of the Wild Atlantic Way and the Star Wars Universe and this years festival promises to be bigger and better, with an amazing line up. The inclusion of iconic Irish landscapes in the Star Wars films has given the Wild Atlantic Way fantastic exposure around the world and, with events in Kerry and Donegal this year, the festival is a brilliant opportunity to promote the West Coast of Ireland and the country as a whole. New to this years May the 4th Be With You festival will be a geodesic space marquee, where fans can immerse themselves in a galaxy far far away with interactive activities from panel discussions to video game competitions. Also joining the programme this year will be a display of Star Wars themed sand sculptures, an Augmented Reality treasure trail and an epic lightsabre battle, all set against the breath-taking backdrop of the West Coast. Failte Irelands Head of Festivals and Events, Ciara Sugrue said: One of the greatest movie makers in the world chose the Wild Atlantic Way as a filming location and Star Wars has raised the routes profile amongst fans both domestically and internationally. The May the 4th Be With You festival was designed to build on this connection and attract visitors to explore the West Coast, not only over the May the 4th weekend but throughout the year. Following the success of our pilot festival in Kerry in 2018, this years May the 4th Be With You festival will also take in the galactic landscapes of the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal. We have been working with local tourism businesses to make this years festival even bigger and we have a fantastic line up of events, which not only celebrate the Star Wars Universe but the history and natural landscape of the area. Filming for recent Star Wars films took place in locations across Kerry, Cork, Clare and Donegal. A full programme of events for the May the 4th Be With You festival will be unveiled soon, please visit: https://www.wildatlanticway.com/may-the-4th Follow us on Twitter @Failte_Ireland Jump to top Nobel Peace Prize winner shares inspirational story of bringing democracy to Tunisia Nobel Prize winner and influential African businesswoman Ouided Bouchamaoui spoke about her extraordinary role bringing democracy to Tunisia during a visit to the University of Exeter. Madame Bouchamaoui is a member of the Tunisian Dialogue Quartet, a group awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015 following the events of the Jasmine Revolution in the country in 2011. Prior to this Madame Bouchamaoui enjoyed a prominent career in business, leading the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade, and Handicrafts. During her visit to the University of Exeter Madame Bouchamaoui met with postgraduate students from the Business School and Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies and toured campus. She also delivered a public lecture, which included a question and answer sesson led by Associate Professor Jonathan Githens-Mazer, Madame Bouchamaoui spoke about about her involvement in creating change in Tunisia, and the events that led-up to her award of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015. She also discussed the current political situation in North Africa, and what the future holds for the region. Professor Tim Quine, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education), said: It was an honour to welcome Madame Bouchamaoui to the University of Exeter and fascinating to hear how she had created change. We are grateful she also gave time to meet our students, and we hope hearing about her career inspired them. Madame Bouchamaoui was the first woman President of UTICA, the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts. The confederation was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with the Tunisian General Union of Labour, the League of Human Rights and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers. She was awarded the Best Business Woman of the Arab World in 2013, under the auspices of the G8 Deauville Partnerships. In January 2015, the Tunisian President, Mr. Beji Caid Essebsi made her Grand Officer of the Order of the Republic, and His Majesty, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, decorated her with the Royal Order of the Polar Star in November 2015. She also received the Legion dHonneur from the French President Francois Hollande in December 2015. Madame Bouchamaoui is shareholder and director of the Hedi Bouchamaoui Group (HBG Holding) since 1988. She is also a founding member of the Connecting Group (Network of Women Leaders) and Vice-President of the United Nations' European Center for Peace and Development - University for Peace in Belgrade, and joined the Board Members of University of Peace of Costa Rica. * Username This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Choose wisely! OHCHR estimates the total number of people wounded at 27,500 to 30,000, including 7,000 to 9,000 civilians. Some 13,000 people have been killed, a quarter of them civilians, and as many as 30,000 wounded in the war in eastern Ukraine since it broke out in April 2014, the United Nations says. The estimated toll includes more than 3,300 civilian deaths, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a document dated February 25 and provided to RFE/RL the same day. It comes as the simmering conflict between Russia-backed separatists and government forces approaches its sixth year, with little progress toward the implementation of a Western-brokered cease-fire and political-settlement deal known as the Minsk Accords. "OHCHR estimates the total number of conflict-related casualties in Ukraine...at 40,000-43,000" from April 14, 2014 to January 31, 2019, the statement said, including "12,800-13,000 killed." Read alsoDonbas war death toll rises up to nearly 13,000 UN The estimated death toll includes 3,321 civilians, among them the 298 passengers and crew members who died when Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down on July 17, 2014 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. A Dutch-led international investigation concluded that the jet was shot down by a Buk missile from a Russian system that had been brought from Russia into separatist-held territory in Ukraine and later returned to Russia. The estimated death toll also includes 4,000 members of Ukrainian forces and 5,500 "armed groups," the OHCHR document said. OHCHR estimates the total number of people wounded at 27,500 to 30,000, including 7,000 to 9,000 civilians. The proportion of civilians in the casualty figures has declined sharply, with the estimated share of civilians in total conflict-related deaths at 33-34 percent in 2014 and 10-11 percent in 2018, the OHCHR said. In the past, OHCHR released updated casualty figures from the conflict several times a year. But the new document said that the "previous conservative estimate of total conflict-related casualties was as of 15 November 2017." That report said that the OHCHR had recorded 35,081 conflict-related casualties 10,303 people killed and 24,778 wounded and said the real toll could be higher. Russia has provided military, economic, and political support to separatist militants who control parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the corner of southeastern Ukraine known as the Donbas. The International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled in November 2016 that the war in eastern Ukraine is "an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation." Critics say Russia encouraged separatism and fomented unrest across much of Ukraine after Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country in February 2014 in the face of mass protests known as the Maidan. The protests erupted in the fall of 2013, when Yanukovych abruptly abandoned plans to sign a pact tightening Ukraine's ties with the European Union and called for closer economic interaction with Russia instead. Nine invaders were killed on Tuesday, intelligence reports say. Russia's hybrid military forces on Tuesday, February 26, mounted 11 attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas, with three Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action; another one was wounded on Wednesday, February 27. Read alsoOccupation forces fire at Ukraine Army positions eight times: Three WIAs reported "Three Ukrainian soldiers were wounded yesterday. According to intelligence reports, nine invaders were killed," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation (JFO) said in an update published on Facebook as of 07:00 Kyiv time on February 27, 2019. What is more, Ukrainian troops destroyed one piece of enemy military hardware. Russian occupation forces opened fire from 120mm and 82mm mortars, weapons installed on infantry fighting vehicles, grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and small arms, attacking the defenders of the town of Popasna, and the villages of Verkhniotoretske, Lebedynske, Novoluhanske, Khutir Vilniy, Malynove, Lobacheve, and Krymske. "Since Wednesday midnight, Russian-led forces have attacked Ukrainian positions twice, using 120mm mortars and hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher near the village of Vodiane, as well as small arms and sniper weapons near the village of Hnutove," the report said. The war is ongoing between two different ways of seeing the future, between a return to the Soviet past and authentic democracy and resistance to outside despotism, the cleric says. Marking the fifth anniversary of Russias invasion of eastern Ukraine, the leader of the countrys Greek Catholic Church said Tuesday that while his people are suffering as a result, the world needs to shift from seeing Ukraine as a problem to seeing it as a solution. You hear the word Ukraine, and you immediately think of problems humanitarian, socio-political, ecumenical, diplomatic, military, the list goes on, said Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Patriarch of the Greek Catholic Church, the largest of the Eastern churches in communion with Rome, Crux reports. Yet, he said, were convinced that in our people, our country, things are fermenting that are important for all of you, for the whole world. In effect, Shevchuk said, Ukraine is striving to pass from a post-Soviet society marked by endemic corruption and violence to an authentic, modern democracy rooted in European values. That promise came with a warning: The war in Ukraine is not a Ukrainian war, he said. Its a European war, a war in Europe. Sooner or later, it will knock on your doors it has global repercussions. Read alsoUkraine Church leader: Invaders in Donbas set to "confiscate" temples, deport priests The Greek Catholic leader then challenged what he called two great lies and forms of disinformation about the conflict, both of which, he implied, are fostered by Russia. The first is any reference to the violence in Ukraine as a fratricidal war, as if one segment of Ukrainian society is fighting another. Shevchuk said if that were true, Russia wouldnt have more tanks in eastern Ukraine right now than are owned by all EU countries combined. He insisted that the Greek Catholic Church has parishes in the territory occupied by Russia, and he said the people there dont want a war with Ukraine. The feel like prisoners, hostages, of the powerful of this world. The second great lie Shevchuk strove to debunk is the notion that this is a war between Ukraine and Russia, meaning an ethnic war between two different peoples. Read alsoKremlins plan to sow chaos in Ukraine Most [Ukrainian] soldiers who die every day speak Russian, he said, and told the story of a Russian-speaking village where residents turned out to resist the arrival of Russian tanks. A citizen who has tasted liberty, whether he speaks Russian, or Hungarian, or Polish or Ukrainian, Shevchuk said, will defend this liberty. Instead, Shevchuk said, this is a war between two different ways of seeing the future, between a return to the Soviet past and authentic democracy and resistance to outside despotism. Today, Shevchuk said, one major challenge for civil society is to resist the appeal of populisms, which he said offer quasi-magical solutions to all problems. Noting that at one point 44 candidates were running for the Ukrainian presidency in national elections this year, he said the Greek Catholic Church is urging citizens to resist anyone posturing as a political messiah and justifying the use of violence for political ends. A connection has been established between the clergyman of the former Moscxow Patriarchate and Russian paramilitary structures. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on Wednesday carried out authorized searches at the premises of a group of security companies "Stealth Security Service". According to the SBU press service, on February 26, within the framework of criminal proceedings launched, investigators conducted authorized searches in 'Stealth Security Service' Group, co-founded by one of the clergymen of the former UOC-MP. Law enforcers tentatively established that as a result of the illegal activities of said business entities that evaded taxes failed to pay to the budget over UAH 9 million, causing significant damage to the economic potential of the country. Read alsoUkraine deports Russia-aligned priest, strips citizenship, in church rift media During the investigation, the operatives collected documents testifying that the defendants committed a crime, provided for by Part 3 of Art. 212 (grave tax evasion) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. In addition, during the searches, literature was seized with anti-Ukrainian content, calling for inter-religious hatred, as well as firearms and ammunition. Also, the Security Service of Ukraine notes the connection of the said clergyman of the former UOC-MP had been established with Russian paramilitary structures. As UNIAN reported earlier, on February 22, NABU conducted searches at the Poltava Regional State Administration. On Feb 27, Iryna Lutsenko, a presidential envoy in parliament, said that the head of state would soon submit to the Verkhovna Rada a new bill on the punishment of illegal enrichment. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine promulgated its conclusion, adopted on February 26, recognizing as unconstitutional the article of the Criminal Code on illegal enrichment. The conclusion declares that "Article 368-2 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code loses its force from the date of the adoption of this conclusion by the Constitutional Court," the ruling says. Substantiating their decision, CCU judges noted that this article contradicts both the Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Code. Article 17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure states that no one is obliged to prove their innocence and must be acquitted if the prosecution fails to prove their guilt. Read alsoCorruption in defense procurement: SBU says smuggling of spare parts not same as arms smuggling Besides, the CCU believes that the repealed article contradicts Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution. In particular, Article 62 states that all doubts about the proof of guilt are interpreted in defendant's favor, while Article 63 enshrines the right of a person not to testify against or provide explanations about themselves and their family. Also, the judges indicated that, based on these two articles, it is impossible to impose on an individual the obligation to find evidence to prove the legal origin of their assets. Also, the prosecution shall not be granted the right to demand from the person such proof. As reported earlier, on Feb 27, Iryna Lutsenko, a presidential envoy in parliament, said that the head of state would soon submit to the Verkhovna Rada a new bill on the punishment of illegal enrichment. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Allies believe that Ukraine's should use peaceful and diplomatic means in its long-term policy on Crimea reintegration. Head of the NATO Representation to Ukraine Alexander Vinnikov says militarization of Crimea, Azov and Black seas by Russia constitutes a threat to Ukraine's sovereignty. Speaking at "Occupied Crimea: Five Years of Resistance" forum in Kyiv, Vinnikov stressed the fact that the issue of Crimea should remain in the focus of international community. A clear message should be sent to Moscow that no one is going to recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea. Read alsoRussian occupation of Crimea and Donbas costs Ukraine 17% of GDP Economy minister From the very beginning of Russias aggression against Ukraine, Allies have continuously expressed full support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders, according to Vinnikov. "Russias ongoing militarization of Crimea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov poses further threats to Ukraines independence and undermines the stability of the broader region. Leaders condemned Russias construction and partial opening of the Kerch Strait bridge between Russia and the illegally annexed Crimea, which represents another violation of Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity, including the infringement of its navigational rights in its territorial waters," Vinnikov said. Allies condemned the human rights abuses and discrimination practices by the Russian de-facto authorities against the residents of the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula, including the Crimean Tatars, as well as Ukrainians and persons belonging to other ethnic, political and religious groups. They called on Russia and its de-facto authorities to release Ukrainian prisoners and hostages detained in Russia, Crimea and the areas of eastern Ukraine controlled by the Russia-backed militants. Read alsoUkraine reports cyber attacks from Russia on country's election commission Feb 24-25 NATO has called repeatedly for Russia to return the Ukrainian ships and sailors it seized in November as a result of an unjustified use of military force against Ukraine, according to NATO official. He believes the reintegration of Crimea into Ukraine through peaceful and diplomatic mechanisms should remain a priority of Ukraine's long-term policy. Vinnikov also noted that the international community is increasingly concerned over the deterioration of humanitarian situation in Crimea. The occupying authorities have been pursuing a comprehensive policy of ethnic (particularly ethno-religious) discrimination against the Crimean Tatar and the Ukrainian communities, he said. Allies have repeatedly urged Russia to respect the rights and freedoms of the entire local population, including the indigenous Crimean Tatars and other members of local communities," Vinnikov stressed, adding that they "have repeatedly urged Russia to allow for international monitoring of the human rights situation in Crimea." The leaders of NATO nations and Ukraine also expressed their concern about the use of torture and the transfer of Ukrainian citizens to prisons in Russia, he added. This will also make NABU close about 100 cases. The Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC) says the introduction of a Criminal Code article with the punishment of officials for illegal enrichment was a requirement of the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, therefore, its cancellation may have serious consequences for Ukraine. The worst ones are the non-disbursement of IMF funds and the closure of about 100 cases investigated by the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), the AntAC said in an article published by the Ukrainian news outlet Ukrayinska Pravda. The Constitutional Court on February 26, 2019, declared unconstitutional Article No. 368-2, which is designed to bring officials to justice in case when their assets and expenses clearly exceed official incomes. Criminal liability for illegal enrichment in the current Criminal Code was introduced in 2014. This was one of the key obligations Ukraine undertook before the International Monetary Fund in accordance with the April 2014 memorandum. NABU in turn was authorized to investigate the illegal enrichment of senior officials. Read alsoConstitutional Court in Ukraine reportedly rules "illegal enrichment" Article in Criminal Code unconstitutional media According to the Fund's regulations, Ukraine will not receive a new IMF disbursement over the cancellation of criminal liability for illegal enrichment, even if all other obligations under the current memorandum have been fulfilled. "Without IMF funds, Ukraine may again face significant difficulties with repaying foreign loans. In 2019, Ukraine will have to repay $14 billion in debts, which is 75% of Ukraine's international reserves as of the beginning of 2019," the article says. In addition, the criminalization of illegal enrichment was also one of the EU requirements under the State Building Contract. It is noted the abolition of responsibility for illegal enrichment will emasculate the system of e-declarations of officials' assets whose effective functioning was stipulated in the EU Visa Liberalization Action Plan, as well as the current program of the European Union's macro-financial support for Ukraine. "After all, e-declaration works to detect and prevent corruption only if an official can stand trial both for a false declaration and a difference between expenses and incomes. If illegal enrichment is no longer a crime, officials will make money, using illicit sources, will declare it and enjoy impunity," the AntAC said. In turn, this will also make NABU close about 100 cases. All cases whether they are in court or at the pretrial stage will be automatically closed, it said. "Four years of NABU's work on these cases will be in vain. Moreover, all officials in the country will actually be given amnesty as regards their illegal income. After all, such a decision by the Constitutional Court actually deletes this crime from the Criminal Code," the article says. As UNIAN reported earlier, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine on February 26 reportedly declared unconstitutional Article No. 368-2 of the Criminal Code, which provides for liability for illegal enrichment. The Swedish bank is now being drawn into the money-laundering scandal that is shaking Denmark to its core. Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who has in absentia been sentenced to 13 years in prison in Ukraine on charges of high treason, funneled EUR 3.7 million through an account in Swedbank. The funds are linked to a suspected bribe and have been known to Swedbank since 2017, according to documents Sweden's Sveriges Television (SVT) has received. The suspected money laundering occurred in 2011, when EUR 3.7 million was transferred via an offshore firm, Vega Holding Limited, which has accounts in Swedbank. Read alsoGuilty: Yanukovych sentenced to 13 years in prison for high treason, complicity in war The money was from a suspected bribe, according to a Ukrainian prosecutor who investigated Yanukovych. "Viktor Yanukovych was notified as a suspect for receiving a bribe for seemingly writing a book by himself," chief prosecutor Andriy Radionov told SVT. According to the documents that SVT was given, the bank has known about Yanukovych's business since 2017, when Ukrainian authorities sent a request to Swedbank for information about that specific bank account. In addition to the suspected bribe, the bank leak also shows that another EUR 12.6 million and US$ 5.6 million were funneled via the company that Viktor Yanukovych used in Swedbank between 2007 and 2014. Last week, SVT revealed how suspected customers had funneled at least US$5.8 billion through Swedbank and Danske Bank in the Baltics and how the Swedish bank is now being drawn into the money-laundering scandal that is shaking Denmark to its core. As was reported, Viktor Yanukovych on January 25, 2019, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for treason. He has been living under Russian President Vladimir Putin's protection in Russia since 2014. The request for more assistance comes as Ukraine and Russia remained in a deadly standoff over Donbas, a region in eastern Ukraine that is claimed by separatist rebels backed by Moscow. Ukraine is asking Canada to send a "strong signal" to Russia by extending and expanding the Canadian military's training mission there. In an interview with The Canadian Press on Monday, Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Shevchenko expressed confidence that Canada would renew the military mission, whose mandate is up at the end of March, Canada's National Observer wrote. But the sooner an extension and expansion to Operation Unifier, as the mission is known, is announced, the better, he said. "One of the ideas behind this Operation Unifier from the very beginning was to send a very strong signal to Russia to deter them and to make sure that they understand that Ukraine has very strong support at the international level," Shevchenko said. "So the earlier we send this signal and the louder we say this, the stronger the signal should be. That is why we have always encouraged our Canadian partners to go ahead with the announcement of the renewal as quickly as possible." Read alsoCBC: Canadian election observers arrive in Ukraine amid fears of Russian meddling The Canadian Forces have had about 200 service members in Ukraine since September 2015 to help train the country's military, which is battling Russian-backed separatist forces. The U.S., Britain, Poland, Lithuania, Sweden and Denmark are also helping train the Ukrainians. The Canadians have trained more than 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers over more than three years, according to the Department of National Defence. While Canada's mission initially focused on teaching Ukrainian troops the basics of soldiering, including how to use their weapons and move in units, it has since expanded to focus on more specific skills such as first aid as well as training some commanders. Kyiv is now hoping Canada will widen the mission even further by working with larger units and higher-level officers, Shevchenko said, "which means the training that we get can provide much greater impact on the ground." "Canada's support for Ukraine is unwavering. We will always look at what type of support is needed and we are currently reviewing our support to Ukraine through Operation Unifier," said National Defence spokesperson Renee Filiatrault. "We stand with the people of Ukraine." The request for more assistance comes as Ukraine and Russia remained in a deadly standoff over Donbas, a region in eastern Ukraine that is claimed by separatist rebels backed by Moscow. The conflict has killed an estimated 13,000 people since April 2014, wounded tens of thousands and forced many more to flee their homes. Ukraine and Russia are also at odds over the latter's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula nearly five years ago. Last week, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko renewed his country's calls for a UN mission to the Donbass, which would include deploying peacekeepers across the region and along Ukraine's border with Russia. While Russia has said it is open to a UN mission, it has opposed putting peacekeepers along the border and instead suggested they protect observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, who are monitoring ceasefire violations. Shevchenko praised both the Trudeau government and the official Opposition Conservatives for supporting his country's bid for a peacekeeping mission, adding that Canadian and Ukrainian officials "are on the same page." "We feel we understand each other," he said. "And we hope that Canada will use its international authority to work with other countries to make sure that we consolidate support." Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said in November 2017 that Canada was leading a diplomatic push for a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine. Spokesman Adam Austen said Freeland and others have since raised it with a variety of countries. Conservative defence critic James Bezan last week said the Tories are also in favour of a UN mission. Shevchenko, meanwhile, predicted Canada, the U.S. and the European Union will announce fresh sanctions against Russia very soon, after Russian forces seized three Ukrainian naval vessels and 24 sailors in November. "My understanding is that the decision is in the pipeline, and we are very soon to get some news on this," he said. "We hope to see this co-ordinated decision and announcement from our western friends in the near future." Thousands of people gathered near the Crimean Supreme Council's building in support of Ukraine. Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Member of Parliament of Ukraine Refat Chubarov says that Crimean Tatars' pro-Ukrainian position demonstrated five years ago when they gathered near the Crimean Supreme Council's building on February 26, 2014, in support of Ukraine's territorial integrity helped to preserve the Ukrainian state. Read alsoRussia may have deployed nuclear warheads in Crimea Chubarov "About 15,000 Crimean Tatars, ethnic Ukrainians and people of other nationalities gathered near the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea five years ago. All of them came at the call of the Mejlis. The protesters' only mission was to support the territorial integrity of the Ukrainian state. The slogan 'Crimea is Ukraine' was heard everywhere at that time," he told Ukraine's Pryamiy TV Channel. Chubarov recalled the protesters did not allow the Kremlin to show that the Crimean Verkhovna Rada had allegedly voluntarily voted for the peninsula's accession to the Russian Federation. "The protesters were happy in the evening as they had defended Ukraine, defended themselves and Crimea. It was euphoria," he said. But, Russian rather than Ukrainian military units took control of all strategic facilities in Crimea the following morning, Chubarov said. UNIAN memo. Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea in March 2014 after its troops had occupied the peninsula. An illegal referendum was held for Crimeans to decide on accession to Russia. De-facto Crimean authorities reported that allegedly 96.77% of the Crimean population had voted for joining Russia. On March 18, 2014, the so-called agreement on the accession of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to Russia was signed in the Kremlin. The West did not recognize the annexation in response to which sanctions against Russia were introduced. Ukraine's parliament voted to designate February 20, 2014, as the official date when the temporary occupation of Crimea began. There are 27 million babies born in India every yearthe largest number of any country in the world. And while India has had the largest burden of under-five mortality, its made great progress bringing that rate down to the global average of 39 per 1,000 live births. This is in part due to vaccine efficiency and the success of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfares Universal Immunization Programme. The Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network, or eVIN, developed by UNDP India with support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, uses technology to help health workers ensure that vaccines reach every child, everywhere. So what can eVIN tell us about designing a successful development tool in the 21st century? Technology can close gaps in governance Indias vast and diverse terrain makes reaching the poorest and most vulnerable a monumental effort, and there is poor real-time information. UNDP developed a smart vaccine logistics system for the Government of India to monitor vaccine stocks and temperatures. Its a mobile, cloud-based application that allows health workers to update information on vaccine stocks after every immunization session. These updates are stored on a cloud server so officials can immediately see which vaccines are available. It helps officials reduce waste and empowers health workers. A recent evaluation of eVIN showed it saved 90 million vaccine doses reduced stock-outs by 80 percent, and gave an estimated future return on investment of nearly 300 percent. Clearly, eVIN shows how technology can be used to circumvent challenges posed by geography, terrain, and infrastructure. No technology can succeed without people Indias immunization teams comprise hundreds of thousands of cold chain handlers and frontline health workers. Before eVIN is rolled out, they are trained on the system so they are confident using the technology. Digital record keeping has made vaccine handlers work easier. It has also created a sense of agency and shared responsibility. More than 50 percent of the health staff are women who havent used the technology before. Theyve embraced eVIN with enthusiasm and competency. Having a dedicated a vaccine manager also helps link health and immunization officers with the last mile health workers. Designing a project to endure EVIN now reaches 20 states and territories in India and is on track to reach all 29 states by 2020. Its being adapted in countries such as Indonesia, Malawi and Sudan. I dont know of another UNDP project that symbolizes the central tenant of the Sustainable Development Goals of reaching the farthest first, and has been able to achieve this level of scale and sustainability. This makes eVIN a great example of how to capture ideas that work and can benefit not hundreds, not thousands, but millions. Projects must be planned to expand from the outset. They must be created to operate without special funds or a personal stake. The government was clear that supply chain must be designed with scale in mindpartial intervention would not work. UNDP worked closely with Indian state governments, regularly taking health officials feedback to improve and upgrade the software, and theyre now taking over eVIN funding. In fact, we are in the fourth version of the app. Standard operating procedures for the transport and storage of vaccines started out small, and became more defined as issues cropped up. Any scale-up strategy, once developed, should leave space for revision and adjustment, as parts of it can become obsolete, or new factors can illuminate other necessary requirements. Sub-national governments also worked closely to support the planning of various immunization campaigns, surveys and introduction of new antigens. This helped build greater ownership, which is enabling a smooth transition for eVIN to government budgets. UNDP also worked with other UN agencies engaged on other components of the immunization programme, such as vaccine cold chain equipment, policy and research for eVINs effective roll-out and sustainability. At each step, it was important to minimize the need for special organizational, financial and human resources that would not be available when the project was taken to scale. The solution was designed to be simple so it could be taught to last-mile health workers easily and quickly. Human resource and salary structures were designed with governments in mind. It required a planning process that attempted to build government capacities rather than impose additional burdens. EVIN demonstrates that low-cost, smart technology combined with the right training of last mile workers, can create a transformative service that truly ensures no one is left behind. A rally against the illegal annexation of Crimea and in solidarity with the Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians, who have lived under Russia's occupation of the peninsula for five years, has been held outside the building of the UN headquarters in New York, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "With our action here we demonstrate solidarity with many Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars who cannot freely express themselves in occupation. We want to be their voice here and show that they are not alone. We are here. We have not forgotten and will not forget you!" said the organizer of the rally, Ayla Bakkalli, a representative of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people in New York. She also pointed to ongoing massive violations of human rights by the occupation authorities on the peninsula, despite numerous UN resolutions condemning these violations and demanding that they be stopped. Bakkalli recalled that the so-called "referendum" in Crimea in no way reflected the real state of affairs and evidence of that was the massive campaign of resistance by the Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in front of the building of the Crimean parliament on February 26, 2014. Activists were holding Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar flags with the inscriptions "Putin, Get Out of Crimea!", "Freedom and Justice for Crimean Tatars!", "Crimea is Ukraine", "Free Oleg Sentsov", "Crimea, We Are With You!" Protesters also chanted "Crimea is Ukraine!", "We do not recognize illegal annexation!" and a slogan in the Crimean Tatar language "Qirim! Vatan! Millet!" ("People! Homeland! Crimea!") A peaceful protest outside the UN headquarters was organized by the American Association of Crimean Tatars, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, the World Federation of Ukrainian Women, and the Razom for Ukraine organization. The Day of Crimea's Resistance to Russian Occupation was marked on February 26. Five years ago, on February 26, 2014, thousands of Crimean Tatars and pro-Ukrainian activists gathered in Simferopol in support of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and against the holding of an extraordinary session of the Crimean Supreme Council. op Ukrainians will be able to vote abroad in the March 31 presidential election at 102 polling stations in 72 countries. One of the largest Ukrainian diasporas in the world - more than a million people - lives in Poland. People willing to vote will be able to do so at Ukrainian consular offices in Gdansk, Krakow, Lublin, as well as at the Ukrainian Embassy in Warsaw. So far, 30,000 Ukrainians temporarily residing in Poland have already registered to vote in Ukraine's presidential election. Over the past two weeks, more than 200 Ukrainians have written applications to be included in the list of voters. The head of the consular section at the Ukrainian Embassy in Poland, Svitlana Krysa, called on all Ukrainian citizens, who have not yet written their applications and have not been included in the consular register but are planning to come to vote, to do so as soon as possible. Decentralization is one of the basic reforms for Ukraine, the purpose of which is to change the existing administrative system and integrate Ukraine into the European Charter of Local Self-Government. Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Hennadiy Zubko made a corresponding statement at the round table meeting "Process of decentralization of Ukraine" held under the auspices of the EastWest Institute in Brussels on Tuesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reported. The support of the European Union is very important for us as each EU member state shares its best practices. We discuss with Germany the issues of energy efficiency and urban development; with Sweden budgeting; Poland - introduction of the reform of administrative-territorial communities; Spain - the issue of heat supply. Each country gives most of its experience, and today we have the opportunity to implement it in Ukraine, Zubko said. The Vice Prime Minister noted that about 8,000 projects had been implemented over the past three years, including in the development of local self-government and related infrastructure. ol Ukrainian energy sector has become predictable for Ukrainian business and foreign investors. Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Kistion made a corresponding statement at the 10th Ukrainian Energy Forum, the press service of the Vice Prime Minister reports. In particular, Kistion noted that the new energy policy of Ukraine created predictable working conditions for both Ukrainian and foreign business. According to him, the changes introduced over the past five years in all the areas of life of Ukraine became the foundation of the new state. "Due to a number of important reforms and deregulation decisions of the Government, which have improved the business environment significantly, Ukraine's level of attractiveness in the world has grown considerably," Kistion said. The Vice Prime Minister recalled that Ukraine systematically implemented three large-scale energy reforms: of gas market, electricity and coal industry. "The new energy policy of the country, which is defined by the Energy Strategy of Ukraine until 2035, is underpinned by rather ambitious goals. We set ourselves the task of halving the energy intensity of the economy, increasing our own energy production, making the country energy independent, and developing green energy," the official said. He added that the development of renewable energy, energy efficiency program and the increase in own gas production will ensure Ukraines energy security. ol Russian occupation forces launched 11 attacks, using weapons banned under the Minsk agreements nine times, on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) area in eastern Ukraine over the past day. In addition, the enemy used weapons on infantry fighting vehicles, grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms to fire on the Joint Forces units. In the zone of action of tactical force East, invaders used automatic mounted grenade launchers and heavy machine guns to shell Ukrainian positions near Verkhniotoretske (22km north-east of Donetsk); 120mm mortars outside Lebedynske (16km east of Mariupol), the press center of the JFO Headquarters reports. In the zone of action of tactical force North, the enemy fired 82mm and 120mm mortars on Ukrainian defenders near Novoluhanske (53km north-east of Donetsk); 82mm mortars, weapons on infantry fighting vehicles, heavy machine guns and small arms outside Popasna (69km west of Luhansk); 120mm mortars, grenade launchers of different systems, heavy machine guns and small arms in the area of Vilne (70km south-west of Donetsk); 82mm mortars and mounted antitank grenade launchers near Malynove (19km north-east of Luhansk); 120mm and 82mm mortars, automatic mounted grenade launchers and heavy machine guns near Lobacheve (17km north-west of Luhansk); 82mm mortars outside Krymske (42km north-west of Luhansk). Three Ukrainian servicemen were wounded in shelling in last day. Today, the enemy has already opened fire from 120mm mortars and hand-held antitank grenade launchers near Vodiane (94km south of Donetsk) and from small and sniper arms outside Hnutove (20km north-east of Mariupol). One Ukrainian soldier was wounded. ol However, it was more or less business as usual for taxi drivers plying their trade in Port of Spain in response to the call by the Taxi Drivers Network for a day of rest. Here's more on that story. Ridiculous gun argument The constitutional carry proposal, House Bill 2597, which would eliminate training and licensing requirements for carrying handguns, will be voted on by the entire Senate, and Gov. Stitt has promised to sign it. Regardless of where one stands on gun ownership, its obvious that requiring gun owners to demonstrate proficiency in gun operation serves to prevent gun-related accidents. We should be able to go about our lives knowing that those with guns have the knowledge to use them properly; eliminating this requirement is senseless. Opponents of gun control frequently argue that good guys with guns will be able to protect us from bad guys with guns. How does asking these good guys to show competency in using a gun prevent this or cause harm? Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, advanced one of the most ridiculous arguments for this bill, claiming that the fees and training required in obtaining a permit are burdensome to the poor. He uses the plight of the poor to advance legislation that offers no tangible benefits to poor Oklahomans. If concern is truly with welfare of the poor, why isnt he advocating for an increase in the minimum wage or in funding for food aid programs? First-year Trooper Cody Enloe is new to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol but a hero already. Enloe, 26, pulled three children out of the cab of an overturned and partially crushed pickup truck Feb. 14. An Oklahoma mother reportedly had fallen asleep behind the wheel of the truck and flipped it twice, landing upside down and partially submerged in a flooded area beside a McCurtain County road. When Enloe arrived at the scene of the accident, it was unclear how many children were in the vehicle. The mother had escaped the wreckage but was too shaken to answer questions coherently. With the help of other emergency responders, Enloe found and rescued a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old. Then, uncertain if there were others still in the vehicle, he went back to search the back seat. He found an unresponsive 2-month-old hanging face down into the water in a child safety seat. The infants face was blue. Enloe put his hand to the childs face but didnt feel the baby breathing. The trooper moved quickly to free the safety seat and started performing back thrusts to make the child expel water from his mouth. He passed the child to medical personnel, who a few minutes later had him revived and breathing. OKLAHOMA CITY Individuals will be able to carry firearms in Oklahoma without a permit or training starting Nov. 1, when a bill passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt goes into effect. The bill is the first signed by Stitt since he took office. As I traveled all over the state to all 77 counties, I heard from Oklahomans all over that they wanted us to protect their right to bear arms, Stitt said. He said he doesnt think the measure will result in an increase in violence. I think the best defense for a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, Stitt said. House Bill 2597, authored by House Majority Floor Leader Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, and Senate Majority Floor Leader Kim David, R-Porter, passed the Senate earlier Wednesday by a vote of 40-6. David said 15 states, including three that border Oklahoma, allow what proponents call constitutional or permitless carry. The Wild West has not happened in those states, she said in a reference to the fears of opponents of the change in law. While training will not be required, David said she encourages those who want to carry guns to have training. Oklahoma representatives issued statements after House Democrats voted Tuesday to block President Donald Trumps emergency order to move forward with a border wall. Here are the statements: Frank Lucas While the debate regarding our nations border security is ongoing, I am committed to working with my colleagues on building an immigration system that ends illegal immigration and protects our country. Tom Cole By declaring a national emergency and not unlike past presidents, President Trump is acting well within his authority under the National Emergencies Act. As usual, Democrats have signaled that they are more interested in opposing the president than confronting a real humanitarian and security crisis on our southern border for American people. Markwayne Mullin This politically motivated charade put on by House Democrats must end. We must build the wall in order to combat the crisis at our southern border. One of Oklahomas largest United Methodist churches in Tulsa was weighing its options after the denominations international conference voted to strengthen bans on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT clergy. Another said it would abide by the vote. Our community at Boston Avenue UMC is processing the recent decision at the Special Session of the General Conference of the United Methodist Church, Angelyn Dale, executive director and general counsel for the church, 1301 S. Boston Ave., said in a statement. Our leadership teams will have many decisions to make in the upcoming days, weeks, and months. We cannot say definitively what the path ahead of us will look like, she said. What we can say is that our church will remain steadfast in our tradition of welcoming all. Whether it is at our worship services, programs, committees or other church activities, we remain a church of open hearts, open minds and open doors. Meanwhile, Tom Harrison, senior pastor at Asbury United Methodist Church, 6767 S. Mingo Road, indicated that the church would abide by the vote. Another change involves duty to inform. The Self Defense Act states that anyone who is carrying a handgun must immediately inform a law enforcement officer of that fact upon contact and to present a permit. The new legislation would strike that requirement and demand disclosure to law enforcement during the course of any arrest, detainment, or routine traffic stop, and only at the demand of the law enforcement officer. That is a part of the issue, said Tulsa County Sheriffs Office spokesman Justin Green. Now, with the license, you have to notify us if you have a firearm. With the change, were not sure how that will work. We are curious what guidelines will be put in there for law enforcement on how to address someone carrying a firearm. Oklahoma does allow some people to carry now who do not have a permit because of the states reciprocity agreement with 15 states that allow permitless carry including Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri, according to Davids office. A statement from Davids office points out that this bill grants Oklahomans the same right to carry without a license that weve granted the citizens of other states for years. The only thing that would change for those permitless nonresidents is they currently must follow the duty to inform rule. The new report cards include measurements for academic achievement in statewide tests, English language proficiency and chronic absenteeism. Theres also measurements detailing academic growth for elementary and middle schools as well as graduation rates and post-secondary opportunities for high schools. Each indicator is assigned a number of points and given an individual letter grade, with a maximum of 90 available points to produce a schools overall grade. Points earned under the academic achievement indicator come from two measures: students meeting academic target scores and students reaching proficiency. For the first measure, which is required by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, students are assigned targets based on their priority student groups. In order of priority, those groups are: students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students, English learners, black students, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, students who identify as two or more races and whites. Hofmeister said its important to acknowledge the educational inequities at Oklahoma schools, which have worsened in part due to a severe teacher shortage and a rising number of children with diverse needs. The goal of the new system is to close these achievement gaps. One Tulsa woman, Miranda McCormack, whose seventh-grade son is enrolled at Epic, told those parents she thought they were taking advantage of public school funding. She shared with the group that she had even advocated for a specific, legal prohibition on dual enrollment in a letter she sent to every state senator in Oklahoma. Hickman responded to McCormack: We have no control over what a student does in their free time if they are in compliance with state public education laws. If you are going to post in this group, and are going to engage in lobbying with your lawmakers that could hurt the Learning Fund I would also encourage you to call me and talk to me. McCormack is so committed to finding the right fit for each of her five children that they attend five different public schools. My son left a very good brick and mortar academic magnet school because it wasnt a good fit for him. He was falling through the cracks, she said. In her letter to lawmakers, which she shared with the Tulsa World, McCormack said that there are some parents who have enrolled their children in private schools but the kids are also enrolled at Epic just for the sole fact they get the Learning Fund. I feel this is wrong on so many levels and spoiling it for the kids who need it. The state attorney general charged two Tulsa residents on allegations they were trafficking methamphetamine, marijuana, ecstasy and heroin and were in possession of 10 guns at the time of their arrest. Tulsa police allege that at the time of their arrest, James Mitchell and Tynisa Williams were in possession of about 2 pounds of meth and 3 pounds of ecstasy, according to a news release from Attorney General Mike Hunters office. Mitchell and Williams allegedly had about 3 pounds of marijuana and just less than 4 grams of heroin. Williams and Mitchell also allegedly had 10 firearms in their possession at the time the search warrant was served. The duo were arrested Feb. 20 after Tulsa police served a search warrant at a Tulsa residence located in the 3900 block of South 131st East Avenue, according to a booking report. Mitchell, 29, and Williams were allegedly present when the warrant was served. The Attorney Generals Office charged Williams and Mitchell on Tuesday with two counts aggravated trafficking of a controlled drug, two counts of possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of drug proceeds, and possession of a controlled drug without a tax stamp affixed. Update: Alexander Wozencraft's charge was dismissed at the request of the state on Nov. 13, 2020. Tulsa police on Tuesday arrested a Mannford man charged with rape. Alexander Oliver Wozencraft, 29, is accused of drugging a woman he met on Tinder, an online dating app, and raping her while she was unconscious between Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. The woman, 31, reported the incident to police on Dec. 3. She told police she and Wozencraft were drinking alcohol at her home on their second date when she turned to see him holding a piece of wax paper with a white powdery substance. Asked what the substance was, Wozencraft told her it was aspirin, according to a court affidavit. The woman felt dizzy and disoriented after drinking her beverage, and she blacked out until the next morning, when she woke up feeling extremely sick and confused, according to the affidavit. When she asked what happened, Wozencraft first told her they had not touched each other, but he eventually told her he had unprotected sex with her, joking about her sleeping through the whole encounter, according to the affidavit. Asked if covering a lot of bases was the initial plan or something that developed organically, he said, I think everybody has a lot of different influences in the band and there are eight of us, so we have guys that grew up playing jazz music, rock music, country all different kinds. And then Zac is kind of the captain that steers the ship wherever he wants to. He never wants us to get boxed into anything. The bands interests are reflected in covers performed during live shows. Among covers that popped up on set lists in 2018: Bohemian Rhapsody (a tough one to do, according to De Martini), Sabotage, Use Somebody, Whipping Post, Love the One Youre With, The Devil Went Down to Georgia, Kashmir, Lightning Crashes and Piano Man. Its funny because, when you are first starting out as a musician playing the local scene, you have to play a lot of cover songs just to keep the crowd interested, De Martini said. She graduated from Charles Page High School. Carol married in 1961. She worked as a Head Start instructor at Norfork, AR, continuing her education in Harrison, AR. Later, she had a career at St. Johns Hospital in Tulsa, OK. An avid reader, Carol also loved traveling with family, spending time with her grandchildren, and staying sharp by doing word games and interacting on social media. Carol visited Las Vegas, Italy, Hawaii and Germany. Two of her favorite pastimes were singing songs with her children and dancing. Carol attended the Norfork Church of Christ while raising her three daughters. After returning to Tulsa from Arkansas, she later relocated to Huachuca City, AZ. Carol had a magical way of making others comfortable and valuing each individual and caring for society as a whole. She had an especially tender heart for children. Carol is survived by three daughters: Suzanne, Augusta and Rebecca; four grandchildren, Kayla, Mariah, Derrick and Lorenzo; two great-grandchildren; two brothers, two sisters, and many nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her parents and three brothers, Timothy, Grant, and Wayne, and a nephew, Alan Kepner. Gilkey also learned of Mutispaughs recent loss and extended her services to the grieving family. It wasnt long before the two women met for the first time and Mutispaugh enrolled Rubi in the program. I just thought, Well, if my sons friend took the swim class, then I need my daughter to do it too, Mutispaugh said. Im glad that we did. It was the best thing weve ever done for her. It saved her life and brought a lot of healing in our family. Over the last six weeks, Rubi has learned to float on her back, look underwater for a point of reference and use her arms to propel herself to safety. On Friday, she graduated from ISR, which for Mutispaugh was an emotional moment to celebrate her daughter but to also commemorate her son. Im proud of my daughter because shes (Evans) forerunner to promote his cause, Mutispaugh said. What we went through can be turned into something so beautiful and so saving for other people. Gilkey, in teaching Rubi and some of Evans friends, added, I felt like I had the opportunity to change those childrens perspectives of water, and their parents perspective of water, from something that was very tragic to something that was very hopeful. Owasso is not only a good place to live; its a good place to shop, its a good place to eat, its a good place to work, and the combination of all of those gives Owasso just good core fundamentals, said economist Mark Snead with RegionTrack Inc. Mark Kelly held his first event as a candidate for U.S. Senate over the weekend at Hotel Congress in Tucson. Law enforcement Three charged in bank robbery Three Albany men were charged Wednesday in connection with an armed robbery on Tuesday at the M&T Bank branch in North Greenbush Christian Gunn on the set of The Little Mermaid Jr. In this Feb. 11, 2019 photo, Venezuelan Diomira Becerra, left center, arrives with her 7-year-old daughter Hillary and her mother Betty Guerrero, for an interview at the entrance of the Simon Bolivar International Bridge, in La Parada, Colombia, near Cucuta. Becerra left Venezuela three years ago and has built a life for her family in the border city of Cucuta. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) Trinidad and Tobagos borders will officially be reopened on July 17, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced yesterday. From that day, T&T citizens who want to return home will be allowed to do so. But there will be conditions attached, the Prime Minister said. Those conditions will depend on whether or not the person has been fully vaccinated with a World Health Organisation-approved Covid-19 vaccine, said the Prime Minister. He was speaking during yesterdays Ministry of Health media conference at the Diplomatic Centre, St Anns. Do you have a news tip? Want to share good news story, or do you have information that should see the light of day? Then we want to hear from you. More here AT 32 years old, Zwede Hewitt is building out an app that he is confident is going to take the world by storm. The name of the app is LUHU, which stands for Let Us Help U and Hewitt describes it as social marketplace. It is a place where people can do social networking, but it combines that with the ability to shop. So the concept is essentially social networking meets e-commerce, says Hewitt. Emporia, KS (66801) Today Scattered thunderstorms during the morning becoming more widespread this afternoon. High 81F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Crete, NE (68333) Today Areas of patchy fog early. Cloudy skies. High 84F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy. Low around 65F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. rchopra@tribunemail.com Hanoi, February 27 US President Donald Trump on Wednesday touted an awesome future for North Korea ahead of a high-stakes dinner with its leader Kim Jong Un if his friend agreed to give up his nuclear arsenal. The Trump tweet, sporting his familiar use of capital letters for emphasis, said the opportunities for a denuclearised North Korea were like almost none other in history. Trump and Kim are due to meet for one-on-one talks, then dinner, in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, followed by more talks on Thursday. He described Kim as my friend, a far cry from when the two leaders were slinging personal insults and threats of destruction at each other at the height of tensions over the Norths weapons programmes. Trump also lashed out at his domestic opponents for their criticism of his engagement with the isolated regime. The Democrats should stop talking about what I should do with North Korea and ask themselves instead why they didnt do it during eight years of the Obama Administration, said Trump, referring to his predecessor in the White House. The two days of talks aim to put some flesh on the bones of a vague declaration issued after their first historic meeting in June in Singapore. Then, Kim committed to working towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, but diplomatic progress has since stalled due to disagreements over what that means. Trump has appeared to lower US expectations for the summit, saying he would be happy if Pyongyangs pause in nuclear and missile testing continued. The President is believed to be considering dangling relief from tough international sanctions. Opening of diplomatic liaison offices is another possible US concession. In return, Washington hopes to get Kim to dismantle the key nuclear facility at Yongbyon, allow in international inspectors, or even hand over a full list of all the countrys nuclear assets--something the North Koreans have categorically refused to do. AFP rchopra@tribunemail.com Islamabad/Lahore, February 27 Pakistan on Wednesday closed its airspace for commercial flights and suspended flight operations across major airports, including in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, for an indefinite period in the wake of the escalating tensions with India. Pakistans Civil Aviation Authority made the announcement after the Director-General of Inter-Services Public Relations, the militarys media arm, acknowledged the closure of Pakistans airspace due to the prevailing security situation. The airport will be used for military purposes till it is reopened for commercial activities, an official told DawnNewsTV, adding that a red alert has also been issued. All civilian flight operations have been suspended, the official said. Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Mujtaba Baig said the flight operations in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces have been suspended for an indefinite period. He said the flight operations from and to Lahore, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Multan and Rawalpindi/Islamabad airports have been suspended. The planes which had left from foreign destinations for these airports have been diverted to the safer airports, he said. Earlier, DawnNewsTV quoting sources at the Karachi airport said that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) New Delhi-bound flight PK-270 had been cancelled due to tensions at the Line of Control (LoC). The move comes amid escalation of tension between India and Pakistan after IAF carried out strikes on terror bases in Pakistan on Tuesday. India has also closed nine airports in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab for civilian air traffic and the entire airspace north of New Delhi has been vacated on a day of rapidly escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was holding a high level meeting to assess the security situation in the wake of the developments of the morning, including Pakistan claiming that it had shot down two Indian military jets and arrested two pilots. India said Pakistan jets intruded into Indian air space in the Rajouri and Poonch sectors. The flare up in the cross-LoC shelling, which was initiated by Pakistani troops in early hours of Wednesday, has resulted in security forces and other establishments being put on a heightened alert. PTI gspannu7@gmail.com Varinder Singh Tribune News Service Jalandhar, February 27 The entry of NDP leader Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal in the House of Commons via his Burnaby South (Vancouver) victory notwithstanding, the Liberals have regained their bastion on Outermont in Quebec in spite of the Justin Trudeau government having been pushed to the wall over the SNC-Lavalin scandal. The Outermont seat in Montreal had always been a Liberal bastion before it was snatched away by senior NDP leader Thomas Mulcair in 2007. From that point, the fall of the Liberals and the rise of the NDP in Quebec had turned steady. Not only in Quebec where they gained but there was also good news for the Liberals on Monday night. The Montreal riding of Outremont had been a Liberal bastion before Thomas Mulcair snatched it away in a 2007 by-election for the New Democrats, foreshadowing the rise of the NDP and the collapse of the Liberals in Quebec. It was a different matter that the Liberals had bounced back in Quebec in 2015. But the resounding Liberal victory with a huge 40 per cent vote share has started indicating that all of remaining 14 NDP seats have turned vulnerable as far as the forthcoming October 2019 federal polls were concerned. The bypolls have brought forth a bitter-sweet bag to savour and to deride. The good part was that after remaining without a seat for 16 months, Jagmeet Singh will finally be staging his entry in the House of Commons. He will have all the opportunities to make his ground for the forthcoming polls by punching the Trudeau government over the SNC-Lavalin scandal wherein a Quebec-based multinational was allegedly favoured by the Truduea regime. The burning issue could even give Jagmeet a new trajectory from where he would have the opportunity to speak from national platform and in capacity of a national leader. But what the negative outcome of the bypolls for the NDP was that the party has turned out of game in Quebec where it had high hopes to establish its base. The poll outcome throws out only one strong indication and it was that the NDP once again was poised to end up as a third force in the October federal polls. It appears that instead of doing any electoral harm, the SNC-Lavalin affair rather helped Liberals in Quebec. Since, the SNC has its base in Quebec, the larger part of the voters might have thought that any adverse situation for the multinational and in a way for the Liberals could lead to loss of a large number of jobs in the province. The poll outcome in York-Simcoe seat on the northern edge of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) have suggested that the country might have been run by the Liberals but, the Conservatives were still a force to reckon with. The seat has largely been favouring the Conservatives since 2004 and the bypoll has only reassured the party leadership that it has nothing to worry in the near futurenot at least till the October polls. Conservative Scot Davidson who has kissed the victory podium with a huge lot of 54 per cent votes has stolen the show for his Liberal opponent could only garner 29 per cent a straight nine per cent downslide as compared to what was got by the Liberals in 2015 polls. The Conservatives Leader Andrew Sheer does not face any peril from Berniers Peoples Party as it could barely garner two per cent of votes in the riding. ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM Varinder Singh Tribune News Service Jalandhar, February 26 Jagmeet Singh, the leader of Canadas New Democratic Party (NDP), has won a critical byelection in Burnaby South and a seat in Parliament. The victory has given him a new lease of life in politics, who will be seen as a strong alternative to PM Justin Trudeau in Octobers federal election. Jagmeet, the first non-white leader of a major party in Canada, was under immense pressure to win the highly anticipated race in Burnaby, a city east of Vancouver. For Jagmeet, who secured 39 per cent of votes against 26 per cent by arch-rival and Labour Party candidate Richard T. Lee and 26 per cent by the Conservative Party candidate Jay Shin, the victory in the byelection has come as a surprise gift. Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal, who was elected as the leader of the NDP in 2017, was facing opposition from within to an extent that former party leader Tom Muclair had openly stated in January that it would be very difficult for Jagmeet to retain his position as the NDP chief if he lost the Burnaby South byelection. The NDP had started touching a new low under what was described as Jagmeet Singhs troubled leadership as its fund-raising had started going down and 11 of partys 44 MPs, who had staged victory in 2015, had announced that they wont see any re-election in Federal polls due October this year. Jagmeet criticised the Conservatives and the Liberals in his victory speech. Targeting the Liberals for having allegedly favoured multi-national SNC-Lavalin, he said common Canadians were ignored while corporations were enriched. ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM Tehran, February 26 Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif resigned without warning late Monday, offering an apology to the nation as the nuclear deal he negotiated with world powers is on the verge of collapse after the US withdrawal from the accord. Zarifs resignation, if accepted by Irans relatively moderate President Hassan Rouhani, would leave the cleric without one of his main allies in pushing the Islamic Republic toward further negotiations with the West. It remains unclear why Zarif chose to leave his post now and what effect it will have on the atomic accord, which Iran has been complying with. He likely briefed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei before offering his resignation. Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, previously backed the American-educated envoy through the nuclear negotiations. Well see if it sticks, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted about Zarifs resignation. Our policy is unchanged - the regime must behave like a normal country and respect its people. The veteran diplomat first hinted at his resignation with a vague Instagram post in which he offered an apology for his inability to continue to his service. The post included a drawing honouring Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, as Iranians commemorate her birth on Tuesday. A Foreign Ministry spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, confirmed to the state-run IRNA news agency minutes later that Zarif had resigned but gave no reason for his departure. Reaction to Zarifs resignation was swift. A prominent reformist lawmaker, Mostafa Kavakebian, wrote on Twitter that Rouhani should reject Zarifs resignation as his departure would only make enemies of Irans dignity happy. AP Battle of hardliners vs moderates out in open pardeepdhull@gmail.com Kabul, February 27 The Taliban on Wednesday say ongoing clashes between India and Pakistan will affect the Afghan peace process and wanted India to prevent the further escalation of violence with its neighbour. The hardline insurgent group issued the statement at the same time its leaders are holding peace talks with officials from the United States in Qatar to end the 17-year war in Afghanistan. The continuation of such conflict will affect the Afghanistan peace process, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement. Reuters editorial@tribune.com Tribune Reporters Chandigarh/Fazilka/ Amritsar, February 26 The state has put its border districts on high alert in the wake of IAF air strikes across the Line of Control early this morning. The government has, however, not ordered evacuation of villagers from border areas, a precautionary step taken after the surgical strikes in Pakistan in November 2016. As a confidence-building step, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh said he would be visiting border areas from Pathankot to Ferozepur by road on Wednesday. The state police has deployed commandos and increased vigil near vital installations, particularly those related to defence in preparedness for any eventuality. Reports from border districts said residents had been asked to remain alert mainly at night, while movement along the border had been restricted. Capt Amarinder held a meeting on all aspects of the current situation with the top brass of the police and civil administration, including Chief Principal Secretary Suresh Kumar, Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh, Home Secretary NS Kalsi, DGP Dinkar Gupta and DGP Intelligence VK Bhawara. The CM earlier spoke to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the situation. An official said the DCs and SSPs of border areas had been asked to put in place contingency plans to ensure the protection and safety of the citizens. Meanwhile, panic-struck residents of border villages started shifting their belongings to safer places. Most of the residents have shifted their household items and essentials to their relatives in other villages, said Hardip Dhaka, sarpanch of Khanpur village in Fazilka. He said women and children would be shifted during late in the evening. The villagers have been advised not to go near the International Border. I have been asked by the security forces not to go across the Mauzam drain following security reasons, said farmer Interjit of Mauzam village. Security forces have also been holding meetings with villagers and farmers apprising them of the situation. A senior Army officer urged the villagers during a meeting at Tilanwali village to keep an eye on anti-social elements and strangers and inform the authorities concerned in this regard. Sources said forces had been moved towards the border. Most of BSF personnel have been shifted from base camps to forward camps. The situation is normal, said TR Meena, Deputy Inspector General, BSF. In Amritsar, residents of border villages expressed their concerns and apprehension over the probability of war. No evacuation, however, was witnessed today. With a view to instil a sense of security among border residents, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh will tour border areas tomorrow. He is likely to stay in Amritsar tonight. Sources in the BSF said there was some footfall of visitors to the popular Retreat ceremony between border guards of India and Pakistan at the Joint Check Post at Attari today. Sartaj Singh Chahal, ADCP, Headquarters, said the city was on high alert and security had been beefed up around sensitive and strategic installations. Deputy Commissioner Shivdular Singh said his office had neither received any instructions for evacuation of people from border areas from the Centre nor of high alert from the state government. He informed that only a meeting was held to prepare for handling any eventuality. He added that there was no need to panic for people. Capt Convenes high-level meeting Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh held a meeting on all aspects of the situation with the top brass of the police and civil administration, including Chief Principal Secretary Suresh Kumar, Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh, Home Secretary NS Kalsi, DGP Dinkar Gupta and DGP (Intelligence) VK Bhawara. The CM earlier spoke to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the situation. He said he would visit border areas from Pathankot to Ferozepur by road on Wednesday. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Faridkot, February 26 After over one week in police custody, Inspector General of Police (IG) Paramraj Singh Umranangal was on Tuesday sent to Central Jail, Patiala, on 14-day judicial remand. Former Moga SSP Charanjit Singh Sharma is already lodged there. Both are accused of unprovoked police firing at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan on October 14, 2015. Umranangal was produced in a local court after his three-day police remand ended on Tuesday. As the Special Investigation Team (SIT) did not demand extension of his police remand, the court sent him to judicial custody at Faridkot Central Jail. However, keeping in view threat perception to Umranangal at Faridkot, the jail authorities shifted him to Patiala. Charanjit Singh too was sent to Patiala jail from Faridkot on February 7 owing to threat to his life in jail here. Umranangal was arrested by the SIT on February 18 from police headquarters in Chandigarh in a case of attempted murder for firing on protesters at Kotkapura on October 14, 2015. He was under the custody of the SIT at Sadar police station, Faridkot, for the last about eight days. Charanjit Singh is an accused in the case of killing two Sikh protesters at Behbal Kalan in the wake of protest against sacrilege incidents. The former SSP had appealed to the court to not send him to Faridkot or Ferozepur jail. In his application, Charanjit Singh had claimed that as he had worked as Moga SSP during 2014-15, many criminals nabbed during his stint in Moga were presently lodged in these jails, so they might pose a threat to his life. Keeping in view his contention, the Jails Department had shifted him from Faridkot to Patiala jail on February 7. Umranangal too has been shifted to Patiala jail on similar concerns. More cops appear before SIT In the case of alleged fabrication of bullet marks on the escort Gypsy of former Moga SSP on October 14, 2015, six persons SP Bikramjit Singh, Sub-Inspector Amarjit Singh Kular, DSP Harjinder Singh, Sohail Singh Brar and his two associates appeared before the SIT on Tuesday. editorial@tribune.com Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 26 Just about a month after the Punjab and Haryana High Court made clear its intent to examine whether the Supreme Court judgment against unregulated sale of acid was being implemented meticulously in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, the Bench has asked the Home Secretaries to file affidavits. As the case came up for resumed hearing, Justice Rajan Guptas Bench observed the amicus curiae or the friend of the court Ravi Kamal Gupta, on the previous date of hearing, had submitted it was required to be clarified whether the directions laid down by the Supreme Court in the case of Laxmi versus the Union of India against unfettered sale of acid were being followed by Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh in letter and spirit. Directing the filing of an affidavit by Haryana Home Secretary as a larger issue was involved, Justice Gupta asserted clear information was forthcoming. As regards the directions given by the Supreme Court in Laxmis case on effective regulation of acid sale in the states and union territories, this court deems it fit that Punjab as well as Chandigarh may also make their stand clear on the issue by way of separate affidavits of their respective Home Secretaries, Justice Gupta added. The Supreme Court had directed the Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to take up the issue of banning the sale of acid across the counter with the state governments and union territories to ensure issuance of an appropriate notification. The Supreme Court had added that some states/union territories had already issued such a notification. But, in its opinion, all states and union territories were required to issue such a notification at the earliest. The directions came on a petition filed by victim seeking compensation after acid was thrown on her face on April 6, 2006, when she was returning home with four other girls. The Faridabad police failed to arrest the involved and filed an untraced report. The cancellation report was also accepted by the area magistrate concerned. editorial@tribune.com Ludhiana, February 26 After the airstrike in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) by IAF fighter jets, special commandos of the state police have been deployed around the Halwara Air Force Station, 35 km from here, on Tuesday. Local residents in Halwara confirmed that they noticed the movement of fighter planes during early hours on Tuesday, but there is no official confirmation. Sukhdev Singh, a local resident, said around 2.45 am, they heard the thunder of fighter planes, which was something unusual, The sudden movement of jets took us by surprise. Some villagers even came out of their homes and saw the planes taking off from the IAF stations, he claimed. Ludhiana SSP Varinder Singh Brar said in wake of high alert, 100 commandos equipped with advanced weapons reached the city this morning for deployment at strategic places in the district. TNS editorial@tribune.com NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 26 The world community, focused on the Donald Trump-Kim Jong Un summit in Hanoi, urged India and Pakistan not to escalate the situation arising from the IAFs bombing of JeM military camps in Balakot. While Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale explained Indias position of undertaking a pre-emptive strike to envoys from major countries, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj reached out to her US counterpart Mike Pompeo. Sushma Swaraj will also be conducting consultative diplomacy in Beijing where she will meet her counterparts from China and Russia and seek a better appreciation of the Indian position. Indias intensive diplomacy to isolate Pakistan on its sheltering of jihadis was reflected in messages from China, Australia and the European Union. All statements urged restraint but the fine print showed a distinct tilt towards the Indian position, evident from the absence of any empathy for Pakistans complaint of an uncalled-for military intrusion. China termed both India and Pakistan important countries in South Asia and wanted them to keep restraint. It counselled them to settle their disputes at regional forums. Russia in a message before the Indian airstrikes had also asked both countries to utilise the Shanghai Cooperation Forum to reconcile. An EU diplomat, in a telephonic conversation with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi a day earlier, criticised Islamabads use of terror as state policy. TNS pardeepdhull@gmail.com New Delhi, February 27 Robert Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning for the seventh time in connection with its probe into a money laundering case. ED officials said that Vadra arrived at the agencys Jamnagar office in central Delhi at 10.40 am. The ED has questioned Vadra for over 42 hours in connection with the case on February 6,7,9 20, 22 and 26. The case relates to the ownership of overseas assets worth 1.9 million pounds in London by Vadra. On December 7, the ED had raided several of Vadras properties in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. Vadra, husband of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, is on interim bail till March 2. IANS monicakchauhan@gmail.com Washington, February 27 The US on Wednesday firmly asked Pakistan to take "meaningful action" against terrorist groups operating on its soil and underscored the importance of avoiding escalation at any cost after India targeted terrorist camp in Pakistan. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) 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. Following the incident, India on Tuesday bombed and destroyed JeM's biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80-km from the Line of Control (LoC) early Tuesday, killing a "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a phone call with the Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also called for avoiding military action. In a separate call with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Pompeo emphasised the close security partnership between the US and India and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region. Pompeo is currently in Vietnam to attend the second summit between President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the denuclearsation of the Korean peninsula. "Following Indian counter-terrorism actions on February 26, I spoke with Indian Minister of External Affairs Swaraj to emphasize our close security partnership and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region," Pompeo said in a statement. "I also spoke to Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi to underscore the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action, and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil," Pompeo said. "I expressed to both Ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost. I also encouraged both ministers to prioritise direct communication and avoid further military activity," said the Secretary of State. Last week, US National Security Adviser John Bolton told his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval that America supports India's right to self-defence as both sides vowed to work together to ensure that Pakistan ceases to be a safe heaven for JeM and other terror groups. PTI rchopra@tribunemail.com New Delhi, February 27 Top security and intelligence officials on Wednesday huddled into a meet at the Prime Ministers office in the wake of the Pakistan Air Force jets violating the Indian airspace, sources said. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, senior officials of the Indian Navy, Army and the Air Force and other security officials were holding a meeting to discuss the current security situation, they said. Earlier in the day, a PAF F-16 fighter jet was shot down by Indian air defence forces in Rajouri sector of Jammu region. The aircraft was brought down in Jhangar area of Jammu and Kashmirs Rajouri sector. PTI gspannu7@gmail.com Ahmedabad/Bhopal, February 27 The tiger that was found dead in Mahisagar district of Gujarat on Tuesday, had travelled from Ratapani sanctuary located in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, officials said on Wednesday. The Gujarat forest department confirmed that it was the same tiger that was captured on camera around two weeks back in Mahisagar district, the first sighting of a tiger in the state in three decades. The authorities, however, ruled out poaching as the cause of its death. On February 12, the Gujarat Government had confirmed the presence of a tiger, aged 7 to 8 years, after it was captured on camera. On Tuesday, the carcass of the tiger was found at Kantar village in the forest area of Mahisagar. It was found around 15 km from the spot, where the animal was last captured on camera. The tiger that was found dead in Gujarat, had reached Mahisagar district after crossing Indore, Ujjain, Dewas and Jhabua districts of Madhya Pradesh, an MP Public Relations Department official said, quoting the state forest department authorities. The tiger had traversed from Ratapani sanctuary situated near Bhopal, he said. After getting the information that the tiger had entered Gujarat, MPs Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) U Prakasham had written a letter to the Gujarat Forest Department on February 14, urging it to protect the animal and keep a tab on its movements. Meanwhile, after conducting the examination of the carcass, the Gujarat forest department ruled out the possibility of poaching. The pattern of the tigers stripes led the post-mortem panel, formed to probe its death, to conclude that it was the same animal that was captured on the camera trap around two weeks back, a Gujarat forest department official said. Samples of the tiger carcass have been sent to three laboratories to ascertain the cause of the death as no external injury marks were found on it, he said. Chief Conservator of Forests, Vadodara, S K Srivastava said, During the examination, no physical injury was noticed on the tiger. Also, all the 18 claws, four canine teeth, genital organ and skin were found to be intact, hence this is definitely not a case of poaching. We have collected three sets of samples for investigation, which have been sent to Gujarat Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Gandhinagar, Anand Veterinary Hospital and LaCONES in Hyderabad for examination, he said. The post-mortem panel comprises senior officials of the forest department, a representative of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), veterinary doctors, and district representative of the Animal Welfare Board of India, Srivastava said. The carcass was burnt as per the protocol of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in the presence of a panel, villagers and media persons, he added. PTI gspannu7@gmail.com Islamabad/Dubai, February 27 Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday threatened to boycott a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) scheduled for next month in the UAE if Indias External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj participates in it. Swaraj has been invited as a guest of honour at the inaugural session of the foreign ministers conclave in Abu Dhabi on March 1-2. I have no reservations with the OIC or any other Islamic country. My reservations are with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swarajs attendance at the OIC meeting, Qureshi told Geo News. If Swaraj attends the meeting then I will not participate in it, Qureshi said. He shared that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu telephoned him. We believe India has committed aggression against a brother Islamic country and attacked a founding member of the OIC, Qureshi quoted Cavusoglu as saying. The Turkish foreign minister said there is no reason for Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj to attend the meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) and Turkey will fully oppose her invitation and opportunity to address, he added. Last night, Qureshi said he spoke to his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and expressed his reservations over invitation to Swaraj. Under the current circumstances, it will not be possible for me to attend OIC meeting where Swaraj is present, he said. Meanwhile, the OIC on Tuesday condemned Indias incursion and aerial violation in Pakistan. It urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid any steps that would endanger peace and security in the region. It called upon both parties to act responsibly and encouraged them to seek peaceful solution to current crisis without resort to use of force. It also called on them to embrace dialogue and work towards de-escalation of current situation as a matter of priority. The OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir held an emergency meeting at the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah and expressed deep concern over the heightened tension in the region and called for immediate de-escalation. The OIC is an international organisation founded in 1969, consisting of 57 member states, with 40 countries being Muslim majority countries. PTI shalender@tribune.com New Delhi, February 26 Highlighting the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi in present scenario, President Ram Nath Kovind today said his ideals of achieving human liberty through conciliation by appealing to conscience of the opponent, have influenced some of the greatest. Speaking while presenting Gandhi Peace Prize for 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi here, Kovind hailed Gandhi as a visionary. The prize was presented to the Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari, for 2015, jointly to the Akshaya Patra Foundation and the Sulabh International for 2016, to the Ekal Abhiyan Trust for 2017, and for 2018 to Yohei Sasakawa, chairman of Nippon Foundation and the WHO ambassador for leprosy elimination. Gandhian modes of struggle and Gandhian ideals of achieving human liberty by conciliation, by appealing to the conscience of the opponent, have influenced some of the greatest of our age. From Martin Luther King Jr in the US to Nelson Mandela in South Africa and Lech Walesa in Poland, a dazzling galaxy of statespersons has learnt and borrowed from Gandhiji. Gandhiji and his thoughts are invaluable to any understanding of contemporary human history, and of the quest to redress oppression and inequity," he said. The Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations are Gandhian philosophy in action. India's pivotal role in the International Solar Alliance and its domestic Swachh Bharat Mission aimed at the universalisation of modern sanitation too are reflective of Gandhi-ji, he said. The prize is being conferred at a time when India marks the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi...The freedom struggle became a mass movement due to the visionary efforts of Bapu. He merged the streams of Jan Bhagidari and Jan Andolan. Bapu instilled a spirit in every person that they are doing something for India's freedom, Modi said. PTI rchopra@tribunemail.com Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 27 Barring the PDP which termed the Indian Air Force strikes on Pakistan and PoK-based terror camps unnecessary retaliation, a united opposition hailed the IAF for hitting back post Pulwama even as it remained conscious of the turning narrative on the Lok Sabha election eve. After offering early salutations to the forces, opposition veterans pledged support to the government in its anti-terror operations after they were briefed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on the strikes. Congresss Ghulam Nabi Azad spoke for the opposition saying, We support the security forces in all their endeavours to take on enemies of the nation. Todays operation was very clean, no civilians were harmed and a terrorist camp was destroyed. From Congress president Rahul Gandhi who saluted the IAF pilots and NCs Omar Abdullah who called the strike in Khyber Pakhtunakhwas Balakot significant to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, BSP supremo Mayawati, and RJDs Tejaswi Yadav, all opposition titans backed the IAF as the news of strikes spread. Significantly, most sufficed to congratulate the pilots, reserving their verdicts on the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the political call to give the Forces a free hand. As new Whatsapp forwards with Chowkidaar sher hai taglines appeared in social media spaces, Mayawati took a swipe at the PM for giving a free hand to the Forces a bit too late and the CPM warned against jingoism. IAF strike destroying terrorist camps across LoC is welcome action. Salute and respect to their bravery. PM Modi gave free hand to Army only after Pulwama attack. Had it been earlier Pathankot, Uri & Pulwama like tragedy and loss of precious lives of jawans could have been averted, Mayawati said as the opposition grappled with the potential turn of public sentiment to the BJPs advantage as evidenced in the response PM Modis Churu rally got. CPMs general secretary Sitaram Yechury while calling the IAFs effective operation heartening said, We have told the government there must be no attempt at fanning jingoism. The Congress remained silent on the political consequences of air strikes with leaders privately admitting that in the given situation it would be difficult for the opposition to build an anti-Modi narrative. The sentiment is sure to turn to PMs advantage, a Congress leader said. Former Law Minister and Congress veteran Ashwani Kumar hailed Indias response as befitting saying care has been taken to ensure that the use of force is proportionate and deployed only against terrorist camps operating from Pakistan. He said as per international practice, Indias pre-emptive air strikes could not be treated as an act of aggression, adding, Punjab and Kashmir which have traditionally borne the brunt of Pakistans aggression against India will once again rise to checkmate Pakistani aggression, if any. While military hostilities between nations must always be the last option, we know from history that lasting peace is the dividend of power. The nation salutes the courage of our forces and stands united when summoned to the flag. That said, the opposition remained anxious about the political fallout of the air strikes and any future move the government might make. Privately, opposition leaders objected to Modi saying at a Rajasthan poll rally that the the nation is in safe hands. The non-BJP camp was also found thinking of its next strategy with the IAF strikes coming on the eve of the opposition meet called to discuss a common minimum programme against the BJP. At the time of Indo-Pakistan tension, weaving an anti-PM narrative will be a challenge. Lets see what happens, an opposition veteran said as the BJP geared to make the PMs muscular response a poll issue. rchopra@tribunemail.com Colombo, February 27 An Indian national held in Sri Lanka over an alleged plot to assassinate President Maithripala Sirisena was acquitted on Wednesday, court officials said. Marceli Thomas from Kerala was arrested in October following a complaint by Namal Kumara, a police informant, who had alleged a plot to assassinate Sirisena and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the former top defence ministry bureaucrat and brother of ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Colombo Fort Magistrates Court acquitted Thomas of the charges of conspiring to assassinate the VIPs when the case was taken up for hearing on Wednesday. Colombo Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake on February 13 informed the CID to present to court evidence against the suspect regarding the plot in two weeks. However, the CID has not been able to produce any evidence against Thomas implicating him in the conspiracy charges. Thomas had denied the allegation in the court and claimed that he is innocent and that an attempt was being made to frame him. Considering the facts of the case, the Magistrate said he could not order to keep a person in remand without evidence as the police wanted. However, Thomas had been remanded further on charges of staying in the country without a valid visa. PTI rchopra@tribunemail.com Islamabad, February 27 Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday called a meeting of the top decision-making body on nuclear issues after India targeted a terrorist camp in the country. The National Command Authority controls policy formulation, exercises, deployment, research and development, employment and operational command and control of the countrys nuclear arsenals. The decision to call the NCA meeting was taken on Tuesday in the meeting of the National Security Committee--a civil-military top-level body that discussed the situation after the Indian attack. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama district on February 14, sparking outrage in the country. Following the incident, India bombed and destroyed the JeMs biggest training camp in Balakot in Pakistans restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, about 80 km from the Line of Control (LoC) early on Tuesday, killing a very large number of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The joint session of Parliament has been called on Wednesday to discuss the tension with India and formulate a national response. The parliamentary leaders will also be given an in-camera briefing by the government on the situation after Indias strikes. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi alleged the Indian government is issuing threatening statements in the aftermath of the Pulwama incident on the pretext of terrorism just to divert the world opinion from rights violations in Kashmir. Qureshi said Pakistan reserved the right to take an appropriate action in self-defence. PTI Washington, MO (63090) Today Isolated thunderstorms during the morning becoming more widespread this afternoon. High 82F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Locally heavy rainfall possible.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. Locally heavy rainfall possible. rchopra@tribunemail.com New Delhi, February 27 A day after the Indian Air Force bombed a terror facility in Balakot, relations between India and Pakistan remained tense on Wednesday, with India losing a fighter aircraft and its pilot taken into custody by Pakistan whose planes intruded the Indian airspace in the morning. India interpreted the attempt by Pakistan Air Force to intrude into its airspace and target military installations as an unprovoked act of aggression. This, coupled with the closure of airspace in northern India and the movement of military transport planes, triggered speculation of a gradual escalation in Indias response. The capture of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman and Pakistan pushing video clips of his capture and speaking in custody contributed to increasing tension, triggering several countries to call for de-escalation and restraint. By circulating the clips of the injured pilot through social media, Pakistan attempted to alter the mood both at home and in India following the attacks at Balakot on Tuesday. It certainly thrusts greater immediacy on India to take steps necessary to amend it. India also handed over to Pakistan a dossier on specific details of involvement of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in the Pulwama terror attack. Uncertainty looms in the country on what next to expect take the offer of talks reiterated by Pakistan PM Imran Khan or go ahead on a road that increases pressure on Islamabad to crack down on terror, including isolating Pakistan through a diplomatic offensive. The narrative built around the policy of terror and talks cannot go hand in hand, that got accentuated after the Pulwama attack, will now be tested to its maximum. Yet, waging a battle on a limited scale as the only option is something only strategic planners would know. TNS Dogfight after Pak air force aggression Time 10 am Indian radars pick up 12 Pak jets approaching LoC. Three of these Mirage- III, F-16 and J-17 cross LoC, near Nowshera shalender@tribune.com KV Prasad Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 26 In a pre-dawn stealth attack, Indian Air Force jets on Tuesday pounded the biggest training camp of terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) at Balakot in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa territory, characterising the operation as a pre-emptive, non-military action against terror. Lasting all of 21 minutes, Operation Balakot began at 3.30 am with a batch of Mirage 2000 planes carrying out the mission, leading to the elimination of trainers, commanders and trainees (said to be around 300) at the camp located on the hilltop in the home province of Pakistan PM Imran Khan. As the news broke, the sullen mood in the country since the Pulwama attack 13 days ago changed, with political leaders joining people and personalities in effervescent praise of the brave air warriors. Expectedly, tensions mounted along the Line of Control after Pakistan violated the ceasefire at several places, drawing retaliation from Indian troops. The camp, 80 km from the Line of Control, was headed by Yousuf Azhar alias Ustad Ghouri, the brother-in-law of Masood Azhar, the JeM chief, who too is said to be among those killed. On his part, PM Narendra Modi emphasised at a party rally at Churu that he would not let the country down, while leaders at an all-party meeting chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj spoke in one voice, praising the IAF. The deftly executed plan by the IAF, which fielded various platforms to back up the operation, caught Pakistan by surprise and sent a sharp message of Indias capability to strike at a place and time of its choosing, which the government said Indian military was authorised to launch post-Pulwama. Mindful of international reaction, that many countries fear could lead to escalation of conflict between two nuclear-weapon states, India declared it acted on credible RAW intelligence that JeM was attempting another suicide terror attack. In the face of imminent danger, a pre-emptive strike became absolutely necessary, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale announced soon after the Cabinet Committee on Security reviewed the situation. Masoods brother-in-law headed camp Yousuf Azhar, who headed the Balakot Jaish camp, is wanted by CBI in IC-814 hijacking case. Brother-in-law of Jaish chief Masood Azhar, Yousuf was key conspirator in Kandahar hijack case. Masood was released in exchange of 154 hostages in 1999 by then BJP-led NDA govt. Yousuf is believed to have been killed in the IAF strike on Tuesday. China calls for restraint We hope that both India and Pakistan can exercise restraint and do more to improve their bilateral relations. Chinese Foreign Ministry 12 MIRAGE jets used THE TARGET Indian Air Force attacked the hillside camp of JeM at Balakot in Kyhber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan, around 80 km west of the Line of Control Terrain in the region is mountainous, which would have helped Indian planes take cover and evade radars TIME OF STRIKE Operation began at 3.30 am on Tuesday, a time when the alertness of radar system operators is more likely to be lower; firing lasted 9 minutes and the entire operation involving fighter jets took less than 21 minute to complete EQUIPMENT USED 12 Mirage 2000 fighter jets, an airborne early warning and control (AWAC) aircraft system, a mid-air refueller and drones; AWAC is typically used to jam enemys radar 1,000 kg laser-guided bombs, besides air-to-surface missile Popeye, used to destroy the terror camp STRATEGY EMPLOYED Mission would have taken meticulous planning Decoy and surveillance missions conducted Jets may have flown low at sub-sonic speed, hugging the terrain as much as possible to avoid the radar RISKS FACED Typically once alerted, it only takes about three minutes for fighter jets to respond on an incursion and get airborne. In this case, it was likely the Pakistani security forces were only alerted after the strike, allowing Indian jets enough time to cross back into their own airspace 4 Sukhoi-30 as decoy gspannu7@gmail.com Beijing, February 27 China on Wednesday again called on India and Pakistan to exercise restraint amid the escalation of hostilities between the two countries and urged them to engage in dialogue to uphold the peace and stability in the region. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kangs remarks came after Pakistan targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism in Balakot. I understand that in the latest development Pakistan says it had shot down two Indian aircraft and captured Indian pilots, Lu Kang told the media here. He said the international community is following the developments closely. Chinas position is clear. As two important countries in South Asia we hope that the two countries can exercise restraint and engage in dialogue and take actions for the peace and stability in the region, he said. China on Tuesday also urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and asked New Delhi to carry out its fight against terrorism through international cooperation, hours after Indian fighter jets struck Jaish-e-Mohammeds biggest camp in Pakistan in a pre-dawn attack. The Indian action came after 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a suicide attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama district on February 14. PTI editorial@tribune.com Sandeep Dikshit Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 26 The Indian Air Forces night strike around the hills of Balakot was this picture-pretty regions second tryst with a States attempt to suppress the establishment of the supremacy of the Islamic faith through jihad. Ayesha Jalals critically acclaimed book The Partisans of Allah describes Balakot as in many ways the epicentre of jihad in South Asia as it was the point of entry of jihad and Islamic warriors in South Asian consciousness. In fact, the only front-on jihad ever fought in South Asia has been by Syed Ahmed Shah in Balakot against the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. As Pakistan has done today, the British in 1830s allowed Syed Ahmed Shah of Rai Bareilly and his companions to gather forces and march through territory they controlled to base themselves around Balakot, the gateway to Kaghan Valley. The target of this group of Deobandis of that time were the Sikhs who ruled the area. The British tolerated their proselytising and recruitment because they thought the Wahabis would weaken the Sikhs by their attacks. It was not to be and Shah and his band were killed. Their graves are today sacred sites in Balakot. About 160 years after the mujahids of Shah had gone to their death, Balakot again became a favourite basing ground for jihadist groups that hoped to replicate in Kashmir the success of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Pakistan, like the British before them, again turned a blind eye because the jihadist groups were targeting India. Balakot area was doubly suitable it was bordered on the east and south by Kashmir and there was the legacy of Shah. It is after Shah, killed in 1831, that Jaish-e-Mohammed decided to name the madrasa-cum-military centre it set up near Balakot. Around 5 km from Attar Sheeha village on the Manshera-Balakot road, a dirt track begins winding up the hills. Till last known, vehicles couldnt make the climb after some distance. Clearly, the intent was to put the madrasa beyond the pale of ground-based forces. Those who have managed to make it to its entrance describe a huge gate fit for a fort with a JeM flag fluttering over it. Set up in 2000, this camp acquired added importance after the JeM was forced to roll up its training camps in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks. Over time, first ustaad Qari Shah Mansur made it into the largest military training centre for recruits selected from a chain of madrasas run by various arms of JeM. Scattered all over the hill sides were subsidiary training camps of a host of other jihadist organisations. The terror organisations that had set up camp around Balakot found themselves on the receiving end after the 9/11 strikes. Their area of operations was further constrained after then Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf assured India in 2004 that they would stop hosting terror organisations on their soil. But JeM and others made a comeback after a massive earthquake in 2005 flattened Balakot and surrounding areas. Recruits primarily from the Lashkar-e-Toiba training camps along with some from JeM activists were the first to engage in rescue operations, while the Pakistani state was late to respond. Maharaja Ranjit Singh had employed the services of Italian Jean Baptiste Ventura and French Jean-Francois Allard to modernise his army. The superior firepower defeated the advantage of terrain to hand Ranjit Singh a victory over Shah. History again repeated itself. The Balakot camp of JeM was insulated from a surprise attack but not immune to the precision targeting of French Mirage fighters. This is the second time that Balakot has figured prominently in another failed attempt to incubate. amansharma@tribunemail.com New Delhi, February 27 Twenty-one opposition parties on Wednesday expressed anguish over what they alleged was blatant politicisation of the sacrifices of armed forces and urged the government to take nations into confidence on all measures to protect Indias sovereignty, unity and integrity. After a meeting in the Parliament Library, the leaders of these parties issued a joint statement, expressing concern over the prevailing security situation in the country. Anguished over blatant politicisation of sacrifices of armed forces by ruling party. Urge government to take nations into confidence on all measures to protect Indias sovereignty, unity, integrity. National security must transcend narrow political consideration, the joint statement said. The parties also condemned the dastardly Pulwama terror attack by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed on February 14. The leaders paid homage to the soldiers killed in the attack and expressed solidarity with the Armed Forces. The statement also said that the prime minister has regrettably not convened an all-party meeting as per established practice. PTI shalender@tribune.com Vibha Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 26 Barely hours after the non-military, pre-emptive action against Jaish-e-Mohammed, an unambiguous message of Indias josh, strength and resilience, an unflappable Prime Minister was back to business as usual, attending three public events beginning with a function at Rashtrapati Bhawan and ending it with aarti of a giant Bhagwad Gita. The PM was up all night, said sources, tracking the IAF operation. He made an indirect reference to the airstrikes while seeking an apology from the audience at Rashtrapati Bhawan for being late as he was busy with some work. This was after he had chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security at his residence. As the nation got to know of the strikes on Pakistan soil, the PM flew to Churu in Rajasthan and addressed a rally there. You seem to be in a different mood today, he told the cheering crowds. I assure you that the nation is in safe hands. I swear I wont let India slow down and bow down, he declared, amid Modi, Modi chanting. Later, he chose the Delhi Metro to reach an ISKCON event, performing aarti of the worlds biggest Bhagwad Gita. In the Metro, people cheered for him and greeted him warmly, some touching his feet and some taking selfies. He was also seen rocking a child on his knee and posing with members of a minority community. Minutes later, he turned a page of the worlds largest Bhagwad Gita, over 2.8 m in size and weighing 800 kg, to mark its launch, later performing aarti. No reference to the airstrikes, the PM spoke of the many lessons that the Bhagwad Gita held for all, such as saving the earth from the enemies of humanity. These images, only weeks before the country votes its next government, will linger in public memory. rchopra@tribunemail.com Kolkata, February 27 Two operatives of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) had been arrested from West Bengals Murshidabad district and a cache of explosive materials seized from their possession, a senior police officer said on Wednesday. In a joint operation by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Kolkata police and the Murshidabad police, Moshibur Rahman alias Farooque (35) and Ruhul Amin alias Saifullah (26) were apprehended on Tuesday night, he said. Both Moshibur and Ruhul, residents of Murshidabad district, are active members of the outlawed JMB. A cache of explosive materials, including aluminium dust, calether (spirit of ether) and sulphuric acid, have been recovered from their possession, the senior officer told PTI. The duo happens to be associates of Kauser and Sajjad, who were nabbed on January 29 for their involvement in the 2014 Burdwan blast case, he said. On October 2, 2014, a blast had occurred in a house at Khagragarh in Burdwan district, killing two people. We have interrogated Sajjad and found out that Moshibur and Ruhul have been trained in making acid bombs. Their plan was to attack the police and get Kauser released, the officer said. With Tuesdays successful raid in Murshidabad, the number of JMB operatives arrested in a month rose to six, he added. On February 16, Ariful Islam alias Arif (22) was arrested from the citys Babughat area for his alleged links to the terror outfit. Three days later, Asif Iqbal alias Nadeem, another resident of Murshidabad district, was held at Santragachi railway station in Howrah district. Islam was involved in the 2018 Bodh Gaya blast case, police had claimed. On January 19 last year, a low-intensity bomb had exploded at Bodh Gaya in Bihar, shortly after Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama had finished a sermon at the Mahabodhi temple. PTI harinder@tribunemail.com Col DS Cheema (retd) On February 19, two Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team aircraft collided, killing Wg Cdr Sahil Gandhi and injuring two officers during the 12th edition of the Aero India show at Bengaluru. The IAF has already given the Missing Man salute. After the probe report, the matter will rest at that. The Indian Navy, too, conducted a similar probe, when on October 1, 2002, two IL-38 reconnaissance aircraft of the Winged Stallions squadron collided midair, killing nine highly qualified, trained and experienced pilots during the Navy Week celebrations in Goa. There have been many other such accidents when Army units celebrate their raising days or golden jubilees and other important historic landmarks. Years ago, the EME Corps lost two men and two were grievously injured at Secunderabad during preparations for the golden jubilee celebrations. Why must such accidents continue to take place and why must the nation remain a mute spectator to such ghastly happenings? Every citizen of India is proud of its gallant armed forces and knows very well that they are among the finest fighting machines in the world. They have earned the gratitude of the nation by laying down their lives for the national cause. They have displayed remarkable grit and professionalism in war and peace and are seen as the bright North Star in a corrupt system. When they lose their brave men and material worth hundreds of crores, it is bound to become a concern for every citizen. Admittedly, golden jubilees, raising days and other such historic occasions mean a lot to the armed forces. Such events remind them of their unique culture of gallantry and inspire young soldiers. Also, different governments wanting to showcase the nations superior military power is also a laudable goal and meets many objectives. Both have many benefits. But must it be done at such a terrible cost? Time, energy and money spent on such activities could certainly be better utilised. These celebrations and displays consume months of preparations involving hundreds of men and huge material resources. Could that time and money be put to better use for training so that officers and men shed lesser blood during war? It is unfortunate that many a time our armed forces have the compulsion of using ageing weapon systems and equipment during such celebrations and displays, increasing the risk of accidents. Under these circumstances, must they continue using such systems and equipment for ceremonial functions? Our annual celebrations like the Republic Day parade, which showcases our military might, give suitable message to our enemies and convince our own people that the security of the nation is in the right hands. They are good enough. The IAF and the Navy must stop these dangerous aerobatics, since these in no way enhance their combat effectiveness. editorial@tribune.com Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 26 After the IAF strike on militants camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), special commandos of the Punjab Police have been deployed in the areas surrounding of the Air Force Station, Halwara, about 35 km from here, as part of security measures. Although the situation in the villages around the station seems to be normal, some strategic movement was observed at the airbase. Even people living in Halwara confirmed that they noticed midnight movement of fighter planes at Halwara, but there is no official confirmation from the station. According to the residents, while such kind of movement of fighter planes at the IAF station was unusual on routine days, roaring noises of planes at midnight was quite surprising for them. Sukhdev Singh, a resident of Halwara village, said around 2.45 am last night, they heard the sound of fighter planes which was something unusual. Since nights are quite calm in villages, the sudden movement of fighter jets surprised the villagers. Most members of our family, including children, were awakened by the roaring sound of fighter jets. Many villagers even came out of their houses to see what had happened. We could also see the planes taking off from the airbase, he said. Raju, a resident of Hissowal village, near Halwara, said: It was this morning that we heard news about IAF strikes on terrorists camps in Pakistan. We assumed that the fighter planes might have flown from the local airbase. Whether the fighter planes flew from Halwara or any other IAF base to pound the terrorists camps in Pakistan, it doesnt matter. What does matter is that Pakistan should be taught a lesson, said Raju. Ravinder, who has been living in Halwara village for the past over two decades, said if the Halwara airbase authorities sought any help from the villagers such as vacating houses or using their land for strategic purposes in case of war, they would cooperate with them. 100 commandos deployed in district, special patrolling around Halwara Ludhiana SSP Varinder Singh said in the wake of high alert, 100 commandos of Punjab Police, equipped with advanced weapons, reached Ludhiana on Tuesday morning for deployment at strategic places in the district. Around 24 commandos have been deployed around the Halwara airbase. Special patrol vehicles fitted with light machine guns (LMG) will also patrol the areas surrounding the airbase day and night. Static nakas have been set up near the airbase. The commandos will check suspected vehicles and can also frisk suspicious persons around the airbase, said Brar. DCP conducts meeting with Kashmiri students LUDHIANA: The DCP, Ludhiana, Ashwani Kapoor, conducted a meeting with Kashmiri students on Tuesday. The official briefed the students about a mobile app of the police that came in handy in case someone needed police help. Around 70 students attended the meeting. They are studying at various institutes in the city. The police assured the students of all help. The DCP asked the students to contact the police without any hesitation if they needed help. vermaajay1968@gmail.com Geetu Vaid In line with the governments Skill India initiative, the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, is running short-term courses to make people acquainted with various film-making skills. A number of short-term courses are being undertaken under FTIIs initiative called Skilling India in Film and Television (SKIFT) in Pune as well as in Tier 2 and 3 cities across the country. These range from 10 days to 45-day courses in film-making, script writing, film appreciation, film music appreciation, acting, cinematography etc. The first such course was conducted in Guwahati two years ago. Under this initiative we have held courses in India in places where film and media courses are yet to reach. Courses have been held in Andaman and Nicobar islands, Assam, Rudraprayag among other places, says Ritesh Takshande, who is a senior faculty for these courses. Till now the institue has organised 130 such courses across the country. Ritesh anchored two such courses in Chandigarh recently. In an interaction, he shares more information about SKIFT initative and the courses being offered under its ambit. Excerpts: What is basic concept behind SKIFT? FTII, as you know, is a pioneer institute of the country and getting admission there is very tough. There are just 120 seats for which more than 6,000 applications are received each year. Thus, competition is very tough for students wanting to get into this institute. But at the same time the film industry has a huge employment scope in different spheres like storyboard artists, cinematographers, sound engineers, casting directors etc. For most youngsters films are just about acting, story writing and direction. They are unaware of the other roles and job profiles where they can make a very lucrative career. Thus, there is a need to take this craft to more and more people to make them aware. So, through SKIFT the institute is reaching out to students in the far off corners of the country. Which are the short courses that FTII is running as a part of its SKIFT initiative? There is a vast bouquet of courses that SKIFT is offering. These include film orientation, digital cinematography, film production, screen acting, television screenwriting, fiction writing courses etc. How do these courses help students wanting to get into film making? These are foundation courses and serve as a seeding opportunity for youngsters so that they can gauge their potential to get into the PG course at FTII. Many times students join film courses after getting a bachelors degree in other streams like engineering, humanities, science etc. Through these courses they get a fairly good idea about their aptitude for film making as a career. What is the eligibility criteria for these courses? There is no set eligibility criteria for any of these courses and neither is there any age limit. People from any profession and any age group can join these courses. These provide a good platform to youngsters to chart their future career course. What is duration of these courses? Each course has a different duration depending on the skill it imparts. Thus, the film appreciation course is a weekend course and is of three- month duration. It is one of the most popular courses being offered at FTII. The cinematography course is of 22-day duration. Acting courses are of 20-day duration. Smartphone film making is an 8-day course and the short off-campus film orientation course is of 10-day duration. How much do these courses cost? The fee for these courses is very subsidised. For a 7-day course the fee is roughly around Rs 7,000. For an acting course the fee is Rs 15,000 and for cinematography course, which is more technical, it can be anywhere between Rs 45,000 and Rs 50,000. Students have to keep checking the institute website for the exact schedule of these courses. vermaajay1968@gmail.com Usha Albuquerque Mick Jagger is well known as a rock star, but did you know that he can also rock a spreadsheet? Kenny G and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin also worked in accounting, before they launched their music careers. And did you know that the FBI employs more than 2,000 accounting special agents who use their mad maths skills to solve crimes! So if you, too, love working with numbers and are interested in dissecting the inner workings of any company, as an auditor, you will be in good company. Auditing is one of the main career options in the field of accounting. An audit is the examination or inspection of various books of accounts by an auditor followed by physical checking of inventory to make sure that all departments are following documented system of recording transactions. This means making sure that an individual or business is following the rules when it comes to taxes and finances, operating with financial integrity, and being strategic with time and money. Understanding the concept Auditing is a specialised form of accounting and is carried out to ascertain the accuracy of financial statements provided by the organisation. An auditor is a person who reviews, analyses and evaluates the processes, services, systems, products, and employees of an organisation. From poring over financial statements and expense reports to ensuring compliance with government regulations, auditing offers a wide variety of potential career opportunities. The original objective of auditing was to detect and prevent errors and frauds. An audit can be done internally by employees or heads of a department and externally by an outside firm or an independent auditor. The idea is to check and verify the accounts by an independent authority to ensure that all books of accounts are done in a fair manner and there is no misrepresentation or fraud that is being conducted. All organisations must have an audit done of their accounts. Internal controls help prevent the theft of a company's assets and, if properly designed and executed, prevent data manipulation by employees. All public listed firms must get their accounts audited by an independent auditor before they declare their results for any quarter. External auditors are required to state the finances of the company and attest to the validity of financial reports that may have been released. It is their job to ensure that the board receives accurate and reliable information. One of the many important roles of a professional auditor in corporate governance is to protect the interests of shareholders and stakeholders of a company. It is made possible by conducting independent reports by the auditors and not being influenced by the company. So, is it any wonder there are so many questions of how Nirav Modi got past all the audits of the Punjab national Bank? Getting in Auditing is carried out by qualified accountants, or chartered accountants. To become an auditor, one must have at least a bachelors degree in commerce, or in Accounting. While there are no specific degree courses in auditing, there are bachelors degrees in commerce with specialisations in accounting and auditing. Most employers prefer those with a CA, a masters in accounting, or even an MBA with specialisation in finance, or an auditing certification. Graduates working towards the CA exam can enter the profession by starting as a trainee auditor and completing on-the-job training in order to progress. There are plenty of courses in Auditing & Taxation being offered by universities and institutes all across the country. These range from diploma to masters. There are also certain auditor certifications provided by international audit associations such as the Institute of Internal auditors (IIA), International Register of Certificated Auditors (IRCA), Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) etc which are globally accepted. The Institute of Internal auditors (IIA) offers a number of certifications such as nCertified Internal Auditor(CIA), Certified Government Auditing Professional (CGAP), Certified Financial Services Auditor (CFSA), Certified Process Safety Auditor (CPSA), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) certification CISA-qualified auditors have been recognised as qualified to conduct Systems Audit by Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Ministry of Information Technology (MIT), National Stock Exchange, Comptroller and Auditor General of India (C&AG). The International Register of Certificated Auditors (IRCA), the worlds original and largest international auditor certification body also offers various training programmes and schemes to approve certified auditors. Job prospects As one of the fastest growing economies in the world today, and with the huge expansion of business concerns day by day, there is an increasing demand for auditors in India to ensure the credibility of the financial accounting data and financial statements in the private sector as well as public sector companies. As companies registered under the Companies Act in India are required to audit their accounts annually, auditing professionals are required in virtually every company, non-profit organisations and government agency. Qualified auditors can, therefore, find employment as government auditors, external auditors and internal auditors, or forensic auditors, in a number of organisations like government agencies, non-profit organisations, public sector organisations, financial institutions, financial firms, corporate firms, banking companies, insurance companies, manufacturing firms, etc. The Big Four auditing firms such as KPMG, Deloitte, PWC and E&Y have been increasing their intake of professionals to handle their growing global clients. Same is the case with Indian and other MNCs. Thus, the employment opportunities in this field are immense. Auditors can also start their own auditing practice to work as freelance auditors and serve the needs of individual clients. Trained auditors can also join the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS) an Indian Central Government service responsible for auditing the accounts of the Union and State governments and public-sector organisations, under the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. You can apply for the IA&AS through the UPSC Civil services exam. Skill set In this age of scams and frauds and with the imperative need for transparency in corporate governance, over and above the statutory and professional qualification, those getting into this field must be good at working with people and computers, and should have a high standard of integrity, a good moral standard and observe a certain code of conduct and professional ethics. So, if you are a whiz with juggling numbers, possess good analytical skills and love working with data here is a career that could add up to a great future! Types of Auditors Internal auditors: Internal auditors are employed by individual corporations, government bodies or other entities. Internal auditors work for the organisation they audit. Their job is to make sure the organisation runs efficiently and effectively. They perform financial, internal control, and compliance audits for the employer. Internal auditors verify the effectiveness of their organisations internal controls and check for mismanagement, waste, or fraud. Sometimes they also help the external auditors with the financial statement audit. External auditors: External auditors are also known as independent auditors or professional accountants in public practice. An external auditor audits financial statements for companies, and other organisations. They also give advice in preparing income tax returns and provide guidance in matters concerning compensation and healthcare benefits for employees. They are usually self-employed. Government auditors: Government auditors work in the public sector, they are employed by local and state governments. Government auditors maintain and examine the records of government agencies, and audit private businesses and individuals whose activities are subject to government regulations or taxation. Forensic auditors: Forensic auditors often discover information that is used as litigation support. The main objective of the Forensic auditors work is to detect, investigate and deter fraud and white-collar crimes. Forensic auditors are often employees of corporations, audit firms, government agencies and investigative and consulting services firms. In India, statutory audits are conducted for each fiscal year (April 1 to March 31) and the two most common types of statutory audits are: Tax audits; and Company audits. Role & responsibilities Auditing is a complex career, involving many different job responsibilities: Review, analysis and evaluation of processes, products, services, systems, organisations and employees. Assessing the accuracy, validity, reliability, verifiability and timeliness of organisational information, as well as the sources and processes by which that information is produced. Inspecting an organisations internal controls and the extent to which these controls manage an organisations risk exposures. Checking of the effectiveness of financial and operational reporting. Knowledge of commercial laws, as well as a thorough knowledge of the various provisions relating to income tax wealth tax, VAT, GST etc. Handling auditory regulations in the age of deep learning, artificial intelligence, and big data convergence Key institutes The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) also offers a number of certificate courses in auditing for members. These include: Certificate Course on GST Certificate Course on Anti Money laundering Laws (Anti-Money Laundering Specialist) Certificate Course on Internal Audit Certificate Course on Forensic Accounting and Fraud Detection Certificate Course on Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) Post Qualification Courses: Information Systems Audit (ISA) Post Qualification Diploma in International Taxation The National Institute of Financial Management ( NIFM) has started a new one-year Diploma in Government Accounting and Internal Audit approved by All India Council for Technical Education. AIG (Advance Innovation Group) offers different ISO Training Programmes from Lead Auditor Programmes and Lead Implementer Programmes to internal auditor programmes to many others on different ISO Standards. Indiaforensic (Institute Of Forensic Accounting & Investigative Audit) offers forensic accounting certifications in association with NSE Academy (National Stock Exchange of India). These courses are focused on global financial sector, including banking, insurance and capital markets and include: Certified forensic accounting professional course Certified anti-money laundering professional course Certified stock market fraud professional course Certified insurance fraud professional course Usefull qualities Strong inter-personal skills Good communication skills so as to prepare audit reports correctly, precisely, and clearly. The ability to think out of the box, like a cyber-criminal, so as to be one step ahead of any perpetrators of fraud and to understand the loopholes Proficient in handling the latest digital technologies, particularly new software packages for record keeping and data management, and cyber-security threats University courses Bachelors degree BCom in Fundamental of Auditing BCom in Accounting & Taxation BCom in Direct & Indirect Taxation BCom in Tax Procedure & Practice Masters MCom in Accounting and Auditing MCom in Taxation MCom in Accounting & Taxation Diploma Courses Diploma in Accounting & Auditing PG Diploma in Accounting Diploma in Taxation Diploma in Tax & Company Law Advance Diploma in Financial Accounting & Taxation The most concerning part is that no one knows for sure how much and what kinds of information have been laid out bare in the open. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Submitted image Terre Haute casino: Legislation that could bring a casino to Terre Haute cleared a joint conference committee today at the Indiana Statehouse and now faces a midnight Wednesday deadline to clear both chambers of the General Assembly. This is an artist's rendering of a possible Terre Haute casino supplied by Spectacle Entertainment LLC. 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. Sponsored By: Dorsett Automotive Johnstown, PA (15901) Today Scattered showers and thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. High 88F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Showers and scattered thunderstorms. Low 67F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Dangerous tornado The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado moved through Early County at 30 mph Saturday at 1:38 p.m. The path of the tornado crossed Grimsley Mill Road heading north... Museum donation The Blakely Rotary Club, which has given financial support to the Early County Museum since its inception, presented its board members a check for $5,000 at the Rotary meeting on... Code Red Weather Warning Early County residents are urged to sign up for CodeRED Weather Warnings. CodeRED Weather Warnings deliver advanced notification of severe weather as soon as a bulletin is issued by the... Valedictorian Day ECHS valedictorian Liza Sealy along with valedictorians across Georgia were recently hosted hosted by Gov. Brian Kemp and wife Marty. Pictured from left are Franklin Ford, Camille Ford, Gov. Kemp,... @IsaacAvilucea on Twitter Isaac Avilucea is The Trentonians main municipal scribe. A two-time prior restraint winner and testicular cancer survivor, he relishes his reputation as the "Mean Girls" reporter that followed his 18-day stay at the now-defunct North Adams Transcript. L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist. Find him on Twitter @LAParker6 or email him at LAParker@Trentonian.com. Over the past few decades, heart attacks for men have been on the decline. But recent research has found a disconcerting trend: For young women, heart attacks are on the upswing ... and in alarming numbers. Although the research showed that the risk factors leading to the increase in women's heart attacks were mostly modifiable, doctors aren't addressing womens risks in the same way they address those of men. Treatment post-heart attack was far less proactive for women than men as well. After all, its a mans disease, goes the thinking even though it is clearly not. Heart disease is an equal opportunity illness, so why isn't it treated like one? To get to the bottom of that question, perhaps we need to start thinking like Caroline Criado Perez. Perez is the author of "Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men," and in an excerpt for The Guradian, she explores the deadly truth about a world built for men. Perez cites numerous examples of how, throughout history, the lives of men have been taken to represent those of humans overall. And these silences are everywhere. Films, news, literature, science, city planning, economics, the stories we tell ourselves about our past, present and future, are all marked disfigured by a female-shaped absent presence. This is what Perez calls the gender data gap. The gender data gap is both a cause and a consequence of the type of unthinking that conceives of humanity as almost exclusively male, she writes. And its ramifications are profound. Here are some examples in which a world designed for men does not do a woman well. Shelves are designed at a male height norm. Personal body armor is not designed to accommodate the female form this has proven to be a fatal flaw (literally) for female police officers. The standard office temperature was developed in the 1960s around the metabolic resting rate of the average man even though the metabolic rate of women is significantly lower. Which is why women who work in offices are often freezing. A typical A1 architects portfolio fits under most mens arms; most women have to struggle to carry one comfortably. Standard hand tools are too large for women to grasp firmly. (Our alternative tends to be cutesy floral toy hammers that arent sufficient to do much hammering.) Differences in chests, hips, and thighs can affect the way the straps fit women who rely on safety harnesses. Dust, hazard, and eye masks are made using a standard American male face shape, and thus dont fit most women. Cars have been designed using car crash-test dummies based on the average male, meaning that women are more likely to be seriously injured in a crash. Perez writes about this fact a lot, and it is pretty mind-boggling just how ignored women have been in this regard though there is movement for change here. Car crashes are the number one cause of fetal death from maternal trauma, yet there isnt a seatbelt that pregnant women can really use. Research from 2004 suggests that pregnant women should use the standard seatbelt, Perez notes, but 62% of third-trimester pregnant women dont fit that design. Space is divided 50/50 for male and female public restrooms, even though more men can use urinals simultaneously and women take longer, for a variety of anatomical reasons. The average smartphone size keeps growing, to the point that it can still be used by one hand, if the hand is the size of the average males ... but not one hand if the hand belongs to the average-size woman. Voice recognition software is often hopelessly male-biased in one study, Google speech-recognition software was 70 percent more likely to accurately recognize male speech. Many voice systems have the same tilt, so much so that women learn to lower their voice when trying to get some cooperation. And for the last one, the whole quote: "When Apple launched their AI, Siri, users in the US found that she (ironically) could find prostitutes and Viagra suppliers, but not abortion providers. Siri could help you if youd had a heart attack, but if you told her youd been raped, she replied I dont know what you mean by I was raped.'" In a Medium post a few years ago Kat Ely tackled the topic, writing that "we should be concerned about how prejudices and assumptions can creep into the sphere of data science and exacerbate social inequalities or create higher risks for certain populations." Most simply put, design and data are not sustainable if they are created with only half the population in mind. We see all the damage caused by the anthropocentric perspective of prioritizing mankind over nature, possibly even to the ironic detriment of the species altogether. Designing the world around men feels like the same kind of mindset. And a mindset that doesn't take the whole picture into consideration is, by definition, not a wholesome one. It may be impossible to design everything in workable one-size-fits-all components, but we clearly need to at least be paying attention to the elephant in the room here. As Ely concludes, "The first step is more diversity in the conference rooms, workshops, and research labs where decisions get made about how the world is going to be designed, engineered, and ultimately constructed." Business & Policy News Stay up to date on the business and policy news that has an impact on our environment. Looking like magical pixie huts in a picture-perfect scene of deep fluffy snow and tall frosted pines, the new Aurora 360 Cabins in Rovaniemi, Finland, provide an enthralling new accommodation option in a beautiful corner of Finnish Lapland. (TRAVPR.COM) UK - February 27th, 2019 - Set in pristine wilderness surroundings in the Apukka Resort, yet just a short drive from Rovaniemi itself, the location is perfect for escaping light pollution that can mar opportunities for viewing the Northern Lights. Like something straight from a fairytale, the design of these two-tier wooden huts is based on a Komsio, a traditional Sami cradle, meaning the boutique cabins are the epitome of comfort and cosiness. Accommodation is split over two levels, with the stylishly-designed ground floor living space featuring a sofa bed, seating area, large windows and warming electric fire the perfect place to return to after a day exploring the snowy surroundings and a private bathroom with shower and WC. The upstairs room, however, is the piece de resistance a snug bedroom under a conical roof of glass. With 360o views of the starry Arctic sky, this is a dream spot from which to search out the mystical Aurora Borealis, whilst staying all tucked up in bed. Sleeping up to four, a magical night in an Aurora 360 Cabin makes for a memorable addition to a Rovaniemi break with the UKs original Northern Lights holiday company, The Aurora Zone. Here are two itineraries including an Aurora 360 cabin overnight stay: 1. Three-night Rovaniemi - Aurora Adventure at Apukka. This multi-activity holiday at the Apukka Resort includes a 7-10km husky safari across frozen lakes and snowy forests and a relaxing night-time ride on the Snowtrain to a traditional Kota, or wilderness hut with a blazing fire, perfect for cosying around with warm drinks and searching the skies for the Lights. The itinerary also includes a reindeer-pulled sleigh ride, taken as night falls, with the chance to see more of the beautiful surroundings and with luck the Aurora, as well as a complimentary overnight stay in an Ice Cabin (subject to availability). Priced from 885 pp (two sharing), this includes flights (London), transfers, three nights half board accommodation, activities listed, expert guides and cold weather clothing for the duration. Departures until 17 March. 2. The four-night Rovaniemi - Arctic Aurora hunt at Apukka itinerary also includes a 7-10km husky safari, Snowtrain Aurora hunt and reindeer night safari, as well as an unforgettable sunrise snowmobile adventure. Rising before dawn, head out into the wilds on a thrilling snowmobile safari, reaching an expertly-chosen, perfect spot to experience the very special Finnish sunrise. Priced from 1,145 pp (two sharing), this includes flights (London), transfers, four nights half board accommodation, activities listed, expert guides and cold weather clothing for the duration. Departures until 20 March. On both of the above itineraries, a special overnight stay in an Aurora 360 Cabin can be added and is priced from 186 pp. For further information, please visit www.theaurorazone.com. To discuss Northern Lights hunting tours with an Aurora Expert, please call the well-travelled and experienced team at The Aurora Zone on 01670 785 012. Ends Press: Formore information, high-res images or to discuss a commissioned press trip, please contact Julia Farish or Kate Chapman at Travel PR on 020 8891 4440 or j.farish@travelpr.co.uk or k.chapman@travelpr.co.uk ### Stargazing in the Atacama, Puma Tracking in Patagonia and Early Access to Iguazu Falls (TRAVPR.COM) CHILE - February 26th, 2019 - Awasi Announces New Experiences in Three Iconic South American Destinations SANTIAGO, Chile, February 26, 2019 Curators of the most exceptional and exclusive travel experiences in South America, Awasi is proud to introduce a new offering at each of their three intimate properties for guests in 2019: a new stargazing experience in Chiles Atacama Desert, an exclusive look at endangered puma in Chiles Torres del Paine National Park, and early access for guests to Iguazu Falls National Park in Argentina. Awasi Atacama has launched their new private stargazing excursion based near the pre-Inca ruins of Tulor, just outside the town of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. Guests will have the opportunity to learn about the night sky with Awasis astronomers while reveling in one of the worlds darkest skies and using powerful telescopes to identify deep space objects like nebulae and star clustersbringing the ancient myths of constellations to life right before their eyes. Awasi Patagonia, located beneath the peaks of the world-famous Torres del Paine in Chile, is turning the spotlight onto local wildlife with their Puma Foundation. Equal parts wildlife tourism and research endeavor, the foundation allows guests the opportunity to get an up-close-and-personal look at resident pumas while learning from experts about their habitat, behavior, and future here in this remote part of Chile, with hopes of protecting these magnificent predators for generations to come. Awasi Iguazu is entering the new year celebrating early access permission for its guests to Iguazu Falls National Park. With a unique location in Argentina, tucked into the jungle just 15 minutes away from Iguazu Falls, this early access allows Awasi guests to visit the falls before official park opening hours, which solidifies Awasi Iguazu as the most bespoke way to experience this iconic South American destination. For more information and assets, visit www.awasi.com or contact Clark Kotula at clark@clarkkotula.com. About Awasi Awasi is the only hotel company in South America that provides a 100% tailor-made experience for visitors, with a private guide and 4x4 vehicle allocated to each guest room. Their three Relais & Chateaux properties are located in South Americas most iconic destinations: the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia, and Iguazu Falls in Argentina. Media Contact Clark Kotula Representation clark@clarkkotula.com (415) 994-9580 ### With recent guidance from the federal government, Dubuque County staff have started planning an approach to spending the millions of dollars the county will receive via the American Rescue Plan. In the near future, we might see similar videos emerge from motorists in California if Senate Bill 319 passes. Why? Well, heres what the bills text says: It "requires the department to initiate a project to construct two additional traffic lanes on northbound and southbound Interstate Route 5 and State Route 99, and would prohibit the imposition of a maximum speed limit for those traffic lanes." Lets dig in further. Youll have a field day on the internet if you start searching for video of people going amok on Germanys Autobahn. Thats because Germanys Autobahns, while no more the Nirvana of fast driving they once were, still offer many strips of highway devoid of speed limits where each and every one of us can go and test the limits of our rides. Those with faster cars are usually inclined to film their top speed attempts on the public roads, and thats how you get thousands of videos of fast Porsches, Ferraris, BMWs and anything in between blitzing towards the German horizon at ludicrous velocity - while still staying away from the effects of the law. If we are to believe some recent developments coming from Germany, the days of the no-limit sections of the famed Autobahn highway system might be numbered. However, there is an initiative for a new way to reduce emissions in California: by adding extra lanes with no speed limit imposed on two major strips of highway. Were intrigued! Cue Videos of Folks Pushing their Priuses to the Absolute Limit Currently, on most of California's highways, the speed limit is 65 mph. In some places, its 70 mph, but thats as fast as you can go in The Golden State and, by and large, thats the norm across the U.S. although youll find slightly higher speed limits in the island states. This could radically change in the future, at least in California, if a new bill proposed by Senator John Moorlach passes. The bill is Moorlachs answer to the overcrowded Californian highways and comes as a way to reduce bumper-to-bumper situations and, overall, fluidify congestion. Its also an answer to the slow-moving bullet train system that was supposed to take people off the roads and put them in high-speed trains that would shorten their commutes. Jalopnik quoted the Sacramento Bee that reported from Governor Gavin Newsoms address at the State of the State address last week. There, he said that "the states high-speed rail project, which has ballooned in price from $45 billion to $77 billion, is out of control and needs trimming." Apparently, plans to connect the Bay Area have been ditched for the time being and the Governor is now focusing on the line through Silicon Valley from Merced to Bakersfield that would stretch 171 miles when finished, in 2027. So, with at least seven years separating Californians from the high-tech rail system, Moorlach wants the states Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to back the introduction of two, separate, lanes on northbound and southbound Interstate Route 5 and State Route 99. According to the bills text, "existing law continuously appropriates 35% of the annual proceeds of the fund for transit, affordable housing, and sustainable communities programs and 25% of the annual proceeds of the fund for certain components of a specified high-speed rail project." This project would fit as one appropriate to be supported by the fund as it aims to reduce the time people spend idling which, in turn, reduces greenhouse gases. If Sacramento is serious about allowing Californians to travel between Los Angeles and the Bay Area, and High-Speed Rail will take too long to build, lets construct four additional lanes with no maximum speed limit to provide for high speed on a safe road, stated Senator Moorlach in a press release. He also points out on his blog that the current law, which states that "a person who drives a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than 100 miles per hour is guilty of an infraction" would exclude the high-speed lanes from the area of application of this rule. Naturally, Im asking myself if this can actually be done in a safe way and, also, if its actually a genuine avenue to reduce both congestion and pollution. As of 2017, the fatality rate stood at 11.4% per 100,000 people. Thats almost three times the fatality rate in Germany which, some three years ago, was at 4.3% per 100,000 people. Theres, however, change on the horizon in Germany as well. The National Platform on the Future of Mobility is, according to MNN, preparing to put forth a bill that would introduce speed limits across Germanys entire highway system. Currently, there are speed limits in certain areas according to the amount of traffic in the said areas, and there are also limits imposed at different hours of the day. With this being said, there are still multiple strips of the Autobahn that remain unrestricted, and that means you can go as fast as you can, although the density of trucks and semis makes it tough to blast through the country like you once could. Officially, "just over half of the Autobahn network has a non-enforced advisory speed limit of 81 mph". The longest unrestricted stretch of highway is the A24 that links Berlin to Hamburg, and 65% of those 147 miles can be traveled at a speed as high as you dare or as high as the car can go. The idea of speed limits on all of Germanys highways comes at a time when Europe is struggling to meet the tough emission reduction targets established by the Paris accord, of which the U.S. is no longer a part. Still, its interesting to see how Stateside, theres a bill that suggests greenhouse emissions would be reduced by a lack of speed limit while in the land of unbridled speed, there are people looking into ways to reduce pollution by doing the opposite thing. Indeed, even Germanys Minister of Transport, Andreas Scheuer, argued that such an idea "goes against all common sense." The proposed cover-all speed limit is 81 mph, the current suggested speed limit, that's still 16 mph above the maximum speed on California's highways including the two stretches of road that should see the implementation of the no-speed-limit lanes. According to the Deutsche Welle, the commission that gathers to discuss this bill was unhappy that details of what it called an early draft were leaked to the media and it wanted to point out that "not every instrument and every measure will be accepted. It will take political deftness, diplomatic skill and a willingness to compromise to achieve the climate change goals." According to Deutsche Welle, vehicles roaming Germanys roads let out 115 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2017, 6.5% up from 2010. If that seems like a lot to you, The Guardian was reporting two years ago that, in 2016, vehicles in the U.S. produced a whopping 1.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide, up by 2% compared to 2015. The same article quotes Brett Smith, Assistant Director of the Center for Automotive Research: In the automotive sector, there isnt the same push. There are certainly Americans concerned about global warming, but people are driving bigger and bigger vehicles each year. Its not a priority for them. The cost of fuel is pretty cheap, and at the moment there isnt a better option out there than the internal combustion engine. The situation is similar in Germany, although at a smaller scale, as per a World Crunch article: "German carmakers earn most of their money with large, heavy, powerful cars," the author says while also adding that "for companies, speeding on the highways is invaluable publicity, admired all over the world." Also, while it seems to be true that a larger percentage of people die on the stretches of highway that have o speed limits, according to a 10-year-old report by the European Transport Safety Council that found that out "of the 645 road deaths in Germany in 2006, 67% occurred on motorway sections without limits and 33% on stretches with a permanent limit." Still, more people die on rural B roads than on the big highways. At the end of the day, the topic is a tough one to swallow for the Germans as 50% of them are still against a blanket speed limit on the Autobahn according to The Independent. The British news outlet, however, also quotes Dorothee Saar, of Deutsche Umwelthilfe, who said that this measure is "the most impactful" while also costing nothing. "An autobahn speed limit of 75 mph, could cover a fifth of the gap to reach the 2020 goals for the transport sector, environmental experts say," reported the same source. This opinion is echoed by the European Environmental Agency (EEA) which said that "cutting motorway speed limits from 75 to 68 mph could deliver fuel savings for current technology passenger cars of 12-18%, assuming smooth driving and 100 % compliance with speed limits. However, relaxing these assumptions to a more realistic setting implies a saving of just 2-3%." The same Agency also states that "the benefits of reducing average speed from 62 mph to 56 mph range from 25% (gas carbon dioxide) to 5% (diesel PM). Crucially, decreasing speed reduces the two pollutants currently most important in Europe: diesel NOx and PM." The German Federal Environment Agency, through the voice of its President, Andreas Troge, shares similar sentiments as he said that by enforcing a nation-wide 75 mph speed limit on the Autobahn, emissions could drop by upwards of 30%. What's clear is that the Germans like as much of their Autobahns sans speed limit as possible and, also, American car nuts would go berserk over a no-speed-limit highway system. But theres still a long way until we have definite proof that it actually is an alternative to the high-speed rail system and not just a knee-jerk decision that wont help in either the matters of pollution or traffic. Until then, itd be better if Americans looked at the way Germans maintain the quality of their highways, the way the Germans are keen and attentive drivers that follow traffic rules, dont block the left lanes, and dont tailgate, among others. Also, getting your license in Germany is no easy feat to pull either. This is a fact acknowledged by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that responded to an inquiry made by Jalopnik saying that "there are important differences besides speed that make driving in the U.S. more hazardous than in Germany. A big difference is that traffic safety laws are often more strictly enforced in Europe. Belt use is higher, the minimum licensing age is higher, where speed limits are in place, automated enforcement is used widely, and with extensive networks of public transit and drinking and driving is less of a problem." The same organization said that the bill is "dangerous to the extreme." Its clear that decision-makers have to find ways to reduce both pollution and congestion but, maybe, higher speeds - or no speed limit at all - may not be the answer in the U.S. Maybe, tougher driving tests can be the answer and better policing of the rules and laws of driving could end up lessen the effects of congestion more as drivers become more aware of what theyre supposed to do behind the wheel to not only keep themselves out of harms way but also drive in such a way as not to be the cause of bumper-to-bumper idle driving themselves. Further reading Climate Change Plans in Germany Could have a Dire Effect on the Autobahn Source: Legiscan The future of The United Methodist Church in Kansas City FAIRWAY, KS (KCTV) -- The Methodist Church could be heading for a split into two denominations following a vote of its governing body against LGBTQ inclusion. "It's very much about legitimacy, about who holds control, authority," Leslie Smith, teaches religious studies at Avila University, said. An inconvenient fact, whilst church attendance is fading in the U.S. overall . . . Many report that more exclusionary churches are the only ones who are holding onto and gaining congregants in the long term despite rhetoric about "welcoming" that rarely holds up when talking doctrine. Read more: Kris Kobach's clout is falling -- even among Trump's inner circle: report It's already established fact that Democrats, especially in Kansas, are not fond of Kris Kobach. But in a surprising new story from McClatchy's DC bureau, it seems some Trump administration officials are also not fans of Kobach. "Kris is not under consideration for a Cabinet position," a senior White House official told McClatchy this week, per their report. He lost what should have been an easy contest in a GOP-dominated state despite national media support, visits & rallies from the White House clique and a ton of right-wing hateration directed at an old lady with mostly moderate and harmless views.Of special note to TKC . . . His toy gun stunt at suburban parades turned away everyone but the most partisan hacks.Here's the damage . . . KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -- The Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport is closed after a plane slid off the runway due to slick, freezing precipitation in the area. There is no estimate of a reopen time. Airport officials said an Embraer Phenom 100 light jet was landing to the south about 4:30 a.m. Real life danger thanks to developer subsidy funding priorities trumping infrastructure concerns and maintenance. Read more: Fake digitally signed Amazon refund document Researchers from the Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany were able to break the digital signatures on 21 out of 22 desktop reader PDF programs theyve tested. Once the signatures were broken, the researchers were also able to spoof signatures in order to create fake documents. The researchers also found that six of the eight online validation services were also vulnerable. One year ago, the German researchers started looking into how exactly PDF signatures worked, commencing their journey which led to the discovery of all the vulnerable PDF readers. The researchers have uncovered three class of vulnerabilities affecting the digital signature implementations on all of the tested PDF applications and have been working with Germany's Computer Emergency Response Team (BSI-CERT) to notify developers. PDF readers affected by the vulnerabilities In many countries, including Germany and other members of the European Union, digitally signed documents are legally binding and can be admissible in court as evidence. Therefore, its of vital importance that those signatures cant be spoofed to create fake documents. Novel Attacks Against PDF Reader Signature Schemes The German researchers found three types of vulnerabilities affecting the PDF applications. The first type, called a Universal Signature Forgery (USF), can show invalid signatures that dont have all the required meta data for validation as valid despite that lack of information. The issue here is that PDF readers were supposed to show an error when information for the validation was lacking, but almost none did. The second type of vulnerability is called an Incremental Saving Attack (ISA). The ISA abuses a feature of PDF files that allows for appending additional information to a document, such as annotations. However, an attacker could also change the documents text body using the same feature. Therefore, the attacker could use a valid signature on a modified fake document this way. The problem here is with both the PDF specification, which allows such extensive body modifications to be made to signed documents, as well as the signature validation scheme, which doesnt indicate that the file has been altered after the signature was made. The third class of vulnerability, called a Signature Wrapping Attack, allows the verification logic to process different data than the application logic. Its the more complicated attack out of the three and allows an attacker to change the location of the original document text and insert new text in the original location, all while the documents signature remains valid. The researchers had been working with all of the relevant PDF readers developer teams to ensure the applications become secured against these three types of attacks before they made the vulnerabilities public. The German researchers tested all of the apps once again for all major desktop platforms (Windows, macOS and Linux) and found them to be secure against the three types of attacks. If you have a PDF application installed on your computer, now would be a good time to update to the latest version. The researchers said that they havent seen the three attacks performed in the wild, but organizations and people that depend on digitally signed documents should take this recommendation even more seriously, especially now that the vulnerabilities were made public. Image credits: Vladislav Mladenov, Christian Mainka, Karsten Meyer zu Selhausen, Martin Grothe, Jorg Schwenk (Image credit: Ruslan Grumble/Shutterstock) Just in case there were any lingering doubts about U.S. law enforcement's stance on end-to-end encryption, which prevents information from being read by anyone but its intended recipient, FBI executive assistant director Amy Hess told the Wall Street Journal this week that its use "is a problem that infects law enforcement and the intelligence community more and more so every day." The quote was published in a piece about efforts from the UK, Australia and India to undermine end-to-end encryption. All three countries have passed or proposed legislation that compels tech companies to supply certain information to government agencies. The laws vary in their specifics, including restrictions on to what information law enforcement can request access, but the gist is that they don't want any data to be completely inaccessible. The End-to-End Encryption Debate These efforts are part of an ongoing debate around the right to privacy in the modern age. People are surrounded by more devices that collect more information about them than ever before. Privacy advocates want to make sure that data is protected; law enforcement wants to make sure that data can be used to assist their investigations. The problem is that any intentional security weaknesses (backdoors) could also be exploited by others. This back-and-forth started to resurge in the U.S. after Edward Snowden revealed National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programs. The relationship between law enforcement agencies and tech companies became more actively combative a few years later, when Apple refused to unlock an iPhone 5c owned by one of the San Bernardino shooters. (The FBI ended up gaining access to it without Apple's help.) Government agencies have complained about encryption ever since. Tech companies have extended a few olive branches: Apple made it easier for police to request data, Facebook regularly cooperates with the FBI and many have worked with government agencies to combat disinformation campaigns. But these companies' commitment to user privacy--at least when it comes to government access--have led them to expand end-to-end encryption nonetheless. Apple in particular has made privacy a major part of its business plan. Things are made even messier by the fact that all of these companies operate on a global scale. This makes some governments worry that intelligence agencies from other countries will use technology to spy, as we've seen with the UK's response to the U.S. "Cloud Act" and global distrust of Huawei. Capitulating to the UK, Australia, or India would make it that much harder for them to refuse other countries. Hess' comment makes it clear that the FBI, however, likely won't be changing their minds about end-to-end encryption any time soon. Want to comment on this story? Let us know what you think in the Tom's Hardware Forums. BARCELONA Some politicians we wont name here would like to see the U.S. blanketed with 5G connectivity and well on its way to 6G. (Spoiler alert: 6G is not a thing yet.) 5G dominated the Mobile World Congress show floor this past week, with virtual reality demos presumably using a 5G base station and 5G signage denoting such. But despite all the hype, were not much closer to finding out when exactly carriers will flip the switch on their 5G networks, when 5G smartphones will go on sale or how much any of this will cost us. Heres what we did learn this week, though, about the coming 5G rollout. Sprint Launching 5G Network in May We expected wireless carriers to storm MWC with 5G announcements at the ready, but Sprint was the only U.S. company to stake its claim with a 5G launch time frame more specific than sometime in the first half of 2019. The company said its 5G network will go live in May, starting in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Kansas City, with five more cities to follow by mid-year. MORE: Best of MWC: Foldable Phones and 5G Rule AT&T launched its mobile 5G network in 12 cities this past December, but has no phones ready to make use of it (despite labeling some phones 5G E, which is not the same thing). Sprint claims its 5G launch will be the first real one, because the carrier has a smartphone ready to roll when it flips the switch. LG and Sprint Team Up On V50 ThinQ 5G Sprints first 5G phone wont be Samsungs Galaxy S10, but rather the latest iteration of LGs V-series flagship. The V50 ThinQ 5G will launch on Sprint first in the U.S., likely in the spring or early summer after the carrier flips on its 5G network in May. In many ways its a new take on last years V40 ThinQ, only with a larger, 4,000-mAh battery to power the devices 5G radio and Qualcomms new Snapdragon 855 system-on-chip. Otherwise, the V50 largely echoes the design and camera capabilities of its predecessor, with the same 6.4-inch plastic OLED display and triple-lens setup at the rear. Buyers outside of North America will get the option of a Dual Display add-on that turns the V50 into a makeshift foldable phone, designed to accommodate multi-windowed tasks and apps. After the V50 hits Sprint, itll make its way to Verizons 5G network later in the year. Which brings us to... Every New Flagship Will Have 5G Variant Between the Galaxy S10 5G, V50 ThinQ 5G and Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G, were beginning to notice a trend. As phone makers release new premium devices in 2019, we expect to see 5G variants of most of them, likely with bigger batteries and potentially even bigger proportions and displays. Partnering with carriers to release exclusive, expensive one-off 5G versions of flagship devices appears to be a good way for manufacturers to dip their toes in those 5G waters, and give early adopters something to cling to. Thats bad news for consumers who were hoping to get a reasonably-priced 5G phone in the near future, as we dont see the technology hitting the midrange market in earnest until about 2021. And given that we still dont have pricing on any of those aforementioned announced 5G phones, well...start saving your pennies now. T-Mobile 5G Launch: Sooner or Later? T-Mobile made headlines at MWC when the company indicated that its 5G network would launch in the second half of the year, rather than the first half as initially promised. But T-Mobile Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray later clarified that the carrier is working to make its millimeter-wave-based 5G network as robust as possible before a widespread launch, which he still expects to happen in the next few months. T-Mobile is also developing its long-range 600Mhz network, which could launch by the end of the year. One thing we do know for sure: T-Mobile will offer unlimited 5G data plans for the same price as the carriers existing unlimited LTE data plans. For $70 a month, you can get super-fast wireless internet connectivity if you have a 5G phone to take advantage of it. T-Mobile plans to carry Samsungs Galaxy S10 5G later this year, but its unclear what other 5G phones will launch on the network. Expect Weird and Wonderful Devices 5G wont just be about phones though. Thats something HTC reminded us with its upcoming 5G Hub, which debuted here at MWC. The Hub is a hotspot at first glance, but it can actually do so much more. HTCs Hub runs Android Pie for starters, and carries a 5-inch display for streaming media, playing games and running apps. Theres an Ethernet cable that you can plug other devices into to get even faster speeds, Bluetooth connectivity for controllers, HDMI out for using external displays and a microphone and speakers so you can sort of use it as a makeshift, 5G-connected Google Home. Backing it all up is a Snapdragon 855 processor the same one in the Galaxy S10 to ensure the device can keep up with those lightning-fast downloads and uploads. Skeptics might dismiss the 5G Hub as really just a hotspot at heart, but it does offer a way for users to experience many of the benefits of the technology without having to drop large sums of cash on a new phone (though HTC hasnt yet set a price). The 5G Hub also extends that speed to all kinds of other devices, like PCs and tablets. As a result, HTCs 5G Hub doesnt really fit in any category that exists which is one of the things that makes 5G so exciting. Its forcing companies to rethink the way they approach hardware, and thats certainly something the industry could use more of. Credits: Tom's Guide You have reached a premium content area of TOL. To read this entire article please login if you are already a TOL subscriber. Not a subscriber? Annual membership costs only $55 per year for individuals ($33 for students) and organizational subscriptions start at $141 per year. Subscribe today for access to: Full access to the website, including premium articles videos, country reports and searchable archives (containing over 25,000 articles). [February 27, 2019] Measure Introduces Version 2.0 of Enterprise Drone Program Software, Ground Control WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Measure, the leader in enterprise drone services, launches its next generation drone software platform, Ground Control 2.0. In the past year, over 200 companies around the world have leveraged the platform as new features and functions have been added. Today, it is available to the public after upgrading current Ground Control users in January. "We are in a pivotal time in the drone industry, as companies are scaling their operations and seeking a compliant solution backed by a company with an incredible amount of real-world experience unmatched in the industry," says Measure CEO, Brandon Torres Declet. "We are excited to continue to serve clients with a powerful drone program management tool that we intend on continuously improving as regulations and technology advance." Measure Ground Control 1.0 was launched last year with an easy-to-use flight application developed specifically for commercial use and a cloud-based web portal where managers could check airspace and view flight logs and data screen shots automatically uploaded from drone missions. Measure Ground Control 2.0 adds powerful program management capabilities and new flight application features designed to provide ROI to corporate drone programs. With Ground Control 2.0, enterprises can: Manage People & Equipment by: Keeping tabs on the activities, certifications, and training of your team Assigning roles to provide user access to just the right information Managing all equipment, with automatic usage tracking and maintenance recommendations Schedule & Plan Flights by: Creating and scheduling missions, and managing a program-wide calendar Assigning pilots, equipment, and other resources to missions Setting flight parameters and paths to be sent to pilots in the field Fly & Collect Data by: Checking weather and airspace and requesting LAANC authorization Using active track modes including spotlight, POI, trace, and profile Setting up automated grid and waypoint flights Track & ReportActivity by: Reviewing automatically uploaded flight logs, screen captures, and completed checklists Checking automatically flagged incidents for activity outside of safety best practices Viewing interactive dashboards of program activity and exporting reports for compliance tracking Store & Use Data by: Storing unlimited flight logs, drone data, and reports on a secure, US-based server Uploading inspection results to create summarized, program-wide dashboards Integrating with GIS tools, data visualization software, and ERP systems A complete list of features can be found at https://www.measure.com/ground-control. AES (www.aes.com), one of the largest energy companies in the world has already been using Ground Control as it scales its own enterprise drone program in 13 countries worldwide. "We see great value in Ground Control's worldwide flight management, starting with in-flight safety risk notifications and mapping of restrictive areas," notes Evaristo Leonardi, VP Global Operations Support at AES. "Our pilots enjoy its ease of use and our operators appreciate the automatic uploads of imagery which they use to extract valuable insights to improve our operations and safety." "We believe Ground Control is a crucial tool for building drone operations to scale," says Jesse Stepler, Chief Strategy Officer at Measure. "We will be a driving factor in the advancement of the drone industry in energy, construction, public safety, government, and other organizations where drone use is widespread. As these organizations look to increase operational efficiency, Ground Control offers complete oversight and control as a truly all-encompassing tool for enterprise drone programs." Measure is offering a full access, 30-day free trial to all new users. To sign up, fill out the form at https://www.measure.com/ground-control. About Measure Measure is an aerial intelligence company that enables enterprises to realize the transformative benefits of drone technology. Through highly skilled flight operations, a specialized data engineering team, and a comprehensive software solution, we help corporations deploy drones at scale, saving thousands of hazardous man-hours and providing millions of dollars in operational benefits. Learn more at https://www.measure.com/. Carmen Smith VP Marketing Measure 202-793-3052 casmith@measure.com This release was issued through WebWire(R). For more information, visit http://www.webwire.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/measure-introduces-version-2-0-of-enterprise-drone-program-software-ground-control-300803516.html SOURCE Measure [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] Global Oil and Gas Production Monitoring Software Market By Type (Production Optimization, Asset Management, Data Management and Others), By Application (Onshore and Offshore), By Region, By Company, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2024 LONDON, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Oil and Gas Production Monitoring Software Market By Type (Production Optimization, Asset Management, Data Management and Others), By Application (Onshore and Offshore), By Region, By Company, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2024 Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5746442 Global oil and gas production monitoring software market is anticipated to register significant growth during the forecast period.Software for oil and gas production monitoring helps oil & gas companies in monitoring and improving production operations and results for the effective collection, accounting and reporting of accurate and validated production data. Anticipated market growth can be primarily attributed to real-time monitoring, control and intervention services to improve production and to maintain the production line to deliver on time process in less duration. Moreover, to connect workers, suppliers and customers, a digital platform is needed to simplify production process, improve efficiency, thus driving the oil and gas production monitoring software market, globally, over the course of next five years. In terms of usage, global oil and gas production monitoring software market is categorized into production optimization, asset management, data management and others.The production optimization category accounted for a significant portion of the market in 2018 and is anticipated to grow during the forecast period, backed by its increasing production activities in onshore regions around the world. Furthermore, based on application, global oil and gas production monitoring software market is categorized into onshore and offshore. Onshore accounted for majority of the global market in 2018 and is also expected to register a healthy growth rate during the forecast period. Regionally, Asia-Pacific oil and gas production monitoring software market accounted for a significant share of the global market in 2018 and is expected to continue witnessing growth during the forecast period as well.Asia-Pacific oil and gas production monitoring software market size is majorly backed by the presence of large number of offshore rigs in the region. China is the largest market for oil and gas production monitoring software in the region. The global oil and gas production monitoring software market is dominated by major players. Few of the major companies operating in the market for oil and gas production monitoring software are AP SE, Petroleum Experts Ltd., Infosys Limited, Schlumberger Limited, Siemens AG, Honeywell International Inc. among others. Years considered for this report: Historical Years: 2014-2017 Base Year: 2018 Estimated Year: 2019 Forecast Period: 2020-2024 Objective of the Study: To analyze and forecast global oil and gas production monitoring software market size, in terms of value. To forecast global oil and gas production monitoring sftware market based on type, application and regional distribution. To examine competitive developments such as expansions, new product launches, mergers & acquisitions, etc., in global oil and gas production monitoring software market. To conduct the pricing analysis for global oil and gas production monitoring software market. To identify and analyze the profile of leading players operating in global oil and gas production monitoring software market. Some of the leading players in the global oil and gas production monitoring software market are SAP SE, Petroleum Experts Ltd., Infosys Limited, Schlumberger Limited, Siemens AG, Honeywell International Inc., P2 Energy Solutions, OPTIWARE, Weatherford International plc. and Petex. The publisher performed both primary as well as exhaustive secondary research for this study.Initially, the publisher sourced a list of oil and gas production monitoring software developers across the globe. Subsequently, the publisher conducted primary research surveys with the identified companies.While interviewing, the respondents were also enquired about their competitors. Through this technique, the publisher was able to include the developers which could not be identified due to the limitations of secondary research. the publisher analyzed the product offerings, distribution channels and presence of all major software providers across the globe. The publisher calculated global oil and gas production monitoring software market size using a top down approach, where data for various application across various end-user segments was recorded and forecast for the future years.the publisher sourced these values from the industry experts and company representatives and externally validated through analyzing historical data of these product types and applications for getting an appropriate, overall market size. Various secondary sources such as company websites, news articles, press releases, company annual reports, investor presentations and financial reports were also studied by the publisher. Key Target Audience: Oil and gas production monitoring software developers Oil and gas production monitoring software end-user industries Organizations, forums and alliances related to Oil and Gas Production Monitoring Software market Market research and consulting firms The study is useful in providing answers to several critical questions that are important for the industry stakeholders such as developers, partners and end users. The study would also help them in identifying which market segments should be targeted over the coming years in order to strategize investments and capitalize on growth of the market. Report Scope: In this report, global oil and gas production monitoring software market has been segmented into following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below: Market, by Type: Production Optimization Asset Management Data Management Others Market, by Application: Onshore Offshore Market, by Region: Asia-Pacific China India Malaysia Australia Indonesia Europe & CIS Denmark United Kingdom Russia Kazakhstan Norway North America United States Mexico Canada South America Brazil Argentina Colombia Venezuela Middle East & Africa Egypt Saudi Arabia UAE Qatar Competitive Landscape Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in global oil and gas production monitoring software market. Available Customizations: With the given market data, the publisher offers customizations according to a company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report: Company Information Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five). Profit Margin Analysis Profit margin analysis in case of direct and indirect sales channel. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5746442 About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: sarah@reportbuyer.com Tel: +1 (718) 213 4904 Website: www.reportbuyer.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-oil-and-gas-production-monitoring-software-market-by-type-production-optimization-asset-management-data-management-and-others-by-application-onshore-and-offshore-by-region-by-company-competition-forecast--opport-300803136.html SOURCE ReportBuyer [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] Family Wealth Report's Fourth Family Office Fintech Summit Attracts Industry's Biggest Names The stage is set for the fourth Family Office Fintech Summit on 21 March in New York and it promises to be Family Wealth Report's most successful yet. A stellar speaker line-up of senior executives and technology gurus is drawing delegates from right across the country to register for this complimentary yet extremely high-value blend of panel discussions, presentations and demos. With an agenda tackling all the challenges and exciting possibilities facing family offices as they digitalize, attendees can look forward to a true calendar highlight event that is as much a peer discussion forum as it is a thought-leadership platform. The program will begin with industry luminaries sharing their purchasing and implementation experiences, followed by essential sessions on topics as wide-ranging as how the EU's General Data Protection Regulation affects US firms, the achievability of true systems integration and where the next generation of family offices will win on technology. Attendees will also be the first to see FWR's new accounting and investment analysis report unveiled. Opening at The Convene Center, New York will be keynote speaker, Mihael Cole, Chief Executive of Cresset Family Office, with senior executives from firms such as Pitcairn, Evercore and Gresham Partners later taking the stage alongside consultants and technology experts from the biggest brands in the industry (see full speaker list here). Attendees will also get the chance to see live demos from leading technology providers including Datafaction, FundCount, Canoe Intelligence, Archway and AltaReturn, allowing them to see for themselves what great work fintechs are doing to cater to their segment's highly specialized needs. Senior executives return year after year to the Family Office Fintech Summit to gain best practice insights, see cutting-edge solutions and discuss challenges with other firms. The FWR team looks forward to welcoming new attendees as well as old to this standout event. Notes to Editors: Family Wealth Report's fourth New York Family Office Fintech Summit will take place at The Convene Center, 101 Park Ave, New York on 21 March 2019. Attendance is complimentary for qualifying family office executives, who should register here. Family Wealth Report provides essential business intelligence on the world of North American family wealth, producing a daily newswire, research and thought-leadership events alongside an independent Awards program. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005882/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] Easily Convert Your Files to PDF with FLIP2PDF, Now With an API Available in Pro and Premium Versions Datalogics, the preferred provider of industry-leading PDF technologies, announces the release of FLIP2PDF, a powerful tool now with a robust API allowing users to easily convert Microsoft (News - Alert) Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files, images, PostScript, and EPS files into PDFs. Available in Pro and Premium versions, FLIP2PDF is designed to give users better control over their file conversion process. Offering enterprise-level conversion, the new versions of the software allow for greater customization based on specific user needs. FLIP2PDF Pro is designed for end-users; annual subscriptions provide a powerful scriptable server tool designed for seamless integration into existing workflows. FLIP2PDF Premium provides all of the same great benefits of FLIP2PDF Pro, and includes an API that is ideal for SaaS (News - Alert) and OEM applications. "We are excited to expand the capabilities of our FLIP2PDF product family to allow for API-based integration with applcations and workflows," said Matt Kuznicki, Datalogics CTO. "With FLIP2PDF Premium, application providers and software developers can integrate FLIP2PDF directly into their products and offerings with a simple, easy API for quick and painless integration." FLIP2PDF, along with many other PDF tools, are available through Datalogics online shop and include free evaluations. To learn more about FLIP2PDF, and try a free online demo, please visit our website. About Datalogics Datalogics, Inc. is a leading software company specializing in both enterprise PDF and digital publishing technologies. Based in Chicago, IL, we support hundreds of customers worldwide who are using our technology in diverse applications. With over 50 years of industry experience, we provide unmatched support, enabling customers to bring their products to market faster. Datalogics is on the PDF Association board and is a member of the Readium Foundation. For more information, visit https://www.datalogics.com/ 2019 Datalogics, Incorporated Datalogics is a registered trademark of Datalogics Incorporated. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005703/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] Excellere Partners Announces Promotions and Team Addition Excellere Partners, a leading Denver-based private equity firm specializing in partnering with entrepreneurs and management teams through recapitalizations and management buyouts, is pleased to announce the promotion of Mike Vieth to Principal, the promotions of Nick Coleman and Matt Halverson to Vice President, and the addition of Tyler Ashley as Origination Associate. "We are very proud of the team that we are building at Excellere, and we are excited to be developing strong talent such as Mike, Nick and Matt within our organization," said Brad Cornell, Partner at Excellere Partners. "Since joining Excellere, Mike, Nick and Matt have each demonstrated outstanding dedication, broad investment experience with superior results, and excellent leadership and values that are integral to our firm. We are pleased to announce their promotions and look forward to their continued success and contributions to the firm in their new positions. Furthermore, the addition of Tyler provides even more depth to our firm-wide origination platform, and we are excited to have him join us in support of our sourcing efforts." Mike Vieth joined Excellere Partners in 2014 as an Associate, and has been a key team member on portfolio companies TrialCard Incorporated, Two Labs Pharma Services and Concord Technologies Nick Coleman joined Excellere Partners in 2013, and has been a key team member on portfolio companies Lucid Health, Medlogix, and Biocare Medical. Matt Halverson joined Excellere Partners in early 2014, and has been a key team member on portfolio companies AIS Healthcare, Mentis Neuro Health and SePRO. Mike, Nick and Matt are all responsible for evaluating and executing new investment opportunities, supporting management teams in the implementation of portfolio company value creation initiatives, and pursuing liquidity opportunities through dividend recapitalizations and exit transactions. Tyler Ashley joins Excellere from an East Coast-based middle market buyout firm where he focused on sourcing new transactions and building relationships with business owners as well as intermediaries. Mr. Ashley earned an MBA from Babson College F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Business from Wake Forest University. About Excellere Partners Excellere Partners is a Denver-based private equity firm with $1.36 billion of committed capital across three funds, and specializes in partnering with entrepreneurs and management teams through recapitalizations and management buyouts. The Firm employs a proven research-driven, top down investment strategy, and supports its entrepreneurs and management teams with a proprietary value creation process designed to enhance corporate and operational infrastructure for scalability and growth. Excellere's investments are focused on emerging companies positioned to benefit from industry consolidation and favorable macro-economic and demographic trends. The Firm's targeted industry sectors include energy, power, and infrastructure products and services; healthcare; industrial technology and services; and business services. For more information about Excellere, please visit https://www.excellerepartners.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005792/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] Wells Fargo Invests $18.5 Million in Grants to Ease Small Business Stress and Expand Access to Capital Wells Fargo (News - Alert) announced $18.5 million in grants today to nine Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) so they can unlock capital or increase training to diverse small businesses across the U.S. Two CDFIs are receiving awards to continue their work supporting entrepreneurs in Puerto Rico, which is still recovering from the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005791/en/ Celeste Phillips started her small business, Big LuLu's Trucking LLC, with the help of Bridgeway Capital and Wells Fargo's Diverse Community Capital program. (Photo: Business Wire) The latest round of funding is part of the company's ongoing Wells Fargo Works for Small Business: Diverse Community Capital program, which was created to empower diverse small business owners with a $175 million commitment through 2020. Since its inception in 2015, the program has awarded $94.8 million to 92 CDFIs in rural and urban areas. According to Opportunity Finance Network (OFN)'s evaluation of the first phase of the program, diverse small business borrowers from the first 44 CDFI awardees have already created and sustained more than 45,000 local jobs as a result of accessing capital and development services. "Small businesses are essential to a vibrant community, no matter where you live," said Connie Smith (News - Alert) , Wells Fargo's Diverse Community Capital program manager. "These 'activator grants' are designed to drive inclusive economic growth and significantly scale resources that help underrepresented entrepreneurs grow and stay resilient in the face of economic challenges. CDFIs are such an important partner in cultivating small business growth, and the recipients in this round have a long track record of success and leadership in the communities they serve." The Diverse Community Capital grant recipients are: Accion, Inc. ($2.7 million): Based in Albuquerque, N.M. and serving five states in the southwest and mountain west, Accion will utilize its three-year grant to automate, market and scale an innovative loan product, Presto Loan, that has the potential to reach significantly more diverse entrepreneurs across Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. The product will offer loans up to $12,000, flexible underwriting criteria, affordable rates and turnaround time of fewer than three days. ($2.7 million): Based in Albuquerque, N.M. and serving five states in the southwest and mountain west, Accion will utilize its three-year grant to automate, market and scale an innovative loan product, Presto Loan, that has the potential to reach significantly more diverse entrepreneurs across Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. The product will offer loans up to $12,000, flexible underwriting criteria, affordable rates and turnaround time of fewer than three days. Carolina Small Business Development Fund ($2.8 million): The fund will seek to build minority small business capacity in North Carolina through expanded relationships with historically black colleges and universities. The grant also will be used to introduce an online development resource for more than 300 entrepreneurs interested in starting or growing a business. ($2.8 million): The fund will seek to build minority small business capacity in North Carolina through expanded relationships with historically black colleges and universities. The grant also will be used to introduce an online development resource for more than 300 entrepreneurs interested in starting or growing a business. Community Reinvestment Fund ($2.7 million): This Minneapolis-based nonprofit will expand access to capital for diverse small business owners by investing in two technology platforms - Connect2Capital and SPARK. Connect2Capital will help reach and match entrepreneurs with the CDFI that best meets their needs and SPARK will help build the capacity of mission-driven lenders by providing a scalable, secure and streamlined loan origination process. Connect2Capital alone will aim to close more than 1,000 loans and distribute $50 million in capital over three years. ($2.7 million): This Minneapolis-based nonprofit will expand access to capital for diverse small business owners by investing in two technology platforms - Connect2Capital and SPARK. Connect2Capital will help reach and match entrepreneurs with the CDFI that best meets their needs and SPARK will help build the capacity of mission-driven lenders by providing a scalable, secure and streamlined loan origination process. Connect2Capital alone will aim to close more than 1,000 loans and distribute $50 million in capital over three years. Hope Enterprise Corporation (HOPE) ($2.8 million): This seasoned CDFI focuses on building assets and improving lives in the Deep South, specifically in persistent poverty counties in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. With its grant, HOPE will provide technical assistance and credit-enhanced loans for more diverse small business owners. As a result of accessing needed capital, more high-quality jobs will likely be created and retained. ($2.8 million): This seasoned CDFI focuses on building assets and improving lives in the Deep South, specifically in persistent poverty counties in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. With its grant, HOPE will provide technical assistance and credit-enhanced loans for more diverse small business owners. As a result of accessing needed capital, more high-quality jobs will likely be created and retained. Main Street Launch ($2 million): Based in Oakland, Calif., Main Street Launch will activate an African American Entrepreneurship Institute, offering intensive training to prepare more businesses for success and building wealth. Topics will include business critical areas such as ecosystem building with community partners, supply chain effectiveness, operational readiness, financial education and succession planning. ($2 million): Based in Oakland, Calif., Main Street Launch will activate an African American Entrepreneurship Institute, offering intensive training to prepare more businesses for success and building wealth. Topics will include business critical areas such as ecosystem building with community partners, supply chain effectiveness, operational readiness, financial education and succession planning. Metropolitan Economic Development Association ($1.5 million): The nonprofit CDFI will pilot and expand its bank enterprise system to create more access to loan capital for diverse small business owners across the Midwest. Over three years, the association plans to administer $50 million in loans and share best practices from its system with fellow CDFIs in the region and nationally. ($1.5 million): The nonprofit CDFI will pilot and expand its bank enterprise system to create more access to loan capital for diverse small business owners across the Midwest. Over three years, the association plans to administer $50 million in loans and share best practices from its system with fellow CDFIs in the region and nationally. Self-Help Ventures Fund ($1.5 million): This nonprofit loan fund, based in Durham, N.C., will design a new line of credit for diverse developers as a way to fuel real estate and construction growth in Chicago and in North Carolina. The developer line of credit will allow minority entrepreneurs to more easily purchase a property and have capital to complete renovations. The grant will also support contractors, including African American, Latino, women and veterans, who want to grow their businesses. ($1.5 million): This nonprofit loan fund, based in Durham, N.C., will design a new line of credit for diverse developers as a way to fuel real estate and construction growth in Chicago and in North Carolina. The developer line of credit will allow minority entrepreneurs to more easily purchase a property and have capital to complete renovations. The grant will also support contractors, including African American, Latino, women and veterans, who want to grow their businesses. Local Initiatives Support Corporation ($1 million): The organization will focus on stimulating economic recovery in underserved communities in Puerto Rico that were deeply impacted by Hurricane Maria. A Kiva microcredit matching loan fund will be created to support entrepreneurs and small businesses, and credit-enhanced loans will be available for larger projects. LISC will also develop its organizational capacity and networks for responding to future natural disasters-supporting small businesses as part of broad economic recovery efforts. ($1 million): The organization will focus on stimulating economic recovery in underserved communities in Puerto Rico that were deeply impacted by Hurricane Maria. A Kiva microcredit matching loan fund will be created to support entrepreneurs and small businesses, and credit-enhanced loans will be available for larger projects. LISC will also develop its organizational capacity and networks for responding to future natural disasters-supporting small businesses as part of broad economic recovery efforts. PathStone Enterprise Center, Inc. ($1.5 million): Based in Rochester, N.Y., the Center will deploy its grant towards small business recovery efforts in Puerto Rico. With its long history of working with the Puerto Rican community regionally and through its office in Ponce, Puerto Rico, the Center plans to establish a revolving loan fund with more flexible terms to help stabilize small business owners and embed resiliency planning against future economic challenges. Opportunity Finance Network, a national network of CDFIs. Opportunity Finance Network offers a social capital component of the program to focus on helping CDFIs grow stronger through activities including in-person networking, mentorship, consulting and peer learning. According to Opportunity Finance Network, Diverse Community Capital awardees have closed more than $393 million through more than 8,000 loans to diverse small business clients, including African American, Latino, American Indian, women, and veterans, among others. "Over the past three years, OFN has been privileged to work with the talented individuals at the many CDFIs that have received Diverse Community Capital Program awards from Wells Fargo," said Donna Fabiani, executive vice president of Knowledge Sharing at Opportunity Finance Network. "We congratulate the new Activator Award recipients and are eager to see how far they will take their diverse small business lending with the help of these new awards." About Wells Fargo Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) provides banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 7,800 locations, more than 13,000 ATMs, and the internet (wellsfargo.com). Wells Fargo's vision is to satisfy customers' financial needs and help them succeed financially. With approximately 259,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 26 on Fortune's 2018 rankings of America's largest corporations. In 2018, Wells Fargo donated more than $444 million to nearly 11,000 nonprofits in support of affordable housing, small business growth, financial education, and sustainability, among other community needs. For 10 consecutive years, Wells Fargo has held the honor of No. 1 in workplace giving by United Way Worldwide. Wells Fargo team members also make a difference by donating more than 2 million hours of volunteer time in the last year. News, insights and more information on the company's corporate responsibility are available at Wells Fargo Stories. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005791/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] ConcertoHealth Expands and Elevates Clinical Leadership Team To Propel Growth and Underscore Focus on Improving Patient Care ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ConcertoHealth, the leading provider of specialized primary care and supporting clinical services for vulnerable, frail and elderly patients, announced today that it is expanding and elevating its clinical leadership team to propel growth with a focus on improving patient care for health plans and their network of primary care providers (PCPs). The new and expanded roles of the company's clinical leaders, including Dr. Chris Dodd, Dr. Jeffrey Hunter and Dr. Brian Davis, align the leadership of clinical, medical and PCP support functions around a unifying goal of improving health care quality and access. ConcertoHealth dedicates field-based care teams and support services to health plans' PCPs, supporting their performance with an array of clinical resources, including physicians and nurse practitioners, social workers, care managers, pharmacists and nurses, to care for patients in any care setting when they are most in need. To facilitate effective collaboration across the entire care team, ConcertoHealth utilizes a proprietary population health analytics platform, Patient3D, which provides PCPs with a 360-degree view of each patient's health status and care needs. "Caring for the most vulnerable, complex patient population requires a fully integrated clinical leadership team," said Alec Cunningham, ConcertoHealth's president and CEO. "Enhancing our organizational design and leadership aligns our successes and places improved patient care at the very center of all that we do." Each of the three doctors brings eperienced clinical leadership to his respective mission-critical roles within ConcertoHealth. The new and expanded roles for the leadership team include the following: Dr. Christopher Dodd , Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Christopher Dodd will lead all things related to clinical delivery of care. By merging care delivery and management, ConcertoHealth will be able to identify and address care gaps and streamline the care delivery to where it's needed most. Dr. will lead all things related to clinical delivery of care. By merging care delivery and management, ConcertoHealth will be able to identify and address care gaps and streamline the care delivery to where it's needed most. Dr. Jeffrey Hunter , SVP, Utilization Management and Quality Improvement Dr. Jeffrey Hunter will expand his purview beyond utilization management to include quality improvement, clinical oversight and auditing, and he will lead ConcertoHealth's pursuit of utilization management accreditation status with the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Dr. will expand his purview beyond utilization management to include quality improvement, clinical oversight and auditing, and he will lead ConcertoHealth's pursuit of utilization management accreditation status with the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Dr. Brian Davis , SVP, Clinical Operations Dr. Brian Davis will continue to lead clinical implementation while expanding his role to include patient engagement, quality coding and documentation. He will also be responsible for clinical operations, health care analytics and operational reporting, and health care quality and outcomes improvement. Dr. Davis will closely collaborate with Dr. Dodd to coordinate care across networks and providers. "With seasoned clinicians in these key positions, ConcertoHealth will continue to lead the integration of care management and delivery," added Cunningham. ConcertoHealth also is elevating its business development and human resources functions, promoting executives Robin Tam and Janelle Mitchell to further support the patient and provider-centric mission and goals of the organization. Robin Tam , SVP, Strategy and Business Development Robin Tam will lead the evolution of the ConcertoHealth care model, driving scale, volume and product innovation in addition to leading marketing and strategic communications. will lead the evolution of the ConcertoHealth care model, driving scale, volume and product innovation in addition to leading marketing and strategic communications. Janelle Mitchell , Chief Human Resource Officer Janelle Mitchell will lead human capital initiatives by promoting culture, growth and expansion through employee engagement, retention and recruitment. About ConcertoHealth ConcertoHealth Inc. is the leading provider of specialized primary care and supporting clinical services for vulnerable, frail and elderly patients. ConcertoHealth provides high-touch, individualized care for patients and also deploys "wraparound" clinical resources to extend the reach of primary care providers, operating exclusively in value-based agreements. The ConcertoHealth care model, elevated by Patient3D, improves overall health quality and outcomes for high-need patient populations. The ConcertoHealth care model is proven to reduce admissions by 30.3 percent and readmissions by 17.1 percent, benefitting patients, payers and their provider networks alike. The company is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California. www.concertohealth.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/concertohealth-expands-and-elevates-clinical-leadership-team-to-propel-growth-and-underscore-focus-on-improving-patient-care-300803458.html SOURCE ConcertoHealth [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing Market - Global Forecast to 2025: Market is Forecast to grow at a CAGR of 49.5% DUBLIN, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing Market by Offering (Hardware, Software, and Services), Technology (Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Context-Aware Computing, and NLP), Application, Industry, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The AI in manufacturing market is expected to grow from USD 1.0 billion in 2018 to USD 17.2 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 49.5% during the forecast period. Increasingly large and complex data set available in the form of big data and evolution of industrial IoT and automation are the key drivers of this market. Improving computing power, declining hardware cost, and increasing venture capital investments are the other factors fuelling the growth of this market. However, reluctance among manufacturers to adopt AI-based technologies and lack of awareness among small and medium-sized businesses are among the major factors restraining the growth of the AI in manufacturing market. Also, high power requirement from machine learning hardware, especially during network training, is limiting the growth of the said market. Hardware segment to witness highest growth rate among other offerings during forecast period Increasing need for hardware platforms with high computing power to run various AI software is the key factor accelerating the growth of hardware devices in the manufacturing market. The AI in manufacturing market is segmented on the basis of hardware into processor, memory, and network. The large presence of major companies that contribute to the AI sector are located in North America and has made the region a major market for AI hardware. Machine learning to hold largest market followed by computer vision in AI manufacturing market Machine learning's ability to collect and handle big data and its applications in various manufacturing applications such as predictive analytics and machinery inspection, quality control, and cybersecurity are fueling its growth. The growing adoption of computer vision in applications such as industrial robots, quality control, and material movement is propelling the growth of this technology in the AI in manufacturing market. Computer vision analyzes the information of different geometric shapes, volumes, and patterns, and provides visual feedback to the user, which is further used to draw the inference. The fundamental objective of computer vision technology is to interpret the picture obtained through a high-resolution camera. Automobile industry to hold largest market during forecast period The automobile industry is expected to hold the largest size of AI in manufacturing market during the forecast period. Extensive use of AI technologies, especially machine learning and computer vision in machinery inspection, installations of industrial IoT, and usage of big data, is driving the growth of the AI in manufacturing market for the automobile industry. Moreover, to reduce costs and improve the quality of vehicle production, automobile makers have started using computer vision and machine learning technology. APAC to witness highest growth followed by North America from 2018 to 2025 APAC, especially in China, Japan, and South Korea, is considered the largest market for industrial robots. The industrial robots generate a huge amount of data. This data is used in deep learning algorithm to further train the robots. This would act as one of the major drivers for the AI in manufacturing market in APAC. Cross-industry participation in the manufacturing domain, along with a significant increase in venture capital investment, has propelled the growth of the AI in manufacturing market in North America. Prominent players profiled in this report are NVIDIA Corporation (US) IBM Corporation (US) Alphabet Inc. (Google) (US) Microsoft Corporation (US) Intel Corporation (US) AWS (US) Sight Machine (US) Siemens AG ( Germany ) ) General Electric Company (US) Key Topics Covered: 1 Introduction 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Premium Insights 4.1 Attractive Opportunities in AI in Manufacturing Market 4.2 AI in Manufacturing Market, By Offering 4.3 AI in Manufacturing Market, By Technology 4.4 APAC: AI in Manufacturing Market, By Industry and Country 4.5 AI in Manufacturing Market, By Country 5 Market Overview 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Market Dynamics 5.2.1 Drivers 5.2.1.1 Increasingly Large and Complex Data Set 5.2.1.2 Evolving Industrial IoT and Automation 5.2.1.3 Improving Computing Power and Declining Hardware Cost 5.2.1.4 Increasing Venture Capital Investments 5.2.2 Restraints 5.2.2.1 Reluctance Among Manufacturers to Adopt AI-Based Technologies 5.2.3 Opportunities 5.2.3.1 Growth in Operational Efficiency of Manufacturing Plants 5.2.3.2 Application of AI for Intelligent Business Process 5.2.4 Challenges 5.2.4.1 Limited Skilled Workforce 5.2.4.2 Concerns Regarding Data Privacy 5.3 Value Chain Analysis 5.4 Case Studies 5.4.1 Siemens Games Uses Fujitsu's AI Solution to Accelerate Inspection of Turbine Blades 5.4.2 Volvo Uses Machine Learning-Driven Data Analytics for Predicting Breakdown and Failures 5.4.3 Rolls-Royce Using Microsoft Cortana Intelligence for Predictive Maintenance 5.4.4 Paper Packaging Firm Used Sight Machines Enterprise Manufacturing Analytics to Improve Production 6 Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing Market, By Offering 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Hardware 6.2.1 Processor 6.2.1.1 MPU 6.2.1.1.1 MPUs to Hold the Largest Share of AI in Manufacturing Market for Processors During the Forecast Period 6.2.1.2 GPU 6.2.1.2.1 GPUs to Grow at the Highest CAGR During the Forecast Period 6.2.1.3 FPGA 6.2.1.3.1 Low Power Consumption and Low Latency Expected to Drive the Market for FPGA 6.2.1.4 Asic 6.2.1.4.1 User-Specific Customized Solution Offered By Asic to Drive Its Market 6.2.2 Memory 6.2.2.1 High-Bandwidth Memory is Being Developed and Deployed for AI Applications, Independent of Its Computing Architecture 6.2.3 Network 6.2.3.1 Nvidia (US), Intel (US) and Mellanox Technologies ( Israel ) are the Key Providers of Network Interconnect Adapters for AI Applications 6.3 Software 6.3.1 AI Solutions 6.3.1.1 On-Premises 6.3.1.1.1 Data-Sensitive Enterprises Prefer On-Premise Advanced Nlp and Ml Tools to Be Used in AI Solutions 6.3.1.2 Cloud 6.3.1.2.1 AI Solution Providers are Focusing on the Development of Robust Cloud-Based Solutions for Their Clients 6.3.2 AI Platform 6.3.2.1 Machine Learning Framework 6.3.2.1.1 Major Tech Companies Such as Google, IBM, and Microsoft are Developing and Offering Their Own Ml Frameworks 6.3.2.2 Application Program Interface (API) 6.3.2.2.1 An API Provides A Platform for A Set of Routines and Tools for Building Software Applications 6.4 Services 6.4.1 Deployment & Integration 6.4.1.1 Deployment and Integration is A Key Service Required for Configuring AI Systems in Manufacturing 6.4.2 Support & Maintenance 6.4.2.1 The Ultimate Objective of Maintenance Services is to Keep the System at an Acceptable Standard 7 Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing Market, By Technology 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Machine Learning 7.2.1 Deep Learning 7.2.1.1 Deep Learning Uses Artificial Neural Networks to Learn Multiple Levels of Data 7.2.2 Supervised Learning 7.2.2.1 Classification and Regression are Major Segmentation of Supervised Learning 7.2.3 Reinforcement Learning 7.2.3.1 Reinforcement Learning Allows Systems and Software to Determine Ideal Behavior for Maximizing Performance of the Systems 7.2.4 Unsupervised Learning 7.2.4.1 Unsupervised Learning Include Clustering Methods Consisting of Algorithms With Unlabeled Training Data 7.2.5 Others 7.3 Natural Language Processing 7.3.1 Nlp is Developed for Making Real-Time Translation and Developing Systems That Can Interact Through Dialogues 7.4 Context-Aware Computing 7.4.1 Development of More Sophisticated Hard and Soft Sensors has Accelerated the Growth of Context-Aware Computing 7.5 Computer Vision 7.5.1 Computer Vision Analyzes the Information of Different Geometric Shapes, Volumes, and Patterns 8 Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing Market, By Application 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Predictive Maintenance and Machinery Inspection 8.2.1 Predictive Maintenance and Machinery Inspection Provide the Framework for All Planned Maintenance Activities 8.3 Material Movement 8.3.1 AI-Based Technology for Material Movement Will Ensure Streamlining of In-Plant Logistics 8.4 Production Planning 8.4.1 The Use of AI in Production Planning Leads to the Standardization of Product and Process Sequence 8.5 Field Services 8.5.1 Field Services are Extensively Used in Heavy Metals and Machine Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, and Energy and Power Industry 8.6 Quality Control 8.6.1 AI-Based Quality Control System is Widely Used in Pharmaceuticals, Food & Beverages, and Semiconductor Industries 8.7 Cybersecurity 8.7.1 Automation and Integrating Real-Time Systems in Manufacturing is Resulting in Adoption of Cybersecurity Systems 8.8 Industrial Robots 8.8.1 Industrial Robots Can Be Classified Into Traditional Industrial Robots and Collaborative Robots 8.9 Reclamation 8.9.1 in Reclamation, AI-Based Systems Detect Important Components From Waste Or Slags 9 Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing Market, By Industry 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Automobile 9.2.1 Machine Learning and Computer Vision are the Major AI Technologies Deployed in Automobile Industry 9.3 Energy and Power 9.3.1 AI-Based Solutions Can Help Energy and Power Industry to Enhance Production Output and Reduced Downtime 9.4 Pharmaceuticals 9.4.1 Quality Control, Material Movement, and Production Planning are the Major Applications of AI in Pharmaceuticals 9.5 Heavy Metals and Machine Manufacturing 9.5.1 APAC is Considered to Have the Highest Number of Heavy Metals and Machine Manufacturing Plants in the World 9.6 Semiconductors and Electronics 9.6.1 AI is Likely to Assist in Optimizing the Production Cost, Technology Implementation, and Integration of Components 9.7 Food & Beverages 9.7.1 AI-Based Solutions Enhance the Quality of the Food Production Cost-Effectively 9.8 Others 10 Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing Market, By Region 11 Competitive Landscape 11.1 Overview 11.2 Ranking of Players, 2017 11.3 Competitive Scenario 11.3.1 Product Launches and Developments 11.3.2 Collaborations, Partnerships, and Agreements 11.3.3 Acquisitions & Joint Ventures 12 Company Profiles Aibrain Alphabet Inc Amazon Web Services (AWS) Arimo Inc. Cisco Systems Citrine Informatics Clearpath Robotics Inc. CloudMinds Technologies DarkTrace DataRobot General Electric (GE) Company General Vision Google IBM Intel Kespry Inc. Micron Technology Microsoft Mitsubishi Electric Nvidia Omron Adept Technologies Inc. Oracle Preferred Networks Inc. Progress Software Corporation (Datarpm) Rockwell Automation SAP Siemens Sight Machine SkyMind, Inc. Tamr Inc. Ubtech Robotics Vicarious For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/r4hskg/artificial?w=5 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Media Contact: Laura Wood, Senior 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 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/artificial-intelligence-in-manufacturing-market---global-forecast-to-2025-market-is-forecast-to-grow-at-a-cagr-of-49-5-300803132.html SOURCE Research and Markets [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] UnitedHealthcare and Optum Take Action to Support People Affected by Storms and Flooding in Mississippi UnitedHealthcare and Optum, the health benefits and services companies of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), are taking action to help people affected by recent storms and flooding affecting parts of Mississippi. Support includes assisting health plan participants who may need to make alternate arrangements to access care and early prescription refills, as well as offering a free emotional-support line to help people who might be affected. Help Finding a Network Care Provider, Early Refills: Plan participants who need help finding a care provider in the UnitedHealthcare network or obtaining early prescription refills can call customer care at the number located on the back of their medical ID cards. Plan participants who need help finding a care provider in the UnitedHealthcare network or obtaining early prescription refills can call customer care at the number located on the back of their medical ID cards. For plan participants who may have misplaced their medical ID cards, call 866-633-2446, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. (in the local time zone), Monday through Friday. People enrolled in Medicaid, employer-sponsored and individual health plans (except Medicare) who have a smartphone can download the free Health4Me app, which provides instant access to their ID card, network care providers, their personal health benefits and more. The Health4Me app is available as a free download at the Apple (News - Alert) iTunes App Store ad the Android (News - Alert) Market on Google Play. call 866-633-2446, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. (in the local time zone), Monday through Friday. People enrolled in Medicaid, employer-sponsored and individual health plans (except Medicare) who have a smartphone can download the free Health4Me app, which provides instant access to their ID card, network care providers, their personal health benefits and more. The Health4Me app is available as a free download at the Apple (News - Alert) iTunes App Store ad the Android (News - Alert) Market on Google Play. Free Help Line: Optum, a leading health and behavioral health services company, is offering a free emotional-support help line. Along with the toll-free help line, emotional-support resources and information are available online at www.liveandworkwell.com. About UnitedHealth Group UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health care company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and helping to make the health system work better for everyone. UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services through two distinct platforms: UnitedHealthcare, which provides health care coverage and benefits services; and Optum, which provides information and technology-enabled health services. For more information, visit UnitedHealth Group at www.unitedhealthgroup.com or follow @UnitedHealthGrp on Twitter (News - Alert) . Click here to subscribe to Mobile Alerts for UnitedHealth Group. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005725/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A Casper man was charged with possession of more than three grams of methamphetamine, possession of fewer than three ounces of marijuana and possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver after being honest with a Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper after being stopped for speeding. Jevon Bynum, 49, was traveling northbound on I-25 between Orin and Douglas when a WHP Trooper recorded his speed at 84 mph. The trooper followed the vehicle and noticed that the driver was not staying in the lane. The trooper also noticed that the interior dome light was on and the front passenger was rummaging around near the floor, according to the affidavit. After the vehicle was stopped, the trooper noticed that the driver and passengers appeared nervous but stated that they were coming back from Colorado. Bynum stated that he had the dome light on in order to take his medication, according to the affidavit. Bynum was led to the troopers vehicle where he was checked for weapons. The trooper then asked about the bulges in his front pants pockets, according to the affidavit. Bynum pulled out a wallet which contained a large wad of cash and stated that he had just had his taxes done. When asked about the contents of the other pocket, Bynum replied that its meth. When asked how much, I dont know, a lot was his reply, according to the affidavit. A search of the vehicle was conducted where two white dispensary bags with suspected marijuana was located in the center console, according to the affidavit. Possession of more than three grams of methamphetamine carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and $15,000 fine. Possession of fewer than three ounces of marijuana carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison and $10,000 fine. Possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and $25,000 fine. Bynum has been bound over to stand trial in the Eighth Judicial District Court. [February 27, 2019] Stephens Investment Banking Hires James Wicklund as Managing Director of Energy Group Stephens Inc., an independent financial services firm, today announced the hiring of James (Jim) Wicklund as Managing Director in the Energy Group, within its Investment Banking Division. Mr. Wicklund brings to Stephens more than 40 years of expertise in oilfield services. Most recently, he was a Managing Director at Credit Suisse where, as a Senior Oilfield Services Analyst, he managed a team covering 41 companies. His extensive background includes operational and consultative experience working with major global and domestic oil companies as well as portfolio management for energy funds, equity research, and institutional sales and trading. "We have a proven track record offering our clients sound, strategic, unparalleled guidance and the addition of Jim furthers that commitment," said Brad Eichler, Executive Vice President, Head of Investment Banking. "Over the past 10 years, we have made a signiicant investment in the energy vertical, adding top industry talent, expanding our footprint, and closing over 150 transactions. We are thrilled to have Jim as part of the team as we expect he will be able to help us build new relationships and greatly expand our practice." Mr. Wicklund added, "I am excited to join a group of professionals and a firm that shares my ethos that a relationship with clients is more important than any transaction. I look forward to contributing to the established energy group and looking for opportunities to grow." Mr. Wicklund will be based in Stephens' Dallas office. With 55 professionals in Dallas, Stephens is firmly committed to the Texas market. About Stephens Inc. Stephens Inc. is an independent financial services firm headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Since its inception in 1933, privately held Stephens Inc. has served a broad client base which includes corporations, state and local governments, financial institutions, institutional investors and individual investors throughout the United States and overseas. For more information, visit www.stephens.com. Member NYSE, SIPC View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005621/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP Reminds Investors of Securities Class Action Against Danske Bank A/S and March 11 Lead Plaintiff Deadline Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP ("Scott+Scott"), a national shareholder and consumer rights litigation firm, is reminds investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Danske Bank A/S ("Danske Bank" or the "Company") (OTC:DNKEY) and other defendants, related to alleged violations of federal securities laws. If you purchased Danske Bank American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") between January 9, 2014 and October 23, 2018, you are encouraged to contact a Scott+Scott attorney at (844) 818-6980 for more information. Danske Bank provides personal banking, business banking, corporate and institutional banking, and wealth management products and services, along with mortgage finance, real-estate brokerage, foreign exchange and equity services, and trades in fixed income products, including with customers who reside or are domiciled outside Denmark. According to the lawsuit, defendants made false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose adverse information regaring Danske Bank's business and operations. Specifically, defendants failed to disclose that: (i) Danske Bank's Estonian branch was facilitating money laundering through at least March 2016; (ii) a whistleblower had reported the Estonian money laundering to the Company in 2013; (iii) Denmark's Financial Supervisory Authority (the "DFSA") had been investigating the Estonian money laundering since 2014; (iv) Danske Bank had concealed the results of its own internal investigation from the DFSA, further exposing it to regulatory action and fines; (v) Danske Bank had been overstating its historical profits by including the profits derived from its illicit Estonian operations; and (vi) Danske Bank lacked effective internal and reporting controls. On October 23, 2018, following news that began to come out in early September 2017, The Wall Street Journal published an article disclosing the full extent of the information a whistleblower had alerted Danske Bank's senior executives to back in 2013 and detailing how Danske Bank had tried to silence the whistleblower for years. Upon the gradual revelation of the Company's reliance on illicit profits and its resulting exposure to regulatory action, the price of the Company's ADRs plummeted a total of approximately 54%, from a high of $20.90 on February 16, 2018, to a low of $9.50 on October 23, 2018. What You Can Do If you purchased Danske Bank ADRs between January 9, 2014 and October 23, 2018, inclusive, or if you have questions about this notice or your legal rights, please contact attorney Rhiana Swartz at (844) 818-6980, or at rswartz@scott-scott.com. The lead plaintiff deadline is March 11, 2019. About Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP Scott+Scott has significant experience in prosecuting major securities, antitrust, and employee retirement plan actions throughout the United States. The firm represents pension funds, foundations, individuals, and other entities worldwide with offices in New York, London, Connecticut, California, and Ohio. Attorney Advertising View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005577/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Matt Sharp Joins Integrity Leadership Team as AVP, Sr. Finance Officer Integrity Insurance, a P&C carrier headquartered in Appleton, WI, is proud to announce Matt Sharp (News - Alert) has joined the Integrity Leadership Team (ILT) as AVP, Sr. Finance Officer. Sharp is responsible for the strategic financial oversight and reporting for Integrity. Sharp is an insurance veteran with 15 years of experience and has a proven track record of success and leadership. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005571/en/ Matt Sharp (Photo:Business Wire) Matt succeeds Brent Hammer, who has accepted the position of AVP, Innovation Officer for Grange Enterprise. In this new position, Hammer leads the investment of decisions in innovative solutions, drives Integrity and Grange Insurance's innovation efforts forward and boldly positions us for an exciting future. Integrity President Jill Wagner Kelly stated, "I'm excited to welcome Matt to the Integrity Leadership Team. His extensive background in finance and commercial lines insurance made him the ideal candidate for this key position in our company." Members of the ILT include Integrity President Jill Wagner Kelly, VP, Sales & Marketing Bobbie Collies, VP, Personal Lines Steve Klingemann, AVP Talent Management & Operations Sarah Krause, VP, Claims Christian Martin, AVP, Sr. Finance Officer Matt Sharp VP, and Commercial Lines Dan Trochil. About Integrity Insurance Integrity Insurance established in 1933 and is based in Appleton, WI. Integrity offers auto, home and business insurance through a network of independent agents throughout IA, MN and WI. With partner Grange Insurance based in Columbus, Ohio - the 13-state enterprise has $2 billion in assets and $1 billion plus in annual revenue and holds an A.M. Best rating of "A" Excellent. For more information, visit IntegrityInsurance.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005571/en/ [February 27, 2019] CrowdStrike Co-Founders to Keynote RSA 2019 CrowdStrike Inc., the leader in cloud-delivered endpoint protection, today announced its participation in four sought-after speaking sessions during RSA 2019, including a keynote from CrowdStrike co-founders George Kurtz and Dmitri Alperovitch. At the premier information security event of the year, CrowdStrike's world-renowned group of technology, threat intelligence, and incident response experts will address some of the most pressing cybersecurity issues and trends to shed light on the top issues in the cybersecurity industry today. CrowdStrike's practical thought leadership and analyses will provide actionable guidance to help organizations take a more proactive stance towards security. Notable conference highlights include: Tuesday, March 5 at 11:00 AM PT CrowdStrike chief security officer and president of Services Shawn Henry will present: Advancing Incident Response in the Age of New Compliance Requirements. Shawn, along with Steven Chabinsky, global chair of data, privacy & cybersecurity of White and Case, LLC, will examine the establishment of modern incident response through a holistic view of cyber-crisis management that more efficiently captures the confluence of operational, strategic, legal and public disclosure elements. Wednesday, March 6 at 9:20 AM PT Vice president of CrowdStrike Services Thomas Etheridge, joined by a panel of security experts, will explore: Tales from the Front Lines. This session will share insights from distinguished incident responders as they discuss mitigation tactics and remediation strategies of some of most compelling breach investigations and ofer guidance on what attendees can do to better secure their organizations. Wednesday, March 6 at 10:40 AM PT Join Austin Murphy, vice president of CrowdStrike Managed Services, as he analyzes multiple strategies for performing effective remote remediation of compromised systems without disrupting business operations, during his presentation: The Art of Remediation. Thursday, March 7 at 9:20 AM PT CrowdStrike chief executive officer and co-founder George Kurtz and Dmitri Alperovitch, chief technology officer and co-founder, will present: Hacking Exposed: Hacking Macs. This keynote, which is the seventh presentation of the hugely popular "Hacking Exposed" series, will demonstrate advanced intrusions of MacOS systems and provide a detailed look at artifacts uncovered and tools, techniques and procedures (TTPs) leveraged by attackers. In addition, Kurtz and Alperovitch will offer guidance on countermeasures for detection and response, and reprise the annual "Adversary Oscars," in which the CrowdStrike co-founders will discuss the most prolific and interesting adversaries of 2018 and explore what cyber threats we might see in the coming year. For more information on CrowdStrike's sessions and events during RSA (News - Alert) 2019 in San Francisco, please visit our website. While at the show, we look forward to meeting you at our booths: #1435 Moscone South and #5458 Moscone North. About CrowdStrike CrowdStrike is the leader in cloud-delivered endpoint protection. Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), the CrowdStrike Falcon platform offers instant visibility and protection across the enterprise and prevents attacks on endpoints on or off the network. CrowdStrike Falcon deploys in minutes to deliver real-time protection and actionable intelligence from Day One. It seamlessly unifies next-generation AV with best-in-class endpoint detection and response, backed by 24/7 managed hunting. Its cloud infrastructure and single-agent architecture take away complexity and add scalability, manageability, and speed. CrowdStrike Falcon protects customers against all cyber attack types, using sophisticated signatureless AI and Indicator-of-Attack (IoA) based threat prevention to stop known and unknown threats in real time. Powered by the CrowdStrike Threat Graph, Falcon instantly correlates 1 trillion security events a week from across the globe to immediately prevent and detect threats. There's much more to the story of how Falcon has redefined endpoint protection but there's only one thing to remember about CrowdStrike: We stop breaches. Qualifying organizations can gain full access to Falcon Prevent by starting a free trial. Learn more: https://www.crowdstrike.com/ Follow us: Blog | Twitter 2019 CrowdStrike, Inc. All rights reserved. CrowdStrike, CrowdStrike Falcon, CrowdStrike Threat Graph, CrowdStrike Falcon Prevent, Falcon Prevent, CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, Falcon Insight, CrowdStrike Falcon Discover, Falcon Discover, Falcon X, CrowdStrike Falcon DNS, Falcon DNS, CrowdStrike Falcon OverWatch, Falcon OverWatch, CrowdStrike Falcon Spotlight and Falcon Spotlight are among the trademarks of CrowdStrike, Inc. Other brands may be third-party trademarks. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005206/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] Verb Announces LOI with Getty Images for Upcoming Video Store Ecosystem HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verb Technology Company, Inc. (OTCQB: FUSZD) (formerly nFusz, Inc.), a leader in business-focused interactive video, and the pioneer of Augmented Sales Intelligence software, announces today that it has entered into a letter of intent with Getty Images , a world leader in visual communications, to form a partnership, pursuant to which Getty Images will license part of its video library to Verb for inclusion in Verbs forthcoming Tagg Video Store. The Tagg Video Store, accessible from within Verbs interactive tagg video applications, is the central component of Verbs eco-system strategy. This allows users to select, license, and use a video from among a vast library of professional quality videos, to which they can then add their own personalized clickable taggs right in the videos for customized interactive sales and marketing initiatives. Verbs clickable taggs allow viewers to simply click a tagg in the video to purchase a product or service, access the senders calendar to schedule an appointment, download tickets or a brochure, make a donation, among many other specialized taggs available for users to choose from in their tagg applications. Adding Verbs clickable taggs to a video is fun, simple, intuitive, and fast it takes less than 3 minutes on any mobile device. The taggd videos can then be shared via email or text messaging or posted directly to popular social media quickly and easily from mobile devices. The tagg applications automatically notify the sender when the videos were viewed, how long, how many times, and what was clicked-on, accelerating the sales process, among many other features and functionality. While Getty Images and Verb are currently working toward finalizing a definitive agreement, they have begun working on the technological integration of the Getty Images API into the Verb platform in advance of Verbs planned launch of its in-app Tagg Video Store. The API integration into Tagg Video Store will allow end users to search for and download roylty-free video content directly into the tagg applications. Verb and Getty Images will share revenue derived from video purchase proceeds. Getty Images is the industry leader and were proud to welcome them into the exciting future of interactive tagg video sales and marketing tools that are creating meaningful value for our clients and customers, states Rory J. Cutaia , CEO of Verb. Getty Images will provide enormous value for users hesitant to get in front of the camera, or those who dont have the budget to engage a video production house. Getty Images videos combined with Verbs innovative technology will yield content that takes video as we know it to an entirely new level. About VERB VERB Technology Company, Inc. (OTCQB: FUSZD) [formerly nFusz, Inc.], is rapidly emerging as the market leader in interactive video data collection and analysis applications. VERB provides customer relationship management (CRM), lead generation, and video marketing software applications under the brand name TAGG. The Companys proprietary and patent pending technology produces real-time, measurable results with customers reporting greater than 600% increases in conversion rates. The Companys software-as-a-service (SaaS) products are cloud-based, accessible on all mobile and desktop devices, and are available by subscription for individual and enterprise users. The Companys technology is integrated into popular ERP, CRM, and marketing platforms, including Oracle NetSuite, Adobe Marketo, and integrations into Salesforce.com, Odoo, and Microsoft, among others are underway. The Companys newest applications include TaggCRM, the premier mobile app for entrepreneurs; TaggMED, for the healthcare industry; TaggEDU, for the education industry; and TaggNGO, for non-profit organizations. Coming soon is the release of TaggLIVE, our Facebook app, allowing users to add clickable taggs to their live Facebook broadcasts in real-time. To create and tagg your own videos that you can share and post to social, try TaggLITE, available for FREE on our website . For more information, please visit: www.myverb.com CONTACT INFORMATION Please address media inquiries to: info@myverb.com 855.250.2300, extension 7 Please address investor inquiries to: investors@myverb.com 855.250.2300, extension 2 Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements This press release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In accordance with the safe harbor provisions of this Act, statements contained herein that look forward in time that include everything other than historical information, involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the Companys actual results. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and there are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by the Company, including, but not limited to, plans and objectives of management for future operations or products, the market acceptance or future success of our products, and our future financial performance. The Company cautions that these forward-looking statements are further qualified by other factors including, but not limited to, those set forth in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, and other filings with the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (available at www.sec.gov). The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any statements in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] DaySmart Software Celebrates Milestone 2018 and 20 Years of Fueling Small Business Growth DaySmart Software, the leading provider of business management software driving small business growth, today announced it grew revenue 23 percent in 2018, contributing to the company's inclusion on Inc. Magazine's list of the 5,000 fastest-growing, privately held companies in America for the eighth consecutive year. DaySmart also expanded its customer base by more than 30 percent in 2018; the company now serves nearly 12,000 active subscribers in the salon, spa, pet services and tattoo industries with tens of thousands more perpetual licenses sold since inception. Founded in 1999, DaySmart has become the ideal technology partner for small business owners across the globe, offering the easiest-to-use, industry-specific software solutions on the market: Salon Iris, Orchid, 123Pet and Inkbook. Now entering its 20th year, DaySmart has 80 employees in two U.S. office locations, providing customers with telephone, email and chat support, as well as one-on-one onboarding and training. 2018 was a particularly momentous year for DaySmart, marked by the acquisition of PupKeep, a pet services cloud software company. The acquisition, which was announced in January 2019, enabled DaySmart to expand its pet services offerings to incorporate daycare, boarding and training into its widely-used pet grooming software suite. In the first month post-acquisition, DaySmart integrated the PupKeep product line and doubled the total number of PupKeep users. On the successful acquisition, DaySmart's Sales Vice President Sean Persha noted, "There is a lot of potential for these products. Pet services is a robust and rapidly growing market, and adding PupKeep's boarding, daycare and training functionality to our many grooming solutions couldn't have come at a better time or gone more smoothly." In addition to the acquisition, DaySmart also released a new all-in-one front desk solution in November 2018, combining the company's award-winning business management software with Elo touchscreen and Point of Sale (POS) systems. With this integration, DaySmart became one of the only software firms to offer small businesses in the salon, spa, pet services and tattoo industries a solution to manage daily operations - such as scheduling, inventorying, customer engagement and POS - all from one multi-function device. DaySmart also introduced a Reputation Management add-on capability early February. The new feature allows businesses to solicit online reviews from their customers, monitor the reviews being posted and respond to reviews from a simple dashboard that is completely integrated into their existing business management software. "Just like our very entrepreneurial customers, DaySmart is hungry for continued growth, particularly in our 20th year of business," said Jeff Dickerson, CEO of DaySmart. "Our focus remains on growing our customers' businesses through the power of our software solutions. We look forward to continuing that mission, and will expand our capabilities and broaden our offerings to meet the needs of even more businesses in the years ahead." About DaySmart Software Makers of the popular and award-winning Salon Iris, Orchid, 123Pet and Inkbook software, DaySmart is the leading provider of business management tools designed to make it easier for entrepreneurs to run and grow their businesses. DaySmart desktop software and cloud apps are purpose-built for the salon, spa, pet and tattoo industries, and backed by a US-based support team that is dedicated to client success. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, DaySmart has been a small business champion since 1999. The company has been named to the Inc. 5000 list for eight consecutive years. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005211/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] KBRA Releases Report on U.S. & European Railcar Industry Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) releases a new report on the U.S. and European railway industry and examines the driving factors behind the market conditions. The report highlights the most recent trends, as well as the important credit factors that drive ratings. Key themes in the report include: The U.S. railcar leasing market showed few signs of recovery last year amid inadequate freight demand, high previous new car builds and low retirements, which created a supply glut that led to depressed lease rates at below-market levels. The European market remains challenged for different reasons, with an aging rolling stock fleet, high operating costs and slow adoption of a unified European railway system. KBRA believes U.S. energy-related transport is a critical long-term headwind as the coal industry is in secular decline and unlikely to reverse course. In addition, tank car demand is expected to soften as more pipelines come online over the next few years. Not surprisingly, leverage-measured by debt to EBITDA-has increased while interest coverage has declined, driven by lower cash flow earnings in the current challenged market conditions. Despite these challenges, U.S. railcar lessors have shown resilience and have successfully managed through down cycles by continuing to prudently invest in rolling stock, diversify their customer bases, shorten lease maturities and provide lease concessions to maintain high utilization rates. Political support (particularly in Europe) of railway as a cleaner and more environmentally sound mode of transport compared to trucks is expected to offset some of the industry's headwnds. KBRA expects more privatizations within Europe, which should aid in greater operating efficiency through increased competition. KBRA believes the adoption of the Luxembourg Rail Protocol will benefit the industry by protecting the security interests of financiers, investors, lessors and vendors of mobile railway assets as rolling stock moves across national borders. The Protocol should facilitate more efficient financing from the private sector. Importantly, KBRA notes that even though the railcar industry has struggled in the U.S. and the EU in recent years, it remains a mature sector and participants have weathered numerous economic and technological cycles throughout its history. here. CONNECT WITH KBRA Twitter LinkedIn Download the iOS App YouTube About KBRA and KBRA Europe KBRA is a full service credit rating agency registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an NRSRO. In addition, KBRA is designated as a designated rating organization by the Ontario Securities Commission for issuers of asset-backed securities to file a short form prospectus or shelf prospectus, is recognized by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners as a Credit Rating Provider, and is a certified Credit Rating Agency (CRA) by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Kroll Bond Rating Agency Europe Limited is registered with ESMA as a CRA. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005173/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] Fujitsu Launches Industry's First 600G Hyperscale Optical Transport Solution, Empowering Tomorrow's High-Speed Networks Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc. today announced commercial availability of the 1FINITY T600 blade, the next-generation optical transponder in its carrier-grade transport family, enabling maximum performance and capacity for data center interconnect (DCI) and 5G transport networks. As network operators seek to progressively scale their networks, the new T600 blade offers an ideal evolution path, enabling flexible configurations, hyperscale transport capacity, automated operations and secure protection of critical data. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005131/en/ 1FINITY T600 blade (Photo: Business Wire) "The convergence of artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of things (IoT) and edge computing are transforming how ubiquitous video and data are delivered to the hyper-connected world," said Rod Naphan, Chief Technology Officer at Fujitsu Network Communications (News - Alert) . "The best-in-class capabilities of the 1FINITY T600 enable service providers and hyperscale operators to scale their networks for explosive traffic growth while reducing cost per bit." Leveraging high-performance coherent DSP1 technology, the innovative 1FINITY T600 blade provides an optimum transport solution for reach, performance and power consumption, combining exceptional design flexibility and enhanced transport functions with leading space and power efficiency. The T600 delivers industry-leading capacity with 600 Gbps single-wavelength transmission using 64QAM modulation at 75 GHz channel spacing. For campus, metro and long-haul DCI networks, the flexible T600 provides programmable modes from 200 to 600 Gbps, as well as improved optical performance and extended reach across all configurations supported by innovative modulationformat and various FEC and baud rates. This new transponder also enables the highest spectral efficiency in the industry, achieving up to 76.8 Tbps per single fiber by extending C-band transmission to the adjacent L-band, with comparable performance. "Disaggregated WDM systems such as Fujitsu's 1FINITY transport product address a fast-growing market need for a stackable form factor that balances capacity and reach within an open environment," said Jimmy Yu, Vice President, Optical Transport Market Research, Dell' (News - Alert) Oro Group. "As such, we forecast demand for Disaggregated Transponder Units will grow at a five-year compounded annual growth rate of 27 percent, driven largely by data center interconnect and the migration to higher wavelength speeds." The core system software of the 1FINITY T600 offers open management interfaces and tools to allow for the highest levels of automation. Standard interfaces are complemented by newer M2M interfaces such as RESTful APIs, NETCONF and gNMI (gRPC Network Management Interface). To embrace various open industry initiatives the T600 supports YANG models from OpenConfig, Open ROADM (News - Alert) and IETF. Operational automation of the T600 is further extended by supporting zero-touch provisioning (ZTP), streaming telemetry and LLDP snooping. To meet today's demands for data protection, the T600 offers the highest level of secure communications with multi-plane protection and physical security, designed to meet the requirements of the FIPS 140-2 cryptographic standard. The T600 employs industry-standard, end-to-end Layer 1 OTN encryption, complemented by fully secure management operations and key exchange protocols as well as special handling of critical security parameters. Physical security of the T600 is ensured by an option to disable unused management ports, tampering evidence proofing and full opacity of physical design. To see a live demonstration of the 1FINITY T600, visit Fujitsu in Booth #2539 at the OFC Conference and Exhibition, to be held March 3-7, 2019, in San Diego. About Fujitsu Fujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company, offering a full range of technology products, solutions, and services. Approximately 140,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.1 trillion yen (US $39 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018. For more information, please see www.fujitsu.com. About Fujitsu Network Communications Inc. Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc., is a trusted partner to a broad spectrum of customers across all industries, enabling them to realize the maximum value from their communications networks. We are a market-leading U.S.-based manufacturer of network equipment and a top U.S. patent holder in optical networking. Our solutions combine the best wireline, wireless, and software technology with extensive multivendor services expertise to deliver custom, end-to-end network integration and management solutions. For more information, please see http://us.Fujitsu.com/telecom or connect with us on LinkedIn (News - Alert) at www.linkedin.com/company/Fujitsu-network-communications. Fujitsu, the Fujitsu logo, "shaping tomorrow with you" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fujitsu Limited in the United States and other countries. All rights reserved. All other company or product names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Information provided in this press release is accurate at time of publication and is subject to change without advance notice. 1 The high-performance coherent DSP uses outcomes of "The research and development project for the Tera-bit optical network technologies towards big data era" project and "The research and development of innovative optical network technology as a new social infrastructure" project, which were both supported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005131/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] Nanogen Launch Brings Revolutionary Cannabis and Hemp Nano Emulsions to Mainstream Food, Beverage, Health and Beauty Markets OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nanogen Labs , Inc. announced its launch today as a state-of-the-art nano-emulsion company that develops nanoE to enhance the water compatibility and bioavailability of cannabinoids. The patent-pending formulas have industry-leading stability, clarity, and taste that allows food, beverage, health, beauty, wellness and other companies to control the effectiveness, look, and flavor of products at scale. As head of product development, utilizing Nanogen as our active ingredient really ticked all of my boxes, said Clayton Coker from the craft cannabis company Somatik . It's super easy to incorporate into my products without any specialized equipment or really technical procedures. You basically add it, stir it, and you're done. We have the confidence we'll pass potency testing and our products have an incredibly fast onset time. Lastly, it was non-negotiable that we had an infusion process that was flavorless and Nanogen solved that issue. As cannabis products continue pushing their way into the mainstream, the potential of cannabis is no longer a bet for businesses. Companies looking to innovate and expand their product offerings can now add best-in-class cannabinoid emulsions to their product without draining valuable R&D resources or shifting employee focus from current operations. Companies exploring cannabinoid emulsions have traditionally run into a variety of challenges with licensing agreements or one-size-fits-all solutions that put the work back on the company to build their products around the emulsion. Instead, Nanogen works directly with companies to customize emulsions that work specifically to meet their product goals, said Ben Larson, CEOof Nanogen and formerly Managing Partner of cannabis startup accelerator Gateway. We are experts in our craft with science at our core, and were excited to explore the limitless possibilities with our customers. nanoE is available to purchase in bulk as accurately dosed active ingredients, making it easy for everyone from start-ups to large-scale product manufacturers to purchase what they need, when they need it. Nanogens products have five key differentiators: Bioavailability: State of the art nano-emulsification technology results in consistent and controllable droplet sizes ranging from 20 to 100 nanometers depending on the solution and use. Water-compatible solutions are up to eight times more bioavailable than conventional oils with an average onset of less than 10 minutes. State of the art nano-emulsification technology results in consistent and controllable droplet sizes ranging from 20 to 100 nanometers depending on the solution and use. Water-compatible solutions are up to eight times more bioavailable than conventional oils with an average onset of less than 10 minutes. Customization: Nanogen works closely with customers to understand the application, ingredients, and desired experience of their product to provide the unique taste, clarity, mouthfeel and effect. Nanogen works closely with customers to understand the application, ingredients, and desired experience of their product to provide the unique taste, clarity, mouthfeel and effect. Stability: nanoE emulsifications have no separation, sedimentation, or droplet size increases in over three years. nanoE will outlast the other ingredients in a product. nanoE emulsifications have no separation, sedimentation, or droplet size increases in over three years. nanoE will outlast the other ingredients in a product. Quality: nanoE solutions are all lab tested to ensure they are free of solvents, heavy metals, fungicides, pesticides, and microbes. All emulsion ingredients are FDA approved and use top quality materials in the formula. No animal parts, no GMO, gluten free. nanoE solutions are all lab tested to ensure they are free of solvents, heavy metals, fungicides, pesticides, and microbes. All emulsion ingredients are FDA approved and use top quality materials in the formula. No animal parts, no GMO, gluten free. Scalability: The Nanogen team has produced nano-emulsions at industrial scale and can offer economics where other technologies cant. Further, their in-process ingredients can be easily integrated to any manufacturing process using existing machinery. This is critical as they help new product categories scale into the mainstream. Nanogen Team Stemming from his expertise as a serial entrepreneur, investor, and startup adviser, Ben Larson built an impressive leadership team at Nanogen with extensive backgrounds in science and technology, and proven experience taking products from the drawing board to store shelves. Larson co-founded Gateway Incubator, an early stage venture program investing in the cannabis industry. Harold Han is the Chief Scientist and is heading up Nanogens research labs. Formerly a senior scientist at a top life science laboratory, Han led the development and production of emulsions for the ddPCR system, which is supplied to over 90 countries and thousands of labs around the world. David Julian McClements, a Distinguished Professor at the Department of Food Science at the University of Massachusetts and a foremost expert in nano-emulsions in food, will serve as an advisor to the Nanogen team. Austin Stevenson, Vice President of Product & Innovation, brings a wealth of experience in early stage company growth, regulatory testing and supply chain management. Prior to Nanogen, Stevenson built the regulatory hemp/CBD testing program at Eurofins, was an early member of Californias first Cannabis Benefit Corporation, Humboldt Legends, and gained investment experience in micro-finance at Citigroup. About Nanogen Nanogen creates industry-leading active ingredients for infused product makers. Our patent pending nano-emulsions are carefully designed for the specific needs of each of our customers. Our pre-suspended aqueous solutions empower you to create incredibly homogeneous and stable products while maximizing bioavailability, clarity, and taste. We work closely with you and our lab partners throughout the manufacturing process to achieve target potency and accelerate your products to market. Nanogen Press Inquiries: Sarah Elder (925) 660-7539 sarah@b2beatcommunications.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] RDX Continues Strategic Expansion with ClearDB Acquisition PITTSBURGH, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- RDX, one of the largest independent providers of managed database and cloud services, today announced it has acquired ClearDB. Based in Plano, Texas, ClearDB is a Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) provider that has deployed and managed more than one million cloud-based databases worldwide through its software platform, and is the world's largest private MySQL-as-a-Service provider. This announcement comes on the heels of RDX's acquisition of clckwrk, and is part of an aggressive strategic expansion of the RDX service portfolio. "RDX is well on its way to becoming the single source for companies that wish to benefit from outsourced managed services for databases and applications, deployed in any environment on premise, in the cloud, or hybrid," said RDX CEO Buddy Flerl. "ClearDB's DBaaS platform and services are the perfect complement to RDX's managed services. Together, we can now provide a turnkey outsourced solution for companies seeking to benefit from the scalability, performance andefficiency of the DBaaS platform model." ClearDB is a pioneer of cloud-based technologies and solutions that optimize the computing efficiency and utility of database applications. Its G5 software platform delivers high availability and high performance by combining cloud automation, orchestration and monitoring, with multi-cloud and multi-database support. In addition to MySQL, ClearDB provides G5-based DBaaS services for Oracle, PostgreSQL and Microsoft SQL Server. "IT services are evolving out of being a pure outsourcing play, and into a new world of delivering business outcomes as a service, using intelligent platforms," said William Fellows, founder and research director of The 451 Group. "Adding ClearDB's DBaaS offerings to its service portfolio will strengthen RDX's value proposition as more enterprises adopt this approach to IT." "Today, ClearDB takes the next step into a bright future with RDX," said ClearDB Chief Technology Officer and Founder Cashton Coleman. "As one company, we will be able to operationally standardize, support and increase the value delivered to our customers, who are interested in running their open source and enterprise database workloads in the Microsoft Azure and AWS clouds." About RDX Founded in 1994, RDX is one of the largest independent providers of database infrastructure, data management and cloud management services in North America. The Company provides 24x7 managed services to hundreds of clients, both on premise and in the public cloud. RDX supports a wide range of cloud environments including Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, and Oracle DB Cloud; database environments including Oracle, SQL Server, MYSQL, PostgreSQL, DB2 and MongoDB; and operating systems including Windows and all major UNIX/Linux offerings. For over two decades, RDX has helped hundreds of organizations lower support costs while increasing data infrastructure performance and availability. RDX's expert staff of highly-trained professionals is backed by a delivery organization that has continuously improved and enhanced its operations throughout its history. More information is available at https://www.rdx.com. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rdx-continues-strategic-expansion-with-cleardb-acquisition-300803039.html SOURCE RDX [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Groton, CT (06349) Today Abundant sunshine. Near record high temperatures. High 88F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low 68F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. A student raises his hand in class, this counts towards participation grades that are taken in various classrooms. [February 27, 2019] Ping An Good Doctor's Revenue Up by 78.7% Y-o-Y in 2018 HONG KONG, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- China's leading one-stop healthcare ecosystem platform Ping An Healthcare and Technology Company Limited ("Ping An Good Doctor", or the "Company"; stock code: 01833.HK) is pleased to announce its first annual results since listing, with all of the Company's businesses maintaining rapid development in 2018. Ping An Good Doctor recorded a revenue of RMB3.34 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 78.7%. Among which, the family doctor services business, the core business segment of the Company, achieved strong performance and recorded a revenue of RMB411 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 69.6%. Monthly paying users ("MPU") reached 2.36 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 86.2%. Rapid growth in user traffic MPU up 86.2% Y-o-Y In 2018, the user scale of Ping An Good Doctor continued to expand and its quality improved significantly. The Company's three key indicators -- registered users, monthly active users (MAU) and monthly paying users (MPU) -- continued to grow at a rapid rate. As of December 31, 2018, the number of registered users of the Company reached 265 million, with an increase of 72.4 million year-on-year; MAU reached 54.7 million, representing an increase of 85.4%; MPU reached 2.36 million, representing an increase of 86.2%. The annual average conversion rate of MPU increased from 2.7% to 3.6%. Improved one-stop ecosystem Through the integration of the artificial intelligence (AI) assisted in-house medical team, external doctors and a medical health service network, Ping An Good Doctor has built a closed loop of online and offline services, and its one-stop ecosystem has been gradually improved. As of December 31, 2018, Ping An Good Doctor had 1,196 medical personnel in its in-house medical team and also signed contracts with 5,203 renowned external doctors. It had partnered with over 3,000 hospitals and over 15,000 pharmacies. The one-hour drug delivery service had entered 86 cities in China, with an increase of 72 cities from the end of 2017. The medical and healthcare network of the company continued to expand, with approximately 1,500 additional institutons compared with the end of 2017. The Company partnered with nearly 400 traditional Chinese medicine clinics, more than 1,300 physical examination centers, more than 1,200 dental clinics and 120 medical beauty clinics, and nearly 47,000 clinics using the Wanjia cloud clinic system. Strong growth of core business The family doctor service sector, the core business of Ping An Good Doctor, achieved rapid growth in 2018 and recorded a revenue of RMB411 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 69.6%.Through the AI-assisted in-house medical team and external doctors, the Company provides users with one-stop services, including online consultation, referral, registration, hospitalization, second diagnosis and one-hour drug delivery. The one-stop service has greatly lowered the threshold for users seeking medical treatment, supported the tiered diagnosis and treatment which is encouraged by the government, and helped realize the cost-effective control of the medical system, reducing the burden on hospitals and society. As of December 31, 2018, Ping An Good Doctor had accumulated nearly 410 million pieces of consultation data, covering several aspects of healthcare such as user consultation, drug purchase and health management, eventually generating 35,000 labels for various diseases. Ping An Good Doctor's AI-assisted medical system has been continually optimized with continuous investment in deep learning technology, NLP (Natural Language Processing) technology, knowledge maps and a supercomputing platform driven by big data. As of December 31, 2018, the system had been applied to the entire in-house medical team and more than 100 hospitals, providing consultation solutions for more than 3,000 types of disease. The system provides patients with smart guidance, diagnosis and prescription and other services as well as assisting in-house medical teams and hospitals with medical information automation and medical process standardization, improving the efficiency of diagnosis and treatment. Thanks to the improvement of the AI-assisted medical system and optimization of the operation of the in-house medical team, the daily average number of consultations reached 535,000 as of December 31, 2018, a year-on-year increase of 45.4%, maintaining a 98% user satisfaction rate. In 2018, the Company continued to deepen cooperation efforts with Ping An Group and upgraded the insurance model; innovatively released annual paid commercial insurance membership products; provided customers with full-process medical healthcare membership services covering pre-treatment, diagnosis and post-treatment; integrated disease treatment and health management. During the reporting period, the Company's membership products in cooperation with commercial insurance companies contributed revenue of over RMB200 million, serving nearly 1 million clients. 2019: to create new healthcare ecosystem Ping An Good Doctor actively implemented the Healthy China strategy and strictly followed and implemented relevant laws and regulations in 2018. The Company also deployed and strengthened operation management in a timely manner, and actively explored business model innovation, core technology research and development and new product promotion, achieving sustained and strong growth. In August 2018, Ping An Good Doctor established a joint venture with Grab Holdings Inc. to scale healthcare expertise and AI technology into Southeast Asia. Ping An Good Doctor acquired Wanjia Healthcare in October 2018 to develop offline network, strengthen the closed loop of online and offline healthcare services, and provide integrated services. In the meantime, Ping An Good Doctor played an active role in the Village Doctor Program, a corporate social responsibility program working with local governments to improve rural healthcare through the expertise in online health management. By utilizing "Internet + AI + In-house medical team", Ping An Good Doctor will continue to provide users with high quality, comprehensive and full cycle medical healthcare services in 2019. Meanwhile, it will empower hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, whilst at the same time exporting this technology and service abroad to further accelerate the pace of internationalization. SOURCE Ping An Good Doctor [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] kathy ireland Worldwide Partners with Innovative Augmented/Merged Reality Company AuGames AuGames has partnered with kathy ireland Worldwide (kiWW) to produce augmented and merged reality (AR/MR) experiences, for both consumers and kiWW partners to interact and be drawn into across a range of kathy ireland brands and products. The partnership aims to provide an innovative and immersive experience by creating one of the most exciting and potentially life changing technologies for a generation. "We're proud & energized to partner with the kathy ireland Worldwide family. With technology moving at ferocious pace, it can be hard for both business owners and consumers to know a passing 'fad' or 'trend' and what technology can envelop a true paradigm shift that has the ability to integrate into our everyday work and family lives for the better," said DR Dunlop, Cofounder and Executive of AuGames. "kathy ireland Worldwide is one of the most successful brands in the world. By kiWW joining forces with AuGames, it enforces a key business strategy-- in today's globally connected digital commerce world, businesses must continue to innovate, reinvent and deliver. AuGames' ethos and vision is at the forefront and a driving force behind the AR/MR/ leap from 'fun AR games' into immersive and connected 'human empowered experiences' that has the power to transform and enhance people's lives, for the better," DR Dunlop continued. "We are thrilled to partner with AuGams," says Kathy Ireland, Chair, CEO and Chief Designer of kiWW. "We live in such exciting times, with the constant evolving advancements in technology bringing exciting new opportunities both in our personal lives and in business. AuGames is at the forefront of this revolution and we look forward to bringing our customers the best available AR experience." "The AR gaming aspect is a great way for people of all ages to be introduced, educated and know more about how augmented reality works. The data that we gather will guide future and more natural ergonomic human interactions and operability across multiple industries and ultimately become part of everyday life," said Jonathan Laramy, Cofounder and Executive of AuGames. "Simply put, AR is one of the biggest paradigm shifts of a generation." Pre-Production and imagineering with kathy ireland Worldwide begins in early 2019 in Los Angeles, California and Dallas, Texas, with the first augmented reality experience being introduced in Spring 2019, and continuing throughout the rest of the year. Branding paragraph about AuGames AuGames founded in Dallas TX, brings their 10+ years of imagineering AR/MR/VR experience across multiple industry verticals around the world and built a company that looks at businesses, technology, life changing experiences and thoughtful design - but through a completely different lens. AuGames is reimagining the world - beyond your reality. About kathy ireland Worldwide (kiWW) kiWW is listed as one of the most powerful brands in the world by License Global Magazine. Kathy Ireland is named one of the 19 most influential women in licensing by License Global magazine and according to Fairchild Publications, Kathy Ireland is one of the 50 most influential people in fashion. Furniture Today names Kathy one of the most influential leaders in the furniture industry. Kathy graces the cover of Forbes Magazine twice (2012, 2016). kiWW is responsible for billions of dollars in retail sales. kiWW is the recipient of multiple awards including several Good Housekeeping Seals. Kathy and kiWW support many non-profits including YWCA Greater Los Angeles for which she is an Ambassador, Dream Foundation, Providence Educational Foundation, 911 for Kids/AEF, and the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Kathy is named an Ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005191/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] The Proscere Bioscience Division of Simlatus to Close Export CBD Deal in Europe -- a $225M Market Expectation San Francisco, California, Feb. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Simlatus Corporation (OTC PINK:SIML) (Simlatus or the Company) announces that its CBD division, Proscere Bioscience, has reached a closing date on or before March 31, 2019 with a Swiss-based CBD company. Proscere Bioscience manufactures and distributes commercial cold-water CBD extraction systems. This advanced method and technology is highly effective in producing medical-grade CBD. Richard Hylen further stated, Our CBD extraction systems range from $750,000 for a high-end commercial system capable of 3000 gallons per day, to our low-end model costing $400,000. The company in Switzerland will receive an exclusive 5 year license with sell volume discounts of up to $50M per year. Europe is already a fertile ground for hemp and its growing fast thanks to the increasing consumption of other hemp-based products. In 2016, 33,000 hectares of hemp were cultivated on the continent, which equals about 81,500 acres. In the same year, the United States grew 9,650 acres. Mr. Hylen further stated, Our European target is the large pharmaceutical companies. Epidiolex,which is CBD based, is used to treat seizures. CBD can be used to help people suffering with a wide range of ailments. From treating pain, inflammation, infections, sleep issues and mood disorders. CBD is also proven to support the immune system, protects the brain and fights cancer. Our commercial cold-water CBD extraction system is expected to yield $225M over the next 5 years, based upon expected growth and application. Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements which are not statements of historical fact. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Companys future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as believes, anticipates, expects, estimates, may, could, would, will, or plan. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet managements expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to changes in general economic and financial market conditions. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. Contact: Richard Hylen, CEO Tel: (530) 205-3437 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] Internet Society Hosts Roundtables: What Could the Introduction of Social Media Rules Mean for the Internet in Canada? Tuesday's call by Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould for the Canadian Government to consider new rules on social media platforms in the lead up to the next election could lead to serious consequences. As Canada gears up for what will likely be a heated election, there is no question there are pressing security concerns. And, while governments have a duty to protect their citizens, some decisions --such as regulation that is disproportionate-- may harm the Internet. The Internet Society will host round-table discussions with Ottawa policymakers and business leaders on the unintended consequences of regulation, Dr. Konstantinos Komaitis, Senior Director of Policy Development and Strategy will explore the dangers of how unilateral lawmaking could impact the infrastructure of the Internet and how taking a collaborative approach to regulation can mitigate risks. WHAT: Roundtable: Creating Laws and Regulation that Won't Break the Internet WHERE: Hart House, University of Toronto DATE: February 27, 2019 TIME: 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. WHERE: Rideau Club, 99 Bank St., Ottawa DATE: February 28, 2019 TIME: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Media are welcome to attend the event. About the Internet Society Founded by Internet pioneers, the Internet Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet. Working through a global community of chapters and members, the Internet Society collaborates with a broad range of groups to promote the technologies that keep the Internet safe and secure, and advocates for policies that enable universal access. The Internet Society is also the organizational home of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005005/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] China Driving eSIM Adoption Says New GSMA Report The GSMA today announced the release of a new report highlighting the significant progress made by Chinese mobile operators, vendors and manufacturers in adopting Remote SIM Provisioning and eSIM technologies. The in-depth report which is titled "eSIM in China: the road ahead" and was prepared by GSMA Intelligence in partnership with the Telecommunication Terminal Industry Forum Association (TAF), draws on fresh insights from China's three mobile operators - China Mobile (News - Alert) , China Telecom and China Unicom - as well other companies from the wider mobile ecosystem1 and highlights developments particularly in the consumer electronics and IoT sectors. "In China and around the world, the huge adoption of eSIM technologies has been underpinned by the GSMA's common and interoperable specification that is reducing fragmentation and delivering a consistent consumer experience," said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA. "From consumer electronics to automotive we are seeing a diverse array of products hitting the market utilizing the benefits of connectivity and bringing consumers choice." Smartwatches Dominate eSIM Deployments; Smartphone Adoption Will Take Time Smartwatches with eSIM technology are gaining momentum in China supported by products from numerous vendors. Although eSIM smartwatches still account for a small percentage of total smartwatch ownership this is likely to increase in the future. To drive adoption, Chinese operators are also allowing consumers to use their smartwatches as secondary devices with one mobile subscription. Despite creating smartphones for the global market, the Chinese domestic market has not formally adopted eSIM technology which will require appropriate regulation and new manufacturing, logistical and supply chain processes. Globally, over fifty mobile operators already support eSIM functionality in smartphones. "China has a unique mobile market, both in terms of size and revenue growth and leadership in mobile developments and tech innovation has reached unprecedented levels. China is increasingly demonstrating its technological innovation and is emerging as a leading global market to test and implement new technologies," said Xie Yi, Chairman of TAF. "Promoting the steady development of eSIM in China will help support developments in both the consumer and industrial markets. Based on the premise of national conditions, TAF has been committed to all parties in the joint industrial chain and cooperation with the GSMA, to make the best efforts to this end." China Setting the Groundwork The report highlights the role of industry-wide collaboration in driving eSIM developmets in China involving operators, government and regulatory bodies. China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom are all developing eSIM solutions and have launched cellular M2M and IoT eSIM platforms. The Chinese eSIM market is still in an early phase of development in which some proprietary solutions coexist with GSMA specifications. However, it is anticipated that there will be a transitional period as the market matures before it settles on the GSMA specification. Regulation Key to eSIM Adoption The report highlights the significant efforts being made in China to help set a favourable regulatory framework for eSIM deployments. Streamlining procedures and setting clear, unified rules on eSIM requirements for consumer and industrial devices is critical to accelerating the deployment of eSIM technology and its market adoption. This includes credentials management, designation of root certificate issuing and security and cross-border interoperability. The report also recommends that the government should facilitate trials of eSIM services, particularly in the nascent industrial IoT to promote an open eSIM ecosystem. Global Adoption of eSIM Technology The report highlights that there have been significant developments in the global eSIM ecosystem over the past two years with more than 90 mobile industry players supporting the GSMA's specifications for Remote SIM Provisioning of consumer devices around the world. All are aligned behind a single, defacto approach avoiding industry fragmentation and interoperability issues, driving global developments and allowing consumer choice. While smartwatches were the first mass market product to adopt the technology, there is now growing implementation of eSIM functionality in tablets, laptops, notebooks and smartphones (e.g. Google and Apple (News - Alert) ). The automotive industry is also at the forefront of eSIM deployments and built-in connectivity is also now a specific requirement in Europe following the European Emergency Call (eCall) initiative. eSIM at MWC19 The GSMA will host a seminar on eSIM at MWC19 on Thursday 28th February between 9-11am. The session will include a panel of expert speakers to explore and debate the challenges in deploying eSIM and bringing devices to market including topics such as. Security, Scalability and Connectivity. For further information, please go to: https://www.mwcbarcelona.com/session/esim-seminar-from-specification-to-live-products/ Get Involved at Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2019 For more information on MWC19 Barcelona, including how to exhibit or sponsor, visit www.mwcbarcelona.com. Follow developments and updates on MWC19 on Twitter (News - Alert) @GSMAEvents using #MWC19, on our LinkedIn MWC page www.linkedin.com/showcase/mwcbarcelona/ or on Facebook (News - Alert) at www.facebook.com/mobileworldcongress/. Follow other GSMA news and activity on Twitter @GSMA. -ENDS- Notes to Editors 1. The following companies contributed to the report: Audi, China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, China-ASEAN Information Harbor (CAIH), Gemalto, Giesecke+Devrient (G+D), Gotell, Hengbao, HPE, Huawei, Infineon Technologies, Little Genius (News - Alert) , Microsoft, Mobvoi, Redtea Mobile, Samsung, Showmac and Valid. About the GSMA The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators with over 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces the industry-leading MWC events held annually in Barcelona, Los Angeles and Shanghai, as well as the Mobile 360 Series of regional conferences. For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005041/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] Indian President Presents Award to The Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa in Recognition of Years of Work to Eliminate Leprosy At a ceremony held by the Government of India at Rashtrapati Bhawan, the president's official home, on February 26, 2019 (local time), Indian President Ram Nath Kovind presented the Gandhi Peace Prize to The Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also presented Mr. Sasakawa with a handicraft item and a check for 10 million rupees (approximately 15 million yen, or US$140,000) that accompany the prize. Mr. Sasakawa is the first Japanese national to receive the award. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005280/en/ Mr. Sasakawa, Prime Minister Modi, and President Kovind (Photo: Business Wire) Presenting the award, President Kovind recognized Mr. Sasakawa's work, commenting, "He has been instrumental in helping us win crucial battles in the war against leprosy - to prevent and eradicate the disease, and to end stigma and discrimination," and adding "On behalf of India, I must appreciate the services of Mr Sasakawa and his Foundation." In his acceptance speech, Mr. Sasakawa expressed his thanks for the prestigious award, noting, "I do not receive it alone. I receive it together with ll who have worked with me over the years. This award will certainly give us renewed encouragement from Mahatma Gandhi." He also called for continued cooperation going forward, adding "Together, we can realize a world where no one needs to suffer from leprosy nor its associated stigma and discrimination." He also commented that he intends to donate the monetary award to leprosy elimination efforts. About the Gandhi Peace Prize The Gandhi Peace Prize was established in 1995 by the Government of India to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's birth. Past non-Indian recipients include Nobel (News - Alert) Peace Prize laureates Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, and Grameen Bank of Bangladesh. The Indian government awarded the prize to Mr. Sasakawa in recognition of his activities including his work toward the global elimination of leprosy as WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination. Reference: About the Gandhi Peace Prize (Ministry of Culture, Government of India website) https://indiaculture.nic.in/gandhi-peace-prize Reference: Past Gandhi Peace Prize recipients (1995-2014; Ministry of Culture, Government of India website) https://indiaculture.nic.in/sites/default/files/awards/AwardeesGPP_24.09.2018.pdf Ministry of Culture press release announcing the Gandhi Peace Prize recipients for 2015-2018 http://pib.nic.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1560246 About Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of The Nippon Foundation http://leprosy.jp/english/column/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005280/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] Express Logic's GUIX Becomes the First Deeply Embedded GUI Solution Certified to SIL 4, ASIL D, and Medical Class C for Safety-Critical IoT Systems Express Logic, provider of the comprehensive X-Ware IoT Platform powered by the popular ThreadX real-time operating system (RTOS), today announced that its deeply embedded GUIX graphical user interface run-time solution has achieved the highest level of safety certification for the rigorous IEC (News - Alert) 61508 SIL 4, IEC 62304 Class C, ISO 26262 ASIL D, and EN 50128 SW-SIL 4 safety standards. This new certification performed by SGS-TUV Saar is unique to the embedded industry, making GUIX the only choice for safety-oriented applications that have a user interface and require certification. SGS-TUV Saar, formed through a joint venture of Germany's SGS Group and TUV Saarland, is the leading accredited, independent company for testing, auditing, verifying, and certifying embedded software for safety-related systems worldwide. The industrial safety standard IEC 61508 and all standards that are derived from it, including IEC 62304, ISO 26262, and EN 50128, are used to ensure the functional safety of electrical, electronic, and programmable electronic safety-related medical devices, process control systems, industrial machinery, and railway control systems. SGS-TUV Saar has evaluated the relevant parts of Express Logic's modified waterfall development process for GUIX, with phase overlap and phase blending, to ensure that best development practices have been followed at these phases: Requirements management Design Verification Maintenance "We are fully committed to providing the best quality products - saving our customers time and money and helping them reduce risk," said William E. Lamie, CEO of Express Logic. "The new certification of GUIX further enables customers with user interface needs to leverage the benefit of our safety- and security-certified best-of-class offerings." About Express Logic and ThreadX Headquartered in San Diego, CA (News - Alert) , Express Logic, offers the industry's most advanced run-time solutions for deeply embedded applications, including the popular ThreadX RTOS, the high-performance NetX and NetX Duo TCP/IP stacks, the FileX embedded FAT compatible file system, the USB Host/Device USB protocol stack, and the GUIX embedded graphical user interface development toolkit. Express Logic products include full source-code and are available free of run-time royalties. For more information about Express Logic solutions, please visit www.expresslogic.com, call 1-888-THREADX, or e-mail sales@expresslogic.com. ThreadX, TraceX, FileX, and X-Ware IoT Platform are registered trademarks, and Safety-Critical Certification Pack, NetX, NetX Duo, USBX, GUIX, GUIX Studio, LevelX, preemption-threshold, picokernel, and UDP (News - Alert) fast path technology are trademarks of Express Logic. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005095/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 26, 2019] Apigate Partners with One97/Paytm for E-Wallet and Content Services BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Apigate announces a global partnership with One97/Paytm, India's largest e-Wallet service provider, to connect its international partners to Paytm's wallet services and its customers while expanding the reach of One97's (Paytm's parent company) content services to customers worldwide. One97 is India's largest marketplace that runs Paytm, India's largest digital payments and ecommerce platform including other subsidiaries such as Paytm Money, Paytm Mall and Paytm Payments Bank. Through this partnership, One97 is leveraging Apigate's new-breed API platform to bring One97's network of varied content within Asia as a part of the first phase followed by Europe in phase two. Concurrently, Apigate opens up Paytm's large volume of wallet users and merchants for its international partners with just one connection. "One97 has a global growth agenda to expand our reach to a wider audience segment and we found Apigate to be the ideal partner for us as they are aligned with our needs. Through their telco heritage, the complexities of multiple contracts are remoed, and we can deploy and scale quickly. Ultimately, we want to be able to offer customers a seamless and integrated experience anytime, anywhere. We are happy to extend our portfolio of services to Apigate who can capitalize on our reach, product maturity & brand presence for its international partners," said Senior Vice President of One97, Ajay Shekhar Sharma. Raja Mansukhani, Senior Vice President APAC, Apigate said, "We are ecstatic to partner with One97/Paytm as this is a proof point to the relevance of Apigate's platform in empowering digital transformation to meet the fast advancement demands of today's digital-first customer. We are setting the standards for seamless connectivity to provide a global reach to One97's content services while unlocking Paytm's market share and established ecosystem of e-wallet and other financial services in India to its International partners." About Apigate Apigate is a new-breed Application Programming Interface (API) platform that connects a world class ecosystem to enable businesses to transform digitally. With a reach of 3.5 billion customers, over 110 MNOs and more than 300 connected merchants, Apigate enables connectivity and monetization with one seamless integration. Visit www.apigate.com for more details. About One97/Paytm One97 is India's leading mobile internet company that essentially also runs Paytm which happens to be India's largest digital payments and ecommerce platform. Headquartered in New Delhi, One97 is more than 4,500 people strong with regional offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata with global presence in Africa, Europe, Middle East and Southeast Asia. The company is set to deliver mobile content and commerce services to millions of mobile consumers through India's most widely deployed telecom applications cloud platform. Paytm on the other hand is India's largest digital payments and e-commerce platform and digital e-wallet company. With Paytm, customers can make seamless mobile payments from Cards, Bank Accounts and Digital Credit among others. Paytm pioneered and are the leader of QR based mobile payments in India. One97 and Paytm are backed by marquee investors like Alibaba Group, Ant Financial (AliPay), SAIF Partners, Mediatek, Sapphire Venture and Silicon Valley Bank. Please visit our website at www.one97.com for more details. Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20190227/2384822-1 SOURCE Apigate [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 26, 2019] Government of Canada stands up for telecom consumers: TekSavvy New policy direction puts competition at the heart of CRTC policy CHATHAM, ON, Feb. 26, 2019 /CNW/ - TekSavvy Solutions Inc. ("TekSavvy") today applauded the Government of Canada for ordering the CRTC to promote competition, affordability and consumers' interests while regulating Canada's telecommunications industry. The order directs the CRTC to place competition and consumer interests at the forefront of crucial regulatory proceedings. "Today Minister Bains stood up for Canadian consumers and directed the CRTC to encourage all forms ofcompetition in Canada's telecom sector. The CRTC must put competition and consumers' interests at the heart of its decision-making, pronto!" said Marc Gaudrault, TekSavvy's CEO. "The government's proposed order today signals to the CRTC that competition is crucial for consumers, as TekSavvy customers can attest," says Andy Kaplan-Myrth, VP Regulatory & Carrier Affairs. "The government understands that Canadians need consumer choice and competition. This direction will be a major win for telecom consumers, and it is heartening to see the Government of Canada reinforce the importance of competition and consumer interests," says Janet Lo, VP Privacy & Consumer Legal Affairs. About TekSavvy TekSavvy has been proudly serving Canadians with reliable telecom services for 20 years and has won numerous awards for the quality of its experience and for its commitment to fighting for and upholding consumers' rights online. With offices in Chatham, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec TekSavvy is Canada's largest independent telecom service company with over 300,000 customers from coast to coast. SOURCE TekSavvy Solutions Inc. [February 26, 2019] iTether Wins Phase 1-Addressing Opioid Use in Pregnant Women and New Moms PHOENIX, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- iTether Technologies Inc., provider of application development for behavioral change services, today announced being among 10 first round winners of Addressing Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnant Women and New Moms, a Grand Challenge created by The Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). The winning innovations are technology-based solutions to improve access to quality health care for pregnant and new mothers struggling with opioid use disorder. The innovations aim to reduce barriers in obtaining safe and effective care and treatment, especially for families in rural and geographically isolated areas. Phase 1 winners receive a share of a $100,000 cash prize and continue to Phase 2, where they will develop their prototype and begin small-scale testing through August 2019. Challenge entrants included multidisciplinary teams of academics, health professionals, tech companies, as well as individuals and community groups. Recognizing that health care happens eyond the clinic, iTether's project will expand its digital opioid recovery management platform to improve care coordination and treatment for these women in rural AZ communities. Unique to the platform are personalized care plans, high-quality online education, telehealth access to clinicians, social determinants of health, and tracking of progress toward recovery and wellbeing. Together with partner, Dr. Maria Manriquez, MS, FACOG, University of Arizona College of Medicine, iTether has been awarded a grant of $10,000 to go towards building the platform. iTether is also partnering with Massachusetts Department of Public Health, who will use the platform to deliver its innovative Plan for Safe Care to pregnant women through their Journey Recovery Project. For more information: Karen Burstein, Ph.D., Chief Clinical Officer KBurstein@iTetherTech.com About iTether Technologies Inc. iTether Technologies Inc. provides simple and effective mobile-enabled solutions for changing health behaviors. Our HIPAA compliant care-management system integrates across all levels of care and incorporates continuous monitoring, relevant evidence-based interventions, ongoing assessments, and measures of satisfaction. Through integrated health, patient engagement, and the ability to track measurable and equitable patient outcomes, we deliver evidence that supports value-based care and performance-based payments. iTether raises the standards for behavior modification services and improves long-term success rates. Learn more at www.iTetherTech.com. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Press Contact: Chelsey Canto Ccanto@iTetherTech.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/itether-wins-phase-1-addressing-opioid-use-in-pregnant-women-and-new-moms-300802783.html SOURCE iTether Technologies Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A father suffered significant burns and one of his children sustained smoke-inhalation injuries in a fire at a Carmel Valley apartment on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 26, authorities said. The blaze apparently started when a gust of wind ignited some of the fathers smoking materials about 4:30 p.m. in a second-floor unit at The Club Torrey Pines Apartments on Torrey Bluff Drive, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Battalion Chief David Connor told San Diego News Video. It was unclear what kind of smoking materials the man had in the dwelling, Connor said. When firefighters arrived to the building located near the corner of Carmel Country Road and McGuire Drive, across from a shopping center and south of Del Mar Heights Road they saw smoke coming from the second-floor apartment and raced to fight the flames, Connor said. As firefighters went up the stairs, the burned man and his child were coming down, the battalion chief said. Fire and medic crews assessed the pairs injuries, treated them briefly at the scene and then sent them in ambulances to the specialized burn unit at UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest, Connor said. Firefighters went into the apartment, where they discovered a very small fire in one of the bedrooms, Connor said. The flames were knocked down by 4:52 p.m., Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Alec Phillipp said. The fire displaced the family of five that lived in the apartment, including the injured mans wife and two other children, who were not home at the time of the blaze. They planned to stay with friends or family and declined help from the Red Cross. Even though the injured father told fire crews it was smoking materials that started the blaze, arson investigators were sent to the home Tuesday evening to determine the exact cause of the flames, Connor said. We dont know what it was were not saying it was legal or illegal we dont know yet, Connor told San Diego News Video. Thats what were investigating now. The extent of the injuries to the man and his child were not immediately known, though Connor said the man suffered significant burns, and Phillipp said both patients were taken to the hospital with injuries considered acute or traumatic. No cost estimate of the damage to the apartment was available Tuesday night. [February 26, 2019] Highly Successful with Gamers, Samsung Display Curved Monitor Panels Now Expanding into B2B Market Samsung (News - Alert) Display said today that it expects to boost sales of its curved monitor displays to 10 million, a 30 percent increase from 2018 (year over year), by expanding its focus into the B2B (business to business) and North American markets. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190226006146/en/ Samsung Display Expanding Wildly Successful Curved Monitor Panels to New Markets (Photo: Business Wire) During the past year, the world-class display company has been supplying China, Japan, Taiwan and the U.S. with 10 types of curved monitor panels ranging from 23.6 to 49 inches diagonally. This follows its bold introduction of the world's first display exclusively for curved monitors in 2014. Curved monitors are gaining huge popularity in the medium-and-large high-end monitor segment (greater than 23-inch screens) with highly desired specifications, which include more pronounced curvature that establishes a greater sense of immersion than with modestly curved panels, as well as a near-perfect viewing angle and a wide aspect ratio. Samsung Display sold seven million curved monitor panels in 2018. Optimized for gaming Recently, the monitor market has been revving up with increasing demand for experiencing gaming on wide, curved monitors to enhance a distinct sense of greater interaction with the images on screen. This seemingly unquenchable desire for more direct game involvement has boosted sales of curved monitors and the accompanying curved displays tremendously. Curved monitors are being designed to thoroughly address the needs of gamers with specifications such as a wide screen, a high scan rate and ultra-high-definition resolution. The distance from the center of the monitor to its edges is actually closer with a curvy design, which helps most gamers to concentrate. In addition, a highly stable, flicker-free screen appearance is enabled by a refresh rate of between 144Hz and 165Hz. Furthermore, the ultra-wide sizes are especially popular because they enable a more all-encompassing degree of immersion for the user. Large curved monitors also simplify multitasking. Plans for future growth Samsung Display said that it plans to expand its market share of curved monitor displays by 30 percent this year, primarily through establishing a greater presence in the worldwide B2B market and in North America. In pursuit of even greater market share, the company said that it has entered into a cooperative agreement with Amazon, the world's largest online company, to carry out a variety of promotions for curved monitors. The Samsung Display lineup will be expanded to provide more monitor panels with a tighter (1500R) curvature and the highly desired aspect ratio of 21:9. "We have carefully built the market for curved displays into a new growth engine over the past five years, even as the overall consumer monitor market has slowed somewhat," said Cheol Hur, Vice President of the Large Display Marketing Team at Samsung Display Company. "Now, we will focus not only on growing market share in North America, but also in the global B2B marketplace by enabling curved monitors to increase the focus and productivity of businesses around the world," he added. About Samsung Display Co., Ltd. Samsung Display Co., Ltd. is a global leader in display panel market, with OLED and LCD technologies and products. Employing approximately 70,000 people at nine production facilities and 16 sales offices worldwide, Samsung Display specializes in high-quality displays for consumer, mobile, IT and industrial usage, including those featuring OLED (organic light emitting diode) and LCD technologies. As a total solution provider, Samsung Display strives to advance the future with next-generation technologies featuring ultra-thin, energy-efficient, flexible, and transparent displays. For more information, please visit www.samsungdisplay.com. All Rights Reserved View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190226006146/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] The #MoutaiEvent Spring Festival Campaign Sets a New Paradigm for Overseas Marketing GUIYANG, China, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- From January 23 to February 13, 2019, Moutai Group staged the #MoutaiEvent marketing campaign at global airports and on social media, attracting many overseas fans. Moutai Group advertised in airports in New York, Paris, Tokyo, Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong and Vietnam and created the #MoutaiEvent topic on social media like Facebook and Twitter. Creative posts and posters were distributed to target Moutai fans, who were invited to take a selfie with Moutai's airport advertisement and share it on social media and interact with @MoutaiChina on Facebook. In addition, the "Reunion" series posters and posts were speciallydesigned to reach online fan groups in Thailand, Vietnam, the US, Japan, Australia, France and Singapore, inviting them to take photos of celebrating reunion moments with Moutai drinks. The exposure of this campaign remarkably hit more than 10 million interactions, proving that a large number of fans are learning about Moutai and Chinese culture on social media. With a marketing layout in multiple countries, #MoutaiEvent served as a world-oriented showcase of "Cultural Moutai", helping the audience comprehend the brand image of Moutai and the profound significance of traditional Chinese festivals, while standing out as a successful case of Moutai's efforts to use innovative content and diverse platforms to promote cross-cultural communication. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-moutaievent-spring-festival-campaign-sets-a-new-paradigm-for-overseas-marketing-300802954.html SOURCE Moutai Group [February 27, 2019] Lucerne School of Business: Surviving the FinTech Evolution LUCERNE, Switzerland, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts has conducted its fourth review of the Swiss FinTech market. The results of the study indicate the continued strong growth and increasing importance of the local FinTech sector. The study also seeks to investigate how traditional banks are dealing with the digital evolution. The "IFZ FinTech Study 2019" from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, which was released today, provides an extensive overview of the current condition of and developments in the Swiss FinTech sector. In line with the results from last year's study, the Swiss FinTech sector is still shown to benefit from excellent conditions. The global FinTech hub ranking once again positions the cities Zurich and Geneva on rank 2 and 3 (see image available at AP Images). FinTech is important for Switzerland The FinTech sector experienced strong growth in the year 2018. At the end of the year, Switzerland hosted 356 FinTech companies, corresponding to a growth rate of 62 percent compared to the previous year. Judging by the increasing number of employees and capitalisations of the companies, the sector is also maturing. In contrast, developments in the traditional financial sector show a decreasing number of institutions and employees. Fin is local, Tech is global One of the important conclusions drawn from the FinTech Study 2019 was that global innovation drives FinTech companies. A specific pattern can be identified among the different FinTech business areas. On the one hand, the tech-driven FinTech companies, namely in the areas of Distributed Ledger Technology (eg. Blockchain) and Analytics, have an international orientation. On the other hand, the finance-driven FinTech companies, such as those in the areas of Deposit & Lending or Payment, set their focus on the domestic market. This pattern is observed among the local, as well as international FinTech companies. Innovation should solve a real poblem The main objective of technological innovation in the financial industry should be to achieve higher business volumes, lower costs and/or lower risks for businesses, as well as improved usability and lower costs for users. The consistent implementation of a solid business model is by far more important than the use of exotic technologies. The financial industry needs solutions that are both reliable and interpretable. This presents opportunities for Switzerland as an innovation centre. From hype to reality through disillusionment The findings from last year's study identified the FinTech sector as moving from a hype to reality. This conclusion is confirmed by the results of this year's study with an increased maturation of the sector and larger venture capital transaction volumes. On the contrary, the cryptocurrency market suffered from significant corrections. The developments in the FinTech sector are very diverse and at different stages depending on the business segment and individual company. Traditional banks have to evolve or will end up becoming irrelevant Although FinTech companies are not expected to replace banks, new technologies could make some of the services and processes in the traditional banking industry become irrelevant. The winners of the digital transformation are those businesses which possess the right skills and corporate culture to implement technological innovation quickly and consistently. IFZ FinTech Study 2019 The "IFZ FinTech Study 2019" from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts is released today. The study provides an extensive overview of the Swiss FinTech sector. On the one hand, the study describes the FinTech ecosystem. The analysis is based on the description of the political and legal, economic, social, and technological environment. Furthermore, a review of the different business models from Swiss and foreign FinTech companies is provided, more specifically for the 149 Swiss FinTech companies which participated in the survey. The overviews provide information on the markets, distribution channels and revenue models, as well as the key figures of the company. On the other hand, the study looks at how banks position themselves towards digitalisation and FinTech. The entire study can be ordered at ifz@hslu.ch . What is FinTech? FinTech is defined as software solutions for innovative products, services, and processes in the financial industry, improving, complementing, and/or disrupting existing offerings. Hence, FinTech companies are firms whose main activities, core competencies, and/or strategic focus lie in development those solutions. - Picture is available at AP Images (http://www.apimages.com) - Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts the university of applied sciences of Central Switzerland The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts is the university of applied sciences of the six Central Swiss cantons and comprises the Lucerne Schools of Engineering and Architecture, Business, Information Technology, Social Work, Art and Design, and Music. More than 6,200 students are working towards bachelor's or master's degrees here, while a further 4,400 are in continuing education. The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts is the largest educational institution in Central Switzerland and employs nearly 1,700 staff. www.hslu.ch Media contact: Lucerne School of Business Institute of Financial Services Zug IFZ Prof. Dr. Thomas Ankenbrand Phone: +41-41-757-67-23; e-mail: thomas.ankenbrand@hslu.ch [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] HONOR's Revolutionary Gaming+ Boosts Graphic Performance at MWC 2019 BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 27, 2019 /CNW/ -- HONOR, a leading smartphone brand, has unveiled its revolutionary Gaming+ technology at Mobile World Congress 2019 (MWC 2019). Gaming+ includes a series of technology updates that significantly increase the performance, graphics quality and image definition of mobile games on the HONOR View20. These upgrades come as HONOR has also announced an ecosystem of applications utilizing its 3D TOF camera that herald a new era of AR life. Mr. George Zhao, president of HONOR, said: "HONOR is happy to announce that the latest member of HONOR's View series, the HONOR View20, has already reached the 1.5 million sales milestone. We are moving one step closer to our goal of becoming the top five smartphone brands in three years. With the revolutionary Gaming+ technology, we have further enhanced the smartphone's graphic performance, satisfying young consumers' increasing demands for better mobile gaming experience. Together with the futuristic TOF 3D camera applications, HONOR is bringing consumers the most diverse and exceptional experiences." GAMING+ AND MORE FUN FOR GAMERS The HONOR View20 was unveiled in Paris last month with five world's first features, including: 48MP smartphone camera, 25MP in-screen front camera, 7nm Kirin 980 AI chipset, AI Triple-Antenna Wi-Fi technology, and aurora nanotexture design. Gaming+ improves the gaming experience by upgrading the overall system with GPU efficiency upgrade, GPU load optimization, high definition and AI loading prediction technology. With these advances on Kirin 980 chipset, the HONOR View20 strives for the highest level of mobile gaming performance. The brand new Gaming+ improves SOC energy efficiency by 20.34%[1]. The Mali-G76 GPU chipset upgrade on Kirin 980 includes transform optimization, which enhances job scheduling and parallel computing. This reduces duplicate instructions and GPU overdraws, as well as increases the data transfer speed between CPU, GPU and memory. In addition, the Kirin 980 GPU works seamlessly with the innovative AI frequency modulation scheduling technology to predict task loads by monitoring frame rate per second (fps), image quality and touchscreen inputs in real time, and intelligently identifies performance bottlenecks. For gaming, the new AI technology improves the load prediction accuracy of each frame by more than 30% compared to traditional methods. Another key feature, GPU optimization, enhances image quality and reduces power consumption The upgrade also brings high definition capability to gaming, achieving better contrast, higher brightness levels and a wider color palette. As a result of the Gaming+ upgrade, Fortnite Vulkan version can also be supported on the HONOR View20, bringing gamers a faster and smoother experience[2]. In addition, popular mobile games such as QQ Speed and Arena of Valor have been optimized to support the high definition feature. Gamers can now experience greater clarity and capture more details. Moreover, the HONOR View20's TOF 3D camera creates a new dimension of interactive gaming and more possibilities for the next generation of AR life. This camera is equipped with depth sensing, skeletal recognition and real-time motion capture capabilities, allowing consumers to enjoy various interactive functions such as 3D shaping, AI calorie counting, Magic AR and 3D motion-controlled gaming. Brave Jelly is the latest motion-controlled game added to the family. In the future, HONOR plans to partner with more third parties to create an integrated 3D TOF ecosystem that opens up a new era for AR measure, social media and shopping. THE HONOR VIEW20 RECEIVES NUMEROUS MEDIA PRAISE Since its global launch in January, the HONOR View20's superior design and features have been widely recognized by industry experts and consumers. It has received praise from media and influencers, including 5-star ratings from the most prestigious media in the industry: 5-star rating from Stuff "Honor enters the big leagues with one of the most impressive phones in its class." 5-star rating from The Guardian "It is the first phone out of the gate with a hole-punch notch." 5-star rating from T3 "The Honor View 20 is, overall, the best mid-range smartphone on the market today." 5-star rating from Expert Reviews "With its in-screen selfie camera and 48-megapixel rear shooter, the Honor View 20 is one of the most exciting phones we've seen in ages." At the regional level, the HONOR View20 has also achieved great sales performance. In China, the HONOR View20 is crowned as the dual champion (sales and sales revenue) on online platforms in the price range of RMB 3,000 and above. In the first week after its launch in France, the latest flagship became Amazon's No.1 Best Seller in the category of EUR 499 and above. It also received the Best Selling Flagship Smartphone in Senheng, one of the leading independent retailers in Malaysia. THE HONOR 8X WITH NEW PHANTOM BLUE For the HONOR 8X, HONOR has brought a new phantom blue color to fans in Western Europe. The HONOR 8X has a 2.5D double texture aurora glass body with a grating effect, offering an elegant and smooth look and feel. Since its launch last September, more than 10 million Honor 8X series have been shipped worldwide. Starting from early March, the new HONOR 8X phantom blue will be sold in Fnac in France, on Amazon in Germany, on Hihonor in the U.K., in open market in Italy (including Mediaworld, Unieuro and etc.). About HONOR HONOR is a leading smartphone e-brand. The brand was created to meet the needs of digital natives through internet-optimized products that offer superior user experiences, inspire action, foster creativity and empower the young to achieve their dreams. In doing this, HONOR has set itself apart by showcasing its own bravery to do things differently and to take the steps needed to usher in the latest technologies and innovations for its customers. For more information, please visit HONOR online at www.hihonor.com or follow us on: https://www.facebook.com/honorglobal/ https://twitter.com/Honorglobal https://www.instagram.com/honorglobal/ https://www.youtube.com/honorglobal [1] Tested in 60fps Vulkan games in HONOR lab [2] Fortnite Vulkan version will be coming soon on HONOR View20 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/honors-revolutionary-gaming-boosts-graphic-performance-at-mwc-2019-300803254.html SOURCE Honor [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 26, 2019] Government of Canada proposes new CRTC direction to put Canadians at the forefront of future decisions The proposed order aims to improve the affordability of Internet and cellphone services for Canadians OTTAWA, Feb. 26, 2019 /CNW/ - Good and affordable access to telecommunications services is increasingly important for Canadians to participate and thrive in a digital economy and society. Canadians are concerned about the cost of their Internet and cellphone plans and are looking for lower-cost options and innovative services. Today, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, announced a proposed policy directive that would require the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to consider competition, affordability, consumer interests and innovation in its telecommunications decisions and demonstrate to Canadians that it has done so. Competition is the best way to bring down prices of telecommunications services, including cellphone plans. In regions with strong competition, wireless data plans are up to 32% cheaper than the national average. As Canada's telecommunications landscape continues to evolve, the Government of Canada will closely monitor market dynamics and actively promote competition. Quote "Our government is focused on improving the quality, coverage and, most importantly, the price of telecommunications services for Canadiansno matter where they live. We are giving clear direction to the CRTC that Canadian consumers must be at the forefront of all future decisions. We are ensuring that telecommuncations policy will be made through a consumer-first lens to ensure Canadians have access to quality services at more affordable prices." Quick facts In Budget 2016, the Government of Canada introduced the Connect to Innovate program, which is connecting over 900 communities to high-speed Internetmore than three times the original target of 300 communities. Of these, 168 are Indigenous communities. introduced the Connect to Innovate program, which is connecting over 900 communities to high-speed Internetmore than three times the original target of 300 communities. Of these, 168 are Indigenous communities. In May 2016 , the Government denied Bell's petition to overturn the CRTC's decision to extend wholesale regulation to fibre-to-the-home Internet services. This decision supported increased retail competition for higher speed Internet services. , the Government denied Bell's petition to overturn the CRTC's decision to extend wholesale regulation to fibre-to-the-home Internet services. This decision supported increased retail competition for higher speed Internet services. In 2018, the Government partnered with Canada's largest telecom corporations to launch the Connecting Families initiative to provide affordable Internet access to low-income families. largest telecom corporations to launch the Connecting Families initiative to provide affordable Internet access to low-income families. In the coming months, new lower-cost data-only wireless plans are expected to enter the market and will create more choice for Canadians. To further promote competition in the telecom sector, the Government of Canada will set aside 43% of spectrum for regional providers in the upcoming 600 MHz spectrum auction. Related product Associated links Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on Twitter: @ISED_CA SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada [February 27, 2019] Gateway Mortgage Group Appoints Chief Financial Officer Gateway (News - Alert) Mortgage Group, a full-service mortgage company licensed in 40 states and the District of Columbia, announced Christopher Treece as Chief Financial Officer. Treece will oversee all aspects of the company's finance and accounting functions including financial reporting, accounting operations, funding, deposit operations, and asset liability management. "Christopher brings a wealth of proven experience and expertise in the financial services industry to Gateway, making him a great asset to our team," said Stephen Curry, CEO of Gateway. "As our company begins to evolve into a full-service bank, Christopher brings critical insights which will enhance strategies, improve execution and drive efficiencies. This is good for our investors, customers, team members, and all other stakeholders." Treece joins Gateway with substantial industry experience, having worked in both public accounting and for bank holding companies. Previously, he was the Chief Financial Officer for Guaranty Bancorp in Denver, Colo. which was sold to Independent Bank Group in 2018. As a member of a small management team, Treece helped double the size of the bank while imprving the operating metrics to be among the top quartile within the bank's peer group. His career started as a public accountant where he spent 13 years serving financial institutions of all kinds. Treece graduated from Truman State University with a bachelor's and master's degree in Accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant. "Gateway is an amazing company, and I'm thrilled to join a powerhouse executive team," said Treece. "The ongoing success of the company provides a ton of momentum and the path for opportunity is significant. Gateway is full of driven professionals who live out the company's core values, and I am eager to help the company reach more customers with modern financial solutions." Gateway experienced record growth in 2018, funding more than 29,000 units for a total of $6.1 billion in mortgage loans, up ten percent from 2017. While many of the nations were announcing layoffs in 2018, Gateway opened a total of 40 new branches in 22 states and added over 341 team members. Ending the year strong and entering 2019 with momentum, the company continues to focus on gaining market share and remains in the top tier of mortgage origination and servicing providers. About Gateway Mortgage Group, LLC. Gateway is one of the largest privately held mortgage origination and servicing companies in the United States. Established in 2000 and headquartered in Jenks, Oklahoma, the company employs more than 1,100 team members in over 160 offices nationwide and currently services $18 billion in residential mortgages. For more information about Gateway, visit www.GatewayLoan.com. Gateway Mortgage Group, LLC (NMLS 7233). View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190227005850/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] Dojo By BullGuard Cybersecurity Experts Identify Major Vulnerability In Amazon's Ring Video Doorbell Unencrypted transmission of audio and/or video footage to the Ring application allows for undetectable arbitrary surveillance and injection of counterfeit traffic, compromising home security and putting family members at risk BARCELONA, Spain and SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS -- Cybersecurity expert, Yossi Atias, General Manager, IoT Security at Dojo by BullGuard, the market leading IoT security platform for Communication Service Providers (CSPs), took the stage today at Mobile World Congress to demonstrate a live hack of the Amazon Ring video doorbell, exposing a previously unknown vulnerability in the popular IoT device. The hack revealed unencrypted transmission of audio and/or video footage to the Ring application allows for arbitrary surveillance and injection of counterfeit video traffic, effectively compromising home security and putting family members' safety at risk. Launched in 2012 and acquired in February 2018 by Amazon, the main feature of the Ring video doorbell is two-way communication between the smart video doorbell and the user's mobile app, which acts as a security camera and allows the user to confirm who is ringing their doorbell from anywhere in the world via the internet. Presuming the Ring owner is away from home, they can see who is at their door and then remotely open the door if a supported smart lock is installed to let the housecleaner or babysitter in, for example. The Ring video doorbell vulnerability lies between the cloud service and the Ring mobile application. In the Ring video doorbell hack, Atias was able to change the video feed so the end user 'believed' they were seeing someone they know and let in previously. "Ring is a well-respected IoT brand, however, the vulnerability we discovered in the Ring video doorbell reveals even highly secure devices are vulnerable to attack," said Atias. "This particular vulnerability is complex because it is between the cloud and the Ring mobile app, and is acted upon when the Ring video doorbell owner is away from home meaning the package delivery person, housecleaner or babysitter might not actually be the same person at your door. Letting someone you 'think' you know into your home could potentially have dire consequences, particularly if your kids are at home." Dojo's cybersecurity experts were able to gain access to the application traffic without difficulty and noted that if the Ring owner is at home, Wi-Fi access either cracking weak encryption (if present) or exploiting another smart home device is needed. When the owner is in transit, a hacker can open a rogue Wi-Fi connection nearthe owner and wait for them to join, or join a common public network. Once sharing a network, a simple ARP spoof allows the hacker to capture Ring data traffic before passing it on to the mobile app, and certain 3G/4G configurations may allow intra-network poisoning as well. Encrypting the upstream RTP (Real-Time Transport Protocol) traffic will not make forgery any harder if the downstream traffic is not secure, and encrypting the downstream SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) transmission will not thwart stream interception. Spying on the doorbell allows for a gathering of sensitive information household habits, names and details about family members, including children all of which make the target easy prey for future exploitation. "Security is only as strong as its weakest link," added Atias. "When handling sensitive data like a video doorbell, secure transmission is not a feature, but a must particularly as the average consumer will not be aware of any tampering." The Ring video doorbell vulnerability was found during the process of routine ethical hacking where the Dojo by BullGuard cyber research team examines various IoT devices to constantly improve the Dojo Intelligent IoT Platform (DIP) capabilities to defend against potential vulnerabilities. Amazon has already released a new version of the Ring mobile app where this vulnerability has been fixed and the device is now safe from this kind of attack. Read the full details of the Ring video doorbell vulnerability on the Dojo blog . About BullGuard BullGuard is a multi-award winning, smart home cybersecurity company. We make it simple to protect everything in your digital life from your data, to your identity, to your Smart Home. The BullGuard product portfolio extends to PCs, tablets and smartphone protection, and includes internet security, comprehensive mobile security, 24/7 identity protection and VPN which provides the highest levels of privacy and protection. BullGuard released the world's first IoT vulnerability scanner and leads the consumer cybersecurity industry in providing continuous innovation. Dojo by BullGuard is an award-winning intelligent defense system and service that provides the highest level of protection to consumers across all of their connected devices and smart homes. Dojo by BullGuard is the cornerstone of a Smart Home, ensuring a connected world where every consumer in every home, is smart, safe and protected. Follow us on Twitter @BullGuard and @DojoSafe, and like us on Facebook at BullGuard and Dojo. All trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/517773/BullGuard_Dojo_Logo.jpg [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] Cybint Solutions and Skaled Sandbox join forces to establish Phoenix Cyber Center of Excellence PHOENIX, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Global cyber education leader Cybint Solutions and Skaled Sandbox, a collaborative and comprehensive business, education, and innovation ecosystem, are taking steps to close the global cybersecurity workforce skills gap with the formation of their Phoenix Cyber Center. The Phoenix Cyber Center will serve as a region-wide hub and ecosystem for top-tier cyber education, public and private community resources, solutions and thought leadership, to meet the needs of learners at all levels. It will be housed within the Skaled Sandbox downtown Phoenix location, opening Spring 2019. Other collaborators and supporters of the Center include Ariel University Cyber Range, Tel-Aviv University Cyber Range, Cleverdome, Arizona Department of Veterans' Services, Clickable Institute of Technology and Entrepreneurship, Bottega, Shift Creative Solutions, Shift Creative Ventures, HPS Law, and StratTech Solutions. Through the partnership, Cybint Solutions will deliver its comprehensive suite of multi-level cyber education and professional development offerings. Classes range from cyber literacy for non-technical professionals to advanced, hands-on Simu-Labs and cyber range environment for those pursuing a cybersecurity career. Students and professionals will have virtual access to the full array of education and resources in advance of the opening of the physical location. Cybint Solutions and Skaled Sandbox will play an active role at the upcoming Phoenix Start-up Week , where they will host a booth and lead a panel discussion focusing on success in the private/public tech ecosystem to improve the community. In addition, through the partnership with the AZ Deparment of Veterans' Services, Director Wanda Wright will select three U. S. military veterans who are pursuing cyber careers to receive Phoenix Cyber Center educational scholarships. "We're excited at the opportunities we see in the start-up and entrepreneurial landscape, and our partnership with Skaled Sandbox," said Roy Zur, Cybint Solutions CEO. "There's great awareness within this space of the need for cyber knowledge and expertise, and with Skaled Sandbox I believe we can make a difference, setting fledgling businesses up for success and continuing to further our mission of closing the skills gap in the cyber world." "Partnering with Cybint was an easy choice. The company brings the world-class Israel cyber technology, and adding it to our ecosystem provides a powerful resource to deploy in the state of Arizona. Skaled Sandbox is a turnkey solutions company, with the ability to monitor cyber threats, educate at the highest level, secure data utilizing military grade technology, as well as offer disaster mitigation and recovery solutions," said Kyle Kummerle, Skaled Sandbox Partner. "We are extremely excited for the ability to create sustainable jobs for the state of Arizona." About Cybint Solutions Cybint is a global cyber education leader that provides training, certifications and learning solutions across the cybersecurity and intelligence spectrum. Cybint is a collaboration of military-trained cybersecurity experts, cyber industry veterans and well-seasoned higher education professionals. Today, Cybint partners with institutions spanning business, higher education and government to establish world-class cyber centers of excellence. With an eye toward preparing the next generation of cyber experts and solving the critical cyber skills gap our world faces, the cyber centers offer the highest quality and most comprehensive cybersecurity and intelligence education, training and resources available. The centers address cybersecurity and intelligence at the individual level creating a deep and powerful network of cyber expertise that goes far beyond the typical technical expertise. Cyber centers are currently located in key regions across the U.S., as well as in Italy, South Africa and other nations. About Skaled Sandbox Skaled Sandbox facilities include approximately 22,000 square feet between two buildings on 1.2 acres in downtown Phoenix off Indian School and 7th St. Within its secure walls it houses the most relevant in-demand accredited technical and vocational education in a variety of capacities. The building itself houses a 3500 sq/ft fully acoustic sound stage and production facility. A 2500 sq/ft full stack state-of-the-art data center will house Skaled's partners' military grade technologies ranging from Cyber Intelligence Monitoring to Mitigation and Disaster Recovery, that are being offered to governments as well as client-facing services. Skaled Sandbox will house an on-premise cyber war range in the next six months. Online remote access is available immediately. The opportunity to use, implement and learn about AI and VR technology will be located on-premises. We have carefully selected companies who are innovating and developing products and services at the forefront of cutting-edge technologies. Skaled Sandbox is community- and economy-driven. Our mission is to greatly impact the local community for good by focusing on reverse engineering relevant education, workforce and economic development, technological innovation, and business venture development. We believe that by bringing technology partners into our ecosystem and the community, providing education and training to prepare people for high-growth, high-paying and sustainable careers, and supporting early-stage technology companies in their growth, we will achieve our mission. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cybint-solutions-and-skaled-sandbox-join-forces-to-establish-phoenix-cyber-center-of-excellence-300802887.html SOURCE Cybint Solutions [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] Carnegie Mellon University Takes Top Honors at Fifth Annual Deloitte Foundation Cyber Threat Competition NEW YORK, Feb. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Four students from Carnegie Mellon University won the 2019 Deloitte Foundation Cyber Threat Competition. Team members Karttik Panda, Veera Nandiraju, Sanika Suwant and Nishith Yadav each received $2,000 in scholarship money. Carnegie Mellon University teams have competed since the competition began five years ago, and always rank amongst top performing teams. This is the first win for the university. The competition consisted of three rounds over the last two month that culminated Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019. The first round was an online cyber competency quiz and the second was an online technical challenge. In both, students competed individually. Then, the top qualifying student competitors from each university were invited to Deloitte's leadership center, Deloitte University in Westlake, Texas, to represent their schools as teams and compete in the final round the Cyber Wargame event. In this competition, the teams faced off during a two-day challenge that simulated a real corporate environment during a cyber-attack. Teams had to evaluate the information available and return a response plan recommendation to a fictitious team of corporate executives, made up of Deloitte cyber professionals. "In the first rounds, we test their technical cyber chops, but the final round is quite different from most cyber hackathon competitions, as we also test their business acumen," said Anthony Russo, a cyber risk services principal in Risk and Financial Advisory at Deloitte & Touche LLP. "Real-world cyber incidents test even the most capable business leaders and impact an entire organization not merely their information technology environments. It's important for students to experience how corporations today may be responding to such events, and to test the critical thinking, communication and problem-solving skills they will need as they head into the workforce." The first-place team received $2,000 in scholarship money per student, the second-place team received $1,000 per student and the third-place team receied $500 in scholarship per student. Students from Purdue University placed second overall, and the university was a new entrant to the competition this year. Four undergraduate students from Terry College of Business at The University of Georgia finished third. "The Deloitte Foundation recognizes cybersecurity as one of the most complex challenges that students can face as they enter the working world, and as one of the largest talent voids organizations are struggling to address," said John Rooney, principal, Deloitte Transaction & Business Analytics LLP and Deloitte Foundation board member. "Our mission is to accelerate education innovation and we're excited to see the interest in and growth of the Cyber Threat Competition over the past five years. The Foundation is committed to finding creative and impactful ways to prepare students for the future." Barathi Krishnamurthy, a student in the masters program in information systems represented the University of Washington during the competition, and had this to say about the importance of such experiences, "In business school, we learn cyber concepts but it's a base upon which to build. The competition gives us the flavor of work that real cyber professionals do. This simulation experience put me directly in their shoes when a cyber incident occurs. I was able to connect a lot of dots from the classroom with what I learned in the competition and confirmed this is the industry where I want to be involved." Students preparing to enter the workforce are facing an evolving cyber landscape and therefore should prepare themselves differently to meet these growing needs of organizations. Universities must now equip their students with the tools to meet those needs and become successful in this new landscape. To help accomplish this, this year's competition also featured a separate session for educators from the attending schools in Deloitte's Greenhouse Lab. In the Cyber Faculty Greenhouse Lab, educators participated in a full-day of dynamic engagement and collaborative brainstorming exercises. The lab was designed to equip educators with the tools they need to prepare the talent of tomorrow to face the changing the nature of cyber work, including the adaption of IoT, robotics and increased globalization. "These competitions and experiences are invaluable for our students to understand the scope of cyber outside of solving puzzles and technical challenges," said Jeff Jenkins, a professor in the masters in cybersecurity program at Brigham Young University. "However, the Cyber Faculty Greenhouse Lab led by Deloitte was an outstanding opportunity to collaborate, discuss and plan for the cyber education opportunities and challenges of the future." This competition, designed by Deloitte Cyber Risk Services, and supported by the Deloitte Foundation, exposes some of America's top students to the business and technology dimensions of cyber risk and inspires the next generation of talent interested in the type of challenges that companies from all industries encounter every day. With more than 3,500 cyber professionals in the U.S. alone, Deloitte's cyber practice helps complex organizations embrace cyber everywhere as part their strategic business objectives and more confidently leverage advanced technologies to achieve their strategic growth, innovation and performance goals. About Deloitte Foundation The Deloitte Foundation, founded in 1928, is a not-for-profit organization that supports education in the US through a variety of initiatives that help develop the talent of the future and their influencers and promote excellence in teaching, research and curriculum innovation. The Foundation sponsors an array of national programs relevant to a variety of professional services, benefiting middle/high school students, undergraduates, graduate students and educators. Learn more about the Deloitte Foundation. About Deloitte Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, including nearly 90 percent of the Fortune 500 and more than 5,000 private and middle market companies. Our people work across the industry sectors that drive and shape today's marketplace to make an impact that matters delivering measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to see challenges as opportunities to transform and thrive, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthy society. Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them. Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ("DTTL"), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the "Deloitte" name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about our global network of member firms. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/carnegie-mellon-university-takes-top-honors-at-fifth-annual-deloitte-foundation-cyber-threat-competition-300802794.html SOURCE Deloitte [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 27, 2019] Canadian consumers will win under government's proposed policy direction to the CRTC TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2019 /CNW/ - Distributel Communications Limited commends the federal government and the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) for proposing a consumer-focused policy direction to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC.) "Yesterday's announcement is tremendous news for Canadian consumers, who are looking for competitive choice and affordability when it comes to wireless, internet, television, and phone services," said Matt Stein, CEO of Distributel. "Consumers will win when their interests are prioritized in policy considerations." ISED ha issued a proposed policy direction to the CRTC aimed at promoting competition, affordability, consumer interests, and innovation. The policy direction will provide Canadian consumers with the choice in telecommunications service options that they deserve. "Achieving a truly competitive telecommunications marketplace is the best way to ensure that Canadians have access to the benefits of consumer choice as well as innovative and differentiated services that not only meet, but respond to their needs," said Mr. Stein. "The proposed policy direction represents another strong measure taken by Minister Bains to ensure Canadian telecommunications policy serves to promote competition, innovation and the interests of Canadian consumers." A longstanding advocate for fair access to the wholesale services of the large national incumbent providers, Distributel is pleased that the Government of Canada has taken this important step in ensuring and prioritizing greater competitive choice to benefit Canadian consumers. About Distributel Communications Limited Established in 1988, Distributel is a leading national, independent telecommunications provider offering a wide range of business and residential communications services. 100% Canadian-owned, with offices across the country and a national network, Distributel continues to forge new partnerships and bring innovative solutions to market directly and through a thriving wholesale division. ThinkTel, the Business Services Division of Distributel, is a provider of advanced voice and data services for the SMB and Enterprise markets throughout Canada. TV services provided through Zazeen Inc., an IPTV service provider that operates in Ontario and Quebec. As a top Microsoft Solutions Partner and a Cisco PMP, the Business Services division is focused on driving industry innovation. For more information, visit: www.distributel.ca SOURCE Distributel Communications Limited [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The man who helped found several North County agencies and programs for the needy decades ago has been able to see his work come to life and evolve. After all, reaching your 100th birthday would allow such opportunities. Deacon Al Graff Courtesy Deacon Al Graff, of St. James and St. Leo Catholic Community in Solana Beach, celebrated his centenarian birthday Jan. 23 with 250 guests from the church and the organizations he was instrumental in. Since May 1983 when he became an ordained deacon to serve the poor Graff has been a board member or founding party of Esperanza International in Tijuana, San Diego County's Community Housing Works, St. James and St. Leo Medical and Dental Program in Solana Beach, the Community Resource Center in Encinitas, the Mexican American Educational Guidance Association (MAEGA), and the Head Start facility for underprivileged children in Solana Beach. "It's been fun being on the organizations," Graff said in a recent interview at his La Jolla home. "You can contribute and you can be active in those organizations. The key is, the end results of all five of these organizations is to help the poor. If you have a little money, you should spend time helping those that don't have money." All that work, however, was not something Graff needed to do. One month prior to becoming a deacon a role that precedes the ranks of priest and bishop he had retired from a career with General Atomics. Despite the opportunity to relax, Graff decided to keep working. The founding priest of St. James asked him to become a deacon, following about a decade of volunteer work before the church had even opened. Deacons assist the priests and are delegated to serve specific parts of the community. They are ordained in the Catholic Church and can baptize, preside in marriages and preach on Sundays at the altar. Unlike priests and bishops, deacons can also be married, as Graff was for 63 years to his wife, Marianne. Deacon Peter Hodsdon, who helped facilitate the interview with Graff, said instead of deacons being assigned a focus, "it chooses you." Graff's calling was serving the needy. Some noteworthy achievements throughout his career as a deacon include: Co-founding Esperanza International in Tijuana in 1985. He helped build a medical and dental clinic and a home for the nuns. He also designed and built concrete interlocking block houses. To date, more than 1,000 small homes have been built. Co-founding Community Housing Works in 1988. The organization continues to offer thousands of low-income apartments throughout San Diego County. Graff was also instrumental in the hiring of Sue Reynolds, the organization's president and CEO. Co-founding the St. James and St. Leo Medical and Dental program in 1991. Board member of the Community Resource Center in Encinitas from 1990 to 2005. The organization offers various assistance for needy people throughout North County. While on the board, Graff helped build a two-story building to house mothers and children, start a food initiative and begin the organization's Christmas program. Current board member of MAEGA, which offers college scholarships for area Latino students, since 1993. About 60 scholarships have been given annually, and about 20 to 30 scholarship renewals are given to the neediest students. Installing a Head Start teaching facility at St. Leo in the early 2000s. When asked what the secret was to reach 100 years and not suffering from a major health incident (a stroke) until he was 96 Graff said the answer was to never retire. "I think when you retire, you just kind of go to sleep," he said. Hodsdon said in diaconate work, deacons will often "plant seeds," but they may not live long enough to see the results or projects may fail. "In his case, [the seeds] have grown like you wouldn't believe," Hodsdon said. "What he's getting to see is the harvest, which is unusual. Most people don't see a harvest. You plant and plant and plant and think you did the best you could. He's lived enough to actually see it happen, which is a great privilege. That's the grace he has received through his old age to see things he started 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago blossoming now." And now, Graff, who still works as a deacon part-time, is thinking about the future and how he can continue to serve his community once he's gone. On his 100th birthday, Graff, who received recent recognition from Pope Francis, announced the Deacon Al Graff Scholarship, which would provide funds for children to attend St. James Academy. Tuition at the school costs about $8.600, Hodsdon noted. At his recent birthday party, guests raised more than $35,000 for the "needs-based" scholarship. Graff also intends to leave a part of his will to the program. "The dais and the schools say we have to keep these schools in operation," Graff said. "We do whatever we have to do to make sure they're operating well." A forensic scientist found no evidence that a serious assault took place in Mary Lowry's home, the last place where DJ Bobby Ryan was seen alive.Scientists from Forensic Science Ireland examined areas where gardai reported positive results from blood tests in Ms Lowry's bedroom and living room. Further analyses using tests designed specifically for human blood showed that none of the areas identified were actually blood stains. Dr Martina McBride said one sample on a light fitting and ceiling that gave a "presumptive positive" result for blood was probably fly faeces which can be mistaken for blood by equipment routinely used by gardai. Chemical testing and DNA sampling showed no signs of human blood, she said. One spot in the bedroom was positively identified as DNA but testing could not show if the source was blood. She said DNA can be found as a result of someone touching a surface, sneezing, coughing or spitting. All bodily fluids, she said, contain DNA. Dr McBride and Dr Hilary Clarke were giving evidence in the trial of Patrick Quirke (50) of Breanshamore, Co Tipperary who has pleaded not (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 Ms 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). Dr McBride told prosecuting counsel Michael Bowman SC that considering the injuries to Mr Ryan she would expect to see large amounts of blood in the area where he had been assaulted. She concluded that there were no signs in Ms Lowry's home of an assault where large amounts of blood were spilled. She further noted that the house had been painted in the 22 months since Mr Ryan's disappearance. This was why, she said, she examined skirting boards where water containing traces of blood might seep down when a wall is cleaned. She also examined ceilings because sometimes people don't notice blood on the ceiling. While she said she found no evidence of an assault, she said the absence of blood may not be significant because of the time that had passed and the fact the house had been painted since Mr Ryan's disappearance. Under cross examination the witness told Lorcan Staines SC for the defence that the nature of the assault, in which Mr Ryan suffered multiple fractures to the head, would lead her to expect to find "a lot of blood". However, the passing of time and fact it had been painted lowered that expectation. She added: "I went there with the expectation that it was worth looking for blood." A small spot found beside a press in the bedroom did test positive for DNA, she told Mr Staines, but further testing was unable to show if the source was blood or any other bodily fluid and it was not possible to generate a profile that would have allowed them to identify who the DNA came from. Eight out-buildings on the farm were not suitable for the standard blood tests, she told Mr Staines, as there was a lot of matter that would have given false positives. It would have been like "looking for a needle in a hay stack," she said. Dr Hilary Clarke said she identified the body found in the tank by generating a DNA profile from a tooth. She compared that with the DNA of Mr Ryan's children Michelle and Robert Jnr and said she was satisfied that the body was their father and therefore was Mr Ryan. She examined various samples taken from Mr Ryan's van but found only low level traces of DNA not suitable for further identification. She also examined two lump hammers sent to the labs by investigating gardai and found male DNA on the handle of one of them. She was able to eliminate Bobby Ryan, Robert Ryan Jnr and Patrick Quirke as the source of that DNA. She also looked at tubing, cable ties, a broken hair clip and other items found in the tank after Mr Ryan's body had been removed. She did not sample them for DNA as she said she would have no expectation of finding DNA on them. The trial continues in front of Justice Eileen Creedon and a jury of six men and six women. Farmington, WV (26555) Today Thunderstorms likely. A few storms may be severe. High 82F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Thunderstorms likely. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Want some good news? The Democratic leadership of the House of Representatives has proposed a sweeping pro-democracy and anti-corruption package as its first piece of legislation. Sponsored by U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Maryland, the For the People Act (H.R. 1) represents the boldest democracy reform agenda in decades, aimed at shoring up democratic principles that are the bedrock of American democracy. Voting reforms in H.R. 1 include restoring the Voting Rights Act, gutted by a 2013 Supreme Court decision; enacting same-day and automatic voter registration; and preventing gerrymandering by drawing districts based on transparent factors rather than partisan self-interest. THE ISSUE: The Wadsworth Center is a win for Albany, but it will be built on tax-exempt land. THE STAKES: Without a guaranteed payment from the state, Wadsworth will do little to truly help New York's capital. The state's decision to build its Wadsworth Center in Albany is a win for the city and for Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy, who aggressively lobbied to place the medical research laboratory and its 800 jobs in the capital city, rather than on publicly owned land in Rensselaer County. It can be an even bigger win for city residents, though, if New York state chooses to be a good neighbor. Wadsworth is no small thing. Now scattered among five locations, the new, 650,000-square-foot lab represents a $750 million investment that could, if New York successfully partners with private industry, leverage hundreds of new jobs and significant additional development. So far, so good. But there's a rub. Wadsworth will be built at the Harriman State Office Campus, a suburban-style development that is in Albany but not of it. Harriman is an island apart, with a ring-road that whisks its thousands of workers onto the highway and, often, out of the city. Most significantly, from the view of City Hall, the campus is tax-exempt. That means Wadsworth and associated development may do little to help a city that perpetually faces dire budget shortfalls caused partly by the state gobbling up so much of Albany's most valuable land. Mayor Kathy Sheehan and allies in the Legislature hope to convince Gov. Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers to pair Wadsworth with $12.5 million in permanent state funding for the city that is, a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, or PILOT. The key word is permanent; for years, Albany has had to plead annually for the money to close its budget gap. Last year, after participating once again in the tin-cup routine, the city received the $12.5 million. So far, the money is not in this year's budget. In a way, the PILOT would make amends for a broken promise. In 2002, then-Gov. George Pataki vowed to turn the 330-acre campus, perhaps the city's best available development site, into a hub for private, high-tech employers and to put the campus on the tax rolls for Albany's benefit. Governor Pataki's Democratic successors downplayed the plan, and it finally died under the Cuomo administration, which has been returning state workers to Harriman and building more government facilities there. The city's need for a new and reliable revenue stream remains unaddressed. Certainly Albany benefits from hosting state government. It has employment stability other upstate cities can only dream of, for example. But it is also true that Albany receives paltry state aid compared to upstate's other major cities, and that all those state workers add to the costs the city must bear. They use city roads and services, after all. The real question centers on what kind of city New York wants as its capital. Does it want an Albany that struggles to maintain its quality of life, or a thriving capital that evokes pride in the whole state? New York should want the latter, of course, which makes a permanent Harriman payment an easy call. Two armed men wearing face masks robbed an M&T Bank branch in North Greenbush Tuesday, grazing a teller in the arm when they opened fire while leaving the building, North Greenbush Police Chief David M. Keevern said. At a 4:30 p.m. news conference Keevern said "a group of suspects" was taken into custody after the late morning heist that led police from the bank to the Motel 6 on Watervliet Avenue Extension in Albany. Keevern said the suspects in custody include males and a female. He did not release their identities, saying police are still figuring out each suspect's role. The incident brought a massive police response. When asked if any suspects may still be at large, Keevern responded: "Based on the information we have, we believe we have everything we're looking for." The robbery at the 313 North Greenbush Rd. branch located at the intersection of Route 4 and Jordan Road began at about 11:30 a.m. when two masked men entered the bank with weapons, the chief said. "The (bank) tellers were compliant," Keevern said. "They did everything they were supposed to do." A relative of an employee at the bank, who did not want to be identified, said the relative told them after the robbery that the suspects pointed a gun at them, and then "threatened to kill them all." The men got away from the bank with some cash, but police declined to comment on the amount or whether the cash was tracked with a GPS device. As the suspects ran out the door, they fired shots, Keevern said. A bullet grazed a female teller's arm. She was treated for minor injuries, police said. "We are deeply relieved to report that our customers and colleagues are safe and secure," M&T spokeswoman Julia Berchou said, adding the bank was thankful the injuries "were not worse." "This is obviously a very important case to us," Keevern said. "Somebody being injured during a bank robbery is very serious to us." From the bank, police descended on the Motel 6 at 100 Watervliet Ave. Ext., eight miles away. At least two dozen Albany and State Police cars filled the road near the motel. A squad of officers cleared the motel room by room. At one point, police moved the media back from the motel over concerns there might be an armed suspect inside. Police set up a command center in a conference room across the street from the motel inside the Ramada Inn. The roads around the Motel 6 were closed for hours Tuesday but reopened at about 2 p.m. The vehicle used in the robbery was found behind the building with a door still open, police said. After several hours, the robbery suspects were apprehended at the Albany scene. Keevern would not say whether they were apprehended inside the motel or in the surrounding area. He would not comment on if weapons or money were retrieved. Robberies are relatively uncommon in North Greenbush, which has a population of 12,075. Town police investigated three in 2017, one in 2016 and two in 2015, according to statistics compiled by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. The data did not specify what entities were robbed in years past. Employees of the M&T bank and customers could be seen reuniting with concerned family members Tuesday afternoon. A relative of one of the employees threw their arms around them as soon as they got in their car to drive away. The relative said their loved one was shaken up after the incident. "This is so close to home," the relative said. "It's really unimaginable." Keevern said North Greenbush police, State Police and the FBI continue to investigate. Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to contact North Greenbush police at 518-283-6006. TROY - Former city engineer Andrew J. Donovan pleaded not guilty Wednesday to felony corruption charges in connection with the purchase of a property from the city at a cut-rate price that he later tried to sell for a large profit. An indictment unsealed in Rensselaer County Court charged Donovan, 55, with second-degree grand larceny as a public corruption crime; corrupting the government in the second-degree; defrauding the government; falsifying business records; offering a false instrument for filing and official misconduct. The counts are all felonies with the exception of the official misconduct charge. The top charge carries up to 25 years upon conviction. The indictment against Donovan, who now lives in Hawaii, was handed up last week but remained under seal until he could get to Rensselaer County Court. Judge Jennifer Sober released him on his own recognizance. Donovan is the second person to face charges in connection with the state Attorney General's investigation. Code enforcement officer James E. Lance III was indicted last week on five counts. Lance, who worked in Donovan's office at the time the crimes allegedly occurred, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges of first-degree tampering with public records; offering a false instrument for filing; falsifying business records, fourth-degree criminal facilitation and official misconduct. The case arose out of documents filed with the city of Troy on Sept. 28, 2015, which led to the release of Troy's hold on the title known as a reverter clause of 226 Cemetery Road in Lansingburgh. Donovan had bought the property for $3,500 while Mayor Lou Rosamilia was in office, then put it up for sale for $65,000 after obtaining the clear title to the lot. The official misconduct allegation indicates Lance and Donovan used their city positions to "obtain clear title" to the property. Documents filed in City Court allege Lance was asked by his direct supervisor who was not named in the court documents to write a letter for Donovan that would put the property in compliance with the reverter clause. Lance wrote it on Sept. 28, 2015. Lance faces up to seven years in prison if convicted on the top count. Two years ago, current Mayor Patrick Madden signed off on the cancellation of the reverter clause that required Donovan to improve the property in return for the city agreeing to sell the land to him for $3,500. After the reverter clause was canceled, Donovan listed the land for sale. Washington Democrats ignored a veto threat and rammed legislation through the House Tuesday that would stymie President Donald Trump's bid for billions of extra dollars for his border wall, escalating a clash over whether he was abusing his powers to advance his paramount campaign pledge. The House's 245-182 vote to block Trump's national emergency declaration fell well below the two-thirds majority that would be needed to override his promised veto. Top Republicans worked to keep defections as low as possible 13 backed the Democrats' resolution underscoring their desire to avoid a tally suggesting that Trump's hold on lawmakers was weakening. The vote also throws the political hot potato to the Republican-run Senate, where there were already enough GOP defections to edge it to the cusp of passage. Vice President Mike Pence used a lunch with Republican senators at the Capitol to try keeping them aboard, citing a dangerous crisis at the border, but there were no signs he'd succeeded. "I personally couldn't handicap the outcome at this point," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who's planning a vote within the next three weeks. He even said Republicans remained uncertain about the legality of Trump's move, telling reporters, "We're in the process of weighing that." Senate passage would force Trump's first veto, which the House vote demonstrated that Congress would surely fail to overturn. But the showdown was forcing Republicans to cast uncomfortable votes pitting their support for a president wildly popular with GOP voters against fears that his expansive use of emergency powers would invite future Democratic presidents to do likewise for their own pet policies. House Republicans who joined all voting Democrats to support the Democratic resolution included moderates from competitive districts like Fred Upton of Michigan and libertarian-leaning conservatives like Thomas Massie from Kentucky. The White House wrote to lawmakers formally threatening to veto the legislation. The letter said blocking the emergency declaration would "undermine the administration's ability to respond effectively to the ongoing crisis at the Southern Border." Republicans said Democrats were driven by politics and a desire to oppose Trump at every turn, and said Trump had clear authority to declare an emergency to protect the country. They also defended the president's claims of a security crisis along the boundary with Mexico. In Yemen War, Coalition Forces Rely on German Arms and Technology (Source: Deutsche Welle German Radio; issued Feb 26, 2019) UAE AMX Leclerc tanks, BMP-3, Oshkosh M-ATV and RG-31 Nyala land in Yemen http://t.co/855dVL2M0m pic.twitter.com/1ALfXKEPIR via @JulianRoepcke Liveuamap MiddleEast (@lummideast) August 3, 2015 #UAE Oshkosh M-ATV & AJBAN 440A vehicles patrol the port city of Al Mokha, #Yemen pic.twitter.com/j8bmQJ473Z (@MbKS15) March 2, 2017 #UAE Oshkosh M-ATV & AJBAN 440A vehicles patrol the port city of Al Mokha, #Yemen pic.twitter.com/j8bmQJ473Z (@MbKS15) March 2, 2017 So fanden wir in Deutschland gebaute Kriegsschiffe der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate vor der Kuste des #Jemen - ein Recherchebericht aus dem Projekt #GermanArms, an dem auch @reportmuenchen, @LHreports, @DeutscheWelle und @bellingcat beteiligt waren https://t.co/Iy6r91KaS2 Hans-Martin Tillack (@hmtillack) February 27, 2019 The "world of war," as one observer put it, was on display in Abu Dhabi last week. At IDEX, the Middle East's biggest defense fair, more than 1,200 companies showed off their latest state-of-the-art defense technology. Many of the stands were manned by the representatives of German arms manufacturers.This year the host, the United Arab Emirates, awarded military procurement contracts worth more than $5 billion (4.4 billion) with national and international companies, including American and European arms manufacturers.The Emirates have long been one of Germany's top clients when it comes to arms and defense technology. But since 2015, its military has been one of the major parties at war in one of the world's most deadly conflicts: the war in Yemen.The UN has termed it the worst humanitarian conflict of our times; millions have been pushed to the brink of starvation and thousands killed.Until now, the German government has repeatedly denied having any knowledge of German weapons and technology employed in Yemen by Saudi Arabia and the Emirates.Only recently, at this year's Munich Security Conference, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier told DW that he was not aware of arms exported from Germany in the conflict. "I have not had any news about it so far, he said.But DW, together with German public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk, Stern magazine, the Dutch investigative bureau Lighthouse Reports and the investigative network Bellingcat, trawled open source footage drawn from Twitter, YouTube and Google Earth, as well as news reports and agency photos.The result: Conclusive proof of German-made arms and technology in Yemen in the air, at sea, and on land, despite German arms guidelines that expressly forbid exports to countries involved in armed conflicts, unless they are acting in self-defense.In one news report the team viewed, a convoy of pickup trucks trundles along a tarmac road. In the distance, a rugged mountain range looms on the horizon. As they drive past the camera, the soldiers in the back wave, and one man holds a flag aloft while several others flash a victory sign.They are Sudanese mercenaries, recently disembarked close to the Yemeni port of Aden, heading north to join the fray on the side of the Emiratis in late 2015 a claim that is corroborated by other international news reports from around the same time.One bulky vehicle stands out among the convoy of pickups: It is an American-built Oshkosh, an armored all-terrain vehicle mounted with a conspicuous weapons station: the Fewas, built by Dynamit Nobel Defence, a company based in the western German municipality of Burbach. The Fewas, according to the firm's website, allows for the "convenience of automatic target tracking, meaning that once the operator sets a target, the weapons station automatically pursues it.In 2009, the German government approved the export of Dynamit Nobel weapons stations and spare parts worth 81 million to the UAE.DW and its research partners compared satellite images with video footage and news reports. The team was able to identify the exact location of several Oshkoshs carrying Fewas stations.The most recent example was a video uploaded by the news channel Arab 24 in late 2018, which the team located as having been shot in Al Khawkhah on the Yemeni coast.The team also came across howitzers with German-made chassis and motors firing at Houthi territory from across the Saudi border.Germany prides itself as having one of the most restrictive arms export controls. Buyers have to sign an end-user agreement in which they pledge not to sell the weapons or pass them on to any other group or country.On top of that, the governing coalition under Chancellor Angela Merkel signed a coalition agreement in early 2018 that explicitly forbids the approval of weapons exports to any country "directly" involved in the war in Yemen.Nevertheless, exports to both Saudi Arabia and the Emirates continued to be approved. In the first nine months of 2018, the Bundessicherheitsrat the security council consisting of the chancellor and her chief ministers, who meet in secret to approve weapons sales signed off on exports worth roughly 416 million to Saudi Arabia.From October to December 2018, Germany also approved exports worth more than 40 million to the Emirates.So why has the German government apparently ignored its own guidelines, even as thousands of civilians have been killed in Yemen?Saudi Arabia and the UAE are both considered strategic partners. "The United Arab Emirates play an important role in the Arabian Peninsula in the international community's efforts to restore stability" in the region, the German Foreign Office told DW and its partners.This explains why it took the public outcry surrounding the murder of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul for the German government to temporarily halt all military exports to Riyadh, despite Saudi Arabia's involvement in the Yemen conflict.The war has pitted the Houthis, who are believed to be supported by Iran, against a Saudi-led coalition backing the former Yemeni government, currently in exile in Riyadh.While many of the media reports have focused on Saudi Arabia, less attention has been given to the Emirates, who are leading the ground offensive and are also involved in the naval war.Among their arsenal, German-made technology and weapons are a common sight: DW and its partners were also able to identify several large military trucks in the convoy that included the Fewas weapons stations, but also in other locations in Yemen. They are MAN trucks, most likely built and exported to the Emirates by RMMV, a joint venture of German defense giant Rheinmetall and truck manufacturer MAN.In the footage that the team viewed, MAN trucks were spotted in Yemen carrying the French-made battle tank Leclerc, which is equipped with a German-made [engine]. The team also identified the Leclerc tank wrapped in an extra layer of armor, most likely "Composite Lightweight Adaptable Reactive Armor" or Clara for short, a type of reactive armor that protects against explosives, also designed by Dynamit Nobel Defence.By March 2017, the war in Yemen had been dragging on for two years. Yet the German government approved the export of "reactive armor" worth roughly 126 million to the UAE.At that point, it is hard to imagine the chancellery and top political aides being unaware that the Emiratis were using Leclerc tanks for their ongoing ground offensive, which relies on a myriad of brutal local militias and mercenaries.Amnesty International has documented numerous human rights abuses committed by the UAE and their allied forces. According to a 2018 report, scores of men have been spirited away and detained in secret prisons in southern Yemen. Many have been tortured; some are feared to have died in custody.DW spoke to one man who said he was detained in Aden in 2016 for refusing to assassinate a local political figure. While DW is unable to independently verify his account, the details are consistent with the testimony of other victims.The man was held in various locations, he said, all run by Emiratis: "The one who tortures is an Emirati. The one who interrogates is an Emirati. The jailer is an Emirati."He told DW he was kept for one year and eight months and "exposed to the cruelest types of torture, such as electric shocks and hanging for hours."But that is only one of the many tragedies that make up the conflict in Yemen.It is civilians who bear the brunt of the war, which has dragged on for almost four years: According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a database that tracks armed conflicts, more than 60,000 people have been killed. Atrocities, possibly even war crimes, are being committed on both sides.By supplying arms to the coalition partners, Western governments including Germany's "are directly complicit in the war crimes being committed by the Saudi-led coalition," Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), told the research team.International human rights organizations agree: The Saudi-led coalition has conducted scores of airstrikes that have indiscriminately and disproportionately targeted civilians and civilian targets, including schools, mosques and hospitals.The coalition blockade of the port city of Hodeida, the country's main entry point for food and medicines, has led to mass starvation and hunger, while pushing up the price for everyday goods. Footage of emaciated and starving children has become the go-to stock imagery used in news reports on the war in Yemen.Only 60 kilometers (37 miles) separate the Yemeni coast from the Eritrean port of Assab located across the strait of Bab al Mandab.According to the UN, the Arab coalition is using "Eritrean land, airspace and territorial waters in its anti-Houthi military campaign.In 2015, according to UN experts, the Emiratis and Eritrea signed a 30-year lease, which allows for the UAE to use the port of Assab. In a war that has relied on a naval blockade, this is a major strategic advantage.The port is also used to shuttle soldiers and military gear across the strait. In return, Eritrea is said to receive money and oil. But it's a deal that the United Nations has criticized as violating the weapons embargo that they imposed in 2009 against the totalitarian state.Until it was lifted last November, it forbade all UN members to bring soldiers or military equipment to Eritrea. The Emirates, though, didn't seem to be overly bothered: It stationed part of its navy in the port of Assab, including several German-built warships.Several satellite images show a long, grey ship towed to a dock in Assab with a conspicuous helipad, most recently in late 2018 and early 2019: It is a Muray Jib corvette, a 65-meter-long (213-foot) combat vessel, built by the German shipbuilder Lurssen.On its website, the company advertises the Muray Jib as suitable for operations "in confined and shallow water, which would make it well-equipped for coastal waters.From March 2017, satellite pictures also show a Frankenthal vessel in the harbor of Assab. Two of these German-built minesweepers were first used by the German navy and, in 2006, sold on to the Emirates.Moreover, a video published by Al Jazeera in October 2017 shows a few seconds of grainy footage of a wrecked boat. In the background, a grey vessel is creeping along the horizon.The investigation team identified it as a Frankenthal vessel and managed to map its exact coordinates in the Yemeni harbor of Mokha. The port faces Assab across the strait of Bab Al Mandab. Shortly before the video was shot, coalition forces had taken control of Mokha.In September 2018, the German government approved the export of warheads for military vessels to the Emirates that may well end up in the Yemen war, too.In the air war, too, German technology is playing an important, possibly even decisive role: The Saudi Air Force is comprised of fighter jets it acquired from the US and Europe, including the Panavia Tornado, built by a German, British and Italian consortium.Many of the Tornado's components, including the center fuselage, fuel system and the engine, are German-made. While its production was phased out in 2007, Tornados and its successor model, the Eurofighter Typhoon, make up a large part of Saudi Arabia's combat jets.The German export guidelines are clear that the government should object if components for arms are clearly destined for countries involved in active warfare.Despite the British government admitting in late December 2016 that the Saudi air force was operating UK-supplied Typhoons and Tornados in Yemen, Germany has continued to supply Riyadh with components via the UK."Germany may not sell full-fledged fighter bombers. But by selling parts that are essential to the operation of these weapons, Germany has a responsibility to make sure that these weapons are not misused," HRW's Roth maintains. "It can't just ignore its responsibilities."Until now, there has been no verified evidence of Saudi Tornados flying over Yemen.But DW and its partners found a video published in January 2018 in which two men with turbans and rifles on their shoulders dance around the wreckage of what appears to be a downed aircraft.The video was produced by "Yemen Wrath," a self-declared, pro-Houthi social media site. Later, the footage zooms in on what the team has identified as a wing of a Panavia Tornado.Assuming that the video was shot at the actual site, the team was able to locate the exact location of the crash in Al Souh Valley in an area called Ketaf in Yemen.The research is corroborated by media reports from the same time, which refer to Houthi fighters claiming to have shot down a Tornado. The same reports go on to quote the Saudi-led coalition as referring to a combat jet crashing following "technical failure."This was followed by an "exclusive" feature story by Saudi-based Arab News detailing the rescue mission mounted to extract the pilot, which, the reporter gushes, "tested the bravery and professionalism of the RSAF personnel to the limits."He goes on to write about how the "crewmen were flying their Tornado jet on a combat mission as part of the Arab coalition fighting Houthi rebels."And, what is more, the Saudi Air Force uses a refueling jet, a huge, grey plane that can refuel other aircraft mid-air, thereby allowing for longer combat and bombing missions: The Airbus A330 MRTT, a military spinoff of the civilian A330 airliner built by Airbus, a multinational European consortium.The aircraft contains several important German-made components. In the past, Saudi Arabia ordered six of them; the UAE three.The research team was able to verify a video posted by the Twitter account @MbKS15, an account that appears to be linked to the Saudi air force: the short, shaky clip, seemingly taken from within the MRTT, claims to show the refueling of a Saudi typhoon jet from the 10th Squadron. An analysis of the footage found that it was indeed most likely shot close to the border with Yemen.When confronted with the team's findings, the German government declined to comment on specific questions concerning the use of individual weapons systems in Yemen.The foreign ministry claimed to "have no information about a violation of the end-user agreement" of arms exported to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The weapons manufacturers contacted by the research team claimed to be following German rules and regulations. Neither the Saudi nor Emirati embassy in Berlin responded to written questions.As the war continues from the air, land and sea, human rights activists are pleading with Western governments."I am calling on all Western countries to stop selling weapons to Saudi and the Emirates," Tawakkol Karman, the Yemeni Nobel Peace laureate, told DW and its research partners. She said the war will not stop "if Germany or any other country continues selling weapons to Saudi (Arabia) and the UAE."But that, it seems, is not what the German government is planning to do. Rather, by all accounts, Germany is working to loosen its arms export control rules to make it easier to continue with joint weapons projects with France, according to a leaked internal strategy paper.-ends- Donald Miller's home in rural Indiana was not a place you'd expect to see surrounded by FBI agents. But for years, neighbors have watched agents from the art crime unit enter and exit the brown stone house in Waldron. Inside, they've been scouring room after room, finding treasures from the world over. In one display case, labeled "Chinese Jewelry," there were items from 500 BC. In others, pre-Colombian pottery and ancient weapons. And, most upsetting for the FBI agents on the scene, over 2,000 human bones. Miller, who died in 2015, was 91 when agents first knocked on his door in 2014. The 42,000 artifacts hoarded by Miller represent what may be the largest-ever seizure from a private collection, CBS News reports. "I have never seen a collection like this in my entire life except in some of the largest museums," anthropology professor Larry Zimmerman told CBS in 2014. ALSO: 2 women were strangled in the 1970s. Investigators finally think they know who did it. The FBI became involved when they learned thousands of items were obtained in violation of antiquities laws and federal and state statutes. According to the FBI, Miller went on digs around the world and illegally brought his finds home to the United States. Then, there are the bones. It's estimated the bones belong to 500 Native American individuals, stolen from burial sites primarily in North Dakota. When asked why Miller kept so many human remains in his home, FBI art crime unit head Tim Carpenter just shook his head. "I don't know," he said in a CBS interview. "I truly don't know." The FBI is working with affected tribes to return the bones to their proper resting places. Artifacts from China, Haiti, Australia, Russia, New Guinea, Italy, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Greece and Peru were identified and some are finding their way back home. CBS reports officials from China are due in Indianapolis this week to recover their relics. ALBANY - Counties are looking to double the local sales tax on potential marijuana revenues if the state moves forward with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's legalization plan. In order to fund the costs associated with marijuana legalization, the New York State Association of Counties wants the proposed county share of the 20 percent excise tax, currently at 2 percent, to be bumped up to 4 percent. The increased percentage would be in line with the sales tax rate that most counties already collect on purchases. The counties maintain that the additional revenue would be needed to fund their statutory obligation to offer education, traffic safety enforcement and addiction services. "It is crucial that the state provide local governments with adequate resources to manage the impacts of adult-use cannabis legalization," NYSAC Executive Director Stephen Acquario said in a statement. "Only with sufficient funding will local governments be able to work in partnership with the state to oversee public health, public safety, criminal justice, consumer protection and economic development." There is a similar concern from towns, villages and cities about the need for additional revenues if adult use of marijuana is approved, according to Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy. McCarthy, who serves as president of the New York Conference of Mayors, said legalization would likely drive up local law enforcement costs, as there would be increased need to ensure roadway safety. One of the biggest expenses would be the training of officers to recognize motorists impaired by marijuana. On Tuesday, Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed using a "percentage of the state and (New York City) revenue" from any taxes on legalized marijuana to help fund the needs of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The allocation of revenues from the recreational marijuana industry is one of the biggest sticking points for the governor's budget negotiations with the Legislature. Democratic lawmakers have stressed their preference for investing any tax revenue in communities affected by the state's drug policies, while Cuomo has indicated it could be used for broader purposes. If legalization is approved under the current framework, municipalities will also have to decide whether they want to allow retail sales. McCarthy said the city of Schenectady hadn't made a decision on this, but anticipated it would be part of a future discussion. He also noted that if municipalities approved retail shops, there was still the possibility that some communities might not want to participate and those concerns would need to be addressed. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins declined to speculate on Wednesday if there is enough time to resolve the outstanding issues to ensure that marijuana legalization is part of the final budget deal, which is due on March 31. She said the process of hammering out a deal would begin in earnest in "March," but stressed that Senate Democrats hadn't discussed the governor's proposal yet. Regardless of the timeline, Stewart-Cousins said, "People generally understand that we're at a place where marijuana will be legalized." David.Lombardo@timesunion.com - 518.454.5427 - @poozer87 ALBANY - A proposed statewide expansion of a downstate surcharge on car rentals could fund improved services for upstate transit systems, including the Capital District Transportation Authority. The funding stream, which is estimated to generate $22 million annually, was proposed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in his budget as a way to serve economically disadvantaged, disabled and elderly New Yorkers that rely on upstate public transportation. The 5 percent surcharge would apply to all passenger car rentals in New York. The change would eventually be worth about $3.5 million in additional funding to the Capital Region, according to CDTA CEO Carm Basile. "It would allow us to do more than the status quo," Basile said. He envisions using the money to make their service more reliable by running the most popular bus routes more frequently. "It's about where we're strong, being stronger," Basile said. The proposed surcharge will fund a 5.3 percent statewide increase in state operating aid for upstate transit systems, which had hoped to get a 10 percent boost in the state budget. It's not a guarantee that the increased funds will be part of a final budget deal, which is due on March 31. Senate Democrats, since taking the majority in January for the first time in eight years, have been reluctant to embrace any new fees or taxes. Sen. Tim Kennedy, a Buffalo-area Democrat and chair of the chamber's transportation committee, wouldn't commit to the surcharge when asked about it on Tuesday morning at a panel hosted by the New York Public Transit Association in Albany. Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli, a Syracuse-area Democrat and chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, was much more receptive to the proposal. "The Assembly members in upstate New York understand you have to have a stream of funding that can be relied on by our transit systems going forward," Magnarelli said at the panel discussion. "This is a step in the right direction ... I don't believe it takes care of the problem. It takes care of maybe half the problem, so we're going to be a little bit short." Looming over the panel discussion was the multi-billion dollar needs of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which Magnarelli predicted would need to be addressed before upstate transit systems receive the attention they deserve. "If we don't fix the MTA properly, upstate is never going to be fixed," he said. "Once that happens, I think everybody else is going to be taken care of as well." The governor's budget proposal also includes language letting localities decide if they want to allow motorized bicycles and scooters, which is supported by CDTA. Basile said they are interested in incorporating electric scooters and bicycles into their regional bike share program. David.Lombardo@timesunion.com - 518.454.5427 - @poozer87 The investigation of a Texas man now suspected of plotting to carry out mass violence got its start with a tip to authorities in Albany. FBI agents in the San Antonio area testified that the case that led to the arrest of Benjamin Bogard, 20, of New Braunfels, began after someone in November contacted Crime Stoppers in Albany "to alert authorities to 'disturbing' posts on an Instagram account and other social media," the San Antonio Express-News reported Tuesday. Crime Stoppers is a program many communities rely on to take in tips about crimes and then send them to police agencies. In Albany, the Crime Stoppers program evaluated the original tip and then shared it with the FBI. The Express-News reported the tipster provided screenshots of the Instagram posts. The newspaper continued the account appeared to belong to a neo-Nazi group, Atomwaffen Division, because a person in the posts was saluting Adolf Hitler. The man was wearing a mask of a skull over part of his face, a signature sign of the group, officials said. The Express-News went on to say: "The account was traced to Bogard in New Braunfels, and it led to other posts Bogard made that the agents found worrisome. They included a story he posted about where to buy a precursor for explosives, discussions on Twitter that his favorite firearm part is 'the part that kills 30 babies per trigger pull;' a chat about buying a new gun and ammunition and "going ham on the state capitol" and many more, according to court testimony." The Albany connection to the case was revealed at Bogard's bail hearing on Thursday. FBI agents testified that Bogard wanted to kill minorities and discussed obtaining chemical substances for a bomb. He was investigated by the FBI's counter-terrorism agents. Agents said Bogard could have been the next mass shooter or bomber had they not stopped in, the Express-News reported. They initially charged Bogard with child pornography on his phone earlier this month, the newspaper reported. But Bogard's lawyer, Michael Morris, said none of the what Bogard posted was a crime, aside from child pornography. He said Bogard was posted shocking and offensive things to gain a following on social media. So far, a judge has blocked Bogard bid for release from custody. Balakot, Pakistan Tensions escalated sharply on the Asian subcontinent Tuesday with nuclear-armed neighbors Pakistan and India trading accusations and warnings after a pre-dawn airstrike by India that New Delhi said targeted a terrorist training camp. Pakistan said there were no casualties, while New Delhi called the attack a pre-emptive strike that hit a terrorist training camp and killed "a very large number" of militants. The airstrike followed a suicide bombing in India's section of the disputed territory of Kashmir on Feb. 14 that killed more than 40 Indian soldiers. Pakistan has denied involvement in the attack but vowed to respond to any Indian military operation against it. Several reporters, including an Associated Press journalist, trudged up the Kangaran Nallah hill to the site of Tuesday's bombing near the town of Balakot, close to the border with Pakistan's sector of Kashmir. They saw several large craters, a few upended trees and villagers wondering why they had been targeted. "There are only mud-brick homes here. There is no madrassas. There isn't even a concrete house," said 55-year-old Noor Shah, who lived about a third of a mile from the site. When the bombs struck, Shah said residents of his village of Jabba stayed indoors. It wasn't until morning when "we saw soldiers and learned from them that Indian planes dropped bombs in our village," he said. Two of the dried mud structures were damaged in the explosions but no one was hurt, said Tahir Khan, 45, of the same village. ALBANY A sexual harassment hearing in Albany earlier this month exposed two major loopholes in the state's Human Rights Law which enable employers to avoid liability for many types of workplace misconduct. Now, bills introduced by state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi and Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas, in conjunction with the National Employment Lawyers Association of New York (NELA/NY), aim to remove those legal barriers for alleged victims seeking justice. Specifically, lawmakers are seeking to end the "severe or pervasive" threshold for sexual misconduct to be considered illegal, and prevent employers from using a defense that may create a loophole when a supervisor harasses an employee but the person does not formally report the misconduct. "This legislation will see that employers are liable for the actions of their employees, which in turn should give business owners strong incentive to have clear and reliable internal policies so that no episode of harassment goes unreported," Biaggi said. New York City's Human Rights Law offers broader protections for employees than the state does. The state's protections, created by the Supreme Court in 1986, are "woefully outdated," a New York City Human Rights official, Dana Sussman, testified at the hearing earlier this month. Even when employers are found to be liable for workplace misconduct, awards are often so low that employers accept them as a cost of doing business, according to Miriam Clark, NELA/NY president and a Manhattan employment attorney. "Fundamental legislative change is needed to shift the balance from protecting employers to protecting employees, and we believe that NELA/NY's legislative package is the best way this can be accomplished," Clark said. In addition to closing the loopholes, the bill expands protection to independent contractors, domestic workers and employees of small businesses. It also provides for the payment of attorney fees to victims of all forms of discrimination who prove their cases. "Changing a culture of harassment is a challenging and complex task but only when we are willing to confront the fundamental systems that allow these abuses to permeate can we begin to build workplaces where all employees feel safe and respected," Simotas said. ALBANY - Refugee service providers from across the state rallied on the Capitol's Million Dollar Staircase Tuesday to urge the legislature to double funding to support newcomers as the federal government cuts refugee arrivals and aid. When President Donald Trump took office and began scaling back the national refugee program, New York used $2 million to fund 14 refugee organizations across the state. The federal government financially supports refugees for 90 days, but state funding has helped agencies integrate refugees into the communities after that. The state continued the program with another $2 million in 2018. This year, legislators and service providers are asking for more than double last year's funding level - $4.5 million. There is no money currently in the executive budget for the New York State Enhanced Services to Refugees Program. On Tuesday, refugees, representatives from each of the 14 organizations, and Fiscal Policy Institute Deputy Director David Dyssegaard Kallick joined Democratic Assembly members Patricia Fahy from Albany, Marianne Buttenschon from Utica and Sean Ryan from Buffalo to rally for funding. "This has been the lifeblood of key cities upstate and has led to economic resurgence," Fahy said. "This is an investment. When we invest these dollars and make sure these families are helped and stabilizing, getting housing and education and jobs, they are taxpayers, they are our future workers." Ryan said in Buffalo, refugees opened up businesses and occupied vacant houses. The same is true in Albany, where the Refugee Welcome Corporation is refurbishing abandoned buildings in West Hill to house refugees rebuilding the neighborhood. Nearly 40,000 refugees were resettled in New York state from 2007 to 2016, according to data hub Refugee Processing Center. The top destinations were Erie, Onondaga, Monroe, Oneida and Albany. The main resettlement agency in Albany, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCRI), has received more than 4,200 refugees since 2005. Last year USCRI Albany received $200,000 under the state's program. But refugee numbers in Albany plummeted from an annual average of 400 to only 150 this past fiscal year. For the current fiscal year, the Trump administration lowered the ceiling of refugee arrivals to 30,000 nationally. Jill Peckenpaugh, director of USCRI Albany, responded to criticism she'd heard from legislators questioning why funding was needed if numbers are dropping. "Thankfully in New York state, refugees still come. Secondary migrants come from other states, because we have jobs here and it's a welcoming place for immigrants and we build up the communities and elected officials from the mayor to senators are welcoming and not every state is that way under this administration," Peckenpaugh said. Peckenpaugh said state funding is vital because it provides long-term support. "It serves people after the first 90 days which, as we know, isn't long enough for anybody to learn anything, and it can serve up to three to five years," Peckenpaugh said. In month four, for example, after recently resettled refugees get jobs, they may still need help navigating transportation or childcare. "It's a toehold to self-sufficiency," she said. Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office, which is responsible for the executive budget, did not respond to request for comment. Detroit Fiat Chrysler on Tuesday announced a $4.5 billion investment plan it said would increase its workforce in Detroit and the surrounding suburbs by about 6,500 jobs to build all-new or next-generation SUVs, in a move touted by officials as an uncommon opportunity to revive the regional economy. Under the plan, the company said it would reopen a shuttered engine plant in the city and convert another in the same complex into a future assembly plant for the Jeep Grand Cherokee and a new, three-row, full-size Jeep SUV and plug-in hybrid models for all. The Motor City was once home to about a dozen massive auto production plants, but a rash of closures helped to push Detroit's unemployment rate to a peak of almost 29 percent a decade ago. The new Chrysler plant would be the first to be built in Detroit since 1991 and is expected to add 3,850 jobs. The company said in a news release that it would add another 1,100 new jobs at its Jefferson North Assembly plant in Detroit, and roughly 1,500 new jobs at facilities in the neighboring suburb of Warren. The investment would roughly double FCA's hourly workforce in the city. Speaking at a news conference after the announcement, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan called the deal a "once in a generational chance to change the economic" fortunes of Detroit. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said it has been a long time since Michigan has seen an automotive investment as "big and transformative" as Fiat Chrysler's plan. The investment will also have a ripple effect, boosting the automotive industry and helping other nonauto businesses elsewhere in Michigan and other Midwest states, Whitmer said. Fiat Chrysler said the additional investments are subject to tax incentive packages it was working out with the city and state of Michigan. The automaker would need about 200 acres of land for the project, most owned by the city, Great Lakes Water Authority, DTE Energy and the Moroun family, which owns significant amounts of city real estate and the Ambassador Bridge that connects Michigan to Ontario, Canada. City officials signed a memorandum of understanding with the automaker, and they were ironing out a deal to assemble land for the project over the next 60 days. If enough land is acquired and the tax incentives approved, construction is expected to start later this year and the first new vehicles could be in production by the end of 2020. Ballston Spa At the end of the month, the two busy garage bays at Doheny Oil in Ballston Spa will go quiet, marking another loss of a landmark that continues to fade from the American landscape a neighborhood service station where you can buy gas and have someone you know fix the car. After six decades on Route 50 just outside heart of the village, the shop will become just another convenience store that sells gas, as owner Steve Doheny has decided the challenges of increased state regulations are just too aggravating and costly to deal with any more. "We are bummed about it," said the 57-year-old father of two, as he sat at a desk filled with car parts, order forms, dog treats and family photographs, with a golden retriever named Barton asleep on the floor. "But we are just tired and exhausted. And there is no end in sight." Doheny, who learned the business at his dad's knee and does vehicle repairs himself, said he feels whipsawed by increasing state requirements that are too much to manage and afford for business that has just ten workers, including himself and his wife, Nan. He said the last straws all seemed to hit quickly recent requirements by the state for paid family leave, an increase in the minimum wage, on-call pay for last-minute shift changes, mandatory sexual harassment training and a new threshold for paid overtime. Last fall, his mother died on a Saturday in September. Since one of his workers was on family leave due to the birth of a new child, Doheny had to cover that shift himself starting on Monday morning. For a large business, covering shifts for absent workers might be workable, he said, but for small shops like his, it is burdensome. "Some of this work, like being an order writer, takes experience. I can't just hire a temp for weeks," said Doheny. "It just becomes another unfunded mandate on small business in the state, which has this progressive agenda ... I don't want to be the boss anymore." This month, he sent a letter to his long-time customers, saying his family-run business found it "extremely difficult to keep up with all the new regulations and "progressive" NYS agendas, increasing federal and state over-regulations, paired with higher taxes, workers compensation, health and insurance costs." So Doheny decided to sell the property to Kingston-based Gas Land LLC, which runs about 60 convenience store gas stations in the Hudson Valley and Capital Region. The repair bays will close and the station will become a convenience store. Gas Land has stores that include such food outlets as Dunkin' Donuts, Baskin Robbins, Subway and Domino's Pizza. Doheny is most concerned now about finding new jobs for his workers, some of whom have been with him for decades. As he speaks, the phone rings. The call is from a local auto dealership considering hiring his service manager, and Doheny assures them that customer service records will come along with the worker, should he be hired. What is happening at Doheny has been happening across New York and the rest of the country, as traditional service stations get replaced by convenience stores that also sell gas, and rely more on purchases of food and drink to drive their trade, rather than the reputation of a trusted mechanic. "It is turning more into gasoline and a Twinkie," said Ralph Bombardiere, executive director of the New York State Association of Service Stations and Repair Shops, a trade group representing the industry. People like Doheny have been bucking a long-term trend, he added. "Back in the 1980s, there were probably about 13,000 service stations in the state. It has been dropping steadily, and now we have abut 7,000." He said the problems cited by Doheny are being confronted by all small business owners, who also face competition from larger, chain-based businesses, which have more workers and can spread out the burdens and costs of extra new mandates. "I don't think the government is trying to do this to people. But they don't give you a break," said Bombardiere. While most people might suspect otherwise, the number of places where people can buy gasoline is the U.S. has been dropping, according to Jeff Lenard, a vice president with the National Association of Convenience Stores. As recently as 1990, there were about 200,000 such locations, including convenience stores, traditional service stations and other locations. Now, the number is about 150,000 and continues to slip. Convenience stores now account for about 80 percent of all gasoline sold in the U.S., he said. And that trend is supersizing, as some outlets add more and more pumps to drive volume and customer traffic. One such company, Buc-ee's Fuel Stations based out of Texas, recently started stations that have 120 pumps. "It is more like a truck stop, but it is a convenience store," said Lenard. "When you see a place with only two or three pumps, that is probably going to be in the movies." Even in New York, the number of convenience stores selling gasoline continues to drop even as the amount of gasoline sold continues to climb, he said, from more than 5,200 stores in 2015, to slightly more than 4,700 this year. Lenard said consumer trends are also a force that small operators like Doheny have to contend with. "What consumers now are looking for is price and convenience. When it comes to gas, a small guy does not have the same buying power as the big guy. People are always looking for price." Price competition on gasoline is fierce and margins the profit that a station owner can earn can be slight. "The margin for gas can for be a nickel or a dime a gallon. So an owner can make more on a cup of coffee than he can from a fill-up." Because real estate values remain fairly strong, it is still "a good time to exit the business, financially," said Lenard. "But usually, you want to go out on your own terms." Brynn Rainey was early for her shift at the Sahara Tahoe Casino. At 2 a.m., she was due to start her overnight gig as a keno girl. But since she had a little time to spare, Brynn stopped at the nearby Bittercreek Saloon first. The bartender later told investigators he remembered seeing her on the night of July 24, 1977. No one appeared to bother her and no one noticed her leave. The first people to notice her absence were her co-workers; Rainey didnt show up for her usual shift. For a month, the 27-year-old remained missing. Nothing was touched inside her apartment on Emerald Bay Road in South Lake Tahoe. Police were stumped. On August 20, 1977, a horseback rider at Stateline Stables noticed what looked like a shallow grave. In it, police found Brynns badly decomposed body. Her purse was also buried nearby. Based on what forensic evidence remained, the pathologist thought she had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Two years later, 16-year-old Carol Andersen left her home in Stateline, Nev., to enjoy a sunny summer day at Regan Beach. As the sun started to set, Carol hitched a ride with friends to a house party near Heavenly ski resort. The night wore on, and Carols friends left the party one by one, each asking her if she wanted a ride home. She declined them all. The last time anyone remembered seeing Carol was around 11:30 p.m. Police think she probably left the party on foot. Perhaps, like so many other teens in the 1970s, she hitched a ride with a stranger. The next morning, someone called the police to report they had found a body on Sundown Trail. Unlike with Brynn, no attempt had been made to hide Carols lifeless form. Ligature marks on her wrists indicated she had been bound like Brynn, she had been strangled. Carols case, too, went cold. For four decades, Carol and Brynns families mourned and wondered. Unbeknownst to them, they were united in more than their grief. On Tuesday, the El Dorado County District Attorneys Office announced they believe the two women were killed by the same man. --- Their suspect, now dead for some five years, is Joseph Holt. He was born in the Bay Area in 1947, graduated from Cupertino High and attended UC Berkeley. Police say he frequented Los Gatos and South Lake Tahoe in the 1970s and worked in real estate in the Tahoe area. He lived less than two miles from where Brynn and Carol's bodies were found. When the El Dorado County Cold Case Task Force reopened the cases several years ago, they hired Parabon NanoLabs to test blood on Brynns shirt and DNA samples from Andersens body. The DNA technology company used genetic genealogy the same process that identified a suspect in the long-cold Golden State Killer case to zero in on the Holt family. Genetic genealogy rarely identifies the suspect directly; instead, investigators mine user-submitted DNA kits, the kind consumers use to find out their genealogical background, to find close matches in the system. From there, investigators can narrow their pool of suspects. Holts living family, including a biological son, agreed to help with the inquiry. The son gave his own DNA and provided an old toothbrush from his father; the sample matched the DNA found at the two crime scenes, El Dorado County DA Vern Pierson said. "Joseph Holt was never on the radar," investigator John Gaines told Fox40. In January, a warrant was served to search Holts remaining personal effects. The DAs office said they found evidence suggestive of other criminal conduct, including a 1975 news clipping about an unsolved Los Gatos shooting. The victim in that case survived. A sketch produced by Los Gatos police at the time of the shooting, which was not fatal, matches a contemporary picture of Holt almost exactly. With their suspect dead, there is no arrest forthcoming. But, at least, part of the mystery that has haunted the Andersen and Rainey families for 40 years can be put to rest. "Through all their hard work and efforts, they were able to give the family some answers and closure," Carol's family said in a statement to the Sacramento Bee, "and ultimately allow Carol Andersen to rest in peace." The DAs case against Holt is still ongoing. Anyone with information concerning Holt is asked to call the task force hotline at 530-621-4590. Skip to main navigation Permit Programs Types of DEC Permits DEC oversees various types of permits that range from recreation and sporting events, to New York's biological resources. Uniform Procedures Act Permits Environmental permits protecting New York's air, water, mineral, and biological resources may be subject to the requirements of the Uniform Procedures Act (UPA) and are managed by DEC's Division of Environmental Permits. These include: Air Pollution Control Coastal Erosion Control Freshwater Wetlands Mined Land Reclamation Protection of Waters, including Dams and Docks Public Water Withdrawal and Long Island Wells Solid and Hazardous Waste Management State Pollutant Discharge and Elimination Systems (SPDES) Tidal Wetlands Wild, Scenic, and Recreational Rivers For information about permits falling into any of these categories, determine which DEC region the site is located in and then contact the Regional Permit Administrator for that region. Land Related Permits Camp on Public Lands - call regional forest ranger for that area, see back country camping contact list Timber Harvest on State Forest Lands - (518) 402-9428 - Bureau of State Land Management Timber Harvest on Private Lands - (518) 402-9425 - Bureau of Private Land Services Access to DEC-Managed Tidal Wetlands - (631) 444-0273 - Division of Fish, Wildlife & Marine Resources Oil, Gas and Solution Salt Well - (518) 402-8056 - Division of Mineral Resources Temporary Revocable Permit (TRP) - Permit for a Group Event, Research or Organized Activity on State Land - Division of Lands and Forests Fish and Wildlife-related Permits Sporting Licenses - (518) 402-8845 - Division of Fish, Wildlife & Marine Resources Special Licenses and Permits - (518) 402-8985 - Division of Fish, Wildlife & Marine Resources Commercial Fishing and Aquaculture Permits - (631) 444-0470 - Division of Fish, Wildlife & Marine Resources Deer Management Permits - Division of Fish, Wildlife & Marine Resources Other Permits Waste Transporters - (518) 402-8792 - Bureau of Solid Waste Management Pesticide Certification and Registration - (518) 402-8788 - Bureau of Pest Management Pesticide Certification and Business Registration - (518) 402-8788 - Division of Materials Management Resources to help with Permitting Requirements Environmental Resource Mapper (ERM) - Can be used to create and print maps that can be submitted as part of the permit application process. Environmental Assessment Form Mapper (EAF Mapper) - use this tool to help with location-based information needed in Part 1 of the Environmental Assessment Form. DEC Permit Applications (DART) Search - the search wizard gives you detailed information on environmental permits processed by DEC under UPA. Including the status of applications issued. Services for Mother Minnie L. Ross, 74, of Thomasville, are at 1 p.m., July 1, 2021, at Disciples of Jesus Ministries Inc. The Rev. Denny Blake, pastor and the Rev. Dr. Leon Jones officiating. Interment follows in Peaceful Rest Cemetery. Mrs. Ross died June 24 at Camellia Gardens of Life Car remaining of SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM! 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. 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. Local Washington Central Supervisory Union Washington Central boards seek legal advice on budget votes EAST MONTPELIER The only two school boards in the Washington Central Supervisory Union that didnt join a lawsuit challenging a state-imposed merger have lawyered up. Board members responsible for overseeing the operations of East Montpeliers elementary school and U-32 Middle and High School arent interested in attacking Act 46, but they do want to weigh their options, and any associated risks, before deciding how to proceed. Concerned that the window for proposing budgets to operate their currently autonomous schools is slowly closing while they are waiting for a judge to rule on a preliminary injunction requested in one of three pending Act 46 lawsuits, both boards have unanimously agreed to seek legal advice. East Montpelier school directors made the decision during a hastily warned meeting Friday afternoon, and their counterparts at U-32 followed suit during their own special meeting Monday night. They could have company. Two other Washington Central school boards one in Middlesex; the other in Worcester will decide this week how to proceed during what most agree are uncertain times for many Vermont school districts, including the six in Washington Central that have been ordered to merge by July 1. The Middlesex School Board will consider the question during a special meeting Wednesday; Worcester school directors have scheduled a similar session for Thursday night. Unlike their counterparts in the East Montpelier and U-32 districts, the school boards in Middlesex and Worcester are parties to one of the pending lawsuits. However, none of those four boards chose to warn typical Town Meeting Day budget votes next week. All opted to wait for clarity that hasnt yet come. By contrast their sister school boards in Berlin and Calais each agreed last month to warn Town Meeting Day votes on budgets for their respective elementary schools. Neither of those boards collectively consulted with a lawyer before asking voters to approve budgets for school districts that unless something changes are scheduled to cease operations on June 30. Superintendent Bill Kimball recommended East Montpelier school directors seek legal help on Friday and offered similar advice to the U-32 School Board on Monday. Kimball offered both boards the names of four lawyers who have experience with the supervisory union. However, he stressed he couldnt comfortably pick one, much less make the threshold decision that one should be retained in what has become a politically charged climate surrounding the school district merger. The East Montpelier board unanimously voted to consult with Chris Leopold, who has been working with a committee on articles of agreement for the merged pre-K-12 district. Members agreed the narrow focus of that consultation should involve budget and contractual questions needed to maintain seamless operation of the East Montpelier Elementary School during the fiscal year that starts July 1. The U-32 board approved a similar scope and agreed to retain Leopold for the same scope of work and pursue a cost-sharing arrangement with the East Montpelier board, and potentially the boards in Middlesex and Worcester. Though the vote was unanimous in the end, U-32 School Director Scott Thompson questioned the need to consult with a lawyer and later suggested picking a different attorney. A Calais resident and vocal critic of Act 46, Thompson is personally a plaintiff in one of the pending lawsuits. On Monday he pushed back on Kimballs recommendation the board would be wise to speak with an attorney before performing what he characterized as one of its elemental functions. It kind of feels wrong to me that even such a basic step as warning our budget that we have to seek legal counsel, he said. Thompson said his strong preference was to warn a vote on the U-32 budget for April 9. I have this sense that theres this weird game of chicken going on, where our budget is a piece in play and I would like to take it out of play, Thompson said, suggesting a steady stream of legal advice with respect to Act 46 hadnt been super helpful to date. At a certain point its our job to do our job, he added, describing a decision to warn a vote on a U-32-only budget as a sensible and safe course of action. Its not pretty its not elegant but I just want to build in that redundancy so we dont get stuck in a bind without a budget, he said. That same argument was made unsuccessfully last week by those who argued it was a mistake to adjourn the organizational meeting for the merged district until after a decision on the requested preliminary injunction is issued. That, they feared, would jeopardize the chances of having a voter-approved budget for the merged district in place by July 1 a fact that could potentially require the new district to operate on 87.5 percent of the money districts in Washington Central are spending this year. Kimball said it is not yet clear how that meeting can be reconvened, but with an April 15 deadline for offering contracts to teachers and support staff looming his primary concern involves dealing with an unprecedented budget cycle. Thats my number one question, he said, stressing he doesnt have answers. While Thompson pressed the board to warn the budget vote and worry about the ramifications later, others on the board said they could not support that approach. I would not be comfortable going forward without legal counsel, said School Director Kari Bradley. School Director Carl Witke agreed. I dont know enough to be confident moving forward without the advice of a decent lawyer, he said. Thompson was pushing for a lawyer other than the one retained by the East Montpelier board. He acknowledged soliciting a second opinion would be an added expense, but could prove useful. The logistics of coordinating joint meetings of at least two, and perhaps as many as four, boards and two lawyers in the next few days aside, Witke struggled with the cost. Im not inclined to spend twice as much as I need to, he said. Kimball said he is hoping to arrange a meeting with Leopold by next Tuesday, and was instructed by the U-32 board to prepare a warning for an April 9 vote on the high school budget for its consideration next Wednesday. The April 9 date was suggested by Thompson and could be used by other boards if they decide to warn separate votes on budgets for their schools. david.delcore @timesargus.com Cresaptown, MD (21502) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray severe thunderstorm is possible. High near 95F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Variably cloudy with scattered thunderstorms. Low 69F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. This subscription will allow current subscribers of The Tillamook Headlight Herald to access all of our online Subscriber-Only content, including the E Editions area. NOTE: To claim your access to the site, you will need to enter the Last Name and First Name that is tied to your subscription in this format: SMITH, JOHN If you need help with exactly how your specific name needs be entered, please call us at 1-(503) 842-7535 or email admin@countrymedia.net. TIFTON [mdash] Everette Allen Ivey, 80, of Tifton passed away Sunday, June 27, 2021, at his residence. A graveside funeral service will be held for Mr. Ivey at 4:00 p.m. Thursday, July 1, 2021, at Oak Ridge Cemetery, where he will be laid to rest. The Rev. Rickey Wells will officiate. The fa 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 10 Million People Started Trading Last Year Heres What to Do Next (Ad) How do you make money trading? What are the secrets pros use to beat the market day after day? Former Chicago Board Options Exchange trader reveals all the insider tricks... Get the Full Report Now (No Credit Card Required... Limited Time Only) Dont Buy Options. Follow My #1 Rule Instead. (Ad) Most Options traders lose 7 out of 10 trades. This investing legend has flipped options trading upside down... making money on 85% of his trades. Hes agreed to share his secret with a small group of investors. It could help you make as much as $185 a day on average in as little as 9 minutes a week Get the full details here American officials have branded China's telecoms giant Huawei 'duplicitous and deceitful' and called for Europe to shun it. Robert Strayer, the US State Department's ambassador for cyber and international communications, said the company's equipment carried 'inherent risks' and posed a security threat. US officials have been meeting companies and national delegations at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the telecoms industry's biggest annual gathering, to persuade them to ban Huawei kit from 5G mobile networks. Spy row: Robert Strayer, the US State Department's ambassador for cyber and international communications, said Huawei's equipment carried 'inherent risks' and posed a security threat They claim it could be used for spying by China. Strayer said: 'Threats to US networks have a direct bearing on the security of our allies, just as threats to allies' networks have a direct bearing on the security of our networks. 'We ask other governments and the private sector to consider the threat of Huawei and other information technology companies. 'We know that Huawei itself has been duplicitous and deceitful.' When challenged on evidence, Strayer replied: 'I'd say the question is, do you want to have a system that is potentially compromised by the Chinese government or do you want a secure alternative?' It came just hours after a top Huawei boss hit back at American spying claims. Guo Ping pointed to the US's Prism surveillance programme, which was exposed in a massive leak by whistleblower Edward Snowden six years ago. He added: 'Huawei has a strong track record in security. The US accusation has no evidence, nothing. The irony is The US Cloud Act allows their entities to access data across borders. So, for the best technology and greater security, choose Huawei.' His firm has already been completely or partly banned in Australia and New Zealand and faces a ban in the US. The UK is reviewing telecoms rules and has not decided if it will ban Huawei. Rio Tinto reported net profit of 10.2bn for 2018 Mining giant Rio Tinto announced a record cash return to shareholders, including a 3billion special dividend, after posting a 56 per cent jump in its annual profits. The Anglo-Australian firm reported net profit of 10.2billion for 2018, up from 6.6billion the year earlier, thanks to 6billion worth of disposals. Last year, it sold its stake in a copper mine in Indonesia and an aluminium smelter in France. The money helped the company declare a record cash return of 10.1billion to shareholders, including a 2.3billion final dividend, the special dividend and a 2.4billion share buyback programme. The special dividend equated to 1.82 a share. Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has shrugged off uncertainty surrounding Brexit to notch up a rise in full-year profits. The group posted a 5.5 per cent increase in underlying pre-tax profits to 856.8million for the last year. Taylor Wimpey said it continued to see strong home-buyer demand in spite of increasing signs that Brexit worries are weighing on Britain's property market. Profit hike: Taylor Wimpey has shrugged off uncertainty surrounding Brexit to notch up a rise in full-year profits This afternoon, the group's share price is up 3.6 per cent or 6.15p to 177.1p. Pete Refdern, Taylor Wimpey's chief executive, said: '2018 was another strong year for Taylor Wimpey with good progress against our strategic priorities. 'We delivered in line with our expectations, achieving a strong sales rate and record revenues. 'Despite ongoing macroeconomic and political uncertainty, we have made a very positive start to 2019 and are encouraged to see continued strong demand for our homes. We enter the year with a strong order book and a clear strategy in place to deliver long term value for shareholders. 'We are very pleased with how our business is adapting to our customer-centred strategy. We are enhancing every step of our customers' buying and aftercare service so that we become the first choice homebuilder in all market conditions.' On the subject of Brexit, the group said: 'While we are conscious of the wider political and economic risks, particularly as the UK plans its exit from the EU, we are confident that our strong balance sheet, with our high-quality landbank, and a strategy focused on customers makes us a more resilient business.' On a statutory basis, Taylor Wimpey's pre-tax profits increased by 18.9 per cent to 810.7million. The group said it had continued to see strong home-buyer demand in spite of increasing signs that Brexit worries are weighing on Britain's property market. Its order book stands at 9,622. The housebuilder said it is expecting 'stable' house sales volumes this year. It added that it will continue to see pressure from rising build costs, which it expects to increase by similar levels to last year, at around 3 or 4 per cent. Theres a 1billion question hanging over the future of BT, which has prompted a leading City broker to downgrade shares in the telecoms giant. Analysts at Berenberg, whose research appears to go down well with fund managers, have raised concerns over the sustainability of the dividend. The phone lines and broadband giant generates around 2.5billion in free cash, giving it more than enough to support its current payout, which cost around 1.5billion last year. Payout concerns: Leading City broker Berenberg has downgraded shares in telecoms giant BT amid fears for the sustainability of the dividend The tranche left 1billion is earmarked to support the hefty BT pension deficit, to buy mobile phone spectrum, and buy back employee share options. That doesnt leave a lot of headroom for new boss Philip Jansen if he wants to invest in the business. Put another way, the dividend could come under pressure if he wants to push the boat out. The prospective yield on BT shares is around 6.8 per cent, which makes it a staple of funds and portfolios of private investors seeking a reliable income stream. The BT board has committed to a 15.4p dividend for the current financial year and next. We believe that Mr Jansen may signal that, given the strategic importance and growth created by fibre-to-the-premise, he will prioritise investment and signal a cut to the dividend from 2020/21, said Berenberg. Stock Watch - Kosmos Energy Shares in the oil and gas explorer Kosmos Energy have had a bumpy ride over the last year. The companys key assets are mainly focused off the coast of West Africa near Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania and Senegal, although it also has production operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Shares were up 0.6 per cent, or 2.75p, to 477p, after the firm announced its first-ever dividend, and full-year revenue growth of around 30 per cent. It is forecasting a 30 per cent reduction to 10.8p and also downgraded its stance on the shares to hold, with a 260p share price target. BT shares fell 3.3 per cent, or 7.4p, to 220p yesterday. Turning to the mining sector, Fresnillo achieved record annual silver production of 61.8m ounces in 2018 as well as gold production of 923,000 ounces, but it wasnt enough to placate an unforgiving market, which expected more the company had hoped to hit 65m ounces of silver. Shares in the Mexico-focused firm fell 8.3 per cent, or 81.4p, to 894.6p. The FTSE 100 slumped 32.62 points, or 1 per cent, to 7151.12 after the pound surged on news that Theresa May would offer MPs a vote on ruling out a no-deal Brexit and extending the UKs departure date past March 29. City Index analyst Ken Odeluga said sterlings boost demonstrated the market was convinced a softer Brexit is on firmer ground but warned that there could be an overestimation of momentum and perhaps an underestimation of remaining risks. A delayed Brexit does not equal a cancelled Brexit, he added. A big slider in the blue-chips was British Airways and Iberia owner IAG, down 4.3 per cent, or 28p, to 617p after stock market data provider MSCI announced plans to delete it from its Spanish Ibex 35 index. It is understood to be because of a cap on the ownership of shares by non-EU persons, which came into force ahead of Brexit. There was better news lower down in the FTSE 250 as property investor Derwent London hiked its dividend by 10 per cent after achieving earnings growth in 2018 despite ongoing uncertainty in the London office market, sending shares up 0.8 per cent, or 25p, to 3288p. Among the small caps, Springfield Properties rose 2.9 per cent, or 3.5p, to 124.5p after an 38 per cent rise in first-half revenue. Remote tracking specialist Starcom was also shining after a new range of electric motorcycles using its Helios technology was launched, lifting shares up 7.1 per cent, or 0.1p to 1.5p. But there were headaches for gas firm Serinus Energy, which sank 2p, or 13.1 per cent, to 13.25p after equipment for a project in Romania was missing components and was not set up properly. Metro Bank boss Craig Donaldson revealed l he had offered to resign after the accounting error, but this was rejected by the board The boss of Metro Bank is giving up his annual bonus over an accounting error which triggered claims he had misled the market. Craig Donaldson told the Mail he had offered to resign after the debacle, but this was rejected by the board. Instead he is forfeiting his 2018 bonus to make amends. The year before, Donaldson was given a bonus of 800,000. It came as Metro unveiled plans to raise another 350million from investors sending shares down 15.8 per cent, or 243p, to 1300p. The bank also announced 2018 profits of 40.6million, more than double the 18.7million it generated a year earlier. And in a bid to reassure investors that further cash will not be needed, Metro has vowed to slow the pace of new branch openings and reduce the speed at which it brings in more deposits. Donaldson said: 'The last few weeks have been a really, genuinely chastening experience I did offer to resign, and the board wanted to support me and continues to support me. 'I've asked the remuneration committee to waive my bonus for 2018. I'm not proud about what happened. What I want to do is ensure this organisation continues to focus on the strengths that are at its core.' Metro stunned markets last month by revealing it had underestimated the riskiness of some property loans. Donaldson originally claimed this problem was discovered by Metro's own staff, but the Mail revealed it had in fact been spotted by regulators at the Bank of England. It prompted calls for Donaldson to quit amid claims he had misled the market. Last night's fundraiser was the fourth time Metro has sought cash from the markets in just three years, with 1.2billion raised since 2017. Metro was founded in 2009 by US billionaire Vernon Hill who serves as its chairman becoming the first new British bank in more than a century. It has focused on opening large branches in prominent spots on the High Street, and attracted legions of customers with gimmicks such as safety deposit boxes and coin counting machines. Hill, who made his first fortune from fast food and owns New Jersey's largest mansion, has also promoted the lender by making his terrier Sir Duffield II its mascot. But Metro has also been dogged by questions over its finances. It sucked in 278million from investors in 2017 to fund breakneck expansion, then nabbed another 250million on the debt markets last year. Donaldson vowed in April that there would be no further fundraising from shareholders in 2018 but within weeks Metro went back to the markets for another 303million. The lender's shares have fallen around 68 per cent from their peak in March last year, wiping 2.6billion off its value. Investors are now mulling a lawsuit over the share price fall. Therium Capital, an organisation which funds legal action against large businesses, is looking closely at the case. Senior independent director Ben Gunn has been promoted to the role of deputy chairman in a bid to strengthen Metro's board. Last week the bank won 120million from a state-sponsored competition fund to boost its business lending services. 'Opportunistic and unsolicited': Laura Ashley knocked back a 20m bid from Miami-based investment firm Flacks Group Laura Ashley has knocked back a 20million bid to buy the retailer, branding it 'opportunistic and unsolicited'. The company, set up in 1953, said it has received an offer from Miami-based investment firm Flacks Group. But it was disappointed Flacks did not engage with the board before lodging the bid. And it said the offer 'substantially undervalues' Laura Ashley, which has a market value of around 24million. The Malaysian Khoo family are Laura Ashley's controlling shareholders and own more than a third of the business through retail and hotels group Mui Asia. Khoo Kay Peng, who was replaced by his son Andrew Khoo as chairman last year, owns a further 25.8 per cent through a personal shareholding. Andrew Khoo urged shareholders to support management. He said: 'Since assuming the role of chairman recently, I would like to reiterate that I hold a long-term view of the group. 'Opportunistic and unsolicited offers that are speculative in nature, and playing to a short-term market that creates unnecessary volatility to the share price, are not welcome. 'However, we will not be distracted from our focus on the business fundamentals as we continue to transform the group into a true lifestyle brand.' Khoo is closing a quarter of Laura Ashley's 120 stores amid falling demand for its traditional floral wallpaper and other homeware. It swung to a 1.5million loss in the final six months of 2018 as sales in its furniture and decorating divisions dived. Meanwhile, fashion sales jumped 11.8 per cent. Marks & Spencer is poised to bag a crucial deal with Ocado as chairman Archie Norman tries to revive the struggling retailer. A deal would see M&S launch an online food delivery service for the first time through what is expected to be a joint venture worth 1.8billion. It is understood the two companies could strike an agreement as early as today with M&S expected to pay 800million to 900million for a 50 per cent stake in a venture giving it access to Ocado's 721,000 customers. Revival plan: The Ocado deal would see M&S launch an online food delivery service for the first time through what is expected to be a joint venture worth 1.8billion It is the latest attempt by Norman, 64, and chief executive Steve Rowe, 51, to revive M&S. The retailer has undergone the biggest shake-up of its leadership team in history under the pair who have also ordered the closure of at least 100 sites. But with sales continuing to fall, M&S has admitted it has 'a lot more to do'. It would be the first major deal secured by Norman since he joined in September 2017. The retailer has so far failed to offer a large-scale online food delivery service due to the size of its customers' basket size, which would make it hugely unprofitable. On average, M&S customers spend 13 per visit. By contrast, customers at the Big Four supermarkets often spend over 100. Natalie Berg, retail analyst at NBK Retail, said: 'Teaming up with Ocado would allow M&S to fill gaps in their food range and finally offer home delivery.' The announcement lifted M&S's shares by 3.2 per cent, or 9.5p, to 303.2p. But analysts said the plans would do little to stop the rot. Thomas Brereton, retail analyst at Globaldata, said: 'Although a partnership between M&S Food and UK grocery's tech wunderkind Ocado may seem like a step in the right direction, this attempt to rapidly gain momentum in the online market may be a mis-step. Any deal would come as a blow to Waitrose, which is owned by John Lewis Partnership, which has a supply agreement with Ocado due to expire by September 2020. Ocado has until March 1 to trigger an 18-month break clause that would allow the firms to go their separate ways. It comes as Waitrose posted a 4.3 per cent drop in sales for the week to February 23, compared with a year earlier. It was forced to close a string of stores last year amid intense competition from German discounters Aldi and Lidl. Waitrose declined to comment last night but is understood to have invested heavily in its own delivery service in recent years. An Ocado tie-up with M&S would be the latest in a wave of deals in the past year. Under the lead of co-founder Tim Steiner, it has been transformed from an online supermarket into 'the Microsoft of retail'. It now has agreements with supermarket giants in six countries, including in the UK with Morrisons, as well as its own successful grocery business. Ocado's shares jumped 11.7 per cent, or 103.8p, to 990p last night. Persimmon chairman Roger Devlin (pictured) did a fine job in getting 75m man Jeff Fairburn to walk the plank By rights, we should be applauding Persimmon as it joins the garlanded club of FTSE 100 firms earning 1billion a year, and makes extravagant pledges to turn over a new leaf. But although chairman Roger Devlin did a fine job in getting 75million man Jeff Fairburn to walk the plank, he has failed to lift the stain of greed at the taxpayers expense. After conducting an amazing and far-reaching outside search for a successor, hey presto the board has come up with the perfect choice. There he was bestriding the world of building like a colossus, the interim chief executive and Fairburns right-hand person Dave Jenkinson, the 40million man. And shouldnt investors, the taxpayer which funds the Help to Buy scheme, the home buyers in houses which are falling down around them, all be truly grateful? Jenkinson is making the supreme sacrifice of sticking with his old salary of just 515,000 before any gains he may draw from a future incentive plan. Given that, between them, Fairburn and Jenkinson have collected 115million from the company, one would hope that by now there would not be a homeless person in York or for that matter the whole country. Every waif and stray should at the very least be staying in comfortable shelters paid for by charitable trusts still shrouded in mystery. All we know is that Jenkinson in his munificence chose to buy the Shambles pub in Morpeth, Northumberland. Hopefully, it will be free beer for all those Persimmon employees earning the living wage, home-owners wondering why walls are crooked and investors querying how a company so easily allowed its reputation to be trashed. The Help to Buy scheme assisted in delivering record numbers of new homes. Some 81 per cent are first-time buyers, the group the scheme is intended to prop up. There is some evidence that, with house prices rising, the plan has delivered a remarkable 1billion surplus for the taxpayer. But it is also worth noting that house prices sometimes go down as well as up and that could be a problem. What is offensive is that money has gone to households which are rich, earning more than 100,000 a year. Too many properties are shoddy and misleadingly sold on leasehold. In broking houses they may shout from the rooftops that Persimmon has done a terrific job in strengthening margins. There is another phrase for that: excess profits. Rose-tinted Connections are important in deal-making. The doomed-looking merger of Sainsburys and Asda was dreamt up by two ex-colleagues: Sainsburys Mike Coupe and David Cheesewright of Walmart. The proposed joint venture between Marks & Spencer and Ocado is product of one chairman, Archie Norman, reaching out to former M&S boss, Ocado chairman Sir Stuart Rose. M&S has been struggling with the idea of online fresh food deliveries for years but couldnt make it work. The economics are tricky. It takes a food basket of 100 to make online deliveries pay and most M&S shoppers never reach that. Tesco, which claims a big online operation, found it couldnt make it pay operating out of dark warehouses. It has reverted to filling baskets in store. So for an M&S basket to work it may have to be shared with Morrisons or someone else. Providing Ocado finds a way of fireproofing its warehouses it may be able to shed the grocer brand. The ambition is to be the Amazon of fresh foods, using its software, robotics and logistics across the globe. Norman is buying into reliability and trusting Rose to help come up with a solution. Will this solve M&Ss food struggle? Probably not. But it is better than engaging in endless, expensive and wasted trials. Drug heist Remember Amersham? The research-based pharma group was an early successes of Mrs Thatchers privatisation soaring into the FTSE 100 before being bought by Americas General Electric in 2004. There was a pledge that boss Sir William Castell would run the US groups healthcare operations from Amersham. Castell moved on to the Wellcome Trust, HQ headed to somewhere in Illinois and now life sciences, including much of Amersham, is being sold to US group Danaher for 16billion to plug a hole in GEs balance sheet. Ownership and command and control matters. Owners of BMW cars that were recalled for an exhaust gas recirculation valve leak have been left without their vehicles for up to eight weeks because the German manufacturer is struggling to obtain replacement parts quickly enough. Customers have been using courtesy vehicles and hire cars in the meantime while their motors are held by BMW dealerships waiting for hundreds of thousands of EGR valve components to arrive. The recall, issued last October, impacts some 268,000 UK-registered diesel-powered BMW models and around 1.6million in total worldwide. One This is Money reader who has been caught-up in the melee is having to drive a replacement Vauxhall Astra while his 38,000 BMW is stuck at the dealership - and he has no idea when he will get it back. Recall delay: BMW owners have been left without cars for up to two months which hit models including the 3 Series diesel pictured BMW sent recall letters to owners more than four months ago to notify them that their vehicles would need an essential repair. This was linked to a leak in the EGR valve cooler that could - in 'extreme' scenarios' - combine with soot at high temperatures and lead to the intake manifold melting, which could in turn cause a fire to break out. Some 12 different - and hugely-popular - BMW models are caught up in the recall, all of which use four- and six-cylinder diesel engines and were produced between 2011 and 2017. This includes the 3 Series and 5 Series saloons, 1 Series hatchback, 7 Series limo and various SUV models like the X1, X3 and X5. My 38k BMW is stuck there and I'm driving a Vauxhall Astra... Bill Farrell, 67, a retired Professor of Human Genomics from Chester, is the owner of a 3 Series 330D Sport. Mr Farrell told us that he's been waiting for weeks for his BMW to be returned from the dealer carrying out the EGR valve recall on his car. In an email, he said: 'I have been given a loan car but this is not like-for-like.' He added that there has been little to no contact from the customer relations department regarding waiting times for parts and the return of vehicles to owners. He said: 'I have raised this complaint with BMW and they say they are not prepared to do any more for me and I have no idea when I will get my car back. Having initially paid more than 38,000, I am now having to drive around in a Vauxhall Astra. 'BMW tell me they are providing more than is necessary.' BMW owners have contacted Auto Express about prolonged waiting periods to get their cars back and limited communication from the auto maker. Is your BMW affected? Models being recalled (ALL DIESEL): 1 Series - 4-cylinder engine (Mar 2011 - Jan 2017), 6-cylinder engine (Aug 2010 - Jun 2015) 2 Series - 4-cylinder engine (Mar 2011 - Jan 2017), 6-cylinder engine (Aug 2010 - Jun 2015) 3 Series - 4-cylinder engine (Dec 2014-Aug 2016), 6-cylinder engine (Jul 2012 - Jun 2015) 4 Series - 4-cylinder engine (Dec 2014-Aug 2016), 6-cylinder engine (Jul 2012 - Jun 2015) 5 Series - 4-cylinder engine (Dec 2014-Aug 2016), 6-cylinder engine (Jul 2012 - Jun 2015) 6 Series - 4-cylinder engine (Dec 2014-Aug 2016), 6-cylinder engine (Jul 2012 - Jun 2015) 7 Series - 4-cylinder engine (Mar 2011 - Jan 2017), 6-cylinder engine (Aug 2010 - Jun 2015) X1 - 4-cylinder engine (Mar 2011 - Jan 2017), 6-cylinder engine (Aug 2010 - Jun 2015) X3 - 4-cylinder engine (Dec 2014-Aug 2016), 6-cylinder engine (Jul 2012 - Jun 2015) X4 - 4-cylinder engine (Dec 2014-Aug 2016), 6-cylinder engine (Jul 2012 - Jun 2015) X5 - 4-cylinder engine (Dec 2014-Aug 2016), 6-cylinder engine (Jul 2012 - Jun 2015) X6 - 4-cylinder engine (Dec 2014-Aug 2016), 6-cylinder engine (Jul 2012 - Jun 2015) This has led to BMW admitting to the automotive magazine that it has been struggling to obtain the necessary parts to repair UK models. And because affected vehicles pose a fire risk they are being impounded at dealers leaving motorists without their expensive premium cars. Instead, customers have been supplied with thousands of courtesy cars - though many believe that BMW hasn't done enough to rectify the issue. Complaints sent to Auto Express range from long waits with poor communication and unsuitable hire cars that are not a like-for-like replacement for the BMW's they paid for. Others also claimed they had not been sent recall letters regarding the problem and were only notified of the issue when their cars went in for routine services at their local branches. A spokesman for the brand told Auto Express that the car maker was 'working to complete this action as quickly as possible,' but the scale of the recall had caused 'significant challenges in terms of parts supply and workshop capacity'. 'Where customers have experienced longer delays, we have sought to minimise any inconvenience as best we can, including providing several thousand courtesy cars to keep customers mobile,' he added. Owners in contact with Auto Express have been waiting to get their vehicles to come back from dealerships for between five and eight weeks, with one case resulting in the keeper having to cancel an annual ski trip because they were without the car. All recalled cars are those with 4 or 6-cylinder diesel engines produced between 2011 and 2017. Some 12 individual models are affected, including the BMW 1 Series hatchback (left) and 5 Series saloon (right) A variety of BMW 'X' SUVs are also impacted. Owners have been left without them and given courtesy car replacements, many of which are a downgrade on their expensive luxury 4x4s (BMW X5 pictured) What is an EGR valve and what does it do? Exhaust Gas Recirculation valves recirculate a portion of the exhaust gas from the engine (between 5 per cent and 15 per cent) back into the combustion process. This ensures that fuel is completely burned to reduce production of harmful gases, such as NOx. They require cooling, and any leaks can result in fires potentially breaking out. At the time the recall was issued in October 2018, BMW said in a statement: 'The technical campaigns initially decided for European and Asian countries in mid-August 2018 involved around 480,000 BMW diesel vehicles. 'During further examination of engines with a similar technical setup, the BMW Group analysed individual cases that were not included in the original technical campaigns. 'These individual cases posed no significant risk to our customers. 'Nonetheless, the BMW Group decided to further reduce even this minor risk by expanding the country-specific technical campaigns. 'It is the goal of BMW Group to support the trust and confidence of our customers in our products.' 'Inundated': Carolyn Goodman has had hundreds of nuisance calls a year after a couple of minor prangs A dossier of evidence from Money Mail readers today suggests new laws to stop nuisance calls are not fit for purpose. Dozens of you got in touch last week to tell of your cold-call torment after we reported how driver Kevin Johnson was inexplicably bombarded with more than 100 calls following a car park prang. Readers told how the deluge of calls has caused them distress and misery, too. One reports receiving 20 calls a week for six months, while another has been plagued by unsolicited calls for nine years. A new law introduced in September was supposed to put a stop to uninvited claims calls. Under the Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018, businesses are prohibited from making claims marketing calls without prior consent. But reader Paul Sings logged 27 unsolicited calls in the month after the new law came into effect. The web developer, 38, says: 'Firms clearly aren't abiding by the rules.' Paul first started receiving the calls on his landline and mobile after a car crash in the New Forest in March last year. He adds: 'It just seems very shady to me. There doesn't seem to be enough deterrent when it comes to selling on your personal data in this way.' A law was also passed in April 2013 that banned firms from receiving referral fees in personal injury cases. It was meant to put an end to rising claims and the 'compensation culture' that had pushed up insurance premiums, as well as stop nuisance calls. A law was passed in April 2013 that banned firms from receiving referral fees in personal injury cases. It was meant to put an end to rising claims and the 'compensation culture' But former magistrate Carolyn Goodman, 66, says she still gets weekly calls on her mobile and landline after two minor prangs in which her husband, Peter, was involved through no fault of his own more than two years ago. Carolyn, of Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex, says: 'They are making money somehow, or they would not still be doing this. When it happened, we were inundated. We had hundreds of calls. Somebody is giving out data. In this day and age, it should be stopped.' Nurse Carol Smith's Toyota Yaris was hit in a car park in Stockport in April last year, and the calls started while her vehicle was being repaired in a garage. No jail for data dealers Insurance insiders who made 18,000 by stealing customer data and selling it to a claims management company have avoided prison. AXA Insurance worker Shane Jerman, 29, took photographs on his mobile phone of around 100 pieces of data a week in 2015 and sent them to former colleague Stuart McGill, 30, in exchange for payments of up to 650. McGill then sold the data to Jack Greenwood and Andrew Franks who exploited it for their claims firm, Mid North West Ltd. The four men pleaded guilty to bribery charges and, on Friday, were sentenced at Preston court. All four received suspended prison sentences and each was ordered to do 180 hours of unpaid work. The 56-year-old says she is still regularly receiving calls on her mobile phone. She adds: 'I find it incredible that any law was passed regarding this disgusting sharp practice. It obviously had no affect whatsoever and these companies do it with impunity.' Yet none of our readers knows exactly how the nuisance callers got hold of their details. Theories have suggested rogue garage mechanics, call centre staff, third-party insurers and vehicle recovery agencies. But as many firms are typically involved in processing a claim, it is hard to pinpoint the leak. Unscrupulous personal injury claims firms will often use underhand methods to get hold of your information. Money Mail has previously reported how their dirty tricks include bribing staff in insurance company car parks and posing as the policyholders or their representatives to call centre staff. The Data Protection Act 2018 was introduced to ensure firms use your information in a fair, transparent and lawful way. But motorist Linda Morgan, 71, says she has received around 50 calls since an accident in Reading, Berkshire, last June. She says: 'It makes me feel angry that my phone number and accident details are given to strangers. It makes the data protection law laughable.' Readers also reported that some callers tried to persuade them to feign injury to get a compensation payout. Peter Le Fevre, 70, says he was contacted by 'duplicitous' claims firms after his Jaguar F-Type was damaged while parked outside a friend's house. Targets: Unscrupulous personal injury claims firms will often use underhand methods to get hold of your information He says he was bombarded with more than 30 nuisance calls persuading him to claim for injury compensation, even though he wasn't in the car at the time of the prang in Basildon in 2017. Money Mail has sent all of your complaints, with personal details removed, to the Information Commissioner's Office, which is now investigating. A spokesman says: 'Nuisance calls made by rogue operators blight people's lives. We are now looking into these reported calls to identify those responsible and take formal enforcement action.' James Heath, president of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL), says the industry is concerned the ban on referral fees has been 'ineffective'. He adds: 'The ban needs greater enforcement. The use of referral fees is still rampant, yet hidden under new guises to avoid detection, and is therefore not being robustly policed.' The Civil Liability Act, due to come into force in April 2020, will cap maximum payouts for whiplash and personal injury claims and put a stop to settling claims without medical evidence. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is also due to take over the Claims Management Regulator from April. Industry experts say that this will make it tougher for rogue firms to become regulated to operate in the first place. A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers (ABI) says: 'The ABI pushed for the original ban on referral fees back in 2013 and, since then, it has become clear further action is needed to curb firms that bombard people with nuisance calls.' The Government says that complaints about nuisance calls dropped 35 per cent from 2016-17 to 2017-18. It also introduced new powers in December to fine bosses of nuisance call firms up to 500,000. Digital minister Margot James adds: 'We are stamping out this menace and ridding society of the plague of nuisance calls. New measures mean company directors are now liable for breaching the law and rogue bosses could be hit with fines of up to 500,000.' Report any concerns to the ICO at ico.org.uk/concerns. b.wilkinson@dailymail.co.uk Westerly, RI (02891) Today Thunderstorms. Near record high temperatures. High 86F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 68F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) Household industrial units in residential zones of north Delhi can now have a maximum of nine workers with a power cap of 11 KW, as the area's civic body approved a new policy on Wednesday. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), in a meeting of its House held at Civic Centre here, said its "owner must be residing in the same premises". "The limit on maximum number of workers that can be allowed for such units for issuing or renewal of licence, was earlier proposed to be five, with 5 KW power to be allowed. The policy was approved today with limit on number of workers increased to nine and power cap at 11 KW," a senior official said. New units must fulfil the norms of the Labour Department and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee so as to not have polluting units. Some of the areas, where the licence for household category units cannot be provided are -- Lutyens' Bungalow Zone, Civil Lines Bungalow Area, Employer Housing and Group Housing, excluding Janata Flats, authorities said. PTI KND HMB New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) A 28-year-old man was arrested from southeast Delhi's Jasola area for allegedly killing a person who had slapped him during a family function, police said Wednesday. The accused has been identified as Tauffiq alias Sonu (28) and is a resident of Palwal in Haryana. On February 20, the police received information about a person lying unconscious in a car near Omaxe Square Mall in Jasola. On reaching the spot, they found the man in the driver's seat of a car with a bottle of liquor in his hand. He was taken to the Apollo hospital where he was declared brought dead. The deceased was later identified as Moahammad Rashid (35), a resident of Abul Fazal Enclave in Jamia Nagar. On February 21, during post-mortem at AIIMS Hospital, a bullet was found from Rashid's head, a police official said. The police checked the CCTV footage of the area where Rashid was last seen outside a liquor shop at Jasola with a person named Tauffiq. During interrogation, Tauffiq disclosed that a few months back, during a family function, an altercation took place between Rashid and Tauffiq over a petty issue. "Rashid had slapped Tauffiq during the function and since then, he had decided to eliminate Rashid," Chinmoy Biswal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast), said. Tauffiq procured a pistol and followed Rashid to the liquor shop in Jasola. They both met and consumed liquor in the car, where Tauffiq shot Rashid in the head and fled from the spot, Biswal said. PTI NIT NIT TDS TDS Lucknow, Feb 27 (PTI) With a former UP minister and SP leader terming India's air strikes at JeM's Balakot terror camp in Pakistan as "false", BJP MLA Prateek Bhushan Singh Wednesday dubbed his claim as an act of "foolishness" and asked SP president Akhilesh Yadav to rein him in. "This statement is an act of foolishness. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav should explain how his party leader, who was also a minister in his Cabinet is making such claims aimed at maligning the country's image," Singh, an MLA from Gonda Sadar seat told PTI. SP leader Vinod Kumar alias Pandit Singh had doubted the veracity of India's air strikes Tuesday. "BJP leaders are liars. Is the surgical strike anything new? TV channels were airing it today. This (that an air strike will happen) was known for 10 days," Singh had told party workers at a programme in Gonda. "It was known for five days that they (the government) have colluded with Pakistan and decided to drop a couple of bombs on an abandoned house. And then issue a statement (to the media)," he claimed, adding the air strike was "false". The SP leader also accused the BJP of "spreading terror". "By forming government in Jammu and Kashmir with Mehbooba Mufti, they proved that they have no hesitation in joining hands with those who supported terrorism," Singh said. Attacking the SP leader, the BJP MLA said, "The way he is making such statement has certainly not gone down well in the district. This is a matter of nationalism." "We object to such statements. It's our duty to be vigilant against such elements and highlight if anyone indulges in anti-national activities by making statements or in any other way," the BJP MLA added. Indian Air Force had Tuesday bombed and destroyed Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp inside Pakistan, killing over 350 terrorists, trainers and senior commanders. The swift and precise "preemptive" air strike was conducted early Tuesday, officials had said. PTI ABN RAX RAX New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) Discrimination on the basis of caste is prevalent in urban spaces too, says author Yashica Dutt who has come out with her memoir in which she talks of "living in a constant fear" of being identified as a "Dalit". In "Coming Out As Dalit", Dutt recalls her journey from Ajmer to New Delhi to New York, where she is based now, describing how she came to terms with her "real identity" after years of "passing off as a Brahmin". She also seeks to make a compelling case for the community through stories from her life and others including that of Rohith Vemula, a PhD scholar at University of Hyderabad, whose suicide in 2016 triggered a major debate on caste system. "There was a constant fear in my mind that I'll be recognised, because I was effectively living a lie (about being Brahmin) and I did not want to be caught. So that was, to put it succinctly, growing up in Ajmer coming to St. Stephens in Delhi and then working here through multiple jobs, living here for 10 years throughout that entire time I was hoping that nobody finds out I am a Dalit," she said. "I was trying really hard to hide the fact that what my real caste was, or who I really was. And it helped me in a lot of ways. I did not feel any discrimination," she told PTI. "People just assumed that I am an upper caste person because I was playing the role so well. This whole journey was marked by being somebody who was hiding their identity, living with a burden of what it feels like not being yourself," she said. Dutt, 33, recalled incidents from her childhood about discrimination that had left her "scarred" and became the reason for choosing to hide her caste even when working with a leading daily in New Delhi. "Often when I returned from school, my mother would enquire if someone asked me about my caste and if someone did I am supposed to say 'Brahmin' because she was worried that if I revealed I was from the 'bhangi' caste, I would face discrimination even by my teachers and friends in Ajmer and miss out on opportunities," she said reminiscing the Rajasthan of early 1990s. Asked if the "gap" in "discrimination" shrinks in urban spaces where money and services appear more dominant instead of caste, she said in villages caste is more visible, in cities it is invisible but it is equally present in both areas. "People who come to collect garbage at homes are almost always Dalits, those who do manual scavenging 99 per cent times they are Dalits, nobody from upper caste seeks quota in these jobs. Because Dalits have been doing these jobs, and they exist in cities also," she said. Through her book, published by Aleph Book Company, Dutt said she wants to reach out to those "who think we live in a post-caste world" and caste discrimination existed only in ancient India. "I want to start a conversation. I am trying to tell stories that have not found space so far in media or pop culture narratives. I am trying to document what this side of being a Dalit is like. So far this subject has not received any attention," she said. PTI KIS ZMN BK BK New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) The Delhi High Court is likely to pronounce on Thursday its verdict on a plea by National Herald publisher AJL challenging a single judge order to vacate the premises here. A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao had reserved its decision on February 18 after hearing arguments of the Centre and Associated Journals Ltd (AJL). During the arguments earlier, AJL, represented by senior advocate Abhishek M Singhvi, had said that transfer of the company's majority shares to Young India (YI) would not make Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi the owners of the Herald building here. He also contended that the Centre never raised the issue of lack of printing activity at the Herald building prior to June 2018, by when publishing of some of its online editions had already commenced. The Centre, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, had argued that in the manner the shares were transferred, the court needs to "pierce the corporate veil" of AJL to see who owns the premises -- Herald House -- leased to it for running a printing press. The government had contended that the land in question was allocated to AJL on lease for printing press and this "dominant purpose" was stopped several years ago. AJL has appealed against the single judge's December 21, 2018 order that directed it to vacate the premises at ITO within two weeks, after which eviction proceedings under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, would be initiated. The single judge had also said that by transfer of AJL's 99 per cent shares to YI, the beneficial interest of AJL's property worth Rs 413.40 crore stands "clandestinely" transferred to YI. In its order, the single judge had said that AJL has been "hijacked" by YI, in which the Gandhis are shareholders. The Centre had contended before the court that transfer of 99 per cent stake in AJL to YI, which bought over the Rs 90 crore debt for a consideration of Rs 50 lakh, led to a "virtual" sale of the Herald building at ITO. The December order had come on AJL's plea challenging the Centre's order to vacate the building. The Centre had ended its 56-year-old lease and asked AJL to vacate the premises, saying no printing or publishing activity was going on and the building was being used only for commercial purposes. The L&DO had ended the lease - entered into with AJL on August 2, 1962 and made perpetual on January 10, 1967 - asking the company to hand over the possession by November 15, 2018. In its plea, AJL has also said the digital versions of English newspaper National Herald, Hindi's Navjivan and Urdu's Qaumi Awaz have commenced from 2016-17. The weekly newspaper 'National Herald on Sunday' resumed on September 24, 2017, and the place of publication was the ITO premises, AJL said, adding that the Hindi weekly newspaper Sunday Navjivan was being published since October last year from the same premises. PTI SKV HMP SA Chandigarh/Jhajjar, Feb 27 (PTI) A pall of gloom descended on Badhani village in Jhajjar district of Haryana and in Chandigarh following the chopper crash in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday in which two IAF personnel from the two areas died. Squadron leader Siddharth Vashisht, 31, was a fourth-generation member from his family in the armed forces. His wife too is a serving squadron leader in the Indian Air Force. Siddharth, whose family had settled in Chandigarh, was commissioned in the IAF in 2010 and last month he was given commendation for his role in the rescue operation during the Kerala floods. In July last year, he was posted to Srinagar and his wife Arti was also posted there. "My son was flying this helicopter as he was the main pilot. He was inspired to join the IAF as his uncle Vineet Bharatwaj was a fighter pilot, so he also wanted to follow his foot steps. His uncle also died in a crash seventeen years ago," says Jagdish Kasal, father of Vashisht. Controlling his emotions Kasal, who served in the Army, said his son married in 2013 and has a two-year-old son, Anga. "My daughter-in-law, Arti, is also posted in Srinagar. She was on leave for a month, but the authorities told her that her leave has been cancelled and she has to report back for duty and now this news came that my son is no more. Arti is coming here for the last rites," he said. Last Monday, Vashisht had come for two hours to meet his father, mother and sisters as he was on his way to Srinagar from Delhi, he said. The family, which now lives in Chandigarh, hails from Naraingarh in Haryana. Another IAF personnel, Vikrant Sehrawat, who died in the helicopter crash belonged to Badhani village in Jhajjar. A pall of gloom descended on the village as soon as the tragic news of Sehrawat's demise reached there. He is survived by his wife and two children. Besides two pilots, four other on board the chopper died in the crash. A local resident also died in the crash in Budgam district of J&K. PTI VSD ABH ABH ABH New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) Mayors and councillors of the three BJP-led municipal corporations of Delhi Wednesday held a demonstration outside the Assembly, protesting against the "cut in MCD funds" in the budget, officials said. North Delhi Mayor Adesh Gupta said the Delhi government has fixed an amount of Rs 6,380 crore for three corporations in the budget of 2019-20, which is "Rs 510 crore less than the sum allocated in the previous financial year". He said instead of increasing the funds every year, the dispensation was "deducting" the same. Gupta along with South Delhi Mayor Narender Chawla, East Delhi Mayor Bipin Bihari Singh and BJP councillors of all the three civic bodies demonstrated at the Vidhan Sabha against the "cut" in funds for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), officials said. During the demonstration, they demanded the AAP-led government to "release the outstanding dues of the corporations". Gupta claimed the government "did not issue arrears due to the north corporation despite a court order". Even the Fifth Delhi Finance Commission's recommendations have not been accepted in totality, he said. "The Delhi government has money to spend on advertisements to mislead the public, but there is no money to give to corporations for development works for the benefit of citizens of the city," the North Delhi mayor added. PTI KND SRY \R New Delhi, Feb 21 (PTI) The Delhi-Lahore bus service is running as usual, an official said Wednesday. "The service is continuing. Even today, 10 persons boarded the Lahore-bound bus," Manoj Kumar, the managing director of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), told PTI. In the aftermath of the Pulwama attack, the bus service was affected and the number of passengers using it had gone down. The DTC buses to Lahore are operated from the Ambedkar Stadium bus terminal near the Delhi Gate. These buses ply every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) runs buses to Delhi on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Earlier in the day, the railways said the Samjhauta Express would continue to run as per schedule from Delhi to Attari in India, amidst reports that Pakistan has suspended its operations between Wagah to Lahore on its side. The tension between India and Pakistan has escalated after Indian fighter jets struck inside the neighbouring country's territory, destroying the biggest terrorist training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) . The air strike came after the February 14 terror attack by the JeM in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. An IAF pilot was captured by Pakistan after an air combat Wednesday during which the two sides said they shot down each other's warplanes that followed an unsuccessful attempt to target Indian military installations in retaliatory strikes that sparked fears of war. PTI VIT HMB Lubbock, TX (79409) Today Mixed clouds and sun with scattered thunderstorms. High 81F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy. Low 69F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Jaipur, Feb 27 (PTI) Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday demanded that the Centre bring an ordinance to make necessary amendments in the Forest Rights Act, 2006, to remove hurdles for securing rights of tribals living in the forest areas. "Centre should file review petition in the Supreme Court to save tribals from displacement and bring an ordinance to secure rights of people living in forest areas," Gehlot said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The chief minister said tribals had been given rights to live in forest areas under the act and the recent Supreme Court order had affected the lives of people. The apex court had on February 13 asked 21 states to apprise it about the action taken by them regarding eviction of tribals and forest dwellers whose claim for the forest land have been rejected. Gehlot said the state government, as per its election manifesto promise, had decided to simplify process of providing rights to tribals living in forest areas. In this context, transparent and effective online facility to release land possession in forests has been made, the senior Congress leader added. A PIL had challenged the validity of the Forest Rights Act, passed in 2006 by the Parliament to give back to traditional forest dwellers their right to access, manage and govern forests within their village boundaries. PTI AG HMB \R Chandigarh, Feb 27 (PTI) Amid vociferous protests and walkout by the Opposition, the Haryana Assembly on Wednesday passed amendments to an act, opening up thousands of acres to real estate and other non-forest activity that were protected under it for over a century. Chief Minister M L Khattar said the Punjab Land Preservation (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2019, was the "need of the hour", saying as it was a "very old" act and much has changed over the period of time. During the nearly one-hour debate on the legislation, the Congress and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) alleged that the bill had been brought by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to favour the mining mafia and real estate developers by allowing construction in areas where it was previously disallowed, a charge rejected by the treasury benches. The Punjab Land Preservation Act was enacted before pre-Partition by the then Punjab government in 1900, as per statement of objects of the bill. It provided for the conservation of subsoil water and/or prevention of erosion in areas found to be subject to erosion or likely to become liable to erosion. The orders and notifications issued under Section 4 and/or 5 of the act extend to approximately 10,945 sq km, accounting roughly for about 25-per cent area of Haryana. It covers, wholly or partly, 14 out of the state's 22 districts. Justifying the amendment, Khattar said a vast proportion of the area covered under the act include privately-owned lands and those that have traditionally been under agriculture and other non-forestry uses like public infrastructure. The chief minister said a number of changes had come to force over a period of time with various interpretations of the PLPA provisions from time to time. "These have also led to large tracts of agriculture, public infrastructure, residential, institutional, commercial and other users becoming liable to be considered as unauthorized activities and unlawful uses even where these were explicitly permitted and came up strictly in conformity and in accordance with the then existing applicable law governing such land use and activities undertaken thereupon," as per the statement of objects of the bill. In this scenario, lakhs of dwelling units, commercial buildings, industrial units, public buildings, massive public infrastructure and agriculture activities over about one-fourth of the geographical area of the state are affected, hence the need was felt for amending the PLPA, Khattar said. The Opposition, who demanded that the PLPA be withdrawn or put on hold till a House committee examines it, staged a brief walkout when it was being passed. Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and senior Congress leader Raghuvir Singh Kadian demanded that an assembly committee be formed to examine the bill. Senior INLD leader Parminder Dhull asked what was the "hidden agenda" of the BJP government in bringing this bill. Congress Legislature Party leader Kiran Chowdhary said the state's forest cover was already depleting. "If the amendment is passed, southern Haryana, especially those near Aravalli mountain range will face desertification." Congress member Karan Singh Dalal claimed that the amendment would also grant legitimacy to the Kant Enclave in Faridabad, built on the PLPA-notified land and which was ordered to be demolished by the Supreme Court. "This is going to be biggest scam of five-year BJP government, which will favour builders and realtors, this bill should be taken back," Dalal said. Dalal, however, said he did not have reservation if government had brought this bill "to save Kant enclave, but other serious environmental consequences which the legislation may have on the Aravallis, needs to be kept in mind". Congress MLA Lalit Nagar wondered why such a bill had been introduced that would have "catastrophic" impact on the environment. "The Supreme Court has also ordered against allowing any non-forest activity in the area. Even if this bill is passed, courts will strike it down." Finance Minister Abhimanyu said if Dalal or any member had objection to any clause of the bill, they should make it clear, rather than levelling "baseless allegations". "He (Dalal) is following shoot-and-scoot policy only to make it to newspaper headlines, Abhimanyu added. PTI SUN VSD HMB Srinagar, Feb 27 (PTI) Moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Wednesday asked India and Pakistan to desist from warmongering, saying war will be a disaster for the entire region. Mirwaiz, who was prevented from holding a press conference by authorities at his Nigeen residence, said dialogue was the only way forward. "Leadership and people of Kashmir greatly urge India and Pakistan not to escalate the situation and desist from warmongering which will be a disaster for the entire region. We ask both governments that as in the past, escalation and war can never resolve the issues between them, and only talking to one another is the way forward," he said. Referring to Tuesday's National Investigation Agency (NIA) raids on separatists, the Hurriyat leader said there was a "threatening and grave atmosphere created by the authoritarian state across Kashmir and people are being psychologically intimidated". The NIA had carried out searches at seven locations, including on the premises of separatists like Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, in connection with a case related to funding to terrorist and separatist groups in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. The agency said it recovered "high-tech internet communication setup" from Mirwaiz's residence. The separatist leader, however, Wednesday claimed that he was not provided seizure memo as required under law after the raids. "I was not given the seizure memo of things seized from me which is the norm. When I asked for it, I was told to approach court. Later, in the NIA press release in the evening, they used the word 'incriminating evidence' which is a matter of concern. There was nothing so-called 'incriminating' that was taken. As I was not given a seizure memo, any mischief can be done," Mirwaiz alleged. On the NIA mentioning that a high-tech internet communication device was also recovered from his residence, the Hurriyat leader said, "It is actuality a simple internet lease line by a private company which is commonly used in offices and homes for good and uninterrupted internet use." PTI SSB MIJ SRY Srinagar, Feb 27 (PTI) National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should suspend all his political activities till the missing Indian Air Force pilot returns home safely. India Wednesday said the pilot went missing after the IAF foiled Pakistan Air Force's attack on military installations in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan claims the pilot is its custody. "PM Modi must suspend his political activities until #WingCommanderAbhinandan is returned safely. It can't be business as usual with him crisscrossing the country at taxpayer expense making political speeches while our pilot is a Pakistani captive," Abdullah said in a series of tweets. The former chief minister also appealed to Pakistan to treat the Indian Air Force pilot well. "In the meantime, Pakistan please treat him as you would have us treat one of your men in uniform should he be unfortunate enough to be captured on this side of the border," he said. "Thoughts with the family, friends & colleagues of #WingCommanderAbhinandan. Prayers for his early & safe return home to all those eagerly waiting for him," he added. PTI MIJ TIR TIR New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) Indian Air Force's Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, in Pakistani custody after his plane was shot down on Wednesday, will be governed under the Geneva Convention of 1929. "There is only one pilot under Pakistan Army's custody. Wing Comd Abhi Nandan is being treated as per norms of military ethics," Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Twitter as tension between the two countries escalated. The rules protecting prisoners of war (POWs) are specific. They were first detailed in the 1929 Geneva Convention and later amended in the third 1949 Geneva Convention following the lessons of World War II. According to the rules, the status of POW only applies in international armed conflict. "POWs are usually members of the armed forces of one of the parties to a conflict who fall into the hands of the adverse party," the Convention states. It says POWs cannot be prosecuted for taking a direct part in hostilities. "Their detention is not a form of punishment, but only aims to prevent further participation in the conflict. They must be released and repatriated without delay after the end of hostilities. The detaining power may prosecute them for possible war crimes, but not for acts of violence that are lawful under International Humantarian Law," it says. The rules specify that POWs must be treated humanely in all circumstances. "They are protected against any act of violence, as well as against intimidation, insults, and public curiosity," the Geneva Convention states. PTI SKL MIN MIN (Eds: Changing slug, combining related stories.) New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) An IAF pilot is "missing in action" and a Pakistani fighter jet has been shot down, New Delhi said on Wednesday as fears of war darkened India-Pakistan relations with Islamabad launching retaliatory strikes and claiming it has arrested two Indian pilots in its territory. In Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan tried to defuse the tensions by saying that war is futlie and can lead to unknown consequences while making an oblique reference to the nuclear weapons that both countries possess. A day after India bombed Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Pakistan, it was a morning of developments moving with dizzying rapidity. Islamabad claimed it hit back at India by bringing down two Indian military aircraft, one of which crashed in Pakistan occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. Officials here said a Pakistani Air Force F-16 fighter jet was shot down by Indian air defence forces in Jammu region's Rajouri sector. During the encounter, a MiG 21 was lost and the pilot was missing. As tension mounted, the entire airspace north of New Delhi was briefly "vacated". Nine airports in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab were closed for civilian traffic for some part of the morning but opened later in the day. Jammu and Kashmir was the centre of much of the action on a day of escalating tensions between the two neighbours. An IAF helicopter crashed in Budgam in Kashmir, killing at least five people. One of the deceased persons was identified as Kifayat Hussain Ganaie, a local resident, while the identity of other four -- believed to be IAF personnel -- is being ascertained, they said. There was no direct established link with the activity by Pakistani jets, but for many it was just a sign of the disturbed times. There was also nightlong heavy firing and shelling on forward and civilian areas from across the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch with the Army and the Border Security Force being put on the highest degree of alertness. All residents of the border areas were asked to remain inside their homes and not venture outside. While the government and the defence establishment took stock of the situation, building up since the February 14 attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama in which 40 soldiers were killed, attention swivelled on the missing IAF pilot in enemy territory who was neither named nor his designation disclosed. In a terse press statement, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, accompanied by Air Vice Marshal R G K Kapoor, said details are being ascertained about Pakistan's claim of having captured one Indian pilot. Officials said Pakistani fighter jets violated Indian air space in Jammu region's Poonch and Rajouri sectors but were pushed back by Indian aircraft. The jets dropped bombs while returning but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, they said. "Pakistan has responded this morning by using its Air Force to target military installations on the Indian side. Due to our high state of readiness and alertness, Pakistans attempts were foiled successfully," Kumar said. He said the Pakistan Air Force activity was detected and the Indian Air Force responded instantly. "In that aerial engagement, one Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft was shot down by a MiG 21 Bison of the Indian Air Force. The Pakistani aircraft was seen by ground forces falling from the sky on the Pakistan side. "In this engagement, we have unfortunately lost one MiG 21. The pilot is missing in action. Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," he said. In Islamabad, the Pakistan Army released a 46-second video showing a blindfolded man claiming he is IAF's Wing Commander Abhinandan. "I am an IAF officer. My service No is 27981," the man is seen as saying in the video. The veracity of the video could not be ascertained. Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor claimed that two IAF pilots were arrested. One pilot is injured and has been shifted to a hospital, while another one is unhurt, he added, showing documents of the arrested pilots but identifying only one. Till late afternoon, India's political leaders, both in government and in the opposition, were mostly quiet. In a live television broadcast, Pakistan's leader Imran Khan also reiterated the military's claim that two Indian MIGs were shot down, as he offered to defuse tensions and resolve the issues through talks. He said the Pakistani incursion into the Indian air space was "only intended to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same." Two Indian MiGs were shot down in the ensuing action, Khan said, one day after Indian government sources said up to 350 JeM terrorists were killed in Tuesday's attack. There was no official confirmation of the claim. "I ask India: with the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this (situation) escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's," Khan said. PTI MPB AB MIJ SKL MIN VJ VJ VJ New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday took a dig at the Opposition over Rajya Sabha's lack of productivity and said it is a matter of concern. Addressing a "National youth parliament festival", he told youngsters to question the members of Rajya Sabha, where opposition parties have a numerical advantage over his government, of their respective states, saying it will lead to nation-wide pressure on them. Modi said the productivity of the outgoing 16th Lok Sabha, where the government enjoys a big majority, was 85 per cent and it passed 205 bills, as he credited the development to the full majority voters gave to the BJP in the 2014 general elections. The Rajya Sabha's productivity was only eight per cent in the last session where the interim budget was passed. With the general elections due in April-May, Modi is seeking a renewed mandate to push ahead with the "development" agenda and asserting that a complete majority for the BJP will result in a strong government. Opposition parties have often joined hands to block his government's legislative agenda in the Upper House of Parliament. Modi asked youngsters to organise events upon returning home and invite Rajya Sabha members from their states as chief guests and question them. In his speech and during the subsequent question and answer session, the prime minister dwelt at length at his works to curb corruption and empowering poor, and also referred to the 10 per cent quota given to the general category poor in education sector and jobs to stress on his attempt to give youths equal opportunities. PTI PLB KR NSD Srinagar, Feb 27 (PTI) Srinagar, Jammu and Leh airports were Wednesday closed for civilian air traffic shortly after an IAF jet crashed in Budgam district and amid escalation of cross-Line of Control shelling between armies of India and Pakistan. "The civilian air traffic has been suspended temporarily in view of the emergency," an official of the Airport Authority of India told PTI. While the official did not specify the nature of the emergency, it is believed the step was taken in view of an IAF jet crashing in Budgam district this morning. Jammu and Leh airports have also been closed for civilian traffic. The flare up in the cross-LoC shelling, which was initiated by Pakistani troops in early hours of Wednesday has also resulted in security forces and other establishments being put on a heightened alert. PTI MIJ AB NSD DV DV Jammu, Feb 27 (PTI) Pakistani fighter jets on Wednesday violated Indian air space in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Nowshera sectors but were pushed back by Indian aircraft, senior officials said. The Pakistani jets dropped bombs while returning, officials said. There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage. "The jets entered Indian air space over Nowshera and Poonch sectors this morning," officials said. They were immediately pushed back by Indian jets on air patrol. PTI AB SKL MIN MIN Anna Hedges, a junior creative media industries major from Brownfield, is a non-traditional student at Texas Tech. Hedges took some time off before continuing her college education at Tech in the the fall of 2016. Mumbai, Feb 27 (PTI) A day after Indian fighter jets bombed the biggest camp of terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pakistan, the Shiv Sena on Wednesday demanded continuous operations, dubbing the neighbouring country "dangerous" for the entire world. The Sena, in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', said there cannot be peace across the globe until Pakistan is wiped off the world map. In remarks laced with sarcasm, it sought to know whether the terror launch pads in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) were "cultural centres", as according to that country's Prime Minister Imran Khan, there was no terrorist activity originating from its soil. "There cannot be world peace until Pakistan is eliminated from the global map. Countries like Pakistan are dangerous not only for India, but the entire world. There is no democracy in Pakistan, so their army chief misuses power in the name of prime minister and the government," it said. In a pinpointed and swift air strike that lasted less than two minutes, India pounded Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Pakistan early Tuesday, killing up to 350 terrorists and trainers who were moved there for their protection after the Pulwama attack, officials said. The Sena said, "The question which remains unanswered is if one strike on Pakistan is enough to avenge the death of our jawans? Their blood isn't cheap. There should be continuous operations against the country to put an end to the terrorism continuing from there." It said the way the United States gunned down al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden on Pakistan's soil, JeM chief Masood Azhar needs to be eliminated as well to avenge the killing of 40 CRPF jawans. Recalling that former prime minister Indira Gandhi had showed the Indian Army's might in 1971 by dividing Pakistan into two, the Sena expressed hope that a similar operation would be conducted against the neighbouring country under Narendra Modi's rule. PTI MM GK NSD NSD Hanoi/London, Feb 27 (PTI) The US, the UK, China, Russia and the European Union on Wednesday urged both India and Pakistan to exercise utmost restraint and avoid further military activity by the nuclear-armed neighbours. Tensions between India and Pakistan rose Wednesday after Pakistan claimed it shot down two Indian fighter jets over Pakistani air space and arrested a pilot. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan tried to defuse the tension by saying war is futile and can lead to unknown consequences while making an oblique reference to the nuclear weapons that both countries possess. Worried over escalating tensions, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke separately with foreign ministers of India and Pakistan, urging them to avoid "further military activity". "I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost," Pompeo, who is accompanying President Donald Trump at the second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said in Vietnam. In London, Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain is deeply concerned over rising tensions between India and Pakistan, urging both the nuclear-armed nations to exercise restraint to avoid further escalation. "The UK is deeply concerned about rising tensions between India and Pakistan and urgently calls for restraint on both sides to avoid further escalation. We are in regular contact with both countries, urging dialogue and diplomatic solutions to ensure regional stability," she said. In response to an urgent question on "The situation in Jammu & Kashmir" tabled during the weekly Prime Minister's Questions session, May told the House of Commons that the UK remained in regular contact with both countries and was working towards de-escalating tensions. Russia has expressed "serious concern" over the escalation of tensions. Moscow called on both sides to exercise "restraint", adding that existing problems should be solved by "political and diplomatic means". For a second day, China urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and said the two sides should engage in dialogue to uphold the peace and stability in the region. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang's remarks came after Pakistan targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism in Balakot. "I understand that in the latest development Pakistan says it had shot down two Indian aircraft and captured Indian pilots," Lu said in Beijing. In Brussels, the European Union's diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini urged India and Pakistan to show the "utmost restraint" in their escalating confrontation. "We expect both countries to now exercise utmost restraint and avoid any further escalation of the situation," Mogherini said in a statement. PTI AKJ AKJ Islamabad, Feb 27 (PTI) Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Wednesday that his country does not want a war and asked India to come to the table to resolve all outstanding issues. "Today's strike demonstrates our right, will and Capability to defend ourselves. We do not want war. We hope India will come to the table to resolve all outstanding issues," Qureshi said. His comments came hours after the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said that Pakistan Air Force targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is "missing in action". Earlier, Islamabad claimed it hit back at India by bringing down two Indian military aircraft, one of which crashed in Pakistan occupied Kashmir while the other fell in Jammu and Kashmir. PTI ZH ZH MPTB gets into collaboration with producers of Sherni shot in MP locales Vatican City, Feb 27 (AFP) The Vatican will open an internal investigation into Australian Cardinal George Pell following his conviction for sexually assaulting two choirboys, its spokesman said Wednesday. Pell, once one of Pope Francis' closest advisors, is the most senior Catholic cleric ever to be convicted of child sex crimes. "The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will now handle the case following the procedure and within the time established by canonical norm," Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said in a statement. The investigation could result in a canonical trial and Pell's eventual expulsion from the priesthood. He may face the same fate as American Theodore McCarrick, a former cardinal who was defrocked earlier this year in a first for the Catholic church over accusations he had sexually abused a teenager. An Australian jury unanimously found Pell guilty in December on one count of sexual abuse and four counts of indecent assault against two boys at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne in the 1990s. The 77-year-old is facing up to 50 years' jail after being convicted on five counts of sexual and indecent assault of two choirboys in the sacristy of Saint Patrick's Cathedral in 1996-97, shortly after Pell became archbishop of Melbourne. Pell, who has lodged an appeal against the verdict, will be sentenced on March 13. He was to spend his first night behind bars Wednesday, capping an extraordinary fall from grace for one of the most powerful men in the Catholic Church. (AFP) PMS PMS Islamabad, Feb 27 (PTI) Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday claimed that two Indian MIGs crossed the Line of Control and they were shot down, as he offered to defuse tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours and resolve the issues through talks. "Our action was only intended to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same. Two of their MiGs were shot down (in the ensuing action)," Khan said in a live TV address. His comments came minutes after the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said that Pakistan Air Force targeted military installations in India in response to Indian counter-terrorism operations but their attempts were foiled successfully though one Indian pilot is "missing in action". Noting that all wars are miscalculated, and no one knows where they lead to, Khan said that better sense must prevail and the two sides should act with wisdom. "I ask India: with the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation? If this (situation) escalates, it will no longer be in my control or in (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's," Khan said. "Let's sit together and settle this with talks," he added. PTI ZH AKJ ZH ZH Wuzhen (China), Feb 27 (AFP) China's foreign minister said Wednesday the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un can be an "important step" towards advancing denuclearisation and peace on the Korean Peninsula. Beijing is North Korea's sole major ally and Kim travelled for more than two days by train across China on his way to Hanoi. The North Korean leader met with Chinese President Xi Jinping for a fourth time in January, showing that Beijing retains a key role in the diplomatic shuffle. "In this Hanoi meeting, we can not only increase the hard-won warming up of the situation, but we can also take an important step towards advancing the denuclearisation of the peninsula and establishing a peace mechanism," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said after talks with his Russian and Indian counterparts in the eastern Chinese city of Wuzhen. Trump was due to meet Kim for dinner later Wednesday and meet again on Thursday. Following a historic first meeting in Singapore in June that produced a vaguely worded statement about denuclearisation, analysts say the second summit in Vietnam's capital Hanoi must this time put substance ahead of bonhomie. (AFP) SMJ SMJ Beijing, Feb 27 (AFP) China called on Pakistan and India on Wednesday to "exercise restraint" and seek dialogue after Islamabad claimed it shot down two Indian warplanes in its airspace over disputed Kashmir. "We hope that both India and Pakistan can exercise restraint, take initiatives that are conducive to promoting dialogue, meet halfway and make active efforts for lasting peace and stability in South Asia," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said. (AFP) PMS PMS Washington, Feb 27 (AFP) The US House of Representatives approved a resolution Tuesday blocking President Donald Trump from obtaining funding for a border wall with Mexico through his declaration of a national emergency. The resolution, which now goes to the Republican-held Senate, was passed by the Democratic-controlled House by a comfortable margin of 245-182. Thirteen Republicans joined Democrats in striking down the emergency declaration. Trump, after failing to secure billions of dollars for the border wall from Congress, declared a national emergency on February 15 that would allow him to find the wall funding from other sources, notably the Pentagon budget for military construction projects. The president has threatened to veto the resolution if it passes both the House and the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain. (AFP) RUP Our governor is a disgrace. When a picture on his page in the college yearbook surfaced with one person in black face and the other in the infamous KKK garb, he apologized. The next day he claimed it was not him in the picture. When he was asked by a reporter why his nickname was coon in college, he said he did not know. Given the history of southern Democrats in Virginia and his actions in college, Ralph Northam is a racist and should resign. (Eds: Disclaimer: The following press release comes to you under an arrangement with Business Wire India. PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.) Bengaluru, Karnataka, India Business Wire India Internet of things (IoT) is no longer on the way its already here. With IoT entering into much more practical and operational phase, CIOs, CTOs and other IoT leaders are prioritising all possible opportunities in IoT space through the lens of business returns (Profit from IoT) - in terms of absolute value as well as time to value. With the core belief that all of us can Profit from IoT, EFY Group organised the fourth edition of IoTShow.in 2019 at the Karnataka Trade Promotion Organization (KTPO) in Bengaluru from 26th 28th February 2019. The theme of this years event is The Power of Internet of Things. The event starts with the inaugural address by Ramesh Chopra, Founder and Chairman, EFY Group. While welcoming the dignitaries at the event, he mentioned the importance of IoT for business and how industry leaders can leverage the power of IoT to maximise their profits. Ramesh Chopra, Founder and Chairman, EFY Group welcomed the dignitaries with his inaugural address. He said, On behalf of entire EFY group, I want to take this opportunity to thank those who have supported us in this initiative, including the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, our other partners, sponsors, participants and well-wishers. With collective effort, our vision of having an Indian technology exhibition that we all can be proud of seems to be taking place slowly and steadily. Looking at the ongoing technological evolution he said, This year, besides focus on electronics design and new product development, we have conference tracks on Artificial intelligence, Machine Learning and Deep Learning, Blockchain and Distributed Ledgers, Cloud, Fog and Edge Computing and similar subjects that are important for our engineers to master, if they want to develop smarter and intelligent things. In the inaugural session, Virendra Chaudhari, IoT Sales Head - India, Intelligent Cloud, Microsoft delivered the keynote address on the theme The Power of Internet of Things. The keynote session was followed by a panel discussion on Profit from IoT. The topic of the discussion was: The Macro Dynamics - Shifting Paradigms in Strategies, Policies, Disruptive Technologies and their impact on business revenue. The panelists who shared their views were: PVG Menon, Founder, and President, VANN Consulting; Eobin George, Director, PerfectFit Systems; C. Subramanian, Cloud Platform & Machine Learning Architect in Internet of Things, INTEL; Tulika Pandey, Director & Head, Cyber Security & Digital Village Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India; and Arushi Thakur, Measurement & Instrumentation Practice, Frost & Sullivan. The panel discussion was moderated by Narang N Kishor, Founder, NarnixTechnolabs, Chairman of Sectional Committee on Smart Infrastructure, BIS. In the post lunch session, the keynote was delivered by Uday Dodla, Director - Product Marketing, Qualcomm, on From LTE to 5G: Transforming Industrial IoT. The keynote session was followed by several insightful talks by experts and industry leaders on topics as varied as cybersecurity in IoT, blockchain, 5G to IoTs applications in various segments. The eminent speakers who presented their views include: Divyanshu Verma, Senior Engineering Manager, Intel R&D; Shahcindra and Shreya Saha, REVOtic Engineering; Rittu Sachdev, RF engineer, TI; Ratnakar Gandhe, Head - Product Engineering Services and IoT solutions Group, Mindteck; Hemalatha Bhaskar, Director - Platform Engineering, VISA; Poonam J Prasad, Senior Scientist, CSIR - National Environmental Engineering Research Institute; Sumanth Naropanth, CEO, Deep Armor; Anand V, Managing Director, Anasup Consulting; Yogendran Gopalakrishnan Gopithenna, IoT & Big Data Architect and Technical Product Owner, and Sunil Kumar Verma, Senior IoT and Big Data Engineer, SAP Labs; and Dr. Manjunath Iyer, Principal Consultant, Wipro. The IoTShow, an event where the enablers, the creators, the integrators and the customers of IoT come together, is the co-located event of the India Electronics Week (IEW) 2019 - one of the largest global event to promote Indian electronic industry. The event is being held from February 26th-28th, 2019 and is supported by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Digital India and Electronics India. IoT Show is bringing all the stakeholders at one stage. That's the best part. And Bangalore being IT hub, this is the right place for designers, manufacturers, practitioners, all sitting here. And for the next two days of the show I am looking for more products launch in the IoT space and how the IoT ecosystem shape up. I am also expecting new IoT products, which are safe and follow standards, whom people can trust them, said Divyanshu Verma, Senior Manager at Intel. In addition to various discussions, the first day of IoTShow witnessed some amazing workshops and training sessions by leading industry leaders. To sum up the first day of the event came out with thought provoking discussions, valuable information, suggestions and tips that can be useful to make profit from IoT. More is about to be offered and more territories are yet to be explored with regards to IoT in the next two days of the event. While sharing views about the event, Shailendra Miglani, Technology Solution Professional at Microsoft said, I am glad that EFY is creating an environment of awareness. About IoTShow.in All of us can Profit from IOT. Thats the core belief that drives IoTShow.in. Whether you run an industrial empire, or develop solutions to cater to them, whether you head the engineering team or are a fresher joining the industryall of us can profit from IOT. Some will profit in terms of career, others in terms of costs reduced, and then some will see their revenues rise multi-fold. Since 2016, when its first edition was voted as Worlds #1 IoT event on Postscapes.comthe team has been enjoying the challenge of maintaining the events global leadership. IoTShow.in began as an event targeting developers of hardware products used in IOT solutions. In 2017, it expanded its scope to include the entire range of developers and system integrators. And, in 2018, it has expanded its scope furtherto cater to B2B customers from Industrial and Retail sectors too. For more information about IoTShow visit: https://www.iotshow.in/ PWR PWR (Eds: Disclaimer: The following press release comes to you under an arrangement with Business Wire India. PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.) Announces 'No-cost EMI' scheme on Sleep & Respiratory care products New Delhi, India Business Wire India Reiterating its commitment to Sleep Health, Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology today announced a 'No-cost EMI' [1]offer on its products under the Respironics range of sleep and respiratory solutions. These solutions will assist patients suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a lung disease with long-term breathing problems and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a chronic condition where the patient experiences interrupted breathing during sleep. For COPD, the range of products includes Oxygen Concentrators and Non-invasive Ventilators while products for OSA include Continuous Positive Airways Pressure (CPAP) devices. Patients suffering from an overlap of both COPD and OSA will also find that the CPAP devices will help alleviate symptoms of both the diseases. Patients in India can avail this No-cost EMI offer on products for COPD and OSA by visiting outlets operated by Philips authorized partners or by calling on the toll-free number 1800 258 7678. Patients can also SMS Sleep to 58888 to benefit from this offer. Products available on No-cost EMI offer OSA Care COPD Care Sleep Therapy (CPAP) Oxygen Concentrators (OC) Non Invasive ventilator Dreamstation CPAP Everflo: Stationary Oxygen Concentrator BIPAP AVAPS RemStar CPAP SimplyGo: Portable Oxygen Concentrator Dorma CPAP SimplyGoMini: Portable Oxygen Concentrator Commenting on the announcement, Harish R, Head of Sleep & Respiratory Care at Philips India said, Philips Respironics, a global leader in sleep and respiratory care is passionate about providing value-based solutions that lead to healthier patients and greater productivity in day to day life. While there are multiple approaches to solutions, we believe a key aspect will be to ensure that people have access to more affordable solutions for sleep apnea and COPD. Not only will this enhance quality of life, it will have a positive effect on the economy. According to Philips latest annual global survey on Better Sleep, Better Health, more than 100 million people suffer from sleep apnea globally. Above 80 percent of these people remain undiagnosed and 30 percent find it difficult to initiate and maintain sleep. Studies have established that about 7-9% Indian adult population suffer from Sleep Apnea.[2 In line with its commitment to create awareness about sleep disorders in India, Philips continue to educate people about extreme symptoms such as loud snoring, unwarranted daytime sleepiness, poor concentration and its impact on health as well as overall quality of life. [3] Studies have shown the relationship between sleep apnea and cardiovascular diseases, with people having severe sleep apnea being more likely to develop congestive heart failure.[4] As one of the leading causes of death worldwide, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects more than 251 million people. While millions of people across the globe have been diagnosed with COPD, there are millions of others who remain undiagnosed, or have been labeled incorrectly with a different lung condition.[5] Philips Respironics is committed to providing one unified approach to COPD care coordinated, consistent, uninterrupted and centered around the patient. Our goal is to help reduce hospitalizations, improve patient care, maximize clinician resources and support patients in living more-active, fulfilling lives.[6] Philips sleep and respiratory solutions enable patients to rediscover their confidence and freedom to live a fulfilling life by restoring their ability to sleep and breathe better while simultaneously enabling more efficient care. The 'No-cost EMI' scheme on Sleep & Respiratory care products further demonstrates Philips efforts to ensure affordable and accessible care to patients in India. [1]EMI stands for Easy Monthly installment Terms & conditions apply for EMI scheme [2] Prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing and sleep apnea research in middle-aged urban Indian men by Dr Udwadia ZF, Dr AV Doshi, Dr SG Lonkar, Dr CI Singh [3] Philips marks World Sleep Day with awareness initiatives in major Indian cities [4] Philips marks World Sleep Day with awareness initiatives in major Indian cities [5] COPD is on the rise; diagnosis and management challenges remain [6] Philips showcases latest patient-driven sleep and respiratory solutions About Royal Philips Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips' health technology portfolio generated 2018 sales of EUR 18.1 billion and employs approximately 77,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at http://www.philips.com/newscenter. PWR PWR Chennai, Feb 27 (PTI) Vedanta group firm Sterlite Wednesday moved the Madras High Court seeking a direction to allow the reopening of its copper smelter unit at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu which was closed last year over pollution concerns. Filing a petition in line with the Supreme Court's recent suggestion, it challenged the May 23, 2018 orders of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) refusing renewal of consent to the plant as well as permanent closure, terming them as wholly illegal, unconstitutional and ultra vires. The matter is likely to be taken up for hearing on Thursday. The apex court had on February 18 set aside the order of the National Green Tribunal allowing opening of the copper unit, but gave the liberty to the company to approach the high court against the closure order. A bench of Justices R F Nariman and Navin Sinha had said if such a writ petition was filed by the company, it could seek an interim relief considering the fact that their plant at Tuticorin had been shut down since April 9, 2018. The state government had ordered permanent closure of the unit in the wake of violent protests against Sterlite in Tuticorin that led to the killing of 13 people in police firing on May 22. The locals were protesting against environmental pollution allegedly caused by the factory. Allowing a plea by Sterlite, the NGT had on December 15 last year set aside the closure order, holding that it was "non-sustainable" and "unjustified". The apex court delivered the verdict on Tamil Nadu's appeal against the NGT's order, saying that the tribunal had "erroneously" set aside various orders passed by the TNPCB. In its petition in the high court, the company contended that TNPCB had blindly and without any independent application of mind passed the closure orders in a knee jerk manner in response to the political situation brewing in the area and according to the whims of the state government. The orders were "wholly illegal, unconstitutional, ultra vires the Air and Water Act", it claimed. Besides being "unsustainable" in the facts and circumstances of the case, the orders were also liable to be quashed on the grounds of violations of principles of natural justice apart from being vitiated by reliance on extraneous considerations, it added. The order had been made as per TNPCB's convenience for stopping the operation of Sterlite with complete non-application of mind, the company said in its affidavit. It also contended that the closure order issued on the ground that the unit was carrying out activities to resume its production operation was bad in law. Citing the shutdown of certain machineries as part of maintenance activities in progress at that time, the company said production operation was not feasible without them. Sterlite also submitted that closure of an industry was a measure of last resort in the absence of any other alternative and that the TNPCB, being a statutory public authority, was expected to consider all balancing factors before passing such a drastic order for permanent closure. The order was passed pursuant to a media publication by one of the NGOs "operating against" the company without any deliberation or discussions within departments concerned, and without even issuing notice to the company, it said. The company also claimed it had 36 per cent share in the total domestic market for copper besides exporting and hence, the closure would result in a loss of foreign exchange earnings of USD 1.5 billion per annum. PTI VS SRY Washington, Feb 27 (AFP) The United States has threatened fresh import duties on nearly USD 2 billion in structural steel from Canada, Mexico and China, according to the Commerce Department. The latest investigation into possible dumping and unfair subsidies, announced late Tuesday, comes on top of sweeping tariffs on steel imports from all countries that President Donald Trump imposed last year ahead of major trade negotiations. But it also comes after the White House reached a new North American trade deal with Ottawa and Mexico City, and has called a truce in its trade dispute with Beijing. The American Institute of Steel Construction called for the investigation, alleging that imports of fabricated structural steel -- such as beams, frames, columns joists -- have been dumped on the US market at less than fair value and benefited from unfair subsides. The organization claims Canadian, Chinese and Mexican producers benefit from scores subsidy programs, including tax abatements, grants, loans and export insurance, debt restructuring, and can receive cut-rate local goods and services. In 2017, imports of these products from the three countries amounted to $1.9 billion, according to the Commerce Department. That was the year before Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on national security grounds. If the Commerce Department agrees with the charges on the US market it will impose extra duties on the imports. The alleged dumping margins are 30.41 percent for Canada, 222.35 percent for China, and 30.58 percent for Mexico. The independent US International Trade Commission can overturn if finds that no American industry has been harmed by the imports. In the first 10 months of last year, total US steel imports fell 10.6 percent compared to 2017, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. (AFP) PMS PMS New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) As tensions with Pakistan escalated, Indian oil companies have put in motion a "very strong plan" including moving a convoy of 500 trucks to ensure uninterrupted fuel supplies to all defence and strategic assets, top officials said Wednesday. Tanks feeding defence establishment in forward areas along the border with Pakistan are all "topped up" and have enough fuel to meet any eventuality, they said. Oil companies had topped up all storages in Jammu and Kashmir and other forward areas before the Tuesday's pounding of a terrorist camp inside Pakistan as retaliation to Jaish-e-Mohammed operative killing 40 paramilitary personnel in a suicide car bombing in Kashmir on February 14. And now, as many as 500 oil tankers are being moved to the state and other forward locations to stock up jet fuel (ATF), diesel and other petroleum products for ensuring fuel supplies beyond the 10-day stock firms generally maintain, they said. Indian and Pakistani fighter jets shot down war planes of each other on Wednesday in the most serious military confrontation between the two nations in decades. State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) supply jet fuel for the fighter jets of Indian Air Force as well as diesel and other fuel for tanks, trucks and other automobiles used by defence and paramilitary forces. "We have a very strong plan in place (to ensure uninterrupted supplies)," an official said. The requirement of defence services as a percentage of over 190 million tonne of fuel consumed in the country is "very small" but the task is ensuring its uninterrupted availability especially in forward posts in Jammu and Kashmir, another official said. Oil companies, they said, carry out winter stocking in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the onset of winter every year and they had moved enough quantities of fuel to the state to meet fuel requirement of the civilians as well as defence establishment. A separate official said Indian oil companies had ensured fuel uninterrupted fuel supplies to defence forces even during the Kargil war in 1999. "One is reminded of a picture in the newspapers during the height of Kargil war of a burning Indian Oil tanker alongside Bofors gun. We ensured fuel reached forces at all times," he said. Officials refused to discuss specifics of the plan of ensuring uninterrupted fuel supplies because of "strategic reasons." "Please leave that to us," one of them said. Officials said the plan is in place not just for ensuring fuel supplies but also for protecting oil assets like tankages storing fuel and refineries. Some oil refineries on the west coast are provided air cover by the Indian Air Force and other installations are also being provided security, they said. Oil companies to advance winter stocking to meet requirements of the Leh and Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir and forward areas of Himachal Pradesh which are cut off from the rest of the country due to snowfall. Total fuels supplied this year was about 102,850 tonne (121,000 kilo litre). Ambala, Jalandhar, Sangrur and Bhatinda were the supply points that moved fuel to storage depots about 900 km away. PTI ANZ HRS New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) SpiceJet on Wednesday announced to launch daily direct flights to Odisha's Jharsuguda from Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata under the Centre's regional connectivity scheme UDAN from March 31. "Jharsuguda, Odisha's top investment and manufacturing hub, marks SpiceJet's maiden entry into the state and will be the airline's tenth destination under UDAN," the airline said in a statement. SpiceJet also announced an "introductory promotional fare" starting at Rs 3,701 (all inclusive) on Delhi-Jharsuguda, Jharsuguda-Delhi, Jharsuguda-Hyderabad and Hyderabad-Jharsuguda routes. The airline added that similar introductory promotional fare of Rs 2,560 (all inclusive) would be charged on Jharsuguda-Kolkata and Kolkata-Jharsuguda routes. With the addition of these new flights, SpiceJet will be operating 29 daily flights under the regional connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) that seeks to connect unserved and under-served airports as well as make flying affordable. Jharsuguda is Odisha's second biggest airport and the only one to handle civil commercial operations after the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar. SpicetJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said, "SpiceJet is delighted to provide direct air connectivity from Jharsuguda, one of Odisha's biggest manufacturing hubs and a top investment destination, to key metro cities and beyond. We are confident that these new flights will do very well much like our other UDAN flights and will give a big push to the economic growth of Odisha." The airline will be deploying its Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the Jharsuguda-Delhi-Jharsuguda sector whereas the other two UDAN sectors of Jharsuguda-Hyderabad-Jharsuguda and Jharsuguda-Kolkata-Jharsuguda would be served by its Bombardier Q400 fleet. At present, SpiceJet operates 23 flights under the UDAN scheme. PTI DSP DPB DPB As the big round two of the Trump-Kim summit nears, the US president said that he looks to an awesome future for North Korea, provided all the nukes are given up by his 'friend' Kim Jong-un. Trump met with Vietnamese leaders at Hanoi before he proceeded to meet his counterpart from North Korea. He also attended a signing ceremony for commercial business deals. Kim and Trump will meet over dinner on Wednesday. Trump's tweet mentioning his friend and the awesome future he sees was in capital letters for emphasis like he usually does. However, a former North Korean diplomat has said that Kim is unlikely to give up nuclear arms entirely. The stakes are definitely high in this second meeting between the two world leaders, especially how their relationship has taken a U-turn of sorts considering how the two leaders were name-calling over Twitter. A major reason according to experts as to why Kim may not be willing to completely denuclearise is that he is currently in his early thirties and seeks to lead the nation for decades and for this reason, he needs to fortify his leadership even if he seeks peace with other big powers. Trump and Kim are due to meet for one-on-one talks, then dinner, in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, followed by more talks Thursday. Trump also lashed out at his domestic opponents for their criticism of his engagement with the isolated regime. "The Democrats should stop talking about what I should do with North Korea and ask themselves instead why they didn't do 'it' during eight years of the Obama administration?" said Trump, referring to his predecessor in the White House. The two days of talks aim to put some flesh on the bones of a vague declaration issued after their first historic meeting in June in Singapore. Trump has appeared to lower US expectations for the summit, saying that he would be happy if Pyongyang's pause in nuclear and missile testing continued. The president is believed to be considering dangling relief from tough international sanctions. Opening of diplomatic liaison offices is another possible US concession. In return, Washington hopes to get Kim to dismantle the key nuclear facility at Yongbyon, allow in international inspectors, or even hand over a full list of all the country's nuclear assetssomething the North Koreans have categorically refused to do. The probable circumstances that led to Mr. Mitchells death demonstrate the need for a close examination of how jails treat inmates with documented mental health issues. It also reveals that Virginia is far too zealous in resisting transparency both in public records laws and the power to subpoena jailors and their health care providers when it comes to sussing out information when a resident dies while in state custody. Neanderthalsoften depicted as having poor posturewalked upright just like modern humans, say scientists who suggest that the prehistoric cavemen may have been more similar to us than many assume. Researchers at University of Zurich in Switzerland virtually reconstructed the pelvis and spine of a very well-preserved Neanderthal skeleton found in France. An upright, well-balanced posture is one of the defining features of Homo sapiens. In contrast, the first reconstructions of Neanderthals made in the early 20th century depicted them as only walking partially upright. These reconstructions were based on the largely preserved skeleton of an elderly male Neanderthal unearthed in La Chapelle-aux-Saints, France. Since the 1950s, scientists have known that the image of the Neanderthal as a hunched over caveman is not an accurate one. Their similarities to ourselves -- both in evolutionary and behavioral termshave also long been known, but in recent years the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction. However, a virtual reconstruction of the skeleton from La Chapelle-aux-Saints has now delivered evidence to the contrary, according to a statement. The computer-generated anatomical model show that both the individual in question as well as Neanderthals in general had a curved lumbar region and neckjust like the humans of today. When reconstructing the pelvis, the researchers discovered that the sacrum was positioned in the same way as in modern humans. This led them to conclude that Neanderthals possessed a lumbar region with a well-developed curvature. By putting together the individual lumbar and cervical vertebrae, they were able to discern that the spinal curvature was even more pronounced. The very close contact between the spinous processes the bony projections off the back of each vertebra became clear, as did the prominent wear marks that were in part caused by the curvature of the spine. Wear marks in the hip joint of the La Chapelle-aux-Saints skeleton also pointed to the Neanderthals having an upright posture similar to that of modern humans. "The stress on the hip joint and the position of the pelvis is no different than ours," said Martin Haeusler from the University of Zurich, who led the study. This finding is also supported by analyses of other Neanderthal skeletons with sufficient remnants of vertebrae and pelvic bones. "On the whole, there is hardly any evidence that would point to Neanderthals having a fundamentally different anatomy," said Haeusler. "Now is the time to recognize the basic similarities between Neanderthals and modern humans and to switch the focus to the subtle biological and behavioral changes that occurred in humans in the late Pleistocene," he said. The Pakistan government on Wednesday claimed it had shot down two Indian Air Force fighters and had carried out strikes across the Line of Control a day after India carried out an attack. In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area. Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 27, 2019 The Pakistan Armed Forces spokesperson said the Pakistan Air Force shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistan airspace. The official Twitter handle of the Pakistan Armed Forces said the Pakistan Air Force shot down the jets after they entered its airspace, noting one crashed inside Jammu and Kashmir and the other inside PoK. Earlier, an Indian Air Force aircraft crashed in Budgam, killing two pilots. It was initially thought to be an MiG-21 fighter, though other reports claim it was MI-17 helicopter. J&K: Pictures of craters formed from Pakistani bombs dropped near Indian Army post in Rajouri sector. Pic courtesy: Army sources) pic.twitter.com/bAqG1YW3AO ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2019 ANI obtained footage of damage caused near an Army post near Rajouri due to the Pakistani bombing. In response to PAF strikes this morning as released by MoFA, IAF crossed LOC. PAF shot down two Indian aircrafts inside Pakistani airspace. One of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK. One Indian pilot arrested by troops on ground while two in the area, the Pakistan Armed Forces handle confirmed. ANI has reported a Pakistani F-16 was shot down after the bombing mission, though this has not been confirmed by either side. Earlier, at least three Pakistan Air Force fighters violated the Line of Control and are believed to have dropped bombs. The Pakistan Foreign Ministry released a statement acknowledging a bombing mission, though Indian sources claimed the bombs were jettisoned after being intercepted. The Indian military has shot down a Pakistan Air Force F-16 fighter jet that participated in a bombing mission across the Line of Control on Wednesday, multiple news agencies have reported. Earlier on Wednesday, the Pakistan government claimed to have shot down two Indian Air Force fighters and taken one pilot into custody. The downing of the F-16 occurred in the Lama Valley area near Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir; the F-16 pilot ejected over Pakistan territory. ANI reported a parachute was visible from the stricken F-16 jet. Meanwhile, the Indian government is yet to react to Pakistan's claims that two IAF jets were shot down or the reports an F-16 was shot down. Some media outlets have claimed the IAF has denied claims any of its aircraft had been shot down. Wreckges of Indian fighter planes burning. Well done Pakistan Air Force. The entire nation is proud of you. pic.twitter.com/TTIb1zvNZS Information Ministry (@MoIB_Official) February 27, 2019 Interestingly, the Pakistan Information Ministry tweeted about a video showing wreckage of an aircraft that crashed in Budgam in Kashmir. While the aircraft was identified by India as an IAF Mi-17 helicopter, the Pakistan Information Ministry claimed it was wreckage of the Indian fighters that were shot down and said, well done to the Pakistan Air Force. The Pakistan Air Force bombing mission across the Line of Control came a day after the IAF bombed a terror camp deep inside Pakistan. Medication services at the free clinic are limited to people with no prescription insurance and an income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, according to the clinic website. The health system has similar rules for its pharmacy assistance programs, which are operated by pharmaceutical companies. Participants have to submit an application and meet criteria that the companies set. When the government announced on Wednesday that an Indian Air Force MiG-21 Bison had shot down a Pakistani fighter, the news highlighted the role the Soviet-designed fighter plays in defending India. India's first MiG-21 arrived from the Soviet Union in 1963 and the Indian Air Force has operated a total of 874 of the lightweight, single-seat fighters over the years. Indian Air Force MiG-21s had their first taste of combat during the 1965 war with Pakistan over, ironically, Kashmir when they had a brief encounter with Pakistan Air Force F-104 Starfighters, supplied by the US. However, the MiG-21, which was still in the process of induction into Indian Air Force service, played only a marginal role in the 1965 war and largely sat out the war. The MiG-21 saw its finest hour in the 1971 war for the liberation of Bangladesh. The aircraft was India's most advanced fighter, shooting down at least nine Pakistan Air Force jets. Most of the 'kills' were American-built F-104 Starfighters. The Indian Air Force acquired several MiG-21 variants over the decades, offering different radar and missile capabilities. HAL also manufactured MiG-21 variants from 1966 for about 20 years. The MiG-21 'Bison' upgrade was launched in the 1990s to modernise the MiG-21 with a new radar and electronic countermeasures, including the capability to fire medium-range air-to-air missiles. The MiG-21's rugged design and ease of maintenance has ensured it maintained a positive reputation, despite suffering nearly 500 accidents over the decades, resulting in the deaths of nearly 200 pilots. Its small size and manoeuvrability have also compensated for its lack of range and weapons carriage capabilities. The MiG-21's last air-to-air kill in Indian service before Wednesday was also against Pakistan, when an IAF jet shot down a Pakistan Navy maritime patrol aircraft off Gujarat in August 1999. The Indian Air Force currently operates around 120 MiG-21 Bisons and the type is only expected to be fully retired by the early part of the next decade as the Tejas enters full service. Interestingly, Pakistan also operates about 100 J-7 fighters, which are Chinese variants of the Soviet MiG-21. On Tuesday, as tensions escalated along the Line of Control (LoC), Pakistani media reported that they had captured an Indian fighter pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. The initial batch of videos showed him facing assault, allegedly by a group of civilians; another showed Varthamana bloody figureidentifying himself on camera. The latest video had him re-assuring everyone that he was being well-treated. The Central government, while not mentioning Varthaman by name, said, in a briefing, that the Air Force had lost a MiG-21 and that a fighter pilot was missing in action. They called for his safe and speedy return. "It was made clear that Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to the Indian defence personnel in its custody. India also expects his immediate and safe return," the MEA said. Commentators across the world called for proper treatment of the Prisoner of War (PoW), in accordance with the Geneva Convention. Several analysts even claimed that Pakistan had already broken the said rules by bringing his interrogation to public view. If the Pakistan claim is true then they are in breach of the Geneva convention. The pilot has his arms tied & he is bleeding https://t.co/Pv7kBq23XK Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) February 27, 2019 NDTV will not show video Pakistan has released claiming to be that of Indian pilot. Pakistan has violated Geneva convention with that video & treatment of pilot sonia singh (@soniandtv) February 27, 2019 If the video shown by Pakistani government is indeed of Wing Commander Abhinandan, Pakistan is in violation of Geneva Convention's rules on prisoners of war. It's appalling to say the least. Rifat Jawaid (@RifatJawaid) February 27, 2019 What is the Geneva Convention and what does it say? A set of international treaties which were updated in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, they dictate rules for humane treatment of those captured amid conflict. Article 13 goes: Any unlawful act or omission by the Detaining Power causing death or seriously endangering the health of a prisoner of war in its custody is prohibited, and will be regarded as a serious breach of the present Convention. In particular, no prisoner of war may be subjected to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind which are not justified by the medical, dental or hospital treatment of the prisoner concerned and carried out in his interest. Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity. The videos of Varthaman first emerged on an unverified YouTube channel. If the footage is not falsified, it could provide ammunition for the Centre to corner Pakistan for the parades and "public curiosity" clause. An earlier high-profile case related to the breach of the Geneva Convention is the incident involving Captain Saurabh Kalia, who was captured and allegedly tortured by the Pakistan at the heights of Kargil War. The Pakistan Army later handed over the mangled remains to India at the end of the conflict, triggering massive outrage. Even as the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet and another gathering of the party, both of which are to be held in Ahmedabad on Thursday, stand postponed in view of the prevailing situation between India and Pakistan, the BJP's programme in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to address party workers through video conference, will be held as per schedule. Modi is scheduled to address party workers across Gujarat on Mera booth, sabse majboot booth (My booth, best booth) on Thursday afternoon. The event is part of a series of programmes lined up by the BJP ahead of Lok Sabha elections. Gujarat BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya said that as of now the programme will be held as per schedule. The party has made arrangements to view Modi's address live at 451 places across the state. Senior party leaders have been given responsibility for each of the places. The BJP's move of going ahead with the programme, however, has invited criticism from the opposition. Chief spokesperson of Gujarat Congress, Manish Doshi, alleged that for the BJP the chair is more important than the country. He said that for the Congress, the country comes first and this was the reason that despite making all arrangements and spending lakhs of rupees for the programmes, both the events stand postponed. Pandya defended the party saying that in Congress's case the leaders were to come to Gujarat, but in BJP's programme, the prime minister is to address the party workers through a video conference. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were among the leaders who were scheduled to attend the public meeting. He will next be seen in The Big Bull Tensions in the sky heightened a day after India retaliated to Pulwama's terrorist attack with an aerial attack on supposed terrorist camps deep inside Pakistan. While Pakistan closed all civilian air operations, India responded anticipating retaliation, and briefly shutdown civilian flights from eight airports on Wednesday. An official order seeking eight airports to suspend flight operations was later withdrawn. The DGCA at 3pm, issued another NOTAM alert citing that the earlier two alerts now stand withdrawn. "Most of the flights were either diverted or rerouted after the earlier alert. So, there was no more need for the NOTAMs and they have thus been withdrawn," said B.S. Bhullar, DGCA. The civil aviation regulator clarified that this means that after an initial scare, now normal flight operations would prevail across all these airports. The NOTAM is an alert to pilots on their flight routes. Earlier in the day, two official alerts from the DGCA sent to pilots alerted them about potential hazards along flight routes across eight north India airports. The official alert was received by pilots around 11am on Wednesday on their flight systems. The alert, accessed by THE WEEK, showed that flight operations were being suspended across eight airports at Pithoragarh, Amritsar, Pathankot, Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Shimla, Kangra and Manali. The latter part of the message reasoned this on flight operations being shut from Pakistan. A screengrab of the first NOTAM order issued earlier in the day | File "As Pakistan shutdown all civil air operations, a number of flights needed to be diverted or landed prior to them reaching their destinations. These airports were cleared up to prepare for any emergency landings of civilian aircraft even otherwise," said an Airports Authority of India (AAI) spokesperson. Till 2pm, the government had not officially declared any shutdown of these airports, though after the messages received on their official systems, airlines started alerting their flight passengers about flight cancellations owing to 'technical shutdown' or 'airspace restriction'. Some airlines also cancelled flights to other north Indian airports apart from these eight. Flights to Dehradun airport have been cancelled by Indigo Airlines, even though the Jolly-Grant airport remains to be operational. Flights from Delhi airport to other parts of the country remained operational. Airport authorities said not many passengers were affected by the flight cancellations. However, it is yet unknown if airlines were making alternate leaving arrangements for the stranded passengers. "This is a government order. We are not in a position to say when these flights can resume," said a Jet Airways spokesperson. Flights to Chandigarh, too, remained affected though the airport remains operational, said an AAI official. The Ministry of Civil Aviation was yet to release any official response, though the ministry maintained that civilians should not trust any rumours from either sides of the border. Pakistan had suspended flight operations across major airports in Punjab and Pakhtunkhwa regions earlier. Later in the day, it also suspended operations from Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and New Islamabad International airports. Jet Airways, which operates flights to Pakistan said that it has diverted back two of its flights. According to Flightradar24, there were two Delhi to Dubai and Lahore flights of Jet Airways that were diverted. Another four international flights were also returned or diverted. "We are returning the flights bound for Dubai and London, and halting passengers at Mumbai and Delhi. Alternate routes would be worked out very shortly and these flights can be on their way after that," said Gaurav Wani, Jet Airways spokesperson. Airport sources from Leh told THE WEEK that all flight arrivals and departures for the day were completed, except for an Air India flight that is stuck in Sri Nagar. The flight is likely to be rescheduled to fly back to Delhi. Meanwhile, as Pakistan claimed to have shot IAF fighters and arrested two pilots, the escalating tension in the skies show no sign of relaxing in the near horizon. The recent report of denial rates of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for initial H-1B petitions filed by Indian IT companies in 2018 has clearly highlighted the extent to which frequent changes in H-1B visa policies has hurt the sector. However, on the brighter side, the Indian companies could utilise the opportunity to expand to newer markets. The denial rate of Infosys was at 54 per cent, Mindtree at 40 per cent, Tech Mahindra at 26 per cent, Wipro at 23 per cent and TCS at 22 per cent. In contrast to this, non-consultancy US-based IT companies such as Amazon, Facebook, and Google have a denial rate of just one per cent. Some experts felt that the companies being forced to increase local hiring in the US due to their inability to move low-cost Indian labour to the US would hurt their profitability. In addition, it would also slow down the prospect of Indian IT professionals in the US geography. The US is facing its biggest tech talent shortage since 2008. As per a recent survey of 3,000 US tech companies, 65 per cent of the respondents were struggling to find suitable IT talent for their operations. The US tech industry is short of technology talent in the form of data analytics experts, cyber security, cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), etc. Lack of local talent and inability to bring in Indian workers may compel technology companies to consider countries with immigration-friendly policies such as Canada. With digital revolution set to expand further, this crisis maybe a great opportunity for Indian IT companies to expand their global footprint and underline the contribution of the average Indian IT worker to the growth of developed economies, Vivek Tandon, founder and CEO of EB5 BRICS, an immigration advisory firm, told THE WEEK. Infosys hired more than 7,000 Americans in the past 18 months, while TCS is one of the biggest job creators in the US today. The cost of hiring, training, and retaining US workers will be significantly costlier for Indian IT companies in the years ahead. Further, IT industry body Nasscoms decision to hire lobbyists in the US will put further increase cost pressures on Indian IT companies. One of the biggest attractions of the H-1B visa is that it offers a stable and predictable route to the US green card. With very long processing times, frequent rule changes, no work authorisation for spouses on H4 visas, and general anti-immigrant rhetoric, Indians may simply prefer alternative options like the EB-5 visa to qualify for the green card, explained Tandon. LCR Capital Partners co-founder and CCO Rogelio Caceres felt the change in H1-B visa policies could be a strategic move to increase the demand for American education by providing visa preference to immigrants who have studied in the US. Policy changes around H1-B visas could have an adverse effect on the IT sector causing a dip in employment opportunities for them. That is because the developing technologies, the persona and qualifications of the average H1-B applicant are also changing to those of highly skilled workers, eventually leading to an increase in the cost of living and reconsideration of their current investments. Also, owing to the drastic increase in technological advancements globally, the demand for highly skilled individuals has also risen; making it the need of the hour. This further reduces the demand for average skilled individuals who generally apply for the H1-B visa programme, said Caceres. He further added that in the prevailing confusion, Indian IT professionals are looking at other geographies. Canada has already opened its doors to IT companies. Indian companies are already seeing a reverse movement back to India. Similarly, certain European countries are looking at opportunities, especially the UK post-Brexit. At the same time, with stricter norms on H-1B visas, Indian IT services companies are looking at local hiring in the US. "Already H1-B holders in the US are facing possible restrictions on their spouse working there. Overall, things are not great for H1-B holders. For the companies, this means more costs as they have to hire locally, said Kris Lakshmikanth, CEO and founder of Head Hunters India, an executive search firm. Say you had a plane crash, she said. You had 17 people die in this plane crash, and you did an investigation and found out that the pilot didnt know how to fly his plane. And then we did another report and we found out that most of our pilots didnt know how to fly planes. Do you feel that were really putting that same sense of urgency into the corrective actions in our surface force? Uganda ChristianUniversity was founded when the historic Bishop Tucker Theological College waspromoted as a university in 1997. Bishop Tucker Theological College trainedclergy and educators during its 84-year history from 1913-1997. The localchief, Hamu Mukasa, granted land for the college to operate in Mukono.International partnerships were part of the Colleges missionary history. TheChurch Mission Society teamed with Ugandan leaders and others to assure theCollege had the necessary intellectual and other capital. By the late 1990s,the Church of Uganda sought to have a broader impact on society through thehigher education not only of clergy but of other professionals as well.Uganda Christian University was established in 1997. London, KY (40741) Today Mainly cloudy. A few peeks of sunshine possible. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 86F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms, especially during the evening. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported earlier this month that more than 100 cases of measles have been diagnosed in 10 states. Of those infected, 55 are in Washington state and most occurred in children younger than 10 whose parents chose to forgo vaccinations. Across the border in Vancouver, Canadian health officials have confirmed a measles outbreak after eight children were infected in three schools, which has been traced back to a family that chose not to vaccinate their children. This raises serious public health questions, including: What is governments role in encouraging vaccinations and preventing a public health crisis? While its important for government to defer to parents in making health decisions for their children, public officials have a duty to ensure health and safety standards in public facilities. First, public officials should educate the public about the safety record of vaccines. Tremendous damage has been done by those who push the erroneous and widely debunked claim that vaccinations cause autism. Study after study has confirmed that this isnt true, and the doctor who originally suggested the vaccine-autism link was found to have committed fraud and he was subsequently stripped of his medical license. Public health officials need to make sure the message of vaccine safety is loud and clear. But government shouldnt stop there: Parents who refuse to vaccinate their children should lose access to public schools and other government services. Currently 17 states including Washington allow parents to opt out of vaccinating their kids if they have a philosophical objection to vaccines. In other words, it renders the rule that parents must vaccinate their child before they can attend public school meaningless because it allows parents who are opposed to vaccines, for any or no reason whatsoever, to bypass the rules and enroll their children anyway. States should do away with this philosophical exemption. States can and should still allow for medical and religious exemptions to vaccinations. The vast majority of recognized religious organizations in the United States approve of and encourage vaccinations. Even the Amish encourage vaccinations, although they have a lower vaccination rate than the general population. Yet, still, the state should accommodate the small number of people who can prove they belong to a religious group that opposes vaccinations as a part of their faith. The much bigger exemption class involves people who cannot receive a vaccination due to medical reasons these include newborns, the elderly, those with certain cancers or allergies, and others who are otherwise immunodeficient. These people are the very individuals who would benefit from a stricter vaccination policy that limits the availability of exemptions. Those who are medically unable to receive a vaccination need to be protected by whats known as herd immunity, which occurs when a large percentage of a population is immunized and as a result there are fewer potential carriers to spread the disease. This protects everyone. Yet, even a small reduction in the rate of vaccinations can compromise this principle and increase the risk of an outbreak of disease, putting those with medical exemptions in grave danger. The state should also consider limiting those who fail to vaccinate their children other government services such as housing assistance, access to childcare benefits, food programs and other welfare programs. This would encourage more people to take action and recognize that they have a responsibility to protect their children and the community. Yet government policy isnt going to be enough to reverse the trend of so many parents opting against vaccinating their children and putting vulnerable communities at tremendous risk. We need public leaders everywhere to remind people of their responsibility to their fellow man. Church leaders should be speaking from the pulpit about the importance of vaccines and the moral responsibility each of us has to get vaccinated. Politicians should remind the citizenry of the social contract and that we owe it to our neighbors and the weakest in our communities to protect them from deadly diseases. Doctors should refuse to accept parents into their private practices unless they vaccinate. And fellow parents should reject the conspiracy theories offered up by anti-vaccine parents to show them the social cost of peddling such dangerous nonsense. The government shouldnt force anyone to do anything to which they object. Thats something on which we should all agree. But the government certainly has a role to play to encourage the practice of vaccinating kids and prevent the resurgence of these deadly contagious diseases. Julie Gunlock directs the Center for Progress and Innovation at the Independent Womens Forum. She wrote this for InsideSources.com. A Chesapeake judge recently ordered two of the businesses to close following zoning disputes. In court, the city had argued the businesses on Indian River Road and George Washington Highway were offering gaming along the lines of traditional slot machines. But Del. Steve Heretick, who represents the Chesapeake stores, said the city has agreed to reopen the cases, which will be heard again in April. CARACAS, Venezuela - For more than a month, opposition leader Juan Guaido's audacious campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro captivated the world while bringing hope to millions of desperate Venezuelans. But his U.S.-backed movement to unseat the socialists is at a crossroads, in danger of losing its greatest asset: momentum. Guaido, a 35-year-old civil engineer turned national hero, staked everything on a weekend operation to break the government's blockade of U.S. humanitarian aid and turn Maduro's armed forces against him. That bid largely failed, producing a trickle, but not a flood, of military defections. The opposition's next play - a call for intervention by foreign forces - did not win immediate support in Washington. The succession of setbacks left the opposition here scrambling on Tuesday to sustain what has become the single biggest challenge to 20 years of socialist rule and manage inflated expectations of a rapid ouster of Maduro. "Some sectors of the opposition are frustrated because there was no sophisticated or alternative plan if military forces did not break over the weekend," said Luis Vicente Leon, director of Datanalisis, a Caracas-based polling agency. "In short, their plan was naive." For years, the opposition to Maduro was weak and fractured. That changed when Guaido emerged as a unifying symbol. Citing the constitution, he called Maduro a usurper for claiming to win an elections that many observers had deemed fraudulent, and Guaido, as the head of the opposition-dominated National Assembly, proclaimed himself the nation's rightful leader. As opposition leaders held a flurry of phone calls and meetings Tuesday to assess their options, the most pressing question was whether Guaido would be able to re-enter Venezuela after leaving it over the weekend to lead the aid effort from Colombian jurisdiction and meet with regional leaders. Guaido will seek to re-enter Venezuela within the next few days, opposition officials said. Guaido left the country in violation of a government travel ban, and his suggestion of foreign intervention could open the door to charges of treason. He is now gambling that Maduro would not risk an international backlash by taking action against him. But analysts say there is still a high likelihood that Guaido will be arrested or barred from returning, which could leave him running a dampened movement from exile. Guaido himself has said it is vital for him to be able to lead massive rallies and challenge Maduro from stages nationwide. Guaido still commands vast support in a country suffering from a profound collapse linked to failed socialist policies and government corruption and mismanagement. "An imprisoned leader doesn't serve anyone, and an exiled president doesn't either," Guaido said in a televised interview from Colombia on Tuesday. "My function and responsibility is to be in Caracas, no matter the risks." At the same time, the movement he almost single-handedly energized is confronting disappointment and deflated expectations - and is divided over whether to stay the course of peaceful disobedience or take the fight to Maduro through armed resistance. "War is the only way to take out this government," said Humberto Arau, 28, a student activist from the Venezuelan city of Merida who engaged in running battles with Maduro's forces on Saturday on the Colombian border. He and other radical opposition youths were calling Tuesday for weapons to help them raise an armed insurgency. Guaido went into a meeting Monday with regional leaders, including Vice President Mike Pence, with some in the opposition hoping for a quick pledge of U.S.-led military intervention. When such a pledge did not come and anti-government youths heard the news, some of them cried in their makeshift camps in Colombia. "The opposition official said we had to fight, but where are they now?" Javier Cacho, 24, said Tuesday as young men with covered faces stirred around him ahead of a rock-throwing assault on Venezuelan guardsmen. "What happened to the humanitarian aid? Where is it? Who has it? I thought the idea was to get the food through to our families." Some militants were already assembling piles of molotov cocktails and vowing to procure weapons. The most radical protesters complained that opposition leaders had not fought hard enough Saturday, insisting that they fled to the rear when the tear gas and rubber bullets began to fly. "We've got to help our people," said 18-year-old Yoiner Jalez, an anti-government militant living in a camp in the Colombian border city of Cucuta. Even as opposition leaders called for at least a temporary halt to the effort at breaking Maduro's blockade, Jalez said he and other militant youths were planning an attempt to take a border bridge and clear a corridor for humanitarian aid. "All we have now are rocks, molotovs, slingshots and shields," he said. "We need arms to continue this." Yet without large-scale support from the U.S. and other anti-Maduro governments, the chances of an armed insurgency remained slight at best. That is particularly true in the border region, which is a hotbed for narco-traffickers and Colombian leftist guerrillas who operate in loose alliance with Maduro's government. Experts said it was unlikely that they would allow new actors on their turf. "I think that this armed violent group that calls itself 'the resistance' - a group of Venezuelans and Colombians - won't really be able to establish themselves there," said Wilfredo Canizares, the director of Fundacion Progresar, a Colombian-based human rights group that monitors violence in the border zone. The opposition is now left to play the long game as sanctions continue to squeeze Venezuela. Last month, the Trump administration sanctioned Maduro's government to cut off his largest source of hard currency: oil sales to the United States. Those measures are set to slam an already devastated economy, deepening food and medical shortages. Experts also predict severe gas shortages in the weeks ahead, because Venezuela, despite resting atop the world's largest known oil reserves, relies on U.S. refineries for processed gasoline supplies, which are now cut off. The opposition is calculating that worsening conditions and increasing international isolation will make Maduro's rule untenable, opening new cracks in the military and his inner circle. But it could also backfire if Venezuelans begin to blame the United States and the opposition for the nation's misery. That means time is of the essence in the opposition's struggle. To increase the pressure on Maduro, the opposition has been weighing whether to call national strikes. "We will seek for an escalation of street pressure," said opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa. "Some leaders want to call for general strikes with all sectors, but others think it's not a good idea. The most important thing, and we all know it, is to keep the momentum. To do that, Guaido needs to come back to Caracas urgently." A likely move by the opposition is to guarantee amnesty to members of the military, intelligence and security services if they turn against Maduro. The United States may be asked to make a similar gesture, issuing statements or dropping U.S.-based charges against senior officials who switch sides. "It would require a real amnesty, not a generic one but a negotiated one with international guarantees, to really create incentives for high-ranking officials to desert," Leon said. - - - Baddour reported from Cucuta, Colombia. Rachelle Krygier, Andreina Aponte and Mariana Zuniga in Caracas contributed to this report. The U.S. is pushing for a trade deal with China that includes "significant structural changes" to the Asian nation's economic model, as well as provisions that ensure Beijing keeps its promises, President Donald Trump's top trade negotiator said. It's still too early to tell if China will concede to U.S. demands, said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, with plans underway for Trump to invite his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for a summit to finalize a potential agreement. Lighthizer's comments contrast with Trump's more optimistic remarks this week when he raised hopes for an imminent deal. "This administration is pressing for significant structural changes that would allow for a more level playing field -- especially when it comes to issues of intellectual property rights and technology transfers," Lighthizer said Wednesday in testimony before the House Ways and Means committee. The issues on the table between the U.S. and China "are too serious to be resolved with promises of additional purchases," said Lighthizer, who is leading the negotiations for the Trump administration. "We need new rules." Striking a broad trade agreement with China won't be a one-off event, said Lighthizer, adding that negotiations will likely continue to address other problems that will pop up. "If we can complete this effort -- and again I say 'if' -- and can reach a satisfactory solution to the all-important outstanding issue of enforceability as well as some other concerns, we might be able to have an agreement that turns the corner in our economic relationship with China," he said. "Much still needs to be done, both before an agreement is reached, and more importantly, after it is reached." The U.S. is "very aware of the history of our trading relationship with China, and the disappointments that have resulted from promises that were not kept," he added. Trump this week raised the prospect that he could sign a new trade deal with Xi, as both sides expressed optimism following the conclusion of the latest round of talks. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said this week that a leaders' meeting for late March at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida is being tentatively planned. Trump's hint at a deal-clinching summit with Xi underscores the sense that the two nations are approaching an agreement, more than seven months since the U.S. first imposed tariffs on Chinese imports, setting off a tit-for-tat conflict that has cast a cloud over the global economy. But with Trump holding another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un this week in Vietnam -- a diplomatic effort in which China will play a critical role -- the risk of a setback remains significant. Trump will have to sell any deal he signs to trade hawks who brought him to power and Democratic lawmakers, who have at times criticized the president for taking his foot off the gas in his efforts to convince China to step up its reforms. "This administration has chosen to take the path of a high-risk confrontation with China. It must hold out for a good deal, a structural deal," said Democrat Richard Neal, the chairman of the committee, which oversees trade issues in the House. Trump has extended a deadline to raise tariffs on Chinese goods beyond this week, citing progress in the latest round of talks that wrapped up Sunday in Washington. The president hasn't specified how long he'd extend the tariff truce. China has repeatedly promised to ramp up purchases of American goods including soybeans and energy products. GRANITE CITY If you left high school without earning a diploma and feel that now is the time to earn one, let Southwestern Illinois College help you get ready. The Adult Education and Literacy department will offer free high school equivalency preparation classes in St. Clair, Madison and Randolph counties in March and April. Day Classes Day high school equivalency preparation classes will meet at the following days, times and locations. Monday through Thursday from March 18 to April 24 from 9 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.: SWIC Belleville Campus, 2500 Carlyle Ave. SWIC Sam Wolf Granite City Campus, 4950 Maryville Road Monday through Wednesday from March 18 to April 17 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:20 p.m.: East St. Louis Community College Center, 601 James R. Thompson Blvd. Cahokia Library, 140 Cahokia Park Drive Monday through Wednesday from March 18 to April 17 from 9 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.: SWIC Red Bud Campus, 500 W. South Fourth St. Evening Classes Evening high school equivalency preparation classes will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from April 2 to May 23 from 5:30-8:15 p.m. at the following locations: SWIC Belleville Campus, 2500 Carlyle Ave. Collinsville High School, 201 S. Morrison Ave. East St. Louis Community College Center, 601 James R. Thompson Blvd. SWIC Sam Wolf Granite City Campus, 4950 Maryville Road Spanish Evening Classes Spanish Evening high school equivalency preparation classes will meet on Mondays from April 1 to May 13 from 5:30-8:35 p.m. at the SWIC Sam Wolf Granite City Campus, 4950 Maryville Road. A mandatory preregistration and orientation session is required. Learn more about upcoming classes and schedule a preregistration appointment by calling 618-235-2700, ext. 5525, or toll free in Illinois at 866-942-SWIC (7942), ext. 5525. US Dry Cleaning Services Corp. which lists an Arizona number on its website that goes to an answering service, claims to own four brands including Zoots and One Price Dry Cleaning. A financial filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission from 2014 notes that US Dry Cleaning owned 68 stores in five states at that time, including 11 in Virginia, and three production plants, including one in Portsmouth. The company noted it bought Zoots in Virginia in 2008 and that it had several large customers including the Navy. EDWARDSVILLE An SIUE student charged with burglary and possession of burglary tools failed to name three other apparent students involved in other possible crimes, so authorities have asked for a warrant to search his cellphone activity. Dylan M. Owens, 18, whose address is listed as Bluff Hall in the first block of Circle Drive on campus, is charged after another student, a neighbor of Owens, reported someone had entered her Toyota Four Runner on Jan. 24 or early Jan. 25 and rummaged through her belongings. Police say he was later found in possession of a tool box that the victim didnt originally notice had been taken. ALTON With the announcement that their school is closing, parents of students at Ss. Peter and Paul School have begun to consider their options, including one of the two other Catholic elementary/middle schools in the Alton area. St. Marys School will hold new student registration Saturday, while St. Ambrose School in Godfrey will hold registration March 24, 25 and 27. Representatives of both schools said they have already been fielding inquiries, and both schools will be able to absorb the new students. Both are preschool through eighth grade. St. Ambrose has 246 students, while St. Marys has 338. I have scheduled a lot of tours, said St. Ambrose office manager Jean Connoyer. I dont have any idea how many will accept, but were prepared for as many as might want to come. Its such a shame to hear that theyre closing, she said of Ss. Peter and Paul School. On Friday, officials at Ss. Peter and Paul announced to teachers and staff that the school was going to close at the end of the school year. A letter was sent home with students, and was also published in the parishs weekend bulletin. In the letter, parish Pastor the Rev. Jason 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. The pastors of St. Marys and St. Ambrose have offered to take Ss. Peter and Paul students at the parishioner tuition rate, Stone wrote. At St. Marys, Elementary School Secretary Kelly Schwegel said they have been getting a number of inquiries over the last couple of days. Theyre probably still trying to process everything and figure it out, she said of the affected parents. She said they had heard things about a potential closing, but didnt know for sure it was happening. Based on the number of students there, we figure we would be able to absorb any of those students into our classroom, she added. New student registration for St. Ambrose will be from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 24; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, March 25; and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 27 in the Community Center, 822 W. Homer Adams Parkway, Godfrey. For more information call 618-466-4216. New student registration at St. Marys School will be 8:30-11 a.m. Saturday, March 3 at Suddes Hall at the school, 536 E. Third St., Alton. For information call Schwegel at 618-465-8523 or email kschwegel@smsalton.com. Parents and children unable to attend registration at either school can make arrangements for a school tour and registration at another time. If new families arent able to make that open house, were able to set up things for later dates as well, Schwegel said. Theyre not just committed to that day. Reach reporter Scott Cousins at 618-208-6447. SPRINGFIELD Hospitals in Illinois are complaining that slow payments and unnecessary denial of claims from the states privatized Medicaid system are putting both hospitals and their patients at risk, and they are asking state lawmakers to do something about it. At issue is the states privatized Medicaid system known as HealthChoice Illinois, which uses private insurance companies known as managed care organizations, or MCOs, to coordinate each patients care by making sure they receive regular exams, follow-up treatment and specialist care when needed. The companies also process claims from health care providers for reimbursement. The idea behind the system, which was expanded statewide in 2015 and now covers about two-thirds of all Medicaid patients in Illinois, was that by hiring private companies to manage and coordinate each patients care, patients would receive better, more comprehensive care. In addition, the state would ultimately save money and the companies would earn their profit by reducing unnecessary expenses for things like emergency room visits and hospital readmissions. Instead, the hospital association argues, the new system has produced only bureaucratic delays that make it more difficult for hospitals to get paid, and for patients to access the care they need. The states Medicaid managed care program, which now covers more than 2.2 million Illinoisans, has failed to realize the promise of increased care coordination, improved patient outcomes, greater efficiencies and lower costs, A.J. Wilhelmi, president and CEO of the hospital association, said in a news release. Instead, the program has been crippled with increasing administrative burden, lack of standardization, lack of uniformity of rules, and insufficient oversight putting extreme financial pressure on hospitals, jeopardizing Illinoisans access to care. IHHA spokesman Danny Chun said in an interview that the problem is especially hard on small, rural hospitals, known as critical access facilities, where Medicaid payments often make up half or more of the hospitals entire revenue. Many of these were struggling before managed care, he said. Many were already losing money. Since the change to the managed care model, Chun said, about 26 percent of all hospital claims have been denied after the initial submission. Before managed care, and for the limited group of patients who still have traditional fee-for-service Medicaid coverage, the denial rate is typically around 5 percent. That difference, Chun said, adds up to hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for some hospitals. And while there are processes in place that allow hospitals to appeal a denial, that process can drag on for months, and the process is different for each of the six MCOs participating in the program. Often, he said, claims are denied because of administrative paperwork delays, such as when a new provider is added to an MCOs network, but the MCO is slow to update its own roster, resulting in bills from that provider initially being denied. Other times, he said, MCOs will withhold payments, but they will take weeks, or even months, to send follow-up questions to clear up the delay. In response to concerns raised by hospitals and other health care providers in the Illinois Medicaid system, lawmakers have introduced three pairs of bills, with identical versions in both the House and Senate. One pair of bills, Senate Bill 1697 and House Bill 2715, would require all MCOs to use standardized processes for a number of different functions, such as determining whether a service is medically necessary. It would also put a time limit on how long MCOs have to request additional information, and it would further require them to update their rosters more promptly and to reimburse providers under contract, regardless of whether their roster has been updated. Those bills are sponsored by Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) and Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston). Another pair, Senate Bill 1703 and House Bill 2814, would allow providers to appeal claim denials to an independent, third-party reviewer. Those bills are sponsored by Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) and Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield). And a third pair, Senate Bill 1807 and House Bill 2814, would require, among other things, that MCOs reimburse critical access hospitals and safety net clinics on an expedited schedule, similar to the schedule the state uses for non-managed-care patients at those facilities. Those bills are sponsored by Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood) and Rep. Camille Lilly (D-Chicago). None of the bills have been referred to a committee, although Senate President John Cullerton recently established a Special Committee on Oversight of Medicaid Managed Care, which will likely have jurisdiction over the Senate bills. WASHINGTON - It was about 4 a.m. when his phone buzzed with a message from far away. He read it once, twice, three times before he woke his wife to tell her the news. "I'm a prince," he whispered as she blinked herself awake. "A prince." Jay Speights, an interfaith pastor from suburban Rockville, Maryland, could hardly believe the words as he formed them in his mouth. Him? A prince? He grew up in New Jersey. He lives in an apartment. He does not even own a car. Speights, 66, had spent much of his life wondering about his forebears, probing public records until the trail went cold. Like many black Americans who are descendants of slaves, Speights could find little written evidence of his family's history. In April, he turned to a DNA test from Ancestry in the hope that something, somewhere might turn up. He was identified as the distant cousin of a man named Houanlokonon Deka - a descendant of a royal line in Benin, a small nation that once housed West Africa's biggest slave port. At the urging of a friend, he ran his DNA data through another database that looks for matches between African Americans and Africans who have taken such tests. Within minutes of entering his information into the database, Speights said, the website lit up with a result. It said "royal DNA." Four hundred years after the first enslaved Africans arrived in colonial Virginia, Speights is grappling with his newfound identity as the descendant of slaves and the African kings who put them in chains. His internal reckoning serves as a conduit for discussion in the United States over the impact of slavery and racism, and the struggle to find a path forward as a nation of former enslavers and the enslaved. "The history of the Atlantic slave trade, colonialism and enslavement are really violent histories that led to families being torn apart, histories and cultures being stolen from many individuals and huge harms to African Americans," said Deborah Bolnick, an anthropological geneticist at the University of Connecticut. "DNA testing has been used as a tool to help them start to recover that loss." The king from whom Speights is probably descended was one of several who captured and sold slaves - typically members of rival tribes or captives of war - to European merchants, who then loaded them onto ships bound for Brazil, Haiti and the United States. Speights said the more he learned, the more questions he had. But he was not sure how to contact a man who could be his sixth or eighth cousin and lived an ocean away. A few months later, a Vodun priest from Benin visited the New Seminary in New York, where Speights serves as executive director. During the visit, Speights said, he brought up his DNA discovery. One of the men in the Benin contingent perked up at the mention of his ancestral family name, Deka. "I know your king," the man said. "Here is his phone number." The king of Allada hung up the first time Speights called. "You don't cold-call a king, I guess," Speights said. The second time, King Kpodegbe Toyi Djigla passed the phone to his English-speaking wife, Queen Djehami Kpodegbe Kwin-Epo. Together, the couple serve as the traditional leaders of Allada, a state in central Benin and the historic home of the Allada kingdom. The queen asked Speights to see photos of his parents and grandparents. She inquired about his motivations - what did he want from them? His response was simple: Answers. "You are a descendant of King Deka, 9th King of Allada who ruled from 1746 to 1765," she wrote in a message over WhatsApp. "We will be delighted to welcome you to your home, dear Prince." Last month, Speights boarded a plane in Virginia and landed in Benin 36 hours later. The family pictures he had sent to the queen were plastered on big blue posters hung throughout the airport. "Welcome to the kingdom of Allada, land of your ancestors," the posters said in French. As he stepped outside, Speights said, he saw what looked like a festival. Hundreds of people dancing and playing instruments and singing. It took him several minutes to realize it was a welcome party - for him. "I thought, 'Wow, this is serious,' " Speights said. "I thought I was going to go, hang out with the family, do some sightseeing. But this was something else." He spent the next week in what he calls "prince school," learning local customs and visiting various sites and dignitaries. He was enthroned by the king, given white lace robes to signal he is a holy man, and several crowns. At night, an armed guard kept watch outside his hotel door. During the day, local journalists followed him around with cameras. Speights is the first member of the Allada kingdom and the Deka clan to return to Benin from the African diaspora, he said. But he is not the first royal descendant to be identified in the United States, said Benjamin Agon, the attache for cultural affairs at the Embassy of Benin in Washington. As DNA tests have grown more popular, Americans claiming Benin lineage have begun to show an increased interest in the country, Agon said. Tourism has grown as a result. For black Americans like Speights, answers to DNA tests can provide a sense of history that was erased by the transatlantic slave trade. Popular commercial DNA tests such as those from Ancestry and 23andMe typically offer results based in broad geographic regions. Other organizations, including DNA Tested African Descendants - the service Speights used - have stepped in to fill gaps and connect individuals directly. Despite scientific advances, geneticists and anthropologists caution that drawing conclusive answers from such tests can be tricky and warn users against re-forming their sense of identity around what might be little more than an educated guess. Yet, American test-takers and those from the countries identified in their DNA matches have hurried to embrace one another. The number of newfound descendants has reached such a critical mass that the Benin embassy is planning to host a reception, where American descendants of the tribes and kingdoms of Benin can meet and be "introduced to the community," Agon said. "After they are accepted by the royal family, many of them are given a mission to accomplish," he said. "Once they go back to their other country, they have to do their best to find other people that are just like them." How the royal ancestors of Speights and others ended up in the United States remains somewhat of a mystery. Benin's hesitance to fully acknowledge its role in the transatlantic slave trade has long been fraught with tension. When pressed, Speights said his relatives in Benin told him members of the royal family would not have sold their own people to slave merchants, but they could not explain how his ancestors wound up aboard a slave ship. "No matter who did what, we all ended up the same way," he said. "In chains." In Benin, there was a tree that once stood near the city's historic slave port from which more than a million people were shipped to the Americas. Before they departed, West African men and women would walk around the trunk up to nine times to shed the life they were leaving behind and accept the bondage into which they had been sold. It was called the "tree of forgetting." Today, the tree is gone, but a historic marker remains. As his newfound relatives watched, Speights walked around the marker nine times in reverse. With each turn, he thought about his father, who died never knowing the truth of his family's history. He thought about his grandfather, who grew up in the segregated South. He thought about his ancestors, who were chained and beaten, carried to a foreign place and sold as property. He was angry, he said. And hurt. When he finished his walk, he felt something else, too. A sense of healing. "I thought about how much they survived - and what it means for me to return to this place, to restore our family," he said. "I can't tell you what that felt like in my heart." Now, Speights said, he plans to go back to Benin every year. He wants to bring his brother and daughters and wife. He has accepted "princely duties," which include promoting the kingdom and helping bring clean water and electricity to the community where his relatives live. He will continue his search for the missing years in his family history. He is working to facilitate an interfaith dialogue on the evils of slavery and help other members of royal families in Benin conduct DNA tests. "This was the most beautiful thing I have ever done," he said. "I am the descendant of slaves. I am the descendant of a family who was involved in the slave trade. And I'm just starting to make sense of that." Before he left Benin, Speights said, the king gave him a new name: Videkon Deka. It means the child who came back. Activist Hayden Williams was recruiting students for a grass-roots conservative organization at the University of California at Berkeley last week when he was confronted by two men, one of whom pushed him repeatedly and punched him in the face. Tuesday night, a week after the incident, UC Berkeley officials announced that police were preparing to apprehend a suspect, who has not been publicly named, on a felony charge once they were issued an arrest warrant. The news comes after a seven-day campaign by conservative activists both at Berkeley and nationally, who have argued, on social media, right-leaning political websites and Fox News, that because of liberal bias, the attack garnered what they perceive as a delayed response from the police and university and a muted response from the public. The San Francisco Chronicle reported on the attack on Feb 21. "Wonder if it would be the same if a conservative beat up a leftist on the Berkeley Campus?" President Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., tweeted Tuesday afternoon before news of the pending arrest. He shared the headline of a Fox News story: "Conservatives call out Berkeley police for lack of arrest one week after campus assault on activist." The group Williams was working with on campus, Turning Point USA, was founded in 2012 as a conservative grass-roots network for Americans on college campuses and in high schools. The UC Berkeley chapter had asked for recruiting assistance from Williams, who is not a student there but works as a field representative for another conservative group, the Leadership Institute. Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, rallied conservatives around the incident. "A conservative is the victim of a vicious attack, and no one is held responsible? Where is the media?" Kirk, who has amassed a large social media following, tweeted Monday: "Hate crime!" But university spokesman Dan Mogulof said that characterizations that the university and the police department acted with a liberal bias were unfounded. "We have a police force that is dedicated to one thing and one thing only, and that is enforcing the law and bringing people to justice," Mogulof said. "They operate independently, and they are professionals." Mogulof said public perception of the investigation should not be swayed by "armchair" law enforcement officials. Williams did not respond to an interview request from The Washington Post, but he did appear on several Fox News and Fox Business TV segments. In one interview, Williams told Fox Business's Stuart Varney that the men who approached him took issue with a sign displayed by Turning Point USA that claimed hate crime hoaxes harm real victims, a reference to the Jussie Smollett case. The two men began cussing, Williams said, before one became physically aggressive. "At that moment, I knew this might be a troublesome situation," Williams told Fox Business, "so I took out my phone and started recording right then." Nearby, another student began recording, too, capturing on video the escalating violence. The videos show a man wearing a backpack and black clothes shove Williams repeatedly and then punch him in the face. Within days, university leaders had condemned the attack, and authorities said they had identified a possible suspect. But the response time, campus activists argued, was insufficient. In a Twitter thread two days after the assault, Bradley Devlin, a UC Berkeley student and former president of the campus College Republicans, praised the police for sending an alert and the administration for condemning the violence in media reports. But he critiqued the chancellor for not sending a campuswide letter with the same sentiment. Soon after, a message was sent to the Berkeley community. "Let there be no mistake, we strongly condemn violence and harassment of any sort, for any reason," Chancellor Carol Christ and Vice Chancellor for student affairs Stephen C. Sutton wrote. "That sort of behavior is intolerable and has no place here. Our commitment to freedom of expression and belief is unwavering." Devlin believes the statement was a direct response to pressure from conservative activists. "After several years of violent, liberal intolerance, conservative students and activists wanted the university to commit in practice to the ideals they express in theory," he said. The following day, the university police department announced that they had identified a suspect and determined that he was not a student or member of the UC Berkeley staff or faculty. In the Fox Business interview, Williams's black eye from the attack was still visible. "There is a certain culture that is especially hostile on Berkeley's campus, and across the country, to conservative students," Williams said. "They're willing to use violence if they think you're being too controversial." Since President Donald Trump took office, the Berkeley campus has become a national stage for bitter tensions between the far left and the far right. The cancellation of conservative commentator Ann Coulter's speech on campus in 2017 garnered widespread coverage. Campus authorities feared riots would break out and safety would be compromised. Coulter said that "everyone who should be for free speech" had "turned tail and run." EDWARDSVILLE As a proposal for an outdoor warning siren advanced Monday, Edwardsville took a step closer to resuming full emergency siren coverage downtown. During its bi-monthly public safety committee meeting, aldermen William Krause and SJ Morrison recommended Fire Chief Rick Welles request for a new siren, which would cost $25,520. Alderman Chris Farrar was absent. The city currently operates seven emergency warning sirens, down one from 2017 and earlier. After the former Public Safety Building on North Main Street closed, the eighth siren was removed and stored for parts, Welle told the committee. During discussions with the citys vendor, Global Technical Systems, Inc., it became clear that retrofitting the old siren with a new control unit and a solar-powered battery system was an implausible concept as the unit is more than 20 years old. In addition, it was the only city siren powered solely by 110-volt electrical current. At our vendors advice, we did not put a siren on the new public safety building because of audible coverage, vibration and access problems associated with building-mounted systems, Welle said. The proposal includes mounting the new siren on a 50-foot pole on the county parking lot behind the jail. Like the other seven, the new siren will feature a solar panel. This will give us the same approximate audible coverage area and provide easy access for maintenance, Well said. The new sirens range would be about 6,000 feet, or more than a mile, according to its manufacturer, Whelen. The item will now go to the full city council for approval on March 5. Also, at Mondays meeting, the aldermen gave initial approval for the purchase and installation of washer/extractor and a cabinet dryer for the fire departments turnout gear. Loomis Bros. Machinery of Fenton, Missouri provided the low bid at $15,162. This is a reimbursement grant, so the contractor will need to be reimbursed via the SAMS federal payment system. Using the Assistance for Firefighters Grant (AFG) of $15,000, Welle proposed buying a Milnor heavy-duty washer and an ADC cabinet dryer for the firefighters turnout gear. Welle said it will take at least 16 hours to get the gear completely dry though 24 hours would be preferable. Currently, the department uses a small extractor that is more than a decade old, has a lot of maintenance issues and does not meet current standards. Welle said he and other firefighters used to simply store their turnout gear in trunks or back seats, unaware of the carcinogenic dangers such soot- and smoke-filled gear presented long after the fire had been extinguished. Welle said the new washer would thoroughly clean turnout gear after a fire, mitigating the chemicals and particles that land on or are absorbed by the turnout gear during a fire. The washer and dryer will join the March 5 agenda for approval by the city council. In other action, the committee approved the following item: Two memorandums of understanding (MOUs) between the city and Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7 to renew the intergovernmental police service assistance agreements for school resource officers and school crossing guards Reach Charles Bolinger at (618) 656-4700, ext. 31 GODFREY The Malpass Brothers are bringing their brand of country music to Lewis and Clark Community College on Sunday, March 3 as the next installment of the Greater Alton Concert Associations ongoing season. Starting their musical careers before the age of 10, they have played with many of the great names of Nashville, including touring with Merle Haggard. The two perform some of their own original music, as well as the music of their country idols like Haggard, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and the Louvin Brothers. They have a stage presence that reminds people of The Smothers Brothers, said Barb McHugh, GACAs vice president of promotions. There is an easy comedy to their conversation that just flows along with the music. And its one of the best country music shows Ive seen (and heard) in a long time, she added. Christopher and Taylor Malpass have played their music around the country and the world. Yet they are still the humble country boys they always were, growing up in North Carolina, listening to old-time country music with their grandfather. Their mom was a teacher; their dad a mechanic, and they spent a lot of time at their grandfathers business or their grandparents house. The traditional country and gospel music that their grandfather played inspired them to become musicians and to stick with the style they had both grown up on. And they both like the fact that country music tells a story - the music speaks to them and speaks to the souls of its listeners. They have been playing together since they were teenagers, with Christopher on acoustic guitar and Taylor playing mandolin and electric lead guitar. More Information The GACA season continues The next show on the Greater Alton Concert Association's list is Ronan Tynan, a world-class musician with an interesting personal story on Saturday, April 6. Tynan has toured with The Irish Tenors, performed internationally, appeared on PBS, and sung for presidents and popes. He is also a licensed chiropractor and a gold-medal Paralympic swimmer. Musically, he is known for his versatile range of performances, from opera to "Over the Rainbow" and everything in-between. On Saturday, May 4, The Lesters and The Chosen Ones combine forces to appear with "Celebrate America - Family Style." "The Lesters and The Chosen Ones have many ties to our local area," McHugh said. "The program they bring to us is one of American folk songs, old standard classics and patriotic favorites - with video images and lots of audience participation!" For more information or a list of ticket outlets, visit greateraltonconcertassociation.org. See More Collapse They developed a signature look of high, brushed back hair that is often a subject of conversation and a hit with fans along with their music. A documentary film, The Malpass Brothers: Heading Home tells the story of the brothers fast rise and how they built their career. Their latest CD and live-performance DVD were recorded at their hometown Paramount Theatre in Goldsboro, North Carolina, during the production of the documentary. Individual concert tickets for the Malpass Brothers are $25 in advance; $30 at the door. Tickets for students with valid ID are $10. For more information or a list of ticket outlets, visit greateraltonconcertassociation.org or call 618-468-4222. PARIS - The sidewalks are cordoned off with metal barricades, and impatient police officers, waving along the lookie-loos, are making a good-faith effort to keep the line of black cars moving on the narrow street in front of the Musee Rodin. It's Tuesday afternoon - so gloriously sunny that this city looks like it's positively preening - and a significant percentage of the ladies Instagramming their way through the museum's courtyard and toward a temporarily constructed rectangular tent are wearing sheer tulle dance skirts, carrying handbags shaped like horse saddles and balancing on heels emblazoned with J'adior. In other words, this postcard-perfect day marks the formal kickoff to the fall 2019 runway season here, and the throngs have arrived for the Christian Dior show. They have come to be delighted; they've come for the irresistible looks; they have come to make selfie face with a runway full of models in the background. Instead, they watched a fashion show that read like an overly ambitious syllabus for a women's studies seminar - for further reading, see "Sisterhood Is Forever: The Women's Anthology for a New Millennium" (2003) - along with some lovely sportswear and several examples of inviting evening dresses. The show was a reminder of the complex relationship women have with their clothes and with their body. Chiuri's Dior reminded one that the value of a garment is not measured solely in fabric and labor, but also prestige, tradition, artistry and magic. Dior has a fashion legacy that is unmatched. But the clothes are missing the magic. It's that impossible-to-define "something" that draws people to fashion, not just for its beauty or sex appeal, but also for its ability to define a cultural moment - to sum things up in a single, blissful, irresistible stroke. Everyone knows Dior even if they don't know its designer, Maria Grazia Chiuri. Perhaps they know the label has been around since before World War II and that its founder popularized the New Look, which was an hourglass silhouette with a full luxurious skirt that celebrated the end of the war and the end of war rations. Maybe they know it from those elaborate perfume commercials in which Charlize Theron emerges naked from a pool of water or Natalie Portman portrays a runway bride while Sia sings in the background about swinging "from the chandeliers." Or maybe they just recall the name from all those red carpet interviews with Theron or Jennifer Lawrence: Who are you wearing? Dior. Dior is an old house working hard to stave off wrinkles and gray hair. And part of Chiuri's mission since taking over as creative director in 2016 has been to translate the language of Dior to a younger audience with disposable income and an itch to indulge. To that end, she has aimed to make Dior more than a purveyor of goods but a house with a mission and a cultural stance. Feminism is the thread that has connected each of Chiuri's collections. She loves a slogan T-shirts. The first read: We Should All Be Feminists. Previous shows have been inspired by or at least informed by the feminist writing of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and art historian Linda Nochlin. Chiuri also has referenced the work of female artists, dancers and activists. Fall 2019 is no exception. Chiuri collaborated with the Italian artist Bianca Pucciarelli Menna, who adopted the masculine nom de plum Tomaso Binga in the 1960s to make headway in a male-dominated art world. Her body of work includes nude self-portraits in which her poses mimic letters of the alphabet. The entry to Chiuri's show tent was adorned with prints of Menna's plump body spelling out "Dior." Inside, the walls were covered with more prints and then Menna herself opened the show with a few lines of poetry and the soundtrack was packed with the music of Chrissie Hynde and Amy Winehouse. Chiuri created a multilayered cake of feminist guideposts and feminine cultural touchstones. What does any of it have to do with fashion? Getting dressed is, for everyone, a form of personal expression. Embracing fashion - with all of its eccentricities and indulgences - is a particular form of feminine creative expression. It can be a powerful, destabilizing political statement. The female body has been turned into an exegesis on morality, family values and the sanctity of life. And whether one likes it or not, the act of dressing that body is culturally, socially and personally significant. At Dior, the female body is a canvas, a blank slate awaiting a creative gesture. And Chiuri has the nerve - or perhaps the foolhardiness - to position herself in the midst of the fraught dialogue between women and clothes. No wonder she sent nearly 100 looks down her runway. It's hard to be eloquent and succinct about such an unwieldy subject. For fall, Chiuri offers more slogan T-shirts: "Sisterhood is Powerful," taken from the name of a feminist anthology edited by Robin Morgan in 1970, and "Sisterhood is Global," which was the name of its 1984 follow-up. She also offers denim dresses, lumberjack plaid work jackets, denim painter pants and cropped jackets, anoraks, jeans, full skirts, slim skirts, bucket hats with netting and shopping totes that blare "Christian Dior." Chiuri's message is interesting and one could while away an entire cocktail party weighing it for intellectual heft, clarity, sincerity and overall raison d'etre. But beyond the philosophy, what about the clothes? They are well-conceived and beautifully made. They are wearable and relatable. But are pair of corduroy pants are unlikely to make anyone's heart flutter. They are not likely to lure a woman into the treacherous waters of super-duper expensive fashion desire. In the process of giving intellectual meaning and resonance to the clothing choices that women make, Chiuri has given women less fashion in which to delight. Dior has the capacity to create clothes that are jaw-droppingly stunning. There were hints of the atelier's skill on the runway, such as with a butterfly embroidered skirt. But mostly, the clothes were utilitarian. Chiuri is betting that customers will want a Dior anorak because perhaps it is a bit more luxuriously cut than one from say an outdoor sportswear store and because it comes with all that Dior fashion history and because it is now freighted with feminist . . . something. Chiuri opens the runway season here with a reminder of fashion's importance in the cultural conversation. She offers up a satisfying array of intellectual threads on which to tug. But the reason the streets are clogged with cars and the gawkers are straining against the barricades and tourists have turned into paparazzi, is not because of the slogans, poetry, music and nude self-portraits. The fans are not here for the reading list or the lecture. They come for the magic. Too often, Chiuri forgets that. "We had no idea that this would have a historical impact," said Jo Ann Allen Boyce about that August morning in 1956 when she and 11 other teenagers first took their place as students in the formerly whites-only high school in their small Tennessee town. Boyce had grown up in the segregated South, where black and white people lived in separate neighborhoods, attended different schools and churches, and were often treated differently under the law. In 1954, that began to change. That's when the Supreme Court ruled that racially segregated schools violated the U.S. Constitution. The justices said schools in the United States had to be desegregated. Two years later, 14-year-old Jo Ann and the other teens walked down the hill from their African-American neighborhood in Clinton and entered Clinton High School, the first public high school in the South to be desegregated. The "Clinton 12," as they came to be known, were met initially by a few white protesters. By the end of the first week of school, this number had swelled to a mob of thousands. Boyce and co-author Debbie Levy tell the story of Boyce's experience during these months of hope, pain and change in "This Promise of Change." The two authors spoke to KidsPost about their book, which has an unusual form: nonfiction poems. "Poetry has an emotional impact," which seems in keeping with this powerful story, Levy said. The poetic form helps capture what Levy called the "musical quality" of young Jo Ann's voice. And the authors could easily insert details that help bring Jo Ann alive on the page, such as her love of family and passion for music and learning. The book also includes historic photos, a timeline, newspaper headlines and short quotes from interviews with Jo Ann, her parents, the school principal and other students. Chilling facts emerge. The Clinton 12 were frequently taunted and shoved. Thugs broke into the school and threatened teachers. A white minister, offering protection, was attacked after he walked Jo Ann and her friends to school. Many of these brutal acts were committed by people outside Clinton, reveals Jo Ann in the book. They were motivated by the hate speech of a white supremacist named John Kasper. Grown up and living in Los Angeles, California, Boyce often visited schools and talked about the Clinton 12. She had strong memories, but her career as a pediatric nurse didn't leave much time for writing. In 2015, Levy's literary agent introduced Boyce and Levy, a well-known children's author who lives in Potomac, Maryland, and the two decided to create a book together. They emailed and talked on the phone for hours as Levy gathered the information she needed to write the poems. She then shared the poems with Boyce for feedback and changes. "Getting to know Debbie was my favorite part," Boyce said. Levy especially enjoyed their shared research trip to Clinton. They interviewed Gail Ann Epps Upton, Boyce's best friend from childhood and one of the Clinton 12. They also visited the Green McAdoo Cultural Center, where 12 life-size bronze statues depict the students' historic walk. As they speak at schools, Boyce and Levy can tell from the questions that young people are thinking deeply about the issues in the book. "These issues of social justice are still important today," Levy said. Boyce said she hopes the book will "touch hearts." Readers may even be inspired to help create positive change, as did the heroic Clinton 12. About 10.9 million people are losing out on one of their most prized tax breaks -- the deduction for state and local taxes. That's the number of people the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration estimates had tax bills above the $10,000 deduction cap included in the 2017 tax overhaul. The law limited the amount of state and local taxes -- or SALT -- that taxpayers can write off, a change most acutely felt in high-tax states including New York, New Jersey, Maryland and California, where tax bills can easily exceed the threshold. These taxpayers collectively have $323 billion in state and local tax bills that can't be deducted, according to a redacted version of the report initially released Tuesday. The limitation has caused a series of bill introductions in Congress from New York and New Jersey lawmakers seeking to reinstate the full SALT deduction. The report issued on Tuesday was heavily redacted. Treasury's inspector general reports frequently include redacted information to protect sensitive details, such as IRS's audit processes that the public could exploit. This report contained no such information. House Democrats released the full report on Wednesday. The report found that the IRS worked quickly to issue guidance to block high-tax states' efforts to pass laws that would allow their taxpayers to avoid the SALT limitation. Legislatures in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were all considering bills to create workarounds to the SALT cap, which were invalidated by the IRS guidance, which the report said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reviewed. The report comes as taxpayers are in the middle of filing their returns to the IRS for the first time under the new tax law. In addition to the SALT deduction limit, many taxpayers are also finding that their refunds are smaller than anticipated because of changes in withholding throughout the year. Rep. Thomas Suozzi, a New York Democrat, estimates that more than 250,000 of his constituents -- or about half the people he represents on Long Island -- are hit by the cap. Many of those taxpayers with large tax bills are middle-class workers, he said. "They are just getting battered," he said. "The cost of living is so high that they are just getting by." President Donald Trump met with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier this month about revising the SALT cap. Trump earlier this month he was "open to talking about" changes to the provision, but offered no assurances he would back any SALT changes. Eight governors have formed a coalition to fight the SALT cap, but the outlook in Congress isn't favorable. Senate Republicans have already said they will not revisit the issue. VANCOUVERThe province is working flat out on rolling out a vaccine registry for schoolchildren in the wake of a measles outbreak in B.C. that has infected 13 people. Provincial health minister Adrian Dix said public health experts recommended a system where parents register the vaccination status of their children. Were going to get it done as soon a possible, and Im optimistic we can do it soon, Dix said Monday. During Question Period in the B.C. Legislature the following day, Dix said the ministry aims to have the system in place by September. He did not say how they would collect the information, whether any vaccines would be mandatory or whether any exemptions will be allowed. A mandatory registration system will help educate parents and ensure they report out what they are doing whether or not they are keeping up to date on the immunization schedule recommended by the province. Read more: What you need to know about measles in the wake of the latest outbreak in B.C. Measles unlikely to spread, but Vancouver doctor recommends vaccinations for all Measles outbreaks show why vaccine-hesitancy is a global health threat Dix said the registration system is not punitive, but its proven policy that can raise vaccination rates and hold parents accountable. What we dont want to do is go through a process that involves court cases or punishing children for the actions of their parents, said Dix. Some parents dont vaccinate because they dont have access to primary health care and have fallen through the cracks of the system, he said. I think a mandatory registration would help with that. In Ontario, children in primary and secondary school must get vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, meningitis, whooping cough and, if born after 2010, chickenpox or they can be suspended and their parents or guardians can be fined up to $1,000, according to the government website. They can seek exemptions for medical reasons or on religious or conscientious grounds. However, Dix said their focus wont be on stringent rules, as a strict approach has not been proven to increase the immunization rate alone. Dix said Tuesday that despite Ontarios strict regulations, the provinces immunization rate for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination is only at 91 per cent, which falls four per cent below the national goal. Newfoundland, with less stringent rules, had a rate of 96 per cent. This data is confirmed in a 2015 report from the C.D. Howe Institute. Its not just about rules; its about ensuring people have the information they need, Dix said, adding that the ministry is working to ensure better access to health records. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... A petition on change.org calling on the B.C. government to make vaccinations mandatory for children attending public schools except for medical-based reasons has more than 43,000 signatures. With files from The Canadian Press. Read more about: School boards are growing increasingly worried about the impact of the new autism system that could see children arriving in classrooms requiring services they say they dont have the resources to provide. A number including the Halton public board are now writing letters of concern to Community and Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod and Education Minister Lisa Thompson given changes to the autism system come into effect April 1 and theyve received no direction from the government. We know that our educators, our teachers and our educational assistants do their very best to support students every single day, but they are stretched to the limit, NDP Education Critic Marit Stiles said in the legislature Tuesday. The truth is that this government has cut supports to students with special needs. I want to know ... if the minister of education will tell parents and families if they are going to be hiring more teachers, educational assistants and support workers to ensure these children get the support they need in school? Will the minister at least consult with the school boards? said Stiles, a former Toronto public school board trustee. Criticism of the autism overhaul continued for another day at Queens Park, with MacLeod again defending accusations her ministry froze the wait-list for childrens autism services after taking office, as well claims the Ford governments is spending more on autism than the Liberals when the previous government had budgeted the same amount $321 million. And MacLeod had to apologize in the legislature after it was revealed she used a Windsor mothers quote out of context as an example of support for the Ford governments autism changes. Read more: Ford government says it did not order autism wait-list freeze Questions swirl around therapy at centre of Ontarios autism changes Autism changes will spark crisis parents warn Ford government If I used that quote yesterday incorrectly, I unequivocally apologize, MacLeod said. Windsor West MPP Lisa Gretzky called it a hollow apology saying Sherri Taylor a mom of four children with developmental disabilities felt manipulated because the ministers office asked her for a statement before they announced changes to the autism program and was not told what the statement was to be used for; nor that the minister would be reading it aloud in the legislature on Monday. Under the changes, the government has promised to clear the 23,000-long wait list for therapy, and will introduce a childhood budget allowing families to choose the services they want essentially spreading autism funding to more families, meaning some will receive much less than they currently do. Families will be eligible for up to $20,000 a year for children 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. MacLeod has previously landed in hot water for issuing a warning to behavioural therapists during a meeting in January that theyd be in for a long four years if they didnt publicly support the autism changes. She later said sorry for her tone during what she described as a tense meeting. Meanwhile, Education Minister Lisa Thompson said the government has extended funding for a pilot project with regard to improving school-based supports for students who have been diagnosed with autism. Overall, she noted, boards will receive $3 billion in funding for all special education programs this school year though many boards say they spend more than that. We are working with our school boards and we will be sharing our steps forward with our boards in the weeks to come, Thompson later told reporters. ... We are working with boards in identifying and addressing their concerns. Boards say they have no idea how many children are currently being served outside of schools under the Ontario Autism Program, nor what impact the changes could have come April 1. This so-called 23,000 wait list is just going to be pushed into the schools, said Liberal MPP Michael Coteau, who is also a former Toronto public school board trustee. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... So if you are a young child who needs 25 hours of ABA (behavioural therapy) services and you are only getting seven hours because of the allocated amount, that gets downloaded to the actual school board, he said. And the school boards are just not prepared. Under the Ford government changes, only families earning less than $55,000 in net income will qualify for the full funding amounts. On Tuesday, the social services ministry quietly released the sliding income scale which determines how much families are entitled to for autism services. Attorney General Caroline Mulroney has announced a $1 million budget increase for the provinces rape crisis centres for the next fiscal year money that falls far short of what theyd been expecting. Under a gender-based violence plan unveiled by the previous Liberal government a year ago, the centres were to receive almost $4 million this fiscal year, and almost $4 million the next. The Ford government has frozen their funding since taking office last June, and Tuesdays announcement is for one year only and shared among the approximately 40 such centres in the province. New Democrat MPP Suze Morrison herself a sexual assault survivor called the money minuscule one-time funds that amount to nothing more than a drop in the bucket. In a statement, the Ministry of the Attorney General said budgets of a number of programs for victims of crime would continue to remain the same for 2019-20 while a review of services is under way. However, despite a difficult fiscal outlook and a $15 billion deficit inherited from the previous government, Ontario will also provide $1 million in additional one-time funding to sexual assault centres, increasing overall funding for the centres to $15.8 million in 2019-20, says the announcement. Read more: Opinion | Martin Regg Cohn: As Ontarios attorney general, its time for Caroline Mulroney to fight for what she believes in No decision on rape crisis centre funding, says Caroline Mulroney Rape crisis centres await promised funding This funding will directly support sexual assault centres across Ontario, including French-language centres, which offer free and confidential specialized support services to survivors of sexual violence. Mulroney said in a statement that the people of Ontario and their government have zero tolerance for sexual assault, harassment and any other form of violence in our communities. We recognize the important work of victim services organizations across the province and are committed to supporting survivors of sexual violence and their families. Late last week, Mulroney had said the government would let centres know shortly if any additional money would be provided. I know that this is difficult. We inherited a large deficit we are looking very closely at all the programs that we fund across the province, Mulroney said at the time. I recognize the important work they do, Mulroney also said. However, she added, the Liberals waited until the last moment to announce this funding. The rape crisis centres had been counting on a 30-per-cent budget increase over three years to help them cope with an increase in demand amid the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. A decade ago, they logged 30,000 calls a year now, more than 50,000. The Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres and its French counterpart have urged the government to release the funds. Nicole Pietsch, co-ordinator of the coalition, has said survivors of sexual violence are waiting months for much-needed counselling services in some cases, as long as 18 months. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... After months of waiting and public pressure, Ontarios attorney general provided no clarity today in her announcement on the status of a promised funding increase for rape crisis centres, said MPP Morrison (Toronto Centre) said in a statement. This is funding that was committed to the centres last spring, which has not been disbursed ... Survivors in our province deserve predictable multi-year funding that enables organizations to have stability. This one-time handout falls woefully short of what is needed to tackle staggering waiting lists across Ontario to access counselling. The centres had been hoping to hire more front-line workers, given some centres have the same staffing levels they did two decades ago. OTTAWAPrime Minister Justin Trudeau insisted Wednesday Jody Wilson-Raybould can tell her story in a way that settles once and for all whether or not anyone in his office pressured her to drop criminal charges against SNC-Lavalin. In the face of Wilson-Rayboulds claim on the eve of her testimony that she still cannot talk freely because of restrictions Trudeau has kept in place, the prime minister defended the waiver his government granted to allow her to speak. The approach that we are taking both in the Ethics Committee and the Justice Committee is looking into the issue of whether or not the Attorney General underwent pressure or inappropriate pressure and she will be able to speak fully. Wilson-Raybould, his former attorney-general, has got a story to tell. That much we know. For many Liberal MPs and cabinet ministers who have heard her concerns in private, it wont change their minds and they hope it wont change much for Canadians. What Canadians want is information and perspectives, said International Trade Minister Jim Carr. Canadians ultimately will be the judge of the issue and Im satisfied and confident that that will be good for the government and our party. As all eyes turn to the Commons justice committee Wednesday afternoon, the biggest questions are simple: was Wilson-Raybould pressed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or his officials to drop charges against SNC-Lavalin and cut a deal? Did she feel unduly pressured? If so, why didnt she resign in protest as attorney general at any point? If not, why then did she resign from cabinet as veterans affairs minister on Feb. 11? But to tease out answers that will tell a fuller picture one that will be judged by legal, not just political standards MPs will have to bear in mind some big principles at play when Wilson-Raybould finally takes a seat, and ask her probing questions even though she still complains she is not fully free to, as she put it, speak (her) truth. Independence of the prosecution This is a sacrosanct principle in Canadas legal system. It means prosecutors make decisions on who to prosecute and how to apply the law free from partisan or political influence. It ensures everyone is equal under the law, and the criminal law will be applied equally to accused persons or corporations, no matter how much money or influence they have. Yet even before Wilson-Rayboulds testimony, academics suggested there was a troubling pattern of PMO meetings with Wilson-Raybould under the guise that robust and vigorous discussions were permissible. The questions here for Wilson-Raybould boil down to what was her view of the prosecution underway? Did she have a preferred course, or did she leave the decision entirely to Kathleen Roussel, her deputy attorney general and the independent director of public prosecutions? And did Wilson-Raybould regard Roussels decision conveyed on Sept. 4 to the company not to negotiate a deferred prosecution agreement with SNC-Lavalin as final? Deferred Prosecution Agreements Also called remediation agreements, the government introduced these as tool to prosecute white-collar crime to the Canadian justice system in 2018 after public consultations. Subject to a courts approval, a deferred prosecution agreement spares an accused company a formal criminal conviction that could see it debarred from future contracts in exchange for paying heavy fines, and being required to comply with ethical reforms and independent oversight. But Wilson-Raybould as justice minister did not sponsor the change to the criminal code. Why was it instead stuffed into an omnibus budget implementation bill? Was Wilson-Raybould aware of the SNC-Lavalin lobbying blitz to persuade Ottawa to make it the first test case, and grant it a deferred prosecution on bribery and fraud charges? Did she fear it would set a bad precedent to give a deal to a company that has broken political financing rules and saw former executives plead guilty to bribery in a Montreal hospital construction project? When did she first communicate the DPPs prosecution decision to the PMO or cabinet and what was the PMOs reaction? And a key question for the former justice minister is whether she agrees with Michael Wernick, Canadas top civil servant, who said the prosecution decision was Wilson-Rayboulds and that decision was still open for her to intervene and possibly overrule months afterward, despite the fact the preliminary inquiry on bribery and fraud charges began Oct. 29? Does she agree with Wernick that the decision is still an option open to her successor, Justice Minister David Lametti? Does that amount to intervening to stop a criminal trial? Read more: Jody Wilson-Raybould set to speak about SNC-Lavalin affair Opinion | Susan Delacourt: Justin Trudeau is following instead of leading on SNC-Lavalin Discussions with attorney general about SNC-Lavalin were troubling, legal expert says The Meetings We know of four times that Trudeau or his aides met with Wilson-Raybould or her staff, first in September and then a flurry of meetings in December. We dont know if they were the only times it was raised with her, the tenor of the discussions, or even why SNC-Lavalin was raised. Now it will be important for MPs to drill down to the purpose of the meetings and their tone. Does Wilson-Raybould view these meetings as inappropriate? And if Wilson-Raybould felt she was being pressured on the file, did she view it as undue or inappropriate and why? Did Wilson-Raybould ever advise the prime minister or any of his officials that they were either dangerously close to or had crossed a line in talking to her about the SNC-Lavalin charges? If not, why not? Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... This is a critical question at the heart of these allegations. One of those participants, Trudeaus principal secretary Gerald Butts resigned last week although he insists there was nothing wrong with his or the PMOs interactions with Wilson-Raybould. But Michael Wernick and Trudeaus chief of staff Katie Telford remain in their posts. Wilson-Rayboulds recollections of all these meetings could raise uncomfortable questions for those two. Cabinet solidarity Trudeau said publicly that if anyone including his former justice minister had felt undue pressure or felt that we were not living up to our own high standards of defence of the rule of law and our judicial system and judicial independence, it was their responsibility to come forward and at no time in the fall did the former attorney general come forward to me. Mary-Ellen Turpel-Lafond, a former judge, law professor and now practising lawyer, testified in fact that Wilson-Raybould in her role as chief prosecutor of Canada had a legal obligation to stand her ground, face those who would pressure her and not resign if indeed she was pressured. Other legal experts such as UBC assistant law professor Andrew Flavelle Martin have argued if Wilson-Raybould was pressured she had a duty to step down and publicly expose the reason why. This too is a key question. Why didnt Wilson-Raybould resign at any point prior to February to protest any interference or attempted interference at all in a criminal prosecution? Wilson-Raybould remained in cabinet even after Trudeau shuffled her out of her job as attorney general and justice minister. We dont know what Trudeau told her as the reason she was being moved, whether she bought his explanation, or viewed it as a demotion. We do know she appeared to do a slow burn at the cabinet shuffle, and later that day released a 2,000-word statement touting her achievements as justice minister and underlining the need for our system of justice be free from even the perception of political interference. So what reason did Wilson-Raybould give the prime minister when she finally resigned on Feb. 11 after the prime minister touted her continued presence in cabinet as evidence that the cabinet was united? Was it principle or petulance that lay behind her decisions? Governments version of events, Shawcross doctrine and caucus solidarity From the first day the allegations broke on Feb. 7 in the Globe and Mail, Trudeau branded them as false and said there was no undue influence exerted on Wilson-Raybould. Trudeau and his cabinet ministers have tried to continue that narrative since then, but explanations have evolved as details of meetings emerged. Wernick called all discussions with Wilson-Raybould lawful advocacy. So just what does Wilson-Raybould think of the Liberal governments reliance on the so-called Shawcross doctrine to pursue what it admits were vigorous discussions with her? That is a concept imported from the U.K. which suggests that cabinet members can have robust discussions about what constitutes the public interest in a prosecution without crossing any lines. A final key question and one that could influence whether Wilson-Raybould remains in Liberal caucus as she has done to now is how Wilson-Rayboulds recollections mesh with the governments line. Read more about: Whitney Kimball Coe is an Athens resident who serves as coordinator of the National Rural Assembly and director of national programs for the Center for Rural Strategies. She can be reached at whitneykcoe@gmail.com Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott could not have been more upbeat and excited as she cheerfully unveiled a massive overhaul of Ontarios troubled health-care system. As Elliott tells it, the reforms planned by the Ford government will mean Ontarians will soon get better care, fewer patients will be treated in hospital corridors, more seniors will receive care at home and more of it, wait times will be greatly reduced and there will be more beds for long-term care patients. All this will happen, she insists, because the government is creating a super agency known as Ontario Health to oversee health care across the province. The new body will absorb all 14 Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) in the province, along with critical agencies such as Cancer Care Ontario and eHealth. The super agency, which seems eerily similar to a plan considered but ultimately rejected some 20 years ago by the Tory government under Mike Harris to create a Crown corporation-like body to oversee health care, is designed to end silos and fix a disconnected system. Like everyone, I hope the new agency is successful. But I suspect Ontario faces years of chaos and turmoil as the entire health-care system adjusts to yet another in a long line of bureaucratic transformations that have fallen far short of their lofty promises. Thats because the plan unveiled by Elliott isnt a detailed plan at all. Rather, as a long-time Queens Park analyst observed, its just generalized ideas with no framework for who is really in charge, no timelines for absorbing the various agencies, no reporting lines, no accountability measures and more. The result will be that patients are the losers at least in the short-term and maybe over the long term as well. The signs are already evident: First, theres no plan to ease hallway medicine, which Ford made a cornerstone of his election campaign. In fact, fixing hospital overcrowding doesnt require a super agency; it requires more money for hospital and long-term care beds. Second, theres no move to increase the number of patients receiving home care or increase the number of home-care visits a patient is entitled to receive. The current mess in home care is the result of inadequate funding and the availability of personal support workers and other professionals. Third, theres no move to increase access to a family doctor for patients currently without one. Fourth, theres no move to increase rehabilitation services for thousands of patients who are now paying out of their own pockets. Fifth, theres no evidence there will be any less bureaucracy under the super agency than exists now. Sixth, theres no suggestion there will be any money saved by this organizational shuffle that could be put back into direct patient care. Interestingly, the Ford government has patterned much of the Ontario Health super agency on Alberta Health Services, a similar agency operating in that province. Instead of being a model of efficiency, though, the Alberta health agency is now mired in controversy, with emergency room wait times soaring, infrastructure spending dropping and morale of health workers across the spectrum at stunningly low levels. Is that the right model to mimic in Ontario? On the positive side, the Ford governments plan may well lead to some integration and innovative approaches in delivery of services. In those cases, it will be critical that quality of service and patient experiences and outcomes are tracked and are incorporated into any further refinements. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Still, patients should be asking tough questions. For example, will the Ontario Health teams to be set up to deliver seamless care be similar to the LHINs that are being scrapped? Who will run them? Will hospitals run most of them, giving hospitals huge power and influence over the system? Clearly, the Ford government wanted to get rid of the LHINs and the Patients First Act brought in by the Liberals, much like Donald Trump wanted to repeal and replace Obamacare. In its haste, though, the government may have created another, bigger mess with no money saved, no end to hallway medicine, and no sign of better times for patients. Read more about: Anti-Zionism is the latest euphemism for anti-Semitism, Opinion, Feb. 15 In his column dealing with anti-Semitism, Dow Marmur makes assertions that I call into question. The problem is that one adjective, Jewish describes 3 very different nouns: a language, a people and a religion. All three can exist independent of the other. All are Jews. I can understand when anti-Semites pounce on secular Jews. I cannot understand when Jewish religious leaders push this growing segment of the Jewish people away. As peace talks continue between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha, I must say, I am saddened and afraid. Decades of war have led to these monsters being seen as a legitimate force in Afghanistan. Now the U.S., the Afghan government and the world sit at a table with them to negotiate their share of a country which they have destroyed. The Taliban are responsible for the death of thousands of innocent people, the destruction of dozens of schools and hospitals and the oppressing of the Afghan people, now too scared and tired to fight any longer. Id like to bring the worlds attention to all the appalling practices still prevalent in Afghanistan, which is in large part due to the Talibans commitment to keeping Afghanistan in the worlds lowest ranks socially, economically, politically and morally. The practices I refer to range from the rape of children younger than 5-years-old, to the killing of young women for moral crimes, for which men are not held to the same standard. Despite the superficial denials and propaganda depicting the Taliban leading a righteous reign, as an Afghan woman, I know better. Bacha Bazi, or boy play, is a practice that is still widespread in Afghanistan. It involves the kidnapping, exploiting and raping of young boys from ages 5 to 18 years old, as a form of entertainment. The highest bidders? Taliban commanders. Thousands of young boys are robbed of any chance to a normal life. For many, life is a journey full of PTSD, severe mental health struggles, drug addiction and death. The boys are trained by specially appointment teachers, who convince them that working for these men is a privilege that financially helps their families and gives them a good life. This all by a group of individuals who proudly execute people for moral sins. There are no words vulgar enough that can compare to the nature of these horrendous practices. Child marriage is also still widespread in Afghanistan. Again, many of the highest bidders are Taliban commanders. Under Taliban reign it is seen as acceptable for a man to sell his daughter to pay off outstanding debt. Prior to watching documentaries and hearing first-hand stories of these exchanges, I could not imagine what kind of a human being could engage in this action. It is simultaneously mind blowing and heart breaking. I cannot help but tear up while writing this article and thinking about these animals being in charge of Afghan society, continuing this practice. Although not unique to Afghanistan, the moral justification for child marriage in Afghanistan is traced back to cultural traditions, which are beneficial to men, and therefore, cannot easily be abolished. Lastly, Afghan women are still being prosecuted for moral crimes. In Afghanistan, women who refuse marriage and or express their desire to marry someone of their choosing are jailed and sometimes killed. Although it seems and is ridiculous, it is the reality many young girls are warned of in Afghanistan. Under a government with Taliban incorporated power, womens rights would be completely cut-off as the Taliban have expressed the notion that women do not need rights. The Taliban empower men to thinking they are in charge of choosing who their daughters marry and that a woman thinking for herself, in any respect, is dangerous. It is 2019, and I am ashamed to have had to write an article detailing the horrific practices still prevalent in Afghanistan. Afghanistan prior to the war was a nation where men and women alike were educated, working-class people. Everyone had human rights and autonomy. People were genuinely proud to be Afghan. The right to think and practice religion privately accompanied the right to pursue a civil and professional life. Afghanistan engaged in trade, economics, growth, development and innovation. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Today, that is gone. The Taliban are not going anywhere, which is a fact that we have had to come to terms with. However, as I reflect on the state of affairs in Afghanistan, I am deeply saddened and my prior sense of hopefulness for the nation has decayed. The corruption and moral backwardness in Afghanistan will be irreversible upon the peace deal. As I sit with my family watching the daily developments on TV, we all share a sense of sadness, as our homeland has been officially lost. Metrah Haidari is a fourth year political science and religion major at the University of Toronto. Read more about: My father, Arthur Silveried McKenzie, was an extraordinary man. He was a charismatic family man, entrepreneur and community builder born on June 16, 1936 in the village of Grand Fond, Dominica, West Indies. The third of 7 children, he was allowed to continue attending school when his father died when he was 7 as long as he taught what he had learned each day to his elder brother and sister who stayed back to help his mother with the land. He was good at that and by the age of 14 he was working, unpaid, teaching in the Grand Fond school. His aptitude was noted and he was offered a place to study at the grammar school in Roseau, the capitol city. He never attended because my grandmother was unable to afford it. Dad worked as a policeman from his teens until the was enticed to move to the U.K. in 1958 as one of the many encouraged to migrate to fill post war labour shortages. They mostly had the same plan work hard for five years and return home rich. It did not work out that way. Like others, he found himself stuck in a poorly paid job and in a society where it was routine to come across signs that read: No Blacks, Irish or dogs. He hatched a plan to become financially stable through buying property and renting rooms to other immigrants and worked six or seven day weeks as a guard on the railways to get enough for the deposit on his first house in Southall, West London. But he wanted more and put himself through night school; while working and with a young family, eventually completing a degree in economics and a doctorate in business administration. These allowed him to move to a position in accounts in a small light manufacturing company and then to British Airways. Dad was by no means rich but was focused on family and community, so he sponsored most of his brothers and sisters to join him and sent money back to build a concrete house for his mother and for his youngest brother, who stayed in Dominica. While still in the U.K., he bought land and built a community centre in Grand Fond and stood as a local councillor in Southall. When unemployment strikes, immigrants are hit first and the late 1970s early 1980 recession led to redundancy from British Airways. Dad was in his 40s. He never worked again in the U.K. and refused to take benefits. Those years were tough. The last straw was changes in U.K. immigration laws in 1984, which made many Caribbean immigrants second class citizens. He, my mother, and most of his brothers and sisters decided enough was enough. They sold everything they had and went back to Dominica. He initially worked the land but identified the shortage of locally baked bread. Dad and his cousin built and successfully ran the Canefield Bakery until he retired in 2011 at the age of 75 no mean feet for two people with no experience in baking or industrial production. Always energetic, he also helped to form the United Workers Party of Dominica, which led the country from 1995 to 2000. He returned to the U.K. in ailing health in 2012 and died this year, on Jan. 24. We buried him in London on Feb. 11. I knew him as a loving father, who believed in family, education, hard work and community. But he would tell you his main contribution was his family. His seven children include: a justice of the peace, a professor of psychiatry, an architect who developed a modular system for building hurricane resistant housing, a past British Telcom executive and others in management positions in local councils and major companies. They all help to build a better world. Of his 14 grandchildren, one is a doctor, one is a PhD scientist, three went to Cambridge or Oxford University, two went to McGill and U of T, with others attending top universities in the U.K. All who are of age have degrees. This is some achievement for an immigrant man who worked low paid jobs in London and put himself through school. But I cannot help wondering what he could have been in another life; in a fairer world, perhaps he would have soared like his grandchildren are set to. And perhaps there would be some way that the wider public in the U.K. would know his story. He had no obituary in a U.K. newspaper. And I think this is a pity. Less for him than the rest of the population, because our history and culture is diminished by losing these sorts of stories. We make new history by the stories we hear and repeat every day and an important group of stories are obituaries. Obituaries in our most read newspapers celebrate the uncommon. They idealize. They present extraordinary people and usually define this by professional achievement, notoriety, or a persons links to richness or royalty. They are stories of success rather than every day struggle. They are stories of what was built rather than the many who built it. And they are more likely to be stories of leaders not those who supported them. They are reserved for people who made a mark on the universe in some way; people who changed something for us. This sounds like a meritocracy, but there are at least three reasons why it is not. First, you are less likely to get an obituary if you are Black or a woman, irrespective of what you have achieved. The Overlooked campaign from the New York Times has highlighted that this has been the case in their obituary section since 1851. They are trying to make amends by publishing posthumous obituaries of noteworthy women and Americans from more diverse racial backgrounds. It is not a perfect process because they rely on nomination by the living you have to know your history to remake history but Overlooked takes them ahead of many other newspapers. The second is that we ignore the context in which people have lived if we simply use professional or financial success as entry criteria for obituaries in our most read newspapers. Those who have had to deal with barriers such as racism, who did not have access to education or who started with less wealth will be less likely to get obituaries. In this way the presumed meritocracy is undermined by the existing unfair structure of society. Obituaries will not include people who are remarkable and would have soared if they were on a level playing field. And last, success, wealth and notoriety do not measure the worth of a life. The presumed meritocracy may not actually capture true merit. The lives of the ordinary people who are the foundations of their community or a country are more likely to be considered ordinary. The lives of everyday folk who make extraordinary efforts to contribute to society, despite its difficult and the complex nature, are lost to our collective memory; be they our Indigenous peoples; the compassionate clinicians working in intensive care; the people who gives their lives to helping homeless people; the refugees who have traversed what many would count as impossible odds to live and bring up families in Canada; or, the people I see living in poverty with serious mental health problems but still building community. The list goes on. I believe we do a disservice to society if the lives of the many are not recognized. The lopsided history we tell through obituaries of the successful, rich and famous builds a narrative that undermines and excludes parts of our communities. You stand a better chance of building a good future if you know your past. You are more likely to build community if you are reflected in its history. We stand a better chance of undermining the divisive rhetoric that demonizes people like my father as immigrants who have come for handouts rather than the people who are building better countries across the world if we tell their stories. The story of my father or other immigrants like him would not be considered stories of meritocratic success in the U.K. or in Canada. But if you take into account the barriers they have to overcome it would be hard not to think they are stories of extraordinary people who have lived extraordinary lives and have helped to build countries. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... We are all past, present and future people. We build things together for the future, we rely on each other now, and we need history as a common foundation. Everybody who contributes deserves respect in life and I believe they do in death. Equitable access to obituaries is a mark of respect. I want to hear the stories of every day people who are making the difference they can. The histories of all people are important and we need to work out how we can hear them. Canada has been built by immigrants and they are our future. We need to make sure that, as we develop, we learn from the mistakes of the U.S. and U.K. so nobody is excluded. If we understand the importance of equitable history and the power of obituaries we increase our chance of building the better future we all dream of. GUERNEVILLE, Calif. - A Northern California river flooded 2,000 homes, businesses and other buildings and left two communities virtual islands after days of stormy weather, officials said Wednesday. The towns of Guerneville and Monte Rio were hardest hit by water pouring from the Russian River, which topped 46 feet (13 metres) late Wednesday night, said Briana Khan, a Sonoma County spokeswoman. The river frequently floods in rainy weather but it hadnt reached that level for 25 years and wasnt expected to recede again until late Thursday night. About 3,500 people in two dozen communities along the river remained under evacuation orders. Jeff Bridges didnt leave even though he said the water was 8 feet (2.44 metres) deep in some places. The co-owner of the R3 Hotel in Guerneville, said he and others who stayed behind were well-prepared to ride out the storm. He and employees moved computers, business records and furniture to second-floor room. As long as everybody is safe, dry and warm, its all fine. You just ride it out, said Bridges, noting that this flood was the fourth hes experienced in 33 years. He added: People in Florida have hurricanes, people in Maine have blizzards; we have floods, he said. Its the price we have to pay to live in paradise. The river was one of several in Northern California that was engorged by days of rain from western U.S. storms that also dumped heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada, throughout the Pacific Northwest and into Montana, where Gov. Steve Bullock signed an emergency order to help keep up the supply of heating fuel amid frigid temperatures. Two Amtrak trains together carrying nearly 300 passengers stopped and reversed directions because of an avalanche that closed railroad tracks in the Sierra Nevada. In Idaho, the mountain town of Stanley became marooned Wednesday after all three highways leading to the town were closed because of drifting snow, avalanches and the risk of more slides. Several areas in California set record-high rainfall totals in recent days, including nearby Santa Rosa, which had nearly 8 inches (20 centimetres) of rain in one day. The often-waterlogged Venado weather station 5 miles (8 kilometres) from Guerneville recorded more than 20 inches (50 centimetres) of rain in 48 hours. Elsewhere in Northern California, dozens of people had to be rescued from cars stranded while motorists tried to drive through flooded roads. Nina Sheehan, who is visiting from North Carolina, had to abandon her rental SUV after it got stuck in a flooded hotel parking lot. We made a decision to take the rental car through the waist-high water and we got two thirds of the way and then the car stalled, she said. Do not try to go through any water over a foot high because you never know what youre going to find. Firefighters in Monte Rio worked through the night pulling people out of cars stuck in flooded roadways and getting people out of their homes as water approached, Fire Chief Steve Baxman told the Press-Democrat newspaper of Santa Rosa. We took 17 people out of cars and houses during the night. Too many people are driving into water, he said. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... ___ Rodriguez reported from San Francisco. WASHINGTON - The Latest on President Donald Trumps former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen (all times local): 6 p.m. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff says Felix Sater will appear at a public hearing March 14 to testify about President Donald Trumps effort to build a skyscraper in Russia. Sater, a Russia-born executive who had worked for the Trump Organization, is a figure in probes into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Hes an associate of Michael Cohen, President Donald Trumps former lawyer, who testified in private before Schiffs panel Thursday. Sater worked with Cohen on the Trump Tower deal in Moscow that was later abandoned. Schiff cautioned that Saters hearing is not likely to be the spectacle that Cohens public hearing was a day earlier, when Trumps former fixer testified before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Cohen is heading to prison in May. __ 5:20 p.m. President Donald Trumps former attorney, Michael Cohen, says he will be returning to Capitol Hill on March 6 for another round of questioning with lawmakers. Cohen spent Thursday behind closed doors with members of the House Intelligence Committee. It was the last of three appearances before Congress this week for Cohen, who pleaded guilty last year to lying to Congress. Cohen told reporters, Im committed to telling the truth and Ill be back on March 6 to finish up. House Intelligence Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff called the closed-door session with Cohen productive and said lawmakers were able to drill down in great detail on issues they are investigating. Cohen testified publicly Wednesday against Trump, calling his former boss a con man who lied about business dealings in Russia. Republicans said Cohen has no credibility. __ 1:05 p.m. Florida Republican congressman Matt Gaetz says hes apologized to Michael Cohen for taunting him about his private life. Gaetz had tweeted on the eve of Cohens testimony Wednesday that new details would emerge about his private life and suggested Cohen speak to his wife about it. Democrats complained that it sounded like Gaetz was threatening or intimidating a witness. Gaetz said that wasnt his intention. On Thursday, he said he also apologized to Cohen, saying, I told him Im sorry, I should not have mentioned his family. Gaetz added, He asked me to publicly ask folks to leave his family alone and I thought that was a fair request. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... ___ 2:50 a.m. President Donald Trump says he was a little impressed that his former personal attorney told Congress there was no collusion between Trumps presidential campaign and Russia. Michael Cohen told U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday that he had no direct evidence that Trump or his aides had colluded with Russia to get him elected. Thats the primary question of a nearly two-year investigation being led by special counsel Robert Mueller (MUHL-ur). Cohen has turned on Trump and pleaded guilty to lying to Congress earlier to protect Trump. Trump was in Vietnam on Thursday for his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump says he tried to watch as much of Cohens marathon congressional hearing as he could. He slammed the hearing as fake and said it was a terrible thing for Democrats to hold it during his summit. ___ 12:35 a.m. A day after publicly casting President Donald Trump as a liar and a racist, his former attorney Michael Cohen is set to testify behind closed doors to the House intelligence committee. Cohens testimony Wednesday to the Houses oversight committee was damning. The one-time fixer described what he said were incidents about which Trump lied, including the payment of hush money to women. Cohen said Trump lied throughout the 2016 election campaign about his business interests in Russia and had advance knowledge that emails damaging to Hillary Clinton would be released during the campaign. Cohen also claimed that Trump made denigrating remarks about black people. Skeptical and at times hostile Republicans noted repeatedly that Cohen has already pleaded guilty to lying to Congress. SAN DIEGO - The Latest on the demolition of eight prototypes of the presidents prized border wall. (all times local): 11 a.m. Less than two hours after crews began demolishing eight prototypes of the presidents prized border wall in San Diego, seven of the barriers were destroyed. A large hydraulic jackhammer attached to an excavator pounded the walls repeatedly on Wednesday as slabs fell into small clouds of dust. Crews had previously drilled small holes in the concrete and stuffed them with grout that softens the cement and makes them easier to destroy. A panel made of steel poles was also dismantled. The Trump administration says elements of the prototypes have been melded into current border fence designs and they have served their purpose. The eight prototypes cost $300,000 to $500,000 each to build. For Trumps allies, the towering models were a show of his commitment to border security and fulfilling a core campaign promise. For detractors, they were monuments to wasted taxpayer dollars and a misguided display of aggression toward Mexico and immigrants. ___ 7:45 a.m. The Trump administration is set to demolish eight prototypes of the presidents prized border wall, saying elements of them have been melded into current designs and that they have served their purpose. The concrete and steel models near the border separating San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, became potent symbols associated with one of the presidents top priorities when they were built in 2017. For Trumps allies, they were a show of his commitment to border security. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... For detractors, they were a misguided display of aggression toward Mexico and immigrants. After the prototypes are removed on Wednesday, an extension to the current border wall in the area will be installed. GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A teenager fell through a skylight at a Florida high school gym and crashed onto a wrestling mat, shocking spectators as wrestlers were competing. News outlets report the 19-year-old was taken to a hospital with serious injuries after he fell about 40 feet (12 metres) through the ceiling window Friday evening. Alachua County Sheriffs Lt. Brett Rhodenizer says the teen was among a group of at least eight people who went to the roof during the match at Buchholz High in Gainesville. County schools spokeswoman Jackie Johnson says several people were arrested on trespassing charges, including some students. Rhodenizer says they were on the roof to retrieve a cellphone that someone had thrown near the skylight. Deputies didnt identify the man who fell. DALLAS - The son of an American oil worker recently freed after being abducted 18 months ago in Yemen said Wednesday that his father is getting reacquainted with his Yemeni wife and their children, and that he hopes to talk to him soon. All I know right now is that hes safe and thats all that really matters to me, Army Sgt. Maj. Cale Burch, one of Danny Burchs three children from an earlier marriage, told The Associated Press. President Donald Trump announced Monday that Danny Burch had been freed and thanked the United Arab Emirates for its role in reuniting Burch with his family. Its still unclear who abducted him in September 2017 in Yemen, a Middle Eastern country that has been riven by civil war. Cale Burch, who is assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command headquartered in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, said he got a phone call Sunday from the FBI letting him know a release had been brokered for his father. He said the FBI had been in contact with him while his father was being held. The younger Burch said he didnt know the exact day his father was released, but he said his father is now going through a reintegration period. A coalition led by Saudi Arabia, with the United Arab Emirates being a key member, has been fighting the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen since 2015. A year earlier, Houthis pushed the internationally recognized government out of the capital Sanaa. Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the head of Houthis Revolutionary Committee, said Tuesday that Danny Burch was held by a terrorist group in areas under control of the Saudi-led coalition. Danny Burch is married to a Yemeni national, and the couple has three children. He was 63 when he was kidnapped in September 2017. At the time, his wife told The New York Times that her husband had left their home in Sanaa to take their sons to a sports club but never returned. She said police later told her that hed been stopped by five armed men in civilian clothes who took him away. Danny Burch, who grew up in Louisiana and East Texas, has spent most of his career as a mechanic in the oil and gas industry. Cale Burch said his father started working in Yemen about 25 years ago, for about a month at a time. About 15 years ago he made the decision to just stay there as an expat, said Cale Burch, adding that hed kept in touch with his father through social media before he was abducted. Cale Burch said he and his siblings worried about their father as turmoil enveloped the county in recent years. He said many expatriates left, but that his father had built a life for himself there and was part of a core group of expats who stayed. I think he was cautious, but I dont know that he was nervous about anything, he was going about his routine whenever he was taken captive, he said. He described his father as a hardworking guy and a loving father who doted on us kids whenever we were growing up. My family, were a family of faith, and we kept him in our prayers. And our prayers were answered, Cale Burch said. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... ___ Associated Press writer Ahmed al-Haj in Sanaa, Yemen, contributed to this report. ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. - Police say Kentucky officers shot and wounded a suspect who pointed a gun at them after a high-speed chase through two counties. Kentucky State Police said in a statement Wednesday that the pursuit began in Elizabethtown after the suspect fled from a traffic stop, stole another vehicle and tried to run over several officers. The statement says the officers fired and the suspect fled onto Interstate 65 at speeds reaching more than 120 mph before the chase ended in a field in Larue County. Police say the man pulled a gun, so state troopers, Elizabethtown officers and a Hardin County Sheriffs deputy fired. The suspect was hit multiple times and taken to a hospital in Louisville, where he remained in critical condition. Neither the suspect nor the officers were identified. BALTIMORE - A police advocacy group has asked the Trump administration to modify the Baltimore police consent decree, saying it does a tremendous amount of harm. The Baltimore Sun reports the National Police Association called the federal consent decrees requirements burdensome and accused it of creating unrealistic expectations that contribute to violence in a letter last week to President Donald Trump. National Fraternal Order of Police Executive Director Jim Pasco says hes not familiar with the Indianapolis-based non-profit, but he agrees with the letter. The consent decree between the city and the U.S. Department of Justice came after a federal investigation found officers routinely violated residents civil rights. A federal court would have to approve changes to the agreement. The White House didnt respond to the newspapers request for comment. ___ Information from: The Baltimore Sun, http://www.baltimoresun.com UPLAND, Calif. - Investigators on Wednesday were trying to determine why a California woman allegedly fatally injured her infant daughter, dropped her young son off a second-story apartment building landing and then jumped herself. After being medically cleared, Tierra Ortega, 24, was booked for investigation of homicide, attempted homicide and child abuse resulting in death, said Capt. Marcelo Blanco of the Upland Police Department. Ortegas booking photo showed her face bruised and scraped with one eye swollen shut. Her 1 1/2-year-old son remained hospitalized in stable condition with a broken foot and other minor injuries, Blanco said. We dont have a motive yet, Blanco said. The events unfolded late Tuesday morning in Upland, a small city at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains in the inland region about an hours drive east of Los Angeles. A neighbour called 911 to report that a child was screaming or crying and then saw the woman was holding the child on a second-story landing, according to police. The mother proceeded to release the toddler, who fell to the ground below. Upon officers arriving on scene, they noticed the child on the floor and the mother subsequently jumped from the second story landing head first, a police statement said. Police then checked the second-story apartment and found the womans approximately 7-month-old daughter inside. She wasnt breathing. Her breathing was restored but she died at a hospital, Blanco said. The cause of her death will be determined but she had a possible skull fracture and internal injuries, he said. Video from KCAL-TV showed the woman sitting on grass outside the building with her hands handcuffed behind her. One child, strapped to a board, was loaded into a helicopter for the flight to the hospital. The childrens distraught father was called home from work and police had to hold him back as he struggled to climb the stairs to the apartment. He spoke to police but has no idea what led to this, Blanco said. The property manager said the family had moved into the unit about a year ago, KCAL-TV reported. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Theyve always been very quiet, Kaeleigh Calderon said of the family. Ive never heard them arguing, Ive never heard them bickering. Asked about postpartum depression, Blanco said investigators would look into that possibility. DETROIT - A judge has cleared the way for the release of a 74-year-old man who is the oldest and longest-serving Michigan prisoner with a life sentence for murder as a teen. Sheldry Topp, who has been in prison since 1962, was resentenced Tuesday to 40 years to 60 years. He probably will be freed Thursday because he has accumulated plenty of good-behaviour credits, said Chris Gautz of the Corrections Department. Hes in a wheelchair. His health is not good, but hes hung in there, attorney Deborah LaBelle told The Associated Press. I feared he might die before seeing the night sky as a free man. Topp was convicted of fatally stabbing an Oakland County man during a home break-in in 1962. He was 17 when Charles Davis died. Michigan and other states were forced to change the way they sentence teens after the U.S. Supreme Court said minors cant automatically be given no-parole prison terms. No-parole sentences still are possible in some cases, and prosecutor Jessica Cooper sought one again for Topp. But Oakland County Judge James Alexander said Topp has been rehabilitated. Topp had a history of mental-health problems as a teen when he walked away from a state hospital where he was being treated with electroshock therapy, attorney Trevor Garrison said in a court filing. Topps upbringing was described as brutal. He was often the target of his fathers abuse, the judge said. After his capture in Chicago, Topp confessed, saying Davis was killed during a struggle. It was four years before the Supreme Court said crime suspects must be informed that they have a right to remain silent and a right to have an attorney present during questioning. An email seeking comment on the new sentence was sent to the prosecutors office. Alexander noted that the Michigan parole board years ago had recommended that Topps life sentence be shortened. But two governors declined to grant it. Topp plans to live with a sister in another state. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... ___ Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwhiteap GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Activists are calling for the firing of a western Michigan police officer whom they accuse of racial profiling by notifying immigration officials about the arrest of a mentally ill Latino war veteran who is actually a U.S. citizen. Immigration and Customs Enforcement held Jilmar Ramos-Gomez for three days in December before releasing the Michigan-born man. Grand Rapids Lt. Curt VanderKooi told ICE about Ramos-Gomez November arrest at a local hospital, referring to him as loco, or crazy. Interim police Chief David Kiddle says VanderKooi was reprimanded for unprofessional language. Dozens of people attended a city commission meeting Tuesday to express their displeasure with how Ramos-Gomez was treated. Miriam Aukerman, of the American Civil Liberties Union, says Ramos-Gomez was racially profiled. Kiddle says hes using the case to review policies. GALVESTON, Texas - A judge has ordered the trial of a teenager accused of fatally shooting 10 people at a Texas high school be moved to another county. State District Judge John Ellisor granted Dimitrios Pagourtzis request for a venue change Wednesday. The 18-year-old is charged with capital murder for the deadly shooting at Santa Fe High School that also wounded 13 people last May. Pagourtzis lawyers argued that the case needed to be moved out of Galveston County to ensure an objective jury pool, noting that venue changes have been allowed in other high-profile cases. Prosecutors contended an impartial jury could be selected in the county courthouse, which is 20 miles (32 kilometres) east of Santa Fe. Ellisor will select a new venue for the trial later. SAN DIEGO - Transgender troops testifying for the first time to Congress on Wednesday said transitioning to another sex made them stronger, while Pentagon officials defended the Trump administrations desire to bar people like them from enlisting in the future. Army Capt. Alivia Stehlik, an infantry officer and graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. and Ranger School, told lawmakers she became a more effective soldier after she transitioned from male to female in 2017. What is the value of having transgender people in the military? Based on my experience first as a combat arms officer and medical provider, the answer is unequivocally that my transition and so many others has dramatically increased the readiness and lethality of every branch of the armed forces, said Stehlik, who returned from a deployment to Afghanistan a month ago where she treated soldiers as a physical therapist. With the ban now blocked by lawsuits, active-duty transgender service members were invited to testify at the hearing called by Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier, chairwoman of the military personnel subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee. Speier said the ban is discriminatory, unconstitutional and self-defeating and said the Obama administrations 2016 lifting of the barrier to allow transgender people to serve has been an unequivocal success. She added that barring transgender people again would cost us recruits at a time when so few Americans are willing to serve. She called the five transgender troops who testified Wednesday exceptional, but also exceptionally normal. Retired Air Force Gen. James N. Stewart, who is now performing the duties of the undersecretary of defence for personnel and readiness, defended the Trump administrations policy, which is currently blocked by litigation. He said current transgender troops will be allowed to continue to serve and other transgender people can join the military if they serve in their biological sex and have not been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a condition under which people experience distress if they do not identify with their birth gender. Its not a ban on transgender individuals, he insisted. Stewart added that special accommodations cannot be made for people with such a medical condition. Maryland Democratic Rep. Anthony Brown said the same argument was used to keep blacks from integrating into the Army in 1948 and again in the 1990s to keep gay people from serving openly under the dont ask, dont tell policy, which was repealed by Congress in 2010. He said barring people who have undergone treatment for gender dysphoria and transitioned to another sex is equivalent to banning transgender people. Youre transgender and only if you agree not to transition, then you can serve, thats just like dont ask, dont tell, he said. In the nearly three years since the U.S. military welcomed transgender people into the armed forces, they have largely served without incident. Some, like Army attack helicopter pilot Lindsey Muller, have earned prestigious medals or received other forms of recognition. Once you meet transgender people who have served in the different branches ... its really hard to dismiss the fact that you will find Purple Heart recipients, Bronze Star winners, attack aviators, Navy SEALs, said Muller, who did not testify but is a plaintiff in one of four lawsuits challenging the ban. Weve been here, and we will continue to be here regardless. In what capacity is up to the administration. President Donald Trump has argued that their presence is a burden and cited tremendous medical costs as a reason for the ban. According to new data from the Defence Department provided to the House Armed Services Committee ahead of the hearing, the military has spent about $8 million on transgender care since 2016. The militarys annual health care budget tops $50 billion. An estimated 14,700 troops on active duty and in the Reserves identify as transgender but not all seek treatment. Military chiefs testified before Congress last year that they found no problems with transgender troops on morale or unit cohesion. The five transgender troops who testified Wednesday said their medical transitions took anywhere from four weeks to four months and they did most of it on their own time. All were fit to return to deploying afterward. They said recovery from pregnancy and shoulder surgery takes much longer. The Defence Department treated 1,525 service members between July 1, 2016 and February 1, 2019, who were diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Currently about 1,071 are serving, including 20 senior officers. The military spent about $8 million on transgender care, including about $5.8 million on psychotherapy and about $2 million on surgeries mostly for breast reductions and hysterectomies. There were about 23,000 psychotherapy visits and about 160 surgeries. Speier asked Pentagon officials to look into reports that the military requires weekly psychotherapy visits, over prescribing therapy. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Mississippi Rep. Trent Kelly, the committees ranking Republican member, said not everyone can join the military because of its stringent medical and behavioural health standards needed to maintain a ready and resilient force. However, it only makes sense that any individual who can meet these standards and is otherwise qualified should be allowed to serve. ___ This story corrects the date to 2017 when Army Capt. Alivia Stehlik transitioned from male to female. WASHINGTONIt was about 4 a.m. when his phone buzzed with a message from far away. He read it once, twice, three times before he woke his wife to tell her the news. Im a prince, he whispered as she blinked herself awake. A prince. Jay Speights, an interfaith pastor from suburban Rockville, Maryland, could hardly believe the words as he formed them in his mouth. Him? A prince? He grew up in New Jersey. He lives in an apartment. He does not even own a car. Speights, 66, had spent much of his life wondering about his forebears, probing public records until the trail went cold. Like many black Americans who are descendants of slaves, Speights could find little written evidence of his familys history. In April, he turned to a DNA test from Ancestry in the hope that something, somewhere might turn up. He was identified as the distant cousin of a man named Houanlokonon Deka a descendant of a royal line in Benin, a small nation that once housed West Africas biggest slave port. At the urging of a friend, he ran his DNA data through another database that looks for matches between African Americans and Africans who have taken such tests. Within minutes of entering his information into the database, Speights said, the website lit up with a result. It said royal DNA. Four hundred years after the first enslaved Africans arrived in colonial Virginia, Speights is grappling with his newfound identity as the descendant of slaves and the African kings who put them in chains. His internal reckoning serves as a conduit for discussion in the United States over the impact of slavery and racism, and the struggle to find a path forward as a nation of former enslavers and the enslaved. The history of the Atlantic slave trade, colonialism and enslavement are really violent histories that led to families being torn apart, histories and cultures being stolen from many individuals and huge harms to African Americans, said Deborah Bolnick, an anthropological geneticist at the University of Connecticut. DNA testing has been used as a tool to help them start to recover that loss. The king from whom Speights is probably descended was one of several who captured and sold slaves typically members of rival tribes or captives of war to European merchants, who then loaded them onto ships bound for Brazil, Haiti and the United States. Speights said the more he learned, the more questions he had. But he was not sure how to contact a man who could be his sixth or eighth cousin and lived an ocean away. A few months later, a Vodun priest from Benin visited the New Seminary in New York, where Speights serves as executive director. During the visit, Speights said, he brought up his DNA discovery. One of the men in the Benin contingent perked up at the mention of his ancestral family name, Deka. I know your king, the man said. Here is his phone number. The king of Allada hung up the first time Speights called. You dont cold-call a king, I guess, Speights said. The second time, King Kpodegbe Toyi Djigla passed the phone to his English-speaking wife, Queen Djehami Kpodegbe Kwin-Epo. Together, the couple serve as the traditional leaders of Allada, a state in central Benin and the historic home of the Allada kingdom. The queen asked Speights to see photos of his parents and grandparents. She inquired about his motivations what did he want from them? His response was simple: Answers. You are a descendant of King Deka, 9th King of Allada who ruled from 1746 to 1765, she wrote in a message over WhatsApp. We will be delighted to welcome you to your home, dear Prince. Last month, Speights boarded a plane in Virginia and landed in Benin 36 hours later. The family pictures he had sent to the queen were plastered on big blue posters hung throughout the airport. Welcome to the kingdom of Allada, land of your ancestors, the posters said in French. As he stepped outside, Speights said, he saw what looked like a festival. Hundreds of people dancing and playing instruments and singing. It took him several minutes to realize it was a welcome party for him. I thought, Wow, this is serious, Speights said. I thought I was going to go, hang out with the family, do some sightseeing. But this was something else. He spent the next week in what he calls prince school, learning local customs and visiting various sites and dignitaries. He was enthroned by the king, given white lace robes to signal he is a holy man, and several crowns. At night, an armed guard kept watch outside his hotel door. During the day, local journalists followed him around with cameras. Speights is the first member of the Allada kingdom and the Deka clan to return to Benin from the African diaspora, he said. But he is not the first royal descendant to be identified in the United States, said Benjamin Agon, the attache for cultural affairs at the Embassy of Benin in Washington. As DNA tests have grown more popular, Americans claiming Benin lineage have begun to show an increased interest in the country, Agon said. Tourism has grown as a result. For black Americans like Speights, answers to DNA tests can provide a sense of history that was erased by the transatlantic slave trade. Popular commercial DNA tests such as those from Ancestry and 23andMe typically offer results based in broad geographic regions. Other organizations, including DNA Tested African Descendants the service Speights used have stepped in to fill gaps and connect individuals directly. Despite scientific advances, geneticists and anthropologists caution that drawing conclusive answers from such tests can be tricky and warn users against re-forming their sense of identity around what might be little more than an educated guess. Yet, American test-takers and those from the countries identified in their DNA matches have hurried to embrace one another. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... The number of newfound descendants has reached such a critical mass that the Benin embassy is planning to host a reception, where American descendants of the tribes and kingdoms of Benin can meet and be introduced to the community, Agon said. After they are accepted by the royal family, many of them are given a mission to accomplish, he said. Once they go back to their other country, they have to do their best to find other people that are just like them. How the royal ancestors of Speights and others ended up in the United States remains somewhat of a mystery. Benins hesitance to fully acknowledge its role in the transatlantic slave trade has long been fraught with tension. When pressed, Speights said his relatives in Benin told him members of the royal family would not have sold their own people to slave merchants, but they could not explain how his ancestors wound up aboard a slave ship. No matter who did what, we all ended up the same way, he said. In chains. In Benin, there was a tree that once stood near the citys historic slave port from which more than a million people were shipped to the Americas. Before they departed, West African men and women would walk around the trunk up to nine times to shed the life they were leaving behind and accept the bondage into which they had been sold. It was called the tree of forgetting. Today, the tree is gone, but a historic marker remains. As his newfound relatives watched, Speights walked around the marker nine times in reverse. With each turn, he thought about his father, who died never knowing the truth of his familys history. He thought about his grandfather, who grew up in the segregated South. He thought about his ancestors, who were chained and beaten, carried to a foreign place and sold as property. He was angry, he said. And hurt. When he finished his walk, he felt something else, too. A sense of healing. I thought about how much they survived and what it means for me to return to this place, to restore our family, he said. I cant tell you what that felt like in my heart. Now, Speights said, he plans to go back to Benin every year. He wants to bring his brother and daughters and wife. He has accepted princely duties, which include promoting the kingdom and helping bring clean water and electricity to the community where his relatives live. He will continue his search for the missing years in his family history. He is working to facilitate an interfaith dialogue on the evils of slavery and help other members of royal families in Benin conduct DNA tests. This was the most beautiful thing I have ever done, he said. I am the descendant of slaves. I am the descendant of a family who was involved in the slave trade. And Im just starting to make sense of that. Before he left Benin, Speights said, the king gave him a new name: Videkon Deka. It means the child who came back. Terry Millender was more than a pastor to Howard Payton. He was a mentor from the time Payton was a teenager, a surrogate father who inducted the younger man into the ministry. He counselled and married Payton and his wife, Regina. He said blessings over their son, Cameron. He promised to help them build a college fund for Cameron something their parents could not do for them. The way my son would look at him with such trusting, loving eyes makes me cringe now, Regina Payton said in court Tuesday as Millender, 54, was sentenced to eight years in prison for financial crimes. While he was pastor at Victorious Life Church in Alexandria, Virginia, Millender took the $15,000 (U.S.) the couple inherited from her mother and lost it in the foreign currency market. It was part of a $1.7 million fraud, carried out between 2008 and 2013, that victimized his friends, relatives and fellow pastors. He turned out to be a very bad pastor, but hes a very good con man, Regina Payton told a judge in Alexandria federal court. Millender still insists that he did not intend to scam any of the people he persuaded to invest in what he billed as a microlending project for small businesses in Africa. No one wanted this to succeed more than me, Millender told Judge Anthony Trenga in a rambling statement that veered between sobs of remorse and shouts of denial. I am not 100 per cent innocent; Im just innocent of what the government charged me with. Millender spent $800,000 from the supposed investment projects on himself, renting a 6,000-square-foot home for $10,000 a month and buying expensive furniture and rounds of golf. Most of the rest was lost. What he didnt spend on himself he lost on the risky foreign currency market. He then promised to pay back the money through Nigerian oil trading, another hopeless scheme that enriched no one but himself. He did not pay taxes on the funds, either, and owes $270,000 to the IRS. Meanwhile, victims who were told that their initial investments were secure lost their retirement savings and pensions; one could no longer afford blood pressure medication. Still, the pastor insisted that his goal was always to help others by first helping himself. Im one of the last good guys, Millender told the court. Im the last person who would defraud anybody. Its an argument that failed to convince a jury in 2017, when he and his wife were found guilty of wire fraud, money laundering, false-tax-return filing and obstruction, although Trenga later decided that Millenders wife was not involved enough to be criminally liable. Millender took the stand and argued, You cant help the poor and be poor. Prosecutor Jamar Walker called that statement an absurdity. Trenga agreed that while Millender may have gone into the scheme thinking he could succeed, his blind recklessness stemmed not from altruism but his own greed and his own sense of entitlement. Millender is a lifelong churchman; he studied at a Bible college in Florida and at churches in Annandale and Vienna, Virginia, before starting Victorious Life Church 16 years ago. Faith is a powerful weapon, and when its entrusted in the wrong hands, it can be a dangerous weapon, Walker said in court. When others began to question him, Millender would react angrily, saying he would never have involved friends and family in anything criminal. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... As a young man growing up, I learned a lot from Mr. Millender, Howard Payton told the court. There was no reason why I thought I couldnt trust him ... I was deceived, repeatedly. Other victims including two who testified at trial told the court they still believed that if Millender were freed, he could pay back what he owed them with a new business venture. One who lost nearly $100,000 wrote that despite a court order, they were indirectly in touch and that in 45 to 60 days, thanks to a new Chinese oil project, lenders who have been waiting for six years can be made WHOLE. ST. LOUISThe United Methodist Church on Tuesday voted to strengthen its ban on gay and lesbian clergy and same-sex marriages, a decision that could split the nations second-largest Protestant church. After three days of intense debate at a conference in St. Louis, the vote by church officials and lay members from around the world doubled down on current church policy, which states that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. The vote served as a rejection of a push by progressive members and leaders to open the church to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Now, a divide of the United Methodist Church, which has 12 million members worldwide, appears imminent. Some pastors and bishops in the United States are already talking about leaving the denomination and possibly creating a new alliance for gay-friendly churches. It is time for another movement, the Rev. Mike Slaughter, pastor emeritus of Ginghamsburg Church in Ohio, said in a phone interview from the floor of the conference, where he was a delegate. We dont even know what that is yet, but it is something new. The decision Tuesday is the latest milestone in the fight over the future of American Christianity and over whose views of human sexuality are enshrined as Christian. Conservatives have left the Episcopal Church over gay rights, Presbyterians have split, and many young evangelicals are leaving their churches over the lack of inclusion of LGBT people. Read more: United Methodist Church on edge of breakup over LGBT stand The Latest: Methodist conference rejects same-sex marriage United Methodist delegates defeat bid to ease LGBT bans Meanwhile the nation is becoming increasingly less Christian, and the share of religiously unaffiliated Americans is growing. As mainline denominations that embrace gay rights continue to decline in membership, conservative Christian institutions are growing in power and financial resources. In recent years, progressive members of the United Methodist Church, including gays and lesbians, have been hopeful about greater inclusion. Six in 10 United Methodists in the United States believe homosexuality should be accepted. Some congregations have celebrated same-sex weddings and had gay, lesbian and transgender pastors, at times receiving church approval to do so even though it technically violated church policy. Punishment of those who violated the rules has been uneven, and church trials for the few who were sanctioned have been unpopular. Though membership has steadily declined in the United States over the past 25 years a trend that is true for most mainline Protestant denominations it has been growing in Africa. About 30 per cent of the churchs members are now from African nations, which typically have conservative Christian views; in many of them, homosexuality is a crime. Second only to the Southern Baptist Convention in size, the United Methodist Church in the United States has seven million adherents including high-profile figures such as Hillary Clinton and Jeff Sessions, the Republican former attorney general. Methodism has been a major force in American life since before the Revolutionary War, and eventually grew to include a significant African-American membership in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Methodism in the United States has split about a dozen times in its history, notably over slavery and race. Division over same-sex marriage and LGBT clergy has grown in the church over the past 30 years. Tuesdays vote was the latest win for the conservative wing of the denomination. In 2016, the church eliminated a statement in its Book of Resolutions that had supported Roe v. Wade, replacing it with language that called abortion violent. ST. LOUIS - The Latest on The United Methodist Churchs deliberations on LGBT inclusion (all times local): 5:30 p.m. Delegates to a crucial conference of The United Methodist Church, Americas second-largest Protestant denomination, have rejected a move to ease the faiths ban on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT clergy. Some supporters of greater LGBT inclusion were in tears, while others vented their anger after delegates, on a 449-374 vote, defeated a proposal that would have let regional and local church bodies decide for themselves on gay-friendly policies. Methodist pastor Rebecca Wilson of Detroit, who is gay, says she is devastated by the vote. ___ 11 a.m. The United Methodist Church teetered on the brink of breakup Monday after more than half the delegates at an international conference voted to maintain bans on same-sex weddings and ordination of gay clergy. Their favoured plan, if formally approved, could drive supporters of LGBT inclusion to leave Americas second-largest Protestant denomination. A final vote on rival plans for the churchs future wont come until Tuesdays closing session, and the outcome remains uncertain. But the preliminary vote Monday showed that the Traditional Plan, which calls for keeping the LGBT bans and enforcing them more strictly, had the support of 56 per cent of the more than 800 delegates attending the three-day conference in St. Louis. . MIAMI - U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a fierce critic of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, warned Tuesday that tyrants often believe theyre invulnerable his first, indirect reference to his own cryptic tweeted images over the weekend showing dictators during their brutal downfalls. Venezuela has strongly condemned thetweets from the Florida senator,and the countrys Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza displayed one of them Tuesday at a U.N. Security Council meeting in New York showing Libyas late leader Moammar Gadhafi with blood on his face, describing it as a call to murder and accusing the U.S. government of interfering in Venezuelan affairs. Can this man represent the people of the United States, the people of Florida? Does the United States share those values? Arreaza asked. Rubio had tweeted the images without words: side-by-side photos of a smiling Gadhafi in sunglasses and Gadhafi about to be killed by a mob in 2011; Romanias communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu in power, next to rifle-wielding soldiers leading him and his wife to their execution; Panamas Manuel Noriega before and after he was in custody following the 1989 U.S. invasion. On Tuesday, Rubio reacted to an opinion column defending him, by issuing a new tweet that said, History is full of examples of tyrants who believe they are invulnerable & then face sudden collapse. Rubios tweets raised eyebrows among some online activists who felt they went too far in promoting violence but have largely been cheered in South Florida where there is strong sentiment among Latin American exiles against the socialist governments of Venezuela and Cuba. Mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, defended Rubio, saying he wants to increase international pressure. He is trying to draw a parallel between these repressive, violent, dictatorial men and the regime in Venezuela, Suarez told The Associated Press. All dictators ultimately meet their end. Often times, they meet their end in a violent way. Florida is home to an estimated 190,000 Venezuelans. Many of those exiles arrived in the past decade as a result of the economic and political crisis under Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez. After decades of communism in their homeland, Cuban-Americans in Miami also feel reinvigorated seeing the effort of Venezuelans to oust the socialist leader. I thought the tweets were excellent, said Diego Suarez, a Cuban businessman who is well-known in the exile community. I think this helps open the brains of tyrants. Opposition leader Juan Guaido has won the support of more than 50 governments around the world since he declared himself the interim president in January. He argued Maduros re-election last year was illegitimate because some popular opposition candidates were barred from running. U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a Florida Democrat, said in a statement Tuesday evening that although she believes in continuing backing Guaido and support free and fair elections, the tweets were not appropriate. It is completely inappropriate for a senator to tweet those images. Thats not the way to find a peaceful resolution, she said in a statement. WASHINGTON - A federal judge in Washington has agreed to move quickly on a lawsuit filed by a former Alabama woman who joined the Islamic State and wants to return to the United States. The family of 24-year-old Hoda Muthana filed suit last week against the Trump administration after the government said she wasnt a citizen and wouldnt be allowed to enter the U.S. with her 18-month-old son. Her family sought expedited action on her suit because Muthana is now in a refugee camp in Syria. Judge Reggie Walton granted that Tuesday and scheduled a hearing for Monday. The U.S. determined Muthana wasnt a citizen because her father was a Yemeni diplomat when she was born in New Jersey. But her lawyers say he was no longer a diplomat at the time. DENVER - Cannabis advocates are watching closely as Colorado lawmakers consider limits on where e-cigarettes can be used in an effort to combat rising teen use of nicotine-containing vaping devices. A bipartisan bill getting its first hearing Wednesday would add electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices to the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, which restricts tobacco use at the workplace and in many public spaces. E-cigarettes heat a nicotine solution into a vapour thats inhaled. Medical marijuana advocates are concerned expanding the law would unintentionally impact patients who are vaping prescription cannabis for example, in apartments where potential vaping bans could be adopted. Other states, including Vermont, have slapped taxes on e-cigarettes to deter teens from vaping. U.S. health officials consider the growth in youth using e-cigarettes an epidemic, and a recent Colorado government study suggests 27 per cent of minors regularly use the devices. The Colorado bill would ban the use of electronic smoking devices in many public spaces and workplaces. It would eliminate designated hotel smoking rooms and smoking areas at retirement homes, public housing and assisted living facilities. It also would ban outdoor smoking within 25 feet (7.5 metres) of entryways, as opposed to the current 15 feet (4.5 metres). The thinking, according to bill sponsors: Making it more difficult for adults to vape will induce youth to cut their own consumption. Research suggests youth nicotine vaping can lead to lifelong tobacco use. We want to stop e-cigs and vaping as a narrative experience for teens, said Democratic Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet. They see it out there: If it happens inside the restaurant, if it happens inside the airport, the subliminal message to teens is that vaping must be safe. Youth tobacco use has risen even though federal law bans the sale of e-cigarettes and tobacco products to those under 18. U.S. health officials consider the growth in young people using e-cigarettes an epidemic, and a recent Colorado government study suggests 27 per cent of minors regularly use the devices. Some marijuana activists want cannabis exempted from the list of vaping substances that are included in any new restrictions. They argue it would discriminate against medical marijuana users who are treating chronic pain, PTSD and other conditions. The bill, as drafted, currently affects nicotine or any other substance intended for human consumption. Theyre telling cannabis patients who vape that they can pound sand, said Cindy Sovine, a lobbyist for several marijuana groups. This bill would update language that could make it tougher for medical marijuana patients to comply with the law. Public pot consumption already is banned. Sovine said she hopes the bill will be amended to exempt marijuana vaping. Michael Jenet said lawmakers are studying those concerns. They are carving out exemptions for cigar bars and casinos, among other enterprises, in the bill. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... We are not changing the law under which landlords can decide which or whether there are apartments in which they allow smoking, Michaelson Jenet said. A separate bill would free local municipalities to impose their own taxes or regulations on tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, without losing their shares of the states tobacco tax. TEHRAN, Iran - Irans president rejected the resignation of his foreign minister on Wednesday, throwing his full support behind the diplomat who negotiated the countrys nuclear deal with world powers as both men face growing pressure from hard-liners as the accord unravels under American pressure. President Hassan Rouhani earlier gave a speech praising Mohammad Javad Zarif after the foreign ministers sudden resignation shocked the Islamic Republic late on Monday night. His rejection of the resignation, reported by the state-run IRNA news agency, continued that praise. Since I consider you in the front line of resistance against broad pressures by the U.S., I consider acceptance of your resignation against the expedience of the country and I do not agree with it, Rouhani reportedly told Zarif. Zarif responded the same way he offered his shock resignation: Via Instagram. I hope that the Foreign Ministry, with co-ordination of all and supervision of the supreme leader and the president, will be able to carry out its responsibilities rigorously in the framework of constitution, law and general policies of the system, Zarif wrote in a caption overlaid on a waving Iranian flag. He later was shown on state television at an event with visiting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, signalling his return to work. It remains unclear what sparked Zarifs resignation. However, it came after Zarif was not present for a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday. Assad was warmly received by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as well as Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of an elite unit of the Revolutionary Guard. The Guards website later quoted Soleimani as offering his support to the foreign minister. Definitely, Zarif is in charge of foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and he has been always supported by top officials including the supreme leader, Soleimani reportedly said. Analysts say Rouhani faces growing political pressure from hard-liners within the government as the nuclear deal unravels. Iranian presidents typically see their popularity erode during their second four-year term, but analysts say Rouhani is particularly vulnerable because of the economic crisis assailing the rial, which has hurt ordinary Iranians and emboldened critics to openly call for his ouster. The son of a wealthy family, Zarif overcame hard-line objections and Western suspicions to strike the accord with world powers that saw Iran limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions. But the deal was later challenged by the administration of President Donald Trump, which pulled America out of the accord. In doing so, Trump also fueled Iranian suspicions about U.S. intentions dating back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Zarif had faced withering criticism at home after he shook hands with President Barack Obama. On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, long a critic of Iran, welcomed his departure. Zarif is gone, good riddance. As long as I am here Iran will not get nuclear weapons, he wrote in Hebrew on Twitter. Iran has always said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, and U.N. inspectors say it is still complying with the 2015 nuclear accord. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Rouhani cited that Israeli response in his support of Zarif. The happiness and rejoicing of the real enemies of the people such as the Zionist regime over your resignation is the best indication of success of Mohammad Javad Zarif and the biggest reason for continuation of your activity in the post of foreign minister, Rouhani said. LONDON - Unseasonably warm and dry weather have fueled fires in Britain, with blazes at Ashdown Forest made famous by the Winnie the Pooh books as well as West Yorkshires Saddleworth Moor and Arthurs Seat in Edinburgh. Crews extinguished two wildfires in East Sussexs Ashdown Forest, the inspiration for the fictional Hundred Acre Wood in the classic books by A.A. Milne. Ashdown Forest Rangers were not available for comment Wednesday to discuss the extent of the damage. Firefighters are expected to bring the moor fire and the Arthurs Seat fires under control Wednesday. Britain saw its hottest winter day on record on Tuesday when the mercury hit 21.2 Celsius (69.4 Fahrenheit) in London. Wet and windy conditions are predicted for the coming days. LONDON - The Latest on the negotiations on Brexit (all times local): 7:50 p.m. Britains Parliament has underscored Prime Minister Theresa Mays promise to give lawmakers a vote on whether to delay Brexit rather than leave the European Union at the end of March without a divorce deal. The House of Commons voted 502 to 20 on Wednesday in favour of a motion backing Mays commitment to hand lawmakers a say in the Brexit process if she cant win backing for her withdrawal deal by March 12. May said Tuesday that lawmakers would get to vote March 13 on whether to leave the EU with no deal, and to vote again the next day on whether to seek to postpone the scheduled Brexit day of March 29. Wednesdays vote in the House of Commons was a symbolic move designed to ensure the government doesnt try to wriggle out of the promise. The government did not oppose the amendment. Some pro-Brexit lawmakers, who fear a delay could be used to try to stop Brexit altogether, abstained. ___ 7:35 p.m. Britain has agreed to guarantee the rights of European Union citizens in the country, even if it leaves the bloc without a divorce deal. An agreement struck between the U.K. and the bloc says 3 million EU citizens in Britain and 1 million U.K. nationals in other EU nations can continue their lives undisturbed after Brexit. But the deal has not been approved by Britains Parliament, leaving a question mark over the citizens status just a month before the scheduled Brexit day of March 29. On Wednesday, the Conservative government agreed that Prime Minister Theresa May will seek a joint U.K.-EU commitment on citizens rights, whether or not the Brexit deal is approved. The move had gained wide support across the political spectrum, and the government agreed to support it to avoid an embarrassing defeat in Parliament. ___ 4:30 p.m. Britain has struck a deal through the World Trade Organization for a post-Brexit world, inking plans to stay part of a market for lucrative government contracts with dozens of trading partners. The accord reached Wednesday paves the way for Britain to retain its place among 47 WTO countries that are involved in the Government Procurement Agreement, including the European Unions 28 and soon to be 27 members. The arrangement ensures continuity of cross-border bidding for big-ticket government contracts, though military contracts are generally excluded. A Geneva-based trade official said the agreement was a relatively straightforward step but also important for ensuring access to a combined market valued at over $1.7 trillion. Britain still faces unresolved issues when it comes to access for its goods and services markets after its withdrawal from the EU scheduled for March 29. ___ 2 p.m. French President Emmanuel Macron says Britain needs a good reason to seek a delay of its scheduled March 29 departure from the European Union. Speaking in a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris Wednesday, Macron reiterated that the withdrawal agreement cannot be renegotiated. Any delay request would need to be justified by a clear perspective on the goal, he said. We dont need time, we need decisions. Merkel said that Germany and France agree completely that the already-negotiated withdrawal agreement stands. If Britain needs a bit more time, we will not refuse that, but we are aiming for an orderly solution an orderly withdrawal by the British from the European Union, she said. ___ 1:35 p.m. EU negotiator Michel Barnier is holding out the possibility that Britain can still exit the European Union in an orderly fashion. Barnier said in an interview on Wednesday with FranceInfo radio that I think we can save this accord but that its up to Britain to take responsibility. Barnier said: Its not correct to say that a no-deal is the most probable outcome. Its a possibility. Its not yet a probability. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... If British lawmakers agree to seek an extension of the March 29 exit date, the 27 other countries in the EU must unanimously agree. He said everyone must be sure that extending negotiations wont still lead to the impasse facing both sides today. He added that he sees no added value in Britains departure. Brexit is lose-lose. ___ 10:30 a.m. The Czech Parliament has approved a government plan to guarantee the short-term rights of British citizens in the country in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The lower house approved the plan in January, and the upper house, or the Senate, followed suit in a 72-1 vote on Wednesday. The plan means that the roughly 8,000 Britons currently living in the country would retain their rights immediately after Brexit, even if Britain crashes out of the EU in March with no deal. They would retain basically the same rights as citizens of EU countries for a transitional period until Dec. 31, 2020. The goal of the law is to prevent serious complications those Britons might face, Interior Minister Jan Hamacek told lawmakers. They would retain basically the same rights as citizens of EU countries for a transitional period until Dec. 31, 2020. ___ 9:35 a.m. A senior German official says Berlin would want to see something substantially new put on the table to justify delaying Brexit. British Prime Minister Theresa May says she will give British lawmakers a choice of approving her divorce agreement, leaving the EU March 29 without a deal or asking to delay Brexit by up to three months. A delay would require other EU members approval. Michael Roth, a German deputy foreign minister, told ZDF television Wednesday that for us as the German government, it is important that something substantially new be put on the table that justifies a delay. He added that if we can really achieve something new with a delay, and if we then reach a sensible decision, we are the last people who will stand in the way. ___ 9:25 a.m. The head of one of Britains biggest business organizations says Prime Minister Theresa Mays decision to allow lawmakers to delay the countrys exit from the European Union provides an option on sanity. May on Tuesday said Parliament will get the chance to delay Britains scheduled March 29 departure if lawmakers fail to approve the divorce agreement with the bloc. Confederation of British Industry head Carolyn Fairbairn told the BBC on Wednesday that neither business nor the government is ready to leave, and exiting without a deal would be a wrecking ball on our economy. Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay refused to take the possibility of a no-deal Brexit off the table, however, telling the BBC: It will be for Parliament to decide. COPENHAGEN - The Swedish domestic security agency says a person has been arrested on suspicion of having been recruited by Russia to carry out illegal intelligence activities against Sweden. Daniel Stenling, head of SAPOs counter espionage unit, says the person works in the Swedish high-tech industry and has information that the agency knows is of interest to foreign intelligence services. Stenling said in a statement Wednesday that SAPO has worked on the matter for a long time and that the present crime has been going on at least since 2017. The person was recruited by a Russian intelligence officer who works at Russias Embassy in Stockholm under a diplomatic cover, he said. The suspect was arrested Tuesday evening during a meeting in central Stockholm. No other details were available. The SVR, Russias foreign intelligence service, would not comment. BERLIN - Prosecutors are asking a court in Germany to sentence a 57-year-old man to life in prison for allegedly poisoning co-workers sandwiches over several years. German news agency dpa reported Wednesday that prosecutors are seeking the long sentence for attempted murder because the alleged victims nearly died. Two have serious kidney damage and a third is in a coma with irreparable brain damage. The defendant, whose name hasnt been released, is accused of lacing colleagues lunches with substances including lead acetate and mercury between 2015 and 2018. He was arrested in May after surveillance video showed him putting a suspicious powder on a colleagues sandwich. Prosecutors believe he was motivated by wanting to watch their physical deterioration. The Bielefeld regional court is expected to deliver its verdict on March 7. PARIS - German Chancellor Angela Merkel is heading to Paris to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss Brexit, relations with the United States and other European issues. Wednesdays meeting comes one day after British Prime Minister Theresa May said Parliament would get the chance to vote to delay Britains scheduled March 29 departure from the European Union. Such a delay would require other EU members approval. Merkel and Macron will also evoke the French-German defence partnership, according to the French presidents office. The leaders in January signed a pact renewing their countries decades-long friendship. They pledged to increase co-operation in the areas of foreign and defence policy, fighting crime and terrorism, international development and research. PRAGUE, Czech Republic - Czech parliaments upper house rejected a proposal drafted by Communist lawmakers to tax the compensation that the countrys churches receive for property seized by the former Communist regime. The opposition-controlled Senate on Wednesday vetoed a previous approval by the lower house, which still can override the veto. The nations churches have had some property held by the state returned, and they are also to receive around $3 billion over 30 years. The Communists have been vocal opponents of the payment. The lower house vote in January showed their rising influence. The party is not part of the centre-left ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Andrej Babis, but helped the minority Cabinet survive a confidence vote. The churches strictly oppose the taxation and plan to sue. GENEVA - Britain struck a trade deal Wednesday for a post-Brexit world, obtaining approval from other World Trade Organization members to stay part of a competitive market for lucrative government contracts after the country leaves the European Union. The agreement allows Britain to retain its place among the 47 WTO countries that are involved in the Government Procurement Agreement. The EUs 28 member nations belong as a single entity, so the bidding agreements participating countries signed off on allowing Britain to join as an independent party to the pact. The arrangement ensures continuity of cross-border bidding for big-ticket government contracts, though military contracts are generally excluded. A Geneva-based trade official said on condition of anonymity because hes not authorized to be named publicly said that the agreement was a relatively straightforward step but an important one in ensuring access to a combined market valued at over $1.7 trillion. Britain still faces unresolved issues when it comes to access for its goods and services markets after its planned exit from the European Union on March 29. The deal comes a day after some countries, led by New Zealand, aired complaints about how tariff-rate quotas will be set by Britain and the European Union if they dont reach a Brexit deal by the planned departure date. Under the WTOs tariff-rate quota system, agricultural products that are imported under a set quota receive lower duty rates. Some trading want the European Union to maintain its current quotas, and hope Britain will establish its own quotas in essence expanding the total market. The EU and Britain plan to split those quotas up based on Britains past share of overall EU imports, the official said. HANOI, VIETNAMPresident Donald Trump offered a public embrace of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday as they opened a two-day nuclear summit here, referring to the brutal authoritarian ruler as my friend and stating that he is satisfied with the progress of their negotiations. Some people would like to see it be quicker. Im satisfied; youre satisfied, Trump told Kim before a private, one-on-one meeting, followed by a social dinner with a small group of aides at the luxurious, five-star Metropole hotel. We want to be happy with what were doing. Trump said he believed their first summit in Singapore was a success and added that their meetings in Hanoi will be equal to or greater than the first. He held up Vietnam as a model for economic growth for North Korea, which he said has unlimited potential. I look forward to watching it happen, and we will help it happen, Trump said, sitting next to Kim in front of a row of American and North Korean flags. The president wore a dark suit and striped tie, while Kim wore his traditional Mao-style suit. The North Korean leader smiled as Trump spoke. Trumps warm greeting of Kim suggested that the president was hopeful that their personal rapport can help bridge gaps in the negotiations among lower-level aides ahead of the summit. Trump said the biggest area of progress since Singapore was their relationship, and in a tweet after the dinner he said the two had very good dialogue. The dinner of grilled sirloin and chocolate lava cake was an attempt to continue to foster trust ahead of a series of meetings Thursday during which the two sides will attempt to lock down the terms of an agreement. U.S. negotiators are seeking detailed commitments from Pyongyang to dismantle at least some of its nuclear weapons facilities, while Kims regime wants relief from punishing economic sanctions and a declaration to formally end the Korean War. Read more: Analysis | Donald Trump approaches Hanoi summit with modest goals Trump, Kim facing big issues after big welcome in Hanoi Opinion | Thomas Walkom: Trump eyes Nobel Peace Prize with North Korea policy At the dinner, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney joined Trump and Kim, along with two senior North Korean aides, Kim Yong Chol and Ri Yong Ho, and two interpreters. Disbelief and misunderstandings were everywhere, and old hostile habits were getting in our way, but weve overcome it well, come face to face and walked all the way to Hanoi in 260 days, Kim Jong Un said in the photo op with Trump. I think its been a time period that took me more agony, effort and patience than ever. I am confident a great result will be produced this time to be welcomed by everyone, and I will do my best toward that goal. White House aides have said the president is determined to sell Kim on a vision of modernization and present him with a choice between continued global isolation or burgeoning economic growth if he gives up the Norths nuclear weapons program. Ahead of meetings with Vietnamese officials earlier Wednesday, Trump praised Vietnam on Twitter as thriving like few places on earth and said North Korea has a chance to do the same very quickly. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un, Trump wrote. We will know fairly soon Very Interesting! In brief remarks with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong, Trump said he marvelled at the construction projects his motorcade passed during his drive into Hanoi from the airport late Tuesday. Vietnam is thriving, said Trump, who signed a bilateral trade deal with Hanoi to purchase U.S.-made plane engines and other equipment. Referring to Kim Jong Un, Trump added: We both felt very good about having this very important summit in Vietnam because you really are an example of what can happen with good thinking. Yet Trump at times appeared distracted. Retiring to his hotel for several hours of downtime before his dinner with Kim, Trump unleashed a Twitter broadside on Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., mocking him as he has before over questionable statements that Blumenthal has made about his military service. I have now spent more time in Vietnam than Da Nang Dick Blumenthal, the third rate Senate from Connecticut (how is Connecticut doing?), Trump wrote. His war stories of his heroism in Vietnam were a total fraud he was never even there. We talked about it today with Vietnamese leaders! Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... A readout from White House press secretary Sarah Sanders of Trumps meetings with the Vietnamese made no mention of them discussing Blumenthal. And Trumps former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, told Congress on Wednesday that Trump claimed to have a bone spur that won him a deferment from military service draft during the Vietnam War but that Trump provided no evidence of having had a medical problem and privately told him he never had surgery. Trump used another tweet Wednesday afternoon to charge that Cohen is lying. Trump made his economic pitch to Kim during their first summit in Singapore last summer, showing him a four-minute video produced by the White House that interspersed images with war and destruction with gleaming hyper-modern cityscapes. Kim, in his mid-30s, has said in public addresses that he is focused on improving the North Korean economy, which has suffered under decades of international economic sanctions for the countrys nuclear and ballistic missile programs and the regimes corrupt governance. Analysts have said Trumps strategy is risky, given that U.S. intelligence officials have said Kim is unlikely to surrender an arsenal that is thought to include an estimated 65 nuclear warheads. Although Trump has pointed to a moratorium on testing that has been in place since November 2017, U.S. intelligence has discovered evidence that the North has sought to conceal its weapons programs despite publicly engaging with the United States and South Korea in denuclearization talks. In another tweet Wednesday afternoon, Trump appeared to take aim at critics who have warned that he could wind up giving unwise concessions to Kim by easing economic sanctions too quickly. All false reporting (guessing) on my intentions with respect to North Korea, the president wrote. Kim Jong Un and I will try very hard to work something out on Denuclearization & then making North Korea an Economic Powerhouse. I believe that China, Russia, Japan & South Korea will be very helpful! Trump administration officials, led by the State Department, have worked over the past two weeks to try to nail down specific commitments from Pyongyang to advance the process, but progress has been slow, according to U.S. and South Korean officials familiar with the talks. The United States is said to be seeking a detailed timeline and verification process for Pyongyang to close its primary nuclear processing facility at Yongbyon but North Korean negotiators have resisted agreeing to specifics. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., in a statement called last years Trump-Kim summit a complete disaster and discounted the Norths testing moratorium as a meaningful step forward. North Korea has a long history of pretending to comply in order to get what it wants giving just enough to get something important in return, but never actually walking back its nuclear program, he said. Murphy also criticized Trump for lavishing syrupy praise on Kim, whose regime, like those of his father and grandfather, has imposed brutal rule, with more than 100,000 citizens held in hard-labour camps. In 2017, Trump had denounced North Korea as a hell no person deserves, but he has touted a personal rapport with Kim since their first summit. The Democrats should stop talking about what I should do with North Korea and ask themselves instead why they didnt do it during eight years of the Obama Administration? Trump wrote in another tweet Wednesday morning. For his part, Kim visited the embassy of Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea in Hanoi on Tuesday and later that day met with his advisers at their hotel. The state news agency published a photograph of Kim sitting at a hotel room table with four senior aides. Kim was smoking and had a clipboard on the table in front of him, while the two men and two women were shown listening intently and taking notes. Experts said the report on the meeting was significant in that it implicitly acknowledged this to be a normal negotiating process and showed Kim invested in making the summit a success. Trump said he would hold a news conference, presumably without Kim, after the summit Thursday afternoon; he is scheduled to depart Hanoi for Washington on Air Force One after that. Kim is scheduled to remain in Hanoi until Saturday and spend the extra time touring some development projects. We have a very busy day tomorrow, Trump said. A lot of things are going to be solved, I hope. Read more about: HANOI, VIETNAMPresident Donald Trump met with Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, over dinner Wednesday, opening the second historic summit between the two to discuss steps North Korea should take to dismantle its nuclear weapons program and measures to establish a permanent peace on the divided Korean Peninsula. I think your country has tremendous economic potential, Trump told Kim after the two shook hands against a backdrop of North Korean and American flags and in front of a roomful of reporters in Hanoi. I think you will have a tremendous future with your country a great leader. And I look forward to watching it happen and helping it to happen. Kim did not address the reporters, although he and Trump whispered to each other when they first met. Wearing a black, Asian-style suit, he sat and smiled as Trump spoke to him. At dinner, he praised Trump for a courageous decision to start a dialogue. The two leaders met at the Metropole hotel in downtown Hanoi, the capital of a country that is undergoing rapid economic growth decades after a Communist army defeated the U.S. military and their South Vietnamese allies in a costly civil war. U.S. officials hope firsthand evidence of that economic transformation will help persuade Kim to end his nuclear program and establish robust trade ties with the United States, South Korea and other nations. Back in Washington, Trump was the subject of a searing day of testimony by Michael Cohen, his former lawyer and fixer, who called the U.S. president a racist, a con man and a cheat before the House Oversight Committee. Cohen described Trump as an accidental leader who cared little for the American people, saying he had campaigned for president simply as an infomercial to promote the Trump brand, with no expectations of winning. Read More: Trump tamps down expectations as he heads to Kim summit Kim Jong Un looking to 'achieve results' in second summit with Trump Trump wants to grant Kim Jong Uns wishes, says South Korea president But in Hanoi, the meeting with Kim took centre stage. Trumps motorcade pulled up to the Metropole after dark. The hotel, one block east of Hoan Kiem Lake, has suites named after prominent past guests Charlie Chaplin, Graham Greene and Somerset Maugham. But it is safe to say that few dinners there have featured as unlikely a pairing as the one Wednesday night. U.S. negotiators, including Stephen E. Biegun, the State Departments special representative for North Korea, arrived in Hanoi several days before Trump to meet with North Korean counterparts and lay the groundwork for Thursdays talks. The United States hopes to get Kim to agree to meaningful steps toward denuclearization, in contrast to the results of the meeting between the two leaders last June in Singapore. At the end of that meeting, officials issued a vague communique that said the countries would work together on four points: improving relations, establishing a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, affirming that Pyongyang would work toward complete denuclearization of the peninsula, and the mutual return of remains from soldiers killed in the Korean War. Trump then said on Twitter that there was no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea. But by this year, senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and John Bolton, the national security adviser, were asserting the opposite that the threat remained and that the North had done little to dismantle its nuclear program, despite Pompeos attempts at diplomacy. Pompeo attended the Wednesday dinner with Trump. Trumps success or failure in moving toward denuclearizing North Korea what the meetings are supposed to be all about may hinge on one measure: the fate of a remote nuclear site surrounded by high walls and barbed wire, under watch by U.S. intelligence since the early 1980s. The site, called Yongbyon, is the centrepiece of North Korean nuclear-fuel making. If Trump can get the production of nuclear fuel stopped at Yongbyon, he will have at least frozen the program, though at a moment when the North has 30 to 60 nuclear weapons. Halting production would mean dismantling the old reactor, neutralizing a new one, and taking apart a uranium enrichment facility. (U.S. intelligence officials say they believe there is at least one other such facility apart from Yongbyon.) Trump has been told that if he can get the facilities destroyed, he will have made progress no other president ever has. If he cannot, the North Koreans will just keep producing fuel, and maybe new bombs, while the talks drag on. And of course, Trump needs to get Kim to agree to readmit international inspectors, who were thrown out years ago. It would be their job to document which facilities were being taken apart, and to track the stockpiles of uranium and plutonium. Thats what denuclearization would look like, but this will be a very hard job, Joseph Y. Yun, a former North Korea envoy for the State Department, said here in Hanoi. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... For their part, the North Koreans want concessions from the United States that could jump-start their economy, like sanctions relief. Jean H. Lee, a Korea expert at the Wilson Center, a Washington-based research organization, said of Kim that he does want a changed relationship with the United States, and to improve his countrys shattered economy. But we need to remember that he sacrificed his peoples well-being, making decisions that deprived them of food, clean water, electricity, heat and medicine, in order to build nuclear weapons, Lee added. He wont be willing to give his weapons up readily, and may be prepared to sacrifice his people again if things dont go his way. Kim also wants an end-of-war declaration, which would be short of a peace treaty, to replace the armistice reached in 1953 that halted the Korean War. Trump reportedly agreed to just that when the men met in Singapore, but he pulled back after his advisers said it would be bad negotiating strategy to give the North a formal end to hostilities in return for precious little. One likely outcome of the summit meetings is that Trump and Kim will agree that South Korea can step up its direct economic interchanges with the North, even if United Nations sanctions on the country remain. In the morning, Trump went to Hanois presidential palace to meet with President Nguyen Phu Trong of Vietnam, who is also the countrys Communist Party chief. We both felt very good about having this summit in Vietnam because you really are an example of what can happen with good thinking, Trump said at a conference table with senior officials from both governments before the meeting began. Trump and Trong walked into a ballroom later and performed a signing ceremony for commercial business deals, including the sale of 100 Boeing 737 Max jets to VietJet Air, a private Vietnamese airline, for nearly $13 billion (U.S.) at list prices, and 10 Boeing 787 Dreamliners to Bamboo Airways, another private airline in Vietnam, for $3 billion. Afterward, Trump met with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam. As Trump strode along a red carpet at the government office, about 100 schoolchildren in white uniforms lined the path and waved the bright-red socialist flag of Vietnam and the American flag. With the two Vietnamese leaders, Trump also discussed what the White House called a free and open Indo-Pacific with shared principles of respect for sovereignty, peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, and freedom of navigation and overflight. That was a reference to Chinese military expansionism in the South China Sea and in other disputed or international waters. The Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, has been in Vietnam this week and told Russian state-run news media that the U.S. is even asking our advice on matters to do with the summit meeting. In a speech in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday, Lavrov said that while he hoped for progress in bilateral talks between the United States and North Korea, our goal is much broader, in the context of long-term stabilization, to develop a mechanism of peace and security in Northeast Asia. Read more about: ISLAMABAD - The Latest on escalating India-Pakistan tensions (all times local): 1:30 a.m. Pakistans ambassador to the United States says that the lack of U.S. condemnation for an Indian airstrike inside his country is seen by his government as having increased tensions between the two neighbours. Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan told reporters in Washington Wednesday that the U.S. response to the airstrike was construed and understood as an endorsement of the Indian position, and that is what emboldened them even more. Khan also repeated Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khans assertions that Pakistan has made a sincere offer to investigate the deadly Feb. 14 suicide bombing on the Indian side of Kashmir that prompted Indias airstrike Tuesday in Pakistan. He said Pakistan wants dialogue with India and not war, but noted that the prime minister has authorized Pakistans armed forces of Pakistan to respond decisively and comprehensively to any aggression. ___ 11:55 p.m. Pakistans military says it shot down two Indian warplanes in the disputed region of Kashmir and captured a pilot, answering an airstrike a day earlier by Indian aircraft inside Pakistan and raising tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals to a level unseen in the last two decades. The downing of the Indian aircraft came on a chaotic day that also saw mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier dividing the two sectors of Kashmir kill six civilians and wound several others. ___ 8:15 p.m. The European Union is urging India and Pakistan to exercise utmost restraint as tensions mount between the two nuclear powers around the disputed region of Kashmir. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini warned Wednesday that this has the potential to lead to serious and dangerous consequences for the two countries and the wider region. In a statement, the EUs top diplomat called on both countries to now exercise utmost restraint and avoid any further escalation of the situation. Mogherini urged them to resume diplomatic contacts and take urgent measures, without elaborating. She said the EU will remain in contact with both countries and closely monitor developments. ___ 7 p.m. India says it expects an immediate and safe return of its air force pilot that Pakistan claims to have in its custody. Indias External Affairs Ministry in a statement says Pakistan would be well advised to ensure that no harm comes to Indian defence personnel in its custody. India said Wednesday that one of its air force Mig-21 fighter aircraft has been lost in an engagement with Pakistani aircraft in the Indian portion of Kashmir and that its pilot was missing. Pakistan earlier said it shot down two Indian planes and captured two pilots. The ministry said it summoned the acting High Commissioner of Pakistan and lodged a strong protest at the violation of the Indian air space by Pakistan Air Force and targeting of Indian military posts. ___ 6:45 p.m. Pakistans military now says that only one Indian pilot not two is in custody but still says they shot down two planes. Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor tweeted that only one pilot is in Pakistans custody. The tweet included a picture of a mustachioed man identified as the Indian pilot sipping tea. An army official who could not be identified under briefing rules said the confusion came from soldiers on the ground. While two planes were shot down, he said one pilot landed inside Pakistani controlled Kashmir and the other on the Indian side of the disputed border. Despite Geneva Convention rules prohibiting the public display of prisoners , the military circulated a video of the Indian pilot, who was recorded saying he was being well treated and praising the Pakistan military. ___ 5:35 p.m. Germany is calling for dialogue between India and Pakistan, to prevent a further escalation of the situation between the two nuclear-armed states. A spokeswoman for Germanys foreign ministry said on Wednesday that Berlin is watching developments in South Asia with great concern. Maria Adebahr told reporters that both sides have a responsibility to prevent an escalation. She added that Germany is also calling on Pakistan specifically to act against extremist groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammad, which claimed responsibility for a bomb attack in Kashmir that killed more than 40 Indian troops earlier this month. ___ 4:40 p.m. Turkey has expressed concerns over increasing tensions between Pakistan and India and called on both to exercise common sense and restraint. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters Wednesday that the two countries should avoid any steps that would further escalate the tensions. Cavusoglu says it is important that the dispute over Kashmir be resolved, adding that Turkey is ready to contribute to a solution. The minister says the Kashmir problem is a conflict whose solution has been frozen for years but which constantly leads to tensions between the two countries. Cavusoglu says that he has discussed the issue in a telephone conversation with his Pakistani counterpart. ___ 3:55 p.m. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has extended an offer to Indian Prime Minister Nerendra Modi for talks to de-escalate rising tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Khan says that war benefits neither nation and that he hopes better sense can prevail. In a televised address to the nation, Khan says Pakistan is ready to co-operate and added: Lets sit together to talk to find a solution. Khan again promised to co-operate with India to find the perpetrators behind a February suicide attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed more than 40 Indian troops. The Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad group claimed responsibility; the suicide bomber was from Indian-ruled Kashmir. India has long accused Pakistan of harbouring anti-Indian militants, a claim Pakistan denies. ___ 3:30 p.m. Indian police say officials have recovered four bodies from the wreckage of an Indian Air Force chopper that crashed in Indian-controlled sector of Kashmir. Senior police officer Munir Ahmed Khan said the chopper crashed close to an airport on Wednesday in Budgam area, in the outskirts of the regions main city of Srinagar. The Srinagar airport, which has been shut along with two other airports for civilian flights in the region, is also an air force station. Police said they were still going through the wreckage and did not immediately identify the victims. Local residents earlier said they saw three bodies at the site. Eyewitnesses said soldiers fired warning shots in air to keep residents away from the crash site. Meanwhile, as the tensions and confrontation escalated between India and Pakistan, authorities asked workers to paint rooftops of hospitals and clinics in red and white with medical emblem of cross in Srinagar city. ___ 3:20 p.m. India says one of its air force Mig-21 fighter aircraft has been lost in an engagement with intruding Pakistani aircraft in the Indian portion of Kashmir and that its pilot is missing. Pakistan earlier on Wednesday said it shot down two Indian planes and captured two pilots. Indias External Affairs Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar says that one Pakistan air force aircraft also was shot down and Indias ground forces saw it falling from the sky on the Pakistan side on Wednesday. Kumars statement came hours after Pakistan claimed that its air force shot down two Indian warplanes after they crossed the boundary between the two nuclear-armed rivals in the disputed territory of Kashmir and captured two Indian pilots, one of whom was injured. Kumar said India was still ascertaining whether its pilot was in Pakistans custody. ___ 2:40 p.m. China is renewing calls for Pakistan and India to take steps to avoid a further deterioration of ties following the latest flare-up over Kashmir. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters at a daily briefing on Wednesday that both Pakistan and India are important countries in the subcontinent of South Asia. He added that China hopes they will keep in mind the regional peace and stability, exercise restraint, take effective measures to strengthen dialogue, and maintain two sides fundamental interests and the regional peace and stability. Lu also said: We hope they will avoid deterioration of the situation. China is longstanding close ally and arms supplier to Pakistan, but has also sought better ties with its southern neighbour and Asian rival India. ___ 2:10 p.m. Indias former ambassador to the United States says that a new red line with Pakistan has been drawn. The remarks came hours after Pakistan said its air force shot down two Indian warplanes after they crossed the boundary in the disputed region of Kashmir and captured two Indian pilots. Retired diplomat Lalit Mansingh said on Wednesday that Indias policy of strategic restraint is no longer. Mansingh says a new doctrine was established by Indias pre-dawn airstrikes on Tuesday in Pakistani territory that Indian officials said targeted terrorist infrastructure. The strikes were the deepest inside Pakistani territory since the neighbouring countries last went to war over Kashmir in 1971. Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi said afterward that the attacks paid homage to Indias brave hearts an apparent reference to 40 Indian soldiers killed in a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in India-controlled Kashmir. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... ___ 1:45 p.m. Pakistans Civil Aviation Authority says it has shut its airspace to all commercial flights as tensions with neighbouring India escalate further over the disputed region of Kashmir. The agency says in a statement that the airspace was closed on Wednesday, without elaborating or indicating when flights might resume. This came shortly after Pakistan said its air force shot down two Indian warplanes after they crossed the boundary between the two nuclear-armed rivals in the disputed territory of Kashmir, and captured two Indian pilots. The latest wave of tensions erupted after a pre-dawn strike by Indian aircraft Tuesday on Pakistani territory. ___ 1:10 p.m. Pakistans military says it has two Indian pilots now in custody, captured after the Pakistani air force shot down their aircraft on its side of the disputed region of Kashmir. The militarys spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, says one of the pilots is injured and is being treated in a military hospital. He did not elaborate on the pilots injuries. Ghafoor says the other pilot is in custody. The military says the Indian Air Force plane was downed on the Pakistani side of the Line of Control in Kashmir a boundary separating the disputed Himalayan region between the nuclear armed neighbours. Ghafoor says the Indian pilots are being treated well. He made no mention of whether they would be returned to India. Tensions remain high on the Asian Subcontinent where tens of thousands of Indian and Pakistani soldiers face off along the Kashmir boundary. ___ 12:30 a.m. Indian news reports say that airports in the Indian portion of Kashmir have been closed for civilian traffic shortly after an Indian air force jet crashed in the area. The Press Trust of India news agency says these airports are located at Srinagar, Jammu and Leh. Indian authorities declined to comment. Pakistan said its air force shot down two Indian warplanes after they crossed the boundary between the two nuclear-armed rivals in the disputed territory of Kashmir, and that one Indian pilot was captured on Wednesday. New Delhi has not commented on Pakistans claim. The closure of airports in Indian-controlled Kashmir came amid escalation of tensions between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan following a pre-dawn airstrike by India on Tuesday that New Delhi said targeted a terrorist training camp in northwest Pakistan. Pakistan says Indian warplanes dropped bombs near the town of Balakot but that there were no casualties. ___ 12:10 p.m. Pakistans foreign ministry says the countrys Air Force is carrying out airstrikes from within Pakistani airspace across the disputed Kashmir boundary but that this was not in retaliation to continued Indian belligerence. The ministry said the strikes on Wednesday are aimed at avoiding human loss and collateral damage. The statement came shortly after the Pakistani military shot down two Indian airplanes after they crossed the Kashmir border and captured one of the pilots. It says the Pakistanis have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm. That is why we undertook the action with clear warning and in broad daylight. Meanwhile, civil administrator Baseer Khan confirmed that the airport in Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir, was closed and said it was a temporary and precautionary measure. ___ 11:35 a.m. Pakistans army spokesman says the countrys air force shot down two Indian warplanes after they crossed the boundary between the two nuclear-armed rivals in the disputed territory of Kashmir, and that one Indian pilot was captured. Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor says Pakistani troops on ground captured the Indian pilot. He says one of the planes crashed in Pakistans part of Kashmir and the other went down in Indian-controlled Kashmir. He says that one Indian pilot was arrested by troops on ground while two are in the areaon Wednesday. Indian air force spokesman Anupam Banerjee in New Delhi said he has no information on Pakistans statement. Earlier, senior Indian police officer Munir Ahmed Khan said an Indian Air Force plane crashed in Indian-controlled sector of Kashmir. It wasnt immediately known if there were casualties. Another police officer, S.P. Pani, said firefighters were at the site in Budgam area where the warplane crashed. Eyewitnesses said soldiers fired in air to keep residents away from the crash site. ___ 10:40 a.m. India says it does not wish to see a further escalation of the situation with Pakistan and will continue to act with responsibility and restraint. This shortly after Pakistani police said mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier in the Himalayan region of Kashmir killed six civilians on Wednesday. Indias External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj says the limited objective of Tuesdays pre-emptive strike inside Pakistan was to act decisively against the terrorist Jaish-e-Mohammad group to prevent another attack in India. Swaraj spoke at the 16th Meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, India and China in Wuzhen, China. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a convoy of Indias paramilitary forces in the Indian portion of Kashmir on Feb. 14 that killed 40 troops. Pakistan said there were no casualties in Indias airstrike near the town of Balakot on Tuesday. ___ 9:55 a.m. Pakistani police say mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier in the Himalayan region of Kashmir struck homes, killing six civilians and wounding several others amid increasing tensions between the two South Asian nuclear rivals. Local police official Mohammad Altaf says six people, including children, were killed Wednesday in Kotli village in Pakistans part of Kashmir, which is split between Pakistan and India and claimed by both in its entirety. Pakistani and Indian troops deployed in Kashmir often trade fire. The latest civilian casualties came a day after tensions escalated sharply following a pre-dawn airstrike by India that New Delhi said targeted a terrorist training camp in northwest Pakistan. Pakistan says Indian warplanes dropped bombs near the town of Balakot but there were no casualties. COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - A magistrate on Wednesday acquitted an Indian man who was detained for five months over an alleged plot to kill Sri Lankas president after police cleared the man of wrongdoing. Police investigators informed the Colombo Magistrate court Wednesday that there was no evidence to justify charges against Mersalin Thomas. Acting Magistrate Jayantha Dias Nanayakkara ordered Thomass release over the alleged plot, but remanded him for violating Sri Lankas immigration law for overstaying without a valid visa. Thomas was arrested in September 2018 at the house of Namal Kumara, a police informant and self-described Sri Lankan anti-corruption activist. Kumara told authorities about the alleged plot to kill Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena. It was not clear what Thomas was doing in Sri Lanka at the time his arrest. Kumara also revealed that he had a taped conversation with Nalaka de Silva, head of the terrorism investigation department, describing a plan for a hired killer to assassinate Sirisena. Silva was also arrested and has been detained. Kumara did not make any comments on Wednesday and it was not possible to reach him for a comment. The alleged plot threatened to damage relations between Sri Lanka and neighbouring India, after an Indian newspaper reported that Sirisena had accused Indias intelligence services of involvement. Thomas professed his innocence from the start. Sirisena later denied the newspapers account. The alleged plot also led to a political upheaval in Sri Lanka, with Sirisena firing the countrys prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the entire cabinet in October. He alleged that a Cabinet minister was also involved in the plot and blamed Wickremesinghes government of moving slowly to investigate the alleged plot. Sirisena appointed former strongman president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is considered pro-China, as new prime minister. Thereafter, Sirisena dissolved parliament and called for fresh elections. After a Supreme Court ruling and because of a lack of majority in parliament for Rajapaksa, Sirisena had to re-appoint Wickremesinghe as prime minister in December. When the new cabinet was appointed, Sirisena retained the ministry in charge of police under him. Police are still conducting investigations on the alleged plot, but so far no one has been arrested. ISLAMABAD - Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan face their worst tension in years over the disputed region of Kashmir, with Islamabad saying they shot down two Indian warplanes Wednesday and captured a pilot. Pakistan, which previously said it captured two pilots, immediately shut down its civilian airspace in response. But how did the relations between these two Asian nations become so bad and whats at stake in this rapidly worsening conflict that both sides say they want to de-escalate? ___ WHAT STARTED THIS LATEST TENSION? On Feb. 14, a suicide car bomber attacked a paramilitary convoy on the Indian-controlled side of Kashmir in the Himalayas, killing more than 40 troops. The militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed, which is based in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack. The suicide bomber was from Indian Kashmir. New Delhi long has accused Pakistan of cultivating such groups, something denied by Islamabad. India launched an airstrike on Pakistani territory early Tuesday that New Delhi called a pre-emptive strike against militant camps in Pakistan. India said its bombs killed a very large number of militants, while Pakistan said there were no casualties in an airstrike it described as being carried out in haste. ___ WHY IS THIS TENSION SO DANGEROUS? Both India and Pakistan are believed to possess more than 100 nuclear warheads each and have conducted atomic weapon tests. Both countries have test-fired nuclear-capable missiles. Pakistan also has refused to renounce a first-strike option with its atomic bombs should it feel outgunned in a conventional war. It takes less than four minutes for a missile fired from Pakistan to reach India. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists warns that computer models have predicted that the physical impacts of a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan, or even a single strike on a large city, would be devastating . and would reverberate throughout the world. ___ HOW DID THE DISPUTE OVER KASHMIR BEGIN? When Britain granted independence to the region in 1947, it divided the Indian subcontinent into a predominantly Hindu India and mostly Muslim Pakistan. Some areas could decide their own fate. In Kashmir, the only Muslim majority area ruled by a Hindu monarch, its ruler decided against giving the population a choice. That started the first India-Pakistan war in 1947. The conflict ended in 1949 when a United Nations resolution established the Line of Control dividing Kashmir between the two nations and calling for a direct vote on which country should control it. That vote has never been held. Indian and Pakistan fought a second war over Kashmir in 1965. ___ WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE? India and Pakistan fought a third war in 1971 over what was East Pakistan, which later became an independent Bangladesh. In 1999 and 2000, after Pakistans military sent a ground force into Indian-controlled Kashmir at Kargil, the two countries faced off and a worried world urged both to pull back from the brink of war, fearing it could escalate into a nuclear conflict. Even in times of relative peace the two nations readily engage in brinkmanship and aggressive rhetoric. ___ HOW DO THE MILITARIES OF INDIA AND PAKISTAN COMPARE? India, home to 1.3 billion people, has a conventional army of about 1.4 million soldiers. Pakistan, with a population of over 200 million people, has about 650,000 troops. Both countries have spent billions developing conventional arms. Last year, Pakistan spent about $11 billion or about 3.6 per cent of its gross domestic product on defence. India meanwhile allocated about $58 billion, or 2.1 per cent of its GDP on defence, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Indias ballooning military spending has propelled it to the worlds fifth-biggest defence spender, surpassing the United Kingdom, according to the IISS. ___ HOW IS PAKISTAN REACTING? Pakistan, which has a history of military coups and strong-arm rule from those tied to its intelligence services, has largely reacted to this conflict through its civilian government. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi took the lead to condemn the airstrike Tuesday, painting India as an aggressor who would suffer repercussions, without elaborating. Qureshi also accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of playing with regional stability to get votes in upcoming national elections. Prime Minister Imran Khan has called for a joint meeting of Pakistans upper and lower houses of parliament. Public criticism of India has been loud across Pakistani media, with sporadic protests against New Delhi breaking out across the country. ___ HOW IS INDIA REACTING? Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Indian government officials called the airstrike Tuesday a counterterrorism operation based on credible intelligence that another attack against India was imminent. The tensions could be a boon for Modi, whose Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party aims to maintain power in elections due by May. The airstrike appears to have temporarily insulated the Modi government from criticism about it failing to create as many jobs as pledged in the 2014 elections. Opposition party leaders have responded with support for Indias air force. Meanwhile, Modi earned points with the powerful Hindu nationalist social group, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or RSS. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said Tuesday: Truth and non-violence are fine, but the world understands the language of power. ___ Associated Press writer Emily Schmall in New Delhi contributed to this report. SEOUL, SOUTH KOREAKim Jong Un, the mysterious and mercurial leader of North Korea, has no intention of relinquishing his nuclear arsenal, a potent tool that gives him leverage abroad and authority at home, the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to defect in years said in an interview. The diplomat, Thae Yong Ho, held embassy posts in Denmark, Sweden and Britain, before a daring escape to South Korea in 2016 with his wife and two sons. Today, he is a target for assassination and kidnapping and lives under the protection of the South Korean government. He moves around Seoul, the South Korean capital, in dark sunglasses with a hat pulled down over his forehead. Once a member of the Norths elite political establishment, Thae was educated about the West through movies like The Sound of Music and books about bourgeois excess. As a diplomat, he became disenchanted with Kim and sought freedom and opportunity for his children a sentiment, he said, that is increasingly common among the countrys elite. Jane Perlez, The New York Times bureau chief in Beijing, sat down with Thae before this weeks summit with Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, at which the leaders are expected to discuss nuclear disarmament. Thae, who has written a book and testified before the U.S. Congress, spoke in fluent English. This interview has been edited and condensed. Q: How would you describe Kim? Is he wily? Impetuous? A spoiled brat? A: I think, if we describe him rightly, he is intelligent and bright, but a merciless guy. (His grandfather) Kim Il Sung and (father) Kim Jong Il purged a lot of people, but they never killed family members. Kim Jong Un killed his uncle and half brother. This kind of thing is really unprecedented in the Kim family. Q: Why was Kim so threatened by his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, a senior official who oversaw the National Defense Commission? A: Kim Jong Un felt very afraid of his uncle and felt threatened by even the existence of his uncle. All of a sudden, the whole department under Jang Song Thaek were arrested and the main bosses of that department were shot immediately. All the families of the hundreds of members of his department were expelled from Pyongyang to the countryside. All these things took place in a very short span of time within one week. Q: Is Kim serious about dismantling his nuclear weapons, or is he meeting with Trump out of vanity or to preserve his family dynasty? A: He is just doing this for the preservation of his family. The main goal of Kim Jong Uns meeting with Trump is first to buy time, and second, get sanctions relief. Finally, he wants the status that comes with being a nuclear power. Q: Who is most threatened by North Koreas nuclear weapons? A: Kim Jong Un wants his dictatorship and dynasty to go on. If you want to control North Korean society, you have to make South Korea afraid of North Korea. The existence of South Korea is itself a direct threat to the North Korean system. He wants to make sure South Korea stays in South Korean territory, and does not extend it. That is his first goal. Kim Jong Un wants to keep his military in balance with South Korea. But he knows the North Korean military cannot afford modern tanks and guns. He knows this balance is changing unfavorably for North Korea. Nuclear weapons are the only way to keep the balance with South Korea. Q: So, the weapons are not only important in military terms but as a political tool for keeping the society together? A: Thats right. He needs an instrument to unite North Korea around him. North Koreas economy is a failure. North Korean welfare is a failure. The North Korean people do not now believe in North Koreans system and ideology. So he needs nuclear weapons to justify all of North Koreas current problems. For instance, North Korean newspapers are educating the people that North Korea is poor. Why? Because North Korea spends so much money on nuclear development, and because of that nuclear development, North Korean became one of the superpowers of the world. So this is a really clear justification of economic failure. Q: Pakistan and India have kept their nuclear weapons and acted quite responsibly. Can North Korea be similarly trusted when it comes to proliferation? A: If America Trump does not give Kim Jong Un sanctions relief, Kim Jong Un could do anything. In his New Years speech, if you read the text of his speech, Kim Jong Un clarified: He would not further produce, he would not have any further tests, he would not have proliferation of nuclear weapons. But if his demands are not reached, he signaled he would look for a new path. Q: What would that path be? Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... A: In order to survive, he may sell his nuclear technology. Q: Who would buy North Koreas nuclear technology? A: There are many potential buyers. Lets say Iran. Iran is under really heavy international surveillance. Its very difficult for Iran to produce nuclear materials. But, Iran has money to buy nuclear weapons. And how can anyone detect this kind of nuclear sale between Iran and North Korea? Q: What would Kim do with that money? Would he improve his peoples lives? A: Maybe he would use some for economic development and maybe he would update his nuclear arsenal. He knows quite well that, unless he improves North Korean peoples lives, his days are numbered. He would like to do something, actually. He wants to show the people that he is the one actually solving problems. Q: If it is true that Kims days are possibly numbered, do you see any chance of a coup? A: Structurally, it is impossible because Kim Jong Un has a very detailed network of surveilling the leaders around him. If you are of high rank, then all the high-ranking officials have to live in the same apartment. They cant choose where to live. They have to live collectively. You are not allowed to have private time with your friends around you, so the control system of North Korean society is really unimaginable. Q: North Koreas elites are under sanctions from the world and the United States. They have a tantalizing opening with Trump. What is life like for them, and what is their mood? A: North Korean elites and North Korean society itself is in dilemma at this moment. North Korea is changing. Capitalism and the market system the concept is spreading quite rapidly in North Korea. Now the people want to solve their daily survival in their own way. They dont believe in the so-called leadership. They dont have freedom to travel to foreign countries. They dont have freedom to have their own cars. If youre high-ranking you may have a government-supplied car, but the children of those high-ranking officials cannot use their fathers government-supplied car. Theyre privileged. But their privileges are limited. Q: Have you heard people say, We need to get rid of Kim? A: I havent heard anything because in North Korea you cant say that kind of thing, even to your wife. So, usually North Korea people dont open their mouths but you can feel that kind of mood when you live in North Korea. Read more about: WASHINGTONDonald Trump was asked Friday why he hasnt condemned the apparent election fraud committed by Republicans in North Carolinas 9th congressional district. Trump did not respond directly. Instead, he said, Well, I condemn any election fraud. And when I look at whats happened in California with the votes, when I look at what happened as you know, there was just a case where they found a million fraudulent votes. There was no case where they any they found a million fraudulent votes. When a reporter told him this, he turned to one of his favourite tactics: aggressively saying the words excuse me and plowing ahead with the lie. Trump made 21 false claims in all last week, less than usual. It was the 73rd-worst week out of 110 weeks so far. He is now up to 4,445 false claims for the first 766 days of his presidency, 5.8 per day. Now you can stay on top of Donald Trumps lies and false claims like never before with Daniel Dales new Trumpcheck newsletter. Sign up here. If Trump is a serial liar, why call this a list of false claims, not lies? You can read our detailed explanation here. The short answer is that we cant be sure that each and every one was intentional. In some cases, he may have been confused or ignorant. What we know, objectively, is that he was not telling the truth. Read more about: WASHINGTONAfter his first summit with Kim Jong Un, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that there is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea. He enters his second summit with Kim, which begins in Vietnam on Wednesday, looking to do much less than end the nuclear threat from North Korea. At least for now, Trump has abandoned his baseless claims about earth-shattering success on denuclearization. Instead, he is arguing that incremental and quickly reversible changes a halt to North Korean nuclear and missile testing, a friendly relationship with the formerly bellicose Kim count as big victories even as Kim keeps his nuclear arsenal. To Trumps critics, including some Republicans and some independent North Korea experts, Trumps goalpost-shifting is a worrisome sign that he will give a rogue state the time and space to keep honing its ability to strike the United States and its Asian allies. But other experts have welcomed his decision to choose step-by-step diplomacy over the dramatic moves he once seemed to be weighing as he threatened to annihilate North Korea. We should want to make as much progress as possible on denuclearization but we need to recognize that this is an incredibly difficult task and make sure we dont throw away the chance for lesser but meaningful gains because our standard for success was so high, Mintaro Oba, a former State Department official who worked on Korea policy, said in an email. Maintaining a diplomatic process will at the very least keep tensions below fire and fury levels, and hopefully allow Washington to increase its leverage to reduce the North Korean nuclear threat over time. Right now, North Korea has little incentive to do so. Read more: Trump offers public embrace of Kim Jong Un hours before summit begins Trump, Kim facing big issues after big welcome in Hanoi Opinion | Thomas Walkom: Trump eyes Nobel Peace Prize with North Korea policy Trump is both unversed in policy specifics and proudly unpredictable in his diplomatic dealings, and he has not hinted at what he might agree to at the two-day summit at a Hanoi hotel. He said Sunday and last week that he is in no rush on denuclearization, explaining, As long as theres no testing, were happy. The first summit, in Singapore last June, ended with a brief agreement between the two countries that included a vague and rehashed North Korean promise to work toward denuclearization, which was not defined. They two sides now appear interested in getting more specific but not in getting particularly ambitious. Theres movement toward a phased approach, placing a U.S. priority on freezing Pyongyang's nuclear and missile capabilities, with denuclearization as an overarching, longer-term goal. This isnt the U.S. lowering the bar. Its bringing expectations at this stage of negotiations back down to earth, Suzanne DiMaggio, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said in an email. The U.S. news website Vox reported that they are tentatively considering a deal including: a declaration that would symbolically but not officially end the Korean War, in which a truce was called in 1953; liaison offices in each country to make diplomatic relations more normal; a North Korean promise to stop producing material for nuclear bombs at its Yongbyon nuclear facility; and the lifting of a small number of sanctions on North Korea. Thats a meaningful deal for both sides its exactly the contours of an interim deal that we should be pushing for, Vipin Narang, a MIT political science professor and expert on nuclear strategy, said in an email. Depending on details and implementation/verification, of course, even dismantling the five-megawatt reactor at Yongbyon significantly constrains the future North Korean nuclear force, even if you think its nearing end of life anyway it shunts its only source of plutonium, and potentially constrains its tritium supply for H-bombs as well. The New York Times, Washington Post and others have reported that even members of Trumps administration are worried he will make unwise concessions in pursuit of something he can sell as a win to Americans or, perhaps, to the people who decide on the Nobel Peace Prize, which he has repeatedly suggested he wants. Of particular concern is the presence of more than 25,000 U.S. troops in South Korea. Kim wants them gone, and Trump has complained about the cost of keeping them there. Given his mounting domestic and legal problems, Trump is coming to the table in Hanoi is a weaker position, said DiMaggio. He needs a win, and theres concern that hell give away too much in order to get it. For example, will he prematurely move ahead with a U.S. troop reduction on the peninsula? Trump might be distracted by events back home. His former lawyer turned accuser, Michael Cohen, is scheduled to publicly testify before Congress on Wednesday, and early reports suggest Cohen will accuse Trump of criminal behaviour, racism and lying. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... If you think this isn't the foremost concern on Trump's mind as he meets with Kim Jong Un, youre smoking dope, North Korea expert Van Jackson said on Twitter. Trump has professed his fondness for Kim since the Singapore summit, calling the dictators private letters beautiful and declaring in September that we fell in love. Even as he has denounced countries like Iran and Venezuela for human rights violations, he has declined for months to raise Kims own abuses. The two men are scheduled to meet one-on-one for 20 minutes around 6:40 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday, according to Trumps public schedule, then take part in a social dinner. They are expected to meet again on Thursday. Read more about: BOGOTA - Human Rights Watch is denouncing Colombias government for appointing at least nine officers to key army positions despite credible evidence implicating them in serious human rights violations during the countrys long civil conflict. The human rights organization released a report Wednesday condemning the government of President Ivan Duque for promoting Gen. Nicasio de Jesus Martinez Espinel as army chief and promoting eight other officers linked to abuses. The men are credibly implicated in what is known as the false positive scandal, in which security forces killed several thousand civilians during the height of the militarys offensive against leftist guerrillas and counted them as rebels to inflate combat deaths to obtain coveted bonuses, the group said. The Colombian government should be investigating officers credibly linked to extrajudicial executions, not appointing them to the armys top command positions, said Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director for Human Rights Watch. He said their appointments send a troubling message to troops: That engaging in these abuses may not be an obstacle for career success. Martinez Espinel denied any wrongdoing and in response to the report said he trusted fully in Colombias justice system to clear his name. God and my subalterns know how weve acted, he said. Its not the first time Human Rights Watch has accused Colombias government of turning a blind eye to wartime violations in making army promotions. In 2017, the group expressed concern that four colonels and one general strongly linked to the extrajudicial killings were on a list of candidates for promotions. Colombian courts have convicted hundreds of mostly low-ranking soldiers for their roles in the false positive killings but more senior army officers have largely escaped unscathed. The countrys special peace tribunal is also reviewing the cases. The court was established following the signing of a 2016 peace deal with the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to end Latin Americas longest-running armed conflict. Those who fully confess to any crimes are unlikely to spend any time in jail. Human Rights Watch notes that Martinez Espinel was second-in-command of the 10th Brigade during years for which prosecutors have opened investigations into 23 killings. The group said a document it had obtained indicates Martinez Espinel certified the payment of about $400 to an informant who provided information leading to excellent results in which two purported guerrillas were killed. Martinez Espinel said he had no idea if he had made the payments. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Human Rights Watch said courts concluded the two dead were Hermes Carillo, an indigenous civilian, and 13-year-old Nohemi Pacheco. Two soldiers and a former paramilitary were convicted in 2011 of abducting them from their home, murdering them and putting weapons on their bodies so that they appeared to be rebels killed in combat. Under international law commanders can be held responsible for crimes carried out by subordinates that they knew about or should have known about. CUCUTA, Colombia - Next year in Caracas? As Venezuelas opposition rekindles street protests and builds powerful international support, the millions who fled are redirecting their gaze toward their beloved homeland in hopes that their exile will prove short-lived. Diomira Becerra has been watching the events unfold from Colombia, eyeing every development for a hint of how soon she might be able to pack her bags. She left three years ago and has built a life for her family in the border city of Cucuta. But the country that took them in has never quite felt like home. I dont know how its going to happen, but next Christmas will be in Venezuela, Becerra said. The high expectations of an exile community that is over 3 million strong are fueling a renewed push from abroad to bring about change in Venezuela. Some like Becerra are tempted to return already, wanting to join in protests. Others, like exiled lawmaker Gaby Arellano, are playing a key role in collecting humanitarian aid. Even many who left long ago and cannot see themselves returning have begun imagining how they might contribute to Venezuelas recovery. I want to put in my little grain of sand, said Pedro Morales, a gastroenterologist who has lived in Miami for over two decades. In the throes of an economic downturn worse than the U.S. Great Depression, Venezuela will need the knowledge, contacts and financial resources many exiles took with them. One prominent economist predicts Venezuela will need a $60 billion cash infusion just to begin a turnaround. At least a small portion of that could come from exiles eager to invest in Venezuelan businesses, send remittances or buy property. And yet even as Venezuelans like Becerra daydream of spending next Christmas back home with relatives they havent seen in years, they are also steeling themselves for the possibility that Nicolas Maduro will manage to keep his grip on power. One month after opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself Venezuelas interim president, the military has shown little sign that it plans to revolt against Maduro. At least four people were killed and 300 injured over the weekend when clashes broke out between state security forces, armed pro-government groups and the opposition as they tried to bring food and medical supplies into the country. Like the exile group they most resemble Cubans Venezuelans are all too aware that their current status as emigres could become a permanent condition. Cubans for decades toasted to Next year in Cuba, a cry that is uttered less and less as their exile from the communist island drags into its 60th year. Each time Becerra gets the urge to pack her bags, she talks herself out of it. Her daughter and mother, a cancer patient, are comfortable in Colombia. An opposition activist, she wonders if pro-Maduro compatriots might still hold a grudge against her. In her mind, she questions if shed even be returning to the same country. It has been 20 years of this, she said. How do you change 20 years? Venezuelans began fleeing two decades ago, when revolutionary Hugo Chavez rose to power, in a familiar pattern: Those with money and connections fled first, often to the United States, while the poorer left later, by bus and on foot to Colombia. The exodus of Venezuelans is now one of the largest mass migrations in the world an estimated 5,000 cross into Colombia every day, about the same size as the entire migrant caravan from Central America to the U.S. last fall. The United Nations estimates there are 3.4 million Venezuelans abroad, a conservative assessment based on government figures, though the actual number could be as high as 5.5 million. A study of 2013 Census Bureau data by the Pew Hispanic Center found that Venezuelans in the U.S. have higher levels of education than the general population and a higher median income than most Latinos in the country, an indicator of the skill sets and capital they can contribute to their homeland. Unlike the Cubans who fled decades ago, many still have fresh memories of Venezuela and want to put their knowledge to use. There is a lot of international know-how waiting outside Venezuela, said Daniel Lansberg-Rodriguez, a Venezuela expert who teaches at Northwestern University. Past experience shows that once a Latin American emigre has been abroad for more than five years, they are very unlikely to return, said Manuel Orozco, director of the Migration, Remittances and Development Program at The Inter-American Dialogue in Washington. But other countries that have experienced protracted domestic conflicts saw a boom in remittances once political stability was restored and Venezuela could too, if a more effective payment network is established, Orozco said. Still, he warned, it will fall short of what is needed by a nation in such dire straits. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... The diaspora think they can just come and redo the country in a short period of time its just not going to be that way, he said. Frank Carreno, an actor and businessman, said that after 15 years in Miami, where his immediate family is now all located, he wouldnt move back. But he would like to open a business in Venezuela as he did 10 years ago when he set up three vocal training studios. He closed them in 2013 as the countrys economic crisis began to sink in. Id return to invest, he said. But to live, no. It would mean starting from scratch again. I have my family here and its just not feasible. Others, like Gabriela Alvarez, 32, who has lived in Madrid for the last two years, envision themselves returning but want more than just political change. She said shed want Venezuelas crime rate among the highest in the world to improve and to be assured that she and her family could get adequate medical care. Venezuela needs us, said Alvarez, who used to work as a producer at a Venezuelan television channel. The best thing we could do is return to help the country recover. Venezuelans abroad are already playing a key role in helping Guaido consolidate his position as the countrys interim president. In the years leading up to his proclamation in January, dozens of opposition leaders fled under the threat of arrest. They used their platform outside Venezuela to raise awareness with international leaders and are now helping execute Guaidos mandates, like findings ways to gather humanitarian aid. Exile feels isolating, but weve been able to reinvent ourselves, said exiled lawmaker turned activist Arellano. Becerra, who can see the Venezuelan mountains from her new home in Cucuta, said her young daughter Hillary often asks when they can go back. She was 4 when they left, but has idyllic childhood memories of her homeland. Becerra struggles with how to respond: How do I explain to my 7-year-old daughter that the country she remembers doesnt exist anymore? A trained occupational therapist, in exile Becerra has done everything from dog walking to selling corn pastries at the Simon Bolivar International Bridge where masses of Venezuelans enter each day. She says her biggest wish is for her family to spend Christmas together again, gathered like they used to at her grandmothers house. But she knows its more complicated than that: Would she be able to earn a living and provide for her daughter? Could she just abandon the life she has built in Colombia after three painstaking years? You get your bags ready each morning but unpack them by the evening, she said. Its wanting to go home. But its not the same home. CARACAS, VENEZUELAFor more than a month, opposition leader Juan Guaidos audacious campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro captivated the world while bringing hope to millions of desperate Venezuelans. But his U.S.-backed movement to unseat the socialists is at a crossroads, in danger of losing its greatest asset: momentum. Guaido, a 35-year-old civil engineer turned national hero, staked everything on a weekend operation to break the governments blockade of U.S. humanitarian aid and turn Maduros armed forces against him. That bid largely failed, producing a trickle, but not a flood, of military defections. The oppositions next play a call for intervention by foreign forces did not win immediate support in Washington. The succession of setbacks left the opposition here scrambling on Tuesday to sustain what has become the single biggest challenge to 20 years of socialist rule and manage inflated expectations of a rapid ouster of Maduro. Some sectors of the opposition are frustrated because there was no sophisticated or alternative plan if military forces did not break over the weekend, said Luis Vicente Leon, director of Datanalisis, a Caracas-based polling agency. In short, their plan was naive. For years, the opposition to Maduro was weak and fractured. That changed when Guaido emerged as a unifying symbol. Citing the constitution, he called Maduro a usurper for claiming to win an elections that many observers had deemed fraudulent, and Guaido, as the head of the opposition-dominated National Assembly, proclaimed himself the nations rightful leader. As opposition leaders held a flurry of phone calls and meetings Tuesday to assess their options, the most pressing question was whether Guaido would be able to re-enter Venezuela after leaving it over the weekend to lead the aid effort from Colombian jurisdiction and meet with regional leaders. Guaido will seek to re-enter Venezuela within the next few days, opposition officials said. Read more: Trump pleads with Venezuelas military to back Guaido Venezuela opposition leader Guaido appears at aid concert Venezuelan prosecutor to investigate Guaido appointments Guaido left the country in violation of a government travel ban, and his suggestion of foreign intervention could open the door to charges of treason. He is now gambling that Maduro would not risk an international backlash by taking action against him. But analysts say there is still a high likelihood that Guaido will be arrested or barred from returning, which could leave him running a dampened movement from exile. Guaido himself has said it is vital for him to be able to lead massive rallies and challenge Maduro from stages nationwide. Guaido still commands vast support in a country suffering from a profound collapse linked to failed socialist policies and government corruption and mismanagement. An imprisoned leader doesnt serve anyone, and an exiled president doesnt either, Guaido said in a televised interview from Colombia on Tuesday. My function and responsibility is to be in Caracas, no matter the risks. At the same time, the movement he almost single-handedly energized is confronting disappointment and deflated expectations and is divided over whether to stay the course of peaceful disobedience or take the fight to Maduro through armed resistance. War is the only way to take out this government, said Humberto Arau, 28, a student activist from the Venezuelan city of Merida who engaged in running battles with Maduros forces on Saturday on the Colombian border. He and other radical opposition youths were calling Tuesday for weapons to help them raise an armed insurgency. Guaido went into a meeting Monday with regional leaders, including Vice President Mike Pence, with some in the opposition hoping for a quick pledge of U.S.-led military intervention. When such a pledge did not come and anti-government youths heard the news, some of them cried in their makeshift camps in Colombia. The opposition official said we had to fight, but where are they now? Javier Cacho, 24, said Tuesday as young men with covered faces stirred around him ahead of a rock-throwing assault on Venezuelan guardsmen. What happened to the humanitarian aid? Where is it? Who has it? I thought the idea was to get the food through to our families. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Some militants were already assembling piles of molotov cocktails and vowing to procure weapons. The most radical protesters complained that opposition leaders had not fought hard enough Saturday, insisting that they fled to the rear when the tear gas and rubber bullets began to fly. Weve got to help our people, said 18-year-old Yoiner Jalez, an anti-government militant living in a camp in the Colombian border city of Cucuta. Even as opposition leaders called for at least a temporary halt to the effort at breaking Maduros blockade, Jalez said he and other militant youths were planning an attempt to take a border bridge and clear a corridor for humanitarian aid. All we have now are rocks, molotovs, slingshots and shields, he said. We need arms to continue this. Yet without large-scale support from the U.S. and other anti-Maduro governments, the chances of an armed insurgency remained slight at best. That is particularly true in the border region, which is a hotbed for narco-traffickers and Colombian leftist guerrillas who operate in loose alliance with Maduros government. Experts said it was unlikely that they would allow new actors on their turf. I think that this armed violent group that calls itself the resistance a group of Venezuelans and Colombians wont really be able to establish themselves there, said Wilfredo Canizares, the director of Fundacion Progresar, a Colombian-based human rights group that monitors violence in the border zone. The opposition is now left to play the long game as sanctions continue to squeeze Venezuela. Last month, the Trump administration sanctioned Maduros government to cut off his largest source of hard currency: oil sales to the United States. Those measures are set to slam an already devastated economy, deepening food and medical shortages. Experts also predict severe gas shortages in the weeks ahead, because Venezuela, despite resting atop the worlds largest known oil reserves, relies on U.S. refineries for processed gasoline supplies, which are now cut off. The opposition is calculating that worsening conditions and increasing international isolation will make Maduros rule untenable, opening new cracks in the military and his inner circle. But it could also backfire if Venezuelans begin to blame the United States and the opposition for the nations misery. That means time is of the essence in the oppositions struggle. To increase the pressure on Maduro, the opposition has been weighing whether to call national strikes. We will seek for an escalation of street pressure, said opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa. Some leaders want to call for general strikes with all sectors, but others think its not a good idea. The most important thing, and we all know it, is to keep the momentum. To do that, Guaido needs to come back to Caracas urgently. A likely move by the opposition is to guarantee amnesty to members of the military, intelligence and security services if they turn against Maduro. The United States may be asked to make a similar gesture, issuing statements or dropping U.S.-based charges against senior officials who switch sides. It would require a real amnesty, not a generic one but a negotiated one with international guarantees, to really create incentives for high-ranking officials to desert, Leon said. Read more about: ABUJA, NIGERIAPresident Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria won a second term in an election in Africas most populous country, where voters rejected a corruption-stained candidate in favour of a leader who promised to continue a campaign to eliminate graft. Not long after midnight Wednesday, election officials finished counting the votes, making it apparent that Buhari had defeated the leading candidate, Atiku Abubakar, by a wide margin in an election that was marred by pockets of violence. Local civil society groups had ticked off lists of irregularities during the voting on Saturday, but other international observers had indicated earlier in the week that the problems likely hadnt been widespread enough to sway the outcome. After they finished counting on Wednesday, election officials said they would reconvene at 3 a.m., when they were expected to officially announce the winner. Abubakars camp accused Buharis party of tampering with vote card readers, and rejected the count in some states. At one point on Tuesday night, Abubakars party demanded a halt to the vote count. Civil society groups said at least 39 people were killed on Election Day across several states. One of the victims was a young election worker who was struck by a stray bullet. Read more: Nigeria president set to be declared winner after bumpy vote Nigeria votes for a 2nd day in places as death toll rises Counting starts in Nigerias delayed poll marked by violence Nigerias election was in many ways a referendum on honesty, as voters once again embraced a candidate who held up a broom at rallies, declaring to sweep away the graft that has given the nation a bad reputation worldwide. It was also a tribute to the power of incumbency. For all Buharis talk of fighting corruption, some prominent suspects including a governor caught on camera handing out a bribe have gone unprosecuted under his regime. Critics say he targeted political opponents in his anti-graft inquiries. Yet the president, who is 76, managed to overcome his deficits, and in some ways benefited from them. Turnout was low on Election Day, observers said, a factor that buoyed the presidents fortunes since his loyalists were among those who bothered to vote in a race that had once been too close to call. Some analysts said many voters had stayed away from the polls because of despondency over the failures of the past four years. Theres a growing sense of disconnect between the Nigerian people and the political elite, said Hussaini Abdu, chairman of the Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement, a team of local observers, speaking before the results were announced. Another factor was that election officials decided to delay the vote by one week just hours before polls were to have opened. Many registered voters had made long journeys to their home districts to vote on the originally scheduled date, because Nigeria has no absentee balloting system. Many people who had taken time off from work and spent money on transportation in hopes of voting simply gave up and returned home. Voters rejected Abubakar, 72, a former vice president who was considered so corrupt by the United States that he was refused a visa for many years. But Abubakars campaign focused on an issue that resonated with many voters: improving the economy. His raft of proposals included privatizing some government operations and floating the currency. Many people blamed Buhari for his decisions during a currency crisis that launched Nigeria into recession. Yet it was also under his watch that the nation lifted out of recession in 2017. Progress since then has been slow, however, and unemployment has climbed. Last year, Nigeria, one of the worlds largest oil producers and Africas biggest economy, was named the nation with the largest number of people living in extreme poverty. In the weeks leading up to the election, it was unclear which candidate had leverage in a race that had more than 70 candidates on the ballot. It came down to two members of the political establishment in their 70s. Abubakar received more votes than Buhari in the area that makes up the capital city. Fiery rhetoric flew on both sides Abubakar called Buhari a dictator at one point and after the election each side accused the other of vote-rigging. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... But many Nigerians see Buhari as an honest man. Unlike others in the political establishment, he has not enriched himself with money from the public treasury. His soft-spoken demeanour stands out among more flashy, blustery politicians. Buhari made headway in cleaning up graft, appointing a team that arrested political figures, seized millions of dollars and jailed corrupt officials. But critics said that his targets were his political opponents. He brushed off charges of corruption against his allies, who were not prosecuted. His victory is a popular call to be more even-handed with his anti-corruption campaign, said Dr. Sadeeque Abba, a political-science professor at the University of Abuja. Buhari captured the vote of northerners who viewed him as a son of the region, even though Abubakar also hails from the north. But Buhari has paved roads in rural areas where crops and animals had been brought to market on crumbling highways. Buharis health likely will be on voters minds. He was absent from Nigeria for several months in 2017 when he sought treatment in London for an illness he never disclosed to the public. While Buhari failed to keep some of his early promises, especially in cracking down on terrorism, many voters still see the former general, who led the nation under military rule in the 1980s, as a strongman with the credentials to fight Boko Haram, the Islamist militant group ravaging the northeastern part of the country. Boko Haram has launched more complex attacks against military installations in recent months, and on the morning of Election Day a faction loyal to the Islamic State fired rockets at the biggest airport in the area, in Maiduguri. Buhari has told the public several times that the group has been defeated. Buhari also had promised to crack down on human rights abuses, but reports of impunity are a regular feature of Nigerian life. Security forces have opened fire on unarmed protesters on several occasions, with high body counts. Rapes by security forces of women and teenagers in camps for people fleeing war have gone uninvestigated. Buharis armed forces also stormed the main office of a major newspaper in January, seizing laptops and cellphones. His campaign adviser indicated in an interview on Tuesday that Africas largest democracy may face further clampdowns. The right to free speech must be subordinated and subjugated to the right to national security, said Babatunde Fashola, who is also the minister of power, works and housing. Buharis efforts so far have failed to quell battles over land between farmers and herders, or armed gangs carrying out kidnappings and killings. And lost in the fray of the election were the high-profile kidnapping victims of Boko Haram, including the remaining students from Chibok who were kidnapped nearly five years ago. Buhari had promised to free all of them. Though he helped broker the release of about half of the missing students, more than 100 remain held by militants. Those students and others who have gone missing during the nearly decadelong war seem forgotten by the many Nigerians who live in cities far from the fighting. Unity Fountain, the site where #BringBackOurGirls protesters once marched regularly, is often empty. Only a giant broom remains there in place of the protesters, stuck in the ground as a reminder of the presidents anti-corruption pledge. Read more about: FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.For the second straight day, Parkland dad Andrew Pollack sat across the table Tuesday from one of the men he believes is responsible for failing to stop Nikolas Cruz from killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last year. This time it was former school resource officer Scot Peterson, the Broward sheriffs deputy who stayed outside the building while Cruz went on a rampage inside. Peterson was denounced as a coward and resigned in disgrace after the shooting. On Tuesday he sat for hours behind closed doors answering questions about his conduct last Feb. 14. Hes starting to get dementia, because he couldnt recall a lot of things that happened that day, Pollack said afterward. He was reckless that day. If he would have went in, he would have saved my daughter on that third floor. ... Hes haunted by it. I dont have a problem with him being haunted by it. Ill never see my daughter again. Peterson did not answer questions outside the courtroom after his seven hours of testimony. According to Pollack, Peterson claimed he called a code red emergency that should have put the school on lockdown. Its the first time weve heard him say that, Pollack said. We all know its impossible because no one was in lockdown. Peterson had an idea what to expect from Pollacks attorneys he was in the same Broward courtroom on Monday watching lawyers question former school watchman Andrew Medina, a co-defendant in the negligence suit Pollack filed last year. Others named in the suit include Cruz, who is awaiting trial for murder; James and Kimberly Snead, who took Cruz into their home in the two months leading up to the shooting; and Henderson Behavioral Health Inc., which provided mental health services to Cruz. Read more: Judge wont bar Parkland dad from ex-school monitors case Hearing delayed on Parkland dads conflict with ex-monitor Sen. Scott invites Parkland father to State of the Union Attorneys in lawsuits are entitled to question the defendants ahead of time, but most of those depositions take place in private offices. Both Medina and Peterson have accused Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was among the victims, of trying to intimidate them online or in person. Broward Circuit Judge Patti Englander Henning denied their requests to keep Pollack away from their depositions but ordered they be held at the courthouse to guarantee everyones safety. The depositions are closed to the public only the parties and their attorneys are allowed inside. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Peterson did not invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, as his lawyer did when Peterson was called to testify last year before the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission. Attorneys expect to continue questioning both Medina and Peterson at a later date. Canadas largest hospital permitted patients to suffer persistent toxicity and adverse effects resulting in elevated incidents of diabetes and liver dysfunction along with a death after being treated with an unlicensed drug for six years, says a co-author of a study being published Wednesday. Dr. Brenda Gallie, a professor of medical biophysics and ophthalmology at the Hospital for Sick Children, says the new data provide clear evidence that the drug deferiprone sold as Ferriprox by generic pharmaceutical maker Apotex poses serious health risks that hospital administrators were told about years ago. These patients were sold a bill of goods that has impacted their health, she says of patients given deferiprone, a drug used to treat hereditary blood disorders such as thalassemia. It is a human experiment and I cant imagine how it went on and on and on. The peer-reviewed study, obtained exclusively by the Star, is being published in Public Library of Science Journal. It concludes that deferiprone showed significant toxicity in most patients over the six-year study of 41 patients findings that demand an urgent, transparent review of current standards of patient protection, informed consent, and medical practice. The findings document a 17 per cent incidence of new diabetes and new liver dysfunction in 65 per cent of patients who were given deferiprone between 2009 and 2015. A woman in her 30s died in 2013, 13 months after being placed on the drug, the study found. Only two of the 41 patients fared well on deferiprone, said Gallie, who authored the study with Dr. Nancy Olivieri, a senior scientist at the University Health Network (UHN) who has been in a 22-year legal and academic dispute over the health impacts of deferiprone. Read more: Study co-authored by Gideon Koren retracted as journals continue review of disgraced doctors published works Dr. David Nathan, an international expert in thalassemia and professor of pediatrics and medicine at Harvard University, calls the findings very striking. Patients fared far worse on deferiprone. The world is going to have to look at this. It looks like credible science to me. Its been reviewed up and down the line. I think its terribly important. Its a lesson. Separately, on Monday, Health Canada issued a safety review warning of a potential link between Ferriprox and neurological disorders in children following two international case reports. The agency said it will update current warnings in the safety information and will take appropriate and timely action if or when new health risks are identified. Apotex responded to questions from the Star in a written statement Tuesday. It says the UHN study relies on selected data from a small sample of patients from one hospital, which poses a risk of bias and could lead to erroneous conclusions. This limitation may have contributed to the contrasting results with, for example, a recent study in more than 500 patients from 68 treatment centers, reads the statement from Dr. Fernando Tricta, vice-president of medical affairs for Apotex subsidiary ApoPharm. That 2018 study, published in the British Journal of Haematology, found a greater reduction in cardiac iron with deferiprone than with competing drug deferasirox. What the thalassemia community knows is that patients receiving deferiprone have less iron toxicity and are living longer, the statement reads. In response to Mondays Health Canada safety review, the Apotex statement says the company agrees with the regulators assessment of cases where two children on the drug had difficulty with walking or co-ordination. Twenty years of post-market experience and drug exposure support the regulators view that deferiprone is safe and effective in the treatment of iron load in patients with thalassemia. Nonetheless, we encourage vigilance in detection of adverse events, regardless of how rare they may be. UHN officials declined interview requests for this story. In a written statement, the hospital said deferiprone has been the subject of ongoing attention for many years and that the study is an addition to the literature on the subject providing clinicians and scientists additional information about this drug which has been in regular use around the world for many years. Because of the potential quality concerns noted in the study, UHN will review the cases involved in the research and UHN has requested that the investigators provide this patient data as soon as possible. The drug was approved by Health Canada in February 2015 as a third line therapy for the treatment when other therapies do not work well enough, according to Health Canadas website. At the time, according to Apotex, Ferriprox had been approved for use in 65 countries as treatment for patients whose current therapy is unsatisfactory. Between 2009 and 2015, one-third of patients transfused at UHN were switched from licensed drugs to then unlicensed deferiprone, the study says, apparently using Health Canadas special access program that permits the use of an unlicensed drug when conventional therapies are inadequate. The use of an unlicensed drug raises serious ethical questions, says bioethicist Arthur Schafer, founding director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba. I think its a frightening scandal, said Schafer, who is writing a paper on the ethics of the case. How and why did this particular thalassemia program come to be treating such a large percentage of its patients with an unlicensed drug when drugs proven safe and effective were available? How would any patient agree to be a research subject when they might be given deferiprone when their condition is potentially life threatening when Health Canada and the FDA and the European drug authority have all licensed other drugs as safe and effective? The researchers reviewed every clinical entry of all 41 patients between 2009 and 2015, says Gallie. We could not identify any patient who was failing both licensed, first-line, proven-effective therapies which Health Canada demands to allow a switch to unlicensed deferiprone. In fact, most patients appeared to be responsive to both licensed drugs, and were doing well on one or the other licensed therapy. It is not known what the patients were told about deferiprone, Olivieri said in an email. One can never confirm, patient by patient, the information the patients received, or did not receive, at the time each was switched from first-line therapy to deferiprone between 2009 and 2015, she said. I cannot think of another situation in which this happened. What were the patients told? is the most critical question of all. In interviews with the Star, Olivieri and Gallie said they brought their early study findings and concerns to UHN officials as early as 2009. A 2012 letter to Olivieri from a senior UHN official said, The appropriateness of the clinical use of deferiprone at UHN has been exhaustively reviewed in the relatively recent past and has been completely validated. The issue to which I keep coming back to is how could an administration not regard as serious my warnings and concerns for 10 years, and later, those of Dr. Gallie? said Olivieri. The issue I am focused on is, why was UHN silent for all those years? What kept this going? The issue to which I keep coming back to is: How could an administration ignore these warning and concerns for 10 years while a patient died, and many others developed irreversible complications? said Olivieri. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... On May 8, 2015, Gallie wrote to UHN president and CEO, Dr. Peter Pisters, warning of the harm to patients, including death related to the drug. It says the two spoke about the problems two months earlier on March 17, 2015 and that Pisters undertook to identify the correct path to report the patient harm that is evident in the early student results. It is clear to me that NOW we must move to fully deal with these issues, before they are out of your control. Since the trouble is so deep and complex in the UHN, I think that it needs your personal attention first, then a very careful plan to manage the UHN institutional processes. There is a very real potential that the issues will emerge in the media, Gallie wrote. None of us wants this outcome, but it is inevitable that it will reach public view at some time. The best for all (for a bright safe future world) would full disclosure when the UHN has both the conflicts of interest and the patient harm addressed. Respectfully, we present to you an opportunity to actualize the UHNs commitment to reduce preventable patient harm to zero. Can we please arrange a time for you and I to discuss next steps, at your earliest convenience? The same day, Pisters responded in an email to Gallie that reads: I want you to know how seriously I take these concerns and that I have rearranged my schedule in order to meet next week. Gallie says no action was taken. When we presented the executives of UHN with data that patients with thalassemia were showing dangerous iron overload first in 2015, we were summarily dismissed and no action was taken to assure safety of patients. Gallie says that during a meeting with Olivieri, Pisters and two other UHN administrators in February, 2017, she informed the executives that people had been exposed and patient safety risks. The two researchers asked for data on deferiprone held by the hospital but were told UHN could not provide it to them. In its written statement, UHN said Olivieri and Gallie made former senior leaders at the hospital aware of their intent to publish their research about two years ago. Requests were made of the researchers at that time to share the paper in draft form because of the concerns the investigators expressed about the drug. The paper was received by current UHN executive leadership on February 12, 2019, the statement reads. Calling the case deeply troubling, Dalhousie University health law expert Jocelyn Downie, who reviewed the study for the Star, said UHN should immediately commission an independent review to determine whether patients gave informed consent and whether the standard of care was met. She said Health Canada should also investigate whether the hospital ensured conventional treatments had failed, were unsuitable, or were unavailable before turning to deferiprone. The studys publication provides the latest chapter in a high-profile battle reaching back to the mid-1990s that has pitted Olivieri against generic pharmaceutical giant Apotex and the University of Toronto. Olivieri, a specialist in haematology and internal medicine, first conducted a small trial on deferiprone in 1988 to determine its efficacy and safety. It showed promising short-term findings. She began in 1993. The early results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1995, were positive. But later that year, adverse findings began to emerge. The next year, Apotex terminated the drug trials after Olivieri and her colleagues raised red flags about the drug failing to reduce body iron. We could not allow her to transmit that information to patients because it was incorrect, Dr. Michael Spino, vice-president of research at Apotex, was quoted as saying at the time. We have a legal responsibility we cant impart false information to patients. The dispute generated gag orders, allegations, lawsuits and even poison-pen letters written against Olivieris supporters by Dr. Gideon Koren, the recently disgraced and ousted former researcher who founded the Motherisk Laboratory at the Hospital for Sick Children. Read more about: Toronto police say an immigration consultant who had his licence revoked by an industry body is now facing charges in a fraud investigation. Police allege the mans professional licence was suspended by the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council in December 2017 and revoked altogether a month later. Despite this, they say he continued to work as a consultant throughout 2018 through his company called Immigration Experts. Between 2018 and 2019, Munroe was working as an immigration consultant and assisting a client with her application to become a permanent resident of Canada. Police allege he failed to complete a permanent residency application in January of 2019 for at least one client, but then offered to sponsor her and tell authorities that he was in a common law relationship with her. Dunstan Munro of Ajax was arrested earlier this week and charged with one count each of fraud over $5,000 and counselling an uncommitted, indictable offence. Court documents from the Regulatory Council also show that Munro did not show up for his own licence revocations. In several instances, Munroe disregarded the rights and interests of his client repeatedly, and apparently without remorse, those documents read. In 2006, Jucelia Cox, who fled an abusive relationship in St. Lucia to Canada in 2002, also filed an official complaint with the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants against Munroe, after he failed to include St. Lucias lack of state protection for abuse victims as part of the argument in her case. After Coxs new counsel began an inquiry with immigration officials into her permanent residence application, she discovered the application had never even been filed. He is due to appear in court on March 28 at 1 p.m., at 1000 Finch Ave. W., Room 301. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... A Toronto man who tried to kill his estranged wife in front of their 3-year-old son has been sentenced to nine years in prison, with a judge saying it was sheer luck that the woman survived. Angel Payan-Almendarez, 25, said he has no memory of attempting to strangle his wife, covering her head with packing tape and leaving her to die on Dec. 8, 2015. The woman and her son, however, havent been able to forget what happened, court heard. The young child is constantly worried about losing his mom based on what he saw his dad do, Justice John McMahon said in his sentencing decision this week. To this day he remains fearful of the accused. They still relive the nightmare of what they saw. The trial took 15 minutes, court heard, because Payan-Almendarez did not challenge the prosecutions case. The judge noted, however, that the victim came very close to dying. It is clearly by luck, not design, that the victim survived and the accused is not charged with murder, McMahon said. An agreed statement of facts was admitted as evidence before the judge found Payan-Almendarez guilty of attempted murder, unlawful confinement and break and enter. Court heard that the man and his wife were separated when he showed up at her apartment in north Toronto at 7 a.m. that morning to drop off a car seat. The pair had agreed Payan-Almendarez would leave the car seat outside the apartment. She thanked him by text and didnt answer when he began calling her repeatedly, court heard. He then left a message saying he wanted to talk and banged on the door, prompting her to ask him to leave, court heard. The woman called a fellow member of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovahs Witnesses for help, who then contacted a woman who lived nearby, court heard. Christine Rieck came to her friends door around 9 a.m. and noticed a shadow behind a door to the stairwell. She entered the apartment and helped get her friends son ready, court heard. At that point, Rieck drafted a text to her husband asking him to come to the apartment. She, her friend and the toddler opened the door to leave the apartment at 10 a.m. when Payan-Almendarez burst inside and locked the door behind him, court heard. Rieck quickly sent the drafted text to her husband before Payan-Almendarez slapped the phone out of her hand and smashed it on the ground. Ive changed, Payan-Almendarez then told his wife as their son began to cry, according to the agreed statement of facts. Payan-Almendarez went on to force Rieck onto the apartments balcony. He then forced his wife into the bedroom, threw her on the bed, jumped on top of her and began strangling her, court heard. Their son, who was watching, began to cry again. Court heard the boys mother didnt want to frighten her child so she didnt struggle but lost consciousness. Payan-Almendarez then took his son out to the balcony and locked him outside with Rieck. He returned to the bedroom where his wife had opened her eyes. Payan-Almendarez again jumped on top of her, using his forearm to press down on her throat, court heard, causing her to lose consciousness again. Payan-Almendarez wrapped the womans head with plastic packing tape, covering her nose and mouth, court heard. He then covered her body with a blanket and put a childs bed on top of her before leaving, taking her keys and cellphone with him, court heard. His son and Rieck remained locked out on the balcony until Riecks husband arrived and got building superintendents to free the pair, the trial heard. As they moved through the apartment the superintendents noticed a purple object on a bed that they thought was a toy when they moved it, they realized it was Payan-Almendarezs wifes hand. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... (Her) face was completely flattened by the tightness of the packing tape, the agreed facts said. She was at that time unrecognizable. They thought she was dead. The woman regained consciousness after a hole was cut in the tape near her mouth, court heard. She was then taken to hospital where she was treated for bruises, cuts, dizziness and pain in her chest, back, throat and mouth. Payan-Almendarez will serve nearly five years behind bars after receiving credit for time already spent in custody. The Toronto Zoo welcomed a baby zebra this month and its asking the publics help to name the new animal. Tori, an 8-year-old Grevys zebra, gave birth to a male foal on Feb. 13, the zoo said in a news release Tuesday. Its the third foal Tori has had at the zoo. She had Leia in January 2014 and Rey in July 2016. All three were sired by Jake, an 11-year-old male. The zoo is calling the newest addition Baby Stripes, pending a real name based on a public vote on their Facebook page. Zookeepers have come up with four options to choose from. J.J., after the foals dad, Jake T.J. for Tori Jr. or for the foals parents Tori and Jake Chewy, in keeping with the Star Wars theme in the family Obi, also related to Star Wars. The most popular name will be announced March 12. The zoo said both the mom and foal are doing well, but wont be available for public viewing until the spring. Baby Stripes weighs in at 50 kilograms. Kim Welfle, the zebra keeper at the Toronto Zoo, says hes already heavier than some of the other newborn foals shes seen. Within about a day or so, he started mouthing and testing out hay, which is great . . . hes already started mouthing hay, testing out the herbivore cube ration that we offer these guys, Welfle said in an interview. Hes a very, very hungry little man. Im sure hes going to grow very fast. For someone whos only been alive for two weeks, Welfle said the unnamed baby zebra is a very curious boy. Have your say Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Tori is the dominant female in a herd, so shes super confident and she passes that confidence onto all of her kids, she said. The little boy, just like his two sisters, is very curious. Very confident. He doesnt have any issue of walking away from mom and exploring his indoor area. While the cold weather has prevented the new foal from going outside, Welfle said hes making the best of it. When the others are outside exploring the area, we open up the entire barn so that he has a huge running space so he can flex his legs and get some speed up and just explore the indoor habitat, Welfle said. He loves what we call getting his zebra zoomies out, and he just runs and bucks and acts like a little goof when he gets his space for him to explore. Grevys zebras are currently listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, with the global population at 2,800. Grevys zebras were first put on the list in 1986, after their population began to decline from overhunting in the late 1970s. Grevys zebras are primarily found in Kenya and Ethiopia. Their global population declined by about 70 per cent over the past 30 years, the zoo said. The major threats facing Grevys zebras are loss of grazing habitat and reduced access to available water sources, competition for resources, hunting and disease. Fallout from Premier Doug Fords decisions dominated Toronto city councils February meeting. The former Etobicoke councillor and his Ontario Progressive Conservative government have, since cutting the size of council itself last fall, proposed a barrage of legislative changes, many with potentially dramatic effects on Toronto. One is the Ford governments determination to upload the building and maintenance of Torontos subway system to the Ontario government, while leaving the TTC responsible for day-to-day operations and keeping fare-box revenues. Toronto council voted 30-6 last May to officially oppose the transfer but has since agreed on a framework to have exploratory discussions with provincial officials on how the upload would work. Councillor Josh Matlow, a vocal critic of the plan who says Ford wants only to seize control of subway system land and valuable air rights to build above them, sought Tuesday to have council approve a city-funded ad blitz telling Torontonians why the upload deal is bad for them. Messages on TTC vehicles and loudspeakers would say there is nothing stopping the Ford government from building mass transit without uploading subways, and the Ontario government contributes far less per rider to transit than do other North American governments. Read more: Doug Ford raged over security detail as office sought custom van job, court documents say Ontario, Toronto release framework for deal to upload citys subway to Queens Park Opinion | Royson James: Regional transit governance makes sense but it requires care and caution, not grandstanding But Mayor John Tory and his allies voted 14-12 to not debate the proposal. Instead, it will go to the March meeting of Torys executive committee when the city manager will give an update on upload discussions. Torys hand-picked committee could modify the ad blitz proposal before it goes back to council, or shelve it altogether. Matlow said after the vote: While Doug Ford and members of his government are actively pursuing a messaging campaign on why the province should upload Torontos subway, there has not been an effort by the city to give Torontonians access to facts, and understand the consequence of losing some of their most valuable assets, our land and air rights. We dont have time to wait. The clock is ticking. The Ford government is preparing legislation now to upload subways these negotiations are just about them understanding how to do it well and quickly. Ontario Transportation Minister Jeff Yurek told the Ontario Good Roads Association on Monday his government and the city are working to ensure that more subway lines will get built more quickly ... according to his speech notes. An upload of subway infrastructure to the province will get transit built faster and fulfil our campaign commitment to the building and maintenance of new and existing subways lines. Tory spokesperson Don Peat noted in an email that council reaffirmed in December the position that subways should stay with Toronto, but also to start exploratory talks with the Ford government. A city legal opinion obtained by the Star said the city has little chance to block an upload. Today, Council voted to make sure both items the city managers report and the issues raised in Councillor Matlows motion will be at the executive committee for discussion and feedback from residents, Peat wrote. Council also debated how to respond to proposed amendments to the growth plan for the greater Golden Horseshoe area aimed at boosting residential development, particularly around transit stations. Council asked for a host of changes to the provincial plans, including a request to protect 95 per cent of Torontos employment lands from potential conversion to residential real estate. Councillor Gord Perks tried and failed to convince colleagues to try to protect 100 per cent of the land earmarked for jobs, after a senior city staff member said converting Toronto employment lands to more lucrative residential zoning would net developers billions of dollars, maybe tens of billions. Losing job lands means Torontonians commuting farther to work, Perks said, and neighbourhoods altered without city input. The city earns more property tax revenues per square metre from corporate land than it does from homes. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Councillor Mike Colle, a former Liberal MPP, said growth plan changes and a subway upload together amount to a major land grab by the Ford government to benefit developers. The province wants to control the land and offer the land to developers they said the developers will build (new) subways for free. How are they going to do it? This is another part of the plan, he said. Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark said last month the proposed changes will break down barriers standing in the way of creating housing and attracting investment to the region. Torontos drum-tight rental market has about 1 per cent vacancy, with rental costs escalating. The growth plan is mean to accommodate the growing population in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, which is expected to reach 13.5 million by 2041, an increase of four million people. Council also voted unanimously to approve, along with the provincial and federal governments, prominent developer Steve Diamond the chair of Waterfront Toronto, the tri-government agency tasked with overseeing redevelopment of Torontos downtown shoreline. The Ford government removed former Liberal provincial appointees, including former chair Helen Burstyn, from the Waterfront Toronto board in December. Tory said at the time he is open to provincial desire for change as long as it doesnt blow up existing plans or sell off valuable land. Diamond had planned to quit the board in late 2018, citing work obligations, but was convinced by Tory to stay as the agency navigates the controversial redevelopment of the so-called Quayside district with preferred development partner Sidewalk Labs, a Google sister company. Meanwhile, Toronto council voted 24-2 to ban the purchase of made-in-Mexico General Motors vehicles for the citys 5,500-vehicle fleet. The city should evaluate and change its purchasing practices with respect to Mexican-made General Motors vehicles unless General Motors maintains production in Oshawa and at its other Canadian facilities, the motion states. The city currently has 372 GM vehicles but none are believed to be made in Mexico. In a statement, GM said councillors have today directed the city to restrict specific sales which we do not make to the city in the first place. While this is confusing, GM Canada plans to remain focused on how our ongoing business transformation, including 1,000 new software and engineering jobs in Oshawa and Markham. With files from The Canadian Press David Rider is the Stars City Hall bureau chief and a reporter covering Toronto politics. Follow him on Twitter: @dmrider Read more about: Waterfront Toronto isnt compelled to go along with Sidewalk Labs expanded vision for the Port Lands, says the man city council has chosen to chair the board of the corporation. In a unanimous 26-0 vote Tuesday, Toronto city council picked prominent developer Steve Diamond to head the 12-member Waterfront Toronto board. His three-year term on the tri-government board is expected to begin once the provincial cabinet signs off. Diamond says the province has already called to ask him to chair and that Ottawa has already said yes to him moving into the position. The appointment comes at a highly controversial time for Waterfront Toronto, which is in a partnership with Sidewalk Labs to develop a proposal for a data-driven smart-city housing development on the waterfront. Leaked documents recently obtained by the Star showed that rather than only developing a 12-acre parcel on the waterfront and turning that into a smart city, Sidewalks hopes to develop far beyond that scope and include 350 acres on the Port Lands, an idea that surprised and upset many, including several politicians at the local, provincial and federal levels. Read more: Poll finds 55 per cent of Torontonians support Sidewalk Labs Quayside project Opinion | Is Sidewalk Labs going too far in the Port Lands? Yes Opinion | Is Sidewalk Labs going too far in the Port Lands? No But Diamond, 66, president and CEO of DiamondCorp, a large real-estate development firm, says Sidewalk Labs proposal is by no means a given. Sidewalk (Labs) has the opportunity to put forward a vision for a larger parcel of land anyone can do that as part of a proposal. But in assessing whether this is in the public interest, Waterfront Toronto and (other levels of) government have no obligation whatsoever to accept what they propose. Thats a fundamental point thats been missing from the debate, Diamond said in an interview with the Star after the city council vote. Diamond said he cant say too much about the Sidewalk project because there is no final proposal yet Sidewalk, a sister of tech giant Google, must first put forward a draft and then final master plans, expected in the coming weeks and months. But he did say he believes its important for Waterfront Toronto to establish leadership on the Sidewalk Labs file. Critics have complained that Waterfront Toronto has failed to take charge of the Sidewalk project on issues such as data governance, privacy and now the Port Lands issue. Its difficult to comment on (Sidewalk Labs) proposals until we understand the important business terms around these proposals. We want to evaluate them and go to a public and transparent process in coming to any particular conclusions, Diamond added. But on the issue of data security, privacy and governance, Diamond says the public debate around Sidewalk Labs proposal has sparked an important dialogue on the topic. He added that government will play a key role in resolving a lot of these concerns. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Diamond says Waterfront Toronto has made progress, including steering forward a multi-level government-funded $1.25-billion flood protection project in the Port Lands and he wants to see more waterfront revitalization initiatives come forward. Diamonds pick by city council also comes at a time of controversy on the board itself. Developer Julie Di Lorenzo resigned this past summer from the board over Waterfront Torontos handling of the Sidewalk Labs file. And then in December, provincial Infrastructure Minister Monte McNaughton sacked three members including the chair after Bonnie Lysyk, Ontarios auditor general, released a report slamming Waterfront Toronto. Among her many complaints, Lysyk said Waterfront Toronto didnt adequately consult with governments concerning the Sidewalk Labs project, an accusation Waterfront Toronto has disputed. Diamond had planned to quit the board last year given the large time commitment needed to devote to weighty topics such as Sidewalk and the flood plan. But the mayor convinced him to remain on board until next month for stability reasons. Diamond says given the city council vote, approval from Ottawa and the expected nod from the province he believes hell be in a strong position as chair. Mayor John Tory expressed confidence in Diamonds ability to the lead organization. I believe that Mr. Diamond has the necessary skills, qualifications and experience required to lead the revitalization of Torontos waterfront on behalf of the governments of Canada, Ontario and Toronto. City councils unanimous vote (Tuesday) is a further sign of that confidence, Tory said in a statement. In 2014, Diamond gave $1,000 to the mayoral campaigns of Olivia Chow and Karen Stintz, and $2,100 to eventual victor Tory. Diamonds donations in the 2018 municipal elections were not immediately available at press time. With files from David Rider Read more about: Media will now be routinely informed when a jury returns with a verdict, according to a directive announced Tuesday by Superior Court Justice John McMahon at the downtown Toronto courthouse. The change comes after a judge recently denied a Toronto Star reporters request to be told when the jury returned with a verdict in the trial for Eaton Centre shooter Christopher Husbands and after several reporters were misinformed that court staff were simply not permitted to notify media. The new directive, which applies only in Toronto, replaces a judicial policy that allowed a trial judge to decide if media could be notified. Without official notification, journalists must sit outside the courtroom or rely on updates from lawyers, police officers or other people involved in the case in order to make it to the courtroom within the 15 minutes it typically takes for court to reconvene. The failure to notify media when a jury is ready to deliver a verdict information that is in the public interest has been criticized by court transparency advocates for reducing openness and access to courts, despite the well-established important role played by the media in the justice system. The only source of information for most people about what is going on in our court system is the media, said media lawyer Iain MacKinnon. Unless the public can scrutinize what happens in the courts and how the justice system is operating, you cant have confidence that its working. Under the new directive, a media representative and the Victim Witness Assistance Program will be informed upon request when a jury returns whether with questions or a verdict, and when the jury is done deliberating for the night. Read more: Ontario courts should tell journalists when a jury is returning a verdict, transparency advocates say Ten years ago, The Middle Place was a breakout moment for actor-turned-playwright Andrew Kushnir. As creative director of the socially engaged theatre company Project: Humanity, Kushnir developed and wrote this documentary play about young people living in a shelter. After a tour of Toronto high schools, Alan Dilworths production of The Middle Place was picked up by Theatre Passe Muraille and Canadian Stage for their 2010 and 2011 seasons and won a bunch of awards. Kushnirs since written and co-created a number of acclaimed productions including The Gay Heritage Project, Small Axe and Wormwood, and became artistic director of Project: Humanity in 2016. The Middle Place was also a milestone for Kushnir because it brought him into contact with University of Toronto professor Kathleen Gallagher, who saw one of the shows high school performances. At that point, Gallagher was working on a major government-funded research project about the ways in which performances of live and digital drama in urban schools affect student engagement; Kushnirs play was right up her alley. She approached me and said, This feels like a different way of listening to young people, explains Kushnir. Gallaghers research team at the U of Ts Ontario Institute for Studies in Education conducted some 75 post-performance interviews with audience members when The Middle Place played in professional theatres, something she says was totally mutually beneficial. Kushnir constructed The Middle Place by taking quotes from transcripts of interviews he conducted with young people, who were then played by professional actors an approach usually called documentary or verbatim theatre. Gallagher offered Kushnir another description of what he was doing: ethno-drama, a term that likens the theatremakers work to that of an ethnographer. As Kushnir explains it, Gallagher said to him, Dont you see that by virtue of trying to transport these voices from interviews that transfer is allowing the public and all of us to engage with personhood, with humanity? Were able to make sense of how to be better with one another, how were not being great with one another. That may shift policy. Shes the one who kind of blew it open and went, This is not just about strong storytelling. Buoyed by their shared interests, Gallagher included Kushnir as co-researcher in her next (and still ongoing) project, Youth, Theatre, Radical Hope and the Ethical Imaginary, which explores the experience of high school students in drama classes in five countries: Canada, England, India, Taiwan and Greece. Along with traditional scholarly outcomes such as publications and conferences, a result of the project is Kushners Towards Youth: A Play on Radical Hope, premiering this week at Streetcar Crowsnest in a Crows Theatre/Project: Humanity co-production, directed by Kushnir and Chris Abraham. Gallagher describes her Radical Hope project as driven by hardcore research questions about the question of hope and its cousin, the notion of care. These grew out of an unexpected and surprising finding of her urban schools project: that providing care to others parents, grandparents, peers, members of a religious community didnt detract from young peoples experience of education but in fact enhanced it: The extent to which young people gave care was hugely, positively correlated with how engaged they felt in their education, says Gallagher. And not just felt: such students tended to perform better academically. In a related exploration, Gallagher and her team undertook in-depth interviews with young people studying drama who live in what mainstream society classifies as underprivileged conditions. What they taught me was, I practise hope and hope isnt about the future, hope is about the present, explains Gallagher. All of my kind of philosophical, theoretical reading around hope had been a kind of future-oriented idea. Then I realized: hope is a daily practice. These discoveries led Gallagher to wonder if what we had found about dramas role in young peoples general engagement in school could be scaled up, as it were. We wondered whether the drama room might also be a rehearsal space for broader forms of youth civic engagement. Thus was birthed the Radical Hope project, which explores notions of hope and care (for oneself and others) through drama workshops at the five research sites, and looks at how participating in drama may orient students toward active citizenship. Kushnir travelled to all the locations and compiled a huge amount of research in the form of interviews, videos, photos, sound, written observation and physical artifacts. In his play, a company of nine actors play young people and their teachers in the five locations and some of the projects researchers, including Gallagher and Kushnir themselves; in total they play 35 young people and 21 adults. Initially the goal was to turn the material into five one-act plays: We thought, You know, Robert Lepage has done it, Bernard Shaws done it we can invite audiences for a five-hour journey if we want, says Kushnir, with a self-deprecating grin. He scaled the project back into a single two-hour play, in part because they felt something was being impaired by seeing (the locations) as separate entities, he says. Kushnir likens his writing process after this realization to reducing a sauce on a stovetop. By virtue of cooking it down, by creating more of a flow through these sites and in fact giving me more of a poetic licence to overlap sites I think that it makes for a more loaded, saturated experience, he says. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Kushner is acutely aware that putting documentary material onstage is an ethically delicate undertaking, because hes depicting real peoples experience and making many choices about what to include and what to leave out. He composed the script in ongoing dialogue with Gallagher and their fellow researchers and depends on his co-director Abraham to be an outside eye assuring that this intense condensation of material will make sense to audiences. When I ask him why he finds this work important, Kushnir becomes emotional. Its feeling a deep sense of responsibility, and really imploring the powers of representation and the powers of metaphor to help us see the world in a more hopeful way, but also in a way that mobilizes us In the early days of Project: Humanity we used to think about a call to action, but Ive been shifting my thinking about that and wondering if it may be better to really engender in the audience a call to thought. Towards Youth is at Streetcar Crowsnest, 345 Carlaw Ave., until March 16. See crowstheatre.com for information. Donald Trumps administration regularly denounces Nicolas Maduro as an autocratic Cuban puppet and may hit the Caribbean island with new sanctions over its support for the Venezuelan leader. The U.S. president is expected to decide soon whether to activate a controversial section of American law toward Cuba for the first time ever, with other measures meant to tighten the screws on Havana likely to follow. The first move, known as Title III, would allow Cuban Americans to sue companies trafficking in property confiscated during the 1959 revolution in U.S. courts. That would complicate Cubas attempts to bolster its economy by attracting foreign investors. The measure is one of the remaining pieces of leverage the U.S. has in its effort to pressure countries into paring support for Maduros regime, which has long depended on Cuban political and logistical backing that to some observers has more symbolic power than substantive impact. Theres not going to be any resolution in Venezuela without somehow neutralizing the role of Cuba, said Jose Cardenas, who held senior Latin America posts in George W. Bushs administration. Cuba is seen as the bulwark behind Maduros intransigence they are steeling his spine. Cracking down on Cuba is risky for Trump. Unless he applies sanctions surgically, they could become headaches for nations like Canada and the European Union, similar to his decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear accord last year. A further isolation of Cuba could also drive a wedge into the regional bloc backing efforts to recognize Venezuelas opposition leader Juan Guaido as its legitimate president. In the Crosshairs Along with Canadian miner Sherritt International Corp., European airlines such as Air France-KLM and Deutsche Lufthansa AG, along with Spanish firms NH Hotel Group SA and Melia Hotels International SA, Dutch-British consumer goods conglomerate Unilever NV and Swiss food giant Nestle SA appear on lists of potential Title III targets tabulated by Cuba watchers. The U.S. law is part of the Helms-Burton act, passed under the Clinton administration in the 1990s. Title III had been waived on a rolling six-month basis until last month, when the State Department broke the status quo with a 45-day suspension. It said it was assessing how best to respond to Cubas brutal oppression of human rights and indefensible support for authoritarian regimes in Venezuela and Nicaragua the third member of what National Security Adviser John Bolton labels the Troika of Tyranny. While it is gospel among anti-Maduro forces that Cuba is pulling the strings, its difficult to prove conclusively. Two days after Trump, in a Miami speech that railed against socialism, condemned the corrupt bargain of Venezuelan oil for a police state run directly from Havana, Cubas foreign minister called a rare press conference to deny the accusation as calumny. A former Canadian ambassador to Venezuela acknowledged Cubas presence in the oil-producing South American nation is significant but misunderstood. Its not that one country is dominating the other, its that the two have established a strategic partnership, Ben Rowswell, who served in Caracas from 2014 to 2017, said after briefing lawmakers in Ottawa last week. They each believe the other is essential to their own narrative about why they are legitimate. Extraterritorial Implications With the 45-day deadline looming and a 15-day notification period for Congress a decision on Helms-Burton could come by the end of this week. For another former Canadian diplomat, thats resulted in a case of deja vu. The implementation of Title III would be, as it was in 1996, an egregious extraterritorial extension of U.S. law, said Mark Entwistle, who was ambassador in Havana when it was debated and passed. It would directly impinge on the sovereign right of other countries to conduct their own foreign policy. The Canadian government is awaiting clarity from the U.S. on its intentions for Title III, according to Foreign Minister Chrystia Freelands office. We will always stand up for Canadian businesses, press secretary Adam Austen said. Canada, which hosted a meeting of the Lima Group of nations backing Guaidos claim to Venezuelas presidency earlier this month, never broke relations with Cuba after Fidel Castro seized power. The northern nation sends a million tourists to the Caribbean island each year and is home to its largest private investor. Potential Exemptions Sherritt has been mining nickel in eastern Cuba since 1994 and also has oil-and-gas operations near Havana. The Toronto-based firm has already been penalized under Title IV of Helms-Burton, with executives banned from traveling to the U.S. as a result. It declined to comment on the potential implementation of Title III. U.S. companies that bolstered ties to Cuba after an easing of restrictions under former President Barack Obama could also be targeted, including United Continental Holdings Inc., Marriott International Inc. and Carnival Corp. But Cardenas expects Trump to exempt both American firms and those of allied nations from any application of Title III. I would find a way to exempt countries that have been playing a positive role in Venezuela, the former Bush official said, laying out four other ways the Trump administration could ratchet up pressure on Havana: The Treasury Department could review all business licenses issued under Obama. That could jeopardize a recent Major League Baseball deal as well as continued visits by American cruise ships to Cuba. The U.S. could target individual Cuban officials active in Venezuela with Magnitsky sanctions. Cardenas said retired Venezuelan military officers living in the U.S. are helping to compile a list of such individuals. Trump could restore a fast-track immigration program for Cuban doctors who defect to the U.S. that was eliminated under Obamas normalization. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... The U.S. could return Cuba to its list of state sponsors of terrorism. Cardenas cited the presence in Havana of Colombian guerrillas behind a Bogota bombing as well as Cubas role in forming paramilitary groups Maduro uses to crush dissent as grounds. Given the delicate regional politics at play, Canadas former envoy to Havana is leery of any possible U.S. crackdown. Im hoping Cuba is not thrown like the proverbial baby in the bathwater in with the Venezuelan crisis, said Entwistle, who now advises U.S. multinationals doing business on the island. I think it would be a strategic error. Read more about: MONTREAL - More than a thousand passengers were affected after Air Canada partially suspended service to India due to the closure of Pakistani airspace as tensions mount between the two nuclear powers. A flight en route to Delhi Tuesday night turned back over the Atlantic Ocean and returned to Toronto Wednesday, the airline said. A second Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Delhi slated for takeoff Tuesday night was also cancelled, said spokeswoman Isabelle Arthur. Wednesday night flights on the same two routes were cancelled as there currently are no suitable alternate routings, she said in an email. On both routes, Air Canada flies Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner jets that contain more than 280 seats, meaning up to 1,100 people are likely impacted by the cancellations so far. We continue to monitor this situation closely and flights to Delhi will operate as soon as operationally feasible, Arthur said. On Wednesday, Pakistans military said it shot down two Indian warplanes in the disputed region of Kashmir and captured a pilot, responding to an airstrike a day earlier by Indian aircraft inside Pakistan and raising tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals to a level unseen in the last two decades. The downing of the Indian aircraft came on a chaotic day that also saw mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier dividing the two sectors of Kashmir kill six civilians and wound several others. The closure of Pakistani airspace interrupted flights around the globe, as airlines scrambled to reroute planes and arrange refuelling stops. Qatar Airways, Emirates, and Gulf Air were some of the airlines that halted flights to Pakistan on Wednesday. Singapore Airlines, British Airways and others said they had rerouted several flights. Hundreds of international flights a day travel above India and Pakistan, a corridor all the more integral to global air networks because of tight restrictions on flying over neighbouring China. Emergencies military, political and natural ground flights periodically, said Kamran Bokhari, director for strategy and programs at the Centre for Global Policy in Washington D.C. Recall the Malaysian flight shot down by Ukrainian rebels, he said, referring to a deadly incident near the Russian border in July 2014. They used one of those anti-aircraft systems and they locked onto it and the entire aircraft perished, he said. Days later, the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority imposed a ban on American flights to Israel amidst Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. Air Canada resumed flights between Toronto and Tel Aviv after two days. While flight bans are typical in times of escalating conflict in Syria in 2015, and across the U.S. after the 9/11 terror attacks, for example this is a game-changer to the historical policy of restraint by India, Bokhari said. Both sides are in undiscovered country. In 2017, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain banned Qatari aircraft from flying through their airspace amid a diplomatic crisis precipitated by a blockade by five Middle Eastern states against Qatar, choking Qatar Airways. In 2010, volcanic eruptions in Iceland prompted the cancellation of thousands of flights when officials closed European airspace for five days, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded in one of the largest flight disruptions since the Sept. 11 attacks. Air Canada has implemented a goodwill policy for affected customers and is monitoring the situation in order to resume service once it normalizes, Arthur said. Canadas largest airline operates daily service from Toronto and Vancouver to Delhi and four times weekly between Toronto and Mumbai. It has no aircraft on the ground in India and all flights from India to Canada have returned as scheduled, she said. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... A flight from Toronto to Mumbai was on track for takeoff Wednesday night, as the route avoids Pakistani airspace. Companies in this story: (TSX:AC) With files from The Associated Press. Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. Sarah Mearhoff Forum News Service PIERRE South Dakota could be one step closer to legalizing industrial hemp if lawmakers can win over the governor. The House on Tuesday voted 51-11 to pass House Bill 1212, which would allocate $10,000 in state dollars to the Department of Agriculture to develop a hemp licensing program. HB 1212 is a companion bill to House Bill 1191, which would legalize the growth and production of hemp in the state. The House overwhelmingly passed HB 1191 by a 65-2 vote earlier this month, and a Senate committee is set to take up the bill this week. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Kris Langer, R-Dell Rapids, said at a news conference on Friday that there is a good sense of support among senators for the bill. Despite lawmakers overall support for hemp, Republican Gov. Kristi Noem has consistently advocated against legalizing it this legislative session. She has said that South Dakota isnt ready for hemp, and that law enforcement doesnt have the money or tools necessary to enforce regulations. She said at a Feb. 14 news conference that she is 100 percent convinced that this would open the pathway to marijuana legalization in South Dakota. Hemp is not a drug. It is related to, but not the same as, cannabis, a Schedule I controlled substance. Hemp does not contain a high enough concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, to cause psychoactive effects when ingested. With hemp now legal federally thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, proponents of legalization say South Dakota could lose out on economic opportunities to other states if they wait any longer. Noem has declined to say whether she would veto HB 1191 should it pass the Senate. If she does, House Majority Leader Rep. Lee Qualm, R-Platte, said on Feb. 11 that he would pursue a veto override. Langer on Friday said her caucus has not yet discussed whether the Senate would, as well. Southern Pines, NC (28387) Today Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some passing clouds. Low 71F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Rawai sludge ditch problems continue PHUKET: An open drainage ditch running alongside Saiyuan Rd in Rawai is set to remain a health and safety hazard while Rawai Municipality irons out delays in having the ditch converted to a covered drain beside the road under a contract that started last year. constructionpollution By Waranya Prompinpiras Wednesday 27 February 2019, 12:50PM The ditch easily overflows with wastewater, even after four weeks without rain. Photo: Supplied The ditch easily overflows with wastewater, even after four weeks without rain. Photo: Supplied The ditch easily overflows with wastewater, even after four weeks without rain. Photo: Supplied The ditch easily overflows with wastewater, even after four weeks without rain. Photo: Supplied A motorist recently drove into the ditch, unable to tell where the verge ended and the ditch began. Photo: Supplied The drainage ditch, which runs from the pond beside The Palm Breeze Resort to the three-way intersection with turnoffs to Kata and Nai Harn, is covered in some parts, but exposed, filthy and dangerous along other sections beside the road. Most recently a driver accidentally landed his car in the drain, which ended up nose-down, mired in the muck. Rawai Mayor Aroon Soros told The Phuket News that he was unaware of the accident until he was shown a photo of the car that was sent to The Phuket News, but he did explain that the drain was already a focus of concern and had been an issue for a long time. A contractor was hired last year to have the ditch converted to a concrete drain and covered with a footpath along the 600-plus metres from the pond to the three-way intersection, he said. This project is funded under a B10-million budget, Mayor Aroon explained. The project contract started on Aug 15 last year, giving the contractor until tomorrow (Feb 28) to complete the work. However, the project has stalled due to factors beyond the contractors control, Mayor Aroon said. Shop owners have yet to remove their concrete slabs covering the drain in front of their stores and power poles have yet to be moved so the work can continue, he said. I issued a notice telling shop owners to remove their blocks covering the drain, which they did on Monday (Feb 25), he said. I have also again asked the local Provincial Electricity Authority to move the power poles, which they have yet to show any sign of doing, he added. The deadline for the project has nearly passed but the contractor still is unable to finish the work. We will meet with them this week to discuss our options. At this stage, we will simply have to extend the official deadline for completing the project. We will also discuss what happens with the fine to be levied under the contract for late completion, he said. Mayor Aroon told The Phuket News that he also has plans to have covered drains with footpaths installed along other sections of Saiyuan Rd. But we will first need to look at the budget required, and we must consult with the Department of Rural Roads, which is responsible for Saiyuan Rd, to see if there is enough space (beside the road), he said. The continuing problems with the drain and a lack of action by Rawai Municipality to fix the problems have been a bane for local business operators. One local business operator told The Phuket News that in the four and a half years that the business had been open along the road, Rawai Municipality had cleaned the drain only twice. Each time it was done only about one-third of the rubbish was actually taken out. The biggest problem being when it does rain all the sludge in the now overflowing drain covers our property, the operator said. I have lost count of the amount of times we have gone to the municipality to plead with them to come and clean this drain. All we get from Rawai Municipality is I will speak to big boss. I was not sure who the big boss was, but when I asked to speak to him directly I was told that I could not!, he said. There is a similar open drain a bit further down the road in front of the yellow bank (Bank of Ayudhya branch), but theirs seems to get cleaned on some sort of regular basis. Bear in mind when you look at the photos, it had not rained here for over four weeks! We are just so fed up with the lack of action! the business operator said. Leicester welcome Rodgers with win, Newcastle end Burnley run LONDON: New Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers watched on from the stands as the Foxes beat Brighton 2-1, while Newcastle pulled further clear of the relegation battle by defeating Burnley 2-0 on Tuesday (Feb 26). FootballPremier-League By AFP Wednesday 27 February 2019, 08:51AM Brendan Rodgers has returned to the Premier League with Leicester City. Photo: AFP Rodgers was confirmed as Claude Puels successor just before kick-off at the King Power after dramatically leaving Celtic despite being on course for a third domestic treble of trophies in Scotland. The Northern Irishman saw what his new side are capable of as Demarai Gray and Jamie Vardy put the hosts into a 2-0 lead before Davy Propper pulled a goal back to ensure a nervy finish. However, Brightons alarming slide towards the bottom three continued as they could not find an equaliser and now have not won in seven league games. Newcastle are headed in the other direction as once again they were inspired by the performance of record signing Miguel Almiron to end Burnleys eight-game unbeaten Premier League run. Fabian Schars stunning long-range effort put Rafa Benitezs men in front before Sean Longstaff scored his first goal for the club to give Newcastle a commanding half-time lead they never looked like surrendering. Cardiff remain just a point above the relegation zone as Everton inflicted a second heavy home defeat on the Welsh side in five days with a 3-0 win to boost their confidence ahead of Sundays Merseyside derby against Liverpool. Gylfi Sigurdsson scored twice either side of half-time before Dominic Calvert-Lewin rounded off a badly needed win for Marco Silva in stoppage time. Huddersfield remain rock bottom, but did secure their first win under Jan Siewert thanks to Steve Mounies 91st minute winner to beat Wolves 1-0. Read original story here. Grab legalisation inches forward BANGKOK: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Land Transport Department will discuss legalising ride-hailing services like Grab as the state seeks to promote this years tourism revenue target of B3.4 trillion, particularly in 55 secondary provinces. tourismtransporteconomics By Bangkok Post Wednesday 27 February 2019, 10:06AM Grab and other ride-hailing services are still illegal in Thailand, but the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will try to reverse that. Photo: Grab.com Ride-hailing services are a key transport option in second-tier provinces that lack public transport for tourists, said Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, deputy governor for digital R&D at the TAT. Tarin Thaniyavarn, country head of Grab Thailand, said tourists account for 20% of Grabs passengers in Thailand and it has services in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines that are supported by Alipay, which is highly popular with Chinese tourists. Tourism makes up 20% of Thailands GDP. Grab will transfer know-how from its Singapore data science team to the TAT and plans to increase driver supply in secondary provinces. Grab Thailand operates in 16 provinces and 18 cities. The TAT is partnering with Grab Thailand and investing B40 million in a smart data system with accuracy marketing. By signing a partnership agreement to use big data with Grab Thailand, we will be able to strengthen the tourism industry because transport is key to visitors accessing experiences and being able to spend, said TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn. Grab has data on tourist behaviour, such as preferences for pickup points and destinations that the TAT could use for analytical purposes. The data can be used for marketing to increase the number and quality of tourists. Our main goals are to have tourists revisit Thailand, increase new tourist numbers, distribute tourism income to secondary provinces and introduce new destinations to stimulate the market even further, Mr Yuthasak said. Apart from exchanging data, the TAT will develop services and run a campaign with Grab. The TAT will provide special rewards for Grab drivers who receive good reviews from tourist passengers. This will help to boost the image of transport in Thailand, long hindered by dishonest tuk-tuk and taxi drivers. Mr Siripakorn said that starting last year the TAT spent B40 million on the Tourism Smart Data scheme by using data from the Immigration Bureau, National Statistical Office, Expedia.com and the Thai Meteorological Department. With Grabs tourist insights, the TAT will be able to better promote travel to 55 secondary provinces because these areas lack data and public transport. The TAT aims to increase revenue from 55 second-tier provinces to close the disparity in tourism revenue. This year Thailand is expected to gain 15% of tourism revenue from secondary provinces and 85% from major cities after gaining 90% from major cities and 10% from second-tier cities in the last two years. Some 70% of tourists go to major cities and 30% to second-tier cities. Mr Yuthasak earlier disclosed the TATs goal in 2019 to raise the travel industrys value to B3.4 trillion and increase foreign visitor growth to 10%. Despite the illegality of ride-hailing services in Thailand, authorities have persistently encouraged the use of Grab. In 2015, Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong publicly endorsed Grab and went so far as to threaten to fire Grab drivers who did not operate fairly in essence threatening to stop from them doing something that is illegal. (See story here.) See original story here. Frenchwoman deported for vaping PHUKET: Karon police have responded to complaints made by a French tourist who was apprehended in Karon for possession of an e-cigarette. crimeimmigrationpolicecorruptiontourism By Tanyaluk Sakoot Wednesday 27 February 2019, 04:07PM E-cigarettes have been prohibited in Thailand since 2014. Photo: AFP Cecilia Cornu, 31, was in Phuket for a family holiday in January and was caught by Karon police holding an e-cigarette on Jan 30 whilst on a scooter with her fiancee as her parents and brother followed behind. Cornu claims she was stopped by four police officers who snatched the e-cigarette and demanded B40,000, which she refused to pay. She claims she was then arrested and taken to Karon Police Station where officers tried to bully her into paying a bribe. Cornu was charged, her passport confiscated and a trial date set for Feb 11. Her return flight was scheduled for the following day. She posted bail of B100,000 and was released the same day pending trial. On Feb 11 Cornu attended Phuket Provincial Court where she was convicted for the offence and says she was fined B827 (23 euros). She was then sent to Phuket Immigration for what she thought was to collect her passport. Upon arriving at the immigration office, she was informed that she would be transferred to Bangkok for deportation. Cornu was then taken to Bangkok where she claims she spent four days and three nights in a prison cell shared with 60 other women in dire conditions where she had to sleep on a hard, dirty floor with no sheets or mattresses before returning home to France. Cornu claims the ordeal cost her a total of approximately 8,000 euros (B286,000) in legal fees and travel expenses. Karon Police Chief Col Prasarn Hankotha responded to Cornus claims this morning (Feb 27). He told The Phuket News, Karon police arrested Ms Cecilia Cornu after she was seen using an e-cigarette in Karon on Jan 30. After waiting in the station for many hours while police worked on the case with her lawyer, she asked for bail which was granted at B100,000, he explained. She posted bail and was released the same day. We did not hold her in a cell during her time at the police station. Col Prasarn went on to explain that the full bail amount was later returned to Cornu. We have documents to prove this, he said. Ms Cornu was fined by Phuket Provincial Court on Feb 11 but we do not know the amount as we have not yet received a report from the court. Col Prasarn flatly denied Cornus claim that his officers demanded a B40,000 bribe. Karon Police had nothing to do with that, he asserted. We had to confiscate her passport to prevent her from leaving the country before the trial, which is a normal procedure, he said. Police then sent her to the Phuket Immigration Office on Feb 11 to process her deportation via Bangkok. When asked about claims made by Cornu regarding her expenses, Col Prasarn replied, We know nothing about 8,000 euros or B286,000. She paid a fine at Phuket Provincial Court and that is all we know. The Chief of the Phuket Immigration Office, Col Kathathorn Kumthieng, explained the standard procedure for all foreigners who are transferred to Bangkok for deportation, highlighting that it can take about three or four days to process and all travel and living costs during that time are the responsibility of the deportee. This subscription will allow curernt subscribers of The News Guard to access all of our online Subscriber-Only content, including the E Editions area. NOTE: To claim your access to the site, you will need to enter the Last Name and First Name that is tied to your subscription in this format: SMITH, JOHN If you need help with exactly how your specific name needs be entered, please call us at 1-541-994-2178 or email admin@countrymedia.net. 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. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 When you walk up the stairs of the Broad Museum in East Lansing, the student bustle of East Grand River Avenue is left behind. As a recent graduate of Brigham Young University with an emphasis in art and humanities of Europe, I was interested in seeing the art museum at MSU designed by the late architect Zaha Hadid. Prompted by a family friend who is a design professor at CMU, I took the short trip for a day in East Lansing. In Hadids building erected in 2012, you feel as though youve entered a new land, a futuristic place that looks like a piece of Kryptonite has landed on the expansive campus. The exhibit I visited, Matter(s) Matter(s): Bridging Research in the Arts and Sciences, is a catalyst to understanding the exponentially increasing connection between the human body and the natural and scientific world. My thoughts were drawn to consumerism and its avoidance as humans seek insight from their own environments, including their own malleable bodies. Its like Turner Prize-winning artist Damien Hirsts vatrines cross-bred with rubber meets the road conservation, and it made me reanalyze the body and its relationship to the many homes we belong to. Initially I noticed the large projection video ahead of me, which had a surgery going on. The Cyprus-born performance artist, Stelarc (b. 1946), created Extra Ear: Ear on Arm, an ongoing project since 1997. The video documents Stelarcs second surgery on the extra ear attached to his arm, effectively becoming an internet organ for his body. To Stelarc, this third ear is a symptom of excess, and is just one of his many robotic experimentations creating other-worldly anatomical creations. On the opposite wall of Stelarcs piece was a piece by Berlin-based artist, Sissel Tolaas (b. 1963). Tolaas has a background in chemistry, mathematics, linguistics, and art. She specializes in scents, creating a lab archiving thousands of smells in air tight jars. Here at the Broad, her piece titled SmellScape Detroit 18/2018, is her preservation of the many scents of Detroit. Lying on many individual shelves are geometric blocks infused with scents that you can pick up with your hand and internalize for yourself. Similar to listed sites that are historic and preserved as a result, Tolaass scent figures preserve the evolving landscape of historic Detroit. Smell, more connected to memory than any other sense, has a portal effect in this exhibit. With each smell block I picked up, I felt transported to Southwest Detroit and its nuanced areas. Some of the scent labels were Detroit, the city that continues to call the worlds bluff, and Detroit is not a city attempting to be another city, its just Detroit. My favorite smell label was We didnt change our zip code when our schools started smelling like gunsmoke and new money. Tolaass work had my senses traveling back to my college town Provo, Utah, and the smell of the canyon in the morning. It had me back in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, where I spent my high school years, smelling warm pizza Friday night pizza in frigid January. I thought of the many places we call home, and what we choose to preserve as we leave our human footprint on this earth. What brings us to a conscientiousness of the places we effect and interact with? How do we increase our capacity to be present in our environments? If you want to have an adventure of the senses, go to Matter(s) Matter(s): Bridging Research in the Arts and Sciences, on display at Michigan State Universitys Broad Museum until March 3. Mary Harrast is a recent college graduate from Brigham Young University. Does the end of Black History Month mean we can forget about the subject for a year? NO! We have seen a steady increase in bigotry. In 2017 law enforcement agencies reported 7,175 hate crimes, more than a thousand the year before. Of those in 2017, 2,013 were against blacks and 938 against Jewish Americans. 2018 reports are not yet available. The 2019 theme for Black History month has been Black Migrations emphasizes the movement of people of African descent to new destinations and subsequently to new social realities. While inclusive of earlier centuries, this theme focuses especially on the twentieth century through today. Beginning in the early decades of the twentieth century, African American migration patterns included relocation from southern farms to southern cities; from the South to the Northeast, Midwest, and West; from the Caribbean to US cities as well as to migrant labor farms; and the emigration of noted African Americans to Africa and to European cities, such as Paris and London, after the end of World War I and World War II, according to the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Prejudice has been a problem in the United States since its inception. Prejudice is a social flaw that must be healed or many more will suffer and die. It is a disease with a cure: Discourse, meeting a diverse number of individuals, learning from them, realizing that members of a group are not monolithic, and befriending some of those with common interests and beliefs. The strength of the country lies in its variety. Kosher dills, hot tamales, sushi, and Peking duck werent invented in Ypsilanti, after all. It must be easier for some to hate rather than to love. Probably has something to do with the size of the amygdala. Weve discussed the brains amygdala here before: Large amygdala, large fear leading to tendency to hate. Hatred drains away ones compassion and empathy for others. February also saw a phony Lets Pretend National Emergency declared by DonnyT in a sing-song speech: I didnt have to DO IT/They will SUE/ Well get a bad DECISION/ Then well get another bad DECISION/ Itll go to the Supreme COURT/I think Im getting SEASICK! I was glad to see Michigan as one of sixteen states suing against this Silly Symphony. Then there was Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. In his new book and appearances on the CBS 60 Minutes show and NPRs Morning Edition he outlined how the FBI became concerned over the presidents actions involving the Russian interference in the 2016 election. This led to the Mueller investigation. McCabe said, I dont know that we have ever seen in all of history an example of the number, the volume and the significance of the contacts between people in and around the president, his campaign, with our most serious, our existential international enemy: the government of Russia, Thats just remarkable to me. Its now seems former Trump campaign chair, Paul Manafort is a habitual criminal. Robert Muellers team has found him guilty on eight counts related to finances such as bank fraud, money laundering and tax evasion. He faces another trial in September on ten other counts. He joins a group of six Trump advisers, 26 Russian nationals, three Russian corporations, a London lawyer, and an unnamed California man. Five of the six advisers and one other pleaded guilty. There are now so many dots to connect, its beginning to look like a Pointillist painting by Seurat. Trump is a clear and present danger to Constitutional democracy. March will be refreshing. The March for Our Lives, led by students will bring improvement. Their tenacity and camaraderie will spread. We shall endure. Ed Fisher writes a weekly column for The Morning Sun. Several state lawmakers, including Roger Hauck, will be jumping in their own Legislative Polar Plunge on Thursday. Hauck, Representative of the 99th district (Isabella and Midland Counties), will be joining more than 40 other state legislators as a part of their own polar plunge in front of the Capitol steps in Lansing at 3 p.m. on Thursday, according to a press release sent by Special Olympics Michigan on Tuesday. The plunge, like others of its kind across the state, is an event that raises funds for Special Olympics Michigan. The event is hosted by the Law Enforcement Torch Run, an organization that helps with fundraising for the Special Olympics by hosting several events, including Polar Plunges, Tip-A-Cop events and several others, according to the Special Olympics website. The goal of the plunge events is to raise at least $1.2 million between all of the event, said LETR Michigan Director John Card in a previous report. Participants of the plunge raise money for the opportunity to jump into a cold pool of water during the winter months. Several participants tend to dress up in costumes. Mt. Pleasant had their polar plunge on Feb. 16, with people across the Mid-Michigan area gathering to show their support for the Special Olympics athletes. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Please let us know what's going on! Go to form 8 hours ago | June 30th | 2021 5:15 AM Inherited an IRA? You Could Pay Major Taxes if You Don't Follow the New Rules Do you expect to inherit the contents of an individual retirement account (IRA)? If you are not the spouse of the individual who died and inherited IRA money, you want to know the new withdrawal rules. For example, if someone in your family (such as a parent, a grandparent, aunt, uncle, sister, brother, etc.) passes away and leaves you money in an 9 hours ago | June 30th | 2021 5:15 AM Inherited an IRA? You Could Pay Major Taxes if You Don't Follow the New Rules Do you expect to inherit the contents of an individual retirement account (IRA)? If you are not the spouse of the individual who died and inherited IRA money, you want to know the new withdrawal rules. For example, if someone in your family (such as a parent, a grandparent, aunt, uncle, sister, brother, etc.) passes away and leaves you money in an Ad Resource Stock Digest 2,391 Recent Views Could This Be the Biggest US Gold Discovery in Years? See how this tiny, unknown gold company secured a prime land package right next door to the worlds two largest gold producers in Nevadas famed Carlin Trend where 84 Million gold ounces have already been extracted. Best of all, investors can still get in well below US$0.50 per share. Last month, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Governor Viktor Bungtilu Laiskodat shared a plan to close Komodo National Park for a year, saying that the closure was needed to increase the local population of Komodo dragons and deer, the giant lizards natural prey. He said the lizards were not as big as they used to be, attributing this to a decline in the local deer population due to poaching. As expected, the plan sparked a debate. Located in West Manggarai regency, Komodo National Park is among the most popular tourist attractions in Indonesia, particularly for foreign tourists. Based on Tourism Ministry data, the national park welcomes over 10,000 tourists monthly, of whom 95 percent are foreigners. With such tourism potential, obviously, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya opposed the governors plan, calling it irrelevant. In addition to its tourism potential, the national park is also the only place to see Komodo dragons in their natural habitat and its conservation is overseen by the Environment and Forestry Ministry. Responding to the plan, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya said she would summon representatives from the NTT administration, saying that decisions regarding conservation areas were solely under the jurisdiction of the central government. Fortunately, all relevant parties involved have agreed to postpone the plan and instead of closing the whole park for a year, NTT Tourism Agency head Marius Ardu Jelamu said last week that the temporary closure would only apply to Komodo Island, the parks largest island. Marius also mentioned that the regional and central governments had been working on the plans together and would work on other problems too, such as supervision and control of tourists activities Obviously, there are more issues surrounding the national park than the future of the giant lizards and deer population. In 2013, I joined a media trip to the national park. Invited by one of the luxury phinisi (a traditional ship that was mainly built by Bugis-Makassar ethnic) companies, I had a great time seeing the natural beauty of Komodo National Park, watching the giant lizards, lounging on the park's empty beaches and seeing the marine life. Reading the governors reasons, I saw no connection between travelers visiting Komodo National Park and the decline of the deer population. I recalled that I was accompanied by a park ranger while seeing the Komodo dragons om Rinca Island. This unsung hero not only shared valuable information about Komodo dragons but also helped prevent tourists from disturbing the giant lizards. Based on his argument, Viktor realized that the problem was poaching, not travelers. The problem has been going on for a while. In August 2017, internet user Agus Pambagyo posted a photo of deer carcasses with a caption implying that it had been the result of illegal hunting in Komodo National Park. Read also: Government to go ahead with Komodo National Park closure in 2020 According to kompas.com, police are investigating the matter. At the end of 2018, a similar case resurfaced as Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police personnel in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), seized at least nine deer allegedly obtained through poaching on Komodo Island. Would there be any point of closing the park for tourists if the illegal activity continues to happen? In addition to poaching, the national park also faces other problems, including trash and minimum supervision. Last year, The Guardian published an article about trash on Komodo National Park, revealing how travelers on a dive boat had discovered a green turtle entangled in trash and thick fishing net. The article also includes a statement made by dive master and dive center owner Ed Statham, saying he and his team frequently found boats illegally fishing inside the protected Coral Triangle area. He also addressed the decreasing number of marine patrols. I was not surprised to read the news as during my trip, I had the luxury of watching a sunset on empty beaches with minimum supervision. Fortunately, the phinisi operator was responsible enough and they cleaned any garbage prior to leaving the beach. But what about reckless travelers who dont care about the environment? With a total area of 1,817 square kilometers, comprising three larger islands, namely Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as 26 smaller islands, its not easy to manage Komodo National Park and the situation worsens with poor collaboration between regional and central governments, as reflected by the entire hullabaloo. Protecting Komodo National Park and the endangered species is not a one-man show. All related parties need to come together and put away their personal interests. The issue surrounding Komodo National Park is only the tip of the iceberg. Lets not forget that there are other national parks in the archipelago that need similar attention and it's time for regional and central governments to work together before it's too late. (mut) National flag carrier Garuda Indonesias low-cost subsidiary, Citilink, opened its sixth international route, Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur, on Tuesday. "This move proved our commitment to expanding our wings to the international level and strengthen our position as a prominent low-cost carrier in the world," said Citilink Indonesia vice president corporate secretary and corporate social responsibility Resty Kusandarina in a statement. Prior to this route, the airline opened international routes Denpasar-Dili, Jakarta-Penang, Surabaya-Penang, Banyuwangi-Kuala Lumpur and Surabaya-Kuala Lumpur. Resty said the company was optimistic that it could reach seat load factor of 75 percent for the Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur route. Read also: Citilink to delight Malaysian travelers with new Banyuwangi-Kuala Lumpur route According to flight data provider OAG in 2018, Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur is the fifth busiest route in the world, with a flight frequency of up to 19,849 flights. The new route itself is said to operate four times a week on Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, departing from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 11 a.m. and arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 2:20 p.m. local time. Meanwhile, the return flight is scheduled to take off from Kuala Lumpur at 3:20 p.m. and arrive in Jakarta at 4:30 p.m. (kes) The Belgian comics series "The Adventures of Tintin," opened its first flagship theme shop in Shanghai this week after the Chinese Lunar New Year. Located in central Shanghai, the shop sells more than 1,000 products surrounding the iconic figure in over 50 categories. Even though the shop is still in its trial operation, Tintin fans spread the news through social networks and swarmed into the shop over the weekend. "I've loved Tintin ever since I first read it as a kid, and I really admire his colorful life traveling around the world," said Zhang Huiying, a Tintin fan in Shanghai. "I bought some ornaments and postcards. Tintin has accompanied me for many years, and I wish his readers would love him as always." "Tintin fans bought up all the limited-edition sculptures of Tintin with a suitcase with Shanghai and his dog Snowy printed on it," said Philippe Wang, a representative of China of Moulinsart, intellectual property owner of "The Adventures of Tintin." Read also: Tintin marks 90th birthday with colonial controversy "People are coming from Beijing and Hangzhou in groups this weekend just to visit our shop," said Wang. To meet more customer demands, Wang said an official online Tintin shop will open soon, and a Tintin exhibition in China is in preparation. In 1934, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, known by his pen name Herge and as "the father of Tintin," met with Zhang Chongren, then a Shanghai architectural student in Belgium, to create his story "The Blue Lotus," which took place in the metropolis. The character "Chang Chong-Chen" was based on Zhang and is the only character with a real-world origin in "The Adventures of Tintin." Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Arya Dipa and Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Bandung/Jakarta Wed, February 27, 2019 12:02 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a1f81d4 2 SE Asia Indonesia,Vietnam,maritime-standoff,Maritime-and-fisheries-ministry,Foreign-Ministry,maritime-boundaries,Susi-Pudjiastuti,illegal-fishing Free Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti lambasted the Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance (VFRS) agency for allegedly disrupting the Indonesian Navys efforts to seize four Vietnam-flagged vessels for illegally fishing in Indonesian waters. We request that Vietnams government explain about and apologize for the incident, said Susi on Monday in Bandung, West Java, adding that she would communicate with Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi about issuing a formal protest against Vietnam over the incident. The incident took place on Sunday morning when two VFRS patrol vessels Kiem Ngu 214214 and Kiem Ngu 214263 allegedly prompted dangerous maneuvers to intercept the arrest of the four vessels for fishing illegally in the northern part of Natuna waters in Riau Islands, authorities said. The actions could have caused collisions so we warned them more firmly, said Cdre. Irvansyah, the commander of the Indonesian Navys 1st Fleet Sea Battle Group. The captain of KRI Tom-357 had to shoot a 76-millimeter cannon to drive the two VFRS patrol boats off, he added. The Navy eventually managed to seize the four Vietnam-flagged fishing boats safely and put them under their custody. The four were identified as BV 525 TS; BV 9487 TS; BV 4923 TS; and BVS 525 TS the first three of which were caught while carrying a total of four cooling boxes full of fish. Susi said it was not the first such incident in the past few weeks. Last week, two VFRS boats allegedly tried to stop KP Hiu Macan 01, a vessel owned by the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministrys directorate general of marine resources and fisheries supervision, from arresting four Vietnamese fishing vessels also in North Natuna waters. The Hiu Macan 01s captain, Samson, said he decided to release the Vietnamese ships due to safety concerns, citing an incident last year when a Vietnamese coast guard vessel allegedly rammed into a ministry patrol boat which at the time of the incident was trying to seize a suspected illegal fishing boat. The fisheries ministry recorded that vessels from Vietnam were among the most seized fishing boats in the ongoing crackdown on illegal fishing. Since October 2014, the ministry has seized or sunk 276 Vietnam-flagged fishing boats for poaching Indonesian waters. The Foreign Ministry said it regretted the recurrent disruptions against Indonesias law enforcement measures by Vietnamese vessels. The ministry has coordinated with related ministries and institutions, including the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, to overcome the issue with Vietnam, ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. However, he did not comment on whether or not his office would send a formal protest to Vietnam. Naval skirmishes commonly occur in the waters off Natuna Islands regency, especially with Vietnam, as Jakarta and Hanoi remain locked in a dispute over their overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZs) in the area. In 2017, tensions flared following a maritime stand-off involving a Vietnamese coast guard vessel that had intercepted an Indonesian fisheries ministry vessel during its attempt to arrest five Vietnamese fishing boats. Later that year, President Joko Jokowi Widodo hosted talks in Jakarta with Nguyen Phu Trong, the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, to mend ties that had been stretched due to such incidents. Jokowi then visited Vietnam in 2018, which resulted in a bilateral commitment to conclude negotiations on maritime boundaries and to combat illegal fishing. However, skirmishes in the area continue to date. Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan recently announced a plan to populate the Natuna Islands with fishermen from other regions such as Java in an effort to bolster Indonesias presence in the area. The Natuna Sea is geographically closer to Vietnam and Malaysia, and borders the disputed South China Sea. (tjs) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, February 28 2019 Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo has come to the defense of Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, who was accused of an ethics violation by the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) for endorsing President Joko Jokowi Widodo. Tjahjo, Ganjar and Jokowi are senior members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle. Central Java Bawaslu declared last week that Ganjar, along with 34 mayors and regents under his purview, had violated Law No. 23/2014 on regional administration by taking a side in the presidential election, which will be held in April. The agency said they were prohibited from collectively expressing their political preferences in public because of their positions. It made the accusation after video footage emerged of Ganjar declaring his support for Jokowi by also mentioning ... Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Karina M. Tehusijarana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, February 28 2019 Said Aqil Siradj (JP/Dhoni Setiawan) President Joko Jokowi Widodo has called on members of Islamic mass organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) to fight against hoaxes and slander in the run-up to the general elections. Soon, in April, it will be time for the big events of the presidential and legislative elections, Jokowi said at the opening of NUs national meeting (Munas) in Banjar, West Java, on Wednesday. I ask the NU to respond well, especially to any slander that has already spread from door to door and house to house. He mentioned the case of a viral video showing three women in Karawang, West Java, telling a man that if the incumbent was reelected, there would be no adzan (call to prayer) and homosexual marriage would be allowed, in an apparent attempt to dissuade him from voting for Jokowi. Does it make any logical sense? It doe... Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Thu, February 28 2019 Phasporn Sangasubana (JP/Dian Septiari) The year is shaping up to be a busy one for Thailand, with a general election next month and its ASEAN chairmanship duties. The Jakarta Posts Dian Septiari recently sat down with Thailands permanent representative to ASEAN, Phasporn Sangasubana, to discuss the challenges the nation faces in its regional priorities. The following are excerpts from the interview: Question: What preparations have Thailand made in juggling its ASEAN chairmanship with organizing the general election? Answer: We had already foreseen that the general election in Thailand will take place this year [...] during our chairmanship. So we have worked in advance since a year ago in order to prepare ourselves for the ASEAN chairmanship. TheJakartaPost Please Update your browser Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below. Just click on the icons to get to the download page. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sebastian Smith (Agence France-Presse) Hanoi, Vietnam Wed, February 27, 2019 13:01 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a1fd7a2 2 World #USA,#NorthKorea,Donald-Trump,kim-jong-un,Vietnam,Nuclear,summit,tweets Free US President Donald Trump touted North Korea's "AWESOME" future if his "friend" Kim Jong Un, whom he meets for a high-stakes dinner later Wednesday, agrees to give up his nuclear arsenal. Trump's enthusiastic tweet came hours before a second summit in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi to build on their historic first meeting in Singapore last June. In just a few words, Trump encapsulated his fervent belief that only his uniquely personal brand of diplomacy and business acumen can break a stand-off with the isolated, nuclear-armed state that has bedevilled US leaders ever since the end of the Korean war in 1953. Trump, who has previously spoken of the "love" between him and the North Korean strongman, said that by abandoning nuclear weapons the country would very quickly emulate Vietnam -- a communist country once locked in conflict with the United States, but now a thriving trade partner. "The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting!" Trump tweeted. Trump has torn up the script by bringing Kim out of the cold, giving him a legitimacy once considered unthinkable in Washington, which has long seen North Korea as the world's most repressive state. But now there is intense pressure for results. The Singapore summit ended only with a vague statement promising to work "towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula". Since then Washington and Pyongyang have disagreed even on what this means. And while North Korea has now gone more than a year without conducting missile and nuclear tests, it has done nothing to roll back the arsenal already built. That leaves Trump, who claimed after Singapore that North Korea is "no longer a nuclear threat," scrambling to get something concrete out of Kim in Hanoi -- or face growing criticism that he is being played by the man about half his age. On the defensive, Trump said in another tweet Wednesday that opponents in the Democratic Party should "stop talking about what I should do with North Korea and ask themselves instead why they didn't do 'it' during eight years of the (Barack) Obama Administration?" Dinner date The Kim-Trump relationship, bringing together two leaders fond of showmanship, has turned into the diplomatic equivalent of a Hollywood odd-couple bromance. Before the Singapore get-together they were slinging bizarre insults -- Trump calling Kim "rocket man" and Kim calling him a "dotard" in response. With North Korea then busily testing missiles and conducting earth-shaking underground nuclear tests, analysts feared that the duo were egging each other on toward a catastrophic confrontation. Now Trump promotes himself as someone who by daring to do things differently actually defused what he said was a near-war situation inherited on taking over the White House. "He's never had a relationship with anybody from this country, and hasn't had lots of relationships anywhere," Trump said of Kim before leaving Washington. The Hanoi summit is more elaborate than the brief first occasion. The White House said Trump and Kim will hold a 10-minute meeting, before going off for an approximately 20-minute session without aides, followed by dinner lasting around 90 minutes. On Thursday they are due to meet again, although no details have been released, adding to the impression that much of the occasion is being decided at the last minute. How much to give? With Congress back home investigating Trump for alleged illegal activities and also trying to stop his controversial use of executive power to fund the construction of a US-Mexican border wall, the president would dearly like to change the news narrative by proclaiming a dramatic win. Critics warn he is so keen to deal with Kim that he could give away too much in his desire to make headlines, endangering rock-solid US allies South Korea and Japan. In Singapore, Trump took his own generals by surprise when he announced a suspension of military exercises with the South -- something the North badly wanted. Washington would ideally like Kim to dismantle a key nuclear facility at Yongbyon, allow in international inspectors, or even hand over a full list of all the country's nuclear assets -- something the North Koreans have categorically refused to do. In return, Trump is believed to be considering dangling relief from tough international sanctions. Opening diplomatic liaison offices is another possible US concession. Trump could go further by making a joint declaration that the 1950-53 Korean War is over, after hostilities ended with a ceasefire but no peace treaty. Although that would be seemingly a mostly symbolic gesture, many analysts caution that it could open the door to a cascade of real-world consequences upsetting a region where the US and China are already in a growing struggle for influence. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 27, 2019 14:45 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a207cc7 1 City Tangerang,Islet-C-and-D,Banten,soekarno-hatta-airport Free Tangerang Regency secretary Moch. Maesal Rasyid defended the construction of a bridge connecting Dadap subdistrict in Kosambi, Tangerang, Banten, and artificial islet C, one of the reclaimed islets off Jakartas coast. [The construction is] for economic and infrastructure growth, Maesal said on Tuesday as reported by tempo.co. He added that the northern part of Tangerang, which lags behind other areas in the regency, would grow rapidly once the bridge is complete. The bridge can serve as an alternative route from Tangerang to Jakarta and vice versa, he said. The Tangerang regency and Banten administrations have already issued a construction permit for the 1.4-kilometer bridge connecting Dadap and islet C. According to Budi Mulyanto, Bina Marga and Water Resources Agency head for Tangerang regency, said the structure would also connect Tangerang and Banten. There would be more roads connected [to the bridge], Slamet said, adding that its construction was also in line with a plan to build 20-km-long roads on the north coast of Tangerang and another 40-km road connected to Banten. We have known about the road construction plan and have included it in the regency's spatial planning, Slamet said. In July last year, local residents protested the bridges construction as the Jakarta administration suspended development projects on islets C and D. (swd) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Stockholm, Sweden Wed, February 27, 2019 19:07 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a218ac8 2 World #Sweden,#Russia,Sweden,arrested,Russia,spy,suspect Free A technology worker suspected of spying for Russia has been arrested in Stockholm, the Swedish authorities said Wednesday. The person was believed to have been "recruited as an agent by a Russian intelligence officer posing as a diplomat in Sweden", head of counter intelligence at Sweden's security service Daniel Stenling said. The suspect works in "high-tech" and has access to "information likely to be of interest to foreign intelligence agencies", the public prosecutor's office and Sweden's security service said in a statement. Police also arrested a second person during the operation on Tuesday, who was later released after claiming diplomatic immunity, Swedish daily Expressen said. The authorities warned of the "high threat posed by foreign spies" in a note last July. "Russia poses the biggest intelligence threat to Sweden," Stenling said at the time. Stockholm is particularly worried about attempts to influence elections and public debate, for example through disinformation on social media. "Threats to Sweden have increased in the past few years," Stenling said with cyber attacks adding to traditional intelligence work such as recruiting agents. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 27, 2019 13:57 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a204678 1 Politics corruption,KPK,KPK-chairman-Agus-Rahardjo Free The head of the anticorruption body has suggested that the number of corruption cases involving politicians would decline if the government increased state funding for parties. When the state leaves [political parties] to seek financing on their own, this [corruption] happens, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Agus Rahardjo said on Tuesday, during an annual coordination meeting with the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK). Tuesdays discussion also saw the attendance of representatives from several state institutions and business associations. He added that the situation did more harm than good, and suggested that the government increase funding to Rp 10,000 (US Cent 71) from Rp 1,000, and that governments even financed political parties in other countries. The countrys electoral regulations should be reviewed in a bid to reduce electoral costs and prevent corruption among politicians, added Agus. Many corruption cases in Indonesia have implicated political parties, whose electoral campaigns are rife with political transactions. Anti-graft watchdog Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) also reported that political parties charged illegal fees to those aspiring to a legislative or executive post. Last year, the KPK arrested top Golkar politicians Eni Maulani Saragih and former social affairs Idrus Marham) for their alleged involvement in a Rp 500 million (US$35,742) graft case on the development of a coal-fired power plant (PLTU) in Riau province. Eni claimed that the bribe was intended to fund Golkar's campaign for the 2019 general election. Agus said the KPK had discussed the idea of reviewing electoral regulations with a number of institutions, including the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), and that it also planned to discuss the idea with relevant policymakers. Anti-corruption NGO Transparency International (TI) Indonesia said it supported the KPK's suggestions, saying the measures could reduce political parties' dependence on brokers. Additional developments were needed, however, to eradicate political corruption. TI Indonesia secretary-general Dadang Tri Sasongko said the government should develop measures to prevent politicians from rigging state and regional budgets, procurement processes and licensure. If these ways are not developed, state funding will only be seen as a kind of pocket money for political parties, said Dadang. Last year, the government significantly increased annual funding for political parties to Rp 1,000 per valid vote, from Rp 108 per valid vote that had been in effect since 2009. The move was expected to improve the capacity and accountability of politicians elected to public office. Anti-graft activists said at the time that the increase should be supplemented with efforts to improve the accountability of political parties. Some state institutions also argued over the funding hike, with the Home Ministry suggesting Rp 5,400 per valid vote, while the Finance Ministry stood firm at Rp 1,000 per valid vote. (das) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Arya Dipa and Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Bandung/Jakarta Wed, February 27 2019 Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti lambasted the Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance (VFRS) agency for allegedly disrupting the Indonesian Navys efforts to seize four Vietnam-flagged vessels for illegally fishing in Indonesian waters. We request that Vietnams government explain about and apologize for the incident, said Susi on Monday in Bandung, West Java, adding that she would communicate with Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi about issuing a formal protest against Vietnam over the incident. The incident took place on Sunday morning when two VFRS patrol vessels Kiem Ngu 214214 and Kiem Ngu 214263 allegedly prompted dangerous maneuvers to intercept the arrest of the four vessels for fishing illegally in the northern part of Natuna waters in Riau Islands, authorities said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ivany Atina Arbi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 27 2019 In an attempt to curb the spread of radicalism through sermons at mosques, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) will provide preachers with training on moderation and nationalist Islam. At the end of the training program, participants will be tested and receive certification. MUIs head of Islamic preaching Muhammad Cholil Nafis explained that the training program would be held periodically, with the first to be held next month at Pondok Gede Haj Dormitory in East Jakarta. At least 108 participants from various Islamic organizations and the 34 provinces across the country will take part in the one-week training program. We aim to train and certify 550 preachers this year through five batches, Cholil said. He further said the MUI was concerned about the rising phenomenon of preachers using sermons t... Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Devina Heriyanto (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, February 28, 2019 08:14 853 acca405afacc7201380025f21a216530 1 City MRT,MRT-Jakarta,commuter-line,KCI,LRT,LRT-Jabodebek,LRT-Jakarta,Greater-Jakarta,Greater-Jakarta-LRT,Adhi-Karya,jakpro,#PostScript Free Jakarta, which has topped various lists of cities with the worlds worst traffic, enters a new era this year. Next month, it will welcome the countrys first mass rapid transit (MRT) and the capitals first light rail transit (LRT). Today, the usage of public transportation in the capital stands at 24 percent, a far cry from the targeted 60 percent. The government hopes the new transit modes will see more people leave their cars or motorbikes at home and opt for public transportation to get around the city. This year, in the words of Jakarta Transportation Agency head Sigit Widjatmiko, would be the year of integration. Passengers can expect to easily hop between different modes of transportation on a trip. For instance, LRT passengers who wish to continue their trip with the citys rapid bus transit system, Transjakarta, can use a skybridge that will connect the LRT Jakarta International Velodrome Station in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, with the Pemuda bus stop. Meanwhile, Dukuh Atas in Central Jakarta is expected to be a transit point for passengers of the MRT, LRT, Commuter Line, airport train and Transjakarta. While it is easy to distinguish between buses and trains, all these news trains can get confusing. What is the difference between MRT, LRT Jakarta, LRT Jabodebek and the already-running Commuter Line? Most sophisticated mode in town The MRT is expected to run by the end of March. The 15.7-kilometer first phase of the MRT is currently at 99 percent completion, connecting Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta and the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta. The second phase will link the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle with Kampung Bandan, completing the north-south line, to be followed by the last phase for the west-east line. An MRT train passes over Jl. Sisingamanganraja in South Jakarta during a trial run in October. (JP/Seto Wardhana) Sixteen trains are ready for operation, each consisting of six cars. MRT cars are heavier than those of the Commuter Line, weighing 31 to 35 tons each. The trains are 118 meters long and capable of carrying 1,200 to 1,800 passengers. The MRT is expected to carry 173,400 passengers per day. The MRT runs at up to 80 kilometers per hour underground and 100 km/h on elevated sections of the line. With the MRT, the journey from Lebak Bulus to Hotel Indonesia will take 30 minutes. With the initial routes and units, the interval between trains is expected to be five minutes. The MRT Jakarta uses a semi-automated system, where the human operator aboard only controls the doors and departure or any emergencies. The city administration has yet to announce the fare for the MRT. The proposed fare is Rp 8,500 (59 US cents) per 10 kilometers. Map of MRT Jakarta routes (Courtesy of MRT Jakarta/-) The first phase cost Rp 16 trillion, including the funds to build seven elevated and six underground stations. The second phase is more expensive, estimated to cost Rp 22.5 trillion for 8.3 kilometers, because the route has more underground stations. The MRT is considered the most sophisticated, because it requires the first-ever construction of underground stations in the country using four tunnel boring machines. The first one even got a name, Antareja I, and was officiated by President Joko Jokowi Widodo. Lightweight, high ambition Two companies are building the LRT in Jakarta. One is PT LRT Jakarta, a subsidiary of city-owned PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro), and the other is state-owned PT Adhi Karya (ADHI). The 5.8-km LRT route from Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta to Rawamangun in East Jakarta cost Rp 6.8 trillion. Each train can carry 270 passengers. The LRT is expected to service 66,150 to 76,140 passengers per day and start operating by the end of March. The Jakarta Transportation Council (DTKJ) has proposed a fare of Rp 10,800. A light rail transit (LRT) train is pictured on a trial run from Kelapa Gading to Rawamangun Velodrome in Jakarta on Monday. The LRT is expected to begin operation in March with a month of delay. (JP/Seto Wardhana) The second phase of LRT Jakarta is planned to connect Velodrome Station in Rawamangun and Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta and is estimated to cost between $500 million and $600 million. For the first phase, the LRT Jakarta rolling stock, comprising of eight trains, is made in South Korea by train manufacturer Hyundai Rotem for a total of $33 million, according to the International Railway Journal. LRT Jakarta president director Allan Tandiono told the media that each car cost $1.8 million. LRT systems vary in form, but LRT Jakarta defines it as a train with a maximum axle weight of 12 tons. Conventional trains usually weigh 15 to 18 tons. Each LRT Jakarta train consists of two cars with a total length of 28 meters. Another LRT system that will operate in Jakarta is LRT Jabodebek, which stands for Jakarta-Bogor-Depok-Bekasi, also known as the Greater Jakarta LRT. Greater Jakarta LRT was initiated by the central government and constructed by ADHI and state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI). An LRT Jabodebek train made by state-owned train manufacturer PT Industri Kerata Api (Inka) (Twitter.com/BPPT RI ) The first phase of the Greater Jakarta LRT spans over 40 km, connecting Cawang in East Jakarta with Cibubur in East Jakarta, Cawang with Dukuh Atas in Central Jakarta and Cawang with East Bekasi in Bekasi, West Java, costing the company Rp 31 trillion. ADHI had planned for the LRT Jabodebek to be up and running this year, but last month it announced it would run in 2021. ADHI works with a transit-oriented development concept it calls LRT City, which includes housing and commercial facilities near LRT and Commuter Line stations. Greater Jakarta LRT ordered the rolling stock from state-owned train maker PT Industri Kereta Api (INKA) in December 2017. The value of the order was Rp 4.05 trillion for 186 cars. For INKA, it was the second order, after the company had produced LRT train cars for the countrys first-ever LRT in Palembang, South Sumatra. Old and modest, but most popular The Commuter Line runs on the oldest railway system in the country, built by the Dutch administration. In 2011, PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KCI) changed the name of the electric train system from KRL to Commuter Line. A Commuter Line train stands at Cisauk Station in Tangerang regency. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan) From 2012 to 2013, the state-owned railway company revamped the Greater Jakarta train system, including by evicting traders from several stations. The company, under the leadership of Ignasius Jonan, then the president director of KAI, tightened rules and significantly increased the frequency of trips connecting Bogor, Depok, Bekasi, Tangerang and South Tangerang with Jakarta. Map of commuter line routes (PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KCI)/File) Although it is the oldest system and uses used trains from Japan, it is by far the most popular mode of public transportation in Greater Jakarta, carrying 336.71 million passengers in 2018, up from 315.81 in 2017. By 2018, the KCI operated 900 trains serving 79 stations in Greater Jakarta, with routes spanning 418.5 km. Each trains consists of eight, 10 or 12 cars. Running at a maximum 90 km/h, the headway is between 5 and 10 minutes. However, disruptions are common for various reasons, from power and signal failures to accidents at rail crossings, floods or derailed trains. The fare is Rp 3,000 for the first 25 km, plus Rp 1,000 per every additional 10 km. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan, North Sumatra Wed, February 27, 2019 15:09 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a20979f 1 Business Lake-Toba,North-Sumatra,tourism,foreign-tourists,tourist-arrivals,Tourism-Ministry,hospitality-industry,10-new-bali Free The North Sumatra administration is pessimistic about achieving the Tourism Ministrys target of one million foreign tourist arrivals to Lake Toba this year as lack of infrastructure has become the main obstacle. North Sumatra Governor Edy Rahmayadi said it would be difficult to lure 1 million foreign tourists into the province, let alone to Lake Toba. Insufficient transportation and peoples unpreparedness for the trip were major obstacles to the target, he said. "We are not ready to meet the target of 1 million foreign tourists. It is a tough and unrealistic task," he said recently in Medan, North Sumatra. Edy made the statement after attending a plenary meeting of North Sumatras Legislative Council that discussed the province's 2018 to 2023 mid-term regional development plan (RPJMD), which includes the role of the tourism sector to the regions economy. He projected a moderate increase to 320,000 arrivals this year as the province only had 250,000 arrivals in 2018. For annual foreign tourist arrivals, he said the realistic target would be 500,000 until 2023, which is when his term ends. The number, he said, could change according to the dynamics of tourism in the region. Separately, Syamsul Qodri Marpaung, chairman of the RPJMD special committee at the North Sumatra Legislative Council, echoed Edys statement that his team and the North Sumatra administration had agreed on the more realistic range of between 320,000 and 500,000 arrivals, saying that the central government was too emotional when setting the 1 million target. "We want to be realistic because we only had 250,000 [foreign] tourists [in North Sumatra] last year," Syamsul said on Tuesday. However, Lake Toba Authority Board (BPODT) president director Arie Prasetyo insisted there would be no change in the arrivals target, although he acknowledged it would take some time to achieve it. Arie said the Tourism Ministry had made efforts to reach the target, such as by releasing a calendar of Lake Toba events in 2019 that highlights the central theme of "Celebrating Nature in Art". The calendar includes seven events to be held in the area throughout this year, two of which are in the 100-event calendar of the Wonderful Indonesia campaign. "With the calendar of events, which has been arranged for the rest of the year, we expect the provincial and regency administrations to work together to contribute to the tourist industry in Lake Toba as a world-class tourist destination," Arie said. The ministry has been promoting the volcanic Lake Toba as one of Indonesias designated priority destinations, the so-called 10 New Balis. Along with its promotion, the ministry came up with the target of 1 million foreign tourist arrivals to the worlds biggest volcanic lake, fourfold higher than the 231,465 arrivals last year. Based on the target, the ministry expected that foreign tourist arrivals to the destination would contribute up to Rp 16 trillion (US$1.14 billion) to the countrys foreign exchange earnings. Tandeanus Sukardi, a tourism industry player in North Sumatra, shared the pessimism. He said it would be difficult to achieve the target unless the government improves infrastructure in Toba Lake, especially in the hospitality sector. He claimed that the current hospitality industry in North Sumatra would not be able to serve 1 million foreign tourists. The calculation is based on hotel room nights, which is a measure of capacity utilization based on the occupancy rate of the rooms, rather than the number of guests. It is often contrasted with the rooms daily rates. Assuming we have 1 million visitors annually, it would require 500,000 hotel room nights for double occupancy. That means we will need 1,370 hotel rooms daily. Do we have the inventory? Tandeanus asked. At least 102 of 622 hotels in North Sumatra are located in the Lake Toba area, according to the BPODT. However, only a small number of the hotels are categorized as three- and four-star hotels. BPODT marketing director Basar Simanjuntak previously raised the concern as the majority of Lake Toba's visitors, who come from the neighboring countries of Malaysia and Singapore, preferred to stay in luxury hotels. "We are expecting more luxury hotels in the area of Lake Toba, especially in Parapat," he said as quoted by tribunnews.com, referring the city known as the entrance gate to the lake. As part of the efforts to boost tourism at Lake Toba, state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura (AP) II recently announced its plan to expand the Silangit Airport, which provides direct access to the lake. AP II president director Muhammad Awaluddin said in a statement that the company would expand the airport five-fold to 10,499 square meters from 2,500 square meters to accommodate 1 million passengers annually. (ars) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Yulia Savitri (The Jakarta Post) Palembang Wed, February 27, 2019 15:06 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a208829 1 National South-Sumatra,rape,rape-victim,puskesmas,midwives Free The South Sumatra Police say they are looking into the alleged wrongful arrest and assault committed by their officers in relation to a rape case in Ogan Ilir regency. It was reported that 25-year-old Harismail, also known as Ujang, had been treated at Bhayangkara Hospital in Palembang for injuries allegedly inflicted by police officers while he was illegally detained. We will thoroughly investigate the matter, both the alleged rape and wrongful arrest, South Sumatra Police chief Insp. Gen. Zulkarnain Adinegara said earlier this week. This is my disgrace, my responsibility. Harismail was found beaten and bruised in Rambutan district. He claimed several men had kidnapped him and forced him to admit to raping a midwife named Y. When he refused, he said they tied him up and beat him. His friend Krisna, a witness to the kidnapping, said two cars and three motorbikes were involved in the incident. The men fired three shots before taking Haris away, he added. I asked them where they were going to take [Harismail]. They said to the police headquarters. I was confused, Krisna said. Harismails condition is improving, according to his father, Hayan, 61. The bruises were serious when he was found, he said on Monday, adding that his family had reported the incident to the police. He pointed out that their home was relatively far from the village health post (Poskesdes) where Y worked and lived. One would have to pass through eight subdistricts to get to the Poskesdas, he said. Also, we dont know Y. We hope justice will be served. Y said she was staying in the Poskesdas on Tuesday night last week when a group of unidentified men allegedly broke into the clinic, then robbed and raped her. They reportedly stole various items, including a cell phone and Rp 500,000 (US$35.63) in cash. The police set up a special team to hunt down the perpetrators as the case is considered an extraordinary crime. However, investigators say that a forensic examination conducted on Y did not reveal any signs of rape. The forensic laboratorys Palembang branch has processed the crime scene but found no evidence that could point to the perpetrators, such as blood, sperm, hair and fingerprints. Investigators also found no footprints inside or outside the Poskesdas, even though it had rained on the Tuesday evening in question, said laboratory head Sr. Comr. I Nyoman Sukena. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 27, 2019 16:08 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a20de6e 1 Politics Tjahjo-Kumolo,Ganjar-Pranowo,PDI-P,Jokowi,Bawaslu,KPU,2019-elections Free Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo has come to the defense of Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, who was accused of an ethics violation by the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) for endorsing President Joko Jokowi Widodo. Tjahjo, Ganjar and Jokowi are senior members of the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). The Central Java Bawaslu declared last week that Ganjar, along with 34 mayors and regents under his purview, had violated Law No. 23/2014 on regional administration by taking a side in the presidential election, which will be held in April. The agency said they were prohibited from collectively expressing their political preferences in public due to their position. It made the accusation after video footage emerged of Ganjar declaring his support of Jokowi by also mentioning the official positions of the mayors and regents attending the event, which was held on Jan. 26 at a hotel in Surakarta, Central Java. Bawaslu does not have the authority to impose sanctions or take further action against Ganjar and the 34 leaders as the Regional Administration Law is within the domain of the Home Ministry. The agency can only give the ministry its recommendation, which was sent on Monday. However, Tjahjo insisted that Ganjar and the other leaders had not broken break any laws by attending the event. We have examined the report. [The regional leaders] have followed the regulation; they had taken a leave day, Tjahjo said on Tuesday. There will be no further action [taken against them]. Everything is clear. He added that his ministry would not follow up on any recommendations from the Bawaslu related to the matter. Tjahjo said he was not attempting to protect Ganjar and the other local leaders, saying that they had secured clearance from the local chapter of the General Elections Commission (KPU). The minister mentioned a similar case involving Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan. Earlier this year, the election body grilled Anies for displaying a two-finger salute during a Gerindra Party national conference held in Sentul, West Java, in December 2018. He was accused of campaigning for Prabowo Subianto and running mate Sandiaga Uno because the gesture is widely associated with the pair. Prabowo is the only presidential challenger of Jokowi. No sanctions were imposed on Anies, Tjahjo said, because the governor had followed the regulation and received clearance from the KPU. The Bawaslu later cleared Anies of any ethics violations. Tjahjos response to the accusation against Ganjar and other leaders stirred controversy, especially among Prabowos supporters. Gerindra Party executive Ferry Juliantono said Tjahjo should have followed up on the Bawaslus recommendation. Otherwise, it would seem as if he had ignored the principle of impartiality among public officials. If the Bawaslu said they violated the law, that means they did something wrong, Ferry said. Also on Wednesday, not long after Tjahjo responded to Ganjars case, a group of people called themselves Advokat Nusantara reported the minister to the central Bawaslu for being partial as a public official by showing support for Jokowi. The group accused Tjahjo of violating the Election Law based on Tjahjos statement during an event held on Feb. 20. In the event, Tjahjo asked the audience, including thousands of village heads from across the country, to respond by shouting Jokowi when he said village fund. Bawaslu commissioner Rahmat Bagja said that, although no violations were found, the regional leaders should remain watchful over what they do and say. Political expert Aditya Perdana of the University of Indonesia (UI) said it was difficult for regional heads to separate their positions as public officials from their positions as political party members. [Its also difficult for them] to leave behind their identity as public officials when they join the campaign because they have the right and access to [state] facilities, Aditya said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 27, 2019 15:50 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a20c4d7 1 City fraud-cases,WhatsApp,Bekasi,arrest Free Police in Bekasi, West Java, have arrested a man named Agus who allegedly committed identity theft through messaging app WhatsApp. Agus allegedly breached a WhatsApp account belonging to a man named Febrianto. Claiming to be the owner of the account, Agus contacted many of Febriantos friends on the contact list and asked that they lend him money. He claimed he was Febrianto and told the victims through WhatsApp that a parent of his was sick and treated at a hospital. He borrowed Rp 9.3 million [US$660] from one of Febriantos friends, South Cikarang Police chief Comr. Alin Kuncoro said on Tuesday, kompas.com reported. Agus, who reportedly found the cellphone on the street, first contacted Febriantos friend Dwikun Mujab to ask for money on Dec. 16, 2018. Still pretending to be Febrianto, he sent messages to Dwikun again on Dec. 17, saying that his parent died and that he needed Rp 5.6 million to arrange a funeral. The following day, he contacted the victim again and asked for an additional Rp 7.8 million to pay off debts. The victim believed him and transferred the money, Alin explained. Dwikun later asked his friend, Bagas, to join hands in helping Febrianto. He was surprised to hear from Bagas that Febrianto's parent was fine. Knowing that he had become a victim of fraud, Dwikun filed a report to the police, Alin added. After conducting an investigation, the police arrested Agus in his rented house in South Cikarang on Feb. 23. Dwikun lost a total of Rp 22.7 million as a result of the alleged fraud. (vla) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 27, 2019 09:55 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a1f1b76 1 Politics coal-mining-field,Toba-Bara-Sejahtra,Toba-Sejahtra,East-Kalimantan,Saratoga-Investama-Sedaya,Batu-Hitam-Perkasa,Luhut-Binsar-Pandjaitan,2019-presidential-election,#2019GeneralElections,#2019PresidentialElection,Prabowo-Subianto-Sandiaga-Uno,Prabowo-Sandiaga Free Amid the brouhaha surrounding the large land concessions managed by members of Indonesia's political elite, Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan has admitted to owning a 6,000-hectare coal mine in East Kalimantan. The coal mine, the senior minister said, was a concession granted by the government and was still in operation and productive. He denied owning cultivation rights over other land in the province. "I suppose there is no problem as long as [the concession] is productive and [the company] performs its responsibility properly," Luhut told reporters on Tuesday. His statement came on the heels of finger-pointing between the two rival camps in the presidential election over the number of large property concessions owned by the members of each. It started when incumbent Joko "Jokowi" Widodo revealed publicly that his rival Prabowo Subianto owned hundreds of hectares of land in East Kalimantan and Aceh. The former general said that he owned cultivation rights over the lands and was ready to return them to the state if necessary. Prabowo's campaign team said he was willing to return the lands only if people backing Jokowi's reelection, some of whom were political bigwigs who owned business, were also willing to do the same. Besides being a politician, Luhut is a renowned businessman who managed mining and forestry businesses under the PT Toba Sejahtra business empire, which was cofounded by the former Army general in 2004. A report by a coalition of environmental NGOs, including Greenpeace Indonesia and the Mining Advocacy Network (JATAM), previously revealed that some coal companies in East Kalimantan, which are claimed to be connected to Luhut, abandoned mining sites without backfilling them as stipulated in Law No. 4/2009 on minerals and coal mining. The sites have become large ponds that contain highly acidic water, as well as metals such as aluminum, lead and mercury. JATAM recorded that at least 32 people, including children, have died at the abandoned coal mines. The report said coal firms PT Trisensa Mineral Utama, PT Indomining and PT Adimitra Baratama Nusantara the subsidiaries of energy and plantation firm PT Toba Bara Sejahtra (Toba Bara) had abandoned mines in the province. Toba Bara is partly owned by Toba Sejahtra. Responding to the report, Luhut first said he had sold his ownership of Toba Bara when he became a government official. He also said he was no longer involved in managing Toba Sejahtra. His most recent acknowledgement of his ownership of the coal mine proved he was still in control of the Toba Bara. In December, Toba Bara through its subisidiary PT Toba Bara Energi acquired shares of PT Batu Hitam Perkasa (Batu Hitam) from PT Saratoga Investama Sedaya (Saratoga), an investment firm which is owned by, among others, Prabowos running mate Sandiaga Uno. Toba Bara paid US$54 million to take over Saratogas control over Batu Hitam, an investment company that co-owns the Paiton Power Plant in Probolinggo, East Java. Sandiaga, who is the main donor to Prabowos campaign, has also been selling his shares in Saratoga ever since he announced that he would be a vice presidential candidate running with Prabowo. The former Jakarta deputy governor admitted he had to sell his shares in the company to finance the campaign, earning more than Rp 500 billion from the transaction. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ivany Atina Arbi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 27, 2019 19:18 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a218bfe 1 National K-pop,preachers Free A preacher popular on social media, Fuadh Naim, has told Muslims to stay away from South Korean popular culture, claiming that its drama and music exposed people to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) lifestyles and free sex. Fuadh, who admitted that he was previously swept up by the Korean Wave, said LGBT imagery, such as "skinship", a Korean term that refers to close physical proximity between male idols, was commonly seen on stage and beyond. Instead of feeling uneasy about such behavior, fans were excited to see their idols touch each other, the preacher said. Some K-pop fans have a hobby of producing fan fiction or fan art, some of which depicts skinship among K-pop idols of the same sex. Fans usually coin nicknames for idols that they like, like "Chanbaek" for Chanyeol and Baekhyun of boy band EXO; and "Jihope" for Jhope and Jimin, members of K-pop sensation BTS. [The Korean Wave] offers something interesting, and refreshing like water, which actually draws Muslims into the fire [of hell], Fuadh said during a kajian (Islamic learning forum) at a mosque in South Jakarta on Tuesday. Starting from today, lets move on and pour our hearts out for Allah and his prophet Muhammad." Fuadh, who has over 55,600 followers on Instagram, is campaigning against the Korean Wave and asking Muslim fans of K-pop to repent. A spiritual student of famous preacher Felix Siauw, a Chinese-Indonesian who converted to Islam, Fuadh has visited 30 cities across the country to deliver his message. He said he planned to visit a lot more places soon. I get support from many people who share concerns about our young generations morality, Fuadh told The Jakarta Post after the forum. Ridha Nadhira Febyani, who came to Jakarta from neighboring city Tangerang in Banten, said she attended the forum because she was curious about how Islam looked at fangirling", or a woman's tendency to worship an idol. I will abandon the habit of watching K-drama or listening to K-pop, said the 19-year old, who was a fan of Korean boy band Big Bang. (swd) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 27, 2019 09:33 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a1f0cb8 1 National suicide,ITE-Law,social-media Free The government should revise the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law to punish people who encourage others to commit suicide, University of Indonesia (UI) criminologist Josias Simon has said. Last Friday, a young man, identified as TSR, died in Lampung after jumping from the roof of a supermarket. TSR had been encouraged to jump by onlookers, who filmed his suicide. In a video of the tragic incident, the man filming can be heard laughing and saying Jump off! Jump off!. In another video, a woman can be heard saying, He really ended up jumping off because we convinced him to do so! The police have named TSR a victim of suicide, however, those who provoked and recorded the incident cannot be held culpable for their behavior under existing laws. Josias said the phenomenon indicated that people had become so obsessed with media sensationalism that they had lost any sense of empathy. He said the onlookers recorded the suicide because they wanted to get likes and comments on social media. This attitude is individualistic, and does not represent our cultural values. Therefore, the government must take action, Josias told The Jakarta Post on Monday. He added that under the ITE Law, such behavior could not be punished as the law did not contain any articles that identified it as a crime. Its not clear the ITE Law can be used to punish them. The lawmakers should take a look at it again, he said, adding that, to his knowledge, the Criminal Code also did not categorize this form of offensive behavior as a crime. Josias argued this type of selfish behavior would continue among those seeking social media attention if a regulation was not introduced to prohibit it. Communications and Information Ministry Information Applications Director General Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan also said the ITE Law did not provide a legal basis for charging people for such behavior. The ITE Law is aimed at regulating content on the Internet, he told the Post. Semuel said that unethical content must be taken down in accordance with the law, which stipulates that the spreading of such content on social media is a punishable crime. Concerning TSR, he said that a team would be assigned to scrutinize the case and take down the videos of the suicide that were circulating on the internet. He also urged the public not to disseminate the video as it would hurt the victim's family and relatives. They could also be punished for spreading it, he added. Another case of suicide footage being spread online occurred in 2017, when a 35-year-old man broadcast his suicide on Facebook, shocking netizens before the government demanded the social media platform take down the content. The man shared a live stream in which he explained and fashioned a noose out of a scarf with which he hung himself. TSR reportedly committed suicide after a fight with his girlfriend. Suicide occurs because of the failure of family members to recognize the signs of depression and intervene. They must be helped because they have a mental health issue, Psychologist Kasandra Purwanto told the Post. (das) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fayaz Bukhari and Alasdair Pal (Reuters) Srinagar/New Delhi, India Wed, February 27, 2019 13:23 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a203581 2 World #India,#Pakistan,India,Pakistan,Trade,fire,kashmir,border,air-strikes Free India and Pakistan exchanged fire along their contested border in Kashmir on Wednesday, a day afterIndian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a war in 1971, while leading powers urged the nuclear armed rivals to show restraint. Tensions have been elevated since a suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police on Feb. 14, but the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base. The attack targeted the Jaish-e-Mohammed militant, the group that claimed credit for the suicide attack. But while India said a large number of JeM fighters had been killed, Pakistani officials said the Indian airstrike was a failure and inflicted no casualties. On Tuesday, evening Pakistan began shelling using heavy calibre weapons in 12 to 15 places along the de facto border in Kashmir, known as the Line of Control (LoC), a spokesman for the Indian defence forces said on Wednesday. "The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focused fire resulted in severe destruction to five posts and number of casualties," the spokesman said. Five Indian soldiers suffered minor wounds in the shelling that ended on Wednesday morning, he added. "So far there are no (civilian) casualties but there is panic among people," said Rahul Yadav, the deputy commissioner of the Poonch district where some of the shelling took place. "We have an evacuation plan in place and if need arises we will evacuate people to safer areas, he said. Local officials on the Pakistani side said at least four people had been killed and seven wounded, though it was unclear if the casualties were civilian or military. India has also continued its crackdown on suspected militants operating in Kashmir, a mountainous region that both countries claim in full but rule in part. On Wednesday, security forces killed two Jaish militants in a gun battle, Indian police said. HEIGHTENED SECURITY Pakistan has promised to retaliate to Tuesday's air strikes, and security across India has been tightened. The two countries have fought three wars since independence from British colonial rule in 1947 and went to the brink a fourth in 2002 after a Pakistani militant attack on India's parliament. In Punjab, an Indian state that borders Pakistan, security alerts are in place in several districts, according to media reports. Schools within 5 kilometres (3 miles) of LoC were closed in one district in Kashmir. In Mumbai, India's financial capital, there was a visible increase in security levels for a city that has suffered numerous militant attacks in the past. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke separately with the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan and urged them to avoid "further military activity" following Tuesday's airstrike. "I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost," Pompeo said in a statement on Wednesday. "I also encouraged both ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity," he said. Both China and the European Union have also called for restraint. On Wednesday New Zealand's foreign minister Winston Peters also voiced concern over the escalation in tensions. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Stefanno Reinard Sulaiman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 27, 2019 06:37 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a1eb97a 1 Business SOEs,efficiency,State-owned-Enterprises-Ministry,state-owned-enterprises,pertamina,Pelindo,Rini-Soemarno Free State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Rini Soemarno has ordered all state-owned companies to eliminate duplication of business lines to increase public-sector efficiency and improve the quality of products and services. State-owned energy holding company Pertamina and four state-owned port operators, Pelindo I, II, III and IV, have already heeded the call by inking a cooperation deal in Jakarta. Rini said Pertamina currently operated 167 ports to support its business, but it should focus only on the oil and gas industry and leave port management to Pelindo and other noncore business lines to other SOEs. Pertamina has expertise in energy from the upstream side to the downstream one, while Pelindo has expertise in port management []. If there are operations that arent their core businesses, they should work this out with other SOEs, she said after the recent signing of the agreement. Pertamina would gradually hand over the management of its 167 ports across Indonesia to Pelindo, Rini said. The agreement, titled business synergy collaboration, will save Pertamina and Pelindo up to Rp 2.4 trillion (US$171.5 million) in costs per year, according to ministry estimates. That value would emerge from requirements covered in the agreement, namely the use of Pertaminas fuel and lubricants at all of Pelindos ports and working areas as well as measures to strengthen pilot boat and tugboat services. Aside from those requirements, the agreement encompasses 18 strategic collaboration projects, ranging from the development of fuel terminals (TBBM) to the management of guesthouses, all of which were expected to be completed within five years. The ministry expects the 18 projects to create value of Rp 30 trillion, while total investment is estimated at Rp 5 trillion, said Edwin Hidayat Abdullah, the ministrys undersecretary for energy, logistics and tourism. We hope that the projects can bring down Pertaminas logistics costs, he said. Gandhi Sriwidodo, Pertamina director of logistics, supply chain and infrastructure, said one of the 18 projects was the development of a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in Gorontalo, Sulawesi. He said the agreement stipulated that Pelindo Energy Logistik (PEL), the logistics subsidiary of Pelindo III, should provide the FSRU and Pertamina would be the supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG). We supply the LNG to the facility owned by PEL and then the LNG will be used for power plants [in the area], he said. The scale of the project is medium, and the investment will be done by a joint venture between us [Pertamina and PEL]. To improve efficiency, Pertamina last year signed deals with state-owned toll road operator Jasa Marga, state postal service provider Pos Indonesia and state-owned railway operator Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI). The first agreement was a partnership for Pertamina to build at least 10 gas stations by July 2019 along toll roads in Java that are managed by Jasa Marga. As for the deals with KAI and Pos Indonesia, Pertamina signed initial agreements to utilize the two companies assets by turning them into fuel stations and marketing outlets, which will display its products, like liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and lubricants. Prior to the deal, Pelindo II president director Elvyn G. Masassya said all ports under his companys management purchased fuel separately, leading to price differences. We have a lot of branches, each buying [fuel] on their own, whether from Pertamina or not, he said. With this agreement, we can have a guarantee for the price and fuel stocks. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil and Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Bandung Wed, February 27, 2019 12:08 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a1f9b89 1 City fire-accidents,vessel,North-Jakarta,fishermen,fishing-boat,Fire-and-Rescue-Agency,fire-department,fire-incidents Free Fishermen of the Muara Baru fishing port in Penjaringan, North Jakarta, have to remain on land for the time being as a recent fire resulted in the closure of the ports dock to allow debris to be cleaned up and for an investigation to continue. Yuyuk, 42, said he considers himself lucky as the fishing boat he crews survived the inferno on Saturday that destroyed dozens of vessels, although now he cannot go to sea. We are not allowed to for the time being because when we set off to go fishing we dock here first [to prepare and resupply], Yuyuk told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday, referring to the area where the fire occurred. He said that during the blaze on Saturday, he and other fishing ship crews frantically tried to reach their boats to take them far from the danger. However, because of the mayhem, the boats rammed into each other and sustained light to moderate damage. He said that for the time being the boat that he worked on, a 120 gross tonnage vessel outfitted to catch skipjack tuna on the Indian Ocean, had to be docked near the ports sea wall to undergo repairs before it would be allowed to return to the dock. He said that because of the repairs and the docks temporary closure, going out to sea would have to be delayed for several weeks. Jefri, 44, usually works to repair fishing boats docked at the port. During the fire, he hurriedly took the boat that he was working on out to safety, even though it was scheduled to go fishing for squid sometime this week. The squid-fishing boat had to remain docked at the ports sea wall, while he did repairs on five other boats belonging to his employer that had been damaged during the fire. We fix what we can first because we cant go back to the main dock for now, Jefri said. The Saturday afternoon blaze allegedly broke out because of a spark from welding being done on the Artamina Jaya vessel. The fire destroyed more than 30 vessels. Three people were injured, two employees from a nearby factory and a fire rescue officer, all of whom were sent to Atma Jaya Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. Strong winds quickly spread the flames among the anchored wooden vessels. The fire was reported to the North Jakarta Fire and Rescue Agency on Saturday at 3.16 p.m. Twenty-three fire engines helped extinguish the flames by 5.16 a.m. the next day. However, on Sunday at 7 a.m. flames were again seen coming from five of the boats. Five fire trucks were redeployed to extinguish the fresh outbreak. The incident is not only being investigated by the Jakarta Police, but Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said the ministry was also looking into it. She alleged the fire might have been caused by errors at the fishing port. Many boats dock to do repairs or building work there, even though it is for unloading fish. Its not for docking, Susi said on Monday in Bandung, West Java. He said the ministry had warned boat owners at the port to not repair their vessels at the dock and have the work done at a shipyard. Susi also said that of the 34 destroyed boats, 10 were unregistered and not included in the port authoritys record of 1,250 fishing vessels. She said the ministry wanted to determine whether the fire was purely an accident or if it was intentionally started as vessel owners sometimes only register one of their boats even though they actually operate up to 10 to fish illegally. The Jakarta Police reported they have conducted interrogations. We have questioned 21 witnesses -- boat owners, crew members and regulators -- to aid our investigation and to find evidence, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said on Tuesday, Antara reported. He said the investigation is continuing. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marchio Irfan Gorbiano (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 27, 2019 06:56 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a1ec29c 1 Business fiscal-incentives,tax-waiver,bonded-zone,exporters,exports,imports,manufacturing,industry Free Exporters are hoping the current tax waivers will be continued, with half of respondents surveyed by the University Network for Indonesia Export Development (UNIED) saying they had benefited from the schemes. The first scheme, the tax waiver for imported materials for exports (KITE), exempts eligible companies that do not operate in bonded zones from paying value-added tax (VAT) and luxury goods tax (PPnBM) as well as excise fees on capital goods or intermediary goods they import for export purposes. The second scheme automatically exempts companies that operate in bonded zones from paying these taxes. In its research, the UNIED interviewed 1,606 businesses that had benefitted from either the regular bonded zone or KITE schemes. The study found that 50 percent of respondents believed the schemes had helped improve their production efficiency. Should the government decide to revoke these schemes, 32 percent of respondents said they would move their operations abroad, mostly to Vietnam. Among those that operate in bonded zones, textile, electronics and footwear manufacturers would be the most likely to relocate if the incentive was stopped. For those operating under the KITE scheme, the most likely to move overseas would be textile and automotive manufacturers as well as manufacturers of foodstuffs, plastic, wood and paper. The UNIED was established by government-backed export financing company LPEI, also known as Indonesia Eximbank, in partnership with 11 state colleges. At a recent launch of the study in Jakarta, Indonesian Exporters Association (GPEI) chairman Benny Soetrisno said the two incentives had helped businesses, particularly in managing their cash flows. However, he said greater inter-ministerial coordination would be required if the country wanted to increase its export output. Support from technical ministries, such as the Trade Ministry, among others, would be a great help in unlocking overseas market access, he said. There should be intense cooperation among ministries, he said, suggesting that the government should provide further support for exporters, such as by providing export insurance. While expressing appreciation for the KITE scheme, Edward Otto Kanter, an advisor at the Association of Priority Lane Companies (APJP), said some businesses had been hurt by the governments import-restriction policy, which raised the income tax on 1,147 imported consumer goods. The regulation is quite a burden for businesses that utilize the KITE scheme as some of the [imported capital or intermediary] goods are subject [to higher income tax], said Edward, calling for the government to exempt KITE-based businesses from the regulation. Responding to these concerns, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the government could give special treatment to KITE businesses by exempting them from the regulation. This is because these companies import goods for manufacturing purposes, while the regulation is aimed at reducing imports of foreign-made consumer goods. The UNIED study found that the value created from both schemes totaled Rp 57.28 trillion (US$ 4.09 billion) in 2017, and helped facilitate the export of Rp 780.8 trillion in goods over the same year. The incentives also helped attract Rp 178.17 trillion in investment in 2017, with these businesses employing 1.95 million people in the same year, 97 percent of whom were Indonesians. Thirty-four percent of the Indonesian goods exported in 2017 were manufactured using the capital or intermediary goods that were subject to the incentives, the research showed. The schemes also contributed Rp 85.49 trillion to the governments tax revenue in 2017, up from Rp 64.96 trillion in 2016, according to the study. The study found that more than 95,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were indirect beneficiaries of the incentives, as they formed networks with companies that operated in bonded zones or used the KITE scheme. Responding to the study, Sri Mulyani hinted that the schemes were unlikely to be revoked as they had created significant greater economic value, in the form of increased exports, investment, job creation and the multiplication of linkages among sectors. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Elodie Cuzin (Agence France-Presse) Washington Wed, February 27, 2019 22:28 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a21b905 2 World #USA,#politics,Donald-Trump,former-lawyer,Michael-Cohen,testimonies Free Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen called the president a conman, a cheat and a racist in explosive testimony prepared for a hearing in Congress Wednesday. He said Trump directed him in an illegal scheme to pay hush money to a porn star, and knew in advance in 2016 that WikiLeaks would publish dirt on Hillary Clinton, despite Trump's denials of both. He also said Trump directed negotiations for a Trump Tower in Moscow through the 2016 election campaign even while denying any business ties with the Russians. And Cohen said White House lawyers "reviewed and edited" his testimony in 2017 when he lied to Congress about the Trump Tower negotiations. But Cohen, 52, also said he had no direct evidence that Trump or his 2016 campaign colluded with Russians -- the central focus of Justice Department and congressional investigations. Cohen, who has been sentenced to three years in jail for crimes related in part to his work for Trump, said he was "ashamed" of his decade-long role as the president's personal lawyer and "fixer" for sensitive problems. "I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat," Cohen said. The early release of the testimony underscored that the hearing Wednesday would be fiery, with Democrats aiming to undermine the president two years ahead of the next elections and Republicans determined to defend him. "If it is as explosive as it appears to be, I think that it is the beginning of an impeachment process," Democratic Representative Jackie Speier told NPR radio early Wednesday. Trump, in Vietnam for a second nuclear summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, responded to the release of the statement by trying to discredit Cohen. "Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately)," Trump tweeted. "He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time." Republican threats Cohen, 52, arrived in Congress early for the hearing, appearing relaxed and confident, surrounded by Capitol police. He will testify before the House of Representatives Oversight Committee, the only open and televised hearing of three scheduled for him this week on Capitol Hill. On Tuesday he spent eight hours behind closed doors at the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and the Trump campaign's behavior. On Thursday he will testify in a closed session at the House Intelligence Committee, also investigating Russian election interference, as well as Trump's business relations with Russians. Cohen's testimony was greeted by a hail of counterattacks from Republicans. Late Tuesday Representative Matt Gaetz, a close Trump ally, tweeted a veiled threat addressed to Cohen. "Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she'll remain faithful when you're in prison. She's about to learn a lot," Gaetz wrote. Democrats expressed outrage at the tweet, accusing Gaetz of illegal witness intimidation. Focus on Trump and Russians Addressing a key focus of the federal and congressional investigations into Russian meddling, Cohen said he did not have "direct evidence" of collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow. "But I have my suspicions," he added. He said he believes that Trump was informed ahead of time about a meeting between his campaign and a Russian lawyer peddling "dirt" on Trump's election rival Hillary Clinton. And he said he was present in mid-2016 when Republican campaign consultant Roger Stone called Trump to inform him that WikiLeaks was about to publish damaging information on Clinton that it got from Russian hackers. "Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of 'wouldn't that be great,'" Cohen said. On race, Cohen said America has seen Trump woo white supremacists and bigots but that in private "he is even worse." "He once asked me if I could name a country run by a black person that wasn't a 'shithole.' This was when Barack Obama was president of the United States," Cohen will state, according to the statement. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Juneman Abraham, Dasapta Erwin Irawan and Surya Dalimunthe (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Bandung/Medan Wed, February 27 2019 On Jan. 15, an event was held at the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center in Jakarta, commemorating 35 years of the Jan. 15, 1974 riots, also known as the Malari incident. The slogan Make Democracy Real was displayed all over the venue. The organizer, Hariman Siregar, a well-known Malari figure, raised the need to reorient development to serve society, not just elites and their cronies. He repeated the perennial Malari observation that foreign influence needed to be properly examined for the interest of Indonesians welfare. Fear of foreign domination was one reason for the 1974 riots, which greeted then-visiting Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka. Unfortunately, this calibration is missing from Indonesias higher education academic journal policies. Foreign influence dominates, as reflected from prioritization of English and other ... Elizabeth City, NC (27909) Today Sun and clouds mixed. Hot. High 92F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Mainly clear skies. Low around 75F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Bandung Wed, February 27, 2019 17:10 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a210f60 1 National 2019-elections,Bawaslu,KPU,Chinese-citizens Free A 47-year old man in Cianjur, West Java, was confused when his identity card number did not appear on the final voter list (DPT). Instead, Cianjur resident Bahar found his name under a different identity card number (NIK) that was later revealed as the NIK of a Chinese citizen Guohui Chen, who holds a permanent resident card. The West Java Population and Civil Registration Agency Head Heri Suherman said the error was caused by a negligent official who mistakenly input the data for the KPU. A foreign citizen could have an identity card, called the permanent resident card, similar to that of an Indonesian citizen, Heri said on Tuesday. Currently, only the nationality section differs between a foreign permanent resident card and an Indonesian citizens identity card. However, both cards have 16-digit number in a similar physical form. The West Java General Elections Commission (KPU) head Rifqi Ali Mubarok confirmed that the DPT did not end up listing a foreign voter, only a different number registered under Bahars name. The only correction needed is to change Bahars identity card number so that it matches his identity card, Rifqi said. Meanwhile, West Java Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) member Zaki Hilmi said his team would check the source of the error. So far, we have only found one [mistake]. We are still checking the source of the data input error, Zaki said. According to the 2017 law on elections, only Indonesian citizens can vote in elections. (mai) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sonali Paul (Reuters) Melbourne, Australia Wed, February 27, 2019 14:42 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a2076ad 2 World #Australia,#SexAssault,Cardinal-George-Pell,jailed,sexual-abuse,children Free Former Vatican treasurer Cardinal George Pell will spend his first night behind bars on Wednesday after he was remanded into custody pending sentencing for sexually abusing two choir boys in Australia two decades ago. Pell, a former top adviser to Pope Francis and the most senior Catholic cleric to be convicted for child sex offences, was found guilty in December of five charges related to the abuse of the 13-year-old boys while he was Archbishop of Melbourne in the 1990s. Pell's guilty verdict was revealed in Australia on Tuesday after a court suppression order was dropped. The 77-year-old Pell was back in court on Wednesday for his sentence plea hearing, where his bail was revoked and he was taken into custody ahead of his final sentence being determined. Pell will be sentenced on March 13. Each of the five offences of which Pell was found guilty carries a maximum 10 years imprisonment, and the judge outlined they were serious charges. "This offending warrants immediate imprisonment," prosecutor Mark Gibson told a packed courtroom, which was crowded to overflowing with journalists, lawyers and members of the public. "It involved two vulnerable boys." Two victim impact statements were tendered in the hearing; one from the victim who testified in Pell's trial and one from the father of the other victim who died in 2014, but they were not made public. Lawyers representing Pell argued for a lenient sentence, presenting Judge Peter Kidd with 10 character references, including one from former prime minister John Howard. Robert Richter, a lawyer representing Pell, tried to argue that Pell's offences were at the low-end of the scale, at one point saying it was "no more than a plain vanilla sexual penetration case" where the child did not willingly take part, an argument quickly dismissed by the judge. During the trial one victim described how Pell had exposed himself to them, fondled their genitals and masturbated and forced one boy to perform a sex act on him. "I see this as a serious example of this kind of offending," Kidd told the Melbourne County Court. "There was an element of brutality to this assault." HECKLED Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who led a national apology in parliament in 2018 to victims of institutional sexual abuse, told reporters his thoughts were with the victims, and he wouldn't comment on calls to strip Pell of his Order of Australia honour. "We do have the law in this country and that law requires a process now to be followed, so I don't intend to engage in that other than to say to all of you out there who have been victims of child sexual abuse, know that we're thinking of you." Pell was heckled as he arrived at court and sat in the dock flanked by police officers. His conviction dominated media for a second day, with banner headlines in Australian newspapers such as "CARDINAL SIN", "CARDINAL TO CONVICTION" and "GUILTY". Pell's lawyers have appealed his conviction. Pell has maintained his innocence. His defence team withdrew an application for a bail hearing at a separate court on Wednesday afternoon, aimed at keeping him free until his appeal was heard. The conviction of such a senior Vatican official has brought the Catholic church's growing sexual abuse crisis, which has also seen scandals in the United States, Chile and Germany, to the heart of the papal administration. CHURCH FUTURE UNCLEAR On Tuesday, Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti told reporters the conviction was "painful" for many but that the cardinal had proclaimed his innocence and had the right to "defend himself until last level" of judicial process. Gisotti also said Pell's five-year term as Vatican economy minister had expired on Feb 24, and later tweeted that he was "no longer the Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy". The pope ended a conference on sexual abuse on Sunday, calling for an "all out battle" against a crime that should be "erased from the face of the earth". Pell's future in the Catholic church remains unclear while his appeal plays out. Former U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was expelled from the priesthood after he was found guilty of sexual crimes against minors and adults, the Vatican said in February. The 88-year-old became the first Roman Catholic prelate in nearly 100 years to lose the title of cardinal last July and is the highest profile church figure to be dismissed from the priesthood in modern times. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 27, 2019 12:55 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a1fbca0 1 City tax,increase,Bekasi,njop,land-building-taxes Free Bekasi citizens are bemoaning the recent increase of the land and building tax (PBB), claiming that their tax bills had more than doubled. Several citizens took to social media to voice their concerns, such as Dewie Fitriani, who posted on her Facebook account that her tax bill had increased by 100 percent. Last year it was about Rp 400,000 [US$29] and this year it is almost Rp 800,000. I was shocked because usually the tax hike every year is only about 10 percent, Dewie wrote on Monday night. Another resident, Shinta Permata, said her tax bill went up by more than double. Its okay if it increases a bit, even though this is a burden, but dont increase it too high from Rp 400,000 to Rp 1 million, Shinta said. Bekasi Regional Earnings Board (Bapenda) head Aan Suhanda said the tax hike was caused by the increase of the taxable value of property (NJOP) to adjust to the market price of land in Bekasi. We increased it partially, not sporadically, because we are also taking note of the residents ability [to pay], Aan said on Tuesday, kompas.com reported. The NJOP increase was based on Bekasi City Bylaw No. 2/2012 and Bekasi Mayoral Regulation No. 37/2012 on land and building tax. Aan said the highest NJOP hike was in the Jl. Ahmad Yani business center, from last years Rp 10 million per square meter to Rp 12.6 million this year He said there were three categories of NJOP. For land valued less than Rp 500 million the land and building tax rate was 0.1 percent, for land valued between Rp 500 million and Rp 1 billion the rate was 0.15 percent and for land valued at more than Rp 1 billion the rate was 0.25 percent. He said it was not unusual for some tax bills to have increased more than 100 percent from last year. It could be caused by an NJOP hike in their area. From a land value of Rp 500 million with only a 0.1 percent tax rate, an increase to more than Rp 500 million makes it subject to a rate of more than 0.15 percent. Thats quite high, Aan said. He said the Bekasi administration said it did not need to announce the land and building tax hike because citizens had the obligation to pay taxes to the city. He said he wished the residents could understand the administrations decision to increase the NJOP as he claimed that the tax was still affordable for the residents and the taxes would increase Bekasi citys generated income. (ami) How do you express yourself if verbal language is inaccessible? This is the challenge experienced by people with disabilities who are non-verbal and therefore cannot communicate through speech. Teachers at Jakarta's Daya Pelita Kasih center believe the answer is through creating art. The center supports students of all ages who have unique and specific needs relating to their disabilities that include dyslexia, attention deficit disorder (ADD), cerebral palsy, down syndrome as well as learning and behavior difficulties. Some of the students have Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC), and therefore struggle with social skills, speech and nonverbal communication, restricted thoughts and behaviors. Alongside academic education, life and work skills training, the center places an emphasis on creative therapies, including music, painting and handicraft skills to support students to reach their potential. We started the art project for therapy purposes. When they paint they can focus more and express their feelings through the colors, explained Katharina Lita Wewengkang, the centers founder. Their art programs have been so successful the foundation has put on exhibitions at various hotels in Jakarta since 2012. More recently, in 2017 the Alila Hotel in Seminyak, Bali hosted an exhibition of the student artists work, and last year some participated in exhibitions at the National Gallery of Indonesia in collaboration with the Cultural Attache of the Spanish Embassy. Their latest exhibition, Painting a Better Future, is hosted by Erasmus Huis in Jakarta until March 15. Jane Gabriela is a 17-year-old artist who paints using her fingers and hands, and has been exhibiting her paintings since 2012. Although Jane has ASC and is nonverbal, she is able to write about the meanings behind her paintings. Referring to Doorway to a Dream (2018), Janes mother Elizabeth Rosalina explained the painting represents a birds nest: it is about how everybody wants to have a safe place, an eagles nest to feel secure in. Color play: Dutch Ambassador for Indonesia Rob Swartbol (left) and art teacher Harry Bernadi (right) listen to Daya Pelita Kasihs co-founder Gitta S. van Engelens explanation of the two displayed paintings. (Courtesy of Erasmus Huis/Andri Astarisanna) The centers co-founder Gitta S.van Engelen explained how emotion is reflected through the color choices students make when painting. Student artists, she said, are encouraged in their work creation but are never pushed toward using any particular color or method. Red can be seen to show anger. In this one the colors are softer, and this they are harder, Gitta said, referring to two paintings displayed side by side which reflect subtle differences in how the artists were feeling when they created the pieces. 'Waterfall Valley' by Indhy Mutiarahma (The Jakarta Post/Evie Breese) Waterfall Valley (2019) was created by Indhy Mutiarahma, an artist with a heartwarming laugh who is also non-verbal. Her mother Dina Cholidi described the painting as showing hope. She uses orange to paint hope and happiness. Light blue also signifies a happy time [] There was one time [visual art teacher] Mr Harry got very frustrated because she was painting so well and then she painted everything black, maybe it was a mood swing. Teacher Bertha Thaga described Indhy as one of her favorite students. The first time I taught her, it was so hard but then I tried to get to know her. Now we are best friends, not like teacher and student, but shes like my sister. Social skills, including turn-taking and cooperation, are also developed through art therapy, as well as self-confidence, coordination and fine-motor skills. Through exhibiting their art, the students are able to see the pleasure that their work brings to others with many paintings being purchased, giving them a fantastic sense of achievement. Seventy percent of proceeds from sales go to the artists and the rest to the foundation. We try to help them further their ability and their strengths. They can earn something and make a living, said Katharina. Visitors to this exhibition cannot help but lean in to the vibrancy flowing from these paintings which instil an unwavering zest for life. (ste) -- The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post Starbucks opens its fifth Reserve Roastery in the world on Thursday (Feb 28) in Tokyo's trendy Nakameguro neighborhood, an expansive four-storey store that features the coffee chain's largest Teavana tea bar and first dedicated community space anywhere in the world. It promises an upmarket experience with a menu of premium coffees, teas and cocktails, is designed by renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who is also behind Tokyo's new National Stadium that will take centre stage when the city hosts the Olympic Games next year (2020). "The Roastery signifies our commitment to fostering moments of human connection over a cup of coffee and using these moments to create positive social impact in the communities we serve," said Mr Takafumi Minaguchi, chief executive officer of Starbucks Japan. Located next to the famous Meguro River that is lined with sakura cherry blossom trees, the store showcases the skills of home-grown craftsmen - including an origami-inspired wooden-tiled ceiling - through materials such as light-tone wood from sustainable Japanese forests. Japan was where the Seattle-based coffee chain opened its first store outside North America, in the tony district of Ginza in August 1996. Today, there are 1,400 stores across all 47 prefectures in the country, hiring more than 37,000 employees. Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo is also the chain's second Reserve Roastery in Asia following the Shanghai store, which remains Starbucks' largest outlet in the world. The other roasteries are in Seattle, Milan and New York. Read also: Bali now home to Southeast Asia's largest Starbucks store 'Dewata' Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo, in the near future, will become the coffee chain's first certified Specialty Coffee Association location, offering training for coffee professionals. It is expected to roast more than 680,000kg of coffee per year for the Japanese market, which adds up to an average of 31 burlap bags of 60 kg each that are packaged on-site every day. And then there are the food tie-ups, including with Fukusaya Castella, Japan's oldest castella bakery that first opened its doors in Nagasaki in 1624, to produce a Tokyo Roastery-branded cake set. And in another first, the store is home to Starbucks' first cocktail bar in Japan, featuring drinks such as the Nakameguro Espresso Martini that is mixed with chestnut liqueur, creme de cacao and espresso. When customers enter the Roastery, with its airy, open floor plan, they will be greeted by the world's largest Starbucks Roastery coffee cask - a four-storey, 17m-tall vessel made of blush-tinted copper where coffee beans are left to rest after the roasting process. The cask was built using the Japanese technique of tsuchime - a traditional method of copper beating to create its texture and pattern. It is adorned with hundreds of hand-crafted copper cherry blossoms, which change hues as the light changes throughout the day. Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo is at 2-19-23 Aobadai, Meguro-ku, Tokyo. As a student, a social issue I have always been interested in was the changing attitudes toward religion among our developing youth. Not to say there is a lack of faith among students, but what I have noticed is how the divisive issue of religion has generated two broad perspectives: the traditional fundamentalist view of religion and the increasingly popular view that religion may be outdated given the advancements of science. With the scientific revolution and the breakneck pace at which we achieve new discoveries, many of us may have a crisis of faith, an inability to reconcile the more ancient aspects of religion with the discoveries of modern science. In the West, where many local students are planning to continue their education, the culture seems to veer more toward the view that religious belief is outdated. A 2016 British Social Attitudes survey found that in the United Kingdom, 71 percent of people aged 18 to 24 said they did not belong to any religion. Additionally, a Gallup poll conducted in 2018 in the United States found that 76 percent of people think religion is losing its influence in American life. The same poll found that 28 percent of people never go to places of worship (churches, mosques, synagogues, etc.) and 38 percent consider religion largely out of date. Finally, the number of US college students with no religious affiliation has tripled in the last 30 years, from 10 percent in 1986 to 31 percent in 2016. This is not to say that becoming less religious is inherently bad, but I do consider it a concern for many students in Indonesia and neighboring countries who plan to study in the West, as the gap between religious and non-religious people continues to grow. How can modern people reconcile the findings of science and the claims of religion? It was a problem I had always thought about but never knew the answer to until I listened to Jordan Peterson, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto in Canada. A New York Times best-selling author, Petersons recorded lectures on the Bible have garnered millions of views on YouTube. His psychological take on the nature of religion is what I consider to be the perspective that can reconcile atheists and religious people. His perspective challenges the traditional viewpoint of God. This is certainly not meant to offend, but rather to find a middle ground that is suitable for the modern era. However, before discussing the merits of his ideas, there are certain facts that must be established before we can proceed. First, in order to maturely discuss an issue such as religion it is essential to make compromises on both sides of the argument. Primarily, we as a society should begin to accept the facts of evolutionary theory, as evolutionary psychology is essential to understanding the development of religion. Additionally, we should acknowledge that religious stories can possess immeasurable motive power and yet the fact that they were written by human hands should not be ignored. With this in mind, how can this new perspective help us understand religion? Peterson has often garnered criticism over this subject, as his lectures are not often transparent regarding his views on the legitimacy of religious stories or the definition of God. Despite that over time he has come to succinctly define God, such a statement needs further clarification. Read also: Indonesian youths say religion key to happiness, bucking global trend As a psychologist whose academic papers have garnered more than 10,000 citations, he comes from a background steeped in scientific literature, using evolutionary psychology and analysis of religious texts to make his claims. Therefore, in order to help us understand religion, Peterson traces its origins to ancient times, to our first evolutionary ancestors. Religion is the collective effort of thousands of years of human trial and error to discover which values are shared amongst those at the tops of dominance hierarchies. Over hundreds of thousands of years, humans have identified the values that allow individuals to ascend the most dominance hierarchies. This is what makes the values transcendent, as they are not only valuable in each individual dominance hierarchy, but they are the commonalities among all successful people. These moral values obviously do not promise immediate success but they would improve your chances in any discipline. No matter how bad you are at sports, working hard would be better than being lazy. No matter how shy you are, trying to be brave would at least show you what you are doing wrong. From here, we can move a step farther to say that the traits originally used to attract mates are now beneficial for the community as a whole. To illustrate Petersons point that these morals are fundamental because they are rooted in biology, we can look back at the challenges of child bearing. It is clear that a factor females select for in mates is commitment to help raise the child and support the family. Otherwise, the burdens of child care may overcome the mother, leading to the death of the child, which results in neither parents genes being passed on. Other fundamental values that form the basis of religion include honesty, compassion and the ability to make sacrifices. Since these values can potentially be used to get good at anything, it is extremely important to teach them, so that civilization gets more advanced. Thus the motivation moves away from the purely biological desire to reproduce, even if that was its origin. The new motivation to spread religion becomes: How do I spread and convince people of the values that ensure the survival of the civilization in the present and in the future? To communicate such huge ideas, ancient people wrote them down in the form of stories. These ancient authors were all too aware of human imperfection, so they wrote stories that allowed people to learn how to balance these traits on their own. This is why religion is so detailed when telling its stories. They demonstrate a different way to balance the skills necessary to succeed, so that people can get the main moral of the story and learn to apply it to their own lives. However, as civilization develops and cities get bigger and populations increase, these religious values become more unclear. Not only is it harder to teach people to follow them, since there are more people, but as more tribes mingle to form a society, each tribes interpretation of the best religious values competes to see which is most accurate. So how did ancient people resolve this problem? These differences were worked out through centuries of battle, tribal conflict and religious wars. Before the beginning of recorded history, millions of tribal conflicts arose simply because multiple tribes of humans could not agree on how to make peace. From the earliest civilizations arising in Mesopotamia it is obvious when one society conquers another and thus establishes the superiority of their religion. In other cases, different communities slowly assimilate each other and learn to embrace each others religion. Eventually they merge into a single belief system. This process of cultural and religious evolution is what has shaped our religions as we know them today and it is a testament to their profound wisdom that they have survived for thousands of years. This is where fundamentalists may argue that religious stories need to be interpreted as literal history to preserve their sanctity. They should take solace in the fact that civilizations oldest, most meaningful and most memorable stories are not literal. Think about whats more memorable: a good book or a scientific study. Both are extremely valuable, just each in their own way. The value of stories or literature, as an art form, is that they can act as a vehicle for a moral message because they describe something the audience understands and more importantly they demonstrate how the audience can embody these values. Many critics of religion claim that scientists attempting serious analysis of religion may be reading too much into the stories and interpreting their own meaning. However, this is what makes religious stories memorable for generations. They present examples of people struggling with life in the same way the readers do and offer solutions to lifes problems so people might not have to suffer to reach the same moral conclusions as the characters in the stories. The fact that they did not happen does not make them any less valuable. In fact, they may be even more valuable than historic fact because they identify the common values of successful people throughout history, rather than only focusing on individuals. This is what I and many others find profound about this perspective on religion. Peterson has managed to use science to not only explain, but justify, the origins of religion, paving the way for the reconciliation of the two and how we might balance them in modern society. The implications and impact of this analysis on other aspects of religion, such as the concept of God, would have to be discussed another time, but for now I hope this line of thinking becomes more widely accepted, as it may hold the key to resolving one of the most divisive conflicts in modern times. (kes) *** Nicholas Aditya Dharmadi is a 17-year-old who loves everything about film, literature and sometimes philosophy. He is an aspiring writer, actively learning and teaching creative writing, hoping to develop his own talent and that of the students in his school. Christian Dior lit up the Paris catwalk with a celebration of 1950s youth culture on Tuesday while designers paid tributes to this fashion week's big absentee, late Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld. The nine days of runway presentations in Paris, which began on Monday evening with young labels including France's Jacquemus, follows fashion weeks in New York, London and Milan that also showcased styles for next autumn and winter. Highlights in France will include designer debuts at storied couture house Lanvin, which is striving for a turnaround under new Chinese owner Fosun, as well as at Nina Ricci. But all eyes will be on Karl Lagerfeld's last collection for Chanel, the brand known for its tweed suits which he turned into a luxury powerhouse in more than 35 years as creative chief. Lagerfeld died last week aged 85, and his last Chanel designs will air on March 5. At Dior, the LVMH brand that is one of the biggest French labels presenting collections in Paris, designer Maria Grazia Chiuri went back to its 1950s origins with flared A-line skirts and jackets or poncho-style wraps cinched at the waist. Some looks featured leather jackets paired with whispier, polka-dotted skirts, while chequered prints in red, green and black dominated other outfits. Styles referenced the "Teddy Girls" - 50s era girl gangs, who like their "Teddy Boy" counterparts wore Edwardian-inspired clothes that came to define this quirky, rebellious subculture. Chiuri told Reuters she was inspired to return to this period and explore Dior's relationship with Britain when the brand decided to put on a retrospective exhibit along these lines at London's V&A museum. PVC rain hats, chunky boots and tartan prints added to the British feel of the collection, where Chiuri also revisited the pleated, longer skirts and see-through textures she has come to favor. Read also: Dior declares men's fashion future to be suited and booted "Alchemist" Lagerfeld Chiuri paid homage to Lagerfeld in her show calling him an "alchemist of elegance and beauty" in a press note. "I was so honored to meet him initially in my career in Fendi," she told reporters, saying his death was a "time for reflection" about the past and future of fashion. At the star-studded Dior show, where actresses Jennifer Lawrence and Lily Collins sat on the front row, guests also paid tribute to Lagerfeld's unique qualities. "His crazy way of thinking, his freedom of expression, his constantly renewed creativity in all the arts linked to fashion, whether it be textiles, embroidery," former Socialist minister Segolene Royale told Reuters. "It's a true joy to see this creativity continue and resist the trivialisation of globalisation." The first full day of Paris Fashion Week was set to close on Tuesday with the latest collection by Kering brand Saint Laurent. Painter and sculptor Teguh Ostenrik has presented a video showing his installation at the bottom of the sea, which has evolved into a captivating coral reef, becoming home to a diverse variety of species. Nature has painted my canvas, said the artist at the Jogja National Museum (JNM) on Feb. 8 in an event to introduce the upcoming ARTJOG art fair. ARTJOG, Indonesias largest art fair held annually in Yogyakarta since 2008, is slated to run from July 25 to Aug. 25 at the JNM. Ostenriks installation, titled Domus Musculi (Snail House), charmingly conveys the artists concerns over damaged coral reefs and features his collaboration with marine experts. In essence, his work captures everything that ARTJOG wants to be this year: collaborative and environmentally conscious. Agung Hujatnika, who serves as an ARTJOG curator along with Ignatia Nilu, says that this years theme ARTJOG MMXIX Arts in Common: common|space is a metaphor for the earth as a common space that has changed a lot as a result of human activity. Agung says that in the Anthropocene era, where human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment, artists are expected to provide enlightenment on humans relationship with their environment in the broadest sense. The common space we live in requires a new way of reviewing, defining, repositioning, rethinking, reflection and criticism, said Agung, an art lecturer at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in West Java. The art fair will also invite artists to engage in collaborations, whether with those inside or outside the art scene. Ignatia expected the collaborations would produce fresh creations. She noted that some artists presented their collaborative artworks in previous editions of ARTJOG. One of them is Mulyana, who took the 2018 ARTJOG visitors to explore the undersea world through his colorful knitted installation titled Sea Remembers. He created the commissioned work in collaboration with women who engaged in knitting as a form of prayer for a sustainable marine ecosystem. Also at the event, LG Saraswati, a philosophy lecturer at the University of Indonesia, said art could serve as a medium to remind men of their behavior. She cited artists who attempted to stop the destruction of nature through their works. Artist and architect Yoka Sara created an installation to reject the reclamation of Benoa Bay in Bali, while Gede Suanda Sayur fashioned an installation in Ubud, Bali, to prevent the disappearance of paddy fields. ARTJOG invites artists to submit their works from Feb. 8 until May 4. Contemporary artist Handiwirman Saputra has been commissioned to create a large artwork as the icon of this years ARTJOG. At his studio in Ambarketawang, Yogyakarta, Handiwirman is focusing all his attention on completing his artwork for the forthcoming Venice Biennale in Italy. After delivering my works to Italy at the end of February, Ill start planning [the ARTJOG] piece, he told The Jakarta Post. For last years ARTJOG, Handiwirman created Toleranintoleransi (Tolerance-intolerance), an installation featuring giant rubber bands, to reflect on numerous cases of intolerance in the country. Sasya Tranggono is showcasing her evolution as an artist of 30 years at her latest exhibition, which further solidifies her reputation as a master in the post-traditional arts. The exhibition, "A Love for Indonesia", runs until March 10 at the National Gallery of Indonesia and marks Sasyas 29th solo exhibition while celebrating her 30-year career. The displayed works include 21 wayang paintings from her entire career, nine flower-themed paintings, 10 butterfly-themed works and a wayang installation that was made purely for the exhibition. Through the works, Sasya interprets major traditional art forms, such as wayang and batik, using methods that have made her one of the most productive and influential artists in Indonesia. Sasya has stuck to her instincts by painting, arranging and creating wayang artwork the way she knows best. Each puppet in every single one of her works conveys a different, visible emotion that can be seen through sequined, small eyes that practically interact with the viewer with an effective, penetrating gaze. Flutter by: Artist Sasya Tranggono is showcasing 10 butterfly-themed works at the exhibition, which runs until March 10. (Jakarta Post/Iqbal Yuwansyah) The artist said her primary influences were the same ones that drove her to start producing works in the first place: her supportive mother, who is a skincare doctor, and the environment around her, as she has been surrounded by loving people that have kept her going from the start. Elements of god and faith are also very apparent in her paintings, as evident in the names of paintings such as Everything Comes from God, For You My Lord and I Believe in You (though this one could also be dedicated to the people around her). Sasya explained that many of her works were rooted in her faith in god and the oft-forgotten concept of pure love when talking about god. Wayang on canvas: Visitors look at Sasya Tranggonos works at the exhibition, which showcases her love for Indonesia and celebrates her 30-year career. (Jakarta Post/Iqbal Yuwansyah) From the works, visitors are able to see Sasyas artistic development and progress, as reflected in the differences in her works from the year 2003 and the ones made in the 2010s. In most cases, Sasya's decision to grow as an artist is a conscious one but, at times, her changes are driven by the opinions of those she values. Sticking to her tried and true methodology may be what Sasya does best but she admitted that, after talking to her daughter, she felt the need to do more to address the disconnect between traditional art and the youth perspective. When I showed some of the works to my daughter, she said, Mom, do something new with your work! It feels flat, Sasya recalled. So I tried to experiment with different things, such as painting my wayang works on canvas, or adding rhinestones to the art to give it a bit more flair. She still said it wasnt enough though. But in the end, she still believes so much in what I do. These changes are perhaps most visible in her works post-2011. Her more elaborate pieces utilize rhinestones, such as I Believe In You, a 2014 painting of a butterfly covered in sequins. Sasya is planning a touring exhibition in Europe and the United States this year. The scheduled stops include Leiden Museum Volkenkunde and the Tropen Museum Amsterdam in the Netherlands, the Museum Fundacao Oriente in Lisbon and New York, where her pieces will be part of a fashion show. According to the exhibitions curator, artist Jim Supangkat, all of Sasyas works have their own character and draw visible inspiration from the works of local phenoms in the wayang and batik worlds; as such, her works can be classified as post-traditional. Her works showcase the traits of post-traditional art outside of the Western gaze, where her works cant be defined as traditional art. Rather, they show only tinges of traditional influences, Jim said. Her paintings are pure still life. She organizes wayang golek (wooden puppets) like how anyone would rearrange everyday objects and just paints them. The narration in her art shows strong theatrical character as a result. (ste) The old center of Benghazi lies in ruins but one shopping street has sprung up in the war-ravaged Libyan city, with sportswear and fashion stores that would not be out of place in Dubai or Istanbul. Foreign brands are tapping into residents' desire to enjoy shopping again after a three-year city war when their minds were concentrated on getting fuel or moving to safer areas. Imports were limited as fighting between Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army and his mostly Islamist opponents forced Benghazi's port to close. But with the end of conflict in 2017, shops have returned and Venice Street, with its trendy new stores and elegant cafes, has brought back a level of wealthy consumerism. That contrasts with much of the city where some buildings still show bullet holes from World War Two, when Benghazi changed hands between British and German troops. Read also: After years of silence, music fills streets of Iraq's Mosul Former leader Muammar Gaddafi neglected eastern Libya, where Benghazi is located, during his 42 years in power in punishment for political opposition there, and what is now Venice Street was mostly wasteland until his overthrow in 2011. Residents have money in their bank accounts, as most work for the state, but not necessarily cash as there is a shortage of bank notes. "It's good that some traders started accepting checks," said Mustafa Bazara, shopping with his sister for shirts. Checks are accepted in some shops at a premium as they can usually only be cashed on the black market for a fee. Ahmed al-Orfy, who runs a new fashion store, said he had high hopes for Venice street: "We have security and the ambition to be on same level as the Champs-Elysees." Montana REAL ID: Do you need one? How do you get one? Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 27, 2019 08:52 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a1ee47c 1 Editorial #Editorial,Natuna-sea,Natuna,Jokowi-administration,Jokowi,North-Natuna-Sea,China,maritime-boundaries,Luhut-Binsar-Pandjaitan,coordinating-maritime-affairs-minister,#2019PresidentialElection Free With the April 17 presidential and legislative elections less than two months away, Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitans recent nationalistic statement on Natuna was clearly aimed at countering the oppositions accusation that the government feared Chinas economic and military dominance. But did the minister make thorough considerations before repeating this oft-spoken statement on Natuna? We will increase opportunities for our fishermen there. We are angered when other people go and fish there, while none of our fishermen are there, Luhut said last week. President Joko Jokowi Widodo has demonstrated his commitment to developing the countrys outermost islands and border areas, and to protecting our resource-rich seas from poaching by foreign vessels. Luhut evidently wanted to demonstrate that the government was prepared for any foreign powers that wished to intrude into Indonesias territory. The governments position on Natuna is very clear, and the nation wholeheartedly agrees. But should it be repeated again and again? The minister should also remember the unnecessary, humiliating diplomatic setback the government experienced in 2017, when China protested the governments intention to name the waters around Natuna the North Natuna Sea on its domestic map. China does not have a territorial claim over Natuna or its waters, but has nevertheless has placed it within its nine-dash line map and regards the waters as traditional fishing grounds of its fishermen. The Navy has seized and destroyed hundreds of fishing vessels in the area, mostly from China, Vietnam and Thailand. Vietnam has an overlapping claim over the waters with Indonesia. The minister knows full well the impacts of such an important announcement, which was made at a joint press conference with other ministers, including Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti. As part of the governments efforts to protect Indonesias exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Jokowi has been determined to develop Natuna into a fisheries hub with sophisticated facilities. Japan is also involved in the Natuna project as part of its commitment to helping development of Indonesias outermost islands. By talking loudly about the governments non-negotiable sovereignty over Natuna, Luhut wanted to convince Indonesians that the government would take, and had taken, all necessary measures to prevent Chinas aggressive actions in the resources-rich area. The retired general actually just reiterated the scheduled completion of comprehensive fishing grounds in the Natuna Islands, located on the edge of the South China Sea. Jokowi visited Natuna in 2017 and vowed to ensure that no outside powers would disrupt Indonesias rights over the territory and its surrounding waters. Minister Luhuts statement on Natuna was unsurprising, given the looming general election. But please just refrain from harping on the same old song and just do it. Protect the Natunas. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Vincent Lingga (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 27, 2019 09:05 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a1efb2f 1 Opinion #commentary,Jokowi,Prabowo-Subianto,tax-return,tax Free Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, who has been campaigning vigorously for social justice and more equality in income distribution and asset ownership, turns out to legally hold cultivation rights for more than 350,000 hectares of land for 35 years in Aceh and East Kalimantan. This finding, which was revealed in the second round of presidential debates recently, has prompted Indonesian Corruption Watch and several other civil society organizations to challenge incumbent President Joko Jokowi Widodo, Prabowo and their running mates to publicly reveal their annual tax returns to show their honesty. Next month happens to be the deadline for individual taxpayers to file their 2018 personal income tax returns (SPT) and both candidates also must file their 2018 SPT before March 31. The General Elections Commission has for the past five years required that all candidates running for presidential and regional head elections to submit copies of their SPT. However, the commission is not authorized to make the SPT documents public. Strange, though, such tax clearance is not required for the estimated 300,000 candidates running for the legislative elections in April. Certainly, like legally protected bank secrecy, tax laws do not allow for the publication of individual tax returns. But not a single law prohibits the two candidate pairs from reaching out to voters by voluntarily revealing their tax returns to ascertain their integrity. As Indonesia is still perceived as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, such an unprecedented gesture of honesty and transparency could go a long way in winning the respect of voters. Income tax returns are evidence of a citizens commitment to fulfilling their civic duties to the state and can serve as a good measure of integrity because the SPT documents must stipulate not only tax payment records but also all the fixed and financial assets of taxpayers. The government does have the requirement that senior government officials and legislators annually submit the records on their liquid and fixed assets to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). But regrettably this bureaucratic requirement is rather meaningless, perfunctory at best, and not legally binding. Most officials, directors of state companies and politicians simply ignore it. Moreover, the KPK does not have the resources to audit and examine the asset reports. SPT documents, however, are legally binding and whenever necessary can be audited by tax officials even though the taxation system uses the self-assessment principle. The revelation in April 2016 that thousands of Indonesian businesspeople used the services of Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca to set up special purpose vehicles (SPV) or shell companies overseas makes it imperative for politicians and officials to now voluntarily reach out to the public to show their integrity. True, shell or SPV corporations are not in themselves illegal and they often have legitimate business purposes. However, they were also notoriously known as the main players in the underground economy, tax evasion and money laundering, especially those based in tax havens such as Panama. But still the lingering question is if those businessmen did not have anything to hide, why had they set up SPVs through Mossack Fonseca, whose clients were notoriously known either as big corrupters, money launderers or tax evaders. Many of those who formerly owned SPVs in Panama are now legislative candidates. Only 65.4 percent of the 16.3 million registered individual taxpayers filed their 2017 income tax returns by March 31, 2018 deadline, reflecting persistently low tax compliance even after the generous tax amnesty that ended in March 2017. Yet more disappointing is that only 992,000 of the 10.6 million who filed their tax returns were self-employed professionals such as doctors, consultants, lawyers and businesspeople. The other 9.6 million were salaried employees whose income taxes were withheld by their employers. This simply reflected the high incidence of tax evasion and was confirmed by the World Bank estimate that the government had been able to collect only half of the tax potential. The low personal income tax return filings also reflect a low compliance tax culture, especially among highly-paid professionals and high net-worth individuals. This trend is worrisome because collecting more personal income taxes could actually help bridge widening income inequality. No wonder, therefore, that personal income taxes contribute only around 10 percent to tax revenue and the tax ratio (revenue against gross domestic product) is only about 11 percent, the lowest in the ASEAN region. The bizarre fact that over the past four years hundreds of legislators, senior officials and heads of regional governments have been convicted, or are being tried or investigated, on corruption charges makes it imperative for public officials to disclose their assets and prove their tax compliance. As the public now see integrity and transparency as the most important character public officials must have, there is nothing wrong or strange for politicians to make public their annual tax returns to demonstrate their integrity. We realize this is a sensitive matter. But as corruption will remain one of our biggest problems for the next decade, we need to build up pressure through public opinion to encourage senior officials and politicians to demonstrate their honesty by revealing to the public their annual tax returns and all their assets. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Yudhistira Rizky Abdillah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, February 27, 2019 16:07 854 acca405afacc7201380025f21a20d135 3 Opinion fishing,illegal-fishing,fisheries,marine-affairs Free The Regional Plan of Action to Promote Responsible Fishing Practices including Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing in the Region (RPOA IUU) concluded its latest meeting in Yogyakarta last November with a significant achievement. The resolution to take action against vessels without nationality has been finally agreed upon, concluding negotiations since 2016. Some members, however, have reported difficulty in securing their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) from foreign-flagged poachers. This serious issue is also relevant for each member, including Indonesia. Indonesias vast waters, as well as the region, are still prone to illegal fishing by foreigners due to abundant fish stocks and unsettled maritime boundaries. Thus, more practical arrangements in this regional cooperation are needed, mainly in cooperation in exercising hot pursuit. Why do we need to deter illegal fishing with collaborative hot pursuit? The answer is because the legal requirements of hot pursuit provide many opportunities for illegal fishing vessels to evade law enforcement by the coastal states patrol vessels. Therefore, each member would likely require assistance from other members to undertake hot pursuit successfully. The right of hot pursuit according to Article 111 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is the right of a coastal state to extend enforcement to the high seas or even other states exclusive economic zones (EEZ) over foreign vessels committing crimes in waters under the national jurisdiction. Several legal and practical steps, as well as precautions, must be applied in exercising hot pursuit legitimately. Firstly according to Article 111, we should have good reason to believe that a foreign vessel has contravened our laws and regulations. Regarding fisheries, this means we would have sufficient proof that such foreign vessel has conducted illegal fishing either in our internal water, archipelagic water, territorial sea or in EEZ. For Indonesian officers, determining illegal fishing by the foreign vessel is uncomplicated as we do not give fishing access for foreigners within our EEZ. Hence, any foreign boat setting its fishing gear underwater must be deemed illegal fishing. Secondly, in starting hot pursuit, both the pursuing vessel and the suspect vessel must be within the national maritime zones. Furthermore, hot pursuit can be lawfully commenced after the officer ensures that a visual or auditory signal to stop has been seen or heard by the suspect vessel. One legal requirement is that the pursuit cannot be interrupted. The pursuit can only be undertaken by the main pursuing vessel or its boat or other craft (usually a helicopter) working as a team. Intercepting with other patrol vessel or craft which arrives later from a different direction is considered an interruption. This provision might be a challenge as the pursuing vessel may chase its target far away to the high seas. Hence, the coastal state may need technical assistance, such as intelligence assistance and logistic support from their nearest members. Article 111 asserts pursuit must be terminated once the fleeing vessel enters its own or other states territorial sea. This provision could be a severe impediment as some areas in Indonesia are close to its neighbors. Thus, illegal fishing vessels could easily escape by claiming the right of innocent passage within the territorial sea of other states. Many legal scholars believe the entry of the pursued vessel into the territorial sea with intention to evade the law is considered a non-innocent passage. One strategy to solve this issue is seeking assistance from neighboring countries to repel the fleeing vessel from their territorial seas. Therefore, Indonesia should initiate this practical arrangement within the RPOA-IUU. We can learn from Australia which undertook a 21-day hot pursuit over Viarsa 1 for 3,900 nautical miles in 2003 and a 14-day hot pursuit over South Tomi for 3,300 nautical miles in 2001 successfully. These pursuits, arguably the two longest hot pursuits in recent history, involved the United Kingdom and South Africa in boarding and arresting the pursued vessels. Alternatively, we can follow the sub-regional cooperation of the Western Africa nations that enables involvement among members to arrest a pursued vessel with a country flag which is not party to this agreement. With the core objective of RPOA-IUU to address IUU fishing within the region, assisting members can agree on technical arrangements while exercising hot pursuit. This arrangement is paramount to improve mutual understanding among members and to secure the region from illegal fishing. *** The writer is a fisheries inspector at the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry. He graduated from the Master of Fisheries Policy program at the University of Wollongong, Australia. The above views are personal. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ahmad Baihaki (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, February 28, 2019 15:18 853 755cdefc0536cf41304ab1961f01f00c 3 Opinion illegal-fishing,big-data,digital-technology,GPS,map,Susi-Pudjiastuti Free With over 17,000 islands and the worlds second longest coastline, Indonesia faces a huge challenge in ensuring its vast marine resources contribute to the welfare of 250 million people and remain healthy and thriving. For the person in charge of such a critical undertaking, it is a fearsome and complex responsibility. Historically, Indonesias marine and fishery affairs had not attracted news headlines or the talk of the nation, let alone registered on the world stage. That is, until 2014 when the businesswoman Susi Pudjiastuti became Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister. She arrived with a bang quite literally, by blowing up seized boats caught fishing illegally in Indonesian waters. The ministers inimitable, no-nonsense approach has made the ocean a hot topic for the first time ever in our island nation. Weve seen a sharp and sudden increase in the number of students enlisting in marine and fisheries studies a lecturer of Padjadjaran University in Bandung, West Java, told me the growing number of teaching staff cannot keep up with the increase in students. And Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java, could take in only 1,200 fisheries students in one batch, after rejecting hundreds. Minister Susis charismatic style and tough stance on illegal fishing has also led to hundreds of reports from local and international media including the Washington Post. Minister Susi caught the worlds attention when she made the unprecedented move to share Indonesias fishing vessel tracking data, known as VMS, with the public through the Global Fishing Watch map platform in 2017. Several other countries have since been inspired by Indonesias lead and are sharing or planning to share their VMS data. Global Fishing Watch is an independent, international non-profit organization that promotes ocean sustainability through greater transparency. We use cutting-edge technology to visualize, track and share data, via our public map platform, about global fishing activity in near real-time and for free. Our work includes working with governments to share their vessel data via our platform and provide analysis to supporting their fisheries monitoring and control. In Indonesia, we work with the DG Surveillance and Presidential Task Force 115 to assist their work in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. We have also benefited hugely from their expertise in Indonesian fisheries and have learnt a lot. Our collaboration has resulted in many successful enforcements, including several high profile cases of IUU fishing, such as the latest case last April of STS 50, a ship wanted by Interpol for transnational organized fisheries crime. The ship, seized by Indonesian authorities in Aceh waters, was known to use different names and change flags in their effort to conceal their identity. Before that, there are two other arrests, of Thai ship Silversea 2 in Aceh in 2015 and Chinese vessel Fy Yuan Yu in the Timor waters, late 2017. Minister Susis commitment to clamping down on IUU fishing is delivering real results. A team at University of California, Santa Barbara analyzed Global Fishing Watch data to gain a comprehensive view of IUU fishing in Indonesia and the impact of the countrys efforts to curb it. The researchers found that curtailing IUU fishing combined with capping annual harvests at its maximum sustainable level could generate a 14 percent increase in catch and a 15 percent increase in profits by 2035 compared with current levels -- without short-term losses to the local economy. The research indicates that Indonesias marriage of policies and data works foreign fishing in the country has dropped by more than 90 percent and total fishing by 25 percent. Indonesias tough stance on illegal fishing not only jump-started recovery in its waters but also provides a viable example for other countries plagued by illegal fishing. We are acting as a valuable technology partner to various organizations that are already doing terrific work in Indonesia. Our strength and focus in revolutionizing the visualization of commercial fishing activity, and delivering powerful analyses to further sustainable management, is complementary to earlier efforts by other, long-established organizations. After a few exciting years growing our partnerships and understanding of marine and fisheries issues in Indonesia, with the support of Walton Family Foundation, we are broadening our Indonesian program. We are expanding our partnerships to NGOs, the fishing industry and academia in Indonesia to work together in achieving better fisheries research and management in our maritime nation. We are also investing in supporting improved tracking and transparency for Indonesias small-scale fishing fleet. Currently, VMS data is only mandated for vessels above 30 gross tons, whereas 90 percent of Indonesian fish catch is taken by smaller vessels that are not tracked via VMS. Several organizations have been collecting tracking data from smaller vessels using devices such as Spottrace, Pelagic Data System or TrekFish and integrating this data into our map will give a more complete view of Indonesian fisheries. The fishing industry is also an important partner, and many progressive players are eager to meet growing consumer demand for sustainable, traceable seafood. We are collaborating with several industry associations such as the International Pole and Line Foundation (locally AP2HI) to help them ensure their members contribute towards a healthy ocean and vibrant industry through enhanced monitoring and transparency. And last but not least, we want to support and amplify burgeoning academic interest in Indonesia in fisheries research and science. We intend to accelerate research and innovation using our data. Getting more Indonesians to use our data to produce high quality publications will help us understand better the issues and dynamics in Indonesian fisheries, and their impact globally. Our Global Fishing Watch goes to campus program targets academics from various leading universities and research institutions to interrogate our data and connect them with other research partners in our global network. Our work is not always easy and we have faced fear and misinformation about the move towards greater transparency in fishing activity. But the benefits of transparency far outweigh any concerns, and with the support of Minister Susi and our government partners we see only great promise and potential for more effective fisheries management in Indonesia. And with the increasing support, and collaboration with new partners in Indonesia, we feel inspired to continue our work and achieve healthy, vibrant oceans for our people and planet. As our Navy says, Jalesveva jayamahe - Let our glory be at the seas. *** The writer is the Indonesia program manager, Global Fishing Watch. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. SPRINGFIELD On Tuesday, Capitol News Illinois reported on Springfield GOP Rep. Tim Butlers bill to change how Illinois allocates its Electoral College votes for president. Somewhat forgotten, however, is a decade-old law which already binds the state to change its electoral process without having to do anything more. That law, signed by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2008, included Illinois in a multi-state alliance to effectively bypass the countrys Electoral College. Rather than award their electoral votes to the winner of the statewide popular vote, the compact requires member states to award their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. If enough states sign onto the compact to push their cumulative voting power to more than 270 electoral votes the amount required to win the presidency the compact will take effect in the next presidential election cycle. Thus, the popular vote would decide the winner of the presidency, even without an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. National Popular Vote is the group that advocates for this measure across the country. Their campaign began in 2005, with Illinois being the first state to introduce the legislation and the third to sign it into law. Voters want to know their vote is equal to a vote cast anywhere in the country, and [they want] whichever candidate gets the most votes to win, said Barry Fadem, president of National Popular Vote. The current method doesnt deliver on either of those. Colorado is the most recent state to join, with Democratic Governor Jared Polis expected to sign the appropriate legislation in the coming week. That would push the compact up to 12 states and the District of Columbia for a total of 181 electoral votes, or more than two-thirds of the required number. But in Illinois, the issue is largely forgotten even though it would bind the state to change its electoral process once the compact grows large enough. Why I dont think people are talking about it is because the ball is in other states courts now, said Jay Young, executive director of the nonpartisan Common Cause Illinois, which supports the issue. Illinois has done its job already. Even Rep. Butler, whose bill would move the electoral process in the opposite direction by allocating electoral votes on a congressional-district basis, only learned of Illinois 2008 legislation earlier this week. That was well before I was in the general assembly, Butler said. I really was not aware of that. But Butler says he still supports the electoral college, as it allows for greater representation across the country. Were at point where the [political spectrum] is heavily tilted on both coasts, and the middle part of the country would really have no say if it comes to the popular vote, Butler said. The Republican Party has benefited from the Electoral College remaining as is. In the past 20 years, a U.S. president has twice been elected to office without winning the popular vote. Both were Republican: George W. Bush in 2000 and Donald Trump in 2016. Yet, when the National Popular Vote bill was moving through the Illinois Legislature, at least one Republican supported it. Kirk Dillard, a former Republican state senator and current chair of Chicagos Regional Transit Authority, was the only GOP sponsor of the popular vote legislation in 2008. While Dillard agrees that most people have forgotten about it, he says he supported the legislation because it would make presidential candidates pay more attention to Illinois. In the last several presidential cycles, Illinois had been predominantly Democrat, Dillard said. Candidates would avoid Illinois because they thought the state was decided. I thought the citizens of Illinois were being left out. Butler, on the other hand, says he prefers to steer the issue away from partisanship. For me, its not a factor whether Republicans or Democrats win the electoral vote, he said. With the electoral college, a lot of areas in the country have more say when it comes to choosing the president. At any rate, a change to Illinois electoral process will not occur for some time. Butlers legislation does not have the backing of the dominant state Democratic Party, and the compact is several states away from reaching the 270 vote threshold that would activate it. I think it would be very difficult to have it in place for 2020, said Fadem. But look how far weve come. I think the next tipping point will be when we get up to 200 electoral votes. According to Fadem, that might happen by the end of this year, as he expects Nevada, Delaware and Oregon to join the compact soon. If they do, they will bring Illinois ever so quietly closer to a revamp of its electoral system. Reach reporter Grant Morgan at gmorgan@capitolnewsillinois.com For the Intelligencer EDWARDSVILLE The Saint Andrews Quilt Guild will host its Seventh Annual Fabric Arts and Quilt Show, March 1-3. Friday and Saturday hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. while Sunday hours are 1 to 4 p.m. A Quilt of Valor will be awarded to a local veteran at 1 p.m. each day. Also, local artist Linda Rawson will conduct a batik art demonstration on Friday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Cut Bank, MT (59427) Today Abundant sunshine. Near record high temperatures. High 93F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Clear skies. Low near 55F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. URBANDALE, Iowa Is the ugly produce trend already reaching the end of its shelf life in supermarkets? Walmart and Whole Foods in recent years tried selling some blemished fruits and vegetables at a discount, produce they said otherwise might be trashed because its not quite the right size, shape or color. But the two chains and others quietly ended their tests, suggesting dented apples and undersized potatoes may not be all that appealing in stores where better looking fruits and vegetables are on display. Customers didnt accept it as much as we had hoped, said Mona Golub of Price Chopper, a grocery chain in the Northeast that also discontinued its offering of ugly produce. Still, some stores and home delivery startups havent given up on the idea of selling less-than-perfect produce to reduce food waste and say theyre doing well. At a Hy-Vee store in Iowa, a recent display of Misfits produce included packs of apples, lemons and oranges that were either too big or small, or otherwise substandard in appearance. A sign explained that 6 million pounds of fresh produce goes unused each year, though the packages didnt specify why the produce otherwise might have been thrown away. I like the cost savings and it is good to help and not throw so much away, said shopper Brian Tice, who bought a pack of small oranges. Another shopper, Jamie Shae, said she didnt realize there was anything special about the fruit. I happened to see the bags of lemons, said Shae, who was in a rush and grabbed two bags. Shopper Joan Hitzel, who was browsing other produce nearby, said she thought the Misfits were a good idea given the tons of food that gets thrown away, but she didnt plan to buy any that day. The supplier of Misfits produce to supermarkets, Robinson Fresh, said about 300 grocery locations still sell the fruits and vegetables, including Hy-Vee stores. Kroger also said it still plans to introduce its Pickuliar Picks this spring. But among other regional chains that have stopped carrying ugly produce are Meijer in the Midwest, Hannaford based in Maine and Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle, which cited inconsistent customer interest for pulling the plug on its Produce with Personality. Walmart no longer offers the damaged Im Perfect apples it introduced in Florida in 2016. The efforts channeled growing interest in reducing food waste. Government agencies say the best way to reduce waste is to stop producing too much food. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 31 percent of the 430 billion pounds of the nations food supply goes uneaten. That does not include the fruits and vegetables that get tossed at the farm level, before foods reach stores. For fruits and vegetables that dont meet supermarket standards, some may get processed for products like juices and some go to food banks. Startups delivering ugly produce say theres so much that theyre not taking from food banks. Shopper preferences may not be the only challenge for ugly produce in supermarkets. Retailers really prize their produce sections, said Imperfect Produce CEO Ben Simon, whose company had partnered with Whole Foods on a test at the chain. Grocers might worry that cheaper produce will cannibalize sales of regular produce, or give off a bad image, he said. Delivery startups say theyre seeing interest in their services. But they are up against shoppers who inspect the fruits and vegetables they buy and those who worry about all the packaging. Ive been food shopping online, and I started thinking about all the boxes, all that cardboard, said Nyasha Wilson, a New York City resident who carefully selects apples for ripeness at a farmers market. The companies say they might at least change shoppers views on discarded produce. Evan Lutz, CEO of the startup Hungry Harvest, said most of it is just too small or slightly discolored. The vast majority that would go to waste isnt really that ugly, he said. It has been on my mind for a long time about the forced move of the Grand Island Veterans Home to the boonies of Kearney (my opinion). It is also my opinion that the many groups and individuals who forced the move of the Grand Island Veterans Home were working on that plan for five to eight years or more. Within two to three weeks of moving the residents, several died. Also its announced that the Holdrege VA Medical Center will be completely remodeled and doubled in size. Now in the Feb. 21 newspaper, it says a veterans town hall will be held on Feb. 28 to discuss the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System with experts, Uh oh. On Jan. 22, Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte introduced LB529, which would remove the property tax exemption for not-for-profit hospitals in Nebraska. This bill would reduce the exemption for each hospital to the percentage of the gratuitously provided services of the hospital. It is scheduled for a public hearing in the Legislatures Revenue Committee on Feb. 28. On behalf of our 95 Nebraska hospitals, the more than 44,000 individuals we employ and the 10,000+ patients cared for each day in our state, we firmly oppose LB529 for the reasons stated below: Hospitals provide significant financial benefits to our Nebraska communities. In 2017, Nebraskas hospitals provided over $131 million in charity care and incurred uncompensated costs related to government health care programs of $611 million. Nebraskas hospitals provided over $20 million in community-based programs and contributed $2.75 million in community support, including economic development and workforce development. In total, again for 2017, community benefits provided by Nebraska hospitals totaled nearly $1 billion. Including bad debt, this number exceeds $1.3 billion. Central Community College continues to address the workforce needs of their 25 county service area. The renovation of the Hamilton Building on the Hastings campus will provide an excellent educational venue for their advanced manufacturing design technology and welding technology programs. A major emphasis at CCC has been placed on meeting the demands on the shortage of nurses. An anonymous $1 million donation has been given to the Central Community College Foundation for a certified nursing assistant focus at the Kearney Center to address elderly care in the assisted living facilities in Kearney and the surrounding communities. This funding will cover the costs of a new employee as well as scholarships for students in the area. Partnership with the University of Nebraska at Kearney and the new CCC Kearney Center continues to proceed forward positively. The new hospital in Grand Island will also be bringing on additional partnerships with the CCC nursing program. CCC, Columbus campus, will be initiating a major gifts campaign for the renovation and addition of an east education nursing and science wing that will incorporate a strong STEM focus. Dr. Matt Gotschall and his talented team continue to provide positive leadership and planning to address the critical workforce needs of the CCC service area. The CCC Foundation stands ready in support of this excellent educational institution. A good Samaritan who bought a trove of cookies from shivering Girl Scouts on Friday evening was arrested Tuesday on federal drug charges, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Detric Lee McGowan was charged with conspiracy to import and distribute fentanyl, heroin and cocaine. He was also charged with racketeering and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Tuesdays charges are unrelated to McGowans generosity on Friday, when he bought an entire stock of cookies from Girl Scouts in front of a Greenville, South Carolina, grocery store so the girls wouldnt have to continue standing in the cold. Nobody was hurt. Nobody was threatened, Karen Kelly, a vice president of the local Girl Scouts chapter, said in an interview with the Greenville News. We had no reason to believe that this man was anything other than one of our valuable customers. . . . This is now in the hands of law enforcement and of course we will cooperate with authorities. Local media reported Tuesday evening that the DEA confirmed McGowans arrest that day and confirmed he was the man who appeared in the viral social media photo, adding a bizarre coda to a story that was, fleetingly, feel-good. Cut Bank International Airport is a preferred stop for pilots due to its competitive fuel prices and its U.S. Customs service. The annual Montana Fun Weekend will return this summer so mark your calendars for Aug. 16-18! The legislation revokes Trump's executive order declaring an emergency so he can siphon billions of dollars from the military to fund his proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The House vote sends the measure to the Republican-held Senate, where it would take only a handful of GOP defections to pass. Trump is sure to prevail in the end since he could use his first-ever veto to kill the measure, with top Republicans working to keep GOP defections low enough to ensure that the veto would stand. WASHINGTON (AP) Democrats ignored a veto threat and rammed legislation through the House Tuesday that would stymie President Donald Trump's bid for billions of extra dollars for his border wall, escalating a clash over whether he was abusing his powers to advance his paramount campaign pledge. The House's 245-182 vote to block Trump's national emergency declaration fell well below the two-thirds majority that would be needed to override his promised veto. Top Republicans worked to keep defections as low as possible 13 backed the Democrats' resolution underscoring their desire to avoid a tally suggesting that Trump's hold on lawmakers was weakening. Some refineries had weather-related issues and others were curbing production as they underwent their seasonal maintenance schedules. That maintenance schedule includes mandatory safety checks. That means there is a cutdown in production and that could increase prices, White said. But within the last couple days, crude oil has closed at about $55 per barrel compared to $57 per barrel last week. That is some positive news from refineries as they increase production, she said. At this current level, we dont anticipate any other increases to take place soon, especially as they continue some of these checks that refineries are required to do. White said the public may see some swings in crude oil prices. But for now, nothing significant as prices still remain lower than last year, she said. White said Nebraskans were paying about 20 cents more per gallon last year at this time, compared to what they are paying today. She said Nebraska motorists filling a 15-gallon tank today are paying $4.10 more, compared to pump price averages reported on Jan. 1. At that time, the state average for unleaded fuel was $2.05, and many motorists were paying less than $2 a gallon. During the meeting, the Rotarians watched a video detailing the history of Hornady. According to the video, the companys stature within the industry has never been higher. Before the video, Jason mentioned the new Hornady West facility, which opened last year. That project was built without any tax-increment financing, he noted. In a question-and-answer session, the Hornadys said the company employs 12 to 14 engineers. They were also asked about the late Marval Hornadys role in the company. She kept the books for her husband in the late 1940s. Later, after raising the children, she returned on a full-time basis in 1972. She began to reduce her involvement in the company in the late 1980s, devoting her time to the community, but was still involved in Hornady Manufacturing into the 1990s. Jason said that family members who want to be involved in the company have to go work elsewhere for a minimum of 10 years. Steve said the goal is to make sure family members have a good life. If they find something else theyd rather do, theyre free to follow that passion. STAMFORD A Stamford man who pleaded guilty to helping commit a wild crime spree that included attempted murder, robbery and arson in 2017, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Wednesday, even though he pleaded out to a dozen felony charges that could have resulted in a combined sentence of over 200 years in prison. While about a dozen relatives and friends of murdered Stamford teen Shane Slinsky sat quietly in court, Tyreik Gantt, 21, seemed to accept the sentence handed down by Judge Gary White in a fourth-floor courtroom. This is not Gantts final sentencing, because he still faces a felony murder charge for the August 2016 Bridgeport slaying of Slinsky. When that case is complete, some hope the two sentences added together will result in Justice for Shane, the words written in large red letters on the back of the shirts of some of those attending the sentencing in Stamford. When it came time for him to speak, Gantt said, Im sorry to all the victims of my actions. Thats it. Instead of taking his case to trial in late November, Gantt decided to plead guilty to a laundry list of serious felonies. By making the guilty pleas to open counts without a plea agreement, Gantt threw himself on the mercy of the court and it appears to have paid off. His co-defendant Onaje Smith went another direction and put his case before a Stamford jury. Following a two-week trial in January, Smith lost the case and in April will be facing the presiding judge, John Blawie, for sentencing. Court watchers suggest Blawie will give Smith at least 10 more years than Gantt received Wednesday and possibly more. Michelle Manning, who took Smith to trial and won, said that the pain to the community, caused by Gantt and Smith during the crime spree that struck Norwalk and Stamford hardest, was tremendous. She asked the judge to impose a 20-year sentence. Gantts attorney John Thygerson said before his arrest in 2017, Gantt did not have a criminal record. Boy, he changed that in a big way, Thygerson added. Thygerson also told White that Gantt decided to take responsibility for his crimes before going to trial and did not require the state to meet its burden of proof against him and also asked for a 20-year sentence. Because of that, he, like other defendants, are given a certain amount of consideration at sentencing, Thygerson said after the hearing. For his co-defendant, I would expect a sentence far in excess of that imposed against Mr. Gantt today. In early 2017 while the crime spree was ongoing, Stamford police said the two had been wreaking holy hell on lower Fairfield County. At Gantts plea hearing last year, Manning said the two robbed two Chinese food delivery drivers in Norwalk in January 2017, shooting one in the leg and arm and stealing his car. Minutes after one of those robberies, Gantt was seen on a surveillance camera at a Stamford gas station pumping gasoline onto the back seat of the car, which moments later was found engulfed in flames on Oakwood Place in Stamford. The two also shot at a rival gang member during a drive-by that same month, Manning said, and both were involved in following a rival 19-year-old man into a West Main Street convenience store in Stamford and shooting him in the left temple and abdomen. The man survived. Smith is scheduled for sentencing on April 5. jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com Cuban nurse who defected in Ecuador. Submitted by: admin Politics and Government 02 / 27 / 2019 Cuban nurse Jaquelin Jimenez, who decided to stay in Ecuador after finishing the medical mission in which he collaborated, reported that he appeared on the list of voters this Sunday in the constituency to which he belonged in Cuba. "Let no one tell me that it is not true, nor have I been orchestrated, I am the evidence in person." On Sunday around 5:00 p.m., my daughter went to exercise her right to vote in an electoral college in the monument area of the municipality of Trinidad, province Sancti Spiritus, was very surprised to see my name on the list ALREADY SIGNED, "Jaquelin wrote in the Facebook group #NoSomosDesertores #SomosCubanosLibres. However, when the daughter went to complain about the event, they said between smiles: "Do not take fight". Jaquelin's insult is double: for the fact of usurping his right to vote and because the Cuban government has denied him entry to the country, like hundreds of health professionals. "I, who at the airport in Havana was denied entry to the country, because despite having all the documentation for having completed the mission in Ecuador, I am considered a deserter for not returning with the rest of the medical brigade", he claimed. This Sunday the voting took place throughout Cuba, for the approval of the Magna Carta that will govern the country from now on. As a result, the National Electoral Commission reported that it had won the YES with 86.85% of the votes. Thus, 9% voted NO and the remaining 4.1% voted blank (198,674) or null (127,100). Despite these results, no one doubts the lack of transparency of these votes disguised as democracy. Like Jaquelin, there were several cases of fraud at the polls. On the one hand, a Cuban was caught at the time he deposited in a ballot 30 ballots of the Constitutional referendum to which he himself marked the Yes. Also, in the middle of the Constitutional Referendum, a young Cuban boy posted a video denouncing the fraud: he said that the vote was not secret and there was a police presence in the polling stations. "Everything was very open," he explained. "They were watching what they were voting, everyone was watching." A woman accused of assaulting a man wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat in a Massachusetts restaurant now faces possible deportation after being detained by federal agents. Rosiane Santos faces charges including assault after the confrontation in the Mexican restaurant. Video from the event was posted to Facebook on Feb. 15 by Bryton Turner, the man who was wearing the red cap. Sully, the former service dog for the late President George H.W. Bush, started his next assignment Wednesday in Maryland. Sully joined the Facility Dog Program at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The program provides interactive care for patients and staff using service dogs and other animals using innovative "Animal Assisted Interventions," according to Walter Reed. The mission of the program is to help reduce stress and increase overall feelings of well-being among patients and staff, the hospital said. NORWALK Roughly 30 people turned out at the Norwalk Inn & Conference Center Tuesday night for an informational forum on tolls hosted by state Reps. Terrie Wood, R-141, and Gail Lavielle, R-143. Lading a presentation on Gov. Ned Lamonts plan to implement tolls on some of the states most used thoroughfares were Transportation Committee Ranking Members, State Rep. Laura Devlin, R-134, and State Sen. Henri Martin, R-31. I will be flat-out honest, I am not in support of tolls, Devlin began the forum, to scattered applause. But I want you to make your own decision based on what you hear tonight. Much of the crowd appeared to swing similarly anti-toll. The session was the second of four forums held by the state legislators in response to a plan that could see the addition of electronic tolls on the states three major highways: 84, 91 and 95, plus the Merritt Parkway. The tolls, according to Lamont, would help to raise funds for badly needed infrastructure improvements to the states highway system, which was built in the 1950s. During his campaign, Lamont had suggested a truck-only polling plan, but changed his tune after taking office, acknowledging that tolling only trucks wouldnt raise sufficient funds to fund the projects. There are multiple tolling options and as part of that there is certain confusion about what we can, or cannot do in Connecticut, Devlin said, noting that Connecticut is one of 13 states the Federal Highway Administrations Value Pricing Pilot Program, which requires congestion pricing to encourage commuters to drive at off-peak times, but would need federal approval to build the tolls. Devlin, Martin, Lavielle and Wood were joined by state Rep. Tom ODea, R-125, and representatives from the trucking industry, including President of the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut Joseph Sculley, Senior Vice President, Federation Regulations and Industry Affairs at the American Trucking Associations, and Andrew Anastasio, Jr., of Anastasio & Sons Trucking, in Connecticut. According to Sculley, $17,000 a year is the average amount of road taxes paid by truck drivers and the trucking industry pays 32 percent of all road taxes owed, even though it accounts for only 5 percent of miles traveled. Ninety-four percent of all freight moved in Connecticut, was moved by truck, Sculley said. Everything that we buy was on a truck at some point, Sculley said. The presentation culminated with a presentation by Martin on the state legislators alternate Prioritize Progress plan, which advocates a combination of federal funding, Special Obligation Bonds and and General Obligation bonds to fund transportation, without raising taxes. A question and answer session followed, during which time several members of the crowd lambasted former Gov. Dannel P. Malloys use of transportation funds and current plans to increase taxes and the conversation veered at times away from tolls into the cost of state employee union contracts and other gripes. Some questioned the mathematics of the alternate toll plan. Are we catching up, or are we simply adding more and more debt on? one member of the crowd asked. The legislators noted that the plan to use bonded funds would respect a newly implemented $2 billion cap on borrowed money and, because bonding is generally used on long term, capital projects, transportation would be an appropriate use of the money. Were not taxing anybody, were not looking for anything that we dont have at our disposal right now, Martin said. justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1; 203-842-2586 3 1 of 3 Contributed / Contributed Photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Contributed / Contributed Photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3 WESTPORT A New York City man was arrested after violating a protective order at the Westport Inn, police said. On Feb. 22 around 11:30 p.m., officers were dispatched to the Westport Inn on report of a disturbance in which a woman was loud and disturbing other guests, police said. NORWALK Police responded to Norwalk Community College on Wednesday afternoon on reports of a threat made by a student a day earlier. The parent of an NCC student, who police said was not present at the time of the threat, reported the incident around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. The threat was said to have been made during a class on Tuesday, according to initial reports. NORWALK The Common Council officially adopted a $351 million spending cap for the 2019-2020 budget. The cap follows the recommendations of the citys Finance Department and Finance and Claims Committee to allow for $367.6 million in spending, of which $16.6 million would come from intergovernmental revenues, which includes federal and state funding. The council voted on Tuesday almost unanimously, with the exception of Councilman Douglas Hempstead, who said he was against the citys use of $6 million from its general fund balance, also known as rainy day fund. I dont think its the time to take that amount of money out of the fund balance and spend it that way, he said. Hempstead said that while the fund balance has grown in the last few years, there could be a time in the next few where the city needs to have that money available. I think the budget process has been calm the last few years, he said. At some point, there wont be the ability to draw down that fund balance. Lisa Brinton, who is running as an independent candidate for mayor in 2019, also spoke out during public comment against the use of the $6 million. Im here tonight to waive the yellow caution flag to the Common Council over what I consider to be fuzzy math, she said. Brinton questioned why Norwalk would need to draw from the fund since the city said its grand list has grown by 16 percent. I ask you, are these budget and land use policy practicies sustainable? she said. The $6 million is planned to go to fund $2.3 million in one-time Board of Education expenses, with the rest going to tax relief, according to Angela Fogel, citys director of management and budgets and Thomas Hamilton, the chief financial officer for Norwalk Public Schools, who has been assisting the city with the budget process after Chief Financial Officer Robert Barron resigned in January. The money in our fund balance belongs to the taxpayers, Mayor Harry Rilling said. Rilling said he applauded the council and the citys Board of Estimate and Taxation for being willing to use the funds to provide some tax relief, especially during a property reevaluation year. I support this budget and I support this drawdown on the fund balance if we are using it to benefit our taxpayers and our children, Councilwoman Barbara Smyth said. Council President Tom Livingston said that he wanted this budget to serve as a model of cooperation with the Board of Education going forward. He said that the Common Council members will be joining the Board of Education at their retreat over the summer to talk about the budget and other topics. Rilling said that he meets with Superintendent of Schools Steven Adamowski on a monthly basis. Recently, he said theyve discussed the possibility of combining some functions, such IT support and finance, as another way to save money. kelly.kultys@hearstmediact.com If three is a trend, there is a definite trend in the cannabis industry of successful companies making exquisitely produced television commercials that TV stations and networks wont run. Lowell Herb Co., the dominant pre-roll brand in Californias immense legal marijuana market, has joined Acreage and MadMen in the select group of cannabis companies with classy commercials barred from over-the-air television. The 90-second ad, titled Finally, was directed by the award-winning director Cutter Hodierne and features actress Bella Thorne with voice over by actress Sasha Lane. Lowell wanted to air it during the Oscars, at least locally in Los Angeles where their headquarters are located, but ABC refused. Its a new day and the whole world is opening its eye to the truth about this miraculous plant, Lane says at one point in the ad. Later she says Our farmers have been cultivating the land for generations, patiently waiting for this moment, a description that might come as surprise to Emerald Triangle pot growers who used to sell black-market marijuana for thousands of dollars a pound and now struggle with plunging prices and a costly legalization process. The ad concludes with a convivial gathering of young adults purchasing Lowell Herb pre-rolls from what appears to be a cigarette vending machine from yesteryear and lighting up, which is contrary to advertising best practices guidelines recently adopted by the National Association of Cannabis Businesses. The guidelines are voluntary and Lowell Herb Co. is not a member of the association. Our brand is celebrating legalization, from the people who make the product to the people who enjoy the product, said CEO David Elias. Large cannabis businesses are creating amazing content, amazing commercials, but the challenge for us is that advertising is very difficult. Being rejected by ABC puts Lowell in good company. Acreage produced a heart-tugging commercial featuring the true stories of patients whose lives were drastically improved with CBD. Acreage was willing to pay the $5M it costs for a Super Bowl ad but CBS said no. Related: Here's the Medical Cannabis Super Bowl Ad CBS Refused to Run In recent days MadMen released an ad produced by Spike Jonze exploring the history of cannabis from George Washingtons hemp crop to the War on Drugs to our current, uneven state of legalization. You can see that on their YouTube channel (or here) but not on over-the-air TV. Related: Spike Jonze Directed a MedMen Commercial About Cannabis. And It's Pretty Epic. Lewis Goldberg, managing partner at KCSA Worldwide and creator of the communications firm's cannabis practice, compared the problems marijuana companies have getting ads on television to the problems they have accessing normal business banking services (which he believes is, for now, a more significant problem). Both television networks and banks are, doubtless, eager for the new business they could get from cannabis but federal regulations bar them from taking advantage. The cannabis industry is maturing and has realized it is a consumer package industry as much as a social justice effort or source of new medicine, so they are trying to reach consumers the way companies do, through television advertising, Goldberg said. The major national broadcasters are overseen by the FCC much more closely than streaming providers and cable. When the money's too alluring you will see the networks petitioning to gain access to those ad dollars. Goldberg, noting that roughly two-thirds of American live in states that have legalized at least medical marijuana, said corporations and the agencies that regulate them will eventually catch up with popular sentiment. This is not counter-culture any more, its culture, he said. This industry has moved too far to be stopped. Related: The Marijuana Advertising Double Standard Is Stifling Our Industry Here's the Ad for Pre-Rolled Joints ABC Wouldn't Air During the Oscars A Business Perspective on the Impact of Production Quality on Video Advertising Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved 99 cent introductory offer Includes everything we offer online for 24-7 news. This option allows you to read unlimited stories at ctnewsonline.com, and access our e-Edition (digital replicate of the daily newspaper). $7.99 per month after the introductory offer. This service comes with a complimentary CT Select Card allowing for local discounts. Rates are subject to change. A day after a viral Facebook post earned a man praise from around the world for his generosity to some Girl Scouts, he was arrested on federal drug charges, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration officials. A South Carolina woman who manages cookie sales for Troop 1574, shared a picture Friday of the man, later identified as Detric McGowan, with two of the Scouts, saying: "This man purchased seven packs of cookies. Gave the girls $40, told them to keep the change. Then he came back to the table and said 'pack up all of your cookies. I'm taking them all so y'all can get out of this cold.' $540 he spent on cookies. What an amazing soul!!!! #troop1574 #kindheart #thatgreenville #greenvillesc" A federal judge on Monday rejected a challenge to President Donald Trump's administration's ban on bump fire stocks. U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich ruled against the plaintiffs in two consolidated federal lawsuits challenging a nationwide ban on the devices and asking for an injunction to prevent the ban from going forward and being enforced. Bump fire stocks came under scrutiny following a deadly 2017 massacre in Las Vegas, in which a gunman rigged his weapons with the devices to kill 58 people and injure nearly 900. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded, in part, by reconsidering its definition of machine guns to include "bump-stock-type devices." Bump stocks, also known by the brand name Slide Fire, modify rifles, turning them into automatic-fire weapons. When the trigger on an automatic weapon is pulled once and held, the gun continues firing until the trigger is released. The ATF had previously concluded bump fire stocks were merely a gun accessory or firearm part, not subject to federal regulation. They were tightly regulated, but legal. Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker signed a new federal regulation in December that concluded that bump fire stocks fall within the prohibition on machine guns, and therefore are illegal under federal law. In their complaint, the plaintiffs Damien Guedes, the Firearms Policy Coalition, David Codrea and their co-plaintiffs argued that the ATF violated procedural requirements, and that Whitaker did not, at the time, have the authority to set forth a ban. Following Monday's ruling, the plaintiffs issued a statement saying that have filed a notice of appeal and will continue to challenge the ban. "We are disappointed but unsurprised by the Court's ruling tonight denying a temporary injunction to protect Americans from an unlawful and unconstitutional regulation," they said in a joint statement. NORWALK Its difficult to describe exactly what the Mad Lab is and how it functions. The front door opens into a large, airy room in which a trio of couches surround a coffee table. To the right of the entrance is a kitchen a pizza box sitting atop the stove and a dining room table, and to the left, an ornately designed staircase and a work space. On all walls, paintings and photographs are hung, and a few miscellaneous sculptures are scattered on the wood floor. It looks equal parts bachelor pad, artist studio and gallery and, in function, its almost exactly that. Its a WeWork for creatives, said Weverson Ponte, an artist, architect and owner of the Lab, which opened in January on Leonard Street. Its Pontes latest in a series of creative endeavors, beginning in April 2018 with Emotional Explosion: A Community Art Project, in which he gathered a horde of local artists to graffiti their fears on a soon-to-be demolished house in Westport. The door from the razed home, signed by the artists involved, was removed and is installed at the entrance to the Lab. Ponte, a graduate of Greenwich High School, followed up with a similarly themed gallery show, featuring many of the same artists, in September at the nearby Rene Soto Gallery. Riding the wave of that momentum, Ponte opened the Lab, at which five artists currently rent space. Hes hosted several events, including a New Years Eve party and an inaugural celebration. On Friday, hell host a multimedia Creative Arts Networking Event at the Lab from 6 to 9 p.m. Like the space, the event will be varied. It will include a networking hour to which hes invited members of Norwalks Arts Commission, a gallery-style exhibition and musical and drag performances. I wanted to curate this event as an opportunity to bring together the workforce of artists that would then be able to facilitate and participate in the things the Norwalk Arts Commission will ultimately be working on, Ponte said. On Wednesday, Ponte and fellow Mad Lab tenants were preparing the space. The group was in the basement, a collaborative space and sometimes-performance venue available to all renting the space. Each wore a lab coat, on the back of which was the shape of a mustache, inspired by Pontes singular facial hair, and the words Why you mad? They worked busily, trying to complete a mural on a wall that on Friday will be the backdrop for the performance stage in the unfinished basement, littered with spray paint cans. The group was comprised of the artists Jesse Bowie, Jessica Ortega, Dan Wilson, HAL 6000 and Ponte, each of whom was putting their own touch on the mural. Ortega, a painter and multi-media artist from Stamford, was finishing two ravens perched on either end of the large mustache that is the murals centerpiece. Bowie, who has known Ponte since high school, was finishing a painting of a bear, with white gloves in the shape of a diamond framing its eyeball. HAL 6000, a drag performer whose name is a reference to the character HAL 9000, from Stanley Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey, was working on a representation of the sentient computer. HAL 6000, who described their act as gender-bending, has a desk in the basement, where they apply makeup. HAL 6000 will be one of two performers Friday night, delivering a lip-sync rendition of Queens Bohemian Rhapsody. Drag performers play with the idea of gender, HAL 6000 said. At its core its just about queer expression. In addition to HAL 6000, an acoustic duo and a DJ will perform. Upstairs, the work of roughly 30 artists from around the tri-state area will be hung, including 5iveFingaz, sugacanedanger, Javier Eastmann, Kim Joy, #rise and Eric Cooper. Ponte hopes the event can unite a diverse set of creatives with patrons of the arts to facilitate future work. This is the artistic hub of Norwalk, Ponte said. If anyone has a creative idea that they want to bring to life, we want to help. justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1; 203-842-2586 WESTPORT The Board of Education unanimously passed a $118,500,464 operating budget for the 2019-20 school year at its meeting Monday night, a 2 percent increase over this years budget of $116,173,800. The approved budget is less than the 2.22 percent increase Superintendent Colleen Palmer originally proposed in a document made available at the Feb. 11 Board of Education meeting. While the superintendents original budget proposed a cut of 18 school employees, the approved budget plans to decrease school staff by 20.7 full-time equivalent employees. Were downsizing, Palmer said, noting the cuts were aggressive and necessary because of declining enrollment and Coleytown Middle Schools closure. The majority of cuts will be teaching positions, in addition to fewer paraprofessionals, nurses and custodians. Total student enrollment is expected to decline until 2026-27 and then begin to rebound after that, primarily due to estimated increases in K-5 enrollment, according to projections from Mike Zuba, director of planning at the Milone & MacBroom firm. I dont expect were going to be able to do this again. We have a workforce that weve downsized appropriately, Palmer said. Savings were also found in the plan to house all of towns middle school students at Bedford next year and operate seven schools in the district, as opposed to eight. If Coleytown Middle School was in operation next year, the budget increase would be 2.61 percent, Palmer said. In order to accommodate for the the 1,300 students who will be taught at Bedford next year, Palmer proposed, and the BOE approved, the addition of one support teacher, two psychological services professionals, a secretary, and a security aide, which were all not in Palmers original budget. BOE member Elaine Whitney asked whether the additional staffing is necessary only for the interim middle school plan or will serve long-term needs. In response, Palmer said there has been an increase in special-education students at the middle school level this year, and called on Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Services Tina Mannarino, who noted 12 percent of the middle school population meet the eligibility designation for social and emotional disturbance. We really want to be able to respond in a systemic way to the needs of students. Students are feeling a lot of pressure under our strong academic program, Mannarino said. The education budget will next go to the Board of Finance for final approval. svaughan@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2638; @SophieCVaughan1 NAUGATUCK - Police are asking the publics help to identify an unknown black female wanted in a check fraud scheme. It happened around 2 p.m. on Jan. 19. STAMFORD Mice droppings in a food storage closet, moldy shelving, sanitizer next to cookies and bacon, and food stored directly on the floor are some of the violations recently noted by Stamford restaurant inspectors. Eleven Stamford eateries, caterers, food trucks, markets, and school cafeterias inspected within the past month have a failing grade on the citys inspections review website, as of Tuesday afternoon. Thats a very small percentage of all of the businesses listed on the site, the vast majority of which have the highest possible health score. The number of failed inspections fluctuates often, as the city conducts follow-up inspections and either issues another failing report card or improves the establishments grade to fair, acceptable or best. The most common infractions found on inspection reports are hand-washing and personal hygiene issues, as well as food temperature. A sample of recent infractions at poor-performing restaurants include storing a bucket of sanitizer next to a container of cookies, pickles, and crisp bacon at the Burger King on High Ridge Road; cooked pork belly that was prepared at the owners home and raw chicken placed on top of beef in a reach-in cooler at Kano; and a food worker using a glove to prepare a chicken and then touching a sheet pan and a door handle without discarding of the glove and washing his hands at Peter Chang. Inspectors also found an abundance of mice droppings in a food storage closet and on top of a food container at Stamford Restaurant & Pizzeria, which received a failing grade early in the month. Inspectors returned on Monday and gave the restaurant an acceptable grade. One school even made the list. Stillmeadow Elementary School was given a failing score for a dented can, a four-point violation described in the inspection report as unwholesome product served to students. A four-point violation is the most serious of all infractions, and includes issues such as improper temperature of food, poorly stored food, improperly stored and labeled toxic items, and lax personal hygiene issues, among other items. Dented cans are the biggest culprit of botulism, said Ted Jankowski, Stamfords director of Public Safety, Health and Welfare. Foodborne botulism is a rare but serious illness caused by eating foods that are contaminated with the disease causing toxin. Taking even a small taste of food containing this toxin can be deadly. Potential cases of botulism are considered a public health emergency. One four-point violation automatically results in a poor grade, even if the restaurant receives an overall high score. When it comes to food temperature, Stamford health inspectors test food to see if it falls within the bacteria danger zone, which is between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Food in that range is more prone to bacterial growth. When restaurants fail an inspection, which are conducted without warning, they are supposed to be re-inspected about two weeks later. If the restaurant fails again, the owner is fined $150 and is required to appear before the citys health inspection division, where they discuss each infraction and establish a plan to address the issues. A third violation means the business is subject to closure, at the discretion of the director of health. If the restaurant is shuttered, the owner must pay $300 to re-open. Nonetheless, a cursory view of the citys own database found that some businesses are either not re-inspected soon after a failed inspection, or the information is not updated online. For example, China Xpress II, on Selleck Street, has a failed inspection from October of last year listed as its most recent inspection. Dinosaur Bar-B-Ques catering service has a failing grade from December of last year and hasnt been reinspected, according to the citys website. On Monday morning, there were nine listed with old failed inspections. City inspectors did not return multiple calls for comment from the Stamford Advocate about the discrepancy; however, several newer inspections were added to the website Tuesday, leaving only six with old reports. Stamford Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center failed two in a row last year, and hadnt been re-inspected since May, according to the citys website on Monday morning. By Tuesday, the hotel restaurant was reinspected, and again received a poor score. Stamford News and Deli failed over a year ago and hadnt been reinspected, also according to the citys data on Monday. It was re-inspected on Tuesday and received a score of fair. To view the ratings of all Stamford restaurants, visit the citys website. ignacio.laguarda@stamfordadvocate.com STAMFORD Patriot Bank reported this week increasing assets for the past year growth that comes as the company carries out a federally imposed plan to rectify a number of management issues. For all of 2018, Patriot recorded a 12 percent rise in assets and 17 percent uptick in deposits, along with a $3 million profit. Patriot officials said they expected more gains next year, while implementing changes stipulated by an agreement last November with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Were well capitalized, and we have consistent growth in earnings and good credit quality, Patriot Bank Chief Financial Officer Joseph Perillo said Wednesday. The comments from the OCC were primarily related to policies and procedures and the documentation related to them, not the overall financial health of Patriot. As part of its agreement with the OCC, Patriot was designated as being in troubled condition. The OCC said it had found unsafe and unsound practices relating to the banks corporate governance, capital and strategic planning, internal auditing, credit administration, methodology for loan and lease losses, administration of leveraged loans, asset-liability management and interest-rate risk modeling. Patriot was required to make a number of changes including the appointment of a compliance committee of at least three directors. A majority of them cannot be employees or controlling shareholders of the bank or any of its affiliates. In addition, the agreement requires more stringent policies and procedures governing the other areas flagged by the OCC. The accord with the OCC did not impose any fines or other penalties on Patriot. Weve had ongoing discussions with the OCC, and theyre very happy to see what weve implemented is consistent with what they asked for, Perillo said. We made really good progress, and were on a strong path. A spokeswoman for the OCC declined to comment on Patriots enactment of the agreement. In the meantime, Patriot is pressing ahead with its major initiatives, including the growth of its small-business operations. Patriot became an approved Small Business Administration lender in late 2017 and was subsequently designated a preferred lender by the SBA, classifications that it said enabled it to approve loans more efficiently to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Last February, the bank announced it would acquire Los Angeles-based Hana Financials government-backed small business lending unit. The deal has not yet been completed. Initially, it would have involved the acquisition of more than $100 million in SBA loans on Hanas balance sheet. Based on recent negotiations, however, the deal would likely see Patriot purchase about 20 to 25 percent of the originally discussed amount of loans. Patriot would still acquire Hanas loan-origination and loan-servicing operations. Meanwhile, Patriot has expanded its small-business lending to Atlanta; Indianapolis, Ind.; and Jacksonville, Fla. It has set up small-business development offices in those markets. Among other major initiatives, Patriot completed last May its acquisition of Orange-based Prime Bank. The merger added a Patriot branch in Orange. The bank also has branches in Stamford, Greenwich, Darien, Fairfield, Norwalk, Westport, Milford and Scarsdale, N.Y. It is headquartered at 900 Bedford St., in Stamford. Patriot finished 2018 with around $952 million in assets and about $743 million in deposits. In 2019, the bank expects assets to surpass $1 billion, according to Perillo. Were well positioned, and we expect to see positive results from our investments in 2019, Perillo said. Were very optimistic. pschott@scni.com; 203-964-2236; twitter: @paulschott A baby boy weighing 268 grams (9.45 ounces) at birth in August 2018 in a handout image obtained on Feb. 27, 2019. (Keio University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics/Handout via Reuters) Worlds Smallest Baby Boy Ever to Survive Finally Heads Home A baby who weighed just 9.45 ounces at birth has finally gone home, making him the smallest surviving baby boy in the world. The baby, who hasnt been named in reports, was delivered through Caesarean-section last August after he failed to gain weight during the pregnancy and doctors feared his life was in danger after his 24-week scan. According to Keio University hospital, he was in intensive care until he reached 7 pounds, and he was sent home on Feb. 20. I am grateful that he has grown this big because, honestly, I wasnt sure he could survive, the boys mother told Reuters. The Japanese baby beat the previous record holder by just 0.21 ounces, according to the Tiniest Babies registry on the University of Iowa website. That baby, born in Germany in 2009 weighing 9.66 ounces had held the record for 9 years. But the Japanese boy isnt the smallest baby to survivethat title belongs to a German baby girl, born in 2015. Doctor Takeshi Arimitsu, who treated the extraordinary baby, told the BBC he wanted to show that there is a possibility that babies will be able to leave the hospital in good health, even though they are born small. Just 23 babies worldwide have survived after being born weighing less than 300 grams, according to the Iowa registry, only four of whom were boys. The survival rate of babies born weighing less than a kilogram (2.2 pounds) is about 90 percent in Japan, according to Keio University Hospital. For those born under 300 grams (10.59 ounces), that survival rate falls to around 50 percent. Big Babies Arent Always Healthy Either Very small babies are more likely to survive if they are girls. The reason is not known, although one theory is that male babies lungs develop more slowly. According to UNICEF, Japan has one of the lowest rates of infant mortality. Another recordeven olderis sometimes quoted too, of a boy born in the United States in August 1879. That baby, who was born to a 7-foot-11-inch Canadian giantess, however, died 11 hours later. He weighed 23 pounds 9 ounces and measured 76.2cm (30 inches). Dr. Kristin Atkins, a specialist in maternal and fetal medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine explained to ScienceLive that like very small babies, large babies arent always healthier. The main nutrient that controls babies growth is sugar, Atkins said. Therefore, mothers with diabetes that have elevated blood sugars are more likely to have big babies, she said. The shoulders of babies over 10 pounds can also become trapped under the mothers pelvic bones, potentially damaging the nerves in his neck, or breaking his collarbones or arms. The record for the worlds heaviest healthy baby22 pounds 8 ounceshas stood for an astonishing 63 years. According to Guinness World Records, the boy was born in the city of Aversa, Italy, in September 1955. The average weight for babies is around 7.5 pounds, although between 5.5 pounds and 10 pounds is considered normal, according to the University of Michigan. Boys are usually a little heavier than girls. First babies are usually lighter than later siblings. Large parents generally have large babies, while small parents generally have small babies, the university stated. Reuters contributed to this report. Police booking photos showing (L-R) Amber Dunlap, Toni Huizar, and Tiphanie Sager, who were arrested in Indiana after allegedly taunting cops to "do ya job [expletive]" on Instagram. (Indiana State Police) Women In Felony Lane Gang Who Taunted Police on Instagram Arrested in Indiana Police in Indiana arrested three accused female members of the Felony Lane Gang who allegedly taunted law enforcement officers in an Instagram post that said, do ya job [expletive]. The three women27-year-old Amber Dunlap, 26-year-old Tiphanie Sager, and 23-year-old Toni Huizarwere arrested in Hancock County on Sunday, Feb. 24, after a car chase, police said in a news release. Three adult females who were wanted on felony warrants in the state of Georgia allegedly took to social media to taunt law enforcement by saying Do your job [expletive],' Indiana State Police said, adding, that is exactly what Trooper Christopher Waltz did, he did his job by putting these fugitives in jail. The three women, it later emerged, were wanted on felony warrants in the state of Georgia. In January, the Covington Georgia Police Department issued a Be On the Lookout (BOLO) alert that included surveillance photos and identifying information for each of the females. The Covington Police Department said at the time the group had broken into cars across Newton County, Gwinnett County, Clarke County, and possibly Florida. Police said the break-ins occurred in locations like parks and gyms, and that the thieves typically used rental cars to commit the crimes. They might be taunting us with what theyre posting on social media, Officer Justin Stott with Covington Police told FOX5 on Feb. 12. With all the active warrants weve got on them through all these different jurisdictions, its just a matter of time before we get them. Excessive Speed Indiana State Police said in the release that officer Waltz was patrolling I-70 about 15 miles east of Indianapolis when he spotted a white Nissan Sentra being driven at an excessive speed. Waltz said that as he pulled in behind the vehiclebut before activating his emergency lightsthe driver of the Nissan allegedly made an abrupt lane change from an exit only lane, back onto the interstate. The trooper switched on his lights, but the driver of the Nissan failed to stop, triggering a police pursuit. Other police agenciesHenry County Sheriffs Office and officers with the Shirley Police Departmentjoined the chase. Eventually, the escaping vehicle was brought to a controlled stop on I-70 near the 120-mile marker, according to the police, and all three occupants were arrested. Substantial Amount of Credit Cards After arresting the women, police impounded the Nissan and carried out a search. They found a substantial amount of credit cards, check books, social security cards and identification cards belonging to people not in the vehicle. Police said the items were later determined to be stolen property. The suspects were booked into the Hancock County Jail. The women are expected to face charges in Indiana in connection with the alleged police evasion, and may be extradited to Georgia to face outstanding criminal allegations. Felony Lane Gang Last April, police in Matthew, North Carolina, arrested two alleged members of the Felony Lane Gang, a group known to steal peoples identity information to commit fraud. Police said the two womenDusty Wheaton and Alisha Mowerytried to fraudulently cash a check at the State Employees Credit Union drive-thru on April 18. After they were denied service, the women sped off, WSOCTV reported. Their vehicle was later spotted by police and they were taken into custody. Wheaton and Mowery were charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, attempting to obtain money by false pretense, and financial card theft. Police said they believe the women were part of a larger criminal organizationcalled the Felony Lane Gangbased out of Florida. The way the Felony Lane Gang operates, according to police cited by WSOCTV, is that typically male members break into mom-driven vehicles to steal victims identification, while female members of the gang impersonate the female victims and commit fraudulent financial transactions. Police said the female gang members put on wigs and change their appearance to look like the victims when they attempt to carry out bank transactions in their name. Theyre willing to go to a lot of lengths to make themselves look like these victims, Matthews Police Lt. Tim Aycock said, according to the station. The criminals use stolen cars or those that have been fraudulently rented under the name of the victim and typically go through the farthest outer teller lane of a bank drive-through. Police said this is where the name Felony Lane Gang comes from. Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould waits to appear at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights on Aug. 11, 2016. (The Canadian Press/ Patrick Doyle) Wilson Raybould Warns She Still Cant Tell Full SNC-Lavalin Story OTTAWAJody Wilson-Raybould finally gets the chance today to speak her truth about the SNC-Lavalin affair, breaking a 3-week silence that has fuelled a controversy based, so far, strictly on anonymous allegations of political interference in the justice system. But the former attorney general is already warning that her hotly anticipated testimony before the House of Commons justice committee wont tell the whole the story because, she claims, an unprecedented order-in-council waiving solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality doesnt go far enough to let her speak freely. The waiver is a step in the right direction, she wrote the committee on Feb. 26, but it falls short of what is required. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued the waiver Monday. It covers Wilson-Rayboulds time as justice minister and attorney generalthe post she held when his office is alleged to have exerted improper pressure on her last fall to halt the criminal prosecution of Montreal engineering giant SNC-Lavalin on charges of corruption and bribery related to government contracts in Libya. Wilson-Raybould has cited solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality repeatedly over the past three weeks to refuse comment on the allegation. But she now says she needs those restrictions waived not just for the time when she was attorney general, but also for anything that was said or done after she was shuffled on Jan. 14 to the veterans affairs post, including her eventual resignation from cabinet a month later and her presentation to cabinet last week about her reasons for resigning. I mention this simply to alert the committee to the fact that the order-in-council leaves in place whatever restraints there are on my ability to speak freely about matters that occurred after I left the post of attorney general, she told the committee. She did not explain why events that occurred after she was no longer in a position to do anything about the SNC-Lavalin prosecution would be relevant. But Conservative deputy leader Lisa Raitt has speculated that it may have been only after Wilson-Raybould was demoted to veterans affairs that she realized she was being punished for refusing to instruct the director of public prosecutions to negotiate a remediation agreement with SNC-Lavalin, a kind of plea bargain that would require the company to pay restitution but avoid the potentially financially crippling impact of a criminal conviction. After justice cttee meeting, Conservative deputy leader Lisa Raitt says shes glad Wilson-Raybould will testify, is very disappointed that were not going to be hearing from anybody w/in the PMO whatsoever, esp. given that Mr. Butts yesterday gave a blanket denial #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/GTObEMsf3P CPAC (@CPAC_TV) February 19, 2019 Any questioning of Wilson-Raybould along those lines will presumably lead nowhere today. Nevertheless, Wilson-Rayboulds testimonyincluding a 30-minute opening statement she requested, but complained Tuesday wont be sufficient time to provide a full, complete version of eventshould finally provide some details about precisely what the former minister may have deemed improper pressure. Last week, Privy Council clerk Michael Wernick told the committee that, in his view, everyone in the Prime Ministers Office conducted themselves with the highest standards of integrity, that no inappropriate pressure was put on Wilson-Raybould and that Trudeau repeatedly assured her the decision on the SNC-Lavalin prosecution was hers alone. He acknowledged, however, that the former minister might have a different interpretation of events and predicted she will zero in on three in particular: A Sept. 17 meeting with Trudeau and Wernick, which the clerk said was primarily focused on the stalled Indigenous rights agenda, over which he said Wilson-Raybould had a very serious policy difference with Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett and other ministers. During that meeting, held two weeks after the director of public prosecutions had ruled out a remediation agreement for SNC-Lavalin, Wernick said Wilson-Raybould informed the prime minister that she had no intention of intervening in the matter, although as attorney general she was legally entitled to give direction to the public prosecutor. A Dec. 18 meeting of Trudeaus chief of staff, Katie Telford, and principal secretary, Gerald Butts, with Wilson-Rayboulds chief of staff, Jessica Prince. Wernick was not present at that meeting and offered no details. A Dec. 19 conversation Wernick had with Wilson-Raybould in which he told her Trudeau and other ministers were quite anxious about the potential impact of a criminal conviction on the financial viability of SNC-Lavalin and on innocent employees, shareholders, pensioners and third-party suppliers who would suffer as a result. Wernick said he was informing the minister of context surrounding her decision on the company but insisted it was not inappropriate pressure. Wilson-Raybould is also likely to provide her version of a Dec. 5 dinner with Butts, who resigned last week. Butts has confirmed Wilson-Raybould raised the SNC-Lavalin matter briefly and he advised her to speak to Wernick. Butts has insisted that at no time did he apply improper pressure on the former minister. The waiver given to Wilson-Raybould to speak about her time as attorney general also applies to others in government with whom she spoke about the SNC-Lavalin prosecution. That would allow Butts and other PMO staffers to testify freely if called upon. So far, the Liberal majority on the justice committee has balked at calling staffers as witnesses, but it may reconsider after hearing from Wilson-Raybould. Were looking to have something in place so that once someone has served their time, their sentence is over, he said. If we dont do something, it turns into a perpetual punishment, it makes the community almost like a prison where the doors are locked, opportunities are closed and we have limited access to pursue our lives. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould during a swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, on Nov. 4, 2015. (Adrian Wyld/AFP/Getty Images) Wilson-Raybould Scheduled to Give Testimony on SNC-Lavalin Affair OTTAWAJody Wilson-Raybould has been asked to appear at the House of Commons justice committee on Feb. 26. On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lifted the solicitor-client privilege and cabinet confidentiality provisions keeping his former attorney from telling her side of the SNC-Lavalin prosecution story. Following a justice committee meeting this morning, Wilson-Raybould was asked to appear at 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday, where she will be given her requested 30-minute opening statement before taking questions. Wilson-Raybould hasnt yet confirmed the time. In a letter to the committee Monday, she said she was anxious to appear, but was waiting for full clarity on what she could and couldnt say. That seems to be settled now after an order-in-council published late Monday lifted the protections on all her conversations about SNC-Lavalin other than those she had with the director of public prosecutions. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier today he is looking forward to hearing her testimony. It is important that people get an opportunity to testify or share their point of view with the committee, he said. As we said, waiving privilege, waiving cabinet confidentiality is something that we had to take very seriously, but Im pleased that Ms. Wilson-Raybould is going to be able to share her perspective. It has been nearly three weeks since anonymous allegations were made that Wilson-Raybould was pressured by the Prime Ministers Office to negotiate a remediation agreement with Quebecs SNC-Lavalin, rather than pursue a criminal prosecution for bribery and fraud. The public prosecutor, Kathleen Roussel, decided in September not to allow SNC-Lavalin to take advantage of a change to the criminal code introducing remediation agreements, but as attorney general Wilson-Raybould could have overridden that decision. The agreements allow companies to avoid criminal prosecution if they admit wrongdoing, pay fines and restitution and plan to prevent future bad behaviour. The goal is to protect the employees and innocent clients or customers of a corporation from being negatively impacted if a company is convicted of an economic crime like bribery and fraud. If SNC-Lavalin is convicted, it could be barred from bidding on government contracts for up to a decade, which could cripple the company financially. Trudeau and Wilson-Raybould were awaiting legal advice on the extent of solicitor-client privilege protecting their conversations. Wilson-Raybould hired former Supreme Court justice Thomas Cromwell to advise her. Justice Minister David Lametti, who was advising Trudeau on the matter of privilege, says his office had contact with Wilson-Rayboulds legal team on the matter, but would give no details about those conversations. What we were doing is establishing a process thats fair and open and allows transparency, but still protects the very principles that we want to protect in the legal system as well as not interfering with ongoing litigation, he said. Keeping the conversations with Roussel private protects information that could affect the ongoing criminal case against SNC-Lavalin over allegations they bribed Libyan officials to secure contracts there. There is also a legal challenge by SNC-Lavalin seeking a judicial review of Roussels decision not to pursue a remediation agreement. Under a little known rule known as the Shawcross Doctrine, the attorney general can be provided with information to give context to a decision about prosecutions, but they cannot be told what to do, nor can they ask to be told what to do. The question is whether Trudeau and other members of his office pressured Wilson-Raybould to make a decision during numerous conversations. Trudeau has insisted he was always clear the decision whether to prosecute was Wilson-Rayboulds alone. Wilson-Raybould was shuffled to veterans affairs from justice in mid-January, and then resigned from cabinet a few days after the allegations were made public. She remains a Liberal MP and has said she intends to run as a Liberal in this falls election. Whistleblower Chinese Supreme Court Judge Makes Televised Confession, Under Criminal Investigation A Chinese supreme court judge who went missing after exposing judicial misconduct at the regimes highest court, is now under criminal investigation for divulging state secrets, state media reported. State-run mouthpiece Xinhua said on Feb. 22 an official investigation found Wang Linqing suspected of crimes involving obtaining illegal benefits and leaking state secrets, adding that the matter was referred to the police. On the same day, state-run television CCTV aired a video confession from Wang, in his first public appearance since he disappeared in early January following the release of two videos in which he alleges misconduct in two high-profile cases. In these videos, Wang revealed that court files mysteriously disappeared in a multi-billion dollar mining case. He also alleged that the head of the supervision bureau within the court pressured him to decide a certain way in a separate mining case. Judicial Misconduct Allegations On Dec. 30, the state-run China Times newspaper published a video in which the civil division judge explained the circumstances surrounding the files disappearance in the mining case. The case concerned a mining contract dispute in northwestern Chinas Shaanxi Province. Wang said he asked the chief judge of the civil division, Cheng Xinwen, for surveillance footage after he discovered that case files had disappeared as he was about to start drafting the verdict. Cheng told him that on the day that the files went missing, the surveillance cameras had malfunctioned and didnt record anything, despite having been recently installed. Wang said he suspected that the cameras had been tampered with. Wangs allegations came off the back of an earlier claim by a well-known former state-television talk show host, Cui Yongyuan, that files from the Shaanxi mining case were stolen from a judges office. On Jan. 2, Cui released a video to Chinese social media of an interview with Wang, in which the whistleblower also revealed how his supervisors had actively intervened in the case. As of November 2017, his supervisor Du Wanhua had made three alterations to the verdict. In the Jan. 2 video, Wang also described another mining case in which he was pressured by the then-head of the supervision bureau within the court, Yan Changlin, to decide the matter in favor of a certain party. Wang said when he refused to comply with the request, he was told he would face trouble as a result. Xinhua said the investigation found that Yan was suspected of intervening in the case after accepting requests from one party, and was thus suspected of violations of party discipline and laws. In the two videos, Wang made allegations of misconduct against six high-level judiciary officials in the supreme court. Lawyers Dispute Investigation In a now familiar style of televised confession video, Wang admitted to taking the files home after he was told he would no longer be handling the case. He claimed that he took the files home partly out of spite, and partly because I didnt want anyone else dealing with the case. Chinese lawyers, however, told the Chinese-language Epoch Times that they were not convinced by the results of the investigation. A former lawyer from Shanghai, Zheng Enchong, said he was in more than 30 chat groups on Chinese instant messaging app, Weixin, where people have been discussing this affair. No one believes the outcome of the investigation, Zheng said. A lawyer from Guangxi Province, Qin Yongpei, said on social media: Can they re-establish public trust in the judicial system by having judge Wang Linqing make a confession on CCTV? In my view, they are only making matters worse. Amid fears that Cui would also be targeted following the release of Wangs confession video, Beijing-based lawyer Li Zhuang confirmed with Radio Free Asia (RFA) that he spoke to Cui on Feb. 24 and he was safe at home. Meanwhile, the Chinese regimes censors have banned the sale of all ten legal books authored by Wang, RFA reported. An unnamed employee of Wangs publisher, Legal Publishing Co., told the outlet that the company was ordered to cease distribution of Wangs books as of Feb. 22. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) listens as Michael Cohen, former attorney for President Donald Trump, testifies before the House Oversight and Reform Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on Feb. 27, 2019. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) AOCs Similarities to LBJ Should Be Warning for CPAC News Analysis WASHINGTONAs thousands of political leaders and activists from across the country convene Feb. 28 just outside the nations capital for the 46th Annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), odds are a former bartender-turned-socialist lightning rod will be a constant topic of conversation. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the 29-year-old New Yorker who exploded onto the national political scene June 26, 2018, by defeating 10-term incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary. Crowley was chairman of the House Democratic Caucus at the time of his shocking defeat. Ocasio-Cortez was easily elected in November 2018 to New Yorks heavily Democratic 14th congressional district seat, which includes portions of the Bronx and Queens. Since taking the oath of office in January, she has arguably had more impact on the course of the Democratic Party than any other leader, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. After all, it was Ocasio-Cortezs Green New Deal, not Pelosis, that, within days of being made public, won endorsements from virtually every major Democrat, including those running for the partys 2020 presidential nomination. Ocasio-Cortez does make rookie mistakes, like declaring herself the boss on environmental issues because nobody else has put forth a climate change proposal that, like hers, costs an estimated $93 trillion, requires the elimination of air travel and cow farts, and necessitates retrofitting every building in the countryall within a decadeor were screwed. Shes also joined a raucous crowd of demonstrators in Pelosis office, and there are media reports of ethically questionable payments made to her boyfriend, prompting the Washington Examiners Beckett Adams to remark: Youd think it would take her at least a couple of months to get into the swing of things, learning the ropes of playing cute financial games with donor cash, but youd be wrong. The LBJ Example Still, as Marian Currinder pointed out recently in Vox, Ocasio-Cortez is not simply a flash-in-the-pan dim bulb who somehow got lucky in defeating a politically tone-deaf, apathetic old white guy. To the contrary, she has something in common with a young, unconventional Democratic House member who, decades ago, challenged party leaders, became the most powerful member of Congress, and ultimately made it into the Oval Office. Currinder explained the bold move that launched Rep. Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) on that path after spending his first two years in Congress in obscurity: But then something changed. In October 1940, when Johnson was 32 and just three years into his House career, he began receiving letters from more senior colleagues who wanted a few minutes of his time So what happened in October 1940? Johnson made a career-changing discovery: He could use his connections with Texas oilmen to raise a lot of money for his Democratic colleagues. Construction magnates Herman and George Brown had been major financiers of Johnsons political career. Johnson repaid their generosity with federal contracts, and they, in turn, brought many of their big oil friends into the fold. These men wanted assurances that Congress wouldnt do away with the oil depletion allowance or the various tax breaks from which they benefited. Johnson was happy to oblige, and for his efforts, they all wrote checks for $5,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) After the money was disbursed, Johnson followed up with telegrams to each candidate making sure they knew that he was responsible for the contributions. Johnson thus gained power and influence independent of one of the most powerful House Speakers ever, the legendary Sam Rayburn. The Netflix Model And what is Ocasio-Cortez doing that is reminiscent of LBJ, other than being the same age, 29, as Johnson was at the beginning of his congressional career? Like Johnson shes experimenting with different approaches to fundraising. While Johnsons approach relied on big-money donors, Ocasio-Cortez is asking her supporters for a small monthly donation, which she compares to a Netflix subscription, Currinder explained. In the internet age, not only does her approach free her from the Democratic leaderships incessant demands on rank-and-file members to do fund-raising for the DCCC, which many members call a time-suck, the subscriptions potentially offer her an independent power base, just as those oilmen did for LBJ. Seeing power in digital fund-raising shouldnt surprise because theres a Texas connection working for Ocasio-Cortez: her chief-of-staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, a former Big Tech entrepreneur from Fort Worth. Chakrabarti told Politico Playbook earlier this year that Ocasio-Cortez will basically show the American people what will be possible if the Democrats win the House, the Senate and the presidency in 2020, and that means putting our best foot forward. Thus, the Green New Deal makes sense because [when] you shoot for big stuff, you stay true to the movement, you fight unapologetically on the inside, that is a very, very powerful way to pass the radical solutions that are necessary to face the radical problems that you have, he said. LBJ, or McGovern? Still, Democrats are not unanimously swooning over Ocasio-Cortez, with some cautioning that its too early to declare her an unbridled success. I dont know what to make of her yet, after all, shes only been in Congress for about a month or so, Democratic strategist Jim Manley told The Epoch Times. Shes got all the tools required to become an effective legislator, but whether she can pull it off remains to be seen, Manley said. What I find interesting is Republicans are spending an awful lot of time trying to demonize her, poke holes in her proposals. But Manley cautions that she symbolizes what is happening more and more on Capitol Hill where each and every one of these folks are becoming independent power bases, not beholden to the leadership, in part because of their independent fund-raising base. It would also be a mistake, Manley said, to overestimate Ocasio-Cortezs position within the Democratic hierarchy. Its ridiculous for Republicans to suggest to the extent they have that shes a major player in the Democratic Party right now, Manley said. Despite the attempts of some Republicans to suggest shes moving the country in a direction of socialism, the reality is that many of the proposals shes making are core beliefs of the Democratic Party, he said. Veteran Republican and conservative power broker Jameson Campaigne told The Epoch Times he sees the Ocasio-Cortez movement analogous to a different figure in the Democratic Partys history. I dont see any way to stop it until a car wreck of immense proportions, the sort of thing that happened after the McGovern left took over the national Democratic Party at the 1972 convention, rewrote the rules, and then suffered the massive loss to Nixon, Campaigne said. He was referring to Sen. George McGovern (D-S.D.), whose insurgency ousted an aging Democratic establishment and replaced it with younger activists, many of them veterans of the 1960s New Left eruptions on campus. McGovern won the nomination but then lost every state but his own and the District of Columbia, as Nixon carried 49 states in one of the biggest landslides in American political history. It wasnt until Bill Clinton and Dick Morris came along before the Democratic Party appeared to again make sense to a typical cradle Democrat. Deja vu time? Campaigne asked. Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) Tim Stratford speaks during an interview before a news conference on China business climate survey report in Beijing on Feb. 26, 2019. (Jason Lee/Reuters) US Business Lobby Says Most Firms Favor Tariffs on Chinese Goods BEIJINGA top U.S. business lobby in China said on Feb. 26 that a majority of its member companies favored the United States retaining tariffs on Chinese goods while Washington and Beijing try to hammer out a deal to end a months-long trade war. The American Chamber of Commerce in China also said that over the past year substantially more of its members want the U.S. government to push Beijing harder to create a level playing field for U.S. businesses. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he may soon sign an agreement with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to end the trade dispute if their countries can bridge remaining differences, saying negotiators were very, very close to a deal. That followed Trumps announcement a day earlier that he would delay a tariff hike on $200 billion of Chinese goods and extend his March 1 deadline for a deal. Washington is demanding an end to the theft of trade secrets and practices that coerce U.S. companies to turn over technology to Chinese firms. China has given few details about the latest talks. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters that as talks were still on-going, his understanding was that many of the details could not yet be revealed. Lu noted that Xi has told Trump that he is willing to keep holding meetings between them. I believe that both countries teams will make full preparation for matters related to a meeting between the two heads of state, Lu added, without elaborating. About 10 percent of the chambers members favored raising tariffs rates on those $200 billion of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent after the original March 1 deadline agreed to by Trump and Xi in December. Another 43 percent advocated maintaining tariffs at 10 percent and delaying the increase for 60 days while negotiations continued, the chamber said at a briefing on its annual China business climate survey. There are mixed feelings about the tariffs, but a majority are in support of the tariffs continuing at the present time, chamber chairman Tim Stratford said at the briefing. People dont like tariffs, and thats truly understandable. But they also think that maybe the tariffs have done some good in provoking very serious negotiations between the two sides, Stratford told Reuters earlier. Chamber president Alan Beebe said 47 percent of members wanted the U.S. government to advocate more strongly for a level playing field for U.S. businesses in the worlds second-largest economy. That figure is almost twice what it was a year ago, Beebe said. The chamber said 19 percent of its companies were adjusting supply chains or seeking to source components and assembly outside of China as a result of tariffs. Twenty-eight percent were delaying or cancelling investment decisions in China. Trumps decision to delay the tariff increase has been greeted with a mixture of relief and dread among U.S. industry groups and lawmakers, many of which are increasingly fed up with what they say is Chinas failure to live up to its World Trade Organization commitments. In his Feb. 5 State of the Union address, Trump said a China trade deal must include real, structural change to end unfair trade practices, reduce our chronic trade deficit, and protect American jobs. By Michael Martina Trump Opens White House Gate for Cowboys in the Summer After their journey on the old dusty trail to Washington, a group of cowboys left to their respective states, still bearing a token of respect: a cowboy hat branded with the name, Donald J. Trump. It was a gift for their president. Cowboys for Trump is a group that rides horseback for three concerns, which include securing the southern porous border, protecting the unborn, and preserving the Second Amendment, according to their Facebook page. Calling it a ride of righteousness, the cowboys set off from Maryland on Feb. 15 and completed the trek on Feb. 22. Thank you President Trump !! Nai-post ni Cowboys For Trump noong Biyernes, Pebrero 22, 2019 Once the patriots left, they were soon called by Fox & Friends for an interview in Manhattan, and that was a surprise they didnt want to miss. And after the interviewCouy Griffin, one of the lead cowboysgot a call from Trump: the man they journeyed to support in response to Trump declaring a national emergency. Day 6 Nai-post ni Cowboys For Trump noong Miyerkules, Pebrero 20, 2019 Invitation to the South Lawn Griffin received a call from the White House explaining that the president would call him with an unknown number. And moments later, the call arrives, leaving Griffin searching for words. Trump answered with a simple, Hello? Griffin said in an interview. And Griffin, now breathing easier after slapping himself across the face a couple of times, opened with solemnity Well the Governor got to meet Gunner! Nai-post ni Couy Griffin noong Biyernes, Enero 11, 2019 Mr. President, Im gonna try to keep from crying whenever I talk to you because it is such an honor, said Griffin. And I have so much respect for you and your office. Griffin described the conversation as great, which lasted 30 minutes. The president and Griffin hit it off, and Trump apologized for not receiving the cowboys. Trump said, though he had seen them, he wasnt told why they were there. So Trump invited the cowboys to the White House, but with Griffin being the Otero County Committee chairman of New Mexico, he had a duty to fulfill in New Mexico. In the end, the president gave them an open invitation to the South Lawn of the White House over the summer so they can ride right in, according to Griffin. A Special Hat for the President A few times upon the completion of their trek, people offered to take the hat from its maker, Ramie Harper, to deliver it to the president; but Griffin said that the makers hands were the only ones worthy of the job. If were gonna give this hat to the president I want Ramie to hand it to the president directly. just got inEl Paso,Fox an Friends just called an were headed back to New York for an interview in the morning watch for us on the news tommorow lol might get the hat to him yet lotta obstacles anyone can help check out our go fund me Nai-post ni Ramie Harper noong Sabado, Pebrero 23, 2019 Until then, Harper will have to hold on to the symbolic gift; and Griffin said he has a special saddle full of history hes thinking of gifting the president when he meets him. From NTD News President Donald Trump with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un before a meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi on Feb. 27, 2019. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images) Trump and Kim Predict Success in Second Historic Summit HANOI, VietnamU.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un forecast their second summit will be a success, after a brief one-on-one meeting and a dinner in Vietnams balmy Asian capital on Feb. 27. The two leaders marked the start of the summit with a handshake framed by a backdrop of American and North Korean flags at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi. The formal talks were set to start Feb. 28 at the same hotel. I thought the first summit was a great success. And I think this one, hopefully, will be equal or greater than the first, Trump said after a 20-minute face-to-face meeting with Kim. And we made a lot of progress, and I think the biggest progress was our relationship is really a good one. Kim said both sides overcame obstacles to get to the summit and praised Trump for the progress. The North Korean leader noted that the 261 days that had passed since the last summit required painstaking efforts and a lot of patience. But here we are today, sitting next to each other, and that gives us hope that we will be successful with time. And I will really try to make that happen, Kim said, before dining with Trump and a group of senior administration officials. I truly believe that this successful and great meeting that we are having today is thanks to the courageous decisionpolitical decision that your team, Mr. President, reached. At the historic summit in June 2018, Trump became the first U.S. president to meet a leader of North Koreas communist regime. The two leaders signed a joint statement, with Kim committing to complete denuclearization, the establishment of relations with the United States, peace on the Korean Peninsula, and the repatriation of the remains of American soldiers. In exchange, Trump offered Kim security guarantees. Trump and Kim are expected to sign a second joint statement after their meetings on Feb. 28, according to the White House. North Korea and South Korea are still technically at war after the 19501953 conflict between them ended in a truce. Asked if he would declare a formal end to the Korean War, which North Korea has long called for, Trump said, Well see. Trump had indicated before the summit that there is no rush for North Korea to denuclearize. He reaffirmed that position on Feb. 27 and said, while some people believed the talks should move more quickly, he was satisfied. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney accompanied Trump at the dinner. Kim was joined by his top envoy, Kim Yong Chol, and Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho. The menu featured shrimp cocktail, steak with pear kimchi dressing, chocolate lava cake, and persimmon punch, a traditional drink sweetened with dried persimmon and honey. Washington expects the second summit to lead to a significant step by the North Korean leader toward complete denuclearization. Ahead of the summit last year, North Korea blew up tunnels at a nuclear test site and destroyed missile-testing facilities. After the summit, Kim stopped all missile and nuclear tests, honored the promise to return the remains of U.S. troops, and demolished frontline guard posts near South Korea. Trumps administration forced Kim to the negotiating table by imposing a strict sanctions regime in response to nuclear tests and missile launches. The White House has insisted that the sanctions will remain in place until North Korea achieves complete, irreversible, and verifiable denuclearization. Trump recently suggested that he may ease sanctions if Kim does something meaningful. As a communist country, Vietnam shares some characteristics with North Korea and is seen as a potential model for Pyongyang, due to improved relations with the United States and successful economic reforms. In an apparent bid to highlight the benefits of working with Washington, Vietnamese companies signed deals to purchase $21 billion worth of U.S. products at a meeting attended by Trump. Trump and Pompeo have repeatedly promised to help make North Korea prosper if Kim rids his nation of nuclear weapons. Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth, Trump wrote on Twitter before a meeting with Vietnamese leaders. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon Very Interesting! Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon Very Interesting! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2019 On Feb. 28, the two leaders will hold a series of meetings at the Metropole, beginning with another one-on-one session lasting 45 minutes, the White House said. Trump and Kim will hold a joint agreement signing ceremony at the end of their meetings, after which Trump will hold a news conference. The White House has given no indication as to what the signing ceremony might involve, although the two sides have held discussions that have included the possibility of a political statement to declare the official end of the Korean War. Good Relations Trump said late last year he and Kim fell in love, and on the eve of his departure for the second summit, said they had developed a very, very good relationship. The two sides have discussed specific and verifiable denuclearization measures, such as allowing inspectors to observe the dismantlement of North Koreas Yongbyon nuclear reactor, American and South Korean officials said. Washington concessions could include opening liaison offices, ending the war, or clearing the way for inter-Korean projects. Reuters contributed to this report. Epoch Times staff member Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sit down before their one-on-one chat during the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis Trump and North Koreas Kim Shake Hands to Kick Off Second Summit President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Hanoi on Feb. 27 to kick off their second summit to discuss the denuclearization of Kims communist regime. The two leaders smiled and shook hands in front of their countries flags at the Metropole hotel. Both leaders expressed optimism the talks would be successful. At the historic summit in June 2018, Trump became the first American president to meet a leader of North Koreas communist regime. Trump and Kim signed a joint statement after the summit. In the statement, Kim committed to complete denuclearization, the establishment of relations with the United States, peace on the Korean Peninsula, and the repatriation of the remains of American soldiers. North Korea and South Korea are still technically at war after the 1950-53 conflict between them ended in a truce. Asked if he would declare a formal end to the Korean War, which North Korea has long called for, Trump said, Well see. Trump had indicated before the summit that there is no rush for North Korea to denuclearize. He reaffirmed that position on Feb. 27, saying while some people believed the talks should be moving more quickly, he was satisfied. Trumps administration imposed a strict sanctions regime on North Korea in response to nuclear tests and missile launches. The White House has insisted that the sanctions will remain in place until North Korea achieves complete, irreversible, and verifiable denuclearization. Trump recently suggested that he may ease sanctions if Kim does something meaningful. Kim said both leaders had overcome obstacles to hold the second summit. Now that were meeting here again like this, Im confident that there will be an excellent outcome that everyone welcomes, and Ill do my best to make it happen, Kim said. Trump and Kim held a 20-minute, one-on-one chat followed by a dinner with aides on Feb. 27, with official talks set to commence of Feb. 28 at an undisclosed venue. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney will accompany Trump. Kim will be joined by his top envoy, Kim Yong Chol, and Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho. Ahead of the summit last year, North Korea blew up tunnels at a nuclear test site and destroyed missile testing facilities. After the summit, Kim stopped all missile and nuclear tests, honored the promise to return the remains of American troops, and demolished frontline guard posts near South Korea. Trump and Pompeo have repeatedly promised to help make North Korea prosper if Kim rid his nation of nuclear weapons. Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly if it would denuclearize. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon, Trump wrote on Twitter on Feb. 26. Very Interesting! Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon Very Interesting! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2019 Good Relations Trump said late last year he and Kim fell in love, and on the eve of his departure for the second summit said they had developed a very, very good relationship. The two sides have discussed specific and verifiable denuclearization measures, such as allowing inspectors to observe the dismantlement of North Koreas Yongbyon nuclear reactor, American and South Korean officials said. Washington concessions could include opening liaison offices, ending the war, or clearing the way for inter-Korean projects. Reuters contributed to this report. Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Trade Representative, testifies at the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on U.S.-China Trade in Washington on Feb. 27, 2019. (Jennifer Zeng/The Epoch Times) Trade Talks Progressing on US Demands for China to Make Structural Changes: Lighthizer The United States is making headway in pushing for structural changes within Chinas economy as the two countries trade delegations engage in negotiations, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Feb. 27. We have engaged in a very intense, extremely serious and very specific negotiation with China on crucial structural issues for several months now. We are are making real progress, Lighthizer told the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee at a hearing on U.S.-China trade issues. He also said that the U.S. delegation was focused on ensuring the enforceability of any trade deal reached between the two countries. If we can complete this effort, and again I say if, and can reach a satisfactory solution to the issue of enforceability we might have an agreement that turns the corner in our economic relationship with China. The trade representative, however, said that much still needs to be done before an agreement can be reached. Lighthizer is the lead U.S. negotiator in trade talks with Beijing as the worlds two largest economies work to resolve their differences in a trade dispute that has seen both sides impose tariffs on imports. On Feb. 24, President Donald Trump announced that he would delay a planned tariff increase scheduled for March 2, citing substantial progress being made during talks that occurred last weekend. The Trump administration had planned to increase tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports if a deal could not be reached by March 1. Trump also said that assuming additional progress is made, he may be meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to finalize a deal at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Structural Changes Reiterating previous statements by the president and the administration, Lighthizer said structural issues are fundamental to the negotiations, adding that the United States is making headway on those issues, contrary to what many media reports have suggested. The United States has been pushing for China to address its cyber theft of U.S. intellectual property; forcing U.S. companies to transfer technology in exchange for access to the Chinese market; state subsidies for domestic sectors; and currency manipulation. Technology really is what separates us from the rest of the world, Lighthizer said, adding that if we make headway to stop this transfer of technology and this unfair trade by this trading partner, its going to have a huge impact in terms of jobs, and high-end jobs in America. Lighthizer said any deal will specifically cover the variety of ways in which the Chinese regime has stolen and acquired American technology, including acquiring technology by investing in U.S. companies and theft of technology by Chinese employees embedded in U.S. companies. The trade representative said that offers by China to purchase more U.S. products, such as soybeans and natural gas, would not be enough to resolve the conflict. The issues on the table are too serious to be resolved with promises of additional purchases. We need new rules, he said. Enforceability Enforceability is critical to any trade deal, Lighthizer said, adding that a successful agreement would be specific, measurable, and enforceable at all levels of government. He said an agreement would include obligations to be carried out by Chinas government at the central, intermediate, and local levels, in addition to terms that would allow the U.S. administration to take unilateral proportionate action if China does not fulfill its commitments. A successful agreement would also include semi-regular meetings between the two sides at the director, vice-ministerial, and ministerial levels to review compliance. According to Lighthizer, the pacts enforceability is key because the Chinese regime has typically not fulfilled its promises. I can go through many many examples of the Chinese regime agreeing to end unfair trade practices, and in very few cases have they actually kept their obligations, he said. Bipartisan Support Congress members from both parties were thankful of Lighthizers efforts, and expressed approval of the Trump administrations tough stance against the communist regimes unfair trade practices. Lighthizer has time and again developed a vision that many of us on this committee will support vigorously, said Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. The administration must hold out for a good deal, a structural deal, Neal added. Lighthizer pointed out that over the years, politicians from both sides of the aisle have recognized the problem of the Chinese regimes trade abuses, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who has sounded the alarm over the regimes actions for almost two decades. If this was not a bipartisan view, we would not be having the success that we are having, Lighthizer said. Residents of Armstrong Woods Road evacuate as the water rises north of Guerneville, Calif., on Feb. 26, 2019. (Kent Porter/The Press Democrat via AP) Thousands Ordered to Leave as California River Rises SAN FRANCISCOThousands of people along a flooded river were under evacuation orders Wednesday as a relentless storm pounded Northern California, drenching the San Francisco Bay Area and pummeling the Sierra Nevada with snow. Some two dozen communities along the Russian River in Sonoma County were ordered evacuated Tuesday evening shortly before the waterway passed flood stage. Forecasters predicted it would peak at about 46 feet by Wednesday evening, which would be the highest level in about a quarter-century. Authorities said evacuations were ordered for about 4,000 people in and around Guerneville, located about an hours drive north of San Francisco. We want you to leave now, Sheriff Mark Essick warned. The roads may become impassable and you may not be able to get out. So even if you live in an area that is not flooding at this moment, you may not be able to get out when the water rises. There also was concern about potential mudslides in hillside areas saturated from days of downpours, and in areas scarred by 2017 wildfires. Earlier in the day, a mudslide near Monte Rio near Guerneville trapped a man and a woman before they were rescued, messy but unharmed. Kear Koch and Barbara Tipton just survived mudslide outside of Monte Rio. #guerneville pic.twitter.com/en0VHX6NQW Wayne Freedman (@WayneFreedman) February 26, 2019 Well I fell into the mud when the tree fell over the top of me. It happened so fast you dont even know, you know? Kear Koch told KGO-TV. Elsewhere in Sonoma County, several people had to be rescued from cars that became stranded while trying to drive through flooded roads, including one woman who was rescued by boat. Earlier Tuesday at the River Inn Grill in Guerneville, workers were preparing by putting perishables on high shelves in storage rooms. But manager Andre Vazquez said the one-story building could be largely submerged that if the river reaches 46 feet. If it gets to 46 feet, its done. There is no way to prepare for that, Vazquez said. Guerneville often floods during heavy rain and people seemed nonchalant Tuesday about the threat, said Joseph Chung, whose parents own the Koalas Fine Food restaurant. A couple of weeks ago people were using kayaks to get to their mailbox, Chung said. If it gets really bad, well get out. But Dee Dee Rydberg removed computers and printers from her business, Guerneville Graphics and Printing. Were getting ready for the flooding. My threshold is 43 feet, she told KPIX-TV. Flood insurance raised 800 percent throughout the area. I could not afford to buy flood insurance. So Im packing up my stuff and getting out. Several communities also were under evacuation orders in Butte County because of flooded creeks. Other waterways, including the Napa River, also were expected to overflow their banks as an ocean-spanning plume of moisture continued tracking through the West. It already closed roads and schools and toppled trucks and trees from Oregon to Montana. The National Weather Service also issued flood warnings and flash flood watches for the San Francisco Bay Area and many parts of the Sacramento area, lasting into Thursday morning. All Flood Watches & Advisories have been upgraded to a Flood Warning through Thursday morning. Heavy rain will continue to bring flooding concerns to roadways and area creeks & streams. Never drive through flooded roads! #CAwx pic.twitter.com/zNZU0urKtS NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) February 26, 2019 Relentless rain forced the cancellation or delay of hundreds of flights in San Francisco and the city of Santa Rosa received a record 5.66 inches of rain, making it the wettest day for the date since at least 1902. In the Sierra Nevada, the California Department of Transportation reported that a maintenance yard above 6,000 feet had received 30 inches of snow along on Tuesday. Caltrans reports a storm total of 56 inches of snow at their Kingvale Maintenance Yard on I80 at 6200 feet, This is a gain of 30 inches since 6 am this morning! I80 remains closed at this time. for current info go to https://t.co/if6ShiTCCf @CaltransDist3 #cawx NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) February 27, 2019 Several mountain and foothill roads were repeatedly closed because of whiteout conditions or to clear trucks and cars that spun out on the slippery pavement. Interstate 80, a major road that winds over the Donner Summit, was to remain closed into Wednesday morning for about 50 miles, from Colfax to the Nevada state line. By Olga R. Rodriguez Daniel Coats (R), director of National Intelligence, Gina Haspel (C), director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Christopher Wray (L), director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), testify on Worldwide Threats during a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, January 29, 2019. SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images The Thing No One Is Talking About in National Intelligence Strategy Commentary Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats on Jan. 22 released a public version of the 2019 National Intelligence Strategy (NIS), which is due every four years. There was a lot of reporting that a new NIS had been published and even a little push back on certain elements. Most noticeably, there was a push to modify the emphasis of the NIS and increase the importance of global humbugexcuse meglobal warming as a national security threat. Ill write about that specifically in the near future. Whats been missing from the news coverage almost entirely, and is screaming loudly for notice, is any level of critical analysis of what the NIS actually states and what it means for the security of everyday Americans. Lets start the dissection by taking a snapshot of a small section of the press release introduction to the NIS and applying some critical thinking. The press release says: The 2019 NIS focuses on: Integrationharnessing the full talent and tools of the IC [U.S. Intelligence Community] by bringing the right information, to the right people, at the right time. Innovationmaking the IC more agile by swiftly enabling the right people, and leveraging the right technology, and using them efficiently to advance the highest priorities. Partnershipsleveraging strong, unique, and valuable partnerships to support and enable national security outcomes. Transparencyearning and upholding the trust and faith of the ICs customers and the American people. The first two items, integration and innovation, are essentially the type of meaningless filler you find in any long government report. The right people, the right information, the right technology, the right time, because we want to do a really, really, really good job. In government, you have to have filler of this nature to increase the length of the report, because a long report is clearly more important than a short report. A short report that gets right to the point can only be produced in the private sector, where they expect results. Integration and innovation can be immediately be filed under B for blah, blah. Nothing there is of any use or real significance, so lets move on. Now, however, we come to something deeply significant thats been glossed over by absolutely everyone: partnerships and transparency. It requires some explanation as to what these points really mean. They seem simple but are actually cloaked in intelligence terms, and my focus is limited here to human intelligence. Espionage We begin with the key concept of espionage in its simplest form, which is to say, recruiting a spy from another country. There are lots of variations, but here were talking about the basic example of a person from any given foreign country who secretly agrees to provide us with his countys classified information that we cant otherwise get. We dont tell anyone else and take many precautions to keep the spy safe and keep his information flowing. Hes considered a unilateral reporting source or unilateral spy. This is the sweet spot in the espionage business and where you want all your reporting to come from, because its the most reliable. One additional note on unilateral spies: Theyre way more important than you might initially think. How do you find out where to point your satellite, or which phone number to tap, or which apartment is being used as a safe house, or who is the courier carrying information back and forth between terrorist leadership? How do you know what those 100 tanks sitting on the border are going to do tomorrow morning? The unilateral spies tend to keep everything moving and tell you where to look, even if they dont have all the details themselves. Another variation of a spy is one that we get from an overseas partner with whom we maintain a liaison relationship. The problem with this type of spy recruitment is that you cant ever control who knows about it, nor can you ever fully trust or verify the person or his information. Thats not a condemnation of spies originating from an overseas partner, which can be of real value, but merely pointing out the clear and obvious limits and weaknesses. Another weakness is the motive on the part of the overseas partner to give us one of their spies. In a word, its money. Can you trust what you get if the motive is money? This use of money as our main tactic is openly acknowledged in the NIS report, where it clearly states we are leveraging our partnerships. Leverage is an economic term: You put money in and gain control of more than what the money alone could buy. Your home mortgage used to buy a house is a classic example. Heres where partnerships and transparency are drawn together, and the enormous and dangerous significance to our national security exposed. Hopefully, you are asking yourself what the advantage is of turning to our overseas partners for spies and why we would we do it when its so clearly flawed. Its a simple answer: Its legal. Youre not committing espionage or breaking any laws. If youre not breaking laws, then you can be transparent, and this is why we are pouring our efforts into our overseas partnerships instead of the traditional and more effective espionage. This policy was implemented by former CIA Director John Brennan, with his modernization of the CIA, and as far as I know, were the only country in the entire world stupid enough to do this. All of our enemies and most of our friends are conducting espionage against us at this very moment. Brad Johnson is a retired CIA senior operations officer and a former chief of station. He is president of Americans for Intelligence Reform. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Republicans raised concerns about charging the sales tax on winter boat storage and increasing the tax on boat sales to 6.35 percent, up from the current 2.99 percent. Lawmakers said those taxes have been cut in the past in order to prompt Connecticut boat owners to keep and purchase boats in their own state instead of going to nearby states.They said that the current tax policy appears to be working for the boating industry, adding that they believe the proposed tax changes would be a setback. The Separation of Powers as Prudence, Not Ideology Commentary Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) recently said, We do not have a monarchy; we have a separation of powers in our country. Ever since President Donald Trump declared a national emergency to fund the border wall, many people have been bewailing what they are calling a violation of the separation of powers. Its easy, then, to see how Pelosi could raise it to the level of a form of government. In fact, the concept of the separation of powers is often misunderstood. The framers of our Constitution welcomed the discovery of the separation of powers as one of the great improvements to the science of politics. They didnt, however, think of it in ideological terms, as some strict formula to be applied thoughtlessly. They considered it one of several inventions of prudence, which, if used well, could help prevent tyranny and also aid deliberation and execution of the peoples will. As citizens think about Trumps declaration of a national emergency, they need to consider how the separation of powers is meant to function prudentially in the Constitution. A Partial Mixture James Madisonthe man known as the father of the Constitutioncalled the separation of powers an essential precaution in favour of liberty. In fact, he pronounced the accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands to be the very definition of tyranny. But he also argued that having an effective separation of powers actually requires mixing them to a degree. He wrote that unless these departments be so far connected and blended, as to give to each a constitutional control over the others, the degree of separation which the maxim requires, as essential to a free government, can never in practice be duly maintained. There is a danger even among the sincere friends of liberty that reverence for the phrase separation of powers can eclipse appreciation for the very purpose the maxim exists to serve. For example, the ancient Greek political thinker Hippodamus was enamored with the number three and tried to apply it throughout a constitution unquestioningly. Aristotle rightly mocked him as an eccentric. Likewise, to think that a strict separation of government branches is necessary everywhere, all the time, is an exercise in ideology, not prudence. Separation of the branches of government is not as important as their independence. As Madison explained, the goal of the separation of powers is to assure that each department have a will of its own and that the members of each department be as little dependent as possible on those of the others. To meet these conditions, mixing the branches to a degree is necessary. For example, the Constitution grants the Senate a consenting role in the executives choice of judicial appointees and the executive a veto power in the legislatures lawmaking process. This partial mixing of the branches helps make each one substantially independent of the other branches and effectively representative of the peoples will. These apparent violations of the separation of powers give rise to two benefits. First, they prevent any one branch from tyrannizing the others. Second, they intermingle the branches in such a way that the whole governmentas collectively representative of the peoples willtakes part in deliberation. Government of, by, and for the People In light of Madisons explanation of the purpose for the separation of powers, there are two questions to ask about the presidents declaration of a national emergency. First, does his use of this power undermine the independence of the other branches and their constitutional means for controlling the executive branch? Second, is the presidents use of a national emergency declaration necessary for making the executive branch substantially independent and effectively representative of the peoples will? The answer to the first question is decidedly no. As I have substantially argued elsewhere, the emergency declaration doesnt prevent the other branches from using their constitutional powers to control the executive branch. The president indicated that he would defer to the judgment of the Supreme Court if it ruled on the declaration. And the presidents emergency powers dont prevent Congress from impeaching him if it concludes that his actions imperil the republic. Furthermoreas the 2018 midterm elections demonstratedthe members of the constitutional body that is able to impeach the president arent dependent on him for their membership in that body. The answer to the second question is arguably yes. Rule by emergency declarations, even regulated ones, is generally not good republican policy (I dont mean the Republican Party). But the word republican means rule by the people or according to the public interest, and the people and public interest are meaningless concepts if anyone can enter the country and declare themselves an American. Of course, most tyrants claim to rule for the people. Stalin executed millions of Russians purportedly for the sake of the abstract principle those individuals collectively represent. Border security, howeverbecause it is required for political sovereigntyis exceptional and worth using constitutional powers to their full limits to enforce. Populations of illegal immigrants already distort appropriation calculations that determine how many representatives that states receive. Estimates show that in 2020, California will gain two representatives because of its illegal population, while Virginia and Indiana will each lose one. These numbers directly affect the political composition of Congress, and thus Congress is growing ever less representative of the people. The ironic conclusion, then, is that through this declaration the executive branch is actually helping to protect the independence of the legislative branch as a true representative of the people. The president is protecting the separation of powers by protecting the republican basis of all branches. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) noted that this emergency declaration is the predictable and understandable consequence of Democrats decision to put partisan obstruction ahead of the national interest. Its hard to imagine a better example of such hardened partisanship than refusal to protect our common border. Trumps emergency declaration doesnt violate the true purpose of the separation of powers. Hes using constitutional executive authority to maintain his independence and preserve the sovereignty of the people, while leaving to the other branches the same opportunity. Clifford Humphrey is originally from Warm Springs, Georgia. Currently, he is a doctoral candidate in politics at Hillsdale College in Michigan. Follow him on Twitter @cphumphrey Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Teens in UK Are Burning Plastic Trash Bins to Inhale Fumes and Get High The content is not available due to expiration. US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and US President's daughter Ivanka Trump unveil an inauguration plaque during the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images Stirring the Peace Pot Commentary The Jerusalem Embassy Act was passed in the United States on Oct. 23, 1995, to some fanfare as well as protests, after which it was quickly placed on the back burner to languish. The conservative Congress at the time knew all too well how the political system works and slipped in a hidden gem, or poison, depending on your perspective. The law required the move to Jerusalem but allowed the president the use of six-month waivers, based on national security grounds. The waiver was used repeatedly by Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, and so the law was never implemented, remaining on that pesky back burner. Then, along came President Donald Trump, who also initially signed the six-month waiver. But hes his own man and a pragmatist before hes a politician. On Feb. 23, 2018, Trump announced that the U.S. Embassy in Israel would move to Jerusalem. The U.S. Embassy officially relocated to Jerusalem on May 14, 2018, on the 70th anniversary of the Israeli Declaration of Independence. Its been high drama on the world stage since with riots, people hurt or killed, and condemnation from both the EU and U.N. Support has been shown by Guatemala also moving its embassy, and Romania, Bulgaria, Paraguay, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic being supportive to one degree or another. Austria, Romania, Hungary, and the Czech Republic accepted Israels invitation to attend the U.S. embassy event, even though the EU officially boycotted the ceremony. Breaking the Status Quo The fact is, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, regardless of the location of anyones embassy. Its ultimately an empty gesture to pretend otherwise, and for the United States to do so merely maintains the stalemate thats existed for decades and only benefits the Palestinian obstructionists. Ever the negotiator, Trump recognized its better to fulfill his promise, move the embassy to Jerusalem, and stir up the situation to see if the stalemate can be broken. As a result, it does appear more options are on the table. John Bolton, the presidents national security adviser, has stated that a one-state solution is a possibility that should be considered. Up until now, conventional wisdom dictated a two-state peace solution. The celebrations and drama aside, the real importance of the move to Jerusalem is its impact on negotiations with the Palestinian leadership. An actual peace deal would stop the massive flow of money and international support to the Palestinians and reduce them to leadership of a small country, where they would be expected to run the gauntlet of elections and actually provide results to an expectant civilian population. No one up until now figured out a way past the conundrum of making a peace deal look better than the status quo to the Palestinians. Trump may have figured out a way forward, and supporting Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the concept of a one-state solution might be just enough to make something happen. Thats way better than doing nothing. Brad Johnson is a retired CIA senior operations officer and a former chief of station. He is president of Americans for Intelligence Reform. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. This photograph taken on February 10, 2014 shows a Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 taking off from Changi International Airport in Singapore. (Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images) Singapore Airline Apologizes After Passenger Claims He Found a Human Tooth in His Meal Singapore Airlines has apologized to a passenger after he claimed that he found a human tooth in his in-flight meal. Passenger Bradley Button was nearing the end of his rice dish on Feb. 26 when he bit into a strange object while he was flying home to Melbourne, Australia from Wellington, New Zealand on flight SQ248. He spat it out of his mouth and found a tooth that wasnt his. I threw my guts up, Button told AAP. For the rest of the flight I was not well, just the idea of having someone elses body part in my food is not nice. Button said he was certain that it was someone elses tooth but a flight attendant tried to convince him that it was instead a small rock. The flight attendant that attended to me was adamant that she needed to take it away for testing and was trying to tell me that it was a small rock when it was without a shadow of a doubt a tooth, the airline passenger said. He said he conferred with passengers next to him, who also agree that it looked like a chipped tooth, reported AAP. In the photo he took, the object resembled a part of a molar tooth. The passenger bit into the tooth as he was eating his rice. Posted by TODAY on Wednesday, 27 February 2019 The airlines apologized to Button on Feb. 27, and said the object would be taken for testing in Melbourne. We are currently investigating this incident and have sent the object for analysis. Once the results of the analysis are known, we will determine what the most appropriate course of action to take is, a spokesperson said in a statement, reported Today Online. We expect all of our meals to meet a consistently high standard and we are disappointed by this discovery. Button said he was given a $75 voucher to be used on duty-free in Singapore Airlines flights. Other Scary Finds In a similar incident earlier this month, a plane passenger flying on a domestic Air India flight to Mumbai claimed he discovered a large cockroach in his breakfast. Rohit Raj Singh Chauhan told The Times of India that the offending object was found in his lentil-based vegetable stew. I informed the Air India crew, but they ignored me, he told the new website. Since the crew members were not listening, I returned it to them. Air India has since apologized for the disappointing experience. Air India always endeavours to ensure our passengers enjoy our services. We have taken serious note of the incident and immediately issued a strong notice to the caterer concerned. Air India has a zero tolerance policy in this respect and have initiated corrective action internally. Our senior officials are in touch with the aggrieved passenger, the statement read. Around 10,000 people took to the streets of Rong County, Sichuan province, to protest fracking which they say led to earthquakes that killed at least four people on Feb. 24 and 25, 2019. ( Shale Gas Mining in Chinas Sichuan Province Sparks Protests Following Earthquakes and Deaths A decade after the devastating Wenchuan earthquake struck the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, locals in Rong County are protesting earthquakes that they believe are manmade. The quakes have caused at least four deaths and many injuries in the county, according to locals. Residents of Rong County blame the extraction of shale gas in the area for triggering the disasters. On Feb. 24, many people swarmed the streets in front of the county government offices to protest. The next day, about 10,000 protesters clashed with police, after which the county head announced that the shale project would be halted. Man-Made Disaster? Chinas Earthquake Network Center recorded three earthquakes over magnitude 4 in Rong County over two days, including a magnitude 4.7 quake in the morning of Feb. 24 and two more on Feb. 25 of magnitudes 4.3 and 4.9. A local woman surnamed Chen told The Epoch Times that she had heard of at least four deaths in the area due to collapsing houses or objects, and that she herself was nearly crushed. Ms. Zhao, a villager in the township of Gaoshan, also said that there were four deaths in Rong County. She added that there was another death at a mine, but the authorities quickly seized the corpse for funeral and were suppressing information about the event. According to Mr. Li, he witnessed the deaths in Gaoshan, saying that two women had been killed by falling objects around 1 p.m. on Feb. 25, when the second earthquake struck. One of them had greeted him just minutes earlier. Locals believe that the local shale gas extraction industry is to blame for the tragedies. A local businesswoman surnamed Yu said that the mining had geological effects in the surrounding area. Houses started to collapse afterward, she said. The walls of many houses started to crack. We dont dare to sleep at night. People here are filled with fear and anxiety at all times. According to Ms. Wu, a local saleswoman, the ground stopped shaking for about 15 days during the Chinese New Year period, which began around Feb. 5the day of the Chinese Lunar New Yearor the eve of the holiday. The earthquakes returned immediately after the holiday season ended. Public Anger Much of the Rong County residents dissatisfaction with the situation has focused on the role of the local authorities in developing the shale gas industry. It is estimated that the shale gas reserves in Rong County are 5.18 trillion cubic meters, or about one-sixth of the total estimated shale gas reserves in China. On April 12, 2016, the Sichuan provincial authorities issued their 2016 Implementation Plan for the Development of Shale Gas Industry in Sichuan Province. The plan aimed to produce 2.5 billion cubic meters per year in the province and set a target for Zigong City, which administers Rong County, to produce 500 million cubic meters per year by 2018. On Feb. 24, thousands of people held banners and took to the streets to protest. The next day, 10,000 gathered in front of the county government building. At some point during the demonstrations, protesters smashed the front gate. A number of people who took part in the protests were arrested, including children who damaged the gate to the government office. According to Ms. Wu, the saleswoman, the number of protesters increased even after arrests had been made. The public is outraged, she said. Security Risks Exist in Chinese Mobile Apps Commentary Many recent studies related to cybersecurity have addressed the vulnerability and threats in mobile devices, such as the current hot topic of banning Huawei and ZTE equipment. Yet, not many reports have focused on the security risks associated with Chinese mobile apps. Most people think that mobile apps security issues are often related to the underlying security practices, such as choosing a secure password and updating the privacy setting. However, Americans should also be on high alert about the risks associated with popular Chinese mobile apps and national-security risks related to Beijings mobile expansion worldwide. On the topic of Chinese infiltration in the United States, theres been one large omission for policymakers: Tencents WeChat app, the most popular app in China, which claimed to have 1 billion users in 2018. This Chinese social-media platform/messaging app/payments channel/retailer is the dominant digital player on the mainland, and such reliance on WeChat is accentuated because WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are blocked in China. However, WeChat has deep and well-documented security flaws. In an October 2016 report, Amnesty International looked at the effectiveness of the encryption systems used by 11 global technology players and ranked WeChat last. While Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and FaceTime scored more than 60 points out of 100, WeChat scored an astonishing zero. The most prominent flaw is that WeChat didnt provide essential end-to-end encryptionthe gold standard for privacy. This vulnerability means that its messaging system could be easily accessed via a back door. Also, WeChat didnt publish transparency reports on government requests for information. Moreover, WeChat could be used for surveillance and peddling influence not only within China, but also outside its borders. China has effectively extended its oversight of the internet outside its borders, said Fergus Ryan, a cybersecurity analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) in Canberra. Tencent will always comply with every request for information from Chinese authorities. That means people should understand clearly that nothing they say on WeChat is private and safe, whether they are inside or outside of China. This brings about a common China dilemma: Is the price of engaging with China worth what may have to be given up? The dilemma is made more difficult as foreign businesses (including media, academic, and government delegations) are often asked to download the WeChat app when they first arrive in China, in the name of better communication. While Tencent always denies that its operation violated users privacy, one recent case would suggest otherwise. In September 2018, a man in Beijing was sentenced to nine months in prison because of a joke he made about the terrorist group ISIS in a WeChat group. Although in other countries, people are also imprisoned for joking about terrorism online, the key issue in this case is that Zhangs comment was not made in a public forum but in a private group. His messages in this private chat were later tendered in court and used to convict him. There are enough cases like this and other evidence to suggest Chinese authorities are able to dip into WeChat data and sneak around, said Ryan. Another serious concern about WeChat is that users metadata might be shared with Chinese authorities. Metadata reveals far more about users jobs, lives, and habits than any messages. Once installed, WeChats app could be used as a back door to access a users phone. The Minghui website of the largest Chinese dissident group, Falun Gong, recently instructed all members to uninstall WeChat and reformat or return to the original factory status for all mobile phones that once had WeChat installed. Chinas Cybersecurity Law, introduced in June 2017, requires network operators to store select data on servers within the country, monitor and record network operations, and maintain related logs for not fewer than six months. As messaging platform operators, Tencents WeChat and Sina Corp.s Weibo are also required to warn users against breaking relevant laws, restrict the publication of posts, and suspend or close accounts while preserving related records for the authorities, according to a policy statement posted on the website of the regulator Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The lack of privacy and the potential for Chinese apps to contain spyware or malware also led to the important decision made by the Indian Intelligence Bureau in December 2018 to prohibit military personnel from using WeChat and other similar services on their phones: Use of these apps by our force personnel can be detrimental to data security having implications on the force and national security. According to this decision, all Indian military personnel were instructed to delete WeChat and more than 40 other apps with ties to China. So, how can the U.S. government (USG) improve the protection of data privacy, metadata, and intellectual property when facing threat from Chinese mobile apps and its desire for Americas big data? Here are some policy recommendations: USG should identify WeChat or any other dangerous mobile apps developed by Chinese companies and make a public announcement to ban the usage of these apps on any government phones, not just of military personnel. USG should require employees to store their personal mobile phones outside their working areas during working hours if these phones were installed with Chinese apps, such as WeChat. Collect, evaluate, and publish a list of social apps, search engines and websites that have insecure back doors or deliberate insecurity, to educate the public on mobile security to protect privacy data. A reciprocal approach: If Chinese mobile payment systems are allowed to operate in the United States, China should open its market to allow U.S. mobile payment systems to work in China as well. Dr. Xiaoxu Sean Lin is a former U.S. Army officer with expertise on infectious diseases, surveillance and global public health. He was the co-founder and former executive vice president of Sound of Hope Radio Network, and hosted talk shows on Chinas current affairs on New Tang Dynasty TV. Currently, he is the founder and general manager of WQER-LP radio station. He is also a frequent news analyst and commentator for Sound of Hope Radio Network, with a focus on global public health, national security and foreign relations related to Asian affairs. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Empire actor Jussie Smollett leaves Cook County jail after posting bond on February 21, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Smollett has been accused with arranging a homophobic, racist attack against himself in an attempt to raise his profile because he was dissatisfied with his salary. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) Robin Roberts: There Were Red Flags In The Smollett Case Good Morning Americas Robin Roberts said that there were a lot of red flags in the allegedly fake hate crime Jussie Smollett orchestrated against himself, despite not having brought them up during her interview with him earlier this month. Roberts made the comment about holes in the Empire actors story during her interview with Chicagos superintendent of police Eddie Johnson on Monday morning. We worked very closely with their lawyer, and their lawyer went in there to talk to them and whatever she said to them apparently got through to them to just tell the truth about what happened, and thats what they decided to do, Johnson stated. Roberts answered, Even though that you all were saying early on there was no reason not the believe his story, there were a lot of red flags, that a lot of people saw of people saw. You all had questions. Even though werent, of course, going to be public about that. Right, there with questions, but theres always questions when people are describing incidents to us. We have to maintain the integrity of the investigation and thats what we did, the superintendent of police followed up. Many described her interview with Smollett as too soft. She also never used the word alleged to describe the hate crime, according to NewsBusters. Both ABC and Roberts defended the interview, saying that, at the time of the interview, police considered him to be credible. Smollett alleged that two white men attacked him as he was walking home from a Chicago-area Subway restaurant last month. He told Chicago police that the men poured a bleach-like substance on him and tied a noose-like rope around his neck while shouting racist and homophobic slurs. Smollett also alleged that the men screamed This is MAGA country! Smollett was arrested last week on a charge of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report. Follow Mike on Twitter An unidentified man uses a rolled over high profile vehicle to shield himself from the wind on the Interstate 580 south of Reno, Nev., on Feb 25, 2019. Winds gusting up to 80 mph toppled trucks, downed power lines and temporarily closed part of a highway south of Reno. (Andy Barron/Reno Gazette-Journal via AP) Rain Prompts Evacuation Warning for Northern California Town SAN FRANCISCOTorrential rain from a winter storm that has also dumped heavy snow in mountainous areas prompted California authorities to urge thousands of residents to evacuate a town north of San Francisco. Residents of Guerneville, population 4,500, were told to evacuate homes and businesses because the Russian River was expected to overflow Tuesday night, Feb. 26, when it reaches 32 feet. The river was expected to crest Wednesday night at 46 feet in the community 75 miles north of San Francisco. Were definitely in high concern mode, said Sonoma County sheriffs Sgt. Spencer Crum. Were bringing our boats out here and were letting the public know to take this one serious. Authorities in Northern California are urging people to evacuate homes and businesses in the community of Guerneville because the Russian River is expected to start overflowing Tuesday night and cause major flooding, according to the @sonomasheriff. https://t.co/sXCXWfoHrZ CapRadio News (@CapRadioNews) February 26, 2019 At the River Inn Grill in Guerneville, workers were preparing by putting perishables on high shelves in storage rooms. But manager Andre Vazquez said the one-story building could be largely submerged that if the river reaches 46 feet. If it gets to 46 feet, its done. There is no way to prepare for that, Vazquez said. The town often floods during heavy rain and people seemed nonchalant Tuesday about the threat, said Joseph Chung, whose parents own the Koalas Fine Food restaurant. A couple of weeks ago people were using kayaks to get to their mailbox, Chung said. If it gets really bad, well get out. Russian River keeps rising. Photos from Guerneville. See interactive flood map and more info at https://t.co/3E8qX9nNBl. Be prepared to evacuate if you live near the river. pic.twitter.com/ARtWup3EeG Sonoma Sheriff (@sonomasheriff) February 26, 2019 For now, Chung said, the restaurant planned to stay open until its normal 10 p.m. closing time. The National Weather Service also issued flood warnings and flash flood watches for the San Francisco Bay Area and many parts of the Sacramento area, lasting into Thursday morning. While some areas could see 6 inches of rain or moreand as much as 12 inches on mountainsthe intensity will not be fierce enough to cause devastating mudslides in areas denuded by a string of devastating wildfires, such as Shasta and Lake counties, the weather service said. Evacuation warning for Russian River https://t.co/myBqLMWX94 Sonoma Sheriff (@sonomasheriff) February 26, 2019 In the Sierra Nevada along the California-Nevada line, forecasters warned of possible whiteout conditions from blowing snow in high mountain passes. The mountains could get up to 6 feet of snow at higher elevations and winds gusting to 140 mph over ridgetops. Several mountain highways, including Interstate 80 at Donner Summit, were repeatedly closed for short periods Tuesday because of whiteout conditions. The storm already has barreled through other parts of the West, toppling trucks and trees, triggering power outages and closing roads and schools from Oregon to Montana. It is the latest in a string that has dumped record levels of snow and rain this winter in western U.S. states. Pregnant Womans Death Was Accident or Suicide, Husbands Lawyers Tell Trial TORONTOLawyers for a former Toronto pastor accused in the drowning of his pregnant wife argued on Feb. 26, that the woman died in a tragic accident or took her own life after growing suspicious that her husband was still cheating on her. Philip Grandine is accused of secretly sedating his wife with anti-anxiety medication or giving her the drug so that she would be less alert while he continued a clandestine affair with her friend. The Crown alleges he then allowed Anna Karissa Grandine to take a bath on her own while under the influence of the drug, knowing she would be drowsy and vulnerable. The 29-year-old woman was found dead in the couples bathtub in October 2011. She was 20 weeks pregnant at the time. Toxicology tests later detected lorazepama drug she had not been prescribedin her system as well as in blood samples taken a few days before her death. Philip Grandine has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and his lawyers argue the prosecutions allegations are nothing but speculation. In his closing arguments Tuesday, defence lawyer Amit Thakore said there is no evidence Grandine had the drug lorazepam, much less that he gave it to his wife. Pregnant womans death was accident or suicide, husbands lawyers tell trial https://t.co/xpij82CeCF CTV News (@CTVNews) February 26, 2019 The Crown has said Grandine, who dispensed and disposed of medication as a nurse at a seniors home, had access to the drug. He also downloaded a list of all the medications prescribed to residents and patients on his home computer months before his wifes death, prosecutors said. But the defence argued no drugs were reported missing, either in the centres logs or by residents. All tablets were accounted for, Thakore told jurors. This is an egregious attempt to get you to engage in speculation. Thakore said it was Anna Grandine, not her husband, who researched the drug better known as Ativan online and administered it to herself. An analysis of the couples computer showed someone looked up the effects of various doses of Ativan a week before Anna Grandine died, the court heard. While the analysis could not determine who was using the computer at that time, Thakore argued that because Anna Grandines Facebook account was active at the time, she was the one conducting those searches. Shes researching fatal amounts of the drug, not Mr. Grandine, he said. There is substantial evidence Anna Grandine committed suicide amid the couples ongoing marital problems, he said. A few months before her death, she learns her husband is having an affair with someone she knows and considers a friend, Thakore said. The affair is made public when her husband resigns as a pastor, he said. The pair resolve to work through their differences and start going to marriage counseling, he said. Philip Grandine resumes the affair, however, and in early October, his wife grows suspicious, raising the issue during one of their counseling sessions, he said. Grandine told police he was out for a run the night of Oct. 17 and found his wife unresponsive in the tub when he returned, the court has heard. His mistress testified that running was a cover that allowed them to contact each other. A computer filtering program meant to bar Grandine from accessing pornography was uninstalled roughly 40 minutes before he called 911, the court heard. The Crown has argued Grandine was the one who removed it by reporting a lost password and accessing his wifes email. The defence, meanwhile, said Grandine wasnt home and would not have been able to remove the program because he was not the administrator of the account. Thakore suggested Anna Grandine uninstalled the program because she knew she was about to end her life and did not want to burden her husband with those restrictions after her death. That suggests she was clearheaded and coordinated enough to get to the basement where the computer was kept, he said. Thakore said its also possible she had an accident while taking a bath and died as a result. The 22-year-old is one of three Democratic legislators from the area -- the others are Alex Bergstein of Greenwich and Lucy Dathan of New Canaan -- who immediately voiced their opposition to a regionalization bill introduced by the Senates top Democrat, Martin Looney of New Haven. Cardinal George Pell leaves the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Mar. 5, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Michael Dodge/Getty Images) Pell Taken Into Custody, Jury Says Guilty of Sex Crimes Cardinal George Pell has been taken into custody and will spend his first night in a jail cell for sexually abusing two choirboys in a Melbourne cathedral. Pell was found guilty in December of orally raping a 13-year-old boy and molesting another after Sunday mass at St Patricks Cathedral in East Melbourne in 1996. At the conclusion of a pre-sentence hearing on Feb. 26, County Court Chief Judge Peter Kidd instructed officers to take him away, please. There was silence in the filled courtroom as Pell slowly stood and was handed his walking stick. Australias top-ranking Catholic strode, head down, to the door beyond which he will spend his first night in jail. The 77-year-old paused at the threshold, turned to Judge Kidd and bowed. It is expected he will be placed in protective custody and will await a sentencing hearing scheduled for March 13 before seeking bail. Cardinal George Pell has not applied for bail today, lawyer Paul Galbally said in a statement. He believes it is appropriate for him to await his sentencing. Despite the unprecedented media coverage, Cardinal Pell has always and continues to maintain his innocence. A bail application had been listed in the Court of Appeal on Wednesday afternoon but was withdrawn. The physically ailing Pell had previously been on bail throughout the proceedings and underwent double knee surgery in Sydney in December. His lawyers have lodged an appeal on three grounds, including that the jury verdict was unreasonable. Robert Richter QC has argued his alleged offending was at the low end of the scale. This is no more than a plain, vanilla sexual penetration case where a child is not volunteering or actively participating, he said. Mr Richter also said a temporary loss of judgment could not be ruled out. But Judge Kidd pushed back, saying Pell had engaged in shocking conduct that allowed no innocent explanation. At the moment I see this as callous, brazen offending. Blatant, the judge said. It leaves to me only one inference, which is at the time he thought he was going to get away with it. Pells defence team submitted 10 character references, including from former Australian prime minister John Howard. These people love him; none of them believe he is capable of these offences, Mr Richter said. Mr Richter said Pell was a man of the highest character. He relates to everyone from a prime minister to street beggars, he said. Senior crown prosecutor Mark Gibson SC said Pells abuse of two vulnerable boys warranted immediate imprisonment. The prisoner has shown no remorse or insight into his offending, he said. Cardinal Pell Guilty of Child Sex Charges Two 13-year-old boys nicked off after a Sunday solemn mass in late 1996 and were caught swigging sacramental wine in the priests sacristy by Pell, newly installed as Archbishop of Melbourne. Pell scolded them, exposed himself from beneath his ceremonial robes, and molested them. A Melbourne jury in December found Pell guilty of five chargesone of sexually penetrating a child and four of committing indecent acts with children. That verdict was made public on Feb. 26 after months of procedural secrecy, and the abandonment of a second trial over allegations Pell indecently assaulted boys in Ballarat in the 1970s. The testimony of one of Pells victims was read to the court by Senior Crown Prosecutor Mark Gibson SC. He planted himself in the doorway and said something like what are you doing here or youre in trouble. I didnt complain to anyone at that time. It felt like an anomaly. I was in shock and didnt tell. Its something Ive carried for the whole of my life it took a courage much later in life for me to even think about coming forward, the victims statement read. A staff cleans Akash, a medium-range mobile surface-to-air missile defense system developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), on the second day of the 5-day, of Aero India airshow at the Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bangalore on Feb. 21, 2019. (Manjunath Kiran/AFP/Getty Images) Pakistan Says It Shot Down Indian Jets, Carried out Air Strikes in Kashmir ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHIPakistan carried out air strikes and shot down two Indian jets on Wednesday, Feb. 27, Pakistani officials said, a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan for the first time since a war in 1971, prompting leading powers to urge both sides to show restraint. Both countries have ordered air strikes over the last two days, the first time in history that two nuclear-armed powers have done so, while ground forces have exchanged fire in more than a dozen locations. Tensions have been elevated since a suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police on Feb. 14, but the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike on what it said was a terrorist training base. The attack targeted the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the group that claimed credit for the suicide attack. India said a large number of JeM terrorists had been killed, but Pakistani officials said the strike was a failure and inflicted no casualties. Indian air force planes strayed into Pakistani airspace on Wednesday after Pakistan carried out six airstrikes in Indian-occupied Kashmir, said Major General Asif Ghafoor, a spokesman for the Pakistan armed forces. This was not a retaliation in a true sense, but to tell Pakistan has capability, we can do it, but we want to be responsible, we dont want an escalation, we dont want a war, he told a news conference. One of the aircraft fell on Indias side of Kashmir, while the second came down in Pakistani-held territory with two pilots captured, he added. At the briefing, Ghafoor produced weapons and identity documents he alleged were carried by the Indian pilots. In a separate statement, Pakistans foreign ministry said it had hit a non-military target inside Indian-controlled Kashmir, but that it had avoided human loss and collateral damage. If India is striking at so-called terrorist backers without a shred of evidence, we also retain reciprocal rights to retaliate against elements that enjoy Indian patronage while carrying out acts of terror in Pakistan, the statement said. Repeated called to a spokesman for Indias defense ministry went unanswered on Wednesday. Indian officials said three Pakistani jets had also entered Indian airspace, before being intercepted and forced turned back. The Indian air force has ordered Kashmirs main airport in Srinagar along with at least three others in neighboring states to close because of the two incidents, an official said. In a separate incident, police officials in Indian-occupied Kashmir said that two Indian pilots and a civilian had died after an Indian aircraft crashed in Kashmir. The craft was initially reported by officials to be a plane, but a partial tail number from the craft seen by a Reuters witness showed it to be a Mi17 military helicopter. The cause of the crash is unknown. The latest exchanges hit stock markets in both countries. Pakistani stocks fell sharply during morning trade with the benchmark KSE 100 Index down 3.34 percent and the narrower KMI 30 index down 3.6 percent in Karachi. The Indian stock market was down around 0.5 percent. Civilian Fright On Tuesday evening, Pakistan began shelling using heavy caliber weapons in 12 to 15 places along the de facto border in Kashmir, known as the Line of Control (LoC), a spokesman for the Indian defense forces said. The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focused fire resulted in severe destruction to five posts and number of casualties, the spokesman said. Five Indian soldiers suffered minor wounds in the shelling that ended on Wednesday morning, he added. So far there are no (civilian) casualties but there is panic among people, said Rahul Yadav, the deputy commissioner of the Poonch district on the Indian side where some of the shelling took place. We have an evacuation plan in place and if need arises we will evacuate people to safer areas, he said. Officials on the Pakistani side said at least four people had been killed and seven wounded, including civilians, with thousands evacuated and schools closed in border areas. Only those families are still here which have concrete bunkers built within or along their homes, said Muhammad Din, a resident of Chakothi, a village in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir near the de facto border. India has also continued its crackdown on suspected militants operating in Kashmir, a mountainous region that both countries claim in full but rule in part. On Wednesday, security forces killed two Jaish militants in a gun battle, Indian police said. Heightened Security Pakistan and India have fought three wars since independence from British colonial rule in 1947 and went to the brink a fourth in 2002 after a Pakistani militant attack on Indias parliament. In Mumbai, Indias financial capital, there was a visible increase in security levels for a city that has suffered numerous militant attacks in the past. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke separately with the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan and urged them to avoid further military activity following Tuesdays air strike. I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost, Pompeo said in a statement on Wednesday. I also encouraged both ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity, he said. Both China and the European Union have also called for restraint. On Wednesday New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters also voiced concern over the escalation in tension. In Afghanistan, Taliban militants said a statement purportedly from them saying further escalation could impact the Afghan peace process and that India and Pakistan should mediate via talks was a hoax. The press statement shared on social media and with news companies is fake, spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said. By James Mackenzie and Alasdair Pal OKLAHOMA CITYShen Yun Performing Arts travels the world showcasing genuine Chinese culture and history. Many audience members are surprised when they hear that the traditional dance and music production cannot perform in China. Little do they know, the current Chinese regime sees traditional Chinese culture, which is deeply rooted in Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, as its greatest rival. They tried to systematically wipe this culture through various movements like the Cultural Revolution in an attempt to replace it with communist ideologies. Thus in 2006, Shen Yun was born after a group of artists had the desire to revive Chinas semi-divine culture that was nearly lost, and bring it to the world. When investment banker Gary Tillman and event coordinator Trina Evans experienced Shen Yun they were impressed by the performers efforts to bring back the culture. The pair saw the New York-based company perform at Civic Center Music Hall in Oklahoma on Feb. 26. Tillman said he was touched by the piece Good in the Face of Evil that tells a story of a girl who suffers persecution for her faith. I like the piece about the woman going to prison over her faith, he said. I like that. Shows strength of character. Devotion to what she believes in. She stayed true to her faith, and it was very nice, he added. Many of Shen Yuns stories showcase historical events, myths and legends passed down generation after generation, and modern day pieces portraying todays real-life human rights abuses in China, like the persecution of Falun Gong. Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa, teaches Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance and has helped over 100 million Chinese people today understand and return to the essence of traditional Chinese culture. But the Chinese regime banned the practice in 1999 and has since continued to systematically persecute Falun Gong adherents in China. People who are caught practicing the discipline in China face severe persecution, including torture, imprisonment, and even death. These stories portray themes like spiritual devotion, the benevolence of gods, good and evil retribution, and the search for the meaning of life, according to the companys website. Such values are foundational to traditional Chinese culture and are not political in nature. Instead, they inspire audience members to reflect on modern society and the world around them. Evans shared similar views to Tillman, saying that she appreciates how the performers are trying to share their stories and traditions with the rest of the world, despite facing challenges. Theres turmoil there, theres a struggle within it. I believe Chinas a country still trying to overcome that, Evans said. Id encourage them to keep doing that. Proud of them. With reporting by Sherry Dong. 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. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks during a news conference at UN headquarters in Manhattan, New York, on Sept. 20, 2018. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters) Nikki Haley Nominated to Join Boeing Board of Directors Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has been nominated to join the Boeing Company board of directors, according to a statement. Boeing, the worlds largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial aircraft, made the announcement on Feb. 26, saying that Haley is to be elected as a director at the companys annual shareholders meeting on April 29. Boeing Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg said Boeing would benefit from Haleys broad perspectives and combined diplomatic, government and business experience. Ambassador Haley brings to Boeing an outstanding record of achievement in government, industry partnership, and successfully driving economic prosperity for communities in America and around the world, Muilenburg said, according to the statement. Haley, who left her role as ambassador in December last year, said it was an honor to have the chance to contribute to the company. Not only is Boeing the largest aerospace company in the world and Americas biggest exporter, it also understands the importance of teamwork and building community through its network of suppliers in all 50 states and around the world, she said in the statement. If Haleys nomination is confirmed at the April meeting, she would join the board that currently includes former White House chief of staff for President Ronald Reagan, Kenneth Duberstein; former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for President George W. Bush, Adm. Edmund Giambastiani; and the daughter of former President John F. Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy. Haley, 47, graduated from Clemson University with a bachelors degree in accounting. She was first elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2004, where she served three terms before being elected Governor of the state between 2011 and 2017, according to the statement. She was then appointed U.S. ambassador to the United Nations by President Donald Trump in January 2017. During her tenure as ambassador, she helped the president achieve his many foreign policies, such as imposing strict sanctions on North Korea, exiting the Iran nuclear deal, and moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Haley resigned from the role on Oct. 9 last year, after serving almost two years as the ambassador. She officially stepped down from the role at the end of 2018. She recently launched her own policy group Stand for America that promotes public policies that strengthen Americas economy, culture, and national security. Please take a moment and check out our new policy group Stand For America #USStrong@standamericanow https://t.co/X2fCWzsXkY https://t.co/ifDUAcdJ60 Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 26, 2019 According to the website, the group aims to raise awareness about and combat domestic socialist schemes of higher taxes, burdensome job-destroying regulations, government-run health care, and unsecured borders. Meanwhile, it also aims to fight to stop the influence of socialist and communist regimes internationally. We have seen true evil across the globe. We will never stop fighting for what makes America great, the website states. Shane Todd with his parents Rich Todd (L) and Mary Todd (R) on his being awarded a doctorate in mechanical engineering. (Courtesy the Todd family) Mother Hopes Investigation Into Huawei Will Bring Justice for Her Sons Death The ongoing investigation of Chinese tech giant Huawei has helped an American mother regain hope that, after seven years, she will see justice done for the death of her beloved son, Shane Todd. For years, the Todd family has been sending evidence and analysis reports to Singapore authorities and agencies of U.S. government, trying to prove that Shane Todd was murdered in connection with a cover up of Huaweis alleged theft of U.S. technology. He was found hanged in his apartment in Singapore on June 24, 2012. Huawei is currently under investigation by federal prosecutors for intellectual property theft and for violating sanctions on Iran. We want a congressional investigation into the death of my son in relationship to Huawei, said Mary Todd, Shane Todds mother, in a recent phone interview with The Epoch Times. The Todd family hopes the investigation of his death can reveal how far some foreign companies and governments will go to protect clandestine work or international reputation, as the parents Rick and Mary Todd stated in an open letter published online. Pressured Shane Todd had a doctorate in electrical engineering and had been leading a special GaN (Gallium Nitride) development team with the Institute of Microelectronics (IME), a well-regarded division within the Singapore governments Agency for Science, Technology, and Advanced Research. According to a Financial Times (FT) report published in February 2013, IME had bought a multimillion-dollar MOCVD (Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition) system from Veeco, a U.S.-based technology company. Veecos technology could be used for both commercial and military purposes. FT reported that IME got a commercial application license from Veeco, while at the same time, IME was also working with Huawei. This connection gave Huawei an opportunity to obtain Veecos technology through working with IME. Once the technology was obtained, it could be put to military uses. According to the FT, Todd told his parents that he was collaborating with a Chinese company at IME. He said: I have been asked to do things with a Chinese company that make me uncomfortable. Todd told his family that he was being pressured to compromise U.S. security, and he refused to do so. He was worried about his own safety because of the work he was doing with this Chinese company. This Chinese company was later identified as Huawei, through documents found on Todds external Seagate hard drive after his death. Mom, Im going to call you every week, and if you dont hear me for a week, call the U.S. embassy because somethings happened, Mary Todd recalled her son saying. Distressed, Shane Todd decided to quit his job with IME, leave Singapore, and come back to the United States. He gave IME 60 days notice. Before his death, Todd received a job offer from Nuvotronics, a U.S. research firm working with the U.S. Defense Department and NASA. He was offered a $105,000 pay package, according to the FT report. Fought For His Life The Todd family said that from what they found in Shanes apartment, that he was in the process of washing and folding his clothes, and packing his luggage at the time he died. His airplane ticket to the United States was found on his desk after he died. But Singapore police immediately ruled Shane Todds death a suicide, and refused to reopen the investigation even after the Todd family informed them Shane Todd had expressed fear for his life. Mary Todd said that the Singapore police has refused to provide her any written investigation report on how they determined the death was suicide. Shane Todds computers were all taken away when his family arrived in Singapore, but luckily, the Todd family found an external Seagate hard drive left in his apartment. He had backed up his computers on the hard drive. Shane Todds work and relations with IME, Veeco, and Huawei were all recorded in this hard drive. God was helping us, Mrs. Todd told The Epoch Times. After Shane Todds body was brought back to the United States, his family found experts to analyze the possible cause of his death. Todds body was found with bruises, wounds, and scratch marks. He fought for his life, said Mary Todd. There is very little to no support that Shane Todds manner of death was suicide, said a report prepared by Dr. David Camp. Camp is department chair and tenured professor of criminal justice at Blackburn College, and founder of EnSol LLC, which specializes in detecting hidden information. The Singapore police ruling of suicide was largely based on suicide notes left in Todds apartment, Mary Todd said. The notes werent written, but typed in the way of Asian English, not American English, she said. When the notes were presented to Mary Todd by a Singaporean detective, Mary Todd read the notes and then handed them back to the detective. My son might have killed himself, but he did not write this, she told him. Camp concluded in his report that the content of the suicide notes is not consistent with someone raised and socialized in Western culture it is clear the author was someone raised and socialized in a different culture. Camp also stated in his report that indications suggest a person from an Eastern culture such as China [as the author of the notes]. Huawei Investigation The Todd family naively sent all the evidence and analysis reports they got in the United States to the Singapore authorities, hoping they would reopen the investigation. Everything weve got, stupidly, we sent to them, said Mary Todd, and added: what they did was they took our evidence, and used everything we sent against us in the inquiry. When the Todd family went to the inquiry in Singapore in May 2013, there were 10 lawyers, five representing IME and five representing Huawei, against our little family to prove my son committed suicide, Mary Todd said. Todd family has also sent the evidence and analysis reports to several U.S. government agencies, including top level officials in Obama administration, but received little help. The FT report generated lots of attentions from the media, Hollywood, the FBI, and the U.S. Senate and Congress, but accomplished very little to bring justice for Todds death. Mrs. Todd said that then-Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), in his Washington office, told her that she and her husband were doing the right thing, but they werent going to get anywhere because of money and power. Mary Todd was told by Wolf that Huawei had bought out Washington, and it had a law firm in every corner. Still, Mary Todd remember receiving help from many senators and congressmen, but she believes this story has been shut down from the highest level under the leadership of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. To continue seeking for justice to her sons death, Mary Todd published a book: Hard Drive: A Familys Fight against Three Countries. The book includes the details of the Todd familys experiences dealing this case over the last seven years. Now, with the current investigations on Huawei, Mary Todd hopes new light can be shed on the investigation of Todds death. Mary Todd told The Epoch Times that all the evidence and reports were recently delivered to the National Security Agency, with help from Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.). Mary Todds effort has been supported by her families and friends. In light of the Chinese governments apparently deliberate schemes to use its tech companies to illicitly acquire commercial and military grade technology, Americans should be particularly disturbed with the details of Dr. Todds case, said Christina Villegas, who is an assistant professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino. She is also Shanes cousin and co-author of the book: Hard Drive: A Familys Fight Against Three Countries. Villegas, in a recent letter to Gianforte supporting the federal investigation of Huawei, said that the Huawei indictment should include investigation into the death of American engineer Shane Todd. Man With Knife in His Back Walks Out of Russian Hospital to Smoke: Reports Warning: Graphic photos A shirtless man with a knife in his back walked out of a Russian hospitals emergency room to smoke a cigarette. The patient, identified in reports only as 43-year-old Vladimir, was bleeding from the knife wound and was told to return inside, reported the Daily Mail. You are about to die, he was told by hospital staff. Vladimir then walked back into the hospital in Kazan. Doctors persuade man with a knife embedded in his back to return to hospital ward in Russia https://t.co/1LbL2agHB4 Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) February 26, 2019 A nurse filmed the man in his underwear with the knife in his back going for a smoke. According to the Mail, he was injured in a drunken brawl, but details about the incident are not clear. Paramedics managed to dress his wound and didnt take out the knife. When he was being undressed, he told hospital staff he had something to do and began walking outside with the knife. Mail Online: Russian man with a knife in his back walks out of hospital for a smoke https://t.co/nznyHDQiae pic.twitter.com/jIDCUAzR6I Rankstr (@rankstr) February 26, 2019 Vladimir, are you mad? a nurse asked him. The man then walks through the hospital and stops due to pain. How far are you going? she then asks him. It is winter outside. Come back. The footage shows snow on the ground as the temperature reached below freezing. Vladimir then replies he was going out for a smoke. Doctors tried to help him but he decided to go for a smoke in his underwear in -10C temperatures instead UNILAD 2019226 The nurse then tells him that he doesnt have any cigarettes, calling his actions foolish. Young man, you are going to die now, said a male doctor. Lets go, have an injection and you go home, a medic also told him. Vladimir, according to the report, wanted to get a cigarette from another smoker but was not successful. The knife victim then goes inside, and the nurse tells him, Yes, well make one injection and let you go home. She added, Come on, come with me. Go, go. Keep going. Go and lie down. A regional health agency said he was admitted into Zelenodolsk District Hospital in Tartarstan. This smoke break can be your last!: Stabbed man wanders through Russian hospital with knife in his back (GRAPHIC VIDEO) https://t.co/O2rpP8jcuf pic.twitter.com/pzFVLv4Bxo RT (@RT_com) February 26, 2019 He underwent surgery to remove the knife and was in stable condition, a representative said. According to state news outlet RT, Vladimirs girlfriend is being investigated as a potential suspect in the attack. Other details about the incident are not clear. A video of the incident can be seen here (Warning: Very graphic; viewer discretion is advised). Smoking: Still a Huge Cause of Cancer Despite headway made over the years to curb smoking in the United States, cigarettes are still a leading cause of cancer. An American Cancer Society study found that despite significant drops in smoking rates, cigarettes continue to cause about three in ten cancer deaths in the United States. The study, appearing in the Annals of Epidemiology, concludes that efforts to reduce smoking prevalence as rapidly as possible should be a top priority for the U.S. public health efforts to prevent cancer deaths. Our results indicate that cigarette smoking causes about three in 10 cancer deaths in the contemporary United States. Reducing smoking prevalence as rapidly as possible should be a top priority for US public health efforts to prevent future cancer deaths, the authors said. A South Carolina man who spent $540 so girl scouts who were selling cookies could get out of the cold was identified and arrested, on Feb. 26, 2019, as part of a probe into an alleged drug trafficking scheme. (Kayla Dillard/Facebook) Man Arrested After Buying $540 in Girl Scout Cookies GREENVILLE, S.C.A South Carolina man who bought more than 120 boxes of Girl Scouts cookies to help the scouts escape the cold has been arrested on drug charges. News outlets report the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency says 46-year-old Detric Lee McGowan was arrested on Feb. 26, on charges including conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine. The agency says McGowan is the same man who appeared in a photo that garnered thousands of views and shares online. At first praised as a good Samaritan, the man is now in jail on accusations of drug trafficking. https://t.co/IOzlQPZOvK WALB News 10 (@WALBNews10) February 27, 2019 Mother Kayla Dillard had shared the photo on Facebook, saying the man paid $540 in cash for all the girls cookies so they could escape the cold outside a store near Greenville, South Carolina. She said she didnt get the mans name. And this is bad karma. I still think the guy is a Good Samaritan. Man who bought $540 of Girl Scout cookies arrested after drug bust. https://t.co/Ra5VAyGp1t alexpk2 (@apk222) February 27, 2019 An indictment issued last week says McGowan, also known as Fat, is one of several suspects in an ongoing drug investigation. It says he and 10 other people conspired to import drugs from Mexico in late 2018. The U.S. Attorneys Office says authorities are still searching for one of the suspects. The 11 defendants are accused of conspiracy to import and possess with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl, according to a grand jury indictment (pdf). The group schemed to import the drugs from Mexico and distribute them throughout the Carolinas and other states. According to authorities, McGowan is also suspected of trying to smuggle more than $1 million in cash out of the United States. The scheme started in 2016. The amount directly attributable to McGowan himself was 1 kilogram or more of a drug mix containing a detectable amount of heroin, 5 kilograms or more of a mix containing cocaine, and 400 grams or more of a mix containing fentanyl. During the investigation, McGowan and another defendant allegedly deposited tens of thousands of dollars into a bank. In a statement sent to WYFF, the Girl Scouts of South Carolina Mountains to Midlands said the girls interaction with McGowan didnt place anyone in danger. Nobody was hurt. Nobody was threatened. We had no reason to believe that this man was anything other than one of our valuable customers that is helping Girl Scouts power awesome experiences through the Girl Scout Cookie Program, it said. This is now in the hands of law enforcement and of course we will cooperate with authorities. McGowan was being held at a Spartanburg County detention center. Its unclear if he has a lawyer. Greenville is about 140 miles northeast of Atlanta. Man who bought $540 worth of Girl Scout cookies is indicted by DEA for conspiring to import drugs from Mexico in late 2018. Charges include conspiracy to distribute Heroin, Fentanyl and Cocaine. 10 other people also arrested.https://t.co/X6jP8f2EjL Truth Matters (@aworldoftruth) February 27, 2019 NTD News Reporter Zachary Stieber contributed to this report. Man Gets Cut Off on I-25 By Stolen Vehicle Belonging to His Wife A Colorado womans stolen car was recovered after the alleged thief driving the vehicle happened to cut off her husband in traffic. Longmont resident Anna Shandys blue Kia Sportage was stolen from the parking lot of the Longmont Recreation Center on Feb. 21 after someone broke into her locker and took her car keys. I was scared. I was really scared and shocked, Shandy told 9News. I walked out to the parking lot and it wasnt there and I just thought, Oh my God! Wheres my car?' They Had Everything More worryingly, the thieves also made off with the keys to her house. They had the house keys, my garage door opener, Anna said. They had everything. How getting cut off on I-25 helped a man recover his wifes stolen vehicle https://t.co/jaswCLghgc pic.twitter.com/9kbD4j0W8g Newz Parot (@NewzParot) February 27, 2019 Shandy contacted the police, who filed a stolen vehicle report and said she stood a reasonable chance of recovering her Kia. Colorado has one of the highest auto theft rates, Kassie Borth, a crime analyst who works for the Aurora Police Department, told the news outlet. Although, I will say, we have one of the highest recovery rates in the country. Approximately 90 percent of stolen vehicles get recovered in the state of Colorado. Like I Won the Lottery The following Monday, Shandys husband Nathin was driving along I-25 in his work truck, when a car sped up from behind and cut him off. The vehicle looked like his wifes stolen Kia, but it wasnt until he got a good look at the license plate that he made the astonishing realization. How getting cut off on I-25 helped a man recover his wifes stolen vehicle https://t.co/CLecQtjBzH pic.twitter.com/u09oY8uuSr 9NEWS Denver (@9NEWS) February 27, 2019 [It wasnt] until she got directly in front of me that I was 100 percentthat is my license plate and that is my car, he said, according to the news outlet. Shandys husband called 911 and followed the car. A little while later, Firestone police stopped the car at a gas station. The car drove right in front of me, Nathin Shandy said. I mean, thats what I think is the craziest, you know? Police arrested two suspectsa man and a woman. The sheer odds of something like that happeningI mean, I felt like I won the lottery, Nathin Shandy said. Someones looking out, he added. The stars were aligned. What are the chances? The millions of people driving up and down on I-25 all day long, that my own car would cut me off right in front of me. Stolen Car on eBay The incident recalls a similar case of a Texas man who found his car on eBay42 years after it was stolen. Bob Russells beloved British roadstera 1967 Austin-Healeywas stolen from outside his Philadelphia apartment in 1970, according to ABC news. As decades passed, the probability of finding the car become ever more scant. But Russell kept track of the vehicle identification number (VIN) and in 2012 was shocked to find a car listed on eBay that was a perfect match. Im not trying to sound indelicate, but youre selling my car, Russell told the Los Angeles dealer who listed the cream-colored Austin-Healey 3000. Russell had to enlist the help of the Philadelphia Police Department because the car was no longer listed as an active stolen car. The chances of it being in one piece were slim to none. The chances of me finding it were slim to none. Fifty coincidences had to coincide to have this happen, Russell said. I should have bought some lottery tickets. Porsche Stolen 27 Years Ago Found in Forest A man walking his dog deep in the Oregon woods also made a startling discovery in Nov. 2017a wrecked Porsche coupe on its roof, wedged against a tree at the bottom of a steep embankment, said police. The 1979 Porsche 924 had been reported stolen from a movie theater parking lot in Medford, Oregonnearly 27 years ago. Evidence found on and around the wreckage suggested the car had been there for a long time. Heavy forest debris indicated the vehicle had been there for a significant period of time. The registration tags expired in 1991, stated the police report. The cars location at the bottom of a cliff made it difficult to spot, police said. Skeletal remains in the vicinity of the vehicle were also reported by the dog walker, who immediately called dispatch to report the find. Police investigators determined that the bones were not human in originthey belonged to a deer. The Porsche was stolen from a movie theater parking lot on Jan. 20, 1991, and was the subject of a police investigation. The missing Porsche was found near Abbott Prairie Road (National Forest Road 6620), about 1.5 miles north of the intersection with Elk Creek Road. Learning About Communism From a Former Communist Commentary One of the great joys that I have experienced in recent years is my friendship with Ion Mihai Pacepa. Mike, as I call him, is the highest-ranking officer ever to defect from the Soviet bloc. He was once the right-hand man to Nicolae Ceausescu, the president of communist Romania. Living at the top of the Soviet world, Pacepa knew and socialized with Nikita Khrushchev, Mao Zedong, and Fidel Castro. He had all of the creature-comforts anyone could desire. Nevertheless, in 1978, Pacepa left all of that behind and defected to the United States, where he became an invaluable source of information for U.S. officials. Ceausescu didnt believe it when he first heard that Pacepa had defected. When the truth sank in, he had something of a breakdown. He then placed a $2 million bounty on Pacepas head. The infamous assassin Carlos the Jackal was one of several would-be killers who was unsuccessfully dispatched to silence Pacepa. Pacepa spent three years in debriefing. At first, CIA agents had to convince President Jimmy Carter not to return Pacepa to Romania (which would have been a certain death sentence). The president had trusted Ceausescu and had a hard time believing the information that Pacepa was putting forth. He even prohibited Pacepa from publishing his information. Things changed when President Ronald Reagan came into office. He authorized Pacepa to publish his story, and it was released in a widely translated book entitled Red Horizons. Reagan read the book and liked it so much that he came to call it his bible for dealing with dictators. Soon after it was published, it was translated into Romanian, smuggled into that nation, secretly printed, and widely distributed. Radio Free Europe even serialized it and broadcast it into Romania. In 1989, 11 years after his defection, Pacepa became a U.S. citizen. On that day, he was given a letter signed by the CIAs deputy director for operations, stating that he had made an important and unique contribution to the United States of which he could justly be proud. He was credited by the CIA as being the only person in the Western world who had single-handedly demolished an enemy espionage servicethe one he had managed, Romanias Directia Informatii Externe (DIE). That Christmas, Ceausescu and his wife Elena were executed, following a hearing in which most of the accusations had come directly from Pacepas book. A week later, the new official Romanian newspaper Adevarul (The Truth), wrote that Red Horizons played an incontestable role in overthrowing Ceausescu. A Warning Pacepa and I have spoken quite a bit about his decision to leave everything behind and defect to the United States. There were several motivators: a lifelong interest in all things American, the need to avoid an order he had received to oversee an assassination, and a desire to correct the disinformation that he had spent most of his career creating. This disinformation included revealing that Ceausescu wasnt a new and trustworthy ally of the West, but a cruel tyrant who only looked out for himself; that Soviet intelligence had heavily promoted the story that the CIA killed President John F. Kennedy and put out the false story that they werent interested in Lee Harvey Oswald when he defected to the Soviet Union; that the idea of a pope having been complicit in the Holocaust was another invention of the Kremlin; and that the KGB had intentionally cultivated anti-Semitism in the Middle East with the express purpose of weaponizing Islamic terrorism against Israel and the United States. Pacepas most important message, however, is that socialism/communism/progressivismcall it what you wantis more than a threat to freedom: its the end of liberty. Communism has not just failed in application (resulting in tyrannical leadership), its very theory impels government toward totalitarianism. Under socialism, a self-proclaimed benevolent government makes many of the most important decisions regarding life, education (based upon the collective needs of the workforce), equality of well-being, family, association, travel, and political speech. Serious sanctions are put in place for those found to be in violation of government mandates. Such rules are necessary because criticism, travel, and choices about family or economics are dangerous to the system. Marx himself recognized that socialism couldnt be achieved without suppressing free choices of the individual. Individual choices produce different outcomes, and that leads to inequality. As such, socialism cannot sanction individuality. The Soviet Union wasnt an aberration or a misapplication of communism. Nor was Pacepas Romania. Nor communist East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Albania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, the Peoples Republic of China, Laos, North Vietnam, Cuba, Afghanistan, Benin, Cambodia, North Korea, Somalia, or South Yemen. All of these nations delivered depravity, poverty, pain, and despairwithout freedombecause of the inherent structure of socialism. I have a Facebook friend from Venezuela who used to send me messages about the bad things that were happening in his country. I havent heard from him in over a year. I hope he is okay, but his nationonce a thriving and beautiful location with a vibrant economyis now facing critical shortages of necessities like water, medicine, and food. Scarcity in the country has grown so severe that starving Venezuelans have resorted to eating garbage. All of this is the result of socialism and communism being put into practice. Its not always just economics. About 110 million people were killed by their own socialist governments between 1900 and 1987. Pacepa is justifiably worried that leftist ideologythe very thing he risked his life to escapeis on the rise in the United States. Democratic Socialism, as it is now called, follows the same redistributionist principles as traditional socialism. Both the mainstream media and the young seem enamored of the thought of progressive, redistributive tax rates designed to achieve what they call social justice. The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is the largest socialist organization in the United States. Claiming 52,000 members as of December 2018, its still fairly small. Its membership, however, increased more than eightfold after the 2016 presidential election. Moreover, DSA member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is one of todays most highly profiled members of Congress. She is undoubtedly influencing many people, especially the young. According to recent polls, a majority of respondents aged 18 to 29 now hold a positive view of socialism. As Pacepa has recognized, the ideas espoused by todays democratic socialists dont differ greatly from those of the Soviet Union. They will, if put into practice, inevitably lead America to its downfall. We need to work very hard to win back the hearts and minds of this emerging generation of leaders. As Ronald Reagan once warned: Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. Lets fight to save it. Ronald J. Rychlak is the Jamie L. Whitten chair in law and government at the University of Mississippi. He is the author of several books, including Hitler, the War, and the Pope, Disinformation (co-authored with Ion Mihai Pacepa), and The Persecution and Genocide of Christians in the Middle East (co-edited with Jane Adolphe). Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Indonesia Says at Least 3 Killed, 60 Feared Buried in Illegal Mine Landslide Indonesian officials said on Feb. 26 dozens of rescuers were using spades and ropes to dig out more than 60 people who were feared buried by the collapse of an illegal gold mine on the island of Sulawesi that killed at least three. Dozens feared buried after landslide at Indonesia gold mine | Indonesia News https://t.co/VPHZKUjvlU pic.twitter.com/vIJF3zSdMA bintroo (@bintroo) February 27, 2019 #Breaking: Just in More than 60 people buried allive after landslide at illegal gold mine in #Indonesias Sulawesi, 13 people rescued, one found dead. 46 people still to be accounted for. pic.twitter.com/dPI3Cz656t Sotiri Dimpinoudis (@sotiridi) February 27, 2019 Rescuers said they could hear the voices of some of those trapped in makeshift mining shafts in a muddy hillside in the Bolaang Mongondow area of North Sulawesi province and believed many were still alive. We are able to detect that many of them are still alive because we can hear their voices, as there are some places where air is getting in and out and there are gaps in the mud, Abdul Muin Paputungan of Indonesias disaster agency told Reuters by phone. Dozens buried by landslide at unlicensed Indonesia gold mine https://t.co/0MU2eRrV6L pic.twitter.com/gpVQDp4r8X Is Update (@IsUpdate1) February 27, 2019 At least three bodies had been found and 15 people rescued by 8 a.m local time on Wednesday after the mine collapsed the previous evening, according to the disaster mitigation agency and media reports. The Indonesian government has banned such small-scale gold mining, although regional authorities often turn a blind eye to the practice in more remote areas. With little regulation, the mines are prone to accidents. Search-and-rescue teams and military officers were working together but using simple tools such as spades and rope because conditions remained dangerous, with the land still prone to shifting and sliding, Paputungan said. Indonesia landslide kills at least one, 60 feared buried https://t.co/idGxMxoMxs pic.twitter.com/4CQBcQTtgW NDTV (@ndtv) February 27, 2019 Indonesia says at least one dead, 60 feared buried after landslide at an illegal gold mine https://t.co/TaaFsyXhcu pic.twitter.com/jnMPfUdh7x TheLocalBusinessPod (@LocalBusPod) February 27, 2019 He said the families of victims had started gathering at the mine site to wait for news. Photos released by the agency showed rescue workers and villagers on a muddy hillside scrambling to pull out survivors and carry them away on stretchers during the night. Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said dozens of people were mining for gold when beams and support boards broke suddenly. Evacuation efforts continued through the night because of the number of people estimated to be buried, he said. I am grateful for the confidence that the people have shown in me," he said. I will do my best to live-up to their expectations. I am ready to roll-up my sleeves and get to work on behalf of every voter, whether Democrat, Republican and Independent. In this time where political attacks have become the norm, I want to thank Sarah Muska for a civil, issue-oriented campaign. I look forward to working with her, in the future. Pakistani soldiers stand next to what Pakistan says is the wreckage of an Indian fighter jet shot down in Pakistan controled Kashmir at Somani area in Bhimbar district near the Line of Control on Feb. 27, 2019. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) India, Pakistan Claim to Down Each Others Jets as Kashmir Tensions Intensify India and Pakistan both said they shot down each others military jets on Feb. 27, with Pakistan capturing an Indian pilot. Over the past two days, both countries have ordered airstrikesthe first time in history that two nuclear-armed powers have engaged in airstrikesas ground forces also exchanged fire in over a dozen areas. The downed jets triggered global powers to urge both sides to show restraint and comes a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan. Tensions between the countries have escalated since a suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Feb. 14 that left at least 40 Indian paramilitary police dead. Tensions escalated further when India launched an air strike on Feb. 26 against what it said was a Pakistani militant training base. A senior Indian government source said that 300 militants were killed in the strike; Pakistan said no one was killed. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he spoke with the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers and urged them to deescalate the situation. Pompeo said he advised Pakistan to take more action against terrorist groups in that country. Following Indian counterterrorism actions on February 26, I spoke with Indian Minister of External Affairs [Sushma] Swaraj to emphasize our close security partnership and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region, he said in a press statement. I also spoke to Pakistani Foreign Minister [Shah Mehmood] Qureshi to underscore the priority of de-escalating current tensions by avoiding military action, and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil. Pompeo said that he encouraged both countries to avoid escalation at any cost and hoped the two ministers would prioritize direct communication and avoid any further military activity. The Huawei logo is displayed ahead of the Mobile World Congress (MWC 19) in Barcelona, Spain on Feb. 24, 2019. (Sergio Perez/Reuters) Huawei, Samsung Agree to Settle Patent Dispute in US Court HONG KONGChinas Huawei Technologies and South Koreas Samsung Electronics have agreed to settle a two-year old patent dispute in the United States, court documents show. The two companies filed a joint motion to a U.S. appeals court on Feb. 26 to pause court proceedings over their intellectual property disputes because they have entered into a settlement agreement on Monday. The worlds two largest makers of Android smartphones have been fighting in courts in the United States and in China since 2016, with Huawei alleging that Samsung had used its cellular communications technology without authorization and has unreasonably delayed entering into a licensing agreement. Samsung had denied the allegations and accused Huawei of seeking grossly inflated licensing fees, countersuing Huawei in the United States. The joint filing on Tuesday did not give a reason for their intended settlement. It asked for a 30-day stay after which the two companies expect to finalize a settlement where Huawei would drop an appeal request. The case was originally set to go to trial in September. Huawei and Samsung did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In January 2018, a Shenzhen court outpaced a federal court in San Francisco, ruling for Huawei and issuing an order blocking Samsungs Chinese affiliates from manufacturing and selling 4G LTE smartphones in China. A judge hearing the parallel U.S. case in April ordered Huawei not to enforce the Shenzhen courts ban. By Sijia Jiang House Nears Approval of Democratic Bill Blocking Trumps Emergency Funding for Wall WASHINGTONDemocrats ignored a veto threat and prepared to ram legislation through the House on Feb. 26, that would stymie President Donald Trumps bid for billions of extra dollars for his border wall. I personally couldnt handicap the outcome at this point, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell [R-Ky.], who is planning a vote within the next three weeks. Senate passage would force Trumps first veto, which Congress would surely lack the votes to override. McConnell said a vote is being planned within the next three weeks. Underscoring the issues political sensitivity, House Republican leaders worked to keep the number of GOP supporters below 53. Thats the number that would be needed to reach a two-thirds majority of 288 votes, assuming all Democrats vote yes, the margin required for a veto override. If they vote their conscience and the Constitution, we will get Republican votes, said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer [D-Md.] If they vote party and politics, we wont. The White House wrote to lawmakers formally threatening to veto the legislation. The letter said blocking the emergency declaration would undermine the administrations ability to respond effectively to the ongoing crisis at the Southern Border. Republicans said it was Democrats who were driven by politics and a desire to oppose Trump at every turn, and said Trump had the authority to declare an emergency to protect the country. They also defended the presidents claims of a security crisis along the boundary with Mexico, which he has said is ravaged by drug smugglers, human traffickers, and immigrants trying to sneak into the United States illegally. We are at war on the Southern border with the drug cartels, said Rep. Pete Olson, [R-Texas]. Democrats also provided less than $1.4 billion for barrier construction. That was well below the $5.7 billion Trump demanded during the record-setting 35-day federal shutdown. Trump used a 1976 law to declare a national emergency and ordered the shift of $3.6 billion from military construction projects to wall building. Citing other powers, he intends to shift another $3.1 billion from Defense Department anti-drug efforts and a fund that collects seized assets. In the Senate, three Republicans have already said they will back Democrats drive to block the emergency declaration: Maines Susan Collins, Alaskas Lisa Murkowski, and North Carolinas Thom Tillis. Just one more GOP defection would provide enough votes to approve the Democratic measure, assuming all Democrats and their independent allies back it. Republicans said senators asked Pence numerous questions about which projects Trump would divert to pay for the wall, with Sen. Richard Shelby [R-Ala.], saying the discussion was hearty. Shelby, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, which controls spending, said his panel would quickly backfill money for military construction with other funds he did not identify. That issue wont stay alive long, Shelby told reporters. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the chief GOP vote counter, said there may be GOP attempts to amend the House measure, saying some Republicans think they have amendments that would improve it. That suggests that McConnell may try finding a way to add language that could sink the Democratic resolution or, perhaps, make it more palatable for Republicans. The law requires the Senate to vote on a measure within 18 days of receiving it from the House. Even with the Democrats effort near-certain to fail, several lawsuits have been filed aimed at blocking the money, including by Democratic state attorney generals and various progressive groups. Those suits at the very least are likely to delay access to those funds for months or years. Hate Crimes on the Rise, but Against Whom? Commentary The exposure of Jussie Smolletts alleged hate crime hoax left a lot of people with egg on their faces. In the aftermath of the scandal, some of those who condemned the attack scurried for cover, while others expressed their disappointment with the actors actions. For some, Smolletts alleged hoax caused all the more damage because it distracted people from whom they believe are the real race problem in the United States today: President Donald Trump and his supporters. Were all familiar with the theory: Trump is a racist. His election emboldened all of the closeted, white racists whose bigotry is constantly smoldering just below the surface of their apparently polite behavior. Dog whistles are being employed to send secret racist messages to a lot of white Americans, but most dangerously to old white males like me. According to the theory, one of the ways this process manifests itself is an increase in hate crimes. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) reacted to the first reports of the attack on Smollett as an attempted modern-day lynching. After the truth came out, she wrote: Like most of you, Ive seen the reports about Jussie Smollett and Im sad, frustrated and disappointed. Well said. But, then she wrote this: 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 of hate crimes in America. As a person who works with data, alarm bells begin to go off in my head when a public figure casually tosses out an alarming statistic like that, without any context or further detail. So, I jumped on the FBI website and started breaking down the numbers. Hate-Crimes Data The FBI keeps a lot of detailed statistics on hate crimes. For the most part, they act as compiler and validator, rather than as a primary source of these statistics. Other law enforcement agencies send the FBI data, the FBI checks the data, and, assuming it meets their criteria, enters it into their database. One could, if one had the time, do a detailed analysis of the data year by year. It wouldnt surprise me to learn someone had done so. My more modest analysis focused on two years: 2011 and 2017. I chose 2011 because it was in the middle of the Obama era, was not an election year, and could thus be expected to reflect the mood of the nation during a time when progressives were happy with the way the government was running, while those on the right werent. I choose 2017 because its the latest year available and its also the first year of the Trump administration, with a lot of unhappy people on the left and much more satisfaction among conservatives and libertarians. A first look at the stats suggests Harris might be onto something. The FBI reported 6,222 single-bias incidents in 2011 and 7,175 in 2017. Thats an increase of a little over 15 percent. But, that comparison is a little deceptive because not all local law enforcement organizations (LEOs) choose to report hate crimes to the FBI. The agency indicates the populace covered by participating local LEOs in 2011 was about 286 million, while it was 306 million in 2017. We really need to normalize the data so we can make a fair comparison. So, I generated the hate crime rate per million people for each year. The 2011 incident rate was 21.8 per million, and the 2017 rate was 23.4 per million. Thats an increase of about 7.5 percent. Better than 15 percent, but still an increase. So, the next question is obvious: Why an increase at all? A Growing Anger The most significant increases in hate-crime incident rates between 2011 and 2017 occurred in one ethnic group and two religious groups. With one exception, they arent groups most people would guess. What the FBI identifies as anti-white hate crimes rose 37 percent, anti-Jewish hate crimes rose almost 14 percent, and anti-Islamic hate crimes rose over 60 percent. The overall anti-black incident rate was still much higher than the anti-white incident rate6.6 per million compared to 2.4 per million, respectivelybut the rate of anti-black incidents dropped over those six years by almost 10 percent. Similarly, although the rate of anti-Jewish hate crimes increased far less than anti-Islamic hate crimes, the overall rate of anti-Jewish hate crimes remains substantially larger than anti-Muslim hate crimes: 3.1 per million compared to 0.9 per million. Anti-gay (male) and anti-lesbian incidents dropped by 17 percent and 14 percent, respectively. Now, two years of data does not a study make and Im not suggesting it should. But this snapshot should at least give Harris and like-minded Americans pause, for it does not suggest rising anger and violence in our nation inspired by nefarious Trumpian dog-whistles directed at minorities and the LGBT community. It rather points to growing anger directed at whites, Jews andto a lesser, but still important, extentMuslims. As with all violence, that directed at Muslims, simply because of their choice of religion, is reprehensible, but I think most of us understand (but do not excuse) its origins. The reason for the growing amount of anger and violence aimed at whites and Jews? I will leave that for the reader to decide. Richard J. Trzupek is a chemist and environmental consultant as well as an analyst at the Heartland Institute. He is also the author of Regulators Gone Wild: How the EPA Is Ruining American Industry. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump await the arrival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara at the South Portico of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 15, 2017. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) Gallup: Americans Have Best Perception of US World Image Since 2003 Americans favorability perception of the United States image around the world is the highest its been since the start of the Iraq War in 2003, according to a new Gallup poll. Fifty-eight percent of Americans surveyed said that they believe the United States is viewed very or somewhat favorably in the eyes of the world, up slightly from 55 percent last year. Notably, that is the highest net favorability rating since 2003, when Gallup recorded 61 percent of respondents believe the United States was viewed favorably in the worlds eyes. The poll results suggest Americans no longer feel burdened by the strain of the Iraq War, which polling at the time suggested soured international opinions of the United States. The increase in American perception of U.S. world image was driven by Independentswho jumped from 50 percent to 58 percentwho said the United States is viewed somewhat or very favorably. Despite the increase in perceived world image, 53 percent of Americans are still dissatisfied with the countrys overall standing in the world. That 53 percent figure, however, is the lowest level of dissatisfaction recorded since 2005. Just 31 percent of respondents in the survey said they believe President Donald Trump is respected by world leaders. Gallup surveyed 1,016 adults by phone in all 50 states and Washington, for the survey. Follow Amber on Twitter Taiwanese resident Xiusong Tu as she talks about her transplant surgery in China in the documentary Human Harvest. (Courtesy "Human Harvest" documentary) Forced Organ Harvesting: Overseas Patients Flocking to China for Transplants Legislation to curb transplant tourists receiving illicit organs can have a big impact, says rights lawyer Chinas organ transplant industry grew exponentially in the early 2000s and today, China is the go-to country for transplant tourists from around the world. Despite the fact that organ donation is minimal in China, organs are plentiful, and the wait-times range between a few days and two monthssomething out of the question in any other country. Furthermore, patients have reported that their transplant surgeries were scheduled ahead of time. The stark reality of what this means was brought home to Israeli heart transplant surgeon Dr. Jacob Lavee in 2005, when a patient told him he was going to China for a heart transplant and the operation was already scheduled for a specific date. Realizing that this could only be the result of forced organ harvesting, Dr. Lavee spearheaded the crafting of Israels Organ Transplant Law which came into effect in 2008, essentially banning the purchase and sale of human organs. The move has had a significant impact in reducing transplant tourism from Israel, according to a study published in the American Journal of Transplantation in December 2012.Similar legislation is in the works in Canada; the private members bill S-240 to combat organ trafficking was unanimously passed by the Foreign Affairs Committee on Feb. 27 and will proceed for a final reading in the House of Commons. A report by Organs Watch, an organization based at the University of California, identified transplant tourists from Canada as among the top organ-buyers in the world. Dr. Jeff Zaltzman, the head of renal transplants at St. Michaels Hospital in Toronto, has said that at least 50 of his patients have gone to China for transplants. Zaltzman said at a 2014 forum on forced organ removal that what is happening in China has created a third kind of donor that is not found in developed countries like Canada. He calls them living dead donors. They are living and then they become dead. So that is a unique term to the Chinese situation, he said. Killing to Live: The Dark Side of Transplant Tourism in China, a 2017 documentary aired by Koreas Chosen TV, reveals that an estimated 3,000 Koreans a year have received organs in China since 2000. The documentary is about an investigation of the organ transplant centre at Tianjin First Central Hospital in China. The hospital guaranteed organs from healthy, young donors on demand. The hospital, which has 500 transplant beds, has three floors dedicated to international transplant patients and the operating room functions around the clock, 24 hours a day. In China, the organs come easy. I dont know where they come from. It takes just two hours for them to bring the fresh organs here, a senior nurse told the filmmakers, adding that a liver costs US$130,000. Patients from other countries go to China for organs as well. The website of the Zhongshan Hospital in Shanghai states that the hospital has attracted patients from more than 10 countries and regions, including the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. The source of the abundance of human organs feeding Chinas lucrative transplant industry was uncovered by Winnipeg-based international human rights lawyer David Matas and former cabinet minister David Kilgour. They released two investigative reports, one in 2006 and one in 2016, showing that non-consenting religious and political prisonersprimarily Falun Dafa adherents detained for their beliefsare being subjected to forced organ harvesting while alive. In other words, they are being killed for their organs. I didnt know the donor was going to be killed Titled Bloody Harvest / The Slaughter: An Update and also co-authored by American researcher Ethan Gutmann, the report detailed some of the cases of transplant tourism to China. Many go in groups, organized by a broker. In February 2001, a group of nine patients travelled from Southeast Asia to Taiping Hospital for organ transplants. The nine transplants were finished in two days, along with four others. A group of seven patients who travelled to China from Hong Kong for kidney transplants all had the surgery done the same day and were able to return home after a week. A woman from Taiwan who went to China for a kidney transplant reported seeing at least 10 other patients waiting for transplants or recovering from one. Meanwhile, some transplant recipients who discovered after the fact that the donor died during the organ extraction process now have to live with that disturbing knowledge. I was astonished to hear about the source of the organs. I felt very sad that I participated in such thing. I want to tell my story so that people can know about it, said Taiwanese resident Rourou Zhuang in the documentary Human Harvest. She received a new kidney in China. When I went for the transplant, I didnt know the donor was going to be killed, said Xiusong Tu as she wept. Japanese patient Hokamura Kenichiro was astonished at how easy it was to get a transplant. Ten days after contacting a Japanese broker in China, he was lying on an operating table in a Shanghai hospital receiving a new kidney. A doctor had only examined him that morning. It was so fast I was scared, he said. The price of the organ was US$80,000. Hokamura is one of hundreds of well-off Japanese who have made the trip to China for kidney, liver, or heart transplants, the 2016 report said. The report found many instances in which multiple organs were procured for the same patient, either due to organ rejection or as spares. In one case, eight spare organs were procured for the same patient. The researchers say that as many as 60,000 to 100,000 transplants take place in China each year, the majority by far coming from Falun Dafa adherents. Falun Dafa, or Falun Gong, is a traditional spiritual practice that had an estimated 70-100 million adherents by the late in the 1990s. Fearful of its immense popularity, then-Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin initiated a campaign of persecution against its adherents in July 1999 that continues today. The researchers found that while transplant abuse exists in many countries, the difference in China is that its sanctioned by the state and the state is profiting from it. Canadian Organ Trafficking Bill At a forum on forced organ removal at Toronto General Hospital on Oct. 29, 2014, where the dilemma of transplant tourism was discussed, Dr. Zaltzman described a patient of his who had gone to China for a transplant. I had one young man who had two scars. The first kidney that was transplanted in China didnt work, and within a few days, he already had a second transplant. That would never happen in Canada, he said. While some doctors are aware their patients could be the impetus for murder in China, they dont know what they can do about it. Some countries, including Spain, Taiwan, Italy, and Israel, have passed legislation aimed at preventing their citizens from travelling abroad for transplants. Similar legislation is currently making its way through the House of Commons. Bill S-240, which passed unanimously in the Senate last October, would make it a criminal offence in Canada to receive an organ abroad without consent from the donor, and it would also make people involved in forced organ harvesting anywhere in the world inadmissible to Canada. Speaking to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development on Feb. 26, Matas said such legislation can be very effective. In Taiwan and Israel, its been dramatic. The problem in both countries was transplant tourism to China, he told the committee via telephone. After the Israel legislation was passed, it went from being very common to disappearing altogether, or almost altogether. Now that [Taiwan has] legislation, it has had a sharp downturn on transplant tourism to China. So the legislation in those two countries has practically been very impactful. Zaltzman said if Canadas legislation were to pass, he would support that as a way to help address the dilemma faced by doctors. That would be a big step forward, he said. Drink History: Hot Chocolate Xocolatl, the drinks ancient ancestor, was neither hot nor sweet This origin story is chock full of cosmic healing, international exploration, and closely guarded secrets. My kind of tale. Did you know: The Institute of Culinary Education in New York City has a world-class Chocolate Lab, run by James Beard Award-winning pastry chef Michael Laiskonis. While I finished my culinary education in 2011, I am always game for workshops to brush up on my skills or learn something new. In the Chocolate Lab, I recently learned that well before becoming one of the worlds premier edible indulgences or a warming wintry drink, chocolate was revered as a tepid, liquid gift from the gods that didnt taste good. Evidence suggests chocolate was being used by pre-Olmec cultures as early as 1900 B.C., and we know for certain that their descendants, the Mayans of Mesoamerica, were using it by 200 A.D. Mesoamerica is the name used to describe the Mayan homeland, known today as the Central American countries of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Mexicos Yucatan Peninsula. Mayan Bitter Water The word chocolate is believed to come from the Mayan xocolatl, which means bitter water. There was no sugar in Central America at the time, so this was no sweet treat. To make xocolatl, the beans inside cocoa pods were harvested, dried, crushed, and combined with chili peppers and cold water. Some accounts state that cornmeal was used as well. The liquid was poured from one vessel to another until a frothy foam appeared on top. Xocolatl was often consumed during religious ceremonies and marriage celebrations, and was valued for its healing, medicinal, and aphrodisiac properties. Decorated Mesoamerican artifacts and temple walls depicted kings and gods imbibing the bitter drink, showing how closely cacao was woven into Mayan society. Turns out, they were onto something. Cacaos nutritional value and noted health benefits make it a modern-day superfood. Its high in calcium, iron, and magnesium, which contributes to heart health, and packed with antioxidants, compounds known to prevent or delay some kinds of cellular damage. The noted aphrodisiac properties of the ancient drink make sense, too, as cacao contains mood-boosting serotonin and dopamine, as well as phenylethylamine, thought to elevate mood and increase energy. All Mayans could enjoy xocolatl, regardless of their social status. Think of it like a healthy version of modern-day champagne, often used to celebrate but easily enjoyed any day of the week. And as outsiders exposed to Mayan culture caught on to the drink, the demand for cocoa beans helped establish a network of trade routes throughout the region. By 1400 AD, Mayan power had greatly decreased and the Aztecs came to dominate Mesoamerica. Cocoa beans wouldnt grow at the heart of their civilization, the dry highlands of central Mexico, far from the Mayan rainforests, so they forced the Mayans to trade and pay taxes in cocoa beans. The beans became Aztec currency, and though their money really did grow on trees, the drink was a luxury few could afford. Montezuma, the Aztec king, supposedly drank 50 cups of cocoa a dayextra if he was going to meet a lady friend. Explorer Encounters Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas in 1502 and brought cocoa beans back to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in Spain, but they werent especially interested. In 1519, the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes landed in present-day Mexico and was offered a cup of cocoa by Montezuma himself. Though he didnt enjoy the bitter drink, he was amazed at how the Aztecs valued it. He found that warming the drink made it taste better, and voila! Hot chocolate was born. When Cortes returned to Spain in 1528, he brought not only cocoa beans, but also the metate, the mealing stone used to grind the beans, and the recipe and enthusiasm for making the chocolate beverage. The Spanish kept cocoa beans secret from the rest of Europe for decades. In 1579, some foolish English pirates attacked a Spanish merchant ship filled with cocoa beans and, mistaking them for sheep droppings, burned the Spanish vessel in frustration. In Spain, cooks experimented with the recipe, adding sugar to sweeten it. Spaniards enjoyed the drink during church services and even during Lent, as it was considered necessary for health and energy. Chocolate Goes Mainstream In 1615, drinking chocolate was noted at a royal wedding in France. In the 1650s, chocolate houses, like the coffee houses of today, popped up in both France and Great Britain. With the Industrial Revolution came a number of technical innovations allowing for large amounts of cocoa beans to be ground at once. Mass amounts of cocoa paste circulated around Europe. A Dutchman named Coenraad Van Houten discovered that adding alkaline salts to powdered chocolate helped it mix better with water. His process, called Dutching, after his nationality, made chocolate smoother, creamier, and tastier by reducing bitterness. Then, in 1829, he invented the cocoa press, ushering in the modern era of chocolate. The press squeezes the cocoa butter from the bean, leaving the dry powder we now call cocoa. This separation of cocoa butter from cocoa powder allows for various flavors of chocolate. Without the cocoa press, we would not have white chocolate, milk chocolate, or cocoa powder for hot cocoa and baking. The rest is history. The food of the gods has come a long way from the bitter Mesoamerican drink. I would include a recipe for xocolatl, but you dont want to taste it. Trust meI took one for the team by tasting it before proceeding with the rest of the chocolate workshop. My tastebuds are thankful for the trajectory cacao has seen through the ages. Following its gradual evolution from bitter drink to delicious treat, our samples became sweeter and creamier, and ended in some of Chefs world-class creations. Progression complete! Below is Chefs favorite modern recipe for hot chocolate, inspired by Mexican-style chocolate prepared today, warmed by spices and a dose of dried smoked chilies. Hot Chocolate Makes 8 servings 1 quart whole milk 1/4 cup heavy cream 1 cup grated panela, piloncillo, or light brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 sticks whole cinnamon 2 pieces whole star anise 1/2 teaspoon powdered chipotle morita (or to taste) 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped 7 ounces dark chocolate, roughly chopped Combine the milk, cream, sugar, salt, spices, and the vanilla bean in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and hold at a bare simmer, stirring occasionally, for five minutes. Whisk in the chopped chocolate and continue to simmer an additional five minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and the whole spices. Blend well with an immersion blender to create a froth and serve immediately. Recipe courtesy of Michael Laiskonis, Institute of Culinary Education Amanda Burrill sees through an adventurous lens, typically focused on culinary and travel. Her education includes a bachelors in archaeology, a masters in journalism, a culinary degree from Le Cordon Bleu, and wine and spirits credentials earned while living in Paris. She is a U.S. Navy veteran, Ironman triathlete, high-alpine mountaineer, and injury connoisseur who ruminates on UnchartedLifestyleMag.com Decoding Democrat Opposition to Guaranteed Care for Babies Who Survive Abortion News Analysis Most Democratic senators on Feb. 25 voted against a bill that would require health care providers to provide medical attention to newborns that survive a botched abortion. The Epoch Times asked them why they did so. The bill, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, failed to clear a vote to overcome a potential filibuster, with 53 senators for (shy of the 60 needed) and 44 against. Only three Democrats raised their hand in favor of the bill: Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Bob Casey (Pa.), and Doug Jones (Ala.). Three Republicans did not vote, apparently because of scheduling issues and plane flight delays: Kevin Cramer (N.D.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Tim Scott (S.C.). No Republican was against. Introduced by Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), the bill requires that, in case of a botched abortion, any health care practitioner present at the time the child is born alive shall exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age. In addition, after caring for the child, the health care practitioners would be required to ensure that the child born alive is immediately transported and admitted to a hospital. The Democrats have labeled the bill an attack on women and doctors. The legislation would force medical professionals to provide invasive and ineffective medical care to fetuses with fatal abnormalities, even if its against the familys wishes or if it would not do anything to extend the fetus life, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in a Feb. 26 emailed statement. Similar arguments were presented by many other senators, including Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). Republicans, on the other hand, have accused the Democrats of supporting infanticide. So whos right? Do Babies Survive Abortion? Abortions late in a pregnancy, such as after the 20th week from the womans last period, may take several days to perform. First, the woman undergoes a procedure to get her cervix dilated, which may take up to two days. Some abortionists would start the procedure with a digoxin injection that poisons and kills the unborn. But a poisoned fetus has little value for companies that collect the remains for medical research. Other abortionists wait for the dilation and then snip the umbilical cord, depriving the unborn baby of oxygen and nutrients and causing it to die. Sometimes, however, the dilation may cause the woman to go into labor and give birth to a premature baby. It is this situation that Sasses bill would most likely apply to. Some legal protection applies to this situation already. Since the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002, a baby, even if born prematurely or after an abortion procedure, is considered a person and alive upon clearing the birth canal if it breathes or has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles. In a 2012 Live Action undercover video, Cesare Santangelo, an abortionist in Washington, explained that in this situation, legally, we would be obligated to help it survive. But it probably wouldnt. He continues, Its all in how vigorously you do things to help a fetus survive at this point. Obviously, youre here for a certain procedure. We would not help it. The undercover reporter was 24-weeks pregnant. At that point, her child had more than a 50-percent chance of survival with hospital care. When the video was published in 2013, Santangelo said he was just trying to reassure the woman, who was asking whether shed need to take responsibility for the child if it was born alive. What I said is, basically I wouldnt do anything extraordinary, he told The Washington Post. We would call EMS. We would call 9-1-1. But I wouldnt do intubation or anything. You let nature take its course. What Would the New Bill Do? The bill would still leave it up to the medical professional to decide what care to provide, but only if a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would choose such a course to care for the child. Doctors have commonly exercised such a judgment, including decisions to give up. A 2015 study found that hospitals actively provided treatment to only some 22 percent of babies born at 22 weeks. About 23 percent of those cared for survived. All the untreated died within 24 hours. At 24 weeks, however, hospitals actively treated more than 97 percent of infants and of those nearly 57 percent survived. All those untreated also died within 24 hours. The study excluded about 4 percent of cases where the infants had recognized syndromes or major congenital malformations where factors besides prematurity may have influenced the prognosis and treatment decisions. Sasses bill appears crafted to ensure that a baby is not left to die just because, as Santangelo put it, the woman was there for a certain procedure. The bills second requirementto have the baby transported to a hospitalhas been opposed by some abortion providers in the past, to the dismay of conservative legislators. What objection could you possibly have to obligate a doctor to transport a child born alive to a hospital where, it seems to me, they would be most likely to be able to survive? a Florida state lawmaker asked Alisa LaPolt Snow, a lobbyist for the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, at a 2013 hearing. What about the situations where its in a rural health care setting, the hospital is 45 minutes, an hour away thats [the] closest trauma center, emergency room? she replied. There are just some logistical issues involved that weve got some concerns about. LaPolt also brought up the argument that, after a botched abortion, the decision [on what to do next] should be between the patient and the healthcare provider. But one of the legislators retorted, I think that at that point the patient would be the child struggling on a table, wouldnt you agree? Thats a really good question, she replied. I really dont know how to answer that. Are Healthy Babies Aborted Late? Very few women have an abortion late into their pregnancy, Blumenthal said in a Feb. 25 release. [Its] almost always due to severe health risks. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) commented along the same lines in a Feb. 25 tweet: Women do not have later-term abortions because a pregnancy is suddenly inconvenient. Its not clear, however, what the senators are basing their comments on. Late-term abortions, such as those after 20 weeks, are relatively rare, with only about 15,000 a year getting reported. But theres a dearth of data on why women undergo them. Florida appears to be the only state publishing the data, and only by trimester. The state only reported two third-trimester abortions in 2018. One due to a Life Endangering Physical Condition, the other for Serious Fetal Genetic Defect, Deformity or Abnormality. These two reasons were reported for about 11 percent of the second-trimester abortions. Historically, late-term abortions appear to have often been performed on healthy mothers and babies. In 1997, during the campaign against the now-outlawed partial-birth abortion, Ron Fitzsimmons, then-executive director of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, spoke up about misinformation spread by pro-abortion activists. When youre a doctor who does these abortions and the leaders of your movement appear before Congress and go on network news and say these procedures are done in only the most tragic of circumstances, how do you think it makes you feel? You know theyre primarily done on healthy women and healthy fetuses, and it makes you feel like a dirty little abortionist with a dirty little secret, he told American Medical News (pdf). Multiple media reports at the time confirmed Fitzsimmonss account. Most are for elective, not medical reasons: people who didnt realize, or didnt care, how far along they were, a doctor at an abortion facility told New Jersey newspaper The Record in 1996. Since then, the number of abortions has dropped by about a third. Still, Fitzsimmons made it clear that the market for elective late-term abortion wouldnt disappear with the partial-birth abortion ban. The real-world impact on doctors and patients is virtually nil, he said, as doctors would simply switch to a different abortion methodwhich is exactly what has happened. Crown Seeks Six Years for Toronto Man Who Tried to Join ISIL in Syria TORONTOOntario prosecutors want a Toronto man who tried to join ISIS terrorist group in Syria to spend six years behind bars, while his defence team is pushing for a sentence of about half that given what they say is their clients commitment to deradicalization. Pamir Hakimzadah, 29, pleaded guilty earlier this month to one count of leaving Canada to participate in a terrorist activity. His lawyer, Luka Rados, argued for a sentence of three years and seven months plus three years probation at a sentencing hearing held Tuesday in Toronto. That would allow for Hakimzadahs immediate release after he receives credit for time already spent in custody since his June 2016 arrest. Court heard that Hakimzadah left Toronto in October 2014 and flew to Istanbul with the goal of finding a way into Syria to join ISIS. He was turned in to local authorities by a taxi driver in Turkey who suspected Hakimzadah wanted to join the terrorist group, and was sent back to Canada. A family member then turned him over to police two years later. Hakimzadah admitted he viewed ISIS propaganda videos online and became sympathetic to their viewpoint. In arguing for a shorter sentence, Rados outlined his clients commitment to a deradicalization program that would involve spiritual and psychiatric counselling. Crown attorney Christopher Walsh was dubious of the defences deradicalization plan. We have no insight from anybody (about) how he did come to these beliefs, Walsh said. Without any insight into how he was radicalized, theres no basis that he can be deradicalized. Justice John McMahon will sentence Hakimzadah on Thursday. Hakimzadah spoke at the end of the hearing when given the chance by the judge. I do take full responsibility, he said. I want you to know I will absolutely abide by any sentence that court imposes on me. I look forward to being reunited with my family. His mother cried in court. Businessman Yu Ming in Washington on Feb. 19, 2019. He arrived in the United States to join his wife, daughter, and son in January 2019 through the help of the U.S. government, after being imprisoned for 12 years and tortured nearly to death in labor camps in China for his belief in Falun Gong. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) Chinese Entrepreneur Risks Life to Expose Persecution in China After facing years of injustice in his home country of China, successful businessman Yu Ming wants to share with the world what hes seen, from his new viewpoint in the United States. To expose the torture that was part of Chinas preparations for the Olympic Games, he orchestrated an escape attempt from a labor camp that sounds like something right out of a Hollywood film. He wrote articles about how prisoners were used to help publish pirated books, stealing the authors intellectual property, and worked with Chinas fledgling human rights lawyers to appeal through Chinas courts for redress. Now, having fled to the United States, he can tell his story. In early August 2008, while the world was held spellbound by the grand, breathtaking opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, 35-year-old entrepreneur Yu Ming was bedridden in a hospital affiliated with the notorious Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, after having suffered long-term, severe torture. He had been shocked by high-voltage electric batons. For three months, he was locked inside a special iron cage, in which he could neither stand nor sleep. Once, he was dragged down stairs face-down, his head knocking bitterly on each of the steps. This was his third time being imprisoned for practicing the spiritual discipline Falun Gong , which has been persecuted in China since July 1999. Yu started practicing Falun Gong in 1996, through the introduction of a customer. The customer had given a copy of Falun Gongs main text, Zhuan Falun , to his wife. At that time, Yu was already a successful entrepreneur in Shenyang City, the capital of Liaoning Province in northeast China. His fashion business would later hire more than 100 employees and provide jobs to another 1,000 workers at six state-owned suppliers. Both his customer and his wife thought he wasnt the type of person who would be interested in a spiritual practice, so they didnt show him the book. However, the more they wanted to hide the book from him, the more Yu wanted to find out what it was about. So he grabbed the book from his wife and finished reading six of the books nine lectures in one night. The next morning, he began searching for a Falun Gong practice site in the park, where he could learn the practices exercises. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, consists of five meditative, slow-motion exercises and teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. Its adherents have reported often extraordinary improvements in health, along with less stress, better relations with family and colleagues, and a better sense of the purpose of their lives. In 1992, Li Hongzhi began teaching Falun Gong publiclypreviously this ancient practice had only been passed down from one master to one discipleand it immediately began spreading throughout China by word of mouth. By 1999, Western media were reporting that 100 million people in China had taken up the practice. Chinas leader at the time, Jiang Zemin, became wary of the large number of people who had begun doing something outside the control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and feared the Chinese people might find its traditional moral teachings more attractive than communist ideology, which is based on materialism, atheism, and class struggle. In July 1999, Jiang turned all of the resources of the party-state against Falun Gong, which led, among other things, to Yu being in a hospital bed in 2008. A Successful but Failed Escape With the approach of the Beijing Olympics, Yu saw from his hospital bed that more and more people were arriving at the Masanjia labor camp, having been sentenced for planning to commit robbery or preparing to steal. According to an Epoch Times report , in order to ensure the safety of Beijing before the Olympics in 2008, more than 3 million people were driven out of the capital city, more than 60,000 houses were demolished, and more than 1 million people were taken to labor camps. Inside the camp, the torture and terror were accelerating to transform the Falun Gong practitionersforcing them to renounce their beliefs, identify others who practiced Falun Gong, and profess loyalty to the Communist Party. Yu couldnt bear to see more innocent people tortured so terribly. Plus, he believed that the outside world should know what was happening in China after Beijing was granted the right to host the Olympics. Instead of improving its human rights as expected by the international community, the communist regime was persecuting and even killing people because of the Olympics. Yu decided to expose that. But how? He had an idea. According to his plan, two fellow Falun Gong practitioners would escape from the camp, and try to get in touch with foreign journalists who were in Beijing to cover the Olympics, hoping the situation in the camp could draw some attention. Due to lax security in the hospital, Yu somehow managed to get hold of cellphones, some cash, and, most importantly, a saw blade. As many labor camp inmates would often be sent to the hospital and then taken back to the camp, through painstaking communications and complicated calculations, Yu was able to coordinate the escape. He found people on the outside to come to the two escapees aid after they fled the camp, and he found another person to rent a place for them to hide while the police would be searching frantically for them. And there was another thing to consider: After the two practitioners escaped, the on-duty police guards and 22 fellow inmates from the same cell would definitely be implicated and severely punished. As somebody who followed the teachings of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, Yu didnt want that to happen. He wanted to treat these innocent bystanders with compassion. So he managed to scrape together some sleeping pills. He told the doctor that he couldnt sleep. He pretended to swallow the pills in front of the nurse, but, in fact, hid them in his other hand. With this method, he savedbit by bitenough pills to put all the guards and inmates in his cell to sleep on the day of the escape. If they were asleep when the escape happened, they wouldnt be held responsible for not preventing it. The plan was put into action on Aug. 11, 2008. The iron bars in a window of the cell were cut and broken, and the two practitioners slithered down from the third floor using a rope made from a quilt. Initially, everything went smoothly. They were picked up at the right time and right place by the right people, until the person who was meant to rent the place for them to stay didnt show up. Nobody knew what had gone wrong. Yu had to arrange to have his wife, Ma Li, pick up the two escapees and hide them at his home, knowing very well how risky that was. Three days later, hundreds of policemen, some armed with guns, surrounded the area near Yus home, and took away the two escapees, as well as Ma. The escape attempt during the Beijing Olympics from the model labor camp infuriated the highest leaders of the communist regime. The escape was classified as a major incident; at least seven police officers were fired, and two deputy directors of the camp were punished. Yu and the two escapees were tortured ferociously. Yu was hung to a door, with his arms stretched up, and his feet hardly touching the ground. He was hung in this position for over a month, day and night. Sometimes, he could be released when he needed to relieve himself; sometimes, the police wouldnt release him. So he took as little as possible of the food or water that was pushed into his mouth. He nearly died. The other two were tortured more viciously, Yu said. The labor camp was given a two-death quota after the escape try, which meant that two persons could be tortured to death without repercussions. In addition to being tortured nearly to death, each of the three people involved was given another year at the camp. Sadly for Yu, if he hadnt planned the escape, he could have been released in about 20 days. Asked whether the attempt was worthwhile, especially given that it didnt succeed, Yu replied without hesitation: Yes, it was. We had to do it. More than 10 fellow Falun Gong practitioners around me had already been tortured to death during the persecution. How could you measure the value of lives? I never regret risking my life to prevent more killings. Pirated Harry Potter Books Chinas labor camps exist to force prisoners of conscience to betray their beliefs, but they are also money-making enterprises. They are a source of cost-free labor. Yu remembers how he and many others were forced to make pirated copies of the Harry Potter books in the labor camp. That was toward the end of 2001, shortly after China joined the World Trade Organization. I was detained at the Beijing Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp. We were forced to cut, fold, sort, and bind the sheets of Harry Potter and other books, in both English and Chinese, as well as several other languages. The books were printed somewhere else. After we finished binding them, they were then taken away. Yu and the rest of the inmates in Brigade 6 worked for more than three months on the books. Yu remembers piles of printed sheets about three feet high could be seen everywhere in the halls and corridors of the floor of Brigade 6. Brigades 3 and 5 were working on the books as well. The whole enterprise had a dreary feel to it. People delivered the printed sheets to the forced labor camp furtively, and the vehicles used to carry the sheets looked pretty worn out. The print quality was extremely poor: The paper looked yellowish and had misprints and marks everywhere. In order to get more books ready before the Chinese New Year for sale to students during the winter holidays, the police forced detainees to work long hourssometimes all nightwithout any pay. Yu guessed that they could have made hundreds of thousands of those pirated copies in those few months. Yu said he actually wrote a series of articles about that as early as 2004, hoping that J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, or the authorized publishers of the books could be alerted and an investigation conducted to protect both the rights and interests of the author and publishers, as well as those of the detainees. Yu Freed, Lawyers Jailed In 2009, after being released for the third time, Yu began working with lawyers who later gained notoriety as leading figures among Chinas rights activists, to try to defend jailed Falun Gong practitioners. Among them were Wang Quanzhang , Wang Yu , Dong Qianyong, Jiang Tianyong, and others. On Aug. 29, 2013, while attending his nephews wedding, Yu was arrested for a fourth time, along with more than a dozen other Falun Gong practitioners in Shenyang City. CCP leader Xi Jinping was to visit the city the following day, and Yu and the other practitioners were arrested as a precaution, to prevent any protests or appeals during Xis visit. He was sentenced to four years, despite the efforts of several lawyers who used to work with him who then took on his case, too. His lawyers, Wang Quanzhang, Wang Yu, and Dong Qianyong, were all arrested in the infamous crackdown on July 9, 2015, in which more than 200 lawyers and human rights activists were arrested. Yu was released from jail in 2017, and at the end of 2018, he managed to escape to Thailand, where he was able to obtain a visa to the United States; his wife had already gained refugee status from the U.S. government. On Jan. 27, after nearly 12 years in labor camps and jails, Yu finally joined his wife, daughter, and son in San Francisco. However, on the same day that Yu gained his freedom, his lawyer Wang Quanzhangwho was secretly detained for more than three yearswas sentenced to four and a half years in prison. Yu Wensheng, a lawyer who defended Wang Quanzhang, is himself currently detained at Xuzhou Detention Center. Twisting the Facts Yu said the public couldnt know what actually happened at this fourth trial, on April 22, 2015, because China Central TV (CCTV) edited and manipulated the video, and also defamed his lawyer, Wang Yu. A female Falun Gong practitioner named Li Dongxu was tried together with Yu. Guards harshly knocked her down and pressed her into her seat when she tried to speak about her case. Lis mother couldnt endure seeing her daughter treated that way, and stood up to protest. With the police guards apparently about to use force against the 84-year-old woman, Yus lawyer Wang Yu tried to intercede. After angrily condemning the police for their actions, Wang was dragged from the courtroom. However, CCTVs broadcasts told a different story. After careful re-editing and manipulating of the video of the trial, the CCTV was able to produce several news pieces showing Wang repeatedly leaving her seat to create trouble and make a scene in the court. People can hardly imagine how bad CCTV is, Yu said. What saddens me is, although I have only stayed in Thailand and the United States for a very short period of time, I have seen CCTV programs a number of times in different places. However, Ive never seen any U.S. or Thailand TV programs in China. I think President Trump is very correct to insist on reciprocity in the trade talks. I hope the same principle can be applied to the media sectors, too. This year we have an ambitious state action plan, including candidate and campaign trainings, grassroots activist workshops, new digital programs and voter outreach software all aimed at building on our momentum and electing more Republicans to stop the Democrats far left agenda from the ground up, the email said. Yu Ming reunioned with his wife Ma Li, and son Zhengzheng at San Francisco airport on Jan. 27. (Dong Wei/Sound of Hope) Chinese Entrepreneur Flees Torture, Jail in China to Reunite With Family in US Yu Ming, a successful businessman from Shenyang City in Chinas Liaoning Province, has finally reunited with his wife, daughter, and son in San Francisco after years of persecution in China. Im truly free now! The sky is so blue, the air is so fresh and free, Yu told the Chinese-language Epoch Times in an interview on Feb. 25. He had last seen his wife and children before they immigrated to the United States without him in August 2013, only days before he was arrested by Chinese authorities while attending his nieces wedding ceremony. Yu arrived in the United States on Jan. 27 after escaping the communist-ruled country, where he suffered years of torture in prison. Yu, 46, practices Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, a meditation and spiritual practice based on the tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance that has been banned by the Chinese regime since 1999. Over the past two decadesbecause of his beliefsYu was arrested and was detained multiple times at different labor camps and prisons in Liaoning, Hebei Province, and in Beijing. The Chinese regime started its persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. Then-Party leader Jiang Zemin, fearing that the practices popularity threatened the Chinese Communist Partys authority, ordered the Partys security apparatus to arrest and detain Falun Gong practitioners throughout the country. The Falun Dafa Information Center estimates that hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong adherents have been detained since 1999. Imprisonment Yu began practicing Falun Gong in 1997, after which, he said, he adopted a healthier lifestyle and more good-tempered nature. That same year, he founded a clothing factory on Wuai Street, a well-known garment market in Shenyang City. Yus business began to flourish. He hired about 100 employees and supported his stepmother, who operated a shelter for homeless children, the elderly, and the disabled. When the Chinese regime began its persecution, Yu felt he had the responsibility to tell others about the truth, as Chinese state media spread hate propaganda to vilify Falun Gong and its adherents. I tried my best to stop the persecution by telling people the truth about Falun Gong and the tortures we suffered, Yu said. Yu was often tortured while imprisoned; he nearly died on many occasions. Among the most painful torture methods police used was force-feeding. On Jan. 1, 2001, Yu was arrested and taken to the Haidian District Detention Center after police found him distributing fliers about Falun Gong on the campus of Beijing Language and Culture University. Yus hands and feet were tied together with a thick iron chain for about 10 straight days. He couldnt stand up, or lie on his back. After he protested his arrest with a hunger strike, police force-fed him through tubes inserted into his nose. They [police and other prisoners] tied up my body and pushed me to the ground. The detention center doctor yelled, I will kill you, as he very roughly jammed a pipe into my windpipe, lungs, and then stomach. He even agitated the pipe, which was very painful, Yu recounted. Weeks later, Yu was transferred to the Beijing Tuanhe Labor Camp, where he was forced to strip in front of male and female prisoners. Yu asked for an unconditional release, because he knew he hadnt violated Chinese law. In fact, religious freedom is guaranteed under Chinas constitution. After hearing Yus request, several police officers took out electric batonsmarked 800,000 voltsand began shocking him in different parts of his body. My heart was beating like crazy. I felt like my blood was trying to rush out of my veins, Yu said. He quickly lost consciousness. From that day forward, being shocked by those batons became a routine part of Yus life in labor camps, because he refused to give up his beliefs; the torture left his skin covered in blisters and scars. Yu said he witnessed many practitioners being tortured physically and psychologically, and many became mentally disoriented after years in labor camps. Even as Yu witnessed fellow adherents die from torture while imprisoned, he refused to give up his faith when authorities promised he would be released if he did so. Instead, Yu hired human rights lawyers Wang Quanzhang and Wang Yu to represent him. But both lawyers have since been detained and had their law licenses revoked amid the Chinese regimes crackdown on human rights activism. I feel like its my mission and duty to let people know what we suffered [in China], and call for help to stop this persecution together with Falun Gong practitioners, Yu said. After being released from prison in 2017, Yu fled to Thailand, then eventually to the United States. He feels lucky that he fled China successfully. He hopes to devote his life to exposing the persecution he and other Falun Gong adherents face. Earlier this month, he wrote an open letter to current Chinese leader Xi Jinping, appealing for him to end the persecution. I hope that in the annals of history, this shameful past will not be recorded as having occurred under your rule, Yu wrote. A display of fentanyl and meth seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Nogales Port of Entry at a press conference in Arizona on Jan. 31, 2019. (Mamta Popat/Arizona Daily Star via AP) China And The New Drug War As the top supplier of opioids and other addictive drugs, China turns the tables on drug trade Commentary In an ironic twist of history, China is the new front in the global drug war. That war is much bigger and more strategic than most would imagine. And the West is losing this new war, with some very long-term implications. Why is China the worlds latest drug pusher? And how did they get there? A bit of history is helpful. The Century of Humiliation The relationship between China and the West began in an unfortunate way. From the late-18th century until the late 19th century, China fought its own drug war. Two of them, actually. Even though opium was criminalized by the Chinese emperor since at least 1729, over the next 150 years, China would battle a national drug epidemic fueled by the illegal importation of opium by the British, and to a lesser extent the French, Portuguese, and Americans. The Opium Wars in the mid-19th century saw the British empire impose its will on China through a series of advantageous treaties that granted them access to China. They allowed for the establishment of trading ports in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and other cities, as well as access to Chinese labor and markets. Chinas lack of development and technology made it vulnerable to domination by the British, French, and other western powers. The Chinese refer to that period of time as the century of humiliation. China Leverages 21st Century Technology Since the early 2000s, after its admission into the World Trade Organization, China has made some tremendous advances in high tech industries. In less than two decades, it has become a world leader in sophisticated biosciences. Their expertise goes well beyond biotechnology, into biopharmaceuticals and especially new areas of study such as genomics, the mapping and manipulation of the human genome. All this progress in just a few yearshow has China accomplished such technological feats? A quick look at some of the highlights tells the story Biosciences A National Priority With the opening to Western investment and technology in 1978, the Chinese people were given the opportunity to develop their talents and industrial base. With billions of investment dollars flowing into China every year, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) made bioscience knowledge and technology transfers a national priority. Like other manufacturers, they invited foreign drug companies from the United States, Europe, and elsewhere to make their products up to 80 percent cheaper, and thus more profitable, in China. China was quickly able to leverage foreign investment and technological know-how into its own sprawling life science industry. Thats due not only to Chinas highly educated workforce, but because developing a robust biotechnology sector is a necessity as its population ages. Throughout the early 2000s, foreign investment transferred billions into Chinas coffers. The CCP in turn invested much of that capital into its nascent life sciences industryand it exploded. From 2001 to 2005, investment grew by over 400 percent, from $100 million to $1.2 billion. And from 2004 to 2005, Chinas biopharmaceutical market grew over 30 percent, rising to 7 percent of the global market. By 2006, biopharma was 60 percent of Chinas life sciences sector; by 2010, the biopharmaceutical market was 900 percent bigger than it was in 2005. As both a producer and the worlds largest consumer market, Chinas pharmaceutical industry expansion is likely to continue, and is expected to reach $145 and $175 billion by 2022. The Thousand Talents Plan That rapid growth is being helped along by China aggressive knowledge-gathering policy known as the Thousand Talents Plan. This program not only invites Chinese bio scientists and academics living abroad to return home to continue their research and development, but is intended to also attract foreign bioscience talent as well. Leading scientists and medical device developers around the world are offered full professorships or the equivalent at Chinese universities and laboratories, high compensation, excellent funding, and the freedom to pursue their research. The plan has seen some success and continues to attract some of the top talent in the world to China. Made in China 2025 Much has been made of Chinas 2025 Plan, and for good reason. Its nothing less than a publicized blueprint of the Chinese regimes plan to dominate the world in key technology sectors. Biopharma and the biosciences play a big role in their 2025 strategic planning and China is well-positioned to meet that goal. Its enormous consumer market means that it can get top drugs to foreign drug makers at cut rate prices and participate in the latest pharmaceutical technologies. All of this bodes well for Chinas continued leadership in the life sciences. But developing new drugs to address the high demands of an aging population is just one aspect of Chinas biopharmaceutical prominence. Theres another, darker side to their new technological prowess. Foreign Investment Boomerangs On The West New drugs that deliver new highs are a major export for China. Small and not-so-small laboratories manufacture and sell drugs derived from or related to fentanyl, one of the worlds deadliest and most profitable narcotics, as well as others that mimic cannabinoids and more. These sophisticated new drugs are then funneled into the West via well-established distribution centers throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries. Illegal Drugs and Chinese Analogues As in other instances where technology develops faster than the legal structure, China is leveraging its technological know-how to create new, very powerful, and highly addictive drugs and marketing them to the West. But Chinas drug lords know how to game the system. In the United States and other Western countries, a distinction is made between legal and illegal drugs. Thats a mistake. Legality has virtually nothing to do with lethality. Chinese analoguescomplex new drugs that are often supercharged synthetic versions of substances that are already illegal, but differ slightly on the molecular levelare killing users, mainly young people, at an alarming rate. They havent been outlawed because the law is largely ignorant of their existence. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of variations, making it almost impossible for law and customs enforcement to keep track of them. Colloquially known as legal highs, Chinese labs make them available over the web and dark web with devastating effects on the users and their families. In fact, at a recent meeting, U.S. President Donald Trump urged Chinese leader Xi Jinping to do more to stop the importation of Chinese-made opioids into the United States. Xi agreed to add fentanyl opioids to the list of illegal drugs in China. But will the CCP really do anything? Its goal is to replace America in global leadership in all areas. Why wouldnt the Chinese regime do everything it can to damage America on every level and enrich itself in the process? Why wouldnt the CCP prefer to see America struggle with drug addiction more, not less? Thats what happened with the Opium Wars and the Chinese have long memories. How the tables have turned. 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. Canadian Parliamentary Committee Votes Yes on Bill Combating Organ Trafficking A parliamentary committee has given unanimous support to pass a bill to curb international organ trafficking. Parliamentarians on the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development passed bill S-240 with amendments. It will now go before MPs for final reading in the House of Commons. The bill, originating from the Senate, would make it illegal for Canadians to get organs abroad without the consent of the donor, and make those involved in forced organ harvesting anywhere in the world inadmissible to Canada. The bill had previously passed unanimously by the Senate and subsequently introduced to the House of Commons by Conservative MP Garnett Genuis as a private members bill. [The bill] seeks to respond to the situation in China where theyre taking vital organs from live and often awake political prisoners as state policy, Genuis told the committee one day before voting, on Feb. 26. It also responds to situations where organs are taken through coercion and exploitation beyond the reach of even well-meaning local authorities. Genuis, who noted that MPs from different parties have introduced similar legislation for over a decade, is hopeful that this time the bill will become law. There have been four bills on this over 10 years. This represents the culmination of the work done by some of the best human rights minds in the world, people like [former justice minister] Irwin Cotler, David Matas, and David Kilgour. Matas, a human rights lawyer, and Kilgour, a former cabinet minister and MP, released a report in 2006 confirming allegations that China harvests organs from living prisoners of conscience, the vast majority of whom Falun Dafa adherents, as well as other persecuted groups such as the Uighur Muslims. The pair released an update to their findings in 2016 together with American researcher Ethan Gutmann, showing that between 60,000 to 100,000 transplants take place in China each year. Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is a meditation discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. Under the rule of then-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Jiang Zemin, China started a brutal campaign of persecution against the practice in 1999, which continues to this day. [Matas and Kilgour] really shone a light on perhaps the darkest of evils of our current times, said Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj, who had introduced a similar bill in prior parliaments. It hasnt been since World War II that weve seen human horrors on an industrial scale, by a state, a government, China, he told the committee. Wrzesnewskyj said Bill S-240 has created one of those rare occasions where theres support from all parties, as well as both chambers of the Parliament, making it a demonstration of the legislature, and legislators, doing their work, and more importantly, vital work. Citing the short timeline before the next federal election coming up in October, NDP MP Tracey Ramsey said the New Democrats hope for a swift passage of the bill. We strongly oppose the trafficking and the abhorrent treatment of those who are manipulated and abused and exploited for their organs globally, she said. The committee also heard from Matas via telephone, who said countries that have enacted similar legislation have seen dramatic improvements in preventing their citizens from getting organs in China where the source of the organ is illicit. After the Israel legislation was passed, it went from being very common to disappearing altogether, or almost altogether, Matas said. Now that [Taiwan has] legislation, it has had a sharp downturn on transplant tourism to China. So the legislation in those two countries has practically been very impactful. Other countries that have passed similar legislation into law include Spain, Italy, and Norway. Genuis said he hopes the bill passes in this Parliament so that we can look our children in the eyes and tell them that we didnt just talk about ideas, but we actually got good things done. With reporting by Limin Zhou in Ottawa. California Professor Who Said Police Need to Be Killed Is Admonished, Faces no Further Action: Reports A California professor who said, police need to be killed has been admonished by his university, but will face no disciplinary action, according to reports. English professor Joshua Clover, whose specialisms include Marxism, critical theory, and poetry, has made various statements advocating violence against the police, exposed in a recent report in the California Aggie. Following the shooting death of a local rookie police officer last month, the reporter at the university paper remembered rumors of a professor who thinks cops should be killed, and unearthed tweets and remarks from several years ago. Asked the question Whats wrong with society today? in an interview published on Sept. 17, 2015, Clover gave a two-sentence response: People think that cops need to be reformed. They need to be killed. According to Fox, on Nov. 27, 2014, he wrote on Twitter, I am thankful that every living cop will one day be dead, some by their own hand, some by others, too many of old age #letsnotmakemore A month later, on Dec. 27, 2014, he wrote I mean, its easier to shoot cops when their backs are turned, no? in a tweet. The tweets cannot currently be verified as Clovers Twitter account has been switched to private. A UC Davis professor reportedly wrote to a student newspaper, saying, I think we can all agree that the most effective Posted by Fox News on Tuesday, 26 February 2019 Clover responded to a request for comment from the Aggie, writing, I think we can all agree that the most effective way to end any violence against officers is the complete and immediate abolition of the police. Clover suggested the reporter direct any further questions to the family of Michael Brown. According to the Sacramento Bee, Clover responded to an email request for comment, writing, On the day that police have as much to fear from literature professors as black kids do from police, I will definitely have a statement. The UC Davis administration condemns the statement of professor Clover, read a statement to The Sacramento Bee from UC Davis spokeswoman Dana Topousis. It does not reflect our institutional values and we find it unconscionable that anyone would condone much less appear to advocate murder. Topousis said the university has not received any complaints regarding Clover indicating a possible violation of the Faculty Code of Conduct. A Law Enforcement Officer Is Not a Protected Class Public statements like those made by professor Clover are accorded a high level of protection under the First Amendment, Topousis said. UC Davis Provost Ralph Hexter told the Aggie that the remarks had not violated the standards of academic freedom set by the University of California and UC Davis. The basis for academic freedom is to make sure that the university is a place where unpopular and different views are heard, Hexter said. I think that teaching controversial subjects is always a challenge, and you have to maintain a space as a faculty member so that views you might very much disagree with can be expressed by the students, be respected and be challenged, but according to bases in fact and logic. Hexter indicated that staff in the humanities, like Clover, are given more leeway than professors in other disciplines. Hexter said that while he found Clovers tweets and published interview odious, he should be protected from sanctions on the basis of free speech and freedom of expression. Our practice has not been to discipline people for things that they say outside the university, he told Irwin. Saying something against a protected classsuch as race, gender, sexualitywould be another kettle of fish. If you say something against a protected class, and it would impact the individuals on campus, that opens it up to a different line of consideration, Hexter said. Being a law enforcement officer, or hoping to be, is not a protected class. Other humanities professors have been disciplined in similar cases in other universities. John Jay College in New York places an emphasis on law enforcement and local justice. A professor at the college who sent a tweet that it was a privilege to teach future dead cops, was fired. Some of yall might think it sucks being an anti-fascist teaching at John Jay College but I think its a privilege to teach future dead cops Mike Isaacson (@VulgarEconomics) August 23, 2017 A professor at the University of Delaware was dismissed after calling Otto Warmbier, the American student imprisoned in North Korea who died upon release, a clueless white male who got exactly what he deserved. Anaheim police and fire officials issued a warning to drivers this week. (Anaheim Fire and Rescue) California Fire Department Posts Photos of What Happens When People Park in Front of a Hydrant Fire officials in Anaheim, California, issued a stark yet humorous warning to drivers after firefighters broke the windows of a car and ran a hose through the vehicle. Photos posted by the Anaheim Fire and Rescue showed a hose going through the car that was illegally parked in front of a hydrant. Ever wonder what happens when a car is parked in front of a fire hydrant and a fire breaks out? Is a closer parking spot worth the broken windows and the citation and towing fees? asked the office. Ever wonder what happens when a car is parked in front of a fire hydrant and a fire breaks out? Is a closer parking spot worth the broken windows and the citation and towing fees to @AnaheimPD? @City_of_Anaheim residents please do not park in fire lanes pic.twitter.com/Q96E4gfTOR Anaheim Fire & Rescue (@AnaheimFire) February 26, 2019 It then urged residents not to park in fire lanes. Anaheim police retweeted the photos and told drivers that red curbs exist for a reason. No other details were released about the incident. APD assisted our partners from @AnaheimFire on a working residential structure fire this morning in the 1100 blk of N. West St. they had to run a hose line thru a cars windows because it was parked in front of the hydrant. There is a reason the curbs are RED people https://t.co/vSXmtBjNXW Anaheim PD (@AnaheimPD) February 26, 2019 Fire Department Shows Doors Two pictures of the same door show the difference between life and death in the event of a house fire, according to one fire department. The Cold Spring Fire Department in New York posted the pictures on social media, suggesting parents get their kids to shut their bedroom doors at night, stirring up a lot of discussion. The pictures, posted on Jan. 30, show the same door, from outside in the corridor, and inside the bedroom. Inside, the white door has remained virtually untouched as the surrounding frame has turned black. Outside, the door is black with charring and soot. As a parent its hard to convince little kids to sleep with the door closed, they always want it open just a little, wrote the fire department in the post accompanying the pictures. I do a lot of fire prevention at schools, so one thing I try and stress to the kids is, how important it is to sleep with the doors closed. The photographs are from a house fire in Fairfield, NY. Although a few commented that it was impractical to keep kids bedrooms doors closed for other safety reasons, most of the hundreds of comments were thankful to the fire department for raising awareness. The Epoch Times reporter Simon Veazey contributed to this report. Bus Driver Who Crashed With 12 Children on Board Had Diabetic Coma, Not Drug Overdose, Boss Claims A bus driver who crashed with 12 special needs children on board may have suffered a diabetic coma, not a drug overdose, according to her boss. Ahmed Mahgoub, the owner of the bus company F&A Transportation in New Jersey, said 57-year-old Lisa Byrd, a school bus aide, was behind the wheel. He said she wasnt a driver, WPIX reported. She drove the bus, he told the station. It's been discovered that the woman behind the wheel was actually a bus aide, not a bus driver. Some also believe she might have had a reaction to a medical condition. Posted by PIX 11 on Thursday, 21 February 2019 Last week, Byrd was arrested after she allegedly drove under the influence of drugs. First responders at the scene had to use Narcan, an opioid-reversal agent, to revive the woman. But Mahgoub said she had told him about a medical issue related to a diabetic condition, adding that she also told him her diabetes medication was not working properly, without elaborating. The sugar dropped on her, and she went into a coma, Mahgoub speculated. WPIX noted that Narcan can be used to revive a hypoglycemic patient, which Mahgoub speculated Byrd is. And some witnesses said that she wasnt under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash. She wasnt moving, talking, nothing, but she was up breathing said Sharod Jones, a person who arrived on the scene of the crash in Newark at around 1 p.m. on Feb. 20. It looked like she was having a stroke or something or a heart attack or something, he added, Crime Online reported. Police said the driver was unconscious behind the wheel when they arrived at the scene and needed to be revived with a shot of Narcan. Posted by People on Friday, 22 February 2019 She was not high, he said. I dont think it was [an] overdose, added another witness to WPIX. She couldnt move, like she was having a heart attack or a stroke, said another person to NBC Philadelphia. Mahgoub, however, said she was filling in for a regular bus driver on a snow day and made her own decision to drive on that day. The owner said he performs regular drug tests on drivers, saying Byrds last tests showed that she wasnt on any drugs. [A]t the end of the day, I hold her responsible. She drove without any authorization, Mahgoub told NBC Philadelphia. Shes not that kind of person, he said of the allegations of drug usage. I see her everydayshes fine. According to police reports cited by CrimeOnline, officers discovered drug paraphernalia on the bus. A family member said she took medication for a number of illnesses, including diabetes and high blood pressure. My mother loved the kids, her son told NBC. She got a bag of snacks on the bus, she spent money out of her pocket, to give kids snacks and keep them at ease on the bus. I dont believe it, he added of the drug allegations. Like, my mom in the past, 90s, maybe. But thats my mom, you know? And I wouldnt want to see her in that light. A woman who was revived with Narcan after crashing a school bus in NJ isnt the kind of person who would use drugs or get behind the wheel impaired, and had several medical conditions, family members and the owner of the bus company that employed her say. https://t.co/Bq6DMtncFZ NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) February 22, 2019 Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said the special needs students, who were ages 5 to 13, werent hurt. The bus appeared to cross a street and bump into a tree during a snowstorm, according to another WPIX report. Ambrose described the situation as irresponsible and heinous. In the NBC report, Ambrose said her license was suspended in 1996 and 2006, but he didnt say for what reasons. Byrd is slated to appear in court this week. Its not clear if she has an attorney. Meanwhile, Newark Public Schools suspended F&A Transportation from operating buses in the school district. She was charged with child endangerment, driving while impaired, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Building Wall: A Response to American Poet Robert Frosts Mending Wall As the border wall with Mexico that President Trump is building gains greater and greater attention, so too has the early 20th-century poem by American poet Robert Frost, Mending Wall. The poem takes issue with the old proverb good fences make good neighbors, which happens to be precisely the same proverb that Vice President Mike Pence has used in the past to describe the border wall with Mexico. Pence said, But you know, theres an old saying in Indiana that good fences make good neighbors. And the way we can be good neighbors is with strong leadership in the United States as a start. Now, Frosts poem is becoming a sort of anti-wall anthem. To be clear, the proverb preceded the poem, though some people seem to think that Pence was quoting Frost. At any rate, the catapulting of an old poem to front-page news, or any page, is always exciting for literary types and led one Washington Post writer to even write their own version of Frosts poem, lampooning Pences sentiment. The poem is neither well-written nor compassionate to those who have suffered because of the problems caused by illegal immigration. That said, it does have the terrific line, Good Fences make good neighbors. Ill drink to that. Lost in the romanticism of poetry and politics is the fact that Frosts anti-wall poem specifically stipulated that the wall in his poem was not needed since there are no cows. Thus, any pro-wall politician may happily quote Frost and the proverb unimpededthe Mexicans with criminal backgrounds entering the country illegally being the equivalent of cows. Finally, in the same vein, I offer to you a poem in response to Robert Frosts Mending Wall, which follows mine: Building Wall There is something there that loves a wall: The easy car trip when your loved ones call No need to worry cows might block the road And pepper it with putrid, pie-like load. No need to live a life in fear of crime Thanks to my front door, its the wall that Im Most thankful for. It also keeps me warm And saves me from the lashings of a storm. The lines are walls as well in Renaissance art, Dividing colors, pulling space apart; The lines are firmly shaded, unrelenting, And chief among the means used for inventing. Now you may hear folks quote the poet Frost That building walls comes at some sort of cost: A loss of our humanitys connection, A severing of some vague innate extension. For Frost claims that he mends a needless wall, Implying his minds broad, his neighbors small. Frost mocks the phrase Good fences make good neighbors A civil tradition the common man harbors. Yet who knows all? Who knows the futures course? Is not the urge to mend a greater force? New grandkids may need fences when they play; Strong walls on property will one day pay. No, it was Frost who had a wall in heart That tore traditions timeless truth apart So if a man requests a wall, then build it. Its more than what you think you see that willed it. Mending Wall By Robert Frost Something there is that doesnt love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in the sun; And makes gaps even two can pass abreast. The work of hunters is another thing: I have come after them and made repair Where they have left not one stone on a stone, But they would have the rabbit out of hiding, To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean, No one has seen them made or heard them made, But at spring mending-time we find them there. I let my neighbour know beyond the hill; And on a day we meet to walk the line And set the wall between us once again. We keep the wall between us as we go. To each the boulders that have fallen to each. And some are loaves and some so nearly balls We have to use a spell to make them balance: Stay where you are until our backs are turned! We wear our fingers rough with handling them. Oh, just another kind of out-door game, One on a side. It comes to little more: There where it is we do not need the wall: He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. He only says, Good fences make good neighbours. Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder If I could put a notion in his head: Why do they make good neighbours? Isnt it Where there are cows? But here there are no cows. Before I built a wall Id ask to know What I was walling in or walling out, And to whom I was like to give offence. Something there is that doesnt love a wall, That wants it down. I could say Elves to him, But its not elves exactly, and Id rather He said it for himself. I see him there Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed. He moves in darkness as it seems to me, Not of woods only and the shade of trees. He will not go behind his fathers saying, And he likes having thought of it so well He says again, Good fences make good neighbours. Evan Mantyk is an English teacher in New York and president of the Society of Classical Poets. In this still image taken from video, an investigator is seen at the apartment building in Upland, Calif., on Feb. 26, 2019. (Beatriz Valenzuela/The Orange County Register/SCNG via AP) Baby Girl Found Dead After Mother, Son Plunge From Balcony A mother suspected in the death of her baby girl in California threw her young son from a second-story apartment landing and jumped herself as police arrived, authorities said Feb. 26. The mother and 1-year-old boy were hospitalized in stable condition, police said. This is very unusual. Its extremely tragic, Upland police Capt. Marcelo Blanco said. The name of the woman was not released. Officers in Upland, 40 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, went to the apartment building Tuesday after a neighbor called 911 to report that a child was screaming or crying, Blanco said. The woman then noticed that the childs mother was holding the boy over the landing. She proceeded to drop the child down from the second story, the captain said. The boy fell about 12 to 15 feet and the mother jumped when officers arrived, Blanco said. She landed face down, suffering facial injuries. Police then made a safety check of the second-story apartment and found the womans approximately 7-month-old daughter inside. She wasnt breathing. Her breathing was restored but she died at a hospital, Blanco said. The cause of her death will be determined but she had a possible skull fracture and internal injuries, he said. The mother is considered a suspect in her death and the case is being investigated as a homicide, he said. Police had not yet determined a motive. The distraught father spoke to police but has no idea what led to this, the captain said. Blanco wasnt aware of police being called to the apartment previously. One of The Nations Most Serious Concerns According to a report published by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (pdf), approximately 3.5 million children nationwide in 2016 were the subjects of at least one maltreatment reports to authorities in the year 2016. Child abuse is one of the nations most serious concerns, the authors of the report wrote in the introduction. About 17 percent of those reports were substantiated; the department said that there were an estimated 676,000 victims of child abuse and neglect, or 9.1 victims per 1,000 children. Children in their first year of life had the highest rate of victimization at 24.8 per 1,000 children of the same age in the national population. About three-quarters of the cases were neglect while about 18 percent were physical abuse. Some children suffered from multiple forms of maltreatment. Of the perpetrators of the abuse, more than four-fifths were between the ages of 18 and 44 and more than one-half were women. How to Report Suspected Child Maltreatment If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, contact your local child protective services office or law enforcement agency so officials can investigate and assess the situation. Most states have a number to call to report abuse or neglect. To find out where to call, consult the State Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Numbers website. The Childhelp organization also can provide crisis assistance and other counseling and referral services. Contact them at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453). Every year more than 3.6 million referrals are made to child protection agencies involving more than 6.6 million children (a referral can include multiple children), according to Childhelp. The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline is available at 1-800-422-4453 or at Childhelp.org. President Donald Trump (center L) and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Phu Trong (center R) witness a signing ceremony between Chairman of Bamboo Airways Trinh Van Quyet (R) and President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes Kevin McAllister (L) at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on Feb. 27, 2019. (LUONG THAI LINH/AFP/Getty Images) US Firms Sign Deals Worth $21 Billion in Vietnam Deals signed with Vietnamese firms would support more than 83,000 American jobs, White House says HANOI, VietnamAhead of his historic summit with Korean leader Kim Jong Un, President Donald Trump held bilateral talks with Vietnamese leaders and oversaw the signing of several trade deals on Feb. 27 in Vietnams capital Hanoi. Trump first met with President Nguyen Phu Trong at the presidential palace. During the meeting, U.S. companies Boeing Co., GE Aviation, and travel technology firm Sabre Corp. secured contracts worth more than $21 billion. According to the agreements, VietJet will buy 100 Boeing 737-Max jets and 215 GE/CFM joint venture engines, Bamboo Airways will buy 10 Boeing 787-9 jets, and Vietnam Airlines will buy $100 million in services and technology from Sabre. The White House said the deals would support over 83,000 American jobs. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration recently announced that Vietnam complied with international aviation standards, allowing Vietnamese carriers to provide direct service to the United States for the first time. Trump also attended a working lunch with Vietnams Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at Hanois government office building. Trump thanked Vietnamese leaders for hosting his meeting with Korean leader Kim. Both sides agreed on the need for continued progress toward the final, fully verified denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, stated the White House. Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth, Trump wrote on Twitter before his meetings with Vietnamese leaders. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon Very Interesting! On the way back to JW Marriott, the accommodation of the U.S. president, Trumps motorcade drove down a street lined by people with traditional dresses, waving Vietnamese and U.S. flags. And outside the government complex, thousands of onlookers watched, waved, and took photos with their phones. Vietnamese Express Excitement Hanoi residents have been caught up in the excitement of the upcoming summit. A 62-year-old Hanoi resident said he took a day off to see Trump and finally caught the American presidents motorcade passing by. A 47-year-old Vietnamese artist, Hung Cuu Long, was seen displaying his painting of Trump and Kim in front of the JW Marriott hotel. Even though the fake news media talk about Trump with negative words like sick, crazy or pervert, but I think if you cannot do what you promised, then things will never change for the better, he told Reuters. Donald Trump is a person who actually keeps his words and does what he says. The summit between Trump and Kim began with a social dinner between the United States and North Korea at the Sofitel Legend Metropole, Hanois French-colonial-era hotel. The hotel will host the formal meetings on the second day of the summit as well. Reuters contributed to this report. Amanda Knox prepares to leave the set following a television interview in New York, on Jan. 31, 2014. (Mark Lennihan/AP Photo) Amanda Knoxs Instagram Murder Joke Triggers Social Media Attention Amanda Knox, the Washington woman who spent four years in an Italian prison following her 2007 conviction of the murder of a fellow college student before she was acquitted, made a joke about the case. Knox, 31, posted on Instagram that she was playing a murder mystery party with friends, saying that again, she was falsely accused as the killer. She was given the role of Countess of Lovelace, a Victorian-era woman who was accused of killing the owner of an art gallery, Fox News reported. Knox suggested that the fictitious story was similar to her own. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Amanda Knox (@amamaknox) on Feb 24, 2019 at 4:32pm PST Victorian London: A priceless painting goes missing and the owner is found both poisoned and stabbed. And would you believe it, I, the Countess of Lovelace, am accused, she said on Instagram. Also acquitted, all in 4 hours. Better than 4 years, she then said, sharing to photos of the event. Knox is seen sitting on a couch with her arms crossed, and her friends are nearby. Some people slammed the joke as distasteful. You have no shame, one Instagram user wrote. Anything for attention, another said. Murder, your favourite subject! a third person said. In the case, she was accused of killing Meredith Kercher, a fellow exchange student who shared her apartment. The body of Kercher, who was from the United Kingdom, was found the Perugia apartment in November 2007. The American woman and her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were found guilty, but their convictions were later overturned. Knoxs conviction was overturned by the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation in 2011, and she returned to the United States that same year. In 2014, she was sentenced to prison in absentia until the Italian high court overturned that decision in 2015. The European Human Rights Court ordered Italy to pay her $20,000 in damages in January 2019, saying she wasnt provided proper legal aid. Ms. Knox had been particularly vulnerable, being a foreign young woman, 20 at the time, not having been in Italy for very long and not being fluent in Italian, the court said, Fox reported. It is impossible to compensate Amanda for four years in prison for a mistake. There will be no amount. We are not looking for compensation of damages. We are doing this on principle, Dalla Vedova, Knoxs attorney in Italy, was quoted by the news outlet as saying. Knox began working as a freelance journalist after her acquittal and is working with the Innocence Project. This group was built by [lawyers], scientists and intellectuals who are trying to prove facts and understand how things get blown out of proportion. They are emotionally and intellectually there for me. They understand that we already had to pay for our lives with the things we didnt do, Knox told Rolling Stone in 2017, adding that it was crazy she had to prove her innocence. An immigrant from Ivory Coast, Rudy Guede, was convicted in the death of Kercher. Hes serving a 16-year jail term for the case. From NTD News Rep. Dorinda Borer, D-West Haven and the co-chair of the committee, noted that children spend more than 1,000 hours in school annually. "Not one of those minutes should be spent in fear for their lives,'' she said. Following one of the most horrific tragedies in our own state, strong legislation was implemented but we must continuously evaluate what we can do as legislators and this committee allows that focus. 75-Year-Old Woman Died After Receiving Wrong Blood Type for Transfusion, Report Finds A 75-year-old patient died after allegedly receiving the wrong blood type for a transfusion she received in a hospital in Houston, Texas, in December last year, according to a report released on Feb. 26. The patient was admitted to the emergency department (ED) of Baylor St. Lukes Medical Center after having a brain hemorrhage on Dec. 2, 2018. After receiving a blood transfusion, she started experiencing complications and became critically ill. This morning, Baylor St. Lukes President Doug Lawson, PhD, @tdouglaslawson posted an update regarding the hospitals plans of correction from a recent CMS site visit. Read Dougs comments, including links to official documents. https://t.co/w3lVmTSTTZ CHI St. Lukes Health (@CHI_StLukes) February 26, 2019 The report (pdf) stated that during the blood transfusion the patient, who was blood type B+, received A+ plasma in error. She suffered four cardiac arrests within a three hour period before she died on Dec. 3. The findings from the investigation, released by the hospital on Feb. 26, concluded that the hospital had not completely cleared the room when the previous patient, identified as patient 28 in the report, was ED discharged. One blood vial from patient 28 was still left in the room when the 75-year-old patient was admitted. The report said an ED nurse failed to correctly label the vial, which resulted in the double labeling of the blood sample. It was this incorrect blood sample that was sent to the lab. As a result of the mislabeling, the 75-year-old allegedly received the wrong blood type, according to the findings. This incident was among 122 cases where St. Lukes staff made mistakes involving mislabeling or problems with the labeling of blood samples. The report provided details of many of these incidents. In an open letter, Baylor St. Lukes Medical Center President Doug Lawson vowed to take the findings seriously to ensure that incidents like this should never happen again. Today, Baylor St. Lukes released the hospitals plans to correct deficiencies identified by CMS and improve our quality of care. Read this letter by President @tdouglaslawson about our journey back to excellence, including links to official documents https://t.co/sPRFWAx3F7 pic.twitter.com/zBd7VRoUSa CHI St. Lukes Health (@CHI_StLukes) February 26, 2019 These findings are the initial results from a review by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of a patient death following a blood transfusion error in the Emergency Department. CMS reviewers found significant deficiencies that led to this incident in December. It is our responsibility to learn from these mistakes, and we take this responsibility very seriously. An incident like this should never happen, he said in his letter. He also listed a number of corrections the hospital has taken and major initiatives put in place following the incident. These changes were made in addition to the leadership restructuring, which occurred last month. Dr. Lawson was appointed as president of the hospital on Jan. 14, replacing former hospital president Gay Nord. A few days later several new members of the executive team were also announced. This is a challenging time for our hospital. While we cannot go back and change the past, we can focus our efforts on recreating the Baylor St. Lukes you have known and trusted, Lawson said in his letter. To our patients, their families, our employees and physicians, and the people of this city and region we serve, we will take the steps needed to ensure Baylor St. Lukes fulfills our mission of care and compassion. I believe we will emerge stronger than ever. 10 Things Facial Moles Say About Your Personality#8 Means You Are Good at Turning the Odds in Your Favor According to many cultures around the world including Greek, Indian, and Chinese, the position of moles on different parts of the body can reveal a lot about a persons character. For example, a mole on the forehead is considered a sign of a strong, independent personality. Although the exact location of the mole also changes its significance. So, grab a mirror and explore the hidden meanings of moles on your face according to the following 10 facial positions, and see what it says about your personality: 1. On the Eyebrow A mole on the eyebrow usually means you are a serious person. You are unlikely to annoy people around you or make them laugh, but youre more likely to make an actual difference by getting things done. Precise and responsible, you are the kind of person people feel they can count on. Moles at the ends of the eyebrows also suggest a person of authority and power. If you are in a leadership position, you are probably doing well. 2. Between the Eyebrows You are courageous and go with your gut feeling. You make decisions without over-analyzing pros and cons, which actually makes you charismatic. Chinese tradition holds that those who have a mole here are blessed with having broad knowledge and competence, allowing them to find success in whatever they do. However, a mole between the eyebrows also suggest a rather argumentative nature, which can motivate you to stand up for yourself but can also be problematic. 3. On the Forehead You have a strong personality if theres mole on your forehead. Individuals who have a spot on this area are decisive and determined, sticking to what they consider right. If you are young, it means you are blessed with a free spirit and a strong sense of knowing which direction youre headed. As an adult, you work best when you get to decide your goals, milestones, and schedules on your own. With a mole on the forehead, you are far better off being your own boss rather than working for somebody. 4. On the Outer Corner of the Eye Having a mole here is truly a blessing, because you probably enjoy the company of many friends, appreciate social interaction, and like a good laugh. You are very approachable. When people see you, they immediately know that you are available and open to conversation. Your positive and encouraging attitude allows people to remember you as a friendly and thankful person. You may find that many of your friends intersect with you at some point in your lifes journey only to leave you, yet you wont have a problem finding new friends further on in life. 5. On the Inner Corner of the Eye Youre a family-oriented person. You forge strong ties with your parents, siblings, and extended family members by valuing, appreciating, and supporting their life choices. The Chinese tradition considers a mole on the inner eye corner unlucky, as such a person is expected to be constantly challenged with life problems, such as poor health, and finance or relationship problems. That being said, youre likely to overcome all the ups and downs in life, because as long as your beloved family has your back, you will never lose your faith or hope. 6. On the Nose Having a mole on the nose is not necessarily a bad thing. A mole in this area represents quick thinking and high self-esteem. People who have it are charismatic and well-liked in their social circles. However, they are usually characterized as being short-tempered, which can affect their career or relationship development. They also tend to spend more than they can afford, making personal finance more challenging. 7. On the Cheek Got a mole on the right side of your cheek? That probably means you are a sensitive and caring person. You do whatever you can to make sure everyone in your family feels comfortable and loved. In a relationship, youre highly in-tune with your significant others needs. At your workplace, youre respected by your peers or employees because you always have their well-being in mind. However, if you have it on your left cheek, you are more on the introvert side. Instead of doing a great deal of socializing, you would rather spend time alone to sit and reflect on your life. Its not like you dont socialize at all, though. You still maintain a small circle of close friends who appreciate the intimacy you place in them. 8. On the Ear If your mole is on your ears, you are smartnot book smart, but street smart. You have a keen sense of whats going on around you, good and bad, and adjust accordingly to make the best out of it. You listen to your gut, but never start something without a plan. No matter what happens to you, youre unlikely to get overwhelmed or intimidated, because you are so resourceful and know how to minimize risk. A survivor like you usually enjoys a long and meaningful life, surrounded by friends and family till the very end. If you have a mole situated on the back of your ear, though, youre more on the conservative side. You diligently follow traditions and customs because you believe theres something valuable in them that deserves to be preserved. 9. On the Lip A beauty spot near the lip area can mean youre an ambitious person who pursues a higher overall level of life satisfaction. Youre not afraid to take risks, and you constantly expose yourself to new ways of thinking. But at the end of the day, you dont compare yourself with other people, because you measure success only against what you are capable of achieving. You enjoy socializing if you have a mole on the upper lip; you tend to be nice to everyone you know and find it interesting to meet new people. If the mole is on the lower lip, it means you love to indulge your inner foodie. 10. On the Chin A mole on the chin means youre probably the kind of person who easily gets bored staying in the same place. You redesign your room and renovate your house because you need something fresh in your life. You may find yourself surrounded by new people and new places regularly. You not only welcome such changes but actually expect them. Change becomes the norm in your life. According to the interim report, Flynn signed on as adviser to a firm known as IP3, which The Washington Posts Paul Waldman accurately described as an all-star team of retired generals and diplomats pushing to build nukes in Saudi. This IP3 outfit recruited Flynn while he was serving as a campaign adviser to Trump, and he continued that role, despite the obvious conflict of interest, after he entered the White House. Others on Trumps national security staff joined with Flynn to promote the Saudi nuclear sales, sparking conflict with officials who objected both on policy and legal grounds. As soon as Trump was inaugurated, the IP3 group started pushing him to appoint Barrack as a special representative of the U.S. government to implement the plan. At the same time, Barrack was considering an investment in Westinghouse Electric, one of the worlds largest builders of nuclear plants. Assisting him was Rick Gates who had worked for Paul Manafort and ended up with a guilty plea and a cooperation agreement with the Office of the Special Counsel. WASHINGTON The left complains that conservatives are obsessing over Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Well, there is a reason for that: Ocasio-Cortez is driving the agenda of todays Democratic Party and her economic illiteracy is dangerous. Case in point: Last week, Ocasio-Cortez celebrated the tanking of a deal negotiated by her fellow Democrats in which Amazon promised to build a new headquarters in Long Island City, New York, right next to her congressional district. Amazons departure cost the city between 25,000 and 40,000 new jobs. Forget the tech workers whom Amazon would have employed. Gone are all the unionized construction jobs to build the headquarters, as well as thousands of jobs created by all the small businesses restaurants, bodegas, dry cleaners and food carts that were preparing to open or expand to serve Amazon employees. They are devastated by Amazons withdrawal. Ocasio-Cortez was not disturbed at all. We were subsidizing those jobs, she said. Frankly, if we were willing to give away $3 billion for this deal, we could invest those $3 billion in our district, ourselves, if we wanted to. We could hire out more teachers. We can fix our subways. We can put a lot of people to work for that amount of money if we wanted to. Sandi loved playing the piano, everything about Christmas, shopping, chocolate, and the color, red! She was generous and warm with her family (especially the grandchildren), her good friends, and those she served at work and through her volunteer activities. She was an active church member and community volunteer most of her adult life. Most recently in Bryan-College Station she served on the Justice and Missions Committee of Friends Congregational Church UCC, worked in the gift shop at Crestview Retirement Community, and was a board member of the Brazos Church Pantry where she also regularly volunteered. In Vancouver she volunteered in Project Transformation, a summer reading program for children at Mill Plain United Methodist Church and at Friends in Service to Humanity Food and Clothing Bank (F.I.S.H. of Orchards). Catherine Eckel, professor of economics, spoke of the concept of trust as a transaction that greases the wheels of commerce. She noted that although trust is essentially what makes the world go round, people are likely to base their sense of trust on factors such as physical appearance. Social media causes more of the formation of strong in-groups, and will probably increase in-group trust, decreasing out-group trust, she said. Youre probably going to be more likely to see Democrats who dont trust Republicans, and Republicans less likely to trust Democrats. But within groups, it could very well be the case, and I think it will likely be the case, that trust actually goes up. Eckel then asked an open-ended rhetorical question: Is increased trust inside these groups enough to offset the negative effects of lowered trust between all groups? Sandra Braman, professor of communication, briefly reviewed Western societys changing sense of self since the drafting of the Magna Carta, noting that the word trust was much more widely used after the charter came about. In 2016, President Donald Trump also caught flack for tweeting a Mussolini quote without context, after being baited into it by Gawker. Chuck, it's OK to know it's Mussolini, Trump told NBCs Chuck Todd at the time. Look, Mussolini was Mussolini. It's OK to it's a very good quote, it's a very interesting quote, and I know it. Lemans bill would require that an entity report any court proceeding filed to determine its eminent domain authority and the outcome. Texans Against High Speed Rail recently celebrated a court decision in Leon County that denied Texas Centrals status as a railroad. Company officials have said they will appeal that ruling. In no way, shape, or form should a private entity that has been determined to not be a railroad with the power of eminent domain by a court at law be able to continue to falsely claim to have the power of eminent domain, Leman said in the statement. Additionally, said entity should not be able to terrorize and threaten hundreds, if not thousands, of landowners under that false pretense. Contrary to what others may say, the company said in a statement, Texas Central is a railroad company. None of these bills expands economic development, creates jobs, attracts investments in Texas or strengthens land-owner property rights, the statement from Texas Central said regarding Lemans proposed legislation. These bills are unnecessary, and some could jeopardize the safety of the system. Texas Central continues to work with the Legislature to address all concerns, and it remains committed to deploying the worlds safest high-speed train technology in Texas without state money or federal grants. Making mistakes is a part of being a kid, but its important that kids learn from their mistakes, Gendron said. We have to remember that kids are just kids, he said. We have to make sure that a kids punishment is appropriate. Thats what I work on doing every day being an advocate for a child. Gendron works with children beyond the courtroom as well. Through his law firm, he runs a mentorship program that matches at-risk youth with Texas A&M students. Each mentor is paired with two or three kids. These mentors serve as friends and supporters for children who need them, Gendron said. Its a lot of work on my behalf, on my staffs behalf, but we go above and beyond because its whats best for the kids, Gendron said. We dont just represent the kids in court from a defense perspective, but we want to rehabilitate the children. We want to help them succeed in life. Terry Dougherty, branch director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Brazos Valley, said that Gendrons passion and advocacy for kids in the community is invaluable. Ive always felt, especially in the museum world, you have such a short amount of time with the students that you want them to have a memorable experience, she said. Living-history performances [are] memorable, it piques their curiosity; theyll go on Google and look up more about Theodore Roosevelt because I could tell they were really interested. It opens up that whole self-discovery, which is what learning is about. We hope we make a wonderful impact on their lives. Smalls storytelling presentation on Tuesday was part of the Bush Library education departments Presidents Day celebration, noting Roosevelts status as Bushs favorite president growing up. The presentation drew students from schools throughout the area, including Jane Long Intermediate School in Bryan. Many of the student groups who attended Smalls two storytelling sessions also toured the library and museum, learning about Bush as well. Expanding real estate taxation opportunities to municipalities on rentals could prove extremely detrimental to those who may find they need to rent short-term including those interviewing for jobs, unpaid interns, college students, veterans, assisted living residents, home owners and renters in financial distress, and many more," the Connecticut Realtors wrote in their testimony. "These short-term renters will all have higher rental prices as the taxes along with the cost to administer these taxes are passed on to the user. Are you a current print subscriber to Columbia Gorge News? If so, you qualify for free access to all content on columbiagorgenews.com. Simply verify with your subscriber id to receive free access. Your subscriber id may be found on your bill or mailing label. This year our dine and drink business locations throughout the Gorge have suffered with closures. You can help support your favorites by purchasing take out and gift cards. Many of these business will offer curb-side delivery and some will deliver to your home. Lets keep the Gorge going strong! Click the image to the left and log in to get your exclusive reader perks. Melanie joined The Daily Times in the early 90s and has served as the Life section editor since 1993. A William Blount and UT alum, Melanie is generally the early arriver who turns on the lights in the newsroom. Follow Melanie Tucker 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 SIDNEY - Clifford J DeGrace Jr., was born in the Bronx on Feb.22, 1949, and passed away in Sidney Center on June 24, 2021. Cliff's love for hunting and fishing brought him to the Sidney area. Cliff was a life long guitar player and you might have seen him playing local with the Side Track Bl The more revenue you give the Hartford insiders, the more they will find a way to misappropriate the money. During the campaign, Gov. Lamont talked about his time on the Greenwich Board of Estimate and Taxation, crossing party lines and voting with Republicans. Gov. Lamont should call for a full forensic audit of the Special Transportation Fund. It would expose the waste, fraud and abuse of current transportation dollars. The Department of Transportation and the General Assembly should be held accountable before an additional financial burden is put on the backs of Connecticut taxpayers. Robert P. Bomboy has written for more than 60 national magazines and is the author of six books, including the novel Smart Boys Swimming in the River Styx. He taught for more than 30 years in colleges and universities, and he has been a Ford Foundation Fellow at the University of Chicago and in Washington, D.C. Towanda, PA (18848) Today Thunderstorms likely. High 79F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Isolated thunderstorms this evening. Cloudy with rain arriving overnight. Low 68F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch. 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. Local featured Yaw: Lawmakers pushing for transparency with meth manufacturing contamination in homes Submitted Photo State Sen. Gene Yaw (R-23) is pictured while questioning leaders of Pennsylvanias four state-related universities about their efforts to address the opioid epidemic on their campuses Tuesday as part of the Senate Appropriations Committees hearing on the state budget. With Bradford County having once been known as Meth Valley and law enforcement noting that methamphetamine is on the rise once again, state Sen. Gene Yaw (R-23) shared during a recent visit to The Daily Reviews offices that lawmakers are working on a bill that could require more transparency when it comes to homes where methamphetamine was once manufactured. I could have a meth lab and I could turn around and sell the property to you without disclosing it was a meth lab and is contaminated chemically. So what were going to try to do is any property like that has to be cleaned up and, not only that, but has to be disclosed in the sales agreement, said Yaw. Specific details have yet to be ironed out, such as how a propertys clean up would be funded, but Yaw added, We think thats a pretty important thing to be able to address. Yaw highlighted this measure as he touched on other priorities more focused on the opioid crisis. With new session, lawmakers are looking to impose a seven day limit on all opioid prescriptions, not just seven days for those who are minors or coming out of an emergency room as was previously established. Were just going to make it across the board, said Yaw, noting that there would be exceptions provided in more dire health circumstances. There was a report done by a UPMC doctor that said any prescription of opioids thats longer than 10 days, the changes are double that you will still be on opioids a year from now. They are also working on more stringent prescribing guidelines overseeing things like how medications are dispensed, standardizing coroner reporting when it comes to drug overdoses and opioid deaths to improve the well of data. We have 67 coroners and theres probably 67 different ways of reporting drug overdoses and overdose deaths, said Yaw. One thing weve heard complaints about is that we dont have good data, we dont have consistent data, and I agree with that. As he has said in the past, Yaw stressed that if lawmakers can made a dent in the opioid crisis legislatively in 10 years, they would be successful due to the extent of the epidemic and new issues that continue to present themselves. As chairman of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, Yaw has been a part of many hearings organized across the state in recent years featuring testimony from law enforcement, health care officials, families and others who have been directly impacted by the epidemic. While these hearings have helped shed light on pressing issues related to the opioid crisis and guide legislative efforts, Yaw noted that everyone in Harrisburg has been on the same page when it comes to taking action. This subscription will allow current subscribers of The St. Helens Chronicle to access all of our online Subscriber-Only content, including the E Editions area. NOTE: To claim your access to the site, you will need to enter the Last Name and First Name that is tied to your subscription in this format: SMITH, JOHN If you need help with exactly how your specific name needs be entered, please call us at 1-503-397-0116. A metal fabrication company near Blumenort was fined yesterday in Winnipeg provincial court for a 2016 workplace accident that left an employee with long-lasting injuries. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 27/2/2019 (854 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A metal fabrication company near Blumenort was fined yesterday in Winnipeg provincial court for a 2016 workplace accident that left an employee with "long-lasting injuries." Judge Herbert Allen ordered Imperial Metal Industries Inc. to pay a $30,000 fine and $7,500 victim surcharge for failing to provide an employee with adequate equipment, training, and supervision on Aug. 15, 2016. On Tuesday, Kelly Friesen, the companys president, pleaded guilty to two charges under the Workplace Safety and Health Act. Crown attorney Adam Gingera stayed an additional nine counts. According to an agreed statement of facts read in court, the incident occurred shortly before 2 p.m. at the companys shop just north of Blumenort in the RM of Ste Anne, where it relocated from Steinbach in 2013. Four employees were using an overhead crane and rigging to manoeuvre a welded steel frame weighing more than 3,300 pounds onto sawhorses. The crane was rated for up to 4,000 pounds, Gingera said, and a foreman was at the controls, but a safety mechanism called a tag line wasnt used properly during the lift. While airborne, the frames lighter side rose faster, so the worker pushed down on it to raise the heavier end. As he pulled it toward the sawhorses, a chain broke out of a hook, pinning his foot under the frame. "Its a very unfortunate occurrence," the judge remarked. The worker was transported to Bethesda Regional Health Centre and, later, Health Sciences Centre, with injuries that included a fractured femur. A hospital bed was later installed in his home. He told the Crown last December he wears a leg brace and continues to live with the effects of the injury. Unable to work in manufacturing, he is retraining at Red River College, Gingera said. Following the accident, Imperial Metal Industries was issued a stop-work order by Manitoba Workplace Health & Safety, who categorized the incident as a serious. The company cooperated with a subsequent investigation, and had no prior stop-work orders of this nature, Gingera said. After the investigation, the company complied with orders to improve safety training and equipment. Workplace Safety & Health issued the company two more stop-work orders on May 9, 2018 for contravening regulations on fall protection and scaffolding, but no penalties or convictions resulted, a database search showed. The company retains its COR (Certificate of Recognition) safety status with the Construction Safety Association of Manitoba. The national audit program verifies companies health and safety protocols. Representatives from the company first appeared in court on the charges last September, intending to plead not guilty and proceed to trial without a lawyer. A judge advised them to consider retaining legal counsel. On Tuesday, the 36-year-old company, which employs approximately 50 people, was represented by defence attorneys Robert Olson and Colton Hnatiuk. Officers at the scene in Pandorf, Austria, where 71 migrants perished inside a truck in 2015. Credit:AP Budapest: A Bulgarian man was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison by a Hungarian court for human trafficking in connection with the death of 71 migrants in a truck in August 2015, the Hungarian state news agency MTI said. Loading The migrants, including eight women and four children, suffocated in the truck and were found dead beside an Austrian motorway near Parndorf. While 39-year-old Bulgarian, who was not identified, as is usual in Hungarian court cases, was not directly involved in the Parndorf case, he was convicted on Wednesday of recruiting two of the main defendants as people smugglers. Make no mistake, this is yet another belligerent illegal coup and regime change operation, with our entire mainstream media supporting it by just acting as the mouthpiece of the government or spinning outright lies. A true travesty of our so-called free press, which has a pretty dismal track record when it comes to covering U.S. foreign policy, wars and coup operations. It has taken 60 years, but human rights will finally be enshrined in law in Queensland. Queenslanders will have protections for 23 human rights, such as freedom of expression, religion and privacy, and a right to education and health, after the Human Rights Bill passed on Wednesday afternoon. Australia does not have a national bill of rights like the US, but Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory have introduced human rights laws. Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath says the legislation will "put human rights at the centre of public sector decision-making". Credit:Darren England/AAP Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath said the bill would make public entities, such as government departments, police, state schools and councils, act in a way that was compatible with human rights. An Australian Tax Office whistleblower facing 161 years in prison for exposing misconduct by the ATO will not be protected by new laws passed by Parliament designed to shield those who lift the lid on abuses by Australia's most powerful bodies. The new whistleblower protections only apply to corporations, not government employees, leaving whistleblowers exposed. ATO whistleblower Richard Boyle. Credit:James Elsby Former Tax Office official Richard Boyle has been charged with 66 offences, including telephone tapping and recording of conversations without the consent of all parties and making a record of protected information, and in some cases passing that information to a third party. He faces the prospect of six life sentences, more than three times that of Bourke Street mass murderer James Gargasoulas. His revelations, including directives to automatically seize funds from small business and individual accounts, blew the lid on alleged abuses by the ATO. The government's controversial ParentsNext program breaches Australia's human rights obligations by unfairly targeting disadvantaged women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, according to the Australian Human Rights Commission. Under the program, parents - overwhelmingly single mothers - with children between the ages of six months and six years are required to take part in various activities in order to get them ready for paid employment. Human Rights Commission president Rosalind Croucher says the ParentsNext program contravenes Australia's human rights obligations. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer In practice, mothers have reported being forced into activities under threat of having their parenting payment suspended, such as taking their children to story time at a local library, sometimes at the expense of preschool or kindergarten. Australian Human Rights Commission president Rosalind Croucher told a Senate committee on Wednesday she was "gravely concerned" about the compulsory and punitive approach of the program, where disadvantaged mothers could have their payments suspended for missing an appointment with a provider, or missing a compulsory activity. The Morrison government will allow MPs to use millions of taxpayer dollars on television and radio advertising for the first time, in a move it says will enable regional and rural MPs to communicate with voters more fairly. Special Minister of State Alex Hawke confirmed he has overturned regulations that prohibit MPs using their $137,000-a-year, taxpayer-funded office budgets for television and radio ads which takes effect immediately, in time for the election. Sydney tradesman Andrew MacRae was featured in a television ad paid for by the Liberal Party in 2016. The change does not require legislation, although the Labor opposition will attempt to disallow it when Parliament returns in April for the budget, before the election is called. Labor Deputy Leader Tanya Plibersek said if Labor could not stop the change in opposition, it would "make people pay back the money" if it wins government. The TV ads are, frankly, hysterical not in the "funny, ha ha" way, but in the "lock Janet up, shes hysterical" way. A young family walk down a long, narrow corridor, passing shut doors representing the home lenders they can no longer access because royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne killed all the mortgage brokers. Or something. You get the gist. And the 2019 award for industry lobby group of the year goes to the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia, for its compelling portrayal of the absurd argument that the services of mortgage brokers are essential to Aussies families, but that no one would be willing to pay for them, if asked. Bravo. The National Disability Insurance Scheme is likely to be scrutinised by a sweeping royal commission into the abuse of people with disabilities, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison hinting the probe could be as big as the landmark $373 million inquiry into child sex abuse. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age revealed on Wednesday that Mr Morrison had written to state and territory leaders calling for a joint royal commission, in what will be the sixth judicial probe in Australia in as many years. Disability advocates want the inquiry to look into violence, abuse and neglect of people with a disability but have also urged the Prime Minister to make sure the NDIS is examined. "There will be issues that come to light," Carolyn Frohmader, the executive director of Women With Disabilities Australia, said of the NDIS. "There may be areas where it can be improved or reformed." The NDIS - which is expected to soon cost $22 billion a year - has endured a string of controversies since its creation in 2013. Former prime minister Tony Abbott called his friend George Pell on Tuesday following the public release of the cardinal's guilty verdict on five counts of child sexual abuse. It can also be revealed former prime minister John Howard provided a glowing reference for Pell to the court, praising him as a person of "high intelligence and exemplary character". In the reference, seen by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Mr Howard said he was aware of the conviction and that Pell maintained his innocence and had lodged an appeal. "None of these matters alter my opinion of the cardinal," Mr Howard wrote, noting he had known Pell for 30 years. The Barr government is considering raising London Circuit to increase the amount of developable land in the heart of Canberra. The ramp from London Circuit to Commonwealth Avenue could also be an alternate route for the second stage of light rail, documents show. City Hill, pictured in 2011. Land to the west of the park, which is bounded by Vernon Circle, will be released for development. Credit:Graham Tidy The ACT government's City Renewal Authority has called for planning and engineering tenders to devise an estate-development plan for the City Hill precinct, or Section 63 City. The land, which is largely car parks, wraps around the western side of Vernon Circle, and includes a clover-leaf ramp to Commonwealth Avenue from London Circuit. Two men have been arrested over a brutal shooting of a Sydney real estate agent in Melbourne's west. Mark Dixon, 30, and Jack Harvey, 26, were arrested on Wednesday afternoon at Broken Head in NSW over the shooting of Sid Morgan, a 53-year-old former detective who was shot in the face at a home in Spraypoint Drive about 11pm on Thursday. Jack Harvey (left) and Mark Dixon have both been arrested after a manhunt. Credit:Victoria Police He was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a critical condition. He remained in hospital with life-threatening injuries on Tuesday, five days after being shot. Abuse victims who received compensation through disgraced cardinal George Pell's Melbourne Response could be entitled to tens of millions of dollars in additional payments from the church. The Andrews government faces mounting pressure to change laws to allow victims of clerical abuse to sue the Catholic Church after receiving modest ex gratia payments under Pell's controversial scheme. Pell's conviction on sexual abuse charges has fuelled claims the Melbourne Response was primarily concerned with protecting the church's reputation while also minimising its legal and financial liability. Cardinal George Pell arrives at the Melbourne County Court on Wednesday. Credit:Jason South Under the scheme, compensation payments were capped at $50,000, later raised to $75,000, but required victims to sign a deed of settlement that waived their right to take civil action against the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. In recent years there has been a shift in the investigation and prosecution of sex crimes. For years victims have been denied justice because not enough resources were thrown at cases that were not black and white. Now police are told to come from a mindset of believing a person who says they have been sexually assaulted and more cases in the grey area are being presented to juries. In reality, sex crimes are being treated differently to other crimes, although the standard of proof remains the same. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video In the case of the high-profile Pell, there must have been pressure to deal with him differently. With the police's history of covering up for the church here was a chance to present a case, weak or strong, in the open before a jury. Court cases should not be run to clear the air and they are run not on what happened but what can be proven. It is all about admissible evidence. The accused does not have to prove their innocence to the jury but the prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. A juror is faced with three conclusions; (1) the offender did it; (2) the offender didn't do it; or (3) I don't know. Conclusions 2 or 3 result in an acquittal. Pell has become a lightning rod in the worldwide storm of anger at a systemic cover-up of priestly abuses. But that doesn't make him a child molester. If Pell did molest those two teenagers in the busy cathedral, it certainly does not fit the usual pattern of paedophile priests. Those in power identify vulnerable potential victims, groom and then isolate them, committing offences in private then pressuring the abused into silence. Most of the successful historical prosecutions come when police find multiple individual victims who testify about similar facts. Take Milduras Monsignor John Day (whose crimes were wickedly covered up by the church and police). He would take a boy to Melbourne on the pretext of an excursion, then say they would be staying at his sisters house and would have to share a bed. In the Pell case, although he had access to hundreds of boys over his career he did not groom the vulnerable. Instead he attacked two he did not know in broad daylight in a near public area. He could not have known if one of them was not the son of the chief commissioner, the premier or the chief justice who were waiting outside to collect them. He could not have known if one of them would walk straight out and blow the whistle on him, and with two kids in the room he would have been sunk. This is not the action of a cunning paedophile but of a random, opportunistic criminal who usually turns out to be a serial offender. Yet no one has alleged Pell had a history of this type of crime. Again, we stress, this is not about what happened in St Patricks Cathedral in 1996 but what has happened in the County Court during Pells prosecution. Much has been made of the fact that Pell did not take the witness box to defend himself. His lawyer, Robert Richter, QC, who is about the best in the business, has only ever let two of his clients take the box. One was the colourful Mick Gatto, charged and acquitted of the murder of hitman Andrew Benji Veniamin. I asked Richter why he allowed Gatto to testify and he replied, Because he insisted. Wise move. It should also be recorded that when he was interviewed by police, Pell answered all questions and didnt choose to invoke his right to silence. In all probability Richter thought the case was so weak and, as Pell can come over as cold and aloof, that his testimony could do more harm than good. Our courts are not supposed to be swayed by outside influences, which is why judges are appointed and not elected and juries are promised anonymity. They are duty-bound to provide just outcomes, no matter how unpopular. Back in 1991, a jury heard the evidence against four men accused of the 1988 ambush and murder of two police officers, constables Steven Tynan and Damian Eyre, who were ambushed in Walsh Street, South Yarra. The foiled sea voyage of the "tinnie terrorists" would not have got much further than the breakers off the Queensland coast, a judge said as he jailed a fifth plotter. Shayden Jamil Thorne, 31 is the fifth man to be sent to prison over the "foredoomed" plan to sail a fishing boat to the Philippines and help overthrow the nation's government by force. Shayden Thorne was assaulted while in detention. The five towed a Haines Hunter speedboat from Victoria to north Queensland, near Laura, where they were arrested in 2016. Motivated by "extremist beliefs", the group had intended to sail the seven-metre vessel from Cape York to South-East Asia. If Michael Beattys wife hadnt seen the ad in the paper, hed likely be dead by now. The ad was a call for volunteers aged between 55 and 80, who had been lifelong smokers, to take part in a screening trial for lung cancer. Mr Beatty, who is in his 60s and has smoked regularly since he was 14, certainly fit the profile, so he made contact with the Prince Charles Hospital. Michael Beatty (left) with Professor Kwun Fong in front of the CT scanner at Prince Charles Hospital. Credit:Stuart Layt The hospital was just starting a major international five-year clinical trial of a new way to detect lung cancer using low-dose CT scans. Hoons who frequent industrial estates and wide stretches of roads for illegal driving will soon be targeted under a new Brisbane City Council trial. The trial will use specially sealed bitumen to destroy the tyres of speeding hoons. Brisbane City Council will trial tyre-wrecking bitumen to deter hoons. Credit:Graham Tidy Infrastructure committee chairman Amanda Cooper requested councillors submit known hooning problem areas in their wards for potential inclusion in the trial, noting many wards had problems with hooning behaviour in industrial estates. The technology involves an "anti-hooning" seal treatment on the bitumen. I have hesitated in weighing in to add to the thousands of words written this week about the publication, at long last, of the details of the conviction of George Pell last December on child sex abuse charges. It may surprise many to know that I have not followed the criminal process at all, know few details of it (even now), and have no opinion as to what may or may not happen in the balance of that criminal process. George Pell arrives at the County Court in Melbourne on Wednesday. Credit:Justin McManus However, as a survivor of sexual abuse by a priest over a period of more than 12 years, and having faced myself the opinion apparently held by those close to George Pell (and perhaps by Pell himself) as to how inherently unlikely it was that a holy monk of God would have so openly engaged in such debased and abhorrent acts against a young boy I feel saddened that the experiences of the complainant have been so disrespected by many commentators who feel the need to express doubt over what a jury of 12 has been satisfied beyond reasonable doubt. George Pell apologised to me for the legal abuse perpetrated by the church under his watch as Archbishop of Sydney. Before he departed for Rome in 2014, he famously recited a public apology not to me but to the assembled audience at the conclusion of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse public hearing. I had a cup of tea with him. While that was a private meeting and will remain so, I can say that I have never felt any warmth from the man. I was not left with a sense of any acceptance of personal responsibility for how he sought to crush me or any appreciation of the impacts of his own actions. No brumbies were removed from Kosciuszko National Park in 2018 despite it being the only method granted to parks staff to control feral horse numbers. The year before, in the winter of 2017, staff removed 152 horses from Kosciuszko, with all but one later rehomed. Feral brumbies from the Snowy Mountains near Kiandra, NSW. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Non-lethal control of brumbies was a key part of the controversial law passed by the NSW government last year which granted the horse a "heritage status". ACT Environment Minister Mick Gentleman said the lack of action was "irresponsible" and ACT Parks manager Brett McNamara said it was "alarming", with concerns a nearby 4500-strong population will soon enter and destroy the ACT's water catchment areas near Namadgi National Park. This year's theme for the ever-popular PANDSI Cake-Off is World Cultures in Cake. The cake-off will be held on Sunday, May 5 from 2pm in the ballroom at the Hyatt Hotel in Canberra. That's when people can come along and view the cakes and bid to take one home. A baking spot with the cake-off has always been hotly contested and 2019 will be no different. A scene from the first 2016 PANDSI Cake-Off. Credit:Elesa Kurtz Only 50 spots will be up for grabs. The ACT's mammal emblem, the critically endangered southern brush-tailed rock-wallaby, will soon have its own predator proof home in Tidbinbilla. The government has recently opened tender for the more than half-a-million-dollar project to protect the mammal, which became the capital's official mammal emblem by popular vote last year. Shadow, Tidbinbilla's media liaison for the southern brush-tailed rock-wallaby Credit:Jamila Toderas The 35 wallabies that call Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve home were part of a successful breeding program that started with just three wallabies in 1996. Before then, the last southern rock-wallaby had been seen in the wild was 1959. Business owners at Belconnen Markets are fearful for their futures after being kept in the dark about plans to demolish and redevelop the existing market hall, they say. A proposal by the owner of the site, Elanor Investors Group, would see store holders within the main market hall on Lathlian Street temporarily relocated before the building is demolished in early 2020. Foodish owner Alaine Chanter is unsure how businesses will fare during the Belconnen Markets' redevelopment process. Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong It is unclear where they will be relocated to. The new market hall would be opened in 2020 under the proposal. But businesses in an adjacent building on Market Street would effectively be expected to operate in the middle of a construction site during that time, owners say. It does this in several ways: the prize itself; the Schools Program exploring issues of language, power and gender; the Girls Write Up festival for teenagers, and the annual Stella Count, which analyses the coverage of female authors in 12 publications. It does seem to me that the Stella Prize and count have been genuinely effective in changing the conversation about women's writing. Dr Julieanne Lamond Academic and author Dr Julieanne Lamond, of ANUs School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, says there were serious attempts in the 1980s to shift the masculine emphasis of Australian literary culture, including reviewing counts and prizes. There have also long been feminist scholars, editors, publishers and writers working for change, she says. But it does seem to me that the Stella Prize and count have been genuinely effective in changing the conversation about women's writing. Lamond says the way her students relate to texts has changed rather than the books they read. She gives the example of My Brilliant Career by (Stella) Miles Franklin, whose name is linked to the Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Stella Prize. When I first started teaching it many students found Sybylla Melvyn really confusing and frustrating. Why didnt she just marry Harold Beecham, if writing was so important to her? Lamond says. Miles Franklin, whose name is linked to the Stella Prize for women's literature. Credit:State Library of NSW More recently they accept her straightforwardly as a feminist and identify with that and her own frustration, confusion and rage seems to resonate more with them. Curious to find out which books are influencing young women today, I quizzed the youngest author on the Stella Prize longlist, 22-year-old Jamie Marina Lau. Her experimental debut novel, Pink Mountain on Locust Island, is about a 15-year-old girl processing the eccentricities of a fragmented life with her artistic father in Chinatown. Louise Swinn, chair of the 2019 Stella Prize. Credit:Roger Cummins Laus influences begin with The Collected Dorothy Parker, which made her want to become a writer, and include Why Im no Longer Talking to White People about Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge, which gave her a new perspective on activism and dealing with systematic racism and sexism. Lau, who studied film and literature at Monash University, says Korean author Han Kang and Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto taught her that feminism doesnt have to be explicit: In The Vegetarian the main character is very alienated, as though she is morphing into this strange creature, when really what she is doing is a form of liberation, she says. She is just rebelling against the ingrained patriarchy that exists. After reading Salingers Catcher in the Rye and Kerouacs The Road, Lau set out to create a female character who seemed as confident and savvy as their protagonists. It was hard, reading female characters in their books and thinking thats not how it always is, she says. But in the end she had to let her main character evolve rather than fit an agenda. I never thought to write a feminist book, but it came out as a feminist book because I was writing a character through what they observed and consumed honestly, rather than how they are and how theyre supposed to be. Louise Swinn, chair of the 2019 Stella Prize judges, says a theme that emerged from the 170 or so books submitted for the prize was the prevalence of sexual abuse. There is so much of that in peoples backgrounds and stories and it has to be an underlying feminism that has victims, for want of a better word, less afraid to talk about it, Swinn says. That is what Bri Lees book, Eggshell Skull, is about; being able to be the face of someone who is supposedly a victim and turning it around, and that kind of thing is very empowering. Swinn says the 12 books on the longlist show that women are pushing the boundaries of whats expected in fiction and non-fiction. Even in a book of essays like Fiona Wrights The World Was Whole, she is stretching her themes and weaving them into personal stories, which are also travelogues and commentary on modern life and illness, and even critical theory, Swinn says. Loading Notably, the 2019 Stella Prize judges report calls for more diversity in publishing. We wished for more representations of otherness and diversity from publishers: narratives from outside Australia, from and featuring women of colour, LGBTQIA stories, Indigenous stories, more subversion, more difference, the five judges write. Stella Prize Executive Director, Michelle Scott Tucker, says the organisations vision is for a more equitable Australian society that recognises the cultural contribution and diversity of women's stories. I recently caught up with a friend I hadn't seen for a while, and the first thing that struck me was how great she looked. Like shed had many nights of good sleep, in a way I havent looked since I hit my thirties and started having children. I asked her if shed been on a holiday, she leaned in and said conspiratorially, "Ive had Botox." Helen Mirren, 73, looking fabulous (and her age) at the Oscars. Credit:Jordan Strauss/AP I immediately went home and started googling Botox clinics near me, then something stopped me: whats wrong with looking my age, anyway? Ageing is inevitable, or at least greatly preferable to the alternative, but the visible changes are confronting in a society that conflates youth with beauty. However, given the more recent success of En Marche in France, and of Ciudadanos in Spain, and what is effectively the existential threat by Brexit to Britains political establishment, the exit of nine MPs from Labour and three from the Conservatives (with the real possibility of more to come), it must be close to a watershed moment. In recent days in the United Kingdom we have seen several important resignations (12 at last count) from both the Conservative and Labour parties, over Brexit and other issues, which will test the UKs ingrained political duopoly. Of course, this is not the first time the duopoly has been challenged recall the breakaway of the Social Democratic Party in 1981. These are becoming increasingly important questions as support for, and belief in, traditional political parties wanes, and voters are increasingly frustrated and disappointed by their political representatives and the so-called democratic processes of government. When does an issue or policy challenge become more important than political party affiliation? When does a national or global issue outweigh the importance to a voter of their individual struggles? To be clear, members of this new Independent Group had a variety of motivations for leaving four because of alleged anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, as well as objections to the partys left-wing bias, and some also in fear of being de-selected. However, the Conservative defectors, and all but one from Labour, want another peoples vote on Brexit. It is instructive that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn then moved to favour a second referendum, while Theresa May seeks to delay another parliamentary vote, hoping the Europeans will blink. Loading Given that the EU would still clearly prefer that the UK not leave, it is unlikely to offer any significant concessions, so it is hard to see how May can ever win a parliamentary vote on her withdrawal bill. Indeed, she continues to lose procedural votes that work to reduce her negotiating authority. No vote would mean that the UK would still leave on March 29, a hard Brexit, which most dont want. The hope of the UK establishment is that a concensus emerges for a second referendum, or for withdrawing the leave application altogether. Much will depend on whether there are further defections. It is clear that an issue such as Brexit is not only divisive across the UK community, but also within each of the major parties, important enough to threaten the traditional party duopoly. Many say, or hope, it cant happen, but it may. Party unity has been a significant issue in Australia's political history, but disunity has probably been more about individuals than issues, especially since World War II. The most notable exception was the ALP/DLP split of the mid-1950s over communism and communist influence. But Gorton v McMahon, Howard v Peacock, Hawke v Keating, Rudd v Gillard v Rudd, and Abbott v Turnbull were mostly just about personalities, occasionally dressed under a policy cloak. Selma Blair is sharing more details about her struggles with multiple sclerosis, including her emotional reaction to her diagnosis. Blair opened up about her struggles with MS in an interview with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America on Tuesday. It aired just days after she rocked a custom cane during her triumphant return to the red carpet at the Vanity Fair Oscar party. The disease's impact can be seen and heard in the interview, affecting even the way the actress speaks. She told Roberts she has spasmodic dysphonia, which causes spasms in the larynx, or voice box, brought on by her primary disease. MS is a progressive neurological disease which attacks the coating of nerve cells, causing sensations of numbness, tingling or burning as well as balance issues, vision problems and other symptoms. Australian software developers say the government's anti-encryption laws have already eroded trust in local talent and could affect the job prospects of coders, while other startups say business confidence has been weakened by the policy. The industry body representing developers using the 'Ruby' programming language said the laws, which can compel companies to decrypt messages for law enforcement, "tars our entire profession". The startup community is facing a post-encryption era with pessimism. Credit:File photo/Michele Mossop The Assistance and Access Act passed parliament last December and submissions for amendments to the laws closed last Friday. The policy allows authorities to issue tech companies with notices to take action to help them view encrypted messages to prevent terrorism and related offences. Ruby Australia represents developers and businesses that create products using programming language Ruby, which is used in a range of sectors. In its submission, the group said the laws hurt because clients feel local tech developers are now less trustworthy. The tactics used by investors betting against companies are at the heart of a landmark legal stoush between $3 billion Corporate Travel Management and hedge fund VGI Partners that could reshape the rules for publicly criticising businesses. Corporate Travel has threatened VGI Partners with a lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to hurt the company and market manipulation in a case that signals a major escalation of hostilities between short-sellers and their targets. Corporate Travel Management chief executive Jamie Pherous has taken aim at short-sellers. Credit:Jessica Hromas Short-sellers, which have been a legal and widespread part of equity markets for years, make profits by betting the share price of a company will fall. They are often vocal critics of the companies they target and sometimes circulate reports detailing their arguments. Short sellers often accuse their targets of failing to keep investors properly informed. Vodafone chief executive Inaki Berroeta has lashed Telstra for wanting the national broadband network to cut its prices while taking "billions" a year in payments from the taxpayer-funded infrastructure business. Mr Berroeta said that a disproportional amount of payments were being made to Telstra by the NBN, and service providers who faced the most difficult time were the smaller companies not the larger companies. Vodafone CEO Inaki Berroeta. Credit:Josh Robenstone Ultimately the ones that have big market share grow their market share and the NBN for one reason or another has made the life of new entrants or smaller players quite complicated," he said. Telstra chief executive Andy Penn recently criticised the NBN Co's wholesale pricing as too high, saying a Labor government might mean a more "sensible" approach would be taken to the costs and warned its profit margins were heading to zero. Former AFL boss Andrew Demetriou was repeatedly warned about the poor financial health of training group Acquire Learning before the company collapsed with a $145 million debt. On Wednesday, the Crown Resorts director was grilled in the Supreme Court about his involvement in the company as part of a liquidator's inquiry into why Acquire collapsed in May 2017 after receiving tens of millions of dollars in federal government subsidies. Andrew Demetriou. Credit:Simon Schluter Mr Demetriou was paid $900,000 a year for his three-day-a-week job as executive chairman of the companys advisory group. Acquire Loan also loaned the former AFL chief $1.68 million to buy shares in the company. The Jefferson Parish Council on Wednesday formally signaled that it intends to repeal an ordinance it passed last year allowing a Waggaman chemical facility to build a new cyanide plant. The council unanimously passed a resolution expressing its intention to rescind the permit, which it granted in January 2018. The resolution has no force of law, but the council is expected to vote at its March 20 meeting on an ordinance to repeal the earlier permit. The move could open the council to a lawsuit. The same seven council members unanimously approved the permit last year, and going back on that approval could prompt the plant's owners to sue. But after citizens raised concerns, some Parish Council members said they needed more information about the project. "We need to slow this thing down and see what happens," said Councilman Paul Johnston. An attorney for Cornerstone Chemical Co., which owns the plant, told the council that the company believes rescinding the permit would be improper and that it wants to work with the council over the next 60 to 90 days to come to a solution. He said the company could possibly alter some of the plans for the plant to respond to residents' concerns. While the plant has yet to obtain a required state permit, Cornerstone officials said the firm has spent about $14 million on design and engineering work, according to an email obtained by The Advocate. Last month, a public meeting hosted by officials from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality was packed with residents who opposed the plant. Wednesday, a number of residents urged the council to support the resolution. "We live right there," said Brenda Beilman, whose husband worked at the plant until he retired. "If anything happens, we are going to be at ground zero." Environmental news in your inbox Stay up-to-date on the latest on Louisiana's coast and the environment. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up For nearly a year, residents in Harahan and River Ridge have complained about noxious smells plaguing their neighborhoods. While most of the blame for the smells has been put on the parish's malfunctioning landfill, the issue is putting more focus on all of the industrial activities along the Mississippi River and raising questions about their impact on people close by. Many of the residents who spoke begged the council to protect them. "The proposed cyanide plant is not controversial; the public is adamantly opposed," said Lisa Karlin, who lives in River Ridge. "This is not about jobs and economic development. This is about the Jefferson Parish Council ensuring the health, safety and welfare of the citizens." Charles Zimmer, who lives in River Ridge, objected to statements from council members who defended their earlier votes for the plant by saying there had been no public opposition at that time. It's not residents' job to object to things like this, Zimmer said. "That's your job," he told the council. "We expect you to do your job when we're not looking." Zimmer also urged the council to fight even in the face of a potential lawsuit. "Cornerstone has already made a very obvious threat that you are going to be involved in litigation," he said. "So what? That's part of your job." Cornerstone, which is based in Metairie, has produced hydrocyanic acid, a form of cyanide, at the plant for more than six decades. Company officials have said the new facility will not increase the amount of acid produced, but that it will maintain current production levels following a change to some of its existing industrial processes. The company produces hydrocyanic acid as a byproduct of another process. It then sells the acid to another company on the same 800-acre site that uses the acid as raw material. None of the acid leaves the site, company officials have said. The company's permit application said it wishes to build two new 26,000-gallon storage tanks and a new $100 million plant. David Hanson Sr. and Clifford "Skip" Keen pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to participating in a corrupt kickback scheme with their longtime close friend and boss, former St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain. The pair, who had been captains in the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office, each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to solicit a bribe and to commit wire fraud. They are tentatively set to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle on May 29, although that hearing is likely to be delayed, given that both are expected to cooperate with federal prosecutors and testify against Strain if necessary. Their guilty pleas come nearly three months after they were charged in a bill of information that made it clear that the feds' ultimate target is Strain himself, although he was identified only as Public Official A. The kickback scheme that prosecutors say Strain cooked up with Hanson and Keen involved a work-release program in Slidell that had been run by the Sheriff's Office until Strain decided to privatize it. He did not seek competitive bids, simply awarding the contract to run it to a company started by Brandy Hanson and Jarret Keen, adult children of David Hanson and Skip Keen. In Louisiana, inmates nearing the end of their sentences may be assigned to a work-release program, which gives them an opportunity to work off-site for a private company. Inmates in such programs live in a dormlike, secure facility, and generally turn over most of their wages to the program's operator. +8 Two former top deputies charged in St. Tammany kickback scheme plead not guilty Two men who served as captains under former St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain pleaded not guilty in federal court Tuesday to taking part 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 deal proved lucrative, generating $1.2 million over three years for Brandy Hanson and Jarret Keen, who turned over much of that sum to their parents. Under the plea bargain struck with prosecutors, the children will not be charged. According to prosecutors, David Hanson and Skip Keen each made regular cash payments of more than $1,000 to Strain, though prosecutors have not said how much the payments totaled. Strain himself has yet to be charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office. But the federal investigation into his financial dealings, which became public nearly a year ago, uncovered a more disturbing set of allegations: that Strain sexually abused juveniles. State Police said that their probe into those allegations was completed last month and has been turned over to 22nd Judicial District Attorney Warren Montgomery's office. Sources with knowledge of the probe say that at least four victims say they were sexually abused by Strain, some of them before they reached the age of consent. Late last week, Mark Finn, one of Strain's alleged victims, spoke out publicly, saying that when he was a child of 6 to 12 years old, Strain molested him. He said that investigators began talking to him about Strain two years ago. Strain's attorney, Billy Gibbens, has said that Strain vehemently denies the allegations. A St. Charles Parish man has admitted that he stole $630,000 worth of stamps from the U.S. post office in Kenner where he worked and sold them online in a desperate attempt to offset huge gambling losses in recent years, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. Ryan Cortez, 46, of Des Allemands, faces up to 10 years in prison after pulling off what U.S. Attorney Peter Strassers office called one of the largest internal postal thefts in the Postal Service's 47-year history. However, it is unlikely he will receive the maximum after pleading guilty Friday to a count of misappropriating postal funds. Cortez is scheduled to be sentenced May 30 by U.S. District Judge Barry Ashe. To fuel gambling habit, U.S. Post Office manager sold stolen stamps, embezzled from church: feds After losing more than $667,000 while gambling in recent years, a manager at the U.S. Post Office in north Kenner stole $630,000 worth of stam According to Strassers office, the case against Cortez began when postal investigators received an alert from PayPal and eBay that he was selling massive quantities of stamps. People frequently use PayPal to pay for things they buy on eBay, the popular online marketplace. Investigators determined that there were more than $600,000 worth of stamps listed in reserve at the post office on West Esplanade Avenue where Cortez was a manager far larger than the usual amount of $70,000. Cortez who was in charge of the stamp stock at his office and earned an annual salary of about $71,000 had lost more than $667,000 at Harrahs Casino alone in 2011, investigators learned. Roughly a third of that amount had been in 2017 and 2018. Postal investigators raided Cortezs home on Oct. 10 and found evidence that he had bloated the number of stamps at the office he managed. He acknowledged he had stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars in stamps in recent years, selling them online to fuel his gambling addiction. Cortezs two main buyers were in Montana and New Jersey. He claimed he used another supervisors password to increase the stock of stamps at their office while avoiding detection, according to the feds. Cortez was arrested after the raid. Court documents shortly after his arrest also accused him of embezzling nearly $10,000 from a church in Des Allemands that listed him as its treasurer, but those allegations didnt seem to factor into his guilty plea. He is one of two former postal employees to plead guilty to a crime in New Orleans federal court in the last week. Courtney Duplessis awaits sentencing after admitting Thursday that she stole gift cards and cash out of the mail she was supposed to deliver last year in Elmwood. CAREGIVERS WORKSHOP: The Council on Aging St. Tammany Parish caregiver support programs allow those caring for people with Alzheimer's, dementia or other age-related illnesses to share struggles and successes, guided by gerontologist Matt Estrade. Meetings at the Covington Senior Center, 19404 N. 10th St., will be March 12. The meetings at Slidell Senior Center, 610 Cousin St., will be held 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. March 11. For information, call (985) 892-0377. HEALTH INSURANCE COUNSELING: The Council on Aging St. Tammany and the Louisiana Department of Insurance Senior Health Insurance Information Program will host a series of meeting dates in Covington and Slidell. Counselors are Medicare-certified and able to explain original Medicare, Medicare Supplement Insurance, Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Part D. The counselor will be able to complete Medicare Part D comparisons and enrollment, assist with claims issues and explain Medicare enrollment periods. Meetings, 9 a.m. to noon on the third Wednesday of each month, alternate at COAST centers; in Covington, 1940 N. 10th St. The next is April 17. and Slidell, 610 Cousin St., starting March 20. For information, call COAST at (985) 892-0377 or the state Senior Health Insurance Information Program at (800) 259-5300 or www.ldi.la.gov/SHIIP. SAIL AND TAI CHI: Council on Aging St. Tammany (COAST) is registering seniors 60 and older for free exercise classes at the Covington Active Aging Center, 19404 N. 10th St. Stay Active and Independent for Life (SAIL) is a strength, balance, endurance, flexibility and fitness class for older adults and will be offered Tuesday and Thursdays at 8 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. Tai Chi, according to wellness coordinator Nick Pichon is a "Chinese practice that is moderate and non-strenuous in nature, with classes at 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. For information, call Pichon at COAST, (985) 892-0377. ONGOING BABY AND ME TOBACCO-FREE: Slidell Memorial Hospital is holding smoking-cessation programs for expectant mothers on Mondays and Wednesdays by appointment. For information or to request an application, call Ashlee Menke at (504) 733-5539. St. Tammany top stories in your inbox A weekly guide to the biggest news in St. Tammany. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up BETTER BREATHERS CLUB: The Better Breathers Club, a program of the American Lung Association, meets from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month in the Magnolia Room of Lakeview Regional Medical Center, 95 Judge Tanner Blvd., Covington. The club is meant for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as their caregivers. To register, visit lakeviewregional.com or call (985) 867-3900. CHILD SAFETY SEAT INSPECTIONS: The St. Tammany Parenting Center has appointments for free inspections of child safety seats. Call (985) 898-4435. Inspections are held from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. every Tuesday at the Louisiana State Police Troop L headquarters, 2600 N. Causeway Blvd., Mandeville. Walk-ins are accepted, but appointments are appreciated. For information on the State Police program, call (985) 893-6250 or email greg.marchand@la.gov. GAMBLERS ANONYMOUS: Gamblers Anonymous meets several times a week throughout the New Orleans area. Gamblers Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experiences, strength and hope with one another to solve their common problem and help others to recover from a gambling problem. For information, call (855) 222-5542 or visit gamblersanonymous.org. YOGA FOR CANCER PATIENTS: Patricia Hart conducts free yoga classes for cancer patients, survivors and their caregivers from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mondays on the second floor of the Slidell Memorial Hospital Wellness Pavilion, 501 Robert Blvd., Slidell. Wear loose-fitting clothing; mats are available for use. Registration and a medical release are required. For information, call Hart at (985) 707-4961. In the front row, from left, are coach Jessica Spitale Fresina, Katherine Post, Emily Hebert, Mayah Olivero, Ashley Stall and Jordyn Prattini. In the second row are Allyson Liljeberg, Savannah Becnel, Chloe Candies, Jordyn Brown, Julia Lecler, Lilly Ducote, Kaitlyn Prattini, Jaci Seward, Abigail Post, Riley Villarrubia, Jenna Crosby, Ava Delahoussaye and Laney Stuprich. In the third row are coach Donald Teed, Nicholas Bonura, Vance Robin, Logan Schroeder, Kyle Duncan, Cameron Rodrigue, Y Ho, Will Serauskas, Brandon Bonura, Connor Blenkarn, Gabe Watts, Max Munoz, Blake Mulligan, Cristian Selva and coach Ben Cartner. The 20th episode of the New Orleans Advocate's weekly podcast, "The Neutral Ground," is available for download. The podcast is sponsored by Gardner Realtors. In the 20th episode: City Hall reporter Jeff Adelson explains why the Army Corps of Engineers announced it will have to open the Bonnet Carre Spillway yet again -- and why those boats sliding past the city look extra-high right now. River Parishes reporters Nick Reimann and Della Hasselle discuss the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision not to push to enforce a safer standard for airborne chloroprene that the agency has promoted -- and how that decision was received in St. John Parish. And Faimon Roberts takes a turn as host, interviewing Gordon Russell about the potential effects of a Sabine Parish judge's finding that Louisiana's now-junked split-jury law is unconstitutional. Subscribe to The Advocate's podcasts here via iTunes and have each new episode delivered straight to your device. The podcast is also now available in Google Play, TuneIn, Stitcher and Spotify. You can also listen using the audio player below. Can't see audio player below? Click here. Most Republicans in Congress are going along with President Donald Trumps emergency declaration, which he issued after lawmakers refused to give him as much money as he wanted for the border wall that he used to insist Mexico would pay for. Just a handful of Republicans crossed the aisle to join Democrats in voting to block the measure earlier this week. This despite overwhelming evidence that illegal border crossings are down and that most drugs arrive through ports of entry, despite the insistence by legions of experienced officials that the emergency declaration is inappropriate, and despite Trumps own public admission that he didnt need to do this. Some of these members are keeping quiet, clearly hoping not to pick up too much taint. Others are all in. Put several members from Louisiana in the latter category. Stephanie Grace: Louisiana Republicans are all over the place on latest spending bill House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, of Jefferson Parish, applauded President Donald Trump for signing the new funding bill that averts a second Heres Ralph Abraham, R-Alto, who is also a candidate in this years governor race: The situation on the border is absolutely a national emergency. Today's vote to block the emergency declaration was just the latest Democratic effort to deny critical resources that we need to secure our border. The part that Abraham left out is that Republicans controlled both the House and Senate for two years and could have provided those critical resources at any time. They didnt. Then theres the local guy on the leadership team, Steve Scalise of Jefferson Parish. Scalise, now the House Minority Whip, said this about the current House Speaker: "And for Nancy Pelosi to say that this is not a crisis is completely denying the reality of what's happening at our border." But heres the rub: Pelosis only been speaker since January. Scalise was part of the majority leadership for the prior two years again, a period in which Congress could have given in to Trumps demand, but didnt. The clear takeaway is that Former House Speaker Paul Ryan also didnt consider building the wall particularly urgent, let alone an emergency. Yet somehow I dont remember Scalise castigating Ryan in public for it. Hmm. Wonder why. 'Women in Science' books that were handed out at ExxonMobil's annual "Introduce a Girl To Engineering Day" at the Water Campus Monday Feb. 25, 2019, in Baton Rouge, La. One hundred girls from 13 Baton Rouge-area schools participated. Girls did creative water-themed, hands-on activities with STEM elements. Louisiana's trucking industry is pushing for a state moratorium on new highway billboards, in part because truckers are angry about trial atto The state has suspended the medical license of a doctor whose credentials were questioned by an anti-abortion group. Dr. Kevin G. Works license to practice medicine in Louisiana was suspended Tuesday pending final resolution of the claims presented at a revocation hearing, according to the Board of Examiners notice. The board would not specify the allegations. Louisiana Board of Examiners Louisiana Board of Examiners suspension order Work could not be reached for comment when the complaint was filed last week nor on Wednesday. Work practiced at Delta Clinic of Baton Rouge and Womens Health Care Center, which have the same owners, according to state records. Both clinics have two other physicians performing abortions. The two clinics terminated 5,146 pregnancies in 2017, up from 3,734 in 2015 when the state had five clinics. The only other clinic now in Louisiana is Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport and it has three physicians, according to state records. 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 "We applaud the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners for their prompt action in investigating Dr. Kevin Work and taking emergency action to protect the safety of the public," said Benjamin Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life. The anti-abortion group, based in Metairie, sent a letter to the Board of Examiners last week claiming that by practicing as an OB-GYN in the two clinics appears to have violated Works probation. +2 Anti-abortion group challenges Louisiana doctor's credentials, seeks state intervention An anti-abortion group is questioning the credentials of a doctor that it claims is performing abortions in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The letter highlighted past disciplinary actions the board has taken against Work. Work lost his license for practicing obstetrics and gynecology at the Canal Womens Clinic and the Kenner Womens Clinic in 2016 because he admitted that medical records indicated that he had personally examined patients when he had not, according to the Board of Examiners. In doing so, Work had failed to comply with the conditions of a 2014 consent order that claimed unlicensed staffers were allowed to administer medications to patients at a previous clinic where he had worked. The license was reinstated in June 2017. Work was ordered to attend continuing medical education programs, pay more than $5,000 in fines and $300 in fees, according the medical examiners consent decree. Will Sentell of The Advocate Capitol news bureau contributed to this report A recent letter writer dismissed my column about evolution by invoking ideas of Young Earth Creationists who believe that the Earths history is more accurately described by the Book of Genesis. He is, of course, welcome to believe whatever folklore that he wants, but the magnitude of willfu Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commission While ExxonMobil says it has still not made a final investment decision on its planned Baton Rouge polyolefins plant expansion, the company earlier this month asked state environmental regulators for a stormwater permit for construction related to the project. Exxon on Feb. 8 filed a notice of intent required for stormwater permits with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. The application is for construction activities related to the polypropylene expansion at the companys polyolefins plant in north Baton Rouge. The oil and gas giant received air permits for the project nearly a year ago. Exxon spokeswoman Stephanie Cargile said the stormwater permit is for an area of land that would need to be cleared in advance of potential parking lot or temporary building construction. While the application said work would begin Feb. 14, Cargile said work on the area has not progressed beyond surveying the site. ExxonMobil is continuing to proceed with front-end engineering, design and other preparatory work for the potential Polypropylene Expansion Project, Cargile said. However, the final investment decision on this project is not yet fully approved. LDEQ administrator of air permits Bryan Johnston said the company received air permits last March, a day after it announced it was planning the project somewhere along the Gulf Coast, and considering Baton Rouge. The stormwater permit is needed when a project disturbs more than 5 acres, he 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 The project, which Cargile said will involve an investment of more than $500 million, will add a second polypropylene line. The stormwater permit application said the permit is needed for three years and will disturb 26 acres. Exxon previously said it would make a final investment decision on the project in late 2018, but has not said publicly whether it will move forward. When asked earlier this month about the project, Cargile said reviews were extended into 2019 after the December gate review, which is part of Exxons investment decision process. The company previously said it would begin construction on the plant in early 2019 and complete work by 2021. Exxon is in the midst of a growing the Gulf initiative that calls for $20 billion in spending in the region. After unveiling the proposed project, Exxon easily won approval from state and local officials for a tax break through the states Industrial Tax Exemption Program for the project, worth an estimated $31.7 million over a decade. Exxon has said the project would add 45 permanent jobs to the polyolefins plant, along with 20 permanent contractor jobs and 600 temporary construction jobs. The Diocese of Baton Rouge added two more Catholic clerics Wednesday to its list of those who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse with a minor, increasing the diocese's tally of abusive clergymen to 40. When Baton Rouge Bishop Michael Duca released the diocese's initial list a month ago, Duca said the list would evolve over time, and likely grow. The diocese has already updated its list once, earlier this month. The newest additions come on the heels of a worldwide summit Pope Francis convened about clerical sexual abuse, in which the pontiff called for an "all-out battle" against it. Louisiana clergy abuse lists include one priest who left three-decade-long trail of victims It was 1959 when priest John Franklin was stripped of his ability to minister to Catholics in the New Orleans area because he had been credibl The two names added to the Diocese of Baton Rouge's list Wednesday are the Rev. Barry Finbar Coyle and the Rev. John Hardman. Though both spent time ministering in Baton Rouge, the accusations against them were lodged in other dioceses. Diocese of Baton Rouge spokesman Dan Borne said Wednesday that the diocese had received no allegations about either priest. Coyle, a Franciscan priest, served at St. Jean Vianney and St. Aloysius in Baton Rouge, along with church parishes in New Orleans. He also served as a chaplain at the now-closed Earl K. Long Hospital, Doctors Memorial Hospital and Parkland Pavilion. +45 45 Baton Rouge-area clergy members on diocese's official sex abuse list: See names, more The Diocese of Baton Rouge has named 45 clergy members who they've determined to have been credibly accused of abuse within the diocese or in Coyle was ordained in 1958 and is now dead. He was included on a 2017 list of credibly accused clergy members from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, where the archbishop pledged under oath earlier this year, amid bankruptcy proceedings, to open sealed records of child-abuse cases there. Coyle's alleged abuse occurred before he moved to Louisiana. Bishop Accountability, which maintains an extensive database of priests accused of sexual abuse, says on its website that Coyle was assigned to the Santa Fe Cathedral between 1959 and 1974 before working in the Diocese of Baton Rouge and the Archdiocese of New Orleans. His death entry in a 1992 directory said he was assigned to St. Mary of the Angels in New Orleans, according to Bishop Accountability. Coyle, who was also Franciscan vocations director for the Southwest, appeared to use alternate listings of his name in church directories. Bishop Accountability said he was referenced as "Finbar" in Santa Fe directories, but his name was listed as "Barry" once he left Santa Fe. 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 Can't see video below? Click here. Hardman, who was a Josephite priest ordained in 1944, was in residence at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Donaldsonville. He is also now dead. Hardman was included on the Archdiocese of Mobile's list of credibly accused clergy, released late last year. The Archdiocese of Mobile said his allegations of abuse were between 1972 and 1978, while he worked for Most Pure Heart of Mary Parish. Omission on Alexandria Diocese list shocks Catholic sex abuse survivor advocates The fourth Catholic diocese in Louisiana to release names of clergy credibly accused of sexually abusing minors was the least open among them Despite the allegations of abuse against Hardman, it appears he remained a priest until his death in 2007. An obituary in the Baltimore Sun that year still referred to him as a priest and solicited contributions to the Josephite Society in his name. The Diocese of Baton Rouge encouraged anyone who suspects abuse to immediately report it to law enforcement or to the Department of Children and Family Services. After reporting it to those entities, diocesan officials encouraged people to contact the diocese's victim assistance coordinator, Amy Cordon. Authorities rescued five stranded fishermen from waterways Tuesday in two separate hours-long recovery attempts in Iberville and Assumption parishes. The first call went to the Iberville Parish Sheriffs Office around 10 p.m. Monday about two crawfishermen lost somewhere between Bayou Pigeon and Bayou Sorrel, spurring a search-and-rescue mission. The effort encompassed the Sheriffs Office, the U.S. Coast Guard and the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriffs Office, the latter two supplying helicopters that Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi said were instrumental in search crews staying safe in the strong weather. National Weather Service data shows both rescue areas recorded low temperatures of 51 degrees during the search period, with consistent rainfall that totaled 0.2 of an inch through that time period, and with wind gusts around 14 mph. Three boaters rescued, treated for possible hypothermia after floating for hours in cold Lake Verret LAKE VERRET Authorities rescued three people from Lake Verret early Tuesday after their boat sank in rough weather, dumped them in the water As the crews searched an estimated 2,500 acres of swampland, the Coast Guard helicopter was called away from the scene to a separate rescue attempt in Assumption Parish, where three fishermen were left stranded from their capsized boat in Lake Verret. The three had headed out about 3:30 p.m. Monday from the northeast corner of Lake Verret at Little Grand Bayou to run floating jug lines to catch fish, authorities said. Their 18-foot skiff encountered rough water and was swamped by waves as the boaters tried to turn, said Assumption Parish Sheriffs Office spokesman Lonny Cavalier. The three went overboard in their life jackets, and the boat sank. 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 Assumption officials received the call about the overdue boaters at 12:40 a.m. Tuesday and deputies found one of the boaters just before 2 a.m. The boater, a 55-year-old man familiar with the area, was taken to Assumption Community Hospital for signs of possible hypothermia. The Coast Guard helicopter crew arrived from the Iberville Parish search at 2:21 a.m., found the remaining two overboard boaters a man and woman, both 27 and directed water patrol units to them. They were found near a cove on the Pierre Part side of the lake. The two also showed signs of hypothermia, the Coast Guard said. Back in Iberville Parish, Stassi said his agency, EBRSO and the boaters families were continuing to search through the night. The two lost fishermen a 75-year-old and a 38-year-old spent roughly 10 hours stranded in the bayou. "It's a low-water area, they got out of the boat and were pulling the traps and as they were doing that it clouded up," Stassi said. The men were stranded on a pirogue through the night as they waited for help to arrive, the sheriff said. Iberville parish rescues lost crawfishermen stranded on a pirogue overnight Monday Two lost crawfishermen spent more than 10 hours in an Iberville Parish bayou Monday night as three different emergency crews searched for them. Stassi said the crew found the men around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. The older of the two men was showing signs of hypothermia but was treated onsite by an ambulance crew, he said. A Coast Guard official credited the Assumption Parish rescue, in part, on the fact that the boaters shared their plans with another person. An integral part of this rescue was the boaters float plan, said Scott Talbot, search and rescue mission coordinator for the Coast Guard in New Orleans. Because they notified someone ashore of their voyage, a timely report of their delayed return was made to officials. 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. Two arrested, warrants issued for five more in New Iberia shooting 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 please call (208) 542-6777 for help. Thanks to a crowdfunding effort, a pair of scientists have sequenced the genome of one of the internet's most famous cats, Lil Bub. The furry celebrity, known for its extra toes and tongue that hangs out of its mouth, is the subject of new research that probed the cat's genetic abnormalities. A Genetic Study Of Lil Bub In a paper that appears in the pre-print site bioRxiv, geneticists identified two mutations that caused the cat's unique but endearing traits. The first one is a mutation of the Sonic hedgehog gene, which is responsible for Lil Bub's extra toes. The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West, Florida is famously populated with polydactyl cats, a genetic condition that causes the animals to be born with extra toes. The second is a variation of TNFRSF11A, a gene that is associated with osteopetrosis, a rare inherited disease that causes increased bone density, in humans and mice. The disease is also associated with slow growth and short stature. "At first, you're thinking Lil Bub's polydactyly and her limb shortness are all part of the same syndrome," explained Leslie Lyons, an expert on cat genetics from the University of Missouri and a co-author of the study, to Science Magazine. "Then you start to tease it apart and you realize, no, she has Sonic hedgehog mutations that have nothing to do with the osteopetrosis issue that's going on. It was like, 'Wow, that's kind of weird, the cat has two different rare mutations.'" Orsolya Symmons of the University of Pennsylvania added that the discovery is significant because genetic osteopetrosis has never been described in cats. Knowing that the mutation also exists among cats could lead to better therapy for human patients diagnosed with osteopetrosis. The researchers are hoping to publish their findings in a peer-reviewed journal in the future and encourage funding for cat research. "In human genetics, there's a still a huge number of variants of unknown significance, which basically means you don't know if they're benign or not," stated Lyons. "That's one of the things our project is trying to do. If you look at the genetic information in cats and dogs, that might tell you a particular mutation is found all the time in cats and they're perfectly fine, so it probably is a benign mutation." Lil Bub Does Science The study was funded through the Experiment website. The researchers raised more than $8,000 to sequence the famous cat's whole genome. This is not the first time that Lil Bub has lent its paw to science. The internet sensation previously teamed up with Phase Genomics, AnimalBiome, and KittyBiome to study the bacteria that live inside the guts of animals. The effort has led to the discovery of 22 new kinds of bacteria, 13 of which were from the poo sample provided by Lil Bub. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has confirmed that the OnePlus 7 won't have wireless charging support. The upcoming flagship from the Chinese brand is expected to sport high-end specs with features to match, but it's not getting the wireless charging feature that the likes of Samsung and Apple have practically made a standard on smartphones nowadays. OnePlus 7 Sticks With Wires Talking to CNET at the 2019 Mobile World Congress, Lau said with the help of an interpreter that the company's next smartphone still won't have wireless charging. "OnePlus charging is one of the best. Wireless charging is far inferior," he said. Now it's no mystery that OnePlus doesn't see wireless charging as a must-have feature on its phones. Back in 2017, Lau also said its fast-charging technology Warp Charge, which was previously known as Dash Charge, was all that users needed, and therefore, there wasn't any reason to include wireless charging in the OnePlus 5T. Wireless charging has become a usual feature on today's high-end mobile phones. Notably, Apple jumped on board with the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X in 2017. Samsung also introduced the technology as a basic component of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge in 2015, and it's taking it to take next level with the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Buds' reverse charging feature. OnePlus Doesn't Follow Trends Another thing that OnePlus isn't getting into is the whole foldable phone trend. Lau also confirmed to CNET that the company isn't planning on launching such a device since the costs are just too high. Samsung's Galaxy Fold will retail for $1,980 and Huawei's Mate X for 2,299 or $2,609, after all. That makes sense because it contradicts OnePlus' approach of selling devices on par with flagships at lower prices compared with the high-end offerings of its competitors. At the very least, OnePlus fans might be happy to know that, even though the firm isn't doing a foldable phone or wireless charging, it's moving forward with 5G in mind. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A pediatric office in South Carolina is now refusing to see patients who are not vaccinated. A pediatrician explains why the new policy is necessary. Unvaccinated Patient Turned Away News about the new policy of CPG Pediatrics in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina emerged after Tamara Pickett was told her unvaccinated child will no longer receive treatment unless she gets vaccinated. Pickett had been taking her 2-year-old daughter to the practice since she was 6 months old. "That was one of the reasons we came to the practice because we were informed they were accepting patients that had not been vaccinated or did not plan on vaccinating," Pickett said. She asked for written proof of the new policy, which has since been circulating on social media. Policy Intends To Protect Patients In an interview, Marc Bahan of CPG Pediatrics said his office is turning away unvaccinated patients under a new policy aimed at protecting patients. Bahan said having unvaccinated children coming to the pediatric office, where there are many children at high risk of contracting vaccine-preventable diseases seems inappropriate. He explained the newly established policy is necessary since a number of patients being cared for at the office have weakened immune systems. "We have patients on chemotherapy with cancer, we have patients coming in here with severe congenital heart diseases. All of these patients can potentially die if they contract one of these diseases," Bahan said. Measles Outbreak In The United States The office adopted the new policy as health officials and lawmakers in the United States scramble to contain measles outbreak. Measles cases have already been confirmed in 10 states, namely New Jersey, Georgia, Illinois, New York, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. More than 90 percent of residents in South Carolina are vaccinated. Some experts, however, expressed concerns of a possible measles outbreak given the significant increase in the number of students who were given vaccination exemptions for religious reasons. From 2014 to 2018, the number of students who were exempt for vaccinations rose by nearly 20,000. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Swatch filed a lawsuit against Samsung for allegedly replicating its watch face designs. The Swiss watchmaker accuses the South Korean tech company of unfair business practices and competition after some of its designs were sold in the Galaxy Apps store. Swatch Group is the same company behind other watch brands such as Omega, Tissot, and Rado. Swatch Copycat The lawsuit, first reported by Reuters, contains images showing side-by-side comparisons of its original designs and some watch faces that are in the Galaxy Apps store. The allegedly copied designs are downloadable for Gear S3 Classic, Frontier, and Gear Sport. According to the watchmaker, there are over 30 designs that are "identical or virtually identical" to the ones it owns. Swatch also said that the copied watch face designs could lead customers into thinking that the two companies had some kind of deal, which is not the case. "This is a blatant, wilful and international violation of our trademarks by Samsung," Swatch said in the lawsuit. Swatch Group is calling for a trial and wants Samsung to pay more than $100 million in damages. Samsung Removed The Designs, But It's Not Enough Swatch apparently reached out to Samsung even before filing the lawsuit. In late December last year, the watchmaker alerted the tech company of some watch face designs similar to the brand's are being sold in the Galaxy Apps store. Samsung did remove the said designs, but it isn't enough to pacify Swatch, as the device manufacturer never admitted to copying the designs nor it reviewed the entire Galaxy Apps store, which seems to still contain more copied watch face designs from Swatch. "In view of Samsung's inadequate response, it is reasonable to conclude that Defendants will continue to infringe the Trademarks, and thereby cause further loss and damage to the Swatch Group Companies," Swatch said. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Radioactive materials contaminated a crematorium in Arizona when workers cremated the remains of a man who received radiation treatment for cancer prior to his death. Radiation Contamination In Crematory In a case study published in the Journal of The American Medical Association, Nathan Yu of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix and colleagues said radioactivity was detected on the vacuum filter, oven, and bone crusher of the crematory. Radioactive compound unrelated to the dead man was also detected in the urine of an employee. Yu said the crematory workers may have been exposed while cremating other human remains. Yu and colleagues think the worker was not likely exposed to a dangerous dose of radiation but the findings raise questions about how often radioactive bodies get incinerated, and how frequently crematory workers get exposed to radiation. "Further studies are needed to evaluate the frequency and scope of radiation contamination and health effects of repeated or long-term exposure of employees in crematoriums in the United States, especially as the cremation rate was greater than 50% in 2017," Yu and colleagues wrote. "Future safety protocols for radiopharmaceuticals should include postmortem management, such as evaluating radioactivity in deceased patients prior to cremation and standardizing notification of crematoriums." Lutetium-177 The case involved a 69-year-old male cancer patient who received intravenous radioactive treatment called lutetium-177 dotatate in 2017 for a tumor in his pancreas. Two days after beginning the treatment, the patient became more ill. He checked in and died in a hospital different from where he was receiving radiation therapy. The hospital where the man died did not notify the crematory about the radiation treatment. After learning about the case, the researchers asked the Arizona Bureau of Radiation Control if there are regulations or protocols for events such as this. They learned that there are no federal regulations on what to do with the bodies of patients who were exposed to radioactive materials for medical diagnosis or treatment. Fortunately, the researchers only found a maximum Geiger-counter reading of 25,000 counts per minute on the crematory equipment. This translates to an exposure of 7.5 millirem per hour for anyone in direct contact with the equipment. This is far below the levels that could quickly cause radiation poisoning. Lutetium 177 also has a short range and short half-life, so any dangerous effects would not have spread far or lasted long. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. An unvaccinated 5-year-old boy from France is suspected of reintroducing measles back to Costa Rica, which has been free of the infectious disease for five years. First Measles Case In 5 Years The boy arrived with his parents on Feb. 18 for a vacation in the country. The child's mother, who was not also vaccinated, confirmed that other children attending the child's school in France have also been diagnosed with measles. The boy is now in quarantine at the Monsenor Sanabria Hospital in Puntarenas. His parents are also reportedly isolated. In a statement, Costa Rica's Ministry of Health said officials are searching for people the child may have come into contact with before he was placed in isolation. These include passengers who arrived in the country on the same Air France flight the boy's family boarded on. According to the health ministry, the last time one of the country's citizens had measles was in 2006. Prior to the arrival of the French boy, the last case of measles imported to Costa Rica had been in 2014. Measles Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that spreads through coughing and sneezing. The disease can be serious and even deadly for small children. Measles can be prevented with a vaccine and vaccination. It was once common but cases fell as children get vaccinated. Despite the availability of vaccines, figures from the World Health Organization show 110,000 people died because of the disease in 2017. Most of the fatalities were children below 5 years old. "Measles outbreaks can result in epidemics that cause many deaths, especially among young, malnourished children. In countries where measles has been largely eliminated, cases imported from other countries remain an important source of infection," WHO said. Symptoms of the disease include nasal congestion, conjunctivitis fever, a rash that starts in the head and expands throughout the body. "It is so contagious that if one person has it, 90% of the people around him or her will also become infected if they are not protected," the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Through the looking glass: The Boeing Airpower Teaming System provides an early glimpse at the future of warfare in which opposing sides battle it out remotely. Weapons like this are also cheaper and safer to operate, allowing forces to maximize their resources. Boeing on Wednesday revealed its latest aerial platform, the Boeing Airpower Teaming System. The jet-like aircraft was designed to fly solo, unmanned missions or alongside existing military aircraft in a support role at a fraction of the cost associated with traditional fighter jets. The Boeing Airpower Teaming System measures 38 feet long with a range of more than 2,000 nautical miles. Boeing said the craft can be loaded with onboard sensors to support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions and electronic warfare. Kristin Robertson, vice president and general manager of Boeing Autonomous Systems, said the companys latest will truly be a force multiplier as it protects and projects air power. Developed by Boeing Australia, the project is the companys largest investment in a new unmanned aircraft program outside the US. Unmanned aircraft afford a number of advantages over human-piloted fighter jets. Humans, for example, can only be exposed to a limited number of Gs, fly for a set number of hours and process data so quickly. Autonomous aircraft wouldnt be limited by such factors. Boeing said the first test flight is planned for 2020. Recap: Rejoice Overwatch healer mains, Blizzard has announced the newest hero for popular shooter Overwatch. Baptiste is a Haitian combat medic who grew up during the Omnic Wars as an orphan. The new support oriented hero makes a compelling reason to play as a support despite the dominance of tank and damage dealing Overwatch heroes. Baptiste was forced to join the mercenary group Talon (whose members also include Reaper, Widowmaker, and Sombra) to survive and has since learned how to adapt to various situations. Last year saw the release of Brigitte, Reinhardt's dutiful engineer; Ashe, the leader of the Deadlock gang; and Wrecking Ball, a genetically modified hamster who basically rides in a giant ball of death. However, only Brigitte was in the support class which is crucial to competitive team play. As a support character, Baptiste seems to slot somewhere between Ana and Lucio. His abilities include: Biotic Launcher: A three-round burst with significant damage output that can also heal allies by lobbing projectiles near them. Regenerative Burst: Heals himself and allies over time. Immortality Field: Uses a generator to create a field around himself that prevents allies from dying. Amplification Matrix: Creates a "matrix" that doubles the damage and healing of any friendly projectiles that pass through it. For example, if Ana shoots a healing dart through the matrix, the dart's healing power will increase when it hits an ally. Exo Boots: Baptiste can jump higher by first crouching, then jumping. Talking to The Verge, Overwatch lead hero designer, Geoff Goodman, liked the idea of a "gadget healer" hero: We were playing with various gameplay concepts around deploying gadgets / devices as a way to support and heal your team. From a pure gameplay standpoint, this hero was built to both give support players new options and gameplay to support their team, and also to appeal to players who might not play support often. As an avid Overwatch player myself, I can personally attest to how frustrating it is when someone doesn't play healer. Given how large the character roster is, it can be tempting to simply pick your favorite DPS or tank character and go for it. However, not having a healer can prove devastating if the other team is particularly good. I think well see Baptiste played with Ana for some longer range damage dealing and damage boost ultimate comboing, says Goodman. Ana can also fire through his amplification matrix and get both boost healing and boosted damage, depending on who she hits. I also think its possible well see Baptiste paired with Bastion, which can be really scary when you can buy him precious time with immortality field and boost his already scary damage with amplification matrix. Respawn's Apex Legends has taken the gaming world by storm by being surprisingly fun and polished. In fact, many Overwatch players may be lured by the similar hero shooter mechanics that Apex Legends has. That said, Overwatch has maintained a healthy competitive player base since its 2016 launch including winning best Esports game at the 2018 Game Awards. For now, there isn't a concrete release date for Baptiste. However, PC players can try him out in the public test region (PTR) right now. Watch Baptiste's origin story below. Why it matters: Lenovo describes the ThinkVision M14 as the perfect travelers companion. Indeed, thats a use case I hadnt really even considered. If you work a lot on the go with colleagues or clients, the ThinkVision M14 could allow you to share your screen with them without having to physically turn your whole laptop around or rearrange seating. Im a sucker when it comes to screen real estate the more, the merrier. Its why I use a 40-inch 4K television as my desktop monitor and one of the reasons I prefer desktops over laptops. With Lenovos latest offering, however, you can get the best of both worlds portability and real estate. The ThinkVision M14 is a portable monitor meant to complement your laptops primary screen. It features a 14-inch full-HD (1,920 x 1,080), IPS display boasting 300 nits of brightness. The monitor measures 4.6mm thick and weighs just 1.3 pounds so it shouldnt add much heft to your travel bag. Lenovo isn't the only player in the portable screen game. The Lapscreen, showcased at CES last month, is available for $200. LG also showed off its 27-inch Neo Art portable display at CES last month although it's only a prototype right now. Lenovos ThinkVision M14 launches in June 2019 for 229, or around $260. Thumbnail courtesy Gil C via Shutterstock In brief: Swatch Group has hassled individual smartwatch face makers with C&D notices in the past with some success. Now it is taking on industry giant Samsung over downloadable complications (smartwatch speak for watch faces) that resemble iconic and, more importantly, trademarked dials of its many watch brands. Less than a week ago Samsung revealed the new Galaxy Watch Active at its Unpacked event. Now Swatch Group, who manufactures Tissot, Omega, Rado, and Swatch branded watches is suing the electronics titan for trademark infringement. The watchmaker alleges that downloadable faces for Samsungs Gear Sport, Gear S3 Classic and Frontier smartwatches look identical to several of its own trademarked watch dials. Swatchs filing is asking in excess of $100 million in damages claiming unfair competition and business practices. It filed the suit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York because it says the United States where its trademarks are registered. This unabashed copying of the Trademarks can have only one purpose to trade off the fame, reputation, and goodwill of the Swatch Group Companies' products and marks built painstakingly over decades, the filing reads [PDF]. This latest complaint is not the first time Swatch has taken action against potential digital violations of its physical trademarks. Back in 2014, the watchmaker was one of several companies that issued takedown notices to several sites that hosted smartwatch faces that allegedly violated its copyrights noted Engadget. However, this is the first time it has filed a formal lawsuit over the matter. While Swatch Group brands primarily manufacture traditional watches, the company has dabbled with smartwatches in the past. In 2015, it launched a Swatch brand watch, which was not smart but supported NFC mobile payments. In 2016, it introduced the Tissot Touch line of watches. Samsung smartwatch owners can swap out faces via its Galaxy Wearable app. It also has a face designer app in beta that allows developers to create custom faces. It is unclear if the complications in question are Samsung-created or ones uploaded by third-party designers. Meanwhile, according to the court documents, police uncovered a gruesome scene in a backroom in the apartment - one person's body was resting on a bed, with his head toward the end and his right foot through the wall to the next room. One was faceup on the bed, and another was sitting up against it. A child was on the floor. And a fifth person was buried beneath another body. 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. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Monday defended the company's US$479 million contract with the U.S. military -- a commitment that some Microsoft employees strongly opposed. While pledging to engage with employees and consider Microsoft's role as a corporate citizen, Nadella said the company would not withhold technology from institutions in democracies elected to preserve the freedoms of their citizens. He made the remarks in an exclusive interview with CNN Business at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, Spain. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks onstage at MWC Barcelona. Microsoft was awarded the nearly half-million dollar contract last fall for an "Integrated Visual Augmentation System" using HoloLens technology. HoloLens is used in augmented reality glasses that allow viewers to see the real world overlaid with live information graphics. The contract calls for more than 100,000 of the systems to be delivered to the military to provide its forces with "increased lethality, mobility and situational awareness" in combat. Some HoloLens headsets already have been delivered to the Israeli military, where they're used to help commanders visualize combat situations and to enable field medics to communicate with physicians, according to CNN. Microsoft Technical Fellow Alex Kipman unveils HoloLens 2 at MWC Barcelona. Workers 4 Good Nadella's defense of the military contract came days after a group of Microsoft employees, calling themselves "Workers 4 Good," protested the deal through a letter published on Twitter. "We are a global coalition of Microsoft workers, and we refuse to create technology for warfare and oppression," the group noted. "We are alarmed that Microsoft is working to provide weapons technology to the U.S. Military, helping one country's government 'increase lethality' using tools we built," the letter states. "We did not sign up to develop weapons, and we demand a say in how our work is used." While the group acknowledged that Microsoft previously has licensed technology to the military, the company never before crossed the line into weapons development, it maintained. "With this contract it does. The application of HoloLens within the IVAS system is designed to help people kill," the letter states. "It will be deployed on the battlefield, and works by turning warfare into a simulated 'video game,' further distancing soldiers from the grim states of war and the reality of bloodshed." In its letter, the group demanded Microsoft cancel the IVAS contract, cease developing weapons technologies, create an acceptable-use policy barring the company's technology from being used in weapons systems, and appoint an ethics review board to enforce and validate compliance with the no-weapons policy. Weapon or Not? Not everyone agrees that the IVAS contract is for a weapons system. "From what is known of the contract, there is nothing inherently 'weaponized' about the intended HoloLens usage, although tangentially it could be leveraged in that way," said Eric Abbruzzese, senior analyst with ABI Research, a technology advisory company headquartered in Oyster Bay, New York. "The initial publicly available info framing it from a soldier-safety standpoint goes a long way to distancing the contract from a weapons related area," he told TechNewsWorld. The contract isn't as far removed from Microsoft's current business as the W4G group has contended, Abbruzzese also noted. "It's too early to say how exactly the company's plans may shift going forward, but for this specific project I don't believe it is far from existing engagements," he said. The U.S. military has been using Xbox controllers for some of their systems for years, and it also uses Windows-based systems, Abbruzzese pointed out. "For Windows, there can be a comfortable distance from weaponry, but HoloLens may veer too close," he said. While there isn't anything confirmed to suggest a weaponized HoloLens system, considering the vague public details about the contract, it could be expanded in that direction, Abbruzzese said. Listening but Not Backing Down While Nadella pledged to listen to employees, it seems doubtful Microsoft will be backing out of the HoloLens deal. "The group of protesting employees is small, at least at present," Abbruzzese observed. "The only way a notable impact happens is when there's a much larger and more significant employee response, such as a strike or protest on a large scale." The composition of the protest groups matters, too, noted Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, a technology advisory firm in Hayward, California. "Frankly, the opinions of key executives and senior engineers are likely to outweigh clerical staff and knowledge workers," he told TechNewsWorld. Employee activism can be somewhat dangerous for a high-tech company, though, according to Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, an advisory services firm in Bend, Oregon. "Policy should typically be set at the top of the company, not at the bottom," he told TechNewsWorld. The employees also may be unschooled about today's high-tech business landscape. "There is no a single U.S. tech company that doesn't sell into the military or aerospace in one form or another, especially when you get down to software and hardware," said Jim McGregor, principal analyst in the Phoenix, Arizona, offices of Tirias Research, a high-tech research and advisory firm. "Any new technology is likely to be used by governments," he told TechNewsWorld. "It's natural." King found some irony in the protest. "I have to say there's more than a little irony when complaints are coming from employees of a firm that has long made tens of millions of dollars annually from military simulation games," he said. "Not to put too fine a point on it, but it's worth asking who was complaining as games like Halo, Gears of War and Sniper Fury were rising to prominence?" King asked. Winning a Better Process The protesting Microsoft employees may not be able to reverse the IVAS agreement, but they may change how their company looks at these kinds of agreements in the future. "The biggest change that could result from this is a more objective and transparent approach to military contracts that could veer into aggressive/weaponized usage," Abbruzzese said. "Engaging with employees before the contract is signed and allowing employees a choice in their involvement going forward may become a requirement if protests continue to grow," he continued. "We saw an initial promise for this already, so a baked-in option for employees may be coming." Even if Microsoft changes how it handles military contracts, those contracts will remain attractive to tech companies. "Working with military agencies and entities is something most IT vendors do willingly or even enthusiastically due to the size and length of contractual agreements," King said. "If the aim of those efforts is improving the overall efficiency or effectiveness of a fighting organization," he continued, "trying to parse the morality of a weapons system contract over deploying tens of thousands of desktop PCs and workstations becomes a rhetorical exercise." 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. 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. 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. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are exchanging greetings as they kick off their second summit in Hanoi, Vietnam. The two leaders exchanged handshakes, laughs and some small talk at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi hotel, where they're scheduled to meet for 20 minutes before sitting down for what the White House has described as a "social dinner." Trump told reporters of the meeting: "We look forward to it, we both do." Asked whether he might formally end the Korean War, he responded: "We'll see." Trump earlier made the case that North Korea could thrive economically like Vietnam if the North ends its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Trump said: Well see what happens, but he wants to do something great. __________ FROM EARLIER: U.S. President Donald Trump has arrived at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi for his second face-to-face meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump and Kim are scheduled to meet for 20 minutes before sitting down for what the White House has described as a "social dinner" together. They'll sit down again for formal meetings Thursday. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said earlier that Trump would be joined at the Vietnam dinner by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Kim will be joined by Kim Yong Chol, his chief interlocutor with the U.S., and North Korea's minister of foreign affairs Ri Yong Ho. In a series of tweets, Trump called Kim my friend and vowed to discuss denuclearization. All false reporting (guessing) on my intentions with respect to North Korea. Kim Jong Un and I will try very hard to work something out on Denuclearization & then making North Korea an Economic Powerhouse. I believe that China, Russia, Japan & South Korea will be very helpful! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2019 Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2019 Less than two hours before he is set to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam, U.S. President Donald Trump is complaining about news coverage of their second summit. In a Wednesday tweet, Trump is criticizing "false reporting (guessing)" about his intentions with respect to North Korea but isn't citing any. He adds: "Kim Jong Un and I will try very hard to work something out on Denuclearization & then making North Korea an Economic Powerhouse." Trump in recent days has signaled there is some flexibility on his previous demands that North Korea denuclearize before it sees some relief from crushing U.S. and international sanctions. Trump and Kim are set to meet for what the White House is calling a "social dinner" on Wednesday and have formal meetings on Thursday. ___ 3:35 p.m. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will meet for what the White House is calling a "social dinner," as they begin their second summit in Vietnam. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says each of the leaders will be joined Wednesday by two of his senior-most aides, as well as interpreters. Trump is to be joined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Kim will bring Kim Yong Chol, his chief interlocutor with the U.S., and North Koreas minister of foreign affairs Ri Yong Ho. They will be dining at Hanois Metropole Hotel, which also will host their formal meetings Thursday. Austin, Texas Some lawmakers in Texas are trying to make it easier for parents to opt out of vaccinating their children with a new bill. The bill, introduced in the state Legislature this month, would make it easier for parents to request exemptions from vaccination requirements. It would also prevent the state Health Department from tracking the number of exemptions. Lawmakers behind the bill said they are concerned unvaccinated students could be tracked and bullied, according to the Texas Observer. State Rep. Bill Zedler, one of the lawmakers involved in the anti-vaccine push, noted that he had illnesses like measles, mumps and chickenpox when he was young. He argued that people are only dying of diseases like measles "in third-world countries," according to the Observer. "Today, with antibiotics and that kind of stuff, they're not dying in America," Zedler said, according to the Observer. Antibiotics are not effective against diseases caused by viruses, including measles and some other vaccine-preventable illnesses like chickenpox and mumps. Zedler was born in 1943, 20 years before the measles vaccine was developed. About 450 people died of measles every year in the U.S. during his childhood, the Observer noted. About 48,000 were hospitalized during that time period and a few million got the disease each year. The introduction of the measles vaccine in 1963 virtually eliminated the illness in the United States by 2000, according to the Observer. Health officials are worried that the anti-vaccine trend could renew the threat from illnesses like measles, according to USA Today. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently tracking six measles outbreaks in different parts of the country, USA Today said. And the agency has said the number of children who aren't vaccinated by age 2 has been gradually increasing. The World Health Organization has said people choosing not to vaccinate has become a global health threat. Texas has had eight confirmed cases of measles so far in 2019 and mumps cases reached a 20-year high in 2017, according to the Observer. Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598 MUZAFARABAD, Pakistan (AP) Pakistan shot down two Indian warplanes Wednesday in the disputed region of Kashmir and captured their pilots, its military said, raising tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals to a level unseen in 20 years. India acknowledged one of its air force planes was "lost" in skirmishes with Pakistan and its pilot was "missing in action" in a chaotic day that also saw mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier dividing the two sectors of Kashmir kill six civilians and wound others. Pakistan responded by shutting down its civilian airspace as Prime Minister Imran Khan called for negotiations with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to ensure "better sense can prevail." "Let's sit together to talk to find a solution," Khan said. There was no immediate reaction from Modi. The planes went down Wednesday morning in Kashmir, a mountainous region claimed by both India and Pakistan since almost immediately after their creation in 1947. One of the downed planes crashed in Pakistan's part of Kashmir while the other went down in Indian-controlled section of the Himalayan region, Pakistan's army spokesman Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor said. Pakistani troops on the ground captured the pilots, he said. The injured pilot was being treated at a military hospital, Ghafoor told a news conference in the garrison town of Rawalpindi. He did not elaborate beyond saying the pilots were being "treated well" and made no mention of them being returned to India. Ghafoor struck a conciliatory tone. "We have no intention of escalation, but are fully prepared to do so if forced into that paradigm," he added. India's External Affairs Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said one of its Mig-21 fighter aircraft was missing. He said India was still "ascertaining" whether its pilot was in Pakistan's custody. He said one Pakistani aircraft was shot down, something Pakistan denied. Meanwhile, Indian police say officials have recovered four bodies from the wreckage of an Indian Air Force chopper that crashed in Indian-controlled sector of Kashmir. Senior police officer Munir Ahmed Khan said the chopper crashed close to an airport on Wednesday in Budgam area, in the outskirts of the region's main city of Srinagar. The Srinagar airport, which has been shut along with two other airports for civilian flights in the region, is also an air force station. Eyewitnesses said soldiers fired in air to keep residents away from the crash site. It wasn't immediately clear if that crash was related to Pakistan's claim of shooting down a second Indian aircraft. Hours later, Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority said it shut Pakistani airspace to all commercial flights on Wednesday, without elaborating or indicating when the flights might resume. It was not clear if the shutdown applied to commercial overflights, though aviation authorites in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates stopped all flights to Pakistan. Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad said the country's air force was carrying out airstrikes Wednesday from within Pakistani airspace across the disputed Kashmir boundary but that this was not in "retaliation to continued Indian belligerence." Ghafoor, the Pakistani military spokesman, said the strikes were aimed at "avoiding human loss and collateral damage." According to local Pakistani police official Mohammad Altaf, the six fatalities in the Indian shelling earlier on Wednesday included children. The shells hit the village of Kotli in Pakistan's section of Kashmir. Kashmir is split between Pakistan and India and claimed by both in its entirety. Though Pakistani and Indian troops in Kashmir often trade fire, the latest casualties came a day after tensions escalated sharply following a pre-dawn airstrike and incursion by India that New Delhi said targeted a terrorist training camp in northwestern Pakistan. In Tuesday's pre-dawn strike by India, Pakistan had said that Indian warplanes dropped bombs near the Pakistani town of Balakot but there were no casualties. Residents on both sides of the de-facto frontier, the so-called Line of Control, said there were exchanges of fire between the two sides through the night. In Pakistan's part of Kashmir, hundreds of villagers fled border towns. The situation was no different in villages along the Line of Control in Indian-controlled Kashmir, where residents were moving to safer places following the intense exchange of fire, which began Tuesday and continued Wednesday. In New Delhi, Indian officials said Wednesday at least five of their soldiers were wounded in firing by Pakistani troops along the volatile frontier. Lt. Col. Devender Anand, an Indian army spokesman, said Pakistani soldiers targeted dozens of Indian military positions across the Line of Control throughout the night. An Indian military statement said that "out of anger and frustration," Pakistan "initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation." The statement said Indian troops "retaliated for effect" and claimed to have destroyed five Pakistani posts. It accused Pakistani soldiers of firing mortars and missiles "from civilian houses, using villagers as human shields." Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was expected to convene the National Command Authority on Wednesday to discuss Islamabad's response to the incursions by Indian warplanes. On Wednesday, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told state-run Pakistan Television he was in touch with his counterparts across the world about the "Indian aggression," adding that New Delhi had endangered peace in the region by Tuesday's airstrike on Pakistan. In New Delhi, India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said Wednesday her country does not wished to see further escalation of the situation with Pakistan and that it will continue to act with responsibility and restraint. She said the limited objective of India's pre-emptive strike inside Pakistan on a terrorist training camp Tuesday was to act decisively against the terrorist infrastructure of Jaish-e-Mohammad group, to pre-empt another terror attack in India. The latest wave of tensions between Pakistan and India first erupted after the militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the Feb. 14 suicide bombing of a convoy of India's paramilitary forces in the Indian portion of Kashmir that killed over 40 Indian troops. Pakistan has said it was not involved in the attack and was ready to help New Delhi in the investigations. India long has accused Pakistan of cultivating such militant groups to attack it. That could be a declaration to end the Korean War. Such an announcement would allow Trump to make history and would dovetail with his opposition to "forever wars." But it wouldn't amount to concrete steps toward denuclearization and could even turn the focus of discussions to removing or reducing the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. If there is no war, North Korea could ask why the U.S. needs to have troops in South Korea at all. North Greenbush, N.Y. Two armed men allegedly opened fire as they robbed a bank outside Albany on Tuesday and wounded a teller. Police later took a group of suspects into custody and were questioning them, according to The Daily Gazette in Schenectady. No charges had been filed as of Tuesday evening. The robbery took place at the M&T Bank branch in North Greenbush. "Somebody being injured in a bank robbery is very serious to us and we want to make sure that we dedicate everything we possibly can to get the positive outcome that we're looking for," North Greenbush Police Chief David Keevern said, according to the Gazette. The robbery began at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday when two masked men entered the bank with weapons, according to the Times Union in Albany. The tellers were compliant and the men got away with some cash. As the suspects ran out the door, they fired shots. A bullet grazed a teller's arm and she was treated for minor injuries, the Times Union said. We are deeply relieved to report that our customers and colleagues are safe and secure, Julia Berchou, a spokeswoman for M&T, said in a statement, according to WNYT in Albany. There were two minor injuries that we are thankful were not worse. Police learned that two male suspects had been at a nearby Motel 6 in Albany and quickly focused the investigation there, according to WNYT. At least two dozen police cars filled the road near the motel and officers cleared the site room by room, according to the Times Union. The suspects were eventually apprehended at the motel scene, but police would not say whether they were found inside or in the surrounding area. Police also would not say whether money and weapons were retrieved or how many people were apprehended. When asked if officers were looking for other suspects, Keevern said police "believe we have everything we're looking for," according to the Times Union. North Greenbush police, the New York State Police and the FBI are continuing to investigate. Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598 Lake George, N.Y. Work on a building in Lake George this month uncovered the remains of over a dozen people with apparent ties to the Revolutionary War. Workers first unearthed the skeletal remains in early February while excavating a lot for an apartment house, according to the Albany Times Union. Authorities eventually called archaeologists to examine the property. Excavation confirmed 11 graves containing the partial remains of 13 people, the Times Union said. Seven of the adults were over 20 years old and six were younger. Workers unearthed fragmentary remains of at least five other people as well. Along with the remains, archaeologists found three coat buttons from the Revolutionary War with an insignia matching the First Battalion of Pennsylvania, according to The New York Times. A Lake George official said the town is now looking at ways to acquire the site to preserve it. The Pennsylvania battalion was plagued by poor conditions and disease, including a smallpox outbreak, according to the Times Union. The group was part of a failed invasion of Quebec in 1776. Its possible members of the battalion were buried at the Lake George site because a nearby fort had the largest military hospital in the colonies and treated thousands for smallpox, according to WNYT in Albany. "These are some of our first veterans," Lake George Town Supervisor Dennis Dickinson said, according to WNYT. "At some point in time, we want to do the right and proper thing to either reinter them where they are and if that's not feasible, figure out an area that is feasible and do it there." Archaeologists found a few skulls, arm bones, pelvises and femurs, along with the coat buttons. The dig uncovered fragments of coffin wood and coffin nails as well, according to the Times. The New York State Museum in Albany will analyze the finds. Experts from the museum, the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the office of Parks, Recreation and Historical Preservation all participated in the investigation. Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598 Twitter has permanently suspended Jacob Wohl, a far-right activist who previously tried to fabricate evidence about special counsel Robert Mueller, for creating fake accounts in an alleged attempt to try to manipulate the 2020 presidential election. Twitter confirmed in a statement Tuesday that Wohl's efforts violated its rules that prohibit users from creating misleading accounts to influence conversations on the site - a policy Twitter has sought to enforce aggressively since Russian agents tried to destabilize U.S. politics on social media during the 2016 presidential election. Reached by phone Tuesday evening, Wohl said that one of the accounts attributed to him, @women_4_schultz, was largely an "intellectual exercise." Wohl, who didn't dispute having created the account, said it was designed to gauge whether Schultz had much support among liberal women. Wohl's suspension came on the same day as a story in USA Today in which the activist said he planned to create "enormous left-wing online properties" in a bid to steer voters "to what we feel are weaker candidates compared with Trump." But Twitter's investigation found that Wohl already had created some of those accounts, including one called @women_4_schultz, which sought to advance the early candidacy of Howard Schultz, according to a source familiar with Twitter's investigation but not authorized to speak on the record. The former Starbucks CEO is now considering running for president as an independent. But Wohl claimed that other accounts allegedly attributed to him were not his creation. Asked to name specific accounts for which that was the case, Wohl said he could not fully recall. Wohl long has been a controversial figure on Twitter, particularly for his attempts to spread misinformation that claimed that Mueller had sexually assaulted a woman. Jacob Wohl tells USA Today he's going to create fake left-wing Facebook & Twitter accounts to interfere in the Democratic presidential primaries. This sure sounds like the kind of "inauthentic behavior" Facebook has previously banned accounts for.https://t.co/PEtu95ekBV pic.twitter.com/6SAK7C6ahz Alex Kaplan (@AlKapDC) February 26, 2019 SAN DIEGO (AP) The government is demolishing eight prototypes of Donald Trumps prized border wall that instantly became powerful symbols of his presidency when they were built nine months after he took office. The Trump administration says elements of the prototypes have been melded into current border fence designs and they have served their purpose. The four concrete and four steel panels, spaced closely together steps from an existing barrier separating San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, were one of Trump's top priorities, and he visited the location a year ago to see the installations firsthand. For Trump's allies, the towering models were a show of his commitment to border security and fulfilling a core campaign promise. For detractors, they were monuments to wasted taxpayer dollars and a misguided display of aggression toward Mexico and immigrants seeking a new home in the United States. Less than two hours after crews began Wednesday, seven of the barriers were destroyed. A large hydraulic jackhammer attached to an excavator pounded the walls repeatedly as slabs fell into small clouds of dust. An owl flew out of a steel tube on top of one model just as the jackhammer started to knock it down. A panel made of steel poles was also dismantled. Public access to the prototypes was blocked from the San Diego side, turning an impoverished Tijuana neighborhood into a popular spot for journalists, demonstrators and curious observers. Artists displayed light shows on the walls with messages such as "Refugees Welcome Here" next to an image of the Statue of Liberty. President Donald Trump talks with reporters as he reviews border wall prototypes last year. (Evan Vucci | AP Photo)AP People climbed piles of trash against a short border fence that has since been replaced to get a clear view from Mexico. Some asylum-seekers hoisted their children over the fence in front of construction crews to turn themselves in to agents. Their removal makes way to extend a second layer of barrier with steel bollards, similar to slats, topped by a metal plate rising 30 feet (9.1 meters) from the ground, the same design being used elsewhere on the border. The new barrier vaguely resembles some of the steel prototypes but looks nothing like the solid concrete panels, which were widely panned because border agents can't see what's happening on the other side. The nearly $3 billion that Congress has provided for barriers during the first half of Trump's term requires that money be spent on designs that were in place before May 2017, effectively prohibiting the prototypes from being used and denying Trump bragging rights to say he built his wall. It's unclear if the restriction would apply to the billions of dollars that Trump wants to spend by declaring a national emergency on the nation's southern border. The prototypes are coming down during the same week that the House voted to block Trump's emergency declaration. The eight prototypes, which cost $300,000 to $500,000 each to build, vary by slopes, thickness and curves. Bidding guidelines called from them to withstand at least an hour of punishment from a sledgehammer, pickaxe, torch, chisel or battery-operated tools and to prevent use of climbing aids such as grappling hooks. The guidelines also required they be "aesthetically pleasing" from the U.S. side. One has two shades of blue with white trim. The others are gray, tan or brown in sync with the desert. The Department of Homeland Security redirected $20 million from its budget in February 2017, a month after Trump took office, to pay for the prototypes and smaller mock-ups built farther from the border that have already been dismantled. The open bidding generated a wide range of ideas, some of them whimsical or far-fetched. One bidder wanted a wall large enough for a deck that would offer tourists scenic views of the desert. Bidders met fierce criticism from wall opponents. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico said any Mexican companies who expressed interest were betraying their country. The government rigorously tested the designs and, according to a summary from the Government Accountability Office, found that the concrete walls posed "extensive" construction challenges and the others posed "substantial" or "moderate" challenges. Six of the eight would require extensive changes to accommodate drainage. Border Patrol spokesman Ross Wilkin said testing also exposed several design flaws. A steel model with vertical U-shaped indentations could be jammed with small pieces of wood that could be climbed like a ladder. Prototypes with any exposed fasteners like screws or bolts could be broken with the right tools. Wilkin noted that authorities never claimed the prototypes would be impenetrable and that they simply wanted to know how much time it took to crack each one. The appeal to private industry for ideas was a new approach to building barriers and provided many lessons to guide construction, he said. That includes learning that certain materials were unsuitable for quick repairs and that combining different surfaces, like bollards topped by plates, were more effective. The new barrier replaces a steel-mesh fence that runs more than 12 miles (19 kilometers) from the Pacific Ocean, which worked like a fortress when it was built a decade ago but is now regularly breached with powerful battery-operated saws recently made available in home improvement stores. It will then extend another mile or so over the prototype site. SLSCO Ltd. of Galveston, Texas, won the $101 million contract in December and started work last week. Work on replacing the first-layer barrier, also with steel bollards and metal plates up to 30 feet high, runs the same length as the second layer and is nearly finished. The previous first-layer barrier was a short fence. The prototypes and new construction continue a long presence of border activity in the adjoining Tijuana neighborhood, initially occupied by squatters who later bought the land. Guillermina Fernandez, who sells plants out of her home and at a public market, said smugglers once brought large groups of migrants and dug small holes under the old fence. About 15 years ago, Fernandez, 54, briefly turned her patio into a dining area for migrants. Campfires kept people warm while waiting for an opening to dart past Border Patrol agents. "It looked like a party here," she said. Illegal crossings in San Diego have fallen dramatically since barriers were installed in the 1990s and mid-2000s, but some migrants go around them and others go over them. Residents complain that outsiders illegally dump trash on their dirt roads that lack street lights. They say the new wall has produced one benefit: The bollards allow the Border Patrols bright lights to seep in and provide some visibility at night. A pair of Upstate New York lawmakers say they have come up with a better way to boost the regions interests without splitting off into a separate state. A bill introduced Wednesday in Albany would shift the balance of power between Upstate and Downstate interests by allowing each of New Yorks 62 counties -- no matter how small -- to be represented by its own state senator. New York apportions its Senate and Assembly districts based on population, giving New York City and downstate interests a built-in advantage over Upstate New York in Albany. When Democrats gained majority control of the 63-seat New York Senate in November, only three members of the party represented Upstate New York. The other 24 senators north of Westchester County are Republicans. State Sen. Joe Griffo, R-Rome and Assemblyman Mark Walczyk, R-Watertown, said their legislation would amend the New York Constitution to make sure power is shared along geographic lines. Griffo, the Senates deputy minority leader, and Walczyk say their amendment would help give Upstate New York an equal voice in state government, boosting a region whose residents have long felt ignored. As the representatives of New York City quite naturally focus on the needs of their own constituents, many issues critical to the prosperity of Upstate New York have been routinely ignored over the past few years, the lawmakers wrote in a bill memo. Griffo and Walczyk said more equitable distribution of legislative representatives might well lead to a better and less parochial government for all New Yorkers. The change in how the state apportions senators would put New York on the same footing as the federal government. Each state is represented in Congress by two U.S. senators, regardless of the states population. But the 435 House members are apportioned in congressional districts based on population. The New York legislation would affect only the Senate. Assembly members would continue to be apportioned by population. The initiative comes after Republicans lost control of the New York Senate for only the second time since World War II. The GOP controlled the Senate for most of the 20th Century. The change has prompted renewed calls for Upstate New York to secede into a separate state. State Sen. Daphne Jordan, a Republican from Saratoga County, proposed legislation this week that would authorize a study into the costs of splitting New York into two states. The study would also examine the legal implications and economic impact of a split. Separately, Assemblyman Stephen Hawley, an Upstate Republican, proposed legislation this month to split New York into two states. It has become abundantly clear in recent years that the New York City voting bloc has forgotten Upstate and is imposing their radical left-wing agenda on all of us, whether we like it or not, Hawley said. And that is deeply troubling. Contact Mark Weiner: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751 An 87-year-old Oswego County man who was thrown from his car Monday afternoon after he crashed into a county snow plow on state Route 49 in West Monroe has died from his injuries, according to New York State Police. Bert D. Hyland, 87, of Bernhards Bay, was driving a 2013 Toyota east on Route 49, between Helinger Road and county Route 37, at 2:40 p.m. when he lost control on the snow-covered road, state police said. His car crossed the center line and struck an Oswego County Department of Transportation snow plow. Hyland was ejected from the car and later found under a guardrail on the south shoulder of the road, troopers said. After the impact of the initial crash, Hylands car then struck a 2008 Pontiac traveling behind the snow plow. The driver of the Pontiac, 50-year-old Tresia M. Easterly, of Cleveland, suffered minor injuries. The snow plow driver was not hurt. Hyland was taken to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse with serious internal injuries. He was listed in stable condition at first, but died Tuesday, police said. West Monroe, Central Square and Brewerton volunteer firefighters, and the Oswego County Sheriffs Office assisted at the scene. SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Local advocates are calling on state lawmakers to put aside more money for Syracuses public buses in an effort to fight poverty and improve access to jobs. Members of the Moving People Transportation Coalition gathered at Centros hub in downtown Syracuse Tuesday and asked for a 50 percent increase in Centros budget over the next five years. Four regular bus riders shared stories about why Centro is critical and what challenges people face who use public transportation in Syracuse. Julius Lawrence said he lives on the South Side and recently retired. When I retired, my car decided to retire too, he said. On Sundays, he takes a Centro bus to the east side, where hes a minister at his church. He said relying on Centro can be difficult and hed like to see it better funded. In recent years, Centro has made changes to make ends meet, including raising fares and eliminating routes. Sharon Sherman, executive director of the Greater Syracuse Tenants Network, said Centro needs to increase the number of routes offered. To do that, it will need more state money. If we want to do something about poverty, we have to do something about public transportation, she said. People wont be able to get jobs or move outside of the blight of the cit y[bad areas] if they cant get a bus... Most people who use Centro in Syracuse are below the poverty line. A recent survey from the Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council showed 61 percent of riders make less than $25,000 per year. Most riders use the bus to get to work. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed a 5.32 percent increase in transportation funding next year. Sherman said that increase needs to double this year to cover Centros operating costs, which are about $8 million per year. The local push for more funding is part of a statewide lobbying effort to increase funding for transportation, including putting aside money to improve New York Citys ailing Metropolitan Transportation Authority. State lawmakers will take up budget hearings in the coming weeks. The budget deadline is April 1. A representative from state Sen. Rachel Mays office said Tuesday that May plans to hold a hearing about public transportation in Syracuse in the coming weeks as well. Public transportation woes have plagued Syracuse for years. Mayor Ben Walsh identified transportation as one of five areas where Syracuse lags behind its upstate neighbors like Albany, Rochester and Buffalo. In a report issued last year, Walshs administration said people in Syracuse are less likely to take public transportation than people in Albany, even though the two cities have a similar rate of households without access to a car. Syracuse is also seeing a decline in bus riders, though the number of people in poverty taking the bus is staying the same. The report said more information was needed to determine why, exactly, people in Syracuse were less likely to use public transportation than in other cities. Sign up now to have the Good Morning, CNY" newsletter. Syracuse.coms most important headlines will be delivered to your inbox for free by 7 a.m. Monday through Friday. The baby Asian elephant born at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo on Jan. 15 is a step closer to gaining a name, with the announcement of a public vote for five finalists selected by the zoos elephant care team. Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon announced the five finalists in the naming contest today, and invited the public to vote for their favorite submission for the male calf born to mother Mali and father Doc. County Executive McMahon said, The response from the community has been tremendous with over 3,000 people suggesting names for the baby elephant. McMahon continued, The elephant care staff have chosen their top five, and now we will hold an online vote for the winning name. The zoos elephant keepers selected names that reflect the heritage of Asian elephants, which are native to Southeast Asia. The 5 finalists are: Ajay (Uh-JAY) Invincible in Sanskrit submitted by Heather House, 37, of Hastings. Anurak (Ah-NEW-rak) - Male angel in Thai mythology submitted by Sarah Pappa, 20, of Altmar. Chakrii (JAK-gree) King in Thai submitted by Rebekah Liszewski, 20, of North Syracuse. Luk Chai (Look-CHAI) Son in Thai submitted by Lilyanna Kupiec, 12, of Camillus. Rune (Roo-NEE) Happy in Thai submitted by the Geller family of Pennellville. The public may vote online here. Voting ends at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 8. SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A Syracuse University student was robbed at gunpoint Tuesday night, according to a release from the universitys Department of Public Safety. Just after 7:15 p.m., a student reported being approached by two men in the 400 block of Van Buren Street, near the corner of Almond Street, DPS said. One of the men showed the student a black handgun and asked for the students property, DPS said. The student gave the two men food and money before they fled west on Burt Street, away from SUs campus, DPS said. The student didnt report any injuries, DPS said. University police say one suspect is a man, 5-feet, 6-inches tall, 18-20 years old and wearing all dark clothing. The other suspect is a man, 5-feet, 8-inches tall, 18-20 years old, heavier set and wearing all black clothing, police said. DPS asks anyone with information about the incident to call the Syracuse Police Department at 315-442-5222 or the DPS at 315-443-2224. CICERO, N.Y. -- New York State Police are looking for help solving a hit and run that occurred in Cicero, according to a Wednesday news release. On Feb. 10, police say one vehicle hit another on Thompson Road, near Gillette Road Middle School, just after 4:33 p.m. The driver whose car was hit complained of head and neck pain but refused medical attention, police said. Police are looking for the driver of the car pictured above. State police ask that anyone with information about the hit and run call 315-366-6000. All information is kept confidential, police said. Goldens talk will be followed by questions and discussion, and refreshments will be served. He describes it as an exploration of the importance of Connecticut and Hartford to Twains life and work, including his famous neighbors, such as novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe, travel writer and journalist Charles Dudley Warner, Civil War hero and senator Joseph Hawley, and female suffrage campaigner Isabella Beecher Hooker. 860-906-5000 or capitalcc.edu or marktwainhouse.org. Last years first-place winner, Brodie Meyers, spoke during the ceremony about his trip to the home of George Washington. Brodie told the audience that he and his family were honored to participate in a prestigious ceremony where he and his brother placed wreaths at the tombs of George and Martha Washington. His father read Washingtons prayer for his country, and his mother led a group in the Pledge of Allegiance. It was an honor to be part of this ceremony, said Brodie. All fourth-grade students in Washington County Public Schools and home-school programs have the opportunity each year to participate in the assignment, which encourages students to gain stronger reading and self-expression skills and to learn more about George Washington as an individual and leader. Students in the county were encouraged to participate by writing essays containing 300 to 500 words and using at least three different sources for research. Emory, Va. Marijuana and a firearm found in a campus visitors car last Tuesday led Emory & Henry College Campus Police to apprehend at least one suspect, according to a school official. Jennifer Pearce, vice president for marketing and communications, said campus police investigated a report of heavy marijuana smell coming from a vehicle parked on campus and found both marijuana and a firearm in the car. Darrell Dickinson, public information officer with the Washington County Virginia Sheriffs Office, said they were called by Emory & Henry Campus Police for assistance but did not provide other information. As Arthur grows into his own, he develops a simple principle for ruling his kingdom: no borders, no wars, no jealousies just the rule of law and chivalry governing his closest advisers. Despite this noble goal, clouds immediately begin to loom on the horizon, threatening to throw Arthurs carefully cultivated dream of a civilized kingdom into disarray. The first problem is Lancelot, a French knight whose immaculate reputation makes him the envy of the court, from fair maidens and fellow knights alike. The other is Mordred, Arthurs illegitimate son, who shows up in Act Two to try to scheme his way into stealing Arthurs crown. Theres a lot of backstory and lore to the Arthurian myths that the musical simply doesnt have time to fully explore suffice it to say that these characters often cycle in and out of Arthurian stories as the plot dictates, always with the same motivations. Merlin will always try to teach Arthur unconventional lessons; Lancelot will always value himself a bit too highly; Mordred will always come up with elaborate plots to try to trap Arthur into an impossible bind. The order in which all this happens, or the likelihood of it happening all at once, isnt really the point. The state can only issue one casino license per city, if approved by a local voter referendum. The bill was approved 30-10 by the Senate and 64-33 by the House. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} A release on Saturday from the Bristol Resort and Casino group states: We are pleased that the General Assembly has created a framework for moving forward with this project. We look forward to working with the Governor on this legislation. The resort and casino will provide a major economic boost to the city of Bristol, as well as the entire Southwest Virginia and Tri-Cities region. We appreciate the strong support of our entire legislative delegation, who all see the importance of bringing more jobs and additional tax revenue to the region. As we take the next steps to make this project a reality, we will continue working closely with our local and state elected leaders. The Senate bill and a House substitute were before the conference committee for 10 days before being finalized on Saturday. The bill would impose a tax ranging from 13 to 15 percent of the adjusted gross receipts of licensees, based upon a licensees annual adjusted gross receipts, and provide for how the tax proceeds would be disbursed. LEBANON, Va. An Abingdon man has pleaded guilty to 100 counts of possession of child pornography. Russell County Commonwealths Attorney Zack Stoots said Jonathan Earl Armitage, 36, pleaded guilty on Wednesday. The charges stemmed from a 2016 investigation conducted by the Russell County Sheriffs Office, Abingdon Police Department and the Virginia State Police, Stoots said. Sentencing for Armitage is scheduled for May 30 at 1 p.m. in Russell County Circuit Court. WASHINGTON COUNTY, Va. An Abingdon man was arrested by the Abingdon Police Department on Monday morning after breaking and entering into a home, according to a press release from the Abingdon Police Department. At 7:39 a.m. Monday, Officer Y. D. Wilmoth responded to a breaking and entering in the 700 block of Hillman Highway in Washington County, Virginia, with the perpetrator described as a white male wearing a tan jacket with a hood, who was seen rolling a cart from the scene. According to the report, when Wilmoth arrived at the scene, the individual who made the complaint pointed out the suspect, who was later identified as Augustus R. Johnson, 26, walking down Hillman Highway. Upon seeing Wilmoth, Johnson ran behind a greenhouse on the property. According to the release, the complainant gave chase and subdued the suspect. A subsequent search of Johnson yielded a screwdriver, chisel, keys, multiple drivers licenses that belonged to other people and a flashlight. Johnson was arrested and transported to the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail and charged with statutory burglary, possession of burglary tools, destruction of property and petit larceny. He is being held without bond. The CRC is a requirement among many local employers. Our goal is to help people become work-ready. Were the programs that fill in the gaps for those people without jobs or education, said Carlson. Carlson said the adult education program, which is part of this partnership, often gets misunderstood. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Adult education has always been viewed as the GED program, but over the last few years, the Virginia Department of Education has said we need to provide opportunities not only to educate but to train people who are not headed to a four-year college degree. Were not just GEDs anymore. Were GED plus other components, such as remediation, computer skills, preparing for college placement tests and even writing resumes, she said. These grants are a result of the states mission to develop better communities, to provide local employers with workers they need and to promote other companies to locate in our region. Carlson said MRRAEP supports as many as 30 day and night classes for adults. Heavy rains on Saturday prompted road closures across the greater Bristol region including Abingdons East Main Street, where Town Creek sliced the historic town in half with its overflow in Southwest Virginia. With this much rain, everything is at capacity, said Abingdon Police Chief Tony Sullivan. Our water table is full, the ground is saturated, and there is nowhere for the water to go. We have not seen rains like this for a long time. Abingdon town officials closed Tunnel Street at 10 a.m. Saturday due to flooding, Sullivan said, then blocked off East Main Street at noon, between Tanner and Deadmore streets, due to high water levels. Town officials created a detour using Tanner, Valley and Hutton streets yet issued a release, noting, This detour is not wide enough to accommodate large towed vehicles or tractor-trailers. The town also posted High Water signs on East Main Street (U.S Highway 11). We try to leave Main open as long as possible because we have no way to detour truck traffic, Sullivan said. However, once the water level reaches a point where cars cannot cross, we have no choice but to close it for the safety of the motorists. New Havens Firehouse 12 announced its spring series, which will feature the Step In Trio on March 8, Tomas Fujiwaras Triple Double on March 15, Wendy Eisenberg on March 22, Ralph Petersons FoTet on March 29, Unspeakable Garbage on April 5, Crump/Laubrock/Smythe on April 12, Joe Fiedlers Open Sesame on April 19, Elder Ones on April 26, Zwelakhe-Duma Bell le Pere Quintet on May 3, Jaimie Branch on May 10, Michael Formanek Elusion Quartet on May 17, Shipp/Lowe/Cleaver/Ray on May 24, and Brian Krocks LIDDLE on May 31. (All shows $10-$20). 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. Called the La Maison collection, the range has been created in collaboration with Luxury Living Group. It will be manufactured in Italy and distributed worldwide by Luxury Living Group. The luxury home collection has been curated by renowned interiors designers while the classic crystal pieces are the work of the house of Baccarat. According to Daniela Riccardi, Baccarat CEO, the mix of heritage and modernity is part of the DNA of both companies. Meanwhile, Raffaella Vignatelli, President of Luxury Living Group, added: Working with a brand that has centuries of history means being able to express the values and essence of a unique lifestyle in a range of furniture. Its my fathers dream come true, to translate the legendary elegance and iconic style of Baccarat into an extraordinary furniture collection, offering to our most discerning consumers the choice of a truly unique collection. Baccarat was founded in Paris, France in 1764. The iconic Kiwi gumboot is taking one step forward thanks to Mr Gs latest art piece. Graham Hoete, more commonly known as Mr G, is auctioning off his gumboot artwork called Kauri Kamuputu aka the Million Dollar Gumboot to raise money for Mike King's mental health group I AM HOPE and its Gumboot Up campaign. The Papamoa-based artist says hes been working on the project for five or six months and is now ready to show it to the public at the Tauranga Art Gallery for two weeks. He announced the arrival of the million dollar gumboot on his Facebook Page yesterday with a photo of two police officers standing on either side. The cops were just walking past and we decided to grab them and bring them in for the photo, he says. It wasnt planned. The idea of the gumboot transpired from years of people coming to where Mr G was working at the time and asking him to sign their gumboot. It came together organically really. Ive signed letter boxes, skateboards and walkers, but the gumboot for some reason kind of just took off- Ive easily signed more than 500. He says from there he always had plans to do something big and bold revolving around the gumboot. The Million Dollar Gumboot is made from Kauri wood and is hand carved with koru patterns as well as Mr Gs signature. Its true to Aotearoa New Zealand- being Maori its the visual language of our story and I want it to tell my story and our story. Its just jammed with New Zealand goodness. From the response that he has had since the project was announced, Mr G says he is looking into encouraging the public to donate money towards the cause instead of just one person bidding on the gumboot. Ive had mad love from Kiwis all over basically just saying that theyre not a millionaire, but they do want to donate and contribute to the cause. Two police officers were convinced to take a little break to get the perfect promotional picture. Photo: Mr G's Facebook Page. We are looking at doing up a page where people can contribute a dollar upwards the cause, and I reckon we will get it to $1 million when we open it up to the public. In the past Mr G has been public about his struggles with mental health, and has used his talents to bring hope to people who are going through what he has gone through. He has also supported many Kiwis and organisations who do work in the suicide prevention/mental health spheres. "Five years ago I went through a suicidal point in my own life so my passion and heart towards this is real," he says. If I can help as many people as I can with my art that would be great. The artwork is meant to be auctioned live on TVNZs Seven Sharp on April 5, but Mr G alludes that this may not be the case. Were hoping its going to another place that I cant really disclose now, but its really cool- Mike King is sorting it all out. A truck and trailer unit is blocking both north and south-bound lanes of the Waikato Expressway near Rangiriri, Paddy Road. The truck hit a barrier, continued over it and then hit an overbridge at about 3.15am, says a police spokesperson. Although the occupants of the truck were not injured, a significant amount of debris covers the road and it is blocked in both directions. "A crane is on the way to assist with the removal of the truck this morning. "One lane in each direction has been open over the course of the morning, however the road will be blocked again entirely when a crane arrives to remove the truck and trailer. "Traffic is moving very slowly - please avoid the area if possible as there will be delays. "We thank motorists for their patience at this time." Itll still be the same literary extravaganza one of New Zealands largest second-hand book sales. For 31 years, the Tauranga Rotary Clubs Annual Book Sale has been held at Easter. This year, however, the 32nd event has been brought forward a couple of weeks. So its the same book sale at the same venue, but with a slightly different time schedule. It will be held at the Seeka Coolstore on Harvard Way thats right opposite Classic Flyers in Mount Maunganui and it opens on Friday, March 8, between 4.30-9pm. It opens again that weekend, on Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10 (9am-4.30pm). The fair is open to all ages and admission is free. The Tauranga Rotary Book Sale usually has over 100,000 items for sale. All fiction books are sorted alphabetically under authors, while all other factual books are sorted into categories. Many first editions and gems can be found by the buying public, and this year a large collection of art books from a private collection has been donated, as well as a large number of transport books. Tauranga Rotary also has thousands of records, CDs, DVDs, magazines and jigsaw puzzles, and even includes sheet music. There will be a silent tender for rare books, closing at midday on the Sunday. Eftpos is available, and there will be more than 20 cashiers at the check-outs. Donations can be dropped off at 20 Ririnui Place, Maungatapu, or 24 Montana Drive, Tauranga, until March 2, or until March 6 at the venue. The Friday night will include readings for kids and some light music. Boxes are available, but people are asked to bring their own bags. b Restaurants (Plan B Burger Bar) will host Mardi Gras-themed First Friday parties at all of its locations on March 1, with special food and drink items like seafood gumbo and mini poboys with crawfish or shrimp ($3 to $6) and Hurricanes and Abita beer ($6 and $6.50.) Music, beads, masks, prizes, giveaways and more. burgersbeerbourbon.com. 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 Bay of Plenty Our client has plenty of work in the pipeline and as such they are in need of qualified or experienced carpenters for an... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz Police are in the process of notifying the families of the three people killed in a four truck crash in the Bay of Plenty. Bay of Plenty road policing manager Inspector Brent Crowe says once this is complete, the names of the deceased will be released. Emergency services were notified of the crash on State Highway 2, west of Matata, around 1.50pm. Brent says the crash involved four trucks, three of which were engaged in road maintenance at the time, with the fourth truck travelling east towards Matata. The three deceased were road workers and police extend their condolences to family and friends of deceased at this time. A number of investigations are now underway including one by the Police Serious Crash Unit to determine the cause of the crash. Any drivers who used this stretch of SH2 between 1.30pm and 1.50pm yesterday are encouraged to make contact with the Whakatane Police on (07) 308 5255 as soon as possible. Air New Zealands fare reduction announcement should benefit Rotorua and Tauranga. Air fares to both cities have been drastically reduced. According to a schedule on Stuff today, flights to and from Auckland to the central Bay of Plenty destinations will be priced at $39, each way from Wellington, $49; and similar to and from Christchurch, $59. Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick has welcomed Air NZs Monday announcement. Several civic leaders have reacted with caution, subject to details of which flights and on which schedules the cheaper fares will apply. Steve Chadwick. Any initiative that benefits our local travellers and our visitors is certainly welcome, says Steve Chadwick. The lowest fares dont apply for all flights but Im sure that many Rotorua residents, and visitors to Rotorua, will take advantage of the new prices on these key routes to and from our city. The airline plans to drop fares by half in up to 40 on its domestic routes. Earlier this week, Rotorua MP Todd McClay, the Oppositions spokesman for tourism and foreign affair and trade, also welcomed the news. A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday an investigation of the incident is underway. Southwest confirmed the aircraft, which was ultimately diverted to T. F. Green Airport in Warwick, R.I., had suffered damage on the right wing. The airline said it will conduct its own internal review of the flight, apologizing to passengers and offering ticket refunds and vouchers for a future flight. Movement up or down in the median price does not necessarily mean all prices or home values for that matter are moving in the same direction. The median can be influenced by the mix of homes for sale at any one time and can vary widely from town to town or even neighborhood to neighborhood. Jacob Dalton Payne passed away June 25, 2021.Visitation is from Thursday-Saturday at Strode Funeral Home. Services will be 2:00pm Saturday, July 3, 2021 at the Strode Funeral Home Chapel. Reception to follow at the Stillwater Community Center. TICKERS: DEFN; DFMTF; 35D Source: Rick Mills for Streetwise Reports (2/27/19) Rick Mills of Ahead of the Herd provides an overview of the ups and downs in the rare earths market and discusses one company that he believes has all the elements in place for a "successful, small-scale rare earth operation." Those who have worked in the business as long as I have will easily remember the rare earth mania of 200811. For about three years following China's export restrictions on rare earth elements, which hiked the prices of REEs to record highs, the junior resource market was awash with new rare earth explorers. These tiny companies fanned out across (mostly) Canada, the U.S. and Australia in search of the next rare earths motherlode that would break the world's dependence on China, which then and now has a monopolythe country either mines or processes something like 95% of the 17 rare earth elements (REEs) and turns them into oxides, then continues the process of making high-purity metals, alloys and powders that are used in everything from cell phones, flat-screen TVs, permanent magnets and lasers, to wind turbines, nuclear reactors and missile guidance systems. Click here for a more comprehensive list. They mostly failed. Not one of those highly touted junior held rare earth deposits outside China has been turned into a mine. The hype dissipated and resource investors moved on to other metals. Arguably though, the importance of rare earth elements has never gone away; in fact they are more crucial than ever, as trade tensions between the U.S. and China and the markets for REEs growsuch as for neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium used in permanent magnets placed in electric vehicles. For more read our Rare earths in cross-hairs of new arms race. This article will look back at the rare earth mania, describe why none of these companies have made it past the feasibility stage, and present a roadmap for how to build a rare earths mine, one step at a time, that is both feasible and cost-effective. Rare earth mania Today, the only significant non-Chinese firms currently producing rare earth elements are Molycorp, whose Mountain Pass mine in California mines the REEs and ships them to China for processing, and Lynas, whose Mt. Weld mine in Western Australia produces a concentrate that is processed in Malaysia. A few other countries produce a handful, tonnage-wise, of REEs but they are very small compared to Chinajust 1,600 to 3,000 tonnes annually compared to China's 105,000 tonnes. For a time though, rare earths were on the lips of every mining investment house and resource junior. To not have a rare earths play meant missing out on the party. The chart below courtesy of Avista Group shows the bubble inflating then the pop. For instance, dysprosium prices rocketed from $118 a kilogram in 2008 to an insane $2,262/kg in 2011. Europium ran up from around $600/kg in 2010 to $3,000/kg the following year. While the spike in rare earths prices was good for Molycorp and all the exploration companies that sprang up in search of them, buyers of products made from rare earths balked and pressured governments to do something about it. The U.S., European Union and Japan brought a case to the World Trade Organization to try and settle the dispute and get China to lift the restrictions. In 2015 it did, resulting in a torrent of Chinese rare earth exports into the market and the inevitable collapse in prices. The move caught Molycorp off-guard. The company had just spent over a billion dollars on another upgrade at Mountain Pass but within months, Molycorp fell deeply in debt and went bankrupt. Most of the rare earth juniors withered and died too. For a more detailed history read our How the US lost the plot on rare earths. Separation anxiety Mining rare earth elements is fairly straightforward: if found close enough to surface they can be scooped up in open pits, crushed and gravity-separated from the host minerals, but separating and extracting a single REE takes a great deal of time, effort and expertise. The ore is ground using crushers and rotating grinding mills, magnetic separation (bastnasite and monazite are highly magnetic, they can be separated from non-magnetic impurities in the ore through repeated electromagnetic separation) and flotation gives you the lowest value sellable product in the rare earth supply chainthe concentrated ore. The milling equipment, including crushers; grinding mills; flotation devices; and magnetic, gravity, and electrostatic separators, all have to be configured in a way that suits the type of ore being minedno two ores respond the same way. The major value in REE processing lies in the production of high-purity rare earth oxides (REOs) and metalsbut it isn't easy. A REE refinery uses ion exchange and/or multi-stage solvent extraction technology to separate and purify the REEs. Solvent-extraction processes involve re-immersing processed ore into different chemical solutions in order to separate individual elements. The elements are so close to each other in terms of atomic weight that each of these processes involves multiple stages to complete the separation process. In some cases it requires several hundred tanks of different solutions to separate one rare earth element. Heavy rare earth elements are the hardest, most time-consuming to separate. The composition of REOs can also vary greatly; they can and often are designed to meet the specifications laid out by the end-product users. An REO that suits one manufacturer's needs may not suit another's. For more on mining and processing REEs, read our Mine to Magnet. Doing it wrong The challenges of producing anything more then a rare earth concentrate has always been several fold for junior resource companiescomplicated mineralogy means complicated expensive metallurgy, a lack of infrastructure and a lack of technical knowledge of the extraction process. The disbursement of the REEs in a typical deposit is not uniform and they are often contained in different oresas high as 5. The more complicated the minerology the more complicated, expensive and time consuming metallurgy will be. A lack of infrastructure doubles down on your problems. This includes easily accessible power, water, NG, roads and railways. Many rare earth properties are far from any infrastructure, minimizing the prospect of advancement. Even more challenging is developing a hydrometallurgical plant to produce the separate high purity rare earth oxides. One of the world's foremost REE geologists and mineralogists, Tony Mariano, says each REE deposit, assuming a favorable political climate and good logistics, will need certain conditions present: Favorable mineralogy and lanthanide distribution Necessary grade and tonnage Mining and mineral processing at low costs Successful chemical cracking of the individual lanthanides for their isolation and eventual recovery Low values of thorium, uranium and other deleterious impurities Minimum environmental impact Dudley Kingsnorth of Industrial Minerals Company of Australia outlines the necessary steps to take a REE deposit all the way to production: Prove resource: grade, distribution and understand mineralogy Define process and bench scaleeach ore-body is unique. Because of this uniqueness a new separation process has to be developed for each individual deposit Conduct pre-feasibility study Demonstrate technical and commercial viability of the process Obtain environmental approval Publish Letters of Intentmarketing is customer specific. The main value-added from rare earths is not in the mining and extraction, so it is necessary to either develop your own supply chain or gain access to an existing supply chain Complete a bankable feasibility study Effect construction and start-up There are significant barriers to entry into the rare earths market: Developing a rare earth mine and processing plant is capital intensive. Capacity costs are highUS$30,000+ per tonne of annual separated capacity versus less than US$3500 for an open pit mine in the U.S. history shows that the development time can be very long at 10-15 years Operational expertise on mining, cracking and separating is very limited outside of China Major mining companies and institutions are put off by high capex investments in such a tightly focused market. This leaves juniors with potential development issues Back in 200811, all these challenges didn't dissuade hundreds of juniors, whose booths lined the aisles of PDAC, from grabbing the opportunity to cash in on rare earth mania. Until prices crashed in 2012 and the hype was over. A few are still around, but most perished in the cold winter of investor disenchantment that descended on the rare earths sector post-2012. The phrase "over-promised and under-delivered" comes to mind. The strategy of most of these companies went something like this: identify a rare earth deposit, then hone in on the most valuable REEstypically heavy rare earth elements like dysprosium, europium, terbium, gadolinium, etc.which at the time were commanding record-high prices. The plan was to mine the most lucrative rare earths, produce a concentrate, and then build a refinery, at great expense, for converting the rare earth concentrate into individual 99.5% oxides, powders, metals and alloys for each desired REE for sale to end-users. The problem was that most of these companies either didn't understand the complicated process involved in mining/ processing rare earths, or did know, and hid the truth from investors. A couple of examplesno names will be mentioned. The rare earths deposit is located in a remote region with no infrastructure. According to a prefeasibility study, the open-pit operation would target the highest-grade REE mineralization. The project has a capex (capital expenditures) budget of $2.6 billion, including a hydrometallurgical facility that would produce four products: one heavy and one light REE concentrate, one oxide and one by-product mineral. The ore would be crushed at the mine site, trucked to a port, and then shipped along a canal to the hydro-met facility for further processing. Annual revenues would average north of a billion dollars. Another project is also on the middle of nowhere with no towns, roads or power nearby. Total capex including a mine, mill and hydrometallurgical complex is just over $500 million. Ore from the underground mine would be mined and processed into a concentrate, then barged approximately 200 kilometers to the rare earths refinery, where there is energy and transportation infrastructure. Both of these projects have no infrastructure, exorbitant capex that would scare off any institutional investor, and complicated mine plans, both in terms of logistics and processing. We could've chosen many other ill-fated examples. Even if a junior miner was able to produce an oxide, that's not the end of the road. From an initial 98% purity, the oxide must be further refined to 99.5% purity required by most end-users. The cost to increase the purity to 99.5%, and the technical know-how/ operational expertise, is well beyond the capabilities of almost every junior miner for the several reasons listed above. Very few REE miners will ever get paid for producing a 98% oxide let alone a 99.5% pure oxide. It's far more likely that most REE juniors will end up selling a mixed rare earth concentrate comparable to what a junior copper miner would sell. Others further up the REE value-added supply chain (i.e., end-users who have a proprietary process) will turn the concentrate into rare earth oxides and continue the process of making the high-purity metals, alloys and powders. Doing it right Fortunately there is an easier way to mine rare earths without getting into the inordinately high capital expenditures and processing complexity. The answer? Keep it simple and small, take what mother nature easily gives you. At Ahead of the Herd we've identified a project in northern British Columbia that has all the elements in place for a successful, small-scale rare earth operation: Defense Metals Corp.'s (DEFN:TSX.V; DFMTF:OTCQB) Wicheeda Project. Located close to a major population center, Prince George, Wicheeda has no uranium, low thorium values, all the necessary infrastructure, the deposit has simple mineralogy, and the metallurgy has already been demonstrated through bench-scale testing. Enough historical drilling has been done to compile an historical non-43-101 compliant resource estimate of 11.2 million tonnes grading 1.95% Light Rare Earth Elements at a 1% cut-off (LREE = Ce + La + Nd). A 2009 study was designed to discover the ease of making a rare earth concentrate from a composite rock sample taken from Wicheeda carbonatite, based on three assay samples. Bench-scale testing yielded more potentially recoverable rare earth elements than the resource estimate's current REEs (lanthanum, cerium, neodymium and samarium) such as dysprosium, europium and praseodymium. The study author, Tony Mariano cited above, noted he's only seen a high-grade REE concentrate similar to the Wicheeda composite in China, the center of global rare earths processing. Bench-scale flotation and hydrometallurgical testwork was done on Wicheeda drill cores at a SGS Lakefield lab during 201011. SGS successfully developed a flotation flow sheet that recovered 83% of the rare earth oxide (REO) and produced a concentrate grading 42% REO. Subsequent hydrometallurgical testing in 2012 on a two-kilogram sample of the concentrate grading 39.7% TREO (total REO) produced an upgraded and purified precipitate that contained 71% TREO through a process of pre-leaching and roasting. For more read our Defense Metals has sights set on rare earths, uranium. This isn't just another rare earths story pump, like dozens of others told during rare earth mania. This project differs significantly from others that have tried, and failed, before it. Here's how: Infrastructure in place. At 80 km northwest of Prince George, Wicheeda isn't remote. The deposit is situated alongside a major forestry service road that is connected to Highway 97, the main artery running through northern BC. Prince George has many industries currently using chemicals such as caustic soda and hydrochloric acid, and by-products of operations range from white/black liquor to lime and others. There is a trained workforce already very familiar with the shipping/receiving, use of, and proper disposal of chemicals, being home to a methanex plant and three pulp mills. A planned 200-tonne-per-day pilot plant on a dormant sawmill site at Bear Lake is a short 40-minute drive north of Prince George on Hwy 97. A CN rail line runs past the old sawmill site and there is a siding running into the site. The Bear Lake site has adequate power, water, a railway siding and a nearby natural gas pipelineall the elements needed for rare earth processing and shipping. At 80 km northwest of Prince George, Wicheeda isn't remote. The deposit is situated alongside a major forestry service road that is connected to Highway 97, the main artery running through northern BC. Prince George has many industries currently using chemicals such as caustic soda and hydrochloric acid, and by-products of operations range from white/black liquor to lime and others. There is a trained workforce already very familiar with the shipping/receiving, use of, and proper disposal of chemicals, being home to a methanex plant and three pulp mills. Uncomplicated mining. The rare earth minerals bastnasite and monazite, containing the REEs, are disseminated fairly uniformly throughout the property. Mining would be an open-pit scenario, which is basically just an earth-moving operation. The raw ore would be run through a magnetic separatorbastnasite and monazite are magneticwith the resulting early-stage concentrate trucked to DEFN's pilot plant in Bear lake for further processing. The rare earth minerals bastnasite and monazite, containing the REEs, are disseminated fairly uniformly throughout the property. Mining would be an open-pit scenario, which is basically just an earth-moving operation. The raw ore would be run through a magnetic separatorbastnasite and monazite are magneticwith the resulting early-stage concentrate trucked to DEFN's pilot plant in Bear lake for further processing. Work with Mother Nature. Unlike other rare earth juniors, Defense Metals isn't promising the moon and delivering an asteroid. The company's plan is to use whatever elements are in the rare earth minerals to produce a mixed rare earth concentrate that would be sold, likely on long-term contracts, to end-users. Unlike other rare earth juniors, Defense Metals isn't promising the moon and delivering an asteroid. The company's plan is to use whatever elements are in the rare earth minerals to produce a mixed rare earth concentrate that would be sold, likely on long-term contracts, to end-users. Scale up slowly. Production, under a BC Small Mine Permit, would gradually be scaled up, from a 30-tonne bulk sample to a 200-tonne per day pilot plant that proves the ability to produce a mixed rare earth concentrate for commercial production. Defense Metals could also use its scaled-up processing plant to "contract process" other companies' rare earths into a concentrate. There are three stages to the ramp-up: Step 1: Bulk sample metallurgical testing/ re-assaying the pulps. Defense Metals has sent a 30-tonne bulk sample from the deposit to SGS Canada's Lakefield, Ont. metallurgical facility. "Building on the successful bench scale flotation testwork conducted in 2012 by SGS on a 100 kg composite sample of Wicheeda drill core, the goal of the Phase 1A testwork is to develop a robust flow sheet for producing high-grade REE flotation concentrates from a 200-kg sample of the 30-tonne Wicheeda REE deposit bulk sample. It is anticipated that 20 kg of REE concentrate will be produced by Phase 1A," said Chris Graf, DEFN's technical advisor. After the 20-kg sample of flotation concentrate has been produced, hydrometallugical testwork on the sample is expected to start at the end of May, to produce a purified, mixed REE concentrate and provide data for the design of a 200 tonne-per-day pilot plant at Bear Lake. Step 2: Pilot plant. The concentrate pilot plant will take the entire 30-tonne Wicheeda Lake bulk sample and process it, with the goal of demonstrating that the Phase 1 A flowsheet is capable of producing a high-grade REE concentrate at an industrial scale. Step 3: Hydrometallurgical test plant. The last step, and Defense Metals' ultimate goal, is to build a hydrometallurgical plant at Bear Lake that would convert the rare earth concentrate into individual rare earth oxides, for sale to specific end-users. It's expected that the Phase 2 pilot plant metallurgical testwork will produce about three tonnes of REE concentrate that can be tested by a Phase 3 hydrometallurgical pilot plant. Production, under a BC Small Mine Permit, would gradually be scaled up, from a 30-tonne bulk sample to a 200-tonne per day pilot plant that proves the ability to produce a mixed rare earth concentrate for commercial production. Defense Metals could also use its scaled-up processing plant to "contract process" other companies' rare earths into a concentrate. There are three stages to the ramp-up: Click on the Feb 25 operational update for more details Once the plant enters commercial production, customers could include military defense contractors, considering the high concentration of metals used for defense purposes, and companies in the magnet manufacturing sector, which require combinations of neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium or samarium and cobalt. Like the concentration processing plant plant, the hydro-met plant could also do "contract processing" of other REEs from companies that ship their rare earth concentrates, by rail, directly to DEFN's Bear Lake facility. Conclusion Sometimes less is more, especially when "more" comes at great expense and investor risk. Defense Metals has come up with a very manageable plan to cost-effectively put an extremely prospective rare earths deposit into production. Unlike many juniors before it, the plan doesn't involve a billion-dollar capex that includes a mine, mill and processing plant. Instead, DEFN is piggy-backing on previous bench-scale testing to slowly prove the metallurgy and then scale upfirst developing a flow sheet from a 200-kg sample, to get 20kg of REE concentrate. Then a pilot plant to test whether the original 30-tonne bulk sample can produce a concentrate at industrial scale. And finally, a hydrometallurgical test plant that can produce three tonnes of REE concentrateenough for commercial use. Each step that is successfully completed will provide more confidence for investors, and further de-risk the project. If all these steps are completed, we see there being no shortage of customers wanting to purchase DEFN's high-purity REE concentrate. At this stage we would also see Defense Metals as a high-priority takeout candidate by a magnet manufacturer, for example, wanting to lock up a reliable supply of rare earth concentrate, outside of China. I'm looking forward to the successful completion of Phase 1A, a 20-kg concentrate. Richard (Rick) Mills aheadoftheherd.com Ahead of the Herd Twitter Ahead of the Herd now on FaceBook Richard (Rick) Mills, AheadoftheHerd.com, lives on a 160-acre farm in northern British Columbia. Richard's articles have been published on over 400 websites, including: WallStreetJournal, USAToday, NationalPost, Lewrockwell, MontrealGazette, VancouverSun, CBSnews, HuffingtonPost, Beforeitsnews, Londonthenews, Wealthwire, CalgaryHerald, Forbes, Dallasnews, SGTreport, Vantagewire, Indiatimes, Ninemsn, Ibtimes, Businessweek, HongKongHerald, Moneytalks, SeekingAlpha, BusinessInsider, Investing.com, MSN.com and the Association of Mining Analysts. [NLINSERT] Disclosures: 1) Rick Mills: I, or members of my immediate household or family, own shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: Defense Metals. I personally am, or members of my immediate household or family are, paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. My company currently has a financial relationship with the following companies mentioned in this article: Defense Metals is an advertiser on Ahead of the Herd. I determined which companies would be included in this article based on my research and understanding of the sector. Additional disclosures/disclaimer below. 2) The following companies mentioned in this article are sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Defense Metals. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. 3) Comments and opinions expressed are those of the specific experts and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The author is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. The author was not paid by Streetwise Reports for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports requires contributing authors to disclose any shareholdings in, or economic relationships with, companies that they write about. Streetwise Reports relies upon the authors to accurately provide this information and Streetwise Reports has no means of verifying its accuracy. 4) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports. 5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this interview, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Defense Metals, a company mentioned in this article. Images provided by the author. Ahead of the Herd 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. Defense Metals (TSX-V:DEFN) is an advertiser on Richard's site aheadoftheherd.com. Richard owns shares of DEFN. TICKERS: PAT; PTOTF Source: Streetwise Reports (2/26/19) Company continues to add technologies, turning it into a total solutions provider. Patriot One Technologies Inc. (PAT:TSX.V; PTOTF:OTCQX), developer of the PATSCAN software and sensor solutions for the covert detection of weapons threats, has spent the last year turning its proof of concept prototypes for threat detection into a commercially viable product. The technology is now ready for prime time, and the company has been running nonstop. In the last few months alone, Patriot One has forged a partnership with Cisco; acquired a company for its complementary video analytics suite; formed a joint venture to commercialize a technology for the stand-off detection of explosives, chemical and biological agents and illicit drugs; and run paid pilots of the PATSCAN technology. "Patriot One has the potential to be a very big player in threat detection." - Daniel Carlson, Tailwinds Research Martin Cronin, president and CEO of Patriot One, told Streetwise Reports, "We've been through lots of iterations of the PATSCAN hardware, having had the advantage of working out in the real world in a couple of locations, particularly in Las Vegas at the Westgate Resort. We are now having paid pilots, where clients buy equipment to install in their environments, and we work closely with them." On the paid pilots, Cronin noted, "Our engineers have a full slate of activity doing field deployments and installations. We are being fairly judicious in where we go so that we can blend some high profile organizations across different sectors together with a number of our key distributors." The University of North Dakota has been deploying Patriot One's technology in facilities across campus. Because the university is a microcosm of many communities, with its own police department, health center, stadium, event centers, the company notes that this is providing a real-life test of PATSCAN's capabilities. Patriot One is also stepping up distribution relationships. "We are working with distribution partners so they can start to understand the equipment, showcase it to their clients, and go through a process of training so that we are ready for a broader commercial ramp up as we emerge from the first quarter of 2019," Cronin stated. In addition, the company has been actively increasing its offerings. "There is no single solution for every problem," Cronin told Streetwise Reports. "We've been evaluating a number of complementary technologies that can live on the common PATSCAN platform and have completed the acquisition of a New Brunswick company, EhEye Inc., that developed a video recognition software. If you have camera systems running and a weapon appears in open view, the algorithms identify that and generate an alarm. You can detect weapons in open view at much greater range. We've been integrating that and showcasing it to our clients. We believe it's a tremendous acquisition that has real value to our clients." "We are also evaluating a number of other technologies, some with magnetic resonance, some explosive detection, so over time you will see a much more diverse portfolio as we move from being a technology to being a solutions provider," Cronin stated. In October, Patriot One announced that it had been invited to collaborate with Cisco Systems on its global innovation program. "We are what is called a partner in innovation and we're going through a process now of working out how to put our products into Cisco's product lineup, so that all of Cisco's partners worldwide would be able to access our equipment," Cronin explained. "Cisco has been putting us in front of some of their key clients to talk about how together we can enhance safety in their client environments. It's a very import relationship for us. Cisco has made a really big commitment to support us. It may manifest itself in more ways as we go forward," Cronin stated. Together with Cisco, Patriot One launched a PATSCAN showcase at IBM's Innovation Centre in Montreal. Cisco is also very interested in EhEye's video recognition software. "Partners at Cisco have been hugely supportive of this particular technology and are adding a lot of support to the refinement and development in that area. They are assisting with some of the processing power that is required to run the algorithms, and how to drive down the cost of the GPUs that are required to do that processing," explained Cronin. Patriot One is adding another dimension of threat detection to its portfolio with the announcement at the end of January that it is forming a joint venture with Nano-Bio Detection Systems to commercialize a technology licensed from the University of Texas "for the stand-off detection of explosives and other threats such as chemical and biological agents as well as illicit narcotics, which has been branded as PATSCAN STS multi-chemical threat detection sensor, powered by Scotch Secure." The technology detects airborne molecules, and the JV, called Sotech Secure LLC, will hold a license to develop the technology for "applications relating to defense, security, prohibited substance detection and law enforcement." Craig Micklich, founding CEO of Nano-Bio, will serve as CEO of the JV. "This joint venture is an exciting undertaking," Cronin stated. "Our company has been searching for and evaluating innovations in threat detection for inclusion in our multi-sensor PATSCAN platform and this chemical threat detection technology is truly game-changing. I have no doubt that it will save lives both on the battlefield and in our cities." Patriot One will pay Nano-Bio up to $3 million in three tranches. Analyst Doug Taylor of Canaccord Genuity, in a January 30 company update, stated that the deal is "on point with Patriot's strategy to become a platform offering multiple threat detection sensor technologies." Taylor noted that the company has several upcoming milestones, "which should confirm Patriot's transition from concept to commercialization." Canaccord has a Speculative Buy rating and CA$3.25 target price on Patriot One. Daniel Carlson of Tailwinds Research wrote on February 5, "Patriot One has the potential to be a very big player in threat detection. As well, they have admittedly been late in achieving milestones. Now they are on the precipice of hitting many of these targets. As a result, this should be an exciting quarter for Patriot One and its investors." In October, Patriot One announced the closing of a CA$46 million bought-deal financing led by Canaccord Genuity, that included GMP Securities. "Our very strong treasury," Cronin stated, "will allow us both to ramp up as we start to execute on commercialization and not have to worry about going back to the market for funding. We have got several years of sustainability. That treasury puts us in a very strong position for becoming a total solutions provider rather than a single technology." Patriot One shares are currently trading at around CA$2.30 on the TSX Venture Exchange. The company plans to uplist to the TSX by the end of this quarter. The company was named to the 2019 OTCQX Best 50, a ranking of top performing companies traded on the OTCQX Best Market last year. Editor's Note: the name of PATSCAN MCS has changed to PATSCAN STS multi-chemical threat detection sensor, powered by Scotch Secure. Disclosure: 1) Patrice Fusillo compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee. She or members of her household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. She or members of her household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. 2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Patriot One Technologies. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. 3) Comments and opinions expressed are those of the specific experts and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. 4) The article does not constitute investment advice. 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It was bad enough when Russian staff officers and Defense Ministry analysts said it but now foreign nations are saying it too; Russia is weak and getting weaker both economically and militarily. The navy rebuilding program has collapsed because the shipbuilding industry was never able to modernize after 1991 and lost its best people to migration or better jobs elsewhere in Russia. The air force is better off because export orders from China and India kept warplane production and development going. But China was buying mainly so they could clone the latest Russian designs and eventually go on to producing their own designs which they are now doing. The army is stuck with a lot of Cold War era weapons and a growing personnel shortage. Prospects for improvement are dim and the government has resorted to the Iranian tactic of full time faking it. That means a continuous stream of press releases about new weapons and technologies that, at best, exist in small quantities and in most cases are still stuck in development. This works for a while but eventually becomes tragicomic and counterproductive. Western media will eat this fluff up for much longer because it provides viable clickbait. But the military analysts (intel and staff experts) know better as do American troops who have served anywhere near Russian troops. Israel also provides a lot of useful data as so the recent NATO members from East Europe. The military decline is also accelerated by chronic Russian economic problems and persistent corruption. Since the oil price collapse in 2013 the Russian economy has contracted and the government budget had to shrink along with it. Russian leaders compounded the problem by invading Ukraine in 2014 and triggering economic sanctions. The government response was a growing number of threats to shoot back at imaginary enemies (mainly NATO nations) using weapons Russia did not have or would not dare use (the nukes). It was also public knowledge that the military could not recruit or conscript enough men to keep the armed forces (now officially 8o percent smaller than when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991) up to strength (about a million personnel). Press releases from the Defense Ministry declare the creation of dozens of new brigades and divisions for which there are no troops. New weapons are either not delivered or do not work when they are. Another obvious problem is that needed work to rebuild decrepit or non-existent Cold War era infrastructure (roads, railroads, utilities and such) has come to a halt. The financial and economic problems increase dependence on China. Meanwhile, China is also having problems that tend to spotlight how weak Russia is. For example, China recently admitted that several years of personnel changes in the military had fundamentally transformed its armed forces. For the first time in history the Chinese army comprises less than half the personnel in the armed forces, the majority belong to the navy, air force, strategic missile forces, space force and Cyber War forces. Chinese have long called their armed forces the PLA (Peoples Liberation Army) but in the last decade it has more common even for the media to refer to the Chinese army, navy, air force and so on. This process has been going on since the 1990s and the major shift took place in the last five years. In 2013 there were 2.3 million personnel and about two-thirds of that was the army. In the last five years, there were major cuts in army strength (something that has been going on since the 1990s) and rapid growth in the navy (mainly) as well as the other services. Military strength is now less than two million. This has not gone unnoticed in Russia, although there the state-controlled mass media maintains a strict silence about how the Chinese military is not only twice the size of Russian forces, but has far more modern equipment, both in terms of quality and quantity. China also had a defense budget that is more double what Russia can afford. This also means that in the Russian-Chinese relationship China is now the senior partner, in both economic and military terms. Russia is no longer an ally of China but a client state, dependent on Chinese goodwill and financial aid. China has also not mentioned the claims on most Russian territory bordering the Pacific and Mongolia. China never renounced these claims and occasionally mentions them (quite bluntly in the 1940s, 50s and 70s and more frequently but discreetly since the 1980s.) Chinese economic capabilities have their limits and that was seen in the effort to provide Russia with a way around American banking sanctions that prevented export customers to pay for Russian weapons. China offered to help and that did not work in many cases. Thus Russia has shipped billions of dollars worth of weapons in the last few years that were not paid for. The buyer is obliged to pay when the banking sanctions are lifted but in the meantime, Russia has (in most cases) paid the Russian workers and component suppliers. That explains why the Russian government spending on defense and infrastructure have declined so sharply. Another reason for that decline is the expense of Russian military operations in Syria. Even though Russia tried to wage this effort on the cheap that did not work out as expected. Russian public opinion was very much against sending conscripts so much more expensive contract (volunteer) troops were sent, along with even more expensive security contractors (former Russia troops with special skills). More combat bonuses had to be paid as well as high death benefits. The Syria war also revealed that while Russia had smart bombs and missiles they had few of them stockpiled and the Syria fighting exhausted that stockpile. Now, most of the Russian airstrikes in Syria are with dumb (unguided) bombs. The Russian Navy put a lot of warships off the Syrian coast which backfired because the lack of training and experience demonstrated by the crews, as well as the decrepit state of the ships explained why Russian admirals openly complain of a Russian Navy that is rapidly shrinking because Cold War era ships cannot be replaced and many of those that are replaced with new ships find the new warships are often defective. Ukraine China is seeking to buy all or part of key Ukrainian defense manufacturers in order to improve weak areas of the Chinese defense manufacturing capabilities. One key area is helicopter manufacturing and Ukraine has a firm, Motor Sich, that is a world leader in building helicopter engines and other components as well as turbine engines for warships. Ukrainians, in general, are not willing to see what many consider a national treasure become Chinese owned. China has been buying components from Motor Sich since the 1990s and wants to get access to its trade secrets and key personnel. The Ukrainians are wary and the Chinese are relentless. Russia is nervous as well because until 2014 Russia was also dependent on Motor Sich (and other Ukrainian firms) for some key aircraft and industrial components. As long as Russia is occupying Crimea and parts of Donbas those business relationships are blocked and Russia has not been successful in creating adequate Russian suppliers. The war in Ukraine is heating up. In Crimea, Russia is still holding three Ukrainian ships (a tug and two patrol boats) and the 24 Ukrainians on board that were seized last November while traveling from the port of Odessa (west of Crimea) to the port of Mariupol in Donbas and 800 kilometers southeast of Kiev. The incident occurred to stop the Ukrainian ships from going under the Kerch Strait Bridge and into the Sea of Azov. After that Russia stationed warships under the Kerch Strait Bridge to block any unwanted traffic. The Kerch Bridge is too low (35 meters above the water) for 30 percent of the ships that usually use Mariupol, which is the largest Ukrainian port east of Crimea. Worse, the Russian backed rebel front lines are less than 14 kilometers from Mariupol which had a population of 450,000 before the Russians invaded five years ago. Because of construction activity on the Kerch Bridge shipping activity at Mariupol was only 28 percent of capacity. Ukraine sees this blockade of the Sea of Azov as an illegal effort to make it more difficult to supply Eastern Ukraine and make Mariupol more vulnerable to attack. Since late 2018 Russia has been moving warships from the Northern Fleet (Barents Sea) and the Pacific fleet to the Black Sea to reinforce ships already there in case there is a confrontation with NATO over Russian threats to restrict access to the Sea of Azov. Those restrictions were imposed on November 25th. As 2019 began Russian warships and aircraft were patrolling the Sea of Azov and adjacent Black Sea areas more frequently, often harassing foreign ships, not just Ukrainian ones. This all began back in April 2018 when Russia declared the Sea Of Azov, reached from the Black Sea via the 4.5 kilometer wide Kerch Strait, was now under Russian control. The Crimean Peninsula, when it was part of Ukraine, was separated from Russia by the Kerch Strait. Maximum depth of the strait is 18 meters (59 feet) and there had long been talk of building a bridge between Crimea and the Kerch Peninsula (now and always part of Russia). Once Russia seized Crimea in 2014 proposals that a bridge be built actually turned into construction activity. The Kerch Bridge opened in March 2018 (at least the highway part, the sturdier railroad section is not finished). With that Russia declared the Sea of Azov under Russian control and no foreign ship could enter with Russian permission. So far the Russians have seized over a hundred ships trying to reach the Ukrainian ports of Berdiansk and Mariupol that are on the shore of the Sea of Azov. Russia is putting these two ports out of business. The EU and U.S. protested the Russian blockade but have not done anything to get that changed, like sending American warships to conduct a FONOP (freedom of navigation operation) in the Sea of Azov. So far no NATO warships have sought to enter the Sea of Azov but more NATO warships are entering the Black Sea and visiting Ukraine. On land, a new ceasefire was agreed to on December 29th but Russian backed rebels in Donbas began 2019 with several days of heavy attacks on Ukrainian troops. The attackers, many of them Russian, suffered casualties, including several dead and over a dozen wounded. The Ukrainians held their positions. Ukraine points out that 32 percent of their military dead in Donbas were suffered after the original 2015 ceasefire was signed. This ceasefire has been continually violated with numerous small attacks and renewed, only to be violated once more. The front lines have remained stable but the casualties have continued to occur, to local civilians as well as armed forces on both sides of the ceasefire line. Syria Russia and Iran are united when it comes to opposing a planned Turkish offensive against Kurdish control of most of the Syrian border with Turkey. Russia and Iran see these Turkish plans as reckless and likely to trigger a major military confrontation with the United States. Russia and Iran would not mind seeing Turkey expelled from NATO but not at the expense of endangering Russian and Iranian forces in Syria. There are a number of other complications 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 accept 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. Venezuela At the end of January, the United States imposed sanctions on the Venezuelan state oil company, which is the only means China and Russia have to get over $40 billion in Venezuelan loans (mainly Chinese) paid back. This move encourages China to back Interim president Juan Guaido as the legitimate acting president of Venezuela (over the incompetent socialist incumbent Nicolas Maduro). While Guaido has made it clear he is willing to work with China, it is only implied that the Americans will go along with this. Russia is in a less favorable position because it is already heavily sanctioned. But Russia is also more accustomed to evading sanctions and has used to become the supplier of needed petroleum products. Venezuela needs petrol (gasoline), diesel and other refined products as well as naphtha (a chemical essential to thin the sludge-like Venezuelan crude so it can be refined or, in some cases, flow through a pipeline. Getting all this stuff from Russia required a large price increase to cover the costs of evading the sanctions. Russia was not the only one willing to provide their petroleum products but Russia was favored because Maduro is trying to persuade Russia to help keep the revolution at bay, or at least get Maduro and his family to safety in an emergency. Russia has apparently already made plans to do this, with Russian air transports mysteriously standing ready at Caribbean airports for some unspecified job. The American sanctions meant a lot of overseas assets and money owned the Venezuelan government went to the internationally recognized Interim president Guaido. One of the first things Guaido did with this money was arrange for massive amounts of emergency food and medical supplies to be sent to Venezuela. Maduro ordered troops to block roads at border crossings where the food was to enter the country. His Russian media advisors recommended that the food and medical aid was blocked because it was contaminated. That backfired and is one reason Maduro is increasingly concerned about the reliability of his troops. Earlier Maduro hired Cuba to provide technical advisors who could to show the Venezuelan socialists how to establish and maintain a long-term dictatorship. That did not work out because there was no money for it. China, Cuba, Iran and Russia are all present in Venezuela and with all that oil as collateral the Venezuelan socialists thought they had a safety net that would keep them in business. That option is now gone and the Maduro government is not only bankrupt and but unable to pump and ship enough oil to pay for food and other essential imports. In theory, China could rapidly expand its current efforts to rebuild the oil production facilities and also lend more billions to Maduro for food and other supplies. But China is unlikely to bankroll a longshot option like that. Guaido has offered to respect deals already made with China. In early February China made it clear that it was not taking sides in Venezuela and would cooperate with whoever was in charge. This came less than two weeks after Juan Guaido claimed he was the legal interim president of Venezuela. Most Western Hemisphere nations and many European ones backed Guaido (as did most Venezuelans). The United States and EU nations are assisting Guaido in taking control of billions of dollars in cash and other assets belonging to Venezuela that are located in the U.S. and Europe. On the basis of all this Guaido made it clear that he will respect current economic deals and is willing to work with Russia and China, currently Venezuelas largest creditors. Maduro has the active support of Cuba, North Korea, Iran and perhaps Russia. With allies like that, you are in big trouble. A few days after Guaido declared his claim to the presidency, Russia agreed to extend payment of Venezuelan loans by ten years. Since 2017 Venezuela has been unable to repay most of its foreign debt. Starting in 2006 Russia has loaned Venezuela $17 billion, much of which (Russia wont say how much) has not been repaid but since Venezuela has not got the cash and given the current state of its economy will not have any additional cash anytime soon Russia extended payments. In return Venezuela allowed Russia to invest $6 billion in oil and gold mining projects in Venezuela. These projects probably wont begin until the Venezuela economy recovers, meaning not for a long time. Venezuela currently owes more than $120 billion to foreign lenders. Guaido is also negotiating with the Russians, who are inclined to follow the Chinese lead in all this. China has not made any decisive moves yet other than it opposes foreign intervention even in the form of food and medical aid. China also urges Guaido and Maduro to negotiate an end to the crises. This is an ominous suggestion as Maduro does not consider Guaido someone he should negotiate with. Bad Habits Corruption remains a major problem for Russia and years of well-publicized effort to deal with it have failed and Russia is stuck near the bottom of the list when it comes to clean government. Currently, Russia ranks 138th out of 180 nations compared with 135 in 2017 in international rankings. Corruption in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index is 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 Russian score is 28 (versus 29 in 2017) compared to 32 (30) for Ukraine, 44 (44) for Belarus, 60 (60) for Poland, 80 (81) Germany, 63 (61) for Taiwan, 41 (40) for Turkey, 40 (40) for India, 39 (41) for China, 57 (54) for South Korea, 14 (17) for North Korea, 33 (35) for Vietnam, 85 (84) for Singapore, 72 (73) for Japan, 38 (37) for Indonesia, 38 (38) for Sri Lanka, 31 (33) for the Maldives, 36 (34) for the Philippines, 33 (32) for Pakistan, 26 (28) for Bangladesh, 28 (30) for Iran, 16 (15) for Afghanistan, 29 (30) for Burma, 70 (71) for the UAE (United Arab Emirates), 62 (64) for Israel, 72 (75) for the United States, 27 (27) for Nigeria, 43 (43) for South Africa, 18 (18) for Iraq, 41 (40) for Turkey, 49 (49) for Saudi Arabia and 28 (28) for Lebanon. The Russian corruption score has not changed much since 2012 when it was 28. February 26, 2019: Russia donated $9 million worth of military radar and command and control systems to Tajikistan. While second-hand, the equipment is modern and will improve the ability of Tajikistan to monitor and control its air space, especially along its border with Afghanistan. In 2013 the Tajik parliament approved an extension of the military cooperation treaty with Russia to 2042. This included Russia continuing to station 6,000 troops there, mainly on the Afghan border to help keep out drugs and Islamic terrorists. All this required operating three Russian bases in Tajikistan. Russia also continues to train Tajik military personnel (mainly officers) and supply weapons and ammo at low cost or for free. The Russians also agreed to provide trainers to improve the skills of all Tajik soldiers. Tajikistan was part of the Soviet Union until 1991 and borders Afghanistan. February 24, 2019: The last 48 hours saw an unusually large number of anti-government protests throughout Russia. The weekends are the most popular time to hold a public protest as more people have time off for it. While many of the protests are purely political there are a lot more demonstrations over pollution during the cold weather because in many parts of Russia the pollution is so bad that the snow falling is black, brown or even green. This makes the heavy pollution even more visible. Another protest staple is government incompetence and rampant and obvious corruption among local government officials. There is more to the unrest than pollution, more of the most capable Russians are simply emigrating. Since the current Putin government took control in 1999 nearly two million Russians have left for better economic and other opportunities elsewhere. Worse nearly half those who left had a college education and most of them had advanced degrees (and better career prospects outside Russia. The longer Putin has been in power the more of these highly educated Russians have left. February 23, 2019: In Syria, the Americans are proposing a force of 400 peacekeepers to stand between Turkish forces and the Syrian Kurd forces (mainly the SDF). Russia backs the Americans in this respect and the Assads do as well, as part of their we are the legitimate government of Syria. The Assads are willing to grant the Syrian Kurds the autonomy they want if Iranian and Turkish opposition can be overcome. Russia proposing to supply a similar peacekeeper force but the Kurds prefer the Americans whose pro-Kurd efforts have been more reliable and long-term than any other major power has provided. The Kurds do appreciate the Russian offer, which may be the main reason the Russians made it. February 22, 2019: Russia has brought some half a million ethnic Russians into Crimea since the Black Sea peninsula was seized by in 2014. The population then was 2.2 million and a few percent of those left and many of those who remained were hostile to their new Russian rulers. February 21, 2019: Ukraine reports that Russia has nearly 500 tanks in Donbas, plus nearly a thousand infantry armored vehicles, as well as 900 artillery weapons, over a third of them self-propelled and 15 percent of them MLRS (multiple launch rocket systems). Ukraine also reported that nearly 3,000 Ukrainian troops had died in five years of fighting and several times as many wounded. Ukrainian intelligence (which has proved to be quite accurate) estimates that the Russian backed rebels have suffered about the same number of casualties. Most of those losses were Russian military personnel. Overall 13,000 have died in Donbas (most of them civilians) with 30,000 wounded. Some 1.5 million locals have been forced to flee their homes because of the fighting. 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 supplied from Iraq. 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: 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: Russia once more proclaimed that Israeli airstrikes in Syria were illegal. At the same time, Russian officials agree that Israel has the right to defend themselves. Russia also refuses to open fire on Israeli aircraft or missiles. The Russians want to avoid a demonstration of Israeli countermeasures that work. This would reduce confidence in Russian weapons, which are an important export item for Russia. 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 an 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: The government is openly lobbying Arab governments to allow Syria back into the Arab League. Russia made it clear that it will support Arab interests in Syria in return. This is easier to do now that Israel and the major Arab nations are now allies. Russia is already being useful by opposing Turkish plans to occupy a 30 kilometer deep security zone on the Syrian side of the border. This is seen by the Syrian (Assad) government and most Arab countries as offensive and unnecessary. Arab antagonism towards Turkey is an after effect of centuries of Turkish domination of the Arab world. This only ended a century ago when Western nations defeated Turkey and broke up its empire. Many Arab states are reluctant to bring Syria back into the Arab League while there is still a large Iranian mercenary force in Syria. These same Arab states are also not pleased with the Iran backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and Iranian meddling in Gaza and Yemen. Russia is succeeding in getting Turkey to back off but Iran is another matter. February 4, 2019: Ukraine and Israel have become allies of sorts and Israel has been purchasing Ukrainian EW (Electronic Warfare) equipment that has been successfully used against the Russians by Ukrainian forces. A recent example of this is the Ukrainian Kolchuga passive sensor system. This system is built to passively (just by listening) detect a wide variety of Russian military equipment, including nearly all their air-defense systems that use active sensors (radars and control signals). Israel purchased a Ukrainian Kolchuga M system in 2018 and it was operational late that year. This made it easier to locate and monitor all Russian air defense systems in Syria, especially the mobile ones. That was a key element in the ability of the Israelis to destroy Syrian air defense systems which were used against Israeli attacks even after Israel warned Syria not to do so. January 29, 2019: The Russian parliament is considering a new law that would legalize corruption in some cases. Specify those exceptions has proved to be more difficult than anticipated. Russia is the most corrupt of the major world economics and that explains a lot about the Russians dont like about Russia. January 28, 2019: During one week in January, the Russian Air Force lost three new or recently refurbished aircraft to accidents. Two of the losses were new Su-34 fighter-bombers while the third was a recently refurbished and updated Tu-22M3 heavy bomber. The Russian air force always had a higher peacetime loss rate than Western air forces but that situation has gotten worse since 2000 as Russia tried to rebuild its air forces. During the 1990s there was little money for maintaining or flying most combat aircraft. There were no new ones either. Russia was still building modern combat aircraft in the 1990s but these were all for export. In the last two decades, there has been more money, more maintenance and deliveries of new aircraft. But the pilots and unit commanders are still short of flight or command experience. There are exceptions, like pilots and commanders who have served in Syria since 2015. But these Syrian veterans were actually quite a few and often using dumb (unguided) bombs and missiles. January 23, 2019: Russia confirmed that private Russian military contractors are in Sudan. The mercenary trainers are providing security instruction to the Sudanese military. Russian and Israeli negotiators worked out an agreement that enables Israeli warplanes to enter Syria and avoid conflict with Russian warplanes or air defense systems. Russia also confirmed that the S-300 systems they sent to the Syrians last October are still not active and are under the control of Russian troops. These systems will apparently remain under Russian control because Russia does not want the Israelis demonstrating how they can defeat the S-300 system. That sort of thing discourages export sales. That has already happened with the mobile Pantsir system, which has been attacked and destroyed several times by the Israelis. Most of the airstrikes on Syria do not involve Israeli aircraft entering Syria. Instead, the Israeli warplanes launch guided missiles from over the Mediterranean or Lebanon. These attacks will continue to be kept completely secret with no advance warning to anyone. Israel also destroyed a lot of Syrian S-200 air defense system equipment and warned the Syrians that all of it will be destroyed unless the Syrians stop trying to use it against Israeli airstrikes. In Russia, a meeting between the Turkish and Russian leader failed to work out an agreement on Turkish plans to send more troops into Syria and establish a 30 kilometers deep security zone on the Syrian side of the border. Russia backs a plan that has the security zone in the Kurdish controlled northeast managed by the Syrian (Assad) forces. Turkey sees this as useless because the Assads have a long history of supporting Turkish rebels or anti-Turkey Islamic terrorists by providing them with sanctuaries near the Turkish border. The Turks do not trust the Assads and that is unlikely to change considering the decades of bad relations between the Turks and Assads. The Russians will keep trying if only to maintain good relations with the Assads, which is the main reason the Russians are in Syria. It does not go unnoticed that the Russians get along with the Israelis and the Assads, as well as the Gulf Arab oil states. The Turkish and Russian leaders did work out some details of how to handle the situation in northwest Syria, where over 30,000 Islamic terrorists are trapped near the Turkish border, along with over a million Syrian civilians. No details of this plan were released. January 21, 2019: Israel released a video from one of its Skystriker loitering missiles destroying a Russian made Pantsir mobile antiaircraft system. Each Pantsir-S1 vehicle carries radar, two 30mm cannon, and twelve Tunguska missiles. The 90 kg (198 pound) Tunguska has a twenty kilometer range while the Pantsir-S1 radar has a 30 kilometer range. The missile can hit targets at up to 8,400 meters (26,000 feet) high. The 30mm cannon is effective up to 3,200 meters (10,000 feet). The vehicles used to carry all the Pantsir-S1 can vary, but the most common one used weighs 20 tons and has a crew of three. This is the second time Israel has shown one of its loitering missiles destroying a Pantsir system, which was designed to defend against such low altitude, slow-moving threats. January 20, 2019: In the African nation of Zimbabwe, Russian military advisers have been seen working with local security forces. This follows a recent announcement that Russia had invested in Zimbabwes diamond industry and had financed two other business deals worth some $270 million. January 19, 2019: Russia and Syria are making plans to triple the size and capacity of the Damascus airport but cannot proceed as long as Iran has facilities in or near the airport and Israel keeps attacking the Iranian warehouses and other targets in the area. Israel refuses to halt these attacks unless Iran leaves and stops using the airport. Iran refuses to do this. by Austin Bay February 26, 2019 This article is extracted from Chapter Two, NORTH KOREA: Frozen War, Hot Nukes, Maximum Pressure Cocktails in Austin Bays Cocktails from Hell: Five Complex Wars Shaping the Twenty-first Century (Bombardier Books, 2018) pp. 45-51. Copyright Austin Bay 2018, All Rights Reserved. Whether a mixed drink or geo-strategic policy, a cocktail is a combination. DIMEFILCH is an acronym for some of the ingredients. The Diplomatic, Information, Military and Economic elements of power (DIME). Financial, Intelligence, Legal (law enforcement), Cultural, and Humanitarian capabilities also mix in a power cocktail. The "first brush" narrative in this section collects connected events and actions that occurred from March 2017 to March 2018. Overall, the operation represents a concerted effort to wage twenty-first-century "cocktail" warfare by employing and coordinating American power in pursuit of a geo-strategic goal: denuclearizing North Korea. But this is a slice of ongoing history. Subsequent events will determine the effectiveness of this particular multi-dimensional operation. The Coercive Diplomacy narrative actually begins with Donald Trumps October 24, 1999 Meet the Press interview with Tim Russert. The interview is a historically illuminating flash forward to his administrations 20172018 de-nuclearizing North Korea coercive diplomatic effort. It also adds convincing depth to the US narrative that North Korea has gone too far. Based on administration statements made in 2017, de-nuclearizing means destroying the DPRKs nukes and its long-range missile delivery systems. If coercive diplomacy does not produce this result, a war would, though with hideously destructive costs. In the 1999 interview, Trump summarizes the American governments weak responses to North Koreas slow but undeterred quest for nuclear weapons: First Id negotiate and be sure I could get the best deal possible. The biggest problem this world has is nuclear proliferation. And we have a country out there in North Korea which is sort of wacko, which is not a bunch of dummies, and they are developing nuclear weapons. If that negotiation doesnt work, then better solve the problem now than solve it later. (Trump 1999) A narrative warfare gambit? Given the twentieth-century date, the statement was either bravado or a promise to act when and if. The Trump administrations subsequent actions demonstrate Trump made a promise. In March 2017, Trumps foreign policy began a coordinated attack on Kim Jong Uns regime with the interim goals of disrupting Pyongyangs political and military plans, exposing the regimes grave weaknesses, and psychologically rattling its leader. The administrations ultimate goal was to set conditions to de-nuclearize the Korean Peninsula. On March 17, 2017, then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declared, The policy of strategic patience has ended. We are exploring a new range of diplomatic, security, economic measures. All options are on the table. He added that if North Korea didnt end its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, why, Japan and South Korea might have to acquire their own nuclear arsenals. That same month Tillerson said the first steps to coerce de-nuclearization would be additional UN sanctions. Regarding China, Tillerson said, with diplomatic finesse, No one issue defines the relationship between the US and China. We will be talking about a broad range of issues when Im in Beijing. But the threat of North Korea is imminent. And it has reached a level that we are very concerned about the consequences of North Korea being allowed to continue on this progress its been making on the development of both weapons and delivery systems. Declaring North Korea an imminent threat was a dire warning that indicated kinetic military action could occur. However, for the present, American economic power would be the primary coercive instrument. Tillersons rejection of strategic patience was an explicit repudiation of the Obama-era policy as expressed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democrat presidential candidate in 2016: The approach that our administration is taking is of strategic patience in close coordination with our six-party allies. Recall the Sunshine Policy and other soft power initiatives had failed, and this was evident during the Obama administration. (See Complexity 3, this chapter.) In April 2017, Vice President Mike Pence visited South Korea and assured the country, We [Americans] are one hundred percent with you. Pence said North Koreas economic and political isolation is what the nuclearization is predicated upon. Complete economic isolation would deny North Korea all imports and stop its exports. The coercive diplomatic operation that vice president Pence sketched solicited collective international economic and diplomatic action to end the threat of nuclear war in East Asia. The Trump administration made it clear North Korea bore responsibility for the horrors that are and the horrors that could be. However, China, pursuing its policy of strategic ambiguity, has served as Pyongyangs key enabler. However, China and Russia border North Korea; isolation of the Kim regime is impossible without their cooperation. In April 2017, the Trump administration suggested that China would receive a favorable trade dealand perhaps other unspecified considerationsif Beijing helped terminate North Koreas nuclear weapons program. (See chapter three, The Dragon Revives, for a discussion of Chinas economic goals and potential vulnerabilities.) A de-nuclearized peninsula would signal to China that the US was guaranteeing that China would not confront a nuclear-armed South Korea. Should North Korea collapse and South Korea absorb it, the reunified Korea would not possess nukes. Military power, however, remained in the mix. US, South Korean, and Japanese military exercises near North Korea began to intensify. In June 2017, at the Shangri-La summit in Singapore, Secretary of Defense James Mattis said the US had vital interests in the Asian littoral and that the Asia-Pacific region was a priority region for Washington. The Trump administration would address regional issues through military partnerships, robust investment and trade relationships, and close ties between the peoples of our countries. Then he addressed North Koreas clear intent to acquire nuclear- armed missiles. Mattis said he believed China would come to recognize North Korea as a strategic liability, not an asset. Mattis said the US would engage China diplomatically and economically to ensure our relationship is beneficial. That was a carrot. But Mattis didnt shy away from confronting Chinas South China Sea aggression. He declared that the 2016 arbitration court ruling concluding that China had illegally seized Filipino territory was binding and served as a diplomatic starting point to peacefully manage regional disputes. That was careful, measured languagein effect, Lets play by the rules and respect each other. As he finished, Mattis mentioned, as if in passing, that for the first time the US would give Vietnam a retired US Coast Guard cutter. That was a small but forceful stick waved at Beijing. In 1979, China and Vietnam fought a bloody border war and China lost. China fears a US-Vietnam alliance (see chapter three). Finally, Mattis said America remained committed to working with Taiwan and with its democratic government to provide the defense articles necessary. Thats a stick a military stick. Beijing says Taiwan is a breakaway province. Mattiss remark echoed a phone call Trump made to Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen in December 2016, shortly after Trumps election. China heard the echo. September 3, 2017: North Korea tested a powerful nuclear device. On September 23, Trump replied with an executive order that informed analysts called a declaration of economic war on North Korea. The order supported Tillersons warning that the Trump administration would exert maximum pressure on North Korea until the criminal state de-nuclearized. Economic pressure followed diplomatic pressure. The military pressure included US Air Force strategic bombers flying show-of-force missions around the peninsula, including a foray into international airspace over the East Sea off North Koreas coast. The pressure also included psychological (Information) pressure on Little Rocket ManKim Jong Un. Trump coined that nomme de insult in September, and it was a useful punch. Trumps nicknames are such damningly effective caricatures that they become psychological weapons. Insulting a dictators dignity is a potentially valuable psychological weapon. Dictators demonstrate invulnerability by silencing and suppressing dissent and opposition using physical intimidation and coercion, to include mass murder. Kims inability to stop Trumps taunts or top his taunts demonstrate a kind of vulnerability on Kims part. Vulnerable dictators dont remain in power, not for long. On March 5, 2018, Kim Jong Un said he was willing to do something he had said he would never do: discuss de-nuclearizing his regime. He made no demand of South Korea and the US, other than that they meet to discuss the subject face-to-face. A day later, a South Korean delegation met with Kim in Pyongyang and reported that Kim himself had said he understood that South Korean and American joint military drills would continue. That was a huge concession. For decades, the Communist states propagandists have portrayed allied military exercises as preparations for invading the north. The dictatorship also agreed to suspend its provocative nuclear weapons tests and missile tests while talks continued. June 2018: The March 2018 North Korean concession led to more discussions between South Korea and North Korea and meetings between President Moon and Kim Jong Un. The Trump administration said President Trump and Kim could discuss de-nuclearization face to face but there would be no US and allied concessions. Singapore would host their historic summit. As the summit approached, North Korea tried to alter the diplomatic ground rules. Trump canceled the summitcoercive diplomacy met with coercive diplomacy. North Korea asked the US to hold the Singapore summit. It took place on June 12, 2018. At the summit Trump dropped the bad cop, good cop, shook hands with the dictator, praised Kim for wisely choosing to talk, and assured him that he and his nation had a safe and wealthy futureas long as Kim followed through on his promise to completely, verifiably, and irreversibly de-nuclearize (CVID). During face-to-face discussions, Trump added another stroke of unpredictable diplomacy: he produced an iPad and showed Kim a four-minute video prepared by the White House. Slickly calculated to fascinate its target audience, the thirty-something movie-loving Kim, the video contained imagery and audio inspired by science fiction films, dramatic historical documentaries, razzle-dazzle adventure video games, and advertisements selling expensive high-tech products. The imagery and audio narration explicitly advocated making responsible decisions that positively shape the future by avoiding destructive nuclear war and promoting wealth. However, in the perspective of the deadly politics behind the summit, the video implicitly condemned Kims Byongjin policy. North Korea could not possess nuclear weapons and have wealth; nuclear weapons guaranteed North Koreas ruin. The video was a remarkable example of a psychological warfare diplomatic weapon that is simultaneously persuasive and coercive. In street lingo, the psychological cocktail sent this message: Stay alive and get rich, kid. As the summit concluded, Kim indicated he would de-nuclearize and Trump responded with a goodwill gesture: South Korean-US military exercises would be suspended as long as North Korea pursued CVID. Like other allied gestures, the exercise suspension could be quickly reversed. Time will tell if the Trump administrations diplomatic operation de-nuclearizes North Korea and the world avoids a major war. As I finish this book, human history and the American effort both continue. Elements of a serviceable CVID deal have emerged. North Korean domestic media have mentioned the possibilitybut the deal has yet to be made. Whatever its outcome, the coordinated coercive diplomatic operation as implemented March 2017 through March 2018 and into June 2018 with the Singapore summit was a remarkable example of a DIMEFILCH cocktail. From Austin Bays Cocktails from Hell: Five Complex Wars Shaping the Twenty-first Century (Bombardier Books, 2018) pp. 45-51. Copyright Austin Bay 2018, All Rights Reserved. Here are Americas recent targets for regime-change (against which have been used economic sanctions, invasion, and enormous destruction) and all of them are nations that never invaded nor threatened to invade America: Iraq 2003, Libya 2011, Syria 2011-2018, Yemen 2015-now, Ukraine 2014, and Venezuela 2017-now. Because all of these were and are aggressive wars by the US against nations that never invaded nor threatened to invade the US, they all ought to be subject to mega-criminal prosecutions as was done by the US, Britain, and USSR, against Germany at the Nuremberg Tribunals after World War II. That was merely victors justice, applied by the US, Britain and USSR, but this would instead be actual international justice, the first instance of such in all of world history. Its desperately needed especially now. Americas Government and news-media were and are remarkably unanimous in saying that these invasions and coups are and were done in order to advance democracy and human rights in the given target-nation. However, what it actually brings and has brought, in each and every case, is, instead, massive bloodshed, death, poverty, destruction, and outpourings of refugees and an increasingly dangerous world, the current world. Is this lying, by the US and its allies, and their news-media, mere hypocrisy, or is it something even worse far worse? In any case, only a fair and international juridical tribunal thats controlled by no nation and by no alliance of nations can possibly deliver a credible verdict on this. And, so, such international criminal trials must be organized and carried out, or else even worse can be expected to occur. Impunity is desirable only by and for gangsters, and no land where it exists can reasonably be called democratic. Americas news-media especially the mainstream ones not only cover-up important truths, but they routinely lie. Both the Democratic Partys media and the Republican Partys media report the same lies, which are the Governments lies, on these international matters. These are lies on which there is bipartisan unity by the nations press (and by both political Parties), in order to deceive the public, into support for invading and occupying, or overthrowing via a coup or otherwise, some foreign government. Their target is always a government which Americas billionaires who control international corporations want to replace, and so the US regime unanimously lies against that targeted government, as being dangerous and evil, even though the given takeover-target has never invaded, nor threatened to invade, the United States is no real national-security threat to the American people. Only on the basis of lies can that succeed. This is the main function of the press, in such countries: deceit, on those international matters. In other words: the US Government is fascist, like the Axis powers were in World War II. This is worse than, for example, merely wasting billions of dollars on building a border-wall against Mexico in order to protect Americans, but it receives far less press-attention (perhaps because the press is so unanimous in endorsing and supporting these atrocities and thats yet further evidence of the American regimes fascism). The press is owned by, and funded by ads, and donations from, Americas billionaires, the very same people who fund our politicians and who also own controlling interests in the weapons-firms such as Lockheed Martin, which cant survive without these weapons-sales, and which therefore demand constant conquests, in order to create new markets for their wares, new allied nations. So, naturally, Americas military is mainly the enforcement-arm of the billionaires who control US-based international corporations (especially the weapons-firms and the extractive firms such as mining and fuels, which corporations crave to control foreign natural resources), and those people also control Americas Government and press, and this produces the unanimity for these regime-change operations which likewise fits the fascist model. The US is clearly the worlds leading fascist nation, and there is no close second (and none of the nations that the US regime is trying to conquer is fascist at all). What Germany was under Hitler, the US is and has been at least since the time of US President Ronald Reagan. The US has been a dictatorship since at least 1981. Coup or invasion (either form of aggression) is an international war-crime, but the deceit against Americas public usually succeeds, because the public trust especially the billionaire-controlled mainstream press, which is always leading these lies-for-conquest. Furthermore, almost all of the alternative news media are likewise owned by (and funded by ads or donations from) wealthy interests that participate in and benefit from this mass-deceit from the stenographic news reporting, the Governments accusations against the particular target-nation thats about to be (or has been) regime-changed. For example, all of Americas news-media were stenographically reporting the US Governments many lies about Saddam Husseins WMD', in order to justify Americas kicking out the UNs weapons-inspectors and simply bombing Iraq and invading and militarily occupying, and basically destroying, that country (which had never invaded ours) in 2003. All of Americas news media did the same, but especially all of the mainstream ones did, of both the right and the left, all the way from Fox News to the New York Times. They all were hiding the truth and lying to support an illegal invasion an international war-crime under international law, and violation of the UNs Charter. Did Americans stop buying those news'papers and watching those news channels, and buying those news magazines, after the truth became reluctantly exposed (during 2002-2005) that those WMD didnt exist and no longer had existed after 1998? No, those same 'news-media still are successful. (They all ought to be long-since out-of-business, but such accountability doesnt exist in the news-business. Not only does a major news-medium hide its own corruption and lying but it hides that of all other major news-media, because otherwise the entire democratic system of control by the nations billionaires would simply collapse.) Americas news-media report just as much false news (not merely what they call fake news, but actually false news) today, as they did back then, because Americas news-media cover-up not only for themselves, but also for each other, since they all lie so routinely in order to justify their Governments aggressions, coups, military invasions, foreign mass-murders, etc., and those invasions and coups are part of the unspoken business-plan of them all, for growth or expansion of their global control. These atrocities are all done for national security reasons, and in order to spread democracy, and in order to protect human rights around the world and Americans continue to believe it, and to believe the regime, and to subscribe to those same mainstream (and hangers-on) news-media. Accountability against lying doesnt exist in a hyper-aggressive democracy, a would-be all-encompassing global empire, which America has certainly become. Today, these news-media hide that theyve been lying when they report that Russia hacked Hillary Clintons email and John Podestas computer. Just click onto that, right there, and you will immediately see the latest documentation that its all mere lies against Russia, which is the only nation that does actually possess the military wherewithal to stand up against the US regime (since it inherited the arsenal of the former Soviet Union when the Cold War ended in 1991 on their side though that war secretly continued and still is continuing on the American side). These fabrications could have many reasons, but perhaps the likeliest is in order to increase weapons-sales by Lockheed Martin and other US weapons-makers, all of which are 100% dependent upon their sales to the US Government and to its allied governments. (There are consequently interlocking directorates between the news-businesses and the armaments-firms, and the Wall Street banks, and the think tanks, etc.; and all of this is intensified by the revolving door between Government officials and the private sector, such as generals becoming directors of defense firms.) But this fraud that Russia hacked the election has been exposed before, though not with the same thoroughness as it is in that latest news-report, which comes from the Sic Semper Tyrannus blog. You might happen to think that it must be fake news, because its from a non-mainstream site? It comes from Bill Binney, who is the NSA whistleblower who was the NSAs top signals-intelligence analyst before he quit in disgust at the Governments lying. Of course, he had tried all the mainstream news-media as prospective outlets for this news-report, but theyre not interested in exposing the truth because that would expose themselves to be liars. Once a major lie is told, and told repeatedly, by a major news-medium, exposing that lie would be exposing itself and none do that. They also hide that theyve been lying to report that America was justified to bomb Syria on 11 April 2018, justified to do it in order to punish Syrias Government for having perpetrated a chemical weapons attack on 7 April 2018 in the town of Douma a chemical weapons attack that was actually fabricated by the US and its allies, and which US Government lie is still being protected (hidden from the public) by the US regimes news media, which media, for example, fail to report that the OPCW did not find any such attack to have occurred: OPCW Issues Fact-Finding Mission Reports on Chemical Weapons Use Allegations in Douma, Syria in 2018 and in Al-Hamadaniya and Karm Al-Tarrab in 2016 Friday, 06 July 2018 THE HAGUE, Netherlands 6 July 2018 The Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), issued an interim report on the FFMs investigation to date regarding the allegations of chemical weapons use in Douma, Syria on 7 April 2018. The FFMs activities in Douma included on-site visits to collect environmental samples, interviews with witnesses, data collection. In a neighbouring country, the FFM team gathered or received biological and environmental samples, and conducted witness interviews. OPCW designated labs conducted analysis of prioritised samples. The results show that no organophosphorous nerve agents or their degradation products were detected in the environmental samples or in the plasma samples taken from alleged casualties. Along with explosive residues, various chlorinated organic chemicals were found in samples from two sites, for which there is full chain of custody. Work by the team to establish the significance of these results is on-going. The FFM team will continue its work to draw final conclusions. If those final conclusions" are ever made public by OPCW, will you trust your news-media to report them honestly? And, if the conclusions never are published, will you think that the US regime and its news-media are war-criminals there, just as they were in Iraq, and Syria, and Yemen, and Ukraine, and so many other countries? According to Russian Television, or RT which all major news-media in the US and its allied regimes say is untrustworthy "Real obscene masquerade: How BBC depicted staged hospital scenes as proof of Douma chemical attack. That op-ed by the great British investigative journalist Vanessa Beeley, who specializes in Syria, isnt published by the BBC, or by ABC, NBC, CBS, NPR, PBS, Fox, MSNBC, CNN, New York Times, Guardian, or Washington Post. Its too honest, for that. Could this be part of the reason that they call RT fake news? If so, maybe RT should replace them, at least for international reporting. And, before that, there was the claimed 21 August 2013 sarin gas attack in the town of Ghouta by Syrias Government, which was actually done by the US Governments allies who were trying to overthrow and replace Syrias Government it's whats called a false flag attack" one thats designed to be blamed against the other side, in order to serve as an excuse to invade. The American Government and its news-media keep making suckers out of the American public this way, and yet the American public continue to subscribe to them to pay their good money, for such evil propaganda. Apparently, nobody is even embarassed. It simply keeps happening, again and again. Another recent example is the democratic revolution in Ukraine in February 2014, which was actually a US coup that destroyed that country. And the latest example is the US-and-Canada-led effort to impose a fascist regime in Venezuela. Furthermore, as one of the perceptive reader-commenters to that latest Binney article on Russiagate noted: Craig Murray, in a very revealing but neglected interview with Scott Horton, said: I should be plain that the Podesta emails and the DNC emails of course are two separate things and you shouldn't conclude that both have the same source. But in both cases, we're talking of a leak not a hack, in that the person who was responsible for getting the information out had legal access to that information. Murray, a whistleblower and former UK Ambassador, had been personally involved in that, by transferring a thumb-drive from the DNC whistleblower to Julian Assange, and he also said there, If you are looking to the source of all this, you have to look to Americans, and not at all to any Russians or other foreigners. The comprehensiveness of the deceit by the US regime is beyond what the vast majority of Americans can even imagine to be the case. It is simply beyond the comprehension of most people. And that false news-reporting then becomes basic to, and enshrined in, false but best-selling history-books, so as to deepen, yet further, the deception of the public. On Sunday, February 24th, the Zero Hedge independent news-site headlined WaPo Quietly Deletes Branson's Venezuela Concert From Article After 'Fake' Attendance Figures Exposed and reported (and documented) that the British billionaire Richard Bransons free pop-concert on Friday February 22 at the Venezuela-Colombia border in support of Washingtons attempted coup to overthrow Venezuelas democratically elected President had drawn less than 20,000 fans instead of what had been reported in the US regimes Washington Post, which had reported that 200,000 attended, and that as soon as the US regimes fraud was publicly exposed which was done by means of a photo of the crowd which had been taken by Dan Cohen of Russias RT, plus careful independent calculations by the Moon of Alabama blogger the US regimes newspaper retroactively removed their news-reports crowd-size-estimate from the online version of their news-report. Of course, the error had already been physically printed in that trashy newspaper, which might (at its discretion) subsequently publish a printed correction, saying that theyd only been trying to fool their subscribers in order to assist propaganda supporting the US regimes grab for control over Venezuela. The problem isnt fake news from RT or from small online sites (such as all of the major media claim to be the case), but false news from mainstream US (and allied) news (propaganda) media. Theyve all got millions of victims blood on their hands, and theyre not even a bit ashamed of any of it and of shifting the blame for it to the targeted nations. PS: Max Blumenthal is an investigative journalist who formerly believed the lies from the (think tanks and other agencies of the) billionaires who finance the Democratic Party. He was the star journalist at one of the Democratic Partys leading alt-news propaganda-sites, AlterNet, until he lost his employment there after starting to expose the rot that he had previously been fooled into supporting. He increasingly moved away from liberalism to progressivism; and the Democratic National Committee doesnt want any of that, except as window-dressing and Blumenthal decided he could no longer do that. He became unemployed for a while and then established, along with another former AlterNet reporter The GrayZone Project, in order to continue being employed. Blumenthal recently issued a YouTube video in which he interviewed star Democratic Party Presidential aspirant Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other members of Congress Is the US Meddling in Venezuela? Max Blumenthal Asks US Congress Members. As you can see there, all of them are either mildly or very supportive of Trumps coup-attempt in Venezuela. Unfortunately, Blumenthal didnt interview Tulsi Gabbard, who might possibly be an exception to the depressing rule that corruption reigns, and who recently announced her candidacy for the US Presidency. Nor did he interview Bernie Sanders, nor Sherrod Brown, nor Elizabeth Warren, all of whom likewise are competing for the progressives votes in the upcoming Democratic Party Presidential primaries. As for the other Democratic contenders, theyre competing to become instead the new Hillary Clinton the American billionaires favorite. Instead, with Trump, we got in the 2016 Presidentials their second choice. On February 18th, Blumenthal and a colleague, Alexander Rubinstein, headlined at one of the few sincere and honest US-based international-news sites, Mint Press, Pierre Omidyars Funding of Pro-Regime-Change Networks and Partnerships with CIA Cutouts, and they exposed Omidyar, the owner of a famous news site thats targeted at naive progressives, The Intercept. Whereas Mint Press is called fake news by Americas billionaires news-media, The Intercept (which isnt nearly as honest as Mint Press is) is not. The dictatorships aim is to crush the truth, and (like The Intercept does) they let in just enough of truth so as to keep hidden whats most important to them to keep hidden from the public things such as what Blumenthal and Rubinstein are now disclosing. Everybody except Americas 585 billionaires should be reading sites such as the ones that publish Blumenthal and Rubinstein, and other honest investigative journalists (which are banned at all of the mainstream sites). Propaganda that poses as news has to be crushed, in order for truth itself not to be crushed. But can their expose of Omidyar win a top national journalism award without thereby bringing down the entire rotten and corrupt superstructure of lies? And that would also bring down the enormous international crimes this superstructure has supported and continues to support, such as Iraq 2003, Libya 2011, Syria 2011-2018, Yemen 2015-now, Ukraine 2014, and Venezuela 2017-now. If such news-reports cannot win top journalism prizes, then what hope is there, realistically, that things will ever be able to improve? Only by removing the blinders from the public, can the public see the light and the actual truth, about the world in which they are living. Thats what is needed in order for democracy to be able to exist. What now exists is, instead, dictatorship. Thats the current reality. It includes the European Council, which is the unelected government of the EU, which clearly is a dictatorship (and this is true even if Brexit is wrong), and it also includes every other ally of the US regime. The EU was created by the US and its allies after WW II. It always was a CIA project. FDR was dead, and maybe whatever there had been of US democracy died along with him. The UN that exists is not the one that he had intended and so carefully planned. Weve been living in a charade. It didnt start in 1981. There is this, and there also is this. Its FDRs vision turned upside-down and inside-out. Thats the actual world of today. Its based on lies. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. The Missouri Municipal League Board of Directors appointed city of Wildwood Council Member Joe Garritano to the MML Board of Directors at MMLs February Board meeting in Jefferson City, Missouri. Garritano will fill out the balance of a term vacancy. Garritano was appointed in January 2015 as a Wildwood City Council Member for Ward 8 and re-elected by the voters to the same position in the 2015 and 2017 April municipal elections. In August 2018, he was selected by the City Council to serve as the Citys Mayor Pro Tempore. Garritano has also served on the Missouri Municipal Leagues Municipal Administration and Intergovernmental Relations Policy Committee. Professionally, he is a senior leader with a national financial firm, responsible for managing relationships across multiple departments to deliver a seamless client experience, as well as coordinating strategic activities and projects. We want to illustrate how designing your bank for the experience plays such a crucial role in your overall success, said Brad Ritner, Director of Retail Design at NewGround. NewGround is an international, award-winning architecture, design, and delivery firm, providing dynamic, experiential, market-driven environments. Over the last century, NewGround has completed more than 15,000 projects throughout the USA, Canada and in the United Kingdom. Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, NewGround maintains corporate offices in Chicago, Illinois, Honolulu, Hawaii, and Toronto, Ontario, with a regional presence throughout the US. For more information, visit NewGround at www.newground.com. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Electrical stimulation uses electrotherapy for treating spinal injuries and muscle weakness associated with neurological disorders. It has property to activate electrical impulse and transmit signal to electrodes of device, which causes depolarization and in turn reduces pain and improves muscle strength. Different types of electrical stimulation devices are designed to treat various diseases such as pain management, obesity, and others. Market Dynamics Increasing prevalence of neurological disorders, which in turn causes muscle weakness is expected to propel electrical stimulation devices market growth. According to Neurology Today Journal, November 2017, neurological diseases are the worlds largest cause of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and an estimated 9.5 million deaths were due to the condition in 2015. Moreover, advantages of electrical stimulation devices of pain management in preoperative and postoperative surgery procedures are expected to boost the Electrical Stimulation Devices Market growth. The global electrical stimulation devices market size was valued at US$ 3,956.0 million in 2017, and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 4.7 % over the forecast period (2018 2026). Increasing incidences of spinal injuries is expected to propel growth of the electrical stimulation devices market Electrical stimulation devices are used in preoperative and postoperative pain management in patients with spinal injuries. High incidence of spinal injuries caused due to accidents, falls or violence is expected to propel demand for spinal surgeries, which in turn is expected to drive the market growth. According to World Health Organization (WHO) factsheet in 2018, annually there are around 37.3 million falls, which require medical attention, whereas about 646,000 individuals die each year, from falls globally. Moreover, increasing incidences of neurological disorders such as Alzheimers disease and trauma associated with spinal injuries is expected to propel growth of the electrical stimulation devices market over the forecast period. For instance, in August 2012, National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) stated Alzheimers disease as the most frequent cause of dementia in Western societies and estimated around 5.5 million cases of the disease in the U.S., and 24 million globally. Key Players Major players operating in the global electrical stimulation devices market include Boston Scientific Corporation, BTL Industries, Inc., Cyberonics, Inc., DJO Global, Inc., Medtronic plc., Nevro Corporation., NeuroMetrix, Inc., St. Jude Medical, Inc., Uroplasty, Inc. (Cogentix Medical), and Zynex, Inc. Ask For Sample Copy Of This Business Research Report : https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/2486 Increasing prevalence of chronic diseases in North America is expected to bolster the market growth North America holds dominant position in the global electrical stimulation devices market, owing to high prevalence of chronic diseases. According to National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), March 2018, an estimated 45%, or around 33 million Americans were diagnosed by at least one chronic disease. Moreover, rise in geriatric population, who are highly susceptible to pain, is expected to bolster the market growth over the forecast period. According to American Psychological Association, 2014 report, around 40 million people over the age 65 years account for 14% of total population and around 60% to 75% of people over age 65 years are diagnosed with persistent pain. About Coherent Market Insights: Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity. Contact Us: Mr. Shah Coherent Market Insights 1001 4th Ave, #3200 Seattle, WA 98154 Tel: +1-206-701-6702 Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Additionally, just as a daisy cannot survive without a bee, nurses cannot survive without the outstanding teamwork provided by support colleagues. As such, Gillian (Gigi) Garland, CNA of the Telemetry B Unit recently received St. Elizabeths Being Extraordinary Everyday (BEE) Award. Garland was nominated by a patients daughter who said, Gigi has taken great care of my mom during her stay here at the hospital. She is very attentive to her needs and even takes time to take care of the little things which mean so much. She is always very kind, patient, and shows she sincerely cares about the people she is taking care of. She also shows concern for the family members! Shes a warm, funny, kind, caring, and professional young lady. This is my first visit to this location - Im so happy and thankful that Gigi was here to help care for my mom! The United Methodist Church should seriously consider revising the Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors. slogan contained in its logo. Delegates from around the world, meeting in St. Louis this week, couldnt agree on a simple resolution allowing local church bodies to set their own policies about whether to embrace the LGBT community, ordain gay clergy and permit same-sex marriages. The message conveyed by a majority of delegates strongly suggests that their hearts, minds and doors are closed on issues of LGBT inclusion. Freedom of religion is an inalienable right, and no one can or should tell delegates to this weeks gathering at Americas Center downtown what they may or may not believe. But in a vote of 438 to 384, delegates effectively told United Methodist Church members around the world that, if they want to continue in this church, they must corral their beliefs when it comes to interactions with the LGBT community, including other members. The Missouri Legislature is weighing a dangerous bill that would drop a requirement for newspapers to serve as the official publication site for public notices. Its not entirely clear whose interests are served by this bill, but it certainly isnt the publics. Public notices, for events such as auctions or property foreclosures, are necessary to keep members of the public advised when their vital interests might be at stake. Thats why, for 120 years, state law has required that these notices be published in local newspapers to ensure the widest possible audience. Thats all about to change if Rep. Nick Schroer, R-OFallon, gets his way. His House Bill 686 proposes to do away with the publishing requirement and, instead, would shunt those notices off to obscure websites where only a select few would know where to look for them. By design, the information would be buried out of sight, adding yet another blanket of darkness to keep the public uninformed. Last week, a district court judge ruled that it is unconstitutional for only men to have to register with the Selective Service, opening the possibility that women might also have to register. The ruling may be fair in principle, but does it make sense? Would a universal draft best serve the security of the United States? Or would it be yet another exercise in asserting equality of the sexes to advance primarily social, not military, goals? I should qualify all this by noting that the military always wants more bodies at its disposal and high-ranking Pentagon women have long lobbied for full inclusion at every level of military engagement in part because, without combat experience, women couldnt compete with men for the highest military rankings. Yet when now-retired Gen. Ann Dunwoody became the first female four-star officer in 2008, the combat exclusion of women was still in place. Although Dunwoodys service was extraordinary, including being the first female battalion commander in the Armys 82nd Airborne Division, she, like most military women, never engaged in direct ground combat, as defined by the Department of Defense. More on this shortly. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. The oncology field is witnessing rapid growth, owing to emergence of novel therapies with high efficacy, which in turn is boosting growth of the oncology drug pipeline market. For instance, in 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S FDA) approved 45 New Molecular Entity (NME) and new Biologic License Applications (BLA), of which 16 were novel cancer therapies. Therefore, developments of novel drugs is a major factor propelling growth of the Global Oncology Drug Pipeline Analysis Market. Furthermore, increasing initiatives for reducing cancer-related deaths is expected to boost growth of the market. For instance, in 2017, the World Health Assembly passed a resolution 'Cancer Prevention and Control through an Integrated Approach', which urges governments and World Health Organization (WHO) to accelerate action for minimizing premature mortality in cancer. Such initiatives are expected to propel growth of the oncology drug pipeline market in the forecast period. Oncology Drug Pipeline Analysis Drivers Innovative approaches in the cancer treatment is a major factor boosting growth of the oncology pipeline drugs market. For instance, the novel basket study includes patients with a certain genetic mutation in common, regardless of the site or origin of cancer in the body. Basket studies can be useful when a drug targets certain genetic mutation at a particular site and using that drug to treat same genetic mutation in cancer at another site. For instance, Larotrectinib, a drug of Loxo Oncology, Inc., is currently under review by the U.S. FDA for the treatment of tyrosine kinase mutation by using basket studies. This drug has been approved as Investigational New Drug in May 2018. Combinational therapies are the latest development driving the growth of oncology pipeline drugs market. For instance, Pfizer Inc. is undergoing efficacy and safety study for Avelumab in combination with chemotherapy, followed by maintenance therapy of Avelumab with PARP inhibitor talazoparib in patients with history of untreated advanced ovarian cancer. This study is under clinical phase III trials and is expected to complete in May 2026. Competitive Landscape Key players are focused on establishing manufacturing facility in Asia Pacific. For instance, in September 2018, BeiGene Co.Ltd. a commercial-stage biotechnology company, selected GE Healthcares bio manufacturing facility KUBio, for large-scale production of its cancer monoclonal antibodies in China. Key players operating in the global oncology pipeline drugs market include, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., AstraZeneca, Pfizer Inc., AbbVie Inc., Celgene Corporation, Novartis AG, Merck & Co., Inc., Sanofi, Eli Lilly & Co., GlaxoSmithKline, and Amgen Inc. Ask For Sample Copy Of This Business Research Report : https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/2184 Oncology Drug Pipeline Analysis Challenges Increasing cost of therapies is expected to hinder growth of the oncology drug pipeline market. For instance, according to a report published in National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), 2016, Pertuzumab-based therapy, used in treatment of HER2 positive breast cancer costs US$ 215,000 per patient. Moreover, lack of patients participation in clinical studies, increase in clinical trial complexity, and resource constraints are some of the other factors hampering growth of the oncology drug pipeline market. For instance, according to a report published in Journal of Clinical oncology, June 2012, the rate of number of cancer patients enrolling in clinical trial worldwide is 3%-5% and the rate has not improved since 1980. Oncology Drug Pipeline Analysis Regional Analysis On the basis of region, the global oncology drug pipeline analysis market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. North America is expected to dominate in terms of growth in oncology drug pipeline market. According to the 2015 annual report of the American Cancer Society, although cancer-related death rate in the U.S. have reduced, cancer still remains the second most common cause of death in the country. Therefore, such high prevalence of cancer is expected to drive growth of the oncology drug pipeline market in North America. About Coherent Market Insights: Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity. Contact Us: Mr. Shah Coherent Market Insights 1001 4th Ave, #3200 Seattle, WA 98154 Tel: +1-206-701-6702 Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com Next to a photo of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Arizona lawmaker Gabrielle Giffords were the words Target Practice. It was the headline of a story in the National Rifle Associations American Rifleman magazine, where the author, chief NRA lobbyist Chris W. Cox, criticized newly introduced bipartisan universal background-check legislation. But in the eyes of others, the headline and accompanying photo of the Democrats Pelosi and Giffords, who was shot in the head in Tucson in 2011, said more than the article did. Some claimed the headline was an intentional attempt to incite violence against the politicians. The NRAs words here are clear, tweeted Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.). They may pretend that the article is about something different. But everyone can see what is being suggested against [Pelosi and Giffords]. Time to shut them down with our voices and votes. Last week, when two of the plaintiffs stood for an interview in front of the cross explaining their position, cars whizzed by and one driver stuck his head out the window yelling, "Save the cross!" as he careened around the intersection. Fred Edwords and Steven Lowe, with the support of the American Humanist Association, are behind the challenge. "As a memorial to all veterans, it only seems to represent -- the cross -- Christian veterans," Lowe told CNN in an interview. "I'm not offended by the cross per se. What offends me is that it's on government land promoting government endorsement of religion, and it's not my religion," Edwords said. "But even if it were my religion, I would not want my tax dollars used to endorse it," he said. They lost when a district court upheld the cross. But in 2017, a panel of judges on the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 to reverse the decision, saying that the government had "excessively entangled itself with religion." In arguments before the Supreme Court, lawyers for the men argue the memorial should either be moved to private property or modified. But removing the arms of the cross amounts to disfigurement, lawyers for the American Legion argue. A Pennsylvania woman charged along with her teenage daughter in the deaths of five relatives, including three children, was arraigned Tuesday on murder charges. The bodies were found Monday inside an apartment in suburban Philadelphia. Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub says 45-year-old Shana S. Decree and 19-year-old Dominique Decree are charged with five counts of homicide and one count each of conspiracy. Shana Decree was arraigned early Tuesday, while her daughter was expected to make her initial court appearance later in the day. It wasn't clear if either woman has retained an attorney. The victims included Shana Decree's children Naa'Irah Smith, 25, and Damon Decree Jr., 13, both of Morrisville; as well as Shana Decree's sister Jamilla Campbell, 45, of Trenton, N.J., and Campbell's 9-year-old twin daughters Imani and Erika Allen. Weintraub said that authorities are looking for Campbell's 17-year-old son Joshua. He stressed that the teen is not a suspect in the slayings and that they just want to "ensure his safety." Critics have assailed the president for executing what is essentially an end-run around Congress' constitutional power to control the appropriation of U.S. government funds. Democrats on the Appropriations Committee accused Trump of stealing from the Pentagon budget. Trump is "stealing funds requested by DOD and approved by Congress and taken away from military needs, all to build his wall," Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., told McMahon. "There will be real consequences for military readiness if we continue down this road." McMahon insisted that the Pentagon would ensure that military readiness would not be jeopardized. He said the Pentagon has not identified the projects that may be delayed to get money for the wall. "What I do know is the president has declared a national emergency and has asked us to move forward with execution of that," McMahon said. The Olivette City Council on Tuesday night voted to oppose a statewide vote on whether to merge St. Louis and St. Louis County. The council passed a resolution stating that the Missouri Constitution already outlines a process for the residents of the city and county to vote on their governmental structure through the establishment of a Board of Freeholders, whose meetings must be open and its documents subject to the Missouri Sunshine Law. A fundamental democratic principle is that constitutions and charters are citizen driven, and citizen approved, it states, adding that, since city and county residents would be directly affected by any change in the regions government structure, they should be the only voters on whether to change their government structure. The nonprofit advocacy group Better Together hopes to place on the November 2020 statewide ballot a merger vote. The initiative, if passed, would combine under one metro city the police departments, court systems, roadways, regional planning and zoning and economic development arms of the city, county and the 88 county municipalities. County municipalities would become new political subdivisions, called municipal districts, with power over some services, such as parks and trash collection, but with otherwise severely restricted authority. JEFFERSON CITY The state medical board has issued a rare emergency suspension of a doctor's license four months after he was indicted on child pornography charges. The Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts suspended the license of Dr. Ashu Joshi, 46, of Sunset Hills as of Feb. 8, citing a potential danger to public health and safety. Joshi was indicted in October on charges of production and receipt of child pornography and transportation of a minor across state lines for sex. He was released from jail Nov. 15 after paying $10,000 bail and agreeing to a series of conditions, including having no contact with the teen. Joshi is awaiting trial. Joshi impregnated a 16-year-old Kentucky girl and planned to marry her, according to court testimony in the case against the man. Joshi, who worked as an internist at SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital, is no longer affiliated with the hospital, officials said. His attorney, John Schleiffarth of St. Louis, said the doctor is contesting the board's action. Schleiffarth said he was unable to clarify some points about the case while it is still pending. An Iowa judge last month struck down that states fetal heartbeat law, citing a number of earlier decisions that found such laws were unconstitutional. That could lead to a hearing in front of the high court, which has two new conservative members Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. The measure advanced to final passage stage next week on a 110-37 vote. No Republicans opposed the measure. Three Democrats voted yes. Action on the legislation came less than a week after a federal judge ruled that a separate set of Missouri restrictions were not undue burdens on women seeking abortions. Under current state law, clinics that provide abortions must have physicians with admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. The Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbia has been unable to secure a physician with those privileges after a panel of medical staff at University of Missouri Health Care decided to stop offering the privileges in 2015. St. Louis has the only clinic able to offer abortions in the state. In 2017, there were 6,790 abortions performed in the state, which Gov. Mike Parson in a statement praising the House action said was a record low. Schroers proposal started out as a ban on most abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. But, as part of national effort by anti-abortion forces, the bill was quickly loaded with amendments that would toughen the states already restrictive abortion laws in other ways. Since peaking at more than 20,000 per year in the 1980s, the number of abortions in Missouri has dropped to 6,790 in 2017. The only abortion provider in the state is in St. Louis. Abortion opponents want the newly revamped U.S. Supreme Court to reverse Roe v. Wade, or uphold specific state laws that could undermine the courts 1973 ruling establishing a nationwide right to abortion. Gov. Mike Parson has indicated he supports the measure. First, however, the bill heads to the Senate, where Republicans hold a 24-10 advantage over Democrats. Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, said she would do everything possible to kill the bill. You can see everybody backpedaling now House and Senate both on the idea that collusion is going to be in the report, Blunt said on CBS's "Face the Nation." They want to come up with lots of other things that I think are going to be much more arguable than a pure finding of collusion would have been because I don't think that's there. Blunt has also been a top messenger for Senate Republicans as they work through responses to Trumps decision to declare a national emergency to get funding for a border wall with Mexico. Blunt has long opposed the use of emergency declarations, and is still undecided on whether he will vote to disapprove. Like many, he said he believes the courts will be the ultimate decider on whether Trump has the constitutional power to do what he did. The House Tuesday passed, 245-182, a Democratic resolution disapproving of Trump's emergency declaration. A Senate vote is next. The House vote came after roughly two dozen former Republican members of Congress, including former Missouri Sen. John Danforth, urged Republicans to vote against Trumps use of emergency authority to fund the wall. A carpenters union that represents three Midwestern states has endorsed Better Togethers proposal to consolidate regional governments, the first official endorsement from organized labor for the pro-merger advocacy group. The chief of the St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council, which represents workers in Kansas, Missouri and southern Illinois, said on Wednesday that he met with representatives from all 33 local chapters of the council, and they unanimously voted to support Better Together. I have been concerned for a number of years that we are falling behind the competition, dramatically, because of our fractured government here, said Al Bond, executive secretary-treasurer of the council. All were doing is just beating each other up, and wasting tax dollars. What we should be doing is working as one for the whole region. UPDATES with charges filed ST. LOUIS Hours after a woman robbed a Walgreens at knifepoint early Wednesday, authorities charged a St. Louis woman with the crime. Monica M. Wells, 27, was charged with armed criminal action and first-degree robbery at the Walgreens at 3920 Hampton Avenue in the North Hampton neighborhood, police said. The probable cause statement said the robber approached the store clerk shortly after midnight to buy a soda. When the clerk opened the register, the woman pulled a knife and pointed it at the clerk's face. She grabbed money from the register and fled. The clerk told police the woman was wearing distinctive maroon and pink pants. Surveillance video from inside the store confirmed her account and outside cameras showed the woman in the distinctive pants getting into a white Dodge Avenger with Illinois plates and fleeing the scene. Police spotted the car and stopped it about 8 miles from the store at East Grand Avenue and Hall Street. She still wore the maroon and pink pants and confessed to police, the probable cause statement said. ST. LOUIS COUNTY A 22-year-old Normandy man was charged Wednesday with two counts of first-degree murder in the killings Nov. 29 of an Olivette couple. Deonta M. Johnson, of the 4600 block of San Diego Court, also was charged with two counts of first-degree robbery and four counts of armed criminal action. He was ordered held without bail. Igor Zhukov, 47, and Michele Laws, 43, both of the 9800 block of Greenery Lane, were found about 2:30 p.m. Dec. 3 in their Nissan Sentra, which was at the bottom of a ravine in the 300 block of Bluff Drive, near Riverview and the St. Louis city border. Charges say that the victims met Johnson on the 300 block of Bluff Drive for a business transaction involving cellphones. Johnson attempted to steal the property, causing an auto accident, charges say, and he then shot both victims in the head. Four shell casings were found inside the car, charges say. According to the charges, Johnson admitted the killings to police. Afterward, he and an accomplice stole the victims property, charges say. The accomplice has not been charged, police said. But, the law does not explicitly forbid discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Zel M. Fischer noted this in his dissent. "The substantive principles of law within the MHRA define the word 'sex' as biological sex," he said. Thus, the lawsuit could only move forward "if it alleges that, as a biological female, R.M.A. was deprived of a public accommodation available to biological males." Judge W. Brent Powell sided with Fischer, while the court's remaining four judges Judges George W. Draper, Mary R. Russell, Patricia Breckenridge and Laura Denvir Stith sided with Wilson. The majority wrote that state law "does not provide for 'types' of sex discrimination claims; a claim is either a claim of sex discrimination or it is not. Rather than a 'type' of sex discrimination claim, 'sex stereotyping' merely is one way to prove a claim of sex discrimination, i.e., 'sex stereotyping' can be evidence of sex discrimination." Tony Rothert, legal director for the ACLU of Missouri, said that Missouri courts had never decided whether someone can sue if they were discriminated against for not adhering to sex stereotypes. CLAYTON An inmate who died in the St. Louis County Justice Center on Saturday night had been taken to a hospital for stomach pain two times that day and sent back to the jail both times, an official said on Tuesday. John M. Shy, 29, of the Oakville area of St. Louis County, had been in custody after violating his probation in two felony drug possession cases. Paul Hampel, an aide to County Executive Steve Stenger, said Shy had told jailers that he was a heroin user. At 3:15 a.m. on Saturday, Shy complained to jailers about stomach pain, and he was taken in a county justice services vehicle to the emergency room at St. Marys Health Center in Richmond Heights, according to a timeline Hampel said jail staff had provided. Hampel said Shy was returned to the jail at 6:31 a.m. and remained in the infirmary. At 9:55 a.m. Shy again complained of stomach pain, Hampel said. A Clayton police and fire dispatch record obtained by the Post-Dispatch through a public records request said a man had blood in his stool and was throwing up blood. An ambulance took him back to St. Marys. Hampel said Shy returned to the jail at 12:30 p.m. and remained in the jails infirmary for the rest of his life a little more than nine hours. A Godfrey man who pleaded guilty to federal charges that he robbed five banks in Madison County and admitted a sixth robbery in Florissant was sentenced on Wednesday to 20 years in prison. Dandre R. Brown, 30, of Godfrey, admitted last year to robberies in Alton, East Alton, Edwardsville, Wood River and Godfrey, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois said. In addition to the five robbery charges, he pleaded guilty to one count of transporting a stolen vehicle across state lines. That charge stemmed from his use of a stolen car in a bank robbery in Florissant. After the robbery, he drove back to Illinois. Browns six bank robberies all followed a pattern, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. Before the task force can begin testing the kits, Williams must first add up just how many there are. Agencies were not required to participate in an audit last year conducted by then-Attorney General Josh Hawleys office, meaning there are probably many more kits that have yet to be uncovered. Hawleys audit found 5,424 untested rape kits in the state last year. Williams said only 40 percent of hospitals and 40 percent of law enforcement agencies responded to Hawleys request for information, leaving the state without a true total. We actually dont know what were going to find when the inventory begins, Williams said. This inventory will be very different. Its not just calling and saying How many do you have? Williams plans to hire 6 to 8 part-time staffers who will conduct a physical count of the tests and build a collective database. The grant gives the task force a six-month window to complete a detailed inventory of more than 640 law enforcement agencies and 160 hospitals, according to Williams. Democrats are moving quickly to try to roll back President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency to siphon billions of dollars from the military to fund construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. Tuesday's vote in the Democratic-controlled House comes on legislation to revoke Trump's executive order from earlier this month and would send it to the Republican-held Senate, where it would take only a handful of GOP defections to pass it. Trump is likely to prevail in the end since he could use his first-ever veto to kill the measure if it passes Congress, but the White House is seeking to minimize defections among the president's GOP allies to avoid embarrassment. The vote could be challenging for GOP lawmakers who view themselves as conservative protectors of the Constitution and the powers of the federal purse that are reserved for Congress. But GOP vote counters are confident that the tally won't get near the two-thirds that would overturn a Trump veto. Democratic leaders said Monday that the vote is not about the merits of Trump's wall but how Trump is trampling on the Constitution by grabbing money that he can't obtain through normal means. The city of Simi Valley, California, has reached a $21 million settlement with a man wrongly imprisoned for nearly 40 years in the killing of his girlfriend and her 4-year-old son. Craig Coley was released in 2017 after he was pardoned by then-Gov. Jerry Brown, who said DNA evidence and re-investigation proved Coley's innocence. Simi Valley officials said Saturday that the agreement would mitigate long, costly and unnecessary legal proceedings, the Los Angeles Times reported. "While no amount of money can make up for what happened to Mr. Coley, settling this case is the right thing to do for Mr. Coley and our community," City Manager Eric Levitt said in a statement. The city will pay about $4.9 million and the rest is expected to be paid by insurance and other sources. The state last year approved a separate, nearly $2 million payment for Coley. He is now 71. Coley spent 39 years behind bars after he was wrongly convicted of killing 24-year-old Rhonda Wicht of Simi Valley and her son in 1978. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close At one point during the hearing, anti-vaccination activists in the audience could be heard objecting to testimonies by Messonnier and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. One woman in the audience raised an anti-vaccination book in the air. Another rubbed her fingers together, making the hand gesture for money. 'The sad thing is, this is a completely solvable problem' The CDC recommends that children get two doses of MMR vaccine: the first dose at 12 through 15 months of age and the second at 4 through 6 years of age. "You have one of the most contagious viruses known to man juxtaposed against one of the most effective vaccines we have," Fauci said at the hearing. He added that there are two reasons why following vaccine recommendations remain important: "One, it is for the safety of your own child, and the other is a responsibility for your own community. ... We all have a responsibility to be part of that umbrella of herd immunity." But now, even within the fiction, a problem arises. Youll remember from high school science that protons repel one another. When atomic nuclei are large as they are in the superheavy elements the binding forces cant hold all those protons together. Thus the superheavies are, for the most part, unstable. No sooner do they come into existence than they begin to decay. Many exist only for milliseconds, and researchers have yet to be able to create them in anything like the mass that would be necessary to build one tiny Wakandan instrument to say nothing of the meteorite rich with the stuff that brought the tiny nation its riches. Nevertheless, theorists believe that an island of stability exists somewhere among the superheavies. In particular, researchers expect greater stability in elements 120, 124, and 126, although some think the stability will arise elsewhere in the row. Wherever the island is located, perhaps it could provide Vb a safe harbor. Yes, yes, OK: Vibranium is fictitious. An element with its properties couldnt exist in our physical world. Marvel tells us that vibranium is of extraterrestrial origin, but the fact that its not from earth doesnt make its collection of attributes any more possible. Nor does it make the attempt to find it a place in the periodic table entirely pointless. Romania's former chief anti-graft prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi said on Wednesday that the vote in the LIBE Committee of the European Parliament is for the entire judiciary in Romania and for all the citizens of the country. "I am very honoured by this vote, I am very glad. This vote is not just for me, this vote is for the entire Romanian justice system, this vote is for all the citizens in Romania who have supported the fight against corruption in recent years and have supported the rule of law; it is a vote for all European prosecutors and judges working under pressure," Kovesi said upon arriving from Brussels. She added that she did not ask for the government's support to get the position of chief prosecutor of the European Public Prosecutor's Office, nor did she expect it. "I have filed the papers for the procedure myself, I registered as a professional prosecutor. I did not have the support of the Romanian Government; I did not ask for it, nor did I expect it, nor do I expect it. I am honoured to have passed the interview with the technical committee first, I am honoured by the vote today, but we have to wait for the final decision to be taken by politicians. It will be a political decision following negotiations between the (EU) Council and the European Parliament. I did all that was expected of me," Kovesi said. Kovesi garnered the most votes in the LIBE Committee on Wednesday after hearings for the position of chief prosecutor of the European Public Prosecutor's Office. She got 26 votes to French candidate Jean-Francois Bohnert's 22 and German candidate Andres Ritter's one, according to the LIBE Committee. The Romanian Presidency at the EU Council completed 62 files within the first two months since taking over the mandate, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila announced on Wednesday, in the opening of the Gov't sitting, mentioning that she will widely present next week Romania's results in this area. "A few months ago, the President stated that Romania is not ready to exercise the rotating Presidency of the EU Council. However, the reality proved that Romania registers remarkable results in its tenure, with the activity of our team being commended by the European partners," the Executive head stated. Thus, she highlighted that, in almost two months since taking over the mandate, "the Romanian Presidency at the EU Council completed not less than 62 files, of which 34 already have been approved by the ambassadors of the member states." "We have an intense activity and we will continue the tight cooperation with the European Parliament, with the European Commission, with the member states, in order to find the best solutions for the future of the European Union," she added. Viorica Dancila also stated that she will make a wide presentation of these results. "Next week, I will present widely before everyone, in a press statement, the exceptional results that the Government achieved in these two months of tenure," the PM stated. President Klaus Iohannis continues to block the Executive activity by challenging the stated budget with the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR), Prime Minister Viorica Dancila stated on Wednesday. "I see that Mr President is doing everything possible to hinder Romania's development, continuing the blockage he's been practicing for months against the Executive by challenging the budget with the Constitutional Court. This unprecedented gesture indicates a lack of responsibility that can affect Romania's credibility and, implicitly, the economic indicators of the country. Through this attitude, Mr President proves that he is not interested in either increasing the population's incomes or increasing investments, or improving the medical act, or increasing the access to education, but [he is only interested in] his electoral campaign. It is inconceivable why the President chose to block, through this gesture, the increase of children's allowances, although a few days ago he criticised it. I wonder, when is he telling the truth - when making political campaign statements or when announcing that he has blocked the budget? Or, is the President afraid that this budget will somehow lead to many investments?," the PM stated in the beginning of the Government meeting. Viorica Dancila argued that the reasons invoked by the head of state "for the blockage of the national budget have no real support, an aspect proven by official figures and the government acts." The Senate and the Deputies' Chamber on Wednesday appointed in a joint meeting Florin Mituletu-Buica as head of the Permanent Electoral Authority, after the former head Daniel Barbu resigned. In a secret vote, 252 MPs opted in favour of Florin Mituletu-Buica and 127 against. The counter-candidate of Florin Mituletu-Buica, proposed by the Social Democratic Party (PSD), was Marian Muhulet, backed by the parties in the opposition (National Liberal Part, Save Romania Union and People's Movement Party). The latter collected 127 votes in his favour and 252 against. Until now, Florin Mituletu-Buica has been the secretary general of AEP and Marian Muhulet the deputy head of this institution. The AEP head was appointment by government decision by the plenary sitting of Parliament. The AEP head cannot be member of any political party, with 15 days at his disposal to give up this capacity. He is appointed for 8 years, after which his term in office can be renewed one time. Daniel Barbu, who held the office of AEP head in 2017 resigned two weeks before invoking personal reasons. Minister of Justice Tudorel Toader had a meeting with Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni on Tuesday, reiterating the excellent cooperation between Romania and the European forum on cybercrime, cooperation that has been lasting for more than 15 years. Read also: INSP: Flu death toll reaches 155 Deputy Secretary General thanked for the constant support and expertise provided by the competent authorities in Romania in the technical assistance activities organized by the Council of Europe, according to a post on the Facebook page of Minister Toader. During the discussions they emphasized the need to coordinate the process of negotiating the e-evidence legislative package in the field of obtaining the electronic evidence, which takes place in the European Union under the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, and the negotiation of the Second Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime. The conclusion was that coherent and complementary solutions are needed both in the Union and globally, for the benefit of all states. The two dignitaries also addressed other topics of interest for the cooperation between Romania and the Council of Europe, such as: prevention of corruption in the field of sport, the need to protect vulnerable persons, Romania's support for certain Council conventions during the Presidency of the Council of the EU Europe. Deputy Secretary General thanked for the cooperation and the Justice Minister reiterated the willingness of the Romanian side to identify the best solutions for developing cooperation with the Council of Europe and finding the best formulas for the transposition of European standards. The meeting was a good opportunity to strengthen the legal relationship between the two parties, according to the post on Minister Toader's page. In the context of Romania's holding of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Ministry of Justice, in cooperation with the Council of Europe (Office of the Council of Europe in the field of cybercrime in Bucharest), organized the Conference "Criminal Justice in Cyberspace". AGERPRES . President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday that the magistrate's institutional mission should in no way be hijacked, even though pressure on prosecutors has lately intensified, adding that the Romanian society is a powerful ally of a fair justice. Read also: French Embassy: Romanian specialists - awarded Palmes Academiques Order "Courage, integrity and the constant desire to provide citizens with a safer country, where those who violate the law do not escape unpunished, restitution to the society for the damage incurred are milestones in your work. The magistrate's institutional mission should in no way be hijacked, even if the pressure on prosecutors has lately intensified, and the meddling of the political factor in the act of justice has become increasingly more serious. You have a very strong ally in your corner, the Romanian society, who understood in its entirety that Romania cannot progress as long as justice is not left to do its job. Justice is primarily a public service, and the rise of citizens' trust every year is a signal that democracy in Romania is getting mature," Iohannis told a 2018 activity report meeting of the Public Prosecution Service. Iohannis stressed that it is incumbent on all those working in the legislative and executive sphere to protect the rule of law and guarantee the rights and freedoms of the citizen, and from such perspective "the role of magistrates is essential." "Your activity is indispensable to the achievement of justice and the protection of citizens' rights and freedoms, so your voice must be listened to especially when completing your mission is hindered or even jeopardized. Romanians want a better country; they need the security offered by the rule of law, equality of treatment before law, regardless of social position, social status or financial power, and, moreover, Romanians want a country without corruption," he said. The president pointed out that, beyond their constitutional mission, magistrates provide "a moral compass to the society" and for that reason "any deviation from rules, and abuses should be rectified and penalised in a speedy manner" in order for their effect not to negatively impact the majority of those who carry out their duties with professionalism. "Looking ahead, Romania needs stability firstly, not only at a political level, but also at a legislative level. The rapid changes in today's society and the complexity of social relations bring challenges of equal size. That is why crime prevention and the development of public policies to support it, from the legal education of young people in schools to adult education, must not be neglected at all. I have been and remain a firm supporter of an independent and functional judiciary that guarantees and respects the citizens' rights and freedoms. You will always find a partner in me in the observance of the law and in the fulfilment of the constitutional mission entrusted to the Public Prosecution Service. The trust you enjoy with the public should honour you and make you work with the same rectitude, showing constantly that the constitutional notion that no one is above the law is a reality, and not a mere desideratum," concluded Iohannis. AGERPRES . Emergency response teams rescued more than 11,000 people in about 430,000 missions conducted in 2018, according to an activity report released by the Department for Emergency Situations (DSU). At the presentation of the report, Interior Minister Carmen Dan thanked the employees of the emergency inspectorates, the General Aviation Inspectorate, the mountain rescue, ambulance services and the ICUs for the success of their missions and the best outcomes. "We are under an obligation to prepare ourselves continuously for tomorrow's missions (...) From the government's perspective, the support that we can give is to identify the financial resources needed for the emergency system. Healthcare and emergency management are priorities with the incumbent government," said Dan. She added that for the year 2019, the appropriations for the Inspectorate General for Emergency Situations (IGSU) exceed 3.5 billion lei, 41.3pct higher than in 2018, and over 11 million lei are being contemplated for enhancing the equipping of the operative staff, including protective gear. "Another priority is the provision of funds for hiring over 600 graduates of the Interior Ministry's schools and continuing the implementation of projects conducted on non-reimbursable funds. Also, for the ongoing investment works 5.3 million lei are contemplated and about three more million lei for acquisitions," said Dan. For the General Aviation Inspectorate, the proposed appropriations run into about 85 million lei, out of which over 25 million are for aircraft maintenance. The minister also pointed out that in 2018, the staff shortage at IGSU level was reduced from 11pct to 9.8pct, and for the first time in the last seven years, the input-output balance is positive, which means that the number of those who entered IGSU is higher than those who left the system. Dan also said that the shortage would be further reduced in 2019 both at IGSU and the General Aviation Inspectorate by the inclusion of fresh graduates and once the competitions for filling vacancies are finalised. Also attending the activity report meeting were Minister of Health Sorina Pintea; Chairman of the Committee on Defence, Public Order and National Security of the Chamber of Deputies Dorel-Gheorghe Caprar; Chairman of the Senate Health Committee Laszlo Attila; IGSU Inspector General Dan-Paul Iamandi; General Aviation Inspectorate General Inspector General Marius Burtan, as well as official of organisations co-operating with the Emergency Department at the Interior Ministry. Two more people died because of the flu, the death toll having thus reached 155, the National Centre for Monitoring and Control of Communicable Diseases of the National Public Health Institute (INSP) informs. Read also: President Iohannis decorates battle flag of 812th Bistrita Infantry Battalion The most recent casualties - an 74-year-old woman from Cluj and a 39-year-old woman from Constanta - had been confirmed to be infected with the A flu strain. Both were known to suffer from pre-existing medical conditions and neither of them had been vaccinated. AGERPRES . Romania didn't register any progress on the fiscal framework, minimum wage setting, minimum inclusion income, predictability of decision-making and the corporate governance of state-owned enterprises, the European Commission shows in the Country Report Romania published on Wednesday. On the other hand, the country registered limited progresses on tax compliance and collection, upskilling and education, social dialogue, outpatient care, public investment prioritisation and public procurement, the document mentions. According to the Community executive, since the start of the European semester, in 2011, 59 percent of all country-specific recommendations addressed to Romania have recorded at least "some progress," whereas 41 percent of country-specific recommendations recorded "limited" or "no progress." Overall, Romania has advanced in implementing its country-specific recommendations since 2013. However, the reform momentum appears to have waned over the past few years. In several policy areas subject to country-specific recommendations action has slowed down or even been reversed and significant efforts are still needed to achieve tangible results. In respect to fiscal adjustment, the EC underscores that Romania has pursued a significant fiscal consolidation which led to achieving its medium-term objective in 2014 and 2015. "However, since 2016 the authorities have been pursuing an expansionary fiscal policy that led to a substantial departure from that objective," the Country Report shows. The Commission mentions that the progress registered on the labour market and the reform of the social assistance system stalled after 2016. "The minimum wage continues to be set by the government in an ad-hoc manner, social dialogue remains ineffective, while the role of certain important institutions has been recently weakened. The implementation of the minimum inclusion income law, adopted in 2016, stalled in 2017 and is now expected to be enforced only as of April 2019," the EC report underscores. According to the document, the system is faced with multiple challenges. Progress of reforms in key areas such as the development of integrated community care centres and the building of regional hospitals has been delayed, while in other priority areas the measures taken by the authorities appear insufficient. The administrative capacity of the Ministry of Health continues to be very limited. The shift to outpatient care remains at an early stage, with most efforts concentrated on hospital care, the quoted source explains. The Community Executive draws attention over the manner in which public policies continue to be highly unpredictable. "Important and sometimes complex legislative changes are still adopted without proper consultation of stakeholders, while impact assessments are often lacking. This often results in additional legislative changes being necessary to correct the unintended effects of emergency ordinances adopted on very short notice. Contradictory public statements about the future of important reforms also contribute to the overall climate of unpredictability of policy making, negatively affecting the business environment," the document shows. The European Commission published on Wednesday the 28 Country Reports of the analysis called "European Semester - Winter Package: Assessing Member States' progress on economic and social priorities." The permanent representatives to the European Union on Wednesday approved the Council's standpoint regarding a proposal of facilitation of the access to financial markets of SMEs that seek to be listed on the stock exchange and issue securities, while guaranteeing at the same time the protection of investors and the integrity of the market, reads a release of the Council of the EU. The initiative targets especially "SME growth markets," a category for which transaction spots have only recently been introduced, targeting the smaller issuers. Based on this text, the Romanian presidency will start negotiations with the European Parliament on March 6. "SMEs bring the largest contribution to the creation of jobs and growth in Europe. However, they depend a great deal on the loans from the bank. Which is also the reason why it is essential to help the SMEs diversify their financing sources and that their access to the capital markets is facilitated and simplified," stated the Minister of Finance in Romania, Eugen Teodorovici. Out of the 20 million SMEs in Europe, only 3,000 are listed on the stock exchange. This is due, in part, to the high compliance costs and, on the other hand, to the insufficient level of liquidity. Thus, the proposed norms are aimed at reducing the administrative tasks and reduce bureaucracy for the small enterprises. The proposal includes modifications of the regulation regarding the abuse of market and prospect, which increase the proportional character and obligations imposed to issuers on the growth markets for SMEs, while maintaining at the same time especially the integrity of the markets: a more rationalized administrative encumbrance, which will maintain the integrity of the markets and the level of information provided to investors, especially in terms of the obligation of reporting regarding the persons who have access to information influencing the prices; as well as a "simplified "prospect," more adequate for the SMEs who were already listed on a growth market for SMEs. The European Parliament voted on its standpoint with respect to the listing of the SMEs on December 7 2018. Therefore, negotiations between the Council and Parliament are ready to start. GREENSBORO Federal prosecutors announced Tuesday that a man accused of planning to kill people at Ben L. Smith High School in early December has been indicted by a federal grand jury on three charges involving interstate domestic violence. I want there to be no doubt from this indictment that we will not tolerate crossing state lines to hunt down former intimate partners, said U.S. Attorney Matthew G.T. Martin. We will prosecute crimes of this nature to the fullest extent of the law. A federal grand jury indicted Steve Brantley Spence, 29, of Norfolk, Va., on transporting a stolen vehicle across state lines, crossing state lines with the intent to kill, injure, harass or intimidate intimate partners and brandishing handguns. Police said Spence traveled to Greensboro from Virginia, on Dec. 3, with a "kill list" that included two adults he expected to find at the school. The list also included targets in Durham and Maryland. Spence was involved in a domestic relationship with five of the people on the list, arrest warrants stated. "We almost became the next national story," said Greensboro Police Chief Wayne Scott, who attended Tuesday's news conference. In science, you cant just sit there and talk about it, Schambach said. My students have learned that if you throw a bottle on the beach, itll come right back. The reason this works is we put it in the Gulf Stream current. The bottles take 14 to 26 months to arrive on the other side of the ocean after Schambachs friend, Capt. Ken Upton, drops them into the current about 40 miles off the coast of Wrightsville Beach. Lauras bottle took 15 months to complete a distance roughly as far as Winston-Salem to Juneau, Alaska. She said she was shocked that the glass bottle survived the trip. Coincidentally, she will be taking her first trip to Ireland this summer to celebrate her grandparents anniversary. I sent her (Patten) a letter in the mail a couple days ago. I told her You found my bottle and gave her my information, so she can write me back, Laura said. Its kind of crazy. Im super excited. According to a drift bottle project based out of the Institute of Ocean Sciences Canada, only about one out of every 25 bottles dropped into a current are found with the majority sinking, being buried in the sand or washing up in remote areas. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. February 27, 2019: This report focuses on the global Internet Radio status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players. The study objectives are to present the Internet Radio development in United States, Europe and China. In 2017, the global Internet Radio market size was million US$ and it is expected to reach million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of during 2018-2025. The key players covered in this study Grace Digital Aluratek Sangean Sungale Download sample Copy of This Report at: https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/global-internet-radio-market-size-status-and-forecast-2018-2025/request-sample Divoom Ocean Digital TuneIn Radio iHeart Radio Sirius XM Market segment by Type, the product can be split into Streaming Radio E-Radio Online Radio Access This Full Report @ https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/global-internet-radio-market-size-status-and-forecast-2018-2025 Market segment by Application, split into News Sports Music Games Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report covers United States Europe China Japan Southeast Asia India Central & South America The study objectives of this report are: To analyze global Internet Radio status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players. To present the Internet Radio development in United States, Europe and China. To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their development plan and strategies. To define, describe and forecast the market by product type, market and key regions. In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Internet Radio are as follows: History Year: 2013-2017 Base Year: 2017 Estimated Year: 2018 Forecast Year 2018 to 2025 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 Smith said she understands the dread now. Im going to see things that he did to my daughter, and Im going to hear things like how mean he was to her, Smith said. Waiting for trial A little less than two-and-a-half years after the murders, Ramseur was convicted and sentenced to death. May 7 will mark two-and-a-half years since Cortneys death. Cortneys aunt Racheal Reff said the family does not know of a court date for the case yet. Forensics are being done on the bullet casing. I dont think time has helped us because its unsettled, Reff said. Cortneys untimely death and the grief that still rocks her family has affected her sisters and cousins, Reff said. The family is suspicious of Tenors claim that the gun went off accidentally. They say the couple had a rocky, on-again-off-again relationship. In a 2017 interview, Tenor said the two were in love and that he never abused Cortney. Attorney Ken Darty is representing Tenor. "We are trying to resolve this case without a trial," Darty said. 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 Your phone begins to ring. The call is coming from Wahoo, Nebraska. Though you may not know anyone in Wahoo, it is Nebraska, maybe a friend, family member or it could be someone work-related calling, so you answer. There is a moment of silence, and then a telemarketer begins their spiel. Frustrated, you ask, Where are you calling from? Another awkward moment of silence comes. Los Angeles. Why did the caller ID say Wahoo, Nebraska? More silence, but it is not long before the telemarketer is back on script. This is a telemarketing technique called caller ID spoofing, which is when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity, according to the FCC. The practice in itself is not illegal. According to the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009, spoofing and caller ID manipulation is prohibited only if the callers intent is to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value, according to a Chicago Tribune story. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. February 27, 2019: This report focuses on the global Text-to-Speech Education Technology status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players. The study objectives are to present the Text-to-Speech Education Technology development in United States, Europe and China. Text-to-speech software solutions offer significant advantages for educational institutions that employ online/blended learning. These solutions provide students with flexible learning and spare faculties from providing repetitive in-person sessions. These also allow the creation and storage of the speech as a part of the licenses provided to institutions. Many educational experts believe that the incorporation of devices such as tablets, laptops, and projectors in classrooms improves teaching efficiency and enhances the learning procedure. This has inspired many institutions to invest in IT infrastructure to support advanced educational technologies. Download sample Copy of This Report at: https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/global-text-to-speech-education-technology-market-size-status-and-forecast-2018-2025/request-sample The rise in enrollment of dyslexic students in educational institutions is one of the primary growth factors for this market. The recent years have witnessed a significant increase in the number of dyslexic students enrolling in higher education in several countries across the globe, especially in the developed countries such as the UK. Similarly, the awareness created by the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) for providing education for dyslexic students, led to the rise in number of educational institutions accepting dyslexic students with the aid of supporting technologies. Since these educational institutions have the need to adopt assistive technologies to help students understand courses better, the coming years will witness a rapid increase in the adoption of text-to-speech education technology. Browse Full Report With TOC @ https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/global-text-to-speech-education-technology-market-size-status-and-forecast-2018-2025 Europe is estimated to be the major revenue contributor to the market throughout the forecast period. The introduction of initiatives by the governments of various countries in the region to provide education for dyslexic students and the implementation of blended learning in classrooms, will fuel the growth of the market in this region. In 2017, the global Text-to-Speech Education Technology market size was xx million US$ and it is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025. The key players covered in this study IVONA Software NaturalReader NextUp Technologies Texthelp LumenVox Kurzweil Education ReadSpeaker Market segment by Type, the product can be split into Male Voices Female Voices Market segment by Application, split into English Language Learners Blind Vision Impaired 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 Koch said the idea for the contest came about 15 years ago when he was judging a music contest for a friend in Colorado. During the contest, the judges could interact with the students and Koch wanted to provide that opportunity to his students. With the middle school kids, especially sixth graders, its probably their first time ever trying to play alone in front of someone else. They are still learning a lot of skills and those pointers that the judge can give them can take them to the next level and move them forward. Throughout the day, the results were posted for everyone to review. The Bluffs Middle School band received 80 superior ratings and four excellent ratings in the solo and small ensemble performances. The sixth, seventh and eighth grade concert bands were awarded superior ratings. Its not about the rating for me, said Koch. Its nice when the kids do well and I know the kids all want the one the superior rating. We hope that it happens for them, but more importantly did they learn anything from the experience, did they grow as a musician. Thats the more important part for me. The students will receive certificates for their performances prior to the last song of the band concert. The Nebraska Court of Appeals has denied a new trial for a Sidney man convicted and sentenced to 35 to 60 years in prison after threatening and terrorizing a woman. A Cheyenne County District Court jury convicted Jason Assad, 39, in a Sept. 14, 2014, assault of a Sidney woman. He was convicted on charges on felony charges of possession of a weapon by a prohibited person, first-degree false imprisonment, terroristic threats, use of a weapon to commit a felony; and possession of a firearm by a person. His sentence was enhanced after he was found to be a habitual criminal. Charges against Assad stemmed from an incident in which police had been called to the El Palomino hotel, which Assad operated and where he resided, after a tow truck driver reported hearing a bloodcurdling scream at the hotel. After responding officers were unable to make contact with Assad or the woman, they obtained a search warrant and finally were able to locate the woman, who had suffered two black eyes and told police Assad had assaulted her. During the investigation, police also recovered surveillance that showed Assad violently attacking and restraining the woman, including threatening his wife by putting a knife to her throat and also carrying around a firearm in the hotel. Under the current version of Nebraskas sentencing statute, a Class IIIA felony carries a penalty of a maximum of three years imprisonment and 18 months of post release supervision. However, under the current version of the statute, which was amended in 2015, it states that the changes made to the penalties for a Class III felony do not apply to any offense committed prior to Aug. 30, 2015. Therefore, the court said, Herrera should have been sentenced to the previous iteration of the statute, which says that Class IIIA felony is punishable by up to five years imprisonment, a fine of $10,000 or both. The sentence did not have a requirement for postrelease supervision. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. February 27, 2019: This report focuses on the global Cloud-based Applications status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players. The study objectives are to present the Cloud-based Applications development in United States, Europe and China. A cloud-based application is a software program where cloud-based and local components work together. The key factor contributing to the growth of the cloud-based applications market is the increasing use of mobile-based apps. In 2017, the global Cloud-based Applications market size was xx million US$ and it is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025. Download sample Copy of This Report at: https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/global-cloud-based-applications-market-size-status-and-forecast-2018-2025/request-sample The key players covered in this study Salesforce IBM SAP Workday Cisco NetSuite Ultimate Software Adobe Microsoft View summary of this report @ https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/global-cloud-based-applications-market-size-status-and-forecast-2018-2025 Market segment by Type, the product can be split into Customer Relationship Management Analytics Content Management Collaboration Enterprise Resource Planning Human Capital Management Content Management System Project and Portfolio Management Legal and Risk Management Market segment by Application, split into Large Enterprise Medium Enterprise Small Enterprise Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report covers United States Europe China Japan Southeast Asia India Central & South America The study objectives of this report are: To analyze global Cloud-based Applications status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players. To present the Cloud-based Applications development in United States, Europe and China. To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their development plan and strategies. To define, describe and forecast the market by product type, market and key regions. In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Cloud-based Applications are as follows: History Year: 2013-2017 Base Year: 2017 Estimated Year: 2018 Forecast Year 2018 to 2025 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 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 N etflix has finally unveiled a nail-biting first look second season of The OA, two years after the first season arrived. Season one saw blind character Prairie Johnson (Brit Marling) return home seven years after she first went missing and is now miraculously able to see again. The second part of the mind-bending show sees her attempt to navigate through a new dimension where she lives as a Russian heiress after being captured by Jason Isaacs' character Hap. Part II will also introduce new character Karim Washington (Kingsley Ben-Adir), a private detective tasked with finding missing teen Michelle Vu (Chloe Levine). Intense: Marling is set to return to her lead role / Netflix/Youtube His path eventually crosses with the OA and the pair team up in a bid to locate the missing teen. They are also set to investigate a house on Nob Hill connected to the disappearance of several teenagers. Viewers will also see Phyllis Smiths character BBA attempt to understand the truth behind the OAs story, back in the first dimension. Netflix warned fans of the show to get their defibrillators ready amid the new trailer drop. Excited fans were quick to admitting they have been waiting for this. One user wrote: It took long enough!! Looking forward to the binge lol. Fantastic! I've been waiting for this one, added another. Riz Ahmed, Sharon van Etten and Emory Cohen are expected to return to the show as guest stars, whilst Irene Jacob is tipped to make her first guest appearance, according to the Independent. N o likey, then no choice because Paddy McGuinness is officially joining Celebrity Juice. The comedian will take over from Fearne Cotton as a rival team captain to Holly Willoughby when the Keith Lemon-fronted show returns to ITV2 next month. McGuinness, who will also be joined by Loose Womens Stacey Solomon as a series regular, said he is looking forward to the chaos. I was a guest on the first ever episode and Ive done every series since so Ive always felt like part of the Juice family, he said. Pals: Keith Lemon and Paddy McGuinness on the red carpet / Ian West/PA Keiths one of my best mates, I love Holly and we all have a natural rapport. Im looking forward to the chaos! The former Phoenix Nights star also fronts dating show Take Me Out on ITV and stars alongside Lemon on The Keith & Paddy Picture Show, which sees the pair recreate scenes from hit films. Fancy dress: Stacey Solomon, Fearne Cotton and Holly Willoughby dressed up for the 2018 Halloween special (James Shaw / SplashNews.com) / SplashNews.com Solomon said: Im so bloomin excited to be joining the Juice family. I have loved the show since it began and always enjoyed being a guest so to get to be part of the furniture is a dream come true. So here goes nothing. Wahoo. Famous panellists on the upcoming series will also include Amanda Holden, Will Mellor, Johnny Vegas and Emily Atack, who fans called to replace Cotton following her success on Im A Celebrity. Holly Willoughby sings on Celebrity Juice After ten years of complete fun, I have decided to leave Celebrity Juice, she said in a statement. It has been a joy to be part of this magnificent show and I wish the team the very best in future series. Willoughby, who kicked off the show alongside Cotton in 2008, paid tribute to her co-star as she referenced a naughty skit which saw them sucking on a banana as they completed an obstacle course. Im going to miss you being on the other side of my banana..., she posted on Instagram. Thank you for 10 years of laughter... love you @fearnecotton ... we are going to MISS you on @celebjuiceofficial SOOO much. The series launched with Iron Man in 2008. The character is best known from the comics for her superhuman strength, endurance, energy projection and ability to fly. Captain Marvel is out in cinemas on March 8 Apocalyptic fire breaks out on Saddleworth Moor Firefighters have been tackling an enormous fire on Saddleworth Moor in West Yorkshire. Huge flames were rising from the hillside as witnesses described what they called apocalyptic scenes last night. Fire crews were still tackling the blaze this morning. A large gorse fire also broke out on Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh at a similar time. It comes after officials warned of a higher risk of fires due to drier ground amid unusually warm February temperatures. Man fatally stabbed outside London station A man has been knifed to death outside an east London railway station. The victim, aged in his twenties, died at the scene near Ilford station. No arrests have been made. PMs issues Brexit appeal to MPs Theresa May has urged MPs to back her Brexit deal as she told Parliament to "do its duty" ahead of a series of Commons votes. The Prime Minister said she found "real determination" in Brussels to find a way through the deadlock on negotiating an agreement. She claimed engagement with the EU had "already begun to bear fruit". MPs will vote on Mrs Mays negotiating strategy for Brexit and a series of amendments this evening. Dozens trapped as illegal goldmine collapses in Indonesia At least one person has been killed and more than 60 were feared buried after an illegal goldmine collapsed in Indonesia. Rescuers were using spades and ropes to dig out dozens left trapped following the landslide on the island of Sulawesi. House votes to block Trumps wall emergency The US House of Representatives has voted to block Donald Trumps national emergency declaration over the Mexico wall. The bid to overturn the declaration must now go to the Republican-majority Senate. The decision was a stinging rebuke to the US President, who is in Vietnam for a summit with Kim Jong-un. Mr Trump is set to meet the North Korean leader later today. Dani Dyer: Jack and I are not Posh and Becks Dani Dyer has said she and partner Jack Fincham are not "David and Victoria Beckham and refuse to become a brand. The Love Island star sought romance in the public eye, but said she does not believe she has to exploit her relationship for a career. She told Cosmopolitan magazine: I'm 22 and this isn't a normal situation that I'm dealing with. I don't know what money they think we've got together but we're not David and Victoria. We're not a brand. On this day 1879: The discovery of saccharin was reported by chemists Constantin Fahlberg and Professor Ira Pemson in Baltimore. 1881: The British were defeated by the Boers at the Battle of Majuba. 1900: The British Labour Party was founded. Ramsay MacDonald was its secretary and later became leader and prime minister. 1902: John Steinbeck, author of East of Eden and The Grapes Of Wrath, was born in California. 1933: The Reichstag building in Berlin was burned down - a ploy by the Nazis to suspend civil rights and press freedom. 1939: Britain's most haunted house, Borley Rectory, was destroyed by fire. 1965: Goldie the Eagle escaped from London Zoo and settled in Regent's Park. His freedom was followed by the media until his recapture on March 10. 1991: The Gulf War ended after Iraqi troops retreated and Kuwait was liberated. A man who fled North Korea says Donald Trump's second summit with Kim Jong-un will only serve to "legitimise the regime" in the country. Gim Gyu Min escaped from the North in 1999 after he dropped out of university and destroyed ballot boxes ahead of an upcoming election. His actions had led to him being handed the death penalty and two weeks before his execution date he managed to escape by walking and stealing his way onto trains towards China. Mr Gim, now a film director in South Korea, told the Standard: I dont think its going to matter what kind of result is going to come out of the summit. "No matter what the result is coming out of the summit, because the human rights issue will not be mentioned, I dont see any hope of the lives of North Koreans improving and basically nothing is going to change for the people. Donald Trump shakes hands with North Korea leader Kim Jong-un at historic summit / AP This is just going to legitimise the regime more and the misery of the people in North Korea will continue the same. The film director started listening to South Korean radio broadcasts from the age of 13 and said it opened my mind to the fact that North Korea was totally different compared to the rest of the world. When he decided to drop out of university, his parents were banished to the countryside and Mr Gim was sent away to do manual labour. It was then, twenty years ago, at the age of 25, that Mr Gim broke some ballot boxes ahead of the elections. Mr Gim said he was resentful towards the government / Gim Gyu Min "I was so resentful against the government, I decided to act out in terms of my resentment against the regime. Because of that crime, showing resentment and resisting the government, I was a targeted man. I was put in prison and escaped from the prison. There was actually a death sentence on me. About two weeks before I was meant to be executed, I managed to flee into China. Mr Gim now creates movies based on issues that he had viewed first hand in North Korea, and human rights are a big focus. His new film The Gift of Love focuses on the story of a wife of an invalid war veteran who is forced into prostitution for cash. When she loses her main income of work, she tells her family colourful stories of meeting Kim Jong-Un. The director's latest film is titled 'The Gift of Love' (Gim Gyu Min ) / Gim Gyu Min The film has been screened at locations around the world including London and New York. However Mr Gim says it is hard to get his film shown in South Korea. He said: Because the current political climate in South Korea is so progressive and so geared towards approaching North Korea, anything that has to do with human rights, for me as a filmmaker with a defector background, everything is difficult, not only finding investors but trying to find a theatre to screen my films. As long as the current progressive leftist government in South Korea remains in power it will be nearly impossible for me to make a film and get it distributed and show it in South Korea. Mr Gim hopes that one day his films will be shown in North Korea (Gim Gyu Min ) / Gim Gyu Min However Mr Gim says he will continue to make films until the day of reunification between North and South Korea. I have to hope that some day soon people in North Korea will be able to see my films. Mr Gim says that he hopes his films will be a avenue to tell people about North Korea. However as long as Kim Jong-Un stays in power and he doesnt truly change his ways, then the suffering of people in North Korea will continue. Concessions? In the run-up to the second summit, Mr Trump has indicated a more flexible stance, saying he is in no rush to secure North Korea's denuclearisation. The two sides have discussed specific and verifiable denuclearisation measures, such as allowing inspectors to observe the dismantlement of North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear reactor, according to US and South Korean officials. US concessions could include opening liaison offices or declaring an end to the technical state of war, they said. Harry Kazianis, director of Korea Studies at the Washington-based think tank the Centre for the National Interest, said a political declaration that ended the war would be a win for both sides. "Nothing could test Kim's intentions more than setting a new course in ... relations and in the best way possible prove America is no threat to his regime," he said. Vietnam, relishing its role as mediator, could serve as a model for North Korea as it seeks a path out of isolation. T errifying footage from inside a plane rocked by high winds near Gibraltar has emerged showing the fuselage listing heavily from side to side. In one video the plane's wing can be seen lurching violently as the jet was swung from side to side in the sky near the Spanish coast. The clip, shared by Sky News, shows the camera switch from showing the bright blue sea to the clear sky as the plane leans from side to side. A loud rumble of wind can be heard around the plane, an Airbus A320 that can hold more than 180 people. In another video posted on YouTube screams can be heard from some passengers while others laugh nervously they discuss what is happening. The incident occurred on an 8.30am flight on Monday from Heathrow to Gibraltar that diverted to Malaga as a precaution. Film of the incident taken from the ground was shared previously. A British Airways flight was seen swaying side to side in strong winds / PA One man who filmed the incident, who preferred not to give his name, said: "Being where we are we see a lot of the landings, but never one as rough as that. Glad that I wasn't on it!" A British Airways spokesman said: "The flight has landed safely and passengers have left the aircraft normally. "Due to strong winds in the Gibraltar area, our pilots decided to land in Malaga as a precaution. T he escalation of fighting between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, which according to Pakistan brought the downing of two Indian fighter jets this morning, is the most serious since the two countries went to war in 1971. It is also the first military confrontation of this scale since both countries clashed in Kargil in 1999, the year after they both announced they had become nuclear powers. This century there have been numerous tensions over Afghanistan and Kashmir not least over a terrorist attack on the Indian parliament in 2001 and the assault on Mumbai in 2008, in which 174 people died. The parliamentary attack was attributed to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the latter being the group at the centre of the latest flare-up in Kashmir. AFP/Getty Images The latest escalation began with the killing of more than 40 Indian paramilitary soldiers in Kashmir by a JeM suicide bomber on February 14. This provoked yesterdays air raid by Indian jets into Pakistan-held territory, targeting a militants training camp, according to the Indian air force. Today Islamabad delivered on its promise to retaliate. As well as bringing down the two Indian jets, Pakistan artillery was reported to have shelled across the Line of Control suggesting the conflict might be expanding into a series of ground operations. This could have implications across the region, especially in Afghanistan where Taliban sources have already suggested they are likely to suspend peace talks because of the Kashmir incidents. The tensions of Afghanistan and Kashmir are interwoven. Both LeT and JeM are Islamic militant groups with links to both places. The contest over Kashmir has existed since the end of British rule and partition in 1947 when Jammu and Kashmir definitively went to India, on the wish of its local ruler. D onald Trump and Kim Jong-un sealed their second summit with a handshake and laughs as it got under way in Vietnam today. The US President said it was an honour to sit down with the North Korean dictator. The two leaders exchanged handshakes, laughs and pleasantries at the 118-year-old Metropole hotel in Hanoi, where they met for 20 minutes before sitting down for what the White House described as a social dinner. Mr Trump told reporters: We look forward to it, we both do. The US President said it was an honour to sit down with the North Korean dictator / Reuters Asked whether he and Kim might formally declare an end to the Korean War, he responded: Well see. Mr Trump spoke of North Koreas tremendous economic potential, telling Kim: I think you will have a tremendous future for your country, youre a great leader. We will help it to happen. In his opening remarks, Kim said: We have been able to overcome all the obstacles and here we are today. Donald Trump meets Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam - In pictures 1 /36 Donald Trump meets Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam - In pictures U.S. President Donald Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam AP AFP/Getty Images North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sit down for a dinner during the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam Reuters AP AFP/Getty Images Reuters AP Reuters AP AFP/Getty Images AP U.S. President Donald Trump passes wellwishers in his car on his way to meet North Korea leader Kim Jong Un AP Vietnamese children wave Vietnamese and US flags before the arrival of US President Trump at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam EPA Vietnamese policemen sit on stools near the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi AFP/Getty Images People gather near the area where U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in Hanoi AP Pham Quang Dung, 8 years old, holds a placard that reads 'For a World of Peace' in Hanoi AP People watch a television broadcast showing coverage of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un visit to Vietnam ahead of a Hanoi summit with US President Donald Trump, in a public square in Pyongyang AFP/Getty Images US President Donald Trump waves to his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Phu Trong (not pictured) after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi AFP/Getty Images People gather near the area where U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in Hanoi AP Security keeps watch near the area where President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will meet for dinner in Hanoi, Vietnam AP The motorcade carrying U.S. President Donald Trump drives past Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam AP Vietnamese policemen escort a motorcade into the Melia hotel in Hanoi AFP/Getty Images People gather near the area where U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in Hanoi AP North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is welcomed on his arrival at the Melia Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam AP North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un's delegation leaves the North Korean embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam Reuters A motorcade with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un travels at a street after he made a visit to the North Korean Embassy, in Hanoi, Vietnam EPA A woman stands near t-shirts with the faces of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump Reuters People read a copy of Rodong Sinmun newspaper reporting Tuesday's arrival of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam, in Pyongyang, North Korea AP A vendor (C) waits for customers while displaying T-shirts with pictures of US President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi AFP/Getty Images Vietnamese policemen patrol near the Melia hotel AFP/Getty Images Vietnamese policemen stand guard near the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi AFP/Getty Images Special force policemen are driven in a truck to be deployed, in Hanoi, Vietnam AP US President Donald Trump (C) waves a Vietnamese flag as Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) looks onupon their arrival for a meeting at the Government Office in Hanoi AFP/Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam Reuters AFP/Getty Images Mr Trump spoke of North Koreas tremendous economic potential' / AFP/Getty Images In response, Mr Trump said: Its an honour to be with Chairman Kim, its an honour to be together in Vietnam. Its great to be with you, we had a very successful first summit. Some people wanted to see it go quicker, but I was very happy with how we are doing. Mr Trump said the two leaders relationship was really a good one. Earlier, he referred to Kim - whom he once lampooned as Little Rocket Man -as his friend. He tweeted: Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon Very Interesting! But he complained about media coverage of the meeting before it had taken place, criticising false reporting (guessing) on my intentions. Following tonights dinner, the two leaders will hold a series of back and forth meetings tomorrow, the White House said. Earlier in the day, Mr Trump enjoyed a working lunch with Vietnams Prime Minister Nguyen in the Presidential Palace. Among the dishes on the menu was grilled cod cha cha and deep fried spring rolls. North Korean officials toured Vietnams scenic Halong Bay while Kim spent the morning inside a hotel preparing for the talks. There has been a carnival-like atmosphere in the Vietnamese capital, with street artists painting likenesses of the leaders and vendors selling T-shirts emblazoned with their faces. It stands in contrast to the serious items on the agenda: North Koreas pursuit of nuclear weapons and peace on the Korean Peninsula. A baby born weighing just under 10 ounces - the same as a large onion - has become the smallest newborn boy in the world to leave hospital safely. The tiny new arrival weighed 268g when he was delivered at 24 weeks at Keio University Hospital in Tokyo. He was so small that he fitted into an adults cupped hands. But after five months of treatment, the boy now weighs 3.23kg, is feeding normally, and has been discharged from hospital. The baby is now healthy and has been discharged from hospital / Keio University Hospital/AFP/Getty Images The Japan Times reported doctors treated him at a neonatal intensive care unit by managing his breathing and nutrition. He became the smallest newborn boy in the world to leave hospital safely / Keio University Hospital/AFP/Getty Images He grew steadily and was eventually able to be breastfed. Dr Takeshi Arimitsu said: I want people to know that babies can return home vigorous even if they are born small." P akistan today said it shot down two Indian jets and captured pilots as rising tensions threatened to ignite a new military conflict between the rival nuclear powers. Islamabad said the Indian Air Force planes had crossed the boundary between the two nations in the disputed territory of Kashmir. Two pilots from one of the planes were said to have been captured. One bloodied airman was seen on video being arrested by Pakistani troops in a clip shared on social media. Pakistans civil aviation authority subsequently shut its airspace to all commercial flights. Todays developments came a day after India launched a pre-dawn air strike on what it claimed was a terrorist training camp in Balakot, in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. The incident, the first of its kind since the two neighbours went to war in 1971, was intended to prevent further attacks after a suicide bombing in Kashmir killed at least 40 paramilitaries two weeks ago. It prompted Pakistans prime minister, Imran Khan, to convene a meeting of his nuclear command. Following the downing of the two Indian jets, Pakistan military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said both pilots were in custody but one was being held in a military hospital. Pakistan's Inter Services Public Relations issued a photo of damage caused to trees in hilly terrain after the Indian air force dropped their payload in Balakot area / AFP/Getty Images One of the planes crashed in Pakistans part of Kashmir while the other went down in the India-controlled section of the region, Mr Ghafoor said. Firefighters were seen at a crash site in the Budgam area, some 18 miles from Srinagar. Witnesses said soldiers fired into the air to keep locals away. Pakistans foreign ministry said the planes had been shot down with clear warning and in broad daylight. The countrys president, Arif Alvi, warned brinkmanship can lead to war, adding: We know how to defend ourselves. There was no immediate comment from Indias government or military. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid escalation at any cost. Hours before the airmen were captured, Pakistan said mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier dividing Kashmir killed six civilians including children, and wounded others in the village of Kotli. Meanwhile, Indian officials said at least five of their soldiers were wounded in firing by Pakistani troops along the frontier. They said Pakistani jets had been pushed back and claimed to have shot one down. Residents on both sides of the so-called Line of Control, said there were exchanges of fire between the two sides overnight. India's Border Security Force soldiers patrol along the fenced border with Pakistan on Tuesday (REUTERS) / Reuters Pakistani minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told state-run TV he was in touch with his counterparts across the world about Indian aggression, adding that New Delhi had endangered peace by launching an air strike. T ensions between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan have escalated over the disputed region of Kashmir, with Islamabad saying today it shot down two Indian warplanes and captured two pilots. The civil aviation authority in Pakistan later shut all airspace in the country to commercial flights. It came just hours after Pakistan said mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier dividing the two sectors of Kashmir killed six civilians and wounded several others. But how have relations between the two nations deteriorated and what is at stake in the rapidly worsening conflict? Pakistani soldiers stand next to what Pakistan says is the wreckage of an Indian fighter jet shot down in Pakistan controled Kashmir at Somani area in Bhimbar district near the Line of Control. / AFP/Getty Images What we know so far on the latest tension Pakistan's army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said Pakistani troops on the ground captured the pilots. He added that one of the downed planes crashed in Pakistan's part of Kashmir, while the other went down in Indian-controlled section of the Himalayan region. The injured pilot is being treated at a military hospital. Maj Gen Ghafoor said the pilots are being treated well, but made no mention of them being returned to India. Indian air force spokesman Anupam Banerjee in New Delhi said he had no information on Pakistan's statement. Meanwhile, the foreign ministry in Islamabad said the country's air force was carrying out air strikes from within Pakistani airspace across the disputed Kashmir boundary, but that this was not in "retaliation to continued Indian belligerence". The disputed territory is split between Pakistan and India and claimed by both in its entirety. Though Pakistani and Indian troops in Kashmir often trade fire, the latest casualties came a day after tensions escalated sharply following a pre-dawn air strike and incursion by India that New Delhi said targeted a terrorist training camp in north-western Pakistan. What started the tensions? The latest wave of tensions between the two countries erupted after militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed, which is based in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing of a convoy of India's paramilitary forces in the Indian portion of Kashmir which killed 40 Indian troops on February 14. The suicide bomber was from Indian Kashmir. New Delhi long has accused Pakistan of cultivating such groups, something denied by Islamabad. India's Border Security Force soldiers patrol along the fenced border with Pakistan on Tuesday / Reuters Pakistan said it was not involved in the attack and was ready to help New Delhi in its investigations. India launched an airstrike on Pakistani territory early on Tuesday that New Delhi called a pre-emptive strike against militant camps in Pakistan. India said its bombs killed a "very large number" of militants, while Pakistan said there were no casualties in an airstrike it described as being carried out "in haste." Why is tension dangerous? Both India and Pakistan are believed to possess more than 100 nuclear warheads each and have conducted atomic weapon tests. Both countries have test-fired nuclear-capable missiles. File photo: An Indian Air Force Mirage jet fighter / EPA The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists warns that "computer models have predicted that the physical impacts of a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan, or even a single strike on a large city, would be devastating and would reverberate throughout the world." How did the dispute over Kashmir begin? When Britain granted independence to the region in 1947, it divided the Indian subcontinent into a predominantly Hindu India and mostly Muslim Pakistan. Some areas could decide their own fate and choose to accede to India or Pakistan. In Kashmir, the only Muslim majority area ruled by a Hindu monarch, its ruler was indecisive and wished to join India or for independence. This started the first India-Pakistan war in 1947. The conflict ended in 1949 when a United Nations resolution established the Line of Control dividing Kashmir between the two nations and calling for a direct vote on which country should control it. That vote has never been held. Indian and Pakistan fought a second war over Kashmir in 1965. What has happened since? India and Pakistan fought a third war in 1971 over what was East Pakistan, which later became Bangladesh. In 1999 and 2000, after Pakistan's military sent a ground force into Indian-controlled Kashmir at Kargil, the two countries faced off and a worried world urged both to pull back from the brink of war, fearing it could escalate into a nuclear conflict. Even in times of relative peace the two nations readily engage in brinkmanship and aggressive rhetoric. How is Pakistan reacting? Pakistan, which has a history of military coups and strong-arm rule from those tied to its intelligence services, has largely reacted to this conflict through its civilian government. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi took the lead to condemn the airstrike on Tuesday, painting India as an aggressor who would suffer repercussions, without elaborating. Qureshi also accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of playing with regional stability to get votes in upcoming national elections. Prime Minister Imran Khan has called for a joint meeting of Pakistan's upper and lower houses of parliament. Public criticism of India has been loud across Pakistani media, with sporadic protests against New Delhi breaking out across the country. How is India reacting? Indian government officials called the airstrike on Tuesday a counterterrorism operation based on credible intelligence that another attack against India was imminent. The tensions could be a boon for Modi, whose Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party aims to maintain power in the upcoming elections. The airstrike appears to have temporarily insulated the Modi government from criticism about it failing to create as many jobs as pledged in the 2014 elections. Opposition party leaders have responded with support for India's air force. Meanwhile, Modi earned points with the powerful Hindu nationalist social group, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or RSS. D onald Trumps former personal lawyer is to accuse the US president of being a conman and a cheat as he testifies to Congress today. Michael Cohen is also preparing to tell a House committee on Wednesday that Mr Trump knew ahead of time that WikiLeaks had emails damaging to his rival Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. His opening testimony has been leaked to the media ahead of his Congress appearance. He is set to say that Mr Trump also implicitly told him to lie about a Moscow real estate project. Cohen has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the project, which he says Mr Trump knew about as Cohen was negotiating with Russia during the election. Mr Trump fired back with a string of tweets from Hanoi where he is set to meet with North Korea leader Kim Jong-un today. The president again accused Cohen of lying and fraud. Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately), he wrote. He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crookeds lawyer! Donald Trump is currently in Vietnam for a summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong-un and Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong / AP Cohen says Mr Trump did not directly tell him to lie, but that "he would look me in the eye and tell me there's no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing." Cohen said that "in his way, he was telling me to lie." Michael Cohen walks out of federal court in New York. / AP White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement on Tuesday it was "laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies." Mr Trump has always denied Cohens allegations and said he lied to get a shorter sentence. In the testimony, Cohen apologises for his actions and says "I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience." On WikiLeaks, Cohen says he was in Mr Trump's office in July 2016 when his long-time adviser Roger Stone called Mr Trump. He says Mr Trump put Mr Stone on speakerphone and Mr Stone said that "within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign." Mr Trump responded by saying "wouldn't that be great," according to Cohen. US President Donald Trump / AFP/Getty Images "A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time," Cohen says in the testimony. "The answer is yes." Cohen also claims that Mr Trump made racist comments about African-Americans, including saying at one point that black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. Looking ahead to his public testimony, Cohen said Tuesday that the American people can decide "exactly who is telling the truth" when he appears Wednesday before the House Oversight and Reform committee, setting the stage for an explosive public hearing that threatens to overshadow Mr Trump's summit in Vietnam with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Cohen, once Trump's loyal attorney and fixer, has turned on his former boss and co-operated with special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. He begins a three-year prison sentence in May after he pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in 2017 and committing campaign finance violations while he was working for Mr Trump. Michael Cohen has pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations relating to hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels and a Playboy Playmate to cover up their alleged affairs with the president. / AP He met with the Senate intelligence committee for more than nine hours behind closed doors on Tuesday. Cohen said he appreciated the opportunity to "clear the record and tell the truth" after acknowledging he lied to the committee in 2017. It was the first of three consecutive days of congressional appearances for Cohen. After the public hearing Wednesday, he will appear before the House intelligence panel Thursday, again speaking in private. Republicans are expected to aggressively attempt to discredit Cohen, given that he has acknowledged lying previously. Democrats have been alternately suspicious of Cohen and eager to hear what he has to say. Senator Mark Warner, the intelligence panel's top Democrat, suggested in a brief statement to reporters outside Tuesday's interview that Cohen had provided important information. President Donald Trump's second year in office - in pictures 1 /25 President Donald Trump's second year in office - in pictures Donald Trump in the Oval Office AFP/Getty Images March 2018 Stormy Daniels, an adult film star and director whose real name is Stephanie Clifford is interviewed by Anderson Cooper of CBS News' 60 Minutes programme CBS News/60 Minutes March 20 Donald Trump meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House AFP/Getty Images June 09 German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks to U.S. President Donald Trump during the second day of the G7 meeting in Charlevoix city of La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada Reuters June 12 Donald Trump meets with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un at the start of their historic US-North Korea summit, at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore AFP/Getty Images June 12 A two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained near the U.S.-Mexico border in McAllen, Texas Getty Images June 21 U.S. first lady Melania Trump walks from her airplane to her motorcade wearing a Zara design jacket with the phrase "I Really Don't Care. Do U?" on the back Reuters July 13 Demonstrators gather in Trafalgar Square, London during a 'Stop Trump' march as part of the protests against the visit of US President Donald Trump to the UK PA July 13 Donald Trump and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II inspect a Guard of Honour, formed of the Coldstream Guards at Windsor Castle AP July 13 Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa meet at Chequers Reuters July 14 Trumps visit to Britain - Baby blimp July 14 Reuters July 16 Donald Trump meets with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, Reuters August 29 Cindy McCain, wife of US Senator John McCain, touches the casket during a memorial service at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix Reuters October 4 Protestors rally against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh in the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill Getty Images October 6 Protesters rally against the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, outside of the Supreme Court, Getty Images October 02 Jamal Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 Reuters October 11 Donald Trump meets with rapper Kanye West (R) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC AFP/Getty Images October 11 Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian posed for a photograph together at the White House Donald Trump/Twitter October 23 President Donald Trump speaking about developments regarding the killing of Jamal Khashoggi EPA October 27 Donald Trump speaks to the media at Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base AP October 30 Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump put down stones from the White House and flowers at a memorial outside for those killed at the Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue AP November 07 CNN correspondent Jim Acosta does a stand up before the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington AP November 07 A White House staff member reaches for the microphone held by CNN's Jim Acosta as he questions U.S. President Donald Trump during a news conference following Tuesday's midterm U.S. congressional elections Reuters November 07 Donald Trump looks on as a White House aide takes away a microphone from CNN journalist Jim Acosta during a news conference in the East Room of the White House AP December 11 Michael Cohen arrive at federal court for sentencing with his children, Samantha and Jake, and wife Laura Shusterman AP "Two years ago when this investigation started I said it may be the most important thing I am involved in in my public life in the Senate, and nothing I've heard today dissuades me from that view," Mr Warner said. In addition to lying to Congress, Cohen pleaded guilty last year to campaign finance violations for his involvement in payments to two women who allege they had affairs with Mr Trump. Federal prosecutors in New York have said Mr Trump directed Cohen to arrange the payments to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in the run-up to the 2016 campaign. Cohen told a judge that he agreed to cover it up out of "blind loyalty." In his prepared testimony, Cohen says he will present the committee with a copy of the check Mr Trump wrote from his personal bank account after he became president to reimburse him for the hush money payments. Cohen is not expected to discuss matters related to Russia in the public hearing, saving that information for the closed-door interviews with the intelligence committees. House Oversight and Reform Chairman Elijah Cummings has said he doesn't want to interfere with Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and links to Mr Trump's campaign. D onald Trumps former lawyer levelled a string of damning accusations against the US President in testimony on Wednesday. Michael Cohen explained at length why he branded the Mr Trump a racist and a conman." Speaking to a House committee, he said he was ashamed at some of the tasks he claims to have done on Mr Trumps behalf. The former legal "fixer" spoke out after pleading guilty to lying to Congress about Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation into alleged Russian collusion in the 2016 Presidential election. Michael Cohen was under oath while he testified / EPA President Trump has accused Cohen of lying so he can reduce the prison time he serves for his crimes. The Standard has detailed some of the key points made in his testimony. Allegations of racism Cohen called President Trump a racist early on in his testimony, before expanding on alleged comments made by his former boss. Cohen alleged he once heard Mr Trump say black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. Michael Cohen alleges that Donald Trump said black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid He also claimed: Mr Trump once asked me if I could name a country ran by a black person that wasnt a s***hole. This was when Barack Obama was President of the United States. Mr Trump has denied charges of racism before. He has said: I've never used racist remarks." Hush money Cohen says that President Trump personally signed cheques repaying him for hush money paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had an affair with Mr Trump. Following this Cohen presented a check for $35,000 dated August 2017 to the House. Stormy Daniels claims to have had an affair with Donald Trump / AP Cohen has pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations connected to a $130,000 hush-money deal linked to the affair. President Trump denies any affair with Stormy Daniels. As well as this, Cohen claims he was told by President Trump to lie about the affair to the First Lady, which he said he regrets, President Trump knew about Hillary Clinton emails Cohen claims Mr Trump knew in advance, through his confidante Roger Stone, that WikiLeaks was planning to release emails which were damaging to his rival Hilary Clintons campaign. Cohen says Mr Stone told Trump he had spoken on the phone with Julian Assange, who ran the anti-secrecy WikiLeaks group, and there would be a "massive dump" of emails harmful to the Clinton campaign. Roger Stone and President Trump knew about the emails, Cohen says / REUTERS President Trump denies prior knowledge and Mr Stone has since said this is not true. Cohen also claims President Trump knew about a meeting at Trump Tower in 2016, where Donald Trump Jr met with a Russian lawyer who claimed to have dirt on Mrs Clinton. Donald Trump Jr told President Trump about the 'dirt' meeting, Cohen says / AP He said the Presidents son walked behind his fathers desk and said the meeting is all set, to which he said Mr Trump replied: Ok good, let me know. In hindsight, he says he believes this was linked to the meeting. Cohen added that he does not know whether President Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election, but has "suspicions" about it. Conman claims President Trump adjusted reports of his wealth so he could rank highly on the Forbes rich list but then reduced it for tax purposes, Cohen alleges. Cohen says financial documents showed the President inflated his assets to rank higher on the Forbes world's billionaires list then reduce them to pay lower real estate taxes. Mr Trump was called 'conman' by Cohen / AFP/Getty Images As well as this, despite claiming to be brilliant, the President is accused of bullying his former schools into not releasing any of his test scores so they cannot be scrutinised. Cohen also said he would provide letters he wrote at Mr Trump's behest threatening his high school and colleges not to release his grades or test scores. He claimed to have "copies of letters I wrote at Mr. Trump's direction that threatened his high school, colleges, and the College Board not to release his grades or SAT scores." Furthering on his comments on President Trumps personality Cohen called him an enigma. The President had good and bad he said: But the bad far outweighs the good, and since taking office, he has become the worst version of himself. Trump knew Moscow tower project continued Cohen stated President Donald Trump lied to the American people about negotiations during the 2016 presidential campaign about a proposed Trump Tower project in Russia. The former fixer said the President knew of and directed" the negotiations about a proposed Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen pleaded guilty last year to lying to Congress about the timing of the business proposal and says while President Trump didn't "directly" tell him to lie to Congress about the project he did so "in his way." Cohen says that while he was negotiating the Russian business deal during the campaign, Trump would look him in the eye and tell him "there's no business in Russia. He said the President lied because he did not expect to win the election, which Cohen says he saw as just a marketing project for him. Trump 'avoided going to Vietnam' According to the prepared testimony, Cohen also detailed remarks he claimed President Trump made regarding the Vietnam war. Cohen spoke of how Mr Trump said he did not consider Vietnam Veteran and Prisoner of War Senator John McCain to be "a hero", because he dislikes people who were captured in wartime. Cohen also claims the President tasked him to handle the negative press surrounding his medical deferment from the Vietnam draft. Mr Trump claimed it was because of a bone spur, Cohen said, however when asked for medical records he gave none and said there was no surgery. Never in a million years did I imagine, when I accepted a job in 2007 to work for Donald Trump, that he would one day run for President, launch a campaign on a platform of hate and intolerance, and actually win. I regret the day I said "yes" to Mr Trump. I regret all the help and support I gave him along the way. I am ashamed of my own failings, and I publicly accepted responsibility for them by pleading guilty in the Southern District of New York. I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty - of the things I did for Mr Trump in an effort to protect and promote him. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. I am ashamed because I know what Mr Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat. D onald Trumps former personal lawyer Michael Cohen will testify today that the US President is a racist, a conman and a cheat. In a 20-page statement to politicians, Mr Cohen will claim that Mr Trump told him black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. He will also say he was expected to lie for his billionaire boss. I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr Trumps illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience, Mr Cohen will tell the House Oversight Committee in Washington DC. In an advance copy of the lawyers statement obtained by the US media, Mr Cohen also says: I have lied, but I am not a liar. I have done bad things, but I am not a bad man. I have fixed things, but I am no longer your fixer, Mr Trump. US President Donald Trump / AFP/Getty Images Mr Cohens testimony comes before he surrenders himself in May to serve a three-year prison sentence for lying to Congress, campaign finance violations and other offences linked to his work as Mr Trumps fixer. Today the US President was meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Vietnam for their second summit to discuss a roadmap for ridding the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons. This morning Mr Trump tweeted his response to the allegations, saying: Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately). He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Mr Cohen will say that he has no direct evidence pointing to Mr Trump or his campaign colluding with Russia but he has his suspicions. Mr Cohen will suggest that he misled politicians about his efforts to broker a Trump Tower project in Moscow on the order of the president-to-be. In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me theres no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie, his statement reads. To be clear, Mr Trump knew of and directed the Trump Tower negotiations throughout the campaign and lied about it, he adds. He lied about it because he never expected to win the election. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars on the Moscow real estate project. According to CNN, the copy of the statement shows that Mr Cohen plans to claim that Mr Trump knew that his long-term adviser Roger Stone had been in contact with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in advance of the release of Democratic National Committee emails damaging to Hillary Clintons election campaign. He will say that he witnessed Mr Trump taking a phone call from Mr Stone, who was on speakerphone. Mr Stone told Mr Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr Assange told Mr Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clintons campaign, he says in the statement. Wouldnt that be great, Mr Trump allegedly responded. Mr Stone has repeatedly denied claims he has had direct contact with Assange or Wikileaks, and has denied knowing about any leaks beforehand or receiving any allegedly hacked material from any source and passing them on to Donald Trump or the Trump campaign. Mr Cohen claims Mr Trump told him to lie to his wife Melania about his alleged affair with adult actress Stormy Daniels. Lying to the First Lady is one of my biggest regrets, his evidence to the committee reads. She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly and she did not deserve that. He says in the statement that he has provided the committee with documents to support some of his claims. They are said to include a cheque from Mr Trumps bank account reimbursing him for cash paid to Daniels in return for her silence over the alleged extramarital affair. He says Mr Trump made 11 payments of $35,000 each to reimburse him the hush-money proof, he claims, that the president committed a crime. The President of the United States thus wrote a personal cheque for the payment of hush-money as part of a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws, he will tell the hearing. Mr Trump has denied having an affair or telling Mr Cohen to pay Daniels before the 2016 election. The lawyer, who was disbarred yesterday from practising by the New York State Supreme Court, also brands Mr Trump a racist. He will claim that Mr Trump once asked him if I could name a country run by a black person that wasnt a s***thole. This was when Barack Obama was President of the United States. He also remembers driving through a struggling neighbourhood in Chicago when Mr Trump said only black people could live that way. He is also expected to offer financial documents suggesting possible tax fraud by Mr Trump. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders hit back at reports of Mr Cohens prepared testimony. Disgraced felon Michael Cohen is going to prison for lying to Congress and making other false statements, she said. Sadly, he will go before Congress this week and we can expect more of the same. Its laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies. A t least one person has been killed and more than 60 were feared buried after an illegal gold mine collapsed in Indonesia, officials have said. Rescuers were using spades and ropes to dig out dozens left trapped following the landslide on southeast Asian countrys island of Sulawesi on Wednesday. Search teams said they could hear the voices of some of those trapped in makeshift mining shafts but officials said they could not be sure how many would survive. "We are able to detect that many of them are still alive because we can hear their voices, as there are some places where air is getting in and out and there are gaps in the mud," Abdul Muin Paputungan of Indonesia's disaster agency said. The collapse of an illegal gold mine at Bolaang Mongondow regency in North Sulawesi left dozens trapped / REUTERS Mr Paputungan said one person was confirmed dead and 14 people with injuries ranging from light to serious had been rescued. As many as 60 people were buried, he said. Officials earlier said at least three bodies had been discovered but the death toll was later amended. Dozens of people were rescued by 8am on Wednesday (local time) after the mine collapsed the previous evening, according to officials. The Indonesian government has banned such small-scale gold mining, although regional authorities often turn a blind eye to the practice in more remote areas. With little regulation, the mines are prone to accidents. Search and rescue teams and military officers were working together but using simple tools such as spades and rope because conditions remained dangerous, with the land still prone to shifting and sliding, Mr Paputungan said. He said the families of victims had started gathering at the mine site to wait for news as the rescue mission continued. Photos released by the agency showed rescue workers and villagers on a muddy hillside scrambling to pull out survivors and carry them away on stretchers during the night. Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said dozens of people were mining for gold when beams and support boards broke suddenly. "Evacuation efforts continued through the night because of the number of people estimated to be buried," he said. 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. Pakistan to tackle militant groups Pakistan plans to take action against militant groups operating on its soil, a minister said on Monday, amid global pressure to act after a suicide bomber killed 40 Indian paramilitary police in Kashmir last month. But Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry denied Indian accusations that Pakistan was involved in the February 14 attack, which led to a sharp rise in hostilities, saying it "had nothing to do with us." Chaudhry said the decision to act was taken at a meeting of the National Security Committee before the suicide bombing, claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), in Kashmir. He said: "A full-fledged strategy is now in place. T he US House of Representatives has voted to block Donald Trumps national emergency declaration over the border wall in stinging rebuke to the president. The bid to overturn the declaration must now go to the Republican-majority Senate, where some conservatives have signalled they will vote with the Democrats. In a victory for Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the House on Tuesday passed the resolution by a 245 votes to 182. The passage did however fall short of what she would likely need to override a possible veto by US leader Mr Trump. Some 13 Republicans supported the move to stop the president's declaration. US President Donald Trump waves while disembarking from Air Force One / AFP/Getty Images During floor debate, Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro, the main sponsor of the legislation, said: "There is no emergency at the border Border crossings are at a four-decade low." Democrats and some Republicans worry that with the emergency declaration unilaterally funding his US-Mexico border wall without lawmakers' approval, Mr Trump was presenting a dangerous challenge to the constitutional balance of powers between Congress and the executive branch of government. Hours before the House vote, Republican Senator John Barrasso, a member of the Senate's leadership, told MSNBC that the legislation "may actually pass the Senate. Following a closed meeting of Republican senators and Vice President Mike Pence, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to predict the outcome, including whether senators ultimately could override a veto by Mr Trump Mr McConnell said Republican senators and Pence held a "robust, vigorous discussion" and that he had not "reached a total conclusion" over whether Mr Trump's emergency proclamation was legal. Mr Trump argues he has the power to proclaim a national emergency to unilaterally direct existing money for building a border wall that Congress has refused to fully fund. "The current situation at the southern border presents a humanitarian and security crisis that threatens core national security interests and constitutes a national emergency," the White House said in statement. A veto would be the first of Mr Trumps presidency and the first since Republicans lost majority control of the House in last November's congressional elections. Overriding such a veto in Congress would require two-thirds majorities in both chambers, making it highly unlikely, according to lawmakers. The battle in Congress is the latest chapter in a long-running war between Mr Trump and Democrats over border security, immigration policy and the wall that the US leader has been promising to build since becoming a presidential candidate. He originally pledged that Mexico would pay for it, but after the country refused, he asked US taxpayers to foot the bill for a project Democrats say is unneeded and will not be effective. D onald Trumps former lawyer has been grilled over a series of damning accusations levelled against the US president, including claims of racism, allegations of Russian collusion and a leak of hacked Democratic emails. In testimony given before the US House of Representatives, Michael Cohen branded Mr Trump a "racist," a "conman" and a "cheat". He suggested Mr Trump implicitly told him to lie about a Moscow property project and knew in advance about a release of emails by WikiLeaks aimed at hurting his 2016 Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton. The president tweeted that Cohen was lying in order to reduce his prison time. Michael Cohen, former attorney to US president Donald Trump, testifies before Congress / EPA The hearing delivered a damning depiction of Mr Trump's campaign and business operations from a former member of the president's inner circle. Cohen, who once boasted he would "take a bullet" for Mr Trump, said: "I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty, of the things I did for Mr Trump in an effort to protect and promote him. "I am ashamed that I chose to take part in concealing Mr Trump's illicit acts rather than listening to my own conscience. "I am ashamed because I know what Mr Trump is." Mr Trump has denied charges of racism before / AFP/Getty Images Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee lifted an earlier restriction that the hearing not delve into Russia, while Republicans tried unsuccessfully to block the hearing as it got under way. That was on the grounds that Cohen had not provided his opening statement long enough in advance. The committee's top Republican, Representative Jim Jordan sought early on to undermine Cohen's credibility by calling him a "fraudster, cheat" and "a convicted felon". "Certainly it's the first time a convicted perjurer has been brought back to be a star witness at a hearing," Mr Jordan said. Representative Jim Jordan speaks to Michael Cohen / AP Cohen, ahead of his appearance, said the American people could decide "exactly who is telling the truth" when he gave evidence before the House committee. Clinton's emails Cohen said in the prepared evidence that he was in Mr Trump's office in July 2016 when Mr Trump's longtime adviser Roger Stone telephoned him. On speakerphone, Mr Stone told Mr Trump that he had communicated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that "within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign", according to Cohen. Mr Trump responded by saying "wouldn't that be great", Cohen said. That month, WikiLeaks released thousands of emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee's server. "A lot of people have asked me about whether Mr Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic National Committee emails ahead of time," Cohen said in the prepared evidence. "The answer is yes." Cohen's claims that Mr Trump had advance knowledge of the emails contradict the president's assertions that he was in the dark, but it was not clear what evidence Cohen had to support the allegation or even how legally problematic it would be for Mr Trump. Special counsel Robert Mueller has not suggested that mere awareness of WikiLeaks' plans, as Mr Stone is purported to have had, is by itself a crime. Russian collusion Cohen said he does not have direct evidence the president colluded with the Russian government during the election, but that he has "suspicions". Moscow Tower Cohen said lawyers for Mr Trump had "reviewed and edited" a statement in which Cohen falsely said a proposal for a Trump Tower in Moscow had been abandoned in January 2016. He has since said he continued pursuing the project for Mr Trump for months after that. Mr Trump did not directly tell him to lie, but "he would look me in the eye and tell me there's no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing", he said. Cohen said that "in his way, he was telling me to lie". Michael Cohen alleges that Donald Trump said black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid Accusations of racism Mr Cohen alleged he once heard Mr Trump say black people would never vote for him because they were too stupid. He also claimed: Mr Trump once asked me if I could name a country ran by a black person that wasnt a s***hole. This was when Barack Obama was President of the United States. He added under oath: While we were once driving through a struggling neighbourhood in Chicago, he commented that only black people could live that way. Cohen begins a three-year prison sentence in May after pleading guilty to lying to Congress in 2017 and committing campaign finance violations while working for Mr Trump. A t least 20 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a train station in Cairo. The fire is said to have been triggered by an explosion of a fuel tank on a speeding train that was heading into the Ramsis station in downtown Cairo. More than 40 people are said to be injured. Mina Ghaly saw the explosion: "I was standing on the platform and I saw the train speed into the barrier. "Everyone started running but a lot of people died after the locomotive exploded." The fire broke out at Ramsis station in Cairo / Reuters Mohammed Said, head of the Cairo Railroad hospital said the death toll is expected to rise. Heavy black smoke can be seen rising into the sky at the scene. Images from the station show emergency services attending. The Ramsis district is among the busiest and most crowded areas of the Egyptian capital. The state railway agency briefly halted all train traffic and ordered the evacuation of the station. Egypt's Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli said authorities must determine "who caused the accident and hold that person accountable." He promised "harsh punishment" for the culprits. The country's general prosecutor has ordered an investigation into the fire. According to the BBC, Egypt's railway network has a poor safety record. In 2002, more than 370 people were killed when a fire ripped through an overcrowded passenger train. F irefighters are tackling an enormous fire on Saddleworth Moor in West Yorkshire. Dramatic images showed huge flames rising from the hillside as witnesses described apocalyptic scenes. The blaze, near Marsden, covers about one-and-a-half square kilometres, firefighters said. Fire crews and two specialist moorland firefighting units were sent to the battle the flames after the blaze broke out at about 7pm on Tuesday. Saddleworth Moor fire - In pictures 1 /23 Saddleworth Moor fire - In pictures The full moon rises behind burning moorland as a large wildfire sweeps across the moors in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester Getty Images A wildfire raged on Saddleworth Moor on Tuesday night Sean Quarmby/PA A large wildfire sweeps across the moors between Dovestones and Buckton Vale in Stalybridge Getty Images A llama sits in a field below burning moorland as a large wildfire sweeps across the moors in Stalybridge Getty Images A woman wears a gas mask on her way back from the shops in Mossley Cavendish Press Fires started on Saddleworth Moor on Monday PA Saddleworth Moor on fire Sean Quarmby/PA Image of Saddleworth Moor from National Police Air Service PA Fire officers continue to fight a large wildfire on the moors above Stalybridge, Greater Manchester Getty Images Fire officers continue to fight a large wildfire on the moors above Stalybridge, Greater Manchester Getty Images Image of Saddleworth Moor from National Police Air Service PA The fire caused widespread devastation on the moors PA A view of the sign to Micklehurst Cricket Club below burning moorland as a large wildfire sweeps across the moors Getty Images Firefighters battling the blaze at Tintwistle, amid the heatwave after the fire spread from Saddleworth Moor overnight PA Firefighters tackle the wildfire on Saddleworth Moor which continues to spread after the blaze was declared a major incident by Greater Manchester Police PA A small fire burns on Saddleworth Moor where firefighters are attempting to dampen down land to stop the spread of fire PA The blaze was declared a major incident by Greater Manchester Police PA Firefighters on Saddleworth Moor attempt to dampen down land to stop the spread of fire PA Horses are moved through heavy smoke in Carrbrook where residents were evacuated Getty Images Firefighters on Saddleworth Moor attempt to dampen down the area to stop the spread of fire PA Getty Images Getty Images Firefighters tackle the blaze at Tintwistle, amid the heatwave PA Laura Boocock, West Yorkshire Fire Service's incident commander, told the BBC it was "one of the biggest moorland fires we've ever had to deal with". Firefighters battle the large moor fire in West Yorkshire (REUTERS) / Reuters It comes after Britain basked in unusually warm February temperatures in the past two days. Fire officials have not yet commented on what the cause of the blaze may be. A large gorse fire also broke out on Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh at a similar time last night. Arthur's Seat fire - in pictures 1 /8 Arthur's Seat fire - in pictures Scene of a gorse fire below Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park, Edinburg PA A cyclist stops to view the shocking scene of a gorse fire below Salisbury Crags PA Scene of a gorse fire below Salisbury Crags PA People at the scene of a gorse fire below Salisbury Crags PA A fire engine heading to the scene PA People at the scene of a gorse fire below Salisbury Crags PA Scene of a gorse fire below Salisbury Crags PA People at the scene of a gorse fire below Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh PA Locals took to social media and told of their shock as they witnessed the latest fire. Harry Broughton wrote on Twitter: Never seen anything like this - had a drive up as these things look terrible. The enormous blaze burned overnight as firefighters battled to bring it under control (REUTERS) / Reuters John Turner said: "There were lines of flames, like someone had put down petrol on the hillside and it was just a massive ring that went zigzagging up and down the hill and all around in a circle. Frew crews at the scene of the blaze (REUTERS) / Reuters Speaking to Sky News, he said: "It's like the sky is on fire, almost. There was a group on the hill, just pulled over, and there were people saying 'it looks like the end of the world, it looks like the apocalypse is happening'." A British climber has gone missing after attempting to scale an infamous peak in Pakistan dubbed 'killer mountain.' Tom Ballard, 30, the son of mountaineer Alison Hargreaves, and fellow climber Daniele Nardi, 42, were last heard from on Sunday. There are fears over the fate of the two climbers after they tried to climb the 8,000m Nanga Parbat mountain during treacherous weather conditions. Efforts to find the pair have been delayed so far amid clashes between the Indian and Pakistani air force in the Kashmir region. Italian Mr Nardi and Mr Ballard were reported to last be a significant way into their trek up the mountain before they lost contact. Airspace around the mountain has been temporarily closed as tensions rise in Kashmir, making helicopter rescue impossible. Mr Ballards mother was the first woman to ever solo-climb Mount Everest without oxygen in 1995. Ms Hargreaves died while attempting to climb the summit of K2, the worlds second highest peak. Mr Ballard was aged six at the time of his mothers death. Both Mr Nardi and Mr Ballard were joined by two other climbers, from Pakistan, but the pair had retired from the expedition A group of Iranian men have been rescued after attempting to cross the English Channel in a small boat. Lifeboat crews and a cutter were called out to a dinghy spotted off the Kent coast on Wednesday. At about 10.30am Border Force was alerted by French authorities to a small boat heading towards the UK, the Home Office said. Nine men, who all said they were Iranian, were found on board. All were checked by paramedics when they arrived at Dover, a spokesman added. Eight have been handed over to immigration officials and one was arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry to the UK. It is the latest in a series of attempted crossings in recent days. On Tuesday, a boat carrying 13 suspected migrants was found trying to cross the Channel. This came after a group of 15 Iranian men were found on board two small boats in off the Kent coast on Monday. F irefighters are battling a large gorse fire on Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh. Around 800 square metres of gorse is ablaze on the Salisbury Crags. Two fire engines from Edinburgh went to the scene after the alarm was raised at around 6.30pm on Tuesday. An all-terrain vehicle from Dunblane was also sent to assist. Arthur's Seat fire - in pictures 1 /8 Arthur's Seat fire - in pictures Scene of a gorse fire below Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park, Edinburg PA A cyclist stops to view the shocking scene of a gorse fire below Salisbury Crags PA Scene of a gorse fire below Salisbury Crags PA People at the scene of a gorse fire below Salisbury Crags PA A fire engine heading to the scene PA People at the scene of a gorse fire below Salisbury Crags PA Scene of a gorse fire below Salisbury Crags PA People at the scene of a gorse fire below Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh PA Pictures shared on social media showed huge flames rising up from the area this evening. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said they had received 197 calls about the fire by 8.30pm. There were no reports of any injuries. S peaker John Bercow has selected five amendments to be voted on by MPs which could change the course of Theresa Mays Brexit negotiations. The proposed changes will be decided upon in the Commons on Wednesday, as politicians wrangle to change Mrs Mays plans. Voting will take place one-by-one from 7pm, with each expected to take around 15 minutes each. MPs amendments are not legally binding. However if any of them get majority support they add pressure on the government to act on them. Here are the amendments selected by Speaker John Bercow today: TODO: define component type apester Amendment A - Labour plan This is Labours proposal, which will seek to force support for the partys five Brexit demands. These, it says, would create a Brexit deal the party was able to back. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn sent a letter making demands to Theresa May / AFP/Getty Images They are the same as the demands sent by Jeremy Corbyn to Theresa May. It includes the calls to back a permanent customs union with the EU. The amendment is unlikely to pass. Amendment K - Rule out no-deal TODO: define component type apester Tabled by the SNP and Plaid Cymru, this calls upon the Government to rule out any possibility of a no-deal Brexit immediately. It calls for this to be done under any and all circumstances. It rules that this should be done whenever the time of leaving is. Amendment C - Bill to extend Article 50 Caroline Spelman MP / Getty Images This attempts to ensure an outcome is reached and even allows the Commons to legislate to rule out no-deal. It was tabled by Conservative Dame Caroline Spelman as well as Labour's Jack Dromey. However, it could be revoked should the reassurances on an Article 50 extension vote be forthcoming from the Government. Amendment B - Treaty on citizens' rights Alberto Costa left a Government role after tabling the amendment / PA Alberto Costa has put this forward in a bid for a treaty with the EU to guarantee citizens' rights after Brexit. Mr Costa quit his unpaid role as parliamentary private secretary in the Scotland Office on Wednesday in order to table the amendment. It seeks guarantees both ways. Countdown to Brexit: 30 days until Britain leaves the EU Amendment F - Vote on extension Timely intervention: Yvette Coopers amendment asks for Brexit to be delayed / EPA This would look to force Theresa May to stick to commitments she made on Tuesday, namely allowing MPs a chance to vote on delaying Brexit should the PMs deal not pass. H ome secretary Sajid Javid had a bust-up with Labours Yvette Cooper after he refused to discuss specifics of the Shamima Begum case. Mr Javid stripped Ms Begum of her UK citizenship shortly after she revealed her hopes to of returning to Britain following her decision to flee to Syria to become an Isis bride in 2015. But called before the Home Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Mr Javid flatly refused to discuss the specifics of her case. And he soon came under attack from an exasperated Ms Cooper, who asked: I dont understand why you cant answer [questions] in regards to this case? Sajid Javid addresses the Home Affairs Committee on Wednesday / parliamentlive.tv "Theres nothing legally preventing you and theres nothing in the rules of the House preventing you from answering with regards to this individual case. Mr Javid stuttered back: Er, there is. I am preven this particular case may become subject to legal proceedings Ms Cooper interrupted: Has it been at this point? Are there any legal proceedings around this case at the moment? Yvette Cooper at the Home Affairs Committee on Wednesday / parliamentlive.tv No proceedings against Ms Begum are open as the 19-year-old remains in Syria. Mr Javid retorted: I cant answer anything regarding this case because it may become subject to legal proceedings. Also there are related legal proceedings and also there is secret intelligence involved. Just for those two reasons I could probably think of more it would not be appropriate to talk about a particular case or the details of a case. Ms Cooper said: This committee would not ask you, ever, to release crucial intelligence. We would never do so. The speaker has said there is no legal proceedings in this case under way. Shamima Begum has had her British citizenship revoked Is it your view you would never answer questions on any cases because theoretically there might be a possibility of some future legal proceedings? Sir Phillip Rutnam, permanent secretary of the Home Office, jumped in and said avoiding commenting on individual cases has been the position of the Home Office under successive administrations. J eremy Corbyn today faced growing calls to act against a close ally who claimed the party had been too apologetic in its response to allegations of anti-Semitism. The dismissive comment by left-wing MP Chris Williamson triggered a torrent of anger from party grandees. Former leader Ed Miliband said they brought Labour into disrepute while deputy leader Tom Watson said Mr Williamson should be suspended. But despite calls for suspension or expulsion from at least a dozen MPs and senior figures, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan and a trade union leader, there was no immediate announcement of tough action from Mr Corbyn against the MP. Chris Williamson's comment triggered a torrent of anger from party grandees / PA Wire/PA Images Mr Williamson said he deeply regretted his words and apologised. The Derby North MP and Corbyn ally sparked controversy when he was filmed making the remarks at an event hosted by the Corbynite supporters group Momentum. He was applauded by audience of activists in Sheffield when he played down the crisis caused by anti-Semitic attacks by Labour supporters on Jewish MPs and members. The MP claimed the Labour Party was being demonised as a racist party and had given too much ground to its critics. A Labour spokesman said: These comments are deeply offensive and inappropriate and fall below the standards we expect of MPs. Downplaying the problem of anti-Semitism makes it harder for us to tackle it. Chris Williamson should apologise immediately and withdraw his remarks. Mr Watson, who has vowed to personally monitor anti-Semitism complaints - which some have seen as a challenge to Mr Corbyns handling of the ongoing anti-Semitism crisis - today called for his suspension. Tom Watson called for Chris Williamson's suspension from the party / Getty Images Mr Khan said there were grounds for him to have the whip withdrawn. He told BBC Radio 5 Live today: I think the evidence Ive seen - and I make that caveat - is that there are grounds for suspension, absolutely. Mr Miliband tweeted: This is a test of seriousness on our part about the whole issue. Disciplinary action, not simply an apology, is required. MB union boss Tim Roache also said it was time for him to go. At the Sheffield event Mr Williamson also said he had responded to the resignations of nine Labour MPs, in part over the partys handling of anti-Semitism within its ranks, by singing Kool And The Gangs 1980 hit Celebration. In a separate incident to enrage MPs, the left-winger was last night ordered to cancel a Commons event featuring a Labour activist suspended over anti-Semitism. He is understood to have booked a room for the screening of a documentary about Jackie Walker, who is awaiting a disciplinary hearing, called Witchhunt. Labour chief whip Nick Brown and the partys general secretary Jennie Formby are said to have asked him to cancel the booking immediately. Labour MP John Mann told the Evening Standard today: Chris Williamson should be expelled for his continuous baiting of the Jewish community. Wes Streeting MP and vice chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on anti-Semitism, said: The whip should be withdrawn immediately. Ruth Smeeth MP has lodged an official complaint about Mr Williamsons conduct which is believed to be on the grounds of him bringing the party into disrepute. It is believed the whips office consider his behaviour to be completely unacceptable. Earlier this month Mr Corbyn defended Mr Williamson, describing him as a good MP, an anti-racist and not anti-Semitic in any way. Mr Williamson, 62, was forced to apologise in 2018 after sharing a petition calling for Islington Council to reverse their ban on allowing jazz artist Gilad Atzmon - an alleged anti-Semite - to perform. He also organised a series of democracy roadshows with union boss Tosh McDonald in the summer targeting Labour colleagues seats. He spoke to grassroots members about how they could deselect their MP. Dame Margaret Hodge, who has been highly critical of Jeremy Corbyns handling of anti-Semitism, said today Mr Williamson should be suspended. He said: Williamsons comments in Sheffield are just another example of his anti-Semitism denial. Hes repeatedly given a platform to anti-Semitic speakers and supported their cause. Zero tolerance approach means Williamson must be suspended/whip removed, nothing less will do. Jewish MP Louise Ellman said he should be suspended immediately as did frontbencher Nia Griffiths. On Twitter, Mr Williamson posted a personal message and sincere apology from me regarding my recent remarks on anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. He said Labout was an anti-racist party and added: On a personal level, I have been an anti-racist all my life. As a former member of the Anti-Nazi League, I participated in direct action to confront foul anti-Semites in the streets. I reject racism ethically and morally. It has no place in the Labour Party or in our country. It pains me greatly, therefore, that anyone should believe that it is my intention to minimise the cancerous and pernicious nature of anti-Semitism. I deeply regret, and apologise for, my recent choice of words when speaking about how the Labour Party has responded to the ongoing fight against anti-Semitism inside of our party. I was trying to stress how much the party has done to tackle anti-Semitism. S enior ministers believe that the European Union will insist on a Brexit delay of up to two years if Britain fails to agree a deal in the next few weeks. Several sources have told the Standard they do not think the sort of short, limited extension of Article 50 suggested by Theresa May in the Commons yesterday would be permitted by Brussels. Ministers closely involved in Brexit preparations believe the EU would probably demand an extension until December 2020, effectively replacing the planned transition period with continued EU membership. The disadvantage for Britain is that would also delay the start of negotiations on future trade deals and UK/EU relations, which Brussels claims must begin only after the UK has left the bloc. Any delay has to be agreed by all 27 EU countries which means we cannot stipulate how long it would be, said a minister. The EU does not want a short delay. It would prefer 21 months, which would mean no future relationship talks until the start of 2021. Pressure on Brexit: Theresa May / AFP/Getty Images Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson reportedly raised the issue in yesterdays stormy Cabinet meeting, warning colleagues that if Britain asks for an extension in a no-deal scenario it will be entirely in the gift of the EU to decide how long it is for. The issue is separate to that of what happens if Mrs Mays stricken deal is passed by the Commons in March. Multiple ministers have said privately that a short delay until June would be inevitable because essential legislation is behind schedule. However, No 10 denies that a delay will be needed if the deal goes through. TODO: define component type apester A Cabinet source agreed the problem would arise if Britain had to seek a delay to avoid crashing out without a deal. We have been told nine months, a year, perhaps, said the source. If we revoke Article 50, they control the amount of time. A report in the Guardian recently said EU officials in Brussels were exploring a 21-month delay to avoid the possibility of multiple short delays while Britain makes up its mind. A senior Downing Street official said today he had heard absolutely nothing to suggest that is true and that recent discussions in Egypt suggested the EU would not want any delay to last beyond June, when new European Parliament elections take place. Mrs Mays senior negotiator, Olly Robbins, was overheard in a Brussels bar recently saying MPs would have a choice between voting for Mrs Mays deal or facing a long Brexit postponement. He was quoted as saying: Extension [of Article 50] is possible but if they dont vote for the deal then the extension is a long one. The Prime Minister yesterday defused the threat of a no-deal exit on March 29 by promising MPs a vote on a delay. Her climbdown was today hailed for avoiding an historic mistake by Sir Oliver Letwin, one of the architects of a cross-party plan for the Commons to seize control of the timetable if no-deal appeared likely. Brexit: Leave and Remain supporters gather in London on 29 January 1 /25 Brexit: Leave and Remain supporters gather in London on 29 January Pro-EU and pro-Brexit protestors discuss the vote and ongoing political processes as they demonstrate near to the Houses of Parliament Getty Images A man holds a 'Stop Brexit' sign aboard a campaign bus travelling down Whitehall in Westminster, London PA Pro-Brexit demonstrators chant slogans outside the Houses of Parliament Reuters Anti-Brexit demonstrators protest outside the Houses of Parliament Reuters A leave supporter vapes electronic cigarette in front of a group of remain supporters AP Pro-Brexit protestors dressed as suffragettes demonstrate outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Images An anti-brexit supporter holds banners in London AP Pro and anti Brexit protestors discuss the vote and ongoing political processes as they demonstrate near to the Houses of Parliament Getty Images Pro-Brexit and anti-Brexit protesters hold banners in London AP A campaigner dressed as Charlie Chaplin walks by the Houses of Parliament PA A leave supporter holds banners at the parliament gates AP Pro-Brexit, left and anti-Brexit protesters hold banners in London AP Pro-Brexit demonstrators protest outside the Houses of Parliament Reuters A leave supporter holds banners in front of remain supporters during demonstrations in London AP Police officers stand near Pro-Brexit and Anti-Brexit posters outside the Houses of Parliament, in Westminster, London Reuters Leave supporters hold placards in front of remain supporters during demonstrations in London, AP A pro-Brexit protestor sets fire to a roll of toilet paper decorated with the EU flag as she demonstrates near the Houses of Parliament Getty Images A pro-Brexit protestor sets fire to a roll of toilet paper decorated with the EU flag as she demonstrates near the Houses of Parliament Getty Images Leave supporters hold placards as they take part in demonstrations near the parliament in Londo AP Leave and remain supporters hold placards as they take part in demonstrations near the parliament in London AP Pro-Brexit activists hold placards and wave flags as they demonstrate opposite the Houses of Parliament in London AFP/Getty Images A remain supporter, left and a leave supporter, center, discuss during demonstrations in London AP Pro-Brexit protesters demonstrate outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster Getty Images v Reuters Anti-Brexit protesters demonstrate on a double decker bus outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster Getty Images Writing in the Standard tonight, he warns: The last thing we can afford to do is sigh with relief and relax... every one of us in the House of Commons now needs to play our part in finding a resolution that can achieve a majority. Asked if a no-deal exit from the EU was now off the table, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay told Radio 4s Today: No-deal is still on the table. It will be for Parliament to decide. Jacob Rees-Mogg, who heads the pro-Brexit European Research Group of Tory MPs, told Today: People who want delay must be using it by-and-large to try and stop Brexit. He said MPs could still be in the same impasse when the extension ran out in June. But business leaders said delaying Brexit was an option on sanity. Carolyn Fairbairn, of the CBI, said: Here we are 30 days out from March 29, business is not ready, Government is not ready.It would be a wrecking ball on our economy. So, that is a small step forward. The British wine industry today warned that a no-deal Brexit would generate over 600,000 additional forms, costing 70 million. Countdown to Brexit: 30 days until Britain leaves the EU MPs are staging votes tonight on a series of amendments, including a call backed by 60 Tories for the rights of EU citizens and UK expats to be protected from a no-deal crisis. A north London man has been charged with a missing midwifery students murder, police said. Ajibola Shogbamimu, 40, was charged just over six weeks after Joy Morgan, a 21-year-old student from Hertfordshire, went missing. The University of Hertfordshire student was last seen attending a celebration at a church in Ilford on December 27. Her mother, Carol Morgan, of Battersea, said the family have been left feeling broken inside. A spokeswoman for Hertfordshire Police confirmed Shogbamimu, of Fordwych Road, Cricklewood, was charged with murder on Wednesday after he was re-arrested on Tuesday. He will appear at Hatfield Remand Court on Thursday, the spokeswoman added. Ms Morgan previously told the Standard Joy was loved so much and missed so much by her family. A young man has been knifed to death outside an east London railway station in the fourth stabbing within just eight hours in the capital. Police and paramedics were scrambled to the scene in Cranbrook Road, Ilford, shortly before 9pm on Tuesday night. Horrified witnesses looked on as paramedics attempted to resuscitate the man. The victim, 20, died at the scene. A police cordon remained in place on Tuesday night following the fatal stabbing in Ilford Dramatic footage showed police cars lining the street as a cordon was put in place. Scotland Yard has launched a murder investigation. No arrests have been made. The scene in Ilford The victim's next of kin have been informed. Ilford station's front entrance was closed off to commuters as a crime scene remained in place on Wednesday morning. An entrance at the back of the station has been opened. Emergency services rushed to the scene of the stabbing in east London / Twitter/@stanikzai_19 It comes after a man in his thirties suffered a stab wound to his thigh in Enfield shortly before 2pm. He was rushed to hospital but has since been discharged. A schoolboy was attacked and stabbed in a separate incident outside South Ruislip station, in west London, just before 4.30pm. Witnesses described seeing a boy in school uniform "lying face down on the pavement" outside the station after being attacked. The boy was rushed to hospital. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening, London Ambulance Service said. Two hours later, a teenager was stabbed in Romford, east London, in another horrific attack. The 18-year-old was rushed to hospital. His condition is not thought to be life-threatening. Any witnesses or anyone with information is urged to call police on 101, quoting ref 7377/feb26. A young man was stabbed to death outside a busy station in the fifth fatal knife attack in London in just nine days. The 20-year-old man was attacked in a fight outside Ilford Station just before 8.50pm yesterday, the 17th killing in the capital this year. The attack came amid a spate of stabbings across the city within 24 hours yesterday, including a knife attack in Green Street, Enfield, on a 25-year-old man who was gravely ill in hospital today. Police at the scene of a stabbing outside Ilford Station / PA Witnesses to the Ilford attack said two people were fighting outside the station and there had been a series of skirmishes beforehand. The victim was stabbed to death after a series of 'skirmishes', witnesses said / PA Zamirullah Stanikzai, 21, who works nearby, said he saw two men brandishing knives: I saw people running up and down the station when I went out. Rafiullah Niazi, who runs Khans Communications phone shop, said: We were closing and saw that two people had been fighting. One guy was on the floor and the other guy had run away. Medics and bystanders including schoolchildren battled to save the victim but he was pronounced dead at the scene / PA One of the station staff, a lady, ran outside and tried to help him. We were watching them doing CPR but it didnt work. Before the police arrived he passed away. He couldnt say anything, he was hurt really bad. Mr Niazi said he believed the attack was connected to a turf war between drug dealers operating outside the station. He added: There is a big gang who sells drugs round there. These boys are carrying knives 24 hours. The gangs are round here not just from today. Its a long long time. A 15-year-old girl told how she saw one of her schoolfriends covered in blood after trying to come to the victims aid in Cranbrook Road last night. I was on my way home when I saw a boy I knew from school, she said. He had blood on his hands. He said his friend had been stabbed and he tried to help him. Haroon Shah, 42, said: There were people fighting, they were quite young and really going at each other. That was a bit earlier in the evening. The atmosphere around wasnt good so I was not surprised there was a serious incident. A crime scene tent remained in place outside the station today with commuters forced to use a side entrance as forensic teams and detectives trawled for clues. Mike Gapes, the MP for Ilford South, tweeted that he was shocked and saddened by the killing. Scotland Yard said there had been no arrests. In other incidents a 14-year-old was stabbed South Ruislip Tube station at around 4.25pm yesterday. Witnesses described seeing the boy in school uniform lying face down on the pavement outside the station after being attacked. Police said a boy aged 15 had been arrested. An 18-year-old man was taken to hospital suffering non life threatening injuries after a stabbing in Romford at 6.30pm. T he number of domestic abuse offences recorded by police in London has rocketed by 63 per cent in the past seven years, according to statistics released today. Figures also show there were 29 domestic homicides in the capital in 2018 up from nine the previous year. The scale of domestic abuse cases in the capital was revealed as Mayor Sadiq Khan pledged an extra 15 million to fund services to support women and girls who have experienced violence. He said cash raised from business rates would fund struggling domestic abuse charities and support hard-to-reach communities. A report called Beneath the Numbers by the Mayors Office for Policing and Crime found the number of domestic abuse offences in London increased by nearly two-thirds between 2011 and 2018. This was partly driven by better recording of offences, as well as more victims coming forward following the launch of Operation Yewtree, the investigation into historic sexual offences. Another significant factor is the new offence of malicious communications, which accounted for almost nine per cent of cases recorded by the Met in the 12 months to the end of March 2018. The study found that last year three quarters of victims were female and that victims were more likely to live in deprived areas. Barking and Dagenham recorded the highest rate of offending with 12.6 offences per 1,000 people. Kingston Upon Thames recorded the lowest rate. The report also highlighted the rise in sex offences in London, saying recorded rape offences at the end of March 2018 had risen by 134 per cent compared to the same period ending in March 2012, with an increase of more than 4,000 offences. While demand for womens services rose by 83 per cent in 2017, funding was falling, leaving services at crisis point. The report says: This is having an impact on victims. Nearly two-thirds of referrals to support services between the end of 2017 and the summer of 2018 were unsuccessful. Rape Crisis Centres across the capital have been regularly forced to close their waiting lists and, for the first time in the middle of 2018, all four centres closed their lists due to demand. Mr Khan said: The number of people killed by someone they knew in our city is shocking and I am determined to do everything in my power to ensure dangerous offenders are dealt with, and that victims and survivors get access to the support they need. I t's almost Pancake Day, which means we now officially have an excuse to eat as many pancakes as we want. Shrove Tuesday, as it's more formally known, is the perfect reason to get your friends and family round for stacks of delicious pancakes. Whilst some people's pancake flipping skills are better than others, any pancake fanatic knows no matter what they taste like, it's all about the toppings. Some people like to go fancy with fresh berries and cream or keep it simple with lemon and sugar. Whatever your pancake preference, what could be better than an entire day dedicated to them? Food. Bars. Going out. 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}} Here's everything you need to know about Pancake Day, otherwise known as Shrove Tuesday: When is Pancake Day? Every year the city of London turns into a pancake haven with restaurants and homes cooking up delightful variations of the highly addictive batter cakes and crepes. However, given that this day changes date every year according to Easter, it can be hard to remember when it is, and why exactly we celebrate it. This year, Shrove Tuesday falls on 5 March. How to make vegan pancakes Why do we celebrate Pancake Day? For Christians, Shrove Tuesday marks the last day before Lent, traditionally a period of abstinence, associated with clearing your cupboards of goods such as sugar, fats and eggs. Traditionally, pancakes were eaten on this day to use up these foods before the 40-day fasting season of Lent began. Some believe the four ingredients used in pancakes may actually represent the four pillars of the Christian faith - flour as the staff of life, eggs as creation, milk as purity and salt as wholesomeness. Although the day is important in Christian tradition, Pancake Day is widely celebrated by those outside of the faith. How to make Espresso Martini pancakes What does Shrove Tuesday mean? The word 'shrove' derives from the English word 'shrive', which means to obtain absolution for one's sins by way of confession and penance. The day gets its unique name from the custom for Christians to be 'shriven' before the start of Lent. They would be called to confession by the ring of a bell which came to be known as the 'pancake bell' and it is still rung in some churches today. Why do we flip pancakes? The pancake has a very long history and is featured in cookery books as far back as 1439. The tradition of tossing or flipping them is almost as old. According to legend, the tradition was born in the 15th century when a woman in Buckinghamshire rushed to church to confess her sins while mid-way through making pancakes. Need some Pancake Day inspiration? Check out these varied foodstagrams... Jennifer Lawrence and her new fiancee Cooke Maroney are a notoriously private couple, rarely seen out in public together. But when Lawrence stepped out for Diors Paris Fashion Week show on Tuesday, the Oscar-winning actress did display the engagement ring given to her by Maroney. Following Lawrence's engagement an eyewitness had previously described the rock as massive to Page Six. While theres no official word on who designed it, there have been a couple of estimations regarding how much it cost. (Elizabeth Pantaleo/REX/Shutterstock) / Rex According to gemologist Grant Mobley, the ring could have cost Maroney as much as 150,000, remarking that it appears to be a "4 to 5 carat emerald cut diamond set in a classic platinum four prong solitaire mounting with a petit band". He also added that the ring was likely to "retain its value over time" as a rock of that quality and size was "growing increasingly rare". 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}} Lawrence and Maroney are believed to have started dating back in June 2018, after which they were photographed numerous times on a series of date nights. Page Six reported that they were set up by their mutual friend Laura Simpson and a spokesperson confirmed to E! News that they were officially engaged at the start of the month. A source told Page Six that they had seen Lawrence with Maroney at a French restaurant named Raouls, where her ring was in full view. They seemed like they were celebrating and people were talking about it" said the source, "The ring was very noticeable. They were sitting back in a corner. JD Images/REX/Shutterstock Maroney is a departure from Lawrences previous boyfriends, who were all connected to Hollywood in some way. They include Nicholas Hoult, who she co-starred with in X-Men Apocalypse, and director Darren Aronofsky, who she worked with on Mother! Lawrence previously said in an interview that she is still "friends with all [her] exes" and revealed, "All my boyfriends have been wonderful. Nick [Hoult] was a great boyfriend." She added, "Every time I go through a breakup, it's not like my heart isn't broken. They just never did anything to like, devastate me. They were just good people. Maybe that's also the secret. I'm attracted to good people." A new play inspired by the life of Anna Delvey is set to debut just in time for her trial. Real name Anna Sorokin, Delvey embedded herself into the New York elite social scene by posing as a German billionaire heiress and is accused of defrauding banks, hotels and friends out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Russian-born alleged scammer is currently in Rikers Island prison awaiting trial, originally slated to take place on February 25. The revised dates are yet to be finalised, but another hearing has been set for March 11 two days before the theatre show opens at Vault Festival. Anna X, written by Joseph Charlton, takes inspiration from Delvey, beginning with the arrival of a recent art school graduate in New York and looks at her life through the eyes of one of her targets. Ariel, founder of a tech start-up, has also just arrived in the city and both find themselves struggling to keep up with the social circles they move in. Charlton says the play is about the fantasy lives people construct for themselves through technology, and the ease with which someone might move from being nobody to somebody in a world as artificial as the global art scene. Rosie Sheehy plays the part of Anna, with Joshua James playing Ariel and Daniel Raggett directing. At last years Vault Festival, Charlton debuted Brilliant Jerks, which tracked the rise of Uber and has been commissioned for the BBC. Anna X runs at Vault Festival from March 13-17, vaultfestival.com A lex Kingston has called for greater diversity in theatre as she told of her joy at being back on the London stage. The ER and Dr Who actress, 55, will be back in the West End in the play Admissions when it transfers from New York. She stars as Sherri, the head of admissions at a private school fighting to diversify its student intake. But then her son is deferred from his university of choice while his best friend who ticks more boxes is accepted. Kingston said: The theme is universal and I think that, just from what Ive read in the newspapers recently here regarding ethnicity and higher education, its incredibly topical and a British audience will completely get what the characters in this play are dealing with. Admissions marks Kingstons return to the West End after she appeared with Christian Slater in One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest at the Garrick and played Lady Milford in Luise Miller at the Donmar Warehouse. She moved back to the UK from the States two years ago and says she is loving working in London again. Kingston said she hopes the play will bring in a broader audience than usual in the West End: The majority of theatre audiences are white and so the hope is you will have people of different ethnicities coming in. She also urged diversity in casting, and said: Aside from the Young Vic and a few, its still a white persons world. Rupert Julians adaptation of the classic book may not have been an immediate hit in 1925, but has gained fans since. One of these was composer and jazz pianist Roy Budd, who dreamed of writing music for the film since he was a child. Budd did just that, but never got to see his piece performed, as he died from a brain haemorrhage weeks before the scheduled premiere at the Barbican in 1993. Now, the piece finally receives its Barbican performance, as the 72-piece Docklands Sinfonia will play the live accompaniment to the film on March 18. The score has had just one other outing, at the London Coliseum in 2017, when Budds wife Sylvia fulfilled her promise to her husband before he died that she would make sure his Phantom was performed. Budd made his own debut at the Coliseum at just six years old, going onto compose the music for a number of films including 1971 gangster movie Get Carter, starring Michael Caine, and later The Wild Geese, which starred hellraisers Richard Burton and Richard Harris, alongside one time Bond Roger Moore. All proceeds from the concert will go to Rotarys Purple4Polio Campaign to End Polio Now and Forever. To celebrate the new show, the Standard has 50 pairs of tickets to give away. To enter the competition, visit this page. Roy Budds Phantom of the Opera is on for one night only on March 18, barbican.org.uk. S tarting a new business is hard work and can be quite stressful. Whether you are an independent entrepreneur or a small team, everyone needs a calm, comfortable workspace to be as productive as possible. For people who are just getting their business off the ground, hiring a permanent office doesnt always make sense which is why more and more start-ups are opting to work in shared spaces. The popularity of coworking has soared in recent years as more spaces have become available to start-ups. Many of these spaces also offer help and advice to entrepreneurs to help them in the early stages of their business. Here, we have picked a few of the most popular spaces in London so you can decide which one works best for your business. Techhub Techhub is a start-up support organisation that offers work and event space on the so-called Silicon Roundabout in Old Street, with a second location in the City. The organisation offers different membership levels you can sign up for to make the most of its workspaces and facilities including high-speed internet and a stocked kitchen. Like many co-working spaces, Techhubs venues also host workshops for start-ups. Techhub, 20 Ropemaker Street, London EC2Y 9AR, United Kingdom Ziferblat Old Street This little gem in Old Street describes itself as a tree house for adults where you can create, collaborate and play. You can order food and drink in the tree house to refuel and meet other people for lunch, while also being able to take advantage of Ziferblats book shelf and board games. This space aims to inspire by giving entrepreneurs an area to learn and develop their creative ideas. Ziferblat, 388 Old Street, Shoreditch, London, EC1V 9LT Campus London Run by Future Londons partner Google, Campus London has several locations across the capital where entrepreneurs and start-ups can gather to work and hire space for events. Campuss Startup Cafe is a popular choice for business owners to sit down with their laptops and get to work. But the cafe also offers opportunities to chat with advisors and Google employees. The event spaces also host several talks and workshops for start-ups which run throughout the year. Campus London, 4-5 Bonhill St, Shoreditch, London EC2A 4BX WeWork WeWork has made a name for itself all around the world for its co-working office space. The company operates dozens of locations in London alone. For start-ups that have already built up small teams, wework offers private offices and office suites for rent. But the co-working company also caters for smaller teams as well as individual entrepreneurs with permanent desks and hot desks up for rent. WeWork, various locations Soho Works Based in Shoreditch, Soho Works offers a secure workspace for start-ups and entrepreneurs to get to work. This co-working space also runs on a membership basis, allowing members to use any of its spaces around the world. Members get access to advice from industry experts as well as different facilities including photo studios and 3D printers. s o THE Prime Minister once again delays a meaningful vote with her disgraceful and not-so-subtle tactic, making a no-deal Brexit more likely. British pensioners in Europe would be one of the most affected by a no-deal scenario. We are almost entirely dependant on the reciprocal healthcare agreement and the value of our state pension and are not in a position to just go out and find new income streams. Therefore, I could only shake my head in disbelief when the Government website announced that our S1 forms the means to reciprocal healthcare will be invalid from March 29. So all our national insurance contributions, in my case for 29 years, will count for nothing. I cannot believe a private insurance company would get away with this. I continue to pay all my taxes to the UK. The NHS website advises that private medical insurance is an option. Imagine the uproar if any politician dared suggest that pensioners in the UK start funding their own healthcare? If the Government thinks expat pensioners want to sacrifice their hard-earned savings for the greater good of Brexit, they can think again. The withdrawal agreement would mean losing a lot of our existing rights retrospectively, but helping to bail out the Government by ending up with our pensions and funding for healthcare frozen would be the last straw. We are another reason why Parliament must act urgently to prevent the disaster of no-deal. Alex Wilson EDITOR'S REPLY Dear Alex My heart goes out to all the Britons and EU citizens alike whose happiness and security is being undermined by Brexit. Theres a sting in the tail for the British taxpayer if 1.3 million Britons living in the EU lose their healthcare rights in the country they are living in, many will have little choice but to come home and use the NHS, which their taxes have paid for. An influx of elderly people with chronic needs just as the NHS is struggling to retain nurses and doctors from EU countries. Today, dozens of MPs will take a stand in the House of Commons by demanding that Theresa May and the EU negotiators adopt part two of the withdrawal agreement, the chapter covering citizens rights, without further delay, ensuring this would be safe even in a no-deal. I expect Theresa May is willing to do this because she asked EU leaders for it two years ago. Alas, the EU side refused, preferring to use their own citizens as bargaining chips. As Brexit Day draws close, its time to put people first. Joe Murphy, Politics Editor Old cruise ships for the homeless If WE can tear ourselves away from Brexit back to the problem of homelessness in central London, cruise companies are retiring many of their perfectly serviceable multi-cabin vessels. If the authorities or a charity used crowdfunding to buy one at its current junk value, they could moor it just east of Tower Bridge and have a fully equipped homeless centre. Peter M Brown Corbyn is entitled to feel under siege A dversity breeds ritual: it is a psychological coping mechanism. In the case of Brexit, Theresa May has fallen into the habit of promising a moment of decision, or a series of Commons votes, or both, and then announcing a significant climbdown. Last month she yielded to the Brexiteers who militantly oppose the Irish border backstop mechanism agreeing to seek the alternative arrangements that she had previously insisted were diplomatically inconceivable. Yesterday it was the turn of pro-EU Tories to be appeased, as the Prime Minister averted the resignation of up to 25 ministers by scheduling votes to avert a no-deal outcome, and to seek an extension of Article 50 from Brussels if she is unable to secure parliamentary support for the withdrawal agreement by March 12. Once again this was a concession that she had hitherto presented as unthinkable. Once again there was much talk of the PMs authority being weakened. But this is nonsense. What was left of her authority after the humiliation of the 2017 snap election drained to nothingness long ago. She is left only with the paraphernalia of office, propped up by the taxpayer-purchased votes of the Democratic Unionist Party, and the cowardly refusal of Conservative MPs and the Commons to put her out of her misery in their respective votes of confidence. The peril is that these rolling concessions and deferrals have already hardened into a pattern of drifting habituation, stripped of all rigour and decision. There are only 30 days left until March 29 still the official date of Britains formal secession from the EU. Yet the process is still mired in factional bickering, personal pique and abstruse technicalities. Matthew d'Ancona The sheer scale of what is at stake is all too often lost in a fog of petty emotion and jargon (whatever you do, dont confuse Spelman-Dromey with Kyle-Wilson or, God forbid, Brady with Malthouse). It is theoretically possible, I suppose, that May could still get her deal passed by March 12. It is also (crazily) feasible that MPs could vote against leaving the EU without a deal on March 13 but then decline, the following day, to seek an extension to Article 50. To this potential conundrum Downing Street had no ready solution yesterday, and I am not surprised. It is a measure of the tangle in which we are all now ensnared that such a question should even have arisen. That said, it seems pretty clear that we shall indeed be seeking an extension from the EU, to be ratified at the leaders summit in Brussels on March 21. And what matters now is how we frame that request not only to our 27 European partners, but as a reflection of national will, intent and open-mindedness. Essentially, there are two options. Yesterday, May said that she would only countenance a short, time-limited extension until June 30 at the very latest. To delay longer, she argued, would mean the UK taking part in the European Parliament elections. This is perfectly true. But if the price of a sane resolution of the Brexit disaster is for the UK to elect another tranche of MEPs, I, for one, am willing to pay it. I have a feeling that Britain can withstand what the PM tried to present as a political calamity especially when the alternative is a blinkered rush towards an economic, constitutional and cultural cliff-edge. "A refreshing gust of honesty has blown into a decrepit process of post-truth, delusion and deception" For, under the PMs new plan, that cliff-edge would still be there: Beachy Head would simply be shifted a mile or two further into the sea, giving the lemmings a longer run-up before they plunged off the precipice. What May offers is, so to speak, a reprieve, not the possibility of a full pardon and Parliament must not be conned into thinking otherwise. In some form whether in the bill drafted by Yvette Cooper and Sir Oliver Letwin, or a similar legislative instrument MPs absolutely must retain the option of seizing control of the Commons agenda and instructing the Government on the next steps if Mays deal fails. Why so? Because the public interest rather than narrow party political calculation requires it. And because this is what Parliament is for: to represent the nation with intelligence, foresight and agility, even if this risks the wrath of the self-appointed custodians of the will of the people. The EU, for its part, will need to be reassured that an Article 50 extension is more than an exercise in can-kicking. Last month its chief negotiator Michel Barnier made clear that the UK, in making such a request, would have to explain why. Those such as Emmanuel Macron , who believe that only a lengthy extension is worth granting, are absolutely right. At the bare minimum any postponement must be long enough to accommodate a Peoples Vote . It is for MPs now which is to say right now to display the imagination that is required by these historic circumstances. The sheer pace of events since the formation of the Independent Group of 11 Labour and Tory escapees has shown how much is possible, and how quickly. Jeremy Corbyn has been bounced into committing his party to a public vote (albeit grudgingly and with insufficient clarity). May has been forced by a Cabinet rebellion to ditch one of her supposedly unshakeable commitments. A ll eyes are on Asia. In one part of the continent, Vietnam, Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un are meeting to try and remove the nuclear threat from the Korean peninsula. At the same time, in another part, there has been a dramatic escalation of tension between the two nuclear-armed powers of India and Pakistan. Whatever you think of the character of Mr Trump and his own former lawyer Michael Cohen today will testify that he is a racist, a conman and a cheat everyone should want the American President to succeed. The threat of North Korean long-range nuclear weapons is one of the greatest risks to world peace. Bringing its dictator to the negotiating table, even if it involves giving him a publicity coup, is an achievement. If Barack Obama had pulled it off, we would be applauding him. We now also need the White Houses speedy intervention to prevent the clashes over Kashmir getting dangerously out of hand. This was because India was apparently retaliating against the Pakistani retaliation that followed the Indian raid on Pakistan-based militants earlier this week, which itself was a retaliation after a bloody terrorist attack by those militants in India last month. Did you follow all that? To add petrol to the flames, India is facing a looming election and passions are running high. The claims and counter-claims are not the real issue. The problem is that neither of these huge, populous nations has found a stable way of living next to each other. India believes with some force that elements of the Pakistan state give succour to terrorism. Pakistan believes, with some force, that Indias huge army exists to threaten it with invasion. Both have acquired nuclear weapons which they aim at each other but lack the complex protocols and hotlines that emerged to prevent tragic miscalculation between the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. We would hope that the rest of the world could broker a detente. But Britain, despite its ties to the subcontinent and large diaspora, is paralysed and diminished by Brexit; the EU lacks a robust foreign policy; Russia is a mischief maker; and China is not yet a mature enough player on the global stage to be a peace broker. So it falls, once again, to the United States to be the worlds policeman. You may not want to hear it, but we need Donald Trump. Fighting for fairer fares Only car dealers are more distrusted by consumers than train companies, the head of the Governments rail review has just told the industry. In a key speech this week Keith Williams spelled out some tough truths: using trains often baffles and sometimes alienates. Hes right, and today we expose one reason why. Train companies appear to be hiding cheap fares so that thousands of passengers travelling into and out of London are having to pay twice for parts of their journeys. Now travellers are fighting back, launching a joint court action the first of its kind against rail operators on two of the biggest networks running south from the capital. They are claiming around 93 million in damages. The courts will decide the case but its good to see passengers standing up to the system. Their claim is that people who already hold travelcards shouldnt have to pay again for parts of longer journeys into central London. It ought to be simple to resolve since train companies already agree: there are special tickets to allow this on offer but try buying one online or at a machine and youll find that its impossible. You have to go to a ticket office if there is one open and ask, assuming, that is, you know about the lower fare in the first place, since train companies dont tell you about them. The case involves operators on two networks running south from London. But the point goes beyond them. Railways should put passengers first, but it doesnt feel like that when you travel. Complex rules seem designed to catch people out. No one knows if they are getting the best deal. M ETRO Bank was today fending off suggestions it may lose a 120 million bursary won only last week as part of government plans to boost competition in banking. Under-fire chief executive Craig Donaldson, already reeling from an accounting blunder, today saw shares in the bank crash 20% to 1051p. That was in response to a 350 million share placement unveiled last night to fill a hole in the books left by the miscalculation on the value of loans. Donaldson offered to resign but says the board want him to stay. He will forfeit his 2018 bonus. Rivals were already surprised that Metro landed the biggest chunk of money from a Royal Bank of Scotland fund being paid out as part of its 2009 bailout. In light of the accounting problems and todays share placing a shambles, said one bank analyst those rivals are expected to complain to the Treasury and the Banking Competition Remedies body about Metros win. John Cronin at Goodbody said: I have to reiterate that I am very surprised at BCRs decision to award Metro 120 million of funds and that comment is not made on the basis of hindsight following yesterdays news. Metros problems have been identifiable for a long time. One bank rival said: I think the decision to award Metro Bank the full 120 million casts serious questions on the judgment of the decision-makers. Donaldson insisted Metro would make good use of the money, that it continues to attract new customers and is the best placed of the challenger banks. Asked if Metro could forfeit the funds, Donaldson said: there is no reason to think so. Of the plunging share price, he said: I cant manage the markets. I can manage the bank. Analysts note if Donaldson were forced out, a new CEO may not have the same commitment to opening branches, part of the reason why Metro landed the cash in the first place. Donaldson said: The organisation is up to it. It is already mobilised. It is not about one individual. B eing tapped on the shoulder by a US State Department official isnt usually a good thing. When its at a sleepy London conference and its an official offering financing for your mining project, youd be forgiven for being shocked. But this situation is becoming ever more regular. Donald Trumps bombastic administration has decided to fight its vicious trade war with China on a new front: African resources. And the effects are being felt in London. I was approached by a lady from the US State Department and she handed me her card, says one executive currently weighing up a US finance offer. She said, if you guys need money, come and talk to us and not the Chinese. I was gobsmacked but I have talked with fellow miners who have had similar experiences. Trump wants America to become the number one player in the battle for new metals resources like tantalite, cobalt, lithium, vanadium, tellurium and rare earths, which are used to build everyday technology products such as smartphones and laptops. Elon Musks workers use tonnes of rare earths and cobalt in Teslas fleet of electric cars but prices are sky high as the metals are hard to extract and Chinese producers dominate the sector. President Trump (right) wants to end Chinas 15-year dominance in African resources and believes the best way to do this is by pumping billions into government agencies that can distribute the funds. One analyst says: It is unusual for the Americans to be so top down as, unlike China, it is a democracy. But every US department knows about this policy as does the US ambassador in London. They dont care if you are British or Canadian or Australian as long as you dont go to the Chinese. The agencies are hand-picking people with a strong track record. Its not just a case that anyone will receive a tap on the shoulder and get funding. So far the biggest winner from Trumps policy has been the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).The agency made little impact under former President Barack Obama and has traditionally invested in social enterprises like overseas education and healthcare projects. But under Trump its remit has expanded dramatically. In October last year Trump doubled its budget to over $60 billion and gave it a new name, the US International Development Finance Corporation. The key change is the new agency has the authority to make equity investments, something that makes it a competitive dealmaker. OPIC head Ray Washburne said last year: Equity authority gives us the ability to go in and participate with other countries. The United States is being left behind in a lot of countries because we didnt have the same financing products other countries have. OPICs Amanda Burke says: For the President the agency is a major priority. This year we have invested in a bauxite miner in Guinea, lending to them directly and providing them with debt. Obviously we have a rigorous application process for those looking for finance. We are looking at projects with a non-US connection. It is viewed by many as Americas direct answer to Chinas Belt and Road Initiative announced in 2013, which has committed billions to projects across Africa and the Middle East. Burke also admits that the agency has ramped up its marketing in recent months, which is why London mining executives are seeing a stronger US presence than ever before in the industry. Last October the agency presented at the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association conference in London. One man working directly with OPIC is London-based South African Brian Menell, who via his private equity firm TechMet is building controlling stakes in technology metal mining projects. He is in the process of securing $100 million for his fund from OPIC and so influential has the firm become that Mike Mullen, the former chief of staff to Presidents George Bush and Obama, joined the board in December last year. His firm invests in London-listed Rainbow Rare Earths, meaning the AIM-listed company could be a beneficiary of OPIC funds in the future. He says: We work in co-operation with OPIC in Washington. We are in discussions with regards to substantial funding. Trump when he was first elected was lukewarm in his commitment to OPIC because it historically lent money to projects that were environmentally friendly. He was lukewarm on renewable energy and helping poor people; hes not lukewarm on US strategic interest and countering China. Menell says that the US has turned to men like him because the superpower has little experience dealing with mid-tier miners in Africa and it is not a world it understands. Menells family founded and controlled the Anglovaal Group, one of the dominant players in African mining and industry over the past 80 years. He explains that the old fight for oil and gas took place in countries like Nigeria and Angola, but the new technology metals war is happening in Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Tanzania and Sierra Leone. These countries are more politically unstable and there have been reports of child labour being used. Menell also warns that US agencies must be careful which individuals they decide to back. Scandals have followed tycoons like Dan Gertler and Beny Steinmetz in recent years as they worked on controversial deals on the continent. Just this week Steinmetz ended a decade-long dispute with the government of Guinea over an iron ore mine. Meanwhile, mining giant Glencore was desperate to get its hands on cobalt assets in Congo and used Gertler, who had a strong relationship with President Joseph Kabila, to do so. Gertler and Glencore were investigated by the US government last year and the Israeli broker has been on a US sanctions list for alleged bribery since December 2017. The US investigation into Glencore is ongoing and in July last year the miner received a subpoena from the Department of Justice requesting documents about the firms business in Democratic Republic of Congo, Venezuela and Nigeria. The company said it is co-operating with US authorities. Menell adds: The US doesnt have the network on the ground. Americans are generally distrusted so theyve got a lot of problems entering these countries that they need to overcome. Gertler has been a very dominant force in broking cobalt deals in the Congo but hes been an unfortunate figure on the landscape with respect to stability. Hes a cowboy adventurer. Gertler declined to comment for this article. He has previously denied any wrongdoing. T he outgoing property veteran boss of Derwent London on Tuesday shrugged off Brexit and praised the capitals bullish office market as the firm hiked its 2018 dividend. The FTSE 250 firm, which John Burns has led since the 1980s, secured 26.8 million of new lettings last year. Burns, who steps down in May to become non-executive chairman, said the office market is still pretty solid despite political uncertainty. He pointed to the 240,000 square feet Brunel Building in Paddington, which Derwent London will have completed construction on later this year. Deals for 77% of the space have been signed and the rest of the property is under offer. Burns said a number of would-be tenants are disappointed to have missed out. Projects this year include a 285,000 square feet offices and shops development called Soho Place. The firm upped its full-year dividend by 10.2% to 65.85p. Property director Paul Williams will take over as chief executive. Elsewhere today, Irish property developer Green Reits boss Pat Gunne said Brexit has led many businesses to look at Dublin and Paris over London in selecting cities to expand in. S ir Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire Brexiteer chemicals tycoon behind Ineos, on Wednesday outlined plans to invest 1 billion in the UK. Manufacturing giant Ineos, founded by 66-year-old Ratcliffe in 1998, will spend 500 million on the Forties Pipeline System, prolonging the life of the North Seas main oil and gas artery into the 2040s. It wants to overhaul the reliability of the 500km pipeline system. The Forties Pipeline System opened in 1975. The rest of the money will go towards creating a new energy plant in Grangemouth and a factory in Hull to create vinyl acetate monomer, used in adhesives, packaging and textiles. Ratcliffe, in the spotlight after reports he plans to switch his home and fortune to tax exile in Monaco, said his firm supports British manufacturing. W ith its spectacular art deco lobby, complete with eight-storey glass atrium roof, entering The Landmark London set in the heart of Marylebone, will take you back in time. If you can't quite afford to stay the night - room rates begin at 294 - hitting the spa for a sumptuous treatment is the next best thing. The spa at The Landmark has a 15m chlorine-free indoor pool, a Jacuzzi and large sanarium which is heated slightly lower than a regular sauna. The fitness studio features Technogym machines, as well as free weights, and the male and female changing rooms both have steam rooms perfect for a post-gym sweat session. The decor of the four treatment rooms is simple, with plenty of neutral browns and beiges, but the vibe at the pool area is serene and the staff are super friendly. Upon arrival you'll first be invited to change into the fluffy dressing gowns and slippers stored in the changing room lockers before returning to a seated area to fill out a form, where there's a selection of fresh fruit and orange and cucumber-infused waters on offer. Treatment room at The Landmark London The treatment: The therapists at The Landmark London's spa use products from Spanish skincare brand Germaine de Capuccin. I have come for "The Landmark London Tea Dreams" signature treatment, an anti-oxidising full body massage (60 mins) and facial therapy (20 mins). There's a choice between green tea oil for anti-ageing benefits or black tea oil for improved suppleness - I opted for the former. The treatment begins with a relaxing but relatively firm full body massage, followed by an "organic white tea facial," which aims to nourish the skin and leave you with a radiant glow. I particularly enjoy the menthol face scrub which leaves my skin tingly and refreshed. It ends with a satisfyingly firm head massage, before my therapist takes a warm towel underneath my neck from above and gently raises my head from side to side, getting rid of any remaining tension. For an extra 30 you can upgrade the treatment to include an invigorating "Jeju" exfoliating scrub, which helps to protect against free radicals and deeply moisturises the skin using hyaluronic acid. I head to the relaxation room to chill out after my facial, this area is exclusively for guests who are having treatments and can be accessed through a door with a code. There you'll find more fresh fruit and a large pot of soothing camomile tea. Verdict: The Landmark London has a great spa menu with a good selection of unique therapies using dreamy products which are performed by friendly and attentive therapists. The star of the show at this hotel is the lobby, so once you've de-stressed at the spa, I'd make the most of your visit and head upstairs for lunch. We visited on a Sunday and liked the look of the Champagne brunch, a lavish buffet featuring free-flowing fizz which is served 12.30-3pm (110 per person). Youll leave feeling Pampered, revived and soothed. Details Lets have an uncomfortable (but very necessary) conversation about crime, punishment, justice, and rationality. The origins of cannabis prohibition are subject to some debate. Many blame William Randolph Hearst, claiming he feared that hemp might provide a viable paper alternative that would undercut the timber industry in which he was heavily invested. They say he mounted a very effective campaign to villainize cannabis as a scourge on our community. Jack Herer promoted this theory in his influential book, The Emperor Wears No Clothes. Others, most notably Dale Gieringer, the Director of CA NORML and one of the foremost cannabis prohibition historians, dismiss the Hearst legend. First, argues Gieringer, Herer didnt provide any real proof, and second, Hearsts publishing empire was actually being squeezed by Canadian paper producers, so he likely would have welcomed an alternative. In Gieringers opinion, cannabis was simply swept up into a bureaucratic fray -- a convenient addition to the laundry list of other substances that were criminalized in the early parts of the 20th century. What we can probably all agree on is that once cannabis was added to the prohibition list, it has been consistently leveraged by those in power as a fear-mongering tool -- proof of the loose morals of bad races. Put simply, cannabis was weaponized. You might have heard of Henry Anslinger, the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. He was instrumental in the reefer madness propaganda that implanted itself into the American psyche for half a century, and which ultimately led to the incarceration of countless people of color and the decimation of minority communities across the United States. In Anslingers own words: There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any othersthe primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races. Related: Cannabis Legalization and the Quest for Social and Economic Justice The social toll The impact of these words is staggering. President Richard Nixon kicked off the modern era of the War on Drugs with the Controlled Substances Act in 1970. Since then the government has spent billions of taxpayer dollars enforcing drug policy. Cannabis remains a Schedule 1 drug, which afforded law enforcement the leeway to prosecute heavily. The proliferation of private prisons spawned major growth in the demand for prisoners, and drug policies filled that demand extremely well. During this time, the rate of arrest for minorities rose well above that of their white counterparts and remains disproportionate despite roughly equal usage rates, for cannabis. In 2017, 660,000 people were arrested for cannabis law violations. 91% of those people were arrested for possession alone (not manufacturing or trafficking) and 47% of those people were Black or Latino. Recovery Thankfully, as we witness state after state come to terms with reality and maneuver out of the cannabis dark ages, we are also seeing a concerted effort to bring minority players into the fold. Many states not only are passing legislation to decriminalize both the medicinal and recreational use of cannabis, they are also attempting to rectify the injustices of the past by helping victims of the drug war. Social equity programs are sprouting up all over the country, and California is attacking the issue head-on. In the words of California state Senator Steven Bradford, the author of the California Cannabis Equity Act of 2018, Although California isnt the first state to legalize the adult use and sale of cannabis, we can be the first state to do it right -- by including those who were once punished but can now contribute. In other words, the intent of the legislation is to forge a path toward business ownership for the people who have been hurt most by previous cannabis laws. The intent should be praised, so lets praise it. The execution, however, at least in the eyes of some cannabis industry insiders, is lackluster. In addition to staffing and funding shortfalls for the programs, as well as long waiting periods for applicants, there is a growing concern about provisions in the regulations related to outside investors. Some point out that investors with big pockets can potentially partner with minority applicants as a way into the industry, then take advantage via bad contracts or financial pressure. Related: Challenges and Controversy Swirl Around Marijuana Social Equity Programs in California Redemption Legislation like the California act, though, represent a very important beginning. We can always poke holes in early attempts at redemptive lawmaking. But, the fact that social equity programs are cropping up is a promising bright spot. For too long, cannabis has undeservedly served as a cultural tool for the powerful to victimize the powerless. Let's use the foundation of the programs - the intent of righting many wrongs - and build from there. With an open and honest dialogue, and a watchful eye over opportunists that could potentially take advantage, we can get to a better, more equitable spot. Related: Cannabis Social Equity Programs Are Imperfect but Critically Important The Sustainable Development Goal of Solving Hunger The Three Type of Investors You Should Watch Out for When Raising Funds Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Wanted and sorely needed: More Connecticut State Troopers In an anticipation of an upcoming Connecticut State Trooper Trainee written exam - and declining numbers within the state police - join troopers for a recruitment and hiring process informational session. The session is planned from 6 to 8 p.m. March 6 at the Connecticut Police Academy, 285 Preston Ave., in Meriden. Trooper Kelly Grant said All are invited to come speak with troopers from the Recruitment and Selection Unit, and the Training Academy to learn more about the hiring process, physical fitness assessment, academy life, physical training at the academy, and overall preparation. This is an informal informational session where guests can speak with any trooper one-on-one or in small groups about a career as a Connecticut State Trooper. She said the recruitment informational session is open to all ages, however mainly geared toward those 20 years old or older. Facing already depleted ranks, state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner designee James Rovella recently told legislators that nearly half of the 915 state troopers will be eligible to retire by 2023. Realistically we are having trouble retaining and recruiting troopers, Rovella told members of the legislatures Public Safety and Security Committee during a public hearing. Of the 915 sworn troopers including sergeants and command staff, an average of 60 are either out on workers compensation, illness or for other issues or are on light duty at any given time, Rovella said. He conceded that the 45 recruits currently in the police academy will not even come close to making up the shortfall in the number of troopers who are out or who are likely to retire by July. STAMFORD This isnt a pipe dream. This is a necessity. That was new Gov. Ned Lamont, in his first inaugural speech, touting a vision to reduce the travel time by train from Connecticut to New York. But a month later, when the governor again stood before the General Assembly, this time to deliver his initial budget address, mention of high-speed rail was nowhere to be found. Some were not surprised. Its a beautiful dream, said Jeff Maron, vice chairman of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council. People want it, it sounds great, but the reality is its not feasible. Details about the 30-30-30 Plan which would conceivably reduce train time to 30 minutes from Hartford to New Haven, New Haven to Stamford, and Stamford to Grand Central Terminal are hard to come by. But Lamont believes the vision is a real possibility. When he mentioned the plan during his inauguration speech in January, many in the General Assembly stood up in applause. The plan, while lacking in detail, has received bipartisan support from legislators. State Sen. Alexandra Bergstein, D-Greenwich, has even argued that 30-30-30 could be achieved at least partially through revenue collected from a proposed, and controversial, plan to install tolls on the states major highways. It is entirely feasible for about $5 billion, she said about 30-30-30 in January. Lamont staffers suggest people should not read much into 30-30-30s omission from the budget address. The governor views an enhanced and upgraded transportation system in the state including a 30-30-30 vision of rail service into New York City as critical to quality of life and economic development in Connecticut, said Colleen Flanagan, senior adviser to Lamont, in an emailed statement. The governor was clear that our state needs a sustainable, reliable revenue source for transportation projects. The seed for 30-30-30 was a Fairfield Business Council-commissioned study to look at how much faster the states train system could run if it was in good repair. Metro-Norths definition of good repair allows trains to travel at 90 miles per hour, but they currently run at 60 to 70 miles per hour, and in some cases, below that, said Joe McGee, vice president of the Business Council. The council initially looked at rail times and how they had changed over the years. One thing that stood out, McGee said, was that trips were getting longer on the New Haven Line, while times were shortening on the Hudson Line. Time from New Haven to Grand Central Terminal has gone up by six minutes since the mid-1970s, according to the councils research. Today, a train ride from Hartford to New Haven on the Hartford Line takes about 50 minutes. From New Haven to Stamford, the commute is about an hour, and from the City That Works to the Big Apple, the ride time is roughly 50 minutes. The council-funded study by engineering firm Ty Lin Consulting of San Francisco applied the state of good repair standard to the New Haven line, and found that with an investment of $100 million to $150 million, coupled with an express service schedule, the travel time from New Haven to Stamford could be reduced by 23 minutes. For the study, Ty Lin hired former Metro-North President Joseph Giulietti as a consultant. Giulietti is now the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Giulietti did not respond to a request for comment. The impetus for McGee and the council to study train time was simple: Commute time on Metro-North was a common issue for businesses in Fairfield. Its critically important for Stamford to be connected to New York, he said. Economic growth will follow transportation networks. Catherine Rinaldi, president of Metro-North Railroad, didnt say whether 30-30-30 could be made reality, but did say train times on Metro-North can be reduced in the long-term. The State of Connecticut is funding a massive infrastructure improvement program on the New Haven Line, she said. Although these improvements require track work that could lengthen travel times in the short- and medium-term, these investments will make it possible for future travel times to be reduced. A major part of that improvement program is replacing 100-year-old bridges, including over the Norwalk, Housatonic and Mianus rivers, that carry Metro-North trains. But getting to a true 30-30-30 system could involve something more complicated: Eminent domain. Thats because speeding up trains would involving straightening curved tracks, which could mean cutting into private property. But McGee believes there are many improvements the state and Metro North could implement in the short term to shorten travel time. For example, some of the 46 curves on the New Haven Line, he said, could be straightened with no taking of land. Theres a whole bunch of them that dont require land taking, have land in the right of way to straighten them, he said. ignacio.laguarda@ hearstmediact.com STAMFORD A New Canaan mother still remembers the terrible last sounds she heard from her 2-month-old daughter, an emotional description that was read Wednesday during the sentencing of a former East Side day care owner who pleaded guilty to the 2016 killing of the child. Nydia Carrillo-Maldonado, 36, who owned Little Bears Beginnings Day Care, was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in jail after pleading guilty in December to first-degree manslaughter and risk of injury to a child. Stamford States Attorney Richard Colangelo read an emotional statement from Bella Redondos parents, Katy and Fernando, who held onto each other on a bench behind the prosecutors desk in the courtroom. I will never forget the calls you made to me that day. I heard her screams in the background. That was the last thing I heard from my Bella, Colangelo said, reading the statement. I will never hear her call me mommy, but I heard her cry in pain while you sat there for hours without doing anything to help her. In the statement, the parents said they did not want to attend the sentencing because they felt Carrillo-Maldonado deserved a harsher punishment. But they said they forgave her even though she has not apologized. Carrillo-Maldonado pleaded guilty under the Alford Doctrine, meaning she disagreed with the facts of the case but realized she would likely be found guilty at trial. The babys death was ruled a homicide caused by blunt-force trauma to the head. Carrillo-Maldonado called 911 around 3 p.m. on July 12, 2016 when the baby had trouble breathing. The medics found evidence of head trauma in addition to the breathing issues, police said. The baby died several hours later at Stamford Hospital A few weeks after the childs death, Carillo-Maldonado surrendered her day care license. Carillo-Maldonado, who her attorney said had a long and personal relationship with the Redondos, was charged in August 2016. Today, for my family and I, its the end of a nightmare that began three years ago, Colangelo read from the statement. The scariest three years of my life, where the world felt like it was on our shoulders. Carrillo-Maldonados friends spoke kindly of the woman, drawing the ire of the judge and attorneys. I appreciate the comments of the last two speakers, but the focus is not on this defendant, but on a child who died as a result of this defendants negligence or recklessness, I should say, Judge Gary White said. That childs parents have suffered and will continue to suffer and this is about the victim and her family. Its not about the defendant. Nobody is saying this defendant intentionally harmed this victim. But it was her recklessness and misconduct that this child died. Colangelo also raised concerns about Carillo-Maldonados lack of remorse. I find it striking that her friends said they were sorry, but she hasnt, Colangelo said. Mark Sherman, an attorney representing the Redondo family, agreed. I just sat there and listened and your honor heard them. But there are no Im sorries, no contrition, he said. I find it appalling that we are here and there isnt an ounce of contrition and I would ask the court to consider that when you impose sentence. White said Carrillo-Maldonado received all the consideration she deserved, but he said he did not want to accept a guilty plea from someone who believed she was innocent. White even offered to take her pleas back and put her to trial. But Carrillo-Maldonados attorney, Christian Bujdud, asked White to impose the sentence that was agreed upon in December. jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com Connecticut will join other states in suing to block a new Trump administration mandate that bars federal family-planning money from going to health care groups that offer abortion referrals. Attorney General William Tong said he would take swift legal action to preserve the federal funding for organizations like Planned Parenthood. Officials in Washington state and Oregon also have pledged to sue the Trump administration over the decision. The so-called gag rule, announced Friday, would create barriers for women, especially women of color and low-income women, who are seeking abortions. It would prohibit health care providers who receive federal money known as Title X funding from referring patients to abortion clinics. The providers will still be able to perform abortions, but would have to do so in separate facilities and abide by the requirement that they not refer patients to those facilities. Women have a right to safe, affordable reproductive health care free from political interference, Tong said. This action seeks to push a politically-motivated, anti-choice agenda on millions of individuals who rely on the Title X program for access to birth control and safe reproductive health care. In Connecticut, at least 38,000 patients rely on that federal funding for access to services such as cancer screenings, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, and birth control. The bulk of those patients visit Planned Parenthood clinics throughout the state. Tongs office could not say if there were other state health centers that receive Title X money. For the most recent grant cycle, which runs from April 2018 through late March of this year, Planned Parenthood of Southern New England received $2.4 million in Title X funding, its president and CEO, Amanda Skinner, said. That represents about 7 percent of the groups annual budget. Skinner said Planned Parenthood, which will refuse future Title X money if the gag rule is upheld, wont turn away patients who cannot afford to pay. But the organization will vigorously pursue new streams of funding, she said, including tapping its donor base and seeking additional grants. We have seen repeated efforts on the part of this administration to dismantle programs or put into place programs that harm people who are already the most marginalized in our society, Skinner said. Sixty-one percent of patients who qualify for Title X funding at Planned Parenthood of Southern New England are people of color, she said. Twenty-nine percent are African American and 32 percent are Latino. The Trump administrations new mandate could direct federal family-planning money to faith-based, anti-abortion groups. Health centers will no longer have to counsel women on all reproductive options, including abortion. There are about 25 religiously-based facilities, sometimes called crisis pregnancy centers, in Connecticut. Christina Bennett, communications director for the Family Institute of Connecticut, which opposes abortion, said faith-based centers typically do their own fundraising, but she was heartened to hear about the new regulations. Were grateful for whatever funds are re-directed away from Planned Parenthood because we not believe that taxpayer funds should go to organizations that offer services that many millions of Americans dont support, as in abortions, she said Tuesday. Other groups have threatened legal action against the gag rule. Maine Family Planning, a leading womens health care provider in Maine, announced last week that it would seek an injunction to prevent the edict from going into effect. The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association also has said it would sue over the decision. HARTFORD The issue of arming teachers came up briefly, but was dismissed by a bipartisan working group that focused on ways to improve school security in Connecticut. The group did release a list of 18 bills it does support, including one that would authorize the use of school security funds to arm school security guards, another that would study issues related to school security officers, which are different than school resource officers, and one that would allow off-duty police officers carry firearms on school grounds. Most of the bills have been raised for a public hearing, but Rep. Joe Verrengia, who co-chairs the Public Safety and Security Committee, said he intends to raise some of the bills. Three of the 18 bills have been raised for public hearings and a number have been forwarded to the Education Committee, which has yet to raise any of the school security bills for a public hearing. The School Security Working Group began meeting in April last year after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Rep. Carol Hall, R-Enfield, who co-chaired the working group, said they worked through the summer and compared school safety models from districts across the state and identified policies and proposals to make sure our students and teachers are safe in the classroom. Since 2013, the state has approved $53 million in bond funds for over 1,200 schools in three separate rounds of funding under the School Security Grant Program. The funding was approved following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. It was part of a broader legislative package to prevent gun violence and improve mental health. Currently, theres about $5 million left in the School Security Grant Program, according to Rep. Livvy Floren, R-Greenwich. She said theres plans to replenish that program with another $10 million. Lawmakers expressed confidence the funding would be there for the initiative despite Gov. Ned Lamonts desire to trim borrowing by $500 million a year. However, not everyone believes the fund should continue as a competitive grant program. Hall said when you bond these items like this it creates winners and losers. She said there should be a dedicated amount of money given to all school boards for school safety. I think if you fund them more on a line item basis like we do for ECS and special ed. I think youre ensuring each district will get looked at in a fair and equitable way, Hall added. She said the biggest complaint they heard from school districts was the lack of funding for school security measures. Hall said they also discovered that schools submit their security plans to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, but often times thats when the communication ends. Part of what the department told us is that its a staffing issue, Hall said. Were aware from the committee process that there needs to be some funding for DESPP. Rep. Dorinda Borer, D-West Haven, the other co-chairwoman of the working group, said in 2013 there were two regional planners in the department to review these plans, but the positions were only funded for a year. We have to look at a sustainable program that allows these regional planners in DESPP to continue to the critical work we would like to see them do, Borer said. The working group also examined the school security aspects of the Sandy Hook Commission report. The commission headed by Department of Revenue Services Commissioner Scott Jackson, who at the time was Hamden mayor, spoke at length with school security consultants from around the world. Twelve of the 94 recommendations in the report addressed the issue of school safety. Wilaya de Smara, Feb 27, 2019 (SPS) - The President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO, Mr. Brahim Gali, praised on Wednesday the "firm" position of Algeria towards the Sahara issue. President Ghali said in his speech during the celebration of the 43nd anniversary of the declaration of the Republic, "The Sahrawi state celebrates its forty-two-year anniversary today, proud of its broad international relations and its brothers, friends and allies all over the world." The historical moment cannot pass without renewing the gratitude, to the brotherly Algeria, under the leadership of His Excellency the President of the Republic, Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The proud Algeria - says President Ghali - who has not hesitated to adopt the Saharawi cause and support, like all issues of emancipation in the world, in a position consistent with its ideals and principles and with African and international legitimacy. He also expressed his satisfaction with the level of fraternal relations, friendship, neighborliness, cooperation and coordination between the Sahrawi Republic and neighboring Mauritania. President Gali paid tribute to all the members of the International Solidarity Movement for the struggle of the Saharawi people in Spain, Europe and the world, stressing the legal, historical and moral responsibility of the Spanish state towards completing the process of decolonization and self-determination in Western Sahara. SPS 125/090 Should Katie and Greg have more kids? That depends on who you ask! Katie's decided it's time for Anna-Kat to start growing up, and by growing up, that means going to her first sleepover. After-all, Anna-Kat's about to be 10, Taylor and Oliver are teenagers, and Katie's realized that means she and Greg are only a few years away from hanging up the parenting towel. And she's thrilled about it! That idea is easier said than done though. Anna-Kat has no desire to spend a night away from home and Greg doesn't see the need to rush her. She is their last baby after-all. Katie's resolves that Anna-Kat's going whether she likes it or not because she's ready to be done with having little kids. Unfortunately, Viv has other ideas! She's decided this single mom thing isn't all it's cracked up to be and wants Katie and Greg to watch Violet for a few hours while she goes down to the bars and tries to score an investment banker, and Greg's only too happy to oblige. The plans change from Katie and Greg taking Violet for a few hours to them taking her for a full night when Viv's dipstick ex-husband Alan, who's apparently spent a year being a nuisance in India, shows back up claiming to be a changed man. Viv swears she can lock Alan down if she just has a night, but that means Katie and Greg don't just have to watch Violet, they have to pretend she's theirs. Yeah, Viv hasn't actually told Alan she's had a baby yet. Katie sees that having Violet around is causing Greg to want another baby, so Angela and Doris advise her the best way to get in front of this problem is to make Greg watch Violet by himself for the whole night. If that doesn't scare him out of having another kid, nothing will. Meanwhile, Taylor finds herself dealing with her own problem. She wants to "borrow" a pair of new expensive earrings from Katie. Only, Katie plans to return them and get her money back now that she's already worn them to her business dinner, so Taylor's out of luck. If only things could be so easy! Before Taylor has a chance to give them back to Katie to return, Luther eats them right off her vanity! Taylor attempts to enlist Oliver for help in "retrieving" them, but understandably, Oliver isn't interested. So what does she do? She feeds Oliver's golden cuff-links from Spencer to Luther. Now he's going to have to be interested! While Taylor and Oliver slap on the rubber gloves and get ready to dissect some poop, Katie realizes that her plan to scare Greg isn't going as well as it should be. Violet's just too well-behaved to scare him. So, Katie takes a break from that battle and focuses on getting Anna-Kat out the door to her sleepover, which she is actually able to do. However, not long after dropping Anna-Kat off, she gets a call from her. They're all playing stuffed animal tea-party and Anna-Kat forgot hers, so she needs Katie to bring her one, otherwise, she's "going to be stuck using an oven mitt like an idiot!" Katie says she'll be right there. When she gets to the house, she discovers Anna-Kat played her. There's no stuffed animal tea party. Anna-Kat just wants to go home! Katie tells her that she can't give up just because something's tough, and that the sleepover is an opportunity for her to make some good friends. Besides, it's about to be "decorate your own cupcake" time! (Even if that does make Anna-Kat think she's in hell!) Speaking of being played, Oliver and Taylor are waiting patiently for Luther to do his business. When he finally does, the earrings are right there! But Oliver's cuff-links aren't. Oliver starts to freak out and Taylor pulls the cuff-links out of her pocket. She explains that she would never actually feed the dog cuff-links, she just needed to trick Oliver into helping her. "For the dumb one," Oliver's pretty impressed at her antics. Viv stops by to breastfeed Violet before she goes out with Alan. Apparently, though, one thing Alan and Viv do share is a pennant for walking into the Otto house unannounced, and he walks right in on Viv breastfeeding Violet. The charade's over. Alan says that the old him would have gone running, but his Swami Gary taught him to think before he acts. So he has an offer. He'll stay with Viv and give her everything she ever wanted if she lets him hire a brigade of nannies to raise Violet and send her off to Swiss boarding school as soon as she's old enough. Yeah, he hasn't changed that much. As much as the possibility not having Viv in her hair thrills the evil side of Katie, Greg reminds her that the good side knows they need to talk Viv into turning Alan down, because Violet belongs with her mom. Katie knows he's right and the two convince Viv that she's capable of raising Violet, and she kicks Alan to the curb. After-all, she'll always have them for backup! The next morning, Anna-Kat comes home unscathed from the sleepover and admits she's glad she went. Although Katie's a little sad that her youngest is growing up (Anna-Kat's decided to call her "mom" instead of "mama," because that sounds more grown-up!), her answer is still a firm "no" when Greg suggests they have more kids! Random Thoughts: -Katie teaching Viv how to steal condiments from restaurants was too funny! -Funniest line of the night goes to Alan, "Namaste. That's a really neat phrase I learned. It means amaze-balls." Sure it does Alan, sure it does... Were you surprised that Viv turned Alan down? How about the fact that Taylor finally one-upped Oliver? Let me know below! SpaceX is counting down to the March 2 launch of the company's first-ever Crew Dragon spacecraft , and it looks like Mother Nature may cooperate. The weather forecast for SpaceX's Demo-1 Crew Dragon test flight predicts an 80 percent chance of good conditions for the pre-dawn launch this weekend. Liftoff is scheduled for 2:49 a.m. EST (0749 GMT) on Saturday. "Weak high pressure in advance of a front moving southeast into the area is expected during the launch window with a low probability for rain and weak surface winds and only slight concerns of any cumulus cloud or thick cloud rule violations during the instantaneous launch window," NASA officials wrote in a status update Tuesday (Feb. 26). If SpaceX cannot launch the Crew Dragon on Saturday, a backup date is available on March 5. But the weather forecast worsens for that day, with just a 40 percent chance of good conditions, according to a report from the 45th Weather Squadron at the nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Demo-1 mission is the first uncrewed test of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, which is designed to fly astronauts to and from the International Space Station for NASA. This craft is the first crew-capable orbital spacecraft to launch from U.S. soil since NASA's space shuttle fleet retired in 2011. Related: SpaceX Dragon Crew Demo-1 Flight: What to Expect SpaceX's first Crew Dragon spacecraft will fly an uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station, then return to Earth March 8. (Image credit: SpaceX/NASA) SpaceX is one of two companies NASA has tapped to fly astronauts to the station under the agency's Commercial Crew Program. The other company, Boeing, plans to launch the first uncrewed test flight of its own CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in April. NASA has been dependent on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft for crewed flights since the shuttle fleet retired. If all goes well on the Demo-1 mission, Crew Dragon will launch early Saturday and dock itself at the space station in the wee hours of Sunday (March 3), where astronauts are eagerly awaiting the new arrival. Related: How to Watch SpaceX's Crew Dragon Demo-1 Test Flight Live "Astronauts Anne McClain and David Saint-Jacques will monitor the Crew Dragons approach and rendezvous on Sunday," NASA official wrote in a crew status update Tuesday . "The vehicle is targeting a 6 a.m. EST docking to the [International Docking Adapter], where the hatches will swing open about two-and-a-half hours later." Crew Dragon will deliver 400 lbs. (181 kilograms) of supplies to the station and one "anthropomorphic test dummy," a spacesuit-clad mock astronaut equipped with sensors to record what the trip will be like for human space travelers, SpaceX and NASA officials have said. The mission will end with Crew Dragon undocking and returning to Earth on Friday (March 8), with a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean just off the eastern coast of Florida, NASA officials said last week. Visit Space.com this week for complete coverage of SpaceX's Demo-1 Crew Dragon flight to the space station. Hydrothermal vents, where the planet's heat seeps out into the deep ocean through cracks in Earth's crust, are candidates for where life may have began . So, scientists are eager to bring the vents into the lab. That's precisely what a team of scientists did in a suite of experiments described in a recent paper. The research aims to better understand how the building blocks of life may or may not have formed in these systems. And the paper may also have implications for the study of extraterrestrial life, since scientists think that any similar vent structures hidden on icy worlds are strong candidates for finding life if it exists elsewhere. "We don't have concrete evidence of life elsewhere yet," Laurie Barge, an astrobiologist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and lead author on the new study, said in a statement from NASA . "But understanding the conditions that are required for life's origin can help narrow down the places that we think life could exist." So, Barge and her colleagues ran a series of experiments designed to investigate the precise conditions under which amino acids , the building blocks of proteins, could form in these systems. To do so, the researchers created miniature hydrothermal-vent structures trapped in lab flasks in order to see how reactions proceeded in a more realistic environment than previous experiments without such features. "Understanding how far you can go with just organics and minerals before you have an actual cell is really important for understanding what types of environments life could emerge from," Barge said. "Also, investigating how things like the atmosphere, the ocean and the minerals in the vents all impact this can help you understand how likely this is to have occurred on another planet." A time-lapse video of a miniature hydrothermal chimney forming in the lab, as it would in early Earth's ocean. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Flores) Scientists are particularly intrigued by the possibility that such hydrothermal vent environments exist on the ocean floors of ice-crusted moons in the outer solar system. Such sites include Saturn's moon Enceladus and Jupiter's moon Europa . The new research is described in a paper published yesterday (Feb. 25) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. If you want to share a meal with an alien , you may have to begin by broadening your definition of a meal. A lot. That's the conclusion Christy Spackman, a social scientist, chemist and chef at the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University (ASU), came to when she began thinking about the role food could play in establishing diplomatic relationships with extraterrestrial beings. Her "menu" was inspired by an ASU project focused on developing communities beyond Earth . Spackman started by thinking about how films and other science fiction depict aliens , but she wasn't satisfied by the narrow-mindedness of those portrayals. "Even though the aliens are dissimilar [from humans] in color or size, they sort of eat the same way we do unless they are a slug that is eating us," she told Space.com. Related: How Do Scientists Search for Extraterrestrial Life? She wanted to explore a vision of life that was broader, stranger, less accessible. "What are the sorts of experiences that I could share with aliens around me with palm trees, with grass?" Spackman said. "How do you eat with a rock?" And when it comes down to it, Spackman said, sharing a meal can be about much more than simply putting food in one's mouth. Think of holiday feasts or meticulously stage-managed diplomatic meals each is an entire, complex experience. So, Spackman put together a menu of sensory experiences she would want to share with aliens to convey the reality of living as a human in her patch of the Earth, the greater Phoenix area. First comes a feast of light at James Turrell ASU Skyspace , an architectural installation surrounding an opening to the sky about 15-foot square. "Your first course is actually the perceptual experience of how light interacts with eyes, and that's going to be entirely different for every species at [the] table," Spackman said. Next would come the varied experiences of the smell of creosote after a rain. "It reminds me of a freshness, a slight greenness," Spackman said, "something that kind of makes your nose feel like it's come up against a metal, but a metal that you like." The next sensation might be that of standing below the flight path of arriving and departing airplanes near the Phoenix airport, feeling the vibrations of sound ripple through the atmosphere. From there, the sensory meal continues with 15 minutes of standing out in a monsoon rain in August, when a quick-lived storm dumps buckets of water, then disappears again. Spackman saved the traditional fare of menus for last, offering a dessert of steamed pudding made from local mesquite seeds, topped with bitter orange marmalade and cream. She designed the dish to evoke the complicated cultural history of a colonized region injected with "that weirdness of the cow that really doesn't want to be hanging out in the desert," she said. Whether Spackman's individual courses resonate with you or not, the project wasn't simply an idle thought experiment; it also reflects very real societal issues we need to confront, she said. "When we ask questions about space, we're really asking about each other," Spackman said. "When we're talking about aliens , we're really talking about those people around us who maybe we don't entirely understand." And any meal shared with aliens would surely include some awkward moments or situations that simple etiquette guidelines can't quite encompass, making it an experience in and of itself. "It calls for generosity of spirit, both in those who are producing and for those who are consuming, and a willingness to say, 'This will never be perfect, so we can meet at the good enough,'" Spackman said. Astrobotic, which is developing the Peregrine lunar lander, expects the vehicle to be ready for its first mission in early 2021, even as NASA seeks opportunities to fly payloads on commercial lunar landers this year. WASHINGTON As NASA selects payloads it plans to fly on commercial lunar landers, companies developing those spacecraft are skeptical any landers will be ready to fly this year, as the agency desires. NASA announced Feb. 21 that it has identified a dozen science and technology demonstration payloads from within the agency that will be eligible to fly on missions through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Those payloads include a range of scientific instruments, such as spectrometers and magnetometers, as well as demonstrations of solar cells and navigational beacons. NASA selected payloads mature enough to be ready to fly on CLPS missions as soon as late this year. A separate call for payloads from outside the agency, formally known as Lunar Surface Instrument and Technology Payload (LSITP), is in progress, with proposals due to NASA Feb. 27 and a selection coming in the spring. In November, NASA picked nine companies developing lunar landers to be part of CLPS. Those companies will be eligible to compete for task orders to fly those payloads, with the first such task order expected within a month. "Once we have awarded the first CLPS mission task order later this spring, we will then select the specific payloads from the internal-NASA and LSITP calls to fly on that mission," Steve Clarke, deputy associate administrator for exploration in NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement about the payload selection. In a briefing with reporters Feb. 14, Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA associate administrator for science, said the agency would like to fly the first CLPS mission before the end of this year, and would provide financial incentives for companies to be able to meet that goal. "If you can fly faster, we will incentivize that," he said. "We care about speed." However, at a Washington Space Business Roundtable luncheon Feb. 21, several hours before NASA announced the payload selections, executives with two of the CLPS companies said their first missions won't be ready to launch until 2020 or 2021. "We're really, at Astrobotic, trying to do this the right way, meaning that we're trying to be as technically rigorous as possible," said Dan Hendrickson, vice president of business development at Astrobotic. "We're trying to be very upfront with the entire community about our current status." The company's Peregrine lander is on track for a critical design review towards the end of this year, he said, with a launch planned in the first quarter of 2021. "We're not going to oversell and suggest that we're going to fly any sooner than it is possible, and having the full confidence that we're going to fly successfully." Ben Roberts, vice president of government affairs for Moon Express, said his company expects to fly its first lander in late 2020. The company is leaving open the option of doing a precursor orbiter, he said, "just to retire some risk and make sure everything is on track." While noting they didn't have full insight into the plans of the other companies that are part of CLPS, they said they were skeptical that any company would be ready to fly a lunar lander mission before the end of this year. "Unless somebody has not only a lunar lander sitting in their warehouse already, plus an existing launch slot of some kind, it would be pretty tough" to fly this year, Roberts said. "I think it's highly unlikely we'll see missions happen this year," said Hendrickson. "If you look at the commercial launch manifest of all the major launch providers, I don't see anyone that's on the manifest for this year. If that's not happening, it's probably highly unlikely there's anyone on a posture to fly." Both Hendrickson and Roberts, though, praised NASA for moving quickly on both selecting payloads and planning to award task orders for missions. "It's great that NASA is looking at ways to accelerate as much as possible," Hendrickson said. "I think what they're really trying to say is, 'At NASA, we don't want to be the holdup. We want our payload ready by the end of the year,'" Roberts said. "It's up to us to go as fast as possible." While CLPS companies may not be ready to fly NASA payloads this year, one agency payload is already on its way to the moon. Beresheet, the lunar lander developed by the Israeli organization SpaceIL and launched Feb. 21 as a secondary payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9, carries a small laser retroreflector provided by NASA. That passive device allows for accurate measurements of the lander's distance using ground-based lasers. Although SpaceIL, being based outside the United States, is not eligible to participate in CLPS, NASA signed a cooperative agreement with the Israel Space Agency in October that included flying the retroreflector on the lander in exchange for access to data collected by the lander's magnetometer. "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," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement after the lander's successful launch. Color guard members dressed in period clothing in this 2018 photo from a joint meeting of two chapters of the Sons of the American Revolution. From left are Charles Sacavage, Faithful Navigator of the Knights of Columbus Assembly; Richard Johnson, then-president of the Col. Lemuel Benton Chapter of Myrtle Beach; Nat Kaminski, past president of the Thomas Lynch Chapter of Georgetown; and Fred Oakes of the Lemuel Benton Chapter. Kaminski is the current state vice president of the SAR. A map showing the proposed location of three groins at the beach at DeBordieu Colony. The State Department of Health and Environmental Control has issued a permit for the groins, but two groups are challenging it. The site of the former Georgetown City Hall. The city plans to have an environmental assessment done to determine if there is soil contamination in the area. Christian Sheckler South Bend Tribune SOUTH BEND A federal judge this week rejected the city of Elkharts attempt to force the South Bend Tribune to turn over records of its reporting on Keith Cooper, the Illinois man who is suing the city over his wrongful conviction in a 1996 robbery and shooting. Lawyers for the city issued the subpoena in June, amid an investigation by The Tribune and ProPublica, a nonprofit news agency, into the flawed investigation that led to the convictions of Cooper and another man, Christopher Parish. The subpoena sought records of communications between Tribune journalists, Cooper and his lawyer. In subsequent filings, the city alleged The Tribune was conspiring with Cooper to write stories that advanced his lawsuit against the city. In his order quashing the subpoena, however, U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Michael Gotsch said Elkharts suspicions about a conspiracy...are not supported by the evidence currently before the Court. Martin Kus, a lawyer representing the city in Coopers lawsuit, did not respond Wednesday to an email or a phone message left at his office. Emails and text messages already turned over by Coopers lawyer did not indicate a conspiracy between Cooper and The Tribune, even though the city framed the exchanges that way, Gotsch wrote. The City views the communications...through a cynical lens that sees conspiracy behind every corner, Gotsch wrote. The judge pointed to one email exchange between a Tribune reporter and Coopers attorney, arranging what the citys lawyer described as a meeting to plan strategy to advance their mutual interests. In fact, Gotsch wrote, the emails discussed neither strategy nor mutual interests, and were simply a journalists attempt to schedule an interview with a source knowledgeable about the topic of his reporting. The City cites...other examples of communications that it interprets as evidence of conspiracy, Gotsch wrote, when they simply reflect a reporter doing what a reporter does pursuing sources with information about the story, identifying inconsistencies in a story and confronting the relevant characters with that information, giving both sides to a story a chance to be heard. The city, in its filings, complained of perceived bias in stories published by The Tribune, but Gotsch noted the city and police officers named in Coopers lawsuit have not had their perspective represented in stories because they declined to be interviewed. Gotsch also wrote the citys subpoena was misplaced because unpublished information gathered by journalists including emails, text messages, notes and recordings of interviews constitutes trade secrets that are crucial to The Tribunes business interests. Lincoln Wright South Bend Tribune South Bend Tribune GRANGER The 11-year-old Granger boy who is detained in the shooting of his father an Indiana State Police officer over the weekend, has also been named in a police report for an alleged battery of an 8-year-old. A report by St. Joseph County police on Sept. 30, 2018, indicates the 11-year-old was involved in the incident in which the 8-year-old was injured in a possible battery by a neighbor juvenile, and taken to the emergency room at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center by his parents. No suspects were taken into custody. Citing Indiana law on confidential information in juvenile matters, the sheriffs department did not say what the 11-year-olds reported involvement was or to what extent the 8-year-old was injured. Requests for further information on the incident will be denied, according to the sheriffs department. In the shooting incident of the 11-year-olds father, police were called to the 10000 block of Conover Drive just after 11 p.m. Thursday. Trooper Matt Makowski suffered a single gunshot wound to his lower extremities, according to a news release. Makowski was off duty at the time of the shooting. On Tuesday, the prosecutors office said it would not release details about the gun used and whether it was the officers service weapon because of the ongoing investigation. Makowskis 11-year-old son remains detained in the St. Joseph County Juvenile Justice Center. His detention hearing was originally scheduled for Monday, but was postponed until today. Delinquency charges have not been filed. The prosecutors office has until Monday, seven business days after the juvenile was taken into custody, to file charges. As of Tuesday, Makowskis condition was steadily improving, according to a spokeswoman for the county prosecutors office. Thursday was not the first time this month police were called to the Conover Drive address. Two officers were dispatched there Feb. 13 for a welfare check after an 11-year-old called 911. The child reportedly said he had been bad and had been struck by his mother. No report was filed by officers. According to the sheriffs department, there have been no calls to addresses on Conover Drive relating to battery or assaults committed by a juvenile. Jeff Parrott South Bend Tribune SOUTH BEND Lime is pulling its pedal bikes from markets across the nation and replacing them solely with electric scooters and electric bikes, but it has not revealed whether it plans the same move for South Bend. For now, there are far fewer Lime bikes in the city than even a few months ago. On Tuesday afternoon, the Lime app showed only about 140 bikes in South Bend, most of them on or near the University of Notre Dame campus. There were five bikes downtown. In June, a company employee told the citys Common Council that there were about 1,300 bikes in the city at that time. Jitin Kain, deputy public works director for the city, said Lime had not told him it planned to switch out all bikes for e-scooters or e-assist bikes. But Kain said the city and the San Mateo, Calif.-based company were pleased with usage of Limes scooters during a 45-day pilot project from early November through December, and both want the scooters back in the city sometime this spring. We had positive feedback on the pilot, Kain said. It was a very limited deployment intentionally done late in the year to see how it operates in this environment. We imagine that a spring and summer deployment will get higher ridership. Before it allows the private, for-profit company to bring the scooters back, Kain said the city must first adopt safety guidelines, such as mandatory helmet use and rules on where the scooters can be driven. He said the city hopes to have a draft of the guidelines finalized in the next few weeks. Lime declined Tuesday to say whether it will keep pedal bikes in South Bend or make a company official available for an interview. Notre Dame officials have said they dont want Lime scooters on campus for safety reasons. LimeBike in 2017 introduced its shareable bicycles to South Bend, the third city in which it had launched at that time. Users pay and track the bikes through a smartphone app. Many riders embraced the convenience of the bikes, but residents also complained about vandalized bikes and those left randomly on sidewalks or in front of homes. In May, the company announced it had changed its name from Limebike to Lime, to reflect its expansion from bicycle sharing to scooters and electric bikes. At that time, Lime did not signal it would ultimately offer only electric vehicles. But it has recently started doing just that, either entirely pulling out of cities that only allow pedal bikes or switching to only e-scooters and e-assist bikes in markets that allow them, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, St. Louis, Tacoma, Wash.; Hartford, Conn.; Starkville, Miss.; and Rockford, Ill. As shared electric scooters have grown in popularity, so too have concerns about safety, with the risk of riders hitting potholes, weaving among pedestrians and cars or losing control. In Indianapolis last year, police stepped up efforts to keep scooters off sidewalks after a series of injuries. The city also set rules for where the devices can be parked, mandating they be kept off driveways, curb ramps, handicapped parking spaces and loading zones. Victoria St. Martin South Bend Tribune SOUTH BEND South Bend school officials are hoping they can make a Hail Mary pass. If they score, a plan to turn around a failing middle school and several feeder schools could be approved by the Indiana State Board of Education on March 6. If they dont, Navarre Middle School could be taken over by the state or even closed. But before any decisions are made, district officials must submit an official turnaround plan to the state. Last week, Deputy Superintendent Todd Cummings said no plan had been crafted yet. But at a Monday night meeting, after school board members approved a letter of intent to work with a group to create a so-called transformation zone, officials handed out packets of information to the media. Superintendent Kenneth Spells said Tuesday that one of the packets is the districts draft plan. Keep in mind this is a draft we are fine-tuning, Spells said. But, according to state law, the draft plan is missing several of the required components for a transformation zone, including an organizational chart that lists leadership positions from the top down. A detailed five-year budget showing financial sustainability with decreasing reliance on turnaround funding is also required. A description of district policy requirements that would need to be waived for the district to implement the transformation zone has to be included, as well. The plan for Navarre is due Wednesday by 4 p.m. But the resolution they are still trying to come to, Spells said, is who will control the schools in the transformation zone. The proposal would designate Navarre Middle School, and four elementary schools Coquillard, Harrison, Warren and Wilson as part of the zone. Under Indiana law, schools in such zones may receive federal school improvement grants; the law also confers broad powers on the administrators of the zones, who have the ability to to re-shape staffs, alter curriculum and even lengthen the school day or year. And while Navarre has failed for six connective years and faces state intervention, officials in South Bend want to maintain control of the four schools in the zone. School board President John Anella said the issue of whether the school district would retain control of the schools in the zone other than Navarre is still being discussed with state leaders. All I really want is for Navarre and all these schools to improve, Anella said Tuesday, the how sometimes is the hard part. During the school board meeting on Monday, administrators touted the variety of programs that are offered at the middle school. A member of the state Board of Education, which must approve South Bends zone plan, was in the audience. You cant keep doing the same thing over and over and over again expecting its going to be a different result, said the state board member, David Freitas. Its still an F school. Joseph Dits South Bend Tribune The oak savannahs, prairies, bog and globally rare dune-and-swale formations of the Indiana Dunes finally claimed an elite last name, National Park. The buzz is alive. Stories are filling social media, even in Europe. One glitch, though, is that it isnt Indianas first national park, as so many stories state. Its among three, actually, if youre using small-case letters. Ill explain that, plus what the name change really means. In the end, these 15,000 acres and 15 miles of Lake Michigan shore still merit any form of respect that humans can muster. Well before it gained federal protection, botanist Henry Chandler Cowles noticed how unique it was out of a train window in the late 1800s leading him to devote a career to documenting the dunes. His work through the University of Chicago helped to birth the modern study of ecology. It took decades to save the dunes as industry gobbled up more of its treasures while conservationists worked to stop it. Oddly, the industry and development around the park are like monuments to this history. That lends to a quirky, fragmented feel. Still, the parks 1,100 plant species make it among the 10 most botanically diverse out of the 418 units of the National Park Service. The name changed from the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore on Feb. 15 as part of the spending bill that Congress passed. Before then, it absolutely functioned as a park, says Bruce Rowe, a park ranger and spokesman for the Indiana Dunes National Park. We were already under the highest standards for protection, Rowe says. We remain that way. So, Indiana has two other national parks? The superintendent of George Rogers National Historical Park in Vincennes, Ind., Frank Doughman, has gotten a lot of puzzled calls lately: I thought you were a national park? he relayed to the Vincennes Sun-Commercial. How can the Dunes be first? It all comes down to designation, he tells them. The National Park Services own website admits that the many designations confuse visitors. Many names are descriptive lakeshores, seashores, battlefields but others cannot be neatly categorized because of the diversity of resources within them, the site reads. In 1970, Congress elaborated on the 1916 National Park Service Organic Act, saying all units of the system have equal legal standing in a national system. The names dont come with exact criteria. Among them, the 61 units that are titled national parks are generally large natural places having a wide variety of attributes, at times including significant historic assets. It is Congress who decides on the change in title. Once thats done, it is business as usual for park staff, says Rhonda Schier, acting superintendent of the Lincoln Boyhood Home National Memorial, 200 acres near Evansville, Ind. Prior to this, she was superintendent of the Jefferson Expansion National Memorial the famous arch in St. Louis where an act of Congress last year changed its name to the Gateway Arch National Park. If its getting more visitors now, she says, it could also be because of improvements like a new museum. Meanwhile, Michigans popular Sleeping Bear and Pictured Rocks will keep the last name theyd shared with the dunes: National Lakeshore. Will the feds take over the Indiana Dunes State Park? No. Many people have been confused about that since the national park wraps around the state park, Rowe says, but it will remain a part of the Indiana State Parks. The state park was formed in 1925, followed by the lakeshore in 1966. What will change? The new title doesnt give the Indiana Dunes a larger budget or access to special money from the feds, Rowe says. What it might do, he notes, is help to compete for private grants, given its boost in public awareness. The money to change the signs will come out of dollars that are allocated every few years for projects to upgrade time-worn resources at the park, he says. Signs with the old Lakeshore title will change as dollars allow. No timeline has been set, though the most prominent signs may have to be changed soon, like the sign on Indiana 49. Some simple metal signs can be printed in-house. The etched wooden signs, though, may take years to replace since they have to be bought. Also, a 1.6-mile Miller Woods trail will be named after Paul H. Douglas, a senator key to creating the national lakeshore. Will this bring more visitors? Likely. How many? Thats a great unknown, Rowe says. The Indiana Dunes national and state parks, combined, attracted 3.6 million visits last year, which would make it seventh most visited among the national parks, according to Indiana Dunes Tourism. Weather affects visitor numbers, especially in the summer, when the majority of people come for the beaches. More traffic always means more wear and tear on park resources, like roads, buildings and bathrooms. Rowe says the park has in recent years been encouraging visitors to use the West Beach near Portage, which can absorb more people with its 600-car parking lot rather than the parks eastern beaches that get overcrowded. At West Beach, which is the only one that charges admission, the park offers ranger-led activities and a shuttle bus from the South Shore train station. Park staff also encourage visitors to go beyond the beaches, including the parks 55 miles of trails. Wise visitors find less crowded beaches on weekdays. Will marketing ramp up? Some glossy books list only the national parks. Among them, photographer QT Luong of California halted the printing of an updated version of his book, Treasured Lands, then came out to shoot and include the dunes, the Chicago Tribune reported. Were excited about the marketing opportunity, says Dustin Ritchea, promotions director for Indiana Dunes Tourism. The agency will play up the regions many places to eat, stay, shop and explore so that, once people find the park, they shake off the sand south of the dunes. The new name will feed into promotions that the agency already had in the works, Ritchea says. That includes targeting Japan and Germany more. The dunes counted visitors from more than 40 countries last year, and brochures have been translated into 12 foreign languages in the past two years, from Polish to Arabic. Maple and ice See the ice: Harbor Country Hikers will gather at 6:15 p.m. today (Wednesday, Feb. 27) for a sunset view of ice formations at the New Buffalo beach, 200 Marquette Drive, with members talking about how the ice forms. Maple dunes: Join ranger-led, free tours of maple sugar operations at the historic Chellberg Farm and buy a pancake breakfast from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central time this Saturday-Sunday and March 9-10 in the Indiana Dunes National Park. Tours include how American Indians and settlers made syrup. Tap a tree. Pick up recipes and buy maple products. Learn to make syrup at home. The farm is on Mineral Springs Road between U.S. 20 and U.S. 12 in Porter, Ind. Sarett sap: Take a guided walk at Sarett Nature Center, 2300 Benton Center Road, Benton Harbor, to learn how to identify and tap maple trees, collect sap and turn it into syrup at 2 p.m. Sunday and March 9. Sample sap, syrup and candy. Free for members and kids, $5 for nonmembers. Outpost Cup: This race was rescheduled for Saturday since Swiss Valley Ski & Snowboard Area in Jones was closed Sunday for high winds. Race in several age categories or among snowboarders, hosted by Outpost Sports. The $25 cost includes a hat and lots of prizes. Registration starts at 9:30 a.m., with racing from noon to 2:45 p.m. and post-race party from 2 to 4 p.m. Run or stroll: Do the 5K Sap Run on a crushed limestone trail or the 1-mile Syrup Stroll at 10 a.m. March 9 at Maple Wood Nature Center, 4550 E. County Road 100 S., LaGrange, Ind. Tickets cost $15 for entry and meal ticket (available at event, if tickets are left) or $30 in advance to include a stocking cap, pint of syrup and ticket to pancake breakfast at the parks Maple Syrup Days on March 16-17. All proceeds benefit LaGrange County Parks. Find a registration form at this link. ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions embraces BIM to smooth specification and installation of door security solutions BIM (building information modeling) provides a process for creating and managing information during the building lifecycle and beyond. BIM is often equated with 3D modeling of construction projects, but the visual component is just part of the value of BIM. Additional data, such as specifications and other documentation, is also part of the process, underlying the visual aspects, helping to drive decision making and providing immediate access to detailed information about all facets of the building process. Incorporating BIM systems For the last six years, ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions has worked with specification writers and architects in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) to make it easy to incorporate ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions doors, hardware, and security solutions into BIM systems. Everyone on a project can work together in the interactive and information-rich BIM environment. BIM tools are also used by contractors, distributors, facility owners, and security consultants. BIM software BIM information relating to doors, hardware, and security solutions is available in the cloud BIM information relating to doors, hardware, and security solutions is available in the cloud with the companys Openings Studio BIM software. This improves the process of door scheduling and visualisation and enables customers to focus on the design, installation, and management of openings. If you have up-to-date information inside the BIM model, you can reduce mistakes and misunderstanding in the building industry, says Marc Ameryckx, ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions BIM Manager for the EMEIA region. It helps to eliminate mistakes before they happen or as early as possible in the building process. The earlier, the less it costs. We provide data as soon as possible in the process. (ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions also has comparable systems available in other regions of the global company.) Centralised data in BIM 3D model Expanding the data available in BIM provides additional value compared to merely providing BIM objects that can be incorporated into a BIM 3D model. The combination of BIM modeling and the underlying specifications boosts the quality of the project and its key to success, says Marc Ameryckx. Even after the building is complete, the BIM model is still valuable, providing a repository of as-built information that can be used by building managers and security professionals tasked with operating and maintaining the building. For example, if a lock needs to be replaced, retrofitting is simpler because all the information about the lock and existing installation is available in a centralised data file. Revit and ArchiCAD A widely used BIM software is Revit from Autodesk, a program that brings architecture, engineering, and construction disciplines into a unified modeling environment to drive more efficient and cost-effective projects. Another BIM software program is ArchiCAD, developed by the Hungarian company Graphisoft. Openings Studio added a plugin for ArchiCAD this year, in addition to Revit. Tailor-made information security solutions We provide tailor-made information security solutions with various hardware on projects with more doors" We can provide tailor-made information security solutions with various hardware on projects with more doors, adding more flexibility, says Marc Ameryckx. Customers do not need to be the experts on the products because we provide expertise as part of our specifications. For example, how often do building mistakes occur because of a misunderstanding about the electrical needs of a lock and the wrong cabling is installed? The problem is especially expensive if it is discovered only after the walls are complete. Providing complete data about the electrical lock as part of a BIM system avoids the snafu. Another example is the specification of a deadbolt lock on a door that operates with an electric strike. The deadbolt undermines the intended operation of the electric strike and can interfere with escape routes in case of an emergency. The mistake becomes obvious in the BIM environment and can be rectified before consequences impact the real world. Data addition to Opening Suites site ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions is continuously expanding the data it provides at the Opening Suites site, covering additional functionality and more components including the door, cabling, and electrical connections. Hardware sets are linked to specific doors in the BIM models, including all the details of various components, including article numbers, technical sheets, electrical requirements, all depending on customer expectations. Physical equipment includes QR codes that can be scanned by a smartphone to provide information on the door (A mobile app is in development). More details and more data Experienced BIM consultants work with the Openings Studio software on projects ranging from single doors to large buildings with many doors. Data will be more and more important, and there will be more data inside BIM models Adding more data and detail to the BIM process at the level of each door expands the usefulness of BIM, which has historically been focused on broader issues such as structural work and HVAC. Openings Studio provides all the data to integrate doors and security in the BIM process, says Marc Ameryckx. The higher level of detail may be a new aspect even for customers who already use BIM software. Data will be more and more important, and there will be more data inside BIM models, says Marc Ameryckx. In the future, the use of digital twins could expand the capabilities even further; for example, the software could simulate escape routes in case of fire. More data makes more things possible. Somerset, KY (42501) Today Mainly cloudy. A few peeks of sunshine possible. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 88F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Variably cloudy with scattered thunderstorms. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription, or activate your access, to continue reading. PHILIPSBURG:--- On Wednesday, February 27th representatives from KPSM met with representatives of the Health Department to discuss the strengthening of the working relation between both departments in connection with the upcoming Heineken Regatta and the 2019 Carnival Season which are expected to attract very large crowds. The main focus of this meeting was to come together and discuss the setting up of multidisciplinary teams to tackle the control on general hygiene. The meeting was very informative and parties are planning to meet in the coming weeks to further working out this working relation. KPSM Press Release. PHILIPSBURG:--- Nearly one-in-three boys and girls have been bullied at least once at school over the last month, and a similar proportion have been affected by physical violence, according to a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report, Behind the numbers: ending school violence and bullying. Minister of Justice Cornelius de Weever said on Monday that bullying continues to abound in schools globally. The report further states that physical bullying is the biggest problem in most regions, but in North America and Europe, psychological bullying is the most common, followed by sexually-related bullying. Online and smartphone bullying is on the rise. Bullying can significantly affect a childs mental health, quality of life at home, and academic achievement in the classroom. A child that is bullied in school are more likely to be bullied out of school, either on their way to or from school or through cyberbullying. I call on parents and guardians to pay attention as a child being bullied while growing up can have a lasting effect even transitioning into adulthood. Everybody has a role to play. The school system has to ensure a safe and positive school/classroom environment for the pupil to study, and therefore must have strategies in place to prevent bullying occurring. Parents and guardians need to be involved with the school to ensure that they are clear that the school does not tolerate bullying and are aware of the procedures to follow if they believe that their child is being bullied, Minister of Justice Cornelius de Weever said on Tuesday. Physical bullying is more common among boys, while psychological bullying is more prevalent among girls, and Minister De Weever believes that the trend is also changing amongst boys and girls. Meanwhile, online and mobile phone bullying is on the rise Children perceived as different in any way from the norm, are the most likely to be bullied, with physical appearance being the most common cause followed by race, nationality or skin colour. Frequently bullied children are nearly three times more likely to feel shunned and more than twice as likely to miss school. Their educational-outcomes decline, and they are more likely to leave after finishing secondary school, the report states. PHILIPSBURG:--- The House of Parliament will sit in a Central Committee meeting on Wednesday, February 27, 2019. The Central Committee meeting is scheduled for 10.00 hrs. in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelminastraat #1 in Philipsburg. The Minister of Justice will be present. The agenda points are: 1. Ontwerp Landsverordening houdende regels teneinde te voldoen aan aanbeveling 29 van de Financial Action Task Force omtrent financiele inlichtingeneenheden (ZJ 2018-2019-124) (IS/604/2018-2019 d.d. 18 februari 2019) Draft National Ordinance containing rules in order to comply with recommendation 29 of the Financial Action Task Force concerning financial intelligence units (ZJ 2018-2019-124) (IS / 604 / 2018-2019 dated February 18, 2019) 2. Ontwerp Landsverordening houdende regels ter voorkoming van en bestrijding witwassen en terrorismefinanciering naar aanleiding van de aanbevelingen van de Financial Action Task Force (ZJ 2018-2019-125) (IS/605/2018-2019 d.d. 18 februari 2019) Draft National Ordinance containing rules to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorist financing in response to the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (ZJ 2018-2019-125) (IS / 605 / 2018-2019 dated February 18, 2019) 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. PHILIPSBURG:---The recent publication of an article regarding the current state of the detention facility in which they referenced two Members of Parliament in the Netherlands requires clarification. It is unfortunate but expected, as this seems to be the modus operandi of both MPs van Raak and Bosman. They have chosen to pick one sentence out of the entire conversation in an attempt to perpetuate their skewed view; this type of unnecessary media coverage does not benefit anyone. As Minister of Justice, I fully accept and understand the responsibilities to ensure that inmates have the facility/facilities that meet human rights standards to which, the ministry even hired a lawyer with a human rights background. This will ensure that all minimum requirements are met and that no policies and procedures violate any human rights. It is important to highlight that before 2010, the entire Justice Chain fell under the responsibility of the former Netherlands Antilles, which included the prison. The state of the prison before 10/10/10 was already described as deplorable. As of October 10, 2010, this responsibility was transferred to country Sint Maarten. Since the responsibility shifted, the facility has not been properly maintained and very little was improved on the already deemed deplorable state. This has led to the current state of the prison, which by international and European standards are violating several human rights. Since I have taken office, the reality of the Point Blanche prison has had my full attention. Despite the current (post-Irma) financial shortfalls, I have already started making the necessary structural and organizational improvements. Also important to note, while according to the Charter of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Sint Maarten has the responsibility to realize the fundamental human rights, article 43, subsection 1, the Charter also obliges the Kingdom to guarantee the fundamental human rights in the Kingdom. The United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) has emphasized this obligation in their concluding observations of the hearing of November 2018: in accordance with article 43 of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands providing that promotion and protection of human rights is a Kingdom (Netherlands) affair. This was again echoed in an expert meeting initiated by the Kingdom affairs committee of the First Chamber where experts voiced their opinion that: there is a moral obligation of the Netherlands to take action when human rights are violated in the Kingdom. In addition, this responsibility has been confirmed by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the Corallo vs The Netherlands-case where the Netherlands was brought before the ECHR and fined by them. Despite its financial hurdles, Sint Maarten is paying for all current repairs that are being executed to the Point Blanche prison, which also include Ms. Lalie Center for youth detention and the Phillipsburg & Simpson Bay holding areas, based on our improvement plan. These repairs have amounted to almost 1.7 million US Dollars thus far, which in addition to this substantial amount Sint Maarten has to pay daily fees for the inmates who are being housed in the Netherlands. We have already been invoiced 385,203 Euros for the period November and December 2018 (@ 249 Euros per inmate daily) and another 188,945 Euros for the month of January 2019 (@265 Euros per inmate daily). It must be highlighted, that Curacao has not charged St. Maarten - its fellow Kingdom partner; that is a testament in of itself. This reality amplified by the CFTs imposed limitations to Sint Maartens 2019 Budget, further restricts the much-needed improvements for the entire Justice Chain, including that of the prison. Therefore, I strongly believe and oppose the manner in which the two MPs van Raak and Bosman have chosen to selectively and negatively emphasize statements made. This only attempts to mislead but more importantly adds nothing to the ongoing efforts to improve the entire justice chain on Sint Maarten. It is factual that the Kingdom (Netherlands) has to take its responsibility in the improvements, in order to adhere to European and International standards regarding Human Rights. Sint Maarten is still a part of the Kingdom hence, the Netherlands responsibility is to effectively cooperate with and support its partner Sint Maarten in realizing and guaranteeing human rights. It is my sincere hope that the communication and cooperation to achieve the improvements for Sint Maarten will no longer be handled in useless tabloid articles but in a responsible and productive manner. Sint Maarten as a partner in the Kingdom will continue to address its responsibilities and ensure progress with the support of the responsible colleague ministers in the Netherlands. New York: As Donald Trump was in Vietnam trying to halt the rise of a new nuclear state, the President's former personal lawyer was back home hurling verbal hand grenades at his former boss. Michael Cohen's appearance before Congress was such a big deal in the US capital that bars opened early so people could watch it on big screens. Expectations were high among Democrats that this would be a politically disastrous day for Trump. A poster on display during Michael Cohen's testimony to Congress. Credit:Bloomberg Cohen, after all, served as Trump's right-hand man for a decade: if anyone could dish the dirt on Trump, this was the guy. Islamabad: Pakistan last night swore a "befitting" response to an Indian airstrike in its territory after India launched the first such raids against its neighbour in decades. Imran Khan's government said Delhi should prepare to be surprised and that it would respond at a time and place of its choosing after the predawn attack. Tuesday's raid sharply escalated tensions between the nuclear-armed adversaries, which have gone to war three times since 1947. Pakistani protesters shout anti-Indian slogans in Hyderabad, Pakistan, on Tuesday. Credit:AP India said it had struck a pre-emptive blow against the Pakistan-based militant group it blamed for a suicide bomb that killed at least 40 paramilitary police in Kashmir on February 14. Loading At the same time, he said the lack of US condemnation of India's strike on Pakistan is "construed and understood as an endorsement of the Indian position, and that is what emboldened them even more". While experts warned that the clash could easily escalate out of control, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan told his nation Wednesday that he wanted to avoid war with India and urged, "Let's settle this with talks." There was no public statement, however, by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Our action was only intended to convey that if you can come into our country, we can do the same," Khan said, referring to airstrikes by India on Tuesday and Pakistan's response on Wednesday. Addressing India, he said, "With the weapons you have and the weapons we have, can we really afford a miscalculation?" The last two days of air strikes mark the first time in history that two nuclear-armed powers have done so, while ground forces have exchanged fire in more than a dozen locations. Tension has been elevated since a suicide car bombing by Pakistan-based militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police on February 14, but the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Tuesday when India launched an air strike on what it said was a militant training base. India's attack on Tuesday targeted the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the group that claimed credit for the suicide attack. India said a large number of JeM fighters had been killed, but Pakistani officials said the strike was a failure and inflicted no casualties. Political pressure Pakistan and India have fought three wars since independence from British colonial rule in 1947, two over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and went to the brink a fourth in 2002 after a Pakistani militant attack on India's parliament. The latest escalation marks a sudden turnaround in relations between the two countries, that both claim Kashmir in full but rule in part. As recently as November, Pakistan's Khan spoke of "mending ties" with India. The conflict also comes at a critical time for Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi, who faces a general election in a matter of months. Modi's decision to order air strikes could benefit him politically, according to analysts and pollsters, but he was accused on Wednesday by opposition parties of capitalising on conflict. Pakistani soldiers patrol in the area where Indian planes were reportedly shot down by Pakistani forces. Credit:AP Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the "blatant politicisation of the sacrifices made by our armed forces", in a joint statement by 21 opposition parties, the first time they have broken ranks with the government over the issue. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke separately with the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan and urged them to avoid "further military activity" following Tuesday's air strike. "I expressed to both ministers that we encourage India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and avoid escalation at any cost," Pompeo said in a statement on Wednesday. "I also encouraged both ministers to prioritise direct communication and avoid further military activity," he said. Both China and the European Union have also called for restraint. Loading Aerial battle Many of the facts in the latest series of engagements are disputed by the two sides. Major General Asif Ghafoor, spokesman for the Pakistan armed forces, said two Indian jets had been shot down after they entered Pakistani airspace while responding to a Pakistani aerial mission on targets in Indian-controlled Kashmir. One of the jets crashed on the Indian-controlled side of the de facto border in Kashmir, known as the Line of Control, and the other on the Pakistani side and an Indian pilot had been captured, he said. Ghafoor said the Pakistani aircraft had carried out the strikes in response to India's air strike the day before but had taken deliberate action to ensure no casualties were caused. The Pakistani jets had locked on to six targets, in a demonstration of their capacity to hit strategic installations, but deliberately fired into open spaces where there would be no casualties. "This was not a retaliation in true sense, but to tell Pakistan has capability, we can do it, but we want to be responsible, we don't want an escalation, we don't want a war," Ghafoor told a news conference. One of the aircraft fell on India's side of Kashmir, while the second came down in Pakistani-held territory with a pilot captured, he added. Raveesh Kumar, a spokesman for India's foreign ministry, gave a different account, telling a news briefing that the Pakistan air strikes on military targets had been "foiled". India shot down one Pakistani plane that landed in Pakistani territory, and that it had lost one of its own planes, not two, with the pilot "missing in action", Kumar added. "Pakistan has claimed that he is in their custody. We are ascertaining the facts," Kumar said. Pakistan denies it lost a plane in the encounter. The Indian air force has ordered Kashmir's main airport in Srinagar along with at least three others in neighbouring states to close, an official said. Pakistan shut its airspace, with commercial flights in the country cancelled. Flights from the Middle East and India were also affected. For Australian travellers, the travel advice level on Smartraveller.gov.au has not changed, although an update on the website states that "following a terrorist attack in Kashmir on 14 February and India's military response on 26 February, there is increased tension in the region". In a separate incident, police officials in Indian-occupied Kashmir said that four passengers and a civilian had died after an Indian aircraft crashed in Kashmir. The craft was initially reported by officials to be a plane, but a partial tail number from the craft seen by a Reuters witness showed it to be an Mi17 military helicopter. The cause of the crash was unknown. Civilian fright The aerial engagement followed overnight artillery fire by both sides. Pakistan used heavy calibre weapons in 12 to 15 places along the Line of Control, a spokesman for the Indian defence forces said on Wednesday. "The Indian Army retaliated for effect and our focused fire resulted in severe destruction to five posts and number of casualties," the spokesman said. Five Indian soldiers suffered minor wounds in the shelling that ended on Wednesday morning, he added. "So far there are no (civilian) casualties but there is panic among people," said Rahul Yadav, the deputy commissioner of the Poonch district on the Indian side where some of the shelling took place. "We have an evacuation plan in place and if need arises we will evacuate people to safer areas," he said. Pakistani troops visit the site of an Indian air strike in Jaba, near Balakot, Pakistan, on Tuesday. Pakistan said there were no casualties. Credit:AP Officials on the Pakistani side said at least four people had been killed and seven wounded, including civilians, with thousands evacuated and schools closed in border areas. "Only those families are still here which have concrete bunkers built within or along their homes," said Muhammad Din, a resident of Chakothi, a village in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir near the de facto border. India has also continued its crackdown on suspected militants operating in Kashmir, and on Wednesday security forces killed two Jaish militants in a gun battle, Indian police said. Hanoi: US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have shaken hands again in front of the world's cameras before a second summit that will seek to break a deadlock in denuclearisation talks. Greeting Trump at Hanoi's colonial Metropole Hotel, Kim said the 261 days since their first historic summit in Singapore had required "agonising effort and patience". "But here we are today, I hope we can make fruitful achievements... and that gives me a hope that we will be successful this time," Kim said. Trump replied that the first summit was "very successful" and downplayed critics. "I hope this one will be equal or greater than the first...The biggest progress is our relationship," he said. Jakarta: Indonesian rescue workers are scrambling to reach an estimated 45 people trapped by landslides that caused an illegal gold mine in North Sulawesi to collapse. Three people are believed dead, 15 people have been rescued with a range of injuries and authorities believe at least some of those buried in the landslide are still alive in Bakan village, Lolayan. Indonesias national disaster mitigation agency the BNPB scrambles to save those still trapped after an illegal gold mine collapsed. Credit:BNPB The incident took place at about 9pm local time (1am AEDT) on Tuesday. Abdul Muin Paputungan, from local disaster mitigation agency the BPBD, said that authorities simply didn't know how many hours of oxygen the trapped miners had left. Metro North chief executive Shaun Drummond emailed staff to warn they might see media reports. "I know this will be distressing for some staff, however I need to remind everyone that we cannot make any comment that could prejudice the outcome of an investigation," he wrote. "It's also very important not to speculate on matters that may affect the reputation of any staff member involved in an investigation in any way." Mr Drummond said misconduct and behaviour that did not align with "our values" was unacceptable. "Matters of this nature are investigated and dealt with through the relevant industrial framework or referred to Queensland Police Service." On Tuesday, Ms Bates said she had been contacted by medical professionals in recent weeks who had raised concerns about the professional and clinical conduct of the senior general and laparoscopic surgeon. "He currently operates at both public and private hospitals on the northside of Brisbane in Metro North's HHS," she said. Another whistleblower alleged the surgeon had whispered in their ear, 'You operate like a retard, don't you?' "They claim that he is a rogue surgeon placing surgical trainees and patients at risk. "They have taken the extraordinary step of speaking out and they want me to speak out because they are sick of nothing being done." Ms Bates has written to AHPRA and the Office of the Health Ombudsman asking them to take action. Loading "Something has to be done," she said. "This has dragged on for far too long." Another whistleblower said the surgeon found out a woman had been having fertility issues and spent the rest of the term saying things such as "you're too fat to get pregnant". "I am concerned about sending northside trainees to a hospital where they have to work with a surgeon like this," they wrote. "I feel like I'm sending lambs to the slaughter." One person who worked with the surgeon said he would "take the scope off me while rubbing up against me from behind". A colleague said the surgeon would often arrive late and leave early and swear at employees in the operating room. Another whistleblower alleged the surgeon had whispered in their ear while they tried to operate, saying, "You operate like a retard, don't you?" on several occasions. A Royal Australasian College of Surgeons spokesman confirmed the college had received anonymous complaints. "But [we] were unable to take the matters further in the absence of evidence and substantiation," he said. "We encourage and invite anybody who has experienced this behaviour from [the surgeon] or any other surgeon to contact us as soon as possible. "The college notes that it is best able to deal with complaints with known complainants. It is difficult to proceed with appropriate investigations where the complaint is anonymous." Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she was concerned about the allegations. The Berejiklian government says it will deliver "more" free TAFE courses than Labor and "faster", as it promised to fund an extra 100,000 free places over the next four years. Premier Gladys Berejiklian also committed to building a new $80 million "mega-TAFE" near the forthcoming Western Sydney Airport if the Coalition is returned to government at next month's state election. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and managing director of TAFE NSW Caralee McLiesh, left, at Miller TAFE in south-west Sydney on Wednesday. Credit:AAP The government's 100,000 extra free courses will comprise 70,000 places for young job seekers taking on traineeships and 30,000 places for mature-aged workers wanting to re-enter the workforce. The policy is expected to cost $85 million. The Premier's announcement on Wednesday means the Coalition and Labor will head into the election with rival free-TAFE policies. Australia should bite the bullet and build a high-speed rail line between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, senior Labor figure Anthony Albanese said, in a sign the opposition is preparing to put the perennial election issue back on the agenda. Labors federal infrastructure spokesman, who oversaw a $20 million study into the feasibility of east coast bullet trains in the previous Labor government, said it was time Australia moved beyond decades of talk about the project. Both sides of politics say it's time for high-speed rail, but neither has committed money to it yet. Credit:Shutterstock We should bite the bullet and go for a high-speed rail connection not just through to Sydney but right through to Melbourne and then north to Brisbane, Mr Albanese told Newcastle radio on Wednesday. He said an initial route between Melbourne and Newcastle would make the most sense. A taxpayer-funded inquiry is being used by Scott Morrison's office to produce political advertising against Labor's franking credit policy, less than a week after Speaker Tony Smith rebuked the chair for his politicisation of the inquiry. The involvement of the Prime Minister's Office indicates the government's intention to weaponise retirees who participated in the probe and turn franking credits into one of the key battles of the May election. Retirees have accused Labor of inter-generational warfare over the contentious $5 billion a year policy, which will strip tax refunds worth thousands of dollars from retired investors who have not paid tax. Prime Minister Scott Morrison Credit:Alex Ellinghausen In Perth and Adelaide this week, the committee heard from dozens of retirees. One offered to be euthanised, telling the committee Labor's policy suggested the elderly were "past their used-by-date". Former ABC chairman Maurice Newman has lashed the decision to ignore the recommendations of an independent panel in selecting the next leader of the public broadcaster, as the government prepares to announce publishing icon Ita Buttrose as its choice. Mr Newman, who was picked by former prime minister John Howard to chair the ABC board between 2007 and 2012, said the government's selection of Ms Buttrose instead of a shortlisted candidate selected by the panel "makes a mockery" of the process and is unfair to candidates. Ita Buttrose has a long and distinguished track record in the media. Credit:Alan Porritt "It destroys the integrity of the process and I think you'd feel entitled to feel a little aggrieved if you had applied to the process and then to find that somebody else altogether, who hadn't gone through it, is selected," he said. "If you don't want to have a process, fine. Leave it up the PM or the minister or the tea lady or whoever. Everyone knows that's the basis of the selection. But I don't really see the point of having a process that is not observed. It makes a mockery of it." South Africa: 93 technical graduates to assist struggling municipalities Ninety-three technical graduates have been deployed to provide much needed support to some of the countrys most distressed municipalities. Among the graduates are 46 civil engineers, 16 town and regional planners, 13 electrical engineers, 10 environmental scientists, seven project and construction managers and one geographic information systems practitioner. The group was recruited by the Department of Cooperative Governances Municipal Infrastructure Support Agents Young Graduates Programme. Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Zweli Mkhize introduced the graduates during a briefing session in Kempton Park on Tuesday. They are among 150 recruited by the department during the 2018/19 financial year. Last year, the department bemoaned the large number of dysfunctional and distressed municipalities and provided support such as governance and administration, financial management, infrastructure development, political management and other critical areas requiring attention. We emphasised the need to provide technical advice and support to municipalities so that they can be able to provide much needed services to the people - such water and electricity, fill potholes, cut grass and alien vegetation on the verge of roads and promote local economic development and job creation, among others. In this regard, we have developed several training and human resource development programmes to support municipalities and build a technical skills pipeline for local government, said Mkhize. The Minister said infrastructure programmes were also being used to address the spatial defects of apartheid town planning that detrimentally affected the majority groups. The work that needs to be done, which requires your skills as young professionals, includes bulk electricity and water supply networks, water and sewer treatment works, access roads, storm water bridges, municipal building constructions, sidewalks and other critical projects, which enable the smooth functioning of the municipalities. You have your work cut out for you indeed as young graduates and professionals, he said. Through the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA), Cogta currently drives six skills development programmes. These include the Young Graduate Programme; Experiential Learnership Programme; Apprenticeship Programme; Technical Bursary Scheme; technical skills training for municipal officials and an artisan recognition of prior learning programme. The 93 graduates introduced on Tuesday fall under the young graduate programme and the experiential learnership programme. The young graduate programme is a two- to three-year programme aimed at providing opportunities to young graduates registered as candidates with professional bodies to acquire work exposure and structured mentorship towards registration as professionals. The latter programme focuses on learners in the technical fields relevant to municipalities. Trainees are provided with the opportunity to gain work experience and on-the-job training so that they can complete their studies. At the same time, Cogta gets to supports low and medium capacity municipalities. Through these programmes, we are investing in youth development while also advancing the countrys Municipal Infrastructure Development Programme. Infrastructure development is a doorway to investment in our country. It is a key enabler of economic growth, Mkhize said. President Cyril Ramaphosa, during his State of the Nation Address earlier this month, emphasised the strengthening of technical capacity in government for more project efficiency. He said government will focus on building a pool of engineers, project managers, spatial planners and quantity surveyors. When he announced the economic stimulus package last year, the President also emphasized infrastructure investment, particularly in municipalities. Infrastructure development is a key aspect in enhancing efficiency in local government, to attract investment and provide reliable services to the people and contribute to their socio-economic development, Mkhize said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2019-02-27. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. New research initiative will power up Europe's battery revolution A world moving from fossil fuels to renewable energy will rely more and more on energy storage and in particular on batteries. Better batteries can reduce the carbon footprint of the transport sector, stabilise the power grid, and much more. The Battery 2030+ large-scale research initiative will gather leading scientists in Europe, as well as the industry, to achieve a leap forward in battery science and technology. The first Battery 2030+ project kicks off in March 2019 and will lay the basis for this large-scale research initiative on future battery technologies. In the Strategic Action Plan on Batteries published in May 2018, the European Commission has highlighted the need to support the European battery industry ecosystem with a long-term research initiative in future battery technologies. The Battery 2030+ project, which currently includes 17 partners in nine European countries, has been selected for a Coordination and Support Action grant under the Horizon 2020 programme. Over a period of one year (starting in March 2019), Battery 2030+ will lay the basis for a 10-year large-scale and long-term European research project. The vision for Battery 2030+ is to invent the batteries of the future, providing European industry with cutting-edge technologies. Batteries are among the key technologies to achieve a deep decarbonisation of the European energy system, notably in the transport sector (with electro-mobility) and in the electric power sector (with the storage of intermittent renewable energy sources). In the near future, we will need new generations of ultrahigh-performance, reliable, safe, sustainable and affordable batteries. The competition to develop future battery technologies is already intense, but still very much open. The project is coordinated by Kristina Edstrom, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Uppsala University in Sweden. "We will address the challenges of making ultra-high performance batteries," says Kristina Edstrom. "This means establishing an acceleration platform for the discovery of new battery materials using machine learning and artificial intelligence, and especially focusing on interfaces in batteries where reactions take place that can be detrimental for battery lifetime. We will design smart functionalities down to the battery cell level, and pay particular attention to sustainability issues." A more detailed description of the vision can be found in the consortium manifesto. http://battery2030. eu/ The Battery 2030+ consortium includes five universities (Uppsala University, Politecnico di Torino, Technical University of Denmark, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, University of Munster), eight research centres (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, French National Centre for Scientific Research, Forschungszentrum Julich, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Fundacion Cidetec, National Institute of Chemistry, Slovenia, SINTEF AS), three industry-led associations (EMIRI, EASE, RECHARGE) and one company (Absiskey). The Battery 2030+ consortium has also received the support of a number of European and national organisations, including ALISTORE ERI, EERA, EIT InnoEnergy, EIT RawMaterials, EARPA, EUROBAT, EGVI, CLEPA, EUCAR, KLIB, RS2E, Swedish Electromobility Centre, PolStorEn, ENEA, CIC energigune, IMEC and Tyndall National Institute. More about Battery 2030+: http://battery2030. eu/ ### This story has been published on: 2019-02-26. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.